the ancient life-history of the earth a comprehensive outline of the principles and leading facts of palÆontological science by h. alleyne nicholson m.d., d.sc., m.a., ph. d. (gÖtt), f.r.s.e, f.l.s. professor of natural history in the university of st andrews preface. the study of palæontology, or the science which is concerned with the living beings which flourished upon the globe during past periods of its history, may be pursued by two parallel but essentially distinct paths. by the one method of inquiry, we may study the anatomical characters and structure of the innumerable extinct forms of life which lie buried in the rocks simply as so many organisms, with but a slight and secondary reference to the _time_ at which they lived. by the other method, fossil animals are regarded principally as so many landmarks in the ancient records of the world, and are studied _historically_ and as regards their relations to the chronological succession of the strata in which they are entombed. in so doing, it is of course impossible to wholly ignore their structural characters, and their relationships with animals now living upon the earth; but these points are held to occupy a subordinate place, and to require nothing more than a comparatively general attention. in a former work, the author has endeavoured to furnish a summary of the more important facts of palæontology regarded in its strictly scientific aspect, as a mere department of the great science of biology. the present work, on the other hand, is an attempt to treat palæontology more especially from its historical side, and in its more intimate relations with geology. in accordance with this object, the introductory portion of the work is devoted to a consideration of the general principles of palæontology, and the bearings of this science upon various geological problems--such as the mode of formation of the sedimentary rocks, the reactions of living beings upon the crust of the earth, and the sequence in time of the fossiliferous formations. the second portion of the work deals exclusively with historical palæontology, each formation being considered separately, as regards its lithological nature and subdivisions, its relations to other formations, its geographical distribution, its mode of origin, and its characteristic life-forms. in the consideration of the characteristic fossils of each successive period, a general account is given of their more important zoological characters and their relations to living forms; but the technical language of zoology has been avoided, and the aid of illustrations has been freely called into use. it may therefore be hoped that the work may be found to be available for the purposes of both the geological and the zoological student; since it is essentially an outline of historical palæontology, and the student of either of the above-mentioned sciences must perforce possess some knowledge of the last. whilst primarily intended for students, it may be added that the method of treatment adopted has been so far untechnical as not to render the work useless to the general reader who may desire to acquire some knowledge of a subject of such vast and universal interest. in carrying out the object which he has held before him, the author can hardly expect, from the nature of the materials with which he has had to deal, that he has kept himself absolutely clear of errors, both of omission and commission. the subject, however, is one to which he has devoted the labour of many years, both in studying the researches of others and in personal investigations of his own; and he can only trust that such errors as may exist will be found to belong chiefly to the former class, and to be neither serious nor numerous. it need only be added that the work is necessarily very limited in its scope, and that the necessity of not assuming a thorough previous acquaintance with natural history in the reader has inexorably restricted its range still further. the author does not, therefore, profess to have given more than a merely general outline of the subject; and those who desire to obtain a more minute and detailed knowledge of palæontology, must have recourse to other and more elaborate treatises. united college, st andrews. october , . contents. part i. principles of palÆontology. introduction. the general objects or geological science--the older theories of catastrophistic and intermittent action--the more modern doctrines of continuous and uniform action--bearing of these doctrines respectively on the origin or the existing terrestrial order--elements or truth in catastrophism--general truth of the doctrine of continuity--geological time. chapter i. definition of palæontology--nature of fossils--different processes of fossilisation. chapter ii. aqueous and igneous rocks--general characters of the sedimentary rocks--mode or formation of the sedimentary rocks--definition of the term "formation"--chief divisions of the aqueous rocks--mechanically-formed rocks, their characters and mode of origin--chemically and organically formed rocks--calcareous rocks--chalk, its microscopic structure and mode of formation--limestone, varieties, structure, and origin--phosphate of lime--concretions--sulphate of lime--silica and siliceous deposits of various kinds--greensands--red clays--carbon and carbonaceous deposits. chapter iii. chronological succession of the fossiliferous rocks--tests or age of strata--value of palæontological evidence in stratigraphical geology--general sequence of the great formations. chapter iv. the breaks in the palæontological and geological record--use of the term "contemporaneous" as applied to groups of strata--general sequence of strata and of life-forms interfered with by more or less extensive gaps--unconformability--phenomena implied by this--causes of the imperfection of the palæontological record. chapter v. conclusions to be drawn from fossils--age of rocks--mode of origin of any fossiliferous bed--fluviatile, lacustrine, and marine deposits--conclusions as to climate--proofs of elevation and subsidence of portions of the earth's crust derived from fossils. chapter vi. the biological relations of fossils--extinction of life-forms--geological range of different species--persistent types of life--modern origin of existing animals and plants--reference of fossil forms to the existing primary divisions of the animal kingdom--departure of the older types of life from those now in existence--resemblance of the fossils of a given formation to those of the formation next above and next below--introduction of new life-forms. part ii. historical palÆontology. chapter vii. the laurentian and huronian periods--general nature, divisions, and geographical distribution of the laurentian deposits--lower and upper laurentian--reasons for believing that the laurentian rocks are not azoic based upon their containing limestones, beds of oxide of iron, and graphite--the characters, chemical composition, and minute structure of _eozoön canadense_--comparison of _eozoön_ with existing foraminifera--_archoeosphoerinoe_--huronian formation--nature and distribution of huronian deposits--organic remains of the huronian--literature. chapter viii. the cambrian period--general succession of cambrian deposits in wales--lower cambrian and upper cambrian--cambrian deposits of the continent of europe and north american--life of the cambrian period--fucoids--eophyton--oldhamia--sponges--echinoderms--annelides --crustaceans--structure of trilobites--brachiopods--pteropods, gasteropods, and bivalves--cephalopods--literature. chapter ix. the lower silurian period--the silurian rocks generally--limits of lower and upper silurian--general succession, subdivisions, and characters of the lower silurian rocks of wales--general succession, subdivisions, and characters of the lower silurian rocks of the north american continent--life of the period--fucoids--protozoa--graptolites--structure of graptolites--corals--general structure of corals--crinoids-- cystideans--general characters of cystideans--annelides-- crustaceans--polyzoa--brachiopods--bivalve and univalve molluscs--chambered cephalopods--general characters of the cephalopoda--conodonts. chapter x. the upper silurian period--general succession of the upper silurian deposits of wales--upper silurian deposits of north america--life of the upper silurian--plants--protozoa--graptolites--corals-- crinoids--general structure of crinoids--star-fishes--annelides-- crustaceans--eurypterids--polyzoa--brachiopods--structure of brachiopods--bivalves and univalves--pteropods--cephalopods-- fishes--silurian literature. chapter xi. the devonian period--relations between the old red sandstone and the marine devonian deposits--the old red sandstone of scotland--the devonian strata of devonshire--sequence and subdivisions of the devonian deposits of north america--life of the period--plants--protozoa--corals-crinoids--pentremites-- annelides--crustaceans--insects--polyzoa--brachiopods--bivalves-- univalves--pteropods--cephalopods--fishes--general divisions of the fishes--palæontological evidence as to the independent existence of the devonian system as a distinct formation--literature. chapter xii. the carboniferous period--relations of carboniferous rocks to devonian--the carboniferous limestone or sub-carboniferous series--the millstone-grit and the coal-measures--life of the period--structure and mode of formation of coal--plants of the coal. chapter xiii. animal life of the carboniferous period--protozoa--corals-- crinoids--pentremites--structure of pentremites--echinoids-- structure of echinoidea--annelides--crustacea--insects-- arachnids--myriapods--polyzoa--brachiopods--bivalves and univalves--cephalopods--fishes--labyrinthodont amphibians-- literature. chapter xiv. the permian period--general succession, characters, and mode of formation of the permian deposits--life of the period-- plants--protozoa--corals--echinoderms--annelides--crustaceans-- polyzoa--brachiopods--bivalves-univalves--pteropods-- cephalopods--fishes--amphibians--reptiles--literature. chapter xv. the triassic period--general characters and subdivisions of the trias of the continent of europe and britain--trias of north america--life of the period--plants--echinoderms--crustaceans-- polyzoa--brachiopods--bivalves--univalves--cephalopods-- intermixture of palæozoic with mesozoic types of molluscs-- fishes--amphibians--reptiles--supposed footprints of birds-- mammals--literature. chapter xvi. the jurassic period--general sequence and subdivisions of the jurassic deposits in britain--jurassic rocks of north america--life of the period--plants--corals--echinoderms--crustaceans--insects-- brachiopods--bivalves--univalves-pteropods--tetrabranchiate cephalopods--dibranchiate cephalopods--fishes--reptiles--birds-- mammals--literature. chapter xvii. the cretaceous period--general succession and subdivisions of the cretaceous rocks in britain--cretaceous rocks of north america--life of the period--plants--protozoa--corals--echinoderms-- crustaceans--polyzoa--brachiopods--bivalves--univalves-- tetrabranchiate and dibranchiate cephalopods--fishes--reptiles-- birds--literature. chapter xviii. the eocene period--relations between the kainozoic and mesozoic rocks in europe and in north america--classification of the tertiary deposits--the sequence and subdivisions of the eocene rocks of britain and france--eocene strata of the united states--life of the period--plants--foraminifera--corals--echinoderms--mollusca--fishes-- reptiles--birds--mammals. chapter xix. the miocene period--miocene strata of britain--of france--of belgium--of austria--of switzerland--of germany--of greece--of india--of north america--of the arctic regions--life of the period--vegetation of the miocene period--foraminifera--corals-- echinoderms--articulates--mollusca--fishes-amphibians--reptiles-- mammals. chapter xx. the pliocene period--pliocene deposits of britain--of europe--of north america--life of the period--climate of the period as indicated by the invertebrate animals--the pliocene mammalia--literature relating to the tertiary deposits and their fossils. chapter xxi. the post-pliocene period--division of the quaternary deposits into post-pliocene and recent--relations of the post-pliocene deposits of the northern hemisphere to the "glacial period"--pre-glacial deposits--glacial deposits--arctic mollusca in glacial beds--post-glacial deposits--nature and mode of formation of high-level and low-level gravels--nature and mode of formation of cavern-deposits--kent's cavern-post--pliocene deposits of the southern hemisphere. chapter xxii. life of the post-pliocene period--effect of the coming on and departure of the glacial period upon the animals inhabiting the northern hemisphere--birds of the post-pliocene--mammalia of the post-pliocene--climate of the post-glacial period as deduced from the post-glacial mammals--occurrence of the bones and implements of man in post-pliocene deposits in association with the remains of extinct mammalia--literature relating to the post-pliocene period. chapter xxiii. the succession of life upon the globe--gradual and successive introduction of life-forms--what is meant by "lower" and "higher" groups of animals and plants--succession in time of the great groups of animals in the main corresponding with their zoological order--identical phenomena in the vegetable kingdom--persistent types of life--high organisation of many early forms--bearings of palæontology on the general doctrine of evolution. appendix.--tabular view of the chief divisions of the animal kingdom. glossary. index. list of illustrations fig. . cast of _trigonia longa_. . microscopic section of the wood of a fossil conifer. . microscopic section of the wood of the larch. . section of carboniferous strata, kinghorn, fife. . diagram illustrating the formation of stratified deposits. . microscopic section of a calcareous breccia. . microscopic section of white chalk. . organisms in atlantic ooze. . crinoidal marble. . piece of nummulitic limestone, pyramids. . microscopic section of foraminiferal limestone--carboniferous, america. . microscopic section of lower silurian limestone. . microscopic section of oolitic limestone, jurassic. . microscopic section of oolitic limestone, carboniferous. . organisms in barbadoes earth. . organisms in richmond earth. . ideal section of the crust of the earth. . unconformable junction of chalk and eocene rocks. . erect trunk of a _sigillaria_. . diagrammatic section of the laurentian rocks. . microscopic section of laurentian limestone. . fragment of a mass of _eozoön canadense_. . diagram illustrating the structure of _eozoön_. . microscopic section of _eozoön canadense_. . _nonionina_ and _gromia_. . group of shells of living _foraminifera_. . diagrammatic section of cambrian strata. . _eophyton linneanum_. . _oldhamia antiqua_. . _scolithus canadensis_. . group of cambrian trilobites. . group of characteristic cambrian fossils. . fragment of _dictyonema sociale_. . generalised section of the lower silurian rocks of wales. . generalised section of the lower silurian rocks of north america. . _licrophycus ottawaensis_. . _astylospongia proemorsa_. . _stromatopora rugosa_. . _dichograptus octobrachiatus_. . _didymograptus divaricatus_. . _diplograptus pristis_. . _phyllograptus typus_. . _zaphrentis stokesi_. . _strombodes pentagonus_. . _columnaria alveolata_. . group of cystideans. . group of lower silurian crustaceans. . _ptilodictya falciformis_. . _ptilodictya schafferi_. . group of lower silurian brachiopods. . group of lower silurian brachiopods. . _murchisonia gracilis_. . _bellerophon argo_. . _maclurea crenulata_. . _orthoceras crebriseptum_. . restoration of _orthoceras_. . generalised section of the upper silurian rocks. . _monograptus priodon_. . _halysites catenularia_ and _h. agglomerata_. . group of upper silurian star-fishes. . _protaster sedgwickii_. . group of upper silurian crinoids. . _planolites vulgaris_. . group of upper silurian trilobites. . _pterygotus anglicus_. . group of upper silurian _polyzoa_. . _spirifera hysterica_. . group of upper silurian brachiopods. . group of upper silurian brachiopods. . _pentamerus knightii_. . _cardiola interrupta, c. fibrosa_, and _pterinoea subfalcata_. . group of upper silurian univalves. . _tentaculites ornatus_. . _pteraspis banksii_. . _onchus tenuistriatus_ and _thelodus_. . generalised section of the devonian rocks of north america. . _psilophyton princeps_. . _prototaxites logani_. . _stromatopora tuberculata_. . _cystiphyllum vesiculosum_. . _zaphrentis cornicula_. . _heliophyllum exiguum_. . _crepidophyllum archiaci_. . _favosites gothlandica_. . _favosites hemisphoerica_. . _spirorbis omphalodes_ and _s. arkonensis_. . _spirorbis laxus_ and _s. spinulifera_. . group of devonian trilobites. . wing of _platephemera antiqua_. . _clathropora intertexta_. . _ceriopora hamiltonensis_. . _fenestella magnifica_. . _retepora phillipsi_. . _fenestella cribrosa_. . _spirifera sculptilis_. . _spirifera mucronata_. . _atrypa reticularis_. . _strophomena rhomboidalis_. . _platyceras dumosum_. . _conularia ornata_. . _clymenia sedgwickii_. . group of fishes from the devonian rocks of north america. . _cephalaspis lyellii_. . _pterichthys cornutus_. . _polypterus_ and _osteolepis_. . _holoptychius nobilissimus_. . generalised section of the carboniferous rocks of the north of england. . _odontopteris schlotheimii_. . _calamites cannoeformis_. . _lepidodendron sternbergii_. . _sigillaria groeseri_. . _stigmaria ficoides_. . _trigonocarpum ovatum_. . microscopic section of foraminiferal limestone--carboniferous, north america. . _fusulina cylindrica_. . group of carboniferous corals. . _platycrinus tricontadactylus_. . _pentremites pyriformis_ and _p. conoideus_. . _archoeocidaris ellipticus_. . _spirorbis carbonarius_. . _prestwichia rotundata_. . group of carboniferous crustaceans. . _cyclophthalmus senior_. . _xylobius sigillarioe_. . _haplophlebium barnesi_. . group of carboniferous _polyzoa_. . group of carboniferous _brachiopoda_. . _pupa vetusta_. . _goniatites fossoe_. . _amblypterus macropterus_. . _cochliodus contortus_. . _anthracosaurus russelli_. . generalised section of the permian rocks. . _walchia piniformis_. . group of permian _brachiopods_. . _arca antiqua_. . _platysomus gibbosus_. . _protorosaurus speneri_. . generalised section of the triassic rocks. . _zamia spiralis_. . triassic conifers and cycads. . _encrinus liliiformis_. . _aspidura loricata_. . group of triassic bivalves. . _ceratites nodosus_. . tooth of _ceratodus serratus_ and _c. altus_. . _ceratodus fosteri_. . footprints of _cheirotherium_. . section of tooth of _labyrinthodont_. . skull of _mastodonsaurus_. . skull of _rhynchosaurus_. . _belodon_, _nothosaurus_, _paloeosaurus_, &c. . _placodus gigas_. . skulls of _dicynodon_ and _oudenodon_. . supposed footprint of bird, from the trias of connecticut. . lower jaw of _dromatherium sylvestre_. . molar tooth of _microlestes antiquus_. . _myrmecobius fasciatus_. . generalised section of the jurassic rocks. . _mantellia megalophylla_. . _thecosmilia annularis_. . _pentacrinus fasciculosus_. . _hemicidaris crenularis_. . _eryon arctiformis_. . group of jurassic brachiopods. . _ostrea marshii_. . _gryphoea incurva_ . _diceras arietina_. . _nerinoea goodhallii_. . _ammonites humphresianus_. . _ammonites bifrons_. . _beloteuthis subcostata_. . belemnite restored; diagram of belemnite; _belemnites canaliculata_. . _tetragonolepis_. . _acrodus nobilis_. . _ichthyosaurus communis_. . _plesiosaurus dolichodeirus_. . _pterodactylus crassirostris_. . _ramphorhynchus bucklandi_, restored. . skull of _megalosaurus_. . _archoeopteryx macrura_. . _archoeopteryx, restored_. . jaw of _amphitherium prevostii_. . jaws of oolitic mammals. . generalised section of the cretaceous rocks. . cretaceous angiosperms. . _rotalia boueana_. . _siphonia ficus_. . _ventriculites simplex_. . _synhelia sharpeana_. . _galerites albogalerus_. . _discoidea cylindrica_. . _escharina oceani_. . _terebratella astieriana_. . _crania ignabergensis_. . _ostrea couloni_. . _spondylus spinosus_. . _inoceramus sulcatus_. . _hippurites toucasiana_. . _voluta elongata_. . _nautilus danicus_. . _ancyloceras matheronianus_. . _turrilites catenatus_ . forms of cretaceous _ammonitidoe_. . _belemnitella mucronata_. . tooth of _hybodus_. . fin-spine of _hybodus_. . _beryx lewesiensis_ and _osmeroides mantelli_. . teeth of _iguanodon_. . skull of _mosasaurus camperi_. . _chelone benstedi_. . jaws and vertebræ of _odontornithes_. . fruit of _nipadites_. . _nummulina loevigata_. . _turbinolia sulcata_. . _cardita planicosta_. . _typhis tubifer_. . _cyproea elegans_. . _cerithium hexagonum_. . _limnoea pyramidalis_. . _physa columnaris_. . _cyclostoma arnoudii_. . _rhombus minimus_. . _otodus obliquus_. . _myliobatis edwardsii_. . upper jaw of alligator. . skull of _odontopteryx toliapicus_. . _zeuglodon cetoides_. . _paloeotherium magnum_, restored. . feet of _equidoe_. . _anoplothelium commune_. . skull of _dinoceras mirabilis_. . _vespertilio parisiensis_. . miocene palms. . _platanus aceroides_. . _cinnamomum polymorphum_. . _textularia meyeriana_. . _scutella subrotunda_. . _hyalea orbignyana_. . tooth of _oxyrhina_. . tooth of _carcharodon_. . _andrias scheuchzeri_. . skull of _brontotherium ingens_. , _hippopotamus sivalensis_. . skull of _sivatherium_. . skull of _deinotherium_. . tooth of _elephas planfrons_ and of _mastodon sivalensis_. . jaw of _pliopithecus_. . _rhinoceros etruscus_ and _r. megarhinus_. . molar tooth of _mastodon arvernensis_. . molar tooth of _etephas meridionalis_. . molar tooth of _elephas antiquus_. . skull and tooth of _machairodus cultridens_. . _pecten islandicus_. . diagram of high-level and low-level gravels. . diagrammatic section of cave. . _dinornis elephantopus_. . skull of _diprotodon_. . skull of _thylacoleo_. . skeleton of _megatherium_. . skeleton of _mylodon_. . _glyptodon clavipes_. . skull of _rhinoceros tichorhinus_. . skeleton of _cervus megaceros_. . skull of _bos primigenius_. . skeleton of mammoth. . molar tooth of mammoth. . skull of _ursus speloeus_. . skull of _hyoena speloea_. . lower jaw of _trogontherium cuvieri_. part i. principles of palÆontology. introduction. the laws of geological action. under the general title of "geology" are usually included at least two distinct branches of inquiry, allied to one another in the closest manner, and yet so distinct as to be largely capable of separate study. _geology_,[ ] in its strict sense, is the science which is concerned with the investigation of the materials which compose the earth, the methods in which those materials have been arranged, and the causes and modes of origin of these arrangements. in this limited aspect, geology is nothing more than the physical geography of the past, just as physical geography is the geology of to-day; and though it has to call in the aid of physics, astronomy, mineralogy, chemistry, and other allies more remote, it is in itself a perfectly distinct and individual study. one has, however, only to cross the threshold of geology to discover that the field and scope of the science cannot be thus rigidly limited to purely physical problems. the study of the physical development of the earth throughout past ages brings us at once in contact with the forms of animal and vegetable life which peopled its surface in bygone epochs, and it is found impossible adequately to comprehend the former, unless we possess some knowledge of the latter. however great its physical advances may be, geology remains imperfect till it is wedded with palæontology,[ ] a study which essentially belongs to the vast complex of the biological sciences, but at the same time has its strictly geological side. dealing, as it does, wholly with the consideration of such living beings as do not belong exclusively to the present order of things, palæontology is, in reality, a branch of natural history, and may be regarded as substantially the zoology and botany of the past. it is the ancient life-history of the earth, as revealed to us by the labours of palæontologists, with which we have mainly to do here; but before entering upon this, there are some general questions, affecting geology and palæontology alike, which may be very briefly discussed. [footnote : gr. _ge_, the earth; _logos_, a discourse.] [footnote : gr. _palaios_, ancient; _onta_, beings; _logos_, discourse.] the working geologist, dealing in the main with purely physical problems, has for his object to determine the material structure of the earth, and to investigate, as far as may be, the long chain of causes of which that structure is the ultimate result. no wider or more extended field of inquiry could be found; but philosophical geology is not content with this. at all the confines of his science, the transcendental geologist finds himself confronted with some of the most stupendous problems which have ever engaged the restless intellect of humanity. the origin and primæval constitution of the terrestrial globe, the laws of geologic action through long ages of vicissitude and development, the origin of life, the nature and source of the myriad complexities of living beings, the advent of man, possibly even the future history of the earth, are amongst the questions with which the geologist has to grapple in his higher capacity. these are problems which have occupied the attention of philosophers in every age of the world, and in periods long antecedent to the existence of a science of geology. the mere existence of cosmogonies in the religion of almost every nation, both ancient and modern, is a sufficient proof of the eager desire of the human mind to know something of the origin of the earth on which we tread. every human being who has gazed on the vast panorama of the universe, though it may have been but with the eyes of a child, has felt the longing to solve, however imperfectly, "the riddle of the painful earth," and has, consciously or unconsciously, elaborated some sort of a theory as to the why and wherefore of what he sees. apart from the profound and perhaps inscrutable problems which lie at the bottom of human existence, men have in all ages invented theories to explain the common phenomena of the material universe; and most of these theories, however varied in their details, turn out on examination to have a common root, and to be based on the same elements. modern geology has its own theories on the same subject, and it will be well to glance for a moment at the principles underlying the old and the new views. it has been maintained, as a metaphysical hypothesis, that there exists in the mind of man an inherent principle, in virtue of which he believes and expects that what has been, will be; and that the course of nature will be a continuous and uninterrupted one. so far, however, from any such belief existing as a necessary consequence of the constitution of the human mind, the real fact seems to be that the contrary belief has been almost universally prevalent. in all old religions, and in the philosophical systems of almost all ancient nations, the order of the universe has been regarded as distinctly unstable, mutable, and temporary. a beginning and an end have always been assumed, and the course of terrestrial events between these two indefinite points has been regarded as liable to constant interruption by revolutions and catastrophes of different kinds, in many cases emanating from supernatural sources. few of the more ancient theological creeds, and still fewer of the ancient philosophies, attained body and shape without containing, in some form or another, the belief in the existence of periodical convulsions, and of alternating cycles of destruction and repair. that geology, in its early infancy, should have become imbued with the spirit of this belief, is no more than might have been expected; and hence arose the at one time powerful and generally-accepted doctrine of "catastrophism." that the succession of phenomena upon the globe, whereby the earth's crust had assumed the configuration and composition which we find it to possess, had been a discontinuous and broken succession, was the almost inevitable conclusion of the older geologists. everywhere in their study of the rocks they met with apparently impassable gaps, and breaches of continuity that could not be bridged over. everywhere they found themselves conducted abruptly from one system of deposits to others totally different in mineral character or in stratigraphical position. everywhere they discovered that well-marked and easily recognisable groups of animals and plants were succeeded, without the intermediation of any obvious lapse of time, by other assemblages of organic beings of a different character. everywhere they found evidence that the earth's crust had undergone changes of such magnitude as to render it seemingly irrational to suppose that they could have been produced by any process now in existence. if we add to the above the prevalent belief of the time as to the comparative brevity of the period which had elapsed since the birth of the globe, we can readily understand the general acceptance of some form of catastrophism amongst the earlier geologists. as regards its general sense and substance, the doctrine of catastrophism held that the history of the earth, since first it emerged from the primitive chaos, had been one of periods of repose, alternating with catastrophes and cataclysms of a more or less violent character. the periods of tranquillity were supposed to have been long and protracted; and during each of them it was thought that one of the great geological "formations" was deposited. in each of these periods, therefore, the condition of the earth was supposed to be much the same as it is now--sediment was quietly accumulated at the bottom of the sea, and animals and plants flourished uninterruptedly in successive generations. each period of tranquillity, however, was believed to have been, sooner or later, put an end to by a sudden and awful convulsion of nature, ushering in a brief and paroxysmal period, in which the great physical forces were unchained and permitted to spring into a portentous activity. the forces of subterranean fire, with their concomitant phenomena of earthquake and volcano, were chiefly relied upon as the efficient causes of these periods of spasm and revolution. enormous elevations of portions of the earth's crust were thus believed to be produced, accompanied by corresponding and equally gigantic depressions of other portions. in this way new ranges of mountains were produced, and previously existing ranges levelled with the ground, seas were converted into dry land, and continents buried beneath the ocean--catastrophe following catastrophe, till the earth was rendered uninhabitable, and its races of animals and plants were extinguished, never to reappear in the same form. finally, it was believed that this feverish activity ultimately died out, and that the ancient peace once more came to reign upon the earth. as the abnormal throes and convulsions began to be relieved, the dry land and sea once more resumed their relations of stability, the conditions of life were once more established, and new races of animals and plants sprang into existence, to last until the supervention of another fever-fit. such is the past history of the globe, as sketched for us, in alternating scenes of fruitful peace and revolutionary destruction, by the earlier geologists. as before said, we cannot wonder at the former general acceptance of catastrophistic doctrines. even in the light of our present widely-increased knowledge, the series of geological monuments remains a broken and imperfect one; nor can we ever hope to fill up completely the numerous gaps with which the geological record is defaced. catastrophism was the natural method of accounting for these gaps, and, as we shall see, it possesses a basis of truth. at present, however, catastrophism may be said to be nearly extinct, and its place is taken by the modern doctrine of "continuity" or "uniformity"--a doctrine with which the name of lyell must ever remain imperishably associated. the fundamental thesis of the doctrine of uniformity is, that, in spite of all apparent violations of continuity, the sequence of geological phenomena has in reality been a regular and uninterrupted one; and that the vast changes which can be shown to have passed over the earth in former periods have been the result of the slow and ceaseless working of the ordinary physical forces--acting with no greater intensity than they do now, but acting through enormously prolonged periods. the essential element in the theory of continuity is to be found in the allotment of indefinite time for the accomplishment of the known series of geological changes. it is obviously the case, namely, that there are two possible explanations of all phenomena which lie so far concealed in "the dark backward and abysm of time," that we can have no direct knowledge of the manner in which they were produced. we may, on the one hand, suppose them to be the result of some very powerful cause, acting through a short period of time. that is catastrophism. or, we may suppose them to be caused by a much weaker force operating through a proportionately prolonged period. this is the view of the uniformitarians. it is a question of _energy_ versus _time_ and it is _time_ which is the true element of the case. an earthquake may remove a mountain in the course of a few seconds; but the dropping of the gentle rain will do the same, if we extend its operations over a millennium. and this is true of all agencies which are now at work, or ever have been at work, upon our planet. the catastrophists, believing that the globe is but, as it were, the birth of yesterday, were driven of necessity to the conclusion that its history had been checkered by the intermittent action of paroxysmal and almost inconceivably potent forces. the uniformitarians, on the other hand, maintaining the "adequacy of existing causes," and denying that the known physical forces ever acted in past time with greater intensity than they do at present, are, equally of necessity, driven to the conclusion that the world is truly in its "hoary eld," and that its present state is really the result of the tranquil and regulated action of known forces through unnumbered and innumerable centuries. the most important point for us, in the present connection, is the bearing of these opposing doctrines upon the question, as to the origin of the existing terrestrial order. on any doctrine of uniformity that order has been evolved slowly, and, according to law, from a pre-existing order. any doctrine of catastrophism, on the other hand, carries with it, by implication, the belief that the present order of things was brought about suddenly and irrespective of any pre-existent order; and it is important to hold clear ideas as to which of these beliefs is the true one. in the first place, we may postulate that the world had a beginning, and, equally, that the existing terrestrial order had a beginning. however far back we may go, geology does not, and cannot, reach the actual beginning of the world; and we are, therefore, left simply to our own speculations on this point. with regard, however, to the existing terrestrial order, a great deal can be discovered, and to do so is one of the principal tasks of geological science. the first steps in the production of that order lie buried in the profound and unsearchable depths of a past so prolonged as to present itself to our finite minds as almost in eternity. the last steps are in the prophetic future, and can be but dimly guessed at. between the remote past and the distant future, we have, however, a long period which is fairly open to inspection; and in saying a "long" period, it is to be borne in mind that this term is used in its _geological_ sense. within this period, enormously long as it is when measured by human standards, we can trace with reasonable certainty the progressive march of events, and can determine the laws of geological action, by which the present order of things has been brought about. the natural belief on this subject doubtless is, that the world, such as we now see it, possessed its present form and configuration from the beginning. nothing can be more natural than the belief that the present continents and oceans have always been where they are now; that we have always had the same mountains and plains; that our rivers have always had their present courses, and our lakes their present positions; that our climate has always been the same; and that our animals and plants have always been identical with those now familiar to us. nothing could be more natural than such a belief, and nothing could be further removed from the actual truth. on the contrary, a very slight acquaintance with geology shows us, in the words of sir john herschel, that "the actual configuration of our continents and islands, the coast-lines of our maps, the direction and elevation of our mountain-chains, the courses of our rivers, and the soundings of our oceans, are not things primordially arranged in the construction of our globe, but results of successive and complex actions on a former state of things; _that_, again, of similar actions on another still more remote; and so on, till the original and really permanent state is pushed altogether out of sight and beyond the reach even of imagination; while on the other hand, a similar, and, as far as we can see, interminable vista is opened out for the future, by which the habitability of our planet is secured amid the total abolition on it of the present theatres of terrestrial life." geology, then, teaches us that the physical features which now distinguish the earth's surface have been produced as the ultimate result of an almost endless succession of precedent changes. palæontology teaches us, though not yet in such assured accents, the same lesson. our present animals and plants have not been produced, in their innumerable forms, each as we now know it, as the sudden, collective, and simultaneous birth of a renovated world. on the contrary, we have the clearest evidence that some of our existing animals and plants made their appearance upon the earth at a much earlier period than others. in the confederation of animated nature some races can boast of an immemorial antiquity, whilst others are comparative _parvenus_. we have also the clearest evidence that the animals and plants which now inhabit the globe have been preceded, over and over again, by other different assemblages of animals and plants, which have flourished in successive periods of the earth's history, have reached their culmination, and then have given way to a fresh series of living beings. we have, finally, the clearest evidence that these successive groups of animals and plants (faunæ and floræ) are to a greater or less extent directly connected with one another. each group is, to a greater or less extent, the lineal descendant of the group which immediately preceded it in point of time, and is more or less fully concerned with giving origin to the group which immediately follows it. that this law of "evolution" has prevailed to a great extent is quite certain; but it does not meet all the exigencies of the case, and it is probable that its action has been supplemented by some still unknown law of a different character. we shall have to consider the question of geological "continuity" again. in the meanwhile, it is sufficient to state that this doctrine is now almost universally accepted as the basis of all inquiries, both in the domain of geology and that of palæontology. the advocates of continuity possess one immense advantage over those who believe in violent and revolutionary convulsions, that they call into play only agencies of which we have actual knowledge. we _know_ that certain forces are now at work, producing certain modifications in the present condition of the globe; and we _know_ that these forces are capable of producing the vastest of the changes which geology brings under our consideration, provided we assign a time proportionately vast for their operation. on the other hand, the advocates of catastrophism, to make good their views, are compelled to invoke forces and actions, both destructive and restorative, of which we have, and can have, no direct knowledge. they endow the whirlwind and the earthquake, the central fire and the rain from heaven, with powers as mighty as ever imagined in fable, and they build up the fragments of a repeatedly shattered world by the intervention of an intermittently active creative power. it should not be forgotten, however, that from one point of view there is a truth in catastrophism which is sometimes overlooked by the advocates of continuity and uniformity. catastrophism has, as its essential feature, the proposition that the known and existing forces of the earth at one time acted with much greater intensity and violence than they do at present, and they carry down the period of this excessive action to the commencement of the present terrestrial order. the uniformitarians, in effect, deny this proposition, at any rate as regards any period of the earth's history of which we have actual cognisance. if, however, the "nebular hypothesis" of the origin of the universe be well founded--as is generally admitted--then, beyond question, the earth is a gradually cooling body, which has at one time been very much hotter than it is at present. there has been a time, therefore, in which the igneous forces of the earth, to which we owe the phenomena of earthquakes and volcanoes, must have been far more intensely active than we can conceive of from anything that we can see at the present day. by the same hypothesis, the sun is a cooling body, and must at one time have possessed a much higher temperature than it has at present. but increased heat of the sun would seriously alter the existing conditions affecting the evaporation and precipitation of moisture on our earth; and hence the aqueous forces may also have acted at one time more powerfully than they do now. the fundamental principle of catastrophism is, therefore, not wholly vicious; and we have reason to think that there must have been periods--very remote, it is true, and perhaps unrecorded in the history of the earth--in which the known physical forces may have acted with an intensity much greater than direct observation would lead us to imagine. and this may be believed, altogether irrespective of those great secular changes by which hot or cold epochs are produced, and which can hardly be called "catastrophistic," as they are produced gradually, and are liable to recur at definite intervals. admitting, then, that there _is_ a truth at the bottom of the once current doctrines of catastrophism, still it remains certain that the history of the earth has been one of _law_ in all past time, as it is now. nor need we shrink back affrighted at the vastness of the conception--the vaster for its very vagueness--that we are thus compelled to form as to the duration of _geological time_. as we grope our way backward through the dark labyrinth of the ages, epoch succeeds to epoch, and period to period, each looming more gigantic in its outlines and more shadowy in its features, as it rises, dimly revealed, from the mist and vapour of an older and ever-older past. it is useless to add century to century or millennium to millennium. when we pass a certain boundary-line, which, after all, is reached very soon, figures cease to convey to our finite faculties any real notion of the periods with which we have to deal. the astronomer can employ material illustrations to give form and substance to our conceptions of celestial space; but such a resource is unavailable to the geologist. the few thousand years of which we have historical evidence sink into absolute insignificance beside the unnumbered æons which unroll themselves one by one as we penetrate the dim recesses of the past, and decipher with feeble vision the ponderous volumes in which the record of the earth is written. vainly does the strained intellect seek to overtake an ever-receding commencement, and toil to gain some adequate grasp of an apparently endless succession. a beginning there must have been, though we can never hope to fix its point. even speculation droops her wings in the attenuated atmosphere of a past so remote, and the light of imagination is quenched in the darkness of a history so ancient. in _time_, as in _space_, the confines of the universe must ever remain concealed from us, and of the end we know no more than of the beginning. inconceivable as is to us the lapse of "geological time," it is no more than "a mere moment of the past, a mere infinitesimal portion of eternity." well may "the human heart, that weeps and trembles," say, with richter's pilgrim through celestial space, "i will go no farther; for the spirit of man acheth with this infinity. insufferable is the glory of god. let me lie down in the grave, and hide me from the persecution of the infinite, for end, i see, there is none." chapter i. the scope and materials of palÆontology. the study of the rock-masses which constitute the crust of the earth, if carried out in the methodical and scientific manner of the geologist, at once brings us, as has been before remarked, in contact with the remains or traces of living beings which formerly dwelt upon the globe. such remains are found, in greater or less abundance, in the great majority of rocks; and they are not only of great interest in themselves, but they have proved of the greatest importance as throwing light upon various difficult problems in geology, in natural history, in botany, and in philosophy. their study constitutes the science of palæontology; and though it is possible to proceed to a certain length in geology and zoology without much palæontological knowledge, it is hardly possible to attain to a satisfactory general acquaintance with either of these subjects without having mastered the leading facts of the first. similarly, it is not possible to study palæontology without some acquaintance with both geology and natural history. palæontology, then, is the science which treats of the living beings, whether animal or vegetable, which have inhabited the earth during past periods of its history. its object is to elucidate, as far as may be, the structure, mode of existence, and habits of all such ancient forms of life; to determine their position in the scale of organised beings; to lay down the geographical limits within which they flourished; and to fix the period of their advent and disappearance. it is the ancient life-history of the earth; and were its record complete, it would furnish us with a detailed knowledge of the form and relations of all the animals and plants which have at any period flourished upon the land-surfaces of the globe or inhabited its waters; it would enable us to determine precisely their succession in time; and it would place in our hands an unfailing key to the problems of evolution. unfortunately, from causes which will be subsequently discussed, the palæontological record is extremely imperfect, and our knowledge is interrupted by gaps, which not only bear a large proportion to our solid information, but which in many cases are of such a nature that we can never hope to fill them up. fossils.--the remains of animals or vegetables which we now find entombed in the solid rock, and which constitute the working material of the palæontologist, are termed "fossils,"[ ] or "petrifactions." in most cases, as can be readily understood, fossils are the actual hard parts of animals and plants which were in existence when the rock in which they are now found was being deposited. most fossils, therefore, are of the nature of the shells of shell-fish, the skeletons of coral-zoophytes, the bones of vertebrate animals, or the wood, bark, or leaves of plants. all such bodies are more or less of a hard consistence to begin with, and are capable of resisting decay for a longer or shorter time--hence the frequency with which they occur in the fossil condition. strictly speaking, however, by the term "fossil" must be understood "any body, _or the traces of the existence of any body_, whether animal or vegetable, which has been buried in the earth by natural causes" (lyell). we shall find, in fact, that many of the objects which we have to study as "fossils" have never themselves actually formed parts of any animal or vegetable, though they are due to the former existence of such organisms, and indicate what was the nature of these. thus the footprints left by birds, or reptiles, or quadrupeds upon sand or mud, are just as much proofs of the former existence of these animals as would be bones, feathers, or scales, though in themselves they are inorganic. under the head of fossils, therefore, come the footprints of air-breathing vertebrate animals; the tracks, trails, and burrows of sea-worms, crustaceans, or molluscs; the impressions left on the sand by stranded jelly-fishes; the burrows in stone or wood of certain shell-fish; the "moulds" or "casts" of shells, corals, and other organic remains; and various other bodies of a more or less similar nature. [footnote : lat. _fossus_, dug up.] fossilisation.-- the term "fossilisation" is applied to all those processes through which the remains of organised beings may pass in being converted into fossils. these processes are numerous and varied; but there are three principal modes of fossilisation which alone need be considered here. in the first instance, the fossil is to all intents and purposes an actual portion of the original organised being--such as a bone, a shell, or a piece of wood. in some rare instances, as in the case of the body of the mammoth discovered embedded in ice at the mouth of the lena in siberia, the fossil may be preserved almost precisely in its original condition, and even with its soft parts uninjured. more commonly, certain changes have taken place in the fossil, the principal being the more or less total removal of the organic matter originally present. thus bones become light and porous by the removal of their gelatine, so as to cleave to the tongue on being applied to that organ; whilst shells become fragile, and lose their primitive colours. in other cases, though practically the real body it represents, all the cavities of the fossil, down to its minutest recesses, may have become infiltrated with mineral matter. it need hardly be added, that it is in the more modern rocks that we find the fossils, as a rule, least changed from their former condition; but the original structure is often more or less completely retained in some of the fossils from even the most ancient formations. in the second place, we very frequently meet with fossils in the state of "casts" or moulds of the original organic body. what occurs in this case will be readily understood if we imagine any common bivalve shell, as an oyster, or mussel, or cockle, embedded in clay or mud. if the clay were sufficiently soft and fluid, the first thing would be that it would gain access to the interior of the shell, and would completely fill up the space between the valves. the pressure, also, of the surrounding matter would insure that the clay would everywhere adhere closely to the exterior of the shell. if now we suppose the clay to be in any way hardened so as to be converted into stone, and if we were to break up the stone, we should obviously have the following state of parts. the clay which filled the shell would form an accurate cast of the _interior_ of the shell, and the clay outside would give us an exact impression or cast of the _exterior_ of the shell (fig. ). we should have, then, two casts, an interior and an exterior, and the two would be very different to one another, since the inside of a shell is very unlike the outside. in the case, in fact, of many univalve shells, the interior cast or "mould" is so unlike the exterior cast, or unlike the shell itself, that it may be difficult to determine the true origin of the former. [illustration: fig. .--_trigonia longa_, showing casts to of the exterior and interior of the shell.--cretaceous (neocomian).] it only remains to add that there is sometimes a further complication. if the rock be very porous and permeable by water, it may happen that the original shell is entirely dissolved away, leaving the interior cast loose, like the kernel of a nut, within the case formed by the exterior cast. or it may happen that subsequent to the attainment of this state of things, the space thus left vacant between the interior and exterior cast--the space, that is, formerly occupied by the shell itself--may be filled up by some foreign mineral deposited there by the infiltration of water. in this last case the splitting open of the rock would reveal an interior cast, an exterior cast, and finally a body which would have the exact form of the original shell, but which would be really a much later formation, and which would not exhibit under the microscope the minute structure of shell. [illustration: fig. .--microscopic section of the silicified wood of a conifer (_sequoia_) cut in the long direction of the fibres. post-tertiary? colorado. (original.)] [illustration: footnote: fig. .--microscopic section of the wood of the common larch (_abies larix_), cut in the long direction of the fibres. in both the fresh and the fossil wood (fig. ) are seen the discs characteristic of coniferous wood. (original.)] in the third class of cases we have fossils which present with the greatest accuracy the external form, and even sometimes the internal minute structure, of the original organic body, but which, nevertheless, are not themselves truly organic, but have been formed by a "replacement" of the particles of the primitive organism by some mineral substance. the most elegant example of this is afforded by fossil wood which has been "silicified" or converted into flint (_silex_). in such cases we have fossil wood which presents the rings of growth and fibrous structure of recent wood, and which under the microscope exhibits the minutest vessels which characterise ligneous tissue, together with the even more minute markings of the vessels (fig. ). the whole, however, instead of being composed of the original carbonaceous matter of the wood, is now converted into flint. the only explanation that can be given of this by no means rare phenomenon, is that the wood must have undergone a slow process of decay in water charged with silica or flint in solution. as each successive particle of wood was removed by decay, its place was taken by a particle of flint deposited from the surrounding water, till ultimately the entire wood was silicified. the process, therefore, resembles what would take place if we were to pull down a house built of brick by successive bricks, replacing each brick as removed by a piece of stone of precisely the same size and form. the result of this would be that the house would retain its primitive size, shape, and outline, but it would finally have been converted from a house of brick into a house of stone. many other fossils besides wood--such as shells, corals, sponges, &c.--are often found silicified; and this may be regarded as the commonest form of fossilisation by replacement. in other cases, however, though the principle of the process is the same, the replacing substance may be iron pyrites, oxide of iron, sulphur, malachite, magnesite, talc, &c.; but it is rarely that the replacement with these minerals is so perfect as to preserve the more delicate details of internal structure. chapter ii. the fossiliferous rocks. fossils are found in rocks, though not universally or promiscuously; and it is therefore necessary that the palæontologist should possess some acquaintance with, at any rate, those rocks which yield organic remains, and which are therefore said to be "_fossiliferous_." in geological language, all the materials which enter into the composition of the solid crust of the earth, be their texture what it may--from the most impalpable mud to the hardest granite--are termed "rocks;" and for our present purpose we may divide these into two great groups. in the first division are the _igneous rocks_--such as the lavas and ashes of volcanoes--which are formed within the body of the earth itself, and which owe their structure and origin to the action of heat. the igneous rocks are formed primarily below the surface of the earth, which they only reach as the result of volcanic action; they are generally destitute of distinct "stratification," or arrangement in successive layers; and they do not contain fossils, except in the comparatively rare instances where volcanic ashes have enveloped animals or plants which were living in the sea or on the land in the immediate vicinity of the volcanic focus. the second great division of rocks is that of the _fossiliferous, aqueous_, or _sedimentary_ rocks. these are formed at the surface of the earth, and, as implied by one of their names, are invariably deposited in water. they are produced by vital or chemical action, or are formed from the "sediment" produced by the disintegration and reconstruction of previously existing rocks, without previous solution; they mostly contain fossils; and they are arranged in distinct layers or "strata." the so-called "aerial" rocks which, like beds of blown sand, have been formed by the action of the atmosphere, may also contain fossils; but they are not of such importance as to require special notice here. for all practical purposes, we may consider that the aqueous rocks are the natural cemetery of the animals and plants of bygone ages; and it is therefore essential that the palæontological student should be acquainted with some of the principal facts as to their physical characters, their minute structure and mode of origin, their chief varieties, and their historical succession. the sedimentary or fossiliferous rocks form the greater portion of that part of the earth's crust which is open to our examination, and are distinguished by the fact that they are regularly "stratified" or arranged in distinct and definite layers or "strata." these layers may consist of a single material, as in a block of sandstone, or they may consist of different materials. when examined on a large scale, they are always found to consist of alternations of layers of different mineral composition. we may examine any given area, and find in it nothing but one kind of rock--sandstone, perhaps, or limestone. in all cases, however, if we extend our examination sufficiently far, we shall ultimately come upon different rocks; and, as a general rule, the thickness of any particular set of beds is comparatively small, so that different kinds of rock alternate with one another in comparatively small spaces. [illustration: fig. .--sketch of carboniferous strata at kinghorn, in fife, showing stratified beds (limestone and shales) surmounted by an unstratified mass of trap. (original.)] as regards the origin of the sedimentary rocks, they are for the most part "derivative" rocks, being derived from the wear and tear of pre-existent rocks. sometimes, however, they owe their origin to chemical or vital action, when they would more properly be spoken of simply as aqueous rocks. as to their mode of deposition, we are enabled to infer that the materials which compose them have formerly been spread out by the action of water, from what we see going on every day at the mouths of our great rivers, and on a smaller scale wherever there is running water. every stream, where it runs into a lake or into the sea, carries with it a burden of mud, sand, and rounded pebbles, derived from the waste of the rocks which form its bed and banks. when these materials cease to be impelled by the force of the moving water, they sink to the bottom, the heaviest pebbles, of course, sinking first, the smaller pebbles and sand next, and the finest mud last. ultimately, therefore, as might have been inferred upon theoretical grounds, and as is proved by practical experience, every lake becomes a receptacle for a series of stratified rocks produced by the streams flowing into it. these deposits may vary in different parts of the lake, according as one stream brought down one kind of material and another stream contributed another material; but in all cases the materials will bear ample evidence that they were produced, sorted, and deposited by running water. the finer beds of clay or sand will all be arranged in thicker or thinner layers or laminæ; and if there are any beds of pebbles these will all be rounded or smooth, just like the water-worn pebbles of any brook-course. in all probability, also, we should find in some of the beds the remains of fresh-water shells or plants or other organisms which inhabited the lake at the time these beds were being deposited. in the same way large rivers--such as the ganges or mississippi--deposit all the materials which they bring down at their mouths, forming in this way their "deltas." whenever such a delta is cut through, either by man or by some channel of the river altering its course, we find that it is composed of a succession of horizontal layers or strata of sand or mud, varying in mineral composition, in structure, or in grain, according to the nature of the materials brought down by the river at different periods. such deltas, also, will contain the remains of animals which inhabit the river, with fragments of the plants which grew on its banks, or bones of the animals which lived in its basin. nor is this action confined, of course, to large rivers only, though naturally most conspicuous in the greatest bodies of water. on the contrary, all streams, of whatever size, are engaged in the work of wearing down the dry land, and of transporting the materials thus derived from higher to lower levels, never resting in this work till they reach the sea. [illustration: fig. .--diagram to illustrate the formation of sedimentary deposits at the point where a river debouches into the sea.] lastly, the sea itself--irrespective of the materials delivered into it by rivers--is constantly preparing fresh stratified deposits by its own action. upon every coast-line the sea is constantly eating back into the land and reducing its component rocks to form the shingle and sand which we see upon every shore. the materials thus produced are not, however, lost, but are ultimately deposited elsewhere in the form of new stratified accumulations, in which are buried the remains of animals inhabiting the sea at the time. whenever, then, we find anywhere in the interior of the land any series of beds having these characters--composed, that is, of distinct layers, the particles of which, both large and small, show distinct traces of the wearing action of water--whenever and wherever we find such rocks, we are justified in assuming that they have been deposited by water in the manner above mentioned. either they were laid down in some former lake by the combined action of the streams which flowed into it; or they were deposited at the mouth of some ancient river, forming its delta; or they were laid down at the bottom of the ocean. in the first two cases, any fossils which the beds might contain would be the remains of fresh-water or terrestrial organisms. in the last case, the majority, at any rate, of the fossils would be the remains of marine animals. the term "formation" is employed by geologists to express "any group of rocks which have some character in common, whether of origin, age, or composition" (lyell); so that we may speak of stratified and unstratified formations, aqueous or igneous formations, fresh-water or marine formations, and so on. chief divisions of the aqueous rocks. the aqueous rocks may be divided into two great sections, the mechanically-formed and the chemically-formed, including under the last head all rocks which owe their origin to vital action, as well as those produced by ordinary chemical agencies. [illustration: fig. .--microscopic section of a calcareous breccia in the lower silurian (coniston limestone) of shap wells, westmoreland. the fragments are all of small size, and consist of angular pieces of transparent quartz, volcanic ashes, and limestone embedded in a matrix of crystalline limestone. (original.)] a. mechanically-formed rocks.--these are all those aqueous rocks of which we can obtain proofs that their particles have been mechanically transported to their present situation. thus, if we examine a piece of _conglomerate_ or puddingstone, we find it to be composed of a number of rounded pebbles embedded in an enveloping matrix or paste, which is usually of a sandy nature, but may be composed of carbonate of lime (when the rock is said to be a "calcareous conglomerate"). the pebbles in all conglomerates are worn and rounded by the action of water in motion, and thus show that they have been subjected to much mechanical attrition, whilst they have been mechanically transported for a greater or less distance from the rock of which they originally formed part. the analogue of the old conglomerates at the present day is to be found in the great beds of shingle and gravel which are formed by the action of the sea on every coast-line, and which are composed of water-worn and well-rounded pebbles of different sizes. a _breccia_ is a mechanically-formed rock, very similar to a conglomerate, and consisting of larger or smaller fragments of rock embedded in a common matrix. the fragments, however, are in this case all more or less angular, and are not worn or rounded. the fragments in breccias may be of large size, or they may be comparatively small (fig. ); and the matrix may be composed of sand (arenaceous) or of carbonate of lime (calcareous). in the case of an ordinary sandstone, again, we have a rock which may be regarded as simply a very fine-grained conglomerate or breccia, being composed of small grains of sand (silica), sometimes rounded, sometimes more or less angular, cemented together by some such substance as oxide of iron, silicate of iron, or carbonate of lime. a sandstone, therefore, like a conglomerate is a mechanically-formed rock, its component grams being equally the result of mechanical attrition and having equally been transported from a distance; and the same is true of the ordinary sand of the sea-shore, which is nothing more than an unconsolidated sandstone. other so-called sands and sandstones, though equally mechanical in their origin, are truly calcareous in their nature, and are more or less entirely composed of carbonate of lime. of this kind are the shell-sand so common on our coasts, and the coral-sand which is so largely formed in the neighbourhood of coral-reefs. in these cases the rock is composed of fragments of the skeletons of shellfish, and numerous other marine animals, together, in many instances, with the remains of certain sea-weeds (_corallines_, _nullipores_, &c,) which are endowed with the power of secreting carbonate of lime from the sea-water. lastly, in certain rocks still finer in their texture than sandstones, such as the various mud-rocks and shales, we can still recognise a mechanical source and origin. if slices of any of these rocks sufficiently thin to be transparent are examined under the microscope, it will be found that they are composed of minute grains of different sizes, which are all more or less worn and rounded, and which clearly show, therefore, that they have been subjected to mechanical attrition. all the above-mentioned rocks, then, are _mechanically-formed_ rocks; and they are often spoken of as "derivative rocks," in consequence of the fact that their particles can be shown to have been mechanically _derived_ from other pre-existent rocks. it follows from this that every bed of any mechanically-formed rock is the measure and equivalent of a corresponding amount of destruction of some older rock. it is not necessary to enter here into a minute account of the subdivisions of these rocks, but it may be mentioned that they may be divided into two principal groups, according to their chemical composition. in the one group we have the so-called _arenaceous_ (lat. _arena_, sand) or _siliceous_ rocks, which are essentially composed of larger or smaller grains of flint or silica. in this group are comprised ordinary sand, the varieties of sandstone and grit, and most conglomerates and breccias. we shall, however, afterwards see that some siliceous rocks are of organic origin. in the second group are the so-called _argillaceous_ (lat. _argilla_, clay) rocks, which contain a larger or smaller amount of clay or hydrated silicate of alumina in their composition. under this head come clays, shales, marls, marl-slate, clay-slates, and most flags and flagstones. b. chemically-formed rocks.--in this section are comprised all those aqueous or sedimentary rocks which have been formed by chemical agencies. as many of these chemical agencies, however, are exerted through the medium of living beings, whether animals or plants, we get into this section a number of what may be called "_organically-formed rocks_." these are of the greatest possible importance to the palæontologist, as being to a greater or less extent composed of the actual remains of animals or vegetables, and it will therefore be necessary to consider their character and structure in some detail. by far the most important of the chemically-formed rocks are the so-called _calcareous rocks_ (lat. _calx_, lime), comprising all those which contain a large proportion of carbonate of lime, or are wholly composed of this substance. carbonate of lime is soluble in water holding a certain amount of carbonic acid gas in solution; and it is, therefore, found in larger or smaller quantity dissolved in all natural waters, both fresh and salt, since these waters are always to some extent charged with the above-mentioned solvent gas. a great number of aquatic animals, however, together with some aquatic plants, are endowed with the power of separating the lime thus held in solution in the water, and of reducing it again to its solid condition. in this way shell-fish, crustaceans, sea-urchins, corals, and an immense number of other animals, are enabled to construct their skeletons; whilst some plants form hard structures within their tissues in a precisely similar manner. we do meet with some calcareous deposits, such as the "stalactites" and "stalagmites" of caves, the "calcareous tufa" and "travertine" of some hot springs, and the spongy calcareous deposits of so-called "petrifying springs," which are purely chemical in their origin, and owe nothing to the operation of living beings. such deposits are formed simply by the precipitation of carbonate of lime from water, in consequence of the evaporation from the water of the carbonic acid gas which formerly held the lime in solution; but, though sometimes forming masses of considerable thickness and of geological importance, they do not concern us here. almost all the limestones which occur in the series of the stratified rocks are, primarily at any rate, of _organic_ origin, and have been, directly or indirectly, produced by the action of certain lime-making animals or plants, or both combined. the presumption as to all the calcareous rocks, which cannot be clearly shown to have been otherwise produced, is that they are thus organically formed; and in many cases this presumption can be readily reduced to a certainty. there are many varieties of the calcareous rocks, but the following are those which are of the greatest importance:-- _chalk_ is a calcareous rock of a generally soft and pulverulent texture, and with an earthy fracture. it varies in its purity, being sometimes almost wholly composed of carbonate of lime, and at other times more or less intermixed with foreign matter. though usually soft and readily reducible to powder, chalk is occasionally, as in the north of ireland, tolerably hard and compact; but it never assumes the crystalline aspect and stony density of limestone, except it be in immediate contact with some mass of igneous rock. by means of the microscope, the true nature and mode of formation of chalk can be determined with the greatest ease. in the case of the harder varieties, the examination can be conducted by means of slices ground down to a thinness sufficient to render them transparent; but in the softer kinds the rock must be disintegrated under water, and the _débris_ examined microscopically. when investigated by either of these methods, chalk is found to be a genuine organic rock, being composed of the shells or hard parts of innumerable marine animals of different kinds, some entire, some fragmentary, cemented together by a matrix of very finely granular carbonate of lime. foremost amongst the animal remains which so largely compose chalk are the shells of the minute creatures which will be subsequently spoken of under the name of _foraminifera_ (fig. ), and which, in spite of their microscopic dimensions, play a more important part in the process of lime-making than perhaps any other of the larger inhabitants of the ocean. [illustration: fig. .--section of gravesend chalk, examined by transmitted light and highly magnified. besides the entire shells of _globigerina_, _rotalia_, and _textularia_, numerous detached chambers of _globigerina_ are seen. (original.)] as chalk is found in beds of hundreds of feet in thickness, and of great purity, there was long felt much difficulty in satisfactorily accounting for its mode of formation and origin. by the researches of carpenter, wyville thomson, huxley, wallich, and others, it has, however, been shown that there is now forming, in the profound depths of our great oceans, a deposit which is in all essential respects identical with chalk, and which is generally known as the "atlantic ooze," from its having been first discovered in that sea. this ooze is found at great depths ( to over , feet) in both the atlantic and pacific, covering enormously large areas of the sea-bottom, and it presents itself as a whitish-brown, sticky, impalpable mud, very like greyish chalk when dried. chemical examination shows that the ooze is composed almost wholly of carbonate of lime, and microscopical examination proves it to be of organic origin, and to be made up of the remains of living beings. the principal forms of these belong to the _foraminifera_, and the commonest of these are the irregularly-chambered shells of _globigerina_, absolutely indistinguishable from the _globigerinoe_ which are so largely present in the chalk (fig. ). along with these occur fragments of the skeletons of other larger creatures, and a certain proportion of the flinty cases of minute animal and vegetable organisms (_polycystina_ and _diatoms_). though many of the minute animals, the hard parts of which form the ooze, undoubtedly live at or near the surface of the sea, others, probably, really live near the bottom; and the ooze itself forms a congenial home for numerous sponges, sea-lilies, and other marine animals which flourish at great depths in the sea. there is thus established an intimate and most interesting parallelism between the chalk and the ooze of modern oceans. both are formed essentially in the same way, and the latter only requires consolidation to become actually converted into chalk. both are fundamentally organic deposits, apparently requiring a great depth of water for their accumulation, and mainly composed of the remains of _foraminifera_, together with the entire or broken skeletons of other marine animals of greater dimensions. it is to be remembered, however, that the ooze, though strictly representative of the chalk, cannot be said in any proper sense to be actually _identical_ with the formation so called by geologists. a great lapse of time separates the two, and though composed of the remains of representative classes or groups of animals, it is only in the case of the lowly-organised _globigerinoe_, and of some other organisms of little higher grade, that we find absolutely the same kinds or species of animals in both. [illustration: fig. .--organisms in the atlantic ooze, chiefly _foraminifera_ (_globigerina_ and _textularia_), with _polycystina_ and sponge-spicules; highly magnified. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--slab of crinoidal marble, from the carboniferous limestone of dent, in yorkshire, of the natural size. the polished surface intersects the columns of the crinoids at different angles, and thus gives rise to varying appearances. (original.)] _limestone_, like chalk, is composed of carbonate of lime, sometimes almost pure, but more commonly with a greater or less intermixture of some foreign material, such as alumina or silica. the varieties of limestone are almost innumerable, but the great majority can be clearly proved to agree with chalk in being essentially of organic origin, and in being more or less largely composed of the remains of living beings. in many instances the organic remains which compose limestone are so large as to be readily visible to the naked eye, and the rock is at once seen to be nothing more than an agglomeration of the skeletons, generally fragmentary, of certain marine animals, cemented together by a matrix of carbonate of lime. this is the case, for example, with the so-called "crinoidal limestones" and "encrinital marbles" with which the geologist is so familiar, especially as occurring in great beds amongst the older formations of the earth's crust. these are seen, on weathered or broken surfaces, or still better in polished slabs (fig. ), to be composed more or less exclusively of the broken stems and detached plates of sea-lilies (_crinoids_). similarly, other limestones are composed almost entirely of the skeletons of corals; and such old coralline limestones can readily be paralleled by formations which we can find in actual course of production at the present day. we only need to transport ourselves to the islands of the pacific, to the west indies, or to the indian ocean, to find great masses of lime formed similarly by living corals, and well known to everyone under the name of "coral-reefs." such reefs are often of vast extent, both superficially and in vertical thickness, and they fully equal in this respect any of the coralline limestones of bygone ages. again, we find other limestones--such as the celebrated "nummulitic limestone" (fig. ), which sometimes attains a thickness of some thousands of feet--which are almost entirely made up of the shells of _foraminifera_. in the case of the "nummulitic limestone," just mentioned, these shells are of large size, varying from the size of a split pea up to that of a florin. there are, however, as we shall see, many other limestones, which are likewise largely made up of _foraminifera_, but in which the shells are very much more minute, and would hardly be seen at all without the microscope. [illustration: fig. .--piece of nummulitic limestone from the great pyramid. of the natural size. (original.)] we may, in fact, consider that the great agents in the production of limestones in past ages have been animals belonging to the _crinoids_, the _corals_, and the _foraminifera_. at the present day, the crinoids have been nearly extinguished, and the few known survivors seem to have retired to great depths in the ocean; but the two latter still actively carry on the work of lime-making, the former being very largely helped in their operations by certain lime-producing marine plants (_nullipores_ and _corallines_). we have to remember, however, that though the limestones, both ancient and modern, that we have just spoken of, are truly organic, they are not necessarily formed out of the remains of animals which actually lived on the precise spot where we now find the limestone itself. we may find a crinoidal limestone, which we can show to have been actually formed by the successive growth of generations of sea-lilies _in place_; but we shall find many others in which the rock is made up of innumerable fragments of the skeletons of these creatures, which have been clearly worn and rubbed by the sea-waves, and which have been mechanically transported to their present site. in the same way, a limestone may be shown to have been an actual coral-reef, by the fact that we find in it great masses of coral, growing in their natural position, and exhibiting plain proofs that they were simply quietly buried by the calcareous sediment as they grew; but other limestones may contain only numerous rolled and water-worn fragments of corals. this is precisely paralleled by what we can observe in our existing coral-reefs. parts of the modern coral-islands and coral-reefs are really made up of corals, dead or alive, which actually grew on the spot where we now find them; but other parts are composed of a limestone-rock ("coral-rock"), or of a loose sand ("coral-sand"), which is organic in the sense that it is composed of lime formed by living beings, but which, in truth, is composed of fragments of the skeletons of these living beings, mechanically transported and heaped together by the sea. to take another example nearer home, we may find great accumulations of calcareous matter formed _in place_, by the growth of shell-fish, such as oysters or mussels; but we can also find equally great accumulations on many of our shores in the form of "shell-sand," which is equally composed of the shells of molluscs, but which is formed by the trituration of these shells by the mechanical power of the sea-waves. we thus see that though all these limestones are primarily organic, they not uncommonly become "mechanically-formed" rocks in a secondary sense, the materials of which they are composed being formed by living beings, but having been mechanically transported to the place where we now find them. [illustration: fig. .--section of carboniferous limestone from spergen hill, indiana, u.s., showing numerous large-sized _foraminifera_ (_endothyra_) and a few oolitic grains; magnified. (original.)] [illustration: fig .--section of coniston limestone (lower silurian) from keisler, westmoreland; magnified. the matrix is very coarsely crystalline, and the included organic remains are chiefly stems of crinoids. (original.)] many limestones, as we have seen, are composed of large and conspicuous organic remains, such as strike the eye at once. many others, however, which at first sight appear compact, more or less crystalline, and nearly devoid of traces of life, are found, when properly examined, to be also composed of the remains of various organisms. all the commoner limestones, in fact, from the lower silurian period onwards, can be easily proved to be thus _organic_ rocks, if we investigate weathered or polished surfaces with a lens, or, still better, if we cut thin slices of the rock and grind these down till they are transparent. when thus examined, the rock is usually found to be composed of innumerable entire or fragmentary fossils, cemented together by a granular or crystalline matrix of carbonate of lime (figs. and ). when the matrix is granular, the rock is precisely similar to chalk, except that it is harder and less earthy in texture, whilst the fossils are only occasionally referable to the _foraminifera_. in other cases, the matrix is more or less crystalline, and when this crystallisation has been carried to a great extent, the original organic nature of the rock may be greatly or completely obscured thereby. thus, in limestones which have been greatly altered or "metamorphosed" by the combined action of heat and pressure, all traces of organic remains become annihilated, and the rock becomes completely crystalline throughout. this, for example, is the case with the ordinary white "statuary marble," slices of which exhibit under the microscope nothing but an aggregate of beautifully transparent crystals of carbonate of lime, without the smallest traces of fossils. there are also other cases, where the limestone is not necessarily highly crystalline, and where no metamorphic action in the strict sense has taken place, in which, nevertheless, the microscope fails to reveal any evidence that the rock is organic. such cases are somewhat obscure, and doubtless depend on different causes in different instances; but they do not affect the important generalisation that limestones are fundamentally the product of the operation of living beings. this fact remains certain; and when we consider the vast superficial extent occupied by calcareous deposits, and the enormous collective thickness of these, the mind cannot fail to be impressed with the immensity of the period demanded for the formation of these by the agency of such humble and often microscopic creatures as corals, sea-lilies, foraminifers, and shell-fish. amongst the numerous varieties of limestone, a few are of such interest as to deserve a brief notice. _magnesian limestone_ or _dolomite_, differs from ordinary limestone in containing a certain proportion of carbonate of magnesia along with the carbonate of lime. the typical dolomites contain a large proportion of carbonate of magnesia, and are highly crystalline. the ordinary magnesian limestones (such as those of durham in the permian series, and the guelph limestones of north america in the silurian series) are generally of a yellowish, buff, or brown colour, with a crystalline or pearly aspect, effervescing with acid much less freely than ordinary limestone, exhibiting numerous cavities from which fossils have been dissolved out, and often assuming the most varied and singular forms in consequence of what is called "concretionary action." examination with the microscope shows that these limestones are composed of an aggregate of minute but perfectly distinct crystals, but that minute organisms of different kinds, or fragments of larger fossils, are often present as well. other magnesian limestones, again, exhibit no striking external peculiarities by which the presence of magnesia would be readily recognised, and though the base of the rock is crystalline, they are replete with the remains of organised beings. thus many of the magnesian limestones of the carboniferous series of the north of england are very like ordinary limestone to look at, though effervescing less freely with acids, and the microscope proves them to be charged with the remains of _foraminifera_ and other minute organisms. _marbles_ are of various kinds, all limestones which are sufficiently hard and compact to take a high polish going by this name. statuary marble, and most of the celebrated foreign marbles, are "metamorphic" rocks, of a highly crystalline nature, and having all traces of their primitive organic structure obliterated. many other marbles, however, differ from ordinary limestone simply in the matter of density. thus, many marbles (such as derbyshire marble) are simply "crinoidal limestones" (fig. ); whilst various other british marbles exhibit innumerable organic remains under the microscope. black marbles owe their colour to the presence of very minute particles of carbonaceous matter, in some cases at any rate; and they may either be metamorphic, or they may be charged with minute fossils such as _foraminifera_ (_e.g._, the black limestones of ireland, and the black marble of dent, in yorkshire). [illustration: fig. .--slice of oolitic limestone from the jurassic series (coral rag) of weymouth; magnified. (original.)] "_oolitic_" _limestones_, or "_oolites_," as they are often called, are of interest both to the palæontologist and geologist. the peculiar structure to which they owe their name is that the rock is more or less entirely composed of spheroidal or oval grains, which vary in size from the head of a small pin or less up to the size of a pea, and which may be in almost immediate contact with one another, or may be cemented together by a more or less abundant calcareous matrix. when the grains are pretty nearly spherical and are in tolerably close contact, the rock looks very like the roe of a fish, and the name of "oolite" or "egg-stone" is in allusion to this. when the grains are of the size of peas or upwards, the rock is often called a "pisolite" (lat. _pisum_, a pea). limestones having this peculiar structure are especially abundant in the jurassic formation, which is often called the "oolitic series" for this reason; but essentially similar limestones occur not uncommonly in the silurian, devonian, and carboniferous formations, and, indeed, in almost all rock-groups in which limestones are largely developed. whatever may be the age of the formation in which they occur, and whatever may be the size of their component "eggs," the structure of oolitic limestones is fundamentally the same. all the ordinary oolitic limestones, namely, consist of little spherical or ovoid "concretions," as they are termed, cemented together by a larger or smaller amount of crystalline carbonate of lime, together, in many instances, with numerous organic remains of different kinds (fig. ). when examined in polished slabs, or in thin sections prepared for the microscope, each of these little concretions is seen to consist of numerous concentric coats of carbonate of lime, which sometimes simply surround an imaginary centre, but which, more commonly, have been successively deposited round some foreign body, such as a little crystal of quartz, a cluster of sand-grains, or a minute shell. in other cases, as in some of the beds of the carboniferous limestone in the north of england, where the limestone is highly "arenaceous," there is a modification of the oolitic structure. microscopic sections of these sandy limestones (fig. ) show numerous generally angular or oval grains of silica or flint, each of which is commonly surrounded by a thin coating of carbonate of lime, or sometimes by several such coats, the whole being cemented together along with the shells of _foraminifera_ and other minute fossils by a matrix of crystalline calcite. as compared with typical oolites, the concretions in these limestones are usually much more irregular in shape, often lengthened out and almost cylindrical, at other times angular, the central nucleus being of large size, and the surrounding envelope of lime being very thin, and often exhibiting no concentric structure. in both these and the ordinary oolites, the structure is fundamentally the same. both have been formed in a sea, probably of no great depth, the waters of which were charged with carbonate of lime in solution, whilst the bottom was formed of sand intermixed with minute shells and fragments of the skeletons of larger marine animals. the excess of lime in the sea-water was precipitated round the sand-grams, or round the smaller shells, as so many nuclei, and this precipitation must often have taken place time after time, so as to give rise to the concentric structure so characteristic of oolitic concretions. finally, the oolitic grains thus produced were cemented together by a further precipitation of crystalline carbonate of lime from the waters of the ocean. [illustration: fig. .--slice of arenaceous and oolitic limestone from the carboniferous series of shap, westmoreland; magnified. the section also exhibit _foraminifera_ and other minute fossils. (original.)] _phosphate of lime_ is another lime-salt, which is of interest to the palæontologist. it does not occur largely in the stratified series, but it is found in considerable beds [ ] in the laurentian formation, and less abundantly in some later rock-groups, whilst it occurs abundantly in the form of nodules in parts of the cretaceous (upper greensand) and tertiary deposits. phosphate of lime forms the larger proportion of the earthy matters of the bones of vertebrate animals, and also occurs in less amount in the skeletons of certain of the invertebrates (_e.g._, _crustacea_). it is, indeed, perhaps more distinctively than carbonate of lime, an organic compound; and though the formation of many known deposits of phosphate of lime cannot be positively shown to be connected with the previous operation of living beings, there is room for doubt whether this salt is not in reality always primarily a product of vital action. the phosphatic nodules of the upper greensand are erroneously called "coprolites," from the belief originally entertained that they were the droppings or fossilised excrements of extinct animals; and though this is not the case, there can be little doubt but that the phosphate of lime which they contain is in this instance of organic origin.[ ] it appears, in fact, that decaying animal matter has a singular power of determining the precipitation around it of mineral salts dissolved in water. thus, when any animal bodies are undergoing decay at the bottom of the sea, they have a tendency to cause the precipitation from the surrounding water of any mineral matters which may be dissolved in it; and the organic body thus becomes a centre round which the mineral matters in question are deposited in the form of a "concretion" or "nodule." the phosphatic nodules in question were formed in a sea in which phosphate of lime, derived from the destruction of animal skeletons, was held largely in solution; and a precipitation of it took place round any body, such as a decaying animal substance, which happened to be lying on the sea-bottom, and which offered itself as a favourable nucleus. in the same way we may explain the formation of the calcareous nodules, known as "septaria" or "cement stones," which occur so commonly in the london clay and kimmeridge clay, and in which the principal ingredient is carbonate of lime. a similar origin is to be ascribed to the nodules of clay iron-stone (impure carbonate of iron) which occur so abundantly in the shales of the carboniferous series and in other argillaceous deposits; and a parallel modern example is to be found in the nodules of manganese, which were found by sir wyville thomson, in the challenger, to be so numerously scattered over the floor of the pacific at great depths. in accordance with this mode of origin, it is exceedingly common to find in the centre of all these nodules, both old and new, some organic body, such as a bone, a shell, or a tooth, which acted as the original nucleus of precipitation, and was thus preserved in a shroud of mineral matter. many nodules, it is true, show no such nucleus; but it has been affirmed that all of them can be shown, by appropriate microscopical investigation, to have been formed round an original organic body to begin with (hawkins johnson). [footnote : apart from the occurrence or phosphate of lime in actual beds in the stratified rocks, as in the laurentian and silurian series, this salt may also occur disseminated through the rock, when it can only be detected by chemical analysis. it is interesting to note that dr hicks has recently proved the occurrence of phosphate of lime in this disseminated form in rocks as old as the cambrian, and that in quantity quite equal to what is generally found to be present in the later fossiliferous rocks. this affords a chemical proof that animal life flourished abundantly in the cambrian seas.] [footnote : it has been maintained, indeed, that the phosphatic nodules so largely worked for agricultural purposes, are in themselves actual organic bodies or true fossils. in a few cases this admits of demonstration, as it can be shown that the nodule is simply an organism (such as a sponge) infiltrated with phosphate of lime (sollas); but there are many other cases in which no actual structure has yet been shown to exist, and as to the true origin of which it would be hazardous to offer a positive opinion.] the last lime-salt which need be mentioned is _gypsum_, or _sulphate of lime_. this substance, apart from other modes of occurrence, is not uncommonly found interstratified with the ordinary sedimentary rocks, in the form of more or less irregular beds; and in these cases it has a palæontological importance, as occasionally yielding well-preserved fossils. whilst its exact mode of origin is uncertain, it cannot be regarded as in itself an organic rock, though clearly the product of chemical action. to look at, it is usually a whitish or yellowish-white rock, as coarsely crystalline as loaf-sugar, or more so; and the microscope shows it to be composed entirely of crystals of sulphate of lime. we have seen that the _calcareous_ or lime-containing rocks are the most important of the group of organic deposits; whilst the _siliceous_ or flint-containing rocks may be regarded as the most important, most typical, and most generally distributed of the mechanically-formed rocks. we have, however, now briefly to consider certain deposits which are more or less completely formed of flint; but which, nevertheless, are essentially organic in their origin. flint or silex, hard and intractable as it is, is nevertheless capable of solution in water to a certain extent, and even of assuming, under certain circumstances, a gelatinous or viscous condition. hence, some hot-springs are impregnated with silica to a considerable extent; it is present in small quantity in sea-water; and there is reason to believe that a minute proportion must very generally be present in all bodies of fresh water as well. it is from this silica dissolved in the water that many animals and some plants are enabled to construct for themselves flinty skeletons; and we find that these animals and plants are and have been sufficiently numerous to give rise to very considerable deposits of siliceous matter by the mere accumulation of their skeletons. amongst the animals which require special mention in this connection are the microscopic organisms which are known to the naturalist as _polycystina_. these little creatures are of the lowest possible grade of organisation, very closely related to the animals which we have previously spoken of as _foraminifera_, but differing in the fact that they secrete a shell or skeleton composed of flint instead of lime. the _polycystina_ occur abundantly in our present seas; and their shells are present in some numbers in the ooze which is found at great depths in the atlantic and pacific oceans, being easily recognised by their exquisite shape, their glassy transparency, the general presence of longer or shorter spines, and the sieve-like perforations in the walls. both in barbadoes and in the nicobar islands occur geological formations which are composed of the flinty skeletons of these microscopic animals; the deposit in the former locality attaining a great thickness, and having been long known to workers with the microscope under the name of "barbadoes earth" (fig. ). [illustration: fig. .--shells of _polycystina_ from "barbadoes earth;" greatly magnified. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--cases of diatoms in the richmond "infusorial earth;" highly magnified. (original.)] in addition to flint-producing animals, we have also the great group of fresh-water and marine microscopic plants known as _diatoms_, which likewise secrete a siliceous skeleton, often of great beauty. the skeletons of diatoms are found abundantly at the present day in lake-deposits, guano, the silt of estuaries, and in the mud which covers many parts of the sea-bottom; they have been detected in strata of great age; and in spite of their microscopic dimensions, they have not uncommonly accumulated to form deposits of great thickness, and of considerable superficial extent. thus the celebrated deposit of "tripoli" ("polir-schiefer") of bohemia, largely worked as polishing-powder, is composed wholly, or almost wholly, of the flinty cases of diatoms, of which it is calculated that no less than forty-one thousand millions go to make up a single cubic inch of the stone. another celebrated deposit is the so-called "infusorial earth" of richmond in virginia, where there is a stratum in places thirty feet thick, composed almost entirely of the microscopic shells of diatoms. nodules or layers of _flint_, or the impure variety of flint known as _chert_, are found in limestones of almost all ages from the silurian upwards; but they are especially abundant in the chalk. when these flints are examined in thin and transparent slices under the microscope, or in polished sections, they are found to contain an abundance of minute organic bodies--such as _foraminifera_, sponge-spicules, &c.--embedded in a siliceous basis. in many instances the flint contains larger organisms--such as a sponge or a sea-urchin. as the flint has completely surrounded and infiltrated the fossils which it contains, it is obvious that it must have been deposited from sea-water in a gelatinous condition, and subsequently have hardened. that silica is capable of assuming this viscous and soluble condition is known; and the formation of flint may therefore be regarded as due to the separation of silica from the sea-water and its deposition round some organic body in a state of chemical change or decay, just as nodules of phosphate of lime or carbonate of iron are produced. the existence of numerous organic bodies in flint has long been known; but it should be added that a recent observer (mr hawkins johnson) asserts that the existence of an organic structure can be demonstrated by suitable methods of treatment, even in the actual matrix or basis of the flint.[ ] [footnote : it has been asserted that the flints of the chalk are merely fossil sponges. no explanation of the origin of flint, however, can be satisfactory, unless it embraces the origin of chert in almost all great limestones from the silurian upwards, as well as the common phenomenon of the silicification of organic bodies (such as corals and shells) which are known with certainty to have been originally calcareous.] in addition to deposits formed of flint itself, there are other siliceous deposits formed by certain _silicates_, and also of organic origin. it has been shown, namely--by observations carried out in our present seas--that the shells of _foraminifera_ are liable to become completely infiltrated by silicates (such as "glauconite," or silicate of iron and potash). should the actual calcareous shell become dissolved away subsequent to this infiltration--as is also liable to occur--then, in place of the shells of the _foraminifera_, we get a corresponding number of green sandy grains of glauconite, each grain being the _cast_ of a single shell. it has thus been shown that the green sand found covering the sea-bottom in certain localities (as found by the challenger expedition along the line of the agulhas current) is really organic, and is composed of casts of the shells of _foraminifera_. long before these observations had been made, it had been shown by professor ehrenberg that the green sands of various geological formations are composed mainly of the internal casts of the shells of _foraminifera_, and we have thus another and a very interesting example how rock-deposits of considerable extent and of geological importance can be built up by the operation of the minutest living beings. as regards _argillaceous_ deposits, containing _alumina_ or _clay_ as their essential ingredient, it cannot be said that any of these have been actually shown to be of organic origin. a recent observation by sir wyville thomson would, however, render it not improbable that some of the great argillaceous accumulations of past geological periods may be really organic. this distinguished observer, during the cruise of the challenger, showed that the calcareous ooze which has been already spoken of as covering large areas of the floor of the atlantic and pacific at great depths, and which consists almost wholly of the shells of _foraminifera_, gave place at still greater depths to a red ooze consisting of impalpable clayey mud, coloured by oxide of iron, and devoid of traces of organic bodies. as the existence of this widely-diffused red ooze, in mid-ocean, and at such great depths, cannot be explained on the supposition that it is a sediment brought down into the sea by rivers, sir wyville thomson came to the conclusion that it was probably formed by the action of the sea-water upon the shells of _foraminifera_. these shells, though mainly consisting of lime, also contain a certain proportion of alumina, the former being soluble in the carbonic acid dissolved in the sea-water, whilst the latter is insoluble. there would further appear to be grounds for believing that the solvent power of the sea-water over lime is considerably increased at great depths. if, therefore, we suppose the shells of _foraminifera_ to be in course of deposition over the floor of the pacific, at certain depths they would remain unchanged, and would accumulate to form a calcareous ooze; but at greater depths they would be acted upon by the water, their lime would be dissolved out, their form would disappear, and we should simply have left the small amount of alumina which they previously contained. in process of time this alumina would accumulate to form a bed of clay; and as this clay had been directly derived from the decomposition of the shells of animals, it would be fairly entitled to be considered an organic deposit. though not finally established, the hypothesis of sir wyville thomson on this subject is of the greatest interest to the palæontologist, as possibly serving to explain the occurrence, especially in the older formations, of great deposits of argillaceous matter which are entirely destitute of traces of life. it only remains, in this connection, to shortly consider the rock-deposits in which _carbon_ is found to be present in greater or less quantity. in the great majority of cases where rocks are found to contain carbon or carbonaceous matter, it can be stated with certainty that this substance is of organic origin, though it is not necessarily derived from vegetables. carbon derived from the decomposition of animal bodies is not uncommon; though it never occurs in such quantity from this source as it may do when it is derived from plants. thus, many limestones are more or less highly bituminous; the celebrated siliceous flags or so-called "bituminous schists" of caithness are impregnated with oily matter apparently derived from the decomposition of the numerous fishes embedded in them; silurian shales containing graptolites, but destitute of plants, are not uncommonly "anthracitic," and contain a small percentage of carbon derived from the decay of these zoophytes; whilst the petroleum so largely worked in north america has not improbably an animal origin. that the fatty compounds present in animal bodies should more or less extensively impregnate fossiliferous rock-masses, is only what might be expected; but the great bulk of the carbon which exists stored up in the earth's crust is derived from plants; and the form in which it principally presents itself is that of coal. we shall have to speak again, and at greater length, of coal, and it is sufficient to say here that all the true coals, anthracites, and lignites, are of organic origin, and consist principally of the remains of plants in a more or less altered condition. the bituminous shales which are found so commonly associated with beds of coal also derive their carbon primarily from plants; and the same is certainly, or probably, the case with similar shales which are known to occur in formations younger than the carboniferous. lastly, carbon may occur as a conspicuous constituent of rock-masses in the form of _graphite_ or _black-lead_. in this form, it occurs in the shape of detached scales, of veins or strings, or sometimes of regular layers;[ ] and there can be little doubt that in many instances it has an organic origin, though this is not capable of direct proof. when present, at any rate, in quantity, and in the form of layers associated with stratified rocks, as is often the case in the laurentian formation, there can be little hesitation in regarding it as of vegetable origin, and as an altered coal. [footnote : in the huronian formation at steel river, on the north shore of lake superior, there exists a bed of carbonaceous matter which is regularly interstratified with the surrounding rocks, and has a thickness of from to feet. this bed is shown by chemical analysis to contain about per cent of carbon, partly in the form of graphite, partly in the form of anthracite; and there can be little doubt but that it is really a stratum of "metamorphic" coal.] chapter iii. chronological succession of the fossiliferous rocks. the physical geologist, who deals with rocks simply as rocks, and who does not necessarily trouble himself about what fossils they may contain, finds that the stratified deposits which form so large a portion of the visible part of the earth's crust are not promiscuously heaped together, but that they have a certain definite arrangement. in each country that he examines, he finds that certain groups of strata lie above certain other groups; and in comparing different countries with one another, he finds that, in the main, the same groups of rocks are always found in the same relative position to each other. it is possible, therefore, for the physical geologist to arrange the known stratified rocks into a successive series of groups, or "formations," having a certain definite order. the establishment of this physical order amongst the rocks introduces, however, at once the element of _time_, and the physical succession of the strata can be converted directly into a historical or _chronological_ succession. this is obvious, when we reflect that any bed or set of beds of sedimentary origin is clearly and necessarily younger than all the strata upon which it rests, and older than all those by which it is surmounted. it is possible, then, by an appeal to the rocks alone, to determine in each country the general physical succession of the strata, and this "stratigraphical" arrangement, when once determined, gives us the _relative_ ages of the successive groups. the task, however, of the physical geologist in this matter is immensely lightened when he calls in palæontology to his aid, and studies the evidence of the fossils embedded in the rocks. not only is it thus much easier to determine the order of succession of the strata in any given region, but it becomes now for the first time possible to compare, with certainty and precision, the order of succession in one region with that which exists in other regions far distant. the value of fossils as tests of the relative ages of the sedimentary rocks depends on the fact that they are not indefinitely or promiscuously scattered through the crust of the earth,--as it is conceivable that they might be. on the contrary, the first and most firmly established law of palæontology is, that _particular kinds of fossils are confined to particular rocks_, and _particular groups of fossils are confined to particular groups of rocks_. fossils, then, are distinctive of the rocks in which they are found--much more distinctive, in fact, than the mere mineral character of the rock can be, for _that_ commonly changes as a formation is traced from one region to another, whilst the fossils remain unaltered. it would therefore be quite possible for the palæontologist, by an appeal to the fossils alone, to arrange the series of sedimentary deposits into a pile of strata having a certain definite order. not only would this be possible, but it would be found--if sufficient knowledge had been brought to bear on both sides--that the palæontological arrangement of the strata would coincide in its details with the stratigraphical or physical arrangement. happily for science, there is no such division between the palæontologist and the physical geologist as here supposed; but by the combined researches of the two, it has been found possible to divide the entire series of stratified deposits into a number of definite _rock-groups_ or _formations_, which have a recognised order of succession, and each of which is characterised by possessing an assemblage of organic remains which do not occur in association in any other formation. such an _assemblage of fossils_, characteristic of any given formation, represents the _life_ of the particular _period_ in which the formation was deposited. in this way the past history of the earth becomes divided into a series of successive _life-periods_, each of which corresponds with the deposition of a particular _formation_ or group of strata. whilst particular _assemblages_ of organic forms characterise particular _groups_ of rocks, it may be further said that, in a general way, each subdivision of each formation has its own peculiar fossils, by which it may be recognised by a skilled worker in palæontology. whenever, for instance, we meet with examples of the fossils which are known as _graptolites_, we may be sure that we are dealing with _silurian_ rocks (leaving out of sight one or two forms doubtfully referred to this family). we may, however, go much farther than this with perfect safety. if the graptolites belong to certain genera, we may be quite certain that we are dealing with _lower_ silurian rocks. furthermore, if certain special forms are present, we may be even able to say to what exact subdivision of the lower silurian series they belong. as regards particular fossils, however, or even particular classes of fossils, conclusions of this nature require to be accompanied by a tacit but well-understood reservation. so far as our present observation goes, none of the undoubted graptolites have ever been discovered in rocks later than those known upon other grounds to be silurian; but it is possible that they might at any time be detected in younger deposits. similarly, the species and genera which we now regard as characteristic of the lower silurian, may at some future time be found to have survived into the upper silurian period. we should not forget, therefore, in determining the age of strata by palæontological evidence, that we are always reasoning upon generalisations which are the result of experience alone, and which are liable to be vitiated by further and additional discoveries. when the palæontological evidence as to the age of any given set of strata is corroborated by the physical evidence, our conclusions may be regarded as almost certain; but there are certain limitations and fallacies in the palæontological method of inquiry which deserve a passing mention. in the first place, fossils are not always present in the stratified rocks; many aqueous rocks are unfossiliferous, through a thickness of hundreds or even thousands of feet of little-altered sediments; and even amongst beds which do contain fossils, we often meet with strata of many feet or yards in thickness which are wholly destitute of any traces of fossils. there are, therefore, to begin with, many cases in which there is no palæontological evidence extant or available as to the age of a given group of strata. in the second place, palæontological observers in different parts of the world are liable to give different names to the same fossil, and in all parts of the world they are occasionally liable to group together different fossils under the same title. both these sources of fallacy require to be guarded against in reasoning as to the age of strata from their fossil remains. thirdly, the mere fact of fossils being found in beds which are known by physical evidence to be of different ages, has commonly led palæontologists to describe them as different species. thus, the same fossil, occurring in successive groups of strata, and with the merely trivial and varietal differences due to the gradual change in its environment, has been repeatedly described as a distinct species, with a distinct name, in every bed in which it was found. we know, however, that many fossils range vertically through many groups of strata, and there are some which even pass through several formations. the mere fact of a difference of physical position ought never to be taken into account at all in considering and determining the true affinities of a fossil. fourthly, the results of experience, instead of being an assistance, are sometimes liable to operate as a source of error. when once, namely, a generalisation has been established that certain fossils occur in strata of a certain age, palæontologists are apt to infer that _all_ beds containing similar fossils must be of the same age. there is a presumption, of course, that this inference would be correct; but it is not a conclusion resting upon absolute necessity, and there might be physical evidence to disprove it. fifthly, the physical geologist may lead the palæontologist astray by asserting that the physical evidence as to the age and position of a given group of beds is clear and unequivocal, when such evidence may be, in reality, very slight and doubtful. in this way, the observer may be readily led into wrong conclusions as to the nature of the organic remains--often obscure and fragmentary--which it is his business to examine, or he may be led erroneously to think that previous generalisations as to the age of certain kinds of fossils are premature and incorrect. lastly, there are cases in which, owing to the limited exposure of the beds, to their being merely of local development, or to other causes, the physical evidence as to the age of a given group of strata may be entirely uncertain and unreliable, and in which, therefore, the observer has to rely wholly upon the fossils which he may meet with. in spite of the above limitations and fallacies, there can be no doubt as to the enormous value of palæontology in enabling us to work out the historical succession of the sedimentary rocks. it may even be said that in any case where there should appear to be a clear and decisive discordance between the physical and the palæontological evidence as to the age of a given series of beds, it is the former that is to be distrusted rather than the latter. the records of geological science contain not a few cases in which apparently clear physical evidence of superposition has been demonstrated to have been wrongly interpreted; but the evidence of palæontology, when in any way sufficient, has rarely been upset by subsequent investigations. should we find strata containing plants of the coal-measures apparently resting upon other strata with ammonites and belemnites, we may be sure that the physical evidence is delusive; and though the above is an extreme case, the presumption in all such instances is rather that the physical succession has been misunderstood or misconstrued, than that there has been a subversion of the recognised succession of life-forms. we have seen, then, that as the collective result of observations made upon the superposition of rocks in different localities, from their mineral characters, and from their included fossils, geologists have been able to divide the entire stratified series into a number of different divisions or formations, each characterised by a _general_ uniformity of mineral composition, and by a special and peculiar _assemblage_ of organic forms. each of these primary groups is in turn divided into a series of smaller divisions, characterised and distinguished in the same way. it is not pretended for a moment that all these primary rock-groups can anywhere be seen surmounting one another regularly.[ ] there is no region upon the earth where all the stratified formations can be seen together; and, even when most of them occur in the same country, they can nowhere be seen all succeeding each other in their regular and uninterrupted succession. the reason of this is obvious. there are many places--to take a single example--where one may see the the silurian rocks, the devonian, and the carboniferous rocks succeeding one another regularly, and in their proper order. this is because the particular region where this occurs was always submerged beneath the sea while these formations were being deposited. there are, however, many more localities in which one would find the carboniferous rocks resting unconformably upon the silurians without the intervention of any strata which could be referred to the devonian period. this might arise from one of two causes: . the silurians might have been elevated above the sea immediately after their deposition, so as to form dry land during the whole of the devonian period, in which case, of course, no strata of the latter age could possibly be deposited in that area. . the devonian might have been deposited upon the silurian, and then the whole might have been elevated above the sea, and subjected to an amount of denudation sufficient to remove the devonian strata entirely. in this case, when the land was again submerged, the carboniferous rocks, or any younger formation, might be deposited directly upon silurian strata. from one or other of these causes, then, or from subsequent disturbances and denudations, it happens that we can rarely find many of the primary formations following one another consecutively and in their regular order. [footnote : as we have every reason to believe that dry land and sea have existed, at any rate from the commencement of the laurentian period to the present day, it is quite obvious that no one of the great formations can ever, under any circumstances, have extended over the entire globe. in other words, no one of the formations can ever have had a greater geographical extent than that of the seas of the period in which the formation was deposited. nor is there any reason for thinking that the proportion of dry land to ocean has ever been materially different to what it is at present, however greatly the areas of sea and land may have changed as regards their place. it follows from the above, that there is no sufficient basis for the view that the crust of the earth is composed of a succession of concentric layers, like the coats of an onion, each layer representing one formation.] in no case, however, do we ever find the devonian resting upon the carboniferous, or the silurian rocks reposing on the devonian. we have therefore, by a comparison of many different areas, an established order of succession of the stratified formations, as shown in the subjoined ideal section of the crust of the earth (fig. ). the main subdivisions of the stratified rocks are known by the following names:-- . laurentian. . cambrian (with huronian ?). . silurian. . devonian or old red sandstone. . carboniferous. . permian \_ new red sandstone. . triassic / . jurassic or oolitic. . cretaceous. . eocene. . miocene. . pliocene. . post-tertiary. [illustration: fig. . ideal section of the crust of the earth.] of these primary rock divisions, the laurentian, cambrian, silurian, devonian, carboniferous, and permian are collectively grouped together under the name of the primary or _paloeozoic_ rocks (gr. _palaios_, ancient; _zoe_, life). not only do they constitute the oldest stratified accumulations, but from the extreme divergence between their animals and plants and those now in existence, they may appropriately be considered as belonging to an "old-life" period of the world's history. the triassic, jurassic, and cretaceous systems are grouped together as the _secondary_ or _mesozoic_ formations (gr. _mesos_, intermediate; _zoe_, life); the organic remains of this "middle-life" period being, on the whole, intermediate in their characters between those of the palæozoic epoch and those of more modern strata. lastly, the eocene, miocene, and pliocene formations are grouped together as the _tertiary_ or _kainozoic_ rocks (gr. _kainos_, new; _zoe_, life); because they constitute a "new-life" period, in which the organic remains approximate in character to those now existing upon the globe. the so-called _post-tertiary_ deposits are placed with the kainozoic, or may be considered as forming a separate _quaternary_ system. chapter iv. the breaks in the geological and palÆontological record. the term "contemporaneous" is usually applied by geologists to groups of strata in different regions which contain the same fossils, or an assemblage of fossils in which many identical forms are present. that is to say, beds which contain identical, or nearly identical, fossils, however widely separated they may be from one another in point of actual distance, are ordinarily believed to have been deposited during the same period of the earth's history. this belief, indeed, constitutes the keystone of the entire system of determining the age of strata by their fossil contents; and if we take the word "contemporaneous" in a general and strictly geological sense, this belief can be accepted as proved beyond denial. we must, however, guard ourselves against too literal an interpretation of the word "contemporaneous," and we must bear in mind the enormously-prolonged periods of time with which the geologist has to deal. when we say that two groups of strata in different regions are "contemporaneous," we simply mean that they were formed during the same geological period, and perhaps at different stages of that period, and we do not mean to imply that they were formed at precisely the same instant of time. a moment's consideration will show us that it is only in the former sense that we can properly speak of strata being "contemporaneous;" and that, in point of fact, beds containing the same fossils, if occurring in widely distant areas, can hardly be "contemporaneous" in any literal sense; but that the very identity of their fossils is proof that they were deposited one after the other. if we find strata containing identical fossils within the limits of a single geographical region--say in europe--then there is a reasonable probability that these beds are strictly contemporaneous, in the sense that they were deposited at the same time. there is a reasonable probability of this, because there is no improbability involved in the idea of an ocean occupying the whole area of europe, and peopled throughout by many of the same species of marine animals. at the present day, for example, many identical species of animals are found living on the western coasts of britain and the eastern coasts of north america, and beds now in course of deposition off the shores of ireland and the seaboard of the state of new york would necessarily contain many of the same fossils. such beds would be both literally and geologically contemporaneous; but the case is different if the distance between the areas where the strata occur be greatly increased. we find, for example, beds containing identical fossils (the quebec or skiddaw beds) in sweden, in the north of england, in canada, and in australia. now, if all these beds were contemporaneous, in the literal sense of the term, we should have to suppose that the ocean at one time extended uninterruptedly between all these points, and was peopled throughout the vast area thus indicated by many of the same animals. nothing, however, that we see at the present day would justify us in imagining an ocean of such enormous extent, and at the same time so uniform in its depth, temperature, and other conditions of marine life, as to allow the same animals to flourish in it from end to end; and the example chosen is only one of a long and ever-recurring series. it is therefore much more reasonable to explain this, and all similar cases, as owing to the _migration_ of the fauna, in whole or in part, from one marine area to another. thus, we may suppose an ocean to cover what is now the european area, and to be peopled by certain species of animals. beds of sediment--clay, sands, and limestones--will be deposited over the sea-bottom, and will entomb the remains of the animals as fossils. after this has lasted for a certain length of time, the european area may undergo elevation, or may become otherwise unsuitable for the perpetuation of its fauna; the result of which would be that some or all of the marine animals of the area would migrate to some more suitable region. sediments would then be accumulated in the new area to which they had betaken themselves, and they would then appear, for the second time, as fossils in a set of beds widely separated from europe. the second set of beds would, however, obviously not be strictly or literally contemporaneous with the first, but would be separated from them by the period of time required for the migration of the animals from the one area into the other. it is only in a wide and comprehensive sense that such strata can be said to be contemporaneous. it is impossible to enter further into this subject here; but it may be taken as certain that beds in widely remote geographical areas can only come to contain the same fossils by reason of a migration having taken place of the animals of the one area to the other. that such migrations can and do take place is quite certain, and this is a much more reasonable explanation of the observed facts than the hypothesis that in former periods the conditions of life were much more uniform than they are at present, and that, consequently, the same organisms were able to range over the entire globe at the same time. it need only be added, that taking the evidence of the present as explaining the phenomena of the past--the only safe method of reasoning in geological matters--we have abundant proof that deposits which _are_ actually contemporaneous, in the strict sense of the term, _do not contain the same fossils, if far removed from one another in point of distance_. thus, deposits of various kinds are now in process of formation in our existing seas, as, for example, in the arctic ocean, the atlantic, and the pacific, and many of these deposits are known to us by actual examination and observation with the sounding-lead and dredge. but it is hardly necessary to add that the animal remains contained in these deposits--the fossils of some future period--instead of being identical, are widely different from one another in their characters. we have seen, then, that the entire stratified series is capable of subdivision into a number of definite rock-groups or "formations," each possessing a peculiar and characteristic assemblage of fossils, representing the "life" of the "period" in which the formation was deposited. we have still to inquire shortly how it came to pass that two successive formations _should_ thus be broadly distinguished by their life-forms, and why they should not rather possess at any rate a majority of identical fossils. it was originally supposed that this could be explained by the hypothesis that the close of each formation was accompanied by a general destruction of all the living beings of the period, and that the commencement of each new formation was signalised by the creation of a number of brand-new organisms, destined to figure as the characteristic fossils of the same. this theory, however, ignores the fact that each formation--as to which we have any sufficient evidence--contains a few, at least, of the life-forms which existed in the preceding period; and it invokes forces and processes of which we know nothing, and for the supposed action of which we cannot account. the problem is an undeniably difficult one, and it will not be possible here to give more than a mere outline of the modern views upon the subject. without entering into the at present inscrutable question as to the manner in which new life-forms are introduced upon the earth, it may be stated that almost all modern geologists hold that the living beings of any given formation are in the main modified forms of others which have preceded them. it is not believed that any general or universal destruction of life took place at the termination of each geological period, or that a general introduction of new forms took place at the commencement of a new period. it is, on the contrary, believed that the animals and plants of any given period are for the most part (or exclusively) the lineal but modified descendants of the animals and plants of the immediately preceding period, and that some of them, at any rate, are continued into the next succeeding period, either unchanged, or so far altered as to appear as new species. to discuss these views in detail would lead us altogether too far, but there is one very obvious consideration which may advantageously receive some attention. it is obvious, namely, that the great discordance which is found to subsist between the animal life of any given formation and that of the next succeeding formation, and which no one denies, would be a fatal blow to the views just alluded to, unless admitting of some satisfactory explanation. nor is this discordance one purely of life-forms, for there is often a physical break in the successions of strata as well. let us therefore briefly consider how far these interruptions and breaks in the geological and palæontological record can be accounted for, and still allow us to believe in some theory of continuity as opposed to the doctrine of intermittent and occasional action. in the first place, it is perfectly clear that if we admit the conception above mentioned of a continuity of life from the laurentian period to the present day, we could never _prove_ our view to be correct, unless we could produce in evidence fossil examples of _all_ the kinds of animals and plants that have lived and died during that period. in order to do this, we should require, to begin with, to have access to an absolutely unbroken and perfect succession of all the deposits which have ever been laid down since the beginning. if, however, we ask the physical geologist if he is in possession of any such uninterrupted series, he will at once answer in the negative. so far from the geological series being a perfect one, it is interrupted by numerous gaps of unknown length, many of which we can never expect to fill up. nor are the proofs of this far to seek. apart from the facts that we have hitherto examined only a limited portion of the dry land, that nearly two-thirds of the entire area of the globe is inaccessible to geological investigation in consequence of its being covered by the sea, that many deposits can be shown to have been more or less completely destroyed subsequent to their deposition, and that there may be many areas in which living beings exist where no rock is in process of formation, we have the broad fact that rock-deposition only goes on to any extent in water, and that the earth must have always consisted partly of dry land and partly of water--at any rate, so far as any period of which we have geological knowledge is concerned. there _must_, therefore, always have existed, at some part or another of the earth's surface, areas where no deposition of rock was going on, and the proof of this is to be found in the well-known phenomenon of "_unconformability_." whenever, namely, deposition of sediment is continuously going on within the limits of a single ocean, the beds which are laid down succeed one another in uninterrupted and regular sequence. such beds are said to be "conformable," and there are many rock-groups known where one may pass through fifteen or twenty thousand feet of strata without a break--indicating that the beds had been deposited in an area which remained continuously covered by the sea. on the other hand, we commonly find that there is no such regular succession when we pass from one great formation to another, but that, on the contrary, the younger formation rests "unconformably," as it is called, either upon the formation immediately preceding it in point of time, or upon some still older one. the essential physical feature of this unconformability is that the beds of the younger formation rest upon a worn and eroded surface formed by the beds of the older series (fig. ); and a moment's consideration will show us what this indicates. it indicates, beyond the possibility of misconception, that there was an interval between the deposition of the older series and that of the newer series of strata; and that during this interval the older beds were raised above the sea-level, so as to form dry land, and were subsequently depressed again beneath the waters, to receive upon their worn and wasted upper surface the sediments of the later group. during the interval thus indicated, the deposition of rock must of necessity have been proceeding more or less actively in other areas. every unconformity, therefore, indicates that at the spot where it occurs, a more or less extensive series of beds must be actually missing; and though we may sometimes be able to point to these missing strata in other areas, there yet remains a number of unconformities for which we cannot at present supply the deficiency even in a partial manner. [illustration: fig. .--section showing strata of tertiary age (a) resting upon a worn and eroded surface of white chalk (b), the stratification of which is marked by lines of flint.] it follows from the above that the series of stratified deposits is to a greater or less extent irremediably imperfect; and in this imperfection we have one great cause why we can never obtain a perfect series of all the animals and plants that have lived upon the globe. wherever one of these great physical gaps occurs, we find, as we might expect, a corresponding break in the series of life-forms. in other words, whenever we find two formations to be unconformable, we shall always find at the same time that there is a great difference in their fossils, and that many of the fossils of the older formation do not survive into the newer, whilst many of those in the newer are not known to occur in the older. the cause of this is, obviously, that the lapse of time, indicated by the unconformability, has been sufficiently great to allow of the dying out or modification of many of the older forms of life, and the introduction of new ones by immigration. apart, however, altogether, from these great physical breaks and their corresponding breaks in life, there are other reasons why we can never become more than partially acquainted with the former denizens of the globe. foremost amongst these is the fact that an enormous number of animals possess no hard parts of the nature of a skeleton, and are therefore incapable, under any ordinary circumstances, of leaving behind them any traces of their existence. it is true that there are cases in which animals in themselves completely soft-bodied are nevertheless able to leave marks by which their former presence can be detected: thus every geologist is familiar with the winding and twisting "trails" formed on the surface of the strata by sea-worms; and the impressions left by the stranded carcases of jelly-fishes on the fine-grained lithographic slates of solenhofen supply us with an example of how a creature which is little more than "organised sea-water" may still make an abiding mark upon the sands of time. as a general rule, however, animals which have no skeletons are incapable of being preserved as fossils, and hence there must always have been a vast number of different kinds of marine animals of which we have absolutely no record whatever. again, almost all the fossiliferous rocks have been laid down in water; and it is a necessary result of this that the great majority of fossils are the remains of aquatic animals. the remains of air-breathing animals, whether of the inhabitants of the land or of the air itself, are comparatively rare as fossils, and the record of the past existence of these is much more imperfect than is the case with animals living in water. moreover, the fossiliferous deposits are not only almost exclusively aqueous formations, but the great majority are marine, and only a comparatively small number have been formed by lakes and rivers. it follows from the foregoing that the palæontological record is fullest and most complete so far as sea-animals are concerned, though even here we find enormous gaps, owing to the absence of hard structures in many great groups; of animals inhabiting fresh waters our knowledge is rendered still further incomplete by the small proportion that fluviatile and lacustrine deposits bear to marine; whilst we have only a fragmentary acquaintance with the air-breathing animals which inhabited the earth during past ages. lastly, the imperfection of the palæontological record, due to the causes above enumerated, is greatly aggravated, especially as regards the earlier portion of the earth's history, by the fact that many rocks which contained fossils when deposited have since been rendered barren of organic remains. the principal cause of this common phenomenon is what is known as "metamorphism"--that is, the subjection of the rock to a sufficient amount of heat to cause a rearrangement of its particles. when at all of a pronounced character, the result of metamorphic action is invariably the obliteration of any fossils which might have been originally present in the rock. metamorphism may affect rocks of any age, though naturally more prevalent in the older rocks, and to this cause must be set down an irreparable loss of much fossil evidence. the most striking example which is to be found of this is the great laurentian series, which comprises some , feet of highly-metamorphosed sediments, but which, with one not wholly undisputed exception, has as yet yielded no remains of living beings, though there is strong evidence of the former existence in it of fossils. upon the whole, then, we cannot doubt that the earth's crust, so far as yet deciphered by us, presents us with but a very imperfect record of the past. whether the known and admitted imperfections of the geological and palæontological records are sufficiently serious to account satisfactorily for the deficiency of direct evidence recognisable in some modern hypotheses, may be a matter of individual opinion. there can, however, be little doubt that they are sufficiently extensive to throw the balance of evidence decisively in favour of some theory of _continuity_, as opposed to any theory of intermittent and occasional action. the apparent breaks which divide the great series of the stratified rocks into a number of isolated formations, are not marks of mighty and general convulsions of nature, but are simply indications of the imperfection of our knowledge. never, in all probability, shall we be able to point to a complete series of deposits, or a complete succession of life linking one great geological period to another. nevertheless, we may well feel sure that such deposits and such an unbroken succession must have existed at one time. we are compelled to believe that nowhere in the long series of the fossiliferous rocks has there been a total break, but that there must have been a complete continuity of life, and a more or less complete continuity of sedimentation, from the laurentian period to the present day. one generation hands on the lamp of life to the next, and each system of rocks is the direct offspring of those which preceded it in time. though there has not been continuity in any given area, still the geological chain could never have been snapped at one point, and taken up again at a totally different one. thus we arrive at the conviction that _continuity_ is the fundamental law of geology, as it is of the other sciences, and that the lines of demarcation between the great formations are but gaps in our own knowledge. chapter v. conclusions to be drawn from fossils. we have already seen that geologists have been led by the study of fossils to the all-important generalisation that the vast series of the fossiliferous or sedimentary rocks may be divided into a number of definite groups or "formations," each of which is characterised by its organic remains. it may simply be repeated here that these formations are not properly and strictly characterised by the occurrence in them of any one particular fossil. it may be that a formation contains some particular fossil or fossils not occurring out of that formation, and that in this way an observer may identify a given group with tolerable certainty. it very often happens, indeed, that some particular stratum, or sub-group of a series, contains peculiar fossils, by which its existence may be determined in various localities. as before remarked, however, the great formations are characterised properly by the association of certain fossils, by the predominance of certain families or orders, or by an _assemblage_ of fossil remains representing the "life" of the period in which the formation was deposited. fossils, then, enable us to determine the _age_ of the deposits in which they occur. fossils further enable us to come to very important conclusions as to the mode in which the fossiliferous bed was deposited, and thus as to the condition of the particular district or region occupied by the fossiliferous bed at the time of the formation of the latter. if, in the first place, the bed contain the remains of animals such as now inhabit rivers, we know that it is "fluviatile" in its origin, and that it must at one time have either formed an actual riverbed, or been deposited by the overflowing of an ancient stream. secondly, if the bed contain the remains of shellfish, minute crustaceans, or fish, such as now inhabit lakes, we know that it is "lacustrine," and was deposited beneath the waters of a former lake. thirdly, if the bed contain the remains of animals such as now people the ocean, we know that it is "marine" in its origin, and that it is a fragment of an old sea-bottom. we can, however, often determine the conditions under which a bed was deposited with greater accuracy than this. if, for example, the fossils are of kinds resembling the marine animals now inhabiting shallow waters, if they are accompanied by the detached relics of terrestrial organisms, or if they are partially rolled and broken, we may conclude that the fossiliferous deposit was laid down in a shallow sea, in the immediate vicinity of a coast-line, or as an actual shore-deposit. if, again, the remains are those of animals such as now live in the deeper parts of the ocean, and there is a very sparing intermixture of extraneous fossils (such as the bones of birds or quadrupeds, or the remains of plants), we may presume that the deposit is one of deep water. in other cases, we may find, scattered through the rock, and still in their natural position, the valves of shells such as we know at the present day as living buried in the sand or mud of the sea-shore or of estuaries. in other cases, the bed may obviously have been an ancient coral-reef, or an accumulation of social shells, like oysters. lastly, if we find the deposit to contain the remains of marine shells, but that these are dwarfed of their fair proportions and distorted in figure, we may conclude that it was laid down in a brackish sea, such as the baltic, in which the proper saltness was wanting, owing to its receiving an excessive supply of fresh water. in the preceding, we have been dealing simply with the remains of aquatic animals, and we have seen that certain conclusions can be accurately reached by an examination of these. as regards the determination of the conditions of deposition from the remains of aerial and terrestrial animals, or from plants, there is not such an absolute certainty. the remains of land-animals would, of course, occur in "sub-aerial" deposits--that is, in beds, like blown sand, accumulated upon the land. most of the remains of land-animals, however, are found in deposits which have been laid down in water, and they owe their present position to the fact that their former owners were drowned in rivers or lakes, or carried out to sea by streams. birds, flying reptiles, and flying mammals might also similarly find their way into aqueous deposits; but it is to be remembered that many birds and mammals habitually spend a great part of their time in the water, and that these might therefore be naturally expected to present themselves as fossils in sedimentary rocks. plants, again, even when undoubtedly such as must have grown on land, do not prove that the bed in which they occur was formed on land. many of the remains of plants known to us are extraneous to the bed in which they are now found, having reached their present site by falling into lakes or rivers, or being carried out to sea by floods or gales of wind. there are, however, many cases in which plants have undoubtedly grown on the very spot where we now find them. thus it is now generally admitted that the great coal-fields of the carboniferous age are the result of the growth _in situ_ of the plants which compose coal, and that these grew on vast marshy or partially submerged tracts of level alluvial land. we have, however, distinct evidence of old land-surfaces, both in the coal-measures and in other cases (as, for instance, in the well-known "dirt-bed" of the purbeck series). when, for example, we find the erect stumps of trees standing at right angles to the surrounding strata, we know that the surface through which these send their roots was at one time the surface of the dry land, or, in other words, was an ancient soil (fig. ). [illustration: fig. .--erect tree containing reptilian remains. coal-measures, nova scotia. (after dawson.) in many cases fossils enable us to come to important conclusions as to the climate of the period in which they lived but only a few instances of this can be here adduced. as fossils in the majority of instances are the remains of marine animals, it is mostly the temperature of the sea which can alone be determined in this way; and it is important to remember that, owing to the existence of heated currents, the marine climate of a given area does not necessarily imply a correspondingly warm climate in the neighbouring land. land-climates can only be determined by the remains of land-animals or land-plants, and these are comparatively rare as fossils. it is also important to remember that all conclusions on this head are really based upon the present distribution of animal and vegetable life on the globe, and are therefore liable to be vitiated by the following considerations:-- a. most fossils are extinct, and it is not certain that the habits and requirements of any extinct animal were exactly similar to those of its nearest living relative. b. when we get very far back in time, we meet with groups of organisms so unlike anything we know at the present day as to render all conjectures as to climate founded upon their supposed habits more or less uncertain and unsafe. c. in the case of marine animals, we are as yet very far from knowing the exact limits of distribution of many species within our present seas; so that conclusions drawn from living forms as to extinct species are apt to prove incorrect. for instance, it has recently been shown that many shells formerly believed to be confined to the arctic seas have, by reason of the extension of polar currents, a wide range to the south; and this has thrown doubt upon the conclusions drawn from fossil shells as to the arctic conditions under which certain beds were supposed to have been deposited. d. the distribution of animals at the present day is certainly dependent upon other conditions beside climate alone; and the causes which now limit the range of given animals are certainly such as belong to the existing order of things. but the establishment of the present order of things does not date back in many cases to the introduction of the present species of animals. even in the case, therefore, of existing species of animals, it can often be shown that the past distribution of the species was different formerly to what it is now, not necessarily because the climate has changed, but because of the alteration of other conditions essential to the life of the species or conducing to its extension. still, we are in many cases able to draw completely reliable conclusions as to the climate of a given geological period, by an examination of the fossils belonging to that period. among the more striking examples of how the past climate of a region may be deduced from the study of the organic remains contained in its rocks, the following may be mentioned: it has been shown that in eocene times, or at the commencement of the tertiary period, the climate of what is now western europe was of a tropical or sub-tropical character. thus the eocene beds are found to contain the remains of shells such as now inhabit tropical seas, as, for example, cowries and volutes; and with these are the fruits of palms, and the remains of other tropical plants. it has been shown, again, that in miocene times, or about the middle of the tertiary period, central europe was peopled with a luxuriant flora resembling that of the warmer parts of the united states, and leading to the conclusion that the mean annual temperature must have been at least ° hotter than it is at present. it has been shown that, at the same time, greenland, now buried beneath a vast ice-shroud, was warm enough to support a large number of trees, shrubs, and other plants, such as inhabit temperate regions of the globe. lastly, it has been shown upon physical as well as palæontological evidence, that the greater part of the north temperate zone, at a comparatively recent geological period, has been visited with all the rigours of an arctic climate, resembling that of greenland at the present day. this is indicated by the occurrence of arctic shells in the superficial deposits of this period, whilst the musk-ox and the reindeer roamed far south of their present limits. lastly, it was from the study of fossils that geologists learnt originally to comprehend a fact which may be regarded as of cardinal importance in all modern geological theories and speculations--namely, that the crust of the earth is liable to local elevations and subsidences. for long after the remains of shells and other marine animals were for the first time observed in the solid rocks forming the dry land, and at great heights above the sea-level, attempts were made to explain this almost unintelligible phenomenon upon the hypothesis that the fossils in question were not really the objects they represented, but were in truth mere _lusus naturoe_, due to some "plastic virtue latent in the earth." the common-sense of scientific men, however, soon rejected this idea, and it was agreed by universal consent that these bodies really were remains of animals which formerly lived in the sea. when once this was admitted, the further steps were comparatively easy, and at the present day no geological doctrine stands on a firmer basis than that which teaches us that our present continents and islands, fixed and immovable as they appear, have been repeatedly sunk beneath the ocean. chapter vi. the biological relations of fossils. not only have fossils, as we have seen, a most important bearing upon the sciences of geology and physical geography, but they have relations of the most complicated and weighty character with the numerous problems connected with the study of living beings, or in other words, with the science of biology. to such an extent is this the case, that no adequate comprehension of zoology and botany, in their modern form, is so much as possible without some acquaintance with the types of animals and plants which have passed away. there are also numerous speculative questions in the domain of vital science, which, if soluble at all, can only hope to find their key in researches carried out on extinct organisms. to discuss fully the biological relations of fossils would, therefore, afford matter for a separate treatise; and all that can be done here is to indicate very cursorily the principal points to which the attention of the palæontological student ought to be directed. in the first place, the great majority of fossil animals and plants are "extinct"--that is to say, they belong to species which are no longer in existence at the present day. so far, however, from there being any truth in the old view that there were periodic destructions of all the living beings in existence upon the earth, followed by a corresponding number of new creations of animals and plants, the actual facts of the case show that the extinction of old forms and the introduction of new forms have been processes constantly going on throughout the whole of geological time. every species seems to come into being at a certain definite point of time, and to finally disappear at another definite point; though there are few instances indeed, if there are any, in which our present knowledge would permit us safely to fix with precision the times of entrance and exit. there are, moreover, marked differences in the actual time during which different species remained in existence, and therefore corresponding differences in their "vertical range," or, in other words, in the actual amount and thickness of strata through which they present themselves as fossils. some species are found to range through two or even three formations, and a few have an even more extended life. more commonly the species which begin in the commencement of a great formation die out at or before its close, whilst those which are introduced for the first time near the middle or end of the formation may either become extinct, or may pass on into the next succeeding formation. as a general rule, it is the animals which have the lowest and simplest organisation that have the longest range in time, and the additional possession of microscopic or minute dimensions seems also to favour longevity. thus some of the _foraminifera_ appear to have survived, with little or no perceptible alteration, from the silurian period to the present day; whereas large and highly-organised animals, though long-lived as _individuals_, rarely seem to live long _specifically_, and have, therefore, usually a restricted vertical range. exceptions to this, however, are occasionally to be found in some "persistent types," which extend through a succession of geological periods with very little modification. thus the existing lampshells of the genus _lingula_ are little changed from the _linguloe_ which swarmed in the lower silurian seas; and the existing pearly nautilus is the last descendant of a clan nearly as ancient. on the other hand, some forms are singularly restricted in their limits, and seem to have enjoyed a comparatively brief lease of life. an example of this is to be found in many of the _ammonites_--close allies of the nautilus--which are often confined strictly to certain zones of strata, in some cases of very insignificant thickness. of the _causes_ of extinction amongst fossil animals and plants, we know little or nothing. all we can say is, that the attributes which constitute a _species_ do not seem to be intrinsically endowed with permanence, any more than the attributes which constitute an _individual_, though the former may endure whilst many successive generations of the latter have disappeared. each species appears to have its own life-period, its commencement, its culmination, and its gradual decay; and the life-periods of different species may be of very different duration. from what has been said above, it may be gathered that our existing species of animals and plants are, for the most part, quite of modern origin, using the term "modern" in its geological acceptation. measured by human standards, the majority of existing animals (which are capable of being preserved as fossils) are known to have a high antiquity; and some of them can boast of a pedigree which even the geologist may regard with respect. not a few of our shellfish are known to have commenced their existence at some point of the tertiary period; one lampshell (_terebratulina caput-serpentis_) is believed to have survived since the chalk; and some of the _foraminifera_ date, at any rate, from the carboniferous period. we learn from this the additional fact that our existing animals and plants do not constitute an assemblage of organic forms which were introduced into the world collectively and simultaneously, but that they commenced their existence at very different periods, some being extremely old, whilst others may be regarded as comparatively recent animals. and this introduction of the existing fauna and flora was a slow and _gradual_ process, as shown admirably by the study of the fossil shells of the tertiary period. thus, in the earlier tertiary period, we find about per cent of the known fossil shells to be species that are no longer in existence, the remaining per cent being forms which are known to live in our present seas. in the middle of the tertiary period we find many more recent and still existing species of shells, and the extinct types are much fewer in number; and this gradual introduction of forms now living goes on steadily, till, at the close of the tertiary period, the proportions with which we started may be reversed, as many as or per cent of the fossil shells being forms still alive, while not more than per cent may have disappeared. all known animals at the present day may be divided into some five or six primary divisions, which are known technically as "_sub-kingdoms_." each of these sub-kingdoms [ ] may be regarded as representing a certain type or plan of structure, and all the animals comprised in each are merely modified forms of this common type. not only are all known living animals thus reducible to some five or six fundamental plans of structure, but amongst the vast series of fossil forms no one has yet been found--however unlike any existing animal--to possess peculiarities which would entitle it to be placed in a new sub-kingdom. all fossil animals, therefore, are capable of being referred to one or other of the primary divisions of the animal kingdom. many fossil groups have no closely-related group now in existence; but in no case do we meet with any grand structural type which has not survived to the present day. [footnote : in the appendix a brief definition is given of the sub-kingdoms, and the chief divisions of each are enumerated.] the old types of life differ in many respects from those now upon the earth; and the further back we pass in time, the more marked does this divergence become. thus, if we were to compare the animals which lived in the silurian seas with those inhabiting our present oceans, we should in most instances find differences so great as almost to place us in another world. this divergence is the most marked in the palæozoic forms of life, less so in those of the mesozoic period, and less still in the tertiary period. each successive formation has therefore presented us with animals becoming gradually more and more like those now in existence; and though there is an immense and striking difference between the silurian animals and those of to-day, this difference is greatly reduced if we compare the silurian fauna with the devonian; _that_ again with the carboniferous; and so on till we reach the present. it follows from the above that the animals of any given formation are more like those of the next formation below, and of the next formation above, than they are to any others; and this fact of itself is an almost inexplicable one, unless we believe that the animals of any given formation are, in part at any rate, the lineal descendants of the animals of the preceding formation, and the progenitors, also in part at least, of the animals of the succeeding formation. in fact, the palæontologist is so commonly confronted with the phenomenon of closely-allied forms of animal life succeeding one another in point of time, that he is compelled to believe that such forms have been developed from some common ancestral type by some process of "_evolution_." on the other hand, there are many phenomena, such as the apparently sudden introduction of new forms throughout all past time, and the common occurrence of wholly isolated types, which cannot be explained in this way. whilst it seems certain, therefore, that many of the phenomena of the succession of animal life in past periods can only be explained by some law of evolution, it seems at the same time certain that there has always been some other deeper and higher law at work, on the nature of which it would be futile to speculate at present. not only do we find that the animals of each successive formation become gradually more and more like those now existing upon the globe, as we pass from the older rocks into the newer, but we also find that there has been a gradual progression and development in the _types_ of animal life which characterise the geological ages. if we take the earliest-known and oldest examples of any given group of animals, it can sometimes be shown that these primitive forms, though in themselves highly organised, possessed certain characters such as are now only seen in the _young_ of their existing representatives. in technical language, the early forms of life in some instances possess "_embryonic_" characters, though this does not prevent them often attaining a size much more gigantic than their nearest living relatives. moreover, the ancient forms of life are often what is called "comprehensive types"--that is to say, they possess characters in combination such as we nowadays only find separately developed in different, groups of animals. now, this permanent retention of embryonic characters and this "comprehensiveness" of structural type are signs of what a zoologist considers to be a comparatively low grade of organisation; and the prevalence of these features in the earlier forms of animals is a very striking phenomenon, though they are none the less perfectly organised so far as their own type is concerned. as we pass upwards in the geological scale, we find that these features gradually disappear, higher and ever higher forms are introduced, and "specialisation" of type takes the place of the former comprehensiveness. we shall have occasion to notice many of the facts on which these views are based at a later period, and in connection with actual examples. in the meanwhile, it is sufficient to state, as a widely-accepted generalisation of palæontology, that there has been in the past a general progression of organic types, and that the appearance of the lower forms of life has in the main preceded that of the higher forms in point of time. part ii historical palÆontology chapter vii. the laurentian and huronian periods. the _laurentian rocks_ constitute the base of the entire stratified series, and are, therefore, the oldest sediments of which we have as yet any knowledge. they are more largely and more typically developed in north america, and especially in canada, than in any known part of the world, and they derive their title from the range of hills which the old french geographers named the "laurentides." these hills are composed of laurentian rocks, and form the watershed between the valley of the st lawrence river on the one hand, and the great plains which stretch northwards to hudson bay on the other hand. the main area of these ancient deposits forms a great belt of rugged and undulating country, which extends from labrador westwards to lake superior, and then bends northwards towards the arctic sea. throughout this extensive area the laurentian rocks for the most part present themselves in the form of low, rounded, ice-worn hills, which, if generally wanting in actual sublimity, have a certain geological grandeur from the fact that they "have endured the battles and the storms of time longer than any other mountains" (dawson). in some places, however, the laurentian rocks produce scenery of the most magnificent character, as in the great gorge cut through them by the river saguenay, where they rise at times into vertical precipices feet in height. in the famous group of the adirondack mountains, also, in the state of new york, they form elevations no less than feet above the level of the sea. as a general rule, the character of the laurentian region is that of a rugged, rocky, rolling country, often densely timbered, but rarely well fitted for agriculture, and chiefly attractive to the hunter and the miner. as regards its mineral characters, the laurentian series is composed throughout of metamorphic and highly crystalline rocks, which are in a high degree crumpled, folded, and faulted. by the late sir william logan the entire series was divided into two great groups, the _lower laurentian_ and the _upper laurentian_, of which the latter rests unconformably upon the truncated edges of the former, and is in turn unconformably overlaid by strata of huronian and cambrian age (fig. ). [illustration: fig. .--diagrammatic section of the laurentian rocks in lower canada. a lower laurentian; b upper laurentian, resting unconformably upon the lower series; c cambrian strata (potsdam sandstone), resting unconformably on the upper laurentian.] the _lower laurentian_ series attains the enormous thickness of over , feet, and is composed mainly of great beds of gneiss, altered sandstones (quartzites), mica-schist, hornblende-schist, magnetic iron-ore, and hæmatite, together with masses of limestone. the limestones are especially interesting, and have an extraordinary development--three principal beds being known, of which one is not less than feet thick; the collective thickness of the whole being about feet. the _upper laurentian_ series, as before said, reposes unconformably upon the lower laurentian, and attains a thickness of at least , feet. like the preceding, it is wholly metamorphic, and is composed partly of masses of gneiss and quartzite; but it is especially distinguished by the possession of great beds of felspathic rock, consisting principally of "labrador felspar." though typically developed in the great canadian area already spoken of, the laurentian rocks occur in other localities, both in america and in the old world. in britain, the so-called "fundamental gneiss" of the hebrides and of sutherlandshire is probably of lower laurentian age, and the "hypersthene rocks" of the isle of skye may, with great probability, be regarded as referable to the upper laurentian. in other localities in great britain (as in st david's, south wales; the malvern hills; and the north of ireland) occur ancient metamorphic deposits which also are probably referable to the laurentian series. the so-called "primitive gneiss" of norway appears to belong to the laurentian, and the ancient metamorphic rocks of bohemia and bavaria may be regarded as being approximately of the same age. [illustration: fig. .--section of lower laurentian limestone from hull, ottawa; enlarged five diameters. the rock is very highly crystalline, and contains mica and other minerals. the irregular black masses in it are graphite. (original.)] by some geological writers the ancient and highly metamorphosed sediments of the laurentian and the succeeding huronian series have been spoken of as the "azoic rocks" (gr. _a_, without; _zoe_, life); but even if we were wholly destitute of any evidence of life during these periods, this name would be objectionable upon theoretical grounds. if a general name be needed, that of "eozoic" (gr. _eos_, dawn; _zoe_, life), proposed by principal dawson, is the most appropriate. owing to their metamorphic condition, geologists long despaired of ever detecting any traces of life in the vast pile of strata which constitute the laurentian system. even before any direct traces were discovered, it was, however, pointed out that there were good reasons for believing that the laurentian seas had been tenanted by an abundance of living beings. these reasons are briefly as follows:--( ) firstly, the laurentian series consists, beyond question, of marine sediments which originally differed in no essential respect from those which were subsequently laid down in the cambrian or silurian periods. ( ) in all formations later than the laurentian, any limestones which are present can be shown, with few exceptions, to be _organic_ rocks, and to be more or less largely made up of the comminuted debris of marine or fresh-water animals. the laurentian limestones, in consequence of the metamorphism to which they have been subjected, are so highly crystalline (fig. ) that the microscope fails to detect any organic structure in the rock, and no fossils beyond those which will be spoken of immediately have as yet been discovered in them. we know, however, of numerous cases in which limestones, of later age, and undoubtedly organic to begin with, have been rendered so intensely crystalline by metamorphic action that all traces of organic structure have been obliterated. we have therefore, by analogy, the strongest possible ground for believing that the vast beds of laurentian limestone have been originally organic in their origin, and primitively composed, in the main, of the calcareous skeletons of marine animals. it would, in fact, be a matter of great difficulty to account for the formation of these great calcareous masses on any other hypothesis. ( ) the occurrence of phosphate of lime in the laurentian rocks in great abundance, and sometimes in the form of irregular beds, may very possibly be connected with the former existence in the strata of the remains of marine animals of whose skeleton this mineral is a constituent. ( ) the laurentian rocks contain a vast amount of carbon in the form of black-lead or _graphite_. this mineral is especially abundant in the limestones, occurring in regular beds, in veins or strings, or disseminated through the body of the limestone in the shape of crystals, scales, or irregular masses. the amount of graphite in some parts of the lower laurentian is so great that it has been calculated as equal to the quantity of carbon present in an equal thickness of the coal-measures. the general source of solid carbon in the crust of the earth is, however, plant-life; and it seems impossible to account for the laurentian graphite, except upon the supposition that it is metamorphosed vegetable matter. ( ) lastly, the great beds of iron-ore (peroxide and magnetic oxide) which occur in the laurentian series interstratified with the other rocks, point with great probability to the action of vegetable life; since similar deposits in later formations can commonly be shown to have been formed by the deoxidising power of vegetable matter in a state of decay. in the words of principal dawson, "anyone of these reasons might, in itself, be held insufficient to prove so great and, at first sight, unlikely a conclusion as that of the existence of abundant animal and vegetable life in the laurentian; but the concurrence of the whole in a series of deposits unquestionably marine, forms a chain of evidence so powerful that it might command belief even if no fragment of any organic or living form or structure had ever been recognised in these ancient rocks." of late years, however, there have been discovered in the laurentian rocks certain bodies which are believed to be truly the remains of animals, and of which by far the most important is the structure known under the now celebrated name of _eozoön_. if truly organic, a very special and exceptional interest attaches itself to _eozoön_, as being the most ancient fossil animal of which we have any knowledge; but there are some who regard it really a peculiar form of mineral structure, and a severe, protracted, and still unfinished controversy has been carried on as to its nature. into this controversy it is wholly unnecessary to enter here; and it will be sufficient to briefly explain the structure of _eozoön_, as elucidated by the elaborate and masterly investigations of carpenter and dawson, from the standpoint that it is a genuine organism--the balance of evidence up to this moment inclining decisively to this view. [illustration: fig. .--fragment of _eozoön_, of the natural size, showing alternate laminæ of loganite and dolomite. (after dawson.)] the structure known as _eozoön_ is found in various localities in the lower laurentian limestones of canada, in the form of isolated masses or spreading layers, which are composed of thin alternating laminæ, arranged more or less concentrically (fig. ). the laminæ of these masses are usually of different colours and composition; one series being white, and composed of carbonate of lime--whilst the laminæ of the second series alternate with the preceding, are green in colour, and are found by chemical analysis to consist of some silicate, generally serpentine or the closely-related "loganite." in some instances, however, all the laminæ are calcareous, the concentric arrangement still remaining visible in consequence of the fact that the laminæ are composed alternately of lighter and darker coloured limestone. when first discovered, the masses of _eozoön_ were supposed to be of a mineral nature; but their striking general resemblance to the undoubted fossils which will be subsequently spoken of under the name of _stromatopora_ was recognised by sir william logan, and specimens were submitted for minute examination, first to principal dawson, and subsequently to dr w. b. carpenter. after a careful microscopic examination, these two distinguished observers came to the conclusion that _eozoön_ was truly organic, and in this opinion they were afterwards corroborated by other high authorities (mr w. k. parker, professor rupert jones, mr h. b. brady, professor gümbel, &c.) stated briefly, the structure of _eozoön_, as exhibited by the microscope, is as follows:-- [illustration: fig. .--diagram of a portion of _eozoön_ cut vertically. a, b, c, three tiers of chambers communicating with one another by slightly constricted apertures: _a a_, the true shell-wall, perforated by numerous delicate tubes; _b b_. the main calcareous skeleton ("intermediate skeleton"); c, passage of communication ("stolon-passage") from one tier of chambers to another; d, ramifying tubes in the calcareous skeleton. (after carpenter.)] the concentrically-laminated mass of _eozoön_ is composed of numerous calcareous layers, representing the original skeleton of the organism (fig. , b). these calcareous layers serve to separate and define a series of chambers arranged in successive tiers, one above the other (fig. , a, b, c); and they are perforated not only by passages (fig. , c), which serve to place successive tiers of chambers in communication, but also by a system of delicate branching canals (fig. , d). moreover, the central and principal portion of each calcareous layer, with the ramified canal-system just spoken of, is bounded both above and below by a thin lamina which has a structure of its own, and which may be regarded as the proper shell-wall (fig. , a a). this proper wall forms the actual lining of the chambers, as well as the outer surface of the whole mass; and it is perforated with numerous fine vertical tubes (fig. , a a), opening into the chambers and on to the surface by corresponding fine pores. from the resemblance of this tubulated layer to similar structures in the shell of the nummulite, it is often spoken of as the "nummuline layer." the chambers are sometimes piled up one above the other in an irregular manner; but they are more commonly arranged in regular tiers, the separate chambers being marked off from one another by projections of the wall in the form of partitions, which are so far imperfect as to allow of a free communication between contiguous chambers. in the original condition of the organism, all these chambers, of course, must have been filled with living-matter; but they are found in the present state of the fossil to be generally filled with some silicate, such as serpentine, which not only fills the actual chambers, but has also penetrated the minute tubes of the proper wall and the branching canals of the intermediate skeleton. in some cases the chambers are simply filled with crystalline carbonate of lime. when the originally porous fossil has been permeated by a silicate, it is possible to dissolve away the whole of the calcareous skeleton by means of acids, leaving an accurate and beautiful cast of the chambers and the tubes connected with them in the insoluble silicate. [illustration: fig. .--portion of one of the calcareous layers of _eozoön_, magnified diameters. a a, the proper wall ("nummuline layer") of one of the chambers, showing the fine vertical tubuli with which it is penetrated, and which are slightly bent along the line a' a'. c c, the intermediate skeleton, with numerous branched canals. the oblique lines are the cleavage planes of the carbonate of lime, extending across both the intermediate skeleton and the proper wall. (after carpenter.)] the above are the actual appearances presented by _eozoön_ when examined microscopically, and it remains to see how far they enable us to decide upon its true position in the animal kingdom. those who wish to study this interesting subject in detail must consult the admirable memoirs by dr w. b. carpenter and principal dawson: it will be enough here to indicate the results which have been arrived at. the only animals at the present day which possess a continuous calcareous skeleton, perforated by pores and penetrated by canals, are certain organisms belonging to the group of the _foraminifera_. we have had occasion before to speak of these animals, and as they are not conspicuous or commonly-known forms of life, it may be well to say a few words as to the structure of the living representatives of the group. the _foraminifera_ are all inhabitants of the sea, and are mostly of small or even microscopic dimensions. their bodies are composed of an apparently structureless animal substance of an albuminous nature ("sarcode"), of a gelatinous consistence, transparent, and exhibiting numerous minute granules or rounded particles. the body-substance cannot be said in itself to possess any definite form, except in so far as it may be bounded by a shell; but it has the power, wherever it may be exposed, of emitting long thread-like filaments ("pseudopodia"), which interlace with one another to form a network (fig. , b). these filaments can be thrown out at will, and to considerable distances, and can be again retracted into the soft mass of the general body-substance, and they are the agents by which the animal obtains its food. the soft bodies of the _foraminifera_ are protected by a shell, which is usually calcareous, but may be composed of sand-grains cemented together; and it may consist of a single chamber (fig. , a), or of many chambers arranged in different ways (fig. , _b-f_). sometimes the shell has but one large opening into it--the mouth; and then it is from this aperture that the animal protrudes the delicate net of filaments with which it seeks its food. in other cases the entire shell is perforated with minute pores (fig. , e), through which the soft body-substance gains the exterior, covering the whole shell with a gelatinous film of animal matter, from which filaments can be emitted at any point. when the shell consists of many chambers, all of these are placed in direct communication with one another, and the actual substance of the shell is often traversed by minute canals filled with living matter (e.g., in _calcarina_ and _nummulina_). the shell, therefore, may be regarded, in such cases, as a more or less completely porous calcareous structure, filled to its minutest internal recesses with the substance of the living animal, and covered externally with a layer of the same substance, giving off a network of interlacing filaments. [illustration: fig. .--the animal of _nonionina_, one of the _foraminifera_, after the shell has been removed by a weak acid; b, _gromia_, a single-chambered foraminifer (after schultze), showing the shell surrounded by a network of filaments derived from the body substance.] [illustration: fig .--shells of living _foraminifera_. a, _orbulina universa_, in its perfect condition, showing the tubular spines which radiate from the surface of the shell; b, _globigerina bulloides_, in its ordinary condition, the thin hollow spines which are attached to the shell when perfect having been broken off; c, textularia variabilis; d, peneroplis planatus; e, rotalia concamerata; f, _cristellaria subarcuatula._ [fig. a is after wyville thomson; the others are after williamson. all the figures are greatly enlarged.]] such, in brief, is the structure of the living _foraminifera_; and it is believed that in _eozoön_ we have an extinct example of the same group, not only of special interest from its immemorial antiquity, but hardly less striking from its gigantic dimensions. in its original condition, the entire chamber-system of _eozoön_ is believed to have been filled with soft structureless living matter, which passed from chamber to chamber through the wide apertures connecting these cavities, and from tier to tier by means of the tubuli in the shell-wall and the branching canals in the intermediate skeleton. through the perforated shell-wall covering the outer surface the soft body-substance flowed out, forming a gelatinous investment, from every point of which radiated an interlacing net of delicate filaments, providing nourishment for the entire colony. in its present state, as before said, all the cavities originally occupied by the body-substance have been filled with some mineral substance, generally with one of the silicates of magnesia; and it has been asserted that this fact militates strongly against the organic nature of _eozoön_, if not absolutely disproving it. as a matter of fact, however--as previously noticed--it is by no means very uncommon at the present day to find the shells of living species of _foraminifera_ in which all the cavities primitively occupied by the body-substance, down to the minutest pores and canals, have been similarly injected by some analogous silicate, such as glauconite. those, then, whose opinions on such a subject deservedly carry the greatest weight, are decisively of opinion that we are presented in the _eozoön_ of the laurentian rocks of canada with an ancient, colossal, and in some respects abnormal type of the _foraminifera_. in the words of dr carpenter, it is not pretended that "the doctrine of the foraminiferal nature of _eozoön_ can be _proved_ in the demonstrative sense;" but it may be affirmed "that the _convergence of a number of separate and independent probabilities_, all accordant with that hypothesis, while a separate explanation must be invented for each of them on any other hypothesis, gives it that _high probability_ on which we rest in the ordinary affairs of life, in the verdicts of juries, and in the interpretation of geological phenomena generally." it only remains to be added, that whilst _eozoön_ is by far the most important organic body hitherto found in the laurentian, and has been here treated at proportionate length, other traces of life have been detected, which may subsequently prove of great interest and importance. thus, principal dawson has recently described under the name of _archoeosphoerinoe_ certain singular rounded bodies which he has discovered in the laurentian limestones, and which he believes to be casts of the shells of _foraminifera_ possibly somewhat allied to the existing _globigerinoe_. the same eminent palæontologist has also described undoubted worm-burrows from rocks probably of laurentian age. further and more extended researches, we may reasonably hope, will probably bring to light other actual remains of organisms in these ancient deposits. the huronian period. the so-called _huronian rocks_, like the laurentian, have their typical development in canada, and derive their name from the fact that they occupy an extensive area on the borders of lake huron. they are wholly metamorphic, and consist principally of altered sandstones or quartzites, siliceous, felspathic, or talcose slates, conglomerates, and limestones. they are largely developed on the north shore of lake superior, and give rise to a broken and hilly country, very like that occupied by the laurentians, with an abundance of timber, but rarely with sufficient soil of good quality for agricultural purposes. they are, however, largely intersected by mineral veins, containing silver, gold, and other metals, and they will ultimately doubtless yield a rich harvest to the miner. the huronian rocks have been identified, with greater or less certainty, in other parts of north america, and also in the old world. the total thickness of the huronian rocks in canada is estimated as being not less than , feet, but there is considerable doubt as to their precise geological position. in their typical area they rest unconformably on the edges of strata of _lower_ laurentian age; but they have never been seen in direct contact with the _upper_ laurentian, and their exact relations to this series are therefore doubtful. it is thus open to question whether the huronian rocks constitute a distinct formation, to be intercalated in point of time between the laurentian and the cambrian groups; or whether, rather, they should not be considered as the metamorphosed representatives of the lower cambrian rocks of other regions. as regards the fossils of the huronian rocks, little can be said. some of the specimens of _eozoön canadense_ which have been discovered in canada are thought to come from rocks which are probably of huronian age. in bavaria, dr gümbel has described a species of _eozoön_ under the name of _eozoön bavaricum_, from certain metamorphic limestones which he refers to the huronian formation. lastly, the late mr billings described, from rocks in newfoundland apparently referable to the huronian, certain problematical limpet-shaped fossils, to which he gave the name of _aspidella_. literature. amongst the works and memoirs which the student may consult with regard to the laurentian and huronian deposits may be mentioned the following:[ ]-- ( ) 'report of progress of the geological survey of canada from its commencement to ,' pp. - , and pp. - . ( ) 'manual of geology.' dana. d ed. . ( ) 'the dawn of life.' j. w, dawson. . ( ) "on the occurrence of organic remains in the laurentian rocks of canada." sir w. e. logan. 'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' xxi. - .' ( ) "on the structure of certain organic remains in the laurentian limestones of canada." j. w. dawson. 'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' xxi. - . ( ) "additional note on the structure and affinities of eozoön canadense." w. b, carpenter. 'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' xxi. - . ( ) "supplemental notes on the structure and affinities of eozoön' canadense," w. b. carpenter, 'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' xxii. - . ( ) "on the so-called eozoönal rocks." king & rowney. 'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' xxii. - . ( ) 'chemical and geological essays.' sterry hunt. the above list only includes some of the more important memoirs which may be consulted as to the geological and chemical features of the laurentian and huronian rocks, and as to the true nature of _eozoön_. those who are desirous of studying the later phases of the controversy with regard to _eozoön_ must consult the papers of carpenter, carter, dawson, king & rowney, hahn, and others, in the 'quart. journ. of the geological society,' the 'proceedings of the royal irish academy,' the 'annals of natural history,' the 'geological magazine,' &c. dr carpenter's 'introduction to the study of the foraminifera' should also be consulted. [footnote : in this and in all subsequently following bibliographical lists, not only is the selection of works and memoirs quoted necessarily extremely limited; but only such have, as a general rule, been chosen for mention as are easily accessible to students who are in the position of being able to refer to a good library. exceptions, however, are occasionally made to this rule, in favour of memoirs or works of special historical interest. it is also unnecessary to add that it has not been thought requisite to insert in these lists the well-known handbooks of geological and palæontological science; except in such instances as where they contain special information on special points.] chapter viii. the cambrian period. the traces of life in the laurentian period, as we have seen, are but scanty; but the _cambrian rocks_--so called from their occurrence in north wales and its borders ("cambria ")--have yielded numerous remains of animals and some dubious plants. the cambrian deposits have thus a special interest as being the oldest rocks in which occur any number of well-preserved and unquestionable organisms. we have here the remains of the first _fauna_, or assemblage of animals, of which we have at present knowledge. as regards their geographical distribution, the cambrian rocks have been recognised in many parts of the world, but there is some question as to the precise limits of the formation, and we may consider that their most typical area is in south wales, where they have been carefully worked out, chiefly by dr henry hicks. in this region, in the neighbourhood of the promontory of st david's, the cambrian rocks are largely developed, resting upon an ancient ridge of pre-cambrian (laurentian?) strata, and overlaid by the lowest beds of the lower silurian. the subjoined sketch-section (fig. ) exhibits in a general manner the succession of strata in this locality. from this section it will be seen that the cambrian rocks in wales are divided in the first place into a lower and an upper group. the _lower cambrian_ is constituted at the base by a great series of grits, sandstones, conglomerates, and slates, which are known as the "longmynd group," from their vast development in the longmynd hills in shropshire, and which attain in north wales a thickness of feet or more. the longmynd beds are succeeded by the so-called "menevian group," a series of sandstones, flags, and grits, about feet in thickness, and containing a considerable number of fossils. the _upper cambrian_ series consists in its lower portion of nearly feet of strata, principally shaly and slaty, which are known as the "lingula flags," from the great abundance in them of a shell referable to the genus _lingula_. these are followed by feet of dark shales and flaggy sandstones, which are known as the "tremadoc slates," from their occurrence near tremadoc in north wales; and these in turn are surmounted, apparently quite conformably, by the basement beds of the lower silurian. [illustration: fig . generalized section of the cambrian rocks in wales.] the above may be regarded as giving a typical series of the cambrian rocks in a typical locality; but strata of cambrian age are known in many other regions, of which it is only possible here to allude to a few of the most important. in scandinavia occurs a well-developed series of cambrian deposits, representing both the lower and upper parts of the formation. in bohemia, the upper cambrian, in particular, is largely developed, and constitutes the so-called "primordial zone" of barrande. lastly, in north america, whilst the lower cambrian is only imperfectly developed, or is represented by the huronian, the upper cambrian formation has a wide extension, containing fossils similar in character to the analogous strata in europe, and known as the "potsdam sandstone." the subjoined table shows the chief areas where cambrian rocks are developed, and their general equivalency: tabular view of the cambrian formation. _britain._ | _europe._ | _america._ | | /a. tremadoc slates. | a. primordial zone | a. potsdam | | of bohemia. | sandstone. | b. lingula flags. | b. paradoxides | b. acadian upper < | schists, olenus | group of new cambrian. | | schists, and | brunswick. | | dictyonema schists | \ | of sweden. | | | /a. longmynd beds. | a. fucoidal | huronian | | sandstone of sweden | formation? | b. llanberis slates.| b. _eophyton_ | | | sandstone of sweden.| lower < c. harlech grits. | | cambrian. | d. _oldhamia_ | | | slates of ireland.| | | e. conglomerates and| | | and sandstones of | | | sutherlandshire? | | \f. menevian beds. | | like all the older palæozoic deposits, the cambrian rocks, though by no means necessarily what would be called actually "metamorphic," have been highly cleaved, and otherwise altered from their original condition. owing partly to their indurated state, and partly to their great antiquity, they are usually found in the heart of mountainous districts, which have undergone great disturbance, and have been subjected to an enormous amount of denudation. in some cases, as in the longmynd hills in shropshire, they form low rounded elevations, largely covered by pasture, and with few or no elements of sublimity. in other cases, however, they rise into bold and rugged mountains, girded by precipitous cliffs. industrially, the cambrian rocks are of interest, if only for the reason that the celebrated welsh slates of llanberis are derived from highly-cleaved beds of this age. taken as a whole, the cambrian formation is essentially composed of arenaceous and muddy sediments, the latter being sometimes red, but more commonly nearly black in colour. it has often been supposed that the cambrians are a deep-sea deposit, and that we may thus account for the few fossils contained in them; but the paucity of fossils is to a large extent imaginary, and some of the lower cambrian beds of the longmynd hills would appear to have been laid down in shallow water; as they exhibit rain-prints, sun-cracks, and ripple-marks--incontrovertible evidence of their having been a shore-deposit. the occurrence, of innumerable worm-tracks and burrows in many cambrian strata is also a proof of shallow-water conditions; and the general absence of limestones, coupled with the coarse mechanical nature of many of the sediments of the lower cambrian, maybe taken as pointing in the same direction. the _life_ of the cambrian, though not so rich as in the succeeding silurian period, nevertheless consists of representatives of most of the great classes of invertebrate animals. the coarse sandy deposits of the formation, which abound more particularly towards its lower part, naturally are to a large extent barren of fossils; but the muddy sediments, when not too highly cleaved, and especially towards the summit of the group, are replete with organic remains. this is also the case, in many localities at any rate, with the finer beds of the potsdam sandstone in america. limestones are known to occur in only a few areas (chiefly in america), and this may account for the apparent total absence of corals. it is, however, interesting to note that, with this exception, almost all the other leading groups of invertebrates are known to have come into existence during the cambrian period. fig. .--fragment of _eophyton linneanum_, a supposed land-plant. lower cambrian, sweden, of the natural size. of the land-surfaces of the cambrian period we know nothing; and there is, therefore, nothing surprising in the fact that our acquaintance with the cambrian vegetation is confined to some marine plants or sea-weeds, often of a very obscure and problematical nature. the "fucoidal sandstone" of sweden, and the "potsdam sandstone" of north america, have both yielded numerous remains which have been regarded as markings left by sea-weeds or "fucoids;" but these are highly enigmatical in their characters, and would, in many instances, seem to be rather referable to the tracks and burrows of marine worms. the first-mentioned of these formations has also yielded the curious, furrowed and striated stems which have been described as a kind of land-plant under the name of _eopkyton_ (fig. ). it cannot be said, however, that the vegetable origin of these singular bodies has been satisfactorily proved. lastly, there are found in certain green and purple beds of lower cambrian age at bray head, wicklow, ireland, some very remarkable fossils, which are well known under the name of _oldhamia_, but the true nature of which is very doubtful. the commonest form of _oldhamia_ (fig. ) consists of a thread-like stem or axis, from which spring at regular intervals bundles of short filamentous branches in a fan-like manner. in the locality where it occurs, the fronds of _oldhamia_ are very abundant, and are spread over the surfaces of the strata in tangled layers. that it is organic is certain, and that it is a calcareous sea-weed is probable; but it may possibly belong to the sea-mosses (_polyzoa_), or to the sea-firs (_sertularians_). amongst the lower forms of animal life (_protozoa_), we find the sponges represented by the curious bodies, composed of netted fibres, to which the name of _protospongia_ has been given (fig. , a); and the comparatively gigantic, conical, or cylindrical fossils termed _archoeocyathus_ by mr billings are certainly referable either to the _foraminifera_ or to the sponges. the almost total absence of limestones in the formation may be regarded as a sufficient explanation of the fact that the _foraminifera_ are not more largely and unequivocally represented; though the existence of greensands in the cambrian beds of wisconsin and tennessee may be taken as an indication that this class of animals was by no means wholly wanting. the same fact may explain the total absence of corals, so far as at present known. [illustration: fig. .--a portion of _oldhamia antiqua_, lower cambrian, wicklow, ireland, of the natural size. (after salter.)] the group of the _echinodermata_ (sea-lilies, sea-urchins, and their allies) is represented by a few forms, which are principally of interest as being the earliest-known examples of the class. it is also worthy of note that these precursors of a group which subsequently attains such geological importance, are referable to no less than three distinct _orders_--the crinoids or sea-lilies, represented by a species of _dendrocrinus_; the cystideans by _protocystites_; and the star-fishes by _palasterina_ and some other forms. only the last of these groups, however, appears to occur in the lower cambrian. [illustration: fig. .--annelide-burrows (_scolithus linearus_) from the potsdam sandstone of canada, of the natural size. (after billings.)] the ringed-worms (_annelida_), if rightly credited with all the remains usually referred to them, appear to have swarmed in the cambrian seas. being soft-bodied, we do not find the actual worms themselves in the fossil condition, but we have, nevertheless, abundant traces of their existence. in some cases we find vertical burrows of greater or less depth, often expanded towards their apertures, in which the worm must have actually lived (fig. ), as various species do at the present day. in these cases, the tube must have been rendered more or less permanent by receiving a coating of mucus, or perhaps a genuine membranous secretion, from the body of the animal; and it may be found quite empty, or occupied by a cast of sand or mud. of this nature are the burrows which have been described under the names of _scolithus_ and _scolecoderma_, and probably the _histioderma_ of the lower cambrian of ireland. in other cases, as in _arenicolites_ (fig. , b), the worm seems to have inhabited a double burrow, shaped like the letter u, and having two openings placed close together on the surface of the stratum. thousands of these twin-burrows occur in some of the strata of the longmynd, and it is supposed that the worm used one opening to the burrow as an aperture of entrance, and the other as one of exit. in other cases, again, we find simply the meandering trails caused by the worm dragging its body over the surface of the mud. markings of this kind are commoner in the silurian rocks, and it is generally more or less doubtful whether they may not have been caused by other marine animals, such as shellfish, whilst some of them have certainly nothing whatever to do with the worms. lastly, the cambrian beds often show twining cylindrical bodies, commonly more or less matted together, and not confined to the surfaces of the strata, but passing through them. these have often been regarded as the remains of sea-weeds, but it is more probable that they represent casts of the underground burrows of worms of similar habits to the common lob-worm (_arenicola_) of the present day. the _articulate_ animals are numerously represented in the cambrian deposits, but exclusively by the class of _crustaceans_. some of these are little double-shelled creatures, resembling our living water-fleas (_ostracoda_). a few are larger forms, and belong to the same group as the existing brine-shrimps and fairy-shrimps (_phyllopoda_). one of the most characteristic of these is the _hymenocaris vermicauda_ of the lingula flags (fig. , d). by far the larger number of the cambrian _crustacea_ belong, however, to the remarkable and wholly extinct group of the _trilobites_. these extraordinary animals must have literally swarmed in the seas of the later portion of this and the whole of the succeeding period; and they survived in greatly diminished numbers till the earlier portion of the carboniferous period. they died out, however, wholly before the close of the palæozoic epoch, and we have no crustaceans at the present day which can be considered as their direct representatives. they have, however, relationships of a more or less intimate character with the existing groups of the phyllopods, the king-crabs (_limulus_), and the isopods ("slaters," wood-lice, &c.) indeed, one member of the last-mentioned order, namely, the _serolis_ of the coasts of patagonia, has been regarded as the nearest living ally of the trilobites. be this as it may, the trilobites possessed a skeleton which, though capable of undergoing almost endless variations, was wonderfully constant in its pattern of structure, and we may briefly describe here the chief features of this. [illustration: fig. .--cambrian trilobites: a, _paradoxides bohemicus_, reduced in size; b, _ellipsocephalus hoffi_; c, _sao hirsuta_; d, _conocorypke sultzeri_ (all the above, together with fig. g, are from the upper cambrian or "primordial zone" of bohemia); e, head-shield of _dikellocephalus celticus_, from the lingula flags of wales; f, head-shield of _conocoryphe matthewi_, from the upper cambrian (acadian group) of new brunswick; g, _agnostus rex_, bohemia; h, tail-shield of _dikellocephalus minnesotensis_, from the upper cambrian (potsdam sandstone) of minnesota. (after barrande, dawson, salter, and dale owen.)] the upper surface of the body of a trilobite was defended by a strong shell or "crust," partly horny and partly calcareous in its composition. this shell (fig. ) generally exhibits a very distinct "trilobation" or division into three longitudinal lobes, one central and two lateral. it also exhibits a more important and more fundamental division into three transverse portions, which are so loosely connected with one another as very commonly to be found separate. the first and most anterior of these divisions is a shield or buckler which covers the head; the second or middle portion is composed of movable rings covering the trunk ("thorax "); and the third is a shield which covers the tailor "abdomen." the head-shield (fig. , e) is generally more or less semicircular in shape; and its central portion, covering the stomach of the animal, is usually strongly elevated, and generally marked by lateral furrows. a little on each side of the head are placed the eyes, which are generally crescentic in shape, and resemble the eyes of insects and many existing crustaceans in being "compound," or made up of numerous simple eyes aggregated together. so excellent is the state of preservation of many specimens of trilobites, that the numerous individual lenses of the eyes have been uninjured, and as many as four hundred have been counted in each eye of some forms. the eyes may be supported upon prominences, but they are never carried on movable stalks (as they are in the existing lobsters and crabs); and in some of the cambrian trilobites, such as the little _agnosti_ (fig. g), the animal was blind. the lateral portions of the head-shield are usually separated from the central portion by a peculiar line of division (the so-called "facial suture") on each side; but this is also wanting in some of the cambrian species. the backward angles of the head-shield, also, are often prolonged into spines, which sometimes reach a great length. following the head-shield behind, we have a portion of the body which is composed of movable segments or "body-rings," and which is technically called the "thorax," ordinarily, this region is strongly trilobed, and each ring consists of a central convex portion, and of two flatter side-lobes. the number of body-rings in the thorax is very variable (from two to twenty-six), but is fixed for the adult forms of each group of the trilobites. the young forms have much fewer rings than the full-grown ones; and it is curious to find that the cambrian trilobites very commonly have either a great many rings (as in _paradoxides_, fig. , a), or else very few (as in _agnostus_, fig. , g). in some instances, the body-rings do not seem to have been so constructed as to allow of much movement, but in other cases this region of the body is so flexible that the animal possessed the power of rolling itself up completely, like a hedgehog; and many individuals have been permanently preserved as fossils in this defensive condition. finally, the body of the trilobite was completed by a tail-shield (technically termed the "pygidium"), which varies much in size and form, and is composed of a greater or less number of rings, similar to those which form the thorax, but immovably amalgamated with one another (fig. , h). the under surface of the body in the trilobites appears to have been more or less entirely destitute of hard structures, with the exception of a well-developed upper lip, in the form of a plate attached to the inferior side of the head-shield in front. there is no reason to doubt that the animal possessed legs; but these structures seem to have resembled those of many living crustaceans in being quite soft and membranous. this, at any rate, seems to have been generally the case; though structures which have been regarded as legs have been detected on the under surface of one of the larger species of trilobites. there is also, at present, no direct evidence that the trilobites possessed the two pairs of jointed feelers ("antennæ") which are so characteristic of recent crustaceans. the trilobites vary much in size, and the cambrian formation presents examples of both the largest and the smallest members of the order. some of the young forms may be little bigger than a millet-seed, and some adult examples of the smaller species (such as _agnostus_) may be only a few lines in length; whilst such giants of the order as _paradoxides_ and _asaphus_ may reach a length of from one to two feet. judging from what we actually know as to the structure of the trilobites, and also from analogous recent forms, it would seem that these ancient crustaceans were mud-haunting creatures, denizens of shallow seas, and affecting the soft silt of the bottom rather than the clear water above. whenever muddy sediments are found in the cambrian and silurian formations, there we are tolerably sure to find trilobites, though they are by no means absolutely wanting in limestones. they appear to have crawled out upon the sea-bottom, or burrowed in the yielding mud, with the soft under surface directed downwards; and it is probable that they really derived their nutriment from the organic matter contained in the ooze amongst which they lived. the vital organs seem to have occupied the central lobe of the skeleton, by which they were protected; and a series of delicate leaf-like paddles, which probably served as respiratory organs, would appear to have been carried on the under surface of the thorax. that they had their enemies may be regarded as certain; but we have no evidence that they were furnished with any offensive weapons, or, indeed, with any means of defence beyond their hard crust, and the power, possessed by so many of them, of rolling themselves into a ball. an additional proof of the fact that they for the most part crawled along the sea-bottom is found in the occurrence of tracks and markings of various kinds, which can hardly be ascribed to any other creatures with any show of probability. that this is the true nature of some of the markings in question cannot be doubted at all; and in other cases no explanation so probable has yet been suggested. if, however, the tracks which have been described from the potsdam sandstone of north america under the name of _protichnites_ are really due to the peregrinations of some trilobite, they must have been produced by one of the largest examples of the order. as already said, the cambrian rocks are very rich in the remains of trilobites. in the lowest beds of the series (longmynd rocks), representatives of some half-dozen genera have now been detected, including the dwarf _agnostus_ and the giant _paradoxides_. in the higher beds, the number both of genera and species is largely increased; and from the great comparative abundance of individuals, the trilobites have every right to be considered as the most characteristic fossils of the cambrian period,--the more so as the cambrian species belong to peculiar types, which, for the most part, died out before the commencement of the silurian epoch. all the remaining cambrian fossils which demand any notice here are members of one or other division of the great class of the _mollusca_, or "shell-fish" properly so called. in the lower cambrian rocks the lamp-shells (_brachiopoda_) are the principal or sole representatives of the class, and appear chiefly in three interesting and important types--namely, _lingulella, discina,_ and _obolella_. of these the last (fig. , i) is highly characteristic of these ancient deposits; whilst _discina_ is one of those remarkable persistent types which, commencing at this early period, has continued to be represented by varying forms through all the intervening geological formations up to the present day. _lingulella_ (fig. , c), again, is closely allied to the existing "goose-bill" lamp-shell (_lingula anatina_), and thus presents us with another example of an extremely long-lived type. the _lingulelloe_ and their successors; the _linguloe_, are singular in possessing a shell which is of a horny texture, and contains but a small proportion of calcareous matter. in the upper cambrian rocks, the _lingulelloe_ become much more abundant, the broad satchel-shaped species known as _l. davisii_ (fig. , e) being so abundant that one of the great divisions of the cambrian is termed the "lingula flags." here, also, we meet for the first time with examples of the genus orthis (fig. , f, k, l) a characteristic palæozoic type of the brachiopods, which is destined to undergo a vast extension in later ages. [illustration: fig .--cambrian fossils: a, _protospongia fenestrata_, menevian group; b, _arenicolites didymus_, longmynd group; c, _lingulella ferruginea_, longmynd and menevian, enlarged; d, _hymenocaris vermicauda_, lingula flags; e, _lingulella davisii_, lingula flags; f, _orthis lenticularis_, lingula flags; g, _theca davidii_, tremadoc slates; h, _modiolopsis solvensis_, tremadoc slates; i, _obolela sagittalis_, interior of valve, menevian; j, exterior of the same; k, _orthis hicksii_, menevian; l, cast of the same; m, _olenus micrurus_, lingula flags. (alter salter, hicks, and davidson.)] of the higher groups of the _mollusca_ the record is as yet but scanty. in the lower cambrian, we have but the thin, fragile, dagger-shaped shells of the free-swimming oceanic molluscs or "winged-snails" (_pteropoda_), of which the most characteristic is the genus _theca_ (fig. , g). in the upper cambrian, in addition to these, we have a few univalves (_gasteropoda_), and, thanks to the researches of dr hicks, quite a small assemblage of bivalves (_lamellibranchiata_), though these are mostly of no great dimensions (fig. , h). of the chambered _cephalopoda_ (cuttle-fishes and their allies), we have but few traces; and these wholly confined to the higher beds of the formation. we meet, however, with examples of the wonderful genus _orthoceras_, with its straight, partitioned shell, which we shall find in an immense variety of forms in the silurian rocks. lastly, it is worthy of note that the lowest of all the groups of the _mollusca_--namely, that of the sea-mats, sea-mosses, and lace-corals (_polyzoa_)--is only doubtfully known to have any representatives in the cambrian, though undergoing a large and varied development in the silurian deposits. [illustration: fig. .--fragment of _dictyonema sociale_, considerably enlarged, showing the horny branches, with their connecting cross-bars, and with a row of cells on each side. (original.)] an exception, however, may with much probability be made to this statement in favour of the singular genus _dictyonema_ (fig. ), which is highly characteristic of the highest cambrian beds (tremadoc slates). this curious fossil occurs in the form of fan-like or funnel-shaped expansions, composed of slightly-diverging horny branches, which are united in a net-like manner by numerous delicate cross-bars, and exhibit a row of little cups or cells, in which the animals were contained, on each side. _dictyonema_ has generally been referred to the _graptolites_; but it has a much greater affinity with the plant-like sea-firs (_sertularians_) or the sea-mosses (_polyzoa_), and the balance of evidence is perhaps in favour of placing it with the latter. literature. the following are the more important and accessible works and memoirs which may be consulted in studying the stratigraphical and palæontological relations of the cambrian rocks:-- ( ) 'siluria.' sir roderick murchison. th ed., pp. - . ( ) 'synopsis of the classification of the british palæozoic rocks.' sedgwick. introduction to the d fasciculus of the 'descriptions of british palæozoic fossils in the woodwardian museum,' by f. m'coy, pp. i-xcviii, . ( ) 'catalogue of the cambrian and silurian fossils in the geological museum of the university of cambridge.' salter. with a preface by prof. sedgwick. . ( ) 'thesaurus siluricus.' bigsby. . ( ) "history of the names cambrian and silurian." sterry hunt.--'geological magazine.' . ( ) 'système silurien du centre de la bohême.' barrande. vol. i. ( ) 'report of progress of the geological survey of canada, from its commencement to ,' pp. - . ( ) 'acadian geology.' dawson. pp. - . ( ) "guide to the geology of new york," lincklaen; and "contributions to the palæontology of new york," james hall.--'fourteenth report on the state cabinet.' . ( ) 'palæozoic fossils of canada.' billings. . ( ) 'manual of geology.' dana. pp. - . d ed. . ( ) "geology of north wales," ramsay; with appendix on the fossils, salter.--'memoirs of the geological survey of great britain,' vol. iii. . ( ) "on the ancient rocks of the st david's promontory, south wales, and their fossil contents." harkness and hicks.--' quart. journ. geol. soc.,' xxvii. - . . ( ) "on the tremadoc rocks in the neighbourhood of st david's, south wales, and their fossil contents." hicks.--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' xxix. - . . in the above list, allusion has necessarily been omitted to numerous works and memoirs on the cambrian deposits of sweden and norway, central europe, russia, spain, and various parts of north america, as well as to a number of important papers on the british cambrian strata by various well-known observers. amongst these latter may be mentioned memoirs by prof. phillips, and messrs salter, hicks, belt, plant, homfray, ash, holl, &c. chapter ix. the lower silurian period. the great system of deposits to which sir roderick murchison applied the name of "silurian rocks" reposes directly upon the highest cambrian beds, apparently without any marked unconformity, though with a considerable change in the nature of the fossils. the name "silurian" was originally proposed by the eminent geologist just alluded to for a great series of strata lying below the old red sandstone, and occupying districts in wales and its borders which were at one time inhabited by the "silures," a tribe of ancient britons. deposits of a corresponding age are now known to be largely developed in other parts of england, in scotland, and in ireland, in north america, in australia, in india, in bohemia, saxony, bavaria, russia, sweden and norway, spain, and in various other regions of less note. in some regions, as in the neighbourhood of st petersburg, the silurian strata are found not only to have preserved their original horizontality, but also to have retained almost unaltered their primitive soft and incoherent nature. in other regions, as in scandinavia and many parts of north america, similar strata, now consolidated into shales, sandstones, and limestones, may be found resting with a very slight inclination on still older sediments. in a great many regions, however, the silurian deposits are found to have undergone more or less folding, crumpling, and dislocation, accompanied by induration and "cleavage" of the finer and softer sediments; whilst in some regions, as in the highlands of scotland, actual "metamorphism" has taken place. in consequence of the above, silurian districts usually present the bold, rugged, and picturesque outlines which are characteristic of the older "primitive" rocks of the earth's crust in general. in many instances, we find silurian strata rising into mountain-chains of great grandeur and sublimity, exhibiting the utmost diversity of which rock-scenery is capable, and delighting the artist with endless changes of valley, lake, and cliff. such districts are little suitable for agriculture, though this is often compensated for by the valuable mineral products contained in the rocks. on the other hand, when the rocks are tolerably soft and uniform in their nature, or when few disturbances of the crust of the earth have taken place, we may find silurian areas to be covered with an abundant pasturage or to be heavily timbered. under the head of "silurian rocks," sir roderick murchison included all the strata between the summit of the "longmynd." beds and the old red sandstone, and he divided these into the two great groups of the _lower_ silurian and _upper_ silurian. it is, however, now generally admitted that a considerable portion of the basement beds of murchison's silurian series must be transferred---if only upon palæontological grounds--to the upper cambrian, as has here been done; and much controversy has been carried on as to the proper nomenclature of the upper silurian and of the remaining portion of murchison's lower silurian. thus, some would confine the name "silurian" exclusively to the upper silurian, and would apply the name of "cambro-silurian" to the lower silurian, or would include all beds of the latter age in the "cambrian" series of sedgwick. it is not necessary to enter into the merits of these conflicting views. for our present purpose, it is sufficient to recognise that there exist two great groups of rocks between the highest cambrian beds, as here defined, and the base of the devonian or old red sandstone. these two great groups are so closely allied to one another, both physically and palæontologically, that many authorities have established a third or intermediate group (the "middle silurian"), by which a passage is made from one into the other. this method of procedure involves disadvantages which appear to outweigh its advantages; and the two groups in question are not only generally capable of very distinct stratigraphical separation, but at the same time exhibit, together with the alliances above spoken of, so many and such important palæontological differences, that it is best to consider them separately. we shall therefore follow this course in the present instance; and pending the final solution of the controversy as to cambrian and silurian nomenclature, we shall distinguish these two groups of strata as the "lower silurian" and the "upper silurian." the _lower silurian rocks_ are known already to be developed in various regions; and though their _general_ succession in these areas is approximately the same, each area exhibits peculiarities of its own, whilst the subdivisions of each are known by special names. all, therefore, that can be attempted here, is to select two typical areas--such as wales and north america and to briefly consider the grouping and divisions of the lower silurian in each. in wales, the line between the cambrian and lower silurian is somewhat ill-defined, and is certainly not marked by any strong unconformity. there are, however; grounds for accepting the line proposed, for palæontological reasons, by dr hicks, in accordance with which the tremadoc slates ("lower tremadoc" of salter) become the highest of the cambrian deposits of britain. if we take this view, the lower silurian rocks of wales and adjoining districts are found to have the following _general_ succession from below upwards (fig. ):-- . the _arenig group_.--this group derives its name from the arenig mountains, where it is extensively developed. it consists of about feet of slates, shales, and flags, and is divisible into a lower, middle, and upper division, of which the former is often regarded as cambrian under the name of "upper tremadoc slates." . the _llandeilo group_.--the thickness of this group varies from about to as much as , feet; but in this latter case a great amount of the thickness is made up of volcanic ashes and interbedded traps. the sedimentary beds of this group are principally slates and flags, the latter occasionally with calcareous bands; and the whole series can be divided into a lower, middle, and upper llandeilo division, of which the last is the most important. the name of "llandeilo" is derived from the town of the same name in wales, where strata of this age were described by murchison. . the _caradoc_ or _bala group_.--the alternative names of this group are also of local origin, and are derived, the one from caer caradoc in shropshire, the other from bala in wales, strata of this age occurring in both localities. the series is divided into a lower and upper group, the latter chiefly composed of shales and flags, and the former of sandstones and shales, together with the important and interesting calcareous band known as the "bala limestone." the thickness of the entire series varies from to as much as , feet, according as it contains more or less of interstratified igneous rocks. . the _llandovery group_ (lower llandovery of murchison).--this series, as developed near the town of llandovery, in caermarthenshire, consists of less than feet of conglomerates, sandstones, and shales. it is probable, however, that the little calcareous band known as the "hirnant limestone," together with certain pale-coloured slates which lie above the bala limestone, though usually referred to the caradoc series, should in reality be regarded as belonging to the llandovery group. the general succession of the lower silurian strata of wales and its borders, attaining a maximum thickness (along with contemporaneous igneous matter) of nearly , feet, is diagramatically represented in the annexed sketch-section (fig. ):-- [illustration: fig . generalized section of the lower silurian rocks of wales.] in north america, both in the united states and in canada, the silurian rocks are very largely developed, and may be regarded as constituting an exceedingly full and typical series of the deposits of this period. the chief groups of the silurian rocks of north america are as follows, beginning, as before, with the lowest strata, and proceeding upwards (fig. ):-- . _quebec group_.--this group is typically developed in the vicinity of quebec, where it consists of about feet of strata, chiefly variously-coloured shales, together with some sandstones and a few calcareous bands. it contains a number of peculiar graptolites, by which it can be identified without question with the arenig group of wales and the corresponding skiddaw slates of the north of england. it is also to be noted that numerous trilobites of a distinct cambrian _facies_ have been obtained in the limestones of the quebec group, near quebec. these fossils, however, have been exclusively obtained from the limestones of the group; and as these limestones are principally calcareous breccias or conglomerates, there is room for believing that these primordial fossils are really derived, in part at any rate, from fragments of an upper cambrian limestone. in the state of new york, the graptolitic shales of quebec are wanting; and the base of the silurian is constituted by the so-called "calciferous sand-rock" and "chazy limestone."[ ] the first of these is essentially and typically calcareous, and the second is a genuine limestone. [footnote : the precise relations of the quebec shales with graptolites (levis formation) to the calciferous and chazy beds are still obscure, though there seems little doubt but that the quebec shales are superior to the calciferous sand-rock.] . the _trenton group_.--this is an essentially calcareous group, the various limestones of which it is composed being known as the "bird's-eye," "black river," and "trenton" limestones, of which the last is the thickest and most important. the thickness of this group is variable, and the bands of limestone in it are often separated by beds of shale. . the _cincinnati group_ (hudson river formation[ ]).--this group consists essentially of a lower series of shales, often black in colour and highly charged with bituminous matter (the "utica slates "), and of an upper series of shales, sandstones, and limestones (the "cincinnati" rocks proper). the exact parallelism of the trenton and cincinnati groups with the subdivisions of the welsh silurian series can hardly be stated positively. probably no precise equivalency exists; but there can be no doubt but that the trenton and cincinnati groups correspond, as a whole, with the llandeilo and caradoc groups of britain. the subjoined diagrammatic section (fig. ) gives a general idea of the succession of the lower silurian rocks of north america:-- [illustration: fig . generalized section of the lower silurian rocks of north america.] [illustration: fig. .--_licrophycus ottawaensis_ a "fucoid," from the trenton limestone (lower silurian) of canada. (after billings.)] [footnote : there is some difficulty about the precise nomenclature of this group. it was originally called the "hudson river formation;" but this name is inappropriate, as rocks of this age hardly touch anywhere the actual hudson river itself, the rocks so called formerly being now known to be of more ancient date. there is also some want of propriety in the name of "cincinnati group," since the rocks which are known under this name in the vicinity of cincinnati itself are the representatives of the trenton limestone, utica slates, and the old hudson river group, inseparably united in what used to be called the "blue limestone series."]. of the _life_ of the lower silurian period we have record in a vast number of fossils, showing that the seas of this period were abundantly furnished with living denizens. we have, however, in the meanwhile, no knowledge of the land-surfaces of the period. we have therefore no means of speculating as to the nature of the terrestrial animals of this ancient age, nor is anything known with certainty of any land-plants which may have existed. the only relics of vegetation upon which a positive opinion can be expressed belong to the obscure group of the "fucoids," and are supposed to be the remains of sea-weeds. some of the fossils usually placed under this head are probably not of a vegetable nature at all, but others (fig. ) appear to be unquestionable plants. the true affinities of these, however, are extremely dubious. all that can be said is, that remains which appear to be certainly vegetable, and which are most probably due to marine plants, have been recognised nearly at the base of the lower silurian (arenig), and that they are found throughout the series whenever suitable conditions recur. the protozoans appear to have flourished extensively in the lower silurian seas, though to a large extent under forms which are still little understood. we have here for the first time the appearance of foraminifera of the ordinary type--one of the most interesting observations in this collection being that made by ehrenberg, who showed that the lower silurian sandstones of the neighbourhood of st petersburg contained casts in glauconite of foraminiferous shells, some of which are referable to the existing genera _rotalia_ and _texularia_. true _sponges_, belonging to that section of the group in which the skeleton is calcareous, are also not unknown, one of the most characteristic genera being _astylospongia_ (fig. ). in this genus are included more or less globular, often lobed sponges, which are believed not to have been attached to foreign bodies. in the form here figured there is a funnel-shaped cavity at the summit; and the entire mass of the sponge is perforated, as in living examples, by a system of canals which convey the sea-water to all parts of the organism. the canals by which the sea-water gains entrance open on the exterior of the sphere, and those by which it again escapes from the sponge open into the cup-shaped depression at the summit. [illustration: fig. .--_astylospongia proemorsa_, cut vertically so as to exhibit the canal-system in the interior. lower silurian, tennessee. (after ferdinand roemer.)] the most abundant, and at the same time the least understood, of lower silurian protozoans belong, however, to the genera _stromatopora_ and _receptaculites_, the structure of which can merely be alluded to here. the specimens of _stromatopora_ (fig. ) occur as hemispherical, pear-shaped, globular, or irregular masses, often of very considerable size, and sometimes demonstrably attached to foreign bodies. in their structure these masses consist of numerous thin calcareous laminæ, usually arranged concentrically, and separated by narrow interspaces. these interspaces are generally crossed by numerous vertical calcareous pillars, giving the vertical section of the fossil a lattice-like appearance. there are also usually minute pores in the concentric laminæ, by which the successive interspaces are placed in communication; and sometimes the surface presents large rounded openings, which appear to correspond with the water-canals of the sponges. upon the whole, though presenting some curious affinities to the calcareous sponges, _stromatopora_ is perhaps more properly regarded as a gigantic _foraminifer_. if this view be correct, it is of special interest as being probably the nearest ally of _eozoön_, the general appearance of the two being strikingly similar, though their minute structure is not at all the same. lastly, in the fossils known as _receptaculites_ and _ischadites_ we are also presented with certain singular lower silurian protozoans, which may with great probability be regarded as gigantic _foraminifera_. their structure is very complex; but fragments are easily recognised by the fact that the exterior is covered with numerous rhomboidal calcareous plates, closely fitting together, and arranged in peculiar intersecting curves, presenting very much the appearance of the engine-turned case of a watch. [illustration: fig. .--a small and perfect specimen of _stromatopora rugosa_, of the natural size, from the trenton limestone of canada. (after billings.)] passing next to the sub-kingdom of _coelenterate_ animals (zoophytes, corals, &c.), we find that this great group, almost or wholly absent in the cambrian, is represented in lower silurian deposits by a great number of forms belonging on the one hand to the true corals, and en the other hand to the singular family of the _graptolites_. if we except certain plant-like fossils which probably belong rather to the sertularians or the polyzoans (e.g., _dictyonema, dendrograptus_, &c.), the family of the _graptolites_ may be regarded as exclusively silurian in its distribution. not only is this the case, but it attained its maximum development almost upon its first appearance, in the arenig rocks; and whilst represented by a great variety of types in the lower silurian; it only exists in the upper silurian in a much diminished form. the _graptolites_ (gr. _grapho_, i write; _lithos_, stone) were so named by linnæus, from the resemblance of some of them to written or pencilled marks upon the stone, though the great naturalist himself did not believe them to be true fossils at all. they occur as linear or leaf-like bodies, sometimes simple, sometimes compound and branched; and no doubt whatever can be entertained as to their being the skeletons of composite organisms, or colonies of semi-independent animals united together by a common fleshy trunk, similar to what is observed in the colonies of the existing sea-firs (sertularians). this fleshy trunk or common stem of the colony was protected by a delicate horny sheath, and it gave origin to the little flower-like "polypites," which constituted the active element of the whole assemblage. these semi-independent beings were, in turn, protected each by a little horny cup or cell, directly connected with the common sheath below, and terminating above in an opening through which the polypite could protrude its tentacled head or could again withdraw itself for safety. the entire skeleton, again, was usually, if not universally, supported by a delicate horny rod or "axis," which appears to have been hollow, and which often protrudes to a greater or less extent beyond one or both of the extremities of the actual colony. the above gives the elementary constitution of any _graptolite_, but there are considerable differences as to the manner in which these elements are arranged and combined. in some forms the common stem of the colony gives origin to but a single row of cells on one side. if the common stem is a simple, straight, or slightly-curved linear body, then we have the simplest form of graptolite known (the genus _monograptus_); and it is worthy of note that these simple types do not come into existence till comparatively late (llandeilo), and last nearly to the very close of the upper silurian. in other cases, whilst there is still but a single row of cells, the colony may consist of two of these simple stems springing from a common point, as in the so-called "twin graptolites" (_didymograptus_, fig. ). this type is entirely confined to the earlier portion of the lower silurian period (arenig and llandeilo). in other cases, again, there may be four of such stems springing from a central point (_tetragraptus_). lastly, there are numerous complex forms (such as _dichograptus, loganograptus_, &c.) in which there are eight or more of these simple branches, all arising from a common centre (fig. ), which is sometimes furnished with a singular horny disc. these complicated branching forms, as well as the _tetragrapti_, are characteristic of the horizon of the arenig group. similar forms, often specifically identical, are found at this horizon in wales, in the great series of the skiddaw slates of the north of england, in the quebec group in canada, in equivalent beds in sweden, and in certain gold-bearing slates of the same age in victoria in australia. [illustration: fig. .--_dichograptus octobrachiatus_, a branched, "unicellular" graptolite from the skiddaw and quebec groups (arenig). (after hall.)] in another great group of graptolites (including the genera _diplograptus, dicranograptus, climacograptus_, &c.) the common stem of the colony gives origin, over part or the whole or its length, to _two_ rows of cells, one on each side (fig. ). these "double-celled" graptolites are highly characteristic of the lower silurian deposits; and, with an exception more apparent than real in bohemia, they are exclusively confined to strata of lower silurian age, and are not known to occur in the upper silurian. lastly, there is a group of graptolites (_phyllograptus_, fig. ) in which the colony is leaf-like in form, and is composed of _four_ rows of cells springing in a cross-like manner from the common stem. these forms are highly characteristic of the arenig group. [illustration: fig. .--central portion of the colony of _didymegraptus divaricatus_, upper llandeilo, dumfresshire. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--examples of _diplograptus pristis_, showing variations in the appendages at the base. upper llandeilo, dumfriesshire. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--group of individuals of _phyllograptus typus_, from the quebec group of canada. (after hall.) one of the four rows of cells is hidden on the under surface.] the graptolites are usually found in dark-coloured, often black shales, which sometimes contain so much carbon as to become "anthracitic." they may be simply carbonaceous; but they are more commonly converted into iron-pyrites, when they glitter with the brilliant lustre of silver as they lie scattered on the surface of the rock, fully deserving in their metallic tracery the name of "written stones." they constitute one of the most important groups of silurian fossils, and are of the greatest value in determining the precise stratigraphical position of the beds in which they occur. they present, however, special difficulties in their study; and it is still a moot point as to their precise position in the zoological scale. the balance of evidence is in favour of regarding them as an ancient and peculiar group of the sea-firs (hydroid zoophytes), but some regard them as belonging rather to the sea-mosses (_polyzoa_). under any circumstances, they cannot be directly compared either with the ordinary sea-firs or the ordinary sea-mosses; for these two groups consist of fixed organisms, whereas the graptolites were certainly free-floating creatures, living at large in the open sea. the only hydroid zoophytes or polyzoans which have a similar free mode of existence, have either no skeleton at all, or have hard structures quite unlike the horny sheaths of the graptolites. the second great group of coelenterate animals (_actinozoa_) is represented in the lower silurian rocks by numerous corals. these, for obvious reasons, are much more abundant in regions where the lower silurian series is largely calcareous (as in north america) than in districts like wales, where limestones are very feebly developed. the lower silurian corals, though the first of their class, and presenting certain peculiarities, may be regarded as essentially similar in nature to existing corals. these, as is well known, are the calcareous skeletons of animals--the so-called "coral-zoophytes"--closely allied to the common sea-anemones in structure and habit. a _simple_ coral (fig. ) consists of a calcareous cup embedded in the soft tissues of the flower-like polype, and having at its summit a more or less deep depression (the "calice") in which the digestive organs are contained. the space within the coral is divided into compartments by numerous vertical calcareous plates (the "septa"), which spring from the inside of the wall of the cup, and of which some generally reach the centre. _compound_ corals, again (fig. ), consist of a greater or less number of structures similar in structure to the above, but united together in different ways into a common mass. _simple_ corals, therefore, are the skeletons of _single_ and independent polypes; whilst _compound_ corals are the skeletons of assemblages or colonies of similar polypes, living united with one another another as an organic community. [illustration: fig. .--_zaphrentis stokesi_, a simple "cup-coral," upper silurian, canada. (after billings.)] [illustration: fig. .--upper surface of a mass of _strombodes pentagonus_. upper silurian, canada. (after billings.)] in the general details of their structure, the lower silurian corals do not differ from the ordinary corals of the present day. the latter, however, have the vertical calcareous plates of the coral ("septa") arranged in multiples of six or five; whereas the former have these structures arranged in multiples of four, and often showing a cross-like disposition. for this reason, the common lower silurian corals are separated to form a distinct group under the name of _rugose_ corals or _rugosa_. they are further distinguished by the fact that the cavity of the coral ("visceral chamber") is usually subdivided by more or less numerous horizontal calcareous plates or partitions, which divide the coral into so many tiers or storeys, and which are known as the "tabulæ" (fig. ). [illustration: fig. .--_columnaria alveolata_, a rugose compound coral, with imperfect septa, but having the corallites partitioned off into storeys by "tabulæ." lower silurian, canada. (after billings.)] in addition to the rugose corals, the lower silurian rocks contain a number of curious compound corals, the tubes of which have either no septa at all or merely rudimentary ones, but which have the transverse partitions or "tabulæ" very highly developed. these are known as the _tabulate corals_; and recent researches on some of their existing allies (such as _heliopora_) have shown that they are really allied to the modern sea-pens, organ-pipe corals, and red coral, rather than to the typical stony corals. amongst the characteristic rugose corals of the lower silurian may be mentioned species belonging to the genera _columnaria, favistella, streptelasma_, and _zaphrentis_; whilst amongst the "tabulate" corals, the principal forms belong to the genera _choetetes, halysites_ (the chain-coral), _constellaria_, and _heliolites_. these groups of the corals, however, attain a greater development at a later period, and they will be noticed more particularly hereafter. [illustration: fig. .--group of cystideans. a, _caryocrinus ornatus_,[ ] upper silurian, america; b, _pleurocystites squamosus_, showing two short "arms," lower silurian, canada; c, _pseudocrinus bifasciatus_, upper silurian, england; d, _lepadocrinus gebhartii_, upper silurian, america. (after hall, billings, and salter.)] [footnote : the genus _caryocrinus_ is sometimes regarded as properly belonging to the _crinoids_, but there seem to be good reasons for rather considering it as an abnormal form of _cystidean_.] passing onto higher animals, we find that the class of the _echinodermata_ is represented by examples of the star-fishes (_asteroidea_), the sea-lilies (_crinoidea_), and the peculiar extinct group of the cystideans (_cystoidea_), with one or two of the brittle-stars (_ophiuroidea_)--the sea-urchins (_echinoidea_) being still wanting. the crinoids, though in some places extremely numerous, have not the varied development that they possess in the upper silurian, in connection with which their structure will be more fully spoken of. in the meanwhile, it is sufficient to note that many of the calcareous deposits of the lower silurian are strictly entitled to the name of "crinoidal limestones," being composed in great part of the detached joints, and plates, and broken stems, of these beautiful but fragile organisms (see fig. ). allied to the crinoids are the singular creatures which are known as _cystideans_ (fig. ). these are generally composed of a globular or ovate body (the "calyx"), supported upon a short stalk (the "column"), by which the organism was usually attached to some foreign body. the body was enclosed by closely-fitting calcareous plates, accurately jointed together; and the stem was made up of numerous distinct pieces or joints, flexibly united to each other by membrane. the chief distinction which strikes one in comparing the cystideans with the crinoids is, that the latter are always furnished, as will be subsequently seen, with a beautiful crown of branched and feathery appendages, springing from the summit of the calyx, and which are composed of innumerable calcareous plates or joints, and are known as the "arms." in the cystideans, on the other hand, there are either no "arms" at all, or merely short, unbranched, rudimentary arms. the cystideans are principally, and indeed nearly exclusively, silurian fossils; and though occurring in the upper silurian in no small numbers, they are pre-eminently characteristic of the llandeilo-caradoc period of lower silurian time. they commenced their existence, so far as known, in the upper cambrian; and though examples are not absolutely unknown in later periods, they are pre-eminently characteristic of the earlier portion of the palæozoic epoch. [illustration: fig. .--lower silurian crustaceans. a, _asaphus tyrannus_, upper llandeilo; b. _ogygia buchii_, upper llandeilo; c, _trinucleus concentricus_, caradoc; d, _caryocaris wrightii_, arenig (skiddaw slates); e, _beyrichia complicata_, natural size and enlarged, upper llandeilo and caradoc; f, _primitia strangulata_, caradoc: g. head-shield of _calymene blumenbachii_, var. _brevicapitata_, caradoc; h, head-shield of _triarthrus becki_ (utica slates), united states: i, shield of _leperditia canadensis_, var. _josephiana_, of the natural size, trenton limestone, canada; j, the same, viewed from the front. (after salter, m'coy, rupert jones, and dana.)] the ringed worms (_annelides_) are abundantly represented in the lower silurian, but principally by tracks and burrows similar in essential respects to those which occur so commonly in the cambrian formation, and calling for no special comment. much more important are the _articulate_ animals, represented as heretofore, wholly by the remains of the aquatic group of the _crustaceans_. amongst these are numerous little bivalved forms--such as species of _primitia_ (fig. , f), _beyrichia_ (fig. , e), and _leperditia_ (fig. , i and j). most of these are very small, varying from the size of a pin's head up to that of a hemp seed; but they are sometimes as large as a small bean (fig. , i), and they are commonly found in myriads together in the rock. as before said, they belong to the same great group as the living water-fleas (_ostracoda_). besides these, we find the pod-shaped head-shields of the shrimp-like phyllopods--such as _caryocaris_ (fig. , d) and _ceratiocaris_. more important, however, than any of these are the _trilobites_, which may be considered as attaining their maximum development in the lower silurian. the huge _paradoxides_ of the cambrian have now disappeared, and with them almost all the principal and characteristic "primordial" genera, save _olenus_ and _agnostus_. in their place we have a great number of new forms--some of them, like the great _asaphus tyrannus_ of the upper llandeilo (fig. , a), attaining a length of a foot or more, and thus hardly yielding in the matter of size to their ancient rivals. almost every subdivision of the lower silurian series has its own special and characteristic species of trilobites; and the study of these is therefore of great importance to the geologist. a few widely-dispersed and characteristic species have been here figured (fig. ); and the following may be considered as the principal lower silurian genera--_asaphus, ogygia, cheirurus, ampyx, caiymene, trinucleus, lichas, illoenus, Æglina, harpes, remopleurides, phacops, acidaspis_, and _homalonotus_, a few of them passing upwards under new forms into the upper silurian. coming next to the _mollusca_, we find the group of the sea-mosses and sea-mats (_polyzoa_) represented now by quite a number of forms. amongst these are examples of the true lace-corals (_retepora_ and _fenestella_), with their netted fan-like or funnel-shaped fronds; and along with these are numerous delicate encrusting forms, which grew parasitically attached to shells and corals (_hippothoa, alecto_, &c.); but perhaps the most characteristic forms belong to the genus _ptilodictya_ (figs. and ). in this group the frond is flattened, with thin striated edges, sometimes sword-like or scimitar-shaped, but often more or less branched; and it consists of two layers of cells, separated by a delicate membrane, and opening upon opposite sides. each of these little chambers or "cells" was originally tenanted by a minute animal, and the whole thus constituted a compound organism or colony. [illustration: fig. .--_ptilodictya falciformis_. a, small specimen of the natural size; b, cross-section, showing the shape of the frond; c, portion of the surface, enlarged. trenton limestone and cincinnati group, america. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--a, _ptilodictya acuta_; b, _ptilodictya schafferi_. a, fragment, of the natural size; b, portion, enlarged to show the cells. cincinnati group of ohio and canada. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--lower silurian brachiopods. a and a', _orthis biforata_, llandeilo-caradoc, britain and america: b, _orthis flabellulum_, caradoc, britain: c, _orthis subquadrata_, cincinnati group, america; c', interior of the dorsal valve of the same: d, _strophomena deltoidea_, llandeilo-caradoc, britain and america. (after meek, hall, and salter.)] the lamp-shells or _brachiopods_ are so numerous, and present such varied types, both in this and the succeeding period of the upper silurian, that the name of "age of brachiopods" has with justice been applied to the silurian period as a whole. it would be impossible here to enter into details as to the many different forms of brachiopods which present themselves in the lower silurian deposits; but we may select the three genera _orthis, strophomena_, and _leptoena_ for illustration, as being specially characteristic of this period, though not exclusively confined to it. the numerous shells which belong to the extensive and cosmopolitan genus _orthis_ (fig. , a, b, c, and fig. , c and d), are usually more or less transversely-oblong or subquadrate, the two valves (as more or less in all the brachiopods) of unequal sizes, generally more or less convex, and marked with radiating ribs or lines. the valves of the shell are united to one another by teeth and sockets, and there is a straight hinge-line. the beaks are also separated by a distinct space ("hinge-area"), formed in part by each valve, which is perforated by a triangular opening, through which, in the living condition, passed a muscular cord attaching the shell to some foreign object. the genus _strophomena_ (fig. , d, and , a and b) is very like _orthis_ in general character; but the shell is usually much flatter, one or other valve often being concave, the hinge-line is longer, and the aperture for the emission of the stalk of attachment is partially closed by a calcareous plate. in _leptoena_, again (fig. , e), the shell is like _strophomena_ in many respects, but generally comparatively longer, often completely semicircular, and having one valve convex and the other valve concave. amongst other genera of brachiopods which are largely represented in the lower silurian rocks may be mentioned _lingula, crania, discina, trematis, siphonotreta, acrotreta, rhynchonella_, and _athyris_; but none of these can claim the importance to which the three previously-mentioned groups are entitled. [illustration: fig. .--lower silurian brachiopods, a, _strophomena alternata_, cincinnati group, america; b, _strophomena filitexta, trenton and cincinnati groups, america; c, _orthis testudinaria_, caradoc, europe, and america; d, d', _orthis plicateila_, cincinnati group, america; e, e', e'', _leptoena sericea_, llandeilo and caradoc, europe and america. (after meek, hall, and the author.)] the remaining lower silurian groups of _mollusca_ can be but briefly glanced at here. the bivalves (_lamellibranchiata_) find numerous representatives, belonging to such genera as _modiolopsis, ctenodonta, orthonota, paloearca, lyrodesma, ambonychia_, and _cleidophorus_. the univalves (_gasteropoda_) are also very numerous, the two most important genera being _murchisonia_ (fig. ) and _pleurotomaria_. in both these groups the outer lip of the shell is notched; but the shell in the former is elongated and turreted, whilst in the latter it is depressed. the curious oceanic univalves known as the _heteropods_ are also very abundant, the principal forms belonging to _bellerophon_ and _maclurea_. in the former (fig. ) there is a symmetrical convoluted shell, like that of the pearly nautilus in shape, but without any internal partitions, and having the aperture often expanded and notched behind. the species of _maclurea_ (fig. ) are found both in north america and in scotland, and are exclusively confined to the lower silurian period, so far as known. they have the shell coiled into a flat spiral, the mouth being furnished with a very curious, thick, and solid lid or "operculum." the lower silurian _pteropods_, or "winged snails," are numerous, and belong principally to the genera _theca, conularia_, and _tentaculites_, the last-mentioned of these often being extremely abundant in certain strata. [illustration: fig. .--_murchisonia gracilis_, trenton limestone, america. (after billings.)] [illustration: fig. .--different views of _bellerophon argo_, trenton limestone, canada. (after billings.)] [illustration: fig. .--different views of _maclurea crenulata_, quebec group, newfoundland. (after billings.)] [illustration: fig. .--fragment of _orthoceras crebriseptum_, cincinnati group, north america, of the natural size. the lower figure section showing the air-chambers, and the form and position of the siphuncle. (after billings.)] [illustration: fig. .--[ ] restoration of orthoceras, the shell being supposed to be divided vertically, and only its upper part being shown. a, arms; f, muscular tube ("funnel") by which water is expelled from the mantle-chamber; c, air-chambers; s, siphuncle.] [footnote : this illustration is taken from a rough sketch made by the author many years ago, but he is unable to say from what original source it was copied.] lastly, the lower silurian rocks have yielded a vast number of chambered shells, referable to animals which belong to the same great division as the cuttle-fishes (the _cephalopoda_), and of which the pearly nautilus is the only living representative at the present day. in this group of _cephalopods_ the animal possesses a well-developed external shell, which is divided into chambers by shelly partitions ("septa"). the animal lives in the last-formed and largest chamber of the shell, to which it is organically connected by muscular attachments. the head is furnished with long muscular processes or "arms," and can be protruded from the mouth of the shell at will, or again withdrawn within it. we learn, also, from the pearly nautilus, that these animals must have possessed two pairs of breathing organs or "gills;" hence all these forms are grouped together under the name of the "tetrabranchiate" cephalopods (gr. _tetra_, four; _bragchia_, gill). on the other hand, the ordinary cuttle-fishes and calamaries either possess an internal skeleton, or if they have an external shell, it is not chambered; their "arms" are furnished with powerful organs of adhesion in the form of suckers; and they possess only a single pair of gills. for this last reason they are termed the "dibranchiate" cephalopods (gr. _dis_, twice; _bragchia_, gill). no trace of the true cuttle-fishes has yet been found in lower silurian deposits; but the tetrabranchiate group is represented by a great number of forms, sometimes of great size. the principal lower silurian genus is the well-known and widely-distributed _orthoceras_ (fig. ). the shell in this genus agrees with that of the existing _pearly nautilus_, in consisting of numerous chambers separated by shelly partitions (or septa), the latter being perforated by a tube which runs the whole length of the shell after the last chamber, and is known as the "siphuncle" (fig. , s). the last chamber formed is the largest, and in it the animal lives. the chambers behind this are apparently filled with some gas secreted by the animal itself; and these are supposed to act as a kind of float, enabling the creature to move with ease under the weight of its shell. the various air-chambers, though the siphuncle passes through them, have no direct connection with one another; and it is believed that the animal has the power of slightly altering its specific gravity, and thus of rising or sinking in the water by driving additional fluid into the siphuncle or partially emptying it. the _orthoceras_ further agrees with the pearly nautilus in the fact that the partitions or septa separating the different air-chambers are simple and smooth, concave in front and convex behind, and devoid of the elaborate lobation which they exhibit in the ammonites; whilst the siphuncle pierces the septa either in the centre or near it. in the nautilus, however, the shell is coiled into a flat spiral; whereas in _orthoceras_ the shell is a straight, longer or shorter cone, tapering behind, and gradually expanding towards its mouth in front. the chief objections to the belief that the animal of the _orthoceras_ was essentially like that of the pearly nautilus are--the comparatively small size of the body-chamber, the often contracted aperture of the mouth, and the enormous size of some specimens of the shell. thus, some _orthocerata_ have been discovered measuring ten or twelve feet in length, with a diameter of a foot at the larger extremity. these colossal dimensions certainly make it difficult to imagine that the comparatively small body-chamber could have held an animal large enough to move a load so ponderous as its own shell. to some, this difficulty has appeared so great that they prefer to believe that the _orthoceras_ did not live in its shell at all, but that its shell was an internal skeleton similar to what we shall find to exist in many of the true cuttle-fishes. there is something to be said in favour of this view, but it would compel us to believe in the existence in lower silurian times of cuttle-fishes fully equal in size to the giant "kraken" of fable. it need only be added in this connection that the lower silurian rocks have yielded the remains of many other tetrabranchiate cephalopods besides _orthoceras_. some of these belong to _cyrtoceras_, which only differs from _orthoceras_ in the bow-shaped form of the shell; others belong to _phragmoceras_, _lituites_, &c.; and, lastly; we have true _nautili_, with their spiral shells, closely resembling the existing pearly nautilus. whilst all the sub-kingdoms of the invertebrate animals are represented in the lower silurian rocks, no traces of vertebrate animals have ever been discovered in these ancient deposits, unless the so-called "conodonts" found by pander in vast numbers in strata of this age [ ] in russia should prove to be really of this nature. these problematical bodies are of microscopic size, and have the form of minute, conical, tooth-shaped spines, with sharp edges, and hollow at the base. their original discoverer regarded them as the horny teeth of fishes allied to the lampreys; but owen came to the conclusion that they probably belonged to invertebrates. the recent investigation of a vast number of similar but slightly larger bodies, of very various forms, in the carboniferous rocks of ohio, has led professor newberry to the conclusion that these singular fossils really are, as pander thought, the teeth of cyclostomatous fishes. the whole of this difficult question has thus been reopened, and we may yet have to record the first advent of vertebrate animals in the lower silurian. [footnote : according to pander, the "conodonts" are found not only in the lower silurian beds, but also in the "ungulite grit" (upper cambrian), as well as in the devonian and carboniferous deposits of russia. should the conodonts prove to be truly the remains of fishes, we should thus have to transfer the first appearance of vertebrates to, at any rate, as early a period as the upper cambrian.] chapter x. the upper silurian period. having now treated of the lower silurian period at considerable length, it will not be necessary to discuss the succeeding group of the _upper silurian_ in the same detail--the more so, as with a general change of _species_ the upper silurian animals belong for the most part to the same great types as those which distinguish the lower silurian. as compared, also, as regards the total bulk of strata concerned, the thickness of the upper silurian is generally very much below that of the lower silurian, indicating that they represent a proportionately shorter period of time. in considering the general succession of the upper silurian beds, we shall, as before, select wales and america as being two regions where these deposits are typically developed. in wales and its borders the general succession of the upper silurian rocks may be taken to be as follows, in ascending order (fig. ):-- ( ) the base of the upper silurian series is constituted by a series of arenaceous beds, to which the name of "may hill sandstone" was applied by sedgwick. these are succeeded by a series of greenish-grey or pale-grey slates ("tarannon shales"), sometimes of great thickness; and these two groups of beds together form what may be termed the "_may hill group_" (upper llandovery of murchison). though not very extensively developed in britain, this zone is one very well marked by its fossils; and it corresponds with the "clinton group" of north america, in which similar fossils occur. in south wales this group is clearly unconformable to the highest member of the subjacent lower silurian (the llandovery group); and there is reason to believe that a similar, though less conspicuous, physical break occurs very generally between the base of the upper and the summit of the lower silurian. ( ) the _wenlock group_ succeeds the may hill group, and constitutes the middle member of the upper silurian. at its base it may have an irregular limestone ("woolhope limestone"), and its summit may be formed by a similar but thicker calcareous deposit ("wenlock limestone"); but the bulk of the group is made up of the argillaceous and shaly strata known as the "wenlock shale." in north wales the wenlock group is, represented by a great accumulation of flaggy and gritty strata (the "denbighshire flags and grits"), and similar beds (the "coniston flags" and "coniston grits") take the same place in the north of england. ( ) the _ludlow group_ is the highest member of the upper silurian, and consists typically of a lower arenaceous and shaly series (the "lower ludlow rock") a middle calcareous member (the "aymestry limestone"), and an upper shaly and sandy series (the "upper ludlow rock" and "downton sandstone"). at the summit, or close to the summit, of the upper ludlow, is a singular stratum only a few inches thick (varying from an inch to a foot), which contains numerous remains of crustaceans and fishes, and is well known under the name of the "bone-bed." finally, the upper ludlow rock graduates invariably into a series of red sandy deposits, which, when of a flaggy character, are known locally as the "tile-stones." these beds are probably to be regarded as the highest member of the upper silurian; but they are sometimes looked upon as passage-beds into the old red sandstone, or as the base of this formation. it is, in fact, apparently impossible to draw any actual line of demarcation between the upper silurian and the overlying deposits of the devonian or old red sandstone series. both in britain and in america the lower devonian beds repose with perfect conformity upon the highest silurian beds, and the two formations appear to pass into one another by a gradual and imperceptible transition. the upper silurian strata of britain vary from perhaps or feet in thickness up to or , feet. in north america the corresponding series, though also variable, is generally of much smaller thickness, and may be under feet. the general succession of the upper silurian deposits of north america is as follows:-- ( ) _medina sandstone_.--this constitutes the base of the upper silurian, and consists of sandy strata, singularly devoid of life, and passing below in some localities into a conglomerate ("oneida conglomerate"), which is stated to contain pebbles derived from the older beds, and which would thus indicate an unconformity between the upper and lower silurian. ( ) _clinton group_.--above the medina sandstone are beds of sandstone and shale, sometimes with calcareous bands, which constitute what is known as the "clinton group." the medina and clinton groups are undoubtedly the equivalent of the "may hill group" of britain, as shown by the identity of their fossils. [illustration: fig. . generalized section of the upper silurian strata of wales and shropshire.] ( ) _niagara group_.--this group consists typically of a series of argillaceous beds ("niagara shale") capped by limestones ("niagara limestone"); and the name of the group is derived from the fact that it is over limestones of this age that the niagara river is precipitated to form the great falls. in places the niagara group is wholly calcareous, and it is continued upwards into a series of marls and sandstones, with beds of salt and masses of gypsum (the "salina group"), or into a series of magnesian limestones ("guelph limestones"). the niagara group, as a whole, corresponds unequivocally with the wenlock group of britain. ( ) _lower helderberg group_.--the upper silurian period in north america was terminated by the deposition of a series of calcareous beds, which derive the name of "lower helderberg" from the helderberg mountains, south of albany, and which are divided into several zones, capable of recognition by their fossils, and known by local names (tentaculite limestone, water-lime, lower pentamerus limestone, delthyris shaly limestone, and upper pentamerus limestone). as a whole, this series may be regarded as the equivalent of the ludlow group of britain, though it is difficult to establish any precise parallelism. the summit of the lower heiderberg group is constituted by a coarse-grained sandstone (the "oriskany sandstone"), replete with organic remains, which have to a large extent a silurian _facies_. opinions differ as to whether this sandstone is to be regarded as the highest bed of the upper silurian or the base of the devonian. we thus see that in america, as in britain, no other line than an artificial one can be drawn between the upper silurian and the overlying devonian. as regards the _life_ of the upper silurian period, we have, as before, a number of so-called "fucoids," the true vegetable nature of which is in many instances beyond doubt. in addition to these, however, we meet for the first time, in deposits of this age, with the remains of genuine land-plants, though our knowledge of these is still too scanty to enable us to construct any detailed picture of the terrestrial vegetation of the period. some of these remains indicate the existence of the remarkable genus _lepidodendron_--a genus which played a part of great importance in the forests of the devonian and carboniferous periods, and which may be regarded as a gigantic and extinct type of the club-mosses (_lycopodiaceoe_). near the summit of the ludlow formation in britain there have also been found beds charged with numerous small globular bodies, which dr hooker has shown to be the seed-vessels or "sporangia" of club-mosses. principal dawson further states that he has seen in the same formation fragments of wood with the structure of the singular devonian conifer known as _prototaxites_. lastly, the same distinguished observer has described from the upper silurian of north america the remains of the singular land-plants belonging to the genus _psilophyton_, which will be referred to at greater length hereafter. the marine life of the upper silurian is in the main constituted by types of animals similar to those characterising the lower silurian, though for the most part belonging to different species. the _protozoans_ are represented principally by _stromatopora_ and _ischadites_, along with a number of undoubted sponges (such as _amphispongia, astroeospongia, astylospongia_, and _paloeomanon_). amongst the _coelenterates_, we find the old group of _graptolites_ now verging on extinction. individuals still remain numerous, but the variety of generic and specific types has now become greatly reduced. all the branching and complex forms of the arenig, the twin-graptolites and _dicranograpti_ of the llandeilo, and the double-celled _diplograpti_ and _climacograpti_ of the bala group, have now disappeared. in their place we have the singular _retiolites_, with its curiously-reticulated skeleton; and several species of the single-celled genus _monograptus_, of which a characteristic species (_m. priodon_) is here figured. if we remove from this group the plant-like _dictyonemoe_, which are still present, and which survive into the devonian, no known species of _graptolite_ has hitherto been detected in strata higher in geological position than the ludlow. this, therefore, presents us with the first instance we have as yet met with of the total disappearance and extinction of a great and important series of organic forms. [illustration: fig. .--a, _monograptus priodon_, slightly enlarged. b, fragment of the same viewed from behind. c, fragment of the same viewed in front, showing the mouths of the cellules. d, cross-section of the same. from the wenlock group (coniston flags of the north of england). (original.)] the _corals_ are very numerously represented in the upper silurian rocks some of the limestones (such as the wenlock limestone) being often largely composed of the skeletons of these animals. almost all the known forms of this period belong to the two great divisions of the rugose and tabulate corals, the former being represented by species of _zaphrentis, omphyma, cystiphyllum, strombodes, acervularia, cyathophyllum_, &c.; whilst the latter belong principally to the genera _favosites, choetetes, halysites, syringopora, heliolites_, and _plasmopora_. amongst the _rugosa_, the first appearance of the great and important genus _cyathophyllum_, so characteristic of the palæozoic period, is to be noted; and amongst the _tabulata_ we have similarly the first appearance, in force at any rate, of the widely-spread genus _favosites_--the "honeycomb-corals." the "chain-corals" (_halysites_), figured below (fig. ), are also very common examples of the tabulate corals during this period, though they occur likewise in the lower silurian. [illustration: fig. .--a, _halysites catenularia_, small variety, of the natural size; b, fragment of a large variety of the same, of the natural size; c, fragment of limestone with the tubes of _halysites agglomerata_, of the natural size; d, vertical section of two tubes of the same, showing the tabulæ, enlarged. niagara limestone (wenlock), canada. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--upper silurian star-fishes. , _palasterina primoeva_, lower ludlow; , _paloeaster ruthveni_, lower ludlow; , _paloeocoma colvini_, lower ludlow. (after salter.)] [illustration: fig. .--a, _protaster sedgwickii_, showing the disc and bases of the arms; b, portion of an arm, greatly enlarged. lower ludlow. (after salter.)] amongst the _echinodermata_, all those orders which have hard parts capable of ready preservation are more or less largely represented. we have no trace of the holothurians or sea-cucumbers; but this is not surprising, as the record of the past is throughout almost silent as to the former existence of these soft-bodied creatures, the scattered plates and spicules in their skin offering a very uncertain chance of preservation in the fossil condition. the sea-urchins (_echinoids_) are said to be represented by examples of the old genus _paloechinus_. the star-fishes (_asteroids_) and the brittle-stars (_ophiuroids_) are, comparatively speaking, largely represented; the former by species of _palasterina_ (fig. ), _paloeaster_ (fig. ), _paloeocoma_ (fig. ), _petraster, glyptaster_, and _lepidaster_--and the latter by species of _protaster_ (fig. ), _paloeodiscus, acroura_, and _eucladia_. the singular _cystideans_, or "globe crinoids," with their globular or ovate, tesselated bodies (fig. , a, c, d,), are also not uncommon in the upper silurian; and if they do not become finally extinct here, they certainly survive the close of this period by but a very brief time. by far the most important, however, of the upper silurian echinodenns, are the sea-lilies or _crinoids_. the limestones of this period are often largely composed of the fragmentary columns and detached plates of these creatures, and some of them (such as the wenlock limestone of dudley) have yielded perhaps the most exquisitely-preserved examples of this group with which we are as yet acquainted. however varied in their forms, these beautiful organisms consist of a globular, ovate, or pear-shaped body (the "calyx"), supported upon a longer or shorter jointed stem (or "column"). the body is covered externally with an armour of closely-fitting calcareous plates (fig. ), and its upper surface is protected by similar but smaller plates more loosely connected by a leathery integument. from the upper surface of the body, round its margin, springs a series of longer or shorter flexible processes, composed of innumerable calcareous joints or pieces, movably united with one another. the arms are typically five in number; but they generally subdivide at least once, sometimes twice, and they are furnished with similar but more slender lateral branches or "pinnules," thus giving rise to a crown of delicate feathery plumes. the "column" is the stem by which the animal is attached permanently to the bottom of the sea; and it is composed of numerous separate plates, so jointed together that whilst the amount of movement between any two pieces must be very limited, the entire column acquires more or less flexibility, allowing the organism as a whole to wave backwards and forwards on its stalk. into the exquisite _minutioe_ of structure by which the innumerable parts entering into the composition of a single crinoid are adapted for their proper purposes in the economy of the animal, it is impossible to enter here. no period, as before said, has yielded examples of greater beauty than the upper silurian, the principal genera represented being _cyathocrinus, platycrinus, marsupiocrinus, taxocrinus, eucalyptocrinus, ichthyocrinus, mariacrinus, periechocrinus, glyptocrinus, crotalocrinus_, and _edriocrinus_. [illustration: fig .--upper silurian crinoids. a, calyx and arms of _eucalyptocrinus polydactylus_, wenlock limestone; b, _ichthyocrinus loevis_, niagara limestone, america; c, _taxocrinus tuberculatus_, wenlock limestone. (after m'coy and hall.)] [illustration: fig. .--_planolites vulgaris_, the filled-up burrows of a marine worm. upper silurian (clinton group), canada. (original.)] the tracks and burrows of _annelides_ are as abundant in the upper silurian strata as in older deposits, and have just as commonly been regarded as plants. the most abundant forms are the cylindrical, twisted bodies (planolites), which are so frequently found on the surfaces of sandy beds, and which have been described as the stems of sea-weeds. these fossils (fig. ), however, can be nothing more, in most cases, than the filled-up burrows of marine worms resembling the living lob-worms. there are also various remains which belong to the group of the tube-inhabiting annelides (_tubicola_). of this nature are the tubes of _serpulites_ and _cornultites_, and the little spiral discs of _spirorbis lewisii_. [illustration: fig. .--upper silurian trilobites. a, _cheirurus bimucronatus_, wenlock and caradoc; b, _phacops longicaudatus_, wenlock, britain, and america; c, _phacops downingioe_, wenlock and ludlow; d, _harpes ungula_, upper silurian, bohemia. (after salter and barrande.)] amongst the _articulates_, we still meet only with the remains of _crustaceans_. besides the little bivalved _ostracoda_--which here are occasionally found of the size of beans--and various _phyllopods_ of different kinds, we have an abundance of _trilobites_. these last-mentioned ancient types, however, are now beginning to show signs of decadence; and though still individually numerous, there is a great diminution in the number of generic types. many of the old genera, which flourished so abundantly in lower silurian seas, have now died out; and the group is represented chiefly by species of _cheirurus, encrinurus, harpes, proetus, lichas, acidaspis, illoenus, calymene, homalonotus_, and _phacops_--the last of these, one of the highest and most beautiful of the groups of trilobites, attaining here its maximum of development. in the annexed illustration (fig. ) some of the characteristic upper silurian trilobites are represented--all, however, belonging to genera which have their commencement in the lower silurian period. in addition to the above, the ludlow rocks of britain and the lower helderberg beds of north america have yielded the remains of certain singular crustaceans belonging to the extinct order of the _eurypterida_. some of these wonderful forms are not remarkable for their size; but others, such as _pterygotus anglicus_ (fig. ), attain a length of six feet or more, and may fairly be considered as the giants of their class. the eurypterids are most nearly allied to the existing king-crabs (_limuli_), and have the anterior end of the body covered with a great head-shield, carrying two pairs of eyes, the one simple and the other compound. the feelers are converted into pincers, whilst the last pair of limbs have their bases covered with spiny teeth so as to act as jaws, and are flattened and widened out towards their extremities so as to officiate as swimming-paddles. the hinder extremity of the body is composed of thirteen rings, which have no legs attached to them; and the last segment of the tail is either a flattened plate or a narrow, sword-shaped spine. fragments of the skeleton are easily recognised by the peculiar scale-like markings with which the surface is adorned, and which look not at all unlike the scales of a fish. the most famous locality for these great crustaceans is lesmahagow, in lanarkshire, where many different species have been found. the true king-crabs (_limuli_) of existing seas also appear to have been represented by at least one form (_neolimulus_) in the upper silurian. [illustration: fig. .--_pterygotus anglicus_, viewed from the under side, reduced in size, and restored. c c, the feelers (antennæ), terminating in nipping-claws; o o, eyes; m m, three pairs of jointed limbs, with pointed extremities; n n, swimming-paddles, the bases of which are spiny and act as jaws. upper silurian, lanarkshire. (after henry woodward.)] coming to the _mollusca_, we note the occurrence of the same great groups as in the lower silurian. amongst the sea-mosses (_polyzoa_), we have the ancient lace-corals (_fenestella_ and _retepora_), with the nearly-allied _glauconome_, and species of _ptilodictya_ (fig. ); whilst many forms often referred here may probably have to be transferred to the corals, just as some so-called corals will ultimately be removed to the present group. [illustration: fig. .--upper silurian polyzoa. , fan-shaped frond of _rhinopora verrucosa_; a, portion of the surface of the same, enlarged; and a, _phoenopora ensiformis_, of the natural size and enlarged; and a, _helopora fragilis_, of the natural size and enlarged; and a, _ptilodictya raripora_, of the natural size and enlarged. the specimens are all from the clinton formation (may hill group) of canada. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--_spirifera hysterica_. the right-hand figure shows the interior of the dorsal valve with the calcareous spires for the support of the arms.] [illustration: fig. .--upper silurian brachiopods. a a', _leptocoelia plano-convexa_, clinton group, america; b b', _rhynchonella neglecta_, clinton group, america; c, _rhynchonella cuneata_, niagara group, america, and wenlock group, britain; d d', _orthis elelgantula_, llandeilo to ludlow, america and europe; e e', _atrypa hemispherica_, clinton group, america, and llandovery and may hill groups, britain; f f', _atrypa congesta_, clinton group, america; g g', _orthis davidsoni_, clinton group, america. (after hall, billings, and the author.)] the brachiopods continued to flourish during the upper silurian period in immense numbers and under a greatly increased variety of forms. the three prominent lower silurian genera _orthis, strophomena_, and _leptoena_ are still well represented, though they have lost their former preeminence. amongst the numerous types which have now come upon the scene for the first time, or which have now a special development, are _spirifera_ and _pentamerus_. in the first of these (fig. . b, c), one of the valves of the shell (the dorsal) is furnished in its interior with a pair of great calcareous spires, which served for the support of the long and fringed fleshy processes or "arms" which were attached to the sides of the mouth.[ ] in the genus _pentamerus_ (fig. ) the shell is curiously subdivided in its interior by calcareous plates. the _pentameri_ commenced their existence at the very close of the lower silurian (llandovery), and survived to the close of the upper silurian; but they are specially characteristic of the may hill and wenlock groups, both in britain and in other regions. one species, _pentamerus galeatus_, is common to sweden, britain, and america. amongst the remaining upper silurian brachiopods are the extraordinary _trimerellids_; the old and at the same time modern _linguloe, discinoe_, and _cranioe_; together with many species of _atrypa_ (fig. , e), _leptocoelia_ (fig. , a), _rhynchonella_ (fig. , b, c), _meristella_ (fig. , a, e, f), _athyris, retzia, chonetes_, &c. [footnote : in all the lamp-shells the mouth is provided with two long fleshy organs, which carry delicate filaments on their sides, and which are usually coiled into a spiral. these organs are known as the "arms," and it is from their presence that the name of "_brachiopoda_" is derived (gr. _brachion_, arm; _podes_, feet). in some cases the arms are merely coiled away within the shell, without any support; but in other cases they are carried upon a more or less elaborate shelly loop, often spoken of as the "carriage-spring apparatus." in the _spirifers_, and in other ancient genera, this apparatus is coiled up into a complicated spiral (fig. ). it is these "arms," with or without the supporting loops or spires, which serve as one of the special characters distinguishing the _brachiopods_ from the true bivalves (_lamellibranchiata_).] [illustration: fig. .-a a', meristella intermedia_, niagara group, america; b, _spirifera niagarensis_, niagara group, america; c c', _spirifera crispa_, may hill to ludlow, britain, and niagara group, america; d, _strophomena (streptorhynchus) subplana_, niagara group, america; e, _meristella naviformis_, niagara group, america; f, _meristella cylindrica_, niagara group, america. (after hall, billings, and the author.)] [illustration: fig. .--_pentamerus knightii_. wenlock and ludlow. the right-hand figure shows the internal partitions of the shell.] [illustration: fig. .--upper silurian bivalves. a, _cardiola interrupta_, wenlock and ludlow; b, _pterinea subfalcata_, wenlock; c, _cardiola fibrosa_, ludlow. (after salter and m'coy.)] [illustration: fig. .--upper silurian gasteropods. a, _platyceras ventricosum_, lower helderberg, america; b, _euomphalus discors_, wenlock, britain; c, _holopella obsoleta_ ludlow, britain; d, _platyschisma helicites_, upper ludlow, britain; e, _holopella gracilior_, wenlock, britain; f, _platyceras multisinuatum_, lower helderberg, america; g, _holopea subconica_, lower helderberg, america; h, h', _platyostoma niagarense_, niagara group, america. (after hall, m'coy, and salter.)] [illustration: fig .--_tentaculites ornatus_. upper silurian of europe and north america.] the higher groups of the _mollusca_ are also largely represented in the upper silurian. apart from some singular types, such as the huge and thick-shelled _megalomi_ of the american wenlock formation, the bivalves (_lamellibranchiata_) present little of special interest; for though sufficiently numerous, they are rarely well preserved, and their true affinities are often uncertain. amongst the most characteristic genera of this period may be mentioned _cardiola_ (fig. , a and c) and _pterinea_ (fig. , b), though the latter survives to a much later date. the univalves (_gasteropoda_) are very numerous, and a few characteristic forms are here figured (fig. ). of these, no genus is perhaps more characteristic than _euomphalus_ (fig. , b), with its flat discoidal shell, coiled up into an oblique spiral, and deeply hollowed out on one side; but examples of this group are both of older and of more modern date. another very extensive genus, especially in america, is platyceras (fig. , a and f), with its thin fragile shell--often hardly coiled up at all--its minute spire, and its widely-expanded, often sinuated mouth. the british _acroculioe_ should probably be placed here, and the group has with reason been regarded as allied to the violet-snails (_ianthina_) of the open atlantic. the species of _platyostoma_ (fig. , h) also belong to the same family; and the entire group is continued throughout the devonian into the carboniferous. amongst other well-known upper silurian gasteropods are species of the genera _holopea_ (fig. , g), _holopella_ (fig. . e), _platyschisma_ (fig. , d), _cyclonema, pleurotomaria, murchisonia, trochonema_, &c. the oceanic univalves (_heteropods_) are represented mainly by species of _bellerophon_; and the winged snails, or _pteropods_, can still boast of the gigantic _thecoe_ and _conularioe_, which characterise yet older deposits. the commonest genus of _pteropoda_, however, is _tentaculites_ (fig. ), which clearly belongs here, though it has commonly been regarded as the tube of an annelide. the shell in this group is a conical tube, usually adorned with prominent transverse rings, and often with finer transverse or longitudinal striæ as well; and many beds of the upper silurian exhibit myriads of such tubes scattered promiscuously over their surfaces. the last and highest group of the _mollusca_--that of the _cephalopoda_--is still represented only by _tetrabranchiate_ forms; but the abundance and variety of these is almost beyond belief. many hundreds of different species are known, chiefly belonging to the straight _orthoceratites_, but the slightly-curved _cyrtoceras_ is only little less common. there are also numerous forms of the genera _phragmoceras, ascoceras, gyroteras, lituites_, and _nautilus_. here, also, are the first-known species of the genus _goniatites_--a group which attains considerable importance in later deposits, and which is to be regarded as the precursor of the _ammonites_ of the secondary period. [illustration: fig. .--head-shield of _pteraspis banksii_, ludlow rocks. (after murchison.)] [illustration: fig. .--a, spine of _onchus tenuistriatus_; b, shagreen-scales of _thelodus_. both from the "bone-bed" of the upper ludlow rocks. (after murchison.)] finally, we find ourselves for the first time called upon to consider the remains of undoubted vertebrate animals, in the form of _fishes_. the oldest of these remains, so far as yet known, are found in the lower ludlow rocks, and they consist of the bony head-shields or bucklers of certain singular armoured fishes belonging to the group of the _ganoids_, represented at the present day by the sturgeons, the gar-pikes of north america, and a few other less familiar forms. the principal upper silurian genus of these is _pteraspis_, and the annexed illustration (fig. ) will give some idea of the extraordinary form of the shield covering the head in these ancient fishes. the remarkable stratum near the top of the ludlow formation known as the "bone-bed" has also yielded the remains of shark-like fishes. some of these, for which the name of _onchus_ has been proposed, are in the form of compressed, slightly-curved spines (fig. , a), which would appear to be of the nature of the strong defensive spines implanted in front of certain of the fins in many living fishes. besides these, have been found fragments of prickly skin or shagreen (_sphagodus_), along with minute cushion-shaped bodies (_thelodus_, fig. , b), which are doubtless the bony scales of some fish resembling the modern dog-fishes. as the above mentioned remains belong to two distinct, and at the same time highly-organised, groups of the fishes, it is hardly likely that we are really presented here with the first examples of this great class. on the contrary, whether the so-called "conodonts" should prove to be the teeth of fishes or not, we are justified in expecting that unequivocal remains of this group of animals will still be found in the lower silurian. it is interesting, also, to note that the first appearance of fishes--the lowest class of vertebrate animals--so far as known to us at present, does not take place until after all the great sub-kingdoms of invertebrates have been long in existence; and there is no reason for thinking that future discoveries will materially affect the _relative_ order of succession thus indicated. literature. from the vast and daily-increasing mass of silurian literature, it is impossible to do more than select a small number of works which have a classical and historical interest to the english-speaking geologist, or which embody researches on special groups of silurian animals--anything like an enumeration of all the works and papers on this subject being wholly out of the question. apart, therefore, from numerous and in many cases extremely important memoirs, by various well-known observers, both at home and abroad, the following are some of the more weighty works to which the student may refer in investigating the physical characters and succession of the silurian strata and their fossil contents:-- ( ) 'siluria.' sir roderick murchison. ( ) 'geology of russia in europe.' murchison (with m. de verneuil and count von keyserling). ( ) 'bassin silurien de bohême centrale.' barrande. ( ) 'introduction to the catalogue of british palæozoic fossils in the woodwardian museum of cambridge.' sedgwick. ( ) 'die urwelt russlands.' eichwald. ( ) 'report on the geology of londonderry, tyrone,' &c. portlock. ( ) "geology of north wales"--'mem. geol. survey of great britain,' vol. iii. ramsay. ( ) 'geology of canada,' . sir w. e. logan; and the 'reports of progress of the geological survey' since . ( ) 'memoirs of the geological survey of great britain,' ( ) 'reports of the geological surveys of the states of new york, illinois, ohio, iowa, michigan, vermont, wisconsin, minnesota,' &c. by emmons, hall, worthen, meek, newberry, orton, winchell, dale owen, &c. ( ) 'thesaurus siluricus.' bigsby. ( ) 'british palæozoic fossils.' m'coy. ( ) 'synopsis of the silurian fossils of ireland,' m'coy. ( ) "appendix to the geology of north wales"--'mem. geol. survey,' vol. iii. salter. ( ) 'catalogue of the cambrian and silurian fossils in the woodwardian museum of cambridge.' salter. ( ) 'characteristic british fossils.' baily. ( ) 'catalogue of british fossils.' morris. ( ) 'palæozoic fossils of canada.' billings. ( ) 'decades of the geological survey of canada.' billings, salter, rupert jones. ( ) 'decades of the geological survey of great britain.' salter, edward, forbes. ( ) 'palæontology of new york,' vols. i.-iii. hall. ( ) 'palæontology of illinois.' meek and worthen. ( ) 'palæontology of ohio.' meek, hall, whitfield, nicholson. ( ) 'silurian fauna of west tennessee' (silurische fauna des westlichen tennessee). ferdinand roemer. ( ) 'reports on the state cabinet of new york.' hall. ( ) 'lethæa geognostica.' bronn. ( ) 'index palæontologicus.' bronn. ( ) 'lethæa rossica.' eichwald. ( ) 'lethæa suecica.' hisinger. ( ) 'palæontologica suecica.' angelin. ( ) 'petrefacta germaniæ.' goldfuss. ( ) 'versteinerungen der grauwacken-formation in sachsen.' geinitz. ( ) 'organisation of trilobites' (ray society). burmeister. ( ) 'monograph of the british trilobites' (palæontographical society). salter. ( ) 'monograph of the british merostomata' (palæontographical society). henry woodward. ( ) 'monograph of british brachiopoda' (palæontographical society). thomas davidson. ( ) 'graptolites of the quebec group.' james hall. ( ) 'monograph of the british graptolitidæ.' nicholson. ( ) 'monographs on the trilobites. pteropods, cephalopods, graptolites,' &c. extracted from the 'système silurien du centre de la bohême.' barrande. ( ) 'polypiers fossiles des terrains paleozoiques,' and 'monograph of the british corals' (palæontographical society). milne edwards and jules haime. chapter xi. the devonian and old red sandstone period. between the summit of the ludlow formation and the strata which are universally admitted to belong to the carboniferous series is a great system of deposits, to which the name of "old red sandstone" was originally applied, to distinguish them from certain arenaceous strata which lie above the coal ("new red sandstone"). the old red sandstone, properly so called, was originally described and investigated as occurring in scotland and in south wales and its borders; and similar strata occur in the south of ireland. subsequently it was discovered that sediments of a different mineral nature, and containing different organic remains, intervened between the silurian and the carboniferous rocks on the continent of europe, and strata with similar palæontological characters to these were found occupying a considerable area in devonshire. the name of "devonian" was applied to these deposits; and this title, by common usage, has come to be regarded as synonymous with the name of "old red sandstone." lastly, a magnificent series of deposits, containing marine fossils, and undoubtedly equivalent to the true "devonian" of devonshire, rhenish prussia, belgium, and france, is found to intervene in north america between the summit of the silurian and the base of the carboniferous rocks. much difficulty has been felt in correlating the true "devonian rocks" with the typical "old red sandstone"--this difficulty arising from the fact that though both formations are fossiliferous, the peculiar fossils of each have only been rarely and partially found associated together. the characteristic crustaceans and many of the characteristic fishes of the old red are wanting in the devonian; whilst the corals and marine shells of the latter do not occur in the former. it is impossible here to enter into any discussion as to the merits of the controversy to which this difficulty has given origin. no one, however, can doubt the importance and reality of the devonian series as an independent system of rocks to be intercalated in point of time between the silurian and the carboniferous. the want of agreement, both lithologically and palæontologically, between the devonian and the old red, can be explained by supposing that these two formations, though wholly or in great part _contemporaneous_, and therefore strict equivalents, represent deposits in two different geographical areas, laid down under different conditions. on this view, the typical devonian rocks of europe, britain, and north america are the deep-sea deposits of the devonian period, or, at any rate, are genuine marine sediments formed far from land. on the other hand, the "old red sandstone" of britain and the corresponding "gaspé group" of eastern canada represent the shallow-water shore-deposits of the same period. in fact, the former of these last-mentioned deposits contains no fossils which can be asserted positively to be _marine_ (unless the eurypterids be considered so); and it is even conceivable that it represents the sediments of an inland sea. accepting this explanation in the meanwhile, we may very briefly consider the general succession of the deposits of this period in scotland, in devonshire, and in north america. in scotland the "old red" forms a great series of arenaceous and conglomeratic strata, attaining a thickness of many thousands of feet, and divisible into three groups. of these, the _lower old red sandstone_ reposes with perfect conformity upon the highest beds of the upper silurian, the two formations being almost inseparably united by an intermediate series of "passage-beds." in mineral nature this group consists principally of massive conglomerates, sandstones, shales, and concretionary limestones; and its fossils consist chiefly of large crustaceans belonging to the family of the _eurypterids_, fishes, and plants. the _middle old red sandstone_ consists of flagstones, bituminous shales, and conglomerates, sometimes with irregular calcareous bands; and its fossils are principally fishes and plants. it may be wholly wanting, when the _upper old red_ seems to repose unconformably upon the lower division of the series. the _upper old red sandstone_ consists of conglomerates and grits, along with a great series of red and yellow sandstones--the fossils, as before, being fishes and remains of plants. the upper old red graduates upwards conformably into the carboniferous series. the devonian rocks of devonshire are likewise divisible into a lower, middle, and upper division. the _lower devonian_ or _lynton group_ consists of red and purple sandstones, with marine fossils, corresponding to the "spirifer sandstein" of germany, and to the arenaceous deposits (schoharie and cauda-galli grits) at the base of the american devonian. the _middle devonian_ or _ilfracombe group_ consists of sandstones and flags, with calcareous slates and crystalline limestones, containing many corals. it corresponds with the great "eifel limestone" of the continent, and, in a general way, with the corniferous limestone and hamilton group of north america. the _upper devonian_ or _pilton group_, lastly, consists of sandstones and calcareous shales which correspond with the "clymenia limestone" and "cypridina shales" of the continent, and with the chemung and portage groups of north america. it seems quite possible, also, that the so-called "carboniferous slates" of ireland correspond with this group, and that the former would be more properly regarded as forming the summit of the devonian than the base of the carboniferous. in no country in the world, probably, is there a finer or more complete exposition of the strata intervening between the silurian and carboniferous deposits than in the united states. the following are the main subdivisions of the devonian rocks in the state of new york, where the series may be regarded as being typically developed (fig. ):-- ( ) _cauda-galli grit_ and _schoharie grit_.--considering the "oriskany sandstone" as the summit of the upper silurian, the base of the devonian is constituted by the arenaceous deposits known by the above names, which rest quite conformably upon the silurian, and which represent the lower devonian of devonshire. the _cauda-galli grit_ is so called from the abundance of a peculiar spiral fossil (_spirophyton cauda-galli_), which is of common occurrence in the carboniferous rocks of britain, and is supposed to be the remains of a sea-weed. ( ) the _corniferous_ or _upper helderberg limestone_.--a series of limestones usually charged with considerable quantities of siliceous matter in the shape of hornstone or chert (lat. _cornu_, horn). the thickness of this group rarely exceeds feet; but it is replete with fossils, more especially with the remains of corals. the corniferous limestone is the equivalent of the coral-bearing limestones of the middle devonian of devonshire and the great "eifel limestone" of germany. ( ) the _hamilton group_--consisting of shales at the base ("marcellus shales"); flags, shales, and impure limestones ("hamilton beds") in the middle; and again a series of shales ("genesee slates") at the top. the thickness of this group varies from to feet, and it is richly charged with marine fossils. ( ) the _portage group_.--a great series of shales, flags, and shaly sandstones, with few fossils. ( ) the _chemung group_.--another great series of sandstones and shales, but with many fossils. the portage and chemung groups may be regarded as corresponding with the upper devonian of devonshire. the chemung beds are succeeded by a great series of red sandstones and shales--the "catskill group"--which pass conformably upwards into the carboniferous, and which may perhaps be regarded as the equivalent of the great sandstones of the upper old red in scotland. throughout the entire series of devonian deposits in north america no unconformability or physical break of any kind has hitherto been detected; nor is there any marked interruption to the current of life, though each subdivision of the series has its own fossils. no completely natural line can thus be indicated, dividing the devonian in this region from the silurian on the one hand, and the carboniferous on the other hand. at the same time, there is the most ample evidence, both stratigraphical and palæontological, as to the complete independence of the american devonian series as a distinct life-system between the older silurian and the later carboniferous. the subjoined section (fig. ) shows diagrammatically the general succession of the devonian rocks of north america. [illustration: fig. . generalized section of the devonian rocks of north america.] [illustration: fig. .--restoration of _psilophyton princeps_. devonian, canada. (after dawson.)] as regards the _life_ of the devonian period, we are now acquainted with a large and abundant terrestrial _flora_--this being the first time that we have met with a land vegetation capable of reconstruction in any fulness. by the researches of goeppert, unger, dawson, carruthers, and other botanists, a knowledge has been acquired of a large number of devonian plants, only a few of which can be noticed here. as might have been anticipated, the greater number of the vegetable remains of this period have been obtained from such shallow-water deposits as the old red sandstone proper and the gaspè series of north america, and few traces of plant-life occur in the strictly marine sediments. apart from numerous remains, mostly of a problematical nature, referred to the comprehensive group of the sea-weeds, a large number of ferns have now been recognised, some being, of the ordinary plant-like type (_pecopteris, neuropteris, alethopteris, sphenopteris_, &c.), whilst others belong to the gigantic group of the "tree-ferns" (_psaronius, caulopteris_, &c.) besides these there is an abundant development of the singular extinct types of the _lepidodendroids_, the _sigillarioids_, and the _calamites_, all of which attained their maximum in the carboniferous. of these, the _lepidodendra_ may be regarded as gigantic, tree-like club-mosses (_lycopodiaceoe_); the _calamites_ are equally gigantic horse-tails (_equisetaceoe_); and the _sigillarioids_, equally huge in size, in some respects hold a position intermediate between the club-mosses and the pines (conifers). the devonian rocks have also yielded traces of many other plants (such as _annularia, asterophyllites, cardiocarpon_, &c.), which acquire a greater pre-dominance in the carboniferous period, and which will be spoken of in discussing the structure of the plants of the coal-measures. upon the whole, the one plant which may be considered as specially characteristic of the devonian (though not confined to this series) is the _psilophyton_ (fig. ) of dr dawson. these singular plants have slender branching stems, with sparse needle-shaped leaves, the young stems being at first coiled up, crosier-fashion, like the young fronds of ferns, whilst the old branches carry numerous spore-cases. the stems and branches seem to have attained a height of two or three feet; and they sprang from prostrate "root-stocks" or creeping stems. upon the whole, principal dawson is disposed to regard _psilophyton_ as a "generalised type" of plants intermediate between the ferns and the club-mosses. lastly, the devonian deposits have yielded the remains of the first actual _trees_ with which we are as yet acquainted. about the nature of some of these (_ormoxylon_ and _dadoxylon_) no doubt can be entertained, since their trunks not only show the concentric rings of growth characteristic of exogenous trees in general, but their woody tissue exhibits under the microscope the "discs" which are characteristic of the wood of the pines and firs (see fig. ). the singular genus _prototaxites_, however, which occurs in an older portion of the devonian series than the above, is not in an absolutely unchallenged position. by principal dawson it is regarded as the trunk of an ancient _conifer_--the most ancient known; but mr carruthers regards it as more probably the stem of a gigantic sea-weed. the trunks of _prototaxites_ (fig. , a) vary from one to three feet in diameter, and exhibit concentric rings of growth; but its woody fibres have not hitherto been clearly demonstrated to possess discs. before leaving the devonian vegetation, it may be mentioned that the hornstone or chert so abundant in the corniferous limestone of north america has been shown to contain the remains of various microscopic plants (_diatoms_ and _desmids_). we find also in the same siliceous material the singular spherical bodies, with radiating spines, which occur so abundantly in the chalk flints, and which are termed _xanthidia_. these may be regarded as probably the spore-cases of the minute plants known as _desmidioe_. [illustration: fig. .--a, trunk of _prototaxites logani_, eighteen inches in diameter, as seen in the cliff near l'anse brehaut, gaspé; b, two wood-cells showing spiral fibres and obscure pores, highly magnified. lower devonian, canada. (after dawson)] the devonian _protozoans_ have still to be fully investigated. true sponges (such as _astrtoeospongia, sphoerospongia_, &c.) are not unknown; but by far the commonest representatives of this sub-kingdom in the devonian strata are _stromatopora_ and its allies. these singular organisms (fig. ) are not only very abundant in some of the devonian limestones--both in the old world and the new--but they often attain very large dimensions. however much they may differ in minor details, the general structure of these bodies is that of numerous, concentrically-arranged, thin, calcareous laminæ, separated by narrow interspaces, which in turn are crossed by numerous delicate vertical pillars, giving the whole mass a cellular structure, and dividing it into innumerable minute quadrangular compartments. many of the devonian _stromatoporoe_ also exhibit on their surface the rounded openings of canals, which can hardly have served any other purpose than that of permitting the sea-water to gain ready access to every part of the organism. [illustration: fig. .--a, part of the under surface of _stromatopora tuberculata_, showing the wrinkled basement membrane and the openings of water-canals, of the natural size; b, portion of the upper surface of the same, enlarged; c, vertical section of a fragment, magnified to show the internal structure. corniferous limestone, canada. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--_cystiphyllum vesiculosum_, showing a succession of cups produces by budding from the original coral. of the natural size. devonian, america and europe. (original.)] [illustration: fig. --_zaphrentis cornicula_, of the natural size. devonian, america. (original.)] [illustration: fig. --_heliophyllum exiguum_, viewed from in front and behind. of the natural size. devonian, canada. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--portion of a mass of _crepidophyllum archiaci_, of the natural size. hamilton formation, canada. (after billings.)] no true _graptolites_ have ever been detected in strata of devonian age; and the whole of this group has become extinguished--unless we refer here the still surviving _dictyonemoe_. the _coelenterates_, however, are represented by a vast number of _corals_, of beautiful forms and very varied types. the marbles of devonshire, the devonian limestones of the eifel and of france, and the calcareous strata of the corniferous and hamilton groups of america, are often replete with the skeletons of these organisms--so much so as to sometimes entitle the rock to be considered as representing an ancient coral-reef. in some instances the corals have preserved their primitive calcareous composition; and if they are embedded in soft shales, they may weather out of the rock in almost all their original perfection. in other cases, as in the marbles of devonshire, the matrix is so compact and crystalline that the included corals can only be satisfactorily studied by means of polished sections. in other cases, again, the corals have been more or less completely converted into flint, as in the corniferous limestone of north america. when this is the case, they often come, by the action of the weather, to stand out from the enclosing rock in the boldest relief, exhibiting to the observer the most minute details of their organization. as before, the principal representatives of the corals are still referable to the groups of the _rugosa_ and _tabulata_. amongst the rugose group we find a vast number of simple "cup-corals," generally known by the quarrymen as "horns," from their shape. of the many forms of these, the species of _cyathophyllum, heliophyllum_ (fig. ), _zaphrentis_ (fig. ), and _cystiphyllum_ (fig. ), are perhaps those most abundantly represented--none of these genera, however, except _heliophyllum_, being peculiar to the devonian period. there are also numerous compound rugose corals, such as species of _eridophyllum, diphyphyllum, syringopora, phillipsastroea_, and some of the forms of _cyathophyllum_ and _crepidophyllum_ (fig. ). some of these compound corals attain a very large size, and form of themselves regular beds, which have an analogy, at any rate, with existing coral-reefs, though there are grounds for believing that these ancient types differed from the modern reef-builders in being inhabitants of deep water. the "tabulate corals" are hardly less abundant in the devonian rocks than the _rugosa_; and being invariably compound, they hardly yield to the latter in the dimensions of the aggregations which they sometimes form. [illustration: fig. .--portion of a mass of _favosites gothlandica_, of the natural size. upper silurian and devonian of europe and america. (original.) billings.] [illustration: fig. .--fragment of _favosites hemispherica_, of the natural size. upper silurian and devonian of america. (after billings.)] the commonest, and at the same time the largest, of these are the "honeycomb corals," forming the genus _favosites_ (figs. , ), which derive both their vernacular and their technical names from their great likeness to masses of petrified honeycomb. the most abundant species are _favosites gothlandica_ and _f. hemispherica_, both here figured, which form masses sometimes not less than two or three feet in diameter. whilst _favosites_ has acquired a popular name by its honey-combed appearance, the resemblance of _michelinia_ to a fossilised wasp's nest with the comb exposed is hardly less striking, and has earned for it a similar recognition from the non-scientific public. in addition to these, there are numerous branching or plant-like tabulate corals, often of the most graceful form, which are distinctive of the devonian in all parts of the world. the _echinoderms_ of the devonian period call for little special notice. many of the devonian limestones are "crinoidal;" and the _crinoids_ are the most abundant and widely-distributed representatives of their class in the deposits of this period. the _cystideans_, with doubtful exceptions, have not been recognised in the devonian; and their place is taken by the allied group of the "pentremites," which will be further spoken of as occurring in the carboniferous rocks. on the other hand, the star-fishes, brittle-stars, and sea-urchins are all continued by types more or less closely allied to those of the preceding upper silurian. of the remains of ringed-worms (_annelides_), the most numerous and the most interesting are the calcareous envelopes of some small tube-inhabiting species. no one who has visited the seaside can have failed to notice the little spiral tubes of the existing _spirorbis_ growing attached to shells, or covering the fronds of the commoner sea weeds (especially _fucus serratus_). these tubes are inhabited by a small annelide, and structures of a similar character occur not uncommonly from the upper silurian upwards. in the devonian rocks, _spirorbis_ is an extremely common fossil, growing in hundreds attached to the outer surface of corals and shells, and appearing in many specific forms (figs. and ); but almost all the known examples are of small size, and are liable to escape a cursory examination. [illustration: fig. .--a, _spirobois omphalodes_, natural size and enlarged. devonian, europe and america; b, _spirorbis arkonensis_, of the natural size and enlarged; c, the same, with the tube twisted in the reverse direction. devonian, america. (onginal.)] [illustration: fig. . a b, _spirorbis laxus_, enlarged, upper silurian, america; c, _spirorbis spinulifera_, of the natural size and enlarged, devonian, canada. (after hall and the author.)] [illustration: fig. .--devonian trilobites; a, _phacops latifrons_, devonian of britain, the continent of europe, and south america; b, _homalonotus armatus_, europe; c, _phacops (trimerocephalus) loevis_, europe; d, head-shield of _phacops (portlockia) granulatus_, europe. (after salter and burmeister.)] the _crustaceans_ of the devonian are principally _eurypterids_ and _trilobites_. some of the former attain gigantic dimensions, and the quarrymen in the scotch old red give them the name of "seraphim" from their singular scale-like ornamentation. the _trilobites_, though still sufficiently abundant in some localites, have undergone a yet further diminution since the close of the upper silurian. in both america and europe quite a number of generic types have survived from the silurian, but few or no new ones make their appearance during this period in either the old world or the new. the _species_, however, are distinct; and the principal forms belong to the genera _phacops_ (fig. , a, c, d), _homalonotus_ (fig. , b), _proetus_, and _bronteus_. the species figured above under the name of _phacops latifrons_ (fig. , a), has an almost world-wide distribution, being found in the devonian of britain, belgium, france, germany, russia, spain, and south america; whilst its place is taken in north america by the closely-allied _phacops rana_. in addition to the _trilobites_, the devonian deposits have yielded the remains of a number of the minute _ostracoda_, such as _entomis_ ("_cypridina_"), _leperditia_, &c., which sometimes occur in vast numbers, as in the so-called "_cypridina_ slates" of the german devonian. there are also a few forms of _phyllopods_ (_estheria_). taken as a whole, the crustacean fauna of the devonian period presents many alliances with that of the upper silurian, but has only slight relationships with that of the lower carboniferous. besides _crustaceans_, we meet here for the first time with the remains of _air-breathing articulates_, in the shape of _insects_. so far, these have only been obtained from the devonian rocks of north america, and they indicate the existence of at least four generic types, all more or less allied to the existing may-flies (_ephemeridoe_). one of these interesting primitive insects, namely, _platephemera antiqua_ (fig. ), appears to have measured five inches in expanse of wing; and another (_xelloneura antiquorum_) has attached to its wing the remains of a "stridulating-organ" similar to that possessed by the modern grasshoppers--the instrument, as principal dawson remarks, of "the first music of living things that geology as yet reveals to us." [illustration: fig. .--wing of _platephemera antiqua_ devonian, america. (after dawson.)] amongst the _mollusca_, the devonian rocks have yielded a great number of the remains of sea-mosses (_polyzoa_). some of these belong to the ancient type _ptilodictya_, which seems to disappear here, or to the allied _clathropora_ (fig. ), with its fenestrated and reticulated fronds. we meet also with the graceful and delicate stems of _ceriopora_ (fig. ). [illustration: fig. .--fragment of _clathropora intertexta_, of the natural size and enlarged. devonian, canada. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--fragment of _ceriopora hamiltonensis_, of the natural size and enlarged. devonian, canada. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--fragment of _fenestella magnifica_, of the natural size and enlarged. devonian, canada. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--fragment of _retepora phillipsi_, of the natural size and enlarged. devonian, canada. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--fragment of _fenestella cribrosa_, of the natural size and enlarged. dovonian, canada. (original.)] the majority of the devonian _polyzoa_ belong, however, to the great and important palæozoic group of the lace-corals (_fenestella_, figs. and , _retepora_, fig. , _polypora_, and their allies). in all these forms there is a horny skeleton, of a fan-like or funnel-shaped form, which grew attached by its base to some foreign body. the frond consists of slightly-diverging or nearly parallel branches, which are either united by delicate cross-bars, or which bend alternately from side to side, and become directly united with one another at short intervals--in either case giving origin to numerous oval or oblong perforations, which communicate to the whole plant-like colony a characteristic netted and lace-like appearance. on one of its surfaces--sometimes the internal, sometimes the external--the frond carries a number of minute chambers or "cells," which are generally borne in rows on the branches, and of which each originally contained a minute animal. [illustration: fig. .--_spirifera sculptilis_. devonian, canada. (after billings.)] [illustration: fig. .--_spirifera mucronata_. devonian, america. (after billings.)] [illustration: fig. .--_atrypa reticularis_. upper silurian and devonian of europe and america. (after billings.)] the _brachiopods_ still continue to be represented in great force through all the devonian deposits, though not occurring in the true old red sandstone. besides such old types as _orthis, strophomena, lingula, athyris_, and _rhynchonella_, we find some entirely new ones; whilst various types which only commenced their existence in the upper silurian, now undergo a great expansion and development. this last is especially the case with the two families of the _spiriferidoe_ and the _produclidoe_. the _spirifers_, in particular, are especially characteristic of the devonian, both in the old and new worlds--some of the most typical forms, such as _spirifera mucronata_ (fig. ), having the shell "winged," or with the lateral angles prolonged to such an extent as to have earned for them the popular name of "fossil-butterflies." the closely-allied _spirifera disjunda_ occurs in britain, france, spain, belgium, germany, russia, and china. the family of the _productidoe_ commenced to exist in the upper silurian, in the genus _chonetes_, and we shall hereafter find it culminating in the carboniferous in many forms of the great genus _producta_[ ] itself. in the devonian period, there is an intermediate state of things, the genus _chonetes_ being continued in new and varied types, and the carboniferous _produdoe_ being represented by many forms of the allied group _productella_. amongst other well-known devonian brachiopods may be mentioned the two long-lived and persistent types _atrypa reticularis_ (fig. ) and _strophomena rhomboidalis_ (fig. ). the former of these commences in the upper silurian, but is more abundantly developed in the devonian, having a geographical range that is nothing less than world-wide; whilst the latter commences in the lower silurian, and, with an almost equally cosmopolitan range, survives into the carboniferous period. [footnote : the name of this genus is often written _productus_, just as _spirifera_ is often given in the masculine gender as _spirifer_ (the name originally given to it). the masculine termination to these names is, however, grammatically incorrect, as the feminine noun _cochlea_ (shell) is in these cases _understood_.] [illustration: fig. .--_strophomena rhomboidalis_. lower silurian, upper silurian, and devonian of europe and america.] [illustration: fig. .--different views of _platyceras dumosum_, of the natural size. devonian, canada. (original.)] the bivalves (_lamellibranchiata_) of the devonian call for no special comment, the genera _pterinea_ and _megalodon_ being, perhaps, the most noticeable. the univalves (_gasteropods_), also, need not be discussed in detail, though many interesting forms of this group are known. the type most abundantly represented, especially in america, is _platyceras_ (fig. ), comprising thin, wide-mouthed shells, probably most nearly allied to the existing "bonnet-limpets," and sometimes attaining very considerable dimensions. we may also note the continuance of the genus _euomphalus_, with its discoidal spiral shell. amongst the _heteropods_, the survival of _bellerophon_ is to be recorded; and in the "winged-snails," or _pteropods_, we find new forms of the old genera _tentaculites_ and _conularia_ (fig. ). the latter, with its fragile, conical, and often beautifully ornamented shell, is especially noticeable. [illustration: fig. .--_conularia ornata, of the natural size. devonian, europe.] [illustration: fig. .--_clymenia sedgwickii_. devonian, europe.] the remains of _cephalopoda_ are far from uncommon in the devonian deposits, all the known forms being still tetrabranchiate. besides the ancient types _orthoceras_ and _cyrtoceras_, we have now a predominance of the spirally-coiled chambered shells of _goniatites_ and _clymenia_. in the former of these the shell is shaped like that of the _nautilus_; but the partitions between the chambers ("septa") are more or less lobed, folded, or angulated, and the "siphuncle" runs along the _back_ or convex side of the shell--these being characters which approximate _goniatites_ to the true ammonites of the later rocks. in _clymenia_, on the other hand, whilst the shell (fig. ) is coiled into a flat spiral, and the partitions or septa are simple or only slightly lobed, there is still this difference, as compared with the _nautilus_, that the tube of the siphuncle is placed on the _inner_ or concave side of the shell. the species of _clymenia_ are exclusively devonian in their range; and some of the limestones of this period in germany are so richly charged with fossils of this genus as to have received the name of "clymenien-kalk." the sub-kingdom of the _vertebrates_ is still represented by _fishes_ only; but these are so abundant, and belong to such varied types, that the devonian period has been appropriately called the "age of fishes." amongst the existing fishes there are three great groups which are of special geological importance, as being more or less extensively represented in past time. these groups are: ( ) the _bony fishes_ (_teleostei_), comprising most existing fishes, in which the skeleton is more or less completely converted into bone; the tail is symmetrically lobed or divided into equal moieties; and the scales are usually thin, horny, flexible plates, which overlap one another to a greater or less extent. ( ) the _ganoid fishes_ (_ganoidei_), comprising the modern gar-pikes, sturgeons, &c., in which the skeleton usually more or less completely retains its primitive soft and cartilaginous condition; the tail is generally markedly unsymmetrical, being divided into two unequal lobes; and the scales (when present) have the form of plates of bone, usually covered by a layer of shining enamel. these scales may overlap; or they may be rhomboidal plates, placed edge to edge in oblique rows; or they have the form of large-sized bony plates, which are commonly united in the region of the head to form a regular buckler. ( ) the _placoid fishes_, or _elasmobranchii_, comprising the sharks, rays, and _chimoeroe_ of the present day, in which the skeleton is cartilaginous; the tail is unsymmetrically lobed; and the scales have the form of detached bony plates of variable size, scattered in the integument. it is to the two last of these groups that the devonian fishes belong, and they are more specially referable to the _ganoids_. the order of the ganoid fishes at the present day comprises but some seven or eight genera, the species of which principally or exclusively inhabit fresh waters, and all of which are confined to the northern hemisphere. as compared, therefore, with the bony fishes, which constitute the great majority of existing forms, the ganoids form but an extremely small and limited group. it was far otherwise, however, in devonian times. at this period, the bony fishes are not known to have come into existence at all, and the ganoids held almost undisputed possession of the waters. to what extent the devonian ganoids were confined to fresh waters remains yet to be proved; and that many of them lived in the sea is certain. it was formerly supposed that the old red sandstone of scotland and ireland, with its abundant fish-remains, might perhaps be a fresh-water deposit, since the habitat of its fishes is uncertain, and it contains no indubitable marine fossils. it has been now shown, however, that the marine devonian strata of devonshire and the continent of europe contain some of the most characteristic of the old red sandstone fishes of scotland; whilst the undoubted marine deposit of the corniferous limestone of north america contains numerous shark-like and ganoid fishes, including such a characteristic old red genus as _coccosleus_. there can be little doubt, therefore, but that the majority of the devonian fishes were truly marine in their habits, though it is probable that many of them lived in shallow water, in the immediate neighbourhood of the shore, or in estuaries. [illustration: fig. .--fishes of the devonian rocks of america. a, diagram of the jaws and teeth of _dinichthys hertzeri_, viewed from the front, and greatly reduced; b, diagram of the skull of _macropetalichthys sullivanti_, reduced in size; c, a portion of the enamelled surface of the skull of the same, magnified; d, one of the scales of _onychodus sigmoides_, of the natural size; e, one of the front teeth of the lower jaw of the same, of the natural size: f, fin-spine of _machoeracanthus major_, a shark-like fish, reduced in size. (after newberry.)] [illustration: fig. .--_cephalaspis lyellii_. old red sandstone, scotland. (after page.)] [illustration: fig. .--_pterichthys cornutus_. old red sandstone, scotland. (after agassiz.)] the devonian galloids belong to a number of groups; and it is only possible to notice a few of the most important forms here. the modern group of the sturgeons is represented, more or less remotely, by a few devonian fishes--such as _asterosteus_; and the great _macropetalichthys_ of the corniferous limestone of north america is believed by newberry to belong to this group. in this fish (fig. , b) the skull was of large size, its outer surface being covered with a tuberculated enamel; and, as in the existing sturgeons, the mouth seems to have been wholly destitute of teeth. somewhat allied, also, to the sturgeons, is a singular group of armoured fishes, which is highly characteristic of the devonian of britain and europe, and less so of that of america. in these curious forms the head and front extremity of the body were protected by a buckler composed of large enamelled plates, more or less firmly united to one another; whilst the hinder end of the body was naked, or was protected with small scales. some forms of this group--such as _pteraspis_ and _coccosteus_--date from the upper silurian; but they attain their maximum in the devonian, and none of them are known to pass upwards into the overlying carboniferous rocks. amongst the most characteristic forms of this group may be mentioned _cephalaspis_ (fig. ) and _pterichthys_ (fig. ). in the former of these the head-shield is of a crescentic shape, having its hinder angles produced backwards into long "horns," giving it the shape of a "saddler's knife." no teeth have been discovered; but the body was covered with small ganoid scales, and there was an unsymmetrical tail-fin. in _pterichthys_--which, like the preceding, was first brought to light by the labours of hugh miller--the whole of the head and the front part of the body were defended by a buckler of firmly-united enamelled plates, whilst the rest of the body was covered with small scales. the form of the "pectoral fins" was quite unique--these having the shape of two long, curved spines, somewhat like wings, covered by finely-tuberculated ganoid plates. all the preceding forms of this group are of small size; but few fishes, living or extinct, could rival the proportions of the great _dinichthys_, referred to this family by newberry. in this huge fish (fig. , a) the head alone is over three feet in length, and the body is supposed to have been twenty-five or thirty feet long. the head was protected by a massive cuirass of bony plates firmly articulated together, but the hinder end of the body seems to have been simply enveloped in a leathery skin. the teeth are of the most formidable description, consisting in both jaws of serrated dental plates behind, and in front of enormous conical tusks (fig. , a). though immensely larger, the teeth of _dinichthys_ present a curious resemblance to those of the existing mud-fishes (_lepidosiren_). in another great group of devonian ganoids, we meet with fishes more or less closely allied to the living _polypteri_ (fig. ) of the nile and senegal. in this group (fig. ) the pectoral fins consist of a central scaly lobe carrying the fin-rays on both sides, the scales being sometimes rounded and overlapping (fig. ), or more commonly rhomboidal and placed edge to edge (fig. , a). numerous forms of these "fringe-finned" ganoids occur in the devonian strata, such as _holoptychius, glyotoloemus, osteolepis, phaneropleuron_, &c. to this group is also to be ascribed the huge _onychodus_ (fig. , d and e), with its large, rounded, overlapping scales, an inch in diameter, and its powerful pointed teeth. it is to be remembered, however, that some of these "fringe-finned" ganoids are probably referable to the small but singular group of the "mud-fishes" (_dipnoi_), represented at the present day by the singular _lepidosiren_ of south america and africa, and the _ceratodus_ of the rivers of queensland. [illustration: fig. .--a, _polypterus_, a recent ganoid fish; b, _osteolepis_, a devonian ganoid; a a, pectoral fins, showing the fin-rays arranged round a central lobe.] [illusration: fig. .--_holoptychius nobilissimus_, restored. old red sandstone, scotland. a, scale of the same.] leaving the ganoid fishes, it still remains to be noticed that the devonian deposits have yielded the remains of a number of fishes more or less closely allied to the existing sharks, rays, and _chimoeroe_ (the _elasmobranchii_). the majority of the forms here alluded to are allied not to the true sharks and dog-fishes, but to the more peaceable "port jackson sharks," with their blunt teeth, adapted for crushing the shells of molluscs. the collective name of "cestracionts" is applied to these; and we have evidence of their past existence in the devonian seas both by their teeth, and by the defensive spines which were implanted in front of a greater or less number of the fins. these are bony spines, often variously grooved, serrated, or ornamented, with hollow bases, implanted in the integument, and capable of being erected or depressed at will. many of these "fin-spines" have been preserved to us in the fossil condition, and the devonian rocks have yielded examples belonging to many genera. as some of the true sharks and dog-fishes, some of the ganoids, and even some bony fishes, possess similar defences, it is often a matter of some uncertainty to what group a given spine is to be referred. one of these spines, belonging to the genus _machoeracanthus_, from the devonian rocks of america, has been figured in a previous illustration (fig. , f). in conclusion, a very few words may be said as to the validity of the devonian series as an independent system of rocks, preserving in its successive strata the record of an independent system of life. some high authorities have been inclined to the view that the devonian formation has in nature no actual existence, but that it is made up partly of beds which should be referred to the summit of the upper silurian, and partly of beds which properly belong to the base of the carboniferous. this view seems to have been arrived at in consequence of a too exclusive study of the devonian series of the british isles, where the physical succession is not wholly clear, and where there is a striking discrepancy between the organic remains of those two members of the series which are known as the "old red sandstone" and the "devonian" rocks proper. this discrepancy, however, is not complete; and, as we have seen, can be readily explained on the supposition that the one group of rocks presents us with the shallow water and littoral deposits of the period, while in the other we are introduced to the deep-sea accumulations of the same period. nor can the problem at issue be solved by an appeal to the phenomena of the british area alone, be the testimony of these what it may. as a matter of fact, there is at present no sufficient ground for believing that there is any irreconcilable discordance between the succession of rocks and of life in britain during the period which elapsed between the deposition of the upper ludlow and the formation of the carboniferous limestone, and the order of the same phenomena during the same period in other regions. some of the devonian types of life, as is the case with all great formations, have descended unchanged from older types; others pass upwards unchanged to the succeeding period: but the fauna and flora of the devonian period are, as a whole, quite distinct from those of the preceding silurian or the succeeding carboniferous; and they correspond to an equally distinct rock-system, which in point of time holds an intermediate position between the two great groups just mentioned. as before remarked, this conclusion may be regarded as sufficiently proved even by the phenomena of the british area; but it maybe said to be rendered a certainty by the study of the devonian deposits of the continent of europe--or, still more, by the investigation of the vast, for the most part uninterrupted and continuous series of sediments which commenced to be laid down in north america at the beginning of the upper silurian, and did not cease till, at any rate, the close of the carboniferous. literature. the following list comprises the more important works and memoirs to which the student of devonian rocks and fossils may refer:-- ( ) 'siluria.' sir roderick murchison. ( ) 'geology of russia in europe.' murchison (together with de verneuil and count von keyserling). ( ) "classification of the older rocks of devon and cornwall"--'proc. geol. soc.,' vol. iii., . sedgwick and murchison. ( ) "on the physical structure of devonshire;" and on the "classification of the older stratified rocks of devonshire and cornwall"--'trans. geol. soc.,' vol. v., . sedgwick and murchison. ( ) "on the distribution and classification of the older or palæozoic rocks of north germany and belgium"--'geol. trans.,' d ser., vol. vi., . sedgwick and murchison. ( ) 'report on the geology of cornwall, devon, and west somerset.' de la beche. ( ) 'memoirs of the geological survey of ireland and scotland.' jukes and geikie. ( ) "on the carboniferous slate (or devonian rocks) and the old red sandstone of south ireland and north devon"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxii. jukes. ( ) "on the physical structure of west somerset and north devon;" and on the "palæontological value of devonian fossils"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. iii. etheridge. ( ) "on the connection of the lower, middle, and upper old red sandstone of scotland"--'trans. edin. geol. soc.,' vol. i. part ii. powrie. ( ) 'the old red sandstone,' 'the testimony of the rocks,' and 'footprints of the creator.' hugh miller. ( ) "report on the th geological district"--'geology of new york,' vol. iv. james hall. ( ) 'geology of canada,' . sir w. e. logan. ( ) 'acadian geology.' dawson. ( ) 'manual of geology.' dana. ( ) 'geological survey of ohio,' vol. i. ( ) 'geological survey of illinois,' vol. i. ( ) 'palæozoic fossils of cornwall, devon, and west somerset.' phillips. ( ) 'recherches sur les poissons fossiles.' agassiz. ( ) 'poissous de l'old red.' agassiz. ( ) "on the classification of devonian fishes"--' mem. geol. survey of great britain,' decade x. huxley. ( ) 'monograph of the fishes of the old red sandstone of britain' (palæontographical society). powrie and lankester. ( ) 'fishes of the devonian system, palæontology of ohio.' newberry. ( ) 'monograph of british trilobites' (palæontographical society); salter. ( ) 'monograph of british merostomata' (palæontographical society). henry woodward. ( ) 'monograph of british brachiopoda' (palæontographical society). davidson. ( ) 'monograph of british fossil corals' (palæontographical society). milne-edwards and haime. ( ) 'polypiers foss. des terrains paléozoiques.' milne-edwards and jules haime. ( ) "devonian fossils of canada west"--'canadian journal,' new ser., vols. iv.-vi. billings. ( ) 'palæontology of new york,' vol. iv. james hall. ( ) 'thirteenth, fifteenth, and twenty-third annual reports on the state cabinet.' james hall. ( ) 'palæozoic fossils of canada,' vol. ii. billings. ( ) 'reports on the palæontology of the province of ontario for and .' nicholson. ( ) "the fossil plants of the devonian and upper silurian formations of canada"--'geol. survey of canada.' dawson. ( ) 'petrefacta germaniæ.' goldfuss. ( ) 'versteinerungen der grauwacken-formation.' &c. geinitz. ( ) 'beitrag zur palæontologie des thüringer-waldes.' richter and unger. ( ) 'ueber die placodermen der devonischen system.' pander. ( ) 'die gattungen der fossilen pflanzen.' goeppert. ( ) 'genera et species plantarum fossilium.' unger. chapter xii. the carboniferous period. overlying the devonian formation is the great and important series of the _carboniferous rocks_, so called because workable beds of coal are more commonly and more largely developed in this formation than in any other. workable coal-seams, however, occur in various other formations (jurassic, cretaceous, tertiary), so that coal is not an exclusively carboniferous product; whilst even in the coal-measures themselves the coal bears but a very small proportion to the total thickness of strata, occurring only in comparatively thin beds intercalated in a great series of sandstones, shales, and other genuine aqueous sediments. stratigraphically, the carboniferous rocks usually repose conformably upon the highest devonian beds, so that the line of demarcation between the carboniferous and devonian formations is principally a palæontological one, founded on the observed differences in the fossils of the two groups. on the other hand, the close of the carboniferous period seems to have been generally, though not universally, signalised by movements of the crust of the earth, so that the succeeding permian beds often lie unconformably upon the carboniferous sediments. strata of carboniferous age have been discovered in almost every large land-area which has been sufficiently investigated; but they are especially largely developed in britain, in various parts of the continent of europe, and in north america. their general composition, however, is, comparatively speaking, so uniform, that it will suffice to take a comprehensive view of the formation without considering any one area in detail, though in each region the subdivisions of the formation are known by distinctive local names. taking such a comprehensive view, it is found that the carboniferous series is generally divisible into a _lower_ and essentially calcareous group (the "sub-carboniferous" or "carboniferous limestone"); a _middle_ and principally arenaceous group (the "millstone grit"); and an upper group, of alternating shales and sandstones, with workable seams of coal (the "coal-measures"). i. the _carboniferous, sub-carboniferous_, or _mountain limestone series_ constitutes the general base of the carboniferous system. as typically developed in britain, the carboniferous limestone is essentially a calcareous formation, sometimes consisting of a mass of nearly pure limestone from to feet in thickness, or at other times of successive great beds of limestone with subordinate sandstones and shales. in the north of england the base of the series consists of pebbly conglomerates and coarse sandstones; and in scotland generally, the group is composed of massive sandstones with a comparatively feeble development of the calcareous element. in ireland, again, the base of the carboniferous limestone is usually considered to be formed by a locally-developed group of grits and shales (the "coomhola grits" and "carboniferous slate"), which attain the thickness of about feet, and contain an intermixture of devonian with carboniferous types of fossils. seeing that the devonian formation is generally conformable to the carboniferous, we need feel no surprise at this intermixture of forms; nor does it appear to be of great moment whether these strata be referred to the former or to the latter series. perhaps the most satisfactory course is to regard the coomhola grits and carboniferous slates as "passage-beds" between the devonian and carboniferous; but any view that may be taken as to the position of these beds, really leaves unaffected the integrity of the devonian series as a distinct life-system, which, on the whole, is more closely allied to the silurian than to the carboniferous. in north america, lastly, the sub-carboniferous series is never purely calcareous, though in the interior of the continent it becomes mainly so. in other regions, however, it consists principally of shales and sandstones, with subordinate beds of limestone, and sometimes with this beds of coal or deposits of clay-ironstone. ii. _the millstone grit_.--the highest beds of the carboniferous limestone series are succeeded, generally with perfect conformity, by a series of arenaceous beds, usually known as the _millstone grit_. as typically developed in britain, this group consists of hard quartzose sandstones, often so large-grained and coarse in texture as to properly constitute fine conglomerates. in other cases there are regular conglomerates, sometimes with shales, limestones, and thin beds of coal--the thickness of the whole series, when well developed, varying from to feet. in north america, the millstone grit rarely reaches feet in thickness; and, like its british equivalent, consists of coarse sandstones and grits, sometimes with regular conglomerates. whilst the carboniferous limestone was undoubtedly deposited in a tranquil ocean of considerable depth, the coarse mechanical sediments of the millstone grit indicate the progressive shallowing of the carboniferous seas, and the consequent supervention of shore-conditions. iii. _the coal-measures_.--the coal-measures properly so called rest conformably upon the millstone grit, and usually consist of a vast series of sandstones, shales, grits, and coals, sometimes with beds of limestone, attaining in some regions a total thickness of from to nearly , feet. beds of workable coal are by no means unknown in some areas in the inferior group of the sub-carboniferous; but the general statement is true, that coal is mostly obtained from the true coal-measures--the largest known, and at present most productive coal-fields of the world being in great britain, north america, and belgium. wherever they are found, with limited exceptions, the coal-measures present a singular _general_ uniformity of mineral composition. they consist, namely, of an indefinite alternation of beds of sandstone, shale, and coal, sometimes with bands of clay-ironstone or beds of limestone, repeated in no constant order, but sometimes attaining the enormous aggregate thickness of , feet, or little short of miles. the beds of coal differ in number and thickness in different areas, but they seldom or never exceed one-fiftieth part of the total bulk of the formation in thickness. the characters of the coal itself, and the way in which the coal-beds were deposited, will be briefly alluded to in speaking of the vegetable life of the period. in britain, and in the old world generally, the coal-measures are composed partly of genuine terrestrial deposits--such as the coal--and partly of sediments accumulated in the fresh or brackish waters of vast lagoons, estuaries, and marshes. the fossils of the coal-measures in these regions are therefore necessarily the remains either of terrestrial plants and animals, or of such forms of life as inhabit fresh or brackish waters, the occurrence of strata with marine fossils being quite a local and occasional phenomenon. in various parts of north america, on the other hand, the coal-measures, in addition to sandstones, shales, coal-seams, and bands of clay-ironstone, commonly include beds of limestone, charged with marine remains, and indicating marine conditions. the subjoined section (fig. ) gives, in a generalised form, the succession of the carboniferous strata in such a british area as the north of england, where the series is developed in a typical form. as regards the _life_ of the carboniferous period, we naturally find, as has been previously noticed, great differences in different parts of the entire series, corresponding to the different mode of origin of the beds. speaking generally, the lower carboniferous (or the sub-carboniferous) is characterised by the remains of marine animals; whilst the upper carboniferous (or coal-measures) is characterised by the remains of plants and terrestrial animals. in all those cases, however, in which marine beds are found in the series of the coal-measures, as is common in america, then we find that the fossils agree in their general characters with those of the older marine deposits of the period. [illustration: fig. . generalized section of the carboniferous strata of the north of england.] owing to the fact that coal is simply compressed and otherwise altered vegetable matter, and that it is of the highest economic value to man, the coal-measures have been more thoroughly explored than any other group of strata of equivalent thickness in the entire geological series. hence we have already a very extensive acquaintance with the _plants_ of the carboniferous period; and our knowledge on this subject is daily undergoing increase. it is not to be supposed, however, that the remains of plants are found solely in coal-measures; for though most abundant towards the summit, they are found in less numbers in all parts of the series. wherever found, they belong to the same great types of vegetation; but, before reviewing these, a few words must be said as to the origin and mode of formation of _coal_. the coal-beds, as before mentioned, occur interstratified with shales, sandstones, and sometimes limestones; and there may, within the limits of a single coal-field, be as many as or of such beds, placed one above the other at different levels, and varying in thickness from a few inches up to or feet. as a general rule, each bed of coal rests upon a bed of shale or clay, which is termed the "under-clay," and in which are found numerous roots of plants; whilst the strata immediately on the top of the coal may be shaly or sandy, but in either case are generally charged with the leaves and stems of plants, and often have upright trunks passing vertically through them. when we add to this that the coal itself is, chemically, nearly wholly composed of carbon, and that its microscopic structure shows it to be composed almost entirely of fragments of stems, leaves, bark, seeds, and vegetable _débris_ derived from _land-plants_, we are readily enabled to understand how the coal was formed. the "_under-clay_" immediately beneath the coal-bed represents an old land-surface--sometimes, perhaps, the bottom of a swamp or marsh, covered with a luxuriant vegetation; the _coal bed_ itself represents the slow accumulation, through long periods, of the leaves, seeds, fruits, stems, and fallen trunks of this vegetation, now hardened and compressed into a fraction of its original bulk by the pressure of the superincumbent rocks; and the strata of sand or shale above the coal-bed--the so-called "roof" of the coal--represent sediments quietly deposited as the land, after a long period of repose, commenced to sink beneath the sea. on this view, the rank and long-continued vegetation which gave rise to each coal-bed was ultimately terminated by a slow depression of the surface on which the plants grew. the land-surface then became covered by the water, and aqueous sediments were accumulated to a greater or less thickness upon the dense mass of decaying vegetation below, enveloping any trunks of trees which might still be in an erect position, and preserving between their layers the leaves and branches of plants brought down from the neighbouring land by streams, or blown into the wafer by the wind. finally, there set in a slow movement of elevation,--the old land again reappeared above the water; a new and equally luxuriant vegetation flourished upon the new land-surface; and another coal-bed was accumulated, to be preserved ultimately in a similar fashion. some few beds of coal may have been formed by drifted vegetable matter brought down into the ocean by rivers, and deposited directly on the bottom of the sea; but in the majority of cases the coal is undeniably the result of the slow growth and decay of plants _in situ_: and as the plants of the coal are not _marine_ plants, it is necessary to adopt some such theory as the above to account for the formation of coal-seams. by this theory, as is obvious, we are compelled to suppose that the vast alluvial and marshy flats upon which the coal-plants grew were liable to constantly-recurring oscillations of level, the successive land-surfaces represented by the successive coal-beds of any coal-field being thus successively buried beneath accumulations of mud or sand. we have no need, however, to suppose that these oscillations affected large areas at the same time; and geology teaches us that local elevations and depressions of the land have been matters of constant occurrence throughout the whole of past time. all the varieties of coal (bituminous coal, anthracite; cannel-coal, &c.) show a more or less distinct "lamination"--that is to say, they are more or less obviously composed of successive thin layers, differing slightly in colour and texture. all the varieties of coal, also, consist chemically of _carbon_, with varying proportions of certain gaseous constituents and a small amount of incombustible mineral or "ash." by cutting thin and transparent slices of coal, we are further enabled, by means of the microscope, to ascertain precisely not only that the carbon of the coal is derived from vegetables, but also, in many cases, what kinds of plants, and what parts of these, enter into the formation of coal. when examined in this way, all coals are found to consist more or less entirely of vegetable matter; but there is considerable difference in different coals as to the exact nature of this. by professor huxley it has been shown that many of the english coals consist largely of accumulations of rounded discoidal sacs or bags, which are unquestionably the seed-vessels or "spore-cases" of certain of the commoner coal-plants (such as the _lepidodendra_). the best bituminous coals seem to be most largely composed of these spore-cases; whilst inferior kinds possess a progressively increasing amount of the dull carbonaceous substance which is known as "mineral charcoal," and which is undoubtedly composed of "the stems and leaves of plants reduced to little more than their carbon." on the other hand, principal dawson finds that the american coals only occasionally exhibit spore-cases to any extent, but consist principally of the cells, vessels, and fibres of the bark, integumentary coverings, and woody portions of the carboniferous plants. the number of plants already known to have existed during the carboniferous period is so great, that nothing more can be done here than to notice briefly the typical and characteristic _groups_ of these--such as the ferns, the calamites, the lepidodendroids, the sigillarioids, and the conifers. [illustration: fig. .--_odontopteris schlotheimii_. carboniferous, europe and north america.] [illustration: fig. .--_calamites cannoeformis_. carboniferous rocks, europe and north america.] in accordance with m. brongniart's generalisation, that the palæozoic period is, botanically speaking, the "age of acrogens," we find the carboniferous plants to be still mainly referable to the flowerless or "cryptogamous" division of the vegetable kingdom. the flowering or "phanerogamous" plants, which form the bulk of our existing vegetation, are hardly known, with certainty, to have existed at all in the carboniferous era, except as represented by trees related to the existing pines and firs, and possibly by the cycads or "false palms."[ ] amongst the "cryptogams," there is no more striking or beautiful group of carboniferous plants than the _ferns_. remains of these are found all through the carboniferous, but in exceptional numbers in the coal-measures, and include both herbaceous forms like the majority of existing species, and arborescent forms resembling the living tree-ferns of new zealand. amongst the latter, together with some new types, are examples of the genera _psaronius_ and _caulopteris_, both of which date from the devonian. the simply herbaceous ferns are extremely numerous, and belong to such widely-distributed and largely-represented genera as _neuropteris, odontopteris_ (fig. ), _alethopteris, pecopteris, sphenopteris, hymenophyllites_, &c. [footnote : whilst the vegetation of the coal-period was mainly a terrestrial one, aquatic plants are not unknown. sea-weeds (such as the _spirophyton cauda-galli_) are common in some of the marine strata; whilst coal, according to the researches of the abbé castracane, is asserted commonly to contain the siliceous envelopes of diatoms.] the fossils known as _calamites_ (fig. ) are very common in the carboniferous deposits, and have given occasion to an abundance of research and speculation. they present themselves as prostrate and flattened striated stems, or as similar uncompressed stems growing in an erect position, and sometimes attaining a length of twenty feet or more. externally, the stems are longitudinally ribbed, with transverse joints at regular intervals, these joints giving origin to a whorl or branchlets, which mayor may not give origin to similar whorls of smaller branchlets still. the stems, further, were hollow, with transverse partitions at the joints, and having neither true wood nor bark, but only a thin external fibrous shell. there can be little doubt but that the _calamites_ are properly regarded as colossal representatives of the little horse-tails (_equisetaceoe_) of the present day. they agree with these not only in the general details of their organisation, but also in the fact that the fruit was a species of cone, bearing "spore-cases" under scales. according to principal dawson, the _calamites_ "grew in dense brakes on the sandy and muddy flats, subject to inundation, or perhaps even in water; and they had the power of budding out from the base of the stem, so as to form clumps of plants, and also of securing their foothold by numerous cord-like roots proceeding from various heights on the lower part of the stem." [illustration: fig. .--_lepidodendron sternbergii_, carboniferous, europe. the central figure represents a portion of the trunk with its branches, much reduced in size. the right-hand figure is a portion of a branch with the leaves partially attached to it; and the left-hand figure represents the end of a branch bearing a cone of fructification.] the _lepidodendroids_, represented mainly by the genus _lepidodendron_ itself (fig. ), were large tree-like plants, which attain their maximum in the carboniferous period, but which appear to commence in the upper silurian, are well represented in the devonian, and survive in a diminished form into the permian. the trunks of the larger species of _lepidodendron_ at times reach a length of fifty feet and upwards, giving off branches in a regular bifurcating manner. the bark is marked with numerous rhombic or oval scars, arranged in quincunx order, and indicating the points where the long, needle-shaped leaves were formerly attached. the fruit consisted of cones or spikes, carried at the ends of the branches, and consisting of a central axis surrounded by overlapping scales, each of which supports a "spore-case" or seed-vessel. these cones have commonly been described under the name of _lepidostrobi_. in the structure of the trunk there is nothing comparable to what is found in existing trees, there being a thick bark surrounding a zone principally composed of "scalariform" vessels, this in turn enclosing a large central pith. in their general appearance the _lepidodendra_ bring to mind the existing araucarian pines; but they are true "cryptogams," and are to be regarded as a gigantic extinct type of the modern club-mosses (_lycopodiaceoe_). they are amongst the commonest and most characteristic of the carboniferous plants; and the majority of the "spore-cases" so commonly found in the coal appear to have been derived from the cones of lepidodendroids. the so-called _sigillanoids_, represented mainly by _sigillaria_ itself (fig. ), were no less abundant and characteristic of the carboniferous forests than the _lepidodendra_. they commence their existence, so far as known, in the devonian period, but they attain their maximum in the carboniferous; and--unlike the lepidodendroids--they are not known to occur in the permian period. they are comparatively gigantic in size, often attaining a height of from thirty to fifty feet or more; but though abundant and well preserved, great divergence of opinion prevails as to their true affinities. the _name_ of sigillarioids (lat. _sigilla_, little seals or images) is derived from the fact that the bark is marked with seal-like impressions or leaf-scars (fig. ). [illustration: fig. .--fragment of the external surface of _sigillaria groeseri_, showing the ribs and leaf-scars. the left-hand figure represents a small portion enlarged. carboniferous, europe.] externally, the trunks of _sigillaria_ present strong longitudinal ridges, with vertical alternating rows of oval leaf-scars indicating the points where the leaves were originally attached. the trunk was furnished with a large central pith, a thick outer bark, and an intermediate woody zone,--composed, according to dawson, partly of the disc-bearing fibres so characteristic of conifers; but, according to carruthers, entirely made up of the "scalariform" vessels characteristic of cryptogams. the size of the pith was very great, and the bark seems to have been the most durable portion of the trunk. thus we have evidence that in many cases the stumps and "stools" of _sigillarioe_, standing upright in the old carboniferous swamps, were completely hollowed out by internal decay, till nothing but an exterior shell of bark was left. often these hollow stumps became ultimately filled up with sediment, sometimes enclosing the remains of galley-worms, land-snails, or amphibians, which formerly found in the cavity of the trunk a congenial home; and from the sandstone or shale now filling such trunks some of the most interesting fossils of the coal-period have been obtained. there is little certainty as to either the leaves or fruits of _sigillaria_, and there is equally little certainty as to the true botanical position of these plants. by principal dawson they are regarded as being probably flowering plants allied to the existing "false palms" or "_cycads_," but the high authority of mr carruthers is to be quoted in support of the belief that they are cryptogamic, and most nearly allied to the club-mosses. [illustration: fig. .--_stigmaria ficoides_. quarter natural size. carboniferous.] leaving the botanical position of _sigillaria_ thus undecided, we find that it is now almost universally conceded that the fossils originally described under the name of _stigmaria_ are the _roots_ of _sigillaria_, the actual connection between the two having been in numerous instances demonstrated in an unmistakable manner. the _stigmarioe_ (fig. ) ordinarily present themselves in the form of long, compressed or rounded fragments, the external surface of which is covered with rounded pits or shallow tubercles, each of which has a little pit or depression in its centre. from each of these pits there proceeds, in perfect examples, a long cylindrical rootlet; but in many cases these have altogether disappeared. in their internal structure, _stigmaria_ exhibits a central pith surrounded by a sheath of scalariform vessels, the whole enclosed in a cellular envelope. the _stigmarioe_ are generally found ramifying in the "under-clay," which forms the floor of a bed of coal, and which represents the ancient soil upon which the _sigillarioe_ grew. [illustration: fig. .--_trigonocarpon ovatum_. coal-measures, britain. (after liudley and hutton.)] the _lepidodendroids and sigillaroids, though the first were certainly, and the second possibly, cryptogamic or flowerless plants, must have constituted the main mass of the forests of the coal period; but we are not without evidence of the existence at the same time of genuine "trees," in the technical sense of this term--namely, flowering plants with large woody stems. so far as is certainly known, all the true trees of the carboniferous formation were _conifers_, allied to the existing pines and firs. they are recognised by the great size and concentric woody rings of their prostrate, rarely erect trunks, and by the presence of disc-bearing fibres in their wood, as demonstrated by the microscope; and the principal genera which have been recognised are _dadoxylon, paloeoxylon, araucarioxylon_, and _pinites_. their fruit is not known with absolute certainty, unless it be represented, as often conjectured, by _trigonocarpon_ (fig. ). the fruits known under this name are nut-like, often of considerable size, and commonly three- or six-angled. they probably originally possessed a fleshy envelope; and if truly referable to the _conifers_, they would indicate that these ancient evergreens produced berries instead of cones, and thus resembled the modern yews rather than pines. it seems, further, that the great group of the _cycads_, which are nearly allied to the _conifers_, and which attained such a striking prominence in the secondary period, probably commenced its existence during the coal period; but these anticipatory forms are comparatively few in number, and for the most part of somewhat dubious affinities. chapter xiii. the carboniferous period--continued. animal life of the carboniferous. we have seen that there exists a great difference as to the mode of origin of the carboniferous sediments, some being purely marine, whilst others are terrestrial; and others, again, have been formed in inland swamps and morasses, or in brackish-water lagoons, creeks, or estuaries. a corresponding difference exists necessarily in the animal remains of these deposits, and in many regions this difference is extremely well marked and striking. the great marine limestones which characterise the lower portion of the carboniferous series in britain, europe, and the eastern portion of america, and the calcareous beds which are found high up in the carboniferous in the western states of america, may, and do, often contain the remains of drifted plants; but they are essentially characterised by marine fossils; and, moreover, they can be demonstrated by the microscope to be almost wholly composed of the remains of animals which formerly inhabited the ocean. on the other hand, the animal remains of the beds accompanying the coal are typically the remains of air-breathing, terrestrial, amphibious, or aerial animals, together with those which inhabit fresh or brackish waters. marine fossils may be found in the coal-measures, but they are invariably confined to special horizons in the strata, and they indicate temporary depressions of the land beneath the sea. whilst the distinction here mentioned is one which cannot fail to strike the observer, it is convenient to consider the animal life of the carboniferous as a whole: and it is simply necessary, in so doing, to remember that the marine fossils are in general derived from the inferior portion of the system; whilst the air-breathing, fresh-water, and brackish-water forms are almost exclusively derived from the superior portion of the same. [illustration: fig. .--transparent slice of carboniferous limestone, from spergen hill, indiana, u.s., showing numerous shells of _endothyra_ (_rotalia_), _baiteyi_ slightly enlarged. (original.)] [illustration: fig. .--_fusulina cylindrica_, carboniferous limestone, russia.] the carboniferous _protozoans_ consist mainly of _foraminifera_ and _sponges_. the latter are still very insufficiently known, but the former are very abundant, and belong to very varied types. thin slices of the limestones of the period, when examined by the microscope, very commonly exhibit the shells of _foraminifera_ in greater or less plenty. some limestones, indeed, are made up of little else than these minute and elegant shells, often belonging to types, such as the textularians and rotalians, differing little or not at all from those now in existence. this is the case, for example, with the carboniferous limestone of spergen hill in indiana (fig. ), which is almost wholly made up of the spiral shells of a species of _endothyra_. in the same way, though to a less extent, the black carboniferous marbles of ireland, and the similar marbles of yorkshire, the limestones of the west of england and of derbyshire, and the great "scar limestones" of the north of england, contain great numbers of foraminiferous shells; whilst similar organisms commonly occur in the shale-beds associated with the limestones throughout the lower carboniferous series. one of the most interesting of the british carboniferous forms is the _saccammina_ of mr henry brady, which is sometimes present in considerable numbers in the limestones of northumberland, cumberland, and the west of scotland, and which is conspicuous for the comparatively large size of its spheroidal or pear-shaped shell (reaching from an eighth to a fifth of an inch in size). more widely distributed are the generally spindle-shaped shells of _fusulina_ (fig. ), which occur in vast numbers in the carboniferous limestone of russia, armenia, the southern alps, and spain, similar forms occurring in equal profusion in the higher limestones which are found in the coal-measures of the united states, in ohio, illinois, indiana, missouri, &c. mr henry brady, lastly, has shown that we have in the _nummulina pristina_ of the carboniferous limestone of namur a genuine _nummulite_, precursor of the great and important family of the tertiary nummulites. [illustration: fig. --corals of the carboniferous limestone. a. _cyathophyllum paracida_, showing young corallites budded forth from the disc of the old one; a', one of the corallites of the same, seen in cross-section; b, fragment of a mass of _lithostrotion irregulare_; b', one of the corallites of the same, divided transversely; c, portion of the simple cylindrical coral of _amplexus coralloides_; c', transverse section of the same species; d, _zaphrentis vermicularis_, showing the depression or "fossula" on one side of the cup; e, fragrent of a mass of _syringopora ramulosa_; f, fragment of _coetetes tumidus_; f', portion of the same of the same, enlarged. from the carboniferous limestone of britain and belgium. (after thomson, de koninck, milne-edwards and haime, and the author.)] the sub-kingdom of the _coelenterates_, so far as certainly known, is represented only by _corals_;[ ] but the remains of these are so abundant in many of the limestones of the carboniferous formation as to constitute a feature little or not at all less conspicuous than that afforded by the crinoids. as is the case in the preceding period, the corals belong, almost exclusively, to the groups of the _rugosa_ and _tabulata_; and there is a general and striking resemblance and relationship between the coral-fauna of the devonian as a whole, and that of the carboniferous. nevertheless, there is an equally decided and striking amount of difference between these successive faunas, due to the fact that the great majority of the carboniferous _species_ are new; whilst some of the most characteristic devonian _genera_ have nearly or quite disappeared, and several new genera now make their appearance for the first time. thus, the characteristic devonian types _heliophyllum, pachyphyllum, chonophyllum, acervularia, spongophyllum, smithia, endophyllum_, and _cystiphyllum_, have now disappeared; and the great masses of _favosites_ which are such a striking feature in the devonian limestones, are represented but by one or two degenerate and puny successors. on the other hand, we meet in the carboniferous rocks not only with entirely new genera--such as _axophyllum, lophophyllum_, and _londsdaleia_--but we have an enormous expansion of certain types which had just begun to exist in the preceding period. this is especially well seen in the case of the genus _lithostrotion_ (fig. , b), which more than any other may be considered as the predominant carboniferous group of corals. all the species of _lithostrotion_ are compound, consisting either of bundles of loosely-approximated cylindrical stems, or of similar "coral-lites" closely aggregated together into astræiform colonies, and rendered polygonal by mutual pressure. this genus has a historical interest, as having been noticed as early as in the year by edward lhwyd; and it is geologically important from its wide distribution in the carboniferous rocks of both the old and new worlds. many species are known, and whole beds of limestone are often found to be composed of little else than the skeletons of these ancient corals, still standing upright as they grew. hardly less characteristic of the carboniferous than the above is the great group of simple "cup-corals," of which _clisiophyllum_ is the central type. amongst types which commenced in the silurian and devonian, but which are still well represented here, may be mentioned _syringopora_ (fig. , e), with its colonies of delicate cylindrical tubes united at intervals by cross-bars; _zaphrentis_ (fig. , d), with its cup-shaped skeleton and the well-marked depression (or "fossula") on one side of the calice; _amplexus_ (fig. , c), with its cylindrical, often irregularly swollen coral and short septa; _cyathophyllum_ (fig. , a), sometimes simple, sometimes forming great masses of star-like corallites; and _choetetes_, with its branched stems, and its minute, "tabulate" tubes (fig. , f). the above, together with other and hardly less characteristic forms, combine to constitute a coral-fauna which is not only in itself perfectly distinctive, but which is of especial interest, from the fact that almost all the varied types of which it is composed disappeared utterly before the close of the carboniferous period. in the first marine sediments of a calcareous nature which succeeded to the coal-measures (the magnesian limestones of the permian), the great group of the _rugose corals_, which flourished so largely throughout the silurian, devonian, and carboniferous periods, is found to have all but disappeared, and it is never again represented save sporadically and by isolated forms. [footnote : a singular fossil has been described by professor martin duncan and mr jenkins from the carboniferous rocks under the name of _paloeocoryne_, and has been referred to the hydroid zoophytes (_corynida_). doubt, however, has been thrown by other observers on the correctness of this reference.] [illustration: fig. .--_platycrinus tricontadactylus_, lower carboniferous. the left-hand figure shows the calyx, arms, and upper part of the stem; and the figure next this shows the surface of one of the joints of the column. the right-hand figure shows the proboscis. (after m'coy.)] [illustration: fig. .--a, _pentremites pyriformis_, side-view of the body ("calyx"); b, the same viewed from below, showing the arrangement of the plates; c, body of _pentremites conoideus_, viewed from above. carboniferous.] amongst the _echinoderms_, by far the most important forms are the sea-lilies and the sea-urchins--the former from their great abundance, and the latter from their singular structure; but the little group of the "pentremites" also requires to be noticed. the sea-lilies are so abundant in the carboniferous rocks, that it has been proposed to call the earlier portion of the period the "age of crinoids." vast masses of the limestones of the period are "crinoidal," being more or less extensively composed of the broken columns, and detached plates and joints of sea-lilies, whilst perfect "heads" may be exceedingly rare and difficult to procure. in north america the remains of crinoids are even more abundant at this horizon than in britain, and the specimens found seem to be commonly more perfect. the commonest of the carboniferous crinoids belong to the genera _cyathocrinus, actinocrinus, platycrinus_, (fig. ), _poteriocrinus, zeacrinus_, and _forbesiocrinus_. closely allied to the crinoids, or forming a kind of transition between these and the cystideans, is the little group of the "pentremites," or _blastoids_ (fig. ). this group is first known to have commenced its existence in the upper silurian, and it increased considerably in numbers in the devonian; but it was in the seas of the carboniferous period that it attained its maximum, and no certain representative of the family has been detected in any later deposits. the "pentremites" resemble the crinoids in having a cup-shaped body (fig. , a) enclosed by closely-fitting calcareous plates, and supported on a short stem or "column," composed of numerous calcareous pieces flexibly articulated together. they differ from the crinoids, however, in the fact that the upper surface of the body does not support the crown of branched feathery "arms," which are so characteristic of the latter. on the contrary, the summit of the cup is closed up in the fashion of a flower-bud, whence the technical name of _blastoidea_ applied to the group (gr. _blastos_, a bud; _eidos_, form). from the top of the cup radiate five broad, transversely-striated areas (fig. , c), each with a longitudinal groove down its middle; and along each side of each of these grooves there seems to have been attached a row of short jointed calcareous filaments or "pinnules." [illustration: fig. .--_paloechinus ellipticus_, one of the carboniferous sea-urchins. the left-hand figure shows one of the "ambulacral areas" enlarged, exhibiting the perforated plates. the right-land figure exhibits a single plate from one of the "inter-ambulacral areas." (after m'coy.)] a few star-fishes and brittle-stars are known to occur in the carboniferous rocks; but the only other echinodemls of this period which need be noticed are the sea-urchins (_echinoids_). detached plates and spines of these are far from rare in the carboniferous deposits; but anything like perfect specimens are exceedingly scarce. the carboniferous sea-urchins agree with those of the present day in having the body enclosed in a shell formed by an enormous number of calcareous plates articulated together. the shell may be regarded as, typically, nearly spherical in shape, with the mouth in the centre of the base, and the excretory opening or vent at its summit. in both the ancient forms and the recent ones, the plates of the shell are arranged in ten zones which generally radiate from the summit to the centre of the base. in five of these zones--termed the "ambulacral areas"--the plates are perforated by minute apertures or "pores," through which the animal can protrude the little water-tubes ("tube-feet") by which its locomotion is carried on. in the other five zones--the so-called "inter-ambulacral areas"--the plates are of larger size, and are not perforated by any apertures. in all the modern sea-urchins each of these ten zones, whether perforate or imperforate, is composed of two rows of plates; and there are thus twenty rows of plates in all. in the palæozoic sea-urchins, on the other hand, the "ambulacral areas" are often like those of recent forms, in consisting of _two_ rows of perforated plates (fig. ); but the "inter-ambulacral areas" are always quite peculiar in consisting each of three, four, five, or more rows of large imperforate plates, whilst there are sometimes four or ten rows of plates in the "ambulacral areas" also: so that there are many more than twenty rows of plates in the entire shell. some of the palæozoic sea-urchins, also, exhibit a very peculiar singularity of structure which is only known to exist in a very few recently-discovered modern forms (viz., _calveria_ and _phormosoma_). the plates of the inter-ambulacral areas, namely, overlap one another in an imbricating manner, so as to communicate a certain amount of flexibility to the shell; whereas in the ordinary living forms these plates are firmly articulated together by their edges, and the shell forms a rigid immovable box. the carboniferous sea-urchins which exhibit this extraordinary peculiarity belong to the genera _lepidechinus_ and _lepidesthes_, and it seems tolerably certain that a similar flexibility of the shell existed to a less degree in the much more abundant genus _archoeocidaris_. the carboniferous sea-urchins, like the modern ones, possessed movable spines of greater or less length, articulated to the exterior of the shell; and these structures are of very common occurrence in a detached condition. the most abundant genera are _archoeocidaris_ and _paloechinus_; but the characteristic american forms belong principally to _melonites, oligoporus_, and _lepidechinus_. [illustration: fig. .--_spirorbis (microconchus) carbonarius_, of the natural size, attached to a fossil plant, and magnified. carboniferous britain and north america. (after dawson.)] amongst the _annelides_ it is only necessary to notice the little spiral tubes of _spirorbis carbonarius_ (fig. ), which are commonly found attached to the leaves or stems of the coal-plants. this fact shows that though the modern species of _spirorbis_ are inhabitants of the sea, these old representatives of the genus must have been capable of living in the brackish waters of lagoons and estuaries. [illustration: fig. .--_prestwichia rotundata_, a limuloid crustacean. coal-measures, britain. (after henry woodward.)] [illustration: fig. .--crustaceans of the carboniferous rocks. a, _phillipsia seminifera_, of the natural size--mountain limestone, europe; b, one valve of the shell of _estheria tenella_, of the natural size and enlarged--coal-measures, europe; c, bivalved shell of _entomoconchus scouleri_, of the natural size--mountain limestone, europe; d, _dithyrocaris scouleri_, reduced in size--mountain limestone, ireland; e, _paloeocaris typus_, slightly enlarged--coal-measures, north america; f, _anthrapaloemon gracilis_, of the natural size--coal-measures, north america. (after de koninck, m'coy, rupert jones, and meek and worthen.)] the _crustaceans_ of the carboniferous rocks are numerous, and belong partly to structural types with which we are already familiar, and partly to higher groups which come into existence here for the first time. the gigantic _eurypterids_ of the upper silurian and devonian are but feebly represented, and make their final exit here from the scene of life. their place, however, is taken by peculiar forms belonging to the allied group of the _xiphosura_, represented at the present day by the king-crabs or "horse-shoe crabs" (_limulus_). characteristic forms of this group appear in the coal-measures both of europe and america; and though constituting three distinct genera (_prestwichia, belinurus_, and _euproöps_), they are all nearly related to one another. the best known of them, perhaps, is the _prestwichia rotundala_ of coalbrookdale, here figured (fig. ). the ancient and formerly powerful order of the _trilobites_ also undergoes its final extinction here, not surviving the deposition of the carboniferous limestone series in europe, but extending its range in america into the coal-measures. all the known carboniferous forms are small in size and degraded in point of structure, and they are referable to but three genera (_phillipsia, griffithides_, and _brachymetopus_), belonging to a single family. the _phillipsia seminifera_ here figured (fig. , a) is a characteristic species in the old world. the water-fleas (_ostracoaa_) are extremely abundant in the carboniferous rocks, whole strata being often made up of little else than the little bivalved shells of these crustaceans. many of them are extremely small, averaging about the size of a millet-seed; but a few forms, such as _entomoconchus scouleni_ (fig. , c), may attain a length of from one to three quarters of an inch. the old group of the _phyllopods_ is is likewise still represented in some abundance, partly by tailed forms of a shrimp-like appearance, such as _dithyrocaris_ (fig. , d), and partly by the curious striated _estherioe_ and their allies, which present a curious resemblance to the true bivalve molluscs (fig. , b). lastly, we meet for the first time in the carboniferous rocks with the remains of the highest of all the groups of _crustaceans_--namely, the so-called "decapods," in which there are five pairs of walking-limbs, and the hinder end of the body ("abdomen") is composed of separate rings, whilst the anterior end is covered by a head-shield or "carapace." all the carboniferous decapods hitherto discovered resemble the existing lobsters, prawns, and shrimps (the _macrura_), in having a long and well-developed abdomen terminated by an expanded tail-fin. the _paloeocaris typus_ (fig. , e) and the _anthrapaloemon gracilis_ (fig. , f), from the coal-measures of illinois, are two of the best understood and most perfectly preserved of the few known representatives of the "long-tailed" decapods in the carboniferous series. the group of the crabs or "short-tailed" decapods (_brachyura_), in which the abdomen is short, not terminated by a tail-fin, and tucked away out of sight beneath the body, is at present not known to be represented at all in the carboniferous deposits. [illustration: fig. .--_cyclophthalmus senior_. a fossil scorpion from the coal-measures of bohemia.] [illustration: fig. .--_xylobius sigillarioe_, a carboniferous myriapod. a, a specimen, of the natural size; b, anterior portion of the same, enlarged; c, posterior portion, enlarged. from the coal-measures of nova scotia. (after dawson.)] [illustration: fig. --_haplophlebium barnesi_, a carboniferous insect, from the coal-meastures of nova scotia. (after dawson.)] in addition to the water-inhabiting group of the crustaceans, we find the articulate animals to be represented by members belonging to the air-breathing classes of the _arachnida, myriapoda_, and _insecta_. the remains of these, as might have been expected, are not known to occur in the marine limestones of the carboniferous series, but are exclusively found in beds associated with the coal, which have been deposited in lagoons, estuaries, or marshes, in the immediate vicinity of the land, and which actually represent an old land-surface. the _arachnids_ are at present the oldest known of their class, and are represented both by true spiders and scorpions. remains of the latter (fig. ) have been found both in the old and new worlds, and indicate the existence in the carboniferous period of scorpions differing but very little from existing forms. the group of the _myriapoda_, including the recent centipedes and galley-worms, is likewise represented in the carboniferous strata, but by forms in many respects very unlike any that are known to exist at the present day. the most interesting of these were obtained by principal dawson, along with the bones of amphibians and the shells of land-snails, in the sediment filling the hollow trunks of _sigillaria_, and they belong to the genera _xylobius_ (fig. ) and archiulus. lastly, the true _insects_ are represented by various forms of beetles (_coleoptera_), _orthoptera_ (such as cockroaches), and _neuropterous_ insects resembling those which we have seen to have existed towards the close of the devonian period. one of the most remarkable of the latter is a huge may-fly (_haplophlebium barnesi_, fig. ), with netted wings attaining an expanse of fully seven inches, and therefore much exceeding any existing ephemerid in point of size. [illustration: fig. .--carboniferous _polyzoa_. a, fragment of _polypora dendroides_, of the natural size, ireland; a' small portion of the same, enlarged to show the cells; b, glauconome pulcherrima_, a fragment, of the natural size, ireland; b', portion of the same, enlarged; c, the central screw-like axis of _archimedes wortheni_, of the natural size--carboniferous, america; c', portion of the exterior of the frond of the same, enlarged; c'', portion of the interior of the frond of the same showing the mouths of the cells, enlarged. (after m'coy and hall.)] the lower groups of the _mollusca_ are abundantly represented in the marine strata of the carboniferous series by _polyzoans_ and _brachiopods_. amongst the former, although a variety of other types are known, the majority still belong to the old group of the "lace-corals" (_fenestellidoe_), some of the characteristic forms of which are here figured (fig. ). the graceful netted fronds of _fenestella, retepora_, and _polypora_ (fig. , a) are highly characteristic, as are the slender toothed branches of _glauconome_ (fig. , b). a more singular form, however, is the curious _archimedes_ (fig. , c), which is so characteristic of the carboniferous formation of north america. in this remarkable type, the colony consists of a succession of funnel-shaped fronds, essentially similar to _fenestella_ in their structure, springing in a continuous spiral from a strong screw-like vertical axis. the outside of the fronds is simply striated; but the branches exhibit on the interior the mouths of the little cells in which the semi-independent beings composing the colony originally lived. [illustration: fig. .--carboniferous _braciopoda. a, _producta semireticulata_, showing the slightly concave dorsal valve; a' side view of the same, showing the convex ventral valve; b, _producta longispina_; c, _orthis resupinata_; d, _terebratula hastata_; e, _athyris subtilita_; f, _chonetes hardrensis_; g, _rhynchonella pleurodon_; h, _spirifera trigonalis_. most of these forms are widely distributed in the carboniferous limestone of britain, europe, america, &c. all the figures are of the natural size. (after davidson, de koninck, and meek.)] the _brachiopods_ are extremely abundant, and for the most part belong to types which are exclusively or principally palæozoic in their range. the old genera _strophomena, orthis_ (fig. , c), _athyris_ (fig. , e), _rhynchonella_ (fig. , g), and _spirifera_ (fig. , h), are still well represented--the latter, in particular, existing under numerous specific forms, conspicuous by their abundance and sometimes by their size. along with these ancient groups, we have representatives--for the first time in any plenty--of the great genus _terebratula_ (fig. , d), which underwent a great expansion during later periods, and still exists at the present day. the most characteristic carboniferous brachiopods, however, belong to the family of the _productidoe_, of which the principal genus is _producta_ itself. this family commenced its existence in the upper silurian with the genus _chonetes_, distinguished by its spinose hinge-margin. this genus lived through the devonian, and flourished in the carboniferous (fig. , f). the genus _producta_ itself, represented in the devonian by the nearly allied _productella_, appeared first in the carboniferous, at any rate, in force, and survived into the permian; but no member of this extensive family has yet been shown to have over-lived the palæozoic period. the _productoe_ of the carboniferous are not only exceedingly abundant, but they have in many instances a most extensive geographical range, and some species attain what may fairly be considered-gigantic dimensions. the shell (fig. , a and b) is generally more or less semicircular, with a straight hinge-margin, and having its lateral angles produced into larger or smaller ears (hence its generic name--"_cochlea producta_"). one valve (the ventral) is usually strongly convex, whilst the other (the dorsal) is flat or concave, the surface of both being adorned with radiating ribs, and with hollow tubular spines, often of great length. the valves are not locked together by teeth, and there is no sign in the fully-grown shell of an opening in or between the valves for the emission of a muscular stalk for the attachment of the shell to foreign objects. it is probable, therefore, that the _productoe_, unlike the ordinary lamp-shells, lived an independent existence, their long spines apparently serving to anchor them firmly in the mud or ooze of the sea-bottom; but mr robert etheridge, jun.; has recently shown that in one species the spines were actually employed as organs of adhesion, whereby the shell was permanently attached to some extraneous object, such as the stem of a crinoid. the two species here figured are interesting for their extraordinarily extensive geographical range--_producta semireticulata_ (fig. , a) being found in the carboniferous rocks of britain, the continent of europe, central asia, china, india, australia, spitzbergen, and north and south america; whilst _p. longispina_ (fig. , b) has a distribution little if at all less wide. [illustration: fig. .--_pupa (dendropupa) vetusta_, a carboniferous land-snail from the coal-measures of nova scotia. a, the shell, of the natural size; b, the same, magnified; c, apex of the shell, enlarged; d, portion of the surface, enlarged. (after dawson.)] the higher _mollusca_ are abundantly represented in the carboniferous rocks by bivalves (_lamellibranchs_), univalves (_gasteropoda_), winged-snails (_pteropoda_), and _cephalopods_. amongst the bivalves we may note the great abundance of scallops (_aviculopecten_ and other allied forms), together with numerous other types--some of ancient origin, others represented here for the first time. amongst the gasteropods, we find the characteristically palæozoic genera _macrocheilus_ and _loxonema_, the almost exclusively palæozoic _euomphalus_, and the persistent, genus _pleurotomaria_; whilst the free-swimming univalves (_heteropoda_)are represented by _bellerophon_ and _porcellia_, and the _pteropoda_ by the old genus _conularia_. with regard to the carboniferous univalves, it is also of interest to note here the first appearance of true air-breathing or terrestrial molluscs, as discovered by dawson and bradley in the coal-measures of nova scotia and illinois. some of these (_conulus priscus_) are true land-snails, resembling the existing _zonites_; whilst others (_pupa vetusta_, fig. ) appear to be generically inseparable from the "chrysalis-shells" (_pupa_) of the present day. all the known forms--three in number--are of small size, and appear to have been local in their distribution or in their preservation. more important, however, than any of the preceding, are the _cephalopoda_, represented, as before, exclusively by the chambered shells of the tetrabranchiates. the older and simpler type of these, with simple plain septa, and mostly a central siphuncle, is represented by the straight conical shells of the ancient genus orthoceras, and the bow-shaped shells of the equally ancient _cyrtoceras_--some of the former attaining a great size. the spirally-curved discoidal shells of the persistent genus _nautilus_ are also not unknown, and some of these likewise exhibit very considerable dimensions. lastly, the more complex family of the _ammonitidoe_, with lobed or angulated septa, and a dorsally-placed siphuncle (situated on the convex side of the curved shells), now for the first time commences to acquire a considerable prominence. the principal representative of this group is the genus _goniatites_ (fig. ), which commenced its existence in the upper silurian, is well represented in the devonian, and attains its maximum here. in this genus, the shell is spirally curved, the septa are strongly lobed or angulated, though not elaborately frilled as in the ammonites, and the siphuncle is dorsal. in addition to _goniatites_, the shells of true _ammonites_, so characteristic of the secondary period, have been described by dr waagen as occurring in the carboniferous rocks of india. [illustration: fig. .--_goniatites (aganides) fossoe_. carboniferous limestone.] [illustration: fig. .--_amblypterus macropterus_. carboniferous.] coming finally to the _vertebrata_, we have in the first place to very briefly consider the carboniferous _fishes_. these are numerous; but, with the exception of the still dubious "conodonts," belong wholly to the groups of the _ganoids_ and the _placoids_ (including under the former head remains which perhaps are truly referable to the group of the _dipnoi_ or mud-fishes). amongst the _ganoids_, the singular buckler-headed fishes of the upper silurian and devonian (_cephalaspidoe_) have apparently disappeared; and the principal types of the carboniferous belong to the groups respectively represented at the present day by the gar pike (_lepidosteus_) of the north american lakes, and the _polypterus_ of the rivers of africa. of the former, the genera _paloeoniscus_ and _amblypterus_ (fig. ), with their small rhomboidal and enamelled scales, and their strongly unsymmetrical tails, are perhaps the most abundant. of the latter, the most important are species belonging to the genera _megalichthys_ and _rhizodus_, comprising large fishes, with rhomboidal scales, unsymmetrical ("heterocercal") tails, and powerful conical teeth. these fishes are sometimes said to be "sauroid," from their presenting some reptilian features in their organisation, and they must have been the scourges of the carboniferous seas. the remains of _placoid_ fishes in the carboniferous strata are very numerous, but consist wholly of teeth and fin-spines, referable to forms more or less closely allied to our existing port jackson sharks, dog-fishes, and rays. the teeth are of very various shapes and sizes,--some with sharp, cutting edges (_petalodus, cladodus_, &c.); others in the form of broad crushing plates, adapted, like the teeth of the existing port jackson shark (_cestracion philippi_), for breaking down the hard shells of molluscs and crustaceans. amongst the many kinds of these latter, the teeth of _psammodus_ and _cochliodus_ (fig. ) may be mentioned as specially characteristic. the fin-spines are mostly similar to those so common in the devonian deposits, consisting of hollow defensive spines implanted in front of the pectoral or other fins, usually slightly curved, often superficially ribbed or sculptured, and not uncommonly serrated or toothed. the genera _ctenacanthus, gyracanthus, homacanthus_, &c., have been founded for the reception of these defensive weapons, some of which indicate fishes of great size and predaceous habits. [illustration: fig. .--teeth of _cochliodus contortus_. carboniferous limestone, britain.] [illustration: fig. .--a, upper surface of the skull of _anthracosaurus russelli_, one-sixth of the natural size: b, part of one of the teeth cut across, and highly magnified to show the characteristic labyrinthine structure; c, one of the integumentary shields or scales, one-half of the natural size. coal-measures, northumberland. (after atthey.)] in the devonian rocks we meet with no other remains of vertebrated animals save fishes only; but the carboniferous deposits have yielded remains of the higher group of the _amphibians_. this class, comprising our existing frogs, toads, and newts, stands to some extent in a position midway between the class of the fishes and that of the true reptiles, being distinguished from the latter by the fact that its members invariably possess gills in their early condition, if not throughout life; whilst they are separated from the former by always possessing true lungs when adult, and by the fact that the limbs (when present at all) are never in the form of fins. the amphibians, therefore, are all water-breathers when young, and have respiratory organs adapted for an aquatic mode of life; whereas, when grown up, they develop lungs, and with these the capacity for breathing air directly. some of them, like the frogs and newts, lose their gills altogether on attaining the adult condition; but others, such as the living _proteus_ and _menobranchus_, retain their gills even after acquiring their lungs, and are thus fitted indifferently for an aquatic or terrestrial existence. the name of "amphibia," though applied to the whole class, is thus not precisely appropriate except to these last-mentioned forms (gr. _amphi_, both; _bios_, life). the amphibians also differ amongst themselves according as to whether they keep permanently the long tail which they all possess when young (as do the newts and salamanders), or lose this appendage when grown up (as do the frogs and toads). most of them have naked skins, but a few living and many extinct forms have hard structures in the shape of scales developed in the integument. all of them have well-ossified skeletons, though some fossil types are partially deficient in this respect; and all of them which possess limbs at all have these appendages supported by bones essentially similar to those found in the limbs of the higher vertebrates. all the carboniferous amphibians belong to a group which has now wholly passed away--namely, that of the _labyrinthodonts_. in the marine strata which form the base of the carboniferous series these creatures have only been recognised by their curious hand-shaped footprints, similar in character to those which occur in the triassic rocks, and which will be subsequently spoken of under the name of _cheirotherium_. in the coal-measures of britain, the continent of europe, and north america, however, many bones of these animals have been found, and we are now tolerably well acquainted with a considerable number of forms. all of them seem to have belonged to the division of amphibians in which the long tail of the young is permanently retained; and there is evidence that some of them kept the gills also throughout life. the skull is of the characteristic amphibian type (fig. , a), with two occipital condyles, and having its surface singularly pitted and sculptured; and the vertebræ are hollowed out at both ends. the lower surface of the body was defended by an armour of singular integumentary shields or scales (fig. , c); and an extremely characteristic feature (from which the entire group derives its name) is, that the walls of the teeth are deeply folded, so as to give rise to an extraordinary "labyrinthine" pattern when they are cut across (fig. , b). many of the carboniferous labyrinthodonts are of no great size, some of them very small, but others attain comparatively gigantic dimensions, though all fall short in this respect of the huge examples of this group which occur in the trias. one of the largest, and at the same time most characteristic, forms of the carboniferous series, is the genus _anthracosaurus_, the skull of which is here figured. no remains of true reptiles, birds, or quadrupeds have as yet been certainly detected in the carboniferous deposits in any part of the world. it should, however, be mentioned, that professor marsh, one of the highest authorities on the subject, has described from the coal-formation of nova scotia certain vertebræ which he believes to have belonged to a marine reptile (_eosaurus acadianus_), allied to the great _ichthyosauri_ of the lias. up to this time no confirmation of this determination has been obtained by the discovery of other and more unquestionable remains, and it therefore remains doubtful whether these bones of _eosaurus_ may not really belong to large labyrinthodonts. literature. the following list contains some of the more important of the original sources of information to which the student of carboniferous rocks and fossils may refer:-- ( ) 'geology of yorkshire,' vol. ii.; 'the mountain limestone district.' john phillips. ( ) 'siluria.' sir roderick murchison. ( ) 'memoirs of the geological survey of great britain and ireland.' ( ) 'geological report on londonderry,' &c. portlock. ( ) 'acadian geology.' dawson. ( ) 'geology of iowa,' vol. i. james hall. ( ) 'reports of the geological survey of illinois' (geology and palæontology). meek, worthen, &c. ( ) 'reports of the geological survey of ohio' (geology and palæontology). newberry, cope, meek, hall, &c. ( ) 'description des animaux fossiles qui se trouvent dans le terrain carbonifère de la belgique,' ; with subsequent monographs on the genera _productus_ and _chonetes_, on _crinoids_, on _corals_, &c. de koninck. ( ) 'synopsis of the carboniferous fossils of ireland.' m'coy. ( ) 'british palæozoic fossils.' m'coy. ( ) 'figures of characteristic british fossils.' baily. ( ) 'catalogue of british fossils.' morris. ( ) 'monograph of the carboniferous brachiopoda of britain' (palæontographical society). davidson. ( ) 'monograph of the british carboniferous corals' (palæontographical society). milne-edwards and haime. ( ) 'monograph of the carboniferous bivalve entomostraca of britain' (palæontographical society). rupert jones, kirkby, and george s. brady. ( ) 'monograph of the carboniferous foraminifera of britain' (palæontographical society). h. b. brady. ( ) "on the carboniferous fossils of the west of scotland"--'trans. geol. soc.,' of glasgow, vol. iii., supplement. young and armstrong. ( ) 'poissons fossiles.' agassiz. ( ) "report on the labyrinthodonts of the coal-measures"--'british association report,' . l. c. miall. ( ) 'introduction to the study of palæontological botany.' john hutton balfour. ( ) 'traité de paléontologie végétale.' schimper. ( ) 'fossil flora.' lindley and hutton. ( ) 'histoire des végétaux fossiles.' brongniart. ( ) 'on calamites and calamodendron' (monographs of the palæontographical society). binney. ( ) 'on the structure of fossil plants found in the carboniferous strata' (palæontographical society). binney. also numerous memoirs by huxley, davidson, martin duncan, professor young, john young, r. etheridge, jun., baily, carruthers, dawson, binney, williamson, hooker, jukes, geikie, rupert jones, salter, and many other british and foreign observers. chapter xiv. the permian period. the permian formation closes the long series of the palæozoic deposits, and may in some respects be considered as a kind of appendix to the carboniferous system, to which it cannot be compared in importance, either as regards the actual bulk of its sediments or the interest and variety of its life-record. consisting, as it does, largely of red rocks--sandstones and marls--for the most part singularly destitute of organic remains, the permian rocks have been regarded as a lacustrine or fluviatile deposit; but the presence of well-developed limestones with indubitable marine remains entirely negatives this view. it is, however, not improbable that we are presented in the permian formation, as known to us at present, with a series of sediments laid down in inland seas of great extent, due to the subsidence over large areas of the vast land-surfaces of the coal-measures. this view, at any rate, would explain some of the more puzzling physical characters of the formation, and would not be definitely negatived by any of its fossils. a large portion of the permian series, as already remarked, consists of sandstones and marls, deeply reddened by peroxide of iron, and often accompanied by beds of gypsum or deposits of salt. in strata of this nature few or no fossils are found; but their shallow-water origin is sufficiently proved by the presence of the footprints of terrestrial animals, accompanied in some cases by well-defined "ripple-marks." along with these are occasionally found massive breccias, holding larger or smaller blocks derived from the older formations; and these have been supposed to represent an old "boulder-clay," and thus to indicate the prevalence of an arctic climate. beds of this nature must also have been deposited in shallow water. in all regions, however, where the permian formation is well developed, one of its most characteristic members is a magnesian limestone, often highly and fantastically concretionary, but containing numerous remains of genuine marine animals, and clearly indicating that it was deposited beneath a moderate depth of salt water. it is not necessary to consider here whether this formation can be retained as a distinct division of the geological series. the name of _permian_ was given to it by sir roderick murchison, from the province of perm in russia, where rocks of this age are extensively developed. formerly these rocks were grouped with the succeeding formation of the trias under the common name of "new red sandstone." this name was given them because they contain a good deal of red sandstone, and because they are superior to the carboniferous rocks, while the old red sandstone is inferior. nowadays, however, the term "new red sandstone" is rarely employed, unless it be for red sandstones and associated rocks, which are seen to overlie the coal-measures, but which contain no fossils by which their exact age may be made out. under these circumstances, it is sometimes convenient to employ the term "new red sandstone." the new red, however, of the older geologists, is now broken up into the two formations of the permian and triassic rocks--the former being usually considered as the top of the palæozoic series, and the latter constituting the base of the mesozoic. in many instances, the permian rocks are seen to repose unconformably upon the underlying carboniferous, from which they can in addition be readily separated by their lithological characters. in other instances, however, the coal-measures terminate upwards in red rocks, not distinguishable by their mineral characters from the permian; and in other cases no physical discordance between the carboniferous and permian strata can be detected. as a general rule, also, the permian rocks appear to pass upwards conformably into the trias. the division, therefore, between the permian and triassic rocks, and consequently between the palæozoic and mesozoic series, is not founded upon any conspicuous or universal physical break, but upon the difference in life which is observed in comparing the marine animals of the carboniferous and permian with those of the trias. it is to be observed, however, that this difference can be solely due to the fact that the magnesian limestone of the permian series presents us with only a small, and not a typical, portion of the marine deposits which must have been accumulated in some area at present unknown to us during the period which elapsed between the formation of the great marine limestones of the lower carboniferous and the open-sea and likewise calcareous sediments of the middle trias. the permian rocks exhibit their most typical features in russia and germany, though they are very well developed in parts of britain, and they occur in north america. when well developed, they exhibit three main divisions: a lower set of sandstones, a middle group, generally calcareous, and an upper series of sandstones, constituting respectively the lower, middle, and upper permians. in russia, germany, and britain, the permian rocks consist of the following members:-- . the _lower permians_, consisting mainly of a great series of sandstones, of different colours, but usually red. the base of this series is often constituted by massive breccias with included fragments of the older rocks, upon which they may happen to repose; and similar breccias sometimes occur in the upper portion of the series as well. the thickness of this group varies a good deal, but may amount to or feet. . the _middle permians_, consisting, in their typical development, of laminated marls, or "marl-slate," surmounted by beds of magnesian limestone (the "zechstein" of the german geologists). sometimes the limestones are degenerate or wholly deficient, and the series may consist of sandy shales and gypsiferous clays. the magnesian limestone, however, of the middle permians is, as a rule, so well marked a feature that it was long spoken of as _the_ magnesian limestone. . the _upper permians_, consisting of a series of sandstones and shales, or of red or mottled marls, often gypsiferous, and sometimes including beds of limestone. in north america, the permian rocks appear to be confined to the region west of the mississippi, being especially well developed in kansas. their exact limits have not as yet been made out, and their total thickness is not more than a few hundred feet. they consist of sandstones, conglomerates, limestones, marls, and beds of gypsum. the following diagrammatic section shows the general sequence of the permian deposits in the north of england, where the series is extensively developed (fig. ):-- [illustration: fig. . generalised section of the permian rocks in the north of england.] the record of the _life_ of the permian period is but a scanty one, owing doubtless to the special peculiarities of such of the deposits of this age with which we are as yet acquainted. red rocks are, as a general rule, more or less completely unfossiliferous, and sediments of this nature are highly characteristic of the permian. similarly, magnesian limestones are rarely as highly charged with organic remains as is the case with normal calcareous deposits, especially when they have been subjected to concretionary action, as is observable to such a marked extent in the permian limestones. nevertheless, much interest is attached to the organic remains, as marking a kind of transition-period between the palæozoic and mesozoic epochs. [illustration: fig. .--_walchia piniformis_, from the permian of saxony, a, branch; b, twig, (after gutbier.)] the _plants_ of the permian period, as a whole, have a distinctly palæozoic aspect, and are far more nearly allied to those of the coal-measures than they are to those of the earlier secondary rocks; though the permian _species_ are mostly distinct from the carboniferous, and there are some new genera. thus, we find species of _lepidodendron, calamites, equisetites, asterophyllites, annularia_, and other highly characteristic carboniferous genera. on the other hand, the _sigillariods_ of the coal seem to have finally disappeared at the close of the carboniferous period. ferns are abundant in the permian rocks, and belong for the most part to the well-known carboniferous genera _alethopteris, neuropteris, sphenopteris_, and _pecopteris_. there are also tree-ferns referable to the ancient genus _psaronius_. the _conifers_ of the permian period are numerous, and belong in part to carboniferous genera. a characteristic genus, however, is _walchia_ (fig. ), distinguished by its lax short leaves. this genus, though not exclusively permian, is mainly so, the best-known species being the _w. piniformis_. here, also, we meet with conifers which produce true cones, and which differ, therefore, in an important degree from the taxoid conifers of the coal-measures. besides _walchia_, a characteristic form of these is the _ullmania selaginoides_, which occurs in the magnesian limestone of durham, the middle permian of westmorland, and the "kupfer-schiefer" of germany. the group of the _cycads_, which we shall subsequently find to be so characteristic of the vegetation of the secondary period, is, on the other hand, only doubtfully represented in the permian deposits by the singular genus _noeggerathia_. the _protozoans_ of the permian rocks are few in number, and for the most part imperfectly known. a few _foraminifera_ have been obtained from the magnesian limestone of england, and the same formation has yielded some ill-understood sponges. it does not seem, however, altogether impossible that some of the singular "concretions" of this formation may ultimately prove to have an organic structure, though others would appear to be clearly of purely inorganic origin. from the permian of saxony, professor geinitz has described two species of _spongillopsis_, which he believes to be most nearly allied to the existing fresh-water sponges (_spongilla_). this observation has an interest as bearing upon the mode of deposition and origin of the permian sediments. the _coelenterates_ are represented in the permian by but a few corals. these belong partly to the _tabulate_ and partly to the _rugose_ division; but the latter great group, so abundantly represented in silurian, devonian, and carboniferous seas, is now extraordinarily reduced in numbers, the british strata of this age yielding only species of the single genus _polycoelia_. so far, therefore, as at present known, all the characteristic genera of the rugose corals of the carboniferous had become extinct before the deposition of the limestones of the middle permian. the _echinoderms_ are represented by a few _crinoids_, and by a sea-urchin belonging to the genus _eocidaris_. the latter genus is nearly allied to the _archoeocidaris_ of the carboniferous, so that this permian form belongs to a characteristically palæozoic type. a few _annelides_ (_spirorbis, vermilia_, &c.) have been described, but are of no special importance. amongst the _crustaceans_, however, we have to note the total absence of the great palæozoic group of the _trilobites_; whilst the little _ostracoda_ and _phyllopods_ still continue to be represented. we have also to note the first appearance here of the "short-tailed" decapods or crabs (_brachyura_), the highest of all the groups of _crustacea_, in the person of _hemitrochiscus paradoxus_, an extremely minute crab from the permian of germany. [illustration: fig. .--brachiopods of the permian formation. a, _producta horrida_; b, _lingula credneri_; c, _terebratula elongata_; d and e, _camarophoria globulina_. (after king.)] amongst the _mollusca_, the remains of _polyzoa_ may fairly be said to be amongst the most abundant of all the fossils of the permian formation, the principal forms of these are the fronds of the lace-corals (_fenestella, retepora_, and _synocladia_), which are very abundant in the magnesian limestone of the north of england, and belong to various highly characteristic species (such as _fenestella retiformis, retepora ehrenbergi_, and _synocladia virgulacea_). the _brachiopoda_ are also represented in moderate numbers in the permian. along with species of the persistent genera _discina, crania_, and _lingula_, we still meet with representatives of the old groups _spirifera, athyris_, and _streptorhynchus_; and the carboniferous _productoe_ yet survive under well-marked and characteristic types, though in much-diminished numbers. the species of brachiopods here figured (fig. ) are characteristic of the magnesian limestone in britain and of the corresponding strata on the continent. upon the whole, the most characteristic permian _brachiopods_ belong to the genera _producta, strophalosia_, and _camarophoria_. the _bivalves_ (_lamellibranchiata_) have a tolerably varied development in the permian rocks; but nearly all the old types, except some of those which occur in the carboniferous, have now disappeared. the principal permian bivalves belong to the groups of the pearl oysters (_aviculidoe_) and the _trigoniadoe_, represented by genera such as _bakewellia_ and _schizodus_; the true mussels (_mytilidoe_), represented by species which have been referred to _mytilus_ itself; and the arks (_arcadoe_), represented by species of the genera _arca_ (fig. ) and _byssoarca_. the first and last of these three families have a very ancient origin; but the family of the _trigoniadoe_, though feebly represented at the present day, is one which attained its maximum development in the mesozoic period. [illustration: fig. .--_arca antiqua_. permian.] the _univalves_ (_gasteropoda_) are rare, and do not demand special notice. it may be observed, however, that the palæozoic genera _euomphalus, murchisonia, loxonema_, and _macrocheilus_ are still in existence, together with the persistent genus _pleurotomaria_. _pteropods_ of the old genera _theca_ and _conularia_ have been discovered; but the first of these characteristically palæozoic types finally dies out here, and the second only survives but a short time longer. lastly, a few _cephalopods_ have been found, still wholly referable to the tetrabranchiate group, and belonging to the old genera _orthoceras_ and _cyrtoceras_ and the long-lived _nautilus_. [illustration: fig. .--_platysomus gibbosus_, a "heterocercal" ganoid, from the middle permian of russia.] amongst _vertebrates_, we meet in the permian period not only with the remains of fishes and amphibians, but also, for the first time, with true reptiles. the _fishes_ are mainly _ganoids_, though there are also remains of a few cestraciont sharks. not only are the _ganoids_ still the predominant group of fishes, but all the known forms possess the unsymmetrical ("heterocercal") tail which is so characteristic of the palæozoic ganoids. most of the remains of the permian fishes have been obtained from the "marl-slate" of durham and the corresponding "kupfer-schiefer" of germany, on the horizon of the middle permian; and the principal genera of the ganoids are _paloeoniscus_ and _platysomus_ (fig. ). the _amphibians_ of the permian period belong principally to the order of the _labyrinthodonts_, which commenced to be represented in the carboniferous, and has a large development in the trias. under the name, however, of _paloeosiren beinerti_, professor geinitz has described an amphibian from the lower permian of germany, which he believes to be most nearly allied to the existing "mud-eel" (_siren lacertina_) of north america, and therefore to be related to the newts and salamanders (_urodela_). [illustration: fig. .--_protorosaurus speneri_, middle permian, thuringia, reduced in size. (after von meyer.) [copied from dana.]] finally, we meet in the permian deposits with the first undoubted remains of true _reptiles_. these are distinguished, as a class, from the _amphibians_, by the fact that they are air-breathers throughout the whole of their life, and therefore are at no time provided with gills; whilst they are exempt from that metamorphosis which all the _amphibia_ undergo in early life, consequent upon their transition from an aquatic to a more or less purely aerial mode of respiration. their skeleton is well ossified; they usually have horny or bony plates, singly or in combination, developed in the skin; and their limbs (when present) are never either in the form of _fins_ or _wings_, though sometimes capable of acting in either of these capacities, and liable to great modifications of form and structure. though there can be no doubt whatever as to the occurrence of genuine reptiles in deposits of unquestionable permian age, there is still uncertainty as to the precise number of types which may have existed at this period. this uncertainty arises partly from the difficulty of deciding in all cases, whether a given bone be truely labyrinthodont or reptilian, but more especially from the confusion which exists at present between the permian and the overlying triassic deposits. thus there are various deposits in different regions which have yielded the remains of reptiles, and which cannot in the meanwhile be definitely referred either to the permian series or to the trias by clear stratigraphical or palæontological evidence. all that can be done in such cases is to be guided by the characters of the reptiles themselves, and to judge by their affinities to remains from known triassic or permian rocks to which of these formations the beds containing them should be referred; but it is obvious that this method of procedure is seriously liable to lead to error. in accordance, however, with this, the only available mode of determination in some cases, the remains of _thecodontosaurus_ and _palæosaurus_ discovered in the dolomitic conglomerates near bristol will be considered as triassic, thus leaving _protorosaurus_[ ] as the principal and most important representative of the permian reptiles.[ ] the type-species of the genus _protorusaurus_ is the _p. speneri_(fig. ) of the "kupfer-schiefer" of thuringia, but other allied species have been detected in the middle permian of germany and the north of england. this reptile attained a length of from three to four feet; and it has been generally referred to the group of the lizards (_lacertilia_), to which it is most nearly allied in its general structure, at the same time that it differs from all existing members of this group in the fact that its numerous conical and pointed teeth were implanted in distinct sockets in the jaws--this being a crocodilian character. in other respects, however, _protorosaurus_ approximates closely to the living monitors (_varanidoe_); and the fact that the bodies of the vertebræ are slightly cupped or hollowed out at the ends would lead to the belief that the animal was aquatic in its habits. at the same time, the structure of the hind-limbs and their bony supports proves clearly that it must have also possessed the power of progression upon the land. various other reptilian bones have been described from the permian formation, of which some are probably really referable to labyrinthodonts, whilst others are regarded by professor owen as referable to the order of the "theriodonts," in which the teeth are implanted in sockets, and resemble those of carnivorous quadrupeds in consisting of three groups in each jaw (namely, incisors, canines, and molars). lastly, in red sandstones of permian age in dumfriesshire have been discovered the tracks of what would appear to have been _chelonians_ (tortoises and turtles); but it would not be safe to accept this conclusion as certain upon the evidence of footprints alone. the _chelichnus duncani_, however, described by sir william jardine in his magnificent work on the 'ichnology of annandale,' bears a great resemblance to the track of a turtle. [footnote : though commonly spelt as above, it is probable that the name of this lizard was really intended to have been _proterosaurus_--from the greek _proteros_, first; and _saura_, lizard: and this spelling is followed by many writers.] [footnote : in an extremely able paper upon the subject (quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. xxvi.), mr etheridge has shown that there are good physical grounds for regarding the dolomitie conglomerate of bristol as of triassic age, and as probably corresponding in time with the muschelkalk of the continent.] no remains of birds or quadrupeds have hitherto been detected in deposits of permian age. literature. the following works may be consulted by the student with regard to the permian formation and its fossils:-- ( ) "on the geological relations and internal structure of the magnesian limestone and the lower portions of the new red sandstone series, &c."--'trans. geol. soc.,' ser. , vol. iii. sedgwick. ( ) 'the geology of russia in europe.' murchison, de verneuil, and von keyserling. ( ) 'siluria,' murchison. ( ) 'permische system in sachsen.' geinitz and gutbier. ( ) 'die versteinerungen des deutschen zechsteingebirges,' geinitz. ( ) 'die animalischen ueberreste der dyas.' geinitz. ( ) 'monograph of the permian fossils of england' (palæontographical society). king. ( ) 'monograph of the permian brachiopoda of britain' (palæontographical society). davidson. ( ) "on the permian rocks of the north-west of england and their extension into scotland"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xx. murchison and harkness. ( ) 'catalogue of the fossils of the permian system of the counties of northumberland and durham.' howse. ( ) 'petrefacta germaniæ.' goldfuss. ( ) 'beiträge zur petrefaktenkunde.' munster. ( ) 'ein beitrag zur palæontologie des deutschen zechsteingebirges.' von schauroth. ( ) 'saurier aus dem kupfer-schiefer der zechstein-formation.' von meyer. ( ) 'manual of palæontology.' owen. ( ) 'recherches sur les poissons fossiles.' agassiz. ( ) 'ichnology of annandale.' sir william jardine. ( ) 'die fossile flora der permischen formation.' goeppert. ( ) 'genera et species plantarum fossilium.' unger. ( ) "on the red rocks of england of older date than the trias" --'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxvii. ramsay. chapter xv. the triassic period. we come now to the consideration of the great _mesozoic_, or secondary series of formations, consisting, in ascending order, of the triassic, jurassic, and cretaceous systems. the triassic group forms the base of the mesozoic series, and corresponds with the higher portion of the new red sandstone of the older geologists. like the permian rocks, and as implied by its name, the _trias_ admits of a subdivision into three groups--a lower, middle, and upper trias. of these sub-divisions the middle one is wanting in britain; and all have received german names, being more largely and typically developed in germany than in any other country. thus, the lower trias is known as the _bunter sandstein_; the middle trias is called the _muschelkalk_; and the upper trias is known as the _keuper_. i. the lowest division of the trias is known as the _bunter sandstein_ (the _grès bigarré_ of the french), from the generally variegated colours of the beds which compose it (german, _bunt_, variegated). the bunter sandstein of the continent of europe consists of red and white sandstones, with red clays, and thin limestones, the whole attaining a thickness of about feet. the term "marl" is very generally employed to designate the clays of the lower and upper trias; but the term is inappropriate, as they may contain no lime, and are therefore not always genuine marls. in britain the bunter sandstein consists of red and mottled sandstones, with unconsolidated conglomerates, or "pebble-beds," the whole having a thickness of to feet. the bunter sandstein, as a rule, is very barren of fossils. ii. the middle trias is not developed in britain, but it is largely developed in germany, where it constitutes what is known as the _muschelkalk_ (germ. _muschel_, mussel; _kalk_, limestone), from the abundance of fossil shells which it contains. the muschelkalk (the _calcaire coquillier_ of the french) consists of compact grey or yellowish limestones, sometimes dolomitic, and including occasional beds of gypsum and rock-salt. iii. the upper trias, or _keuper_ (the _marnes irisées_ of the french), as it is generally called, occurs in england; but is not so well developed as it is in germany. in britain, the keuper is feet or more in thickness, and consists of white and brown sandstones, with red marls, the whole topped by red clays with rock-salt and gypsum. the keuper in britain is extremely unfossiliferous; but it passes upwards with perfect conformity into a very remarkable group of beds, at one time classed with the lias, and now known under the names of the penarth beds (from penarth, in glamorganshire), the rhætic beds (from the rhætic alps), or the _avicula contorta_ beds (from the occurrence in them of great numbers of this peculiar bivalve). these singular beds have been variously regarded as the highest beds of the trias, or the lowest beds of the lias, or as an intermediate group. the phenomena observed on the continent, however, render it best to consider them as triassic, as they certainly agree with the so-called upper st cassian or kössen beds which form the top of the trias in the austrian alps. the penarth beds occur in glamorganshire, gloucestershire, warwickshire, staffordshire, and the north of ireland; and they generally consist of a small thickness of grey marls, white limestones, and black shales, surmounted conformably by the lowest beds of the lias. the most characteristic fossils which they contain are the three bivalves _cardium rhoeticum, avicula contorta_, and _pecten valoniensis_; but they have yielded many other fossils, amongst which the most important are the remains of fishes and small mammals (_microlestes_). in the austrian alps the trias terminates upwards in an extraordinary series of fossiliferous beds, replete with marine fossils. sir charles lyell gives the following table of these remarkable deposits:-- _strata below the lias in the austrian alps, in descending order._ / grey and black limestone, with calcareous | marls having a thickness of about | feet. among the fossils, brachiopoda . koessen beds. | very numerous; some few species common (synonyms, upper | to the genuine lias; many peculiar. st cassian beds of < _avicula contorta, pecten valoniensis_, escher and merian.) | _cardium rhoeticum, avicula_ | _inoequivalvis, spirifer münsteri_, | dav. strata containing the above fossils | alternate with the dachstein beds, lying \ next below. / white or greyish limestone, often in beds | three or four feet thick. total thickness | of the formation above feet. upper | part fossiliferous, with some strata . dachstein beds. < composed of corals (_lithodendron_.) | lower portion without fossils. among the | characteristic shells are _hemicardium_ | _wulfeni, megalodon triqueler_, and \ other large bivalves. / red, pink, or white marbles, from to | feet in thickness, containing more | than species of marine fossils, for . hallstadt beds | the most part mollusca. many species of (or st cassian). < _orthoceras_. true _ammonites_, | besides _ceratites_ and | _goniatites, belemnites_ (rare), | _porcellia, pleurotomania, trochus_, \ _monotis salinaria_, &c. / a. black and grey \ among the fossils . a. guttenstein beds. | limestone feet | are _ceratites_ b. werfen beds, base | thick, alternating | _cassianus_, of upper trias? | with the underlying | _myacites_ lower trias of < werfen beds. > _fassaensis_, some geologists. | b. red and green | _naticella_ | shale and sandstone, | _costata_, &c. \ with salt and gypsum./ in the united states, rocks of triassic age occur in several areas between the appalachians and the atlantic seaboard; but they show no such triple division as in germany, and their exact place in the system is uncertain. the rocks of these areas consist of red sandstones, sometimes shaly or conglomeratic, occasionally with beds of impure limestone. other more extensive areas where triassic rocks appear at the surface, are found west of the mississippi, on the slopes of the rocky mountains, where the beds consist of sandstones and gypsiferous marls. the american trias is chiefly remarkable for having yielded the remains of a small marsupial (_dromatherium_), and numerous footprints, which have generally been referred to birds (_brontozoum_), along with the tracks of undoubted reptiles (_otozoum, anisopus_, &c.) the subjoined section (fig. ) expresses, in a diagrammatic manner, the general sequence of the triassic rocks when fully developed, as, for example, in the bavarian alps:-- [illustration: fig. . generalized section of the triassic rocks of central europe.] with regard to the _life_ of the triassic period, we have to notice a difference as concerns the different members of the group similar to that which has been already mentioned in connection with the permian formation. the arenaceous deposits of the series, namely, resemble those of the permian, not only in being commonly red or variegated in their colour, but also in their conspicuous paucity of organic remains. they for the most part are either wholly unfossiliferous, or they contain the remains of plants or the bones of reptiles, such as may easily have been drifted from some neighbouring shore. the few fossils which may be considered as properly belonging to these deposits are chiefly crustaceans (_estheria_) or fishes, which may well have lived in the waters of estuaries or vast inland seas. we may therefore conclude, with considerable probability, that the barren sandy and marly accumulations of the bunter sandstein and lower keuper were not laid down in an open sea, but are probably brackish-water deposits, formed in estuaries or land-locked bodies of salt water. this at any rate would appear to be the case as regards these members of the series as developed in britain and in their typical areas on the continent of europe; and the origin of most of the north american trias would appear to be much the same. whether this view be correct or not, it is certain that the beds in question were laid down in _shallow_ water, and in the immediate vicinity of _land_, as shown by the numerous drifted plants which they contain and the common occurrence in them of the footprints of air-breathing animals (birds, reptiles, and amphibians). on the other hand, the middle and highest members of the trias are largely calcareous, and are replete with the remains of undoubted marine animals. there cannot, therefore, be the smallest doubt but that the muschelkalk and the rhætic or kössen beds were slowly accumulated in an open sea, of at least a moderate depth; and they have preserved for us a very considerable selection from the marine fauna of the triassic period. [illustration: fig. .--_zamia spiralis_, a living cycad. australia.] the _plants_ of the trias are, on the whole, as distinctively mesozoic in their aspect as those of the permian are palæozoic. in spite, therefore, of the great difficulty which is experienced in effecting a satisfactory stratigraphical separation between the permian and the trias, we have in this fact a proof that the two formations were divided by an interval of time sufficient to allow of enormous changes in the terrestrial vegetation of the world. the _lepidodendroids, asterophyllites_, and _annularioe_, of the coal and permian formations, have now apparently wholly disappeared: and the triassic flora consists mainly of ferns, cycads, and conifers, of which only the two last need special notice. the _cycads_ (fig. ) are true exogenous plants, which in general form and habit of growth present considerable resemblance to young palms, but which in reality are most nearly related to the pines and firs (_coniferoe_). the trunk is unbranched, often much shortened, and bears a crown of feathery pinnate fronds. the leaves are usually "circinate"--they unroll in expanding, like the fronds of ferns. the seeds are not protected by a seed-vessel, but are borne upon the edge of altered leaves, or are carried on the scales of a cone. all the living species of cycads are natives of warm countries, such as south america, the west indies, japan, australia, southern asia, and south africa. the remains of cycads, as we have seen, are not known to occur in the coal formation, or only to a very limited extent towards its close; nor are they known with certainty as occurring in permian deposits. in the triassic period, however, the remains of cycads belonging to such genera as _pterophyllum_ (fig. , b), _zamites_, and _podozamites_ (fig. , c), are sufficiently abundant to constitute quite a marked feature in the vegetation; and they continue to be abundantly represented throughout the whole mesozoic series. the name "age of cycads," as applied to the secondary epoch, is therefore, from a botanical point of view, an extremely appropriate one. the _conifers_ of the trias are not uncommon, the principal form being _veltzia_ (fig. , a), which possesses some peculiar characters, but would appear to be most nearly related to the recent cypresses. [illustration: fig. .--triassic conifers and cycads. a, _voltzia_ (_schizoneura_) _heterophylla_, portion of a branch, europe and america; b, part of the frond of _pterophyllum joegeri_, europe; c, part of the frond of _podozamites lanceolatus_, america.] as regards the _invertebrate animals_ of the trias, our knowledge is still principally derived from the calcareous beds which constitute the centre of the system (the muschelkalk) on the continent of europe, and from the st cassain and rhætic beds still higher in the series; whilst some of the triassic strata of california and nevada have likewise yielded numerous remains of marine invertebrates. the _protozoans_ are represented by _foraminifera_ and _sponges_, and the _coelenterates_ by a small number of _corals_; but these require no special notice. it may be mentioned, however, that the great palæozoic group of the _rugose_ corals has no known representative here, its place being taken by corals of secondary type (such as _montlivaltia, synastoea_, &c.) the _echinoderms_ are represented principally by _crinoids_, the remains of which are extremely abundant in some of the limestones. the best-known species is the famous "lily-encrinite" (_encrinus liliiformis_, fig. ), which is characteristic of the muschelkalk. in this beautiful species, the flower-like head is supported upon a rounded stem, the joints of which are elaborately articulated with one another; and the fringed arms are composed each of a double series of alternating calcareous pieces. the palæozoic urchins, with their supernumerary rows of plates, the cystideans, and the pentremites have finally disappeared; but both star-fishes and brittle-stars continue to be represented. one of the latter--namely, the _aspidura loricata_ of goldfuss (fig. )--is highly characteristic of the muschelkalk. [illustration: fig. .--head and upper part of the column of _encrinus liliiformis_. the lower figure shows the articulating surface of one of the joints of the column. muschelkalk, germany.] [illustration: fig. .--_aspidura loricata_, a triassic ophiuroid. muschelkalk, germany.] the remains of _articulate animals_ are not very abundant in the trias, if we except the bivalved cases of the little water-fleas (_ostracoda_), which are occasionally very plentiful. there are also many species of the horny, concentrically-striated valves of the _estherioe_ (see fig. , b), which might easily be taken for small bivalve molluscs. the "long-tailed" decapods of the type of the lobster, are not without examples but they become much more numerous in the succeeding jurassic period. remains of insects have also been discovered. amongst the _mollusca_ we have to note the disappearance, amongst the lower groups, of many characteristic palæozoic types. amongst the _polyzoans_, the characteristic "lace-corals," _fenestella, retepora_,[ ] _synocladia, polypora_, &c., have become apparently extinct. the same is true of many of the ancient types of _brachiopods_, and conspicuously so of the great family of the _productidoe_, which played such an important part in the seas of the carboniferous and permian periods. [footnote : the genus _retefora_ is really a recent one, represented by living forms; and the so-called _reteporoe_ of the palæozoic rocks should properly receive another name (_phyllopora_), as being of a different nature. the name _retepora_ has been here retained for these old forms simply in accordance with general usage.] [illustraton: fig. . triassic lamellibranchs. a, _daonella_ (_halobia_) _lommelli_; b, _pecten valoniensis_; c, _myophoria lineata_; d. _cardium rhoeticum_; e. _avicula contorta_; f. _avicula socialis_.] _bivalves_ (_lamellibranchiata_) and _univalves_ (_gasteropoda_) are well represented in the marine beds of the trias, and some of the former are particularly characteristic either of the formation as a whole or of minor subdivisions of it. a few of these characteristic species are figured in the accompanying illustration (fig. ). bivalve shells of the genera _daonella_ (fig. , a) and _halobia_ (_monotis_) are very abundant, and are found in the triassic strata of almost all regions. these groups belong to the family of the pearl-oysters (_aviculidoe_), and are singular from the striking resemblance borne by some of their included forms to the _strophomenoe amongst the lamp-shells, though, of course, no real relation exists between the two. the little pearl-oyster, _avicula socialis_ (fig. , f), is found throughout the greater part of the triassic series, and is especially abundant in the muschelkalk. the genus _myophoria_ (fig. , c), belonging to the _trigoniadoe_, and related therefore to the permian _schizodus_, is characteristically triassic, many species of the genus being known in deposits of this age. lastly, the so-called "rhætic" or "kössen" beds are characterised by the occurrence in them of the scallop, _pecten valoniensis_ (fig. , b); the small cockle, _cardium rhoeticum_ (fig. , d); and the curiously-twisted pearl-oyster, _avicula contorta_ (fig. , e)--this last bivalve being so abundant that the strata in question are often spoken of as the "avicula contorta beds." [illustration: fig. .--_ceratites nodosus_, viewed from the side and from behind. muschelkalk.] passing over the groups of the _heteropods_ and _pteropods_, we have to notice the _cephalopoda_, which are represented in the trias not only by the chambered shells of _tetrabranchiates_, but also, for the first time, by the internal skeletons of _dibranchiate_ forms. the trias, therefore, marks the first recognised appearance of true cuttle-fishes. all the known examples of these belong to the great mesozoic group of the _belemnitidoe_; and as this family is much more largely developed in the succeeding jurassic period, the consideration of its characters will be deferred till that formation is treated of. amongst the chambered _cephalopods_ we find quite a number of the palæozoic _orthoceratites_, some of them of considerable size, along with the ancient _cyrtoceras_ and _goniatites_; and these old types, singularly enough, occur in the higher portion of the trias (st cassian beds), but have, for some unexplained reason, not yet been recognised in the lower and equally fossiliferous formation of the muschelkalk. along with these we meet for the first time with true _ammonites_, which fill such an extensive place in the jurassic seas, and which will be spoken of hereafter. the form, however, which is most characteristic of the trias is _ceratites_ (fig. ). in this genus the shell is curved into a flat spiral, the volutions of which are in contact; and it further agrees with both _goniatites_ and _ammonites_ in the fact that the septa or partitions between the air-chambers are not simple and plain (as in the _nautilus_ and its allies), but are folded and bent as they approach the outer wall of the shell. in the _goniatite_ these foldings of the septa are of a simply lobed or angulated nature, and in the _ammonite_ they are extremely complex; whilst in the _ceratite_ there is an intermediate state of things, the special feature of which is, that those foldings which are turned towards the mouth of the shell are merely rounded, whereas those which are turned away from the mouth are characteristically toothed. the genus _ceratites_, though principally triassic, has recently been recognised in strata of carboniferous age in india. from the foregoing it will be gathered that one of the most important points in connection with the triassic _mollusca_ is the remarkable intermixture of palæozoic and mesozoic types which they exhibit. it is to be remembered, also, that this intermixture has hitherto been recognised, not in the middle triassic limestones of the muschelkalk, in which--as the oldest triassic beds with marine fossils--we should naturally expect to find it, but in the st cassian beds, the age of which is considerably later than that of the muschelkalk. the intermingling of old and new types of shell-fish in the upper trias is well brought out in the annexed table, given by sir charles lyell in his 'student's elements of geology' (some of the less important forms in the table being omitted here):-- genera of fossil mollusca in the st cassian and hallstadt beds. common to | characteristic of | common to older rocks. | triassic rocks | newer rocks. | | orthoceras. | ceratites. | ammonites. bactrites. | cochloceras. | chemnitzia. macrocheilus. | rhabdoceras. | cerithium. loxonema. | aulacoceras. | monodonta. holopella. | naticella. | sphoera. murchisonia. | platystoma. | cardita. porcellia. | halobia. | myoconcha. athyris. | hörnesia. | hinnites. retzia. | koninckia. | monotis. cyrtina. | scoliostoma. | plicatula. euomphalus. | myophoria. | pachyrisma. |(the last two are | thecidium. |principally but not | |exclusively triassic.)| thus, to emphasise the more important points alone, the trias has yielded, amongst the gasteropods, the characteristically palæozoic _loxonema, holopella, murchisonia, euomphalus_, and _porcellia_, along with typically triassic forms like _platystoma_ and _scoliostoma_, and the great modern groups _chemnitzia_ and _cerithium_. amongst the bivalves we find the palæozoic _megalodon_ side by side with the triassic _halobia_ and _myophoria_, these being associated with the _carditoe, hinnites, plicatuloe_, and _trigonioe_ of later deposits. the brachiopods exhibit the palæozoic _athyris, retzia_, and _cyrtina_, with the triassic _koninckia_ and the modern _thecidium_. finally, it is here that the ancient genera _orthoceras, cyrtoceras_, and _goniatites_ make their last appearance upon the scene of life, the place of the last of these being taken by the more complex and almost exclusively triassic _ceratites_, whilst the still more complex genus _ammonites_ first appears here in force, and is never again wanting till we reach the close of the mesozoic period. the first representatives of the great secondary family of the _belemnites_ are also recorded from this horizon. [illustration: fig. .--a, dental plate of _ceratodus serratus_, keuper; b, dental plate of _ceratodus altus_, keuper; (after agassiz.)] [illustration: fig .--_ceratodus fosteri_, the australian mud-fish, reduced in size.] amongst the _vertebrate animals_ of the trias, the _fishes_ are represented by numerous forms belonging to the _ganoids_ and the _placoids_. the ganoids of the period are still all provided with unsymmetrical ("heterocercal") tails, and belong principally to such genera as _paloeoniscus_ and _catopterus_. the remains of placoids are in the form of teeth and spines, the two principal genera being the two important secondary groups _acrodus_ and _hybodus_. very nearly at the summit of the trias in england, in the rhætic series, is a singular stratum, which is well known as the "bone-bed," from the number of fish-remains which it contains. more interesting, however, than the above, are the curious palate-teeth of the trias, upon which agassiz founded the genus _ceratodus_. the teeth of ceratodus (fig. ) are singular flattened plates, composed of spongy bone beneath, covered superficially with a layer of enamel. each plate is approximately triangular, one margin (which we now know to be the outer one) being prolonged into prongs or conical prominences, whilst the surface is more or less regularly undulated. until recently, though the master-mind of agassiz recognised that these singular bodies were undoubtedly the teeth of fishes, we were entirely ignorant as to their precise relation to the animal, or as to the exact affinities of the fish thus armed. lately, however, there has been discovered in the rivers of queensland (australia) a living species of _ceratodus_ (_c. fosteri_, fig. ), with teeth precisely similar to those of its triassic predecessor; and we thus have become acquainted with the use of these structures and the manner in which they were implanted in the mouth. the palate carries two of these plates, with their longer straight sides turned towards each other, their sharply-sinuated sides turned outwards, and their short straight sides or bases directed backwards. two similar plates in the lower jaw correspond to the upper, their undulated surfaces fitting exactly to those of the opposite teeth. there are also two sharp-edged front teeth, which are placed in the front of the mouth in the upper jaw; but these have not been recognised in the fossil specimens. the living _ceratodus_ feeds on vegetable matters, which are taken up or tom off from plants by the sharp front teeth, and then partially crushed between the undulated surfaces of the back teeth (günther); and there need be little doubt but that the triassic _ceratodi_ followed a similar mode of existence. from the study of the living _ceratodus_, it is certain that the genus belongs to the same group as the existing mud-fishes (_dipnoi_); and we therefore learn that this, the highest, group of the entire class of fishes existed in triassic times under forms little or not at all different from species now alive; whilst it has become probable that the order can be traced back into the devonian period. [illustration: fig. .--footprints of a labyrinthodont (_cheirotherium_), from the triassic sandstones of hessberg, near hildburghausen, germany, reduced one-eighth. the lower figure shows a slab, with several prints, and traversed by reticulated sun-cracks: the upper figure shows the impression of one of the hind-feet, one-half of the natural size. (after sickler.)] [illustration: fig. .--section of the tooth of _labryinthodon (mastodonsaurus) joegeri_, showing the microscopic structure. greatly enlarged. trias.] [illustration: fig. .--a, skull of _labyrinthodon joegeri_, much reduced in size; b, tooth of the same. trias württemberg.] the _amphibians_ of the trias all belong to the old order of the _labyrinthodonts_, and some of them are remarkable for their gigantic dimensions. they were first known by their footprints, which were found to occur plentifully in the triassic sandstones of britain and the continent of europe, and which consisted of a double series of alternately-placed pairs of hand-shaped impressions, the hinder print of each pair being much larger than the one in front (fig. ). so like were these impressions to the shape of the human hand, that the at that time unknown animal which produced them was at once christened _cheirotherium_, or "hand-beast." further discoveries, however, soon showed that the footprints of _cheirotherium_ were really produced by species of amphibians which, like the existing frogs, possessed hind-feet of a much larger size than the fore-feet, and to which the name of _labyrinthodonts_ was applied in consequence of the complex microscopic structure of the teeth (fig. ). in the essential details of their structure, the triassic labyrinthodonts did not differ materially from their predecessors in the coal-measures and permian rocks. they possessed the same frog-like skulls (fig. ), with a lizard-like body, a long tail, and comparatively feeble limbs. the hind-limbs were stronger and longer than the fore-limbs, and the lower surface of the body was protected by an armour of bony plates. some of the triassic labyrinthodonts must have attained dimensions utterly unapproached amongst existing amphibians, the skull of _labyrinthodon joegeri_ (fig. ) being upwards of three feet in length and two feet in breadth. restorations of some of these extraordinary creatures have been attempted in the guise of colossal frogs; but they must in reality have more closely resembled huge newts. remains of _reptiles_ are very abundant in triassic deposits, and belong to very varied types. the most marked feature, in fact, connected with the vertebrate fauna of the trias, and of the secondary rocks in general, is the great abundance of reptilian life. hence the secondary period is often spoken of as the "age of reptiles." many of the triassic reptiles depart widely in their structure from any with which we are acquainted as existing on the earth at the present day, and it is only possible here to briefly note some of the more important of these ancient forms. amongst the group of the lizards (_lacertilia_), represented by _protorosaurus_ in the older permian strata, three types more or less certainly referable to this order may be mentioned. one of these is a small reptile which was found many years ago in sandstones near elgin, in scotland, and which excited special interest at the time in consequence of the fact that the strata in question were believed to belong to the old red sandstone formation. it is, however, now certain that the elgin sandstones which contain _telerpeton elginense_, as this reptile is termed, are really to be regarded as of triassic age. by professor huxley, _telerpeton_ is regarded as a lizard, which cannot be considered as "in any sense a less perfectly-organised creature than the gecko, whose swift and noiseless run over walls and ceilings surprises the traveller in climates warmer than our own." the "elgin sandstones" have also yielded another lizard, which was originally described by professor huxley under the name of _hyperodapedon_, the remains of the same genus having been subsequently discovered in triassic strata in india and south africa. the lizards of this group must therefore have at one time enjoyed a very wide distribution over the globe; and the living _sphenodon_ of new zealand is believed by professor huxley to be the nearest living ally of this family. the _hyperodapedon_ of the elgin sandstones was about six feet in length, with limbs adapted for terrestrial progression, but with the bodies of the vertebræ slightly biconcave, and having two rows of palatal teeth, which become worn down to the bone in old age. lastly, the curious _rhynchosaurus_ of the trias is also referred, by the eminent comparative anatomist above mentioned, to the order of the lizards. in this singular reptile (fig. ) the skull is somewhat bird-like, and the jaws appear to have been destitute of teeth, and to have been encased in a horny sheath like the beak of a turtle or a bird. it is possible, however, that the palate was furnished with teeth. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _rhynchosaurus articeps_. trias. (after owen.)] the group of the crocodiles and alligators (_crocadilia_), distinguished by the fact that the teeth are implanted in distinct sockets and the skin more or less extensively provided with bony plates, is represented in the triassic rocks by the _stagonolepis_ of the elgin sandstones. the so-called "thecodont" reptiles (such as _belodon, thecodontosaurus_, and _paloeosaurus_, fig. , c, d, e) are also nearly related to the crocodiles, though it is doubtful if they should be absolutely referred to this group. in these reptiles, the teeth are implanted in distinct sockets in the jaws, their crowns being more or less compressed and pointed, "with trenchant and finely serrate margins" (owen). the bodies of the vertebræ are hollowed out at both ends, but the limbs appear to be adapted for progression on the land. the genus _belodon_ (fig. , c) is known to occur in the keuper of germany and in america; and _paloeosaurus_ (fig. . e) has also been found in the trias of the same region. teeth of the latter, however, are found, along with remains of _thecodontosaurus_ (fig. , d), in a singular magnesian conglomerate near bristol, which was originally believed to be of permian age, but which appears to be undoubtedly triassic. [illustration: fig. .--triassic reptiles. a, skull of _nothosaurus mirabilis_, reduced in size--muschelkalk, germany; b, tooth of _simosaurus gaillardoti_, of the natural size--muschelkalk, germany; c, tooth of _beladon carolinensis_--trias, america; d, tooth of _thecodontosaurus antiquus_, slightly enlarged--britain; e, tooth of _paloeosaurus platyodon_, of the natural size--britain.] the trias has also yielded the remains of the great marine reptiles which are often spoken of collectively as the "enaliosaurians" or "sea-lizards," and which will be more particularly spoken of in treating of the jurassic period, of which they are more especially characteristic. in all these reptiles the limbs are flattened out, the digits being enclosed in a continuous skin, thus forming powerful swimming-paddles, resembling the "flippers" of the whales and dolphins both in their general structure and in function. the tail is also long, and adapted to act as a swimming-organ; and there can be no doubt but that these extraordinary and often colossal reptiles frequented the sea, and only occasionally came to the land. the triassic enaliosaurs belong to a group of which the later genus _plesiosaurus_ is the type (the _sauropterygia_). one of the best known of the triassic genera is _nothosaurus_ (fig. , a), in which the neck was long and bird-like, the jaws being immensely elongated, and carrying numerous powerful conical teeth implanted in distinct sockets. the teeth in _simosaurus_ ( , b) are of a similar nature; but the orbits are of enormous size, indicating eyes of corresponding dimensions, and perhaps pointing to the nocturnal habits of the animal. in the singular _placodus_, again, the teeth are in distinct sockets, but resemble those of many fishes in being rounded and obtuse (fig. ), forming broad crushing plates adapted for the comminution of shell-fish. there is a row of these teeth all round the upper jaw proper, and a double series on the palate, but the lower jaw has only a single row of teeth. _placodus_ is found in the muschelkalk, and the characters of its dental apparatus indicate that it was much more peaceful in its habits than its associates the nothosaur and simosaur. [illustration: fig. .--under surface of the upper jaw and palate of _placodus gigas_. muschelkalk, germany.] the triassic rocks of south africa and india have yielded the remains of some extraordinary reptiles, which have been placed by professor owen in a separate order under the name of _anomodontia_. the two principal genera of this group are _dicynodon_ and _oudenodon_, both of which appear to have been large reptiles, with well-developed limbs, organised for progression upon the dry land. in _oudenodon_ (fig. , b) the jaws seem to have been wholly destitute of teeth, and must have been encased in a horny sheath, similar to that with which we are familiar in the beak of a turtle. in _dicynodon_ (fig. , a), on the other hand, the front of the upper jaw and the whole of the lower jaw were destitute of teeth, and the front of the mouth must have constituted a kind of beak; but the upper jaw possessed on each side a single huge conical tusk, which is directed downwards, and must have continued to grow during the life of the animal. [illustration: fig. .--triassic anomodont reptiles. a, skull of _dicynodon lacerticeps_, showing one of the great maxillary tusks; b, skull of _oudenodon bainii_, showing the toothless, beak-like jaws. from the trias of south africa. (after owen.)] it may be mentioned that the above-mentioned triassic sandstones of south africa have recently yielded to the researches of professor owen a new and unexpected type of reptile, which exhibits some of the structural peculiarities which we have been accustomed to regard as characteristic of the carnivorous quadrupeds. the reptile in question has been named _cyanodraco_, and it is looked upon by its distinguished discoverer as the type of a new order, to which he has given the name of _theriodontia_. the teeth of this singular form agree with those of the carnivorous quadrupeds in consisting of three distinct groups--namely, front teeth or _incisors_, eye teeth or _canines_, and back teeth or _molars_. the canines also are long and pointed, very much compressed, and having their lateral margins finely serrated, thus presenting a singular resemblance to the teeth of the extinct "sabre-toothed tiger" (_machairodus_). the bone of the upper arm (humerus) further shows some remarkable resemblances to the same bone in the carnivorous mammals. as has been previously noticed, professor owen is of opinion that some of the reptilian remains of the permian deposits will also be found to belong to this group of the "theriodonts." [illustration: fig. .--supposed footprint of a bird, from the triassic sandstones of the connecticut river. the slab shows also numerous "rain-prints."] lastly, we find in the triassic rocks the remains of reptiles belonging to the great mesozoic order of the _deinosauria_. this order attains its maximum at a later period, and will be spoken of when the jurassic and cretaceous deposits come to be considered. the chief interest of the triassic reptiles of this group arises from the fact that they are known by their footprints as well as by their bones; and a question has arisen whether the supposed footprints of _birds_ which occur in the trias have not really been produced by deinosaurs. this leads us, therefore, to speak at the same time as to the evidence which we have of the existence of the class of birds during the triassic period. no actual bones of any bird have as yet been detected in any triassic deposit; but we have tolerably clear evidence of their existence at this time in the form of _footprints_. the impressions in question are found in considerable numbers in certain red sandstones of the age of the trias in the valley of the connecticut river, in the united states. they vary much in size, and have evidently been produced by many different animals walking over long stretches of estuarine mud and sand exposed at low water. the footprints now under consideration form a double series of _single_ prints, and therefore, beyond all question, are the tracks of a _biped_--that is, of an animal which walked upon two legs. no living animals, save man and the birds, walk habitually on two legs; and there is, therefore, a _primâ facie_ presumption that the authors of these prints were birds. moreover, each impression consists of the marks of three toes turned forwards (fig. ), and therefore are precisely such as might be produced by wading or cursorial birds. further, the impressions of the toes show exactly the same numerical progression in the number of the joints as is observable in living birds--that is to say, the innermost of the three toes consists of three joints, the middle one of four, and the outer one of five joints. taking this evidence collectively, it would have seemed, until lately, quite certain that these tracks could only have been formed by birds. it has, however, been shown that the deinosaurian reptiles possess, in some cases at any rate, some singularly bird-like characters, amongst which is the fact that the animal possessed the power of walking, temporarily at least, on its hind-legs, which were much longer and stronger than the fore-limbs, and which were sometimes furnished with no more than three toes. as the bones and teeth of deinosaurs have been found in the triassic deposits of north america, it may be regarded as certain that _some_ of the bipedal tracks originally ascribed to birds must have really been produced by these reptiles. it seems at the same time almost a certainty that others of the three-toed impressions of the connecticut sandstones were in truth produced by birds, since it is doubtful if the bipedal mode of progression was more than an occasional thing amongst the deinosaurs, and the greater number of the many known tracks exhibit no impressions of fore-feet. upon the whole, therefore, we may, with much probability, conclude that the great class of birds (_aves_) was in existence in the triassic period. if this be so, not only must there have been quite a number of different forms, but some of them must have been of very large size. thus the largest footprints hitherto discovered in the connecticut sandstones are inches long and inches wide, with a proportionate length of stride. these measurements indicate a foot four times as large as that of the african ostrich; and the animal which produced them--whether a bird or a deinosaur--must have been of colossal dimensions. [illustration: fig. .--lower jaw of _dromatherium sylvestre_. trias, north carolina. (after emmons.)] [illustration: fig. .--a, molar tooth of _micro estes antiquus_, magnified; b, crown of the same, magnified still further. trias, germany.] [illustration: fig. .--the banded ant-eater (_myrmecobius fasciatus_) of australia.] finally, the trias completes the tale of the great classes of the vertebrate sub-kingdom by presenting us with remains of the first known of the true quadrupeds or _mammalia_. these are at present only known by their teeth, or, in one instance, by one of the halves of the lower jaw; and these indicate minute quadrupeds, which present greater affinities with the little banded anteater (_myrmecobius fasciatus_, fig. ) of australia than with any other living form. if this conjecture be correct, these ancient mammals belonged to the order of the marsupials or pouched quadrupeds (_marsupialia_), which are now exclusively confined to the australian province, south america, and the southern portion of north america. in the old world, the only known triassic mammals belong to the genus _microlestes_, and to the probably identical _hypsiprymnopsis_ of professor boyd dawkins. the teeth of _microlestes_ (fig. ) were originally discovered by plieninger in in the "bone-bed" which is characteristic of the summit of the rhætic series both in britain and on the continent of europe; and the known remains indicate two species. in britain, teeth of _microlestes_ have been discovered by mr charles moore in deposits of upper triassic age, filling a fissure in the carboniferous limestone near frome, in somersetshire; and a molar tooth of _hypsiprymnopsis_ was found by professor boyd dawkins in rhætic marls below the "bone-bed" at watchet, also in somersetshire. in north america, lastly, there has been found in strata of triassic age one of the branches of the lower jaw of a small mammal, which has been described under the name of _dromatherium sylvestre_ (fig. ). the fossil exhibits ten small molars placed side by side, one canine, and three incisors, separated by small intervals, and it indicates a small insectivorous animal, probably most nearly related to the existing _myrmecobius_. literature. the following list comprises a few of the more important sources of information as to the triassic strata and their fossil contents:-- ( ) 'geology of oxford and the valley of the thames.' phillips. ( ) 'memoirs of the geological survey of great britain and ireland.' ( ) 'report on the geology of londonderry,' &c. portlock. ( ) "on the zone of avicula contorta," &c.--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xvi., . dr thomas wright. ( ) "on the zones of the lower lias and the avicula contorta zone"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xvii., . charles moore. ( ) "on abnormal conditions of secondary deposits," &c.--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxiii., - . charles moore. ( ) 'geognostische beschreibung des bayerischen alpengebirges.' gümbel. ( ) 'lethæa rossica.' pander. ( ) 'lethæa geognostica.' bronn. ( ) 'petrefacta germaniæ.' goldfuss. ( ) 'petrefaktenkunde.' quenstedt. ( ) 'monograph of the fossil estheriæ' (palæontographical society). rupert jones. ( ) "fossil remains of three distinct saurian animals, recently discovered in the magnesian conglomerate near bristol"--'trans. geol. soc.,' ser. , vol. v., . riley and stutchbury. ( ) 'die saurier des muschekalkes.' von meyer. ( ) 'beiträge zur palæontologie württembergs.' von meyer and plieninger. ( ) 'manual of palæontology.' owen. ( ) 'odontography:' owen. ( ) 'report on fossil reptiles' (british association, ). owen. ( ) "on dicynodon"--'trans. geol. soc.,' vol. iii., . owen. ( ) 'descriptive catalogue of fossil reptilia and fishes in the museum of the royal college of surgeons, england.' owen. ( ) "on species of labyrinthodon from warwickshire"--'trans. geol. soc.,' ser. , vol. vi. owen. ( ) "on a carnivorous reptile" (cynodraco major), &c.--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxxii., . owen. ( ) "on evidences of theriodonts in permian deposits," &c.--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxxii., . owen. ( ) "on the stagonolepis robertsoni," &c.--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xv., . huxley. ( ) "on a new specimen of telerpeton elginense"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxiii., . huxley. ( ) "on hyperodapedon"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxv., . huxley. ( ) "on the affinities between the deinosaurian reptiles and birds"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxvi., . huxley. ( ) "on the classification of the deinosauria," &c.--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxvi., . huxley. ( ) "palæontologica indica"--'memoirs of the geol. survey of india.' ( ) "on the geological position and geographical distribution of the dolomitic conglomerate of the bristol area"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxvi., . r. etheridge, sen. ( ) "remains of labyrinthodonta from the keuper sandstone of warwick"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxx., miall. ( ) 'manual of geology.' dana. ( ) 'synopsis of extinct batrachia and reptilia of north america.' cope. ( ) 'fossil footmarks.' hitchcock. ( ) 'ichnology of new england.' hitchcock. ( ) 'traité de paléontologie végétale.' schimper. ( ) 'histoire des végétaux fossiles.' brongniart. ( ) 'monographie der fossilen coniferen.' goeppert. chapter xvi. the jurassic period. resting upon the trias, with perfect conformity, and with an almost undeterminable junction, we have the great series of deposits which are known as the _oolitic rocks_, from the common occurrence in them of oolitic limestones, or as the _jurassic rocks_, from their being largely developed in the mountain-range of the jura, on the western borders of switzerland. sediments of this series occupy extensive areas in great britain, on the continent of europe, and in india. in north america, limestones and marls of this age have been detected in "the black hills, the laramie range, and other eastern ridges of the rocky mountains; also over the pacific slope, in the uintah, wahsatch, and humboldt mountains, and in the sierra nevada" (dana); but in these regions their extent is still unknown, and their precise subdivisions have not been determined. strata belonging to the jurassic period are also known to occur in south america, in australia, and in the arctic zone. when fully developed, the jurassic series is capable of subdivision into a number of minor groups, of which some are clearly distinguished by their mineral characters, whilst others are separated with equal certainty by the differences of the fossils that they contain. it will be sufficient for our present purpose, without entering into the more minute subdivisions of the series, to give here a very brief and general account of the main sub-groups of the jurassic rocks, as developed in britain--the arrangement of the jura-formation of the continent of europe agreeing in the main with that of england. i. the lias.--the base of the jurassic series of britain is formed by the great calcareo-argillaceous deposit of the "lias," which usually rests conformably and almost inseparably upon the rhætic beds (the so-called "white lias"), and passes up, generally conformably, into the calcareous sandstones of the inferior oolite. the lias is divisible into the three principal groups of the lower, middle, and upper lias, as under, and these in turn contain many well-marked "zones;" so that the lias has some claims to be considered as an independent formation, equivalent to all the remaining oolitic rocks. the _lower lias_ (_terrain sinemurien_ of d'orbigny) sometimes attains a thickness of as much as feet, and consists of a great series of bluish or greyish laminated clays, alternating with thin bands of blue or grey limestone--the whole, when seen in quarries or cliffs from a little distance, assuming a characteristically striped and banded appearance. by means of particular species of _ammonites_, taken along with other fossils which are confined to particular zones, the lower lias may be subdivided into several well-marked horizons. the _middle lias_, or _marlstone series_ (_terrain liasien_ of d'orbigny), may reach a thickness of feet, and consists of sands, arenaceous marls, and argillaceous limestones, sometimes with ferruginous beds. the _upper lias_ (_terrain toarcien_ of d'orbigny) attains a thickness of feet, and consists principally of shales below, passing upwards into arenaceous strata. ii. the lower oolites.--above the lias comes a complex series of partly arenaceous and argillaceous, but principally calcareous strata, of which the following are the more important groups: a, the _inferior oolite_ (_terrain bajocien_ of d'orbigny), consisting of more than feet of oolitic limestones, sometimes more or less sandy; b, the _fuller's earth_, a series of shales, clays, and marls, about feet in thickness; c, the _great oolite_ or _bath oolite_ (_terrain bathonien_ of d'orbigny), consisting principally of oolitic limestones, and attaining a thickness of about feet. the well-known "stonesfield slates" belong to this horizon; and the locally developed "bradford clay," "corn brash," and "forest-marble" may be regarded as constituting the summit of this group. iii. the middle oolites.--the central portion of the jurassic series of britain is formed by a great argillaceous deposit, capped by calcareous strata, as follows: a, the _oxford clay_ (_terrain callovien_ and _terrain oxfordien_ of d'orbigny), consisting of dark-coloured laminated clays, sometimes reaching a thickness of feet, and in places having its lower portion developed into a hard calcareous sandstone ("kelloway rock"); b, the coral-rag (_terrain corallien_ of d'orbigny, "nerinean limestone" of the jura, "diceras limestone" of the alps), consisting, when typically developed, of a central mass of oolitic limestone, underlaid and surmounted by calcareous grits. iv. the upper oolites.--a, the base of the upper oolites of britain is constituted by a great thickness ( feet or more) of laminated, sometimes carbonaceous or bituminous clays, which are known as the _kimmeridge clay_ (_terrain kimméridgien_ of d'orbigny); b, the _portland beds_ (_terrain portlandien_ of d'orbigny) succeed the kimmeridge clay, and consist inferiorly of sandy beds surmounted by oolitic limestones ("portland stone"), the whole series attaining a thickness of feet or more, and containing marine fossils; c, the _purbeck_ beds are apparently peculiar to great britain, where they form the summit of the entire oolitic series, attaining a total thickness of from to feet. the purbeck beds consist of arenaceous, argillaceous, and calcareous strata, which can be shown by their fossils to consist of a most remarkable alternation of fresh-water, brackish-water, and purely marine sediments, together with old land-surfaces, or vegetable soils, which contain the upright stems of trees, and are locally known as "dirt-beds." one of the most important of the jurassic deposits of the continent of europe, which is believed to be on the horizon of the coral-rag or of the lower part of the upper oolites, is the "_solenhofen slate_" of bavaria, an exceedingly fine-grained limestone, which is largely used in lithography, and is celebrated for the number and beauty of its organic remains, and especially for those of vertebrate animals. the subjoined sketch-section (fig. ) exhibits in a diagrammatic form the general succession of the jurassic rocks of britain. regarded as a whole, the jurassic formation is essentially marine; and though remains of drifted plants, and of insects and other air-breathing animals, are not uncommon, the fossils of the formation are in the main marine. in the purbeck series of britain, anticipatory of the great river-deposit of the wealden, there are fresh-water, brackish-water, and even terrestrial strata, indicating that the floor of the oolitic ocean was undergoing upheaval, and that the marine conditions which had formerly prevailed were nearly at an end. in places also, as in yorkshire and sutherlandshire, are found actual beds of coal: but the great bulk of the formation is an indubitable sea-deposit; and its limestones, oolitic as they commonly are, nevertheless are composed largely of the comminuted skeletons of marine animals. owing to the enormous number and variety of the organic remains which have been yielded by the richly fossiliferous strata of the oolitic series, it will not be possible here to do more than to give an outline-sketch of the principal forms of life which characterise the jurassic period as a whole. it is to be remembered, however, that every minor group of the jurassic formation has its own peculiar fossils, and that by the labours of such eminent observers as quenstedt, oppel, d'orbigny, wright, de la beche, tate, and others, the entire series of jurassic sediments admits of a more complete and more elaborate subdivision into zones characterised by special life-forms than has as yet been found practicable in the case of any other rock-series. [illustration: fig. . generalized section of the jurassic rocks of england.] [illustration: fig. .--_mantellia_ (_cycadeoidea_) _megalophylla_, a cycad from the purbeck "dirt-bed." upper oolites, england.] the _plants_ of the jurassic period consist principally of ferns, cycads, and conifers--agreeing in this respect, therefore, with those of the preceding triassic formation. the _ferns_ are very abundant, and belong partly to old and partly to new genera. the _cycads_ are also very abundant, and, on the whole, constitute the most marked feature of the jurassic vegetation, many genera of this group being known (_pterophyllum, otozamites, zamites, crossozamia, williamsonia, bucklandia,_ &c.) the so-called "dirt-bed" of the purbeck series consists of an ancient soil, in which stand erect the trunks of conifers and the silicified stools of cycads of the genus _mantellia_ (fig. ). the _coniferoe_ of the jurassic are represented by various forms more or less nearly allied to the existing _araucarioe_; and these are known not only by their stems or branches, but also in some cases by their cones. we meet, also, with the remains of undoubted endogenous plants, the most important of which are the fruits of forms allied to the existing screw-pines (_pandaneoe_), such as _podocarya_ and _kaidacarpum_. so far, however, no remains of palms have been found; nor are we acquainted with any jurassic plants which could be certainly referred to the great "angiospermous" group of the exogens, including the majority of our ordinary plants and trees. amongst animals, the _protozoans_ are well represented in the jurassic deposits by numerous _foraminifers_ and _sponges_; as are the _coelenterates_ by numerous _corals_. remains of these last-mentioned organisms are extremely abundant in some of the limestones of the formation, such as the "coral-rag" and the great oolite; and the former of these may fairly be considered as an ancient "reef." the _rugose corals_ have not hitherto been detected in the jurassic rocks; and the "_tabulate corals_," so-called, are represented only by examples of the modern genus _millepora_. with this exception, all the jurassic corals belong to the great group which predominates in recent seas (_zoantharia sclerodermata_); and the majority belong to the important reef-building family of the "star-corals" (_astroeidoe_). the form here figured (_thecosmilia annularis_, fig. ) is one of the characteristic species of the coral-rag. [illustration: fig. .--_thecosmilia annularis_, coral-rag, england.] [illustration: fig. .--_pentacrinus fasciculos_, lias. the left-hand figure shows a few or the joints of the column; the middle figure shows the arms, and the summit of the column with its side-arms; and the right-hand figure shows the articulating surface of one of the column-joints.] the _echinoderms_ are very numerous and abundant fossils in the jurassic series, and are represented by sea-lilies, sea-urchins, star-fishes, and brittle-stars. the _crinoids_ are still common, and some of the limestones of the series are largely composed of the _débris_ of these organisms. most of the jurassic forms resemble those with which we are already familiar, in having the body permanently attached to some foreign object by means of a longer or shorter jointed stalk or "column." one of the most characteristic jurassic genera of these "stalked" crinoids (though not exclusively confined to this period) is _pentacrinus_ (fig. ). in this genus, the column is five-sided, with whorls of "side-arms;" and the arms are long, slender, and branched. the genus is represented at the present day by the beautiful "medusa-head pentacrinite" (_pentacrinus caput-medusoe_). another characteristic oolitic genus is _apiocrinus_, comprising the so-called "pear encrinites." in this group the column is long and rounded, with a dilated base, and having its uppermost joints expanded so as to form, with the cup itself, a pear-shaped mass, from the summit of which spring the comparatively short arms. besides the "stalked" crinoids, the jurassic rocks have yielded the remains of the higher group of the "free" crinoids, such as _saccosoma_. these forms resemble the existing "feather-stars" (_comatula_) in being attached when young to some foreign body by means of a jointed stem, from which they detach themselves when fully grown to lead an independent existence. in this later stage of their life, therefore, they closely resemble the brittle-stars in appearance. true star-fishes (_asteroids_) and brittle-stars (_ophiuroids_) are abundant in the jurassic rocks, and the sea-urchins (_echinoids_) are so numerous and so well preserved as to constitute quite a marked feature of some beds of the series. all the oolitic urchins agree with the modern _echinoids_ in having the shell composed of no more than twenty rows of plates. many different genera are known, and a characteristic species of the middle oolites (_hemicidaris crenularis_, fig. ) is here figured. [illustration: fig. .--_hemicidaris crenularis_, showing the great tubercles on which the spines were supported. middle oolites.] passing over the _annelides_, which, though not uncommon, are of little special interest, we come to the _articulates_, which also require little notice. amongst the _crustaceans_, whilst the little water-fleas (_ostracoda_) are still abundant, the most marked feature is the predominance which is now assumed by the _decapods_--the highest of the known groups of the class. true crabs (_brachyura_) are by no means unknown; but the principal oolitic decapods belonged to the "long-tailed" group (_macrura_), of which the existing lobsters, prawns, and shrimps are members. the fine-grained lithographic slates of solenhofen are especially famous as a depot for the remains of these crustaceans, and a characteristic species from this locality (_eryon arctiformis_, fig. ) is here represented. amongst the air-breathing _articulates_, we meet in the oolitic rocks with the remains of spiders (_arachnida_), centipedes (_myriapoda_), and numerous true insects (_insecta_). in connection with the last-mentioned of these groups, it is of interest to note the occurrence of the oldest known fossil butterfly--the _paloeontina oolitica_ of the stonesfield slate--the relationships of which appear to be with some of the living butterflies of tropical america. [illustration: fig. .--_eryon arctiformis_, a "long-tailed decapod," from the middle oolites (solenhofen slate).] coming to the _mollusca_, the _polyzoans_, numerous and beautiful as they are, must be at once dismissed; but the _brachiopods_ deserve a moment's attention. the jurassic lamp-shells (fig. ) do not fill by any means such a predominant place in the marine fauna of the period, as in many palæozoic deposits, but they are still individually numerous. the two ancient genera _leptoena_ (fig. , a) and _spirifera_ (fig. , b), dating the one from the lower and the other from the upper silurian, appear here for the last time upon the scene, but they have not hitherto been recognised in deposits later than the lias. the great majority of the jurassic _brachiopods_, however, belong to the genera _terebratula_ (fig. , c, e, f) and _rhynchonella_ (fig. . d), both of which are represented by living forms at the present day. the _terebratuloe_, in particular, are very abundant, and the species are often confined to special horizons in the series. [illustration: fig. .--jurassic brachiopod. a. _leptoena liassica_, enlarged, the small cross below the figure indicating the true size of the shell--lias; b, _spirifera rostrata_, lias; c, _terebratula quadrifida_, lias; d, d', _rhynchonella varians_, fulter's earth and kelloway rock; e, _terebratula sphoeroidalis_, inferior oolite; f, _terebratula digona_, bradford clay, forest-marble, and great oolite. (after davidson).] [illustration: fig. .--_ostrea marshii_. middle and lower oolites.] [illustration: fig. .--_gryphoea incurva_. lias.] remains of _bivalves_ (_lamellibranchiata_) are very numerous in the jurassic deposits, and in many cases highly characteristic. in the marine beds of the oolites, which constitute by far the greater portion of the whole formation, the bivalyes are of course marine, and belong to such genera as _trigonia, lima, pholadomya, cardinia, avicula, hippopodium_, &c.; but in the purbeck beds, at the summit of the series, we find bands of oysters alternating with strata containing fresh-water or brackish-water bivalves, such as _cyrenoe_ and _corbuloe_. the predominant bivalves of the jurassic, however, are the _oysters_, which occur under many forms, and often in vast numbers, particular species being commonly restricted to particular horizons. thus of the true oysters, _ostrea distorta_ is characteristic of the purbeck series, where it forms a bed twelve feet in thickness, known locally as the "cinder-bed;" _ostrea expansa_ abounds in the portland beds; _ostrea deltoidea_ is characteristic of the kimmeridge clay; _ostrea gregaria_ predominates in the coral-rag; _ostrea acuminata_ characterises the small group of the fuller's earth; whilst the plaited _ostrea marshii_ (fig. ) is a common shell in the lower and middle oolites. besides the more typical oysters, the oolitic rocks abound in examples of the singularly unsymmetrical forms belonging to the genera _exogyra_ and _gryphoea_ (fig. ). in the former of these are included oysters with the beaks "reversed"--that is to say, turned towards the hinder part of the shell; whilst in the latter are oysters in which the lower valve of the shell is much the largest, and has a large incurved beak, whilst the upper valve is small and concave. one of the most characteristic _exogyroe_ is the _e. virgula_ of the oxford clay, and of the same horizon on the continent; and the _gryphoea incurva_ (fig. ) is equally abundant in, and characteristic of, the formation of the lias. lastly, we may notice the extraordinary shells belonging to the genus _diceras_ (fig. ), which are exclusively confined to the middle oolites. in this formation in the alps they occur in such abundance as to give rise to the name of "calcaire à dicerates," applied to beds of the same age as the coral-rag of britain. the genus _diceras_ belongs to the same family as the "thorny clams" (chama) of the present day--the shell being composed of nearly equally-sized valves, the beaks of which are extremely prominent and twisted into a spiral. the shell was attached to some foreign body by the beak of one of its valves. [illustration: fig. .--_diceras arietina_. middle oolite.] [illustration: fig. .--_nerinoea goodhallii_, one-fourth of the natural size. the left-hand figure shows the appearance presented by the shell when vertically divided. coral-rag, england.] amongst the jurassic univalves (_gasteropoda_) there are many examples of the ancient and long-lived _pleurotomaria_; but on the whole the univalves begin to have a modern aspect. the round-mouthed ("holostomatous"), vegetable-eating sea-snails, such as the limpets (_patellidoe_), the nerites (_nerita_), the _turritelloe, chemnitzioe_, &c., still hold a predominant place. the two most noticeable genera of this group are _cerithium_ and _nerinoea_--the former of these attaining great importance in the tertiary and recent seas, whilst the latter (fig. ) is highly characteristic of the jurassic series, though not exclusively confined to it. one of the limestones of the jura, believed to be of the age of the coral-rag (middle oolite) of britain, abounds to such an extent in the turreted shells of _nerinoea_ as to have gained the name of "calcaire à nérinées." in addition to forms such as the preceding, we now for the first time meet, in any force, with the carnivorous univalves, in which the mouth of the shell is notched or produced into a canal, giving rise to the technical name of "siphonostomatous" applied to the shell. some of the carnivorous forms belong to extinct types, such as the _purpuroidea_ of the great oolite; but others are referable to well-known existing genera. thus we meet here with species of the familiar groups of the whelks (_buccinum_), the spindle-shells (_fusus_), the spider-shells (_pteroceras_), _murex, rostellaria_, and others which are not at present known to occur in any earlier formation. amongst the wing-shells (_pteropoda_), it is sufficient to mark the final appearance in the lias of the ancient genus _conularia_. [illustration: fig. .--_ammonites humphresianus_. inferior oolite.] [illustration: fig. .--_ammonites bifrons_. lias.] lastly, the order of the _cephalopoda_, in both its tetrabranchiate and dibranchiate sections, undergoes a vast development in the jurassic period. the old and comparatively simple genus _nautilus_ is still well represented, one species being very similar to the living pearly nautilus (_n. pompilius_); but the _orthocerata_ and _goniatites_ of the trias have finally disappeared; and the great majority of the tetrabranchiate forms are referable to the comprehensive genus _ammonites_, with its many sub-genera and its hundreds of recorded species. the shell in _ammonites_ is in the form of a flat spiral, all the coils of which are in contact (figs. and ). the innermost whorls of the shell are more or less concealed; and the body-chamber is elongated and narrow, rather than expanded towards the mouth. the tube or siphuncle which runs through the air-chambers is placed on the dorsal or _convex_ side of the shell; but the principal character which distinguishes _ammonites_ from _goniatites_ and _ceratites_ is the wonderfully complex manner in which the _septa_, or partitions between the air-chambers, are folded and undulated. to such an extent does this take place, that the edges of the septa, when exposed by the removal of the shell-substance, present in an exaggerated manner the appearance exhibited by an elaborately-dressed shirt-frill when viewed edgewise. the species of _ammonites_ range from the carboniferous to the chalk; but they have not been found in deposits older than the secondary, in any region except india; and they are therefore to be regarded as essentially mesozoic fossils. within these limits, each formation is characterised by particular species, the number of individuals being often very great, and the size which is sometimes attained being nothing short of gigantic. in the lias, particular species of _ammonites_ may succeed one another regularly, each having a more or less definite horizon, which it does not transgress. it is thus possible to distinguish a certain number of zones, each characterised by a particular ammonite, together with other associated fossils. some of these zones are very persistent and extend over very wide areas, thus affording valuable aid to the geologist in his determination of rocks. it is to be remembered, however, that there are other species which are not thus restricted in their vertical range, even in the same formations in which definite zones occur. [illustartion: fig. .--_beloteuthis subcostata_ jurassic (lias).] the cuttle-fishes or _dibranchiate cephalopods_ constitute a feature in the life of the jurassic period little less conspicuous and striking than that afforded by the multitudinous and varied chambered shells of the _ammonitidoe_. the remains by which these animals are recognised are necessarily less perfect, as a rule, than those of the latter, as no external shell is present (except in rare and more modern groups), and the internal skeleton is not necessarily calcareous. nevertheless, we have an ample record of the cuttle-fishes of the jurassic period, in the shape of the fossilised jaws or beak, the ink-bag, and, most commonly of all, the horny or calcareous structure which is embedded in the soft tissues, and is variously known as the "pen" or "bone." the beaks of cuttle-fishes, though not abundant, are sufficiently plentiful to have earned for themselves the general title of "rhyncholites;" and in their form and function they resemble the horny, parrot-like beak of the existing cephalopods. the ink-bag or leathery sac in which the cuttle-fishes store up the black pigment with which they obscure the water when attacked, owes its preservation to the fact that the colouring-matter which it contains is finely-divided carbon, and therefore nearly indestructible except by heat. many of these ink-bags have been found in the lias; and the colouring-matter is sometimes so well preserved that it has been, as an experiment, employed in painting as a fossil "sepia." the "pens" of the cuttle-fishes are not commonly preserved, owing to their horny consistence, but they are not unknown. the form here figured (_beloteuthis subcostata_, fig. ) belonged to an old type essentially similar to our modern calamaries, the skeleton of which consists of a horny shaft and two lateral wings, somewhat like a feather in general shape. when, on the other hand, the internal skeleton is calcareous, then it is very easily preserved in a fossil condition; and the abundance of remains of this nature in the secondary rocks, combined with their apparent total absence in palæozoic strata, is a strong presumption in favour of the view that the order of the cuttle-fishes did not come into existence till the commencement of the mesozoic period. the great majority of the skeletons of this kind which are found in the jurassic rocks belong to the great extinct family of the "belemnites" (_belemnitidoa_), which, so far as known, is entirely confined to rocks of secondary age. from its pointed, generally cylindro-conical form, the skeleton of the belemnite is popularly known as a "thunderbolt". (fig. , c). in its perfect condition--in which it is, however, rarely obtainable--the skeleton consists of a chambered conical shell (the "phragmacone"), the partitions between the chambers of which are pierced by a marginal tube or "siphuncle." this conical shell--curiously similar in its structure to the _external_ shell of the nautilus--is extended forwards into a horny "pen," and is sunk in a corresponding conical pit (fig. , b), excavated in the substance of a nearly cylindrical fibrous body or "guard," which projects backwards for a longer or shorter distance, and is the part most usually found in a fossil condition. many different kinds of _belemnites_ are known, and their guards literally swarm in many parts of the jurassic series, whilst some specimens attain very considerable dimensions. not only is the internal skeleton known, but specimens of _belemnites_ and the nearly allied _belemnoteuthis_ have been found in some of the fine-grained sediments of the jurassic formation, from which much has been learnt even as to the anatomy of the soft parts of the animal. thus we know that the belemnites were in many respects comparable with the existing calamaries or squids, the body being furnished with lateral fins, and the head carrying a circle of ten "arms," two of which were longer than the others (fig. , a). the suckers on the arms were provided, further, with horny hooks; there was a large ink-sac; and the mouth was armed with horny mandibles resembling in shape the beak of a parrot. [illustration: fig. .--a, restoration of the animal of the belemnite; b, diagram showing the complete skeleton of a belemnite, consisting of the chambered phragmacone (a), the guard (b), and the horny pen (c); c, specimen of _belemnites canaliculatus_, from the inferior oolite. (after phillips.)] [illustration: fig. .--_tetragonolepis (restored), and scales of the same. lias.] coming next to the _vertebrates_, we find that the jurassic _fishes_ are still represented by _ganoids_ and _placoids_. the ganoids, however, unlike the old forms, now for the most part possess nearly or quite symmetrical ("homocercal") tails. a characteristic genus is _tetragonolepis_ (fig. ), with its deep compressed body, its rhomboidal, closely-fitting scales, and its single long dorsal fin. amongst the _placoids_ the teeth of true sharks (_notidanus_) occur for the first time; but by far the greater number of remains referable to this group are still the fin-spines and teeth of "cestracionts," resembling the living port-jackson shark. some of these teeth are pointed (_hybodus_); but others are rounded, and are adapted for crushing shell-fish. of these latter, the commonest are the teeth of _acrodus_ (fig. ), of which the hinder ones are of an elongated form, with a rounded surface, covered with fine transverse striæ proceeding from a central longitudinal line. from their general form and striation, and their dark colour, these teeth are commonly called "fossil leeches" by the quarrymen. [illustration: fig. .--tooth of _acrodus nobilis_. lias.] the amphibian group of the _labyrinthodonts_, which was so extensively developed in the trias, appears to have become extinct, no representative of the order having hitherto been detected in rocks of jurassic age. [illustration: fig. .--_ichthyosaurus communis. lias.] much more important than the fishes of the jurassic series are the _reptiles_, which are both very numerous, and belong to a great variety of types, some of these being very extraordinary in their anatomical structure. the predominant group is that of the "enaliosaurs" or "sea-lizards," divided into two great orders, represented respectively by the _ichthyosaurus_ and the _plesiosaurus_. the _ichthyosauri_ or "fish-lizards" are exclusively mesozoic in their distribution, ranging from the lias to the chalk, but abounding especially in the former. they were huge reptiles, of a fish-like form, with a hardly conspicuous neck (fig. ), and probably possessing a simply smooth or wrinkled skin, since no traces of scales or bony integumentary plates have ever been discovered. the tail was long, and was probably furnished at its extremity with a powerful expansion of the skin, constituting a tail-fin similar to that possessed by the whales. the limbs are also like those of whales in the essentials of their structure, and in their being adapted to act as swimming-paddles. unlike the whales, however, the ichthyosaurs possessed the hind-limbs as well as the fore-limbs, both pairs having the bones flattened out and the fingers completely enclosed in the skin, the arm and leg being at the same time greatly shortened. the limbs are thus converted into efficient "flippers," adapting the animal for an active existence in the sea. the different joints of the backbone (vertebræ) also show the same adaptation to an aquatic mode of life, being hollowed out at both ends, like the biconcave vertebræ of fishes. the spinal column in this way was endowed with the flexibility necessary for an animal intended to pass the greater part of its time in water. though the _ichthyosaurs_ are undoubtedly marine animals, there is, however, reason to believe that they occasionally came on shore, as they possess a strong bony arch, supporting the fore-limbs, such as would permit of partial, if laborious, terrestrial progression. the head is of enormous size, with greatly prolonged jaws, holding numerous powerful conical teeth lodged in a common groove. the nature of the dental apparatus is such as to leave no doubt as to the rapacious and predatory habits of the ichthyosaurs--an inference which is further borne out by the examination of their petrified droppings, which are known to geologists as "coprolites," and which contain numerous fragments of the bones and scales of the ganoid fishes which inhabited the same seas. the orbits are of huge size; and as the eyeball was protected, like that of birds, by a ring of bony plates in its outer coat, we even know that the pupils of the eyes were of correspondingly large dimensions. as these bony plates have the function of protecting the eye from injury under sudden changes of pressure in the surrounding medium, it has been inferred, with great probability, that the ichthyosaurs were in the habit of diving to considerable depths in the sea. some of the larger specimens of _ichthyosaurus_ which have been discovered in the lias indicate an animal of from to nearly feet in length; and many species are known to have existed, whilst fragmentary remains of their skeletons are very abundant in some localities. we may therefore safely conclude that these colossal reptiles were amongst the most formidable of the many tyrants of the jurassic seas. [illustration: fig. .--_plesiosaurus dolichodeirus_, restored. lias.] the _plesiosaurus_ (fig. ) is another famous oolitic reptile, and, like the preceding, must have lived mainly or exclusively in the sea. it agrees with the ichthyosaur in some important features of its organisation, especially in the fact that both pairs of limbs are converted into "flippers" or swimming-paddles, whilst the skin seems to have been equally destitute of any scaly or bony investiture. unlike the _ichthyosaur_, however, the plesiosaur had the paddles placed far back, the tail being extremely short, and the neck greatly lengthened out, and composed of from twenty to forty vertebræ. the bodies of the vertebræ, also, are not deeply biconcave, but are flat, or only slightly cupped. the head is of relatively small size, with smaller orbits than those of the _ichthyosaur_, and with a snout less elongated. the jaws, however, were armed with numerous conical teeth, inserted in distinct sockets. as regards the habits of the plesiosaur, dr conybeare arrives at the following conclusions: "that it was aquatic is evident from the form of its paddles; that it was marine is almost equally so from the remains with which it is universally associated; that it may have occasionally visited the shore, the resemblance of its extremities to those of the turtles may lead us to conjecture: its movements, however, must have been very awkward on land; and its long neck must have impeded its progress through the water, presenting a strong contrast to the organisation which so admirably fits the _ichthyosaurus_ to cut through the waves." as its respiratory organs were such that it must of necessity have required to obtain air frequently, we may conclude "that it swam upon or near the surface, arching back its long neck like a swan, and occasionally darting it down at the fish which happened to float within its reach. it may perhaps have lurked in shoal water along the coast, concealed amongst the sea-weed; and raising its nostrils to a level with the surface from a considerable depth, may have found a secure retreat from the assaults of powerful enemies; while the length and flexibility of its neck may have compensated for the want of strength in its jaws, and its incapacity for swift-motion through the water." about twenty species of _plesiosaurus_ are known, ranging from the lias to the chalk, and specimens have been found indicating a length of from eighteen to twenty feet. the nearly related "_pliosaurs_," however, with their huge heads and short necks, must have occasionally reached a length of at least forty feet--the skull in some species being eight, and the paddles six or seven feet long, whilst the teeth are a foot in length. [illustration: fig. .--_pterodactylus crassirostis_. from the lithographic slates of solenhofen (middle oolite). the figure is "restored," and it seems certain that the restoration is incorrect in the comparatively unimportant particular, that the hand should consist of no more than four fingers, three short and one long, instead of five, as represented.] another extraordinary group of jurassic reptiles is that of the "winged lizards" or _pterosauria_. these are often spoken of collectively as "pterodactyles," from _pterodactylus_, the type-genus of the group. as now restricted, however, the genus _pterodactylus_ is more cretaceous than jurassic, and it is associated in the oolitic rocks with the closely allied genera _dimorphodon_ and _rhamphorhynchus_. in all three of these genera we have the same general structural organisation, involving a marvellous combination of characters, which we are in the habit of regarding as peculiar to birds on the one hand, to reptiles on another hand, and to the flying mammals or bats in a third direction. the "pterosaurs" are "flying" reptiles, in the true sense of the term, since they were indubitably possessed of the power of active locomotion in the air, after the manner of birds. the so-called "flying" reptiles of the present day, such as the little _draco volans_ of the east indies and indian archipelago, possess, on the other hand, no power of genuine flight, being merely able to sustain themselves in the air through the extensive leaps which they take from tree to tree, the wing-like expansions of the skin simply exercising the mechanical function of a parachute. the apparatus of flight in the "pterosaurs" is of the most remarkable character, and most resembles the "wing" of a bat, though very different in some important particulars. the "wing" of the pterosaurs is like that of bats, namely, in consisting of a thin leathery expansion of the skin which is attached to the sides of the body, and stretches between the fore and hind limbs, being mainly supported by an enormous elongation of certain of the digits of the hand. in the bats, it is the four outer fingers which are thus lengthened out; but in the pterosaurs, the wing-membrane is borne by a single immensely-extended finger (fig. ). no trace of the actual wing-membrane itself has, of course, been found fossilised; but we could determine that the "pterodactyles" possessed the power of flight, quite apart from the extraordinary conformation of the hand. the proofs of this are to be found partly in the fact that the breast-bone was furnished with an elevated ridge or keel, serving for the attachment of the great muscles of flight, and still more in the fact that the bones were hollow and were filled with air--a peculiarity wholly confined amongst living animals to birds only. the skull of the pterosaurs is long, light, and singularly bird-like in appearance--a resemblance which is further increased by the comparative length of the neck and the size of the vertebræ of this region (fig. ). the jaws, however, unlike those of any existing bird, were, with one exception to be noticed hereafter, furnished with conical teeth sunk in distinct sockets; and there was always a longer or shorter tail composed of distinct vertebræ; whereas in all existing birds the tail is abbreviated, and the terminal vertebræ are amalgamated to form a single bone, which generally supports the great feathers of the tail. modern naturalists have been pretty generally agreed that the _pterosaurs_ should be regarded as a peculiar group of the reptiles; though they have been and are still regarded by high authorities, like professor seeley, as being really referable to the birds, or as forming a class by themselves. the chief points which separate them from birds, as a class, are the character of the apparatus of flight, the entirely different structure of the fore-limb, the absence of feathers, the composition of the tail out of distinct vertebræ, and the general presence of conical teeth sunk in distinct sockets in the jaws. the gap between the pterosaurs and the birds has, however, been greatly lessened of late by the discovery of fossil animals (_ichthyornis_ and _hesperornis_) with the skeleton proper to birds combined with the presence of teeth in the jaws, and by the still more recent discovery of other fossil animals (_pteranodon_) with a pterosaurian skeleton, but without teeth; whilst the undoubtedly feathered _archoeopteryx_ possessed a long tail composed of separate vertebræ. upon the whole, therefore, the relationships of the pterosaurs cannot be regarded as absolutely settled. it seems certain, however, that they did not possess feathers--this implying that they were cold-blooded animals; and their affinities with reptiles in this, as in other characters, are too strong to be overlooked. [illustration: fig. --_rhamphorhynchus bucklandi_, restored. bath oolite, england. (after the late professor phillips.)] the _pterosaurs_ are wholly mesozoic, ranging from the lias to the chalk inclusive; and the fine-grained lithographic slate of solenhofen has proved to be singularly rich in their remains. the genus _pterodactylus_ itself has the jaws toothed to the extremities with equal-sized conical teeth, and its species range from the middle oolites to the cretaceous series, in connection with which they will be again noticed, together with the toothless genus _pteranodon_. the genus _dimorphodon_ is liassic, and is characterised by having the front teeth long and pointed, whilst the hinder teeth are small and lancet-shaped. lastly, the singular genus _rhamphorhynchus_, also from the lower oolites, is distinguished by the fact that there are teeth present in the hinder portions of both jaws; but the front portions are toothless, and may have constituted a horny beak. like most of the other jurassic pterosaurs, _rhamphorhynchus_ (fig. ) does not seem to have been much bigger than a pigeon, in this respect falling far below the giant "dragons" of the cretaceous period. it differed from its relatives, not only in the armature of the mouth, but also in the fact that the tail was of considerable length. with regard to its habits and mode of life, professor phillips remarks that, "gifted with ample means of flight, able at least to perch on rocks and scuffle along the shore, perhaps competent to dive, though not so well as a palmiped bird, many fishes must have yielded to the cruel beak and sharp teeth of rhamphorhynchus. if we ask to which of the many families of birds the analogy of structure and probable way of life would lead us to assimilate rhamphorhynchus, the answer must point to the swimming races with long wings, clawed feet, hooked beak, and habits or violence and voracity; and for preference, the shortness of the legs, and other circumstances, may be held to claim for the stonesfield fossil a more than fanciful similitude to the groups of cormorants, and other marine divers, which constitute an effective part of the picturesque army of robbers of the sea." another extraordinary and interesting group of the mesozoic reptiles is constituted by the _deinosauria_, comprising a series of mostly gigantic forms, which range from the trias to the chalk. all the "deinosaurs" are possessed of the two pairs of limbs proper to vertebrate animals, and these organs are in the main adapted for walking on the dry land. thus, whilst the mesozoic seas swarmed with the huge ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, and whilst the air was tenanted by the dragon-like pterosaurs, the land-surfaces of the secondary period were peopled by numerous forms of deinosaurs, some of them of even more gigantic dimensions than their marine brethren. the limbs of the _deinosaurs_ are, as just said, adapted for progression on the land; but in some cases, at any rate, the hind-limbs were much longer and stronger than the fore-limbs; and there seems to be no reason to doubt that many of these forms possessed the power of walking, temporarily or permanently, on their hind-legs, thus presenting a singular resemblance to birds. some very curious and striking points connected with the structure of the skeleton have also been shown to connect these strange reptiles with the true birds; and such high authorities as professors huxley and cope are of opinion that the deinosaurs are distinctly related to this class, being in some respects intermediate between the proper reptiles and the great wingless birds, like the ostrich and cassowary. on the other hand, professor owen has shown that the deinosaurs possess some weighty points of relationship with the so-called "pachydermatous" quadrupeds, such as the rhinoceros and hippopotamus. the most important jurassic genera of _deinosauria_ are _megalosaurus_ and _cetiosaurus_, both of which extend their range into the cretaceous period, in which flourished, as we shall see, some other well-known members of this order. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _megalosaurus_, on a scale one-tenth of nature. restored. (after professor phillips.)] _megalosaurus_ attained gigantic dimensions, its thigh and shank bones measuring each about three feet in length, and its total length, including the tail, being estimated at from forty to fifty feet. as the head of the thigh-bone is set on nearly at right angles with the shaft, whilst all the long bones of the skeleton are hollowed out internally for the reception of the marrow, there can be no doubt as to the terrestrial habits of the animal. the skull (fig. ) was of large size, four or five feet in length, and the jaws were armed with a series of powerful pointed teeth. the teeth are conical in shape, but are strongly compressed towards their summits, their lateral edges being finely serrated. in their form and their saw-like edges, they resemble the teeth of the "sabre-toothed tiger" (_machairodus_), and they render it certain that the megalosaur was in the highest degree destructive and carnivorous in its habits. so far as is known, the skin was not furnished with any armour of scales or bony plates; and the fore-limbs are so disproportionately small as compared with the hind-limbs, that this huge reptile--like the equally huge iguanodon--may be conjectured to have commonly supported itself on its hind-legs only. the _cetiosaur_ attained dimensions even greater than those of the megalosaur, one of the largest thigh-bones measuring over five feet in length and a foot in diameter in the middle, and the total length of the animal being probably not less than fifty feet. it was originally regarded as a gigantic crocodile, but it has been shown to be a true deinosaur. having obtained a magnificent series of remains of this reptile, professor phillips has been able to determine many very interesting points as to the anatomy and habits of this colossal animal, the total length of which he estimates as being probably not less than sixty or seventy feet. as to its mode of life, this accomplished writer remarks:-- "probably when 'standing at ease' not less than ten feet in height, and of a bulk in proportion, this creature was unmatched in magnitude and physical strength by any of the largest inhabitants of the mesozoic land or sea. did it live in the sea, in fresh waters, or on the land? this question cannot be answered, as in the case of ichthyosaurus, by appeal to the accompanying organic remains; for some of the bones lie in marine deposits, others in situations marked by estuarine conditions, and, out of the oxfordshire district, in sussex, in fluviatile accumulations. was it fitted to live exclusively in water? such an idea was at one time entertained, in consequence of the biconcave character of the caudal vertebræ, and it is often suggested by the mere magnitude of the creature, which would seem to have an easier life while floating in water, than when painfully lifting its huge bulk, and moving with slow steps along the ground. but neither of these arguments is valid. the ancient earth was trodden by larger quadrupeds than our elephant; and the biconcave character of vertebræ, which is not uniform along the column in cetiosaurus, is perhaps as much a character of a geological period as of a mechanical function of life. good evidence of continual life in water is yielded in the case of ichthyosaurus and other enaliosaurs, by the articulating surfaces of their limb-bones, for these, all of them, to the last phalanx, have that slight and indefinite adjustment of the bones, with much intervening cartilage, which fits the leg to be both a flexible and forcible instrument of natation, much superior to the ordinary oar-blade of the boatman. on the contrary, in cetiosaur, as well as in megalosaur and iguanodon, all the articulations are definite, and made so as to correspond to determinate movements in particular directions, and these are such as to be suited for walking. in particular, the femur, by its head projecting freely from the acetabulum, seems to claim a movement of free stepping more parallel to the line of the body, and more approaching to the vertical than the sprawling gait of the crocodile. the large claws concur in this indication of terrestrial habits. but, on the other hand, these characters are not contrary to the belief that the animal may have been amphibious; and the great vertical height of the anterior part of the tail seems to support this explanation, but it does not go further.... we have therefore a marsh-loving or river-side animal, dwelling amidst filicine, cycadaceous, and coniferous shrubs and trees full of insects and small mammalia. what was its usual diet? if _ex ungue leonem_, surely _ex dente cibum_. we have indeed but one tooth, and that small and incomplete. it resembles more the tooth of iguanodon than that of any other reptile; for this reason it seems probable that the animal was nourished by similar vegetable food which abounded in the vicinity, and was not obliged to contend with megalosaurus for a scanty supply of more stimulating diet." all the groups of jurassic reptiles which we have hitherto been considering are wholly unrepresented at the present day, and do not even pass upwards into the tertiary period. it may be mentioned, however, that the oolitic deposits have also yielded the remains of reptiles belonging to three of the existing orders of the class-namely, the lizards (_lacertilia_), the turtles (_chelonia_), and the crocodiles (_crocodilia_). the lizards occur both in the marine strata of the middle oolites and also in the fresh-water beds of the purbeck series; and they are of such a nature that their affinities with the typical lacertilians of the present day cannot be disputed. the chelonians, up to this point only known by the doubtful evidence of footprints in the permian and triassic sandstones, are here represented by unquestionable remains, indicating the existence of marine turtles (the _chelone planiceps_ of the portland stone). no remains of serpents (_ophidians_) have as yet been detected in the jurassic; but strata of this age have yielded the remains of numerous _crocodilians_, which probably inhabited the sea. the most important member of this group is _teleosaurus_, which attained a length of over thirty feet, and is in some respects allied to the living gavials of india. [illustration: fig. .--_archoeopteryx macrura_, showing tail and tail-feathers, with detached bones. reduced. from the lithographic slate of solenhofen.] [illustration: fig. .--restoration of _archoeopteryx macrura_. (after owen.)] the great class of the birds, as we have seen, is represented in rocks earlier than the oolites simply by the not absolutely certain evidence of the three-toed footprints of the connecticut trias. in the lithographic slate of solenhofen (middle oolite), there has been discovered, however, the at present unique skeleton of a bird well known under the name of the _archoeopteryx macrura_ (figs. , ). the only known specimen--now in the british museum--unfortunately does not exhibit the skull; but the fine-grained matrix has preserved a number of the other bones of the skeleton, along with the impressions of the tail and wing feathers. from these remains we know that _archoeopteryx_ differed in some remarkable peculiarities of its structure from all existing members of the class of birds. this extraordinary bird (fig. ) appears to have been about as big as a rook--the tail being long and extremely slender, and composed of separate vertebræ, each of which supports a single pair of quill-feathers. in the flying birds of the present day, as before mentioned, the terminal vertebræ of the tail are amalgamated to form a single bone ("ploughshare-bone"), which supports a cluster of tail-feathers; and the tail itself is short. in the embryos of existing birds the tail is long, and is made up of separate vertebræ, and the same character is observed in many existing reptiles. the tail of _archoeopteryx_, therefore, is to be regarded as the permanent retention of an embryonic type of structure, or as an approximation to the characters of the reptiles. another remarkable point in connection with _archoeopteryx_, in which it differs from all known birds, is, that the wing was furnished with two free claws. from the presence of feathers, _archoeopteryx_ may be inferred to have been hot-blooded; and this character, taken along with the structure of the skeleton of the wing, may be held as sufficient to justify its being considered as belonging to the class of birds. in the structure of the tail, however, it is singularly reptilian; and there is reason to believe that its jaws were furnished with teeth sunk in distinct sockets, as is the case in no existing bird. this conclusion, at any rate, is rendered highly probable by the recent discovery of "toothed birds" (_odonturnithes_) in the cretaceous rocks of north america. [illustration: fig. .--lower jaw of _amphitherium_ (_thylacotherium_) _prevostii_. stonesfield slate (great oolite.)] [illustration: fig. . oolitic mammals.-- , lower jaw and teeth of _phascolotherium_, stonesfield slate; , lower jaw and teeth of _amphitherium_, stonesfield slate; , lower jaw and teeth of _triconodon_, purbeck beds; , lower jaw and teeth of _plagiaulax_, purbeck beds. all the figures are of the natural size.] the _mammals_ of the jurassic period are known to us by a number of small forms which occur in the "stonesfield slate" (great oolite) and in the purbeck beds (upper oolite). the remains of these are almost exclusively separated halves of the lower jaw, and they indicate the existence during the oolitic period in europe of a number of small "pouched animals" (_marsupials_). in the horizon of the stonesfield slate four genera of these little quadrupeds have been described--viz., _amphilestes, amphitherium, phascolotherium_, and _stereognathus_. in _amphitherium_ (fig. ), the molar teeth are furnished with small pointed eminences or "cusps;" and the animal was doubtless insectivorous. by professor owen, the highest living authority on the subject, _amphitherium_ is believed to be a small marsupial, most nearly allied to the living banded ant-eater (_myrmecobius_) of australia (fig. ). _amphilestes_ and _phascolotherium_ (fig. ) are also believed by the same distinguished anatomist and palæontologist to have been insect-eating marsupials, and the latter is supposed to find its nearest living ally in the opossums (_didelphys_) of america. lastly, the _stereognathus_ of the stonesfield slate is in a dubious position. it may have been a marsupial; but, upon the whole, professor owen is inclined to believe that it must have been a hoofed and herbivorous quadruped belonging to the series of the higher mammals (_placentalia_). in the middle purbeck beds, near to the close of the oolitic period, we have also evidence of the existence of a number of small mammals, all of which are probably marsupials. fourteen species are known, all of small size, the largest being no bigger than a polecat or hedgehog. the genera to which these little quadrupeds have been referred are _plagiaulax, spalacotherium, triconodon_, and _galestes_. the first of these (fig. , ) is believed by professor owen to have been carnivorous in its habits; but other authorities maintain that it was most nearly allied to the living kangaroo-rats (_hypsiprymnus_) of australia, and that it was essentially herbivorous. the remaining three genera appear to have been certainly insectivorous, and find their nearest living representatives in the australian phalangers and the american opossums. finally, it is interesting to notice in how many respects the jurassic fauna of western europe approached to that now inhabiting australia. at the present day, australia is almost wholly tenanted by marsupials; upon its land-surface flourish _araucarioe_ and cycadaceous plants, and in its seas swims the port-jackson shark (_cestracion philippi_); whilst the molluscan genus _trigonia_ is nowadays exclusively confined to the australian coasts. in england, at the time of the deposition of the jurassic rocks, we must have had a fauna and flora very closely resembling what we now see in australia. the small marsupials, _amphitherium, phascolotherium_, and others, prove that the mammals were the same in order; cones of araucarian pines, with tree-ferns and fronds of cycads, occur throughout the oolitic series; spine-bearing fishes, like the port-jackson shark, are abundantly represented by genera such as _acrodus_ and _strophodus_; and lastly, the genus _trigonia_, now exclusively australian, is represented in the oolites by species which differ little from those now existing. moreover, the discovery during recent years of the singular mud-fish, the _ceratodus fosteri_ in the rivers of queensland, has added another and a very striking point of resemblance to those already mentioned; since this genus of fishes, though preeminently triassic, nevertheless extended its range into the jurassic. upon the whole, therefore, there is reason to conclude that australia has undergone since the close of the jurassic period fewer changes and vicissitudes than any other known region of the globe; and that this wonderful continent has therefore succeeded in preserving a greater number of the characteristic life-features of the oolites than any other country with which we are acquainted. literature. the following list comprises some of the more important sources of information as to the rocks and fossils of the jurassic series:-- ( ) 'geology of oxford and the thames valley.' phillips. ( ) 'geology of yorkshire,' vol. ii. phillips. ( ) 'memoirs of the geological survey of great britain.' ( ) 'geology of cheltenham.' murchison, d ed. buckman. ( ) 'introduction to the monograph of the oolitic asteriadæ' (palæontographical society). wright. ( ) "zone of avicula contorta and the lower lias of the south of england"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xvi., . wright. ( ) "oolites of northamptonshire"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vols. xxvi. and xxix. sharp. ( ) 'manual of geology.' dana. ( ) 'der jura.' quenstedt. ( ) 'das flötzgebirge württembergs.' quenstedt. ( ) 'jura formation.' oppel. ( ) 'paléontologie du département de la moselle.' terquem. ( ) 'cours élémentaire de paléontologie.' d'orbigny. ( ) 'paléontologie française.' d'orbigny. ( ) 'fossil echinodermata of the oolitic formation' (palæontographical society). wright. ( ) 'brachiopoda of the oolitic formation' (palæontographical society). davidson. ( ) 'mollusca of the great oolite' (palæontographical society). morris and lycett. ( ) 'monograph of the fossil trigoniæ' (palæontographical society). lycett. ( ) 'corals of the oolitic formation' (palæontographical society). edwards and haime. ( ) 'supplement to the corals of the oolitic formation' (palæontographical society). martin duncan. ( ) 'monograph of the belemnitidæ' (palæontographical society). phillips. ( ) 'structure of the belemnitidæ' (mem. geol. survey). huxley. ( ) 'sur les belemnites.' blainville. ( ) 'cephalopoden.' quenstedt. ( ) 'mineral conchology.' sowerby. ( ) 'jurassic cephalopoda' (palæontologica indica). waagen. ( ) 'manual of the mollusca.' woodward. ( ) 'petrefaktenkunde.' schlotheim. ( ) 'bridgewater treatise.' buckland. ( ) 'versteinerungen des oolithengebirges.' roemer. ( ) 'catalogue of british fossils.' morris. ( ) 'catalogue of fossils in the museum of practical geology.' etheridge. ( ) 'beiträge zur petrefaktenkunde.' münster. ( ) 'petrefacta germaniæ.' goldfuss. ( ) 'lethæa rossica.' eichwald. ( ) 'fossil fishes' (decades of the geol. survey). sir philip egerton. ( ) 'manual of palæontology.' owen. ( ) 'british fossil mammals and birds.' owen. ( ) 'monographs of the fossil reptiles of the oolitic formation' (palæontographical society). owen. ( ) 'fossil mammals of the mesozoic formations' (palæontographical society). owen. ( ) 'catalogue of ornithosauria.' seeley. ( ) "classification of the deinosauria"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxvi., . huxley. chapter xvii. the cretaceous period. the next series of rocks in ascending order is the great and important series of the cretaceous rocks, so called from the general occurrence in the system of chalk (lat. _creta_, chalk). as developed in britain and europe generally, the following leading subdivisions may be recognised in the cretaceous series:-- . wealden, \_ lower cretaceous. . lower greensand or neocomian, / . gault, \ . upper greensand, |_ upper cretaceous. . chalk, | . maestricht beds, / i. _wealden_.--the _wealden_ formation, though of considerable importance, is a local group, and is confined to the southeast of england, france, and some other parts of europe. its name is derived from the _weald_, a district comprising parts of surrey, sussex, and kent, where it is largely developed. its lower portion, for a thickness of from to feet, is arenaceous, and is known as the hastings sands. its upper portion, for a thickness of to nearly feet, is chiefly argillaceous, consisting of clays with sandy layers, and occasionally courses of limestone. the geological importance of the wealden formation is very great, as it is undoubtedly the delta of an ancient river, being composed almost wholly of fresh-water beds, with a few brackish-water and even marine strata, intercalated in the lower portion. its geographical extent, though uncertain, owing to the enormous denudation to which it has been subjected, is nevertheless great, since it extends from dorsetshire to france, and occurs also in north germany. still, even if it were continuous between all these points, it would not be larger than the delta of such a modern river as the ganges. the river which produced the wealden series must have flowed from an ancient continent occupying what is now the atlantic ocean; and the time occupied in the formation of the wealden must have been very great, though we have, of course, no data by which we can accurately calculate its duration. the fossils of the wealden series are, naturally, mostly the remains of such animals as we know at the present day as inhabiting rivers. we have, namely, fresh-water mussels (_unio_), river-snails (_paludina_), and other fresh-water shells, with numerous little bivalved crustaceans, and some fishes. ii. _lower greensand_ (_néocomien_ of d'orbigny).--the wealden beds pass upward, often by insensible gradations, into the lower greensand. the name lower greensand is not an appropriate one, for green sands only occur sparingly and occasionally, and are found in other formations. for this reason it has been proposed to substitute for lower greensand the name _neocomian_, derived from the town of neufchâtel--anciently called _neocomum_--in switzerland. if this name were adopted, as it ought to be, the wealden beds would be called the lower neocomian. the lower greensand or neocomian of britain has a thickness of about feet, and consists of alternations of sands, sandstones, and clays, with occasional calcareous bands. the general colour of the series is dark brown, sometimes red; and the sands are occasionally green, from the presence of silicate of iron. the fossils of the lower greensand are purely marine, and among the most characteristic are the shells of _cephalopods_. the most remarkable point, however, about the fossils of the lower cretaceous series, is their marked divergence from the fossils of the upper cretaceous rocks. of species of fossils in the lower cretaceous series, only , or about per cent, pass on into the upper cretaceous. this break in the life of the two periods is accompanied by a decided physical break as well; for the gault is often, if not always, unconformably superimposed on the lower greensand. at the same time, the lower and upper cretaceous groups form a closely-connected and inseparable series, as shown by a comparison of their fossils with those of the underlying jurassic rocks and the overlying tertiary beds. thus, in britain no marine fossil is known to be common to the marine beds of the upper oolites and the lower greensand; and of more than species of fossils in the upper cretaceous rocks, almost everyone died out before the formation of the lowest tertiary strata, the only survivors being one brachiopod and a few _foraminifera_. iii. _gault_ (_aptien_ of d'orbigny).--the lowest member of the upper cretaceous series is a stiff, dark-grey, blue, or brown clay, often worked for brick-making, and known as the _gault_, from a provincial english term. it occurs chiefly in the south-east of england, but can be traced through france to the flanks of the alps and bavaria. it never exceeds feet in thickness; but it contains many fossils, usually in a state of beautiful preservation. iv. _upper greensand_ (_albien_ of d'orbigny; _unterquader_ and _lower plänerkalk_ of germany).--the gault is succeeded upward by the _upper greensand_, which varies in thickness from up to feet, and which derives its name from the occasional occurrence in it of green sands. these, however, are local and sometimes wanting, and the name "upper greensand" is to be regarded as a _name_ and not a description. the group consists, in britain, of sands and clays, sometimes with bands of calcareous grit or siliceous limestone, and occasionally containing concretions of phosphate of lime, which are largely worked for agricultural purposes. v. _white chalk_.--the top of the upper greensand becomes argillaceous, and passes up gradually into the base of the great formation known as the true _chalk_, divided into the three subdivisions of the chalk-marl, white chalk without flints, and white chalk with flints. the first of these is simply argillaceous chalk, and passes up into a great mass of obscurely-stratified white chalk in which there are no flints (_turonien_ of d'orbigny; _mittelquader_ of germany). this, in turn, passes up into a great mass of white chalk, in which the stratification is marked by nodules of black flint arranged in layers (_sénonien_ of d'orbigny; _oberquader_ of germany). the thickness of these three subdivisions taken together is sometimes over feet, and their geographical extent is very great. white chalk, with its characteristic appearance, may be traced from the north of ireland to the crimea, a distance of about geographical miles; and, in an opposite direction, from the south of sweden to bordeaux, a distance of about geographical miles. vi. in britain there occur no beds containing chalk fossils, or in any way referable to the cretaceous period, above the true white chalk with flints. on the banks of the maes, however, near maestricht in holland, there occurs a series of yellowish limestones, of about feet in thickness, and undoubtedly superior to the white chalk. these _maestricht beds_ (_danien_ of d'orbigny) contain a remarkable series of fossils, the characters of which are partly cretaceous and partly tertiary. thus, with the characteristic chalk fossils, _belemnites, baculites_, sea-urchins, &c., are numerous univalve molluscs, such as cowries and volutes, which are otherwise exclusively tertiary or recent. holding a similar position to the maestricht beds, and showing a similar intermixture of cretaceous forms with later types, are certain beds which occur in the island of seeland, in denmark, and which are known as the _faxöe limestone_. of a somewhat later date than the maestricht beds is the _pisolitic limestone_ of france, which rests unconformably on the white chalk, and contains a large number of tertiary fossils along with some characteristic cretaceous types. the subjoined sketch-section exhibits the general succession of the cretaceous deposits in britain:-- [illustration: fig. . generalized section of the cretaceous series of britain.] in north america, strata of lower cretaceous age are well represented in missouri, wyoming, utah, and in some other areas; but the greater portion of the american deposits of this period are referable to the upper cretaceous. the rocks of this series are mostly sands, clays, and limestones--_chalk_ itself being unknown except in western arkansas. amongst the sandy accumulations, one of the most important is the so-called "marl" of new jersey, which is truly a "greensand," and contains a large proportion of glauconite (silicate of iron and potash). it also contains a little phosphate of lime, and is largely worked for agricultural purposes. the greatest thickness attained by the cretaceous rocks of north america is about feet, as in wyoming, utah, and colorado. according to dana, the cretaceous rocks of the rocky mountain territories pass upwards "without interruption into a coal-bearing formation, several thousand feet thick, on which the following tertiary strata lie unconformably." the lower portion of this "lignitic formation" appears to be cretaceous, and contains one or more beds of coal; but the upper part of it perhaps belongs to the lower tertiary. in america, therefore, the lowest tertiary strata appear to rest conformably upon the highest cretaceous; whereas in europe, the succession at this point is invariably an unconformable one. owing, however, to the fact that the american "lignitic formation" is a shallow-water formation, it can hardly be expected to yield much material whereby to bridge over the great palæontological gap between the white chalk and eocene in the old world. owing to the fact that so large a portion of the cretaceous formation has been deposited in the sea, much of it in deep water, the _plants_ of the period have for the most part been found special members of the series, such as the wealden beds, the aix-la-chapelle sands, and the lignitic beds of north america. even the purely marine strata, however, have yielded plant-remains, and some of these are peculiar and proper to the deep-sea deposits of the series. thus the little calcareous discs termed "coccoliths," which are known to be of the nature of calcareous sea-weeds (_algoe_) have been detected in the white chalk; and the flints of the same formation commonly contain the spore-cases of the microscopic _desmids_ (the so-called xanthidia), along with the siliceous cases of the equally diminutive _diatoms_. the plant-remains of the lower cretaceous greatly resemble those of the jurassic period, consisting mainly of ferns, cycads, and conifers. the upper cretaceous rocks, however, both in europe and in north america, have yielded an abundant flora which resembles the existing vegetation of the globe in consisting mainly of angiospermous exogens and of monocotyledons.[ ] in europe the plant-remains in question have been found chiefly in certain sands in the neighbourhood of aix-la-chapelle, and they consist of numerous ferns, conifers (such as _cycadopteris_), screw pines (_pandanus_), oaks (_quercus_), walnut (_juglans_), fig (_ficus_), and many _proteaceoe_, some of which are referred to existing genera (_dryandra, banksia, grevillea_, &c.) [footnote : the "flowering plants" are divided into the two great groups of the endogens and exogens. the _endogens_ (such as grasses, palms, lilies, &c.) have no true bark, nor rings of growth, and the stem is said to be "endogenous;" the young plant also possesses but a single seed-leaf or "cotyledon." hence these plants are often simply called "_monocotyledons_." the _exogens_, on the other hand, have a true bark; and the stem increases by annual additions to the outside, so that rings of growth are produced. the young plant has two seed-leaves or "cotyledons," and these plants are therefore called "_dicotyledons_." amongst the exogens, the pines (_conifers_) and the cycads have seeds which are unprotected by a seed-vessel, and they are therefore called "_gymnosperms_." all the other exogens, including the ordinary trees, shrubs, and flowering plants, have the seeds enclosed in a seed-vessel, and are therefore called "_angiosperms_." the derivation of these terms will be found in the glossary at the end of the volume.] in north america, the cretaceous strata of new jersey, alabama, nebraska, kansas, &c., have yielded the remains of numerous plants, many of which belong to existing genera. amongst these may be mentioned tulip-trees (_liriodendron_), sassafras (fig. ), oaks (_quercus_), beeches (_fagus_), plane-trees (_platanus_), alders (_alnus_), dog-wood (_cornus_), willows (_salix_), poplars (_populus_), cypresses (_cupressus_), bald cypresses (_taxodium_), magnolias, &c. besides these, however, there occur other forms which have now entirely disappeared from north america--as, for example, species of _cinnamomum_ and _araucaria_. it follows from the above, that the lower and upper cretaceous rocks are, from a botanical point of view, sharply separated from one another. the palæozoic period, as we have seen, is characterised by the prevalance of "flowerless" plants (_cryptogams_), its higher vegetation consisting almost exclusively of conifers. the mesozoic period, as a whole, is characterised by the prevalence of the cryptogamic group of the ferns, and the gymnospermic groups of the conifers and the cycads. up to the close of the lower cretaceous, no angiospermous exogens are certainly known to have existed, and monocotyledonous plants or endogens are very poorly represented. with the upper cretaceous, however, a new era of plant-life, of which our present is but the culmination, commenced, with a great and apparently sudden development of new forms. in place of the ferns, cycads, and conifers of the earlier mesozoic deposits, we have now an astonishingly large number of true angiospermous exogens, many of them belonging to existing types; and along with these are various monocotyledonous plants, including the first examples of the great and important group of the palms. it is thus a matter of interest to reflect that plants closely related to those now inhabiting the earth, were in existence at a time when the ocean was tenanted by ammonites and belemnites, and when land and sea and air were peopled by the extraordinary extinct reptiles of the mesozoic period. [illustration: fig. .--cretaceous angiosperms. a. _sassafras cretaceum; b, liriodendron meekii; c, leguminosites marcouanus; d, salix meekii_. (after dana.)] as regards animal life, the _protozoans_ of the cretaceous period are exceedingly numerous, and are represented by _foraminifera_ and _sponges_. as we have already seen, the white chalk itself is a deep-sea deposit, almost entirely composed of the microscopic shells of _foraminifers_, along with sponge-spicules, and organic _débris_ of different kinds (see fig. ). the green grains which are so abundant in several minor subdivisions of the cretaceous, are also in many instances really casts in glauconite of the chambered shells of these minute organisms. a great many species of _foraminifera_ have been recognised in the chalk; but the three principal genera are _globigerina, rotalia_ (fig. ), and _textularia_--groups which are likewise characteristic of the "ooze" of the atlantic and pacific oceans at great depths. the flints of the chalk also commonly contain the shells of _foraminifera_. the upper greensand has yielded in considerable numbers the huge _foraminifera_ described by dr carpenter under the name of _parkeria_, the spherical shells of which are composed of sand-grains agglutinated together, and sometimes attain a diameter of two and a quarter inches. the cretaceous sponges are extremely numerous, and occur under a great number of varieties of shape and structure; but the two most characteristic genera are _siphonia_ and _ventriculites_, both of which are exclusively confined to strata of this age. the _siphonioe_ (fig. ) consist of a pear-shaped, sometimes lobed head, supported by a longer or shorter stern, which breaks up at its base into a number of root-like processes of attachment. the water gained access to the interior of the sponge by a number of minute openings covering the surface, and ultimately escaped by a single, large, chimney-shaped aperture at the summit. in some respects these sponges present a singular resemblance to the beautiful "vitreous sponges" (_holtenia_ or _pheronema_) of the deep atlantic; and, like these, they were probably denizens of a deep sea, the _ventriculites_ of the chalk (fig. ) is, however, a genus still more closely allied to the wonderful flinty sponges, which have been shown, by the researches of the porcupine, lightning, and challenger expeditions, to live half buried in the calcareous ooze of the abysses of our great oceans. many forms of this genus are known, having "usually the form of graceful vases, tubes, or funnels, variously ridged or grooved, or otherwise ornamented on the surface, frequently expanded above into a cup-like lip, and continued below into a bundle of fibrous roots. the minute structure of these bodies shows an extremely delicate tracery of fine tubes, sometimes empty, sometimes filled with loose calcareous matter dyed with peroxide of iron."--(sir wyville thomson.) many of the chalk sponges, originally calcareous, have been converted into flint subsequently; but the ventriculites are really composed of this substance, and are therefore genuine "siliceous sponges," like the existing venus's flower-basket (_euplectella_). like the latter, the skeleton was doubtless originally composed, in the young state, of disconnected six-rayed spicules, which ultimately become fixed together to constitute a continuous frame-work. the sea-water, as in the recent forms, must have been admitted to the interior of the sponge by numerous apertures on its exterior, subsequently escaping by a single large opening at its summit. [illustration: fig. --_kotalia boueana_.] [illustration: fig. .--_siphonia ficus. upper greensand. europe.] [illustration: fig. .--_ventriculites simplex_. white chalk. britain.] amongst the _coelenterates_, the "hydroid zoophytes" are represented by a species of the encrusting genus _hydractinia_, the horny polypary of which is so commonly found at the present day adhering to the exterior of shells. the occurrence of this genus is of interest, because it is the first known instance in the entire geological series of the occurrence of an unquestionable hydroid of a modern type, though many of the existing forms of these animals possess structures which are perfectly fitted for preservation in the fossil condition. the corals of the cretaceous series are not very numerous, and for the most part are referable to types such as _trochocyathus, stephanophyllia, parasmilia, synhelia_ (fig. ), &c., which belong to the same great group of corals as the majority of existing forms. we have also a few "tabulate corals" (_polytremacis_), hardly, if at all, generically separable from very ancient forms (_heliolites_); and the lower greensand has yielded the remains of the little _holocystis elegans_, long believed to be the last of the great palæozoic group of the _rugosa_. [illustration: fig. .--_synhelia sharpeana_. chalk, england.] as regards the _echinoderms_, the group of the _crinoids_ now exhibits a marked decrease in the number and variety of its types. the "stalked" forms are represented by _pentacrinus_ and _bourgueticrinus_, and the free forms by feather-stars like our existing _comatuloe_; whilst a link between the stalked and free groups is constituted by the curious "tortoise encrinite (_marsupites_). by far the most abundant cretaceous echinoderms, however, are sea-urchins (_echinoids_); though several star-fishes are known as well. the remains of sea-urchins are so abundant in various parts of the cretaceous series, especially in the white chalk, and are often so beautifully preserved, that they constitute one of the most marked features of the fauna of the period. from the many genera of sea-urchins which occur in strata of this age, it is difficult to select characteristic types; but the genera _galerites_ (fig. ), _discoidea_ (fig. ), _micraster, ananchytes, diadema, salenia_, and _cidaris_, may be mentioned as being all important cretaceous groups. coming to the _annulose animals_ of the cretaceous period, there is little special to remark. the _crustaceans_ belong for the most part to the highly-organised groups of the lobsters and the crabs (the macrurous and brachyurous decapods); but there are also numerous little _ostracodes_, especially in the fresh-water strata of the wealden. it should further be noted that there occurs here a great development of the singular _crustaceous_ family of the barnacles (_lepadidoe_), whilst the allied family of the equally singular acorn-shells (_balanidoe_) is feebly represented as well. [illustration: fig. .--_galerites albogalerus_, viewed from below, from the side, and from above. white chalk.] [illustration: fig. .--_discoidea cylindrica_; under, side, and upper aspect. upper greensand.] passing on to the _mollusca_, the class of the sea-mats and sea-mosses (_polyzoa_) is immensely developed in the cretaceous period, nearly two hundred species being known to occur in the chalk. most of the cretaceous forms belong to the family of the _escharidoe_, the genera _eschara_ and _escharina_ (fig. ) being particularly well represented. most of the cretaceous _polyzoans_ are of small size, but some attain considerable dimensions, and many simulate corals in their general form and appearance. the lamp-shells (_brachiopods_) have now reached a further stage of the progressive decline, which they have been undergoing ever since the close of the palæozoic period. though individually not rare, especially in certain minor subdivisions of the series, the number of generic types has now become distinctly diminished, the principal forms belonging to the genera _terebratula, terebratella_ (fig. ), _terebratulina, rhynchonella_, and _crania_ (fig. ). in the last mentioned of these, the shell is attached to foreign bodies by the substance of one of the valves (the ventral), whilst the other or free valve is more or less limpet-shaped. all the above-mentioned genera are in existence at the present day; and one _species_--namely, _terebratulina striata_--appears to be undistinguishable from one now living--the _terebratulina caputserpentis_. [illustration: fig. .--a small fragment of _escharina oceani_, of the natural size; and a portion of the same enlarged. upper greensand.] [illustration: fig. .--_terebratella astieriana_. gault.] whilst the lamp-shells are slowly declining, the bivalves (_limellibranchs_) are greatly developed, and are amongst the most abundant and characteristic fossils of the cretaceous period. in the great river-deposit of the wealden, the bivalves are forms proper to fresh water, belonging to the existing river-mussels (_unio_), _cyrena_ and _cyclas_; but most of the cretaceous lamellibranchs are marine. some of the most abundant and characteristic of these belong to the great family of the oysters (_ostreidoe_). amongst these are the genera _gryphtoea_ and _exogyra_, both of which we have seen to occur abundantly in the jurassic; and there are also numerous true oysters (_ostrea_, fig. ) and thorny oysters (_spondylus_, fig. ). the genus _trigonia_, so characteristic of the mesozoic deposits in general, is likewise well represented in the cretaceous strata. no single genus of bivalves is, however, so highly characteristic of the cretaceous period as _inoceramus_, a group belonging to the family of the pearl-mussels (_aviculidoe_). the shells of this genus (fig. ) have the valves unequal in size, the larger valve often being much twisted, and both valves being marked with radiating ribs or concentric furrows. the hinge-line is long and straight, with numerous pits for the attachment of the ligament which serves to open the shell. some of the _inocerami_ attain a length of two or three feet, and fragments of the shell are often found perforated by boring sponges. another extraordinary family of bivalves, which is exclusively confined to the cretaceous rocks, is that of the _hippuritidoe_. all the members of this group (fig. ) were attached to foreign objects, and lived associated in beds, like oysters. the two valves of the shell are always altogether unlike in sculpturing, appearance, shape, and size; and the cast of the interior of the shell is often extremely unlike the form of the outer surface. the type-genus of the family is _hippurites_ itself (fig. ), in which the shell is in the shape of a straight or slightly-twisted horn, sometimes a foot or more in length, constituted by the attached lower valve, and closed above by a small lid-like free upper valve. about a hundred species of the family of the _hippuritidoe_ are known, all of these being cretaceous, and occurring in britain (one species only), in southern europe, the west indies, north america, algeria, and egypt. species of this family occur in such numbers in certain compact marbles in the south of europe, of the age of the upper cretaceous (lower chalk), as to have given origin to the name of "hippurite limestones," applied to these strata. [illustration: fig. .--_crania ignabergensis_. the left-hand figure shows the perfect shell, attached by its ventral valve to a foreign body; the middle figure shows the exterior of the limpet-shaped dorsal valve; and the right-hand figure represents the interior of the attached valve. white chalk.] [illustration: fig. .--_ostrea couloni_. lower greensand.] [illustration: fig. .--_spondylus spinosus_. white chalk.] [illustration: fig. .--_inoceramus sulcatus_. gault.] the univalves (_gasteropods_) of the cretaceous period are not very numerous, nor particularly remarkable. along with species of the persistent genus _pleurotomaria_ and the mesozoic _nerinoea_, we meet with examples of such modern types as _turritella_ and _natica_, the staircase-shells (_solarium_), the wentle-traps (_scalaria_), the carrier-shells (_phorus_), &c. towards the close of the cretaceous period, and especially in such transitional strata as the maestricht beds, the faxöe limestone, and the pisolitic limestone of france, we meet with a number of carnivorous ("siphonostomatous") univalves, in which the mouth of the shell is notched or produced into a canal. amongst these it is interesting to recognise examples of such existing genera as the volutes (_voluta_, fig. ), the cowries (_cyproea_), the mitre-shells (_mitra_), the wing - shells (_strombus_), the scorpion-shells (_pteroceras_), &c. [illustration: fig. .--_hippurites toucasiana_. a large individual, with two smaller ones attached to it. upper cretaceous, south of europe.] [illustration: fig. .--_voluta elongata_. white chalk.] upon the whole, the most characteristic of all the cretaceous molluscs are the _cephalopods_, represented by the remains of both _tetrabranchiate_ and _dibranchiate_ forms. amongst the former, the long-lived genus _nautilus_ (fig. ) again reappears, with its involute shell, its capacious body-chamber, its simple septa between the air-chambers, and its nearly or quite central siphuncle. the majority of the chambered _cephalopods_ of the cretaceous belong, however, to the complex and beautiful family of the _ammonitidoe_, with their elaborately folded and lobed septa and dorsally-placed siphuncle. this family disappears wholly at the close of the cretaceous period; but its approaching extinction, so far from being signalised by any slow decrease and diminution in the number of specific or generic types, seems to have been attended by the development of whole series of new forms. the genus _ammonites_ itself, dating from the carboniferous, has certainly passed its prime, but it is still represented by many species, and some of these attained enormous dimensions (two or three feet in diameter). the genus _ancyloceras_ (fig. ), though likewise of more ancient origin (jurassic), is nevertheless very characteristic of the cretaceous. in this genus the first portion of the shell is in the form of a flat spiral, the coils of which are not in contact; and its last portion is produced at a tangent, becoming ultimately bent back in the form of a crosier. besides these pre-existent types, the cretaceous rocks have yielded a great number of entirely new forms of the _ammonitidoe_, which are not known in any deposits of earlier or later date. amongst the more important of these may be mentioned _crioceras, turrilites, scaphites, hamites, ptychoceras_, and _baulites_. in the genus _crioceras_ (fig. , d), the shell consists of an open spiral, the volutions of which are not in contact, thus resembling a partially-unrolled _ammonite_ or the inner portion of an _ancyloceras_. in _turrilites_ (fig. ), the shell is precisely like that of the _ammonite_ in its structure; but instead of forming a flat spiral, it is coiled into an elevated turreted shell, the whorls of which are in contact with one another. in the genus _scaphites_ (fig. , e), the shell resembles that of _ancyloceras_ in consisting of a series of volutions coiled into a flat spiral, the last being detached from the others, produced, and ultimately bent back in the form of a crosier; but the whorls of the enrolled part of the shell are in contact, instead of being separate as in the latter. in the genus _hamites_ (fig. , f), the shell is an extremely elongated cone, which is bent upon itself more than once, in a hook-like manner, all the volutions being separate. the genus _ptychoteras_ (fig. , a) is very like _hamites_, except that the shell is only bent once; and the two portions thus bent are in contact with one another. lastly, in the genus _baculites_ (fig. , b and c) the shell is simply a straight elongated cone, not bent in any way, but possessing the folded septa which characterise the whole ammonite family. the _baculite_ is the simplest of all the forms of the _ammonitidoe_; and all the other forms, however complex, may be regarded as being simply produced by the bending or folding of such a conical septate shell in different ways. the _baculite_, therefore, corresponds, in the series of the _ammonitidoe_, to the _orthoceras_ in the series of the _nautilidoe_. all the above-mentioned genera are characteristically, or exclusively, cretaceous, and they are accompanied by a number of other allied forms, which cannot be noticed here. not a single one of these genera, further, has hitherto been detected in any strata higher than the cretaceous. we may therefore consider that these wonderful, varied, and elaborate forms of _ammonitidoe_ constitute one of the most conspicuous features in the life of the chalk period. [illustration: fig. .--different views of _nautilus danicus_. faxöe limestone (upper cretaceous), denmark.] [illustration: fig. .--_ancyloceras matheronianus_. gault.] the _dibranchiate cephalopods_ are represented partly by the beak-like jaws of unknown species of cuttle-fishes and partly by the internal skeletons of belemnites. amongst the latter, the genus _belemnites_ itself holds its place in the lower part of the cretaceous series; but it disappears in the upper portion of the series, and its place is taken by the nearly-allied genus _belemnitella_ (fig. ), distinguished by the possession of a straight fissure in the upper end of the guard. this also disappears at the close of the cretaceous period; and no member of the great mesozoic family of the _belemnitidoe_ has hitherto been discovered in any tertiary deposit, or is known to exist at the present day. [illustration: fig. .--_turrilites catenatus_. the lower figure represents the entire shell; the upper figure represents the base of the shell seen from below. gault.] [illustration: fig. .--a, _ptychoceras emericianum_, reduced--lower greensand; b, _baculites anceps_, reduced--chalk; c, portion of the same, showing the folded edges of the septa; d, _crioceras cristatum_, reduced--gault; e, _scaphites oequalis_, natural size--chalk; f, _hamites rotundus_, restored--gault.] passing on next to the _vertebrate animals_ of the cretaceous period, we find the _fishes_ represented as before by the ganoids and the placoids, to which, however, we can now add the first known examples of the great group of the _bony fishes_ or _teleosteans_, comprising the great majority of existing forms. the _ganoid_ fishes of the cretaceous (_lepidotus, pycnodus_, &c.) present no features of special interest. little, also, need be said about the _placoid_ fishes of this period. as in the jurassic deposits, the remains of these consist partly of the teeth of genuine sharks (_lamna, odontaspis_, &c.) and partly of the teeth and defensive spines of cestracionts, such as the living port-jackson shark. the pointed and sharp-edged teeth of true sharks are very abundant in some beds, such as the upper greensand, and are beautifully preserved. the teeth of some forms (_carcharias_, &c.) attain occasionally a length of three or four inches, and indicate the existence in the cretaceous seas of huge predaceous fishes, probably larger than any existing sharks. the remains of _cestracionts_ consist partly of the flattened teeth of genera such as _acrodus_ and _ptychodus_ (the latter confined to rocks of this age), and partly of the pointed teeth of _hybodus_, a genus which dates from the trias. in this genus the teeth (fig. ) consist of a principal central cone, flanked by minor lateral cones; and the fin-spines (fig. ) are longitudinally grooved, and carry a series of small spines on their hinder or concave margin. lastly, the great modern order of the bony fishes or _teleosteans_ makes its first appearance in the upper cretaceous rocks, where it is represented by forms belonging to no less than three existing groups--namely, the salmon family (_salmonidoe_), the herring family (_clupeidoe_), and the perch family (_percidoe_). all these fishes have thin, horny, overlapping scales, symmetrical ("homocercal") tails, and bony skeletons. the genus _beryx_ (fig. , ) is one represented by existing species at the present day, and belongs to the perch family. the genus _osmeroides_, again (fig. , ), is supposed to be related to the living smelts (_osmerus_), and, therefore, to belong to the salmon tribe. [illustration: fig. .--guard of _belemnitella mucronata_. white chalk.] [illustration: fig. .--tooth of _hybodus_.] [illustration: fig. .--fin-spine of _hybodus_. lower greensand.] [illustration: fig. .-- , _beryx lewesiensis_, a percoid fish from the chalk; , _osmeroides mantelli_, a salmonoid fish from the chalk.] no remains of _amphibians_ have hitherto been detected in any part of the cretaceous series; but _reptiles_ are extremely numerous, and belong to very varied types. as regards the great extinct groups of reptiles which characterise the mesozoic period as a whole, the huge "enaliosaurs" or "sea-lizards" are still represented by the _ichthyosaur_ and the _plesiosaur_. nearly allied to the latter of these is the _elasmosaurus_ of the american cretaceous, which combined the long tail of the ichthyosaur with the long neck of the plesiosaur. the length of this monstrous reptile could not have been less than fifty feet, the neck consisting of over sixty vertebræ and measuring over twenty feet in length. the extraordinary flying reptiles of the jurassic are likewise well represented in the cretaceous rocks by species of the genus _pterodactylus_ itself, and these later forms are much more gigantic in their dimensions than their predecessors. thus some of the cretaceous pterosaurs seem to have had a spread of wing of from twenty to twenty-five feet, more than realising the "dragons" of fable in point of size. the most remarkable, however, of the cretaceous _pterosaurs_ are the forms which have recently been described by professor marsh under the generic title of _pteranodon_. in these singular forms--so far only known as american--the animal possessed a skeleton in all respects similar to that of the typical pterodactyles, except that the jaws are completely destitute of teeth. there is, therefore, the strongest probability that the jaws were encased in a horny sheath, thus coming to resemble the beak of a bird. some of the recognised species of _pteranodon_ are very small; but the skull of one species (_p. longiceps_) is not less than a yard in length, and there are portions of the skull of another species which would indicate a length of four feet for the cranium. these measurements would point to dimensions larger than those of any other known pterosaurs. the great mesozoic order of the _deinosaurs_ is largely represented in the cretaceous rocks, partly by genera which previously existed in the jurassic period, and partly by entirely new types. the great delta-deposit of the wealden, in the old world, has yielded the remains of various of these huge terrestrial reptiles, and very many others have been found in the cretaceous deposits of north america. one of the most celebrated of the cretaceous deinosaurs is the _iguanodon_, so called from the curious resemblance of its teeth to those of the existing but comparatively diminutive _iguana_. the teeth (fig. ) are soldered to the inner face of the jaw, instead of being sunk in distinct sockets; and they have the form of somewhat flattened prisms, longitudinally ridged on the outer surface, with an obtusely triangular crown, and having the enamel crenated on one or both sides. they present the extraordinary feature that the crowns became worn down flat by mastication, showing that the _iguanodon_ employed its teeth in actually chewing and triturating the vegetable matter on which it fed. there can therefore be no doubt but that the _iguanodon_, in spite of its immense bulk, was an herbivorous reptile, and lived principally on the foliage of the cretaceous forests amongst which it dwelt. its size has been variously estimated at from thirty to fifty feet, the thigh-bone in large examples measuring nearly five feet in length, with a circumference of twenty-two inches in its smallest part. with the strong and massive hind-limbs are associated comparatively weak and small fore-limbs; and there seems little reason to doubt that the _iguanodon_ must have walked temporarily or permanently upon its hind-limbs, after the manner of a bird. this conjecture is further supported by the occurrence in the strata which contain the bones of the _iguanodon_ of gigantic three-toed foot-prints, disposed _singly_ in a double track. these prints have undoubtedly been produced by some animal walking on two legs; and they can hardly, with any probability, be ascribed to any other than this enormous reptile. closely allied to the _iguanodon_ is the _hadrosaurus_ of the american cretaceous, the length of which is estimated at twenty-eight feet. _iguanodon_ does not appear to have possessed any integumentary skeleton; but the great _hyloeosaurus_ of the wealden seems to have been furnished with a longitudinal crest of large spines running down the back, similar to that which is found in the comparatively small iguanas of the present day. the _megalosaurus_ of the oolites continued to exist in the cretaceous period; and, as we have previously seen, it was carnivorous in its habits. the american _loelaps_ was also carnivorous, and, like the megalosaur, which it very closely resembles, appears to have walked upon its hind-legs, the fore-limbs being disproportionately small. [illustration: fig. .--teeth of iguanodon mantellii. wealden, britain.] another remarkable group of reptiles, exclusively confined to the cretaceous series, is that of the _mosasauroids_, so called from the type-genus _mosasaurus_. the first species of _mosasaurus_ known to science was the _m. camperi_ (fig. ), the skull of which--six feet in length--was discovered in in the maestricht chalk at maestricht. as this town stands on the river meuse, the name of _mosasaurus_ ("lizard of the meuse") was applied to this immense reptile. of late years the remains of a large number of reptiles more or less closely related to _mosasaurus_, or absolutely belonging to it, have been discovered in the cretaceous deposits of north america, and have been described by professors cope and marsh. all the known forms of this group appear to have been of large size--one of them, _mosasaurus princeps_, attaining the length of seventy-five or eighty feet, and thus rivalling the largest of existing whales in its dimensions. the teeth in the "mosasauroids" are long, pointed, and slightly curved; and instead of being sunk in distinct sockets, they are firmly amalgamated with the jaws, as in modern lizards. the palate also carried teeth, and the lower jaw was so constructed as to allow of the mouth being opened to an immense width, somewhat as in the living serpents. the body was long and snake-like, with a very long tail, which is laterally compressed, and must have served as a powerful swimming-apparatus. in addition to this, both pairs of limbs have the bones connecting them with the trunk greatly shortened; whilst the digits were enclosed in the integuments, and constituted paddles, closely resembling in structure the "flippers" of whales and dolphins. the neck is sometimes moderately long, but oftener very short, as the great size and weight of the head would have led one to anticipate. bony plates seem in some species to have formed an at any rate partial covering to the skin; but it is not certain that these integumentary appendages were present in all. upon the whole, there can be no doubt but that the mosasauroid reptiles--the true "sea-serpents" of the cretaceous period--were essentially aquatic in their habits, frequenting the sea, and only occasionally coming to the land. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _mosasaurus camperi_, greatly reduced. maestricht chalk.] the "mosasauroids" have generally been regarded as a greatly modified group of the lizards (_lacertilia_). whether this reference be correct or not--and recent investigations render it dubious--the cretaceous rocks have yielded the remains of small lizards not widely removed from existing forms. the recent order of the _chelonians_ is also represented in the cretaceous rocks, by forms closely resembling living types. thus the fresh-water deposits of the wealden have yielded examples of the "terrapins" or "mud-turtles" (_emys_); and the marine cretaceous strata have been found to contain the remains of various species of turtles, one of which is here figured (fig. ). no true serpents (_ophidia_) have as yet been detected in the cretaceous rocks; and this order does not appear to have come into existence till the tertiary period. lastly, true crocodiles are known to have existed in considerable numbers in the cretaceous period. the oldest of these occur in the fresh-water deposit of the wealden; and they differ from the existing forms of the group in the fact that the bodies of the vertebræ, like those of the jurassic crocodiles, are bi-concave, or hollowed out at both ends. in the greensand of north america, however, occur the remains of crocodiles which agree with all the living species in having the bodies of the vertebræ in the region of the back hollowed out in front and convex behind. [illustration: fig. .--carapace of _chelone benstedi_. lower chalk. (after owen.)] _birds_ have not hitherto been shown, with certainty, to have existed in europe during the cretaceous period, except in a few instances in which fragmentary remains belonging to this class have been discovered. the cretaceous deposits of north america have, however, been shown by professor marsh to contain a considerable number of the remains of birds, often in a state of excellent preservation. some of these belong to swimming or wading birds, differing in no point of special interest from modern birds of similar habits. others, however, exhibit such extraordinary peculiarities that they merit more than a passing notice. one of the forms in question constitutes the genus _ichthyornis_ of marsh, the type-species of which (_i. dispar_) was about as large as a pigeon. in two remarkable respects, this singular bird differs from all known living members of the class. one of these respects concerns the jaws, both of which exhibit the reptilian character of being armed with numerous small pointed _teeth_ (fig. , a), sunk in distinct sockets. no existing bird possesses teeth; and this character forcibly recalls the bird-like pterosaurs, with their toothed jaws. _ichthyornis_, however, possessed fore-limbs constructed strictly on the type of the "wing" of the living birds; and it cannot, therefore, be separated from this class. another extraordinary peculiarity of _ichthyornis_ is, that the bodies of the _vertebrie_ (fig. , c) were _bi-concave_, as is the case with many extinct reptiles and almost all fishes, but as does not occur in any living bird. there can be little doubt that _ichthyornis_ was aquatic in its habits, and that it lived principally upon fishes; but its powerful wings at the same time indicate that it was capable of prolonged flight. the tail of _ichthyornis_ has, unfortunately, not been discovered; and it is at present impossible to say whether this resembled the tail of existing birds, or whether it was elongated and composed of separate vertebræ, as in the jurassic _archoeopteryx_. still more wonderful than _ichthyornis_ is the marvellous bird described by marsh under the name of _hesperornis regalis_. this presents us with a gigantic diving bird, somewhat resembling the existing "loons" (_colymbus_), but agreeing with _ichthyornis_ in having the jaws furnished with conical, recurved, pointed teeth (fig. , b). hence these forms are grouped together in a new sub-class, under the name of _odontornithes_ or "toothed birds." the teeth of _hesperornis_ (fig. , d) resemble those of _ichthyornis_ in their general form; but instead of being sunk in distinct sockets, they are simply implanted in a deep continuous groove in the bony substance of the jaw. the front of the upper jaw does not carry teeth, and was probably encased in a horny beak. the breast-bone is entirely destitute of a central ridge or keel, and the wings are minute and quite rudimentary; so that _hesperornis_, unlike _ichthyornis_, must have been wholly deprived of the power of flight, in this respect approaching the existing penguins. the tail consists of about twelve vertebræ, of which the last three or four are amalgamated to form a flat terminal mass, there being at the same time clear indications that the tail was capable of up and down movement in a vertical plane, this probably fitting it to serve as a swimming-paddle or rudder. the legs were powerfully constructed, and the feet were adapted to assist the bird in rapid motion through the water. the known remains of _hesperornis regalis_ prove it to have been a swimming and diving bird, of larger dimensions than any of the aquatic members of the class of birds with which we are acquainted at the present day. it appears to have stood between five and six feet high, and its inability to fly is fully compensated for by the numerous adaptations of its structure to a watery life. its teeth prove it to have been carnivorous in its habits, and it probably lived upon fishes. it is a curious fact that two birds agreeing with one another in the wholly abnormal character of possessing teeth, and in other respects so entirely different, should, like _ichthyornis_ and _hesperornis_, have lived not only in the same geological period, but also in the same geographical area; and it is equally curious that the area inhabited by these toothed birds should at the same time have been tenanted by winged and bird-like reptiles belonging to the toothed genus _pterodactylus_ and the toothless genus _pteranodon_. [illustration: fig. .--toothed birds (_odontornithes_) of the cretaceous rocks of america. a. left lower jaw of _ichthyornis dispar_, slightly enlarged; b, left lower jaw of _hesperornis regalis_, reduced to nearly one-fourth of the natural size; c. cervical vertebra of _ichthyornis dispar_, front view, twice the natural size; c', side view of the same; d, tooth of _hesperornis regalis_, enlarged to twice the natural size. (after marsh.)] no remains of _mammals_, finally, have as yet been detected in any sedimentary accumulations of cretaceous age. literature. the following list comprises some of the more important works and memoirs which may be consulted with reference to the cretaceous strata and their fossil contents:-- ( ) 'memoirs of the geological survey of great britain.' ( ) 'geology of england and wales.' conybeare and phillips. ( ) 'geology of yorkshire,' vol. ii. phillips. ( ) 'geology of oxford and the thames valley.' phillips. ( ) 'geological excursions through the isle of wight.' mantell. ( ) 'geology of sussex.' mantell. ( ) 'report on londonderry,' &c. portlock. ( ) 'recherches sur le terrain crétacé supérieur de l'angleterre et de l'irlande.' barrois. ( ) "geological survey of canada"--'report of progress, - .' ( ) 'geological survey of california.' whitney. ( ) 'geological survey of montana, idaho, wyoming, and utah.' hayden and meek. ( ) 'report on geology,' &c. (british north american boundary commission). g. m. dawson. ( ) 'manual of geology.' dana. ( ) 'lethæa rossica.' eichwald. ( ) 'petrefacta germaniæ.' goldfuss. ( ) 'fossils of the south downs.' mantell. ( ) 'medals of creation.' mantell. ( ) 'mineral conchology.' sowerby. ( ) 'lethæa geognostica.' bronn. ( ) 'malacostracous crustacea of the british cretaceous formation' (palæontographical society). bell. ( ) 'brachiopoda of the cretaceous formation' (palæontographical society). davidson. ( ) 'corals of the cretaceous formation' (palæontographical society). milne-edwards and haime. ( ) 'supplement to the fossil corals' (palæontographical society). martin duncan. ( ) 'echinodermata or the cretaceous formation' (palæontographical society). wright. ( ) 'monograph of the belemnitidæ' (palæontographical society). phillips. ( ) 'monograph of the trigoniæ' (palæontographical society). lycett. ( ) 'fossil cirripedes' (palæontographical society). darwin. ( ) 'fossil mollusca of the chalk of britain' (palæontographical society). sharpe. ( ) 'entomostraca of the cretaceous formation' (palæontographical society). rupert jones. ( ) 'monograph of the fossil reptiles of the cretaceous formation' (palæontographical society). owen. ( ) 'manual of palæontology.' owen. ( ) 'synopsis of extinct batrachia and reptilia.' cope. ( ) "structure of the skull and limbs in mosasauroid reptiles"--'american journ. sci. and arts, .' marsh. ( ) "on odontornithes"--'american journ. sci. and arts, .' marsh. ( ) 'ossemens fossiles.' cuvier. ( ) 'catalogue of ornithosauria.' seeley. ( ) 'paléontologie française.' d'orbigny. ( ) 'synopsis des echinides fossiles.' desor. ( ) 'cat. raisonné des echinides.' agassiz and desor. ( ) "echinoids"--'decades of the geol. survey of britain.' e. forbes. ( ) 'paléontologie française.' cotteau. ( ) 'versteinerungen der böhmischen kreide-formation.' reuss. ( ) "cephalopoda, gasteropoda, pelecypoda, brachiopoda; &c., of the cretaceous rocks of india"--'palæontologica indica,' ser. i., iii., v., vi., viii. stoliczka. ( ) "cretaceous reptiles of the united states"--'smithsonian contributions to knowledge,' vol. xiv. leidy. ( ) 'invertebrate cretaceous, and tertiary fossils of the upper missouri country,' . meek. chapter xviii. the eocene period. before commencing the study of the subdivisions of the kainozoic series, there are some general considerations to be noted. in the first place, there is in the old world a complete and entire physical break between the rocks of the mesozoic and kainozoic periods. in no instance in europe are tertiary strata to be found resting conformably upon any secondary rock. the chalk has invariably suffered much erosion and denudation before the lowest tertiary strata were deposited upon it. this is shown by the fact that the actually eroded surface of the chalk can often be seen; or, failing this, that we can point to the presence of the chalk-flints in the tertiary strata. this last, of course, affords unquestionable proof that the chalk must have been subjected to enormous denudation prior to the formation of the tertiary beds, all the chalk itself having been removed, and nothing left but the flints, while these are all rolled and rounded. in the continent of north america, on the other hand, the lowest tertiary strata have been shown to graduate downwards conformably with the highest cretaceous beds, it being a matter of difficulty to draw a precise line of demarcation between the two formations. in the second place, there is a marked break in the _life_ of the mesozoic and kainozoic periods. with the exception of a few _foraminifera_, and one _brachiopod_ (the latter doubtful), no cretaceous species is known to have survived the cretaceous period; while several characteristic _families_, such as the _ammonitidoe, belemnitidoe_, and _hippuritidoe_, died out entirely with the close of the cretaceous rocks. in the tertiary rocks, on the other hand, not only are all the animals and plants more or less like existing types, but we meet with a constantly-increasing number of _living species_ as we pass from the bottom of the kainozoic series to the top. upon this last fact is founded the modern classification of the kainozoic rocks, propounded by sil charles lyell. the absence in strata of tertiary age of the chambered cephalopods, the belemnites, the _hippurites_, the _inocerami_, and the diversified types of reptiles which form such conspicuous features in the cretaceous fauna, render the palæontological break between the chalk and the eocene one far too serious to be overlooked. at the same time, it is to be remembered that the evidence afforded by the explorations carried out of late years as to the animal life of the deep sea, renders it certain that the extinction of marine forms of life at the close of the cretaceous period was far less extensive than had been previously assumed. it is tolerably certain, in fact, that we may look upon some of the inhabitants of the depths of our existing oceans as the direct, if modified, descendants of animals which were in existence when the chalk was deposited. it follows from the general want of conformity between the cretaceous and tertiary rocks, and still more from the great difference in life, that the cretaceous and tertiary periods are separated, in the old world at any rate, by an enormous lapse of unrepresented time. how long this interval may have been, we have no means of judging exactly, but it very possibly was as long as the whole kainozoic epoch itself. some day we shall doubtless find, at some part of the earth's surface, marine strata which were deposited during this period, and which will contain fossils intermediate in character between the organic remains which respectively characterise the secondary and tertiary periods. at present, we have only slight traces of such deposits--as, for instance, the maestricht beds, the faxöe limestone, and the pisolitic limestone of france. classification of the tertiary rocks.--the classification of the tertiary rocks is a matter of unusual difficulty, in consequence of their occurring in disconnected basins, forming a series of detached areas, which hold no relations of superposition to one another. the order, therefore, of the tertiaries in point of time, can only be determined by an appeal to fossils; and in such determination sir charles lyell proposed to take as the basis of classification the _proportion of living or existing species of mollusca which occurs in each stratum or group of strata_. acting upon this principle, sir charles lyell divides the tertiary series into four groups:-- i. the _eocene_ formation (gr. _eos_, dawn; _kainos_, new), containing the smallest proportion of existing species, and being, therefore, the oldest division. in this classification, only the _mollusca_ are taken into account; and it was found that of these about three and a half per cent were identical with existing species. ii. the _miocene_ formation (gr. _meion_, less; _kainos_, new), with more recent species than the eocene, but _less_ than the succeeding formation, and less than one-half the total number in the formation. as before, only the _mollusca_ are taken into account, and about per cent of these agree with existing species. iii. the _pliocene_ formation (gr. _pleion_, more; _kainos_, new), with generally _more_ than half the species of shells identical with existing species--the proportion of these varying from to per cent in the lower beds of this division, up to or per cent in its higher portion. iv. the _post-tertiary formations_, in which all _the shells belong to existing species_. this, in turn, is divided into two minor groups--the _post-pliocene_ and _recent formations_. in the _post-pliocene_ formations, while all the _mollusca_ belong to existing species, most of the _mammals_ belong to extinct species. in the recent period, the quadrupeds, as well as the shells, belong to living species. the above, with some modifications, was the original classification proposed by sir charles lyell for the tertiary rocks, and now universally accepted. more recent researches, it is true, have somewhat altered the proportions of existing species to extinct, as stated above. the general principle, however, of an increase in the number of living species, still holds good; and this is as yet the only satisfactory basis upon which it has been proposed to arrange the tertiary deposits. eocene formation. the eocene rocks are the lowest of the tertiary series, and comprise all those tertiary deposits in which there is only a small proportion of existing _mollusca_--from three and a half to five per cent. the eocene rocks occur in several basins in britain, france, the netherlands, and other parts of europe, and in the united states. the subdivisions which have been established are extremely numerous, and it is often impossible to parallel those of one basin with those of another. it will be sufficient, therefore, to accept the division of the eocene formation into three great groups--lower, middle, and upper eocene--and to consider some of the more important beds comprised under these heads in europe and in north america. i. eocene of britain. ( .) lower eocene.--the base of the eocene series in britain is constituted by about feet of light-coloured, sometimes argillaceous sands (_thanet sands_), which are of marine origin. above these, or forming the base of the formation where these are wanting, come mottled clays and sands with lignite (_woolwich and reading series_), which are estuarine or fluvio-marine in origin. the highest member of the lower eocene of britain is the "london clay," consisting of a great mass of dark-brown or blue clay, sometimes with sandy beds, or with layers of "septaria," the whole attaining a thickness of from to as much as feet. the london clay is a purely marine deposit, containing many marine fossils, with the remains of terrestrial animals and plants; all of which indicate a high temperature of the sea and tropical or sub-tropical conditions of the land. ( .) middle eocene.--the inferior portion of the middle eocene of britain consists of marine beds, chiefly consisting of sand, clays, and gravels, and attaining a very considerable thickness (_bag-shot and bracklesham beds_). the superior portion of the middle eocene of britain, on the other hand, consists of deposits which are almost exclusively fresh-water or brackish-water in origin (_headon and osborne series_). the chief continental formations of middle eocene age are the "calcaire grossier" of the paris basin, and the "nummulitic limestone" of the alps. ( .) upper eocene.--if the headon and osborne beds of the isle of wight be placed in the middle eocene, the only british representatives of the upper eocene are the _bembridge beds_. these strata consist of limestones, clays, and marls, which have for the most part been deposited in fresh or brackish water. ii. eocene beds of the paris basin.--the eocene strata are very well developed in the neighbourhood of paris, where they occupy a large area or basin scooped out of the chalk. the beds of this area are partly marine, partly freshwater in origin; and the following table (after sir charles lyell) shows their subdivisions and their parallelism with the english series:-- general table of french eocene strata. upper eocene. _french subdivisions._ _english equivalents._ a. . gypseous series of mont . bembridge series. montmartre. a. . calcaire silicieux, or . osborne and headon series. travertin inférieur. a. . grès de beauchamp, or . white sand and clay of sables moyens. barton cliff, hants. middle eocene. b. . calcaire grossier. . bagshot and bracklesham beds. b. . soissonnais sands, or . wanting. lits coquilliers. lower eocene. c. . argile de londres at base . london clay. of hill of cassel, near dunkirk. c. . argile plastique and . plastic clay and sand with lignite. lignite (woolwich and reading series). c. . stables de bracheux. . thanet sands. iii. eocene strata of the united states.--the lowest member of the eocene deposits of north america is the so-called "_lignitic formation_," which is largely developed in mississippi, tennessee, arkansas, wyoming, utah, colorado, and california, and sometimes attains a thickness of several thousand feet. stratigraphically, this formation exhibits the interesting point that it graduates downwards insensibly and conformably into the cretaceous, whilst it is succeeded _uncomformably_ by strata of middle eocene age. lithologically, the series consists principally of sands and clays, with beds of lignite and coal, and its organic remains show that it is principally of fresh-water origin with a partial intermixture of marine beds. these marine strata of the "lignitic formation" are of special interest, as showing such a commingling of cretaceous and tertiary types of life, that it is impossible to draw any rigid line in this region between the mesozoic and kainozoic systems. thus the marine beds of the lignitic series contain such characteristic cretaceous forms as _inoceramus_ and _ammonites_, along with a great number of univalves of a distinctly tertiary type (cones, cowries, &c.) upon the whole, therefore, we must regard this series of deposits as affording a kind of transition between the cretaceous and the eocene, holding in some respects a position which may be compared with that held by the purbeck beds in britain as regards the jurassic and cretaceous. the middle eocene of the united states is represented by the _claiborne_ and _jackson_ beds. the _claiborne series_ is extensively developed at claiborne, alabama, and consists of sands, clays, lignites, marls, and impure limestones, containing marine fossils along with numerous plant-remains. the _jackson series_ is represented by lignitic clays and marls which occur at jackson, mississippi. amongst the more remarkable fossils of this series are the teeth and bones of cetaceans of the genus _zeuglodon_. strata of upper eocene age occur in north america at vicksburg, mississippi, and are known as the _vicksburg series_. they consist of lignites, clays, marls, and limestones. freshwater deposits of eocene age are also largely developed in parts of the rocky mountain region. the most remarkable fossils of these beds are mammals, of which a large number of species have been already determined. life of the eocene period. the fossils of the eocene deposits are so numerous that nothing more can be attempted here than to give a brief and general sketch of the life of the period, special attention being directed to some of the more prominent and interesting types, amongst which--as throughout the tertiary series--the mammals hold the first place. it is not uncommon, indeed, to speak of the tertiary period as a whole under the name of the "age of mammals," a title at least as well deserved as that of "age of reptiles" applied to the mesozoic, or "age of molluscs" applied to the palæozoic epoch. as regards the _plants_ of the eocene, the chief point to be noticed is, that the conditions which had already set in with the commencement of the upper cretaceous, are here continued, and still further enforced. the _cycads_ of the secondary period, if they have not totally disappeared, are exceedingly rare; and the _conifers_, losing the predominance which they enjoyed in the mesozoic, are now relegated to a subordinate though well-defined place in the terrestrial vegetation. the great majority of the eocene plants are referable to the groups of the angiospermous exogens and the monocotyledons; and the vegetation of the period, upon the whole, approximates closely to that now existing upon the earth. the plants of the european eocene are, however, in the main most closely allied to forms which are now characteristic of tropical or sub-tropical regions. thus, in the london clay are found numerous fruits of palms (_napdites_, fig. ), along with various other plants, most of which indicate a warm climate as prevailing in the south of england at the commencement of the eocene period. in the eocene strata of north america occur numerous plants belonging to existing types--such as palms, conifers, the magnolia, cinnamon, fig. dog-wood, maple, hickory, poplar, plane, &c. taken as a whole, the eocene flora of north america is nearly related to that of the miocene strata of europe, as well as to that now existing in the american area. we conclude, therefore, that "the forests of the american eocene resembled those of the european miocene, and even of modern america" (dana). [illustration: fig. .--_napadites ellipticus_, the fruit of a fossil palm. london clay, isle of sheppey.] as regards the _animals_ of the eocene period, the _protozoans_ are represented by numerous _foraminifera_, which reach here their maximum of development, both as regards the size of individuals and the number of generic types. many of the eocene foraminifers are of small size; but even these not uncommonly form whole rock-masses. thus, the so-called "miliolite limestone" of the paris basin, largely used as a building-stone, is almost wholly composed of the shells of a small species of _miliola_. the most remarkable, however, of the many members of this group of animals which flourished in eocene times, are the "nummulites" (_nummulina_), so called from their resemblance in shape to coins (lat. _nummus_, a coin). the nummulites are amongst the largest of all known _foraminifera_, sometimes attaining a size of three inches in circumference; and their internal structure is very complex (fig. ). many species are known, and they are particularly characteristic of the middle and upper of these periods--their place being sometimes taken by _orbitoides_, a form very similar to the nummulite in external appearance, but differing in its internal details. in the middle eocene, the remains of nummulites are found in vast numbers in a very widely-spread and easily-recognised formation known as the "nummulitic limestone" (fig. ). according to sir charles lyell, "the nummulitic limestone of the swiss alps rises to more than , feet above the level of the sea, and attains here and in other mountain-chains a thickness of several thousand feet. it may be said to play a far more conspicuous part than any other tertiary group in the solid framework of the earth's crust, whether in europe, asia, or africa. it occurs in algeria and morocco, and has been traced from egypt, where it was largely quarried of old for the building of the pyramids, into asia minor, and across persia by bagdad to the mouths of the indus. it has been observed not only in cutch, but in the mountain-ranges which separate scinde from persia, and which form the passes leading to cabul; and it has been followed still further eastward into india, as far as eastern bengal and the frontiers of china." the shells of nummulites have been found at an elevation of , feet above the level of the sea in western thibet; and the distinguished and philosophical geologist just quoted, further remarks, that "when we have once arrived at the conviction that the nummulitic formation occupies a middle and upper place in the eocene series, we are struck with the comparatively modern date to which some of the greatest revolutions in the physical geography of europe, asia, and northern africa must be referred. all the mountain-chains--such as the alps, pyrenees, carpathians, and himalayas--into the composition of whose central and loftiest parts the nummulitic strata enter bodily, could have had no existence till after the middle eocene period. during that period, the sea prevailed where these chains now rise; for nummulites and their accompanying testacea were unquestionably inhabitants of salt water." [illustration: fig. .--_nummulina loevigata_. middle eocene.] the _coelenterates_ of the eocene are represented principally by _corals_, mostly of types identical with or nearly allied to those now in existence. perhaps the most characteristic group of these is that of the _turbinolidoe_, comprising a number of simple "cup-corals," which probably lived in moderately deep water. one of the forms belonging to this family is here figured (fig. ). besides true corals, the eocene deposits have yielded the remains of the "sea-pens" (_pennatulidoe_) and the branched skeletons of the "sea-shrubs" (_gorgontidoe_). the _echinoderms_ are represented principally by sea-urchins, and demand nothing more than mention. it is to be observed, however, that the great group of the sea-lilies (_crinoids_) is now verging on extinction, and is but very feebly represented. amongst the _mollusca_, the _polyzoans_ and _brachiopods_ also require no special mention, beyond the fact that the latter are greatly reduced in numbers, and belong principally to the existing genera _terebratula_ and _rhynchonella_. the bivalves (_lamellibranchs_) and the univalves (_gasteropods_) are exceedingly numerous, and almost all the principal existing genera are now represented; though less than five percent of the eocene _species_ are identical with those now living. it is difficult to make any selection from the many bivalves which are known in deposits of this age; but species of _cardita, crassatella, leda, cyrena, mactra, cardium, psammobia_, &c., may be mentioned as very characteristic. the _caradita planicosta_ here figured (fig. ) is not only very abundant in the middle eocene, but is very widely distributed, ranging from europe to the pacific coast of north america. the _univalves_ of the eocene are extremely numerous, and generally beautifully preserved. the majority of them belong to that great section of the _gasteropods_ in which the mouth of the shell is notched or produced into a canal (when the shell is said to be "siphonostomatous")--this section including the carnivorous and most highly-organized groups of the class. not only is this the case, but a large number of the eocene univalves belong to types which now attain their maximum of development in the warmer regions of the globe. thus we find numerous species of cones (_conus_), volutes (_voluta_), cowries (_cyproea_, fig. ), olives and rice-shells (_oliva_), mitre-shells (_mitra_), trumpet-shells (_triton_), auger-shells (_terebra_), and fig-shells (_pyrula_). along with these are many forms of _pleurotoma, rostellaria_, spindle-shells (_fusus_), dog-whelks (_nassa_), _murices_, and many round-mouthed ("holostomatous") species, belonging to such genera as _turritella, nerita, natica, scalaria_, &c. the genus _cerithium_ (fig. ), most of the living forms of which are found in warm regions, inhabiting fresh or brackish waters, undergoes a vast development in the eocene period, where it is represented by an immense number of specific forms, some of which attain very large dimensions. in the eocene strata of the paris basin alone, nearly one hundred and fifty species of this genus have been detected. the more strictly fresh-water deposits of the eocene period have also yielded numerous remains of univalves such as are now proper to rivers and lakes, together with the shells of true land-snails. amongst these may be mentioned numerous species of _limnoea_ (fig. ), _physa_ (fig. ), _melania, paludina, planorbis, helix, bulimus_, and _cyclostoma_ (fig. ). [illustration: fig. .--_turbinolia sulcata_, viewed from one side, and from above. eocene.] [illustration: fig. .--_cardita planicosta_. middle eocene.] [illustration: fig. .--_typhis tubifer_, a "siphonostomatous" univalve. eocene.] [illustration: fig. .--cyproea elegans. eocene.] [illustration: fig. .--_cerithium hexagonum_. eocene.] with regard to the _cephalopods_, the chief point to be noticed is, that all the beautiful and complex forms which peculiarly characterised the cretaceous period have here disappeared. we no longer meet with a single example of the turrilite, the baculite, the hamite, the scaphite, or the ammonite. the only exception to this statement is the occurrence of one species of ammonite in the so-called "lignitic formation" of north america; but the beds containing this may possibly be rather referable to the cretaceous--and this exception does not affect the fact that the _ammonitidoe_, as a family, had become extinct before the eocene strata were deposited. the ancient genus _nautilus_ still survives, the sole representative of the once mighty order of the tetrabranchiate cephalopods. in the order of the _dibranchiates_, we have a like phenomenon to observe in the total extinction of the great family of the "belemnites." no form referable to this group has hitherto been found in any tertiary stratum; but the internal skeletons of cuttle-fishes (such as _belosepia_) are not unknown. [illustration: fig. .--_limnoea pyramidalis_. eocene.] [illustration: fig. .--_physa columnaris_. eocene.] [illustration: fig. .--_cyclostoma arnoudii_. eocene.] remains of _fishes_ are very abundant in strata of eocene age, especially in certain localities. the most famous depot for the fossil fishes of this period is the limestone of monte bolca, near verona, which is interstratified with beds of volcanic ashes, the whole being referable to the middle eocene. the fishes here seem to have been suddenly destroyed by a volcanic eruption, and are found in vast numbers. agassiz has described over one hundred and thirty species of fishes from this locality, belonging to seventy-seven genera. all the _species_ are extinct; but about one-half of the _genera_ are represented by living forms. the great majority of the eocene fishes belong to the order of the "bony fishes" (_teleosteans_), so that in the main the forms of fishes characterising the eocene are similar to those which predominate in existing seas. in addition to the above, a few _ganoids_ and a large number of _placoids_ are known to occur in the eocene rocks. amongst the latter are found numerous teeth of true sharks, such as _otodus_ (fig. ) and _carcharodon_. the pointed and serrated teeth of the latter sometimes attain a length of over half a foot, indicating that these predaceous fishes attained gigantic dimensions; and it is interesting to note that teeth, in external appearance very similar to those of the early tertiary genus _carcharodon_, have been dredged from great depths during the recent expedition of the challenger. there also occur not uncommonly the flattened teeth of rays (fig. ), consisting of flat bony pieces placed close together, and forming "a kind of mosaic pavement on both the upper and lower jaws" (owen). [illustration: fig. .--_rhombus minimus_, a small fossil turbot from the eocene tertiary, monte bolca.] [illustration: fig. .--tooth of _otodus obliquus_. eocene.] [illustration: fig. .--flattened dental plates of a ray (_myliobatis edwardsii_). eocene.] in the class of the _reptiles_, the disappearance of the characteristic mesozoic types is as marked a phenomenon as the introduction of new forms. the ichthyosaurs, the plesiosaurs, the pterosaurs, and the mosasaurs of the mesozoic, find no representatives in the eocene tertiary; and the same is true of the deinosaurs, if we except a few remains from the doubtfully-situated "lignitic formation" of the united states, on the other hand, all the modern orders of reptiles are known to have existed during the eocene period. the _chelonians_ are represented by true marine turtles, by "terrapins" (_emydidoe_), and by "soft tortoises" (_trionycidoe_). the order of the snakes and serpents (_ophidia_) makes its appearance here, for the first time under several forms--all of which, however, are referable to the non-venomous group of the "constricting serpents" (_boidoe_). the oldest of these is the _paloeophis toliapicus_ of the london clay of sheppey, first made known to science by the researches of professor owen. the nearly-allied _paloeophis typhoeus_ of the eocene beds of bracklesham appears to have been a boa-constrictor-like snake of about twenty feet in length. similar python-like snakes (_paloeophis, dinophis_, &c.) have been described from the eocene deposits of the united states. true lizards (_lacertilians_) are found in some abundance in the eocene deposits,--some being small terrestrial forms, like the common european lizards of the present day; whilst others equal or exceed the living monitors in size. lastly, the modern order of the _crocodilia_ is largely represented in eocene times, by species belonging to all the existing genera, together with others referable to extinct types. as pointed out by owen, it is an interesting fact that in the eocene rocks of the south-west of england, there occur fossil remains of all the three living types of crocodilians--namely, the gavials, the true crocodiles, and the alligators (fig. )--though at the present day these forms are all geographically restricted in their range, and are never associated together. [illustration: fig. .--upper jaw of alligator. eocene tertiary, isle of wight.] almost all the existing orders of _birds_, if not all, are represented in the eocene deposits by remains often very closely allied to existing types. thus, amongst the swimming birds (_natatores_) we find examples of forms allied to the living pelicans and mergansers; amongst the waders (_grallatores_) we have birds resembling the ibis (the _numenius gypsorum_ of the paris basin); amongst the running birds (_cursores_) we meet with the great _gastornis parisiensis_, which equalled the african ostrich in height, and the still more gigantic _dasornis londinensis_; remains of a partridge represent the scratching birds (_rasores_); the american eocene has yielded the bones of one of the climbing birds (_scansores_), apparently referable to the woodpeckers; the _protornis glarisiensis_ of the eocene schists of glaris is the oldest known example of the perching birds (_insessores_); and the birds of prey (_raptores_) are represented by vultures, owls, and hawks. the toothed birds of the upper cretaceous are no longer known to exist; but professor owen has recently described from the london clay the skull of a very remarkable bird, in which there is, at any rate, an approximation to the structure of _ichthyornis_ and _hesperornis_. the bird in question has been named the _odontopteryx totiapicus_, its generic title being derived from the very remarkable characters of its jaws. in this singular form (fig. ) the margins of both jaws are furnished with tooth-like denticulations, which differ from true teeth in being actually portions of the bony substance of the jaw itself, with which they are continuous, and which were probably encased by extensions of the horny sheath of the bill. these tooth-like processes are of two sizes, the larger ones being comparable to canines; and they are all directed forwards, and have a triangular or compressed conical form. from a careful consideration of all the discovered remains of this bird, professor owen concludes that "_odontopteryx_ was a warm-blooded feathered biped, with wings; and further, that it was web-footed and a fish-eater, and that in the catching of its slippery prey it was assisted by this pterosauroid armature of its jaws." upon the whole, _odontopteryx_ would appear to be most nearly related to the family of the geese (_anserinoe_) or ducks (_anatidoe_); but the extension of the bony substance of the jaws into tooth-like processes is an entirely unique character, in which it stands quite alone. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _odontopteryx toliapicus restored. (after owen.)] the known _mammals_ of the mesozoic period, as we have seen, are all of small size; and with one not unequivocal exception, they appear to be referable to the order of the pouched quadrupeds (_marsupials_), almost the lowest group of the whole class of the mammalia. in the eocene rocks, on the other hand, numerous remains of quadrupeds have been brought to light, representing most of the great mammalian orders now in existence upon the earth, and in many cases indicating animals of very considerable dimensions. we are, in fact, in a position to assert that the majority of the great groups of quadrupeds with which we are familiar at the present day were already in existence in the eocene period, and that their ancient root-stocks were even in this early time separated by most of the fundamental differences of structure which distinguish their living representatives. at the same time, there are some amongst the eocene quadrupeds which have a "generalised" character, and which may be regarded as structural types standing midway between groups now sharply separated from one another. the order of the _marsupials_--including the existing kangaroos, wombats, opossums, phalangers, &c.--is poorly represented in deposits of eocene age. the most celebrated example of this group is the _didelphys gypsorum_ of the gypseous beds of montmartre, near paris, an opossum very nearly allied to the living opossums of north and south america. no member of the _edenates_ (sloths, ant-eaters, and armadillos) has hitherto been detected in any eocene deposit. the aquatic order of the _sirenians_ (dugongs and manatees), with their fish-like bodies and tails, paddle-shaped forelimbs, and wholly deficient hind-limbs, are represented in strata of this age by remains of the ancient "sea-cows," to which the name of _halitherium_ has been applied. nearly allied to the preceding is the likewise aquatic order of the whales and dolphins (_cetaceans_), in which the body is also fish-like, the hind-limbs are wanting, the fore-limbs are converted into powerful "flippers" or swimming-paddles, and the terminal extremity of the body is furnished with a horizontal, tail-fin. many existing cetaceans (such as the whalebone whales) have no true teeth; but others (dolphins, porpoises, sperm whales) possess simple conical teeth. in strata of eocene age, however, we find a singular group of whales, constituting the genus _zeuglodon (fig. ), in which the teeth differed from those of all existing forms in being of two kinds,--the front ones being conical incisors, whilst the back teeth or molars have serrated triangular crowns, and are inserted in the jaw by two roots. each molar (fig. , a) looks as if it were composed of two separate teeth united on one side by their crowns; and it is this peculiarity which is expressed by the generic name (gr. _zeugle_, a yoke; _odous_, tooth). the best-known species of the genus is the _zeuglodon cetoides_ of owen, which attained a length of seventy feet. remains of these gigantic whales are very common in the "jackson beds" of the southern united states. so common are they that, according to dana, "the large vertebræ, some of them a foot and a half long and a foot in diameter, were formerly so abundant over the country, in alabama, that they were used for making walls, or were burned to rid the fields of them." [illustration: fig. .--_zeuglodon cetoides_. a, molar tooth of the natural size; b, vertebra, reduced in size. from the middle eocene of the united states. (after lyell.)] the great and important order of the hoofed quadrupeds (_ungulata_) is represented in the eocene by examples of both of its two principal sections--namely, those with an uneven number of toes (one or three) on the foot (_perissodactyle ungulates_), and those with an even number of toes (two or four) to each foot (_artiodactyle ungulates_). amongst the odd-toed ungulates, the living family of the tapirs (_tapirdoe_) is represented by the genus _coryphodon_ of owen. nearly related to the preceding are the species of _paloeotherium_, which have a historical interest as being amongst the first of the tertiary mammals investigated by the illustrious cuvier. several species of _paloeothere_ are known, varying greatly in size, the smallest being little bigger than a hare, whilst the largest must have equalled a good-sized horse in its dimensions. the species of _paloeotherium_ appear to have agreed with the existing tapirs in possessing a lengthened and flexible nose, which formed a short proboscis or trunk (fig. ), suitable as an instrument for stripping off the foliage of trees--the characters of the molar teeth showing them to have been strictly herbivorous in their habits. they differ, however, from the tapirs, amongst other characters, in the fact that both the fore and the hind feet possessed three toes each; whereas in the latter there are four toes on each fore-foot, and the hind-feet alone are three-toed. the remains of _paloeotheria_ have been found in such abundance in certain localities as to show that these animals roamed in great herds over the fertile plains of france and the south of england during the later portion of the eocene period. the accompanying illustration (fig. ) represents the notion which the great cuvier was induced by his researches to form as to the outward appearance of _paloeotherium magnum_. recent discoveries, however, have rendered it probable that this restoration is in some important respects inaccurate. instead of being bulky, massive, and more or less resembling the living tapirs in form, it would rather appear that _paloeotherium magnum_ was in reality a slender, graceful, and long-necked animal, more closely resembling in general figure a llama, or certain of the antelopes. [illustration: fig. .--outline of _paloeotherium magnum_, restored. upper eocene, europe. (after cuvier.)] the singular genus _anchitherium_ forms a kind of transition between the _paloeotheria_ and the true horses (_equidoe_). the horse (fig. , d) possesses but one fully-developed toe to each foot, this being terminated by a single broad hoof, and representing the _middle_ toe--the _third_ of the typical five-fingered or five-toed limb of quadrupeds in general. in addition, however, to this fully-developed toe, each foot in the horse carries two rudimentary toes which are concealed beneath the skin, and are known as the "splint-bones." these are respectively the _second_ and _fourth_ toes, in an aborted condition; and the first and fifth toes are wholly wanting. in _hipparion_ (fig. , c), the foot is essentially like that of the modern horses, except that the second and fourth toes no longer are mere "splint-bones," hidden beneath the skin; but have now little hoofs, and hang freely, but uselessly, by the side of the great middle toe, not being sufficiently developed to reach the ground. in _anchitherium_, again (fig. , b), the foot is three-toed, like that of _hipparion_; but the two lateral toes (the second and fourth) are so far developed that they now reach the ground. the _first_ digit (thumb or great toe) is still wanting; as also is the _fifth_ digit (little finger or little toe). lastly, the eocene rocks have yielded in north america the remains of a small equine quadruped, to which marsh has given the name of _orohippus_. in this singular form--which was not larger than a fox--the foot (fig. , a) carries _four_ toes, all of which are hoofed and touch the ground, but of which the _third_ toe is still the largest. the _first_ toe (thumb or great toe) is still wanting; but in this ancient representative of the horses, the _fifth_ or "little" toe appears for the first time. as all the above-mentioned forms succeed one another in point of time, it may be regarded as probable that we shall yet be able to point, with some certainty, to some still older example of the _equidoe_, in which the first digit is developed, and the foot assumes its typical five-fingered condition. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of the foot in various forms belonging to the family of the _equidoe_. a, foot of _orohippus_, eocene; b, foot of _anchitherium</>, upper eocene and lower miocene; c, foot of _hipparion_, upper miocene and pliocene: d, foot of horse (_equus_), pliocene and recent. the figures indicate the numbers of the digits in the typical five-fingered hand of mammals. (after marsh.)] passing on to the even-toed or _artiodactyle ungulates_, no representative of the _hippotamus_ seems yet to have existed, but there are several forms (_choeropotamus, hyopotamus_, &c.) more or less closely allied to the pigs (_suida_); and the singular group of the _anoplotheridoe_ may be regarded as forming a kind of transition between the swine and the ruminants. the _anoplotheria_ (fig. ) were slender in form, the largest not exceeding a donkey in size, with long tails, and having the feet terminated by two hoofed toes each, sometimes with a pair of small accessory hoofs as well. the teeth exhibit the peculiarity that they are arranged in a continuous series, without any gap or interval between the molars and the canines; and the back teeth, like those of all the ungulates, are adapted for grinding vegetable food, their crowns resembling in form those of the true ruminants. the genera _dichobune_ and _xiphodon_, of the middle and upper eocene, are closely related to _anoplotherium_, but are more slender and deer-like in form. no example of the great ruminant group of the ungulate quadrupeds has as yet been detected in deposits of eocene age. [illustration: fig. .--_anoplotherium commune_. eocene tertiary, france. (after cuvier.)] whilst true ruminants appear to be unknown, the eocene strata of north america have yielded to the researches of professor marsh examples of an extraordinary group (_dinocerata_), which may be considered as in some respects intermediate between the ungulates and the proboscideans. in _dinoceras_ itself (fig. ) we have a large animal, equal in dimensions to the living elephants, which it further resembles in the structure of the massive limbs, except that there are only four toes to each foot. the upper jaw was devoid of front teeth, but there were two very large canine teeth, in the form of tusks directed perpendicularly downwards; and there was also a series of six small molars on each. each upper jaw-bone carried a bony projection, which was probably of the nature of a "horn-core," and was originally sheathed in horn. two similar, but smaller, horn-cores are carried on the nasal bones; and two much larger projections, also probably of the nature of horn-cores, were carried upon the forehead. we may thus infer that _dinoceras_ possessed three pairs of horns, all of which resembled the horns of the sheep and oxen in consisting of a central bony "core," surrounded by a horny sheath. the nose was not prolonged into a proboscis or "trunk," as in the existing elephants; and the tail was short and slender. many forms of the _dinocerata_ are known; but all these singular and gigantic quadrupeds appear to have been confined to the north american continent, and to be restricted to the eocene period. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _dinoceras mirabilis_, greatly reduced. eocene, north america. (after marsh.)] the important order of the elephants (_proboscidea_) is also not known to have come into existence during the eocene period. on the other hand, the great order of the beasts of prey (_carnivora_) is represented in eocene strata by several forms belonging to different types. thus the _ardocyon_ presents us with an eocene carnivore more or less closely allied to the existing racoons; the _paloeonyctis_ appears to be related to the recent civet-cats; the genus _hyoenodon_ is in some respects comparable to the living hyænas; and the _canis parisiensis_ of the gypsum-bearing beds of montmartre may perhaps be allied to the foxes. [illustration: fig. .--portion of the skeleton of _vespertilio parisienis_. eocene tertiary, france.] the order of the bats (_cheiroptera_) is represented in eocene strata of the paris basin (gypseous series of montmartre) by the _vespertilio parisiensis_ (fig. ), an insect-eating bat very similar to some of the existing european forms. lastly, the eocene deposits have yielded more or less satisfactory evidence of the existence in europe at this period of examples of the orders of the gnawing mammals (_rodentia_), the insect-eating mammals (_insectivora_), and the monkeys (_quadrumana_).[ ] [footnote : a short list of the more important works relating to the eocene rocks and fossils will be given after all the tertiary deposits have been treated of.] chapter xix. the miocene period. the miocene rocks comprise those tertiary deposits which contain less than about per cent of existing species of shells (_mollusca_), and more than per cent--or those deposits in which the proportion of living shells is less than of extinct species. they are divisible into a _lower miocene_ (_oligocene_) and an _upper miocene_ series. in _britain_, the miocene rocks are very poorly developed, one of their leading developments being at bovey tracy in devonshire, where there occur sands, clays, and beds of lignite or imperfect coal. these strata contain numerous plants, amongst which are vines, figs, the cinnamon-tree, palms, and many conifers, especially those belonging to the genus sequoia (the "red-foods"). these bovey tracy lignites are of lower miocene age, and they are lacustrine in origin. also of lower miocene age are the so-called "hempstead beds" of yarmouth in the isle of wight. these attain a thickness of less than feet, and are shown by their numerous fossils to be principally a true marine formation. lastly, the duke of argyll, in , showed that there existed at ardtun, in the island of mull, certain tertiary strata containing numerous remains of plants; and these also are now regarded as belonging to the lower miocene. in _france_, the lower miocene is represented in auvergne, cantal, and velay, by a great thickness of nearly horizontal strata of sands, sandstone, clays, marls, and limestones, the whole of fresh-water origin. the principal fossils of these lacustrine deposits are _mammalia_, of which the remains occur in great abundance. in the valley of the loire occur the typical european deposits of upper miocene age. these are known as the "faluns," from a provincial term applied to shelly sands, employed to spread upon soils which are deficient in lime; and the upper miocene is hence sometimes spoken of as the "falunian" formation. the faluns occur in scattered patches, which are rarely more than feet in thickness, and consist of sands and marls. the fossils are chiefly marine; but there occur also land and fresh-water shells, together with the remains of numerous mammals. about per cent of the shells of the faluns are identical with existing species. the sands, limestones, and marls of the department of gers, near the base of the pyrenees, rendered famous by the number or mammalian remains exhumed from them by m. lartet, also belong to the age of the faluns. in _switzerland_, between the alps and the jura, there occurs a great series of miocene deposits, known collectively as the "molasse," from the soft nature of a greenish sandstone, which constitutes one of its chief members. it attains a thickness of many thousands of feet, and rises into lofty mountains, some of which--as the rigi--are more than feet in height. the middle portion of the molasse is of marine origin, and is shown by its fossils to be of the age of the faluns; but the lower and upper portions of the formation are mainly or entirely of fresh-water origin. the lower molasse (of lower miocene age) has yielded about species of plants, mostly of tropical or sub-tropical forms. the upper molasse has yielded about the same number of plants, with about species of insects, such as wood-eating beetles water-beetles, white ants, dragon-flies, &c. in _belgium_, strata of both lower and upper miocene age are known,--the former (_rupelian clays_) containing numerous marine fossils; whilst the latter (_bolderberg sands_) have yielded numerous shells corresponding with those of the faluns. in _austria_, miocene strata are largely developed, marine beds belonging to both the lower and upper division of the formation occurring extensively in the vienna basin. the well-known brown coals of radaboj, in croatia, with numerous plants and insects, are also of lower miocene age. in _germany_, deposits belonging to both the lower and upper division of the miocene formation are extensively developed. to the former belong the marine strata of the mayence basin, and the marine _rupelian clay_ near berlin; whilst a celebrated group of strata belonging to the upper miocene occurs near epplesheim, in hesse-darmstadt, and is well known for the number of its mammalian remains. in _greece_, at pikermé, near athens, there occurs a celebrated deposit of upper miocene age, well known to palæontologists through the researches of m. m. wagner, roth, and gaudry upon the numerous mammalia which it contains. in _italy_, also, strata of both lower and upper miocene age are well developed in the neighbourhood of turin. in the _siwâlik hills_, in india, at the southern foot of the himalayas, occurs a series of upper miocene strata, which have become widely celebrated through the researches of dr falconer and sir proby cautley upon the numerous remains of mammals and reptiles which they contain. beds of corresponding age, with similar fossils, are known to occur in the island of perim in the gulf of cambay. lastly, miocene deposits are found in _north america_, in new jersey, maryland, virginia, missouri, california, oregon, &c., attaining a thickness of feet or more. they consist principally of clays, sands, and sandstones, sometimes of marine and sometimes of fresh-water origin. near richmond, in virginia, there occurs a remarkable stratum, wrongly called "infusorial earth," which is occasionally feet in thickness, and consists almost wholly of the siliceous envelopes of certain low forms of plants (diatoms), along with the spicules of sponges and other siliceous organisms (see fig. ). the _white river group_ of hayden occurs in the upper missouri region, and is largely exposed over the barren and desolate district known as the "mauvaises terres." they have a thickness of feet or more, and contain numerous remains of mammals. they are of lacustrine origin, and are believed to be of the age of the lower miocene. upon the whole, about from to per cent of the _mollusca_ of the american miocene are identical with existing species. in addition to the regions previously enumerated, miocene strata are known to be developed in _greenland, iceland, spitzbergen_, and in other areas of less importance. the _life_ of the miocene period is extremely abundant, and, from the nature of the deposits of this age, also extremely varied in its character. the marine beds of the formation have yielded numerous remains of both vertebrate and invertebrate sea-animals; whilst the fresh-water deposits contain the skeletons of such shells, fishes, &c., as now inhabit rivers or lakes. both the marine and the lacustrine beds have been shown to contain an enormous number of plants, the latter more particularly; whilst the brown coals of the formation are made up of vegetable matter little altered from its original condition. the remains of air-breathing animals, such as insects, reptiles, birds, and mammals, are also abundantly found, more especially in the fresh-water beds. the _plants_ of the miocene period are extraordinarily numerous, and only some of the general features of the vegetation of this epoch can be indicated here. our chief sources of information as to the miocene plants are the brown coals of germany and austria, the lower and upper molasse of switzerland, and the miocene strata of the arctic regions. the lignites of austria have yielded very numerous plants, chiefly of a tropical character--one of the most noticeable forms being a palm of the genus _sabal_ (fig. , b), now found in america. the plants of the lower miocene of switzerland are also mostly of a tropical character, but include several forms now found in north america, such as a tulip-tree (_liriodendron_) and a cypress (_taxodium_). amongst the more remarkable forms from these beds may be mentioned fan-palms (_chamoerops_, fig , a), numerous tropical ferns, and two species of cinnamon. the plant-remains of the upper molasse of switzerland indicate an extraordinarily rank and luxuriant vegetation, composed mainly of plants which now live in warm countries. among the commoner plants of this formation may be enumerated many species of maple (_acer_), plane-trees (_platanus_ fig. ), cinnamon-trees (fig. ), and other members of the _lauraceoe_, many species of _proteaccoe_ (_banksia, grevillea_, &c.), several species of sarsaparilla (_smilax_), palms, cypresses, &c. [illustration: fig. .--miocene palms a, _chamoerops helvetica_; b, _sabal major_. lower miocene of switzerland and france.] [illustration: fig. .--_platanus aceroides_, an upper miocene plane-tree. a, leaf; b, the core of a bundle of fruits; c, a single fruit.] [illustration: fig. .--_cinnamomum polymorphum_. a, leaf; b, flower. upper miocene.] in britain, the lower miocene strata of bovey tracy have yielded remains of ferns, vines, fig, cinnamon, _proteaccoe_, &c., along with numerous conifers. the most abundant of these last is a gigantic pine--the _sequoia couttsioe_--which is very nearly allied to the huge _sequoia_ (_wellingtonia_) _gigantea_ of california. a nearly-allied form (_sequoia langsdorffi_) has been detected in the leaf-bed of ardtun, in the hebrides. in greenland, as well as in other parts of the arctic regions, miocene strata have been discovered which have yielded a great number of plants, many of which are identical with species found in the european miocene. amongst these plants are found many trees, such as conifers, beeches, oaks, maples, plane-trees, walnuts, magnolias, &c., with numerous shrubs, ferns, and other smaller plants. with regard to the miocene flora of the arctic regions, sir charles lyell remarks that "more than thirty species of coniferæ have been found, including several sequoias (allied to the gigantic wellingtonia of california), with species of _thujopsis_ and _salisburia_, now peculiar to japan. there are also beeches, oaks, planes, poplars, maples, walnuts, limes, and even a magnolia, two cones of which have recently been obtained, proving that this splendid evergreen not only lived but ripened its fruit within the arctic circle. many of the limes, planes, and oaks were large-leaved species; and both flowers and fruits, besides immense quantities of leaves, are in many cases preserved. among the shrubs are many evergreens, as _andromeda_, and two extinct genera, _daphnogene_ and _m'clintockia_, with fine leathery leaves, together with hazel, blackthorn, holly, logwood, and hawthorn. a species of zamia (_zimites_) grew in the swamps, with _potamogeton, sparganium_, and _menyanthes_; while ivy and villes twined around the forest-trees, and broad-leaved ferns grew beneath their shade. even in spitzbergen, as far north as lat. ° ', no less than ninety-five species of fossil plants have been obtained, including _taxodium_ of two species, hazel, poplar, alder, beech, plane-tree, and lime. such a vigorous growth of trees within ° of the pole, where now a dwarf willow and a few herbaceous plants form the only vegetation, and where the ground is covered with almost perpetual snow and ice, is truly remarkable." taking the miocene flora as a whole, dr heer concludes from his study of about plants contained in the european miocene alone, that the miocene plants indicate tropical or sub-tropical conditions, but that there is a striking inter-mixture of forms which are at present found in countries widely removed from one another. it is impossible to state with certainty how many of the miocene plants belong to existing species, but it appears that the larger number are extinct. according to heer, the american types of plants are most largely represented in the miocene flora, next those of europe and asia, next those of africa, and lastly those of australia. upon the whole, however, the miocene flora of europe is mostly nearly allied to the plants which we now find inhabiting the warmer parts of the united states; and this has led to the suggestion that in miocene times the atlantic ocean was dry land, and that a migration of american plants to europe was thus permitted. this view is borne out by the fact that the miocene plants of europe are most nearly allied to the living plants of the eastern or atlantic seaboard of the united states, and also by the occurrence of a rich miocene flora in greenland. as regards greenland, dr heer has determined that the miocene plants indicate a temperate climate in that country, with a mean annual temperature at least ° warmer than it is at present. the present limit of trees is the isothermal which gives the mean temperature of fahr. in july, or about the parallel of ° n. latitude. in miocene times, however, the limes, cypresses, and plane-trees reach the th degree of latitude, and the pines and poplars must have ranged even further north than this. the _invertebrate animals_ of the miocene period are very numerous, but they belong for the most part to existing types, and they can only receive scanty consideration here. the little shells of _foraminifera_ are extremely abundant in some beds, the genera being in many cases such as now flourish abundantly in our seas. the principal forms belong to the genera _textularia_ (fig. ), _robulina, glandulina, polystomella, amplistegina_, &c. corals are very abundant, in many instances forming regular "reefs;" but all the more important groups are in existence at the present day. the red coral (_corallium_), so largely sought after as an ornamental material, appears for the first time in deposits of this age. amongst the _echinoderms_, we meet with heart-urchins (_spatangus_), cake-urchins (_scutella_; fig. ), and various other forms, the majority of which are closely allied to forms now in existence. [illustration: fig. .--_textularia meyeriana_, greatly enlarged. miocene tertiary.] numerous crabs and lobsters represent the _crustacea_; but the most important of the miocene articulate animals are the _insects_. of these, more than thirteen hundred species have been determined by dr heer from the miocene strata of switzerland alone. they include almost all the existing orders of insects, such as numerous and varied forms of beetles (_coleoptera_), forest-bugs (_hemiptera_), ants (_hymenoptera_), flies (_diptera_), termites and dragon-flies (_neuroptera_), grasshoppers (_orthoptera_), and butterflies (_lepidoptera_). one of the latter, the well-known _vanessa pluto_ of the brown coals of croatia, even exhibits the pattern of the wing, and to some extent its original coloration; whilst the more durably-constructed insects are often in a state of exquisite preservation. [illustration: fig. .--different views of _scutella subrotunda_, a miocene "cake-urchin" from the south of france.] the _mollusca_ of the miocene period are very numerous, but call for little special comment. upon the whole, they are generically very similar to the shell-fish of the present day; whilst, as before stated, from fifteen to thirty per cent of the _species_ are identical with those now in existence. so far as the european area is concerned, the molluscs indicate a decidedly hotter climate than the present one, though they have not such a distinctly tropical character as is the case with the eocene shells. thus we meet with many cones, volutes, cowries, olive-shells, fig-shells, and the like, which are decidedly indicative of a high temperature of the sea. _polyzoans_ are abundant, and often attain considerable dimensions; whilst _brachiopods_, on the other hand, are few in number. bivalves and _univalves_ are extremely plentiful; and we meet here with the shells of winged-snails (_pteropods_), belonging to such existing genera as _hyalea_ (fig. ) and _cleodora_. lastly, the _cephalopods_ are represented both by the chambered shells of _nautili_ and by the internal skeletons of cuttle-fishes (_spirulirostra_.) [illustration: fig. .--different views of the shell of _hyalea orbignyana_, a miocene pteropod.] the _fishes_ of the miocene period are very abundant but of little special importance. besides the remains of bony fishes, we meet in the marine deposits of this age with numerous pointed teeth belonging to different kinds of sharks. some of the genera of these--such as _carcharodon_ (fig. ), _oxyrhina_ (fig. ), _lamna_, and _galeocerdo_--are very widely distributed, ranging through both the old and new worlds; and some of the species attain gigantic dimensions. amongst the _amphibians_ we meet with distinctly modern types, such as frogs (_rana_) and newts or salamanders. the most celebrated of the latter is the famous _andrias scheuchzeri_ (fig. ), discovered in the year in the fresh-water miocene deposits of oeningen, in switzerland. the skeleton indicates an animal nearly five feet in length; and it was originally described by scheuchzer, a swiss physician, in a dissertation published in , as the remains of one of the human beings who were in existence at the time of the noachian deluge. hence he applied to it the name of _homo diluvii testis_. in reality, however, as shown by cuvier, we have here the skeleton of a huge newt, very closely allied to the giant salamander (_menopoma maxima_) of java. [illustration: fig. .--tooth of _oxyrhina xiphodon_. miocene.] [illustration: fig. .--tooth of _carcharodon productus_. miocene.] the remains of _reptiles_ are far from uncommon in the miocene rocks, consisting principally of chelonians and crocodilians. the land-tortoises (_testudinidoe_) make their first appearance during this period. the most remarkable form of this group is the huge _colossochelys atlas_ of the upper miocene deposits of the siwâlik hills in india, described by dr falconer and sir proby cautley. far exceeding any living tortoise in its dimensions, this enormous animal is estimated as having had a length of about twenty feet, measured from the tip of the snout to the extremity of the tail, and to have stood upwards of seven feet high. all the details of its organisation, however, prove that it must have been "strictly a land animal, with herbivorous habits, and probably of the most inoffensive nature." the accomplished palæontologist just quoted, shows further that some of the traditions of the hindoos would render it not improbable that this colossal tortoise had survived into the earlier portion of the human period. of the _birds_ of the miocene period it is sufficient to remark that though specifically distinct, they belong, so far as known, wholly to existing groups, and therefore present no points of special palæontological interest. the _mammals_ of the miocene are very numerous, and only the more important forms can be here alluded to. amongst the _marsupials_, the old world still continued to possess species of opossum (_didephys_), allied to the existing american forms. the _edentates_ (sloths, armadillos, and ant-eaters), at the present day mainly south american, are represented by two large european forms. one of these is the large _macrotherium giganteum_ of the upper miocene of gers in southern france, which appears to hare been in many respects allied to the existing scaly ant-eaters or pangolins, at the same time that the disproportionately long fore-limbs would indicate that it possessed the climbing habits of the sloths. the other is the still more gigantic _ancylotherium pentelici_ of the upper miocene of pikermé, which seems to have been as large as, or larger than, the rhinoceros, and which must have been terrestrial in its habits. this conclusion is further borne out by the comparative equality of length which subsists between the fore and hind limbs, and is not affected by the curvature and crookedness of the claws, this latter feature being well marked in such existing terrestrial edentates as the great ant-eater. [illustration: fig. .--front portion of the skeleton of _andrias scheuchzeri_, a giant salamander from the miocene tertiary of oeningen, in switzerland. reduced in size.] the aquatic _sirenians_ and _cetaceans_ are represented in miocene times by various forms of no special importance. amongst the former, the previously existing genus _halitherium_ continued to survive, and amongst the latter we meet with remains of dolphins and of whales of the "zeuglodont" family. we may also note here the first appearance of true "whalebone whales," two species of which, resembling the living "right whale" of arctic seas, and belonging to the same genus (_baloena_), have been detected in the miocene beds of north america. the great order of the _ungulates_ or hoofed quadrupeds is very largely developed in strata of miocene age, various new types of this group making their appearance here for the first time, whilst some of the characteristic genera of the preceding period are still represented under new shapes. amongst the odd-toed or "perissodactyle" ungulates, we meet for the first time with representatives of the family _rhinoceridoe_ comprising only the existing rhinoceroses. in india in the upper miocene beds of the siwâlik hills, and in north america, several species of rhinoceros have been detected, agreeing with the existing forms in possessing three toes to each foot, and in having one or two solid fibrous "horns" carried upon the front of the head. on the other hand, the forms of this group which distinguish the miocene deposits of europe appear to have been for the most part hornless, and to have resembled the tapirs in having three-toed hind-feet, but four-toed fore-feet. the family of the tapirs is represented, both in the old and new worlds, by species of the genus _lophiodon_, some of which were quite diminutive in point of size, whilst others attained the dimensions of a horse. nearly allied to this family, also, is the singular group of quadrupeds which marsh has described from the miocene strata of the united states under the name of _brontotheridoe_. these extraordinary animals, typified by _brontotherium_ (fig. ) itself, agree with the existing tapirs of south america and the indian archipelago in having the fore-feet four-toed, whilst the hind-feet are three-toed; and a further point of resemblance is found in the fact (as shown by the form of the nasal bones) that the nose was long and flexible, forming a short movable proboscis or trunk, by means of which the animal was enabled to browse on shrubs or trees. they differ, however, from the tapirs, not only in the apparent presence of a long tail, but also in the possession of a pair of very large "horn-cores," carried upon the nasal bones, indicating that the animal possessed horns of a similar structure to those of the "hollow-horned" ruminants (_e.g._, sheep and oxen). _brontotherium gigas_ is said to be nearly as large as an elephant, whilst _b. ingens_ appears to have attained dimensions still more gigantic. the well-known genus _titanotherium_ of the american miocene would also appear to belong to this group. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _brontotherium ingens_. miocene tertiary, united states. (after marsh.)] the family of the horses (_equidoe_) appears under various forms in the miocene, but the most important and best known of these is _hipparion_. in this genus the general conformation of the skeleton is extremely similar to that of the existing horses, and the external appearance of the animal must have been very much the same. the foot of _hipparion_, however, as has been previously mentioned, differed from that of the horse in the fact that whilst both possess the middle toe greatly developed and enclosed in a broad hoof, the former, in addition, possessed two lateral toes, which were sufficiently developed to carry hoofs, but were so far rudimentary that they hung idly by the side of the central toe without touching the ground (see fig. ). in the horse, on the other hand, these lateral toes, though present, are not only functionally useless, but are concealed beneath the skin. remains of the _hipparion_ have been found in various regions in europe and in india; and from the immense quantities of their bones found in certain localities, it may be safely inferred that these middle tertiary ancestors of the horses lived, like their modern representatives, in great herds, and in open grassy plains or prairies. amongst the even-toed or _artiodactyle_ ungulates, we for the first time meet with examples of the _hippopotamus_, with its four-toed feet, its massive body, and huge tusk-like lower canine teeth. the miocene deposits of europe have not hitherto yielded any remains of _hippopotamus_; but several species have been detected in the upper miocene of the siwâlik hills by dr falconer and sir proby cautley. these ancient indian forms, however, differ from the existing _hippopotamus amphibius_ of africa in the fact that they possessed six incisor teeth in each jaw (fig. ), whereas the latter has only four. [illustration: fig. .--a, skull of _hippopotamus sivalensis_, viewed from below, one-eighth of the natural size; b, molar tooth of the same, showing the surface of the crown, one-half of the natural size: c, front of the lower jaw of the same, showing the six incisors and the tusk-like canines, one-eighth of the natural size. upper miocene, siwâlik hills; (after falconer and cautley.)] amongst the other even-toed ungulates, the family of the pigs (_suida_) is represented by true swine (_sus erymanthius_), peccaries (_dicotyles antiquus_), and by forms which, like the great _elotherium_ of the american miocene, have no representative at the present day. the upper miocene of india has yielded examples of the camels. small musk-deer (_amphitragulus_ and _dremotherium_) are known to have existed in france and greece; and the true deer (_cervidoe_), with their solid bony antlers, appear for the first time here in the person of species allied to the living stags (_cervus_), accompanied by the extinct genus _dorcatherium_. the giraffes (_camelopardalidoe_), now confined to africa, are known to have lived in india and greece; and the allied _helladotherium_, in some respects intermediate between the giraffes and the antelopes, ranged over southern europe from attica to france. the great group of the "hollow-horned" ruminants (_cavicornia_), lastly, came into existence in the miocene period; and though the typical families of the sheep and oxen are apparently wanting, there are true antelopes, together with forms which, if systematically referable to the _antilopidoe_, nevertheless are more or less clearly transitional between this and the family of the sheep and goats. thus the _paloeoreas_ of the upper miocene of greece may be regarded as a genuine antelope; but the _tragoceras_ of the same deposit is intermediate in its characters between the typical antelopes and the goats. perhaps the most remarkable, however, of these miocene ruminants is the _sivatherium giganteum_ (fig. ) of the siwâlik hills, in india. in this extraordinary animal there were two pairs of horns, supported by bony "horn-cores," so that there can be no hesitation in referring _sivatherium_ to the cavicorn ruminants. if all these horns had been simple, there would have been no difficulty in considering _sivatherium_ as simply a gigantic four-horned antelope, essentially similar to the living _antilope_ (_tetraceros_) _quadricornis_ of india. the hinder pair of horns, however, is not only much larger than the front pair, but each possesses two branches or snags--a peculiarity not to be paralleled amongst any existing antelope, save the abnormal prongbuck (_antilocapra_) of north america. dr murie, however, in an admirable memoir on the structure and relationships of _sivatherium_, has drawn attention to the fact that the prongbuck sheds the _sheath_ of its horns annually, and has suggested that this may also have been the case with the extinct form. this conjecture is rendered probable, amongst other reasons, by the fact that no traces of a horny sheath surrounding the horn-cores of the indian fossil have been as yet detected. upon the whole, therefore, we may regard the elephantine _sivatherium_ as being most nearly allied to the prongbuck of western america, and thus as belonging to the family of the antelopes. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _sivatherium giganteum_, reduced in size. miocene, india. (after murie.)] it is to the miocene period, again, to which we must refer the first appearance of the important order of the elephants and their allies (_proboscideans_), all of which are characterised by their elongated trunk-like noses, the possession of five toes to the foot, the absence of canine teeth, the development of two or more of the incisor teeth into long tusks, and the adaptation of the molar teeth to a vegetable diet. only three generic groups of this order are known-namely, the extinct _deinotherium_, the equally extinct _mastodons_, and the _elephants_; and all these three types are known to have been in existence as early as the miocene period, the first of them being exclusively confined to deposits of this age. of the three, the genus _deinotherium_ is much the most abnormal in its characters; so much so, that good authorities regard it as really being one of the sea-cows (_sirenia_)--though this view has been rendered untenable by the discovery of limb-bones which can hardly belong to any other animal, and which are distinctly proboscidean in type. the most celebrated skull of the deinothere (fig. ) is one which was exhumed from the upper miocene deposits of epplesheim, in hesse-darmstadt, in the year . this skull was four and a half feet in length, and indicated an animal larger than any existing species of elephant. the upper jaw is destitute of incisor or canine teeth, but is furnished on each side with five molars, which are opposed to a corresponding series of grinding teeth in the lower jaw. no canines are present in the lower jaw; but the front portion of the jaw is abruptly bent downwards, and carries two huge tusk-like incisor teeth, which are curved downwards and backwards, and the use of which is rather problematical. not only does the deinothere occur in europe, but remains belonging to this genus have also been detected in the siwâlik hills, in india. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _deinotherium giganteum_, greatly reduced. from the upper micene of germany.] the true elephants (_elephas_) do not appear to have existed during the miocene period in europe, but several species have been detected in the upper miocene deposits of the siwâlik hills, in india. the fossil forms, though in all cases specifically, and in some cases even sub-generically, distinct, agree with those now in existence in the general conformation of their skeleton, and in the principal characters of their dentition. in all, the canine teeth are wanting in both jaws; and there are no incisor teeth in the lower jaw, whilst there are two incisors in the front of the upper jaw, which are developed into two huge "tusks." there are six molar teeth on each side of both the upper and lower jaw, but only one, or at most a part of two, is in actual use at any given time; and as this becomes worn away, it is pushed forward and replaced by its successor behind it. the molars are of very large size, and are each composed of a number of transverse plates of enamel united together by ivory; and by the process of mastication, the teeth become worn down to a flat surface, crossed by the enamel-ridges in varying patterns; these patterns are different in the different species of elephants, though constant for each; and they constitute one of the most readily available means of separating the fossil forms from one another. of the seven miocene elephants of india, as judged by the characters of the molar, teeth, two are allied to the existing indian elephant, one is related to the living african elephant, and the remaining four are in some respects intermediate between the true elephants and the mastodons. [illustration: fig. .--a, molar tooth of _elephas planifrons_, one-third of the natural size, showing the grinding surface--from the upper miocene of india; b, profile view of the last upper molar of _mastodon sivalensis_, one-third of the natural size--from the upper miocene of india. (after falconer.)] the _mastodons_, lastly, though quite elephantine in their general characters, possess molar teeth which have their crowns furnished with conical eminences or tubercles placed in pairs (fig. , b), instead of having the approximately flat surface characteristic of the grinders of the elephants. as in the latter, there are two upper incisor teeth, which grow permanently during the life of the animal, and which constitute great tusks; but the mastodons, in addition, often possess two lower incisors, which in some cases likewise grow into small tusks. three species of _mastodon_ are known to occur in the upper miocene of the siwâlik hills of india; and the miocene deposits of the european area have yielded the remains of four species, of which the best known are the _m. longirostris_ and the _m. angustidens_. whilst herbivorous quadrupeds, as we have seen, were extremely abundant during miocene times, and often attained gigantic dimensions, beasts of prey (_carnivora_) were by no means wanting, most of the principal existing families of the order being represented in deposits of this age. thus, we find aquatic carnivores belonging to both the living groups of the seals and walruses; true bears are wanting, but their place is filled by the closely-allied genus _amphicyon_, of which various species are known; weasels and otters were not unknown, and the _hyoenictis_ and _iditherium_ of the upper miocene of greece are apparently intermediate between the civet-cats and the hyænas; whilst the great cats of subsequent periods are more than adequately represented by the huge "sabre-toothed tiger" (_machairodus_), with its immense trenchant and serrated canine teeth. amongst the _rodent_ mammals, the miocene rocks have yielded remains of rabbits, porcupines (such as the _hystrix primigenius_ of greece), beavers, mice, jerboas, squirrels, and marmots. all the principal living groups of this order were therefore differentiated in middle tertiary times. the _cheiroptera_ are represented by small insect-eating bats; and the order of the insectivorous mammals is represented by moles, shrew-mice, and hedgehogs. [illustration: fig. .--lower jaw of _pliopithcus antiquus_. upper miocene, france.] lastly, the monkeys (_quadrumana_) appear to have existed during the miocene period under a variety of forms, remains of these animals having been found both in europe and in india; but no member of this order has as yet been detected in the miocene tertiary of the north american continent. amongst the old world monkeys of the miocene, the two most interesting are the _pliopithecus_ and _dryopithecus_ of france. the former of these (fig. ) is supposed to have been most nearly related to the living _semnopitheci_ of southern asia, in which case it must have possessed a long tail. the _mesopithecus_ of the upper miocene of greece is also one of the lower monkeys, as it is most closely allied to the existing macaques. on the other hand, the _dryopithecus_ of the french upper miocene is referable to the group of the "anthropoid apes," and is most nearly related to the gibbons of the present day, in which the tail is rudimentary and there are no cheek-pouches. _dryopithecus_ was, also, of large size, equalling man in stature, and apparently living amongst the trees and feeding upon fruits. chapter xx. the pliocene period. the highest division of the tertiary deposits is termed the _pliocene_ formation, in accordance with the classification proposed by sir charles lyell. the pliocene formations contain from to per cent of existing species of _mollusca_, the remainders belonging to extinct species. they are divided by sir charles lyell into two divisions, the older pliocene and newer pliocene. the pliocene deposits of britain occur in suffolk, and are known by the name of "crags," this being a local term used for certain shelly sands, which are employed in agriculture. two of these crags are referable to the older pliocene, viz., the white and red crags,--and one belongs to the newer pliocene, viz., the norwich crag. the _white or coralline crag_ of suffolk is the oldest of the pliocene deposits of britain, and is an exceedingly local formation, occurring in but a single small area, and having a maximum thickness of not more than feet. it consists of soft sands, with occasional intercalations of flaggy limestone. though of small extent and thickness, the coralline crag is of importance from the number of fossils which it contains. the name "coralline" is a misnomer; since there are few true corals, and the so-called "corals" of the formation are really _polyzoa_, often of very singular forms. the shells of the coralline crag are mostly such as inhabit the seas of temperate regions; but there occur some forms usually looked upon as indicating a warm climate. the _upper_ or _red crag_ of suffolk--like the coralline crag--has a limited geographical extent and a small thickness, rarely exceeding feet. it consists of quartzose sands, usually deep red or brown in colour, and charged with numerous fossils. altogether more than species of shells are known from the red crag, of which per cent are referable to existing species. the shells indicate, upon the whole, a temperate or even cold climate, decidedly less warm than that indicated by the organic remains of the coralline crag. it appears, therefore, that a gradual refrigeration was going on during the pliocene period, commencing in the coralline crag, becoming intensified in the red crag, being still more severe in the norwich crag, and finally culminating in the arctic cold of the glacial period. besides the _mollusca_, the red crag contains the ear-bones of whales, the teeth of sharks and rays, and remains of the mastodon, rhinoceros, and tapir. the _newer pliocene_ deposits are represented in britain by the _norwich crag_, a local formation occurring near norwich. it consists of incoherent sands, loams, and gravels, resting in detached patches, from to feet in thickness, upon an eroded surface of chalk. the norwich crag contains a mixture of marine, land, and fresh-water shells, with remains of fishes and bones of mammals; so that it must have been deposited as a local sea-deposit near the mouth of an ancient river. it contains altogether more than marine shells, of which per cent belong to existing species. of the mammals, the two most important are an elephant (_elephas meridionalis_), and the characteristic pliocene mastodon (_m. arvernensis_), which is hitherto the only mastodon found in britain. according to the most recent views of high authorities, certain deposits--such as the so-called "bridlington crag" of yorkshire, and the "chillesford beds" of suffolk--are to be also included in the newer pliocene, upon the ground that they contain a small proportion of extinct shells. our knowledge, however, of the existing molluscan fauna, is still so far incomplete, that it may reasonably be doubted if these supposed extinct forms have actually made their final disappearance, whilst the strata in question have a strong natural connection with the "glacial deposits," as shown by the number of arctic mollusca which they contain. here, therefore, these beds will be included in the post-pliocene series, in spite of the fact that some of their species of shells are not known to exist at the present day. the following are the more important pliocene deposits which have been hitherto recognised out of britain:-- . in the neighbourhood of antwerp occur certain "crags," which are the equivalent of the white and red crag in part. the lowest of these contains less than per cent, and the highest per cent, of existing species of shells, the remainder being extinct. . bordering the chain of the apennines, in italy, on both sides is a series of low hills made up of tertiary strata, which are known as the sub-apennine beds. part of these is of miocene age, part is older pliocene, and a portion is newer pliocene. the older pliocene portion of the sub-apennines consists of blue or brown marls, which sometimes attain a thickness of feet. . in the valley of the arno, above florence, are both older and newer pliocene strata. the former consist of blue clays and lignites, with an abundance of plants. the latter consist of sands and conglomerates, with remains of large carnivorous mammals, mastodon, elephant, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, &c. . in sicily, newer pliocene strata are probably more largely developed than anywhere else in the world, rising sometimes to a height of feet above the sea. the series consists of clays, marls, sands, and conglomerates, capped by a compact limestone, which attains a thickness of from to feet. the fossils of these beds belong almost entirely to living species, one of the commonest being the great scallop of the mediterranean (_pecten jacoboeus_). . occupying an extensive area round the caspian, aral, and azof seas, are pliocene deposits known as the "aralo-caspian" beds. the fossils in these beds are partly freshwater, partly marine, and partly intermediate in character, and they are in great part identical with species now inhabiting the caspian. the entire formation appears to indicate the former existence of a great sheet of brackish water, forming an inland sea, like the caspian, but as large as, or larger than, the mediterranean. . in the united states, strata of pliocene age are found in north and south carolina. they consist of sands and clays, with numerous fossils, chiefly _molluscs_ and _echinoderms_. from to per cent of the fossils belong to existing species. on the loup fork of the river platte, in the upper missouri region, are strata which are also believed to be referable to the pliocene period, and probably to its upper division. they are from to feet thick, and contain land-shells, with the bones of numerous mammals, such as camels, rhinoceroses, mastodons, elephants, the horse, stag, &c. as regards the _life_ of the pliocene period, there are only two classes of organisms to which our attention need be directed--namely, the shell-fish and the mammals. so far as the former are concerned, we have to note in the first place that the introduction of new species of animals upon the globe went on rapidly during this period. in the older pliocene deposits, the number of shells of existing species is only from to per cent; but in the newer pliocene the proportion of living forms rises to as much as from to per cent. whilst the molluscs thus become rapidly modernised, the mammals still all belong to extinct species, though modern generic types gradually supersede the more antiquated forms of the miocene. in the second place, there is good evidence to show that the pliocene period was one in which the climate of the northern hemisphere underwent a gradual refrigeration. in the miocene period, there is evidence to show that europe possessed a climate very similar to that now enjoyed by the southern united states, and certainly very much warmer than it is at present. the presence of palm-trees upon the land, and of numerous large cowries, cones, and other shells of warm regions in the sea, sufficiently proves this. in the older pliocene deposits, on the other hand, northern forms predominate amongst the shells, though some of the types of hotter regions still survive. in the newer pliocene, again, the molluscs are such as almost exclusively inhabit the seas of temperate or even cold regions; whilst if we regard deposits like the "bridlington crag" and "chillesford beds" as truly referable to this period, we meet at the close of this period with shells such as nowadays are distinctively characteristic of high latitudes. it might be thought that the occurrence of quadrupeds such as the elephant, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus, would militate against this generalisation, and would rather support the view that the climate of europe and the united states must have been a hot one during the later portion of the pliocene period. we have, however, reason to believe that many of these extinct mammals were more abundantly furnished with hair, and more adapted to withstand a cool temperature, than any of their living congeners. we have also to recollect that many of these large herbivorous quadrupeds may have been, and indeed probably were, more or less migratory in their habits; and that whilst the winters of the later portion of the pliocene period were cold, the summers might have been very hot. this would allow of a northward migration of such terrestrial animals during the summer-time, when there would be an ample supply of food and a suitably high temperature, and a southward recession towards the approach of winter. the chief palæontological interests of the pliocene deposits, as of the succeeding post-pliocene, centre round the mammals of the period; and amongst the many forms of these we may restrict our attention to the orders of the hoofed quadrupeds (_ungulates_), the _proboscideans_, the _carnivora_, and the _quadrumana_. almost all the other mammalian orders are more or less fully represented in pliocene times, but none of them attains any special interest till we enter upon the post-pliocene. amongst the odd-toed ungulates, in addition to the remains of true tapirs (_tapirus arvernensis_), we meet with the bones of several species of rhinoceros, of which the _rhinoceros etruscus_ and _r. megarhinus_ (fig. ) are the most important. the former of these (fig. , a) derives its specific name from its abundance in the pliocene deposits of the val d'arno, near florence, and though principally pliocene in its distribution, it survived into the earlier portion of the post-pliocene period. _rhinoceros etruscus_ agreed with the existing african forms in having two horns placed one behind the other, the front one being the longest; but it was comparatively slight and slender in its build, whilst the nostrils were separated by an incomplete bony partition. in the _rhinoceros megarhinus_ (fig. , b), on the other hand, no such partition exists between the nostrils, and the nasal bones are greatly developed in size. it was a two-horned form, and is found associated with _elephas meridionalis_ and _e. antiquus_ in the pliocene deposits of the val d'arno, near florence. like the preceding, it survived, in diminished numbers, into the earlier portion of the post-pliocene period. [illustration: fig. .--a. under surface of the skull of _rhinoceros etruscus_, one-seventh of the natural size--pliocene, italy.; b, crowns of the three true molars of the upper jaw, left side, of _rhinoceros megarhinus_ (_r. leptorhinus_, falconer), one-half of the natural size--pliocene, france. (after falconer.)] the horses (_equidoe_) are represented, both in europe and america, by the three-toed hipparions, which survive from the miocene, but are now verging upon extinction. for the first time, also, we meet with genuine horses (_equus_), in which each foot is provided with a single complete toe only, encased in a single broad hoof. one of the american species of this period (the _equus excelsus_) quite equalled the modern horse in stature; and it is interesting to note the occurrence of indigenous horses in america at such a comparatively late geological epoch, seeing that this continent certainly possessed none of these animals when first discovered by the spaniards. amongst the even-toed ungulates, we may note the occurrence of swine (_suida_), of forms allied to the camels (_camelidoe_), and of various kinds of deer (_cervidoe_); but the most interesting pliocene mammal belonging to this section is the great _hippopotamus major_ of britain and europe. this well-known species is very closely allied to the living _hippopotamus amphibius_ of africa, from which it is separated only by its larger dimensions, and by certain points connected with the conformation of the skeleton. it is found very abundantly in the pliocene deposits of italy and france, associated with the remains of the elephant, mastodon, and rhinoceros, and it survived into the earlier portion of the post-pliocene period. during this last-mentioned period, it extended its range northwards, and is found associated with the reindeer, the bison, and other northern animals. from this fact it has been inferred, with great probability, that the _hippotamus major_ was furnished with a long coat of hair and fur, thus differing from its nearly hairless modern representative, and resembling its associates, the mammoth and the woolly rhinoceros. [illustration: fig. .--third milk-molar of the left side of the upper jaw of _mastodon arvernensis_, showing the grinding surface. pliocene.] passing on to the pliocene proboscideans, we find that the great _deinotheria_ of the miocene have now wholly disappeared, and the sole representatives of the order are mastodons and elephants. the most important member of the former group is the _mastodon arvernensis_ (fig. ), which ranged widely over southern europe and england, being generally associated with remains of the _elephas meridionalis, e. antiquus, rhinoceros megarhinus_, and _hippopotamus major_. the lower jaw seems to have been destitute of incisor teeth; but the upper incisors are developed into great tusks, which sometimes reach a length of nine feet, and which have the simple curvature of the tusks of the existing elephants. amongst the pliocene elephants the two most important are the _elephas meridionalis_ and the _elephas antiquus_. of these, the _elephas meridionalis_ (fig. ) is found abundantly in the pliocene deposits of southern europe and england, and also survived into the earlier portion of the post-pliocene period. its molar teeth are of the type of those of the existing african elephant, the spaces enclosed by the transverse enamel-plates being more or less lozenge-shaped, whilst the curvature of the tusks is simple. the _elephas antiquus_ (fig. ) is very generally associated with the preceding, and it survived to an even later stage of the post-pliocene period. the molar teeth are of the type of the existing indian elephant, with comparatively thin enamel-ridges, placed closer together than in the african type; whilst the tusks were nearly straight. [illustration: fig. .--molar tooth of _elephas meridionalis_, one-third of the natural size. pliocene and post-pliocene.] [illustration: fig. .--molar tooth of _elephas antiquus_, one-third of the natural size. pliocene and post-pliocene.] amongst the pliocene _carnivores_, we meet with true bears (_ursus arvernensis_), hyænas (such as _hyoena hipparionum_), and genuine lions (such as the _felis angustus_ of north america); but the most remarkable of the beasts of prey of this period is the great "sabre-toothed tiger" (_machairodus_), species of which existed in the earlier miocene, and survived to the later post-pliocene. in this remarkable form we are presented with perhaps the most highly carnivorous type of all known beasts of prey. not only are the jaws shorter in proportion even than those of the great cats of the present day, but the canine teeth (fig. ) are of enormous size, greatly flattened so as to assume the form of a poignard, and having their margins finely serrated. a part from the characters of the skull, the remainder of the skeleton, so far as known, exhibits proofs that the sabre-toothed tiger was extraordinarily muscular and powerful, and in the highest degree adapted for a life of rapine. species of _machairodus_ must have been as large as the existing lion; and the genus is not only european, but is represented both in south america and in india, so that the geographical range of these predaceous beasts must have been very extensive. [illustration: fig. .--a, skull of _machairodus cultridens_, without the lower jaw, reduced in size; b, canine tooth of the same, one-half the natural size. pliocene, france.] lastly, we may note that the pliocene deposits of europe have yielded the remains of monkeys (_quadrumana_), allied to the existing _semnopitheci_ and macaques. literature. the following list comprises a small selection of some of the more important and readily accessible works and memoirs relating to the tertiary rocks and their fossils. with few exceptions, foreign works relating to the tertiary strata of the continent of europe or their organic remains have been omitted:-- ( ) 'elements of geology.' lyell. ( ) 'students' elements of geology.' lyell. ( ) 'manual of palæontology.' owen. ( ) 'british fossil mammals and birds.' owen. ( ) 'traité de paléontologie.' pictet. ( ) 'cours elémentaire de paléontologie.' d'orbigny. ( ) "probable age of the london clay," &c.--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. iii. prestwich. ( ) 'structure and probable age of the bagshot sands'--ibid., vol. iii. prestwich. ( ) 'tertiary formations of the isle of wight'--ibid., vol. ii. prestwich. ( ) 'structure of the strata between the london clay and the chalk,' &c.--ibid., vols. vi., viii., and x. prestwich. ( ) 'correlation of the eocene tertiaries of england, france, and belgium'--ibid., vol. xxvii. prestwich. ( ) 'on the fluvio-marine formations of the isle of wight'--ibid., vol. ix. edward forbes. ( ) 'newer tertiary deposits of the sussex coast'--ibid., vol. xiii. godwin-austen. ( ) 'kainozoic formations of belgium'--ibid., vol. xxii. godwin-austen. ( ) 'tertiary strata of belgium and french flanders'--ibid., vol. viii. lyell. ( ) 'on tertiary leaf-beds in the isle of mull'--ibid., vol. vii. the duke of argyll. ( ) 'newer tertiaries of suffolk and their fauna'--ibid., vol. xxvi. ray lankester. ( ) 'lower london tertiaries of kent'--ibid., vol. xxii. whitaker. ( ) "guide to the geology of london"--'mem. geol. survey.' whitaker. ( ) 'memoirs of the geological survey of great britain.' ( ) 'introductory outline of the geology of the crag district' (supplement to crag mollusca, palæontographical society). s. v. wood, jun., and f. w. harmer. ( ) "tertiary fluvio-marine deposits of the isle of wight." edward forbes. edited by godwin-austen; with descriptions of the fossils by morris, salter, and rupert jones--'memoirs of the geological survey.' ( ) 'geological excursions round the isle of wight.' mantell. ( ) 'catalogue of british fossils.' morris. ( ) 'catalogue of fossils in the museum of practical geology.' etheridge. ( ) 'monograph of the crag polyzoa' (palæontographical society). busk. ( ) 'monograph of the tertiary brachiopoda' (ibid.) davidson. ( ) 'monograph of the tertiary malacostracous crustacea' (ibid.) bell. ( ) 'monograph of the tertiary corals' (ibid.) milne-edwards and haime. ( ) 'supplement to the tertiary corals' (ibid.) martin duncan. ( ) 'monograph of the eocene mollusca' (ibid.) fred. e. edwards. ( ) 'monograph of the eocene mollusca' (ibid.) searles v. wood. ( ) 'monograph of the crag mollusca' (ibid.) searles v. wood. ( ) 'monograph of the tertiary entomostraca' (ibid.) rupert jones. ( ) 'monograph of the foraminifera of the crag' (ibid.) rupert jones, parker, and h. b. brady. ( ) 'monograph of the radiaria of the london clay' (ibid.) edward forbes. ( ) 'monograph of the cetacea of the red crag' (ibid.) owen. ( ) 'monograph of the fossil reptiles of the london clay' (ibid.) owen and bell. ( ) "on the skull of a dentigerous bird from the london clay of sheppey"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxix. owen. ( ) 'ossemens fossiles.' cuvier. ( ) 'fauna antiqua sivalensis.' falconer and sir proby cautley. ( ) 'palæontological memoirs.' falconer. ( ) 'animaux fossiles et géologie de l'attique.' gaudry. ( ) "principal characters of the dinocerata"--'american journ. of science and arts,' vol. xi. marsh. ( ) 'principal characters of the brontotheridæ' (ibid.) marsh. ( ) 'principal characters of the tillodontia' (ibid.) marsh. ( ) "extinct vertebrata of the eocene of wyoming"--'geological survey of montana,' &c., . cope. ( ) "ancient fauna of nebraska"--'smithsonian contributions to knowledge,' vol. vi. leidy. ( ) 'manual of geology.' dana. ( ) "palæontology and evolution" (presidential address to the geological society of london, )--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxvi. huxley.' ( ) 'mineral conchology.' sowerby. ( ) 'description des coquilles fossiles,' &c. deshayes. ( ) 'description des coquilles tertiaires de belgique.' nyst. ( ) 'fossilen polypen des wiener tertiär-beckens.' reuss. ( ) 'palæontologische studien über die älteren tertiär-schichten der alpen.' reuss. ( ) 'land und süss-wasser conchylien der vorwelt.' sandberger. ( ) 'flora tertiaria helvetica.' heer. ( ) 'flora fossilis arctica.' heer. ( ) 'recherches sur le climat et la végétation du pays tertiaire.' heer. ( ) 'fossil flora of great britain.' lindley and hutton. ( ) 'fossil fruits and seeds of the london clay.' bowerbank. ( ) "tertiary leaf-beds of the isle of mull"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. vii. edward forbes. ( ) 'the geology of england and wales.' horace b. woodward.[ ] [footnote : this work--published whilst these sheets were going through the press--gives to the student a detailed view of all the strata of england and wales, with their various sub-divisions, from the base of the palæozoic to the top of the tertiary.] chapter xxi. the quaternary period. the post-pliocene period. later than any of the tertiary formations are various detached and more or less superficial accumulations, which are generally spoken of as the _post-tertiary formations_, in accordance with the nomenclature of sir charles lyell--or as the _quaternary formations_, in accordance with the general usage of continental geologists. in all these formations we meet with no _mollusca_ except such as are now alive--with the partial and very limited exception of some of the oldest deposits of this period, in which a few of the shells occasionally belong to species not known to be in existence at the present day. whilst the _shell-fish_ of the quaternary deposits are, generally speaking, identical with existing forms, the _mammals_ are sometimes referable to living, sometimes to extinct species. in accordance with this, the quaternary formations are divided into two groups: ( ) the _post-pliocene_, in which the shells are almost invariably referable to existing species, but some of the _mammals are extinct_; and ( ) the _recent_, in which _the shells and the mammals alike belong to existing species_. the post-pliocene deposits are often spoken of as the pleistocene formations (gr. _pleistos_, most; _kainos_, new or recent), in allusion to the fact that the great majority of the living beings of this period belong to the species characteristic of the "new" or recent period. the _recent_ deposits, though of the highest possible interest, do not properly concern the palæontologist strictly so-called, but the zoologist, since they contain the remains of none but existing animals. they are "pre-historic," but they belong entirely to the existing terrestrial order. the _post-pliocene_ deposits, on the other hand, contain the remains of various extinct mammals; and though man undoubtedly existed in, at any rate, the later portion of this period, if not throughout the whole of it, they properly form part of the domain of the palæontologist. the post-pliocene deposits are extremely varied, and very widely distributed; and owing to the mode of their occurrence, the ordinary geological tests of age are in their case but very partially available. the subject of the classification of these deposits is therefore an extremely complicated one; and as regards the age of even some of the most important of them, there still exists considerable difference of opinion. for our present purpose, it will be convenient to adopt a classification of the post-pliocene deposits founded on the relations which they bear in time to the great "ice-age" or "glacial period;" though it is not pretended that our present knowledge is sufficient to render such a classification more than a provisional one. in the early tertiary period, as we have seen, the climate of the northern hemisphere, as shown by the eocene animals and plants, was very much hotter than it is at present--partaking, indeed, of a sub-tropical character. in the middle tertiary or miocene period, the temperature, though not so high, was still much warmer than that now enjoyed by the northern hemisphere; and we know that the plants of temperate regions at this time flourished within the arctic circle. in the later tertiary or pliocene period, again, there is evidence that the northern hemisphere underwent a further progressive diminution of temperature; though the climate of europe generally seems at the close of the tertiary period to have been if anything warmer, or at any rate not colder, than it is at the present day. with the commencement of the quaternary period, however, this diminution of temperature became more decided; and beginning with a temperate climate, we find the greater portion of the northern hemisphere to become gradually subjected to all the rigours of intense arctic cold. all the mountainous regions of northern and central europe, of britain, and of north america, became the nurseries of huge ice-streams, and large areas of the land appear to have been covered with a continuous ice-sheet. the arctic conditions of this, the well-known "glacial period," relaxed more than once, and were more than once re-established with lesser intensity. finally, a gradual but steadily progressive amelioration of temperature took place; the ice slowly gave way, and ultimately disappeared altogether; and the climate once more became temperate, except in high northern latitudes. the changes of temperature sketched out above took place slowly and gradually, and occupied the whole of the post-pliocene period. in each of the three periods marked out by these changes--in the early temperate, the central cold, and the later temperate period--certain deposits were laid down over the surface of the northern hemisphere; and these deposits collectively constitute the post-pliocene formations. hence we may conveniently classify all the accumulations of this age under the heads of ( ) _pre-glacial_ deposits, ( ) _glacial_ deposits, and ( ) _post-glacial_ deposits, according as they were formed before, during, or after the "glacial period." it cannot by any means be asserted that we can definitely fix the precise relations in time of all the post-pliocene deposits to the glacial period. on the contrary, there are some which hold a very disputed position as regards this point; and there are others which do not admit of definite allocation in this manner at all, in consequence of their occurrence in regions where no "glacial period" is known to have been established. for our present purpose, however, dealing as we shall have to do principally with the northern hemisphere, the above classification, with all its defects, has greater advantages than any other that has been yet proposed. i. pre-glacial deposits.--the chief pre-glacial deposit of britain is found on the norfolk coast, reposing upon the newer pliocene (norwich crag), and consists of an ancient land-surface which is known as the "cromer forest-bed." this consists of an ancient soil, having embedded in it the stumps of many trees, still in an erect position, with remains of living plants, and the bones of recent and extinct quadrupeds. it is overlaid by fresh-water and marine beds, all the shells of which belong to existing species, and it is finally surmounted by true "glacial drift." while all the shells and plants of the cromer forest-bed and its associated strata belong to existing species, the mammals are partly living, partly extinct. thus we find the existing wolf (_canis lupus_), red deer (_cervus elaphus_), roebuck (_cervus capreolus_), mole (_talpa europtoea_), and beaver (_castor fiber_), living in western england side by side with the _hippopotamus major, elephas antiquus, elephas meridionalis, rhinoceros etruscus_, and _r. megarhinus_ of the pliocene period, which are not only extinct, but imply an at any rate moderately warm climate. besides the above, the forest-bed has yielded the remains of several extinct species of deer, of the great extinct beaver (_trogontherium cuvieri_), of the caledonian bull or "urus" (_bos primigenius_), and of a horse (_equus fossilis_), little if at all distinguishable from the existing form. the so-called "bridlington crag" of yorkshire, and the "chillesford beds" of suffolk, are probably to be regarded as also belonging to this period; though many of the shells which they contain are of an arctic character, and would indicate that they were deposited in the commencement of the glacial period itself. owing, however, to the fact that a few of the shells of these deposits are not known to occur in a living condition, these, and some other similar accumulations, are sometimes considered as referable to the pliocene period. ii. glacial deposits.--under this head is included a great series of deposits which are widely spread over both europe and america, and which were formed at a time when the climate of these countries was very much colder than it is at present, and approached more or less closely to what we see at the present day in the arctic regions. these deposits are known by the general name of the _glacial deposits_, or by the more specialised names of the drift, the northern drift, the boulder-clay, the till, &c. these glacial deposits are found in britain as far south as the thames, over the whole of northern europe, in all the more elevated portions of southern and central europe, and over the whole of north america, as far south as the th parallel. they generally occur as sands, clays, and gravels, spread in widely-extended sheets over all the geological formations alike, except the most recent, and are commonly spoken of under the general term of "glacial drift." they vary much in their exact nature in different districts, but they universally consist of one, or all, of the following members:-- . _unstratified_ clays, or loams, containing numerous angular or sub-angular blocks of stone, which have often been transported for a greater or less distance from their parent rock, and which often exhibit polished, grooved, or striated surfaces. these beds are what is called _boulder-clay_, or _till_. . sands, gravels, and clays, often more or less regularly _stratified_, but containing erratic blocks, often of large size, and with their edges _unworn_, derived from considerable distances from the place where they are now found. in these beds it is not at all uncommon to find fossil shells; and these, though of existing species, are generally of an arctic character, comprising a greater or less number of forms which are now exclusively found in the icy waters of the arctic seas. these beds are often spoken of as "stratified drift." . _stratified_ sands and gravels, in which the pebbles are _worn_ and rounded, and which have been produced by a rearrangement of ordinary glacial beds by the sea. these beds are commonly known as "drift-gravels," or "regenerated drift". some of the last-mentioned of these are doubtless post-glacial; but, in the absence of fossils, it is often impossible to arrive at a positive opinion as to the precise age of superficial accumulations of this nature. it is also the opinion of high authorities that a considerable number of the so-called "cave-deposits," with the bones of extinct mammals, truly belong to the glacial period, being formed during warm intervals when the severity of the arctic cold had become relaxed. it is further believed that some, at any rate, of the so-called "high-level" river-gravels and "brick-earths" have likewise been deposited during mild or warm intervals in the great age of ice; and in two or three instances this has apparently been demonstrated--deposits of this nature, with the bones of extinct animals and the implements of man, having been shown to be overlaid by true boulder-clay. the fossils of the undoubted glacial deposits are principally shells, which are found in great numbers in certain localities, sometimes with _foraminifera_, the bivalved cases of ostracode crustaceans, &c. whilst some of the shells of the "drift" are such as now live in the seas of temperate regions, others, as previously remarked, are such as are now only known to live in the seas of high latitudes; and these therefore afford unquestionable evidence of cold conditions. amongst these arctic forms of shells which characterise the glacial beds may be mentioned _pecten islandicus_ (fig. ), _pecten groenlandicus, scalaria groenlandica, leda truncata, astarte borealis, tellina proxima, nattra clausa_, &c. [illustration: fig. .--left valve of _pecten islandicus_, glacial and recent.] iii. post-glacial deposits.--as the intense cold of the glacial period became gradually mitigated, and temperate conditions of climate were once more re-established, various deposits were formed in the northern hemisphere, which are found to contain the remains of extinct mammals, and which, therefore, are clearly of post-pliocene age. to these deposits the general name of _post-glacial_ formations is given; but it is obvious that, from the nature of the case, and with our present limited knowledge, we cannot draw a rigid line of demarcation between the deposits formed towards the close of the glacial period, or during warm "interglacial" periods, and those laid down after the ice had fairly disappeared. indeed it is extremely improbable that any such rigid line of demarcation should ever have existed; and it is far more likely that the glacial and post-glacial periods, and their corresponding deposits, shade into one another by an imperceptible gradation. accepting this reservation, we may group together, under the general head of "post-glacial deposits," most of the so-called "valley-gravels," "brick-earths," and "cave-deposits," together with some "raised beaches" and various deposits of peat. though not strictly within the compass of this work, a few words may be said here as to the origin and mode of formation of the brick-earths, valley-gravels, and cave-deposits, as the subject will thus be rendered more clearly intelligible. every river produces at the present day beds of fine mud and loam, and accumulations of gravel, which it deposits at various parts of its course--the gravel generally occupying the lowest position, and the finer sands and mud coming above. numerous deposits of a similar nature are found in most countries in various localities, and at various heights above the present channels of our rivers. many of these fluviatile (lat. _fluvius_, a river) deposits consist of fine loam, worked for brick-making, and known as "brick-earths;" and they have yielded the remains of numerous extinct mammals, of which the mammoth (_elephas primigenius_) is the most abundant. in the valley of the rhine these fluviatile loams (known as "loess") attain a thickness of several hundred feet, and contain land and fresh-water shells of existing species. with these occur the remains of mammals, such as the mammoth and woolly rhinoceros. many of these brick-earths are undoubtedly post-glacial, but others seem to be clearly "inter-glacial;" and instances have recently been brought forward in which deposits of brick-earth containing bones and shells of fresh-water molluscs have been found to be overlaid by regular unstratified boulder-clay. the so-called "valley-gravels," like the brick-earths, are fluviatile deposits, but are of a coarser nature, consisting of sands and gravels. every river gives origin to deposits of this kind at different points along the course of its valley; and it is not uncommon to find that there exist in the valley of a single river two or more sets of these gravel-beds, formed by the river itself, but formed at times when the river ran at different levels, and therefore formed at different periods. these different accumulations are known as the "high-level" and "low-level" gravels; and a reference to the accompanying diagram will explain the origin and nature of these deposits (fig. ). when a river begins to occupy a particular line of drainage, and to form its own channel, it will deposit fluviatile sands and gravels along its sides. as it goes on deepening the bed or valley through which it flows, it will deposit other fluviatile strata at a lower level beside its new bed. in this way have arisen the terms "high-level" and "low-level" gravels. we find, for instance, a modern river flowing through a valley which it has to a great extent or entirely formed itself; by the side of its immediate channel we may find gravels, sand, and loam (fig. , ') deposited by the river flowing in its present bed. these are _recent_ fluviatile or alluvial deposits. at some distance from the present bed of the river, and at a higher level, we may find other sands and gravels, quite like the recent ones in character and origin, but formed at a time when the stream flowed at a higher level, and before it had excavated its valley to its present depth. these (fig. , ') are the so-called "_low-level_ gravels" of a river. at a still higher level, and still farther removed from the present bed of the river, we may find another terrace, composed of just the same materials as the lower one, but formed at a still earlier period, when the excavation of the valley had proceeded to a much less extent. these (fig. , ') are the so-called "_high-level_ gravels" of a river, and there may be one or more terraces of these. [illustration: fig. .--recent and post-pliocene alluvial deposits. , peat of the recent period; , gravel of the modern river: ', loam of the modern river; . lower-level valley-gravel with bones of extinct mammals (post-pliocene); ', loam of the same age as ; . higher-level valley-gravel (post-pliocene); ', loam of the same age as ; . upland gravels of various kinds (often glacial drift); , older rock. (after sir charles lyell.)] the important fact to remember about these fluviatile deposits is this--that here the ordinary geological rule is reversed. the high-level gravels are, of course, the highest, so far as their actual elevation above the sea is concerned; but geologically the lowest, since they are obviously much older than the low-level gravels, as these are than the recent gravels. how much older the high-level gravels may be than the low-level ones, it is impossible to say. they occur at heights varying from to feet above the present river-channels, and they are therefore older than the recent gravels by the time required by the river to dig out its own bed to this depth. how long this period may be, our data do not enable us to determine accurately; but if we are to calculate from the observed rate of erosion of the actually existing rivers, the period between the different valley-gravels must be a very long one. the lowest or recent fluviatile deposits which occur beside the bed of the present river, are referable to the recent period, as they contain the remains of none but living mammals. the two other sets of gravels are post-pliocene, as they contain the bones of extinct mammals, mixed with land and fresh-water shells of existing species. among the more important extinct mammals of the low-level and high-level valley-gravels may be mentioned the _elephas antiquus_, the mammoth (_elephas primigenius_), the woolly rhinoceros (_r. tichorhinus_), the hippopotamus, the cave-lion, and the cave-bear. along with these are found unquestionable traces of the existence of man, in the form of rude flint implements of undoubted human workmanship. the so-called "cave-deposits," again, though exhibiting peculiarities due to the fact of their occurrence in caverns or fissures in the rocks, are in many respects essentially similar to the older valley-gravels. caves, in the great majority of instances, occur in limestone. when this is not the case, it will generally be found that they occur along lines of sea-coast, or along lines which can be shown to have anciently formed the coast-line. there are many caves, however, in the making of which it can be shown that the sea has had no hand; and these are most of the caves of limestone districts. these owe their origin to the solvent action upon lime of water holding carbonic acid in solution. the rain which falls upon a limestone district absorbs a certain amount of carbonic acid from the air, or from the soil. it then percolates through the rock, generally along the lines of jointing so characteristic of limestones, and in its progress it dissolves and carries off a certain quantity of carbonate of lime. in this way, the natural joints and fissures in the rock are widened, as can be seen at the present day in any or all limestone districts. by a continuance of this action for a sufficient length of time, caves may ultimately be produced. nothing, also, is commoner in a limestone district than for the natural drainage to take the line of some fissure, dissolving the rock in its course. in this way we constantly meet in limestone districts with springs issuing from the limestone rock--sometimes as large rivers--the waters of which are charged with carbonate of lime, obtained by the solution of the sides of the fissure through which the waters have flowed. by these and similar actions, every district in which limestones are extensively developed will be found to exhibit a number of natural caves, rents, or fissures. the first element, therefore, in the production of cave-deposits, is the existence of a period in which limestone rocks were largely dissolved, and caves were formed in consequence of the then existing drainage taking the line of some fissure. secondly, there must have been a period in which various deposits were accumulated in the caves thus formed. these cavern-deposits are of very various nature, consisting of mud, loam, gravel, or breccias of different kinds. in all cases, these materials have been introduced into the cave at some period subsequent to, or contemporaneous with, the formation of the cave. sometimes the cave communicates with the surface by a fissure through which sand, gravel, &c., may be washed by rains or by floods from some neighbouring river. sometimes the cave has been the bed of an ancient stream, and the deposits have been formed as are fluviatile deposits at the surface. or, again, the river has formerly flowed at a greater elevation than it does at present, and the cave has been filled with fluviatile deposits by the river at a time prior to the excavation of its bed to the present depth (fig. ). in this last case, the cave-deposits obviously bear exactly the same relation in point of antiquity to recent deposits, as do the low-level and high-level valley-gravels to recent river-gravels. in any case, it is necessary for the physical geography of the district to change to some extent, in order that the cave-deposits should be preserved. if the materials have been introduced by a fissure, the cave will probably become ultimately filled to the roof, and the aperture of admission thus blocked up. if a river has flowed through the cave, the surface configuration of the district must be altered so far as to divert the river into a new channel. and if the cave is placed in the side of a river-valley, as in fig. , the river must have excavated its channel to such a depth that it can no longer wash out the contents of the cave even in high floods. [illustration: fig .--diagrammatic section across a river-valley and cave. _a a_, recent valley-gravels near the channel (b) of the existing river; c, cavern, partly filled with cave-earth; _d d_, high-level gravels, filling fissures in the limestone, which perhaps communicate in some instances with the cave, and form a channel by which materials of various kinds were introduced into it; _e e_, inclined beds of limestone.] if the cave be entirely filled, the included deposits generally get more or less completely cemented together by the percolation through them of water holding carbonate of lime in solution. if the cave is only partially filled, the dropping of water from the roof holding lime in solution, and its subsequent evaporation, would lead to the formation over the deposits below of a layer of stalagmite, perhaps several inches, or even feet, in thickness. in this way cave-deposits, with their contained remains, may be hermetically sealed up and preserved without injury for an altogether indefinite period of time. in all caves in limestone in which deposits containing bones are found, we have then evidence of three principal sets of changes. ( .) a period during which the cave was slowly hollowed out by the percolation of acidulated water; ( .) a period in which the cave became the channel of an engulfed river, or otherwise came to form part of the general drainage-system of the district; ( .) a period in which the cave was inhabited by various animals. as a typical example of a cave with fossiliferous post-pliocene deposits, we may take kent's cavern, near torquay, in which a systematic and careful examination has revealed the following sequence of accumulations in descending order:-- (a) large blocks of limestone, which lie on the floor of the cave, having fallen from the roof, and which are sometimes cemented together by stalagmite. (b) a layer of black mould, from three to twelve inches thick, with human bones, fragments of pottery, stone and bronze implements, and the bones of animals now living in britain. this, therefore, is a _recent_ deposit. (c) a layer of stalagmite, from sixteen to twenty inches thick, but sometimes as much as five feet, containing the bones of man, together with those of extinct post-pliocene mammals. (d) a bed of red cave-earth, sometimes four feet in thickness, with numerous bones of extinct mammals (mammoth, cave-bear, &c.), together with human implements of flint and horn. (e) a second bed of stalagmite, in places twelve feet in thickness, with bones of the cave-bear. (f) a red-loam and cave-breccia, with remains of the cave-bear and human implements. the most important mammals which are found in cave-deposits in europe generally, are the cave-bear, the cave-lion, the cave-hyæna, the reindeer, the musk-ox, the glutton, and the lemming--of which the first three are probably identical with existing forms, and the remainder are certainly so--together with the mammoth and the woolly rhinoceros, which are undoubtedly extinct. along with these are found the implements, and in some cases the bones, of man himself, in such a manner as to render it absolutely certain that an early race of men was truly contemporaneous in western europe with the animals above mentioned. iv. unclassified post-pliocene deposits.--apart from any of the afore mentioned deposits, there occur other accumulations--sometimes superficial, sometimes in caves--which are found in regions where a "glacial period" has not been fully demonstrated, or where such did not take place; and which, therefore, are not amenable to the above classification. the most important of these are known to occur in south america and australia; and though their numerous extinct mammalia place their reference to the post-pliocene period beyond doubt, their relations to the glacial period and its deposits in the northern hemisphere have not been precisely determined. chapter xxii. the post-pliocene period--_continued_. as regards the _life_ of the post-pliocene period, we have, in the first place, to notice the effect produced throughout the northern hemisphere by the gradual supervention of the glacial period. previous to this the climate must have been temperate or warm-temperate; but as the cold gradually came on, two results were produced as regards the living beings of the area thus affected. in the first place, all those mammals which, like the mammoth, the woolly rhinoceros, the lion, the hyæna, and the hippopotamus, require, at any rate, moderately warm conditions, would be forced to migrate southwards to regions not affected by the new state of things. in the second place, mammals previously inhabiting higher latitudes, such as the reindeer, the musk-ox, and the lemming, would be enabled by the increasing cold to migrate southwards, and to invade provinces previously occupied by the elephant and the rhinoceros. a precisely similar, but more slowly-executed process, must have taken place in the sea, the northern mollusca moving southwards as the arctic conditions of the glacial period became established, whilst the forms proper to temperate seas receded. as regards the readily locomotive mammals, also, it is probable that this process was carried on repeatedly in a partial manner, the southern and northern forms alternately fluctuating backwards and forwards over the same area, in accordance with the fluctuations of temperature which have been shown by mr james geikie to have characterised the glacial period as a whole. we can thus readily account for the intermixture which is sometimes found of northern and southern types of mammalia in the same deposits, or in deposits apparently synchronous, and within a single district. lastly, at the final close of the arctic cold of the glacial period, and the re-establishment of temperate conditions over the northern hemisphere, a reversal of the original process took place--the northern mammals retiring within their ancient limits, and the southern forms pressing northwards and reoccupying their original domains. the _invertebrate_ animals of the post-pliocene deposits require no further mention--all the known forms, except a few of the shells in the lowest beds of the formation, being identical with species now in existence upon the globe. the only point of importance in this connection has been previously noticed--namely, that in the true glacial deposits themselves a considerable number of the shells belong to northern or arctic types. as regards the _vertebrate_ animals of the period, no extinct forms of fishes, amphibians, or reptiles are known to occur, but we meet with both extinct birds and extinct mammals. the remains of the former are of great interest, as indicating the existence during post-pliocene times, at widely remote points of the southern hemisphere, of various wingless, and for the most part gigantic, birds. all the great wingless birds of the order _cursores_ which are known as existing at the present day upon the globe, are restricted to regions which are either wholly or in great part south of the equator. thus the true ostriches are african; the rheas are south american; the emeus are australian; the cassowaries are confined to northern australia, papua, and the indian archipelago; the species of _apteryx_ are natives of new zealand; and the dodo and solitaire (wingless, though probably not true _cursores_), both of which have been exterminated within historical times, were inhabitants of the islands of mauritius and rodriguez, in the indian ocean. in view of these facts, it is noteworthy that, so far as known, all the cursorial birds of the post-pliocene period should have been confined to the same hemisphere as that inhabited by the living representatives of the order. it is still further interesting to notice that the extinct forms in question are only found in geographical provinces which are now, or have been within historical times, inhabited by similar types. the greater number of the remains of these have been discovered in new zealand, where there now live several species of the curious wingless genus _apteryx_; and they have been referred by professor owen to several generic groups, of which _dinornis_ is the most important (fig. ). fourteen species of _dinornis_ have been described by the distinguished palæontologist just mentioned, all of them being large wingless birds of the type of the existing ostrich, having enormously powerful hind-limbs adapted for running, but with the wings wholly rudimentary, and the breast-bone devoid of the keel or ridge which characterises this bone in all birds which fly. the largest species is the _dinornis giganteus_, one of the most gigantic of living or fossil birds, the shank (tibia) measuring a yard in length, and the total height being at least ten feet. another species, the _dinornis elephantopus_ (fig. ), though not standing more than about six feet in height, was of an even more ponderous construction--"the framework of the skeleton being the most massive of any in the whole class of birds," whilst "the toe-bones almost rival those of the elephant" (owen). the feet in _dinornis_ were furnished with three toes, and are of interest as presenting us with an undoubted bird big enough to produce the largest of the foot-prints of the triassic sandstones of connecticut. new zealand has now been so far explored, that it seems questionable if it can retain in its recesses any living example of _dinornis_; but it is certain that species of this genus were alive during the human period, and survived up to quite a recent date. not only are the bones very numerous in certain localities, but they are found in the most recent and superficial deposits, and they still contain a considerable proportion of animal matter; whilst in some instances bones have been found with the feathers attached, or with the horny skin of the legs still adhering to them. charred bones have been found in connection with native "ovens;" and the traditions of the maories contain circumstantial accounts of gigantic wingless birds, the "moas," which were hunted both for their flesh and their plumage. upon the whole, therefore, there can be no doubt but that the moas of new zealand have been exterminated at quite a recent period--perhaps within the last century--by the unrelenting pursuit of man,--a pursuit which their wingless condition rendered them unable to evade. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _dinornis elephantopus_, greatly reduced. post-pliocene, new zealand. (after owen.)] in madagascar, bones have been discovered of another huge wingless bird, which must have been as large as, or larger than, the _dinornis giganteus_, and which has been described under the name of _Æpiornis maximus_. with the bones have been found eggs measuring from thirteen to fourteen inches in diameter, and computed to have the capacity of three ostrich eggs. at least two other smaller species of _Æpiornis_ have been described by grandidier and milne-edwards as occurring in madagascar; and they consider the genus to be so closely allied to the _dinornis_ of new zealand, as to prove that these regions, now so remote, were at one time united by land. unlike new zealand, where there is the _apteryx_, madagascar is not known to possess any living wingless birds; but in the neighbouring island of mauritius the wingless dodo (_didus ineptus_) has been exterminated less than three hundred years ago; and the little island of rodriguez, in the same geographical province, has in a similar period lost the equally wingless solitaire (_pezophaps_), both of these, however, being generally referred to the _rasores_. the _mammals_ of the post-pliocene period are so numerous, that in spite of the many points of interest which they present, only a few of the more important forms can be noticed here, and that but briefly. the first order that claims our attention is that of the _marsupials_, the headquarters of which at the present day is the australian province. in oolitic times europe possessed its small marsupials, and similar forms existed in the same area in the eocene and miocene periods; but if size be any criterion, the culminating point in the history of the order was attained during the post-pliocene period in australia. from deposits of this age there has been disentombed a whole series of remains of extinct, and for the most part gigantic, examples of this group of quadrupeds. not to speak of wombats and phalangers, two forms stand out prominently as representatives of the post-pliocene animals of australia. one of these is _diprotodon_ (fig. ), representing, with many differences, the well-known modern group of the kangaroos. in its teeth, _diprotodon_ shows itself to be closely allied to the living, grass-eating kangaroos; but the hind-limbs were not so disproportionately long. in size, also, _diprotodon_ must have many times exceeded the dimensions of the largest of its living successors, since the skull measures no less than three feet in length. the other form in question is _thylacoleo_ (fig. ), which is believed by professor owen to belong to the same group as the existing "native devil" (_dasyurus_) of van diemen's land, and therefore to have been flesh-eating and rapacious in its habits, though this view is not accepted by others. the principal feature in the skull of _thylacoleo_ is the presence, on each side of each jaw, of a single huge tooth, which is greatly compressed, and has a cutting edge. this tooth is regarded by owen as corresponding to the great cutting tooth of the jaw of the typical carnivores, but professor flower considers that _thylacoleo_ is rather related to the kangaroo-rats. the size of the crown of the tooth in question is not less than two inches and a quarter; and whether carnivorous or not, it indicates an animal of a size exceeding that of the largest of existing lions. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _diprotodon australis_, greatly reduced. post-pliocene, australia.] [illustration: fig. .--skull of _thylacoleo_. post-pliocene, australia. greatly reduced. (after flower.)] the order of the _edentates_, comprising the existing sloths, ant-eaters, and armadillos, and entirely restricted at the present day to south america, southern asia, and africa, is one alike singular for the limited geographical range of its members, their curious habits of life, and the well-marked peculiarities of their anatomical structure. south america is the metropolis of the existing forms; and it is an interesting fact that there flourished within post-pliocene times in this continent, and to some extent in north america also, a marvellous group of extinct edentates, representing the living sloths and armadillos, but of gigantic size. the most celebrated of these is the huge _megatherium cuvieri_ (fig. ) of the south american pampas. the megathere was a colossal sloth-like animal which attained a length of from twelve to eighteen feet, with bones more massive than those of the elephant. thus the thigh-bone is nearly thrice the thickness of the same bone in the largest of existing elephants, its circumference at its narrowest point nearly equalling its total length; the massive bones of the shank (tibia and fibula) are amalgamated at their extremities; the heel-bone (calcaneum) is nearly half a yard in length; the haunch-bones (ilia) are from four to five feet across at their crests; and the bodies of the vertebræ at the root of the tail are from five to seven inches in diameter, from which it has been computed that the circumference of the tail at this part might have been from five to six feet. the length of the fore-foot is about a yard, and the toes are armed with powerful curved claws. it is known now that the megathere, in spite of its enormous weight and ponderous construction, walked, like the existing ant-eaters and sloths, upon the outside edge of the fore-feet, with the claws more or less bent inwards towards the palm of the hand. as in the great majority of the edentate order, incisor and canine teeth are entirely wanting, the front of the jaws being toothless. the jaws, however, are furnished with five upper and four lower molar teeth on each side. these grinding teeth are from seven to eight inches in length, in the form of four-sided prisms, the crowns of which are provided with well-marked transverse ridges; and they continue to grow during the whole life of the animal. there are indications that the snout was prolonged, and more or less flexible; and the tongue was probably prehensile. from the characters of the molar teeth it is certain that the megathere was purely herbivorous in its habits; and from the enormous size and weight of the body, it is equally certain that it could not have imitated its modern allies, the sloths, in the feat of climbing, back downwards, amongst the trees. it is clear, therefore, that the megathere sought its sustenance upon the ground; and it was originally supposed to have lived upon roots. by a masterly piece of deductive reasoning, however, professor owen showed that this great "ground-sloth" must have truly lived upon the foliage of trees, like the existing sloths--but with this difference, that instead of climbing amongst the branches, it actually uprooted the tree bodily. in this _tour de force_, the animal sat upon its huge haunches and mighty tail, as on a tripod, and then grasping the trunk with its powerful arms, either wrenched it up by the roots or broke it short off above the ground. marvellous as this may seem, it can be shown that every detail in the skeleton of the megathere accords with the supposition that it obtained its food in this way. similar habits were followed by the allied _mylodon_ (fig. ), another of the great "ground-sloths," which inhabited south america during the post-pliocene period. in most respects, the _mylodon_ is very like the megathere; but the crowns of the molar teeth are flat instead of being ridged. the nearly-related genus _megalonyx_, unlike the megathere, but like the mylodon, extended its range northwards as far as the united states. [illustration: fig. .--_megatherium cuvieri_. post-pliocene, south america.] just as the sloths of the present day were formerly represented in the same geographical area by the gigantic megatheroids, so the little banded and cuirassed armadillos of south america were formerly represented by gigantic species, constituting the genus _glyptodon_. the _glyptodons_ (fig. ) differed from the living armadillos in having no bands in their armour, so that they must have been unable to roll themselves up. it is rare at the present day to meet with any armadillo over two or three feet in length; but the length of the _glyptodon clavipes_, from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail, was more than nine feet. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _mylodon robustus_. post-pliocene, south america.] [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _glyptodon clavipes_. post-pliocene, south america.] there are no canine or incisor teeth in the _glyptodon_, but there are eight molars on each side of each jaw, and the crowns of these are fluted and almost trilobed. the head is covered by a helmet of bony plates, and the trunk was defended by an armour of almost hexagonal bony pieces united by sutures, and exhibiting special patterns of sculpturing in each species. the tail was also defended by a similar armour, and the vertebræ were mostly fused together so as to form a cylindrical bony rod. in addition to the above-mentioned forms, a number of other edentate animals have been discovered by the researches of m. lund in the post-pliocene deposits of the brazilian bone-caves. amongst these are true ant-eaters, armadillos, and sloths, many of them of gigantic size, and all specifically or generically distinct from existing forms. passing over the aquatic orders of the _sirenians_ and _cetaceans_, we come next to the great group of the hoofed quadrupeds, the remains of which are very abundant in post-pliocene deposits both in europe and north america. amongst the odd-toed ungulates the most important are the rhinoceroses, of which three species are known to have existed in europe during the post-pliocene period. two of these are the well-known pliocene forms, the _rhinoceros etruscus_ and the _r. megarhinus_ still surviving in diminished numbers; but the most famous is the _rhinoceros tichorhinus_ (fig. ), or so-called "woolly rhinoceros." this species is known not only by innumerable bones, but also by a carcass, at the time of its discovery complete, which was found embedded in the frozen soil of siberia towards the close of last century, and which was partly saved from destruction by the exertions of the naturalist pallas. from this, we know that the tichorhine rhinoceros, like its associate the mammoth, was provided with a coating of hair, and therefore was enabled to endure a more severe climate than any existing species. the skin was not thrown into the folds which characterise most of the existing forms; and the technical name of the species refers to the fact that the nostrils were completely separated by a bony partition. the head carried two horns, placed one behind the other, the front one being unusually large. as regards its geographical range, the woolly rhinoceros is found in europe in vast numbers north of the alps and pyrenees, and it also abounded in siberia; so that it would appear to be a distinctly northern form, and to have been adapted for a temperate climate. it is not known to occur in pliocene deposits, but it makes its first appearance in the pre-glacial deposits, surviving the glacial period, and being found in abundance in post-glacial accumulations. it was undoubtedly a contemporary of the earlier races of men in western europe; and it may perhaps be regarded as being the actual substantial kernel of some of the "dragons" of fable. [illustration: fig. .--skull of the tichorhine rhinoceros, the horns being wanting. one-tenth of the natural size. post-pliocene deposits of europe and asia.] the only other odd-toed ungulate which needs notice is the so-called _equus fossilis_ of the post-pliocene of europe. this made its appearance before the glacial period, and appears to be in reality identical with the existing horse (_equus caballus_). true horses also occur in the post-pliocene of north america; but, from some cause or another, they must have been exterminated before historic times. [illustration: fig. --skeleton of the "irish elk" (_cervus megaceros_). post-pliocene, britain.] amongst the even-toed ungulates, the great _hippopotamus major_ of the pliocene still continued to exist in post-pliocene times in western europe; and the existing wild boar (_sus scrofa_), the parent of our domestic breeds of pigs, appeared for the first time. the old world possessed extinct representatives of its existing camels, and lost types of the living llamas inhabited south america. amongst the deer, the post-pliocene accumulations have yielded the remains of various living species, such as the red deer (_cervus elaphus_), the reindeer (_cervus tarandus_), the moose or elk (_alces malchis_), and the roebuck (_cervus capreolus_), together with a number of extinct forms. among the latter, the great "irish elk" (_cervus megaceros_) is justly celebrated both for its size and for the number and excellent preservation of its discovered remains. this extinct species (fig. ) has been found principally in peat-mosses and post-pliocene lake-deposits, and is remarkable for the enormous size of the spreading antlers, which are widened out towards their extremities, and attain an expanse of over ten feet from tip to tip. it is not a genuine elk, but is intermediate between the reindeer and the fallow-deer. among the existing deer of the post-pliocene, the most noticeable is the reindeer, an essentially northern type, existing at the present day in northern europe, and also (under the name of the "caribou") in north america. when the cold of the glacial period became established, this boreal species was enabled to invade central and western europe in great herds, and its remains are found abundantly in cave-earths and other post-pliocene deposits as far south as the pyrenees. [illustration: fig. .--skull of the urns (_bos primigenius_). post-pliocene and recent. (after owen.)] in addition to the above, the post-pliocene deposits of europe and north america have yielded the remains of various sheep and oxen. one of the most interesting of the latter is the "urus" or wild bull (_bos primigenius_, fig. ), which, though much larger than any of the existing fossils, is believed to be specifically undistinguishable from the domestic ox (_bos taurus_), and to be possibly the ancestor of some of the larger european varieties of oxen. in the earlier part of its existence the urus ranged over europe and britain in company with the woolly rhinoceros and the mammoth; but it long survived these, and does not appear to have been finally exterminated till about the twelfth century. another remarkable member of the post-pliocene cattle, also to begin with an associate of the mammoth and rhinoceros, is the european bison or "aurochs" (_bison priscus_). this "maned" ox formerly abounded in europe in post-glacial times, and was not rare even in the later periods of the roman empire, though much diminished in numbers, and driven back into the wilder and more inaccessible parts of the country. at present this fine species has been so nearly exterminated that it no longer exists in europe save in lithuania, where its preservation has been secured by rigid protective laws. lastly, the post-pliocene deposits have yielded the remains of the singular living animal which is known as the musk-ox or musk-sheep (_ovibos moschatus_). at the present day, the musk-ox is an inhabitant of the "barren grounds" of arctic america, and it is remarkable for the great length of its hair. it is, like the reindeer, a distinctively northern animal; but it enjoyed during the glacial period a much wider range than it has at the present day, the conditions suitable for its existence being then extended over a considerable portion of the northern hemisphere. thus remains of the musk-ox are found in greater or less abundance in post-pliocene deposits over a great part of europe, extending even to the south of france; and closely-related forms are found in similar deposits in the united states. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of the mammoth (_elephas primigenius_). portions of the integument still adhere to the head, and the thick skin of the soles is still attached to the feet. post-pliocene.] coming to the _proboscideans_, we find that the _mastodons_ seem to have disappeared in europe at the close of the pliocene period, or at the very commencement of the post-pliocene. in the new world, on the other hand, a species of mastodon (_m. americanus_ or _m. ohioticus_) is found abundantly in deposits of post-pliocene age, from canada to texas. very perfect skeletons of this species have been exhumed from morasses and swamps, and large individuals attained a length (exclusive of the tusks) of seventeen feet and a height of eleven feet, the tusks being twelve feet in length. remains of _elephants_ are also abundant in the post-pliocene deposits of both the old and the new world. amongst these, we find in europe the two familiar pliocene species _e. meridionales_ and _e. antiquus_ still surviving, but in diminished numbers. with these are found in vast abundance the remains of the characteristic elephant of the post-pliocene, the well-known "mammoth" (elephas primigenius_), which is accompanied in north america by the nearly-allied, but more southern species, the _elephas americanus_. the mammoth (fig. ) is considerably larger than the largest of the living elephants, the skeleton being over sixteen feet in length, exclusive of the tusks, and over nine feet in height. the tusks are bent almost into a circle, and are sometimes twelve feet in length, measured along their curvature. in the frozen soil of siberia several carcasses of the mammoth have been discovered with the flesh and skin still attached to the bones, the most celebrated of these being a mammoth which was discovered at the beginning of this century at the mouth of the lena, on the borders of the frozen sea, and the skeleton of which is now preserved at st petersburg (fig. ). from the occurrence of the remains of the mammoth in vast numbers in siberia, it might have been safely inferred that this ancient elephant was able to endure a far more rigorous climate than its existing congeners. this inference has, however, been rendered a certainty by the specimens just referred to, which show that the mammoth was protected against the cold by a thick coat of reddish-brown wool, some nine or ten inches long, interspersed with strong, coarse black hair more than a foot in length. the teeth of the mammoth (fig. ) are of the type of those of the existing indian elephant, and are found in immense numbers in certain localities. the mammoth was essentially northern in its distribution, never passing south of a line drawn through the pyrenees, the alps, the northern shores of the caspian, lake baikal, kamschatka, and the stanovi mountains (dawkins). it occurs in the pre-glacial forest-bed of cromer in norfolk, survived the glacial period, and is found abundantly in post-glacial deposits in france, germany, britain, russia in europe, asia, and north america, being often associated with the reindeer, lemming, and musk-ox. that it survived into the earlier portion of the human period is unquestionable, its remains having been found in a great number of instances associated with implements of human manufacture; whilst in one instance a recognisable portrait of it has been discovered, carved on bone. [illustration: fig. .--molar tooth of the mammoth (_elephas primigenius_), upper jaw, right side, one-third of the natural size. a, grinding surface; b, side view. post-pliocene.] amongst other elephants which occur in post-pliocene deposits may be mentioned, as of special interest, the pigmy elephants of malta. one of these--the _elephas melitensis_, or so-called "donkey-elephant"--was not more than four and a half feet in height. the other--the _elephas falconeri_, of busk--was still smaller, its average height at the withers not exceeding two and a half to three feet. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _ursus spelpeus_. post-pliocene, europe. one-sixth of the natural size.] whilst herbivorous animals abounded during the post-pliocene, we have ample evidence of the coexistence with them of a number of carnivorous forms, both in the new and the old world. the bears are represented in europe by at least three species, two of which--namely, the great grizzly bear (_ursus ferox_) and the smaller brown bear (_ursus arctos_)--are in existence at the present day. the third species is the celebrated cave-bear (_ursus speloeus_, fig. ), which is now extinct. the cave-bear exceeded in its dimensions the largest of modern bears; and its remains, as its name implies; have been found mainly in cavern-deposits. enormous numbers of this large and ferocious species must have lived in europe in post-glacial times; and that they survived into the human period, is clearly shown by the common association of their bones with the implements of man. they are occasionally accompanied by the remains of a glutton (the _gulo speloeus_), which does not appear to be really separable from the existing wolverine or glutton of northern regions (the _gulo luscus_). in addition, we meet with the bones of the wolf, fox, weasel, otter, badger, wild cat, panther, hyæna, and lion, &c., together with the extinct _machairodus_ or "sabre-toothed tiger." the only two of these that deserve further mention are the hyæna and the lion. the cave-hyæna (_hyoena speloea_, fig. ) is regarded by high authorities as nothing more than a variety of the living spotted hyæna (_h. crocuta_) of south africa. this well-known species inhabited britain and a considerable portion of europe during a large part of the post-pliocene period; and its remains often occur in great abundance. indeed, some caves, such as the kirkdale cavern in yorkshire, were dens inhabited during long periods by these animals, and thus contain the remains of numerous individuals and of successive generations of hyænas, together with innumerable gnawed and bitten bones of their prey. that the cave-hyæna was a contemporary with man in western europe during post-glacial times is shown beyond a doubt by the common association of its bones with human implements. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _hyoena speloea_, one-fourth of the natural size. post-phocene, europe.] lastly, the so-called cave-lion (_felis speloea_), long supposed to be a distinct species, has been shown to be nothing more than a large variety of the existing lion (_felis leo_). this animal inhabited britain and western europe in times posterior to the glacial period, and was a contemporary of the cave-hyæna, cave-bear, woolly rhinoceros, and mammoth. the cave-lion also unquestionably survived into the earlier portion of the human period in europe. the post-pliocene deposits of europe have further yielded the remains of numerous _rodents_--such as the beaver, the northern lemming, marmots, mice, voles, rabbits, &c.--together with the gigantic extinct beaver known as the _trogontherium cuvieri_ (fig. ). the great _castoroides ohioensis_ of the post-pliocene of north america is also a great extinct beaver, which reached a length of about five feet. lastly, the brazilian bone-caves have yielded the remains of numerous rodents of types now characteristic of south america, such as guinea-pigs, capybaras, tree-inhabiting porcupines, and coypus. [illustration: fig. .--lower jaw of _trogontherium cuvieri_, one-fourth of the natural size. post-pliocene, britain.] the deposits just alluded to have further yielded the remains of various monkeys, such as howling monkeys, squirrel monkeys, and marmosets, all of which belong to the group of _quadrumana_ which is now exclusively confined to the south american continent--namely, the "platyrhine" monkeys. we still have very briefly to consider the occurrence of man in post-pliocene deposits; but before doing so, it will be well to draw attention to the evidence afforded by the post-pliocene mammals as to the climate of western europe at this period. the chief point which we have to notice is, that a considerable revolution of opinion has taken place on this point. it was originally believed that the presence of such animals as elephants, lions, the rhinoceros, and the hippopotamus afforded an irrefragable proof that the climate of europe must have been a warm one, at any rate during post-glacial times. the existence, also, of numbers of mammoths in siberia, was further supposed to indicate that this high temperature extended itself very far north. upon the whole, however, the evidence is against this view. not only is there great difficulty in supposing that the arctic conditions of the glacial period were immediately followed by anything warmer than a cold-temperate climate; but there is nothing in the nature of the mammals themselves which would absolutely forbid their living in a temperate climate. the _hippopotamus major_, though probably clad in hair, offers some difficulty--since, as pointed out by professor busk, it must have required a climate sufficiently warm to insure that the rivers were not frozen over in the winter; but it was probably a migratory animal, and its occurrence may be accounted for by this. the woolly rhinoceros and the mammoth are known with certainty to have been protected with a thick covering of wool and hair; and their extension northwards need not necessarily have been limited by anything except the absence of a sufficiently luxuriant vegetation to afford them food. the great american mastodon, though not certainly known to have possessed a hairy covering, has been shown to have lived upon the shoots of spruce and firs, trees characteristic of temperate regions--as shown by the undigested food which has been found with its skeleton, occupying the place of the stomach. the lions and hyænas, again, as shown by professor boyd dawkins, do not indicate necessarily a warm climate. wherever a sufficiency of herbivorous animals to supply them with food can live, there they can live also; and they have therefore no special bearing upon the question of climate. after a review of the whole evidence, professor dawkins concludes that the nearest approach at the present day to the post-pliocene climate of western europe is to be found in the climate of the great siberian plains which stretch from the altai mountains to the frozen sea. "covered by impenetrable forests, for the most part of birch, poplar, larch, and pines, and low creeping dwarf cedars, they present every gradation in climate from the temperate to that in which the cold is too severe to admit of the growth of trees, which decrease in size as the traveller advances northwards, and are replaced by the grey mosses and lichens that cover the low marshy 'tundras.' the maximum winter cold, registered by admiral von wrangel at nishne kolymsk, on the banks of the kolyma, is-- ° in january. 'then breathing becomes difficult; the reindeer, that citizen of the polar region, withdraws to the deepest thicket of the forest, and stands there motionless as if deprived of life;' and trees burst asunder with the cold. throughout this area roam elks, black bears, foxes, sables, and wolves, that afford subsistence to the jakutian and tungusian fur-hunters. in the northern part countless herds of reindeer, elks, foxes, and wolverines make up for the poverty of vegetation by the rich abundance of animal life. 'enormous flights of swans, geese, and ducks arrive in the spring, and seek deserts where they may moult and build their nests in safety. ptarmigans run in troops amongst the bushes; little snipes are busy along the brooks and in the morasses; the social crows seek the neighbourhood of new habitations; and when the sun shines in spring, one may even sometimes hear the cheerful note of the finch, and in autumn that of the thrush.' throughout this region of woods, a hardy, middle-sized breed of horses lives under the mastership and care of man, and is eminently adapted to bear the severity of the climate.... the only limit to their northern range is the difficulty of obtaining food. the severity of the winter through the southern portion of this vast wooded area is almost compensated for by the summer heat and its marvellous effect on vegetation."--(dawkins, 'monograph of pleistocene mammalia.') finally, a few words must be said as to the occurrence of the remains of man in post-pliocene deposits. that man existed in western europe and in britain during the post-pliocene period, is placed beyond a doubt by the occurrence of his bones in deposits of this age, along with the much more frequent occurrence of implements of human manufacture. at what precise point of time during the post-pliocene period he first made his appearance is still a matter of conjecture. recent researches would render it probable that the early inhabitants of britain and western europe were witnesses of the stupendous phenomena of the glacial period; but this cannot be said to have been demonstrated. that man existed in these regions during the post-glacial division of post-pliocene time cannot be doubted for a moment. as to the physical peculiarities of the ancient races that lived with the mammoth and the woolly rhinoceros, little is known compared with what we may some day hope to know. such information as we have, however, based principally on the skulls of the engis, neanderthal, cro-magnon, and bruniquel caverns, would lead to the conclusion that post-pliocene man was in no respect inferior in his organisation to, or less highly developed than, many existing races. all the known skulls of this period, with the single exception of the neanderthal cranium, are in all respects average and normal in their characters; and even the neanderthal skull possessed a cubic capacity at least equal to that of some existing races. the implements of post-pliocene man are exclusively of stone or bone; and the former are invariably of rude shape and _undressed_. these "palæolithic" tools (gr. _palaios_; ancient; _lithos_, stone) point to a very early condition of the arts; since the men of the earlier portion of the recent period, though likewise unacquainted with the metals, were in the habit of polishing or dressing the stone implements which they fabricated. it is impossible here to enter further into this subject; and it would be useless to do so without entering as well into a consideration of the human remains of the recent period--a period which lies outside the province of the present work. so far as post-pliocene man is concerned, the chief points which the palæontological student has to remember have been elsewhere summarised by the author as follows:-- . man unquestionably existed during the later portion of what sir charles lyell has termed the "post-pliocene" period. in other words, man's existence dates back to a time when several remarkable mammals, previously mentioned, had not yet become extinct; but he does not date back to a time anterior to the present _molluscan_ fauna. . the antiquity of the so-called post-pliocene period is a matter which must be mainly settled by the evidence of geology proper, and need not be discussed here. . the extinct mammals with which man coexisted in western europe are mostly of large size, the most important being the mammoth (_elephas primogenius_), the woolly rhinoceros (_rhinoceros tichorhinus_), the cave-lion (_felis speloea_), the cave-hyæna(_hyoena speloea), and the cave-bear (_ursus speloeus_). we do not know the causes which led to the extinction of these mammals; but we know that hardly any mammalian species has become extinct during the historical period. . the extinct mammals with which man coexisted are referable in many cases to species which presumably required a very different climate to that now prevailing in western europe. how long a period, however, has been consumed in the bringing about of the climatic changes thus indicated, we have no means of calculating with any approach to accuracy. . some of the deposits in which the remains of man have been found associated with the bones of extinct mammals, are such as to show incontestably that great changes in the physical geography and surface-configuration of western europe have taken place since the period of their accumulation. we have, however, no means at present of judging of the lapse of time thus indicated except by analogies and comparisons which may be disputed. . the human implements which are associated with the remains of extinct mammals, themselves bear evidence of an exceedingly barbarous condition of the human species. post-pliocene or "palæolithic" man was clearly unacquainted with the use of any of the metals. not only so, but the workmanship of these ancient races was much inferior to that of the later tribes, who were also ignorant of the metals, and who also used nothing but weapons and tools of stone, bone, &c. . lastly, it is only with the human remains of the post-pliocene period that the palæontologist proper has to deal. when we enter the "recent" period, in which the remains of man are associated with those of _existing species of mammals_, we pass out of the region of pure palæontology into the domain of the archæologist and the ethnologist. literature. the following are some of the principal works and memoirs to which the student may refer for information as to the post-pliocene deposits and the remains which they contain, as well as to the primitive races of mankind:-- ( ) 'elements of geology.' lyell. ( ) 'antiquity of man.' lyell. ( ) 'palæontological memoirs.' falconer. ( ) 'the great ice-age.' james geikie. ( ) 'manual of palæontology.' owen. ( ) 'british fossil mammals and birds.' owen. ( ) 'cave-hunting.' boyd dawkins. ( ) 'prehistoric times.' lubbock. ( ) 'ancient stone implements.' evans. ( ) 'prehistoric man.' daniel wilson. ( ) 'prehistoric races of the united states.' foster. ( ) 'manual of geology.' dana. ( ) 'monograph of pleistocene mammalia' (palæontographical society). boyd dawkins and sanford. ( ) 'monograph of the post-tertiary entomostraca of scotland, &c., with an introduction on the post-tertiary deposits of scotland' (ibid.) g. s. brady, h. w. crosskey, and d. robertson. ( ) "reports on kent's cavern"--'british association reports.' pengelly. ( ) "reports on the victoria cavern, settle"--'british association reports.' tiddeman. ( ) 'ossemens fossiles.' cuvier. ( ) 'reliquiæ diluvianæ.' buckland. ( ) "fossil mammalia"--'zoology of the voyage of the beagle.' owen. ( ) 'description of the tooth and part of the skeleton of the _glyptodon_.' owen. ( ) "memoir on the extinct sloth tribe of north america"--'smithsonian contributions to knowledge.' leidy. ( ) "report on extinct mammals of australia"--'british association,' . owen. ( ) 'description of the skeleton of an extinct gigantic sloth (_mylodon robtutus_).' owen. ( ) "affinities and probable habits of thylacoleo"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxiv. flower. ( ) 'prodromus of the palæontology of victoria.' m'coy. ( ) 'les ossemens fossiles des cavernes de liège.' schmerling. ( ) 'die fauna der pfahlbauten in der schweiz.' rütimeyer. ( ) "extinct and existing bovine animals of scandinavia"--'annals of natural history,' ser. , vol. iv., . nilsson. ( ) 'man's place in nature.' huxley. ( ) 'les temps antéhistoriques en belgique.' dupont. ( ) "classification of the pleistocene strata of britain and the continent"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxviii. boyd dawkins. ( ) 'distribution of the post-glacial mammalia' (ibid.), vol. xxv. boyd dawkins. ( ) 'on british fossil oxen' (ibid.), vols. xxii. and xxiii. boyd dawkins. ( ) 'british prehistoric mammals' (congress of prehistoric archæology, ). boyd dawkins. ( ) 'reliquiæ aquitanicæ.' lartet and christy. ( ) 'zoologie et paléontologie françaises.' gervais. ( ) 'notes on the post-pliocene geology of canada.' dawson. ( ) "on the connection between the existing fauna and flora of great britain and certain geological changes"--'mem. geol. survey.' edward forbes. ( ) 'cavern-researches.' m'enery. edited by vivian. ( ) "quaternary gravels"--'quart. journ. geol. soc.,' vol. xxv. tylor. chapter xxiii. the succession of life upon the globe. in conclusion, it may not be out of place if we attempt to summarise, in the briefest possible manner, some of the principal results which may be deduced as to the succession of life upon the earth from the facts which have in the preceding portion of this work been passed in review. that there was a time when the earth was void of life is universally admitted, though it may be that the geological record gives us no direct evidence of this. that the globe of to-day is peopled with innumerable forms of life whose term of existence has been, for the most part, but as it were of yesterday, is likewise an assertion beyond dispute. can we in any way connect the present with the remote past, and can we indicate even imperfectly the conditions and laws under which the existing order was brought about? the long series of fossiliferous deposits, with their almost countless organic remains, is the link between what has been and what is; and if any answer to the above question can be arrived at, it will be by the careful and conscientious study of the facts of palæontology. in the present state of our knowledge, it may be safely said that anything like a dogmatic or positive opinion as to the precise sequence of living forms upon the globe, and still more as to the manner in which this sequence may have been brought about, is incapable of scientific proof. there are, however, certain general deductions from the known facts which may be regarded as certainly established. in the first place, it is certain that there has been a _succession_ of life upon the earth, different specific and generic types succeeding one another in successive periods. it follows from this, that the animals and plants with which we are familiar as living, were not always upon the earth, but that they have been preceded by numerous races more or less differing from them. what is true of the species of animals and plants, is true also of the higher zoological divisions; and it is, in the second place, quite certain that there has been a similar _succession_ in the order of appearance of the primary groups ("sub-kingdoms," "classes," &c.) of animals and vegetables. these great groups did not all come into existence at once, but they made their appearance successively. it is true that we cannot be said to be certainly acquainted with the first _absolute_ appearance of any great group of animals. no one dare assert positively that the apparent first appearance of fishes in the upper silurian is really their first introduction upon the earth: indeed, there is a strong probability against any such supposition. to whatever extent, however, future discoveries may push back the first advent of any or of all of the great groups of life, there is no likelihood that anything will be found out which will materially alter the _relative_ succession of these groups as at present known to us. it is not likely, for example, that the future has in store for us any discovery by which it would be shown that fishes were in existence before molluscs, or that mammals made their appearance before fishes. the sub-kingdoms of invertebrate animals were all represented in cambrian times--and it might therefore be inferred that _these_ had all come simultaneously into existence; but it is clear that this inference, though incapable of actual disproof, is in the last degree improbable. anterior to the cambrian is the great series of the laurentian, which, owing to the metamorphism to which it has been subjected, has so far yielded but the singular _eozoön_. we may be certain, however, that others of the invertebrate sub-kingdoms besides the protozoa were in existence in the laurentian period; and we may infer from known analogies that they appeared successively, and not simultaneously. when we come to smaller divisions than the sub-kingdoms--such as classes, orders, and families--a similar succession of groups is observable. the different classes of any given sub-kingdom, or the different orders of any given class, do not make their appearance together and all at once, but they are introduced upon the earth in _succession_. more than this, the different classes of a sub-kingdom, or the different orders of a class, _in the main succeed one another in the relative order of their zoological rank--the lower groups appearing first and the higher groups last_. it is true that in the cambrian formation--the earliest series of sediments in which fossils are abundant--we find numerous groups, some very low, others very high, in the zoological scale, which _appear_ to have simultaneously flashed into existence. for reasons stated above, however, we cannot accept this appearance as real; and we must believe that many of the cambrian groups of animals really came into being long before the commencement of the cambrian period. at any rate, in the long series of fossiliferous deposits of later date than the cambrian the above-stated rule holds good as a broad generalisation--that the lower groups, namely, precede the higher in point of time; and though there are apparent exceptions to the rule, there are none of such a nature as not to admit of explanation. some of the leading facts upon which this generalisarion is founded will be enumerated immediately; but it will be well, in the first place, to consider briefly what we precisely mean when we speak of "higher" and "lower" groups. it is well known that naturalists are in the habit of "classifying" the innumerable animals which now exist upon the globe; or, in other words, of systematically arranging them into groups. the precise arrangement adopted by one naturalist may differ in minor details from that adopted by another; but all are agreed as to the fundamental points of classification, and all, therefore, agree in placing certain groups in a certain sequence. what, then, is the principle upon which this sequence is based? why, for example, are the sponges placed below the corals; these below the sea-urchins; and these, again, below the shell-fish? without entering into a discussion of the principles of zoological classification, which would here be out of place, it must be sufficient to say that the sequence in question is based upon the _relative type of organisation_ of the groups of animals classified. the corals are placed above the sponges upon the ground that, regarded as a whole, the _plan or type of structure_ of a coral is more complex than that of a sponge. it is not in the slightest degree that the sponge is in any respect less highly organised or less perfect, as a sponge, than is the coral as a coral. each is equally perfect in its own way; but the structural pattern of the coral is the highest, and therefore it occupies a higher place in the zoological scale. it is upon this principle, then, that the primary subdivisions of the animal kingdom (the so-called "sub-kingdoms") are arranged in a certain order. coming, again, to the minor subdivisions (classes, orders, &c.) of each sub-kingdom, we find a different but entirely analogous principle employed as a means of classification. the numerous animals belonging to any given sub-kingdom are formed upon the same fundamental plan of structure; but they nevertheless admit of being arranged in a regular series of groups. all the shell-fish, for example, are built upon a common plan, this plan representing the ideal mollusc; but there are at the same time various groups of the _mollusca_, and these groups admit of an arrangement in a given sequence. the principle adopted in this case is simply of _the relative elaboration of the common type_. the oyster is built upon the same ground-plan as the cuttle-fish; but this plan is carried out with much greater elaboration, and with many more complexities, in the latter than in the former: and in accordance with this, the _cephalopoda_ constitute a higher group than the bivalve shell-fish. as in the case of superiority of structural type, so in this case also, it is not in the least that the oyster is an _imperfect_ animal. on the contrary, it is just as perfectly adapted by its organisation to fill its own sphere and to meet the exigencies of its own existence as is the cuttle-fish; but the latter lives a life which is, physiologically, higher than the former, and its organisation is correspondingly increased in complexity. this being understood, it may be repeated that, in the main, the succession of life upon the globe in point of _time_ has corresponded with the relative order of succession of the great groups of animals in _zoological rank_; and some of the more striking examples of this may be here alluded to. amongst the _echinoderms_, for instance, the two orders generally admitted to be the "lowest" in the zoological scale--namely, the _crinoids_ and the _cystoids_--are likewise the oldest, both, appearing in the cambrian, the former slowly dying out as we approach the recent period, and the latter disappearing wholly before the close of the palæozoic period. amongst the _crustaceans_, the ancient groups of the trilobites, ostracodes, phyllopods, eurypterids, and limuloids, some of which exist at the present day, are all "low" types; whereas the highly-organised decapods do not make their appearance till near the close of the palæozoic epoch, and they do not become abundant till we reach mesozoic times. amongst the _mollusca_, those bivalves which possess breathing-tubes (the "siphonate" bivalves) are generally admitted to be higher than those which are destitute of these organs (the "asiphonate" bivalves); and the latter are especially characteristic of the palæozoic period, whilst the former abound in mesozoic and kainozoic formations. similarly, the univalves with breathing-tubes and a corresponding notch in the mouth of the shell ("siphonostomatous" univalves) are regarded as higher in the scale than the round-mouthed vegetable-eating sea-snails, in which no respiratory siphons exist ("holostomatous" univalves); but the latter abound in the palæozoic rocks--whereas the former do not make their appearance till the jurassic period, and their higher groups do not seem to have existed till the close of the cretaceous. the _cephalopods_, again--the highest of all the groups of mollusca--are represented in the palæozoic rocks exclusively by tetrabranchiate forms, which constitute the lowest of the two orders of this class; whereas the more highly specialised dibranchiates do not make their appearance till the commencement of the mesozoic. the palæozoic tetrabranchiates, also, are of a much simpler type than the highly complex _ammonitidoe_ of the mesozoic. similar facts are observable amongst the _vertebrate animals_. the fishes are the lowest class of vertebrates, and they are the first to appear, their first certain occurrence being in the upper silurian; whilst, even if the lower silurian and upper cambrian "conodonts" were shown to be the teeth of fishes, there would still remain the enormously long periods of the laurentian and lower cambrian, during which there were invertebrates, but no vertebrates. the _amphibians_, the next class in zoological order, appears later than the fishes, and is not represented till the carboniferous; whilst its highest group (that of the frogs and toads) does not make its entrance upon the scene till tertiary times are reached. the class of the _reptiles_, again, the next in order, does not appear till the permian, and therefore not till after amphibians of very varied forms had been in existence for a protracted period. the _birds_ seem to be undoubtedly later than the reptiles; but, owing to the uncertainty as to the exact point of their first appearance, it cannot be positively asserted that they preceded mammals, as they should have done. finally, the mesozoic types of _mammals_ are mainly, if not exclusively, referable to the _marsupials_, one of the lowest orders of the class; whilst the higher orders of the "placental" quadrupeds are not with certainty known to have existed prior to the commencement of the tertiary period. facts of a very similar nature are offered by the succession of plants upon the globe. thus the vegetation of the palæozoic period consisted principally of the lowly-organised groups of the cryptogamous or flowerless plants. the mesozoic formations, up to the chalk, are especially characterised by the naked-seeded flowering plants--the conifers and the cycads; whilst the higher groups of the angiospermous exogens and monocotyledons characterise the upper cretaceous and tertiary rocks. facts of the above nature--and they could be greatly multiplied--seem to point clearly to the existence of some law of progression, though we certainly are not yet in a position to formulate this law, or to indicate the precise manner in which it has operated. two considerations, also, must not be overlooked. in the first place, there are various groups, some of them highly organised, which make their appearance at an extremely ancient date, but which continue throughout geological time almost unchanged, and certainly unprogressive. many of these "persistent types" are known--such as various of the _foraminifera_, the _linguloe_, the _nautili_, &c.; and they indicate that under given conditions, at present unknown to us, it is possible for a life-form to subsist for an almost indefinite period without any important modification of its structure. in the second place, whilst the facts above mentioned point to some general law of progression of the great zoological groups, it cannot be asserted that the primeval types _of any given group_ are necessarily "lower," zoologically speaking, than their modern representatives. nor does this seem to be at all necessary for the establishment of the law in question. it cannot be asserted, for example, that the ganoid and placoid fishes of the upper silurian are in themselves less highly organised than their existing representatives; nor can it even be asserted that the ganoid and placoid orders are low _groups_ of the class _pisces_. on the contrary, they are high groups; but then it must be remembered that these are probably not really the first fishes, and that if we meet with fishes at some future time in the lower silurian or cambrian, these may easily prove to be representatives of the lower orders of the class. this question cannot be further entered into here, as its discussion could be carried out to an almost unlimited length; but whilst there are facts pointing both ways, it appears that at present we are not justified in asserting that the earlier types of each group--so far as these are known to us, or really are without predecessors--are _necessarily_ or _invariably_ more "degraded" or "embryonic" in their structure than their more modern representatives. it remains to consider very briefly how far palæontology supports the doctrine of "evolution," as it is called; and this, too, is a question of almost infinite dimensions, which can but be glanced at here. does palæontology teach us that the almost innumerable kinds of animals and plants which we know to have successively flourished upon the earth in past times were produced separately and wholly independently of each other, at successive periods? or does it point to the theory that a large number of these supposed distinct forms, have been in reality produced by the slow modification of a comparatively small number of primitive types? upon the whole, it must be unhesitatingly replied that the evidence of palæontology is in favour of the view that the succession of life-forms upon the globe has been to a large extent regulated by some orderly and constantly-acting law of modification and evolution. upon no other theory can we comprehend how the fauna of any given formation is more closely related to that of the formation next below in the series, and to that of the formation next above, than to that of any other series of deposits. upon no other view can we comprehend why the post-tertiary mammals of south america should consist principally of edentates, llamas, tapirs, peccaries, platyrhine monkeys, and other forms now characterising this continent; whilst those of australia should be wholly referable to the order of marsupials. on no other view can we explain the common occurrence of "intermediate" or "transitional" forms of life, filling in the gaps between groups now widely distinct. on the other hand, there are facts which point clearly to the existence of some law other than that of evolution, and probably of a deeper and more far-reaching character. upon no theory of evolution can we find a satisfactory explanation for the constant introduction throughout geological time of new forms of life, which do not appear to have been preceded by pre-existent allied types; the graptolites and trilobites have no known predecessors, and leave no known successors. the insects appear suddenly in the devonian, and the arachnides and myriapods in the carboniferous, under well-differentiated and highly-specialised types. the dibranchiate cephalopods appear with equal apparent suddenness in the older mesozoic deposits, and no known type of the palæozoic period can be pointed to as a possible ancestor. the _hippuritidoe_ of the cretaceous burst into a varied life to all appearance almost immediately after their first introduction into existence. the wonderful dicotyledonous flora of the upper cretaceous period similarly surprises us without any prophetic annunciation from the older jurassic. many other instances could be given; but enough has been said to show that there is a good deal to be said on both sides, and that the problem is one environed with profound difficulties. one point only seems now to be universally conceded, and that is, that the record of life in past time is not interrupted by gaps other than those due to the necessary imperfections of the fossiliferous series, to the fact that many animals are incapable of preservation in a fossil condition, or to other causes of a like nature. all those who are entitled to speak on this head are agreed that the introduction of new and the destruction of old species have been slow and gradual processes, in no sense of the term "catastrophistic." most are also willing to admit that "evolution" has taken place in the past, to a greater or less extent, and that a greater or less number of so-called species of fossil animals are really the modified descendants of pre-existent forms. _how_ this process of evolution has been effected, to what extent it has taken place, under what conditions and laws it has been carried out, and how far it may be regarded as merely auxiliary and supplemental to some deeper law of change and progress, are questions to which, in spite of the brilliant generalisations of darwin, no satisfactory answer can as yet be given. in the successful solution of this problem--if soluble with the materials available to our hands--will lie the greatest triumph that palæontology can hope to attain; and there is reason to think that, thanks to the guiding-clue afforded by the genius of the author of the 'origin of species,' we are at least on the road to a sure, though it may be a far-distant, victory. appendix. tabular view of the chief divisions of the animal kingdom. (extinct groups are marked with an asterisk. groups not represented at all as fossils are marked with two asterisks.) invertebrate animals. sub-kingdom i.--protozoa. animal simple or compound; body composed of "sarcode," not definitely segmented; no nervous system; and no digestive apparatus, beyond occasionally a mouth and gullet. class i. gregarinidÆ.** class ii. rhizopoda. _order_ . _monera_.** " . _amoebea_.** " . _foraminifera_. " . _radiolaria_ (polycystines, &c.) " . _spongida_ (sponges). class iii. infusoria.** sub-kingdom ii.--coelenterata. animal simple or compound; body-wall composed of two principal layers; digestive canal freely communicating with the general cavity of the body; no circulating organs, and no nervous system or a rudimentary one; mouth surrounded by tentacles, arranged, like the internal organs, in a "radiate" or star-like manner. class i. hydrozoa. _sub-class_ . _hydroida_ ("hydroid zoophytes"). _ex._ fresh-water polypes,** pipe-corallines (_tubularia_), sea-firs (_sertularia_). _sub-class_ . _siphonophora_** ("oceanic hydrozoa"). _ex_. portuguese man-of-war (_physalia_). _sub-class_ . _discophora_ ("jelly-fishes"). only known as fossils by impressions of their stranded carcasses. _sub-class_ . _lucernarida_ ("sea-blubbers"). also only known as fossils by impressions left in fine-grained strata. _sub-class_ . _graptolitidoe_* ("graptolites"). class ii. actinozoa. _order_ . _zoantharia_. _ex_. sea-anemones** (_actinidoe_), star-corals (_astroeidoe_). _order_ . _alcyonaria_. _ex_. sea-pens (_pennatula_), organ-pipe coral (_tubipora_), red coral (_corallium_). _order_ . _rugosa_ ("rugose corals"). " . _ctenophora_.** _ex_. venus's girdle (_cestum_). sub-kingdom iii.--annuloida. animals in which the digestive canal is completely shut off from the cavity of the body; a distinct nervous system; a system of branched "water-vessels," which usually communicate with the exterior. body of the adult often "radiate," and never composed of a succession of definite rings. class i. echinodermata. _order_ . _crinoidea_ ("sea-lilies"). _ex_. feather-star (_comatula_), stone-lily (_encrinus_*). _order_ . _blastoidea_* ("pentremites"). " . _cystoidea_* ("globe-lilies"). " . _ophiuroidea_ ("brittle-stars"). _ex_. sand-stars (_ophiura_), brittle-stars (_ophiocoma_). _order_ . _asteroidea_ ("star-fishes"). ex. cross-fish (_uraster_), sun-star (_solaster_). _order_ . _echinoidea_ ("sea-urchins"). ex. sea-eggs (_echinus_), heart-urchins (_spatangus_). _order_ . _holothuroidea_ ("sea-cucumbers"). _ex_. trepangs (_holothuria_). class ii. scolecida** (intestinal worms, wheel animalcules, &c.) sub-kingdom iv.--annulosa. animal composed of numerous definite segments placed one behind the other; nervous system forming a knotted cord placed along the lower (ventral) surface of the body. _division a. anarthropoda_. no jointed limbs. class i. gephyrea** ("spoon-worms"). class ii. annelida. ("ringed-worms"). _ex_. leeches** (_hirudinea_), earthworms** (_oligochoeta_), tube-worms (_tubicola_), sea-worms and sea-centipedes (_errantia_). class iii. chÆtognatha** ("arrow-worms"). _division b. arthropoda or articulata_. limbs jointed to the body. class i. crustacea ("crustaceans"). _ex_. barnacles and acorn-shells (_cirripedia_), water-fleas (_ostracoda_), brine-shrimps and fairy-shrimps (_phyllopoda_), trilobites* (_trilobita_), king-crabs and eurypterids* (_merostomata_), wood-lice and slaters (_isopoda_), sand-hoppers (_amphipoda_), lobsters, shrimps, hermit-crabs, and crabs (_decapoda_). class ii. arachnida. _ex._ mites (_acarina_), scorpions (_pedipalpi_), spiders (_araneida_). class iii. myriapoda. _ex._ centipedes (_chilopoda_), millipedes and galley-worms (_chilignatha_). class iv. insecta ("insects"). _ex_. field-bugs (_hemiptera_); crickets, grasshoppers, &c. (_orthoptera_); dragon-flies and may-flies (_neuroptera_); goats and house-flies (_diptera_); butterflies and moths (_lepidoptera_); bees, wasps, and ants (_hymenoptera_); beetles (_coleoptera_). sub-kingdom v.--mollusca. animal soft-bodied, generally with a hard covering or shell; no distinct segmentation of the body; nervous system of scattered masses. class i. polyzoa ("sea-mosses"). _ex_. sea-mats (_flustra_), lace-corals (_fenestellidoe_*). class ii. tunicata** ("tunicaries"). _ex_. sea-squirts (_ascidia_). class iii. brachiopoda ("lamp-shells"). _ex_. goose-bill lamp-shell (_lingula_). class iv. lamellibranchiata ("bivalves"). _ex_. oyster (_ostrea_), mussel (_mytilus_), scallop (_pecten_), cockle (_cardium_). class v. gasteropoda ("univalves"). _ex_. whelks (_buccinum_), limpets (_patella_), sea-slugs** (_doris_), land-snails (_helix_). class vi. pteropoda ("winged snails"). ex. _hyalea, cleodora_. class vii. cephalopoda ("cuttle-fishes"). _ex_. calamary (_loligo_), poulpe (_octopus_), paper nautilus (_arganauta_), pearly nautilus (_nautilus_), belemnites,* orthoceratites,* ammonites.* vertebrate animals. sub-kingdom vi.--vertebrata. body composed of definite segments arranged longitudinally one behind the other; main masses of the nervous system placed dorsally; a backbone or "vertebral column" in the majority. class i. pisces ("fishes"). _ex_. lancelet** (_amphioxus_); lampreys and hag-fishes (_marsipobranchii_**); herring, salmon, perch, &c. (_teleostei_ or "bony fishes"); gar-pike, sturgeon, &c. (_ganoidei_); sharks, dog-fishes, rays, &c. (_elasmobranchii_ or "placoids"). class ii. amphibia ("amphibians"). ex. _labyrinthodontia_,* cæcilians,** newts and salamanders (_urodela_), frogs and toads (_anoura_). class iii. reptilia ("reptiles"). ex. _deinosauria_,* _pterosauria_,* _anomodontia_,* plesiosaurs (_sauropterygia_*), ichthyosaurs (_ichthyopterygia_*), tortoises and turtles (_chelonia_), snakes (_ophidia_), lizards (_lacertilia_), crocodiles (_crocodilia_). class iv. aves ("birds"). _ex_. toothed birds (_odontornithes_*); lizard-tailed birds (_archoeopteryx_*); ducks, geese, gulls, &c. (_natatores_); storks, herons, snipes, plovers, &c. (_grallatores_); ostrich, emeu, cassowary, dinornis,* Æpiornis,* &c. (_cursores_); fowls, game birds, and doves (_rasores_); cuckoos, woodpeckers, parrots, &c. (_scansores_); crows, starlings, finches, hummingbirds, swallows, &c. (_insessores_); owls, hawks, eagles, vultures (_raptores_). class v. mammalia ("quadrupeds"). _ex_. duck-mole and spiny ant-eater (_monotremata_**); kangaroos, phalangers, opossums, tasmanian devil, &c. (_marsupialia_); sloths, ant-eaters, armadillos (_edentata_); manatees and dugongs (_sirenia_); whales, dolphins, porpoises (_cetacea_); rhinoceros, tapir, horses, hippopotamus, pigs, camels and llamas, giraffes, deer, antelopes, sheep, goats, oxen (_ungulata_); hyrax (_hyracoidea_**); elephants, mastodon,* deinotherium* (_proboscidea_); seals, walrus, bears, dogs, wolves, cats, lions, tigers, &c. (_carnivora_); hares, rabbits, porcupines, beavers, rats, mice, lemmings, squirrels, marmots, &c. (_rodentia_); bats (_cheiroptera_); moles, shrew-mice, hedgehogs (_insectivora_); lemurs, spider-monkeys, macaques, baboons, apes (_quadrumana_); man (_bimana_). glossary. abdomen (lat. _abdo_, i conceal). the posterior cavity of the body, containing the intestines and others of the viscera. in many invertebrates there is no separation of the body-cavity into thorax and abdomen, and it is only in the higher _annulosa_ that a distinct abdomen can be said to exist. aberrant (lat. _aberro_, i wander away). departing from the regular type. abnormal (lat. _ab_, from; _norma_, a rule). irregular; deviating from the ordinary standard. acrodus (gr. _akros_, high; _odous_, tooth). a genus of the cestraciont fishes, so called from the elevated teeth. acrogens (gr. _akros_, high; _gennao_, i produce). plants which increase in height by additions made to the summit of the stem by the union of the bases of the leaves. acrotreta (gr. _akros_, high; _tretos_, pierced). a genus of brachiopods, so called from the presence of a foramen at the summit of the shell. actinocrinus (gr. _aktin_, a ray; _krinon_, a lily). a genus of crinoids. actinozoa (gr. _aktin_, a ray; and _zoön_, an animal). that division of the _coelenterata_ of which the sea-anemones may be taken as the type. Æglina (_Æglé_, a sea-nymph). a genus of trilobites. Æpiornis (gr. _aipus_, huge; _ornis_, bird). a genus of gigantic cursorial birds. agnostus (gr. _a_, not; _gignosko_, i know). a genus of trilobites. alces (lat. _alces_, elk). the european elk or moose. alecto (the proper name of one of the furies). a genus of _polyzoa_. alethopteris (gr. _alethes_, true; _pteris_, fern). a genus of ferns. algÆ. (lat. _alga_, a marine plant). the order of plants comprising the sea-weeds and many fresh-water plants. alveolus (lat. _alvus_, belly). applied to the sockets of the teeth. amblypterus (gr. _amblus_, blunt; _pteron_, fin). an order of ganoid fishes. ambonychia (gr. _ambon_, a boss; _onux_, claw). a genus of palæozoic bivalves. ambulacra (lat. _ambulacrum_, a place for walking). the perforated spaces or "avenues" through which are protruded the tube-feet, by means of which locomotion is effected in the _echinodermata_. ammonitidÆ. a family of tetrabranchiate cephalopods, so called from the resemblance of the shell of the type-genus, _ammonites_, to the horns of the egyptian god, jupiter-ammon. amorphozoa (gr. _a_, without; _morphe_, shape; _zoön_, animal). a name sometimes used to designate the _sponges_. amphibia (gr. _amphi_, both; _bios_, life). the frogs, newts, and the like, which have gills when young, but can always breathe air directly when adult. amphicyon (gr. _amphi_, both--implying doubt; _kuon_, dog). an extinct genus of _carnivora_. amphilestes (gr. _amphi_, both; _lestes_, a thief). a genus of jurassic mammals. amphispongia (gr. _amphi_, both; _spoggos_, sponge). a genus of silurian sponges. amphistegina (gr. _amphi_, both; _stegé_, roof). a genus of _foraminifera_. amphitherium (gr. _amphi_, both; _therion_, beast). a genus of jurassic mammals. amphitragulus (gr. _amphi_, both; dim. of _tragos_, goat). an extinct genus related to the living musk-deer. amplexus (lat. an ambrace). a genus of rugose corals. ampyx (gr. _ampux_, a wreath or wheel). a genus of trilobites. anarthropoda (gr. _a_, without; _arthros_, a joint; _pous_, foot). that division of _annulose_ animals in which there are no articulated appendages. anchitherium (gr. _agchi_, near; _therion_, beast). an extinct genus of mammals. ancyloceras (gr. _agkulos_, crooked; _ceras_, horn). a genus of _ammonitidoe_. ancylotherium (gr. _agkulos_, crooked; _therion_, beast). an extinct genus of edentate mammals. andrias (gr. _andrias_, image of man). an extinct genus of tailed amphibians. angiosperms (gr. _angeion_, a vessel; _sperma_, seed). plants which have their seeds enclosed in a seed-vessel. annelida (a gallicised form of _annulata_). the ringed worms, which form one of the divisions of the _anarthropoda_. annularia (lat. _annulus_, a ring). a genus of palæozoic plants, with leaves in whorls. annulosa (lat. _annulus_). the sub-kingdom comprising the _anarthropoda_ and the _arthropoda_ or _articulata_, in all of which the body is more or less evidently composed of a succession of rings. anomodontia (gr. _anomos_, irregular; _odous_, tooth). an extinct order of reptiles, often called _dicynodontia_. anomura (gr. _anomos_, irregular; _oura_, tail). a tribe of decapod _crustacea_, of which the hermit-crab is the type. anoplotheridÆ (gr. _anoplos_, unarmed; _ther_, beast). a family of tertiary ungulates. anoura (gr. _a_, without; _oura_, tail). the order of _amphibia_ comprising the frogs and toads, in which the adult is destitute of a tail. often, called _batrachia_. antennÆ (lat. _antenna_, a yard-arm). the jointed horns or feelers possessed by the majority of the _articulata_. antennules (dim. of _antennoe_). applied to the smaller pair of antennæ in the _crustacea_. anthracosaurus (gr. _anthrax_, coal; _saura_, lizard). a genus of labyrinthodont amphibians. anthrapalÆmon (gr. _anthrax_, coal; _paloemon_, a prawn--originally a proper name). a genus of long-tailed crustaceans from the coal-measures. antlers. properly the branches of the horns of the deer tribe (_cervidoe_), but generally applied to the entire horns. apiocrinidÆ (gr. _apion_, a pear; _krinon_, lily). a family of crinoids--the "pear-encrinites." apteryx (gr. _a_, without; _pterux_, a wing). a wingless bird of new zealand, belong to the order _cursores_. aqueous (lat. _aqua_, water). formed in or by water. arachnida (gr. _arachne_, a spider). a class of the _articulata_, comprising spiders, scorpions, and allied animals. arborescent. branched like a tree. archÆocidaris (gr. _archaios_, ancient; lat. _cidaris_, a diadem). a palæozoic genus of sea-urchins, related to the existing _cidaris_. archÆocyathus (gr. _archaios_, ancient; _kuathos_, cup). a genus of palæozoic fossils allied to the sponges. archÆopteryx (gr. _archaios_, ancient; _pterux_, a wing). the singular fossil bird which alone constitutes the order of the _saururoe_. arctocyon (gr. _arctos_, bear; _kuon_, dog). an extinct genus of carnivora. arenaceous. sandy, or composed of grains of sand. arenicolites (lat. _arena_, sand; _colo_, i inhabit). a genus founded on burrows supposed to be formed by worms resembling the living lobworms (_arenicola_). articulata (lat. _articulus_, a joint). a division of the animal kingdom, comprising insects, centipedes, spiders, and crustaceans, characterised by the possession of jointed bodies or jointed limbs. the term _arthropoda_ is now more usually employed. artiodactyla (gr. _artios_, even; _daktulos_, a finger or toe). a division of the hoofed quadrupeds (_ungulata_) in which each foot has an even number of toes (two or four). asaphus (gr. _asaphes_, obscure). a genus of trilobites. ascoceras (gr. _askos_, a leather bottle; _keras_, horn). a genus of tetrabranchiate cephalopods. asiphonate. not possessing a respiratory tube or siphon. (applied to a division of the _lamellibranchiate_ molluscs.) asteroid (gr. _aster_, a star; and _eidos_, form). star-shaped, or possessing radiating lobes or rays like a star-fish. asteroidea. an order of _echinodermata_, comprising the star-fishes, characterised by their rayed form. asterophyllites (gr. _aster_, a star; _phullon_, leaf). a genus of palæozoic plants, with leaves in whorls. astrÆidÆ (gr. _astroea_, a proper name). the family of the star-corals. astylospongia (gr. _a_, without; _stulos_, a column; _spoggos_, a sponge). a genus of silurian sponges. athyris (gr. _a_, without; _thura_, door). a genus of brachiopods. atrypa (gr. _a_, without; _trupa_, a hole). a genus of brachiopods. aves (lat. _avis_, a bird). the class of the birds. avicula (lat. a little bird). the genus of bivalve molluscs comprising the pearl-oysters. axophyllum (gr. _axon_, a pivot; _phullon_, a leaf). a genus of rugose corals. azoic (gr. _a_, without; _zoé_, life). destitute of traces of living beings. baculites (lat. _baculum_, a staff). a genus of the _ammonitidoe_. balÆna (lat. a whale). the genus of the whalebone whales. balanidÆ (gr. _balanos_, an acorn). a family of sessile _cirripedes_, commonly called "acorn-shells." batrachia (gr. _batrachos_, a frog). often loosely applied to any of the _amphibia_, but sometimes restricted to the amphibians as a class, or to the single order of the _anoura_. belemnitidÆ (gr. _belemnon_, a dart). an extinct group of dibranchiate cephalopods, comprising the belemnites and their allies. belemnoteuthis (gr. _belemnon_, a dart; _teuthis_, a cuttle-fish). a genus allied to the belemnites proper. belinurus (gr. _belos_, a dart; _oura_, tail). a genus of fossil king-crabs. bellerophon (gr. proper name). a genus of oceanic univalves (_heteropoda_). beloteuthis (gr. _belos_, a dart; _teuthis_, a cuttle-fish). an extinct genus of dibranchiate cephalopods. beyrichia (named after prof. beyrich). a genus of ostracode crustaceans. bilateral. having two symmetrical sides. bimana (lat. _bis_, twice; _manus_, a hand). the order of _mammalia_ comprising man alone. bipedal (lat. _bis_, twice; _pes_, foot). walking upon two legs. bivalve (lat. _bis_, twice; _valvoe_, folding-doors). composed of two plates or valves; applied to the shell of the _lamellibranchiata_ and _brachiopoda_, and to the carapace of certain _crustacea_. blastoidea (gr. _blastos_, a bud; and _eidos_, form). an extinct order of _echinodermata_, often called _pentremites_. brachiopoda (gr. _brachion_, an arm; _pous_, the foot). a class or the _molluscoida_, often called "lamp-shells," characterised by possessing two fleshy arms continued from the sides of the mouth. brachyura (gr. _brachus_, short; _oura_, tail). a tribe of the decapod _crustaceans_ with short tails (_i.e._, the crabs). bradypodidÆ. (gr. _bradus_, slow; _podes_, feet). the family of _edentata_ comprising the sloths. branchia (gr. _bragchia_, the gill of a fish). a respiratory organ adapted to breathe air dissolved in water. branchiate. possessing gills or branchiæ. bronteus (gr. _broné_, thunder--an epithet of jupiter the thunderer). a genus of trilobites. brontotherium (gr. _bronté_, thunder; _therion_ beast). an extinct genus of ungulate quadrupeds. brontozoum (gr. _bronté_, thunder; _zoön_, animal). a genus founded on the largest footprints of the triassic sandstones of connecticut. buccinum (lat. _buccinun_, a trumpet). the genus of univalves comprising the whelks. cainozoic (_see_ kainozoic.) calamites (lat. _calamus_, a reed). extinct plants with reed-like stems, believed to be gigantic representatives of the _equisetaceoe_. calcareous (lat. _calx_, lime). composed of carbonate of lime. calice. the little cup in which the polype of a coralligenous zoophyte (_actinozoön_) is contained. calymene (gr. _kalumené_, concealed). a genus of trilobites. calyx (lat. a cup). applied to the cup-shaped body of a _crinoid_ (_echinodermata_). camarophoria (gr. _kamara_, a chamber; _phero_, i carry). a genus of brachiopods. camelopardalidÆ. (lat. _camelus_, a camel; _pardalis_, a panther). the family of the giraffes. canine (lat. _canis_, a dog). the eye-tooth of mammals, or the tooth which is placed at or close to the præmaxillary suture in the upper jaw, and the corresponding tooth in the lower jaw. carapace. a protective shield. applied to the upper shell of crabs, lobsters, and many other _crustacea_. also the upper half of the immovable case in which the body of a chelonian is protected. carcharodon (gr. _karcharos_. rough; _odous_, tooth). a genus of sharks. cardiocarpon (gr. _kardia_, the heart; _karpos_, fruit). a genus of fossil fruit from the coal-measures. cardium (gr. _kardia_, the heart). the genus of bivalve molluscs comprising the cockles. _cardinia, cardiola_, and _cardita_ have the same derivation. carnivora (lat. _caro_, flesh; _voro_, i devour). an order of the _mammalia_. the "beasts of prey." carnivorous (lat. _caro_, flesh; _voro_, i devour). feeding upon flesh. caryocaris (gr. _karua_, a nut; _karis_, a shrimp). a genus of phyllopod crustaceans. caryocrinus (gr. _karua_, a nut; _krinon_, a lily). a genus of cystideans. caudal (lat. _cauda_, the tail). belonging to the tail. cavicornia (lat. _cavus_, hollow; _cornu_, a horn). the "hollow-horned" ruminants, in which the horn consists of a central bony "horn-core" surrounded by a horny sheath. centrum (gr. _kentron_, the point round which a circle is described by a pair of compasses). the central portion or "body" of a vertebra. cephalaspidÆ. (gr. _kephale_, head; _aspis_, shield). a family of fossil fishes. cephalic (gr. _kephale_, head). belonging to the head. cephalopoda (gr. _kephale_; and _podes_, feet). a class of the _mollusca_, comprising the cuttle-fishes and their allies, in which there is a series of arms ranged round the head. ceratiocaris (gr. _keras_, a horn; _karis_, a shrimp). a genus of phyllopod crustaceans. ceratites (gr. _keras_, a horn). a genus of _ammonitidoe_. ceratodus (gr. _keras_, a horn; _odous_, tooth). a genus of dipnoous fishes. cervical (lat. _cervix_, the neck). connected with or belonging to the region of the neck. cervidÆ (lat. _cervus_, a stag). the family of the deer. cestraphori (gr. _kestra_, a weapon; _phero_, i carry). the group of the "cestraciont fishes," represented at the present day by the port-jackson shark; so called from their defensive spines. cetacea (gr. _ketos_, a whale). the order of mammals comprising the whales and the dolphins. cetiosaurus (gr. _ketos_, whale; _saura_, lizard). a genus of deinosaurian reptiles. cheiroptera (gr. _cheir_, hand; _pteron_, wing). the mammalian order of the bats. cheirotherium (gr. _cheir_, hand; _therion_, beast). the generic name applied originally to the hand-shaped footprints of labyrinthodonts. cheirurus (gr. _cheir_, hand; _oura_, tail). a genus of trilobites. chelonia (gr. _cheloné_, a tortoise). the reptilian order of the tortoises and turtles. chonetes (gr. _choné_ or _choané_, a chamber or box). a genus of brachiopods. cidaris (lat. a diadem). a genus of sea-urchins. cladodus (gr. _klados_, branch; _odous_, tooth). a genus of fishes. clathropora (lat. _clathti_, a trellis; _porus_, a pore). a genus of lace-corals (_polyzoa_). clisiophyllum (gr. _klision_, a hut; _phullon_, leaf). a genus of rugose corals. clymenia (_clumene_, a proper name). a genus of tetrabranchiate cephalopods. coccosteus (gr. _kokkos_, berry; _osteon_, bone). a genus of ganoid fishes. cochliodus (gr. _kochlion_, a snail-shell; _odous_, tooth). a genus of cestraciont fishes. coelenterata (gr. _koilos_, hollow; _enteron_, the bowel). the sub-kingdom which comprises the _hydrozoa_ and _actinozoa_. proposed by frey and leuckhart in place of the old term _radiata_, which included other animals as well. coleoptera (gr. _koleos_, a sheath; _pteron_, wing). the order of insects (beetles) in which the anterior pair of wings are hardened, and serve as protective cases for the posterior pair of membranous wings. colossochelys (gr. _kolossos_, a gigantic statue; _chelus_, a tortoise). a huge extinct land-tortoise. comatula (gr. _koma_, the hair). the feather-star, so called in allusion to its tress-like arms. condyle (gr. _kondulos_, a knuckle). the surface by which one bone articulates with another. applied especially to the articular surface or surfaces by which the skull articulates with the vertebral column. coniferÆ (lat. _conus_, a cone; _fero_, i carry). the order of the firs, pines, and their allies, in which the fruit is generally a "cone" or "fir-apple." conularia (lat. _conulus_, a little-cone). an extinct genus of pteropods. copralites (gr. _kopros_, dung; _lithos_, stone). properly applied to the fossilised excrements of animals; but often employed to designate phosphatic concretions which are not of this nature. corallite. the corallum secreted by an _actinozoön_ which consists of a single polype; or the portion of a composite corallum which belongs to, and is secreted by, an individual polype. corallum (from the latin for red coral). the hard structures deposited in, or by the tissues of an _actinozoön_,--commonly called a "coral." coriaceous (lat. _corium_. hide). leathery. coryphodon (gr. _korus_, helmet; _odous_, tooth). an extinct genus of mammals, allied to the tapirs. cranium (gr. _kranion_, the skull). the bony or cartilaginous case in which the brain is contained. cretaceous (lat. _creta_, chalk). the formation which in europe contains white chalk as one of its most conspicuous members. crinoidea (gr. _krinon_, a lily; _eidos_, form). an order of _echinodermata_, comprising forms which are usually stalked, and sometimes resemble lilies in shape. crioceras (gr. _krios_, a ram; _keras_, a horn). a genus of _ammonitidoe_. crocodilia (gr. _krokodeilos_, a crocodile). an order of reptiles. crossopterygidÆ. (gr. _krossotos_, a fringe; _pterux_, a fin). a sub-order of ganoids in which the paired fins possess a central lobe. crustacea (lat. _crusta_, a crust). a class of articulate animals, comprising crabs, lobsters, &c., characterised by the possession of a hard shell or crust, which they cast periodically. cryptogams (gr. _kruptos_, concealed; _gamos_, marriage). a division of plants in which the organs of reproduction are obscure and there are no true flowers. ctenacanthus (gr. _kteis_, a comb; _akantha_, a thorn). a genus of fossil fishes, named from its fin-spines. ctenoid (gr. _kteis_, a comb; _eidos_, form). applied to those scales of fishes the hinder margins of which are fringed with spines or comb-like projections. cursores (lat. _curro_, i run). an order of _aves_, comprising birds destitute of the power of flight, but formed for running vigorously (_e.g._, the ostrich and emeu). cuspidate. furnished with small pointed eminences or "cusps." cyathocrinus (gr. _kuathos_, a cup; _krinon_, a lily). a genus of crinoids. cyathophyllum (gr. _kuathos_, a cup; _phullon_, a leaf). a genus of rugose corals. cycloid (gr. _kuklos_, a circle; _eidos_, form). applied to those scales of fishes which have a regularly circular or elliptical outline with an even margin. cyclophthalmus (gr. _kuklos_, a circle; _ophthalmos_, eye). a genus of fossil scorpions. cyclostomi (gr. _kuklos_, and _stoma_, mouth). sometimes used to designate the hag-fishes and lampreys, forming the order _marsipobranchii_. cyprÆa (a name of venus). the genus of univalve molluscs comprising the cowries. cyrtoceras (gr. _kurtos_. crooked; _keras_, horn). a genus of tetrabranchiate cephalopods. cystiphyllum (gr. _kustis_, a bladder; _phullon_, a leaf). a genus of rugose corals. cystoidea (gr. _kustis_, a bladder; _eidos_, form). the "globe-crinoids," an extinct order of _echinodermata_. dadoxylon (gr. _dadion_, a torch; _xulon_, wood). an extinct genus of coniferous trees. decapoda (gr. _deka_, ten; _podes_, feet). the division of _crustacea_ which have ten feet; also the family of cuttle-fishes, in which there are ten arms or cephalic processes. deciduous (lat. _decido_, i fall off). applied to parts which fall off or are shed during the life of the animal. deinosauria (gr. _deinos_, terrible; _saura_, lizard). an extinct order of reptiles. deinotherium (gr. _deinos_, terrible; _therion_, beast). an extinct genus of proboscidean mammals. dendrograptus (gr. _dendron_, tree; _grapho_, i write). a genus of graptolites. desmidiÆ. minute fresh-water plants, of a green colour, without a siliceous epidermis. diatomaceÆ (gr. _diatemno_, i sever). an order of minute plants which are provided with siliceous envelopes. dibranchiata (gr. _dis_; twice; _bragchia_, gill). the order of _cephalopoda_ (comprising the cuttle-fishes, &c.) in which only two gills are present. diceras (gr. _dis_, twice; _keras_, horn). an extinct genus of bivalve molluscs. dictyonema (gr. _diktuon_, a net; _nema_, thread). an extinct genus of _polyzoa_. dicynodontia (gr. _dis_, twice; _kuon_, dog; _odous_, tooth). an extinct order of reptiles. didymograptus (gr. _didumos_, twin; _grapho_, i write). a genus of graptolites. dimorphodon (gr. _dis_, twice; _morphé_, shape; _oduos_, tooth). a genus of pterosaurian reptiles. dinichthys (gr. _deinos_, terrible; _ichthus_, fish). an extinct genus of fishes. dinoceras (gr. _deinos_, terrible; _keras_, horn). an extinct genus of mammals. dinophis (gr. _deinos_, terrible; _ophis_, snake). an extinct genus of snakes. dinornis (gr. _deinos_, terrible; _ornis_, bird). an extinct genus of birds. diplograptus (gr. _diplos_, double; _grapho_, i write). a genus of graptolites. dipnoi (gr. _dis_, twice; _pnoé_, breath). an order of fishes, comprising the mud-fishes, so called in allusion to their double mode of respiration. diprotodon (gr. _dis_, twice; _protos_, first; _odous_, tooth). a genus of extinct marsupials. diptera (gr. _dis_, twice; _pteron_, wing). an order of insects characterised by the possession of two wings. discoid (gr. _diskos_, a quoit; _eidos_, form). shaped like a round plate or quoit. dolomite (named after m. dolomieu). magnesian limestone. dorsal (lat. _dorsum_, the back). connected with or placed upon the back. dromatherium (gr. _dromaios_, nimble; _therion_, beast). a genus of triassic mammals. dryopithecus (gr. _drus_, an oak; _pithekos_, an ape). an extinct genus of monkeys. echinodermata (gr. _echinos_; and _derma_, skin). a class of animals comprising the sea-urchins, star-fishes, and others, most of which have spiny skins. echinoidea (gr. _echinos_; and _eidos_, form). an order of _echinodermata_, comprising the sea-urchins. edentata (lat. _e_, without; _dens_, tooth). an order of _mammalia_ often called _bruta_. edentulous. toothless, without any dental apparatus. applied to the mouth of any animal, or to the hinge of the bivalve molluscs. elasmobranchii (gr. _elasma_, a plate; _bragchia_, gill). an order of fishes, including the sharks and rays. enaliosauria (gr. _enalios_, marine; _saura_, lizard), sometimes employed as a common term to designate the extinct reptilian orders of the _ichthyosauria_ and _plesiosauria_. eocene (gr. _eos_, dawn; _kainos_, new or recent). the lowest division of the tertiary rocks, in which species of existing shells are to a small extent represented. eophyton (gr. _eos_, dawn; _phuton_, a plant). a genus of cambrian fossils, supposed to be of a vegetable nature. eozoÖn (gr. _eos_, dawn; _zoön_, animal). a genus of chambered calcareous organisms found in the laurentian and huronian formations. equilateral (lat. _oequus_, equal; _latus_, side). having its sides equal. usually applied to the shells of the _brachiopoda_. when applied to the spiral shells of the _foraminifera_, it means that all the convolutions of the shell lie in the same plane. equisetaceÆ (lat. _equus_, horse; _seta_, bristle). a group of cryptogamous plants, commonly known as "horse-tails." equivalve (lat. _oequus_, equal; _valvoe_, folding-doors). applied to shells which are composed of two equal pieces or valves. errantia (lat. _erro_, i wander). an order of _annelida_, often called _nereidea_, distinguished by their great locomotive powers. euomphalus (gr. _eu_, well; _omphalos_, navel). an extinct genus of univalve molluscs. eurypterida (gr. _eurus_, broad; _pteron_, wing). an extinct sub-order of _crustacea_. exogyra (gr. _exo_, outside; _guros_, circle). an extinct genus of oysters. fauna (lat. _fauni_, the rural deities of the romans). the general assemblage of the animals of any region or district. favosites (lat. _favus_, a honeycomb). a genus of tabulate corals. fenestellidÆ. (lat. _fenestella_, a little window). the "lace-corals," a group of palæozoic polyzoans. filices (lat. _filix_, a fern). the order of cryptogamic plants comprising the ferns. filiform (lat. _filum_, a thread; _forma_, shape). thread-shaped. flora (lat. _flora_, the goddess of flowers). the general assemblage of the plants of any region or district. foraminifera (lat. _foramen_, an aperture; _fero_, i carry). an order of protozoa, usually characterised by the possession of a shell perforated by numerous pseudopodial apertures. frugivorous (lat. _frux_, fruit; _voro_, i devour). living upon fruits. fucoids (lat. _fucus_, sea-weed; gr. _eidos_, likeness). fossils, often of an obscure nature, believed to be the remains of sea-weeds. fusulina (lat. _fusus_, a spindle). an extinct genus of _foraminifera_. ganoid (gr, _ganos_, splendour, brightness). applied to those scales or plates which are composed of an inferior layer of true bone covered by a superior layer of polished enamel. ganoidei. an order of fishes. gasteropoda (gr. _gaster_, stomach; _pous_, foot). the class of the mollusca comprising the ordinary univalves, in which locomotion is usually effected by a muscular expansion of the under surface of the body (the "foot"). globigerina (lat. _globus_, a globe; _gero_, i carry). a genus of _foraminifera_. glyptodon (gr. _glupho_, i engrave; _odous_, tooth). an extinct genus of armadillos, so named in allusion to the fluted teeth. goniatites (gr. _gonia_, angle). a genus of tetrabranchiate cephalopods. grallatores (lat. _gralloe_, stilts). the order of the long-legged wading birds. graptolitidÆ. (gr. _grapho_, i write; _lithos_, stone). an extinct sub-class of the _hydrozoa_. gymnosperms (gr. _gumnos_, naked; _sperma_, seed). the conifers and cycads, in which the seed is not protected within a seed-vessel. halitherium (gr. _hals_, sea; _therion_, beast). an extinct genus of sea-cows (_sirenia_). hamites (lat. _hamus_, a hook). a genus of the _ammonitidoe_. heliophyllum (gr. _helios_, the sun; _phullon_, leaf). a genus of rugose corals. helladotherium (gr. _hellas_, greece; _therion_, beast). an extinct genus of ungulate mammals. hemiptera (gr. _hemi_, and _pteron_, wing). an order of insects in which the anterior wings are sometimes "hemelytra." hesperornis (gr. _hesperos_, the evening star; _ornis_, bird). an extinct genus of birds. heterocercal (gr. _heteros_, diverse; _kerkos_, tail). applied to the tail of fishes when it is unsymmetrical, or composed of two unequal lobes. heteropoda (gr. _heteros_, diverse; _podes_, feet). an aberrant group of the gasteropods, in which the foot is modified so as to form a swimming organ. hipparion (gr. _hipparion_, a little horse). an extinct genus of _equidoe_. hippopotamus (gr. _hippos_, horse; _potamos_, river). a genus of hoofed quadrupeds--the "river-horses." hippuritidÆ. (gr. _hippos_, horse; _oura_, tail). an extinct family of bivalve molluscs. holoptychius (gr. _holos_, whole; _ptucé_, wrinkle). an extinct genus of ganoid fishes. holostomata (gr. _holos_, whole; _stoma_, mouth). a division of _gasteropodous molluscs_, in which the aperture of the shell is rounded, or "entire." holothuroidea (gr. _holothourion_, and _eidos_, form). an order of _echinodermata_ comprising the trepangs. homocercal (gr. _homos_, same; _kerkol_, tail). applied to the tail of fishes when it is symmetrical, or composed of two equal lobes. hybodunts (gr. _hubos_, curved; _odous_, tooth). a group of fishes of which _hybodus_ is the type-genus. hydroida (gr. _hudra_; and _eidos_, form). the sub-class of the _hydrozoa_, which comprises the animals most nearly allied to the hydra. hydrozoa (gr. _hudra_; and _zoön_, animal). the class of the _coelenterata_ which comprises animals constructed after the type of the hydra. hymenoptera (gr. _humen_, a membrane; _pteron_, a wing). an order of insects (comprising bees, ants, &c.) characterised by the possession of four membranous wings. ichthyodorulite (gr. _ichthus_, fish; _dorus_, spear; _lithos_, stone). the fossil fin-spine of fishes. ichthyopterygia (gr. _ichthus_; _pterux_, wing). an extinct order of reptiles. ichthyornis (gr. _ichthus_, fish; _ornis_, bird). an extinct genus of birds. ichthyosauria (gr. _ichthus_; _saura_, lizard). synonymous with _ichthyopterygia_. iguanodon (_iguana_, a living lizard; gr. _odous_, tooth). a genus of deinosaurian reptiles. incisor (lat. _incido_, i cut). the cutting teeth fixed in the intermaxillary bones of the _mammalia_, and the corresponding teeth in the lower jaw. inequilateral. having the two sides unequal, as in the case of the shells of the ordinary bivalves (_lamellibranchiata_). when applied to the shells of the _foraminifera_, it implies that the convolutions of the shell do not lie in the same plane, but are obliquely wound round an axis. inequivalve. composed of two unequal pieces or valves. inoceramus (gr. _is_, a fibre; _keramos_, an earthen vessel). an extinct genus of bivalve molluscs. insecta (lat. _inseco_, i cut into). the class of articulate animals commonly known as insects. insectivora (lat. _insectum_, an insect; _voro_, i devour). an order of mammals. insectivorous. living upon insects. insessores (lat. _insedeo_, i sit upon). the order of the perching birds, often called _passeres_. interambulacra. the rows of plates in an _echinoid_ which are not perforated for the emission of the "tube-feet." intermmaxillÆ or prÆmaxillÆ. the two bones which are situated between the two superior maxillæ in _vertebrata_. in man, and some monkeys, the præmaxillæ anchylose with the maxillæ, so as to be irrecognisable in the adult. invertebrata (lat. _in_, without; _vertebra_, a bone of the back). animals without a spinal column or backbone. isopoda. (gr. _isos_, equal; _podes_, feet). an order of _crustacea_ in which the feet are like one another and equal. kainozoic (gr. _kainos_, recent; _zoe_, life). the tertiary period in geology comprising those formations in which the organic remains approximate more or less closely to the existing fauna and flora. labyrinthodontia (gr. _laburinthos_, a labyrinth; _odous_, tooth). an extinct order of _amphibia_, so called from the complex microscopic structure of the teeth. lacertilia (lat. _lacerta_, a lizard). an order of _reptilia_ comprising the lizards and slow-worms. lamellibranchiata (lat. _lamella_, a plate; gr. _bragchia_, gill). the class of _mollusca_ comprising the ordinary bivalves, characterised by the possession of lamellar gills. lepidodendron (gr. _lepis_, a scale; _dendron_, a tree). a genus of extinct plants, so named from the scale-like scars upon the stem left by the falling off of the leaves. lepidoptera (gr. _lepis_, a scale; _pteron_, a wing). an order of insects, comprising butterflies and moths, characterised by possessing four wings which are usually covered with minute scales. lepidosiren (gr. _lepis_, a scale; _seiren_, a siren--the generic name of the mud-eel or _siren lacertina_). a genus of dipnoous fishes, comprising the "mud-fishes." lepidostrobus (gr. _lepis_, a scale; _strobilos_, a fir-cone). a genus founded on the cones of _lepidodendron_. leptÆna (gr. _leptos_. slender). a genus of brachiopods. lingula (lat. _lingula_, a little tongue). a genus of brachiopods. lycopodiaceÆ (gr. _lupos_, a wolf; _pous_, foot). the group of cryptogamic plants generally known as "club-mosses." machÆracanthus (gr. _machaira_, a sabre; _acantha_, thorn or spine). an extinct genus of fishes. machairodus (gr. _machaira_, a sabre; _odous_, tooth). an extinct genus of carnivora. macrotherium (gr. _makros_, long; _therion_. beast). an extinct genus of edentata. macrura (gr. _makros_, long; _oura_, tail). a tribe of decapod _crustaceans_ with long tails (e.g., the lobster, shrimp, &c.) mammalia (lat. _mamma_, the breast). the class of vertebrate animals which suckle their young. mandible (lat. _mandibulum_, a jaw). the upper pair of jaws in insects; also applied to one of the pairs of jaws in _crustacea_ and spiders, to the beak of cephalopods, the lower jaw of vertebrates, &c. mantle. the external integument of most of the mollusca, which is largely developed, and forms a cloak in which the viscera are protected. technically called the "pallium." manus (lat. the hand). the hand of the higher vertebrates. marsipobranchii (gr. _marsipos_, a pouch; _bragchia_, gill). the order of fishes comprising the hag-fishes and lampreys, with pouch-like gills. marsupialia (lat. _marsupium_, a pouch). an order of mammals in which the females mostly have an abdominal pouch in which the young are carried. mastodon (gr. _mastos_, nipple; _odous_, tooth). an extinct genus of elephantine mammals. megalonyx (gr. _megas_, great; _onux_, nail). an extinct genus of edentate mammals. megalosaurus (gr. _megas_, great; _saura_, lizard). a genus of deinosaurian reptiles. megatherium (gr. _megas_, great; _therion_, beast). an extinct genus of edentata. mesozoic (gr. _mesos_, middle; and _zoe_, life). the secondary period in geology. microlestes (gr. _mikros_, little; _lestes_, thief). an extinct genus of triassic mammals. millepora (lat. _mille_, one thousand; _porus_, a pore). a genus of "tabulate corals." miocene (gr. _meion_, less; _kainol_, new). the middle tertiary period. molars (lat. _mola_, a mill). the "grinders" in man, or the teeth in diphyodont mammals which are not preceded by milk-teeth. mollusca (lat. _mollis_, soft). the sub-kingdom which includes the shell-fish proper, the _polyzoa_, the _tunicata_, and the lamp-shells; so called from the generally soft nature of their bodies. molluscoida (_mollusca_; gr. _eidos_, form). the lower division of the _mollusca_, comprising the _polyzoa, tunicata_, and _brachiopoda_. monograptus (gr. _monos_, single; _grapho_, i write). a genus of graptolites. mylodon (gr. _mulos_, a mill; _odous_, tooth). an extinct genus of edentate mammals. myriapoda or myriopoda (gr. _murios_, ten thousand; _podes_, feet). a class of _arthropoda_ comprising the centipedes and their allies, characterised by their numerous feet. natatores (lat. _nare_, to swim). the order of the swimming birds. natatory (lat. _nare_, to swim). formed for swimming. nautiloid. resembling the shell of the _nautilus_ in shape. nervures (lat. _nervus_, a sinew). the ribs which support the membranous wings of insects. neuroptera (gr. _neuron_, a nerve; _pteron_, a wing). an order of insects characterised by four membranous wings with numerous reticulated nervures (_e.g._, dragon-flies). neuropteris (gr. _neuron_, a nerve; _pteris_, a fern). an extinct genus of ferns. nothosaurus (gr. _nothos_, spurious; _saura_, lizard). a genus of _plesiosaurian_ reptiles. notochord (gr. _notos_, back; _chorde_, string). a cellular rod which is developed in the embryo of vertebrates immediately beneath the spinal cord, and which is usually replaced in the adult by the vertebral column. often it is spoken of as the "chorda dorsalis." nudibranchiata (lat. _nudus_, naked; and gr. _bragchia_, gill). an order of the _gasteropoda_ in which the gills are naked. nummulina (lat. _nummus_, a coin). a genus of _foraminifera_, comprising the coin-shaped "nummulites." obolella (lat. dim. of _obolus_, a small coin). an extinct genus of brachiopods. occipital. connected with the _occiput_, or the back part of the head. oceanic. applied to animals which inhabit the open ocean (= pelagic). odontopteryx (gr. _oduos_, tooth; _pterux_, wing). an extinct genus of birds. odontornithes (gr. _oduos_, tooth; _ornis_, bird). the extinct order of birds, comprising forms with distinct teeth in sockets. oligocene (gr. _oligos_, few; _kainos_, new). a name used by many continental geologists as synonymous with the lower miocene. ophidia (gr. _ophis_, a serpent). the order of reptiles comprising the snakes. ophiuroidea (gr. _ophis_, snake; _oura_, tail; _eidos_, form). an order of _echinodermata_, comprising the brittle-stars and sand-stars. ornithoscelida (gr. _ornis_, bird; _skelos_, leg). applied by huxley to the deinosaurian reptiles, together with the genus _compsognathus_, on account of the bird-like character of their hind-limbs. orthis (gr. _orthos_, straight). a genus of brachiopods, named in allusion to the straight hinge-line. orthoceratidÆ (gr. _orthos_, straight; _keras_, horn). a family of the _nautilidoe_, in which the shell is straight, or nearly so. orthoptera (gr. _orthos_, straight; _pteron_, wing). an order of insects. osteolepis (gr. _osteon_, bone; _lepis_, scale). an extinct genus of ganoid fishes. ostracoda (gr. _ostrakon_, a shell). an order of small crustaceans which are enclosed in bivalve shells. otodus (gr. _ota_, ears; _odous_, tooth). an extinct genus of sharks. oudenodon (gr. _ouden_, none; _odous_, tooth). a genus of dicynodont reptiles. ovibus (lat. _ovis_, sheep; _bos_, ox). the genus comprising the musk-ox. pachydermata (gr. _pachus_, thick; _derma_, skin). an old mammalian order constituted by cuvier for the reception of the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, elephant, &c. palÆaster (gr. _palaios_, ancient; _aster_, star). an extinct genus of star-fishes. palÆocaris (gr. _palaios_, ancient; _karis_, shrimp). an extinct genus of decapod crustaceans. palÆolithic (gr. _palaios_, ancient; _lithos_, stone). applied to the rude stone implements of the earliest known races of men, to the men who made these implements, or to the period at which they were made. palÆontology (gr. _palaios_, ancient; and _logos_, discourse). the science of fossil remains or of extinct organised beings. palÆophis (gr. _palaios_, ancient; _ophis_, serpent). an extinct genus of snakes. palÆosaurus (gr. _palaios_, ancient; _saura_, lizard). a genus of thecodont reptiles. palÆotheridÆ. (gr. _palaios_, ancient; _ther_, beast). a group of tertiary ungulates. palÆozoic (gr. _palaios_, ancient; and _zoe_, life). applied to the oldest of the great geological epochs. paradoxides (lat. _paradoxus_, marvellous). a genus of trilobites. patagium (lat. the border of a dress). applied to the expansion of the integument by which bats, flying squirrels, and other animals support themselves in the air. pecopteris (gr. _peko_, i comb; _pteris_, a fern). an extinct genus of ferns. pecten (lat. a comb). the genus of bivalve molluscs comprising the scallops. pectoral (lat. _pectus_, chest). connected with, or placed upon, the chest. pentacrinus (gr. _penta_, five; _krinon_, lily). a genus of crinoids in which the column is five-sided. pentamerus (gr. _penta_, five; _meros_, part). an extinct genus of brachiopods. pentremites (gr. _penta_, five; _trema_, aperture). a genus of _blastoidea_, so named in allusion to the apertures at the summit of the calyx. perennibranchiata (lat. _perennis_, perpetual; gr. _bragchia_, gill). applied to those amphibia in which the gills are permanently retained throughout life. perissodactyla (gr. _perissos_, uneven; _daktulos_, finger). applied to those hoofed quadrupeds (_ungulata_) in which the feet have an uneven number of toes. petaloid. shaped like the petal of a flower. phacops (gr. _phaké_, a lentil; _ops_, the eye). a genus of trilobites. phalanges (gr. _phalanx_, a row). the small bones composing the digits of the higher _vertebrata_. normally each digit has three phalanges. phanerogams (gr. _phaneros_, visible; _gamos_, marriage). plants which have the organs of reproduction conspicuous, and which bear true flowers. pharyngobranchii (gr. _pharugx_, pharynx; _bragchia_, gill). the order of fishes comprising only the lancelet. phascolotherium (gr. _phaskolos_, a pouch; _therion_, a beast). a genus of oolitic mammals. phragmacone (gr. _phragma_, a partition; and _konos_, a cone). the chambered portion of the internal shell of a _belemnite_. phyllopoda (gr. _phullon_, leaf; and _pous_, foot). an order of _crustacea_. pinnate (lat. _pinna_, a feather). feather-shaped; or possessing lateral processes. pinnigrada (lat. _pinna_, a feather; _gradior_, i walk). the group of _carnivora_, comprising the seals and walruses, adapted for an aquatic life. often called _pinnipedia_. pinnulÆ. (lat. dim. of _pinna_). the lateral processes of the arms of _crinoids_. pisces (lat. _piscis_, a fish). the class of vertebrates comprising the fishes. placoid (gr. _plax_, a plate; _eidos_, form). applied to the irregular bony plates, grains, or spines which are found in the skin of various fishes (_elasmobranchii_). plagiostomi (gr. _plagios_, transverse; _stoma_, mouth). the sharks and rays, in which the mouth is transverse, and is placed on the under surface of the head. platyceras (gr. _platus_, broad; _keras_, horn). a genus of univalve molluscs. platycrinus (gr. _platus_, broad; _krinom_, lily). a genus of crinoidea. platyrhina (gr. _platus_, broad; _rhines_, nostrils). a group of the _quadrumana_. platysomus (gr. _platus_, wide; _soma_, body). a genus of ganoid fishes. pleistocene (gr. _pleistos_, most; _kainos_, new). often used as synonymous with "post-pliocene." pleurotomaria (gr. _pleura_, the side; _tomé_, notch). a genus of univalve shells. pliocene (gr. _pleion_, more; _kainos_, new). the later tertiary period. pliopithecus (gr. _pleion_, more; _pithekos_, ape). an extinct genus of monkeys. pliosaurus (gr. _pleion_, more; _saura_, lizard). a genus of plesiosaurian reptiles. polycystina (gr. _polus_, many; and _kustis_, a cyst). an order of _protozoa_ with foraminated siliceous shells. polypary. the hard chitinous covering secreted by many of the _hydrozoa_. polype (gr. _polus_, many; _pous_, foot). restricted to the single individual of a simple _actinozoön_, such as a sea-anemone, or to the separate zooids of a compound _actinozoön_. often applied indiscriminately to any of the _coelenterata_, or even to the polyzoa. polypora (gr. _polus_, many; _poros_, a passage). a genus of lace-corals (_fenestellidoe_). polythalamous (gr. _polus_; and _thalamos_, chamber). having many chambers; applied to the shells of _foraminifera_ and _cephalopoda_. polyzoa (gr. _polus_; and _zoön_, animal). a division of the _molluscoida_ comprising compound animals, such as the sea-mat--sometimes called _bryozoa_. porifera (lat. _porus_, pore; and _fero_, i carry). sometimes used to designate the _foraminifera_, or the _sponges_. prÆmolars (lat. _proe_, before; _molares_, the grinders). the molar teeth of mammals which succeed the molars of the milk-set of teeth. in man, the bicuspid teeth. proboscidea (lat. _proboscis_, the snout). the order of mammals comprising the elephants. procoelous (gr. _pro_, before; _koilos_, hollow). applied to vertebræ the bodies of which are hollow or concave in front. producta (lat. _productus_, drawn out or extended). an extinct genus of brachiopods, in which the shell is "eared," or has its lateral angles drawn out. protichnites (gr. _protos_, first; _ichnos_, footprint). applied to certain impressions in the potsdam sandstone of north america, believed to have been produced by large crustaceans. protophyta (gr. _protos_; and _phuton_, plant). the lowest division of plants. protoplasm (gr. _protos_; and _plasso_ i mould). the elementary basis of organised tissues. sometimes used synonymously for the "sarcode" of the _protozoa_. protorosaurus or proterosaurus (gr. _protos_, first; _orao_, i see or discover; _saura_, lizard: or _proteros_, earlier; _saura_, lizard). a genus of permian lizards. protozoa (gr. _protos_; and _zoön_, animal). the lowest division of the animal kingdom. psammodus (gr. _psammos_, sand; _odous_, tooth). an extinct genus of cestraciont sharks. pseudopodia (gr. _pseudos_, falsity; and _pous_, foot). the extensions of the body-substance which are put forth by the _rhizopoda_ at will, and which serve for locomotion and prehension. psilophyton (gr. _psilos_, bare; _phuton_, plant). an extinct genus of lycopodiaceous plants. pteranodon (gr. _pteron_, wing; _a_, without; _odous_, tooth). a genus of pterosaurian reptiles. pteraspis (gr. _pteron_, wing; _aspis_, shield). a genus of ganoid fishes. pterichthys (gr. _pteron_, wing; _ichthus_, fish). a genus of ganoid fishes. pterodactylus (gr. _pteron_, wing; _daktulos_, finger). a genus of pterosaurian reptiles. pteropoda (gr. _pteron_, wing; and _pous_, foot). a class of the _mollusca_ which swim by means of fins attached near the head. pterosauria (gr. _pteron_, wing; _saura_, lizard). an extinct order of reptiles. ptilodictya (gr. _ptilon_, a feather; _diktuon_, a net). an extinct genus of _polyzoa_. ptychoceras (gr. _ptucé_, a fold; _keras_, a horn). a genus of _ammonitidoe_. pulmonate. possessing lungs. pyriform (lat. _pyrus_, a pear; and _forma_, form). pear-shaped. quadrumana (lat. _quatuor_, four; _manus_, hand). the order of mammals comprising the apes, monkeys, baboons, lemurs, &c. radiata (lat. _radius_, a ray). formerly applied to a large number of animals which are now placed in separate sub-kingdoms (e.g., the _coelenterata_, the _echinodermata_, the _infusoria_, &c.) radiolaria (lat. _radius_, a ray). a division of _protozoa_. ramus (lat. a branch). applied to each half or branch of the lower jaw, or mandible, of vertebrates. raptores (lat. _rapto_, i plunder). the order of the birds of prey. rasores (lat. _rado_, i scratch). the order of the scratching birds (fowls. pigeons, &c.) receptaculites (lat. _receptaculum_, a storehouse). an extinct genus of protozoa. reptilia (lat. _repto_, i crawl). the class of the _vertebrata_ comprising the tortoises, snakes, lizards, crocodiles, &c. retepora (lat. _reté_, a net; _porus_, a pore). a genus of lace-corals (_polyzoa_). rhamphorhynchus (gr. _rhamphos_, beak; _rhugchos_, nose). a genus of pterosaurian reptiles. rhinoceros (gr. _rhis_, the nose; _keras_, horn). a genus of hoofed quadrupeds. rhizopoda (gr. _rhiza_, a root; and _pous_, foot). the division of _protozoa_ comprising all those which are capable of emitting pseudopodia. rhyncholites (gr. _rhugchos_, beak; and _lithos_, stone). beak-shaped fossils consisting of the mandibles of _cephalopoda_. rhynchonella (gr. _rhugchos_, nose or beak). a genus of brachiopods. rodentia (lat. _rodo_, i gnaw). an order of the mammals; often called _glires_ (lat. _glis_, a dormouse). rotalia (lat. _rota_, a wheel). a genus of _foraminifera_. rugosa (lat. _rugosus_, wrinkled). an order of corals. ruminantia (lat. _ruminor_, i chew the cud). the group of hoofed quadrupeds (_ungulata_) which "ruminate" or chew the cud. sarcode (gr. _sarx_, flesh; _eidos_, form). the jelly-like substance of which the bodies of the _protozoa_ are composed. it is an albuminous body containing oil-granules, and is sometimes called "animal protoplasm." sauria (gr. _saura_, a lizard). any lizard-like reptile is often spoken of as a "saurian;" but the term is sometimes restricted to the crocodiles alone, or to the crocodiles and lacertilians. sauropterygia (gr. _sauro_; _pterux_, wing). an extinct order of reptiles, called by huxley _plesiosauria_, from the typical genus _plesiosaurus_. saururÆ (gr. _saura_; _oura_, tail). the extinct order of birds comprising only the _archoeopteryx_. scansores (lat. _scando_, i climb). the order of the climbing birds (parrots, woodpeckers, &c.) scaphites (lat. _scapha_, a boat). a genus of the _ammonitidoe_. scolithus (gr. _skolex_, a worm; _lithos_, a stone). the vertical burrows of sea-worms in rocks. scuta (lat. _scutum_, a shield). applied to any shield-like plates; especially to those which are developed in the integument of many reptiles. selachia or selachii (gr. _selachos_, a cartilaginous fish, probably a shark). the sub-order of _elasmobranchii_ comprising the sharks and dog-fishes. sepiostaire. the internal shell of the sepia, commonly known as the "cuttle-bone." septa. partitions. serpentiform. resembling a serpent in shape. sertularida (lat. _sertum_, a wreath). an order of _hydrozoa_. sessile (lat. _sedo_, i sit). not supported upon a stalk or peduncle; attached by a base. sethÆ (lat. bristles). bristles or long stiff hairs. sigillarioids (lat. _sigilla_, little images). a group of extinct plants of which _sigillaria_ is the type, so called from the seal-like markings on the bark. siliceous (lat. _silex_, flint). composed of flint. sinistral (lat. _sinistra_, the left hand). left-handed; applied to the direction of the spiral in certain shells, which are said to be "reversed." siphon (gr. a tube). applied to the respiratory tubes in the _mollusca_; also to other tubes of different functions. siphonia (gr. _siphon_, a tube). a genus of fossil sponges. siphonostomata (gr. _siphon_; and _stoma_, mouth). the division of _gasteropodous molluscs_ in which the aperture of the shell is not "entire," but possesses a notch or tube for the emission of the respiratory siphon. siphuncle (lat. _siphunculus_, a little tube). the tube which connects together the various chambers of the shell of certain _cephalopoda_ (_e.g._, the pearly nautilus). sirenia (gr. _seiren_. a mermaid). the order of _mammalia_ comprising the dugongs and manatees. sivatherium (_siva_, a hindoo deity; gr. _therion_, beast). an extinct genus of hoofed quadrupeds. solidungula (lat. _solidus_, solid; _ungula_, a hoof). the group of hoofed quadrupeds comprising the horse, ass, and zebra, in which each foot has only a single solid hoof. often called _solipedia_. sphenopteris (gr. _sphen_, a wedge; _pteris_, a fern). an extinct genus of ferns. spicula (lat. _spicidum_, a point). pointed needle-shaped bodies. spirifera (lat. _spira_, a spire or coil; _fero_, i carry). an extinct genus of brachiopods, with large spiral supports for the "arms." spirorbis (lat. _spira_, a spire; _orbis_, a circle). a genus of tube-inhabiting annelides, in which the shelly tube is coiled into a spiral disc. spongida (gr. _spoggos_, a sponge). the division of _protozoa_ commonly known as sponges. stalactites (gr. _stalasso_, i drop). icicle-like encrustations and deposits of lime, which hang from the roof of caverns in limestone. stalagmite (gr. _stalagma_, a drop). encrustations of lime formed on the floor of caverns which are hollowed out of limestone. stigmaria (gr. _stigma_, a mark made with a pointed instrument). a genus founded on the roots of various species of _sigillaria_. stratum (lat. _stratus_, spread out; or _stratum_, a thing spread out). a layer of rock. stromatopora (gr. _stroma_, a thing spread out; _paras_, a passage or pore). a palæozoic genus of _protozoa_. strophohena (gr. _strophao_, i twist; _mené_, moon). an extinct genus of brachiopods. sub-calcareous. somewhat calcareous. sub-central. nearly central, but not quite. suture (lat. _suo_, i sew). the line of junction of two parts which are immovably connected together. applied to the line where the whorls of a univalve shell join one another; also to the lines made upon the exterior of the shell of a chambered _cephalopod_ by the margins of the septa. syringopora (gr. _surigx_, a pipe; _poros_, a pore). a genus of tabulate corals. tabulÆ. (lat. _tabula_, a tablet). horizontal plates or floors found in some corals, extending across the cavity of the "theca" from side to side. tegumentary (lat. _tegumentum_, a covering). connected with the integument or skin. teleosaurus (gr. _teleios_, perfect; _saura_, lizard). an extinct genus of crocodilian reptiles. teleostei (gr. _teleios_, perfect; _osteon_, bone). the order of the "bony fishes." telson (gr. a limit). the last joint in the abdomen of _crustacea_; variously regarded as a segment without appendages, or as an azygous appendage. tentaculites (lat. _tentaculum_, a feeler). a genus of _pteropoda_. terebratula (lat. _terebratus_, bored or pierced). a genus of _brachiopoda_, so called in allusion to the perforated beak of the ventral valve. test (lat. _testa_, shell). the shell of _mollusca_, which are for this reason sometimes called "_testacea_;" also, the calcareous case of _echinoderms_; also, the thick leathery outer tunic in the _tunicata_. testaceous. provided with a shell or hard covering. testudinidÆ (lat. _testudo_, a tortoise). the family of the tortoises. tetrabranchiata (gr. _tetra_, four; _bragchia_, gill). the order of _cephalopoda_ characterised by the possession of four gills. textularia. (lat. _textilis_, woven). a genus of _foraminifera_. theca (gr. _theké_, a sheath). a genus of pteropods. thecodontosaurus (gr. _theké_, a sheath; _odous_, tooth; _saura_, lizard). a genus of "thecodont" reptiles, so named in allusion to the fact that the teeth are sunk in distinct sockets. theriodont (gr. _therion_, a beast; _odous_, tooth). a group of reptiles so named by owen in allusion to the mammalian character of their teeth. thorax (gr. a breastplate). the region of the chest. thylacoleo (gr. _thulakos_, a pouch; _leo_, a lion). an extinct genus of marsupials. trigonia (gr. _treis_, three; _gonia_, angle). a genus of bivalve molluscs. trigonocarpon (gr. _treis_, three; _gonia_. angle; _karpos_, fruit). a genus founded on fossil fruits of a three-angled form. trilobita (gr. _treis_, three; _lobos_, a lobe). an extinct order of _crustaceans_. trinucleus (lat. _tris_, three; _nucleus_, a kernel). a genus of trilobites. trogontherium (gr. _trogo_, i gnaw; _therion_, beast). an extinct genus of beavers. tubicola (lat. _tuba_, a tube; and _colo_, i inhabit). the order of _annelida_ which construct a tubular case in which they protect themselves. tubicolous. inhabiting a tube. tunicata (lat. _tunica_, a cloak). a class of _molluscoida_ which are enveloped in a tough leathery case or "test." turbinated (lat. _turbo_, a top). top-shaped; conical with a round base. turrilites (lat, _turris_, a tower). a genus of the _ammonitidoe_. umbo (lat. the boss of a shield). the beak of a bivalve shell. unguiculate (lat. _unguis_, nail). furnished with claws. ungulata (lat. _ungula_, hoof). the order of mammals comprising the hoofed quadrupeds. ungulate. furnished with expanded nails constituting hoofs. unilocular (lat. _unus_, one; and _loculus_. a little purse). possessing a single cavity or chamber. applied to the shells of _foraminifera_ and _mollusca_. univalve (lat. _unus_, one; _valvoe_, folding-doors). a shell composed of a single piece or valve. urodela (gr. _oura_, tail; _delos_, visible). the order of the tailed amphibians (newts, &c.) ventral (lat. _venter_, the stomach). relating to the inferior surface of the body. ventriculites (lat. _ventriculum_, a little stomach). a genus of siliceous sponges. vermiform (lat. _vermis_, worm; and _forma_, form). worm-like. vertebra (lat. _verto_, i turn). one of the bony segments of the vertebral column or backbone. vertebrata (lat. _vertebra_, a bone of the back, from _vertere_, to turn). the division of the animal kingdom roughly characterised by the possession of a backbone. vesicle (lat. _vesica_, a bladder). a little sac or cyst. whorl. the spiral turn of a univalve shell. xiphosura (gr. _xiphos_, a sworn; and _oura_, tail). an order of _crustacea_, comprising the _limuli_ or king-crabs, characterised by their long sword-like tails. xylobius (gr. _xulon_, wood; _bios_, life). an extinct genus of myriapods, named in allusion to the fact that the animal lived on decaying wood. zaphrentis (proper name). a genus of rugose corals. zeuglodontidÆ. (gr. _zeuglé_, a yoke; _odous_, a tooth). an extinct family of cetaceans, in which the molar teeth are two-fanged, and look as if composed of two parts united by a neck. zoophyte (gr. _zoön_, animal; _phuton_, plant). loosely applied to many plant-like animals, such as sponges, corals, sea-anemones, sea-mats, &c. index. acadian group. _acer_. _acervularia_. _acidaspis_. acorn-shells. _acroculia_. _acrodus; nobilis_. _acrotreta_. _acroura_. _actinocrinus_. _Æglina_. _Æpiornis_. _agnostus; rex_. _alces malchis_. _alecto_. _alethopteris_. _algoe_ (_see_ sea-weeds). alligators. _alnus_. _amblypterus; macropterus_. _ambonychia_. _ammonites; humpresianus; bifrons_. _ammonitidoe_. _amphibia_; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the miocene. _amphicyon_. _amphilestes_. _amphispongia_. _amphistegina_. _amphitherium; prevostii_. _amphitragulus_. _amplexus; coralloides_. _ampyx_. _anachytes_. _anchitherium_. _ancyloceras; matheronianus_. _ancylotherium pentelici_. _andrias scheuchzeri_. _angiosperms_. animal kingdom, divisions of. _anisopus_. _annelida_, of the cambrian period; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous. _annularia_. _anomodontia_. _anoplotheridoe_. _anoplotherium; commune_. ant-eaters. antelopes. _anthracosaurus russelli_. _anthrapaloemon gracilis_. _antilocapra_. _antilope quadricornis_. antwerp crag. apes. _apiocrinus_. _apteryx_. aqueous rocks. _arachnida_ of the coal-measures. aralo-caspian beds. _araucaria_. _araucarioxylon_. _arca; antiqua_. _archoeocidaris_. _archoeocyathus_. _archoeopteryx; macrura_. _archoeospoerinoe_. _archimedes; wortheni_. _archiulus_. arctic regions, miocene flora of. _arctocyon_. arenaceous rocks. _arenicolites; didymus_. arenig rocks. argillaceous rocks. armadillos. _artiodactyle ungulates_. _asaphus; tyrannus_. _ascoceras_. _aspidella_. _aspidura loricata_. _astarte borealis_. _asterophyllites_. _asterosteus_. _astroeidoe_. _astroeospongia_. _astylospongia; proemorsa_. _athyris; subtilita_. atlantic ooze. _atrypa; congesta; hemispoerica; reticularis_. auger-shells. aurochs. aves (_see_ birds). _avicula; cantorta; socialis_. "avicula contorta beds". _aviculidoe_. _aviculopecten_. _axophyllum_. aymestry limestone. azoic rocks. _baculites; anceps_. bagshot and bracklesham beds. _bakewellia_. _baloena_. bala group. bala limestone. _balanidoe_. _banksia_. barbadoes earth. barnacles. bath oolite. bats. bears. beaver. beetles. _belemnitella mucronata_. _beleminites; canaliculatus_. _belemnitidoe_. _belemnoteuthis_. _belinurus_. _bellerophon; argo_. _belodon; carolinensis_. _belosepia_. _beloteuthis subcostata_. bembridge beds. _beryx; lewesiensis_. _beyrichia; complicata_. bird's-eye limestone. birds, of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene; of the post-pliocene. _bison priscus_. bituminous schists of caithness. bivalves (_see_ lamellibranchiata). black-lead (_see_ graphite). black-river limestone. _blastoidea_; of the devonian; of the carboniferous. _boidoe_. bolderberg beds. bone-bed, of the upper ludlow; of the trias. bony fishes (_see_ teleostean fishes). _bos primigenius; _taurus_. boulder-clay. _bourgueticrinus_. bovey-tracy beds. _brachiopoda_; of the cambrian rocks; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene. _brachymetopus_. brachyurous crustaceans. bradford clay. breaks in the geological and palæontological record. breccia. brick-earths. bridlington crag. brittle-stars (_see_ ophiuroidea). _bronteus_. _brontotheridoe_. _brontotherium ingens_. _brontozoum_. _buccinum_. _bucklandia_. _bulimus_. bunter sandstein. butterflies. _byssoarca_. cainozoic (_see_ kainozoic). calamaries. _calamites; cannoeformis_. calcaire grossier. calcareous rocks; tufa. calciferous sand-rock. _calveria_. _calymene; blumenbachii_. _camarophoria globulina_. cambrian period; rocks of, in britain; in bohemia; in north america; life of. _camelopardalidoe_. camels. _canis lupus; parisiensis_. caradoc rocks. carbon, origin of. carboniferous limestone. carboniferous period; rocks of; life of. carboniferous slates of ireland. _carcharias_. _carcharodon; productus_. _cardinia_. _cardiocarpon_. _cardiola; fibrosa; interrupta_. _cardita; planicosta_. _cardium; rhoeticum_. caribou. _carnivora_, of the eocene; of the miocene; of the pliocene; of the post-pliocene. _caryocaris_. _caryocrinus ornatus_. _castor fiber_. _castoroides ohioensis_. catastrophism, theory of. _catopterus_. cauda-galli grit. _caulopteris_. cave-bear. cave-deposits. cave-hyæna. cave-lion. caves, formation of; deposits in. _cavicornia_. cement-stones. _cephalaspis_. _cephalopoda_, of the cambrian period; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene; of the miocene. _ceratiocaris_. _ceratites; nodosus_. _ceratodus; altus; fosteri; serratus_. _ceriopora; hamiltonensis_. _cerithium; _hexagonum_. _cervidoe_, of the miocene period; of the pliocene; of the post-pliocene. _cervus; capreolus; elaphus; megaceros; tarandus_. _cestracion philippi_. cestracionts, of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous. _cetacea_; of the eocene; of the miocene. _cetiosaurus_. _choeropotamus_. _choetetes; tumidus_. chain-coral. chalk; structure of; foraminifera of; origin of; with flints; without flints. _chama_. _chamoerops; helvetica_. chazy limestone. _cheiroptera_, of the eocene; of the miocene. _cheirotherium_. _cheirurus; bimucronatus_. _chelichnus duncani_. _chelone benstedi; planiceps_. _chelonia_, of the permian; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene; of the miocene. _chemnitzia_. chemung group. chert. chillesford beds. _chonetes; hardrensis_. _chonophyllum_. _cidaris_. cincinnati group. _cinnamomum polymorphum_. cinnamon-trees. _cladodus_. claiborne beds. _clathropora; intertexta_. clay; red, origin of. clay-ironstone, nodules of. _cleidophorus_. _cleodora_. _climacograptus_. clinton formation. _clisiophyllum_. _clupeidoe_. _clymenia; sedgwickii_. coal; structure of; mode of formation of. coal-measures; mineral characters of; mode of formation of; plants of. coccoliths. _coccosteus_. _cochliodus; cantortus_. _coleoptera_. _colossochelys atlas_. _columnaria; alveolata_. _comatula_. conclusions to be drawn from fossils. concretions, calcareous; phosphatic; of clay-ironstone; of manganese. conglomerate. _coniferoe_; wood of; of devonian period; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic period. coniston flags and grits. connecticut sandstones, footprints of. _conocoryphe mathewi; sultzeri_. conodonts. _constellaria_. constricting serpents of the eocene. contemporaneity of strata. continuity, theory of. _conularia; ornata_. _conulus_. _conus_. coomhola grits. coprolites. coralline crag. corallines. _corallium_. coral-rag. coral-reefs. coral-rock. coral-sand. corals; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene; of the miocene. _corbula_. cornbrash. corniferous limestone. _cornulites_. cornus. _coryphodon_. cowries. crabs. crag, red; white; norwich; antwerp; bridlington; coralline. _crania; ignabergensis_. _crassatella_. _crepidophyllum; archiaci_. cretaceous period; rocks of, in britain; in north america; life of. crinoidal limestone. _crinoidea_; of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the triss; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene. _crioceras; cristatum_. _crocodilia_; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene. cromer forest-bed. _crossozamites_. _crotalocrinus_. _crustacea_, of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous. cryptogams. _ctenacanthus_. _ctenodonta_. _cupressus_. cursores. cuttle-fishes (_see_ dibranchiate cephalopods). _cyathocrinus_. _cyathophyllum_. _cycadopteris_. cycads; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous. _cyclas_. _cyclonema_. _cyclophthalmus senior_. _cyclostoma; arnoudii_. _cynodraco_. _cyproea; elegans_. cypress. _cypridina_. cypridina slates. _cyrena_. _cyrtina_. _cyrtoceras_. _cystiphyllum; vesiculosum_. _cystoidea_; of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian. dachstein beds. _dadoxylon_. _daonella; lommelli_. _dasornis londinensis_. decapod crustaceans. deer. _deinosauria_; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous. _deinotherium; giganteum_. denbighshire flags and grits. _dendrocrinus_. _dendrograptus_. desmids. devonian formation; origin of name; relation to old red sandstone; of devonshire; of north america; life of. _diadema_. diatoms; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of flints; of richmond earth. dibranchiate cephalopods; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene; of the miocene. _diceras; arietina_. diceras limestone. _dichobune_. _dichograptus; octobrachiatus_. dicotyledonous plants. _dicotyles antiquus_. _dicranograptus_. _dictyonema; sociale_. _dicynodon; lacerticeps_. _didelphys; gypsorum_. _didus ineptus_. _didymograptus; divaricatus_. _dikellocephalus celticus; minnesotensis_. _dimorphodon_. _dinichthys; hertzeri_. _ditoceras; mirabilis_. _dinocerata_. _dinophis_. _dinornis; elephantopus; giganteus_. _dinosauria_ (see _deinosauria_). _dinotherium_ (see _deinotherium_). _diphyphyllum_. _diplograptus; pristis_. _dipnoi_. _diprotodon; australis_. _diptera_. _discina_. _discoidea; cylindrica_. _dithyrocaris; scouleri_. dodo. dog whelks. dolomite. dolomitic couglomerate of bristol. dolphins. _dorcatherium_. downton sandstone. _draco volans_. dragon-flies. drift, glacial. _dremotherium_. _dromatherium sylvestre_. _dryandra_. _dryopithecus_. dugougs. _echinodermata_, of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene. _echinoidea_; of the upper silurian; or the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous. _edentata_; of the eocene; of the miocene; of the post-pliocene. _edriocrinus_. eifel limostone. _elasmobranchii_ (_see_ placoid fishes). _elasmosaurus_. elephants. _elphas; americanus; antiquus; falconeri; melitensis; meridionalis; planifrons; primigenius_. elk; irish. _ellipsocephalus hoffi_. _elotherium_. _emydidoe_. _emys_. enaliosaurians. encrinital warble. _encrinurus_. _encrinus liliiformis_. endogenous plants. _endophyllum_. _endothyra; bailyi_. engis skull. _entomis_. _entomoconchus scouleri_. eocene period; rocks of, in britain; in france; in north america; life of. _eocidaris_. _eophyton; linneanum_. eophyton sandstone. _eosaurus acadianus_. eozoic rocks. _eozoön bavaricum_. _eozoön canadense_; appearance of, in mass; minute structure of; affinities of, with _foraminifera_. _ephemeridoe_. _equisetaceoe_. _equisetites_. _equidoe_. _equus; caballus; excelsus; fossilis_. _eridophyllum_. _eryon arctiformis_. _eschara_. _escharidoe_. _escharina; oceani_. _estheria; tenella_. _eucalyptocrinus; polydactylus_. _eucladia_. _euomphalus; discors_. _euplectella_. _euproöps_. european bison. _eurypterida_; of the upper silurian; of the devonian. even-toed ungulates. exogenous plants. _exogyra; virgula_. extinction of species. _fagus_. faluns. fan-palms. _favistella_. _favostites; gothlandica; hemisphoerica_. faxöe limestone. _felis angustus; leo; speloea_. _fenestella; cribrosa; magnifica; retiformis_. _fenestellidoe_. ferns, of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous. fig-shells. fishes; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene; of the miocene. flint; structure of; origin of; organisms of; of chalk. human implements associated with bones of extinct mammals. flora (_see_ plants). footprints of _cheirotherium_; of the triassic sandstones of connecticut. _foraminifera_; of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene; of the miocene; of the post-pliocene; of atlantic ooze; as builders of limestone; as forming green sands. _forbesiocrinus_. forest-bed of cromer. forest-bugs. forest-marble. formation, definition of; succession of. fossiliferous rocks; chronological succession of. fossilisation, processes of. fossils, definition of; distinctive, of rock-groups; conclusions to be drawn from; biological relations of. foxes. fringe-finned ganoids. fucoidal sandstone. fucoids. fuller's earth. _fusulina; cylindrica_. _fusus_. _galeocerdo_. _galerites; albo-galerus_. _galestes_. ganoid fishes; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene. gaspé beds. _gasteropoda_, of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene. _gastornis parisiensis_. gault. gavial. genesee slates. geological record, breaks in the. giraffes. glacial period; deposits of. _glandulina_. glauconite. _glauconome; pulcherrima_. globe crinoids (_see_ cystoidea). _globigerina_. glutton. _glyptaster_. _glyptocrinus_. _glyptodon; clavipes_. _glyptoloemus_. goats. _goniatites; jossoe_. _gorgonidoe_. _grallatores_. graphite; mode of occurrence of; origin of. _graptolites_; structure of; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian. great oolite; upper. greenland. miocene plants of. greensand, lower. green sands, origin of. _grevillea_. _griffithides_. grizzly bear. groond sloths. _gryphoea; incurva_. guelph limestone. _gulo luscus; speloeus_. guttenstein beds. gymnospermous exogens. gypsum. _gyracanthus_. _gyroceras_. _hadrosaurus_. _halitherium_. hallstadt beds. _halobia_. _halysites; agglomerata; catenularia_. hamilton formation. _hamites; rotundus_. _haplophlebium barnesi_. harlech grits. _harpes; ungula_. hastings sands. headon and osborne series. heart-urchins. _heliolites_. _heliophyllum; exiguum_. _helix_. _helladotherium_. _helopora fragilis_. _hemicidaris crenularis_. _hemiptera_. _hemitrochiscus paradoxus_. hempstead beds. _hesperornis; regalis_. _heteropoda_; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous. _hinnites_. _hipparion_. _hippopodium_. _hippopotamus; amphibus; major; sivalensis_. _hippothoa_. hippurite marble. _hippurites; toucasiana_. _hippuritidoe_. _histioderma_. hollow-horned ruminants. _holocystis elegan_. _holopea; subconica_. _holopella; obsoleta_. _holoptychius; nobilissimus_. holostomatous univalves. holothurians. _holtenia_. _homacanthus_. _homalonotus; armatus_. _homo diluvii testis_. honeycomb corals. hoofed quadrupeds. hudson river group. huronian period; rocks of. _hyoena crocuta; speloea; hipparionum_. _hyoenictis_. _hyoenodon_. _hyalea d'orbignyana_. _hybodus_. _hydractinia_. hydroid zoophytes. _hymenocaris vermicauda_. _hymenophyllites_. _hymenoptera_. _hyopotamus_. _hyperodapedon_. _hypsiprymnopsis_. _hystrix primigenius_. _ichthyocrinus loevis_. _ichthyornis; dispar_. _ichthyosaurus; communis_. _ictitherium_. _iguana_. _iguanodon; mantelli_. ilfracombe group. _illoenus_. imperfection of the palæontological record. inferior oolite. infusorial earth. _inoceramus; sulcatus_. _insectivora_, of the eocene; of the miocene. insects, of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the jurassic; of the miocene. irish elk. _ischadites_. isopod crustaceans. jackson beds. jurassic period; rocks of; life of. _kaidacarpum_. kainozoic period. kangaroo. kelloway rock. kent's cavern, deposits in. keuper. kimmeridge clay. king-crabs. _koninckia_. kössen beds. _labyrinthodon joegeri_. _labyrinthodontia_; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias. lace-corals. _lacertilia_; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous. _loelaps_. _lamellibranchiata_, of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene. _lamna_. lamp-shells (see _brachiopoda_). land-tortoises. _lauraceoe_. laurentian period; rocks of; lower laurentian; upper laurentian; areas occupied by laurentian rocks; limestones of; iron-ores of; phosphate of lime of; graphite of; life of. leaf-beds of the isle of mull. _leda; truncata_. _leguminosites marcouanus_. lemming. _lepadidoe_. _lepadocrinus gebhardi_. _leperditia; canadensis_. _lepidaster_. _lepidechinus_. _lepidesthes_. lepidodendroids. _lepidodendron; sternberg_. _lepidoptera_. _lepidosiren_. _lepidosteus_. _lepidostrobus_. _lepidotus_. _leptoena; liassica; sericea_. _leptocoelia; plano-convexa_. lias. lichas. _licrophycus ottawaensis_. lignitic formation of north america. lily-encrinite. _lima_. lime, phosphate of. limestone; varieties of; origin of; microscopical structure of; crinoidal; foraminiferal; coralline; magnesian; metamorphic; oolitic; pisolitic; bituminous; laurentian. _limnoea; pyramidalis_. _limulus_. _lingula; credneri_. lingula flags. _lingulella; davisii; ferruginea_. _liriodendron; meeki_. _lithostrotion; irregulare_. _lituites_. lizards (see _lacertilia_). llama. llanberis slates. llandeilo rocks. llandovery rocks; lower; upper. lobsters. loess. london clay. longmynd rocks. _lonsdaleia_. _lophiodon_. _lophophyllum_. lower cambrian; chalk; cretaceous; devonian; eocene; greensand; helderberg; laurentian rocks; ludlow rock; miocene; old red sandstone; oolites; silurian period; rocks of, in britain; in north america; life of. _loxonema_. ludlow rock. _lycopodiaceoe_. lynton group. _lyrodesma_. macaques. _machoeracanthus major_. _machairodus; cultridens_. _maclurea; crenulata_. _macrocheilus_. _macropetalichthys; sullivanti_. _macrotherium giganteum_. _macrurous crustaceans_. _mactra_. maestricht chalk. magnesian limestone; nature and structure of; of the permian series. magnolia. _mammalia_, of the trias; of the jurassic; of the eocene; of the miocene; of the pliocene; of the post-pliocene. mammoth. man, remains of, in post-pliocene deposits. manatee. _mantellia; megalophylla_. maple. marble; encrinital; statuary. marcellus shales. _mariacrinus_. marmots. marsupials; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the eocene; of the miocene; of the post-pliocene. _marsupiocrinus_. _marsupites_. _mastodon; americanus, angustidens; arvenensis; longirostris; ohioticus; sivalensis_. medina sandstone. _megalichthys_. _megalodon_. _megalomus_. _megalonyx_. _megalosaurus_. _megatherium; cuvieri_. _melania_. _melonites_. menevian group. _menobranchus_. _meristella; cylindrica; intermedia; naviformis_. _mesopithecus_. mesozoic period. _michelinia_. _micraster_. _microlestes; antiquus_. middle devonian; eocene; oolites; silurian. miliolite limestone. _millepora_. millstone grit. miocene period; rocks of, in britain; in france; in belgium; in switzerland; in austria; in germany; in italy; in india; in north america; life of. mitre-shells. _mitra_. moas of new zealand. _modiolopsis; solvensis_. molasse. mole. monkeys. monocotyledonous plant. _monograptus; priodon_. _monotis_. monte bolca, fishes of. _montlivaltia_. mosasauroids. _mosasaurus; camperi; princeps_. mountain limestone. mud-fishes. mud-turtles. mull, miocene strata of. _murchisonia; gracilis_. _murex. muschelkalk. musk-deer. musk-ox. musk-sheep. _myliobatis edwardsii_. _mylodon; robustus_. _myophoria; lineata_. _myriapoda_ of the coal. _nassa_. _natatores_. _natica_. _nautilus; danicus; pompilius_. neanderthal skull. neocomian series. _neolimulus_. _nerinoea; goodhallii_. _nerita_. _neuroptera_. _neuropteris_. newer pliocene. new red sandstone. newts. niagara limestone. _nipadites; ellipticus_. _noeggerathia_. norwich crag. _nothosaurus; mirabilis_. _notidanus_. _numenius gypsorum_. _nummulina; loevigata; pristina_. _nummulitic limestone_. oak. _obolella; sagittalis_. odd-toed ungulates. _odontaspis_. _odontopteris; schlotheimi_. _odontopteryx; toliapicus_. _odontornithes_. _ogygia; buchii_. older pliocene. _oldhamia; antiqua_; slates of ireland. old red sandstone; origin of name; of scotland; relations of, to devonian. _olenus; micrurus_. oligocene. _oligoporus_. olive-shells. _omphyma_. _onchus; tenuistriatus_. oneida conglomerate. _onychodus; sigmoides_. oolitic limestone, structure of; mode of formation of. oolitic rocks (_see_ jurassic). ooze, atlantic. _ophidia_; of the eocene. _ophiuroidea_, of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the carboniferous; of the trias; of the jurassic. opossum. _orbitoides_. oriskany sandstone. _ormoxylon_. _orohippus_. _orthis; biforata; davidsoni; elegantula; flabellulum; hicksii; lenticularis; plicatella; resupinata; subquadrala; testudinaria_. _orthoceras; crebriseptum_. _orthonota_. _orthoptera_. _osmeroides; mantelli_. _osmerus_. _ostealepis_. _ostracode_ crustaceans of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous. _ostrea acuminata; couloni; deltoidea; distorta; expansa, gregarea; marshii_. _otodus; obtiquus_. _otozamites_. _otozoum_. _oudenodon; bainii_. _ovibos moschatus_. oxford clay. _oxyrhina; xiphodon_. oysters. _pachyphyllum_. _paloearca_. _paloeaster; ruthveni_. _palasterina; primoeva_. _paloechinus; ellipticus_. _paloeocaris; typus_. _paloeocoma; colvini_. _paloeocoryne_. palæolithic man, remains of. _paloeomanon_. _paloeoniscus_. _paloeontina oolitica_. palæontological evidence as to evolution. palæontological record, imperfection of the. palæontology, definition of. _paloeonyctis_. _paloeophis; toliapictus; typhoeus_. _paloeoreas_. _paloeosaurus; platyodon_. _paloeosiren beinerti_. _paloeotherium; magnum_. _paloeoxylon_. palæozoic period. palms. _paludina_. _pandaneoe_. _pandanus_. _paradoxides; bohemicus_. _parasmilia_. _parkeria_. pear encrinite. pearly nautilus. peccaries. _pecopteris_. _pecten groenlandicus; islandicus; valoniensis_. penarth beds. _pennatulidoe_. _pentacrinus; caput-medusoe; fasciculosus_. _pentamerus; galeatus; knightii_. _pentremites_ (_see_ blastoidea). _pentremites conoideus; pyriformis_. perching birds. _percidoe_. _periechocrinus_. _perissodactyle ungulates_. permian period; rocks of, in britain; in north america; life of. persistent types of life. _petalodus_. _petraster_. petroleum, origin of. pezophaps. _phacops; downingioe; granulatus; loevis; latifrons; longicaudatus; rana_. _phoenopora ensiformis_. phalangers. phanerogams. _phaneropleuron_. _phascolotherium_. _pheronema_. _phillipsastroea_. _phillipsia; seminifera_. _pholadomya_. _phormosoma_. _phorus_. phosphate of lime, concretions of; disseminated in rocks; origin of. _phyllograptus; typus_. _phyllopoda_, of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias. _phyllopora_. _physa; columnaris_. pigs. pilton group. _pinites_. _pisces (_see_ fishes). _pisolite_. pisolitic limestone of france. _placodus; gigas_. placoid fishes; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene; of the miocene. _plagiaulax_. _planolites; vulgaris_. _planorbis_. plants, of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene; of the miocene. _plasmopora_. _platanus; aceroides_. _platephemera antiqua_. _platyceras; dumosum; multisinuatum; ventricosum_. _platycrinus; tricontadactylus_. _platyostoma; niagarense_. platyrhine monkeys. _platyschisma helicites_. _platysomus; gibbosus_. _platystoma_. pleistocene period; climate of. _plesiosaurus; dolichodeirus_. _pleurocystites squamosus_. _pleurotoma_. _pleurotomaria_. _plicatula_. pliocene period; rocks of, in britain; in belgium; in italy; in north america; life of. _pliopithecus; antiquus_. _pliosaurus_. _podocarya_. _podozamites; lanceolatus_. polir-schiefer. _polycystina_; of barbadoes-earth. _polypora; dendroides_. _polypterus_. _polystomella_. _polytremacis_. _polyzoa_, of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the cretaceous; of the miocene. _populus_. _porcellia_. porcupines. portage group. port-jackson shark. portland beds. post-glacial deposits. post-pliocene period. post-tertiary period. _poteriocrinus_. potsdam sandstone. pre-glacial deposits. _prestwichia; rotundata_. _primitia; strangulata_. primordial trilobites. primordial zone. _proboscidea_, of the miocene; of the pliocene; of the post-pliocene. _producta; horrida; longispina; semireticulata_. _productella_. _productidoe_. _proëtus_. prong-buck. _protaster; sedgwickii_. _proteaceoe_. _proteus_. _protichnites_. _protocystites_. _protornis glarisiensis_. _protorosaurus; speneri_. _protospongia; fenestrata_. _prototaxites; logani_. _psammobia_. _psammodus_. _psaronius_. _pseudocrinus bifasciatus_. _psilophyton; princeps_. _pteranodon; longiceps_. _pteraspis; banksii_. _pterichthys; cornutus_. _pterinoea; subfalcata_. _pteroceras_. _pterodactylus; crassirostris_. _pterophyllum; joegeri_. _pteropoda_, of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the jurassic. _pterosauria_; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous. _pterygotus anglicus_. _ptilodictya; acuta; falciformis; raripora; schafferi_. _ptychoceras; emericianum_. _ptychodus_. _pupa vetusta_. purbeck beds; mammals of. _puryuroidea_. _pycnodus_. _pyrula_. _quadrumana_, of the eocene; of the miocene; of the pliocene; of the post-pliocene. quadrupeds (_see_ mammalia). quaternary period. quebec group. _quercus_. rabbits. _rana_. _raptores_. _rasores_. recent period. _reptaculites_. red clays, origin of. red coral. red crag. red deer. reindeer. _remopleurides_. reptiles; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene. _retepora; ehrenbergi; phillipsi_. _retiolites_. _retzia_. _rhætic beds_. _rhamphorhynchus; bucklandi_. _rhinoceridoe_. _rhinoceros etruscus; leptorhinus; megarhinus; tichorhinus_. _rhinopora verrucosa_. _rhizodus_. _rhombus minimus_. rhyncholites. _rhynchonella; cuneata; neglecta; pleurodon; varians. _rhynchosaurus; articeps. rice-shells. richmond earth. ringed worms (_see_ annelida). river-gravels, high-level and low-level. _robulina_. rocks, definition of; divisions of; igneous; aqueous; mechanically-formed; chemically-formed; organically-formed; arenaceous; argillaceous; calcareous; siliceous. _rodentia_, of the eocene; of the miocene; of the post-pliocene. roebuck. _rostellaria_. _rotalia; boueana_. rugose corals; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the upper greensand. rupelian clay. _sabal major_. sabre-toothed tiger. _saccammina_. _saccosoma. salamanders. salina group. _salix; meeki_. _salmonidoe_. _sao hirsuta_. _sassafras cretacea_. _sauropterygia_. _scalaria; groenlandica_. _scaphites; oequalis_. _schizodus_. schoharie grit. _scolecoderma_. _scoliostoma_. _scolithus; canadensis_. scorpions of the coal-measures. scorpion-shells. screw-pines. _scutella; subrotunda_. sea-cows (_see_ sirenia). sea-lilies (_see_ crinoidea). sea-lizards (_see_ enaliosaurians). seals. sea-mats and sea-mosses (_see_ polyzoa). sea-shrubs (_see_ gorgonidæ). sea-urchins (_see_ echinoidea). sea-weeds. secondary period. sedimentary rocks. _semnopithecus_. septaria. _sequoia; couttsioe; gigantea; langsdorffii_. _serolis_. serpents (_see_ ophidia). _serpulites_. sewâlik hills (_see_ siwâlik hills). sheep. shell-sands. _sigillaria; groeseri_. sigillarioids. silicates, infiltration of the shells of foraminifera by. siliceous rocks. siliceous sponges. silicification. silurian period (_see_ lower silurian and upper silurian). _simosaurus; gaillardoti_. _siphonia; ficus_. siphonostomatous univalves. _siphonotreta_. _sirenia_; of the eocene; of the miocene. _siren lacertina_. _sivatherium; giganteum_. siwâlik hills, miocene strata of. skiddaw slates. sloths. _smilax_. _smithia_. snakes (_see_ ophidia). soft tortoises. _solarium_. solenhofen slates. solitaire. _spalacotherium_. _spatangus_. _sphoerospongia_. _sphagodus_. _sphenodon_. _sphenopteris_. spiders of the coal-measures. spider-shells. spindle-shells. _spirifera; crispa; disjuncta; hysterica; mucronata; niagarensis; rostrata; sculptilis; trigonalis_. _spiriferidoe_. _spirophyton cauda-galli_. _spirorbis; arkonensis; carbonarus; laxus; lewisii; omphalodes; spinulifera_. _spirulirostra_. _spondylus; spinosus_. sponges, of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous. _spongilla_. _spongillopsis_. _spongophyllum_. spore-eases, of cryptogams in the ludlow rocks; in the coal. squirrels. _stagonolepis_. staircase-shell. stalactite. stalagmite. star-corals. star-fishes. st cassian beds. _stephanophyllia_. _stereognathus_. _stigmaria; ficoides_. stonesfield slate; mammals of. strata, contemporaneity of. stratified rock. _streptelasma_. _streptorhynchus_. _stromatopora; rugosa; tuberculata_. _strombodes; pentagonus_. _strombus_. _strophalosia_. _strophodus_. _strophomena; alternata; deltoidea; filitexta; rhomboidalis; subplana_. sub-apennine beds. sub-carboniferous rocks. succession of life upon the globe. _suida_. sulphate of lime. _sus erymanthius; scrofa_. _synastroea_. _synhelia sharpeana_. _synocladia; virgulacea_. _syringopora; ramulosa_. tabulate corals; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian. _talpa europoea_. _tapiridoe_. tapirs. _tapirus arvernensis_. _taxocrinus tuberculatus_. _taxodium_. _teleosaurus_. teleostean fishes; of the cretaceous. _telerpeton elginense_. _tellina proxima_. _tentaculites; ornatus_. _terebra_. _terebratella; astleriana_. _terebratula; digona; elongata; hastata; quadrifida; sphoeroidalis_. _terebratulina; caput-serpentis; striata_. termites. terrapins. tertiary period. tertiary rocks, classification of. _testudinidoe_. tetrabranchiate cephalopods; of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous; of the permian; of the trias; of the jurassic; of the cretaceous; of the eocene; of the miocene. _textularia; meyeriana_. thanet sands. _theca_. _theca davidii_. _thecidium_. thecodont reptiles. _thecodontosaurus; antiquus_. _thecosmilia annularis_. _thelodus_. theriodont reptiles. _thylacoleo_. tile-stones. _titanotherium_. toothed birds. tortoises. _tragoceras_. travertine. tree-ferns, of the devonian; of the coal-measures. tremadoc slates. _trematis_. trenton limestone. _trianthrus beckii_. triassic period; rocks of, in britain; in germany; in the austrian alps; in north america; life of. _triconodon_. _trigonia_. _trigoniadoe_. _trigonocarpum; ovatum_. trilobites; of the cambrian; of the lower silurian; of the upper silurian; of the devonian; of the carboniferous. _trimerellidoe_. _trinucleus; concentricus_. _trionycidoe_. _triton_. _trochocyathus_. _trochonema_. _trogontherium; cuvieri_. trumpet-shells. tulip-tree. _turbinolia sulcata_. _turbinolidoe_. _turrilites; catenulatus_. _turritella_. turtles. _typhis tubifer_. _ullmania selaginoides_. unconformability of strata. under-clay of coal. _ungulata_, of the eocene; of the miocene; of the pliocene; of the post-pliocene. uniformity, doctrine of. _unio_. univalves (_see_ gasteropoda). upper cambrian; chalk; cretaceous; devonian; eocene; greensand; helderberg; laurentian; llandovery; ludlow rock; miocene; oolites; silurian period; rocks of, in britain; in north america; life of. _ursus arctos; arvernensis; ferox; speloea_. _ursus_. valley-gravels, high-level and low-level. _vanessa pluto_. _varanidoe_. vegetation (_see_ plants). _ventriculites; simplex_. venus's flower-basket. _vermilia_. _vespertilio parisiensis_. vicksburg beds. vines. vitreous sponges. _voltzia; heterophylla_. _voluta; elongata_. volutes. _walchia; piniformis_. walrus. wealden beds. _wellingtonia_. wenlock beds; limestone; shale. wentle-traps. werfen beds. whalebone whales. whales. whelks. white chalk; structure of; origin of. white crag. white river beds. wild boar. _williamsonia_. winged lizards (_see_ pterosauria). winged snails (_see_ pteropods). wing-shells. wolf. wolverine. wombats. woolhope limestone. woolly rhinoceros. woolwich and reading beds. worm-burrows. _xanthidia_. _xenoneura antiquorum_. _xiphodon_. _xylobius; sigillarioe_. _zamia spiralis_. _zamites_. _zaphrentis; cornicula; stokesi; vermicularis_. _zeacrinus_. zechstein. _zeuglodon; cetoides_. university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume , no. , pp. - , figs. march , records of the fossil mammal sinclairella, family apatemyidae, from the chadronian and orellan by william a. clemens, jr. university of kansas lawrence university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, henry s. fitch, theodore h. eaton, jr. volume , no. , pp. - , figs. published march , university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by harry (bud) timberlake, state printer topeka, kansas - records of the fossil mammal sinclairella, family apatemyidae, from the chadronian and orellan by william a. clemens, jr. introduction the family apatemyidae has a long geochronological range in north america, beginning in the torrejonian land-mammal age, but is represented by a relatively small number of fossils found at a few localities. two fossils of orellan age, found in northeastern colorado and described here, demonstrate that the geochronological range of the apatemyidae extends into the middle oligocene. isolated teeth of _sinclairella dakotensis_ jepsen, part of a sample of a chadronian local fauna collected by field parties from the webb school of california, are also described. i thank mr. raymond m. alf, webb school of california, claremont, california, and dr. peter robinson, university of colorado museum, boulder, colorado, for permitting me to describe the fossils they discovered. also dr. robinson made available the draft of a short paper he had prepared on the tooth found in weld county, colorado; his work was facilitated by a grant from the university of colorado council on research and creative work. i also gratefully acknowledge receipt of critical data and valuable comments from drs. edwin c. galbreath, glenn l. jepsen, and malcolm c. mckenna who is currently revising the paleocene apatemyids and studying the phylogenetic relationships of the family. the prefixes of catalogue numbers used in the text identify fossils in the collections of the following institutions: ku, museum of natural history, the university of kansas, lawrence; princeton, princeton museum, princeton, new jersey; ram-ucr, raymond alf museum, webb school of california, claremont, california (the permanent repository for these specimens will be the university of california, riverside); and ucm, university of colorado museum, boulder, colorado. the system of notations for teeth prescribed for use here is as follows: teeth in the upper half of the dentition are designated by a capital letter and a number; thus m is the notation for the upper second molar; teeth in the lower half of the dentition are designated by a lower-case letter and a number; thus p is the notation for the lower second premolar. family apatemyidae matthew, genus =sinclairella= jepsen, =sinclairella dakotensis= jepsen, the type of the species, princeton no. , was discovered in chadronian strata of the upper part of the chadron formation cropping out in big corral draw, approximately miles south-southwest of scenic, in southwestern south dakota (jepsen, , p. ). detailed descriptions of the type specimen are given in papers by jepsen ( ) and scott and jepsen ( ). isolated teeth of chadronian age referable to _sinclairella dakotensis_ have been discovered subsequently at a locality in nebraska and fossils of orellan age, also referable to _s. dakotensis_, have been collected at two localities in colorado. the sample from each locality is described separately. sioux county, northwestern nebraska _material._--ram-ucr nos. , left m ; , left m ; , right m ; , right m ; , right m ; , right m ; and , left m . _locality and stratigraphy._--these chadronian fossils were discovered by raymond alf and members of his field parties in several harvester ant mounds built in exposures of the chadron formation in sec. , t n, r w, sioux county, nebraska (alf, , and hough and alf, ). this is ucr locality v . the collectors carefully considered the possibility that some of the fossils found in the ant mounds were collected from younger strata by the harvester ants and concluded this was unlikely (alf, personal communication). _description and comments._--the cusps of ram-ucr no. , a left m , are sharp and the wear-facets resulting from occlusion with the lower dentition are small. the paraconule is a low, ill-defined cusp on the anterior margin of the crown; a metaconule is not present. a smooth stylar shelf is present labial to the metacone. the crown was supported by three roots. there are no interradicular crests. the crown of ram-ucr no. , a right m , is heavily abraded and many morphological details of the cusps have been destroyed. low interradicular crests linked the three roots of the tooth with a low, central prominence. as was the case with ram-ucr no. , no significant differences could be found in comparisons with illustrations of the teeth preserved in princeton no. . ram-ucr nos. , , , and all appear to be m 's. the talonids of these teeth are not elongated, their trigonids have quadrilateral outlines, and the paraconids are small but prominent, bladelike cusps. the trigonid of ram-ucr is elongated and the paraconid is a minute cusp; the tooth closely resembles the m of the type of _sinclairella dakotensis_. logan county, northeastern colorado _material._--ku no. (fig. ), a fragment of a left maxillary containing p and m - . _locality and stratigraphy._--the fossil was found in the center of the w- / , sec. , t n, r w, logan county, colorado, "... in the bed below _agnotocastor_ bed, cedar creek member...." (ronald h. pine, , field notes on file at the university of kansas). the bed so defined is part of unit in the lower division of the cedar creek member, as subdivided by galbreath ( : ) in stratigraphic section xii. the fauna obtained from unit is of orellan age. [illustration: fig. . _sinclairella dakotensis_ jepsen, ku no. , fragment of left maxillary with p and m - ; orellan, logan county, colorado; drawings by mrs. judith hood: a, labial view; b, occlusal view; both approximately × .] _description and comments._--p of ku no. has a large posterolingual cusp separated from the main cusp by a distinct groove, which deepens posteriorly. the posterolingual cusp is supported by the broad posterior root. p of the type specimen of _sinclairella dakotensis_ is described (jepsen, , p. ) as having an oval outline at the base of the crown, and a small, posterolingual cusp. a chip of enamel is missing from the posterior slope of the main cusp of the p of ku no. . the anterior slope of the main cusp is flattened, possibly the result of wear, and there is no evidence of a groove like that present on the p of the type specimen. only a few differences were found between the molars preserved in ku no. and their counterparts in the type specimen. a stylar shelf is present labial to the metacone of m of ku no. , but, unlike the type, its surface is smooth and there is no evidence of cusps. of the three small stylar cusps on the stylar shelf of m the smallest is in the position of a mesostyle. the m lacks a chip of enamel from the lingual surface of the hypocone. unlike the m of princeton no. , in occlusal view the posterior margin of the m of ku no. is convex posterior to the metacone. the anterior edge of the base of the zygomatic arch of ku no. was dorsal to m . the shallow oval depression in the maxillary dorsal to m might be the result of post-mortem distortion. the molars preserved in ku no. and their counterparts in the type specimen do not appear to be significantly different in size (table ) or morphology of the cusps. the only difference between the two specimens that might be of classificatory significance is the difference in size of the posterolingual cusp of p . at present the range of intraspecific variation in the morphology of p has not been documented for any species of apatemyid. the evolutionary trend or trends of the apatemyids (mckenna, , p. ) for progressive reduction of function of p probably were paralleled by similar trends in the evolution of the p . if so, the intraspecific variation in the morphology of p could be expected to be somewhat greater than that of the upper molars, for example. the morphological difference between the p 's of the type of _sinclairella dakotensis_ and ku no. is not extreme and does not exceed the range of intraspecific variation that could be expected for this element of the dentition. the close resemblances in size and morphology between the m - of princeton no. and ku no. also favor identification of the latter as part of a member of an orellan population of _sinclairella dakotensis_. weld county, northeastern colorado [illustration: fig. . _sinclairella dakotensis_ jepsen, ucm no. , right m ; orellan, weld county, colorado; drawing by mrs. judith hood: occlusal view, approximately × .] _material._--ucm no. (fig. ), is a right m . _locality and stratigraphy._--the tooth was discovered at the mellinger locality, sec. , t n, r w, weld county, colorado. the mellinger locality is in the cedar creek member, white river formation, and its fauna is considered to be of orellan age (patterson and mcgrew, , and galbreath, ). _description and comments._--ucm no. , which is more heavily abraded than ku no. , shows no evidence of a stylar cusp either anterolabial to the metacone or in the position of a mesostyle. a small stylar cusp is present anterolabial to the paracone. a notch that appears to have been cut through the enamel of the posterolabial corner of the crown could have received the parastylar apex of m . a similar notch is not present on the m of ku no. nor indicated in the illustrations of the m of princeton no. . the coronal dimensions of ucm no. (table ) do not appear to differ significantly from those of the m 's of ku no. and the type specimen of _sinclairella dakotensis_. comments with the discovery of orellan apatemyids the geochronological range of the family in north america is shown to extend from the torrejonian through the orellan land-mammal ages. the discoveries reported here enlarge the oligocene record of apatemyids to include not only the type specimen of _sinclairella dakotensis_, a skull and associated mandible from south dakota, but also seven isolated teeth, representing at least two individuals, from a chadronian fossil locality in nebraska and one specimen from each of two orellan fossil localities in northeastern colorado. simpson ( : , and : ) presented tabulations of the published records of american apatemyids and suggested the data indicated the populations of these mammals were of small size throughout the history of the family. the few pre-oligocene occurrences of apatemyids described subsequently (note mckenna, , figs. - , and p. ) and occurrences described here tend to reinforce simpson's interpretation. this interpretation may have to be modified to some degree, however, when current studies of collections of pre-oligocene apatemyids are completed (mckenna, personal communication). although information concerning the evolutionary trends of american apatemyids has been published, no data on the morphological variation in a population are available in the literature. an adequate basis for evaluating the significance of the morphological differences between the p 's of princeton no. and ku no. coupled with the similarities of their m - 's is lacking. in the evolution of american apatemyids the p underwent reduction in size and, apparently, curtailment of function. this history suggests the range of morphological variation of p in populations of _sinclairella dakotensis_ could be expected to be greater than that of the molars and encompass the morphological differences between the p 's of princeton no. and ku no. . the difference in age of the chadronian and orellan fossils does not constitute proof that they pertain to different species. although the identification is admittedly provisional until more fossils including other parts of the skeleton are discovered, the orellan fossils described here are referred to _sinclairella dakotensis_. table .--measurements (in millimeters) of teeth of sinclairella dakotensis jepsen. ========================================================================== | p | m | m -----------------------+------------+------------------+------------------ |length|width|length[ ]|width[ ]|length[ ]|width[ ] -----------------------+------+-----+---------+--------+---------+-------- princeton no. [ ] | . | . | . | . | . | . ram no. | | | . | . | | ram no. | | | | | . | . ku no. | . | . | . | . | . | . + ucm no. | | | | | . | . -----------------------+------+-----+---------+--------+---------+-------- | m | m +---------+--------+---------+-------- | length | width | length | width +---------+--------+---------+-------- princeton no. [ ] | . | . | . | . ram no. | . | . | | ram no. | | | . | . ram no. | | | . + | . ram no. | | | . | . ram no. | | | . | . ------------------------------------+---------+--------+---------+-------- [footnote : length defined as maximum dimension of the labial half of the crown measured parallel to a line drawn through the apices of paracone and metacone. width defined as maximum coronal dimension measured along line perpendicular to line defined by apices of paracone and metacone.] [footnote : dimensions provided by dr. glenn l. jepsen.] [footnote : dimensions taken from jepsen ( : ).] literature cited alf, r. . a new species of the rodent _pipestoneomys_ from the oligocene of nebraska. breviora, mus. comp. zool., no. , pp. - , figs. galbreath, e. c. . a contribution to the tertiary geology and paleontology of northeastern colorado. univ. kansas paleont. cont., vertebrata, art. , pp. - , pls., figs. hough, j., and alf, r. . a chadron mammalian fauna from nebraska. journ. paleon. : - , figs. jepsen, g. l. . a revision of the american apatemyidae and the description of a new genus, _sinclairella_, from the white river oligocene of south dakota. proc. amer. philos. soc., : - , pls., figs. mckenna, m. c. . fossil mammalia from the early wasatchian four mile fauna, eocene of northwest colorado. univ. california publ. in geol. sci., : - , figs. matthew, w. d. . the carnivora and insectivora of the bridger basin, middle eocene. mem. amer. mus. nat. hist., : - , pls. - , figs. patterson, b. and mcgrew, p. o. . a soricid and two erinaceids from the white river oligocene. geol. ser., field mus. nat. hist., : - , figs. - . scott, w. b. and jepsen, g. l. . the mammalian fauna of the white river oligocene--part i. insectivora and carnivora. trans. amer. philos. soc., n. s., : - , pls., figs. simpson, g. g. . tempo and mode in evolution. new york: columbia univ. press, xviii + pp., figs. . the major features of evolution. new york: columbia univ. press, xx + pp., figs. _transmitted june , ._ university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume , no. , pp. - , figs. may , two new pelycosaurs from the lower permian of oklahoma by richard c. fox university of kansas lawrence university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, henry s. fitch, theodore h. eaton, jr. volume , no. , pp. - , figs. published may , university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by jean m. neibarger, state printer topeka, kansas - two new pelycosaurs from the lower permian of oklahoma by richard c. fox in the course of examining material from fissure deposits of early permian age collected from a limestone quarry near fort sill, oklahoma, the author recovered several tooth-bearing fragments of small pelycosaurs. the fragments were examined, compared with descriptions of known kinds appearing in the literature, and determined to be new genera within the nitosauridae (edaphosauria) and sphenacodontidae (sphenacodontia). appreciation is expressed to prof. theodore h. eaton, jr., for permission to examine the collections of the university of kansas from fort sill, and for the financial assistance furnished by his national science foundation grant (nsf-g ). i am grateful both to prof. eaton and mr. dale l. hoyt for their suggestions regarding this manuscript. the accompanying figures have been drawn by the author. family nitosauridae =delorhynchus priscus= new genus and new species (_delos_, gr., evident; _rhynchos_, gr., neuter, nostril; _priscus_, l., ancient. _delorhynchus_ is masculine because of the ending that it acquires when transliterated into latin.) _type specimen._--fragmentary left maxilla, bearing four teeth, ku . _referred specimens._--fragmentary right maxilla having four teeth, ku ; fragmentary left maxilla having four teeth, the most posterior of which has been broken, ku . _horizon and locality._--a fissure deposit in the arbuckle limestone at the dolese brothers limestone quarry, approximately six miles north of fort sill, in sec. , t. n, r. w, comanche county, oklahoma. these sediments are of early permian age, possibly equivalent to the arroyo formation, lower clear fork group of texas (vaughn, : ). _diagnosis._--small; marginal teeth conical, slender and recurved at tips; marginal tooth-row without caniniform enlargement; narial opening enlarged and bordered dorsally, posteriorly and ventrally by maxilla; maxilla with foramen opening laterally at posteroventral corner of naris. _description_ (based on maxillary fragments, see table ).--each of the maxillary fragments bears four thecodont teeth. these are conical, slender and sharply pointed; in their distal third they are slightly recurved, laterally compressed, and have anterior and posterior non-serrated cutting edges. in medial aspect at their bases, the teeth are longitudinally striated. the bases of the teeth are circular in cross-section and are slightly bulbous. there is no caniniform enlargement of any of the teeth, the longest tooth of each fragment being differently placed in the series of teeth and little longer than the others. there is no swelling on either the internal or external surfaces of the maxillae. the teeth are in a continuous series; no diastema or maxillary step is evident. [illustration: figures - . _delorhynchus priscus_, lower permian, miles north of fort sill, comanche county, oklahoma. all × . fig. . ku (type specimen), lateral view of left maxilla. fig. . ku , lateral view of right maxilla. fig. . ku , lateral view of left maxilla.] the fragments have been broken along similar lines of fracture, and each is approximately rhomboidal in shape. the maxilla encircles the posterior border of the naris and extends dorsally above the naris to an extent sufficient to indicate the probable exclusion of the lacrimal bone from the narial border. at the posteroventral corner of the naris a foramen opens onto the lateral surface of the maxilla. the opening is the entrance to a canal that runs posteriorly above the tooth-row throughout the length of each specimen. beneath the naris the maxilla extends as a broad tapering shelf, the ventral surface of which articulates with the premaxilla. the narial rim is wide, but wider ventrally than dorsally. the plane of the narial rim is oblique to the lateral surface of the maxilla. the external surface of each fragment is grooved and pitted. the ossification of each fragment appears to have been complete. table .--dimensions, in millimeters, of three maxillary fragments of delorhynchus priscus key: a. anterior height of fragment b. posterior height of fragment c. length of fragment at tooth-row d. dorsal length of fragment e. mean length of teeth f. anterior width of naris ============================================================ catalogue number | a. | b. | c. | d. | e. | f. and mean | | | | | | -----------------+------+------+------+------+------+------ ku | . | . | . | . | . | . ku | . | . | . | . | . | . ku | . | . | . | . | ? | . -----------------+------+------+------+------+------+------ mean | . | . | . | . | . | . -----------------+------+------+------+------+------+------ _discussion._--the nitosauridae are small primitive edaphosaurs with a moderately elongate face, sharp subisodont teeth, little development of canines and few specializations. the jaw is of a primitive type and articulates on a level with the tooth-row. the palatal dentition is primitive (romer, : ). the nitosaurids are thought to be related to the later caseidae, and the most obvious structural similarities are found in the postcranial skeleton (vaughn, : ). cranial resemblances between the families are fewer, but nevertheless indicate that a nitosaurid-caseid relationship exists. vaughn ( ) described a small pelycosaur, _colobomycter pholeter_ (eothyrididae, ophiacodontia) that structurally resembles the caseidae. this individual also was obtained from the fort sill locality. in vaughn's opinion the features of _colobomycter_ indicate a close relationship between eothyridids and caseids and the possibility that the caseids may well have been of eothyridid rather than nitosaurid derivation. in view of this historical uncertainty of the relationships between the nitosauridae, the eothyrididae and the caseidae, it is well to consider how the maxillary fragments described above differ from and resemble representatives of each of these three families as reported in the literature. _delorhynchus_ resembles _colobomycter_ in size. the mean extra-maxillary length of the undamaged teeth of the three fragments is . mm., equal to that reported by vaughn ( : ) for teeth about midway in the postcanine series of _colobomycter_. none of the teeth of _delorhynchus_ extends beyond the maxillary rim as far as does the canine of _colobomycter_ ( . mm.). the teeth in both genera are conical and sharply pointed. the naris in each is enlarged, and the lacrimal is excluded from the narial margin in each (by inference in _delorhynchus_.) the differences between the maxillae of _colobomycter_ and _delorhynchus_ are most striking in the lack of canines in the latter and the correlated absence of modifications of the maxillary for support of canines. additionally, _delorhynchus_ bears an infraorbital canal in contrast to the groove in similar position in _colobomycter_. the recurvature of the four teeth present in the fragments of _delorhynchus_ differs from that in the teeth of _colobomycter_ in which only the canine and precanine are recurved. vaughn implies that anterior and posterior cutting edges extend the length of the teeth in _colobomycter_; these are restricted to the distal third of the teeth in _delorhynchus_. the external surfaces of the maxillae of _delorhynchus_ are pitted and ridged; vaughn was unable to discern sculpturing of the corresponding surfaces in _colobomycter_. _delorhynchus_ resembles the nitosaurids in size, the shape and sharpness of the teeth, their recurvature and the slight enlargement of their bases, the exclusion of the lacrimal bone from the narial margin (in _mycterosaurus_) and the apparent lack of a special canine pair of teeth. resemblances to the caseids are to be noted in the enlargement of the naris ( . mm. in height as opposed to . mm. in _colobomycter_), lack of development of canines, presence of an infraorbital canal (in _cotylorhynchus_) and absence of many replacement gaps in the marginal row of teeth. the absence of caniniform enlargement and the extension of the maxilla dorsad of the naris exclude _delorhynchus_ from the eothyrididae (ophiacodontia) but are no bar to its inclusion in the nitosauridae (edaphosauria). the marginal teeth of _delorhynchus_ are simple and primitive, being much like those of the nitosaurids that are described in the literature. the large narial opening and its posterior, dorsal and ventral enclosure by the maxilla, the infraorbital canal, and the sculptured external surfaces of the maxillary fragments indicate that _delorhynchus_, in these features at least, is close to achieving the caseid grade. family sphenacodontidae =thrausmosaurus serratidens= new genus and new species (_thrausmosaurus_ is formed from the neuter greek noun, _thrausma_, meaning fragment, and the masculine greek noun, _sauros_, meaning reptile. the specific name, _serratidens_, is formed from the latin _serratus_, meaning serrate, and the masculine latin noun, _dens_, meaning tooth. the specific name is used as a substantive in apposition with the generic name.) _type specimen._--fragmentary left dentary, bearing five teeth, the most posterior of which is broken at the base, ku . _referred specimens._--fragmentary ?left maxilla, having two teeth, ku ; fragmentary left dentary having two teeth, ku . _horizon and locality._--from the early permian fissure deposits in the arbuckle limestone of the dolese brothers limestone quarry, approximately miles north of fort sill, in sec. , t. n, r. w, comanche county, oklahoma. _diagnosis._--small; teeth thecodont, compressed laterally, recurved distally, and bearing anterior and posterior cutting edges; anterior serrations limited to recurved portions of teeth, posterior serrations extending nearly entire length of teeth; lateral compression of teeth more pronounced medially than laterally; bases of teeth expanded. _description._--the type specimen is mm. long. it bears five teeth that are implanted in a straight row. empty sockets are present between the first and second teeth, and the third and fourth teeth. the first tooth is . mm. long, the middle two are each . mm. long, and the fourth tooth is . mm. long. the fifth tooth is broken off at its base. the empty sockets are large. the mouth of each is circular and approximately . mm. in diameter. both sockets are . mm. deep. the bases of the teeth are expanded to fill the sockets, although the blades of the teeth arise from only the lateral portions of the bases. the edge of the dentary rises above the bases of the teeth medially, thereby producing a small depression at the junction of each base with the dentary bone. the lateral compression of the teeth is pronounced but asymmetrical, in that the lateral surface of each blade is more convex than the medial surface. [illustration: figures - . _thrausmosaurus serratidens_, lower permian, miles north of fort sill, comanche county, oklahoma. all × . fig. . ku (type specimen), lateral view of left dentary. fig. . ku , lateral view of ?left maxilla. fig. . ku , lateral view of left dentary.] the recurvature of the anterior cutting edges is much more severe than that of the posterior edges, but the recurvature of both is limited to the distal half of each tooth. the serrations of the cutting edges are not visible to the naked eye and are limited on the anterior edges of the teeth to those portions of the blades that are recurved. the posterior serrations extend nearly to the junction of the blade of each tooth with its base. the serrations tend to be more nearly crenulate than cuspidate. a portion of the lateral wall of the dentary surrounding the meckelian canal is present. the external surface of the wall is gently convex and smooth, without sculpturing. the internal surfaces of the canal are unmarked either by muscle scars or foramina. the fragment is a piece from the posterior portion of the dentary, since the decrease in height from the first tooth to the fourth is pronounced. ku , a fragment of the left dentary bearing two teeth, is . mm. long. the anterior tooth is . mm. long; the posterior tooth is . mm. long. the shape of the teeth and their implantation conform to the description of the type specimen. the lateral surface of the fragment is smooth and gently convex. what little is present of the surface bordering the meckelian canal is unmarked. the ?maxillary fragment bears two teeth which are . mm. long, and which conform in their characters to the type. the lateral, medial and ventral surfaces of the fragment have been sheared off, so that an exact identification of the bone is impossible. presumably the fragment is too deep dorsoventrally to be a piece of the dentary, and no sign of the meckelian canal is present. _discussion._--the implantation, lateral compression, recurvature and cutting edges of the teeth borne by these fragments make clear their sphenacodontid nature. the characters of the fragments are too few to determine subfamilial affinities, however. that the fragments are the remains of adult animals can be only surmised from the lack of bones or teeth of large pelycosaurs in the extensive collections of the university of kansas from the fort sill locality. if _thrausmosaurus_ is, in fact, adult, the genus is an unusually small sphenacodontid, and of significance both on that account and because of the resemblance of the teeth presently known to those of its far larger relatives. _the fort sill locality._--peabody ( ) suggested that the fissures of fort sill had been used as dens by predatory animals in the early permian, and that the unusually abundant bones in the fissures were the remains of animals eaten there by these occupants. evidence now known to me affords an alternative explanation that is presented here as a preliminary to a more complete study of the fauna and paleoecology of these deposits currently being undertaken. the suggestion that the skeletal material found in the fissures is the remnant of the prey of other animals is questionable because of: . the absence of tooth marks on the fossils. . the recovery from the matrix of skulls and portions of articulated skeletons that are undamaged or damaged only by pressure after burial. . the rarity in the deposits of animals of larger body size than _captorhinus_, the exceptions being a few limb fragments and skull fragments of labyrinthodont or pelycosaurian nature. . the absence of coprolites in the matrix. if the fissures were the dens of predators, at least some and probably many of the bones would show tooth marks. a predator feeding on other animals would be expected to leave some evidence of its habits on the bones of its prey. no such evidence is known to me, either from my own examination of several thousand bones or from the reports in the literature by others who have studied aspects of the early permian fauna of fort sill. if the predators were larger than _captorhinus_ and occupied the fissures for a long enough time to account for the accumulation of the tremendous numbers of individuals that are represented, a considerable amount of the skeletal material of the larger animals would be present in the fissure deposits. even if for some reason the predators died in areas other than within the fissures, thereby accounting for the absence of large bones, coprolites should appear in the deposits if, in fact, the fissures were feeding places. in view of the nearly undamaged condition of many of the bones recovered from the fissures, it is reasonable to expect that fecal material would be preserved. the character of the matrix of the deposits varies from a homogeneous clay to clay interrupted by layers of soft, limey, conglomeratic rock, to a hard, well-cemented, calcareous conglomerate. in general the bone in each kind of matrix is colored characteristically and exhibits a characteristic degree of wear. the bones entrapped in the homogeneous clay are relatively few, black, usually disarticulated, little worn and not unduly fragmented; consequently the discovery of undamaged limb bones, for example, from this kind of matrix is not unusual. the bones found in the stratified portion of the matrix are more numerous within the layers of conglomerate than between. the bones are black, brown or white, highly fragmented and waterworn to a variable degree. the fragments recovered from the hard, calcareous matrix are numerous, range in color from white through various shades of brown, to black, are highly fragmented, and are usually worn by water. these categories for bone and matrix, however, are not mutually exclusive, since bones of any of these colors and exhibiting any degree of wear and fragmentation are found in any of the kinds of matrix described above. that water was the agent of wear is suggested by the highly polished appearance of the worn bones and pebbles that are found in the matrix. the variability of the matrix and of the color and condition of the bones indicates that the agencies of burial and fossilization differed from time to time and that the agency of transportation of the bones from the site of burial to the fissures was running water. one can easily visualize a stream coursing the early permian landscape that was subject to periodic flooding and droughts. along the banks of the stream and in its pools lived a variety of microsaurs, captorhinids, small labyrinthodonts and small pelycosaurs. some of the animals, after they died, were either buried near the site of their death or were swept along and buried in sediments further downstream. burial was for a length of time sufficient to impart a color to the bones characteristic of the site in which they were buried. later floods reexposed the sites of burial, picked up the bones and carried them to the openings into the fissures. presumably, too, a proportion of the bones was carried to the fissures without previous burial. the differences in wear exhibited by different bones within the same block of matrix is attributable to differences in distance that the bones were transported before final deposition. the final sites of deposition, the fissures, were inundated occasionally by floods alone, or because of changes in location of the channel of the stream at the time of flooding. the periodicity of deposition of the sediments within portions of the fissures is indicated by the stratification of the bone conglomerate mentioned earlier. in summary, it seems that there is little or no evidence beyond the numbers of bones involved to support the hypothesis that the concentration of bones in the fissures of fort sill represents the remains of food of predators, and that the fissures were used as dens by their predatory occupants. on the contrary, the evidence indicates that the deposition of the bones in the fissures was secondary and that the agency of transportation, deposition and accumulation of the bones was an early permian stream characterized by periodic flooding. literature cited peabody, f. e. . annual growth zones in living and fossil vertebrates. jour. morph. ( ): - , figs., january. romer, a. s. . osteology of the reptiles. the university of chicago press, chicago, xxi + pp., figs. romer, a. s., and price, l. i. . review of the pelycosauria. geol. soc. america, spec. pap., : x + pp., figs., pls., tables, december . vaughn, p. p. . on a new pelycosaur from the lower permian of oklahoma, and the origin of the family caseidae. jour. paleont., : - , fig., september. _transmitted march , ._ university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume , no. , pp. - , figs. may , a new order of fishlike amphibia from the pennsylvanian of kansas by theodore h. eaton, jr., and peggy lou stewart university of kansas lawrence university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, henry s. fitch, robert w. wilson volume , no. , pp. - , figs. published may , university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed in the state printing plant topeka, kansas - a new order of fishlike amphibia from the pennsylvanian of kansas by theodore h. eaton, jr., and peggy lou stewart introduction a slab of shale obtained in by mr. russell r. camp from a pennsylvanian lagoon-deposit in anderson county, kansas, has yielded in the laboratory a skeleton of the small amphibian _hesperoherpeton garnettense_ peabody ( ). this skeleton provides new and surprising information not available from the holotype, no. k. u., which consisted only of a scapulocoracoid, neural arch, and rib fragment. the new specimen, no. k. u., is of the same size and stage of development as the holotype and it is thought that both individuals are adults. the quarry, university of kansas museum of natural history locality kan /d, is approximately six miles northwest of garnett, anderson county, kansas, in sec. , t. s, r. e, yards southwest of the place where _petrolacosaurus kansensis_ lane was obtained (see peabody, ). the rock lake shale, deposited under alternately marine and freshwater lagoon conditions, is a thin member of the stanton limestone formation, lansing group, missourian series, and thus is in the lower part of the upper pennsylvanian. peabody ( ) placed _hesperoherpeton_ in the order anthracosauria, suborder embolomeri, family cricotidae. study of the second and more complete specimen reveals that _hesperoherpeton_ is unlike the known embolomeri in many important features. the limbs and braincase are more primitive than those so far described in any amphibian. the vertebrae are comparable to those of ichthyostegalia (jarvik, ), as well as to those of embolomeri. the forelimb is transitional between the pectoral fin of rhipidistia and the limb of early amphibia. the pattern of the bones of the forelimb closely resembles, but is simpler than, that of the hypothetical transitional type suggested by eaton ( ). the foot seemingly had only four short digits. the hind limb is not known. the new skeleton of _hesperoherpeton_ lies in an oblong block of limy shale measuring approximately × mm. after preparation of the entire lower surface, the exposed bones and matrix were embedded in bioplastic, in a layer thin enough for visibility but giving firm support. then the specimen was inverted and the matrix removed from the opposite side; this has not been covered with bioplastic. the bones lie in great disorder, except that some parts of the roof of the skull are associated, and the middle section of the vertebral column is approximately in place. the bones of the left forelimb are close together but not in a natural position. the tail, pelvis, hind limbs and right forelimb are missing. nearly all the bones present are broken, distorted by crushing, incomplete and scattered out of place, probably by the action of currents. the complete skeleton, in life, probably measured between and mm. in length. the specimen was studied at the museum of natural history, university of kansas, with the help of a grant from the national science foundation, number nsf-g . the specimen was discovered in the slab by miss sharon k. moriarty, and was further cleaned by the authors. mr. merton c. bowman assisted with the illustrations. we are indebted to dr. robert w. wilson for critical comments. skull _dorsal aspect_ (figs. , ) in reconstruction, the skull measures approximately . mm. dorsoventrally at the posterior end. the height diminishes anteriorly to about . mm. at the premaxillary. the length is about . mm. in the median line, or . mm. to the tip of the tabular, and the width about . mm. posteriorly. the snout is blunt, continuing about - mm. anterior to the external nares. each of the tabulars has a slender posterior process . mm. long, which probably met the supracleithrum; the intertabular space is about . mm. wide. the orbits are approximately . mm. in diameter and extend from the maxillary to within about . mm. of the midline dorsally. the pineal opening is . mm. anterior to the occipital margin of the skull. reduction of bones at the back of the skull seems to have eliminated any dermal elements posterior to the squamosal, while enlargement of the orbit has removed most of the postorbital series, leaving the squamosal as the only cheekbone. there is apparently no jugal or postfrontal. the squamosal of _acanthostega_ (jarvik, ) is articulated under the tabular and reaches forward and down, much as if it were an opercular in reversed position. internally, it must lie against the otic capsule below the tabular, partially concealing the stapes. the bone that we suppose to be the squamosal of _h. garnettense_ is of similar shape, of about the same size and has internally an articular surface at one corner, bounded by a pair of ridges in the shape of a v. this articular surface probably fitted on a lateral process extending from the roof of the neurocranium, over the front of the otic capsule. the premaxillary extends posterolaterally to a distance . mm. from the midline and attains a width at its broadest point of about . mm. the posterior edge is slightly concave and in part forms the anterior border of the naris. [illustration: fig. . _hesperoherpeton garnettense_ peabody. skull, dorsal view. postorbital processes of the neurocranium are shown in dotted outline. ku , × .] the nasal is triangular and, with the lacrimal, forms the medial border of the naris. the length of the medial side of the nasal bone is approximately . mm., the transverse width is . mm., and the extent of the posterolateral border is . mm. the maxillary meets the premaxillary lateral to the naris, borders the naris posteroventrally, and continues posteriorly beneath the orbit, of which it forms the external border. the maxillary is about . mm. long, and immediately anterior to the orbit has a maximum width of . mm. the lacrimal fills the remaining rim of the narial opening between the nasal and maxillary, and extends to the anterior edge of the orbit. the length, from naris to orbit, is . mm.; the width ranges from . mm. anteriorly to . mm. posteriorly. [illustration: fig. . _hesperoherpeton garnettense_ peabody. skull, lateral view, showing relatively large orbit and absence of smaller circumorbital bones. ku , × .] the external naris is approximately . mm. in diameter. it is slightly anterodorsal to the internal naris and . mm. lateral to the midline. the dorsal margin of the orbit appears to be formed by the frontal. the anterior part of this margin, however, may be formed by a prefrontal, which is not clearly set off by a suture. the frontal extends . mm. in the midline, and anteriorly and laterally borders the nasal and lacrimal, respectively. a faint pattern of pitting radiates on the surface from the center of ossification of the frontal. there is also a pit indicating the presence of a supraorbital sensory pore. the parietal bones enclose the pineal opening, approximately . mm. posterior to the suture with the frontal. the foramen is about . mm. in diameter. laterally the parietal meets the medial angle of the postorbital and the medial border of the supratemporal. no bone of this animal shows the deep pitting and heavy ornamentation characteristic of many primitive amphibia. the postorbital meets the anterolateral corner of the parietal for a distance of . mm., the anterior edge bordering the frontal bone and the orbit for a combined distance of about . mm. the lateral margin is slightly convex, and is probably interrupted behind by the anterior point of the tabular. medially, the concave margin of the postorbital meets the supratemporal for about . mm. the supratemporal is thus wedge-shaped and located between the parietal and the postorbital. the posterior edge of the supratemporal protrudes as a convex border slightly behind the end of the parietal, and measures . mm. around the curve to the parietal suture. [illustration: fig. . _hesperoherpeton garnettense_ peabody. a, left squamosal, internal surface. b, left squamosal, external surface. c, right tabular internal surface. d, right tabular, external surface. ku , all × .] the squamosal (fig. a, b) is a large, somewhat rectangular bone extending from the back of the orbit to the posterior extremity of the cheek. it outlines almost entirely the posterior border of the orbit, the ventrolateral portion of the cheek region, and the lateral border of the top of the skull behind the orbit. dorsally, the squamosal meets the anterior half of the tabular and the lateral border of the supratemporal. near the anteroventral edge of the squamosal there is a small pit, probably related to a postorbital sensory pore in the skin. the tabular (fig. c, d) is pointed anteriorly, where it probably fits against the lateroposterior edge of the postorbital. the dorsal part of the bone flares out and down, forming a small otic notch at a point halfway back. posteriorly, the flange attains a dorsoventral width of . mm. at the edge of the notch. the slender posterior process of the tabular which continues beyond the flange is approximately . mm. in diameter and . mm. long. _ventral aspect_ (fig. ) the palatal view of the skull shows the paired premaxillary, maxillary, palatine, pterygoid, and quadrate bones. the openings for the internal nares, the ventral orbital fenestrae, and the subtemporal fossae are readily recognized. the quadrate processes extend posteriorly leaving a large gap medially at the posterior end of the skull. [illustration: fig. . _hesperoherpeton garnettense_ peabody. palate reconstructed; ventral aspect at left, showing teeth, dorsal aspect at right. ku , × .] the left quadrate appears to be in place on the posterior prong of the pterygoid. the dorsal side of the quadrate is grooved between two anterolaterally directed ridges. the groove, which probably held the end of the stapes, extends about half the width of the quadrate itself. the width of the quadrate is . mm., the length is . mm. medially and about . mm. laterally. in ventral view the quadrate appears to project laterally, but is incomplete and its shape uncertain. the distance from the posterior end of the quadrate to the visible posterior edge of the orbital fenestra, which opens ventrally, is . mm. this region between the quadrate and the orbit is occupied by a pterygoid with three projections. anteriorly, the pterygoid outlines most of the posterior edge of the orbit (a distance of about . mm.). a lateral process separates the orbit from the subtemporal fossa. a posteriorly directed edge defines the fossa, which extends about . mm. anteroposteriorly. the lateral process of the pterygoid terminates . mm. from the midline. both the lateral and posterior pterygoid processes are approximately . mm. wide. the greatest width of the subtemporal fossa is about . mm. the medial border of the orbital fenestra is missing, but apparently consisted of the pterygoid for at least the posterior half. along the posterior edge of the orbital fenestra, there is a narrow, dorsally projecting flange of the pterygoid. the lateral opening of the orbit is approximately . mm. wide. the remaining border of the orbital fenestra on the anterior and medial sides is formed by a bone occupying the position of palatine and vomer; for convenience we designate this as palatine. when reconstructed in its probable position in relation to the pterygoid, the left palatine lacks a section, on its medial and posterior edges, measuring about . mm. by . mm. the lateral margin of the palatine is convex; about . mm. anterior to the orbit this margin curves into a strong anteriorly pointing projection, medial to which is seen the internal narial opening. the remaining anterior edge is slightly convex, smoothly rounded, and meets the midline about . mm. anterior to the pterygoid. the void area medial to the palatine and anterior to the pterygoid does not fit any bone which we can recognize as the parasphenoid. it is thus suspected that this area is covered in part by the missing edge of the palatine and partly by an anteromedial extension of the pterygoid. of course a parasphenoid may also have been present. the position, length, and shape of the premaxillary shown in palatal view (fig. ) are primarily based upon the dorsal appearance since ventrally most of it cannot be seen. at the point where it forms the anterior border of the internal naris, the premaxillary is slightly wider than the maxillary and seems to become narrower as it approaches the midline. the ethmosphenoid, which we cannot identify, may have been exposed in a gap between the premaxillary and the palatine. the gap measures approximately . mm. wide and ranges up to . mm. anteroposteriorly. the maxillary begins at a suture with the premaxillary lateral to the naris and continues posteriorly, bordering the orbit with a width of about . mm. it then tapers to a point approximately . mm. anterior to the lateral projection of the pterygoid. the width of the maxillary at this point is . mm. and the posterior end is broken; probably when complete it approached the pterygoid, and either met the latter or had a ligamentous connection with it. as nearly as can be determined, the total length of the maxillary is approximately . mm. the teeth on the maxillary are small and seem to be in two longitudinal rows. the palatine bears two large, grooved teeth anteriorly; the first is approximately . mm. posteromedial to the naris and the second is about . mm. posterior and slightly lateral to the naris. the flat ventral surfaces of the palatine and pterygoid bear numerous small teeth distributed as shown in fig. . _braincase and occipital region_ (fig. ) the parts of the neurocranium are scattered, disconnected and incomplete, but it is possible to make out a number of features of the otico-occipital section with fair assurance. in posterior view the notochordal canal and foramen magnum are confluent with each other, and of great size relative to the skull as a whole. the notochordal canal measures . mm. in diameter, and the foramen magnum about . mm. the crescent-shaped supraoccipital rests on the upright ends of the exoccipitals, but between the latter and the basioccipital no sutures can be seen. probably the whole posterior surface of the braincase slanted posteroventrally; consequently the rim of the notochordal canal was about . mm. behind the margin of the parietals. the u-shaped border of the notochordal canal is a thick, rounded bone, comparable in appearance to the u-shaped intercentra of the vertebrae. this bone apparently rested upon a thinner, troughlike piece (fig. b) forming the floor of the braincase. the latter is broad, shallow, concave, open midventrally and narrowing anteriorly to form a pair of articular processes. since no sutures can be seen in this structure, it probably is the ventral, ossified portion of the basioccipital. watson ( , fig. b) illustrates the floor of the braincase in _eusthenopteron_, with its more lateral, anterior portion labelled prootic, but in our specimen the corresponding part could scarcely have formed the anterior wall of the otic capsule, being entirely in the plane of the floor. the two articular surfaces anteriorly near the midline suggest that a movable joint existed between the otico-occipital part of the braincase and the ethmosphenoid part, as in rhipidistia (romer, ). we have found nothing in the specimen that could be referred to the ethmosphenoid; it may have been unossified. [illustration: fig. . _hesperoherpeton garnettense_ peabody, ku , × . a, occipital view of skull; b, basioccipital bone in dorsal (internal) view.] the otic capsules appear to have rested against lateral projections of the basioccipital. the single otic capsule that can be seen (the right) is massively built, apparently ossified in one piece, with a shallow dorsomedial excavation, probably the vestige of a supratemporal fossa. on the lateral face is a broad, shallow depression dorsally, and a narrower, deeper one anteroventrally; these we suppose to have received the broader and narrower heads of the stapes, respectively. the posterior wall of the otic capsule we have designated opisthotic in the figure. anterior to the otic capsule the lateral wall of the braincase cannot be seen, and may not have been ossified. the roof of the braincase is visible in its ventral aspect, extending from approximately the occipital margin to a broken edge in front of the parietal foramen, and laterally to paired processes which overlie the otic capsules directly behind the orbits (see dotted outlines in fig. ). each of these postorbital processes, seen from beneath, appears to be the lateral extension of a shallow groove beginning near the midline. presumably this section of the roof is an ossification of the synotic tectum. it should be noted that the roof of the braincase proper is perfectly distinct from the overlying series of dermal bones, and that the parietal foramen can be seen in both. the roof of the braincase in our specimen seems to have been detached from the underlying otic capsules and the occipital wall. the bone that we take to be the stapes is blunt, flattened (perhaps by crushing), . mm. in length, and has two unequal heads; its width across both of these is . mm. the length is appropriate to fit between the lateral face of the otic capsule and the dorsal edge of the quadrate; the wider head rests on a posterodorsal concavity on the otic capsule, and the smaller fits a lower, more anterior pit. laterally the stapes carries a short, broad process that probably made contact with a dorsally placed tympanic membrane. thus the bone was a hyomandibular in the sense that it articulated with the quadrate, but it may also have served as a stapes in sound-transmission. it contains no visible canal or foramen. _mandible_ (fig. ) the crushed inner surface of the posterior part of the left mandible and most of the external surface of the right mandible are preserved in close proximity. although the whole length of the tooth-bearing margins is missing, some parts of six elements of the right mandible can be seen. the pattern of sutures and the general contour closely resemble those of _megalichthys_ (watson, , figs. , ) and other known rhipidistia. the anteroposterior length of the mandible is about . mm., and the depth is . mm. the dentary extends approximately . mm. back from the symphysis, and its greatest width is probably . mm. its lower edge meets all the other lateral bones of the jaw. the splenial and postsplenial form the curved anteroventral half of the jaw for a distance of about . mm. the fragmented articular, on the posterior end of the jaw, is . mm. long and . mm. deep, exhibiting a broken upper edge; presumably the surface for articulation with the quadrate was a shallow concavity, above the end of the articular. [illustration: fig. . _hesperoherpeton garnettense_ peabody. right mandible, lateral view, ku , × . external surfaces are pitted; broken surfaces are coarsely stippled.] vertebrae (fig. ) the vertebrae that are visible from a lateral view are crushed and difficult to interpret. it is possible, nevertheless, to see that the trunk vertebrae resemble those of ichthyostegalia (jarvik, , fig. a, b), except that the pleurocentra are much larger. a few parts of additional vertebrae can be seen, but they are so scattered that it is impossible to be sure of their original location. therefore comparisons between different regions cannot yet be made. the u-shaped intercentrum encloses the notochord and occupies an anteroventral position in the vertebra. anteriorly, each intercentrum articulates with the pleurocentra of the next preceding vertebra by slightly concave surfaces. dorsolaterally there is an articular surface for the capitulum of the rib. the two pleurocentra of each vertebra are separate ventrally as well as dorsally, but form thin, broad plates of about the same height as the notochord. the lateral surface appears to be depressed, allowing, perhaps, for movement of the rib. above each pleurocentrum, on the lateral surface of the neural arch, there is a short diapophysis for articulation with the tuberculum of the rib. the margin of the neural spine is convex anteriorly and concave posteriorly, the tip reaching a point vertically above the postzygapophysis. the prezygapophysis of each vertebra articulates with the preceding postzygapophysis by a smooth dorsal surface. one nearly complete neural arch shows (fig. b) a pit above the neural canal, clearly corresponding to the canal for a dorsal ligament shown by jarvik in _ichthyostega_. indeed this view of the neural arch and intercentrum together brings out the striking resemblance between the vertebrae of _hesperoherpeton_ and those of the ichthyostegids. the rounded intercentrum in both is an incomplete ring enclosing the notochordal canal. [illustration: fig. . _hesperoherpeton garnettense_ peabody. a, end view of incomplete vertebra, probably near anterior end of column. b, neural arch and intercentrum in end view, showing probable association. c, left lateral view of trunk vertebra. all figures: ku , × .] table .--average measurements of the trunk vertebrae (in mm.). numbers in parentheses indicate the number of pieces available for measuring ----------------------------+------------+-------------+--------------- parts | ant.-post. | dors.-vent. | transv. width ----------------------------+------------+-------------+--------------- neural spine | . ( ) | . ( ) | -- ----------------------------+------------+-------------+--------------- neural spine and arch | . ( ) | . ? ( ) | -- ----------------------------+------------+-------------+--------------- neural canal | . ( ) | . ( ) | . ( ) ----------------------------+------------+-------------+--------------- intercentrum | . ( ) | . ( ) | . ( ) ----------------------------+------------+-------------+--------------- pleurocentrum | . ( ) | . ( ) | -- ----------------------------+------------+-------------+--------------- the shape, in end view, of a partly preserved neural arch (fig. a) seems to account for the incompleteness of the intercentrum just mentioned; the ventral edge of the arch is emarginate in such a way as to fit the dorsal surface of the notochord. the dorsal portion of this neural arch is not present (either broken or not yet ossified), but the opening of the neural canal is comparable in width to the foramen magnum. hence this vertebra may be one of the most anterior in the column. in comparison with the trunk vertebrae seen farther posteriorly it appears that there may be a progressive ossification of neural arches toward their dorsal ends, and of intercentra around the notochord, with probable fusion of the intercentra and neural arches in the posterior part of the trunk. the notochord seems to have been slightly constricted by the intercentra, but not interrupted. ribs the proximal ends of the ribs expand dorsoventrally to a width approximately four times that of their slender shafts. the tuberculum and capitulum on each of the trunk ribs are separated only by a shallow concavity. these two articular surfaces are so situated that the rib must tilt downward from the horizontal plane. the shaft flares terminally in some ribs, and the distal end is convex. ribs in the trunk region differ little if any in size. five that can be measured vary in length from . to . mm. one short, bent rib . mm. long perhaps is sacral or caudal. pectoral girdle (figs. , , ) the right scapulocoracoid is almost complete, and the left one is present but partly broken into three pieces, somewhat pushed out of position. with the advantage of this new material, we may comment on the scapulocoracoid of _h. garnettense_ as described by peabody ( ). in size and contour, the slight differences between the type (ku ) and the new skeleton (ku ) are considered to be no more than individual variation. we have redrawn the type (fig. ) in order to show the resemblances more clearly. the small sections that were missing from the type are present in ku . the jagged edge directly posterior to the area occupied by the neural arch in the type extends . mm. farther back in our specimen. the angle formed between the recurved dorsal ramus and the edge of the ventral flange is seen in our specimen to be less than °. the glenoid fossa, appearing as a concave articular surface for the cap of the humerus, was in part covered by cartilage and shows as "unfinished" bone (peabody, , p. ); this area is more oval than triangular, as peabody thought. the obstruction of a clear view of this part of the type is the result of the accidental position of a neural arch. the raised portion immediately dorsal to the glenoid fossa exhibits an unfinished surface, suggesting the presence of either cartilage or a ligament. [illustration: fig. . _hesperoherpeton garnettense_ peabody. type specimen redrawn. right scapulocoracoid in external view (at left), and internal view (at right). ku , × .] [illustration: fig. . _hesperoherpeton garnettense_ peabody. right scapulocoracoid in external view, showing part of interclavicle, and position occupied by clavicle. the specimen is flattened and lies entirely in one plane. ku , × .] [illustration: fig. . _hesperoherpeton garnettense_ peabody. right clavicle in external view. anterior edge to right. ku , × .] the right clavicle is complete, and resembles a spoon having a slender handle. the dorsal tip of the handle is l-shaped. the expanded ventral part is convex externally, and rested upon the anteroventral surface of the scapulocoracoid. the lateral edge next to the "stem" is distinctly concave, abruptly becoming similar in contour to the opposite edge, and giving the impression of an unsymmetrical spoon. the left clavicle is present in scattered fragments, its dorsal hooklike end being intact. the posterior end of the interclavicle lies in contact with the right scapulocoracoid. there are short lateral processes at the point where the interclavicle was overlapped by the clavicles, but we cannot be sure of the extent of this bone anteriorly or posteriorly. the presumed left cleithrum, a long rectangle, is approximately equal in length to the rodlike stem of the clavicle, and is about as wide as the dorsal l-shaped tip of the clavicle. the posterior end of the cleithrum presumably met the tip of the clavicle, while the rest of it was directed anteriorly and a little dorsally. there seems to be a small articular surface near the anterior extremity which suggests the presence of a supracleithrum. the upper border of the cleithrum is slightly convex and the lower concave. forelimb (fig. ) the left forelimb is the only one present and appears to be nearly complete, although the elements are scattered almost at random. the only parts of the forelimb known to be missing are two subterminal and two terminal phalanges, probably of the first and third digits, and the proximal end of the second metacarpal. the smooth and relatively flat surfaces suggest an aquatic rather than terrestrial limb; only the proximal half of the humerus bears any conspicuous ridges or depressions. as we restore the skeleton of the limb, several features are remarkable: the humerus, ulna, and ulnare align themselves as the major axis of the limb, each carrying on its posterior edge a process or flange comparable to those in the axial series of a rhipidistian fin. the remaining elements take positions comparable to the diagonally placed preaxial radials in such a fin. the digits appear to have been short, perhaps with no more than two phalanges. there is only one row of carpals present (the proximal row of other tetrapods). a second and third row would be expected in primitive amphibia; if they existed in _hesperoherpeton_ they must either have been wholly cartilaginous or washed away from the specimen. neither of these alternatives seems at all likely to us in view of the well-ossified condition of the elements that are present, and the occurrence of both the proximal carpals and the metacarpals. the space available for metacarpals probably could not have contained more than the four that are recognized. [illustration: fig. . _hesperoherpeton garnettense_ peabody. left forelimb, showing characters of both a crossopterygian fin and an amphibian foot. ku , × .] the proximal end of the humerus is more rounded anteriorly than posteriorly, and has a thin articular border that bore a cartilaginous cap as the primary surface for articulation with the scapulocoracoid. although the unfinished surface of the head extends down the anterior margin about a third the length of the humerus, the shaft has been broken and so twisted that the distal part is not in the same plane as the proximal. immediately posterior to the cartilaginous cap is a round, deep notch bordered posteriorly by the dorsal process of the head. the shaft is longer and narrower than would be anticipated in a primitive amphibian limb (cf. romer, ). the distal end bears two surfaces for articulation with the radius and ulna. the full extent of the former surface was not determined because the more anterior part of the expanded end is represented only by an impression. the surface nearest the ulna was partially rounded for articulation with that element, the remaining posterior edge being broadly concave. the most striking feature of the humerus is a slender hooklike process on the posterior edge near the distal end, probably homologous with ( ) the posterior flange on the "humerus" in rhipidistia, and ( ) the entepicondyle of the humerus in _archeria_ (romer, ) and other tetrapods. the radius is about the same width proximally as distally. the curvature of the shaft is approximately alike on both sides. distally the surface is rounded for articulation with the radiale and perhaps the intermedium. the proximal end of the ulna is similar to that of the radius but is slightly larger. posteriorly, there is a short, broad expansion resembling the entepicondyle of the humerus, and even more nearly like the postaxial flanges in a crossopterygian fin. the ends of the radiale are expanded and rounded, the entire bone being approximately twice as long as wide. the three sides of the intermedium are similarly convex. the surface of this bone is unfinished, showing that it must have been embedded in cartilage. the ulnare is conspicuously similar to the ulna in bearing a posterior hooklike expansion, and is larger than the radiale. the four metacarpals are slightly expanded proximally and distally. although measurements of length and width are tabulated below (table ), we are not certain of the sequence of these bones in the row. the dimensions of the two proximal phalanges are alike. the shape of these elements is similar to that of the metacarpals. the two terminal phalanges are somewhat triangular in shape, the lateral edges being concave and the proximal convex. table .--approximate measurements of the forelimb (in mm.) --------------------------+------------------------------------------- | dimensions +----------+-------------------------------- element | | width | length +----------+----------+---------- | | proximal | midway | distal --------------------------+----------+----------+----------+---------- humerus | . | . | . | . ? radius | . | . | . | . ulna | . | . | . | . radiale | . | . | . | . intermedium | . | -- | . | -- ulnare | . | . | . | . metacarpal a | . | . | . | . metacarpal b | . | . ? | . | . metacarpal c | . | . | . | . metacarpal d | . | . | . | . proximal phalanx a | . | . | . | . proximal phalanx b | . | . | . | . terminal phalanx a | . | . | . | . terminal phalanx b | . | . | . | . --------------------------+----------+----------+----------+---------- comparisons and discussion apparently primitive rhipidistian characters in _hesperoherpeton_ are: braincase in two sections, posterior one containing an expanded notochordal canal; lateral series of mandibular bones closely resembling that of _megalichthys_, as figured by watson ( ); tabular having long process probably articulating with pectoral girdle; lack of movement between head and trunk correlated with absence of occipital condyle; sensory pits present on frontal and squamosal. although we are unable to separate, by sutures, the vomers from the palatines, the palatal surface of these bones and of the pterygoids is studded by numerous small teeth, as in rhipidistia (jarvik, ) and some of the early amphibia (romer, ). the stapes apparently reaches the quadrate, and could therefore serve in hyostylic suspension of the upper jaw. the pectoral limb has an axial series of bones carrying hooklike flanges on their posterior edges. the other bones of the limb show little modification of form beyond the nearly flat, aquatic type seen in rhipidistia. no distinct elbow or wrist joints are developed. characters of _hesperoherpeton_ common to most primitive amphibia, in contrast with crossopterygii, are: nares separated from edge of jaw; stapes having external process that may have met a tympanic membrane, thus giving the bone a sound-transmitting function. apparently none of the opercular series was present. there are two large palatal teeth, slightly labyrinthine in character, adjacent to each internal naris. the scapulocoracoid, as shown by peabody ( ), is anthracosaurian in structure, as are the long-stemmed clavicles. the limbs have digits rather than fin-lobes, although the digital number apparently is four and the number of bones in the manus is less than would be expected in a primitive amphibian. the vertebrae are similar to those of ichthyostegids, as described by jarvik ( ), except that the pleurocentra are much larger. in addition to this remarkable combination of crossopterygian and amphibian characters, _hesperoherpeton_ is specialized in certain features of the skull. the orbits are much enlarged, probably in correlation with the diminutive size of the animal, and this has been accompanied by loss of several bones. the frontal and squamosal nearly meet each other, and both form part of the rim of the orbit. the bones of the posterior part of the dermal roof are greatly reduced, and there is none behind the squamosal except the projecting tabular; there is no indication of quadratojugal, jugal, intertemporal or postparietal. the foramen magnum is enormous. the external surfaces of the bones of the skull are nearly smooth. is it possible that the "primitive" and "specialized" features of this animal are actually larval? are they not just the kind of characters that would be expected in an immature, aquatic embolomere of pennsylvanian time? for several reasons we do not think this is the case. except for the anterior part of the braincase, there is no indication that the skeleton was not well ossified. the postaxial processes on the humerus, ulna and ulnare could scarcely have been larval features only, since they are so clearly homologous with those in adult rhipidistia; a larval limb should indeed be simple, but its simplicity is unlikely to involve paleotelic adult characters. the scapulocoracoid of our specimen is of practically the same shape and size as that in the only other known individual, the type; this would be probable if both were adults, but somewhat less likely if they were larvae of a much larger animal. the form of the stapes, tabular and otic notch suggest a functional tympanic membrane, which could not have occurred in a gill-breathing larva. on the other hand, an adult animal of pigmy size might be expected to have large orbits, large otic capsules and a large foramen magnum. we conclude that _hesperoherpeton_ lived and sought food in the weedy shallows at the margin of a pond or lagoon, and that for much of the time its head was partly out of water (fig. ). the animal could either steady itself or crawl around by means of the paddlelike limbs, but these probably could not be used in effective locomotion on land. like the ichthyostegids, it probably swam by means of a fishlike tail. [illustration: fig. . _hesperoherpeton garnettense_ peabody. probable appearance in life. × . .] taxonomy evidently _hesperoherpeton_ is a small, lagoon-dwelling survivor of the devonian forms that initiated the change from crossopterygii to amphibia (jarvik, ). it shows, however, that this transition did not affect all structures at the same time, for some, as the braincase with its notochordal canal, the mandibular bones and axial limb bones, are unchanged from the condition normal for the rhipidistia, but most other characters are of amphibian grade. to express these facts taxonomically requires that _hesperoherpeton_ be removed from the family cricotidae, suborder embolomeri, order anthracosauria, and placed in a new order and family of labyrinthodont amphibia. order plesiopoda (_plesios_, gr., near, almost; _podos_, gr., foot) labyrinthodontia having limbs provided with digits, but retaining posterior flanges on axial bones as in rhipidistia, without joint-structure at elbow and wrist essential for terrestrial locomotion; neurocranium having separate otico-occipital section, large notochordal canal, no occipital condyle, as in rhipidistia; nares separate from rim of mouth; pectoral girdle anthracosaurian; vertebrae having u-shaped intercentrum and paired, but large, pleurocentra. probably associated with the characters of the order, as given above, are the connection of pectoral girdle with skull, and the presence of a tympanic membrane, the stapes functioning in both sound-transmission and palatoquadrate suspension. family hesperoherpetonidae orbits and foramen magnum unusually large in correlation with reduced size of animal; squamosal forming posterior margin of orbit; circumorbital series absent (except for postorbital); sensory pits on squamosal and frontal. characters defining the family are evidently the more specialized cranial features, which probably evolved during mississippian and early pennsylvanian times. the definition of the genus and species may be left to rest upon peabody's ( ) original description and the present account, until the discovery of other members of the family gives reason for making further distinctions. summary _hesperoherpeton garnettense_ peabody ( ), based on a scapulocoracoid and part of a vertebra, was originally placed in the order anthracosauria, suborder embolomeri, family cricotidae. a new skeleton from the type locality near garnett, kansas (rock lake shale, stanton formation, upper pennsylvanian), shows that the animal has the following rhipidistian characters: large notochordal canal below foramen magnum, otico-occipital block separate from ethmosphenoid, postaxial processes on three axial bones of forelimb, pectoral girdle (probably) articulated with tabular. nevertheless, _hesperoherpeton_ has short digits, an anthracosaurian type of pectoral girdle, an otic rather than spiracular notch, nostrils separate from the mouth, and vertebrae in which the intercentrum is u-shaped and the pleurocentra large but paired. the stapes reaches the quadrate. _hesperoherpeton_ is placed in a new order, plesiopoda, on the basis of the characters stated above, and a new family, hesperoherpetonidae. specialized characters of the family include: reduction of circumorbital bones, bringing the squamosal to the edge of the orbit, loss of certain bones of the temporal region, and relative enlargement of the orbits and foramen magnum, in correlation with the diminutive size of the animal. the structural characters of _hesperoherpeton_ suggest to us that it lived in the shallow, weedy margins of lagoons, rested with its head partly out of water, and normally did not walk on land. literature cited eaton, t. h., jr. . origin of tetrapod limbs. amer. midl. nat., : - . jarvik, e. . on the fish-like tail in the ichthyostegid stegocephalians. meddel. om grønland, : - . . on the visceral skeleton in _eusthenopteron_ with a discussion of the parasphenoid and palatoquadrate in fishes. kgl. svenska vetenskapsakad. handl., : - . . the oldest tetrapods and their forerunners. sci. monthly, : - . moore, r. c., frye, j. c., and jewett, j. m. . tabular description of outcropping rocks in kansas. kansas state geol. surv. bull., : - . peabody, f. e. . _petrolacosaurus kansensis_ lane, a pennsylvanian reptile from kansas. univ. kansas paleont. contrib., vertebrata, art. : - . . an embolomerous amphibian in the garnett fauna (pennsylvanian) of kansas. jour. paleont., : - . romer, a. s. . the braincase of the carboniferous crossopterygian _megalichthys nitidus_. mus. comp. zool. bull., : - . . review of the labyrinthodontia. mus. comp. zool. bull., : - . . the appendicular skeleton of the permian embolomerous amphibian _archeria_. univ. michigan contrib. mus. paleont., : - . watson, d. m. s. . the evolution and origin of the amphibia. phil. trans. roy. soc. london, (b) : - . _transmitted january , ._ - university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume , no. , pp. - december , pleistocene bats from san josecito cave, nuevo león, méxico by j. knox jones, jr. university of kansas lawrence university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, henry s. fitch, robert w. wilson volume , no. , pp. - published december , university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed in the state printing plant topeka, kansas - pleistocene bats from san josecito cave, nuevo león, méxico by j. knox jones, jr. some of the pleistocene mammals from san josecito cave, near aramberri, nuevo león, méxico, collected by field parties of the california institute of technology under the direction of the late professor chester stock, have been reported previously (see furlong, ; cushing, ; stock, ; hooper, ; findley, ; stock, ; handley, ; jackway, ). in , professor stock loaned a portion of the san josecito material to the university of kansas for identification. included therein were crania and rami of bats, representing three families (phyllostomidae, desmodontidae and vespertilionidae) and five genera, each represented by a single species. one of the species is here described as new. three of the kinds are known only from the pleistocene and two are recent species. the only previous mention of fossil bats from méxico known to me concerns material from san josecito cave. cushing ( : ) mentioned a "vampire bat" from the cave (see also maldonado-koerdell, : ), and handley ( : ) based his description of _corynorhinus tetralophodon_ on a specimen from san josecito. brief descriptions of the cave have been published by miller ( ) and stock ( ). the precise age of the deposits is unknown; stratification data did not accompany the material sent on loan to the university of kansas. however, most of the micro-fauna is thought to have come from the higher levels in the cave and is probably late pleistocene. the san josecito cave collections are currently the property of the los angeles county museum. i am grateful to dr. e. raymond hall for permission to study the bats from san josecito cave, to dr. robert w. wilson for criticism of the manuscript, and to mr. philip hershkovitz for permission to use comparative material at the chicago natural history museum. lucy rempel made the drawings from photographs by john m. legler. _leptonycteris nivalis_ (saussure) _referred material._--seventy crania, lacm (cit) - , - , - , - , , - , - , - , , unnumbered, of which are nearly complete, lacking zygomatic arches, auditory bullae and some teeth; three rami, one right, lacm (cit) , and two left, unnumbered. _remarks._--the long-nosed bats from san josecito cave do not differ appreciably from _leptonycteris nivalis longala_ stains, the largest recent subspecies of the species, and the subspecies that occurs in the same geographic area today. average and extremes of three cranial measurements of specimens from san josecito cave, followed in parentheses by the average and extreme measurements of adult _l. n. longala_ from the type locality, mi. s and mi. e arteaga, ft., coahuila (after stains, : ), are: greatest length of skull, . , . - . ( . , . - . ); least interorbital constriction, . , . - . ( . , . - . ); breadth of braincase, . , . - . ( . , . - . ). the san josecito specimens average larger than the series of recent specimens in all of these measurements, especially breadth of braincase, but there is considerable overlap in each case and the extremes of greatest length of skull and of least interorbital constriction do not exceed the extremes in the recent series. _desmodus stocki_, new species _holotype._--cranium, lacking post-incisor dentition on the left side, zygomatic arches and auditory bullae; los angeles county museum (cit) no. ; from pleistocene deposits of san josecito cave, near aramberri, nuevo león, méxico. _referred material._--twelve additional partial crania, lacm (cit) - , - , - , unnumbered. _diagnosis._--resembling the recent _desmodus rotundus_ but differing from it as follows: skull larger (see measurements and figs. - ), heavier and more massive; rostrum and braincase relatively as well as actually broader, interorbital region relatively more constricted; braincase more rounded (less elongate) as viewed from above; nasals less concave in lateral view; narial vacuity broader in relation to greatest length of skull, more nearly heart-shaped; palate broad, less concave medially; mesopterygoid fossa relatively and actually broader anteriorly, the sides nearly parallel; zygomatic arches (judging from no. , the only specimen with a complete arch, the left) less rounded in outline, appearing broader owing to the more constricted interorbital region. dentition larger and heavier than that in _rotundus_, but otherwise differing only slightly from it; upper incisor less concave on cutting surface (see figs. - ); premolar and molar slightly less bladelike, with heavier roots. the peculiar shape of the incisor of _stocki_ is shared to some extent with diaemus youngi, a recent south american desmodontid. however, _stocki_ does not otherwise resemble _d. youngi_, differing from it as follows: skull larger and heavier; interorbital constriction much narrower; zygomatic arches less strongly bowed; skull less compact, more elongate; braincase and rostrum relatively much narrower in relation to greatest length of skull. furthermore, specimens of stocki show no trace of the minute m attributed to _youngi_ by de la torre (proc. biol. soc. washington, : , ). for cranial measurements of _youngi_ see sanborn (jour. mamm., : , ). [illustration: figs. - . fig. . dorsal view of holotype of _desmodus stocki_, × - / . fig. . dorsal view of _desmodus rotundus murinus_, male, ku , la mula, mi. n jaumave, tamaulipas, × - / . fig. . lateral view of left upper incisor of _d. stocki_, lacm (cit) , × - / . fig. . lateral view of left upper incisor of _d. r. murinus_, female, ku , la mula, mi. n jaumave, tamaulipas, × - / .] _remarks._--the essential differences between _d. stocki_ and _d. rotundus_ are in size and proportion. i do not doubt that the two species are closely related; possibly _stocki_ is ancestral to _rotundus_. the species is named in honor of the late professor chester stock, under whose direction the fossil materials from san josecito cave were obtained, and who, at the time of his death, was studying the mammalian fauna from the cave. _eptesicus cf. grandis_ (brown) _referred material._--one rostrum, with p -m on the right side and p only on the left, lacm (cit) . _remarks._--this specimen is referred provisionally to _e. grandis_. the dentition is larger and heavier, and the ridges and depressions on the dorsal surface of the rostrum are more pronounced than in recent _e. fuscus_. the p -m length is . (approximately . in the holotype of _grandis_, less in _fuscus_); least interorbital constriction, . ( . in the holotype of _grandis_, more in _fuscus_); breadth of rostrum between infraorbital canals, . ; breadth across p , . . table .--cranial measurements of two species of _desmodus_. ---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------- catalogue number | g o | c l | z b | b b | l c | b f or number of | r f | o e | y r | r r | e o | r o specimens averaged | e | n n | g e | e a | a n | e r | a s | d g | o a | a i | s s | a a | t k | y t | m d | d n | t t | d m | e u | l h | a t | t c | r | t e | s l | o | t h | h a | i i | h n | t l | b | i | s | n c | | | a | c | o e | t t | o m | l | s | | f | e i | f a | e | a | | | r o | g | n | l | | | o n | n | g | | | | r | u | t | | | | b | m | h | | | | i | | | | | | t | | | | | | a | | | | | | l | ---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------- _desmodus rotundus murinus_, la mula, mi. n jaumave, tamaulipas ( male, ave. | . | . | . | . | . | . female) max. | . | . | . | . | . | . min. | . | . | . | . | . | . _desmodus stocki_, san josecito cave, nuevo león | . | . | | . | . | . | | | | . | | . | | . | | . | . | . | | . | | . | . | . | | | . | . | | . | | | | . | . | . | . | | | . | . | . (type) | . | . | | . | . | . | . | . | | . | . | | | . | . | . | . | . ---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------- brown ( : ) originally named _grandis_ as a subspecies of _fuscus_. gidley and gazin ( : ) considered it a distinct species. whether _grandis_ is only a subspecies of _e. fuscus_ or a separate species, _grandis_ is closely related to _fuscus_, and probably is ancestral to it. _lasiurus cinereus_ (palisot de beauvois) _referred material_.--one cranium, lacking basioccipital, tympanic and mastoid regions, and most of the dentition, having only m on the right side and m -m on the left, lacm (cit) . _remarks._--the cranium of no. is inseparable from those of spring-taken specimens of _l. c. cinereus_ from the san gabriel mts., los angeles co., california (ku , - ). measurements of no. , followed by the average and extremes (in parentheses) of the californian series, are: condylobasal length, . , . ( . - . ); zygomatic breadth, . , . ( . - . ); least interorbital constriction, . , . ( . - . ); breadth of braincase, . , . ( . - . ); length of palate not including terminal spine, . , . ( . - . ). the teeth of the san josecito specimen are comparatively unworn. a label with the skull bears the notation "talus" in parentheses, which, in so far as i am able to determine, indicates surface talus inside the cave. therefore, the specimen in question may be of recent origin. it is perhaps worthy of note that lasiurus cinereus is primarily a tree-dwelling bat, although a few recent specimens have been reported from caves (see beer, : ). _corynorhinus tetralophodon_ handley a single cranium of a _corynorhinus_ lacm (cit) was included in the original materials sent to kansas by professor stock. subsequently, this specimen was loaned to charles o. handley, jr., who described it as a new species, _c. tetralophodon_. the latter is said to differ from all other plecotine bats by the retention of a well-developed fourth commissure (ridge extending posteroexternally from metacone) on the m (handley, : ). literature cited beer, j. r. . a record of the hoary bat from a cave. jour. mamm., : , february . brown, b. . the conard fissure, a pleistocene bone deposit in northern arkansas: with description of two new genera and twenty new species and subspecies of mammals. mem. amer. mus. nat., : - , pls. - . cushing, j. e., jr. . quaternary rodents and lagomorphs of san josecito cave, nuevo leon, mexico. jour. mamm., : - , july . findley, j. s. . pleistocene soricidae from san josecito cave, nuevo leon, mexico. univ. kansas publ., mus. nat. hist., : - , december . furlong, e. l. . the pleistocene antelope, stockoceros conklingi, from san josecito cave, mexico. carnegie inst. washington publ., : - , pls., february . gidley, j. w., and gazin, c. l. . the pleistocene vertebrate fauna from cumberland cave, maryland. bull. u. s. nat. mus., :vi + , figs., pls. handley, c. o., jr. . _a new pleistocene bat_ (corynorhinus) _from mexico_. jour. washington acad. sci., : - , march . hooper, e. t. . a systematic review of the harvest mice (genus _reithrodontomys_) of latin america. misc. publ. mus. zool., univ. michigan, : - , pls., figs., maps, january . maldonado-koerdell, m. . los vertebrados fosiles del cuaternario en méxico. revista soc. mexicana hist. nat., : - , june. jackway, g. e. . pleistocene lagomorpha and rodentia from the san josecito cave, nuevo león, méxico. trans. kansas acad. sci., : in press. miller, l. . the pleistocene birds of san josecito cavern, mexico. univ. california publ. zool., : - , april . stains, h. j. . a new bat (genus leptonycteris) from coahuila. univ. kansas publ., mus. nat. hist., : - , january . stock, c. . the cave of san josecito, mexico. new discoveries of vertebrate life of the ice age. eng. sci. monthly, california inst. tech., balch grad. school geol. sci. contrib., : - , september. . bears from the pleistocene cave of san josecito, nuevo leon, mexico. jour. washington acad. sci., : - , fig., october . . el caballo pleistocenico (_equus conversidens leoni_, subsp. nov.) de la cueva de san josecito, aramberra, nuevo leon. mem. congr. cient. mex., : - . _transmitted august , ._ - * * * * * transcriber's note: replaced the two occurrences of male and female symbols with the words "male" and "female". none _on the affinities of leptarctus primus of leidy._ by j. l. wortman. _author's edition, extracted from_ bulletin of the american museum of natural history, vol. vi, article viii, pp. - . _new york, july , ._ article viii.--on the affinities of leptarctus primus of leidy. by j. l. wortman. up to the present time but very little has been known of the existence of the peculiarly american family procyonidæ in any deposits older than the very latest quaternary. leidy has described and figured[ ] an isolated last upper tooth, from the loup fork deposits of nebraska, under the name of _leptarctus primus_, which has been referred to this family. the museum expedition of last year into this region was successful in obtaining additional material, which we provisionally refer to leidy's species. =leptarctus primus= _leidy_. the specimen consists of the right ramus of the lower jaw, carrying the third and fourth premolars and the canine. the condyle is broken away, but the coronoid process and the angle are preserved. the specimen is from a young individual in which the last premolar had just cut the gum. the alveoli of all the other teeth are present and in a good state of preservation. the dental formula is as follows: i._ , c._ , pm._ , m._ . the incisors are not preserved, but their alveoli indicate that they were much crowded, the outside one being placed almost directly in front of the canine, and the middle one pushed back considerably out of position. this series is in marked contrast with that of the raccoon, in which the crowns of the incisors form almost a straight line across the jaw, and the middle one is crowded backwards to a very slight extent. the canine is peculiar and differs markedly from that of the raccoon. it is rather robust, very much recurved and grooved by a deep vertical sulcus upon its antero-internal face. this sulcus is but faintly indicated in the raccoon. the postero-external face of the crown is marked by a sharp ridge which becomes more prominent near the apex. the first premolar is not preserved, but its alveolus indicates that it was a single-rooted tooth, placed behind the canine after the intervention of a very short diastema. the second premolar is bifanged; its crown is composed of a principal cusp, to which is added behind a small though very distinct second cusp. there is in addition to these cusps a distinct basal cingulum, most prominent in the region of the heel. the third premolar, like the second, is double rooted; its crown moreover is made up of two cusps, the posterior being almost as large as the principal one. these cusps do not stand in the line of the long axis of the jaw, but are placed very obliquely to it. the heel is not very prominent, but the basal cingulum is well developed, both in front and behind. as compared with the raccoon, the second premolar is more complex in that it has two cusps instead of one. in the third premolar the posterior cusp is much better developed, and placed more obliquely than in the corresponding tooth of _procyon_; the heel is moreover not so broad. the first molar is not preserved, but judging from the size of its roots it was decidedly the longest tooth of the series. the second molar was likewise bifanged but much smaller; it was placed close against the base of the coronoid. the whole jaw has, relatively, a greater depth than that of the raccoon, and is remarkably straight upon its lower border, whereas in the recent genus it is considerably curved. the condyle is not preserved, and the angle is somewhat damaged, but it was apparently not so strongly inflected as in the raccoon. the masseteric fossa is deep and prominent, and the coronoid is high and broad. the inferior dental canal is placed higher than it is in the raccoon, being slightly above the tooth line. the symphysis is relatively deeper and more robust than in _procyon_, and the chin is heavier and more abruptly rounded. the jaw of _leptarctus_ differs from that of _cercoleptes_ in the following characters: the coronoid is broader and of less vertical extent; the condyle is not placed so high; the angle is elevated above the lower border of the ramus, which is straight and not concave as it is in _cercoleptes_. in the depth of the symphysis and abrupt rounding of the chin the two genera are similar. _cercoleptes_, moreover, has a moderately deep groove upon the antero-internal face of the canine, but differs from that of _leptarctus_ in having an external groove as well. _cercoleptes_ again resembles _leptarctus_ in having only three premolars in the lower jaw; the middle one, however, has only a single cusp upon the crown, whereas _leptarctus_ has two. as compared with _bassaricyon_,[ ] the jaw is more robust, shorter and deeper, with a more prominent chin. the two genera differ again in the number of premolars. altogether, _leptarctus_ appears to offer a number of transitional characters between the more typical procyonidæ and the aberrant _cercoleptes_. this is especially to be seen in the proportions of the jaw, the reduction of the number of premolars, the reduction in size of the last molar, as well as the depth of the mandibular symphysis. footnotes: [ ] extinct fauna of dakota. [ ] see j. a. allen's paper, proc. phil. acad., , p. . transcriber's note: "quartenary" was amended to "quaternary" in the first paragraph. university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume , no. , pp. - , figs. april , a new doglike carnivore, genus cynarctus, from the clarendonian, pliocene, of texas by e. raymond hall and walter w. dalquest university of kansas lawrence university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, henry s. fitch, theodore h. eaton, jr. volume , no. , pp. - , figs. published april , university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by jean m. neibarger, state printer topeka, kansas - a new doglike carnivore, genus cynarctus, from the clarendonian, pliocene, of texas by e. raymond hall and walter w. dalquest a study of a right maxilla bearing p -m and part of a right mandibular ramus bearing m (see figures) reveals the existence of an unnamed species of cynarctine carnivore. it may be known as: =cynarctus fortidens= new species _holotype._--right maxilla bearing p , p , and m , no. ku; bluff on west side of turkey creek, approximately feet above stream, raymond farr ranch, center ne, ne, s. blk. c- , e. l. and r. r. ry. co., donley county, texas [approximately . miles north and mile east of clarendon], clarendon fauna, early pliocene age. obtained by w. w. dalquest, on june , . _referred material._--fragment of right lower mandible bearing m , no. ku (see fig. ), found about two feet horizontally distant from the holotype in the same stratum as the holotype and on the same date by the same collector (a staff member of the department of biology of midwestern university, wichita falls, texas). [illustration: fig. . _cynarctus fortidens_, no. ku (midwestern univ. no. ). lateral view of holotype × , and occlusal view of check-teeth × .] [illustration: fig. . _cynarctus fortidens_, no. ku (midwestern univ. no. ). lateral view of right lower mandible and m × and oblique occlusal view of m × .] _diagnosis._--size large (see measurements); no accessory cusp between protocone and paracone of fourth upper premolar; first upper molar longer than broad and lacking cingulum on part of tooth lingual to protocone. _comparisons._--from _cynarctus crucidens_ barbour and cook (see page of two new fossil dogs of the genus cynarctus from nebraska. nebraska geol. surv., (pt. ): - , ; also pages and of dental morphologie of the procyonidae with a description of cynarctoides, gen. nov. geol. ser. field mus. nat. hist., : - , figs., october , ) _c. fortidens_ differs in lacking, instead of having, an accessory cusp between the protocone and paracone of the fourth upper premolar and in lacking, instead of having, a cingulum on the part of p that is internal (lingual) to the protocone. _remarks._--the lower jaw and its second molar seem to be from an individual significantly larger than the holotype. possibly the lower jaw and upper jaw are from two species but the lower jaw probably is from a male and the upper jaw from a female of the same species. reasons for regarding _cynarctus_ as belonging to the family canidae instead of to the family procyonidae have been stated recently in detail by e. c. galbreath (remarks on _cynarctoides acridens_ from the miocene of colorado. trans. kansas acad. sci., ( ): - , fig., october , ) and need not be repeated here. although some uncertainty remains as to the familial position of _cynarctus_, we favor galbreath's view that the genus belongs in the family canidae. the holotype of _cynarctus crucidens_ is from williams canyon, brown county, nebraska. according to c. b. schultz (_in litt._, december , ), williams canyon is a tributary of plumb creek; the upper part of the valentine formation and the younger lower part of the ash hollow formation are exposed in williams canyon; which one of these formations yielded the holotype of _c. crucidens_ is unknown. on the basis of the correlation chart (pl. in nomenclature and correlation of the north american continental tertiary. bull. geol. soc. amer., (pt. ): - , ) by h. e. wood nd _et al._, _c. fortidens_ and _c. crucidens_ are equivalent in age or _c. fortidens_ is the younger. the rounded summits of the principal cusps of the teeth of _c. fortidens_ suggests that it was mainly frugivorous instead of carnivorous--more frugivorous by far than the living gray fox, _urocyon cinereoargenteus_, that is known to eat substantial amounts of fruits and berries. indeed, no other canid that we know of has teeth so much adapted to a frugivorous diet as are those of _c. fortidens_. its degree of adaptation to a frugivorous diet is more than in the procyonid genus _nasua_ but less than in the procyonid genus _bassaricyon_. _measurements_ (of crowns) of _c. fortidens_.--p -m , length, . (millimeters); p -m , . ; p , length, . ; p , breadth, . ; p , length of outer border, . ; p , breadth, . ; m , length, . ; m , breadth, . ; m , length, . ; m , breadth, . ; depth of mandible at posterior end of m , ; thickness of mandible, . . _transmitted february , ._ - on the method of zadig essay # from "science and hebrew tradition" by thomas henry huxley retrospective prophecy as a function of science "une marque plus sure que toutes celles de zadig." [ ]--cuvier. it is an usual and a commendable practice to preface the discussion of the views of a philosophic thinker by some account of the man and of the circumstances which shaped his life and coloured his way of looking at things; but, though zadig is cited in one of the most important chapters of cuvier's greatest work, little is known about him, and that little might perhaps be better authenticated than it is. it is said that he lived at babylon in the time of king moabdar; but the name of moabdar does not appear in the list of babylonian sovereigns brought to light by the patience and the industry of the decipherers of cuneiform inscriptions in these later years; nor indeed am i aware that there is any other authority for his existence than that of the biographer of zadig, one arouet de voltaire, among whose more conspicuous merits strict historical accuracy is perhaps hardly to be reckoned. happily zadig is in the position of a great many other philosophers. what he was like when he was in the flesh, indeed whether he existed at all, are matters of no great consequence. what we care about in a light is that it shows the way, not whether it is lamp or candle, tallow or wax. our only real interest in zadig lies in the conceptions of which he is the putative father; and his biographer has stated these with so much clearness and vivacious illustration, that we need hardly feel a pang, even if critical research should prove king moabdar and all the rest of the story to be unhistorical, and reduce zadig himself to the shadowy condition of a solar myth. voltaire tells us that, disenchanted with life by sundry domestic misadventures, zadig withdrew from the turmoil of babylon to a secluded retreat on the banks of the euphrates, where he beguiled his solitude by the study of nature. the manifold wonders of the world of life had a particular attraction for the lonely student; incessant and patient observation of the plants and animals about him sharpened his naturally good powers of observation and of reasoning; until, at length, he acquired a sagacity which enabled him to perceive endless minute differences among objects which, to the untutored eye, appeared absolutely alike. it might have been expected that this enlargement of the powers of the mind and of its store of natural knowledge could tend to nothing but the increase of a man's own welfare and the good of his fellow-men. but zadig was fated to experience the vanity of such expectations. "one day, walking near a little wood, he saw, hastening that way, one of the queen's chief eunuchs, followed by a troop of officials, who appeared to be in the greatest anxiety, running hither and thither like men distraught, in search of some lost treasure. "'young man,' cried the eunuch, 'have you seen the queen's dog?' zadig answered modestly, 'a bitch, i think, not a dog.' 'quite right,' replied the eunuch; and zadig continued, 'a very small spaniel who has lately had puppies; she limps with the left foreleg, and has very long ears.' 'ah! you have seen her then,' said the breathless eunuch. 'no,' answered zadig, 'i have not seen her; and i really was not aware that the queen possessed a spaniel.' "by an odd coincidence, at the very same time, the handsomest horse in the king's stables broke away from his groom in the babylonian plain. the grand huntsman and all his staff were seeking the horse with as much anxiety as the eunuch and his people the spaniel; and the grand huntsman asked zadig if he had not seen the king's horse go that way. "'a first-rate galloper, small-hoofed, five feet high; tail three feet and a half long; cheek pieces of the bit of twenty-three carat gold; shoes silver?' said zadig. "'which way did he go? where is he?' cried the grand huntsman. "'i have not seen anything of the horse, and i never heard of him before,' replied zadig. "the grand huntsman and the chief eunuch made sure that zadig had stolen both the king's horse and the queen's spaniel, so they haled him before the high court of desterham, which at once condemned him to the knout, and transportation for life to siberia. but the sentence was hardly pronounced when the lost horse and spaniel were found. so the judges were under the painful necessity of reconsidering their decision: but they fined zadig four hundred ounces of gold for saying he had seen that which he had not seen. "the first thing was to pay the fine; afterwards zadig was permitted to open his defence to the court, which he did in the following terms: "'stars of justice, abysses of knowledge, mirrors of truth, whose gravity is as that of lead, whose inflexibility is as that of iron, who rival the diamond in clearness, and possess no little affinity with gold; since i am permitted to address your august assembly, i swear by ormuzd that i have never seen the respectable lady dog of the queen, nor beheld the sacrosanct horse of the king of kings. "'this is what happened. i was taking a walk towards the little wood near which i subsequently had the honour to meet the venerable chief eunuch and the most illustrious grand huntsman. i noticed the track of an animal in the sand, and it was easy to see that it was that of a small dog. long faint streaks upon the little elevations of sand between the footmarks convinced me that it was a she dog with pendent dugs, showing that she must have had puppies not many days since. other scrapings of the sand, which always lay close to the marks of the forepaws, indicated that she had very long ears; and, as the imprint of one foot was always fainter than those of the other three, i judged that the lady dog of our august queen was, if i may venture to say so, a little lame. "'with respect to the horse of the king of kings, permit me to observe that, wandering through the paths which traverse the wood, i noticed the marks of horse-shoes. they were all equidistant. "ah!" said i, "this is a famous galloper." in a narrow alley, only seven feet wide, the dust upon the trunks of the trees was a little disturbed at three feet and a half from the middle of the path. "this horse," said i to myself, "had a tail three feet and a half long, and, lashing it from one side to the other, he has swept away the dust." branches of the trees met overhead at the height of five feet, and under them i saw newly fallen leaves; so i knew that the horse had brushed some of the branches, and was therefore five feet high. as to his bit, it must have been made of twenty-three carat gold, for he had rubbed it against a stone, which turned out to be a touchstone, with the properties of which i am familiar by experiment. lastly, by the marks which his shoes left upon pebbles of another kind, i was led to think that his shoes were of fine silver.' "all the judges admired zadig's profound and subtle discernment; and the fame of it reached even the king and the queen. from the ante-rooms to the presence-chamber, zadig's name was in everybody's mouth; and, although many of the magi were of opinion that he ought to be burnt as a sorcerer, the king commanded that the four hundred ounces of gold which he had been fined should be restored to him. so the officers of the court went in state with the four hundred ounces; only they retained three hundred and ninety-eight for legal expenses, and their servants expected fees." those who are interested in learning more of the fateful history of zadig must turn to the original; we are dealing with him only as a philosopher, and this brief excerpt suffices for the exemplification of the nature of his conclusions and of the methods by which he arrived at them. these conclusions may be said to be of the nature of retrospective prophecies; though it is perhaps a little hazardous to employ phraseology which perilously suggests a contradiction in terms--the word "prophecy" being so constantly, in ordinary use, restricted to "foretelling." strictly, however, the term prophecy applies as much to outspeaking as to foretelling; and, even in the restricted sense of "divination," it is obvious that the essence of the prophetic operation does not lie in its backward or forward relation to the course of time, but in the fact that it is the apprehension of that which lies out of the sphere of immediate knowledge; the seeing of that which, to the natural sense of the seer, is invisible. the foreteller asserts that, at some future time, a properly situated observer will witness certain events; the clairvoyant declares that, at this present time, certain things are to be witnessed a thousand miles away; the retrospective prophet (would that there were such a word as "backteller!") affirms that, so many hours or years ago, such and such things were to be seen. in all these cases, it is only the relation to time which alters--the process of divination beyond the limits of possible direct knowledge remains the same. no doubt it was their instinctive recognition of the analogy between zadig's results and those obtained by authorised inspiration which inspired the babylonian magi with the desire to burn the philosopher. zadig admitted that he had never either seen or heard of the horse of the king or of the spaniel of the queen; and yet he ventured to assert in the most positive manner that animals answering to their description did actually exist and ran about the plains of babylon. if his method was good for the divination of the course of events ten hours old, why should it not be good for those of ten years or ten centuries past; nay, might it not extend ten thousand years and justify the impious in meddling with the traditions of oannes and the fish, and all the sacred foundations of babylonian cosmogony? but this was not the worst. there was another consideration which obviously dictated to the more thoughtful of the magi the propriety of burning zadig out of hand. his defence was worse than his offence. it showed that his mode of divination was fraught with danger to magianism in general. swollen with the pride of human reason, he had ignored the established canons of magian lore; and, trusting to what after all was mere carnal common sense, he professed to lead men to a deeper insight into nature than magian wisdom, with all its lofty antagonism to everything common, had ever reached. what, in fact, lay at the foundation of all zadig's argument but the coarse commonplace assumption, upon which every act of our daily lives is based, that we may conclude from an effect to the pre-existence of a cause competent to produce that effect? the tracks were exactly like those which dogs and horses leave; therefore they were the effects of such animals as causes. the marks at the sides of the fore-prints of the dog track were exactly such as would be produced by long trailing ears; therefore the dog's long ears were the causes of these marks--and so on. nothing can be more hopelessly vulgar, more unlike the majestic development of a system of grandly unintelligible conclusions from sublimely inconceivable premisses such as delights the magian heart. in fact, zadig's method was nothing but the method of all mankind. retrospective prophecies, far more astonishing for their minute accuracy than those of zadig, are familiar to those who have watched the daily life of nomadic people. from freshly broken twigs, crushed leaves, disturbed pebbles, and imprints hardly discernible by the untrained eye, such graduates in the university of nature will divine, not only the fact that a party has passed that way, but its strength, its composition, the course it took, and the number of hours or days which have elapsed since it passed. but they are able to do this because, like zadig, they perceive endless minute differences where untrained eyes discern nothing; and because the unconscious logic of common sense compels them to account for these effects by the causes which they know to be competent to produce them. and such mere methodised savagery was to discover the hidden things of nature better than _a priori_ deductions from the nature of ormuzd--perhaps to give a history of the past, in which oannes would be altogether ignored! decidedly it were better to burn this man at once. if instinct, or an unwonted use of reason, led moabdar's magi to this conclusion two or three thousand years ago, all that can be said is that subsequent history has fully justified them. for the rigorous application of zadig's logic to the results of accurate and long-continued observation has founded all those sciences which have been termed historical or palaetiological, because they are retrospectively prophetic and strive towards the reconstruction in human imagination of events which have vanished and ceased to be. history, in the ordinary acceptation of the word, is based upon the interpretation of documentary evidence; and documents would have no evidential value unless historians were justified in their assumption that they have come into existence by the operation of causes similar to those of which documents are, in our present experience, the effects. if a written history can be produced otherwise than by human agency, or if the man who wrote a given document was actuated by other than ordinary human motives, such documents are of no more evidential value than so many arabesques. archaeology, which takes up the thread of history beyond the point at which documentary evidence fails us, could have no existence, except for our well grounded confidence that monuments and works of art or artifice, have never been produced by causes different in kind from those to which they now owe their origin. and geology, which traces back the course of history beyond the limits of archaeology, could tell us nothing except for the assumption that, millions of years ago, water, heat, gravitation, friction, animal and vegetable life, caused effects of the same kind as they now cause. nay, even physical astronomy, in so far as it takes us back to the uttermost point of time which palaetiological science can reach, is founded upon the same assumption. if the law of gravitation ever failed to be true, even to a small extent, for that period, the calculations of the astronomer have no application. the power of prediction, of prospective prophecy, is that which is commonly regarded as the great prerogative of physical science. and truly it is a wonderful fact that one can go into a shop and buy for a small price a book, the "nautical almanac," which will foretell the exact position to be occupied by one of jupiter's moons six months hence; nay, more, that, if it were worth while, the astronomer-royal could furnish us with as infallible a prediction applicable to or . but astronomy is not less remarkable for its power of retrospective prophecy. thales, oldest of greek philosophers, the dates of whose birth and death are uncertain, but who flourished about b.c., is said to have foretold an eclipse of the sun which took place in his time during a battle between the medes and the lydians. sir george airy has written a very learned and interesting memoir [ ] in which he proves that such an eclipse was visible in lydia on the afternoon of the th of may in the year b.c. no one doubts that, on the day and at the hour mentioned by the astronomer-royal, the people of lydia saw the face of the sun totally obscured. but, though we implicitly believe this retrospective prophecy, it is incapable of verification. in the total absence of historical records, it is impossible even to conceive any means of ascertaining directly whether the eclipse of thales happened or not. all that can be said is, that the prospective prophecies of the astronomer are always verified; and that, inasmuch as his retrospective prophecies are the result of following backwards, the very same method as that which invariably leads to verified results, when it is worked forwards, there is as much reason for placing full confidence in the one as in the other. retrospective prophecy is therefore a legitimate function of astronomical science; and if it is legitimate for one science it is legitimate for all; the fundamental axiom on which it rests, the constancy of the order of nature, being the common foundation of all scientific thought. indeed, if there can be grades in legitimacy, certain branches of science have the advantage over astronomy, in so far as their retrospective prophecies are not only susceptible of verification, but are sometimes strikingly verified. such a science exists in that application of the principles of biology to the interpretation of the animal and vegetable remains imbedded in the rocks which compose the surface of the globe, which is called palaeontology. at no very distant time, the question whether these so-called "fossils," were really the remains of animals and plants was hotly disputed. very learned persons maintained that they were nothing of the kind, but a sort of concretion, or crystallisation, which had taken place within the stone in which they are found; and which simulated the forms of animal and vegetable life, just as frost on a window-pane imitates vegetation. at the present day, it would probably be impossible to find any sane advocate of this opinion; and the fact is rather surprising, that among the people from whom the circle-squarers, perpetual-motioners, flat-earthed men and the like, are recruited, to say nothing of table-turners and spirit-rappers, somebody has not perceived the easy avenue to nonsensical notoriety open to any one who will take up the good old doctrine, that fossils are all _lusus naturae._ the position would be impregnable, inasmuch as it is quite impossible to prove the contrary. if a man choose to maintain that a fossil oyster shell, in spite of its correspondence, down to every minutest particular, with that of an oyster fresh taken out of the sea, was never tenanted by a living oyster, but is a mineral concretion, there is no demonstrating his error. all that can be done is to show him that, by a parity of reasoning, he is bound to admit that a heap of oyster shells outside a fishmonger's door may also be "sports of nature," and that a mutton bone in a dust-bin may have had the like origin. and when you cannot prove that people are wrong, but only that they are absurd, the best course is to let them alone. the whole fabric of palaeontology, in fact, falls to the ground unless we admit the validity of zadig's great principle, that like effects imply like causes, and that the process of reasoning from a shell, or a tooth, or a bone, to the nature of the animal to which it belonged, rests absolutely on the assumption that the likeness of this shell, or tooth, or bone, to that of some animal with which we are already acquainted, is such that we are justified in inferring a corresponding degree of likeness in the rest of the two organisms. it is on this very simple principle, and not upon imaginary laws of physiological correlation, about which, in most cases, we know nothing whatever, that the so-called restorations of the palaeontologist are based. abundant illustrations of this truth will occur to every one who is familiar with palaeontology; none is more suitable than the case of the so-called _belemnites._ in the early days of the study of fossils, this name was given to certain elongated stony bodies, ending at one extremity in a conical point, and truncated at the other, which were commonly reputed to be thunderbolts, and as such to have descended from the sky. they are common enough in some parts of england; and, in the condition in which they are ordinarily found, it might be difficult to give satisfactory reasons for denying them to be merely mineral bodies. they appear, in fact, to consist of nothing but concentric layers of carbonate of lime, disposed in subcrystalline fibres, or prisms, perpendicular to the layers. among a great number of specimens of these belemnites, however, it was soon observed that some showed a conical cavity at the blunt end; and, in still better preserved specimens, this cavity appeared to be divided into chambers by delicate saucer-shaped partitions, situated at regular intervals one above the other. now there is no mineral body which presents any structure comparable to this, and the conclusion suggested itself that the belemnites must be the effects of causes other than those which are at work in inorganic nature. on close examination, the saucer-shaped partitions were proved to be all perforated at one point, and the perforations being situated exactly in the same line, the chambers were seen to be traversed by a canal, or _siphuncle,_ which thus connected the smallest or aphical chamber with the largest. there is nothing like this in the vegetable world; but an exactly corresponding structure is met with in the shells of two kinds of existing animals, the pearly _nautilus_ and the _spirula,_ and only in them. these animals belong to the same division--the _cephalopoda--_as the cuttle-fish, the squid, and the octopus. but they are the only existing members of the group which possess chambered, siphunculated shells; and it is utterly impossible to trace any physiological connection between the very peculiar structural characters of a cephalopod and the presence of a chambered shell. in fact, the squid has, instead of any such shell, a horny "pen," the cuttlefish has the so-called "cuttle-bone," and the octopus has no shell, or, at most, a mere rudiment of one. nevertheless, seeing that there is nothing in nature at all like the chambered shell of the belemnite, except the shells of the _nautilus_ and of the _spirula,_ it was legitimate to prophesy that the animal from which the fossil proceeded must have belonged to the group of the _cephalopoda._ _nautilus_ and _spirula_ are both very rare animals, but the progress of investigation brought to light the singular fact, that, though each has the characteristic cephalopodous organisation, it is very different from the other. the shell of _nautilus_ is external, that of _spirula_ internal; _nautilus_ has four gills, _spirula_ two; _nautilus_ has multitudinous tentacles, _spirula_ has only ten arms beset with horny-rimmed suckers; _spirula,_ like the squids and cuttle-fishes, which it closely resembles, has a bag of ink which it squirts out to cover its retreat when alarmed; _nautilus_ has none. no amount of physiological reasoning could enable any one to say whether the animal which fabricated the belemnite was more like _nautilus,_ or more like _spirula._ but the accidental discovery of belemnites in due connection with black elongated masses which were: certainly fossilised ink-bags, inasmuch as the ink could be ground up and used for painting as well as if it were recent sepia, settled the question; and it became perfectly safe to prophesy that the creature which fabricated the belemnite was a two-gilled cephalopod with suckers on its arms, and with all the other essential features of our living squids, cuttle-fishes, and _spirulae._ the palaeontologist was, by this time, able to speak as confidently about the animal of the belemnite, as zadig was respecting the queen's spaniel. he could give a very fair description of its external appearance, and even enter pretty fully into the details of its internal organisation, and yet could declare that neither he, nor any one else, had ever seen one. and as the queen's spaniel was found, so happily has the animal of the belemnite; a few exceptionally preserved specimens have been discovered, which completely verify the retrospective prophecy of those who interpreted the facts of the case by due application of the method of zadig. these belemnites flourished in prodigious abundance in the seas of the mesozoic, or secondary, age of the world's geological history; but no trace of them has been found in any of the tertiary deposits, and they appear to have died out towards the close of the mesozoic epoch. the method of zadig, therefore, applies in full force to the events of a period which is immeasurably remote, which long preceded the origin of the most conspicuous mountain masses of the present world, and the deposition, at the bottom of the ocean, of the rocks which form the greater part of the soil of our present continents. the euphrates itself, at the mouth of which oannes landed, is a thing of yesterday compared with a belemnite; and even the liberal chronology of magian cosmogony fixes the beginning of the world only at a time when other applications of zadig's method afford convincing evidence that, could we have been there to see, things would have looked very much as they do now. truly the magi were wise in their generation; they foresaw rightly that this pestilent application of the principles of common sense, inaugurated by zadig, would be their ruin. but it may be said that the method of zadig, which is simple reasoning from analogy, does not account for the most striking feats of modern palaeontology--the reconstruction of entire animals from a tooth or perhaps a fragment of a bone; and it may be justly urged that cuvier, the great master of this kind of investigation, gave a very different account of the process which yielded such remarkable results. cuvier is not the first man of ability who has failed to make his own mental processes clear to himself, and he will not be the last. the matter can be easily tested. search the eight volumes of the "recherches sur les ossemens fossiles" from cover to cover, and nothing but the application of the method of zadig will be found in the arguments by which a fragment of a skeleton is made to reveal the characters of the animal to which it belonged. there is one well-known case which may represent all. it is an excellent illustration of cuvier's sagacity, and he evidently takes some pride in telling his story about it. a split slab of stone arrived from the quarries of montmartre, the two halves of which contained the greater part of the skeleton of a small animal. on careful examinations of the characters of the teeth and of the lower jaw, which happened to be exposed, cuvier assured himself that they presented such a very close resemblance to the corresponding parts in the living opossums that he at once assigned the fossil to that genus. now the opossums are unlike most mammals in that they possess two bones attached to the fore part of the pelvis, which are commonly called "marsupial bones." the name is a misnomer, originally conferred because it was thought that these bones have something to do with the support of the pouch, or marsupium, with which some, but not all, of the opossums are provided. as a matter of fact, they have nothing to do with the support of the pouch, and they exist as much in those opossums which have no pouches as in those which possess them. in truth, no one knows what the use of these bones may be, nor has any valid theory of their physiological import yet been suggested. and if we have no knowledge of the physiological importance of the bones themselves, it is obviously absurd to pretend that we are able to give physiological reasons why the presence of these bones is associated with certain peculiarities of the teeth and of the jaws. if any one knows why four molar teeth and an inflected angle of the jaw are very generally found along with marsupial bones, he has not yet communicated that knowledge to the world. if, however, zadig was right in concluding from the likeness of the hoof-prints which he observed to be a horse's that the creature which made them had a tail like that of a horse, cuvier, seeing that the teeth and jaw of his fossil were just like those of an opossum, had the same right to conclude that the pelvis would also be like an opossum's; and so strong was his conviction that this retrospective prophecy, about an animal which he had never seen before, and which had been dead and buried for millions of years, would be verified, that he went to work upon the slab which contained the pelvis in confident expectation of finding and laying bare the "marsupial bones," to the satisfaction of some persons whom he had invited to witness their disinterment. as he says:--"cette operation se fit en presence de quelques personnes a qui j'en avais annonce d'avance le resultat, dans l'intention de leur prouver par le fait la justice de nos theories zoologiques; puisque le vrai cachet d'une theorie est sans contredit la faculte qu'elle donne de prevoir les phenomenes." in the "ossemens fossiles" cuvier leaves his paper just as it first appeared in the "annales du museum," as "a curious monument of the force of zoological laws and of the use which may be made of them." zoological laws truly, but not physiological laws. if one sees a live dog's head, it is extremely probable that a dog's tail is not far off, though nobody can say why that sort of head and that sort of tail go together; what physiological connection there is between the two. so, in the case of the montmartre fossil, cuvier, finding a thorough opossum's head, concluded that the pelvis also would be like an opossum's. but, most assuredly, the most advanced physiologist of the present day could throw no light on the question why these are associated, nor could pretend to affirm that the existence of the one is necessarily connected with that of the other. in fact, had it so happened that the pelvis of the fossil had been originally exposed, while the head lay hidden, the presence of the "marsupial bones," though very like an opossum's, would by no means have warranted the prediction that the skull would turn out to be that of the opossum. it might just as well have been like that of some other marsupial; or even like that of the totally different group of monotremes, of which the only living representatives are the _echidna_ and the _ornithorhynchus._ for all practical purposes, however, the empirical laws of co-ordination of structures, which are embodied in the generalisations of morphology, may be confidently trusted, if employed with due caution, to lead to a just interpretation of fossil remains; or, in other words, we may look for the verification of the retrospective prophecies which are based upon them. and if this be the case, the late advances which have been made in palaeontological discovery open out a new field for such prophecies. for it has been ascertained with respect to many groups of animals, that, as we trace them back in time, their ancestors gradually cease to exhibit those special modifications which at present characterise the type, and more nearly embody the general plan of the group to which they belong. thus, in the well-known case of the horse, the toes which are suppressed in the living horse are found to be more and more complete in the older members of the group, until, at the bottom of the tertiary series of america, we find an equine animal which has four toes in front and three behind. no remains of the horse tribe are at present known from any mesozoic deposit. yet who can doubt that, whenever a sufficiently extensive series of lacustrine and fluviatile beds of that age becomes known, the lineage which has been traced thus far will be continued by equine quadrupeds with an increasing number of digits, until the horse type merges in the five-toed form towards which these gradations point? but the argument which holds good for the horse, holds good, not only for all mammals, but for the whole animal world. and as the study of the pedigrees, or lines of evolution, to which, at present, we have access, brings to light, as it assuredly will do, the laws of that process, we shall be able to reason from the facts with which the geological record furnishes us to those which have hitherto remained, and many of which, perhaps, may for ever remain, hidden. the same method of reasoning which enables us, when furnished with a fragment of an extinct animal, to prophesy the character which the whole organism exhibited, will, sooner or later, enable us, when we know a few of the later terms of a genealogical series, to predict the nature of the earlier terms. in no very distant future, the method of zadig, applied to a greater body of facts than the present generation is fortunate enough to handle, will enable the biologist to reconstruct the scheme of life from its beginning, and to speak as confidently of the character of long extinct beings, no trace of which has been preserved, as zadig did of the queen's spaniel and the king's horse. let us hope that they may be better rewarded for their toil and their sagacity than was the babylonian philosopher; for perhaps, by that time, the magi also may be reckoned among the members of a forgotten fauna, extinguished in the struggle for existence against their great rival, common sense. footnotes: [footnote : "discours sur les revolutions de la surface du globe." _recherches sur les ossemens fossiles,_ ed. iv, t.i. p. .] [footnote : "on the eclipses of agathocles, thales, and xerxes," _philosophical transactions,_ vol. cxliii.] the story of evolution by joseph mccabe preface an ingenious student of science once entertained his generation with a theory of how one might behold again all the stirring chapters that make up the story of the earth. the living scene of our time is lit by the light of the sun, and for every few rays that enter the human eye, and convey the image of it to the human mind, great floods of the reflected light pour out, swiftly and indefinitely, into space. imagine, then, a man moving out into space more rapidly than light, his face turned toward the earth. flashing through the void at, let us say, a million miles a second, he would (if we can overlook the dispersion of the rays of light) overtake in succession the light that fell on the french revolution, the reformation, the norman conquest, and the faces of the ancient empires. he would read, in reverse order, the living history of man and whatever lay before the coming of man. few thought, as they smiled over this fairy tale of science, that some such panoramic survey of the story of the earth, and even of the heavens, might one day be made in a leisure hour by ordinary mortals; that in the soil on which they trod were surer records of the past than in its doubtful literary remains, and in the deeper rocks were records that dimly lit a vast abyss of time of which they never dreamed. it is the supreme achievement of modern science to have discovered and deciphered these records. the picture of the past which they afford is, on the whole, an outline sketch. here and there the details, the colour, the light and shade, may be added; but the greater part of the canvas is left to the more skilful hand of a future generation, and even the broad lines are at times uncertain. yet each age would know how far its scientific men have advanced in constructing that picture of the growth of the heavens and the earth, and the aim of the present volume is to give, in clear and plain language, as full an account of the story as the present condition of our knowledge and the limits of the volume will allow. the author has been for many years interested in the evolution of things, or the way in which suns and atoms, fishes and flowers, hills and elephants, even man and his institutions, came to be what they are. lecturing and writing on one or other phase of the subject have, moreover, taught him a language which the inexpert seem to understand, although he is not content merely to give a superficial description of the past inhabitants of the earth. the particular features which, it is hoped, may give the book a distinctive place in the large literature of evolution are, first, that it includes the many evolutionary discoveries of the last few years, gathers its material from the score of sciences which confine themselves to separate aspects of the universe, and blends all these facts and discoveries in a more or less continuous chronicle of the life of the heavens and the earth. then the author has endeavoured to show, not merely how, but why, scene succeeds scene in the chronicle of the earth, and life slowly climbs from level to level. he has taken nature in the past as we find it to-day: an interconnected whole, in which the changes of land and sea, of heat and cold, of swamp and hill, are faithfully reflected in the forms of its living population. and, finally, he has written for those who are not students of science, or whose knowledge may be confined to one branch of science, and used a plain speech which assumes no previous knowledge on the reader's part. for the rest, it will be found that no strained effort is made to trace pedigrees of animals and plants when the material is scanty; that, if on account of some especial interest disputable or conjectural speculations are admitted, they are frankly described as such; and that the more important differences of opinion which actually divide astronomers, geologists, biologists, and anthropologists are carefully taken into account and briefly explained. a few english and american works are recommended for the convenience of those who would study particular chapters more closely, but it has seemed useless, in such a work, to give a bibliography of the hundreds of english, american, french, german, and italian works which have been consulted. contents i. the discovery of the universe ii. the foundations of the universe iii. the birth and death of worlds iv. the preparation of the earth v. the beginning of life vi. the infancy of the earth vii. the passage to the land viii. the coal-forest ix. the animals of the coal-forest x. the permian revolution xi. the middle ages of the earth xii. the age of reptiles xiii. the bird and the mammal xiv. in the days of the chalk xv. the tertiary era xvi. the flower and the insect xvii. the origin of our mammals xviii. the evolution of man xix. man and the great ice-age xx. the dawn of civilisation xxi. evolution in history index the story of evolution chapter i. the discovery of the universe the beginning of the victorious career of modern science was very largely due to the making of two stimulating discoveries at the close of the middle ages. one was the discovery of the earth: the other the discovery of the universe. men were confined, like molluscs in their shells, by a belief that they occupied the centre of a comparatively small disk--some ventured to say a globe--which was poised in a mysterious way in the middle of a small system of heavenly bodies. the general feeling was that these heavenly bodies were lamps hung on a not too remote ceiling for the purpose of lighting their ways. then certain enterprising sailors--vasco da gama, maghalaes, columbus--brought home the news that the known world was only one side of an enormous globe, and that there were vast lands and great peoples thousands of miles across the ocean. the minds of men in europe had hardly strained their shells sufficiently to embrace this larger earth when the second discovery was reported. the roof of the world, with its useful little system of heavenly bodies, began to crack and disclose a profound and mysterious universe surrounding them on every side. one cannot understand the solidity of the modern doctrine of the formation of the heavens and the earth until one appreciates this revolution. before the law of gravitation had been discovered it was almost impossible to regard the universe as other than a small and compact system. we shall see that a few daring minds pierced the veil, and peered out wonderingly into the real universe beyond, but for the great mass of men it was quite impossible. to them the modern idea of a universe consisting of hundreds of millions of bodies, each weighing billions of tons, strewn over billions of miles of space, would have seemed the dream of a child or a savage. material bodies were "heavy," and would "fall down" if they were not supported. the universe, they said, was a sensible scientific structure; things were supported in their respective places. a great dome, of some unknown but compact material, spanned the earth, and sustained the heavenly bodies. it might rest on the distant mountains, or be borne on the shoulders of an atlas; or the whole cosmic scheme might be laid on the back of a gigantic elephant, and--if you pressed--the elephant might stand on the hard shell of a tortoise. but you were not encouraged to press. the idea of the vault had come from babylon, the first home of science. no furnaces thickened that clear atmosphere, and the heavy-robed priests at the summit of each of the seven-staged temples were astronomers. night by night for thousands of years they watched the stars and planets tracing their undeviating paths across the sky. to explain their movements the priest-astronomers invented the solid firmament. beyond the known land, encircling it, was the sea, and beyond the sea was a range of high mountains, forming another girdle round the earth. on these mountains the dome of the heavens rested, much as the dome of st. paul's rests on its lofty masonry. the sun travelled across its under-surface by day, and went back to the east during the night through a tunnel in the lower portion of the vault. to the common folk the priests explained that this framework of the world was the body of an ancient and disreputable goddess. the god of light had slit her in two, "as you do a dried fish," they said, and made the plain of the earth with one half and the blue arch of the heavens with the other. so chaldaea lived out its years without discovering the universe. egypt adopted the idea from more scientific babylon. amongst the fragments of its civilisation we find representations of the firmament as a goddess, arching over the earth on her hands and feet, condemned to that eternal posture by some victorious god. the idea spread amongst the smaller nations which were lit by the civilisation of babylon and egypt. some blended it with coarse old legends; some, like the persians and hebrews, refined it. the persians made fire a purer and lighter spirit, so that the stars would need no support. but everywhere the blue vault hemmed in the world and the ideas of men. it was so close, some said, that the birds could reach it. at last the genius of greece brooded over the whole chaos of cosmical speculations. the native tradition of greece was a little more helpful than the babylonian teaching. first was chaos; then the heavier matter sank to the bottom, forming the disk of the earth, with the ocean poured round it, and the less coarse matter floated as an atmosphere above it, and the still finer matter formed an "aether" above the atmosphere. a remarkably good guess, in its very broad outline; but the solid firmament still arched the earth, and the stars were little undying fires in the vault. the earth itself was small and flat. it stretched (on the modern map) from about gibraltar to the caspian, and from central germany--where the entrance to the lower world was located--to the atlas mountains. but all the varied and conflicting culture of the older empires was now passing into greece, lighting up in succession the civilisations of asia minor, the greek islands, and then athens and its sister states. men began to think. the first genius to have a glimpse of the truth seems to have been the grave and mystical pythagorus (born about b.c.). he taught his little school that the earth was a globe, not a disk, and that it turned on its axis in twenty-four hours. the earth and the other planets were revolving round the central fire of the system; but the sun was a reflection of this central fire, not the fire itself. even pythagoras, moreover, made the heavens a solid sphere revolving, with its stars, round the central fire; and the truth he discovered was mingled with so much mysticism, and confined to so small and retired a school, that it was quickly lost again. in the next generation anaxagoras taught that the sun was a vast globe of white-hot iron, and that the stars were material bodies made white-hot by friction with the ether. a generation later the famous democritus came nearer than any to the truth. the universe was composed of an infinite number of indestructible particles, called "atoms," which had gradually settled from a state of chaotic confusion to their present orderly arrangement in large masses. the sun was a body of enormous size, and the points of light in the milky way were similar suns at a tremendous distance from the earth. our universe, moreover, was only one of an infinite number of universes, and an eternal cycle of destruction and re-formation was running through these myriads of worlds. by sheer speculation greece was well on the way of discovery. then the mists of philosophy fell between the mind of greece and nature, and the notions of democritus were rejected with disdain; and then, very speedily, the decay of the brilliant nation put an end to its feverish search for truth. greek culture passed to alexandria, where it met the remains of the culture of egypt, babylonia, and persia, and one more remarkable effort was made to penetrate the outlying universe before the night of the middle ages fell on the old world. astronomy was ardently studied at alexandria, and was fortunately combined with an assiduous study of mathematics. aristarchus (about - b.c.) calculated that the sun was , , miles away; a vast expansion of the solar system and, for the time, a remarkable approach to the real figure ( , , ) eratosthenes ( - b.c.) made an extremely good calculation of the size of the earth, though he held it to be the centre of a small universe. he concluded that it was a globe measuring , (instead of , ) miles in circumference. posidonius ( - b.c.) came even nearer with a calculation that the circumference was between , and , miles; and he made a fairly correct estimate of the diameter, and therefore distance, of the sun. hipparchus ( - b.c.) made an extremely good calculation of the distance of the moon. by the brilliant work of the alexandrian astronomers the old world seemed to be approaching the discovery of the universe. men were beginning to think in millions, to gaze boldly into deep abysses of space, to talk of vast fiery globes that made the earth insignificant but the splendid energy gradually failed, and the long line was closed by ptolemaeus, who once more put the earth in the centre of the system, and so imposed what is called the ptolemaic system on europe. the keen school-life of alexandria still ran on, and there might have been a return to the saner early doctrines, but at last alexandrian culture was extinguished in the blood of the aged hypatia, and the night fell. rome had had no genius for science; though lucretius gave an immortal expression to the views of democritus and epicurus, and such writers as cicero and pliny did great service to a later age in preserving fragments of the older discoveries. the curtains were once more drawn about the earth. the glimpses which adventurous greeks had obtained of the great outlying universe were forgotten for a thousand years. the earth became again the little platform in the centre of a little world, on which men and women played their little parts, preening themselves on their superiority to their pagan ancestors. i do not propose to tell the familiar story of the revival at any length. as far as the present subject is concerned, it was literally a renascence, or re-birth, of greek ideas. constantinople having been taken by the turks ( ), hundreds of greek scholars, with their old literature, sought refuge in europe, and the vigorous brain of the young nations brooded over the ancient speculations, just as the vigorous young brain of greece had done two thousand years before. copernicus ( - ) acknowledges that he found the secret of the movements of the heavenly bodies in the speculations of the old greek thinkers. galilei ( - ) enlarged the copernican system with the aid of the telescope; and the telescope was an outcome of the new study of optics which had been inspired in roger bacon and other medieval scholars by the optical works, directly founded on the greek, of the spanish moors. giordano bruno still further enlarged the system; he pictured the universe boldly as an infinite ocean of liquid ether, in which the stars, with retinues of inhabited planets, floated majestically. bruno was burned at the stake ( ); but the curtains that had so long been drawn about the earth were now torn aside for ever, and men looked inquiringly into the unfathomable depths beyond. descartes ( - ) revived the old greek idea of a gradual evolution of the heavens and the earth from a primitive chaos of particles, taught that the stars stood out at unimaginable distances in the ocean of ether, and imagined the ether as stirring in gigantic whirlpools, which bore cosmic bodies in their orbits as the eddy in the river causes the cork to revolve. these stimulating conjectures made a deep impression on the new age. a series of great astronomers had meantime been patiently and scientifically laying the foundations of our knowledge. kepler ( - ) formulated the laws of the movement of the planets; newton ( - ) crowned the earlier work with his discovery of the real agency that sustains cosmic bodies in their relative positions. the primitive notion of a material frame and the confining dome of the ancients were abandoned. we know now that a framework of the most massive steel would be too frail to hold together even the moon and the earth. it would be rent by the strain. the action of gravitation is the all-sustaining power. once introduce that idea, and the great ocean of ether might stretch illimitably on every side, and the vastest bodies might be scattered over it and traverse it in stupendous paths. thus it came about that, as the little optic tube of galilei slowly developed into the giant telescope of herschel, and then into the powerful refracting telescopes of the united states of our time; as the new science of photography provided observers with a new eye--a sensitive plate that will register messages, which the human eye cannot detect, from far-off regions; and as a new instrument, the spectroscope, endowed astronomers with a power of perceiving fresh aspects of the inhabitants of space, the horizon rolled backward, and the mind contemplated a universe of colossal extent and power. let us try to conceive this universe before we study its evolution. i do not adopt any of the numerous devices that have been invented for the purpose of impressing on the imagination the large figures we must use. one may doubt if any of them are effective, and they are at least familiar. our solar system--the family of sun and planets which had been sheltered under a mighty dome resting on the hill-tops--has turned out to occupy a span of space some , , , miles in diameter. that is a very small area in the new universe. draw a circle, billion miles in diameter, round the sun, and you will find that it contains only three stars besides the sun. in other words, a sphere of space measuring billion miles in circumference--we will not venture upon the number of cubic miles--contains only four stars (the sun, alpha centauri, , lalande, and cygni). however, this part of space seems to be below the average in point of population, and we must adopt a different way of estimating the magnitude of the universe from the number of its stellar citizens. beyond the vast sphere of comparatively empty space immediately surrounding our sun lies the stellar universe into which our great telescopes are steadily penetrating. recent astronomers give various calculations, ranging from , , to , , , , of the number of stars that have yet come within our faintest knowledge. let us accept the modest provisional estimate of , , . now, if we had reason to think that these stars were of much the same size and brilliance as our sun, we should be able roughly to calculate their distance from their faintness. we cannot do this, as they differ considerably in size and intrinsic brilliance. sirius is more than twice the size of our sun and gives out twenty times as much light. canopus emits , times as much light as the sun, but we cannot say, in this case, how much larger it is than the sun. arcturus, however, belongs to the same class of stars as our sun, and astronomers conclude that it must be thousands of times larger than the sun. a few stars are known to be smaller than the sun. some are, intrinsically, far more brilliant; some far less brilliant. another method has been adopted, though this also must be regarded with great reserve. the distance of the nearer stars can be positively measured, and this has been done in a large number of cases. the proportion of such cases to the whole is still very small, but, as far as the results go, we find that stars of the first magnitude are, on the average, nearly billion miles away; stars of the second magnitude nearly billion; and stars of the third magnitude billion. if this fifty per cent increase of distance for each lower magnitude of stars were certain and constant, the stars of the eighth magnitude would be billion miles away, and stars of the sixteenth magnitude would be , billion miles away; and there are still two fainter classes of stars which are registered on long-exposure photographs. the mere vastness of these figures is immaterial to the astronomer, but he warns us that the method is uncertain. we may be content to conclude that the starry universe over which our great telescopes keep watch stretches for thousands, and probably tens of thousands, of billions of miles. there are myriads of stars so remote that, though each is a vast incandescent globe at a temperature of many thousand degrees, and though their light is concentrated on the mirrors or in the lenses of our largest telescopes and directed upon the photographic plate at the rate of more than billion waves a second, they take several hours to register the faintest point of light on the plate. when we reflect that the universe has grown with the growth of our telescopes and the application of photography we wonder whether we may as yet see only a fraction of the real universe, as small in comparison with the whole as the babylonian system was in comparison with ours. we must be content to wonder. some affirm that the universe is infinite; others that it is limited. we have no firm ground in science for either assertion. those who claim that the system is limited point out that, as the stars decrease in brightness, they increase so enormously in number that the greater faintness is more than compensated, and therefore, if there were an infinite series of magnitudes, the midnight sky would be a blaze of light. but this theoretical reasoning does not allow for dense regions of space that may obstruct the light, or vast regions of vacancy between vast systems of stars. even apart from the evidence that dark nebulae or other special light-absorbing regions do exist, the question is under discussion in science at the present moment whether light is not absorbed in the passage through ordinary space. there is reason to think that it is. let us leave precarious speculations about finiteness and infinity to philosophers, and take the universe as we know it. picture, then, on the more moderate estimate, these , , suns scattered over tens of thousands of billions of miles. whether they form one stupendous system, and what its structure may be, is too obscure a subject to be discussed here. imagine yourself standing at a point from which you can survey the whole system and see into the depths and details of it. at one point is a single star (like our sun), billions of miles from its nearest neighbour, wearing out its solitary life in a portentous discharge of energy. commonly the stars are in pairs, turning round a common centre in periods that may occupy hundreds of days or hundreds of years. here and there they are gathered into clusters, sometimes to the number of thousands in a cluster, travelling together over the desert of space, or trailing in lines like luminous caravans. all are rushing headlong at inconceivable speeds. few are known to be so sluggish as to run, like our sun, at only miles an hour. one of the "fixed" stars of the ancients, the mighty arcturus, darts along at a rate of more than miles a second. as they rush, their surfaces glowing at a temperature anywhere between and , degrees c., they shake the environing space with electric waves from every tiny particle of their body at a rate of from billion to billion waves a second. and somewhere round the fringe of one of the smaller suns there is a little globe, more than a million times smaller than the solitary star it attends, lost in the blaze of its light, on which human beings find a home during a short and late chapter of its history. look at it again from another aspect. every colour of the rainbow is found in the stars. emerald, azure, ruby, gold, lilac, topaz, fawn--they shine with wonderful and mysterious beauty. but, whether these more delicate shades be really in the stars or no, three colours are certainly found in them. the stars sink from bluish white to yellow, and on to deep red. the immortal fires of the greeks are dying. piercing the depths with a dull red glow, here and there, are the dying suns; and if you look closely you will see, flitting like ghosts across the light of their luminous neighbours, the gaunt frames of dead worlds. here and there are vast stretches of loose cosmic dust that seems to be gathering into embryonic stars; here and there are stars in infancy or in strenuous youth. you detect all the chief phases of the making of a world in the forms and fires of these colossal aggregations of matter. like the chance crowd on which you may look down in the square of a great city, they range from the infant to the worn and sinking aged. there is this difference, however, that the embryos of worlds sprawl, gigantic and luminous, across the expanse; that the dark and mighty bodies of the dead rush, like the rest, at twenty or fifty miles a second; and that at intervals some appalling blaze, that dims even the fearful furnaces of the living, seems to announce the resurrection of the dead. and there is this further difference, that, strewn about the intermediate space between the gigantic spheres, is a mass of cosmic dust--minute grains, or large blocks, or shoals consisting of myriads of pieces, or immeasurable clouds of fine gas--that seems to be the rubbish left over after the making of worlds, or the material gathering for the making of other worlds. this is the universe that the nineteenth century discovered and the twentieth century is interpreting. before we come to tell the fortunes of our little earth we have to see how matter is gathered into these stupendous globes of fire, how they come sometimes to have smaller bodies circling round them on which living things may appear, how they supply the heat and light and electricity that the living things need, and how the story of life on a planet is but a fragment of a larger story. we have to study the birth and death of worlds, perhaps the most impressive of all the studies that modern science offers us. indeed, if we would read the whole story of evolution, there is an earlier chapter even than this; the latest chapter to be opened by science, the first to be read. we have to ask where the matter, which we are going to gather into worlds, itself came from; to understand more clearly what is the relation to it of the forces or energies--gravitation, electricity, etc.--with which we glibly mould it into worlds, or fashion it into living things; and, above all, to find out its relation to this mysterious ocean of ether in which it is found. less than half a century ago the making of worlds was, in popular expositions of science, a comparatively easy business. take an indefinite number of atoms of various gases and metals, scatter them in a fine cloud over some thousands of millions of miles of space, let gravitation slowly compress the cloud into a globe, its temperature rising through the compression, let it throw off a ring of matter, which in turn gravitation will compress into a globe, and you have your earth circulating round the sun. it is not quite so simple; in any case, serious men of science wanted to know how these convenient and assorted atoms happened to be there at all, and what was the real meaning of this equally convenient gravitation. there was a greater truth than he knew in the saying of an early physicist, that the atom had the look of a "manufactured article." it was increasingly felt, as the nineteenth century wore on, that the atoms had themselves been evolved out of some simpler material, and that ether might turn out to be the primordial chaos. there were even those who felt that ether would prove to be the one source of all matter and energy. and just before the century closed a light began to shine in those deeper abysses of the submaterial world, and the foundations of the universe began to appear. chapter ii. the foundations of the universe to the mind of the vast majority of earlier observers the phrase "foundations of the universe" would have suggested something enormously massive and solid. from what we have already seen we are prepared, on the contrary, to pass from the inconceivably large to the inconceivably small. our sun is, as far as our present knowledge goes, one of modest dimensions. arcturus and canopus must be thousands of times larger than it. yet our sun is , times heavier than the earth, and the earth weighs some , , , , , , , tons. but it is only in resolving these stupendous masses into their tiniest elements that we can reach the ultimate realities, or foundations, of the whole. modern science rediscovered the atoms of democritus, analysed the universe into innumerable swarms of these tiny particles, and then showed how the infinite variety of things could be built up by their combinations. for this it was necessary to suppose that the atoms were not all alike, but belonged to a large number of different classes. from twenty-six letters of the alphabet we could make millions of different words. from forty or fifty different "elements" the chemist could construct the most varied objects in nature, from the frame of a man to a landscape. but improved methods of research led to the discovery of new elements, and at last the chemist found that he had seventy or eighty of these "ultimate realities," each having its own very definite and very different characters. as it is the experience of science to find unity underlying variety, this was profoundly unsatisfactory, and the search began for the great unity which underlay the atoms of matter. the difficulty of the search may be illustrated by a few figures. very delicate methods were invented for calculating the size of the atoms. laymen are apt to smile--it is a very foolish smile--at these figures, but it is enough to say that the independent and even more delicate methods suggested by recent progress in physics have quite confirmed them. take a cubic millimetre of hydrogen. as a millimetre is less than / th of an inch, the reader must imagine a tiny bubble of gas that would fit comfortably inside the letter "o" as it is printed here. the various refined methods of the modern physicist show that there are , billion molecules (each consisting of two atoms of the gas) in this tiny bubble. it is a little universe, repeating on an infinitesimal scale the numbers and energies of the stellar universe. these molecules are not packed together, moreover, but are separated from each other by spaces which are enormous in proportion to the size of the atoms. through these empty spaces the atoms dash at an average speed of more than a thousand miles an hour, each passing something like , , , of its neighbours in the course of every second. yet this particle of gas is a thinly populated world in comparison with a particle of metal. take a cubic centimetre of copper. in that very small square of solid matter (each side of the cube measuring a little more than a third of an inch) there are about a quadrillion atoms. it is these minute and elusive particles that modern physics sets out to master. at first it was noticed that the atom of hydrogen was the smallest or lightest of all, and the other atoms seemed to be multiples of it. a russian chemist, mendeleeff, drew up a table of the elements in illustration of this, grouping them in families, which seemed to point to hydrogen as the common parent, or ultimate constituent, of each. when newly discovered elements fell fairly into place in this scheme the idea was somewhat confidently advanced that the evolution of the elements was discovered. thus an atom of carbon seemed to be a group of atoms of hydrogen, an atom of oxygen , an atom of sulphur , an atom of copper , an atom of silver , an atom of gold , and so on. but more correct measurements showed that these figures were not quite exact, and the fraction of inexactness killed the theory. long before the end of the nineteenth century students were looking wistfully to the ether for some explanation of the mystery. it was the veiled statue of isis in the scientific world, and it resolutely kept its veil in spite of all progress. the "upper and limpid air" of the greeks, the cosmic ocean of giordano bruno, was now an established reality. it was the vehicle that bore the terrific streams of energy from star to planet across the immense reaches of space. as the atoms of matter lay in it, one thought of the crystal forming in its mother-lye, or the star forming in the nebula, and wondered whether the atom was not in some such way condensed out of the ether. by the last decade of the century the theory was confidently advanced--notably by lorentz and larmor--though it was still without a positive basis. how the basis was found, in the last decade of the nineteenth century, may be told very briefly. sir william crookes had in applied himself to the task of creating something more nearly like a vacuum than the old air-pumps afforded. when he had found the means of reducing the quantity of gas in a tube until it was a million times thinner than the atmosphere, he made the experiment of sending an electric discharge through it, and found a very curious result. from the cathode (the negative electric point) certain rays proceeded which caused a green fluorescence on the glass of the tube. since the discharge did not consist of the atoms of the gas, he concluded that it was a new and mysterious substance, which he called "radiant matter." but no progress was made in the interpretation of this strange material. the crookes tube became one of the toys of science--and the lamp of other investigators. in rontgen drew closer attention to the crookes tube by discovering the rays which he called x-rays, but which now bear his name. they differ from ordinary light-waves in their length, their irregularity, and especially their power to pass through opaque bodies. a number of distinguished physicists now took up the study of the effect of sending an electric discharge through a vacuum, and the particles of "radiant matter" were soon identified. sir j. j. thomson, especially, was brilliantly successful in his interpretation. he proved that they were tiny corpuscles, more than a thousand times smaller than the atom of hydrogen, charged with negative electricity, and travelling at the rate of thousands of miles a second. they were the "electrons" in which modern physics sees the long-sought constituents of the atom. no sooner had interest been thoroughly aroused than it was announced that a fresh discovery had opened a new shaft into the underworld. sir j. j. thomson, pursuing his research, found in that compounds of uranium sent out rays that could penetrate black paper and affect the photographic plate; though in this case the french physicist, becquerel, made the discovery simultaneously' and was the first to publish it. an army of investigators turned into the new field, and sought to penetrate the deep abyss that had almost suddenly disclosed itself. the quickening of astronomy by galilei, or of zoology by darwin, was slight in comparison with the stirring of our physical world by these increasing discoveries. and in m. and mme. curie made the further discovery which, in the popular mind, obliterated all the earlier achievements. they succeeded in isolating the new element, radium, which exhibits the actual process of an atom parting with its minute constituents. the story of radium is so recent that a few lines will suffice to recall as much as is needed for the purpose of this chapter. in their study of the emanations from uranium compounds the curies were led to isolate the various elements of the compounds until they discovered that the discharge was predominantly due to one specific element, radium. radium is itself probably a product of the disintegration of uranium, the heaviest of known metals, with an atomic weight some times greater than that of hydrogen. but this massive atom of uranium has a life that is computed in thousands of millions of years. it is in radium and its offspring that we see most clearly the constitution of matter. a gramme (less than / grains) of radium contains--we will economise our space-- x (superscript) atoms. this tiny mass is, by its discharge, parting with its substance at the rate of one atom per second for every , , , atoms; in other words, the "indestructible" atom has, in this case, a term of life not exceeding years. in the discharge from the radium three elements have been distinguished. the first consists of atoms of the gas helium, which are hurled off at between , and , miles a second. the third element (in the order of classification) consists of waves analogous to the rontgen rays. but the second element is a stream of electrons, which are expelled from the atom at the appalling speed of about , miles a second. professor le bon has calculated that it would take , barrels of powder to discharge a bullet at that speed. but we shall see more presently of the enormous energy displayed within the little system of the atom. we may add that after its first transformation the radium passes, much more quickly, through a further series of changes. the frontiers of the atomic systems were breaking down. the next step was for students (notably soddy and rutherford) to find that radio-activity, or spontaneous discharge out of the atomic systems, was not confined to radium. not only are other rare metals conspicuously active, but it is found that such familiar surfaces as damp cellars, rain, snow, etc., emit a lesser discharge. the value of the new material thus provided for the student of physics may be shown by one illustration. sir j. j. thomson observes that before these recent discoveries the investigator could not detect a gas unless about a billion molecules of it were present, and it must be remembered that the spectroscope had already gone far beyond ordinary chemical analysis in detecting the presence of substances in minute quantities. since these discoveries we can recognise a single molecule, bearing an electric charge. with these extraordinary powers the physicist is able to penetrate a world that lies immeasurably below the range of the most powerful microscope, and introduce us to systems more bewildering than those of the astronomer. we pass from a portentous brobdingnagia to a still more portentous lilliputia. it has been ascertained that the mass of the electron is the / th part of that of an atom of hydrogen, of which, as we saw, billions of molecules have ample space to execute their terrific movements within the limits of the letter "o." it has been further shown that these electrons are identical, from whatever source they are obtained. the physicist therefore concludes--warning us that on this further point he is drawing a theoretical conclusion--that the atoms of ordinary matter are made up of electrons. if that is the case, the hydrogen atom, the lightest of all, must be a complex system of some electrons, and as we ascend the scale of atomic weight the clusters grow larger and larger, until we come to the atoms of the heavier metals with more than , electrons in each atom. but this is not the most surprising part of the discovery. tiny as the dimensions of the atom are, they afford a vast space for the movement of these energetic little bodies. the speed of the stars in their courses is slow compared with the flight of the electrons. since they fly out of the system, in the conditions we have described, at a speed of between , and , miles a second, they must be revolving with terrific rapidity within it. indeed, the most extraordinary discovery of all is that of the energy imprisoned within these tiny systems, which men have for ages regarded as "dead" matter. sir j. j. thomson calculates that, allowing only one electron to each atom in a gramme of hydrogen, the tiny globule of gas will contain as much energy as would be obtained by burning thirty-five tons of coal. if, he says, an appreciable fraction of the energy that is contained in ordinary matter were to be set free, the earth would explode and return to its primitive nebulous condition. mr. fournier d'albe tells us that the force with which electrons repel each other is a quadrillion times greater than the force of gravitation that brings atoms together; and that if two grammes of pure electrons could be placed one centimetre apart they would repel each other with a force equal to quadrillion tons. the inexpert imagination reels, but it must be remembered that the speed of the electron is a measured quantity, and it is within the resources of science to estimate the force necessary to project it at that speed. [*] * see sir j. j. thomson, "the corpuscular theory of matter" ( ) and--for a more elementary presentment--"light visible and invisible" ( ); and mr. fournier d'albe, "the electron theory" ( nd. ed., ). such are the discoveries of the last fifteen years and a few of the mathematical deductions from them. we are not yet in a position to say positively that the atoms are composed of electrons, but it is clear that the experts are properly modest in claiming only that this is highly probable. the atom seems to be a little universe in which, in combination with positive electricity (the nature of which is still extremely obscure), from to , electrons revolve at a speed that reaches as high as , miles a second. instead of being crowded together, however, in their minute system, each of them has, in proportion to its size, as ample a space to move in as a single speck of dust would have in a moderate-sized room (thomson). this theory not only meets all the facts that have been discovered in an industrious decade of research, not only offers a splendid prospect of introducing unity into the eighty-one different elements of the chemist, but it opens out a still larger prospect of bringing a common measure into the diverse forces of the universe. light is already generally recognised as a rapid series of electro-magnetic waves or pulses in ether. magnetism becomes intelligible as a condition of a body in which the electrons revolve round the atom in nearly the same plane. the difference between positive and negative electricity is at least partly illuminated. an atom will repel an atom when its equilibrium is disturbed by the approach of an additional electron; the physicist even follows the movement of the added electron, and describes it revolving billion times a second round the atom, to escape being absorbed in it. the difference between good and bad conductors of electricity becomes intelligible. the atoms of metals are so close together that the roaming electrons pass freely from one atom to another, in copper, it is calculated, the electron combines with an atom and is liberated again a hundred million times a second. even chemical action enters the sphere of explanation. however these hypotheses may fare, the electron is a fact, and the atom is very probably a more or less stable cluster of electrons. but when we go further, and attempt to trace the evolution of the electron out of ether, we enter a region of pure theory. some of the experts conceive the electron as a minute whirlpool or vortex in the ocean of ether; some hold that it is a centre of strain in ether; some regard ether as a densely packed mass of infinitely small grains, and think that the positive and negative corpuscles, as they seem to us, are tiny areas in which the granules are unequally distributed. each theory has its difficulties. we do not know the origin of the electron, because we do not know the nature of ether. to some it is an elastic solid, quivering in waves at every movement of the particles; to others it is a continuous fluid, every cubic millimetre of which possesses "an energy equivalent to the output of a million-horse-power station for . , years" (lodge); to others it is a close-packed granular mass with a pressure of , tons per square centimetre. we must wait. it is little over ten years since the vaults were opened and physicists began to peer into the sub-material world. the lower, perhaps lowest, depth is reserved for another generation. but it may be said that the research of the last ten years has given us a glimpse of the foundations of the universe. every theory of the electron assumes it to be some sort of nodule or disturbed area in the ether. it is sometimes described as "a particle of negative electricity" and associated with "a particle of positive electricity" in building up the atom. the phrase is misleading for those who regard electricity as a force or energy, and it gives rise to speculation as to whether "matter" has not been resolved into "force." force or energy is not conceived by physicists as a substantial reality, like matter, but an abstract expression of certain relations of matter or electrons. in any case, the ether, whether solid or fluid or granular, remains the fundamental reality. the universe does not float in an ocean of ether: it is an ocean of ether. but countless myriads of minute disturbances are found in this ocean, and set it quivering with the various pulses which we classify as forces or energies. these points of disturbance cluster together in systems (atoms) of from to , members, and the atoms are pressed together until they come in the end to form massive worlds. it remains only to reduce gravitation itself, which brings the atoms together, to a strain or stress in ether, and we have a superb unity. that has not yet been done, but every theory of gravitation assumes that it is a stress in the ether corresponding to the formation of the minute disturbances which we call electrons. but, it may be urged, he who speaks of foundations speaks of a beginning of a structure; he who speaks of evolution must have a starting-point. was there a time when the ether was a smooth, continuous fluid, without electrons or atoms, and did they gradually appear in it, like crystals in the mother-lye? in science we know nothing of a beginning. the question of the eternity or non-eternity of matter (or ether) is as futile as the question about its infinity or finiteness. we shall see in the next chapter that science can trace the processes of nature back for hundreds, if not thousands, of millions of years, and has ground to think that the universe then presented much the same aspect as it does now, and will in thousands of millions of years to come. but if these periods were quadrillions, instead of millions, of years, they would still have no relation to the idea of eternity. all that we can say is that we find nothing in nature that points to a beginning or an end. [*] * a theory has been advanced by some physicists that there is evidence of a beginning. within our experience energy is being converted into heat more abundantly than heat is being converted into other energy. this would hold out a prospect of a paralysed universe, and that stage would have been reached long ago if the system had not had a definite beginning. but what knowledge have we of conversions of energy in remote regions of space, in the depths of stars or nebulae, or in the sub-material world of which we have just caught a glimpse? roundly, none. the speculation is worthless. one point only need be mentioned in conclusion. do we anywhere perceive the evolution of the material elements out of electrons, just as we perceive the devolution, or disintegration, of atoms into electrons? there is good ground for thinking that we do. the subject will be discussed more fully in the next chapter. in brief, the spectroscope, which examines the light of distant stars and discovers what chemical elements emitted it, finds matter, in the hottest stars, in an unusual condition, and seems to show the elements successively emerging from their fierce alchemy. sir j. norman lockyer has for many years conducted a special investigation of the subject at the solar physics observatory, and he declares that we can trace the evolution of the elements out of the fiery chaos of the young star. the lightest gases emerge first, the metals later, and in a special form. but here we pass once more from lilliputia to brobdingnagia, and must first explain the making of the star itself. chapter iii. the birth and death of worlds the greater part of this volume will be occupied with the things that have happened on one small globe in the universe during a certain number of millions of years. it cannot be denied that this has a somewhat narrow and parochial aspect. the earth is, you remember, a million times smaller than the sun, and the sun itself is a very modest citizen of the stellar universe. our procedure is justified, however, both on the ground of personal interest, and because our knowledge of the earth's story is so much more ample and confident. yet we must preface the story of the earth with at least a general outline of the larger story of the universe. no sensible man is humbled or dismayed by the vastness of the universe. when the human mind reflects on its wonderful scientific mastery of this illimitable ocean of being, it has no sentiment of being dwarfed or degraded. it looks out with cold curiosity over the mighty scattering of worlds, and asks how they, including our own world, came into being. we now approach this subject with a clearer perception of the work we have to do. the universe is a vast expanse of ether, and somehow or other this ether gives rise to atoms of matter. we may imagine it as a spacious chamber filled with cosmic dust; recollecting that the chamber has no walls, and that the dust arises in the ether itself. the problem we now approach is, in a word: how are these enormous stretches of cosmic dust, which we call matter, swept together and compressed into suns and planets? the most famous answer to this question is the "nebular hypothesis." let us see, briefly, how it came into modern science. we saw that some of the ancient greek speculators imagined their infinite number of atoms as scattered originally, like dust, throughout space and gradually coming together, as dust does, to form worlds. the way in which they brought their atoms together was wrong, but the genius of democritus had provided the germ of another sound theory to the students of a more enlightened age. descartes ( - ) recalled the idea, and set out a theory of the evolution of stars and planets from a diffused chaos of particles. he even ventured to say that the earth was at one time a small white-hot sun, and that a solid crust had gradually formed round its molten core. descartes had taken refuge in sweden from his persecutors, and it is therefore not surprising that that strange genius swedenborg shortly afterwards developed the same idea. in the middle of the eighteenth century the great french naturalist, buffon, followed and improved upon descartes and swedenborg. from buffon's work it was learned by the german philosopher kant, who published ( ) a fresh theory of the concentration of scattered particles into fiery worlds. then laplace ( - ) took up the speculation, and gave it the form in which it practically ruled astronomy throughout the nineteenth century. that is the genealogy of the famous nebular hypothesis. it did not spring full-formed from the brain of either kant or laplace, like athene from the brain of zeus. laplace had one great advantage over the early speculators. not only was he an able astronomer and mathematician, but by his time it was known that nebulae, or vast clouds of dispersed matter, actually existed in the heavens. here was a solid basis for the speculation. sir william herschel, the most assiduous explorer of the heavens, was a contemporary of laplace. laplace therefore took the nebula as his starting-point. a quarter of an ounce of solid matter (say, tobacco) will fill a vast space when it is turned into smoke, and if it were not for the pressure of the atmosphere it would expand still more. laplace imagined the billions of tons of matter which constitute our solar system similarly dispersed, converted into a fine gas, immeasurably thinner than the atmosphere. this nebula would be gradually drawn in again by gravitation, just as the dust falls to the floor of a room. the collisions of its particles as they fell toward the centre would raise its temperature and give it a rotating movement. a time would come when the centrifugal force at the outer ring of the rotating disk would equal the centripetal (or inward) pull of gravity, and this ring would be detached, still spinning round the central body. the material of the ring would slowly gather, by gravitation, round some denser area in it; the ring would become a sphere; we should have the first, and outermost, planet circling round the sun. other rings would successively be detached, and form the rest of the planets; and the sun is the shrunken and condensed body of the nebula. so simple and beautiful a theory of the solar system could not fail to captivate astronomers, but it is generally rejected to-day, in the precise form which laplace gave it. what the difficulties are which it has encountered, and the modifications it must suffer, we shall see later; as well as the new theories which have largely displaced it. it will be better first to survey the universe from the evolutionary point of view. but i may observe, in passing, that the sceptical remarks one hears at times about scientific theories contradicting and superseding each other are frivolous. one great idea pervades all the theories of the evolution of worlds, and that idea is firmly established. the stars and their planets are enormous aggregations of cosmic dust, swept together and compressed by the action of gravitation. the precise nature of this cosmic dust--whether it was gas, meteorites and gas, or other particles--is open to question. as we saw in the first chapter, the universe has the word evolution written, literally, in letters of fire across it. the stars are of all ages, from sturdy youth to decrepit age, and even to the darkness of death. we saw that this can be detected on the superficial test of colour. the colours of the stars are, it is true, an unsafe ground to build upon. the astronomer still puzzles over the gorgeous colours he finds at times, especially in double stars: the topaz and azure companions in beta cygni, the emerald and red of alpha herculis, the yellow and rose of eta cassiopeiae, and so on. it is at the present time under discussion in astronomy how far these colours are objective at all, or whether, if they are real, they may not be due to causes other than temperature. yet the significance of the three predominating colours--blue-white, yellow, and red--has been sustained by the spectroscope. it is the series of colours through which a white-hot bar of iron passes as it cools. and the spectroscope gives us good ground to conclude that the stars are cooling. when a glowing gas (not under great pressure) is examined by the spectroscope, it yields a few vertical lines or bars of light on a dark background; when a glowing liquid or solid is examined, it gives a continuous rainbow-like stretch of colour. some of the nebulae give the former type of spectrum, and are thus known to be masses of luminous gas; many of the nebulae and the stars have the latter type of spectrum. but the stretch of light in the spectrum of a star is crossed, vertically, by a number of dark lines, and experiment in the laboratory has taught us how to interpret these. they mean that there is some light-absorbing vapour between the source of light and the instrument. in the case of the stars they indicate the presence of an atmosphere of relatively cool vapours, and an increase in the density of that atmosphere--which is shown by a multiplication and broadening of the dark lines on the spectrum--means an increase of age, a loss of vitality, and ultimately death. so we get the descending scale of spectra. the dark lines are thinnest and least numerous in the blue stars, more numerous in the yellow, heavy and thick in the red. as the body of the star sinks in temperature dense masses of cool vapour gather about it. its light, as we perceive it, turns yellow, then red. the next step, which the spectroscope cannot follow, will be the formation of a scum on the cooling surface, ending, after ages of struggle, in the imprisonment of the molten interior under a solid, dark crust. let us see how our sun illustrates this theory. it is in the yellow, or what we may call the autumnal, stage. miss clerke and a few others have questioned this, but the evidence is too strong to-day. the vast globe, , miles in diameter, seems to be a mass of much the same material as the earth--about forty elements have been identified in it--but at a terrific temperature. the light-giving surface is found, on the most recent calculations, to have a temperature of about degrees c. this surface is an ocean of liquid or vaporised metals, several thousand miles in depth; some think that the brilliant light comes chiefly from clouds of incandescent carbon. overlying it is a deep layer of the vapours of the molten metals, with a temperature of about degrees c.; and to this comparatively cool and light-absorbing layer we owe the black lines of the solar spectrum. above it is an ocean of red-hot hydrogen, and outside this again is an atmosphere stretching for some hundreds of thousands of miles into space. the significant feature, from our point of view, is the "sun-spot"; though the spot may be an area of millions of square miles. these areas are, of course, dark only by comparison with the intense light of the rest of the disk. the darkest part of them is times brighter than the full moon. it will be seen further, on examining a photograph of the sun, that a network or veining of this dark material overspreads the entire surface at all times. there is still some difference of opinion as to the nature of these areas, but the evidence of the spectroscope has convinced most astronomers that they are masses of cooler vapour lying upon, and sinking into, the ocean of liquid fire. round their edges, as if responding to the pressure of the more condensed mass, gigantic spurts and mountains of the white-hot matter of the sun rush upwards at a rate of fifty or a hundred miles a second, sometimes they reach a height of a hundred, and even two hundred, thousand miles, driving the red-hot hydrogen before them in prodigious and fantastic flames. between the black veins over the disk, also, there rise domes and columns of the liquid fire, some hundreds of miles in diameter, spreading and sinking at from five to twenty miles a second. the surface of the sun--how much more the interior!--is an appalling cauldron of incandescent matter from pole to pole. every yard of the surface is a hundred times as intense as the open furnace of a titanic. from the depths and from the surface of this fiery ocean, as, on a small scale, from the surface of the tropical sea, the vapours rise high into the extensive atmosphere, discharge some of their heat into space, and sink back, cooler and heavier, upon the disk. this is a star in its yellow age, as are capella and arcturus and other stars. the red stars carry the story further, as we should expect. the heavier lines in their spectrum indicate more absorption of light, and tell us that the vapours are thickening about the globe; while compounds like titanium oxide make their appearance, announcing a fall of temperature. below these, again, is a group of dark red or "carbon" stars, in which the process is carried further. thick, broad, dark lines in the red end of the spectrum announce the appearance of compounds of carbon, and a still lower fall of temperature. the veil is growing thicker; the life is ebbing from the great frame. then the star sinks below the range of visibility, and one would think that we can follow the dying world no farther. fortunately, in the case of algol and some thirty or forty other stars, an extinct sun betrays its existence by flitting across the light of a luminous sun, and recent research has made it probable that the universe is strewn with dead worlds. some of them may be still in the condition which we seem to find in jupiter, hiding sullen fires under a dense shell of cloud; some may already be covered with a crust, like the earth. there are even stars in which one is tempted to see an intermediate stage: stars which blaze out periodically from dimness, as if the cyclops were spending his last energy in spasms that burst the forming roof of his prison. but these variable stars are still obscure, and we do not need their aid. the downward course of a star is fairly plain. when we turn to the earlier chapters in the life of a star, the story is less clear. it is at least generally agreed that the blue-white stars exhibit an earlier and hotter stage. they show comparatively little absorption, and there is an immense preponderance of the lighter gases, hydrogen and helium. they (sirius, vega, etc.) are, in fact, known as "hydrogen stars," and their temperature is generally computed at between , and , degrees c. a few stars, such as procyon and canopus, seem to indicate a stage between them and the yellow or solar type. but we may avoid finer shades of opinion and disputed classes, and be content with these clear stages. we begin with stars in which only hydrogen and helium, the lightest of elements, can be traced; and the hydrogen is in an unfamiliar form, implying terrific temperature. in the next stage we find the lines of oxygen, nitrogen, magnesium, and silicon. metals such as iron and copper come later, at first in a primitive and unusual form. lastly we get the compounds of titanium and carbon, and the densely shaded spectra which tell of the thickly gathering vapours. the intense cold of space is slowly prevailing in the great struggle. what came before the star? it is now beyond reasonable doubt that the nebula--taking the word, for the moment, in the general sense of a loose, chaotic mass of material--was the first stage. professor keeler calculated that there are at least , nebulae within range of our telescopes, and the number is likely to be increased. a german astronomer recently counted on one photographic plate. many of them, moreover, are so vast that they must contain the material for making a great number of worlds. examine a good photograph of the nebula in orion. recollect that each one of the points of light that are dotted over the expanse is a star of a million miles or more in diameter (taking our sun as below the average), and that the great cloud that sprawls across space is at least , billion miles away; how much more no man knows. it is futile to attempt to calculate the extent of that vast stretch of luminous gas. we can safely say that it is at least a million times as large as the whole area of our solar system; but it may run to trillions or quadrillions of miles. nearly a hundred other nebulae are known, by the spectroscope, to be clouds of luminous gas. it does not follow that they are white-hot, and that the nebula is correctly called a "fire-mist." electrical and other agencies may make gases luminous, and many astronomers think that the nebulae are intensely cold. however, the majority of the nebulae that have been examined are not gaseous, and have a very different structure from the loose and diffused clouds of gas. they show two (possibly more, but generally two) great spiral arms starting from the central part and winding out into space. as they are flat or disk-shaped, we see this structure plainly when they turn full face toward the earth, as does the magnificent nebula in canes venatici. in it, and many others, we clearly trace a condensed central mass, with two great arms, each apparently having smaller centres of condensation, sprawling outward like the broken spring of a watch. the same structure can be traced in the mighty nebula in andromeda, which is visible to the naked eye, and it is said that more than half the nebulae in the heavens are spiral. knowing that they are masses of solid or liquid fire, we are tempted to see in them gigantic catherine-wheels, the fireworks of the gods. what is their relation to the stars? in the first place, their mere existence has provided a solid basis for the nebular hypothesis, and their spiral form irresistibly suggests that they are whirling round on their central axis and concentrating. further, we find in some of the gaseous nebulae (orion) comparatively void spaces occupied by stars, which seem to have absorbed the nebulous matter in their formation. on the other hand, we find (in the pleiades) wisps and streamers of nebulous matter clinging about great clusters of stars, suggesting that they are material left over when these clustered worlds crystallised out of some vast nebula; and enormous stretches of nebulous material covering regions (as in perseus) where the stars are as thick as grains of silver. more important still, we find a type of cosmic body which seems intermediate between the star and the nebula. it is a more or less imperfectly condensed star, surrounded by nebular masses. but one of the most instructive links of all is that at times a nebula is formed from a star, and a recent case of this character may be briefly described. in february, , a new star appeared in the constellation perseus. knowing what a star is, the reader will have some dim conception of the portentous blaze that lit up that remote region of space (at least billion miles away) when he learns that the light of this star increased -fold in twenty-eight hours. it reached a brilliance times greater than that of the sun. telescopes and spectroscopes were turned on it from all parts of the earth, and the spectroscope showed that masses of glowing hydrogen were rushing out from it at a rate of nearly a thousand miles a second. its light gradually flickered and fell, however, and the star sank back into insignificance. but the photographic plate now revealed a new and most instructive feature. before the end of the year there was a nebula, of enormous extent, spreading out on both sides from the centre of the eruption. it was suggested at the time that the bursting of a star may merely have lit up a previously dark nebula, but the spectroscope does not support this. a dim star had dissolved, wholly or partially, into a nebula, as a result of some mighty cataclysm. what the nature of the catastrophe was we will inquire presently. these are a few of the actual connections that we find between stars and nebulae. probably, however, the consideration that weighs most with the astronomer is that the condensation of such a loose, far-stretched expanse of matter affords an admirable explanation of the enormous heat of the stars. until recently there was no other conceivable source that would supply the sun's tremendous outpour of energy for tens of millions of years except the compression of its substance. it is true that the discovery of radio-activity has disclosed a new source of energy within the atoms themselves, and there are scientific men, like professor arrhenius, who attach great importance to this source. but, although it may prolong the limited term of life which physicists formerly allotted to the sun and other stars, it is still felt that the condensation of a nebula offers the best explanation of the origin of a sun, and we have ample evidence for the connection. we must, therefore, see what the nebula is, and how it develops. "nebula" is merely the latin word for cloud. whatever the nature of these diffused stretches of matter may be, then, the name applies fitly to them, and any theory of the development of a star from them is still a "nebular hypothesis." but the three theories which divide astronomers to-day differ as to the nature of the nebula. the older theory, pointing to the gaseous nebulae as the first stage, holds that the nebula is a cloud of extremely attenuated gas. the meteoritic hypothesis (sir n. lockyer, sir g. darwin, etc.), observing that space seems to swarm with meteors and that the greater part of the nebulae are not gaseous, believes that the starting-point is a colossal swarm of meteors, surrounded by the gases evolved and lit up by their collisions. the planetesimal hypothesis, advanced in recent years by professor moulton and professor chamberlin, contends that the nebula is a vast cloud of liquid or solid (but not gaseous) particles. this theory is based mainly on the dynamical difficulties of the other two, which we will notice presently. the truth often lies between conflicting theories, or they may apply to different cases. it is not improbable that this will be our experience in regard to the nature of the initial nebula. the gaseous nebulae, and the formation of such nebulae from disrupted stars, are facts that cannot be ignored. the nebulae with a continuous spectrum, and therefore--in part, at least--in a liquid or solid condition, may very well be regarded as a more advanced stage of condensation of the same; their spiral shape and conspicuous nuclei are consistent with this. moreover, a condensing swarm of meteors would, owing to the heat evolved, tend to pass into a gaseous condition. on the tether hand, a huge expanse of gas stretched over billions of miles of space would be a net for the wandering particles, meteors, and comets that roam through space. if it be true, as is calculated, that our , miles of atmosphere capture a hundred million meteors a day, what would the millions or billions of times larger net of a nebula catch, even if the gas is so much thinner? in other words, it is not wise to draw too fine a line between a gaseous nebula and one consisting of solid particles with gas. the more important question is: how do astronomers conceive the condensation of this mixed mass of cosmic dust? it is easy to reply that gravitation, or the pressure of the surrounding ether, slowly drives the particles centre-ward, and compresses the dust into globes, as the boy squeezes the flocculent snow into balls; and it is not difficult for the mathematician to show that this condensation would account for the shape and temperature of the stars. but we must go a little beyond this superficial statement, and see, to some extent, how the deeper students work out the process. [*] * see, especially, dr. p. lowell, "the evolution of worlds" ( ). professor s. arrhenius, "worlds in the making" ( ), sir n. lockyer, "the meteorite hypothesis" ( ), sir r. ball, "the earth's beginning" ( ), professor moulton, "the astrophysical journal (october, ), and chamberlin and salisbury, "geology," vol. ii. ( ). taking a broad view of the whole field, one may say that the two chief difficulties are as follows: first, how to get the whole chaotic mass whirling round in one common direction; secondly, how to account for the fact that in our solar system the outermost planets and satellites do not rotate in the same direction as the rest. there is a widespread idea that these difficulties have proved fatal to the old nebular hypothesis, and there are distinguished astronomers who think so. but sir r. ball (see note), professor lowell (see note), professor pickering (annals of harvard college observatory, , iii), and other high authorities deny this, and work out the newly discovered movements on the lines of the old theory. they hold that all the bodies in the solar system once turned in the same direction as uranus and neptune, and the tidal influence of the sun has changed the rotation of most of them. the planets farthest from the sun would naturally not be so much affected by it. the same principle would explain the retrograde movement of the outer satellites of saturn and jupiter. sir r. ball further works out the principles on which the particles of the condensing nebula would tend to form a disk rotating on its central axis. the ring-theory of laplace is practically abandoned. the spiral nebula is evidently the standard type, and the condensing nebula must conform to it. in this we are greatly helped by the current theory of the origin of spiral nebulae. we saw previously that new stars sometimes appear in the sky, and the recent closer scrutiny of the heavens shows this occurrence to be fairly frequent. it is still held by a few astronomers that such a cataclysm means that two stars collided. even a partial or "grazing" collision between two masses, each weighing billions of tons, travelling (on the average) forty or fifty miles a second--a movement that would increase enormously as they approach each other--would certainly liquefy or vaporise their substance; but the astronomer, accustomed to see cosmic bodies escape each other by increasing their speed, is generally disinclined to believe in collisions. some have made the new star plunge into the heart of a dense and dark nebula; some have imagined a shock of two gigantic swarms of meteors; some have regarded the outflame as the effect of a prodigious explosion. in one or other new star each or any of these things may have occurred, but the most plausible and accepted theory for the new star of and some others is that two stars had approached each other too closely in their wandering. suppose that, in millions of years to come, when our sun is extinct and a firm crust surrounds the great molten ball, some other sun approaches within a few million miles of it. the two would rush past each other at a terrific speed, but the gravitational effect of the approaching star would tear open the solid shell of the sun, and, in a mighty flame, its molten and gaseous entrails would be flung out into space. it has long been one of the arguments against a molten interior of the earth that the sun's gravitational influence would raise it in gigantic tides and rend the solid shell of rock. it is even suspected now that our small earth is not without a tidal influence on the sun. the comparatively near approach of two suns would lead to a terrific cataclysm. if we accept this theory, the origin of the spiral nebula becomes intelligible. as the sun from which it is formed is already rotating on its axis, we get a rotation of the nebula from the first. the mass poured out from the body of the sun would, even if it were only a small fraction of its mass, suffice to make a planetary system; all our sun's planets and their satellites taken together amount to only / th of the mass of the solar system. we may assume, further, that the outpoured matter would be a mixed cloud of gases and solid and liquid particles; and that it would stream out, possibly in successive waves, from more than one part of the disrupted sun, tending to form great spiral trails round the parent mass. some astronomers even suggest that, as there are tidal waves raised by the moon at opposite points of the earth, similar tidal outbursts would occur at opposite points on the disk of the disrupted star, and thus give rise to the characteristic arms starting from opposite sides of the spiral nebula. this is not at all clear, as the two tidal waves of the earth are due to the fact that it has a liquid ocean rolling on, not under, a solid bed. in any case, we have here a good suggestion of the origin of the spiral nebula and of its further development. as soon as the outbursts are over, and the scattered particles have reached the farthest limit to which they are hurled, the concentrating action of gravitation will slowly assert itself. if we conceive this gravitational influence as the pressure of the surrounding ether we get a wider understanding of the process. much of the dispersed matter may have been shot far enough into space to escape the gravitational pull of the parent mass, and will be added to the sum of scattered cosmic dust, meteors, and close shoals of meteors (comets) wandering in space. much of the rest will fall back upon the central body but in the great spiral arms themselves the distribution of the matter will be irregular, and the denser areas will slowly gather in the surrounding material. in the end we would thus get secondary spheres circling round a large primary. this is the way in which astronomers now generally conceive the destruction and re-formation of worlds. on one point the new planetesimal theory differs from the other theories. it supposes that, since the particles of the whirling nebula are all travelling in the same general direction, they overtake each other with less violent impact than the other theories suppose, and therefore the condensation of the material into planets would not give rise to the terrific heat which is generally assumed. we will consider this in the next chapter, when we deal with the formation of the planets. as far as the central body, the sun, is concerned, there can be no hesitation. the , , incandescent suns in the heavens are eloquent proof of the appalling heat that is engendered by the collisions of the concentrating particles. in general outline we now follow the story of a star with some confidence. an internal explosion, a fatal rush into some dense nebula or swarm of meteors, a collision with another star, or an approach within a few million miles of another star, scatters, in part or whole, the solid or liquid globe in a cloud of cosmic dust. when the violent outrush is over, the dust is gathered together once more into a star. at first cold and attenuated, its temperature rises as the particles come together, and we have, after a time, an incandescent nucleus shining through a thin veil of gas--a nebulous star. the temperature rises still further, and we have the blue-hot star, in which the elements seem to be dissociated, and slowly re-forming as the temperature falls. after, perhaps, hundreds of millions of years it reaches the "yellow" stage, and, if it has planets with the conditions of life, there may be a temporary opportunity for living things to enjoy its tempered energy. but the cooler vapours are gathering round it, and at length its luminous body is wholly imprisoned. it continues its terrific course through space, until some day, perhaps, it again encounters the mighty cataclysm which will make it begin afresh the long and stormy chapters of its living history. such is the suggestion of the modern astronomer, and, although we seem to find every phase of the theory embodied in the varied contents of the heavens, we must not forget that it is only a suggestion. the spectroscope and telescopic photography, which are far more important than the visual telescope, are comparatively recent, and the field to be explored is enormous. the mist is lifting from the cosmic landscape, but there is still enough to blur our vision. very puzzling questions remain unanswered. what is the origin of the great gaseous nebulae? what is the origin of the triple or quadruple star? what is the meaning of stars whose light ebbs and flows in periods of from a few to several hundred days? we may even point to the fact that some, at least, of the spiral nebulae are far too vast to be the outcome of the impact or approach of two stars. we may be content to think that we have found out some truths, by no means the whole truth, about the evolution of worlds. throughout this immeasurable ocean of ether the particles of matter are driven together and form bodies. these bodies swarm throughout space, like fish in the sea; travelling singly (the "shooting star"), or in great close shoals (the nucleus of a comet), or lying scattered in vast clouds. but the inexorable pressure urges them still, until billions of tons of material are gathered together. then, either from the sheer heat of the compression, or from the formation of large and unstable atomic systems (radium, etc.), or both, the great mass becomes a cauldron of fire, mantled in its own vapours, and the story of a star is run. it dies out in one part of space to begin afresh in another. we see nothing in the nature of a beginning or an end for the totality of worlds, the universe. the life of all living things on the earth, from the formation of the primitive microbes to the last struggles of the superman, is a small episode of that stupendous drama, a fraction of a single scene. but our ampler knowledge of it, and our personal interest in it, magnify that episode, and we turn from the cosmic picture to study the formation of the earth and the rise of its living population. chapter iv. the preparation of the earth the story of the evolution of our solar system is, it will now be seen, a local instance of the great cosmic process we have studied in the last chapter. we may take one of the small spiral nebulae that abound in the heavens as an illustration of the first stage. if a still earlier stage is demanded, we may suppose that some previous sun collided with, or approached too closely, another mighty body, and belched out a large part of its contents in mighty volcanic outpours. mathematical reasoning can show that this erupted material would gather into a spiral nebula; but, as mathematical calculations cannot be given here, and are less safe than astronomical facts, we will be content to see the early shape of our solar system in a relatively small spiral nebula, its outermost arm stretching far beyond the present orbit of neptune, and its great nucleus being our present sun in more diffused form. we need not now attempt to follow the shrinking of the central part of the nebula until it becomes a rounded fiery sun. that has been done in tracing the evolution of a star. here we have to learn how the planets were formed from the spiral arms of the nebula. the principle of their formation is already clear. the same force of gravitation, or the same pressure of the surrounding ether, which compresses the central mass into a fiery globe, will act upon the loose material of the arms and compress it into smaller globes. but there is an interesting and acute difference of opinion amongst modern experts as to whether these smaller globes, the early planets, would become white-hot bodies. the general opinion, especially among astronomers, is that the compression of the nebulous material of the arms into globes would generate enormous heat, as in the case of the sun. on that view the various planets would begin their careers as small suns, and would pass through those stages of cooling and shrinking which we have traced in the story of the stars. a glance at the photograph of one of the spiral nebulae strongly confirms this. great luminous knots, or nuclei, are seen at intervals in the arms. smaller suns seem to be forming in them, each gathering into its body the neighbouring material of the arm, and rising in temperature as the mass is compressed into a globe. the spectroscope shows that these knots are condensing masses of white-hot liquid or solid matter. it therefore seems plain that each planet will first become a liquid globe of fire, coursing round the central sun, and will gradually, as its heat is dissipated and the supply begins to fail, form a solid crust. this familiar view is challenged by the new "planetesimal hypothesis," which has been adopted by many distinguished geologists (chamberlin, gregory, coleman, etc.). in their view the particles in the arms of the nebula are all moving in the same direction round the sun. they therefore quietly overtake the nucleus to which they are attracted, instead of violently colliding with each other, and much less heat is generated at the surface. in that case the planets would not pass through a white-hot, or even red-hot, stage at all. they are formed by a slow ingathering of the scattered particles, which are called "planetesimals" round the larger or denser masses of stuff which were discharged by the exploding sun. possibly these masses were prevented from falling back into the sun by the attraction of the colliding body, or the body which caused the eruption. they would revolve round the parent body, and the shoals of smaller particles would gather about them by gravitation. if there were any large region in the arm of the nebula which had no single massive nucleus, the cosmic dust would gather about a number of smaller centres. thus might be explained the hundreds of planetoids, or minor planets, which we find between mars and jupiter. if these smaller bodies came within the sphere of influence of one of the larger planets, yet were travelling quickly enough to resist its attraction, they would be compelled to revolve round it, and we could thus explain the ten satellites of saturn and the eight of jupiter. our moon, we shall see, had a different origin. we shall find this new hypothesis crossing the familiar lines at many points in the next few chapters. we will consider those further consequences as they arise, but may say at once that, while the new theory has greatly helped us in tracing the formation of the planetary system, astronomers are strongly opposed to its claim that the planets did not pass through an incandescent stage. the actual features of our spiral nebulae seem clearly to exhibit that stage. the shape of the planets--globular bodies, flattened at the poles--strongly suggests that they were once liquid. the condition in which we find saturn and jupiter very forcibly confirms this suggestion; the latest study of those planets supports the current opinion that they are still red-hot, and even seems to detect the glow of their surfaces in their mantles of cloud. these points will be considered more fully presently. for the moment it is enough to note that, as far as the early stages of planetary development are concerned, the generally accepted theory rests on a mass of positive evidence, while the new hypothesis is purely theoretical. we therefore follow the prevailing view with some confidence. those of the spiral nebulae which face the earth squarely afford an excellent suggestion of the way in which planets are probably formed. in some of these nebulae the arms consist of almost continuous streams of faintly luminous matter; in others the matter is gathering about distinct centres; in others again the nebulous matter is, for the most part, collected in large glowing spheres. they seem to be successive stages, and to reveal to us the origin of our planets. the position of each planet in our solar system would be determined by the chance position of the denser stuff shot out by the erupting sun. i have seen vesuvius hurl up into the sky, amongst its blasts of gas and steam, white-hot masses of rock weighing fifty tons. in the far fiercer outburst of the erupting sun there would be at least thinner and denser masses, and they must have been hurled so far into space that their speed in travelling round the central body, perhaps seconded by the attraction of the second star, overcame the gravitational pull back to the centre. recollect the force which, in the new star in perseus, drove masses of hydrogen for millions of miles at a speed of a thousand miles a second. these denser nuclei or masses would, when the eruption was over, begin to attract to themselves all the lighter nebulous material within their sphere of gravitational influence. naturally, there would at first be a vast confusion of small and large centres of condensation in the arms of the nebula, moving in various directions, but a kind of natural selection--and, in this case, survival of the biggest--would ensue. the conflicting movements would be adjusted by collisions and gravitation, the smaller bodies would be absorbed in the larger or enslaved as their satellites, and the last state would be a family of smaller suns circling at vast distances round the parent body. the planets, moreover, would be caused to rotate on their axes, besides revolving round the sun, as the particles at their inner edge (nearer the sun) would move at a different speed from those at the outer edge. in the course of time the smaller bodies, having less heat to lose and less (or no) atmosphere to check the loss, would cool down, and become dark solid spheres, lit only by the central fire. while the first stage of this theory of development is seen in the spiral nebula, the later stages seem to be well exemplified in the actual condition of our planets. following, chiefly, the latest research of professor lowell and his colleagues, which marks a considerable advance on our previous knowledge, we shall find it useful to glance at the sister-planets before we approach the particular story of our earth. mercury, the innermost and smallest of the planets, measuring only some miles in diameter, is, not unexpectedly, an airless wilderness. small bodies are unable to retain the gases at their surface, on account of their feebler gravitation. we find, moreover, that mercury always presents the same face to the sun, as it turns on its axis in the same period (eighty-eight days) in which it makes a revolution round the sun. while, therefore, one half of the globe is buried in eternal darkness, the other half is eternally exposed to the direct and blistering rays of the sun, which is only , , miles away. to professor lowell it presents the appearance of a bleached and sun-cracked desert, or "the bones of a dead world." its temperature must be at least degrees c. above that of the earth. its features are what we should expect on the nebular hypothesis. the slowness of its rotation is accounted for by the heavy tidal influence of the sun. in the same way our moon has been influenced by the earth, and our earth by the sun, in their movement of rotation. venus, as might be expected in the case of so large a globe (nearly as large as the earth), has an atmosphere, but it seems, like mercury, always to present the same face to the sun. its comparative nearness to the sun ( , , miles) probably explains this advanced effect of tidal action. the consequences that the observers deduce from the fact are interesting. the sun-baked half of venus seems to be devoid of water or vapour, and it is thought that all its water is gathered into a rigid ice-field on the dark side of the globe, from which fierce hurricanes must blow incessantly. it is a sahara, or a desert far hotter than the sahara, on one side; an arctic region on the other. it does not seem to be a world fitted for the support of any kind of life that we can imagine. when we turn to the consideration of mars, we enter a world of unending controversy. with little more than half the diameter of the earth, mars ought to be in a far more advanced stage of either life or decay, but its condition has not yet been established. some hold that it has a considerable atmosphere; others that it is too small a globe to have retained a layer of gas. professor poynting believes that its temperature is below the freezing-point of water all over the globe; many others, if not the majority of observers, hold that the white cap we see at its poles is a mass of ice and snow, or at least a thick coat of hoar-frost, and that it melts at the edges as the springtime of mars comes round. in regard to its famous canals we are no nearer agreement. some maintain that the markings are not really an objective feature; some hold that they are due to volcanic activity, and that similar markings are found on the moon; some believe that they are due to clouds; while professor lowell and others stoutly adhere to the familiar view that they are artificial canals, or the strips of vegetation along such canals. the question of the actual habitation of mars is still open. we can say only that there is strong evidence of its possession of the conditions of life in some degree, and that living things, even on the earth, display a remarkable power of adaptation to widely differing conditions. passing over the planetoids, which circulate between mars and jupiter, and for which we may account either by the absence of one large nucleus in that part of the nebulous stream or by the disturbing influence of jupiter, we come to the largest planet of the system. here we find a surprising confirmation of the theory of planetary development which we are following. three hundred times heavier than the earth (or more than a trillion tons in weight), yet a thousand times less in volume than the sun, jupiter ought, if our theory is correct, to be still red-hot. all the evidence conspires to suggest that it is. it has long been recognised that the shining disk of the planet is not a solid, but a cloud, surface. this impenetrable mass of cloud or vapour is drawn out in streams or belts from side to side, as the giant globe turns on its axis once in every ten hours. we cannot say if, or to what extent, these clouds consist of water-vapour. we can conclude only that this mantle of jupiter is "a seething cauldron of vapours" (lowell), and that, if the body beneath is solid, it must be very hot. a large red area, at one time , miles long, has more or less persisted on the surface for several decades, and it is generally interpreted, either as a red-hot surface, or as a vast volcanic vent, reflecting its glow upon the clouds. indeed, the keen american observers, with their powerful telescopes, have detected a cherry-red glow on the edges of the cloud-belts across the disk; and more recent observation with the spectroscope seems to prove that jupiter emits light from its surface analogous to that of the red stars. the conspicuous flattening of its poles is another feature that science would expect in a rapidly rotating liquid globe. in a word, jupiter seems to be in the last stage of stellar development. such, at some remote time, was our earth; such one day will be the sun. the neighbouring planet saturn supports the conclusion. here again we have a gigantic globe, , miles in diameter, turning on its axis in the short space of ten hours; and here again we find the conspicuous flattening of the poles, the trailing belts of massed vapour across the disk, the red glow lighting the edges of the belts, and the spectroscopic evidence of an emission of light. once more it is difficult to doubt that a highly heated body is wrapped in that thick mantle of vapour. with its ten moons and its marvellous ring-system--an enormous collection of fragments, which the influence of the planet or of its nearer satellites seems to have prevented from concentrating--saturn has always been a beautiful object to observe; it is not less interesting in those features which we faintly detect in its disk. the next planet, uranus, , miles in diameter, seems to be another cloud-wrapt, greatly heated globe, if not, as some think, a sheer mass of vapours without a liquid core. neptune is too dim and distant for profitable examination. it may be added, however, that the dense masses of gas which are found to surround the outer planets seem to confirm the nebular theory, which assumes that they were developed in the outer and lighter part of the material hurled from the sun. from this encouraging survey of the sister-planets we return with more confidence to the story of the earth. i will not attempt to follow an imaginative scheme in regard to its early development. take four photographs--one of a spiral nebula without knots in its arms, one of a nebula like that in canes venatici, one of the sun, and one of jupiter--and you have an excellent illustration of the chief stages in its formation. in the first picture a section of the luminous arm of the nebula stretches thinly across millions of miles of space. in the next stage this material is largely collected in a luminous and hazy sphere, as we find in the nebula in canes venatici. the sun serves to illustrate a further stage in the condensation of this sphere. jupiter represents a later chapter, in which the cooler vapours are wrapped close about the red-hot body of the planet. that seems to have been the early story of the earth. some , , , billion tons of the nebulous matter were attracted to a common centre. as the particles pressed centreward, the temperature rose, and for a time the generation of heat was greater than its dissipation. whether the earth ever shone as a small white star we cannot say. we must not hastily conclude that such a relatively small mass would behave like the far greater mass of a star, but we may, without attempting to determine its temperature, assume that it runs an analogous course. one of the many features which i have indicated as pointing to a former fluidity of the earth may be explained here. we shall see in the course of this work that the mountain chains and other great irregularities of the earth's surface appear at a late stage in its development. even as we find them to-day, they are seen to be merely slight ridges and furrows on the face of the globe, when we reflect on its enormous diameter, but there is good reason to think that in the beginning the earth was much nearer to a perfectly globular form. this points to a liquid or gaseous condition at one time, and the flattening of the sphere at the poles confirms the impression. we should hardly expect so perfect a rotundity in a body formed by the cool accretion of solid fragments and particles. it is just what we should expect in a fluid body, and the later irregularities of the surface are accounted for by the constant crumpling and wearing of its solid crust. many would find a confirmation of this in the phenomena of volcanoes, geysers, and earthquakes, and the increase of the temperature as we descend the crust. but the interior condition of the earth, and the nature of these phenomena, are much disputed at present, and it is better not to rely on any theory of them. it is suggested that radium may be responsible for this subterraneous heat. the next stage in the formation of the earth is necessarily one that we can reach only by conjecture. over the globe of molten fire the vapours and gases would be suspended like a heavy canopy, as we find in jupiter and saturn to-day. when the period of maximum heat production was passed, however, the radiation into space would cause a lowering of the temperature, and a scum would form on the molten surface. as may be observed on the surface of any cooling vessel of fluid, the scum would stretch and crack; the skin would, so to say, prove too small for the body. the molten ocean below would surge through the crust, and bury it under floods of lava. some hold that the slabs would sink in the ocean of metal, and thus the earth would first solidify in its deeper layers. there would, in any case, be an age-long struggle between the molten mass and the confining crust, until at length--to employ the old roman conception of the activity of etna--the giant was imprisoned below the heavy roof of rock. here again we seem to find evidence of the general correctness of the theory. the objection has been raised that the geologist does not find any rocks which he can identify as portions of the primitive crust of the earth. it seems to me that it would be too much to expect the survival at the surface of any part of the first scum that cooled on that fiery ocean. it is more natural to suppose that millions of years of volcanic activity on a prodigious scale would characterise this early stage, and the "primitive crust" would be buried in fragments, or dissolved again, under deep seas of lava. now, this is precisely what we find, the oldest rocks known to the geologist--the archaean rocks--are overwhelmingly volcanic, especially in their lower part. their thickness, as we know them, is estimated at , feet; a thickness which must represent many millions of years. but we do not know how much thicker than this they may be. they underlie the oldest rocks that have ever been exposed to the gaze of the geologist. they include sedimentary deposits, showing the action of water, and even probable traces of organic remains, but they are, especially in their deeper and older sections, predominantly volcanic. they evince what we may call a volcanic age in the early story of the planet. but before we pursue this part of the story further we must interpolate a remarkable event in the record--the birth of the moon. it is now generally believed, on a theory elaborated by sir g. darwin, that when the formation of the crust had reached a certain depth--something over thirty miles, it is calculated--it parted with a mass of matter, which became the moon. the size of our moon, in comparison with the earth, is so exceptional among the satellites which attend the planets of our solar system that it is assigned an exceptional origin. it is calculated that at that time the earth turned on its axis in the space of four or five hours, instead of twenty-four. we have already seen that the tidal influence of the sun has the effect of moderating the rotation of the planets. now, this very rapid rotation of a liquid mass, with a thin crust, would (together with the instability occasioned by its cooling) cause it to bulge at the equator. the bulge would increase until the earth became a pear-shaped body. the small end of the pear would draw further and further away from the rest--as a drop of water does on the mouth of a tap--and at last the whole mass (some , , , cubic miles of matter) was broken off, and began to pursue an independent orbit round the earth. there are astronomers who think that other cosmic bodies, besides our moon, may have been formed in this way. possibly it is true of some of the double stars, but we will not return to that question. the further story of the moon, as it is known to astronomers, may be given in a few words. the rotational movement of the earth is becoming gradually slower on account of tidal influence; our day, in fact, becomes an hour longer every few million years. it can be shown that this had the effect of increasing the speed, and therefore enlarging the orbit, of the moon, as it revolved round the earth. as a result, the moon drew further and further away from the earth until it reached its present position, about , miles away. at the same time the tidal influence of the earth was lessening the rotational movement of the moon. this went on until it turned on its axis in the same period in which it revolves round the earth, and on this account it always presents the same face to the earth. through what chapters of life the moon may have passed in the meantime it is impossible to say. its relatively small mass may have been unable to keep the lighter gases at its surface, or its air and water may, as some think, have been absorbed. it is to-day practically an airless and waterless desert, alternating between the heat of its long day and the intense cold of its long night. careful observers, such as professor pickering, think that it may still have a shallow layer of heavy gases at its surface, and that this may permit the growth of some stunted vegetation during the day. certain changes of colour, which are observed on its surface, have been interpreted in that sense. we can hardly conceive any other kind of life on it. in the dark even the gases will freeze on its surface, as there is no atmosphere to retain the heat. indeed, some students of the moon (fauth, etc.) believe that it is an unchanging desert of ice, bombarded by the projectiles of space. an ingenious speculation as to the effect on the earth of this dislodgment of , , , cubic miles of its substance is worth noting. it supposes that the bed of the pacific ocean represents the enormous gap torn in its side by the delivery of the moon. at each side of this chasm the two continents, the old world and the new, would be left floating on their molten ocean; and some have even seen a confirmation of this in the lines of crustal weakness which we trace, by volcanoes and earthquakes, on either side of the pacific. others, again, connect the shape of our great masses of land, which generally run to a southern point, with this early catastrophe. but these interesting speculations have a very slender basis, and we will return to the story of the development of the earth. the last phase in preparation for the appearance of life would be the formation of the ocean. on the lines of the generally received nebular hypothesis this can easily be imagined, in broad outline. the gases would form the outer shell of the forming planet, since the heavier particles would travel inward. in this mixed mass of gas the oxygen and hydrogen would combine, at a fitting temperature, and form water. for ages the molten crust would hold this water suspended aloft as a surrounding shell of cloud, but when the surface cooled to about degrees c. (sollas), the liquid would begin to pour on it. a period of conflict would ensue, the still heated crust and the frequent volcanic outpours sending the water back in hissing steam to the clouds. at length, and now more rapidly, the temperature of the crust would sink still lower, and a heated ocean would settle upon it, filling the hollows of its irregular surface, and washing the bases of its outstanding ridges. from that time begins the age-long battle of the land and the water which, we shall see, has had a profound influence on the development of life. in deference to the opinion of a number of geologists we must glance once more at the alternative view of the planetesimal school. in their opinion the molecules of water were partly attracted to the surface out of the disrupted matter, and partly collected within the porous outer layers of the globe. as the latter quantity grew, it would ooze upwards, fill the smaller depressions in the crust, and at length, with the addition of the attracted water, spread over the irregular surface. there is an even more important difference of opinion in regard to the formation of the atmosphere, but we may defer this until the question of climate interests us. we have now made our globe, and will pass on to that early chapter of its story in which living things make their appearance. to some it will seem that we ought not to pass from the question of origin without a word on the subject of the age of the earth. all that one can do, however, is to give a number of very divergent estimates. physicists have tried to calculate the age of the sun from the rate of its dissipation of heat, and have assigned, at the most, a hundred million years to our solar system; but the recent discovery of a source of heat in the disintegration of such metals as radium has made their calculations useless. geologists have endeavoured, from observation of the action of geological agencies to-day, to estimate how long it will have taken them to form the stratified crust of the earth; but even the best estimates vary between twenty-five and a hundred million years, and we have reason to think that the intensity of these geological agencies may have varied in different ages. chemists have calculated how long it would take the ocean, which was originally fresh water, to take up from the rocks and rivers the salt which it contains to-day; professor joly has on this ground assigned a hundred million years since the waters first descended upon the crust. we must be content to know that the best recent estimates, based on positive data, vary between fifty and a hundred million years for the story which we are now about to narrate. the earlier or astronomical period remains quite incalculable. sir g. darwin thinks that it was probably at least a thousand million years since the moon was separated from the earth. whatever the period of time may be since some cosmic cataclysm scattered the material of our solar system in the form of a nebula, it is only a fraction of that larger and illimitable time which the evolution of the stars dimly suggests to the scientific imagination. the geological series [the scale of years adopted-- , , for the stratified rocks--is merely an intermediate between conflicting estimates.] era. period. relative length. quaternary holocene , years pleistocene tertiary pliocene , , years or miocene cenozoic oligocene eocene secondary cretaceous , , years or jurassic , , " mesozoic triassic , , " primary permian , , years or carboniferous , , " palaeozoic devonian , , " silurian , , " ordovician , , " cambrian , , " archaean keweenawan unknown (probably animikie at least huronian , , years) keewatin laurentian chapter v. the beginning of life there is, perhaps, no other chapter in the chronicle of the earth that we approach with so lively an interest as the chapter which should record the first appearance of life. unfortunately, as far as the authentic memorials of the past go, no other chapter is so impenetrably obscure as this. the reason is simple. it is a familiar saying that life has written its own record, the long-drawn record of its dynasties and its deaths, in the rocks. but there were millions of years during which life had not yet learned to write its record, and further millions of years the record of which has been irremediably destroyed. the first volume of the geological chronicle of the earth is the mass of the archaean (or "primitive") rocks. what the actual magnitude of that volume, and the span of time it covers, may be, no geologist can say. the archaean rocks still solidly underlie the lowest depth he has ever reached. it is computed, however, that these rocks, as far as they are known to us, have a total depth of nearly ten miles, and seem therefore to represent at least half the story of the earth from the time when it rounded into a globe, or cooled sufficiently to endure the presence of oceans. yet all that we read of the earth's story during those many millions of years could be told in a page or two. that section of geology is still in its infancy, it is true. a day may come when science will decipher a long and instructive narrative in the masses of quartz and gneiss, and the layers of various kinds, which it calls the archaean rocks. but we may say with confidence that it will not discover in them more than a few stray syllables of the earlier part, and none whatever of the earliest part, of the epic of living nature. a few fossilised remains of somewhat advanced organisms, such as shell-fish and worms, are found in the higher and later rocks of the series, and more of the same comparatively high types will probably appear. in the earlier strata, representing an earlier stage of life, we find only thick seams of black shale, limestone, and ironstone, in which we seem to see the ashes of primitive organisms, cremated in the appalling fires of the volcanic age, or crushed out of recognition by the superimposed masses. even if some wizardry of science were ever to restore the forms that have been reduced to ashes in this archaean crematorium, it would be found that they are more or less advanced forms, far above the original level of life. no trace will ever be found in the rocks of the first few million years in the calendar of life. the word impossible or unknowable is not lightly uttered in science to-day, but there is a very plain reason for admitting it here. the earliest living things were at least as primitive of nature as the lowest animals and plants we know to-day, and these, up to a fair level of organisation, are so soft of texture that, when they die, they leave no remains which may one day be turned into fossils. some of them, indeed, form tiny shells of flint or lime, or, like the corals, make for themselves a solid bed; but this is a relatively late and higher stage of development. many thousands of species of animals and plants lie below that level. we are therefore forced to conclude, from the aspect of living nature to-day, that for ages the early organisms had no hard and preservable parts. in thus declaring the impotence of geology, however, we are at the same time introducing another science, biology, which can throw appreciable light on the evolution of life. let us first see what geology tells us about the infancy of the earth. the distribution of the early rocks suggests that there was comparatively little dry land showing above the surface of the archaean ocean. our knowledge of these rocks is not at all complete, and we must remember that some of this primitive land may be now under the sea or buried in unsuspected regions. it is significant, however, that, up to the present, exploration seems to show that in those remote ages only about one-fifth of our actual land-surface stood above the level of the waters. apart from a patch of some , square miles of what is now australia, and smaller patches in tasmania, new zealand, and india, nearly the whole of this land was in the far north. a considerable area of eastern canada had emerged, with lesser islands standing out to the west and south of north america. another large area lay round the basin of the baltic; and as greenland, the hebrides, and the extreme tip of scotland, belong to the same age, it is believed that a continent, of which they are fragments, united america and europe across the north atlantic. of the rest of what is now europe there were merely large islands--one on the border of england and wales, others in france, spain, and southern germany. asia was represented by a large area in china and siberia, and an island or islands on the site of india. very little of africa or south america existed. it will be seen at a glance that the physical story of the earth from that time is a record of the emergence from the waters of larger continents and the formation of lofty chains of mountains. now this world-old battle of land and sea has been waged with varying fortune from age to age, and it has been one of the most important factors in the development of life. we are just beginning to realise what a wonderful light it throws on the upward advance of animals and plants. no one in the scientific world to-day questions that, however imperfect the record may be, there has been a continuous development of life from the lowest level to the highest. but why there was advance at all, why the primitive microbe climbs the scale of being, during millions of years, until it reaches the stature of humanity, seems to many a profound mystery. the solution of this mystery begins to break upon us when we contemplate, in the geological record, the prolonged series of changes in the face of the earth itself, and try to realise how these changes must have impelled living things to fresh and higher adaptations to their changing surroundings. imagine some early continent with its population of animals and plants. each bay, estuary, river, and lake, each forest and marsh and solid plain, has its distinctive inhabitants. imagine this continent slowly sinking into the sea, until the advancing arms of the salt water meet across it, mingling their diverse populations in a common world, making the fresh-water lake brackish or salt, turning the dry land into swamp, and flooding the forest. or suppose, on the other hand, that the land rises, the marsh is drained, the genial climate succeeded by an icy cold, the luscious vegetation destroyed, the whole animal population compelled to change its habits and its food. but this is no imaginary picture. it is the actual story of the earth during millions of years, and it is chiefly in the light of these vast and exacting changes in the environment that we are going to survey the panorama of the advance of terrestrial life. for the moment it will be enough to state two leading principles. the first is that there is no such thing as a "law of evolution" in the sense in which many people understand that phrase. it is now sufficiently well known that, when science speaks of a law, it does not mean that there is some rule that things must act in such and such a way. the law is a mere general expression of the fact that they do act in that way. but many imagine that there is some principle within the living organism which impels it onward to a higher level of organisation. that is entirely an error. there is no "law of progress." if an animal is fitted to secure its livelihood and breed posterity in certain surroundings, it may remain unchanged indefinitely if these surroundings do not materially change. so the duckmole of australia and the tuatara of new zealand have retained primitive features for millions of years; so the aboriginal australian and the fuegian have remained stagnant, in their isolation, for a hundred thousand years or more; so the chinaman, in his geographical isolation, has remained unchanged for two thousand years. there is no more a "conservative instinct" in chinese than there is a "progressive instinct" in europeans. the difference is one of history and geography, as we shall see. to make this important principle still clearer, let us imagine some primitive philosopher observing the advance of the tide over a level beach. he must discover two things: why the water comes onward at all, and why it advances along those particular channels. we shall see later how men of science explain or interpret the mechanism in a living thing which enables it to advance, when it does advance. for the present it is enough to say that new-born animals and plants are always tending to differ somewhat from their parents, and we now know, by experiment, that when some exceptional influence is brought to bear on the parent, the young may differ considerably from her. but, if the parents were already in harmony with their environment, these variations on the part of the young are of no consequence. let the environment alter, however, and some of these variations may chance to make the young better fitted than the parent was. the young which happen to have the useful variation will have an advantage over their brothers or sisters, and be more likely to survive and breed the next generation. if the change in the environment (in the food or climate, for instance) is prolonged and increased for hundreds of thousands of years, we shall expect to find a corresponding change in the animals and plants. we shall find such changes occurring throughout the story of the earth. at one important point in the story we shall find so grave a revolution in the face of nature that twenty-nine out of every thirty species of animals and plants on the earth are annihilated. less destructive and extreme changes have been taking place during nearly the whole of the period we have to cover, entailing a more gradual alteration of the structure of animals and plants; but we shall repeatedly find them culminating in very great changes of climate, or of the distribution of land and water, which have subjected the living population of the earth to the most searching tests and promoted every variation toward a more effective organisation. [*] * this is a very simple expression of "darwinism," and will be enlarged later. the reader should ignore the occasional statement of non-scientific writers that darwinism is "dead" or superseded. the questions which are actually in dispute relate to the causes of the variation of the young from their parents, the magnitude of these variations' and the transmission of changes acquired by an animal during its own life. we shall see this more fully at a later stage. the importance of the environment as i have described it, is admitted by all schools. and the second guiding principle i wish to lay down in advance is that these great changes in the face of the earth, which explain the progress of organisms, may very largely be reduced to one simple agency--the battle of the land and the sea. when you gaze at some line of cliffs that is being eaten away by the waves, or reflect on the material carried out to sea by the flooded river, you are--paradoxical as it may seem--beholding a material process that has had a profound influence on the development of life. the archaean continent that we described was being reduced constantly by the wash of rain, the scouring of rivers, and the fretting of the waves on the coast. it is generally thought that these wearing agencies were more violent in early times, but that is disputed, and we will not build on it. in any case, in the course of time millions of tons of matter were scraped off the archaean continent and laid on the floor of the sea by its rivers. this meant a very serious alteration of pressure or weight on the surface of the globe, and was bound to entail a reaction or restoration of the balance. the rise of the land and formation of mountains used to be ascribed mainly to the cooling and shrinking of the globe of the earth. the skin (crust), it was thought, would become too large for the globe as it shrank, and would wrinkle outwards, or pucker up into mountain-chains. the position of our greater mountain-chains sprawling across half the earth (the pyrenees to the himalaya, and the rocky mountains to the andes), seems to confirm this, but the question of the interior of the earth is obscure and disputed, and geologists generally conceive the rise of land and formation of mountains in a different way. they are due probably to the alteration of pressure on the crust in combination with the instability of the interior. the floors of the seas would sink still lower under their colossal burdens, and this would cause some draining of the land-surface. at the same time the heavy pressure below the seas and the lessening of pressure over the land would provoke a reaction. enormous masses of rock would be forced toward and underneath the land-surface, bending, crumpling, and upheaving it as if its crust were but a leather coat. as a result, masses of land would slowly rise above the plain, to be shaped into hills and valleys by the hand of later time, and fresh surfaces would be dragged out of the deep, enlarging the fringes of the primitive continents, to be warped and crumpled in their turn at the next era of pressure. in point of geological fact, the story of the earth has been one prolonged series of changes in the level of land and water, and in their respective limits. these changes have usually been very gradual, but they have always entailed changes (in climate, etc. ) of the greatest significance in the evolution of life. what was the swampy soil of england in the carboniferous period is now sometimes thousands of feet beneath us; and what was the floor of a deep ocean over much of europe and asia at another time is now to be found on the slopes of lofty alps, or , feet above the sea-level in thibet. our story of terrestrial life will be, to a great extent, the story of how animals and plants changed their structure in the long series of changes which this endless battle of land and sea brought over the face of the earth. as we have no recognisable remains of the animals and plants of the earliest age, we will not linger over the archaean rocks. starting from deep and obscure masses of volcanic matter, the geologist, as he travels up the series of archaean rocks, can trace only a dim and most unsatisfactory picture of those remote times. between outpours of volcanic floods he finds, after a time, traces that an ocean and rivers are wearing away the land. he finds seams of carbon among the rocks of the second division of the archaean (the keewatin), and deduces from this that a dense sea-weed population already covered the floor of the ocean. in the next division (the huronian) he finds the traces of extensive ice-action strangely lying between masses of volcanic rock, and sees that thousands of square miles of eastern north america were then covered with an ice-sheet. then fresh floods of molten matter are poured out from the depths below; then the sea floods the land for a time; and at last it makes its final emergence as the first definitive part of the north american continent, to enlarge, by successive fringes, to the continent of to-day. [*] * i am quoting professor coleman's summary of archaean research in north america (address to the geological section of the british association, ). europe, as a continent, has had more "ups and downs" than america in the course of geological time. this meagre picture of the battle of land and sea, with interludes of great volcanic activity and even of an ice age, represents nearly all we know of the first half of the world's story from geology. it is especially disappointing in regard to the living population. the very few fossils we find in the upper archaean rocks are so similar to those we shall discuss in the next chapter that we may disregard them, and the seams of carbon-shales, iron-ore, and limestone, suggest only, at the most, that life was already abundant. we must turn elsewhere for some information on the origin and early development of life. the question of the origin of life i will dismiss with a brief account of the various speculations of recent students of science. broadly speaking, their views fall into three classes. some think that the germs of life may have come to the earth from some other body in the universe; some think that life was evolved out of non-living matter in the early ages of the earth, under exceptional conditions which we do not at present know, or can only dimly conjecture; and some think that life is being evolved from non-life in nature to-day, and always has been so evolving. the majority of scientific men merely assume that the earliest living things were no exception to the general process of evolution, but think that we have too little positive knowledge to speculate profitably on the manner of their origin. the first view, that the germs of life may have come to this planet on a meteoric visitor from some other world, as a storm-driven bird may take its parasites to some distant island, is not without adherents to-day. it was put forward long ago by lord kelvin and others; it has been revived by the distinguished swede, professor svante arrhenius. the scientific objection to it is that the more intense (ultra-violet) rays of the sun would frill such germs as they pass through space. but a broader objection, and one that may dispense us from dwelling on it, is that we gain nothing by throwing our problems upon another planet. we have no ground for supposing that the earth is less capable of evolving life than other planets. the second view is that, when the earth had passed through its white-hot stage, great masses of very complex chemicals, produced by the great heat, were found on its surface. there is one complex chemical substance in particular, called cyanogen, which is either an important constituent of living matter, or closely akin to it. now we need intense heat to produce this substance in the laboratory. may we not suppose that masses of it were produced during the incandescence of the earth, and that, when the waters descended, they passed through a series of changes which culminated in living plasm? such is the "cyanogen hypothesis" of the origin of life, advocated by able physiologists such as pfluger, verworn, and others. it has the merit of suggesting a reason why life may not be evolving from non-life in nature to-day, although it may have so evolved in the archaean period. other students suggest other combinations of carbon-compounds and water in the early days. some suggest that electric action was probably far more intense in those ages; others think that quantities of radium may have been left at the surface. but the most important of these speculations on the origin of life in early times, and one that has the merit of not assuming any essentially different conditions then than we find now, is contained in a recent pronouncement of one of the greatest organic chemists in europe, professor armstrong. he says that such great progress has been made in his science--the science of the chemical processes in living things--that "their cryptic character seems to have disappeared almost suddenly." on the strength of this new knowledge of living matter, he ventures to say that "a series of lucky accidents" could account for the first formation of living things out of non-living matter in archaean times. indeed, he goes further. he names certain inorganic substances, and says that the blowing of these into pools by the wind on the primitive planet would set afoot chemical combinations which would issue in the production of living matter. [*] * see his address in nature, vol. , p. . for other speculations see verworn's "general physiology," butler burke's "origin of life" ( ), and dr. bastian's "origin of life" ( ). it is evident that the popular notion that scientific men have declared that life cannot be evolved from non-life is very far astray. this blunder is usually due to a misunderstanding of the dogmatic statement which one often reads in scientific works that "every living thing comes from a living thing." this principle has no reference to remote ages, when the conditions may have been different. it means that to-day, within our experience, the living thing is always born of a living parent. however, even this is questioned by some scientific men of eminence, and we come to the third view. professor nageli, a distinguished botanist, and professor haeckel, maintain that our experience, as well as the range of our microscopes, is too limited to justify the current axiom. they believe that life may be evolving constantly from inorganic matter. professor j. a. thomson also warns us that our experience is very limited, and, for all we know, protoplasm may be forming naturally in our own time. mr. butler burke has, under the action of radium, caused the birth of certain minute specks which strangely imitate the behaviour of bacteria. dr. bastian has maintained for years that he has produced living things from non-living matter. in his latest experiments, described in the book quoted, purely inorganic matter is used, and it is previously subjected, in hermetically sealed tubes, to a heat greater than what has been found necessary to kill any germs whatever. evidently the problem of the origin of life is not hopeless, but our knowledge of the nature of living matter is still so imperfect that we may leave detailed speculation on its origin to a future generation. organic chemistry is making such strides that the day may not be far distant when living matter will be made by the chemist, and the secret of its origin revealed. for the present we must be content to choose the more plausible of the best-informed speculations on the subject. but while the origin of life is obscure, the early stages of its evolution come fairly within the range of our knowledge. to the inexpert it must seem strange that, whereas we must rely on pure speculation in attempting to trace the origin of life, we can speak with more confidence of those early developments of plants and animals which are equally buried in the mists of the archaean period. have we not said that nothing remains of the procession of organisms during half the earth's story but a shapeless seam of carbon or limestone? a simple illustration will serve to justify the procedure we are about to adopt. suppose that the whole of our literary and pictorial references to earlier stages in the development of the bicycle, the locomotive, or the loom, were destroyed. we should still be able to retrace the phases of their evolution, because we should discover specimens belonging to those early phases lingering in our museums, in backward regions, and elsewhere. they might yet be useful in certain environments into which the higher machines have not penetrated. in the same way, if all the remains of prehistoric man and early civilisation were lost, we could still fairly retrace the steps of the human race, by gathering the lower tribes and races, and arranging them in the order of their advancement. they are so many surviving illustrations of the stages through which mankind as a whole has passed. just in the same way we may marshal the countless species of animals and plants to-day in such order that they will, in a general way, exhibit to us the age-long procession of life. from the very start of living evolution certain forms dropped out of the onward march, and have remained, to our great instruction, what their ancestors were millions of years ago. people create a difficulty for themselves by imagining that, if evolution is true, all animals must evolve. a glance at our own fellows will show the error of this. of one family of human beings, as a french writer has said, one only becomes a napoleon; the others remain lucien, jerome, or joseph. of one family of animals or trees, some advance in one or other direction; some remain at the original level. there is no "law of progress." the accidents of the world and hereditary endowment impel some onward, and do not impel others. hence at nearly every great stage in the upward procession through the ages some regiment of plants or animals has dropped out, and it represents to-day the stage of life at which it ceased to progress. in other words, when we survey the line of the hundreds of thousands of species which we find in nature to-day, we can trace, amid their countless variations and branches, the line of organic evolution in the past; just as we could, from actual instances, study the evolution of a british house, from the prehistoric remains in devonshire to a mansion in park lane or a provincial castle. another method of retracing the lost early chapters in the development of life is furnished by embryology. the value of this method is not recognised by all embryologists, but there are now few authorities who question the substantial correctness of it, and we shall, as we proceed, see some remarkable applications of it. in brief, it is generally admitted that an animal or plant is apt to reproduce, during its embryonic development, some of the stages of its ancestry in past time. this does not mean that a higher animal, whose ancestors were at one time worms, at another time fishes, and at a later time reptiles, will successively take the form of a little worm, a little fish, and a little reptile. the embryonic life itself has been subject to evolution, and this reproduction of ancestral forms has been proportionately disturbed. still, we shall find that animals will tend, in their embryonic development, to reproduce various structural features which can only be understood as reminiscences of ancestral organs. in the lower animals the reproduction is much less disturbed than in the higher, but even in the case of man this law is most strikingly verified. we shall find it useful sometimes at least in confirming our conclusions as to the ancestry of a particular group. we have, therefore, two important clues to the missing chapters in the story of evolution. just as the scheme of the evolution of worlds is written broadly across the face of the heavens to-day, so the scheme of the evolution of life is written on the face of living nature; and it is written again, in blurred and broken characters, in the embryonic development of each individual. with these aids we set out to restore the lost beginning of the epic of organic evolution. chapter vi. the infancy of the earth the long archaean period, into which half the story of the earth is so unsatisfactorily packed, came to a close with a considerable uplift of the land. we have seen that the earth at times reaches critical stages owing to the transfer of millions of tons of matter from the land to the depths of the ocean, and the need to readjust the pressure on the crust. apparently this stage is reached at the end of the archaean, and a great rise of the land--probably protracted during hundreds of thousands of years--takes place. the shore-bottoms round the primitive continent are raised above the water, their rocks crumpling like plates of lead under the overpowering pressure. the sea retires with its inhabitants, mingling their various provinces, transforming their settled homes. a larger continent spans the northern ocean of the earth. in the shore-waters of this early continent are myriads of living things, representing all the great families of the animal world below the level of the fish and the insect. the mud and sand in which their frames are entombed, as they die, will one day be the "cambrian" rocks of the geologist, and reveal to him their forms and suggest their habits. no great volcanic age will reduce them to streaks of shapeless carbon. the earth now buries its dead, and from their petrified remains we conjure up a picture of the swarming life of the cambrian ocean. a strange, sluggish population burrows in the mud, crawls over the sand, adheres to the rocks, and swims among the thickets of sea-weed. the strangest and most formidable, though still too puny a thing to survive in a more strenuous age, is the familiar trilobite of the geological museum; a flattish animal with broad, round head, like a shovel, its back covered with a three-lobed shell, and a number of fine legs or swimmers below. it burrows in the loose bottom, or lies in it with its large compound eyes peeping out in search of prey. it is the chief representative of the hard-cased group (crustacea) which will later replace it with the lobster, the shrimp, the crab, and the water-flea. its remains form from a third to a fourth of all the buried cambrian skeletons. with it, swimming in the water, are smaller members of the same family, which come nearer to our familiar small crustacea. shell-fish are the next most conspicuous inhabitants. molluscs are already well represented, but the more numerous are the more elementary brachiopods ("lampshells"), which come next to the trilobites in number and variety. worms (or annelids) wind in and out of the mud, leaving their tracks and tubes for later ages. strange ball or cup-shaped little animals, with a hard frame, mounted on stony stalks and waving irregular arms to draw in the food-bearing water, are the earliest representatives of the echinoderms. some of these cystids will presently blossom into the wonderful sea-lily population of the next age, some are already quitting their stalks, to become the free-moving star-fish, of which a primitive specimen has been found in the later cambrian. large jelly-fishes (of which casts are preserved) swim in the water; coral-animals lay their rocky foundations, but do not as yet form reefs; coarse sponges rise from the floor; and myriads of tiny radiolaria and thalamophores, with shells of flint and lime, float at the surface or at various depths. this slight sketch of the cambrian population shows us that living things had already reached a high level of development. their story evidently goes back, for millions of years, deep into those mists of the archaean age which we were unable to penetrate. we turn therefore to the zoologist to learn what he can tell us of the origin and family-relations of these cambrian animals, and will afterwards see how they are climbing to higher levels under the eye of the geologist. at the basis of the living world of to-day is a vast population of minute, generally microscopic, animals and plants, which are popularly known as "microbes." each consists, in scientific language, of one cell. it is now well known that the bodies of the larger animals and plants are made up of millions of these units of living matter, or cells--the atoms of the organic world--and i need not enlarge on it. but even a single cell lends itself to infinite variety of shape, and we have to penetrate to the very lowest level of this luxuriant world of one-celled organisms to obtain some idea of the most primitive living things. properly speaking, there were no "first living things." it cannot be doubted by any student of nature that the microbe developed so gradually that it is as impossible to fix a precise term for the beginning of life as it is to say when the night ends and the day begins. in the course of time little one-celled living units appeared in the waters of the earth, whether in the shallow shore waters or on the surface of the deep is a matter of conjecture. we are justified in concluding that they were at least as rudimentary in structure and life as the lowest inhabitants of nature to-day. the distinction of being the lowest known living organisms should, i think, be awarded to certain one-celled vegetal organisms which are very common in nature. minute simple specks of living matter, sometimes less than the five-thousandth of an inch in diameter, these lowly algae are so numerous that it is they, in their millions, which cover moist surfaces with the familiar greenish or bluish coat. they have no visible organisation, though, naturally, they must have some kind of structure below the range of the microscope. their life consists in the absorption of food-particles, at any point of their surface, and in dividing into two living microbes, instead of dying, when their bulk increases. a very lowly branch of the bacteria (nitrobacteria) sometimes dispute their claim to the lowest position in the hierarchy of living nature, but there is reason to suspect that these bacteria may have degenerated from a higher level. here we have a convenient starting-point for the story of life, and may now trace the general lines of upward development. the first great principle to be recognised is the early division of these primitive organisms into two great classes, the moving and the stationary. the clue to this important divergence is found in diet. with exceptions on both sides, we find that the non-moving microbes generally feed on inorganic matter, which they convert into plasm; the moving microbes generally feed on ready-made plasm--on the living non-movers, on each other, or on particles of dead organic matter. now, inorganic food is generally diffused in the waters, so that the vegetal feeders have no incentive to develop mobility. on the other hand, the power to move in search of their food, which is not equally diffused, becomes a most important advantage to the feeders on other organisms. they therefore develop various means of locomotion. some flow or roll slowly along like tiny drops of oil on an inclined surface; others develop minute outgrowths of their substance, like fine hairs, which beat the water as oars do. some of them have one strong oar, like the gondolier (but in front of the boat); others have two or more oars; while some have their little flanks bristling with fine lashes, like the flanks of a roman galley. if we imagine this simple principle at work for ages among the primitive microbes, we understand the first great division of the living world, into plants and animals. there must have been a long series of earlier stages below the plant and animal. in fact, some writers insist that the first organisms were animal in nature, feeding on the more elementary stages of living matter. at last one type develops chlorophyll (the green matter in leaves), and is able to build up plasm out of inorganic matter; another type develops mobility, and becomes a parasite on the plant world. there is no rigid distinction of the two worlds. many microscopic plants move about just as animals do, and many animals live on fixed stalks; while many plants feed on organic matter. there is so little "difference of nature" between the plant and the animal that the experts differ in classifying some of these minute creatures. in fact, we shall often find plants and animals crossing the line of division. we shall find animals rooting themselves to the floor, like plants, though they will generally develop arms or streamers for bringing the food to them; and we shall find plants becoming insect-catchers. all this merely shows that the difference is a natural tendency, which special circumstances may overrule. it remains true that the great division of the organic world is due to a simple principle of development; difference of diet leads to difference of mobility. but this simple principle will have further consequences of a most important character. it will lead to the development of mind in one half of living nature and leave it undeveloped in the other. mind, as we know it in the lower levels of life, is not confined to the animal at all. many even of the higher plants are very delicately sensitive to stimulation, and at the lowest level many plants behave just like animals. in other words, this sensitiveness to stimuli, which is the first form of mind, is distributed according to mobility. to the motionless organism it is no advantage; to the pursuing and pursued organism it is an immense advantage, and is one of the chief qualities for natural selection to foster. for the moment, however, we must glance at the operation of this and other natural principles in the evolution of the one-celled animals and plants, which we take to represent the primitive population of the earth. as there are tens of thousands of different species even of "microbes," it is clear that we must deal with them in a very summary way. the evolution of the plant i reserve for a later chapter, and i must be content to suggest the development of one-celled animals on very broad lines. when some of the primitive cells began to feed on each other, and develop mobility, it is probable that at least two distinct types were evolved, corresponding to the two lowest animal organisms in nature to-day. one of these is a very minute and very common (in vases of decaying flowers, for instance) speck of plasm, which moves about by lashing the water with a single oar (flagellum), or hair-like extension of its substance. this type, however, which is known as the flagellate, may be derived from the next, which we will take as the primitive and fundamental animal type. it is best seen in the common and familiar amoeba, a minute sac of liquid or viscid plasm, often not more than a hundredth of an inch in diameter. as its "skin" is merely a finer kind of the viscous plasm, not an impenetrable membrane, it takes in food at any part of its surface, makes little "stomachs," or temporary cavities, round the food at any part of its interior, ejects the useless matter at any point, and thrusts out any part of its body as temporary "arms" or "feet." now it is plain that in an age of increasing microbic cannibalism the toughening of the skin would be one of the first advantages to secure survival, and this is, in point of fact, almost the second leading principle in early development. naturally, as the skin becomes firmer, the animal can no longer, like the amoeba, take food at, or make limbs of, any part of it. there must be permanent pores in the membrane to receive food or let out rays of the living substance to act as oars or arms. thus we get an immense variety amongst these protozoa, as the one-celled animals are called. some (the flagellates) have one or two stout oars; some (the ciliates) have numbers of fine hairs (or cilia). some have a definite mouth-funnel, but no stomach, and cilia drawing the water into it. some (vorticella, etc.), shrinking from the open battlefield, return to the plant-principle, live on stalks, and have wreaths of cilia round the open mouth drawing the water to them. some (the heliozoa) remain almost motionless, shooting out sticky rays of their matter on every side to catch the food. some form tubes to live in; some (coleps) develop horny plates for armour; and others develop projectiles to pierce their prey (stinging threads). this miniature world is full of evolutionary interest, but it is too vast for detailed study here. we will take one group, which we know to have been already developed in the cambrian, and let a study of its development stand for all. in every lecture or book on "the beauties of the microscope" we find, and are generally greatly puzzled by, minute shells of remarkable grace and beauty that are formed by some of these very elementary animals they are the radiolaria (with flinty shells, as a rule) and the thalamophora (with chalk frames). evolution furnishes a simple key to their remarkable structure. as we saw, one of the early requirements to be fostered by natural selection in the archaean struggle for life was a "thick skin," and the thick skin had to be porous to let the animal shoot out its viscid substance in rays and earn its living. this stage above the amoeba is beautifully illustrated in the sun-animalcules (heliozoa). now the lowest types of radiolaria are of this character. they have no shell or framework at all. the next stage is for the little animal to develop fine irregular threads of flint in its skin, a much better security against the animal-eater. these animalcules, it must be recollected, are bits of almost pure plasm, and, as they live in crowds, dividing and subdividing, but never dying, make excellent mouthfuls for a small feeder. those with the more flint in their skins were the more apt to survive and "breed." the threads of flint increase until they form a sort of thorn-thicket round a little social group, or a complete lattice round an individual body. next, spikes or spines jut out from the lattice, partly for additional protection, partly to keep the little body afloat at the surface of the sea. in this way we get a bewildering variety and increasing complexity of forms, ascending in four divergent lines from the naked ancestral type to the extreme grace and intricacy of the calocyclas monumentum or the lychnaspis miranda. these, however, are rare specimens in the species of radiolaria. i have hundreds of them, on microscopic slides, which have no beauty and little regularity of form. we see a gradual evolution, on utilitarian principles, as we run over the thousands of forms; and, when we recollect the inconceivable numbers in which these little animals have lived and struggled for life--passively--during tens of millions of years, we are not surprised at the elaborate protective frames of the higher types. the thalamophores, the sister-group of one-celled animals which largely compose our chalk and much of our limestone, are developed on the same principle. the earlier forms seem to have lived in a part of the ocean where silica was scarce, and they absorbed and built their protective frames of lime. in the simpler types the frame is not unlike a wide-necked bottle, turned upside-down. in later forms it takes the shape of a spirally coiled series of chambers, sometimes amounting to several thousand. these wonderful little houses are not difficult to understand. the original tiny animal covers itself with a coat of lime. it feeds, grows, and bulges out of its chamber. the new part of its flesh must have a fresh coat, and the process goes on until scores, or hundreds, or even thousands, of these tiny chambers make up the spiral shell of the morsel of living matter. with this brief indication of the mechanical principles which have directed the evolution of two of the most remarkable groups of the one-celled animals we must be content, or the dimensions of this volume will not enable us even to reach the higher and more interesting types. we must advance at once to the larger animals, whose bodies are composed of myriads of cells. the social tendency which pervades the animal world, and the evident use of that tendency, prepare us to understand that the primitive microbes would naturally come in time to live in clusters. union means effectiveness in many ways, even when it does not mean strength. we have still many loose associations of one-celled animals in nature, illustrating the approach to a community life. numbers of the protozoa are social; they live either in a common jelly-like matrix, or on a common stalk. in fact, we have a singularly instructive illustration of the process in the evolution of the sponges. it is well known that the horny texture to which we commonly give the name of sponge is the former tenement and shelter of a colony of one-celled animals, which are the real sponges. in other groups the structure is of lime; in others, again, of flinty material. now, the sponges, as we have them to-day, are so varied, and start from so low a level, that no other group of animals "illustrates so strikingly the theory of evolution," as professor minchin says. we begin with colonies in which the individuals are (as in proterospongia) irregularly distributed in their jelly-like common bed, each animal lashing the water, as stalked flagellates do, and bringing the food to it. such a colony would be admirable food for an early carnivore, and we soon find the protective principle making it less pleasant for the devourer. the first stage may be--at least there are such sponges even now--that the common bed is strewn or sown with the cast shells of radiolaria. however that may be, the sponges soon begin to absorb the silica or lime of the sea-water, and deposit it in needles or fragments in their bed. the deposit goes on until at last an elaborate framework of thorny, or limy, or flinty material is constructed by the one-celled citizens. in the higher types a system of pores or canals lets the food-bearing water pass through, as the animals draw it in with their lashes; in the highest types the animals come still closer together, lining the walls of little chambers in the interior. here we have a very clear evolutionary transition from the solitary microbe to a higher level, but, unfortunately, it does not take us far. the sponges are a side-issue, or cul de sac, from the protozoic world, and do not lead on to the higher. each one-celled unit remains an animal; it is a colony of unicellulars, not a many-celled body. we may admire it as an instructive approach toward the formation of a many-celled body, but we must look elsewhere for the true upward advance. the next stage is best illustrated in certain spherical colonies of cells like the tiny green volvox (now generally regarded as vegetal) of our ponds, or magosphoera. here the constituent cells merge their individuality in the common action. we have the first definite many-celled body. it is the type to which a moving close colony of one-celled microbes would soon come. the round surface is well adapted for rolling or spinning along in the water, and, as each little cell earns its own living, it must be at the surface, in contact with the water. thus a hollow, or fluid-filled, little sphere, like the volvox, is the natural connecting-link between the microbe and the many-celled body, and may be taken to represent the first important stage in its development. the next important stage is also very clearly exhibited in nature, and is more or less clearly reproduced in the embryonic development of all animals. we may imagine that the age of microbes was succeeded by an age of these many-celled larger bodies, and the struggle for life entered upon a new phase. the great principle we have already recognised came into play once more. large numbers of the many-celled bodies shrank from the field of battle, and adopted the method of the plant. they rooted themselves to the floor of the ocean, and developed long arms or lashes for creating a whirlpool movement in the water, and thus bringing the food into their open mouths. forfeiting mobility, they have, like the plant, forfeited the greater possibilities of progress, and they remain flowering to-day on the floors of our waters, recalling the next phase in the evolution of early life. such are the hydra, the polyp, the coral, and the sea-anemone. it is not singular that earlier observers could not detect that they were animals, and they were long known in science as "animal-plants" (zoophytes). when we look to the common structure of these animals, to find the ancestral type, we must ignore the nerve and muscle-cells which they have developed in some degree. fundamentally, their body consists of a pouch, with an open mouth, the sides of the pouch consisting of a double layer of cells. in this we have a clue to the next stage of animal development. take a soft india-rubber ball to represent the first many-celled animal. press in one half of the ball close upon the other, narrow the mouth, and you have something like the body-structure of the coral and hydra. as this is the course of embryonic development, and as it is so well retained in the lowest groups of the many-celled animals, we take it to be the next stage. the reason for it will become clear on reflection. division of labour naturally takes place in a colony, and in that way certain cells in the primitive body were confined to the work of digestion. it would be an obvious advantage for these to retire into the interior, leaving the whole external surface free for the adjustment of the animal's relations to the outer world. again we must refrain from following in detail the development of this new world of life which branches off in the archaean ocean. the evolution of the corals alone would be a lengthy and interesting story. but a word must be said about the jelly-fish, partly because the inexpert will be puzzled at the inclusion of so active an animal, and partly because its story admirably illustrates the principle we are studying. the medusa really descends from one of the plant-like animals of the early archaean period, but it has abandoned the ancestral stalk, turned upside down, and developed muscular swimming organs. its past is betrayed in its embryonic development. as a rule the germ develops into a stalked polyp, out of which the free-swimming medusa is formed. this return to active and free life must have occurred early, as we find casts of large medusae in the cambrian beds. in complete harmony with the principle we laid down, the jelly-fish has gained in nerve and sensitiveness in proportion to its return to an active career. but this principle is best illustrated in the other branch of the early many-celled animals, which continued to move about in search of food. here, as will be expected, we have the main stem of the animal world, and, although the successive stages of development are obscure, certain broad lines that it followed are clear and interesting. it is evident that in a swarming population of such animals the most valuable qualities will be speed and perception. the sluggish coral needs only sensitiveness enough, and mobility enough, to shrink behind its protecting scales at the approach of danger. in the open water the most speedy and most sensitive will be apt to escape destruction, and have the larger share in breeding the next generation. imagine a selection on this principle going on for millions of years, and the general result can be conjectured. a very interesting analogy is found in the evolution of the boat. from the clumsy hollowed tree of neolithic man natural selection, or the need of increasing speed, has developed the elongated, evenly balanced modern boat, with its distinct stem and stern. so in the archaean ocean the struggle to overtake food, or escape feeders, evolved an elongated two-sided body, with head and tail, and with the oars (cilia) of the one-celled ancestor spread thickly along its flanks. in other words, a body akin to that of the lower water-worms would be the natural result; and this is, in point of fact, the next stage we find in the hierarchy of living nature. probably myriads of different types of this worm-like organisation were developed, but such animals leave no trace in the rocks, and we can only follow the development by broad analogies. the lowest flat-worms of to-day may represent some of these early types, and as we ascend the scale of what is loosely called "worm" organisation, we get some instructive suggestions of the way in which the various organs develop. division of labour continues among the colony of cells which make up the body, and we get distinct nerve-cells, muscle-cells, and digestive cells. the nerve-cells are most useful at the head of an organism which moves through the water, just as the look-out peers from the head of the ship, and there they develop most thickly. by a fresh division of labour some of these cells become especially sensitive to light, some to the chemical qualities of matter, some to movements of the water; we have the beginning of the eyes, the nose, and the ears, as simple little depressions in the skin of the head, lined with these sensitive cells. a muscular gullet arises to protect the digestive tube; a simple drainage channel for waste matter forms under the skin; other channels permit the passage of the fluid food, become (in the higher worms) muscular blood-vessels, and begin to contract--somewhat erratically at first--and drive the blood through the system. here, perhaps, are millions of years of development compressed into a paragraph. but the purpose of this work is chiefly to describe the material record of the advance of life in the earth's strata, and show how it is related to great geological changes. we must therefore abstain from endeavouring to trace the genealogy of the innumerable types of animals which were, until recently, collected in zoology under the heading "worms." it is more pertinent to inquire how the higher classes of animals, which we found in the cambrian seas, can have arisen from this primitive worm-like population. the struggle for life in the archaean ocean would become keener and more exacting with the appearance of each new and more effective type. that is a familiar principle in our industrial world to-day, and we shall find it illustrated throughout our story. we therefore find the various processes of evolution, which we have already seen, now actively at work among the swarming archaean population, and producing several very distinct types. in some of these struggling organisms speed is developed, together with offensive and defensive weapons, and a line slowly ascends toward the fish, which we will consider later. in others defensive armour is chiefly developed, and we get the lines of the heavy sluggish shell-fish, the molluscs and brachiopods, and, by a later compromise between speed and armour, the more active tough-coated arthropods. in others the plant-principle reappears; the worm-like creature retires from the free-moving life, attaches itself to a fixed base, and becomes the bryozoan or the echinoderm. to trace the development of these types in any detail is impossible. the early remains are not preserved. but some clues are found in nature or in embryonic development, and, when the types do begin to be preserved in the rocks, we find the process of evolution plainly at work in them. we will therefore say a few words about the general evolution of each type, and then return to the geological record in the cambrian rocks. the starfish, the most familiar representative of the echinoderms, seems very far removed from the kind of worm-like ancestor we have been imagining, but, fortunately, the very interesting story of the starfish is easily learned from the geological chronicle. reflect on the flower-like expansion of its arms, and then imagine it mounted on a stalk, mouth side upward, with those arms--more tapering than they now are--waving round the mouth. that, apparently, was the past of the starfish and its cousins. we shall see that the earliest echinoderms we know are cup-shaped structures on stalks, with a stiff, limy frame and (as in all sessile animals) a number of waving arms round the mouth. in the next geological age the stalk will become a long and flexible arrangement of muscles and plates of chalk, the cup will be more perfectly compacted of chalky plates, and the five arms will taper and branch until they have an almost feathery appearance; and the animal will be considered a "sea-lily" by the early geologist. the evidence suggests that both the free-moving and the stalked echinoderms descend from a common stalked archaean ancestor. some primitive animal abandoned the worm-like habit, and attached itself, like a polyp, to the floor. like all such sessile animals, it developed a wreath of arms round the open mouth. the "sea-cucumber" (holothurian) seems to be a type that left the stalk, retaining the little wreath of arms, before the body was heavily protected and deformed. in the others a strong limy skeleton was developed, and the nerves and other organs were modified in adaptation to the bud-like or flower-like structure. another branch of the family then abandoned the stalk, and, spreading its arms flat, and gradually developing in them numbers of little "feet" (water-tubes), became the starfish. in the living comatula we find a star passing through the stalked stage in its early development, when it looks like a tiny sea-lily. the sea-urchin has evolved from the star by folding the arms into a ball. [*] * see the section on echinoderms, by professor macbride, in the "cambridge natural history," i. the bryozoa (sea-mats, etc.) are another and lower branch of the primitive active organisms which have adopted a sessile life. in the shell-fish, on the other hand, the principle of armour-plating has its greatest development. it is assuredly a long and obscure way that leads from the ancestral type of animal we have been describing to the headless and shapeless mussel or oyster. such a degeneration is, however, precisely what we should expect to find in the circumstances. indeed, the larva, of many of the headless molluscs have a mouth and eyes, and there is a very common type of larva--the trochosphere--in the mollusc world which approaches the earlier form of some of the higher worms. the molluscs, as we shall see, provide some admirable illustrations of the process of evolution. in some of the later fossilised specimens (planorbis, paludina, etc.) we can trace the animal as it gradually passes from one species to another. the freshening of the caspian sea, which was an outlying part of the mediterranean quite late in the geological record, seems to have evolved several new genera of molluscs. although, therefore, the remains are not preserved of those primitive molluscs in which we might see the protecting shell gradually thickening, and deforming the worm-like body, we are not without indications of the process. two unequal branches of the early wormlike organisms shrank into strong protective shells. the lower branch became the brachiopods; the more advanced branch the molluscs. in the mollusc world, in turn, there are several early types developed. in the pelecypods (or lamellibranchs--the mussel, oyster, etc.) the animal retires wholly within its fortress, and degenerates. the gastropods (snails, etc.) compromise, and retain a certain amount of freedom, so that they degenerate less. the highest group, the cephalopods, "keep their heads," in the literal sense, and we shall find them advancing from form to form until, in the octopus of a later age, they discard the ancestral shell, and become the aristocrats of the mollusc kingdom. the last and most important line that led upward from the chaos of archaean worms is that of the arthropods. its early characteristic was the acquisition of a chitinous coat over the body. embryonic indications show that this was at first a continuous shield, but a type arose in which the coat broke into sections covering each segment of the body, giving greater freedom of movement. the shield, in fact, became a fine coat of mail. the trilobite is an early and imperfect experiment of the class, and the larva of the modern king-crab bears witness that it has not perished without leaving descendants. how later crustacea increase the toughness of the coat by deposits of lime, and lead on to the crab and lobster, and how one early branch invades the land, develops air-breathing apparatus, and culminates in the spiders and insects, will be considered later. we shall see that there is most remarkable evidence connecting the highest of the arthropods, the insect, with a remote annelid ancestor. we are thus not entirely without clues to the origin of the more advanced animals we find when the fuller geological record begins. further embryological study, and possibly the discovery of surviving primitive forms, of which central africa may yet yield a number, may enlarge our knowledge, but it is likely to remain very imperfect. the fossil records of the long ages during which the mollusc, the crustacean, and the echinoderm slowly assumed their characteristic forms are hopelessly lost. but we are now prepared to return to the record which survives, and we shall find the remaining story of the earth a very ample and interesting chronicle of evolution. chapter vii. the passage to the land slender as our knowledge is of the earlier evolution of the invertebrate animals, we return to our cambrian population with greater interest. the uncouth trilobite and its livelier cousins, the sluggish, skulking brachiopod and mollusc, the squirming annelids, and the plant-like cystids, corals, and sponges are the outcome of millions of years of struggle. just as men, when their culture and their warfare advanced, clothed themselves with armour, and the most completely mailed survived the battle, so, generation after generation, the thicker and harder-skinned animals survived in the archaean battlefield, and the cambrian age opened upon the various fashions of armour that we there described. but, although half the story of life is over, organisation is still imperfect and sluggish. we have now to see how it advances to higher levels, and how the drama is transferred from the ocean to a new and more stimulating environment. the cambrian age begins with a vigorous move on the part of the land. the seas roll back from the shores of the "lost atlantis," and vast regions are laid bare to the sun and the rains. in the bays and hollows of the distant shores the animal survivors of the great upheaval adapt themselves to their fresh homes and continue the struggle. but the rivers and the waves are at work once more upon the land, and, as the cambrian age proceeds, the fringes of the continents are sheared, and the shore-life steadily advances upon the low-lying land. by the end of the cambrian age a very large proportion of the land is covered with a shallow sea, in which the debris of its surface is deposited. the levelling continues through the next (ordovician) period. before its close nearly the whole of the united states and the greater part of canada are under water, and the new land that had appeared on the site of europe is also for the most part submerged. the present british isles are almost reduced to a strip of north-eastern ireland, the northern extremity of scotland, and large islands in the south-west and centre of england. we have already seen that these victories of the sea are just as stimulating, in a different way, to animals as the victories of the land. american geologists are tracing, in a very instructive way, the effect on that early population of the encroachment of the sea. in each arm of the sea is a distinctive fauna. life is still very parochial; the great cosmopolitans, the fishes, have not yet arrived. as the land is revelled, the arms of the sea approach each other, and at last mingle their waters and their populations, with stimulating effect. provincial characters are modified, and cosmopolitan characters increase in the great central sea of america. the vast shallow waters provide a greatly enlarged theatre for the life of the time, and it flourishes enormously. then, at the end of the ordovician, the land begins to rise once more. whether it was due to a fresh shrinking of the crust, or to the simple process we have described, or both, we need not attempt to determine; but both in europe and america there is a great emergence of land. the shore-tracts and the shallow water are narrowed, the struggle is intensified in them, and we pass into the silurian age with a greatly reduced number but more advanced variety of animals. in the silurian age the sea advances once more, and the shore-waters expand. there is another great "expansive evolution" of life. but the silurian age closes with a fresh and very extensive emergence of the land, and this time it will have the most important consequences. for two new things have meantime appeared on the earth. the fish has evolved in the waters, and the plant, at least, has found a footing on the land. these geological changes which we have summarised and which have been too little noticed until recently in evolutionary studies, occupied , , years, on the lowest estimate, and probably twice that period. the impatient critic of evolutionary hypotheses is apt to forget the length of these early periods. we shall see that in the last two or three million years of the earth's story most extraordinary progress has been made in plant and animal development, and can be very fairly traced. how much advance should we allow for these seven or fourteen million years of swarming life and changing environments? we cannot nearly cover the whole ground of paleontology for the period, and must be content to notice some of the more interesting advances, and then deal more fully with the evolution of the fish, the forerunner of the great land animals. the trilobite was the most arresting figure in the cambrian sea, and its fortunes deserve a paragraph. it reaches its climax in the ordovician sea, and then begins to decline, as more powerful animals come upon the scene. at first (apparently) an eyeless organism, it gradually develops compound eyes, and in some species the experts have calculated that there were , facets to each eye. as time goes on, also, the eye stands out from the head on a kind of stalk, giving a wider range of vision. some of the more sluggish species seem to have been able to roll themselves up, like hedgehogs, in their shells, when an enemy approached. but another branch of the same group (crustacea) has meantime advanced, and it gradually supersedes the dwindling trilobites. toward the close of the silurian great scorpion-like crustaceans (pterygotus, eurypterus, etc.) make their appearance. their development is obscure, but it must be remembered that the rocks only give the record of shore-life, and only a part of that is as yet opened by geology. some experts think that they were developed in inland waters. reaching sometimes a length of five or six feet, with two large compound eyes and some smaller eye-spots (ocelli), they must have been the giants of the silurian ocean until the great sharks and other fishes appeared. the quaint stalked echinoderm which also we noticed in the cambrian shallows has now evolved into a more handsome creature, the sea-lily. the cup-shaped body is now composed of a large number of limy plates, clothed with flesh; the arms are long, tapering, symmetrical, and richly fringed; the stalk advances higher and higher, until the flower-like animal sometimes waves its feathery arms from the top of a flexible pedestal composed of millions of tiny chalk disks. small forests of these sea-lilies adorn the floor of the silurian ocean, and their broken and dead frames form whole beds of limestone. the primitive cystids dwindle and die out in the presence of such powerful competitors. of species only a dozen linger in the silurian strata, though a new and more advanced type--the blastoid--holds the field for a time. it is the age of the crinoids or sea-lilies. the starfish, which has abandoned the stalk, does not seem to prosper as yet, and the brittle-star appears. their age will come later. no sea-urchins or sea-cucumbers (which would hardly be preserved) are found as yet. it is precisely the order of appearance which our theory of their evolution demands. the brachiopods have passed into entirely new and more advanced species in the many advances and retreats of the shores, but the molluscs show more interesting progress. the commanding group from the start is that of the molluscs which have "kept their head," the cephalopods, and their large shells show a most instructive evolution. the first great representative of the tribe is a straight-shelled cephalopod, which becomes "the tyrant and scavenger of the silurian ocean" (chamberlin). its tapering, conical shell sometimes runs to a length of fifteen feet, and a diameter of one foot. it would of itself be an important evolutionary factor in the primitive seas, and might explain more than one advance in protective armour or retreat into heavy shells. as the period advances the shell begins to curve, and at last it forms a close spiral coil. this would be so great an advantage that we are not surprised to find the coiled type (goniatites) gain upon and gradually replace the straight-shelled types (orthoceratites). the silurian ocean swarms with these great shelled cephalopods, of which the little nautilus is now the only survivor. we will not enlarge on the sponges and corals, which are slowly advancing toward the higher modern types. two new and very powerful organisms have appeared, and merit the closest attention. one is the fish, the remote ancestor of the birds and mammals that will one day rule the earth. the other may be the ancestor of the fish itself, or it may be one of the many abortive outcomes and unsuccessful experiments of the stirring life of the time. and while these new types are themselves a result of the great and stimulating changes which we have reviewed and the incessant struggle for food and safety, they in turn enormously quicken the pace of development. the dreadnought appears in the primitive seas; the effect on the fleets of the world of the evolution of our latest type of battleship gives us a faint idea of the effect, on all the moving population, of the coming of these monsters of the deep. the age had not lacked incentives to progress; it now obtains a more terrible and far-reaching stimulus. to understand the situation let us see how the battle of land and sea had proceeded. the devonian period had opened with a fresh emergence of the land, especially in europe, and great inland seas or lakes were left in the hollows. the tincture of iron which gives a red colour to our characteristic devonian rocks, the old red sandstone, shows us that the sand was deposited in inland waters. the fish had already been developed, and the devonian rocks show it swarming, in great numbers and variety, in the enclosed seas and round the fringe of the continents. the first generation was a group of strange creatures, half fish and half crustacean, which are known as the ostracoderms. they had large armour-plated heads, which recall the trilobite, and suggest that they too burrowed in the mud of the sea or (as many think) of the inland lakes, making havoc among the shell-fish, worms, and small crustacea. the hind-part of their bodies was remarkably fish-like in structure. but they had no backbone--though we cannot say whether they may not have had a rod of cartilage along the back--and no articulated jaws like the fish. some regard them as a connecting link between the crustacea and the fishes, but the general feeling is that they were an abortive development in the direction of the fish. the sharks and other large fishes, which have appeared in the silurian, easily displace these clumsy and poor-mouthed competitors one almost thinks of the aeroplane superseding the navigable balloon. of the fishes the arthrodirans dominated the inland seas (apparently), while the sharks commanded the ocean. one of the arthrodirans, the dinichthys ("terrible fish"), is the most formidable fish known to science. it measured twenty feet from snout to tail. its monstrous head, three feet in width, was heavily armoured, and, instead of teeth, its great jaws, two feet in length, were sharpened, and closed over the victim like a gigantic pair of clippers. the strongly plated heads of these fishes were commonly a foot or two feet in width. life in the waters became more exacting than ever. but the arthrodirans were unwieldy and sluggish, and had to give way before more progressive types. the toothed shark gradually became the lord of the waters. the early shark ate, amongst other things, quantities of molluscs and brachiopods. possibly he began with crustacea; in any case the practice of crunching shellfish led to a stronger and stronger development of the hard plate which lined his mouth. the prickles of the plate grew larger and harder, until--as may be seen to-day in the mouth of a young shark--the cavity was lined with teeth. in the bulk of the devonian sharks these developed into what are significantly called "pavement teeth." they were solid plates of enamel, an inch or an inch and a half in width, with which the monster ground its enormous meals of molluscs, crustacea, sea-weed, etc. a new and stimulating element had come into the life of the invertebrate world. other sharks snapped larger victims, and developed the teeth on the edges of their jaws, to the sacrifice of the others, until we find these teeth in the course of time solid triangular masses of enamel, four or five inches long, with saw-like edges. imagine these terrible mouths--the shears of the arthrodiran, and the grindstones and terrible crescents of the giant sharks--moving speedily amongst the crowded inhabitants of the waters, and it is easy to see what a stimulus to the attainment of speed and of protective devices was given to the whole world of the time. what was the origin of the fish? here we are in much the same position as we were in regard to the origin of the higher invertebrates. once the fish plainly appears upon the scene it is found to be undergoing a process of evolution like all other animals. the vast majority of our fishes have bony frames (or are teleosts); the fishes of the devonian age nearly all have frames of cartilage, and we know from embryonic development that cartilage is the first stage in the formation of bone. in the teeth and tails, also, we find a gradual evolution toward the higher types. but the earlier record is, for reasons i have already given, obscure; and as my purpose is rather to discover the agencies of evolution than to strain slender evidence in drawing up pedigrees, i need only make brief reference to the state of the problem. until comparatively recent times the animal world fell into two clearly distinct halves, the vertebrates and the invertebrates. there were several anatomical differences between the two provinces, but the most conspicuous and most puzzling was the backbone. nowhere in living nature or in the rocks was any intermediate type known between the backboned and the non-backboned animal. in the course of the nineteenth century, however, several animals of an intermediate type were found. the sea-squirt has in its early youth the line of cartilage through the body which, in embryonic development, represents the first stage of the backbone; the lancelet and the appendicularia have a rod of cartilage throughout life; the "acorn-headed worm" shows traces of it. these are regarded as surviving specimens of various groups of animals which, in early times, fell between the invertebrate and vertebrate worlds, and illustrate the transition. with their aid a genealogical tree was constructed for the fish. it was assumed that some cambrian or silurian annelid obtained this stiffening rod of cartilage. the next advantage--we have seen it in many cases--was to combine flexibility with support. the rod was divided into connected sections (vertebrae), and hardened into bone. besides stiffening the body, it provided a valuable shelter for the spinal cord, and its upper part expanded into a box to enclose the brain. the fins were formed of folds of skin which were thrown off at the sides and on the back, as the animal wriggled through the water. they were of use in swimming, and sections of them were stiffened with rods of cartilage, and became the pairs of fins. gill slits (as in some of the highest worms) appeared in the throat, the mouth was improved by the formation of jaws, and--the worm culminated in the shark. some experts think, however, that the fish developed directly from a crustacean, and hold that the ostracoderms are the connecting link. a close discussion of the anatomical details would be out of place here, [*] and the question remains open for the present. directly or indirectly, the fish is a descendant of some archaean annelid. it is most probable that the shark was the first true fish-type. there are unrecognisable fragments of fishes in the ordovician and silurian rocks, but the first complete skeletons (lanarkia, etc.) are of small shark- like creatures, and the low organisation of the group to which the shark belongs, the elasmobranchs, makes it probable that they are the most primitive. other remains (palaeospondylus) show that the fish-like lampreys had already developed. * see, especially, dr. gaskell's "origin of vertebrates" ( ). two groups were developed from the primitive fish, which have great interest for us. our next step, in fact, is to trace the passage of the fish from the water to the land, one of the most momentous chapters in the story of life. to that incident or accident of primitive life we owe our own existence and the whole development of the higher types of animals. the advance of natural history in modern times has made this passage to the land easy to understand. not only does every frog reenact it in the course of its development, but we know many fishes that can live out of water. there is an indian perch--called the "climbing perch," but it has only once been seen by a european to climb a tree--which crosses the fields in search of another pool, when its own pool is evaporating. an indian marine fish (periophthalmus) remains hunting on the shore when the tide goes out. more important still, several fishes have lungs as well as gills. the ceratodus of certain queensland rivers has one lung; though, i was told by the experts in queensland, it is not a "mud-fish," and never lives in dry mud. however, the protopterus of africa and the lepidosiren of south america have two lungs, as well as gills, and can live either in water or, in the dry season, on land. when the skeletons of fishes of the ceratodus type were discovered in the devonian rocks, it was felt that we had found the fish-ancestor of the land vertebrates, but a closer anatomical examination has made this doubtful. the devonian lung-fish has characters which do not seem to lead on to the amphibia. the same general cause probably led many groups to leave the water, or adapt themselves to living on land as well as in water, and the abundant dipoi or dipneusts ("double-breathers") of the devonian lakes are one of the chief of these groups, which have luckily left descendants to our time. the ancestors of the amphibia are generally sought amongst the crossopterygii, a very large group of fishes in devonian times, with very few representatives to-day. it is more profitable to investigate the process itself than to make a precarious search for the actual fish, and, fortunately, this inquiry is more hopeful. the remains that we find make it probable that the fish left the water about the beginning of the devonian or the end of the silurian. now this period coincides with two circumstances which throw a complete light on the step; one is the great rise of the land, catching myriads of fishes in enclosed inland seas, and the other is the appearance of formidable carnivores in the waters. as the seas evaporated [*] and the great carnage proceeded, the land, which was already covered with plants and inhabited by insects, offered a safe retreat for such as could adopt it. emigration to the land had been going on for ages, as we shall see. curious as it must seem to the inexpert, the fishes, or some of them, were better prepared than most other animals to leave the water. the chief requirement was a lung, or interior bag, by which the air could be brought into close contact with the absorbing blood vessels. such a bag, broadly speaking, most of the fishes possess in their floating-bladder: a bag of gas, by compressing or expanding which they alter their specific gravity in the water. in some fishes it is double; in some it is supplied with blood-vessels; in some it is connected by a tube with the gullet, and therefore with the atmosphere. * it is now usually thought that the inland seas were the theatre of the passage to land. i must point out, however, that the wide distribution of our dipneusts, in australia, tropical africa, and south america, suggests that they were marine though they now live in fresh water. but we shall see that a continent united the three regions at one time, and it may afford some explanation. thus we get very clear suggestions of the transition from water to land. we must, of course, conceive it as a slow and gradual adaptation. at first there may have been a rough contrivance for deriving oxygen directly and partially from the atmosphere, as the water of the lake became impure. so important an advantage would be fostered, and, as the inland sea became smaller, or its population larger or fiercer, the fishes with a sufficiently developed air-breathing apparatus passed to the land, where, as yet, they would find no serious enemy. the fact is beyond dispute; the theory of how it occurred is plausible enough; the consequences were momentous. great changes were preparing on the land, and in a comparatively short time we shall find its new inhabitant subjected to a fierce test of circumstances that will carry it to an enormously higher level than life had yet reached. i have said that the fact of this transition to the land is beyond dispute. the evidence is very varied, but need not all be enlarged upon here. the widespread dipneust fishes of the devonian rocks bear strong witness to it, and the appearance of the amphibian immediately afterwards makes it certain. the development of the frog is a reminiscence of it, on the lines of the embryonic law which we saw earlier. an animal, in its individual development, more or less reproduces the past phases of its ancestry. so the free-swimming jelly-fish begins life as a fixed polyp; a kind of star-fish (comatula) opens its career as a stalked sea-lily; the gorgeous dragon-fly is at first an uncouth aquatic animal, and the ethereal butterfly a worm-like creature. but the most singular and instructive of all these embryonic reminiscences of the past is found in the fact that all the higher land-animals of to-day clearly reproduce a fish-stage in their embryonic development. in the third and fourth weeks of development the human embryo shows four (closed) slits under the head, with corresponding arches. the bird, the dog, the horse--all the higher land animals, in a word, pass through the same phase. the suggestion has been made that these structures do not recall the gill-slits and gill-arches of the fish, but are folds due to the packing of the embryo in the womb. in point of fact, they appear just at the time when the human embryo is only a fifth of an inch long, and there is no such compression. but all doubt as to their interpretation is dispelled when we remove the skin and examine the heart and blood-vessels. the heart is up in the throat, as in the fish, and has only two chambers, as in the fish (not four, as in the bird and mammal); and the arteries rise in five pairs of arches over the swellings in the throat, as they do in the lower fish, but do not in the bird and mammal. the arrangement is purely temporary--lasting only a couple of weeks in the human embryo--and purposeless. half these arteries will disappear again. they quite plainly exist to supply fine blood-vessels for breathing at the gill-clefts, and are never used, for the embryo does not breathe, except through the mother. they are a most instructive reminder of the devonian fish which quitted its element and became the ancestor of all the birds and mammals of a later age. several other features of man's embryonic development--the budding of the hind limbs high up, instead of at the base of, the vertebral column, the development of the ears, the nose, the jaws, etc.--have the same lesson, but the one detailed illustration will suffice. the millions of years of stimulating change and struggle which we have summarised have resulted in the production of a fish which walks on four limbs (as the south american mud-fish does to-day), and breathes the atmosphere. we have been quite unable to follow the vast changes which have meantime taken place in its organisation. the eyes, which were mere pits in the skin, lined with pigment cells, in the early worm, now have a crystalline lens to concentrate the light and define objects on the nerve. the ears, which were at first similar sensitive pits in the skin, on which lay a little stone whose movements gave the animal some sense of direction, are now closed vesicles in the skull, and begin to be sensitive to waves of sound. the nose, which was at first two blind, sensitive pits in the skin of the head, now consists of two nostrils opening into the mouth, with an olfactory nerve spreading richly over the passages. the brain, which was a mere clump of nerve-cells connecting the rough sense-impressions, is now a large and intricate structure, and already exhibits a little of that important region (the cerebrum) in which the varied images of the outside world are combined. the heart, which was formerly was a mere swelling of a part of one of the blood-vessels, now has two chambers. we cannot pursue these detailed improvements of the mechanism, as we might, through the ascending types of animals. enough if we see more or less clearly how the changes in the face of the earth and the rise of its successive dynasties of carnivores have stimulated living things to higher and higher levels in the primitive ocean. we pass to the clearer and far more important story of life on land, pursuing the fish through its continuous adaptations to new conditions until, throwing out side-branches as it progresses, it reaches the height of bird and mammal life. chapter viii. the coal-forest with the beginning of life on land we open a new and more important volume of the story of life, and we may take the opportunity to make clearer certain principles or processes of development which we may seem hitherto to have taken for granted. the evolutionary work is too often a mere superficial description of the strange and advancing classes of plants and animals which cross the stage of geology. why they change and advance is not explained. i have endeavoured to supply this explanation by putting the successive populations of the earth in their respective environments, and showing the continuous and stimulating effect on them of changes in those environments. we have thus learned to decipher some lines of the decalogue of living nature. "thou shalt have a thick armour," "thou shalt be speedy," "thou shalt shelter from the more powerful," are some of the laws of primeval life. the appearance of each higher and more destructive type enforces them with more severity; and in their observance animals branch outward and upward into myriads of temporary or permanent forms. but there is no consciousness of law and no idea of evading danger. there is not even some mysterious instinct "telling" the animal, as it used to be said, to do certain things. it is, in fact, not strictly accurate to say that a certain change in the environment stimulates animals to advance. generally speaking, it does not act on the advancing at all, but on the non-advancing, which it exterminates. the procedure is simple, tangible, and unconscious. two invading arms of the sea meet and pour together their different waters and populations. the habits, the foods, and the enemies of many types of animals are changed; the less fit for the new environment die first, the more fit survive longest and breed most of the new generation. it is so with men when they migrate to a more exacting environment, whether a dangerous trade or a foreign clime. again, take the case of the introduction of a giant cephalopod or fish amongst a population of molluscs and crustacea. the toughest, the speediest, the most alert, the most retiring, or the least conspicuous, will be the most apt to survive and breed. in hundreds or thousands of generations there will be an enormous improvement in the armour, the speed, the sensitiveness, the hiding practices, and the protective colours, of the animals which are devoured. the "natural selection of the fittest" really means the "natural destruction of the less fit." the only point assumed in this is that the young of an animal or plant tend to differ from each other and from their parents. darwin was content to take this as a fact of common observation, as it obviously is, but later science has thrown some light on the causes of these variations. in the first place, the germs in the parent's body may themselves be subject to struggle and natural selection, and not share equally in the food-supply. then, in the case of the higher animals (or the majority of animals), there is a clear source of variation in the fact that the mature germ is formed of certain elements from two different parents, four grandparents, and so on. in the case of the lower animals the germs and larvae float independently in the water, and are exposed to many influences. modern embryologists have found, by experiment, that an alteration of the temperature or the chemical considerable effect on eggs and larvae. some recent experiments have shown that such changes may even affect the eggs in the mother's ovary. these discoveries are very important and suggestive, because the geological changes which we are studying are especially apt to bring about changes of temperature and changes in the freshness or saltiness of water. evolution is, therefore, not a "mere description" of the procession of living things; it is to a great extent an explanation of the procession. when, however, we come to apply these general principles to certain aspects of the advance in organisation we find fundamental differences of opinion among biologists, which must be noted. as sir e. ray lankester recently said, it is not at all true that darwinism is questioned in zoology to-day. it is true only that darwin was not omniscient or infallible, and some of his opinions are disputed. let me introduce the subject with a particular instance of evolution, the flat-fish. this animal has been fitted to survive the terrible struggle in the seas by acquiring such a form that it can lie almost unseen upon the floor of the ocean. the eye on the under side of the body would thus be useless, but a glance at a sole or plaice in a fishmonger's shop will show that this eye has worked upward to the top of the head. was the eye shifted by the effort and straining of the fish, inherited and increased slightly in each generation? is the explanation rather that those fishes in each generation survived and bred which happened from birth to have a slight variation in that direction, though they did not inherit the effect of the parent's effort to strain the eye? or ought we to regard this change of structure as brought about by a few abrupt and considerable variations on the part of the young? there you have the three great schools which divide modern evolutionists: lamarckism, weismannism, and mendelism (or mutationism). all are darwinians. no one doubts that the flat-fish was evolved from an ordinary fish--the flat-fish is an ordinary fish in its youth--or that natural selection (enemies) killed off the old and transitional types and overlooked (and so favoured) the new. it will be seen that the language used in this volume is not the particular language of any one of these schools. this is partly because i wish to leave seriously controverted questions open, and partly from a feeling of compromise, which i may explain. [*] * of recent years another compromise has been proposed between the lamarckians and weismannists. it would say that the efforts of the parent and their effect on the position of the eye--in our case--are not inherited, but might be of use in sheltering an embryonic variation in the direction of a displaced eye. first, the plain issue between the mendelians and the other two schools--whether the passage from species to species is brought about by a series of small variations during a long period or by a few large variations (or "mutations") in a short period--is open to an obvious compromise. it is quite possible that both views are correct, in different cases, and quite impossible to find the proportion of each class of cases. we shall see later that in certain instances where the conditions of preservation were good we can sometimes trace a perfectly gradual advance from species to species. several shellfish have been traced in this way, and a sea-urchin in the chalk has been followed, quite gradually, from one end of a genus to the other. it is significant that the advance of research is multiplying these cases. there is no reason why we may not assume most of the changes of species we have yet seen to have occurred in this way. in fact, in some of the lower branches of the animal world (radiolaria, sponges, etc.) there is often no sharp division of species at all, but a gradual series of living varieties. on the other hand we know many instances of very considerable sudden changes. the cases quoted by mendelists generally belong to the plant world, but instances are not unknown in the animal world. a shrimp (artemia) was made to undergo considerable modification, by altering the proportion of salt in the water in which it was kept. butterflies have been made to produce young quite different from their normal young by subjecting them to abnormal temperature, electric currents, and so on; and, as i said, the most remarkable effects have been produced on eggs and embryos by altering the chemical and physical conditions. rats--i was informed by the engineer in charge of the refrigerating room on an australian liner--very quickly became adapted to the freezing temperature by developing long hair. all that we have seen of the past changes in the environment of animals makes it probable that these larger variations often occur. i would conclude, therefore, that evolution has proceeded continuously (though by no means universally) through the ages, but there were at times periods of more acute change with correspondingly larger changes in the animal and plant worlds. in regard to the issue between the lamarckians and weismannists--whether changes acquired by the parent are inherited by the young--recent experiments again suggest something of a compromise. weismann says that the body of the parent is but the case containing the germ-plasm, so that all modifications of the living parent body perish with it, and do not affect the germ, which builds the next generation. certainly, when we reflect that the , ova in the human mother's ovary seem to have been all formed in the first year of her life, it is difficult to see how modifications of her muscles or nerves can affect them. thus we cannot hope to learn anything, either way, by cutting off the tails of cows, and experiments of that kind. but it is acknowledged that certain diseases in the blood, which nourishes the germs, may affect them, and recent experimenters have found that they can reach and affect the germs in the body by other agencies, and so produce inherited modifications in the parent. [*] if this claim is sustained and enlarged, it may be concluded that the greater changes of environment which we find in the geological chronicle may have had a considerable influence of this kind. * see a paper read by professor bourne to the zoological section of the british association, . it must be understood that when i speak of weismannism i do not refer to this whole theory of heredity, which, he acknowledges, has few supporters. the lamarckian view is represented in britain by sir w. turner and professor darwin. in other countries it has a larger proportion of distinguished supporters. on the whole subject see professor j. a. thomson's "heredity" ( ), dewar and finn's "making of species" ( --a mendelian work), and, for essays by the leaders of each school, "darwinism and modern science" ( ). the general issue, however, must remain open. the lamarckian and weismannist theories are rival interpretations of past events, and we shall not find it necessary to press either. when the fish comes to live on land, for instance, it develops a bony limb out of its fin. the lamarckian says that the throwing of the weight of the body on the main stem of the fin strengthens it, as practice strengthens the boxer's arm, and the effect is inherited and increased in each generation, until at last the useless paddle of the fin dies away and the main stem has become a stout, bony column. weismann says that the individual modification, by use in walking, is not inherited, but those young are favoured which have at birth a variation in the strength of the stem of the fin. as each of these interpretations is, and must remain, purely theoretical, we will be content to tell the facts in such cases. but these brief remarks will enable the reader to understand in what precise sense the facts we record are open to controversy. let us return to the chronicle of the earth. we had reached the devonian age, when large continents, with great inland seas, existed in north america, north-west europe, and north asia, probably connected by a continent across the north atlantic and the arctic region. south america and south africa were emerging, and a continent was preparing to stretch from brazil, through south africa and the antarctic, to australia and india. the expanse of land was, with many oscillations, gaining on the water, and there was much emigration to it from the over-populated seas. when the fish went on land in the devonian, it must have found a diet (insects, etc.) there, and the insects must have been preceded by a plant population. we have first, therefore, to consider the evolution of the plant, and see how it increases in form and number until it covers the earth with the luxuriant forests of the carboniferous period. the plant world, we saw, starts, like the animal world, with a great kingdom of one-celled microscopic representatives, and the same principles of development, to a great extent, shape it into a large variety of forms. armour-plating has a widespread influence among them. the graceful diatom is a morsel of plasm enclosed in a flinty box, often with a very pretty arrangement of the pores and markings. the desmid has a coat of cellulose, and a less graceful coat of cellulose encloses the peridinean. many of these minute plants develop locomotion and a degree of sensitiveness (diatoms, peridinea, euglena, etc.). some (bacteria) adopt animal diet, and rise in power of movement and sensitiveness until it is impossible to make any satisfactory distinction between them and animals. then the social principle enters. first we have loose associations of one-celled plants in a common bed, then closer clusters or many-celled bodies. in some cases (volvox) the cluster, or the compound plant, is round and moves briskly in the water, closely resembling an animal. in most cases, the cells are connected in chains, and we begin to see the vague outline of the larger plant. when we had reached this stage in the development of animal life, we found great difficulty in imagining how the chief lines of the higher invertebrates took their rise from the archaean chaos of early many-celled forms. we have an even greater difficulty here, as plant remains are not preserved at all until the devonian period. we can only conclude, from the later facts, that these primitive many-celled plants branched out in several different directions. one section (at a quite unknown date) adopted an organic diet, and became the fungi; and a later co-operation, or life-partnership, between a fungus and a one-celled alga led to the lichens. others remained at the alga-level, and grew in great thickets along the sea bottoms, no doubt rivalling or surpassing the giant sea-weeds, sometimes feet long, off the american coast to-day. other lines which start from the level of the primitive many-celled algae develop into the mosses (bryophyta), ferns (pteridophyta), horsetails (equisetalia), and club-mosses (lycopodiales). the mosses, the lowest group, are not preserved in the rocks; from the other three classes will come the great forests of the carboniferous period. the early record of plant-life is so poor that it is useless to speculate when the plant first left the water. we have somewhat obscure and disputed traces of ferns in the ordovician, and, as they and the horsetails and club-mosses are well developed in the devonian, we may assume that some of the sea-weeds had become adapted to life on land, and evolved into the early forms of the ferns, at least in the cambrian period. from that time they begin to weave a mantle of sombre green over the exposed land, and to play a most important part in the economy of nature. we saw that at the beginning of the devonian there was a considerable rise of the land both in america and europe, but especially in europe. a distant spectator at that time would have observed the rise of a chain of mountains in scotland and a general emergence of land north-western europe. a continent stretched from ireland to scandinavia and north russia, while most of the rest of europe, except large areas of russia, france, germany, and turkey, was under the sea. where we now find our alps and pyrenees towering up to the snow-line there were then level stretches of ocean. even the north-western continent was scooped into great inland seas or lagoons, which stretched from ireland to scandinavia, and, as we saw, fostered the development of the fishes. as the devonian period progressed the sea gained on the land, and must have restricted the growth of vegetation, but as the lake deposits now preserve the remains of the plants which grow down to their shores, or are washed into them, we are enabled to restore the complexion of the landscape. ferns, generally of a primitive and generalised character, abound, and include the ferns such as we find in warm countries to-day. horsetails and club-mosses already grow into forest-trees. there are even seed-bearing ferns, which give promise of the higher plants to come, but as yet nothing approaching our flower and fruit-bearing trees has appeared. there is as yet no certain indication of the presence of conifers. it is a sombre and monotonous vegetation, unlike any to be found in any climate to-day. we will look more closely into its nature presently. first let us see how these primitive types of plants come to form the immense forests which are recorded in our coal-beds. dr. russel wallace has lately represented these forests, which have, we shall see, had a most important influence on the development of life, as somewhat mysterious in their origin. if, however, we again consult the geologist as to the changes which were taking place in the distribution of land and water, we find a quite natural explanation. indeed, there are now distinguished geologists (e.g. professor chamberlin) who doubt if the coal-forests were so exceptionally luxuriant as is generally believed. they think that the vegetation may not have been more dense than in some other ages, but that there may have been exceptionally good conditions for preserving the dead trees. we shall see that there were; but, on the whole, it seems probable that during some hundreds of thousands of years remarkably dense forests covered enormous stretches of the earth's surface, from the arctic to the antarctic. the devonian period had opened with a rise of the land, but the sea eat steadily into it once more, and, with some inconsiderable oscillations of the land, regained its territory. the latter part of the devonian and earlier part of the carboniferous were remarkable for their great expanses of shallow water and low-lying land. except the recent chain of hills in scotland we know of no mountains. professor chamberlin calculates that , , , or , , square miles of the present continental surface of europe and america were covered with a shallow sea. in the deeper and clearer of these waters the earliest carboniferous rocks, of limestone, were deposited. the "millstone grit," which succeeds the "limestone," indicates shallower water, which is being rapidly filled up with the debris of the land. in a word, all the indications suggest the early and middle carboniferous as an age of vast swamps, of enormous stretches of land just above or below the sea-level, and changing repeatedly from one to the other. further, the climate was at the time--we will consider the general question of climate later--moist and warm all over the earth, on account of the great proportion of sea-surface and the absence of high land (not to speak of more disputable causes). these were ideal conditions for the primitive vegetation, and it spread over the swamps with great vigour. to say that the coal-forests were masses of ferns, horsetails, and club-mosses is a lifeless and misleading expression. the club-mosses, or lycopodiales, were massive trees, rising sometimes to a height of feet, and probably averaging about fifty feet in height and one or two feet in diameter. the largest and most abundant of them, the sigillaria, sent up a scarred and fluted trunk to a height of seventy or a hundred feet, without a branch, and was crowned with a bunch of its long, tapering leaves. the lepidodendron, its fellow monarch of the forest, branched at the summit, and terminated in clusters of its stiff, needle-like leaves, six' or seven inches long, like enormous exaggerations of the little cones at the ends of our club-mosses to-day. the horsetails, which linger in their dwarfed descendants by our streams to-day, and at their exceptional best (in a part of south america) form slender stems about thirty feet high, were then forest-trees, four to six feet in circumference and sometimes ninety feet in height. these calamites probably rose in dense thickets from the borders of the lakes, their stumpy leaves spreading in whorls at every joint in their hollow stems. another extinct tree, the cordaites, rivalled the horsetails and club-mosses in height, and its showers of long and extraordinary leaves, six feet long and six inches in width, pointed to the higher plant world that was to come. between these gaunt towering trunks the graceful tree-ferns spread their canopies at heights of twenty, forty, and even sixty feet from the ground, and at the base was a dense undergrowth of ferns and fern-like seed-plants. mosses may have carpeted the moist ground, but nothing in the nature of grass or flowers had yet appeared. imagine this dense assemblage of dull, flowerless trees pervaded by a hot, dank atmosphere, with no change of seasons, with no movement but the flying of large and primitive insects among the trees and the stirring of the ferns below by some passing giant salamander, with no song of bird and no single streak of white or red or blue drawn across the changeless sombre green, and you have some idea of the character of the forests that are compressed into our seams of coal. imagine these forests spread from spitzbergen to australia and even, according to the south polar expeditions, to the antarctic, and from the united states to europe, to siberia, and to china, and prolonged during some hundreds of thousands of years, and you begin to realise that the carboniferous period prepared the land for the coming dynasties of animals. let some vast and terrible devastation fall upon this luxuriant world, entombing the great multitude of its imperfect forms and selecting the higher types for freer life, and the earth will pass into a new age. but before we describe the animal inhabitants of these forests, the part that the forests play in the story of life, and the great cataclysm which selects the higher types from the myriads of forms which the warm womb of the earth has poured out, we must at least glance at the evolutionary position of the carboniferous plants themselves. do they point downward to lower forms, and upward to higher forms, as the theory of evolution requires? a close inquiry into this would lead us deep into the problems of the modern botanist, but we may borrow from him a few of the results of the great labour he has expended on the subject within the last decade. just as the animal world is primarily divided into invertebrates and vertebrates, the plant world is primarily divided into a lower kingdom of spore-bearing plants (the cryptogams) and an upper kingdom of seed-bearing plants (the phanerogams). again, just as the first half of the earth's story is the age of invertebrate animals, so it is the age of cryptogamous plants. so far evolution was always justified in the plant record. but there is a third parallel, of much greater interest. we saw that at one time the evolutionist was puzzled by the clean division of animals into invertebrate and vertebrate, and the sudden appearance of the backbone in the chronicle: he was just as much puzzled by the sharp division of our plants into cryptogams and phanerogams, and the sudden appearance of the latter on the earth during the coal-forest period. and the issue has been a fresh and recent triumph for evolution. plants are so well preserved in the coal that many years of microscopic study of the remains, and patient putting-together of the crushed and scattered fragments, have shown the carboniferous plants in quite a new light. instead of the coal-forest being a vast assemblage of cryptogams, upon which the higher type of the phanerogam is going suddenly to descend from the clouds, it is, to a very great extent, a world of plants that are struggling upward, along many paths, to the higher level. the characters of the cryptogam and phanerogam are so mixed up in it that, although the special lines of development are difficult to trace, it is one massive testimony to the evolution of the higher from the lower. the reproductive bodies of the great lepidodendra are sometimes more like seeds than spores, while both the wood and the leaves of the sigillaria have features which properly belong to the phanerogam. in another group (called the sphenophyllales) the characters of these giant club-mosses are blended with the characters of the giant horsetails, and there is ground to think that the three groups have descended from an earlier common ancestor. further, it is now believed that a large part of what were believed to be conifers, suddenly entering from the unknown, are not conifers at all, but cordaites. the cordaites is a very remarkable combination of features that are otherwise scattered among the cryptogams, cycads, and conifers. on the other hand, a very large part of what the geologist had hitherto called "ferns" have turned out to be seed-bearing plants, half cycad and half fern. numbers of specimens of this interesting group--the cycadofilices (cycad-ferns) or pteridosperms (seed-ferns)--have been beautifully restored by our botanists. [*] they have afforded a new and very plausible ancestor for the higher trees which come on the scene toward the close of the coal-forests, while their fern-like characters dispose botanists to think that they and the ferns may be traced to a common ancestor. this earlier stage is lost in those primitive ages from which not a single leaf has survived in the rocks. we can only say that it is probable that the mosses, ferns, lycopods, etc., arose independently from the primitive level. but the higher and more important development is now much clearer. the coal-forest is not simply a kingdom of cryptogams. it is a world of aspiring and mingled types. let it be subjected to some searching test, some tremendous spell of adversity, and we shall understand the emergence of the higher types out of the luxuriant profusion and confusion of forms. * see, especially, d. h. scott, "studies of fossil botany" ( nd ed., ), and "the evolution of plants" ( --small popular manual). chapter ix. the animals of the coal-forest we have next to see that when this period of searching adversity comes--as it will in the next chapter--the animal world also offers a luxuriant variety of forms from which the higher types may be selected. this, it need hardly be said, is just what we find in the geological record. the fruitful, steaming, rich-laden earth now offered tens of millions of square miles of pasture to vegetal feeders; the waters, on the other hand, teemed with gigantic sharks, huge cephalopods, large scorpion-like and lobster-like animals, and shoals of armour-plated, hard-toothed fishes. successive swarms of vegetarians--worms, molluscs, etc.--followed the plant on to the land; and swarms of carnivores followed the vegetarians, and assumed strange, new forms in adaptation to land-life. the migration had probably proceeded throughout the devonian period, especially from the calmer shores of the inland seas. by the middle of the coal-forest period there was a very large and varied animal population on the land. like the plants, moreover, these animals were of an intermediate and advancing nature. no bird or butterfly yet flits from tree to tree; no mammal rears its young in the shelter of the ferns. but among the swarming population are many types that show a beginning of higher organisation, and there is a rich and varied material provided for the coming selection. the monarch of the carboniferous forest is the amphibian. in that age of spreading swamps and "dim, watery woodlands," the stupid and sluggish amphibian finds his golden age, and, except perhaps the scorpion, there is no other land animal competent to dispute his rule. even the scorpion, moreover, would not find the carboniferous amphibian very vulnerable. we must not think of the smooth-skinned frogs and toads and innocent newts which to-day represent the fallen race of the amphibia. they were then heavily armoured, powerfully armed, and sometimes as large as alligators or young crocodiles. it is a characteristic of advancing life that a new type of organism has its period of triumph, grows to enormous proportions, and spreads into many different types, until the next higher stage of life is reached, and it is dethroned by the new-comers. the first indication--apart from certain disputed impressions in the devonian--of the land-vertebrate is the footprint of an amphibian on an early carboniferous mud-flat. hardened by the sun, and then covered with a fresh deposit when it sank beneath the waters, it remains to-day to witness the arrival of the five-toed quadruped who was to rule the earth. as the period proceeds, remains are found in great abundance, and we see that there must have been a vast and varied population of the amphibia on the shores of the carboniferous lagoons and swamps. there were at least twenty genera of them living in what is now the island of britain, and was then part of the british-scandinavian continent. some of them were short and stumpy creatures, a few inches long, with weak limbs and short tails, and broad, crescent-shaped heads, their bodies clothed in the fine scaly armour of their fish-ancestor (the branchiosaurs). some (the aistopods) were long, snake-like creatures, with shrunken limbs and bodies drawn out until, in some cases, the backbone had vertebrae. they seem to have taken to the thickets, in the growing competition, as the serpents did later, and lost the use of their limbs, which would be merely an encumbrance in winding among the roots and branches. some (the microsaurs) were agile little salamander-like organisms, with strong, bony frames and relatively long and useful legs; they look as if they may even have climbed the trees in pursuit of snails and insects. a fourth and more formidable sub-order, the labyrinthodonts--which take their name from the labyrinthine folds of the enamel in their strong teeth--were commonly several feet in length. some of them attained a length of seven or eight feet, and had plates of bone over their heads and bellies, while the jaws in their enormous heads were loaded with their strong, labyrinthine teeth. life on land was becoming as eventful and stimulating as life in the waters. the general characteristic of these early amphibia is that they very clearly retain the marks of their fish ancestry. all of them have tails; all of them have either scales or (like many of the fishes) plates of bone protecting the body. in some of the younger specimens the gills can still be clearly traced, but no doubt they were mainly lung-animals. we have seen how the fish obtained its lungs, and need add only that this change in the method of obtaining oxygen for the blood involved certain further changes of a very important nature. following the fossil record, we do not observe the changes which are taking place in the soft internal organs, but we must not lose sight of them. the heart, for instance, which began as a simple muscular expansion or distension of one of the blood-vessels of some primitive worm, then doubled and became a two-chambered pump in the fish, now develops a partition in the auricle (upper chamber), so that the aerated blood is to some extent separated from the venous blood. this approach toward the warm-blooded type begins in the "mud-fish," and is connected with the development of the lungs. corresponding changes take place in the arteries, and we shall find that this change in structure is of very great importance in the evolution of the higher types of land-life. the heart of the higher land-animals, we may add, passes through these stages in its embryonic development. externally the chief change in the amphibian is the appearance of definite legs. the broad paddle of the fin is now useless, and its main stem is converted into a jointed, bony limb, with a five-toed foot, spreading into a paddle, at the end. but the legs are still feeble, sprawling supports, letting the heavy body down almost to the ground. the amphibian is an imperfect, but necessary, stage in evolution. it is an improvement on the dipneust fish, which now begins to dwindle very considerably in the geological record, but it is itself doomed to give way speedily before one of its more advanced descendants, the reptile. probably the giant salamander of modern japan affords the best suggestion of the large and primitive salamanders of the coal-forest, while the caecilia--snake-like amphibia with scaly skins, which live underground in south america--may not impossibly be degenerate survivors of the curious aistopods. our modern tailless amphibia, frogs and toads, appear much later in the story of the earth, but they are not without interest here on account of the remarkable capacity which they show to adapt themselves to different surroundings. there are frogs, like the tree-frog of martinique, and others in regions where water is scarce, which never pass through the tadpole stage; or, to be quite accurate, they lose the gills and tail in the egg, as higher land-animals do. on the other hand, there is a modern amphibian, the axolotl of mexico, which retains the gills throughout life, and never lives on land. dr. gadow has shown that the lake in which it lives is so rich in food that it has little inducement to leave it for the land. transferred to a different environment, it may pass to the land, and lose its gills. these adaptations help us to understand the rich variety of amphibian forms that appeared in the changing conditions of the carboniferous world. when we think of the diet of the amphibia we are reminded of the other prominent representatives of land life at the time. snails, spiders, and myriapods crept over the ground or along the stalks of the trees, and a vast population of insects filled the air. we find a few stray wings in the silurian, and a large number of wings and fragments in the devonian, but it is in the coal-forest that we find the first great expansion of insect life, with a considerable development of myriapods, spiders, and scorpions. food was enormously abundant, and the insect at least had no rival in the air, for neither bird nor flying reptile had yet appeared. hence we find the same generous growth as amongst the amphibia. large primitive "may-flies" had wings four or five inches long; great locust-like creatures had fat bodies sometimes twenty inches in length, and soared on wings of remarkable breadth, or crawled on their six long, sprawling legs. more than a thousand species of insects, and nearly a hundred species of spiders and fifty of myriapods, are found in the remains of the coal-forests. from the evolutionary point of view these new classes are as obscure in their origin, yet as manifestly undergoing evolution when they do fully appear, as the earlier classes we have considered. all are of a primitive and generalised character; that is to say, characters which are to-day distributed among widely different groups were then concentrated and mingled in one common ancestor, out of which the later groups will develop. all belong to the lowest orders of their class. no hymenopters (ants, bees, and wasps) or coleopters (beetles) are found in the coal-forest; and it will be many millions of years before the graceful butterfly enlivens the landscapes of the earth. the early insects nearly all belong to the lower orders of the orthopters (cockroaches, crickets, locusts, etc.) and neuropters (dragon-flies, may-flies, etc.). a few traces of hemipters (now mainly represented by the degenerate bugs) are found, but nine-tenths of the carboniferous insects belong to the lowest orders of their class, the orthopters and neuropters. in fact, they are such primitive and generalised insects, and so frequently mingle the characteristics of the two orders, that one of the highest authorities, scudder, groups them in a special and extinct order, the palmodictyoptera; though this view is not now generally adopted. we shall find the higher orders of insects making their appearance in succession as the story proceeds. thus far, then, the insects of the coal-forest are in entire harmony with the principle of evolution, but when we try to trace their origin and earlier relations our task is beset with difficulties. it goes without saying that such delicate frames as those of the earlier insects had very little chance of being preserved in the rocks until the special conditions of the forest-age set in. we are, therefore, quite prepared to hear that the geologist cannot give us the slenderest information. he finds the wing of what he calls "the primitive bug" (protocimex), an hemipterous insect, in the later ordovician, and the wing of a "primitive cockroach" (palaeoblattina) in the silurian. from these we can merely conclude that insects were already numerous and varied. but we have already, in similar difficulties, received assistance from the science of zoology, and we now obtain from that science a most important clue to the evolution of the insect. in south america, south africa, and australasia, which were at one time connected by a great southern continent, we find a little caterpillar-like creature which the zoologist regards with profound interest. it is so curious that he has been obliged to create a special class for it alone--a distinction which will be appreciated when i mention that the neighbouring class of the insects contains more than a quarter of a million living species. this valuable little animal, with its tiny head, round, elongated body, and many pairs of caterpillar-like legs, was until a few decades ago regarded as an annelid (like the earth-worm). it has, in point of fact, the peculiar kidney-structures (nephridia) and other features of the annelid, but a closer study discovered in it a character that separated it far from any worm-group. it was found to breathe the air by means of tracheae (little tubes running inward from the surface of the body), as the myriapods, spiders, and insects do. it was, in other words, "a kind of half-way animal between the arthropods and the annelids" ("cambridge natural history," iv, p. ), a surviving kink in the lost chain of the ancestry of the insect. through millions of years it has preserved a primitive frame that really belongs to the cambrian, if not an earlier, age. it is one of the most instructive "living fossils" in the museum of nature. peripatus, as the little animal is called, points very clearly to an annelid ancestor of all the tracheates (the myriapods, spiders, and insects), or all the animals that breathe by means of trachere. to understand its significance we must glance once more at an early chapter in the story of life. we saw that a vast and varied wormlike population must have filled the archaean ocean, and that all the higher lines of animal development start from one or other point in this broad kingdom. the annelids, in which the body consists of a long series of connected rings or segments, as in the earth-worm, are one of the highest groups of these worm-like creatures, and some branch of them developed a pair of feet (as in the caterpillar) on each segment of the body and a tough, chitinous coat. thus arose the early arthropods, on tough-coated, jointed, articulated animals. some of these remained in the water, breathing by means of gills, and became the crustacea. some, however, migrated to the land and developed what we may almost call "lungs"--little tubes entering the body at the skin and branching internally, to bring the air into contact with the blood, the tracheae. in peripatus we have a strange survivor of these primitive annelid-tracheates of many million years ago. the simple nature of its breathing apparatus suggests that the trachere were developed out of glands in the skin; just as the fish, when it came on land, probably developed lungs from its swimming bladders. the primitive tracheates, delivered from the increasing carnivores of the waters, grew into a large and varied family, as all such new types do in favourable surroundings. from them in the course of time were evolved the three great classes of the myriapods (millipedes and centipedes), the arachnids (scorpions, spiders, and mites), and the insects. i will not enter into the much-disputed and obscure question of their nearer relationship. some derive the insects from the myriapods, some the myriapods from the insects, and some think they evolved independently; while the rise of the spiders and scorpions is even more obscure. but how can we see any trace of an annelid ancestor in the vastly different frames of these animals which are said to descend from it? it is not so difficult as it seems to be at first sight. in the myriapod we still have the elongated body and successive pairs of legs. in the arachnid the legs are reduced in number and lengthened, while the various segments of the body are fused in two distinct body-halves, the thorax and the abdomen. in the insect we have a similar concentration of the primitive long body. the abdomen is composed of a large number (usually nine or ten) of segments which have lost their legs and fused together. in the thorax three segments are still distinctly traceable, with three pairs of legs--now long jointed limbs--as in the caterpillar ancestor; in the carboniferous insect these three joints in the thorax are particularly clear. in the head four or five segments are fused together. their limbs have been modified into the jaws or other mouth-appendages, and their separate nerve-centres have combined to form the large ring of nerve-matter round the gullet which represents the brain of the insect. how, then, do we account for the wings of the insect? here we can offer nothing more than speculation, but the speculation is not without interest. it may be laid down in principle that the flying animal begins as a leaping animal. the "flying fish" may serve to suggest an early stage in the development of wings; it is a leaping fish, its extended fins merely buoying it, like the surfaces of an aeroplane, and so prolonging its leap away from its pursuer. but the great difficulty is to imagine any part of the smooth-coated primitive insect, apart from the limbs (and the wings of the insect are not developed from legs, like those of the bird), which might have even an initial usefulness in buoying the body as it leaped. it has been suggested, therefore, that the primitive insect returned to the water, as the whale and seal did in the struggle for life of a later period. the fact that the mayfly and dragon-fly spend their youth in the water is thought to confirm this. returning to the water, the primitive insects would develop gills, like the crustacea. after a time the stress of life in the water drove them back to the land, and the gills became useless. but the folds or scales of the tough coat, which had covered the gills, would remain as projecting planes, and are thought to have been the rudiment from which a long period of selection evolved the huge wings of the early dragon-flies and mayflies. it is generally believed that the wingless order of insects (aptera) have not lost, but had never developed, wings, and that the insects with only one or two pairs all descend from an ancestor with three pairs. the early date of their origin, the delicacy of their structure, and the peculiar form which their larval development has generally assumed, combine to obscure the evolution of the insect, and we must be content for the present with these general indications. the vast unexplored regions of africa, south america, and central australia, may yet yield further clues, and the riddle of insect-metamorphosis may some day betray the secrets which it must hold. for the moment the carboniferous insects interest us as a rich material for the operation of a coming natural selection. on them, as on all other carboniferous life, a great trial is about to fall. a very small proportion of them will survive that trial, and they trill be the better organised to maintain themselves and rear their young in the new earth. the remaining land-life of the coal-forest is confined to worm-like organisms whose remains are not preserved, and land-snails which do not call for further discussion. we may, in conclusion, glance at the progress of life in the waters. apart from the appearance of the great fishes and crustacea, the carboniferous period was one of great stimulation to aquatic life. constant changes were taking place in the level and the distribution of land and water. the aspect of our coal seams to-day, alternating between thick layers of sand and mud, shows a remarkable oscillation of the land. many recent authorities have questioned whether the trees grew on the sites where we find them to-day, and were not rather washed down into the lagoons and shallow waters from higher ground. in that case we could not too readily imagine the forest-clad region sinking below the waves, being buried under the deposits of the rivers, and then emerging, thousands of years later, to receive once more the thick mantle of sombre vegetation. probably there was less rising and falling of the crust than earlier geologists imagined. but, as one of the most recent and most critical authorities, professor chamberlin, observes, the comparative purity of the coal, the fairly uniform thickness of the seams, the bed of clay representing soil at their base, the frequency with which the stumps are still found growing upright (as in the remarkable exposed coal-forest surface in glasgow, at the present ground-level), [*] the perfectly preserved fronds and the general mixture of flora, make it highly probable that the coal-seam generally marks the actual site of a coal-forest, and there were considerable vicissitudes in the distribution of land and water. great areas of land repeatedly passed beneath the waters, instead of a re-elevation of the land, however, we may suppose that the shallow water was gradually filled with silt and debris from the land, and a fresh forest grew over it. * the civic authorities of glasgow have wisely exposed and protected this instructive piece of coal-forest in one of their parks. i noticed, however that in the admirable printed information they supply to the public, they describe the trees as "at least several hundred thousand years old." there is no authority in the world who would grant less than ten million years since the coal-forest period. these changes are reflected in the progress of marine life, though their influence is probably less than that of the great carnivorous monsters which now fill the waters. the heavy arthrodirans languish and disappear. the "pavement-toothed" sharks, which at first represent three-fourths of the elasmobranchs, dwindle in turn, and in the formidable spines which develop on them we may see evidence of the great struggle with the sharp-toothed sharks which are displacing them. the ostracoderms die out in the presence of these competitors. the smaller fishes (generally crossopterygii) seem to live mainly in the inland and shore waters, and advance steadily toward the modern types, but none of our modern bony fishes have yet appeared. more evident still is the effect of the new conditions upon the crustacea. the trilobite, once the master of the seas, slowly yields to the stronger competitors, and the latter part of the carboniferous period sees the last genus of trilobites finally extinguished. the eurypterids (large scorpion-like crustacea, several feet long) suffer equally, and are represented by a few lingering species. the stress favours the development of new and more highly organised crustacea. one is the limulus or "king-crab," which seems to be a descendant, or near relative, of the trilobite, and has survived until modern times. others announce the coming of the long-tailed crustacea, of the lobster and shrimp type. they had primitive representatives in the earlier periods, but seem to have been overshadowed by the trilobites and eurypterids. as these in turn are crushed, the more highly organised malacostraca take the lead, and primitive specimens of the shrimp and lobster make their appearance. the echinoderms are still mainly represented by the sea-lilies. the rocks which are composed of their remains show that vast areas of the sea-floor must have been covered with groves of sea-lilies, bending on their long, flexible stalks and waving their great flower-like arms in the water to attract food. with them there is now a new experiment in the stalked echinoderm, the blastoid, an armless type; but it seems to have been a failure. sea-urchins are now found in the deposits, and, although their remains are not common, we may conclude that the star-fishes were scattered over the floor of the sea. for the rest we need only observe that progress and rich diversity of forms characterise the other groups of animals. the corals now form great reefs, and the finer corals are gaining upon the coarser. the foraminifers (the chalk-shelled, one-celled animals) begin to form thick rocks with their dead skeletons; the radiolaria (the flinty-shelled microbes) are so abundant that more than twenty genera of them have been distinguished in cornwall and devonshire. the brachiopods and molluscs still abound, but the molluscs begin to outnumber the lower type of shell-fish. in the cephalopods we find an increasing complication of the structure of the great spiral-shelled types. such is the life of the carboniferous period. the world rejoices in a tropical luxuriance. semi-tropical vegetation is found in spitzbergen and the antarctic, as well as in north europe, asia, and america, and in australasia; corals and sea-lilies flourish at any part of the earth's surface. warm, dank, low-lying lands, bathed by warm oceans and steeped in their vapours, are the picture suggested--as we shall see more closely--to the minds of all geologists. in those happy conditions the primitive life of the earth erupts into an abundance and variety that are fitly illustrated in the well-preserved vegetation of the forest. and when the earth has at length flooded its surface with this seething tide of life; when the air is filled with a thousand species of insects, and the forest-floor feels the heavy tread of the giant salamander and the light feet of spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and snails, and the lagoons and shores teem with animals, the golden age begins to close, and all the semi-tropical luxuriance is banished. a great doom is pronounced on the swarming life of the coal-forest period, and from every hundred species of its animals and plants only two or three will survive the searching test. chapter x. the permian revolution in an earlier chapter it was stated that the story of life is a story of gradual and continuous advance, with occasional periods of more rapid progress. hitherto it has been, in these pages, a slow and even advance from one geological age to another, one level of organisation to another. this, it is true, must not be taken too literally. many a period of rapid change is probably contained, and blurred out of recognition, in that long chronicle of geological events. when a region sinks slowly below the waves, no matter how insensible the subsidence may be, there will often come a time of sudden and vast inundations, as the higher ridges of the coast just dip below the water-level and the lower interior is flooded. when two invading arms of the sea meet at last in the interior of the sinking continent, or when a land-barrier that has for millions of years separated two seas and their populations is obliterated, we have a similar occurrence of sudden and far-reaching change. the whole story of the earth is punctuated with small cataclysms. but we now come to a change so penetrating, so widespread, and so calamitous that, in spite of its slowness, we may venture to call it a revolution. indeed, we may say of the remaining story of the earth that it is characterised by three such revolutions, separated by millions of years, which are very largely responsible for the appearance of higher types of life. the facts are very well illustrated by an analogy drawn from the recent and familiar history of europe. the socio-political conditions of europe in the eighteenth century, which were still tainted with feudalism, were changed into the socio-political conditions of the modern world, partly by a slow and continuous evolution, but much more by three revolutionary movements. first there was the great upheaval at the end of the eighteenth century, the tremors of which were felt in the life of every country in europe. then, although, as freeman says, no part of europe ever returned entirely to its former condition, there was a profound and almost universal reaction. in the 'thirties and 'forties, differing in different countries, a second revolutionary disturbance shook europe. the reaction after this upheaval was far less severe, and the conditions were permanently changed to a great extent, but a third revolutionary movement followed in the next generation, and from that time the evolution of socio-political conditions has proceeded more evenly. the story of life on the earth since the coal-forest period is similarly quickened by three revolutions. the first, at the close of the carboniferous period, is the subject of this chapter. it is the most drastic and devastating of the three, but its effect, at least on the animal world, will be materially checked by a profound and protracted reaction. at the end of the chalk period, some millions of years later, there will be a second revolution, and it will have a far more enduring and conspicuous result, though it seem less drastic at the time. yet there will be something of a reaction after a time, and at length a third revolution will inaugurate the age of man. if it is clearly understood that instead of a century we are contemplating a period of at least ten million years, and instead of a decade of revolution we have a change spread over a hundred thousand years or more, this analogy will serve to convey a most important truth. the revolutionary agency that broke into the comparatively even chronicle of life near the close of the carboniferous period, dethroned its older types of organisms, and ushered new types to the lordship of the earth, was cold. the reader will begin to understand why i dwelt on the aspect of the coal-forest and its surrounding waters. there was, then, a warm, moist earth from pole to pole, not even temporarily chilled and stiffened by a few months of winter, and life spread luxuriantly in the perpetual semi-tropical summer. then a spell of cold so severe and protracted grips the earth that glaciers glitter on the flanks of indian and australian hills, and fields of ice spread over what are now semitropical regions. in some degree the cold penetrates the whole earth. the rich forests shrink slowly into thin tracts of scrubby, poverty-stricken vegetation. the loss of food and the bleak and exacting conditions of the new earth annihilate thousands of species of the older organisms, and the more progressive types are moulded into fitness for the new environment. it is a colossal application of natural selection, and amongst its results are some of great moment. in various recent works one reads that earlier geologists, led astray by the nebular theory of the earth's origin, probably erred very materially in regard to the climate of primordial times, and that climate has varied less than used to be supposed. it must not be thought that, in speaking of a "permian revolution," i am ignoring or defying this view of many distinguished geologists. i am taking careful account of it. there is no dispute, however, about the fact that the permian age witnessed an immense carnage of carboniferous organisms, and a very considerable modification of those organisms which survived the catastrophe, and that the great agency in this annihilation and transformation was cold. to prevent misunderstanding, nevertheless, it will be useful to explain the controversy about the climate of the earth in past ages which divides modern geologists. the root of the difference of opinion and the character of the conflicting parties have already been indicated. it is a protest of the "planetesimalists" against the older, and still general, view of the origin of the earth. as we saw, that view implies that, as the heavier elements penetrated centreward in the condensing nebula, the gases were left as a surrounding shell of atmosphere. it was a mixed mass of gases, chiefly oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon-dioxide (popularly known as "carbonic acid gas"). when the water-vapour settled as ocean on the crust, the atmosphere remained a very dense mixture of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon-dioxide--to neglect the minor gases. this heavy proportion of carbon-dioxide would cause the atmosphere to act as a glass-house over the surface of the earth, as it does still to some extent. experiment has shown that an atmosphere containing much vapour and carbon-dioxide lets the heat-rays pass through when they are accompanied by strong light, but checks them when they are separated from the light. in other words, the primitive atmosphere would allow the heat of the sun to penetrate it, and then, as the ground absorbed the light, would retain a large proportion of the heat. hence the semi-tropical nature of the primitive earth, the moisture, the dense clouds and constant rains that are usually ascribed to it. this condition lasted until the rocks and the forests of the carboniferous age absorbed enormous quantities of carbon-dioxide, cleared the atmosphere, and prepared an age of chill and dryness such as we find in the permian. but the planetesimal hypothesis has no room for this enormous percentage of carbon-dioxide in the primitive atmosphere. hinc illoe lachrymoe: in plain english, hence the acute quarrel about primitive climate, and the close scanning of the geological chronicle for indications that the earth was not moist and warm until the end of the carboniferous period. once more i do not wish to enfeeble the general soundness of this account of the evolution of life by relying on any controverted theory, and we shall find it possible to avoid taking sides. i have not referred to the climate of the earth in earlier ages, except to mention that there are traces of a local "ice-age" about the middle of the archaean and the beginning of the cambrian. as these are many millions of years removed from each other and from the carboniferous, it is possible that they represent earlier periods more or less corresponding to the permian. but the early chronicle is so compressed and so imperfectly studied as yet that it is premature to discuss the point. it is, moreover, unnecessary because we know of no life on land in those remote periods, and it is only in connection with life on land that we are interested in changes of climate here. in other words, as far as the present study is concerned, we need only regard the climate of the devonian and carboniferous periods. as to this there is no dispute; nor, in fact, about the climate from the cambrian to the permian. as the new school is most brilliantly represented by professor chamberlin, [*] it will be enough to quote him. he says of the cambrian that, apart from the glacial indications in its early part, "the testimony of the fossils, wherever gathered, implies nearly uniform climatic conditions... throughout all the earth wherever records of the cambrian period are preserved" (ii, ). of the ordovician he says: "all that is known of the life of this era would seem to indicate that the climate was much more uniform than now throughout the areas where the strata of the period are known" (ii, ). in the silurian we have "much to suggest uniformity of climate"--in fact, we have just the same evidence for it--and in the devonian, when land-plants abound and afford better evidence, we find the same climatic equality of living things in the most different latitudes. finally, "most of the data at hand indicate that the climate of the lower carboniferous was essentially uniform, and on the whole both genial and moist" (ii, ). the "data," we may recall, are in this case enormously abundant, and indicate the climate of the earth from the arctic regions to the antarctic. another recent and critical geologist, professor walther ("geschichte der erde und des lebens," ), admits that the coal-vegetation shows a uniformly warm climate from spitzbergen to africa. mr. drew ("the romance of modern geology," ) says that "nearly all over the globe the climate was the same--hot, close, moist, muggy" (p. ). * an apology is due here in some measure. the work which i quote as of professor chamberlin ("geology," ) is really by two authors, professors chamberlin and salisbury. i merely quote professor chamberlin for shortness, and because the particular ideas i refer to are expounded by him in separate papers. the work is the finest manual in modern geological literature. i have used it much, in conjunction with the latest editions of geikie, le conte, and lupparent, and such recent manuals as walther, de launay, suess, etc., and the geological magazines. the exception which professor chamberlin has in mind when he says "most of the data" is that we find deposits of salt and gypsum in the silurian and lower carboniferous, and these seem to point to the evaporation of lakes in a dry climate. he admits that these indicate, at the most, local areas or periods of dryness in an overwhelmingly moist and warm earth. it is thus not disputed that the climate of the earth was, during a period of at least fifteen million years (from the cambrian to the carboniferous), singularly uniform, genial, and moist. during that vast period there is no evidence whatever that the earth was divided into climatic zones, or that the year was divided into seasons. to such an earth was the prolific life of the coal-forest adapted. it is, further, not questioned that the temperature of the earth fell in the latter part of the carboniferous age, and that the cold reached its climax in the permian. as we turn over the pages of the geological chronicle, an extraordinary change comes over the vegetation of the earth. the great lepidodendra gradually disappear before the close of the permian period; the sigillariae dwindle into a meagre and expiring race; the giant horsetails (calamites) shrink, and betray the adverse conditions in their thin, impoverished leaves. new, stunted, hardy trees make their appearance: the walchia, a tree something like the low araucarian conifers in the texture of its wood, and the voltzia, the reputed ancestor of the cypresses. their narrow, stunted leaves suggest to the imagination the struggle of a handful of pines on a bleak hill-side. the rich fern-population is laid waste. the seed-ferns die out, and a new and hardy type of fern, with compact leaves, the glossopteris, spreads victoriously over the globe; from australia it travels northward to russia, which it reaches in the early permian, and westward, across the southern continent, to south america. a profoundly destructive influence has fallen on the earth, and converted its rich green forests, in which the mighty club-mosses had reared their crowns above a sea of waving ferns, into severe and poverty-stricken deserts. no botanist hesitates to say that it is the coming of a cold, dry climate that has thus changed the face of the earth. the geologist finds more direct evidence. in the werribee gorge in victoria i have seen the marks which australian geologists have discovered of the ice-age which put an end to their coal-forests. from tasmania to queensland they find traces of the rivers and fields of ice which mark the close of the carboniferous and beginning of the permian on the southern continent. in south africa similar indications are found from the cape to the transvaal. stranger still, the geologists of india have discovered extensive areas of glaciation, belonging to this period, running down into the actual tropics. and the strangest feature of all is that the glaciers of india and australia flowed, not from the temperate zones toward the tropics, but in the opposite direction. two great zones of ice-covered land lay north and south of the equator. the total area was probably greater than the enormous area covered with ice in europe and america during the familiar ice-age of the latest geological period. thus the central idea of this chapter, the destructive inroad of a colder climate upon the genial carboniferous world, is an accepted fact. critical geologists may suggest that the temperature of the coal-forest has been exaggerated, and the temperature of the permian put too low. we are not concerned with the dispute. whatever the exact change of temperature was, in degrees of the thermometer, it was admittedly sufficient to transform the face of the earth, and bring a mantle of ice over millions of square miles of our tropical and subtropical regions. it remains for us to inquire into the causes of this transformation. it at once occurs to us that these facts seem to confirm the prevalent idea, that the coal-forests stripped the air of its carbon-dioxide until the earth shivered in an atmosphere thinner than that of to-day. on reflection, however, it will be seen that, if this were all that happened, we might indeed expect to find enormous ice-fields extending from the poles--which we do not find--but not glaciation in the tropics. others may think of astronomical theories, and imagine a shrinking or clouding of the sun, or a change in the direction of the earth's axis. but these astronomical theories are now little favoured, either by astronomers or geologists. professor lowell bluntly calls them "astrocomic" theories. geologists think them superfluous. there is another set of facts to be considered in connection with the permian cold. as we have seen several times, there are periods when, either owing to the shrinking of the earth or the overloading of the sea-bottoms, or a combination of the two, the land regains its lost territory and emerges from the ocean. mountain chains rise; new continental surfaces are exposed to the sun and rain. one of the greatest of these upheavals of the land occurs in the latter half of the carboniferous and the permian. in the middle of the carboniferous, when europe is predominantly a flat, low-lying land, largely submerged, a chain of mountains begins to rise across its central part. from brittany to the east of saxony the great ridge runs, and by the end of the carboniferous it becomes a chain of lofty mountains (of which fragments remain in the vosges, black forest, and hartz mountains), dragging central europe high above the water, and throwing the sea back upon russia to the north and the mediterranean region to the south. then the chain of the ural mountains begins to rise on the russian frontier. by the beginning of the permian europe was higher above the water than it had ever yet been; there was only a sea in russia and a southern sea with narrow arms trailing to the northwest. the continent of north america also had meantime emerged. the rise of the appalachia and ouachita mountains completes the emergence of the eastern continent, and throws the sea to the west. the asiatic continent also is greatly enlarged, and in the southern hemisphere there is a further rise, culminating in the permian, of the continent ("gondwana land") which united south america, south africa, the antarctic land, australia and new zealand, with an arm to india. in a word, we have here a physical revolution in the face of the earth. the changes were generally gradual, though they seem in some places to have been rapid and abrupt (chamberlin); but in summary they amounted to a vast revolution in the environment of animals and plants. the low-lying, swampy, half-submerged continents reared themselves upward from the sea-level, shook the marshes and lagoons from their face, and drained the vast areas that had fostered the growth of the coal-forests. it is calculated (chamberlin) that the shallow seas which had covered twenty or thirty million square miles of our continental surfaces in the early carboniferous were reduced to about five million square miles in the permian. geologists believe, in fact, that the area of exposed land was probably greater than it is now. this lifting and draining of so much land would of itself have a profound influence on life-conditions, and then we must take account of its indirect influence. the moisture of the earlier period was probably due in the main to the large proportion of sea-surface and the absence of high land to condense it. in both respects there is profound alteration, and the atmosphere must have become very much drier. as this vapour had been one of the atmosphere's chief elements for retaining heat at the surface of the earth, the change will involve a great lowering of temperature. the slanting of the raised land would aid this, as, in speeding the rivers, it would promote the circulation of water. another effect would be to increase the circulation of the atmosphere. the higher and colder lands would create currents of air that had not been formed before. lastly, the ocean currents would be profoundly modified; but the effect of this is obscure, and may be disregarded for the moment. here, therefore, we have a massive series of causes and effects, all connected with the great emergence of the land, which throw a broad light on the change in the face of the earth. we must add the lessening of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. quite apart from theories of the early atmosphere, this process must have had a great influence, and it is included by professor chamberlin among the causes of the world-wide change. the rocks and forests of the carboniferous period are calculated to have absorbed two hundred times as much carbon as there is in the whole of our atmosphere to-day. where the carbon came from we may leave open. the planetesimalists look for its origin mainly in volcanic eruptions, but, though there was much volcanic activity in the later carboniferous and the permian, there is little trace of it before the coal-forests (after the cambrian). however that may be, there was a considerable lessening of the carbon-dioxide of the atmosphere, and this in turn had most important effects. first, the removal of so much carbon-dioxide and vapour would be a very effective reason for a general fall in the temperature of the earth. the heat received from the sun could now radiate more freely into space. secondly, it has been shown by experiment that a richness in carbon-dioxide favours cryptogamous plants (though it is injurious to higher plants), and a reduction of it would therefore be hurtful to the cryptogams of the coal-forest. one may almost put it that, in their greed, they exhausted their store. thirdly, it meant a great purification of the atmosphere, and thus a most important preparation of the earth for higher land animals and plants. the reader will begin to think that we have sufficiently "explained" the permian revolution. far from it. some of its problems are as yet insoluble. we have given no explanation at all why the ice-sheets, which we would in a general way be prepared to expect, appear in india and australia, instead of farther north and south. professor chamberlin, in a profound study of the period (appendix to vol. ii, "geology"), suggests that the new land from new zealand to antarctica may have diverted the currents (sea and air) up the indian ocean, and caused a low atmospheric pressure, much precipitation of moisture, and perpetual canopies of clouds to shield the ice from the sun. since the outer polar regions themselves had been semi-tropical up to that time, it is very difficult to see how this will account for a freezing temperature in such latitudes as australia and india. there does not seem to have been any ice at the poles up to that time, or for ages afterwards, so that currents from the polar regions would be very different from what they are today. if, on the other hand, we may suppose that the rise of "gondwana land" (from brazil to india) was attended by the formation of high mountains in those latitudes, we have the basis, at least, of a more plausible explanation. professor chamberlin rejects this supposition on the ground that the traces of ice-action are at or near the sea-level, since we find with them beds containing marine fossils. but this only shows, at the most, that the terminations of the glaciers reached the sea. we know nothing of the height of the land from which they started. for our main purpose, however, it is fortunately not necessary to clear up these mysteries. it is enough for us that the carboniferous land rises high above the surface of the ocean over the earth generally. the shallow seas are drained off its surface; its swamps and lagoons generally disappear; its waters run in falling rivers to the ocean. the dense, moist, warm atmosphere that had so long enveloped it is changed into a thinner mantle of gas, through which, night by night, the sun-soaked ground can discharge its heat into space. cold winds blow over it from the new mountains; probably vast regions of it are swept by icy blasts from the glaciated lands. as these conditions advance in the permian period, the forests wither and shrink. of the extraordinarily mixed vegetation which we found in the coal-forests some few types are fitted to meet the severe conditions. the seed-bearing trees, the thin, needle-leafed trees, the trees with stronger texture of the wood, are slowly singled out by the deepening cold. the golden age of cryptogams is over. the age of the cycad and the conifers is opening. survivors of the old order linger in the warmer valleys, as one may see to-day tree-ferns lingering in nooks of southern regions while an antarctic wind is whistling on the hills above them; but over the broad earth the luscious pasturage of the coal-forest has changed into what is comparatively a cold desert. we must not, of course, imagine too abrupt a change. the earth had been by no means all swamp in the carboniferous age. the new types were even then developing in the cooler and drier localities. but their hour has come, and there is great devastation among the lower plant population of the earth. it follows at once that there would be, on land, an equal devastation and a similar selection in the animal world. the vegetarians suffered an appalling reduction of their food; the carnivores would dwindle in the same proportion. both types, again, would suffer from the enormous changes in their physical surroundings. vast stretches of marsh, with teeming populations, were drained, and turned into firm, arid plains or bleak hill-sides. the area of the amphibia, for instance, was no less reduced than their food. the cold, in turn, would exercise a most formidable selection. before the permian period there was not on the whole earth an animal with a warm-blooded (four-chambered) heart or a warm coat of fur or feathers; nor was there a single animal that gave any further care to the eggs it discharged, and left to the natural warmth of the earth to develop. the extermination of species in the egg alone must have been enormous. it is impossible to convey any just impression of the carnage which this permian revolution wrought among the population of the earth. we can but estimate how many species of animals and plants were exterminated, and the reader must dimly imagine the myriads of living things that are comprised in each species. an earlier american geologist, professor le conte, said that not a single carboniferous species crossed the line of the permian revolution. this has proved to be an exaggeration, but professor chamberlin seems to fall into an exaggeration on the other side when he says that out of , species survived. there are only about species of animals and plants known in the whole of the permian rocks (geikie), and most of these are new. for instance, of the enormous plant-population of the coal-forests, comprising many thousands of species, only fifty species survived unchanged in the permian. we may say that, as far as our knowledge goes, of every thirty species of animals and plants in the carboniferous period, twenty-eight were blotted out of the calendar of life for ever; one survived by undergoing such modifications that it became a new species, and one was found fit to endure the new conditions for a time. we must leave it to the imagination to appreciate the total devastation of individuals entailed in this appalling application of what we call natural selection. but what higher types of life issued from the womb of nature after so long and painful a travail? the annihilation of the unfit is the seamy side, though the most real side, of natural selection. we ignore it, or extenuate it, and turn rather to consider the advances in organisation by which the survivors were enabled to outlive the great chill and impoverishment. unfortunately, if the permian period is an age of death, it is not an age of burials. the fossil population of its cemeteries is very scanty. not only is the living population enormously reduced, but the areas that were accustomed to entomb and preserve organisms--the lake and shore deposits--are also greatly reduced. the frames of animals and plants now rot on the dry ground on which they live. even in the seas, where life must have been much reduced by the general disturbance of conditions, the record is poor. molluscs and brachiopods and small fishes fill the list, but are of little instructiveness for us, except that they show a general advance of species. among the cephalopods, it is true, we find a notable arrival. on the one hand, a single small straight-shelled cephalopod lingers for a time with the ancestral form; on the other hand, a new and formidable competitor appears among the coiled-shell cephalopods. it is the first appearance of the famous ammonite, but we may defer the description of it until we come to the great age of ammonites. of the insects and their fortunes in the great famine we have no direct knowledge; no insect remains have yet been found in permian rocks. we shall, however, find them much advanced in the next period, and must conclude that the selection acted very effectively among their thousand carboniferous species. the most interesting outcome of the new conditions is the rise and spread of the reptiles. no other sign of the times indicates so clearly the dawn of a new era as the appearance of these primitive, clumsy reptiles, which now begin to oust the amphibia. the long reign of aquatic life is over; the ensign of progress passes to the land animals. the half-terrestrial, half-aquatic amphibian deserts the water entirely (in one or more of its branches), and a new and fateful dynasty is founded. although many of the reptiles will return to the water, when the land sinks once more, the type of the terrestrial quadruped is now fully evolved, and from its early reptilian form will emerge the lords of the air and the lords of the land, the birds and the mammals. to the uninformed it may seem that no very great advance is made when the reptile is evolved from the amphibian. in reality the change implies a profound modification of the frame and life of the vertebrate. partly, we may suppose, on account of the purification of the air, partly on account of the decrease in water surface, the gills are now entirely discarded. the young reptile loses them during its embryonic life--as man and all the mammals and birds do to-day--and issues from the egg a purely lung-breathing creature. a richer blood now courses through the arteries, nourishing the brain and nerves as well as the muscles. the superfluous tissue of the gill-structures is used in the improvement of the ear and mouth-parts; a process that had begun in the amphibian. the body is raised up higher from the ground, on firmer limbs; the ribs and the shoulder and pelvic bones--the saddles by which the weight of the body is adjusted between the limbs and the backbone--are strengthened and improved. finally, two important organs for the protection and nurture of the embryo (the amnion and the allantois) make their appearance for the first time in the reptile. in grade of organisation the reptile is really nearer to the bird than it is to the salamander. yet these permian reptiles are so generalised in character and so primitive in structure that they point back unmistakably to an amphibian ancestry. the actual line of descent is obscure. when the reptiles first appear in the rocks, they are already divided into widely different groups, and must have been evolved some time before. probably they started from some group or groups of the amphibia in the later carboniferous, when, as we saw, the land began to rise considerably. we have not yet recovered, and may never recover, the region where the early forms lived, and therefore cannot trace the development in detail. the fossil archives, we cannot repeat too often, are not a continuous, but a fragmentary, record of the story of life. the task of the evolutionist may be compared to the work of tracing the footsteps of a straying animal across the country. here and there its traces will be amply registered on patches of softer ground, but for the most part they will be entirely lost on the firmer ground. so it is with the fossil record of life. only in certain special conditions are the passing forms buried and preserved. in this case we can say only that the permian reptiles fall into two great groups, and that one of these shows affinities to the small salamander-like amphibia of the coal-forest (the microsaurs), while the other has affinities to the labyrinthodonts. a closer examination of these early reptiles may be postponed until we come to speak of the "age of reptiles." we shall see that it is probable that an even higher type of animal, the mammal, was born in the throes of the permian revolution. but enough has been said in vindication of the phrase which stands at the head of this chapter; and to show how the great primary age of terrestrial life came to a close. with its new inhabitants the earth enters upon a fresh phase, and thousands of its earlier animals and plants are sealed in their primordial tombs, to await the day when man will break the seals and put flesh once more on the petrified bones. chapter xi. the middle ages of the earth the story of the earth from the beginning of the cambrian period to the present day was long ago divided by geologists into four great eras. the periods we have already covered--the cambrian, ordovician, silurian, devonian, carboniferous, and permian--form the primary or palaeozoic era, to which the earlier archaean rocks were prefixed as a barren and less interesting introduction. the stretch of time on which we now enter, at the close of the permian, is the secondary or mesozoic era. it will be closed by a fresh upheaval of the earth and disturbance of life-conditions in the chalk period, and followed by a tertiary era, in which the earth will approach its modern aspect. at its close there will be another series of upheavals, culminating in a great ice-age, and the remaining stretch of the earth's story, in which we live, will form the quaternary era. in point of duration these four eras differ enormously from each other. if the first be conceived as comprising sixteen million years--a very moderate estimate--the second will be found to cover less than eight million years, the third less than three million years, and the fourth, the age of man, much less than one million years; while the archaean age was probably as long as all these put together. but the division is rather based on certain gaps, or "unconformities," in the geological record; and, although the breaches are now partially filled, we saw that they correspond to certain profound and revolutionary disturbances in the face of the earth. we retain them, therefore, as convenient and logical divisions of the biological as well as the geological chronicle, and, instead of passing from one geological period to another, we may, for the rest of the story, take these three eras as wholes, and devote a few chapters to the chief advances made by living things in each era. the mesozoic era will be a protracted reaction between two revolutions: a period of low-lying land, great sea-invasions, and genial climate, between two upheavals of the earth. the tertiary era will represent a less sharply defined depression, with genial climate and luxuriant life, between two such upheavals. the mesozaic ("middle life") era may very fitly be described as the middle ages of life on the earth. it by no means occupies a central position in the chronicle of life from the point of view of time or antiquity, just as the middle ages of europe are by no means the centre of the chronicle of mankind, but its types of animals and plants are singularly transitional between the extinct ancient and the actual modern types. life has been lifted to a higher level by the permian revolution. then, for some millions of years, the sterner process of selection relaxes, the warm bosom of the earth swarms again with a teeming and varied population, and a rich material is provided for the next great application of drastic selective agencies. to a poet it might seem that nature indulges each succeeding and imperfect type of living thing with a golden age before it is dismissed to make place for the higher. the mesozoic opens in the middle of the great revolution described in the last chapter. its first section, the triassic period, is at first a mere continuation of the permian. a few hundred species of animals and hardy plants are scattered over a relatively bleak and inhospitable globe. then the land begins to sink once more. the seas spread in great arms over the revelled continents, the plant world rejoices in the increasing warmth and moisture, and the animals increase in number and variety. we pass into the jurassic period under conditions of great geniality. warm seas are found as far north and south as our present polar regions, and the low-lying fertile lands are covered again with rich, if less gigantic, forests, in which hordes of stupendous animals find ample nourishment. the mammal and the bird are already on the stage, but their warm coats and warm blood offer no advantage in that perennial summer, and they await in obscurity the end of the golden age of the reptiles. at the end of the jurassic the land begins to rise once more. the warm, shallow seas drain off into the deep oceans, and the moist, swampy lands are dried. the emergence continues throughout the cretaceous (chalk) period. chains of vast mountains rise slowly into the air in many parts of the earth, and a new and comparatively rapid change in the vegetation--comparable to that at the close of the carboniferous--announces the second great revolution. the mesozoic closes with the dismissal of the great reptiles and the plants on which they fed, and the earth is prepared for its new monarchs, the flowering plants, the birds, and the mammals. how far this repeated levelling of the land after its repeated upheavals is due to a real sinking of the crust we cannot as yet determine. the geologist of our time is disposed to restrict these mysterious rises and falls of the crust as much as possible. a much more obvious and intelligible agency has to be considered. the vast upheaval of nearly all parts of the land during the permian period would naturally lead to a far more vigorous scouring of its surface by the rains and rivers. the higher the land, the more effectively it would be worn down. the cooler summits would condense the moisture, and the rains would sweep more energetically down the slopes of the elevated continents. there would thus be a natural process of levelling as long as the land stood out high above the water-line, but it seems probable that there was also a real sinking of the crust. such subsidences have been known within historic times. by the end of the triassic--a period of at least two million years--the sea had reconquered a vast proportion of the territory wrested from it in the permian revolution. most of europe, west of a line drawn from the tip of norway to the black sea, was under water--generally open sea in the south and centre, and inland seas or lagoons in the west. the invasion of the sea continued, and reached its climax, in the jurassic period. the greater part of europe was converted into an archipelago. a small continent stood out in the baltic region. large areas remained above the sea-level in austria, germany, and france. ireland, wales, and much of scotland were intact, and it is probable that a land bridge still connected the west of europe with the east of america. europe generally was a large cluster of islands and ridges, of various sizes, in a semi-tropical sea. southern asia was similarly revelled, and it is probable that the seas stretched, with little interruption, from the west of europe to the pacific. the southern continent had deep wedges of the sea driven into it. india, new zealand, and australia were successively detached from it, and by the end of the mesozoic it was much as we find it to-day. the arctic continent (north of europe) was flooded, and there was a great interior sea in the western part of the north american continent. this summary account of the levelling process which went on during the triassic and jurassic will prepare us to expect a return of warm climate and luxurious life, and this the record abundantly evinces. the enormous expansion of the sea--a great authority, neumayr, believes that it was the greatest extension of the sea that is known in geology--and lowering of the land would of itself tend to produce this condition, and it may be that the very considerable volcanic activity, of which we find evidence in the permian and triassic, had discharged great volumes of carbon-dioxide into the atmosphere. whatever the causes were, the earth has returned to paradisiacal conditions. the vast ice-fields have gone, the scanty and scrubby vegetation is replaced by luscious forests of cycads, conifers, and ferns, and warmth-loving animals penetrate to what are now the arctic and antarctic regions. greenland and spitzbergen are fragments of a continent that then bore a luxuriant growth of ferns and cycads, and housed large reptiles that could not now live thousands of miles south of it. england, and a large part of europe, was a tranquil blue coral-ocean, the fringes of its islands girt with reefs such as we find now only three thousand miles further south, with vast shoals of ammonites, sometimes of gigantic size, preying upon its living population or evading its monstrous sharks; while the sunlit lands were covered with graceful, palmlike cycads and early yews and pines and cypresses, and quaint forms of reptiles throve on the warm earth or in the ample swamps, or rushed on outstretched wings through the purer air. it was an evergreen world, a world, apparently, of perpetual summer. no trace is found until the next period of an alternation of summer and winter--no trees that shed their leaves annually, or show annual rings of growth in the wood--and there is little trace of zones of climate as yet. it is true that the sensitive ammonites differ in the northern and the southern latitudes, but, as professor chamberlin says, it is not clear that the difference points to a diversity of climate. we may conclude that the absence of corals higher than the north of england implies a more temperate climate further north, but what sir a. geikie calls (with slight exaggeration) "the almost tropical aspect" of greenland warns us to be cautious. the climate of the mid-jurassic was very much warmer and more uniform than the climate of the earth to-day. it was an age of great vital expansion. and into this luxuriant world we shall presently find a fresh period of elevation, disturbance, and cold breaking with momentous evolutionary results. meantime, we may take a closer look at these interesting inhabitants of the middle ages of the earth, before they pass away or are driven, in shrunken regiments, into the shelter of the narrowing tropics. the principal change in the aspect of the earth, as the cold, arid plains and slopes of the triassic slowly yield the moist and warm ow-lying lands of the jurassic, to consists in the character of the vegetation. it is wholly intermediate in its forms between that of the primitive forests and that of the modern world. the great cryptogams of the carboniferous world--the giant club-mosses and their kindred--have been slain by the long period of cold and drought. smaller horsetails (sometimes of a great size, but generally of the modern type) and club-mosses remain, but are not a conspicuous feature in the landscape. on the other hand, there is as yet--apart from the conifers--no trace of the familiar trees and flowers and grasses of the later world. the vast majority of the plants are of the cycad type. these--now confined to tropical and subtropical regions--with the surviving ferns, the new conifers, and certain trees of the ginkgo type, form the characteristic mesozoic vegetation. a few words in the language of the modern botanist will show how this vegetation harmonises with the story of evolution. plants are broadly divided into the lower kingdom of the cryptogams (spore-bearing) and the upper kingdom of the phanerogams (seed-bearing). as we saw, the primary era was predominantly the age of cryptogams; the later periods witness the rise and supremacy of the phanerogams. but these in turn are broadly divided into a less advanced group, the gymnosperms, and a more advanced group, the angiosperms or flowering plants. and, just as the primary era is the age of cryptogams, the secondary is the age of gymnosperms, and the tertiary (and present) is the age of angiosperms. of about , species of plants in nature to-day more than , are angiosperms; yet up to the end of the jurassic not a single true angiosperm is found in the geological record. this is a broad manifestation of evolution, but it is not quite an accurate statement, and its inexactness still more strongly confirms the theory of evolution. though the primary era was predominantly the age of cryptogams, we saw that a very large number of seed-bearing plants, with very mixed characters, appeared before its close. it thus prepares the way for the cycads and conifers and ginkgoes of the mesozoic, which we may conceive as evolved from one or other branch of the mixed carboniferous vegetation. we next find that the mesozoic is by no means purely an age of gymnosperms. i do not mean merely that the angiosperms appear in force before its close, and were probably evolved much earlier. the fact is that the gymnosperms of the mesozoic are often of a curiously mixed character, and well illustrate the transition to the angiosperms, though they may not be their actual ancestors. this will be clearer if we glance in succession at the various types of plant which adorned and enriched the jurassic world. the european or american landscape--indeed, the aspect of the earth generally, for there are no pronounced zones of climate--is still utterly different from any that we know to-day. no grass carpets the plains; none of the flowers or trees with which we are familiar, except conifers, are found in any region. ferns grow in great abundance, and have now reached many of the forms with which we are acquainted. thickets of bracken spread over the plains; clumps of royal ferns and hartstongues spring up in moister parts. the trees are conifers, cycads, and trees akin to the ginkgo, or maidenhair tree, of modern japan. cypresses, yews, firs, and araucarias (the monkey puzzle group) grow everywhere, though the species are more primitive than those of today. the broad, fan-like leaves and plum-like fruit of the ginkgoales, of which the temple-gardens of japan have religiously preserved a solitary descendant, are found in the most distant regions. but the most frequent and characteristic tree of the jurassic landscape is the cycad. the cycads--the botanist would say cycadophyta or cycadales, to mark them off from the cycads of modern times--formed a third of the whole jurassic vegetation, while to-day they number only about a hundred species in , , and are confined to warm latitudes. all over the earth, from the arctic to the antarctic, their palm-like foliage showered from the top of their generally short stems in the jurassic. but the most interesting point about them is that a very large branch of them (the bennettiteae) went far beyond the modern gymnosperm in their flowers and fruit, and approached the angiosperms. their fructifications "rivalled the largest flowers of the present day in structure and modelling" (scott), and possibly already gave spots of sober colour to the monotonous primitive landscape. on the other hand, they approached the ferns so much more closely than modern cycads do that it is often impossible to say whether jurassic remains must be classed as ferns or cycads. we have here, therefore, a most interesting evolutionary group. the botanist finds even more difficulty than the zoologist in drawing up the pedigrees of his plants, but the general features of the larger groups which he finds in succession in the chronicle of the earth point very decisively to evolution. the seed-bearing ferns of the coal-forest point upward to the later stage, and downward to a common origin with the ordinary spore-bearing ferns. some of them are "altogether of a cycadean type" (scott) in respect of the seed. on the other hand, the bennettiteae of the jurassic have the mixed characters of ferns, cycads, and flowering plants, and thus, in their turn, point downward to a lower ancestry and upward to the next great stage in plant-development. it is not suggested that the seed-ferns we know evolved into the cycads we know, and these in turn into our flowering plants. it is enough for the student of evolution to see in them so many stages in the evolution of plants up to the angiosperm level. the gaps between the various groups are less rigid than scientific men used to think. taller than the cycads, firmer in the structure of the wood, and destined to survive in thousands of species when the cycads would be reduced to a hundred, were the pines and yews and other conifers of the jurassic landscape. we saw them first appearing, in the stunted walchias and voltzias, during the severe conditions of the permian period. like the birds and mammals they await the coming of a fresh period of cold to give them a decided superiority over the cycads. botanists look for their ancestors in some form related to the cordaites of the coal-forest. the ginkgo trees seem to be even more closely related to the cordaites, and evolved from an early and generalised branch of that group. the cordaites, we may recall, more or less united in one tree the characters of the conifer (in their wood) and the cycad (in their fruit). so much for the evolutionary aspect of the jurassic vegetation in itself. slender as the connecting links are, it points clearly enough to a selection of higher types during the permian revolution from the varied mass of the carboniferous flora, and it offers in turn a singularly varied and rich group from which a fresh selection may choose yet higher types. we turn now to consider the animal population which, directly or indirectly, fed upon it, and grew with its growth. to the reptiles, the birds, and the mammals, we must devote special chapters. here we may briefly survey the less conspicuous animals of the mesozoic epoch. the insects would be one of the chief classes to benefit by the renewed luxuriance of the vegetation. the hymenopters (butterflies) have not yet appeared. they will, naturally, come with the flowers in the next great phase of organic life. but all the other orders of insects are represented, and many of our modern genera are fully evolved. the giant insects of the coal-forest, with their mixed patriarchal features, have given place to more definite types. swarms of dragon-flies, may-flies, termites (with wings), crickets, and cockroaches, may be gathered from the preserved remains. the beetles (coleopters) have come on the scene in the triassic, and prospered exceedingly. in some strata three-fourths of the insects are beetles, and as we find that many of them are wood-eaters, we are not surprised. flies (dipters) and ants (hymenopters) also are found, and, although it is useless to expect to find the intermediate forms of such frail creatures, the record is of some evolutionary interest. the ants are all winged. apparently there is as yet none of the remarkable division of labour which we find in the ants to-day, and we may trust that some later period of change may throw light on its origin. just as the growth of the forests--for the mesozoic vegetation has formed immense coal-beds in many parts of the world, even in yorkshire and scotland--explains this great development of the insects, they would in their turn supply a rich diet to the smaller land animals and flying animals of the time. we shall see this presently. let us first glance at the advances among the inhabitants of the seas. the most important and stimulating event in the seas is the arrival of the ammonite. one branch of the early shell-fish, it will be remembered, retained the head of its naked ancestor, and lived at the open mouth of its shell, thus giving birth to the cephalopods. the first form was a long, straight, tapering shell, sometimes several feet long. in the course of time new forms with curved shells appeared, and began to displace the straight-shelled. then cephalopods with close-coiled shells, like the nautilus, came, and--such a shell being an obvious advantage--displaced the curved shells. in the permian, we saw, a new and more advanced type of the coiled-shell animal, the ammonite, made its appearance, and in the triassic and jurassic it becomes the ogre or tyrant of the invertebrate world. sometimes an inch or less in diameter, it often attained a width of three feet or more across the shell, at the aperture of which would be a monstrous and voracious mouth. the ammonites are not merely interesting as extinct monsters of the earth's middle ages, and stimulating terrors of the deep to the animals on which they fed. they have an especial interest for the evolutionist. the successive chambers which the animal adds, as it grows, to the habitation of its youth, leave the earlier chambers intact. by removing them in succession in the adult form we find an illustration of the evolution of the elaborate shell of the jurassic ammonite. it is an admirable testimony to the validity of the embryonic law we have often quoted--that the young animal is apt to reproduce the past stages of its ancestry--that the order of the building of the shell in the late ammonite corresponds to the order we trace in its development in the geological chronicle. about a thousand species of ammonites were developed in the mesozoic, and none survived the mesozoic. like the trilobites of the primary era, like the contemporary great reptiles on land, the ammonites were an abortive growth, enjoying their hour of supremacy until sterner conditions bade them depart. the pretty nautilus is the only survivor to-day of the vast mesozoic population of coiled-shell cephalopods. a rival to the ammonite appeared in the triassic seas, a formidable forerunner of the cuttle-fish type of cephalopod. the animal now boldly discards the protecting and confining shell, or spreads over the outside of it, and becomes a "shell-fish" with the shell inside. the octopus of our own time has advanced still further, and become the most powerful of the invertebrates. the belemnite, as the mesozoic cuttle-fish is called, attained so large a size that the internal bone, or pen (the part generally preserved), is sometimes two feet in length. the ink-bags of the belemnite also are sometimes preserved, and we see how it could balk a pursuer by darkening the waters. it was a compensating advantage for the loss of the shell. in all the other classes of aquatic animals we find corresponding advances. in the remaining molluscs the higher or more effective types are displacing the older. it is interesting to note that the oyster is fully developed, and has a very large kindred, in the mesozoic seas. among the brachiopods the higher sloping-shoulder type displaces the square-shoulder shells. in the crustacea the trilobites and eurypterids have entirely disappeared; prawns and lobsters abound, and the earliest crab makes its appearance in the english jurassic rocks. this sudden arrival of a short-tailed crustacean surprises us less when we learn that the crab has a long tail in its embryonic form, but the actual line of its descent is not clear. among the echinoderms we find that the cystids and blastoids have gone, and the sea-lilies reach their climax in beauty and organisation, to dwindle and almost disappear in the last part of the mesozoic. one jurassic sea-lily was found to have , distinct ossicles in its petrified frame. the free-moving echinoderms are now in the ascendant, the sea-urchins being especially abundant. the corals are, as we saw, extremely abundant, and a higher type (the hexacoralla) is superseding the earlier and lower (tetracoralla). finally, we find a continuous and conspicuous advance among the fishes. at the close of the triassic and during the jurassic they seem to undergo profound and comparatively rapid changes. the reason will, perhaps, be apparent in the next chapter, when we describe the gigantic reptiles which feed on them in the lakes and shore-waters. a greater terror than the shark had appeared in their environment. the ganoids and dipneusts dwindle, and give birth to their few modern representatives. the sharks with crushing teeth diminish in number, and the sharp-toothed modern shark attains the supremacy in its class, and evolves into forms far more terrible than any that we know to-day. skates and rays of a more or less modern type, and ancestral gar-pikes and sturgeons, enter the arena. but the most interesting new departure is the first appearance, in the jurassic, of bony-framed fishes (teleosts). their superiority in organisation soon makes itself felt, and they enter upon the rapid evolution which will, by the next period, give them the first place in the fish world. over the whole mesozoic world, therefore, we find advance and the promise of greater advance. the permian stress has selected the fittest types to survive from the older order; the jurassic luxuriance is permitting a fresh and varied expansion of life, in preparation for the next great annihilation of the less fit and selection of the more fit. life pauses before another leap. the mesozoic earth--to apply to it the phrase which a geologist has given to its opening phase--welcomes the coming and speeds the parting guest. in the depths of the ocean a new movement is preparing, but we have yet to study the highest forms of mesozoic life before we come to the cretaceous disturbances. chapter xii. the age of reptiles from one point of view the advance of life on the earth seems to proceed not with the even flow of a river, but in the successive waves of an oncoming tide. it is true that we have detected a continuous advance behind all these rising and receding waves, yet their occurrence is a fact of some interest, and not a little speculation has been expended on it. when the great procession of life first emerges out of the darkness of archaean times, it deploys into a spreading world of strange crustaceans, and we have the age of trilobites. later there is the age of fishes, then of cryptogams and amphibia, and then of cycads and reptiles, and there will afterwards be an age of birds and mammals, and finally an age of man. but there is no ground for mystic speculation on this circumstance of a group of organisms fording the earth for a few million years, and then perishing or dwindling into insignificance. we shall see that a very plain and substantial process put an end to the age of the cycads, ammonites, and reptiles, and we have seen how the earlier dynasties ended. the phrase, however, the age of reptiles, is a fitting and true description of the greater part of the mesozoic era, which lies, like a fertile valley, between the permian and the chalk upheavals. from the bleak heights of the permian period, or--more probably--from its more sheltered regions, in which they have lingered with the ferns and cycads, the reptiles spread out over the earth, as the summer of the triassic period advances. in the full warmth and luxuriance of the jurassic they become the most singular and powerful army that ever trod the earth. they include small lizard-like creatures and monsters more than a hundred feet in length. they swim like whales in the shallow seas; they shrink into the shell of the giant turtle; they rear themselves on towering hind limbs, like colossal kangaroos; they even rise into the air, and fill it with the dragons of the fairy tale. they spread over the whole earth from australia to the arctic circle. then the earth seems to grow impatient of their dominance, and they shrink towards the south, and struggle in a diminished territory. the colossal monsters and the formidable dragons go the way of all primitive life, and a ragged regiment of crocodiles, turtles, and serpents in the tropics, with a swarm of smaller creatures in the fringes of the warm zone, is all that remains, by the tertiary era, of the world-conquering army of the mesozoic reptiles. they had appeared, as we said, in the permian period. probably they had been developed during the later carboniferous, since we find them already branched into three orders, with many sub-orders, in the permian. the stimulating and selecting disturbances which culminated in the permian revolution had begun in the carboniferous. their origin is not clear, as the intermediate forms between them and the amphibia are not found. this is not surprising, if we may suppose that some of the amphibia had, in the growing struggle, pushed inland, or that, as the land rose and the waters were drained in certain regions, they had gradually adopted a purely terrestrial life, as some of the frogs have since done. in the absence of water their frames would not be preserved and fossilised. we can, therefore, understand the gap in the record between the amphibia and the reptiles. from their structure we gather that they sprang from at least two different branches of the amphibia. their remains fall into two great groups, which are known as the diapsid and the synapsid reptiles. the former seem to be more closely related to the microsauria, or small salamander-like amphibia of the coal-forest; the latter are nearer to the labyrinthodonts. it is not suggested that these were their actual ancestors, but that they came from the same early amphibian root. we find both these groups, in patriarchal forms, in europe, north america, and south africa during the permian period. they are usually moderate in size, but in places they seem to have found good conditions and prospered. a few years ago a permian bed in russia yielded a most interesting series of remains of synapsid reptiles. some of them were large vegetarian animals, more than twelve feet in length; others were carnivores with very powerful heads and teeth as formidable as those of the tiger. another branch of the same order lived on the southern continent, gondwana land, and has left numerous remains in south africa. we shall see that they are connected by many authorities with the origin of the mammals. [*] the other branch, the diapsids, are represented to-day by the curiously primitive lizard of new zealand, the tuatara (sphenodon, or hatteria), of which i have seen specimens, nearly two feet in length, that one did not care to approach too closely. the diapsids are chiefly interesting, however, as the reputed ancestors of the colossal reptiles of the jurassic age and the birds. * these synapsid reptiles are more commonly known as pareiasauria or theromorpha. the purified air of the permian world favoured the reptiles' being lung-breathers, but the cold would check their expansion for a time. the reptile, it is important to remember' usually leaves its eggs to be hatched by the natural warmth of the ground. but as the cold of the permian yielded to a genial climate and rich vegetation in the course of the triassic, the reptiles entered upon their memorable development. the amphibia were now definitely ousted from their position of dominance. the increase of the waters had at first favoured them, and we find more than twenty genera, and some very large individuals, of the amphibia in the triassic. one of them, the mastodonsaurus, had a head three feet long and two feet wide. but the spread of the reptiles checked them, and they shrank rapidly into the poor and defenceless tribe which we find them in nature to-day. to follow the prolific expansion of the reptiles in the semi-tropical conditions of the jurassic age is a task that even the highest authorities approach with great diffidence. science is not yet wholly agreed in the classification of the vast numbers of remains which the mesozoic rocks have yielded, and the affinities of the various groups are very uncertain. we cannot be content, however, merely to throw on the screen, as it were, a few of the more quaint and monstrous types out of the teeming mesozoic population, and describe their proportions and peculiarities. they fall into natural and intelligible groups or orders, and their features are closely related to the differing regions of the jurassic world. while, therefore, we must abstain from drawing up settled genealogical trees, we may, as we review in succession the monsters of the land, the waters, and the air, glance at the most recent and substantial conjectures of scientific men as to their origin and connections. the deinosaurs (or "terrible reptiles"), the monarchs of the land and the swamps, are the central and outstanding family of the mesozoic reptiles. as the name implies, this group includes most of the colossal animals, such as the diplodocus, which the illustrated magazine has made familiar to most people. fortunately the assiduous research of american geologists and their great skill and patience in restoring the dead forms enable us to form a very fair picture of this family of medieval giants and its remarkable ramifications. [*] * see, besides the usual authorities, a valuable paper by dr. r. s. lull, "dinosaurian distribution" ( ). the diapsid reptiles of the permian had evolved a group with horny, parrot-like beaks, the rhyncocephalia (or "beak-headed" reptiles), of which the tuatara of new zealand is a lingering representative. new zealand seems to have been cut off from the southern continent at the close of the permian or beginning of the triassic, and so preserved for us that very interesting relic of permian life. from some primitive level of this group, it is generally believed, the great deinosaurs arose. two different orders seem to have arisen independently, or diverged rapidly from each other, in different parts of the world. one group seems to have evolved on the "lost atlantis," the land between western europe and america, whence they spread westward to america, eastward over europe, and southward to the continent which still united africa and australia. we find their remains in all these regions. another stock is believed to have arisen in america. both these groups seem to have been more or less biped, rearing themselves on large and powerful hind limbs, and (in some cases, at least) probably using their small front limbs to hold or grasp their food. the first group was carnivorous, the second herbivorous; and, as the reptiles of the first group had four or five toes on each foot, they are known as the theropods (or "beast-footed" ), while those of the second order, which had three toes, are called the ornithopods (or "bird-footed"). each of them then gave birth to an order of quadrupeds. in the spreading waters and rich swamps of the later triassic some of the theropods were attracted to return to an amphibious life, and became the vast, sprawling, ponderous sauropods, the giants in a world of giants. on the other hand, a branch of the vegetarian ornithopods developed heavy armour, for defence against the carnivores, and became, under the burden of its weight, the quadrupedal and monstrous stegosauria and ceratopsia. taking this instructive general view of the spread of the deinosaurs as the best interpretation of the material we have, we may now glance at each of the orders in succession. the theropods varied considerably in size and agility. the compsognathus was a small, active, rabbit-like creature, standing about two feet high on its hind limbs, while the megalosaurs stretched to a length of thirty feet, and had huge jaws armed with rows of formidable teeth. the ceratosaur, a seventeen-foot-long reptile, had hollow bones, and we find this combination of lightness and strength in several members of the group. in many respects the group points more or less significantly toward the birds. the brain is relatively large, the neck long, and the fore limbs might be used for grasping, but had apparently ceased to serve as legs. many of the theropods were evidently leaping reptiles, like colossal kangaroos, twenty or more feet in length when they were erect. it is the general belief that the bird began its career as a leaping reptile, and the feathers, or expanded scales, on the front limbs helped at first to increase the leap. some recent authorities hold, however, that the ancestor of the bird was an arboreal reptile. to the order of the sauropods belong most of the monsters whose discovery has attracted general attention in recent years. feeding on vegetal matter in the luscious swamps, and having their vast bulk lightened by their aquatic life, they soon attained the most formidable proportions. the admirer of the enormous skeleton of diplodocus (which ran to eighty feet) in the british museum must wonder how even such massive limbs could sustain the mountain of flesh that must have covered those bones. it probably did not walk so firmly as the skeleton suggests, but sprawled in the swamps or swam like a hippopotamus. but the diplodocus is neither the largest nor heaviest of its family. the brontosaur, though only sixty feet long, probably weighed twenty tons. we have its footprints in the rocks to-day, each impression measuring about a square yard. generally, it is the huge thigh-bones of these monsters that have survived, and give us an idea of their size. the largest living elephant has a femur scarcely four feet long, but the femur of the atlantosaur measures more than seventy inches, and the femur of the brachiosaur more than eighty. many of these deinosaurs must have measured more than a hundred feet from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail, and stood about thirty feet high from the ground. the european sauropods did not, apparently, reach the size of their american cousins--so early did the inferiority of europe begin--but our ceteosaur seems to have been about fifty feet long and ten feet in height. its thigh-bone was sixty-four inches long and twenty-seven inches in circumference at the shaft. and in this order of reptiles, it must be remembered, the bones are solid. to complete the picture of the sauropods, we must add that the whole class is characterised by the extraordinary smallness of the brain. the twenty-ton brontosaur had a brain no larger than that of a new-born human infant. quite commonly the brain of one of these enormous animals is no larger than a man's fist. it is true that, as far as the muscular and sexual labour was concerned, the brain was supplemented by a great enlargement of the spinal cord in the sacral region (at the top of the thighs). this inferior "brain" was from ten to twenty times as large as the brain in the skull. it would, however, be fully occupied with the movement of the monstrous limbs and tail, and the sex-life, and does not add in the least to the "mental" power of the sauropods. they were stupid, sluggish, unwieldy creatures, swollen parasites upon a luxuriant vegetation, and we shall easily understand their disappearance at the end of the mesozoic era, when the age of brawn will yield to an age of brain. the next order of the deinosaurs is that of the biped vegetarians, the ornithopods, which gradually became heavily armoured and quadrupedal. the familiar iguanodon is the chief representative of this order in europe. walking on its three-toed hind limbs, its head would be fourteen or fifteen feet from the ground. the front part of its jaws was toothless and covered with horn. it had, in fact, a kind of beak, and it also approached the primitive bird in the structure of its pelvis and in having five toes on its small front limbs. some of the ornithopods, such as the laosaur, were small (three or four feet in height) and active, but many of the american specimens attained a great size. the camptosaur, which was closely related to the iguanodon in structure, was thirty feet from the snout to the end of the tail, and the head probably stood eighteen feet from the ground. one of the last great representatives of the group in america, the trachodon, about thirty feet in length, had a most extraordinary head. it was about three and a half feet in length, and had no less than teeth lining the mouth cavity. it is conjectured that it fed on vegetation containing a large proportion of silica. in the course of the jurassic, as we saw, a branch of these biped, bird-footed vegetarians developed heavy armour, and returned to the quadrupedal habit. we find them both in europe and america, and must suppose that the highway across the north atlantic still existed. the stegosaur is one of the most singular and most familiar representatives of the group in the jurassic. it ran to a length of thirty feet, and had a row of bony plates, from two to three feet in height, standing up vertically along the ridge of its back, while its tail was armed with formidable spikes. the scleidosaur, an earlier and smaller (twelve-foot) specimen, also had spines and bony plates to protect it. the polacanthus and ankylosaur developed a most effective armour-plating over the rear. as we regard their powerful armour, we seem to see the fierce-toothed theropods springing from the rear upon the poor-mouthed vegetarians. the carnivores selected the vegetarians, and fitted them to survive. before the end of the mesozoic, in fact, the ornithopods became aggressive as well as armoured. the triceratops had not only an enormous skull with a great ridged collar round the neck, but a sharp beak, a stout horn on the nose, and two large and sharp horns on the top of the head. we will see something later of the development of horns. the skulls of members of the ceratops family sometimes measured eight feet from the snout to the ridge of the collar. they were, however, sluggish and stupid monsters, with smaller brains even than the sauropods. such, in broad outline, was the singular and powerful family of the mesozoic deinosaurs. further geological research in all parts of the world will, no doubt, increase our knowledge of them, until we can fully understand them as a great family throwing out special branches to meet the different conditions of the crowded jurassic age. even now they afford a most interesting page in the story of evolution, and their total disappearance from the face of the earth in the next geological period will not be unintelligible. we turn from them to the remaining orders of the jurassic reptiles. in the popular mind, perhaps, the ichthyosaur and plesiosaur are the typical representatives of that extinct race. the two animals, however, belong to very different branches of the reptile world, and are by no means the most formidable of the mesozoic reptiles. many orders of the land reptiles sent a branch into the waters in an age which, we saw, was predominantly one of water-surface. the ichthyosauria ("fish-reptiles") and thalattosauria ("sea-reptiles") invaded the waters at their first expansion in the later triassic. the latter groups soon became extinct, but the former continued for some millions of years, and became remarkably adapted to marine life, like the whale at a later period. the ichthyosaur of the jurassic is a remarkably fish-like animal. its long tapering frame--sometimes forty feet in length, but generally less than half that length--ends in a dip of the vertebral column and an expansion of the flesh into a strong tail-fin. the terminal bones of the limbs depart more and more from the quadruped type, until at last they are merely rows of circular bony plates embedded in the broad paddle into which the limb has been converted. the head is drawn out, sometimes to a length of five feet, and the long narrow jaws are set with two formidable rows of teeth; one specimen has about two hundred teeth. in some genera the teeth degenerate in the course of time, but this merely indicates a change of diet. one fossilised ichthyosaur of the weaker-toothed variety has been found with the remains of two hundred belemnites in its stomach. it is a flash of light on the fierce struggle and carnage which some recent writers have vainly striven to attenuate. the eyes, again, which may in the larger animals be fifteen inches in diameter, are protected by a circle of radiating bony plates. in fine, the discovery of young developed skeletons inside the adult frames has taught us that the ichthgosaur had become viviparous, like the mammal. cutting its last connection with the land, on which it originated it ceased to lay eggs, and developed the young within its body. the ichthyosaur came of the reptile group which we have called the diapsids. the plesiosaur seems to belong to the synapsid branch. in the earlier mesozoic we find partially aquatic representatives of the line, like the nothosaur, and in the later plesiosaur the adaptation to a marine life is complete. the skin has lost its scales, and the front limbs are developed into powerful paddles, sometimes six feet in length. the neck is drawn out until, in some specimens, it is found to consist of seventy-six vertebrae: the longest neck in the animal world. it is now doubted, however, if the neck was very flexible, and, as the jaws were imperfectly joined, the common picture of the plesiosaur darting its snake-like neck in all directions to seize its prey is probably wrong. it seems to have lived on small food, and been itself a rich diet to the larger carnivores. we find it in all the seas of the mesozoic world, varying in length from six to forty feet, but it is one of the sluggish and unwieldy forms that are destined to perish in the coming crisis. the last, and perhaps the most interesting, of the doomed monsters of the mesozoic was the pterosaur, or "flying reptile." it is not surprising that in the fierce struggle which is reflected in the arms and armour of the great reptiles, a branch of the family escaped into the upper region. we have seen that there were leaping reptiles with hollow bones, and although the intermediate forms are missing, there is little doubt that the pterosaur developed from one or more of these leaping deinosaurs. as it is at first small, when it appears in the early jurassic--it is disputed in the late triassic--it probably came from a small and agile deinosaur, hunted by the carnivores, which relied on its leaping powers for escape. a flapperlike broadening of the fore limbs would help to lengthen the leap, and we must suppose that this membrane increased until the animal could sail through the air, like the flying-fish, and eventually sustain its weight in the air. the wing is, of course, not a feathery frame, as in the bird, but a special skin spreading between the fore limb and the side of the body. in the bat this skin is supported by four elongated fingers of the hand, but in the pterosaur the fifth (or fourth) finger alone--which is enormously elongated and strengthened--forms its outer frame. it is as if, in flying experiments, a man were to have a web of silk stretching from his arm and an extension of his little finger to the side of his body. from the small early specimens in the early jurassic the flying reptiles grow larger and larger until the time of their extinction in the stresses of the chalk upheaval. small pterosaurs continue throughout the period, but from these bat-like creatures we rise until we come to such dragons as the american pteranodon, with a stretch of twenty-two feet between its extended wings and jaws about four feet long. there were long-tailed pterosaurs (ramphorhyncus), sometimes with a rudder-like expansion of the end of the tail, and short-tailed pterosaurs (pterodactyl), with compact bodies and keeled breasts, like the bird. in the earlier part of the period they all have the heavy jaws and numerous teeth of the reptile, with four or five well-developed fingers on the front limbs. in the course of time they lose the teeth--an advantage in the distribution of the weight of the body while flying--and develop horny beaks. in the gradual shaping of the breast-bone and head, also, they illustrate the evolution of the bird-form. but the birds were meantime developing from a quite different stock, and would replace the pterosaurs at the first change in the environment. there is ground for thinking that these flying reptiles were warm-blooded like the birds. their hollow bones seem to point to the effective breathing of a warm-blooded animal, and the great vitality they would need in flying points toward the same conclusion. their brain, too, approached that of the bird, and was much superior to that of the other reptiles. but they had no warm coats to retain their heat, no clavicle to give strength to the wing machinery, and, especially in the later period, they became very weak in the hind limbs (and therefore weak or slow in starting their flight). the coming selection will therefore dismiss them from the scene, with the deinosaurs and ammonites, and retain the better organised bird as the lord of the air. there remain one or two groups of the mesozoic reptiles which are still represented in nature. the turtle-group (chelonia) makes its appearance in the triassic and thrives in the jurassic. its members are extinct and primitive forms of the thick-shelled reptiles, but true turtles, both of marine and fresh water, abound before the close of the mesozoic. the sea-turtles attain an enormous size. archelon, one of the primitive types, measured about twelve feet across the shell. another was thirteen feet long and fifteen feet from one outstretched flipper to the other. in the chalk period they form more than a third of the reptile remains in some regions. they are extremely interesting in that they show, to some extent, the evolution of their characteristic shell. in some of the larger specimens the ribs have not yet entirely coalesced. the crocodilians also appear in the later triassic, abound in the jurassic, and give way before the later types, the true crocodiles, in the cretaceous. they were marine animals with naked skin, a head and neck something like that of the ichthyosaur, and paddles like those of the plesiosaur. their back limbs, however, were not much changed after their adaptation to life in the sea, and it is concluded that they visited the land to lay their eggs. the teleosaur was a formidable narrow-spouted reptile, somewhat resembling the crocodiles of the ganges in the external form of the jaws. the modern crocodiles, which replaced this ancient race of sea-crocodiles, have a great advantage over them in the fact that their nostrils open into the mouth in its lower depths. they can therefore close their teeth on their prey under water and breathe through the nose. snakes are not found until the close of the mesozoic, and do not figure in its characteristic reptile population. we will consider them later. but there was a large group of reptiles in the later mesozoic seas which more or less correspond to the legendary idea of a sea-serpent. these dolichosaurs ("long reptiles") appear at the beginning of the chalk period, and develop into a group, the mososaurians, which must have added considerably to the terrors of the shore-waters. their slender scale-covered bodies were commonly twenty to thirty feet in length. the supreme representative of the order, the mososaur, of which about forty species are known, was sometimes seventy-five feet long. it had two pairs of paddles--so that the name of sea-serpent is very imperfectly applicable--and four rows of formidable teeth on the roof of its mouth. like the deinosaurs and pterosaurs, the order was doomed to be entirely extinguished after a brief supremacy in its environment. from this short and summary catalogue the reader will be able to form some conception of the living inhabitants of the mesozoic world. it is assuredly the age of reptiles. worms, snails, and spiders were, we may assume, abundant enough, and a great variety of insects flitted from tree to tree or sheltered in the fern brakes. but the characteristic life, in water and on land, was the vast and diversified family of the reptiles. in the western and the eastern continent, and along the narrowing bridge that still united them, in the northern hemisphere and the southern, and along every ridge of land that connected them, these sluggish but formidable monsters filled the stage. every conceivable device in the way of arms and armour, brute strength and means of escape, seemed to be adopted in their development, as if they were the final and indestructible outcome of the life-principle. and within a single geological period the overwhelming majority of them, especially the larger and more formidable of them, were ruthlessly slain, leaving not a single descendant on the earth. let us see what types of animals were thus preferred to them in the next great application of selective processes. chapter xiii. the bird and the mammal in one of his finest stories, sur la pierre blanche, anatole france has imagined a group of roman patricians discussing the future of their empire. the christians, who are about to rise to power on their ruin, they dismiss with amiable indifference as one of the little passing eccentricities of the religious life of their time. they have not the dimmest prevision, even as the dream of a possibility, that in a century or two the empire of rome will lie in the dust, and the cross will tower above all its cities from york to jerusalem. if we might for a moment endow the animals of the mesozoic world with aesopian wisdom, we could imagine some such discussion taking place between a group of deinosaur patricians. they would reflect with pride on the unshakable empire of the reptiles, and perhaps glance with disdain at two types of animals which hid in the recesses or fled to the hills of the jurassic world. and before another era of the earth's story opened, the reptile race would be dethroned, and these hunted and despised and feeble eccentricities of mesozoic life would become the masters of the globe. these two types of organisms were the bird and the mammal. both existed in the jurassic, and the mammals at least had many representatives in the triassic. in other words, they existed, with all their higher organisation, during several million years without attaining power. the mammals remained, during at least , , years, a small and obscure caste, immensely overshadowed by the small-brained reptiles. the birds, while making more progress, apparently, than the mammals, were far outnumbered by the flying reptiles until the last part of the mesozoic. then there was another momentous turn of the wheel of fate, and they emerged from their obscurity to assume the lordship of the globe. in earlier years, when some serious hesitation was felt by many to accept the new doctrine of evolution, a grave difficulty was found in the circumstance that new types--not merely new species and new genera, but new orders and even sub-classes--appeared in the geological record quite suddenly. was it not a singular coincidence that in all cases the intermediate organisms between one type and another should have wholly escaped preservation? the difficulty was generally due to an imperfect acquaintance with the conditions of the problem. the fossil population of a period is only that fraction of its living population which happened to be buried in a certain kind of deposit under water of a certain depth. we shall read later of insects being preserved in resin (amber), and we have animals (and even bacteria) preserved in trees from the coal-forests. generally speaking, however, the earth has buried only a very minute fraction of its land-population. moreover, only a fraction of the earth's cemeteries have yet been opened. when we further reflect that the new type of organism, when it first appears, is a small and local group, we see what the chances are of our finding specimens of it in a few scattered pages of a very fragmentary record of the earth's life. we shall see that we have discovered only about ten skeletons or fragments of skeletons of the men who lived on the earth before the neolithic period; a stretch of some hundreds of thousands of years, recorded in the upper strata of the earth. whatever serious difficulty there ever was in this scantiness of intermediate types is amply met by the fact that every fresh decade of search in the geological tombs brings some to light. we have seen many instances of this--the seed-bearing ferns and flower-bearing cycads, for example, found in the last decade--and will see others. but one of the most remarkable cases of the kind now claims our attention. the bird was probably evolved in the late triassic or early jurassic. it appears in abundance, divided into several genera, in the chalk period. luckily, two bird-skeletons have been found in the intermediate period, the jurassic, and they are of the intermediate type, between the reptile and the bird, which the theory of evolution would suggest. but for the fortunate accident of these two birds being embedded in an ancient bavarian mud-layer, which happened to be opened, for commercial purposes, in the second half of the nineteenth century, critics of evolution--if there still were any in the world of science--might be repeating to-day that the transition from the reptile to the bird was unthinkable in theory and unproven in fact. the features of the archaeopteryx ("primitive bird") have been described so often, and such excellent pictorial restorations of its appearance may now be seen, that we may deal with it briefly. we have in it a most instructive combination of the characters of the bird and the reptile. the feathers alone, the imprint of which is excellently preserved in the fine limestone, would indicate its bird nature, but other anatomical distinctions are clearly seen in it. "there is," says dr. woodward, "a typical bird's 'merrythought' between the wings, and the hind leg is exactly that of a perching bird." in other words, it has the shoulder-girdle and four-toed foot, as well as the feathers, of a bird. on the other hand, it has a long tail (instead of a terminal tuft of feathers as in the bird) consisting of twenty-one vertebrae, with the feathers springing in pairs from either side; it has biconcave vertebrae, like the fishes, amphibia, and reptiles; it has teeth in its jaws; and it has three complete fingers, free and clawed, on its front limbs. as in the living peripatus, therefore, we have here a very valuable connecting link between two very different types of organisms. it is clear that one of the smaller reptiles--the archaeopteryx is between a pigeon and a crow in size--of the triassic period was the ancestor of the birds. its most conspicuous distinction was that it developed a coat of feathers. a more important difference between the bird and the reptile is that the heart of the bird is completely divided into four chambers, but, as we saw, this probably occurred also in the other flying reptiles. it may be said to be almost a condition of the greater energy of a flying animal. when the heart has four complete chambers, the carbonised blood from the tissues of the body can be conveyed direct to the lungs for purification, and the aerated blood taken direct to the tissues, without any mingling of the two. in the mud-fish and amphibian, we saw, the heart has two chambers (auricles) above, but one (ventricle) below, in which the pure and impure blood mingle. in the reptiles a partition begins to form in the lower chamber. in the turtle it is so nearly complete that the venous and the arterial blood are fairly separated; in the crocodile it is quite complete, though the arteries are imperfectly arranged. thus the four-chambered heart of the bird and mammal is not a sudden and inexplicable development. its advantage is enormous in a cold climate. the purer supply of blood increases the combustion in the tissues, and the animal maintains its temperature and vitality when the surrounding air falls in temperature. it ceases to be "cold-blooded." but the bird secures a further advantage, and here it outstrips the flying reptile. the naked skin of the pterosaur would allow the heat to escape so freely when the atmosphere cooled that a great strain would be laid on its vitality. a man lessens the demand on his vitality in cold regions by wearing clothing. the bird somehow obtained clothing, in the shape of a coat of feathers, and had more vitality to spare for life-purposes in a falling temperature. the reptile is strictly limited to one region, the bird can pass from region to region as food becomes scarce. the question of the origin of the feathers can be discussed only from the speculative point of view, as they are fully developed in the archaeopteryx, and there is no approach toward them in any other living or fossil organism. but a long discussion of the problem has convinced scientific men that the feathers are evolved from the scales of the reptile ancestor. the analogy between the shedding of the coat in a snake and the moulting of a bird is not uninstructive. in both cases the outer skin or epidermis is shedding an old growth, to be replaced by a new one. the covering or horny part of the scale and the feather are alike growths from the epidermis, and the initial stages of the growth have certain analogies. but beyond this general conviction that the feather is a development of the scale, we cannot proceed with any confidence. nor need we linger in attempting to trace the gradual modification of the skeleton, owing to the material change in habits. the horny beak and the reduction of the toes are features we have already encountered in the reptile, and the modification of the pelvis, breast-bone, and clavicle are a natural outcome of flight. in the chalk period we find a large number of bird remains, of about thirty different species, and in some respects they resume the story of the evolution of the bird. they are widely removed from our modern types of birds, and still have teeth in the jaws. they are of two leading types, of which the ichthyornis and hesperornis are the standard specimens. the ichthyornis was a small, tern-like bird with the power of flight strongly developed, as we may gather from the frame of its wings and the keel-shaped structure of its breast-bone. its legs and feet were small and slender, and its long, slender jaws had about twenty teeth on each side at the bottom. no modern bird has teeth; though the fact that in some modern species we find the teeth appearing in a rudimentary form is another illustration of the law that animals tend to reproduce ancestral features in their development. a more reptilian character in the ichthyornis group is the fact that, unlike any modern bird, but like their reptile ancestors, they had biconcave vertebrae. the brain was relatively poor. we are still dealing with a type intermediate in some respects between the reptile and the modern bird. the gannets, cormorants, and pelicans are believed to descend from some branch of this group. the other group of cretaceous birds, of the hesperornis type, show an actual degeneration of the power of flight through adaptation to an environment in which it was not needed, as happened, later, in the kiwi of new zealand, and is happening in the case of the barn-yard fowl. these birds had become divers. their wings had shrunk into an abortive bone, while their powerful legs had been peculiarly fitted for diving. they stood out at right angles to the body, and seem to have developed paddles. the whole frame suggests that the bird could neither walk nor fly, but was an excellent diver and swimmer. not infrequently as large as an ostrich (five to six feet high), with teeth set in grooves in its jaws, and the jaws themselves joined as in the snake, with a great capacity of bolting its prey, the hesperornis would become an important element in the life of the fishes. the wing-fingers have gone, and the tail is much shortened, but the grooved teeth and loosely jointed jaws still point back to a reptilian ancestry. these are the only remains of bird-life that we find in the mesozoic rocks. admirably as they illustrate the evolution of the bird from the reptile, they seem to represent a relatively poor development and spread of one of the most advanced organisms of the time. it must be understood that, as we shall see, the latter part of the chalk period does not belong to the depression, the age of genial climate, which i call the middle ages of the earth, but to the revolutionary period which closes it. we may say that the bird, for all its advances in organisation, remains obscure and unprosperous as long as the age of reptiles lasts. it awaits the next massive uplift of the land and lowering of temperature. in an earlier chapter i hinted that the bird and the mammal may have been the supreme outcomes of the series of disturbances which closed the primary epoch and devastated its primitive population. as far as the bird is concerned, this may be doubted on the ground that it first appears in the upper or later jurassic, and is even then still largely reptilian in character. we must remember, however, that the elevation of the land and the cold climate lasted until the second part of the triassic, and it is generally agreed that the bird may have been evolved in the triassic. its slow progress after that date is not difficult to understand. the advantage of a four-chambered heart and warm coat would be greatly reduced when the climate became warmer. the stimulus to advance would relax. the change from a coat of scales to a coat of feathers obviously means adaptation to a low temperature, and there is nothing to prevent us from locating it in the triassic, and indeed no later known period of cold in which to place it. it is much clearer that the mammals were a product of the permian revolution. they not only abound throughout the jurassic, in which they are distributed in more than thirty genera, but they may be traced into the triassic itself. both in north america and europe we find the teeth and fragments of the jaws of small animals which are generally recognised as mammals. we cannot, of course, from a few bones deduce that there already, in the triassic, existed an animal with a fully developed coat of fur and an apparatus, however crude, in the breast for suckling the young. but these bones so closely resemble the bones of the lowest mammals of to-day that this seems highly probable. in the latter part of the long period of cold it seems that some reptile exchanged its scales for tufts of hair, developed a four-chambered heart, and began the practice of nourishing the young from its own blood which would give the mammals so great an ascendancy in a colder world. nor can we complain of any lack of evidence connecting the mammal with a reptile ancestor. the earliest remains we find are of such a nature that the highest authorities are still at variance as to whether they should be classed as reptilian or mammalian. a skull and a fore limb from the triassic of south africa (tritylodon and theriodesmus) are in this predicament. it will be remembered that we divided the primitive reptiles of the permian period into two great groups, the diapsids and synapsids (or theromorphs). the former group have spread into the great reptiles of the jurassic; the latter have remained in comparative obscurity. one branch of these theromorph reptiles approach the mammals so closely in the formation of the teeth that they have received the name "of the theriodonts", or "beast-toothed" reptiles. their teeth are, like those of the mammals, divided into incisors, canines (sometimes several inches long), and molars; and the molars have in some cases developed cusps or tubercles. as the earlier remains of mammals which we find are generally teeth and jaws, the resemblance of the two groups leads to some confusion in classifying them, but from our point of view it is not unwelcome. it narrows the supposed gulf between the reptile and the mammal, and suggests very forcibly the particular branch of the reptiles to which we may look for the ancestry of the mammals. we cannot say that these theriodont reptiles were the ancestors of the mammals. but we may conclude with some confidence that they bring us near to the point of origin, and probably had at least a common ancestor with the mammals. the distribution of the theriodonts suggests a further idea of interest in regard to the origin of the mammals. it would be improper to press this view in the present state of our knowledge, yet it offers a plausible theory of the origin of the mammals. the theriodonts seem to have been generally confined to the southern continent, gondwana land (brazil to australia), of which an area survives in south africa. it is there also that we find the early disputed remains of mammals. now we saw that, during the permian, gondwana land was heavily coated with ice, and it seems natural to suppose that the severe cold which the glacial fields would give to the whole southern continent was the great agency in the evolution of the highest type of the animal world. from this southern land the new-born mammals spread northward and eastward with great rapidity. fitted as they were to withstand the rigorous conditions which held the reptiles and amphibia in check, they seemed destined to attain at once the domination of the earth. then, as we saw, the land was revelled once more until its surface broke into a fresh semi-tropical luxuriance, and the deinosaurs advanced to their triumph. the mammals shrank into a meagre and insignificant population, a scattered tribe of small insect-eating animals, awaiting a fresh refrigeration of the globe. the remains of these interesting early mammals, restricted, as they generally are, to jaws and teeth and a few other bones that cannot in themselves be too confidently distinguished from those of certain reptiles, may seem insufficient to enable us to form a picture of their living forms. in this, however, we receive a singular and fortunate assistance. some of them are found living in nature to-day, and their distinctly reptilian features would, even if no fossil remains were in existence, convince us of the evolution of the mammals. the southern continent on which we suppose the mammals to have originated had its eastern termination in australia. new zealand seems to have been detached early in the mesozoic, and was never reached by the mammals. tasmania was still part of the australian continent. to this extreme east of the southern continent the early mammals spread, and then, during either the jurassic or the cretaceous, the sea completed its inroad, and severed australia permanently from the rest of the earth. the obvious result of this was to shelter the primitive life of australia from invasion by higher types, especially from the great carnivorous mammals which would presently develop. australia became, in other words, a "protected area," in which primitive types of life were preserved from destruction, and were at the same time sheltered from those stimulating agencies which compelled the rest of the world to advance. "advance australia" is the fitting motto of the present human inhabitants of that promising country; but the standard of progress has been set up in a land which had remained during millions of years the chinese empire of the living world. australia is a fragment of the middle ages of the earth, a province fenced round by nature at least three million years ago and preserving, amongst its many invaluable types of life, representatives of that primitive mammal population which we are seeking to understand. it is now well known that the duckbill or platypus (ornithorhyncus) and the spiny anteater (echidna) of australia and tasmania--with one representative of the latter in new guinea, which seems to have been still connected--are semi-reptilian survivors of the first animals to suckle their young. like the reptiles they lay tough-coated eggs and have a single outlet for the excreta, and they have a reptilian arrangement of the bones of the shoulder-girdle; like the mammals, they have a coat of hair and a four-chambered heart, and they suckle the young. even in their mammalian features they are, as the careful research of australian zoologists has shown, of a transitional type. they are warm-blooded, but their temperature is much lower than that of other mammals, and varies appreciably with the temperature of their surroundings. [*] their apparatus for suckling the young is primitive. there are no teats, and the milk is forced by the mother through simple channels upon the breast, from which it is licked by the young. the anteater develops her eggs in a pouch. they illustrate a very early stage in the development of a mammal from a reptile; and one is almost tempted to see in their timorous burrowing habits a reminiscence of the impotence of the early mammals after their premature appearance in the triassic. * see lucas and le soulf's animals of australia, . the next level of mammal life, the highest level that it attains in australia (apart from recent invasions), is the marsupial. the pouched animals (kangaroo, wallaby, etc.) are the princes of pre-human life in australia, and represent the highest point that life had reached when that continent was cut off from the rest of the world. a few words on the real significance of the pouch, from which they derive their name, will suffice to explain their position in the story of evolution. among the reptiles the task of the mother ends, as a rule, with the laying of the egg. one or two modern reptiles hatch the eggs, or show some concern for them, but the characteristic of the reptile is to discharge its eggs upon the warm earth and trouble no further about its young. it is a reminiscence of the warm primitive earth. the bird and mammal, born of the cooling of the earth, exhibit the beginning of that link between mother and offspring which will prove so important an element in the higher and later life of the globe. the bird assists the development of the eggs with the heat of her own body, and feeds the young. the mammal develops the young within the body, and then feeds them at the breast. but there is a gradual advance in this process. the duckbill lays its eggs just like the reptile, but provides a warm nest for them at the bottom of its burrow. the anteater develops a temporary pouch in its body, when it lays an egg, and hatches the egg in it. the marsupial retains the egg in its womb until the young is advanced in development, then transfers the young to the pouch, and forces milk into its mouth from its breasts. the real reason for this is that the marsupial falls far short of the higher mammals in the structure of the womb, and cannot fully develop its young therein. it has no placenta, or arrangement by which the blood-vessels of the mother are brought into connection with the blood-vessels of the foetus, in order to supply it with food until it is fully developed. the marsupial, in fact, only rises above the reptile in hatching the egg within its own body, and then suckling the young at the breast. these primitive mammals help us to reconstruct the mammal life of the mesozoic epoch. the bones that we have are variously described in geological manuals as the remains of monotremes, marsupials, and insectivores. many of them, if not most, were no doubt insect-eating animals, but there is no ground for supposing that what are technically known as insectivores (moles and shrews) existed in the mesozoic. on the other hand, the lower jaw of the marsupial is characterised by a peculiar hooklike process, and this is commonly found in mesozoic jaws. this circumstance, and the witness of australia, permit us, perhaps, to regard the jurassic mammals as predominantly marsupial. it is more difficult to identify monotreme remains, but the fact that monotremes have survived to this day in australia, and the resemblance of some of the mesozoic teeth to those found for a time in the young duckbill justify us in assuming that a part of the mesozoic mammals correspond to the modern monotremes. not single specimen of any higher, or placental, mammal has yet been found in the whole mesozoic era. we must, however, beware of simply transferring to the mesozoic world the kinds of monotremes and marsupials which we know in nature to-day. in some of the excellent "restorations" of mesozoic life which are found in recent illustrated literature the early mammal is represented with an external appearance like that of the duckbill. this is an error, as the duckbill has been greatly modified in its extremities and mouth-parts by its aquatic and burrowing habits. as we have no complete skeletons of these early mammals we must abstain from picturing their external appearance. it is enough that the living monotreme and marsupial so finely illustrate the transition from a reptilian to a mammalian form. there may have been types more primitive than the duckbill, and others between the duckbill and the marsupial. it seems clear, at least, that two main branches, the monotremes and marsupials, arose from the primitive mammalian root. whether either of these became in turn the parent of the higher mammals we will inquire later. we must first consider the fresh series of terrestrial disturbances which, like some gigantic sieve, weeded out the grosser types of organisms, and cleared the earth for a rapid and remarkable expansion of these primitive birds and mammals. we have attended only to a few prominent characters in tracing the line of evolution, but it will be understood that an advance in many organs of the body is implied in these changes. in the lower mammals the diaphragm, or complete partition between the organs of the breast and those of the abdomen, is developed. it is not a sudden and mysterious growth, and its development in the embryo to-day corresponds to the suggestion of its development which the zoologist gathers from the animal series. the ear also is now fully developed. how far the fish has a sense of hearing is not yet fully determined, but the amphibian certainly has an organ for the perception of waves of sound. parts of the discarded gill-arches are gradually transformed into the three bones of the mammal's internal ear; just as other parts are converted into mouth cartilages, and as--it is believed--one of the gill clefts is converted into the eustachian tube. in the monotreme and marsupial the ear-hole begins to be covered with a shell of cartilage; we have the beginning of the external ear. the jaws, which are first developed in the fish, now articulate more perfectly with the skull. fat-glands appear in the skin, and it is probably from a group of these that the milk-glands are developed. the origin of the hairs is somewhat obscure. they are not thought to be, like the bird's feathers, modifications of the reptile's scales, but to have been evolved from other structures in the skin, possibly under the protection of the scales. my purpose is, however, rather to indicate the general causes of the onward advance of life than to study organs in detail--a vast subject--or construct pedigrees. we therefore pass on to consider the next great stride that is taken by the advancing life of the earth. millions of years of genial climate and rich vegetation have filled the earth with a prolific and enormously varied population. over this population the hand of natural selection is outstretched, as it were, and we are about to witness another gigantic removal of older types of life and promotion of those which contain the germs of further advance. as we have already explained, natural selection is by no means inactive during these intervening periods of warmth. we have seen the ammonites and reptiles, and even the birds and mammals, evolve into hundreds of species during the jurassic period. the constant evolution of more effective types of carnivores and their spread into new regions, the continuous changes in the distribution of land and water, the struggle for food in a growing population, and a dozen other causes, are ever at work. but the great and comprehensive changes in the face of the earth which close the eras of the geologist seem to give a deeper and quicker stimulus to its population and result in periods of especially rapid evolution. such a change now closes the mesozoic era, and inaugurates the age of flowering plants, of birds, and of mammals. chapter xiv. in the days of the chalk in accordance with the view of the later story of the earth which was expressed on an earlier page, we now come to the second of the three great revolutions which have quickened the pulse of life on the earth. many men of science resent the use of the word revolution, and it is not without some danger. it was once thought that the earth was really shaken at times by vast and sudden cataclysms, which destroyed its entire living population, so that new kingdoms of plants and animals had to be created. but we have interpreted the word revolution in a very different sense. the series of changes and disturbances to which we give the name extended over a period of hundreds of thousands of years, and they were themselves, in some sense, the creators of new types of organisms. yet they are periods that stand out peculiarly in the comparatively even chronicle of the earth. the permian period transformed the face of the earth; it lifted the low-lying land into a massive relief, drew mantles of ice over millions of miles of its surface, set volcanoes belching out fire and fumes in many parts, stripped it of its great forests, and slew the overwhelming majority of its animals. on the scale of geological time it may be called a revolution. it must be confessed that the series of disturbances which close the secondary and inaugurate the tertiary era cannot so conveniently be summed up in a single formula. they begin long before the end of the mesozoic, and they continue far into the tertiary, with intervals of ease and tranquillity. there seems to have been no culminating point in the series when the uplifted earth shivered in a mantle of ice and snow. yet i propose to retain for this period--beginning early in the cretaceous (chalk) period and extending into the tertiary--the name of the cretaceous revolution. i drew a fanciful parallel between the three revolutions which have quickened the earth since the sluggish days of the coal-forest and the three revolutionary movements which have changed the life of modern europe. it will be remembered that, whereas the first of these european revolutions was a sharp and massive upheaval, the second consisted in a more scattered and irregular series of disturbances, spread over the fourth and fifth decades of the nineteenth century; but they amounted, in effect, to a revolution. so it is with the cretaceous revolution. in effect it corresponds very closely to the permian revolution. on the physical side it includes a very considerable rise of the land over the greater part of the globe, and the formation of lofty chains of mountains; on the botanical side it means the reduction of the rich mesozoic flora to a relatively insignificant population, and the appearance and triumphant spread of the flowering plants, on the zoological side it witnesses the complete extinction of the ammonites, deinosaurs, and pterosaurs, an immense reduction of the reptile world generally, and a victorious expansion of the higher insects, birds, and mammals; on the climatic side it provides the first definite evidence of cold zones of the earth and cold seasons of the year, and seems to represent a long, if irregular, period of comparative cold. except, to some extent, the last of these points, there is no difference of opinion, and therefore, from the evolutionary point of view, the cretaceous period merits the title of a revolution. all these things were done before the tertiary period opened. let us first consider the fundamental and physical aspect of this revolution, the upheaval of the land. it began about the close of the jurassic period. western and central europe emerged considerably from the warm jurassic sea, which lay on it and had converted it into an archipelago. in north-western america also there was an emergence of large areas of land, and the sierra and cascade ranges of mountains were formed about the same time. for reasons which will appear later we must note carefully this rise of land at the very beginning of the cretaceous period. however, the sea recovered its lost territory, or compensation for it, and the middle of the cretaceous period witnessed a very considerable extension of the waters over america, europe, and southern asia. the thick familiar beds of chalk, which stretch irregularly from ireland to the crimea, and from the south of sweden to the south of france, plainly tell of an overlying sea. as is well known, the chalk consists mainly of the shells or outer frames of minute one-celled creatures (thalamophores) which float in the ocean, and form a deep ooze at its bottom with their discarded skeletons. what depth this ocean must have been is disputed, and hardly concerns us. it is clear that it must have taken an enormous period for microscopic shells to form the thick masses of chalk which cover so much of southern and eastern england. on the lowest estimates the cretaceous period, which includes the deposit of other strata besides chalk, lasted about three million years. and as people like to have some idea of the time since these things happened, i may add that, on the lowest estimate (which most geologists would at least double), it is about three million years since the last stretches of the chalk-ocean disappeared from the surface of europe. but while our chalk cliffs conjure up a vision of england lying deep--at least twenty or thirty fathoms deep--below a warm ocean, in which gigantic ammonites and belemnites and sharks ply their deadly trade, they also remind us of the last phase of the remarkable life of the earth's middle ages. in the latter part of the cretaceous the land rises. the chalk ocean of europe is gradually reduced to a series of inland seas, separated by masses and ridges of land, and finally to a series of lakes of brackish water. the masses of the pyrenees and alps begin to rise; though it will not be until a much later date that they reach anything like their present elevation. in america the change is even greater. a vast ridge rises along the whole western front of the continent, lifting and draining it, from alaska to cape horn. it is the beginning of the rocky mountains and the andes. even during the cretaceous period there had been rich forests of mesozoic vegetation covering about a hundred thousand square miles in the rocky mountains region. europe and america now begin to show their modern contours. it is important to notice that this great uprise of the land and the series of disturbances it entails differ from those which we summed up in the phrase permian revolution. the differences may help us to understand some of the changes in the living population. the chief difference is that the disturbances are more local, and not nearly simultaneous. there is a considerable emergence of land at the end of the jurassic, then a fresh expansion of the sea, then a great rise of mountains at the end of the cretaceous, and so on. we shall find our great mountain-masses (the pyrenees, alps, himalaya, etc.) rising at intervals throughout the whole of the tertiary era. however, it suffices for the moment to observe that in the latter part of the mesozoic and early part of the tertiary there were considerable upheavals of the land in various regions, and that the mesozoic era closed with a very much larger proportion of dry land, and a much higher relief of the land, than there had been during the jurassic period. the series of disturbances was, says professor chamberlin, "greater than any that had occurred since the close of the palaeozoic." from the previous effect of the permian upheaval, and from the fact that the living population is now similarly annihilated or reduced, we should at once expect to find a fresh change in the climate of the earth. here, however, our procedure is not so easy. in the permian age we had solid proof in the shape of vast glaciated regions. it is claimed by continental geologists that certain early tertiary beds in bavaria actually prove a similar, but smaller, glaciation in europe, but this is disputed. other beds may yet be found, but we saw that there was not a general upheaval, as there had been in the permian, and it is quite possible that there were few or no ice-fields. we do not, in fact, know the causes of the permian icefields. we are thrown upon the plant and animal remains, and seem to be in some danger of inferring a cold climate from the organic remains, and then explaining the new types of organisms by the cold climate. this, of course, we shall not do. the difficulty is made greater by the extreme disinclination of many recent geologists, and some recent botanists who have too easily followed the geologists, to admit a plain climatic interpretation of the facts. let us first see what the facts are. in the latter part of the jurassic we find three different zones of ammonites: one in the latitude of the mediterranean, one in the latitude of central europe, and one further north. most geologists conclude that these differences indicate zones of climate (not hitherto indicated), but it cannot be proved, and we may leave the matter open. at the same time the warm-loving corals disappear from europe, with occasional advances. it is said that they are driven out by the disturbance of the waters, and, although this would hardly explain why they did not spread again in the tranquil chalk-ocean, we may again leave the point open. in the early part of the cretaceous, however, the angiosperms (flowering plants) suddenly break into the chronicle of the earth, and spread with great rapidity. they appear abruptly in the east of the north american continent, in the region of virginia and maryland. they are small in stature and primitive in structure. some are of generalised forms that are now unknown; some have leaves approaching those of the oak, willow, elm, maple, and walnut; some may be definitely described as fig, sassafras, aralia, myrica, etc. eastern america, it may be recalled, is much higher than western until the close of the cretaceous period. the angiosperms do not spread much westward; they appear next in greenland, and, before the middle of the cretaceous, in portugal. they have travelled over the north atlantic continent, or what remains of it. the process seems very rapid as we write it, but it must be remembered that the first half of the cretaceous period means a million or a million and a half years. the cycads, and even the conifers, shrink before the higher type of tree. the landscape, in europe and america, begins to wear a modern aspect. long before the end of the cretaceous most of the modern genera of angiosperm trees have developed. to the fig and sassafras are now added the birch, beech, oak, poplar, walnut, willow, ivy, mulberry, holly, laurel, myrtle, maple, oleander, magnolia, plane, bread-fruit, and sweet-gum. most of the american trees of to-day are known. the sequoias (the giant californian trees) still represent the conifers in great abundance, with the eucalyptus and other plants that are now found only much further south. the ginkgoes struggle on for a time. the cycads dwindle enormously. of specimens in one early cretaceous deposit only are angiosperms; of species in a later deposit about are angiosperms. they oust the cycads in europe and america, as the cycads and conifers had ousted the cryptogams. the change in the face of the earth would be remarkable. instead of the groves of palm-like cycads, with their large and flower-like fructifications, above which the pines and firs and cypresses reared their sombre forms, there were now forests of delicate-leaved maples, beeches, and oaks, bearing nutritious fruit for the coming race of animals. grasses also and palms begin in the cretaceous; though the grasses would at first be coarse and isolated tufts. even flowers, of the lily family (apparently), are still detected in the crushed and petrified remains. we will give some consideration later to the evolution of the angiosperms. for the moment it is chiefly important to notice a feature of them to which the botanist pays less attention. in his technical view the angiosperm is distinguished by the structure of its reproductive apparatus, its flowers, and some recent botanists wonder whether the key to this expansion of the flowering plants may not be found in a development of the insect world and of its relation to vegetation. in point of fact, we have no geological indication of any great development of the insects until the tertiary era, when we shall find them deploying into a vast army and producing their highest types. in any case, such a view leaves wholly unexplained the feature of the angiosperms which chiefly concerns us. this is that most of them shed the whole of their leaves periodically, as the winter approaches. no such trees had yet been known on the earth. all trees hitherto had been evergreen, and we need a specific and adequate explanation why the earth is now covered, in the northern region, with forests of trees which show naked boughs and branches during a part of the year. the majority of palaeontologists conclude at once, and quite confidently, from this rise and spread of the deciduous trees, that a winter season has at length set in on the earth, and that this new type of vegetation appears in response to an appreciable lowering of the climate. the facts, however, are somewhat complex, and we must proceed with caution. it would seem that any general lowering of the temperature of the earth ought to betray itself first in greenland, but the flora of greenland remains far "warmer," so to say, than the flora of central europe is to-day. even toward the close of the cretaceous its plants are much the same as those of america or of central europe. its fossil remains of that time include forty species of ferns, as well as cycads, ginkgoes, figs, bamboos, and magnolias. sir a. geikie ventures to say that it must then have enjoyed a climate like that of the cape or of australia to-day. professor chamberlin finds its flora like that of "warm temperate" regions, and says that plants which then flourished in latitude degrees are not now found above latitude degrees. there are, however, various reasons to believe that it is unsafe to draw deductions from the climate of greenland. there is, it is true, some exaggeration in the statement that its climate was equivalent to that of central europe. the palms which flourished in central europe did not reach greenland, and there are differences in the northern molluscs and echinoderms which--like the absence of corals above the north of england--point to a diversity of temperature. but we have no right to expect that there would be the same difference in temperature between greenland and central europe as we find to-day. if the warm current which is now diverted to europe across the atlantic--the gulf stream--had then continued up the coast of america, and flowed along the coast of the land that united america and europe, the climatic conditions would be very different from what they are. there is a more substantial reason. we saw that during the mesozoic the arctic continent was very largely submerged, and, while europe and america rise again at the end of the cretaceous, we find no rise of the land further north. a difference of elevation would, in such a world, make a great difference in temperature and moisture. let us examine the animal record, however, before we come to any conclusion. the chronicle of the later cretaceous is a story of devastation. the reduction of the cyeads is insignificant beside the reduction or annihilation of the great animals of the mesozoic world. the skeletons of the deinosaurs become fewer and fewer as we ascend the upper cretaceous strata. in the uppermost layer (laramie) we find traces of a last curious expansion--the group of horned reptiles, of the triceratops type, which we described as the last of the great reptiles. the ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs vanish from the waters. the "sea-serpents" (mososaurs) pass away without a survivor. the flying dragons, large and small, become entirely extinct. only crocodiles, lizards, turtle, and snakes cross the threshold of the tertiary era. in one single region of america (puerco beds) some of the great reptiles seem to be making a last stand against the advancing enemy in the dawn of the tertiary era, but the exact date of the beds is disputed, and in any case their fight is soon over. something has slain the most formidable race that the earth had yet known, in spite of its marvellous adaptation to different environments in its innumerable branches. we turn to the seas, and find an equal carnage among some of its most advanced inhabitants. the great cuttlefish-like belemnites and the whole race of the ammonites, large and small, are banished from the earth. the fall of the ammonites is particularly interesting, and has inspired much more or less fantastic speculation. the shells begin to assume such strange forms that observers speak occasionally of the "convulsions" or "death-contortions" of the expiring race. some of the coiled shells take on a spiral form, like that of a snail's shell. some uncoil the shell, and seem to be returning toward the primitive type. a rich eccentricity of frills and ornamentation is found more or less throughout the whole race. but every device--if we may so regard these changes--is useless, and the devastating agency of the cretaceous, whatever it was, removes the ammonites and belemnites from the scene. the mollusc world, like the world of plants and of reptiles, approaches its modern aspect. in the fish world, too, there is an effective selection in the course of the cretaceous. all the fishes of modern times, except the large family of the sharks, rays, skates, and dog-fishes (elasmobranchs), the sturgeon and chimaera, the mud-fishes, and a very few other types, are teleosts, or bony-framed fishes--the others having cartilaginous frames. none of the teleosts had appeared until the end of the jurassic. they now, like the flowering plants on land, not only herald the new age, but rapidly oust the other fishes, except the unconquerable shark. they gradually approach the familiar types of teleosts, so that we may say that before the end of the cretaceous the waters swarmed with primitive and patriarchal cod, salmon, herring, perch, pike, bream, eels, and other fishes. some of them grew to an enormous size. the portheus, an american pike, seems to have been about eight feet long; and the activity of an eight-foot pike may be left to the angler's imagination. all, however, are, as evolution demands, of a generalised and unfamiliar type: the material out of which our fishes will be evolved. of the insects we have very little trace in the cretaceous. we shall find them developing with great richness in the following period, but, imperfect as the record is, we may venture to say that they were checked in the cretaceous. there were good conditions for preserving them, but few are preserved. and of the other groups of invertebrates we need only say that they show a steady advance toward modern types. the sea-lily fills the rocks no longer; the sea-urchin is very abundant. the molluscs gain on the more lowly organised brachiopods. to complete the picture we must add that higher types probably arose in the later cretaceous which do not appear in the records. this is particularly true of the birds and mammals. we find them spreading so early in the tertiary that we must put back the beginning of the expansion to the cretaceous. as yet, however, the only mammal remains we find are such jaws and teeth of primitive mammals as we have already described. the birds we described (after the archaeopteryx) also belong to the cretaceous, and they form another of the doomed races. probably the modern birds were already developing among the new vegetation on the higher ground. these are the facts of cretaceous life, as far as the record has yielded them, and it remains for us to understand them. clearly there has been a great selective process analogous to, if not equal to, the winnowing process at the end of the palaeozoic. as there has been a similar, if less considerable, upheaval of the land, we are at once tempted to think that the great selective agency was a lowering of the temperature. when we further find that the most important change in the animal world is the destruction of the cold-blooded reptiles, which have no concern for the young, and the luxuriant spread of the warm-blooded animals, which do care for their young, the idea is greatly confirmed. when we add that the powerful molluscs which are slain, while the humbler molluscs survive, are those which--to judge from the nautilus and octopus--love warm seas, the impression is further confirmed. and when we finally reflect that the most distinctive phenomenon of the period is the rapid spread of deciduous trees, it would seem that there is only one possible interpretation of the cretaceous revolution. this interpretation--that cold was the selecting agency--is a familiar idea in geological literature, but, as i said, there are recent writers who profess reserve in regard to it, and it is proper to glance at, or at least look for, the alternatives. before doing so let us be quite clear that here we have nothing to do with theories of the origin of the earth. the permian cold--which, however, is universally admitted--is more or less entangled in that controversy; the cretaceous cold has no connection with it. whatever excess of carbon-dioxide there may have been in the early atmosphere was cleared by the coal-forests. we must set aside all these theories in explaining the present facts. it is also useful to note that the fact that there have been great changes in the climate of the earth in past time is beyond dispute. there is no denying the fact that the climate of the earth was warm from the arctic to the antarctic in the devonian and carboniferous periods: that it fell considerably in the permian: that it again became at least "warm temperate" (chamberlin) from the arctic to the antarctic in the jurassic, and again in the eocene: that some millions of square miles of europe and north america were covered with ice and snow in the pleistocene, so that the reindeer wandered where palms had previously flourished and the vine flourishes to-day; and that the pronounced zones of climate which we find today have no counterpart in any earlier age. in view of these great and admitted fluctuations of the earth's temperature one does not see any reason for hesitating to admit a fall of temperature in the cretaceous, if the facts point to it. on the other hand, the alternative suggestions are not very convincing. we have noticed one of these suggestions in connection with the origin of the angiosperms. it hints that this may be related to developments of the insect world. most probably the development of the characteristic flowers of the angiosperms is connected with an increasing relation to insects, but what we want to understand especially is the deciduous character of their leaves. many of the angiosperms are evergreen, so that it cannot be said that the one change entailed the other. in fact, a careful study of the leaves preserved in the rocks seems to show the deciduous angiosperms gaining on the evergreens at the end of the cretaceous. the most natural, it not the only, interpretation of this is that the temperature is falling. deciduous trees shed their leaves so as to check their transpiration when a season comes on in which they cannot absorb the normal amount of moisture. this may occur either at the on-coming of a hot, dry season or of a cold season (in which the roots absorb less). everything suggests that the deciduous tree evolved to meet an increase of cold, not of heat. another suggestion is that animals and plants were not "climatically differentiated" until the cretaceous period; that is to say, that they were adapted to all climates before that time, and then began to be sensitive to differences of climate, and live in different latitudes. but how and why they should suddenly become differentiated in this way is so mysterious that one prefers to think that, as the animal remains also suggest, there were no appreciable zones of climate until the cretaceous. the magnolia, for instance, flourished in greenland in the early tertiary, and has to live very far south of it to-day. it is much simpler to assume that greenland changed--as a vast amount of evidence indicates--than that the magnolia changed. finally, to explain the disappearance of the mesozoic reptiles without a fall in temperature, it is suggested that they were exterminated by the advancing mammals. it is assumed that the spreading world of the angiospermous plants somewhere met the spread of the advancing mammals, and opened out a rich new granary to them. this led to so powerful a development of the mammals that they succeeded in overthrowing the reptiles. there are several serious difficulties in the way of this theory. the first and most decisive is that the great reptiles have practically disappeared before the mammals come on the scene. only in one series of beds (puerco) in america, representing an early period of the tertiary era, do we find any association of their remains; and even there it is not clear that they were contemporary. over the earth generally the geological record shows the great reptiles dying from some invisible scourge long before any mammal capable of doing them any harm appears; even if we suppose that the mammal mainly attacked the eggs and the young. we may very well believe that more powerful mammals than the primitive mesozoic specimens were already developed in some part of the earth--say, africa--and that the rise of the land gave them a bridge across the mediterranean to europe. probably this happened; but the important point is that the reptiles were already almost extinct. the difficulty is even greater when we reflect that it is precisely the most powerful reptiles (deinosaurs) and least accessible reptiles (pterosaurs, ichthyosaurs, etc.) which disappear, while the smaller land and water reptiles survive and retreat southward--where the mammals are just as numerous. that assuredly is not the effect of an invasion of carnivores, even if we could overlook the absence of such carnivores from the record until after the extinction of the reptiles in most places. i have entered somewhat fully into this point, partly because of its great interest, but partly lest it be thought that i am merely reproducing a tradition of geological literature without giving due attention to the criticisms of recent writers. the plain and common interpretation of the cretaceous revolution--that a fall in temperature was its chief devastating agency--is the only one that brings harmony into all the facts. the one comprehensive enemy of that vast reptile population was cold. it was fatal to the adult because he had a three-chambered heart and no warm coat; it was fatal to the mesozoic vegetation on which, directly or indirectly, he fed; it was fatal to his eggs and young because the mother did not brood over the one or care for the other. it was fatal to the pterosaurs, even if they were warm-blooded, because they had no warm coats and did not (presumably) hatch their eggs; and it was equally fatal to the viviparous ichthyosaurs. it is the one common fate that could slay all classes. when we find that the surviving reptiles retreat southward, only lingering in europe during the renewed warmth of the eocene and miocene periods, this interpretation is sufficiently confirmed. and when we recollect that these things coincide with the extinction of the ammonites and belemnites, and the driving of their descendants further south, as well as the rise and triumph of deciduous trees, it is difficult to see any ground for hesitating. but we need not, and must not, imagine a period of cold as severe, prolonged, and general as that of the permian period. the warmth of the jurassic period is generally attributed to the low relief of the land, and the very large proportion of water-surface. the effect of this would be to increase the moisture in the atmosphere. whether this was assisted by any abnormal proportion of carbon-dioxide, as in the carboniferous, we cannot confidently say. professor chamberlin observes that, since the absorbing rock-surface was greatly reduced in the jurassic, the carbon-dioxide would tend to accumulate in its atmosphere, and help to explain the high temperature. but the great spread of vegetation and the rise of land in the later jurassic and the cretaceous would reduce this density of the atmosphere, and help to lower the temperature. it is clear that the cold would at first be local. in fact, it must be carefully realised that, when we speak of the jurassic period as a time of uniform warmth, we mean uniform at the same altitude. everybody knows the effect of rising from the warm, moist sea-level to the top of even a small inland elevation. there would be such cooler regions throughout the jurassic, and we saw that there were considerable upheavals of land towards its close. to these elevated lands we may look for the development of the angiosperms, the birds, and the mammals. when the more massive rise of land came at the end of the cretaceous, the temperature would fall over larger areas, and connecting ridges would be established between one area and another. the mesozoic plants and animals would succumb to this advancing cold. what precise degree of cold was necessary to kill the reptiles and cephalopods, yet allow certain of the more delicate flowering plants to live, is yet to be determined. the vast majority of the new plants, with their winter sleep, would thrive in the cooler air, and, occupying the ground of the retreating cycads and ginkgoes would prepare a rich harvest for the coming birds and mammals. chapter xv. the tertiary era we have already traversed nearly nine-tenths of the story of terrestrial life, without counting the long and obscure archaean period, and still find ourselves in a strange and unfamiliar earth. with the close of the chalk period, however, we take a long stride in the direction of the modern world. the tertiary era will, in the main, prove a fresh period of genial warmth and fertile low-lying regions. during its course our deciduous trees and grasses will mingle with the palms and pines over the land, our flowers will begin to brighten the landscape, and the forms of our familiar birds and mammals, even the form of man, will be discernible in the crowds of animals. at its close another mighty period of selection will clear the stage for its modern actors. a curious reflection is prompted in connection with this division of the earth's story into periods of relative prosperity and quiescence, separated by periods of disturbance. there was--on the most modest estimate--a stretch of some fifteen million years between the cambrian and the permian upheavals. on the same chronological scale the interval between the permian and cretaceous revolutions was only about seven million years, and the tertiary era will comprise only about three million years. one wonders if the fourth (quaternary) era in which we live will be similarly shortened. further, whereas the earth returned after each of the earlier upheavals to what seems to have been its primitive condition of equable and warm climate, it has now entirely departed from that condition, and exhibits very different zones of climate and a succession of seasons in the year. one wonders what the climate of the earth will become long before the expiration of those ten million years which are usually assigned as the minimum period during which the globe will remain habitable. it is premature to glance at the future, when we are still some millions of years from the present, but it will be useful to look more closely at the facts which inspire this reflection. from what we have seen, and shall further see, it is clear that, in spite of all the recent controversy about climate among our geologists, there has undeniably been a progressive refrigeration of the globe. every geologist, indeed, admits "oscillations of climate," as professor chamberlin puts it. but amidst all these oscillations we trace a steady lowering of the temperature. unless we put a strained and somewhat arbitrary interpretation on the facts of the geological record, earlier ages knew nothing of our division of the year into pronounced seasons and of the globe into very different climatic zones. it might plausibly be suggested that we are still living in the last days of the ice-age, and that the earth may be slowly returning to a warmer condition. shackleton, it might be observed, found that there has been a considerable shrinkage of the south polar ice within the period of exploration. but we shall find that a difference of climate, as compared with earlier ages, was already evident in the middle of the tertiary era, and it is far more noticeable to-day. we do not know the causes of this climatic evolution--the point will be considered more closely in connection with the last ice-age--but we see that it throws a flood of light on the evolution of organisms. it is one of the chief incarnations of natural selection. changes in the distribution of land and water and in the nature of the land-surface, the coming of powerful carnivores, and other agencies which we have seen, have had their share in the onward impulsion of life, but the most drastic agency seems to have been the supervention of cold. the higher types of both animals and plants appear plainly in response to a lowering of temperature. this is the chief advantage of studying the story of evolution in strict connection with the geological record. we shall find that the record will continue to throw light on our path to the end, but, as we are now about to approach the most important era of evolution, and as we have now seen so much of the concrete story of evolution, it will be interesting to examine briefly some other ways of conceiving that story. we need not return to the consideration of the leading schools of evolution, as described in a former chapter. nothing that we have seen will enable us to choose between the lamarckian and the weismannist hypothesis; and i doubt if anything we are yet to see will prove more decisive. the dispute is somewhat academic, and not vital to a conception of evolution. we shall, for instance, presently follow the evolution of the horse, and see four of its toes shrink and disappear, while the fifth toe is enormously strengthened. in the facts themselves there is nothing whatever to decide whether this evolution took place on the lines suggested by weismann, or on the lines suggested by lamarck and accepted by darwin. it will be enough for us merely to establish the fact that the one-toed horse is an evolved descendant of a primitive five-toed mammal, through the adaptation of its foot to running on firm ground, its teeth and neck to feeding on grasses, and so on. on the other hand, the facts we have already seen seem to justify the attitude of compromise i adopted in regard to the mutationist theory. it would be an advantage in many ways if we could believe that new species arose by sudden and large variations (mutations) of the young from the parental type. in the case of many organs and habits it is extremely difficult to see how a gradual development, by a slow accentuation of small variations, is possible. when we further find that experimenters on living species can bring about such mutations, and when we reflect that there must have been acute disturbances in the surroundings of animals and plants sometimes, we are disposed to think that many a new species may have arisen in this way. on the other hand, while the palaeontological record can never prove that a species arose by mutations, it does sometimes show that species arise by very gradual modification. the chalk period, which we have just traversed, affords a very clear instance. one of our chief investigators of the english chalk, dr. rowe, paid particular attention to the sea-urchins it contains, as they serve well to identify different levels of chalk. he discovered, not merely that they vary from level to level, but that in at least one genus (micraster) he could trace the organism very gradually passing from one species to another, without any leap or abruptness. it is certainly significant that we find such cases as this precisely where the conditions of preservation are exceptionally good. we must conclude that species arise, probably, both by mutations and small variations, and that it is impossible to say which class of species has been the more numerous. there remain one or two conceptions of evolution which we have not hitherto noticed, as it was advisable to see the facts first. one of these is the view--chiefly represented in this country by professor henslow--that natural selection has had no part in the creation of species; that the only two factors are the environment and the organism which responds to its changes. this is true enough in the sense that, as we saw, natural selection is not an action of nature on the "fit," but on the unfit or less fit. but this does not in the least lessen the importance of natural selection. if there were not in nature this body of destructive agencies, to which we apply the name natural selection, there would be little--we cannot say no--evolution. but the rising carnivores, the falls of temperature, etc., that we have studied, have had so real, if indirect, an influence on the development of life that we need not dwell on this. another school, or several schools, while admitting the action of natural selection, maintain that earlier evolutionists have made nature much too red in tooth and claw. dr. russel wallace from one motive, and prince krapotkin from another, have insisted that the triumphs of war have been exaggerated, and the triumphs of peace, or of social co-operation, far too little appreciated. it will be found that such writers usually base their theory on life as we find it in nature to-day, where the social principle is highly developed in many groups of animals. this is most misleading, since social co-operation among animals, as an instrument of progress, is (geologically speaking) quite a recent phenomenon. nearly every group of animals in which it is found belongs, to put it moderately, to the last tenth of the story of life, and in some of the chief instances the animals have only gradually developed social life. [*] the first nine-tenths of the chronicle of evolution contain no indication of social life, except--curiously enough--in such groups as the sponges, corals, and bryozoa, which are amongst the least progressive in nature. we have seen plainly that during the overwhelmingly greater part of the story of life the predominant agencies of evolution were struggle against adverse conditions and devouring carnivores; and we shall find them the predominant agencies throughout the tertiary era. * thus the social nature of man is sometimes quoted as one of the chief causes of his development. it is true that it has much to do with his later development, but we shall see that the statement that man was from the start a social being is not at all warranted by the facts. on the other hand, it may be pointed out that the ants and termites had appeared in the mesozoic. we shall see some evidence that the remarkable division of labour which now characterises their life did not begin until a much later period, so that we have no evidence of social life in the early stages. yet we must protest against the exaggerated estimate of the conscious pain which so many read into these millions of years of struggle. probably there was no consciousness at all during the greater part of the time. the wriggling of the worm on which you have accidentally trodden is no proof whatever that you have caused conscious pain. the nervous system of an animal has been so evolved as to respond with great disturbance of its tissue to any dangerous or injurious assault. it is the selection of a certain means of self-preservation. but at what level of life the animal becomes conscious of this disturbance, and "feels pain," it is very difficult to determine. the subject is too vast to be opened here. in a special investigation of it. [*] i concluded that there is no proof of the presence of any degree of consciousness in the invertebrate world even in the higher insects; that there is probably only a dull, blurred, imperfect consciousness below the level of the higher mammals and birds; and that even the consciousness of an ape is something very different from what educated europeans, on the ground of their own experience, call consciousness. it is too often forgotten that pain is in proportion to consciousness. we must beware of such fallacies as transferring our experience of pain to a mesozoic reptile, with an ounce or two of cerebrum to twenty tons of muscle and bone. * "the evolution of mind" (black), . one other view of evolution, which we find in some recent and reputable works (such as professor geddes and thomson's "evolution," ), calls for consideration. in the ordinary darwinian view the variations of the young from their parents are indefinite, and spread in all directions. they may continue to occur for ages without any of them proving an advantage to their possessors. then the environment may change, and a certain variation may prove an advantage, and be continuously and increasingly selected. thus these indefinite variations may be so controlled by the environment during millions of years that the fish at last becomes an elephant or a man. the alternative view, urged by a few writers, is that the variations were "definitely directed." the phrase seems merely to complicate the story of evolution with a fresh and superfluous mystery. the nature and precise action of this "definite direction" within the organism are quite unintelligible, and the facts seem explainable just as well--or not less imperfectly--without as with this mystic agency. radiolaria, sponges, corals, sharks, mudfishes, duckbills, etc., do not change (except within the limits of their family) during millions of years, because they keep to an environment to which they are fitted. on the other hand, certain fishes, reptiles, etc., remain in a changing environment, and they must change with it. the process has its obscurities, but we make them darker, it seems to me, with these semi-metaphysical phrases. it has seemed advisable to take this further glance at the general principles and current theories of evolution before we extend our own procedure into the tertiary era. the highest types of animals and plants are now about to appear on the stage of the earth; the theatre itself is about to take on a modern complexion. the middle ages are over; the new age is breaking upon the planet. we will, as before, first survey the tertiary era as a whole, with the momentous changes it introduces, and then examine, in separate chapters, the more important phases of its life. it opens, like the preceding and the following era, with "the area of land large and its relief pronounced." this is the outcome of the cretaceous revolution. southern europe and southern asia have risen, and shaken the last masses of the chalk ocean from their faces; the whole western fringe of america has similarly emerged from the sea that had flooded it. in many parts, as in england (at that time a part of the continent), there is so great a gap between the latest cretaceous and the earliest tertiary strata that these newly elevated lands must evidently have stood out of the waters for a prolonged period. on their cooler plains the tragedy of the extinction of the great reptiles comes to an end. the cyeads and ginkgoes have shrunk into thin survivors of the luxuriant mesozoic groves. the oak and beech and other deciduous trees spread slowly over the successive lands, amid the glare and thunder of the numerous volcanoes which the disturbance of the crust has brought into play. new forms of birds fly from tree to tree, or linger by the waters; and strange patriarchal types of mammals begin to move among the bones of the stricken reptiles. but the seas and the rains and rivers are acting with renewed vigour on the elevated lands, and the eocene period closes in a fresh age of levelling. let us put the work of a million years or so in a sentence. the southern sea, which has been confined almost to the limits of our mediterranean by the cretaceous upheaval, gradually enlarges once more. it floods the north-west of africa almost as far as the equator; it covers most of italy, turkey, austria, and southern russia; it spreads over asia minor, persia, and southern asia, until it joins the pacific; and it sends a long arm across the franco-british region, and up the great valley which is now the german ocean. from earlier chapters we now expect to find a warmer climate, and the record gives abundant proof of it. to this period belongs the "london clay," in whose thick and--to the unskilled eye--insignificant bed the geologist reads the remarkable story of what london was two or three million years ago. it tells us that a sea, some or feet deep, then lay over that part of england, and fragments of the life of the period are preserved in its deposit. the sea lay at the mouth of a sub-tropical river on whose banks grew palms, figs, ginkgoes, eucalyptuses, almonds, and magnolias, with the more familiar oaks and pines and laurels. sword-fishes and monstrous sharks lived in the sea. large turtles and crocodiles and enormous "sea-serpents" lingered in this last spell of warmth that central europe would experience. a primitive whale appeared in the seas, and strange large tapir-like mammals--remote ancestors of our horses and more familiar beasts--wandered heavily on the land. gigantic primitive birds, sometimes ten feet high, waded by the shore. deposits of the period at bournemouth and in the isle of wight tell the same story of a land that bore figs, vines, palms, araucarias, and aralias, and waters that sheltered turtles and crocodiles. the parisian region presented the same features. in fact, one of the most characteristic traces of the southern sea which then stretched from england to africa in the south and india in the east indicates a warm climate. it will be remembered that the cretaceous ocean over southern europe had swarmed with the animalcules whose dead skeletons largely compose our chalk-beds. in the new southern ocean another branch of these thalamophores, the nummulites, spreads with such portentous abundance that its shells--sometimes alone, generally with other material--make beds of solid limestone several thousand feet in thickness. the pyramids are built of this nummulitic limestone. the one-celled animal in its shell is, however, no longer a microscopic grain. it sometimes forms wonderful shells, an inch or more in diameter, in which as many as a thousand chambers succeed each other, in spiral order, from the centre. the beds containing it are found from the pyrenees to japan. that this vast warm ocean, stretching southward over a large part of what is now the sahara, should give a semitropical aspect even to central europe and asia is not surprising. but this genial climate was still very general over the earth. evergreens which now need the warmth of italy or the riviera then flourished in lapland and spitzbergen. the flora of greenland--a flora that includes magnolias, figs, and bamboos--shows us that its temperature in the eocene period must have been about degrees higher than it is to-day. [*] the temperature of the cool tyrol of modern europe is calculated to have then been between and degrees f. palms, cactuses, aloes, gum-trees, cinnamon trees, etc., flourished in the latitude of northern france. the forests that covered parts of switzerland which are now buried in snow during a great part of the year were like the forests one finds in parts of india and australia to-day. the climate of north america, and of the land which still connected it with europe, was correspondingly genial. * the great authority on arctic geology, heer, who makes this calculation, puts this flora in the miocene. it is now usually considered that these warmer plants belong to the earlier part of the tertiary era. this indulgent period (the oligocene, or later part of the eocene), scattering a rich and nutritious vegetation with great profusion over the land, led to a notable expansion of animal life. insects, birds, and mammals spread into vast and varied groups in every land. had any of the great mesozoic reptiles survived, the warmer age might have enabled them to dispute the sovereignty of the advancing mammals. but nothing more formidable than the turtle, the snake, and the crocodile (confined to the waters) had crossed the threshold of the tertiary era, and the mammals and birds had the full advantage of the new golden age. the fruits of the new trees, the grasses which now covered the plains, and the insects which multiplied with the flowers afforded a magnificent diet. the herbivorous mammals became a populous world, branching into numerous different types according to their different environments. the horse, the elephant, the camel, the pig, the deer, the rhinoceros gradually emerge out of the chaos of evolving forms. behind them, hastening the course of their evolution, improving their speed, arms, and armour, is the inevitable carnivore. he, too, in the abundance of food, grows into a vast population, and branches out toward familiar types. we will devote a chapter presently to this remarkable phase of the story of evolution. but the golden age closes, as all golden ages had done before it, and for the same reason. the land begins to rise, and cast the warm shallow seas from its face. the expansion of life has been more rapid and remarkable than it had ever been before, in corresponding periods of abundant food and easy conditions; the contraction comes more quickly than it had ever done before. mountain masses begin to rise in nearly all parts of the world. the advance is slow and not continuous, but as time goes on the atlas, alps, pyrenees, apennines, caucasus, himalaya, rocky mountains, and andes rise higher and higher. when the geologist looks to-day for the floor of the eocene ocean, which he recognises by the shells of the nummulites, he finds it , feet above the sea-level in the alps, , feet above the sea-level in the himalaya, and , feet above the sea-level in thibet. one need not ask why the regions of london and paris fostered palms and magnolias and turtles in tertiary times, and shudder in their dreary winter to-day. the tertiary era is divided by geologists into four periods: the eocene, oligocene, miocene, and pliocene. "cene" is our barbaric way of expressing the greek word for "new," and the classification is meant to mark the increase of new (or modern and actual) types of life in the course of the tertiary era. many geologists, however, distrust the classification, and are disposed to divide the tertiary into two periods. from our point of view, at least, it is advisable to do this. the first and longer half of the tertiary is the period in which the temperature rises until central europe enjoys the climate of south africa; the second half is the period in which the land gradually rises, and the temperature falls, until glaciers and sheets of ice cover regions where the palm and fig had flourished. the rise of the land had begun in the first half of the tertiary, but had been suspended. the pyrenees and apennines had begun to rise at the end of the eocene, straining the crust until it spluttered with volcanoes, casting the nummulitic sea off large areas of southern europe. the nummulites become smaller and less abundant. there is also some upheaval in north america, and a bridge of land begins to connect the north and south, and permit an effective mingling of their populations. but the advance is, as i said, suspended, and the oligocene period maintains the golden age. with the miocene period the land resumes its rise. a chill is felt along the american coast, showing a fall in the temperature of the atlantic. in europe there is a similar chill, and a more obvious reason for it. there is an ascending movement of the whole series of mountains from morocco and the pyrenees, through the alps, the caucasus, and the carpathians, to india and china. large lakes still lie over western europe, but nearly the whole of it emerges from the ocean. the mediterranean still sends an arm up france, and with another arm encircles the alpine mass; but the upheaval continues, and the great nummulitic sea is reduced to a series of extensive lakes, cut off both from the atlantic and pacific. the climate of southern europe is probably still as genial as that of the canaries to-day. palms still linger in the landscape in reduced numbers. the last part of the tertiary, the pliocene, opens with a slight return of the sea. the upheaval is once more suspended, and the waters are eating into the land. there is some foundering of land at the south-western tip of europe; the "straits of gibraltar" begin to connect the mediterranean with the atlantic, and the balearic islands, corsica, and sardinia remain as the mountain summits of a submerged land. then the upheaval is resumed, in nearly every part of the earth. nearly every great mountain chain that the geologist has studied shared in this remarkable movement at the end of the tertiary era. the pyrenees, alps, himalaya, etc., made their last ascent, and attained their present elevation. and as the land rose, the aspect of europe and america slowly altered. the palms, figs, bamboos, and magnolias disappeared; the turtles, crocodiles, flamingoes, and hippopotamuses retreated toward the equator. the snow began to gather thick on the rising heights; then the glaciers began to glitter on their flanks. as the cold increased, the rivers of ice which flowed down the hills of switzerland, spain, scotland, or scandinavia advanced farther and farther over the plains. the regions of green vegetation shrank before the oncoming ice, the animals retreated south, or developed arctic features. europe and america were ushering in the great ice-age, which was to bury five or six million square miles of their territory under a thick mantle of ice. such is the general outline of the story of the tertiary era. we approach the study of its types of life and their remarkable development more intelligently when we have first given careful attention to this extraordinary series of physical changes. short as the era is, compared with its predecessors, it is even more eventful and stimulating than they, and closes with what professor chamberlin calls "the greatest deformative movements in post-cambrian history." in the main it has, from the evolutionary point of view, the same significant character as the two preceding eras. its middle portion is an age of expansion, indulgence, exuberance, in which myriads of varied forms are thrown upon the scene, its later part is an age of contraction, of annihilation, of drastic test, in which the more effectively organised will be chosen from the myriads of types. once more nature has engendered a vast brood, and is about to select some of her offspring to people the modern world. among the types selected will be man. chapter xvi. the flower and the insect as we approach the last part of the geological record we must neglect the lower types of life, which have hitherto occupied so much of our attention, so that we may inquire more fully into the origin and fortunes of the higher forms which now fill the stage. it may be noted, in general terms, that they shared the opulence of the mid-tertiary period, produced some gigantic specimens of their respective families, and evolved into the genera, and often the species, which we find living to-day. a few illustrations will suffice to give some idea of the later development of the lower invertebrates and vertebrates. monstrous oysters bear witness to the prosperity of that ancient and interesting family of the molluscs. in some species the shells were commonly ten inches long; the double shell of one of these tertiary bivalves has been found which measured thirteen inches in length, eight in width, and six in thickness. in the higher branch of the mollusc world the naked cephalopods (cuttle-fish, etc.) predominate over the nautiloids--the shrunken survivors of the great coiled-shell race. among the sharks, the modern squalodonts entirely displace the older types, and grow to an enormous size. some of the teeth we find in tertiary deposits are more than six inches long and six inches broad at the base. this is three times the size of the teeth of the largest living shark, and it is therefore believed that the extinct possessor of these formidable teeth (carcharodon megalodon) must have been much more than fifty, and was possibly a hundred, feet in length. he flourished in the waters of both europe and america during the halcyon days of the tertiary era. among the bony fishes, all our modern and familiar types appear. the amphibia and reptiles also pass into their modern types, after a period of generous expansion. primitive frogs and toads make their first appearance in the tertiary, and the remains are found in european beds of four-foot-long salamanders. more than fifty species of tertiary turtles are known, and many of them were of enormous size. one carapace that has been found in a tertiary bed measures twelve feet in length, eight feet in width, and seven feet in height to the top of the back. the living turtle must have been nearly twenty feet long. marine reptiles, of a snake-like structure, ran to fifteen feet in length. crocodiles and alligators swarmed in the rivers of europe until the chilly pliocene bade them depart to africa. in a word, it was the seven years of plenty for the whole living world, and the expansive development gave birth to the modern types, which were to be selected from the crowd in the subsequent seven years of famine. we must be content to follow the evolution of the higher types of organisms. i will therefore first describe the advance of the tertiary vegetation, the luxuriance of which was the first condition of the great expansion of animal life; then we will glance at the grand army of the insects which followed the development of the flowers, and at the accompanying expansion and ramification of the birds. the long and interesting story of the mammals must be told in a separate chapter, and a further chapter must be devoted to the appearance of the human species. we saw that the angiosperms, or flowering plants, appeared at the beginning of the cretaceous period, and were richly developed before the tertiary era opened. we saw also that their precise origin is unknown. they suddenly invade a part of north america where there were conditions for preserving some traces of them, but we have as yet no remains of their early forms or clue to their place of development. we may conjecture that their ancestors had been living in some elevated inland region during the warmth of the jurassic period. as it is now known that many of the cycad-like mesozoic plants bore flowers--as the modern botanist scarcely hesitates to call them--the gap between the gymnosperms and angiosperms is very much lessened. there are, however, structural differences which forbid us to regard any of these flowering cycads, which we have yet found, as the ancestors of the angiosperms. the most reasonable view seems to be that a small and local branch of these primitive flowering plants was evolved, like the rest, in the stress of the permian-triassic cold; that, instead of descending to the warm moist levels with the rest at the end of the triassic, and developing the definite characters of the cycad, it remained on the higher and cooler land; and that the rise of land at the end of the jurassic period stimulated the development of its angiosperm features, enlarged the area in which it was especially fitted to thrive, and so permitted it to spread and suddenly break into the geological record as a fully developed angiosperm. as the cycads shrank in the cretaceous period, the angiosperms deployed with great rapidity, and, spreading at various levels and in different kinds of soils and climates, branched into hundreds of different types. we saw that the oak, beech, elm, maple, palm, grass, etc., were well developed before the end of the cretaceous period. the botanist divides the angiosperms into two leading groups, the monocotyledons (palms, grasses, lilies, orchises, irises, etc.) and dicotyledons (the vast majority), and it is now generally believed that the former were developed from an early and primitive branch of the latter. but it is impossible to retrace the lines of development of the innumerable types of angiosperms. the geologist has mainly to rely on a few stray leaves that were swept into the lakes and preserved in the mud, and the evidence they afford is far too slender for the construction of genealogical trees. the student of living plants can go a little further in discovering relationships, and, when we find him tracing such apparently remote plants as the apple and the strawberry to a common ancestor with the rose, we foresee interesting possibilities on the botanical side. but the evolution of the angiosperms is a recent and immature study, and we will be content with a few reflections on the struggle of the various types of trees in the changing conditions of the tertiary, the development of the grasses, and the evolution of the flower. in other words, we will be content to ask how the modern landscape obtained its general vegetal features. broadly speaking, the vegetation of the first part of the tertiary era was a mixture of sub-tropical and temperate forms, a confused mass of ferns, conifers, ginkgoales, monocotyledons, and dicotyledons. here is a casual list of plants that then grew in the latitude of london and paris: the palm, magnolia, myrtle, banksia, vine, fig, aralea, sequoia, eucalyptus, cinnamon tree, cactus, agave, tulip tree, apple, plum, bamboo, almond, plane, maple, willow, oak, evergreen oak, laurel, beech, cedar, etc. the landscape must have been extraordinarily varied and beautiful and rich. to one botanist it suggests malaysia, to another india, to another australia. it is really the last gathering of the plants, before the great dispersion. then the cold creeps slowly down from the arctic regions, and begins to reduce the variety. we can clearly trace its gradual advance. in the carboniferous and jurassic the vegetation of the arctic regions had been the same as that of england; in the eocene palms can flourish in england, but not further north; in the pliocene the palms and bamboos and semi-tropical species are driven out of europe; in the pleistocene the ice-sheet advances to the valleys of the thames and the danube (and proportionately in the united states), every warmth-loving species is annihilated, and our grasses, oaks, beeches, elms, apples, plums, etc., linger on the green southern fringe of the continent, and in a few uncovered regions, ready to spread north once more as the ice creeps back towards the alps or the arctic circle. thus, in few words, did europe and north america come to have the vegetation we find in them to-day. the next broad characteristic of our landscape is the spreading carpet of grass. the interest of the evolution of the grasses will be seen later, when we shall find the evolution of the horse, for instance, following very closely upon it. so striking, indeed, is the connection between the advance of the grasses and the advance of the mammals that dr. russel wallace has recently claimed ("the world of life," ) that there is a clear purposive arrangement in the whole chain of developments which leads to the appearance of the grasses. he says that "the very puzzling facts" of the immense reptilian development in the mesozoic can only be understood on the supposition that they were evolved "to keep down the coarser vegetation, to supply animal food for the larger carnivora, and thus give time for higher forms to obtain a secure foothold and a sufficient amount of varied form and structure" (p. ). every insistence on the close connection of the different strands in the web of life is welcome, but dr. wallace does not seem to have learned the facts accurately. there is nothing "puzzling" about the mesozoic reptilian development; the depression of the land, the moist warmth, and the luscious vegetation of the later triassic and the jurassic amply explain it. again, the only carnivores to whom they seem to have supplied food were reptiles of their own race. nor can the feeding of the herbivorous reptiles be connected with the rise of the angiosperms. we do not find the flowering plants developing anywhere in those vast regions where the great reptiles abounded; they invade them from some single unknown region, and mingle with the pines and ginkgoes, while the cyeads alone are destroyed. the grasses, in particular, do not appear until the cretaceous, and do not show much development until the mid-tertiary; and their development seems to be chiefly connected with physical conditions. the meandering rivers and broad lakes of the mid-tertiary would have their fringes of grass and sedge, and, as the lakes dried up in the vicissitudes of climate, large areas of grass would be left on their sites. to these primitive prairies the mammal (not reptile) herbivores would be attracted, with important results. the consequences to the animals we will consider presently. the effect on the grasses may be well understood on the lines so usefully indicated in dr. wallace's book. the incessant cropping, age after age, would check the growth of the larger and coarser grasses give opportunity to the smaller and finer, and lead in time to the development of the grassy plains of the modern world. thus one more familiar feature was added to the landscape in the tertiary era. as this fresh green carpet spread over the formerly naked plains, it began to be enriched with our coloured flowers. there were large flowers, we saw, on some of the mesozoic cycads, but their sober yellows and greens--to judge from their descendants--would do little to brighten the landscape. it is in the course of the tertiary era that the mantle of green begins to be embroidered with the brilliant hues of our flowers. grant allen put forward in ("the colours of flowers") an interesting theory of the appearance of the colours of flowers, and it is regarded as probable. he observed that most of the simplest flowers are yellow; the more advanced flowers of simple families, and the simpler flowers of slightly advanced families, are generally white or pink; the most advanced flowers of all families, and almost all the flowers of the more advanced families, are red, purple, or blue; and the most advanced flowers of the most advanced families are always either blue or variegated. professor henslow adds a number of equally significant facts with the same tendency, so that we have strong reason to conceive the floral world as passing through successive phases of colour in the tertiary era. at first it would be a world of yellows and greens, like that of the mesozoic vegetation, but brighter. in time splashes of red and white would lie on the face of the landscape; and later would come the purples, the rich blues, and the variegated colours of the more advanced flowers. why the colours came at all is a question closely connected with the general story of the evolution of the flower, at which we must glance. the essential characteristic of the flower, in the botanist's judgment, is the central green organ which you find--say, in a lily--standing out in the middle of the floral structure, with a number of yellow-coated rods round it. the yellow rods bear the male germinal elements (pollen); the central pistil encloses the ovules, or female elements. "angiosperm" means "covered-seed plant," and its characteristic is this protection of the ovules within a special chamber, to which the pollen alone may penetrate. round these essential organs are the coloured petals of the corolla (the chief part of the flower to the unscientific mind) and the sepals, often also coloured, of the calyx. there is no doubt that all these parts arose from modifications of the leaves or stems of the primitive plant; though whether the bright leaves of the corolla are directly derived from ordinary leaves, or are enlarged and flattened stamens, has been disputed. and to the question why these bright petals, whose colour and variety of form lend such charm to the world of flowers, have been developed at all, most botanists will give a prompt and very interesting reply. as both male and female elements are usually in one flower, it may fertilise itself, the pollen falling directly on the pistil. but fertilisation is more sure and effective if the pollen comes from a different individual--if there is "cross fertilisation." this may be accomplished by the simple agency of the wind blowing the pollen broadcast, but it is done much better by insects, which brush against the stamens, and carry grains of the pollen to the next flower they visit. we have here a very fertile line of development among the primitive flowers. the insects begin to visit them, for their pollen or juices, and cross-fertilise them. if this is an advantage, attractiveness to insects will become so important a feature that natural selection will develop it more and more. in plain english, what is meant is that those flowers which are more attractive to insects will be the most surely fertilised and breed most, and the prolonged application of this principle during hundreds of thousands of years will issue in the immense variety of our flowers. they will be enriched with little stores of honey and nectar; not so mysterious an advantage, when we reflect on the concentration of the juices in the neighbourhood of the seed. then they must "advertise" their stores, and the strong perfumes and bright colours begin to develop, and ensure posterity to their possessors. the shape of the corolla will be altered in hundreds of ways, to accommodate and attract the useful visitor and shut out the mere robber. these utilities, together with the various modifying agencies of different environments, are generally believed to have led to the bewildering variety and great beauty of our floral world. it is proper to add that this view has been sharply challenged by a number of recent writers. it is questioned if colours and scents do attract insects; though several recent series of experiments seem to show that bees are certainly attracted by colours. it is questioned if cross-fertilisation has really the importance ascribed to it since the days of darwin. some of these writers believe that the colours and the peculiar shape which the petals take in some flowers (orchises, for instance) have been evolved to deter browsing animals from eating them. the theory is thus only a different application of natural selection; professor henslow, on the other hand, stands alone in denying the selection, and believing that the insects directly developed the scents, honeys, colours, and shapes by mechanical irritation. the great majority of botanists adhere to the older view, and see in the wonderful tertiary expansion of the flowers a manifold adaptation to the insect friends and insect foes which then became very abundant and varied. resisting the temptation to glance at the marvellous adaptations which we find to-day in our plant world--the insect-eating plants, the climbers, the parasites, the sensitive plants, the water-storing plants in dry regions, and so on--we must turn to the consideration of the insects themselves. we have already studied the evolution of the insect in general, and seen its earlier forms. the tertiary era not only witnessed a great deployment of the insects, but was singularly rich in means of preserving them. the "fly in amber" has ceased to be a puzzle even to the inexpert. amber is the resin that exuded from pine-like trees, especially in the baltic region, in the eocene and oligocene periods. insects stuck in the resin, and were buried under fresh layers of it, and we find them embalmed in it as we pick up the resin on the shores of the baltic to-day. the tertiary lakes were also important cemeteries of insects. a great bed at florissart, in colorado, is described by one of the american experts who examined it as "a tertiary pompeii." it has yielded specimens of about a thousand species of tertiary insects. near the large ancient lake, of which it marks the site, was a volcano, and the fine ash yielded from the cone seems to have buried myriads of insects in the water. at oeningen a similar lake-deposit has, although only a few feet thick, yielded species of insects. yet these rich and numerous finds throw little light on the evolution of the insect, except in the general sense that they show species and even genera quite different from those of to-day. no new families of insects have appeared since the eocene, and the ancient types had by that time disappeared. since the eocene, however, the species have been almost entirely changed, so that the insect record, from its commencement in the primary era, has the stamp of evolution on every page of it. unfortunately, insects, especially the higher and later insects, are such frail structures that they are only preserved in very rare conditions. the most important event of the insect-world in the tertiary is the arrival of the butterflies, which then appear for the first time. we may assume that they spread with great rapidity and abundance in the rich floral world of the mid-jurassic. more than , species of lepidoptera are known to-day, and there are probably twice that number yet to be classified by the entomologist. but so far the tertiary deposits have yielded only the fragmentary remains of about twenty individual butterflies. the evolutionary study of the insects is, therefore, not so much concerned with the various modifications of the three pairs of jaws, inherited from the primitive tracheate, and the wings, which have given us our vast variety of species. it is directed rather to the more interesting questions of what are called the "instincts" of the insects, the remarkable metamorphosis by which the young of the higher orders attain the adult form, and the extraordinary colouring and marking of bees, wasps, and butterflies. even these questions, however, are so large that only a few words can be said here on the tendencies of recent research. in regard to the psychic powers of insects it may be said, in the first place, that it is seriously disputed among the modern authorities whether even the highest insects (the ant, bee, and wasp) have any degree whatever of the intelligence which an earlier generation generously bestowed on them. wasmann and bethe, two of the leading authorities on ants, take the negative view; forel claims that they show occasional traces of intelligence. it is at all events clear that the enormous majority of, if not all, their activities--and especially those activities of the ant and the bee which chiefly impress the imagination--are not intelligent, but instinctive actions. and the second point to be noted is that the word "instinct," in the old sense of some innate power or faculty directing the life of an animal, has been struck out of the modern scientific dictionary. the ant or bee inherits a certain mechanism of nerves and muscles which will, in certain circumstances, act in the way we call "instinctive." the problem is to find how this mechanism and its remarkable actions were slowly evolved. in view of the innumerable and infinitely varied forms of "instinct" in the insect world we must restrict ourselves to a single illustration--say, the social life of the ants and the bees. we are not without indications of the gradual development of this social life. in the case of the ant we find that the tertiary specimens--and about a hundred species are found in switzerland alone, whereas there are only fifty species in the whole of europe to-day--all have wings and are, apparently, of the two sexes, not neutral. this seems to indicate that even in the mid-tertiary some millions of years after the first appearance of the ant, the social life which we admire in the ants today had not yet been developed. the tertiary bees, on the other hand, are said to show some traces of the division of labour (and modification of structure) which make the bees so interesting; but in this case the living bees, rising from a solitary life through increasing stages of social co-operation, give us some idea of the gradual development of this remarkable citizenship. it seems to me that the great selective agency which has brought about these, and many other remarkable activities of the insects (such as the storing of food with their eggs by wasps), was probably the occurrence of periods of cold, and especially the beginning of a winter season in the cretaceous or tertiary age. in the periods of luxuriant life (the carboniferous, the jurassic, or the oligocene), when insects swarmed and varied in every direction, some would vary in the direction of a more effective placing of the eggs; and the supervening period of cold and scarcity would favour them. when a regular winter season set in, this tendency would be enormously increased. it is a parallel case to the evolution of the birds and mammals from the reptiles. those that varied most in the direction of care for the egg and the young would have the largest share in the next generation. when we further reflect that since the tertiary the insect world has passed through the drastic disturbance of the climate in the great ice-age, we seem to have an illuminating clue to one of the most remarkable features of higher insect life. the origin of the colour marks' and patterns on so many of the higher insects, with which we may join the origin of the stick-insects, leaf-insects, etc., is a subject of lively controversy in science to-day. the protective value of the appearance of insects which look almost exactly like dried twigs or decaying leaves, and of an arrangement of the colours of the wings of butterflies which makes them almost invisible when at rest, is so obvious that natural selection was confidently invoked to explain them. in other cases certain colours or marks seemed to have a value as "warning colours," advertising the nauseousness of their possessors to the bird, which had learned to recognise them; in other cases these colours and marks seemed to be borrowed by palatable species, whose unconscious "mimicry" led to their survival; in other cases, again, the patterns and spots were regarded as "recognition marks," by which the male could find his mate. science is just now passing through a phase of acute criticism--as the reader will have realised by this time--and many of the positions confidently adopted in the earlier constructive stage are challenged. this applies to the protective colours, warning colours, mimicry, etc., of insects. probably some of the affirmations of the older generation of evolutionists were too rigid and extensive; and probably the denials of the new generation are equally exaggerated. when all sound criticism has been met, there remains a vast amount of protective colouring, shaping, and marking in the insect world of which natural selection gives us the one plausible explanation. but the doctrine of natural selection does not mean that every feature of an animal shall have a certain utility. it will destroy animals with injurious variations and favour animals with useful variations; but there may be a large amount of variation, especially in colour, to which it is quite indifferent. in this way much colour-marking may develop, either from ordinary embryonic variations or (as experiment on butterflies shows) from the direct influence of surroundings which has no vital significance. in this way, too, small variations of no selective value may gradually increase until they chance to have a value to the animal. [*] * for a strong statement of the new critical position see dewar and finn's "making of species," , ch. vi. the origin of the metamorphosis, or pupa-stage, of the higher insects, with all its wonderful protective devices, is so obscure and controverted that we must pass over it. some authorities think that the sleep-stage has been evolved for the protection of the helpless transforming insect; some believe that it occurs because movement would be injurious to the insect in that stage; some say that the muscular system is actually dissolved in its connections; and some recent experts suggest that it is a reminiscence of the fact that the ancestors of the metamorphosing insects were addicted to internal parasitism in their youth. it is one of the problems of the future. at present we have no fossil pupa-remains (though we have one caterpillar) to guide us. we must leave these fascinating but difficult problems of insect life, and glance at the evolution of the birds. to the student of nature whose interest is confined to one branch of science the record of life is a mysterious succession of waves. a comprehensive view of nature, living and non-living, past and present, discovers scores of illuminating connections, and even sees at times the inevitable sequence of events. thus if the rise of the angiospermous vegetation on the ruins of the mesozoic world is understood in the light of geological and climatic changes, and the consequent deploying of the insects, especially the suctorial insects, is a natural result, the simultaneous triumph of the birds is not unintelligible. the grains and fruits of the angiosperms and the vast swarms of insects provided immense stores of food; the annihilation of the pterosaurs left a whole stratum of the earth free for their occupation. we saw that a primitive bird, with very striking reptilian features, was found in the jurassic rocks, suggesting very clearly the evolution of the bird from the reptile in the cold of the permian or triassic period. in the cretaceous we found the birds distributed in a number of genera, but of two leading types. the ichthyornis type was a tern-like flying bird, with socketed teeth and biconcave vertebrae like the reptile, but otherwise fully evolved into a bird. its line is believed to survive in the gannets, cormorants, pelicans, and frigate-birds of to-day. the less numerous hesperornis group were large and powerful divers. then there is a blank in the record, representing the cretaceous upheaval, and it unfortunately conceals the first great ramification of the bird world. when the light falls again on the eocene period we find great numbers of our familiar types quite developed. primitive types of gulls, herons, pelicans, quails, ibises, flamingoes, albatrosses, buzzards, hornbills, falcons, eagles, owls, plovers, and woodcocks are found in the eocene beds; the oligocene beds add parrots, trogons, cranes, marabouts, secretary-birds, grouse, swallows, and woodpeckers. we cannot suppose that every type has been preserved, but we see that our bird-world was virtually created in the early part of the tertiary era. with these more or less familiar types were large ostrich-like survivors of the older order. in the bed of the sea which covered the site of london in the eocene are found the remains of a toothed bird (odontopteryx), though the teeth are merely sharp outgrowths of the edge of the bill. another bird of the same period and region (gastornis) stood about ten feet high, and must have looked something like a wading ostrich. other large waders, even more ostrich-like in structure, lived in north america; and in patagonia the remains have been found of a massive bird, about eight feet high, with a head larger than that of any living animal except the elephant, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus (chamberlin). the absence of early eocene remains prevents us from tracing the lines of our vast and varied bird-kingdom to their mesozoic beginnings. and when we appeal to the zoologist to supply the missing links of relationship, by a comparison of the structures of living birds, we receive only uncertain and very general suggestions. [*] he tells us that the ostrich-group (especially the emus and cassowaries) are one of the most primitive stocks of the bird world, and that the ancient dinornis group and the recently extinct moas seem to be offshoots of that stock. the remaining many thousand species of carinate birds (or flying birds with a keel [carina]-shaped breast-bone for the attachment of the flying muscles) are then gathered into two great branches, which are "traceable to a common stock" (pycraft), and branch in their turn along the later lines of development. one of these lines--the pelicans, cormorants, etc.--seems to be a continuation of the ichthyornis type of the cretaceous, with the odontopteryx as an eocene offshoot; the divers, penguins, grebes, and petrels represent another ancient stock, which may be related to the hesperornis group of the cretaceous. dr. chalmers mitchell thinks that the "screamers" of south america are the nearest representatives of the common ancestor of the keel-breasted birds. but even to give the broader divisions of the , species of living birds would be of little interest to the general reader. * the best treatment of the subject will be found in w. p. pycraft's history of birds, . the special problems of bird-evolution are as numerous and unsettled as those of the insects. there is the same dispute as to "protective colours" and "recognition marks", the same uncertainty as to the origin of such instinctive practices as migration and nesting. the general feeling is that the annual migration had its origin in the overcrowding of the regions in which birds could live all the year round. they therefore pushed northward in the spring and remained north until the winter impoverishment drove them south again. on this view each group would be returning to its ancestral home, led by the older birds, in the great migration flights. the curious paths they follow are believed by some authorities to mark the original lines of their spread, preserved from generation to generation through the annual lead of the older birds. if we recollect the ice-age which drove the vast majority of the birds south at the end of the tertiary, and imagine them later following the northward retreat of the ice, from their narrowed and overcrowded southern territory, we may not be far from the secret of the annual migration. a more important controversy is conducted in regard to the gorgeous plumage and other decorations and weapons of the male birds. darwin, as is known, advanced a theory of "sexual selection" to explain these. the male peacock, to take a concrete instance, would have developed its beautiful tail because, through tens of thousands of generations, the female selected the more finely tailed male among the various suitors. dr. wallace and other authorities always disputed this aesthetic sentiment and choice on the part of the female. the general opinion today is that darwin's theory could not be sustained in the range and precise sense he gave to it. some kind of display by the male in the breeding season would be an advantage, but to suppose that the females of any species of birds or mammals had the definite and uniform taste necessary for the creation of male characters by sexual selection is more than difficult. they seem to be connected in origin rather with the higher vitality of the male, but the lines on which they were selected are not yet understood. this general sketch of the enrichment of the earth with flowering plants, insects, and birds in the tertiary era is all that the limits of the present work permit us to give. it is an age of exuberant life and abundant food; the teeming populations overflow their primitive boundaries, and, in adapting themselves to every form of diet, every phase of environment, and every device of capture or escape, the spreading organisms are moulded into tens of thousands of species. we shall see this more clearly in the evolution of the mammals. what we chiefly learn from the present chapter is the vital interconnection of the various parts of nature. geological changes favour the spread of a certain type of vegetation. insects are attracted to its nutritious seed-organs, and an age of this form of parasitism leads to a signal modification of the jaws of the insects themselves and to the lavish variety and brilliance of the flowers. birds are attracted to the nutritious matter enclosing the seeds, and, as it is an advantage to the plant that its seeds be scattered beyond the already populated area, by passing through the alimentary canal of the bird, and being discharged with its excrements, a fresh line of evolution leads to the appearance of the large and coloured fruits. the birds, again, turn upon the swarming insects, and the steady selection they exercise leads to the zigzag flight and the protective colour of the butterfly, the concealment of the grub and the pupa, the marking of the caterpillar, and so on. we can understand the living nature of to-day as the outcome of that teeming, striving, changing world of the tertiary era, just as it in turn was the natural outcome of the ages that had gone before. chapter xvii. the origin of our mammals in our study of the evolution of the plant, the insect, and the bird we were seriously thwarted by the circumstance that their frames, somewhat frail in themselves, were rarely likely to be entombed in good conditions for preservation. earlier critics of evolution used, when they were imperfectly acquainted with the conditions of fossilisation, to insinuate that this fragmentary nature of the geological record was a very convenient refuge for the evolutionist who was pressed for positive evidence. the complaint is no longer found in any serious work. where we find excellent conditions for preservation, and animals suitable for preservation living in the midst of them, the record is quite satisfactory. we saw how the chalk has yielded remains of sea-urchins in the actual and gradual process of evolution. tertiary beds which represent the muddy bottoms of tranquil lakes are sometimes equally instructive in their fossils, especially of shell-fish. the paludina of a certain slavonian lake-deposit is a classical example. it changes so greatly in the successive levels of the deposit that, if the intermediate forms were not preserved, we should divide it into several different species. the planorbis is another well-known example. in this case we have a species evolving along several distinct lines into forms which differ remarkably from each other. the tertiary mammals, living generally on the land and only coming by accident into deposits suitable for preservation, cannot be expected to reveal anything like this sensible advance from form to form. they were, however, so numerous in the mid-tertiary, and their bones are so well calculated to survive when they do fall into suitable conditions, that we can follow their development much more easily than that of the birds. we find a number of strange patriarchal beasts entering the scene in the early eocene, and spreading into a great variety of forms in the genial conditions of the oligocene and miocene. as some of these forms advance, we begin to descry in them the features, remote and shadowy at first, of the horse, the deer, the elephant, the whale, the tiger, and our other familiar mammals. in some instances we can trace the evolution with a wonderful fullness, considering the remoteness of the period and the conditions of preservation. then, one by one, the abortive, the inelastic, the ill-fitted types are destroyed by changing conditions or powerful carnivores, and the field is left to the mammals which filled it when man in turn began his destructive career. the first point of interest is the origin of these tertiary mammals. their distinctive advantage over the mammals of the mesozoic era was-the possession by the mother of a placenta (the "after-birth" of the higher mammals), or structure in the womb by which the blood-vessels of the mother are brought into such association with those of the foetus that her blood passes into its arteries, and it is fully developed within the warm shelter of her womb. the mammals of the mesozoic had been small and primitive animals, rarely larger than a rat, and never rising above the marsupial stage in organisation. they not only continued to exist, and give rise to their modern representatives (the opossum, etc.) during the tertiary era, but they shared the general prosperity. in australia, where they were protected from the higher carnivorous mammals, they gave rise to huge elephant-like wombats (diprotodon), with skulls two or three feet in length. over the earth generally, however, they were superseded by the placental mammals, which suddenly break into the geological record in the early tertiary, and spread with great vigour and rapidity over the four continents. were they a progressive offshoot from the mesozoic marsupials, or monotremes, or do they represent a separate stock from the primitive half-reptile and half-mammal family? the point is disputed; nor does the scantiness of the record permit us to tell the place of their origin. the placental structure would be so great an advantage in a cold and unfavourable environment that some writers look to the northern land, connecting europe and america, for their development. we saw, however, that this northern region was singularly warm until long after the spread of the mammals. other experts, impressed by the parallel development of the mammals and the flowering plants, look to the elevated parts of eastern north america. such evidence as there is seems rather to suggest that south africa was the cradle of the placental mammals. we shall find that many of our mammals originated in africa; there, too, is found to-day the most primitive representative of the tertiary mammals, the hyrax; and there we find in especial abundance the remains of the mammal-like reptiles (theromorphs) which are regarded as their progenitors. further search in the unexplored geological treasures and dense forests of africa is needed. we may provisionally conceive the placental mammals as a group of the south african early mammals which developed a fortunate variation in womb-structure during the severe conditions of the early mesozoic. in this new structure they would have no preponderant advantage as long as the genial jurassic age favoured the great reptiles, and they may have remained as small and insignificant as the marsupials. but with the fresh upheaval and climatic disturbance at the end of the jurassic, and during the cretaceous, they spread northward, and replaced the dying reptiles, as the angiosperms replaced the dying cycads. when they met the spread of the angiosperm vegetation they would receive another great stimulus to development. they appear in europe and north america in the earliest cretaceous. the rise of the land had connected many hitherto isolated regions, and they seem to have poured over every bridge into all parts of the four continents. the obscurity of their origin is richly compensated by their intense evolutionary interest from the moment they enter the geological record. we have seen this in the case of every important group of plants and animals, and can easily understand it. the ancestral group was small and local; the descendants are widely spread. while, therefore, we discover remains of the later phases of development in our casual cuttings and quarries, the ancestral tomb may remain for ages in some unexplored province of the geological world. if this region is, as we suspect, in africa, our failure to discover it as yet is all the more intelligible. but these mammals of the early tertiary are still of such a patriarchal or ancestral character that the student of evolution can dispense with their earlier phase. they combine in their primitive frames, in an elementary way, the features which we now find distributed in widely removed groups of their descendants. most of them fall into two large orders: the condylarthra, the ancestral herbivores from which we shall find our horses, oxen, deer, elephants, and hogs gradually issuing, and the creodonta, the patriarchal carnivores, which will give birth to our lions and tigers, wolves and foxes, and their various cousins. as yet even the two general types of herbivore and carnivore are so imperfectly separated that it is not always possible to distinguish between them. nearly all of them have the five-toed foot of the reptile ancestor; and the flat nails on their toes are the common material out of which the hoof of the ungulate and the claw of the carnivore will be presently fashioned. nearly all have forty-four simply constructed teeth, from which will be evolved the grinders and tusks of the elephant or the canines of the tiger. they answer in every respect to the theory that some primitive local group was the common source of all our great mammals. with them are ancestral forms of edentates (sloths, etc.) and insectivores (moles, etc.), side-branches developing according to their special habits; and before the end of the eocene we find primitive rodents (squirrels, etc.) and cheiroptera (bats). from the description of the tertiary world which we have seen in the last chapter we understand the rapid evolution of the herbivorous condylarthra. the rich vegetation which spreads over the northern continents, to which they have penetrated, gives them an enormous vitality and fecundity, and they break into groups, as they increase in number, adapted to the different conditions of forest, marsh, or grass-covered plain. some of them, swelling lazily on the abundant food, and secure for a time in their strength, become the deinosaurs of their age, mere feeding and breeding machines. they are massive, sluggish, small-brained animals, their strong stumpy limbs terminating in broad five-toed feet. coryphodon, sometimes as large as an ox, is a typical representative. it is a type fitted only for prosperous days, and these amblypoda, as they are called, will disappear as soon as the great carnivores are developed. another doomed race, or abortive experiment of early mammal life, were the remarkable deinocerata ("terrible-horned" mammals). they sometimes measured thirteen feet in length, but had little use for brain in the conditions in which they were developed. the brain of the deinoceras was only one-eighth the size of the brain of a rhinoceros of the same bulk; and the rhinoceros is a poor-brained representative of the modern mammals. to meet the growing perils of their race they seem to have developed three pairs of horns on their long, flat skulls, as we find on them three pairs of protuberances. a late specimen of the group, tinoceras, had a head four feet in length, armed with these six horns, and its canine teeth were developed into tusks sometimes seven or eight inches in length. they suggest a race of powerful but clumsy and grotesque monsters, making a last stand, and developing such means of protection as their inelastic nature permitted. but the horns seem to have proved a futile protection against the advancing carnivores, and the race was extinguished. the horns may, of course, have been mainly developed by, or for, the mutual butting of the males. the extinction of these races will remind many readers of a theory on which it is advisable to say a word. it will be remembered that the last of the deinosaurs and the ammonites also exhibited some remarkable developments in their last days. these facts have suggested to some writers the idea that expiring races pass through a death-agony, and seem to die a natural death of old age like individuals. the trilobites are quoted as another instance; and some ingenious writers add the supposed eccentricities of the roman empire in its senile decay and a number of other equally unsubstantial illustrations. there is not the least ground for this fantastic speculation. the destruction of these "doomed races" is as clearly traceable to external causes as is the destruction of the roman empire; nor, in fact, did the roman empire develop any such eccentricities as are imagined in this superficial theory. what seem to our eye the "eccentricities" and "convulsions" of the ceratopsia and deinocerata are much more likely to be defensive developments against a growing peril, but they were as futile against the new carnivores as were the assegais of the zulus against the european. on the other hand, the eccentricities of many of the later trilobites--the latest trilobites, it may be noted, were chaste and sober specimens of their race, like the last roman patricians--and of the ammonites may very well have been caused by physical and chemical changes in the sea-water. we know from experiment that such changes have a disturbing influence, especially on the development of eggs and larvae; and we know from the geological record that such changes occurred in the periods when the trilobites and ammonites perished. in fine, the vast majority of extinct races passed through no "convulsions" whatever. we may conclude that races do not die; they are killed. the extinction of these races of the early condylarthra, and the survival of those races whose descendants share the earth with us to-day, are quite intelligible. the hand of natural selection lay heavy on the tertiary herbivores. apart from overpopulation, forcing groups to adapt themselves to different regions and diets, and apart from the geological disturbances and climatic changes which occurred in nearly every period, the shadow of the advancing carnivores was upon them. primitive but formidable tigers, wolves, and hyenas were multiplying, and a great selective struggle set in. some groups shrank from the battle by burrowing underground like the rabbit; some, like the squirrel or the ape, took refuge in the trees; some, like the whale and seal, returned to the water; some shrank into armour, like the armadillo, or behind fences of spines, like the hedgehog; some, like the bat, escaped into the air. social life also was probably developed at this time, and the great herds had their sentinels and leaders. but the most useful qualities of the large vegetarians, which lived on grass and leaf, were acuteness of perception to see the danger, and speed of limb to escape it. in other words, increase of brain and sense-power and increase of speed were the primary requisites. the clumsy early condylarthra failed to meet the tests, and perished; the other branches of the race were more plastic, and, under the pressure of a formidable enemy, were gradually moulded into the horse, the deer, the ox, the antelope, and the elephant. we can follow the evolution of our mammals of this branch most easily by studying the modification of the feet and limbs. in a running attitude--the experiment may be tried--the weight of the body is shifted from the flat sole of the foot, and thrown upon the toes, especially the central toes. this indicates the line of development of the ungulates (hoofed animals) in the struggle of the tertiary era. in the early eocene we find the condylarthra (such as phenacodus) with flat five-toed feet, and such a mixed combination of characters that they "might serve very well for the ancestors of all the later ungulata" (woodward). we then presently find this generalised ungulate branching into three types, one of which seems to be a patriarchal tapir, the second is regarded as a very remote ancestor of the horse, and the third foreshadows the rhinoceros. the feet have now only three or four toes; one or two of the side-toes have disappeared. this evolution, however, follows two distinct lines. in one group of these primitive ungulates the main axis of the limb, or the stress of the weight, passes through the middle toe. this group becomes the perissodactyla ("odd-toed" ungulates) of the zoologist, throwing out side-branches in the tapir and the rhinoceros, and culminating in the one-toed horse. in the other line, the artiodactyla (the "even-toed" or cloven-hoofed ungulates), the main axis or stress passes between the third and fourth toes, and the group branches into our deer, oxen, sheep, pigs, camels, giraffes, and hippopotamuses. the elephant has developed along a separate and very distinctive line, as we shall see, and the hyrax is a primitive survivor of the ancestral group. thus the evolutionist is able to trace a very natural order in the immense variety of our ungulates. he can follow them in theory as they slowly evolve from their primitive eocene ancestor according to their various habits and environments; he has a very rich collection of fossil remains illustrating the stages of their development; and in the hyrax (or "coney") he has one more of those living fossils, or primitive survivors, which still fairly preserve the ancestral form. the hyrax has four toes on the front foot and three on the hind foot, and the feet are flat. its front teeth resemble those of a rodent, and its molars those of the rhinoceros. in many respects it is a most primitive and generalised little animal, preserving the ancestral form more or less faithfully since tertiary days in the shelter of the african continent. the rest of the ungulates continued to develop through the tertiary, and fortunately we are enabled to follow the development of two of the most interesting of them, the horse and the elephant, in considerable detail. as i said above, the primitive ungulate soon branches into three types which dimly foreshadow the tapir, the horse, and the rhinoceros, the three forms of the perissodactyl. the second of these types is the hyracotherium. it has no distinct equine features, and is known only from the skull, but the authorities regard it as the progenitor (or representative of the progenitors) of the horse-types. in size it must have been something like the rabbit or the hyrax. still early in the eocene, however, we find the remains of a small animal (eohippus), about the size of a fox, which is described as "undoubtedly horse-like." it had only three toes on its hind feet, and four on its front feet; though it had also a splint-bone, representing the shrunken and discarded fifth toe, on its fore feet. another form of the same period (protorohippus) shows the central of the three toes on the hind foot much enlarged, and the lateral toes shrinking. the teeth, and the bones and joints of the limbs, are also developing in the direction of the horse. in the succeeding geological period, the oligocene, we find several horse-types in which the adaptation of the limbs to running on the firm grassy plains and of the teeth to eating the grass continues. mesohippus has lost the fourth toe of the fore foot, which is now reduced to a splintbone, and the lateral toes of its hind foot are shrinking. in the miocene period there is a great development of the horse-like mammals. we have the remains of more than forty species, some continuing the main line of development on the firm and growing prairies of the miocene, some branching into the softer meadows or the forests, and giving rise to types which will not outlive the tertiary. they have three toes on each foot, and have generally lost even the rudimentary trace of the fourth toe. in most of them, moreover, the lateral toes--except in the marsh-dwelling species, with spreading feet--scarcely touch the ground, while the central toe is developing a strong hoof. the leg-bones are longer, and have a new type of joint; the muscles are concentrated near the body. the front teeth are now chopping incisors, and the grinding teeth approach those of the modern horse in the distribution of the enamel, dentine, and cement. they are now about the size of a donkey, and must have had a distinctly horsy appearance, with their long necks and heads and tapering limbs. one of them, merychippus, was probably in the direct line of the evolution of the horse. from hipparion some of the authorities believe that the zebras may have been developed. miohippus, protohippus, and hypohippus, varying in size from that of a sheep to that of a donkey, are other branches of this spreading family. in the pliocene period the evolution of the main stem culminates in the appearance of the horse, and the collateral branches are destroyed. pliohippus is a further intermediate form. it has only one toe on each foot, with two large splint bones, but its hoof is less round than that of the horse, and it differs in the shape of the skull and the length of the teeth. the true horse (equus) at length appears, in europe and america, before the close of the tertiary period. as is well known, it still has the rudimentary traces of its second and fourth toes in the shape of splint bones, and these bones are not only more definitely toe-shaped in the foal before birth, but are occasionally developed and give us a three-toed horse. from these successive remains we can confidently picture the evolution, during two or three million years, of one of our most familiar mammals. it must not, of course, be supposed that these fossil remains all represent "ancestors of the horse." in some cases they may very well do so; in others, as we saw, they represent sidebranches of the family which have become extinct. but even such successive forms as the eohippus, mesohippus, miohippus, and pliohippus must not be arranged in a direct line as the pedigree of the horse. the family became most extensive in the miocene, and we must regard the casual fossil specimens we have discovered as illustrations of the various phases in the development of the horse from the primitive ungulate. when we recollect what we saw in an earlier chapter about the evolution of grassy plains and the successive rises of the land during the tertiary period, and when we reflect on the simultaneous advance of the carnivores, we can without difficulty realise this evolution of our familiar companion from a hyrax-like little animal of two million years ago. we have not in many cases so rich a collection of intermediate forms as in the case of the horse, but our fossil mammals are numerous enough to suggest a similar development of all the mammals of to-day. the primitive family which gave birth to the horse also gave us, as we saw, the tapir and the rhinoceros. we find ancestral tapirs in europe and america during the tertiary period, but the later cold has driven them to the warm swamps of brazil and malaysia. the rhinoceros has had a long and interesting history. from the primitive hyrochinus of the eocene, in which it is dimly foreshadowed, we pass to a large and varied family in the later periods. in the oligocene it spreads into three great branches, adapted, respectively, to life on the elevated lands, the lowlands, and the water. the upland type (hyracodon) was a light-limbed running animal, well illustrating the close relation to the horse. the aquatic representative (metamynodon) was a stumpy and bulky animal. the intermediate lowland type was probably the ancestor of the modern animal. all three forms were yet hornless. in the miocene the lowland type (leptaceratherium, aceratherium, etc.) develops vigorously, while the other branches die. the european types now have two horns, and in one of the american species (diceratherium) we see a commencement of the horny growths from the skull. we shall see later that the rhinoceros continued in europe even during the severe conditions of the glacial period, in a branch that developed a woolly coat. there were also in the early tertiary several sidebranches of the horse-tapir-rhinoceros family. the palaeotheres were more or less between the horse and the tapir in structure; the anoplotheres between the tapir and the ruminant. a third doomed branch, the titanotheres, flourished vigorously for a time, and begot some strange and monstrous forms (brontops, titanops, etc.). in the larger specimens the body was about fourteen feet long, and stood ten feet from the ground. the long, low skull had a pair of horns over the snout. they perished like the equally powerful but equally sluggish and stupid deinocerata. the tertiary was an age of brain rather than of brawn. as compared with their early tertiary representatives' some of our modern mammals have increased seven or eight-fold in brain-capacity. while the horses and tapirs and rhinoceroses were being gradually evolved from the primitive types, the artiodactyl branch of the ungulates--the pigs, deer, oxen, etc.--were also developing. we must dismiss them briefly. we saw that the primitive herbivores divided early in the eocene into the "odd-toed" and "even-toed" varieties; the name refers, it will be remembered, not to the number of toes, but to the axis of stress. the artiodactyl group must have quickly branched in turn, as we find very primitive hogs and camels before the end of the eocene. the first hog-like creature (homacodon) was much smaller than the hog of to-day, and had strong canine teeth, but in the oligocene the family gave rise to a large and numerous race, the elotheres. these "giant-pigs," as they have been called, with two toes on each foot, flourished vigorously for a time in europe and america, but were extinguished in the miocene, when the true pigs made their appearance. another doomed race of the time is represented by the hyopotamus, an animal between the pig and the hippopotamus; and the oreodontids, between the hog and the deer, were another unsuccessful branch of the early race. the hippopotamus itself was widespread in europe, and a familiar form in the rivers of britain, in the latter part of the tertiary. the camel seems to be traceable to a group of primitive north american ungulates (paebrotherium, etc.) in the later eocene period. the paebrotherium, a small animal about two feet long, is followed by pliauchenia, which points toward the llamas and vicunas, and procamelus, which clearly foreshadows the true camel. in the pliocene the one branch went southward, to develop into the llamas and vicunas, and the other branch crossed to asia, to develop into the camels. since that time they have had no descendants in north america. the primitive giraffe appears suddenly in the later tertiary deposits of europe and asia. the evidence points to an invasion from africa, and, as the region of development is unknown and unexplored, the evolution of the giraffe remains a matter of speculation. chevrotains flourished in europe and north america in the oligocene, and are still very primitive in structure, combining features of the hog and the ruminants. primitive deer and oxen begin in the miocene, and seem to have an earlier representative in certain american animals (protoceras), of which the male has a pair of blunt outgrowths between the ears. the first true deer are hornless (like the primitive muskdeer of asia to-day), but by the middle of the miocene the males have small two-pronged antlers, and as the period proceeds three or four more prongs are added. it is some confirmation of the evolutionary embryonic law that we find the antlers developing in this way in the individual stag to-day. a very curious race of ruminants in the later tertiary was a large antelope (sivatherium) with four horns. it had not only the dimensions, but apparently some of the characters, of an elephant. the elephant itself, the last type of the ungulates, has a clearer line of developments. a chance discovery of fossils in the fayum district in egypt led dr. c. w. andrews to make a special exploration, and on the remains which he found he has constructed a remarkable story of the evolution of the elephant. [*] it is clear that the elephant was developed in africa, and a sufficiently complete series of remains has been found to give a good idea of the origin of its most distinctive features. in the eocene period there lived in the egyptian region an animal, something like the tapir in size and appearance, which had its second incisors developed into small tusks and--to judge from the nasal opening in the skull--a somewhat prolonged snout. this animal (moeritherium) only differed from the ordinary primitive ungulate in these incipient elephantine features. in the later eocene a larger and more advanced animal, the palaeomastodon, makes its appearance. its tusks are larger (five or six inches long), its molars more elephantine, the air-cells at the back of the head more developed. it would look like a small elephant, except that it had a long snout, instead of a flexible trunk, and a projecting lower jaw on which the snout rested. *see this short account, "guide to the elephants in the british museum," . up to the beginning of the miocene, africa was, as we saw, cut off from europe and asia by the sea which stretched from spain to india. then the land rose, and the elephant passed by the new tracts into the north. its next representative, tetrabelodon, is found in asia and europe, as well as north africa. the frame is as large as that of a medium-sized elephant, and the increase of the air-cells at the back of the skull shows that an increased weight has to be sustained by the muscles of the neck. the nostrils are shifted further back. the tusks are from twenty to thirty inches long, and round, and only differ from those of the elephant in curving slightly downward, the chin projects as far as the tusks. the neck is shorter and thicker, and, as the animal increases in height, we can understand that the long snout--possibly prehensile at its lower end--is necessary for the animal to reach the ground. but the snout still lies on the projecting lower jaw, and is not a trunk. passing over the many collateral branches, which diverge in various directions, we next kind that the chin is shortening (in tetrabelodon longirostris), and, through a long series of discovered intermediate forms, we trace the evolution of the elephant from the mastodon. the long supporting skin disappears, and the enormous snout becomes a flexible trunk. southern asia seems to have been the province of this final transformation, and we have remains of some of these primitive elephants with tusks nine and a half feet long. a later species, which wandered over central and southern europe before the close of the tertiary, stood fifteen feet high at the shoulder, while the mammoth, which superseded it in the days of early man, had at times tusks more than ten feet in length. it is interesting to reflect that this light on the evolution of one of our most specialised mammals is due to the chance opening of the soil in an obscure african region. it suggests to us that as geological exploration is extended, many similar discoveries may be made. the slenderness of the geological record is a defect that the future may considerably modify. from this summary review of the evolution of the ungulates we must now pass to an even briefer account of the evolution of the carnivores. the evidence is less abundant, but the characters of the carnivores consist so obviously of adaptations to their habits and diet that we have little difficulty in imagining their evolution. their early eocene ancestors, the creodonts, gave rise in the eocene to forms which we may regard as the forerunners of the cat-family and dog-family, to which most of our familiar carnivores belong. patriofelis, the "patriarchal cat," about five or six feet in length (without the tail), curiously combines the features of the cat and the seal-family. cyonodon has a wolf-like appearance, and amphicyon rather suggests the fox. primitive weasels, civets, and hyaenas appear also in the eocene. the various branches of the carnivore family are already roughly represented, but it is an age of close relationships and generalised characters. in the miocene we find the various groups diverging still further from each other and from the extinct stocks. definite wolves and foxes abound in america, and the bear, civet, and hyaena are represented in europe, together with vague otter-like forms. the dog-family seems to have developed chiefly in north america. as in the case of the ungulates, we find many strange side-branches which flourished for a time, but are unknown to-day. machoerodus, usually known as "the sabre-toothed tiger," though not a tiger, was one of the most formidable of these transitory races. its upper canine teeth (the "sabres") were several inches in length, and it had enormously distensible jaws to make them effective. the great development of such animals, with large numbers of hyaenas, civets, wolves, bears, and other carnivores, in the middle and later tertiary was probably the most effective agency in the evolution of the horse and deer and the extinction of the more sluggish races. the aquatic branch of the carnivores (seals, walruses, etc.) is little represented in the tertiary record. we saw, however, that the most primitive representatives of the elephant-stock had also some characters of the seal, and it is thought that the two had a common origin. the moeritherium was a marsh-animal, and may very well have been cousin to the branch of the family which pushed on to the seas, and developed its fore limbs into paddles. the rodents are represented in primitive form early in the eocene period. the teeth are just beginning to show the characteristic modification for gnawing. a large branch of the family, the tillodonts, attained some importance a little later. they are described as combining the head and claws of a bear with the teeth of a rodent and the general characters of an ungulate. in the oligocene we find primitive squirrels, beavers, rabbits, and mice. the insectivores also developed some of the present types at an early date, and have since proved so unprogressive that some regard them as the stock from which all the placental mammals have arisen. the cetacea (whales, porpoises, etc.) are already represented in the eocene by a primitive whale-like animal (zeuglodon) of unknown origin. some specimens of it are seventy feet in length. it has large teeth, sometimes six inches long, and is clearly a terrestrial mammal that has returned to the waters. some forms even of the modern whale develop rudimentary teeth, and in all forms the bony structure of the fore limbs and degenerate relic of a pelvis and back limbs plainly tell of the terrestrial origin. dolphins appear in the miocene. finally, the edentates (sloths, anteaters, and armadilloes) are represented in a very primitive form in the early eocene. they are then barely distinguishable from the condylarthra and creodonta, and seem only recently to have issued from a common ancestor with those groups. in the course of the tertiary we find them--especially in south america, which was cut off from the north and its invading carnivores during the eocene and miocene--developed into large sloths, armadilloes, and anteaters. the reconnection with north america in the pliocene allowed the northern animals to descend, but gigantic sloths (megatherium) and armadilloes (glyptodon) flourished long afterwards in south america. the megatherium attained a length of eighteen feet in one specimen discovered, and the glyptodon often had a dorsal shield (like that of the armadillo) from six to eight feet long, and, in addition, a stoutly armoured tail several feet long. the richness and rapidity of the mammalian development in the tertiary, of which this condensed survey will convey some impression, make it impossible to do more here than glance over the vast field and indicate the better-known connections. it will be seen that evolution not only introduces a lucid order and arrangement into our thousands of species of living and fossil mammals, but throws an admirable light on the higher animal world of our time. the various orders into which the zoologist puts our mammals are seen to be the branches of a living tree, approaching more and more closely to each other in early tertiary times, in spite of the imperfectness of the geological record. we at last trace these diverging lines to a few very primitive, generalised, patriarchal groups, which in turn approach each other very closely in structure, and plainly suggest a common cretaceous ancestor. whether that common ancestor was an edentate, an insectivore, or creodont, or something more primitive than them all, is disputed. but the divergence of nearly all the lines of our mammal world from those patriarchal types is admirably clear. in the mutual struggle of carnivore and herbivore, in adaptation to a hundred different environments (the water, the land, and the air, the tree, the open plain, the underground, the marsh, etc.) and forms of diet, we find the descendants of these patriarchal animals gradually developing their distinctive characters. then we find the destructive agencies of living and inorganic nature blotting out type after type, and the living things that spread over the land in the later tertiary are found to be broadly identical with the living things of to-day. the last great selection, the northern ice-age, will give the last touches of modernisation. chapter xviii. the evolution of man we have reserved for a closer inquiry that order of the placental mammals to which we ourselves belong, and on which zoologists have bestowed the very proper and distinguishing name of the primates. since the days of darwin there has been some tendency to resent the term "lower animals," which man applies to his poorer relations. but, though there is no such thing as an absolute standard by which we may judge the "higher" or "lower" status of animals or plants, the extraordinary power which man has by his brain development attained over both animate and inanimate nature fully justifies the phrase. the primate order is, therefore, of supreme interest as the family that gave birth to man, and it is important to discover the agencies which impelled some primitive member of it to enter upon the path which led to this summit of organic nature. the order includes the femurs, a large and primitive family with ape-like features--the germans call them "half-apes"--the monkeys, the man-like apes, and man. this classification according to structure corresponds with the successive appearance of the various families in the geological record. the femurs appear in the eocene; the monkeys, and afterwards the apes, in the miocene, the first semi-human forms in the pleistocene, though they must have been developed before this. it is hardly necessary to say that science does not regard man as a descendant of the known anthropoid apes, or these as descended from the monkeys. they are successive types or phases of development, diverging early from each other. just as the succeeding horse-types of the record are not necessarily related to each other in a direct line, yet illustrate the evolution of a type which culminates in the horse, so the spreading and branching members of the primate group illustrate the evolution of a type of organism which culminates in man. the particular relationship of the various families, living and dead, will need careful study. that there is a general blood-relationship, and that man is much more closely related to the anthropoid apes than to any of the lower primates, is no longer a matter of controversy. in rudolph virchow there died, a few years ago, the last authoritative man of science to express any doubt about it. there are, however, non-scientific writers who, by repeating the ambiguous phrase that it is "only a theory," convey the impression to inexpert readers that it is still more or less an open question. we will therefore indicate a few of the lines of evidence which have overcome the last hesitations of scientific men, and closed the discussion as to the fact. the very close analogy of structure between man and the ape at once suggests that they had a common ancestor. there are cases in which two widely removed animals may develop a similar organ independently, but there is assuredly no possibility of their being alike in all organs, unless by common inheritance. yet the essential identity of structure in man and the ape is only confirmed by every advance of science, and would of itself prove the common parentage. such minor differences as there are between man and the higher ape--in the development of the cerebrum, the number of the teeth or ribs, the distribution of the hair, and so on--are quite explicable when we reflect that the two groups must have diverged from each other more than a million years ago. examining the structure of man more closely, we find this strong suggestion of relationship greatly confirmed. it is now well known that the human body contains a number of vestigial "organs"--organs of no actual use, and only intelligible as vestiges of organs that were once useful. whatever view we take of the origin of man, each organ in his frame must have a meaning; and, as these organs are vestigial and useless even in the lowest tribes of men, who represent primitive man, they must be vestiges of organs that were of use in a remote pre-human ancestor. the one fact that the ape has the same vestigial organs as man would, on a scientific standard of evidence, prove the common descent of the two. but these interesting organs themselves point back far earlier than a mixed ape-human ancestor in many cases. the shell of cartilage which covers the entrance to the ear--the gristly appendage which is popularly called the ear--is one of the clearest and most easily recognised of these organs. the "ear" of a horse or a cat is an upright mobile shell for catching the waves of sound. the human ear has the appearance of being the shrunken relic of such an organ, and, when we remove the skin, and find seven generally useless muscles attached to it, obviously intended to pull the shell in all directions (as in the horse), there can be no doubt that the external ear is a discarded organ, a useless legacy from an earlier ancestor. in cases where it has been cut off it was found that the sense of hearing was scarcely, if at all, affected. now we know that it is similarly useless in all tribes of men, and must therefore come from a pre-human ancestor. it is also vestigial in the higher apes, and it is only when we descend to the lower monkeys and femurs that we see it approaching its primitive useful form. one may almost say that it is a reminiscence of the far-off period when, probably in the early tertiary, the ancestors of the primates took to the trees. the animals living on the plain needed acute senses to detect the approach of their prey or their enemies; the tree-dweller found less demand on his sense of hearing, the "speaking-trumpet" was discarded, and the development of the internal ear proceeded on the higher line of the perception of musical sounds. we might take a very large number of parts of the actual human body, and discover that they are similar historical or archaeological monuments surviving in a modern system, but we have space only for a few of the more conspicuous. the hair on the body is a vestigial organ, of actual use to no race of men, an evident relic of the thick warm coat of an earlier ancestor. it in turn recalls the dwellers in the primeval forest. in most cases--not all, because the wearing of clothes for ages has modified this feature--it will be found that the hairs on the arm tend upward from the wrist to the elbow, and downward from the shoulder to the elbow. this very peculiar feature becomes intelligible when we find that some of the apes also have it, and that it has a certain use in their case. they put their hands over their heads as they sit in the trees during ram, and in that position the sloping hair acts somewhat like the thatched roof of a cottage. again, it will be found that in the natural position of standing we are not perfectly flat-footed, but tend to press much more on the outer than on the inner edge of the foot. this tendency, surviving after ages of living on the level ground, is a lingering effect of the far-off arboreal days. a more curious reminiscence is seen in the fact that the very young infant, flabby and powerless as it is in most of its muscles, is so strong in the muscles of the hand and arm that it can hang on to a stick by its hands, and sustain the whole weight of its body, for several minutes. finally, our vestigial tail--for we have a tail comparable to that of the higher apes--must be mentioned. in embryonic development the tail is much longer than the legs, and some children are born with a real tail, which they move as the puppy does, according to their emotional condition. other features of the body point back to an even earlier stage. the vermiform appendage--in which some recent medical writers have vainly endeavoured to find a utility--is the shrunken remainder of a large and normal intestine of a remote ancestor. this interpretation of it would stand even if it were found to have a certain use in the human body. vestigial organs are sometimes pressed into a secondary use when their original function has been lost. the danger of this appendage in the human body to-day is due to the fact that it is a blind alley leading off the alimentary canal, and has a very narrow opening. in the ape the opening is larger, and, significantly enough, it is still larger in the human foetus. when we examine some of the lower mammals we discover the meaning of it. it is in them an additional storage chamber in the alimentary system. it is believed that a change to a more digestible diet has made this additional chamber superfluous in the primates, and the system is slowly suppressing it. other reminiscences of this earlier phase are found in the many vestigial muscles which are found in the body to-day. the head of the quadruped hangs forward, and is held by powerful muscles and ligaments in the neck. we still have the shrunken remainder of this arrangement. other vestigial muscles are found in the forehead, the scalp, the nose--many people can twitch the nostrils and the scalp--and under the skin in many parts of the body. these are enfeebled remnants of the muscular coat by which the quadruped twitches its skin, and drives insects away. a less obvious feature is found by the anatomist in certain blood-vessels of the trunk. as the blood flows vertically in a biped and horizontally in a quadruped, the arrangement of the valves in the blood-vessels should be different in the two cases; but it is the same in us as in the quadruped. another trace of the quadruped ancestor is found in the baby. it walks "on all fours" so long, not merely from weakness of the limbs, but because it has the spine of a quadruped. a much more interesting fact, but one less easy to interpret, is that the human male has, like the male ape, organs for suckling the young. that there are real milk-glands, usually vestigial, underneath the teats in the breast of the boy or the man is proved by the many known cases in which men have suckled the young. several friends of the present writer have seen this done in india and ceylon by male "wet-nurses." as there is no tribe of men or species of ape in which the male suckles the young normally, we seem to be thrown back once more upon an earlier ancestor. the difficulty is that we know of no mammal of which both parents suckle the young, and some authorities think that the breasts have been transferred to the male by a kind of embryonic muddle. that is difficult to believe, as no other feature has ever been similarly transferred to the opposite sex. in any case the male breasts are vestigial organs. another peculiarity of the mammary system is that sometimes three, four, or five pairs of breasts appear in a woman (and several have been known even in a man). this is, apparently, an occasional reminiscence of an early mammal ancestor which had large litters of young and several pairs of breasts. but there are features of the human body which recall an ancestor even earlier than the quadruped. the most conspicuous of these is the little fleshy pad at the inner corner of each eye. it is a common feature in mammals, and is always useless. when, however, we look lower down in the animal scale we find that fishes and reptiles (and birds) have a third eyelid, which is drawn across the eye from this corner. there is little room to doubt that the little fleshy vestige in the mammal's eye is the shrunken remainder of the lateral eyelid of a remote fish-ancestor. a similar reminiscence is found in the pineal body, a small and useless object, about the size and shape of a hazel-nut, in the centre of the brain. when we examine the reptile we find a third eye in the top of the head. the skin has closed over it, but the skull is still, in many cases, perforated as it is for the eyes in front. i have seen it standing out like a ball on the head of a dead crocodile, and in the living tuatara--the very primitive new zealand lizard--it still has a retina and optic nerve. as the only animal in nature to-day with an eye in this position (the pyrosome, a little marine animal of the sea-squirt family) is not in the line of reptile and mammal ancestry, it is difficult to locate the third eye definitely. but when we find the skin closing over it in the amphibian and reptile, then the bone, and then see it gradually atrophying and being buried under the growing brain, we must refer it to some early fish-ancestor. this ancestor, we may recall, is also reflected for a time in the gill-slits and arches, with their corresponding fish-like heart and blood-vessels, during man's embryonic development, as we saw in a former chapter. these are only a few of the more conspicuous instances of vestigial structures in man. metchnikoff describes about a hundred of them. even if there were no remains of primitive man pointing in the direction of a common ancestry with the ape, no lower types of men in existence with the same tendency, no apes found in nature to-day with a structure so strikingly similar to that of man, and no fossil records telling of the divergence of forms from primitive groups in past time, we should be forced to postulate the evolution of man in order to explain his actual features. the vestigial structures must be interpreted as we interpret the buttons on the back of a man's coat. they are useless reminiscences of an age in which they were useful. when their witness to the past is supported by so many converging lines of evidence it becomes irresistible. i will add only one further testimony which has been brought into court in recent years. the blood consists of cells, or minute disk-shaped corpuscles, floating in a watery fluid, or serum. it was found a few years ago, in the course of certain experiments in mixing the blood of animals, that the serum of one animal's blood sometimes destroyed the cells of the other animal's blood, and at other times did not. when the experiments were multiplied, it was found that the amount of destructive action exercised by one specimen of blood upon another depended on the nearness or remoteness of relationship between the animals. if the two are closely related, there is no disturbance when their blood is mixed; when they are not closely related, the serum of one destroys the cells of the other, and the intensity of the action is in proportion to their remoteness from each other. another and more elaborate form of the experiment was devised, and the law was confirmed. on both tests it was found by experiment that the blood of man and of the anthropoid ape behaved in such a way as to prove that they were closely related. the blood of the monkey showed a less close relationship--a little more remote in the new world than in the old world monkeys; and the blood of the femur showed a faint and distant relationship. the fact of the evolution of man and the apes from a common ancestor is, therefore, outside the range of controversy in science; we are concerned only to retrace the stages of that evolution, and the agencies which controlled it. here, unfortunately, the geological record gives us little aid. tree-dwelling animals are amongst the least likely to be buried in deposits which may preserve their bones for ages. the distribution of femur and ape remains shows that the order of the primates has been widespread and numerous since the middle of the tertiary era, yet singularly few remains of the various families have been preserved. hence the origin of the primates is obscure. they are first foreshadowed in certain femur-like forms of the eocene period, which are said in some cases (adapis) to combine the characters of pachyderms and femurs, and in others (anaptomorphus) to unite the features of insectivores and femurs. perhaps the more common opinion is that they were evolved from a branch of the insectivores, but the evidence is too slender to justify an opinion. it was an age when the primitive placental mammals were just beginning to diverge from each other, and had still many features in common. for the present all we can say is that in the earliest spread of the patriarchal mammal race one branch adopted arboreal life, and evolved in the direction of the femurs and the apes. the generally arboreal character of the primates justifies this conclusion. in the miocene period we find a great expansion of the monkeys. these in turn enter the scene quite suddenly, and the authorities are reduced to uncertain and contradictory conjectures as to their origin. some think that they develop not from the femurs, but along an independent line from the insectivores, or other ancestors of the primates. we will not linger over these early monkeys, nor engage upon the hopeless task of tracing their gradual ramification into the numerous families of the present age. it is clear only that they soon divided into two main streams, one of which spread into the monkeys of america and the other into the monkeys of the old world. there are important anatomical differences between the two. the monkeys remained in central and southern europe until near the end of the tertiary. gradually we perceive that the advancing cold is driving them further south, and the monkeys of gibraltar to-day are the diminished remnant of the great family that had previously wandered as far as britain and france. a third wave, also spreading in the miocene, equally obscure in its connection with the preceding, introduces the man-like apes to the geologist. primitive gibbons (pliopithecus and pliobylobates), primitive chimpanzees (palaeopithecus), and other early anthropoid apes (oreopithecus, dryopithecus, etc.), lived in the trees of southern europe in the second part of the tertiary era. they are clearly disconnected individuals of a large and flourishing family, but from the half-dozen specimens we have yet discovered no conclusion can be drawn, except that the family is already branching into the types of anthropoid apes which are familiar to us. of man himself we have no certain and indisputable trace in the tertiary era. some remains found in java of an ape-man (pithecanthropus), which we will study later, are now generally believed, after a special investigation on the spot, to belong to the pleistocene period. yet no authority on the subject doubts that the human species was evolved in the tertiary era, and very many, if not most, of the authorities believe that we have definite proof of his presence. the early story of mankind is gathered, not so much from the few fragments of human remains we have, but from the stone implements which were shaped by his primitive intelligence and remain, almost imperishable, in the soil over which he wandered. the more primitive man was, the more ambiguous would be the traces of his shaping of these stone implements, and the earliest specimens are bound to be a matter of controversy. it is claimed by many distinguished authorities that flints slightly touched by the hand of man, or at least used as implements by man, are found in abundance in england, france, and germany, and belong to the pliocene period. continental authorities even refer some of them to the miocene and the last part of the oligocene. the question whether an implement-using animal, which nearly all would agree to regard as in some degree human, wandered over what is now the south of england (kent, essex, dorsetshire, etc.) as many hundred thousand years ago as this claim would imply, is certainly one of great interest. but there would be little use in discussing here the question of the "eoliths," as these disputed implements are called. a very keen controversy is still being conducted in regard to them, and some of the highest authorities in england, france, and germany deny that they show any trace of human workmanship or usage. although they have the support of such high authorities as sir j. prestwich, sir e. ray lankester, lord avebury, dr. keane, dr. blackmore, professor schwartz, etc., they are one of those controverted testimonies on which it would be ill-advised to rely in such a work as this. we must say, then, that we have no undisputed traces of man in the tertiary era. the tertiary implements which have been at various times claimed in france, italy, and portugal are equally disputed; the remains which were some years ago claimed as tertiary in the united states are generally disallowed; and the recent claims from south america are under discussion. yet it is the general feeling of anthropologists that man was evolved in the tertiary era. on the one hand, the anthropoid apes were highly developed by the miocene period, and it would be almost incredible that the future human stock should linger hundreds of thousands of years behind them. on the other hand, when we find the first traces of man in the pleistocene, this development has already proceeded so far that its earlier phase evidently goes back into the tertiary. let us pass beyond the tertiary era for a moment, and examine the earliest and most primitive remains we have of human or semi-human beings. the first appearance of man in the chronicle of terrestrial life is a matter of great importance and interest. even the least scientific of readers stands, so to say, on tiptoe to catch a first glimpse of the earliest known representative of our race, and half a century of discussion of evolution has engendered a very wide interest in the early history of man. [*] * a personal experience may not be without interest in this connection. among the many inquiries directed to me in regard to evolution i received, in one month, a letter from a negro in british guiana and an extremely sensible query from an inmate of an english asylum for the insane! the problem that beset the latter of the two was whether the lemuranda preceded the lemurogona in eocene times. he had found a contradiction in the statements of two scientific writers. fortunately, although these patriarchal bones are very scanty--two teeth, a thigh-bone, and the skull-cap--we are now in a position to form some idea of the nature of their living owner. they have been subjected to so searching a scrutiny and discussion since they were found in java in and that there is now a general agreement as to their nature. at first some of the experts thought that they were the remains of an abnormally low man, and others that they belonged to an abnormally high ape. the majority held from the start that they belonged to a member of a race almost midway between the highest family of apes and the lowest known tribe of men, and therefore fully merited the name of "ape-man" (pithecanthropus). this is now the general view of anthropologists. the ape-man of java was in every respect entitled to that name. the teeth suggest a lower part of the face in which the teeth and lips projected more than in the most ape-like types of central africa. the skull-cap has very heavy ridges over the eyes and a low receding forehead, far less human than in any previously known prehistoric skull. the thigh-bone is very much heavier than any known human femur of the same length, and so appreciably curved that the owner was evidently in a condition of transition from the semi-quadrupedal crouch of the ape to the erect attitude of man. the ape-man, in other words, was a heavy, squat, powerful, bestial-looking animal; of small stature, but above the pygmy standard; erect in posture, but with clear traces of the proneness of his ancestor; far removed from the highest ape in brainpower, but almost equally far removed from the lowest savage that is known to us. we shall see later that there is some recent criticism, by weighty authorities, of the earlier statements in regard to the brain of primitive man. this does not apply to the ape-man of java. the average cranial capacity (the amount of brain-matter the skull may contain) of the chimpanzees, the highest apes, is about cubic centimetres. the average cranial capacity of the lowest races of men, of moderate stature, is about . and the cranial capacity of ape-man was about it is immaterial whether or no these bones belong to the same individual. if they do not, we have remains of two or three individuals of the same intermediate species. nor does it matter whether or no this early race is a direct ancestor of the later races of men, or an extinct offshoot from the advancing human stock. it is, in either case, an illustration of the intermediate phase between the ape and man the more important tasks are to trace the relationship of this early human stock to the apes, and to discover the causes of its superior evolution. the first question has a predominantly technical interest, and the authorities are not agreed in replying to it. we saw that, on the blood-test, man showed a very close relationship to the anthropoid apes, a less close affinity to the old world monkeys, a more remote affinity to the american monkeys, and a very faint and distant affinity to the femurs. a comparison of their structures suggests the same conclusion. it is, therefore, generally believed that the anthropoid apes and man had a common ancestor in the early miocene or oligocene, that this group was closely related to the ancestral group of the old world monkeys, and that all originally sprang from a primitive and generalised femur-group. in other words, a branch of the earliest femur-like forms diverges, before the specific femur-characters are fixed, in the direction of the monkey; in this still vague and patriarchal group a branch diverges, before the monkey-features are fixed, in the direction of the anthropoids; and this group in turn spreads into a number of types, some of which are the extinct apes of the miocene, four become the gorilla, chimpanzee, orang, and gibbon of to-day, and one is the group that will become man. to put it still more precisely, if we found a whole series of remains of man's ancestors during the tertiary, we should probably class them, broadly, as femur-remains in the eocene, monkey-remains in the oligocene, and ape-remains in the miocene. in that sense only man "descends from a monkey." the far more important question is: how did this one particular group of anthropoid animals of the miocene come to surpass all its cousins, and all the rest of the mammals, in brain-development? let us first rid the question of its supposed elements of mystery and make of it a simple problem. some imagine that a sudden and mysterious rise in intelligence lifted the progenitor of man above its fellows. the facts very quickly dispel this illusion. we may at least assume that the ancestor of man was on a level with the anthropoid ape in the miocene period, and we know from their skulls that the apes were as advanced then as they are now. but from the early miocene to the pleistocene is a stretch of about a million years on the very lowest estimate. in other words, man occupied about a million years in travelling from the level of the chimpanzee to a level below that of the crudest savage ever discovered. if we set aside the java man, as a possible survivor of an earlier phase, we should still have to say that, much more than a million years after his departure from the chimpanzee level, man had merely advanced far enough to chip stone implements; because we find no other trace whatever of intelligence than this until near the close of the palaeolithic period. if there is any mystery, it is in the slowness of man's development. let us further recollect that it is a common occurrence in the calendar of life for a particular organ to be especially developed in one member of a particular group more than in the others. the trunk of the elephant, the neck of the giraffe, the limbs of the horse or deer, the canines of the satire-toothed tiger, the wings of the bat, the colouring of the tiger, the horns of the deer, are so many examples in the mammal world alone. the brain is a useful organ like any other, and it is easy to conceive that the circumstances of one group may select it just as the environment of another group may lead to the selection of speed, weapons, or colouring. in fact, as we saw, there was so great and general an evolution of brain in the tertiary era that our modern mammals quite commonly have many times the brain of their tertiary ancestors. can we suggest any reasons why brain should be especially developed in the apes, and more particularly still in the ancestors of man? the primate group generally is a race of tree-climbers. the appearance of fruit on early tertiary trees and the multiplication of carnivores explain this. the primate is, except in a few robust cases, a particularly defenceless animal. when its earliest ancestors came in contact with fruit and nut-bearing trees, they developed climbing power and other means of defence and offense were sacrificed. keenness of scent and range of hearing would now be of less moment, but sight would be stimulated, especially when soft-footed climbing carnivores came on the scene. there is, however, a much deeper significance in the adoption of climbing, and we must borrow a page from the modern physiology of the brain to understand it. the stress laid in the modern education of young children on the use of the hands is not merely due to a feeling that they should handle objects as well as read about them. it is partly due to the belief of many distinguished physiologists that the training of the hands has a direct stimulating effect on the thought-centres in the brain. the centre in the cerebrum which controls the use of the hands is on the fringe of the region which seems to be concerned in mental operations. for reasons which will appear presently, we may add that the centres for controlling the muscles of the face and head are in the same region. any finer training or the use of the hands will develop the centre for the fore limbs, and, on the principles, may react on the more important region of the cortex. hence in turning the fore foot into a hand, for climbing and grasping purposes, the primitive primate entered upon the path of brain-development. even the earliest primates show large brains in comparison with the small brains of their contemporaries. it is a familiar fact in the animal world that when a certain group enters upon a particular path of evolution, some members of the group advance only a little way along it, some go farther, and some outstrip all the others. the development of social life among the bees will illustrate this. hence we need not be puzzled by the fact that the lemurs have remained at one mental level, the monkeys at another, and the apes at a third. it is the common experience of life; and it is especially clear among the various races of men. a group becomes fitted to its environment, and, as long as its surroundings do not change, it does not advance. a related group, in a different environment, receives a particular stimulation, and advances. if, moreover, a group remains unstimulated for ages, it may become so rigid in its type that it loses the capacity to advance. it is generally believed that the lowest races of men, and even some of the higher races like the australian aboriginals, are in this condition. we may expect this "unteachability" in a far more stubborn degree in the anthropoid apes, which have been adapted to an unchanging environment for a million years. all that we need further suppose is--and it is one of the commonest episodes in terrestrial life--that one branch of the miocene anthropoids, which were spread over a large part of the earth, received some stimulus to change which its cousins did not experience. it is sometimes suggested that social life was the great advantage which led to the superior development of mind in man. but such evidence as there is would lead us to suppose that primitive man was solitary, not social. the anthropoid apes are not social, but live in families, and are very unprogressive. on the other hand, the earliest remains of prehistoric man give no indication of social life. fire-places, workshops, caves, etc., enter the story in a later phase. some authorities on prehistoric man hold very strongly that during the greater part of the old stone age (two-thirds, at least, of the human period) man wandered only in the company of his mate and children. [*] * the point will be more fully discussed later. this account of prehistoric life is well seen in mortillet's prehistorique ( ). the lowest races also have no tribal life, and professor westermarck is of opinion that early man was not social. we seem to have the most plausible explanation of the divergence of man from his anthropoid cousins in the fact that he left the trees of his and their ancestors. this theory has the advantage of being a fact--for the ape-man race of java has already left the trees--and providing a strong ground for brain-advance. a dozen reasons might be imagined for his quitting the trees--migration, for instance, to a region in which food was more abundant, and carnivores less formidable, on the ground-level--but we will be content with the fact that he did. such a change would lead to a more consistent adoption of the upright attitude, which is partly found in the anthropoid apes, especially the gibbons. the fore limb would be no longer a support of the body; the hand would be used more for grasping; and the hand-centre in the brain would be proportionately stimulated. the adoption of the erect attitude would further lead to a special development of the muscles of the head and face, the centre for which is in the same important region in the cortex. there would also be a direct stimulation of the brain, as, having neither weapons nor speed, the animal would rely all the more on sight and mind. if we further suppose that this primitive being extended the range of his hunting, from insects and small or dead birds to small land-animals, the stimulation would be all the greater. in a word, the very fact of a change from the trees to the ground suggests a line of brain-development which may plausibly be conceived, in the course of a million years, to evolve an ape-man out of a man-like ape. and we are not introducing any imaginary factor in this view of human origins. the problem of the evolution of man is often approached in a frame of mind not far removed from that of the educated, but inexpert, european who stands before the lowly figure of the chimpanzee, and wonders by what miracle the gulf between it and himself was bridged. that is to lay a superfluous strain on the imagination. the proper term of comparison is the lowest type of human being known to us, since the higher types of living men have confessedly evolved from the lower. but even the lowest type of existing or recent savage is not the lowest level of humanity. whether or no the tasmanian or the yahgan is a primitive remnant of the old stone age, we have a far lower depth in the java race. what we have first to do is to explain the advance to that level, in the course of many hundreds of thousands of years: a period fully a hundred times as long as the whole history of civilisation. time itself is no factor in evolution, but in this case it is a significant condition. it means that, on this view of the evolution of man, we are merely assuming that an advance in brain-development took place between the miocene and the pleistocene, not similar to, but immeasurably less than, the advance which we know to have been made in the last fifty thousand years. in point of fact, the most mysterious feature of the evolution of man was its slowness. we shall see that, to meet the facts, we must suppose man to have made little or no progress during most of this vast period, and then to have received some new stimulation to develop. what it was we have now to inquire. chapter xix. man and the great ice-age in discussing the development of plants and animals during the tertiary era we have already perceived the shadow of the approaching ice-age. we found that in the course of the tertiary the types which were more sensitive to cold gradually receded southward, and before its close europe, asia, and north america presented a distinctly temperate aspect. this is but the penumbra of the eclipse. when we pass the limits of the tertiary era, and enter the quaternary, the refrigeration steadily proceeds, and, from temperate, the aspect of much of europe and north america becomes arctic. from six to eight million square miles of the northern hemisphere are buried under fields of snow and ice, and even in the southern regions smaller glacial sheets spread from the foot of the higher ranges of mountains. it is unnecessary to-day to explain at any length the evidences by which geologists trace this enormous glaciation of the northern hemisphere. there are a few works still in circulation in which popular writers, relying on the obstinacy of a few older geologists, speak lightly of the "nightmare" of the ice-age. but the age has gone by in which it could seriously be suggested that the boulders strewn along the east of scotland--fragments of rock whose home we must seek in scandinavia--were brought by the vikings as ballast for their ships. even the more serious controversy, whether the scratches and the boulders which we find on the face of northern europe and america were due to floating or land ice, is virtually settled. several decades of research have detected the unmistakable signs of glacial action over this vast area of the northern hemisphere. most of europe north of the thames and the danube, nearly all canada and a very large part of the united states, and a somewhat less expanse of northern asia, bear to this day the deep scars of the thick, moving ice-sheets. exposed rock-surfaces are ground and scratched, beds of pebbles are twisted and contorted hollows are scooped out, and moraines--the rubbish-heaps of the glaciers--are found on every side. there is now not the least doubt that, where the great deinosaurs had floundered in semi-tropical swamps, where the figs and magnolias had later flourished, where the most industrious and prosperous hives of men are found to-day, there was, in the pleistocene period, a country to which no parallel can be found outside the polar circles to-day. the great revolution begins with the gathering of snows on the mountains. the alps and pyrenees had now, we saw, reached their full stature, and the gathering snows on their summits began to glide down toward the plains in rivers of ice. the apennines (and even the mountains of corsica), the balkans, carpathians, caucasus, and ural mountains, shone in similar mantles of ice and snow. the mountains of wales, the north of england, scotland, and scandinavia had even heavier burdens, and, as the period advanced, their sluggish streams of ice poured slowly over the plains. the trees struggled against the increasing cold in the narrowing tracts of green; the animals died, migrated to the south, or put on arctic coats. at length the ice-sheets of scandinavia met the spreading sheets from scotland and wales, and crept over russia and germany, and an almost continuous mantle, from which only a few large areas of arctic vegetation peeped out, was thrown over the greater part of europe. ten thousand feet thick where it left the hills of norway and sweden, several thousand feet thick even in scotland, the ice-sheet that resulted from the fusion of the glaciers gradually thinned as it went south, and ended in an irregular fringe across central europe. the continent at that time stretched westward beyond the hebrides and some two hundred miles beyond ireland. the ice-front followed this curve, casting icebergs into the atlantic, then probably advanced up what is now the bristol channel, and ran across england and europe, in a broken line, from bristol to poland. south of this line there were smaller ice-fields round the higher mountains, north of it almost the whole country presented the appearance that we find in greenland to-day. in north america the glaciation was even more extensive. about four million square miles of the present temperate zone were buried under ice and snow. from greenland, labrador, and the higher canadian mountains the glaciers poured south, until, in the east, the mass of ice penetrated as far as the valley of the mississippi. the great lakes of north america are permanent memorials of its ice-age, and over more than half the country we trace the imprint and the relics of the sheet. south america, australia, tasmania, and new zealand had their glaciated areas. north asia was largely glaciated, but the range of the ice-sheet is not yet determined in that continent. this summary statement will convey some idea of the extraordinary phase through which the earth passed in the early part of the present geological era. but it must be added that a singular circumstance prolonged the glacial regime in the northern hemisphere. modern geologists speak rather of a series of successive ice-sheets than of one definite ice-age. some, indeed, speak of a series of ice-ages, but we need not discuss the verbal question. it is now beyond question that the ice-sheet advanced and retreated several times during the glacial epoch. the american and some english geologists distinguished six ice-sheets, with five intermediate periods of more temperate climate. the german and many english and french geologists distinguish four sheets and three interglacial epochs. the exact number does not concern us, but the repeated spread of the ice is a point of some importance. the various sheets differed considerably in extent. the wide range of the ice which i have described represents the greatest extension of the glaciation, and probably corresponds to the second or third of the six advances in dr. geikie's (and the american) classification. before we consider the biological effect of this great of refrigeration of the globe, we must endeavour to understand the occurrence itself. here we enter a world of controversy, but a few suggestions at least may be gathered from the large literature of the subject, which dispel much of the mystery of the great ice-age. it was at one time customary to look out beyond the earth itself for the ultimate causes of this glaciation. imagine the sheet of ice, which now spreads widely round the north pole, shifted to another position on the surface of the planet, and you have a simple explanation of the occurrence. in other words, if we suppose that the axis of the earth does not consistently point in one direction--that the great ball does not always present the same average angle in relation to the sun--the poles will not always be where they are at present, and the pleistocene ice-age may represent a time when the north pole was in the latitude of north europe and north america. this opinion had to be abandoned. we have no trace whatever of such a constant shifting of the polar regions as it supposes, and, especially, we have no trace that the warm zone correspondingly shifted in the pleistocene. a much more elaborate theory was advanced by dr. croll, and is still entertained by many. the path of the earth round the sun is not circular, but elliptical, and there are times when the gravitational pull of the other planets increases the eccentricity of the orbit. it was assumed that there are periods of great length, separated from each other by still longer periods, when this eccentricity of the orbit is greatly exaggerated. the effect would be to prolong the winter and shorten the summer of each hemisphere in turn. the total amount of heat received would not alter, but there would be a long winter with less heat per hour, and a short summer with more heat. the short summer would not suffice to melt the enormous winter accumulations of ice and snow, and an ice-age would result. to this theory, again, it is objected that we do not find the regular succession of ice-ages in the story of the earth which the theory demands, and that there is no evidence of an alternation of the ice between the northern and southern hemispheres. more recent writers have appealed to the sun itself, and supposed that some prolonged veiling of its photosphere greatly reduced the amount of heat emitted by it. more recently still it has been suggested that an accumulation of cosmic or meteoric dust in our atmosphere, or between us and the sun, had, for a prolonged period, the effect of a colossal "fire-screen." neither of these suppositions would explain the localisation of the ice. in any case we need not have recourse to purely speculative accidents in the world beyond until it is clear that there were no changes in the earth itself which afford some explanation. this is by no means clear. some writers appeal to changes in the ocean currents. it is certain that a change in the course of the cold and warm currents of the ocean to-day might cause very extensive changes of climate, but there seems to be some confusion of ideas in suggesting that this might have had an equal, or even greater, influence in former times. our ocean currents differ so much in temperature because the earth is now divided into very pronounced zones of climate. these zones did not exist before the pliocene period, and it is not at all clear that any redistribution of currents in earlier times could have had such remarkable consequences. the same difficulty applies to wind-currents. on the other hand, we have already, in discussing the permian glaciation, discovered two agencies which are very effective in lowering the temperature of the earth. one is the rise of the land; the other is the thinning of the atmosphere. these are closely related agencies, and we found them acting in conjunction to bring about the permian ice-age. do we find them at work in the pleistocene? it is not disputed that there was a very considerable upheaval of the land, especially in europe and north america, at the end of the tertiary era. every mountain chain advanced, and our alps, pyrenees, himalaya, etc., attained, for the first time, their present, or an even greater elevation. the most critical geologists admit that europe, as a whole, rose feet above its earlier level. such an elevation would be bound to involve a great lowering of the temperature. the geniality of the oligocene period was due, like that of the earlier warm periods, to the low-lying land and very extensive water-surface. these conditions were revolutionised before the end of the tertiary. great mountains towered into the snow-line, and vast areas were elevated which had formerly been sea or swamp. this rise of the land involved a great decrease in the proportion of moisture in the atmosphere. the sea surface was enormously lessened, and the mountains would now condense the moisture into snow or cloud to a vastly greater extent than had ever been known before there would also be a more active circulation of the atmosphere, the moist warm winds rushing upward towards the colder elevations and parting with their vapour. as the proportion of moisture in the atmosphere lessened the surface-heat would escape more freely into space, the general temperature would fall, and the evaporation--or production of moisture would be checked, while the condensation would continue. the prolonging of such conditions during a geological period can be understood to have caused the accumulation of fields of snow and ice in the higher regions. it seems further probable that these conditions would lead to a very considerable formation of fog and cloud, and under this protecting canopy the glaciers would creep further down toward the plains. we have then to consider the possibility of a reduction of the quantity of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere the inexpert reader probably has a very exaggerated idea of the fall in temperature that would be required to give europe an ice-age. if our average temperature fell about - degrees c. below the average temperature of our time it would suffice; and it is further calculated that if the quantity of carbon-dioxide in our atmosphere were reduced by half, we should have this required fall in temperature. so great a reduction would not be necessary in view of the other refrigerating agencies. now it is quite certain that the proportion of carbon-dioxide was greatly reduced in the pleistocene. the forests of the tertiary era would steadily reduce it, but the extensive upheaval of the land at its close would be even more important. the newly exposed surfaces would absorb great quantities of carbon. the ocean, also, as it became colder, would absorb larger and larger quantities of carbon-dioxide. thus the pleistocene atmosphere, gradually relieved of its vapours and carbon-dioxide, would no longer retain the heat at the surface. we may add that the growth of reflective surfaces--ice, snow, cloud, etc.--would further lessen the amount of heat received from the sun. here, then, we have a series of closely related causes and effects which would go far toward explaining, if they do not wholly suffice to explain, the general fall of the earth's temperature. the basic cause is the upheaval of the land--a fact which is beyond controversy, the other agencies are very plain and recognisable consequences of the upheaval. there are, however, many geologists who do not think this explanation adequate. it is pointed out, in the first place, that the glaciation seems to have come long after the elevation. the difficulty does not seem to be insurmountable. the reduction of the atmospheric vapour would be a gradual process, beginning with the later part of the elevation and culminating long afterwards. the reduction of the carbon-dioxide would be even more gradual. it is impossible to say how long it would take these processes to reach a very effective stage, but it is equally impossible to show that the interval between the upheaval and the glaciation is greater than the theory demands. it is also said that we cannot on these principles understand the repeated advance and retreat of the ice-sheet. this objection, again, seems to fail. it is an established fact that the land sank very considerably during the ice-age, and has risen again since the ice disappeared. we find that the crust in places sank so low that an arctic ocean bathed the slopes of some of the welsh mountains; and american geologists say that their land has risen in places from to feet (chamberlin) since the burden of ice was lifted from it. here we have the possibility of an explanation of the advances and retreats of the glaciers. the refrigerating agencies would proceed until an enormous burden of ice was laid on the land of the northern hemisphere. the land apparently sank under the burden, the ice and snow melted at the lower level and there was a temperate interglacial period. but the land, relieved of its burden, rose once more, the exposed surface absorbed further quantities of carbon, and a fresh period of refrigeration opened. this oscillation might continue until the two sets of opposing forces were adjusted, and the crust reached a condition of comparative stability. finally, and this is the more serious difficulty, it is said that we cannot in this way explain the localisation of the glacial sheets. why should europe and north america in particular suffer so markedly from a general thinning of the atmosphere? the simplest answer is to suggest that they especially shared the rise of the land. geology is not in a position either to prove or disprove this, and it remains only a speculative interpretation of the fact we know at least that there was a great uprise of land in europe and north america in the pliocene and pleistocene and may leave the precise determination of the point to a later age. at the same time other local causes are not excluded. there may have been a large extension of the area of atmospheric depression which we have in the region of greenland to-day. when we turn to the question of chronology we have the same acute difference of opinion as we have found in regard to all questions of geological time. it used to be urged, on astronomical grounds, that the ice-age began about , years ago, and ended about , years ago, but the astronomical theory is, as i said, generally abandoned. geologists, on the other hand, find it difficult to give even approximate figures. reviewing the various methods of calculation, professor chamberlin concludes that the time of the first spread of the ice-sheet is quite unknown, the second and greatest extension of the glaciation may have been between , and a million years ago, and the last ice-extension from , to , years ago; but he himself attaches "very little value" to the figures. the chief ice-age was some hundreds of thousands of years ago, that is all we can say with any confidence. in dismissing the question of climate, however, we should note that a very serious problem remains unsolved. as far as present evidence goes we seem to be free to hold that the ice-ages which have at long intervals invaded the chronicle of the earth were due to rises of the land. upheaval is the one constant and clearly recognisable feature associated with, or preceding, ice-ages. we saw this in the case of the cambrian, permian, eocene, and pleistocene periods of cold, and may add that there are traces of a rise of mountains before the glaciation of which we find traces in the middle of the archaean era. there are problems still to be solved in connection with each of these very important ages, but in the rise of the land and consequent thinning of the atmosphere we seem to have a general clue to their occurrence. apart from these special periods of cold, however, we have seen that there has been, in recent geological times, a progressive cooling of the earth, which we have not explained. winter seems now to be a permanent feature of the earth's life, and polar caps are another recent, and apparently permanent, acquisition. i find no plausible reason assigned for this. the suggestion that the disk of the sun is appreciably smaller since tertiary days is absurd; and the idea that the earth has only recently ceased to allow its internal heat to leak through the crust is hardly more plausible. the cause remains to be discovered. we turn now to consider the effect of the great ice-age, and the relation of man to it. the permian revolution, to which the pleistocene ice-age comes nearest in importance, wrought such devastation that the overwhelming majority of living things perished. do we find a similar destruction of life, and selection of higher types, after the pleistocene perturbation? in particular, had it any appreciable effect upon the human species? a full description of the effect of the great ice-age would occupy a volume. the modern landscape in europe and north america was very largely carved and modelled by the ice-sheet and the floods that ensued upon its melting. hills were rounded, valleys carved, lakes formed, gravels and soils distributed, as we find them to-day. in its vegetal aspect, also, as we saw, the modern landscape was determined by the pleistocene revolution. a great scythe slowly passed over the land. when the ice and snow had ended, and the trees and flowers, crowded in the southern area, slowly spread once more over the virgin soil, it was only the temperate species that could pass the zone guarded by the alps and the pyrenees. on the alps themselves the pleistocene population still lingers, their successful adaptation to the cold now preventing them from descending to the plains. the animal world in turn was winnowed by the pleistocene episode. the hippopotamus, crocodile, turtle, flamingo, and other warm-loving animals were banished to the warm zone. the mammoth and the rhinoceros met the cold by developing woolly coats, but the disappearance of the ice, which had tempted them to this departure, seems to have ended their fitness. other animals which became adapted to the cold--arctic bears, foxes, seals, etc.--have retreated north with the ice, as the sheet melted. for hundreds of thousands of years europe and north america, with their alternating glacial and interglacial periods, witnessed extraordinary changes and minglings of their animal population. at one time the reindeer, the mammoth, and the glutton penetrate down to the mediterranean, in the next phase the elephant and hippopotamus again advance nearly to central europe. it is impossible here to attempt to unravel these successive changes and migrations. great numbers of species were destroyed, and at length, when the climatic condition of the earth reached a state of comparative stability, the surviving animals settled in the geographical regions in which we find them to-day. the only question into which we may enter with any fullness is that of the relation of human development to this grave perturbation of the condition of the globe. the problem is sometimes wrongly conceived. the chief point to be determined is not whether man did or did not precede the ice-age. as it is the general belief that he was evolved in the tertiary, it is clear that he existed in some part of the earth before the ice-age. whether he had already penetrated as far north as britain and belgium is an interesting point, but not one of great importance. we may, therefore, refrain from discussing at any length those disputed crude stone implements (eoliths) which, in the opinion of many, prove his presence in northern regions before the close of the tertiary. we may also now disregard the remains of the java ape-man. there are authorities, such as deniker, who hold that even the latest research shows these remains to be pliocene, but it is disputed. the java race may be a surviving remnant of an earlier phase of human evolution. the most interesting subject for inquiry is the fortune of our human and prehuman forerunners during the pliocene and pleistocene periods. it may seem that if we set aside the disputable evidence of the eoliths and the java remains we can say nothing whatever on this subject. in reality a fact of very great interest can be established. it can be shown that the progress made during this enormous lapse of time--at least a million years--was remarkably slow. instead of supposing that some extraordinary evolution took place in that conveniently obscure past, to which we can find no parallel within known times, it is precisely the reverse. the advance that has taken place within the historical period is far greater, comparatively to the span of time, than that which took place in the past. to make this interesting fact clearer we must attempt to measure the progress made in the pliocene and pleistocene. we may assume that the precursor of man had arrived at the anthropoid-ape level by the middle of the miocene period. he is not at all likely to have been behind the anthropoid apes, and we saw that they were well developed in the mid-tertiary. now we have a good knowledge of man as he was in the later stage of the ice-age--at least a million years later--and may thus institute a useful comparison and form some idea of the advance made. in the later stages of the pleistocene a race of men lived in europe of whom we have a number of skulls and skeletons, besides vast numbers of stone implements. it is usually known as the neanderthal race, as the first skeleton was found, in , at neanderthal, near dusseldorf. further skeletons were found at spy, in belgium, and krapina, in croatia. a skull formerly found at gibraltar is now assigned to the same race. in the last five years a jaw of the same (or an earlier) age has been found at mauer, near heidelberg, and several skeletons have been found in france (la vezere and chapelle-aux-saints). from these, and a few earlier fragments, we have a confident knowledge of the features of this early human race. the highest appreciation of the neanderthal man--a somewhat flattering appreciation, as we shall see--is that he had reached the level of the australian black of to-day. the massive frontal ridges over his eyes, the very low, retreating forehead, the throwing of the mass of the brain toward the back of the head, the outthrust of the teeth and jaws, and the complete absence (in some cases) or very slight development of the chin, combine to give the head what the leading authorities call a "bestial" or "simian" aspect. the frame is heavy, powerful, and of moderate height (usually from two to four inches over five feet). the thigh-bones are much more curved than in modern man. we cannot enter here into finer anatomical details, but all the features are consistent and indicate a stage in the evolution from ape-man to savage man. one point only calls for closer inquiry. until a year or two ago it was customary to state that in cranial capacity also--that is to say, in the volume of brain-matter that the skull might contain--the neanderthal race was intermediate between the ape-man and modern man. we saw above that the cranial capacity of the highest ape is about cubic centimetres, and that of the ape-man (variously given as and ) is about . it was then added that the capacity of the neanderthal race was about , and that of civilised man (on the average) . this seemed to be an effective and convincing indication of evolution, but recent writers have seriously criticised it. sir edwin ray lankester, professor sollas, and dr. keith have claimed in recent publications that the brain of neanderthal man was as large as, if not larger than, that of modern man. [*] professor sollas even observes that "the brain increases in volume as we go backward." this is, apparently, so serious a reversal of the familiar statement in regard to the evolution of man that we must consider it carefully. *see especially an address by professor sollas in the quarterly journal of the geological society, vol. lxvi. ( ). largeness of brain in an individual is no indication of intelligence, and smallness of brain no proof of low mentality. some of the greatest thinkers, such as aristotle and leibnitz, had abnormally small heads. further, the size of the brain is of no significance whatever except in strict relation to the size and weight of the body. woman has five or six ounces less brain-matter than man, but in proportion to her average size and the weight of the vital tissue of her body (excluding fat) she has as respectable a brain as man. when, however, these allowances have been made, it has usually been considered that the average brain of a race is in proportion to its average intelligence. this is not strictly true. the rabbit has a larger proportion of brain to body than the elephant or horse, and the canary a larger proportion than the chimpanzee. professor sollas says that the average cranial capacity of the eskimo is cubic centimetres, or nearly that assigned to the average parisian. clearly the question is very complex, and some of these recent authorities conclude that the cranial capacity, or volume of the brain, has no relation to intelligence, and therefore the size of the neanderthal skull neither confirms nor disturbs the theory of evolution. the wise man will suspend his judgment until the whole question has been fully reconsidered. but i would point out that some of the recent criticisms are exaggerated. the gibraltar skull is estimated by professor sollas himself to have a capacity of about ; and his conclusion that it is an abnormal or feminine skull rests on no positive grounds. the chapelle-aux-saints skull alone is proved to have the high capacity of ; and it is as yet not much more than a supposition that the earlier skulls had been wrongly measured. but, further, the great french authority, m. boule, who measured the capacity of the chapelle-aux saints skull, observes [*] that "the anomaly disappears" on careful study. he assures us that a modern skull of the same dimensions would have a capacity of - cubic centimetres, and warns us that we must take into account the robustness of the body of primitive man. he concludes that the real volume of the neanderthal brain (in this highest known specimen) is "slight in comparison with the volume of the brain lodged in the large heads of to-day," and that the "bestial or ape-like characters" of the race are not neutralised by this gross measurement. *see his article in anthropologie, vol. xx. ( ), p. . as professor sollas mainly relies on boule, it is important to see that there is a very great difference between the two. we must therefore hesitate to accept the statement that primitive man had as large a brain, if not a larger brain, than a modern race. the basis is slender, and the proportion of brain to body-tissue has not been taken into account. on the other hand, the remains of this early race are, professor sollas says, "obviously more brutal than existing men in all the other ascertainable characters by which they differ from them." nor are we confined to precarious measurements of skulls. we have the remains of the culture of this early race, and in them we have a surer trace of its mental development. here again we must proceed with caution, and set aside confused and exaggerated statements. some refer us to the artistic work of primitive man. we will consider his drawings and carvings presently, but they belong to a later race, not the neanderthal race. some lay stress on the fact, apparently indicated in one or two cases out of a dozen, that primitive man buried his dead. professor sollas says that it indicates that even neanderthal man had reached "a comparatively high stage in the evolution of religious ideas "; but the australians bury their dead, and the highest authorities are not agreed whether they have any idea whatever of a supreme being or of morality. we must also disallow appeals to the use of fire, the taming of animals, pottery, or clothing. none of these things are clearly found in conjunction with the neanderthal race. the only certain relic of neanderthal culture is the implement which the primitive savage fashioned, by chipping or pressure, of flint or other hard stone. the fineness of some of these implements is no indication of great intelligence. the neanderthal man inherited a stone culture which was already of great antiquity. at least one, if not two or three, prolonged phases of the old stone age were already over when he appeared. on the most modest estimate men had by that time been chipping flints for several hundred thousand years, and it is no argument of general intelligence that some skill in the one industry of the age had been developed. the true measure of neanderthal man's capacity is that, a million years or so after passing the anthropoid-age level, he chipped his stones more finely and gave them a better edge and contour. there is no evidence that he as yet hefted them. it is flattering to him to compare him with the australian aboriginal. the native art, the shields and spears and boomerangs, and the elaborate tribal and matrimonial arrangements of the australian black are not known to have had any counterpart in his life. it would therefore seem that the precursors of man made singularly little, if any, progress during the vast span of time between the miocene and the ice-age, and that then something occurred which quickened the face of human evolution. from the neanderthal level man will advance to the height of modern civilisation in about one-tenth the time that it took him to advance from the level of the higher ape to that of the lowest savage. something has broken into the long lethargy of his primitive career, and set him upon a progressive path. let us see if a careful review of the stages of his culture confirms the natural supposition that this "something" was the fall in the earth's temperature, and how it may have affected him. chapter xx. the dawn of civilisation the story of man before the discovery of metal and the attainment of civilisation is notoriously divided into a palaeolithic (old stone) age, and a neolithic (new stone) age. each of these ages is now subdivided into stages, which we will review in succession. but it is important to conceive the whole story of man in more correct proportion than this familiar division suggests. the historical or civilised period is now computed at about ten thousand years. the neolithic age, which preceded civilisation, is usually believed to be about four or five times as long, though estimates of its duration vary from about twenty to a hundred thousand years. the palaeolithic age in turn is regarded as at least three or four times as long as the neolithic; estimates of time vary from a hundred to five hundred thousand years. and before this there is the vast stretch of time in which the ape slowly became a primitive human. this long, early period is, as we saw, still wrapped in mist and controversy. a few bones tell of a race living, in semi-human shape, in the region of the indian ocean; a few crude stones are held by many to indicate that a more advanced, but very lowly race, wandered over the south of europe and north of africa before the ice-age set in. the starting-point or cradle of the race is not known. the old idea of seeking the patriarchal home on the plains to the north of india is abandoned, and there is some tendency to locate it in the land which has partly survived in the islands of the indian ocean. the finding of early remains in java is not enough to justify that conclusion, but it obtains a certain probability when we notice the geographical distribution of the primates. the femurs and the apes are found to-day in africa and asia alone; the monkeys have spread eastward to america and westward to europe and africa; the human race has spread north-eastward into asia and america, northwestward into europe, westward into africa, and southward to australia and the islands. this distribution suggests a centre in the indian ocean, where there was much more land in the tertiary era than there is now. we await further exploration in that region and africa. there is nothing improbable in the supposition that man wandered into europe in the tertiary, and has left in the eoliths the memorials of his lowly condition. the anthropoid apes certainly reached france. however that may be, the ice-age would restrict all the primates to the south. it will be seen, on a glance at the map, that a line of ice-clad mountains would set a stern barrier to man's advance in the early pleistocene, from the pyrenees to the himalaya, if not to the pacific. he therefore spread westward and southward. one branch wandered into australia, and was afterwards pressed by more advanced invaders (the present blacks of australia) into tasmania, which seems to have been still connected by land. another branch, or branches, spread into africa, to be driven southward, or into the central forests, by later and better equipped invaders. they survive, little changed (except by recent contact with europeans), in the bushmen and in large populations of central africa which are below the level of tribal organisation. others remained in the islands, and we seem to have remnants of them in the kalangs, veddahs, etc. but these islands have been repeatedly overrun by higher races, and the primitive life has been modified. comparing the most isolated of these relics of early humanity, we obtain many suggestions about the life of that remote age. the aboriginal tasmanians, who died out about forty years ago, were of great evolutionary interest. it is sometimes said that man is distinguished from all other animals by the possession of abstract ideas, but the very imperfect speech of the tasmanians expressed no abstract ideas. their mind seems to have been in an intermediate stage of development. they never made fire, and, like the other surviving fragments of early humanity, they had no tribal organisation, and no ideas of religion or morality. the first effect of the ice-age on this primitive humanity would be to lead to a beginning of the development of racial characters. the pigment under the skin of the negro is a protection against the actinic rays of the tropical sun; the white man, with his fair hair and eyes, is a bleached product of the northern regions; and the yellow or brown skin seems to be the outcome of living in dry regions with great extremes of temperature. as the northern hemisphere divided into climatic zones these physical characters were bound to develop. the men who went southward developed, especially when fully exposed to the sun on open plains, the layer of black pigment which marks the negroid type. there is good reason, as we shall see to think that man did not yet wear clothing, though he had a fairly conspicuous, if dwindling, coat of hair. on the other hand the men who lingered further north, in south-western asia and north africa, would lose what pigment they had, and develop the lighter characters of the northerner. it has been noticed that even a year in the arctic circle has a tendency to make the eyes of explorers light blue. we may look for the genesis of the vigorous, light-complexioned races along the fringe of the great ice-sheet. it must be remembered that when the limit of the ice-sheet was in central germany and belgium, the climate even of north africa would be very much more temperate than it is to-day. as the ice-sheet melted, the men who were adapted to living in the temperate zone to the south of it penetrated into europe, and the long story of the old stone age opened. it must not, of course, be supposed that this stage of human culture only began with the invasion of europe. men would bring their rough art of fashioning implements with them, but the southern regions are too little explored to inform us of the earlier stage. but as man enters europe he begins to drop his flints on a soil that we have constant occasion to probe--although the floor on which he trod is now sometimes forty or fifty feet below the surface--and we obtain a surer glimpse of the fortunes of our race. most european geologists count four distinct extensions of the ice-sheet, with three interglacial periods. it is now generally believed that man came north in the third interglacial period; though some high authorities think that he came in the second. as far as england is concerned, it has been determined, under the auspices of the british association, that our oldest implements (apart from the eoliths) are later than the great ice-sheet, but there is some evidence that they precede the last extension of the ice. two stages are distinguished in this first part of the palaeolithic age--the acheulean and chellean--but it will suffice for our purpose to take the two together as the earlier and longer section of the old stone age. it was a time of temperate, if not genial, climate. the elephant (an extinct type), the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, the hyaena, and many other forms of animal life that have since retired southward, were neighbours of the first human inhabitant of europe. unfortunately, we have only one bone of this primitive race, the jaw found at mauer in , but its massive size and chinless contour suggest a being midway between the java man and the neanderthal race. his culture confirms the supposition. there is at this stage no clear trace of fire, clothing, arrows, hefted weapons, spears, or social life. as the implements are generally found on old river-banks or the open soil, not in caves, we seem to see a squat and powerful race wandering, homeless and unclad, by the streams and broad, marshy rivers of the time. the thames and the seine had not yet scooped out the valleys on the slopes of which london and paris are built. this period seems, from the vast number of stone implements referred to it, to have lasted a considerable time. there is a risk in venturing to give figures, but it may be said that few authorities would estimate it at less than a hundred thousand years. man still advanced with very slow and uncertain steps, his whole progress in that vast period being measured by the invention of one or two new forms of stone implements and a little more skill in chipping them. at its close a great chill comes over europe--the last ice-sheet is, it seems, spreading southward--and we enter the mousterian period and encounter the neanderthal race which we described in the preceding chapter. it must be borne in mind that the whole culture of primitive times is crushed into a few feet of earth. the anthropologist is therefore quite unable to show us the real succession of human stages, and has to be content with a division of the whole long and gradual evolution into a few well-marked phases. these phases, however, shade into each other, and are merely convenient measurements of a continuous story. the chellean man has slowly advanced to a high level. there is no sudden incoming of a higher culture or higher type of man. the most impressive relics of the mousterian period, which represent its later epoch, are merely finely chipped implements. there is no art as yet, no pottery, and no agriculture; and there is no clear trace of the use of fire or clothing, though we should be disposed to put these inventions in the chilly and damp mousterian period. there is therefore no ground for resenting the description, "the primeval savage," which has been applied to early man. the human race is already old, yet, as we saw, it is hardly up to the level of the australian black. the skeleton found at chapelle-aux-saints is regarded as the highest known type of the race, yet the greatest authority on it, m. boule, says emphatically: "in no actual race do we find the characters of inferiority--that is to say, the ape-like features--which we find in the chapelle-aux-saints head." the largeness of the head is in proportion to the robust frame, but in its specifically human part--the front--it is very low and bestial; while the heavy ridges over the large eyes, the large flat stumpy nose, the thick bulge of the lips and teeth, and the almost chinless jaw, show that the traces of his ancestry cling close to man after some hundreds of thousands of years of development. the cold increases as we pass to the last part of the old stone age, the solutrean and magdalenian periods; and nothing is clearer than that the pace of development increases at the same time. short as the period is, in comparison with the preceding, it witnesses a far greater advance than had been made in all the rest of the old stone age. beyond a doubt men now live in caves, in large social groups, make clothing from the skins of animals, have the use of fire, and greatly improve the quality of their stone axes, scrapers, knives, and lance-heads. there is at last some promise of the civilisation that is coming. in the soil of the caverns in which man lived, especially in southern france and the pyrenean region, we find the debris of a much larger and fuller life. even the fine bone needles with which primitive man sewed his skin garments, probably with sinews for thread, survive in scores. in other places we find the ashes of the fires round which he squatted, often associated with the bones of the wild horses, deer, etc., on which he lived. but the most remarkable indication of progress in the "cave-man" is his artistic skill. exaggerated conclusions are sometimes drawn from the statuettes, carvings, and drawings which we find among the remains of magdalenian life. most of them are crude, and have the limitations of a rustic or a child artist. there is no perspective, no grouping. animals are jumbled together, and often left unfinished because the available space was not measured. there are, however, some drawings--cut on bone or horn or stone with a flint implement--which evince great skill in line-drawing and, in a few cases, in composition. some of the caves also are more or less frescoed; the outlines of animals, sometimes of life-size and in great numbers, are cut in the wall, and often filled in with pigment. this skill does not imply any greater general intelligence than the rest of the culture exhibits. it implies persistent and traditional concentration upon the new artistic life. the men who drew the "reindeer of thayngen" and carved the remarkable statuettes of women in ivory or stone, were ignorant of the simplest rudiments of pottery or agriculture, which many savage tribes possess. some writers compare them with the eskimo of to-day, and even suggest that the eskimo are the survivors of the race, retreating northward with the last ice-sheet, and possibly egged onward by a superior race from the south. it is, perhaps, not a very extravagant claim that some hundreds of thousands of years of development--we are now only a few tens of thousands of years from the dawn of civilisation--had lifted man to the level of the eskimo, yet one must hesitate to admit the comparison. lord avebury reproduces an eskimo drawing, or picture-message, in his "prehistoric times," to which it would be difficult to find a parallel in magdalenian remains. i do not mean that the art is superior, but the complex life represented on the picture-message, and the intelligence with which it is represented, are beyond anything that we know of palaeolithic man. i may add that nearly all the drawings and statues of men and women which the palaeolithic artist has left us are marked by the intense sexual exaggeration--the "obscenity," in modern phraseology--which we are apt to find in coarse savages. three races are traced in this period. one, identified by skeletons found at mentone and by certain statuettes, was negroid in character. probably there was an occasional immigration from africa. another race (cro-magnon) was very tall, and seems to represent an invasion from some other part of the earth toward the close of the old stone age. the third race, which is compared to the eskimo, and had a stature of about five feet, seem to be the real continuers of the palaeolithic man of europe. curiously enough, we have less authentic remains of this race than of its predecessor, and can only say that, as we should expect, the ape-like features--the low forehead, the heavy frontal ridges, the bulging teeth, etc.--are moderating. the needles we have found--round, polished, and pierced splinters of bone, sometimes nearly as fine as a bodkin--show indisputably that man then had clothing, but it is curious that the artist nearly always draws him nude. there is also generally a series of marks round the contour of the body to indicate that he had a conspicuous coat of hair. unfortunately, the faces of the men are merely a few unsatisfactory gashes in the bone or horn, and do not picture this interesting race to us. the various statuettes of women generally suggest a type akin to the wife of the bushman. we have, in fine, a race of hunters, with fine stone knives and javelins. toward the close of the period we find a single representation of an arrow, which was probably just coming into use, but it is not generally known in the old stone age. one of the drawings seems to represent a kind of bridle on a horse, but we need more evidence than this to convince us that the horse was already tamed, nor is there any reason to suppose that the dog or reindeer had been tamed, or that the ground was tilled even in the most rudimentary way. artistic skill, the use of clothing and fire, and a finer feeling in the shaping of weapons and implements, are the highest certain indications of the progress made by the end of the old stone age. but there was probably an advance made which we do not find recorded, or only equivocally recorded, in the memorials of the age. speech was probably the greatest invention of magdalenian man. it has been pointed out that the spine in the lower jaw, to which the tongue-muscle is attached, is so poorly developed in palaeolithic man that we may infer from it the absence of articulate speech. the deduction has been criticised, but a comparison of the palaeolithic jaw with that of the ape on one hand and modern man on the other gives weight to it. whatever may have been earlier man's power of expression, the closer social life of the magdalenian period would lead to a great development of it. some writers go so far as to suggest that certain obscure marks painted on pebbles or drawn on the cavern-walls by men at the close of the palaeolithic age may represent a beginning of written language, or numbers, or conventional signs. the interpretation of these is obscure and doubtful. it is not until ages afterwards that we find the first clear traces of written language, and then they take the form of pictographs (like the egyptian hieroglyphics or the earliest chinese characters). we cannot doubt, however, that articulate speech would be rapidly evolved in the social life of the later magdalenian period, and the importance of this acquisition can hardly be exaggerated. imagine even a modern community without the device of articulate language. a very large proportion of the community, who are now maintained at a certain level by the thought of others, communicated to them by speech, would sink below the civilised standard, and the transmission and improvement of ideas would be paralysed. it would not be paradoxical to regard the social life and developing speech of magdalenian man as the chief cause of the rapid advance toward civilisation which will follow in the next period. and it is not without interest to notice that a fall in the temperature of the earth is the immediate cause of this social life. the building of homes of any kind seems to be unknown to magdalenian man. the artist would have left us some sketchy representation of it if there had been anything in the nature of a tent in his surroundings. the rock-shelter and the cave are the homes which men seek from the advancing cold. as these are relatively few in number, fixed in locality, and often of large dimensions, the individualism of the earlier times is replaced by collective life. sociologists still dispute whether the clan arose by the cohesion of families or the family arose within the clan. such evidence as is afforded by prehistoric remains is entirely in favour of the opinion of professor westermarck, that the family preceded the larger group. families of common descent would now cling together and occupy a common cavern, and, when the men gathered at night with the women for the roasting and eating of the horse or deer they had hunted, and the work of the artist and the woman was considered, the uncouth muttering and gesticulating was slowly forged into the great instrument of articulate speech. the first condition of more rapid progress was instinctively gained. our story of life has so often turned on this periodical lowering of the climate of the earth that it is interesting to find this last and most important advance so closely associated with it that we are forced once more to regard it as the effective cause. the same may be said of another fundamental advance of the men of the later palaeolithic age, the discovery of the art of making fire. it coincides with the oncoming of the cold, either in the mousterian or the magdalenian. it was more probably a chance discovery than an invention. savages so commonly make fire by friction--rubbing sticks, drills, etc.--that one is naturally tempted to regard this as the primitive method. i doubt if this was the case. when, in neolithic times, men commonly bury the dead, and put some of their personal property in the grave with them, the fire-kindling apparatus we find is a flint and a piece of iron pyrites. palaeolithic man made his implements of any kind of hard and heavy stone, and it is probable that he occasionally selected iron ore for the purpose. an attempt to chip it with flint would cause sparks that might fall on inflammable material, and set it alight. little intelligence would be needed to turn this discovery to account. apart from these conjectures as to particular features in the life of prehistoric man, it will be seen that we have now a broad and firm conception of its evolution. from the ape-level man very slowly mounts to the stage of human savagery. during long ages he seems to have made almost no progress. there is nothing intrinsically progressive in his nature. let a group of men be isolated at any stage of human evolution, and placed in an unchanging environment, and they will remain stationary for an indefinite period. when europeans began to traverse the globe in the last few centuries, they picked up here and there little groups of men who had, in their isolation, remained just where their fathers had been when they quitted the main road of advance in the earlier stages of the old stone age. the evolution of man is guided by the same laws as the evolution of any other species. thus we can understand the long period of stagnation, or of incalculably slow advance. thus, too, we can understand why, at length, the pace of man toward his unconscious goal is quickened. he is an inhabitant of the northern hemisphere, and the northern hemisphere is shaken by the last of the great geological revolutions. from its first stress emerges the primeval savage of the early part of the old stone age, still bearing the deep imprint of his origin, surpassing his fellow-animals only in the use of crude stone implements. then the stress of conditions relaxes--the great ice-sheet disappears--and again during a vast period he makes very little progress. the stress returns. the genial country is stripped and impoverished, and the reindeer and mammoth spread to the south of europe. but once more the adversity has its use, and man, stimulated in his hunt for food, invigorated by the cold, driven into social life, advances to the culmination of the old stone age. we are still very far from civilisation, but the few tens of thousands of years that separate magdalenian man from it will be traversed with relative speed--though, we should always remember, with a speed far less than the pace at which man is advancing to-day. a new principle now enters into play: a specifically human law of evolution is formulated. it has no element of mysticism, and is merely an expression of the fact that the previous general agencies of development have created in man an intelligence of a higher grade than that of any other animal. in his larger and more plastic brain the impressions received from the outer world are blended in ideas, and in his articulate speech he has a unique means of entering the idea-world of his fellows. the new principle of evolution, which arises from this superiority, is that man's chief stimulus to advance will now come from his cultural rather than his physical environment. physical surroundings will continue to affect him. one race will outstrip another because of its advantage in soil, climate, or geographical position. but the chief key to the remaining and more important progress of mankind, which we are about to review, is the stimulating contact of the differing cultures of different races. this will be seen best in the history of civilisation, but the principle may be recognised in the new stone age which leads from primeval savagery to civilisation, or, to be more accurate and just, to the beginning of the historical period. it used to be thought that there was a mysterious blank or gulf between the old and the new stone age. the palaeolithic culture seemed to come to an abrupt close, and the neolithic culture was sharply distinguished from it. it was suspected that some great catastrophe had destroyed the palaeolithic race in europe, and a new race entered as the adverse conditions were removed. this was especially held to be the case in england. the old palaeolithic race had never reached ireland, which seems to have been cut oft from the continent during the ice-age, and most of the authorities still believe--in spite of some recent claims--that it never reached scotland. england itself was well populated, and the remains found in the caves of derbyshire show that even the artist--or his art--had reached that district. this palaeolithic race seemed to come to a mysterious end, and europe was then invaded by the higher neolithic race. england was probably detached from the continent about the end of the magdalenian period. it was thought that some great devastation--the last ice-sheet, a submersion of the land, or a plague--then set in, and men were unable to retreat south. it is now claimed by many authorities that there are traces of a middle stone (mesolithic) period even in england, and nearly all the authorities admit that such a transitional stage can be identified in the pyrenean region. this region had been the great centre of the magdalenian culture. its large frescoed caverns exhibit the culmination of the old stone life, and afford many connecting links with the new. it is, however, a clearly established and outstanding fact that the characteristic art of magdalenian man comes to an abrupt and complete close, and it does not seem possible to explain this without supposing that the old race was destroyed or displaced. if we could accept the view that it was the eskimo-like race of the palaeolithic that cultivated this art, and that they retreated north with the reindeer and the ice, and survive in our eskimo, we should have a plausible explanation. in point of fact, we find no trace whatever of this slow migration from the south of europe to the north. the more probable supposition is that a new race, with more finished stone implements, entered europe, imposed its culture upon the older race, and gradually exterminated or replaced it. we may leave it open whether a part of the old race retreated to the north, and became the eskimo. whence came the new race and its culture? it will be seen on reflection that we have so far been studying the evolution of man in europe only, because there alone are his remains known with any fullness. but the important region which stretches from morocco to persia must have been an equally, if not more, important theatre of development. while europe was shivering in the last stage of the ice-age, and the mammoth and reindeer browsed in the snows down to the south of france, this region would enjoy an excellent climate and a productive soil. we may confidently assume that there was a large and stirring population of human beings on it during the magdalenian cold. we may, with many of the authorities, look to this temperate and fertile region for the slight advance made by early neolithic man beyond his predecessor. as the cold relaxed, and the southern fringe of dreary steppe w as converted once more into genial country, the race would push north. there is evidence that there were still land bridges across the mediterranean. from spain and the south of france this early neolithic race rapidly spread over europe. it must not be supposed that the new stone age at first goes much beyond the old in culture. works on prehistoric man are apt to give as features of "neolithic man" all that we know him to have done or discovered during the whole of the new stone age. we read that he not only gave a finer finish to, and sometimes polished, his stone weapons, but built houses, put imposing monuments over his dead, and had agriculture, tame cattle, pottery, and weaving. this is misleading, as the more advanced of these accomplishments appear only late in the new stone age. the only difference we find at first is that the stone axes, etc., are more finely chipped or flaked, and are frequently polished by rubbing on stone moulds. there is no sudden leap in culture or intelligence in the story of man. it would be supremely interesting to trace the evolution of human industries and ideas during the few tens of thousands of years of the new stone age. during that time moral and religious ideas are largely developed, political or social forms are elaborated, and the arts of civilised man have their first rude inauguration. the foundations of civilisation are laid. unfortunately, precisely because the period is relatively so short and the advance so rapid, its remains are crushed and mingled in a thin seam of the geological chronicle, and we cannot restore the gradual course of its development with any confidence. estimates of its duration vary from , to , years; though sir w. turner has recently concluded, from an examination of marks on scottish monuments, that neolithic man probably came on foot from scandinavia to scotland, and most geologists would admit that it must be at least a hundred thousand years since one could cross from norway to scotland on foot. as usual, we must leave open the question of chronology, and be content with a modest provisional estimate of , or , years. we dimly perceive the gradual advance of human culture in this important period. during the old stone age man had made more progress than he had made in the preceding million years; during the new stone age--at least one-fourth as long as the old--he made even greater progress; and, we may add, in the historical period, which is one-fourth the length of the neolithic age, he will make greater progress still. the pace of advance naturally increases as intelligence grows, but that is not the whole explanation. the spread of the race, the gathering of its members into tribes, and the increasing enterprise of men in hunting and migration, lead to incessant contacts of different cultures and a progressive stimulation. at first neolithic man is content with finer weapons. his stone axe is so finely shaped and polished that it sometimes looks like forged or moulded metal. he also drills a clean hole through it--possibly by means of a stick working in wet sand--and gives it a long wooden handle. he digs in the earth for finer flints, and in some of his ancient shafts (grimes, graves and cissbury) we find picks of reindeer horn and hollowed blocks of chalk in which he probably burned fat for illumination underground. but in the later part of the neolithic--to which much of this finer work also may belong--we find him building huts, rearing large stone monuments, having tame dogs and pigs and oxen, growing corn and barley, and weaving primitive fabrics. he lives in large and strong villages, round which we must imagine his primitive cornfields growing and his cattle grazing, and in which there must have been some political organisation under chiefs. when we wish to trace the beginning of these inventions we have the same difficulty that we experienced in tracing the first stages of new animal types. the beginning takes place in some restricted region, and our casual scratching of the crust of the earth or the soil may not touch it for ages, if it has survived at all. but for our literature and illustrations a future generation would be equally puzzled to know how we got the idea of the aeroplane or the electric light. in some cases we can make a good guess at the origin of neolithic man's institutions. let us take pottery. palaeolithic man cooked his joint of horse or reindeer, and, no doubt, scorched it. suppose that some palaeolithic soyer had conceived the idea of protecting the joint, and preserving its juices, by daubing it with a coat of clay. he would accidentally make a clay vessel. this is mr. clodd's ingenious theory of the origin of pottery. the development of agriculture is not very puzzling. the seed of corn would easily be discovered to have a food-value, and the discovery of the growth of the plant from the seed would not require a very high intelligence. some ants, we may recall, have their fungus-beds. it would be added by many that the ant gives us another parallel in its keeping of droves of aphides, which it "milks." but it is now doubted if the ant deliberately cultivates the aphides with this aim. early weaving might arise from the plaiting of grasses. if wild flax were used, it might be noticed that part of it remained strong when the rest decayed, and so the threads might be selected and woven. the building of houses, after living for ages in stone caverns, would not be a very profound invention. the early houses were--as may be gathered from the many remains in devonshire and cornwall--mere rings of heaped stones, over which, most probably, was put a roof of branches or reeds, plastered with mud. they belong to the last part of the new stone age. in other places, chiefly switzerland, neolithic man lived in wooden huts built on piles in the shallow shores of lakes. it is an evidence that life on land is becoming as stimulating as we find it in the age of deinosaurs or early mammals. these pile-villages of switzerland lasted until the historical period, and the numerous remains in the mud of the lake show the gradual passage into the age of metal. before the metal age opened, however, there seem to have been fresh invasions of europe and changes of its culture. the movements of the various early races of men are very obscure, and it would be useless to give here even an outline of the controversy. anthropologists have generally taken the relative length and width of the skull as a standard feature of a race, and distinguished long-headed (dolichocephalic), short-headed (brachycephalic), and middle-headed (mesaticephalic) races. even on this test the most divergent conclusions were reached in regard to early races, and now the test itself is seriously disputed. some authorities believe that there is no unchanging type of skull in a particular race, but that, for instance, a long-headed race may become short-headed by going to live in an elevated region. it may be said, in a few words, that it is generally believed that two races invaded europe and displaced the first neolithic race. the race which chiefly settled in the swiss region is generally believed to have come from asia, and advanced across europe by way of the valley of the danube. the native home of the wheat and barley and millet, which, as we know, the lake-dwellers cultivated, is said to be asia. on the other hand, the neolithic men who have left stone monuments on our soil are said to be a different race, coming, by way of north africa, from asia, and advancing along the west of europe to scandinavia. a map of the earth, on which the distribution of these stone monuments--all probably connected with the burial of the dead--is indicated, suggests such a line of advance from india, with a slighter branch eastward. but the whole question of these invasions is disputed, and there are many who regard the various branches of the population of europe as sections of one race which spread upward from the shores of the mediterranean. it is clear at least that there were great movements of population, much mingling of types and commercial interchange of products, so that we have the constant conditions of advance. a last invasion seems to have taken place some two or three thousand years before the christian era, when the aryans overspread europe. after all the controversy about the aryans it seems clear that a powerful race, representing the ancestors of most of the actual peoples of europe and speaking the dialects which have been modified into the related languages of the greeks, romans, germans, celts, lithuanians, etc., imposed its speech on nearly the whole of the continent. only in the basques and picts do we seem to find some remnants of the earlier non-aryan tongues. but whether these aryans really came from asia, as it used to be thought, or developed in the east of europe, is uncertain. we seem justified in thinking that a very robust race had been growing in numbers and power during the neolithic age, somewhere in the region of south-east europe and southwest asia, and that a few thousand years before the christian era one branch of it descended upon india, another upon the persian region, and another overspread europe. we will return to the point later. instead of being the bearers of a higher civilisation, these primitive aryans seem to have been lower in culture than the peoples on whom they fell. the neolithic age had meantime passed into the age of metal. copper was probably the first metal to be used. it is easily worked, and is found in nature. but the few copper implements we possess do not suggest a "copper age" of any length or extent. it was soon found, apparently, that an admixture of tin hardened the copper, and the bronze age followed. the use of bronze was known in egypt about b.c. (flinders petrie), but little used until about b.c. by that time (or a few centuries later) it had spread as far as scandinavia and britain. the region of invention is not known, but we have large numbers of beautiful specimens of bronze work--including brooches and hair-pins--in all parts of europe. finally, about the thirteenth century b.c., we find the first traces of the use of iron. the first great centre for the making of iron weapons seems to have been hallstatt, in the austrian alps, whence it spread slowly over europe, reaching scandinavia and britain between and b.c. but the story of man had long before this entered the historical period, to which we now turn. chapter xxi. evolution in history in the preceding chapters i have endeavoured to show how, without invoking any "definitely directed variations," which we seem to have little chance of understanding, we may obtain a broad conception of the way in which the earth and its living inhabitants came to be what they are. no one is more conscious than the writer that this account is extremely imperfect. the limits of the volume have permitted me to use only a part of the material which modern science affords, but if the whole of our discoveries were described the sketch would still remain very imperfect. the evolutionary conception of the world is itself undergoing evolution in the mind of man. age by age the bits of fresh discovery are fitted into the great mosaic. large areas are still left for the scientific artist of the future to fill. yet even in its imperfect state the evolutionary picture of the world is most illuminating. the questions that have been on the lips of thoughtful men since they first looked out with adult eyes on the panorama of nature are partly answered. whence and why are no longer sheer riddles of the sphinx. it remains to be seen if evolutionary principles will throw at least an equal light on the progress of humanity in the historical period. here again the questions, whence and why, have been asked in vain for countless ages. if man is a progressive animal, why has the progress been confined to some of the race? if humanity shared at first a common patrimony, why have the savages remained savages, and the barbarians barbaric? why has progress been incarnated so exceptionally in the white section of the race, the europeans? we approach these questions more confidently after surveying the story of terrestrial life in the light of evolutionary principles. since the days of the primeval microbe it has happened that a few were chosen and many were left behind. there was no progressive element in the advancing few that was not shared by the stagnant many. the difference lay in the environment. let us see if this principle applies to the history of civilisation. in the last chapter i observed that, with the rise of human intelligence, the cultural environment becomes more important than the physical. since human progress is a progress in ideas and the emotions which accompany them, this may seem to be a truism. in point of fact it is assailed by more than one recent historical writer. the scepticism is partly due to a misunderstanding. no one but a fanatical adherent of extreme theories of heredity will deny that the physical surroundings of a race continue to be of great importance. the progress of a particular people may often be traced in part to its physical environment; especially to changes of environment, by migration, for instance. further, it is not for a moment suggested that a race never evolves its own culture, but has always to receive it from another. if we said that, we should be ultimately driven to recognise culture, like the early chinese, as a gift of the gods. what is meant is that the chief key to the progress of certain peoples, the arrest of progress in others, and the entire absence of progress in others, is the study of their relations with, or isolation from, other peoples. they make progress chiefly according to the amount of stimulation they get by contact with a diverse culture. let us see if this furnishes a broad explanation of the position of the various peoples of the world. the ethnologist tells us that the lowest peoples of the earth are the yahgans of tierra del fuego, the hottentots, a number of little-understood peoples in central africa, the wild veddahs of ceylon, the (extinct) tasmanians, the aetas in the interior of the philippines, and certain fragments of peoples on islands of the indian ocean. there is not the least trace of a common element in the environment of these peoples to explain why they have remained at the level of primitive humanity. many of them lived in the most promising and resourceful surroundings. what is common to them all is their isolation from the paths of later humanity. they represent the first wave of human distribution, pressed to the tips of continents or on islands by later waves, and isolated. the position of the veddahs is, to some extent, an exception; and it is interesting to find that the latest german students of that curious people think that they have been classed too low by earlier investigators. we cannot run over all the peoples of the earth in this way, but will briefly glance at the lower races of the various continents. a branch of the second phase of developing humanity, the negroid stock, spread eastward over the asiatic islands and australia, and westward into africa. the extreme wing of this army, the australian blacks, too clearly illustrates the principle to need further reference. it has retained for ages the culture of the middle palaeolithic. the negritos who penetrated to the philippines are another extreme instance of isolation. the melanesians of the islands of the indian and pacific ocean are less low, because those islands have been slowly crossed by a much higher race, the polynesians. the maoris of new zealand, the tongans, hawaians, etc., are people of our own (caucasic) stock, probably diverging to the south-east while our branch of the stock pressed westward. this not only explains the higher condition of the maoris, etc., but also shows why they have not advanced like their european cousins. their environment is one of the finest in the world, but--it lies far away from the highways of culture. in much the same way can we interpret the swarming peoples of africa. the more primitive peoples which arrived first, and were driven south or into the central forests by the later and better equipped invaders from the central zone, have remained the more primitive. the more northern peoples, on the fringe of, or liable to invasion from, the central zone, have made more advance, and have occasionally set up rudimentary civilisations. but the movements from the north to the south in early historical times are too obscure to enable us to trace the action of the principle more clearly. the peoples of the mediterranean fringe of africa, living in the central zone of stimulation, have proved very progressive. under the romans north africa was at least as civilised as britain, and an equally wise and humane european policy might lead to their revival to-day. when we turn to asia we encounter a mass of little-understood peoples and a few civilisations with obscure histories, but we have a fairly clear application of the principle. the northern, more isolated peoples, are the more primitive; the north-eastern, whose isolation is accentuated by a severe environment, are most primitive of all. the eskimo, whether they are the survivors of the magdalenian race or a regiment thrown off the asiatic army as it entered america, remain at the primitive level. the american peoples in turn accord with this view. those which penetrate furthest south remain stagnant or deteriorate; those which remain in the far north remain below the level of civilisation, because the land-bridge to asia breaks down; but those which settle in central america evolve a civilisation. a large zone, from mexico to peru, was overspread by this civilisation, and it was advancing steadily when european invaders destroyed it, and reduced the civilised peruvians to the quichas of to-day. there remain the civilisations of asia, and here we have a new and interesting aspect of the question. how did these civilisations develop in asia, and how is it that they have remained stagnant for ages, while europe advanced? the origin of the asiatic civilisations is obscure. the common idea of their vast antiquity has no serious ground. the civilisation of japan cannot be traced back beyond about the eighth century b.c. even then the population was probably a mixed flotsam from neighbouring lands--ainus, koreans, chinese, and malays. what was the character of the primitive civilisation resulting from the mixture of these different cultures we do not know. but the chief elements of japanese civilisation came later from china. japan had no written language of any kind until it received one from china about the sixth century of the christian era. the civilisation of china itself goes back at least to about b.c., but we cannot carry it further back with any confidence. the authorities, endeavouring to pick their steps carefully among old chinese legends, are now generally agreed that the primitive chinese were a nomadic tribe which slowly wandered across asia from about the shores of the caspian sea. in other words, they started from a region close to the cradle of western civilisation. some students, in fact, make them akin to the akkadians, who founded civilisation in mesopotamia. at all events, they seem to have conveyed a higher culture to the isolated inhabitants of western asia, and a long era of progress followed their settlement in a new environment. for more than two thousand years, however, they have been enclosed in their walls and mountains and seas, while the nations of the remote west clashed unceasingly against each other. we need no other explanation of their stagnation. to speak of the "unprogressiveness" of the chinese is pure mysticism. the next generation will see. the civilisation of india is also far later than the civilisation of the west, and seems to be more clearly due to borrowing from the west. the primitive peoples who live on the hills about india, or in the jungles, are fragments, apparently, of the stone age inhabitants of india, or their descendants. their culture may have degenerated under the adverse conditions of dislodgement from their home, but we may fairly conclude that it was never high. on these primitive inhabitants of the plains of india there fell, somewhere about or before b.c., the asiatic branch of the aryan race. a very recent discovery ( ) has strongly confirmed and illumined this view of the origin of indian civilisation. explorers in the ruins of the ancient capital of the hittite empire (in north syria and cappadocia) found certain treaties which had been concluded, about b.c., between the hittites and the king of the aryans. the names of the deities which are mentioned in the treaties seem to show that the persian and indian branches of the aryan race were not yet separated, but formed a united kingdom on the banks of the euphrates. they seem to have come from bactria (and possibly beyond), and introduced the horse (hitherto unknown to the babylonians) about b.c. it is surmised by the experts that the indian and persian branches separated soon after b.c., possibly on account of religious quarrels, and the sanscrit-speaking branch, with its vedic hymns and its hinduism, wandered eastward and northward until it discovered and took possession of the indian peninsula. the long isolation of india, since the cessation of its commerce with rome until modern times, explains the later stagnation of its civilisation. thus the supposed "non-progressiveness" of the east, after once establishing civilisation, turns out to be a question of geography and history. we have now to see if the same intelligible principles will throw light on the "progressiveness" of the western branch of the aryan race, and on the course of western civilisation generally. [*] * in speaking of europeans as aryans i am, of course, allowing for an absorption of the conquered non-aryans. a european nation is no more aryan, in strict truth, than the english are anglo-saxon. the first two centres of civilisation are found in the valley of the nile and the valley of the tigris and euphrates; the civilisations of egypt and babylon, the oldest in the world. there is, however, a good deal of evidence by which we may bring these civilisations nearer to each other in their earliest stages, so that we must not confidently speak of two quite independent civilisations. the civilisation which developed on the euphrates is found first at susa, on the hills overlooking the plains of mesopotamia, about b.c. a people akin to the turkish or chinese lives among the hills, and makes the vague advance from higher neolithic culture to primitive civilisation. about the same time the historical or dynastic civilisation begins in egypt, and some high authorities, such as mr. flinders petrie, believe that the evidence suggests that the founders of this dynastic civilisation came from "the mountainous region between egypt and the red sea." from the northern part of the same region, we saw, the ancestors of the chinese set out across asia. we have here a very suggestive set of facts in connection with early civilisation. the syro-arabian region seems to have been a thickly populated centre of advancing tribes, which would be in striking accord with the view of progress that i am following. but we need not press the disputed and obscure theory of the origin of the historic egyptians. the remains are said to show that the lower valley of the nile, which must have been but recently formed by the river's annual deposit of mud, was a theatre of contending tribes from about to b.c. the fertile lands that had thus been provided attracted tribes from east, west, and south, and there is a great confusion of primitive cultures on its soil. it is not certain that the race which eventually conquered and founded the historical dynasties came from the mountainous lands to the east. it is enough for us to know that the whole region fermented with jostling peoples. why it did so the previous chapters will explain. it is the temperate zone into which men had been pressed by the northern ice-sheet, and from egypt to the indian ocean it remained a fertile breeding-ground of nations. these early civilisations are merely the highest point of neolithic culture. the egyptian remains show a very gradual development of pottery, ornamentation, etc., into which copper articles are introduced in time. the dawn of civilisation is as gradual as the dawn of the day. the whole gamut of culture--eolithic, palaeolithic, neolithic, and civilised--is struck in the successive layers of egyptian remains. but to give even a summary of its historical development is neither necessary nor possible here. the maintenance of its progress is as intelligible as its initial advance. unlike china, it lay in the main region of human development, and we find that even before b.c. it developed a system of shipping and commerce which kept it in touch with other peoples over the entire region, and helped to promote development both in them and itself. equally intelligible is the development of civilisation in mesopotamia. the long and fertile valley which lies between the mountainous region and the southern desert is, like the valley of the nile, a quite recent formation. the rivers have gradually formed it with their deposit in the course of the last ten thousand years. as this rich soil became covered with vegetation, it attracted the mountaineers from the north. as i said, the earliest centre of the civilisation which was to culminate in babylon and nineveh is traced at susa, on the hills to the north, about b.c. the akkadians (highlanders) or sumerians, the turanian people who established this civilisation, descended upon the rivers, and, about b.c., set up the early cities of mesopotamia. as in the case of egypt, again, more tribes were attracted to the fertile region, and by about b.c. we find that semitic tribes from the north have superseded the sumerians, and taken over their civilisation. in these ancient civilisations, developing in touch with each other, and surrounded by great numbers of peoples at the high neolithic level from which they had themselves started, culture advanced rapidly. not only science, art, literature, commerce, law, and social forms were developed, but moral idealism reached a height that compares well even with that of modern times. the recovery in our time of the actual remains of egypt and babylon has corrected much of the libellous legend, which found its way into greek and european literature, concerning those ancient civilisations. but, as culture advances, human development becomes so complex that we must refrain from attempting to pursue, even in summary, its many outgrowths. the evolution of morality, of art, of religion, of polity, and of literature would each require a whole volume for satisfactory treatment. all that we can do here is to show how the modern world and its progressive culture are related to these ancient empires. the aphorism that "all light comes from the east" may at times be pressed too literally. to suggest that western peoples have done no more than receive and develop the culture of the older east would be at once unscientific and unhistorical. by the close of the neolithic age a great number of peoples had reached the threshold of civilisation, and it would be extremely improbable that in only two parts of the world the conditions would be found of further progress. that the culture of these older empires has enriched europe and had a great share in its civilisation, is one of the most obvious of historical truths. but we must not seek to confine the action of later peoples to a mere borrowing of arts or institutions. yet some recent historical writers, in their eagerness to set up indigenous civilisations apart from those of egypt and mesopotamia, pass to the opposite extreme. we are prepared to find civilisation developing wherever the situation of a people exposes it to sufficient stimulation, and we do find advance made among many peoples apart from contact with the great southern empires. it is uncertain whether the use of bronze is due first to the southern nations or to some european people, but the invention of iron weapons is most probably due to european initiative. again, it is now not believed that the alphabets of europe are derived from the hieroglyphics of egypt, though it is an open question whether they were not derived, through phoenicia, from certain signs which we find on ancient egyptian pottery. if we take first a broad view of the later course of civilisation we see at a glance the general relation of east and west. some difficulty would arise, if we pressed, as to the exact stage in which a nation may be said to become "civilised," but we may follow the general usage of archaeologists and historians. they tell us, then, that civilisation first appears in egypt about b.c. (settled civilisation about b.c.), and in the mesopotamian region about b.c. we next find neolithic culture passing into what may be called civilisation in crete and the neighbouring islands some time between and b.c., or two thousand years after the development of egyptian commerce in that region. we cannot say whether this civilisation in the aegean sea preceded others which we afterwards find on the asiatic mainland. the beginning of the hittite empire in asia minor, and of phoenician culture, is as yet unknown. but we can say that there was as yet no civilisation in europe. it is not until after that civilisation is established in greece (mycenae and tiryns) as an offshoot of aegean culture. later still it appears among the etruscans of italy--to which, as we know, both egyptian and aegean vessels sailed. in other words, the course of civilisation is very plainly from east to west. but we must be careful not to imagine that this represents a mere transplantation of southern culture on a rude northern stock. the whole region to the east of the mediterranean was just as fitted to develop a civilisation as the valley of the nile. it swarmed with peoples having the latest neolithic culture, and, as they advanced, and developed navigation, the territory of many of them became the high road of more advanced peoples. a glance at the map will show that the easiest line of expansion for a growing people was westward. the ocean lay to the right of the babylonians, and the country north and south was not inviting. the calmer mediterranean with its fertile shores was the appointed field of expansion. the land route from egypt lay, not to the dreary west in africa, but along the eastern shore of the mediterranean, through syria and asia minor. the land route from babylon lay across northern syria and asia minor. the sea route had crete for its first and most conspicuous station. hence the gradual appearance of civilisation in phoenicia, cappadocia, lydia, and the greek islands is a normal and natural outcome of the geographical conditions. but we must dismiss the later asiatic civilisations, whose remains are fast coming to light, very briefly. phoenicia probably had less part in the general advance than was formerly supposed. now that we have discovered a powerful civilisation in the greek islands themselves, we see that it would keep tyre and sidon in check until it fell into decay about b.c. after that date, for a few centuries, phoenicia had a great influence on the development of europe. the hittites, on the other hand, are as yet imperfectly known. their main region was cappadocia, where, at least as far back as b.c., they developed so characteristic a civilisation, that its documents or inscriptions are almost undecipherable. they at one time overran the whole of asia minor. other peoples such as the elamites, represent similar offshoots of the fermenting culture of the region. the hebrews were probably a small and unimportant group, settled close round jerusalem, until a few centuries before the christian era. they then assimilated the culture of the more powerful nations which crossed and recrossed their territory. the persians were, as we saw, a branch of the aryan family which slowly advanced between and b.c., and then inherited the empire of dying babylon. the most interesting, and one of the most recently discovered, of these older civilisations, was the aegean. its chief centre was crete, but it spread over many of the neighbouring islands. its art and its script are so distinctive that we must recognise it as a native development, not a transplantation of egyptian culture. its ruins show it gradually emerging from the neolithic stage about b.c., when egyptian commerce was well developed in its seas. somewhere about b.c. the whole of the islands seem to have been brought under the cretan monarchy, and the concentration of wealth and power led to a remarkable artistic development, on native lines. we find in crete the remains of splendid palaces, with advanced sanitary systems and a great luxuriance of ornamentation. it was this civilisation which founded the centre at mycenae, on the greek mainland, about the middle of the second millennium b.c. but our inquiry into the origin of european civilisation does not demand any extensive description of the aegean culture and its mycenaean offshoot. it was utterly destroyed between and b.c., and this was probably done by the aryan ancestors of the later greeks or hellenes. about the time when one branch of the aryans was descending upon india and another preparing to rival decaying babylonia, the third branch overran europe. it seems to have been a branch of these that swept down the greek peninsula, and crossed the sea to sack and destroy the centres of aegean culture. another branch poured down the italian peninsula; another settled in the region of the baltic, and would prove the source of the germanic nations; another, the celtic, advanced to the west of europe. the mingling of this semi-barbaric population with the earlier inhabitants provided the material of the nations of modern europe. our last page in the story of the earth must be a short account of its civilisation. the first branch to become civilised, and to carry culture to a greater height than the older nations had ever done, was the hellenes. there is no need for us to speculate on the "genius" of the hellenes, or even to enlarge on the natural advantages of the lower part of the peninsula which they occupied. a glance at the map will explain why european civilisation began in greece. the hellenes had penetrated the region in which there was constant contact with all the varied cultures of the older world. although they destroyed the aegean culture, they could not live amidst its ruins without receiving some influence. then the traders of phoenicia, triumphing in the fall of their aegean rivals, brought the great pacific cultural influence of commerce to bear on them. after some hundreds of years of internal trouble, barbaric quarrels, and fresh arrivals from the north, greece began to wear an aspect of civilisation. many of the greeks passed to asia minor, as they increased, and, freed from the despotism of tradition, in living contact with the luxury and culture of persia, which had advanced as far as europe, they evolved the fine civilisation of the greek colonies, and reacted on the motherland. finally, there came the heroic struggle against the persian invaders, and from the ashes of their early civilisation arose the marble city which will never die in the memory of europe. the romans had meantime been advancing. we may neglect the older italian culture, as it had far less to do with the making of italy and europe than the influence of the east. by about b.c. rome was a small kingdom with a primitive civilisation, busy in subduing the neighbouring tribes who threatened its security, and unconsciously gathering the seeds of culture which some of them contained. by about b.c. the vigour of the romans had united all the tribes of italy in a powerful republic, and wealth began to accumulate at rome. not far to the east was the glittering civilisation of greece; to the south was carthage, a busy centre of commerce, navigation, and art; and from the mediterranean came processions of ships bringing stimulating fragments and stories of the hoary culture of the east. within another two hundred years rome annihilated carthage, paralysed and overran greece, and sent its legions over the asiatic provinces of the older empires. by the beginning of the christian era all that remained of the culture of the old world was gathered in rome. all the philosophies of greece, all the religions of persia and judea and egypt, all the luxuries and vices of the east, found a home in it. every stream of culture that had started from the later and higher neolithic age had ended in rome. and in the meantime rome had begun to disseminate its heritage over europe. its legions poured over spain and gaul and germany and britain. its administrators and judges and teachers followed the eagles, and set up schools and law-courts and theatres and baths and temples. it flung broad roads to the north of britain and the banks of the rhine and danube. under the shelter of the "roman peace" the peoples of europe could spare men from the plough and the sword for the cultivation of art and letters. the civilisations of britain, france, germany, spain, north africa, and italy were ushered into the calendar of mankind, and were ready to bear the burden when the mighty city on the tiber let the sceptre fall from its enfeebled hands. rome fell. the more accurate historians of our time correct the old legend of death from senile decay or from the effect of dissipation. races of men, like races of animals, do not die; they are killed. the physical deterioration of the citizens of rome was a small matter in its fall. fiscal and imperial blunders loosed the frame of its empire. the resources were still there, but there was none to organise and unify them. the imperial system--or chaos--ruined rome. and just when the demoralisation was greatest, and the teutonic tribes at the frontiers were most numerous and powerful, an accident shook the system. a fierce and numerous people from asia, the huns, wandered into europe, threw themselves on the teutonic tribes, and precipitated these tribes upon the empire. a diocletian might still have saved the empire, but there was none to guide it. the northern barbarians trod its civilisation underfoot, and europe passed into the dark ages. one more application of the evolutionary principle, and we close the story. the "barbarians"--the goths and vandals and their germanic cousins--were barbaric only in comparison with the art and letters of rome. they had law, polity, and ideals. european civilisation owes elements to them, as well as to rome. to say simply that the barbarians destroyed the institutions of rome is no adequate explanation of the dark ages. let us see rather how the dark ages were enlightened. it is now fully recognised that the reawakening of europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries was very largely due to a fresh culture-contact with the older civilisations. the arabs had, on becoming civilised, learned from the nestorians, who had been driven out of the greek world for their heresies, the ancient culture of greece. they enshrined it in a brilliant civilisation which it inspired them to establish. by the ninth century this civilisation was exhibited in spain by its moorish conquerors, and, as its splendour increased, it attracted the attention of europe. some christian scholars visited spain, as time went on, but the jews were the great intermediaries in disseminating its culture in europe. there is now no question about the fact that the rebirth of positive learning, especially of science, in europe was very largely due to the literature of the moors, and their luxury and splendour gave an impulse to european art. europe entered upon the remarkable intellectual period known as scholasticism. besides this stimulus, it must be remembered, the scholars of europe had at least a certain number of old latin writers whose works had survived the general wreck of culture. in the fifteenth century the awakening of europe was completed. the turks took constantinople, and drove large numbers of greek scholars to italy. out of this catastrophe issued the great renaissance, or rebirth, of art, science, and letters in italy, and then in france, germany, and england. in the new intellectual ferment there appeared the great artists, great thinkers and inventors, and great navigators who led the race to fresh heights. the invention of printing alone would almost have changed the face of europe. but it was accompanied by a hundred other inventions and discoveries, by great liberating and stimulating movements like the reformation, by the growth of free and wealthy cities, and by the extension of peace over larger areas, and the concentration of wealth and encouragement of art which the growth and settlement of the chief european powers involved. europe entered upon the phase of evolution which we call modern times. ***** the future of humanity cannot be seen even darkly, as in a glass. no forecast that aspires beyond the immediate future is worth considering seriously. if it be a forecast of material progress, it is rendered worthless by the obvious consideration that if we knew what the future will do, we would do it ourselves. if it is a forecast of intellectual and social evolution, it is inevitably coloured by the intellectual or social convictions of the prophet. i therefore abstain wholly from carrying the story of evolution beyond realities. but i would add two general considerations which may enable a reflective reader to answer certain questions that will arise in his mind at the close of this survey of the story of evolution. are we evolving to-day? is man the last word of evolution? these are amongst the commonest questions put to me. whether man is or is not the last word of evolution is merely a verbal quibble. now that language is invented, and things have names, one may say that the name "man" will cling to the highest and most progressive animal on earth, no matter how much he may rise above the man of to-day. but if the question is whether he will rise far above the civilisation of to-day, we can, in my opinion, give a confident answer. there is no law of evolution, but there is a fact of evolution. ten million years ago the highest animal on the earth was a reptile, or, at the most, a low, rat-like marsupial. the authorities tell us that, unless some cosmic accident intervene, the earth will remain habitable by man for at least ten million years. it is safe to conclude that the man of that remote age will be lifted above the man of to-day as much as we transcend the reptile in intelligence and emotion. it is most probable that this is a quite inadequate expression of the future advance. we are not only evolving, but evolving more rapidly than living thing ever did before. the pace increases every century. a calm and critical review of our development inspires a conviction that a few centuries will bring about the realisation of the highest dream that ever haunted the mind of the prophet. what splendours lie beyond that, the most soaring imagination cannot have the dimmest perception. and the last word must meet an anxiety that arises out of this very confidence. darwin was right. it is--not exclusively, but mainly--the struggle for life that has begotten higher types. must every step of future progress be won by fresh and sustained struggle? at least we may say that the notion that progress in the future depends, as in the past, upon the pitting of flesh against flesh, and tooth against tooth, is a deplorable illusion. such physical struggle is indeed necessary to evolve and maintain a type fit for the struggle. but a new thing has come into the story of the earth--wisdom and fine emotion. the processes which begot animal types in the past may be superseded; perhaps must be superseded. the battle of the future lies between wit and wit, art and art, generosity and generosity; and a great struggle and rivalry may proceed that will carry the distinctive powers of man to undreamed-of heights, yet be wholly innocent of the passion-lit, blood-stained conflict that has hitherto been the instrument of progress. the rise and progress of palaeontology this is essay # from "science and hebrew tradition" by thomas henry huxley that application of the sciences of biology and geology, which is commonly known as palaeontology, took its origin in the mind of the first person who, finding something like a shell, or a bone, naturally imbedded in gravel or rock, indulged in speculations upon the nature of this thing which he had dug out--this "fossil"--and upon the causes which had brought it into such a position. in this rudimentary form, a high antiquity may safely be ascribed to palaeontology, inasmuch as we know that, years before the christian era, the philosophic doctrines of xenophanes were influenced by his observations upon the fossil remains exposed in the quarries of syracuse. from this time forth not only the philosophers, but the poets, the historians, the geographers of antiquity occasionally refer to fossils; and, after the revival of learning, lively controversies arose respecting their real nature. but hardly more than two centuries have elapsed since this fundamental problem was first exhaustively treated; it was only in the last century that the archaeological value of fossils--their importance, i mean, as records of the history of the earth--was fully recognised; the first adequate investigation of the fossil remains of any large group of vertebrated animals is to be found in cuvier's "recherches sur les ossemens fossiles," completed in ; and, so modern is stratigraphical palaeontology, that its founder, william smith, lived to receive the just recognition of his services by the award of the first wollaston medal in . but, although palaeontology is a comparatively youthful scientific speciality, the mass of materials with which it has to deal is already prodigious. in the last fifty years the number of known fossil remains of invertebrated animals has been trebled or quadrupled. the work of interpretation of vertebrate fossils, the foundations of which were so solidly laid by cuvier, was carried on, with wonderful vigour and success, by agassiz in switzerland, by von meyer in germany, and last, but not least, by owen in this country, while, in later years, a multitude of workers have laboured in the same field. in many groups of the animal kingdom the number of fossil forms already known is as great as that of the existing species. in some cases it is much greater; and there are entire orders of animals of the existence of which we should know nothing except for the evidence afforded by fossil remains. with all this it may be safely assumed that, at the present moment, we are not acquainted with a tittle of the fossils which will sooner or later be discovered. if we may judge by the profusion yielded within the last few years by the tertiary formations of north america, there seems to be no limit to the multitude of mammalian remains to be expected from that continent; and analogy leads us to expect similar riches in eastern asia, whenever the tertiary formations of that region are as carefully explored. again, we have, as yet, almost everything to learn respecting the terrestrial population of the mesozoic epoch; and it seems as if the western territories of the united states were about to prove as instructive in regard to this point as they have in respect of tertiary life. my friend professor marsh informs me that, within two years, remains of more than distinct individuals of mammals, belonging to twenty species and nine genera, have been found in a space not larger than the floor of a good-sized room; while beds of the same age have yielded reptiles, varying in size from a length of feet or feet to the dimensions of a rabbit. the task which i have set myself to-night is to endeavour to lay before you, as briefly as possible, a sketch of the successive steps by which our present knowledge of the facts of palaeontology and of those conclusions from them which are indisputable, has been attained; and i beg leave to remind you, at the outset, that in attempting to sketch the progress of a branch of knowledge to which innumerable labours have contributed, my business is rather with generalisations than with details. it is my object to mark the epochs of palaeontology, not to recount all the events of its history. that which i just now called the fundamental problem of palaeontology, the question which has to be settled before any other can be profitably discussed, is this, what is the nature of fossils? are they, as the healthy common sense of the ancient greeks appears to have led them to assume without hesitation, the remains of animals and plants? or are they, as was so generally maintained in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries, mere figured stones, portions of mineral matter which have assumed the forms of leaves and shells and bones, just as those portions of mineral matter which we call crystals take on the form of regular geometrical solids? or, again, are they, as others thought, the products of the germs of animals and of the seeds of plants which have lost their way, as it were, in the bowels of the earth, and have achieved only an imperfect and abortive development? it is easy to sneer at our ancestors for being disposed to reject the first in favour of one or other of the last two hypotheses; but it is much more profitable to try to discover why they, who were really not one whit less sensible persons than our excellent selves, should have been led to entertain views which strike us as absurd, the belief in what is erroneously called spontaneous generation, that is to say, in the development of living matter out of mineral matter, apart from the agency of pre-existing living matter, as an ordinary occurrence at the present day--which is still held by some of us, was universally accepted as an obvious truth by them. they could point to the arborescent forms assumed by hoar-frost and by sundry metallic minerals as evidence of the existence in nature of a "plastic force" competent to enable inorganic matter to assume the form of organised bodies. then, as every one who is familiar with fossils knows, they present innumerable gradations, from shells and bones which exactly resemble the recent objects, to masses of mere stone which, however accurately they repeat the outward form of the organic body, have nothing else in common with it; and, thence, to mere traces and faint impressions in the continuous substance of the rock. what we now know to be the results of the chemical changes which take place in the course of fossilisation, by which mineral is substituted for organic substance, might, in the absence of such knowledge, be fairly interpreted as the expression of a process of development in the opposite direction--from the mineral to the organic. moreover, in an age when it would have seemed the most absurd of paradoxes to suggest that the general level of the sea is constant, while that of the solid land fluctuates up and down through thousands of feet in a secular ground swell, it may well have appeared far less hazardous to conceive that fossils are sports of nature than to accept the necessary alternative, that all the inland regions and highlands, in the rocks of which marine shells had been found, had once been covered by the ocean. it is not so surprising, therefore, as it may at first seem, that although such men as leonardo da vinci and bernard palissy took just views of the nature of fossils, the opinion of the majority of their contemporaries set strongly the other way; nor even that error maintained itself long after the scientific grounds of the true interpretation of fossils had been stated, in a manner that left nothing to be desired, in the latter half of the seventeenth century. the person who rendered this good service to palaeontology was nicolas steno, professor of anatomy in florence, though a dane by birth. collectors of fossils at that day were familiar with certain bodies termed "glossopetrae," and speculation was rife as to their nature. in the first half of the seventeenth century, fabio colonna had tried to convince his colleagues of the famous accademia dei lincei that the glossopetrae were merely fossil sharks' teeth, but his arguments made no impression. fifty years later, steno re-opened the question, and, by dissecting the head of a shark and pointing out the very exact correspondence of its teeth with the glossopetrae, left no rational doubt as to the origin of the latter. thus far, the work of steno went little further than that of colonna, but it fortunately occurred to him to think out the whole subject of the interpretation of fossils, and the result of his meditations was the publication, in , of a little treatise with the very quaint title of "de solido intra solidum naturaliter contento." the general course of steno's argument may be stated in a few words. fossils are solid bodies which, by some natural process, have come to be contained within other solid bodies, namely, the rocks in which they are embedded; and the fundamental problem of palaeontology, stated generally, is this: "given a body endowed with a certain shape and produced in accordance with natural laws, to find in that body itself the evidence of the place and manner of its production." [ ] the only way of solving this problem is by the application of the axiom that "like effects imply like causes," or as steno puts it, in reference to this particular case, that "bodies which are altogether similar have been produced in the same way." [ ] hence, since the glossopetrae are altogether similar to sharks' teeth, they must have been produced by sharklike fishes; and since many fossil shells correspond, down to the minutest details of structure, with the shells of existing marine or freshwater animals, they must have been produced by similar animals; and the like reasoning is applied by steno to the fossil bones of vertebrated animals, whether aquatic or terrestrial. to the obvious objection that many fossils are not altogether similar to their living analogues, differing in substance while agreeing in form, or being mere hollows or impressions, the surfaces of which are figured in the same way as those of animal or vegetable organisms, steno replies by pointing out the changes which take place in organic remains embedded in the earth, and how their solid substance may be dissolved away entirely, or replaced by mineral matter, until nothing is left of the original but a cast, an impression, or a mere trace of its contours. the principles of investigation thus excellently stated and illustrated by steno in , are those which have, consciously or unconsciously, guided the researches of palaeontologists ever since. even that feat of palaeontology which has so powerfully impressed the popular imagination, the reconstruction of an extinct animal from a tooth or a bone, is based upon the simplest imaginable application of the logic of steno. a moment's consideration will show, in fact, that steno's conclusion that the glossopetrae are sharks' teeth implies the reconstruction of an animal from its tooth. it is equivalent to the assertion that the animal of which the glossopetrae are relics had the form and organisation of a shark; that it had a skull, a vertebral column, and limbs similar to those which are characteristic of this group of fishes; that its heart, gills, and intestines presented the peculiarities which those of all sharks exhibit; nay, even that any hard parts which its integument contained were of a totally different character from the scales of ordinary fishes. these conclusions are as certain as any based upon probable reasonings can be. and they are so, simply because a very large experience justifies us in believing that teeth of this particular form and structure are invariably associated with the peculiar organisation of sharks, and are never found in connection with other organisms. why this should be we are not at present in a position even to imagine; we must take the fact as an empirical law of animal morphology, the reason of which may possibly be one day found in the history of the evolution of the shark tribe, but for which it is hopeless to seek for an explanation in ordinary physiological reasonings. every one practically acquainted with palaeontology is aware that it is not every tooth, nor every bone, which enables us to form a judgment of the character of the animal to which it belonged; and that it is possible to possess many teeth, and even a large portion of the skeleton of an extinct animal, and yet be unable to reconstruct its skull or its limbs. it is only when the tooth or bone presents peculiarities, which we know by previous experience to be characteristic of a certain group, that we can safely predict that the fossil belonged to an animal of the same group. any one who finds a cow's grinder may be perfectly sure that it belonged to an animal which had two complete toes on each foot and ruminated; any one who finds a horse's grinder may be as sure that it had one complete toe on each foot and did not ruminate; but if ruminants and horses were extinct animals of which nothing but the grinders had ever been discovered, no amount of physiological reasoning could have enabled us to reconstruct either animal, still less to have divined the wide differences between the two. cuvier, in the "discours sur les revolutions de la surface du globe," strangely credits himself, and has ever since been credited by others, with the invention of a new method of palaeontological research. but if you will turn to the "recherches sur les ossemens fossiles" and watch cuvier, not speculating, but working, you will find that his method is neither more nor less than that of steno. if he was able to make his famous prophecy from the jaw which lay upon the surface of a block of stone to the pelvis of the same animal which lay hidden in it, it was not because either he, or any one else, knew, or knows, why a certain form of jaw is, as a rule, constantly accompanied by the presence of marsupial bones, but simply because experience has shown that these two structures are co-ordinated. the settlement of the nature of fossils led at once to the next advance of palaeontology, viz. its application to the deciphering of the history of the earth. when it was admitted that fossils are remains of animals and plants, it followed that, in so far as they resemble terrestrial, or freshwater, animals and plants, they are evidences of the existence of land, or fresh water; and, in so far as they resemble marine organisms, they are evidences of the existence of the sea at the time at which they were parts of actually living animals and plants. moreover, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, it must be admitted that the terrestrial or the marine organisms implied the existence of land or sea at the place in which they were found while they were yet living. in fact, such conclusions were immediately drawn by everybody, from the time of xenophanes downwards, who believed that fossils were really organic remains. steno discusses their value as evidence of repeated alteration of marine and terrestrial conditions upon the soil of tuscany in a manner worthy of a modern geologist. the speculations of de maillet in the beginning of the eighteenth century turn upon fossils; and buffon follows him very closely in those two remarkable works, the "theorie de la terre" and the "epoques de la nature" with which he commenced and ended his career as a naturalist. the opening sentences of the "epoques de la nature" show us how fully buffon recognised the analogy of geological with archaeological inquiries. "as in civil history we consult deeds, seek for coins, or decipher antique inscriptions in order to determine the epochs of human revolutions and fix the date of moral events; so, in natural history, we must search the archives of the world, recover old monuments from the bowels of the earth, collect their fragmentary remains, and gather into one body of evidence all the signs of physical change which may enable us to look back upon the different ages of nature. it is our only means of fixing some points in the immensity of space, and of setting a certain number of waymarks along the eternal path of time." buffon enumerates five classes of these monuments of the past history of the earth, and they are all facts of palaeontology. in the first place, he says, shells and other marine productions are found all over the surface and in the interior of the dry land; and all calcareous rocks are made up of their remains. secondly, a great many of these shells which are found in europe are not now to be met with in the adjacent seas; and, in the slates and other deep-seated deposits, there are remains of fishes and of plants of which no species now exist in our latitudes, and which are either extinct, or exist only in more northern climates. thirdly, in siberia and in other northern regions of europe and of asia, bones and teeth of elephants, rhinoceroses, and hippopotamuses occur in such numbers that these animals must once have lived and multiplied in those regions, although at the present day they are confined to southern climates. the deposits in which these remains are found are superficial, while those which contain shells and other marine remains lie much deeper. fourthly, tusks and bones of elephants and hippopotamuses are found not only in the northern regions of the old world, but also in those of the new world, although, at present, neither elephants nor hippopotamuses occur in america. fifthly, in the middle of the continents, in regions most remote from the sea, we find an infinite number of shells, of which the most part belong to animals of those kinds which still exist in southern seas, but of which many others have no living analogues; so that these species appear to be lost, destroyed by some unknown cause. it is needless to inquire how far these statements are strictly accurate; they are sufficiently so to justify buffon's conclusions that the dry land was once beneath the sea; that the formation of the fossiliferous rocks must have occupied a vastly greater lapse of time than that traditionally ascribed to the age of the earth; that fossil remains indicate different climatal conditions to have obtained in former times, and especially that the polar regions were once warmer; that many species of animals and plants have become extinct; and that geological change has had something to do with geographical distribution. but these propositions almost constitute the frame-work of palaeontology. in order to complete it but one addition was needed, and that was made, in the last years of the eighteenth century, by william smith, whose work comes so near our own times that many living men may have been personally acquainted with him. this modest land-surveyor, whose business took him into many parts of england, profited by the peculiarly favourable conditions offered by the arrangement of our secondary strata to make a careful examination and comparison of their fossil contents at different points of the large area over which they extend. the result of his accurate and widely-extended observations was to establish the important truth that each stratum contains certain fossils which are peculiar to it; and that the order in which the strata, characterised by these fossils, are super-imposed one upon the other is always the same. this most important generalisation was rapidly verified and extended to all parts of the world accessible to geologists; and now it rests upon such an immense mass of observations as to be one of the best established truths of natural science. to the geologist the discovery was of infinite importance as it enabled him to identify rocks of the same relative age, however their continuity might be interrupted or their composition altered. but to the biologist it had a still deeper meaning, for it demonstrated that, throughout the prodigious duration of time registered by the fossiliferous rocks, the living population of the earth had undergone continual changes, not merely by the extinction of a certain number of the species which had at first existed, but by the continual generation of new species, and the no less constant extinction of old ones. thus the broad outlines of palaeontology, in so far as it is the common property of both the geologist and the biologist, were marked out at the close of the last century. in tracing its subsequent progress i must confine myself to the province of biology, and, indeed, to the influence of palaeontology upon zoological morphology. and i accept this limitation the more willingly as the no less important topic of the bearing of geology and of palaeontology upon distribution has been luminously treated in the address of the president of the geographical section. [ ] the succession of the species of animals and plants in time being established, the first question which the zoologist or the botanist had to ask himself was, what is the relation of these successive species one to another? and it is a curious circumstance that the most important event in the history of palaeontology which immediately succeeded william smith's generalisation was a discovery which, could it have been rightly appreciated at the time, would have gone far towards suggesting the answer, which was in fact delayed for more than half a century. i refer to cuvier's investigation of the mammalian fossils yielded by the quarries in the older tertiary rocks of montmartre, among the chief results of which was the bringing to light of two genera of extinct hoofed quadrupeds, the _anoplotherium_ and the _palaeotherium._ the rich materials at cuvier's disposition enabled him to obtain a full knowledge of the osteology and of the dentition of these two forms, and consequently to compare their structure critically with that of existing hoofed animals. the effect of this comparison was to prove that the _anoplotherium,_ though it presented many points of resemblance with the pigs on the one hand and with the ruminants on the other, differed from both to such an extent that it could find a place in neither group. in fact, it held, in some respects, an intermediate position, tending to bridge over the interval between these two groups, which in the existing fauna are so distinct. in the same way, the _palaeotherium_ tended to connect forms so different as the tapir, the rhinoceros, and the horse. subsequent investigations have brought to light a variety of facts of the same order, the most curious and striking of which are those which prove the existence, in the mesozoic epoch, of a series of forms intermediate between birds and reptiles--two classes of vertebrate animals which at present appear to be more widely separated than any others. yet the interval between them is completely filled, in the mesozoic fauna, by birds which have reptilian characters, on the one side, and reptiles which have ornithic characters, on the other. so again, while the group of fishes, termed ganoids, is, at the present time, so distinct from that of the dipnoi, or mudfishes, that they have been reckoned as distinct orders, the devonian strata present us with forms of which it is impossible to say with certainty whether they are dipnoi or whether they are ganoids. agassiz's long and elaborate researches upon fossil fishes, published between and , led him to suggest the existence of another kind of relation between ancient and modern forms of life. he observed that the oldest fishes present many characters which recall the embryonic conditions of existing fishes; and that, not only among fishes, but in several groups of the invertebrata which have a long palaeontological history, the latest forms are more modified, more specialised, than the earlier. the fact that the dentition of the older tertiary ungulate and carnivorous mammals is always complete, noticed by professor owen, illustrated the same generalisation. another no less suggestive observation was made by mr. darwin, whose personal investigations during the voyage of the _beagle_ led him to remark upon the singular fact, that the fauna, which immediately precedes that at present existing in any geographical province of distribution, presents the same peculiarities as its successor. thus, in south america and in australia, the later tertiary or quaternary fossils show that the fauna which immediately preceded that of the present day was, in the one case, as much characterised by edentates and, in the other, by marsupials as it is now, although the species of the older are largely different from those of the newer fauna. however clearly these indications might point in one direction, the question of the exact relation of the successive forms of animal and vegetable life could be satisfactorily settled only in one way; namely, by comparing, stage by stage, the series of forms presented by one and the same type throughout a long space of time. within the last few years this has been done fully in the case of the horse, less completely in the case of the other principal types of the ungulata and of the carnivora; and all these investigations tend to one general result, namely, that, in any given series, the successive members of that series present a gradually increasing specialisation of structure. that is to say, if any such mammal at present existing has specially modified and reduced limbs or dentition and complicated brain, its predecessors in time show less and less modification and reduction in limbs and teeth and a less highly developed brain. the labours of gaudry, marsh, and cope furnish abundant illustrations of this law from the marvellous fossil wealth of pikermi and the vast uninterrupted series of tertiary rocks in the territories of north america. i will now sum up the results of this sketch of the rise and progress of palaeontology. the whole fabric of palaeontology is based upon two propositions: the first is, that fossils are the remains of animals and plants; and the second is, that the stratified rocks in which they are found are sedimentary deposits; and each of these propositions is founded upon the same axiom, that like effects imply like causes. if there is any cause competent to produce a fossil stem, or shell, or bone, except a living being, then palaeontology has no foundation; if the stratification of the rocks is not the effect of such causes as at present produce stratification, we have no means of judging of the duration of past time, or of the order in which the forms of life have succeeded one another. but if these two propositions are granted, there is no escape, as it appears to me, from three very important conclusions. the first is that living matter has existed upon the earth for a vast length of time, certainly for millions of years. the second is that, during this lapse of time, the forms of living matter have undergone repeated changes, the effect of which has been that the animal and vegetable population, at any period of the earth's history, contains certain species which did not exist at some antecedent period, and others which ceased to exist at some subsequent period. the third is that, in the case of many groups of mammals and some of reptiles, in which one type can be followed through a considerable extent of geological time, the series of different forms by which the type is represented, at successive intervals of this time, is exactly such as it would be, if they had been produced by the gradual modification of the earliest forms of the series. these are facts of the history of the earth guaranteed by as good evidence as any facts in civil history. hitherto i have kept carefully clear of all the hypotheses to which men have at various times endeavoured to fit the facts of palaeontology, or by which they have endeavoured to connect as many of these facts as they happened to be acquainted with. i do not think it would be a profitable employment of our time to discuss conceptions which doubtless have had their justification and even their use, but which are now obviously incompatible with the well-ascertained truths of palaeontology. at present these truths leave room for only two hypotheses. the first is that, in the course of the history of the earth, innumerable species of animals and plants have come into existence, independently of one another, innumerable times. this, of course, implies either that spontaneous generation on the most astounding scale, and of animals such as horses and elephants, has been going on, as a natural process, through all the time recorded by the fossiliferous rocks; or it necessitates the belief in innumerable acts of creation repeated innumerable times. the other hypothesis is, that the successive species of animals and plants have arisen, the later by the gradual modification of the earlier. this is the hypothesis of evolution; and the palaeontological discoveries of the last decade are so completely in accordance with the requirements of this hypothesis that, if it had not existed, the palaeontologist would have had to invent it. i have always had a certain horror of presuming to set a limit upon the possibilities of things. therefore i will not venture to say that it is impossible that the multitudinous species of animals and plants may have been produced, one separately from the other, by spontaneous generation; nor that it is impossible that they should have been independently originated by an endless succession of miraculous creative acts. but i must confess that both these hypotheses strike me as so astoundingly improbable, so devoid of a shred of either scientific or traditional support, that even if there were no other evidence than that of palaeontology in its favour, i should feel compelled to adopt the hypothesis of evolution. happily, the future of palaeontology is independent of all hypothetical considerations. fifty years hence, whoever undertakes to record the progress of palaeontology will note the present time as the epoch in which the law of succession of the forms of the higher animals was determined by the observation of palaeontological facts. he will point out that, just as steno and as cuvier were enabled from their knowledge of the empirical laws of co-existence of the parts of animals to conclude from a part to the whole, so the knowledge of the law of succession of forms empowered their successors to conclude, from one or two terms of such a succession, to the whole series; and thus to divine the existence of forms of life, of which, perhaps, no trace remains, at epochs of inconceivable remoteness in the past. footnotes: [footnote : _de solidoiintra solidum,_ p. --"dato corpore certa figura praedito et juxta leges naturae producto, in ipso corpore argumenta invenire locum et modum productionis detegentia."] [footnote : "corpora sibi invicem omnino similia simili etiam modo producta sunt."] [footnote : sir j. d. hooker.] the evolution of theology: an anthropological study essay # from "science and hebrew tradition" by thomas henry huxley i conceive that the origin, the growth, the decline, and the fall of those speculations respecting the existence, the powers, and the dispositions of beings analogous to men, but more or less devoid of corporeal qualities, which may be broadly included under the head of theology, are phenomena the study of which legitimately falls within the province of the anthropologist. and it is purely as a question of anthropology (a department of biology to which, at various times, i have given a good deal of attention) that i propose to treat of the evolution of theology in the following pages. with theology as a code of dogmas which are to be believed, or at any rate repeated, under penalty of present or future punishment, or as a storehouse of anaesthetics for those who find the pains of life too hard to bear, i have nothing to do; and, so far as it may be possible, i shall avoid the expression of any opinion as to the objective truth or falsehood of the systems of theological speculation of which i may find occasion to speak. from my present point of view, theology is regarded as a natural product of the operations of the human mind, under the conditions of its existence, just as any other branch of science, or the arts of architecture, or music, or painting are such products. like them, theology has a history. like them also, it is to be met with in certain simple and rudimentary forms; and these can be connected by a multitude of gradations, which exist or have existed, among people of various ages and races, with the most highly developed theologies of past and present times. it is not my object to interfere, even in the slightest degree, with beliefs which anybody holds sacred; or to alter the conviction of any one who is of opinion that, in dealing with theology, we ought to be guided by considerations different from those which would be thought appropriate if the problem lay in the province of chemistry or of mineralogy. and if people of these ways of thinking choose to read beyond the present paragraph, the responsibility for meeting with anything they may dislike rests with them and not with me. we are all likely to be more familiar with the theological history of the israelites than with that of any other nation. we may therefore fitly make it the first object of our studies; and it will be convenient to commence with that period which lies between the invasion of canaan and the early days of the monarchy, and answers to the eleventh and twelfth centuries b.c. or thereabouts. the evidence on which any conclusion as to the nature of israelitic theology in those days must be based is wholly contained in the hebrew scriptures--an agglomeration of documents which certainly belong to very different ages, but of the exact dates and authorship of any one of which (except perhaps a few of the prophetical writings) there is no evidence, either internal or external, so far as i can discover, of such a nature as to justify more than a confession of ignorance, or, at most, an approximate conclusion. in this venerable record of ancient life, miscalled a book, when it is really a library comparable to a selection of works from english literature between the times of beda and those of milton, we have the stratified deposits (often confused and even with their natural order inverted) left by the stream of the intellectual and moral life of israel during many centuries. and, embedded in these strata, there are numerous remains of forms of thought which once lived, and which, though often unfortunately mere fragments, are of priceless value to the anthropologist. our task is to rescue these from their relatively unimportant surroundings, and by careful comparison with existing forms of theology to make the dead world which they record live again. in other words, our problem is palaeontological, and the method pursued must be the same as that employed in dealing with other fossil remains. among the richest of the fossiliferous strata to which i have alluded are the books of judges and samuel. [ ] it has often been observed that these writings stand out, in marked relief from those which precede and follow them, in virtue of a certain archaic freshness and of a greater freedom from traces of late interpolation and editorial trimming. jephthah, gideon and samson are men of old heroic stamp, who would look as much in place in a norse saga as where they are; and if the varnish-brush of later respectability has passed over these memoirs of the mighty men of a wild age, here and there, it has not succeeded in effacing, or even in seriously obscuring, the essential characteristics of the theology traditionally ascribed to their epoch. there is nothing that i have met with in the results of biblical criticism inconsistent with the conviction that these books give us a fairly trustworthy account of israelitic life and thought in the times which they cover; and, as such, apart from the great literary merit of many of their episodes, they possess the interest of being, perhaps, the oldest genuine history, as apart from mere chronicles on the one hand and mere legends on the other, at present accessible to us. but it is often said with exultation by writers of one party, and often admitted, more or less unwillingly, by their opponents, that these books are untrustworthy, by reason of being full of obviously unhistoric tales. and, as a notable example, the narrative of saul's visit to the so-called "witch of endor" is often cited. as i have already intimated, i have nothing to do with theological partisanship, either heterodox or orthodox, nor, for my present purpose, does it matter very much whether the story is historically true, or whether it merely shows what the writer believed; but, looking at the matter solely from the point of view of an anthropologist, i beg leave to express the opinion that the account of saul's necromantic expedition is quite consistent with probability. that is to say, i see no reason whatever to doubt, firstly, that saul made such a visit; and, secondly, that he and all who were present, including the wise woman of endor herself, would have given, with entire sincerity, very much the same account of the business as that which we now read in the twenty-eighth chapter of the first book of samuel; and i am further of opinion that this story is one of the most important of those fossils, to which i have referred, in the material which it offers for the reconstruction of the theology of the time. let us therefore study it attentively--not merely as a narrative which, in the dramatic force of its gruesome simplicity, is not surpassed, if it is equalled, by the witch scenes in macbeth--but as a piece of evidence bearing on an important anthropological problem. we are told ( sam. xxviii.) that saul, encamped at gilboa, became alarmed by the strength of the philistine army gathered at shunem. he therefore "inquired of jahveh," but "jahveh answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by urim, nor by prophets." [ ] thus deserted by jahveh, saul, in his extremity, bethought him of "those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards," whom he is said, at some previous time, to have "put out of the land"; but who seem, nevertheless, to have been very imperfectly banished, since saul's servants, in answer to his command to seek him a woman "that hath a familiar spirit," reply without a sign of hesitation or of fear, "behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at endor"; just as, in some parts of england, a countryman might tell any one who did not look like a magistrate or a policeman, where a "wise woman" was to be met with. saul goes to this woman, who, after being assured of immunity, asks, "whom shall i bring up to thee?" whereupon saul says, "bring me up samuel." the woman immediately sees an apparition. but to saul nothing is visible, for he asks, "what seest thou?" and the woman replies, "i see elohim coming up out of the earth." still the spectre remains invisible to saul, for he asks, "what form is he of?" and she replies, "an old man cometh up, and he is covered with a robe." so far, therefore, the wise woman unquestionably plays the part of a "medium," and saul is dependent upon her version of what happens. the account continues:-- and saul perceived that it was samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and did obeisance. and samuel said to saul, why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up? and saul answered, i am sore distressed: for the philistines make war against me, and elohim is departed from me and answereth me no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams; therefore i have called thee that thou mayest make known unto me what i shall do. and samuel said, wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing that jahveh is departed from thee and is become thine adversary? and jahveh hath wrought for himself, as he spake by me, and jahveh hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand and given it to thy neighbour, even to david. because thou obeyedst not the voice of jahveh and didst not execute his fierce wrath upon amalek, therefore hath jahveh done this thing unto thee this day. moreover, jahveh will deliver israel also with thee into the hands of the philistines; and to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: jahveh shall deliver the host of israel also into the hand of the philistines. then saul fell straightway his full length upon the earth and was sore afraid because of the words of samuel... (v. - ). the statement that saul "perceived" that it was samuel is not to be taken to imply that, even now, saul actually saw the shade of the prophet, but only that the woman's allusion to the prophetic mantle and to the aged appearance of the spectre convinced him that it was samuel. reuss [ ] in fact translates the passage "alors saul reconnut que c'etait samuel." nor does the dialogue between saul and samuel necessarily, or probably, signify that samuel spoke otherwise than by the voice of the wise woman. the septuagint does not hesitate to call her [greek], that is to say, a ventriloquist, implying that it was she who spoke--and this view of the matter is in harmony with the fact that the exact sense of the hebrew words which are translated as "a woman that hath a familiar spirit" is "a woman mistress of _ob._" _ob_ means primitively a leather bottle, such as a wine skin, and is applied alike to the necromancer and to the spirit evoked. its use, in these senses, appears to have been suggested by the likeness of the hollow sound emitted by a half-empty skin when struck, to the sepulchral tones in which the oracles of the evoked spirits were uttered by the medium. it is most probable that, in accordance with the general theory of spiritual influences which obtained among the old israelites, the spirit of samuel was conceived to pass into the body of the wise woman, and to use her vocal organs to speak in his own name--for i cannot discover that they drew any clear distinction between possession and inspiration. [ ] if the story of saul's consultation of the occult powers is to be regarded as an authentic narrative, or, at any rate, as a statement which is perfectly veracious so far as the intention of the narrator goes--and, as i have said, i see no reason for refusing it this character--it will be found, on further consideration, to throw a flood of light, both directly and indirectly, on the theology of saul's countrymen--that is to say, upon their beliefs respecting the nature and ways of spiritual beings. even without the confirmation of other abundant evidences to the same effect, it leaves no doubt as to the existence, among them, of the fundamental doctrine that man consists of a body and of a spirit, which last, after the death of the body, continues to exist as a ghost. at the time of saul's visit to endor, samuel was dead and buried; but that his spirit would be believed to continue to exist in sheol may be concluded from the well-known passage in the song attributed to hannah, his mother:-- jahveh killeth and maketh alive; he bringeth down to sheol and bringeth up. ( sam. ii. .) and it is obvious that this sheol was thought to be a place underground in which samuel's spirit had been disturbed by the necromancer's summons, and in which, after his return thither, he would be joined by the spirits of saul and his sons when they had met with their bodily death on the hill of gilboa. it is further to be observed that the spirit, or ghost, of the dead man presents itself as the image of the man himself--it is the man, not merely in his ordinary corporeal presentment (even down to the prophet's mantle) but in his moral and intellectual characteristics. samuel, who had begun as saul's friend and ended as his bitter enemy, gives it to be understood that he is annoyed at saul's presumption in disturbing him; and that, in sheol, he is as much the devoted servant of jahveh and as much empowered to speak in jahveh's name as he was during his sojourn in the upper air. it appears now to be universally admitted that, before the exile, the israelites had no belief in rewards and punishments after death, nor in anything similar to the christian heaven and hell; but our story proves that it would be an error to suppose that they did not believe in the continuance of individual existence after death by a ghostly simulacrum of life. nay, i think it would be very hard to produce conclusive evidence that they disbelieved in immortality; for i am not aware that there is anything to show that they thought the existence of the souls of the dead in sheol ever came to an end. but they do not seem to have conceived that the condition of the souls in sheol was in any way affected by their conduct in life. if there was immortality, there was no state of retribution in their theology. samuel expects saul and his sons to come to him in sheol. the next circumstance to be remarked is that the name of _elohim_ is applied to the spirit which the woman sees "coming up out of the earth," that is to say, from sheol. the authorised version translates this in its literal sense "gods." the revised version gives "god" with "gods" in the margin. reuss renders the word by "spectre," remarking in a note that it is not quite exact; but that the word elohim expresses "something divine, that is to say, superhuman, commanding respect and terror" ("histoire des israelites," p. ). tuch, in his commentary on genesis, and thenius, in his commentary on samuel, express substantially the same opinion. dr. alexander (in kitto's "cyclopaedia" s. v. "god") has the following instructive remarks:-- [_elohim_ is] sometimes used vaguely to describe unseen powers or superhuman beings that are not properly thought of as divine. thus the witch of endor saw "elohim ascending out of the earth" ( sam. xxviii. ), meaning thereby some beings of an unearthly, superhuman character. so also in zechariah xii. , it is said "the house of david shall be as elohim, as the angel of the lord," where, as the transition from elohim to the angel of the lord is a minori ad majus, we must regard the former as a vague designation of supernatural powers. dr. alexander speaks here of "beings"; but there is no reason to suppose that the wise woman of endor referred to anything but a solitary spectre; and it is quite clear that saul understood her in this sense, for he asks "what form is he of?" this fact, that the name of elohim is applied to a ghost, or disembodied soul, conceived as the image of the body in which it once dwelt, is of no little importance. for it is well known that the same term was employed to denote the gods of the heathen, who were thought to have definite quasi-corporeal forms and to be as much real entities as any other elohim. [ ] the difference which was supposed to exist between the different elohim was one of degree, not one of kind. elohim was, in logical terminology, the genus of which ghosts, chemosh, dagon, baal, and jahveh were species. the israelite believed jahveh to be immeasurably superior to all other kinds of elohim. the inscription on the moabite stone shows that king mesa held chemosh to be, as unquestionably, the superior of jahveh. but if jahveh was thus supposed to differ only in degree from the undoubtedly zoomorphic or anthropomorphic "gods of the nations," why is it to be assumed that he also was not thought of as having a human shape? it is possible for those who forget that the time of the great prophetic writers is at least as remote from that of saul as our day is from that of queen elizabeth, to insist upon interpreting the gross notions current in the earlier age and among the mass of the people by the refined conceptions promulgated by a few select spirits centuries later. but if we take the language constantly used concerning the deity in the books of genesis, exodus, joshua, judges, samuel, or kings, in its natural sense (and i am aware of no valid reason which can be given for taking it in any other sense), there cannot, to my mind, be a doubt that jahveh was conceived by those from whom the substance of these books is mainly derived, to possess the appearance and the intellectual and moral attributes of a man; and, indeed, of a man of just that type with which the israelites were familiar in their stronger and intellectually abler rulers and leaders. in a well-known passage in genesis (i. ) elohim is said to have "created man in his own image, in the image of elohim created he him." it is "man" who is here said to be the image of elohim--not man's soul alone, still less his "reason," but the whole man. it is obvious that for those who call a manlike ghost elohim, there could be no difficulty in conceiving any other elohim under the same aspect. and if there could be any doubt on this subject, surely it cannot stand in the face of what we find in the fifth chapter, where, immediately after a repetition of the statement that "elohim created man, in the likeness of elohim made he him," it is said that adam begat seth "in his own likeness, after his image." does this mean that seth resembled adam only in a spiritual and figurative sense? and if that interpretation of the third verse of the fifth chapter of genesis is absurd, why does it become reasonable in the first verse of the same chapter? but let us go further. is not the jahveh who "walks in the garden in the cool of the day"; from whom one may hope to "hide oneself among the trees"; of whom it is expressly said that "moses and aaron, nadab and abihu, and seventy of the elders of israel," saw the elohim of israel (exod. xxiv. - ); and that, although the seeing jahveh was understood to be a high crime and misdemeanour, worthy of death, under ordinary circumstances, yet, for this once, he "laid not his hand on the nobles of israel"; "that they beheld elohim and did eat and drink"; and that afterwards moses saw his back (exod. xxxiii. )--is not this deity conceived as manlike in form? again, is not the jahveh who eats with abraham under the oaks at mamre, who is pleased with the "sweet savour" of noah's sacrifice, to whom sacrifices are said to be "food" [ ]--is not this deity depicted as possessed of human appetites? if this were not the current israelitish idea of jahveh even in the eighth century b.c., where is the point of isaiah's scathing admonitions to his countrymen: "to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith jahveh: i am full of the burnt-offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; and i delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats" (isa. i. ). or of micah's inquiry, "will jahveh be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?" (vi. .) and in the innumerable passages in which jahveh is said to be jealous of other gods, to be angry, to be appeased, and to repent; in which he is represented as casting off saul because the king does not quite literally execute a command of the most ruthless severity; or as smiting uzzah to death because the unfortunate man thoughtlessly, but naturally enough, put out his hand to stay the ark from falling--can any one deny that the old israelites conceived jahveh not only in the image of a man, but in that of a changeable, irritable, and, occasionally, violent man? there appears to me, then, to be no reason to doubt that the notion of likeness to man, which was indubitably held of the ghost elohim, was carried out consistently throughout the whole series of elohim, and that jahveh-elohim was thought of as a being of the same substantially human nature as the rest, only immeasurably more powerful for good and for evil. the absence of any real distinction between the elohim of different ranks is further clearly illustrated by the corresponding absence of any sharp delimitation between the various kinds of people who serve as the media of communication between them and men. the agents through whom the lower elohim are consulted are called necromancers, wizards, and diviners, and are looked down upon by the prophets and priests of the higher elohim; but the "seer" [ ] connects the two, and they are all alike in their essential characters of media. the wise woman of endor was believed by others, and, i have little doubt, believed herself, to be able to "bring up" whom she would from sheol, and to be inspired, whether in virtue of actual possession by the evoked elohim, or otherwise, with a knowledge of hidden things, i am unable to see that saul's servant took any really different view of samuel's powers, though he may have believed that he obtained them by the grace of the higher elohim. for when saul fails to find his father's asses, his servant says to him-- behold, there is in this city a man of elohim, and he is a man that is held in honour; all that he saith cometh surely to pass; now let us go thither; peradventure, he can tell us concerning our journey whereon we go. then said saul to his servant, but behold if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels and there is not a present to bring to the man of elohim. what have we? and the servant answered saul again and said, behold i have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will i give to the man of elohim to tell us our way. (beforetime in israel when a man went to inquire of elohim, then he said, come and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a prophet was beforetime called a seer [ ]) ( sam. ix. - ). in fact, when, shortly afterwards, saul accidentally meets samuel, he says, "tell me, i pray thee, where the seer's house is." samuel answers, "i am the seer." immediately afterwards samuel informs saul that the asses are found, though how he obtained his knowledge of the fact is not stated. it will be observed that samuel is not spoken of here as, in any special sense, a seer or prophet of jahveh, but as a "man of elohim"--that is to say, a seer having access to the "spiritual powers," just as the wise woman of endor might have been said to be a "woman of elohim"--and the narrator's or editor's explanatory note seems to indicate that "prophet" is merely a name, introduced later than the time of samuel, for a superior kind of "seer," or "man of elohim." [ ] another very instructive passage shows that samuel was not only considered to be diviner, seer, and prophet in one, but that he was also, to all intents and purposes, priest of jahveh--though, according to his biographer, he was not a member of the tribe of levi. at the outset of their acquaintance, samuel says to saul, "go up before me into the high place," where, as the young maidens of the city had just before told saul, the seer was going, "for the people will not eat till he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice" ( sam. x. ). the use of the word "bless" here--as if samuel were not going to sacrifice, but only to offer a blessing or thanksgiving--is curious. but that samuel really acted as priest seems plain from what follows. for he not only asks saul to share in the customary sacrificial feast, but he disposes in saul's favour of that portion of the victim which the levitical legislation, doubtless embodying old customs, recognises as the priest's special property. [ ] although particular persons adopted the profession of media between men and elohim, there was no limitation of the power, in the view of ancient israel, to any special class of the population. saul inquires of jahveh and builds him altars on his own account; and in the very remarkable story told in the fourteenth chapter of the first book of samuel (v. - ), saul appears to conduct the whole process of divination, although he has a priest at his elbow. david seems to do the same. moreover, elohim constantly appear in dreams--which in old israel did not mean that, as we should say, the subject of the appearance "dreamed he saw the spirit"; but that he veritably saw the elohim which, as a soul, visited his soul while his body was asleep. and, in the course of the history of israel jahveh himself thus appears to all sorts of persons, non-israelites as well as israelites. again, the elohim possess, or inspire, people against their will, as in the case of saul and saul's messengers, and then these people prophesy--that is to say, "rave"--and exhibit the ungoverned gestures attributed by a later age to possession by malignant spirits. apart from other evidence to be adduced by and by, the history of ancient demonology and of modern revivalism does not permit me to doubt that the accounts of these phenomena given in the history of saul may be perfectly historical. in the ritual practices, of which evidence is to be found in the books of judges and samuel, the chief part is played by sacrifices, usually burnt offerings. whenever the aid of the elohim of israel is sought, or thanks are considered due to him, an altar is built, and oxen, sheep, and goats are slaughtered and offered up. sometimes the entire victim is burnt as a holocaust; more frequently only certain parts, notably the fat about the kidneys, are burnt on the altar. the rest is properly cooked; and, after the reservation of a part for the priest, is made the foundation of a joyous banquet, in which the sacrificer, his family, and such guests as he thinks fit to invite, participate. [ ] elohim was supposed to share in the feast, and it has been already shown that that which was set apart on the altar, or consumed by fire, was spoken of as the food of elohim, who was thought to be influenced by the costliness, or by the pleasant smell, of the sacrifice in favour of the sacrificer. all this bears out the view that, in the mind of the old israelite, there was no difference, save one of degree, between one elohim and another. it is true that there is but little direct evidence to show that the old israelites shared the widespread belief of their own, and indeed of all times, that the spirits of the dead not only continue to exist, but are capable of a ghostly kind of feeding and are grateful for such aliment as can be assimilated by their attenuated substance, and even for clothes, ornaments, and weapons. [ ] that they were familiar with this doctrine in the time of the captivity is suggested by the well-known reference of ezekiel (xxxii. ) to the "mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to [sheol] hell with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads." perhaps there is a still earlier allusion in the "giving of food for the dead" spoken of in deuteronomy (xxvi. ). [ ] it must be remembered that the literature of the old israelites, as it lies before us, has been subjected to the revisal of strictly monotheistic editors, violently opposed to all kinds of idolatry, who are not likely to have selected from the materials at their disposal any obvious evidence, either of the practice under discussion, or of that ancestor-worship which is so closely related to it, for preservation in the permanent records of their people. the mysterious objects known as _teraphim,_ which are occasionally mentioned in judges, samuel, and elsewhere, however, can hardly be interpreted otherwise than as indications of the existence both of ancestor-worship and of image-worship in old israel. the teraphim were certainly images of family gods, and, as such, in all probability represented deceased ancestors. laban indignantly demands of his son-in-law, "wherefore hast thou stolen my elohim?" which rachel, who must be assumed to have worshipped jacob's god, jahveh, had carried off, obviously because she, like her father, believed in their divinity. it is not suggested that jacob was in any way scandalised by the idolatrous practices of his favourite wife, whatever he may have thought of her honesty when the truth came to light; for the teraphim seem to have remained in his camp, at least until he "hid" his strange gods "under the oak that was by shechem" (gen. xxxv. ). and indeed it is open to question if he got rid of them then, for the subsequent history of israel renders it more than doubtful whether the teraphim were regarded as "strange gods" even as late as the eighth century b.c. the writer of the books of samuel takes it quite as a matter of course that michal, daughter of one royal jahveh worshipper and wife of the servant of jahveh _par excellence,_ the pious david, should have her teraphim handy, in her and david's chamber, when she dresses them up in their bed into a simulation of her husband, for the purpose of deceiving her father's messengers. even one of the early prophets, hosea, when he threatens that the children of israel shall abide many days without "ephod or teraphim" (iii. ), appears to regard both as equally proper appurtenances of the suspended worship of jahveh, and equally certain to be restored when that is resumed. when we further take into consideration that only in the reign of hezekiah was the brazen serpent, preserved in the temple and believed to be the work of moses, destroyed, and the practice of offering incense to it, that is, worshipping it, abolished--that jeroboam could set up "calves of gold" for israel to worship, with apparently none but a political object, and certainly with no notion of creating a schism among the worshippers of jahveh, or of repelling the men of judah from his standard--it seems obvious, either that the israelites of the tenth and eleventh centuries b.c. knew not the second commandment, or that they construed it merely as part of the prohibition to worship any supreme god other than jahveh, which precedes it. in seeking for information about the teraphim, i lighted upon the following passage in the valuable article on that subject by archdeacon farrar, in ritto's "cyclopaedia of biblical literature," which is so much to the purpose of my argument, that i venture to quote it in full:-- the main and certain results of this review are that the teraphim were rude human images; that the use of them was an antique aramaic custom; that there is reason to suppose them to have been images of deceased ancestors; that they were consulted oracularly; that they were not confined to jews; that their use continued down to the latest period of jewish history; and lastly, that although the enlightened prophets and strictest later kings regarded them as idolatrous, the priests were much less averse to such images, and their cult was not considered in any way repugnant to the pious worship of elohim, nay, even to the worship of him "under the awful title of jehovah." in fact, they involved _a monotheistic idolatry very different indeed from polytheism;_ and the tolerance of them by priests, as compared with the denunciation of them by the prophets, offers a close analogy to the views of the roman catholics respecting pictures and images as compared with the views of protestants. it was against this use of idolatrous symbols and emblems in a monotheistic worship that the _second_ commandment was directed, whereas the first is aimed against the graver sin of direct polytheism. but the whole history of israel shows how utterly and how early the law must have fallen into desuetude. the worship of the golden calf and of the calves at dan and bethel, against which, so far as we know, neither elijah nor elisha said a single word; the tolerance of high places, teraphim and betylia; the offering of incense for centuries to the brazen serpent destroyed by hezekiah; the occasional glimpses of the most startling irregularities sanctioned apparently even in the temple worship itself, prove most decisively that a pure monotheism and an independence of symbols was the result of a slow and painful course of god's disciplinal dealings among the noblest thinkers of a single nation, and not, as is so constantly and erroneously urged, the instinct of the whole semitic race; in other words, one single branch of the semites was under god's providence _educated_ into pure monotheism only by centuries of misfortune and series of inspired men (vol. iii. p. ). it appears to me that the researches of the anthropologist lead him to conclusions identical in substance, if not in terms, with those here enunciated as the result of a careful study of the same subject from a totally different point of view. there is abundant evidence in the books of samuel and elsewhere that an article of dress termed an _ephod_ was supposed to have a peculiar efficacy in enabling the wearer to exercise divination by means of jahveh-elohim. great and long continued have been the disputes as to the exact nature of the ephod--whether it always means something to wear, or whether it sometimes means an image. but the probabilities are that it usually signifies a kind of waistcoat or broad zone, with shoulder-straps, which the person who "inquired of jahveh" put on. in samuel xxiii. david appears to have inquired without an ephod, for abiathar the priest is said to have "come down with an ephod in his hand" only subsequently. and then david asks for it before inquiring of jahveh whether the men of keilah would betray him or not. david's action is obviously divination pure and simple; and it is curious that he seems to have worn the ephod himself and not to have employed abiathar as a medium. how the answer was given is not clear though the probability is that it was obtained by casting lots. the _urim_ and _thummim_ seem to have been two such lots of a peculiarly sacred character, which were carried in the pocket of the high priest's "breastplate." this last was worn along with the ephod. with the exception of one passage ( sam. xiv. ) the ark is ignored in the history of saul. but in this place the septuagint reads "ephod" for ark, while in chronicles xiii. david says that "we sought not unto it [the ark] in the days of saul." nor does samuel seem to have paid any regard to the ark after its return from philistia; though, in his childhood, he is said to have slept in "the temple of jahveh, where the ark of elohim was" ( sam. iii. ), at shiloh and there to have been the seer of the earliest apparitions vouchsafed to him by jahveh. the space between the cherubim or winged images on the canopy or cover (_kapporeth_) of this holy chest was held to be the special seat of jahveh--the place selected for a temporary residence of the supreme elohim who had, after aaron and phineas, eli and his sons for priests and seers. and, when the ark was carried to the camp at eben-ezer, there can be no doubt that the israelites, no less than the philistines, held that "elohim is come into the camp" (iv. ), and that the one, as much as the other, conceived that the israelites had summoned to their aid a powerful ally in "these (or this) mighty elohim"--elsewhere called jahve-sabaoth, the jahveh of hosts. if the "temple" at shiloh was the pentateuchal tabernacle, as is suggested by the name of "tent of meeting" given to it in samuel ii. , it was essentially a large tent, though constituted of very expensive and ornate materials; if, on the other hand, it was a different edifice, there can be little doubt that this "house of jahveh" was built on the model of an ordinary house of the time. but there is not the slightest evidence that, during the reign of saul, any greater importance attached to this seat of the cult of jahveh than to others. sanctuaries, and "high places" for sacrifice, were scattered all over the country from dan to beersheba. and, as samuel is said to have gone up to one of these high places to bless the sacrifice, it may be taken for tolerably certain that he knew nothing of the levitical laws which severely condemn the high places and those who sacrifice away from the sanctuary hallowed by the presence of the ark. there is no evidence that, during the time of the judges and of samuel, any one occupied the position of the high priest of later days. and persons who were neither priests nor levites sacrificed and divined or "inquired of jahveh," when they pleased and where they pleased, without the least indication that they, or any one else in israel at that time, knew they were doing wrong. there is no allusion to any special observance of the sabbath; and the references to circumcision are indirect. such are the chief articles of the theological creed of the old israelites, which are made known to us by the direct evidence of the ancient record to which we have had recourse, and they are as remarkable for that which they contain as for that which is absent from them. they reveal a firm conviction that, when death takes place, a something termed a soul or spirit leaves the body and continues to exist in sheol for a period of indefinite duration, even though there is no proof of any belief in absolute immortality; that such spirits can return to earth to possess and inspire the living; that they are, in appearance and in disposition, likenesses of the men to whom they belonged, but that, as spirits, they have larger powers and are freer from physical limitations; that they thus form a group among a number of kinds of spiritual existences known as elohim, of whom jahveh, the national god of israel, is one; that, consistently with this view, jahveh was conceived as a sort of spirit, human in aspect and in senses, and with many human passions, but with immensely greater intelligence and power than any other elohim, whether human or divine. further, the evidence proves that this belief was the basis of the jahveh-worship to which samuel and his followers were devoted; that there is strong reason for believing, and none for doubting, that idolatry, in the shape of the worship of the family gods or teraphim, was practised by sincere and devout jahveh-worshippers; that the ark, with its protective tent or tabernacle, was regarded as a specially, but by no means exclusively, favoured sanctuary of jahveh; that the ephod appears to have had a particular value for those who desired to divine by the help of jahveh; and that divination by lots was practised before jahveh. on the other hand, there is not the slightest evidence of any belief in retribution after death, but the contrary; ritual obligations have at least as strong sanction as moral; there are clear indications that some of the most stringent of the levitical laws were unknown even to samuel; priests often appear to be superseded by laymen, even in the performance of sacrifices and divination; and no line of demarcation can be drawn between necromancer, wizard, seer, prophet, and priest, each of whom is regarded, like all the rest, as a medium of communication between the world of elohim and that of living men. the theological system thus defined offers to the anthropologist no feature which is devoid of a parallel in the known theologies of other races of mankind, even of those who inhabit parts of the world most remote from palestine. and the foundation of the whole, the ghost theory, is exactly that theological speculation which is the most widely spread of all, and the most deeply rooted among uncivilised men. i am able to base this statement, to some extent, on facts within my own knowledge. in december , h.m.s. _rattlesnake,_ the ship to which i then belonged, was anchored off mount ernest, an island in torres straits. the people were few and well disposed; and, when a friend of mine (whom i will call b.) and i went ashore, we made acquaintance with an old native, paouda by name. in course of time we became quite intimate with the old gentleman, partly by the rendering of mutual good offices, but chiefly because paouda believed he had discovered that b. was his father-in-law. and his grounds for this singular conviction were very remarkable. we had made a long stay at cape york hard by; and, in accordance with a theory which is widely spread among the australians, that white men are the reincarnated spirits of black men, b. was held to be the ghost, or _narki,_ of a certain mount ernest native, one antarki, who had lately died, on the ground of some real or fancied resemblance to the latter. now paouda had taken to wife a daughter of antarki's, named domani, and as soon as b. informed him that he was the ghost of antarki, paouda at once admitted the relationship and acted upon it. for, as all the women on the island had hidden away in fear of the ship, and we were anxious to see what they were like, b. pleaded pathetically with paouda that it would be very unkind not to let him see his daughter and grandchildren. after a good deal of hesitation and the exaction of pledges of deep secrecy, paouda consented to take b., and myself as b.'s friend, to see domani and the three daughters, by whom b. was received quite as one of the family, while i was courteously welcomed on his account. this scene made an impression upon me which is not yet effaced. it left no question on my mind of the sincerity of the strange ghost theory of these savages, and of the influence which their belief has on their practical life. i had it in my mind, as well as many a like result of subsequent anthropological studies, when, in , [ ] i wrote as follows:-- there are savages without god in any proper sense of the word, but none without ghosts. and the fetishism, ancestor-worship, hero-worship, and demonology of primitive savages are all, i believe, different manners of expression of their belief in ghosts, and of the anthropomorphic interpretation of out-of-the- way events which is its concomitant. witchcraft and sorcery are the practical expressions of these beliefs; and they stand in the same relation to religious worship as the simple anthropomorphism of children or savages does to theology. i do not quote myself with any intention of making a claim to originality in putting forth this view; for i have since discovered that the same conception is virtually contained in the great "discours sur l'histoire universelle" of bossuet, now more than two centuries old: [ ]-- le culte des hommes morta faisoit presque tout le fond de l'idolatrie; presque tous les hommes sacrificient aux manes, c'est-a-dire aux ames des morts. de si anciennes erreurs nous font voir a la verite combien etoit ancienne la croyance de l'immortalite de l'ame, et nous montrent qu'elle doit etre rangee parmi les premieres traditions du genre humain. mais l'homme, qui gatoit tout, en avoit etrangement abuse, puisqu'elle le portoit a sacrificer aux morts. on alloit meme jusqu'a cet exces, de leur sacrifier des hommes vivans; ou tuoit leurs esclaves, et meme leurs femmes, pour les aller servir dans l'autre monde. among more modern writers j. g. muller, in his excellent "geschichte der amerikanischen urreligionen" ( ), clearly recognises "gespensterhafter geisterglaube" as the foundation of all savage and semi-civilised theology, and i need do no more than mention the important developments of the same view which are to be found in mr. tylor's "primitive culture," and in the writings of mr. herbert spencer, especially his recently-published "ecclesiastical institutions." [ ] it is a matter of fact that, whether we direct our attention to the older conditions of civilised societies, in japan, in china, in hindostan, in greece, or in rome, [ ] we find, underlying all other theological notions, the belief in ghosts, with its inevitable concomitant sorcery; and a primitive cult, in the shape of a worship of ancestors, which is essentially an attempt to please, or appease their ghosts. the same thing is true of old mexico and peru, and of all the semi-civilised or savage peoples who have developed a definite cult; and in those who, like the natives of australia, have not even a cult, the belief in, and fear of, ghosts is as strong as anywhere else. the most clearly demonstrable article of the theology of the israelites in the eleventh and twelfth centuries b.c. is therefore simply the article which is to be found in all primitive theologies, namely, the belief that a man has a soul which continues to exist after death for a longer or shorter time, and may return, as a ghost, with a divine, or at least demonic, character, to influence for good or evil (and usually for evil) the affairs of the living. but the correspondence between the old israelitic and other archaic forms of theology extends to details. if, in order to avoid all chance of direct communication, we direct our attention to the theology of semi-civilised people, such as the polynesian islanders, separated by the greatest possible distance, and by every conceivable physical barrier, from the inhabitants of palestine, we shall find not merely that all the features of old israelitic theology, which are revealed in the records cited, are found among them; but that extant information as to the inner mind of these people tends to remove many of the difficulties which those who have not studied anthropology find in the hebrew narrative. one of the best sources, if not the best source, of information on these topics is mariner's _tonga islands,_ which tells us of the condition of cook's "friendly islanders" eighty years ago, before european influence was sensibly felt among them. mariner, a youth of fair education and of no inconsiderable natural ability (as the work which was drawn up from the materials he furnished shows), was about fifteen years of age when his ship was attacked and plundered by the tongans: he remained four years in the islands, familiarised himself with the language, lived the life of the people, became intimate with many of them, and had every opportunity of acquainting himself with their opinions, as well as with their habits and customs. he seems to have been devoid of prejudices, theological or other, and the impression of strict accuracy which his statements convey has been justified by all the knowledge of polynesian life which has been subsequently acquired. it is desirable, therefore, to pay close attention to that which mariner tells us about the theological views of these people: [ ]-- the human soul, after its separation from the body, is termed a _hotooa_ (a god or spirit), and is believed to exist in the shape of the body; to have the same propensities as during life, but to be corrected by a more enlightened understanding, by which it readily distinguishes good from evil, truth from falsehood, right from wrong; having the same attributes as the original gods, but in a minor degree, and having its dwelling for ever in the happy regions of bolotoo, holding the same rank in regard to other souls as during this life; it has, however, the power of returning to tonga to inspire priests, relations, or others, or to appear in dreams to those it wishes to admonish; and sometimes to the external eye in the form of a ghost or apparition; but this power of reappearance at tonga particularly belongs to the souls of chiefs rather than of matabooles. (vol. ii. p. ). the word "hotooa" is the same as that which is usually spelt "atua" by polynesian philologues, and it will be convenient to adopt this spelling. now under this head of "_atuas_ or supernatural intelligent beings" the tongans include:-- " . the original gods. . the souls of nobles that have all attributes in common with the first but inferior in degree. . the souls of matabooles [ ] that are still inferior, and have not the power as the two first have of coming back to tonga to inspire the priest, though they are supposed to have the power of appearing to their relatives. . the original attendants or servants, as it were, of the gods, who, although they had their origin and have ever since existed in bolotoo, are still inferior to the third class. . the _atua pow_ or mischievous gods. . _mooi,_ or the god that supports the earth and does not belong to bolotoo (vol. ii. pp. , )." from this it appears that the "atuas" of the polynesian are exactly equivalent to the "elohim" of the old israelite. [ ] they comprise everything spiritual, from a ghost to a god, and from "the merely tutelar gods to particular private families" (vol, ii. p. ), to ta-li-y-tooboo, who was the national god of tonga. the tongans had no doubt that these atuas daily and hourly influenced their destinies and could, conversely, be influenced by them. hence their "piety," the incessant acts of sacrificial worship which occupied their lives, and their belief in omens and charms. moreover, the atuas were believed to visit particular persons,--their own priests in the case of the higher gods, but apparently anybody in that of the lower,--and to inspire them by a process which was conceived to involve the actual residence of the god, for the time being, in the person inspired, who was thus rendered capable of prophesying (vol. ii. p. ). for the tongan, therefore, inspiration indubitably was possession. when one of the higher gods was invoked, through his priest, by a chief who wished to consult the oracle, or, in old israelitic phraseology, to "inquire of," the god, a hog was killed and cooked over night, and, together with plantains, yams, and the materials for making the peculiar drink _kava_ (of which the tongans were very fond), was carried next day to the priest. a circle, as for an ordinary kava-drinking entertainment, was then formed; but the priest, as the representative of the god, took the highest place, while the chiefs sat outside the circle, as an expression of humility calculated to please the god. as soon as they are all seated the priest is considered as inspired, the god being supposed to exist within him from that moment. he remains for a considerable time in silence with his hands clasped before him, his eyes are cast down and he rests perfectly still. during the time the victuals are being shared out and the kava preparing, the matabooles sometimes begin to consult him; sometimes he answers, and at other times not; in either case he remains with his eyes cast down. frequently he will not utter a word till the repast is finished and the kava too. when he speaks he generally begins in a low and very altered tone of voice, which gradually rises to nearly its natural pitch, though sometimes a little above it. all that he says is supposed to be the declaration of the god, and he accordingly speaks in the first person, as if he were the god. all this is done generally without any apparent inward emotion or outward agitation; but, on some occasions, his countenance becomes fierce, and as it were inflamed, and his whole frame agitated with inward feeling; he is seized with an universal trembling, the perspiration breaks out on his forehead, and his lips turning black are convulsed; at length tears start in floods from his eyes, his breast heaves with great emotion, and his utterance is choked. these symptoms gradually subside. before this paroxysm comes on, and after it is over, he often eats as much as four hungry men under other circumstances could devour. the fit being now gone off, he remains for some time calm and then takes up a club that is placed by him for the purpose, turns it over and regards it attentively; he then looks up earnestly, now to the right, now to the left, and now again at the club; afterwards he looks up again and about him in like manner, and then again fixes his eyes on the club, and so on for several times. at length he suddenly raises the club, and, after a moment's pause, strikes the ground or the adjacent part of the house with considerable force, immediately the god leaves him, and he rises up and retires to the back of the ring among the people (vol. i. pp. , ). the phenomena thus described, in language which, to any one who is familiar with the manifestations of abnormal mental states among ourselves, bears the stamp of fidelity, furnish a most instructive commentary upon the story of the wise woman of endor. as in the latter, we have the possession by the spirit or soul (atua, elohim), the strange voice, the speaking in the first person. unfortunately nothing (beyond the loud cry) is mentioned as to the state of the wise woman of endor. but what we learn from other sources (_e.g._ sam. x. - ) respecting the physical concomitants of inspiration among the old israelites has its exact equivalent in this and other accounts of polynesian prophetism. an excellent authority, moerenhout, who lived among the people of the society islands many years and knew them well, says that, in tahiti, the _role_ of the prophet had very generally passed out of the hands of the priests into that of private persons who professed to represent the god, often assumed his name, and in this capacity prophesied. i will not run the risk of weakening the force of moerenhout's description of the prophetic state by translating it:-- "un individu, dans cet etat, avait le bras gauche enveloppe d'un morceau d'etoffe, signe de la presence de la divinite. il ne parlait que d'un ton imperieux et vehement. ses attaques, quand il allait prophetiser, etaient aussi effroyables qu'imposantes. il tremblait d'abord de tous ses membres, la figure enflee, les yeux hagards, rouges et etincelants d'une expression sauvage. il gesticulait, articulait des mots vides de sens, poussait des cris horribles qui faisaient tressaillir tous les assistants, et s'exaltait parfois au point qu'on n'osait par l'approcher. autour de lui, le silence de la terreur et du respect.... c'est alors qu'il repondait aux questions, annoncait l'avenir, le destin des batailles, la volonte des dieux; et, chose etonnante! au sein de ce delire, de cet enthousiasme religieux, son langage etait grave, imposant, son eloquence noble et persuasive." [ ] just so saul strips off his clothes, "prophesies" before samuel, and lies down "naked all that day and night." both mariner and moerenhout refuse to have recourse to the hypothesis of imposture in order to account for the inspired state of the polynesian prophets. on the contrary, they fully believe in their sincerity. mariner tells the story of a young chief, an acquaintance of his, who thought himself possessed by the atua of a dead woman who had fallen in love with him, and who wished him to die that he might be near her in bolotoo. and he died accordingly. but the most valuable evidence on this head is contained in what the same authority says about king finow's son. the previous king, toogoo ahoo, had been assassinated by finow, and his soul, become an atua of divine rank in bolotoo, had been pleased to visit and inspire finow's son--with what particular object does not appear. when this young chief returned to hapai, mr. mariner, who was upon a footing of great friendship with him, one day asked him how he felt himself when the spirit of toogoo ahoo visited him; he replied that he could not well describe his feelings, but the best he could say of it was, that he felt himself all over in a glow of heat and quite restless and uncomfortable, and did not feel his own personal identity, as it were, but seemed to have a mind different from his own natural mind, his thoughts wandering upon strange and unusual subjects, though perfectly sensible of surrounding objects. he next asked him how he knew it was the spirit of toogoo ahoo? his answer was, 'there's a fool! how can i tell you _how_ i knew it! i felt and knew it was so by a kind of consciousness; my _mind_ told me that it was toogoo ahoo (vol. i. pp. , ). finow's son was evidently made for a theological disputant, and fell back at once on the inexpugnable stronghold of faith when other evidence was lacking. "there's a fool! i know it is true, because i know it," is the exemplar and epitome of the sceptic-crushing process in other places than the tonga islands. the island of bolotoo, to which all the souls (of the upper classes at any rate) repair after the death of the body, and from which they return at will to interfere, for good or evil, with the lives of those whom they have left behind, obviously answers to sheol. in tongan tradition, this place of souls is a sort of elysium above ground and pleasant enough to live in. but, in other parts of polynesia, the corresponding locality, which is called po, has to be reached by descending into the earth, and is represented dark and gloomy like sheol. but it was not looked upon as a place of rewards and punishments in any sense. whether in bolotoo or in po, the soul took the rank it had in the flesh; and, a shadow, lived among the shadows of the friends and houses and food of its previous life. the tongan theologians recognised several hundred gods; but there was one, already mentioned as their national god, whom they regarded as far greater than any of the others, "as a great chief from the top of the sky down to the bottom of the earth" (mariner, vol. ii. p. ). he was also god of war, and the tutelar deity of the royal family, whoever happened to be the incumbent of the royal office for the time being. he had no priest except the king himself, and his visits, even to royalty, were few and far between. the name of this supreme deity was ta-li-y-tooboo, the literal meaning of which is said to be "wait there, tooboo," from which it would appear that the peculiar characteristic of ta-li-y-tooboo, in the eyes of his worshippers, was persistence of duration. and it is curious to notice, in relation to this circumstance, that many hebrew philologers have thought the meaning of jahveh to be best expressed by the word "eternal." it would probably be difficult to express the notion of an eternal being, in a dialect so little fitted to convey abstract conceptions as tongan, better than by that of one who always "waits there." the characteristics of the gods in tongan theology are exactly those of men whose shape they are supposed to possess, only they have more intelligence and greater power. the tongan belief that, after death, the human atua more readily distinguishes good from evil, runs parallel with the old israelitic conception of elohim expressed in genesis, "ye shall be as elohim, knowing good from evil." they further agreed with the old israelites, that "all rewards for virtue and punishments for vice happen to men in this world only, and come immediately from the gods" (vol. ii. p. ). moreover, they were of opinion that though the gods approve of some kinds of virtue, are displeased with some kinds of vice, and, to a certain extent, protect or forsake their worshippers according to their moral conduct, yet neglect to pay due respect to the deities, and forgetfulness to keep them in good humour, might be visited with even worse consequences than moral delinquency. and those who will carefully study the so-called "mosaic code" contained in the books of exodus, leviticus, and numbers, will see that, though jahveh's prohibitions of certain forms of immorality are strict and sweeping, his wrath is quite as strongly kindled against infractions of ritual ordinances. accidental homicide may go unpunished, and reparation may be made for wilful theft. on the other hand, nadab and abihu, who "offered strange fire before jahveh, which he had not commanded them," were swiftly devoured by jahveh's fire; he who sacrificed anywhere except at the allotted place was to be "cut off from his people"; so was he who ate blood; and the details of the upholstery of the tabernacle, of the millinery of the priests' vestments, and of the cabinet work of the ark, can plead direct authority from jahveh, no less than moral commands. amongst the tongans, the sacrifices were regarded as gifts of food and drink offered to the divine atuas, just as the articles deposited by the graves of the recently dead were meant as food for atuas of lower rank. a kava root was a constant form of offering all over polynesia. in the excellent work of the rev. george turner, entitled _nineteen years in polynesia_ (p. ), i find it said of the samoans (near neighbours of the tongans):-- _the offerings_ were principally cooked food. as in ancient greece so in samoa, the first cup was in honour of the god. it was either poured out on the ground or _waved_ towards the heavens, reminding us again of the mosaic ceremonies. the chiefs all drank a portion out of the same cup, according to rank; and after that, the food brought as an offering was divided and eaten '_there before the lord._' in tonga, when they consulted a god who had a priest, the latter, as representative of the god, had the first cup; but if the god, like ta-li-y-tooboo, had no priest, then the chief place was left vacant, and was supposed to be occupied by the god himself. when the first cup of kava was filled, the mataboole who acted as master of the ceremonies said, "give it to your god," and it was offered, though only as a matter of form. in tonga and samoa there were many sacred places or _morais,_ with houses of the ordinary construction, but which served as temples in consequence of being dedicated to various gods; and there were altars on which the sacrifices were offered; nevertheless there were few or no images. mariner mentions none in tonga, and the samoans seem to have been regarded as no better than atheists by other polynesians because they had none. it does not appear that either of these peoples had images even of their family or ancestral gods. in tahiti and the adjacent islands, moerenhout (t. i. p. ) makes the very interesting observation, not only that idols were often absent, but that, where they existed, the images of the gods served merely as depositories for the proper representatives of the divinity. each of these was called a _maro aurou,_ and was a kind of girdle artistically adorned with red, yellow, blue, and black feathers--the red feathers being especially important--which were consecrated and kept as sacred objects within the idols. they were worn by great personages on solemn occasions, and conferred upon their wearers a sacred and almost divine character. there is no distinct evidence that the _maro aurou_ was supposed to have any special efficacy in divination, but one cannot fail to see a certain parallelism between this holy girdle, which endowed its wearer with a particular sanctity, and the ephod. according to the rev. r. taylor, the new zealanders formerly used the word _karakia_ (now employed for "prayer") to signify a "spell, charm, or incantation," and the utterance of these karakias constituted the chief part of their cult. in the south, the officiating priest had a small image, "about eighteen inches long, resembling a peg with a carved head," which reminds one of the form commonly attributed to the teraphim. "the priest first bandaged a fillet of red parrot feathers under the god's chin, which was called his pahau or beard; this bandage was made of a certain kind of sennet, which was tied on in a peculiar way. when this was done it was taken possession of by the atua, whose spirit entered it. the priest then either held it in the hand and vibrated it in the air whilst the powerful karakia was repeated, or he tied a piece of string (formed of the centre of a flax leaf) round the neck of the image and stuck it in the ground. he sat at a little distance from it, leaning against a tuahu, a short stone pillar stuck in the ground in a slanting position and, holding the string in his hand, he gave the god a jerk to arrest his attention, lest he should be otherwise engaged, like baal of old, either hunting, fishing, or sleeping, and therefore must be awaked.... the god is supposed to make use of the priest's tongue in giving a reply. image-worship appears to have been confined to one part of the island. the atua was supposed only to enter the image for the occasion. the natives declare they did not worship the image itself, but only the atua it represented, and that the image was merely used as a way of approaching him." [ ] this is the excuse for image-worship which the more intelligent idolaters make all the world over; but it is more interesting to observe that, in the present case, we seem to have the equivalents of divination by teraphim, with the aid of something like an ephod (which, however, is used to sanctify the image and not the priest) mixed up together. many hebrew archaeologists have supposed that the term "ephod" is sometimes used for an image (particularly in the case of gideon's ephod), and the story of micah, in the book of judges, shows that images were, at any rate, employed in close association with the ephod. if the pulling of the string to call the attention of the god seems as absurd to us as it appears to have done to the worthy missionary, who tells us of the practice, it should be recollected that the high priest of jahveh was ordered to wear a garment fringed with golden bells. and it shall be upon aaron to minister; and the sound thereof shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before jahveh, and when he cometh out, that he die not (exod. xxviii. ). an escape from the obvious conclusion suggested by this passage has been sought in the supposition that these bells rang for the sake of the worshippers, as at the elevation of the host in the roman catholic ritual; but then why should the priest be threatened with the well-known penalty for inadvisedly beholding the divinity? in truth, the intermediate step between the maori practice and that of the old israelites is furnished by the kami temples in japan. these are provided with bells which the worshippers who present themselves ring, in order to call the attention of the ancestor-god to their presence. grant the fundamental assumption of the essentially human character of the spirit, whether atua, kami, or elohim, and all these practices are equally rational. the sacrifices to the gods in tonga, and elsewhere in polynesia, were ordinarily social gatherings, in which the god, either in his own person or in that of his priestly representative, was supposed to take part. these sacrifices were offered on every occasion of importance, and even the daily meals were prefaced by oblations and libations of food and drink, exactly answering to those offered by the old romans to their manes, penates, and lares. the sacrifices had no moral significance, but were the necessary result of the theory that the god was either a deified ghost of an ancestor or chief, or, at any rate, a being of like nature to these. if one wanted to get anything out of him, therefore, the first step was to put him in good humour by gifts; and if one desired to escape his wrath, which might be excited by the most trifling neglect or unintentional disrespect, the great thing was to pacify him by costly presents. king finow appears to have been somewhat of a freethinker (to the great horror of his subjects), and it was only his untimely death which prevented him from dealing with the priest of a god, who had not returned a favourable answer to his supplications, as saul dealt with the priests of the sanctuary of jahveh at nob. nevertheless, finow showed his practical belief in the gods during the sickness of a daughter, to whom he was fondly attached, in a fashion which has a close parallel in the history of israel. if the gods have any resentment against us, let the whole weight of vengeance fall on my head. i fear not their vengeance --but spare my child; and i earnestly entreat you, toobo totai [the god whom he had evoked], to exert all your influence with the other gods that i alone may suffer all the punishment they desire to inflict (vol. i. p. ). so when the king of israel has sinned by "numbering the people," and they are punished for his fault by a pestilence which slays seventy thousand innocent men, david cries to jahveh:-- lo, i have sinned, and i have done perversely; but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, i pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house. ( sam. xxiv. ). human sacrifices were extremely common in polynesia; and, in tonga, the "devotion" of a child by strangling was a favourite method of averting the wrath of the gods. the well-known instances of jephthah's sacrifice of his daughter and of david's giving up the seven sons of saul to be sacrificed by the gibeonites "before jahveh," appear to me to leave no doubt that the old israelites, even when devout worshippers of jahveh, considered human sacrifices, under certain circumstances, to be not only permissible but laudable. samuel's hewing to pieces of the miserable captive, sole survivor of his nation, agag, "before jahveh," can hardly be viewed in any other light. the life of moses is redeemed from jahveh, who "sought to slay him," by zipporah's symbolical sacrifice of her child, by the bloody operation of circumcision. jahveh expressly affirms that the first-born males of men and beasts are devoted to him; in accordance with that claim, the first-born males of the beasts are duly sacrificed; and it is only by special permission that the claim to the first-born of men is waived, and it is enacted that they may be redeemed (exod. xiii. - ). is it possible to avoid the conclusion that immolation of their first-born sons would have been incumbent on the worshippers of jahveh, had they not been thus specially excused? can any other conclusion be drawn from the history of abraham and isaac? does abraham exhibit any indication of surprise when he receives the astounding order to sacrifice his son? is there the slightest evidence that there was anything in his intimate and personal acquaintance with the character of the deity, who had eaten the meat and drunk the milk which abraham set before him under the oaks of mamre, to lead him to hesitate--even to wait twelve or fourteen hours for a repetition of the command? not a whit. we are told that "abraham rose early in the morning" and led his only child to the slaughter, as if it were the most ordinary business imaginable. whether the story has any historical foundation or not, it is valuable as showing that the writer of it conceived jahveh as a deity whose requirement of such a sacrifice need excite neither astonishment nor suspicion of mistake on the part of his devotee. hence, when the incessant human sacrifices in israel, during the age of the kings, are put down to the influence of foreign idolatries, we may fairly inquire whether editorial bowdlerising has not prevailed over historical truth. an attempt to compare the ethical standards of two nations, one of which has a written code, while the other has not, is beset with difficulties. with all that is strange and, in many cases, repulsive to us in the social arrangements and opinions respecting moral obligation among the tongans, as they are placed before us, with perfect candour, in mariner's account, there is much that indicates a strong ethical sense. they showed great kindliness to one another, and faithfulness in standing by their comrades in war. no people could have better observed either the third or the fifth commandment; for they had a particular horror of blasphemy, and their respectful tenderness towards their parents and, indeed, towards old people in general, was remarkable. it cannot be said that the eighth commandment was generally observed, especially where europeans were concerned; nevertheless a well-bred tongan looked upon theft as a meanness to which he would not condescend. as to the seventh commandment, any breach of it was considered scandalous in women and as something to be avoided in self-respecting men; but, among unmarried and widowed people, chastity was held very cheap. nevertheless the women were extremely well treated, and often showed themselves capable of great devotion and entire faithfulness. in the matter of cruelty, treachery, and bloodthirstiness, these islanders were neither better nor worse than most peoples of antiquity. it is to the credit of the tongans that they particularly objected to slander; nor can covetousness be regarded as their characteristic; for mariner says:-- when any one is about to eat, he always shares out what he has to those about him, without any hesitation, and a contrary conduct would be considered exceedingly vile and selfish (vol. ii p. ). in fact, they thought very badly of the english when mariner told them that his countrymen did not act exactly on that principle. it further appears that they decidedly belonged to the school of intuitive moral philosophers, and believed that virtue is its own reward; for many of the chiefs, on being asked by mr. mariner what motives they had for conducting themselves with propriety, besides the fear of misfortunes in this life, replied, the agreeable and happy feeling which a man experiences within himself when he does any good action or conducts himself nobly and generously as a man ought to do; and this question they answered as if they wondered such a question should be asked. (vol. ii. p. ). one may read from the beginning of the book of judges to the end of the books of samuel without discovering that the old israelites had a moral standard which differs, in any essential respect (except perhaps in regard to the chastity of unmarried women), from that of the tongans. gideon, jephthah, samson, and david are strong-handed men, some of whom are not outdone by any polynesian chieftain in the matter of murder and treachery; while deborah's jubilation over jael's violation of the primary duty of hospitality, proffered and accepted under circumstances which give a peculiarly atrocious character to the murder of the guest; and her witch-like gloating over the picture of the disappointment of the mother of the victim-- the mother of sisera cried through the lattice, why is his chariot so long in coming? (jud. v. .) --would not have been out of place in the choral service of the most sanguinary god in the polynesian pantheon. with respect to the cannibalism which the tongans occasionally practised, mariner says:-- although a few young ferocious warriors chose to imitate what they considered a mark of courageous fierceness in a neighbouring nation, it was held in disgust by everybody else (vol. ii. p. ). that the moral standard of tongan life was less elevated than that indicated in the "book of the covenant" (exod. xxi.-xxiii.) may be freely admitted. but then the evidence that this book of the covenant, and even the ten commandments as given in exodus, were known to the israelites of the time of samuel and saul, is (to say the least) by no means conclusive. the deuteronomic version of the fourth commandment is hopelessly discrepant from that which stands in exodus. would any later writer have ventured to alter the commandments as given from sinai, if he had had before him that which professed to be an accurate statement of the "ten words" in exodus? and if the writer of deuteronomy had not exodus before him, what is the value of the claim of the version of the ten commandments therein contained to authenticity? from one end to the other of the books of judges and samuel, the only "commandments of jahveh" which are specially adduced refer to the prohibition of the worship of other gods, or are orders given _ad hoc,_ and have nothing to do with questions of morality. in polynesia, the belief in witchcraft, in the appearance of spiritual beings in dreams, in possession as the cause of diseases, and in omens, prevailed universally. mariner tells a story of a woman of rank who was greatly attached to king finow, and who, for the space of six months after his death, scarcely ever slept elsewhere than on his grave, which she kept carefully decorated with flowers:-- "one day she went, with the deepest affliction, to the house of mo-oonga toobo, the widow of the deceased chief, to communicate what had happened to her at the _fytoca_ [grave] during several nights, and which caused her the greatest anxiety. she related that she had dreamed that the late how [king] appeared to her and, with a countenance full of disappointment, asked why there yet remained at vavaoo so many evil-designing persons; for he declared that, since he had been at bolotoo, his spirit had been disturbed [ ] by the evil machinations of wicked men conspiring against his son; but he declared that 'the youth' should not be molested nor his power shaken by the spirit of rebellion; that he therefore came to her with a warning voice to prevent such disastrous consequences (vol. i. p. )." on inquiry it turned out that the charm of _tattao_ had been performed on finow's grave, with the view of injuring his son, the reigning king, and it is to be presumed that it was this sorcerer's work which had "disturbed" finow's spirit. the rev. richard taylor says in the work already cited: "the account given of the witch of endor agrees most remarkably with the witches of new zealand" (p. ). the tongans also believed in a mode of divination (essentially similar to the casting of lots) the twirling of a cocoanut. the object of inquiry... is chiefly whether a sick person will recover; for this purpose the nut being placed on the ground, a relation of the sick person determines that, if the nut, when again at rest, points to such a quarter, the east for example, that the sick man will recover; he then prays aloud to the patron god of the family that he will be pleased to direct the nut so that it may indicate the truth; the nut being next spun, the result is attended to with confidence, at least with a full conviction that it will truly declare the intentions of the gods at the time (vol. ii. p. ). does not the action of saul, on a famous occasion, involve exactly the same theological presuppositions? therefore saul said unto jahveh, the elohim of israel, shew the right. and jonathan and saul were taken by lot: but the people escaped. and saul said, cast _lots_ between me and jonathan my son. and jonathan was taken. and saul said to jonathan, tell me what thou hast done.... and the people rescued jonathan so that he died not ( sam. xiv. - ). as the israelites had great yearly feasts, so had the polynesians; as the israelites practised circumcision, so did many polynesian people; as the israelites had a complex and often arbitrary-seeming multitude of distinctions between clean and unclean things, and clean and unclean states of men, to which they attached great importance, so had the polynesians their notions of ceremonial purity and their _tabu,_ an equally extensive and strange system of prohibitions, violation of which was visited by death. these doctrines of cleanness and uncleanness no doubt may have taken their rise in the real or fancied utility of the prescriptions, but it is probable that the origin of many is indicated in the curious habit of the samoans to make fetishes of living animals. it will be recollected that these people had no "gods made with hands," but they substituted animals for them. at his birth "every samoan was supposed to be taken under the care of some tutelary god or _aitu_ [= atua] as it was called. the help of perhaps half a dozen different gods was invoked in succession on the occasion, but the one who happened to be addressed just as the child was born was marked and declared to be the child's god for life. "these gods were supposed to appear in some _visible incarnation,_ and the particular thing in which his god was in the habit of appearing was, to the samoan, an object of veneration. it was in fact his idol, and he was careful never to injure it or treat it with contempt. one, for instance, saw his god in the eel, another in the shark, another in the turtle, another in the dog, another in the owl, another in the lizard; and so on, throughout all the fish of the sea and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things. in some of the shell-fish even, gods were supposed to be present. a man would eat freely of what was regarded as the incarnation of the god of another man, but the incarnation of his own particular god he would consider it death to injure or eat." [ ] we have here that which appears to be the origin, or one of the origins, of food prohibitions, on the one hand, and of totemism on the other. when it is remembered that the old israelites sprang from ancestors who are said to have resided near, or in, one of the great seats of ancient babylonian civilisation, the city of ur; that they had been, it is said for centuries, in close contact with the egyptians; and that, in the theology of both the babylonians and the egyptians, there is abundant evidence, notwithstanding their advanced social organisation, of the belief in spirits, with sorcery, ancestor-worship, the deification of animals, and the converse animalisation of gods--it obviously needs very strong evidence to justify the belief that the rude tribes of israel did not share the notions from which their far more civilised neighbours had not emancipated themselves. but it is surely needless to carry the comparison further. out of the abundant evidence at command, i think that sufficient has been produced to furnish ample grounds for the belief, that the old israelites of the time of samuel entertained theological conceptions which were on a level with those current among the more civilised of the polynesian islanders, though their ethical code may possibly, in some respects, have been more advanced. [ ] a theological system of essentially similar character, exhibiting the same fundamental conceptions respecting the continued existence and incessant interference in human affairs of disembodied spirits, prevails, or formerly prevailed, among the whole of the inhabitants of the polynesian and melanesian islands, and among the people of australia, notwithstanding the wide differences in physical character and in grade of civilisation which obtain among them. and the same proposition is true of the people who inhabit the riverain shores of the pacific ocean whether dyaks, malays, indo-chinese, chinese, japanese, the wild tribes of america, or the highly civilised old mexicans and peruvians. it is no less true of the mongolic nomads of northern asia, of the asiatic aryans and of the ancient greeks and romans, and it holds good among the dravidians of the dekhan and the negro tribes of africa. no tribe of savages which has yet been discovered, has been conclusively proved to have so poor a theological equipment as to be devoid of a belief in ghosts, and in the utility of some form of witchcraft, in influencing those ghosts. and there is no nation, modern or ancient, which, even at this moment, has wholly given up the belief; and in which it has not, at one time or other, played a great part in practical life. this _sciotheism,_ [ ] as it might be called, is found, in several degrees of complexity, in rough correspondence with the stages of social organisation, and, like these, separated by no sudden breaks. in its simplest condition, such as may be met with among the australian savages, theology is a mere belief in the existence, powers, and disposition (usually malignant) of ghostlike entities who may be propitiated or scared away; but no cult can properly be said to exist. and, in this stage, theology is wholly independent of ethics. the moral code, such as is implied by public opinion, derives no sanction from the theological dogmas, and the influence of the spirits is supposed to be exerted out of mere caprice or malice. as a next stage, the fundamental fear of ghosts and the consequent desire to propitiate them acquire an organised ritual in simple forms of ancestor-worship, such as the rev. mr. turner describes among the people of tanna (_l.c._ p. ); and this line of development may be followed out until it attains its acme in the state-theology of china and the kami-theology [ ] of japan. each of these is essentially ancestor-worship, the ancestors being reckoned back through family groups, of higher and higher order, sometimes with strict reference to the principle of agnation, as in old rome; and, as in the latter, it is intimately bound up with the whole organisation of the state. there are no idols; inscribed tablets in china, and strips of paper lodged in a peculiar portable shrine in japan, represent the souls of the deceased, or the special seats which they occupy when sacrifices are offered by their descendants. in japan it is interesting to observe that a national kami--ten-zio-dai-zin--is worshipped as a sort of jahveh by the nation in general, and (as lippert has observed) it is singular that his special seat is a portable litter-like shrine, termed the mikosi, in some sort analogous to the israelitic ark. in china, the emperor is the representative of the primitive ancestors, and stands, as it were, between them and the supreme cosmic deities--heaven and earth--who are superadded to them, and who answer to the tangaloa and the maui of the polynesians. sciotheism, under the form of the deification of ancestral ghosts, in its most pronounced form, is therefore the chief element in the theology of a great moiety, possibly of more than half, of the human race. i think this must be taken to be a matter of fact--though various opinions may be held as to how this ancestor-worship came about. but on the other hand, it is no less a matter of fact that there are very few people without additional gods, who cannot, with certainty, be accounted for as deified ancestors. with all respect for the distinguished authorities on the other side, i cannot find good reasons for accepting the theory that the cosmic deities--who are superadded to deified ancestors even in china; who are found all over polynesia, in tangaloa and maui, and in old peru, in the sun--are the product either of the "search after the infinite," or of mistakes arising out of the confusion of a great chief's name with the thing signified by the name. but, however this may be, i think it is again merely matter of fact that, among a large portion of mankind, ancestor-worship is more or less thrown into the background either by such cosmic deities, or by tribal gods of uncertain origin, who have been raised to eminence by the superiority in warfare, or otherwise, of their worshippers. among certain nations, the polytheistic theology, thus constituted, has become modified by the selection of some one cosmic or tribal god, as the only god to whom worship is due on the part of that nation (though it is by no means denied that other nations have a right to worship other gods), and thus results a worship of one god--_monolatry,_ as wellhausen calls it--which is very different from genuine monotheism. [ ] in ancestral sciotheism, and in this _monolatry,_ the ethical code, often of a very high order, comes into closer relation with the theological creed. morality is taken under the patronage of the god or gods, who reward all morally good conduct and punish all morally evil conduct in this world or the next. at the same time, however, they are conceived to be thoroughly human, and they visit any shadow of disrespect to themselves, shown by disobedience to their commands, or by delay, or carelessness, in carrying them out, as severely as any breach of the moral laws. piety means minute attention to the due performance of all sacred rites, and covers any number of lapses in morality, just as cruelty, treachery, murder, and adultery did not bar david's claim to the title of the man after god's own heart among the israelites; crimes against men may be expiated, but blasphemy against the gods is an unpardonable sin. men forgive all injuries but those which touch their self-esteem; and they make their gods after their own likeness, in their own image make they them. it is in the category of monolatry that i conceive the theology of the old israelites must be ranged. they were polytheists, in so far as they admitted the existence of other elohim of divine rank beside jahveh; they differed from ordinary polytheists, in so far as they believed that jahveh was the supreme god and the one proper object of their own national worship. but it will doubtless be objected that i have been building up a fictitious israelitic theology on the foundation of the recorded habits and customs of the people, when they had lapsed from the ordinances of their great lawgiver and prophet moses, and that my conclusions may be good for the perverts to canaanitish theology, but not for the true observers of the sinaitic legislation. the answer to the objection is that--so far as i can form a judgment of that which is well ascertained in the history of israel--there is very little ground for believing that we know much, either about the theological and social value of the influence of moses, or about what happened during the wanderings in the desert. the account of the exodus and of the occurrences in the sinaitic peninsula; in fact, all the history of israel before the invasion of canaan, is full of wonderful stories, which may be true, in so far as they are conceivable occurrences, but which are certainly not probable, and which i, for one, decline to accept until evidence, which deserves that name, is offered of their historical truth. up to this time i know of none. [ ] furthermore, i see no answer to the argument that one has no right to pick out of an obviously unhistorical statement the assertions which happen to be probable and to discard the rest. but it is also certain that a primitively veracious tradition may be smothered under subsequent mythical additions, and that one has no right to cast away the former along with the latter. thus, perhaps the fairest way of stating the case may be as follows. there can be no _a priori_ objection to the supposition that the israelites were delivered from their egyptian bondage by a leader called moses, and that he exerted a great influence over their subsequent organisation in the desert. there is no reason to doubt that, during their residence in the land of goshen, the israelites knew nothing of jahveh; but, as their own prophets declare (see ezek. xx.), were polytheistic idolaters, sharing in the worst practices of their neighbours. as to their conduct in other respects, nothing is known. but it may fairly be suspected that their ethics were not of a higher order than those of jacob, their progenitor, in which case they might derive great profit from contact with egyptian society, which held honesty and truthfulness in the highest esteem. thanks to the egyptologers, we now know, with all requisite certainty, the moral standard of that society in the time, and long before the time, of moses. it can be determined from the scrolls buried with the mummified dead and from the inscriptions on the tombs and memorial statues of that age. for, though the lying of epitaphs is proverbial, so far as their subject is concerned, they gave an unmistakable insight into that which the writers and the readers of them think praiseworthy. in the famous tombs at beni hassan there is a record of the life of prince nakht, who served osertasen ii., a pharaoh of the twelfth dynasty as governor of a province. the inscription speaks in his name: "i was a benevolent and kindly governor who loved his country.... never was a little child distressed nor a widow ill-treated by me. i have never repelled a workman nor hindered a shepherd. i gave alike to the widow and to the married woman, and have not preferred the great to the small in my gifts." and we have the high authority of the late dr. samuel birch for the statement that the inscriptions of the twelfth dynasty abound in injunctions of a high ethical character. "to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, bury the dead, loyally serve the king, formed the first duty of a pious man and faithful subject." [ ] the people for whom these inscriptions embodied their ideal of praiseworthiness assuredly had no imperfect conception of either justice or mercy. but there is a document which gives still better evidence of the moral standard of the egyptians. it is the "book of the dead," a sort of "guide to spiritland," the whole, or a part, of which was buried with the mummy of every well-to-do egyptian, while extracts from it are found in innumerable inscriptions. portions of this work are of extreme antiquity, evidence of their existence occurring as far back as the fifth and sixth dynasties; while the th chapter, which constitutes a sort of book by itself, and is known as the "book of redemption in the hall of the two truths," is frequently inscribed upon coffins and other monuments of the nineteenth dynasty (that under which, there is some reason to believe, the israelites were oppressed and the exodus took place), and it occurs, more than once, in the famous tombs of the kings of this and the preceding dynasty at thebes. [ ] this "book of redemption" is chiefly occupied by the so-called "negative confession" made to the forty-two divine judges, in which the soul of the dead denies that he has committed faults of various kinds. it is, therefore, obvious that the egyptians conceived that their gods commanded them not to do the deeds which are here denied. the "book of redemption," in fact, implies the existence in the mind of the egyptians, if not in a formal writing, of a series of ordinances, couched, like the majority of the ten commandments, in negative terms. and it is easy to prove the implied existence of a series which nearly answers to the "ten words." of course a polytheistic and image-worshipping people, who observed a great many holy days, but no sabbaths, could have nothing analogous to the first or the second and the fourth commandments of the decalogue; but answering to the third, is "i have not blasphemed;" to the fifth, "i have not reviled the face of the king or my father;" to the sixth, "i have not murdered;" to the seventh, "i have not committed adultery;" to the eighth, "i have not stolen," "i have not done fraud to man;" to the ninth, "i have not told falsehoods in the tribunal of truth," and, further, "i have not calumniated the slave to his master." i find nothing exactly similar to the tenth commandment; but that the inward disposition of mind was held to be of no less importance than the outward act is to be gathered from the praises of kindliness already cited and the cry of "i am pure," which is repeated by the soul on trial. moreover, there is a minuteness of detail in the confession which shows no little delicacy of moral appreciation--"i have not privily done evil against mankind," "i have not afflicted men," "i have not withheld milk from the mouths of sucklings," "i have not been idle," "i have not played the hypocrite," "i have not told falsehoods," "i have not corrupted woman or man," "i have not caused fear," "i have not multiplied words in speaking." would that the moral sense of the nineteenth century a.d. were as far advanced as that of the egyptians in the nineteenth century b.c. in this last particular! what incalculable benefit to mankind would flow from strict observance of the commandment, "thou shalt not multiply words in speaking!" nothing is more remarkable than the stress which the old egyptians, here and elsewhere, lay upon this and other kinds of truthfulness, as compared with the absence of any such requirement in the israelitic decalogue, in which only a specific kind of untruthfulnes is forbidden. if, as the story runs, moses was adopted by a princess of the royal house, and was instructed in all the wisdom of the egyptians, it is surely incredible that he should not have been familiar from his youth up, with the high moral code implied in the "book of redemption." it is surely impossible that he should have been less familiar with the complete legal system, and with the method of administration of justice, which, even in his time, had enabled the egyptian people to hold together, as a complex social organisation, for a period far longer than the duration of old roman society, from the building of the city to the death of the last caesar. nor need we look to moses alone for the influence of egypt upon israel. it is true that the hebrew nomads who came into contact with the egyptians of osertasen, or of ramses, stood in much the same relation to them, in point of culture, as a germanic tribe did to the romans of tiberius, or of marcus antoninus; or as captain cook's omai did to the english of george the third. but, at the same time, any difficulty of communication which might have arisen out of this circumstance was removed by the long pre-existing intercourse of other semites, of every grade of civilisation, with the egyptians. in mesopotamia and elsewhere, as in phenicia, semitic people had attained to a social organisation as advanced as that of the egyptians; semites had conquered and occupied lower egypt for centuries. so extensively had semitic influences penetrated egypt that the egyptian language, during the period of the nineteenth dynasty, is said by brugsch to be as full of semitisms as german is of gallicisms; while semitic deities had supplanted the egyptian gods at heliopolis and elsewhere. on the other hand, the semites, as far as phenicia, were extensively influenced by egypt. it is generally admitted [ ] that moses, phinehas (and perhaps aaron), are names of egyptian origin, and there is excellent authority for the statement that the name _abir,_ which the israelites gave to their golden calf, and which is also used to signify the strong, the heavenly, and even god, [ ] is simply the egyptian apis. brugsch points out that the god, tum or tom, who was the special object of worship in the city of pi-tom, with which the israelites were only too familiar, was called ankh and the "great god," and had no image. ankh means "he who lives," "the living one," a name the resemblance of which to the "i am that i am" of exodus is unmistakable, whatever may be the value of the fact. every discussion of israelitic ritual seeks and finds the explanation of its details in the portable sacred chests, the altars, the priestly dress, the breastplate, the incense, and the sacrifices depicted on the monuments of egypt. but it must be remembered that these signs of the influence of egypt upon israel are not necessarily evidence that such influence was exerted before the exodus. it may have come much later, through the close connection of the israel of david and solomon, first with phenicia and then with egypt. if we suppose moses to have been a man of the stamp of calvin, there is no difficulty in conceiving that he may have constructed the substance of the ten words, and even of the book of the covenant, which curiously resembles parts of the book of the dead, from the foundation of egyptian ethics and theology which had filtered through to the israelites in general, or had been furnished specially to himself by his early education; just as the great genevese reformer built up a puritanic social organisation on so much as remained of the ethics and theology of the roman church, after he had trimmed them to his liking. thus, i repeat, i see no _a priori_ objection to the assumption that moses may have endeavoured to give his people a theologico-political organisation based on the ten commandments (though certainly not quite in their present form) and the book of the covenant, contained in our present book of exodus. but whether there is such evidence as amounts to proof, or, i had better say, to probability, that even this much of the pentateuch owes its origin to moses is another matter. the mythical character of the accessories of the sinaitic history is patent, and it would take a good deal more evidence than is afforded by the bare assertion of an unknown writer to justify the belief that the people who "saw the thunderings and the lightnings and the voice of the trumpet and the mountain smoking" (exod. xx. ); to whom jahveh orders moses to say, "ye yourselves have seen that i have talked with you from heaven. ye shall not make other gods with me; gods of silver and gods of gold ye shall not make unto you" (_ibid._ , ), should, less than six weeks afterwards, have done the exact thing they were thus awfully forbidden to do. nor is the credibility of the story increased by the statement that aaron, the brother of moses, the witness and fellow-worker of the miracles before pharaoh, was their leader and the artificer of the idol. and yet, at the same time, aaron was apparently so ignorant of wrongdoing that he made proclamation, "tomorrow shall be a feast to jahveh," and the people proceeded to offer their burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, as if everything in their proceedings must be satisfactory to the deity with whom they had just made a solemn covenant to abolish image-worship. it seems to me that, on a survey of all the facts of the case, only a very cautious and hypothetical judgment is justifiable. it may be that moses profited by the opportunities afforded him of access to what was best in egyptian society to become acquainted, not only with its advanced ethical and legal code, but with the more or less pantheistic unification of the divine to which the speculations of the egyptian thinkers, like those of all polytheistic philosophers, from polynesia to greece, tend; if indeed the theology of the period of the nineteenth dynasty was not, as some egyptologists think, a modification of an earlier, more distinctly monotheistic doctrine of a long antecedent age. it took only half a dozen centuries for the theology of paul to become the theology of gregory the great; and it is possible that twenty centuries lay between the theology of the first worshippers in the sanctuary of the sphinx and that of the priests of ramses maimun. it may be that the ten commandments and the book of the covenant are based upon faithful traditions of the efforts of a great leader to raise his followers to his own level. for myself, as a matter of pious opinion, i like to think so; as i like to imagine that, between moses and samuel, there may have been many a seer, many a herdsman such as him of tekoah, lonely amidst the hills of ephraim and judah, who cherished and kept alive these traditions. in the present results of biblical criticism, however, i can discover no justification for the common assumption that, between the time of joshua and that of rehoboam, the israelites were familiar with either the deuteronomic or the levitical legislation; or that the theology of the israelites, from the king who sat on the throne to the lowest of his subjects, was in any important respect different from that which might naturally be expected from their previous history and the conditions of their existence. but there is excellent evidence to the contrary effect. and, for my part, i see no reason to doubt that, like the rest of the world, the israelites had passed through a period of mere ghost-worship, and had advanced through ancestor-worship and fetishism and totemism to the theological level at which we find them in the books of judges and samuel. all the more remarkable, therefore, is the extraordinary change which is to be noted in the eighth century b.c. the student who is familiar with the theology implied, or expressed, in the books of judges, samuel, and the first book of kings, finds himself in a new world of thought, in the full tide of a great reformation, when he reads joel, amos, hosea, isaiah, micah, and jeremiah. the essence of this change is the reversal of the position which, in primitive society, ethics holds in relation to theology. originally, that which men worship is a theological hypothesis, not a moral ideal. the prophets, in substance, if not always in form preach the opposite doctrine. they are constantly striving to free the moral ideal from the stifling embrace of the current theology and its concomitant ritual. theirs was not an intellectual criticism, argued on strictly scientific grounds; the image-worshippers and the believers in the efficacy of sacrifices and ceremonies might logically have held their own against anything the prophets have to say; it was an ethical criticism. from the height of his moral intuition--that the whole duty of man is to do justice and to love mercy and to bear himself as humbly as befits his insignificance in face of the infinite--the prophet simply laughs at the idolaters of stocks and stones and the idolaters of ritual. idols of the first kind, in his experience, were inseparably united with the practice of immorality, and they were to be ruthlessly destroyed. as for sacrifices and ceremonies, whatever their intrinsic value might be, they might be tolerated on condition of ceasing to be idols; they might even be praiseworthy on condition of being made to subserve the worship of the true jahveh--the moral ideal. if the realm of david had remained undivided, if the assyrian and the chaldean and the egyptian had left israel to the ordinary course of development of an oriental kingdom, it is possible that the effects of the reforming zeal of the prophets of the eighth and seventh centuries might have been effaced by the growth, according to its inevitable tendencies, of the theology which they combated. but the captivity made the fortune of the ideas which it was the privilege of these men to launch upon an endless career. with the abolition of the temple-services for more than half a century, the priest must have lost and the scribe gained influence. the puritanism of a vigorous minority among the babylonian jews rooted out polytheism from all its hiding-places in the theology which they had inherited; they created the first consistent, remorseless, naked monotheism, which, so far as history records, appeared in the world (for zoroastrism is practically ditheism, and buddhism any-theism or no-theism); and they inseparably united therewith an ethical code, which, for its purity and for its efficiency as a bond of social life, was and is, unsurpassed. so i think we must not judge ezra and nehemiah and their followers too hardly, if they exemplified the usual doom of poor humanity to escape from one error only to fall into another; if they failed to free themselves as completely from the idolatry of ritual as they had from that of images and dogmas; if they cherished the new fetters of the levitical legislation which they had fitted upon themselves and their nation, as though such bonds had the sanctity of the obligations of morality; and if they led succeeding generations to spend their best energies in building that "hedge round the torah" which was meant to preserve both ethics and theology, but which too often had the effect of pampering the latter and starving the former. the world being what it was, it is to be doubted whether israel would have preserved intact the pure ore of religion, which the prophets had extracted for the use of mankind as well as for their nation, had not the leaders of the nation been zealous, even to death, for the dross of the law in which it was embedded. the struggle of the jews, under the maccabean house, against the seleucidae was as important for mankind as that of the greeks against the persians. and, of all the strange ironies of history, perhaps the strangest is that "pharisee" is current, as a term of reproach, among the theological descendants of that sect of nazarenes who, without the martyr spirit of those primitive puritans, would never have come into existence. they, like their historical successors, our own puritans, have shared the general fate of the poor wise men who save cities. a criticism of theology from the side of science is not thought of by the prophets, and is at most indicated in the books of job and ecclesiastes, in both of which the problem of vindicating the ways of god to man is given up, though on different grounds, as a hopeless one. but with the extensive introduction of greek thought among the jews, which took place, not only during the domination of the seleucidae in palestine, but in the great judaic colony which flourished in egypt under the ptolemies, criticism, on both ethical and scientific grounds, took a new departure. in the hands of the alexandrian jews, as represented by philo, the fundamental axiom of later jewish, as of christian monotheism, that the deity is infinitely perfect and infinitely good, worked itself out into its logical consequence--agnostic theism. philo will allow of no point of contact between god and a world in which evil exists. for him god has no relation to space or to time, and, as infinite, suffers no predicate beyond that of existence. it is therefore absurd to ascribe to him mental faculties and affections comparable in the remotest degree to those of men; he is in no way an object of cognition; he is [greek] and [greek] [ ]--without quality and incomprehensible. that is to say the alexandrian jew of the first century had anticipated the reasonings of hamilton and mansell in the nineteenth, and, for him, god is the unknowable in the sense in which that term is used by mr. herbert spencer. moreover, philo's definition of the supreme being would not be inconsistent with that "substantia constans infinitis attributis, quorum unumquodque aeternam et infinitam essentiam exprimit," given by another great israelite, were it not that spinoza's doctrine of the immanence of the deity in the world puts him, at any rate formally, at the antipodes of theological speculation. but the conception of the essential incognoscibility of the deity is the same in each case. however, philo was too thorough an israelite and too much the child of his time to be content with this agnostic position. with the help of the platonic and stoic philosophy, he constructed an apprehensible, if not comprehensible, quasi-deity out of the logos; while other more or less personified divine powers, or attributes, bridged over the interval between god and man; between the sacred existence, too pure to be called by any name which implied a conceivable quality, and the gross and evil world of matter. in order to get over the ethical difficulties presented by the naive naturalism of many parts of those scriptures, in the divine authority of which he firmly believed, philo borrowed from the stoics (who had been in like straits in respect of greek mythology), that great excalibur which they had forged with infinite pains and skill--the method of allegorical interpretation. this mighty "two-handed engine at the door" of the theologian is warranted to make a speedy end of any and every moral or intellectual difficulty, by showing that, taken allegorically or, as it is otherwise said, "poetically" or, "in a spiritual sense," the plainest words mean whatever a pious interpreter desires they should mean. in biblical phrase, zeno (who probably had a strain of semitic blood in him) was the "father of all such as reconcile." no doubt philo and his followers were eminently religious men; but they did endless injury to the cause of religion by laying the foundations of a new theology, while equipping the defenders of it with the subtlest of all weapons of offence and defence, and with an inexhaustible store of sophistical arguments of the most plausible aspect. the question of the real bearing upon theology of the influence exerted by the teaching of philo's contemporary, jesus of nazareth, is one upon which it is not germane to my present purpose to enter. i take it simply as an unquestionable fact that his immediate disciples, known to their countrymen as "nazarenes," were regarded as, and considered themselves to be, perfectly orthodox jews, belonging to the puritanic or pharisaic section of their people, and differing from the rest only in their belief that the messiah had already come. christianity, it is said, first became clearly differentiated at antioch, and it separated itself from orthodox judaism by denying the obligation of the rite of circumcision and of the food prohibitions, prescribed by the law. henceforward theology became relatively stationary among the jews, [ ] and the history of its rapid progress in a new course of evolution is the history of the christian churches, orthodox and heterodox. the steps in this evolution are obvious. the first is the birth of a new theological scheme arising out of the union of elements derived from greek philosophy with elements derived from israelitic theology. in the fourth gospel, the logos, raised to a somewhat higher degree of personification than in the alexandrian theosophy, is identified with jesus of nazareth. in the epistles, especially the later of those attributed to paul, the israelitic ideas of the messiah and of sacrificial atonement coalesce with one another and with the embodiment of the logos in jesus, until the apotheosis of the son of man is almost, or quite, effected. the history of christian dogma, from justin to athanasius, is a record of continual progress in the same direction, until the fair body of religion, revealed in almost naked purity by the prophets, is once more hidden under a new accumulation of dogmas and of ritual practices of which the primitive nazarene knew nothing; and which he would probably have regarded as blasphemous if he could have been made to understand them. as, century after century, the ages roll on, polytheism comes back under the disguise of mariolatry and the adoration of saints; image-worship becomes as rampant as in old egypt; adoration of relics takes the place of the old fetish-worship; the virtues of the ephod pale before those of holy coats and handkerchiefs; shrines and calvaries make up for the loss of the ark and of the high places; and even the lustral fluid of paganism is replaced by holy water at the porches of the temples. a touching ceremony--the common meal originally eaten in pious memory of a loved teacher--becomes metamorphosed into a flesh-and-blood sacrifice, supposed to possess exactly that redeeming virtue which the prophets denied to the flesh-and-blood sacrifices of their day; while the minute observance of ritual is raised to a degree of punctilious refinement which levitical legislators might envy. and with the growth of this theology, grew its inevitable concomitant, the belief in evil spirits, in possession, in sorcery, in charms and omens, until the christians of the twelfth century after our era were sunk in more debased and brutal superstitions than are recorded of the israelites in the twelfth century before it. the greatest men of the middle ages are unable to escape the infection. dante's "inferno" would be revolting if it were not so often sublime, so often exquisitely tender. the hideous pictures which cover a vast space on the south wall of the campo santo of pisa convey information, as terrible as it is indisputable, of the theological conceptions of dante's countrymen in the fourteenth century, whose eyes were addressed by the painters of those disgusting scenes, and whose approbation they knew how to win. a candid mexican of the time of cortez, could he have seen this christian burial-place, would have taken it for an appropriately adorned teocalli. the professed disciple of the god of justice and of mercy might there gloat over the sufferings of his fellowmen depicted as undergoing every extremity of atrocious and sanguinary torture to all eternity, for theological errors no less than for moral delinquencies; while, in the central figure of satan, [ ] occupied in champing up souls in his capacious and well-toothed jaws, to void them again for the purpose of undergoing fresh suffering, we have the counterpart of the strange polynesian and egyptian dogma that there were certain gods who employed themselves in devouring the ghostly flesh of the spirits of the dead. but in justice to the polynesians, it must be recollected that, after three such operations, they thought the soul was purified and happy. in the view of the christian theologian the operation was only a preparation for new tortures continued for ever and aye. with the growth of civilisation in europe, and with the revival of letters and of science in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the ethical and intellectual criticism of theology once more recommenced, and arrived at a temporary resting-place in the confessions of the various reformed protestant sects in the sixteenth century; almost all of which, as soon as they were strong enough, began to persecute those who carried criticism beyond their own limit. but the movement was not arrested by these ecclesiastical barriers, as their constructors fondly imagined it would be; it was continued, tacitly or openly, by galileo, by hobbes, by descartes, and especially by spinoza, in the seventeenth century; by the english freethinkers, by rousseau, by the french encyclopaedists, and by the german rationalists, among whom lessing stands out a head and shoulders taller than the rest, throughout the eighteenth century; by the historians, the philologers, the biblical critics, the geologists, and the biologists in the nineteenth century, until it is obvious to all who can see that the moral sense and the really scientific method of seeking for truth are once more predominating over false science. once more ethics and theology are parting company. it is my conviction that, with the spread of true scientific culture, whatever may be the medium, historical, philological, philosophical, or physical, through which that culture is conveyed, and with its necessary concomitant, a constant elevation of the standard of veracity, the end of the evolution of theology will be like its beginning--it will cease to have any relation to ethics. i suppose that, so long as the human mind exists, it will not escape its deep-seated instinct to personify its intellectual conceptions. the science of the present day is as full of this particular form of intellectual shadow-worship as is the nescience of ignorant ages. the difference is that the philosopher who is worthy of the name knows that his personified hypotheses, such as law, and force, and ether, and the like, are merely useful symbols, while the ignorant and the careless take them for adequate expressions of reality. so, it may be, that the majority of mankind may find the practice of morality made easier by the use of theological symbols. and unless these are converted from symbols into idols, i do not see that science has anything to say to the practice, except to give an occasional warning of its dangers. but, when such symbols are dealt with as real existences, i think the highest duty which is laid upon men of science is to show that these dogmatic idols have no greater value than the fabrications of men's hands, the stocks and the stones, which they have replaced. footnotes: [footnote : even the most sturdy believers in the popular theory that the proper or titular names attached to the books of the bible are those of their authors will hardly be prepared to maintain that jephthah, gideon, and their colleagues wrote the book of judges. nor is it easily admissible that samuel wrote the two books which pass under his name, one of which deals entirely with events which took place after his death. in fact, no one knows who wrote either judges or samuel, nor when, within the range of years, their present form was given to these books.] [footnote : my citations are taken from the revised version, but for lord and god i have substituted jahveh and elohim.] [footnote : i need hardly say that i depend upon authoritative biblical critics, whenever a question of interpretation of the text arises. as reuss appears to me to be one of the most learned, acute, and fair-minded of those whose works i have studied, i have made most use of the commentary and dissertations in his splendid french edition of the bible. but i have also had recourse to the works of dillman, kalisch, kuenen, thenius, tuch, and others, in cases in which another opinion seemed desirable.] [footnote : see "divination," by hazoral, _journal of anthropology,_ bombay, vol. i. no. .] [footnote : see, for example, the message of jephthah to the king of the ammonites: "so now jahveh, the elohim of israel, hath dispossessed the amorites from before his people israel, and shouldest thou possess them? wilt not thou possess that which chemosh, thy elohim, giveth thee to possess?" (jud. xi. , ). for jephthah, chemosh is obviously as real a personage as jahveh.] [footnote : for example: "my oblation, my food for my offerings made by fire, of a sweet savour to me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season" (num. xxviii. ).] [footnote : in samuel xv. david says to zadok the priest, "art thou not a seer?" and gad is called david's seer.] [footnote : this would at first appear to be inconsistent with the use of the word "prophetess" for deborah. but it does not follow because the writer of judges applies the name to deborah that it was used in her day.] [footnote : samuel tells the cook, "bring the potion which i gave thee, of which i said to thee, set it by thee." it was therefore samuel's to give. "and the cook took up the thigh (or shoulder) and that which was upon it and set it before saul." but, in the levitical regulations, it is the thigh (or shoulder) which becomes the priest's own property. "and the right thigh (or shoulder) shall ye give unto the priest for an heave-offering," which is given along with the wave breast "unto aaron the priest and unto his sons as a due for ever from the children of israel" (lev. vii. - ). reuss writes on this passage: "la cuisse n'est point agitee, mais simplement _prelevee_ sur ce que les convives mangeront."] [footnote : see, for example, elkanah's sacrifice, sam. i. - .] [footnote : the ghost was not supposed to be capable of devouring the gross material substance of the offering; but his vaporous body appropriated the smoke of the burnt sacrifice, the visible and odorous exhalations of other offerings. the blood of the victim was particularly useful because it was thought to be the special seat of its soul or life. a west african negro replied to an european sceptic: "of course, the spirit cannot eat corporeal food, but he extracts its spiritual part, and, as we see, leaves the material part behind" (lippert, _seelencult,_ p. ).] [footnote : it is further well worth consideration whether indications of former ancestor-worship are not to be found in the singular weight attached to the veneration of parents in the fourth commandment. it is the only positive commandment, in addition to those respecting the deity and that concerning the sabbath, and the penalties for infringing it were of the same character. in china, a corresponding reverence for parents is part and parcel of ancestor-worship; so in ancient rome and in greece (where parents were even called [secondary and earthly]). the fifth commandment, as it stands, would be an excellent compromise between ancestor-worship and monotheism. the larger hereditary share allotted by israelitic law to the eldest son reminds one of the privileges attached to primogeniture in ancient rome, which were closely connected with ancestor-worship. there is a good deal to be said in favour of the speculation that the ark of the covenant may have been a relic of ancestor-worship; but that topic is too large to be dealt with incidentally in this place] [footnote : "the scientific aspects of positivism," _fortnightly review,_ , republished in _lay sermons._] [footnote : oeuvres de bossuet, ed. , t. xxxv. p. .] [footnote : i should like further to add the expression of my indebtedness to two works by herr julius lippert, _der seelencult in seinen beziehungen zur alt-hebraischen religion_ and _die religionen der europaischen culturvolker,_ both pubished in . i have found them full of valuable suggestions.] [footnote : see among others the remarkable work of fustel de coulanges, _la cite antique,_ in which the social importance of the old roman ancestor-worship is brought out with great clearness.] [footnote : supposed to be "the finer or more aeriform part of the body," standing in "the same relation to the body as the perfume and the more essential qualities of a flower do to the more solid substances" (mariner, vol. ii. p. ).] [footnote : a kind of "clients" in the roman sense.] [footnote : it is worthy of remark that [greek] among the greeks, and _deus_ among the romans, had the same wide signification. the _dii manes_ were ghosts of ancestors=atuas of the family.] [footnote : _voyages aux iles du grand ocean,_ t. i. p. .] [footnote : _te ika a maui: new zealand and its inhabitants,_ p. .] [footnote : compare: "and samuel said unto saul, why hast thou disquieted me?" (i sam. xxviii. l )] [footnote : turner, _nineteen years in polynesia,_ p. .] [footnote : see lippert's excellent remarks on this subject, _der seelencult,_ p. .] [footnote : _sciography_ has the authority of cudworth, _intellectual system,_ vol. ii. p. . sciomancy [greek], which, in the sense of divination by ghosts, may be found in bailey's _dictionary_ ( : also furnishes a precedent for my coinage.] [footnote : "kami" is used in the sense of elohim; and is also, like our word "lord," employed as a title of respect among men, as indeed elohim was.] [footnote : [the assyrians thus raised assur to a position of pre-eminence.]] [footnote : i refer those who wish to know the reasons which lead me to take up this position to the works of reuss and wellhausen, [and especially to stade's _geschichte des volkes israel._]] [footnote : bunsen. _egypt's place,_ vol. v. p. , note.] [footnote : see birch, in _egypt's place,_ vol. v; and brugsch, _history of egypt._] [footnote : even by graetz, who, though a fair enough historian, cannot be accused of any desire to over-estimate the importance of egyptian influence upon his people.] [footnote : graetz, _geschichte der juden,_ bd. i. p. .] [footnote : see the careful analsyis of the work of the alexandrian philosopher and theologian (who, it should be remembered, was a most devout jew, held in the highest esteem by his countrymen) in siegfried's _philo von alexandrien,_ . (also dr. j. drummond's _philo judaeus,_ .)] [footnote : i am not unaware of the existence of many and widely divergent sects and schools among the jews at all periods of their history, since the dispersion. but i imagine that orthodox judaism is now pretty much what it was in philo's time; while peter and paul, if they could return to life, would certainly have to learn the catechism of either the roman, greek, or anglican churches, if they desired to be considered orthodox christians.] [footnote : dante's description of lucifer engaged in the eternal mastication of brutus, cassius, and judas iscariot-- "da ogni bocca dirompea co' denti un peccatore, a guisa di maciulla, si che tre ne facea così dolenti. a quel dinanzi il mordere era nulla, verso 'l graffiar, che tal volta la schiena rimanea della pelle tutta brulla"-- is quite in harmony with the pisan picture and perfectly polynesian in conception.] lectures on evolution essay # from "science and hebrew tradition" by thomas henry huxley i. the three hypotheses respecting the history of nature we live in and form part of a system of things of immense diversity and perplexity, which we call nature; and it is a matter of the deepest interest to all of us that we should form just conceptions of the constitution of that system and of its past history. with relation to this universe, man is, in extent, little more than a mathematical point; in duration but a fleeting shadow; he is a mere reed shaken in the winds of force. but as pascal long ago remarked, although a mere reed, he is a thinking reed; and in virtue of that wonderful capacity of thought, he has the power of framing for himself a symbolic conception of the universe, which, although doubtless highly imperfect and inadequate as a picture of the great whole, is yet sufficient to serve him as a chart for the guidance of his practical affairs. it has taken long ages of toilsome and often fruitless labour to enable man to look steadily at the shifting scenes of the phantasmagoria of nature, to notice what is fixed among her fluctuations, and what is regular among her apparent irregularities; and it is only comparatively lately, within the last few centuries, that the conception of a universal order and of a definite course of things, which we term the course of nature, has emerged. but, once originated, the conception of the constancy of the order of nature has become the dominant idea of modern thought. to any person who is familiar with the facts upon which that conception is based, and is competent to estimate their significance, it has ceased to be conceivable that chance should have any place in the universe, or that events should depend upon any but the natural sequence of cause and effect. we have come to look upon the present as the child of the past and as the parent of the future; and, as we have excluded chance from a place in the universe, so we ignore, even as a possibility, the notion of any interference with the order of nature. whatever may be men's speculative doctrines, it is quite certain that every intelligent person guides his life and risks his fortune upon the belief that the order of nature is constant, and that the chain of natural causation is never broken. in fact, no belief which we entertain has so complete a logical basis as that to which i have just referred. it tacitly underlies every process of reasoning; it is the foundation of every act of the will. it is based upon the broadest induction, and it is verified by the most constant, regular, and universal of deductive processes. but we must recollect that any human belief, however broad its basis, however defensible it may seem, is, after all, only a probable belief, and that our widest and safest generalisations are simply statements of the highest degree of probability. though we are quite clear about the constancy of the order of nature, at the present time, and in the present state of things, it by no means necessarily follows that we are justified in expanding this generalisation into the infinite past, and in denying, absolutely, that there may have been a time when nature did not follow a fixed order, when the relations of cause and effect were not definite, and when extra-natural agencies interfered with the general course of nature. cautious men will allow that a universe so different from that which we know may have existed; just as a very candid thinker may admit that a world in which two and two do not make four, and in which two straight lines do inclose a space, may exist. but the same caution which forces the admission of such possibilities demands a great deal of evidence before it recognises them to be anything more substantial. and when it is asserted that, so many thousand years ago, events occurred in a manner utterly foreign to and inconsistent with the existing laws of nature, men, who without being particularly cautious, are simply honest thinkers, unwilling to deceive themselves or delude others, ask for trustworthy evidence of the fact. did things so happen or did they not? this is a historical question, and one the answer to which must be sought in the same way as the solution of any other historical problem. so far as i know, there are only three hypotheses which ever have been entertained, or which well can be entertained, respecting the past history of nature. i will, in the first place, state the hypotheses, and then i will consider what evidence bearing upon them is in our possession, and by what light of criticism that evidence is to be interpreted. upon the first hypothesis, the assumption is, that phenomena of nature similar to those exhibited by the present world have always existed; in other words, that the universe has existed, from all eternity, in what may be broadly termed its present condition. the second hypothesis is that the present state of things has had only a limited duration; and that, at some period in the past, a condition of the world, essentially similar to that which we now know, came into existence, without any precedent condition from which it could have naturally proceeded. the assumption that successive states of nature have arisen, each without any relation of natural causation to an antecedent state, is a mere modification of this second hypothesis. the third hypothesis also assumes that the present state of things has had but a limited duration; but it supposes that this state has been evolved by a natural process from an antecedent state, and that from another, and so on; and, on this hypothesis, the attempt to assign any limit to the series of past changes is, usually, given up. it is so needful to form clear and distinct notions of what is really meant by each of these hypotheses that i will ask you to imagine what, according to each, would have been visible to a spectator of the events which constitute the history of the earth. on the first hypothesis, however far back in time that spectator might be placed, he would see a world essentially, though perhaps not in all its details, similar to that which now exists. the animals which existed would be the ancestors of those which now live, and similar to them; the plants, in like manner, would be such as we know; and the mountains, plains, and waters would foreshadow the salient features of our present land and water. this view was held more or less distinctly, sometimes combined with the notion of recurrent cycles of change, in ancient times; and its influence has been felt down to the present day. it is worthy of remark that it is a hypothesis which is not inconsistent with the doctrine of uniformitarianism, with which geologists are familiar. that doctrine was held by hutton, and in his earlier days by lyell. hutton was struck by the demonstration of astronomers that the perturbations of the planetary bodies, however great they may be, yet sooner or later right themselves; and that the solar system possesses a self-adjusting power by which these aberrations are all brought back to a mean condition. hutton imagined that the like might be true of terrestrial changes; although no one recognised more clearly than he the fact that the dry land is being constantly washed down by rain and rivers and deposited in the sea; and that thus, in a longer or shorter time, the inequalities of the earth's surface must be levelled, and its high lands brought down to the ocean. but, taking into account the internal forces of the earth, which, upheaving the sea-bottom give rise to new land, he thought that these operations of degradation and elevation might compensate each other; and that thus, for any assignable time, the general features of our planet might remain what they are. and inasmuch as, under these circumstances, there need be no limit to the propagation of animals and plants, it is clear that the consistent working out of the uniformitarian idea might lead to the conception of the eternity of the world. not that i mean to say that either hutton or lyell held this conception--assuredly not; they would have been the first to repudiate it. nevertheless, the logical development of some of their arguments tends directly towards this hypothesis. the second hypothesis supposes that the present order of things, at some no very remote time, had a sudden origin, and that the world, such as it now is, had chaos for its phenomenal antecedent. that is the doctrine which you will find stated most fully and clearly in the immortal poem of john milton--the english _divina commedia--_ "paradise lost." i believe it is largely to the influence of that remarkable work, combined with the daily teachings to which we have all listened in our childhood, that this hypothesis owes its general wide diffusion as one of the current beliefs of english-speaking people. if you turn to the seventh book of "paradise lost," you will find there stated the hypothesis to which i refer, which is briefly this: that this visible universe of ours came into existence at no great distance of time from the present; and that the parts of which it is composed made their appearance, in a certain definite order, in the space of six natural days, in such a manner that, on the first of these days, light appeared; that, on the second, the firmament, or sky, separated the waters above, from the waters beneath the firmament; that, on the third day, the waters drew away from the dry land, and upon it a varied vegetable life, similar to that which now exists, made its appearance; that the fourth day was signalised by the apparition of the sun, the stars, the moon, and the planets; that, on the fifth day, aquatic animals originated within the waters; that, on the sixth day, the earth gave rise to our four-footed terrestrial creatures, and to all varieties of terrestrial animals except birds, which had appeared on the preceding day; and, finally, that man appeared upon the earth, and the emergence of the universe from chaos was finished. milton tells us, without the least ambiguity, what a spectator of these marvellous occurrences would have witnessed. i doubt not that his poem is familiar to all of you, but i should like to recall one passage to your minds, in order that i may be justified in what i have said regarding the perfectly concrete, definite, picture of the origin of the animal world which milton draws. he says:-- "the sixth, and of creation last, arose with evening harp and matin, when god said, 'let the earth bring forth soul living in her kind, cattle and creeping things, and beast of the earth. each in their kind!' the earth obeyed, and, straight opening her fertile womb, teemed at a birth innumerous living creatures, perfect forms, limbed and full-grown. out of the ground uprose, as from his lair, the wild beast, where he wons in forest wild, in thicket, brake, or den; among the trees in pairs they rose, they walked; the cattle in the fields and meadows green; those rare and solitary; these in flocks pasturing at once, and in broad herds upsprung. the grassy clods now calved; now half appears the tawny lion, pawing to get free his hinder parts--then springs, as broke from bonds, and rampant shakes his brinded mane; the ounce, the libbard, and the tiger, as the mole rising, the crumbled earth above them threw in hillocks; the swift stag from underground bore up his branching head; scarce from his mould behemoth, biggest born of earth, upheaved his vastness; fleeced the flocks and bleating rose as plants; ambiguous between sea and land, the river-horse and scaly crocodile. at once came forth whatever creeps the ground, insect or worm." there is no doubt as to the meaning of this statement, nor as to what a man of milton's genius expected would have been actually visible to an eye-witness of this mode of origination of living things. the third hypothesis, or the hypothesis of evolution, supposes that, at any comparatively late period of past time, our imaginary spectator would meet with a state of things very similar to that which now obtains; but that the likeness of the past to the present would gradually become less and less, in proportion to the remoteness of his period of observation from the present day; that the existing distribution of mountains and plains, of rivers and seas, would show itself to be the product of a slow process of natural change operating upon more and more widely different antecedent conditions of the mineral frame-work of the earth; until, at length, in place of that frame-work, he would behold only a vast nebulous mass, representing the constituents of the sun and of the planetary bodies. preceding the forms of life which now exist, our observer would see animals and plants, not identical with them, but like them, increasing their differences with their antiquity and, at the same time, becoming simpler and simpler; until, finally, the world of life would present nothing but that undifferentiated protoplasmic matter which, so far as our present knowledge goes, is the common foundation of all vital activity. the hypothesis of evolution supposes that in all this vast progression there would be no breach of continuity, no point at which we could say "this is a natural process," and "this is not a natural process;" but that the whole might be compared to that wonderful operation of development which may be seen going on every day under our eyes, in virtue of which there arises, out of the semi-fluid comparatively homogeneous substance which we call an egg, the complicated organisation of one of the higher animals. that, in a few words, is what is meant by the hypothesis of evolution. i have already suggested that, in dealing with these three hypotheses, in endeavouring to form a judgment as to which of them is the more worthy of belief, or whether none is worthy of belief--in which case our condition of mind should be that suspension of judgment which is so difficult to all but trained intellects--we should be indifferent to all _a priori_ considerations. the question is a question of historical fact. the universe has come into existence somehow or other, and the problem is, whether it came into existence in one fashion, or whether it came into existence in another; and, as an essential preliminary to further discussion, permit me to say two or three words as to the nature and the kinds of historical evidence. the evidence as to the occurrence of any event in past time may be ranged under two heads which, for convenience' sake, i will speak of as testimonial evidence and as circumstantial evidence. by testimonial evidence i mean human testimony; and by circumstantial evidence i mean evidence which is not human testimony. let me illustrate by a familiar example what i understand by these two kinds of evidence, and what is to be said respecting their value. suppose that a man tells you that he saw a person strike another and kill him; that is testimonial evidence of the fact of murder. but it is possible to have circumstantial evidence of the fact of murder; that is to say, you may find a man dying with a wound upon his head having exactly the form and character of the wound which is made by an axe, and, with due care in taking surrounding circumstances into account, you may conclude with the utmost certainty that the man has been murdered; that his death is the consequence of a blow inflicted by another man with that implement. we are very much in the habit of considering circumstantial evidence as of less value than testimonial evidence, and it may be that, where the circumstances are not perfectly clear and intelligible, it is a dangerous and unsafe kind of evidence; but it must not be forgotten that, in many cases, circumstantial is quite as conclusive as testimonial evidence, and that, not unfrequently, it is a great deal weightier than testimonial evidence. for example, take the case to which i referred just now. the circumstantial evidence may be better and more convincing than the testimonial evidence; for it may be impossible, under the conditions that i have defined, to suppose that the man met his death from any cause but the violent blow of an axe wielded by another man. the circumstantial evidence in favour of a murder having been committed, in that case, is as complete and as convincing as evidence can be. it is evidence which is open to no doubt and to no falsification. but the testimony of a witness is open to multitudinous doubts. he may have been mistaken. he may have been actuated by malice. it has constantly happened that even an accurate man has declared that a thing has happened in this, that, or the other way, when a careful analysis of the circumstantial evidence has shown that it did not happen in that way, but in some other way. we may now consider the evidence in favour of or against the three hypotheses. let me first direct your attention to what is to be said about the hypothesis of the eternity of the state of things in which we now live. what will first strike you is, that it is a hypothesis which, whether true or false, is not capable of verification by any evidence. for, in order to obtain either circumstantial or testimonial evidence sufficient to prove the eternity of duration of the present state of nature, you must have an eternity of witnesses or an infinity of circumstances, and neither of these is attainable. it is utterly impossible that such evidence should be carried beyond a certain point of time; and all that could be said, at most, would be, that so far as the evidence could be traced, there was nothing to contradict the hypothesis. but when you look, not to the testimonial evidence--which, considering the relative insignificance of the antiquity of human records, might not be good for much in this case--but to the circumstantial evidence, then you find that this hypothesis is absolutely incompatible with such evidence as we have; which is of so plain and so simple a character that it is impossible in any way to escape from the conclusions which it forces upon us. you are, doubtless, all aware that the outer substance of the earth, which alone is accessible to direct observation, is not of a homogeneous character, but that it is made up of a number of layers or strata, the titles of the principal groups of which are placed upon the accompanying diagram. each of these groups represents a number of beds of sand, of stone, of clay, of slate, and of various other materials. on careful examination, it is found that the materials of which each of these layers of more or less hard rock are composed are, for the most part, of the same nature as those which are at present being formed under known conditions on the surface of the earth. for example, the chalk, which constitutes a great part of the cretaceous formation in some parts of the world, is practically identical in its physical and chemical characters with a substance which is now being formed at the bottom of the atlantic ocean, and covers an enormous area; other beds of rock are comparable with the sands which are being formed upon sea-shores, packed together, and so on. thus, omitting rocks of igneous origin, it is demonstrable that all these beds of stone, of which a total of not less than seventy thousand feet is known, have been formed by natural agencies, either out of the waste and washing of the dry land, or else by the accumulation of the exuviae of plants and animals. many of these strata are full of such exuviae--the so-called "fossils." remains of thousands of species of animals and plants, as perfectly recognisable as those of existing forms of life which you meet with in museums, or as the shells which you pick up upon the sea-beach, have been imbedded in the ancient sands, or muds, or limestones, just as they are being imbedded now, in sandy, or clayey, or calcareous subaqueous deposits. they furnish us with a record, the general nature of which cannot be misinterpreted, of the kinds of things that have lived upon the surface of the earth during the time that is registered by this great thickness of stratified rocks. but even a superficial study of these fossils shows us that the animals and plants which live at the present time have had only a temporary duration; for the remains of such modern forms of life are met with, for the most part, only in the uppermost or latest tertiaries, and their number rapidly diminishes in the lower deposits of that epoch. in the older tertiaries, the places of existing animals and plants are taken by other forms, as numerous and diversified as those which live now in the same localities, but more or less different from them; in the mesozoic rocks, these are replaced by others yet more divergent from modern types; and, in the paleozoic formations, the contrast is still more marked. thus the circumstantial evidence absolutely negatives the conception of the eternity of the present condition of things. we can say, with certainty, that the present condition of things has existed for a comparatively short period; and that, so far as animal and vegetable nature are concerned, it has been preceded by a different condition. we can pursue this evidence until we reach the lowest of the stratified rocks, in which we lose the indications of life altogether. the hypothesis of the eternity of the present state of nature may therefore be put out of court. fig. .--ideal section of the crust of the earth. we now come to what i will term milton's hypothesis--the hypothesis that the present condition of things has endured for a comparatively short time; and, at the commencement of that time, came into existence within the course of six days. i doubt not that it may have excited some surprise in your minds that i should have spoken of this as milton's hypothesis, rather than that i should have chosen the terms which are more customary, such as "the doctrine of creation," or "the biblical doctrine," or "the doctrine of moses," all of which denominations, as applied to the hypothesis to which i have just referred, are certainly much more familiar to you than the title of the miltonic hypothesis. but i have had what i cannot but think are very weighty reasons for taking the course which i have pursued. in the first place, i have discarded the title of the "doctrine of creation," because my present business is not with the question why the objects which constitute nature came into existence, but when they came into existence, and in what order. this is as strictly a historical question as the question when the angles and the jutes invaded england, and whether they preceded or followed the romans. but the question about creation is a philosophical problem, and one which cannot be solved, or even approached, by the historical method. what we want to learn is, whether the facts, so far as they are known, afford evidence that things arose in the way described by milton, or whether they do not; and, when that question is settled it will be time enough to inquire into the causes of their origination. in the second place, i have not spoken of this doctrine as the biblical doctrine. it is quite true that persons as diverse in their general views as milton the protestant and the celebrated jesuit father suarez, each put upon the first chapter of genesis the interpretation embodied in milton's poem. it is quite true that this interpretation is that which has been instilled into every one of us in our childhood; but i do not for one moment venture to say that it can properly be called the biblical doctrine. it is not my business, and does not lie within my competency, to say what the hebrew text does, and what it does not signify; moreover, were i to affirm that this is the biblical doctrine, i should be met by the authority of many eminent scholars, to say nothing of men of science, who, at various times, have absolutely denied that any such doctrine is to be found in genesis. if we are to listen to many expositors of no mean authority, we must believe that what seems so clearly defined in genesis--as if very great pains had been taken that there should be no possibility of mistake--is not the meaning of the text at all. the account is divided into periods that we may make just as long or as short as convenience requires. we are also to understand that it is consistent with the original text to believe that the most complex plants and animals may have been evolved by natural processes, lasting for millions of years, out of structureless rudiments. a person who is not a hebrew scholar can only stand aside and admire the marvellous flexibility of a language which admits of such diverse interpretations. but assuredly, in the face of such contradictions of authority upon matters respecting which he is incompetent to form any judgment, he will abstain, as i do, from giving any opinion. in the third place, i have carefully abstained from speaking of this as the mosaic doctrine, because we are now assured upon the authority of the highest critics and even of dignitaries of the church, that there is no evidence that moses wrote the book of genesis, or knew anything about it. you will understand that i give no judgment--it would be an impertinence upon my part to volunteer even a suggestion--upon such a subject. but, that being the state of opinion among the scholars and the clergy, it is well for the unlearned in hebrew lore, and for the laity, to avoid entangling themselves in such a vexed question. happily, milton leaves us no excuse for doubting what he means, and i shall therefore be safe in speaking of the opinion in question as the miltonic hypothesis. now we have to test that hypothesis. for my part, i have no prejudice one way or the other. if there is evidence in favour of this view, i am burdened by no theoretical difficulties in the way of accepting it; but there must be evidence. scientific men get an awkward habit--no, i won't call it that, for it is a valuable habit--of believing nothing unless there is evidence for it; and they have a way of looking upon belief which is not based upon evidence, not only as illogical, but as immoral. we will, if you please, test this view by the circumstantial evidence alone; for, from what i have said, you will understand that i do not propose to discuss the question of what testimonial evidence is to be adduced in favour of it. if those whose business it is to judge are not at one as to the authenticity of the only evidence of that kind which is offered, nor as to the facts to which it bears witness, the discussion of such evidence is superfluous. but i may be permitted to regret this necessity of rejecting the testimonial evidence the less, because the examination of the circumstantial evidence leads to the conclusion, not only that it is incompetent to justify the hypothesis, but that, so far as it goes, it is contrary to the hypothesis. the considerations upon which i base this conclusion are of the simplest possible character. the miltonic hypothesis contains assertions of a very definite character relating to the succession of living forms. it is stated that plants, for example, made their appearance upon the third day, and not before. and you will understand that what the poet means by plants are such plants as now live, the ancestors, in the ordinary way of propagation of like by like, of the trees and shrubs which flourish in the present world. it must needs be so; for, if they were different, either the existing plants have been the result of a separate origination since that described by milton, of which we have no record, nor any ground for supposition that such an occurrence has taken place; or else they have arisen by a process of evolution from the original stocks. in the second place, it is clear that there was no animal life before the fifth day, and that, on the fifth day, aquatic animals and birds appeared. and it is further clear that terrestrial living things, other than birds, made their appearance upon the sixth day and not before. hence, it follows that, if, in the large mass of circumstantial evidence as to what really has happened in the past history of the globe we find indications of the existence of terrestrial animals, other than birds, at a certain period, it is perfectly certain that all that has taken place, since that time, must be referred to the sixth day. in the great carboniferous formation, whence america derives so vast a proportion of her actual and potential wealth, in the beds of coal which have been formed from the vegetation of that period, we find abundant evidence of the existence of terrestrial animals. they have been described, not only by european but by your own naturalists. there are to be found numerous insects allied to our cockroaches. there are to be found spiders and scorpions of large size, the latter so similar to existing scorpions that it requires the practised eye of the naturalist to distinguish them. inasmuch as these animals can be proved to have been alive in the carboniferous epoch, it is perfectly clear that, if the miltonic account is to be accepted, the huge mass of rocks extending from the middle of the palaeozoic formations to the uppermost members of the series, must belong to the day which is termed by milton the sixth. but, further, it is expressly stated that aquatic animals took their origin on the fifth day, and not before; hence, all formations in which remains of aquatic animals can be proved to exist, and which therefore testify that such animals lived at the time when these formations were in course of deposition, must have been deposited during or since the period which milton speaks of as the fifth day. but there is absolutely no fossiliferous formation in which the remains of aquatic animals are absent. the oldest fossils in the silurian rocks are exuviae of marine animals; and if the view which is entertained by principal dawson and dr. carpenter respecting the nature of the _eozoon_ be well-founded, aquatic animals existed at a period as far antecedent to the deposition of the coal as the coal is from us; inasmuch as the _eozoon_ is met with in those laurentian strata which lie at the bottom of the series of stratified rocks. hence it follows, plainly enough, that the whole series of stratified rocks, if they are to be brought into harmony with milton, must be referred to the fifth and sixth days, and that we cannot hope to find the slightest trace of the products of the earlier days in the geological record. when we consider these simple facts, we see how absolutely futile are the attempts that have been made to draw a parallel between the story told by so much of the crust of the earth as is known to us and the story which milton tells. the whole series of fossiliferous stratified rocks must be referred to the last two days; and neither the carboniferous, nor any other, formation can afford evidence of the work of the third day. not only is there this objection to any attempt to establish a harmony between the miltonic account and the facts recorded in the fossiliferous rocks, but there is a further difficulty. according to the miltonic account, the order in which animals should have made their appearance in the stratified rocks would be thus: fishes, including the great whales, and birds; after them, all varieties of terrestrial animals except birds. nothing could be further from the facts as we find them; we know of not the slightest evidence of the existence of birds before the jurassic, or perhaps the triassic, formation; while terrestrial animals, as we have just seen, occur in the carboniferous rocks. if there were any harmony between the miltonic account and the circumstantial evidence, we ought to have abundant evidence of the existence of birds in the carboniferous, the devonian, and the silurian rocks. i need hardly say that this is not the case, and that not a trace of birds makes its appearance until the far later period which i have mentioned. and again, if it be true that all varieties of fishes and the great whales, and the like, made their appearance on the fifth day, we ought to find the remains of these animals in the older rocks--in those which were deposited before the carboniferous epoch. fishes we do find, in considerable number and variety; but the great whales are absent, and the fishes are not such as now live. not one solitary species of fish now in existence is to be found in the devonian or silurian formations. hence we are introduced afresh to the dilemma which i have already placed before you: either the animals which came into existence on the fifth day were not such as those which are found at present, are not the direct and immediate ancestors of those which now exist; in which case, either fresh creations of which nothing is said, or a process of evolution, must have occurred; or else the whole story must be given up, as not only devoid of any circumstantial evidence, but contrary to such evidence as exists. i placed before you in a few words, some little time ago, a statement of the sum and substance of milton's hypothesis. let me now try to state as briefly, the effect of the circumstantial evidence bearing upon the past history of the earth which is furnished, without the possibility of mistake, with no chance of error as to its chief features, by the stratified rocks. what we find is, that the great series of formations represents a period of time of which our human chronologies hardly afford us a unit of measure. i will not pretend to say how we ought to estimate this time, in millions or in billions of years. for my purpose, the determination of its absolute duration is wholly unessential. but that the time was enormous there can be no question. it results from the simplest methods of interpretation, that leaving out of view certain patches of metamorphosed rocks, and certain volcanic products, all that is now dry land has once been at the bottom of the waters. it is perfectly certain that, at a comparatively recent period of the world's history--the cretaceous epoch--none of the great physical features which at present mark the surface of the globe existed. it is certain that the rocky mountains were not. it is certain that the himalaya mountains were not. it is certain that the alps and the pyrenees had no existence. the evidence is of the plainest possible character and is simply this:--we find raised up on the flanks of these mountains, elevated by the forces of upheaval which have given rise to them, masses of cretaceous rock which formed the bottom of the sea before those mountains existed. it is therefore clear that the elevatory forces which gave rise to the mountains operated subsequently to the cretaceous epoch; and that the mountains themselves are largely made up of the materials deposited in the sea which once occupied their place. as we go back in time, we meet with constant alternations of sea and land, of estuary and open ocean; and, in correspondence with these alternations, we observe the changes in the fauna and flora to which i have referred. but the inspection of these changes gives us no right to believe that there has been any discontinuity in natural processes. there is no trace of general cataclysms, of universal deluges, or sudden destructions of a whole fauna or flora. the appearances which were formerly interpreted in that way have all been shown to be delusive, as our knowledge has increased and as the blanks which formerly appeared to exist between the different formations have been filled up. that there is no absolute break between formation and formation, that there has been no sudden disappearance of all the forms of life and replacement of them by others, but that changes have gone on slowly and gradually, that one type has died out and another has taken its place, and that thus, by insensible degrees, one fauna has been replaced by another, are conclusions strengthened by constantly increasing evidence. so that within the whole of the immense period indicated by the fossiliferous stratified rocks, there is assuredly not the slightest proof of any break in the uniformity of nature's operations, no indication that events have followed other than a clear and orderly sequence. that, i say, is the natural and obvious teaching of the circumstantial evidence contained in the stratified rocks. i leave you to consider how far, by any ingenuity of interpretation, by any stretching of the meaning of language, it can be brought into harmony with the miltonic hypothesis. there remains the third hypothesis, that of which i have spoken as the hypothesis of evolution; and i purpose that, in lectures to come, we should discuss it as carefully as we have considered the other two hypotheses. i need not say that it is quite hopeless to look for testimonial evidence of evolution. the very nature of the case precludes the possibility of such evidence, for the human race can no more be expected to testify to its own origin, than a child can be tendered as a witness of its own birth. our sole inquiry is, what foundation circumstantial evidence lends to the hypothesis, or whether it lends none, or whether it controverts the hypothesis. i shall deal with the matter entirely as a question of history. i shall not indulge in the discussion of any speculative probabilities. i shall not attempt to show that nature is unintelligible unless we adopt some such hypothesis. for anything i know about the matter, it may be the way of nature to be unintelligible; she is often puzzling, and i have no reason to suppose that she is bound to fit herself to our notions. i shall place before you three kinds of evidence entirely based upon what is known of the forms of animal life which are contained in the series of stratified rocks. i shall endeavour to show you that there is one kind of evidence which is neutral, which neither helps evolution nor is inconsistent with it. i shall then bring forward a second kind of evidence which indicates a strong probability in favour of evolution, but does not prove it; and, lastly, i shall adduce a third kind of evidence which, being as complete as any evidence which we can hope to obtain upon such a subject, and being wholly and strikingly in favour of evolution, may fairly be called demonstrative evidence of its occurrence. ii. the hypothesis of evolution. the neutral and the favourable evidence. in the preceding lecture i pointed out that there are three hypotheses which may be entertained, and which have been entertained, respecting the past history of life upon the globe. according to the first of these hypotheses, living beings, such as now exist, have existed from all eternity upon this earth. we tested that hypothesis by the circumstantial evidence, as i called it, which is furnished by the fossil remains contained in the earth's crust, and we found that it was obviously untenable. i then proceeded to consider the second hypothesis, which i termed the miltonic hypothesis, not because it is of any particular consequence whether john milton seriously entertained it or not, but because it is stated in a clear and unmistakable manner in his great poem. i pointed out to you that the evidence at our command as completely and fully negatives that hypothesis as it did the preceding one. and i confess that i had too much respect for your intelligence to think it necessary to add that the negation was equally clear and equally valid, whatever the source from which that hypothesis might be derived, or whatever the authority by which it might be supported. i further stated that, according to the third hypothesis, or that of evolution, the existing state of things is the last term of a long series of states, which, when traced back, would be found to show no interruption and no breach in the continuity of natural causation. i propose, in the present and the following lecture, to test this hypothesis rigorously by the evidence at command, and to inquire how far that evidence can be said to be indifferent to it, how far it can be said to be favourable to it, and, finally, how far it can be said to be demonstrative. from almost the origin of the discussions about the existing condition of the animal and vegetable worlds and the causes which have determined that condition, an argument has been put forward as an objection to evolution, which we shall have to consider very seriously. it is an argument which was first clearly stated by cuvier in his criticism of the doctrines propounded by his great contemporary, lamarck. the french expedition to egypt had called the attention of learned men to the wonderful store of antiquities in that country, and there had been brought back to france numerous mummified corpses of the animals which the ancient egyptians revered and preserved, and which, at a reasonable computation, must have lived not less than three or four thousand years before the time at which they were thus brought to light. cuvier endeavoured to test the hypothesis that animals have undergone gradual and progressive modifications of structure, by comparing the skeletons and such other parts of the mummies as were in a fitting state of preservation, with the corresponding parts of the representatives of the same species now living in egypt. he arrived at the conviction that no appreciable change had taken place in these animals in the course of this considerable lapse of time, and the justice of his conclusion is not disputed. it is obvious that, if it can be proved that animals have endured, without undergoing any demonstrable change of structure, for so long a period as four thousand years, no form of the hypothesis of evolution which assumes that animals undergo a constant and necessary progressive change can be tenable; unless, indeed, it be further assumed that four thousand years is too short a time for the production of a change sufficiently great to be detected. but it is no less plain that if the process of evolution of animals is not independent of surrounding conditions; if it may be indefinitely hastened or retarded by variations in these conditions; or if evolution is simply a process of accommodation to varying conditions; the argument against the hypothesis of evolution based on the unchanged character of the egyptian fauna is worthless. for the monuments which are coeval with the mummies testify as strongly to the absence of change in the physical geography and the general conditions of the land of egypt, for the time in question, as the mummies do to the unvarying characters of its living population. the progress of research since cuvier's time has supplied far more striking examples of the long duration of specific forms of life than those which are furnished by the mummified ibises and crocodiles of egypt. a remarkable case is to be found in your own country, in the neighbourhood of the falls of niagara. in the immediate vicinity of the whirlpool, and again upon goat island, in the superficial deposits which cover the surface of the rocky subsoil in those regions, there are found remains of animals in perfect preservation, and among them, shells belonging to exactly the same species as those which at present inhabit the still waters of lake erie. it is evident, from the structure of the country, that these animal remains were deposited in the beds in which they occur at a time when the lake extended over the region in which they are found. this involves the conclusion that they lived and died before the falls had cut their way back through the gorge of niagara; and, indeed, it has been determined that, when these animals lived, the falls of niagara must have been at least six miles further down the river than they are at present. many computations have been made of the rate at which the falls are thus cutting their way back. those computations have varied greatly, but i believe i am speaking within the bounds of prudence, if i assume that the falls of niagara have not retreated at a greater pace than about a foot a year. six miles, speaking roughly, are , feet; , feet, at a foot a year, gives , years; and thus we are fairly justified in concluding that no less a period than this has passed since the shell-fish, whose remains are left in the beds to which i have referred, were living creatures. but there is still stronger evidence of the long duration of certain types. i have already stated that, as we work our way through the great series of the tertiary formations, we find many species of animals identical with those which live at the present day, diminishing in numbers, it is true, but still existing, in a certain proportion, in the oldest of the tertiary rocks. furthermore, when we examine the rocks of the cretaceous epoch, we find the remains of some animals which the closest scrutiny cannot show to be, in any important respect, different from those which live at the present time. that is the case with one of the cretaceous lamp-shells (_terebratula_), which has continued to exist unchanged, or with insignificant variations, down to the present day. such is the case with the _globigerinæ,_ the skeletons of which, aggregated together, form a large proportion of our english chalk. those _globigerinae_ can be traced down to the _globigerinae_ which live at the surface of the present great oceans, and the remains of which, falling to the bottom of the sea, give rise to a chalky mud. hence it must be admitted that certain existing species of animals show no distinct sign of modification, or transformation, in the course of a lapse of time as great as that which carries us back to the cretaceous period; and which, whatever its absolute measure, is certainly vastly greater than thirty thousand years. there are groups of species so closely allied together, that it needs the eye of a naturalist to distinguish them one from another. if we disregard the small differences which separate these forms, and consider all the species of such groups as modifications of one type, we shall find that, even among the higher animals, some types have had a marvellous duration. in the chalk, for example, there is found a fish belonging to the highest and the most differentiated group of osseous fishes, which goes by the name of _beryx._ the remains of that fish are among the most beautiful and well-preserved of the fossils found in our english chalk. it can be studied anatomically, so far as the hard parts are concerned, almost as well as if it were a recent fish. but the genus _beryx_ is represented, at the present day, by very closely allied species which are living in the pacific and atlantic oceans. we may go still farther back. i have already referred to the fact that the carboniferous formations, in europe and in america, contain the remains of scorpions in an admirable state of preservation, and that those scorpions are hardly distinguishable from such as now live. i do not mean to say that they are not different, but close scrutiny is needed in order to distinguish them from modern scorpions. more than this. at the very bottom of the silurian series, in beds which are by some authorities referred to the cambrian formation, where the signs of life begin to fail us--even there, among the few and scanty animal remains which are discoverable, we find species of molluscous animals which are so closely allied to existing forms that, at one time, they were grouped under the same generic name. i refer to the well-known _lingula_ of the _lingula_ flags, lately, in consequence of some slight differences, placed in the new genus _lingulella._ practically, it belongs to the same great generic group as the _lingula,_ which is to be found at the present day upon your own shores and those of many other parts of the world. the same truth is exemplified if we turn to certain great periods of the earth's history--as, for example, the mesozoic epoch. there are groups of reptiles, such as the _ichthyosauria_ and the _plesiosauria,_ which appear shortly after the commencement of this epoch, and they occur in vast numbers. they disappear with the chalk and, throughout the whole of the great series of mesozoic rocks, they present no such modifications as can safely be considered evidence of progressive modification. facts of this kind are undoubtedly fatal to any form of the doctrine of evolution which postulates the supposition that there is an intrinsic necessity, on the part of animal forms which have once come into existence, to undergo continual modification; and they are as distinctly opposed to any view which involves the belief, that such modification may occur, must take place, at the same rate, in all the different types of animal or vegetable life. the facts, as i have placed them before you, obviously directly contradict any form of the hypothesis of evolution which stands in need of these two postulates. but, one great service that has been rendered by mr. darwin to the doctrine of evolution in general is this: he has shown that there are two chief factors in the process of evolution: one of them is the tendency to vary, the existence of which in all living forms may be proved by observation; the other is the influence of surrounding conditions upon what i may call the parent form and the variations which are thus evolved from it. the cause of the production of variations is a matter not at all properly understood at present. whether variation depends upon some intricate machinery--if i may use the phrase--of the living organism itself, or whether it arises through the influence of conditions upon that form, is not certain, and the question may, for the present, be left open. but the important point is that, granting the existence of the tendency to the production of variations; then, whether the variations which are produced shall survive and supplant the parent, or whether the parent form shall survive and supplant the variations, is a matter which depends entirely on those conditions which give rise to the struggle for existence. if the surrounding conditions are such that the parent form is more competent to deal with them, and flourish in them than the derived forms, then, in the struggle for existence, the parent form will maintain itself and the derived forms will be exterminated. but if, on the contrary, the conditions are such as to be more favourable to a derived than to the parent form, the parent form will be extirpated and the derived form will take its place. in the first case, there will be no progression, no change of structure, through any imaginable series of ages; in the second place there will be modification of change and form. thus the existence of these persistent types, as i have termed them, is no real obstacle in the way of the theory of evolution. take the case of the scorpions to which i have just referred. no doubt, since the carboniferous epoch, conditions have always obtained, such as existed when the scorpions of that epoch flourished; conditions in which scorpions find themselves better off, more competent to deal with the difficulties in their way, than any variation from the scorpion type which they may have produced; and, for that reason, the scorpion type has persisted, and has not been supplanted by any other form. and there is no reason, in the nature of things, why, as long as this world exists, if there be conditions more favourable to scorpions than to any variation which may arise from them, these forms of life should not persist. therefore, the stock objection to the hypothesis of evolution, based on the long duration of certain animal and vegetable types, is no objection at all. the facts of this character--and they are numerous--belong to that class of evidence which i have called indifferent. that is to say, they may afford no direct support to the doctrine of evolution, but they are capable of being interpreted in perfect consistency with it. there is another order of facts belonging to the class of negative or indifferent evidence. the great group of lizards, which abound in the present world, extends through the whole series of formations as far back as the permian, or latest palaeozoic, epoch. these permian lizards differ astonishingly little from the lizards which exist at the present day. comparing the amount of the differences between them and modern lizards, with the prodigious lapse of time between the permian epoch and the present day, it may be said that the amount of change is insignificant. but, when we carry our researches farther back in time, we find no trace of lizards, nor of any true reptile whatever, in the whole mass of formations beneath the permian. now, it is perfectly clear that if our palaeontological collections are to be taken, even approximately, as an adequate representation of all the forms of animals and plants that have ever lived; and if the record furnished by the known series of beds of stratified rock covers the whole series of events which constitute the history of life on the globe, such a fact as this directly contravenes the hypothesis of evolution; because this hypothesis postulates that the existence of every form must have been preceded by that of some form little different from it. here, however, we have to take into consideration that important truth so well insisted upon by lyell and by darwin--the imperfection of the geological record. it can be demonstrated that the geological record must be incomplete, that it can only preserve remains found in certain favourable localities and under particular conditions; that it must be destroyed by processes of denudation, and obliterated by processes of metamorphosis. beds of rock of any thickness crammed full of organic remains, may yet, either by the percolation of water through them, or by the influence of subterranean heat, lose all trace of these remains, and present the appearance of beds of rock formed under conditions in which living forms were absent. such metamorphic rocks occur in formations of all ages; and, in various cases, there are very good grounds for the belief that they have contained organic remains, and that those remains have been absolutely obliterated. i insist upon the defects of the geological record the more because those who have not attended to these matters are apt to say, "it is all very well, but, when you get into a difficulty with your theory of evolution, you appeal to the incompleteness and the imperfection of the geological record;" and i want to make it perfectly clear to you that this imperfection is a great fact, which must be taken into account in all our speculations, or we shall constantly be going wrong. you see the singular series of footmarks, drawn of its natural size in the large diagram hanging up here (fig. ), which i owe to the kindness of my friend professor marsh, with whom i had the opportunity recently of visiting the precise locality in massachusetts in which these tracks occur. i am, therefore, able to give you my own testimony, if needed, that the diagram accurately represents what we saw. the valley of the connecticut is classical ground for the geologist. it contains great beds of sandstone, covering many square miles, which have evidently formed a part of an ancient sea-shore, or, it may be, lake-shore. for a certain period of time after their deposition, these beds have remained sufficiently soft to receive the impressions of the feet of whatever animals walked over them, and to preserve them afterwards, in exactly the same way as such impressions are at this hour preserved on the shores of the bay of fundy and elsewhere. the diagram represents the track of some gigantic animal, which walked on its hind legs. you see the series of marks made alternately by the right and by the left foot; so that, from one impression to the other of the three-toed foot on the same side, is one stride, and that stride, as we measured it, is six feet nine inches. i leave you, therefore, to form an impression of the magnitude of the creature which, as it walked along the ancient shore, made these impressions. fig. .--tracks of brontozoum. of such impressions there are untold thousands upon these sandstones. fifty or sixty different kinds have been discovered, and they cover vast areas. but, up to this present time, not a bone, not a fragment, of any one of the animals which left these great footmarks has been found; in fact, the only animal remains which have been met with in all these deposits, from the time of their discovery to the present day--though they have been carefully hunted over--is a fragmentary skeleton of one of the smaller forms. what has become of the bones of all these animals? you see we are not dealing with little creatures, but with animals that make a step of six feet nine inches; and their remains must have been left somewhere. the probability is, that they have been dissolved away, and completely lost. i have had occasion to work out the nature of fossil remains, of which there was nothing left except casts of the bones, the solid material of the skeleton having been dissolved out by percolating water. it was a chance, in this case, that the sandstone happened to be of such a constitution as to set, and to allow the bones to be afterward dissolved out, leaving cavities of the exact shape of the bones. had that constitution been other than what it was, the bones would have been dissolved, the layers of sandstone would have fallen together into one mass, and not the slightest indication that the animal had existed would have been discoverable. i know of no more striking evidence than these facts afford, of the caution which should be used in drawing the conclusion, from the absence of organic remains in a deposit, that animals or plants did not exist at the time it was formed. i believe that, with a right understanding of the doctrine of evolution on the one hand, and a just estimation of the importance of the imperfection of the geological record on the other, all difficulty is removed from the kind of evidence to which i have adverted; and that we are justified in believing that all such cases are examples of what i have designated negative or indifferent evidence--that is to say, they in no way directly advance the hypothesis of evolution, but they are not to be regarded as obstacles in the way of our belief in that doctrine. i now pass on to the consideration of those cases which, for reasons which i will point out to you by and by, are not to be regarded as demonstrative of the truth of evolution, but which are such as must exist if evolution be true, and which therefore are, upon the whole, evidence in favour of the doctrine. if the doctrine of evolution be true, it follows, that, however diverse the different groups of animals and of plants may be, they must all, at one time or other, have been connected by gradational forms; so that, from the highest animals, whatever they may be, down to the lowest speck of protoplasmic matter in which life can be manifested, a series of gradations, leading from one end of the series to the other, either exists or has existed. undoubtedly that is a necessary postulate of the doctrine of evolution. but when we look upon living nature as it is, we find a totally different state of things. we find that animals and plants fall into groups, the different members of which are pretty closely allied together, but which are separated by definite, larger or smaller, breaks, from other groups. in other words, no intermediate forms which bridge over these gaps or intervals are, at present, to be met with. to illustrate what i mean: let me call your attention to those vertebrate animals which are most familiar to you, such as mammals, birds, and reptiles. at the present day, these groups of animals are perfectly well-defined from one another. we know of no animal now living which, in any sense, is intermediate between the mammal and the bird, or between the bird and the reptile; but, on the contrary, there are many very distinct anatomical peculiarities, well-defined marks, by which the mammal is separated from the bird, and the bird from the reptile. the distinctions are obvious and striking if you compare the definitions of these great groups as they now exist. the same may be said of many of the subordinate groups, or orders, into which these great classes are divided. at the present time, for example, there are numerous forms of non-ruminant pachyderms, or what we may call broadly, the pig tribe, and many varieties of ruminants. these latter have their definite characteristics, and the former have their distinguishing peculiarities. but there is nothing that fills up the gap between the ruminants and the pig tribe. the two are distinct. such also is the case in respect of the minor groups of the class of reptiles. the existing fauna shows us crocodiles, lizards, snakes, and tortoises; but no connecting link between the crocodile and lizard, nor between the lizard and snake, nor between the snake and the crocodile, nor between any two of these groups. they are separated by absolute breaks. if, then, it could be shown that this state of things had always existed, the fact would be fatal to the doctrine of evolution. if the intermediate gradations, which the doctrine of evolution requires to have existed between these groups, are not to be found anywhere in the records of the past history of the globe, their absence is a strong and weighty negative argument against evolution; while, on the other hand, if such intermediate forms are to be found, that is so much to the good of evolution; although, for reasons which i will lay before you by and by, we must be cautious in our estimate of the evidential cogency of facts of this kind. it is a very remarkable circumstance that, from the commencement of the serious study of fossil remains, in fact, from the time when cuvier began his brilliant researches upon those found in the quarries of montmartre, palaeontology has shown what she was going to do in this matter, and what kind of evidence it lay in her power to produce. i said just now that, in the existing fauna, the group of pig-like animals and the group of ruminants are entirely distinct; but one of the first of cuvier's discoveries was an animal which he called the _anoplotherium,_ and which proved to be, in a great many important respects, intermediate in character between the pigs, on the one hand, and the ruminants on the other. thus, research into the history of the past did, to a certain extent, tend to fill up the breach between the group of ruminants and the group of pigs. another remarkable animal restored by the great french palaeontologist, the _palaeotherium,_ similarly tended to connect together animals to all appearance so different as the rhinoceros, the horse, and the tapir. subsequent research has brought to light multitudes of facts of the same order; and at the present day, the investigations of such anatomists as rutimeyer and gaudry have tended to fill up, more and more, the gaps in our existing series of mammals, and to connect groups formerly thought to be distinct. but i think it may have an especial interest if, instead of dealing with these examples, which would require a great deal of tedious osteological detail, i take the case of birds and reptiles; groups which, at the present day, are so clearly distinguished from one another that there are perhaps no classes of animals which, in popular apprehension, are more completely separated. existing birds, as you are aware, are covered with feathers; their anterior extremities, specially and peculiarly modified, are converted into wings by the aid of which most of them are able to fly; they walk upright upon two legs; and these limbs, when they are considered anatomically, present a great number of exceedingly remarkable peculiarities, to which i may have occasion to advert incidentally as i go on, and which are not met with, even approximately, in any existing forms of reptiles. on the other hand, existing reptiles have no feathers. they may have naked skins, or be covered with horny scales, or bony plates, or with both. they possess no wings; they neither fly by means of their fore-limbs, nor habitually walk upright upon their hind-limbs; and the bones of their legs present no such modifications as we find in birds. it is impossible to imagine any two groups more definitely and distinctly separated, notwithstanding certain characters which they possess in common. as we trace the history of birds back in time, we find their remains, sometimes in great abundance, throughout the whole extent of the tertiary rocks; but, so far as our present knowledge goes, the birds of the tertiary rocks retain the same essential characters as the birds of the present day. in other words, the tertiary birds come within the definition of the class constituted by existing birds, and are as much separated from reptiles as existing birds are. not very long ago no remains of birds had been found below the tertiary rocks, and i am not sure but that some persons were prepared to demonstrate that they could not have existed at an earlier period. but, in the course of the last few years, such remains have been discovered in england; though, unfortunately, in so imperfect and fragmentary a condition, that it is impossible to say whether they differed from existing birds in any essential character or not. in your country the development of the cretaceous series of rocks is enormous; the conditions under which the later cretaceous strata have been deposited are highly favourable to the preservation of organic remains; and the researches, full of labour and risk, which have been carried on by professor marsh in these cretaceous rocks of western america, have rewarded him with the discovery of forms of birds of which we had hitherto no conception. by his kindness, i am enabled to place before you a restoration of one of these extraordinary birds, every part of which can be thoroughly justified by the more or less complete skeletons, in a very perfect state of preservation, which he has discovered. this _hesperornis_ (fig. ), which measured between five and six feet in length, is astonishingly like our existing divers or grebes in a great many respects; so like them indeed that, had the skeleton of _hesperornis_ been found in a museum without its skull, it probably would have been placed in the same group of birds as the divers and grebes of the present day. [ ] but _hesperornis_ differs from all existing birds, and so far resembles reptiles, in one important particular--it is provided with teeth. the long jaws are armed with teeth which have curved crowns and thick roots (fig. ), and are not set in distinct sockets, but are lodged in a groove. in possessing true teeth, the _hesperornis_ differs from every existing bird, and from every bird yet discovered in the tertiary formations, the tooth-like serrations of the jaws in the _odontopteryx_ of the london clay being mere processes of the bony substance of the jaws, and not teeth in the proper sense of the word. in view of the characteristics of this bird we are therefore obliged to modify the definitions of the classes of birds and reptiles. before the discovery of _hesperornis,_ the definition of the class aves based upon our knowledge of existing birds might have been extended to all birds; it might have been said that the absence of teeth was characteristic of the class of birds; but the discovery of an animal which, in every part of its skeleton, closely agrees with existing birds, and yet possesses teeth, shows that there were ancient birds which, in respect of possessing teeth, approached reptiles more nearly than any existing bird does, and, to that extent, diminishes the _hiatus_ between the two classes. fig. --hesperornis regalis (marsh) fig. --hesperornis regalis (marsh) (side and upper views of half the lower jaw; side and end views of a vertebra and a separate tooth.) the same formation has yielded another bird, _ichthyornis_ (fig. ), which also possesses teeth; but the teeth are situated in distinct sockets, while those of _hesperornis_ are not so lodged. the latter also has such very small, almost rudimentary wings, that it must have been chiefly a swimmer and a diver like a penguin; while _ichthyornis_ has strong wings and no doubt possessed corresponding powers of flight. _ichthyornis_ also differed in the fact that its vertebrae have not the peculiar characters of the vertebrae of existing and of all known tertiary birds, but were concave at each end. this discovery leads us to make a further modification in the definition of the group of birds, and to part with another of the characters by which almost all existing birds are distinguished from reptiles. figure. --ichthyornis dispar (marsh). side and upper views of half the lower jaw; and side and end views of a vertebra. apart from the few fragmentary remains from the english greensand, to which i have referred, the mesozoic rocks, older than those in which _hesperornis_ and _ichthyornis_ have been discovered, have afforded no certain evidence of birds, with the remarkable exception of the solenhofen slates. these so-called slates are composed of a fine grained calcareous mud which has hardened into lithographic stone, and in which organic remains are almost as well preserved as they would be if they had been imbedded in so much plaster of paris. they have yielded the _archaeopteryx,_ the existence of which was first made known by the finding of a fossil feather, or rather of the impression of one. it is wonderful enough that such a perishable thing as a feather, and nothing more, should be discovered; yet, for a long time, nothing was known of this bird except its feather. but by and by a solitary skeleton was discovered which is now in the british museum. the skull of this solitary specimen is unfortunately wanting, and it is therefore uncertain whether the _archaeopteryx_ possessed teeth or not. [ ] but the remainder of the skeleton is so well preserved as to leave no doubt respecting the main features of the animal, which are very singular. the feet are not only altogether bird-like, but have the special characters of the feet of perching birds, while the body had a clothing of true feathers. nevertheless, in some other respects, _archaeopteryx_ is unlike a bird and like a reptile. there is a long tail composed of many vertebrae. the structure of the wing differs in some very remarkable respects from that which it presents in a true bird. in the latter, the end of the wing answers to the thumb and two fingers of my hand; but the metacarpal bones, or those which answer to the bones of the fingers which lie in the palm of the hand, are fused together into one mass; and the whole apparatus, except the last joints of the thumb, is bound up in a sheath of integument, while the edge of the hand carries the principal quill-feathers. in the _archaeopteryx,_ the upper-arm bone is like that of a bird; and the two bones of the forearm are more or less like those of a bird, but the fingers are not bound together--they are free. what their number may have been is uncertain; but several, if not all, of them were terminated by strong curved claws, not like such as are sometimes found in birds, but such as reptiles possess; so that, in the _archaeopteryx,_ we have an animal which, to a certain extent, occupies a midway place between a bird and a reptile. it is a bird so far as its foot and sundry other parts of its skeleton are concerned; it is essentially and thoroughly a bird by its feathers; but it is much more properly a reptile in the fact that the region which represents the hand has separate bones, with claws resembling those which terminate the forelimb of a reptile. moreover, it has a long reptile-like tail with a fringe of feathers on each side; while, in all true birds hitherto known, the tail is relatively short, and the vertebrae which constitute its skeleton are generally peculiarly modified. like the _anoplotherium_ and the _palaeotherium,_ therefore, _archaeopteryx_ tends to fill up the interval between groups which, in the existing world, are widely separated, and to destroy the value of the definitions of zoological groups based upon our knowledge of existing forms. and such cases as these constitute evidence in favour of evolution, in so far as they prove that, in former periods of the world's history, there were animals which overstepped the bounds of existing groups, and tended to merge them into larger assemblages. they show that animal organisation is more flexible than our knowledge of recent forms might have led us to believe; and that many structural permutations and combinations, of which the present world gives us no indication, may nevertheless have existed. but it by no means follows, because the _palaeotherium_ has much in common with the horse, on the one hand, and with the rhinoceros on the other, that it is the intermediate form through which rhinoceroses have passed to become horses, or _vice versa;_ on the contrary, any such supposition would certainly be erroneous. nor do i think it likely that the transition from the reptile to the bird has been effected by such a form as _archaeopteryx._ and it is convenient to distinguish these intermediate forms between two groups, which do not represent the actual passage from the one group to the other, as _intercalary_ types, from those _linear_ types which, more or less approximately, indicate the nature of the steps by which the transition from one group to the other was effected. i conceive that such linear forms, constituting a series of natural gradations between the reptile and the bird, and enabling us to understand the manner in which the reptilian has been metamorphosed into the bird type, are really to be found among a group of ancient and extinct terrestrial reptiles known as the _ornithoscelida._ the remains of these animals occur throughout the series of mesozoic formations, from the trias to the chalk, and there are indications of their existence even in the later palaeozoic strata. most of these reptiles, at present known, are of great size, some having attained a length of forty feet or perhaps more. the majority resembled lizards and crocodiles in their general form, and many of them were, like crocodiles, protected by an armour of heavy bony plates. but, in others, the hind limbs elongate and the fore limbs shorten, until their relative proportions approach those which are observed in the short-winged, flightless, ostrich tribe among birds. the skull is relatively light, and in some cases the jaws, though bearing teeth, are beak-like at their extremities and appear to have been enveloped in a horny sheath. in the part of the vertebral column which lies between the haunch bones and is called the sacrum, a number of vertebrae may unite together into one whole, and in this respect, as in some details of its structure, the sacrum of these reptiles approaches that of birds. but it is in the structure of the pelvis and of the hind limb that some of these ancient reptiles present the most remarkable approximation to birds, and clearly indicate the way by which the most specialised and characteristic features of the bird may have been evolved from the corresponding parts of the reptile. in fig. , the pelvis and hind limbs of a crocodile, a three-toed bird, and an ornithoscelidan are represented side by side; and, for facility of comparison, in corresponding positions; but it must be recollected that, while the position of the bird's limb is natural, that of the crocodile is not so. in the bird, the thigh bone lies close to the body, and the metatarsal bones of the foot (ii., iii., iv., fig. ) are, ordinarily, raised into a more or less vertical position; in the crocodile, the thigh bone stands out at an angle from the body, and the metatarsal bones (i., ii., iii., iv., fig. ) lie flat on the ground. hence, in the crocodile, the body usually lies squat between the legs, while, in the bird, it is raised upon the hind legs, as upon pillars. in the crocodile, the pelvis is obviously composed of three bones on each side: the ilium (_il._), the pubis (_pb._), and the ischium (_is._). in the adult bird there appears to be but one bone on each side. the examination of the pelvis of a chick, however, shows that each half is made up of three bones, which answer to those which remain distinct throughout life in the crocodile. there is, therefore, a fundamental identity of plan in the construction of the pelvis of both bird and reptile; though the difference in form, relative size, and direction of the corresponding bones in the two cases are very great. but the most striking contrast between the two lies in the bones of the leg and of that part of the foot termed the tarsus, which follows upon the leg. in the crocodile, the fibula (_f_) is relatively large and its lower end is complete. the tibia (_t_) has no marked crest at its upper end, and its lower end is narrow and not pulley-shaped. there are two rows of separate tarsal bones (_as., ca., &c._) and four distinct metatarsal bones, with a rudiment of a fifth. in the bird, the fibula is small and its lower end diminishes to a point. the tibia has a strong crest at its upper end and its lower extremity passes into a broad pulley. there seem at first to be no tarsal bones; and only one bone, divided at the end into three heads for the three toes which are attached to it, appears in the place of the metatarsus. in the young bird, however, the pulley-shaped apparent end of the tibia is a distinct bone, which represents the bones marked _as., ca.,_ in the crocodile; while the apparently single metatarsal bone consists of three bones, which early unite with one another and with an additional bone, which represents the lower row of bones in the tarsus of the crocodile. in other words, it can be shown by the study of development that the bird's pelvis and hind limb are simply extreme modifications of the same fundamental plan as that upon which these parts are modelled in reptiles. on comparing the pelvis and hind limb of the ornithoscelidan with that of the crocodile, on the one side, and that of the bird, on the other (fig. ), it is obvious that it represents a middle term between the two. the pelvic bones approach the form of those of the birds, and the direction of the pubis and ischium is nearly that which is characteristic of birds; the thigh bone, from the direction of its head, must have lain close to the body; the tibia has a great crest; and, immovably fitted on to its lower end, there is a pulley-shaped bone, like that of the bird, but remaining distinct. the lower end of the fibula is much more slender, proportionally, than in the crocodile. the metatarsal bones have such a form that they fit together immovably, though they do not enter into bony union; the third toe is, as in the bird, longest and strongest. in fact, the ornithoscelidan limb is comparable to that of an unhatched chick. fig. .--bird. ornithoscelidan. crocodile. the letters have the same signification in all the figures. _il.,_ ilium; _a._ anterior end; _b._ posterior end; _ia._ ischium; _pb.,_ pubis; _t,_ tibia; _f,_ fibula; _as.,_ astragalus; _ca.,_ calcaneum; i, distal portion of the tarsus; i., ii., iii., iv., metatarsal bones. taking all these facts together, it is obvious that the view, which was entertained by mantell and the probability of which was demonstrated by your own distinguished anatomist, leidy, while much additional evidence in the same direction has been furnished by professor cope, that some of these animals may have walked upon their hind legs as birds do, acquires great weight. in fact, there can be no reasonable doubt that one of the smaller forms of the _ornithoscelida, compsognathus,_ the almost entire skeleton of which has been discovered in the solenhofen slates, was a bipedal animal. the parts of this skeleton are somewhat twisted out of their natural relations, but the accompanying figure gives a just view of the general form of _compsognathus_ and of the proportions of its limbs; which, in some respects, are more completely bird-like than those of other _ornithoscelida._ fig. .--restoration of compsognathus longipes we have had to stretch the definition of the class of birds so as to include birds with teeth and birds with paw-like fore limbs and long tails. there is no evidence that _compsognathus_ possessed feathers; but, if it did, it would be hard indeed to say whether it should be called a reptilian bird or an avian reptile. as _compsognathus_ walked upon its hind legs, it must have made tracks like those of birds. and as the structure of the limbs of several of the gigantic _ornithoscelida,_ such as _iguanodon,_ leads to the conclusion that they also may have constantly, or occasionally, assumed the same attitude, a peculiar interest attaches to the fact that, in the wealden strata of england, there are to be found gigantic footsteps, arranged in order like those of the _brontozoum,_ and which there can be no reasonable doubt were made by some of the _ornithoscelida,_ the remains of which are found in the same rocks. and, knowing that reptiles that walked upon their hind legs and shared many of the anatomical characters of birds did once exist, it becomes a very important question whether the tracks in the trias of massachusetts, to which i referred some time ago, and which formerly used to be unhesitatingly ascribed to birds, may not all have been made by ornithoscelidan reptiles; and whether, if we could obtain the skeletons of the animals which made these tracks, we should not find in them the actual steps of the evolutional process by which reptiles gave rise to birds. the evidential value of the facts i have brought forward in this lecture must be neither over nor under estimated. it is not historical proof of the occurrence of the evolution of birds from reptiles, for we have no safe ground for assuming that true birds had not made their appearance at the commencement of the mesozoic epoch. it is, in fact, quite possible that all these more or less avi-form reptiles of the mesozoic epochs are not terms in the series of progression from birds to reptiles at all, but simply the more or less modified descendants of palaeozoic forms through which that transition was actually effected. we are not in a position to say that the known _ornithoscelida_ are intermediate in the order of their appearance on the earth between reptiles and birds. all that can be said is that, if independent evidence of the actual occurrence of evolution is producible, then these intercalary forms remove every difficulty in the way of understanding what the actual steps of the process, in the case of birds, may have been. that intercalary forms should have existed in ancient times is a necessary consequence of the truth of the hypothesis of evolution; and, hence, the evidence i have laid before you in proof of the existence of such forms, is, so far as it goes, in favour of that hypothesis. there is another series of extinct reptiles which may be said to be intercalary between reptiles and birds, in so far as they combine some of the characters of both these groups; and which, as they possessed the power of flight, may seem, at first sight, to be nearer representatives of the forms by which the transition from the reptile to the bird was effected, than the _ornithoscelida._ these are the _pterosauria,_ or pterodactyles, the remains of which are met with throughout the series of mesozoic rocks, from the lias to the chalk, and some of which attained a great size, their wings having a span of eighteen or twenty feet. these animals, in the form and proportions of the head and neck relatively to the body, and in the fact that the ends of the jaws were often, if not always, more or less extensively ensheathed in horny beaks, remind us of birds. moreover, their bones contained air cavities, rendering them specifically lighter, as is the case in most birds. the breast bone was large and keeled, as in most birds and in bats, and the shoulder girdle is strikingly similar to that of ordinary birds. but, it seems to me, that the special resemblance of pterodactyles to birds ends here, unless i may add the entire absence of teeth which characterises the great pterodactyles _(pteranodon)_ discovered by professor marsh. all other known pterodactyles have teeth lodged in sockets. in the vertebral column and the hind limbs there are no special resemblances to birds, and when we turn to the wings they are found to be constructed on a totally different principle from those of birds. fig. .--pterodactylus spectabilis (von meyer). there are four fingers. these four fingers are large, and three of them, those which answer to the thumb and two following fingers in my hand--are terminated by claws, while the fourth is enormously prolonged and converted into a great jointed style. you see at once, from what i have stated about a bird's wing, that there could be nothing less like a bird's wing than this is. it was concluded by general reasoning that this finger had the office of supporting a web which extended between it and the body. an existing specimen proves that such was really the case, and that the pterodactyles were devoid of feathers, but that the fingers supported a vast web like that of a bat's wing; in fact, there can be no doubt that this ancient reptile flew after the fashion of a bat. thus, though the pterodactyle is a reptile which has become modified in such a manner as to enable it to fly, and therefore, as might be expected, presents some points of resemblance to other animals which fly; it has, so to speak, gone off the line which leads directly from reptiles to birds, and has become disqualified for the changes which lead to the characteristic organisation of the latter class. therefore, viewed in relation to the classes of reptiles and birds, the pterodactyles appear to me to be, in a limited sense, intercalary forms; but they are not even approximately linear, in the sense of exemplifying those modifications of structure through which the passage from the reptile to the bird took place. iii. the demonstrative evidence of evolution the occurrence of historical facts is said to be demonstrated, when the evidence that they happened is of such a character as to render the assumption that they did not happen in the highest degree improbable; and the question i now have to deal with is, whether evidence in favour of the evolution of animals of this degree of cogency is, or is not, obtainable from the record of the succession of living forms which is presented to us by fossil remains. those who have attended to the progress of palaeontology are aware that evidence of the character which i have defined has been produced in considerable and continually-increasing quantity during the last few years. indeed, the amount and the satisfactory nature of that evidence are somewhat surprising, when we consider the conditions under which alone we can hope to obtain it. it is obviously useless to seek for such evidence except in localities in which the physical conditions have been such as to permit of the deposit of an unbroken, or but rarely interrupted, series of strata through a long period of time; in which the group of animals to be investigated has existed in such abundance as to furnish the requisite supply of remains; and in which, finally, the materials composing the strata are such as to ensure the preservation of these remains in a tolerably perfect and undisturbed state. it so happens that the case which, at present, most nearly fulfils all these conditions is that of the series of extinct animals which culminates in the horses; by which term i mean to denote not merely the domestic animals with which we are all so well acquainted, but their allies, the ass, zebra, quagga, and the like. in short, i use "horses" as the equivalent of the technical name _equidae,_ which is applied to the whole group of existing equine animals. the horse is in many ways a remarkable animal; not least so in the fact that it presents us with an example of one of the most perfect pieces of machinery in the living world. in truth, among the works of human ingenuity it cannot be said that there is any locomotive so perfectly adapted to its purposes, doing so much work with so small a quantity of fuel, as this machine of nature's manufacture--the horse. and, as a necessary consequence of any sort of perfection, of mechanical perfection as of others, you find that the horse is a beautiful creature, one of the most beautiful of all land-animals. look at the perfect balance of its form, and the rhythm and force of its action. the locomotive machinery is, as you are aware, resident in its slender fore and hind limbs; they are flexible and elastic levers, capable of being moved by very powerful muscles; and, in order to supply the engines which work these levers with the force which they expend, the horse is provided with a very perfect apparatus for grinding its food and extracting therefrom the requisite fuel. without attempting to take you very far into the region of osteological detail, i must nevertheless trouble you with some statements respecting the anatomical structure of the horse; and, more especially, will it be needful to obtain a general conception of the structure of its fore and hind limbs, and of its teeth. but i shall only touch upon those points which are absolutely essential to our inquiry. let us turn in the first place to the fore-limb. in most quadrupeds, as in ourselves, the fore-arm contains distinct bones called the radius and the ulna. the corresponding region in the horse seems at first to possess but one bone. careful observation, however, enables us to distinguish in this bone a part which clearly answers to the upper end of the ulna. this is closely united with the chief mass of the bone which represents the radius, and runs out into a slender shaft which may be traced for some distance downwards upon the back of the radius, and then in most cases thins out and vanishes. it takes still more trouble to make sure of what is nevertheless the fact, that a small part of the lower end of the bone of the horse's fore arm, which is only distinct in a very young foal, is really the lower extremity of the ulna. what is commonly called the knee of a horse is its wrist. the "cannon bone" answers to the middle bone of the five metacarpal bones, which support the palm of the hand in ourselves. the "pastern," "coronary," and "coffin" bones of veterinarians answer to the joints of our middle fingers, while the hoof is simply a greatly enlarged and thickened nail. but if what lies below the horse's "knee" thus corresponds to the middle finger in ourselves, what has become of the four other fingers or digits? we find in the places of the second and fourth digits only two slender splint-like bones, about two-thirds as long as the cannon bone, which gradually taper to their lower ends and bear no finger joints, or, as they are termed, phalanges. sometimes, small bony or gristly nodules are to be found at the bases of these two metacarpal splints, and it is probable that these represent rudiments of the first and fifth toes. thus, the part of the horse's skeleton, which corresponds with that of the human hand, contains one overgrown middle digit, and at least two imperfect lateral digits; and these answer, respectively, to the third, the second, and the fourth fingers in man. corresponding modifications are found in the hind limb. in ourselves, and in most quadrupeds, the leg contains two distinct bones, a large bone, the tibia, and a smaller and more slender bone, the fibula. but, in the horse, the fibula seems, at first, to be reduced to its upper end; a short slender bone united with the tibia, and ending in a point below, occupying its place. examination of the lower end of a young foal's shin bone, however, shows a distinct portion of osseous matter, which is the lower end of the fibula; so that the apparently single, lower end of the shin bone is really made up of the coalesced ends of the tibia and fibula, just as the apparently single, lower end of the fore-arm bone is composed of the coalesced radius and ulna. the heel of the horse is the part commonly known as the hock. the hinder cannon bone answers to the middle metatarsal bone of the human foot, the pastern, coronary, and coffin bones, to the middle toe bones; the hind hoof to the nail; as in the fore-foot. and, as in the fore-foot, there are merely two splints to represent the second and the fourth toes. sometimes a rudiment of a fifth toe appears to be traceable. the teeth of a horse are not less peculiar than its limbs. the living engine, like all others, must be well stoked if it is to do its work; and the horse, if it is to make good its wear and tear, and to exert the enormous amount of force required for its propulsion, must be well and rapidly fed. to this end, good cutting instruments and powerful and lasting crushers are needful. accordingly, the twelve cutting teeth of a horse are close-set and concentrated in the fore-part of its mouth, like so many adzes or chisels. the grinders or molars are large, and have an extremely complicated structure, being composed of a number of different substances of unequal hardness. the consequence of this is that they wear away at different rates; and, hence, the surface of each grinder is always as uneven as that of a good millstone. i have said that the structure of the grinding teeth is very complicated, the harder and the softer parts being, as it were, interlaced with one another. the result of this is that, as the tooth wears, the crown presents a peculiar pattern, the nature of which is not very easily deciphered at first; but which it is important we should understand clearly. each grinding tooth of the upper jaw has an _outer wall_ so shaped that, on the worn crown, it exhibits the form of two crescents, one in front and one behind, with their concave sides turned outwards. from the inner side of the front crescent, a crescentic _front ridge_ passes inwards and backwards, and its inner face enlarges into a strong longitudinal fold or _pillar._ from the front part of the hinder crescent, a _back ridge_ takes a like direction, and also has its _pillar._ the deep interspaces or _valleys_ between these ridges and the outer wall are filled by bony substance, which is called _cement,_ and coats the whole tooth. the pattern of the worn face of each grinding tooth of the lower jaw is quite different. it appears to be formed of two crescent-shaped ridges, the convexities of which are turned outwards. the free extremity of each crescent has a _pillar,_ and there is a large double _pillar_ where the two crescents meet. the whole structure is, as it were, imbedded in cement, which fills up the valleys, as in the upper grinders. if the grinding faces of an upper and of a lower molar of the same side are applied together, it will be seen that the opposed ridges are nowhere parallel, but that they frequently cross; and that thus, in the act of mastication, a hard surface in the one is constantly applied to a soft surface in the other, and _vice versa._ they thus constitute a grinding apparatus of great efficiency, and one which is repaired as fast as it wears, owing to the long-continued growth of the teeth. some other peculiarities of the dentition of the horse must be noticed, as they bear upon what i shall have to say by and by. thus the crowns of the cutting teeth have a peculiar deep pit, which gives rise to the well-known "mark" of the horse. there is a large space between the outer incisors and the front grinder. in this space the adult male horse presents, near the incisors on each side, above and below, a canine or "tush," which is commonly absent in mares. in a young horse, moreover, there is not unfrequently to be seen in front of the first grinder, a very small tooth, which soon falls out. if this small tooth be counted as one, it will be found that there are seven teeth behind the canine on each side; namely, the small tooth in question, and the six great grinders, among which, by an unusual peculiarity, the foremost tooth is rather larger than those which follow it. i have now enumerated those characteristic structures of the horse which are of most importance for the purpose we have in view. to any one who is acquainted with the morphology of vertebrated animals, they show that the horse deviates widely from the general structure of mammals; and that the horse type is, in many respects, an extreme modification of the general mammalian plan. the least modified mammals, in fact, have the radius and ulna, the tibia and fibula, distinct and separate. they have five distinct and complete digits on each foot, and no one of these digits is very much larger than the rest. moreover, in the least modified mammals, the total number of the teeth is very generally forty-four, while in horses, the usual number is forty, and in the absence of the canines, it may be reduced to thirty-six; the incisor teeth are devoid of the fold seen in those of the horse: the grinders regularly diminish in size from the middle of the series to its front end; while their crowns are short, early attain their full length, and exhibit simple ridges or tubercles, in place of the complex foldings of the horse's grinders. hence the general principles of the hypothesis of evolution lead to the conclusion that the horse must have been derived from some quadruped which possessed five complete digits on each foot; which had the bones of the fore-arm and of the leg complete and separate; and which possessed forty-four teeth, among which the crowns of the incisors and grinders had a simple structure; while the latter gradually increased in size from before backwards, at any rate in the anterior part of the series, and had short crowns. and if the horse has been thus evolved, and the remains of the different stages of its evolution have been preserved, they ought to present us with a series of forms in which the number of the digits becomes reduced; the bones of the fore-arm and leg gradually take on the equine condition; and the form and arrangement of the teeth successively approximate to those which obtain in existing horses. let us turn to the facts, and see how far they fulfil these requirements of the doctrine of evolution. in europe abundant remains of horses are found in the quaternary and later tertiary strata as far as the pliocene formation. but these horses, which are so common in the cave-deposits and in the gravels of europe, are in all essential respects like existing horses. and that is true of all the horses of the latter part of the pliocene epoch. but, in deposits which belong to the earlier pliocene and later miocene epochs, and which occur in britain, in france, in germany, in greece, in india, we find animals which are extremely like horses--which, in fact, are so similar to horses, that you may follow descriptions given in works upon the anatomy of the horse upon the skeletons of these animals--but which differ in some important particulars. for example, the structure of their fore and hind limbs is somewhat different. the bones which, in the horse, are represented by two splints, imperfect below, are as long as the middle metacarpal and metatarsal bones; and, attached to the extremity of each, is a digit with three joints of the same general character as those of the middle digit, only very much smaller. these small digits are so disposed that they could have had but very little functional importance, and they must have been rather of the nature of the dew-claws, such as are to be found in many ruminant animals. the _hipparion,_ as the extinct european three-toed horse is called, in fact, presents a foot similar to that of the american _protohippus_ (fig. ), except that, in the _hipparion,_ the smaller digits are situated farther back, and are of smaller proportional size, than in the _protohippus._ the ulna is slightly more distinct than in the horse; and the whole length of it, as a very slender shaft, intimately united with the radius, is completely traceable. the fibula appears to be in the same condition as in the horse. the teeth of the _hipparion_ are essentially similar to those of the horse, but the pattern of the grinders is in some respects a little more complex, and there is a depression on the face of the skull in front of the orbit, which is not seen in existing horses. in the earlier miocene, and perhaps the later eocene deposits of some parts of europe, another extinct animal has been discovered, which cuvier, who first described some fragments of it, considered to be a _palaeotherim._ but as further discoveries threw new light upon its structure, it was recognised as a distinct genus, under the name of _anchitherium._ in its general characters, the skeleton of _anchitherium_ is very similar to that of the horse. in fact, lartet and de blainville called it _palæotherium equinum_ or _hippoides;_ and de christol, in , said that it differed from _hipparion_ in little more than the characters of its teeth, and gave it the name of _hipparitherium._ each foot possesses three complete toes; while the lateral toes are much larger in proportion to the middle toe than in _hipparion,_ and doubtless rested on the ground in ordinary locomotion. the ulna is complete and quite distinct from the radius, though firmly united with the latter. the fibula seems also to have been complete. its lower end, though intimately united with that of the tibia, is clearly marked off from the latter bone. there are forty-four teeth. the incisors have no strong pit. the canines seem to have been well developed in both sexes. the first of the seven grinders, which, as i have said, is frequently absent, and, when it does exist, is small in the horse, is a good-sized and permanent tooth, while the grinder which follows it is but little larger than the hinder ones. the crowns of the grinders are short, and though the fundamental pattern of the horse-tooth is discernible, the front and back ridges are less curved, the accessory pillars are wanting, and the valleys, much shallower, are not filled up with cement. seven years ago, when i happened to be looking critically into the bearing of palaentological facts upon the doctrine of evolution, it appeared to me that the _anchitherium,_ the _hipparion,_ and the modern horses, constitute a series in which the modifications of structure coincide with the order of chronological occurrence, in the manner in which they must coincide, if the modern horses really are the result of the gradual metamorphosis, in the course of the tertiary epoch, of a less specialised ancestral form. and i found by correspondence with the late eminent french anatomist and palaeontologist, m. lartet, that he had arrived at the same conclusion from the same data. that the _anchitherium_ type had become metamorphosed into the _hipparion_ type, and the latter into the _equine_ type, in the course of that period of time which is represented by the latter half of the tertiary deposits, seemed to me to be the only explanation of the facts for which there was even a shadow of probability. [ ] and, hence, i have ever since held that these facts afford evidence of the occurrence of evolution, which, in the sense already defined, may be termed demonstrative. all who have occupied themselves with the structure of _anchitherium,_ from cuvier onwards, have acknowledged its many points of likeness to a well-known genus of extinct eocene mammals, _palaeotherium._ indeed, as we have seen, cuvier regarded his remains of _anchitherium_ as those of a species of _palaeotherium._ hence, in attempting to trace the pedigree of the horse beyond the miocene epoch and the anchitheroid form, i naturally sought among the various species of palaeotheroid animals for its nearest ally, and i was led to conclude that the _palaeotherium minus (plagiolophus)_ represented the next step more nearly than any form then known. i think that this opinion was fully justifiable; but the progress of investigation has thrown an unexpected light on the question, and has brought us much nearer than could have been anticipated to a knowledge of the true series of the progenitors of the horse. you are all aware that, when your country was first discovered by europeans, there were no traces of the existence of the horse in any part of the american continent. the accounts of the conquest of mexico dwell upon the astonishment of the natives of that country when they first became acquainted with that astounding phenomenon--a man seated upon a horse. nevertheless, the investigations of american geologists have proved that the remains of horses occur in the most superficial deposits of both north and south america, just as they do in europe. therefore, for some reason or other--no feasible suggestion on that subject, so far as i know, has been made--the horse must have died out on this continent at some period preceding the discovery of america. of late years there has been discovered in your western territories that marvellous accumulation of deposits, admirably adapted for the preservation of organic remains, to which i referred the other evening, and which furnishes us with a consecutive series of records of the fauna of the older half of the tertiary epoch, for which we have no parallel in europe. they have yielded fossils in an excellent state of conservation and in unexampled number and variety. the researches of leidy and others have shown that forms allied to the _hipparion_ and the _anchitherium_ are to be found among these remains. but it is only recently that the admirably conceived and most thoroughly and patiently worked-out investigations of professor marsh have given us a just idea of the vast fossil wealth, and of the scientific importance, of these deposits. i have had the advantage of glancing over the collections in yale museum; and i can truly say that, so far as my knowledge extends, there is no collection from any one region and series of strata comparable, for extent, or for the care with which the remains have been got together, or for their scientific importance, to the series of fossils which he has deposited there. this vast collection has yielded evidence bearing upon the question of the pedigree of the horse of the most striking character. it tends to show that we must look to america, rather than to europe, for the original seat of the equine series; and that the archaic forms and successive modifications of the horse's ancestry are far better preserved here than in europe. professor marsh's kindness has enabled me to put before you a diagram, every figure in which is an actual representation of some specimen which is to be seen at yale at this present time (fig. ). fig. . the succession of forms which he has brought together carries us from the top to the bottom of the tertiaries. firstly, there is the true horse. next we have the american pliocene form of the horse (_pliohippus_); in the conformation of its limbs it presents some very slight deviations from the ordinary horse, and the crowns of the grinding teeth are shorter. then comes the _protohippus,_ which represents the european _hipparion,_ having one large digit and two small ones on each foot, and the general characters of the fore-arm and leg to which i have referred. but it is more valuable than the european _hipparion_ for the reason that it is devoid of some of the peculiarities of that form--peculiarities which tend to show that the european _hipparion_ is rather a member of a collateral branch, than a form in the direct line of succession. next, in the backward order in time, is the _miohippus,_ which corresponds pretty nearly with the _anchitherium_ of europe. it presents three complete toes--one large median and two smaller lateral ones; and there is a rudiment of that digit, which answers to the little finger of the human hand. the european record of the pedigree of the horse stops here; in the american tertiaries, on the contrary, the series of ancestral equine forms is continued into the eocene formations. an older miocene form, termed _mesohippus,_ has three toes in front, with a large splint-like rudiment representing the little finger; and three toes behind. the radius and ulna, the tibia and the fibula, are distinct, and the short crowned molar teeth are anchitherioid in pattern. but the most important discovery of all is the _orohippus,_ which comes from the eocene formation, and is the oldest member of the equine series, as yet known. here we find four complete toes on the front limb, three toes on the hind limb, a well-developed ulna, a well-developed fibula, and short-crowned grinders of simple pattern. thus, thanks to these important researches, it has become evident that, so far as our present knowledge extends, the history of the horse-type is exactly and precisely that which could have been predicted from a knowledge of the principles of evolution. and the knowledge we now possess justifies us completely in the anticipation, that when the still lower eocene deposits, and those which belong to the cretaceous epoch, have yielded up their remains of ancestral equine animals, we shall find, first, a form with four complete toes and a rudiment of the innermost or first digit in front, with, probably, a rudiment of the fifth digit in the hind foot; [ ] while, in still older forms, the series of the digits will be more and more complete, until we come to the five-toed animals, in which, if the doctrine of evolution is well founded, the whole series must have taken its origin. that is what i mean by demonstrative evidence of evolution. an inductive hypothesis is said to be demonstrated when the facts are shown to be in entire accordance with it. if that is not scientific proof, there are no merely inductive conclusions which can be said to be proved. and the doctrine of evolution, at the present time, rests upon exactly as secure a foundation as the copernican theory of the motions of the heavenly bodies did at the time of its promulgation. its logical basis is precisely of the same character--the coincidence of the observed facts with theoretical requirements. the only way of escape, if it be a way of escape, from the conclusions which i have just indicated, is the supposition that all these different equine forms have been created separately at separate epochs of time; and, i repeat, that of such an hypothesis as this there neither is, nor can be, any scientific evidence; and, assuredly, so far as i know, there is none which is supported, or pretends to be supported, by evidence or authority of any other kind. i can but think that the time will come when such suggestions as these, such obvious attempts to escape the force of demonstration, will be put upon the same footing as the supposition made by some writers, who are i believe not completely extinct at present, that fossils are mere simulacra, are no indications of the former existence of the animals to which they seem to belong; but that they are either sports of nature, or special creations, intended--as i heard suggested the other day--to test our faith. in fact, the whole evidence is in favour of evolution, and there is none against it. and i say this, although perfectly well aware of the seeming difficulties which have been built up upon what appears to the uninformed to be a solid foundation. i meet constantly with the argument that the doctrine of evolution cannot be well founded, because it requires the lapse of a very vast period of time; while the duration of life upon the earth thus implied is inconsistent with the conclusions arrived at by the astronomer and the physicist. i may venture to say that i am familiar with those conclusions, inasmuch as some years ago, when president of the geological society of london, i took the liberty of criticising them, and of showing in what respects, as it appeared to me, they lacked complete and thorough demonstration. but, putting that point aside, suppose that, as the astronomers, or some of them, and some physical philosophers, tell us, it is impossible that life could have endured upon the earth for as long a period as is required by the doctrine of evolution--supposing that to be proved--i desire to be informed, what is the foundation for the statement that evolution does require so great a time? the biologist knows nothing whatever of the amount of time which may be required for the process of evolution. it is a matter of fact that the equine forms which i have described to you occur, in the order stated, in the tertiary formations. but i have not the slightest means of guessing whether it took a million of years, or ten millions, or a hundred millions, or a thousand millions of years, to give rise to that series of changes. a biologist has no means of arriving at any conclusion as to the amount of time which may be needed for a certain quantity of organic change. he takes his time from the geologist. the geologist, considering the rate at which deposits are formed and the rate at which denudation goes on upon the surface of the earth, arrives at more or less justifiable conclusions as to the time which is required for the deposit of a certain thickness of rocks; and if he tells me that the tertiary formations required , , years for their deposit, i suppose he has good ground for what he says, and i take that as a measure of the duration of the evolution of the horse from the _orohippus_ up to its present condition. and, if he is right, undoubtedly evolution is a very slow process, and requires a great deal of time. but suppose, now, that an astronomer or a physicist--for instance, my friend sir william thomson--tells me that my geological authority is quite wrong; and that he has weighty evidence to show that life could not possibly have existed upon the surface of the earth , , years ago, because the earth would have then been too hot to allow of life, my reply is: "that is not my affair; settle that with the geologist, and when you have come to an agreement among yourselves i will adopt your conclusion." we take our time from the geologists and physicists; and it is monstrous that, having taken our time from the physical philosopher's clock, the physical philosopher should turn round upon us, and say we are too fast or too slow. what we desire to know is, is it a fact that evolution took place? as to the amount of time which evolution may have occupied, we are in the hands of the physicist and the astronomer, whose business it is to deal with those questions. i have now, ladies and gentlemen, arrived at the conclusion of the task which i set before myself when i undertook to deliver these lectures. my purpose has been, not to enable those among you who have paid no attention to these subjects before, to leave this room in a condition to decide upon the validity or the invalidity of the hypothesis of evolution; but i have desired to put before you the principles upon which all hypotheses respecting the history of nature must be judged; and furthermore, to make apparent the nature of the evidence and the amount of cogency which is to be expected and may be obtained from it. to this end, i have not hesitated to regard you as genuine students and persons desirous of knowing the truth. i have not shrunk from taking you through long discussions, that i fear may have sometimes tried your patience; and i have inflicted upon you details which were indispensable, but which may well have been wearisome. but i shall rejoice--i shall consider that i have done you the greatest service which it was in my power to do--if i have thus convinced you that the great question which we have been discussing is not one to be dealt with by rhetorical flourishes, or by loose and superficial talk; but that it requires the keen attention of the trained intellect and the patience of the accurate observer. when i commenced this series of lectures, i did not think it necessary to preface them with a prologue, such as might be expected from a stranger and a foreigner; for during my brief stay in your country, i have found it very hard to believe that a stranger could be possessed of so many friends, and almost harder that a foreigner could express himself in your language in such a way as to be, to all appearance, so readily intelligible. so far as i can judge, that most intelligent, and perhaps, i may add, most singularly active and enterprising body, your press reporters, do not seem to have been deterred by my accent from giving the fullest account of everything that i happen to have said. but the vessel in which i take my departure to-morrow morning is even now ready to slip her moorings; i awake from my delusion that i am other than a stranger and a foreigner. i am ready to go back to my place and country; but, before doing so, let me, by way of epilogue, tender to you my most hearty thanks for the kind and cordial reception which you have accorded to me; and let me thank you still more for that which is the greatest compliment which can be afforded to any person in my position--the continuous and undisturbed attention which you have bestowed upon the long argument which i have had the honour to lay before you. footnotes: [footnote : the absence of any keel on the breast-bone and some other osteological peculiarities, observed by professor marsh, however, suggest that _hesperornis_ may be a modification of a less specialised group of birds than that to which these existing aquatic birds belong.] [footnote : a second specimen, discovered in , and at present in the berlin museum, shows an excellently preserved skull with teeth; and three digits, all terminated by claws, in the fore limb. .] [footnote : i use the word "type" because it is highly probable that many forms of _anchitherium-_like and _hipparion-_like animals existed in the miocene and pliocene epochs, just as many species of the horse tribe exist now, and it is highly improbable that the particular species of _anchitherium_ or _hipparion,_ which happen to have been discovered, should be precisely those which have formed part of the direct line of the horse's pedigree.] [footnote : since this lecture was delivered, professor marsh has discovered a new genus of equine mammals (_eohippus_) from the lowest eocene deposits of the west, which corresponds very nearly to this description.--_american journal of science,_ november, .] hasisadra's adventure essay # from "science and hebrew tradition" by thomas henry huxley some thousands of years ago there was a city in mesopotamia called surippak. one night a strange dream came to a dweller therein, whose name, if rightly reported, was hasisadra. the dream foretold the speedy coming of a great flood; and it warned hasisadra to lose no time in building a ship, in which, when notice was given, he, his family and friends, with their domestic animals and a collection of wild creatures and seed of plants of the land, might take refuge and be rescued from destruction. hasisadra awoke, and at once acted upon the warning. a strong decked ship was built, and her sides were paid, inside and out, with the mineral pitch, or bitumen, with which the country abounded; the vessel's seaworthiness was tested, the cargo was stowed away, and a trusty pilot or steersman appointed. the promised signal arrived. wife and friends embarked; hasisadra, following, prudently "shut the door," or, as we should say, put on the hatches; and nes-hea, the pilot, was left alone on deck to do his best for the ship. thereupon a hurricane began to rage; rain fell in torrents; the subterranean waters burst forth; a deluge swept over the land, and the wind lashed it into waves sky high; heaven and earth became mingled in chaotic gloom. for six days and seven nights the gale raged, but the good ship held out until, on the seventh day, the storm lulled. hasisadra ventured on deck; and, seeing nothing but a waste of waters strewed with floating corpses and wreck, wept over the destruction of his land and people. far away, the mountains of nizir were visible; the ship was steered for them and ran aground upon the higher land. yet another seven days passed by. on the seventh, hasisadra sent forth a dove, which found no resting place and returned; then he liberated a swallow, which also came back; finally, a raven was let loose, and that sagacious bird, when it found that the water had abated, came near the ship, but refused to return to it. upon this, hasisadra liberated the rest of the wild animals, which immediately dispersed in all directions, while he, with his family and friends, ascending a mountain hard by, offered sacrifice upon its summit to the gods. the story thus given in summary abstract, told in an ancient semitic dialect, is inscribed in cuneiform characters upon a tablet of burnt clay. many thousands of such tablets, collected by assurbanipal, king of assyria in the middle of the seventh century b.c., were stored in the library of his palace at nineveh; and, though in a sadly broken and mutilated condition, they have yielded a marvellous amount of information to the patient and sagacious labour which modern scholars have bestowed upon them. among the multitude of documents of various kinds, this narrative of hasisadra's adventure has been found in a tolerably complete state. but assyriologists agree that it is only a copy of a much more ancient work; and there are weighty reasons for believing that the story of hasisadra's flood was well known in mesopotamia before the year b.c. no doubt, then, we are in presence of a narrative which has all the authority which antiquity can confer; and it is proper to deal respectfully with it, even though it is quite as proper, and indeed necessary, to act no less respectfully towards ourselves; and, before professing to put implicit faith in it, to inquire what claim it has to be regarded as a serious account of an historical event. it is of no use to appeal to contemporary history, although the annals of babylonia, no less than those of egypt, go much further back than b.c. all that can be said is, that the former are hardly consistent with the supposition that any catastrophe, competent to destroy all the population, has befallen the land since civilisation began, and that the latter are notoriously silent about deluges. in such a case as this, however, the silence of history does not leave the inquirer wholly at fault. natural science has something to say when the phenomena of nature are in question. natural science may be able to show, from the nature of the country, either that such an event as that described in the story is impossible, or at any rate highly improbable; or, on the other hand, that it is consonant with probability. in the former case, the narrative must be suspected or rejected; in the latter, no such summary verdict can be given: on the contrary, it must be admitted that the story may be true. and then, if certain strangely prevalent canons of criticism are accepted, and if the evidence that an event might have happened is to be accepted as proof that it did happen, assyriologists will be at liberty to congratulate one another on the "confirmation by modern science" of the authority of their ancient books. it will be interesting, therefore, to inquire how far the physical structure and the other conditions of the region in which surippak was situated are compatible with such a flood as is described in the assyrian record. the scene of hasisadra's adventure is laid in the broad valley, six or seven hundred miles long, and hardly anywhere less than a hundred miles in width, which is traversed by the lower courses of the rivers euphrates and tigris, and which is commonly known as the "euphrates valley." rising, at the one end, into a hill country, which gradually passes into the alpine heights of armenia; and, at the other, dipping beneath the shallow waters of the head of the persian gulf, which continues in the same direction, from north-west to south-east, for some eight hundred miles farther, the floor of the valley presents a gradual slope, from eight hundred feet above the sea level to the depths of the southern end of the persian gulf. the boundary between sea and land, formed by the extremest mudflats of the delta of the two rivers, is but vaguely defined; and, year by year, it advances seaward. on the north-eastern side, the western frontier ranges of persia rise abruptly to great heights; on the south-western side, a more gradual ascent leads to a table-land of less elevation, which, very broad in the south, where it is occupied by the deserts of arabia and of southern syria, narrows, northwards, into the highlands of palestine, and is continued by the ranges of the lebanon, the antilebanon, and the taurus, into the highlands of armenia. the wide and gently inclined plain, thus inclosed between the gulf and the highlands, on each side and at its upper extremity, is distinguishable into two regions of very different character, one of which lies north, and the other south of the parallel of hit, on the euphrates. except in the immediate vicinity of the river, the northern division is stony and scantily covered with vegetation, except in spring. over the southern division, on the contrary, spreads a deep alluvial soil, in which even a pebble is rare; and which, though, under the existing misrule, mainly a waste of marsh and wilderness, needs only intelligent attention to become, as it was of old, the granary of western asia. except in the extreme south, the rainfall is small and the air dry. the heat in summer is intense, while bitterly cold northern blasts sweep the plain in winter. whirlwinds are not uncommon; and, in the intervals of the periodical inundations, the fine, dry, powdery soil is swept, even by moderate breezes, into stifling clouds, or rather fogs, of dust. low inequalities, elevations here and depressions there, diversify the surface of the alluvial region. the latter are occupied by enormous marshes, while the former support the permanent dwellings of the present scanty and miserable population. in antiquity, so long as the canalisation of the country was properly carried out, the fertility of the alluvial plain enabled great and prosperous nations to have their home in the euphrates valley. its abundant clay furnished the materials for the masses of sun-dried and burnt bricks, the remains of which, in the shape of huge artificial mounds, still testify to both the magnitude and the industry of the population, thousands of years ago. good cement is plentiful, while the bitumen, which wells from the rocks at hit and elsewhere, not only answers the same purpose, but is used to this day, as it was in hasisadra's time, to pay the inside and the outside of boats. in the broad lower course of the euphrates, the stream rarely acquires a velocity of more than three miles an hour, while the lower tigris attains double that rate in times of flood. the water of both great rivers is mainly derived from the northern and eastern highlands in armenia and in kurdistan, and stands at its lowest level in early autumn and in january. but when the snows accumulated in the upper basins of the great rivers, during the winter, melt under the hot sunshine of spring, they rapidly rise, [ ] and at length overflow their banks, covering the alluvial plain with a vast inland sea, interrupted only by the higher ridges and hummocks which form islands in a seemingly boundless expanse of water. in the occurrence of these annual inundations lies one of several resemblances between the valley of the euphrates and that of the nile. but there are important differences. the time of the annual flood is reversed, the nile being highest in autumn and winter, and lowest in spring and early summer. the periodical overflows of the nile, regulated by the great lake basins in the south, are usually punctual in arrival, gradual in growth, and beneficial in operation. no lakes are interposed between the mountain torrents of the upper basis of the tigris and the euphrates and their lower courses. hence, heavy rain, or an unusually rapid thaw in the uplands, gives rise to the sudden irruption of a vast volume of water which not even the rapid tigris, still less its more sluggish companion, can carry off in time to prevent violent and dangerous overflows. without an elaborate system of canalisation, providing an escape for such sudden excesses of the supply of water, the annual floods of the euphrates, and especially of the tigris, must always be attended with risk, and often prove harmful. there are other peculiarities of the euphrates valley which may occasionally tend to exacerbate the evils attendant on the inundations. it is very subject to seismic disturbances; and the ordinary consequences of a sharp earthquake shock might be seriously complicated by its effect on a broad sheet of water. moreover the indian ocean lies within the region of typhoons; and if, at the height of an inundation, a hurricane from the south-east swept up the persian gulf, driving its shallow waters upon the delta and damming back the outflow, perhaps for hundreds of miles up-stream, a diluvial catastrophe, fairly up to the mark of hasisadra's, might easily result. [ ] thus there seems to be no valid reason for rejecting hasisadra's story on physical grounds. i do not gather from the narrative that the "mountains of nizir" were supposed to be submerged, but merely that they came into view above the distant horizon of the waters, as the vessel drove in that direction. certainly the ship is not supposed to ground on any of their higher summits, for hasisadra has to ascend a peak in order to offer his sacrifice. the country of nizir lay on the north-eastern side of the euphrates valley, about the courses of the two rivers zab, which enter the tigris where it traverses the plain of assyria some eight or nine hundred feet above the sea; and, so far as i can judge from maps [ ] and other sources of information, it is possible, under the circumstances supposed, that such a ship as hasisadra's might drive before a southerly gale, over a continuously flooded country, until it grounded on some of the low hills between which both the lower and the upper zab enter upon the assyrian plain. the tablet which contains the story under consideration is the eleventh of a series of twelve. each of these answers to a month, and to the corresponding sign of the zodiac. the assyrian year began with the spring equinox; consequently, the eleventh month, called "the rainy," answers to our january-february, and to the sign which corresponds with our aquarius. the aquatic adventure of hasisadra, therefore, is not inappropriately placed. it is curious, however, that the season thus indirectly assigned to the flood is not that of the present highest level of the rivers. it is too late for the winter rise and too early for the spring floods. i think it must be admitted that, so far, the physical cross-examination to which hasisadra has been subjected does not break down his story. on the contrary, he proves to have kept it in all essential respects [ ] within the bounds of probability or possibility. however, we have not yet done with him. for the conditions which obtained in the euphrates valley, four or five thousand years ago, may have differed to such an extent from those which now exist that we should be able to convict him of having made up his tale. but here again everything is in favour of his credibility. indeed, he may claim very powerful support, for it does not lie in the mouths of those who accept the authority of the pentateuch to deny that the euphrates valley was what it is, even six thousand years back. according to the book of genesis, phrat and hiddekel--the euphrates and the tigris--are coeval with paradise. an edition of the scriptures, recently published under high authority, with an elaborate apparatus of "helps" for the use of students--and therefore, as i am bound to suppose, purged of all statements that could by any possibility mislead the young--assigns the year b.c. as the date of adam's too brief residence in that locality. but i am far from depending on this authority for the age of the mesopotamian plain. on the contrary, i venture to rely, with much more confidence, on another kind of evidence, which tends to show that the age of the great rivers must be carried back to a date earlier than that at which our ingenuous youth is instructed that the earth came into existence. for, the alluvial deposit having been brought down by the rivers, they must needs be older than the plain it forms, as navvies must needs antecede the embankment painfully built up by the contents of their wheel-barrows. for thousands of years, heat and cold, rain, snow, and frost, the scrubbing of glaciers, and the scouring of torrents laden with sand and gravel, have been wearing down the rocks of the upper basins of the rivers, over an area of many thousand square miles; and these materials, ground to fine powder in the course of their long journey, have slowly subsided, as the water which carried them spread out and lost its velocity in the sea. it is because this process is still going on that the shore of the delta constantly encroaches on the head of the gulf [ ] into which the two rivers are constantly throwing the waste of armenia and of kurdistan. hence, as might be expected, fluviatile and marine shells are common in the alluvial deposit; and loftus found strata, containing subfossil marine shells of species now living, in the persian gulf, at warka, two hundred miles in a straight line from the shore of the delta. [ ] it follows that, if a trustworthy estimate of the average rate of growth of the alluvial can be formed, the lowest limit (by no means the highest limit) of age of the rivers can be determined. all such estimates are beset with sources of error of very various kinds; and the best of them can only be regarded as approximations to the truth. but i think it will be quite safe to assume a maximum rate of growth of four miles in a century for the lower half of the alluvial plain. now, the cycle of narratives of which hasisadra's adventure forms a part contains allusions not only to surippak, the exact position of which is doubtful, but to other cities, such as erech. the vast ruins at the present village of warka have been carefully explored and determined to be all that remains of that once great and flourishing city, "erech the lofty." supposing that the two hundred miles of alluvial country, which separates them from the head of the persian gulf at present, have been deposited at the very high rate of four miles in a century, it will follow that years ago, or about the year b.c., the city of erech still lay forty miles inland. indeed, the city might have been built a thousand years earlier. moreover, there is plenty of independent archaeological and other evidence that in the whole thousand years, to b.c, the alluvial plain was inhabited by a numerous people, among whom industry, art, and literature had attained a very considerable development. and it can be shown that the physical conditions and the climate of the euphrates valley, at that time, must have been extremely similar to what they are now. thus, once more, we reach the conclusion that, as a question of physical probability, there is no ground for objecting to the reality of hasisadra's adventure. it would be unreasonable to doubt that such a flood might have happened, and that such a person might have escaped in the way described, any time during the last years. and if the postulate of loose thinkers in search of scientific "confirmations" of questionable narratives--proof that an event may have happened is evidence that it did happen--is to be accepted, surely hasisadra's story is "confirmed by modern scientific investigation" beyond all cavil. however, it may be well to pause before adopting this conclusion, because the original story, of which i have set forth only the broad outlines, contains a great many statements which rest upon just the same foundation as those cited, and yet are hardly likely to meet with general acceptance. the account of the circumstances which led up to the flood, of those under which hasisadra's adventure was made known to his descendant, of certain remarkable incidents before and after the flood, are inseparably bound up with the details already given. and i am unable to discover any justification for arbitrarily picking out some of these and dubbing them historical verities, while rejecting the rest as legendary fictions. they stand or fall together. before proceeding to the consideration of these less satisfactory details, it is needful to remark that hasisadra's adventure is a mere episode in a cycle of stories of which a personage, whose name is provisionally read "izdubar," is the centre. the nature of izdubar hovers vaguely between the heroic and the divine; sometimes he seems a mere man, sometimes approaches so closely to the divinities of fire and of the sun as to be hardly distinguishable from them. as i have already mentioned, the tablet which sets forth hasisadra's perils is one of twelve; and, since each of these represents a month and bears a story appropriate to the corresponding sign of the zodiac, great weight must be attached to sir henry rawlinson's suggestion that the epos of izdubar is a poetical embodiment of solar mythology. in the earlier books of the epos, the hero, not content with rejecting the proffered love of the chaldaean aphrodite, istar, freely expresses his very low estimate of her character; and it is interesting to observe that, even in this early stage of human experience, men had reached a conception of that law of nature which expresses the inevitable consequences of an imperfect appreciation of feminine charms. the injured goddess makes izdubar's life a burden to him, until at last, sick in body and sorry in mind, he is driven to seek aid and comfort from his forbears in the world of spirits. so this antitype of odysseus journeys to the shore of the waters of death, and there takes ship with a chaldaean charon, who carries him within hail of his ancestor hasisadra. that venerable personage not only gives izdubar instructions how to regain his health, but tells him, somewhat _a propos des bottes_ (after the manner of venerable personages), the long story of his perilous adventure; and how it befell that he, his wife, and his steersman came to dwell among the blessed gods, without passing through the portals of death like ordinary mortals. according to the full story, the sins of mankind had become grievous; and, at a council of the gods, it was resolved to extirpate the whole race by a great flood. and, once more, let us note the uniformity of human experience. it would appear that, four thousand years ago, the obligations of confidential intercourse about matters of state were sometimes violated--of course from the best of motives. ea, one of the three chiefs of the chaldaean pantheon, the god of justice and of practical wisdom, was also the god of the sea; and, yielding to the temptation to do a friend a good turn, irresistible to kindly seafaring folks of all ranks, he warned hasisadra of what was coming. when bel subsequently reproached him for this breach of confidence, ea defended himself by declaring that he did not tell hasisadra anything; he only sent him a dream. this was undoubtedly sailing very near the wind; but the attribution of a little benevolent obliquity of conduct to one of the highest of the gods is a trifle compared with the truly homeric anthropomorphism which characterises other parts of the epos. the chaldæan deities are, in truth, extremely human; and, occasionally, the narrator does not scruple to represent them in a manner which is not only inconsistent with our idea of reverence, but is sometimes distinctly humorous. [ ] when the storm is at its height, he exhibits them flying in a state of panic to anu, the god of heaven, and crouching before his portal like frightened dogs. as the smoke of hasisadra's sacrifice arises, the gods, attracted by the sweet savour, are compared to swarms of flies. i have already remarked that the lady istar's reputation is torn to shreds; while she and ea scold bel handsomely for his ferocity and injustice in destroying the innocent along with the guilty. one is reminded of here hung up with weighted heels; of misleading dreams sent by zeus; of ares howling as he flies from the trojan battlefield; and of the very questionable dealings of aphrodite with helen and paris. but to return to the story. bel was, at first, excluded from the sacrifice as the author of all the mischief; which really was somewhat hard upon him, since the other gods agreed to his proposal. but eventually a reconciliation takes place; the great bow of anu is displayed in the heavens; bel agrees that he will be satisfied with what war, pestilence, famine, and wild beasts can do in the way of destroying men; and that, henceforward, he will not have recourse to extraordinary measures. finally, it is bel himself who, by way of making amends, transports hasisadra, his wife, and the faithful nes-hea to the abode of the gods. it is as indubitable as it is incomprehensible to most of us, that, for thousands of years, a great people, quite as intelligent as we are, and living in as high a state of civilisation as that which had been attained in the greater part of europe a few centuries ago, entertained not the slightest doubt that anu, bel, ea, istar, and the rest, were real personages, possessed of boundless powers for good and evil. the sincerity of the monarchs whose inscriptions gratefully attribute their victories to merodach, or to assur, is as little to be questioned as that of the authors of the hymns and penitential psalms which give full expression to the heights and depths of religious devotion. an "infidel" bold enough to deny the existence, or to doubt the influence, of these deities probably did not exist in all mesopotamia; and even constructive rebellion against their authority was apt to end in the deprivation, not merely of the good name, but of the skin of the offender. the adherents of modern theological systems dismiss these objects of the love and fear of a hundred generations of their equals, offhand, as "gods of the heathen," mere creations of a wicked and idolatrous imagination; and, along with them, they disown, as senseless, the crude theology, with its gross anthropomorphism and its low ethical conception of the divinity, which satisfied the pious souls of chaldaea. i imagine, though i do not presume to be sure, that any endeavour to save the intellectual and moral credit of chaldaean religion, by suggesting the application to it of that universal solvent of absurdities, the allegorical method, would be scouted; i will not even suggest that any ingenuity can be equal to the discovery of the antitypes of the personifications effected by the religious imagination of later ages, in the triad anu, ea, and bel, still less in istar. therefore, unless some plausible reconciliatory scheme should be propounded by a neo-chaldaean devotee (and, with neo-buddhists to the fore, this supposition is not so wild as it looks), i suppose the moderns will continue to smile, in a superior way, at the grievous absurdity of the polytheistic idolatry of these ancient people. it is probably a congenital absence of some faculty which i ought to possess which withholds me from adopting this summary procedure. but i am not ashamed to share david hume's want of ability to discover that polytheism is, in itself, altogether absurd. if we are bound, or permitted, to judge the government of the world by human standards, it appears to me that directorates are proved, by familiar experience, to conduct the largest and the most complicated concerns quite as well as solitary despots. i have never been able to see why the hypothesis of a divine syndicate should be found guilty of innate absurdity. those assyrians, in particular, who held assur to be the one supreme and creative deity, to whom all the other supernal powers were subordinate, might fairly ask that the essential difference between their system and that which obtains among the great majority of their modern theological critics should be demonstrated. in my apprehension, it is not the quantity, but the quality, of the persons, among whom the attributes of divinity are distributed, which is the serious matter. if the divine might is associated with no higher ethical attributes than those which obtain among ordinary men; if the divine intelligence is supposed to be so imperfect that it cannot foresee the consequences of its own contrivances; if the supernal powers can become furiously angry with the creatures of their omnipotence and, in their senseless wrath, destroy the innocent along with the guilty; or if they can show themselves to be as easily placated by presents and gross flattery as any oriental or occidental despot; if, in short, they are only stronger than mortal men and no better, as it must be admitted hasisadra's deities proved themselves to be--then, surely, it is time for us to look somewhat closely into their credentials, and to accept none but conclusive evidence of their existence. to the majority of my respected contemporaries this reasoning will doubtless appear feeble, if not worse. however, to my mind, such are the only arguments by which the chaldaean theology can be satisfactorily upset. so far from there being any ground for the belief that ea, anu, and bel are, or ever were, real entities, it seems to me quite infinitely more probable that they are products of the religious imagination, such as are to be found everywhere and in all ages, so long as that imagination riots uncontrolled by scientific criticism. it is on these grounds that i venture, at the risk of being called an atheist by the ghosts of all the principals of all the colleges of babylonia, or by their living successors among the neo-chaldaeans, if that sect should arise, to express my utter disbelief in the gods of hasisadra. hence, it follows, that i find hasisadra's account of their share in his adventure incredible; and, as the physical details of the flood are inseparable from its theophanic accompaniments, and are guaranteed by the same authority, i must let them go with the rest. the consistency of such details with probability counts for nothing. the inhabitants of chaldaea must always have been familiar with inundations; probably no generation failed to witness an inundation which rose unusually high, or was rendered serious by coincident atmospheric or other disturbances. and the memory of the general features of any exceptionally severe and devastating flood, would be preserved by popular tradition for long ages. what, then, could be more natural than that a chaldaean poet should seek for the incidents of a great catastrophe among such phenomena? in what other way than by such an appeal to their experience could he so surely awaken in his audience the tragic pity and terror? what possible ground is there for insisting that he must have had some individual good in view, and that his history is historical, in the sense that the account of the effects of a hurricane in the bay of bengal, in the year , is historical? more than three centuries after the time of assurbanipal, berosus of babylon, born in the reign of alexander the great, wrote an account of the history of his country in greek. the work of berosus has vanished; but extracts from it--how far faithful is uncertain--have been preserved by later writers. among these occurs the well-known story of the deluge of xisuthros, which is evidently built upon the same foundation as that of hasisadra. the incidents of the divine warning, the building of the ship, the sending out of birds, the ascension of the hero, betray their common origin. but stories, like madeira, acquire a heightened flavour with time and travel; and the version of berosus is characterised by those circumstantial improbabilities which habitually gather round the legend of a legend. the later narrator knows the exact day of the month on which the flood began. the dimensions of the ship are stated with munchausenian precision at five stadia by two--say, half by one-fifth of an english mile. the ship runs aground among the "gordaean mountains" to the south of lake van, in armenia, beyond the limits of any imaginable real inundation of the euphrates valley; and, by way of climax, we have the assertion, worthy of the sailor who said that he had brought up one of pharaoh's chariot wheels on the fluke of his anchor in the red sea, that pilgrims visited the locality and made amulets of the bitumen which they scraped off from the still extant remains of the mighty ship of xisuthros. suppose that some later polyhistor, as devoid of critical faculty as most of his tribe, had found the version of berosus, as well as another much nearer the original story; that, having too much respect for his authorities to make up a _tertium quid_ of his own, out of the materials offered, he followed a practice, common enough among ancient and, particularly, among semitic historians, of dividing, both into fragments and piecing these together, without troubling himself very much about those resulting repetitions and inconsistencies; the product of such a primitive editorial operation would be a narrative analogous to that which treats of the noachian deluge in the book of genesis. for the pentateuchal story is indubitably a patchwork, composed of fragments of at least two, different and partly discrepant, narratives, quilted together in such an inartistic fashion that the seams remain conspicuous. and, in the matter of circumstantial exaggeration, it in some respects excels even the second-hand legend of berosus. there is a certain practicality about the notion of taking refuge from floods and storms in a ship provided with a steersman; but, surely, no one who had ever seen more water than he could wade through would dream of facing even a moderate breeze, in a huge three-storied coffer, or box, three hundred cubits long, fifty wide and thirty high, left to drift without rudder or pilot. [ ] not content with giving the exact year of noah's age in which the flood began, the pentateuchal story adds the month and the day of the month. it is the deity himself who "shuts in" noah. the modest week assigned to the full deluge in hasisadra's story becomes forty days, in one of the pentateuchal accounts, and a hundred and fifty in the other. the flood, which, in the version of berosus, has grown so high as to cast the ship among the mountains of armenia, is improved upon in the hebrew account until it covers "all the high hills that were under the whole heaven"; and, when it begins to subside, the ark is left stranded on the summit of the highest peak, commonly identified with ararat itself. while the details of hasisadra's adventure are, at least, compatible with the physical conditions of the euphrates valley, and, as we have seen, involve no catastrophe greater than such as might be brought under those conditions, many of the very precisely stated details of noah's flood contradict some of the best established results of scientific inquiry. if it is certain that the alluvium of the mesopotamian plain has been brought down by the tigris and the euphrates, then it is no less certain that the physical structure of the whole valley has persisted, without material modification, for many thousand years before the date assigned to the flood. if the summits, even of the moderately elevated ridges which immediately bound the valley, still more those of the kurdish and armenian mountains, were ever covered by water, for even forty days, that water must have extended over the whole earth. if the earth was thus covered, anywhere between and years ago, or, at any other time, since the higher terrestrial animals came into existence, they must have been destroyed from the whole face of it, as the pentateuchal account declares they were three several times (genesis vii. , , ), in language which cannot be made more emphatic, or more solemn, than it is; and the present population must consist of the descendants of emigrants from the ark. and, if that is the case, then, as has often been pointed out, the sloths of the brazilian forests, the kangaroos of australia, the great tortoises of the galapagos islands, must have respectively hobbled, hopped, and crawled over many thousand miles of land and sea from "ararat" to their present habitations. thus, the unquestionable facts of the geographical distribution of recent land animals, alone, form an insuperable obstacle to the acceptance of the assertion that the kinds of animals composing the present terrestrial fauna have been, at any time, universally destroyed in the way described in the pentateuch. it is upon this and other unimpeachable grounds that, as i ventured to say some time ago, persons who are duly conversant with even the elements of natural science decline to take the noachian deluge seriously; and that, as i also pointed out, candid theologians, who, without special scientific knowledge, have appreciated the weight of scientific arguments, have long since given it up. but, as goethe has remarked, there is nothing more terrible than energetic ignorance; [ ] and there are, even yet, very energetic people, who are neither candid, nor clear-headed, nor theologians, still less properly instructed in the elements of natural science, who make prodigious efforts to obscure the effect of these plain truths, and to conceal their real surrender of the historical character of noah's deluge under cover of the smoke of a great discharge of pseudoscientific artillery. they seem to imagine that the proofs which abound in all parts of the world, of large oscillations of the relative level of land and sea, combined with the probability that, when the sea-level was rising, sudden incursions of the sea like that which broke in over holland and formed the zuyder zee, may have often occurred, can be made to look like evidence that something that, by courtesy, might be called a general deluge has really taken place. their discursive energy drags misunderstood truth into their service; and "the glacial epoch" is as sure to crop up among them as king charles's head in a famous memorial--with about as much appropriateness. the old story of the raised beach on moel tryfaen is trotted out; though, even if the facts are as yet rightly interpreted, there is not a shadow of evidence that the change of sea-level in that locality was sudden, or that glacial welshmen would have known it was taking place. [ ] surely it is difficult to perceive the relevancy of bringing in something that happened in the glacial epoch (if it did happen) to account for the tradition of a flood in the euphrates valley between and b.c. but the date of the noachian flood is solidly fixed by the sole authority for it; no shuffling of the chronological data will carry it so far back as b.c.; and the hebrew epos agrees with the chaldaean in placing it after the development of a somewhat advanced civilisation. the only authority for the noachian deluge assures us that, before it visited the earth, cain had built cities; jubal had invented harps and organs; while mankind had advanced so far beyond the neolithic, nay even the bronze, stage that tubal-cain was a worker in iron. therefore, if the noachian legend is to be taken for the history of an event which happened in the glacial epoch, we must revise our notions of pleistocene civilisation. on the other hand, if the pentateuchal story only means something quite different, that happened somewhere else, thousands of years earlier, dressed up, what becomes of its credit as history? i wonder what would be said to a modern historian who asserted that pekin was burnt down in , and then tried to justify the assertion by adducing evidence of the great fire of london in . yet the attempt to save the credit of the noachian story by reference to something which is supposed to have happened in the far north, in the glacial epoch, is far more preposterous. moreover, these dust-raising dialecticians ignore some of the most important and well-known facts which bear upon the question. anything more than a parochial acquaintance with physical geography and geology would suffice to remind its possessor that the holy land itself offers a standing protest against bringing such a deluge as that of noah anywhere near it, either in historical times or in the course of that pleistocene period, of which the "great ice age" formed a part. judaea and galilee, moab and gilead, occupy part of that extensive tableland at the summit of the western boundary of the euphrates valley, to which i have already referred. if that valley had ever been filled with water to a height sufficient, not indeed to cover a third of ararat, in the north, or half of some of the mountains of the persian frontier in the east, but to reach even four or five thousand feet, it must have stood over the palestinian hog's back, and have filled, up to the brim, every depression on its surface. therefore it could not have failed to fill that remarkable trench in which the dead sea, the jordan, and the sea of galilee lie, and which is known as the "jordan-arabah" valley. this long and deep hollow extends more than miles, from near the site of ancient dan in the north, to the water-parting at the head of the wady arabah in the south; and its deepest part, at the bottom of the basin of the dead sea, lies feet below the surface of the adjacent mediterranean. the lowest portion of the rim of the jordan-arabah valley is situated at the village of el fuleh, feet above the mediterranean. everywhere else the circumjacent heights rise to a very much greater altitude. hence, of the water which stood over the syrian tableland, when as much drained off as could run away, enough would remain to form a "mere" without an outlet, feet deep, over the present site of the dead sea. from this time forth, the level of the palestinian mere could be lowered only by evaporation. it is an extremely interesting fact, which has happily escaped capture for the purposes of the energetic misunderstanding, that the valley, at one time, was filled, certainly within feet of this height--probably higher. and it is almost equally certain, that the time at which this great jordan-arabah mere reached its highest level coincides with the glacial epoch. but then the evidence which goes to prove this, also leads to the conclusion that this state of things obtained at a period considerably older than even b.c., when the world, according to the "helps" (or shall we say "hindrances") provided for the simple student of the bible, was created; that it was not brought about by any diluvial catastrophe, but was the result of a change in the relative activities of certain natural operations which are quietly going on now; and that, since the level of the mere began to sink, many thousand years ago, no serious catastrophe of any description has affected the valley. the evidence that the jordan-arabah valley really was once filled with water, the surface of which reached within feet of the level of the pass of jezrael, and possibly stood higher, is this: remains of alluvial strata, containing shells of the freshwater mollusks which still inhabit the valley, worn down into terraces by waves which long rippled at the same level, and furrowed by the channels excavated by modern rainfalls, have been found at the former height; and they are repeated, at intervals, lower down, until the ghor, or plain of the jordan, itself an alluvial deposit, is reached. these strata attain a considerable thickness; and they indicate that the epoch at which the freshwater mere of palestine reached its highest level is extremely remote; that its diminution has taken place very slowly, and with periods of rest, during which the first formed deposits were cut down into terraces. this conclusion is strikingly borne out by other facts. a volcanic region stretches from galilee to gilead and the hauran, on each side of the northern end of the valley. some of the streams of basaltic lava which have been thrown out from its craters and clefts in times of which history has no record, have run athwart the course of the jordan itself, or of that of some of its tributary streams. the lava streams, therefore, must be of later date than the depressions they fill. and yet, where they have thus temporarily dammed the jordan and the jermuk, these streams have had time to cut through the hard basalts and lay bare the beds, over which, before the lava streams invaded them, they flowed. in fact, the antiquity of the present jordan-arabah valley, as a hollow in a tableland, out of reach of the sea, and troubled by no diluvial or other disturbances, beyond the volcanic eruptions of gilead and of galilee, is vast, even as estimated by a geological standard. no marine deposits of later than miocene age occur in or about it; and there is every reason to believe that the syro-arabian plateau has been dry land, throughout the pliocene and later epochs, down to the present time. raised beaches, containing recent shells, on the levantine shores of the mediterranean and on those of the red sea, testify to a geologically recent change of the sea level to the extent of or feet, probably produced by the slow elevation of the land; and, as i have already remarked, the alluvial plain of the euphrates and tigris appears to have been affected in the same way, though seemingly to a less extent. but of violent, or catastrophic, change there is no trace. even the volcanic outbursts have flowed in even sheets over the old land surface; and the long lines of the horizontal terraces which remain, testify to the geological insignificance of such earthquakes as have taken place. it is, indeed, possible that the original formation of the valley may have been determined by the well-known fault, along which the western rocks are relatively depressed and the eastern elevated. but, whether that fault was effected slowly or quickly, and whenever it came into existence, the excavation of the valley to its present width, no less than the sculpturing of its steep walls and of the innumerable deep ravines which score them down to the very bottom, are indubitably due to the operation of rain and streams, during an enormous length of time, without interruption or disturbance of any magnitude. the alluvial deposits which have been mentioned are continued into the lateral ravines, and have more or less filled them. but, since the waters have been lowered, these deposits have been cut down to great depths, and are still being excavated by the present temporary, or permanent, streams. hence, it follows, that all these ravines must have existed before the time at which the valley was occupied by the great mere. this fact acquires a peculiar importance when we proceed to consider the grounds for the conclusion that the old palestinian mere attained its highest level in the cold period of the pleistocene epoch. it is well known that glaciers formerly came low down on the flanks of lebanon and antilebanon; indeed, the old moraines are the haunts of the few survivors of the famous cedars. this implies a perennial snowcap of great extent on hermon; therefore, a vastly greater supply of water to the sources of the jordan which rise on its flanks; and, in addition, such a total change in the general climate, that the innumerable wadys, now traversed only by occasional storm torrents, must have been occupied by perennial streams. all this involves a lower annual temperature and a moist and rainy atmosphere. if such a change of meteorological conditions could be effected now, when the loss by evaporation from the surface of the dead sea salt-pan balances all the gain from the jordan and other streams, the scale would be turned in the other direction. the waters of the dead sea would become diluted; its level would rise; it would cover, first the plain of the jordan, then the lake of galilee, then the middle jordan between this lake and that of huleh (the ancient merom); and, finally, it would encroach, northwards, along the course of the upper jordan, and, southwards, up the wady arabah, until it reached some feet above the level of the mediterranean, when it would attain a permanent level, by sending any superfluity through the pass of jezrael to swell the waters of the kishon, and flow thence into the mediterranean. reverse the process, in consequence of the excess of loss by evaporation over gain by inflow, which must have set in as the climate of syria changed after the end of the pleistocene epoch, and (without taking into consideration any other circumstances) the present state of things must eventually be reached--a concentrated saline solution in the deepest part of the valley--water, rather more charged with saline matter than ordinary fresh water, in the lower jordan and the lake of galilee--fresh waters, still largely derived from the snows of hermon, in the upper jordan and in lake huleh. but, if the full state of the jordan valley marks the glacial epoch, then it follows that the excavation of that valley by atmospheric agencies must have occupied an immense antecedent time--a large part, perhaps the whole, of the pliocene epoch; and we are thus forced to the conclusion that, since the miocene epoch, the physical conformation of the holy land has been substantially what it is now. it has been more or less rained upon, searched by earthquakes here and there, partially overflowed by lava streams, slowly raised (relatively to the sea-level) a few hundred feet. but there is not a shadow of ground for supposing that, throughout all this time, terrestrial animals have ceased to inhabit a large part of its surface; or that, in many parts, they have been, in any respect, incommoded by the changes which have taken place. the evidence of the general stability of the physical conditions of western asia, which is furnished by palestine and by the euphrates valley, is only fortified if we extend our view northwards to the black sea and the caspian. the caspian is a sort of magnified replica of the dead sea. the bottom of the deepest part of this vast inland mere is about feet below the level of the mediterranean, while its surface is lower by feet. at present, it is separated, on the west, by wide spaces of dry land from the black sea, which has the same height as the mediterranean; and, on the east, from the aral, feet above that level. the waters of the black sea, now in communication with the mediterranean by the dardanelles and the bosphorus, are salt, but become brackish northwards, where the rivers of the steppes pour in a great volume of fresh water. those of the shallower northern half of the caspian are similarly affected by the volga and the ural, while, in the shallow bays of the southern division, they become extremely saline in consequence of the intense evaporation. the aral sea, though supplied by the jaxartes and the oxus, has brackish water. there is evidence that, in the pliocene and pleistocene periods, to go no farther back, the strait of the dardanelles did not exist, and that the vast area, from the valley of the danube to that of the jaxartes, was covered by brackish or, in some parts, fresh water to a height of at least feet above the level of the mediterranean. at the present time, the water-parting which separates the northern part of the basin of the caspian from the vast plains traversed by the tobol and the obi, in their course to the arctic ocean, appears to be less than feet above the latter. it would seem, therefore, to be very probable that, under the climatal conditions of part of the pleistocene period, the valley of the obi played the same part in relation to the ponto-aralian sea, as that of the kishon may have done to the great mere of the jordan valley; and that the outflow formed the channel by which the well-known arctic elements of the fauna of the caspian entered it. for the fossil remains imbedded in the strata continuously deposited in the aralo-caspian area, since the latter end of the miocene epoch, show no sign that, from that time onward, it has ever been covered by sea water. therefore, the supposition of a free inflow of the arctic ocean, which at one time was generally received, as well as that of various hypothetical deluges from that quarter, must be seriously questioned. the caspian and the aral stand in somewhat the same relation to the vast basin of dry land in which they lie, as the dead sea and the lake of galilee to the jordan valley. they are the remains of a vast, mostly brackish, mere, which has dried up in consequence of the excess of evaporation over supply, since the cold and damp climate of the pleistocene epoch gave place to the increasing dryness and great summer heats of central asia in more modern times. the desiccation of the aralo-caspian basin, which communicated with the black sea only by a comparatively narrow and shallow strait along the present valley of manytsch, the bottom of which was less than feet above the mediterranean, must have been vastly aided by the erosion of the strait of the dardanelles towards the end of the pleistocene epoch, or perhaps later. for the result of thus opening a passage for the waters of the black sea into the mediterranean must have been the gradual lowering of its level to that of the latter sea. when this process had gone so far as to bring down the black sea water to within less than a hundred feet of its present level, the strait of manytsch ceased to exist; and the vast body of fresh water brought down by the danube, the dnieper, the don, and other south russian rivers was cut off from the caspian, and eventually delivered into the mediterranean. thus, there is as conclusive evidence as one can well hope to obtain in these matters, that, north of the euphrates valley, the physical geography of an area as large as all central europe has remained essentially unchanged, from the miocene period down to our time; just as, to the west of the euphrates valley, palestine has exhibited a similar persistence of geographical type. to the south, the valley of the nile tells exactly the same story. the holes bored by miocene mollusks in the cliffs east and west of cairo bear witness that, in the miocene epoch, it contained an arm of the sea, the bottom of which has since been gradually filled up by the alluvium of the nile, and elevated to its present position. but the higher parts of the mokattam and of the desert about ghizeh, have been dry land from that time to this. too little is known of the geology of persia, at present, to allow any positive conclusion to be enunciated. but, taking the name to indicate the whole continental mass of iran, between the valleys of the indus and the euphrates, the supposition that its physical geography has remained unchanged for an immensely long period is hardly rash. the country is, in fact, an enormous basin, surrounded on all sides by a mountainous rim, and subdivided within by ridges into plateaus and hollows, the bottom of the deepest of which, in the province of seistan, probably descends to the level of the indian ocean. these depressions are occupied by salt marshes and deserts, in which the waters of the streams which flow down the sides of the basin are now dissipated by evaporation. i am acquainted with no evidence that the present iranian basin was ever occupied by the sea; but the accumulations of gravel over a great extent of its surface indicate long-continued water action. it is, therefore, a fair presumption that large lakes have covered much of its present deserts, and that they have dried up by the operation of the same changed climatal conditions as those which have reduced the caspian and the dead sea to their present dimensions. [ ] thus it would seem that the euphrates valley, the centre of the fabled noachian deluge, is also the centre of a region covering some millions of square miles of the present continents of europe, asia, and africa, in which all the facts, relevant to the argument, at present known, converge to the conclusion that, since the miocene epoch, the essential features of its physical geography have remained unchanged; that it has neither been depressed below the sea, nor swept by diluvial waters since that time; and that the chaldaean version of the legend of a flood in the euphrates valley is, of all those which are extant, the only one which is even consistent with probability, since it depicts a local inundation, not more severe than one which might be brought about by a concurrence of favourable conditions at the present day; and which might probably have been more easily effected when the persian gulf extended farther north. hence, the recourse to the "glacial epoch" for some event which might colourably represent a flood, distinctly asserted by the only authority for it to have occurred in historical times, is peculiarly unfortunate. even a welsh antiquary might hesitate over the supposition that a tradition of the fate of moel tryfaen, in the glacial epoch, had furnished the basis of fact for a legend which arose among people whose own experience abundantly supplied them with the needful precedents. moreover, if evidence of interchanges of land and sea are to be accepted as "confirmations" of noah's deluge, there are plenty of sources for the tradition to be had much nearer than wales. the depression now filled by the red sea, for example, appears to be, geologically, of very recent origin. the later deposits found on its shores, two or three hundred feet above the sea level, contain no remains older than those of the present fauna; while, as i have already mentioned, the valley of the adjacent delta of the nile was a gulf of the sea in miocene times. but there is not a particle of evidence that the change of relative level which admitted the waters of the indian ocean between arabia and africa, took place any faster than that which is now going on in greenland and scandinavia, and which has left their inhabitants undisturbed. even more remarkable changes were effected, towards the end of, or since, the glacial epoch, over the region now occupied by the levantine mediterranean and the aegean sea. the eastern coast region of asia minor, the western of greece, and many of the intermediate islands, exhibit thick masses of stratified deposits of later tertiary age and of purely lacustrine characters; and it is remarkable that, on the south side of the island of crete, such masses present steep cliffs facing the sea, so that the southern boundary of the lake in which they were formed must have been situated where the sea now flows. indeed, there are valid reasons for the supposition that the dry land once extended far to the west of the present levantine coast, and not improbably forced the nile to seek an outlet to the north-east of its present delta--a possibility of no small importance in relation to certain puzzling facts in the geographical distribution of animals in this region. at any rate, continuous land joined asia minor with the balkan peninsula; and its surface bore deep fresh-water lakes, apparently disconnected with the ponto-aralian sea. this state of things lasted long enough to allow of the formation of the thick lacustrine strata to which i have referred. i am not aware that there is the smallest ground for the assumption that the aegean land was broken up in consequence of any of the "catastrophes" which are so commonly invoked. [ ] for anything that appears to the contrary, the narrow, steep-sided, straits between the islands of the aegean archipelago may have been originally brought about by ordinary atmospheric and stream action; and may then have been filled from the mediterranean, during a slow submergence proceeding from the south northwards. the strait of the dardanelles is bounded by undisturbed pleistocene strata forty feet thick, through which, to all appearance, the present passage has been quietly cut. that olympus and ossa were torn asunder and the waters of the thessalian basin poured forth, is a very ancient notion, and an often cited "confirmation" of deucalion's flood. it has not yet ceased to be in vogue, apparently because those who entertain it are not aware that modern geological investigation has conclusively proved that the gorge of the penens is as typical an example of a valley of erosion as any to be seen in auvergne or in colorado. [ ] thus, in the immediate vicinity of the vast expanse of country which can be proved to have been untouched by any catastrophe before, during, and since the "glacial epoch," lie the great areas of the aegean and the red sea, in which, during or since the glacial epoch, changes of the relative positions of land and sea have taken place, in comparison with which the submergence of moel tryfaen, with all wales and scotland to boot, does not come to much. what, then, is the relevancy of talk about the "glacial epoch" to the question of the historical veracity of the narrator of the story of the noachian deluge? so far as my knowledge goes, there is not a particle of evidence that destructive inundations were more common, over the general surface of the earth, in the glacial epoch than they have been before or since. no doubt the fringe of an ice-covered region must be always liable to them; but, if we examine the records of such catastrophes in historical times, those produced in the deltas of great rivers, or in lowlands like holland, by sudden floods, combined with gales of wind or with unusual tides, far excel all others. with respect to such inundations as are the consequences of earthquakes, and other slight movements of the crust of the earth, i have never heard of anything to show that they were more frequent and severer in the quaternary or tertiary epochs than they are now. in the discussion of these, as of all other geological problems, the appeal to needless catastrophes is born of that impatience of the slow and painful search after sufficient causes, in the ordinary course of nature, which is a temptation to all, though only energetic ignorance nowadays completely succumbs to it. postscript. my best thanks are due to mr. gladstone for his courteous withdrawal of one of the statements to which i have thought it needful to take exception. the familiarity with controversy, to which mr. gladstone alludes, will have accustomed him to the misadventures which arise when, as sometimes will happen in the heat of fence, the buttons come off the foils. i trust that any scratch which he may have received will heal as quickly as my own flesh wounds have done. a contribution to the last number of this review (_the nineteenth century_) of a different order would be left unnoticed, were it not that my silence would convert me into an accessory to misrepresentations of a very grave character. however, i shall restrict myself to the barest possible statement of facts, leaving my readers to draw their own conclusions. in an article entitled "a great lesson," published in this review for september, : ( ) the duke of argyll says the "overthrow of darwin's speculations" (p. ) concerning the origin of coral reefs, which he fancied had taken place, had been received by men of science "with a grudging silence as far as public discussion is concerned" (p. ). the truth is that, as every one acquainted with the literature of the subject was well aware, the views supposed to have effected this overthrow had been fully and publicly discussed by dana in the united states; by geikie, green, and prestwich in this country; by lapparent in france; and by credner in germany. ( ) the duke of argyll says "that no serious reply has ever been attempted" (p. ). the truth is that the highest living authority on the subject, professor dana, published a most weighty reply, two years before the duke of argyll committed himself to this statement. ( ) the duke of argyll uses the preceding products of defective knowledge, multiplied by excessive imagination, to illustrate the manner in which "certain accepted opinions" established "a sort of reign of terror in their own behalf" (p. ). the truth is that no plea, except that of total ignorance of the literature of the subject, can excuse the errors cited, and that the "reign of terror" is a purely subjective phenomenon. ( ) the letter in "nature" for the th of november, , to which i am referred, contains neither substantiation, nor retractation, of statements and . nevertheless, it repeats number . the duke of argyll says of his article that it "has done what i intended it to do. it has called wide attention to the influence of mere authority in establishing erroneous theories and in retarding the progress of scientific truth." ( ) the duke of argyll illustrates the influence of his fictitious "reign of terror" by the statement that mr. john murray "was strongly advised against the publication of his views in derogation of darwin's long-accepted theory of the coral islands, and was actually induced to delay it for two years" (p. ). and in "nature" for the th november, , the duke of argyll states that he has seen a letter from sir wyville thomson in which he "urged and almost insisted that mr. murray should withdraw the reading of his papers on the subject from the royal society of edinburgh. this was in february, ." the next paragraph, however, contains the confession: "no special reason was assigned." the duke of argyll proceeds to give a speculative opinion that "sir wyville dreaded some injury to the scientific reputation of the body of which he was the chief." truly, a very probable supposition; but as sir wyville thomson's tendencies were notoriously anti-darwinian, it does not appear to me to lend the slightest justification to the duke of argyll's insinuation that the darwinian "terror" influenced him. however, the question was finally set at rest by a letter which appeared in "nature" ( th of december, ), in which the writer says that: "talking with sir wyville about 'murray's new theory,' i asked what objection he had to its being brought before the public? the answer simply was: he considered that the grounds of the theory had not, as yet, been sufficiently investigated or sufficiently corroborated, and that therefore any immature dogmatic publication of it would do less than little service either to science or to the author of the paper." sir wyville thomson was an intimate friend of mine, and i am glad to have been afforded one more opportunity of clearing his character from the aspersions which have been so recklessly cast upon his good sense and his scientific honour. ( ) as to the "overthrow" of darwin's theory, which, according to the duke of argyll, was patent to every unprejudiced person four years ago, i have recently become acquainted with a work, in which a really competent authority, [ ] thoroughly acquainted with all the new lights which have been thrown upon the subject during the last ten years, pronounces the judgment; firstly, that some of the facts brought forward by messrs. murray and guppy against darwin's theory are not facts; secondly, that the others are reconcilable with darwin's theory; and, thirdly, that the theories of messrs. murray and guppy "are contradicted by a series of important facts" (p. ). perhaps i had better draw attention to the circumstance that dr. langenbeck writes under shelter of the guns of the fortress of strasburg; and may therefore be presumed to be unaffected by those dreams of a "reign of terror" which seem to disturb the peace of some of us in these islands (april, ). [see, on the subject of this note, the essay entitled "an episcopal trilogy" in the following volume.] footnotes: [footnote : in may the tigris at bagdad rose - / feet-- feet above its usual rise--and nearly swept away the town. in a similarly exceptional flood did immense damage, destroying houses. see loftus, _chaldea and susiana,_ p. .] [footnote : see the instructive chapter on hasisadra's flood in suess, _das antlitz der erde,_ abth. i. only fifteen years ago a cyclone in the bay of bengal gave rise to a flood which covered square miles of the delta of the ganges, to feet deep, destroying , people, innumerable cattle, houses, and trees. it broke inland on the rising ground of tipperah, and may have swept a vessel from the sea that far, though i do not know that it did.] [footnote : see cernik's maps in _petermanns mittheilungen,_ erganzungashefte and , - .] [footnote : i have not cited the dimensions given to the ships in most translations of the story, because there appears to be a doubt about them. haupt (_keilinschriftliche sindfluth-bericht,_ p. : says that the figures are illegible.)] [footnote : it is probable that a slow movement of elevation of the land at one time contributed to the result--perhaps does so still.] [footnote : at a comparatively recent period, the littoral margin of the persian gulf extended certainly miles farther to the northwest than the present embouchure of the shatt-el arab. (loftus, _quarterly journal of the geological society,_ , p. .) the actual extent of the marine deposit inland cannot be defined, as it is covered by later fluviatile deposits.] [footnote : tiele (_babylonisch-assyrische geschicthe,_ pp. - ) has some very just remarks on this aspect of the epos.] [footnote : in the second volume of the _history of the euphrates,_ p. col. chesney gives a very interesting account of the simple and rapid manner in which the people about tekrit and in the marshes of lemlum construct large barges, and make them water-tight with bitumen. doubtless the practice is extremely ancient and as colonel chesney suggests, may possibly have furnished the conception of noah's ark. but it is one thing to build a barge ft. long by ft. wide and ft. deep in the way described; and another to get a vessel of ten times the dimensions, so constructed, to hold together.] [footnote : "es ist nichts schrecklicher als eine thatige unwissenheit," _maximen und reflexionen,_ iii.] [footnote : the well-known difficulties connected with this case have recently been carefully discussed by mr. bell in the _transactions_ of the geological society of glasgow.] [footnote : an instructive parallel is exhibited by the "great basin" of north america. see the remarkable memoir on _lake bonneville_ by mr. g. k. gilbert, of the united states geological survey, just published.] [footnote : it is true that earthquakes are common enough, but they are incompetent to produce such changes as those which have taken place.] [footnote : see teller, _geologische beschreibung des sud-ostlichen thessalien;_ denkschriften d. akademie der wissenschaften, wien, bd. xl. p. .] [footnote : dr. langenbeck, _die theorien uber die entstehung der korallen-inseln und korallen-riffe_ (p. ), .] the lights of the church and the light of science essay # from "science and hebrew tradition" by thomas henry huxley there are three ways of regarding any account of past occurrences, whether delivered to us orally or recorded in writing. the narrative may be exactly true. that is to say, the words, taken in their natural sense, and interpreted according to the rules of grammar, may convey to the mind of the hearer, or of the reader an idea precisely correspondent with one which would have remained in the mind of a witness. for example, the statement that king charles the first was beheaded at whitehall on the th day of january , is as exactly true as any proposition in mathematics or physics; no one doubts that any person of sound faculties, properly placed, who was present at whitehall throughout that day, and who used his eyes, would have seen the king's head cut off; and that there would have remained in his mind an idea of that occurrence which he would have put into words of the same value as those which we use to express it. or the narrative may be partly true and partly false. thus, some histories of the time tell us what the king said, and what bishop juxon said; or report royalist conspiracies to effect a rescue; or detail the motives which induced the chiefs of the commonwealth to resolve that the king should die. one account declares that the king knelt at a high block, another that he lay down with his neck on a mere plank. and there are contemporary pictorial representations of both these modes of procedure. such narratives, while veracious as to the main event, may and do exhibit various degrees of unconscious and conscious misrepresentation, suppression, and invention, till they become hardly distinguishable from pure fictions. thus, they present a transition to narratives of a third class, in which the fictitious element predominates. here, again, there are all imaginable gradations, from such works as defoe's quasi-historical account of the plague year, which probably gives a truer conception of that dreadful time than any authentic history, through the historical novel, drama, and epic, to the purely phantasmal creations of imaginative genius, such as the old "arabian nights" or the modern "shaving of shagpat." it is not strictly needful for my present purpose that i should say anything about narratives which are professedly fictitious. yet it may be well, perhaps, if i disclaim any intention of derogating from their value, when i insist upon the paramount necessity of recollecting that there is no sort of relation between the ethical, or the aesthetic, or even the scientific importance of such works, and their worth as historical documents. unquestionably, to the poetic artist, or even to the student of psychology, "hamlet" and "macbeth" may be better instructors than all the books of a wilderness of professors of aesthetics or of moral philosophy. but, as evidence of occurrences in denmark, or in scotland, at the times and places indicated, they are out of court; the profoundest admiration for them, the deepest gratitude for their influence, are consistent with the knowledge that, historically speaking, they are worthless fables, in which any foundation of reality that may exist is submerged beneath the imaginative superstructure. at present, however, i am not concerned to dwell upon the importance of fictitious literature and the immensity of the work which it has effected in the education of the human race. i propose to deal with the much more limited inquiry: are there two other classes of consecutive narratives (as distinct from statements of individual facts), or only one? is there any known historical work which is throughout exactly true, or is there not? in the case of the great majority of histories the answer is not doubtful: they are all only partially true. even those venerable works which bear the names of some of the greatest of ancient greek and roman writers, and which have been accepted by generation after generation, down to modern times, as stories of unquestionable truth, have been compelled by scientific criticism, after a long battle, to descend to the common level, and to confession to a large admixture of error. i might fairly take this for granted; but it may be well that i should entrench myself behind the very apposite words of a historical authority who is certainly not obnoxious to even a suspicion of sceptical tendencies. [ ] time was--and that not very long ago--when all the relations of ancient authors concerning the old world were received with a ready belief; and an unreasoning and uncritical faith accepted with equal satisfaction the narrative of the campaigns of caesar and of the doings of romulus, the account of alexander's marches and of the conquests of semiramis. we can most of us remember when, in this country, the whole story of regal rome, and even the legend of the trojan settlement in latium, were seriously placed before boys as history, and discoursed of as unhesitatingly and in as dogmatic a tone as the tale of the catilline conspiracy or the conquest of britain.... but all this is now changed. the last century has seen the birth and growth of a new science--the science of historical criticism.... the whole world of profane history has been revolutionised.... if these utterances were true when they fell from the lips of a bampton lecturer in , with how much greater force do they appeal to us now, when the immense labours of the generation now passing away constitute one vast illustration of the power and fruitfulness of scientific methods of investigation in history, no less than in all other departments of knowledge. at the present time, i suppose, there is no one who doubts that histories which appertain to any other people than the jews, and their spiritual progeny in the first century, fall within the second class of the three enumerated. like goethe's autobiography, they might all be entitled "wahrheit und dichtung"--"truth and fiction." the proportion of the two constituents changes indefinitely; and the quality of the fiction varies through the whole gamut of unveracity. but "dichtung" is always there. for the most acute and learned of historians cannot remedy the imperfections of his sources of information; nor can the most impartial wholly escape the influence of the "personal equation" generated by his temperament and by his education. therefore, from the narratives of herodotus to those set forth in yesterday's "times," all history is to be read subject to the warning that fiction has its share therein. the modern vast development of fugitive literature cannot be the unmitigated evil that some do vainly say it is, since it has put an end to the popular delusion of less press-ridden times, that what appears in print must be true. we should rather hope that some beneficent influence may create among the erudite a like healthy suspicion of manuscripts and inscriptions, however ancient; for a bulletin may lie, even though it be written in cuneiform characters. hotspur's starling, that was to be taught to speak nothing but "mortimer" into the ears of king henry the fourth, might be a useful inmate of every historian's library, if "fiction" were substituted for the name of harry percy's friend. but it was the chief object of the lecturer to the congregation gathered in st. mary's, oxford, thirty-one years ago, to prove to them, by evidence gathered with no little labour and marshalled with much skill, that one group of historical works was exempt from the general rule; and that the narratives contained in the canonical scriptures are free from any admixture of error. with justice and candour, the lecturer impresses upon his hearers that the special distinction of christianity, among the religions of the world, lies in its claim to be historical; to be surely founded upon events which have happened, exactly as they are declared to have happened in its sacred books; which are true, that is, in the sense that the statement about the execution of charles the first is true. further, it is affirmed that the new testament presupposes the historical exactness of the old testament; that the points of contact of "sacred" and "profane" history are innumerable; and that the demonstration of the falsity of the hebrew records, especially in regard to those narratives which are assumed to be true in the new testament, would be fatal to christian theology. my utmost ingenuity does not enable me to discover a flaw in the argument thus briefly summarised. i am fairly at a loss to comprehend how any one, for a moment, can doubt that christian theology must stand or fall with the historical trustworthiness of the jewish scriptures. the very conception of the messiah, or christ, is inextricably interwoven with jewish history; the identification of jesus of nazareth with that messiah rests upon the interpretation of passages of the hebrew scriptures which have no evidential value unless they possess the historical character assigned to them. if the covenant with abraham was not made; if circumcision and sacrifices were not ordained by jahveh; if the "ten words" were not written by god's hand on the stone tables; if abraham is more or less a mythical hero, such as theseus; the story of the deluge a fiction; that of the fall a legend; and that of the creation the dream of a seer; if all these definite and detailed narratives of apparently real events have no more value as history than have the stories of the regal period of rome--what is to be said about the messianic doctrine, which is so much less clearly enunciated? and what about the authority of the writers of the books of the new testament, who, on this theory, have not merely accepted flimsy fictions for solid truths, but have built the very foundations of christian dogma upon legendary quicksands? but these may be said to be merely the carpings of that carnal reason which the profane call common sense; i hasten, therefore, to bring up the forces of unimpeachable ecclesiastical authority in support of my position. in a sermon preached last december, in st. paul's cathedral, [ ] canon liddon declares:-- "for christians it will be enough to know that our lord jesus christ set the seal of his infallible sanction on the whole of the old testament. he found the hebrew canon as we have it in our hands to-day, and he treated it as an authority which was above discussion. nay more: he went out of his way--if we may reverently speak thus--to sanction not a few portions of it which modern scepticism rejects. when he would warn his hearers against the dangers of spiritual relapse, he bids them remember 'lot's wife.' [ ] when he would point out how worldly engagements may blind the soul to a coming judgment, he reminds them how men ate, and drank, and married, and were given in marriage, until the day that noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. [ ] if he would put his finger on a fact in past jewish history which, by its admitted reality, would warrant belief in his own coming resurrection, he points to jonah's being three days and three nights in the whale's belly (p. )." [ ] the preacher proceeds to brush aside the common--i had almost said vulgar--apologetic pretext that jesus was using _ad hominem_ arguments, or "accommodating" his better knowledge to popular ignorance, as well as to point out the inadmissibility of the other alternative, that he shared the popular ignorance. and to those who hold the latter view sarcasm is dealt out with no niggard hand. but they will find it difficult to persuade mankind that, if he could be mistaken on a matter of such strictly religious importance as the value of the sacred literature of his countrymen, he can be safely trusted about anything else. the trustworthiness of the old testament is, in fact, inseparable from the trustworthiness of our lord jesus christ; and if we believe that he is the true light of the world, we shall close our ears against suggestions impairing the credit of those jewish scriptures which have received the stamp of his divine authority. (p. ) moreover, i learn from the public journals that a brilliant and sharply-cut view of orthodoxy, of like hue and pattern, was only the other day exhibited in that great theological kaleidoscope, the pulpit of st. mary's, recalling the time so long passed by, when a bampton lecturer, in the same place, performed the unusual feat of leaving the faith of old-fashioned christians undisturbed. yet many things have happened in the intervening thirty-one years. the bampton lecturer of had to grapple only with the infant hercules of historical criticism; and he is now a full-grown athlete, bearing on his shoulders the spoils of all the lions that have stood in his path. surely a martyr's courage, as well as a martyr's faith, is needed by any one who, at this time, is prepared to stand by the following plea for the veracity of the pentateuch:-- "adam, according to the hebrew original, was for years contemporary with methuselah, who conversed for a hundred years with shem. shem was for fifty years contemporary with jacob, who probably saw jochebed, moses's mother. thus, moses might by oral tradition have obtained the history of abraham, and even of the deluge, at third hand; and that of the temptation and the fall at fifth hand.... "if it be granted--as it seems to be--that the great and stirring events in a nation's life will, under ordinary circumstances, be remembered (apart from all written memorials) for the space of years, being handed down through five generations, it must be allowed (even on more human grounds) that the account which moses gives of the temptation and the fall is to be depended upon, if it passed through no more than four hands between him and adam." [ ] if "the trustworthiness of our lord jesus christ" is to stand or fall with the belief in the sudden transmutation of the chemical components of a woman's body into sodium chloride, or on the "admitted reality" of jonah's ejection, safe and sound, on the shores of the levant, after three days' sea-journey in the stomach of a gigantic marine animal, what possible pretext can there be for even hinting a doubt as to the precise truth of the longevity attributed to the patriarchs? who that has swallowed the camel of jonah's journey will be guilty of the affectation of straining at such a historical gnat--nay, midge--as the supposition that the mother of moses was told the story of the flood by jacob; who had it straight from shem; who was on friendly terms with methuselah; who knew adam quite well? yet, by the strange irony of things, the illustrious brother of the divine who propounded this remarkable theory, has been the guide and foremost worker of that band of investigators of the records of assyria and of babylonia, who have opened to our view, not merely a new chapter, but a new volume of primeval history, relating to the very people who have the most numerous points of contact with the life of the ancient hebrews. now, whatever imperfections may yet obscure the full value of the mesopotamian records, everything that has been clearly ascertained tends to the conclusion that the assignment of no more than years to the period between the time of the origin of mankind and that of augustus caesar, is wholly inadmissible. therefore the biblical chronology, which canon rawlinson trusted so implicitly in , is relegated by all serious critics to the domain of fable. but if scientific method, operating in the region of history, of philology, of archaeology, in the course of the last thirty or forty years, has become thus formidable to the theological dogmatist, what may not be said about scientific method working in the province of physical science? for, if it be true that the canonical scriptures have innumerable points of contact with civil history, it is no less true that they have almost as many with natural history; and their accuracy is put to the test as severely by the latter as by the former. the origin of the present state of the heavens and the earth is a problem which lies strictly within the province of physical science; so is that of the origin of man among living things; so is that of the physical changes which the earth has undergone since the origin of man; so is that of the origin of the various races and nations of men, with all their varieties of language and physical conformation. whether the earth moves round the sun or the contrary; whether the bodily and mental diseases of men and animals are caused by evil spirits or not; whether there is such an agency as witchcraft or not--all these are purely scientific questions; and to all of them the canonical scriptures profess to give true answers. and though nothing is more common than the assumption that these books come into conflict only with the speculative part of modern physical science, no assumption can have less foundation. the antagonism between natural knowledge and the pentateuch would be as great if the speculations of our time had never been heard of. it arises out of contradiction upon matters of fact. the books of ecclesiastical authority declare that certain events happened in a certain fashion; the books of scientific authority say they did not. as it seems that this unquestionable truth has not yet penetrated among many of those who speak and write on these subjects, it may be useful to give a full illustration of it. and for that purpose i propose to deal, at some length, with the narrative of the noachian deluge given in genesis. the bampton lecturer in , and the canon of st. paul's in , are in full agreement that this history is true, in the sense in which i have defined historical truth. the former is of opinion that the account attributed to berosus records a tradition-- not drawn from the hebrew record, much less the foundation of that record; yet coinciding with it in the most remarkable way. the babylonian version is tricked out with a few extravagances, as the monstrous size of the vessel and the translation of xisuthros; but otherwise it is the hebrew history _down to its minutiae._ (p. ). moreover, correcting niebuhr, the bampton lecturer points out that the narrative of berosus implies the universality of the flood. it is plain that the waters are represented as prevailing above the tops of the loftiest mountains in armenia--a height which must have been seen to involve the submersion of all the countries with which the babylonians were acquainted (p. ). i may remark, in passing, that many people think the size of noah's ark "monstrous," considering the probable state of the art of shipbuilding only years after the origin of man; while others are so unreasonable as to inquire why the translation of enoch is less an "extravagance" than that of xisuthros. it is more important, however, to note that the universality of the deluge is recognised, not merely as a part of the story, but as a necessary consequence of some of its details. the latest exponent of anglican orthodoxy, as we have seen, insists upon the accuracy of the pentateuchal history of the flood in a still more forcible manner. it is cited as one of those very narratives to which the authority of the founder of christianity is pledged, and upon the accuracy of which "the trustworthiness of our lord jesus christ" is staked, just as others have staked it upon the truth of the histories of demoniac possession in the gospels. now, when those who put their trust in scientific methods of ascertaining the truth in the province of natural history find themselves confronted and opposed, on their own ground, by ecclesiastical pretensions to better knowledge, it is, undoubtedly, most desirable for them to make sure that their conclusions, whatever they may be, are well founded. and, if they put aside the unauthorised interference with their business and relegate the pentateuchal history to the region of pure fiction, they are bound to assure themselves that they do so because the plainest teachings of nature (apart from all doubtful speculations) are irreconcilable with the assertions which they reject. at the present time, it is difficult to persuade serious scientific inquirers to occupy themselves, in any way, with the noachian deluge. they look at you with a smile and a shrug, and say they have more important matters to attend to than mere antiquarianism. but it was not so in my youth. at that time, geologists and biologists could hardly follow to the end any path of inquiry without finding the way blocked by noah and his ark, or by the first chapter of genesis; and it was a serious matter, in this country at any rate, for a man to be suspected of doubting the literal truth of the diluvial or any other pentateuchal history. the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the geological club (in ) was, if i remember rightly, the last occasion on which the late sir charles lyell spoke to even so small a public as the members of that body. our veteran leader lighted up once more; and, referring to the difficulties which beset his early efforts to create a rational science of geology, spoke, with his wonted clearness and vigour, of the social ostracism which pursued him after the publication of the "principles of geology," in , on account of the obvious tendency of that noble work to discredit the pentateuchal accounts of the creation and the deluge. if my younger contemporaries find this hard to believe, i may refer them to a grave book, "on the doctrine of the deluge," published eight years later, and dedicated by its author to his father, the then archbishop of york. the first chapter refers to the treatment of the "mosaic deluge," by dr. buckland and mr. lyell, in the following terms: their respect for revealed religion has prevented them from arraying themselves openly against the scriptural account of it --much less do they deny its truth--but they are in a great hurry to escape from the consideration of it, and evidently concur in the opinion of linnaeus, that no proofs whatever of the deluge are to be discovered in the structure of the earth (p. ). and after an attempt to reply to some of lyell's arguments, which it would be cruel to reproduce, the writer continues:-- when, therefore, upon such slender grounds, it is determined, in answer to those who insist upon its universality, that the mosaic deluge must be considered a preternatural event, far beyond the reach of philosophical inquiry; not only as to the causes employed to produce it, but as to the effects most likely to result from it; that determination wears an aspect of scepticism, which, however much soever it may be unintentional in the mind of the writer, yet cannot but produce an evil impression on those who are already predisposed to carp and cavil at the evidences of revelation (pp. - ). the kindly and courteous writer of these curious passages is evidently unwilling to make the geologists the victims of general opprobrium by pressing the obvious consequences of their teaching home. one is therefore pained to think of the feelings with which, if he lived so long as to become acquainted with the "dictionary of the bible," he must have perused the article "noah," written by a dignitary of the church for that standard compendium and published in . for the doctrine of the universality of the deluge is therein altogether given up; and i permit myself to hope that a long criticism of the story from the point of view of natural science, with which, at the request of the learned theologian who wrote it, i supplied him, may, in some degree, have contributed towards this happy result. notwithstanding diligent search, i have been unable to discover that the universality of the deluge has any defender left, at least among those who have so far mastered the rudiments of natural knowledge as to be able to appreciate the weight of evidence against it. for example, when i turned to the "speaker's bible," published under the sanction of high anglican authority, i found the following judicial and judicious deliverance, the skilful wording of which may adorn, but does not hide, the completeness of the surrender of the old teaching:-- "without pronouncing too hastily on any fair inferences from the words of scripture, we may reasonably say that their most natural interpretation is, that the whole race of man had become grievously corrupted since the faithful had intermingled with the ungodly; that the inhabited world was consequently filled with violence, and that god had decreed to destroy all mankind except one single family; that, therefore, all that portion of the earth, perhaps as yet a very small portion, into which mankind had spread was overwhelmed with water. the ark was ordained to save one faithful family; and lest that family, on the subsidence of the waters, should find the whole country round them a desert, a pair of all the beasts of the land and of the fowls of the air were preserved along with them, and along with them went forth to replenish the now desolated continent. the words of scripture (confirmed as they are by universal tradition) appear at least to mean as much as this. they do not necessarily mean more." [ ] in the third edition of kitto's "cyclopaedia of biblical literature" ( ), the article "deluge," written by my friend, the present distinguished head of the geological survey of great britain, extinguishes the universality doctrine as thoroughly as might be expected from its authorship; and, since the writer of the article "noah" refers his readers to that entitled "deluge," it is to be supposed, notwithstanding his generally orthodox tone, that he does not dissent from its conclusions. again, the writers in herzog's "real-encyclopadie" (bd. x. ) and in riehm's "handworterbuch" ( )--both works with a conservative leaning--are on the same side; and diestel, [ ] in his full discussion of the subject, remorselessly rejects the universality doctrine. even that staunch opponent of scientific rationalism--may i say rationality?--zockler [ ] flinches from a distinct defence of the thesis, any opposition to which, well within my recollection, was howled down by the orthodox as mere "infidelity." all that, in his sore straits, dr. zockler is able to do, is to pronounce a faint commendation upon a particularly absurd attempt at reconciliation, which would make out the noachian deluge to be a catastrophe which occurred at the end of the glacial epoch. this hypothesis involves only the trifle of a physical revolution of which geology knows nothing; and which, if it secured the accuracy of the pentateuchal writer about the fact of the deluge, would leave the details of his account as irreconcilable with the truths of elementary physical science as ever. thus i may be permitted to spare myself and my readers the weariness of a recapitulation of the overwhelming arguments against the universality of the deluge, which they will now find for themselves stated, as fully and forcibly as could be wished, by anglican and other theologians, whose orthodoxy and conservative tendencies have, hitherto, been above suspicion. yet many fully admit (and, indeed, nothing can be plainer) that, as a matter of fact, the whole earth known to him was inundated; nor is it less obvious that unless all mankind, with the exception of noah and his family, were actually destroyed, the references to the flood in the new testament are unintelligible. but i am quite aware that the strength of the demonstration that no universal deluge ever took place has produced a change of front in the army of apologetic writers. they have imagined that the substitution of the adjective "partial" for "universal," will save the credit of the pentateuch, and permit them, after all, without too many blushes, to declare that the progress of modern science only strengthens the authority of moses. nowhere have i found the case of the advocates of this method of escaping from the difficulties of the actual position better put than in the lecture of professor diestel to which i have referred. after frankly admitting that the old doctrine of universality involves physical impossibilities, he continues:-- all these difficulties fall away as soon as we give up the universality of the deluge, and imagine a _partial_ flooding of the earth, say in western asia. but have we a right to do so? the narrative speaks of "the whole earth." but what is the meaning of this expression? surely not the whole surface of the earth according to the ideas of _modern_ geographers, but, at most, according to the conceptions of the biblical author. this very simple conclusion, however, is never drawn by too many readers of the bible. but one need only cast one's eyes over the tenth chapter of genesis in order to become acquainted with the geographical horizon of the jews. in the north it was bounded by the black sea and the mountains of armenia; extended towards the east very little beyond the tigris; hardly reached the apex of the persian gulf; passed, then, through the middle of arabia and the red sea; went southward through abyssinia, and then turned westward by the frontiers of egypt, and inclosed the easternmost islands of the mediterranean (p. ). the justice of this observation must be admitted, no less than the further remark that, in still earlier times, the pastoral hebrews very probably had yet more restricted notions of what constituted the "whole earth." moreover, i, for one, fully agree with professor diestel that the motive, or generative incident, of the whole story is to be sought in the occasionally excessive and desolating floods of the euphrates and the tigris. let us, provisionally, accept the theory of a partial deluge, and try to form a clear mental picture of the occurrence. let us suppose that, for forty days and forty nights, such a vast quantity of water was poured upon the ground that the whole surface of mesopotamia was covered by water to a depth certainly greater, probably much greater, than fifteen cubits, or twenty feet (gen. vii. ). the inundation prevails upon the earth for one hundred and fifty days and then the flood gradually decreases, until, on the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark, which had previously floated on its surface, grounds upon the "mountains of ararat" [ ] (gen. viii. ). then, as diestel has acutely pointed out ("sintflut," p. ), we are to imagine the further subsidence of the flood to take place so gradually that it was not until nearly two months and a half after this time (that is to say, on the first day of the tenth month) that the "tops of the mountains" became visible. hence it follows that, if the ark drew even as much as twenty feet of water, the level of the inundation fell very slowly--at a rate of only a few inches a day--until the top of the mountain on which it rested became visible. this is an amount of movement which, if it took place in the sea, would be overlooked by ordinary people on the shore. but the mesopotamian plain slopes gently, from an elevation of or feet at its northern end, to the sea, at its southern end, with hardly so much as a notable ridge to break its uniform flatness, for to miles. these being the conditions of the case, the following inquiry naturally presents itself: not, be it observed, as a recondite problem, generated by modern speculation, but as a plain suggestion flowing out of that very ordinary and archaic piece of knowledge that water cannot be piled up like in a heap, like sand; or that it seeks the lowest level. when, after days, "the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained" (gen. viii. ), what prevented the mass of water, several, possibly very many, fathoms deep, which covered, say, the present site of bagdad, from sweeping seaward in a furious torrent; and, in a very few hours, leaving, not only the "tops of the mountains," but the whole plain, save any minor depressions, bare? how could its subsistence, by any possibility, be an affair of weeks and months? and if this difficulty is not enough, let any one try to imagine how a mass of water several perhaps very many, fathoms deep, could be accumulated on a flat surface of land rising well above the sea, and separated from it by no sort of barrier. most people know lord's cricket-ground. would it not be an absurd contradiction to our common knowledge of the properties of water to imagine that, if all the mains of all the waterworks of london were turned on to it, they could maintain a heap of water twenty feet deep over its level surface? is it not obvious that the water, whatever momentary accumulation might take place at first, would not stop there, but that it would dash, like a mighty mill-race, southwards down the gentle slope which ends in the thames? and is it not further obvious, that whatever depth of water might be maintained over the cricket-ground so long as all the mains poured on to it, anything which floated there would be speedily whirled away by the current, like a cork in a gutter when the rain pours? but if this is so, then it is no less certain that noah's deeply laden, sailless, oarless, and rudderless craft, if by good fortune it escaped capsizing in whirlpools, or having its bottom knocked into holes by snags (like those which prove fatal even to well-built steamers on the mississippi in our day), would have speedily found itself a good way down the persian gulf, and not long after in the indian ocean, somewhere between arabia and hindostan. even if, eventually, the ark might have gone ashore, with other jetsam and flotsam, on the coasts of arabia, or of hindostan, or of the maldives, or of madagascar, its return to the "mountains of ararat" would have been a miracle more stupendous than all the rest. thus, the last state of the would-be reconcilers of the story of the deluge with fact is worse than the first. all that they have done is to transfer the contradictions to established truth from the region of science proper to that of common information and common sense. for, really, the assertion that the surface of a body of deep water, to which no addition was made, and which there was nothing to stop from running into the sea, sank at the rate of only a few inches or even feet a day, simply outrages the most ordinary and familiar teachings of every man's daily experience. a child may see the folly of it. in addition, i may remark that the necessary assumption of the "partial deluge" hypothesis (if it is confined to mesopotamia) that the hebrew writer must have meant low hills when he said "high mountains," is quite untenable. on the eastern side of the mesopotamian plain, the snowy peaks of the frontier ranges of persia are visible from bagdad, [ ] and even the most ignorant herdsmen in the neighbourhood of "ur of the chaldees," near its western limit, could hardly have been unacquainted with the comparatively elevated plateau of the syrian desert which lay close at hand. but, surely, we must suppose the biblical writer to be acquainted with the highlands of palestine and with the masses of the sinaitic peninsula, which soar more than feet above the sea, if he knew of no higher elevations; and, if so, he could not well have meant to refer to mere hillocks when he said that "all the high mountains which were under the whole heaven were covered" (genesis vii. ). even the hill-country of galilee reaches an elevation of feet; and a flood which covered it could by no possibility have been other than universal in its superficial extent. water really cannot be got to stand at, say, feet above the sea-level over palestine, without covering the rest of the globe to the same height. even if, in the course of noah's six hundredth year, some prodigious convulsion had sunk the whole region inclosed within "the horizon of the geographical knowledge" of the israelites by that much, and another had pushed it up again, just in time to catch the ark upon the "mountains of ararat," matters are not much mended. i am afraid to think of what would have become of a vessel so little seaworthy as the ark and of its very numerous passengers, under the peculiar obstacles to quiet flotation which such rapid movements of depression and upheaval would have generated. thus, in view, not, i repeat of the recondite speculations of infidel philosophers, but in the face of the plainest and most commonplace of ascertained physical facts, the story of the noachian deluge has no more claim to credit than has that of deucalion; and whether it was, or was not, suggested by the familiar acquaintance of its originators with the effects of unusually great overflows of the tigris and euphrates, it is utterly devoid of historical truth. that is, in my judgment, the necessary result of the application of criticism, based upon assured physical knowledge to the story of the deluge. and it is satisfactory that the criticism which is based, not upon literary and historical speculations, but upon well-ascertained facts in the departments of literature and history, tends to exactly the same conclusion. for i find this much agreed upon by all biblical scholars of repute, that the story of the deluge in genesis is separable into at least two sets of statements; and that, when the statements thus separated are recombined in their proper order, each set furnishes an account of the event, coherent and complete within itself, but in some respects discordant with that afforded by the other set. this fact, as i understand, is not disputed. whether one of these is the work of an elohist, and the other of a jehovist narrator; whether the two have been pieced together in this strange fashion because, in the estimation of the compilers and editors of the pentateuch, they had equal and independent authority, or not; or whether there is some other way of accounting for it--are questions the answers to which do not affect the fact. if possible i avoid _a priori_ arguments. but still, i think it may be urged, without imprudence, that a narrative having this structure is hardly such as might be expected from a writer possessed of full and infallibly accurate knowledge. once more, it would seem that it is not necessarily the mere inclination of the sceptical spirit to question everything, or the wilful blindness of infidels, which prompts grave doubts as to the value of a narrative thus curiously unlike the ordinary run of veracious histories. but the voice of archaeological and historical criticism still has to be heard; and it gives forth no uncertain sound. the marvellous recovery of the records of an antiquity, far superior to any that can be ascribed to the pentateuch, which has been effected by the decipherers of cuneiform characters, has put us in possession of a series, once more, not of speculations, but of facts, which have a most remarkable bearing upon the question of the truthworthiness of the narrative of the flood. it is established, that for centuries before the asserted migration of terah from ur of the chaldees (which, according to the orthodox interpreters of the pentateuch, took place after the year b.c.) lower mesopotamia was the seat of a civilisation in which art and science and literature had attained a development formerly unsuspected or, if there were faint reports of it, treated as fabulous. and it is also no matter of speculation, but a fact, that the libraries of these people contain versions of a long epic poem, one of the twelve books of which tells a story of a deluge, which, in a number of its leading features, corresponds with the story attributed to berosus, no less than with the story given in genesis, with curious exactness. thus, the correctness of canon rawlinson's conclusion, cited above, that the story of berosus was neither drawn from the hebrew record, nor is the foundation of it, can hardly be questioned. it is highly probable, if not certain, that berosus relied upon one of the versions (for there seem to have been several) of the old babylonian epos, extant in his time; and, if that is a reasonable conclusion, why is it unreasonable to believe that the two stories, which the hebrew compiler has put together in such an inartistic fashion, were ultimately derived from the same source? i say ultimately, because it does not at all follow that the two versions, possibly trimmed by the jehovistic writer on the one hand, and by the elohistic on the other, to suit hebrew requirements, may not have been current among the israelites for ages. and they may have acquired great authority before they were combined in the pentateuch. looking at the convergence of all these lines of evidence to the one conclusion--that the story of the flood in genesis is merely a bowdlerised version of one of the oldest pieces of purely fictitious literature extant; that whether this is, or is not, its origin, the events asserted in it to have taken place assuredly never did take place; further, that, in point of fact, the story, in the plain and logically necessary sense of its words, has long since been given up by orthodox and conservative commentators of the established church--i can but admire the courage and clear foresight of the anglican divine who tells us that we must be prepared to choose between the trustworthiness of scientific method and the trustworthiness of that which the church declares to be divine authority. for, to my mind, this declaration of war to the knife against secular science, even in its most elementary form; this rejection, without a moment's hesitation, of any and all evidence which conflicts with theological dogma--is the only position which is logically reconcilable with the axioms of orthodoxy. if the gospels truly report that which an incarnation of the god of truth communicated to the world, then it surely is absurd to attend to any other evidence touching matters about which he made any clear statement, or the truth of which is distinctly implied by his words. if the exact historical truth of the gospels is an axiom of christianity, it is as just and right for a christian to say, let us "close our ears against suggestions" of scientific critics, as it is for the man of science to refuse to waste his time upon circle-squarers and flat-earth fanatics. it is commonly reported that the manifesto by which the canon of st. paul's proclaims that he nails the colours of the straitest biblical infallibility to the mast of the ship ecclesiastical, was put forth as a counterblast to "lux mundi"; and that the passages which i have more particularly quoted are directed against the essay on "the holy spirit and inspiration" in that collection of treatises by anglican divines of high standing, who must assuredly be acquitted of conscious "infidel" proclivities. i fancy that rumour must, for once, be right, for it is impossible to imagine a more direct and diametrical contradiction than that between the passages from the sermon cited above and those which follow:-- what is questioned is that our lord's words foreclose certain critical positions as to the character of old testament literature. for example, does his use of jonah's resurrection as a _type_ of his own, depend in any real degree upon whether it is historical fact or allegory?... once more, our lord uses the time before the flood, to illustrate the carelessness of men before his own coming.... in referring to the flood he certainly suggests that he is treating it as typical, for he introduces circumstances--"eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage "--which have no counterpart in the original narrative. (pp. - ). while insisting on the flow of inspiration through the whole of the old testament, the essayist does not admit its universality. here, also, the new apologetic demands a partial flood: but does the inspiration of the recorder guarantee the exact historical truth of what he records? and, in matter of fact, can the record with due regard to legitimate historical criticism, be pronounced true? now, to the latter of these two questions (and they are quite distinct questions) we may reply that there is nothing to prevent our believing, as our faith strongly disposes us to believe, that the record from abraham downward is, in substance, in the strict sense historical (p. ). it would appear, therefore, that there is nothing to prevent our believing that the record, from abraham upward, consists of stories in the strict sense unhistorical, and that the pre-abrahamic narratives are mere moral and religious "types" and parables. i confess i soon lose my way when i try to follow those who walk delicately among "types" and allegories. a certain passion for clearness forces me to ask, bluntly, whether the writer means to say that jesus did not believe the stories in question, or that he did? when jesus spoke, as of a matter of fact, that "the flood came and destroyed them all," did he believe that the deluge really took place, or not? it seems to me that, as the narrative mentions noah's wife, and his sons' wives, there is good scriptural warranty for the statement that the antediluvians married and were given in marriage; and i should have thought that their eating and drinking might be assumed by the firmest believer in the literal truth of the story. moreover, i venture to ask what sort of value, as an illustration of god's methods of dealing with sin, has an account of an event that never happened? if no flood swept the careless people away, how is the warning of more worth than the cry of "wolf" when there is no wolf? if jonah's three days' residence in the whale is not an "admitted reality," how could it "warrant belief" in the "coming resurrection?" if lot's wife was not turned into a pillar of salt, the bidding those who turn back from the narrow path to "remember" it is, morally, about on a level with telling a naughty child that a bogy is coming to fetch it away. suppose that a conservative orator warns his hearers to beware of great political and social changes, lest they end, as in france, in the domination of a robespierre; what becomes, not only of his argument, but of his veracity, if he, personally, does not believe that robespierre existed and did the deeds attributed to him? like all other attempts to reconcile the results of scientifically-conducted investigation with the demands of the outworn creeds of ecclesiasticism, the essay on inspiration is just such a failure as must await mediation, when the mediator is unable properly to appreciate the weight of the evidence for the case of one of the two parties. the question of "inspiration" really possesses no interest for those who have cast ecclesiasticism and all its works aside, and have no faith in any source of truth save that which is reached by the patient application of scientific methods. theories of inspiration are speculations as to the means by which the authors of statements, in the bible or elsewhere, have been led to say what they have said--and it assumes that natural agencies are insufficient for the purpose. i prefer to stop short of this problem, finding it more profitable to undertake the inquiry which naturally precedes it--namely, are these statements true or false? if they are true, it may be worth while to go into the question of their supernatural generation; if they are false, it certainly is not worth mine. now, not only do i hold it to be proven that the story of the deluge is a pure fiction; but i have no hesitation in affirming the same thing of the story of the creation. [ ] between these two lies the story of the creation of man and woman and their fall from primitive innocence, which is even more monstrously improbable than either of the other two, though, from the nature of the case, it is not so easily capable of direct refutation. it can be demonstrated that the earth took longer than six days in the making, and that the deluge, as described, is a physical impossibility; but there is no proving, especially to those who are perfect in the art of closing their ears to that which they do not wish to hear, that a snake did not speak, or that eve was not made out of one of adam's ribs. the compiler of genesis, in its present form, evidently had a definite plan in his mind. his countrymen, like all other men, were doubtless curious to know how the world began; how men, and especially wicked men, came into being, and how existing nations and races arose among the descendants of one stock; and, finally, what was the history of their own particular tribe. they, like ourselves, desired to solve the four great problems of cosmogeny, anthropogeny, ethnogeny, and geneogeny. the pentateuch furnishes the solutions which appeared satisfactory to its author. one of these, as we have seen, was borrowed from a babylonian fable; and i know of no reason to suspect any different origin for the rest. now, i would ask, is the story of the fabrication of eve to be regarded as one of those pre-abrahamic narratives, the historical truth of which is an open question, in face of the reference to it in a speech unhappily famous for the legal oppression to which it has been wrongfully forced to lend itself? have ye not read, that he which made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; and the twain shall become one flesh? (matt. xix. .) if divine authority is not here claimed for the twenty-fourth verse of the second chapter of genesis, what is the value of language? and again, i ask, if one may play fast and loose with the story of the fall as a "type" or "allegory," what becomes of the foundation of pauline theology?-- for since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. for as in adam all die, so also in christ shall all be made alive ( corinthians xv. , ). if adam may be held to be no more real a personage than prometheus, and if the story of the fall is merely an instructive "type," comparable to the profound promethean mythus, what value has paul's dialectic? while, therefore, every right-minded man must sympathise with the efforts of those theologians, who have not been able altogether to close their ears to the still, small, voice of reason, to escape from the fetters which ecclesiasticism has forged; the melancholy fact remains, that the position they have taken up is hopelessly untenable. it is raked alike by the old-fashioned artillery of the churches and by the fatal weapons of precision with which the _enfants perdus_ of the advancing forces of science are armed. they must surrender, or fall back into a more sheltered position. and it is possible that they may long find safety in such retreat. it is, indeed, probable that the proportional number of those who will distinctly profess their belief in the transubstantiation of lot's wife, and the anticipatory experience of submarine navigation by jonah; in water standing fathoms deep on the side of a declivity without anything to hold it up; and in devils who enter swine--will not increase. but neither is there ground for much hope that the proportion of those who cast aside these fictions and adopt the consequence of that repudiation, are, for some generations, likely to constitute a majority. our age is a day of compromises. the present and the near future seem given over to those happily, if curiously, constituted people who see as little difficulty in throwing aside any amount of post-abrahamic scriptural narrative, as the authors of "lux mundi" see in sacrificing the pre-abrahamic stories; and, having distilled away every inconvenient matter of fact in christian history, continue to pay divine honours to the residue. there really seems to be no reason why the next generation should not listen to a bampton lecture modelled upon that addressed to the last:-- time was--and that not very long ago--when all the relations of biblical authors concerning the whole world were received with a ready belief; and an unreasoning and uncritical faith accepted with equal satisfaction the narrative of the captivity and the doings of moses at the court of pharaoh, the account of the apostolic meeting in the epistle to the galatians, and that of the fabrication of eve. we can most of us remember when, in this country, the whole story of the exodus, and even the legend of jonah, were seriously placed before boys as history; and discoursed of in as dogmatic a tone as the tale of agincourt or the history of the norman conquest. but all this is now changed. the last century has seen the growth of scientific criticism to its full strength. the whole world of history has been revolutionised and the mythology which embarrassed earnest christians has vanished as an evil mist, the lifting of which has only more fully revealed the lineaments of infallible truth. no longer in contact with fact of any kind, faith stands now and for ever proudly inaccessible to the attacks of the infidel. so far the apologist of the future. why not? _cantabit vacuus._ footnotes: [footnote : _bampton lectures_ ( ), on "the historical evidence of the truth of the scripture records stated anew, with special reference to the doubts and discoveries of modern times," by the rev. g. rawlinson, m.a., pp. - .] [footnote : _the worth of the old testament,_ a sermon preached in st. paul's cathedral on the second sunday in advent, th dec., , by h. p. liddon, d.d., d.c.l., canon and chancellor of st. paul's. second edition revised and with a new preface, .] [footnote : st. luke xvii. .] [footnote : st. luke xvii. .] [footnote : st. matt. xii. .] [footnote : _bampton lectures,_ , pp. - .] [footnote : _commentary on genesis,_ by the bishop of ely, p. .] [footnote : _die sintflut,_ .] [footnote : _theologie und naturwissenschaft,_ ii. - ( ).] [footnote : it is very doubtful if this means the region of the armenian ararat. more probably it designates some part either of the kurdish range or of its south-eastern continuation.] [footnote : so reclus (_nouvelle geographie universelle,_ ix. ), but i find the statement doubted by an authority of the first rank.] [footnote : so far as i know, the narrative of the creation is not now held to be true, in the sense in which i have defined historical truth, by any of the reconcilers. as for the attempts to stretch the pentateuchal days into periods of thousands or millions of years, the verdict of the eminent biblical scholar, dr. riehm (_der biblische schopfungsbericht,_ , pp. , ) on such pranks of "auslegungskunst" should be final. why do the reconcilers take goethe's advice seriously?-- "im auslegen seyd frisch und munter! legt ihr's nicht aus, so legt was unter."] mr. gladstone and genesis essay # from "science and hebrew tradition" by thomas henry huxley in controversy, as in courtship, the good old rule to be off with the old before one is on with the new, greatly commends itself to my sense of expediency. and, therefore, it appears to me desirable that i should preface such observations as i may have to offer upon the cloud of arguments (the relevancy of which to the issue which i had ventured to raise is not always obvious) put forth by mr. gladstone in the january number of this review, [ ] by an endeavour to make clear to such of our readers as have not had the advantage of a forensic education the present net result of the discussion. i am quite aware that, in undertaking this task, i run all the risks to which the man who presumes to deal judicially with his own cause is liable. but it is exactly because i do not shun that risk, but, rather, earnestly desire to be judged by him who cometh after me, provided that he has the knowledge and impartiality appropriate to a judge, that i adopt my present course. in the article on "the dawn of creation and worship," it will be remembered that mr. gladstone unreservedly commits himself to three propositions. the first is that, according to the writer of the pentateuch, the "water-population," the "air-population," and the "land-population" of the globe were created successively, in the order named. in the second place, mr. gladstone authoritatively asserts that this (as part of his "fourfold order") has been "so affirmed in our time by natural science, that it may be taken as a demonstrated conclusion and established fact." in the third place, mr. gladstone argues that the fact of this coincidence of the pentateuchal story with the results of modern investigation makes it "impossible to avoid the conclusion, first, that either this writer was gifted with faculties passing all human experience, or else his knowledge was divine." and having settled to his own satisfaction that the first "branch of the alternative is truly nominal and unreal," mr. gladstone continues, "so stands the plea for a revelation of truth from god, a plea only to be met by questioning its possibility" (p. ). i am a simple-minded person, wholly devoid of subtlety of intellect, so that i willingly admit that there may be depths of alternative meaning in these propositions out of all soundings attainable by my poor plummet. still there are a good many people who suffer under a like intellectual limitation; and, for once in my life, i feel that i have the chance of attaining that position of a representative of average opinion which appears to be the modern ideal of a leader of men, when i make free confession that, after turning the matter over in my mind, with all the aid derived from a careful consideration of mr. gladstone's reply, i cannot get away from my original conviction that, if mr. gladstone's second proposition can be shown to be not merely inaccurate, but directly contradictory of facts known to every one who is acquainted with the elements of natural science, the third proposition collapses of itself. and it was this conviction which led me to enter upon the present discussion. i fancied that if my respected clients, the people of average opinion and capacity, could once be got distinctly to conceive that mr. gladstone's views as to the proper method of dealing with grave and difficult scientific and religious problems had permitted him to base a solemn "plea for a revelation of truth from god" upon an error as to a matter of fact, from which the intelligent perusal of a manual of palaeontology would have saved him, i need not trouble myself to occupy their time and attention [ ] with further comments upon his contribution to apologetic literature. it is for others to judge whether i have efficiently carried out my project or not. it certainly does not count for much that i should be unable to find any flaw in my own case, but i think it counts for a good deal that mr. gladstone appears to have been equally unable to do so. he does, indeed, make a great parade of authorities, and i have the greatest respect for those authorities whom mr. gladstone mentions. if he will get them to sign a joint memorial to the effect that our present palaeontological evidence proves that birds appeared before the "land-population" of terrestrial reptiles, i shall think it my duty to reconsider my position--but not till then. it will be observed that i have cautiously used the word "appears" in referring to what seems to me to be absence of any real answer to my criticisms in mr. gladstone's reply. for i must honestly confess that, notwithstanding long and painful strivings after clear insight, i am still uncertain whether mr. gladstone's "defence" means that the great "plea for a revelation from god" is to be left to perish in the dialectic desert; or whether it is to be withdrawn under the protection of such skirmishers as are available for covering retreat. in particular, the remarkable disquisition which covers pages to of mr. gladstone's last contribution has greatly exercised my mind. socrates is reported to have said of the works of heraclitus that he who attempted to comprehend them should be a "delian swimmer," but that, for his part, what he could understand was so good that he was disposed to believe in the excellence of that which he found unintelligible. in endeavouring to make myself master of mr. gladstone's meaning in these pages, i have often been overcome by a feeling analogous to that of socrates, but not quite the same. that which i do understand has appeared to me so very much the reverse of good, that i have sometimes permitted myself to doubt the value of that which i do not understand. in this part of mr. gladstone's reply, in fact, i find nothing of which the bearing upon my arguments is clear to me, except that which relates to the question whether reptiles, so far as they are represented by tortoises and the great majority of lizards and snakes, which are land animals, are creeping things in the sense of the pentateuchal writer or not. i have every respect for the singer of the song of the three children (whoever he may have been); i desire to cast no shadow of doubt upon, but, on the contrary, marvel at, the exactness of mr. gladstone's information as to the considerations which "affected the method of the mosaic writer"; nor do i venture to doubt that the inconvenient intrusion of these contemptible reptiles--"a family fallen from greatness" (p. ), a miserable decayed aristocracy reduced to mere "skulkers about the earth" (_ibid._)--in consequence, apparently, of difficulties about the occupation of land arising out of the earth-hunger of their former serfs, the mammals--into an apologetic argument, which otherwise would run quite smoothly, is in every way to be deprecated. still, the wretched creatures stand there, importunately demanding notice; and, however different may be the practice in that contentious atmosphere with which mr. gladstone expresses and laments his familiarity, in the atmosphere of science it really is of no avail whatever to shut one's eyes to facts, or to try to bury them out of sight under a tumulus of rhetoric. that is my experience of the "elysian regions of science," wherein it is a pleasure to me to think that a man of mr. gladstone's intimate knowledge of english life, during the last quarter of a century, believes my philosophic existence to have been rounded off in unbroken equanimity. however reprehensible, and indeed contemptible, terrestrial reptiles may be, the only question which appears to me to be relevant to my argument is whether these creatures are or are not comprised under the denomination of "everything that creepeth upon the ground." mr. gladstone speaks of the author of the first chapter of genesis as "the mosaic writer"; i suppose, therefore, that he will admit that it is equally proper to speak of the author of leviticus as the "mosaic writer." whether such a phrase would be used by any one who had an adequate conception of the assured results of modern biblical criticism is another matter; but, at any rate, it cannot be denied that leviticus has as much claim to mosaic authorship as genesis. therefore, if one wants to know the sense of a phrase used in genesis, it will be well to see what leviticus has to say on the matter. hence, i commend the following extract from the eleventh chapter of leviticus to mr. gladstone's serious attention:-- and these are they which are unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth: the weasel, and the mouse, and the great lizard after its kind, and the gecko, and the land crocodile, and the sand-lizard, and the chameleon. these are they which are unclean to you among all that creep (v. - l). the merest sunday-school exegesis therefore suffices to prove that when the "mosaic writer" in genesis i. speaks of "creeping things," he means to include lizards among them. this being so, it is agreed, on all hands, that terrestrial lizards, and other reptiles allied to lizards, occur in the permian strata. it is further agreed that the triassic strata were deposited after these. moreover, it is well known that, even if certain footprints are to be taken as unquestionable evidence of the existence of birds, they are not known to occur in rocks earlier than the trias, while indubitable remains of birds are to be met with only much later. hence it follows that natural science does not "affirm" the statement that birds were made on the fifth day, and "everything that creepeth on the ground" on the sixth, on which mr. gladstone rests his order; for, as is shown by leviticus, the "mosaic writer" includes lizards among his "creeping things." perhaps i have given myself superfluous trouble in the preceding argument, for i find that mr. gladstone is willing to assume (he does not say to admit) that the statement in the text of genesis as to reptiles cannot "in all points be sustained" (p. ). but my position is that it cannot be sustained in any point, so that, after all, it has perhaps been as well to go over the evidence again. and then mr. gladstone proceeds as if nothing had happened to tell us that-- there remain great unshaken facts to be weighed. first, the fact that such a record should have been made at all. as most peoples have their cosmogonies, this "fact" does not strike me as having much value. secondly, the fact that, instead of dwelling in generalities, it has placed itself under the severe conditions of a chronological order reaching from the first _nisus_ of chaotic matter to the consummated production of a fair and goodly, a furnished and a peopled world. this "fact" can be regarded as of value only by ignoring the fact demonstrated in my previous paper, that natural science does not confirm the order asserted so far as living things are concerned; and by upsetting a fact to be brought to light presently, to wit, that, in regard to the rest of the pentateuchal cosmogony, prudent science has very little to say one way or the other. thirdly, the fact that its cosmogony seems, in the light of the nineteenth century, to draw more and more of countenance from the best natural philosophy. i have already questioned the accuracy of this statement, and i do not observe that mere repetition adds to its value. and, fourthly, that it has described the successive origins of the five great categories of present life with which human experience was and is conversant, in that order which geological authority confirms. by comparison with a sentence on page , in which a fivefold order is substituted for the "fourfold order," on which the "plea for revelation" was originally founded, it appears that these five categories are "plants, fishes, birds, mammals, and man," which, mr. gladstone affirms, "are given to us in genesis in the order of succession in which they are also given by the latest geological authorities." i must venture to demur to this statement. i showed, in my previous paper, that there is no reason to doubt that the term "great sea monster" (used in gen. i. ) includes the most conspicuous of great sea animals--namely, whales, dolphins, porpoises, manatees, and dugongs; [ ] and, as these are indubitable mammals, it is impossible to affirm that mammals come after birds, which are said to have been created on the same day. moreover, i pointed out that as these cetacea and sirenia are certainly modified land animals, their existence implies the antecedent existence of land mammals. furthermore, i have to remark that the term "fishes," as used, technically, in zoology, by no means covers all the moving creatures that have life, which are bidden to "fill the waters in the seas" (gen. i. - .) marine mollusks and crustacea, echinoderms, corals, and foraminifera are not technically fishes. but they are abundant in the palaeozoic rocks, ages upon ages older than those in which the first evidences of true fishes appear. and if, in a geological book, mr. gladstone finds the quite true statement that plants appeared before fishes, it is only by a complete misunderstanding that he can be led to imagine it serves his purpose. as a matter of fact, at the present moment, it is a question whether, on the bare evidence afforded by fossils, the marine creeping thing or the marine plant has the seniority. no cautious palaeontologist would express a decided opinion on the matter. but, if we are to read the pentateuchal statement as a scientific document (and, in spite of all protests to the contrary, those who bring it into comparison with science do seek to make a scientific document of it), then, as it is quite clear that only terrestrial plants of high organisation are spoken of in verses and , no palaeontologist would hesitate to say that, at present, the records of sea animal life are vastly older than those of any land plant describable as "grass, herb yielding seed or fruit tree." thus, although, in mr. gladstone's "defence," the "old order passeth into new," his case is not improved. the fivefold order is no more "affirmed in our time by natural science" to be "a demonstrated conclusion and established fact" than the fourfold order was. natural science appears to me to decline to have anything to do with either; they are as wrong in detail as they are mistaken in principle. there is another change of position, the value of which is not so apparent to me, as it may well seem to be to those who are unfamiliar with the subject under discussion. mr. gladstone discards his three groups of "water-population," "air-population," and "land-population," and substitutes for them ( ) fishes, ( ) birds, ( ) mammals, ( ) man. moreover, it is assumed, in a note, that "the higher or ordinary mammals" alone were known to the "mosaic writer" (p. ). no doubt it looks, at first, as if something were gained by this alteration; for, as i have just pointed out, the word "fishes" can be used in two senses, one of which has a deceptive appearance of adjustability to the "mosaic" account. then the inconvenient reptiles are banished out of sight; and, finally, the question of the exact meaning of "higher" and "ordinary" in the case of mammals opens up the prospect of a hopeful logomachy. but what is the good of it all in the face of leviticus on the one hand and of palaeontology on the other? as, in my apprehension, there is not a shadow of justification for the suggestion that when the pentateuchal writer says "fowl" he excludes bats (which, as we shall see directly, are expressly included under "fowl" in leviticus), and as i have already shown that he demonstrably includes reptiles, as well as mammals, among the creeping things of the land, i may be permitted to spare my readers further discussion of the "fivefold order." on the whole, it is seen to be rather more inconsistent with genesis than its fourfold predecessor. but i have yet a fresh order to face. mr. gladstone (p. ) understands "the main statements of genesis" in successive order of time, but without any measurement of its divisions, to be as follows:-- . a period of land, anterior to all life (v. , ). . a period of vegetable life, anterior to animal life (v. , ). . a period of animal life, in the order of fishes (v. ). . another stage of animal life, in the order of birds. . another in the order of beasts (v. , ). . last of all, man (v. , ). mr. gladstone then tries to find the proof of the occurrence of a similar succession in sundry excellent works on geology. i am really grieved to be obliged to say that this third (or is it fourth?) modification of the foundation of the "plea for revelation" originally set forth, satisfies me as little as any of its predecessors. for, in the first place, i cannot accept the assertion that this order is to be found in genesis. with respect to no. , for example, i hold, as i have already said, that "great sea monsters" includes the cetacea, in which case mammals (which is what, i suppose, mr. gladstone means by "beasts") come in under head no. , and not under no. . again, "fowl" are said in genesis to be created on the same day as fishes; therefore i cannot accept an order which makes birds succeed fishes. once more, as it is quite certain that the term "fowl" includes the bats,--for in leviticus xi. - we read, "and these shall ye have in abomination among the fowls... the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat,"--it is obvious that bats are also said to have been created at stage no. . and as bats are mammals, and their existence obviously presupposes that of terrestrial "beasts," it is quite clear that the latter could not have first appeared as no. . i need not repeat my reasons for doubting whether man came "last of all." as the latter half of mr. gladstone's sixfold order thus shows itself to be wholly unauthorised by, and inconsistent with, the plain language of the pentateuch, i might decline to discuss the admissibility of its former half. but i will add one or two remarks on this point also. does mr. gladstone mean to say that in any of the works he has cited, or indeed anywhere else, he can find scientific warranty for the assertion that there was a period of land--by which i suppose he means dry land (for submerged land must needs be as old as the separate existence of the sea)--"anterior to all life?" it may be so, or it may not be so; but where is the evidence which would justify any one in making a positive assertion on the subject? what competent palaeontologist will affirm, at this present moment, that he knows anything about the period at which life originated, or will assert more than the extreme probability that such origin was a long way antecedent to any traces of life at present known? what physical geologist will affirm that he knows when dry land began to exist, or will say more than that it was probably very much earlier than any extant direct evidence of terrestrial conditions indicates? i think i know pretty well the answers which the authorities quoted by mr. gladstone would give to these questions; but i leave it to them to give them if they think fit. if i ventured to speculate on the matter at all, i should say it is by no means certain that sea is older than dry land, inasmuch as a solid terrestrial surface may very well have existed before the earth was cool enough to allow of the existence of fluid water. and, in this case, dry land may have existed before the sea. as to the first appearance of life, the whole argument of analogy, whatever it may be worth in such a case, is in favour of the absence of living beings until long after the hot water seas had constituted themselves; and of the subsequent appearance of aquatic before terrestrial forms of life. but whether these "protoplasts" would, if we could examine them, be reckoned among the lowest microscopic algae, or fungi; or among those doubtful organisms which lie in the debatable land between animals and plants, is, in my judgment, a question on which a prudent biologist will reserve his opinion. i think that i have now disposed of those parts of mr. gladstone's defence in which i seem to discover a design to rescue his solemn "plea for revelation." but a great deal of the "proem to genesis" remains which i would gladly pass over in silence, were such a course consistent with the respect due to so distinguished a champion of the "reconcilers." i hope that my clients--the people of average opinions--have by this time some confidence in me; for when i tell them that, after all, mr. gladstone is of opinion that the "mosaic record" was meant to give moral, and not scientific, instruction to those for whom it was written, they may be disposed to think that i must be misleading them. but let them listen further to what mr. gladstone says in a compendious but not exactly correct statement respecting my opinions:-- he holds the writer responsible for scientific precision: i look for nothing of the kind, but assign to him a statement general, which admits exceptions; popular, which aims mainly at producing moral impression; summary, which cannot but be open to more or less of criticism of detail. he thinks it is a lecture. i think it is a sermon. (p. ). i note, incidentally, that mr. gladstone appears to consider that the _differentia_ between a lecture and a sermon is, that the former, so far as it deals with matters of fact, may be taken seriously, as meaning exactly what it says, while a sermon may not. i have quite enough on my hands without taking up the cudgels for the clergy, who will probably find mr. gladstone's definition unflattering. but i am diverging from my proper business, which is to say that i have given no ground for the ascription of these opinions; and that, as a matter of fact, i do not hold them and never have held them. it is mr. gladstone, and not i, who will have it that the pentateuchal cosmogony is to be taken as science. my belief, on the contrary, is, and long has been, that the pentateuchal story of the creation is simply a myth. i suppose it to be an hypothesis respecting the origin of the universe which some ancient thinker found himself able to reconcile with his knowledge, or what he thought was knowledge, of the nature of things, and therefore assumed to be true. as such, i hold it to be not merely an interesting, but a venerable, monument of a stage in the mental progress of mankind; and i find it difficult to suppose that any one who is acquainted with the cosmogonies of other nations--and especially with those of the egyptians and the babylonians, with whom the israelites were in such frequent and intimate communication--should consider it to possess either more, or less, scientific importance than may be allotted to these. mr. gladstone's definition of a sermon permits me to suspect that he may not see much difference between that form of discourse and what i call a myth; and i hope it may be something more than the slowness of apprehension, to which i have confessed, which leads me to imagine that a statement which is "general" but "admits exceptions," which is "popular" and "aims mainly at producing moral impression," "summary" and therefore open to "criticism of detail," amounts to a myth, or perhaps less than a myth. put algebraically, it comes to this, _x=a+b+c_; always remembering that there is nothing to show the exact value of either _a,_ or _b,_ or _c._ it is true that _a_ is commonly supposed to equal , but there are exceptions, and these may reduce it to , or , or ; _b_ also popularly means , but being chiefly used by the algebraist as a "moral" value, you cannot do much with it in the addition or subtraction of mathematical values; _c_ also is quite "summary," and if you go into the details of which it is made up, many of them may be wrong, and their sum total equal to , or even to a minus quantity. mr. gladstone appears to wish that i should ( ) enter upon a sort of essay competition with the author of the pentateuchal cosmogony; ( ) that i should make a further statement about some elementary facts in the history of indian and greek philosophy; and ( ) that i should show cause for my hesitation in accepting the assertion that genesis is supported, at any rate to the extent of the first two verses, by the nebular hypothesis. a certain sense of humour prevents me from accepting the first invitation. i would as soon attempt to put hamlet's soliloquy into a more scientific shape. but if i supposed the "mosaic writer" to be inspired, as mr. gladstone does, it would not be consistent with my notions of respect for the supreme being to imagine him unable to frame a form of words which should accurately, or, at least, not inaccurately, express his own meaning. it is sometimes said that, had the statements contained in the first chapter of genesis been scientifically true, they would have been unintelligible to ignorant people; but how is the matter mended if, being scientifically untrue, they must needs be rejected by instructed people? with respect to the second suggestion, it would be presumptuous in me to pretend to instruct mr. gladstone in matters which lie as much within the province of literature and history as in that of science; but if any one desirous of further knowledge will be so good as to turn to that most excellent and by no means recondite source of information, the "encyclopaedia britannica," he will find, under the letter e, the word "evolution," and a long article on that subject. now, i do not recommend him to read the first half of the article; but the second half, by my friend mr. sully, is really very good. he will there find it said that in some of the philosophies of ancient india, the idea of evolution is clearly expressed: "brahma is conceived as the eternal self-existent being, which, on its material side, unfolds itself to the world by gradually condensing itself to material objects through the gradations of ether, fire, water, earth, and other elements." and again: "in the later system of emanation of sankhya there is a more marked approach to a materialistic doctrine of evolution." what little knowledge i have of the matter--chiefly derived from that very instructive book, "die religion des buddha," by c. f. koeppen, supplemented by hardy's interesting works--leads me to think that mr. sully might have spoken much more strongly as to the evolutionary character of indian philosophy, and especially of that of the buddhists. but the question is too large to be dealt with incidentally. and, with respect to early greek philosophy, [ ] the seeker after additional enlightenment need go no further than the same excellent storehouse of information:-- the early ionian physicists, including thales, anaximander, and anaximenes, seek to explain the world as generated out of a primordial matter which is at the same time the universal support of things. this substance is endowed with a generative or transmutative force by virtue of which it passes into a succession of forms. they thus resemble modern evolutionists since they regard the world, with its infinite variety of forms, as issuing from a simple mode of matter. further on, mr. sully remarks that "heraclitus deserves a prominent place in the history of the idea of evolution," and he states, with perfect justice, that heraclitus has foreshadowed some of the special peculiarities of mr. darwin's views. it is indeed a very strange circumstance that the philosophy of the great ephesian more than adumbrates the two doctrines which have played leading parts, the one in the development of christian dogma, the other in that of natural science. the former is the conception of the word {greek text}[logos] which took its jewish shape in alexandria, and its christian form [ ] in that gospel which is usually referred to an ephesian source of some five centuries later date; and the latter is that of the struggle for existence. the saying that "strife is father and king of all" {greek text}[...], ascribed to heraclitus, would be a not inappropriate motto for the "origin of species." i have referred only to mr. sully's article, because his authority is quite sufficient for my purpose. but the consultation of any of the more elaborate histories of greek philosophy, such as the great work of zeller, for example, will only bring out the same fact into still more striking prominence. i have professed no "minute acquaintance" with either indian or greek philosophy, but i have taken a great deal of pains to secure that such knowledge as i do possess shall be accurate and trustworthy. in the third place, mr. gladstone appears to wish that i should discuss with him the question whether the nebular hypothesis is, or is not, confirmatory of the pentateuchal account of the origin of things. mr. gladstone appears to be prepared to enter upon this campaign with a light heart. i confess i am not, and my reason for this backwardness will doubtless surprise mr. gladstone. it is that, rather more than a quarter of a century ago (namely, in february ), when it was my duty, as president of the geological society, to deliver the anniversary address, [ ] i chose a topic which involved a very careful study of the remarkable cosmogonical speculation, originally promulgated by immanuel kant and, subsequently, by laplace, which is now known as the nebular hypothesis. with the help of such little acquaintance with the principles of physics and astronomy as i had gained, i endeavoured to obtain a clear understanding of this speculation in all its bearings. i am not sure that i succeeded; but of this i am certain, that the problems involved are very difficult, even for those who possess the intellectual discipline requisite for dealing with them. and it was this conviction that led me to express my desire to leave the discussion of the question of the asserted harmony between genesis and the nebular hypothesis to experts in the appropriate branches of knowledge. and i think my course was a wise one; but as mr. gladstone evidently does not understand how there can be any hesitation on my part, unless it arises from a conviction that he is in the right, i may go so far as to set out my difficulties. they are of two kinds--exegetical and scientific. it appears to me that it is vain to discuss a supposed coincidence between genesis and science unless we have first settled, on the one hand, what genesis says, and, on the other hand, what science says. in the first place, i cannot find any consensus among biblical scholars as to the meaning of the words, "in the beginning god created the heaven and the earth." some say that the hebrew word _bara,_ which is translated "create," means "made out of nothing." i venture to object to that rendering, not on the ground of scholarship, but of common sense. omnipotence itself can surely no more make something "out of" nothing than it can make a triangular circle. what is intended by "made out of nothing" appears to be "caused to come into existence," with the implication that nothing of the same kind previously existed. it is further usually assumed that "the heaven and the earth" means the material substance of the universe. hence the "mosaic writer" is taken to imply that where nothing of a material nature previously existed, this substance appeared. that is perfectly conceivable, and therefore no one can deny that it may have happened. but there are other very authoritative critics who say that the ancient israelite [ ] who wrote the passage was not likely to have been capable of such abstract thinking; and that, as a matter of philology, _bara_ is commonly used to signify the "fashioning," or "forming," of that which already exists. now it appears to me that the scientific investigator is wholly incompetent to say anything at all about the first origin of the material universe. the whole power of his organon vanishes when he has to step beyond the chain of natural causes and effects. no form of the nebular hypothesis, that i know of, is necessarily connected with any view of the origination of the nebular substance. kant's form of it expressly supposes that the nebular material from which one stellar system starts may be nothing but the disintegrated substance of a stellar and planetary system which has just come to an end. therefore, so far as i can see, one who believes that matter has existed from all eternity has just as much right to hold the nebular hypothesis as one who believes that matter came into existence at a specified epoch. in other words, the nebular hypothesis and the creation hypothesis, up to this point, neither confirm nor oppose one another. next, we read in the revisers' version, in which i suppose the ultimate results of critical scholarship to be embodied: "and the earth was waste ['without form,' in the authorised version] and void." most people seem to think that this phraseology intends to imply that the matter out of which the world was to be formed was a veritable "chaos," devoid of law and order. if this interpretation is correct, the nebular hypothesis can have nothing to say to it. the scientific thinker cannot admit the absence of law and order; anywhere or anywhen, in nature. sometimes law and order are patent and visible to our limited vision; sometimes they are hidden. but every particle of the matter of the most fantastic-looking nebula in the heavens is a realm of law and order in itself; and, that it is so, is the essential condition of the possibility of solar and planetary evolution from the apparent chaos. [ ] "waste" is too vague a term to be worth consideration. "without form," intelligible enough as a metaphor, if taken literally is absurd; for a material thing existing in space must have a superficies, and if it has a superficies it has a form. the wildest streaks of marestail clouds in the sky, or the most irregular heavenly nebulae, have surely just as much form as a geometrical tetrahedron; and as for "void," how can that be void which is full of matter? as poetry, these lines are vivid and admirable; as a scientific statement, which they must be taken to be if any one is justified in comparing them with another scientific statement, they fail to convey any intelligible conception to my mind. the account proceeds: "and darkness was upon the face of the deep." so be it; but where, then, is the likeness to the celestial nebulae, of the existence of which we should know nothing unless they shone with a light of their own? "and the spirit of god moved upon the face of the waters." i have met with no form of the nebular hypothesis which involves anything analogous to this process. i have said enough to explain some of the difficulties which arise in my mind, when i try to ascertain whether there is any foundation for the contention that the statements contained in the first two verses of genesis are supported by the nebular hypothesis. the result does not appear to me to be exactly favourable to that contention. the nebular hypothesis assumes the existence of matter, having definite properties, as its foundation. whether such matter was created a few thousand years ago, or whether it has existed through an eternal series of metamorphoses of which our present universe is only the last stage, are alternatives, neither of which is scientifically untenable, and neither scientifically demonstrable. but science knows nothing of any stage in which the universe could be said, in other than a metaphorical and popular sense, to be formless or empty; or in any respect less the seat of law and order than it is now. one might as well talk of a fresh-laid hen's egg being "without form and void," because the chick therein is potential and not actual, as apply such terms to the nebulous mass which contains a potential solar system. until some further enlightenment comes to me, then, i confess myself wholly unable to understand the way in which the nebular hypothesis is to be converted into an ally of the "mosaic writer." [ ] but mr. gladstone informs us that professor dana and professor guyot are prepared to prove that the "first or cosmogonical portion of the proem not only accords with, but teaches, the nebular hypothesis." there is no one to whose authority on geological questions i am more readily disposed to bow than that of my eminent friend professor dana. but i am familiar with what he has previously said on this topic in his well-known and standard work, into which, strangely enough, it does not seem to have occurred to mr. gladstone to look before he set out upon his present undertaking; and unless professor dana's latest contribution (which i have not yet met with) takes up altogether new ground, i am afraid i shall not be able to extricate myself, by its help, from my present difficulties. it is a very long time since i began to think about the relations between modern scientifically ascertained truths and the cosmogonical speculations of the writer of genesis; and, as i think that mr. gladstone might have been able to put his case with a good deal more force, if he had thought it worth while to consult the last chapter of professor dana's admirable "manual of geology," so i think he might have been made aware that he was undertaking an enterprise of which he had not counted the cost, if he had chanced upon a discussion of the subject which i published in . [ ] finally, i should like to draw the attention of those who take interest in these topics to the weighty words of one of the most learned and moderate of biblical critics: [ ]-- "a propos de cette premiere page de la bible, on a coutume de nos jours de disserter, a perte de vue, sur l'accord du recit mosaique avec les sciences naturelles; et comme celles-ci tout eloignees qu'elles sont encore de la perfection absolue, ont rendu populaires et en quelque sorte irrefragables un certain nombre de faits generaux ou de theses fondamentales de la cosmologie et de la geologie, c'est le texte sacre qu'on s'evertue a torturer pour le faire concorder avec ces donnees." in my paper on the "interpreters of nature and the interpreters of genesis," while freely availing myself of the rights of a scientific critic, i endeavoured to keep the expression of my views well within those bounds of courtesy which are set by self-respect and consideration for others. i am therefore glad to be favoured with mr. gladstone's acknowledgment of the success of my efforts. i only wish that i could accept all the products of mr. gladstone's gracious appreciation, but there is one about which, as a matter of honesty, i hesitate. in fact, if i had expressed my meaning better than i seem to have done, i doubt if the particular proffer of mr. gladstone's thanks would have been made. to my mind, whatever doctrine professes to be the result of the application of the accepted rules of inductive and deductive logic to its subject-matter; and which accepts, within the limits which it sets to itself, the supremacy of reason, is science. whether the subject-matter consists of realities or unrealities, truths or falsehoods, is quite another question. i conceive that ordinary geometry is science, by reason of its method, and i also believe that its axioms, definitions, and conclusions are all true. however, there is a geometry of four dimensions, which i also believe to be science, because its method professes to be strictly scientific. it is true that i cannot conceive four dimensions in space, and therefore, for me, the whole affair is unreal. but i have known men of great intellectual powers who seemed to have no difficulty either in conceiving them, or, at any rate, in imagining how they could conceive them; and, therefore, four-dimensioned geometry comes under my notion of science. so i think astrology is a science, in so far as it professes to reason logically from principles established by just inductive methods. to prevent misunderstanding, perhaps i had better add that i do not believe one whit in astrology; but no more do i believe in ptolemaic astronomy, or in the catastrophic geology of my youth, although these, in their day, claimed--and, to my mind, rightly claimed--the name of science. if nothing is to be called science but that which is exactly true from beginning to end, i am afraid there is very little science in the world outside mathematics. among the physical sciences, i do not know that any could claim more than that it is true within certain limits, so narrow that, for the present at any rate, they may be neglected. if such is the case, i do not see where the line is to be drawn between exactly true, partially true, and mainly untrue forms of science. and what i have said about the current theology at the end of my paper [_supra_ pp. - ] leaves, i think, no doubt as to the category in which i rank it. for all that, i think it would be not only unjust, but almost impertinent, to refuse the name of science to the "summa" of st. thomas or to the "institutes" of calvin. in conclusion, i confess that my supposed "unjaded appetite" for the sort of controversy in which it needed not mr. gladstone's express declaration to tell us he is far better practised than i am (though probably, without another express declaration, no one would have suspected that his controversial fires are burning low) is already satiated. in "elysium" we conduct scientific discussions in a different medium, and we are liable to threatenings of asphyxia in that "atmosphere of contention" in which mr. gladstone has been able to live, alert and vigorous beyond the common race of men, as if it were purest mountain air. i trust that he may long continue to seek truth, under the difficult conditions he has chosen for the search, with unabated energy--i had almost said fire-- may age not wither him, nor custom stale his infinite variety. but elysium suits my less robust constitution better, and i beg leave to retire thither, not sorry for my experience of the other region--no one should regret experience--but determined not to repeat it, at any rate in reference to the "plea for revelation." note on the proper sense of the "mosaic" narrative of the creation. it has been objected to my argument from leviticus (_suprà_ p. ) that the hebrew words translated by "creeping things" in genesis i. and leviticus xi. , are different; namely, "reh-mes" in the former, "sheh-retz" in the latter. the obvious reply to this objection is that the question is not one of words but of the meaning of words. to borrow an illustration from our own language, if "crawling things" had been used by the translators in genesis and "creeping things" in leviticus, it would not have been necessarily implied that they intended to denote different groups of animals. "sheh-retz" is employed in a wider sense than "reh-mes." there are "sheh-retz" of the waters of the earth, of the air, and of the land. leviticus speaks of land reptiles, among other animals, as "sheh-retz"; genesis speaks of all creeping land animals, among which land reptiles are necessarily included, as "reh-mes." our translators, therefore, have given the true sense when they render both "sheh-retz" and "reh-mes" by "creeping things." having taken a good deal of trouble to show what genesis i.-ii. does not mean, in the preceding pages, perhaps it may be well that i should briefly give my opinion as to what it does mean. i conceive that the unknown author of this part of the hexateuchal compilation believed, and meant his readers to believe, that his words, as they understood them--that is to say, in their ordinary natural sense--conveyed the "actual historical truth." when he says that such and such things happened, i believe him to mean that they actually occurred and not that he imagined or dreamed them; when he says "day," i believe he uses the word in the popular sense; when he says "made" or "created," i believe he means that they came into being by a process analogous to that which the people whom he addressed called "making" or "creating"; and i think that, unless we forget our present knowledge of nature, and, putting ourselves back into the position of a phoenician or a chaldaean philosopher, start from his conception of the world, we shall fail to grasp the meaning of the hebrew writer. we must conceive the earth to be an immovable, more or less flattened, body, with the vault of heaven above, the watery abyss below and around. we must imagine sun, moon, and stars to be "set" in a "firmament" with, or in, which they move; and above which is yet another watery mass. we must consider "light" and "darkness" to be things, the alternation of which constitutes day and night, independently of the existence of sun, moon, and stars. we must further suppose that, as in the case of the story of the deluge, the hebrew writer was acquainted with a gentile (probably chaldaean or accadian) account of the origin of things, in which he substantially believed, but which he stripped of all its idolatrous associations by substituting "elohim" for ea, anu, bel, and the like. from this point of view the first verse strikes the keynote of the whole. in the beginning "elohim [ ] created the heaven and the earth." heaven and earth were not primitive existences from which the gods proceeded, as the gentiles taught; on the contrary, the "powers" preceded and created heaven and earth. whether by "creation" is meant "causing to be where nothing was before" or "shaping of something which pre-existed," seems to me to be an insoluble question. as i have pointed out, the second verse has an interesting parallel in jeremiah iv. : "i beheld the earth, and, lo, it was waste and void; and the heavens, and they had no light." i conceive that there is no more allusion to chaos in the one than in the other. the earth-disk lay in its watery envelope, like the yolk of an egg in the _glaire,_ and the spirit, or breath, of elohim stirred the mass. light was created as a thing by itself; and its antithesis "darkness" as another thing. it was supposed to be the nature of these two to alternate, and a pair of alternations constituted a "day" in the sense of an unit of time. the next step was, necessarily, the formation of that "firmament," or dome over the earth-disk, which was supposed to support the celestial waters; and in which sun, moon, and stars were conceived to be set, as in a sort of orrery. the earth was still surrounded and covered by the lower waters, but the upper were separated from it by the "firmament," beneath which what we call the air lay. a second alternation of darkness and light marks the lapse of time. after this, the waters which covered the earth-disk, under the firmament, were drawn away into certain regions, which became seas, while the part laid bare became dry land. in accordance with the notion, universally accepted in antiquity, that moist earth possesses the potentiality of giving rise to living beings, the land, at the command of elohim, "put forth" all sorts of plants. they are made to appear thus early, not, i apprehend, from any notion that plants are lower in the scale of being than animals (which would seem to be inconsistent with the prevalence of tree worship among ancient people), but rather because animals obviously depend on plants; and because, without crops and harvests, there seemed to be no particular need of heavenly signs for the seasons. these were provided by the fourth day's work. light existed already; but now vehicles for the distribution of light, in a special manner and with varying degrees of intensity, were provided. i conceive that the previous alternations of light and darkness were supposed to go on; but that the "light" was strengthened during the daytime by the sun, which, as a source of heat as well as of light, glided up the firmament from the east, and slid down in the west, each day. very probably each day's sun was supposed to be a new one. and as the light of the day was strengthened by the sun, so the darkness of the night was weakened by the moon, which regularly waxed and waned every month. the stars are, as it were, thrown in. and nothing can more sharply mark the doctrinal purpose of the author, than the manner in which he deals with the heavenly bodies, which the gentiles identified so closely with their gods, as if they were mere accessories to the almanac. animals come next in order of creation, and the general notion of the writer seems to be that they were produced by the medium in which they live; that is to say, the aquatic animals by the waters, and the terrestrial animals by the land. but there was a difficulty about flying things, such as bats, birds, and insects. the cosmogonist seems to have had no conception of "air" as an elemental body. his "elements" are earth and water, and he ignores air as much as he does fire. birds "fly above the earth in the open firmament" or "on the face of the expanse" of heaven. they are not said to fly through the air. the choice of a generative medium for flying things, therefore, seemed to lie between water and earth; and, if we take into account the conspicuousness of the great flocks of water-birds and the swarms of winged insects, which appear to arise from water, i think the preference of water becomes intelligible. however, i do not put this forward as more than a probable hypothesis. as to the creation of aquatic animals on the fifth, that of land animals on the sixth day, and that of man last of all, i presume the order was determined by the fact that man could hardly receive dominion over the living world before it existed; and that the "cattle" were not wanted until he was about to make his appearance. the other terrestrial animals would naturally be associated with the cattle. the absurdity of imagining that any conception, analogous to that of a zoological classification, was in the mind of the writer will be apparent, when we consider that the fifth day's work must include the zoologist's _cetacea, sirenia,_ and seals, [ ] all of which are _mammalia;_ all birds, turtles, sea-snakes and, presumably, the fresh water _reptilia_ and _amphibia;_ with the great majority of _invertebrata._ the creation of man is announced as a separate act, resulting from a particular resolution of elohim to "make man in our image, after our likeness." to learn what this remarkable phrase means we must turn to the fifth chapter of genesis, the work of the same writer. "in the day that elohim created man, in the likeness of elohim made he him; male and female created he them; and blessed them and called their name adam in the day when they were created. and adam lived an hundred and thirty years and begat _a son_ in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name seth." i find it impossible to read this passage without being convinced that, when the writer says adam was made in the likeness of elohim, he means the same sort of likeness as when he says that seth was begotten in the likeness of adam. whence it follows that his conception of elohim was completely anthropomorphic. in all this narrative i can discover nothing which differentiates it, in principle, from other ancient cosmogonies, except the rejection of all gods, save the vague, yet anthropomorphic, elohim, and the assigning to them anteriority and superiority to the world. it is as utterly irreconcilable with the assured truths of modern science, as it is with the account of the origin of man, plants, and animals given by the writer of the second chief constituent of the hexateuch in the second chapter of genesis. this extraordinary story starts with the assumption of the existence of a rainless earth, devoid of plants and herbs of the field. the creation of living beings begins with that of a solitary man; the next thing that happens is the laying out of the garden of eden, and the causing the growth from its soil of every tree "that is pleasant to the sight and good for food"; the third act is the formation out of the ground of "every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air"; the fourth and last, the manufacture of the first woman from a rib, extracted from adam, while in a state of anaesthesia. yet there are people who not only profess to take this monstrous legend seriously, but who declare it to be reconcilable with the elohistic account of the creation! footnotes: [footnote : _the nineteenth century,_ .] [footnote : both dolphins and dugongs occur in the red sea, porpoises and dolphins in the mediterranean; so that the "mosaic writer" may have been acquainted with them.] [footnote : i said nothing about "the greater number of schools of greek philosophy," as mr. gladstone implies that i did, but expressly spoke of the "founders of greek philosophy."] [footnote : see heinze, _die lehre vom logos,_ p. _et seq._] [footnote : reprinted in _lay sermons, addresses, and reviews,_ .] [footnote : "ancient," doubtless, but his antiquity must not be exaggerated. for example, there is no proof that the "mosaic" cosmogony was known to the israelites of solomon's time.] [footnote : when jeremiah (iv. ) says, "i beheld the earth, and, lo, it was waste and void," he certainly does not mean to imply that the form of the earth was less definite, or its substance less solid, than before.] [footnote : in looking through the delightful volume recently published by the astronomer-royal for ireland, a day or two ago, i find the following remarks on the nebular hypothesis, which i should have been glad to quote in my text if i had known them sooner:-- "nor can it be ever more than a speculation; it cannot be established by observation, nor can it be proved by calculation. it is merely a conjecture, more or less plausible, but perhaps in some degree, necessarily true, if our present laws of heat, as we understand them, admit of the extreme application here required, and if the present order of things has reigned for sufficient time without the intervention of any influence at present known to us" (_the story of the heavens,_ p. ). would any prudent advocate base a plea, either for or against revelation, upon the coincidence, or want of coincidence, of the declarations of the latter with the requirements of an hypothesis thus guardedly dealt with by an astronomical expert?] [footnote : lectures on evolution delivered in new york (american addresses).] [footnote : reuss, _l'histoire sainte et la loi,_ vol. i, p. .] [footnote : for the sense of the term "elohim," see the essay entitled "the evolution of theology" at the end of this volume.] [footnote : perhaps even hippopotamuses and otters!] the interpreters of genesis and the interpreters of nature essay # from "science and hebrew tradition" by thomas henry huxley our fabulist warns "those who in quarrels interpose" of the fate which is probably in store for them; and, in venturing to place myself between so powerful a controversialist as mr. gladstone and the eminent divine whom he assaults with such vigour in the last number of this review, [ ] i am fully aware that i run great danger of verifying gay's prediction. moreover, it is quite possible that my zeal in offering aid to a combatant so extremely well able to take care of himself as m. reville may be thought to savour of indiscretion. two considerations, however, have led me to face the double risk. the one is that though, in my judgment, m. reville is wholly in the right in that part of the controversy to which i propose to restrict my observations, nevertheless he, as a foreigner, has very little chance of making the truth prevail with englishmen against the authority and the dialectic skill of the greatest master of persuasive rhetoric among english-speaking men of our time. as the queen's proctor intervenes, in certain cases, between two litigants in the interests of justice, so it may be permitted me to interpose as a sort of uncommissioned science proctor. my second excuse for my meddlesomeness is, that important questions of natural science--respecting which neither of the combatants professes to speak as an expert--are involved in the controversy; and i think it is desirable that the public should know what it is that natural science really has to say on these topics, to the best belief of one who has been a diligent student of natural science for the last forty years. the original "prolegomenes de l'histoire des religions" has not come in my way; but i have read the translation of m. reville's work, published in england under the auspices of professor max muller, with very great interest. it puts more fairly and clearly than any book previously known to me, the view which a man of strong religious feelings, but at the same time possessing the information and the reasoning power which enable him to estimate the strength of scientific methods of inquiry and the weight of scientific truth, may be expected to take of the relation between science and religion. in the chapter on "the primitive revelation" the scientific worth of the account of the creation given in the book of genesis is estimated in terms which are as unquestionably respectful as, in my judgment, they are just; and, at the end of the chapter on "primitive tradition," m. reville appraises the value of pentateuchal anthropology in a way which i should have thought sure of enlisting the assent of all competent judges, even if it were extended to the whole of the cosmogony and biology of genesis:-- as, however, the original traditions of nations sprang up in an epoch less remote than our own from the primitive life, it is indispensable to consult them, to compare them, and to associate them with other sources of information which are available. from this point of view, the traditions recorded in genesis possess, in addition to their own peculiar charm, a value of the highest order; but we cannot ultimately see in them more than a venerable fragment, well-deserving attention, of the great genesis of mankind. mr. gladstone is of a different mind. he dissents from m. reville's views respecting the proper estimation of the pentateuchal traditions, no less than he does from his interpretation of those homeric myths which have been the object of his own special study. in the latter case, mr. gladstone tells m. reville that he is wrong on his own authority, to which, in such a matter, all will pay due respect: in the former, he affirms himself to be "wholly destitute of that kind of knowledge which carries authority," and his rebuke is administered in the name and by the authority of natural science. an air of magisterial gravity hangs about the following passage:-- but the question is not here of a lofty poem, or a skilfully constructed narrative: it is whether natural science, in the patient exercise of its high calling to examine facts, finds that the works of god cry out against what we have fondly believed to be his word and tell another tale; or whether, in this nineteenth century of christian progress, it substantially echoes back the majestic sound, which, before it existed as a pursuit, went forth into all lands. first, looking largely at the latter portion of the narrative, which describes the creation of living organisms, and waiving details, on some of which (as in v. ) the septuagint seems to vary from the hebrew, there is a grand fourfold division, set forth in an orderly succession of times as follows: on the fifth day . the water-population; . the air-population; and, on the sixth day, . the land-population of animals; . the land-population consummated in man. "now this same fourfold order is understood to have been so affirmed in our time by natural science, that it may be taken as a demonstrated conclusion and established fact." (p. ). "understood?" by whom? i cannot bring myself to imagine that mr. gladstone has made so solemn and authoritative a statement on a matter of this importance without due inquiry--without being able to found himself upon recognised scientific authority. but i wish he had thought fit to name the source from whence he has derived his information, as, in that case, i could have dealt with [ ] his authority, and i should have thereby escaped the appearance of making an attack on mr. gladstone himself, which is in every way distasteful to me. for i can meet the statement in the last paragraph of the above citation with nothing but a direct negative. if i know anything at all about the results attained by the natural science of our time, it is "a demonstrated conclusion and established fact" that the "fourfold order" given by mr. gladstone is not that in which the evidence at our disposal tends to show that the water, air, and land-populations of the globe have made their appearance. perhaps i may be told that mr. gladstone does give his authority--that he cites cuvier, sir john herschel, and dr. whewell in support of his case. if that has been mr. gladstone's intention in mentioning these eminent names, i may remark that, on this particular question, the only relevant authority is that of cuvier. but great as cuvier was, it is to be remembered that, as mr. gladstone incidentally remarks, he cannot now be called a recent authority. in fact, he has been dead more than half a century; and the palaeontology of our day is related to that of his, very much as the geography of the sixteenth century is related to that of the fourteenth. since , when cuvier died, not only a new world, but new worlds, of ancient life have been discovered; and those who have most faithfully carried on the work of the chief founder of palaeontology have done most to invalidate the essentially negative grounds of his speculative adherence to tradition. if mr. gladstone's latest information on these matters is derived from the famous discourse prefixed to the "ossemens fossiles," i can understand the position he has taken up; if he has ever opened a respectable modern manual of palaeontology, or geology, i cannot. for the facts which demolish his whole argument are of the commonest notoriety. but before proceeding to consider the evidence for this assertion we must be clear about the meaning of the phraseology employed. i apprehend that when mr. gladstone uses the term "water-population" he means those animals which in genesis i. (revised version) are spoken of as "the great sea monsters and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind." and i presume that it will be agreed that whales and porpoises, sea fishes, and the innumerable hosts of marine invertebrated animals, are meant thereby. so "air-population" must be the equivalent of "fowl" in verse , and "every winged fowl after its kind," verse . i suppose i may take it for granted that by "fowl" we have here to understand birds--at any rate primarily. secondarily, it may be that the bats and the extinct pterodactyles, which were flying reptiles, come under the same head. but whether all insects are "creeping things" of the land-population, or whether flying insects are to be included under the denomination of "winged fowl," is a point for the decision of hebrew exegetes. lastly, i suppose i may assume that "land-population" signifies "the cattle" and "the beasts of the earth," and "every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth," in verses and ; presumably it comprehends all kinds of terrestrial animals, vertebrate and invertebrate, except such as may be comprised under the head of the "air-population." now what i want to make clear is this: that if the terms "water-population," "air-population," and "land-population" are understood in the senses here defined, natural science has nothing to say in favour of the proposition that they succeeded one another in the order given by mr. gladstone; but that, on the contrary, all the evidence we possess goes to prove that they did not. whence it will follow that, if mr. gladstone has interpreted genesis rightly (on which point i am most anxious to be understood to offer no opinion), that interpretation is wholly irreconcilable with the conclusions at present accepted by the interpreters of nature--with everything that can be called "a demonstrated conclusion and established fact" of natural science. and be it observed that i am not here dealing with a question of speculation, but with a question of fact. either the geological record is sufficiently complete to afford us a means of determining the order in which animals have made their appearance on the globe or it is not. if it is, the determination of that order is little more than a mere matter of observation; if it is not, then natural science neither affirms nor refutes the "fourfold order," but is simply silent. the series of the fossiliferous deposits, which contain the remains of the animals which have lived on the earth in past ages of its history, and which can alone afford the evidence required by natural science of the order of appearance of their different species, may be grouped in the manner shown in the left-hand column of the following table, the oldest being at the bottom:-- formations first known appearance of quaternary. pliocene. miocene. eocene. vertebrate _air_-population (bats). cretaceous. jurassic. vertebrate _air_-population (birds and pterodactyles). triassic. upper palaeozoic. middle palaeozoic. vertebrate _land_-population (amphibia, reptilia [?]). lower palaeozoic. silurian. vertebrate _water_-population (fishes). invertebrate _air_ and _land_- population (flying insects and scorpions). cambrian. invertebrate _water_-population (much earlier, if _eozoon_ is animal). in the right-hand column i have noted the group of strata in which, according to our present information, the _land, air,_ and _water_ populations respectively appear for the first time; and in consequence of the ambiguity about the meaning of "fowl," i have separately indicated the first appearance of bats, birds, flying reptiles, and flying insects. it will be observed that, if "fowl" means only "bird," or at most flying vertebrate, then the first certain evidence of the latter, in the jurassic epoch, is posterior to the first appearance of truly terrestrial _amphibia,_ and possibly of true reptiles, in the carboniferous epoch (middle palaeozoic) by a prodigious interval of time. the water-population of vertebrated animals first appears in the upper silurian. [ ] therefore, if we found ourselves on vertebrated animals and take "fowl" to mean birds only, or, at most, flying vertebrates, natural science says that the order of succession was water, land, and air-population, and not--as mr. gladstone, founding himself on genesis, says--water, air, land-population. if a chronicler of greece affirmed that the age of alexander preceded that of pericles and immediately succeeded that of the trojan war, mr. gladstone would hardly say that this order is "understood to have been so affirmed by historical science that it may be taken as a demonstrated conclusion and established fact." yet natural science "affirms" his "fourfold order" to exactly the same extent--neither more nor less. suppose, however, that "fowl" is to be taken to include flying insects. in that case, the first appearance of an air-population must be shifted back for long ages, recent discovery having shown that they occur in rocks of silurian age. hence there might still have been hope for the fourfold order, were it not that the fates unkindly determined that scorpions--"creeping things that creep on the earth" _par excellence--_turned up in silurian strata nearly at the same time. so that, if the word in the original hebrew translated "fowl" should really after all mean "cockroach"--and i have great faith in the elasticity of that tongue in the hands of biblical exegetes--the order primarily suggested by the existing evidence-- . land and air-population; . water-population; and mr. gladstone's order-- . land-population; . air-population; . water-population; can by no means be made to coincide. as a matter of fact, then, the statement so confidently put forward turns out to be devoid of foundation and in direct contradiction of the evidence at present at our disposal. [ ] if, stepping beyond that which may be learned from the facts of the successive appearance of the forms of animal life upon the surface of the globe, in so far as they are yet made known to us by natural science, we apply our reasoning faculties to the task of finding out what those observed facts mean, the present conclusions of the interpreters of nature appear to be no less directly in conflict with those of the latest interpreter of genesis. mr. gladstone appears to admit that there is some truth in the doctrine of evolution, and indeed places it under very high patronage. i contend that evolution in its highest form has not been a thing heretofore unknown to history, to philosophy, or to theology. i contend that it was before the mind of saint paul when he taught that in the fulness of time god sent forth his son, and of eusebius when he wrote the "preparation for the gospel," and of augustine when he composed the "city of god" (p. ). has any one ever disputed the contention, thus solemnly enunciated, that the doctrine of evolution was not invented the day before yesterday? has any one ever dreamed of claiming it as a modern innovation? is there any one so ignorant of the history of philosophy as to be unaware that it is one of the forms in which speculation embodied itself long before the time either of the bishop of hippo or of the apostle to the gentiles? is mr. gladstone, of all people in the world, disposed to ignore the founders of greek philosophy, to say nothing of indian sages to whom evolution was a familiar notion ages before paul of tarsus was born? but it is ungrateful to cavil at even the most oblique admission of the possible value of one of those affirmations of natural science which really may be said to be "a demonstrated conclusion and established fact." i note it with pleasure, if only for the purpose of introducing the observation that, if there is any truth whatever in the doctrine of evolution as applied to animals, mr. gladstone's gloss on genesis in the following passage is hardly happy:-- god created (a) the water-population; (b) the air-population. and they receive his benediction (v. - ). . pursuing this regular progression from the lower to the higher, from the simple to the complex, the text now gives us the work of the sixth "day," which supplies the land-population, air and water having been already supplied (pp. , ). the gloss to which i refer is the assumption that the "air-population" forms a term in the order of progression from lower to higher, from simple to complex--the place of which lies between the water-population below and the land-population above--and i speak of it as a "gloss," because the pentateuchal writer is nowise responsible for it. but it is not true that the air-population, as a whole, is "lower" or less "complex" than the land-population. on the contrary, every beginner in the study of animal morphology is aware that the organisation of a bat, of a bird, or of a pterodactyle presupposes that of a terrestrial quadruped; and that it is intelligible only as an extreme modification of the organisation of a terrestrial mammal or reptile. in the same way winged insects (if they are to be counted among the "air-population") presuppose insects which were wingless, and, therefore, as "creeping things," were part of the land-population. thus theory is as much opposed as observation to the admission that natural science endorses the succession of animal life which mr. gladstone finds in genesis. on the contrary, a good many representatives of natural science would be prepared to say, on theoretical grounds alone, that it is incredible that the "air-population" should have appeared before the "land-population"--and that, if this assertion is to be found in genesis, it merely demonstrates the scientific worthlessness of the story of which it forms a part. indeed, we may go further. it is not even admissible to say that the water-population, as a whole, appeared before the air and the land-populations. according to the authorised version, genesis especially mentions, among the animals created on the fifth day, "great whales," in place of which the revised version reads "great sea monsters." far be it from me to give an opinion which rendering is right, or whether either is right. all i desire to remark is, that if whales and porpoises, dugongs and manatees, are to be regarded as members of the water-population (and if they are not, what animals can claim the designation?), then that much of the water-population has, as certainly, originated later than the land-population as bats and birds have. for i am not aware that any competent judge would hesitate to admit that the organisation of these animals shows the most obvious signs of their descent from terrestrial quadrupeds. a similar criticism applies to mr. gladstone's assumption that, as the fourth act of that "orderly succession of times" enunciated in genesis, "the land-population consummated in man." if this means simply that man is the final term in the evolutional series of which he forms a part, i do not suppose that any objection will be raised to that statement on the part of students of natural science. but if the pentateuchal author goes further than this, and intends to say that which is ascribed to him by mr. gladstone, i think natural science will have to enter a _caveat._ it is not by any means certain that man--i mean the species _homo sapiens_ of zoological terminology--has "consummated" the land-population in the sense of appearing at a later period of time than any other. let me make my meaning clear by an example. from a morphological point of view, our beautiful and useful contemporary--i might almost call him colleague--the horse (_equus caballus_), is the last term of the evolutional series to which he belongs, just as _homo sapiens_ is the last term of the series of which he is a member. if i want to know whether the species _equus caballus_ made its appearance on the surface of the globe before or after _homo sapiens,_ deduction from known laws does not help me. there is no reason, that i know of, why one should have appeared sooner or later than the other. if i turn to observation, i find abundant remains of _equus caballus_ in quaternary strata, perhaps a little earlier. the existence of _homo sapiens_ in the quaternary epoch is also certain. evidence has been adduced in favour of man's existence in the pliocene, or even in the miocene epoch. it does not satisfy me; but i have no reason to doubt that the fact may be so, nevertheless. indeed, i think it is quite possible that further research will show that _homo sapiens_ existed, not only before _equus caballus,_ but before many other of the existing forms of animal life; so that, if all the species of animals have been separately created, man, in this case, would by no means be the "consummation" of the land-population. i am raising no objection to the position of the fourth term in mr. gladstone's "order"--on the facts, as they stand, it is quite open to any one to hold, as a pious opinion, that the fabrication of man was the acme and final achievement of the process of peopling the globe. but it must not be said that natural science counts this opinion among her "demonstrated conclusions and established facts," for there would be just as much, or as little, reason for ranging the contrary opinion among them. it may seem superfluous to add to the evidence that mr. gladstone has been utterly misled in supposing that his interpretation of genesis receives any support from natural science. but it is as well to do one's work thoroughly while one is about it; and i think it may be advisable to point out that the facts, as they are at present known, not only refute mr. gladstone's interpretation of genesis in detail, but are opposed to the central idea on which it appears to be based. there must be some position from which the reconcilers of science and genesis will not retreat, some central idea the maintenance of which is vital and its refutation fatal. even if they now allow that the words "the evening and the morning" have not the least reference to a natural day, but mean a period of any number of millions of years that may be necessary; even if they are driven to admit that the word "creation," which so many millions of pious jews and christians have held, and still hold, to mean a sudden act of the deity, signifies a process of gradual evolution of one species from another, extending through immeasurable time; even if they are willing to grant that the asserted coincidence of the order of nature with the "fourfold order" ascribed to genesis is an obvious error instead of an established truth; they are surely prepared to make a last stand upon the conception which underlies the whole, and which constitutes the essence of mr. gladstone's "fourfold division, set forth in an orderly succession of times." it is, that the animal species which compose the water-population, the air-population, and the land-population respectively, originated during three distinct and successive periods of time, and only during those periods of time. this statement appears to me to be the interpretation of genesis which mr. gladstone supports, reduced to its simplest expression. "period of time" is substituted for "day"; "originated" is substituted for "created"; and "any order required" for that adopted by mr. gladstone. it is necessary to make this proviso, for if "day" may mean a few million years, and "creation" may mean evolution, then it is obvious that the order ( ) water-population, ( ) air-population, ( ) land-population, may also mean ( ) water-population, ( ) land-population, ( ) air-population; and it would be unkind to bind down the reconcilers to this detail when one has parted with so many others to oblige them. but even this sublimated essence of the pentateuchal doctrine (if it be such) remains as discordant with natural science as ever. it is not true that the species composing any one of the three populations originated during any one of three successive periods of time, and not at any other of these. undoubtedly, it is in the highest degree probable that animal life appeared first under aquatic conditions; that terrestrial forms appeared later, and flying animals only after land animals; but it is, at the same time, testified by all the evidence we possess, that the great majority, if not the whole, of the primordial species of each division have long since died out and have been replaced by a vast succession of new forms. hundreds of thousands of animal species, as distinct as those which now compose our water, land, and air-populations, have come into existence and died out again, throughout the aeons of geological time which separate us from the lower palaeozoic epoch, when, as i have pointed out, our present evidence of the existence of such distinct populations commences. if the species of animals have all been separately created, then it follows that hundreds of thousands of acts of creative energy have occurred, at intervals, throughout the whole time recorded by the fossiliferous rocks; and, during the greater part of that time, the "creation" of the members of the water, land, and air-populations must have gone on contemporaneously. if we represent the water, land, and air-populations by _a, b,_ and _c_ respectively, and take vertical succession on the page to indicate order in time, then the following schemes will roughly shadow forth the contrast i have been endeavouring to explain: genesis (as interpreted by nature (as interpreted by mr. gladstone). natural science). _b b b c a b c c c c a b a a a b a b a a a_ so far as i can see, there is only one resource left for those modern representatives of sisyphus, the reconcilers of genesis with science; and it has the advantage of being founded on a perfectly legitimate appeal to our ignorance. it has been seen that, on any interpretation of the terms water-population and land-population, it must be admitted that invertebrate representatives of these populations existed during the lower palaeozoic epoch. no evolutionist can hesitate to admit that other land animals (and possibly vertebrates among them) may have existed during that time, of the history of which we know so little; and, further, that scorpions are animals of such high organisation that it is highly probable their existence indicates that of a long antecedent land-population of a similar character. then, since the land-population is said not to have been created until the sixth day, it necessarily follows that the evidence of the order in which animals appeared must be sought in the record of those older palaeozoic times in which only traces of the water-population have as yet been discovered. therefore, if any one chooses to say that the creative work took place in the cambrian or laurentian epoch, in exactly that manner which mr. gladstone does, and natural science does not, affirm, natural science is not in a position to disprove the accuracy of the statement. only one cannot have one's cake and eat it too, and such safety from the contradiction of science means the forfeiture of her support. whether the account of the work of the first, second, and third days in genesis would be confirmed by the demonstration of the truth of the nebular hypothesis; whether it is corroborated by what is known of the nature and probable relative antiquity of the heavenly bodies; whether, if the hebrew word translated "firmament" in the authorised version really means "expanse," the assertion that the waters are partly under this "expanse" and partly above it would be any more confirmed by the ascertained facts of physical geography and meteorology than it was before; whether the creation of the whole vegetable world, and especially of "grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit," before any kind of animal, is "affirmed" by the apparently plain teaching of botanical palaeontology, that grasses and fruit-trees originated long subsequently to animals all these are questions which, if i mistake not, would be answered decisively in the negative by those who are specially conversant with the sciences involved. and it must be recollected that the issue raised by mr. gladstone is not whether, by some effort of ingenuity, the pentateuchal story can be shown to be not disprovable by scientific knowledge, but whether it is supported thereby. there is nothing, then, in the criticisms of dr. reville but what rather tends to confirm than to impair the old-fashioned belief that there is a revelation in the book of genesis (p. ). the form into which mr. gladstone has thought fit to throw this opinion leaves me in doubt as to its substance. i do not understand how a hostile criticism can, under any circumstances, tend to confirm that which it attacks. if, however, mr. gladstone merely means to express his personal impression, "as one wholly destitute of that kind of knowledge which carries authority," that he has destroyed the value of these criticisms, i have neither the wish nor the right to attempt to disturb his faith. on the other hand, i may be permitted to state my own conviction, that, so far as natural science is involved, m. reville's observations retain the exact value they possessed before mr. gladstone attacked them. trusting that i have now said enough to secure the author of a wise and moderate disquisition upon a topic which seems fated to stir unwisdom and fanaticism to their depths, a fuller measure of justice than has hitherto been accorded to him, i retire from my self-appointed championship, with the hope that i shall not hereafter be called upon by m. reville to apologise for damage done to his strong case by imperfect or impulsive advocacy. but, perhaps, i may be permitted to add a word or two, on my own account, in reference to the great question of the relations between science and religion; since it is one about which i have thought a good deal ever since i have been able to think at all; and about which i have ventured to express my views publicly, more than once, in the course of the last thirty years. the antagonism between science and religion, about which we hear so much, appears to me to be purely factitious--fabricated, on the one hand, by short-sighted religious people who confound a certain branch of science, theology, with religion; and, on the other, by equally short-sighted scientific people who forget that science takes for its province only that which is susceptible of clear intellectual comprehension; and that, outside the boundaries of that province, they must be content with imagination, with hope, and with ignorance. it seems to me that the moral and intellectual life of the civilised nations of europe is the product of that interaction, sometimes in the way of antagonism, sometimes in that of profitable interchange, of the semitic and the aryan races, which commenced with the dawn of history, when greek and phoenician came in contact, and has been continued by carthaginian and roman, by jew and gentile, down to the present day. our art (except, perhaps, music) and our science are the contributions of the aryan; but the essence of our religion is derived from the semite. in the eighth century b.c., in the heart of a world of idolatrous polytheists, the hebrew prophets put forth a conception of religion which appears to me to be as wonderful an inspiration of genius as the art of pheidias or the science of aristotle. "and what doth the lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy god?" if any so-called religion takes away from this great saying of micah, i think it wantonly mutilates, while, if it adds thereto, i think it obscures, the perfect ideal of religion. but what extent of knowledge, what acuteness of scientific criticism, can touch this, if any one possessed of knowledge, or acuteness, could be absurd enough to make the attempt? will the progress of research prove that justice is worthless and mercy hateful; will it ever soften the bitter contrast between our actions and our aspirations; or show us the bounds of the universe and bid us say, go to, now we comprehend the infinite? a faculty of wrath lay in those ancient israelites, and surely the prophet's staff would have made swift acquaintance with the head of the scholar who had asked micah whether, peradventure, the lord further required of him an implicit belief in the accuracy of the cosmogony of genesis! what we are usually pleased to call religion nowadays is, for the most part, hellenised judaism; and, not unfrequently, the hellenic element carries with it a mighty remnant of old-world paganism and a great infusion of the worst and weakest products of greek scientific speculation; while fragments of persian and babylonian, or rather accadian, mythology burden the judaic contribution to the common stock. the antagonism of science is not to religion, but to the heathen survivals and the bad philosophy under which religion herself is often well-nigh crushed. and, for my part, i trust that this antagonism will never cease; but that, to the end of time, true science will continue to fulfil one of her most beneficent functions, that of relieving men from the burden of false science which is imposed upon them in the name of religion. this is the work that m. reville and men such as he are doing for us; this is the work which his opponents are endeavouring, consciously or unconsciously, to hinder. footnotes [footnote : _the nineteenth century._] [footnote : earlier, if more recent announcements are correct.] [footnote : it may be objected that i have not put the case fairly inasmuch as the solitary insect's wing which was discovered twelve months ago in silurian rocks, and which is, at present, the sole evidence of insects older than the devonian epoch, came from strata of middle silurian age, and is therefore older than the scorpions which, within the last two years, have been found in upper silurian strata in sweden, britain, and the united states. but no one who comprehends the nature of the evidence afforded by fossil remains would venture to say that the non-discovery of scorpions in the middle silurian strata, up to this time, affords any more ground for supposing that they did not exist, than the non-discovery of flying insects in the upper silurian strata, up to this time, throws any doubt on the certainty that they existed, which is derived from the occurrence of the wing in the middle silurian. in fact, i have stretched a point in admitting that these fossils afford a colourable pretext for the assumption that the land and air-population were of contemporaneous origin.] [illustration: slab with fossil impressions] remarks on some fossil impressions in the sandstone rocks of connecticut river. by john c. warren, m.d. president of the boston society of natural history. [illustration: logo] boston: ticknor and fields, , washington street. . boston: printed by john wilson and son, , school street. the principal part of these remarks were made at the meetings of the boston society of natural history. a portion of them also have been printed in the proceedings of the society. the object of this publication is to afford to those who are not members of the society an opportunity of obtaining some knowledge of fossil impressions, which they might not be able to obtain elsewhere so conveniently. some account of the epyornis seems to be very properly connected with ornithichnites. the first of these papers was written in october, ; the others in the earlier part of the present year. [illustration: epyornis] the epyornis; or, great bird of madagascar, and its eggs. in the course of the year , an account was circulated of the discovery of an immense egg, or eggs, in the island of madagascar. the size of the eggs spoken of was so disproportionate to that of any previously known, that most persons received the account with incredulity; and, i must confess, i was one of this number. being in paris soon after hearing of this report, i made inquiry on the subject, and was surprised to learn, that the great egg was actually existing in the museum of natural history in paris. in a few days i had an opportunity of seeing a cast of it in the hands of the artist, m. strahl, of whom i solicited one. he informed me that it could not be obtained at that moment; but that, if my request were made known to the administration of the museum, he had no doubt they would accede to it. i accordingly did apply, and also presented them with the cast of a perfect head of mastodon giganteus; and they very liberally granted my request. the distinguished naturalist, professor geoffroy st. hilaire, the second of that honorable name, has made a statement to the academy of sciences, which, though only initiatory, contains many facts of a very interesting nature, some of which i have had an opportunity of verifying; and to him we are indebted for a greater part of the others. the eggs sent to me are, in number, two; one of which was purchased by m. abadie, captain of a french vessel, from the natives. another was soon afterwards found, equal in size. a third egg was discovered in an alluvial stratum near a stream of water, together with other valuable relics of the animal which had probably produced them; but, unfortunately, it was broken during transportation. of the two eggs, one is of an ovoid form, having much the shape of a hen's egg; and the other is an ellipsoid. the ovoid egg is of enormous size, even when compared with the largest egg we are acquainted with. its long diameter exceeds thirteen inches of our english measure, its short diameter eight, and its long circumference thirty-three inches. its capacity is thought to be equal to eighteen liquid pints, or to be six times greater than that of the largest egg known to us (the ostrich), although but twice its length. it is said to be equal to a hundred and forty-eight hen eggs. the ellipsoid egg has its longest diameter somewhat less than that of the ovoid; its short diameter nearly equals that of the other egg, being more than eight inches. the third egg, although broken, has been very useful to science, by displaying the thickness of the shell, which is about one-tenth of an inch. the bones, of which i have received the casts, are three in number, and of great interest. one of them is a characteristic fragment of the upper part of a fibula; the other two, still more interesting, as enabling us to determine the class and genus of the animal to which they belong, exhibit the extremities of the right and left tarso-metatarsal bones. the former is somewhat broken; the latter is nearly perfect, and exhibits the triple division of the inferior extremity of the bone into the three trochleæ or pulley-shaped processes of the struthious birds. it might be mistaken for a bone of the great dinornis, but is distinguished from this by the flatness of the portion above the trochleæ. still less is it one of the bones of the ostrich, its three pulleys being separated from each other by distinct intervals; whereas the pulleys of the ostrich have only one such separation, constituting two distinct eminences. m. geoffroy st. hilaire considered himself justified, from these and other facts, in deciding this bone to belong to a bird of a new genus, to which he gives the name of epyornis, from _aipys_, _high_, _tall_, and _ornis_, _bird_; and, as probably it is a specimen of the largest animal of the family, he affixes the specific name of _maximus_. the size of this bird, inferred from that of its egg, would be vastly superior to that of the ostrich. but if we notice the comparative size of the trochleated extremity of the tarso-metatarsal bone, we shall see that its height would be greatly exaggerated by adopting such a basis for its establishment; in fact, it would not probably exceed a height double that of the ostrich. and, though it must have been superior to that of the dinornis maximus of prof. owen, it might perhaps excel it only by the difference of two or three feet. a bird of twelve or thirteen feet in height would, however, if we stood in its presence, appear enormous, and must have greatly astonished and terrified the natives of madagascar. whether it now exists is uncertain, as it may possibly have a habitation in the wild recesses of the island, which have never yet been visited by any european traveller. the credit of most of the observations and discoveries relating to this remarkable bird is attributable to french naturalists;[a] and it seems to be a duty devolving on english and american navigators to complete the history thus happily begun, and to tell us whether the epyornis still exists in the mountain-forests of madagascar, or at least present us with its extraordinary relics. [footnote a: the following are the names of french travellers, who have been supposed to have seen the eggs of the epyornis in the island of madagascar: m. sganzin, in ; m. goudot, in ; m. dumarele, in ; and m. abadie, in .] fossil impressions.--i. ichnology, a newly created branch of science, takes its name from the greek word _ichnos_, a _track_ or _footstep_, and the tracks themselves have been denominated ichnites, or, when they refer to birds only, ornithichnites, from _ornis_, a _bird_. and this last term has by custom been generally applied to ancient impressions, though not correctly. geology has revealed to us not only the remains of animals and vegetables, but the impressions made by them during their lives, and even the impressions of unorganized bodies. the first notice of these appearances was, as often happens, regarded with indifference or scepticism; but their number and variety enlightened the public mind, and opened a new source of information and improvement. the first remarkable observation made on fossil footsteps was that of the rev. dr. duncan, of scotland, in . he noticed, in a _new red sandstone_ quarry in dumfriesshire, impressions of the feet of small animals of the tortoise kind, having four feet, and five toes on each foot. they were seen in various layers through a thickness of forty feet or more. sandstone, in which these impressions are principally discovered, is a rock composed chiefly of siliceous and micaceous particles cemented together by calcareous or argillaceous paste, containing salt, and colored with various shades of the oxide of iron, particularly the red, gray, brown. it has been remarked by prof. h. d. rogers, that the perfection of the surface containing fossil footmarks is often attributable to a micaceous deposit. the layers of sandstone have been formed by deposits from sea-water, dried in succession; such layers are also seen in the roofing slate. these deposits on the shores of the ocean, having in a soft condition received the impressions of the feet of birds, other animals, vegetables, and also of rain-drops, under favorable circumstances dried, hardened, and formed a rock of greater or less solidity. our colleague, dr. gould, has exhibited to us a specimen of dried clay from the shores of the bay of fundy, containing beautiful impressions, recently made, of the footsteps of birds. the particles brought by the waves, and deposited in the manner described, were derived from the destruction of other rocks previously existing, particularly granite and flint, or silex, the shining atoms of which compose no small part of the sandstone rock. it is easy to conceive, that, while these deposits were taking place in the soft condition, portions of vegetable matters might become intermixed; and that these, with the impressions of the feet and other parts of animals and unorganized substances, might be preserved by the process of desiccation. the agency of internal heat may have also been employed in some cases in baking and hardening these crusty layers. the sandstone rock, though in some places actually in a state of formation at the present time, lies in such a manner in the earth's crust as to indicate an immense antiquity. the age of these beds varies in different situations. the sandstone rocks which contain the greater part of the impressions are called _new red sandstone_, to distinguish them from the _old red_, which is of a greater age. the deposits on connecticut river may not be attributed to the action of this river, but are of higher antiquity, probably, than the river itself, and proceeded from the waves of an ancient sea, existing in a state of the surface of the globe very different from that of the present day. in , tracks were discovered near hildberghausen in saxony, to which prof. kaup, of darmstadt, gave the name of chirotherium, from the resemblance to the impressions of the human hand. on a subsequent examination, prof. owen preferred the name of labyrinthodon, from the resemblance of the folds in the teeth to the convolutions of the brain. various other instances of impressions were seen; and, in the year , dr. deane and mr. marsh, residents of greenfield, noticed impressions resembling the feet of birds in sandstone rocks of that neighborhood. these observations having come to the knowledge of president hitchcock, of amherst college, that gentleman began a thorough investigation of the subject, followed it up with unremitted ardor, and has, since (the date of his first publication), laid before the public a great amount of ichnological information, and really created a new science. dr. deane, on his part, has not been idle: besides making valuable discoveries, he has written a number of excellent papers to record some portion of his numerous observations. in , at the request of my friend dr. boott, i carried to london, for the museum of the royal college of surgeons, various scientific objects peculiar to this country; among which were a number of casts of ornithichnites. these casts were kindly furnished me by president hitchcock, and the government of the royal college thereon voted to present to president hitchcock and amherst college casts of the skeleton of the famous megatherium of south america. these casts were packed, and sent to be embarked in a ship destined for boston, but were unluckily delivered to a wrong shipping house in london, and i lost sight of them for some time. they were at length discovered. after remaining in this situation for more than a year, they were sold at public auction; and, notwithstanding many efforts on my part, i was unable to obtain and transmit them to amherst college. the fossil impressions which have been distinguished in various places in the new red sandstone are those of birds, frogs, turtles, lizards, fishes, mollusca, crustacea, worms, and zoophytes. besides these, the impressions made by rain-drops, ripple-marks in the sand, coprolites or indurated remains of fæces of animals, and even impressions of vegetables, have been preserved and transmitted from a remote antiquity. no authentic human impressions have yet been established; and none of the mammalia, except the marsupials.(?) we must, however, remember that, although the early paleontology contains no record of birds, the ancient existence of these animals is now fully ascertained. remains of birds were discovered in the paris gypsum by cuvier previous to . since that time, they have been found in the lower eocene in england, and the swiss alps; and there is reason to believe that osseous relics may be met with in the same deposits which contain the foot-marks. most of the bird-tracks which have been observed, belong to the wading birds, or grallæ. the number of toes in existing birds varies from two to five. in the fossil bird-tracks, the most frequent number is three, called tridactylous; but there are instances also of four or tetradactylous, and two or didactylous. the number of articulations corresponds in ornithichnites with living birds: when there are four toes, the inner or hind toe has two articulations, the second toe three, the third toe four, the outer toe five. the impressions of the articulations are sometimes very distinct, and even that of the skin covering them. president hitchcock has distinguished more than thirty species of birds, four of lizards, three of tortoises, and six of batrachians. the great difference in the characters of many fossil animals from those of existing genera and species, in the opinion of prof. agassiz, makes it probable that in various instances the traces of supposed birds may be in fact traces of other animals, as, for example, those of the lizard or frog. and he supports this opinion, among other reasons, by the disappearance of the heel in a great number of ornithichnites. d'orbigny, to whom we are indebted for the most ample and systematic work on paleontology ("cours elémentaire de paléontologie et de géologie," vols. - ), does not accept the arrangement of president hitchcock. he objects to the term ornithichnites, and proposes what he considers a more comprehensive arrangement into organic, physiological, and physical impressions. _organic impressions_ are those which have been produced by the remains of organized substances, such as vegetable impressions from calamites, &c. _physiological impressions_ are those produced by the feet and other parts of animals. _physical impressions_ are those from rain-drops and ripple-marks; and to these may be added coprolites in substance. this plan of d'orbigny seems to exclude the curious and interesting distinctions of groups, genera, and species; in this way diminishing the importance of the science of ichnology. fossil impressions have been found on this continent in the carboniferous strata of nova scotia, and of the alleghenies; in the sandstone of new jersey, and in that of the connecticut valley in a great number of places, from the town of gill in massachusetts to middletown in connecticut, a distance of about eighty miles. a slab from turner's falls, obtained for me by dr. deane in , measuring two feet by two and a half, and two inches in thickness, contains at least ten different sets of impressions, varying from five inches in length to two and a half, with a proportionate length of stride from thirteen inches to six. all these are tridactylous, and represent at least four different species. in most of them the distinction of articulation is quite clear. the articulations of each toe can readily be counted, and they are found to agree with the general statement made above as to number. the impressions are singularly varied as to depth; some of them, perfectly distinct, are superficial, like those made by the fingers laid lightly on a mass of dough, while others are of sufficient depth nearly to bury the toes; some of the tracks cross each other, and, being of different sizes, belong to animals of different ages or different species. there is one curious instance of the tracks of a large and heavy bird, in which, from the softness of the mud, the bird slipped in a lateral direction, and then gained a firm footing; the mark of the first step, though deep, is ill-defined and uncertain; the space intervening between the tracks is superficially furrowed; in the settled step, which is the deepest, the toes are very strongly indicated. on the same surface are impressions of nails, which may have belonged to birds or chelonians. the inferior surface of the same slab exhibits appearances more superficial, less numerous, but generally regular. there are three sets of tracks entirely distinct from each other; two of them containing three tracks, and one containing two,--the latter being much the largest in size. in addition, there is one set of tracks, which are probably those of a tortoise. these marks present two other points quite observable and interesting. one is that they are displayed in relief, while those on the upper surface are in depression. the relief in this lower surface would be the cast of a cavity in the layer below; so the depressions in the upper surface would be moulds of casts above. the second point is the non-correspondence of the upper and lower surfaces; i.e. the depressions in the upper surface have not a general correspondence with the elevations on its inferior surface. the tracks above were made by different individuals and different species from those below. this leads to another interesting consideration, that in the thickness of this slab there must be a number of different layers, and in each of them there may be a different series of tracks. to these last remarks there is one exception: the deep impression in which the bird slipped in a lateral direction corresponds with an elevation on the lower surface, in which the impression of these toes is very distinctly displayed, and even the articulations. moreover, one of the tracks on the inferior surface interferes with the outer track in the superior, and tends in an opposite direction, so that this last-described footstep must have been made before the other. it is also observable, that, while all the other tracks are superficial, this last penetrates the whole thickness of the slab; thus showing that the different deposits continued some time in a soft state. on the surfaces of this slab, particularly on the upper, there are various marks besides those of the feet, some of which seem to have been made by straws, or portions of grass, or sticks; and there is a curved line some inches in length, which seems to have arisen from shrinkage. in the collection of mr. marsh,[b] there were two slabs of great size, each measuring ten by six feet, having a great number of impressions of feet, and about the same thickness as the slab under examination. one of these presented depressions; and the other, corresponding reliefs. these very interesting relations were necessarily parted in the sale of mr. marsh's collection; one of them being obtained for the boston society of natural history, and the other for the collection of amherst college. [footnote b: mr. marsh was a mechanic of the town of greenfield, and procured his subsistence by his daily labor. being employed by dr. deane in obtaining the sandstone slabs of ornithichnites, he acquired a taste for the pursuit, entered into it with extraordinary ardor, and accumulated by his own labors a great collection of fine specimens. he unfortunately fell into a consumption, and died in . the collection was sold at public auction for a sum between two and three thousand dollars. the specimens were purchased by the boston society of natural history, by amherst college, and by varioud colleges and scientific associations in this country.] the _physical impressions_, according to professor d'orbigny, are of three kinds, viz.: st, rain-drops; d, ripple-marks; and d, coprolites. i have a slab which exhibits two leptodactylous tracks very distinct, about an inch and a half long, surrounded by impressions of rain-drops and ripple-marks. another specimen exhibits the impressions of rain in a more distinct and remarkable manner. the imprints are of various sizes, from those which might be made by a common pea to others four times its diameter; some are deep, others superficial and almost imperceptible. they are generally circular, but some are ovoid. some have the edge equally raised around, as if struck by a perpendicular drop; and others have the edge on one part faintly developed, while another part is very sharp and well defined, as if the drop had struck obliquely. it has been suggested, that these fossil rain-drops may have been made by particles of hail; but i think the variety of size and depth of depression would have been more considerable if thus made. although we have necessarily treated the subject of fossil footmarks in a very brief way, sufficient has been said to show that this new branch of paleontology may lead to interesting results. the fact that they are, in some manner, peculiar to this region, seems to call upon our society to obtain a sufficient number of specimens to exhibit to scientific men a fair representation of the condition of ichnology in this quarter of our country; and we have therefore great reason to congratulate ourselves, that, through the vigilance and spirit of our members, the society has the expectation of obtaining a rich collection of ichnological specimens. fossil impressions.--ii. since writing the preceding article, i have been able to obtain, through the kindness of president hitchcock, a number of additional specimens of fossil impressions. by the aid of these, i may hope to give an idea of the system of impressions, so far as it has been discovered, without, however, attempting to enter into minute details. for these, i would refer to the account of the "geology of massachusetts," by president hitchcock; to his valuable article published in the "memoirs of the american academy;" and to his geological works generally. the numerous tracks which have been assembled together in the neighborhood of connecticut river have afforded an opportunity of prosecuting these studies to an extent unusual in the primitive rocky soil of new england. these appearances are not, indeed, wholly new. such traces had been previously met with in other countries; but, in their number and variety, the valley of the connecticut abounds above all places hitherto investigated. twenty years have elapsed since the study of ichnology has been prosecuted in this country; and, in this period of time, about forty-nine species of animal tracks have been distinguished in the locality mentioned, according to president hitchcock; which have been regularly arranged by him in groups, genera, and species. i propose now to lay the specimens, recently obtained, before the society, as a slight preparation for the more numerous and more valuable articles which they are soon to receive. the traces found on ancient rocks, as has been shown in the previous article, are those of animals, vegetables, and unorganized substances. the traces of animals are produced by quadrupeds, birds, lizards, turtles, frogs, mollusca, worms, crustacea, and zoophytes. these impressions are of various forms: some of them simple excavations; some lines, either straight or curved, and others complicated into various figures. president hitchcock has based his distinctions of fossil animal impressions on the following characters, viz.:-- . toes thick, pachydactylous; or thin, leptodactylous. . feet winged. . number of toes from two to five, inclusive. . absolute and relative length of the toes. . divarication of the lateral toes. . angle made by the inner and middle, outer and middle toes. . projection of the middle beyond the lateral toes. . distance between tips of lateral toes. . distance between tips of middle and inner and outer toes. . position and direction of hind toe. . character of claw. . width of toes. . number and length of phalangeal expansions. . character of the heel. . irregularities of under side of foot. . versed sine of curvature of toes. . angle of axis of foot with line of direction. . distance of posterior part of the foot from line of direction. . length of step. . size of foot. . character of the integuments of the foot. . coprolites. . means of distinguishing bipedal from quadrupedal tracks. by these characters, president hitchcock has distinguished physiological tracks, or those made by animated beings, into ten groups provisionally. to these may be added, "organic impressions," made by organized bodies; and the impressions made by inanimate bodies, called "physical impressions." the specimens under our hands enable us to give some notion of the distinctions which characterize the greater part of these groups. * * * * * group first--struthiones. the ostrich-tracks present a numerous natural and most remarkable group; remarkable from the great size of some species,--all of them tridactylous and pachydactylous. the ostrich of the old world has only two toes, but this family exists in south america at the present time under the name of rhea americana; and tracks of an animal, probably of the same family, are found in the numerous impressions near connecticut river,--all of them having three toes in front, and the rudiment of a fourth behind. this group contains a number of genera. the first genus, denominated _brontozoum_, presents the tracks of a most extraordinary bird. these tracks appear less questionable since the discovery in madagascar of the eggs of the epyornis. the tracks of the largest species, the brontozoum giganteum, are four times the magnitude of those made by the existing ostrich of africa. they are very numerous, and congregated together. the foot of the brontozoum giganteum, including the inferior extremity of the tarso-metatarsal bone, which makes a part of the foot, measures in our specimen twenty inches; in the mastodon giganteus, the foot measures twenty-seven inches; the width also is less, being ten inches across the metacarpals, while that of the mastodon is twenty-two: but the one is a bird, the other a quadruped. the toes are three in number, and present the same divisions with existing birds; the inner toe having three, the middle four, the outer five phalanges. some of the articulations of the toes of this noble specimen are remarkable for the manner in which they illustrate the mode of formation of the tracks. these phalanges have become separated from the solid rock in which they were encased, so as to be removable at pleasure; and they thus show that the whole foot is not a simple impression in the rock which contains it, but a depression filled by foreign materials, i.e. by sand, clay, and other relics of pre-existing rocks. these materials had been gradually deposited in the mould formed by the bird's foot, and are therefore independent of this rock, in the same way as the plaster-of-paris cast of a tooth, or any other body, is independent of the mould to which it owes its form. the impressions are in gray sandstone. on the reversed surface of the slab is seen a small piece of broken quartz, about half an inch square. this piece forms a beautiful illustration of a part of the process by which the sandstone rocks are formed. the second species of the same genus is the brontozoum sillimanium. of this we have three specimens; the tracks have the same general character with the preceding, but are smaller. the third species of this genus is styled the brontozoum loxonyx, from _loxos_, a _bow_, and _onyx_, a _nail_,--a curved nail. it is smaller than the sillimanium, and has the nail set to one side. the fourth species, still smaller, is the brontozoum gracillimum. on this slab the impressions are in relief; viz.: st, of brontozoum gracillimum; d, of brontozoum parallelum; d, of the track of a tortoise, fourteen inches long, and two wide. other extensive eminences and depressions, with rain-drops, may be observed on the same surface. the fifth species is called brontozoum parallelum, from the tracks being on a line with each other. of this there are two specimens, one of them, however, being a single track. on the surface of the other slab there are at least five distinct tracks, one of them being a small new and undescribed species,--thus making the whole number of species of brontozoum which we possess to be at least six. the second genus of struthiones is called _Æthyopus_, from _aithuia_, a _gull_, and _pous_, a _foot_,--gull-footed. this genus is smaller than the brontozoum giganteum; and we have two species, viz. the Æthyopus lyellianus, which is the larger, and two specimens of Æthyopus minor. all of these are distinguished from the preceding genus by the winged foot, and in the lyellianus by the shallowness of the impression. the Æthyopus minor is not always distinguished by the superficiality of its impression. this is sometimes deep. therefore this character may not be considered a distinctive one, or the Æthyopus minor might be referred to another genus. of the two specimens of this latter species, the first is in depression, tridactylous. the depressions are deep with rain-drops, marks of quadrupeds and zoophytes over the whole surface. the ornithichnic impressions are two in number; one superficial, the other very deep. the reversed surface of this slab contains one tridactylous impression in relief. the second specimen has three depressions; two of which are superficial, and the third is quite deep, displaying, by a depressed surface, the webbed character of the foot. * * * * * group second. we shall take, to characterize this group, the _argozoum_, from _argês_, _swift_, _winged_. of this genus there are two species, the larger of which is the argozoum disparidigitatum. it is leptodactylous, and remarkable for the length of the middle toe. we have another species, which is smaller than the last named, and in which the toes are nearly of equal length; hence called argozoum paridigitatum. the other genus of this group is the platypterna, and our specimen is named _deaniana_. this genus is remarkable for the width of the heel; hence the name, from _platys_, _broad_, and _pterna_, _a heel_. it has three toes like the other genera of this group. * * * * * group third. this and the succeeding group are tetradactylous; having one toe behind, three forwards. the third group is leptodactylous; foot usually small, but sometimes of medium size. of it we have two specimens, viz.: ornithopus gallinaceus, and ornithopus gracilis. the former is so called from the resemblance to the domestic fowl: for convenience sake, in this and other instances, we use the whole for a part. it is about three inches in length, and the ornithopus gracilis about two. this latter specimen is particularly interesting. it consists of two parts, which open like the covers of a book. these covers present four impressions: first, the superficial, which is distinct, slender, and beautiful--the heel is broad; second, corresponding with this depression and on the inside, is a figure in relief as distinct as the depression; third, on the inside of the second cover is a depression corresponding with the relief last mentioned; fourth, on the outer side is a second relief corresponding with the second depression, but less distinct than either of the other three, still, however, exhibiting three toes pointing anteriorly, but the hind toe is wanting. the whole of this double slab forms a series of cameos and intaglios, measuring four inches by three, and in thickness an inch and a quarter. * * * * * group fourth. of the fourth group we have five specimens. the _triænopus_, so called from its resemblance to a trident, has besides three leptodactylous toes pointing forwards, a fourth extending backwards in a remarkable way, like the handle of a trident; the impression, however, being expanded so as to show an extensive displacement of the mud. all the specimens of triænopus are in a beautiful red shale, very thin and fragile, but presenting well-defined impressions, generally about three inches long. there are two species to this genus. of the triÆnopus emmonsianus we notice three impressions in relief. in another specimen there is the appearance of a part of the toes of the anomoepus scambus, and on the upper side are seen two excavations corresponding with the three impressions. in the last slab, the track of the triÆnopus baileyanus appears to have been made by two feet placed successively in the same spot, which led president hitchcock to suspect it might have been made by a quadruped. one of the specimens has the triænopus tracks intermixed in a peculiar way with other impressions. the specimen representing the genus harpedactylus is larger than the preceding; and, though leptodactylous, the toes are much broader and also more curved, whence the name harpedactylus, _sickle-finger_, from _harpê_ and _daktylos_. * * * * * group fifth. the fifth group differs much from the four previous ones. in this and the following groups we pass from the vestiges of birds to those of other animals, some of which are bipeds, some quadrupeds. many impressions are without any distinct character, belonging probably to the lower animals, to vegetables, and unorganized bodies. the fifth group comprehends the tracks of an extraordinary animal, the otozoum.[c] the name which has been given to it is taken from that of an ancient giant, otus, who with his brother ephialtes, according to heathen mythology, made war with the gods. these fabled giants were, at nine years of age, nine cubits in width and nine fathoms in height. [footnote c: the specific name of moodii has been attached to the otozoum, from its having been discovered by mr. moody.] the foot is divided into four toes; the two outer of which seem to be connected by a common basis. the inner toe has three phalanges; the second toe, also three; the third and fourth toes, four each. the first is the shortest, the second longer, the third longest, the fourth shorter than the third. it will appear, then, that this track differs from that of birds in the number of toes pointing forwards; these being four, while in birds the forward toes are only three. there is a difference also in the number and arrangement of the articulations. the track in our possession is twenty inches long by thirteen and a half inches broad. the rock in which it is imbedded is a dark-colored sandstone. president hitchcock has a slab showing a regular series of tracks of this animal; the distance between the steps being about three feet, and the tracks equidistant and alternate, which would not be the case if the animal had been quadrupedal. in a quadruped, the horse for example, the hind feet are set down near the fore feet, and sometimes even strike them. hence it must be inferred that the track in question was that of a biped, or of a quadruped which did not use its fore feet in progression, like a kangaroo. we naturally ask, what kind of biped could this have been? evidently not a man, the size of the foot being too large to admit such a supposition; nor could it have been a bird, the number of toes and their direction not admitting this hypothesis. tetradactylous birds, or those which have four toes, have only three of them directed forwards, and the fourth backwards, generally. there are, however, exceptions; some birds have four toes directed forwards: this is the fact with the hirundo cypselus and the pelicanus aquilus of linnæus, or man-of-war bird. but the articulations are different in the two animals, birds having regularly two, three, four, and five phalanges, and the spur, where it exists, supported by a single osseous phalanx; whereas the otozoum has three phalanges in the inner and second toe, four in the third and fourth toes. in this last arrangement, the otozoum is decidedly different from all known birds. it is not likely to have been a tortoise or a lizard. the kangaroo has four feet, and uses only two in progression, moving forward by leaps; also, like the otozoum, it has four toes; but the size of the toes does not accord with that of the otozoum, nor is the structure of the foot the same, so far as we know. it has been suggested by professor agassiz, that this animal might have been a two-footed frog. nature had, in those days, animal forms different from those we are acquainted with; and this might have been the fact with the otozoum. * * * * * group sixth. we have in this group a specimen of the track of a four-footed animal, which may have been a frog, though different from ours. the feet are unequal in size, and present a different number of toes. in existing frogs there are four toes in the fore feet, and five in the hind; but, in the specimen before us, the front toes are five in number, and the back toes three. it is called, therefore, anomoepus, _unequal-footed_. these impressions are in the red shale of hadley, and very distinct. in some of them the lower leg is indicated, forming an impression six or seven inches long. the feet being smaller than the legs, the impression made by the latter is more expanded, superficial, and broader, yet still very definite. the opinion of president hitchcock and dr. deane is, that the different impressions of five and three toes are those of the anterior and posterior extremities of one animal, which, from the size of the limbs, might be a frog three feet high. on the same schist with these footmarks, are other curious impressions. the back of the slab is almost covered with the imprints of rain-drops. in the midst of these is a tridactylous impression, probably of a quadruped, crossed at its root by a single depression, nearly an inch broad, and two and a half long: this seems to form part of another broad superficial impression of about seven by four inches, which is probably also quadrupedal. other parts present the impressions of nails and worm-tracks. at the opposite end is a deep, smooth, regular excavation, which might have been made by a medusa. * * * * * group seventh. the seventh group contains the impressions of the feet of saurians or lizards. we have a specimen of quadrupedal marks, with five toes to each foot, about an inch long, which may have been made by these animals. the impressions are small, but very distinct. there are lizards of the present day with five toes, about the size of these impressions; and these may, therefore, be set down as belonging to this order of reptiles. like a number of the last-named specimens, they are in red shale. * * * * * group eighth. the eighth group is assigned by president hitchcock to the chelonian or turtle tribe. the slab bearing impressions of brontozoum gracillimum has a mark about fourteen inches long and two wide, which may be attributed to the plastron or breast-plate of the tortoise. on the slab from turner's falls there is a longitudinal furrow, which might have been made by the tail of a turtle; and in various of our slabs are impressions which we think belong to this tribe. we shall have occasion to notice hereafter remarkable tracks of these animals in the old red of morayshire, in scotland. the most distinct of the traces of chelonians are on the large slab lately obtained for me by president hitchcock from greenfield. (_vide_ plate.) this interesting slab contains the traces of quadrupeds, various birds, and two trails of chelonians: the largest of these is nearly five feet long, and four inches in diameter. the trail is composed of a number of parallel elevations, comparatively superficial. * * * * * group ninth. of the ninth group, containing the marks of annelidæ, crustacea, and zoophytes, we have various specimens. the impressions of insects do not seem as yet to have been distinguished on the ancient rocks. there is reason to believe, however, that many of the marks we discover in the rocky beds might have been made by the feet and bodies of large insects; and small species of the same tribes have been found imbedded in, and actually constituting, immense masses of calcareous and siliceous rocks. the tracks of worms are numerous. no doubt these worms drew together a concourse of birds to the shores on which they rolled. on various slabs we find long cylindrical furrows, about the eighth of an inch in diameter, and of different lengths; one of them, in the slab from dr. deane, being eight or nine inches long. to these impressions the name of herpystezoum, from _herpystês_, _crawling_, has been given. they vary, however, and some of them are very likely to be the tracks of the common earth-worm, or of some species of worm which existed when these rocks were formed. these impressions vary in length and in diameter; some of them are moderately regular, and others irregularly curved. very interesting tracks have been found in the ancient potsdam white sandstone of beauharnais, on the st. lawrence, by mr. logan, an excellent geologist of canada, and determined by professor owen to belong to crustacea, crabs. the number of impressions made by each foot is sometimes seven, sometimes eight, and even more. this track, showing the traces of crustacea, goes to form another link in the chain of fossil footsteps. the medusæ, commonly called jelly-fish, dissolving as they do under the influence of the sun and air, would hardly be expected to leave their traces impressed on ancient rocks. professor d'orbigny, however, has watched the dissolution of these animals on the sea-shore, and found that, after wasting, they may leave their impressions on the sand; which, not being disturbed by a high tide for nearly a month, retains the impression of the zoophyte, and serves as a mould to receive materials which take a cast and transmit it to subsequent ages. we find one of these impressions on the slab of the anomoepus scambus; and president hitchcock, having examined it, is of opinion that it retains the traces of a medusa. the impression is about five inches in diameter, of a darker color and smoother texture than the rest of the rock. its edges fade away gradually in the surface of the subjacent sandstone. a similar impression is found on the superior surface of the slab containing the argozoum. * * * * * group tenth. the tenth group contains the harpagopus, a name derived from _harpagê_, _seizure_, _rapine_. it is represented by president hitchcock as having the form of a drag. the figure given by him resembles in a degree the foot of the african ostrich; being a long thick toe, with a shorter one, not unlike a thumb, on the side. an impression approximating this, but of small size, may be seen on the slab of the anomoepus scambus. * * * * * the formation of bird-tracks is well represented by a clay specimen, about an inch thick, and ten inches long. this is a piece of dried clay, obtained by president hitchcock from the banks of the connecticut, and produced by washings from clay on the shore above, covered with foot-impressions of a small tridactylous bird, and dried in the sun. this piece shows, in a way not to be questioned, the manner in which the ancient vestiges were produced. sir charles lyell noticed a similar fact on the banks of the bay of fundy. organic impressions. the _second_ great division of fossil impressions is called organic, meaning impressions made by organized bodies; the bones of animals, fishes, and vegetables. near one extremity of the slab of the ornithopus gallinaceus is an elevation, about a foot long, and between one and two inches wide, projecting from the surface nearly half an inch. it has the appearance of a round bar of iron imbedded in the rock, which is clayey sandstone. this apparent bar of iron was probably a bone, buried in the stone, now silicified and impregnated with iron; the animal matter having entirely disappeared. in the slab of the brontozoum sillimanium is a projection about seven or eight inches long, and half an inch wide; probably the bone of an animal, perhaps a clavicle of the brontozoum giganteum. the vestiges of fishes are very numerous in the sandstone rocks of connecticut river. we have not less than two dozen specimens from this locality; a number equal to all the other specimens in our collection. these impressions of fishes are generally from three to six inches long, and three or four inches wide. they are of the grand division denominated by professor agassiz "heterocercal," having their tails unequally bilobed, from the partial prolongation of the dorsal spine; and they are considered to be of lower antiquity than the fishes which are entirely heterocercal. the most remarkable of the fish-specimens in our collection is a cephalaspis (?): this fish is found in the specimen containing tracks of the brontozoum gracillimum, and traces of a turtle or tortoise. this fossil was discovered in the upper layer of the old red sandstone of scotland, and had been mistaken by some for a trilobite: to us it appeared to be a limulus, but further observation leads us to believe it to be a _cephalaspis_. it exhibits a convex disc, four inches across, by two inches from above downwards, and a tail at right angles with the disc, the uncovered part of which is three inches long. the animal has been described by professor agassiz as being composed of a strong buckler, with a pointed horn at either termination of the crescent, and an angular tail. to the vegetable impressions discovered among the sandstone rocks a peculiar name has not yet been assigned. when, however, we consider the strong probability that many impressions of stalks, leaves, fruits, and other parts of vegetables, may be hereafter discovered in these rocks, it will be found convenient to have a distinctive denomination. vast numbers of vegetable impressions of a distinct and beautiful appearance, and in great variety, have been found in the coal-formation, which is nearly allied to the sandstone: such are the sigillaria, stigmaria, equisetaceæ, lycopodiaceæ, coniferæ, cycadeæ, &c. it is sufficient to say that the number of these has been already swelled to many hundreds: we must also believe, that some of the impressions in sandstone rocks which have been assigned to other substances ought to be attributed to vegetables. we may, therefore, venture to call the vegetable impressions "phytological." a number of our slabs bear impressions of vegetables; either twigs of trees, or spires of plants. in a fragment broken from one of the toes of the brontozoum giganteum, we see a cylindrical depression, three inches long, and half an inch in diameter, marked by transverse lines, about the sixth of an inch apart, and presenting an unquestionable appearance of a fragment of a twig of an ancient vegetable, which had been trodden under the foot of the mighty brontozoum. on the reversed surface of the same slab are found impressions, which were produced by a number of fragments of sticks, five or six inches long, lying at right angles, or nearly so. one of these sticks has been broken, and its pieces are slightly displaced from each other. various other specimens contain the marks of sticks, or twigs of trees. the striæ, so distinctly discernable in a number of these portions, having been compared with twigs of the existing coniferæ (?), were found to resemble them. some of these sticks show the appearance of incipient carbonization; yet the rock is sandstone, presenting, as already mentioned, distinct appearances of quartz, and other substances of which the arenaceous rocks are composed. physical impressions. the _third_ great division of impressions in the sandstone rocks is called physical, meaning those made by inanimate and unorganized substances; such are rain-drops, ripple-marks, and coprolites. . marks of rain-drops, described on page , appear to be quite common. we have two or three specimens in relief, and as many in depression. they occur as follows: st, on the upper surface of the slab first described; d, on that of the platypterna; d, on that of the Æthyopus lyellianus; th, on that of the brontozoum gracillimum; th, on that of the Æthyopus minor; th, on that of the anomoepus scambus; th, on the recent clay; also in one small hand-specimen, and in a second containing two fishes. they show that, in those ancient periods when the brontozoum giganteum and the otozoum resided in these parts, showers were frequent, and probably abundant for the supply of the wants and the gratification of the appetites of these animals, then common, but which now appear to us so extraordinary. . ripple-marks are seen in a number of these pieces; for example, on the slab first described, on the brontozoum sillimanium slab, on the brontozoum gracillimum slab, on one of the triænopus, and on the upper surface of the greenfield slab. these marks are represented by parallel curves, or straight lines, distant from each other from half an inch to an inch, and presenting a slight degree of prominence. there is another form of ripple-marks(?), differing from those above described. these are of a circular and mammillary form: they are strewed thickly, like little islets, approximating to each other. they are seen distinctly on one of the slabs of the brontozoum sillimanium, on that of the Æthyopus lyellianus, and some others. whether they are to be considered as accumulations of sand and clay, formed by the action of the sea, we are uncertain; but there seems to be no other cause to which they can be assigned with so great probability. . _coprolites_, the fossilized ejections of animals, are intermixed with other animal vestiges in the sandstone of connecticut river, and afford additional proof of the former existence of animals about these rocks. * * * * * the latest accounts of fossil footprints we have had occasion to notice are those of the crustacea, already mentioned, as found in canada, and of the chelonian in scotland. the canadian impressions, called by professor owen protichnites, were discovered in the year , and were laid before the london geological society in . the most remarkable circumstance about them was their existence, as already stated, in a white sandstone, near the banks of the river st. lawrence, at beauharnais. this sandstone, which has been described by new york geologists under the name of potsdam, is thought to belong to the silurian system, and to have a higher antiquity than even the "old red." the scotch footsteps are situated in the old red sandstone, and are those of a chelonian. so that we have now two series of tracks, the crustacea in canada and the chelonian in scotland, of higher antiquity than any which had been previously discovered. * * * * * on a review of the labors of president hitchcock, we are struck with admiration at the immense details that, in the midst of arduous official and literary duties, he has been able to go through with in the period since the foot-tracks were discovered on connecticut river. although his labors should be modified by succeeding observers, science must be ever grateful to him for laying the foundation, and doing so much for the completion, of a work so great, novel, and interesting. this inquiry seems to us to promise a rich variety; and we hope that president hitchcock and other observers will continue to explore and cultivate it with undiminished zeal. description of the plate. we are indebted to photography for enabling us to represent the remarkable slab from greenfield, and its numerous objects, in a small space, yet with perfect accuracy. this slab is four feet seven and one-half inches in one direction, and four feet one inch transversely to this; in thickness it measures about an inch. it is composed of gray sandstone, in which the micaceous element is conspicuous, and contains many interesting impressions on both surfaces. the most interesting surface is the inferior; and the objects are, of course, presented in relief. they are, first, two chelonian tracks; second, four sets of bird-tracks; third, footsteps of an unknown animal. the _chelonian tracks_ are two in number: the longest measures four feet ten inches; the shorter, two feet nine inches. both of these impressions are made apparently by the plastron of the turtle. they are from four to eight inches in width, and composed of elevated striæ. these striæ are formed by raised lines, pursuing a course generally regular, but accompanied with some inflections: they are, as the plate represents, very distinct. the shorter track appeared to me to be crossed by another; but the photographic impression, though only a few inches long, enabled me to ascertain that this appearance was produced by bird-tracks above and below. the _bird-tracks_ are all tridactylous. the first set lies above and to the right of the shorter turtle-track, and is composed of only two steps, proceeding in the course of the plate downwards. the second set of bird-tracks has five impressions, extending from the right superior pointed angle of the slab across the small turtle-track to the larger, in which it is lost. the third set of bird-tracks begins by an impression larger than any other on the piece at the left extremity of the longer turtle-track; and the remainder, three in number, descending towards the right, are the least distinct of any. the fourth set of bird-tracks begins below the longer turtle-track, and ascends by four impressions, crossing the track till it meets the first. the most curious track, consisting of six digitated impressions, still remains. the first is seen on the left of the longer turtle-track, near the largest bird-track; the second is on the track; the third is above the track; the others cross the slab by fainter impressions. each of them is composed by two feet, and each foot contains four toes, which are seen more distinctly in some impressions than in others. the largest of these double tracks is about three inches in diameter. perhaps it would be useless to speculate upon what kind of animal they were made by. there is a similarity between these and the tracks of the anomoepus scambus, spoken of in the sixth group. in the latter, however, the toes are five and three. some experienced persons think they are tracks of the mink, mustela lutreola, an animal common at the present day in these parts. this has five toes; but it may be in this as in some other digitigrades, that one of the toes in each foot does not make an impression; or perhaps it is safer to believe, till further investigation is made, that it was an animal of a construction not now existing. the direction of these tracks presents a puzzle we are not able to unravel; it exhibits the impressions of four toes, and we have supposed it might possess five. in either of these cases, we have no right to consider it a bird-track, but probably a reptile or a mammal. admitting this to be the fact, we are unable to account for the direction of the steps, which is not alternate, as in the quadruped, but in straight lines. in other words, this animal, supposed to have four legs, gives us the impressions of two only, and both of these placed together. when the tridactylous tracks are attentively considered, compared with each other, and with the digitated tracks, they appear to exhibit the character of the impressions of the feet of birds so very decidedly, that it would require something more than a philosophic incredulity to question their ornithic origin. the other side of this slab contains interesting impressions. in the first place, this surface is covered with ripple-marks, each about two inches broad, extending with various degrees of distinctness across the slab, and having an interval of an inch. the width of the ridges is greater than in any of the specimens we have seen. this surface is almost covered by rain-drops. it has also, among other impressions, one which has been drawn by mr. silsbee, our photographist, and represented by the figure below of its proper size. this figure, nearly four and a half inches in length, is an exact resemblance in form, but not in size, of the great otozoum, as depicted by president hitchcock, and shown by the actual impression, in our hands, of the great foot, twenty inches long, and of proportionate breadth. the form of the heel, or posterior part of the foot, is the same in the two figures; the toes are equal in both, viz. four in number; the two internal toes correspond in their articulations, and the two external are nearly alike, with a little allowance for a different amount of adipose texture. whether this was the impression of an infant otozoum, i pretend not to determine: the drawing was taken by a gentleman who knew nothing of the otozoum. there are similar impressions, smaller than that last described, on the same surface. the stone, though now very hard and intractable, having resisted all the chemical agents we could employ, must have remained in a soft state for some time; for the impressions of the foot shown below penetrate to the opposite surface. [illustration: fossil foot impression] in this description we have not attempted to point out all the objects worthy of interest on both sides of this curious slab. every part of it is full of interest, and presents a field for protracted observations. the surface represented in the plate may, by the aid of a magnifier, be studied without the presence of the stone itself; for the photographic art displays the most minute objects without alteration or omission. * * * * * transcriber's notes. with the exception of several presumed typographical error which have been changed as noted below, the text presented is that shown in the original printed version. the original text included greek characters. for this text version these letters have been replaced with transliterations. also, the 'ae' and 'ae' ligatures are included (for examples, Æthyopus and striæ); but the 'oe' ligatures (for example, anomoepus) are shown as 'oe' for readability as the ligature character is not present in many fonts. typographical errors: "alleghanies" => "alleghenies" (pg. ) "mastodon giganteus." => "mastodon giganteus," (pg. ) emphasis notation: _text_ - italicized pleistocene soricidae from san josecito cave, nuevo leon, mexico by james s. findley university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume , no. , pp. - december , university of kansas lawrence university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman, a. byron leonard, robert w. wilson volume , no. , pp. - december , university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by ferd voiland, jr., state printer topeka, kansas - pleistocene soricidae from san josecito cave, nuevo leon, mexico by james s. findley bones of a large number of vertebrates of pleistocene age have been removed from san josecito cave near aramberri, nuevo león, méxico. these bones have been reported upon in part by stock ( ) and cushing ( ). a part of this material, on loan to the university of kansas from the california institute of technology, contains rami and one rostrum of soricid insectivores. nothing seems to be known of the pleistocene soricidae of méxico. the workers cited do not mention them and no shrews are listed by maldonado-koerdell ( ) in his catalog of the quaternary mammals of méxico. comparison of these specimens with pertinent recent material from méxico, the united states, and canada leads me to the conclusion that they represent two genera and at least three species. the material examined is described below. sorex cinereus kerr one right ramus, bearing all three molars but lacking the other teeth and the tip of the coronoid process, needs close comparison only with certain of the smaller north american species of _sorex_. from _s. merriami_ of southeastern wyoming, it differs in having a shorter, much shallower dentary, a shorter molar row, and a lower coronoid. in every particular it is identical with _sorex cinereus_. _sorex cinereus_ from northern british columbia and the specimen from nuevo león differ from _sorex saussurei_, _s. obscurus_, and _s. vagrans_ in the ratio of the height of the coronoid to the length of the dentary. this ratio averages . % in _s. cinereus_ and . % or more (up to . %) in the other species. _microsorex hoyi_ differs from _s. cinereus_ and from the specimen in question in deeper and shorter dentary, more robust condyle, dentary less bowed dorsally, molars shorter in anteroposterior diameter and higher in proportion to this dimension. this record, as far as i can determine, constitutes a southward extension of the known pleistocene or recent range of this species of approximately miles. the nearest known occurrence of _s. cinereus_ in recent times is in the mountains of north-central new mexico. the species now has an extensive range in boreal north america and prefers mesic and hydric communities from which it rarely wanders. i know of no instance of the occurrence of the cinereous shrew in desert areas such as there are between many of the mountain ranges of southern new mexico, coahuila, and nuevo león. therefore, unless the habitat preferences of the species have changed since pleistocene times, this find constitutes additional evidence that more humid conditions at one time prevailed in the regions mentioned. sorex saussurei merriam fragments of three other specimens of _sorex_ occur in the collection. one of these is a right ramus, c. i. t. no. , and is complete except for the canine. the other two bear no numbers and i have designated them "a" and "b." "a" is a left ramus with the dentary broken off anterior to the canine and bears p and the canine. "b" is a right ramus bearing m and the roots of m and is broken off at the middle of the alveolus of m . each specimen has certain peculiarities but they resemble one another so closely that i regard all three as of the same species. the teeth, where comparable, are of essentially the same size and configuration. the horizontal rami of the dentaries are the same. the fossils differ, however, in the configuration of the coronoid process. in no. the coronoid is robust and inclined anteriorly with respect to a line drawn perpendicular to the dentary. the posterointernal ramal fossa (see hibbard, ) is deeply excavated with a distinct superior border approximately halfway between its inferior border and the top of the coronoid. in addition to the mandibular foramen there is a small foramen immediately posterior to it opening into the posterointernal ramal fossa. i shall refer to this as the post-mandibular foramen. the tip of the coronoid is broad, not tapering, and quadrate, and its entire superior border is inclined rather sharply medially. specimen "b" differs from no. in that the posterointernal ramal fossa extends nearly to the tip of the coronoid, which is narrower toward the tip and somewhat tapered dorsally. the post-mandibular foramen is large and the opening of the mandibular canal is within the posterointernal ramal fossa. in addition the coronoid does not incline anteriorly. specimen "a" is intermediate between no. and "b" in the characters mentioned and differs from both in that the post-mandibular foramen is widely separated from the mandibular foramen. comparison of the pleistocene specimens with specimens of recent species of north american _sorex_ reveals that the presence or absence of the post-mandibular foramen is almost constant in any one species. in possessing this foramen the fossils differ from most individuals of the species: _sorex cinereus_, _s. pacificus_, _s. milleri_, _s. vagrans_, _s. obscurus_, _s. ornatus_, _s. fumeus_, _s. palustris_, _s. bendirii_, and _s. veraepacis_. the fossils differ from all these species in other characters as well; consequently detailed comparisons with them need not be made here. species which possess the post-mandibular foramen include _sorex saussurei_, _s. merriami_, _s. trowbridgii_, _s. arcticus_, _s. tundrensis_, and _s. sclateri_. _sorex merriami_ differs in smaller size, smaller and weaker dentition, relatively higher coronoid, and relatively deeper and shorter dentary. _sorex trowbridgii_ is similar to the fossils and to _s. saussurei_. differences between the jaws of _s. trowbridgii_ and _s. saussurei_ seem to me to be differences of size only. _sorex sclateri_ is larger than the fossils and m is longer in relation to m , being almost the same size as m . in the fossils m is noticeably shorter than m , owing to close appression of the hypoconid and protoconid and in general to a smaller talonid area. _sorex arcticus_ differs in larger incisor and p . _sorex tundrensis_ differs in relatively narrower molars. i have compared the fossils also with the pliocene and pleistocene _sorex taylori_ hibbard, and find that the fossils are larger and have larger teeth and a much wider separation of the protoconid and metaconid. i can find no significant way in which the fossils differ from _s. saussurei_. this of course implies similarity to _s. trowbridgii_. since _s. saussurei_ is a widespread species in méxico today and since it occurs in the vicinity of the san josecito area the specimens under discussion are referred to this species. cryptotis mexicana (coues) the san josecito collection contains rami of a species of _cryptotis_. many are nearly complete although none possesses the incisor. in addition there is a rostrum that on the right side bears the last two unicuspids, p , m , and m . i have compared these fossils with specimens of the following species of _cryptotis_: _c. mexicana_, _c. magna_, _c. nelsoni_, _c. thomasi_, _c. alticola_, _c. parva_, _c. orophila_, _c. pergracilis_, _c. guerrerensis_, _c. obscura_, _c. mera_, _c. soricina_, _c. fossor_, _c. goodwini_, _c. griseoventris_, _c. meridensis_, _c. mayensis_, and _c. micrura_. the four species first mentioned and the fossils seem to fall into one group. the remaining species fall into another group characterized by a smaller occlusal area of the talonid on all three molar teeth with respect to the trigonid, and especially by the smaller and weaker talonid of m which possesses only one bladelike cusp, the hypoconid. in the first four species the talonids are larger than in the other species when compared to the trigonids, and the talonid of m possesses a well developed hypoconid and entoconid with a distinct basin between them. the rami of san josecito specimens closely resemble those of _c. mexicana_ in both size and qualitative characters. the rostrum mentioned above differs from those of _c. mexicana_ in that the unicuspids are larger, especially the posteriormost one. _cryptotis thomasi_ and _c. magna_ are eliminated from consideration here on geographical grounds. little difference may be seen between the rami of _c. mexicana mexicana_ from veracruz and _c. nelsoni_. the fossils are referred to the former species since it has a rather wide distribution in méxico in contrast to _c. nelsoni_ which is restricted to volcán de tuxtla, veracruz. the northernmost recent occurrence of _c. mexicana_ known to me is from las vigas, veracruz. as far as i know the species has not previously been recorded from the pleistocene. stirton ( : ), in summarizing the group characters of recent soricidae, listed the bicuspid talonid of m as one of the characters of the "_blarina_ group," which includes _neomys_, _soriculus_, _notiosorex_, _chimarrogale_, _cryptotis_, and _blarina_. that this character does not obtain universally within the group is demonstrated by the unicuspid structure of the talonid of m of the majority of the species of mexican _cryptotis_. i am grateful to drs. david e. johnson and henry w. setzer of the united states national museum, and to dr. john aldrich and miss viola s. schantz of the united states fish and wildlife service for permitting me to examine specimens in their care. also i am obliged to professor e. raymond hall for permission to study the specimens from san josecito cave. the late professor chester stock intrusted the specimens to professor hall for study and description. literature cited cushing, j. e., jr. . quaternary rodents and lagomorphs of san josecito cave, nuevo león, méxico. jour. mamm., : , - . hibbard, c. w. . the insectivores of the rexroad fauna, upper pliocene of kansas. jour. paleontology, : , - . maldonado-koerdell, m. . los vertebrados fosiles del cuaternario en mexico. revista de la soc. mexicana de hist. nat., tomo , nos. - . stirton, r. a. . a new genus of soricidae from the barstow miocene of california. univ. california publ., bull. dept. geol. sci., : - . stock, c. . the cave of san josecito, méxico, new discoveries of the vertebrate life of the ice age. california inst. tech., balch grad. school geol. sci. contr., no. , pp. _museum of natural history, university of kansas, lawrence, kansas. transmitted july , ._ - transcriber's note: text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). small capital text has been replaced with all capitals. [=e] refers to the "long e" sound (example: k[=i]-o-te). [illustration: _bureau of illustration buffalo ny_] buffalo land: an authentic account of the _discoveries, adventures, and mishaps of a scientific and sporting party_ in the wild west; with graphic descriptions of the country; the red man, savage and civilized; hunting the buffalo, antelope, elk, and wild turkey; etc., etc. replete with information, wit, and humor. the appendix comprising a complete guide for sportsmen and emigrants. by w. e. webb, of topeka, kansas. profusely illustrated from actual photographs, and original drawings by henry worrall. cincinnati and chicago: e hannaford & company. san francisco: f. dewing & co. . entered according to act of congress, in the year , by e. hannaford & co., in the office of the librarian of congress, at washington, d. c. stereotyped at the franklin type foundry, cincinnati. to the primeval man, _the original westerner, and first buffalo hunter,_ this work is dedicated, with profound regard, _by the author._ buffalo land. by our tammany sachem. there's a wonderful land far out in the west, well worthy a visit, my friend; there, puritans thought, as the sun went to rest, creation itself had an end. 't is a wild, weird spot on the continent's face, a wound which is ghastly and red, where the savages write the deeds of their race in blood that they constantly shed. the graves of the dead the fair prairies deface, and stamp it the kingdom of dread. the emigrant trail is a skeleton path; you measure its miles by the bones; there savages struck, in their merciless wrath, and now, after sunset, the moans, when tempests are out, fill the shuddering air, and ghosts flit the wagons beside, and point to the skulls lying grinning and bare and beg of the teamsters a ride; sometimes 't is a father with snow on his hair, again, 't is a youth and his bride. what visions of horror each valley could tell, if providence gave it a tongue! how often its eden was changed to a hell, in which a whole train had been flung; how death cry and battle-shout frightened the birds, and prayers were as thick as the leaves, and no one to catch the poor dying one's words but death, as he gathered his sheaves: you see the bones bleaching among the wild herds, in shrouds that the field spider weaves. that era is passing--another one comes, the era of steam and the plow, with clangor of commerce and factory hums, where only the wigwam is now. like mist of the morning before the bright sun, the cloud from the land disappears; the spirit of murder his circle has run and fled from the march of the years; the click of machine drowns the click of the gun, and day hides the night time of tears. preface. the purpose of this work is to make the reader better acquainted with that wild land which he has known from childhood, as the home of the indian and the buffalo. the rocky mountain chain, distorted and rugged, has been aptly called the colossal vertebræ of our continent's broad back, and from thence, as a line, the plains, weird and wonderful, stretch eastward through colorado, and embrace the entire western half of kansas. fortune, not long since, threw in my way an invitation, which i gladly accepted, to join a semi-scientific party, since somewhat known to fame through various articles in the newspaper press, in a sojourn of several months on the great plains. at a meeting held with due solemnity on the eve of starting, the professor (to whom the reader will be introduced in the proper connection) was chosen leader of the expedition, while to my lot fell the office of editor of the future record, or rather grand scribe of what we were pleased to call our "log book." the latter now lies before me, in all its glory of shabby covers and dirty pages. its soiled face is as honorable as that of the laborer who comes from his task in a well harvested field. out of the sheaves gathered during our journey, i shall try and take such portions as may best supply the mental cravings of the countless thousands who hunger for the life and the lore of the far west. i have given the mistakes as well as triumphs of our expedition, and the members of the party will readily recognize their familiar camp names. the disguise will probably be pleasant, as few like to see their failures on public parade, preferring rather to leave these in barracks, and let their successes only appear at review. the plains have a face, a people, and a brute creation, peculiarly their own, and to these our party devoted earnest study. the expedition presented a rare opportunity of becoming acquainted with the game of the country; and, in writing the present volume, my aim has been to make it so far a text-book for amateur hunters that they may become at once conversant with the habits of the game, and the best manner of killing it. the time is not far distant, when the plains and the rocky mountains will be sought by thousands annually, as a favorite field for sport and recreation. another and still larger class, it is hoped, will find much of interest and value in the following pages. from every state in the union, people are constantly passing westward. we found emigrant wagons on spots from which the indians had just removed their wigwams. multitudes more are now on the way, with the earnest purpose of founding homes and, if possible, of finding fortunes. in order to aid this class, as well as the sportsman, i have gathered in an appendix such additional information as may be useful to both. the scientific details of our trip will probably be published in proper form and time, by the savans interested. in regard to these, my object has been simply to chronicle such matters as made an impression upon my own mind, being content with what cream might be gathered by an amateur's skimming, while the more bulky milk should be saved in capacious scientific buckets. professor cope, the well known naturalist, of the academy of sciences, philadelphia, received for examination and classification the most valuable fossils we obtained, and to him i am indebted for a large amount of most interesting and valuable scientific matter, which will be found embodied in chapters twenty-third and twenty-fourth. the illustrations of men and brutes in this work are studies from life. whenever it was possible, we had photographs taken. the plains, it must be said, are a tract with which romance has had much more to do than history. red men, brave and chivalrous, and unnatural buffalo, with the habits of lions, exist only in imagination. in these pages, my earnest endeavor, when dealing with actualities, has been to "hold the mirror up to nature," and to describe men, manners, and things as they are in real life upon the frontiers, and beyond, to-day. w. e. w. topeka, kansas, _may_, . contents. chapter i. pages. the object of our expedition--a glimpse of alaska through captain walrus' glass--we are tempted by our recent purchase--alaskan game of "old sledge"--the early struggles of kansas--the smoky hill trail--indian high art--the "border-ruffian," past and present--topeka--how it received its name--waukarusa and its legend, - chapter ii. a chapter of introductions--professor paleozoic--tammany sachem--doctor pythagoras--genuine muggs--colon and semi-colon--shamus dobeen--tenacious gripe--bugs and philosophy--how gripe became a republican, - chapter iii. the topeka auctioneer--muggs gets a bargain--cynocephalus--indian summer in kansas--hunting prairie chickens--our first day's sport, - chapter iv. chicken-shooting continued--a scientific party take the birds on the wing--evils of fast firing--an old-fashioned "slow shot"--the habits of the prairie chicken--its prospective extinction--mode of hunting it--the gopher scalp law, - chapter v. a trial by judge lynch--hung for contempt of court--quail shooting--habits of the birds, and mode of killing them--a ring of quails--the effects of a severe winter--the snow goose, - chapter vi. off for buffalo land--the navigation of the kaw--fort riley--the center-post of the united states--our purchase of horses--"lo" as a savage and as a citizen--gripe unfolds the indian question--a ballad by sachem, presenting another view, - chapter vii. gripe's views of indian character--the delawares, the ishmaelites of the plains--the territory of the "long horns"--texans and their characteristics--mushroom rock--a valuable discovery-- footprints in the rock--the primeval paul and virginia, - chapter viii. the "great american desert"--its fossil wealth--an illusion dispelled--fires according to novels and according to fact-- sensational heroes and heroines--prairie dogs and their habits-- hawk and dog, and hawk and cat, - chapter ix. we see buffalo--arrival at hays--general sheridan at the fort--indian murders--blood-christening of the pacific railroad--surprised by a buffalo herd--a buffalo bull in a quandary--gentle zephyrs--how a circus went off--bologna to lean on--a call upon sheridan, - chapter x. hays city by lamp-light--the santa fe trade--bull-whackers-- mexicans--sabbath on the plains--the dark ages--wild bill and buffalo bill--off for the saline--dobeen's ghost-story--an adventure with indians--mexican cannonade--a runaway, - chapter xi. white wolf, the cheyenne chief--hungry indians--return to hays--a cheyenne war party--the pipe of peace--the council chamber--white wolf's speech, as rendered by sachem--the white man's wigwam, - chapter xii. arms of a war party--a donkey present--eating powers of the nomads--satanta, his crimes and punishment--running off with a government herd--daub, our artist--antelope chase by a greyhound, - chapter xiii. character of the plains--buffalo bill and his horse brigham--the guide and scout of romance--cayote versus jackass-rabbit--a lawyer-like rescue--our camp on silver creek--uncle sam's buffalo herds--turkey-shooting--our first meal on the plains--a game supper, - chapter xiv. a camp-fire scene--vagabondizing--the black pacer of the plains--some advice from buffalo bill about indian fighting--lo's abhorrence of long range--his dread of cannon--an irish goblin, - chapter xv. a fire scene--a glimpse of the south--'coon hunting in mississippi-- voices in the solitude--friends or foes--a startling serenade--panic in camp--cayotes and their habits--worrying a buffalo bull--the second day--daub, our artist--he makes his mark, - chapter xvi. bison meat--a strange arrival--the sydney family--the home in the valley--the solomon massacre--the murder of the father and the child--the settlers' flight--incidents--our queen of the plains--the professor interested--irish mary--dobeen happy--the heroine of romance--sachem's bath by moonlight--the beaver colony, - chapter xvii. preparations for the chase--the valley of the saline--queer 'coons--a bison's game of bluff--in pursuit--alongside the game--firing from the saddle--a charge and a panic--false history again--going for ammunition--the professor's letter-- disrobing the victim, - chapter xviii. still hunting--dark objects against the horizon--the red man again--retreat to camp--preparations for defense--shaking hands with death--mr. colon's bugs--the embassadors--a new alarm--more indians--terrific battle between pawnees and cheyennes--their mode of fighting--good horsemanship--a scientific party as sextons--ditto as surgeons--camps of the combatants--stealing away--an apparition, - chapter xix. stalking the bison--buffalo as oxen--expensive power--a buffalo at a lunatic asylum--the gateway to the herds--infernal grape-shot--nature's bomb-shells--crawling bedouins--"thar they hump"--the slaughter begun--an ineffectual charge--"ketching the critter"--return to camp--calves' head on the stomach--an unpleasant episode--wolf baiting, and how it is done, - chapter xx. the cayotes' strychnine feast--capturing a timber wolf--a few cords of victims--what the law considers "indian tan"--"finishing" the new york market--a new york farmer's opinion of our gray wolf--westward again--episodes in our journey--the wild huntress of the plains--was our guide a murderer?--the reader joins us in a buffalo chase--the dying agonies, - chapter xxi. "creasing" wild horses--muggs disappointed--a feat for fiction-- horse and monkey--hoof wisdom for turfmen--prospective climatic changes on the plains--the question of spontaneous generation--wanton slaughter of buffalo--amount of robes and meat annually wasted--a strange habit of the bison--numerous bills--the "sneak thief" of the plains, - chapter xxii. a live town and its grave-yard--honest rombeaux in trouble--judge lynch holds court--marie and the vine-covered cottage--the terrible floods--death in camp and in the dugout--was it the water which did it?--discovery of a huge fossil--the mosasaurus of the cretaceous sea--a glimpse of the reptilian age--reminiscences of alligator-shooting--they suggest a theory, - chapter xxiii. from sheridan to the rocky mountains--the colorado portion of the plains--the giant pines--attempt to photograph a buffalo--things get mixed--the leviathan at home--a chat with professor cope--twenty-six-inch oysters--reptiles and fishes of the cretaceous sea, - chapter xxiv. continued by cope--the giants of the seas--taking out fossils in a gale--interesting discoveries--the geology of the plains, - chapter xxv. a savage outbreak--the battle of the forty scouts--the surprise-- pack-mules stampeded--death on the arickeree--the medicine man--a dismal night--messengers sent to wallace--morning attack--whose funeral?--relief at last--the old scout's devotion to the blue, - chapter xxvi. the stage drivers of the plains--"old bob"--jamaica and ginger--an old acquaintance--beads of the past--robbing the dead--a leap from the lost history of the mound builders--indian traditions--speculations--adobe houses in a rain--cheap living--watch towers, - chapter xxvii. our programme concluded--from sheridan to the solomon--fierce winds--a terrific storm--shamus' bloody apparition and indian witch--a reconnoissance--an indian burial grove--a contractor's daring and its penalty--more vagabondizing--jose at the long bow--the "wild huntress'" counterpart--shamus treats us to "chile"--the result, - chapter xxviii. the block-house on the solomon--how the old man died--waconda da--legend of wa-bog-aha and hewgaw--sabbath morning--sachem's poetical epitaph--an alarm--battle between an emigrant and the indians--was it the sydneys?--to the rescue--an elk hunt--rocky mountain sheep--novel mode of hunting turkeys--in camp on the solomon--a warm welcome, - chapter xxix. our last night together--the remarkable shed-tail dog--he rescues his mistress, and breaks up a meeting--a sketch of territorial times by gripe--montgomery's expedition for the rescue of john brown's companions--scalped, and carving his own epitaph--an irish jacob--"survival of the fittest"--sachem's poetical letter--popping the question on the run--the professor's letter, - contents of appendix. pages. preliminary to the appendix, , chapter first. come to the great west--should there not be compulsory emigration--"get a good ready"--homestead laws and regulations--the state of kansas--the cost of a farm--a few more practical suggestions, - chapter second. hunting the buffalo--antelope hunting--elk hunting--turkey hunting--general remarks--what to do if lost on the plains--the new field for sportsmen, - chapter third. "by the mouth of two or three witnesses"--the great west--fall of the rivers--the principal rivers and valleys of buffalo land--the valley of the platte--the solomon and smoky hill rivers--the arkansas river and its tributaries--stock raising in the great west--the cattle hive of north america--the climate of the plains--climatic changes on the plains--the trees and future forests of the plains--the supply of fuel--districts contiguous to the plains--the valleys of the white earth and niobrara--new mexico: its soil, climate, resources, etc.--the disappearing bison--the fish with legs--the mountain supply of lumber for the plains, - list of illustrations. _from original drawings by henry worrall, and actual photographs._ _the engraving by the bureau of illustration, buffalo, n. y._ page frontispiece, facing title page alaskan lovers--sealing the contract, alaskan game of old sledge, "waukarusa," "toasts his moccasined feet by the fire," the professor--a remarkable stone, tammany sachem--prospective and retrospective, colon and semi-colon, david pythagoras, m. d., one of the muggses, shamus dobeen--his card, hon. t. gripe (beatified), "sperit, gentlemen!" our first bird-shooting, judge lynch--his court, unnaturalized, naturalized, "you've riled that brook"--an old fable modernized, dog town--the happy family, indian rock--from a photograph, mushroom rock--from a photograph, fire on the plains, according to novels, fire on the plains, as it is, "and erin's son christens those far-off points of the pacific railroad with his blood," gentle zephyrs--going off without a drawback, "looked like the end of a tail," the rare old plainsman of the novels, wild bill--from a photograph, buffalo bill--from a photograph, our horses run away with us, the pipe of peace--the professor's dilemma, _white wolf at home_, the wild denizens of the plains, smashing a cheyenne black-kettle, midnight serenade on the plains, going after ammunition, battle between cheyennes and pawnees, one of our specimens--photographed by j. lee knight, topeka, wanton destruction of buffalo, embracing: daily, for fun, a day for pleasure, for excitement, , for tongues, , , for robes, to get whisky, dug out, taking and being taken, developing--one of the first families, the sea which once covered the plains, waconda da--great spirit salt spring, more of our specimens (photographed by j. lee knight), embracing: prairie chickens, head of an elk, wild turkey, beaver, buffalo land. chapter i. the object of our expedition--a glimpse of alaska through captain walrus' glass--we are tempted by our recent purchase--alaskan game of "old sledge"--the early struggles of kansas--the smoky hill trail--indian high art--the "border-ruffian," past and present--topeka--how it received its name--waukarusa and its legend. the great plains--the region of country in which our expedition sojourned for so many months--is wilder, and by far more interesting, than those solitudes over which the egyptian sphynx looks out. the latter are barren and desolate, while the former teem with their savage races and scarcely more savage beasts. the very soil which these tread is written all over with a history of the past, even its surface giving to science wonderful and countless fossils of those ages when the world was young and man not yet born. at first, it was rather unsettled which way the steps of our party would turn; between unexplored territory and that newly acquired, there were several fields open which promised much of interest. originally, our company numbered a dozen; but alaska tempted a portion of our savans, and to the fishy and frigid maiden they yielded, drawn by a strange predilection for train-oil and seal meat toward the land of furs. for the remainder of our party, however, life under the alaskan's tent-pole had no charms. our decision may have been influenced somewhat by the seafaring man with whom our friends were to sail. the real name of this son of neptune was samuels, but our party called him, as it savored more of salt water, captain walrus, of the bark harpoon. this worthy, according to his own statement, had been born on a whaler, weaned among the esquimeaux, and, moreover, had frozen off eight toes "trying to winter it at our recent purchase." he evidently disliked to have scientific men aboard, intent on studying eclipses and seals. "a heathenish and strange people are the alaskans," walrus was wont to say. "what is not indian is russian, and a compound of the latter and aboriginal is a mixture most villainous. one portion of the partnership anatomy takes to brandy, while the other absorbs train-oil, and so a half-breed alaskan heathen is always prepared for spontaneous combustion, and if rubbed the wrong way, flames up instantly. he is always hot for murder, and if you throw cold water on his designs, his oily nature sheds it." and many a yarn did the captain spin concerning their strange customs. sealing a marriage contract consisted in the warrior leaving a fat seal at the hole of the hut, where his intended crawled in to her home privileges of smoke and fish. their favorite game was "old sledge," played with prisoners to shorten their captivity. [illustration: alaskan lovers--sealing the contract.] [illustration: alaskan game of old sledge.] all this, and much more, probably equally true, we had picked up of alaskan history, and at one time our chests had been packed for a voyage on the harpoon; but at the final council the west carried it against the north, and our steps were directed toward the setting sun, instead of the polar star. the expedition afforded unexcelled facilities for seeing buffalo land. it was composed of good material, and pursued its chosen path successfully, though under difficulties which would have turned back a less determined party. none of our company, i trust, will consider it an unwarrantable license which recounts to others the personal peculiarities and mistakes about which we joked so freely while in camp. it was generally understood, before we parted, that the adventures should be common stock for our children and children's children. why should not the great public share in it also? * * * * * let the reader place before him a checker-board, and allow it to represent kansas, whose shape and outline it much resembles; the half nearest him will stand for the eastern or settled portion of the state, of which the other half is embraced in buffalo land proper. it is with the latter that we have first to do, as with it we first became acquainted. our party entered the state at kansas city, and took the cars for topeka, its capital. during our morning ride through the valley of the kaw, memory went backward to the years when "bleeding kansas" was the signal-cry of emancipation. when gray old time, a decade and a half ago, was writing the history of those bright children of freedom, the united sisterhood, a virgin arm reached over his shoulder, and a fair young hand, stained with its own life-blood, wrote on the page toward which all the world was gazing, "i am kansas, latest-born of america. i would be free, yet they would make me a slave. save me, my sisters!" the great heart of our nation was sorely distressed. conscience pointed to one path--policy, that rank hypocrite, to another. and so it was that the young queen, with her grand domain in the west, struggled forward to lay her fealty at the feet of our great mother, liberty. she made a body-guard of her own sons, and their number was quickly swelled by brave hearts from the north, east, and west. the new territory, begging admission as a state, became a battle-ground. slavery had reached forth its hand to grasp the new state and fresh soil, but the mutilated member was drawn back with wounds which soon reached, corrupted and destroyed the body. in this land of the far west a nation of young giants had been suddenly developed, and kansas was forever won for freedom. but there was yet another enemy and another danger. westward, toward colorado, the savage's tomahawk and knife glittered, and struck among the affrighted settlements. _ad astra per aspera_, "to the stars through difficulties," the state exclaims on the seal, and to the stars, through blood, its course has been. those old pages of history are too bloody to be brought to light in the bright present, and we purpose turning them only enough to gather what will be now of practical use. kansas suffered cruelly, and brooded over her wrongs, but she has long since struck hands with her bitterer foe. most of the "border ruffians" ripened on gallows trees, or fell by the sword, years ago. a few, however, are yet spared, to cheer their old age by riding around in desolate woods at midnight, wrapped in damp nightgowns, and masked in grinning death-heads. although the mists of shadow-land are chilling their hearts, yet those organs, at the cry of blood, beat quick again, like regimental drums, for action. the kaw or the kansas river, the valley of which we were traversing, is the principal stream of the state--in length to the mouth of the republican one hundred and fifty miles, and above that, under the name of smoky hill, three hundred miles more. the "smoky hill trail" is a familiar name in many an american home. it was the great california path, and many a time the demons of the plain gloated over fair hair, yet fresh from a mother's touch and blessing. and many a faint and thirsty traveler has flung himself with a burst of gratitude on the sandy bed of the desolate river, and thanked the great giver of all good for the concealed life found under the sand, and with the strength thus sucked from the bosom of our much-abused mother, he has pushed onward until at length the grand mountains and great parks of colorado burst upon his delighted vision. about noon we arrived at topeka, the capital, well situated on the south bank of the river, having a comfortable, well-to-do air, which suggests the quiet satisfaction of an honest burgher after a morning of toil. the slavery billow of agitation rolled even thus far from beyond the border of the state. armed men rode over the beautiful prairies, some east, some west--one band to transplant slavery from the tainted soil of missouri, another to pluck it up. a small party of free state men settled upon this beautiful prairie. south flowed the waukarusa, south and east the shunganunga, and west and north the kaw or kansas. here thrived a bulbous root, much loved by the red man, and here lazy pottawatomies gathered in the fall to dig it. in size and somewhat in shape, it resembled a goose egg, and had a hard, reddish brown shell, and an interior like damaged dough. the indian gourmands ate it greedily and called it "topeka." from the two or three families of refugee free state men the town grew up, and from the indian root it took its name. its christening took place in the first cabin erected, and it is reported that a now prominent banker of the town stood sponsor, with his back against the door, refusing any egress until the name of his choice was accepted. it is even affirmed that one opposing city founder was pulled back by his coat-tail from an attempted escape up the wide chimney. [illustration: "waukarusa."] [illustration: "toasts his moccasined feet by the fire."] the old indian love of commemorating events by significant names is well illustrated in kansas. one example may be given here. waukarusa once opposed its swollen tide to an exploring band of red men. now, from time beyond ken, the noble savage has been illustrious for the ingenuity with which he lays all disagreeable duties upon the shoulders of the patient squaw. he may ride to their death, in free wild sport, the bison multitudes; but their skins must be converted into marketable robes, and the flesh into jerked meat, by the ugly and over-worked partner of his bosom. while she pins the raw hide to earth, and bends patiently over, fleshing it with horn hatchet for weary hours, the stronger vessel, his abdominal recesses wadded with buffalo meat, toasts his moccasined feet by the fire, fills his lungs with smoke from villainous killikinick, and muses soothingly of white scalps and happy hunting grounds. ox-like maiden, happy "big injun!" you both belong to an age and a history well nigh past, and let us rejoice that it is so. but to return to the band long since gathered into aboriginal dust whom we left pausing on the banks of the waukarusa. "deep water, bad bottom!" grunted the braves, and, nothing doubting it, one loving warrior pushed his wife and her pony over the bank to test the matter. from the middle of the tide the squaw called back, "waukarusa" (thigh deep), and soon had gained the opposite bank in safety. then and there the creek received its name, "waukarusa." we procured a remarkable sketch, in the well known indian style of high art, commemorative of this event. it has always struck us that the savage order of drawing resembles very much that of the ancient egyptian--except in the matter of drawing at sight, with bow or rifle, on the white man. chapter ii. a chapter of introductions--professor paleozoic--tammany sachem--doctor pythagoras--genuine muggs--colon and semi-colon--shamus dobeen--tenacious gripe--bugs and philosophy--how gripe became a republican. when permission was given me to draw upon the journal of our trip for such material as i might desire, it was stipulated that the camp-names should be adhered to. a company on the plains is no respecter of persons, and titles which might have caused offense before starting were received in good part, and worn gracefully thenceforward. our leader, professor paleozoic, ordinarily existed in a sort of transition state between the primary and tertiary formations. he could tell cheese from chalk under the microscope, and show that one was full of the fossil and the other of the living evidences of animal life. a worthy man, vastly more troubled with rocks on the brain than "rocks" in the pocket. learning had once come near making him mad, but from this sad fate he was happily saved by a somewhat pickwickian blunder. while in kansas, some years since, he penetrated a remote portion of the wilderness, where, as he was happy in believing, none but the native savage, or, possibly, the primeval man, could ever have tarried long enough to leave any sign behind. imagine his astonishment and delight, therefore, when from the tangled grass he drew an upright stone, with lines chiseled on three sides and on the fourth a rude figure resembling more than any thing else one of those odd fictions which geologists call restored specimens. on a ledge near were huge depressions like foot-prints. they were foot-prints of birds, no doubt, and quite as perfect as those found in more favored localities, and from which whole skeletons had been constructed by learned men. both specimens were forwarded to, and at the expense of, noted savans of the east. our professor called the pillar from the tangled grass an altar raised by early races to the winds. the short lines, he suggested, designated the different points of the compass, while the rude figure was intended for boreas. our scientists toward the rising sun met the boxes at the depot, paid charges, and careful draymen bore them to the expectant museum. one hour after, seven wise men might have been seen wending their way sorrowfully homeward, with hands crossed meditatively under their coat-tails, and pocket vacuums where lately were modern coins. government clearly had a case against our professor. science decided that he had removed a stone telling in surveyors' signs just what section and township it was on. the figure which he had imagined a heathen idea of boreas was the fancy of some surveyor's idle moment--a shocking sketch of an impossible buffalo. whether the bird-tracks had a common origin, or were hewn by the hatchets of the red man, is a point still under discussion. a worthy man, as before remarked, was the professor, full of knowledge, genial in camp, and, having rubbed his eye-tooth on a section stone, geological authority of the highest order. when the professor said a particular rock belonged to the cretaceous formation, one might safely conclude that no modern influences had been at work either on that rock or in that vicinity. that question was settled. next came tammany sachem, our heavy weight and our mystery. before joining our party, he had been a new york alderman, noted for prowess in annual aldermanic clam-bakes at coney island. he was wont to exhibit a medal, the prize of such a tournament, on which several immense clams were racing to the griddle, for the honor of being devoured by the city fathers. a green-ribbed hunting coat traversed his rotundity, which had the generous swell of a puncheon. his face was reddish, and his nose like a beacon-light against a sunset sky. when you thought him awake, he was half asleep; when you thought him asleep, he was wide awake. a look of extreme happiness always beamed on his face when misfortunes impended. per contra, successes made him suspicious and morose. new york aldermen have always been a puzzle to the nation at large. perhaps our friend's facial contradictions, put on originally as one of the tricks of the trade, had become chronic from long usage. we have since learned that the sachems of tammany laugh the loudest and joke the most freely when under affliction. [illustration: the professor--a remarkable stone.] [illustration: tammany sachem--prospective and retrospective.] when i was appointed editor, the sachem volunteered as local reporter. many of the items he gathered are entered in our log-book in rhyme, and to these pages some of them are transferred verbatim. in wooing the muses, our alderman certainly acted out of character. the ideal poet is thin instead of obese, and he is a reckless innovator who lays claim to any measure of the divine afflatus without possessing either a pale face, thin form, or a garret. as to what drove a new york alderman to the society of buffaloes, we had but one explanation, and that was sachem's own. we knew that he disliked women in every form, sorosis and anti-sorosis, bitter and sweet alike. according to his statement, made to us in good faith, and which i chronicle in the same, cupid had once essayed to drive a dart into sachem's heart, but, in doing so, the barb also struck and wounded his liver. as his love increased, his health failed. his liver became affected in the same ratio as his heart. this was touching our alderman in a tender spot. imagine a new york city father without digestion; what a subject of scorn he would become to his constituency! our alderman fled from cupid, clams, and his beloved gotham, and sought health and buffalo on the plains of kansas. as he remarked to us pathetically: "a good liver makes a good husband. indigestion frightens connubial bliss out of the window. pills, my boy, pills is the quietus of love. if you wish cupid to leave, give him a dose of 'em. the liver, instead of the heart, is at the bottom of half the suicides." doctor pythagoras in years was fifty, and in stature short. his favorite theory was "development," and this he carried to depths which would have astonished darwin himself. how humble he used to make us feel by digging at the roots of the family tree until its uttermost fiber lay between an oyster and a sponge! (rumor charged him with waiting so long for diseases to develop, that his patients developed into spirits.) while he indorsed darwin, however, he also admired pythagoras. the latter's doctrine of metempsychosis he darwinized. in their transmigration from one body to another, souls developed, taking a higher order of being with each change, until finally fitted to enter the land of spirits. the soul of a jack-of-all-trades was one which developed slowly, and picked up a new craft with each new body. like pythagoras, he remembered several previous bodies which his soul had animated, among others that of the original rarey, who existed in egypt some centuries before the modern usurper was born. if souls proved entirely unworthy during the probationary or human period, they were cast back into the brute creation to try it over again. to this class belonged prize-fighters, congressmen, and the like. with them the past was a blank--an unsuccessful problem washed from the slate. the doctor had a hobby that a vicious horse was only a vicious man entered into a lower order of being. to demonstrate this he had traveled, and still persisted in traveling, on eccentric horses, for the purpose of reasoning with them. but his egyptian lore had been lost in transmission, and his falls, kicks, and bites became as many as the moons which had passed over his head. [illustration: colon and semi-colon.] [illustration: david pythagoras, m. d.] genuine muggs was an englishman. the antipodes of tammany sachem, who would not believe any thing, muggs swallowed every thing. he had already absorbed so much in this way that he knew all about the united states before visiting it. given half a chance, he would undoubtedly have told the savage more about the latter's habits than the aborigine himself knew. it was positively impossible for him to learn any thing. his round british body was so full of indisputable facts that another one would have burst it. in the presidential alphabet, from alpha washington to omega grant, he knew all of our rulers' tricks and trades, and understood better the crooked ways of the white house than our own talented jenkins. british phlegm incased his soul, and british leather his feet. from heel to crown he was completely a briton. his mutton-chop whiskers came just so far, and the h's dropped in and out of his utterings in a perfectly natural way. in the briton's alphabet, sachem used to remark, the _i_ is so big that it is no wonder the _h_ is often crowded out. muggs was a fair representative of the average englishman who has traveled somewhat. the eye-teeth of these persons are generally cut with a slash, and they are forever after sore-mouthed. for a maiden effort they never suck knowledge gently in, but attempt a gulp which strangles. the consequence of this hasty acquiring is a bloated condition. the partly-traveled briton seems, at first acquaintance, full and swollen with knowledge; but should the student of learning apply the prick, the result obtained will generally prove to be--gas. over our great country, some of the family of muggs meet one at every turn. often they scurry along solitarily, but occasionally in groups. in the former case they are unsocial to every body--in the latter to every body except their own party. the bliss which comes from ignorance must be of a thoroughly enjoyable nature, for the muggses certainly do enjoy themselves. they will pass through a country, remaining completely uncommunicative and self-wrapped, and know less of it after six months' traveling than an american in two. the professor says he has met them in the lonely parks of the rocky mountains and in the fishing and hunting solitudes of the canadas. if they have been an unusually long time without seeing a human being, they may possibly catch at an eye-glass and fling themselves abruptly into a few remarks. but it is in a tone which says, plainer than words, "no use in your going any further, man; i have absorbed all the beauties and knowledge of this locality." [illustration: _bureau of illustration buffalo_ one of the muggses.] it is a rare treat to see a coach delivered of muggs at a country inn. "hi, porter, look hout for my luggage, you know. tell the publican some chops, rare, and lively now, and a mug of hale, and, if i can 'ave it, a room to myself." if the latter request is granted, and you are inquisitive enough to take a peep, you may see muggs sturdily surveying himself in the glass, and giving certain satisfied pats to his cravat and waistcoat, as if to satisfy them that they covered a briton. could the mirror which reflects his face also reflect his thoughts, they would read about as follows: "muggs, you are a briton, and this hotel must be made aware of the fact. whatever you do, be guilty of no un-english act while in this outlandish land. your skin is now full of knowledge, and let not other travelers, like so many mosquitoes, suck it from you. your forefathers blessed their eyes and dropped their h's, and so must you." and perhaps by this time, if the chops have arrived, he dines in seclusion and, by so doing, loses a fund of information which his fellow-travelers have obtained by common exchange. again on the way, muggs nestles in a corner of the coach and acts strictly on the defensive, indignantly withdrawing his square-toed, thick-soled english shoes, should neighboring feet attempt to hobnob with them. on a trip through buffalo land, however, it is difficult for one of her britannic majesty's subjects to maintain the national dignity. but this fact genuine muggs--our muggs--evidently did not know. had he known it, he would never have gone with us in the world. another of our party rejoiced in the appellation of "colon." he obtained this title because his eccentric specialities of character several times came very near putting if not a full stop, at least the next thing to it, upon the particular page of history which our party was making. longitudinally, mr. colon was all of five feet eleven; in circumference, perhaps a score or so of inches. he possessed a fair share of oddities, and what is better an equally fair one of dollars. the hemispheres of his philanthropic brain seemed equally pre-empted by philosophy and bugs. engaging in some immense work for the amelioration of mankind, he would pursue it with ardor, dwell upon it with unction, and then suddenly leave it, half finished, to capture a rare spider. philosophy and entomology had constant combat for colon, and victory tarried with neither long enough for the seat of war to be cultivated and blossom with any luxuriance. at the time he joined our party one of his grandest charitable projects had lately died in a very early period of infancy, entirely supplanted in his affections for the time being by the prospect of a chase after brazilian insects. during our journey it was no uncommon thing for us to see his thin form all covered with bugs and reptiles, which had crawled out of the collecting boxes carried in his pockets. if this meets our friend's eye, let him bear no malice, but reflect, in the language of his own invariable answer to our remonstrances, "it can't be helped." should the public parade of his faults be disagreeable, he can suffer no more from them now than we did in the past, and may perhaps call them into closer quarters for the future. mr. colon's son, of two years less than a score, we dubbed semi-colon, as being a smaller edition, or to be exact, precisely one-half of what the senior colon was. so perfect was the concord of the two that the junior had fallen into a chronic and to us amusing habit of answering "ditto" to the senior's expressions of opinion. divide the father's conversation by two, add an assent to every thing, and the result, socially considered, would be the son. it may readily be seen, therefore, why the professor for short should call him, as he nearly always did, "semi." shamus dobeen, our cook and body-servant, according to his own account, was the child of an impoverished but noble irish family. indeed, we doubt if any irishman was ever promoted from shovel laborer to body-servant without suddenly remembering that he was "descinded" from a line of kings. at the time shamus was added to the population of ireland, the patrimonial estate had dwindled down to a peat bog. as this soon "petered out," shamus went from the exhausted moor into the cold world. he had been by turns expelled patriot, dirt disturber on new railroads, gunner on a confederate cruiser, and high private in a union regiment. the position of gunner he lost by touching off a piece before the muzzle had been run out, in consequence of which part of the vessel's side went off suddenly with the gun. captured, he readily became a union soldier, and could, without doubt, have transformed himself into a cheyenne, or a patagonian, had occasion for either ever required. while in topeka, our party made the acquaintance of tenacious gripe, a well-known kansas politician, and who attached himself to us for the trip. every person in the state knew him, had known him in territorial times, and would know him until either the state or he ceased to be. flung headlong from somewhere into kansas during the "border ruffian" period, he would probably have passed as rapidly out of it had he been allowed to do so peaceably. but as the slavery party endeavored to push him, he concluded to stick. at that particular time, he was a moderate democrat or conservative republican, and consequently had no particular principles. but the slavery party supposed he had, and to them accordingly he became an object of suspicion. they assumed the aggressive, and he at once resolved into a staunch republican. had the latter first struck him, he would have been as staunch a democrat. and gripe has never known how near he came to being the latter. the republicans had just decided to order him out of the state as a border ruffian spy, when the democrats took action and did so for his not being one. those were troublous times. he went to the front at once in the antislavery ranks, and has stayed there ever since. sore-headed men are apt to become famous. there were those in our late war who were kicked by adversity into the very arms of fame. our friend had been in both the upper and lower houses of the state legislature, and had rolled congressional logs, moreover, until he was hardly happy without having his hands on one. [illustration: _bureau of illustration buffalo_ shamus dobeen--his card.] [illustration: hon. t. gripe (beatified).] chapter iii. the topeka auctioneer--muggs gets a bargain--cynocephalus--indian summer in kansas--hunting prairie chickens--our first day's sport. we had three or four days to spend in topeka, as it was there that we were to purchase our outfit for the buffalo region. with the latter purpose in view, we were wandering along kansas avenue the next morning, when a horseman came furiously down the street, shouting, at the top of his lungs, "sell um as he wars har!" semi hastily retreated behind mr. colon, thinking it might be a jayhawker, while the professor adjusted his glasses. muggs said the individual reminded him of the famous charge at balaklava. muggs had never seen balaklava, but other englishmen had, which answered the same purpose. the equestrian proved to be a well-known auctioneer of topeka, who may be discovered at almost any time tearing through the streets on some spavined or bow-legged old cob, auctioneering it off as he goes. his favorite expression is, "i'll sell um as he wars har." what particular selling charm lies concealed in this announcement even gripe could not tell. sachem thought that possibly he had been brought up at some exposed frontier post, where, on account of indian prejudices, wearing hair is a rare luxury. to say there that a man was still able to comb his own scalp-lock denoted an extraordinary state of physical perfection. expressions of praise for humans are often applied to horses, and so, perhaps, the one in question. "i have heard," quoth our alderman, in support of this assertion, "fitz say of a belle, at a charity ball, what a 'bootiful cweature;' and i have heard him, the day after, in his stable, say the same thing of his horse." that horse-auction was a sight worth seeing. the crowd collected most thickly on the corner of kansas avenue and sixth street, and before it the cob came to a stand. and it was a stand--as stiff and painful as that of a retired veteran put on dress parade. the limbs would have had full duty to perform in supporting the carcass alone, which had evidently been in light marching order for years past. the additional weight of the auctioneer must certainly have proved altogether too much, had not the horse heard, for the first time, of the wonderful qualities with which he was still endowed. seeing a whole corner, with gaping mouths, swallowing the statement that he was only six years old, reduced by hard work, and could, after three months grass, pull a ton of coal, he would have been a thankless horse indeed, which could not strain a point, or all his points, for such a rider. [illustration: _bureau of illustration_ "sperit, gentlemen!"] and so, when the spurs suddenly rattled against his ribs, the old skin full of bones gave a snort of pain, which the auctioneer called "sperit, gentle_men_!" and away up the broad avenue he rolled, at a speed which threatened to break the rider's neck, and his own legs as well. his tail having been cut short in youth, and retrimmed in old age, the outfit made but a sorry figure going up the street. the professor said it suggested the idea of some fossil vertabra, with a paint brush attached to its end, running away with a geological student. after the return and cries for more bids, muggs must have winked at the auctioneer--possibly, to slyly telegraph him the fact that in "hengland" they were up to such games. at least the auctioneer so declared, and advancing the price one dollar in accordance therewith, finally knocked the brute down to him. then the british wrath bubbled and boiled. the auctioneer was inexorable. muggs _had_ winked, and that was an advanced bid, according to commercial custom the land over. articles were often sold simply by the vibration of an eyelash, and not a word uttered. the professor remarked that in law winks would doubtless be accepted as evidence. it was a recognized principle of the statutes that he who winked at a matter acquiesced in it, and indeed such signals were often more expressive than words. sachem sustained this point, and added further that he had known many a man's head broken on account of an injudicious wink. the crowd, with almost unanimous voice, pronounced the auctioneer right and muggs wrong. "me take the brute!" exclaimed the indignant briton; "why he can 'ardly stand up long enough to be knocked down. except in france, he could be put to no earthly use whatever. 'is knees knock together in an ague quartette, and 'is tail--look at it! it's hincapable of knocking a fly off; looks more like flying off hitself!" muggs further declared the sale was an attempt on the owner's part to evade the health officer, who would have been around, in a couple of days, to have the carcass removed. the auctioneer waxed belligerent, the crowd noisy, and muggs, like a true englishman, secured peace at the price of british gold. the horse was on his hands, having barely escaped being on the town, and an enthusiastic crowd of urchins escorted the purchase to a livery stable. muggs christened the animal cynocephalus, and soon afterward sold him to mr. colon, who was of an economical turn, for the use of his son semi. "i have heard," said the thoughtful father, "that the buffalo grass of the plains is very nourishing. all that the poor steed needs is care and fat pastures. semi can give him the former, and over the latter our future journey lies. i have also learned that what is especially needed in a hunting horse is steadiness, and this quality the animal certainly possesses." from some months' acquaintance with the purchase, we can say that cynocephalus was steady to a remarkable degree. we are firmly persuaded that a heavy battery might have fired a salute over his back without moving him, unless, possibly, the concussion knocked him down. our first hunting morning, the second day preceding our hegira westward, came to us with a clear sky, the sun shedding a mellow warmth, and the air full of those exhilarating qualities which our lungs afterward drank in so freely on the plains. indian summer, delightful anywhere, is especially so in kansas. from the advance guard of the winter king not a single chilling zephyr steals forward among the tarrying ones of summer. soothing and gentle as when laden with spicy fragrance south, they here shower the whole land with sunbeams. earth no longer seems a heavy, inert mass, but floats in that smoky, fleecy atmosphere with which artists delight so much to wrap their angels. it is as if the warmer, lighter clouds of sunny weather were nestling close to earth, frightened from the skies, like a flock of white swans, at the october howls of winter. but i never could agree with those writers who call this season dreamy. if such it be, it is surely a dream of motion. all nature appears quickened. the inhabitants of the air have commenced their southern pilgrimage, and the oldest and leading ganders may be heard croaking, day-time and night-time, to their wedge-shaped flocks their narrative of summer experiences at the arctic circle, and their commands for the present journey. sachem, i find, has recorded as a discovery in natural history that geese form their flocks in wedge shape that they may easier "make a split" for the south when nature, with her north pole, stirs up their feeding and breeding-grounds in november gales, and changes their fields of operation into fields of ice. sachem was sadly addicted to slang phrases. all game, i may remark, is wilder at this season of the year than earlier. if the earth is dreaming, its wild inhabitants certainly are not. men, too, have thrown off the summer lethargy, and shave their neighbors as closely as ever. if any one thinks it a dreamy season of the year, let him test the matter practically by being a day or two behindhand with a payment. in reply to a question, the professor told us that the smoky condition of the atmosphere was probably caused by the exhalation of phosphorus from decaying vegetation. sachem remarked that out of twenty different objects which he had submitted for examination, and as many questions that he had asked, nine-tenths of the results contained phosphorus in some shape. it was becoming monotonous and dangerous. while the party thus mused and speculated, we had come out into the open country, south-west of town, and were now approaching webster's mound, a cone-shaped hill from which we afterward obtained some excellent views. for the trip we had been supplied with two dogs, one a setter, belonging to the private secretary of the governor, and the other a pointer, the property of a real estate dealer. the former was an ancient and venerable animal. the rheumatism was seized of his backbone and held high revel upon the juices which should have lubricated the joints. even his tail wagged with a jerk, inclining the body to whichever side it had last swung. he was so full of rheumatism that whenever he scented a chicken the pain evoked by the excitement caused him to howl with anguish. the pointer, per contra, was hale and swift, but had lost one eye; and a shot from the same charge which destroyed that organ, rattled also on his left ear-drum, and that membrane no longer responded to the shouts of the hunter. on one side he could see, and not hear--on the other, hear, but not see. nevertheless, with gestures for the left view, and shouts on the right, fair work might still be obtained. both dogs rejoiced in the uncommon name of rover, and both possessed that most excellent of all points in such animals, a steady point. if any of my readers are fond of field-sports, and have not yet shot prairie-chickens over a dog, let them take their guns and hie to the west, and taste for themselves of this rare sport. with the wide prairie around him, keeping the bird in full view during its passage through the air, one can choose his distance for firing and witness the full effect of his shot. i think the brief instant when the flight of the bird is checked and it drops head-foremost to earth, is the sweetest moment of all to the hunter. chapter iv. chicken-shooting continued--a scientific party take the birds on the wing--evils of fast firing--an old-fashioned "slow shot"--the habits of the prairie-chicken--its prospective extinction--mode of hunting it--the gopher scalp law. we had left the road and were now driving over the fine prairie skirting webster's mound, the grass being about a foot high and affording excellent cover. taking advantage of its being matted so closely from the early frosts, the old cocks hid under the thick tufts and called for close work on the part of our dogs. back and forth across our path these intelligent animals ranged, the one fifty yards or so to our right, the other as many to our left, crossing and re-crossing, with open mouths drinking in eagerly the tainted breeze. this latter was in our favor, and both dogs suddenly joined company and worked up into it, with outstretched noses pointing to game that was evidently close ahead. the pointer crawled cautiously, like a tiger, his spotted belly sweeping the earth, and his tail, which had been lashing rapidly an instant before, gradually stiffening. he would open his mouth suddenly, drink in a quick, deep draught of air, and, closing the jaws again, hold it until obliged to take another respiration. he seemed as loath to let the scent of the chicken pass from his nostrils as a hungry newsboy is to quit the savory precincts of delmonico's kitchen window. the setter's old bones appeared to renew their youth under the excitement, and he was as active as a retired war-horse suddenly plunged into battle. both dogs came simultaneously to a point--tails curved up and rigid, each body motionless as if cut in marble and one forepaw lifted. no wonder so many men are wild with a passion for hunting. kind providence smiles upon the legitimate sport from conception to close, and gives us a _posé_ to start with fascinating to any lover of the beautiful, whether hunter or not. but one must not pause to moralize while dogs are on the point, or he will have more philosophy than chickens. all the party had got safely to ground and were behind the dogs, with guns ready and eyes eagerly fastened on the thick grass which concealed its treasure as completely as if it had been a thousand miles below its roots, or on the opposite side of this mundane sphere in china. not a thing was visible within fifty yards of our noses save two dogs standing motionless, with stiffened tails and eyes fixed on, and nozzles pointed toward, a spot in the sea of brown, withered grass, not ten feet away. the professor took out his lens, mr. colon let down the hammers of his gun and cocked them again, to be sure all was right, while sachem wore a puzzled expression as if undecided whether the attitude of the dogs indicated any thing particular or not. the grass nodded and rustled in the light wind, but not a blade moved to indicate the presence of any living thing beneath it, while the dogs remained as if petrified. the professor said it was very remarkable, and wondered what had better be done next. mr. colon thought that the dogs were tired, and we might as well get into the wagon. another suggested at random that we should set the dogs on, and muggs, who had probably heard the expression somewhere, cried, "hi, boys, on bloods!" at the words the dogs made a few quick steps forward, and on the instant the grass seemed alive with feathered forms, popping into air like bobs in shuttlecock. such a fluttering and flying i have never seen since, when a boy, i ventured into a dove cote, and was knocked over by the rush of the alarmed inmates. from under our very feet, almost brushing our faces, the beautiful pinnated grouse of the prairies left their cover, and us also. every gun had gone off on the instant, and we doubt if one was raised an inch higher than it happened to be when the covey started. the professor afterward extracted some stray shot from the legs of his boots, and the setter, which was next to muggs, gave a cry of pain for which there was evidently other cause than rheumatism, as was demonstrated by his retirement to the rear, from which he refused to budge until we all got into the wagon, and to which he invariably retreated whenever we got out. [illustration: _bureau of illustration buffalo. n. y._ our first bird-shooting.] from the midst of the birds which were soaring away, one was seen to rise suddenly a few feet above his comrades, and then fall straight as a plummet, and head first, to earth. it had caught some stray shot from the bombardment--muggs claimed from his gun, but this statement the setter, could he have spoken, would certainly have disputed. semi-colon brought in the game, which proved to be a fine male, with whiskers and full plumage, which must have made sad havoc among the hearts of the hens, when the old fellow was on annual dress parade in the spring. at that season of the year the cocks seek some knoll of the prairie, where the grass has been burnt or cut off, and strut up and down with ruffled feathers, uttering meanwhile a booming sound, which can be heard in a clear morning for miles. the flabby pink skin that at other seasons hangs in loose folds on his neck is then distended like a bagpipe, and he is a very different bird from the same individual in his quaker gray and respectable summer and fall habits. ensconced again in the wagon, our party moved forward, the dogs, as before, examining the prairie. the professor was comparing the birds of the present and the past ages, when muggs suddenly blasted his eyes and declared the beasts were at it again. and so they were, the setter making a good stand at some game in the grass, and the other dog, a short distance off, pointing his companion. during the remainder of the day we found many large flocks of birds, and fired away until two or three swelled noses testified how dirty our guns were. "fast shooting," said the professor, as we were on our way home, "is as bad as that too slow. although i am no sportsman from practice, i love and have studied the principles of it. in my father's day the rule was, when a bird rose, for a hunter to take out his snuff-box, take snuff, replace the box, aim, and fire. you may find the advice yet in some works. the shot then has distance in which to spread. with close shooting they are all together, and you might as well fire a bullet. when you have given the bird time, act quickly. the first sight is the best. again, the first moment of flight, with most birds, is very irregular, as it is upward, instead of from you." dobeen begged leave to inform our "honors" that in ireland, after a bird rose, the rule was, instead of taking snuff, to take off the boots before firing. the professor thought that such a habit related to outrunning the gamekeeper, and was intended to procure distance for the poacher rather than the bird. sachem stated that he had known a slow hunter once. he was a revolutionary veteran, used a revolutionary musket, and believed in revolutionary powder. he refused to do any thing different from what his fathers did, and abhorred double-barreled shotguns and percussion-caps as inventions of the devil. it was constantly, "general washington did this," and "our army did that," and his old head shook sadly at the innovations young america was making. his ghost, with the revolutionary musket on its shoulder, had since been known to chase hunters, with breech-loaders, who were caught on his favorite ground after dark. "old " was great on wing-shooting, and could be seen at almost any time hobbling over the moor, firing away at snipe and water-fowl. he was one of those slow, deliberate cases, always taking snuff after the bird rose. there would be a glitter of fluttering wings as the game shot into air. down would come the long musket, out would come the snuff-box, and the old soldier would go through the present, make ready, take snuff, take aim, and fire, all as coolly as if on parade. the old musket often hung fire from five to ten seconds, and the premonitory flash could be seen as the shaky flint clattered down on the pan. the veteran always patiently covered the bird until the charge got out. the recoil was tremendous, and the old man often went down before the bird; but such positions, he asserted, were taken voluntarily, as ones of rest. some said that the gun had been known to kick him again after he was down. sachem's narration was here cut short by the dogs again pointing. this was followed by the usual bombardment, which over, the bag showed the magnificent aggregate of two chickens for the entire day's sport. the prairie-chicken is now extinct in many of the western states where it was once well known. usually, during the first few years of settlement, it increases rapidly, and is often a nuisance to pioneer farmers. perhaps, when the latter first settle in a country, a few covies may be seen; under the favorable influences of wheat and corn-fields, the dozens increase to thousands and cover the land. but with denser settlement come more guns, and, what is a far more destructive agent, trained dogs also. under the first order of things, the farmer, with his musket, might kill enough for the home table. with double-barreled gun and keen-scented pointer, the sportsman and pot-hunter think nothing of fifty or sixty birds for a day's work. it seems almost impossible, under such a combination, for a covey to escape total annihilation. we may suppose a couple of fair shots hunting over a dog in august, when the chickens lie close, and the year's broods are in their most delicate condition for the table. the pointer makes a stand before a fine covey hidden in the thick grass before him. the ready guns ask no delay, and, at the word, he flushes the chickens immediately under his nose. each hunter takes those which rise before him, or on his side, and if four or less left cover at the first alarm, that number of gray-speckled forms the next moment are down in the grass, not to leave it again. if more rose, they are "marked," which means that their place of alighting is carefully noted, and, as the chicken has but a short flight, this task is easy. meanwhile, the guns have been reloaded, the dog flushes others of the hiding birds, and so the sport goes on. the birds that get away are "marked down," and again found and flushed by the dog. without this useful animal the chickens would multiply, despite any number of hunters. i have often seen covies go down in the grass but a few hundred yards away, yet have tramped through the spot dozens of times without raising a single bird. in twenty years this delicious game will probably be as much a thing of the past as is the dodo of the isle de france. at the period of our visit they were already gathering into their fall flocks, which sometimes number a hundred or more. in these they remain until st. valentine recommends a separation. during the colder weather of winter they seek the protection of the timber, and may be seen of mornings on the trees and fences. they never roost there, however, but pass the night hidden in the adjacent grass. the prairie-chicken's admirers are numerous, other animals beside man being willing to dine on its plump breast. we had an illustration of this in our first day's shooting. sometimes when we fired, the report would attract to our vicinity wandering hawks, and we found that either instinct or previous experience teaches these fierce hunters of the air that in the vicinity of their fellow-hunter, man, wounded birds may be found. one wounded chicken, which fell near us, was seized by a hawk immediately. as we passed one or two fields, indications of gophers appeared, their small mounds of earth covering the ground. in some counties these animals formerly destroyed crops to such an extent that the celebrated "gopher act" was passed. this gave a bounty of two dollars for each scalp, and under it many farms yielded more to the acre than ever before or since. one of these animals which we secured resembled in size and shape the norway rat, and, in the softness and color of its coat, was not unlike a mole. the oddest thing was its earth-pouches--two open sacks, one on either side of its head, and capable of containing each a tablespoonful or more. these the gopher employs, in his subterranean researches, for the same purpose that his enemy, man, does a wheelbarrow. packing them with dirt, the little fellow trudges gayly to the surface, and there cleverly dumps his load. we reached town again, well pleased with our day's ride, and over our evening pipes discussed the results. muggs thought our shot were too small. sachem thought the birds were. colon was delighted with the new state, but believed that wing-shooting was not his _forte_. he would be more apt to hit a bird on the wing if he could only catch it roosting somewhere. gripe, at the other end of the room, was piling republican doctrines upon a bearded democratic heathen from the western border. chapter v. a trial by judge lynch--hung for contempt of court--quail shooting--habits of the birds, and mode of killing them--a ring of quails--the effects of a severe winter--the snow goose. a short time after supper, tenacious gripe appeared with the mayor of the city, who wished to make the acquaintance of the professor. the two august personages bowed to each other. it was the happiest moment in their respective lives, they declared. an invitation was extended us to delay our departure another day and try quail shooting. the citizens said the birds were unusually abundant, the previous winter having been mild and the summer long enough for two separate broods to be hatched, and the brush and river banks were swarming with them. as we were about to abandon the birds of the west and seek an acquaintance with its beasts, we decided, after a brief consultation, to accept the invitation and remain another day. among the persons present in the crowded office of the hotel, was a man from the southwestern part of the state who had lately been interested in a trial before the celebrated judge lynch. sachem interviewed him, and reports his statement of the occurrence in the log book, as follows: a stranger played me fur a fool, an' threw the high, low, jack, an' sold me the wuss piece of mule that ever humped a back. but that wer fair; i don't complain, that i got beat in trade; i don't sour on a fellow's gain, when sich is honest made. but wust wer this, he stole the mule, an' i were bilked complete; such thieves, we hossmen makes a rule to lift 'em from their feet. we started arter that 'ere pup, an' took the judge along, for fear, with all our dander up, we might do somethin' wrong. we caught him under twenty miles, an tried him under trees; the judge he passed around the "smiles," as sort o' jury fees. "pris'ner," says judge, "now say your say, an' make it short an' sweet, an', while yer at it, kneel and pray, for death yer can not cheat. no man shall hang, by this 'ere court, exceptin' on the square; there's time fur speech, if so it's short, but none to chew or swear." [illustration: _bureau of illustration. buffalo_ judge lynch--his court. judge and jury. sheriff. attorney. loafer. clerk. deputy sheriff.] an' then the thievin' rascal cursed, an' threw his life away, he said, "just pony out your worst, your best would be foul play." then judge he frowned an awful frown, an' snapped this sentence short, "jones, twitch the rope, an' write this down, hung for contempt of court!" sharp next morning saw us on the road leading east of town, the two dogs with us, and a young one additional, the property of a resident sportsman. our last acquisition joined us on the run, and kept on it all day, going over the ground with the speed of a greyhound, his fine nose, however, giving him better success than his reckless pace would have indicated. three miles from town, or half way between it and tecumseh, our party left the wagon, with direction for it to follow the road, while we scouted along on a parallel, following the river bank. the kaw stretched eastward, broad and shallow, with numerous sand bars, and along its edges grew the scarlet sumach and some stunted bushes, and between these and the corn a high, coarse bottom grass, with intervals at every hundred yards or so apart of a shorter variety, like that on a poor prairie. among the bushes, there was no grass whatever, and yet the birds seemed indifferently to frequent one spot equally with another. in less than ten minutes after leaving the wagon, all the dogs were pointing on a barren looking spot, thinly sprinkled with scrubby bushes not larger than jimson-weeds. they were several yards apart, so that each animal was clearly acting on his own responsibility. if it puzzled us the day before to discover any signs of game under their noses, it certainly did so now. there was apparently no place of concealment for any object larger than a field-mouse. the bushes were wide apart, and the soil between was a loose sand. around the roots of the scrubs, it is true, a few thin, wiry spears of grass struggled into existence, but these covered a space not larger than a man's hand, and it seemed preposterous to imagine that they could be capable of affording cover. that three dogs were pointing straight at three bushes was apparent, but we could see nothing in or about the latter calling for such attention. shamus, who had accompanied us, wished to know if the twigs were witch hazels, because, if so, three invisible old beldames might be taking a nap under them, after a midnight ride. "but, then," said dobeen, "the dog's hairs don't stand on end as they always do in ireland when they see ghosts and witches." we believe that our worthy cook was really disappointed in not discovering any stray broomsticks lying around. these, he afterward informed us, could not be made invisible, though their owners should take on airy shapes unrecognizable by mortal eyes. muggs had suggested urging the dogs in, but the party, wiser from yesterday's experience, desired a ground shot, if it could be secured. the professor adjusted his lens, and decided to make a personal inspection around the roots of the bush immediately in front of him. carefully the sage bent over the suspicious spot, and almost fell backward as, with a whiz and a dart, half a dozen quails flew out, brushing his very nose. instantly every bush sent forth its fugitives. a flash of feathered balls, and they were all gone. such whizzing and whirring! it was as if those scraggy bushes were _mitrailleuses_, in quick succession discharging their loads. only one gun had gone off, but that so loudly that our ears rung for several seconds. mr. colon had accidentally rammed at least two, perhaps half a dozen, loads into one barrel, and the gun discharged with an aim of its own, the butt very low down. two birds fell dead. but alas for our nimrod! colon stood with one hand on his stomach undecided whether that organ remained or not. on this point, however, he was fully re-assured at the supper-table that night, and in all our after experience, we never knew that gun to have the least opportunity for going off, except when at its owner's shoulder, and he perfectly ready for it. the two birds were now submitted to the party for inspection. they were fine specimens of the american quail, more properly called by those versed in quailology, the bob white. this bird is very plentiful throughout kansas, and just before the shooting season commences, in september, will even frequent the gardens and alight on the houses of topeka. they "lay close" before a dog, take flight into air with a quick, whirring dart, and their shooting deservedly ranks high. they are very rapid in their movements upon the ground, often running fifty or seventy-five yards before hiding. when this takes place, so closely do they huddle that it is seldom more than the upper bird that can be seen. "green hunters" sometimes pause, trying to discover the rest of the covey before firing, and experience a great and sudden disgust when the single bird which they have disdained suddenly develops into a dozen flying ones. we had an eventful days' sport, expending more ammunition than when among the chickens, and with more satisfactory results, as we brought in over two dozen birds. more than half of these were taken by sachem at one lucky discharge. he saw a covey in the grass, huddled together as they generally are when not running. at these times they form a circle about as large in diameter as the hoop of a nail keg, with tails to the center and heads toward the outside. fifteen quails would thus be a circle of fifteen heads, and a pail, could it be dropped over the covey, would cover them all. not only is this an economy of warmth, there being no outsiders half of whose bodies must get chilled, but there is no blind side on which they can be approached, every portion of the circle having its full quota of eyes. let skunk or fox, or other roamer through the grass, creep ever so stealthily, he will be seen and avoided by flight. sachem aiming at the midst of such a ring, broke it up as effectually as boutwell's discharge of bullion did that on wall street. we have since found the frozen bodies of whole covies, which had gone to roost in a circle and been buried under such a heavy fall of snow that the birds could not force their way upward. their habit is to remain in imprisonment, apparently waiting for the snow to melt before even making an effort for deliverance. oftentimes it is then too late, a crust having formed above. a severe winter will sometimes completely exterminate the birds in certain localities. during this first day of quail-shooting, we also saw for the first time flocks of the snow-goose. the professor counted fifty birds on one sand bar. this variety, in its flight across the continent, apparently passes through but a narrow belt of country, being found, to the best of my knowledge, in but few of the states outside of kansas. our return to the hotel was without accident, and our supper such as hungry hunters might well enjoy. after it was disposed of, we gathered around the ample stove in the hotel office, and lived over again the events of the day. chapter vi. off for buffalo land--the navigation of the kaw--fort riley--the center-post of the united states--our purchase of horses--"lo" as a savage and as a citizen--gripe unfolds the indian question--a ballad by sachem, presenting another view. next morning we said good-by to hospitable topeka, and took up our westward way over the pacific railroad. an ever-repeated succession of valley and prairie stretched away on either hand. to the left the kaw came down with far swifter current than it has in its course below, from its far-away source in colorado. it might properly be called one of the eaves or water-spouts of the great rocky mountain water-shed. with a pitch of over five feet to the mile, its pace is here necessarily a rapid one, and when at freshet height the stream is like a mill-race for foam and fury. at the junction of the big blue we found the old yet pretty town of manhattan. to this point, in early times, water transit was once attempted. a boat of exceedingly light draught, one of those built to run on a heavy dew, being procured, freight was advertised for, and the navigation of the kaw commenced. the one hundred miles or more to manhattan was accomplished principally by means of the capstan, the boat being "warped" over the numberless shallows. this proved easier, of course--a trifle easier--than if she had made the trip on macadamized roads. if her stern had a comfortable depth of water it was seldom indeed, except when her bow was in the air in the process of pulling the boat over a sand bar. the scared catfish were obliged to retreat up stream, or hug close under the banks, to avoid obstructing navigation, and it is even hinted that more than one patriarch of the finny tribe had to be pried out of the way to make room for his new rival to pass. once at manhattan, the steamboat line was suspended for the season, its captain and crew deciding they would rather walk back to the missouri river than drag the vessel there. soon afterward, the steamer was burned at her landing, and the kaw has remained closed to commerce ever since. about the same time, an enterprising yankee advocated in the papers the straightening of the river, and providing it with a series of locks, making it a canal. as he had no money of his own with which to develop his ideas into results, and could command nobody's else for that purpose, the project failed in its very inception. fort riley, four miles below junction city, is claimed as the geographical center of the united states, the exact spot being marked by a post. what a rallying point that stick of wood will be for future generations! when the corner-stone of the national capitol shall there be laid, the orator of the day can mount that post and exclaim, with eloquent significance, elsewhere impossible, "no north, no south, no east, no west!" and enthusiastic multitudes, there gathered from the four quarters of the continent, will hail the words as the key-note of the republic. that spot of ground and that post are valuable. i hope a national subscription will be started to buy it. it is the only place on our continent which can ever be entirely free from local jealousies. there would be no possible argument for ever removing the capital. the kaw could be converted into a magnificent canal, winding among picturesque hills past the base of the capitol; and then, in case of war, should any hostile fleet ever ascend the rapid missouri, it would be but necessary for our legislators to grasp the canal locks, and let the water out, to insure their perfect safety. imagine the humiliation of a foreign naval hero arriving with his iron-clads opposite a muddy ditch, and finding it the only means of access to our capital! a painful rumor has of late obtained circulation that a band of st. louis ku-klux, yclept capital movers, intend stealing the pole and obliterating the hole. let us hope, however, that it is without foundation. before leaving topeka, the party had purchased horses for the trip, and consigned the precious load to a car, sending a note to general anderson, superintendent, asking that they might be promptly and carefully forwarded to hays city, our present objective point upon the plains. the professor, bringing previous experience into requisition, selected a stout mustang--probably as tractable as those brutes ever become. he was warranted by the seller never to tire, and he never did, keeping the philosopher constantly on the alert to save neck and knees. it is the simple truth that, in all our acquaintance with him, that mustang never appeared in the least fatigued. after backing and shying all day, he would spend the night in kicking and stealing from the other horses. mr. colon, by rare good fortune, obtained a beautiful animal, formerly known in leavenworth as iron billy--a dark bay, with head and hair fine as a pointer's, limbs cut sharp, and joints of elastic. after carrying mr. c. bravely for months, never tripping or failing, he was sold on our return to the then secretary of state, who still owns him. more than once did billy make his rider's arm ache from pulling at the curb, when the other horses were all knocked up by the rough day's riding. it was interesting to see him in pursuit of buffalo. he would often smell them when they were hidden in ravines, and we wholly unaware of their vicinity. head and ears were erect in an instant, and, with nostrils expanded, forward he went, keeping eagerly in front at a peculiar prancing step which we called tiptoeing. once in sight of the game, and the rider became a person of quite secondary importance. billy said, as plainly as a horse could say any thing, "_i_ am going to manage this thing; _you_ stick on." and manage it he did. not many moments, at the most, before he was at the quarters of the fleeing monsters, and nipping them mischievously with his teeth. i could always imagine him giving a downright horse-laugh, his big bright eyes sparkled so when the frightened bison, at the touch, gave a switch of his tail and a swerve of alarm, and plunged more wildly forward. if the rider wished to shoot, he could do so; if not, content himself, as mr. colon usually did, with clinging to the saddle, and uttering numberless expostulatory but fruitless "whoa's." once on our trip billy was loaned for the day to a gentleman who wished to examine a prospective coal mine. when barely out of sight of camp, billy discovered a herd of buffalo, and, despite the vehement remonstrances of his rider, straightway charged it. the mine-seeker was no hunter, but a wise and thoroughly timid devotee of science in search of coal measures. a few moments, and the poor, frightened gentleman found himself in the midst of a surging mass of buffalo, his knees brushing their hairy sides, and their black horns glittering close around him, like an array of serried spears. he drew his knees into the saddle, and there, clinging like a monkey, lost his hat, his map of the mine, and his spectacles. he returned billy as soon as he could get him back to camp, with expressions of gratitude that he had been allowed to escape with life, and never manifested the least desire to mount him again. sachem's purchase was a horse which had run unaccountably to legs. he was sixteen hands high, a trifle knock-kneed, and with a way of flinging the limbs out when put to his speed which, though it seemed awkward enough, yet got over the ground remarkably well. with the shambling gait of a camel, he had also the good qualities of one, and did his owner honest service. muggs bought a mule, partly because advised to do so by a plainsman, and partly because the rest of us took horses. with true british obstinacy he paid no attention to our expostulations, and the creature he obtained was as obstinate as himself. poor muggs! a mule may be good property in the hands of a plainsman, but was never intended to carry a briton. semi-colon had the auction purchase, and dobeen selected a mexican donkey, one of the toughest little animals that ever pulled a bit. he could excel a trained mule in the feat of dislodging his rider, and had a remarkable penchant for running over persons who by chance might be looking the other way. it seemed to be his constant study to take unexpected positions, or, as sachem phrased it, to "strike an attitude." my mount was a stout-built old mare, recommended to me as a solid beast, on the strength of which, and wishing to avoid experiments, i made purchase at once. i found her solid indeed. when on the gallop her feet came down with a shock which made my head vibrate, as if i had accidentally taken two steps instead of one, in descending a staircase. could the good people of topeka have gotten us to ride out of their town upon our several animals, it would have given them a fair idea of a _mardi gras_ cavalcade in new orleans. and so, our camp equipage and live stock following by freight, the express rolled us forward toward the great plains. so far along our route we had seen but few indians, and those civilized specimens, such as straggle occasionally through the streets of topeka. the indian reservations in kansas are at some distance apart, and their inhabitants frequently exchange visits. the few whom we had seen consisted of osages, kaws, pottawatomies, and sioux, all equally dirty, but the last affecting clothes more than the others, and eschewing paint. the members of this tribe, generally speaking, have good farms and are worth a handsome average per head. at the time of our visit they were expecting a half million dollars or so from washington, and were soon to become american citizens. one privilege of this citizenship struck us as very peculiar. by the state law, as long as an indian is simply an indian, he can buy no whisky, and is thus cruelly debarred from the privilege of getting drunk, but once a voter, he can luxuriate in corn-juice and the calaboose, as well as his white brother. what a travesty upon american civilization and politics! muggs was prejudiced against the osages, having been induced by one of them to invest in a bow and arrows, "for the hinglish museum, you know." on pulling for a trial shot, one end of the bow went further than the arrow, and the cord, warranted to be buffalo sinew, proved to be an oiled string. sachem declared that he had found muggs returning the wreck to the indian with the following speech: "o-sage, little was your wisdom to court thus the wrath of a briton. take with the two pieces this piece of my mind. that your noble form may be removed soon to the 'appy 'unting ground, where bow trades are not allowed, is the prayer of your patron, muggs." [illustration: _bureau of illustration. buffalo. n. y._ unnaturalized.] [illustration: _bureau of illustration. buffalo. n. y._ naturalized.] mr. colon asked tenacious gripe to explain the condition of the native americans in kansas. the orator kindly consented and thereupon discoursed as follows: "the indians of kansas are divided into the wild and the tame. both alike cover their nakedness with bright handkerchiefs, old shirts, military coats, and many-hued ribbons. the principal difference in point of dress is in the method of procuring it. among those tribes which are at peace with the government, the white man robs the indian; among the wild tribes the conditions are reversed--the indian robs the white man. in the one case the contractors and agents carry off their half million dollars or thereabouts; in the other the savage bears away a quantity of old clothes and fresh scalps. as he finds it difficult to procure sufficient of the white man's justice to satisfy the cravings of his nature, he feeds it with what he can and whenever he can of revenge. wise men tell us, gentlemen, that revenge is sweet and justice a dry morsel. all indians beg when they get an opportunity. the tame ones, if they find it fruitless, divert themselves by selling worthless pieces of wood with strings attached, as bows. the wild ones, in a like predicament, relieve their tedium by whacking away at our ribs with bows that amount to something. the principles actuating both classes are alike. it is simply the application which causes difficulty--in the one case an appeal with bow and arrows to our pockets, in the other to our bodies. "all our wars with these people, gentlemen, are a result of their political economy. they believe that the great spirit provided buffalo and other game for his red children. when the white man drives these away, they understand that he takes their place as a means of sustenance, and as they have lived upon the one, so they intend to do upon the other. if the buffalo attempts to evade his duty in the premises, they kill him and take his meat; if the white man, they kill him and take his hair." sachem produced a roll of dirty brown paper and said that he had studied the indian question and found two sides to it. one he could give us in a nutshell, believing that the meat of the nut had often excited the spirit of war. where waters sung above the sand, and torrent forced its way, stretched out, disgusted with the land, a bearded miner lay, prepared to strike, with willing hand, whatever lead would pay. echo of hoof on beaten ground rung on the desert air, ringing a tune of gladsome sound to miner, watching there; a paying lead, at last, he'd found-- the vein a "man of hair." an instant more, and at the ford a savage chief appeared; the miner saw his goodly hoard, and tore his own good beard. (you'll always find an ox is gored when sheep are to be sheared.) [illustration: dog town--the happy family at home.] [illustration: _bureau of illustration_ "you've riled that brook"--an old fable modernized.] and these the words the miner said: "you've spoilt my drink, old fellow; you've riled the brook, my brother red, and, by your cheek so yellow, to-night above your sandy bed the prairie gale shall bellow. "no relatives of mine are dead, at least by injun cunnin', but many other hearts have bled, and many eyes are runnin'; for blood and tears alike are shed, when _you_ go out a gunnin'. "some slumbrin' peaceful, first they knew, they heard your horrid din-- women as well as men you slew, you bloody son of sin; i mourn 'em all, revenge 'em too, through adam they were kin." this having said, the miner smart, drew bead upon the red man: they're fond of beads--it touched his heart, and lo, behold, a dead man; upon life's stage he'd played his part, a gory sort of head man! two packs of goods lay on the ground; quoth miner, "lawful spoil! my lucky star at last has found as good as gold and oil; i kinder felt that fate was bound to bless my honest toil. "such heathen have no lawful heirs-- i'll be the probate judge, for though they kinder go in pairs, their love is all a fudge; i'll 'ministrate on what he wears, and leave his squaw my grudge." chapter vii. gripe's views of indian character--the delawares' the ishmaelites of the plains--the territory of the "long horns"--texans and their characteristics--mushroom rock--a valuable discovery--footprints in the rock--the primeval paul and virginia. we noticed many fine rivers rolling from the northward into the kaw, which stream we found was known by that name only after receiving the republican, at junction city. above that point, under the name of the smoky hill, it stretches far out across the plains, and into the eastern portion of colorado. along its desolate banks we afterward saw the sun rise and set upon many a weary and many a gorgeous day. all the large tributaries of the kansas river, consisting of the big blue, republican, solomon, and saline, came in on our right. upon our left, toward the south, only small creeks joined waters with the kaw, the pitch of the great "divides" there being towards the arkansas and its feeders, the cottonwood and neosho. we had now fairly entered on the great smoky hill trail. here fremont marked out his path towards the rocky mountains and the pacific, and on many of the high _buttes_ we discovered the pillars of stone which he had set up as guides for emigrant trains, looking wonderfully like sentinels standing guard over the valleys beneath. indeed we did at first take them for solitary herders, watching their cattle in some choice pasture out of sight. most of our party had expected to find indians in promiscuous abundance over the entire state, and we were therefore surprised to see the country, after passing st. mary's mission, entirely free of them. muggs asked gripe if the american indian was hostile to all nationalities alike, or simply to those who robbed him of his hunting-grounds. the orator replied as follows: "sir, the aborigine of the western plains cares not what color or flavor the fruit possesses which hangs from his roof tree. the cue of the chinaman is equally as acceptable as hairs from the mane of the english lion. a red lock is as welcome as a black one, and disputes as to ownership usually result in a dead-lock. his abhorrence is a wig, which he considers a contrivance of the devil to cheat honest indian industry. i would advise geologists on the plains to carry, along with their picks for breaking stones, a bottle of patent hair restorative. it is handy to have in one's pocket when his scalp is far on its way towards some cheyenne war-pole. the scalping process, gentlemen, is the way in which savages levy and collect their poll-tax. any person in search of romantic wigwams can have his wig warmed very thoroughly on the arkansas or texas borders. on the plains along the western border of kansas, however, geologists can find a rich and comparatively safe field for exploration. it is doubtful if the savages ever wander there again. "of the indian warrior on the plains we may well say, _requiescat in pace_, and may his pace be rapid towards either civilization or the happy hunting ground. history shows that his reaching the first has generally given him quick transit to the second. the white man's country has proved a spirit-land to lo, whose noble soul seems to sink when the scalping-knife gathers any other rust than that of blood, and whose prophetic spirit takes flight at the prospect of exchanging boiled puppies and dirt for the white brother's pork and beans. very often, however, it must be said, lo's soul is gathered to his fathers by reason of its tabernacle being smitten too sorely by corn lightning." as gripe paused, the professor took up the subject in a somewhat different strain: "we have here in this state," remarked he, "a tribe which may well be called the indian ishmael. its hand is and ever has been, since history took record of it, against its brethren, and its brethren's against it. i refer to the pitiful remnant of the once great delawares. from the shores of the atlantic they have steadily retreated before civilization, marking their path westward by constant conflicts with other races of red men. the nation in its eastern forests once numbered thousands of warriors. now, three hundred miserable survivors are hastening to extinction by way of their kansas reservation. "a number of their best warriors have been employed as scouts by the government, when administering well merited chastisement to other murdering bands. the delawares, i have often thought, are like blood-hounds on the track of the savages of the plains. they take fierce delight in scanning the ground for trails and the lines of the streams for camps. there is something strangely unnatural in the wild eyes of these ishmaelites, as they lead the destroyers against their race, and assist in blotting it from the face of the continent. themselves so nearly joined to the nations known only in history, it is like a plague-stricken man pressing eagerly forward to carry the curse, before he dies, to the remainder of his people." the valleys of the saline, solomon, and smoky hill, as we passed them in rapid succession, seemed very rich and were already thickly dotted with houses. this is one of the best cattle regions of the state, and vast herds of the long-horned texan breed covered the prairies. we were informed that they often graze throughout the entire winter. as early in the spring as the grass starts sufficiently along the trail from texas to kansas, the stock dealers of the former state commence moving their immense herds over it. the cattle are driven slowly forward, feeding as they come, and reach the vicinity of the kansas railroads when the grass is in good condition for their summer fattening. as many as five hundred thousand head of these long horns have been brought into the state in a single season. some are sold on arrival and others kept until fall, when the choicest beeves are shipped east for packing purposes, or into illinois for corn feeding. the latter is the case when they are destined eventually for consumption in eastern markets, grass-fed beef lacking the solid fatness of the corn-fed, and suffering more by long transportation. this very important trade in cattle, when fully developed, will probably be about equally divided between southern and central kansas, each of which possesses its peculiar advantages for the business. while the valley of the arkansas has longer grass, and more of it, the dealers in the kaw region claim that their "feed" is the most nutritious. my own opinion, carefully formed, is that both sections are about equally good, and that the whole of western kansas, with colorado, will yet become the greatest stock-raising region of the world. the climate is peculiarly favorable. two seasons out of three, on an average, cattle and sheep can graze during the winter, without any other cover than that of the ravines and the timber along the creeks. the herders who manage these large bodies of cattle are a distinctive and peculiar class. we saw numbers of them scurrying along over the country on their wild, lean mustangs, in appearance a species of centaur, half horse, half man, with immense rattling spurs, tanned skin, and dare-devil, almost ferocious faces. after an extensive acquaintance with the genus texan, and with all due allowance for the better portion of it, i must say, as my deliberate judgment, that it embraces a larger number of murderers and desperadoes than can be found elsewhere in any civilized nation. a majority of these herders would think no more of snuffing out a life than of snuffing out a candle. texas, in her rude solitude, formerly stretched protecting arms to the evil doers from other states, and to her these classes flocked. she offered them not a city but a whole empire of refuge. just beyond brookville, two hundred miles from the eastern border of kansas, our road commenced ascending the harker bluffs, a series of sandstone ridges bordering on the plains. on our left, mushroom rock was pointed out to us, a huge table of stone poised on a solitary pillar, and strangely resembling the plant from which it is named. as the professor informed us, we were on the eastern shore of a once vast inland ocean, the bed of which now forms the plains. sachem thought the rock might be a petrified toad-stool, on a scale with the gigantic toads which hopped around in the mud of that age of monsters. the professor thought it was fashioned by the waters, in their eddyings and washings. subsequent examinations showed this entire region to be one of remarkable interest to the geologist. a few miles east of mushroom rock, near bavaria, as we learned from the conductor, human foot-prints had been discovered in the sandstone. the professor, who had long ascribed to man an earlier existence upon earth than that given him by geology, was greatly excited, and at his earnest request, when the down train was met, we returned upon it to bavaria. [illustration: _bureau of illustration_ mushroom rock, on alum creek, near kansas pacific r. r.--from a photograph.] [illustration: _bureau of illustration_ indian rock, on smoky hill river, kansas--from a photograph.] that place we found to consist of two buildings, each serving the double purpose of house and store, the track running between them. two sandstone blocks, each weighing several hundred pounds, lay in front of one of the stores, and there, sure enough, impressed clearly and deeply upon their surface were the tracks of human feet. they had been discovered by a mr. j. b. hamilton on the adjacent bluffs. there was something weird and startling in this voice from those long-forgotten ages--ages no less remote than when the ridge we were standing upon was a portion of a lake shore. the man who trod those sands, the professor informed us, perished from the face of the earth countless ages before the oldest mummy was laid away in the caves of egypt; and yet people looked at the shriveled egyptian, and thought that they were holding converse with one who lived close upon the time of the oldest inhabitant. they wrested secrets from his tomb, and called them very ancient. and now this dweller beside the great lakes had lifted his feet out of the sand to kick the mummy from his pedestal of honor in the museum, as but a being of yesterday, in comparison with himself. this discovery was soon afterward extensively noticed in the newspapers, and the specimens are now in the collection made by our party at topeka. it is but fair to say that a difference of opinion exists in regard to these imprints. many scientific men, among whom is professor cope, affirm that they must be the work of indians long ago, as the age of the rock puts it beyond the era of man, while others attribute them to some lower order of animal, with a foot resembling the human one. for my own part, after careful examination, i accept our professor's theory, that the imprints are those of human feet. the surface of the stone has been decided by experts to be bent down, not chiseled out. science not long ago ridiculed the primitive man, which it now accepts. it is not strange, therefore, that science should protest against its oldest inhabitant stepping out from ages in which it had hitherto forbidden him existence. we also found on the rocks fine impressions of leaves, resembling those of the magnolia, and gathered a bushel of petrified walnuts and butternuts. there were no other indications whatever of trees, the whole country, as far as we could see, being a desolate prairie. "gentlemen," said the professor, "as surely as you stand on the shore of a great lake, which passed away in comparatively modern times, science stands on the brink of important revelations. we have here the evidence of the rocks that man existed on this earth when the vast level upon which you are about to enter was covered by its mass of water. the waves lapped against the rocky mountains on the west, and against the ridges on which you are standing, upon the east. from previous explorations, i can assure you that the buffalo now feed over a surface strewn with the remains of those monsters which inhabited the waters of the primitive world, and the grasses suck nutriment from the shells of centuries. geology has held that man did not exist during the time of the great lakes. i assert that he did, gentlemen, and now an inhabitant of that period steps forward to confirm my position. this man walked barefooted, and yet the contour of one of the feet, so different in shape from that of any wild people's of the present day, shows that it had been confined by some stiff material, like our leather shoes. the appearance of the big toe is especially confirmatory of this. i would call your attention, gentlemen, to the block which contains companion impressions of the right and left foot. the latter is deep, and well defined, every toe being separate and perfect. the former is shallow, and spread out, with bulged-up ridges of stone between each toe. these are exactly the impressions your own feet would make, on such a shore to-day, were the sand under the right one to be of such a yielding nature that in moving you withdrew it quickly, and rested more heavily on the other, the material under which was firmer. your right track would spread, the mud bulging up between the toes, and forcing them out of position, and the material nearly regaining its level, with a misshapen impression upon its surface. "you will also perceive that the sand was already hardening into rock when our ancient friends walked over it. i use the plural because, if i may venture an opinion from this hasty examination, i should say the two tracks were those of a female, the single one that of a man. from the position of the blocks they were probably walking near each other at that precise time when the new rock was soft enough to receive an impression and hard enough to retain it. you will perceive that the surface of the stone is bent down into the cavities, as that of a loaf of half-raised bread would be should you press your hand into it." sachem thought that the couple might have been an ancient paul and virginia telling their love on the shores of the old-time lake. the professor continued: "you notice close beside the two imprints an oval, rather deep hole in the rock, precisely like that a boy often makes by whirling on one heel in the sand." sachem again interrupted: "perhaps the maiden went through the fascinating evolution of revolving her body while her mind revolved the 'yes' or 'no' to her swain's question. it might be a refined way of telling her lover that she was well 'heeled,' and asking if he was." the professor very gravely replied: "in those days the world had not run to slang. if one of noah's children had dared to address him with the modern salutation of 'governor,' the venerable patriarch would have flung his child overboard from the ark. taking your view of the case, mr. sachem, the whirl in the sand, which gave the lover his answer, is telling us to-day that same old story. and the coquette of that remote period caused the tell-tale walk upon the sand, which has proved the greatest geological discovery of modern times. i believe that it will be followed up and sustained by others equally as important, all tending to date man's birth thousands of years anterior to the time geology has hitherto assigned him an existence upon earth." we spent many hours of the night in getting the rocks to the depot for shipment to topeka, the few inhabitants of bavaria assisting us. soon after a westward train came along, and we were again in motion toward the home of the buffalo. before we slept the professor gave us the following information: the vast plateau lying east of the rocky mountains, and which we were now approaching, was once covered by a series of great fresh-water lakes. at an early period these must have been connected with the sea, their waters then being quite salty, as is abundantly demonstrated by the remains of marine shells. during the time of the continental elevation these lakes were raised above the sea level, and their size very much diminished. over the new land thus created, and surrounding these beautiful sheets of water, spread a vegetation at once so beautiful and so rich in growth that earth has now absolutely nothing with which to compare it. amid these lovely pastures roved large herds of elephants, with the mastodon, rhinoceros, horse, and elk, while the streams and lakes abounded with fish. but the drainage toward the distant ocean continued, the water area diminished, the hot winds of the dry land drank up what remained of the lakes, and, in process of time, lo! the great grass-covered plains that we wander over delightedly to-day. what folly to suppose that such a land, so peculiarly fitted for man's enjoyment, should remain, through a long period of time, tenanted simply by brutes, and be given up to the human race only after its delightful characteristics had been entirely removed. chapter viii. the "great american desert"--its fossil wealth--an illusion dispelled--fires according to novels and according to fact--sensational heroes and heroines--prairie dogs and their habits--hawk and dog and hawk and cat. next morning, as the first gray darts of dawn fell against our windows, mr. colon lifted up a sleepy head and gazed out. then came that quick jerk into an upright position which one assumes when startled suddenly from a drowsy state to one of intense interest. the motion caused a similar one on the part of each of us, as if a sort of jumping-jack set of string nerves ran up our backs, and a man under the cars had pulled them all simultaneously. we were on the great earth-ocean; upon either side, until striking against the shores of the horizon, the billows of buffalo-grass rolled away. it seemed as if the mighty ruler had looked upon these waters when the world was young, and said to them, "ye waves, teeming with life, be ye earth, and remain in form as now, until the planet which bears you dissolves!" and so, frozen into stillness at the instant, what were then billows of water now stretch away billows of land into what seems to the traveler infinite distance, with the same long roll lapping against and upon distant _buttes_ that the atlantic has to-day in lashing its rock-ribbed coasts; and whenever man's busy industry cleaves asunder the surface, the depths, like those of ocean, give back their monsters and rare shells. huge saurians, locked for a thousand centuries in their vice-like prison, rise up, not as of old to bask lazily in the sun, but to gape with huge jaws at the demons of lightning and steam rushing past, and to crack the stiff backs of savans with their forty feet of tail. to the south of us, and distant several miles, was the line, scarcely visible, of the smoky hill, treeless and desolate; on the north, the upper saline, equally barren. as difficult to distinguish as two brown threads dividing a brown carpet, they might have been easily overlooked, had we not known the streams were there, and, with the aid of our glasses, sought for their ill-defined banks. a curve in the road brought us suddenly and sharply face to face with the sun, just rising in the far-away east, and flashing its ruddy light over the vast plain around us. its bright red rim first appeared, followed almost immediately by its round face, for all the world like a jolly old jack tar, with his broad brim coming above deck. it reminded me on the instant of our brackish friend, captain walrus; and in imagination i dreamily pictured, as coming after him, with the broadening daylight, a troop of alaskans, their sleds laden with blubber. the air was singularly clear and bracing, producing an effect upon a pair of healthy lungs like that felt on first reaching the sea-beach from a residence inland. an illusion which had followed many of us from boyhood was utterly dissipated by the early dawn in this strange land. this was not the fact that the "great american desert" of our school-days is not a desert at all, for this we had known for years; it related to those floods of flame and stifling smoke with which sensational writers of western novels are wont to sweep, as with a besom of destruction, the whole of prairie-land once at least in every story. young america, wasting uncounted gallons of midnight oil in the perusal of peppery tales of border life, little suspects how slight the foundation upon which his favorite author has reared the whole vast superstructure of thrilling adventure. the scene of these heart-rending narratives is usually laid in a boundless plain covered with tall grass, and the _dramatis personæ_ are an indefinite number of buffalo and indians, a painfully definite one of emigrants, two persons unhappy enough to possess a beautiful daughter, and a lover still more unhappy in endeavoring to acquire title, a rascally half-breed burning to prevent the latter feat, and a rare old plainsman specially brought into existence to "sarcumvent" him. [illustration: _bureau of illustration. buffalo_ fire on the plains, according to novels.] [illustration: _bureau of illustration_ fire on the plains, as it is.] at the most critical juncture the "waving sea of grass" usually takes fire, in an unaccountable manner--perhaps from the hot condition of the combatants, or the quantities of burning love and revenge which are recklessly scattered about. multitudes of frightened buffalo and gay gazelles make the ground shake in getting out of the way, and the flames go to licking the clouds, while the emigrants go to licking the indians. although the fire can not be put out, one or the other, or possibly both, of the combatants are "put out" in short order. should the miserable parents succeed in getting their daughter safely through this peril, it is only because she is reserved for a further laceration of our feelings. the half-breed soon gets her, and the lover and rare old plainsman get on his track immediately afterward. and so on _ad libitum_. we beg pardon for condensing into our sunrise reflections the material for a novel, such as has often run well through three hundred pages, and furnished with competencies half as many bill-posters. it is unpleasant to have one's traditionary heroes and heroines all knocked into pi before breakfast. it makes one crusty. possibly, it may be their proper desert, but, if so, could be better digested after dinner. the whole story would fail if the fire did, as novelists never like to have their heroines left out in the cold. but it is as impossible for flames as it is for human beings to exist on air alone. it is scarcely less so for them to feed, as they are supposed to do, on such scanty grass. the truth is, that what the bison, with his close-cropping teeth, is enabled to grow fat on, makes but poor material for a first-class conflagration. the grass which covers the great plains of the far west is more like brown moss than what its name implies. perhaps as good an idea of it as is possible to any one who has never seen it, may be obtained by imagining a great buffalo robe covering the ground. the hair would be about the color and nearly the length of the grass, at the season in question. in the spring the plains are fresh and green, but the grass cures rapidly on the stalk, and before the end of july is brown and ripe. it will then burn readily, but the fire is like that eating along a carpet, and by no means terrifying to either man or brute. the only occasion when it could possibly prove dangerous is when it reaches, as it sometimes does, some of the narrow valleys where the tall grass of the bottom grows; but even then, a run of a hundred yards will take one to buffalo grass and safety. this latter fact we learned from actual experience, later on our trip. what a wild land we were in! a few puffs of a locomotive had transferred us from civilization to solitude itself. this was the "great american desert" which so caught our boyish eyes, in the days of our school geography and the long ago. a mysterious land with its wonderful record of savages and scouts, battles and hunts. we had a vague idea then that a sphynx and half a score of pyramids were located somewhere upon it, the sand covering its whole surface, when not engaged in some sort of simoon performance above. no trains of camels, with wonderful patience and marvelous internal reservoirs of water, dragged their weary way along, it was true; yet that animal's first cousin, the american mule, was there in numbers, as hardy and as useful as the other. many an eastern mother, in the days of the gold fever, took down her boys discarded atlas, and finding the space on the continent marked "great american desert," followed with tearful eyes the course of the emigrant trains, and tried to fix the spot where the dear bones of her first-born lay bleaching. as a people, we are better acquainted with the wastes of egypt than with some parts of our own land. the plains have been considered the abode of hunger, thirst, and violence, and most of our party expected to meet these geniuses on the threshold of their domain, and, while shamus should fight the first two with his skillet and camp-kettles to war against the third with rifle and hunting-knife. but in the scene around us there was nothing terrifying in the least degree. the sun had risen with a clear highway before him, and no clouds to entangle his chariot wheels. he was mellow at this early hour, and scattered down his light and warmth liberally. wherever the soil was turned up by the track, we discovered it to be strong and deep, and capable of producing abundant crops of resin weeds and sunflowers, which with farmers is a written certificate, in the "language of flowers," of good character. we thundered through many thriving cities of prairie dogs, the inhabitants of which seemed all out of doors, and engaged in tail-bearing from house to house. the principal occupations of this animal appears to be two; first, barking like a squirrel, and second, jerking the caudal appendage, which operations synchronize with remarkable exactitude. one single cord seems to operate both extremities of the little body at once. it could no more open its mouth without twitching its tail, than a single-thread jack could bow its head without lifting its legs. those nearest would look pertly at us for a moment, and then dive head foremost into their holes. the tail would hardly disappear before the head would take its place and, peering out, scrutinize us with twinkling eyes, and chatter away in concert with its neighbors, with an effect which reminded me of a forest of monkeys suddenly disturbed. sachem declared that they must all be females, for no sooner had one been frightened into the house than it poked its head out again to see what was the matter. "that sex would risk life at any time to know what was up." the professor, with a more practical turn, told us some of the quaint little animal's habits. "why it is called a dog," said he, "i do not know. neither in bark, form, or life, is there any resemblance. it is carnivorous, herbivorous, and abstemious from water, requiring no other fluids than those obtained by eating roots. its villages are often far removed from water, and when tamed it never seems to desire the latter, though it may acquire a taste for milk. it partakes of meats and vegetables with apparently equal relish. it is easily captured by pouring two or three buckets of water down the hole, when it emerges looking somewhat like a half-drowned rat. the prairie dog is the head of the original 'happy family.' it was formerly affirmed, even in works of natural history, that a miniature evidence of the millennium existed in the home of this little animal. there the rattlesnake, the owl, and the dog were supposed to lie down together, and such is still the general belief. it was known that the bird and the reptile lived in these villages with the dog, and science set them down as honored guests, instead of robbers and murderers, as they really are." on our trip we frequently killed snakes in these villages which were distended with dogs recently swallowed. the owls feed on the younger members of the household, and the old dogs, except when lingering for love of their young, are not long in abandoning a habitation when snakes and owls take possession of it. the latter having two votes, and the owner but one (female suffrage not being acknowledged among the brutes), it is a "happy family," on democratic principles of the strictest sort. we have also repeatedly noticed the dogs busily engaged in filling up a hole quite to the mouth with dirt, and have been led to believe that in this manner they occasionally revenge themselves upon their enemies, perhaps when the latter are gorged with tender puppies, by burying them alive. an old scout once told us that this filling up process occurred whenever one of their community was dead in his house, but as the statement was only conjectural, we prefer the other theory. while we were this day steaming through one village an incident occurred showing that these animals have yet another active enemy. startled by the cars, the dogs were scampering in all directions, when a powerful chicken-hawk shot down among them with such wonderful rapidity of flight that his shadow, which fell like that from a flying fragment of cloud, scarcely seemed to reach the earth before him. some hundreds of the little brown fellows were running for dear life, and plunging wildly into their holes without any manifestations of their usual curiosity. the hawk's shadow fell on one fat, burgher-like dog, perhaps the mayor of the town, and in an instant the robber of the air was over him and the talons fastened in his back. then the bird of prey beat heavily with its pinions, rising a few feet, but, finding the prize too heavy, came down. he was evidently frightened at the noise of the cars and we hoped the prisoner would escape. but the bird, clutching firmly for an instant the animal in its talons, drew back his head to give force to the blow, and down clashed the hooked beak into one of the victim's eyes. a sharp pull, and the eyeball was plucked out. back went the beak a second time, and the remaining eye was torn from its socket, and the sightless body was then left squirming on the ground, while the hawk flew hastily away a short distance, evidently to return when we had passed on. it was pitiful to see the dog raise up on its haunches and for an instant sit facing us with its empty sockets, then make two or three short runs to find a path, in its sudden darkness, to some hole of refuge, but fruitlessly, of course. a few days afterward, at hays city, we witnessed an affair in which the air-pirate got worsted. while sitting before the office of the village doctor, a powerful hawk pounced upon his favorite kitten, which lay asleep on the grass, and started off with it. the two had reached an elevation of fifty feet, when puss recovered from her surprise and went to work for liberty. she had always been especially addicted to dining on birds, and the sensation of being carried off by one excited the feline mind to astonishment and wrath. twisting herself like a weasel her claws came uppermost, and to our straining gaze there was a sight presented very much as if a feather-bed had been ripped open. the surprised hawk had evidently received new light on the subject; it let go on the instant, and went off with the appearance of a badly plucked goose, while the cat came safely to earth and sought the nearest way home. chapter ix. we see buffalo--arrival at hays--general sheridan at the fort--indian murders--blood-christening of the pacific railroad--surprised by a buffalo herd--a buffalo bull in a quandary--gentle zephyrs--how a circus went off--bologna to lean on--a call upon sheridan. as we passed out of the dog village, the engine gave several short, sharp whistles, and numberless heads were at once thrust out to ascertain the cause. "buffalo!" was the cry, and with this there was a rush to the windows for a view of the noblest of american game. even sleepy elderly gentlemen jostled rudely, and sachem forgot his liver so far as to crowd into a favorable position beside a young woman. "there they go!" "oh, my, what monsters!" "what beards!" "what horns!" "beats a steeplechase!" "uncanny beasts, lookin' and gangin' like nick!" "sure, they're going home from a divil's wake!" and similar ejaculations filled the car, as they do a race-stand when the horses are off. two huge bulls had crossed just ahead of the engine, and one of them, apparently deeming escape impossible, was standing at bay close to the track, head down for a charge. he was furious with terror, the hissing steam and cow-catcher having been close at his heels for a hundred yards. as we flew past he was immediately under our windows, and we were obliged to look down to get a view of his immense body, with the back curving up gradually from the tail into an uncouth hump over the fore shoulders. these two solitary old fellows were the only buffalo we saw from the train, the herds at large having not yet commenced their southern journey. at certain seasons, however, they cover the plains on each side of the road for fifty or sixty miles in countless multitudes. these wild cattle of uncle samuel's, if called upon, could supply the whole yankee nation with meat for an indefinite period. about noon we arrived at hays city, two hundred and eighty miles from the eastern border of the state, and eighty miles out upon the plains. a stream tolerably well timbered, known as big creek, runs along the southern edge of the town, and just across it lies fort hays, town and fort being less than a mile apart. the post possessed considerable military importance, being the base of operations for the indian country. we found sheridan there, an officer who won his fame gallantly and on the gallop. during the summer our red brethren had been gathering a harvest of scalps, and, in return, our army was now preparing to gather in the gentle savage. we had read accounts in the newspapers, some time before, of the capture of fort wallace and of attacks on military posts. such stories were not only untrue, but exceedingly ridiculous as well. lo is not sound on the assault question. his chivalrous soul warms, however, when some forlorn fenian, with spade on shoulder and thoughts far off with biddy in erin's isle, crosses his vision. being satisfied that patrick has no arms, his only defense being utter harmlessness, and well knowing that the sight of a painted skin, rendered sleek by boiled dog's meat, will make him frantic with terror, the soul of the noble savage expands. no more shall the spade, held so jauntily, throw kansas soil on the bed of the pacific railroad; and the scalp, yet tingling with the boiling of incipient fenian revolutions underneath, on the pole of a distant wigwam will soon gladden the eyes of the traditionally beautiful indian bride, as with dirty hands she throws tender puppies into the pot for her warrior's feast. the savage hand, crimson since childhood, descends with defiant ring upon the tawny breast, and, with a cry of, "me big indian, ha, whoop!" down sweeps lo upon the defenseless hibernian. a startled stare, a shriek of wild agony, a hurried prayer to "our mary mother," and erin's son christens those far-off points of the pacific railroad with his blood. a rapid circle of hunting-knife and the scalp is lifted, a few twangs of the bow fills the body with arrows, there is a rapid vault into the saddle, and a mutilated corpse, with feathered tips, like pins in a cushion, dotting its surface, alone remains to tell the tale of horror. [illustration: "and erin's son christens those far-off points of the pacific railroad with his blood."] blood had been every-where on the railroad, which reached across the plains like a steel serpent spotted with red. there was now a cessation of hostilities, and indian agents were reported to be on the way from washington to pacify the tribes. as they had been a long time in coming, the inference was irresistible that the popping of champagne corks was a much more pleasant experience than that of indian guns would have been. the harvest of scalps had reached high noon some time before. far off, south of the arkansas, the savages had their home, and from thence, like baleful will-o'-the-wisps, they would suddenly flash out, and then flash back when pursued, and be lost in those remote regions. lately, united states troops have been so placed that the indian villages may be struck, if necessary, and retaliation had; and this, together with the pacificatory efforts of the quaker agents, is doing much to bring about a condition of things which promises permanent peace. here our party was at hays, the objective point of our journey, and our base of operations against the treasures of the past and present, which alike covered the country around. this little town is in the midst of the great buffalo range. away upon every side of it stretch those vast plains where the short, crisp grass curls to the ridges, like an african's kinky hair to his skull. bison and wild horse, antelope and wolf, for weeks were now to be our neighbors, appearing and vanishing over the great expanse like large and small piratical crafts on an ocean. we were kindly received at the big creek land company's office, on the outskirts of the town, and there deposited our guns and baggage. our horses were expected on the morrow. twilight found us, after a busy afternoon, sitting around the office door, with that tired feeling which a traveler has when mind and body are equally exhausted. our very tongues were silent, those useful members having wagged until even they were grateful for the rest. the hour of dusk, of all others, is the time for musing, and almost involuntarily our minds wandered back a twelve-month, when the plains were a solitude. no railroad, no houses, no tokens of civilization save only a few solitary posts, garrisoned with corporal's guards, and surrounded by red fiends thirsty for blood. such was the picture then; now, the clangor of a city echoed through big creek valley. while wondering at the change, away on the hills to our right there rose a thundering tread, like the marching of a mighty multitude. shamus, who sat directly facing the hill, saw something which chilled the dobeen blood, and caused that noble irishman to plunge behind us. mr. colon, who had given a startled turn of the head over his right shoulder, exclaimed, "bless me, what's that?" the glance of muggs froze that briton so completely that he failed to tell us of ever having seen a more "hextraordinary thing in hingland." i am in doubt whether even our grave professor did not imagine for the moment that the mammalian age was taking a tilt at us. gathering twilight had magnified what in broad day would have been an apparition sufficiently startling to any new arrival in buffalo land. a long line of black, shaggy forms was standing on the crest and looking down upon us. it had come forward like the rush of a hungry wave, and now remained as one uplifted, dark and motionless. in bold relief against the horizon stood an array of colossal figures, all bristling with sharp points, which at first sight seemed lances, but at the second resolved into horns. then it dawned upon our minds that a herd of the great american bison stood before us. what a grateful reduction of lumps in more than one throat, and how the air ran riot in lately congealed lungs! dobeen declared he thought the professor's "ghosts of the centuries" had been looking down upon us. one old fellow, evidently a leader in buffalo land, with long patriarchial beard and shaggy forehead, remained in front, his head upraised. his whole attitude bespoke intense astonishment. for years this had been their favorite path between arkansas and the platte. big creek's green valley had given succulent grasses to old and young of the bison tribe from time immemorial. every hollow had its traditions of fierce wolf fights and indian ambuscades, and many a stout bull could remember the exact spot where his charge had rescued a mother and her young from the hungry teeth of starving timber wolves. every wallow, tree, and sheltering ravine were sacred in the traditions of buffalo land. the petrified bones of ancestors who fell to sleep there a thousand years before testified to purity of bison blood and pedigree. now all this was changed. rushing toward their loved valley, they found themselves in the suburbs of a town. yells of red man and wolf were never so horrible as that of the demon flashing along the valley's bed. a great iron path lay at their feet, barring them back into the wilderness. slowly the shaggy monarch shook his head, as if in doubt whether this were a vision or not; then whirling suddenly, perhaps indignantly, he turned away and disappeared behind the ridge, and the bison multitude followed. our horses arrived the next morning all safe, excepting a few skin bruises, the steed cynocephalus, however, being a trifle stiffer than usual, from the motion of the cars. when they were trotted out for inspection, by some hostlers whom we had hired that morning for our trip, the inhabitants must have considered the sight the next best thing to a circus. apropos of circuses, we learned that one had exhibited for the first and only time on the plains a few months before. in that country, dear reader, Æolus has a habit of loafing around with some of his sacks in which young whirlwinds are put up ready for use. one of these is liable to be shaken out at any moment, and the first intimation afforded you that the spirit which feeds on trees and fences is loose, is when it snatches your hat, and begins flinging dust and pebbles in your eyes. but to return to our circus performance. for awhile all passed off admirably. the big tent swallowed the multitude, and it in turn swallowed the jokes of the clown, older, of course, than himself. in the customary little tent the living skeleton embodied sidney smith's wish and sat cooling in his bones, while the learned pig and monkey danced to the melodious accompaniment of the hand-organ. [illustration: _bureau of illustration_ gentle zephyrs--"going off without a drawback.] suddenly there was a clatter of poles, and two canvass clouds flew out of sight like balloons. the living skeleton found himself on a distant ridge, with the wind whistling among his ribs, while the monkey performed somersaults which would have astonished the original cynocephalus. the pig meanwhile found refuge behind the organ, which the hurricane, with a better ear for music than man, refused to turn. "mademoiselle zavenowski, the beautiful leading equestrienne of the world," just preparing to jump through a hoop, went through her own with a whirl, and stood upon the plains feeding the hungry storm with her charms. the graceful young rider, lately perforating hearts with the kisses she flung at them, in a trice had become a maiden of fifty, noticeably the worse for wear. an eye-witness, in describing the scene to us, said the circus went off without a single drawback. it was as if a ton of gunpowder had been fired under the ring. just as the clown was rubbing his leg, as the result of calling the sensitive ring-master a fool (a sham suffering, though for truth's sake), there was a sharp crack, and the establishment dissolved. high in air went hats and bonnets, like fragments shot out of a volcano. the spirits of zephyr-land carried off uncounted hundreds of tiles, both military and civil, and we desire to place it upon record that should a future missionary, in some remote northern tribe, find traditions of a time when the sky rained hats, they may all be accounted for on purely scientific grounds. much property was lost, but no lives. the immediate results were a bankrupt showman and a run on liniments and sticking-plaster. our first hunt was to be on the saline, which comes down from the west about fifteen miles north of hays city. before starting, we carefully overhauled our entire outfit. for a long, busy day nothing was thought of save the cleaning of guns, the oiling of straps, and the examination of saddles, with sundry additions to wardrobe and larder. shamus became a mighty man among grocery-keepers, and could scarcely have been more popular had he been an indian supply agent. the inventory which he gave us of his purchases comprised twelve cans of condensed milk, with coffee, tea, and sugar, in proportion; several pounds each of butter, bacon, and crackers; a few loaves of bread, two sacks of flour, some pickles, and a sufficient number of tin-plates, cups, and spoons. to these he subsequently added a half-dozen hams and something like fifty yards of bologna sausage, which he told us were for use when we should tire of fresh meat. sachem entered protest, declaring that sausage and ham, in a country full of game, reflected upon us. [illustration: _bureau of illustration buffalo ny_ "looked like the end of a tail."] [illustration: the rare old plainsman of the novels.] of course, we found use for every item of the above, and especially for the bologna. if one can feel satisfied in his own mind as to what portion of the brute creation is entering into him, a half-yard of bologna, tied to the saddle, stays the stomach wonderfully on an all day's ride. it is so handy to reach it, while trotting along, and with one's hunting-knife cut off a few inches for immediate consumption. semi-colon, however, who was a youth of delicate stomach, sickened on his ration one day, because he found something in it which, he said, looked like the end of a tail. it is a debatable question, to my mind, whether satan, among his many ways of entering into man, does not occasionally do so in the folds of bologna sausage. certain it is that, after such repast, one often feels like old nick, and woe be to the man at any time who is at all dyspeptic. all the forces of one's gastric juices may then prove insufficient to wage successful battle with the evil genius which rends him. our outfit, as regards transportation, consisted of the animals heretofore mentioned, and two teams which we hired at hays, for the baggage and commissary supplies. the evening before our departure we rode over to the fort and called upon general sheridan. "little phil" had pitched his camp on the bank of big creek, a short distance below the fort, preferring a soldier's life in the tent to the more comfortable officer's quarters. this we thought eminently characteristic of the man. he is an accumulation of tremendous energy in small compass, a sort of embodied nitro-glycerine, but dangerous only to his enemies. famous principally as a cavalry leader, because providence flung him into the saddle and started him off at a gallop, had his destiny been infantry, he would have led it to victory on the run. and now, officer after officer having got sadly tangled in the indian web, which was weaving its strong threads over so fair a portion of our land, sheridan was sent forward to cut his way through it. the camp was a pretty picture with its line of white tents, the timber along the creek for a background, and the solemn, apparently illimitable plains stretching away to the horizon in front. taken altogether, it looked more like the comfortable nooning spot of a cavalry scout than the quarters of a famous general. our chieftain stood in front of the center tent, with a few staff-officers lounging near by, his short, thick-set figure and firm head giving us somehow the idea of a small, sinewy lion. we found the general thoroughly conversant with the difficult task to which he had been called. "place the indians on reservations," he said, "under their own chiefs, with an honest white superintendency. let the civil law reign on the reservation, military law away from it, every indian found by the troops off from his proper limits to be treated as an outlaw." it seemed to me that in a few brief sentences this mapped out a successful indian policy, part of which indeed has since been adopted, and the remainder may yet be. when speaking of late savageries on the plains the eyes of "little phil" glittered wickedly. in one case, on spillman's creek, a band of cheyennes had thrust a rusty sword into the body of a woman with child, piercing alike mother and offspring, and, giving it a fiendish twist, left the weapon in her body, the poor woman being found by our soldiers yet living. "i believe it possible," said sheridan, "at once and forever to stop these terrible crimes." as he spoke, however, we saw what he apparently did not, a long string of red tape, of which one end was pinned to his official coat-tail, while the other remained in the hands of the department at washington. soon after, as sheridan pushed forward, the washington end twitched vigorously. he managed, however, with his right arm, custer, to deal a sledge-hammer blow, which broke to fragments the cheyenne black-kettle and his band. whether or not that band had been guilty of the recent murders, the property of the slain was found in their possession, and the terrible punishment caused the residue of the tribe to sue for peace. it was the first time for years that the war spirit had placed any horrors at their doors, and that one terrible lesson prepared the savage mind for the advent of peace commissioners. our brief conference ended, the general bade us good day, and wished us a pleasant experience. scarcely had we got beyond his tents, however, when we were overtaken by a decidedly unpleasant one. on their way to water, a troop of mules stampeded, and passing us in a cloud of dust, our brutes took bits in their teeth, and joined company. happily, the run was a short one to the creek, where those of us who had not fallen off before managed to do so then. poor gripe was the only person injured, suffering the fracture of a rib, which necessitated his return to topeka, so that we did not see him again until some months afterward, when we met him on the solomon. chapter x. hays city by lamp-light--the santa fe trade--bull-whackers--mexicans--sabbath on the plains--the dark ages--wild bill and buffalo bill--off for the saline--dobeen's ghost-story--an adventure with indians--mexican cannonade--a runaway. hays city by lamp-light was remarkably lively and not very moral. the streets blazed with the reflection from saloons, and a glance within showed floors crowded with dancers, the gaily dressed women striving to hide with ribbons and paint the terrible lines which that grim artist, dissipation, loves to draw upon such faces. with a heartless humor he daubs the noses of the sterner sex a cherry red, but paints under the once bright eyes of woman a shade dark as the night in the cave of despair. to the music of violin and stamping of feet, the dance went on, and we saw in the giddy maze old men who must have been pirouetting on the very edge of their graves. being then the depot for the great santa fe trade, the town was crowded with mexicans and speculators. large warehouses along the track were stored with wool awaiting shipment east, and with merchandise to be taken back with the returning wagons. these latter are of immense size, and, from this circumstance, are sometimes called "prairie schooners;" and, in truth, when a train of them is winding its way over the plains, the white covers flecking its surface like sails, the sight is not unlike a fleet coming into port. oxen and mules are both used. when the former, the drivers rejoice in the title of "bull-whackers," and the crack of their whips, as loud as the report of a rifle, is something tremendous. on the day of our arrival at hays city, one of these festive individuals noticed dobeen gazing, with open mouth, and back towards him, at some object across the street, and took the opportunity to crack his lash within an inch of the irishman's spine. the effect was ludicrous; shamus came in on the run to have a ball extracted from his back! these mexicans who come through with the ox-trains are a very degraded race, dark, dirty, and dismal. in appearance, they much resemble animated bundles of rags, walking off with heads of charcoal. personal bravery is not one of their striking characteristics; indeed, they often run away when to stand still would seem to an american the only safe course possible. we were desirous of sending back to hays city some of the proceeds of our excursion for shipment to friends at st. louis and chicago, and therefore hired two of the mexican teamsters to go as far as the saline, and return with the fruits of our prowess. for this service, which would occupy about four days, they were to receive twenty-five dollars each. the morrow was sunday, and came to us, as nine-tenths of the mornings on the plains did afterward, clear and bracing. compared with the previous evening, the little town was very quiet. there was no stir in the streets, although later in the morning a few of the last night's carousers came out of doors, rubbing their sleepy eyes, and slunk around town for the remainder of the day. all nature was calm and beautiful; it almost seemed as if we might hear the chime of sabbath bells float to us from somewhere in the depths around. one of our sea legends recites that ship wrecked bells, fallen from the society of men to that of mermaids, are straightway hung on coral steeples, where, when storms roar around the rocks above, they toll for the deaths of the mariners. was it impossible, we mused, that ancient mariners, with whole cargoes of bells, went down on this inland sea centuries before rome howled? the earth around us might be as full of musical tongues as of saurians, and only awaiting the savan's spade and sympathetic touch to give their dumb eloquence voice. if the people of those days were navigators, surely they might also have been men of metal. in the far-away past existed numerous arts which baffle modern ingenuity. stones were lifted at sight of which our engineers stand dismayed. bodies were embalmed with a skill and perfection which our medical faculty admire, but have scarcely even essayed to imitate. is it impossible that vessels plowed this ancient ocean with a speed which would have left our cunarders out of sight? if human spirits freed from earth take cognizance of following generations, how those old captains must have laughed when fulton boarded his wheezing experiment to paddle up the hudson! and if our doctor's darwinian-pythagorean theory were correct, fulton's spirit might have brought the crude idea from some ancient stoker. but while we were thus speculating and giving free reins to fancy's most erratic moods, the chaplain arrived from the fort, and mounting the freight platform, read the episcopal morning service. a crowd gathered around, and a voice from the past whispering in their ears, a few bowed their heads during prayer. a drunkard went brawling by, with a sidelong glance and the leering look of eyes whose watery lids seemed making vain efforts to quench the fiery balls. how it grated on one's feelings! in a land so eloquent with voices of the mighty past, it seemed as if even instinct would cause the knee to bow in homage before its maker. monday was our day of final preparation, and we commenced it by making the acquaintance of those two celebrated characters, wild bill and buffalo bill, or, more correctly, william hickock and william cody. the former was acting as sheriff of the town, and the latter we engaged as our guide to the saline. wild bill made his _entree_ into one court of the temple of fame some years since through harper's magazine. since then his name has become a household word to residents along the kansas frontier. we found him very quiet and gentlemanly, and not at all the reckless fellow we had supposed. his form won our admiration--the shoulders of a hercules with the waist of a girl. much has been written about wild bill that is pure fiction. i do not believe, for example, that he could hit a nickel across the street with a pistol-ball, any more than an indian could do so with an arrow. these feats belong to romance. bill is wonderfully handy with his pistols, however. he then carried two of them, and while we were at hays snuffed a man's life out with one; but this was done in his capacity of officer. two rowdies devoted their energies to brewing a riot, and defied arrest until, at bill's first shot, one fell dead, and the other threw up his arms in token of submission. during his life time bill has probably killed his baker's dozen of men, but he has never, i believe, been known as the aggressor. to the people of hays he was a valuable officer, making arrests when and where none other dare attempt it. his power lies in the wonderful quickness with which he draws a pistol and takes his aim. these first shots, however, can not always last. "they that take the sword shall perish with the sword;" and living as he does by the pistol, bill will certainly die by it, unless he abandons the frontier. [illustration: buffalo bill--from a photograph.] [illustration: _bureau of illustration_ wild bill--from a photograph.] only a short time after we left hays two soldiers attempted his life. attacked unexpectedly, bill was knocked down and the muzzle of a musket placed against his forehead, but before it could be discharged the ready pistol was drawn and the two soldiers fell down, one dead, the other badly wounded. their companions clamored for revenge, and bill changed his base. he afterward became marshal of the town of abilene, where he signalized himself by carrying a refractory councilman on his shoulders to the council-chamber. a few months later some drunken texans attempted a riot, and one of them, a noted gambler, commenced firing on the marshal. the latter returned the fire, shooting not only the gambler, but one of his own friends, who, in the gloom of the evening, was hurrying to his aid. bill paid the expenses of the latter's funeral, which on the frontier is considered the proper and delicate way of consoling the widow whenever such little accidents occur. the professor took occasion, before parting with wild william, to administer some excellent advice, urging him especially, if he wished to die in his bed, to abandon the pistol and seize upon the plow-share. his reputation as union scout, guide for the indian country, and sheriff of frontier towns, our leader said, was a sufficient competency of fame to justify his retirement upon it. in this opinion the public will certainly coincide. buffalo bill was to be our guide. he informed us that wild bill was his cousin. cody is spare and wiry in figure, admirably versed in plain lore, and altogether the best guide i ever saw. the mysterious plain is a book that he knows by heart. he crossed it twice as teamster, while a mere boy, and has spent the greater part of his life on it since. he led us over its surface on starless nights, when the shadow of the blackness above hid our horses and the earth, and though many a time with no trail to follow and on the very mid-ocean of the expanse, he never made a failure. buffalo bill has since figured in one of buntline's indian romances. we award him the credit of being a good scout and most excellent guide; but the fact that he can slaughter buffalo is by no means remarkable, since the american bison is dangerous game only to amateurs. we were off early on tuesday morning for the saline, our course toward which lay before us a little west of north, the citizens turning out to see us start. we had just parted from gripe, who went east on the first train to get his ribs healed. "to think, gentlemen," said he, "that i should have escaped rebel bullets and indian atrocities, only to have my ribs cracked at last by a stampede of mules!" poor gripe's farewell reminded me strongly of the old saying about the ruling passion strong in death. as he stood on the platform, with one hand against his aching side, he could not refrain from waving a courtly adieu with the other, and bowing himself from our presence, into the car, as if leaving the stage after a political speech. we were sorry to lose our friend, and this, together with the thought of the weeks of uncertainties and anxieties which lay before us, made our exit from hays rather a solemn affair. even tammany sachem's face was ironed out so completely that not a smile wrinkled it. dobeen had loaded one wagon with culinary weapons, and now sat among his pots and pans, evidently ill at ease and wishing himself doing any thing else rather than about to plunge further into the wilderness. when about to mount cynocephalus, semi's feelings were wounded by a depraved urchin who suggested, "you'd better fust knock that fly off, boss. both on ye 'll be too much for the hoss!" fortunately, perhaps, for our feelings, the remainder of the inhabitants were so civil that further criticisms on our outfit, though they may have been ripe at their tongues' end, were carefully repressed. moving out over the divide above town the professor noticed the general depression of the party, and forthwith began philosophising. "my friends," said he, "had the feelings which explorers suffer, when fairly launched, been allowed to be present during the days of preparation, science and discovery would be in their infancy. enthusiasm bridges the first obstacles to an undertaking, but others roll on and block the explorer's path, and the spirit which has got him into the difficulty momentarily deserts him. if properly courted, however, she returns, and meanwhile the traveler is afforded the opportunity of looking, through matter-of-fact spectacles, along his future journey. what he thought pebbles reveal themselves as hills, and what he had marked on his chart as hills develop into mountains. these he must recognize and examine with all the resolution he can summon, and he will be the more able to climb them from expecting to do so. right here is the critical point in his journey. numerous cross-roads branch off--some right, others left, but all with a brighter prospect down them. perhaps on one, a wife and children stand at the door of their home, beckoning him. the garden that his own hand planted blooms in a background of flowers, while the path he has now chosen sparkles with winter snow. he knows, however, that beyond these, perhaps amid sterile mountains, are the precious diamonds he seeks. "it is wise that, where these roads branch off--some to castles of indolence, others to comfortable homes and moderate exertion--the man should be left alone for a time and allowed to survey the rough path before him, with all the blinding glamour of enthusiasm subdued by the light of truth, and with a full knowledge of all the stumbling blocks which lie before him. if he then thumbs the edge of his hunting-knife, examines his henry rifle, and presses forward, the metal is there, and from that time onward you may at any time learn of his whereabouts by inquiring at the temple of fame." sachem interrupted the professor to remonstrate at the girding of loins being left out. he had always been used to the girding in similar discourses, and considered that loins were in much more general use than henry rifles. and now shamus, from his perch on the pans, suddenly broke in: "faith, professor, your enthusiasm once brought me sore trouble. it got me into a haunted house, when the clock was strikin' midnight, and my legs were sore put to it to get me out fast enough. ye see, i bet a pig with my next cousin that i would stay all night in an old house full of spirits. the master and his house-keeper had been murdered in the tenantry riots, and the boys that did the business, they swung for it soon afterward. and now, there was a regular barricadin' and attackin' going on those nights ever since. while i was lookin' at the old clock, and thinkin' of the pig i'd drag home in the morning, i must have dramed a little. he was as likely a pig as yez ever saw, and i was listenin' proudly to his swate cries as i carried him from the sty, and feelin' full enough of enthusiasm to stay there a hundred years. just then there was a rustlin' in front, and i opened my eyes wide, and there stood the old house-keeper leanin' against the shaky clock, with her ear to its yellow face, and lookin' straight behind me to where i could feel the master was sittin'. there was an awful light in her eyes, and i thought i heard her say--any way, i knew she was sayin' it--'hark, sir donald, they're comin', but the soldiers will be here, too, at twelve.' an' then there was a sort of shudder in the old clock and it commenced a wheezin' an' bangin' away, a tryin' to get through the strokes of twelve, as it did twenty years before. but it hadn't got out half, when i heard the crowd outside scrapin' against the window sill. an' then there come a report, and the room was filled with smoke, an' somethin' hit the back of my head. how i got out i don't know, but when i come to myself i was running for dear life across the common. i have the scar of the ghost's bullet ever since. see here, yez can see it for yourselves." and taking off his cap, shamus showed us a bald spot about the size of a silver dollar on the back of his cranium. "and what became of the pig?" asked mr. colon quietly. "faith, an' my cousin carried him home next morning," replied shamus, with a regretful sigh; "and lady dobeen, bless her sowl, never forgot to tell me of that to her dying day. we were needin' the bacon them times." sachem, who delighted to spoil our cook's stories, declared that, to gain a pig, it was worth the cousin's while to fire an old musket through the window over a drunken irishman inside. still that did not excuse him for his carelessness; he should have seen that the wad flew higher. what dobeen's answer might have been will never be known; for, just at that moment, the attention of the entire party was suddenly directed to a dark mass of moving objects away off upon our right, a mile distant at least, and to our untrained eyes entirely unrecognizable. the mexicans, however, pronounced them buffaloes. whether thinking to vindicate his reputation for personal courage, or whether simply from love of excitement, is not exactly clear, but dobeen eagerly requested permission to pursue them, and as he would, _ex officio_, be debarred the pleasure of future sport, consent was given. this was done the more readily, because we knew that shamus, while as inexperienced in the chase as any of us, was also a wretched rider; for, although constantly boasting of the tournaments he had been engaged in, we all indorsed sachem's opinion, that, if ever connected with such an affair at all, it must have been in holding a horse, not riding one. it was worthy of note that every one of the party was as eager for the chase as shamus, and yet that personage was allowed to ride off alone. mr. colon, it is true, essayed to join his company, but after going a hundred yards or so, suddenly changed his mind and came back. our maiden efforts in buffalo hunting promised such modesty as to refuse a public appearance, unless together. our cook had been instructed by the guide to avail himself of the ravines, and after getting as near the herd as possible, then spur rapidly up to it. he went off at a gallop, his solid body flying clear of the saddle whenever the donkey's feet struck ground, and soon disappeared in a ravine which seemed to promise a winding way almost into the very midst of the herd. we watched intently for his reappearance. in such periods of suspense the minutes seem strangely long, creeping as slowly toward their allotted three-score as they do when one, at a sickbed vigil, listens for the funeral chimes of the clock, telling when the minutes are buried in the hours. at length, in the far away distance, we descried shamus, disdaining further concealment, riding gallantly out of the ravine for a charge. a few moments more and game and hunter were face to face, and we held our breath, expecting to see the dark cloud dash away with our bloodthirsty cook at its skirts. "as i am alive," suddenly ejaculated muggs, "dobeen's coming this way, at a bloody good run, and the buffalo after him!" we could scarcely believe our eyes, but, sure enough, it was a clear case of pursuer and pursued, with the appropriate positions entirely reversed. shamus seemed imitating that famous hunter who brought home his bear-meat alive, preceding it by only half a coat-tail. but the game before us was changing in appearance most wonderfully. it seemed bristling with unusually long horns, and as we looked the dark cloud suddenly spread out into a fan-like shape, and we all cried, simultaneously, "indians!" there they were, a party of our red brethren bearing rapidly down upon us in pursuit of dobeen, whose arms and legs were playing like flails on his donkey's sides, with an appeal for speed which had evidently called into action all the reserves of that true conservative. our party would have sold out their interest in the plains for a bagatelle. our whole outfit had whirled, like a weather-cock, and was pointing back to hays. the mexicans were already dodging in and out among their oxen, and firing their old muskets furiously, although the foe was yet a fair cannon-shot away. shamus could not well have been in more danger from foes behind than he was from friends before; indeed, he afterward said that asking deliverance from the latter made him almost forget the former. [illustration: _bureau of illustration_ our horses run away with us.] the horses of both sachem and muggs ran away, taking a straight line for the distant town. this caused a general stampede on the part of all the other horses, much to the regret of their riders, who were thus cruelly prevented from a proper display of latent prowess in rendering protection to the wagons and our cook. from the former came a steady cannonade. squirming like eels among their oxen, the mexicans fired from under the animals' bellies, astride the tongue, from anywhere, indeed, that furnished a barricade between the distant indians and themselves. it is one of the remarkable tactics of this remarkable people, in military emergencies, that when they can not put distance between them and the enemy, they must substitute _something_ else. a single trooper, on an open plain, could send a small army of them scampering off, but let them get behind a barricade, and they will continue banging away with their old muskets until either the weapon bursts or ammunition gives out. it is surprising how harmless their fusillades generally are. if mexican powder is used, it goes off like a mixture of lamp-black and nitro-glycerine, with a premonitory fiz and then a fearful concussion, leaving a smell of burnt oil in the air which overcomes for a moment the natural aroma of the warriors themselves. but while we were still being run away with by our spirited animals, another change occurred in the situation equally as unexpected as the first. the indians had stopped running about the time that we commenced, and now stood in a dusky line something less than half a mile off, making signs to us. shamus evidently considered it a horrible incantation for his scalp, and every time he looked backward plied with renewed fervor at his donkey's ribs. our guide, who had stayed with the wagons and exerted himself to silence the mexican batteries, motioned us to return, which we were finally enabled to do by virtue of steady pulling upon one rein and coming back in half circles. by the time our cook reached us, out of breath and perspiring terribly, two savages had ridden out from their band, weaponless, and were now gesturing a wish to communicate. the professor and our guide rode to meet them, apparently unarmed; but with characteristic exhibition of the white man's subtlety, the tail-pocket of the philosopher's coat held a pistol in reserve, and the guide, i have no doubt, was equally well provided. chapter xi. white wolf, the cheyenne chief--hungry indians--return to hays--a cheyenne war party--the pipe of peace--the council chamber--white wolf's speech, as rendered by sachem--the white man's wigwam. about midway between our party and the dusky group that stood watching us the four embassadors met. the indians proved to be a band of cheyennes, under white wolf, or, as he is more frequently called, medicine wolf, out on the war-path against the pawnees. the wolf was a fine-looking man, six feet four in height, straight as an arrow, and developed like a giant. being a chief, he possessed the regalia and warranty deed of one, consisting of a ragged military coat without any tail, and a dirty letter from some indian agent, with a lie in it over which even a cheyenne must have smiled, telling how white wolf loved the whites. perhaps he did; his namesake loves spring lamb. our guide was an indifferent interpreter, but had no difficulty in understanding that the indians were hungry and wished something to eat. in all my experience from that day to this i have never found an indian who was not hungry, except once. the exception was an old fellow who, although enough of an indian to be habitually drunk, was so degenerate a specimen in other respects as to be somewhat dyspeptic. his stomach had repudiated, after receiving a deposit from a trader of one hundred pickled oysters, and had temporarily closed its doors. his stock of gastric juices seemed to have been well-nigh bankrupted by a fifty years' discounting of jerked buffalo. the one hundred tons of this compound which the noble warrior had dissolved would have exhausted the liquid of a tannery. let these savages of the plains meet a white man, whenever or wherever they may, their first demand is always for meat and drink, followed not unfrequently by another for his scalp. the victim may have but a day's rations, and be a hundred miles from any station where more can be obtained, but his all is taken as greedily and remorselessly as if he commanded a commissary train. the professor and our guide motioned white wolf and his companion to wait, and rode back to us for the purpose of casting up our account of ways and means. the only chance of balancing it seemed to be by sight draft on shamus' wagon or an entry of war. we dare not refuse them and go on; they would be sure to dog our steps, and at the first convenient opportunity attack and probably murder us. shamus, with recovered courage, stoutly protested against a raid upon his department. "to think," he expostulated, "of the swate sausage and ham bein' used to wad such painted carcasses as them divils!" the guide suggested as the best alternative that we should invite the indians to return with us to hays. we caught at the idea and adopted it immediately; and while the guide rode back as the bearer of our invitation, we "stood to arms," awaiting the result with silent but ill-concealed solicitude. should the indians consider it an attempt to trap them, our bones might have an opportunity to rest in some neighboring ravine until the ready spades of some future geological expedition should disturb them, and we be at once reconstructed into some rare species of ancient ape or specimens of extinct salamanders. or, if happily resurrected at a somewhat earlier period, might not some enterprising barnum of the twentieth century place on our bones the seal of centuries, and lay them with the mummies in his showcases? our expedition was partly intended for diving into the past, but not quite so deep or so permanent a dive as that. what wonder that incipient ague-chills played up and down and all about our spinal column, as we reflected how completely we were dependent on the caprice of those native americans sitting out there, in half-naked dignity, on their tough ponies? or that we gazed anxiously at the huge chief as he sat, silent and motionless, awaiting the approach of our guide? our ideas of the savage had been so thoroughly cooperised during boyhood, that when our guide approached the wolf, and, with a gesture to the south, invited him back to hays, i was prepared to see the tall form straighten in the saddle, and pictured to my imagination some such specimen of untutored eloquence as this: "pale-face, the blood of the cheyenne burns quick. he meets you trailing like a serpent across his war-path, seeking to steal treasures from the red man's land. he asks food, and you tell him to come into your trap and get it. pale-faces, remove your hats; noble cheyennes, remove their scalps!" nothing of this kind occurred, however. our guide informed us that the bold savage simply fastened one button of his tailless coat, grunted out "ugh!" in a satisfied way, and motioned his band to follow. this they did, and we were soon retracing our steps to hays; by the guide's advice, making the savages keep a fair distance behind us. the roofs of hays glistened across the plains, as they say those of damascus do in the east. we had formed a boy's romantic acquaintance with that land, where the sun burns and the simooms frolic, and once were quite enamored of its wild bedouins of the desert. our manhood was now experiencing the sensation of seeing a tribe fiercer than their eastern brethren, not exactly at our doors, because we had none, but following very closely at our heels. as our strange cavalcade re-entered the town the people stopped to gaze a moment, and then came out to meet us. news flew to the fort, and some of the officers rode over. the land company's office was selected for a council room, the cheyennes tying their ponies to the stage corral near. the indians were a strange-looking crew. sachem declared them all women, and dobeen affirmed that they looked more like a covey of witches than warriors. with their long hair divided in the middle, and falling, sometimes in braids and again loosely, over their shoulders, and their blankets hanging around them, they did really look much like the traditional squaw who so kindly assists one in cutting his eye-teeth at niagara falls, with her sharp practice and cheap bead-work. their faces were as smooth as a woman's, without the least trace of either mustache or whiskers; so that, altogether, when we essayed to pick out some females, we got completely "mixed up," and were at length forced to the conclusion that the majestic white wolf was traveling over the plains with a copper-colored harem. cooper having told us that the indian term of reproach is to be or to look like a woman, we avoided offense and the "arrows of outrageous fortune" which an indian is so dexterous in using, and gained the information desired by addressing a direct inquiry to white wolf, through the interpreter, whether he had any squaws along. he replied by holding up two fingers and pointing out the couple thus designated. we tried to find, first in their features and then in their clothing, some distinguishing characteristic but found it impossible; so that when they changed positions an instant afterward, i was entirely at a loss to recognize them again. all had extremely uninviting countenances, any one of which would have sufficed to hang three ordinary men, and a common villainy made them as much alike as forty-six nutmegs. white wolf alone differed in appearance. he was stoutly built, as well as tall and straight, with broad features, the bronze of his complexion merging almost into white, and he smiled pleasantly and readily. the others were no more able to smile than satan himself, the expression which their faces assumed when attempting it being simply diabolical. dobeen was so startled by one who tried that contortion on and asked for "tobac," that he retreated in disorder from the council-chamber. white wolf and the more important members of his band took the chairs proffered them, and sat in a circle, the professor, sachem, and two leading citizens of hays being sandwiched in at proper intervals. the object of the gathering was gravely announced to be that the indians might smoke the pipe of peace with the towns-people. as war was a chronic passion with these wild horsemen of the plains, none of them had ever been near the place in friendly mood before, and the novelty of the occasion, therefore, brought the entire population around the building. the postmaster of hays, mr. hall, had once traded among the cheyennes and, understanding their sign-language, acted as interpreter. this curious race has two distinct ways of conversing--one by mouth, in a singularly unmusical dialect, and the other by motions or signs with the hands. the latter is that most generally understood and employed by scouts and traders. [illustration: the pipe of peace--the professor's dilemma.] one of the indians now took from a sack a red-clay pipe, with a ridiculously long bowl and longer shank, and inserted into it a three-foot stem, profusely ornamented with brass tacks and a tassel of painted horse hair. this was handed to white wolf, together with a small bag of tobacco, in which the killikinnick leaves had been previously crumbled and mixed. these were a bright red, evidently used for their fragrance, as they only weakened the tobacco without adding any particular flavor. we were struck with the indian mode of smoking. the chief took a few quick whiffs, emitting the fumes with a hoarse blowing like a miniature steam-engine. he then passed it, mouth-piece down so that the saliva might escape, and it commenced a slow journey around the circle. when it reached our worthy professor he found himself in a sore dilemma. no smoke had ever curled along the roof of his mouth, or made a chimney of his geological nose. for an instant the philosopher hesitated; then, reflecting that passing the pipe would be worse than choking over it, the excellent man put the stem to his mouth and gave a pull which must have filled the remotest corner of his lungs with killikinnick. gasping amid the stifling cloud, it poured from both mouth and nose, and called on the way at his stomach, which gave unmistakable symptoms of distress. we feared that he would be forced to forsake the council, but, with an effort worthy of the occasion and himself, he kept his seat, and opening wide his mouth, waited patiently until the fiend of smoke had withdrawn from his interior its trailing garments. the council disappointed us. in white wolf we had found as fine-looking an indian as ever murdered and stole upon his native continent. his people were first in war, first to break peace, and the last to keep it, their excuse being that the white man trespassed on their hunting grounds. we had rather expected that burly form to rise from his seat, and, with flashing eyes, utter then and there a flood of aboriginal eloquence: "white man, your people live where the sun rises, ours where it sets. when did you ever come to us hungry and be fed, or clothed and go away so," and so on _ad infinitum_. instead of all this there was a tremendous smoking and grunting, more like a farmer's fumigation of hogs than one of those pipe-of-peace councils which i had so often studied on canvas and in books. i have often regretted since that our aborigines can not read. if they could only learn from the white man's literature what they ought to be, the contrast between it and what they really are would be so violent that it might make an impression, even upon an indian. for a happy mingling of lies and truth our "big talk" could hardly be excelled. a reporter could have taken down the proceedings somewhat as follows: scene--six indians and as many white men in a ring. postmaster hall in the center, acting as interpreter. _indian_--"cheyenne love white man much (lie). forty-six warriors all hungry (truth). us good indians" (lie). and so on, alternately. _pale brother_--"white man love cheyenne. got lots of food, but no whisky" (the latter a lie which almost choked the speaker). it would not interest the reader to know all the repetitions or nonsense uttered, and we spare him the infliction of even attempting to tell him. the indians had for their object food, and they got it. the whites had for their object permanent peace, and did not get it. [illustration: _bureau of illustration buffalo_ white wolf at home. "the red man is noble, big injun is me."] in due time the council broke up, and in an incredibly short time thereafter many of the indians were reeling drunk. that white wolf did not become equally so was owing altogether to his being a man of iron constitution. any thing but metal, it seemed to me, must have been burnt out by the fiery draughts which we saw the noble chief take down. a tin cupful of "whisk," such as would have made the cork in a bottle tight, was tossed off without a wink. sachem, who took notes, rendered white wolf's speech at the council in verse, as follows: white brother, have pity; the white wolf is poor, the skin of his belly is shrunk to his back; a gallon of whisky is good for a cure, if followed by plenty of "bacon and tack." the red man is noble, big injun is me: like berries all crimson and ready to pick, the scalps on my pole are a heap good to see-- good medicine they when poor injun is sick. the red man is truth, and the white one is lies; the first suffers wrong at hand of the other; the way they skin us is good for sore eyes, the way we skin them astonishing, rather. they rob us of guns and offer us plows, and tell us to farm it, to go into corn; we're good to raise hair, and good to raise rows, and good to raise essence of corn--in a horn. go back to your cities and leave us our home, or off with your scalp and that remnant of shirt; go, let the poor injun in happiness roam, and live on his buffalo, puppies, and dirt. two or three of the indians mounted their ponies and took a race through the streets. the animals were thin, despondent brutes, but as wiry as if their hides were stuffed, like patent mattresses, full of springs. the indians, as is their universal custom, mounted from the right side, instead of the left as we do. at the lower end of the street they got as nearly in line as their inebriated condition would permit, and when the word was given set off toward us with frightful shouts, which made the ponies scamper like so many frightened cats. the animal which came out ahead had no rider to claim the honors, that blanketed jockey having fallen off midway. he was now sitting on his hams, looking the wrong way down the track, and evidently adding up the "book" which he had made for the race. as he soon arose, with a dissatisfied grunt, we thought his figures probably read about as follows: given--a gallon of hays whisky in the saddle, and a race-horse under it. endeavor to divide the latter by a rawhide whip, and the result is a sore-headed indian, who stands forfeit to his peers for "the drinks." as we wandered back to the council-chamber, the scene there had changed somewhat. white wolf had been transformed into a cavalry colonel, and was strutting around with two gilt eagles on his broad shoulders, looking fully as important as many a real colonel whom we have caught in his pin feathers and, withal, much more of the hero. our warrior had seen some of the officers from the fort strolling around, and straightway fell to coveting his neighbors' straps, which observing, sachem at once purchased from a store the emblems of power and pinned them upon him. he whispered to us that when white wolf took his first step as a colonel, it had been accompanied by a snort of pain, the unlucky slipping of a pin having evidently conveyed to the chief the idea that one of the eagles had grasped his shoulder in its talons. the chief modestly requested similar honors for his "papoose," and that individual was treated to the straps of a captain. a different application of strap, it occurred to me, would have seemed more proper upon the six feet of unpromising humanity which appeared above the "papoose's" moccasins. it had been a matter of surprise to us how the indians could make such inferior looking stock as theirs capable of such speed and extraordinary journeys; but it ceased to excite our wonder after an examination of their whips. these ingenious instruments of torture have handles, which in form and size resemble a policeman's club. to one end are attached some thongs of thick leather, half a yard in length, and to the other a loop of the same material, just large enough to go over the hand and bind slightly on the wrist. dangling from the latter, the handle can be instantly grasped, and the body of thongs brought down on the pony's skin, with a crack like a flail on the sheaves, and the result is what sachem called an astonishing "shelling out" of speed. we explained to white wolf that tammany sachem was one of many great chiefs who had a mighty wigwam in the big city of the pale-faces, far away toward the rising sun; that they were all good men, and never lied like the chiefs of the cheyennes, or took any thing belonging to others; and that their women, instead of carrying heavy burdens, spent all their time in distributing the money and goods of the big wigwam to the needy. white wolf signified, through the interpreter, that such a wigwam was too good for earth, and ought to be pitched on the happy hunting grounds as soon as possible. sachem thought the savage meant to be sarcastic. chapter xii. arms of a war party--a donkey present--eating powers of the nomads--satanta, his crimes and punishment--running off with a government herd--daub, our artist--antelope chase by a greyhound. at our request white wolf and two of his braves gave us a display of their skill--or rather, their strength--in the use of their bows, shooting their arrows at a stake sixty yards off. the efforts were what would be called good "line shots," although missing the slender stick. we then essayed a trial with the chief's bow, which was an exceedingly stout hickory wrapped in sinew, but we found that more practiced strength than ours was required even to bend it. some amusement was created when the first of our party took up the bow, by the haste with which a small and unusually ugly indian retreated from the foreground as if fearing that an arrow might be accidentally sent through his blanket. among the stock which the savages had brought with them was a long-eared, diminutive brute, scarcely higher than a table, and apparently forming the connecting link between a jackass rabbit and a donkey. this animal white wolf seemed extremely anxious to present to the professor, but it was politely declined, by the advice of the interpreter, who explained to us that a return gift of the donkey's weight in sugar and coffee would be expected. notwithstanding the stringency of the law forbidding the sale of whisky and ammunitions to the indians, the savages found little difficulty in filling themselves with fire-water, and also got a little powder. white wolf went off with his pocket full of cartridges in exchange for some indian commodities, but the cunning pale face rendered them of little value by selecting ammunition a size too small for the gun. the eating powers of these nomads are marvelous. we saw the chief, inside of two hours, devour three hearty dinners, one of which was gotten up from our own larder and was both good and plentiful. as he did full justice to every invitation to eat and drink, we concluded that he would continue to accept during the whole afternoon, if the opportunity were only offered him. what a capital minister to england was here wasting his gastric juices on the desert air! if great britain should continue her hesitation to digest our alabama claims, the wolf at their door would digest enough roast beef to bring them to terms or starvation. sugar, coffee, spices, pickles, sardines, ham, and many another luxury of civilization, were alike welcome at the capacious portal of the untutored savage. dobeen discovered him eating a can of our condensed milk under the impression that it was a sweet porridge. their entertainment at the town being concluded, the indians were conducted over to the fort and some rations given them. they manifested an especial fondness for sugar, but took any thing they could get, their ponies proving capable of carrying an unlimited number of sacks. it seemed as difficult to overload these animals as it is a broadway omnibus; and their riders, perhaps in order to avoid being top heavy, took freight for the inside whenever opportunity offered. as they came back through the town, we all turned out to see them off. the band promised us peace, notwithstanding which it was no small satisfaction to discover that they were poorly armed. bows and arrows were the only weapons which all possessed, and while a few had revolvers, the chief alone sported a rifle, a rusty-looking old breech-loader. as our late cavalry escort rode off, their attitudes plainly bespoke that they had been raiding upon more than the flesh-pots of egypt. sons of the sandy-complexioned desert, we saw several of them kiss their mother before they got out of sight. the most serious question with us now was whether or not these red gormandizers had been uttering peace notes not properly indorsed by their hearts. the trouble is that when one discovers a circulation of this kind, his own ceases about the same instant, and his bones become a fixed investment in the fertile soil of the plains. one of the officers of the fort told us an amusing instance of the impudent treachery of which the western indians of to-day are sometimes guilty. a year or two before, when hancock commanded the department and was encamped near fort dodge, on the arkansas, satanta and his band of kiowas came in. this chief has always been known as very hostile to the whites, usually being the first of his tribe to commence hostilities. he was the very embodiment of treachery, ferocity, and bravado. phrenologically considered, his head must have been a cranial marvel, and the bumps on it mapping out the kingdom of evil a sort of rocky mountain chain towering over the more peaceful valleys around. viewed from the towering peaks of combativeness and acquisitiveness the territory of his past would reveal to the phrenologist an untold number of government mules, fenced in by sutler's stores, while bending over the bloody trail leading back almost to his bark cradle, would be the shades of many mothers and wives, searching among the wrecks of emigrant trains for flesh of their flesh and bone of their bone. satanta was long a name on the plains to hate and abhor. he was an abject beggar in the pale faces' camp and a demon on their trail. on the occasion in question he came to gen. hancock with protestations of friendship, and, although these were not believed, he was treated precisely as if they had been. to gratify his love of finery an old military coat with general's stars, said to be one that hancock himself had cast off, was presented him. by some means he also acquired a bugle, and the garrison were greatly amused for the remainder of the day by seeing satanta galloping back and forth before his band, blowing his bugle and parading his coat, the warriors all cheering the old cut-throat and proud as himself of the display. the way he handled that bugle, however, before the next morning was by no means so amusing. some time before dawn the sleepy garrison were aroused by the thunders of a stock stampede, and out of the darkness came the clatter of hoofs, as satanta and his band departed for the south with a goodly herd of government mules and horses. pursuit was commenced at once, with the hope of cutting them off before they could get the stock across the arkansas, then somewhat swollen. just as the troops reached the bank of that stream, a major-general's uniform was seen going out of the water upon the other side. notwithstanding its high rank fire was instantly opened upon it, but ineffectually. the savage turned a moment, blew a shrill, defiant blast upon his bugle, and galloped off in safety. too much promotion made him mad. as a simple chief, he might have stolen some straggling teams; as a major-general, he appropriated a whole herd. during the next eighteen months, satanta had several encounters with the troops, generally wearing the major-general's coat and blowing his bugle. his last exploit, which brought the long hesitating sword of justice upon his head, is too fresh and too painful to be soon forgotten. a few months ago the savage chief was living with his people on a reserve in the indian territory and being fed by the government. gathering a few of his warriors he stole forth, and, crossing the texas border, surprised a wagon train, murdered the teamsters, and drove off the mules. fortunately, gen. sherman, in his examination of frontier posts, happened to be near the scene of murder, and at once ordered troops in pursuit. they were still trailing the marauders when satanta returned to the reservation at fort sill, and with bold effrontery begotten of long immunity, actually boasted of the crime before the quaker agent. "i did it," said he, "and if any other chief says it was him, tell him he lies. i am the man." gen. sherman had just arrived, and when satanta, with a number of minor chiefs who were with him on the raid, came into the fort to trade and visit, they were seized and bound, and started for texas under a strong guard, to be tried by the authorities there. on the way one of the indians in some manner loosened his bands, and seizing the musket of the guard nearest him, shot the soldier in the shoulder, but before he could do further harm the other guards fired, and the savage rolled from the wagon down upon the plain, apparently dead. the body was afterward found close by the road-side in a position which showed that after falling the savage had enough of vitality left to enable him to crawl with bloody hands for several yards. finding the life-tide ebbing fast, he had then placed his body in position toward the rising sun, composed his arms by his side and, with indian stoicism, yielded up his breath. the remainder of the party, including satanta, were brought safely to texas, tried, and sentenced to be hanged. our adventure with white wolf and his band obliged us, of course, to pass another night in hays. we spent a most pleasant hour during the evening in the office of dr. john moore, an old resident of plattsburg, n. y., who assisted us materially in selecting medical stores, and who by his genial disposition endeared himself to our entire party, so that when we heard of his sad fate soon afterward, it seemed as if death had crouched by our own camp-fire. should the indians become troublesome, there was some talk at the fort, he now informed us, of organizing a company for operations against them, composed of buffalo hunters and scouts under the lead of regular officers, and in this case it was his purpose to accompany it in the capacity of a surgeon. as good guns were difficult to obtain there, and we had some extra weapons, one of our party loaned the doctor an improved henry rifle and holster revolvers. before we again heard of him, he had crossed that shadowy line which winds between the tombs and habitations of men, and his name was added to the drearily long list which bears for its heading--"killed by indians." commencing with those first entries after the mayflower introduced our fathers to savage audience, and chiseling separately each name on a marble milestone, the white witnesses would girdle the earth. sunrise next morning saw us again moving northward, fully determined that no body of indians, unless comprising the whole cheyenne nation, should force us back again. we had met the red man on his native heath and familiarity had bred contempt. all were in excellent spirits and felt the braver, perhaps, because our late visitors had assured us that their tribe was on the war-path against the pawnees, and meant only peace with the whites. our party left hays the second time with quite an acquisition. on the eve of starting we had been approached by an artist, who begged permission to accompany us. we assented on the instant. an artist was, of all others, the thing we needed. how interesting it would be to have the thrilling incidents of the coming months sketched by our artist on the spot. "daub" was a fine-looking fellow, with peaked hat, peaked beard, and peaked mustache; in short, was of the genuine artist cut, of the kind that are always sitting around on the stones in romantic places and getting married to heiresses. during the day we saw many varieties of the cactus, some of them very beautiful. as we had no regular botanist with our expedition, mr. colon developed a taste in that direction, and secured and deposited several fine specimens which were carefully laid away in shamus' wagon. it was not long before that excellent irishman gave a prolonged howl, the cause of which he did not vouchsafe to tell us, but as we saw him cautiously rubbing his pantaloons we surmised that he had rolled or sat down upon a choice variety. the remainder of the plants he must, with still greater caution, have dropped overboard, as none could subsequently be found for boxing. if the truth must be said, i was not at all sorry for it. i had lent a hand in obtaining an unusually large cactus, but the loan was returned in such damaged condition that i lost all interest at once. the minute needles which nature has scattered over these plants will pierce a glove readily, and burrow in the flesh like trichina. the cactus may be set down as dame nature's pin-cushions. endless prairie-dog villages covered the country, and occasionally cayotes, about the size of setters, with brushy, fox-like tails, started out of ravines and ran off with a hang-dog sort of look, stopping occasionally to see if they were being pursued. our guide ran one of these down with his horse and it was almost with sympathy that we watched the tired wolf, when he found running useless, dodging between the horse's legs, rendering the rider's aim false. it was finally dispatched by a greyhound. the latter deserved his name only from courtesy of species, as his color was inky black. he belonged to one of our hostlers, who got him from a mexican train-master, and was a wonderful fighter. i saw him afterward in combats with not only the cayote, but the large timber wolf, and in every instance he came off the victor. on one occasion, i remember, he whipped the combined curs of a railroad tie camp, making every antagonist take to his heels. very nearly as high as a table, with powerful chest and immense spring, the hound's movements were like flashes of light. he danced round and over his foe, his fangs clicking like a steel trap, first on one side and now on the other, and again, ere his enemy had closed its jaws on the shadow in front, he was at the rear. i have seen a gray wolf bleeding and helpless, and the hound untouched, after a half hour's combat. on the north fork of big creek we frightened a dozen antelopes out of the brakes, and had a fine opportunity of witnessing a chase by the hound which alone was worth a journey to the plains to see. i remember having been very much interested, when a boy, in reading accounts of gazelle hunting in the orient, where hawks and dogs are both used. the former pounce down from the air on the fleet-footed victim's head, compelling it to stop every few moments to shake its unwelcome passenger off, and the dogs are thus enabled to overtake it. this always seemed to me a cowardly sort of sport. the harmless victim of the chase, who can not touch the earth without its turning tell-tale to the keen-scented pursuer, should not be robbed of his only refuge, speed, or the pursuit becomes butchery. the american antelope upon our plains is what the gazelle is upon those of africa. timid and fleet, it often detects and avoids danger to which its powerful neighbor, the buffalo, falls a victim. the group which we had frightened bounded away with an elasticity as if nature had furnished them hoofs and joints of rubber. there was no apparent effort in their motion, and we imagined larger powers in reserve than really existed. as the greyhound slowly gained upon them, we noticed this, and the professor thereupon delivered what sachem aptly styled a running discourse. "gentlemen, poetry of motion, perhaps by poetical license, gives exaggerated ideas of force. a smooth-running engine, though taxed to its utmost capacity, seems capable of accomplishing more, while its wheezing neighbor, groaning and straining as if on the verge of dissolution, has abundant powers in reserve. some hercules may lift a weight on which a straw more would seem to him large enough to sustain the traditional drowning man. the feat marks itself by a life-long backache, but, if he has performed it gracefully, he bears with it a reputation for a fabulous reserve of power, the exhibition seeming but the safety valve to his supposed giant forces struggling for expression." our learned friend seldom found us less attentive than then. all the wagons were stopped, and from every elevation upon them we looked out over the solitudes at the race going on before us. pursuer and pursued were pitting against each other the same quality--speed. there was no lying in ambush or taking unawares. the fleetest-footed of game was flying before the swiftest of dogs. there could be no trailing, as these hounds run only by sight. what a straining of muscles! the low ridge barely lifting the animals against the horizon, their legs, from rapidity of motion, were invisible, and the bodies, for a short space, seemed floating in air. it was one short, black line, running rapidly into twelve gray ones, these latter resolving occasionally into as many balls of white cotton, when the puffy, rabbit-like tails of the antelopes were turned toward us. two of the best mounted horsemen from our party had started with the chase, but seemed scarcely moving, so rapidly were they left behind. twice we thought the hound had closed, but instantly succeeding views showed daylight still between, although the narrow strip was being blotted out with the same regular certainty with which the dark slide of the magic lantern seizes the figures on the wall. down into a ravine, and out of sight they passed, and we were fearing the _finale_ would be hidden, when they came into view on the opposite side and pressed up the bank. the bounds of the hound were magnificent, and we all gave a cry of admiration, as with a splendid effort he launched himself like a black ball upon the herd. in an instant after we saw him hurled back and taking a very unvictor-like roll down the hill. he quickly recovered, however, and fastened on an antelope which seemed lagging behind. his first selection, the leader of the herd, had proved an unfortunate one, and he bore a bruise for some time where the buck had struck him with his horns. the second seizure turned out to be a doe, and was quite dead when we reached it. the victor was lying along side, looking very much as if one antelope hunt a day was sufficient for even a greyhound. we noticed that the hair was rubbed off from the doe's sides by its struggles, and on passing our hands over the neck found that its coarse coat parted from the skin at a slight touch. this peculiarity in the antelope is very marked. in a subsequent hunt i once saw a wounded buck plunge forward, roll along the ground for a few feet, and then run off with the bare skin along his entire side showing just where he had struck the earth. one of our party produced a knife, and the animal was bled and the entrails taken out. we seemed destined to have a mishap with every adventure, and had already learned to expect such sequences, the only question being whose turn should come next. this time it proved to be semi-colon's. we were a mile from the wagons, and semi's horse, being considered the most thoroughly broken, was nominated to bear the game to them. to this proceeding cynocephalus seemed in nowise indisposed, quietly submitting to the management of one of the hostlers and our guide, as they lashed the antelope across his back, securing it to the rear of the large texas saddle with the powerful straps which always hang there for purposes of this kind. this accomplished, semi climbed into the saddle, gave a click and a kick, and set his steed in motion. that eccentric assemblage of bones made one spasmodic step forward, which brought the bloody, hairy carcass with a swing against his loins. what a change that touch produced! those wasted nostrils emitted a terrific snort, the stiff stump-tail jerked upward like the lever of a locomotive, and with a dart cynocephalus was off across the plains. he probably imagined that some beast of prey had coveted his spare-ribs, and was whetting its teeth on the vantage-ground of his backbone. occasionally the frightened animal would slack up and indulge in a fit of kicking, looking back meanwhile with terror at the object fastened upon his hide, then plunge frantically forward again. the antelope stuck to the saddle for some time, but not so semi-colon. the first of these irregular proceedings caused that young man, as sachem expressed it, "to get off upon his head." cynocephalus finally burst his saddle-girths, and we were obliged to furnish other transportation for our game. let me say, _en passant_, that i am trying to chronicle minutely the events which befel our half-scientific, half-sporting, and somewhat incongruous party on its trip through buffalo land; and, although my readers may think us particularly unfortunate, we really suffered no more than amateurs usually do. my object is to set up guide boards at the dangerous places, that other travelers may avoid the pitfalls and the perils into which we fell. and to every amateur hunter we beg to offer this advice: never tie dead game upon a strange horse unless you owe the rider a grudge. "young men," said the doctor, from his saddle, "you have seen a beautiful illustration in the theory of development. the hound and the antelope may have been originally an oyster and a worm. from their first slow motion, when one only opened its jaws to seize the other, they have progressed until the speed of to-day results. should the hound ever become wild, and pursuit and flight change to an every-day matter instead of a holiday-sport, development would still continue. a giraffe-like antelope, with the speed of the wind, would fly before a hound the size of a stag." the doctor's "clinic," as sachem called it, was suddenly cut short at this point by a struggle for mastery between himself and the human spirit concealed in his horse. "how much," exclaimed the professor, when pythagoras had at length come off triumphant, and we again moved forward--"how much the race that we have witnessed is like that we all run. powerful and eager as the greyhound, man sees flying before him, on the plain of life, an object which he thirsts to grasp. taxing every muscle in pursuit, panting after it over the smooth country below the th mile-post, he crosses there the ravine where rheumatism and straggling gray hairs lurk, and with these clinging to him, starts up the hill of later life. half-way to its summit, on which the three-score stone marking the down-hill grade looks uncomfortably like that over a tomb, he seizes the object of pursuit only to be flung back by it bruised. if of the proper metal, he falls but to rise again, and should the first wish be out of reach, fastens on one of its companions. there is where blood tells. if the least taint of cur is in it the first blow sends its recipient yelling to his kennel, there to whine for the remainder of life over bruised ribs." muggs thought a single toss was sufficient, and retreat then only prudence. if the bones on one side were broken, he saw no reason to expose the other. dying successful was only procuring meat for others to enjoy. the professor was developing a remarkable talent for finding not only the stones of the past written all over with a wonderful and translatable history, but also the moral connected with each incident of our journey. had any of us broken our necks he would doubtless have improved the occasion to draw a comparison and have made it the text of a philosophic disquisition. chapter xiii. character of the plains--buffalo bill and his horse brigham--the guide and scout of romance--cayote versus jackass-rabbit--a lawyer-like rescue--our camp on silver creek--uncle sam's buffalo herds--turkey shooting--our first meal on the plains--a game supper. our trail was taking us west of north, and we expected to reach the saline about dusk and there encamp. the same strange evenness of country surrounded us. over its surface, smooth and firm as a race track, we could drive a wagon or gallop a horse in any direction. even the bedouin has no such field for cavalry practice--his footing being shifting sand, while ours was the compact buffalo grass, so short that its existence at all could scarcely have been detected a few yards away. sachem said he could think of no such cavalry field except that of his boyhood, when he slipped into the parlor and pranced his rocking-horse over the soft carpet; with which memory, he added, was coupled another, to the effect that while thus skirmishing on dangerous ground, his cavalry was attacked from the rear by heavy infantry and badly cut up. numerous buffalo trails crossed our path, running invariably north and south. this is caused by the animals feeding from one stream to another, the water courses following the dip of the country's surface from west to east. wallows were also very numerous, and we noticed as a peculiarity of these, as well as the paths, that the grass killed by treading and rolling does not renew itself when the spots are abandoned. more than once on the grand prairie of illinois i have seen these wallows, made before the knowledge of the white man, still remaining destitute of grass. an old bull who has been rolling when the wallow is muddy, is an interesting object. the clay plastered over and tangled in his shaggy coat bakes in the sun very nearly white; and this it was, probably, that gave rise to the early traditions of white buffalo. wherever on our route the rock cropped out along creeks or in ravines, it was the white magnesia limestone, and so soft as to be easily cut. further west alternate pink and white veins occur, giving the stone a very beautiful appearance. we frequently found on the rocks and in the ravines deposits of very perfect shells, apparently those of oysters. sachem suggested that they marked the location of pre-historic restaurants--the delmonicos of the olden time, say fifty thousand years before the pharaohs were born. he thought it possible that some future quarry-man might blast out an oyster-knife and money pot of quaint coins. muggs thought this patch of our continent resembled australia--"not that it is as rich, you know, but there's so much of it." he even became enthusiastic enough to affirm that the land might be made profitable, "if some hinglish sheep and 'eifers were put on it, you see." the professor assured us that the country around was equal to the plains of lombardy in point of fertility, and as the soil was of great depth, and rich in the proper mineral properties, it would undoubtedly become before the great wheat-producing region of the world. our party fell into silence again, and, having nothing else to interest me at the moment, i resumed my study, which this episode had interrupted, of buffalo bill, our guide. athletic and shrewd, he rode ahead of us with sinews of iron and eye ever on the alert, clad in a suit of buckskin. his mount was a tough roan pony which he had named brigham and of which he seemed very fond. nevertheless, this fondness did not prevent hard riding, and when i last saw brigham, several months afterward, he was a very sorry-looking animal, insomuch that i concluded not to have his photograph taken as that of a model steed for buffalo land, as i once contemplated doing. it was extremely fortunate for us that we had secured cody as guide. the whole western country bordering on the plains, as we afterward learned, from sorry experience, is infested with numberless charlatans, blazing with all sorts of hunting and fighting titles, and ready at the rustle of greenbacks to act as guides through a land they know nothing about. these reprobates delight in telling thrilling tales of their escapes from indians, and are constantly chilling the blood of their shivering party by pointing out spots where imaginary murders took place. without compasses they would be as hopelessly lost as needleless mariners. i have my doubts if one-third of these terribly named bullies could tell, on a pinch, where the north star is. unless they chanced to strike one of the pacific lines which stretch across the plains, a party, under their guidance, wishing to go west would be equally liable to get among the northern siouxs or the ku-klux of arkansas. a thousand miles east young america's cherished ideal of the frontier scout and guide is an eagle-eyed giant, with a horse which obeys his whistle, and breaks the neck of any indian trying to steal him. in addition to its wonderful master, the back of this model steed is usually occupied by a rescued maiden. at risk of infringing on the copyrights of thirty-six thousand of the latest indian stories, we have obtained from an artist on the spot an illustration of the last heroine brought in and her rescuer, the rare old plainsman.[ ] [ ] see illustration on page . cody had all the frontiersman's fondness for practical jokes, and delighted in designating mr. colon as "mr. boston," as if accidentally confounding the residence with the name. in one instance, with a cry of "come, mr. boston, here's a specimen!" he enticed the philanthropist into the eager pursuit of a beautiful little animal through some rank bottom grass, and brought the good man back in such a condition that we unanimously insisted on his traveling to leeward for the rest of the day. while we thus journeyed, and, in traditional traveler's style, mused and pondered, shamus came running back to say that we were wanted in front. "such a goin' on in the ravine beyant as bates a witch's dance all holly!" we saw that the forward wagons had halted and the men were peering cautiously over the edge of the highland into the valley of silver creek, which stream wound along below, entirely out of sight until one came directly upon it. in this lonely land, the pages of whose history time had so often turned with bloody fingers, an event slight as even this was startling. that hollow in the plain before us seemed to yawn, as if awaking in sleepy horrors, and we noticed a general tightening of reins and rattling of spurs. this maneuver was executed to prevent our horses running away again and thus rendering us incapable of supporting our advanced guard. if savages were around, our provisions must be protected, and we at once dismounted and scattered among the teams in such a way as to offer the most successful defense. our fears were groundless. in a few moments cody came galloping back on brigham, and said briefly that we should lose a fine lesson in natural history unless we hurried to the front. truth compels me to say that we did not hanker after a close acquaintance with lo on the rampage; yet we did earnestly desire to improve every opportunity of studying the other inhabitants of the plains, and a few moments accordingly found our whole party peering over the edge of the bluff into the valley below. [illustration: the wild denizens of the plains.] there, on a patch of bottom grass, half a dozen elk were feeding; a short distance away, a small herd of wild horses drank from the brook; while in a ravine immediately in front of us, three cayotes were attempting to capture a jackass-rabbit. what a wealth of animal life this valley had opened to us. from our own level the table-lands stretched away in all directions until striking its grassy waves against the horizon, with not a shrub, tree, or beast to relieve the clearly-cut outlines. casting our eyes upward, the bright blue sky, clear of every vestige of clouds, arched down until resting on our prairie floor, and not even a bird soared in the air to charm the profound space with the eloquence of life. casting our eyes downward, the earth was all astir with the activity of its brute creation. before we could make any effort at capture, the elk and horses winded us and fled away toward the opposite ridges, where stalking them would have been exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. leading the mustangs was a large black stallion, which kept its position by pacing while the others ran. buffalo bill said this was an escaped american horse which had fled to solitude with the rider's blood upon his saddle. we noted the statement as one for future elucidation at our camp-fire. the rabbit chase in the ravine continued, and we watched it unseen for several minutes. the wolves were endeavoring to surround their victim, and cut in ahead of it whenever he attempted to get out of the ravine. although such odds were against him, the rabbit had thus far succeeded by superior speed and quick dodging in evading his enemies; but escape was hopeless, as he was hemmed in and becoming exhausted. these tireless wolves, cowardly creatures though they are, might worry to death an elephant. a few shots terminated this scene, driving off the wolves, but killing the rabbit for whose protection they were fired. the professor remarked that this was like a lawyer's rescue. he sometimes frightens away the persecutors, but the charges generally kill the client. for the benefit of those of my readers who have never seen a member of that unfortunate rabbit family which has been christened by such a humiliating given name, i would state that the species is remarkable for its very long ears, and very long legs. if the reader, being a married man, desires a pictorial representation of this animal, let him draw a donkey a foot high on the wall, and if his wife does not interrupt by drawing a broomstick, he may be satisfied that his work is well done, and a life-size jackass-rabbit will stand out before him. a mile from the scene of this adventure silver creek joined the saline, and at the junction it was determined to make our camp. we descended among heavy "brakes," staying our loaded wagons with ropes from behind. immense quarries of the soft, white limestone rose from the valley's bed to the level of the plains above, and the rains of centuries had fashioned out pillars and arches, giving them the appearance of ancient ruins staring down upon us. mr. colon picked up a fine moss agate and the professor a kansas diamond. under the surface of the former were several figures of bushes and trees, outlined as distinctly as the images one sees blown into glass. the diamond was as large as a hazel nut and as clear as a drop of pure water, so that, notwithstanding its size, ordinary print could be easily read through it. had it possessed a hardness corresponding with its beauty, the professor could have enriched with it half a dozen scientific institutions. such stones now command a fair market value among travelers, and are generally mounted in rich settings as souvenirs of their trips. a picturesque group of some half-dozen oaks offered a good camping spot, and around it the wagons were placed for the night in a half-circle, the ends of the crescent resting each side of us upon the creek. the rule of the plains is, "in time of peace prepare for war." northward from us, and distant perhaps fifty yards, rippled the clear waters of the saline, which was then at a low stage. high above it was the table-land of the plains, and the edge of this, as far as we could trace it, was dotted with the dark forms of countless buffalo. so distant as to appear diminutive, their moving seemed like crawling, and the back-ground of light grass gave them much the appearance of bees upon a board. they were crowding up to the very edge of the valley of the saline, from whence, as we were told, they extended back to the solomon, thence to the republican, and at intervals all the way northward to the remote regions of the upper missouri. could the venerable uncle samuel go up in a balloon and take a thousand miles' view of his western stock region, he would perceive that his goodly herds of bison, some millions in number, feeding between the snows of the north and the flowers of the south, were waxing fat and multiplying. this latter fact might somewhat surprise him, when he discovered around his herd a steady line of fire and heard its continual snapping. the unsophisticated old gentleman would see train after train of railroad cars rustling over the plains, every window smoking with the bombardment like the port-holes of a man-of-war. he would see upper missouri steamers often paddling in a river black with the crossing herds, and pouring wanton showers of bullets into their shaggy backs. to the south indians on horseback, to the north indians on snow shoes, would meet his astonished gaze, and around the outskirts of the vast range his white children on a variety of conveyances, and all, savage and civilized alike, thirsting for buffalo blood. that the buffalo, in spite of all this, does apparently continue to increase, shows that the old and rheumatic ones, the veteran bulls which in bands and singly circle around the inner herds of cows and calves, are the ones that most commonly fall the easy victims to the hunters. their day has passed, and powder and ball but give the wolves their bones to pick a little earlier. such were the thoughts that revolved in my mind while sitting upon one of the wagons, and dividing my attention between the tent pitching going on under the trees and the shaggy thousands which, feeding against the horizon, seemed to grow larger as the sun went down behind them and they stood out in deepening relief in the long autumn twilight. these solitudes made me think of du chaillu on the african deserts when night set in, and i wondered if the brute denizens there could be more interesting than those which surrounded us. had a lion roared, i doubt whether it would have struck me as unnatural, although it might have induced a speedy change of base. it begets a peculiar feeling in one's mind, i thought, when the lower brutes surround him and his fellow-creature alone is absent. animal organizations are every-where, blood throbbing and limbs moving, and yet the world is as solitary to him as if the planet had been sent whirling into space and no living being upon it except himself. a handkerchief, a hat, any thing which his brother man may have worn, yields more of companionship than all the life around him. and now, through the trees, we saw several of our men running with their weapons in hand, and immediately afterward heard the rapid reports of their revolvers and rifles from the creek just below, followed by the fluttering, noisy exit of turkeys from among the trees. some flew away, but most of them were running, and, in their fright, passed directly among the wagons. one old gobbler, with a fine glossy tuft hanging at his breast, had a hard time of it in running the gauntlet of our camp-followers, narrrowly escaping death by a frying pan hurled from the vigorous grasp of shamus. this class of our game birds is noted the continent over for its wildness and cunning, these qualities furnishing old hunters with material for numberless yarns, as they gather around the camp-fires and weave their fancies into connected sequence. thus it has become a matter of veritable history that knowing gobblers sometimes examine the tracks that hunters have left to see which way they are going. on silver creek the turkeys were very tame, and before it became too dark for shooting our party had killed twelve. muggs and sachem had combined their forces and devoted their joint attention to one of them sitting stupidly on a limb, where it received a bombardment of five minutes' duration before coming down. our briton explained that "the bird was unable to fly away, you see, because i 'it 'im at my first shot." to this statement sachem stoutly demurred upon two grounds: first, that muggs' gun had gone off prematurely, the time in question, and barely missed one of his english shoes; and, second, that the turkey showed but one bullet mark, and that wound was necessarily fatal, as it had carried away most of the head! a compromise was finally effected, and we were much edified by seeing the two coming into camp with the bird between them, sharing mutually its honors. great numbers of turkeys seemed to inhabit the creek, all along which we heard them, at dark, flying up to their roosts. this induced a number of our party to visit a large oak scarcely a hundred yards from camp, which one of our men had marked as a favorite resort. proceeding with the utmost caution, under the dim shadows of approaching night, we presently stood beneath the roost. clearly defined between us and the sky were the limbs, and clustering thickly over them, like apples left in fall upon a leafless tree, we could descry large black balls, indicating to our hunger-stimulated imaginations as many prospective turkey roasts. for this special occasion our only two shot guns had been brought forth from the cases, the remainder of the party being furnished with spencer and henry rifles. we had been instructed each to select our bird, and fire at the word to be given by the guide. how loud and sharp the clicking of the locks sounded, in the stillness of that jungle on the plains, as six barrels pointed upward, but their aim made all unsteady by the thumping of as many palpitating hearts. then, in a low tone, came the words--and they seemed hoarsely loud in the painful silence around us--"ready! take careful aim!" "hold!" cried the professor, in a sudden outburst of enthusiasm; "gentlemen, you see above us thirty fine specimens of that noblest of all american birds, the turkey. wisely has it been said that, instead of the eagle, the turkey should have been our national"--"fire!" cried the guide, in an agony, as the professor, having dropped his gun, was rising to his feet, and the turkeys, alarmed by his eloquence, were preparing for flight. and fire we did. a half dozen tongues of flame shot upward, and the roar of our unmasked battery reverberated over the solitude. the rustling and fluttering among the tree tops was terrific, and showers of twigs and bark rained down upon us. every one of us knew that his shot had told, yet for some reason, perhaps owing to the superior cunning of the birds, none fell at our feet. before regaining the wagon, however, we found fluttering on our path a fine fat one with a shattered second joint. it was claimed by sachem, on the ground that in his aiming he had made legs a speciality, not wishing to injure the breasts. later in the season, when the birds had become much wilder, i often shot them, both running and flying. they are very hard to kill, and a sorely wounded one will often astonish the hunter by running long distances, or hiding where it seems impossible. the fall through the air, or sudden stop from full speed when running, are alike exciting spectacles. and the big body, with red throat and dark plume, luscious even to look at, is fit game to excite the pride of any sportsman. the modes of hunting the wild turkey are numerous.[ ] mounted on a swift pony it is not difficult to run one down, as may be done in half an hour, the birds, when pushed, seeking the open prairie and its ravines at once. on foot, with a dog, they can easily be started from cover, and generally rise with a tremendous commotion among the bushes, when they may be brought down with coarse shot. another method of turkey shooting, and one that became quite a favorite of mine, was to steal out from camp in the gray of early morning--so early that only the tops of the trees were visible against the sky--provided with a rifle and shot gun both. when the birds have once been hunted, extreme caution is necessary to get within seventy yards of them. upon a high bough, in the gloom, the old gobbler appears twice his real size, looking as long as a rail. try the rifle first, and, two chances out of three, there is a miss. then, as the great wings spread suddenly, like dark sails against the sky, and the big body, launched from the bough, shakes the tree top as if a wind was passing through it, catch your shot gun, and fire. in the dim light, and at long distance, it takes a quick and true eye to call from the ground that welcome resound which tells of game fallen. [ ] the amateur sportsman or other reader, will find them described at length in the appendix. under the big oaks, meanwhile, our camp fire burned brightly, and shamus was developing the mysteries of his art. roast turkey and broiled antelope tempt the pampered appetites of dyspeptic city men, but here in the wilderness, their fresh juices, hissing from beds of glowing coals, filled the air with a fragrance that to us was sweeter than roses. tired enough, after an all day's ride, and hungry as bears from twelve hours fasting, we sucked in the odors of the cooking meat, as a sort of aërial soup, while the dobeen stood an aproned king of grease and turkey, with basting spoon for scepter, and with it kept motioning back the hungry hordes that skirmished along his borders. two mess chests had been placed a few feet apart, with the tail-boards of our wagons connecting them, and over this was spread a linen table cloth, white plates, clean napkins, and bright knives, with salt, pepper, and butter. all were in their accustomed places. this our first meal on the plains looked more like an aristocratic pic-nic than a supper in the territory of the buffaloes. but the picture was too bright to last, and ere many days neither napkins nor cloth could have been made available as flags of truce. it is one of those threadbare truisms, adorning all hunting stories of every age and clime, that hunger is the best seasoning. we had an excess of it on hand just then, and would willingly have shared it with the dyspeptic, baldheaded young men of fifth avenue. the turkey we found fat and very rich in flavor, and the antelope steaks more delicate than venison. condensed milk supplied well the place of the usual lacteal, and was an improvement on the city article, inasmuch as we knew exactly what quantity and quality of water went into it. we were obliged to economize, however, respecting this part of our supplies. the following entry in our log-book, by sachem, under date of the day preceding this, will explain the reason: "two cans of milk stolen, probably by the cheyennes. consider the article more reliable for families than city stump-tail, requiring neither milking or feeding, and never kicking the bucket, or causing infants to do so. had no idea that a taste of it would develop such a talent for hooking." chapter xiv. a camp-fire scene--vagabondizing--the black pacer of the plains--some advice from buffalo bill about indian fighting--lo's abhorrence of long range--his dread of cannon--an irish goblin--sachem's "song of shamus." how vividly, when one is fairly embarked in any new enterprise, do the events of the first night impress one's imagination, and how indelibly do they fix themselves in the memory! inside our tents all was clean and cheery, but as none of us were disposed to seek them before a late hour, we spent the evening around our camp-fires. excitement, for the time, had overmastered our sense of fatigue. the professor's notes were out, and, with his feet to the fire and a box for a desk, he looked more like the arkansas traveler writing home, than the learned savan committing to paper the latest secrets wrung from nature. the remainder of our party were scattered promiscuously around the fire, some seated on logs and boxes, the others outstretched upon the grass. tammany sachem was the first to break the silence. "fellow citizens," he exclaimed, "let's vagabondize!" now, with our alderman, vagabondizing meant story telling, an accomplishment which we consider the especial forte of vagabonds. we all hailed this proposition gladly, for buffalo bill, stretched there before the fire, had much of plain lore stored in his active brain that we wished to draw out, and we at once seized the opportunity to ask about the black pacer we had seen during the afternoon, and his weird story of the bloody saddle. from bill's narrative we gathered the following: something over a year before the era of our expedition a train of government wagons left fort hays destined for fort harker, and the indians being troublesome, some twenty soldiers were sent in the wagons, as a guard. a few hours later there passed through hays city a man from the mountains riding a powerful black stallion, while his family, consisting of a young wife and her brother, occupied a covered wagon which followed close behind. the stranger determined to take advantage of the protection afforded by the government train, and the little party pushed out after it over the plains. the day was a sultry one in midsummer, the sun pouring down its flood of heat on the desolate surface of the expanse that spread away on all sides. the long train, a full mile from front to rear, dragged its slow length sluggishly along, the mules sleepily following the trail, while the teamsters and soldiers dozed in the covered wagons. a driver, who happened to be awake, saw in the distance a beautiful mirage, and in it, as he looked, strange objects, like mounted men, were bobbing up and down. but then he had often seen weeds and other small objects similarly transformed, by these wonderful illusions of the plains, and even he forgot the bobbing shadows and dozed away again on his seat. but there was danger near. stealthily out of the mirage, and bending low in their saddles, rode a painted band of savages, hiding their advance in a ravine. their purpose was to strike and cut off the rear of the train, the length of which promised unusual success to their undertaking, as the white men were too much scattered to oppose any resistance to a sudden onset. at length, nearly the entire train had filed by, and the foremost of the last half dozen wagons approached the ravine. at the signal, out from it burst the troop of red horsemen, and crossed the road like a dash of dust from the hand of a hurricane, every savage spreading his blanket and uttering the war whoop. the startled teams fled in stampede over the plains, dragging the wagons after them. some of the drivers were thrown out and others jumped. two or three were killed, and by the time the other teams and the guards had taken the alarm, and turned back for a rescue, the savages had cut the traces of the frightened mules, and were on the return with them to their distant villages. instead of stopping the animals to release them from the wagons, the indians urged them to wilder speed, and leaning from their saddles, cut the fastenings at full run. among the booty taken, was a valuable race horse and fifteen hundred dollars in greenbacks, belonging to an officer who was on his way from new mexico to the east. meanwhile, our friend, the owner of the black pacer, with his outfit, was moving quietly along two or three miles in the rear, entirely unaware of affairs at the front. some of the savages, while escaping with the booty, espied him, and coveting the noble animal which he rode, they made a detour and surprised him as he sat jogging along a hundred yards or so ahead of the wagon containing his wife and brother-in-law. though mortally wounded at their first volley, with the desperate effort of a dying man he clung to the saddle for a hundred yards or more, and then rolled upon the prairie a lifeless corpse. frantic with terror, the horse dashed through the circle of indians that surrounded him, and fled. the savages, probably fearing longer delay, did not pursue, nor even attack the wagon, and the black pacer was not seen again for some months, when at length some hunters discovered him, freed from saddle and bridle, the leader of the wild herd. buffalo bill gave us quite an insight into some of the mysteries of plain craft. when you are alone, and a party of indians are discovered, never let them approach you. if in the saddle, and escape or concealment is impossible, dismount, and motion them back with your gun. it shows coolness, and these fellows never like to get within rifle range, when a firm hand is at the trigger. if there is any water near, try and reach it, for then, if worst comes to worst, you can stand a siege. the savages of the plains are always anxious to get at close quarters before developing hostility. unless very greatly in the majority, and with some unusual incentive to attack, they will not approach a rifle guard. were they as well supplied with breech-loading guns as with pistols, the case would be different, of course. bill was the hero of many indian battles, and had fought savages in all ways and at all hours, on horseback and on foot, at night and in daytime alike. as an amusing illustration of the savage abhorrence of long-range guns, i beg the reader's indulgence for introducing an anecdote which i afterward heard narrated by an officer who participated in the affair. major a---- was sent out from fort hays with a company of men on an indian scout, and, when near a tributary of the south fork of the solomon, the savages appeared in force, and a fight commenced, which continued until dark. several soldiers were wounded and two killed. as the indians were evidently increasing in numbers, after nightfall a squad was dispatched to the fort for ambulances and reinforcements. only six men could be spared, and these were sent off with a light field-piece in charge. soon after crossing the saline, a strong band of indians was discovered half a mile off reconnoitering. a shell was sent screaming toward them, but the aim was too high, and it burst a short distance beyond them. nevertheless, the effect was instantaneous; the savages vanished, nor stood upon the order of their going. during the next ten miles this scene was repeated three times, the stand-point on each occasion being removed further and further away. the last shot was a remarkably long one, and the shell burst directly in their faces. not only did they disappear for good, but the whole investing force, on receiving their report, fled likewise. talking thus about indians, under the gloom of the trees, seemed in some unaccountable way to suggest the idea of witches to the mind of pythagoras. perhaps, in accordance with his pet theory of development, he was cogitating whether, ages ago, the red man's family horse might not have been a broomstick. at any rate, he suddenly gave a new turn to the conversation by asking shamus why, when the dogs pointed the witch-hazel during our quail hunt at topeka, he had affirmed that the canine race could see spirits and witches which to mortal eyes were invisible. now, the dobeen had been bred on an irish moor, where the whole air is woven, like a gobelin tapestry, full of dreams of the marvelous, and where whenever an unusual object is noticed by moonlight, the frightened peasant, instead of stopping a moment to investigate the cause, rushes shivering to his hut to tell of the fearful _phookas_ he has seen. he was very superstitious, and we had often been amused at his evasions, when, as sometimes happened, his faith conflicted with our commands. the time might be near when such peculiarities would prove troublesome instead of amusing, and it was well, therefore, that we should get a peep at the foundations of our cook's faith, and perhaps that portion of it which related to our friends, the dogs, would be especially entertaining. moreover, we had had so much of the red man that we were glad to welcome an irish witch to our first camp-fire. dobeen's narrative was substantially as follows, though i can not attempt to clothe it in his exact language, and still less in the rich brogue which yet clung to him after years of ups and downs in "ameriky." "dogs can study out many things better than men can," said shamus, in his most impressive manner. "before i left old ireland for america, i had a dashing beast, with as much wit as any boy in the country. he could poach a rabbit and steal a bird from under the gamekeeper's nose, an' give the swatest howl of warnin' whenever a bailiff came into them parts." sachem suggested that these were rather remarkable habits for a dog connected with the great house of dobeen. "but yez must know he was only a pup when my fortunes went by," responded shamus, "and he learnt these tricks afterward. ah, but he was a smart chap! couldn't he smell bailiffs afore ever they came near, an' see all the witches and ghosts, too, by second sight! he wouldn't never go near the o'shea's house, that had a haunted room, though pretty mary, the house-girl, often coaxed at him with the nicest bits of meat." sachem thought that perhaps the animal's second sight might have shown him that stray shot from pretty mary's master, aimed at a vagabond, might perhaps hit the vagabond's dog. "i wasn't a vagabond them times," retorted shamus, quickly, yet with entire good humor, "and sorry for it i am that the name could ever belong to me since. and please, mr. sachem, don't be after interruptin' again. some people wonder why the dogs bark at the new moon an' howl under the windows afore a death. in the one matter, your honors, they see the witches on a broomstick, ridin' roun' the sky, an' gatherin' ripe moon-beams for their death-mixtures an' brain blights. many a man in our grandfathers' time--yes, an' now-a-days too--sleepin' under the full moon, has had his brains addled by the unwholesome powder falling from the witches' aprons. wise men call it comet dust. and why shouldn't a dog that has grown up to mind his duty of watchin' the family, howl when he sees death sittin' on the window sill, a starin' within, and preparin' to snatch some darlint away? ah, but their second sight is a wonderful gift though! "the name of my dog, your honors, was goblin, an' he came to us in a queer sort of way, just like a goblin should. there was a hard storm along the coast, an' the next mornin' a broken yawl drifted in, half full of water, with a dead man washin' about in it, an' a half-drowned pup squattin' on the back seat. me an' my cousin buried the man, an' the other beast i brought up. may be there was somethin' in this distress that he got into so young that he couldn't outgrow. even the priest used to notice it, and say the poor creature had a sort of touch of the melancholy; an' sure, he never was a joyful dog. smart an' true he was, but, faith, he wasn't never happy; yez might pat him to pieces, an' get never a wag of the tail for it. he delighted in wakes and buryins, an' when a neighborin' gamekeeper died, he howled for a whole day an' a night, though the man had shot at him twenty times. mighty few men, your honors, with a dozen slugs in their skin, would have stood on the edge of a man's grave that shot them, an' mourned when the earth rattled on the box the way goblin, poor beast, did then. ah, nobody knows what dogs can see with their wonderful second sight. that beast thought an' studied out things better than half the men ye'll find; an' it's my belief that dogs did so before, an' they have done it since, an' they always will." "you are right, dobeen," said the professor. "put a wise dog, and a foolish, vicious master together. the brute exhibits more tenderness and thoughtfulness than the man. in the latter, even the mantle of our largest charity is insufficient to cover his multitude of sins, while the skin of his faithful animal wraps nothing but honest virtue. the dog, having once suffered from poison, avoids tempting pieces of meat thenceforward, when proffered by strange hands, but the man steeps his brain in poison again and again--or as often as he can lay hold of it. while grasping the deadly thing, he sees, stretching out from the bar room door, a down grade road, with open graves at the end, and frightened madmen, chased by the blue devils and murder and misery, rushing madly toward them. these swallow their victims, as the hatches of a prison ship do the galley slave, and close upon them to give them up only when the jailer, the angel of the resurrection, shall unlock the tombs, and calls their occupants to judgment. does the sight appall and bring him to his senses? no, he crowds among the terrors, and takes to his bosom the same venomous serpent that he has seen sting so many thousands to death before him. and yet people give to the brute's wisdom the name of instinct, and call man's madness wisdom." "but, your honors," interposed dobeen, "i shall be after losing my dog entirely, unless yez lave off interruptin' me, an' let me finish my story." "go on, shamus, go on!" we all cried with one breath. "well, then, when goblin came to me in his infancy, he wore a silver collar with his name all beautifully engraved on it. may be the dead man in the boat had been bringing him from some strange land to the childer at home, and thinking how the odd name would please them all, when the shadows were darting around his hearth. and so goblin howled his way through the world, till one full moon eve, when every bog was shinin' as if the peat was silver. such times, any way in old ireland, your honors, the air is full of unwholesome spirits. this was good as a wake for goblin, and i can just hear him now the way he cried and howled that night! he kept both eyes fixed on the moon, and no mortal man, livin' or dead, will ever know what he saw, but when he howled out worse nor common that night, it meant, may be, that some witch, uglier than the rest, had just whisked across the shinin' sky. just at midnight, i was waked out of a swate sleep by the quietness without, the way a miller is when his mill stops. i looked out of the window at the dog where he sat, an', faith, the dog wasn't there at all! just then i heard a despairin' sort of howl, away up in the air above the trees, an' by that token i knew the witches had goblin. next mornin', one of the lads livin' convanient to us told me he had heard the same cry in the middle of the night, the cry, your honors, of the poor beast as the witches carried him off. afore the week was out, goblin's collar was found on the gamekeeper's grave; that was all--not a hair else of him was ever seen in old ireland." as shamus concluded his veracious narrative he looked around upon us with an air of triumph, as if satisfied that even sachem dare not now dispute the second sight of the canine race. that worthy took occasion to declare on the instant, however, that the nearest neighbor was fully justified in playing the witch. if any thing could destroy the happiness of human beings, as well as of the broom-riding beldams, it would be the howling of worthless curs at night. he himself had often been in at the death of vagabond cats and dogs engaged in moon-worship. the outbursts of goblin had simply been silenced in an outburst of popular indignation. [illustration: _bureau of illustration ny._ smashing a cheyenne black kettle.] chapter xv. a fire scene--a glimpse of the south--'coon hunting in mississippi--voices in the solitude--friends or foes--a startling serenade--panic in camp--cayotes and their habits--worrying a buffalo bull--the second day--daub, our artist--he makes his mark. our fire scene was evidently no novelty to the mexicans, whose lives had been spent in camping out, and who, with one cheap blanket each, for mattress and covering, slept soundly under the wagons. across their dark, expressionless faces the flames threw fitful gleams of light, which were as unheeded as the flashes with which the nineteenth century endeavors to penetrate the gloom which shrouds them as a nation. while the world moves on, the degenerate descendants of montezuma sleep. in the valley bordering our little skirt of trees we could hear the horses cropping the short, juicy buffalo grass, and trailing their lariat ropes around a circle, of which the pin was the center. semi-colon lay on the grass close to his father, who occupied a cracker-box seat in this tableau, the amiable son at little intervals raising his head to indorse, in his peculiar dissyllabic way, what the positive parent said. looking at the group around me, and thinking of our evening turkey hunt, memory carried me back to the last time i had been among the trees after dark, with gun in hand, which was at the south, away down in mississippi, just after the war. it was a lazy time, those november days. large flocks of swans filled the air above, with their flute-like notes, and thousands of sand-hill cranes circled far up toward the sun, their bodies looking like distant bees, as from dizzy heights they croaked their approbation of the rich crops beneath them. ducks passed like charges of grape shot, sending back shrill whistles from their wings, as they dived down into the standing corn. as night came on, the moon went up in a great rush of light, like the reflector of a railroad train mounting the sky. soon every shadow is driven from the woods, and then the horns are tooted, the dogs howl, and away go gangs of woolly heads, old and young, in pursuit of messrs. 'possum and 'coon. in vain the sly tree-fox doubles around stumps, and leaving tempting persimmon and oaks full of plumpest acorns, at the warning noise, seeks refuge among huge cypresses. on go the hunters--big dogs, little dogs, bear-teasers, and deer-hounds, sprinkled with darkeys--crashing through cane and underbrush, the human portion of the party laughing and yelling as if a tempest had stolen them ages ago from babel, and just discharged them in pursuit of that particular 'coon. the voice of the professor suddenly called me back to the present, and i found myself chilled by the wet grass, as if my body had been wandering with the mind in that land of cotton, and was unprepared for the northern air. "gentlemen"--this was what the voice said--"we are now one thousand and five hundred miles from washington city, latitude , longitude . stick a pin there on the map, and you will find that we have got well out on the spot that geographers have been pleased to call desert. does it look like one? tell me, gentlemen, had you rather discount your manhood among the stumps of new england than loan it at a premium to the rich banks of these streams?" the professor came to an abrupt pause, for borne to us on the still air was that most unmistakable of all sounds, the human voice. the note of one bird at a distance may be mistaken for another, and the cry of a brute, when faintly heard, lose its distinguishing tones. but once let man lift up his voice in the solitude, and all nature knows that the lord of animal creation is abroad. there are many sounds which resemble the human voice, just as there are many objects which, indistinctly seen, the hunter's eye may misinterpret as birds. but when a flock of birds does cross his vision, however far away, he never mistakes them for any thing else. the first may have excited suspicion, the latter resolves at once into certainty. we listened attentively and anxiously. it might very naturally be supposed that, after leaving the abodes of his fellows, and going far out into the solitary places of nature, man would rejoice to catch the sounds which told him that others of his race were near, but this, like many other things, is modified by circumstances. on the plains the first question asked is, "are they friends or foes?" no one being able to answer, the breeze and general probabilities are inquired of, and until the eyes pass verdict the moments are laden with suspense. even in times of peace the hunter, if possible, avoids the savage bands which flit back and forth across buffalo land; for, if he saves his life, he is apt to lose an inconvenient amount of provisions, at least, at their hands. our guide speedily informed us that indians never make any noise when in camp, which was gratifying intelligence. all further suspense was shortly relieved by the appearance down the valley of muskets glittering in the moon-light. the bearers proved to be two soldiers, who stated that some officers, with a small force of cavalry, were in camp a mile below us, being out for the purpose of obtaining buffalo meat, and having as guests two or three gentlemen from st. louis, desirous of seeing the sport. they had heard our late heavy firing, and sent to know what was the matter. we gave the soldiers a late paper to carry back, and with many regrets that our fatigue was too great to think of accompanying them for a neighborly call, we bade them good-night, and saw them disappear down the valley. at the professor's suggestion, preparations were now made for retiring, and we sought our tent and blankets. in a few brief moments, the others of the party were blowing, in nasal trumpetings, the praises of morpheus. i could not sleep, however; for each bone had its own individual ache, and was telling how tired it was. pulling up a tent-pin, i looked out under the canvas. on a log by the fire sat shamus, his head between his hands, gazing at the coals, and droning a low tune. occasionally, he would make a dash at some fire-brand, with a stick which he used as a poker, and break it into fragments, or toss it nervously to one side. whether this was because it resolved itself into a fire-sprite winking at him, or some unhappy memory glowed out of the coals, i tried to tempt sleep by conjecturing. off at a little distance, i could see one of our men standing guard near the horses, and once or twice my excited fancy thought it detected shadows creeping toward him. a little beyond, nervously stretching his lariat rope, while walking in a circle around the pin, was mr. colon's iron billy. his clean head erect, and fine nose taking the breeze, the intelligent animal appeared restless, and i could not help thinking that he saw or smelt something unusual, away in the darkness. what if the bottom grass was full of creeping savages? the crescent moon, just rising over the divide, was scarred by many cloud lines, and as yet gave no light. the sensation which had stolen over me was becoming disagreeable, when far off, at some ford down the creek, i heard animals splashing through water, and concluded that billy's nervousness was caused by crossing buffaloes. the horse had an established reputation as a watch, his former owner having assured us that neither indian nor wild beast could approach camp without billy giving the alarm. presently, dobeen resumed his droning, which had been suspended for a few moments, this time singing some snatches from an old irish ballad. the last words were just dying away, when i started to my feet in horror. what an infernal chorus filled the air! each point of the compass was represented, and we were wrapped around with a discordant, fiendish cordon of sound. bursting upon us with a deep mocking cry, it ended abruptly in a wild "ha-ha!" it was such a chorus as pours through hades, when some poet opens, for an instant, the gate of the damned. our poor irishman, at the first sound, had fallen from the log as if shot, but had suddenly sprung to his feet, and was now performing a terror-dance behind the fire with a club. for a moment, i, too, had taken the outburst for the war-whoop of savages, but was saved from a panic by seeing through the gloom the figure of the sentinel still at his post, and the next instant the voice of the guide was lifted, with the re-assuring intelligence--"only cayotes, gentlemen, only cayotes!" mr. sachem and mr. muggs had been lying close behind me in their blankets. the former had given a terrified snort, and then both lay motionless. after the alarm, sachem admitted that he was frightened. had always heard that people shot over instead of under the mark in battle. was resolved to lay low. had no high views about such things. muggs had not thought it worth while to get up. knew they were wolves. had heard more hextraordinary 'owls before he came to the blarsted country. but where was the doctor? echo answered, "where?" "hallo, doctor!" cried the guide, and a voice from the woods, which was not echo, answered, "coming!" again buffalo bill lifted his voice in the solitude, and again came an answer, this time in a form of query, "is it developed, my boy? if so, classify it." and we answered that the birth in the air had developed into wolves, and been classified as the _canis latrans_, noisy and harmless. finding that this new lesson in natural history had taken away all desire for sleep, i finished the study by the fire, with our guide for a tutor. the cayote (pronounced k[=i]-o-te), in its habits, is a villainous cross between a jackal and a wolf, feasting on any kind of animal food obtainable, even unearthing corpses negligently buried. with the large gray wolf, the cayotes follow the herds of bison, generally skulking along their outskirts, and feeding upon the wounded and outcasts. these latter are the old bulls which, gaunt and stiff from age and spotted all over with scars, are driven out of the herd by the stout and jealous youngsters. feeding alone, and weak with the burden of years upon his immense shoulders, the old bull is surrounded by the hungry pack. but they dare not attack. one blow of that ponderous head, with the weight of that shaggy hump behind it, is still capable of knocking down a horse. the veteran could fling his adversaries as nearly over the moon as the cow ever jumped, if they only gave him a chance. like a grim old castle, he stands there more than a match for any direct assault of the army around. [illustration: midnight serenade on the plains.] with the tact of our modern generals, a line of investment is at once formed, and a system of worrying adopted. no rest now for the old bull. he can not lie down, or the beasts of prey will swarm upon him. again and again he charges the foe, each time clearing a passage readily, but only to have it close again almost instantly. in these resultless sorties the garrison is fast using up its material of war. the ammunition is getting short which fires the old warrior, and sends the black horns, like a battering-ram, right and left among his foes. as long as he keeps his feet he lives, though hemmed in closely by the snapping and snarling multitude. the tenacity of one of these patriarchs is wonderful. for a whole life-time chief of the brutes on his native plains, he has grown up surrounded by wolves. not fearing them himself, he has easily defended the cows and calves. an attempted siege would once have been but sport to him, and it seems difficult for the brain in the thick skull to understand that time, like a vampire, has been sucking the juices from his joints and the blood from his veins. tired out at length, the old bull begins to totter, and his knees to shake from sheer exhaustion. his shakiness is as fatal as that of a wall street bull. as he lies down the wolves are upon him. they are clinging to the shaggy form, like blood-hounds, before it has even sunk to the sod, and the victim never rises again. the cayotes are very cowardly, and when carcasses are plenty, sleep during the day in their holes, which are generally dug into the sides of some ravine. if found during the hours of light, it is usually skulking in the hollows near their burrows. they have a decidedly disagreeable penchant for serenading travelers' camps at night, so that our late experience, the guide assured me, was by no means uncommon. they will steal in from all directions, and sit quietly down on their haunches in a circle of investment. not a sound or sign of their coming do they make, and, if on guard, one may imagine that every foot of the country immediately surrounding is visible, and utterly devoid of any animate object. all at once, as if their tails were connected by a telegraphic wire, and they had all been set going by electricity, the whole line gives voice. the initial note is the only one agreed upon. after striking that in concert, each particular cayote goes it on his own account, and the effect is so diabolical that i could readily excuse shamus for thinking that the dismal pit had opened. at this point dobeen approached and cut off my further gleaning of wolf lore. the corners of his mouth seemed still inclined to twitch, showing that the shock had not yet worn off. he was chilled by the night, he said, and did not feel very well, and craved our honors' permission to sleep at our feet in the tent. consent was given, and as he left us he turned to announce his belief that animals with such voices must have big throats. it was not yet light, next morning, when our camp was all astir again. drowsiness has no abiding place with an expedition like ours upon the plains. should he be found lurking anywhere among the blankets, a bucket of water, from some hand, routs him at once and for the whole trip. even sachem, who usually hugged morpheus so long and late, might that morning have been seen among the earliest of us washing in the waters of the creek. we were all in excellent spirits, and with appetites for breakfast that would have done no discredit to a pack of hungry wolves. no sign of the sun was yet visible, save a scarcely perceptible grayish tinge diffusing itself slowly through the darkness, and the lifting of a light fog along the creek upon which we were encamped. although sufficiently novel to most of our party, the scene was quite dreary, and we longed, amid the gloom and chill, for the appearance of the sun, and breakfast. by the way, i have noticed that with excursion parties, whether sporting or scientific, enthusiasm rises and sets with the sun. the gray period between darkness and dawn is an excellent time for holding council. the mind, no less than the body, seems to find it the coolest hour of the twenty-four, and shrinks back from uncertain advances. added to the discomforts usually attendant upon camp-life were our stiff joints. the first day upon horseback is twelve hours of pleasant excitement, with a fair share of wonder that so delightful a recreation is not indulged in more generally. the next twenty-four hours are spent in wondering whether those limbs which furnish one the means of locomotion are still connected with the stiffened body, or utterly riven from it; and, if the whole truth must be told, the saddle has also left its scars. as the edge of the plateau overlooking the river became visible in the growing light, we saw, as on the evening previous, multitudes of buffalo feeding there, and after breakfast a council of war was held. i am somewhat ashamed to record that it voted no hunting that day. to find the noblest of american game some of us had come half away across the continent, and now, in sight of it, the tide of enthusiasm which had swept us forward hitherto stood suddenly still. not because it was about to ebb, but simply in obedience to certain signals of distress flying from the various barks, and which it was utterly impossible for any of us to conceal. for mounting a horse was entirely out of the question for that day. not one of us could have swung himself into saddle for any less motive than a race with death. our steps were slow and painful, and we felt as if, at this period of life's voyage, every timber of our several crafts had been pounded separately upon some of the hidden rocks of ocean. it was absolutely necessary to go into dock for repairs, and the valley promised to be a pleasant harbor. it was a truly melancholy spectacle to behold sachem and muggs. the liveliest and the gayest ones yesterday, but to-day the gravest of the grave. that rotund form, which always doubted his own or other people's emotions, was the walking embodiment of woe, and for once evidently clear of all doubt upon one subject, at least. muggs was even free to confess that, for general results, yesterday's rough riding exceeded "a 'unt with the 'ounds." our animals were also quite stiff, but the hostlers attributed this not so much to their yesterday's service as to their long ride in the cars. they had not yet got their "land legs" fully on again. it was soothing to our pride, if not to our feelings, to reflect that perhaps some of our soreness was the result of their first day's stiffness. a beaver colony near us, and a great abundance of turkeys, offered lessons in natural history of no small interest, and within reach of lame students. the valley gave an entomological invitation to mr. colon, and the great ledges, with their possibilities of valuable fossils, attracted the professor. sitting on a wagon tongue, and applying liniment to an abraded shin, might have been seen pythagoras, m. d., whose daily life, since leaving topeka, had been a series of struggles with the brute he rode. his belief in the transition of souls into horses was growing upon him. he felt that he was combating the spirit of a deceased prize-fighter, which used its hoofs as fists, landing blows right and left. doctor david called these "spiritual manifestations." a favorite habit of the animal was what is known as brushing flies from the ear with the hind foot, and often, as the owner was about to mount, this species of front kick would upset him. the equine's disposition, it must be said, had not been improved by the immense saddle-bags with which the doctor had surmounted him when on the march. originally, these contained a small amount of medicine, but this had all been ground to powder under the weight of sundry stones and bones, gathered in the furtherance of the great theory of development. as the sun got well up in the heavens, staying in camp became monotonous, and we hobbled off in different directions, to examine the surroundings. our mexicans climbed to the plains above, taking their rusty muskets along to kill buffalo. our guide went down to the hunting camp below us, intending to return to hays with the officers, home duties requiring his attention. one of our hostlers, familiar with the country, was to be our pilot in future. back of our camp lay the castellated rocks which had attracted our notice the previous evening, and over which daub, our artist, now became intensely enthusiastic. he wandered back and forth in front of them, his soul in his eyes, and these upturned to the bluffs. and thus we left him. "genius is struggling hard for utterance there," said the professor impressively. "that young man will make his mark; see if he doesn't." alas, how little we thought he would do it so soon. an hour later, returning that way, we descried our artist high up on the face of the rocks, perched on a jutting fragment, and clinging to a stunted cedar with one hand, while with the other he plied his brush. fully forty feet intervened between him and the earth. "what devotion!" cried the professor. "beautiful spirit," said mr. colon, "how soon it commences to climb." "that young man will develop," said dr. pythagoras. a few feet more, and the artist and his work were fully revealed. he had developed. a cry of agony came from the professor's lips; for there in large yellow lines, half blotting out a beautiful stone, our eyes beheld the diabolical letters, s o z. he never finished the word. the professor seized a rifle, and brought it to a level with the artist's paint pot. "come down, you rascal!" he cried. "how dare you deface one of nature's castles with a patent name?" would he have fired? i think he would. but the man of genius caught his eye, and comprehending the situation, cried, with face whiter than the chalk before him, "o, don't!" "add the 'odont', you villain," screamed the professor, "and i'll--i'll fire!" with our first returning wagon, the artist went back to hays, but his work, alas! remains, and perhaps--who knows?--some future generation may yet point to that wall and tell how soz, king of an extinct people, once held dominion over the beautiful valley. chapter xvi. bison meat--a strange arrival--the sydney family--the home in the valley--the solomon massacre--the murder of the father and the child--the settlers' flight--incidents--our queen of the plains--the professor interested--irish mary--dobeen happy--the heroine of romance--sachem's bath by moonlight--the beaver colony. at noon we were all in camp again, fully prepared to do justice to the ample dinner of buffalo, antelope, and turkey which we found awaiting us. the mexicans brought in the quarter of an old bull, and, according to their own story, had committed terrible slaughter on the plain above; but, as we had already learned to balance a mexican account by a deduction of nine-tenths for over-drafts, we felt that we saw before us the result of their day's hunt. this our first taste of bison, gave us highly exaggerated ideas of that animal's endurance. the entire flesh was surprisingly elastic--indeed, a very clever imitation of india rubber. it recoiled from our teeth with a spring, and just then i should scarcely have been surprised had i seen those buffalo which were feeding in the distance, go bounding off like immense foot-balls. my opinion in regard to buffalo meat afterward underwent a great change, but not until i had tasted the flesh of the cows and calves. shamus, on this occasion, had devoted his culinary energies especially to the turkeys, and they were well worthy such attention. their fat forms, nicely browned, would have tempted the veriest dyspeptic. just as we rose from dinner, a covered emigrant wagon was discovered approaching us, coming down the valley right on our trail. from the fact that we were off the route of overland travel, our first conjecture was that it was from hays, with a party of hunters, or possibly with tenacious gripe, so far recovered as to be rejoining us. we assumed an attitude of dignified interest, prepared to develop it into friendship, or "don't want to know you" style, as occasion might require. a hale, elderly man was the driver, now walking beside his oxen. the outfit halted before our astonished camp, and as it did so two women, genuine spirits of calico and long hair, lifted a corner of the wagon cover and looked out. both were apparently young, but one face was thin, and had that peculiar expression of being old before its time which is far more desolate than age. the other countenance was certainly good-looking and interesting--quite different, indeed, from those usually seen peeping out of emigrant wagons. introductions are short and decisive on the plains. we liked their looks, and invited them to stop; they liked ours, and accepted. i think the professor's dignified attitude and scholarly bearing stood us in good stead as references. another female developed as the wagon gave forth its load--this time a bouncing irish girl, rosy-cheeked and active, evidently the family servant. at this latter apparition shamus dropped one of our platters, but quickly recovering himself, began to put forth wonderful exertions to prepare a second dinner, the new comers having consented, after some hesitation, to become our guests during the nooning hour. before proceeding to give the reader the history of this interesting family, i ought, perhaps, to say that i do so with their express permission, the only disguise being that, at his request, the father will here be designated by his christian name, sydney. these people, after an absence of about a year, were now returning from elizabeth city, a recently-started mining town in new mexico, to their former home, about forty miles east of our present camp, which they had left the preceding season under circumstances that were sad, indeed. about three years before, the family, then consisting of mr. sydney and wife, and their two daughters, had moved from ohio to kansas and settled on a tributary of the solomon. availing himself of the homestead law, mr. sydney took a tract of one hundred and sixty acres, and commenced improving it. one of the daughters soon married a young man to whom she had been betrothed at the east, and who at once set earnestly to work to make for himself and young wife a home in the new land. the houses of the father and the child were but half a mile apart, and, no timber intervening, each could be plainly seen from the other. for a time this little colony of two families was very happy. having had the first choice, their farms were well situated, embracing both river and valley, and their herds, provided with rich and unlimited range, increased rapidly. soon rumors came from below that a railroad, on its way to the rocky mountains, would shortly wind its way up the solomon valley, bringing civilization to that whole region, and daily mails within a few miles of their doors. the second year of prosperity had nearly ended, when one morning a man from the settlements above dashed rapidly past mr. sydney's house, turning in his saddle to cry that the cheyennes had been murdering people up the river, and were now sweeping on close behind him. the message of horror was scarcely ended when the dusky cloud appeared in sight, rioting in its tempest of death down the valley. midway between home and the house of her daughter, mrs. sydney was overtaken by the yelling demons. in vain the agonized husband pressed forward to the rescue, firing rapidly with his carbine. she was killed before his eyes, but not scalped, the indians evidently considering delay dangerous. it is a fact that speaks volumes in illustration of the mingled ferocity and cowardice that characterize the wild indians of to-day that, in all that terrible solomon massacre, not a single armed man who used his weapon was harmed, nor was one house attacked. the victims were composed entirely of the surprised and the defenseless, overtaken at their work and on the roads. passing the dead body of the mother, the cheyennes, on their wiry ponies, swept onward, like demon centaurs, toward the home of the daughter. sitting by our fire at evening, with that dreary, fixed look which one never forgets who has once seen it, the young woman told us the story of her childless widowhood. her face was one of those which, smitten by sorrow, are stricken until death. once evidently comely, the smiles and warm flush had died out from it forever--just as in the lapse of centuries the colors fade from a painting. though scarcely twenty-five, her youth was but an image of the past. she told her story in that mechanical, absent sort of manner which showed that no morning had followed the evening of that desolate day. she was still living with her dead. "the lord gave me then a cup so bitter," she said, "that its sting drove a mother's joy from my heart forever. i have been at peace since, because, among the dregs, i found that god had placed a diamond for me to wear when i was wedded to him. even then i did not rebel and reproach my maker, but i sunk down with one loud cry, and it went right along to the great white throne up there, with the spirits of my husband and my babe. i thought i could see them in the air, like two white doves flitting upward, bearing with them, as part of our sacrifice, the cry that i gave, when my heart-strings seemed to snap, and i knew that i was a widow and childless. perhaps i was crazed for a moment, or--i do not know--perhaps my spirit really did go with them part of the way. the neighbors found me there for dead, and i remained cold, till they brought in my dear babe, my poor, mutilated babe, and placed him on my breast. his warm blood must have woke me, and i sat up, and saw them bringing john's body to lay it by me. and then the whole scene came before me again, and it seemed so stamped into my very brain, that shutting my eyes left me more alone with my murdered ones and the murderers. and i just dragged myself where i could look at the setting sun, and tried with its bright glare to burn the scene from off my vision, so that, if i went mad, there wouldn't be any memory of it left. for mad people have their memories and suffer from them, and they know it, and the very fact that they know it keeps them mad. i went through it all. "a person dreaming is not rational, and yet may suffer so, and feel it too, as to shudder hours after waking up. there was john, running toward the house with our baby boy, and the savages yelling and whipping their ponies, trying to get between the open door and him. alone, he could have saved himself. and our baby thought john was running for play, and was clapping his little hands and chirping at me as the savages closed around my husband. i had only time to pray five words, 'o god, save my husband!' and it did not seem an instant until i saw the poor body i loved so well lying on the ground, and they standing over, shooting their arrows into it. baby was not killed, but thrown forward under one of the horses, and i had just taken a step or so toward him, when an indian, who seemed to be the chief, lifted him by the dress to his saddle. i think his first intention was to carry him with them, but, seeing some of our neighbors hurrying toward us, they struck the baby with a hatchet, and hurled him to the ground. at the instant they struck him, he was looking back at me with his great blue eyes wide open and staring with fright." and then the poor woman, having finished her story, began sobbing piteously. the solomon had numberless tales of these terrible massacres equally as harrowing as this, and i could fill pages of this volume with chapters of woe that terminated many a family's history. the result of these and other indian atrocities is probably yet remembered throughout the entire country. kansas well nigh rebelled against a government which left her unprotected. the war department authorized vigorous measures, and the governor of the state raised a regiment and at its head took the field. through blows from custar and carr, the savages found out, at last, that the dogs of war which they let loose might return to bay at their own doors. two women from the saline were carried into captivity by the indians, and taken as wives by two of their chiefs. one day carr, at the head of his troops, looked down into the valley upon the encampment of a band especially noted for its hostility, now lying in fancied security below him. the two white captives were in the wigwams. suddenly, to the ears of the savages, came a murmur from the hill-side like the first whisper of a torrent. instantly, almost, it increased to a roar, and, as they sprung to their feet and rushed forth, the blue waves of vengeance dashed against the village, and broke in showers of leaden spray upon them. mercy put no shield between them and that annihilating tempest. every savage in the number was a fiend, and, as a band, they had long been the scourge of the border. their hands were yet red with the blood of the massacres upon the saline and solomon, and white women toiled in the wigwams of their husbands' murderers. one of the captives, mrs. daley, was killed by the savages, to prevent rescue; the other was saved, and restored to her husband. somewhat later, two women from the solomon were taken captive, one of them being a bride of but four months who had recently come out with her young husband from the state of new york. custar seized some chiefs and, with noosed lariats dangling before their eyes, bade them send and have those prisoners brought in, or suffer the penalties. indians have an unconquerable prejudice against being hung, as it prevents their spirits entering the happy hunting grounds, and the captives were promptly sent to custar's camp. we afterward saw one of them, mrs. morgan, on the solomon. what an agony must have been hers, as she came in sight of her old home, and the memory of her wrongs since leaving it, rose anew before her! but to return to the history of our emigrants. after the murders, mr. sydney and his daughters abandoned their farms, and with the same wagon and oxen which two years before had brought the family out from ohio, they started for the recently discovered mines in new mexico. the journey was tedious, and, when at length arrived there, he found but little gold, and even less relief from his mighty sorrow. the old home, with its graves, beckoned him back, and thither he was now returning to spend his remaining days, unless, as he laconically stated, some one had "jumped the claim." lest my readers toward the rising sun should not clearly understand the old gentleman's meaning, i ought perhaps to explain that, under existing laws, a "homesteader" can not be absent from his land over six months at any time, without forfeiting his title, and rendering it liable to occupancy by other parties. it was already two days over the allotted period, he said. but the oxen were thin, and he finally decided to rest with us until the next morning, and then push forward. flora, the younger daughter, was a blooming western girl of a thoroughly practical turn, and a counselor on whose advice the father and sister evidently relied greatly. the professor assured me confidentially that evening, and with much more than his wonted enthusiasm on such a subject, that she preferred the language of the rocks to that of fashion plates. she had even disputed one of his statements, he said, and vanquished him by producing the proof from a well-worn scientific work--one of a dozen books carefully wrapped up and stowed away with other goods in the wagon. a novel accomplishment which the young lady possessed was that of being an excellent rifle shot, and it afforded us all considerable merriment when she challenged muggs to a trial of skill, and, producing a target rifle, utterly defeated him. such a woman as that, the professor said, was safe on the frontier; she could fight her own way and clear her vicinity of savages, whenever necessary, as well as any of us. we did not wish our emigrant maiden aught but what she was, and were well pleased with the romance of her visit. for the nonce, she was our queen; the rough ox-wagon was her throne, and the great plains her ample domain. in sober truth, she might justly challenge our esteem and admiration. here was one of the gentler sex willing to make divorce of happiness, that she might minister to a half-crazed father and mourning sister, and who, for their sake, chose to wander through a country which might at any moment become to them the valley of the shadow of death. in the presence of such heroism, what right had we, though bruised and tired, to complain? no wonder the professor took early occasion to tell us that she was a noble woman, an honor to her sex. this emigrant wagon, with its wee bit of domestic life, was a pleasant object to all of us out there on the desert, with the single exception of alderman sachem. that worthy member of our party avoided its vicinity, as if a plague spot had there seized upon the valley. "i did think," he exclaimed, dividing glances that were quite the reverse of complimentary between the professor and shamus--"i did think that we had got out of the latitude of spooning. we haven't had a digestible mouthful since they came in sight. a love-struck irishman can neither eat, himself, or let others." but shamus was too happy to heed the remark; for the first time since starting, he seemed perfectly contented. an irish girl, the like of mary, and devoted enough to follow her old master through such adversity, seemed dobeen's beau ideal of the lovely and lovable in the sex. the valley became for him the brightest spot upon earth. he would have been content there to court and cook, i think, during the remainder of his natural life. mary was shy, and shamus was bold, but it was quite apparent that both enjoyed the situation immensely. although the little party stayed but a day, their departure seemed to leave quite a void in the valley. the most noticeable results to us were some errors in cooking and a slackness in the prosecution of scientific investigations. mr. sydney gave us a hearty invitation to visit him upon the solomon, if our wanderings took us that way, and our prophetic souls, with a common instinct, told all of us that the professor would recognize a call of science in that direction. by a look and a smile from a maiden, the philosopher, deeply sunken in the primary formation, had been drawn to the surface of the modern, a result which fashionable society had more than once striven in vain to bring about. miss flora certainly bid fair to become a favorite pupil of his, were the opportunity only offered. this maiden of the plains was a new character. the beautiful heroine mentioned in most western novels as having penetrated the indian country, is either the daughter of "once wealthy parents," or the heiress of a noble family and stolen by gypsies for reward or revenge. it was the first appearance that i could recall of a farmer's girl in a position where kidnapping indians and a frantic lover could so easily appear, and by opportune conjunction weave the plot of a soul-harrowing romance. another evening in camp was spent in writing and story-telling. the fire was getting low, when sachem rose to his feet and called to shamus. "dobeen," said he, "your country folks are always handy with the sticks. let's go for wood, and have a fire that will warm up the witches on their broomsticks and send them flying off to hug the clouds." we watched the pair go out of sight. knowing well the habits of tammany, we all felt sure that, though he might find the load, irish shoulders would have to bear it back to camp. scarcely three minutes had elapsed, when out of the timber, with garments as wet as water could make them and dripping fast, a fat form came shivering to our fire. our alderman had taken a night bath in the creek--an adventure which he thus related in his own peculiar way: "below us in the woods is a big beaver pond, i don't know how deep. i seemed an hour going down, and didn't touch bottom then. i was fooled by the moon. (to be expected, though, as she's a female!) a few of her beams, thrown down through the trees, glittered on the water like drift wood. that sort of beams make poor timber for bridges, but i didn't know it then as well as i do now. one of them went from bank to bank, and i took it for a log, and got a ducking. how frightened i was, though, when my feet touched water and my body went, with a swash, right under it! i opened my mouth to shout and the water rushed in, and i was like a vessel sinking with open hatches. i took in so much, i was afraid i'd be waterlogged and never come up. i did, though, and found that rascally irishman throwing sticks at my head, and telling me to hold on to them. i told him to do that thing himself, and finally climbed ashore." we afterward sought out our newly-found neighbors, the beavers, finding their pond a short distance below us on the creek, and a little lower down the dam itself. many more trees had been cut for the latter than were used in its construction, several having been abandoned when almost ready to fall. we noticed that the butts of the prostrated trees were sharpened down gradually like the point of a lead-pencil, but both ways, instead of one, so that a tree cut nearly through met from above and below at the point of breaking, like the waist of an hour glass. this dam was most interesting to all of us, since it seemed so much to resemble the work of man. in this waste place of the earth, it really seemed almost like company, and we felt a strong desire to have a friendly conference with the builders. but these had formed this reservoir for the express purpose that in its depths they might escape intrusion, and now the whole regiment of engineers seemed asleep in barracks. still our men secured a few very fine ones by trapping. it appeared that the beavers were a vacillating set of architects, as all the trees which stood near the water and leaned over it at all, were gnawed more or less, and many of them left when almost ready to fall. the position of the dam had evidently been determined by the tree which fell first. from the reckless manner in which they had slashed around with their teeth, it was pertinently suggested that this colony must have obtained from the beaver congress a government subsidy. having been acquainted with the art of building before man mastered it, the beaver race also probably understood how to do it at little personal expense. the beaver appears to be distributed in considerable numbers all over the western half of kansas, although the spring floods sweep away their dams almost every season. once afterward, when lost on the plains for a day, i came across a beaver dam. several hours of anxious suspense in the solitude, fearing to meet man lest he should prove a savage, begot a strange feeling of companionship when i came in sight of the rude structure of logs. if not civilization, it was a close imitation of it, and i laid down and fell into a refreshing sleep, soothed, in the fantasies of dreamland, with the whir of looms and hum of factory life. chapter xvii. preparations for the chase--the valley of the saline--queer 'coons--a bison's game of bluff--in pursuit--alongside the game--firing from the saddle--a charge and a panic--false history again--going for ammunition--the professor's letter--disrobing the victim. the early dawn of wednesday morning saw us again astir. there was the same creeping of mist out of the valley to join the darkness as it fled from the plains above, and the same revealing of thousands of shaggy forms silently feeding in the distance. this time our beasts and our bodies were both in excellent condition for the chase. joints gain and lose stiffness quickly in such a life. one morning the hunter feels as if the mill of life, though he turn its crank ever so slowly, had broken every bone in his body; twenty-four hours later may find him elastic and buoyant, as if youth had torn away from the embrace of the dead past and was with him again in all its pristine vigor. in the present case, too, that friend of early hours and foe of sleepy eyes, the coffee bean had done its work for us grandly. ten horsemen comprised the strength of the party which rode out of the valley just as daylight was coming into it. one of the hostlers and a mexican were left in camp, the remainder of our force accompanying us, with a couple of wagons to bring in the game. at his earnest solicitation, shamus was permitted to abandon his post of duty temporarily, and go along also, with the understanding that he was to select choice pieces from the first suitable game we might bring down, and, returning to camp, be ready for our arrival with an ample dinner. as we rode down the valley of silver creek, gangs of wild turkeys occasionally came out of the narrow skirt of timber, and, running along before us for short distances, re-entered it, and were lost to view again. never having been hunted, they seemed destitute of the timidity and cunning which are the usual characteristics of this bird. twenty minutes' ride brought us to the saline, the basin of which we found to be half a mile or thereabouts in width, and presenting a scene of great desolation. we were something like two hundred feet below the table-lands which came down to the narrow valley in barren canyons and masses of rock. the stream itself is narrow, with less than two feet of water running swiftly over the sands, and along its banks, at intervals, a few dwarfed cottonwood trees. such was the valley of the saline at this point; yet thirty miles below, our men told us, the valley opened out into rich bottom lands, and was famous for its beauty. while in the act of crossing, we came suddenly upon four small animals playing and fishing in the shallow water. with an exclamation of astonishment, the professor had his glasses out in a moment. the guide informed us they were only 'coons, and such they were sure enough, with the peculiar color and distinctive rings that made it impossible, on second look, to mistake them for any thing else. truly, nature seemed full of eccentricities in this remarkable region. the raccoons of natural history have always affected trees, and been considered, _par excellence_, creatures of the forest. i scarcely think the professor would have been surprised, at that moment, to know that hereabouts fish were in the habit of climbing around in bushes, or stealing corn. when they heard us, the four little fellows scampered away a few steps, and disappeared in some holes in the bank, in executing which maneuver one of them swam a yard or two across a deep spot, making good progress. we learned from our men that small colonies of these animals are frequently found along treeless creeks on the plains, living in the banks, and fishing for a living, by grasping the minnows and frogs, as they pass over the shallow places. from the river we directed our course toward a deep canyon which, opening toward us as if the bluff had been riven asunder by some great convulsion of nature, at its further end reached the level of the plains, and offered us an easy ascent. evidence of volcanic action appeared along the canyon in the form of vitrified fragments and occasional masses of lava resembling rock. the guide called our attention to an object in the ravine some distance ahead, which was enveloped in a cloud of dust. it was a buffalo, he said, indulging in a game of bluff. this statement not appearing very clear to our non-gambling party, he explained that the old fellow was "butting against the bank, as if he was going to break it all to pieces, when in reality he had no show at all." as we could not approach nearer without frightening him, we stood still for a few minutes and watched him. he would back fifteen or twenty yards from the bluff, paw the ground for an instant, and then fling himself headlong against the wall of earth with a tremendous force, as was abundantly testified by the great clouds of dust that would rise in the air. for a moment afterward he would continue violently hooking the soil, as if the bowels of the earth were those of an adversary. we afterward repeatedly saw bulls engaged in this exercise. it is to the buffalo what the training school is to the prize-fighter, a developing of brute force for future conflicts. the shock of such charges as we witnessed, if made by a domestic ox, would have broken his neck. even our bison friend finally overdid the matter. either because his foot tripped or the blow glanced, upon one of his charges, he fell down on his fore legs, and then rolled completely over. we thought this a good time to push forward, and accordingly did so at a gallop. whether thinking himself knocked down by a foe, or because he heard the rattling of hoofs, we could not determine, but he suddenly sprang to his feet, whirled his shaggy head into bearing upon us, then turned and set away at full speed up the canyon, toward the plains above. the order was given to ply spur and close in upon him, if possible, or he would set the herds above in motion. it was a mad ride that we had for the next ten minutes--across beds of gravel, among huge bowlders, and once or twice over great fissures in the earth which chilled my blood as i took a sort of bird's-eye view of their depths. in a lumbering run on ahead of us went the frightened bull, his feet occasionally sending back dashes of pebbles, while behind him rattled such a clattering of hoofs that the poor brute, if he could think at all, must have imagined he had butted open the door of hades, and was now being pursued by its inmates. there were mishaps in this our first buffalo hunt, of course, and among them, muggs dropped a stirrup, and was obliged to support himself afterward on one foot--an awkward matter, resulting from his inconvenient english saddle, one of the kind which compels one, half the time, to sustain the whole body by the stirrups alone. we gained upon the game steadily, though no particular member of our party excelled as leader, first one being ahead and then the other. cynocephalus developed wonderfully, and kept well up with his better conditioned neighbors. what a magnificent prize for the hunter rushed on before us, swinging his ponderous head from side to side, for the purpose of getting better rear views--such an ungainly and shaggy animal, a perfect marvel of magnificent disproportions! it is well enough to go to africa and hunt lions, and describe their majestic, flowing manes; but this bison, in mad flight ahead of us, could have furnished hair and mane enough to fit out half a dozen lions. at close quarters, too, he was fully as dangerous as the king of beasts. we were close at his heels when the level of the plain was reached, and pursuer and pursued shot out upon it together. a large herd, feeding not five hundred yards away, was speedily in full flight northward. "a stern chase is a long chase," is no less true in buffalo hunting than in nautical matters. after considerable experience in the sport, i would recommend amateurs to get as near their game as possible before starting, and then try their horses' full metal. once by the side of the game, he can keep there to the end. and so, after a terrible chase, when at times we had almost despaired of overtaking the old fellow, we now found it easy to keep alongside. our bull was a huge one, even among his species, and in such moments of excitement the imagination seems to have a trick of entering the chambers of the eye, and sliding its mirrors into a sort of double focus arrangement. with blood boiling until my heart seemed to bob up and down on its surface, i found myself riding parallel with the brute, and had i never seen him afterward, would have been almost willing to make oath that his size could be represented only by throwing a covering of buffalo robes over an elephant. every one in the party was firing, some having dropped their reins to use their carbines, and others yet guiding their horses with one hand, while they fired their holster revolvers with the other. shooting from the saddle, with a horse going at full speed, needs practice to enable one to hit any thing smaller than a mammoth. you point the weapon, but at the instant your finger presses the trigger, the muzzle may be directed toward the zenith or the earth. an experienced hunter steadies his arm, not allowing it to take part in the motion of his body, no matter how rough the latter may be. but we were not experienced hunters, and so, although such exclamations as, "that told!" "mine went through!" and "perfectly riddled!" were almost as numerous as the bullets, it was easy to see that the flying monster remained unharmed. from the first, mr. colon had fired without taking any aim whatever, and so it happened that his gun, in describing its half circle consequent upon the rising and falling motion of the horse, at length went off at the proper moment, and we heard the thud of the ball as it struck. dropping his head into position as if for a charge, the buffalo whirled sharply to the right, and passing directly between our horses, made off toward the main herd. but he soon slowed down to a walk, and as we again came up with him, we could see the blood trickling from his nose, which he held low like a sick ox. in the excitement of the chase, and perhaps from being well blown before coming near the buffalo, our horses had hitherto shown no fear, but now, as the old bull stood there in all his savage hugeness, and the smell of blood tainted the air, they pushed, jostled, snorted, and pranced, so that it required all our efforts to keep them from downright flight. even dobeen's donkey kept his rider uncertain whether his destiny was to seek the ground or abide in the saddle. the brute stood facing us, perhaps fifty yards off, his eyes rolling wildly from pain and fury, and the blood flowing freely through his nostrils. we were waiting patiently for him to die, when suddenly the head went into position, like a roman battering ram, and down he came upon us. we were utterly routed. no spur was necessary to prompt the horses, and i doubt if their former owners had ever known what latent speed their hides concealed. the whole thing was so sudden there was no time for thought, and all that i can remember is a confused sort of idea that each animal was going off at a tremendous pace, with the rider devoting his energies to sticking on. after the first few jumps, we were no longer an organized company, each brute taking his own course, and carrying us, like fragments of an explosion, in different directions. a marked exception, however, was muggs' mule, which for the only time in his life, seemed unwilling to run away. after being the first to start, and assisting the others to stampede, he stopped suddenly short, depositing his rider something like ten yards ahead of him, in a manner quite the reverse of gentle. we did not stop running as soon as we might have done. and i here enter protest against the nonsense indulged in on one point by most of the novelists who educate people in buffalo lore. when we halted, there stood the bull not thirty yards from the spot where he had first stopped, although we had located him, throughout more than half a mile's ride but a few feet from our horses' tails, and at times had even imagined we heard his deep panting. this mortifying record would have been saved us had we known that a buffalo's charges never extend beyond a short distance. either his adversary or his attack is speedily terminated. he does not pursue, in the "long, deep gallop" style at all. yet i scarcely remember a single instance mentioned in those old books of western adventure, in which a buffalo's charge was for a less distance than a mile. in one case that i now recall, the race was nip and tuck between man and bison for over an hour, and the biped was finally enabled to save his life only by leaving the saddle and swinging into a tree! such stories are simply balderdash. as soon as possible after checking our horses, we rode back toward the wagon and the game, seeing in the former, the grinning faces of our men. the buffalo was still on his feet, but while we looked he slowly sunk to his knees, like an ox lying down to rest, and then quietly reposed on his belly, in the same attitude one sees domestic cattle assume when wishing a quiet chew of the cud. had it not been for his bloody nose and wild eyes, he would have looked as peaceful as any bovine that ever breathed. [illustration: _bureau of illustration_ going after ammunition.] wishing to put the poor brute out of misery, we approached closer, and several of us dismounted, when a general fire was opened. like a cat, the old fellow was on his feet again almost instantly. by a singular coincidence, our entire party just then discovered that we were out of ammunition, and in a body started for the wagon, to get some. muggs afterward assured us that, at the time, he had just got his hand in, "so that every shot told, you know," and i have the authority of all for the deliberate statement that the bull would have been riddled before moving a foot had not the cartridges suddenly given out. the effort of getting up had sent the mass of blood collected from inward bleeding surging out of the buffalo's nose, and, as we looked back, he was tottering feebly, and an instant afterward fell to the ground. there was no doubt now of his death, and we swarmed upon and around him. he was an immense old fellow, and his hide fairly covered with the scars of past battles. inasmuch as this was our first trophy, it was determined to take his skin, and we forthwith seated the professor on his great shaggy neck, with the horns forming arms for an impromptu hunter's throne. from thence he wrote upon leaves from his note-book a letter to his class at the east, which he permitted me to copy. i introduce it here, as showing that the blood of even a savan pulsates warmly amid such circumstances as now surrounded us. "on a buffalo, in the } year of my happiness, one.} "_dear class_--i know the staid and quiet habits that characterize all of you, and that you are not given to hard riding and buffalo hunting. yet this prairie air, with its rich fragrance and wild freeness, would give a new circulation to the blood of each one of you. like a gale at sea, the breeze sweeps against one's cheeks, and the great billows of land rise on every side, as mountains of troubled ocean. why not desert the city and lose yourself for awhile in this great grand waste? antelope are bounding and buffalo running on every side of us, while villages of prairie dogs bark at the flying herds. one grows in self-estimation after breathing this air, and, feeling that safety and life depend on his own exertions, learns to place reliance upon the powers which nature has given him, with manly independence of artificial laws and police. "while i am writing, the first victim of our prowess, a magnificent specimen of the american bison, is being skinned by our suite, the robe from which, when prepared, we intend sending you. the men say it must be dressed by some of the civilized indians on the reserves, as the white man's tanning injures the value. * * * * * "the robe is now off, and half a ton of fat meat lies exposed. we shall only take the hind quarters, a portion of the hump, and the tongue. how glad the famishing wretches in the tenement houses of the city would be for an opportunity to pick those long ribs which we leave for the wolves! his horns are somewhat battered, but we have cut them off, to supplant hooks on a future hat-rack. one of the men has just taken a large musket ball from the animal's flank. that shot must have been received years ago, as the ball is an old fashioned one and is thickly encased in fat. "the geological formation of the country is very interesting. i expect to examine the same more thoroughly after we have studied the animals traversing its surface. yesterday, we had in camp a family from the solomon, who were sufferers some months since from the fearful indian massacre there. their story was an exceedingly interesting one, though very sad. we shall visit them if duty calls that way. i must close. the men have thrown the skin in the wagon, flesh side up, and deposited the meat upon it, and all are now ready for further conquests. "your sincere friend and instructor, "h----." chapter xviii. still hunting--dark objects against the horizon--the red man again--retreat to camp--preparations for defense--shaking hands with death--mr. colon's bugs--the embassadors--a new alarm--more indians--terrific battle between pawnees and cheyennes--their mode of fighting--good horsemanship--a scientific party as sextons--ditto as surgeons--camps of the combatants--stealing away--an apparition. our further conquests for that day, it was decided, could best be effected by still hunting. the guide had suggested that, if we desired to fill our wagon with meat and get back to camp before night, we might profitably adopt the practice of old hunters, who, when they pursue bison, "mean business." the new tactics consisted of infantry evolutions, and required a dismounting of the cavalry. we were to crawl up to the herds, through ravines, and from those ambuscades open fire. a mile away buffalo were feeding in large numbers, and our men pointed out several swales into which we could sink from the surface of the plains, and, following the winding lines, find cover until emerging among the herd. but while we were still gazing at the latter, sharp and distinct against the northern horizon appeared other objects, evidently mounted men, and men in that direction meant indians. it is wonderful how quickly one's ardor disappears, when, from being the hunter, he becomes the hunted. our only desire now was, in sachem's language, "a hankering arter camp," which we at once proceeded to gratify. back again with the remainder of our party, we felt quite safe. indians of the plains seldom attack an armed body which is prepared for them; and then there had been no recent demonstrations of hostility. on the other hand, no massacre had yet occurred upon the frontier which was not unexpected. the whole life of many of these nomads has been a catalogue of surprises. it was artemus ward, i think, who knew mules that would be good for weeks, for the sake of getting a better opportunity of kicking a man. these savages will do the same for the sake of killing one. many an armed man, fully capable of defending himself, has thus been thrown off his guard, and sent suddenly into eternity. the cunning savage, seeing his foe prepared, approaches with signs of friendship, and cries of "how, how?"--indian and short for "how are you?" their extended hands meet, and as the palms touch, the pale-face shakes hands with death; for, while his fingers are held fast in that treacherous clasp, some other savage brains him from behind, or sheaths a knife in his heart, and the betrayed white, jerked forward with a fiendish laugh, kisses the grass with bloody lips. we had been repeatedly warned by our guides that, when in the minority, the only safe way to hold councils with the indians is at rifle range. even if bound by treaty, a knowledge that they can take your scalp without losing their own, is like binding a thief with threads of gold: the very power which should restrain, is in itself a temptation. our little camp soon bristled all over with defiance, a sort of mammoth porcupine presenting points at every angle for the enemy's consideration. our animals were put safely under cover among the trees, where they could not be easily stampeded; the wagons were ranged in a crescent, forming excellent defense for our exposed side; and pockets were hurriedly filled with ammunition. as we were thus earnestly preparing for war, an entomological accident occurred. sachem, while excitedly thrusting a handful of cartridges into mr. colon's pockets, suddenly drew back his hand with an expression of alarm, bringing with it a whole assortment of bugs. one of the pocket-cases of our entomologist had opened, and the inmates, imprisoned but that morning, were now swarming over our fat friend's fingers, and up his arm, which he was shaking vigorously. there they were--rare bugs and plethoric spiders, together with one lively young lizard--all clinging to the limb which had brought them rescue from their cavernous cell with more tenacity than if they had been stuck on with spalding's glue. poor sachem! while he danced and fumed, and gave his opinion of bug-men generally, mr. colon cried--"o, my bugs, my beautiful bugs!" and grasped eagerly at his vanishing treasures. our alderman disengaged himself at length from his noxious visitors, and meanwhile the other members of the party, having provided themselves, poured into the other pocket of the grieved naturalist a further supply of cartridges, thereby utterly annihilating the remainder of his collection. our preparations being concluded, and still no signs of the indians, we sat down to dinner. shamus was terribly agitated, and the shades of dyspepsia hovered over his cooking; but, although the coffee was muddy and the meat burned, we were in no mood to take exceptions. there was considerable determination visible on the faces of all our party. the red man was getting to be as sore a trouble to us as the black man had been to politicians, and having already lost a day on his account, we were now fully resolved to hold our ground. we had seen the savage in all the terrors of his war-paint, and felt a very comforting degree of assurance that a dozen cool-headed hunters, mostly armed with breech-loaders, possessed the odds. at length, along the edge of the breaks beyond the saline, a dark object appeared, followed by another and then another in rapid succession, until forty unmistakable indians came in sight, and were bearing directly toward us, following the tracks of our wagons. half a mile off they halted, and then we saw one big fellow ride forward alone. his form seemed a familiar one, and soon it revealed itself as that of our late friend, white wolf. now we had, but a few days before, in the space of four brief hours, concluded at least forty treaties of peace with this chief and his drunken braves; yet, remembering past history, we should have wanted at least as many more treaties, before taking the chances of having one of them kept, and admitting the painted heathens before us to full confidence and fellowship. as the leader of our party, it devolved upon the professor to go forward and meet the chief, which he promptly did, taking along our man who was acting in cody's place as guide, to assist him in comprehending the savage's wishes. midway between us the respective embassadors met. we heard the chief's loud "how, how?" and saw their hand-shaking, and could not help wondering what the philosopher's class would say, could they have beheld their honored tutor officiating as a frontispiece for such a savage background. white wolf stated that he had been out after pawnees; he could not find them, and so "indian felt heap bad!" just at this instant a loud, quick cry came from his knot of warriors, who were now manifesting the wildest excitement, lashing up their ponies, stringing their bows, and making other preparations as if for a fight. without a word, the chief turned and ran for dear life toward his band, while the professor and our guide wheeled and ran for dear life toward us. seldom has the man of science made such progress as did the respected leader of our expedition then. the guide called, "cover us with your guns!"--a command which we immediately proceeded to obey, evidently to the intense alarm of the professor, for so completely were they covered, that i doubt if either would have escaped, had we been called upon to fire. our first thought had been a suspicion of treachery, but we now saw that the cheyennes had faced toward the hills, and, following their gaze, we beheld coming down their trail, and upon the tracks of our wagon, another band of mounted indians. it soon became clear to us that the pawnees, the wolf's failure to find whom had made that noble red man feel "heap bad," were coming to find him. we counted them riding along, twenty-five in all--inferior in numbers, it was true, but superior to the cheyennes in respect to their arms, so that, upon the whole, the two forces now about to come together were not unevenly matched. the pawnees live beyond the platte, and for years have been friendly to the whites, even serving in the wars against the other tribes on several occasions. what a stir there was in the late peaceful valley! the buffalo that were lately feeding along the brow of the plateau had all fled, and here right before us were sixty-five native americans, bent upon killing each other off, directly under the eyes of their traditional destroyer, the white man. the professor said it forcibly suggested to his mind some of the fearful gladiatorial tragedies of antiquity. sachem responded that he wasn't much of a roman himself, but he could say that in this show he was very glad we occupied the box-seat, the safest place anywhere around there; and we all decided that it must be a face-to-face fight, in which neither party dare run, as that would be disorganization and destruction. it was strange to see these wild ishmaelites of the plains warring against each other. over the wide territory, broad enough for thousands of such pitiful tribes, they had sought out each other for a bloody duel, like two gangs of pirates in combat on mid-ocean; and, like them, if either or both were killed, the world would be all the better for it. it was clearly what would be called, on wall street, a "brokers' war," in which, when the operators are preying on each other, outsiders are safe. while we were looking, a wild, disagreeable shout came up from the twenty-five pawnees, as they charged down into the valley, which was promptly responded to by fierce yells from the forty cheyennes. "let it be our task to bury the dead," said the professor, looking toward the wagon in which rested his geological spade. "it is extremely problematical whether any of these red men will go out of the valley alive." and thus another wonderful change had come over the spirit of our dream. from being a scientific and sporting expedition, we had been suddenly metamorphosed into a gang of sextons, who, in a valley among the buffaloes, were witnessing an indian battle, and waiting to bury the slain. as the pawnees came down at full gallop, the cheyennes lashed up their ponies to meet them. then came the crack of pistols, and a perfect storm of arrows passed and crossed each other in mid-air. as the combatants met, we could see them poking lances at each other's ribs for an instant, and then each side retreated to its starting point. charge first was ended. we gazed over the battle-field to count the dead, but to our surprise none appeared. [illustration: battle between cheyennes and pawnees.] a few minutes were spent by both parties in a general overhauling of their equipments, and then another charge was made. they rode across each other's fronts and around in circles, firing their arrows and yelling like demons, and occasionally, when two combatants accidentally got close together, prodding away with lances. the oddest part of the whole terrible tragedy to us was that the charges looked, when closely approaching each other, as if they were being made by two riderless bands of wild ponies. the indians would lie along that side of their horses which was turned away from the enemy, and fire their pistols and shoot their arrows from under the animals' necks, thus leaving exposed in the saddle only that portion of the savage anatomy which was capable of receiving the largest number of arrows with results the least possibly dangerous. i noticed one fat old fellow whose pony carried him out of battle with two arrows sticking in the portion thus unprotected, like pins in a cushion. he still kept up his yelling, but it struck me that there was a touch of anguish in the tone, and i felt confident that he would not sit down and tell his children of the battle for some time to come. we saw one exhibition of horsemanship which especially excited our admiration. an arrow struck a cheyenne on the forehead, glancing off, but stunning him so with its iron point, that, after swaying in the saddle for an instant, he fell to the earth. another of the tribe, who was following at full speed, leaned toward the ground, and checking his pony but slightly, seized the prostrate warrior by the waistband, and, flinging him across his horse in front of the saddle, rode on out of the battle. for several hours--indeed until the sun was low in the heavens and the shadows crept into the valley--this terrible fray continued, the charging, shouting, and firing being kept up until both combatants had worked down the river so far that we could no longer see them. it was approaching the dusk of evening when white wolf and his band rode back. we counted them and found the original forty still alive. the chief assured us they had killed "heap pawnees," whereupon some of us sallied forth to visit the battle-field. three dead ponies lay there, and with a disagreeable sensation we looked around, expecting to discover the mangled riders near by. not one was visible, however, nor even the least sign of their blood. the grass was not sodden with gore, nor did a single rigid arm or aboriginal toe stick up in the gathering gloom. neither the wolves or buzzards gathered over the field, and slowly the conviction dawned upon us that indian battles, like some other things, are not always what they seem. as we turned again toward camp, the professor, dragging his spade after him, suggested that, in accordance with the reputed habits of these savages, the pawnees had perhaps carried off their dead. but at the instant, only a short distance down the river, the camp-fire of that miserable and all but annihilated band glimmered forth. it was decidedly too bold and cheerful for the use of twenty-five ghosts, and we knew then that white wolf had lied. that valorous chieftain we found limping around outside our wagons, with a lance-cut in one of his legs, while several of his warriors had arrow-wounds, and one a pistol-shot, none of the injuries, however, being dangerous. the pawnees probably suffered with equal severity; and this was the sum total of the day's frightful carnage--the entire result of all the fierce display that we had witnessed. not long afterward, in front of a government fort, and in plain sight of the garrison, a battle occurred between two large parties of rival tribes, about equal in numbers. back and forth, amid furious cries and clouds of arrows, the hostile savages charged. noon saw the affair commenced, and sunset scarcely beheld its ending. the government report states, if my memory serves me correctly, that one indian and two horses were killed; and a shade of doubt still exists among the witnesses whether that one unlucky warrior did not break his neck by the fall of his pony! these savages fight on horseback, and are neither bold nor successful, except when the attacking party is overwhelming in numbers, and then the affair becomes a massacre. all this knowledge came to us afterward, but our first introduction to it was a surprise. kind-hearted man though he was, i think the resultless ending of the battle disconcerted even the professor. having nerved one's self to expect horrors, it is natural to seek, on the gloomy mirror of fate, some rays of glimmering light which can be turned to advantage. i think the professor's rays, had the contest proved as sanguinary as we first anticipated, would have found their focus in some stout cask containing a nicely-pickled pawnee or cheyenne _en route_ to a distant dissecting table. it would have been rather a novel way, i have always thought, of sending the untutored savage to college. we made a requisition upon our medicine-chest, and dressed the wounds of the suffering warriors. white wolf stripped to the waist, and, exposing his broad, muscular form, exhibited thirty-six scars, where, in different battles, lances and arrows had struck him. it struck us all as a rather remarkable circumstance, though we prudently refrained from commenting upon it just then, that nearly all these scars were on his back. the chief expressed great friendship for us, and i really believe he felt it. sachem's stout form was especially the object of his admiration. between these two worthies a very cordial regard seemed to be springing up, until white wolf unluckily offered him an indian bride and a hundred buffalo robes, if he would go with the band to its wigwams on the arkansas--a proposition which disgusted our alderman beyond measure. savages, sooner or later, generally scalp white sons-in-law, and it would be "heap good" for the cheyenne to have such an opportunity always handy. sachem declined the honor with all the dignity he could command, and carefully avoided "the match-making old heathen," as he termed him, for the remainder of the evening. we kept early hours that night. guard was doubled, to prevent any possible treachery, and a sleepy party laid down to rest. the cheyennes went into camp a few hundred yards up the creek, a barely perceptible light, looking from our tents like a fire-fly, marking the spot. when a "cold camp" is discovered on the plains, the experienced frontiersman can always determine at once whether white men or indians made it, by the size of the ash-heap. the former, even when trying to make their fire a small one, will consume in one evening as much fuel as would last the red man a half-moon. the latter, putting together two or three buffalo chips, or as many twigs, will huddle over them when ignited, and extract warmth and heat enough for cooking from a flame that could scarcely be seen twenty yards. the two opposing parties, which were now resting only a mile or so apart, had each tested the other's metal, and, as the sequel proved, found them foemen worthy of their _steal_. from the unconcealed fires in their respective camps, we concluded that neither side had any intention of attacking, or fear of being attacked. it was early in the dawn of the next morning when we were startled from our slumbers by a terrific cry from shamus, which brought all of us to our tent-doors, with rifles in hand ready to do battle, in the shortest possible time. looking out, we beheld our cook standing near the first preparations of breakfast, and gazing with astonished eyes toward the darkness under the trees, among which we heard, or at least imagined we heard, the stealthy steps of moccasined feet. in answer to our interrogatories, shamus stated that just as he was putting the meat in the pan, he saw the light of the fire reflected, for an instant, on a painted face peering out at him from behind a tree. "faith, but i shaved the lad's head wid the skillet!" said dobeen, and sure enough we found that article of culinary equipment lying at the foot of the suspected cottonwood, badly bent from contact with something, but whether that something was the bark or a painted skull is known only to that skulking cheyenne. we waited until broad daylight, but no further disturbance occurred, and what was strangest of all, the valley both above and below us seemed entirely destitute of either pawnee or cheyenne. a reconnoissance, which was made by the professor, mr. colon, and our guide, developed the fact that not being able to steal any thing else, the savages had executed the difficult military maneuver of stealing away. just before daybreak, the pawnees had gone due north, and the cheyennes, about the same time, due south. as white wolf had expressed a cold-blooded intention of exterminating the remnant of his foes in the morning, the pitying stars may have taken the matter in hand and misled him; and if so, how disappointed that blood-thirsty band must have been when their path brought them into their own village, instead of the pawnee camp! in confirmation of this astrological suggestion, i may say that while in topeka i saw "stars," on several occasions, leading indians in the opposite direction from that in which they wished to go. in due time our party sat down to another plentiful breakfast, which was eaten with all the more relish because we had all that little world to ourselves again. discussing dobeen's apparition, we finally came to the unanimous conclusion that it was some indian who, while his brothers stole away, had straggled behind, to pick up a keepsake. i think that hideous face among the trees never entirely ceased to haunt the chamber of dobeen's memory. he shied as badly as did muggs' mule, when in strange timber, and was ever afterward a warm advocate for pitching camp on the open prairie. in justice to white wolf, it should be stated that we afterward learned that while charging in such a mistaken direction after pawnees that morning, he met two men from hays city, out after buffalo meat. finding that they were from the village which had been kind to him, he loaded their wagons with fat quarters, instead of filling their bodies with arrows, as they had first expected, and sent them home rejoicing. chapter xix. stalking the bison--buffalo as oxen--expensive power--a buffalo at a lunatic asylum--the gateway to the herds--infernal grape-shot--nature's bomb-shells--crawling bedouins--"thar they hump"--the slaughter begun--an ineffectual charge--"ketching the critter"--return to camp--calves' head on the stomach--an unpleasant episode--wolf baiting, and how it is done. breakfast over, the day's work was planned out. we were desirous of loading one of our wagons with game, and sending it back to hays, from whence the meat could be forwarded by express to distant friends, and serve as tidings from camp, of "all's well." the other wagon we decided to keep with us. horseback hunting, although fine sport, evidently would not, in our hands, prove sufficiently expeditious in procuring meat. our guide adduced another argument as follows: "yer see, gents, if yer want ter ship meat by rail, it won't do ter run it eight or ten miles, like a fox, and git it all heated up. ther jints must be cool, or they'll spile." stalking the bison was to be our day's sport, therefore, and we were speedily off, taking only the two wagons, the riding animals being all left in camp. shamus prepared a lunch for us, as we did not expect to return for dinner before dusk. following the same route as the day before, we soon ascended the saline "breaks," and emerged on the plains above. looking to us as if they had not changed position for twenty-four hours, the buffalo herds still covered the face of the country, busy as ever in their constant occupation of feeding. for animals which perform no labor, they have an egregious appetite, eating as if they were nature's lawn-gardeners, and were under contract with her to keep the grass shaved. what an immense aggregate of animal power was running to waste before us. those huge shoulders, to which the whole body seemed simply a base, were just the things for neck-yokes. others, indeed, had thought the same before us, and tried to utilize these wild oxen. a gentleman at salina, kansas, obtained two buffalo calves, and trained them carefully to the yoke. they pulled admirably, but their very strength proved a temptation to them. a pasture-fence was no obstacle in the way of their sweet will. not that they went over it, but they simply walked through it, boards being crushed as readily as a willow thicket. in summer they took the shortest road to water, regardless of intervening obstructions, and they thought nothing of flinging themselves over a perpendicular bank, wagon and all. after carefully calculating the result of his experiment at the end of the first year, the owner decided that, although he undoubtedly had a large amount of power on hand, he could obtain a similar quantity, at less expense, by buying a couple of steam-engines. a few months previous to our trip, a contractor on the kansas pacific railroad determined to domesticate a young bison bull, and accordingly took it to his home at cincinnati. proving a cross customer, he presented it to the longview lunatic asylum, near that city, but there was no inmate insane enough to occupy the yard simultaneously with taurus for any length of time. the first day he charged among the lunatics in a reckless manner, eliciting surprising activity of crazy legs. if exercise for their minds was what the poor creatures needed, they certainly obtained it, by calculating when and where to dodge. without loss of time, we set about finding a gateway into the herds. looking at the surface before us, it appeared a level, unbroken plain, quite to the verge where it rolled up against the distant horizon. one would have maintained that even a ditch, if there, might be traced in its meanderings across the smooth brown floor. yet deep ravines, miles in length, wound in and out among the herds, though to us entirely invisible. a short search discovered one of these, which promised to answer our purpose, and to lead to a spot where a large number of cows and calves were feeding. fortunately the wind was north, so that we could creep into its teeth without sending to the timid mothers any tell-tale taint. the wagons were stopped, and we got out, and descending into the hollow, moved forward. the walls on either side seemed disagreeably close. all around us was animal life, a small portion of which would have been sufficient, if so disposed, to make the concealed path which we were traversing a veritable "last ditch" to us. as we entered the ravine, some cayotes slunk out of it ahead of us, and one large gray wolf, with long gallop, disappeared over the banks. the temptation to fire at them was very strong, but prudence and the guide forbade. we picked up some very fine specimens of "infernal grape," in the form of nearly round balls of iron pyrites. they lay upon the surface like canister-shot upon a battle-field. it seemed as if during the early period, when mother earth began to cool off a little, her fiery heart still palpitated so violently under her thin bodice, that beads of the molten life within, like drops of perspiration, had forced their way through, and, in cooling, had retained their bubble-like form. we could have picked up a half-bushel of them which would have made very fair aliment for cannon. the dogs of war could have spit them out as spitefully and fatally against human hearts as if the morsels had been prepared by human hands. from such well-molded shot, of no mortal make, milton might have obtained his charges for those first cannon which the traitor-angel invented and employed against the embattled hosts of heaven. shamus, when he afterward became acquainted with the specimens, called them "a rattlin' shower of witches' pebbles." we also passed large surfaces of white rock, which were sprinkled all over with dark, hollow balls, of a vitrified substance. most of them were imbedded midway in the rock, leaving a hemisphere exposed which, in color and form, was an exact counterpart of a large bomb. if the reader has ever seen a shell partly imbedded in the substance against which it was fired, this description will be perfectly plain. there were indications that a volcano had once existed in this vicinity, and it seemed highly probable that the red-hot balls which it projected into air had fallen and cooled in the soft formation adjacent, still retaining their original shape. we should have lingered longer over these geological curiosities, had not the premonitory symptoms of a scientific lecture from the professor alarmed our guide into the remonstrance, "you're burnin' daylight, gents!" and thus warned, we pushed forward. a few hundred yards further brought us to the spot for commencing active operations. dropping upon hands and knees, we began crawling along the side of the ravine in a line, pushing our guns before us. we knew that the buffalo must be very close, for we could hear the measured cropping of their teeth upon the grass. they seemed to be feeding toward us, as we slowly drew up to the level. i found myself trembling all over, so nervous that the cracking of a weed under our guns sounded to me as loud as a pistol-shot. i looked around, and the stories which i had read in my youth of adventures in oriental lands rose fresh to my memory. i almost imagined our party a dozen wild bedouins, creeping from ambush to fire upon a caravan, the first note of alarm to which would be a storm of musketry. unshaven faces, soiled clothes, and rough hair, assisted us to the personation, and if aught else was needed to carry out the fancy, it soon came in a low "hist!" from the guide, as he pointed to the level above us. following the direction of his finger, we saw some hairy lumps, about the size of muffs, not fifty yards in front of us, bobbing up and down just above the line which defined the prairie's edge against the sky. for an instant, we supposed them to be small animals of some sort, playing on the slope, but the low voice of the guide said, "thar they hump, gents!" and we caught the word at once, just as the whaler does the welcome cry of "there she blows," from the look-out aloft. what we saw, of course, were the humps of buffaloes moving slowly forward as they fed. at a word from our guide, we halted for last preparations. "fire at the nearest cows, gents," he said, "and if you get one down, and keep hid, you'll have lots of shots at the bulls gatherin' round." muggs was continually getting his gun crosswise, so that should it go off ahead of time, as usual, it would shoot somebody on the left, and kick some one on the right. just ahead of us, a prairie dog sat on his castle wall, and barked constantly. but, fortunately, neither his signals nor our grumbled remonstrances to the briton seemed to attract the attention of the herd in the least degree. a few more feet of cautious crawling, and several buffaloes stood revealed, a cow and calf among the number. the mother espied us, and lifting her uncouth head, with its crooked, homely horns, regarded us for an instant with a quiet sort of feminine curiosity, and then went to feeding again. she probably considered us a parcel of sneaking wolves, and being conscious of having hosts of protectors near her, was not at all frightened. almost simultaneously, the guns of the whole party were at shoulder, and just as the cow lifted her head again, to watch the movement, we fired. the fate of that bison was as effectually sealed as that of the condemned army horse which was first used to tell paris and the world the terrors of the mitrailleuse. the poor creature gave a quick whirl to the right, made two convulsive jumps, and then stood still. she dropped her nose, a gush of blood following fast; her whole frame shuddered, as the air from the lungs tried to force its way through the clotted tide, and then she fell dead, almost crushing the calf also. the smell of the blood seemed to excite the bulls more than the report of the guns, which had only startled them for an instant. some stood stupidly snuffing about the prostrate victim, while others, straightening out their tails, marched uneasily around. lying on the ground, and our heads only visible, we kept up a constant firing. it was almost impossible not to hit some of the old bulls. the veterans were wounded rapidly, and in all portions of their bodies. one old fellow, who had been standing with his rear to us, suddenly took it into his head to run for dear life, and away he went accordingly, with his hams looking very much like the end of a huge pepper-box. two or three others soon began to show signs of grogginess, being drunk with the blood which was collecting internally from their many wounds. one bulky and distressed specimen suddenly caught a glimpse of the professor's hat. forthwith the tail was straightened and raised stiffly into the air, the head was lowered, and down he came upon us at full charge. such a proceeding, a few days before, would simply have resolved itself into a question whether he could catch us or not. now, however, we stood our ground, or rather we lay upon it very firmly, while enough of us took careful aim to batter his bones fast and sorely. before taking twenty steps, he was limping from a shattered foreleg, and in a moment more came to a sullen halt, and shook his old head in impotent rage. his eyes were fixed fiercely upon ours; he evidently desired nothing in the world so much as to get forward for a closer acquaintance, but his broken bones forbade. we fired rapidly, and fairly loaded his body with lead before he allowed death to trip him from his feet. he never took his eyes from off us, until the body rolled over, and i thanked our breech-loaders which had prevented the poor beast from having a fair chance. three buffalo were down, as the result of our first "stalk." the herd had fled, but the calf we had first seen remained standing stupidly by his dead mother. "let's ketch the critter," said our guide, and to catch him we accordingly prepared. the first movement was to surround him, which done, we began closing in upon him. he was hardly larger than a good-sized goat, and we feared might succeed in dodging us, but as the circle narrowed, our hopes of securing a live specimen increased. suddenly, the little fellow seemed aware of his danger, and, whirling about, with head down, made a dart for the open space between sachem and the guide. as they closed to prevent his escape, our fat friend went down with a butt in the stomach, which, although far from pleasant, was nevertheless the occasion of sufficient delay on the part of the calf to enable the guide and semi-colon to lay firm hold upon him. it was wonderful what a warlike little fellow he proved, butting undauntedly at our legs, and uttering, as he did so, a hissing noise. "but me no butts," exclaimed the professor, with a facetiousness which from him was almost as amusing to the rest of us as the pugnacity of the calf, as he sprang aside to avoid a blow on the knee, and suddenly recognized duty's call in another direction. it was not long, however, before the little animal was securely bound, and laid in one of the wagons, which by this time had come up. the work of skinning and cutting up our game now began, the robe of the cow proving finer than that from either of the others. our men told us that from one position old hunters sometimes shoot down a dozen buffalo before the herd takes flight. success is much more probable if the first victim is a female. other herds invited our attention, and by three o'clock in the afternoon we had twenty quarters secured, and were returning to camp. only the first three robes had been taken off, the skin being left on the rest of the meat, the better to preserve it from soiling. such hunting fatigues one, and we were glad enough to see the smoke of our fire rising from the valley, and to anticipate the dinner which we felt was waiting for us. the plains tired us, and so did conversation, and all instinctively felt that any attempt at a joke, in our hungry, worn out condition, would have caused an all but fiendish state of feeling. momus himself could not have made that party smile. most of us had taken part in cutting up the carcasses, and as we now rode home, sitting on the skin-covered quarters, we looked like a party of butchers returning from the slaughter-pens. as we drew close to camp, how goodly a sight did shamus seem, in his white apron, bidding us "hurry to yer dinner!" while backing up his invitation were the brown turkeys, the stews and roasts, the white bread and yellow butter, and a clean table-cloth. on the spot, we could have pardoned shamus all his notions of witchcraft, and i think that sachem's charity just then would even have covered our cook's late weakness in the line of "spooning." the professor's science, colon's philanthropy, sachem's wealth of worldly wisdom, and muggs' british self-complacency, all combined, offered no such consolation, in this hour of sober realities, as the simple irishman, with his basting-spoon. water from the brook and towels from the chest soon removed blood and dust, and dinner followed. shamus had many a mark scored against sachem for attacks on himself and his ancestry, and ventured during dinner to rub out one, by asking tammany, in a very respectful manner, and as if it was a matter of our _cuisine_, whether calves' heads agreed with his stomach. what would have been called in washington, "an unpleasant episode," was discovered by muggs in the center of a biscuit. taking a hearty british bite from it, various hairy lines followed the morsel into his mouth, and caught among his teeth. examination revealed one of mr. colon's choicest spiders, which by some means had effected his escape and crawled into the dough. it was hard to tell which was most incensed, the briton or the entomologist. sachem remarked that the specimen was much kneaded, and added it to our bill of fare as "game, breaded." as night approached, our mexicans prepared for wolf-baiting. during the day they had shot two or three old bulls, which wandered within half a mile of camp, and now the swarthy fellows intended to turn an honest penny. for these purposes professional hunters, and occasionally teamsters on the plains, provide themselves with bottles of strychnine, and a quantity of this was accordingly produced. we went with the men to see the operation, as it clearly came within the province of our studies. with their knives the mexicans cut from the carcass lumps of flesh about the size of one's fist, into which gashes were made, doses of strychnine inserted, and the flesh then pressed together again. the balls, thus charged, were scattered close around the carcass, and a few laid upon it. cuts were also made, and the poison introduced in various parts of the hams. as many as fifty doses were thus prepared, and we then returned to camp. no cayote serenade occurred that night, the musicians evidently being busy drawing sweetness from the cords of the slain. a solemn hush lay over the land, for the bisons are a quiet race, and, except in novels, never take to roaring any more than they do to ten-mile charges. chapter xx. the cayotes' strychnine feast--capturing a timber wolf--a few cords of victims--what the law considers "indian tan"--"finishing" the new york market--a new york farmer's opinion of our gray wolf--westward again--episodes in our journey--the wild huntress of the plains--was our guide a murderer?--the reader joins us in a buffalo chase--the dying agonies. the next day's life began, as did the previous one, before sunrise, and while breakfast was cooking, we followed the mexicans down to examine their baits. the ground around the carcasses was flecked with forms which, in the early light, looked like sleeping sheep. a half-dozen or more wolves, which were still feeding, scampered away at our approach. from the number of animals lying around, we at first supposed most of them simply gorged, but the rapid, satisfied jabbering of the mexicans quickly convinced us that the strychnine had been doing its work more effectually than we had given it credit for. twenty-three dead wolves were found, and the even two dozen was made up by a large specimen of the gray variety--or timber-wolf, as it is called in contradistinction from the cayote--who was exceedingly sick, and went rolling about in vain efforts to get out of the way. before proceeding to skin the dead wolves, the mexicans captured this old fellow and haltered him, by carbine straps, to the horns of one of the buffalo carcasses, near which he sat on his haunches, with eyes yellow from rage and fright. just to stir him up, we tossed him a piece of bone; he caught it between his long fangs with a click that made our nerves twitch. man never appreciates the wonderful command that god gave him over the other animals until away from his fellows, and surrounded by the wild beasts of the solitudes, in all their native fierceness. here were a few mortals of us encompassed by wolves, in sufficient numbers and power to annihilate our party, and yet one solitary man walking toward them would have put the whole brute multitude to flight. although we wondered, at the time, that so many wolves were gathered from a single baiting, we soon learned that this success was by no means unusual. at grinnel station, where a corporal's guard was stationed, we afterward saw over forty dead wolves, and most of them of the gray variety, stacked up, like cord-wood, as the result of one night's poisoning by the soldiers. the remainder of this day was devoted to stalking, and resulted in our obtaining a sufficiency of robes and meat to justify us in sending the two mexican wagons back with them to hays. our two captives, the buffalo calf and wolf, went also. the history of that shipment merits brief chronicling. the robes went to st. louis, to a man who advertised a patent way of curing such skins, "warranted as good as indian tan." some months afterward they were returned to topeka, duly finished, and i find in the official note-book the following entry. "robes received to-day. resolution, by the company, to learn what the law would consider 'indian tan,' in a suit for damages." they had been shaved so thin that the roots of the hair stuck out on the inside, while the patent liquid in which they had been soaked gave forth an odor which would have been wonderful for its permanency, if it had not been still more wonderful for its offensiveness. of the meat, a portion went to our friends, and the balance to fulton market, new york. in the first quarter, it carried dyspepsia and disgust, and was so tough that the recipients, with the utmost effort, could not find a tender regret for our danger in obtaining it; while our new york consignee wrote that the first morning's steaks "finished the market," and very nearly finished his customers. he found it impossible, even by the fulton market method of subtraction, to get three hundred dollars' worth of express charges out of half that amount of sales, and suggested a discontinuance of shipments. the buffalo calf died on the cars, which probably saved somebody's bones from being broken in celebration of his maturity. the gray wolf got safely to the state of new york, but escaping soon after, a county hunt became necessary, to save the sheep from total extinction. one farmer, in his ire, even went so far as to threaten us with a suit for violating the law, and importing a pauper and disreputable character into the state. our experience may be useful to future hunters, to all of whom we would say, unless solely to find amusement, never kill old bulls. cows and calves are generally juicy and tender, but not so the veterans; they, after death, butt around among one's digestive organs with a ferocity which makes the liver ache. being most easily obtained, bull beef is generally all that is sent to market, and thus many a patriarchal bison, dead, accomplishes more in retaliation for his sudden taking-off than the fates ever permitted him to do in lusty life. * * * * * a few days more were spent in our silver creek camp, and we then folded our tents and took a westward course, with the purpose of examining, not only the remoter regions of kansas, but also the colorado portion of the plains. the new town of sheridan, fourteen miles east of the state line, and nine from fort wallace, was our objective point. "gentlemen," said the professor, as we packed and adjusted our things in the wagons, "we are now to climb for a hundred miles directly up the roof of the rocky mountain water-shed, its long rivers and rich valleys forming the gutters, or spouts, to carry off the surplus water." sachem, who dreaded these lectures almost as much as he did crinoline, interposed with some of his usual badinage; but among irreverent classes of sophomores and freshmen, the professor had learnt to answer only such questions as were relevant, and to pass all others by unheeded. for this reason such interruptions never broke the thread of his discourse, and but temporarily checked its unwinding. in a few minutes, however, the wagons started, and our expedition began crawling up the slope of the professor's metaphorical roof, and thereupon our worthy leader's discourse was brought to a graceful conclusion. for four days we continued our westward journey, the soft grass carpet beneath us ever stretching away to the horizon in its tiresome sameness, its figures of buffalo and antelope, big antlered elk and skulking wolves woven more beautifully upon its brown ground than in the rug-work of the looms. how i loved to sit upon such rugs, when a child, and gaze at the strange figures, as they were lit up by the flashing fire-light! memory recalled one very impracticable reindeer, which used to lie just in front of a maiden aunt's chair, representing a brussels manufacturer's idea of the animal. his horns were longer than his head, body and tail combined, and the spring he was making, when transfixed by the loom, brought his nose so close to the ground, that my older boyhood calculated the immense antlers would certainly have tipped him over had he not been held back by the threads. but to return to the plains. we examined highlands and lowlands for poor soil, but found none. what we had once expected to see a bed of sand, if ever we saw it at all, turned up under the spade a rich dark loam, in depth and character fully equal to an illinois prairie. together with those other legends, localized drought and grasshoppers, the american desert, when revealed by the head-light of civilization, had taken to itself the wings of a myth, and fled away. there was a great sameness in the climate, as well as the scenery. day followed day, with its sunshine and its winds, the latter being decidedly the most disagreeable feature of the entire trip. various episodes marked our journey from silver creek to sheridan. a few only of the more noteworthy incidents can be transferred to these pages. they will suffice, however, as specimens of our adventures, and help the reader, i trust, to a better acquaintance with the free, wild life of the west. the second day after leaving silver creek, we suddenly encountered another specialty of the plains, the "wild huntress." so often has this personage and her male counterpart danced, with big letters and a bowie-knife, across yellow covers, that we met the "original jacobs" of the tribe gleefully. she came to us in a cloud of buffalo, with black eyes glittering like a snake's, and coarse and uncombed hair that tangled itself in the wind, and streamed and twisted behind her like writhing vipers. a black riding habit flowed out in the strong breeze, its train snapping like a loose sail, and a black mustang fled from her indian lash--the dark wild horse, a fit carrier for such somber outfit. she was introduced to us by the bison herd, which came thundering across our front, with this strange figure pressing its flank and darting hither and thither from one outskirt of the flying multitude to the other. the reins lay loose on the neck of her mustang, which entered into the fierce chase like a bloodhound, doubling and twisting on its course with an agility that was wonderful. one hand of the huntress held out a holster revolver, which she fired occasionally, but with uncertain aim, one of the bullets indeed whistling our way. the chase constituted the excitement that she sought, and the pistol was little more than a spur to urge it on. "that's ann, poor p--'s wife," said our guide. "crazy since the indians killed her husband. he was a contractor on the railroad; his camp used to be just above hays. she lives in the old 'dug-out' on the line yet, and spends half her time chasing buffalo. she never kills none, but that isn't what she is after. she wants to be moving, and just as wild as she can; it sort o' relieves her mind." the huntress had seen our outfit, and rode toward us. the face was a very plain one, with a vacant yet anxious expression, and the tightly-drawn skin seeming scarcely to cover the jaw-bones. she halted before us, and commenced conversation at once. "good day, gentlemen." "good day, madam." "she always tells her story to every body," muttered the guide in a low voice. "have you seen any cheyennes hereabouts, gentlemen? i sighted a party this morning, and you ought to have seen them run. raven dick, here, put his best foot foremost, but they shook him out of sight in a ravine. haven't any thing better to do, friends, and so i'm riding down some buffalo." we could easily understand why superstitious savages should run when a maniac female of such dismal aspect flitted along their trail. "out from hays, sirs?" she continued, after a pause. "i left there yesterday. dick and i camped last night. we must be home when the men come in from work this eve. up, rave!" and she struck the mustang a cruel blow, from which he jumped with quivering muscles, only to be violently curbed. for the first time she had just noticed our guide, and sat for an instant with her wild eyes eating a way to his heart. then she turned again to us. "sirs, you must aid me. some say the cheyennes killed my husband, and others there be who think abe there did it. more shame to me who has to tell it, but the two had a fight about a woman, some months gone. it was just after pay-day, and husband was drunk; otherwise he'd never have bothered his head about any girl but the one he married. "there were blows and black eyes, and being a rough man's quarrel, it ended with hand-shaking. my man came home, and we sat by the fire that night, and i took no notice that he'd been wrong, but spoke of our old home in ohio, and asked him wouldn't he go back there when the contract was finished. and he put his hand on mine, and says: 'sis, if the cuts and fills on the next mile work to profit, we'll go home.' just then there came a hiss from the door at our backs, and husband turned sharp and quick. there was a knot-hole in the planks, and its round black mouth, gaping from out in the night at us, had spit the sound into our ears. husband he rose and went to the door, and fell back dying, with an arrow in his breast. some said it was a cheyenne, and others said abe did it. there were lots of indian bows in camp, and cheyennes don't kill for the love of it, but only to steal. i'm going to ask them, if i can catch them, did they do it, and if not, i know who did. i've a bow, abe, and an arrow too, and i hope his blood isn't on your hands." "i didn't do it, ann. i don't shoot no man in the dark," replied our hostler guide, with a sullen defiance, which among that class stands equally well for innocence or guilt. we looked at the two, as they sat for an instant facing each other. the picture was a weird one--a wildcat, fronting the object of its chase, but undecided whether to spring or not. we felt that the dark maniac had been hovering around us, and that this meeting was not altogether accidental. her disordered brain was yet undecided in which direction vengeance lay, and, like a tigress, she was watching and waiting. our policy developed, on the instant, into a non-committal and a safe one. as she wheeled her horse, and left us without a word, we remarked to our guide that crazy folks were often suspicious of their best friends. "that's so," he replied, and rode off to urge on the wagons. we shrank from the idea of living with a murderer, and acquitted him of the crime on the spot. * * * * * we are moving out over the grand, illimitable plain again. reader, ride with us awhile by the side of that big bison bull, which we have just stirred up from his noonday dream. you see his broad nostrils, reddish just under the dark skin at the end, and sensitive as the nose of a pointer. they have caught the air which we tainted, while passing for a moment across the breeze. [illustration: one of our specimens. _bureau of illustration. buffalo. n. y._] he has seen nothing, and we are still invisible, but he does not stop to look behind. "escape for your life!" has been as plainly telegraphed from nose to brain, as it could be by eyes or mouth. we were so far off and well hidden then, that those active tell-tales, sound and sight, could play no part in this alarm. but the sentinel nerves of smell fled back from their post on the frontier, with the cry of "man!" and the beast of the wilderness thinks only of flight. powerful for defense against the rest of the animal creation, he is coward on the instant before its king. away he goes, right into the teeth of the wind, which he knows will tell him of any other foes ahead. lumber along, old fellow, in your ponderous gallop,--the reader and i are on your path. our saddle girths have been tightly drawn, the holster pistols are nestled snug at hand, in their cases on either side of the saddle-horn, while across its front lies the light henry carbine, with a shoulder-strap attaching it to our person, should we drop the gun for the pistol. thus we ride with twenty-four shots before reloading, at the service of our trigger-finger; the carbine carries twelve, the pistols each a half-dozen. how warm we have become. our hearts are as high up as they can get, bumping away at the throat-valves, as if they wished to get out and see what it is that has called their reserves into action. there is a muskish taint in the air, from the game ahead. put in your spurs, comrade; don't spare. get up beside him quickly as possible. once there, the horses will easily stick. a stern chase disheartens the pursuer, encourages the pursued. look out for that creek! see how the buffalo takes its steep bank--a plunge headlong, which sends the dust up in clouds. now, as we check and turn into a ford, he is going up the opposite side. another hundred yards, and we are close beside him. the long tongue is hung out, and his head lies low down, as he plunges steadily forward, diverging ever so little as we press up opposite his fore-shoulders. that was a bad shot, my friend, barely missing your horse's head. shooting at full gallop is like drawing straight lines while being shaken. some of our bullets are telling; you can hear them crack on his hide. there is a red spot now, not bigger than the point of one's finger, opposite a lung, and drops of blood trickle, with the saliva, from his jaws. half a score of balls have been pelted into his big body, and he is bleeding internally. now the blood comes thicker, and little clots of it drop down. he slows up--there is danger; look well to your seat! that was a narrow escape, comrade. the bull suddenly whirled on his forefeet for a pivot, and your horse's chest, which was brushing his hind-quarters, grazed the black horns as they dipped for a plunge. the pony's swerve barely saved you both. now he stands sullen, glaring at us. the wounds look like little points of red paint, put deftly on his shaggy hide. they bleed inwardly, just crimsoning the brown hair at their mouths. the large eyes roll and swell with pain and fury. he is measuring our distance. see him blow the blood from his nostrils. the drops scatter like red-hot shot around him, seeming to hiss in globules of fury, as they spatter upon the dry grass. bladder-like bubbles sputter in ebb and flow, from the red holes over his lungs. tiny doors, for death's messengers to have entered in at. what a marvel of size and ferocity he looks. only our horse's legs stand between us and disembowelment. down drops the head into battery again, and his rush would knock us over like nine-pins, did we stay to receive it. but bison charges are short ones. our animals spring away, and he stops. signs of grogginess are coming on him. how he hates to feel his knees shake, straightening them out with a jerk, as we thought he was just going down. but at last gradually and gracefully he sinks, doubling his legs under him, and resting on his belly. there is still no flurry, or motion of any kind denoting pain. unconquerable to the death, he suddenly falls on his side, the limbs stiffen, and he is dead. twine your hands in the long beard, and in the mane. how he shames the lion, for whom he could furnish coats half a dozen times over. what switches of hair those black fetlocks would make. was there ever another so big a bison? wondering over this, we lie down on the prostrate bulk, and wait for the wagon. chapter xxi. "creasing" wild horses--muggs disappointed--a feat for fiction--horse and monkey--hoof wisdom for turfmen--prospective climatic changes on the plains--the question of spontaneous generation--wanton slaughter of buffalo--amount of robes and meat annually wasted--a strange habit of the bison--numerous bills--the "sneak thief" of the plains. while we were at breakfast one morning, the guide ran in to say that the herd of wild horses which we had seen on silver creek, were feeding toward us, a mile away. i left the table to obtain a view of them, and by abe's advice carried my rifle, as he suggested that we might "crease" one of them. this feat consists in hitting the upper edge of the bones of the neck with a bullet, the blow striking so high up that it will momentarily paralyze, without fracturing. we had read of it often in tales of western daring, where the hero mounted the prostrate steed, and, upon its return to consciousness, escaped on its back from numberless difficulties and hosts of indians. a short distance out from camp, we turned and saw muggs following us with a saddle and bridle on his arm. he had suffered grievous wrong at the heels of his mule, and was bent on possessing himself of one of our creased horses. after creeping, with almost infinite caution, within seventy-five yards, we succeeded in placing our bullets exactly where we intended, thereby knocking down two victims, who at once became insensible--and no wonder, for their bones were as effectually fractured as if they had been struck with a sledge-hammer. muggs' faith in the theory of creasing, however, was unbounded. up he ran and buckled on the saddle, and got one foot in the stirrup, ready to swing himself into the seat, when the animal rose. after waiting about ten minutes, our briton concluded that a dead horse was poor riding, and left us with a very emphatic statement that, in his opinion, capturing a mount with a rifle was "another blarsted hamerican lie, you know!" i afterward conversed with several plainsmen about the merits of "creasing," and found that their attempts had invariably ended in the same way as ours had done. the feat may have been possible with smooth-bore rifles, in the hands of those remarkable hunters of old, who were able to shoot away the breath of a pigeon, and hit the eye of a flying hawk; but with breech-loaders i unhesitatingly pronounce creasing an utter impossibility. the achievement sounds well in theory, but, like much else of popular western lore is somewhat impracticable when fairly tested. i have an idea that the principal market value of "creased" horses in the future, as in the past, will be derived from furnishing creatures of romance with fearful rides. for this purpose, a cracked skeleton would be as apt as a sound one, to carry the rider into many of the scenes with which these tales are wont to harrow our souls. while crawling up on the herd, we took its census very carefully. i was a little surprised to find there were but twenty-five horses, all told. they were apparently a little larger than the wild ones of texas, and had bushy manes and tails, and their step was remarkably firm and elastic. they were exceedingly timid creatures, raising their heads constantly, to gaze around. one very interesting circumstance connected with the herd was that among these wild horses we noticed two strangers; one, a feeble old buffalo bull, expelled from his tribe, and seeking their aid against the wolves, and the other, the black pacing stallion. when we fired, the survivors were off on the instant, and the manner in which their clean hoofs struck the earth, and spurned it, was truly worth seeing. no heaves either, it was plain to see, had ever troubled those full chests. we caught sight of the herd awhile after, on a ridge four miles away, and they were still running at full speed. these were the only wild horses we saw on our trip. in fact, but two or three small droves are believed to exist on the plains, as the great mass of the shaggy-maned thousands, children of those old spanish castaways, swarm nearer the pacific. so timid and fleet are these horses that none of them have ever been captured except during the early spring. they are then poor, and, by hard spurring, can be ridden down. at other times their bottom, and the advantage of having no weight to carry, insure their safety. it is quite probable, however, that a systematic pursuit, of the kind practiced in texas, might prove successful at any season of the year. i gazed at our two victims with less satisfaction than at any thing i had ever killed. shooting horses, dear reader, is a good deal like shooting monkeys. they are both too intimately associated with man to be made food for his powder. one is a very true and faithful servant, and the other, if we may believe mr. darwin, was once his ancestor. in examining the two handsome bodies lying there, i noticed one fact to which i should have liked to draw the attention of the whole learned fraternity of blacksmiths, who mutilate horses, the world over. the hoofs were as solid and as sound as ivory, without a crack or wrong growth of any sort. and why? turning them up, the secret lay exposed; for there, filling the cavity within--a sponge of life-giving oil--was the frog entire, just as nature made and kept it. its business was to feed and moisten the hoof, and this it had done perfectly. no blacksmith had ever gouged it out with his knife, and robbed it anew at every shoeing. it is noticeable that the equine race, in its wild state, has none of the ills of the species domesticated. the sorrows of horse-flesh are the fruits of civilization. by the study and imitation of nature's methods, we could greatly increase the usefulness of these valuable servants, and remove temptation from the paths of many men who lead blameless lives, except in the single matter of horse-trades. it may well be queried, perhaps, whether even the patient man of uz, had he been laid up by a runaway colt instead of boils, could have resisted the temptation to trade it off upon bildad the shuhite, when that individual came to condole with him. as we journeyed onward, we found the soil ever the same, in depth and strength equal to an illinois prairie. the old cretaceous ocean, and the great lakes, certainly left it rich in deposits. when its surface shall have been broken by the plow, and the water-fall absorbed instead of shed off, the plains will resemble, in appearance and products, any other prairie country. the amount of moisture annually passing over them, in storm-clouds that burst further east, is abundantly sufficient to make the tract very fertile. it is a well established fact in relation to climatic influences, that moisture attracts moisture; and in this region the dry ground, with its few shallow streams, has now no claim upon the summer clouds. the tough buffalo grass has put a lock-jaw on the plain. it can drink nothing from the floods of the rainy season. but pry open the hungry mouth with the plowshare, and the earth will drink greedily. the moisture then absorbed, given up through the agency of capillary attraction, will draw the showers of summer, as they are passing over. already a marked change has taken place over a portion of the plains, and crops have been grown as far west as fort wallace. the subject of spontaneous generation, i may remark in this connection, became a very interesting one to our party. wherever the soil has been disturbed, wild sun-flowers spring suddenly into existence. the "grading camps" of the railroads were followed by belts of these self-asserting annuals. the first garden-patch cultivated at fort wallace had weeds and insects similar to those that infest gardens elsewhere. in some cases hundreds of miles of barren plain intervened between the spots where the seeds germinated, and the nearest points where other plants of the same variety grew. neither birds or wind could have carried the seeds in such quantities. is the theory true that germs fall down to us from other planets? or, do not the plains offer a strong argument on behalf of spontaneous generation? another matter on which the plains appealed to us strongly, pertained to the wanton destruction of its wild cattle. during the year , about fifty thousand buffalo were killed on the plains of kansas and colorado alone. of this number, it will be correct to estimate that about one-third were shot for their robes, as many more for meat, and sixteen thousand or so for sport. each buffalo could probably have furnished five hundred pounds of meat and tallow, the quantity of the latter being small. when killed for food, only the hind quarters and a small portion of the loin are saved, in all perhaps two hundred pounds. the hides of these are sacrificed, the skin being cut with the quarters, and left on them for their protection. the profits of this great slaughter would, therefore, be about , robes and , , pounds of meat; the waste over , robes, and probably not less than , , pounds of meat. in this computation, the vast herds which range further north are not included. there, however, the waste is comparatively small, as the red man is in the habit of saving the greater portion of the flesh and robes. of the above twenty million pounds of meat left to rot in the sun, and taint the air of the plains, the greater proportion would furnish sweeter and more nourishing food to the poor classes of our cities than the beef which they are able to obtain. let this slaughter continue for ten years, and the bison of the american continent will become extinct. the number of valuable robes and pounds of meat which would thus be lost to us and posterity, will run too far into the millions to be easily calculated. all over the plains, lying in disgusting masses of putrefaction along valley and hill, are strewn immense carcasses of wantonly slain buffalo. they line the kansas pacific railroad for two hundred miles. following ordinary sporting parties for an hour after they have commenced smiting the borders of a herd, stop by a few of the monsters that they leave behind, in pools of blood, upon the grass; draw your hunting-knife across the fat hind-quarters, and see how the cuts reveal depths of sweet, nourishing meat, sufficient to supply two hundred starving wretches with an abundant dinner; then if your humanity does not tempt to a shot at the worse than pot-hunters in front, god's bounties have indeed been thrown away upon you. by law, as stringent in its provisions as possible, no man should be suffered to pull trigger on a buffalo, unless he will make practical use of the robe and the meat. what would be thought of a hunter, in any of the western states, who shot quails and chickens and left them where they fell? every citizen, whether sportsman or not, would join in outcry against him. another matter which the law should regulate relates to the protection of the buffalo cows until after the season when they have brought forth their young. the calf will thrive, though weaned by necessity at a very early age, and the season for shooting cows, although short, would be amply long enough to comport with the chances of future increase. probably the most cruel of all bison-shooting pastime, is that of firing from the cars. during certain periods in the spring and fall, when the large herds are crossing the kansas pacific railroad, the trains run for a hundred miles or more among countless thousands of the shaggy monarchs of the plains. the bison has a strange and entirely unaccountable instinct or habit which leads it to attempt crossing in front of any moving object near it. it frequently happened, in the time of the old stages, that the driver had to rein up his horses until the herd which he had startled had crossed the road ahead of him. to accomplish this feat, if the object of their fright was moving rapidly, the animals would often run for miles. when the iron-horse comes rushing into their solitudes, and snorting out his fierce alarms, the herds, though perhaps a mile away from his path, will lift their heads and gaze intently for a few moments toward the object thus approaching them with a roar which causes the earth to tremble, and enveloped in a white cloud that streams further and higher than the dust of the old stage-coach ever did; and then, having determined its course, instead of fleeing back to the distant valleys, away they go, charging across the ridge over which the iron rails lie, apparently determined to cross in front of the locomotive at all hazards. the rate per mile of passenger trains is slow upon the plains, and hence it often happens that the cars and buffalo will be side by side for a mile or two, the brutes abandoning the effort to cross only when their foe has merged entirely ahead. during these races the car-windows are opened, and numerous breech-loaders fling hundreds of bullets among the densely crowded and flying masses. many of the poor animals fall, and more go off to die in the ravines. the train speeds on, and the scene is repeated every few miles until buffalo land is passed. another method of wanton slaughter is the stalking of the herds by men carrying needle-guns. these throw a ball double the weight of the ordinary carbine, and the shot is effective at six hundred yards. concealed in ravines, the hunter causes terrible havoc with such weapons before the herd takes flight. we were never guilty of ambushing after those two days on the saline, and of those occasions we were heartily ashamed ever afterward. [illustration: _bureau of illustration buffalo_ one specialty of the plains that deserves mention, and quite as remarkable as its brutes and plants, though of rather more modern origin, is its numerous bills. of these, we became acquainted, before our trip was ended, with the following distinct specimens: wild bill, buffalo bill, california bill, rattlesnake bill, and tiger bill, the last named being, as one of our men who had played with him remarked, the "dangererest on 'em all." we also heard of a camanche bill and an apache bill, but these celebrities it was not our fortune to meet. five pictures for the consideration of uncle samuel, suggestive of a game law to protect his comb-horns, buttons, tallow, dried beef, tongues, robes, ivory-black, bone-dust, hair, hides, etc.] i can not dismiss the peculiar characters of the plains without again paying tribute to that unapproachable thief, the cayote. let no party of travelers leave any thing exposed in camp lighter than an anvil. we lost, in one night, at the hands--or rather the jaws--of these slinking sneak-thieves of the plains, a boot, a pair of leather breeches, and a half-quarter of buffalo calf, besides some smaller articles. chapter xxii. a live town and its grave-yard--honest rombeaux in trouble--judge lynch holds court--marie and the vine-covered cottage--the terrible floods--death in camp and in the dug-out--was it the water which did it?--discovery of a huge fossil--the mosasaurus of the cretaceous sea--a glimpse of the reptilian age--reminiscences of alligator-shooting--they suggest a theory. our fourth day's travel from silver creek brought us to sheridan, our secondary base of operations, so to speak, and only fourteen miles east of the colorado border. we found the town a very lively one, notwithstanding that the grave-yard, beautifully located in a commanding position overlooking the principal street, was patronized to a remarkable extent. the place had built itself up as simply the temporary terminus of the pacific railroad. soon after our visit it moved westward, and at last accounts but one house remained to mark its former site. the shades of night had just settled over the town upon the evening of our arrival, when abe, our hostler-guide, came running to us with information that "honest rombeaux," another of our hostlers, was being hung by some of the citizens. the locality which had been selected for this little diversion was a railroad trestle a short distance below the town. we were already acquainted with the penchant our sheridanites had for hanging people. thirty or more graves on the neighboring hill had been pointed out before sundown, as those of persons who had fallen under sentence from judge lynch. in the expressive language of the citizen who volunteered the information, there had been "thirty funerals, and not one nateral death." now that judge lynch had opened court at our own door, we proposed to raise the question of jurisdiction. armed, at once, we set off for a rescue, and, stumbling through the darkness, had gone only a hundred yards or so, when we met the lynchers returning. at their head, with a very dirty piece of rope around his neck, walked our hostler, trembling all over, and chattering broken english rapidly, in mingled fright and anger. the leader of the party told us that the evidence not being quite sufficient for hanging, an extra session of court had been called to be held immediately, and as having some interest in the case, we were invited to seats on the jury. the trial, we were further informed, was to be held in rombeaux's own house. this last was a new surprise, for reasons to be explained presently. rombeaux had been with us ever since leaving hays, and had gained his title of "honest" from a particularly faithful discharge of duty. to him had been intrusted the supplies for hired men and horses. three of the mexicans he had severally thrashed for stealing. once, in the night, on silver creek, we had heard a rattling at the medicine-chest, and trembling for our limited stock of spirits, stole forth to catch the culprit. on his knees by the open box was rombeaux, replacing the brandy-bottle, and we feared that he, too, had become a thief. but just then, on the still air, came words of thanks to the virgin mary, for having enabled him to awake in time to frighten away the robber. nor was this all; in the fierceness of his indignation, we beheld him sally forth immediately afterward, and kick a sleeping mexican out of his blankets, on suspicion. thereupon, we went back to bed with implicit faith in rombeaux, which had followed us ever since. had he not told us, moreover, of a vine-covered cottage in france, where pretty marie watched and waited until her lover could earn dowry sufficient to match hers? it was the old story. a maiden fair tarried in europe, while a true knight ransacked foreign lands for fame and fortune; and long since had all of us, save sachem, exhausted our stock of spare change to hasten the reunion. passing some of the lowest and most flashy-looking saloons in the place, we entered a ravine, and soon stopped before a "dug-out." so much was it the work of excavation, that the dirt roof was level with the earth above, and the door seemed to open directly into the bank. we knocked, and were answered promptly by a fat, gayly dressed french woman. this was rombeaux's wife, and here was rombeaux's house. what a marie and vine-clad cottage these! without delay the trial commenced, the frenchman and his wife occupying places in the center, and the court seated on boxes, barrels, and the bed. the evidence taken that night in the cabin was substantially the following: two years before jules pigget, a native of france, accompanied by his young wife, appeared on the railroad below, and solicited work. they both found ready employment, and lived below hays, in a dug-out, happy and prosperous. within a year came another frenchman, our present honest rombeaux. across the water, he and jules had been rival suitors for marie's hand; yet strangely enough, the newcomer was welcomed by the young couple, and took up his abode with them. matters prospered with all three, and soon jules was to be appointed tank-tender on the road. that year came the great rain-storm, when so many families in western kansas and texas were drowned. hundreds of people were living in dug-outs, rude excavations in the banks of streams, with the roof on a level with the bank above, but the room itself entirely below high-water mark--a style of dwelling which, as no great rise had occurred in years, had become quite popular among new-comers. on the night of the great flood people went to bed as usual. the streams had risen but little. at midnight the rain fell heavily; the firm surface of the plains shed the waters like a roof; streams rose ten feet in an hour, and the foaming currents, roaring like cataracts, came down with the force of mighty tidal waves. many dwellers in the dug-outs sprang from their beds into water, to find egress by the doors impossible, and were fortunate if they succeeded in escaping through the chimneys or roofs. whole families were drowned. fort hays, at the fork of big creek, and supposed to be above high-water, was inundated, six or eight soldiers being swept away, while the remainder were obliged to seek safety on the roofs of the stone barracks. large numbers of mules, picketed on the adjacent bottoms, were drowned. their picket-pins fast in the earth, the animals were swept from their feet by the rising waters, and towed under by the firmly-held lariats. emigrants encamped on the bottom heard the roar of the flood; with no time to harness, they seized the tongues of their wagons themselves, but the rising tide gained on them too rapidly, and they were glad to save life at the expense of oxen and goods. the horrors of that night are indescribable, and, to crown all, they took place amid a darkness that was total. above, was the roar of waters descending; below, the answering roar of the floods, as they rolled madly onward, carrying in their strong arms the wreck of farms, and corpses by the score. on that night jules, the husband, perished. honest rombeaux and marie, however, were rescued from the roof of their dwelling at daylight; and afterward, when the flood had subsided, the body of jules was taken from the wash in the fire-place. and now came suspicion, and pointed over the shoulders of the throng gathered around; for there was an ugly wound half hidden in the dead husband's hair, and his fingers were bruised. some men did not hesitate to say boldly that when rombeaux escaped through the chimney, jules stayed behind to assist his wife out, and that when he tried to follow, he was struck on the head by his quondam rival, and, still clinging to the chimney's edge, his fingers were pounded until their hold was loosed, and the victim sucked under the roof, against which the waters were already beating. the man and woman, however, claimed that it was the whirl of the waters against pegs and logs which had disfigured the corpse. three weeks afterward they were married. "and now, gentlemen," said our foreman, rising from his barrel, when the evidence was all in, "the question for the jury to decide is, was it the water that did it?" a doubt existing in the case, we gave the prisoner its benefit; but there was murder in the air, and rombeaux knew it. before morning he had departed--marie said for la belle france, but, as the citizens generally believed, really for texas. the next twenty-four hours constituted a regular field-day for the professor, being distinguished by an event which, from a scientific stand-point, was among the most important of our entire expedition. this was the discovery of a large fossil saurian, which we came upon while exploring quite in sight of sheridan, and not more than half a mile from its eastern outskirts. descending the side of a deep, desolate rift in the earth, we found ourselves among unmistakable traces of violent volcanic action. the ground was strewn with black sand, and with yellow pebble-like masses, apparently impure sulphur. there were numerous round cones also, looking like diminutive craters, with edges and surface composed of bubble-like lava, the material having evidently hardened while still distended by the struggling gases. the appearance, to use a homely comparison, was somewhat that of several low pots, over the edges of which boiling molasses had poured, and then burned by the heat of the fire. some scattered objects, which at first we took for stumps of huge trees, upon examination we found to be pillars of mud and rock, upheavals, apparently, from volcanic action, and not the work of the floods, which, in those primeval times, we knew, must have poured down the valley. they would have answered, without much difficulty, for druidical altars, had we only been in the land once inhabited by those long-bearded, blood-thirsty priests of old. two or three poisoned cayotes and a dead raven were lying near some bleached buffalo skulls, on which, as we presently discovered, daubs of lard mixed with strychnine had been placed, and licked off by the victims; and straightway, as genius of the scene, an unshaven, woolen-shirted little man appeared in view, busily engaged in skinning a wolf. we saluted him, and the response in french-english told us his nationality at once. we found his name to be louis, and his proper occupation that of watchmaker. but as the pinchbeck time-pieces of the frontier did not furnish enough repairing to take up his entire time, he had many spare hours, and these he devoted to securing pelts. as buffalo were not now in the vicinity, he larded their bones, with the success of which we were eye-witnesses. louis was a wiry little gaul, very positive in his ideas about every thing. an animated conversation sprang up at once between him and the professor, and it soon became amusingly evident that his geological ideas did not entirely accord with those of the philosopher. a sudden turn in the colloquy developed a fact of keen interest to even the most unscientific member of our party. pointing to the other side of the valley, louis told us that there lay the bones of an immense snake, all turned to stone. this sudden voice from the past ages sounded in the professor's ears like the blare of a trumpet to a warrior. he hurried us forward in the direction indicated, and, locking arms with the bloody-shirted little frenchman, strode on in advance. i wish his class could have seen him thus traversing the desolate bed where that old sunken volcano went to sleep. we were glad that the latter was still asleep, and had never acquired the habit of snorting into wakefulness, and pelting explorers with hot rocks. what mysteries, i have often thought, might we not discover, on looking down the throat of a healthy volcano, if some wise alchemist could only brew a dose sufficiently powerful to stop the fiery fellow's foaming at the mouth! or, better still, if it could reach the bowels of the earth, and keep the whole system quiet, while we, puny mortals, like trichina mites, swarmed down the interior, and bored scientifically back to the crust again. earth's veins run golden blood, and we might be gorged with that, perhaps, ere making exit into the sunshine again. a shout from the further edge of the ravine cut short our speculations, and called our attention to the professor. he stood waving his slouched hat for an instant, and then bent close over the ground, in earnest scrutiny. a few moments later, and we all stood beside the huge fossil. it lay exposed, upon a bed of slate, looking very much like a seventy-foot serpent, carved in stone. part of the remains had been taken up to the town, and spread over the bench, in the shop of louis. from what was left, the jaws appeared to have been originally over six feet long, the sharp hooked and cone-shaped teeth being still very perfect. a few broad fragments of ribs showed that, in circumference, the animal's body had been about the size of a puncheon. we felt confident that the specimen was a very rare one, as muggs had never seen any thing like it, even in england. it now rests in the museum at cambridge, massachusetts. "this fossil, gentlemen," said the professor, "is that of a _mosasaurus_, a huge reptile which existed in the cretaceous sea. this appears to be one of the largest members of the family yet discovered, its length, as you will perceive, being over fifty feet. the species to which it belonged swarmed in immense numbers, but were surrounded by monsters even more remarkable than they. the deep which they inhabited must have been constantly lashed and torn with their fierce conflicts; for it was an age of war, and the powers of offense and defense, which the monsters of that period possessed, were terrible. winged reptiles filled the air, in appearance more hideous than any creation of the imagination. following close upon the reptilian came the mammalian age, and i hold that with the largest of the mammals came man, rude in tastes and uncouth in form, but even then ruling as king of the animal creation. wielded by a strength equal to that of a gorilla, his club would dash in the skull of any beast which dare dispute dominion with him." the text thus suggested him, the professor then diverged into an argument on his pet theory of man's early existence. a trivial circumstance connected with our discovery arrested my attention, and, from a sportsman's stand-point, suggested a little theory of my own. the head of the saurian rested on the basin's edge, its jaws touching, with their stony tips, the prairie, while down into the valley below stretched the body and tail. this little fact dove-tailed itself into some incidents of the past, and gave rise to quite a train of speculation. some years ago i hunted alligators in mississippi. sitting on the bank of a sluggish bayou, i would watch the surface of the water, close under which were visible the noses of countless buffalo fish, floating as one sees minnows do in glass jars. under the hot sun all nature seemed asleep. soon, however, a black knot, an ugly dark wart, not larger than one's two fists, would make its appearance, floating, like some charred fragment, slowly along. to a stranger, the only suspicious circumstance would have been, that where there was no current whatever, it still continued its motion, the same as before. the experienced eye recognized this object as the nose of an alligator, behind which, and just at the surface, as it got opposite, the ugly eyes would become visible, looking out for hogs or dogs, as they came to drink under the bank. i never had the patience to wait for the _finale_ of the scene; but had i done so, i should have beheld the knot float closer in, and, just after passing the victim, a tail would have come out of the water, and, with a curving blow forward, knocked the prize out from shore, and in front of the devourer's jaws. it was my good fortune, frequently, to send a ballard rifle-ball into the pirate's eyes. in such cases there was usually a tremendous commotion in the water, accompanied by a strong smell of musk, and the wounded reptile would then make straight for shore, and run his head upon it. under such circumstances, the creature always sought at least that much of dry land to die upon, seeming as anxious as man that its lamp of life should not be extinguished under water. this monster whose remains we were now exhuming was allied to the alligator, as one of the great family of lizards, and had died in the same manner--his head on the shores of the basin, his tail in its depths. perhaps in the convulsion of nature which opened a path for the waters to the ocean, and drained this inland sea, the fissure in which we stood had gaped, and exhaled poisonous gases through the whirlpool its suction created. the saurian monster of that strange age felt the hungry vortex swallowing him, which meanwhile enveloped him in deadly secretions, killing before devouring. with a last lurch through the cauldron's ebbing tide, the lizard threw himself upon its edge, and died. of the countless millions of saurians then existing, capricious nature had seized upon this one, to transmute it into an imperishable monument of that extinct race. in those ages of roaring waters and hissing fires, she had clothed the bones in stone, that they might withstand the gnawing tooth of time, and thus handed them down to the wondering eyes of the nineteenth century. many of the pieces, it should be said, were cracked and scarred, evidently by the action of fierce heat. constantly the earth is giving up these marvelous creations of the past, in comparison with which the animals of the present are tame enough. while we doubt a modern sea-serpent as impossible, we dig up fossilized marine monsters, which could easily have swallowed the biggest snake that credible sea-captain ever ran foul of. [illustration: dug-out.] chapter xxiii. from sheridan to the rocky mountains--the colorado portion of the plains--the giant pines--attempt to photograph a buffalo--things get mixed--the leviathan at home--a chat with professor cope--twenty-six inch oysters--reptiles and fishes of the cretaceous sea. at sheridan, we were very near the colorado portion of the plain, which stretched on for some hundreds of miles further westward, its further line lapping the base of the rocky mountains. into this territory we passed, and spent a considerable period of time in its examination, but while our experience was to us full of interest, any thing more extended than a brief summary would occupy too much space here. for the first one hundred miles, the soil deteriorated in quality, and the sage-bush made its appearance, as did also the "adam's needle" or "spanish bayonet." the latter makes an excellent substitute for soup, but a wretched cushion to alight upon when thrown from your horse. (i make the latter statement on the authority of doctor pythagoras.) brackish water was found at intervals, and white saline crystallizations were seen along some of the streams. although the soil was more sandy than further east, the buffalo grass was abundant and nutritious, so that at no time had we any difficulty in finding grazing for our cattle, and the antelope that we killed were invariably in good condition. this belt of eastern colorado proved particularly rich in fossil wealth, to the description of which we shall devote most of this chapter, and the whole of that following. in the vicinity of the big sandy, we found numerous lakes of clear water, surrounded by rich pasturage. about one hundred miles west of the kansas line, the country began gradually improving, and continued to do so until we reached the mountains. the bijou basin, through which we passed, afforded excellent range, and contained good streams. the country swarmed with antelopes, and once we saw a herd running rapidly, which was four minutes in crossing the road. we had fine views of pike's peak, at a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, the atmosphere there being remarkably pure and transparent. emigrants have often been deceived when, as their wagons crawled over the crest which we named first view, the fine old peak burst upon their sight, and in their enthusiasm resolved to get an early start next day and reach it before another night-fall. our guide told us that when he first crossed the plains, by the platte route, his party camped for the night near monument rock. after supper, two of the men and a woman set out to cut their names in the stone, supposing it to be only a mile or so distant, but when an hour's traveling brought the rock apparently no nearer, they became discouraged and returned. next day monument rock was found to be twelve miles distant from their camping-place. when within a day's journey of the mountains, we came in sight of several tall objects standing out in bold relief upon the plain. these proved to be giant pines, thrown out, like sentinels, from the forests still far beyond and invisible. we could not resist the impulse to give the first one we came to a hearty hug; for, after so many weeks upon the treeless plain, these suggestions of mighty forests, with their mingled sheen and shadow, were indeed welcome. the mountains of colorado, with their beautiful parks and wonderful young cities, have been so often described that our notes would prove a useless addition to a somewhat worn history, and hence we forbear taxing the reader's patience by transcribing them here. after studying the principles of mining and irrigation, we spent in the neighborhood of one calendar month in getting views of sunrise and sunset, from all the known peaks, to the end that no future tourist might feel called upon to extend to us his kind commiseration for having lost some particular outlook, where he had been, and which he considered the best of all. to accomplish this thoroughly, we hewed paths up hitherto inaccessible mountains, and at the end of the month made a close calculation, and decided that we were a match for all such tourists for at least five years to come. we then retraced our steps to buffalo land, again entering the fossil belt near fort wallace. one incident of our trip into colorado deserves especial mention from having been the first, as it will probably prove the last, attempt to photograph the buffalo in his native wildness, at close quarters. the idea was suggested in a letter which the professor received from his eastern friends, who thought that actual photographs of the animals inhabiting the plains would be a valuable addition to the ordinary facilities for the study of natural history. as good fortune would have it, there happened to be at sheridan an artist, just arrived from hays, then prospecting for a location, and him we promptly engaged. the second day out, two old buffaloes, near our road, were selected as good subjects for first views. one of these was soon killed, the other making his escape up a ravine near by. although we had good reason to suspect that the latter had been wounded, we did not pursue him, since it was now near noon, and our artist, moreover, being of a somewhat timid disposition, had expressly stipulated that we should keep near him, not so much, he repeatedly assured us, as a body-guard for himself, as for the protection of his new camera and outfit. the dead bull we propped into position with our guns and other supports, and while the artist carefully adjusted his instrument, shamus began to make preparations for lunch, and mr. colon and semi set out for a few minutes' pastime in catching bugs. they had been gone a full half hour, and we were just remarking their prolonged absence somewhat impatiently, when a loud cry from the nearer bank of the ravine fell on our ears, and looking around we beheld colon senior, and ditto junior, making toward us at a tremendous rate of speed. "buffalo!" was all that we could catch of semi's wild shouts, as he led the chase directly toward us, his father having lost several seconds in securing one of his specimen-cases, and on the instant the old bull that we had wounded an hour before hove in sight, in full charge upon the flying entomologists. as buffalo charges are short ones, he would have stopped, no doubt, in a moment or so, had not muggs and i, the only members of our party who happened to have their guns at hand, opened fire on him, and planted another bullet between his ribs. the effect was to infuriate the old fellow tenfold, and down he came careering toward us, with what i then thought the most vicious expression of countenance i had ever seen on a buffalo's physiognomy. the attack was so sudden, and the surprise so complete, that we were most ingloriously stampeded, and fell back in hot haste upon our reserves, the guide and teamsters, who, we knew, would be provided with weapons and in good shape to cover our retreat. the sitting for which we had made such elaborate preparations was abruptly terminated in the manner shown in the accompanying engraving. fortunately for the artist, the blow originally intended for him was delivered upon the legs of the instrument. his assailant being at length dispatched, the poor fellow proceeded to pick out of the ruins of his property what remained that might again be useful. he stated that his stock, as well as the subject of buffalo photographing, was "rather mixed," and that, if we would pay him for the damage done, he would return. next morning he left us, and thus it was that science lost the projected series of valuable photographic views. [illustration: taking and being taken.] exploration gives us a past history of the plains which is interesting in the extreme. our party spent some weeks in exploring for fossils beyond sheridan, and were richly rewarded. in the great ocean which once covered the land, the wonderful reptiles of the cretaceous age swarmed in prodigious numbers, and their fierce struggles upon and under its surface made "the deep to boil like a pot." the mysterious leviathan, described in the forty-first chapter of job, had its prototype in more than one of the monsters of that period: "who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about. "out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. "out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron. "his breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth. "the flakes of his flesh are joined together: they are firm in themselves; they can not be moved. "he esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. "he maketh a path to shine after him; one would think the deep to be hoary." the fossil remains of these reptiles are numerous, constituting a rich mine of scientific wealth, which has been but very lightly worked. enough fossils can be obtained by future exploration to fill to overflowing all the museums of the land. we have no means of computing how long the cretaceous sea existed, but we know that it passed away and was replaced by large fresh-water lakes, those of the plains being bounded on the west by the rocky mountains. then succeeded an age of which we can catch but occasional glimpses, and our longing becomes intense that we could know more. we see a land fertile as the garden of eden, surrounding beautiful lakes. the climate is delightful, and earth, air, and water, are full of life. grand forests and flower-covered prairies nod and blossom under the kind caresses of nature. water fowls numberless plunge under and skim over the surface, and the songsters of the air warble forth their hymns of praise. over the pastures and through the forests roam an animal multitude of which we can have but faint conception, but among the number we recognize the lion with his royal mane, and the tiger with his spots; and there also are the elephant, the mastodon, the rhinoceros, the wild horse, and the great elk. after our return, the eminent naturalist, prof. edward d. cope, a. m., visited the plains, and spent some time in careful exploration there. as he had previously received several fossils from us for examination, i communicated with him not long since, asking a record of his trip. this he very kindly consented to furnish, and, did space permit, i would gladly publish entire the matter which he has placed at my disposal. no apology can be necessary, however, for yielding to the temptation of devoting two or three chapters to a chat by prof. cope with my readers. the manuscript, as it lies before me, is entitled: "on the geology and vertebrate palæontology of the cretaceous strata of kansas." let us begin with "part i--a general sketch of the ancient life." * * * * * that vast level tract of our territory lying between missouri and the rocky mountains represents a condition of the earth's surface which has preceded, in most instances, the mountainous or hilly type so prevalent elsewhere, and may be called, in so far, incompletely developed. it does not present the variety of conditions, either of surface for the support of a very varied life, or of opportunities for access to its interior treasures, so beneficial to a high civilization. it is, in fact, the old bed of seas and lakes, which has been so gradually elevated as to have suffered little disturbance. consistently with its level surface, its soils have not been carried away by rain and flood, but rather cover it with a deep and widespread mantle. this is the great source of its wealth in nature's creations of vegetable and animal life, and from it will be drawn the wealth of its future inhabitants. on this account its products have a character of uniformity; but viewed from the stand-point of the political philosopher, so long as peace and steam bind the natural sections of our country together, so long will the plains be an important element in a varied economy of continental extent. but they are not entirely uninterrupted. the natural drainage has worn channels, and the streams flow below the general level. the ancient sea and lake deposits have neither been pressed into very hard rock beneath piles of later sediment, nor have they been roasted and crystallized by internal heat. although limestone rock, they easily yield to the action of water, and so the side drainage into the creeks and rivers has removed their high banks to from many rods to many miles from their original positions. in many cases these banks or bluffs have retained their original steepness, and have increased in elevation as the breaking-down of the rock encroached on higher land. in other cases the rain-channels have cut in without removing the intervening rocks at once, and formed deep gorges or canyons, which sometimes extend to great distances. they frequently communicate in every direction, forming curious labyrinths, and when the intervening masses are cut away at various levels, or left standing like monuments, we have the characteristic peculiarities of "bad lands" or _mauvaises terres_. in portions of kansas tracts of this kind are scattered over the country along the margins of the river and creek valleys and ravines. the upper stratum of the rock is a yellow chalk; the lower, bluish, and the brilliancy of the color increases the picturesque effect. from elevated points the plains appear to be dotted with ruined villages and towns, whose avenues are lined with painted walls of fortifications, churches, and towers, while side alleys pass beneath natural bridges or expand into small pockets and caverns, smoothed by the action of the wind, carrying hard mineral particles. but this is the least interesting of the peculiarities presented by these rocks. on the level surfaces, denuded of soil, lie huge oyster-shells, some opened and others with both valves together, like remnants of a half-finished meal of some titanic race, who had been frightened from the board, never to return. these shells are not thickened like most of those of past periods, but contained an animal which would have served as a meal for a large party of men. one of them measured twenty-six inches across. if the explorer searches the bottoms of the rain-washes and ravines, he will doubtless come upon the fragment of a tooth or jaw, and will generally find a line of such pieces leading to an elevated position on the bank or bluff, where lies the skeleton of some monster of the ancient sea. he may find the vertebral column running far into the limestone that locks him in his last prison; or a paddle extended on the slope, as though entreating aid; or a pair of jaws lined with horrid teeth which grin despair on enemies they are helpless to resist. or he may find a conic mound, on whose apex glisten in the sun the bleached bones of one whose last office has been to preserve from destruction the friendly soil on which he reposed. sometimes a pile of huge remains will be discovered, which the dissolution of the rock has deposited on the lower level, the force of rain and wash having been insufficient to carry them away. but the reader inquires, what is the nature of these creatures thus left stranded a thousand miles from either ocean? how came they in the limestones of kansas, and were they denizens of land or sea? it may be replied that our knowledge of this chapter of ancient history is only about five years old, and has been brought to light by geological explorations set on foot by dr. turner, prof. mudge, prof. marsh, w. e. webb, and the writer. careful examinations of the remains discovered show that they are all to be referred to the reptiles and fishes. we find that they lived in the period called cretaceous, at the time when the chalk of england and the green sand marl of new jersey were being deposited, and when many other huge reptiles and fishes peopled both sea and land in those quarters of the globe. the twenty-six species of reptiles found in kansas, up to the present time, varied from ten to eighty feet in length, and represented six orders, the same that occur in the other regions mentioned. two only of the number were terrestrial in their habits, and three were flyers; the remainder were inhabitants of the salt ocean. when they swam over what are now the plains, the coast-line extended from arkansas to near fort riley, on the kansas river, and, passing a little eastward, traversed minnesota to the british possessions, near the head of lake superior. the extent of sea to the westward was vast, and geology has not yet laid down its boundary; it was probably a shore now submerged beneath the waters of the north pacific ocean. far out on its expanse might have been seen in those ancient days, a huge snake-like form which rose above the surface and stood erect, with tapering throat and arrow-shaped head; or swayed about, describing a circle of twenty feet radius above the water. then it would dive into the depths, and naught would be visible but the foam caused by the disappearing mass of life. should several have appeared together, we can easily imagine tall twining forms, rising to the height of the masts of a fishing fleet, or like snakes twisting and knotting themselves together. this extraordinary neck, for such it was, rose from a body of elephantine proportions; and a tail of the serpent pattern balanced it behind. the limbs were probably two pairs of paddles, like those of _plesiosaurus_, from which this diver chiefly differed in the arrangement of the bones of the breast. in the best known species, twenty-two feet represent the neck, in a total length of fifty feet. this is the _elasmosaurus platyurus_ (cope), a carnivorous sea reptile, no doubt adapted for deeper waters than many of the others. like the snake-bird of florida, it probably often swam many feet below the surface, raising the head to the distant air for a breath, then withdrawing it and exploring the depths forty feet below, without altering the position of its body. from the localities in which the bones have been found in kansas, it must have wandered far from land, and that many kinds of fishes formed its food, is shown by the teeth and scales found in the position of its stomach. a second species, of somewhat similar character and habits, differed very much in some points of structure. the neck was drawn out to a wonderful degree of attenuation, while the tail was relatively very stout, more so, indeed, than in the _elasmosaurus_, as though to balance the anterior regions while occupied in various actions, _e. g._, while capturing its food. this was a powerful swimmer, its paddles measuring four feet in length, with an expanse, therefore, of about eleven feet. it is known as _polycotylus latipinnis_ (cope). the two species just described formed a small representation, in our great interior sea, of an order which swarmed at the same time, or near it, over the gulfs and bays of old europe. there they abounded twenty to one. perhaps one reason for this was the almost entire absence of the real rulers of the waters of ancient america, viz: the _pythonomorphs_. these sea-serpents, for such they were, embrace more than half the species found in the limestone rocks in kansas, and abound in those of new jersey and alabama. only four have been seen as yet in europe. researches into their structure have shown that they were of wonderful elongation of form, especially of tail; that their heads were large, flat, and conic, with eyes directed partly upwards; that they were furnished with two pairs of paddles like the flippers of a whale, but with short or no portion representing the arm. with these flippers and the eel-like strokes of their flattened tail they swam--some with less, others with greater speed. they were furnished, like snakes, with four rows of formidable teeth on the roof of the mouth. though these were not designed for mastication, and without paws for grasping could have been little used for cutting, as weapons for seizing their prey they were very formidable. and here we have to consider a peculiarity of these creatures in which they are unique among animals. swallowing their prey entire, like snakes, they were without that wonderful expansibility of throat, due in the latter to an arrangement of levers supporting the lower jaw. instead of this each half of that jaw was articulated or jointed at a point nearly midway between the ear and the chin. this was of the ball and socket type, and enabled the jaw to make an angle outward, and so widen, by much, the space inclosed between it and its fellow. the arrangement may be easily imitated by directing the arms forward, with the elbows turned outward and the hands placed near together. the ends of these bones were in the pythonomorphs as independent as in the serpents, being only bound by flexible ligaments. by turning the elbows outward, and bending them, the space between the arms becomes diamond-shaped, and represents exactly the expansion seen in these reptiles, to permit the passage of a large fish or other body. the arms, too, will represent the size of jaws attained by some of the smaller species. the outward movement of the basal half of the jaw necessarily twists in the same direction the column-like bone to which it is suspended. the peculiar shape of the joint by which the last bone is attached to the skull, depends on the degree of twist to be permitted, and, therefore, to the degree of expansion of which the jaws were capable. as this differs much in the different species, they are readily distinguished by the column or "quadrate" bone when found. there are some curious consequences of this structure, and they are here explained as an instance of the mode of reconstruction of extinct animals from slight materials. the habit of swallowing large bodies between the branches of the under-jaw necessitates the prolongation forward of the mouth of the gullet; hence the throat in the pythonomorphs must have been loose and almost as baggy as a pelican's. next, the same habit must have compelled the forward position of the glottis or opening of the windpipe, which is always in front of the gullet. hence these creatures must have uttered no other sound than a hiss, as do animals of the present day which have a similar structure, as for instance, the snakes. thirdly, the tongue must have been long and forked and for this reason: its position was still anterior to the glottis, so that there was no space for it except it were inclosed in a sheath beneath the windpipe when at rest, or thrown out beyond the jaws when in motion. such is the arrangement in the nearest living forms, and it is always, in these cases, cylindric and forked. the flying saurians of the cretaceous sea of kansas, though not numerous in species, were of remarkable size. though their remains are generally flattened by the pressure of the overlying rocks, two species have left a complete record of their form and dimensions. one of them (_ornithochirus tarpyia_) spread eighteen feet between the tips of the wings, while the _o. umbrosus_ covered nearly twenty-five feet with his expanse. these strange creatures flapped their leathery wings over the waves, and, often plunging, drew many a fish from its companions of the shoal; or, soaring at a safe distance, viewed the sports and combats of the more powerful saurians of the sea; or, trooping to the shore at nightfall, suspended themselves to the cliffs by the claw-bearing fingers of their wing-limbs. [illustration: developing--one of the first families.] in connection with the subject of the old lakes and their fertile shores, where human beings, it might reasonably be expected, once lived so comfortably, the editor of this volume begs to lay before the reader (in a sort of parenthesis, for which professor cope is in no way responsible) an effort of sachem's. he dedicated it to darwin, and was pleased to call it, notwithstanding it smells more of the fossil-bone caves than the fields, the primeval man's pastoral. my grandfather jock was an ape, his grandfather twist was a worm; each age has developed in shape, and ours has got rid of the squirm; if the law of selection will work in our case, we'll develop, in time, to a wonderful race. my sweetheart has claws, and her face is covered with bristles and hair; she's feline in nature and grace, she's apt to get out on a tear, she's cursed with a passion to sing after night; but these she'll evolve, and develop all right. one race has evolved in the sea, and partly got rid of their scales; though cousin by faces to me, they're cousin to fishes by tails; but they'll ever remain simply mer-men and women, for selection won't work, in the world that they swim in. 't is said that gorilla the great, who rules as the chief of our clan, has found in the annals of fate, we're soon to evolve into man; furthermore, that our children will doubt whence they came, till a fellow named darwin shall put them to shame. chapter xxiv. continued by cope--the giants of the seas--taking out fossils in a gale--interesting discoveries--the geology of the plains. the giants of the pythonomorphs of kansas have been called _liodon proriger_ (cope) and _liodon dyspelor_ (cope). the first must have been abundant, and its length could not have been far from sixty feet, certainly not less. its physiognomy was rendered peculiar by a long projecting muzzle, reminding one of that of the blunt-nosed sturgeon of our coast, but the resemblance was destroyed by the correspondingly massive end of the branches of the lower jaw. though clumsy in appearance, such an arrangement must have been effective as a ram, and dangerous to his enemies in case of collision. the writer once found the wreck of an individual of this species strewn around a sunny knoll beside a bluff, and his conic snout, pointing to the heavens, formed a fitting monument, as at once his favorite weapon, and the mark distinguishing all his race. very different was the _liodon dyspelor_, a still larger animal than the last, with a formidable armature. it was indeed the longest of known reptiles, and probably equal to the great finner whale of modern oceans. the circumstances attending the discovery of one of these, will always be a pleasant recollection to the writer. a part of the face, with teeth, was observed projecting from the side of a bluff by a companion in exploration, (lieut. jas. h. whitten, u. s. a.), and we at once proceeded to follow up the indication with knives and picks. soon the lower jaws were uncovered, with their glistening teeth, and then the vertebræ and ribs. our delight was at its height when the bones of the pelvis and part of the hind limb were laid bare, for they had never been seen before in the species and scarcely in the order. while lying on the bottom of the cretaceous sea, the carcass had been dragged hither and thither by the sharks and other rapacious animals, and the parts of the skeleton were displaced and gathered into a small area. the massive tail stretched away into the bluff, and after much laborious excavation we left a portion of it to more persevering explorers. the species of _clidastes_ did not reach such a size as some of the _liodons_, and were of elegant and flexible build. to prevent their habits of coiling from dislocating the vertebral column, these had an additional pair of articulations at each end, while their muscular strength is attested by the elegant striæ and other sculptures which appear on all their bones. three species of this genus occur in the kansas strata, the largest (_clidastes cineriarum_, cope) reaching forty feet in length. the discovery of a related species (_holcodus coryphæus_, cope) was made by the writer under circumstances of difficulty peculiar to the plains. after examining the bluffs for half a day without result, a few bone fragments were found in a wash above their base. others led the way to a ledge forty or fifty feet from both summit and foot, where, stretched along in the yellow chalk, lay the projecting portions of the whole monster. a considerable number of vertebræ were found preserved by the protective embrace of the roots of a small bush, and, when they were secured, the pick and knife were brought into requisition to remove the remainder. about this time one of the gales, so common in that region, sprang up, and, striking the bluff fairly, reflected itself upwards. so soon as the pick pulverized the rock, the limestone dust was carried into eyes, nose, and every available opening in the clothing. i was speedily blinded, and my aid disappeared into the canyon, and was seen no more while the work lasted. only the enthusiasm of the student could have endured the discomfort, but to him it appeared a most unnecessary "conversion of force" that a geologist should be driven from the field by his own dust. a handkerchief tied over the face, and pierced by minute holes opposite the eyes, kept me from total blindness, though dirt in abundance penetrated the mask. but a fine relic of creative genius was extricated from its ancient bed, and one that leads its genus in size and explains its structure. on another occasion, riding along a spur of a yellow chalk bluff, some vertebræ lying at its foot met my eye. an examination showed that the series entered the rock, and, on passing round to the opposite side the jaws and muzzle were seen projecting from it, as though laid bare for the convenience of the geologist. the spur was small and of soft material, and we speedily removed it in blocks, to the level of the reptile, and took out the remains, as they laid across the base from side to side. a genus related to the last is _edestosaurus_. a species of thirty feet in length, and of elegant proportions has been called _e. tortor_ (cope.) its slenderness of body was remarkable, and the large head was long and lance-shaped. its flippers tapered elegantly, and the whole animal was more of a serpent than any other of its tribe. its lithe movements brought many a fish to its knife-shaped teeth, which are more efficient and numerous than in any of its relatives. it was found coiled up beneath a ledge of rock, with its skull lying undisturbed in the center. a species distinguished for its small size and elegance is _clidastes pumilus_ (marsh). this little fellow was only twelve feet in length, and was probably unable to avoid occasionally furnishing a meal for some of the rapacious fishes which abounded in the same ocean. tortoises were the boatmen of the cretaceous waters of the eastern coast, but none had been known from the deposits of kansas until very recently. one species now on record (_protostega gigas_, cope), is of large size, and strange enough to excite the attention of naturalists. it is well known that the house or boat of the tortoise or turtle is formed by the expansion of the usual bones of the skeleton till they meet and unite, and thus become continuous. thus the lower shell is formed of united ribs of the breast and breast-bone, with bone deposited in the skin. in the same way the roof is formed by the union of the ribs with bone deposited in the skin. in the very young tortoise the ribs are separate as in other animals; as they grow older they begin to expand at the upper side of the upper end, and, with increased age, the expansion extends throughout the length. the ribs first come in contact where the process commences, and in the land-tortoise they are united to the end. in the sea-turtle, the union ceases a little above the ends. the fragments of the _protostega_ were seen by one of the men projecting from a ledge of a low bluff. their thinness and the distance to which they were traced excited my curiosity, and i straightway attacked the bank with the pick. after several square feet of rock had been removed, we cleared up one floor, and found ourselves well repaid. many long slender pieces, of two inches in width, lay upon the ledge. they were evidently ribs, with the usual heads, but behind each head was a plate like the flattened bowl of a huge spoon placed crosswise. beneath these stretched two broad plates two feet in width, and no thicker than binders' board. the edges were fingered, and the surface hard and smooth. all this was quite new among fully grown animals, and we at once determined that more ground must be explored, for further light. after picking away the bank and carving the soft rock, new masses of strange bones were disclosed. some bones of a large paddle were recognized, and a leg bone. the shoulder-blade of a huge tortoise came next, and further examination showed that we had stumbled on the burial-place of one of the largest species of sea-turtle yet known. the single bones of the paddle were eight inches long, giving the spread of the expanded flippers as considerably over twenty feet. but the ribs were those of an ordinary turtle just born, and the great plates represented the bony deposit in the skin, which, commencing independently in modern turtles, united with the expanded ribs below, at an early day. but it was incredible that the largest of known turtles should be but just hatched, and for this and other reasons it has been concluded that this "ancient mariner" is one of those forms not uncommon in old days, whose incompleteness in some respects points to the truth of the belief, that animals have assumed their modern perfection, by a process of growth from more simple beginnings. the cretaceous ocean of the west was no less remarkable for its fishes than for its reptiles. sharks do not seem to have been so common as in the old atlantic, but it swarmed with large predaceous forms related to the salmon and saury. [illustration: the sea which once covered the plains. elasmosaurus platyurus. . liodon proriger. , , . ornithochirus umbrosus. . ornithochirus harpyia. . protostega. . polycotylus latipinnis.] vertebræ and other fragments of these species project from the worn limestone in many places. i will call attention to, perhaps, the most formidable, as well as the most abundant of these. it is the one whose bones most frequently crowned knobs of shale, which had been left standing amid surrounding destruction. the density and hardness of the bones shed the rain off on either side, so that the radiating gutters and ravines finally isolated the rock mass from that surrounding. the head was some inches longer than that of a fully grown grizzly bear, and the jaws were deeper in proportion to their length. the muzzle was shorter and deeper than that of a bull-dog. the teeth were all sharp cylindric fangs, smooth and glistening, and of irregular size. at certain distances in each jaw they projected three inches above the gum, and were sunk one inch into the bony support, being thus as long as the fangs of a tiger, but more slender. two such fangs crossed each other on each side of the middle of the front. this fish is known as _portheus molossus_ (cope). besides the smaller fishes, the reptiles no doubt supplied the demands of his appetite. the ocean in which flourished this abundant and vigorous life, was at last completely inclosed on the west, by elevation of sea-bottom, so that it only communicated with the atlantic and pacific at the gulf of mexico and the arctic sea. the continued elevation of both eastern and western shores contracted its area, and when ridges of the sea-bottom reached the surface, forming long low bars, parts of the water area were inclosed and connection with salt water prevented. thus were the living beings imprisoned and subjected to many new risks to life. the stronger could more readily capture the weaker, while the fishes would gradually perish through the constant freshening of the water. with the death of any considerable class the balance of food supply would be lost, and many larger species would disappear from the scene. the most omnivorous and enduring would longest resist the approach of starvation, but would finally yield to inexorable fate; the last one caught by the rising bottom among shallow pools from which his exhausted energies could not extricate him. part ii--geology. the geology of this region has been very partially explored, but appears to be quite simple. the following description of the section along the line of the kansas pacific railroad, will probably apply to similar sections north and south of it. the formations referable to the cretaceous period on this line, are those called by messrs. meek and hayden the dakota, benton, and niobrara groups, as nos. , and . according to leconte,[ ] at salina, one hundred and eighty-five miles west of the state line of missouri, the rocks of the dakota group constitute the bluffs, and continue to do so as far as fort harker, thirty-three miles farther west. they are a "coarse brown sand-stone, containing irregular concretions of oxide of iron," and numerous molluscs of marine origin. near fort harker, certain strata contain large quantities of the remains (leaves chiefly) of dicotyledonous and other forms of land vegetation. near this point, according to the same authority, the sand-stone beds are covered with clay and limestone. these he does not identify, but portions of it from bunker hill, thirty-four miles west, have been identified by dr. hayden, as belonging to the benton or second group. the specimen consisted of a block of dark, bluish-gray clay rock, which bore the remains of the fish _apsopelix sauriformis_ (cope). that the eastern boundary of this bed is very sinuous is rendered probable by its occurrence at brookville, eighteen miles to the eastward of fort harker, on the railroad. in sinking a well at this point, the same soft, bluish clay rock was traversed, and at a depth of about thirty feet a skeleton of a saurian of the crocodilian order was encountered, the _hyposaurus vebbii_ (cope). [ ] notes on the geology of the survey for the extension of the union pacific road e. d. from the smoky hill to the rio grande, by john l. leconte, m. d. philadelphia, . the boundary line, or first appearance of the beds of the niobrara division, has not been pointed out, but at fort hays, seventy miles west of fort harker, its rocks form the bluffs and outcrops every-where. from fort hays to fort wallace, near the western boundary of the state, one hundred and thirty-four miles beyond, the strata present a tolerably uniform appearance. they consist of two portions; a lower, of dark-bluish calcareo-argillaceous character, often thin-bedded; and a superior, of yellow and whitish chalk, much more heavily bedded. near fort hays the best section may be seen, at a point eighteen miles north, on the saline river. here the bluffs rise to a height of two hundred feet, the yellow strata constituting the upper half. no fossils were observed in the blue bed, but some moderate-sized _ostreæ_, frequently broken, were not rare in the yellow. half-way between this point and the fort, my friend, n. daniels, of hays, guided me to a denuded tract, covered with the remains of huge oysters, some of which measured twenty-seven inches in diameter. they exhibited concentric obtuse ridges on the interior side, and a large basin-shaped area behind the hinge. fragments of fish vertebræ of _anogmius_ type were also found here by dr. janeway. these were exposed in the yellow bed. several miles east of the post, dr. j. h. janeway, post surgeon, pointed out to me an immense accumulation of _inoceramus problematicus_ in the blue stratum. this species also occurred in abundance in the bluffs west of the fort, which were composed of the blue bed, capped by a thinner layer of the yellow. large globular or compound globular argillaceous concretions, coated with gypsum, were abundant at this point. along the smoky hill river, thirty miles east of fort wallace, the south bank descends gradually, while the north bank is bluffy. this, with other indications, points to a gentle dip of the strata to the north-west. the yellow bed is thin or wanting on the north bank of the smoky, and is not observable on the north fork of that river for twenty miles northward or to beyond sheridan station, on the kansas pacific railroad. two isolated hills, "the twin buttes," at the latter point are composed of the blue bed, here very shaly to their summits. this is the general character of the rock along and north of the railroad between this point and fort wallace. south of the river the yellow strata are more distinctly developed. butte creek valley, fifteen to eighteen miles to the south, is margined by bluffs of from twenty to one hundred and fifty feet in height on its southern side, while the northern rises gradually into the prairie. these bluffs are of yellow chalk, except from ten to forty feet of blue rock at the base, although many of the canyons are excavated in the yellow rock exclusively. the bluffs of the upper portion of butte creek, fox, and fossil spring (five miles south) canyons, are of yellow chalk, and reports of several persons stated that those of beaver creek, eight miles south of fossil spring, are exclusively of this material. those near the mouth of beaver creek, on the smoky, are of considerable height, and appear at a distance to be of the same yellow chalk. i found these two strata to be about equally fossilliferous, and i am unable to establish any palæontological difference between them. they pass into each other by gradations in some places, and occasionally present slight laminar alternations at their line of junction. i have specimens of _cimolichthys semianceps_ (cope), from both the blue and yellow beds, and vertebrae of the _liodon glandiferus_ (cope) were found in both. the large fossil of _liodon dyspelor_ (cope) was found at the junction of the bed, and the caudal portion was excavated from the blue stratum exclusively. portions of it were brought east in blocks of this material, and these have become yellow and yellowish on many of the exposed surfaces. the matrix adherent to all the bones has become yellow. a second incomplete specimen, undistinguishable from this species, was taken from the yellow bed. as to mineral contents, the yellow stratum is remarkably uniform in its character. the blue shale, on the contrary, frequently contains numerous concretions, and great abundance of thin layers of gypsum and crystals of the same. near sheridan concretions and septaria are abundant. in some places the latter are of great size and, being embedded in the stratum, have suffered denudation of their contents, and, the septa standing out, form a huge honey-comb. this region and the neighborhood of eagle tail, colorado, are noted for the beauty of their gypsum-crystals, the first abundantly found in the cretaceous formation. these are hexagonal-radiate, each division being a pinnate or feather-shaped lamina of twin rows of crystals. the clearness of the mineral, and the regular leaf and feather forms of the crystals give them much beauty. the bones of vertebrate fossils preserved in this bed are often much injured by the gypsum formation which covers their surface and often penetrates them in every direction. the yellow bed of the niobrara group disappears to the south-west, west, and north-west of fort wallace, beneath a sandy conglomerate of uncertain age. its color is light, sometimes white, and the component pebbles are small and mostly of white quartz. the rock wears irregularly into holes and fissures, and the soil covering it generally thin and poor. it is readily detached in large masses, which roll down the bluffs. no traces of life were observed in it, but it is probably the eastern margin of the southern extension of the white river miocene tertiary stratum. this is at least indicated by dr. hayden, in his geological preface to leidy's extinct mammals of dakota and nebraska. commercially, the beds of the niobrara formation possess little value, except when burned for manure. the yellow chalk is too soft in many places for buildings of large size, but will answer well for those of moderate size. it is rather harder at fort hays, as i had occasion to observe at their quarry. that quarried at fort wallace does not appear to harden by exposure; the walls of the hospital, noted by leconte on his visit, remained in as soft as they were in . a few worthless beds of bituminous shale were observed in eastern colorado. the only traces of glacial action in the line explored were seen near topeka. south of the town are several large, erratic masses of pink and bloody quartz, whose surfaces are so polished as to appear as though vitrified. they were transported, perhaps, from the azoic area near lake superior. chapter xxv. a savage outbreak--the battle of the forty scouts--the surprise--pack-mules stampeded--death on the arickeree--the medicine man--a dismal night--messengers sent to wallace--morning attack--whose funeral?--relief at last--the old scouts' devotion to the blue. on our return to sheridan we were deeply pained to hear of the sad death of doctor moore and lieutenant beecher, whose acquaintance we had formed at fort hays, and the former of whom we had learned to esteem most highly as a personal friend. a scouting party, not long before, had left the post just named, under the command of general forsythe, of sheridan's staff, and composed principally of those citizens who had seen frontier service. dr. moore accompanied it as surgeon, and lieut. beecher--a nephew of henry ward beecher, and an officer of the regular army--held the position of chief of scouts, which he had filled for some time previously with much credit. the savages of the plains being again upon the war-path, that brave and well-organized little party of fifty were dispatched to pursue a band of indians, which had appeared before sheridan and run off a lot of stock. some of the scouts were now in the town, and from one of them we obtained an account of the expedition. fresh from the mouth of that sandy hell in the river's head, which had sucked out the life-blood of so many of his companions, i wish my readers could have heard the story told with the rude eloquence in which he clothed it. as it is, how nearly they will come to doing so, must perforce depend on how nearly i can remember his language. "you see, captain," he began (it is considered impolite among this class ever to address one without using some title), "we had the nicest little forty lot o' scouts that ever followed the plains fur a living, and trails fur an injun. thar wur ingineers, doctors, counter-jumpers, and a few deadbeats, but every one of 'em had lots of fight, and not the least bit of scare. ther talents run ter fightin', an' ther bodies never run away from it. "it wur kinder curious, though, to see the chaps that wur not bred ter ther business git along. they wur the profession folks. some had a little compass, not much bigger 'n a button, that they carried on the sly. good scouts don't need no such fixin's. these uns 'ud reach inter ther pockets, as if they was going ter take a chaw o' terbaccer, and gettin' a sly wink at ther needle, would cry out ter ther neighbors, 'i say, hoss, we 're goin' a little too much east of north!' or, 'i tell yer what, fel, we 're at least two p'ints off our course.' and all ther time they couldn't have told south from west, without them needles. but ther warn't a coward in the whole pack. every one had a back as stiff fur a fight as a cat. "we struck a large injun trail the fourth day out, and kept it till evenin', but no other sign showed itself over ther wide reach that would have told a livin' bein' had ever bin thar before us. next mornin', early, ther was a sudden fuss among our horses, and a cry from the guard, and, afore we knew it, eight pack-mules had been stampeded, and driven off. it wur a narrow call fur ther whole herd. "the fellers had come down a ravine until they got close enough, and, then suddenly rushin' along in the grayness, set the mules inter a crazy run, and gathered 'em up, out of gun-shot. you may lick a pack-mule along all day, and be afraid he 'll drop down dead, and yet give him a fair chance to stampede, and he 'll outrun an elk, and grow fat on it. "stock and injuns was both out of sight in a jiffy, and the order was given to saddle, and recapture. we were just raisin' inter ther stirrups, when some of the boys called out, and we saw the whole valley ahead of us filled with injuns comin' down. ther warn't no mules lost just then, and we kinder fell back onto a sort of high-water island in the arickeree. that, yer know, is the dry fork of the republican. bein' low water then, as it is most of the time thar, nothin' but a dry bed of sand was on each side. "it seemed as if the whole injun nation was coming down on us. such a crowd o' lank ponies, and painted heathen astride, yer never see. i expected seein' of 'em would prevent _my_ ever seein' of my family agin. 'jim,' says i to my chum, and 'bill,' says he to me, and then we didn't say nothin' more, but as the heathen come a chargin', we both put a hand in our pockets, just as if the brains had been in one head, and then both of us took a chaw o' terbaccer. "for the next few hours ther wur an awful scrimmage, and a shootin', and a hollerin', and a whizzin' of bullets, which made that the hottest little island ever stranded on sand. the boys had all dug out, with their hands, sort o' little rifle-pits, and fit behind 'em. we had good spencers, with a few henrys, and the way those patents spit lead at the devils' hearts wur a caution. the first charge, they cum close up to us, and for a hull minnit, that stretched out awfully, we were afraid they'd ride us down. it was reg'lar coffee-mill work then, grindin' away at the levers, and we flung bullets among 'em astonishin'. as fast as one injun keeled, another'd pick him up, and nary dead was left on the field. "they follered up the charge game by a siege one, and peppered away at us from the neighborin' ravines and hills. ther number wur about eight hundred, and some had carbines, and others old rifles and pistols. a few would sneak along in the bottom grass, and get behind trees, and then thur would be a flash, and a crack, and the ball would come tearin' in among us, sometimes burrowin' in a human skull, or elsewise knockin' down a horse. and all around, on the ridges, the squaws were a dancin' and shoutin', and the braves, whenever any of 'em got tired of shootin', would join their ugly she's, and help 'em in kickin' up a hullabaloo. "i reckon, arter they'd killed the last hoss, they must ha' had a separate scalp-dance fur each one on us. plain sailin' then, ther red fellows thought--less than fifty white men down in the sand, and most a thousan' injuns roun' 'em, and more 'n a hundred miles to the nearest fort; the weaker party bein' afoot, too, and the other mounted. "but we soon made 'em pitch another tune, beside ther juberlatin' one. we had took notice of a big injun, with lots o' fixins on him, cavortin' all round ther island, and a spurrin' up the braves. we made certain it wur the medicine man, and found out arterward that he'd been tellin' on 'em ther pale-faces' bullets would melt before reachin' an injun. six on us got our rifles together, and as ther old copper-colored pillgarlic cum dancin' round, we let fly. if injun carcasses go along with ther spirits, i reckon ther bullets we put into the old sinner, got melted, sure enough. and what a howlin' thur was, as his pony scampered in among the squaws, empty saddled! "it wur an awful sight to look roun' among our little sand-works--twenty killed and wounded men, covered with blood and grit. our leader, col. forsythe, was shot in both legs, a ball passin' through the thigh part of one, and a second breakin' the bones of the other below the knee. he wur a knowin' and cool officer. "lieut. beecher, a nephew of the big preacher, was shot through the small o' the back, and lay thar beggin' us to kill him. he too wur a brave man, and didn't flinch, never, from duty nor danger. they say that his two sisters were drowned from a sailboat on the hudson, two years ago, and that the old parents are left now all alone. doc. moore was shot through the head, and sat thar noddin', and not knowin' no one. i spoke to him once, and he kinder started back, as if he see the injun which shot him, still thar. he wur a good surgeon, and all the boys liked him. i hev got his gun down at my tent, all full o' sand, whar it got tramped arter he fell.[ ] [ ] i obtained the weapon that i had loaned our friend, and have carefully kept it since, as a memento. "culver lay dead on one side of our little island, shot by an injun that crawled up in the grass. lots o' others was wounded, and our chances looked as dark as ther night which wur coming down on us. but we was glad ter see daylight burn out, as it kinder gin us a chance to rest and think. "that night was awful dismal. the little spot o' sand, down thar in the river's bed, seemed ther only piece o' earth friendly to us, and we were clingin' to it like sailors ter a raft at sea. the darkness all around was a gapin' ter swaller us, and a hidin' its blood-hounds, to set 'em on with ther sun. night, without any thin' in it more 'n grave-stones, is terrifyin' to most people, but just you fill it full of pantin's for blood in front, and death sittin' behind, among the corpses, and watchin' the wounded, and a feller's blood falls right down to january. it kinder thickens, like water freezin' round the edges, and your hands and feet get powerful cold, and you feel as if you wouldn't ever be thawed out, this side of the very place you don't want ter go to. "toward midnight, stillwell and trudell crawled out o' camp, to go for relief. they were to creep and sneak through the injun lines, and get beyond 'em by daylight. then they would lay by, and push on ag'in, when dark cum, toward wallace. that little spot of barracks, a hundred and twenty-five miles off, kept up our hope mightily. it was our light-house, like. we were shipwrecked among savages, and had sent a couple of yawls off, to tell the keeper thar of danger. we knew if the news reached, blue coats would flash out to us, like spots of light, and our foes go before 'em as mist. "but footin' it nights, and layin' by days, fur over a hundred miles, through injun country, is slow work, and we didn't, most on us, expect much; and our hearts follered the little black spots, showin' us our two companions a creepin' off into darkness, like a couple of wolves. it took good men, too, from our little party, and fur awhile i was faint-hearted. in our shipwreck, it seemed like takin' bottles which might ha' helped to hold out, and flingin' 'em into ther waves, with messages tellin' how and whar we went down. "about two o'clock lieut. beecher died, havin' for some time begged the men to end his sufferin's by shootin' of him. "we all kept perfect quiet that night--no fire, nor wur ther a sound heard, from our little island, by the heathen on the bluffs. an just that quietness gave 'em the worst foolin' they ever had. it seems the road down river had been left open by 'em, hopin' we would steal out and run for it durin' the night. we bein' all on foot, they could overtake us in the mornin', and worry on us out easy. durin' the dark we waited quiet, and watched, and passed water to our wounded, and sprinkled it over some of 'em who couldn't drink. "it wer just kinder palin' like way up in the sky, and we could see that off down east, somewhar, ther mornin' was commencin' ter climb, when jim nudged me, and says, 'chum, what's that?' we both stuck our ears right up, like two jackass-rabbits, and listened. it wur all dark near the ground, but we could hear a steady, gallopin' sound, comin' in toward us from up the ravines, and over the hills. it wur like a beatin' of ther earth with flails by threshers you couldn't see. "the sound came a creepin' along the sod so quick we soon knew it wur the injuns, on ther ponies, comin' down ter pick up the trail. and now we could see 'em a bobbin' along toward us in ther gloom, the rows er ugly heads goin' up and down, like jumpin'-jacks. it just seemed as ther side er ther night had been painted all full o' gapin' red devils, and ther sun wur jest revealin' on 'em. 'lay still!' wer the word, and each man hugged his sand bank, just a skinnin' one eye, like a lizard over a log. they 'd no idee we were thar, not bein' able to understand the grit of that little forty, and they cum gallopin' along, careless-like, happy as so many ghosts goin' ter a fun'ral. but it warn't _our_ fun'ral just then. when they 'd got so close we could smell 'em, colonel guv the word ter fire, and we let 'em have it. stranger, you ain't no idee what a gettin' up bluffs, and general absentin' of 'emselves ther wur. arter the fust crack, yer couldn't see an injun at all, but jest a lot er ponies, diggin' it on ther back track, and you knowed painted cusses wer glued ter ther opposite side on 'em. "we had fightin' until night ag'in, but no men were killed arter the fust day. the savages were cautious-like, and took long range fur it. we now commenced cuttin' off the hind quarters of our dead hosses, and boilin' small pieces in a empty pickle-jar belongin' ter ther colonel. burke, he 'd dug a shallow well, too, which gave us plenty of water. hoss meat isn't relishin' at fust. one kin eat it, but, as ther feller said about crow, he don't hanker arter it. ther gases had got all through ther carcasses, and we had ter sprinkle lots o' gunpowder inter the pot, to kill the taste. "the fust hoss cut up was my old sorrel. he didn't go well while livin', and couldn't be expected to when dead. instead of takin' a straight course, and givin' some satisfaction, he jumped across all the turns inside o' me, and brought up bump agin my hide, as if he wer comin' through. he had that same trick o' cuttin' corners when livin', and i perceded ter give him up as a uncontrollable piece of hoss flesh. "when night come on agin, pliley and whitney attempted ter get through ther injun lines and make fur wallace, but were driven back. fur ther next few days we kept eatin' hoss flesh, and fightin' occasionally. the third night pliley and donovan succeeded in gettin' away. "on the fourth day, doctor moore died. after the fifth, no injuns was visible, and we gathered prickly pears and eat 'em, boilin' some down inter syrup. our mouths were all full of ther little needles, and it wer mighty hard keepin' a stiff upper lip. we were eatin' away on our forty-eight horses, and watchin' and hopin'. we couldn't move, and leave our wounded, or the injuns would be on 'em right off. the poor fellows had no surgeon, and were sufferin' terrible as 't was. "ther mornin' of ther ninth day broke with a cry of 'injuns!' now, human natur' can't stand fitin' allers. to carry out my shipwreck idee, fellers on a raft kin cling an' swaller water fur awhile, but they can't fight a hull grist o' hurricanes. hoss meat an' prickly pears ain't jest ther thing, either, to slap grit inter a man. ther were a big crowd comin', sure enough, way off on ther hills. we were kinder beginnin' ter despond, when a familiar sort o' motion on the fur dark line spelt in air the word, 'friend!' it wer the advanced guard o' relief, approachin' on ther jump. why, boy"--and the old scout seized hold of semi, and shook him in excitement--"talk of lucknow and ther camels a comin', they warn't nowhar. the blessed old blue cloth! if yer want ter love a color, jest get saved by it once. when i get holed in ther earth, i 'll take back ter dust on a blue blanket, an' if i get married afore, gal an' i'll wear blue, an' the preacher'll hev ter swar a blue streak in jinin' us!" we afterward met others of the scouts--intelligent, clear-headed fellows, with much more of cultivation than our rough friend possessed--and they corroborated his story in every particular. i have let him tell it in his own way, not only because vastly more graphic than any words of mine could be, but also to the end that the reader might become acquainted with a genuine frontiersman--one of that class which is wheeling into line with the immense multitudes of indians and buffalo that time and civilization are bearing swiftly onward to hide among the memories of the past. that the savages suffered very severely in their several attacks upon that little band of heroes on the arickeree, was evident from the number of bodies found by the relief, as it hastened forward from fort wallace. the corpses were resting on hastily-constructed scaffolds, and some had evidently been placed there while dying, as the ground underneath was yet wet with blood. chapter xxvi. the stage drivers of the plains--old bob--"jamaica and ginger"--an old acquaintance--beads of the past--robbing the dead--a leaf from the lost history of the mound builders--indian traditions--speculations--adobe houses in a rain--cheap living--watch towers. the stage drivers of the plains are rapidly becoming another inheritance of the past, pushed out of existence by the locomotive, whose cow-catcher is continually tossing them from their high seats into the arms of history. what a rare set they are, though! no two that i ever saw were nearly alike, and they resemble not one distinctive class, but a number. the jehus who crack their whips over the buffalo grass region, and turn their leaders artistically around sharp corners in rude towns, are made up on a variety of patterns. some are loquacious and others silent, and while a portion are given to profanity, another though smaller number are men of very proper grammar. some with whom i have ridden would discount truth for the mere love of the exercise, while others i have found so particular that they could not be induced to lie, except when it was for their interest to do so. in a village on the shores of lake champlain, in the frozen regions of northern new york, where mercury becomes solid in november, and remains so until may, i got on intimate terms, when a boy, with a stage driver. during the long winters the coaches were placed on sleds, and well do i remember the style in which "old bob," as he was universally called, would come dashing into the town on frosty mornings, winding uncertain tunes out of a brass horn, given him years before by a general somebody, of the state militia. in front of the long-porched tavern, the leaders would push out to the left, in order to give due magnificence to the right hand circle, which deposited the coach at the bar room door. bearish in fur, and sour in face, bob would then roll from the seat, rush up to the bar, and for the first time open his mouth, to ejaculate, "jamaica and ginger!" the fiery draught would thaw out his tongue, as hot water does a pump, and after that it was easy work to pump him dry of any and all news on the line above. that was many years ago, and in a spot half a continent away. one morning, while at sheridan, i heard the blast of a horn up the street, whose notes awakened echoes which had long lain dead and buried in boyhood's memory. a moment more, and out from an avenue of saloons the overland stage rattled, and on its box sat the friend of my childhood, "old bob." he had the identical horn, and it was the identical tune, which i had so often heard in the by-gone years, the only difference being that both were cracked, and the lungs behind the mouth-piece, touched by the winters of sixty-odd, wheezed a little. as the coach came to the door, i jumped up by the "boot," and grasping the old fellow's hand, introduced myself. old bob rubbed his eyes, which were weak and watery, and scanned me closely. "well, well, lad," he said, "your face takes me now, sure enough. i mind your father and mother well, and you're the little rascal that stole my whip once, when i was thawing out with jamaica and ginger. did you tell me by the old tune? you did, eh? well, truth is, lad, the horn won't blow any other. it's got to running in that groove, and when i try to coax any thing new out, it sets off so that it frightens the horses." the coach was now ready for starting, and, as he gathered up the reins, my friend of auld lang syne called out to me, "when you get back to york state, if you see any rouse's point people that ask for old bob, tell them he doesn't take any jamaica and ginger now. tell them he's out on the plains, tryin' to get back some of the life the cussed stuff burnt out of him." and away the stage coach rattled, and soon was out of hearing. next day's down stage brought intelligence that bob's coach had been attacked by indians, but the old fellow had handled his lines right skillfully, and brought mails and passengers through in safety. our last day at sheridan, for the professor, was marked by two important events, namely: a communication from the living present, and another from the dead past. the first came, as the postmark showed, by way of lindsey, on the solomon river. the professor said it was simply an answer to some scientific inquiries, but, to our intense amusement, he blushed like a school-girl when sachem bluntly remarked that the handwriting was feminine, and that the scientific information in question must certainly be contraband, as it was not offered for our benefit at all. a geologist in love is a phenomenon. the dusty museum is no place for cupid. in his flights, the mischievous boy is apt to hit his head against fossil lizards, and his darts are intercepted by skulls which were petrified before he ever wandered through paradise and tried his first barb on poor adam. the atmosphere which inwraps the geologist comes from an unlovable age, in which monstrosities existed only by virtue of their expertness in devouring other monstrosities. no stray spark of love-light flickered, even for an instant, over that waste of waters and gigantic ferns. it was apparent that science would suffer, unless the solomon river was included in our homeward route. we had examined the heart of buffalo land, having traversed its center from east to west, and our party was disposed to oblige the professor by returning along the northern border. southward two hundred miles was the arkansas, flowing near the southern limit of the buffalo region. while there were some reasons why we desired to visit it, and though it was, perhaps, equally rich in game, it promised nothing of greater interest, upon the whole, than the district we now proposed traversing. but of this more in the next chapter. toward evening came our introduction to what we were pleased to imagine was a beauty of the past, which happened thus: as we were wandering among the mexican teamsters loafing around the depot, an urchin, with half a shirt and very crooked legs, ran up to us, and exclaimed, over a half masticated morsel of cheese, "mister, there's a bufferler!" his crumby fingers pointed in a direction midway between the horizon and a mexican donkey, which its owner was trying to drag across the valley, and there, true enough, on the side of a brown ridge, not a mile off, we saw the game, feeding as usual. here was a chance for horseback hunting again, which we had not attempted for several days. and what a splendid opportunity of showing the natives how well we could do the thing! our wagons had groaned under the burden of pelts and meats with which we had loaded them, and we were suffering just then from that dangerous confidence which first success is so apt to inspire. half the pleasure of hunting, if sportsmen would but confess it, consists in showing one's trophies to others. it was not at all surprising, therefore, that the send-off found two-thirds of our force in the field. the day was warm, and, though the hunters ran far and fast, the bison went still further and faster, and escaped. he led us, however, to greater spoil than his own tough carcass; for underneath the sod which his hoofs spurned, lay a treasure which glittered as temptingly to geological eyes as gold to the miner, when first struck by his prospecting pick. the professor trotted out of town with becoming dignity, following the hunters merely to avail himself of their protection, while examining the ridges around. a mile out, the heat and his rough-paced nag proved too much for him, and he threw himself upon the ground for a rest. lying there, watching idly the little insects wandering about, his attention was attracted to a colony of burrowing ants, who, with a hole in the earth half an inch in diameter, were continually coming up, rolling before them small grains of sand and pebbles, the latter obtained far below, and a small mound of them already showing the extent of their patient labors. the professor began to mark more closely the tiny builders, imagining that he could distinguish one of the citizens going down, and recognize him again as he came up again with his burden from below. occasionally, it seemed to the observant savan, something blue was brought out, which glittered more than sand. looking closer, he discovered that the shining particles were beads of some bright substance, and resembling exactly those worn by the indians of to-day. it thrilled him, as if he had been brought face to face with the far-off ages, when the world was young. beneath, evidently, lay the dead of some forgotten tribe, and horse and man were resting upon a place of sepulcher. there was no mound to mark the spot, and if any ever existed, the seasons of ages had obliterated it. the savage races which now roam the plains never bury their dead, but lay the bodies on scaffolds, or hang them in trees. and so these little ants, robbing the graves far beneath us, were bringing to our gaze, on a bright summer day in the nineteenth century, the mysteries of ages already hoary with antiquity when columbus first saw our shores. we found ourselves wondering to what race the hidden dead belonged, and whether the unpictured maidens of those days were pleasant to look upon, or true ancestors of the hideous and unromantic creatures who, with their savage lords, now roam the plains. thinking of the tribes of the past brought those of the present to mind, and, not wishing to have our hair presented as tribute to some maiden wooed by treacherous cheyenne, we turned our horses' heads homeward, bringing the beads with us, safely deposited in one of our entomologist's pocket-cases. they remain among the trophies of our expedition, and mr. colon has lately written me that he will have an excavation made, during the present year, at the spot where they were found. these beads, i can not but think, form one link in a chain connecting an ancient people, perhaps the mound-builders, with the savage tribes of the present. there is a tradition among some of the western indians that, centuries ago, a people, different in language and form from the red men, came from over the seas to trade beads for ponies. the buffaloes were then larger, and the climate warmer, than now. dissensions finally arose, in which the strangers were killed. is there not reason to believe that this tradition gives us a glimpse of the time when some of the large mammals still existed on the plains, and the genial sun looked down upon pastures clothed in rich vegetation--a time and region, probably, of perennial summer? once, during our stay in kansas, we were directed by a hunter to a spot where he had seen portions of an immense skeleton, and there found one vertebra only remaining of a mastodon. it afterward transpired that, shortly before our trip, some indians had passed fort dodge with the large bones lashed on their ponies, taking them to a medicine-lodge on the arkansas, to be ground up into good medicine. they stated that the bones belonged to one of the big buffaloes which roamed over the plains during the times of their fathers. at that period, the happy hunting ground was on earth, but was afterward removed beyond the clouds by the great spirit, to punish his children for bad conduct. many reasons, besides dim traditions, exist for the belief that those mysterious nations whose paths we have been able to trace from the atlantic west, and from the pacific east, pushed inward until they met in the middle of the continent. the numerous mounds in the western states, with the curious weapons and vessels which they contain, show that the nations then existing, and migrating toward the interior, were not only powerful but essentially unlike our modern indians. to instance but one illustration of this, there are near titusville, pa., ancient oil wells, which bear unmistakable evidences of having been dug and worked by the mound-builders. thus they speculated in oil, which of itself is a token of high civilization. coming east from the pacific coast, we find existing on the very edge of the desolate interior extensive ruins of ancient cities, of whose builders even tradition gives no account. by these and other remains which the gnawing tooth of time has still spared to us, the people of those days tell us that they were full of commercial energy; and who knows but they may have been as determined as our nation has ever been, to push trade across from ocean to ocean? it is highly probable also that the indians of the interior were then far superior to the present tribes, as seems very fairly determined by many of the traditions and customs which obtain among the latter. in view of the foregoing considerations, it is not remarkable that the beads, denoting, as they did, a place and manner of burial unlike that of the savages of the plains, interested us so much. it was a leaf, we could not but think, from the lost history of the mound-builders. a noticeable feature of life on the plains is the sod-house, there called an adobe, from some resemblance to the mexican structures of sun-dried brick. the walls of these primitive habitations are composed of squares of buffalo-grass sod, laid tier upon tier, roots uppermost. a few poles give support for a roof, and on these some hay or small brush is laid. then comes a foot of earth, and the covering is complete. when well-constructed, these houses are water-proof, very warm in winter, and cool in summer; but when the eaves have been made too short to protect the walls, the latter are liable to dissolve under a heavy shower. during a sudden rain at sheridan, being obliged to turn out early one morning to protect some goods, we discovered that the neighboring habitation had resolved itself into a mound of dirt, resembling somewhat a tropical ant-hill. we were still gazing at the ruins, when the owner, clad in the brief garment of night-wear, came spluttering through the roof, like a very dirty gnome discharged by a mud-volcano. while he stood there in the rain, letting the falling flood cleanse him off, he remarked, in a manner that for such an occasion was certainly rather dry--"lucky that houses are dirt-cheap here, stranger, for i reckon this one 's sort o' washed!" a person of small capital, as may readily be inferred, can live very comfortably on the plains. his house may be built without nail or board, and his meat may be obtained at no other expense than the trouble of shooting it. we saw many wooden buildings at the different stage stations, which had subterranean communications with little sod watch-towers, rising a couple of feet above the ground, at a distance of forty or fifty yards from the main building. loop-holes through their walls afforded opportunities for firing, and if the wooden stations were burned, the occupants could find a secure retreat. we heard of but one occasion in which the tower was ever used, but then it was most effectively, the savages, gathered close around the main building, being surprised and put to sudden flight, by the murderous fire which seemed to spring out of the ground at their rear. chapter xxvii. our programme concluded--from sheridan to the solomon--fierce winds--a terrific storm--shamus' bloody apparition and indian witch--a reconnoissance--an indian burial grove--a contractor's daring and its penalty--more vagabondizing--jose at the long bow--the "wild huntress'" counterpart--shamus treats us to "chile"--the result. "gentlemen," said the professor, next morning, at breakfast, "we have well-nigh exhausted buffalo land. north of us some twenty miles, the upper waters of the solomon may be reached. i believe that district to be rich in fossils; it is also interesting as the path over which the red men have so often swept on their missions of murder. the valley winds eastward and southward during its course, and will discharge us at solomon city, a point well back on our homeward journey. there our expedition may fitly disband. should it be considered desirable, during the coming year, to explore the wild territories of the north-west, we can meet at such place as may be designated. what say you?" our response was a unanimous vote in favor of accepting the programme thus sketched out. some of us desired the trip, and all knew that the professor would go at any rate. our path lay over the same undulating plain that we had been traversing for many weeks, the wind blowing fiercely in our teeth. the violent movement of the air over this vast surface is often unpleasant, and during a severe winter is more dangerous than the intense cold of the far north, as it penetrates through the thickest clothing. the winter of - , when numbers of hunters and herders were frozen to death, illustrated this to a painful degree. the months of december and january are usually mild, and no precautions were taken. on the morning of the most fatal day, it was raining; in the afternoon, the wind veered and blew cold from the north, the rain changing to sleet, and this, in turn, to snow so blinding that objects became invisible at the distance of a few feet. after the storm, near hays city, five men belonging to a wood-train were found frozen to death. they had unloaded a portion of their wood, and endeavored to keep up a fire, but the fierce wind blew the flames out, snatching the coals from the logs, and flinging them into darkness. the men seized their stores of bacon and piled them upon fresh kindling, but even the inflammable fat was quenched almost instantly. one of another party, who finally escaped the same sad fate, by finding a deserted dugout, said it seemed as if invisible spirits seized the tongues of flame and carried them, like torches, out into the awful blackness. thousands of texas cattle perished during that storm. one herder, in order to save his life, cut open a dying ox, and, after removing the entrails, took his place inside the warm carcass. we noted a curious incident, relative to the wind's fantastic freaks on the plains, while at sheridan. one day, during the prevalence of a north wind, we observed all the old papers, cards, and other light rubbish which ornament a frontier town, moving off to the south like flocks of birds. two days afterward, the wind changed, and the refuse all came flying back again, and passed on to the northward. on the first evening of our homeward journey from sheridan, we encamped on what appeared to be a small tributary of the upper solomon. while the tents were being pitched, and the necessary provisions unloaded, shamus strolled toward a clump of trees half a mile off, in hopes of securing a wild turkey to add to his stores. he soon came running back in a great fright, to tell us that, as he was passing among the trees, the black pacer of the plains, with its bloody master in the saddle, had started out of a bottom meadow just beyond, and fled away into the gloom. this was a sufficiently ghostly tale in itself, but it was not all; shamus further averred that as he turned to fly, he saw a hideous indian witch swinging to and fro in a tree directly before him. the spot was unwholesome, he assured us, and he urged instant removal. it seemed evident that our cook had some foundation for his fears, as his terror was too great and his account too circumstantial for the matter to be simply one of an excited imagination. if there were indians close by, it was necessary that we should know it at once, and avoid the danger of an attack at dawn. we organized a reconnoissance immediately, and, six men strong, moved toward the timber. scattering as much as possible, that concealed savages might not have the advantage of a bunch-shot, we cautiously reached the border of the trees, and entered their shadows. we breathed more freely; if tree-fighting was to be indulged in, we now had an equal chance. it is a trying experience, reader, to advance within range of a supposed ambuscade, and the moment when one reaches the cover unharmed is a blessed one. the logs and stumps which seemed so hideous, when death was thought to be crouching behind, suddenly glow with friendship, and one is glad to know that he can hug such friends, should danger glare out from the bushes ahead. as we walked forward, shamus' witch suddenly appeared before us. it was the body of a papoose, fastened in a tree. the spot was evidently an indian burying-ground. the corpse had been loosened by the wind, and now rocked back and forth, staring at us. it was dried by the air into a shriveled deformity, rendered doubly grotesque by the beads and other articles with which it had been decked when laid away. we had neither time nor inclination to explore the grove for other bodies, preferring our supper and our blankets. as shamus stoutly held to the story of the phantom pacer, we were forced to conclude that some stray indian, from motives of either curiosity or reverence, had been visiting the grove when frightened out of it by our cook. in the gathering gloom, a red shirt or blanket would have answered very well for bloody garments. these burial spots are held in high reverence by the indians, and their hatred of the white man receives fresh fuel whenever the latter chops down the sacred trees for cord-wood. on one occasion, a contractor destroyed a burial grove, a few miles above fort wallace, to supply the post with fuel. the first blow of the axe had scarcely fallen upon the tree, when some indians who chanced to be in the neighborhood sent word that the desecrator would be killed unless he desisted. messages from the wild tribes, coming in out of the waste, telling that they were watching, ought to have been warning sufficient. but he was reckless enough to disregard them, and continued his work. the trees were felled and cut up, and the wood delivered. the contractor went to the post for his pay, and as he took it, spoke in a jocose vein of the threat which had come to naught. soon afterward, he set out for camp. midway there, he heard the rush of trampling hoofs, and looking up, his horrified gaze beheld a band of painted savages sweeping down upon him from out the west. five minutes later, he lay upon the plain a mutilated corpse, and every pocket rifled. the indians had fulfilled their threats. the trees which to them answered the same purpose that the marble monuments which we erect over our dead do among us, had been broken up by a stranger, and sold. they acted very much as white men would have done under similar circumstances, except that the purloined greenbacks were probably scattered on the ground, or fastened, for the sake of the pictures, on wigwam walls, instead of being put out at interest. our little adventure gave rise to another evening of "vagabondizing." each one of our men, including the mexicans, had some indian tale of thrilling interest to relate, in which he had been the hero. josé, a cross-eyed child of our sister republic, spun the principal yarns of the occasion. he had commenced outwitting death while yet an infant, being content to remain quiet under a baker's dozen of murdered relations, that he might be rescued after the paternal hacienda had taken fire, by somebody who survived. after a careful analysis of several thousand remarkable stories which were told to us first and last during our journey, i have deemed it wise to repeat only those which we were able to corroborate afterward. among the latter is a narrative that was given us by the guide on this occasion, having for its text a side remark to the effect that crazy ann, the wild huntress whom we met above hays, was not the first lunatic who had been seen wandering upon the plains. about the close of , a small body of kiowas appeared in the vicinity of wilson's station, a few miles above ellsworth, being first discovered by a young man from salina, who was herding cattle there. they rushed suddenly upon him, and he fled on his pony toward the station, a mile away. the chief's horse alone gained on him, and the savage was just poising his spear to strike him down, when the young man turned quickly in his saddle, and discharged a pistol full at his pursuer's breast, killing him instantly. meanwhile, the half-dozen negro soldiers at the station had been alarmed, and now ran out and commenced firing. the indians fled in dismay, without stopping to secure their dead chieftain, who was at once scalped by the station men, and left where he fell. next morning the soldiers revisited the place, and found that the band had returned in the night, and removed the corpse. the negroes followed the trail for a mile or more, in order to discover the place of burial, and shortly found the chief's body lying exposed on the bank of the smoky. it had apparently been abandoned immediately upon the discovery that the scalp had been taken, from the belief, probably, which all indians entertain, that a warrior thus mutilated can not enter the happy hunting ground. now for the apparition in question. as the soldiers approached the spot, a white woman, in a wretched blanket, fled away. in vain they called out to her that they were friends; she neither ceased her running, nor gave them any answer. the men pursued, but the fugitive eluded them among the trees, and disappeared. a few days after, she was again seen, but once more succeeding in escaping. it afterward transpired that, a year or so before, a white girl had been stolen from texas, and passed into possession of one of the tribes. she lost her reason before long, and, like all the unfortunate creatures of this class among the indians, became an object of superstition at once. one morning she was missed by her captors, and a few days later a mexican teamster reported having seen a strange woman, near his camp, who fled when he approached her. his description left no doubt of her identity with the missing captive. i have since conversed with some of the soldiers, then stationed at wilson, and they assured me that the white girl was plainly visible to them on both occasions. as she was never afterward seen in the vicinity of civilization, the poor creature is believed to have perished from exposure. possibly she was making her way to the settlements, when frightened back by the negroes, who may have resembled her late tormentors too closely to be recognized as friends. after one has been for months passing over a country stained every-where by savage outrage, it is easy to understand how the man whose wife or sister has met the terrible fate of an indian captive, can spend his life upon their trail, committing murder. for murder it is, when revenge, not justice, prompts the blow, and the innocent must suffer alike with the guilty. while breakfast was preparing next morning, some fiend suggested to one of our mexican teamsters that the americans might like a taste of mexico's standard dish, "chile," of which, the fellow said, he had a good supply in his wagon-chest. shamus was consulted, and assented at once, seeming delighted with the prospects of astonishing our palates with a new sensation. know, o reader, of an inquiring mind, that chile consists of red pepper, served as a boiling hot sauce, or stew. it is believed to have been invented by the evil one, and immediately adopted in mexico. shamus succeeded admirably in his design of concocting a sensation for us. our alderman was _ex-officio_ the epicure of the party, half of his duties as a new york city father having been to study carefully all known flavors. he always tasted new dishes, and on our behalf accepted or rejected them. when, therefore, the savory stew came before us, he experimented with a mouthful. immediately thereafter a commotion arose in camp, and shamus fled before the righteous wrath of sachem. chapter xxviii. the block-house on the solomon--how the old man died--waconda da--legend of wa-bog-aha and hewgaw--sabbath morning--sachem's poetical epitaph--an alarm--battle between an emigrant and the indians--was it the sydneys?--to the rescue--an elk hunt--rocky mountain sheep--novel mode of hunting turkeys--in camp on the solomon--a warm welcome. on the second day we reached the solomon, and directed our course down its valley. shamus' face was as bright as if he was about to blow up an english prison, which, for so pronounced a fenian, indicated a happiness of the very highest degree. it was evident that irish mary had hold of the other end of our cook's heart-strings, and was twitching them merrily. cupid had indeed found us in the solitude, and, as sachem expressed it, was "whanging away" at two of our number, at least, most remorselessly. two days' ride brought us to the forks of the river, where a block-house had been built a year or two before, and in which we expected to find a resident. since its abandonment by the troops, it had been occupied by an elderly man, known as doctor rose, who, solitary and alone, was holding this frontier post, that, when civilization came, he might possess it as a farm. we were disappointed. the barricade was deserted, and every thing about it as silent as the grave. no curling smoke uprose among the trees, and the everlasting hills and dusky prairies stretched away on all sides in weird, wild desolation. we shook the door, and called, but found no answer. it was fastened upon the inside, and as we had no right to force it, we passed on, and encamped by the "waconda da," or great spirit salt spring, a few miles below. we did not suppose that the old man we had sought was so near us. up on a high ridge only a short distance off, his body was lying, another victim of indian murder. savages had been raiding through the settlements below, and thinking himself exposed, he had contrived to fasten the door of the block-house from the outside, and attempted to escape in the night. no one but the red murderers saw the old man die, and how and when they met him will never be known; but his body was found near the roadside, where the path wound over a high ridge, and within sight of the waconda, and there it was afterward laid in its lonely sepulcher by his sorrowing family. down on a creek below, the savages, on the previous evening, had been sweeping off the thin line of settlements, as a broom sweeps spiders' houses from the wall. perhaps some dark demon eye, glancing up from the crimson trail, saw the old man, bending under the weight of years, feebly trying to save the few remaining days left him, and turned pitilessly aside to hurl him into that grave which, at best, could not be far off. no struggle was visible where he fell, and it is probable that they approached him with a treacherous "how, how?" and a hand-shake, and, as he gave the grasp of friendship, struck him down, and launched him into eternity. waconda da, great spirit salt spring, is among the most remarkable natural curiosities of the west, and is held in great reverence by the native tribes. it presents the appearance of a large conical mass of rock, about forty feet high, shaped like an inverted bowl, and smooth as mason-work. in the center of its upper surface, is the spring, shallow at the rim, and in the middle having a well-like opening, about twenty feet in depth. into this pool the indians cast their offerings, ranging from old blankets to stolen watches, thereby to appease the great spirit. (from his location, sachem thought the latter must be an old salt.) we fished with a hooked stick for some time, and were rewarded by bringing up a ragged blanket and a shattered gunstock. all around the rim of the opening were incrustations of salt, and the brackish water trickled over, and ran in little rivulets down the huge sides. at the base of the rock, a dead buffalo was fast in the mud, having died where he mired, while licking the great spirit's brackish altar. [illustration: waconda da--great spirit salt spring.] as no remarkable spot in indian land should ever be brought before the public without an accompanying legend, i shall present one, selected out of several such, which has attached itself to this. to make tourists fully appreciate a high bluff or picturesquely dangerous spot, it is absolutely essential that some fond lovers should have jumped down it, hand-in-hand, in sight of the cruel parents, who struggle up the incline, only to be rewarded by the heart-rending _finale_. this, then, is the legend of waconda. many moons ago--no orthodox indian story ever commenced without this expression--a red maiden, named hewgaw, fell in love. (and i may here be permitted to quote a theory of alderman sachem's, to the effect that eve's daughters generally fall into every thing, including hysterics, mistakes, and the fashions.) hewgaw was a chief's daughter, and encouraged a savage to sue for her hand who, having scalped but a dozen women and children, was only high private or "big soldier." chief and lover were quickly by the ears, and the fiat went forth that wa-bog-aha must bring four more scalps, before aspiring to the position of son-in-law. this seemed as impossible as jason's task of old. war had existed for some time, and, as there was no chance for surprises, scalp-gathering was a harvest of danger. there seemed no alternative but to run for it, and so, gathering her bundle, hewgaw sallied out from the first and only story of the paternal abode, as modern young ladies, in similar emergencies, do from the third or fourth. through the tangled masses of the forest, the red lovers departed, and just at dawn were passing by the waconda spring, into whose waters all good indians throw an offering. wa-bog-aha either forgot or did not wish to do so. instantly the spring commenced bubbling wrathfully. so far, the great spirit had guided the lovers; now, he frowned. an immense column of salt water shot out of waconda high into air, and its brackish spray dashed furiously into the faces of wa-bog-aha and hewgaw, and drove them back. the saltish torrent deluged the surrounding plains--putting every thing into a pretty pickle, as may well be imagined. the ground was so soaked that the salt marshes of western kansas still remain to tell of it, and, a portion of the flood draining off, formed the famous "salt plains." along the arkansas and in the indian territory, the incrustations are yet found, covering thousands of acres. the kansas river, for hours, was as brackish as the ocean, its strangely seasoned waters pouring into the missouri, and from thence into the mississippi. it was this, according to tradition, which caused such a violent retching by the father of waters, in . the current flowed backward, and vessels were rocked violently--phenomena then ascribed by the materialistic white man to an earthquake. too late the luckless pair saw their mistake, and started for the summit of waconda, just as the angry father put in his very unwelcome appearance. had they avoided looking toward the spring, all, perchance, might yet have been well. without exception, the medicine men had written it in their annals that no eye but their own must ever gaze back at waconda, after once passing it. tradition explains that this was to avoid semblance of regret for gifts there offered the great spirit. sachem, however, is of the opinion that in giving these orders the medicine men had the gifts in their eye, and simply wished time to put them in their pockets. hewgaw could not resist the temptation to peep. immediately around the rock all was quiet, while without the narrow circle the descending torrents were dashed fiercely by the winds. the beasts of the plains, in countless numbers, came rushing in toward the waconda, their forms white with coatings of salt, and probably representing the largest amount of corned meat ever gathered in one place. all the brute eyes--knightly elk, kingly bison, and currish wolves--were turned toward the top where wa-bog-aha and hewgaw stood, casting their valuables, as appeasing morsels, into the hissing spring. it refused to be quieted. suddenly, the lovers were nowhere visible, and the salt storm ceased. nothing could be found by the afflicted father, except a tress of his daughter's hair--perhaps her chignon. the old chief declared that, just as the end was approaching, the clouds were full of beautiful colors, and the air glittered with diamonds. the white man's science, however, coldly assumes that these appearances were only the rainbows and their reflections, playing amidst the crystal salt shower. * * * * * sabbath morning dawned upon our camp, and according to our usual custom, we lay by for the day. at ten o'clock, the professor read the morning service. it must have been a strange scene that we presented, while uncouth teamsters and all--our family-pew the wide valley, with its seats of stones, and logs--sat listening to the beautiful language that told how the faith of which christianity was born was cradled in a land as primitive and desolate as that which we were traversing. there, the wild arab hordes hovered over the deserts; here, america's savage tribes do the same over the plains. our priest stood near one of nature's grandest altar pieces, "waconda da." reverence from the most irreverent is secured among such scenes and solitudes. away from his fellows, man's soul instinctively looks upward, and yearns for some power mightier than himself to which to cling. the brittle straw of atheism snaps when called upon for support under these circumstances, and the blasphemy which was bold and loud among the haunts of men, here is hushed into silence, or even awed into reverential fear. the professor improved the opportunity to deliver an excellent discourse upon the wonderful evidences of god's power which geology is daily revealing. his peroration was quite flowery, and in a strain very much as follows: "science is yet in its infancy, and many things which seem dark to us will be clear to our descendants. future generations will doubtless wonder at our boiler explosions, and our railroad accidents. lightning expresses will be used only for freight, while machines navigating the air, at one hundred miles an hour, will carry the passengers. steam, electricity, and the magnetic needle have all been open to man's appropriative genius ever since the world offered him a home, and yet he has only just now comprehended them. the future will see instruments boring thousands of feet into the earth in a day, and developing measures and mysteries which the world is not now ripe for understanding. perhaps, the telescopes of another century may bring our descendants face to face with the life of the heavenly bodies, and give us glimpses of the inhabitants at their daily avocations. who knows but that the beings who people other worlds in the infinite ocean of space around us, compared with which worlds our little planet is insignificant indeed, are able, by the use of more powerful instruments than any with which we are acquainted, to hold us in constant review? our battles they may look upon as we would the conflicts of ants, and they wonder, perchance, why so quarrelsome a world is permitted to exist at all." next morning sachem was up at daybreak, examining the spot where hewgaw and wa-bog-aha met their fate, and underwent their iridescent annihilation. his offering to their memory we found after breakfast, tacked up in a prominent position beside the spring. the inscription, evidently intended as a sort of epitaph, was written on the cover of a cracker-box, and struck me as so peculiar that i was at the pains of transcribing it among our notes. i give it to the reader for the purpose, principally, of showing the unconquerable antipathies of an alderman. in memoriam. lot's wife, you remember, looked back, (what woman could ever refrain?) and instantly stood in her track a pillar of salt on the plain. if all were thus cursed for the fault, who peep when forbidden to look, the feminine pillars of salt could never be written in book. hewgaw was an indian belle which no one could ring--she was fickle; some scores of her lovers there fell (where she did at last) in a pickle. thus salt is the only thing known entirely certain of keeping flesh of our flesh, bone of our bone, out of the habit of peeping. unless the tradition has lied, our maiden may claim, with good reason, that she is a well-preserved bride, and certainly bride of a season. wa-bog-aha big was a brave-- the great spirit salted him down: braves seldom get corned in the grave, they 're oftener corned in the town. my rhyming, you find, is saline, quite brackish its toning and end; the moral--far better to pine than wed and get "salted," my friend. soon after sunrise we took our way down the river, intending to reach the sydney farm on the following day, and there spend the necessary time in preparing our specimens for immediate shipment when we should arrive at solomon city. the professor made desperate efforts to appear entirely wrapped up in science, and his devotion to geology was something wonderful. hitherto he had been inclined to urge us forward, but now he made a show of holding us back. did he do so with a knowledge that our necessities for food and forage would be sufficient spur, and was he simply shielding his weak side from sachem's attacks? we had proceeded but a few miles on our journey, when the guide rode back, and reported fresh pony tracks across the road ahead of us. this was an unquestionable indian sign, but as the trail seemed to be leading north, we took no precaution; our route was over a high divide, where ambushing was impossible. approaching limestone creek, the road wound down the face of a precipitous bluff, into the valley below. we had just commenced the descent, when the now familiar cry of "injuns!" came back from the men in front, and following closely on the cry we heard the echoing report of firearms. we looked in the direction of the sound, and saw close to the trees an emigrant wagon, while beyond it, but at fully one hundred yards' distance, four or five indians were riding back and forth in semi-circles, and firing pistols. the emigrant stood beside his oxen, with rifle in readiness, but apparently reserving his fire. "that man knows his biz!" exclaimed our guide, as he urged the teams forward, that we might afford rescue. "injuns never bump up agin a loaded gun." a gleam of calico was visible in the wagon, and another rifle barrel, held by female hands, seemed peering out in front. the general aspect of the assailed outfit reminded us strongly of the sydney family, and suspicion was strengthened by a very unscientific yell from the professor, as he started off at break-neck speed down the bluff for a rescue, with no other weapon whatever in his hand than a small hammer he had just been using for breaking stones. mr. colon seemed equally demented, following close upon paleozoic's heels with a bug-net. shamus, at the moment, happened to be astride his donkey, and giving an irish war-whoop which reached even to the scene of combat, straightway charged over the limestone ledges in a cloud of white dust. our appearance upon the scene was a surprise to lo. the indians stood not upon the order of their going, but "lit out on the double-quick," as our guide expressed it, and were soon out of sight. we found that the emigrants were named burns, the family comprising the parents and their two children. the man stated that he had no fear of the savages. he had been twice across the plains, and made it a rule never to throw a shot away. "if they can draw your fire," said he, "the fellows will charge. but they don't want to look into a loaded gun." mrs. burns had come to her husband's rescue with an expedient worthy the wife of a frontiersman. having no gun, she pointed from under the canvass the handle of a broom. this, being woman's favorite weapon, was handled so skillfully that the savages imagined it another rifle. in our log-book she was chronicled at once as fully the equal of that revolutionary hero, who one evening made prisoner of a british officer, by crooking an american sausage into the semblance of a pistol, and presenting it at the englishman's breast. there were two of our party who did not rejoice as they should have done, after rendering such timely aid to the burns family. how romantic had the rescued party only proved to be the one which was at first suspected! where this little scene occurred, there are homesteads now, which will soon develop into thrifty farms. the blessing of a railroad can not be long deferred. a year, a month, even a week sometimes, makes wonderful changes in buffalo land, when the tide of immigration is rolling forward upon it. before the present year is ended, the beautiful valley of limestone creek will be teeming with civilized life, and the savage red man, there is good reason to believe, has departed from it forever. after bidding the burns family good-bye, we traveled without further adventure until near noon, when the guide rode back, and directed our attention to some elk, which he pointed out, some distance ahead. the bodies of the herd were hidden by a ridge, but above its brown line we could plainly see their great antlers, looking like the branches of trees, moving slowly along. there was but one method of getting near the game, and that was immediately adopted. up the side of the sloping ridge we carefully crawled, and, reaching the summit, peeped over. half a dozen big antlered fellows, and as many does, were feeding along the slope below. only one of them, a splendid male, was within shooting distance at all, and even for it the range was long. the guide and muggs fired together, breaking the poor creature's shoulder. what a startled stare the noble animals flashed back at the crack of the rifles, and how quickly they disappeared. their trot was perfectly grand--great, firm strokes which seemed to fairly fling the bodies onward. we had hardly time to realize having fired, when their tails bade us distant adieu. it is said that no horse can keep up with the trot of the elk. if charged upon suddenly, however, from close quarters, he is frightened into an awkward gallop, and may then be overtaken easily. our wounded game looked formidable, and we approached cautiously. he made several efforts to run, but each time fell forward, in plunging slides, on his nose and side, rubbing the hair from the latter, and daubing the ground with blood from his nostrils. muggs felt free to confess that even the pampered stags of england, when perilously roused from their well-kept glens, by over-fed hunters in killing coats and boots, never presented such a picture of wild beauty and agony, colored just the least bit with danger. at this "kill" we lost our black hound. tempted to incaution by the sight of the noble elk standing wounded and at bay, or else excited by its blood, the dog sprang forward. a chance blow of the massive horns knocked him over, and in an instant more the beast had stamped him to death. we finished the elk by a united volley, and added him to our trophies. the horns, resting upon their tips, gave space for one of our mexicans, five feet two in stature, to pass beneath them erect. elk hairs are remarkably elastic. single ones obtained from this specimen stretched by trial with the fingers, and detached from the skin so easily that the latter seemed worthless. during the day we found and secured the remains of two saurians--one about eight and the other ten feet in length, and also the tooth of a fossil horse, quite a number of curious bubble-shaped pieces of iron pyrites, and some fine petrifactions, in the way of butternuts and fragments of trees. the soft, white limestone, mentioned more than once before in this record of our expedition, appeared along our paths in fine outcrops, and contained very perfect fossil shells. abe, our guide, told us that a year or two previous, during a winter of unusual severity, he had found a flock of rocky mountain sheep feeding near the solomon. this was the only instance which came to our knowledge of that animal having been seen upon the plains. we had an amusing experience, before night, with turkeys, hunting them in novel style. the birds were wild from recent pursuit, and, the instant they saw us, would leave the narrow fringe of timber, and run off into the ravines. then would commence a ludicrous chase, each rider plying spurs, and pursuing. there went sachem, on his long-legged purchase, the beast staggering and stumbling through ravines; and semi also, upon cynocephalus, whose abbreviated tail was hoisted straight in air, while at the other extremity his nose stretched well out and took in air under asthmatic protests. rearward was the mexican donkey, arguing the point with dobeen whether or not to enter the race. ahead of all went the wild turkeys, running like ostriches. the bird is a heavy one, and its short flights and runs, therefore, though rapid, can not be long continued. seeing the pursuit gaining, it would turn to the woods again for protection. other riders would there head it off, and soon, completely exhausted and only able to stagger along, it was easily taken. in this manner, we obtained over twenty turkeys while passing along the river. [illustration: more of our specimens--photographed by j. lee knight, topeka, kans. prairie chickens. head of an elk. wild turkey. beaver.] that evening we reached the little settlement on the solomon, which was the canaan of all our wanderings to certain members of our party, and went into camp among the sydneys and their neighbors. our welcome was a warm one, and it took shamus but a few moments to find our friend's kitchen, where he at once installed himself in the dual capacity of lover and assistant cook, discharging the duties of each position to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. our supper with the sydney family seemed like civilization again, notwithstanding that we were still on the uttermost bounds of civilized manners and customs. the professor, sitting next to miss flora, was the very picture of happiness, and "all went merry as a marriage bell." even sachem ceased to sulk before the meal was ended. at dusk, as we were assuring ourselves by personal inspection that the camp was in proper order, a familiar form came stalking toward us in the gathering gloom. "tenacious gripe!" cried the professor; and so it was. our friend's ribs had been repaired, and he was now on a mission along the solomon river, holding railroad meetings in the different counties. the progressive westerner, when he has nothing else to do, is in the habit of starting out on a tour for the purpose of inducing the dear people to vote county bonds for a new railroad, and such a westerner was gripe. chapter xxix. our last night together--the remarkable shed-tail dog--he rescues his mistress, and breaks up a meeting--a sketch of territorial times by gripe--montgomery's expedition for the rescue of john brown's companions--scalped, and carving his own epitaph--an irish jacob--"survival of the fittest"--sachem's poetical letter--popping the question on the run--the professor's letter. supper over, we made an engagement with our hospitable friends for their presence at a sort of "state dinner" we proposed giving the next day, and then returned to our own camp. a number of the settlers soon came strolling in, and among them one bringing a most remarkable dog, of the "shed-tail" variety. the animal was well known to fame in that section, for having attacked some indians who had taken his mistress captive and were endeavoring to place her upon one of their ponies, and so delaying them that the neighbors were able to arrive and give rescue. it was claimed that thirty shots were fired at him without effect, which, if true, proved that either those indians were exceedingly bad marksmen, or that the small fraction of caudal appendage which the beast possessed acted as a protective talisman. we had often seen dogs without tails, but previous to this had always supposed that a depraved human taste, not nature, was at the root of it. tail-wagging we had considered as much the born prerogative of a dog as a laugh is that of man. it is true some men do not laugh, but the child did. a dog's tail embodies his laughing faculty, or rather one might call it a canine thermometer. it rises and falls with his feelings, in moments of depression going down to zero between his legs, and again rising when the canine temperature becomes more even. "that thar dorg, stranger, is of the shed-tail variety," said its owner, when we solicited information. "whole litter had nothin' but stumps. killed most on 'em off, 'cause, havin' nothin' to wag, visitin' people couldn't tell whether they was goin' to bite, or be pleased. some time ago, a travelin' school-teacher giv' him a plaguy latin name, but we call him shed, for short. he knows, just as well as you and i, that he 's in the wrong, latterly, and as soon as you look at him, or touch where the tail ought ter be, he hides and howls. he 's sensitive as a human." saying this, our new acquaintance leaned over the dog, which was lying asleep, and gave the animal what he called a "latterly touch." although it was but the gentle contact of a finger tip, the poor creature jumped up, uttered a dismal howl, and fled off among the wagons. "that dorg," continued the owner, "would be one of the best critters out, if it wasn't for his short cut. he 'll fight injuns, or wild cats, and take any amount of blows on his head, if they 'll only avoid his misfortin.'" we remarked that he seemed to have been shot in the side, some time. "yes, got a whole charge of quail shot slapped inter him. you see the way it was, wer this. most every section has one or two scraggy, rattle-brained fellers, allers loungin' round, takin' free drinks, and starvin' ther families. whar we come from was one of this sort, never of no account to no one. we had a temperance meetin' one day, and this hib, as they called him, wer opposed to it. he was afraid they 'd shut up old bung's whisky shed. well, we was all a gathered, listenin' to the serpent and its poisoned sting, and that sort o' thing, and had about concluded to go for old bung, when that contrairy, ornery hib broke us up. he goes and gets a fresh coon skin, and sneaks all round the school-house, draggin' it arter him, and makin' a sort o' scented circle. then he goes and gets shed tail there, who was powerful on coons, and sets him on that thar track. shed give just one sniff, and opened right out. the way he shied round that school-house wer a sin. in five minutes, all the dogs of the village were at his heels, and goin' round that circle like the spokes in a wheel. "it was just a round ring of the loudest yelling you ever heard. every dog thought the one just ahead of him had the coon. all the meetin' folks come a pourin' out, with sticks and chairs, and what with beatin' and coaxin' they got all off the trail but old shed. half the people went to chasin' that dorg, while the balance held onto the others. but shed just stuck to that coon track, like all possessed, dodgin' atween our legs, or sheerin' off, and catchin' ther trail agin just beyond. he finally upset old squire bundy's wife, and the squire got mad, and slapped some no. into his ribs." the shed-tail's owner, waxing more and more eloquent with his subject, had just commenced the narrative of another indian battle in which his favorite had figured, when we became interested in a wordy political combat between tenacious gripe and a genuine specimen of the "reconstructed," the first and only one of that genus that we saw in kansas. his clothes had the famous butternut dye, and his shirt bosom was mapped into numerous creeks and rivers by the brown stains of tobacco overflows. the dispute waxed warm, and grew more and more prolific of eloquence. at length, the reconstructed beat a retreat, and our orator was left in triumphant possession of the field. drawing fresh inspiration from his success, gripe devoted another hour to an account of the early struggles in kansas against these "mean whites." he gave us many vivid descriptions of the time when men died that their children might live. among other relations was that of the expedition under montgomery, to rescue the two companions of old john brown from the prison at charlestown, virginia, a short time after the stern hero himself had there been hung. the dozen of brave kansas men interested in the enterprise reached harrisburg, with their rifles taken apart and packed in a chest, and sent scouts into virginia and maryland. it was the middle of winter, and deep snow covered the ground. they intended, when passing among the mountains, to bear the character of a hunting party. every member of that little band was willing to push on to charlestown, notwithstanding the whole state of virginia was on the alert, and pickets were thrown out as far even as hagerstown, maryland. the plan was, by a bold dash to capture the jail, and then, with the rescued men, make rapidly for the seaboard. although the expedition failed, it gave the world a glimpse of that heroic western spirit which was not only willing to do battle upon its own soil, but content to turn back and meet death half-way when comrades were in danger. gripe did not accompany the expedition. yet he grew so eloquent over the deep snow that stretched drearily before the little band, the gloomy mountains which frowned down defiance, and the people, far more inhospitable than either, who stood behind the natural barriers, filled to fanaticism with suspicion, fear, and hate, that we were sorry he had not been of the party. a man of such congressional qualifications as were his, might have been able to steal even the prisoners. on other matters of kansas history, gripe could speak from personal experience. he had twice entered the territory during the period when the free state and pro-slavery forces were doing battle for it. in one instance, the journey had been overland through missouri, and in the other, up the missouri river. on the first occasion, he had suffered numberless indignities at the hands of border ruffians, and would have been killed, had there been any thing in the least degree stronger than suspicion for them to act upon. on the other trip, the steamboat was stopped at lexington, and a pro-slavery mob boarded the vessel, and searched for arms. the whole fabric of kansas material which gripe wove for us that evening was figured all over with battles, and murders, and tar-and-feather diversions. had we been writing a history of the state, we might have accumulated a fair share of the material then and there. another subject this evening discussed around our camp-fire was the future of the vast plains which we had been traversing. two or three of the settlers were ranchemen, who had lived in this region for many years. they were very enthusiastic about the section of their adoption, and affirmed stoutly that within fifteen years the whole tract would be under cultivation. i can answer for our whole party that, beyond a doubt, the climate is healthy and the soil rich. for the first one hundred miles, after reaching the eastern boundary of the plains, springs and pure streams abound. further west, the water supply is not so plentiful. on only one occasion, however, did we suffer any inconvenience from this, and that was upon the very headwaters of the saline. going into camp late, coffee was hastily prepared, and the quality of the water not noticed. it proved to be quite salty, and as we drank liberally of the coffee, and were unable afterward to find a spring, our sufferings before morning amounted to positive torture. each one of the party found that his lungs were benefited by our sojourn on the plains. i believe that a consumptive could find decidedly more relief in buffalo land than among the mountains further west. during the evening, we added considerably to our already very full notes concerning the wild tribes of the western plains. so many are the "true tales of the border" which one can hear in a few months of such journeyings as ours, that the recital of even a tithe of the number would become tiresome. the red-bearded owner of "shed-tail" added to our store, by relating an adventure which he claimed had occurred to himself and buffalo bill, when they were teamsters together in an overland train. it was to the effect that while riding ahead of the wagons, to find a crossing over the sandy, they discovered the skeleton of a man lying at the foot of a cottonwood tree. as they dismounted for the purpose of finding some means, if possible, of identifying the remains, their attention was caught by letters cut in the bark. these they deciphered sufficiently to see that it had been an attempt by some weak hand to carve a name. a broken knife, lying near the bones, told plainly enough who the worker at the epitaph had been, and other signs revealed to the frontiersmen the whole death history. the man had been assailed by savages, scalped, and left as dead. the work of the knife showed that he must have recovered sufficiently to crawl to the tree, and there make a faint effort to leave some record of his name and fate. the straggling gashes indicated that he had continued the task even while death was blinding his eyes. a few more drops of blood, and perhaps the mystery of years, now shrouding the history of some family hearth-stone, would have been cleared away. we had no opportunity of verifying this story of red beard's, but as no occasion existed for telling a lie, and the neighbors of the narrator there present seemed much interested in the account, we accepted it as truth. it was apparently no attempt to impose upon the strangers. but i would here state, as a specimen feature of the frontier experience of all travelers, that whenever, at any of our camps, surrounding ranchemen or hunters discovered any member of our party taking notes, there were straightway spun out the toughest yarns which ever hung a tale and throttled truth. of one fact our journey thoroughly convinced us. lo's forte has no connection with the fort of the pale-faces. an unguarded hunter, or a defenseless emigrant wagon, or unarmed railroad laborer, gratifies sufficiently his most warlike ambition. the savages of the plains, in their attacks upon the whites, have been like bees, stinging whenever opportunity offers, and immediately disappearing in space. their excuses for the murders they commit have been as various as their moods. at one time it is a broken treaty, at another the killing of their buffalo, and trespassing upon the hunting-grounds, and again it is some other grievance. it may be some gratification for them to know that it is estimated that, until within the last three years, a white man's scalp atoned for each buffalo killed by his race. in our various wars with the indians, it is worthy of remark the bison have been like supply posts at convenient distances, to the hostile bands. traveling without any supplies whatever, and therefore rapidly, a few moments suffice to kill a buffalo near the camping spot, and roast his flesh over the chips. the pony, meanwhile, makes a hearty meal on the grass. on the other hand, our troops, in pursuit of these bands, have had to encumber themselves with baggage wagons, or pack-mules, bearing food and forage. among our notes, i find recorded many incidents illustrative of the aptitude which the savage mind possesses for dissimulation. for instance, in our council at hays city, white wolf could apparently understand only our sign language; yet when the interpreter advised the professor, in good english, not to accept the little mexican _burro_, unless content to return its weight in something much more valuable than jackass meat, the chief could not refrain from smiling. as indians are not given to facial revelations, the colloquy must have struck him as very apropos and very amusing. we concluded then and there, that it was unsafe to talk indian sign with the savages for effect, and meanwhile express our real sentiments to each other in english; and upon this opinion we habitually acted thereafter. this was our last night together as a party. the professor had signified his intention of remaining a few days longer upon the solomon, for the purpose of studying the surrounding country. shamus had asked a discharge, in order to engage as farm hand for mr. sydney--an irish jacob taking to agriculture as a means of obtaining his rachel. we received numerous invitations to divide our party for the night among the settlers, and, glad to enjoy again the luxury of a roof, sachem and i gratefully accepted the hospitabilities of a neighboring log-cabin among the trees. the next day was busily occupied in separating from our loads such things as the professor and shamus required for their further sojourn in the solomon valley. the morning following, we bade them both good-bye, and have seen neither leader or servant since. with but one mishap, the remainder of our party reached safely the more familiar haunts of civilization. doctor pythagoras was the victim of our exceptional misfortune. while attempting to mount his transformed prize-fighter, the metamorphosed bully struck out from the shoulder, and the doctor was floored. we found it necessary to carry him upon a rude stretcher to solomon city, and provide him with a section on a sleeping car for transit to the east. as we shook his hand at parting, and bade him a last good-bye, he exclaimed, "my young friends, i can not die yet. i shall recover and outlive you all. i believe in the theory of the 'survival of the fittest.'" ever since our return, the tide of emigration, pouring onward from the atlantic, has lapped further and further out upon the surface of the plains; and still, as truly now as when good old bishop berkeley first wrote the line, "the star of empire westward takes its way." * * * * * while i was preparing these notes for the press, i received the following characteristic letter from sachem, dated at his haunt in new york. it was at first a puzzle, but i found the key in a note inclosed by him, which he had lately received from the professor. sachem's letter. to crack a head and break a heart, are known as paddy's forte; in kitchen, jail, or low-back cart-- no matter where--he 'll court. to don a rig, and dance a jig, attend a wake or wedding, he 'll sell his own or neighbor's pig and only rag of bedding. he lives a happy, careless life, hand to mouth, and heart in hand; ready for either love or strife, building castles on the sand. with peck of trouble ever full, good measure, running over, he deals in stock--the irish bull, and with it, lives in clover. love's labor is the only taste that paddy's mind inherits: he thinks, where maidens run to waste, the harem has its merits. and so dobeen, upon his course, love's gallop quick began; the gal up on the other horse, he courted, as they ran. the bows around the maid were more than suited to her mind; cupid and shamus rode before, the savage rode behind. they each pursued the maiden coy, two wooed her _a la_ bow; the arrow tips of one were joy, the other's tips were woe. 't is said that shamus won the race, and saved his hair and bacon: if mary loved his wooing pace, his heart may stop its achin'. and this was the professor's letter, which had evidently set the aldermanic machine to grinding doggerel again: "on the solomon, } lindsey, ottawa county, kansas. } ... "i have run down here after my mail. am progressing finely with my studies. shamus had an adventure yesterday. mary and he rode over on horseback to a neighbor's, a mile away, and on the return were pursued by an indian. hard riding brought them in safely. mary tells her mistress that, during the terrors of the chase, shamus would not refrain from courting. he lashed her horse, and spurred his, and popped the question, alternately. "i shall probably remain here a month or so longer, as i am much interested in the _flora_ of the solomon valley." the italicized word in the last sentence is underscored, and its initial letter bears evidence of having been maliciously transformed into a capital by sachem. the end. appendix. preliminary to the appendix. the officials of the new states and territories are constantly overwhelmed with letters of inquiry from all parts of our own country and the canadas, and even from europe. some of the writers wish particulars concerning the opportunities that exist for obtaining homes; others seek information as to the best points for hunting; while what to bring with them, in the way of household goods, and farming implements, or guns, dogs, etc., is the common question of nearly all. while engaged in preparing "buffalo land" for the press, i published in a newspaper at topeka a brief summary of the information then at my command upon the subjects above named. the result was the receipt of a large number of letters, asking for all sorts of details, many of which i found it impossible to answer through the mail. this fact, added to the requests of various public officers, whom i take pleasure in thus obliging, has induced me to attach an appendix to the present volume, containing a condensed statement of such matters (not elsewhere described in this work) as will assist parties westward bound, whether emigrants, sportsmen, or tourists. the appendix which follows is divided into three chapters. the first of these embodies information of especial interest to the immense army of home-seekers who, from every quarter, are turning their eyes eagerly and hopefully toward the free and boundless west. the second chapter is designed for the use of the sportsman, and the third furnishes very valuable and instructive details concerning the topography, resources, climate, etc., of the plains, and, more particularly, a description of the larger streams, with their contiguous valleys, which drain the vast area included within the limits of buffalo land. w. e. w. appendix. chapter first. further information for the home-seeker. appendix. contents of chapter first. page come to the great west, should there not be compulsory emigration, "get a good ready," homestead laws and regulations, the state of kansas, the cost of a farm, a few more practical suggestions, appendix. chapter first. _further information for the home-seeker._ come to the great west! the western states and territories afford unexampled inducements to the surplus energy and capital of the east and europe; and the field which they spread out so invitingly to the emigrant's choice is as wide as it is magnificent. hundreds of millions of acres of rich land--embracing bottom and prairie, timber and running water--are open for settlement. counties are to be populated, and towns built, all over the new states and territories. each of these latter is an empire in itself. great britain could be set down within the borders of any one of them, and yet leave room for some of the german principalities. the records of the agricultural bureau at washington show that, wherever the new soil has been cultivated, both the yield per acre and the quality of the crops produced are better than in the older states. the balance of power is moving westward, and the capital of the nation, it can scarcely be doubted, must eventually come also. there is no reason why people should starve in the great cities of this broad and heaven-favored land of ours. business men, so often besieged and worried with applications for positions in their stores and counting-rooms, might with advantage tack up a copy of the homestead law by their desk, and keep a further supply on hand for distribution. every few months some poet sings of the ill-paid seamstress in the crowded town, or some hideous murder brings to light the heroine of the garret-stitched shirt. yet, meanwhile, at denver city, house-girls have been getting from six to ten dollars per week, and thousands could find comfortable homes throughout kansas, nebraska, and colorado, with remunerative wages. abroad, men toil, and women work in the fields, and in one year pay out from the scanty earnings which they wring from a stingy soil more than enough to purchase one hundred and sixty acres of good land in the great and growing west. should there not be compulsory emigration? except in the case of the very decrepit, or totally disabled, there can be no excuse for begging, in a country which offers every pauper a quarter-section of as rich land as the sun shines upon. i suppose the millennium will commence when laws compel the cities to drive from them the idle and vicious, and make them tillers of the soil in the wilds. instead of brooding in the dark alleys, and breeding vice to be flung out at regular intervals upon the civilized thoroughfares, these germinators of disease and crime would be dragged forth from their purlieus and hiding-places, and disinfected in the pure atmosphere of the large prairies and grand forests. granting that it might be a heavy burden upon their shoulders at the outset, the present generation of reformers would have the satisfaction of knowing that the sores were cleansed, and that moral and physical disease was not being propagated to suffocate their children; and even although some of the present multitude of evil-doers might not be reclaimed, most of their children certainly would be. it is more profitable to raise farmers than convicts. instead of building jails to hold men in life-long mildew, our artisans might be building steamers and cars, to carry their products to the seaboard. "get a good ready." of the immense and almost boundless tracts of western land that invite the emigrant's choice, the larger part can be homesteaded and pre-empted, and the remainder purchased on favorable terms from the different railroads. the competition among the latter for immigration has induced low prices and superior facilities for examination. where a number of families are coming together, the best way, as a rule, is to select commissioners from the number, to go in advance, and spy out the land, which can be done at comparatively trifling expense. on giving satisfactory proof of their mission, such representatives are nearly always able to secure low rates of fare and freight. in this way, two or three reliable agents can select a district in which a colony may settle, and make all the necessary arrangements for its transportation, and each family save a number of dollars, which will give back compound interest in the new home. "get a good ready" before starting, and have your route plainly mapped out; otherwise, you will buy experience at the sacrifice of many a useful dollar. and pray that your flight be not in the winter. come at such season as will enable you to provide at least some shelter and supplies before the inclement months come on. furniture and provisions can be purchased at very reasonable rates at the west, and no necessity exists, therefore, for bringing one or two car loads of broken chairs, and partially filled flour barrels. good stock will repay transportation, but common breeds are abundant and cheap on the ground. texas yearlings can be purchased for about six dollars per head in kansas. homestead laws and regulations. the following is an epitome, by a former register of a united states land office, of such laws and regulations as pertain to the securing of government land: the pre-emption act of september , , provides, that "every person, being the head of the family, or widow, or single man over the age of twenty-one years, and being a citizen of the united states, or having filed a declaration of intention to become a citizen, as required by the naturalization laws," is authorized to enter at the land office one hundred and sixty acres of unappropriated government land by complying with the requirements of said act. it has been decided that an unmarried or single woman over the age of twenty-one years, not the head of the family, but able to meet all the requirements of the pre-emption law, has the right to claim its benefits. where the tract is "offered," the party must file his declaratory statements within thirty days from the date of his settlement, and within one year from the date of said settlement, must appear before the register and receiver, and make proof of his actual residence and cultivation of the tract, and pay for the same with cash or military land warrants. when the tract has been surveyed but not offered at public sale, the claimant must file within three months from the date of settlement, and make proof and payment before the day designated in the president's proclamation offering the land at public sale. should the settler, in either of the above class of cases, die before establishing his claim within the period limited by law, the title may be perfected by the executor or administrator, by making the requisite proof of settlement and cultivation, and paying the government price; the entry to be made in the name of "the heirs" of the deceased settler. when a person has filed his declaratory statements for one tract of land, it is not lawful for the same individual to file a second declaratory statement for another tract of land, unless the first filing was invalid in consequence of the land applied for, not being open to pre-emption, or by determination of the land against him, in case of contest, or from any other similar cause which would have prevented him from consummating a pre-emption under his declaratory statements. each qualified pre-empter is permitted to enter one hundred and sixty acres of either minimum or double minimum lands, subject to pre-emption, by paying the government price, $ . per acre for the former class of lands, and $ . for the latter class. where a person has filed his declaratory statement for land which at the time was rated at $ . per acre, and the price has subsequently been reduced to $ . per acre, before he proves up and makes payment, he will be allowed to enter the land embraced in his declaratory statement at the last-named price, viz.: $ . per acre. final proof and payment can not be made until the party has actually resided upon the land for a period of at least six months, and made the necessary cultivation and improvements to show his good faith as an actual settler. this proof can be made by one witness. the party who makes the first settlement in person upon a tract of public land is entitled to the right of pre-emption, provided he subsequently complies with all the requirements of the law--his right to the land commences from the date he performed the first work on the land. when a person has filed his declaratory statement for a tract of land, and afterward relinquishes it to the government, he forfeits his right to file again for another tract of land. the assignment of a pre-emption right is null and void. title to public land is not perfected until the issuance of the patent from the general land office, and all sales and transfers prior to the date of the patents are in violation of law. the act of march , , protects the right of settlers on sections along the lines of railroads, when settlement was made prior to the withdrawal of the lands, and in such case allows the lands to be pre-empted and paid for at $ . per acre, by furnishing proof of inhabitancy and cultivation, as required under the act of september , . the homestead act of may , , provides "that any person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the united states, or who shall have filed his declaration of intention to become such, as required by the naturalization laws of the united states, and who has never borne arms against the united states government, or given aid or comfort to its enemies, shall be entitled to enter one quarter section or less quantity of unappropriated public land." under this act, one hundred and sixty acres of land subject to pre-emption at $ . per acre, or eighty acres at $ . per acre, can be entered upon application, by making affidavit "that he or she is the head of a family, or is twenty-one years of age, or shall have performed service in the army and navy of the united states, and that such application is made for his or her exclusive use or benefit, and that said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not, either directly or indirectly, for the use and benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever." on filing said affidavit, and payment of fees and commissions, the entry will be permitted. soldiers and sailors who have served ninety days can, however, take one hundred and sixty acres of the $ . , or double minimum lands. in all other respects they are subject to the usual homestead laws and regulations. no certificate will be given, or patent issued, until the expiration of five years from the date of said entry; and if, at the expiration of such time, or at any time within two years thereafter, the person making such entry--or if he be dead, his widow; or in case of her death, his heirs or devisee; or in case of a widow making such entry, her heirs or devisee, in case of her death--shall prove by two credible witnesses that he or she has resided upon and cultivated the same for the term of five years immediately succeeding the date of filing the above affidavit, and shall make affidavit that no part of said land has been alienated, and that he has borne true allegiance to the government of the united states; then he or she, if at that time a citizen of the united states, shall be entitled to a patent. in case of the death of both father and mother, leaving an infant child or children under twenty-one years of age, the right and fee shall inure to the benefit of said infant or children; and the executor, administrator, or guardian may, at any time after the death of the surviving parent, and in accordance with the law of the state in which such children for the time being have their domicil, sell said land for the benefit of said infants, but for no other purpose; and the purchaser shall acquire the absolute title from the government and be entitled to a patent. when a homestead settler has failed to commence his residence upon land so as to enable him to make a continuous residence of five years within the time (seven years) limited by law, he will be permitted, upon filing an affidavit showing a sufficient reason for his neglect to date his residence at the time he commenced such inhabitancy, and will be required to live upon the land for five years from said date, provided no adverse claim has attached to said land, and the affidavit of a settler is supported by the testimony of disinterested witnesses. in the second section of the act of may , , it is stipulated in regard to settlers, that in the case of the death of both father and mother, leaving an infant child, or children, under twenty-one years of age, the right and fee shall inure to the benefit of the infant child or children; and that the executor, administrator, or guardian, may sell the land for the benefit of the infant heirs, at any time within two years after the death of the surviving parent, in accordance with the law of the state. the commissioner rules that instead of selling the land as above provided, their heirs may, if they so select, continue residence and cultivation on the land for the period required by law, and at the expiration of the time provided, a patent will be issued in their names. in the case of the death of a homestead settler who leaves a widow and children, should the widow again marry and continue her residence and cultivation upon the land entered in the name of her first husband for the period required by law, she will be permitted to make final proof as the widow of the deceased settler, and the patent will be issued in the name of "his heirs." when a widow, or single woman, has made a homestead entry, and thereafter marries a person who has also made a similar entry on a tract, it is ruled that the parties may select which tract they will retain for permanent residence, and will be allowed to enter the remaining tract under the eighth section of the act of may , , on proof of inhabitance and cultivation up to date of marriage. in the case of the death of a homestead settler, his heirs will be allowed to enter the land under the eighth section of the homestead act, by making proof of inhabitancy and cultivation in the same manner as provided by the second section of the act of march , , in regard to deceased pre-emptors. when at the date of application the land is $ . per acre, and the settler is limited to an entry of eighty acres, should the price subsequently be reduced to $ . per acre, the settler will not be allowed to take additional land to make up the deficiency. the sale of a homestead claim by the settler to another is not recognized, and vests no titles or equities in the purchaser, and would be _prima facie_ evidence of abandonment, and sufficient cause for cancellation of the entry. the law allows but one homestead privilege. a settler who relinquished or abandoned his claim can not hereafter make a second entry. when a party has made a settlement on a surveyed tract of land, and filed his pre-emption declaration thereof, he may change his filing into a homestead. if a homestead settler does not wish to remain five years on his tract, the law permits him to pay for it with cash or military warrants, upon making proof of residence and cultivation as required in pre-emption cases. the proof is made by the affidavit of the party and the testimony of _two_ credible witnesses. there is another class of homesteads, designated as "adjoining farm homesteads." in these cases, the law allows an applicant _owning_ and _residing_ on an original farm, to enter other land contiguous thereto, which shall not, with such farm, exceed in the aggregate acres. for example, a party owning or occupying acres, may enter additional of $ . , or acres of $ . land. or, if the applicant owns acres, he may enter at $ . , or at $ . per acre, if both classes of land should be found contiguous to his original farm. in entries of "adjoining farms," the settler must describe in his affidavit the tract he owns and lives upon, as his original farm. actual residence on the tract entered as an "adjoining farm" is not required, but _bona fide_ improvement and cultivation of it must be shown for five years. the right to a tract of land under the homestead act, commences from the date of entry in the land office, and not from date of personal settlement, as in case of the pre-emption. when a party makes an entry under the homestead act, and thereafter, before the expiration of five years, makes satisfactory proof of habitancy and cultivation, and pays for the tract under the th section of said act, it is held to be a consummation of his homestead right as the act allows, and not a pre-emption, and will be no bar to the same party acquiring a pre-emption right, provided he can legally show his right in virtue of actual settlement and cultivation on another tract, at a period subsequent to his proof and payment under the th section of the homestead act. the d section of the act of may , , declares that after making proof of settlement, cultivation, etc., "then, if the party is at that time a citizen of the united states, he shall be entitled to a patent." this, then, requires that all settlers shall be "citizens of the united states" at the time of making final proof, and they must file in the land office the proper evidence of that fact before a final certificate will be issued. a party who has proved up and paid for a tract of land under the pre-emption act, can subsequently enter another tract of land under the homestead act. or, a party who has consummated his right to a tract of land under the homestead act will afterward be permitted to pre-empt another tract. a settler who desires to "relinquish his homestead must surrender his duplicate receipt, his relinquishment to the united states" being endorsed thereon; if he has lost his receipt, that fact must be stated in his relinquishment, to be signed by the settler, attested by two witnesses, and acknowledged before the register or receiver, or clerk or notary public using a seal. when a homestead entry is contested and application is made for cancellation, the party so applying must file an affidavit setting forth the facts on which his allegations are grounded, describing the tract and giving the name of the settler. a day will then be set for hearing the evidence, giving all parties due notice of the time and place of trial. it requires the testimony of two witnesses to establish the abandonment of a homestead entry. the notice to a settler that his claim is contested must be served by a disinterested party, and in all cases when practicable, personal service must be made upon the settler. another entry of the land will not be made in case of relinquishment or contest, until the cancellation is ordered by the commissioner of the general land office. when a party has made a mistake in the description of the land he desires to enter as a homestead, and desires to amend his application, he will be permitted to do so upon furnishing the testimony of two witnesses to the facts, and proving that he has made no improvements on the land described in his application, but has made valuable improvements on the land he first intended and now applies to enter. it is important to settlers to bear in mind that it requires two witnesses to make final proof under the homestead act, who can testify that the settler has resided upon and cultivated the tract for five years from the date of his entry. patents are not issued for lands until from one to two years after date of location in the district office. no patent will be delivered until the surrender of the duplicate receipt, unless such receipt should be lost, in which case an affidavit of the fact must be filed in the register's office, showing how said loss occurred, also that said certificate has never been assigned, and that the holder is the _bona fide_ owner of the land, and entitled to said patent. by a careful examination of the foregoing requirements, settlers will be enabled to learn without a visit to the land office the manner in which they can secure and perfect title to public lands under the pre-emption act of september , , and homestead act of may , . the state of kansas. our sojourn on the plains impressed our party with a strong belief that kansas, at no distant day, will be one of the richest garden spots on the continent. i have more particularly described the central portion of the state, but both northern and southern kansas are equally as fertile and desirable. the united states land offices in kansas are located at the following places: topeka, humboldt, augusta, salina, and concordia. the rapidity with which kansas is being settled may readily be inferred from the fact that , , acres of its land were sold during one year, . in our note-book, i find the outline of a speech delivered by the professor in topeka, and i quote a single paragraph as fitly expressing the common sentiment of our entire number: "gentlemen, great as your state now is in extent of territory and natural resources, she will soon have a corresponding greatness in the means of development, and in a self-supporting population. holds in her lap and fondles the infant; will shake hands with the giant. the whole surface of your land, gentlemen, is one wild sea of beauty, ready to toss into the lap of every venturer upon it, a farm. the genius which rewards honest industry stands on the threshold of your state, with countless herds and golden sheaves, smiling ready welcome to all new-comers, of whatever creed or clime." what a farm will cost. the emigrant has already been told what it will cost him to obtain government land. if this adjoins railroad tracts, he can secure what is desired of the latter at from two to ten dollars per acre. the expense of fencing material might be fairly estimated at from twenty to thirty dollars per thousand feet for boards, and ten to fifteen dollars per hundred for posts. this is supposing that all the material is purchased. if fortunate enough to have timber on his claim, the emigrant, of course, can inclose the farm at the cost of his own labor. i have seen many new-comers protect their fields by simply digging around them a narrow, deep trench, and throwing the earth on the inside line so as to raise an embankment along that side two feet in height. one single wire stretched along this, and secured at proper intervals by small stakes, appears to answer quite well as a cattle guard. osage orange grows rapidly, and is cheap, and a permanent fence can be made with it, at small expense, in the course of three or four years. the usual cost of breaking prairie is from two to four dollars per acre. with a yoke or two of good oxen, however, this item can also be saved. the second year the farmer can set out with safety his trees and vines, and the third or fourth year he may be considered fairly on the road to prosperity. laborers' wages are from twenty to thirty dollars per month and board. i estimate that a fair statement of the prices for stock would be about as follows: work oxen, seventy-five to one hundred dollars per yoke; cows, twenty to fifty dollars each; horses, seventy-five to one hundred and fifty dollars. a few more practical suggestions. i would say to the emigrant, do not be influenced to select any one particular state or locality until you have more authority for the step than a single publication. examine carefully, make up your mind deliberately, and then move with determination. it will require no very great exertion to secure a half dozen glowing advertisements from as many new western states and territories. it will need but little more effort to obtain from five to fifty "rosy" circulars from as many different districts in each of the separate "garden spots." after examining these until ready to sing,-- "how happy could i be with either were t' other dear charmer away," take down your map, and let the railroads and streams assist your choice. you have then secured yourself against one danger of the journey--that of having these same circulars flung into your lap _en route_, and being diverted by them into dubious ways and needless expenditures. but be careful, reader, that you select not as accurate beyond the possibility of a mistake the maps accompanying the circulars; otherwise, you may find yourself unable to choose between several thousand railroad centers from which broad gauges radiate like the spokes in a wheel, and your ignorance of modern geography may be brought painfully home by discovering navigable rivers where you had supposed only creeks existed. in these matters, as in every thing else connected with your "new departure," consult _all_ the various sources of information within your reach. appendix. chapter second. further information for the sportsman. appendix. contents of chapter second. page hunting the buffalo, antelope hunting, elk hunting, turkey hunting, general remarks, what to do if lost on the plains, the new field for sportsmen, chapter second. _further information for the sportsman._ hunting the buffalo. the first matter to be determined, in planning any sporting trip, is the best point at which to seek for game. if the object of pursuit be buffalo, i should say, deposit yourself as soon as possible on the plains of western kansas.[ ] take the kansas pacific railway at the state line, and you can readily find out from the conductors at what point the buffalo chance then to be most numerous. there are a dozen stations after passing ellsworth equally good. one month, the bison may be numerous along the eastern portion of the plains; a month later, the herds will be found perhaps sixty or eighty miles further west. as one has at least a day's ride, after entering kansas, before penetrating into the solitude of buffalo land, there is ample time to decide upon a stopping place. russell as an eastern, and buffalo station as a western point, will be found good basis for operations. in the former, some hotel accommodations exist; in the latter, there are several dug-outs, and hunters who can be obtained for guides. [ ] during the present year, the a. t. & santa fe r. r. will probably be finished to the big bend of the arkansas, which will place the sportsman in one of the finest game regions of the continent. those who can spend a week or more on the grounds, and wish to enjoy the sport in its only legitimate way, namely, horseback hunting, should stop at the point where they may best procure mounts, even if it necessitate a journey in the saddle of twenty miles. ellsworth, russell, and hays city are the places where such outfits may generally be obtained. for shooting bison, the hunter should come prepared with some other weapon than a squirrel rifle or double barreled shot gun. i have known several instances in which persons appeared on the ground armed with ancient smooth-bores or fowling-pieces; and in one of these cases the object of attack, after receiving a bombardment of several minutes' duration, tossed the squirrel hunter and injured him severely. a breech-loading rifle, with a magazine holding several cartridges, is by far the best weapon. in my own experience i became very fond of a carbine combining the henry and king patents. it weighed but seven and one-half pounds, and could be fired rapidly twelve times without replenishing the magazine. hung by a strap to the shoulder, this weapon can be dropped across the saddle in front, and held there very firmly by a slight pressure of the body. the rider may then draw his holster revolvers in succession, and after using them, have left a carbine reserve for any emergency. twenty-four shots can thus be exhausted before reloading, and, with a little practice, the magazine of the gun may be refilled without checking the horse. so light is this henry and king weapon that i have often held it out with one hand like a pistol, and fired. when a herd of buffalo is discovered, the direction of the wind should be carefully ascertained. the taint of the hunter is detected at a long distance, and the bison accepts the evidence of his nose more readily than even that of his eyes. this delicacy of smell, however, is becoming either more blunted or less heeded than formerly, owing probably to the passage over the plains of the crowded passenger cars, which keep the air constantly impregnated for long distances. having satisfied himself in regard to the wind, the sportsman should take advantage of the ravines and slight depressions, which every-where abound on the plains, and approach as near the herd as possible. if mounted, let him gain every obtainable inch before making the charge. it is an egregious blunder to go dashing over the prairie for half a mile or so, in full view of the game, and thus give it the advantage of a long start. when this is done, unless your animal is a superior one, he will be winded and left behind. in most cases, careful planning will place one within a couple of hundred yards of the bison. be sure that every weapon is ready for the hand, and then charge. put your horse to full speed as soon as practicable. place him beside the buffalo, and he can easily keep there; whereas, if you nurse his pace at the first, and make it a stern chase, both your animal and yourself, should you have the rare luck of catching up at all, will be jaded completely before doing so. in shooting from the saddle, be very careful between shots, and keep the muzzle of the weapon in some other direction than your horse or your feet. a sudden jolt, or a nervous finger, often causes a premature discharge. in taking aim, draw your bead well forward on the buffalo--if possible, a little behind the fore-shoulder. the vital organs being situated there, a ranging shot will hit some of them, on one side or the other. back of the ribs, the buffalo will receive a dozen balls without being checked. a discharge of bullets into the hind-quarters, is worse than useless. while trying in the most enjoyable and practical manner to kill the game, it is very necessary to escape, if possible, any injury to yourself or horse. the frenchman's remark on tiger hunting is very apropos. "ven ze frenchman hunt ze tiger, it fine sport; but ven ze tiger hunt ze frenchman, it is not so." care should be taken to have the horse perfectly under control, when the bison stands at bay. unless experienced in bull fighting, he does not appreciate the danger, and a sudden charge has often resulted in disembowelment. never dismount to approach the buffalo, unless certain that he is crippled so as to prevent rising. one that is apparently wounded unto death will often get upon his feet nimbly, and prove an ugly customer. i knew a soldier killed at hays city in this manner--thrown several feet into the air, and fearfully torn. recently near cayote station, on the kansas pacific railway, a buffalo was shot from the train, and the cars were stopped to secure the meat, and gratify the passengers. one of the latter, a stout englishman, ran ahead of his fellows, and shook his fist in the face of the prostrate bison. the american bull did not brook such an insult from the english one, and johnny received a terrible blow while attempting to escape. he was badly injured, and, when i saw him some time afterward, could only move on crutches. should the hunter on foot ever have to stand a charge, let him fire at what is visible of the back, above the lowered head, or, should he be able to catch a glimpse of the fore-shoulder, let him direct his bullet there. the bone seems to be broken readily by a ball. against the frontal bone of the bison's skull, the lead falls harmless. to test this fully, with california bill as a companion, i once approached a buffalo which stood wounded in a ravine. we took position upon the hill-side, knowing that he could not readily charge up it, at a distance of only fifteen yards. i fired three shots from the henry weapon full against the forehead, causing no other result than some angry head-shaking. i then took bill's spencer carbine, and fired twice with it. at each shot the bull sank partly to his knees, but immediately recovered again. i afterward examined the skull, and could detect no fracture. a person dismounted by accident or imprudence, and charged upon, can avoid the blow by waiting until the horns are within a few feet of him, and then jumping quickly on one side. after the buffalo has passed, let the brief period of time before he has checked his rush, be employed in traversing as much prairie, on the back track, as possible, and the chances are that no pursuit will be made. should a foot trip, or a fall from the horse give no time for such tactics, then let the hunter hug mother earth as tight as may be. the probabilities are that the bull can not pick the body up with his horns. i have known a hunter to escape by throwing himself in the slight hollow of a trail, and thus baffling all attempts to hook him. accidents are rare in bison hunting, however, and the reader should not be deterred from noble sport by the mere possibility of mishaps. i have given the above advice, feeling that i shall be well repaid if it saves the life or limbs of one man out of the thousands who may be exposed. a glimpse of surgeon's instruments should not make the soldier a coward. comparatively few people are killed by electricity, and yet lightning-rods are very popular. the hunter who has no love for the saddle, and prefers stalking, should provide himself with some breech-loading rifle or carbine, carrying a heavy ball--the heavier the better. the most effective weapon is the needle-gun used in the army, having a bore the size of the old springfield musket, and a ball to correspond. a bullet from this weapon usually proves fatal. but there is little genuine sport in such practice. stalking holds the same relation to horseback hunting that "hand line" fishing does to that with the rod and reel, the fly and the spoon, or that killing birds on the ground does to wing-shooting. in selecting from the herd a single individual for attack, the hunter should do so with some reference to the intended use of the game. for furnishing trophies of the chase, such as horns and robe, the bull will do well; but if the meat is for use, it will be advisable to sacrifice some sport, and obtain a cow or calf. i have known many an ancient bison, with scarcely enough meat on his bones to hold the bullets, killed by amateurs, and the leather-like quarters shipped to eastern friends as rare delicacies! antelope hunting. antelope hunting is a sport requiring more strategy and caution than the one we have described. the creature is timid and swift, and inclined to feed on ridges or level lands, where stalking is difficult. its eyes and ears are wonderfully quick in detecting danger, and the animal at once seeks points which command the surroundings. if unable to keep in view the object of alarm, immediate flight results. the modes of hunting this game are two. if no possibility of stalking exists, a red flag may be attached to a small stick, and planted in front of the ravine or other place of concealment. the antelope at once becomes curious, and begins circling toward it, each moment approaching a little nearer, until finally within shooting distance. the other method is by careful stalking. if the animal is on a high ridge, the sides of which round upward a little, the hunter may crawl on his hands and knees until he sees, just visible above the grass, the tips of the horns or ears. then let him rise on one knee, with gun to shoulder, and take quick aim well forward, as the body comes into view. the approach can not be too cautious, as the antelope stops feeding every minute or so, to lift its head high, and gaze around. thus the incautious hunter may be brought, on the instant, into full relief, and the quick bound which follows discovery, rob him of the fruit of long crawling. rare enjoyment might be obtained by any one who would take with him, to the plains, a good greyhound. mounted on a reliable horse, the sportsman could follow the dog in its pursuit of antelope, and be in at the death. elk hunting. elk must be hunted by stalking, as he speedily distances any horse. the animal is found in abundance along the upper waters of the republican, solomon, and saline. i prefer its meat to that of either the buffalo or antelope. the horns of a fine male form a pleasing trophy to look at, when the hunter's joints have been stiffened by rheumatism or age. turkey hunting. wild turkeys exist in great numbers along the creeks, over the whole western half of kansas, and, where they have never been hunted, are so tame as to afford but little sport. cunning is their natural instinct, however, and at once comes to the rescue, when needed. after a few have been shot, the remainder will leave the narrow skirt of creek timber instantly, and escape among the ravines by fast running, defying any pursuit except in the saddle. even then if they can get out of sight for a moment, they will often escape. while the rider is pressing forward in the direction a tired turkey was last seen, the bird will hide and let him pass; or, turning the instant it is hidden by the brow of the ravine, it will take a backward course, passing, if necessary, close to the horse. as another illustration of the wily habits of the turkey, let the hunter select a creek along which there has been no previous shooting done, and kill turkeys at early morning on roosts, and the next night the gangs will remain out among the "breaks." for this shooting, a shot-gun is, of course, the best, although i have had fine sport among the birds with the rifle. when using shot at one on the wing, the hunter must not conclude his aim was bad, if no immediate effect is observed. the flying turkey will not shrink, as the prairie-chicken does, when receiving and carrying off lead. i have frequently heard shot rattle upon a gobbler's stout feathers without any apparent effect, and found him afterward, fluttering helpless, a mile away. general remarks. the western field open to sportsmen is a grand one. kansas, colorado, nebraska, dakota, and wyoming, are all overflowing with game. the climate of each is very healthy, and especially favorable for those affected with pulmonary complaints. a year or two passed in their pure air, with the excitement of exploration or adventure superadded, would put more fresh blood into feeble bodies than all the watering-places in existence. let the dyspeptic seek his hunting camp at evening, and, my word for it, he will find the sweet savor of his boyhood's appetite resting over all the dishes. after the meal, with his feet to the fire, he can have diversion in the way of either comedy or tragedy, or both, by listening to frontier tales. when bed-time comes, he will barely have time to roll under the blankets, before sweet sleep closes his eyes, and the twinkling stars look down upon a being over whom the angel of health is again hovering. no extensive preparation for a western sporting trip is needed, as an outfit can be obtained at any of the larger towns, in either kansas, nebraska, or colorado. of the three districts just named, i decidedly prefer the former for the pursuit of such game as i have endeavored to describe in buffalo land. the eastern half of kansas furnishes chicken and quail shooting. the birds have increased rapidly during late years, and at any point fifty miles west of the eastern line, the sportsman will find plenty of work for a dog and gun. the ground lies well for good shooting, being a gently rolling prairie, with plenty of watering-places. the cover is excellent, and with a good dog there is little trouble, between august and november, in flushing the chickens singly, and getting an excellent record out of any covey. wild fowl shooting is poor, there being no lakes or feeding-grounds. the best sport of that kind i ever had was in wisconsin and minnesota. what to do, if lost on the plains. there have been several instances in which gentlemen, led away from their party in the excitement of the chase, when wishing to return, suddenly found themselves lost. judge corwin, of urbana, ohio, separated in this manner from his party, wandered for two days on the plains south of hays city, subsisting on a little corn which had been dropped by some passing wagon. he was found, utterly exhausted, by california bill, just as a severe snow-storm had set in. persons thus lost should remember that buffalo trails run north and south, and the pacific railroads east and west. it will be easy to call to mind on which side it was that the party left the road in starting out, and it then becomes a simple matter to regain the rails, and follow them to the first station. the new field for sportsmen. south of kansas is the indian territory, which probably has within it a larger amount of game than any spot of similar size on our continent. it fairly swarms with wild beasts and birds. at sunset one may see hundreds of turkeys gathering to their roosts. buffalo, elk, antelope, and deer of several varieties, may be found and hunted to the heart's content. within the next two years this territory will be the paradise of all sportsmen. it can now be reached by wagoning fifty miles or so beyond the terminus of the a. t. & santa fe railroad. but the savage, hostile and treacherous, stands at the entrance of this fair land and forbids further advance. while there is good hunting, there is also a disagreeable probability of being hunted. many of the tribes which formerly roamed all over the plains are now gathered in the indian territory. jealous of their rights, they are apt to repay intrusion upon them with death. the white kills for sport alone the game which is the entire support of the savage. i have often stood among the rotting carcasses of hundreds of buffaloes, and seen the beautiful skins decaying, and tons of richest meat feeding flies and maggots; and, standing there, i have felt but little surprise that the savage should consider such wanton destruction worthy of death. in the states, game is protected at least during the breeding season; but no period of the year is sacred from the spirit of slaughter which holds high revel in buffalo land. it is manifest, however, that over the indian territory history will soon repeat itself. railroads are pushing steadily forward; is already seeing the beginning of the end. the savage must flee still further westward, and the valleys and prairies which he is now jealously protecting will be invaded first by the sportsman, and then by the farmer. perhaps, before that time, congress may have taken the matter in hand, and passed laws which will have saved the noblest of our game from at least immediate extinction. appendix. chapter third. additional facts concerning the natural features, resources, etc., of the great plains and contiguous territory. appendix. contents of chapter third. page "by the mouth of two or three witnesses," the great west, fall of the rivers, the principal rivers and valleys of buffalo land, the valley of the platte, the solomon and smoky hill rivers, the arkansas river and its tributaries, stock raising in the great west, the cattle hive of north america, the climate of the plains, climatic changes on the plains, the trees and future forests of the plains, the supply of fuel, districts contiguous to the plains, the valleys of the white earth and niobrara, new mexico--its soil, climate, resources, etc., the disappearing bison, the fish with legs, the mountain supply of lumber for the plains, chapter iii. _additional facts concerning the natural features of the great plains; their principal rivers and valleys; their climate, etc., etc._ "by the mouth of two or three witnesses." in my endeavors to place buffalo land before the public in its true light, i have felt a desire, as earnest as it is natural, that my readers should feel that the subject has been justly treated. the opinions of any one individual are liable to be formed too hastily, and the country which before one traveler stretches away bright and beautiful, may appear full of gloomy features to another, who views it under different circumstances. a late dinner and a sour stomach, before now, have had more to do with an unfavorable opinion concerning a new town or country than any actual demerits. no two pairs of spectacles have precisely the same power, and defects ofttimes exist in the glass, rather than the vision. these considerations have been brought to my mind with especial force when, after giving an account of our own expedition, i have searched through the records of others. a portion of the descriptions which i have been able to find are the mature productions of travelers who, perched upon the top of a stage-coach, or snugly nestled inside, have undertaken to write a history of the country while rattling through it at the best rate of speed ever attained by the "overland mail." what the writers of this class lack in proper acquaintance with their subject they usually make up by an air of profoundness, and positiveness in expression, and the result has more than once been the foisting upon the public of a species of exaggeration and absurdity which baron munchausen himself could scarcely excel. as a rather curious illustration of the numerous absurdities which have obtained currency concerning the plains, may be mentioned the statement published more than once during the winter of - , to the effect that the snow of that region is different in character from that which falls elsewhere. in support of this assumption, the fact is adduced that snow-plows sometimes have but little effect upon it, on account of its peculiar hardness, being pushed upon it, instead of through it. a little more careful examination, however, would have discovered that the snow itself is essentially similar to that which descends elsewhere, but that the wind which drives it into the "cuts" and ravines also carries with it a large amount of sand and surface dirt; and this, packing with the snow, causes the firmness in question. the valuable surveys being made from time to time under the auspices of the government, in charge of persons of experience and sagacity, are doing much to replace this superficial knowledge with a more correct comprehension of what the plains really are; and, altogether, we may well hope that the time is not far distant when this whole wonderful region will be as well understood as any portion of the national domain. as the object of this work is to place before its readers all the essential information now obtainable concerning the great plains, no apology will be necessary for adding some of the observations and opinions of other competent writers upon the same subject. by far the most valuable source which i have found to draw from in this connection, is the comprehensive report published by government, and bearing the title of "united states geological survey of wyoming and contiguous territory, . hayden." the great west. prof. thomas informs us, in his report (embodied in hayden's survey), that, lying east of the divide, "the broad belt of country situated between the th and th meridians, and reaching from the big horn mountains on the north to the llano estacado on the south, contains one hundred and fifty thousand square miles. if but one-fifth of it could be brought under culture and made productive, this alone, when fully improved, would add $ , , to the aggregate value of the lands of the nation. and, taking the lowest estimate of the cash value of the crops of per acre, it would give an addition of more than $ , , per annum to the aggregate value of our products. "one single view from a slightly elevated point often embraces a territory equal to one of the smaller states, taking in at one sweep millions of acres. eastern colorado and eastern wyoming each contains as much land sufficiently level for cultivation as the entire cultivated area of egypt." fall of the rivers. the fall of the principal rivers traversing the region above named is about as follows: arkansas, to the th meridian, eleven to fifteen feet to the mile; the canadian, the same; the south platte, from denver to north platte, ten feet to the mile; the north platte, to fort fetterman, seven feet to the mile. the descent of the country from denver junction to fort hays is nine feet to the mile. thus it will be seen that abundant fall is obtainable to irrigate all the lands adjacent. the principal rivers and valleys of buffalo land. the platte (or nebraska), the solomon, the smoky hill, and the arkansas, are the four largest rivers of buffalo land proper, and form natural avenues to the eastward from the mountains which shut it in upon the west. the valley of the platte. describing this, hayden says: "west of the mouth of the elk horn river, the valley of the platte expands widely. the hills on either side are quite low, rounded, and clothed with a thick carpet of grass. but we shall look in vain for any large natural groves of forest trees, there being only a very narrow fringe of willows or cottonwoods along the little streams. the elk horn rises far to the north-west in the prairie near the niobrara, and flows for a distance of nearly two hundred miles through some of the most fertile and beautiful lands in nebraska. each of its more important branches, as maple, pebble, and logan creeks, has carved out for itself broad, finely-rounded valleys, so that every acre may be brought under the highest state of cultivation. "the great need here will be timber for fuel and other economical purposes, and also rock material for building. still the resources of this region are so vast that the enterprising settler will devise plans to remedy all these deficiencies. he will plant trees, and thus raise his own forests and improve his lands in accordance with his wants and necessities. "these valleys have always been the favorite places of abode for numerous tribes of indians from time immemorial, and the sites of their old villages are still to be seen in many localities. the buffalo, deer, elk, antelope, and other kinds of wild game, swarmed here in the greatest numbers, and, as they recede farther to the westward into the more arid and barren plains beyond the reach of civilization, the wild nomadic indian is obliged to follow. one may travel for days in this region and not find a stone large enough to toss at a bird, and very seldom a bush sufficient in size to furnish a cane." the solomon and smoky hill rivers. the solomon and smoky hill rivers, while possessing some of the general characteristics of the platte, have more timber, and the entire surrounding country is uniformly rolling. the smoky hill is a visible stream only after reaching the vicinity of pond creek, near fort wallace. above that point a desolate bed of sand hides the water flowing beneath. we have spoken fully of these sections elsewhere. the arkansas river and its tributaries. the arkansas, passing through the southern portion of the plains, has wide, rich bottoms, with a more sandy soil than is found on the streams north. its small tributaries have considerable timber. all these valleys are being settled rapidly. again consulting prof. thomas' report, we find that "the arkansas river, rising a little north-west of south park, runs south-east to poncho pass, where, turning a little more toward the east, it passes through a canyon for about forty miles, emerging upon the open country at canyon city. from this point to the eastern boundary of the territory it runs almost directly east. "the mountain valley has an elevation of between seven and eight thousand feet above the sea, while that of the plain country lying east of the range varies from six thousand near the base of the mountains to about three thousand five hundred feet at the eastern boundary of the territory. from denver to fort hays, a distance of three hundred and forty-seven miles, the fall is three thousand two hundred and seven feet, or a little over nine feet to the mile. "the arkansas river, from the mouth of the apishpa to the mouth of the pawnee, a distance of two hundred and six miles, has the remarkable fall of two thousand four hundred and eight feet, or more than eleven feet to the mile. "the headwaters of the arkansas are in an oval park, situated directly west of the south park. the altitude of this basin is probably between eight and nine thousand feet above the level of the sea; the length is about fifty miles from north to south, and twenty or thirty miles in width at the middle or widest point. at the lower or southern end an attempt has been made to cultivate the soil, which bids fair to prove a success. around the twin lakes, at the extreme point, oats, wheat, barley, potatoes, and turnips have been raised, yielding very fair crops. below this basin the river, for twenty miles, passes through a narrow canyon, along which, with considerable difficulty, a road has been made. emerging from this, it enters the 'upper arkansas valley' proper, which is a widening of the bottom lands from two to six or eight miles. this valley is some forty or fifty miles in length, and very fertile. "the principal tributaries of the arkansas that flow in from the south, east of the mountains, are hardscrabble and greenhorn creeks (the st. charles is a branch of the latter), huerbano river, which has a large tributary named cuchara; apishpa river, timpas creek, and purgatory river. on the north side, fountain gui bouille river and squirrel creek are the principal streams affording water. "this entire district affords broad and extensive grazing fields for cattle and sheep, and quite a number of herders and stock-raisers are beginning already to spread out their flocks and herds over these broad areas of rich and nutritious grasses. one of the finest meadows, of moderate extent, that i saw in the territory, was on the divide near the head of monument creek, and near by was a large pond of cool, clear water. the temperature of this section is somewhat similar to that of northern missouri, and all the products grown there can be raised here, some with a heavier yield and of a finer quality, as wheat, oats, etc., while others, as corn, yield less, and are inferior in quality." as we descend the arkansas, the valley becomes broader, and it is often difficult to tell where the bottom ceases and the prairie commences. this stream attracted such a large portion of the immigration of that it is already settled upon for some distance above fort zarah. the soil is very rich, the climate pleasant and healthy, and good success attends both stock and crop-raising. stock-raising in the great west. mr. w. n. byers, who has lived for many years in colorado, lately contributed the following valuable article to the _rocky mountain news_, treating more particularly of the western half of the plains: "after the mining interest, which must always take rank as the first productive industry in the mountain territories of the west, stock-raising will doubtless continue next in importance. the peculiarities of climate and soil adapt the grass-covered country west of the ninety-eighth degree of longitude especially to the growth and highest perfection of horses, cattle, and sheep. the earliest civilized explorers found the plains densely populated with buffalo, elk, deer, and antelope, their numbers exceeding computation. great nations of indians subsisted almost entirely by the fruits of the chase, but, with the rude weapons used, were incapable of diminishing their numbers. with the advent of the white man and the introduction of fire-arms, and to supply the demands of commerce, these wild cattle have been slaughtered by the million, until their range, once six hundred miles wide from east to west, and extending more than two thousand miles north and south, over which they moved in solid columns, darkening the plains, has been diminished to an irregular belt, a hundred and fifty miles wide, in which only scattering herds can be found, and they seldom numbering ten thousand animals. "there is no reason why domestic cattle may not take their place. the climate, soil, and vegetation are as well adapted to the tame as to the wild. the latter lived and thrived the year round all the way up to latitude fifty degrees north. twenty years' experience proves that the former do equally well upon the same range, and with the same lack of care. time, the settlement of the country, the growing wants of agriculture, the encroachment of tilled fields, will gradually narrow the range, as did semi-civilization that of the buffalo--first from the mississippi valley westward, where that process is already seen, and then from the rocky mountains toward the east; but as yet the range is practically unlimited, and for many years to come there will be room to fatten beeves to feed the world. "this great pasture land covers western texas, indian territory, kansas, nebraska, and dakota, eastern new mexico, colorado, wyoming, and montana, and extends far into british america. the southerly and south-easterly portions produce the largest growth of grass, but it lacks the nutritious qualities of that covering the higher and drier lands farther north and west. rank-growing and bottom-land grasses contain mostly water: they remain green until killed by frost, when their substance flows back to the root, or is destroyed by the action of the elements. the dwarf grass of the higher plains makes but a small growth, but makes that very quickly in the early spring, and then, as the rains diminish and the summer heat increases, it dies and cures into hay where it stands; the seed even, in which it is very prolific, remains upon the stalk, and, though very minute, is exceedingly nutritious. "in so far as the relative advantages of different portions of this wide region may be thought by many to preponderate over one another, we do not appreciate them at all, but would as soon risk a herd in the valley of the upper missouri, the yellowstone, or the saskachewan, as along the arkansas, the canadian, or red river. if any difference, the grass is better north than south. one year the winter may be more severe in the extreme north; the next it may be equally so in the south; and the third it may be most inclement midway between the two extremes; or, what is more common, the severe storms and heavy snows may follow irregular streaks across the country at various points. there are local causes and effects to be considered, such as permanently affect certain localities favorably or the contrary. for instance, nearer the western border of the plains there is less high wind, because the lofty mountain ranges form a shelter or wind breaker. of local advantages, detached ranges of mountains, hills, or broken land, timber, brush, and deep ravines or stream-beds are the most important in furnishing shelter, and, as a general thing, better and always more varied pasture ground. "there is never rain upon the middle and northern plains during the winter months. when snow comes it is always dry, and never freezes to stock. the reverse is the case in the northern and middle states, where winter storms often begin with rain, which is followed by snow, and conclude with piercing wind and exceeding cold. stock men can readily appreciate the effect of such weather upon stock exposed to its influence. "the soil of the plains is very much the same every-where. to a casual observer it looks sterile and unpromising, but, when turned by the plow or spade, is found very fertile. near the mountains it is filled with coarse rock particles, and under the action of the elements these become disproportionately prominent on the surface. receding from the mountains, it becomes gradually finer, until gravel and bits of broken stone are no longer seen. being made up from the wash and wearing away of the mountains, alkaline earths enter largely into its composition, supplying inexhaustible quantities of those properties which the eastern farmer can secure only by the application of plaster, lime, and like manures. these make the rich, nutritious grasses upon which cattle thrive so remarkably, and to the constant wonder of new-comers, who can not reconcile the idea of such comparatively bare and barren-looking plains with the fat cattle that roam over them. "besides the plains, there is a vast extent of pasture-lands in the mountains. wherever there is soil enough to support vegetation, grass is found in abundance, to a line far above the limit of timber growth, and almost to the crest of the snowy range. these high pastures, however, are suitable only for summer and autumn range; but in portions of the great parks and large valleys, most parts of which lie below eight thousand feet altitude above the sea, cattle, horses, and sheep live and thrive the year round. the cost of raising a steer to the age of five years, when he is at a prime age for market, is believed to be about seven dollars and a half, or one dollar and a half per year. a number of estimates given us by stock men, running through several years, place the average at about that figure. that contemplates a herd of four hundred or more. smaller lots of cattle will generally cost relatively more. the items of expense are herding, branding, and salt--nothing for feed." the cattle-hive of north america. in this connection we may very properly quote from the same writer the following paragraph in regard to the source from whence all the cattle are now brought--that great natural breeding ground, the prairie land of texas. "texas is truly the cattle-hive of north america. while new york, with her , , inhabitants, and her settlements two and a half centuries old, has , oxen and stock cattle; while pennsylvania, with more than , , people, has , cattle; while ohio, with , , people, has , cattle; while illinois, with , , people, has , cattle; and while iowa, with , , people, has , cattle; texas, forty years of age, and with her , people, had , , head of oxen and other cattle, exclusive of cows, in , as shown by the returns of the county assessors. "in , allowing for the difference between the actual number of cattle owned and the number returned for taxation, there must be fully , , head of beeves and stock cattle. this is exclusive of cows, which, at the same time, are reported at , head. in they must number , --making a grand total of , , head of cattle in texas. one-fourth of these are beeves, one-fourth are cows, and the other two-fourths are yearlings and two-year olds. "there would, therefore, be , beeves, , cows, and , , young cattle. there are annually raised and branded , calves. these cattle are raised on the great plains of texas, which contain , , acres. in the vast regions watered by the rio grande, nueces, guadalupe, san antonio, colorado, leon, brazos, trinity, sabine, and red rivers, these millions of cattle graze upon almost tropical growths of vegetation. they are owned by the ranchmen, who own from , to , head each." as specimen ranches, may be named the following: santa catrutos ranch belongs to richard king. amount of land, , acres. the stock consists of , cattle, , horses, , sheep, , goats. three hundred mexicans are employed, and , saddle horses, on the place. o'connor's ranch, near goliad, is an estate possessing about , cattle. the robideaux ranch, on the gulf, belonging to mr. kennedy, contains , acres of land, and has , beef cattle in addition to other stock. the climate of the plains. mr. r. s. elliott, who has studied this matter carefully, says: "the plains have been so often described as a rainless region that great misconception in regard to the climate has prevailed. the absolute precipitation is much greater than has been in past years supposed, and is due to other causes. meteorologists who have described the rain-fall of the plains as derived only or principally from the remaining moisture of winds from the pacific, after the passage of the nevada and rocky mountain ranges, have been greatly in error, and the better conclusion now is, with all authorities who have given any special attention to the subject, that the moisture which fertilizes the mississippi valley, including the broad, grassy plains, is derived from the gulf of mexico. "at fort riley about sixty-nine per cent, of the annual precipitation is in spring and summer; at fort kearney, eighty-one; and at fort laramie, seventy-two per cent. from observations at forts harker, hays, and wallace, on the line of this road, the same rule seems to hold good. records have not been long enough continued at these three posts to give a long average, but the mean appears to be between seventeen and nineteen inches at hays and wallace, and possibly rather more at harker. the actual average for and at hays is . inches, and for the first six months of the record is . inches. at wallace the record for was over seventeen inches, and in , up to october , about the same amount had fallen. "without records there can be only conjecture; and i can only remark that there does not seem to be much diminution in the annual rain-fall until we get as far west as the one hundred and third meridian. thence to the base of the mountains (except perhaps in the timbered portions of the great divide south of the line of this railway) the annual average may be possibly two or three inches less than in the midst of the plains--a peculiarity explained, hypothetically, by the fact that the region 'lies to the westward of the general course of the moisture currents of air flowing northward from the gulf of mexico, and is so near the mountains as to lose much of the precipitation that localities in the plains east and north-east are favored with. the mountains seem to exercise an influence--electrical and magnetical--in attracting moisture, which is condensed in the cooler regions of their summits, while the plains at their feet may be parched and heated to excess.' this explanation may be fanciful, but the fact remains that near the mountains the rains seem to decrease north of the great divide; fortunately, however, this occurs in a region where irrigation may be applied extensively and where there is sufficient moisture to nourish bountiful crops of grass. "the vegetation of the plains along wagon tracks and rail road embankments shows a capability of production scarcely suggested by the surface where undisturbed: wherever the earth is broken up, the wild sunflower (_helianthus_), and others of the taller-growing plants, though previously unknown in the vicinity, at once spring up. "i have been on the plains all the time since early in may till this date ( d of september). there has been much dry weather, but i have not seen one cloudless day--no day on which the sun would rise clear and roll along a canopy of brass to the west. there has always been humidity enough to form clouds at the proper height; and on many days they would be seen defining, by their flat bottoms, the exact line where condensation became sufficient to render the vapor visible. i conclude, from all this, that abundant moisture has floated over the plains to have given us a great deal more rain than would be desirable if it had been precipitated. "sometimes a storm would be seen to gather near the horizon, and we could see the rain pending from the clouds like a fringe, hanging apparently in mid-air, unable to reach the expectant earth. the rain stage of condensation had been reached above, but the descending shower was re-vaporized apparently, and thus arrested. "these hot winds are not, so far as i have observed, apt to be constant in one place for any considerable length of time; they strike your face suddenly, and perhaps in a minute are gone. they seem to run along in streaks or _ovenfulls_ with the winds of ordinary (but rather high) temperature. they do not begin, i believe, till in july, as a general rule, and are over by september , or perhaps by august . their origin i take to be, of course, in heated regions south or southwest of us; but their peculiar occurrence, so capricious and often so brief, i can not explain to myself satisfactorily. "i may remark that this season, since about the th of july, in these distant plains, has given us rain enough to make beautifully verdant the spots in the prairie burnt off during the 'heated' term in july. from kit carson eastward, the rains have been, i think, exceptionally abundant. all through the summer we have had _dew_ occasionally, and it has been remarked that buffalo meat has been more difficult of preservation than heretofore--facts indicative of humidity in the atmosphere, even where but little rain-fall was witnessed. turnips sown in august would have made a crop in this vicinity--four hundred and twenty-two miles west of the state line of missouri," climatic changes on the plains. "facts such as these," continues the same writer, "seem to sustain the popular persuasion that a _climatic change_ is taking place, promoted by the spread of settlements westwardly, breaking up portions of the prairie soil, covering the earth with plants that shade the ground more than the short grasses; thus checking or modifying the reflection of heat from the earth's surface, etc. the fact is also noted that even where the prairie soil is not disturbed, the short buffalo grass disappears as the 'frontier' extends westward, and its place is taken by grasses and other herbage of taller growth. that this change of the clothing of the plains, if sufficiently extensive, might have a modifying influence on the climate, i do not doubt; but whether the change has been already spread over a large enough area, and whether our apparently or really wetter seasons may not be part of a cycle, are unsettled questions. "the civil engineers of the railways believe that the rains and humidity of the plains have increased during the extension of railroads and telegraphs across them. if this is the case, it may be that the mysterious electrical influence in which they seem to have faith, but do not profess to explain, has exercised a beneficial influence. what effect, if any, the digging and grading, the iron rails, the tension of steam in locomotives, the friction of metallic surfaces, the poles and wires, the action of batteries, etc., could possibly or probably have on the electrical conditions, as connected with the phenomena of precipitation, i do not, of course, undertake to say. it may be that wet seasons have merely happened to coincide with railroads and telegraphs. it is to be observed that the poles of the telegraph are quite frequently destroyed by lightning; and it is probable that the lightning thus strikes in many places where before the erection of the telegraph it was not apt to strike, and perhaps would not reach the earth at all. "it is certain that rains have increased; this increase has coincided with the extension of settlements, railroads, and telegraphs. if influenced by these, the change of climate will go on; if by extra mundane influences, the change may be permanent, progressive, or retrograde. i think there are good grounds to believe it will be progressive. within the last fifteen years, in western missouri and iowa, and in eastern kansas and nebraska, a very large aggregate surface has been broken up, and holds more of the rains than formerly. during the same period modifying influences have been put in motion in montana, utah, and colorado. very small areas of timbered land west of the missouri have been cleared--not equal, perhaps, to the area of forest, orchard, and vineyards planted. hence it may be said that all the acts of man in this vast region have tended to produce conditions on the earth's surface ameliorative of the climate. with extended settlements on the arkansas, canadian, and red river of the south, as well as on the arkansas, on the river system of the kaw valley, and on the platte, the ameliorating conditions will be extended in like degree; and it partakes more of sober reason than wild fancy to suppose that a permanent and beneficial change of climate may be experienced. the appalling deterioration of large portions of the earth's surface, through the acts of man in destroying the forests, justifies the trust that the culture of taller herbage and trees in a region heretofore covered mainly by short grasses may have a converse effect. indeed, in central kansas nature seems to almost precede settlements by the taller grasses and herbage." the trees and future forests of the plains. mr. elliott continues his article as follows: "the principal native trees on the plains west of ninety-seventh meridian are: cottonwood, walnut, elm, ash, box-elder, hackberry, plum, red cedar. to these may be added willow and grape-vines, and also the locust and wild cherry mentioned by abert as occurring on the purgatory. the black walnut extends to the one-hundredth meridian. the elm and ash are of similar, perhaps greater range. hackberry has been observed west of one hundred and first meridian. cottonwood, elder, red cedar, plum, and willow are persistent to the base of the mountains. the extensive pine forest on the 'great divide' south of denver, although stretching seventy to eighty miles east from the mountains, is not taken into view as belonging to the plains proper. its existence, however, suggests the use of its seeds in artificial plantations in that region. the fossil wood imbedded in the cretaceous strata in many parts of the plains is left out of consideration, as belonging to a previous, though recent, geological age; but the single specimens of trees found growing at wide intervals are silent witnesses to the _possibility_ of extended forest growth. "were it possible to break up the surface to a depth of two feet, from the ninety-seventh meridian to the mountains, and from the thirty-fifth to the forty-fifth parallel, we should have in a single season a growth of taller herbage over the entire area, less reflection of the sun's heat, more humidity in the atmosphere, more constancy in springs, pools, and streams, more frequent showers, fewer violent storms, and less caprice and fury in the winds. a single year would witness a changed vegetation and a new climate. in three years (fires kept out) there would be young trees in numerous places, and in twenty years there would be fair young forests. the description of the 'broad, grassy plains,' given in the foregoing pages, attests their capacity to sustain animal life. for cattle, sheep, horses, and mules, they are a natural pasture in summer, with (in many parts) hay cured standing for winter. the famed pampas, with their great extremes of wet and drought, can not bear comparison with our western plains. for grazing purposes, the habitable character of our vast traditional 'desert' is generally conceded, and hence it need not be enlarged on here." the supply of fuel. of the question of fuel for the future dwellers upon the face of buffalo land, hayden, in his report, speaks as follows: "the question often arises in the minds of visitors to this region, how the law of compensation supplies the want of fuel in the absence of trees for that use. many persons have taken the position that the creator never made such a vast country, with a soil of such wonderful fertility, and rendered it so suitable for the abode of man, without storing in the earth beds of carbon for his needs. if this idea could be shown to be true in any case, we would ask why are the immense beds of coal stored away in the mountains of pennsylvania and virginia, while at the same time the surface is covered with dense forests of timber. we now know that this law does not apply to the natural world; and, if it did, this western country would be a remarkable exception. the state of nebraska seems to be located on the western rim of the great coal basin of the west, and only thin seams of poor coal will probably ever be found; but in the vicinity of the rocky mountains, in wyoming, and colorado, coal in immense quantities has been hidden away for ages, and the union pacific railroad has now brought it near the door of every man's dwelling. "these rocky mountain coal-beds will one day supply an abundance of fuel for more than one hundred thousand square miles along the missouri river of the most fertile agricultural land in the world." of this coal area, persifor frazier, jr., says: "those beds which occur on the east flank of the rocky mountains have been followed for five hundred miles and more, north and south; and if it be true that these are 'fragments of one great basin, interrupted here and there by the upheaval of mountain chains, or concealed by the deposition of newer formations,' then their extension east and west, or from the eastern range of the rocky mountains or black hills to weber canyon, where an excellent coal is mined, will fall but little short of five hundred miles. throughout this extent these beds of coal are found between the upper cretaceous and lower tertiary (or in the transition beds of hayden), wherever these transition beds occur, whether on the extreme flanks or in the valleys and parks between the numerous mountain ranges. assuming that the eroding agencies together have cut off one-half of the coal from this area, and taking one-half of the remainder as their average longitudinal extent, we have over fifty thousand square miles of coal lands, accounting the latitudinal extent as only five hundred miles; whereas we have no reason to believe that it terminates within these bounds, but, on the contrary, good reason for supposing that it extends northward far into canada, and southward with the cordilleras. all this territory has been omitted in the estimate of the extent of our coal fields." districts contiguous to the plains. the reader has now had the salient features of the great plains placed before him in succession. the more interesting districts immediately adjoining will well repay the reader for a brief consideration. the north platte district. a late writer, who has studied the country of which he speaks very closely,[ ] thus describes the north platte district: [ ] dr. h. latham, under date june th, , in the omaha daily herald. "the distance from the mouth of the north platte, where it joins the south platte on the union pacific railroad, to its sources in the great sierra madre, whose lofty sides form the north park, in which this stream takes its rise, is more than eight hundred miles. its extreme southern tributaries head in the gorges of the mountains one hundred miles south of the railroad, and receive their water from the melting snows of these snow-capped ranges. its extreme western tributaries rise in the wahsatch and wind river ranges, sharing the honor of conveying the crystal snow waters from the continental divide with the columbia and colorado of the pacific. its northern tributaries start oceanward from the big horn mountains, three hundred miles north of the starting-point of its southern sources. "it drains a country larger than all new england and new york together. east of the alleghany mountains there is no river comparable to this clear, swift mountain stream in its length or in the extent of country it drains. "the main valley of the north platte, two hundred miles from its mouth to where it debouches through the black hills out on to the great plains, is an average of ten miles wide. nearly all this area--two thousand square miles--is covered with a dense growth of grass, yielding thousands of tons of hay. the bluffs bordering these intervals are rounded and grass-grown, gradually smoothing out into great grassy plains, extending north and south as far as the eye can see. "of the country, alexander majors says, in a letter to the writer of this article: 'the favorite wintering ground of my herders for the past twenty years has been from the caché a la poudre on the south to fort fetterman on the north, embracing all the country along the eastern base of the black hills.' it was of this country that mr. seth e. ward spoke, when he says: 'i am satisfied that no country in the same latitude, or even far south of it, is comparable to it as a grazing and stock-raising country. cattle and stock generally are healthy, and require no feeding the year round, the rich 'bunch' and 'gramma' grasses of the plains and mountains keeping them, ordinarily, fat enough for beef during the entire winter,' "all this region east of the black hills is at an elevation less than five thousand feet. the climate, as reported from fort laramie for a period of twenty years, is ° fahrenheit. the mean temperature for the spring months is °, for the summer months °, for autumn °, for winter °. the annual rain-fall is about eighteen inches--distributed as follows: spring, . inches; summer, . inches; autumn, . inches. the snow fall is eighteen inches. "there is in the north platte basin, east of the black hills divide, at least eight million acres of pasturage, with the finest and most lasting streams, and good shelter in the bluffs and canyons. as i have said before, we can only judge of the extent and resources of such a single region by comparison. ohio has six million sheep, yielding eighteen million pounds of wool, bringing herd farmers an aggregate of four and one-half million dollars. this eight million acres of pasture would at least feed eight million sheep, yielding twenty-four million pounds of wool, and, at the same price as ohio wool, six million dollars. now, this money, instead of going to build up ranches, stock-farms, store-houses, woolen mills, and all the components of a great and thrifty settlement, is sent by our wool-growers and woollen manufacturers to buenos ayres, to africa, and australia, to enrich other people and other lands, while our wool-growing resources remain undeveloped. "as you follow the north platte up through the black hill canyon, you come out upon the great laramie plains, which lie between the black hills on the east and the snowy range on the west. these plains are ninety miles north and south, and sixty miles east and west. they are watered by the big and little laramie rivers, deer creek, rock creek, medicine bow river, cooper creek, and other tributaries of the north platte. it is on the extreme northern portion of these plains, in the valley of deer creek, that general reynolds wintered during the winter of , and of which he remarks, on pages seventy-four and seventy-five of his 'explorations of the yellowstone," as follows: "throughout the whole season's march the subsistence of our animals had been obtained by grazing after we had reached our camp in the afternoon, and for an hour or two between the dawn of day and our time of starting. the consequence was that, when we reached our winter quarters there were but few animals in the train that were in a condition to have continued the march without a generous grain diet. poorer and more broken-down creatures it would be difficult to find. in the spring they were in as fine condition for commencing another season's work as could be desired. a greater change in their appearance could not have been produced even if they had been grain-fed and stable-housed all winter. only one was lost, the furious storm of december coming on before it had gained sufficient strength to endure it. the fact that seventy exhausted animals, turned out to winter on the plains the first of november, came out in the spring in the best condition, and with the loss of but one of their number, is the most forcible commentary i can make on the quality of the grass and the character of the winter.' "these plains have been favorite herding grounds of the buffalo away back in the pre-historic age of this country. their bones lie bleaching in all directions, and their paths, deeply worn, cover the whole plain like a net-work. their 'wallows,' where these shaggy lords of animal creation tore deep pits into the surface of the ground, are still to be seen. elk, antelope, and deer still feed here, and the mountain sheep are found on the mountain sides and in the more secluded valleys of the sierra madre range--all proving conclusively that this has afforded winter pasturage from time immemorial. since many herds of work-oxen, belonging to emigrants, freighters, and ranchmen, have grazed here each winter. "south of the laramie plains is the north park, one of three great parks of the rocky mountains, so fully described by richardson, bross, and bowles. this north park is formed by the great snowy range. it is a valley from six to eight thousand feet high, ninety miles long, and forty miles wide, surrounded by snowy mountains from thirteen to fifteen thousand feet high. these mountain tops and sides are completely covered with dense growths of forests; the lower hill-sides and this great valley are covered with grasses. the forests and mountains afford ample shelter from sweeping winds. here, as well as on the laramie plains, the buffalo grazed in great herds; and here the ute hunters, from some hidden canyons, dashed down among them on their trained and fleet ponies, shooting their arrows with unerring aim on all sides, and having such glorious sport as kings might court and envy. the indians are now gone from this valley, and the buffalo nearly so. on the two million acres in this valley not twenty head of cattle graze. "this great park, splendidly watered by the three forks of the platte, and by a hundred small streams that drain these lofty mountains of their snows and rains--rich in all kinds of nutritious grasses, plentifully supplied with timber; on the tertiary coal fields, with iron, copper, lead, and gold--has not one real settler. there are a few miners, but where there should be flocks and herds of sheep and cattle without number, there is only the wild game--the elk, antelope, and deer." the valleys of the white earth and niobrara. these streams are branches of the missouri--the one mainly in dakota territory, and the other in nebraska. the following graphic paragraphs concerning them are from hayden again: "i have spent many days exploring this region (the white earth valley) when the thermometer was ° in the shade, and there was no water suitable for drinking purposes within fifteen miles. but it is only to the geologist that this place can have any permanent attraction. he can wind his way through the wonderful canyons among some of the grandest ruins in the world. indeed, it resembles a gigantic city fallen to decay. domes, towers, minarets and spires may be seen on every side, which assume a great variety of shapes when viewed in the distance. not unfrequently the rising or the setting sun will light up these grand old ruins with a wild, strange beauty, reminding one of a city illuminated in the night, when seen from some high point. the harder layers project from the sides of the valley or canyon with such regularity that they appear like seats, one above the other, of some vast amphitheater. "it is at the foot of these apparent architectural remains that the curious fossil treasures are found. in the oldest beds we find the teeth and jaws of a hyopotamus, a river-horse much like the hippopotamus, which must have sported in his pride in the marshes that bordered this lake. so, too, the titanotherum, a gigantic pachyderm, was associated with a species of hornless rhinoceros. these huge rhinoceroid animals appear at first to have monopolized this entire region, and the plastic, sticky clay of the lowest bed of this basin, in which the remains were found, seems to have formed a suitable bottom of the lake in which these thick-skinned monsters could wallow at pleasure." of the _fauna_ of the niobrara and loup fork valleys, he speaks as follows: "in the later fauna were the remains of a number of species of extinct camels, one of which was of the size of the arabian camel, a second about two-thirds as large. not less interesting are the remains of a great variety of forms of the horse family, one of which was about as large as the ordinary domestic animal, and the smallest not more than two or two and a half feet in height, with every intermediate grade in size." new mexico--its soil, climate, resources, etc. bordering on what might be called the south-western corner of the plains, or perhaps more properly forming, over its eastern half, part of them, lies new mexico. i find the following valuable description of the soil, climate, and productions of this section in the report of prof. cyrus thomas: "the best estimate i can make of the arable area of the territory is about as follows: in the rio grande district, one twentieth, or about two thousand eight hundred square miles; in the strip along the western border, one-fiftieth, or about six hundred square miles; in the north-eastern triangle, watered by the canadian river, one-fifteenth, or about one thousand four hundred square miles. this calculation excludes the 'staked plains,' and amounts in the aggregate to four thousand eight hundred square miles, or nearly two million nine hundred thousand acres. this, i am aware, is larger than any previous estimate that i have seen; but when the country is penetrated by one or two railroads, and a more enterprising agricultural population is introduced, the fact will soon be developed that many portions now considered beyond the reach of irrigation will be reclaimed. i do not found this estimate wholly upon the observations made in the small portions i have visited, but, in addition thereto, i have carefully examined the various reports made upon special sections, and have obtained all the information i could from intelligent persons who have resided in the territory for a number of years. "as the territory includes in its bounds some portions of the rocky mountain range on which snow remains for a great part of the year, and also a semi-tropical region along its southern boundary, there is, of necessity, a wide difference in the extremes of temperature. but, with the exception of the cold seasons of the higher lands at the north, it is temperate and regular. the summer days in the lower valleys are quite warm, but, as the dry atmosphere rapidly absorbs the perspiration of the body, it prevents the debilitating effect experienced where the air is heavier and more saturated with moisture. the nights are cool and refreshing. the winters, except in the mountainous portions at the north, are moderate, but the difference between the northern and southern sections during this season is greater than during the summer. the amount of snow that falls is light, and seldom remains on the ground longer than a few hours. the rains principally fall during the months of july, august, and september, but the annual amount is small, seldom exceeding a few inches. when there are heavy snows in the mountains during the winter, there will be good crops the following summer, the supply of water being more abundant, and the quantity of sediment carried down greater, than when the snows are light. good crops appear to come in cycles--three or four following in succession; then one or two inferior ones. "during the autumn months the wind is disagreeable in some places, especially near the openings between high ridges, and at the termini of or passes through mountain ranges. there is, perhaps, no healthier section of country to be found in the united states than that embraced in the boundaries of colorado and new mexico; in fact, i think i am justified in saying that this area includes the healthiest portion of the union. perhaps it is not improper for me to say that i have no personal ends to serve in making this statement, not having one dollar invested in either of these territories in any way whatever; i make it simply because i believe it to be true. nor would i wish to be understood as contrasting with other sections of the rocky mountain region, only so far as these territories have the advantage in temperature. it is possible arizona should be included, but, as i have not visited it, i can not speak of it. "there is no better place of resort for those suffering with pulmonary complaints than here. it is time for the health-seekers of our country to learn and appreciate the fact that within our own bounds are to be found all the elements of health that can possibly be obtained by a tour to the eastern continent, or any other part of the world; and that, in addition to the invigorating air, is scenery as wild, grand, and varied as any found amid the alpine heights of switzerland. and here, too, from middle park to los vegas, is a succession of mineral and hot springs of almost every character. "the productions of new mexico, as might be inferred from the variety of its climate, are varied, but the staples will evidently be cattle, sheep, wool, and wine, for which it seems to be peculiarly adapted. the table-lands and mountain valleys are covered throughout with the nutritious gramma and other grasses, which, on account of the dryness of the soil, cure upon the ground, and afford an inexhaustible supply of food for flocks and herds both summer and winter. the ease and comparatively small cost with which they can be kept, the rapidity with which they increase, and exemption from epidemic diseases, added to the fact that winter-feeding is not required, must make the raising of stock and wool-growing a prominent business of the country--the only serious drawback at present being the fear of the hostile indian tribes. but, as these remarks apply equally well to all these districts, i will speak farther in regard to this matter when i take up the subject of grazing in this division. "the cattle and sheep of this territory are small, because no care seems to be taken to improve the breed. san miguel county appears to be the great pasturing ground for sheep, large numbers being driven here from other counties to graze. don romaldo baca estimates that between five hundred thousand and eight hundred thousand are annually pastured here--about two-thirds of which are driven in from other sections. his own flocks number between thirty thousand and forty thousand head; those of his nephew twenty-five thousand to thirty thousand; mr. mariano trissarry, of bernalillo county, owns about fifty-five thousand; and mr. gallegos, of santa fé, nearly seventy thousand head. "don romaldo baca stated to me that his flocks yielded him an annual average of about one and a half pounds of washed wool to the sheep; that the average price of sheep was not more than two dollars per head; that the wool paid all expenses, and left the increase, which is from fifty to seventy-five per cent. per annum, as his profit. from these figures some estimate may be formed of what improved sheep would yield. "wheat and oats grow throughout the territory, but the former does not yield as heavily in the southern as in the northern part. if any method of watering the higher plateau is ever discovered, i think that it will produce heavier crops of wheat than the valley of the rio grande. "corn is raised from the vermijo, on the east of the mountains, around to the culebra, on the inside; in fact, it is the principal crop of san miguel county, but the quality and yield is inferior to that which can be produced in the rio grande valley and along the rio bonito. the southern portion of the rio pecos valley and the canadian bottoms are probably the best portions of the territory for this cereal. "apples will grow from the taos valley south, but peaches can not be raised to any advantage north of bernalillo, in the central section; but it is likely they would do well along some of the tributaries and main valley of the canadian river. they also appear to grow well and produce fruit without irrigation in the zuñi country; and the valley of the mimbres is also adapted to their culture. apricots and plums grow wherever apples or peaches can be raised. i neglected to obtain any information in regard to pears, but, judging from the similarity of soil and climate here to that of utah and california, where this fruit grows to perfection, i suppose that in the central and southern portions it would do well. "the grape will probably be the chief, or at least the most profitable, product of the soil. the soil and climate appear to be peculiarly adapted for its growth, and the probability is that, as a grape-growing and wine-producing section, it will be second only to california. from col. mcclure i learned that the amount of wine made in was about forty thousand gallons, and that the crop of would probably reach one hundred thousand gallons. i have not been informed since whether his estimate was verified or not. a good many vineyards were planted in --at least double the number of . several americans, anticipating the building of a railroad through that section, have engaged in this branch of agriculture. the wine that is made here is said to be of an excellent quality. "beets here, as in colorado, grow to an enormous size, and it is quite likely that the sugar beet would not only yield heavy crops, but also contain a large per cent. of saccharine matter. i am rather inclined to believe that soil which is impregnated with alkaline matter will favor the production of the saccharine principle. i base this opinion wholly on observations made in utah in regard to its effect on fruit; therefore experiments may prove that i am wholly mistaken. it is possible the experiment has been tried; if so, i am not aware of it. "the irish potatoes are inferior to those raised further north. cabbages grow large and fine. onions from the raton mountains south have the finest flavor of any i ever tasted, and therefore i am not surprised that lieut. emory found the dishes at bernalillo 'all dressed with the everlasting onion.' but, as to the 'chili,' or pepper, which is so extensively raised and used in new mexico, i beg to be excused, unless i can have my throat lined with something less sensitive than nature's coating. sweet potatoes have been successfully tried in the vicinity of fort sumner and along the head-waters of the rio bonito. melons, pumpkins, frijoles, etc., are raised in profusion in the lower valleys; and i understand cotton was formerly grown in limited quantities. "as a general thing, the mountains afford an abundance of pine for the supply of lumber and fuel to those sufficiently near to them. some of the valleys have a limited amount of cottonwood growing along them. in addition to pine, spruce and cottonwood, the stunted cedar and mesquit, which is found over a large area, may be used for fuel. the best timbered portion of the rio grande valley is between socorro and doña aña. the east side of the guadalupe range has an abundant supply of pine of large size. around the head-waters of the pecos is some excellent timber. walnut and oak are found in a few spots south, but in limited quantities, and of too small a size to be of much value." the disappearing bison. in connection with this general review of buffalo land, it is interesting to note that while civilization, advancing from the east, pushes our bison west, another tide of human beings, creeping out from the mountains eastward, presses the buffalo back before it. the brute multitude is thus between two advancing lines, which will soon crush it. in confirmation of this, i find the following in hayden's notes of the country along the base of the laramie mountains: "these broad, grassy plains are not yet entirely destitute of their former inhabitants; flocks of antelope still feed on the rich, nutritious grasses; but the buffalo, which once roamed here by thousands, have disappeared forever. no trace of them is now left but the old trails, which pass across the country in every direction, and the bleached skulls which are scattered here and there over the ground. these traces are fast passing away. the skulls are decaying rapidly, and this once peculiar feature of the landscape in the west will be lost. two years ago i collected a large quantity of these bleached skulls and distributed them to several of our museums, in order to insure their preservation. "there is also a singular ethnological fact connected with these skulls. we shall observe that the greater part of them have the forehead broken in for a space of three or four inches in diameter. whenever an indian kills a buffalo, he fractures the skull with his tomahawk and extracts the brains, which he devours in a raw state. "indians or old trappers traveling through the enemy's country always fear to build a fire, lest the smoke attract the notice of the foe. the consequence is that they have contracted the habit of eating certain parts of an animal in an uncooked condition. i have estimated that six men may make a full meal from a buffalo without lighting a fire. the ribs on one side are taken out with a knife, and the concavity serves as a dish. the brains are taken out of the skull, and the marrow from the leg-bones, and the two are chopped together in the rib-dish. the liver and lungs are eaten with a keen relish; also certain portions of the intestines; and the blood supplies an excellent and nutritious drink. "both indian and buffalo have probably disappeared forever from these plains. elk, black-tailed deer, red deer, mountain sheep, wolves, and the smaller animals, are still quite abundant, especially in the valleys of the small streams, where they flow down through the mountains. elk mountain and sheephead mountain have always been noted localities for these animals." the fish with legs. but while the buffalo has become extinct in that locality, an inhabitant of the water may be preparing (query: in support of the theory of development?) to take its place. i quote again from hayden: "there are other attractions here, of which the traveler will be informed long before he reaches the locality. the 'fish with legs' are the only inhabitants of the lake, and numbers of persons make it a business to catch and sell them to travelers. during the summer season they congregate in great numbers in the shallow water among the weeds and grass near the shore, and can be easily caught; but in cold weather they retire to the deeper portions of the lake, and are not seen again until spring. these little animals are possessed of gills, and, were it not for the legs, would most nearly resemble a miniature cat-fish. but when warm weather comes, a form closely resembling them, but entirely destitute of gills, may be seen in the water swimming, or creeping clumsily about on land. sometimes they travel long distances, and are found in towns, near springs or wet places, usually one at a time, while those with gills are never seen except in the alkaline lakes which are so common all over the west." the mountain supply of lumber for the plains. in connection with this (the western) border of the plains, it is interesting to note what the same writer says, of a future supply of lumber: "not only in the more lofty ranges, but also in the lower mountains, are large forests of pine timber, which will eventually become of great value to this country. vast quantities of this pine, in the form of railroad ties, are floated down the various streams to the union pacific railroad. one gentleman alone contracted for five hundred and fifty thousand ties, all of which he floated down the stream from the mountains along the southern side of the laramie plains. the big and little laramie, rock creek, and medicine bow river, with their branches, were here literally filled with ties at one time; and i was informed that, in the season of high water, they can be taken to the railroad from the mountains, after being cut and placed in the water, at the rate of from one to three cents each. these are important facts, inasmuch as they show the ease with which these vast bodies of timber may be brought to the plains below and converted into lumber, should future settlement of the country demand it." * * * * * "on the summits of these lofty mountains are some most beautiful, open spots, without a tree, and covered with grass and flowers. after passing through dense pine forests for nearly ten miles, we suddenly emerged into one of these park-like areas. just in the edge of the forest which skirted it were banks of snow six feet deep, compact like a glacier, and within a few feet were multitudes of flowers--and even the common strawberry seemed to flourish. these mountains are full of little streams of the purest water, and for six months of the year good pasturage for stock could be found." the end. transcriber's note: variations in spelling and hyphenation have been retained. obvious printer errors have been silently corrected. page : "what is the nature of these creatures thus left stranded..." the word "is" was supplied by the transcriber. the geological story of the isle of wight. [illustration: _photo by j. milman brown, shanklin._] gore cliff--upper greensand with chert beds the geological story of the isle of wight by the rev. j. cecil hughes, b.a. _with illustrations of fossils by maud neal_ london: edward stanford, limited , , & long acre, w.c. . preface no better district could be chosen to begin the study of geology than the isle of wight. the splendid coast sections all round its shores, the variety of strata within so small an area, the great interest of those strata, the white chalk cliffs and the coloured sands, the abundant and interesting fossils to be found in the rocks, awaken in numbers of those who live in the island, or visit its shores, a desire to know something of the story written in the rocks. the isle of wight is classic ground of geology. from the early days of the science it has been made famous by the work of great students of nature, such as mantell, buckland, fitton, sedgwick, owen, edward forbes, and others, who have carried on the study up to the present day. many of the strata are known to geologists everywhere as typical; several bear the names of the island localities, where they occur; some--and those not the least interesting--are not found beyond the limits of the island. though studied for so many years, there is no exhausting their interest: new discoveries are constantly made, and new questions arise for solution. to those who have become interested in the rocks of the island, and the fossils they have found in them, and who wish to learn how to read the story they tell, and to know something of that story, this book is addressed. it is intended to be an introduction to the science of geology, based on the geology of the isle of wight, yet leading on to some glimpse of the history presented to us, when we take a wider outlook still, and try to trace the whole wondrous path of change from the world's beginning to the present day. i wish to express my warmest thanks to miss maud neal for the beautiful drawings of fossils which illustrate the book, and to professor grenville a. j. cole, f.r.s., for his kindness in reading the manuscript, and for valuable suggestions received from him. i have also to acknowledge my indebtedness to mr. h. j. osborne white's new edition of the _memoir of the geological survey of the isle of wight_, ; and to thank mr. j. milman brown, of shanklin, for the three photographs of island scenery, showing features of marked geological interest, and mr. c. e. gilchrist, librarian of the sandown free library, for kindly reading the proofs of the book. j. cecil hughes. mar., . contents chap. page i. the rocks and their story ii. the structure of the island iii. the wealden strata: the land of the iguanodon iv. the lower greensand v. brook and atherfield vi. the gault and upper greensand vii. the chalk viii. the tertiary era: the eocene ix. the oligocene x. before and after: the ice age xi. the story of the island rivers; and how the isle of wight became an island xii. the coming of man xiii. the scenery of the island: conclusion illustrations of fossils _plate i.--facing page ._ wealden cyrena limestone vertebra of iguanodon lower greensand perna mulleti meyeria vectensis (atherfield lobster) panopæa plicata terebratula sella _plate ii.--facing page ._ lower greensand trigonia caudata trigonia dædalea gervillia sublanceolata upper greensand (ammonite) mortoniceras rostratum nautilus radiatus _plate iii.--facing page ._ lower greensand thetironia minor rhynchonella parvirostris upper greensand (pecten) neithea quinquecostata chalk (ammonite) mantelliceras mantelli (sea urchins) micraster cor-anguinum echinocorys scutatus (internal cast in flint) _plate iv.--facing page ._ eocene cardita plarnicosta turritella imbricataria nummulites lævigatus (fusus) leiostoma pyrus oligocene limnæa longiscata planorbis euomphalus cyrena semistriata diagrams facing page . coast, sandown bay . coast, atherfield . coast, whitecliff bay . section through headon hill and high down. (strata seen at alum bay) . st george's down , . development of river systems . the old solent river . shingle at foreland photographs facing page . gore cliff. _frontispiece._ . chalk at the culver cliffs. . chalk at scratchell's bay. geological map of the isle of wight chapter i the rocks and their story walking along the sea shore, with all its varied interest, many must from time to time have had their attention attracted by the shells to be seen, not lying on the sands, or in the pools, but firmly embedded in the solid rock of the cliffs and of the rock ledges which run out on to the shore, and have, it may be, wondered sometimes how they got there. at almost any point of the coast of the isle of wight, in bands of limestone and beds of clay, in cliffs of sandstone or of chalk, we shall have no difficulty in finding numerous shells. but it is not only in the rocks of the sea coast that shells are to be found. in quarries for building stone and in the chalk pits of the downs we see shells in the rock, and may often notice them in the stones of walls and buildings. how did they get there? the sea, we say, must once have been here. it must have flowed over the land at some time. now let us think. we are going to read a wonderful story, written not in books, but in the rocks. and it will be much more valuable if we learn to read it ourselves, than if we are just told what other people have made out. we know a thing much better if we see the answers to questions for ourselves than if we are told the answers, and take some one else's word for it. and if we learn to ask questions of nature, and get answers to them, it will be useful in all sorts of ways all through life. now, look at the shells in the rock of cliff and quarry. how are they there? the sea cannot have just flowed over and left them. the rock could not have been hard, as it is now, when they got in. some of the rocks are sandstone, much like the sand on the sea shore, but they are harder, and their particles are stuck together. does sand on a sea shore ever become hard like rock, so that shells buried in it are found afterwards in hard rock? now we are getting the key to a secret. we are learning the way to read the story of the rocks. how? in this way. look around you. see if anything like this is happening to-day. then you will be able to read the story of what happened long, long ago, of how this world came to be as it is to-day. we have asked a question about the sandstone. what about the clays and the limestone? as before, what is happening to-day? is limestone being made anywhere to-day, and are shells being shut up in it? are shells in the sea being covered up with clay,--with mud,--and more shellfish living on the top of that; and then, are they, too, being covered up? so that in years to come they will be found in layers of clay and stone like those we have been looking at in quarry and sea cliff? we have asked our questions. now we must look around, and see if we can find the answers. after it has been raining heavily for two or three days go down to the marshes of the yar, and stand on one of the bridges over the stream. we have seen it flowing quite clear on some days. now it is yellow or brown with mud. where did the mud come from? go into a ploughed field with a ditch by the side. down the ditch the rain water is pouring from the field away to the stream. it is thick with mud. off the ploughed field little trickles of water are running into the ditch. each brings earth from the field with it. off all the country round the rain is trickling away, carrying earth into the ditches and on into the stream, and the stream is carrying it down into the sea. now think. after every shower of rain earth is carried off the land into the sea. and this goes on all the year round, and year after year. if it goes on long enough--? look a long way ahead, a hundred years,--a thousand,--thousands of years. we shall be talking soon of what takes many thousands of years to do. why, you say, if it goes on long enough, all the land will be carried into the sea. so it will be. so it must be. you see how the world is changing. you will soon see how it has changed already, what wonderful changes there have been. you will see that things have happened in the world which you never guessed till you began to study geology. now, let us go a bit further. what becomes of all the mud the streams and rivers are carrying down into the sea? look at a stream coming steeply down from the hills. how it rushes along, rolling pebbles against one another, sweeping everything before it, clearing out its channel, polishing the rocks, and carrying all it rubs off down towards the sea. now look at a river near its mouth in flat lowland country. it flows now much slower; and so it has not power to bear along all the material it swept down from the hills. and so it drops a great deal; it is always silting up its own channel, and in flood time depositing fresh layers of mud on the flat meadow land,--the alluvial flat,--through which it generally flows in the last part of its course. but a good deal of sediment is carried by the river out to sea. the water of the river, moving slower as it enters the sea, has less and less power to sweep along its burden of sand and mud, and it drops it on the sea bottom,--first the bigger coarser particles like the sand, then the mud; farther out, the finer particles of mud drop to the bottom. during the exploring cruise of the _challenger_, under the direction of sir wyville thomson, in - , the most extensive exploration of the depths of the sea that has been made up to the present time, it was found that everything in the nature of gravel or sand was laid down within a very few miles, only the finer muddy sediments being carried as far as to miles from the land, the very finest of all, under most favourable conditions, rarely extending beyond , and never exceeding miles from land into the deep ocean. so gradually layer after layer of sand and mud cover the sea bed round our coasts; and shells of cockles and periwinkles, of crabs and sea urchins, and other sea creatures that have lived on the bottom of the sea are buried in the growing layers of sand and mud. as layer forms on layer, the lower layers are pressed together, and become more and more solid. and so we have got a good way towards seeing the making of clay and sandstone with shells in them, such as we saw in the sea cliffs and the quarries. but it is not only rain and rivers that are wearing the land away. all round the coasts the sea is doing the same work. we see the waves beating against the shores, washing out the softer material, hollowing caves into the cliffs, eating away by degrees even the hardest rock, leaving for a while at times isolated rocks like the needles to mark the former extension of the land. most people see for themselves the work of the sea, but do not notice so much what the rain and the frost, the streams and the rivers are doing. but these are wearing away the ground over the whole country, while the sea is only eating away at the coast line. so the whole of the land is being worn away, and the sand and mud carried out into the sea, and deposited there, the material of new land beneath the waters. how do these beds rise up again, so that we find them with their sea shells in the quarry? well, we look at the sea heaving up and down with the tides, and we think of the land as firm and fixed. and yet the land also is continually heaving up and down--very slowly,--far too slowly for it to be noticed, but none the less surely. the exact causes of this are not yet well understood, because we know but little about the inside of the earth. the deepest mine goes a very little way. we know that parts of the interior are intensely hot. the temperature in a mine becomes hotter, about °f. for every ft. we go down on the average. we know that there are great quantities of molten rock in places, which, in a volcanic eruption is poured out in sheets of lava over the land. there are great quantities of water turned into steam by the heat, and in an eruption the steam pours out of the crater of the volcano like the clouds of steam out of the funnel of a locomotive. the people who live about a volcano are living, as it were, on the top of the boiler of a steam engine; and their country is sometimes shaken up and down like the lid of a kettle by the escaping steam. in such a country the land is often changing its level. a few miles from naples at pozzuoli, the ancient puteoli, may be seen columns of what appears to be an ancient market hall, though it goes by the name of the temple of serapis. about half way up the columns are holes bored by boring shellfish, such as we may find on the shore here at low tide. we see from this that since the building was constructed in roman times the land has sunk, and carried the columns into the sea, and shellfish have bored into them. then the land has risen, and lifted the columns out of the sea again. but it is not only in the neighbourhood of volcanoes that the land is moving. not suddenly and violently, but slowly and gradually great tracts of land rise and sink. sometimes the land may remain for a long time nearly stationary. the southern coasts of england seem to stand at much the same level as in the time of the romans , or , years ago. on the other hand there is evidence which seems to show that the coast of norway has for some time been gradually rising. it was thought at one time that the interior of the earth was liquid like molten lava, and that the land we see was a comparatively thin crust over this like the crust of a pie. but it is now believed for various mathematical reasons, that the main mass of the earth is rigid as steel. still underneath the surface rocks there must be a quantity of semi-fluid matter, like molten rock, and on this the solid land sways about, as we see the ice on a pond sway with the pressure of the skaters on it. so the solid land, pressed by internal forces, rises and falls like the elastic ice, sometimes sinking and letting the sea flow over, then rising again, and bringing up the land from beneath the sea. again, as the heated interior of the earth gradually cools by the radiation of the earth's heat into space, it will tend to shrink away from the cooler rocks of the crust. this then, sinking in upon the shrinking interior, will be thrown into folds, like the skin on a shrivelled apple. seeing, as we often do, layers of rock thrown into numerous folds, so as to occupy a horizontal space far less than that in which they were originally laid down, we can hardly resist the conclusion that shrinkage of the cooling interior of the earth has been a chief cause of the greatest movements of the surface, and of the lateral pressure we so often find the strata to have undergone. as we study geology we shall find plenty to show that the land does rise and fall, that where now is land the sea has been, that land once stretched where now is sea, though there is still much which is not well understood about the causes of its movements. we have seen how many of the rocks are made in the sea,--the sandstones and the clays,--but there are two other kinds of rocks, about which we must say a little. the first are the igneous rocks, which means rocks made by fire. these rocks have solidified, most frequently in crystalline forms, from a molten mass. lava, which flows hot and fluid, from a volcano, and cooling becomes a sheet of solid rock, is an igneous rock. some igneous rocks solidify under ground under great pressure, and become crystalline rocks such as granite. we shall not find these rocks in the isle of wight. we should find them in cornwall, wales, and scotland; and, if we could go deep enough, we should find some such rock as granite underneath the other rocks all the world over. the other rocks, such as the sandstones and clays, are called sedimentary rocks, because they are formed of sediment, material carried by the sea and rivers, and dropped to the bottom. they are also called stratified rocks, because they are formed of strata, _i.e._, beds or layers, as we see in cliff and quarry. but we have seen another kind of rock,--the limestones. in sandown bay towards the culvers, bands of limestone run through the dark clay cliffs, and broken fragments lie on the shore, looking like pieces of paving stone. examining these we find that they are made up of shells, one band of small oysters, the others of shells of other kinds. you see how they have been made. there has been an oyster bed, and the shells have been pressed together, and somehow stuck together, so that they have formed a layer of rock. they are stuck together in this way. the atmosphere contains a small quantity of carbonic dioxide, and the soil a larger quantity, the result of vegetable decomposition. rain water absorbs some of it, and carries it into the rocks, as it soaks into the ground. this gas has the property of combining with carbonate of lime,--the material of which shells and limestone are made. the bicarbonate of lime so formed is soluble in water, which is not the case with the simple carbonate. water containing carbonic dioxide soaking into a limestone rock or a mass of shells dissolves some of the carbonate of lime, and carries it on with it. when it comes to an open space containing air, some of the carbonic dioxide is given off, leaving the insoluble carbonate of lime again. so by degrees the hollows are filled up, and a solid layer of rock is formed. even while gathering in the sea the shell-fragments may be cemented by the deposit of carbonate of lime from sea-water containing more of the soluble bicarbonate than it can hold. these limestones are examples of rocks which are said to be of organic origin, that is to say, they are formed by living things. organic rocks may be formed by animal or vegetable growth. rocks of vegetable origin are seen in the coals. a peat bog is composed of a mass of vegetable matter, chiefly bog moss, which for centuries has been growing and accumulating on the spot. at the bottom of the bog will frequently be found trunks of oak, or other trees, the remains of a forest of former days. the wood has undergone chemical changes, has lost much of its moisture, and often become very hard, as in bog oak. beds of coal have been formed by a similar process, on a much vaster scale, and continued much longer. the remains of ancient forests have been buried under sand stones and other rocks, have undergone chemical change, and been compressed into the hard solid mass we call coal. fossil wood, which has not reached the stage of hard coal, but forms a soft brown substance, is called lignite. this is of frequent occurrence in various strata in the isle of wight. of organic rocks of animal origin the most remarkable are the chalk, of which we shall speak later, and the coral-reefs, which are found in the warm waters of tropical seas. sailing over the south pacific you will see a line of trees--coconut trees chiefly--looking as if they rose up from the sea. coming nearer you see that they grow on a low island, which rises only a few feet above the water. these islands are often in the form of a ring, and look "like garlands thrown upon the waters." inside the ring is a lagoon of calm water. outside the heavy swell of the southern ocean thunders on the coral shore. if a sounding line be let down from the outer edge of the reef, it will be found that the wall of coral goes down hundreds of feet like a precipice. on an island in the southern sea, funafuti, a deep boring has been made , ft. deep. as far as the boring went all was coral. all this mass of coral is formed by living things,--polyps they are called. they are like tiny sea anemones, only they grow attached to one another, forming a compound animal, like a tree with stem and branches, and little sea anemones for flowers. the whole organism has a sort of shell or skeleton, which is the coral. blocks are broken off by the waves, and ground to a coral mud, which fills up the interstices of the coral; and as more coral grows above, the lower part of the reef becomes, by pressure and cementing, a solid coral limestone. once upon a time there were coral islands forming in a sea, where now is england. these old coral reefs form beds of limestone in devon, derbyshire, and other parts of england. in the isle of wight we have no old coral reefs, but we shall easily find fossil corals in the rocks. they helped to make up the rocks, but there were not enough here to make reefs or islands all of coral. the great branching corals that form the reefs can only live in warm waters. so we see that when corals were forming reefs where now is england the climate must have been warm like the tropics. that is a story we shall often read as we come to hear more about the rocks. we shall find that the climate has often been quite warm as the tropics are now: and we shall also read another wonderful story of a time when the climate was cold like the arctic regions. chapter ii. the structure of the island. the best place to begin the study of the geology of the isle of wight is in sandown bay. north of sandown, beyond the flat of the marshes, are low cliffs of reddish clay, which has slipped in places, and is much covered by grass. at low tide we shall see the coloured clays on the shore, unless the sand has covered them up. variegated marls they are called--_marl_ means a limy clay, _loam_ a sandy clay; and very fine are the colours of these marls, rich reds and purples and browns. beyond the little sea wall below yaverland battery we come to a different kind of clay forming the cliff. it is in thin layers. clay in thin layers like this is called _shale_. some of these shales are known as paper shales, for the layers are thin almost like the leaves of a book. the junction of the shales with the marls is quite sharp, and we see that the shales rest on the coloured marls, not horizontally, but sloping down towards the north. bands of limestone and sandstone running through the shales, and a hard band of brown rock which runs out on the shore as a reef, slope in the same direction. as we pass on by the red cliff to the white cliffs we notice that the strata slope more steeply the further north we go. we have seen that these strata were laid down layer by layer at the bottom of the sea. if we find a lot of things lying one on top of another, we may generally conclude that the ones at the bottom were put there first, then the next, and so on to the top. and this will generally be true with regard to the rocks. the lowest rocks must have been laid down first, then the next, and so on. but these layers of shale with shells in them, and layers of limestone made of shells, must have been laid down at first fairly flat on the sea floor; but as they were upheaved out of the sea they have been tilted, so that we now see them in an inclined position. and when we come to the chalk, we should see, if we looked at the end of the culver cliffs from a boat, that the lines of black flints that run through the chalk are nearly vertical. the strata there have been tilted up on end. [illustration: fig. .] diagram of coast, sandown bay, dunnose to culver cliff. w _wealden._ p _perna bed._ lg _lower greensand._ cb _clay bands._ s _sandrock and carstone._ g _gault._ ug _upper greensand._ c _chalk._ sc _shanklin chine._ lc _luccombe chine._ in describing how strata lie, we call the inclination of the strata from the horizontal the _dip_. the direction of a horizontal line at right angles to that of the dip is called the _strike_. if we compare the sloping strata to the roof of a house, a line down the slope of the roof will mark the direction of the dip, the ridge of the roof that of the strike. the strata we are considering dip towards the north; the line of strike is east and west. returning towards sandown we see the strata dipping less and less steeply, till near the granite fort the rocks on the shore are horizontal. continuing our walk past sandown to shanklin we pass the same succession of rocks we have been looking at, but in reverse order, and sloping the other way. it is not very easy to see this at first, for so much is covered by building; but beyond sandown we see sandstone cliffs like the red cliff again, the strata dipping gently now to the south, and in the downs above shanklin we see the chalk again. so we have the same strata north and south of sandown, forming a sort of arch. but the centre of the arch is missing. it must have been cut away. we saw that the land was all being eaten away by rain and rivers. now we see what they have done here. go up on to the downs, and look over the central part of the island. we see two ranges of downs running from east to west,--the central downs of the island, a long line of chalk down miles from the culver cliff on the east to the needles on the west; and the southern downs along the south coast from shanklin to chale. in the central downs the chalk rises nearly vertically, and turns over in the beginning of an arch towards the south. then comes a big gap, and the chalk appears again in the southern downs nearly horizontal, sloping gently to the south. the chalk was once joined right across the central hollow, where now we see the villages of newchurch, godshill, and arreton. all that enormous mass of rock that once filled the space between the downs has been cut away by running water. an arch of strata like this [inverted-u], such as the one we are looking at, is called an _anticline_. when the arch is reversed, like this [u], it is called a _syncline_. looking north from the central downs over the solent we are looking at a syncline. the chalk, which dips down at the culvers and along the line of the central downs, runs like a trough under the solent, and rises again, as we see it on the other side, in the portsdown hills. we might suppose the top of an anticlinal arch would be the highest part of the country; that, even if rain and running water have worn the country down, that would still stand highest, and be worn down least. but there are reasons why this need not be so. for one thing, when the horizontal strata are curved over into an arch, they naturally crack just at the top of the curve, so and into the cracks the rain gets, and so a stream is started there, which cuts down and widens its channel, and so eats the land away. again, the rising land only emerges gradually from the sea, and the sea may cut off the top of the arch before it has risen out of its reach. moreover on the higher land the fall of rain and snow is greater, and the frosts are more severe; so that it is just there that the forces wearing down the land are most effective. [illustration: curve with two v-shaped marks at center] we must notice another thing which happens when rocks are being upheaved and bent into curves. the strain is very great, and sometimes the strata crack and one side is pushed up more than the other. these cracks are called _faults_. at little stairs, about half way between sandown and shanklin, two or three faults may be seen in the cliff. the effect of two of the faults may be easily seen by noticing the displacement of a band of rock stained orange by water containing iron. the strata are thrown down towards the north about ft. a third fault, the effect of which is not so evident at first sight, throws the strata down roughly ft. to the south. these are only small faults, but sometimes faults occur, in which the strata have been moved on opposite sides of the fault thousands of feet away from one another. we might think we should see a wall of rock rising up on the surface of the ground where a fault occurs; but the faults have mostly taken place ages ago; and, when they do happen, the rocks are generally moved only a little way at a time. then after a while another push comes on the rocks, and they shift again at the same place, and go a bit further. all this time frost and rain and rivers are working at the surface, and planing it down; so that the unevenness of the surface caused by faults is smoothed away; and so even a great fault does not show at the surface. as we follow the sandown anticline westward it gradually dies away, the upheaved area being actually a long oval--what we may call a turtle-back. as the sandown anticline dies out, it is succeeded by another a little further south, the brook anticline. there are in fact a series of these east and west anticlines in the island and on the adjacent mainland, caused by the same earth movement. as a consequence of the arching of the strata we find the lowest beds we saw in sandown bay running out again on the west of the island in brook bay, and a general correspondence of the strata on the east and west of the island; while, as we travel from sandown or brook northward to the solent, we come to continually more recent beds overlying those which appear to the south of them. when, as in the south side of our central downs, the strata are sharply cut away by denudation, we call this an _escarpment_. the figure shows the structure of the sandown anticline we have described. we must now examine the rocks more closely, beginning with the lowest strata in the island, and try to read the story they have to tell. chapter iii the wealden strata: the land of the iguanodon the lowest strata in the isle of wight are the coloured marls and blue-grey shales we have already observed in sandown bay, which run through the island to brook bay. they are known as the wealden strata, because the same strata cover the part of kent and sussex called the weald. they consist of marls and shales with bands of sandstone and limestone. the marls and shales in wet weather become very soft, and flow out on to the shore, causing large slips of land.[ ] now, what we want to find out is what the world was like ages ago, when these wealden strata were being formed. we have learnt something of how clays and sandstones and limestones are formed: to learn more we must see what sort of fossils we can find in these rocks. "fossil" means something dug up; and the word is generally used for remains of animals or plants which we find buried in the rocks. we have seen shells in these strata. these we must examine more closely. and as we walk on the shore we shall find other fossils. in the marls and shales exposed on the shore we are pretty sure to see pieces of wood, black as coal, sometimes quite large logs, often partly covered with shining iron pyrites. perhaps you say--i hope you do--there must have been land not far away when these marls and shales were forming. always try to see what the things we find have to tell us. the sort of place where we should be most likely to find wood floating in the sea to-day would be near the mouth of a great river like the mississippi or the amazon,--rivers which bring down numerous logs of wood from the forest country through which they flow. examine the shales and limestone bands. on the surface of some of the paper-shales are numbers of small round or oval white spots. they are the remains of shells of a very minute crustacean, cypris and cypridea, from which the shales are known as cyprid shales. in other bands of shale are quantities of a bivalve shell called _cyrena_. there is a band of limestone made up of cyrena shells, containing also little roundish spiral shells called _paludina_.[ ] this limestone resembles that called sussex or petworth marble, which is mainly composed of shells of paludina, but some layers also contain bivalve shells. it is hard enough to take a good polish, and may be seen, like the similar purbeck marble, in some of our grand old churches. another band of limestone running through the shales is made up of small oysters (_ostrea distorta_). we shall see fossil shells best on the _weathered_ surfaces of rocks, _i.e._, surfaces which have been exposed to the weather. one beginning geological study will probably think we shall find fossils best by looking at fresh broken surfaces of rock. this is not so. if you want to find fossils, look at the rock where it has been exposed to the weather. the action of the weather--rain, carbonic dioxide in the rain water, etc.--is to sculpture the surface of the rock, so that the fossils stand out in relief. a weathered surface is often seen covered with fossils, when a new broken one shows none at all. many of the shells in the limestones are very like shells which are found at the present day. we must know where they are found now. well, these paludinas are a kind of freshwater snail; and, in fact, all the shells we find in the wealden strata are freshwater shells, till we come near the top, and find the oysters, which live in salt or brackish water. there were quantities in brading harbour in old days, before it was reclaimed from the sea. now, this is a very important point, that our wealden shells are freshwater shells. for what does it tell us? why, we see that the first strata we have come to examine were not laid down in the sea at all. then where were they formed? they seem to be the delta of a great river, long since passed away, like the nile, the amazon, or the niger at the present day. when these great rivers near the sea, they spread out in many channels, and deposit the mud they have brought down over a wide area shaped like a v, or like the greek letter $delta$ (delta). hence we speak of the delta of the nile. some river deltas are of immense size. that of the niger, for instance, is miles long, and the line where it meets the sea is miles long. our old wealden river must have been a great river like the niger, for the wealden strata stretch,--often covered up for a long way by later rocks, then appearing again,--as far as lulworth on the dorset coast to the west, into buckinghamshire on the north, while to the north east they not only cover the weald, but pass under the straits of dover into belgium, and very similar strata are found in westphalia and hanover. the ancient river delta must have been miles or more across. you must not think this great river flowed in the island of england as it is to-day. england was being made then. this must have been part of a great continent in those days, for such a great river to flow through, and form a delta of such size. we cannot tell quite what was the course of this river. but to the north of where we are now must have stretched a great continent, with chains of lofty mountains far away, from which the head waters of the river flowed. near its mouth the river broke up into many streams, separated by marsh land; while inside the sand banks of the sea shore would be large lagoons as in the nile delta at the present day. in these waters lived the shellfish whose shells we are finding. and flowing through great forests the river carried down with it logs of wood and whole trees, and left them stuck in the mud near its mouths for us to find to-day. what kind of trees grew in the country the river came from? well, there were no oaks or beeches, no flowering chestnuts or apples or mays. but there were great forests of coniferous trees; that is trees like our pines and firs, cedars and yews, and araucarias; and there were cycads--a very different kind of tree, but also bearing cones--which you may see in a greenhouse in botanical gardens. they have usually a short trunk, sometimes nearly hemispherical, with leaves like the long leaves of a date palm. they are sometimes called sago trees, for the trunk has a large pith, which, like some palms, gives us sago. stems of cycads, covered with diamond-shaped scars, where the leaf stalks have dropped off, are found in the wealden deposits. most of the wood we find is black and brittle. some, however, is hard as stone, where the actual substance of the wood has been replaced by silica, preserving beautifully the structure of the wood. specially noteworthy are fragments of a tree called _endogenites_ (or _tempskya_) _erosa_, because it was at first supposed to belong to the endogens,--the class to which the palm bamboo belong; it is now considered to be a tree-fern. many specimens of this wood are remarkably beautiful, when polished, or in their natural condition. here, by the way, it may be well to explain how we name animals and plants scientifically. we have english names only for the commoner varieties. so we have to invent names for the greater number of living and extinct animals and plants. and the best way is found to be this. we give a name, generally formed from the latin--or the greek--to a group of animals or plants, which closely resemble one another; the group we call a _genus_. then for the _species_, the particular kind of animal or plant of the group, we add a second name to the first. thus, if we are studying the apple and pear group of fruit trees, we call the general name of the group _pyrus_. then the crab apple is _pyrus malus_, the wild pear _p. communis_, and so on. so that when you arrange any of your species, and put down the scientific names, you are really doing a bit of classification as well. you are arranging your specimens with their nearest relations. to return to our ancient river. with the logs and trunks of trees, which the river brought down, came floating down also the bodies of animals, which had lived in the country the river flowed through. what kind of animals? very wonderful animals, some of them, not like any living creature that lives to-day. by the time they reached the mouth of the river the bodies had come to pieces, and their bones were scattered about the river mouth. on the shore where we are walking we may find some of these bones. but it is rather a chance whether we find any in any one walk we take. the best time to find them is when rough seas in winter have washed some out of the clay, and left them on the shore. it is only rarely that large bones are found here; but you should be able to find some small ones fairly often. the bones are quite as heavy as stone, for all the pores and cavities have been filled with stone, generally carbonate of lime, in the way we explained in describing the formation of beds of limestone. this makes them quite different from any present-day bones that may happen to lie on the shore. so that you cannot mistake them, if once you have seen them. they are bones of great reptiles,--the class of creatures to which lizards and crocodiles belong. but these were much larger than crocodiles, and quite peculiar in their appearance. the principal one was the iguanodon. he stood on his hind legs like a kangaroo, with a great thick tail, which may have helped to support him. when full grown he stood about ft. high. you may find on the shore vertebræ, _i.e._, joints of the backbone, sometimes large, sometimes quite small if they come from the end of the tail. i have found several here about inches long by or across. a few years ago i found the end of a leg bone almost a foot in diameter. dr. mantell, a great geological explorer in the days when these reptiles were first discovered about years ago, estimated from the size of part of a bone found in sandown bay that one of these reptiles must have had a leg ft. long. it was a long time after the bones of these creatures were first found before it was known what they really looked like. the animals lived a long way from here, and by the time the river had washed them down to its mouth the skeletons were broken up, and the bones scattered. at last a discovery was made, which told us what the animals were like. in a coal mine at bernissart in belgium the miners found the coal seam they were following suddenly come to an end, and they got into a mass of clay. after a while it was seen what had happened. they had struck the buried channel of an old river, which in the wealden days had flowed through and cut its channel in the coal strata, which are much older still than the wealden. and in the mud of the ancient buried river what should they come upon but whole skeletons of iguanodons. in the days of long ago the great beasts had come down to the river to drink, and had got "bogged" in the soft clay. the skeletons were carefully got out, and set up in the museum at brussels. without going so far as that, you may see in the natural history museum in london, or the geological museum at oxford, a facsimile of one of these skeletons, large as life, and have some idea of the sort of beast the iguanodon was. i should tell you why he was so named. before it was known what he was like in general form, it was found that his teeth, which are of a remarkable character, were similar to those of the iguana, a little lizard of the west indies. so he was called iguanodon,--an animal with teeth like the iguana (fr. _iguana_, and gk. $odous$ g. $odontos$ a tooth). he was quite a harmless beast, though he was so large. he was a vegetarian. there were other great reptiles, more or less like him, which were also vegetable feeders. but there were also carnivorous reptiles, generally smaller than the herbivorous, whose teeth tell us that they preyed on other animals. [illustration: pl. i] perna mulleti meyeria vectensis (atherfield lobster) panopæa plicata terebratula sella cyrena limestone iguanodon vertebra wealden and lower greensand those were the days of reptiles. now the earth is the domain of the mammalia. but then great reptiles like the iguanodon wandered over the land; great marine reptiles, such as the plesiosaurus, swam the waters; and wonderful flying reptiles, the pterodactyls, flew the air. some species of these were quite small, the size of a rook: one large species found in the isle of wight had a spread of wing of feet. imagine this strange world,--its forests with pines and monkey puzzles and cycads,--ferns also, of which many fragments are found,--its great reptiles and little reptiles, on land, in the water and the air. were there no birds? yes, but they were rare. from remains found in oolitic strata,--somewhat older than the wealden,--we know that birds were already in existence; and they were as strange as anything else. for they had jaws with teeth like the reptiles. they had not yet adopted the beak. and instead of all the tail feathers starting from one point, as in birds of the present day, these ancient birds had long curving tails like reptiles, with a pair of feathers on each joint. birds of similar but slightly more modern type have been found in cretaceous strata (to which the wealden belongs) in america, but so far not in strata of this age in britain. among other objects of interest along this wealden shore may be noticed a curious transformation which has affected the surface of some of the shell limestones after they were formed, which is known as cone-in-cone structure. it has quite altered the outer layer of the rock, so that all trace of the shells of which it consists is obliterated. numerous pieces of iron ore from various strata lie on the shore. through most of english history the weald of kent and sussex was the great iron-working district of england. the ore from the wealden strata was smelted by the help of charcoal made from the woods that grew there, and gave the district its name;--for _weald_ means "forest." this industry gradually ceased, as the much larger supplies of iron ore found near the coal in the mines of the north of england came to be worked. iron pyrites, sulphide of iron in crystalline form, was formerly collected on the sandown shore, and sent to london for the manufacture of sulphuric acid. this mineral is often found encrusting fossil wood. it also occurs as rounded nodules (mostly derived from the lower chalk) with a brown outer coat, and often showing a beautiful radiated metallic structure, when broken. (this form is called marcasite.) as we walk by the edge of the water, we shall see what pretty stones lie along the beach. when wet with the ripples many look like polished jewels. some are agates, bright purple and orange in colour, some clear translucent chaldedony. we shall have more to say about these later on. they do not come from the wealden, but from beds of flint gravel, and are washed along the shore. but there are also jaspers from the wealden. these are opaque, generally red and yellow. there are also pieces of variegated quartz, and other beautiful pebbles of various mineral composition. these are stones from older rocks, which have been washed down the wealden rivers, and buried in the wealden strata, to be washed out again after hundreds of thousands of years, and rolled about on the shore on which we walk to-day. [footnote : blue clays of various geological age, which in wet weather become semi-liquid, and flow out on to the shore, are known in the island by the local name of _blue slipper_.] [footnote : the name now adopted is _viviparus_. there is also a band of ferruginous limestone mainly composed of _viviparus_.] [illustration: pl. ii] trigonia caudata trigonia dædalea gervillia sublanceolata (ammonite) nautilus radiatus mortoniceras rostratum lower and upper greensand chapter iv the lower greensand for ages the wealden river flowed, and over its vast delta laid down its depth of river mud. the land was gradually sinking; for continually strata of river mud were laid down over the same area, all shallow-water strata, yet counting hundreds of feet in thickness in all. at last a change came. the land sank more rapidly, and in over the delta the sea water flowed. the sign of coming change is seen in the limestone band made up of small oysters near the top of the wealden strata. marine life was beginning to appear. above the wealden shales in sandown bay may be seen a band of brown rock. it is in places much covered by slip, but big blocks lie about the shore, and it runs out to sea as a reef before we come to the red cliff. the blocks are seen to consist of a hard grey stone, but the weathered surfaces are soft and brown. they are full of fossils, all marine, sea shells and corals. the sea has washed in well over our wealden delta, and with this bed the next formation, the lower greensand, begins. the bed is called the perna bed, from a large bivalve shell (_perna mulleti_) frequently to be found in it, though it is difficult to obtain perfect specimens showing the long hinge of the valve, which is a marked feature of the shell. among other shells are a large round bivalve _corbis_ (_sphæra_) _corrugata_, a flatter bivalve _astarte_,--and a smaller oblong shell _panopæa_,--also a peculiar shell of triangular form, _trigonia_,--one species _t. caudata_ has raised ribs running across it, another _t. dædalea_ has bands of raised spots. a pretty little coral, looking like a collection of little stars, _holocystis elegans_, one of the astræidæ, is often very sharply weathered out. above the perna bed lies a mass of blue clay, weathering brown, called the atherfield clay, because it appears on a great scale at atherfield on the south west of the island. it is very like the clay of the wealden shales, but is not divided into thin layers like shale. next we come to the fine mass of red sandstone which forms the vertical wall of red cliff. not many fossils are to be found in these strata. let us note the beauty of colouring of the red cliff--pink and green, rich orange and purple reds. and then let us pass to the other side of the anticline, and walk on the shore to shanklin. here we see the red sandstone rocks again, but now dipping to the south. you probably wonder why these red cliffs are called greensand. but look at the rocks where they run out as ledges on the shore towards shanklin. here they are dark green. and this is really their natural colour. they are made of a mixture of sand and clay coloured dark green by a mineral called glauconite. grains of glauconite can easily be seen in a handful of sand,--better with a magnifying glass. this mineral is a compound of iron, with silica and potash, and at the surface of the rock it is altered chemically, and oxide of iron is formed--the same thing as rust. and that colours all the face of the cliff red. the iron is also largely responsible for our finding so few fossils in these strata. by chemical changes, in which the iron takes part, the material of the shells is destroyed.[ ] near little stairs hollows in the rock may be seen, where large oyster shells have been. in some you may find a broken piece of shell, but the shells have been mostly destroyed. nearer shanklin we shall find large oysters, _exogyra sinuata_, in the rock ledges exposed at low tide. some are stuck together in masses. evidently there was an oyster bank here. and here the shells have not been destroyed like those in the cliff. from black bands in the cliff water full of iron oozes out, staining the cliff red and yellow and orange, and trickling down, stains the flint stones lying on the shore a bright orange. at the foot of the cliff you may sometimes see what looks like a bed of conglomerate, _i.e._, a bed of rounded pebbles cemented together. this does not belong to the cliff, but is made up of the flint pebbles on the shore, and the sand in which they lie, cemented into a solid mass by the iron in the water which has flowed from the cliff. it is a modern conglomerate, and shows us how old conglomerates were formed, which we often find in the various strata. the cement, however, in these is not always iron oxide. it may be siliceous or of other material. the iron-charged water is called chalybeate; springs at shanklin and niton at one time had some fame for their strengthening powers. the strata we have been examining are known as the ferruginous sands, _i.e._, iron sands (lat. _ferrum_, "iron"). beyond shanklin is a fine piece of cliff. look up at it, but beware of going too close under it. the upper part consists of a fine yellow sand called the sandrock. at the base of this are two bands of dark clay. these bands become filled with water, and flow out, causing the sandrock which rests on them to break away in large masses, and fall on to the beach. it is clay bands such as these which are the cause of our undercliffs in the isle of wight. turn the point, and you see exactly how an undercliff is formed. you see a wide platform at the level of the clay, which has slipped out, and let down the sandrock which rested on it. beyond luccombe chine a large landslip took place in , a great mass of cliff breaking away, and leaving a ravine behind partly filled with fallen pine trees. the whole fallen mass has since sunk lower and nearer to the sea. the broken ground overgrown with trees called the landslip, as well as the whole extent of the ground from ventnor and niton, has been formed in a similar way. but the clay which by its slip has produced these is another clay called the gault, higher up in the strata. at the top of the high cliff near luccombe chine a hard gritty stratum of rock called the carstone is seen above the sandrock, and above it lies the gault clay, which flows over the edge of the cliff. in the rock ledges and fallen blocks of stone between shanklin and luccombe many more fossils may be found than in the lower part of the ferruginous sands. besides bands of oysters, blocks of stone are to be found crowded with a pretty little shell called _rhynchonella_. there are others with many _terebratulæ_, and others with fragments of sea urchins. the terebratulæ and rhynchonellæ belong to a curious group of shells, the brachiopods, which are placed in a class distinct from the mollusca proper. they were very common in the very ancient seas of the cambrian period,--the period of the most ancient fossils yet found,--and some, the lingulæ, have lived on almost unchanged to the present day. one of the two valves is larger than the other, and near the smaller end you will see a little round hole. out of this hole, when the creature was alive, came a sort of neck, which attached it to the rock, like the barnacles. there is a very hard ferruginous band, of which nodules may be found along the shore, full of beautifully perfect impressions of fossils, though the fossils themselves are gone. casts of a little round bivalve shell, _thetironia minor_, may easily be got out. the nodules also contain casts of trigonia, panopoea, etc. a stratum is sometimes exposed on the shore containing fossils converted into pyrites. a long shell, _gervillia sublanceolata_, is the most frequent. all the shells we have found are of sea creatures, and show us that the greensand was a marine formation. but the strata were formed in shallow water not far from the shore. we have learnt that coarse sediment like sand is not carried by the sea far from the coast. and a good deal of the greensand is coarser than sand. there are numerous bands of small pebbles. the pebbles are of various kinds; some are clear transparent quartz, bits of rock-crystal more or less rounded by rolling on the shore of the greensand period. these go by the name of isle of wight diamonds, and are very pretty when polished. another mark of the nearness of the shore when these beds were laid down is the current bedding, of which a good example may be seen in the cliff at the north of shanklin parade. it is sometimes called false bedding, for the sloping bands do not mark strata laid down horizontally at the bottom of the sea, but a current has laid down layers in a sloping way,--it may be just over the edge of a sandbank. again notice how much wood is to be seen in the strata. land was evidently not far off. all along the shore you may find hard pieces of mineralised wood, the rings of growth often showing clearly. frequently marine worms have bored into them before they were locked up in the strata; the holes being generally filled afterwards with stone or pyrites. the wood is mostly portions of trunks or branches of coniferous trees. we also find stems of cycads. there has been found at luccombe a very remarkable fruit of a kind of cycad. we said that in the wealden period none of our flowering plants grew. but these specimens found at luccombe show that cycads at that time were developing into flowering plants. wonderful specimens of what may almost be called cycad flowers have been found in strata of about this age in wyoming in america; and this luccombe cycad,--called benettites gibsonianus,--shows what these were like in fruit. remains of various cycadeous plants have been found in the corresponding strata at atherfield; and possibly by further research fresh knowledge may be gained of an intensely interesting story,--the history of the development of flowering plants. on the whole the vegetation of the period was much the same as in the wealden. but these flowering cycads must have formed a marked addition to the landscape,--if indeed they did not already exist in the wealden times. the cones of present day cycads are very splendidly coloured,--orange and crimson,--and it can hardly be doubted that the cycad flowers were of brilliant hues. the land animals were still like the wealden reptiles. bones of large reptiles may at times be found on the shore at shanklin. several have been picked up recently. from the prevalence of cycads we may conclude that the climate of the wealden and lower greensand was sub-tropical. the existing cycadaceæ are plants of south eastern asia, and australia, the cape, and central america. the forest of trees allied to pines and firs and cedars probably occupied the higher land. turtles and the corals point to warm waters. the existing species of trigonia are australian shells. this beautiful shell is found plentifully in sydney harbour. it possesses a peculiar interest, as the genus was supposed to be extinct, and was originally described from the fossil forms, and was afterwards found to be still living in australia. [footnote : carbonate of lime has been replaced by carbonate of iron, and the latter converted into peroxide of iron. at sandown oxidation has gone through the whole cliff.] [illustration: fig. ] coast atherfield to rocken end wl _wealden beds._ p _perna bed._ a _atherfield clay._ ck _cracker group._ lg _lower gryphæa beds._ sc _scaphite. "_ lc _lower crioceras "_ w _walpen clay._ uc _upper crioceras beds._ ws _walpen and ladder sands._ ug _upper gryphæa beds._ ce _cliff end sands._ f _foliated clay._ su _sands of walpen undercliff._ fer _ferruginous bands of blackgang chine._ b _black clay._ s _sandrock and clays._ wh _whale chine._ l _ladder chine._ wp _walpen chine._ bg _blackgang chine._ chapter v brook and atherfield to most sandown bay is by far the most accessible place in the island to study the earlier strata; and for our first geological studies it has the advantage of showing a succession of strata so tilted that we can pass over one formation after another in the course of a short walk. but when we have learnt the nature of geological research, and how to read the record of the rocks, and examined the wealden and greensand strata in sandown bay, we shall do well, if possible, to make expeditions to brook and atherfield, to see the splendid succession of wealden and greensand strata shown in the cliffs of the south-west of the island. it is a lonely stretch of coast, wild and storm-swept in winter. but this part of the island is full of interest and charm to the lover of nature and of the old-world villages and the old churches and manor houses which fit so well into their natural surroundings. the villages in general lie back under the shelter of the downs some distance from the shore; a coastguard station, a lonely farm house, or some fishermen's houses as at brook, forming the only habitations of man we come to along many miles of shore. brook point is a spot of great interest to the geologist. here we come upon wealden strata somewhat older than any in sandown bay. the shore at the point at low tide is seen to be strewn with the trunks of fossil trees. they are of good size, some ft. in length, and from one to three feet in diameter. they are known as the pine raft, and evidently form a mass of timber floated down an ancient river, and stranded near the mouth, just as happens with great accumulations of timber which float down the mississippi at the present day. the greater part of the wood has been replaced by stone, the bark remaining as a carbonaceous substance like coal, which, however, is quickly destroyed when exposed to the action of the waves. the fossil trees are mostly covered with seaweed. on the trunks may sometimes be found black shining scales of a fossil fish, _lepidotus mantelli_. (a stratum full of the scales of _lepidotus_ has been recently exposed in the wealden of sandown bay.) the strata with the pine raft form the lowest visible part of the anticline. from brook point the wealden strata dip in each direction, east and west. as the coast does not cut nearly so straight across the strata as in sandown bay, we see a much longer section of the beds. on either side of the point are coloured marls, followed by blue shales, as at sandown. to the westward, however, after the shales we suddenly come to variegated marls again, followed by a second set of shales. there was long a question whether this repetition is due to a fault, or whether local conditions have caused a variation in the type of the beds. the conclusion of the geological survey memoir, , rather favoured the latter view, on the ground of the great change which has taken place in the character of the beds in so short a distance, assuming them to be the same strata repeated. the conjecture of the existence of a fault has, however, been confirmed; for during the last years a most interesting section has been visible at the junction of the shales and marls, where a fault was suspected. the shales in the cliff and on the shore are contorted into the form of a z. the section appears to have become visible about (it was in the spring of that year that i first saw it), and was described by mr. r. w. hooley, f.g.s. (_proc. geol. ass._, vol. xix., , pp. , ). it has remained visible since. the wealden of brook and the neighbouring coast is celebrated for the number of bones of great reptiles found here, from the early days of geological research, the ' 's and ' 's of last century, when admirable early geologists, such as dr. buckland and dr. mantell, were discovering the wonders of that ancient world, to the present time. various reptiles have been found besides the iguanodon--the megalosaurus, a great reptile somewhat similar, but of lighter build, with sabre-shaped teeth, with serrated edges: the hylæosaurus, a smaller creature with an armour of plates on the back, and a row of angular spines along the middle of the back; the huge _hoplosaurus hulkei_, probably or feet in length; the marine plesiosaurus and ichthyosaurus, and several more; also bones of a freshwater turtle and four types of crocodiles. in various beds a large freshwater shell, _unio valdensis_, occurs, and in the cliffs of brook have been found many cones of cycadean plants. in bands of white sandy clay are fragments of ferns, _lonchopteris mantelli_. in the shales are bands of limestone with cyrena, paludina, and small oysters, and paper shales with cyprids, as at sandown. the shore near atherfield point is covered with fallen blocks of the limestones. the lower greensand is seen in compton bay on the northern side of the brook anticline. here is a great slip of atherfield clay. the beds above the clay are much thinner than at atherfield, and fossils are comparatively scarce. on the south of the anticline the perna bed slopes down to the sea about yards east of atherfield point, and runs out to sea as a reef. large blocks lie on the shore, where numerous fossils may be found on the weathered surfaces. the ledges which here run out to sea form a dangerous reef, on which many vessels have struck. there is now a bell buoy on the reef. on the headland is a coastguard station, and till lately there has been a sloping wooden way from the top of the cliff to bring the lifeboat down. this was washed away in the storms of the winter - . above the perna bed lies a great thickness of atherfield clay. above this lies what is called the lower lobster bed, a brown clay and sand, in which are numerous nodules containing the small lobster _meyeria vectensis_,--known as atherfield lobsters. many beautiful specimens have been obtained. we next come to a great thickness of the ferruginous sands, some feet. the lower greensand of atherfield was exhaustively studied in the earlier days of geology by dr. fitton, in the years - , and the different strata are still referred to according to his divisions. the lowest bed is the crackers group about ft. thick. in the lower part are two layers of hard calcareous boulder-shaped concretions, some a few feet long. the lower abound in fossils, and though hard when falling from the cliffs are broken up by winter frosts, showing the fossils they contain beautifully preserved in the softer sandy cores of the concretions. _gervillia sublanceolata_ is very frequent, also _thetironia minor_, the ammonite _hoplites deshayesi_, and many more. beneath and between the nodular masses caverns are formed, the resounding of the waves in which has given the name of the "crackers." in the upper part of this group is a second lobster bed. the most remarkable fossils in the lower greensand are the various genera and species of the ammonites and their kindred. the ammonite, through many formations, was one of the largest, and often most beautiful shells. there were also quite small species. the number of species was very great. now the whole group is extinct. they most resembled the pearly nautilus, which still lives. in both the shell is spiral, and consists of several chambers, the animal living in the outer chamber, the rest being air-chambers enabling it to float. the class cephalopoda, which includes the ammonites, the nautilus, and also the cuttle-fish, is the highest division of the mollusca. the animals all possess heads with eyes, and tentacles around the mouth. they nearly all possess a shell, either external, as in the nautilus, or internal, as in the cuttle-fishes, the internal shell of which is often washed ashore after a rough sea. the cephalopods are divided into two orders. the first includes the cuttle-fish and the argonaut or paper nautilus. their tentacles are armed with suckers, and they have highly-developed eyes. they secrete an inky fluid, which forms sepia. the internal shell of extinct species of cuttle-fish, of a cylindrical shape, with a pointed end, is a common fossil in various strata, and is known as a belemnite (gr. $belemnon$ "a dart".) the second order includes the pearly nautilus of the present day, and the numerous extinct nautiloids and ammonoids. the tentacles of the pearly nautilus have no suckers; and the eyes are of a curiously primitive structure,--what may be called a pin-hole camera, with no lens. the shells of the nautilus and its allies are of simpler form, while the ammonites are characterised by the complicated margins of the partition walls or septa, by which the shells are sub-divided. the chambers of the fossil ammonites have often been filled with crystals of rich colours; and a polished section showing the chambers is then a most beautiful object.[ ] continuing along the shore, we come to the lower exogyra group, where _terebratula sella_ is found in great abundance. a reef with _exogyra sinuata_ runs out about yards west of whale chine. the group is ft. thick, and is followed by the scaphites group, ft. the beds contain _exogyra sinuata_, and a reef with clusters of serpulæ runs out from the cliff. in the middle of the group are bands of nodules containing _macroscaphites gigas_. the lower crioceras bed ( ft.) follows, and crosses the bottom of whale chine. the scaphites and crioceras are cephalopoda, related to the ammonites; but in this lower cretaceous period a remarkable development took place; many of the shells began to take curious forms, to unwind as it were. crioceras, a very beautiful shell, has the form of an ammonite, but the whorls are not in contact; thus making an open spiral like a ram's horn, whence its name (gk. $keras$, ram, $krios$, horn). ancyloceras begins like crioceras, but from the last whorl continues for some length in a straight course, then bends back again; macroscaphites is similar, but the whorls of the spiral part are in contact. in scaphites, a much smaller shell, the uncoiled part is much shorter, and its outline more rounded. it is named from its resemblance to a boat (gk. $skaphê$).[ ] the walpen and ladder clays and sands (about ft.) contain nodules with exogyra and the ammonite _douvilleiceras martini_. the dark-green clays of the lower part form an undercliff, on to which ladder chine opens. the upper crioceras group ( ft.), like the lower, contains bands of crioceras? also _douvilleiceras martini_, gervillia, trigonia, etc. it must be stated that there is some uncertainty with regard to the ammonoids found in this neighbourhood, macroscaphites having been described as ancyloceras, and also sometimes as crioceras. the discovery of the true ancyloceras (_ancyloceras matheronianum_) at atherfield is described (and a figure given) by dr. mantell; but what is the characteristic ammonoid of the "crioceras" beds requires further investigation. the neighbourhood of whale and walpen chines is of great interest. ammonites may be found in the bottom of whale chine fallen out of the rock. red ferruginous nodules with ammonites lie on the shore, in the chines, and on the undercliff, some of the ammonites more or less converted into crystalline spar. hard ledges of the crioceras beds run into the sea. the shore is usually covered deep with sand and small shingle; but there are times when the sea has washed the ledges clear; and it is then that the shore should be examined. the walpen and ladder sands ( ft.); the upper exogyra group ( ft.); the cliff end sand ( ft.); and the foliated clay and sand ( ft.), consisting of thin alternations of greenish sand and dark-blue clay, follow. then the sands of walpen undercliff (about ft.); over which lie the ferruginous bands of blackgang chine ( ft.). over these hard beds the cascade of the chine falls. cycads and other vegetable remains are found in this neighbourhood. throughout the atherfield greensand fragments of the fern _lonchopteris_ (_weichselia_) _mantelli_ are found. ft. of dark clays and soft white or yellow sandrock complete the lower greensand. in the upper beds of the greensand few organic remains occur. a beautiful section of sandrock with the junction of the carstone is to be seen inland at rock above bright-stone. the sandrock here is brightly coloured like the sands of alum bay,--though it belongs to a much older formation,--and shows current bedding very beautifully. the junction of the sandrock and carstone is also well seen in the sandpit at marvel. we have now come to the end of the lower cretaceous, in which are included the wealden and the lower greensand. judged by the character of the flora and fauna, the two form one period, the main difference being the effect of the recession of the shore line, due to the subsidence which let in the sea over the wealden delta, so that we have marine strata in place of freshwater deposits. but that the plants and animals of the wealden age still lived in the not distant continent is shown by the remains borne down from the land. these strata are an example of a phenomenon often met with in geology,--that of a great thickness of deposits all laid down in shallow water. the wealden of the isle of wight are some feet thick, in kent a good deal thicker, the hastings sands, the lower part of the formation, being below the horizon occurring in the island: the lower greensand is some feet thick. in the ancient rocks of wales, the cambrian and silurian strata, are thousands of feet of deposits, mostly laid down in fairly shallow water. in such cases there has been a long-continued deposition of sediment, while a subsidence of the area in which it was laid down has almost exactly kept pace with the deposit. it is difficult not to conclude that the subsidence has been caused by the weight of the accumulating deposit,--continuing until some world-movement of the contracting globe has produced a compensating elevation of the area. [footnote : some fine ammonites may be seen at the clarendon hotel, chale,--one about ft. in circumference.] [footnote : _see guide to fossil invertebrata_, brit. mus. nat. hist.] chapter vi the gault and upper greensand we have seen how the continent through which the great wealden river flowed began to sink below the sea level, and how the waters of the sea flowed over what had been the delta of the river, laying down the beds of sandstone with some mixture of clay which we call the lower greensand. the next stratum we come to is a bed of dark blue clay more or less sandy, called the gault. in the upper beds it becomes more sandy and grey in colour. these are known as the "passage beds," passing into the upper greensand. the thickness of the gault clay proper varies from some to feet. compared to the mainland the gault is of small thickness in the island, though the dark clay bands in the sandrock mark the oncoming of similar conditions. the fine sediment forming the clay points to a further sinking of the sea bed. in general, we find very few fossils in the gault in the island, though it is very fossiliferous on the mainland at folkestone. north of sandown red cliff the gault forms a gully, down which a footpath leads to the shore. it is seen at the west of the island in compton bay, where in the lower part some fossil shells may be found. the upper greensand is not very well named, as the beds only partially consist of sandstone, in great part of quite other materials. some prefer to call the lower greensand vectian, from vectis, the old name of the isle of wight, and the upper greensand selbornian, a name generally adopted, because it forms a marked feature of the country about selborne in hampshire.[ ] but, though the upper greensand covers a less area in the isle of wight than the lower, it forms some of the most characteristic scenery of the island. one of the most striking features of the island is the undercliff, the undulating wooded country from bonchurch to niton, above the sea cliff, but under a second cliff, a vertical wall which shelters it to the north. this wall of cliff consists of upper greensand. in a similar way to the small undercliffs we saw at luccombe, the undercliff has been formed by a series of great slips, caused here by the flowing out of the gault clay, which runs in a nearly horizontal band through the base of all the southern downs of the island, the upper greensand lying above it breaking off in masses, and leaving vertical walls of cliff. these walls are seen not only in the undercliff, but also on the northern side of the downs, where they form the inland cliff overhanging a pretty belt of woodland from shanklin to cook's castle, and again forming gat cliff above appuldurcombe. we have records of great landslips at the two ends of the undercliff, near bonchurch and at rocken end, about a century ago. but the greater part of the undercliff was formed by landslips in very ancient times, before recorded history in this island began. the outcrop of the gault is marked by a line of springs on all sides of the southern downs. the strata above, chalk and upper greensand, are porous and absorb the rainfall, which permeates through till it reaches the gault clay, which throws it out of the hill side in springs, some of which furnish a water supply for the surrounding towns and villages. where the upper greensand is best developed, above the undercliff, the passage beds are followed by feet of yellow micaceous sands, with layers of nodules of a bluish-grey siliceous limestone known as rag. the nodules frequently contain large ammonites and other fossils. next follow the sandstone and rag beds, about feet of sandstone with alternating layers of rag. the sandstones are grey in colour, weathering buff or reddish-brown, tinged more or less green by grains of glauconite. near the top of these strata is the freestone bed, a thick bed of a close-grained sandstone, weathering a yellowish grey, which forms a good building stone. most of the churches and old manor and farm houses in the southern half of the island are built of this stone. then forming the top of the series are feet of chert beds,--bands of a hard flinty rock called chert alternating with siliceous sandstone, the sandstone containing large concretions of rag in the same line of bedding. the chert beds are very hard, and where the strata are horizontal, as above the undercliff, project like a cornice at the top of the cliff. perhaps the finest piece of the upper greensand is gore cliff above niton lighthouse, a great vertical wall with the cornice of dark chert strata overhanging at the top. the thickness in the undercliff, including the passage beds, is from to ft. the upper greensand may be studied at compton bay, and at the culvers; and along the shore west of ventnor the lower cliff by the sea consists largely of masses of fallen upper greensand, many of which show the chert strata well. in numerous walls in the south of the island may be seen stone from the various strata--sandstone, blue limestone or rag, and also the chert. let us think what was happening when these beds were being formed. the sandstone is much finer than that of the lower greensand; and we have limestones now,--marine, not freshwater as in the wealden. marine limestones are formed by remains of sea creatures living at some depth in clear water. and now we come to a new material, chert. it is not unlike flint, and flint is one of the mineral forms of silica. chert may be called an impure or sandy flint. the bands of chert appear to have been formed by an infiltration of silica into a sandstone, forming a dense flinty rock, which, however, has a dull appearance from the admixture of sand, instead of being a black semi-transparent substance like flint. but where did the silica come from? in the depths of the sea many sea creatures have skeletons and shells formed of silica or flint, instead of carbonate of lime, which is the material of ordinary shells and of corals. many sponges, instead of the horny skeleton we use in the washing sponge, have a skeleton formed of a network of needles of silica, often of beautiful forms. some marine animalcules, the radiolaria, have skeletons of silica. and minute plants, the diatoms, have coverings of silica, which remain like a little transparent box, when the tiny plant is dead. now, much of the chert is full of needles, or spicules, as they are called, of sponges, and this points to the source from which some at least of the silica was derived. to form the chert much of the silica has been in some manner dissolved, and deposited again in the interstices of sandstone strata. we shall have more to say of this process when we come to speak of the origin of the flints in the chalk. sponges usually live in clear water of some depth; so all shows that the sea was becoming deeper when these strata were being formed. along the shore of the undercliff, upper greensand fossils may be found nicely weathered out. very common is a small curved bivalve shell,--a kind of small oyster,--_exogyra conica_, as are also serpulæ, the tubes formed by certain marine worms. very pretty pectens (scallop shells) are found in the sandstone. many other shells, _terebratulæ_, _trigonia_, _panopæa_, etc., occur, and several species of ammonite and nautilus.[ ] a frequent fossil is a kind of sponge, siphonia. it has the form of an oblong bulb, supported by a long stem, with a root-like base. it is often silicified, and when broken shows bundles of tubular channels. in the chert may often be seen pieces of white or bluish chalcedony, generally in thin plates filling cracks in the chert. this is a very pure and hard form of silica, beautifully clear and translucent. pebbles which the waves have worn in the direction of the plate are very pretty when polished, and go by the name of sand agates. they may sometimes be picked up on the shore near the culvers. [footnote : names proposed by the late a. j. jukes-browne.] [footnote : of ammonites, _mortoniceras rostratum_ and _hoplites splendens_ may be mentioned: and of pectens, _neithea quinquecostata_ and _quadricostata_, _syncyclonema orbicularis_, and _Æquipecten asper_.] chapter vii the chalk as we have traced the world's history written in the rocks we have seen an old continent gradually submerged, a deepening sea flowing over this part of the earth's surface. now we shall find evidence of the deepening of the sea to something like an ocean depth. we are coming to the great period of the chalk, the time when the material was made which forms the undulating downs of the south-east of england, and of which the line of white cliffs consists, which with sundry breaks half encircles our shores, from flamborough head in yorkshire, by dover and the isle of wight, to bere in devon. across the channel white cliffs of chalk face those of england, and the chalk stretches inland into the continent. its extent was formerly greater still. fragments of chalk and flint are preserved in mull under basalt, an old lava flow, and flints from the chalk are found in more recent deposits (boulder clay) on the east of scotland, pointing to a former great extension northward, which has been nearly all removed by denudation. in the isle of wight the chalk cliffs of freshwater and the culvers are the grandest features of the island; while all the island is dominated by the long lines of chalk downs running through it from east to west. now what is the chalk? and how was it made? the microscope must tell us. it is found that this great mass of chalk is made up principally of tiny microscopic shells called foraminifera, whole and in crushed fragments. there are plenty of foraminifera in the seas to-day; and we need not go far to find similar shells. on the shore near shanklin you will often see streaks of what look like tiny bits of broken shell washed into depressions in the sand. these, however, often consist almost entirely of complete microscopic shells, some of them of great beauty. the creature that lives in one of these shells is only like a drop of formless jelly, and yet around itself it forms a complex shell of surprising beauty. the shells are pierced with a number of holes, hence their name (fr. lat. _foramen_, a hole, and _ferre_, to bear). through these holes the animal puts out a number of feelers like threads of jelly, and in these entangles particles of food, and draws them into itself. now, do we anywhere to-day find these tiny shells in such masses as to build up rocks? we do. the sounding apparatus, with which we measure the depths of the sea, is so constructed as to bring up a specimen of the sea bottom. this has been used in the atlantic, and it is found that the really deep sea bottom, too far out for rivers and currents to bring sand and mud from the land, is covered with a white mud or ooze. and the microscope shows this to be made up of an unnumerable multitude of the tiny shells of foraminifera. as the little creatures die in the sea, their shells accumulate on the bottom, and in time will be pressed into a hard mass like chalk, the whole being cemented together by carbonate of lime, in the way we explained in describing the making of limestones. so we find chalk still forming at the present day. but what ages it must take to form strata of solid rock of such tiny shells! and what a vast period of time it must have required to build up our chalk cliffs and downs, composed in large part of tiny microscopic shells! with the foraminifera the microscope shows in the chalk a multitude of crushed fragments, largely the prisms which compose bivalve shells, flakes of shells of terebratula and rhynchonella, and minute fragments of corals and bryozoa. scattered in the chalk we shall also find larger shells and other remains of the life of the ancient sea. the base of the cliffs and fallen blocks on the shore are the best places to find fossils. much of the base of the cliffs is inaccessible except by boat. the lower strata may be examined in sandown and compton bays, and the upper in whitecliff bay. a watch should always be kept on the tide. the quarries along the downs are not as a rule good for collecting, as the chalk does not become so much sculptured by weathering. the deep sea of the white chalk did not come suddenly. in the oncoming of the period we find much marl--limy clay. as the sea deepened, little reached the bottom but the shells of foraminifera and other marine organisms. how deep the sea became is uncertain: there is reason to believe that it did not reach a depth such as that of the atlantic. it is difficult to draw the line between the upper greensand and the chalk strata. above the chert beds is a band a few feet thick known as the chloritic marl, which shows a passage from sand to calcareous matter. it is named from the abundance of grains of green colouring matter, now recognised as glauconite; so that it would be better called glauconitic marl. it is also remarkable for the phosphatic nodules, and for the numerous casts of ammonites, turrilites, and other fossils mostly phosphatized, which it contains. this band is one of the richest strata in the island for fossils. it differs, however, in different localities both in thickness and composition. it is best seen above the undercliff, and in fallen masses along the shore from ventnor to niton. it is finely exposed on the top of gore cliff, where the flat ledges are covered with fossil ammonites, turrilites, pleurotomaria, and other shells. the ammonite (_schloenbachia varians_) is especially common. the sponge (_stauronema carteri_) is characteristic of the glauconitic marl. as the edge of the cliff is a vertical wall, none should try this locality but those who can be trusted to take proper care on the top of a precipice. when a high wind is blowing the position may be especially dangerous. [illustration: pl. iii] (pecten) neithea quinquecostata thetironia (ammonite) rhynchonella minor mantelliceras mantelli parvirostris (sea urchins) micraster cor-anguinum echinocorys scutatus (internal cast in flint) lower and upper greensand and chalk the chloritic marl is followed by the chalk marl, of much greater thickness. this consists of alternations of chalk with bands of marl, and contains glauconite and also phosphatic nodules in the lower part. upwards it merges into the grey chalk, a more massive rock, coloured grey from admixture of clayey matter. these form the lower chalk, the first of the three divisions into which the chalk is usually divided. above this come the middle and upper, which together form the white chalk. they are much purer white than the lower division, which is creamy or grey in colour. the chalk marl and grey chalk are well seen at the culver cliff, and run out in ledges on the shore. the lower part of this division is the most fossiliferous, and contains various species of ammonities, turrilites, nautilus, and other cephalopoda. (of ammonites _schloenbachia varians_ is characteristic. also may be named _s. coupei_, _mantelliceras mantelli_, _metacanthoplites rotomagensis_, _calycoceras naviculare_, the small ammonoid scaphites æqualis; and of pectens, _Æquipecten beaveri_ and _syncyclonema orbicularis_ may be mentioned). white meandering lines of the sponge _plocoscyphia labrosa_ are conspicuous in the lower beds. the chalk marl is well shown at gore cliff, sloping upwards from the flat ledges of the chloritic marl. it may be studied well, and fossils found, in the cliff on the ventnor side of bonchurch cove,--which has all slipped down from a higher level. the uppermost strata of the lower chalk are known as the belemnite marls. they are dark marly bands, in which a belemnite, _actinocamax plenus_, is found. the hard bands known as melbourn rock and chalk rock, which on the mainland mark the top of the lower and middle chalk respectively, are neither of them well marked in the isle of wight. in the middle chalk _inoceramus labiatus_, a large bivalve shell, occurs in great profusion; and in the upper flinty chalk are sheets of another species, _i. cuvieri_. it is hardly ever found perfect, the shells being of a fibrous structure, with the fibres at right angles to the surface, and so very fragile. there is a striking difference between the middle and upper chalk, which all will observe. it consists in the numerous bands of dark flints which run through the upper chalk parallel to the strata. the lower chalk is entirely, and the middle chalk nearly, devoid of flint. though the line at which the commencement of the upper chalk is taken is rather below the first flint band of the upper chalk, and a few flints occur in the highest beds of the middle chalk; yet, speaking generally, the great distinction between the middle and upper chalk, the two divisions of the white chalk, may be considered to be that of flintless chalk and chalk with flints. early in our studies we noticed the great curves into which the upheaved strata have been thrown, and that on the northern side of the anticline the strata are in places vertical. this can be well observed in the culver cliffs and brading down, where the strata of the upper chalk are marked by the lines of black flints. in the large quarry on brading down the vertical lines of flint can be clearly seen; and by walking at low tide at whitecliff bay round the corner of the cliff, or by observing the cliff from a boat, we may see a beautiful section of the flinty chalk, the lines of black flints sloping at a high angle. the flints in general form round or oval masses, but of irregular shape with many projections, and the masses lie in regular bands parallel to the stratification. the tremendous earth movement which has bent the strata into a great curve has compressed the vertical portion into about half its original thickness, and has made the chalk of our downs extremely hard. it has also shattered the flints in the chalk into fragments. the rounded masses retain their form, but when pulled out of the chalk fall into sharp angular fragments, and we find they are shattered through and through. [illustration: _photo by j. milman brown, shanklin._] culver cliffs--highly inclined chalk strata now, what are flints, and how were they formed? flints are a form of silica, a purer form than chert, as the chalk in which they are embedded was formed in the deep sea, and so we have no admixture of sand. flints, as we find them in the chalk, are generally black translucent nodules, with a white coating, the result of a chemical action which has affected the outside after they were formed. flint is very hard,--harder than steel. you cannot scratch it with a knife, though you may leave a streak of steel on the surface of the flint. this hardness is a property of other forms of silica, as quartz and chalcedony. the question how the flints were formed is a difficult one. as to this much still remains obscure. the sea contains mineral substances in solution. calcium sulphate and chloride, and a small amount of calcium carbonate (carbonate of lime) are in solution in the sea. from these salts is derived the calcium deposited as calcium carbonate to form the shells of the foraminifera and the larger shells in the chalk. there is also silica in small quantity in sea water. from this the skeletons of radiolaria and diatoms and the spicules of sponges are formed. now, many flints contain fossil sponges, and when broken show a section of the sponge clearly marked. especially well can this be seen in flints which have lain some time in a gravel bed formed of flints worn out of the chalk by denudation. hard as a flint seems, it is penetrated by numerous fine pores. the gravel beds are usually stained yellow by water containing iron, and this has penetrated by the pores through the substance of the flints, staining them brown and orange. many of the stained flints show beautifully the sponge markings,--a wide central canal with fine thread-like canals leading into it from all sides. the chalk sea evidently abounded in siliceous organisms, and it cannot be doubted that it is from such organisms that the silica was derived, which has formed the masses of flint. silica occurs in two forms--in a crystalline form as quartz or rock crystal, and as amorphous, _i.e._, formless or uncrystalline (also called opaline) silica. the siliceous skeletons of marine organisms are formed of amorphous silica. flint consists of innumerable fine crystalline grains, closely packed together. amorphous silica is less stable than crystalline, and is capable of being dissolved in alkaline water, _i.e._, water containing carbonate of sodium or potassium in solution. if the silica so dissolved be deposited again, it is generally in the crystalline form. it seems probable, therefore, that the amorphous silica of the skeletal parts of marine organisms has been dissolved by alkaline water percolating through the strata, and re-deposited as flint. as the silica was deposited, chalk was removed. the large irregular masses of flint lying in the chalk strata have clearly taken the place of chalk which has been removed. water charged with silica soaking through the strata has deposited silica, and at the same time dissolved out so much carbonate of lime. bivalve shells, originally carbonate of lime, are often replaced, and filled up by flint, and casts of sea urchins in solid flint are common, and often beautiful fossils. this process of change took place after the foraminiferal ooze had been compacted into chalk strata; and to some extent at any rate, there has been deposition of silica after the chalk had become hard and solid; for we find flat sheets, called tabular flint, lying along the strata, or filling cracks cutting through the strata at right angles. but in all probability the re-arrangement of the constituents of the strata took place in the main during the first consolidation, as the strata rose above the sea-level, and the sea-water drained out. a suggestion has been made by r. e. liesegang, of dresden, to explain the occurrence of the flints in the bands with clear interspaces between, which are such a marked feature of the upper chalk. he has shown how "a solution diffusing outward and encountering something with which it reacts and forms a precipitate, moves on into this medium until a concentration sufficient to cause precipitation of the particular salt occurs. a zone of precipitation is thus formed, through which the first solution penetrates until the conditions are repeated, and a second zone of precipitate is thrown down. zone after zone may thus arise as diffusion goes on." he suggests that the zones of flint may be similar phenomena, water diffusing through the masses of chalk taking up silica till such concentration is reached that precipitation takes place, the water then percolating further and repeating the process.[ ] the precipitation of silica and replacement of the chalk occurs irregularly along the zone of precipitation, forming great irregular masses of flint, which enclose the sponges and other marine organisms that lay in the chalk strata. where a deposit of silica has begun, it will probably have determined the precipitation of more silica, in the manner constantly seen in chemical precipitation; and it would seem that siliceous organisms as sponges have to some extent served as centres around which silica has been precipitated, for flints are very commonly found, having the evident external form of sponges. it will be well to say something here of the history of the flints as the chalk which contains them is gradually denuded away. rain water containing carbonic dioxide has a great effect in eating away all limestone rocks, chalk included. a vast extent of chalk, which formerly covered much of england has thus disappeared. the arch of chalk connecting our two ranges of downs has been cut through, and from the top of the downs themselves a great thickness of chalk has been removed. the chalk in the downs above ventnor and bonchurch is nearly horizontal. it consists of lower and middle chalk; and probably a small bit of the upper occurs. but the top of st. boniface down is covered with a great mass of angular flint gravel, which must have come from the upper chalk. the gravel is of considerable thickness, perhaps ft., and on the spurs of the down falls over to a lower level like a table-cloth. it is worked in many pits for road metal. this flint gravel represents the insoluble residue which has been left when the chalk was dissolved away. on the top of the cliffs between ventnor and bonchurch, at a point called highport, is a stratum of flint gravel carried down from the top of the down. the shore here is strewn with large flints fallen from the gravel. the substance of many of the flints has undergone a remarkable change. instead of black or dull grey flint it has become translucent agate, of splendid orange and purple colours, or has been changed into clear translucent chalcedony. in the agate the forms of fossil sponges can often be beautifully seen. the colours are due to iron-charged water percolating into the flint in the gravel bed, but further structural changes have altered the form of the silica; chalcedony having a structure of close crystalline fibres, revealed by polarized light: when variously stained and coloured, it is usually called agate. many of these flints, when cut through and polished, are of great beauty. the main force of the tides along these shores is from west to east; and so there is a continual passage of pebbles on the shore in that direction. the flints in sandown bay have in the main travelled round from here; and towards the culvers small handy specimens of agates and chalcedonies rounded by the waves may be collected. [illustration: _photo by j. milman brown, shanklin._] scratchell's bay--highly inclined chalk strata the extensive downs in the centre of the island are largely overspread with angular flint gravel similarly formed to that of st. boniface. of other beds of gravel, which have been washed down to a lower level by rivers or other agency we shall have more to say later. the chalk strata in the isle of wight are of great thickness. in the culver cliff there are some feet of flintless chalk (lower and middle chalk), and then some , feet of chalk with flints. there is some variation in the thickness of the strata in different parts of the island, and the amount of the upper strata, which has been removed by denudation, varies considerably. the average thickness of the white chalk in the island is about , feet.[ ] including the lower chalk, the maximum thickness of the chalk strata is , ft. the divisions of the chalk we have so far considered depend on the character of the rock: we must say a word about another way of dividing the strata. it is found that in the chalk, as in other strata, fossils change with every few feet of deposit. we may make a zoological division of the chalk by seeing how the fossils are distributed. the chalk was first studied from this point of view by the great french geologist, m. barrois, who divided it into zones, according to the nature of the animal life, the zones being called by the name of some fossil specially characteristic of a particular zone. more recently dr. a. w. rowe has made a very careful study of the zones of the white chalk, and is now our chief authority on the subject. the strata have been grouped into zones as follows:-- zones. sub-zones. { belemnitella mucronata. { actinocamax quadratus. { { offaster pilula. upper { offaster pilula. { echinocorys depressus. chalk. { { marsupites { marsupites. { testudinarius. { uintacrinus. { micraster cor-anguinum. { micraster cor-testudinarium. { holaster planus. middle { terebratulina lata. chalk. { inoceramus labiatus. { holaster subglobosus. { actinocamax lower { { plenus (at top). chalk. { schloenbachia varians.{ stauronema { { carteri (at base). the method of study according to zoological zones is of great interest. the period of the white chalk was of long duration, and the physical conditions remained very uniform. so that by studying the succession of life during this period we may learn much about the gradual change of life on the earth, and the evolution of living things. we have seen that the whole mass of the chalk is made up mainly of the remains of living things,--mostly of the microscopic foraminifera. we have seen that sponges were very plentiful in that ancient sea. of other fossils we find brachiopods--different species of terebratula and rhynchonella--a large bivalve _inoceramus_ sometimes very common; the very beautiful bivalve, _spondylus spinosus_, belemnites, serpulæ; and different species of sea-urchin are very common. a pretty heart-shaped one, _micraster cor-anguinum_, marks a zone of the higher chalk, which runs along the top of our northern downs. other common sea urchins are various species of _cidaris_, of a form like a turban (gk. _cidaris_, a persian head-dress); _cyphosoma_, another circular form; the oval _echinocorys scutatus_, which, with varieties of the same and allied species, abounds in the upper chalk, and the more conical _conulus conicus_. the topmost zone, that of _b. macronata_, would yield a record of exuberant life, were the chalk soft and horizontal. there was a rich development of echinoderms (sea urchins and star fishes), but nothing is perfect, owing to the hardness of the rock (dr. rowe). the general difference in the life of the chalk period is the great development of ammonites and other cephalopods in the lower chalk, and of sea urchins and other echinoderms in the upper, while the middle chalk is wanting in the one and the other. shark's teeth tell of the larger inhabitants of the ocean that flowed above the chalky bottom. many quarries have been opened on the flanks of the chalk downs, of which a large number are now disused. they occur just where they are needed for chalk to lay on the land, the pure chalk on the north of the downs to break up the heavy tertiary clays, which largely cover the north of the island; the more clayey beds of the grey chalk on the south of the downs to stiffen the light loams of the greensand.[ ] [footnote : see _common stones_, by grenville a. j. cole, f.r.s. .] [footnote : , ft. at the western end of the island, , ft. at the eastern.--dr. rowe's measurements.] [footnote : dr. a. w. rowe.] chapter viii the tertiary era: the eocene ages must have passed while the ocean flowed over this part of the world, and the chalk mud, with its varied remains of living things, gradually accumulated at the bottom. at last a change came. slowly the sea bed rose, till the chalk, now hardened by pressure, was raised into land above the sea level. as soon as this happened, sea waves and rain and rivers began to cut it down. there is evidence here of a wide gap in the succession of the strata. higher chalk strata, which probably once existed, have been washed away, while the underlying strata have been planed off to an even surface more or less oblique to the bedding-planes. the highest zone of the chalk in the island (that of _belemnitella macronata_) varies greatly in thickness, from ft. at the eastern end of the island to at the western. the latest investigations give reason to conclude that this is due to gentle synclines and anticlines, which have been planed smooth by the erosion which preceded the deposition of the next strata,--the eocene.[ ] at alum bay the eroded surface of the chalk may be seen with rolled flints lying upon it, and rounded hollows or pot-holes, the appearance being that of a foreshore worn in a horizontal ledge of rock, much like the horse ledge at shanklin. the land sank again, but not to anything like the depth of the great chalk sea. we now come to an era called the tertiary. the whole geological history is divided into four great eras. the first is the eozoic, or the age of the archæan,--often called pre-cambrian--rocks; rocks largely volcanic, or greatly altered since their formation, showing only obscure traces of the life which no doubt existed. then follow the primary era, or, as it is generally called, the palæozoic; the secondary or mesozoic; and the tertiary or kainozoic. palæozoic is used rather than primary, as this word is ambiguous, being also used for the crystalline rocks first formed by the solidification of the molten surface of the earth. but secondary and tertiary are still in constant use. these long ages, or eras, were of very unequal duration; yet they mark such changes in the life of animal and plant upon the earth that they form natural divisions. the palæozoic was an immense period during which life abounded in the seas,--numberless species of mollusca, crustaceans, corals, fish are found,--and there were great forests, which have formed the coal measures, on land,--forests of strange primeval vegetation, but in which beautiful ferns, large and small, flourished in great numbers. the secondary era may be called the age of reptiles. to this era all the rocks we have so far studied belong. now we come to the last era, the tertiary, the age of the mammals. instead of reptiles on land, in sea and air, we find a complete change. the earth is occupied by the mammalia; the air belongs to the birds such as we see to-day. the strange birds of the oolitic and cretaceous have passed away. birds have taken their modern form. in some parts of the world strata are found transitional between the secondary and tertiary. the tertiary is divided into four divisions,--the eocene, the oligocene (once called upper eocene), the miocene, and the pliocene; which words signify,--pliocene the more recent period, miocene the less recent, eocene the dawn of the recent. in the eocene we shall find marine deposits of a comparatively shallow sea, and beds deposited at the mouth of great rivers, where remains of sea creatures are mingled with those washed down from the land by the rivers. these strata run through the isle of wight from east to west, and we may study them at either end of the island, in whitecliff and alum bays. the strata are highly inclined, so that we can walk across them in a short walk. some beds contain many fossils, but many of the shells are very brittle and crumbly; and we can only secure good specimens by cutting out a piece of the clay or sand containing them, and transferring them carefully to boxes, to be carried home with equal care. often much of the face of the cliff is covered with slip or rainwash, and overgrown with vegetation. sometimes a large slip exposes a good hunting ground. now let us walk along the shore, and try to read the story these tertiary beds tell us. we will begin in whitecliff bay. though easily accessible, it remains still in its natural beauty. the sea washes in on a fine stretch of smooth sand sheltered by the white chalk wall which forms the south arm of the bay. north of the culver downs the cliffs are much lower, and consist of sands and clays of varying colour, following each other in vertical bands. looking along the line of shore we notice a band of limestone, at first nearly vertical like the preceding strata, then curving at a sharp angle as it slopes to the shore, and running out to sea in a reef known as bembridge ledge. this is the bembridge limestone; and the beginning of the reef marks the northern boundary of whitecliff bay, the shore, however, continuing in nearly the same line to bembridge foreland, and showing a continuous succession of eocene and oligocene strata. the strata north of the limestone are nearly horizontal, dipping slightly to the north. in the bembridge limestone we see the end of the sandown anticline, and the beginning of the succeeding syncline. the strata now dip under the solent, and rise into another anticline in the portsdown hills. north and south of the great anticline of the weald of kent and sussex are two synclinal troughs known as the london and hampshire basins. nearly the whole of our english eocene strata lies in these two basins, having been denuded away from the anticlinal arches. the oligocene only occur in the hampshire basin, the higher strata only in the isle of wight. [illustration: fig. .] coast section, whitecliff bay. bm _bembridge marls._ bl _bembridge limestone._ o _osborne beds._ h _headon beds._ bs _barton sand._ b _barton clay._ br _bracklesham beds._ bg _bagshot beds._ l _london clay._ r _reading beds._ ch _chalk._ p _pebble beds._ s _sandstone band._ above the chalk we come first to a thick red clay called plastic clay. it is much slipped, and the slip is overgrown. the only fossils found in the island are fragments of plants; larger plant remains on the mainland show a temperate climate. this clay was formerly worked at newport for pottery. the clay is probably a freshwater deposit formed in fairly deep water. on the mainland we find on the border shallow water deposits called the woolwich and reading beds. (the clay is to ft. thick at whitecliff bay, less than ft. at the alum bay.) we come next to a considerable thickness of dark clay with sand, at the surface turned brown by weathering. this is the london clay, so called because it underlies the area on which london is built. at the base is a band of rounded flint pebbles, which extends at the base of the clay from here to suffolk. in it, as well as in a hard sandstone inches higher up, are tubular shells of a marine worm, _ditrupa plana_. the sandstone runs out on the shore. about ft. above the basement bed is a zone of _panopæa intermedia_ and _pholadomya margaritacea_, at ft. another band of _ditrupa_, and at about ft. a band with a small _cardita_. in the higher part of the clay are large septaria,--rounded blocks of a calcareous clay-ironstone, with cracks running through them filled with spar. _pinna affinis_ is found in the septaria. the thickness of the clay in whitecliff bay is feet. it can be seen on the shore, when the tide happens to have swept the sand away. otherwise the lower beds are hardly visible, there being no cliff here, but a slope overgrown with vegetation. in alum bay the london clay, about ft. in thickness, consists of clays, chiefly dark blue, with sands, and lines of septaria. in the lower part is a dark clay with _pholadomya margaritacea_, still preserving the pearly nacre. there are also _panopæa intermedia_, and in septaria _pinna affinis_. all these with their pearly lustre, are beautiful fossils. a little higher is a zone with _ditrupa_, and further on a band of _cardita_. other shells also are found in the clay, especially in the lower part. they are all marine, and indicate a sub-tropical climate. lines of pebbles show that we are near a beach. in other parts of the south of england remains from the land are found, borne down an ancient river in the way we found before in the wealden deposits. but times have changed since the wealden days, and the life of the tertiary times has a much more modern appearance. from leaves and fruits borne down from the forest we can learn clearly the nature of the early eocene land and climate. leaves are found at newhaven, and numerous fossil fruits at sheppey. the character of the vegetation most resembled that now to be seen in india, south eastern asia, and australia. palms grew luxuriantly, the most abundant fruit being that of one called nipadites, from its resemblance to the nipa palm, which grows on the banks of rivers in india and the philippines. the forests also included plants allied to cypresses, banksia, maples, poplars, mimosa, custard apples, gourds, and melons. the rivers abounded in turtle--large numbers of remains of which are found in the london clay at the mouth of the thames--crocodiles and alligators. with the exception of the south east of england, all the british isles formed part of a continental mass of land covered with a tropical vegetation. the mountain chains of england, scotland, and wales rose as now, but higher. long denudation has worn them down since. in the south-east of england the coast line fluctuated; and sea shells, and the remains of the plant and animal life of the neighbourhood of a great tropical river alternate in the deposits. [illustration: fig. ] section through headon hill and high down. showing strata seen at alum bay. g _gravel cap._ bm _bembridge limestone._ o _osborne beds._ uh _upper headon._ mh _middle " ._ lh _lower headon._ bs _barton sand._ b _barton clay._ br _bracklesham beds._ bg _bagshot sands._ l _london clay._ r _reading beds._ ch _chalk._ the london clay is succeeded by a great thickness of sands and clays which form the bagshot series. these are divided in the london basin into lower, middle, and upper bagshot. in the hampshire basin the strata are now classified as bagshot sands, bracklesham beds, barton beds, the last comprising the barton clay and the barton sand, formerly termed headon hill sands. there is some uncertainty as to the manner in which these correspond to the beds of the bagshot district, as the tertiary strata have been divided by denudation into two groups, and differ in character in the two areas. it is possible that the barton sand represents a later deposit than any in the london area. almost the only fossil remains in the bagshot sands are those of plants, but these are of great interest. in whitecliff bay the beds consist for the most part of yellow sands, above which is a band of flint pebbles, which has been taken as the base of the bracklesham series, for in the clay immediately above marine shells occur. the bagshot sands, in whitecliff bay, are about feet thick, in alum bay, feet, according to the latest classification. in alum bay the strata consist of sands, yellow, grey, white, and crimson, with clays, and bands of pipe clay. this is remarkably white and pure, as though derived from white felspar, like the china clay in cornwall. the pipe clay contains leaves of trees, sometimes beautifully preserved. specimens are not very easy to obtain, as only the edges of the leaves appear at the surface of the cliff. they have been found chiefly in a pocket, or thickening of the seam of pipe clay, which for forty years yielded specimens abundantly, afterwards thinning out, when the leaves became rare. the leaves lie flat, as they drifted and settled down in a pool. with them are the twigs of a conifer, occasionally a fruit or flower, or the wing case of a beetle. the leaves show a tropical climate. the flora is a local one, differing considerably from those of eocene deposits elsewhere. the plants are nearly all dicotyledons. of palms there are only a few fragments, while the london clay of sheppey is rich in palm fruits, and many large palms are found in the bournemouth leaf beds, corresponding in date to the bracklesham. the differences may be largely due to conditions of locality and deposition. the alum bay flora is characterised by a wealth of leguminous plants, and large leaves of species of fig (_ficus_); simple laurel and willow-like leaves are common, of which it is difficult to determine the species, and there is abundance of a species of _aralia_. the character of the flora resembles most those of central america and the malay archipelago. [illustration: pl. iv] nummulites lævigatus turritella limnæa imbricataria longiscata cardita planicosta (fusus) planorbis leiostama pyrus euomphalus cyrena semistriata eocene and oligocene the bracklesham beds in alum bay ( ft. thick) consist of clays, with lignite forming bands in. to ft. thick; white, yellow, and crimson sands; and in the upper part dark sandy clays, with bands showing impressions of marine fossils. alum bay takes its name from the alum formerly manufactured from the tertiary clays. the coloured sands have made the bay famous. the colours of the sands when freshly exposed, and of the cliffs when wet with rain, are very rich and beautiful,--deep purple, crimson, yellow, white, and grey. some of the beds are finely striped in different shades by current bedding. the contrast of these coloured cliffs with the white chalk, weathered to a soft grey, of the other half of the bay is very striking and beautiful. about ft. from the top is a conglomerate of flint pebbles, some of large size, cemented by iron oxide. in whitecliff bay the bracklesham beds ( ft.) consist of clays, sands, and sandy clays, mostly dark, greenish and blue in colour, containing marine fossils and lignite. sir richard worsley, in his history of the isle of wight, tells that in february, , a bed of coal was laid bare in whitecliff bay, causing great excitement in the neighbourhood. people flocked to the shore for coal, but it proved worthless as fuel. it has, however, been worked to some extent in later years. in some of the beds are many fossils. numbers have lately been visible where a large founder has taken place. there are large shells of _cardita planicosta_ and _turritella imbricataria_. they are, however, very fragile. in a stratum just above these are numbers of a large nummulite (_nummulites lævigatus_). these are round flat shells like coins,--hence the name (lat. _nummus_, a coin). they are a large species of foraminifera. we may split them with a penknife; and then we see a pretty spiral of tiny chambers. a smaller variety, _n. variolarius_, occurs a little further on, and a tiny kind, _n. elegans_, in the barton clay. one of the most striking features of the later eocene is the immense development of nummulite limestones--vast beds built up of the delicate chambered shells of nummulites,--which extend from the alps and carpathians into thibet, and from morocco, algeria, and egypt, through afghanistan and the himalaya to china. the pyramids of egypt are built of this limestone. the bracklesham beds are followed by the barton clay, famous for the number of beautiful fossil shells found at barton on the hampshire coast. at whitecliff bay the fossils are, unfortunately, very friable. at alum bay the pathway to the shore is in a gully in the upper part of the barton clay. the strata consist of clays, sands, and sandy clays. the base of the beds is marked by the zone of _nummulites elegans_. numerous very pretty shells of the smaller barton types may be found, with fragments of larger ones; or a whole one may be found. owing to the cliff section cutting straight across the strata, which are nearly vertical, there is far less of the beds open to observation than at barton, which probably accounts for the list of fossils being much smaller. the shells are chiefly several species of _pleurotoma_, _rostellaria_, _fusus_, _voluta_, _turritella_, _natica_, a small bivalve _corbula pisum_, a tubular shell of a sand-boring mollusc _dentalium_, _ostroea_, _pecten_, _cardium_, _crassatella_. the fauna is like a blending of malayan and new zealand forms of marine life. throughout the eocene from the london clay onward the shells are such as abound in the warm sea south east of asia. similarly the plant remains take us into a tropic land, where fan palms and feather palms overshadowed the country, trees of the tropics mingling with trees we still find in more northern latitudes. the general character of the flora as of the shells was oriental and malayan; both being succeeded in later strata by a flora and fauna with greater analogy to that now existing in western north america. in alum bay the barton clay is suddenly succeeded by the very fine yellow and white sands which run along the western base of headon hill, the curve of the syncline bringing them round from a nearly vertical to an almost horizontal position. these are now known as the barton sand. they are ft. thick, the whole of the barton beds being ft. in alum bay, ft. in whitecliff. the sands were formerly extensively used for glass making. they are almost unfossiliferous. the passage from barton clay to the sands in whitecliff bay is more gradual. the sands here show some fine colouring which reminds us of the more celebrated sands of alum bay. [footnote : see memoir of geological survey of i. w. by h. j. osborne white, f.g.s. , p. .] chapter ix the oligocene we pass on to strata which used to be called upper eocene, but are now generally classified as a period by themselves, and called the oligocene. they are also known as the fluvio-marine series. large part was deposited in freshwater by rivers running into lagoons, or in the brackish water of estuaries, while at times the sea encroached, and beds of marine origin were laid down. the west of the island is much the best locality for the lower strata, those which take their name from headon hill between alum and totland bays. there are three divisions of the headon strata, marine beds in the middle coming between upper and lower beds formed in fresh and brackish water. light green clays are very characteristic of these beds, and at the west of the island thick freshwater limestones, which have died out before the strata re-appear in whitecliff bay. the strongest masses of limestone in headon hill belong to the upper division. the limestones are full of freshwater shells, nearly all the long spiral limnæa and the flat spiral disc of planorbis, perhaps the most abundant species being _l. longiscata_ and _p. euomphalus_. the limestones themselves are almost entirely the produce of a freshwater plant _chara_, which precipitates lime on its tissues, in the same manner as the sea weeds we call corallines. on the shore round the base of headon hill lie numerous blocks of limestone, the débris of strata fallen in confusion, in which are beautiful specimens of limnæa and planorbis. the shells, however, are very fragile. the marine beds of the middle headon are best seen in colwell bay, where a few yards north of how ledge they descend to the beach, and a cliff is seen formed of a thick bed of oysters, _ostrea velata_. the oysters occupy a hollow eroded in a sandy clay full of _cytherea incrassata_, from which the bed is known as the "venus" bed, the shell formerly being called _venus_, later _cytherea_, at present _meretrix_. the marine beds contain many drifted freshwater shells as limnæa and cyrena. the how ledge limestone forms the top of the lower headon. it is full of well-preserved limnæa and planorbis. the upper and lower headon are mainly fresh or brackish water deposits. the purely freshwater beds contain _limnæa_, _planorbis_, _paludina_, _unio_, and land-shells. in the brackish are found _potamomya_, _cyrena_, _cerithium_ (_potamides_), _melania_ and _melanopsis_. _paludina lenta_ is very abundant throughout the oligocene. a large number of the marine shells of the headon beds are species also found in the barton clay. _cytherea_, _voluta_, _ancillaria_, _pleurotoma_, _natica_ are purely marine genera. in white cliff bay the beds are mostly estuarine. most of the fossils are found in two bands, one about ft. above the base of the series, the other a stiff blue clay, about feet higher, which seems to correspond with the "venus bed" of colwell bay. many of the fossils are of barton types. the headon beds are about feet thick at headon hill, ft. in whitecliff bay; and are followed by beds varying from about to ft. in thickness, known as the osborne and st. helens series. they consist mainly of marls variously coloured, with sandstone and limestone. in headon hill is a thick concretionary limestone, which almost disappears northward. the oligocene strata often vary considerably within short distances. the osborne beds are exposed along the low shore between cowes and ryde, and from sea view to st. helens. in whitecliff bay they are not well seen, occurring in overgrown slopes. they consist mostly of red and green clays. a band of cream-yellow limestone a foot thick is the most conspicuous feature. the fossils resemble those from the headon beds, but are much less plentiful. the marls seem to have been mostly deposited in lagoons of brackish water, which at the present day are favourite places for turtles and alligators, and of these many remains are found in the osborne beds. the beds are specially noted for the shoals of small fish, _diplomystus vectensis_ (_clupea_), first observed by mr. g. w. colenutt, f.g.s., and prawns found in them, and also remains of plants. the beds that appear in the neighbourhood of sea view and st. helens are divided into nettlestone grits and st. helen's sands, the former containing a freestone feet thick. above these beds lies the bembridge limestone, which is so conspicuous in whitecliff bay, and forms bembridge ledge. on the north shore of the island the strata rise slightly on the northern side of the syncline. there are also minor undulations in an east and west direction. the result is to bring up the bembridge limestone at various points along the north shore, where it forms conspicuous ledges--hamstead ledge at the mouth of the newtown river, ledges in thorness bay, and gurnard ledge. in whitecliff bay the limestone, about feet thick, forms the conspicuous reef called bembridge ledge. the bembridge limestone consists of two or more bands of limestone with intercalated clays. it is usually whiter than the headon limestones, and the fossils occur as casts, the shells being sometimes replaced by calc-spar. the limestone has been much used as a building stone for centuries, not only in the island, but for buildings on the mainland. the most famous quarries were those near binstead, from which quarr, the site of the great abbey, now almost entirely disappeared, derives its name. from these quarries was obtained much of the stone for winchester cathedral and many other ancient buildings. in the old walls and buildings of southampton the stone may be recognised at once by the casts of the limnæae it contains. the quarries at quarr were noted in more ways than one. in later times the remains of early mammalia,--palæotherium, anoplotherium, and others--have been found. the quarries are now abandoned and overgrown. the limestone may be seen inland at brading, where it forms the ridge on which the church stands. the limestone is a freshwater formation, and the fossils are mostly freshwater shells, of the same type as the headon, limnæa and planorbis the most common. there are also land shells, especially several species of helix, the genus which includes the common snail,--_h. globosa_, very large,--and great species of _bulimus_ (_amphidromus_) and _achatina_ (_b. ellipticus_, _a. costellata_). these interesting shells were chiefly obtained in the limestone at sconce near yarmouth, a locality now inaccessible, being occupied by fortifications. the land shells have an affinity to species now found in southern north america. the limestone also abounds in the so-called "seeds" of chara. the reproductive organs,--the "seeds,"--of this curious water-plant, allied to the lower algæ, are, like the rest of the plant, encased in carbonate of lime, and are very durable. large numbers are found in the oligocene strata. under the microscope they are seen to be beautifully sculptured in various designs, with a delicate spiral running round them. above the limestone lie the bembridge marls, varying in thickness in different localities from to feet. north of whitecliff bay they stretch on to the foreland. they are in the main a freshwater formation, but a few feet above the limestone is a marine band with oysters, _ostrea vectensis_. it runs out along the shore, where the oysters may be seen covering the surface. the lower marls consist chiefly of variously-coloured clays with many shells, chiefly _cyrena pulchra_, _semistriata_, and _obovata_, _cerithium mutabile_, and _melania muricata_ (_acuta_); and red and green marls, in which are few shells, but fragments of turtle occur. a little above the oyster bed is a band of hard-bluish septarian limestone. sixty years ago edward forbes remarked on the resemblance of this band to the harder insect-bearing limestones of the purbeck beds. in a limestone exactly resembling this, and similarly situated in the lower part of the marls in gurnard and thorness bays, numerous insects were afterwards found,--beetles, flies, locusts, and dragonflies, and spiders. leaves of plants, including palms, fig, and cinnamon, have also been found in this bed, showing that the climate was still sub-tropical. the upper marls consist chiefly of grey clays with abundance of _melania turritissima_ (_potamaclis_). the chief shells in the marls are _cyrena_, _melania_, _melanopsis_ and _paludina_ (_viviparus_). they are often beautifully preserved; the species of cyrena often retain their colour-markings. bembridge foreland is formed by a thick bed of flint gravel resting on the marls, which are seen again in priory bay, where in winter they flow over the sea-wall in a semi-liquid condition. they lie above the limestone at gurnard, thorness, and hamstead. west of hamstead ledge the whole of the beds crop out on the shore, where beautifully preserved fossils may be collected. large pieces of drift wood occur, also seeds and fruit. many fragments of turtle plates may be found. large crystals of selenite (sulphate of lime) occur in the marls. last of the oligocene in the isle of wight are the hamstead beds. these strata are peculiar to the isle of wight. the bembridge beds also are not found on the mainland, except a small outlier at creechbarrow hill in dorset. the hamstead beds consist of some feet of marls, in which many interesting fossils have been found. they cover a large area of the northern part of the island, largely overlaid by gravels, and are only seen on the coast at hamstead, where they form the greater part of the cliff, which reaches a height of ft., the top being capped by gravel. in winter the clays become semi-liquid, in summer the surface may be largely slip and rainwash, baked hard by the sun. the lower part of the strata may be best seen on the shore. the strata consist of ft. of freshwater, estuarine, and lagoon beds, with _unio_, _cyrena_, _cyclas_, _paludina_, _hydrobia_, _melania_, _planorbis_, _cerithium_ (rare), and remains of turtles, crocodiles, and mammals, leaves and seeds of plants; and above these beds feet of marine beds with _corbula_, _cytherea_, _ostrea callifera_, _cuma_, _voluta_, _natica_, _cerithium_, and _melania_. except for the convenience of dividing so large a mass of strata, it would not be necessary to divide these from the bembridge beds, as no break in the character of the life of the period occurs at the junction. the basement bed of the hamstead strata is known as the black band, feet of clay, coloured black with vegetable matter, with _paludina lenta_ very numerous, _melanopsis carinata_, _limnæa_, _planorbis_, a small _cyclas_ (_c. bristovii_), seed vessels, and lumps of lignite. it rests on dark green marls with _paludina lenta_ and _melanopsis_, and full of roots. this evidently marks an old land surface. about feet higher is the white band,--a white and green clay full of shells, mostly broken. there are bands of tabular ironstone containing _paludina lenta_. clay ironstone was formerly collected on the shore between yarmouth and hamstead and sent to swansea to be smelted. the strata consist largely of mottled green and red clays, probably deposited in brackish lagoons. these yield few fossils except remains of turtle and crocodile and drifted plants. the blue clays are much more fossiliferous. among other plants are leaves of palm and water-lily. the strata gradually become more marine upwards. the marine beds were called by forbes the corbula beds, from two small shells, _c. pisum_ and _c. vectensis_, of which some of the clays are full. remains of early mammalia are found in the hamstead beds, the most frequent being a hog-like animal, of supposed aquatic habits, hyopotamus, of which there are more than one species. the fauna and flora of the oligocene strata show that the climate was still sub-tropical, though somewhat cooling down from the eocene. palms grew in what is now the isle of wight. alligators and crocodiles swam in the rivers. turtle were abundant in river and lagoon. specially interesting in the eocene and oligocene are the mammalian remains. they show us mammals in an early stage before they branched off into the various families as we know them to-day. the palæotherium was an animal like the tapir, now an inhabitant of the warmer regions of asia and america. recent discoveries in eocene strata in egypt show stages of development between a tapir-like animal and the elephant with long trunk and tusks. there were in those days hog-like animals intermediate between the hogs and the hippopotami. there were ancestors of the horse with three toes on each foot. there were hornless ancestors of the deer and antelopes. many of the early mammals showed characters now found in the marsupials, the order to which the kangaroo and opossum belong, members of which are found in rocks of the secondary era, and are the only representatives of the mammalia in that age. some of the early eocene mammalia are either marsupials, or closely related to them. in the oligocene we find the mammalian life becoming more varied, and branching out into the various groups we know to-day; while the succeeding miocene period witnesses the culmination of the mammalia--mammals of every family abounding all over the earth's surface, in a profusion and variety not seen before--or since, outside the tropics. chapter x before and after.--the ice age. we have read the story written in the rocks of the isle of wight. what wonderful changes we have seen in the course of the long history! first we were taken back to the ancient wealden river, and saw in imagination the great continent through which it flowed, and the strange creatures that lived in the old land. we saw the delta sink beneath the sea, and a great thickness of shallow water deposits laid down, enclosing remains of ammonites and other beautiful forms of life. then long ages passed away, while in the waters of a deeper sea the great thickness of the chalk was built up, mainly by the accumulation of microscopic shells. in time the sea bed rose, and new land appeared, and another river bore down fruits to be buried with sea shells and remains of turtles and crocodiles in the mud deposited near its mouth to form the london clay. we followed the alternations of sea and land, and the changing life of eocene and oligocene times. we have heard of the early mammalia found in the quarries of quarr, and have learnt from the leaf beds of alum bay that at that time the climate of this part of the world was tropical. indeed, i think everything goes to prove that through the whole of the times we have been studying,--except perhaps the earliest eocene, that of the reading beds,--the climate was considerably warmer than it is at the present day. after all these changes do you not want to know what happened next? well, at this point we come to a gap in the records of the rocks, not only in the isle of wight, but also in the british isles. the british isles, or even england and wales alone, are almost, if not quite unique in the world in that, in their small extent, they contain specimens of nearly every formation from the most ancient times to the present day. in other parts of the world we may find regions many times this area, where we can only study the rocks of some one period. but just at this point in the story comes a period,--a very important one, too,--the miocene--of which we have no remains in our islands. we must hear a little of what happened before we come back to the isle of wight again in comparatively recent times. but, first, perhaps, i had better tell,--just in outline,--something of the earlier history of the world, before any of our isle of wight rocks were made. for, if i do not, quite a wrong idea may be formed of the world's history. the time of the wealden river has seemed to us very ancient. we cannot say how many hundreds of thousands, or rather millions of years have passed since that ancient wealden age. and you may have thought that we had got back then very near the world's birthday, and were looking at some of the oldest rocks on the globe. but no. we are not near the beginning yet. compared with the vast ages that went before, our wealden period is almost modern. we cannot tell with any certainty the comparative time; but we may compare the thickness of strata formed to give us some sort of idea. now to the first strata in which fossil remains of living things are found we have in all a thickness of strata some times that of all the rocks we have been studying from wealden to oligocene, together with the later rocks, miocene and pliocene, not found in the isle of wight. and before that there is, perhaps, an equal thickness of sedimentary deposits; though the fossils they, no doubt, once contained have been destroyed by changes the rocks have undergone. now let me try to give you some idea of the world's history up to the point where we began in the isle of wight. if we could see back through the ages to the furthest past of geological history, we should see our world,--before any of the stratified rocks were laid down in the seas,--before the seas themselves were made,--a hot globe, molten at least at the surface. how do we know this? because under the rocks of all the world's surface we find there is granite or some similar rock,--a rock which shows by its composition that it has crystallised from a molten condition. moreover we have seen that the interior of the earth is intensely hot. and yet all along the earth must be radiating off heat into the cold depths of space, and cooling like any other hot body surrounded by space cooler than itself. and this has gone on for untold ages. far enough back we must come to a time when the earth was red hot,--white hot. in imagination we see it cooling,--the molten mass solidifies into igneous rock,--the clouds of steam in which the globe is wrapped condense in oceans upon the surface. the bands of crystalline rock that rise above the primeval seas are gradually worn down by rain and rivers and waves, and the first sedimentary deposits laid down in the waters. and in the waters and on the land life appeared for the first time,--we know not how. a vast thickness of stratified rocks was formed, which are called archæan ("ancient"). they represent a time, perhaps, as great as all that has followed. these rocks have undergone great changes since their formation. they have been pressed under masses of overlying strata, and have come into the neighbourhood of the heated interior of the earth; they have been burnt and baked and compressed and folded, and acted on by heated water and steam, and their whole structure altered by heat and chemical action. limestones, _e.g._, have become marble, with a crystalline structure which has obliterated any fossils they may have once contained. yet it is probable that, like nearly all later limestones, they are of organic origin. these archæan rocks cover a large extent of country in canada. we have some of them in our islands, in the hebrides, and north-west of scotland and in anglesey, and rising from beneath later rocks in the malvern hills and charnwood forest.[ ] the archæan rocks are succeeded by the most ancient fossiliferous rocks, the great series called the cambrian, because found, and first studied, in wales. they consist of very hard rocks, and contain large quantities of slate. they are followed by another series called the ordovician; and that by another the silurian. these three great systems of rocks measure in all some , ft. of strata. they form the hills of wales and the english lake district. they contain large masses of volcanic rocks. we can see where were the necks of old volcanoes, and the sheets of lava which flowed from them. the volcanoes are worn down to their bases now; and the hills of wales and the lakes represent the remains of ancient mountain chains, which rose high like the alps in days of old, long before alps or himalayas began to be made. these ancient rocks contain abundant remains of living things, chiefly mollusca, crustaceans, corals, and other marine organisms, showing that the waters of those ages abounded with life. we must pass on. next comes a period called the devonian, or old red sandstone, when the old red rocks of devon and scotland were laid down. these contain remains of many varieties of very remarkable fish. a long period of coral seas succeeded, when coral reefs flourished over what was to be england; and their remains formed the carboniferous limestone of derbyshire and the mendip hills. a period followed of immense duration, when over pretty well the whole earth there seem to have been comparatively low lands covered with a luxuriant and very strange vegetation. the remains of these ancient forests have formed the coal measures, which tell of the most widespread and longest enduring growth of vegetation the world has seen. strange as some of the plants were--gigantic horsetails and club-mosses growing into trees--many were exquisitely beautiful. there were no flowering plants, but the ferns, many of them tree ferns, were of as delicate beauty as those of the present day. many of the ferns bore seeds, and were not reproduced by spores, such as we see on the fronds of our present ferns. that is a wonderful story of plant history, which has only been read in recent years. after the long carboniferous period came to an end followed periods in which great formations of red sandstone were made,--the permian, and the new red sandstone or trias. during much of this time the condition of the country seems to have resembled that of the steppes of central asia, or even the great desert of sahara--great dry sandy deserts--hills of bare rock with screes of broken fragments heaped up at their base,--salt inland lakes, depositing, as the effect of intense evaporation, the beds of rock salt we find in cheshire or elsewhere, in the same manner as is taking place to-day in the caspian sea, in the salt lakes of the northern edge of the sahara, and in the great salt lake of utah. at the close of the period the land here sank beneath the sea--again a sea of coral islands like the south pacific of to-day. there were many oscillations of level, or changes of currents; and bands of clay, when mud from the land was laid down, alternate with beds of limestone formed in the clearer coral seas. these strata form a period known as the jurassic, from the large development of the rocks in the jura mountains. in england the period includes the liassic and oolitic epochs. the liassic strata stretch across england from lyme regis in dorset to whitby in yorkshire. most of the strata we are describing run across england from south-west to north-east. after they were laid down a movement of elevation, connected with the movement which raised the alps in europe, took place along the lines of the welsh and scotch mountains and the chain of scandinavia, which raised the various strata, and left them dipping to the south-east. worn down by denudation the edges are now exposed in lines running south-west to north-east, while the strata dip south-east under the edges of the more recent strata. the lias is noted for its ammonites, and especially for its great marine reptiles, ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus. the oolitic epoch follows--a long period during which the fine limestone, the bath freestone, was made; the limestones of the cotswolds, beds of clay known as the oxford and kimmeridge clays; and again coral reefs left the rock known as coral rag. in the later part of the period were formed the portland and purbeck beds, marine and freshwater limestones, which contain also an old land surface, which has left silicified trunks of trees and stems of cycads. and now following on these came our wealden strata, the beginning of the cretaceous period. you see what ages and ages had gone before, and that when wealden times came, far back as they are, the world's history was comparatively approaching modern times. we must remember that all these formations, of which we have given a rapid sketch, are of great thickness,--thousands of feet of rock,--and represent vast ages of time. see what we have got to from looking at the shells in the sea cliff! we have come to learn something of the world's old history. we have been carried back through ages that pass our imagination to the world's beginning, to the time of the molten globe, before ever it was cool enough to allow life--we know not how--to begin upon its surface. and astronomy will take us back into an even more distant past, and show us a nebulous mist of vast extent stretching out into space like the nebulæ observed in the heavens to-day, before sun and planets and moons were yet formed. so we are carried into the infinite of time and space, and questions arise beyond the power of human mind to solve. now we have, i hope, a better idea of the position the strata we have been specially studying occupy in the geological history, and shall understand the relation the strata we may find elsewhere bear to those in the isle of wight and the neighbouring south of england. after this sketch of what went before our island story, we must see what followed at the end of the oligocene period. we said that there are no strata in the british isles representing the next period, the miocene. but it was a period of great importance in the world's history. great stratified deposits were laid down in france and switzerland and elsewhere, and it was a great age of mountain building. the alps and the himalaya, largely composed of cretaceous and eocene rocks, were upheaved into great mountain ranges. it is probable that during much of the period the british isles were dry land, and that great denudation of the land took place. but in the first part of the period at all events this part of the world must have been under water, and strata have been laid down, which have since been denuded away. for our soft oligocene strata, if exposed to rain and river action during the long miocene period and the time which followed, would surely have been entirely swept away. the miocene was succeeded by the pliocene, when the strata called the crag, which cover the surface of norfolk and suffolk, were formed. they are marine deposits with sea shells, of which a considerable proportion of species still survive. we have seen that through the ages we have been studying the climate was mostly warmer than at the present day. the climate of the eocene was tropical. the miocene was sub-tropical and becoming cooler. palms become rarer in the upper strata. evergreens, which form three-fourths of the flora in the lower miocene, divide the flora with deciduous trees in the upper. and through the pliocene the climate, though still warmer than now, was steadily becoming cooler; till in the beginning of the next period, the pleistocene, it had become considerably colder than that of the present day. and then followed a time which is known as the great ice age, or the glacial period,--a time which has left its traces all over this country, and, indeed all over northern europe and america, and even into southern lands. the cold increased, heavy snowfalls piled up snow on the mountains of wales, the lake district, and scotland; and the snow remained, and did not melt, and more fell and pressed the lower snow into ice, which flowed down the valleys in glaciers, as in switzerland to-day. gradually all the vegetation of temperate lands disappeared, till only the dwarf arctic birch and arctic willows were to be seen. the sea shells of temperate climates were replaced by northern species. animals of warm and temperate climates wandered south, and the arctic fox, and the norwegian lemming, and the musk ox which now lives in the far north of america took their place; and the mammoth, an extinct elephant fitted by a thick coat of hair and wool for living in cold countries, and a woolly-haired rhinoceros, and other animals of arctic regions occupied the land. when the cold was greatest, the glaciers met and formed an ice-sheet; and scotland, northern england and the midlands, wales, and ireland were buried in one vast sheet of ice as greenland is to-day. how do we know this? to tell how the story has been read would be to tell one of the most interesting stories of geology. here we can only give the briefest sketch of this wonderful chapter of the world's history. but we must know a little of how the story has been made out. we have already seen that the changes in plant and animal life point to a change from a hot climate, through a temperate, at last to arctic cold. again, over the greater part of northern england the rocks of the various geological periods are buried under sheets of tough clay, called boulder clay, for it is studded with boulders large and small, like raisins in a plum pudding. no flowing water forms such a deposit, but it is found to be just like the mass of clay with stones under the great glaciers and ice sheets of arctic regions; and just such a boulder clay may be seen extending from the lower end of glaciers in spitzbergen, when the glacier has temporarily retreated in a succession of warm summers. the stones in our boulder clay are polished and scratched in a way glaciers are known to polish and scratch the stones they carry along, and rub against the rocks and other stones. the rock over which the glacier moves is similarly scratched and polished, and just such scratching and polishing is found on the rocks in wales and the lake district. again, we find rocks carried over hill and dale and right across valleys, it may be half across england. we can trace for great distances the lines of fragments of some peculiar rock, as the granite of shap in westmorland; and even rocks from norway have been carried across the north sea, and left in east anglia. this will just give an idea how we know of this strange chapter in the history of our land. for, by this time it was our land--england--much as we know it to-day; though at times the whole stood higher above sea level, so that the beds of the channel and the north sea were dry land. but, apart from variation of level, the geography was in the main as now. [illustration: fig. ] shingle at foreland bm _bembridge marls._ s _shingle._ b _brick earth._ cf _old cliff in marls._ [illustration: fig. ] diagram of strata between southern downs and st. george's down. dotted lines _former extension of strata._ broken line _former bed of valley sloping to st. george's down._ the ice sheet did not come further south than the thames valley. what was the country like south of this? well, you must think of the land just outside the ice sheet in greenland, or other arctic country. no doubt the winters must have been very severe,--hard frosts and heavy snows,--the ground frozen deep. some arctic animals would manage to live as they do now just outside the ice sheet in greenland. now, have we any deposits formed at that time in the isle of wight? i think we have. a large part of the surface of the island is covered by sheets of flint gravel. the gravels differ in age and mode of formation. we have already considered the angular gravels of the chalk downs, composed of flints which have accumulated as the chalk which once contained them was dissolved away. but there are other gravel beds, which consist of flints which, after they were set free by the dissolution of the chalk, have been carried down to a lower level by rivers or other agency, and more or less rounded in the process. many of these beds occur at a high level; and, as they usually cap flat-topped hills, they are known as plateau gravels. perhaps the most remarkable is the immense sheet of gravel which covers the flat top of st. george's down between arreton and newport. gravel pits show upwards of feet of gravel, consisting of flints with some chert and ironstone, and the greatest thickness is probably considerably more than this. the southern edge of the sheet is cut off straight like a wall. to the north it runs out on ridges between combes which have cut into it. in places in the mass of flints occur beds of sand, which have all the appearance of having been laid down by currents of water. the base of the gravel where it is seen on the steep southern slope of the down has been cemented by water containing iron into a solid conglomerate rock. the flints forming this gravel have not simply sunk down from chalk strata dissolved away; for they lie on the upturned edges of strata from lower greensand to upper chalk, which have been planed off, and worn into a surface sloping gently to the north; and over this surface the gravel has somehow flowed. the sharp wall in which it ends at the upper part of the slope shows that it once extended to the south over ground since worn away. clearly, the gravel was formed before denudation had cut out the great gap between the central and southern downs of the island. the down where the gravel lies is ft. above sea level, ft. above the bottom of the valley below. so that, though the gravel sheet is much newer than the strata we have been studying, it must nevertheless be of great antiquity. it seems that at the top of st. george's down we are standing on what was once the floor of an old valley. in the course of denudation the bottom of a river valley often becomes the highest part of a district. for the bed of the valley is covered by flint gravel, and flint is excessively hard, and the bed of flints protects the underlying rock; so that, while the rocks on each side are worn away, what was the river bed is eventually left high above them. thus the highest points of a district are often capped by flint gravel marking the beds of old streams. tracing up this old valley to the southward, at a few miles distance it will have reached the chalk region on the south of the anticline: and the flints carried down the valley may have come from beds of angular flints already dissolved out of the chalk such as we find on st. boniface down. but how have these great masses of flints been swept along? can the land have been down under the sea; and have sea waves washed the stones along? but these flints, though water-worn, are not rounded as we find beach shingle. what immense rush of water can have spread these flints feet deep along a river valley? we must go to mountain regions for torrents of this character. and then, mountain torrents round the stones in their bed while these are mostly angular. the history of these gravels is a difficult one. i can only give what seems to me the most probable explanation. it appears to me probable that in the ice age, south of the ice sheet, the ground must have been both broken up by frosts, and also held together by being frozen hard to some depth. then when thaws came in the short but warm summers, or when an intermission of the severe cold took place, great floods would flow down the valleys in the country south of the ice sheet, and masses of ice with frozen earth and stones would be borne along in a sort of semi-liquid flow. in this way mr. clement reid explains the mass of broken-up chalk with large stones found on the heads of cliffs on the south coast, and known by the name of "combe-rock" or "head." the ice age was not one simple period, and it is still difficult to fit together the history we read in different places, and in particular to correlate the gravels of the south of england with the boulder clays of the glaciated area. there were certainly breaks in the period, during which the climate became much milder, or even warm; and these were long enough for southern species of animals and plants to migrate northward, and occupy the lands where an arctic climate had prevailed. there were moreover considerable variations in the relative level of land and sea. so that we have a very complex history, which is gradually coming into clearer light. that the gravels of the south of england belong largely to the age of ice, is shown by remains of the mammoth contained in many. these, however, are found in later gravels than those we have considered so far, gravels laid down after the land had been cut down to much lower levels. these lower gravels are known as valley gravels, because they lie along the course of existing valleys, the plateau gravels having been laid down before the present valleys came into existence. teeth of the mammoth are found in the thames valley, and on the shores of southampton water, in gravels about to feet above sea level, and have been found also in the isle of wight at freshwater gate, at the top of the cliffs near brook, and in other places. the gravels near brook with the clays on which they rest have been contorted, and the gravel forced into pockets in the clay, in a manner that suggests the action of grounding ice ploughing into the soil. the high level gravels must belong to an early stage of the glacial epoch. we get some idea of the great length of time this age must have lasted, as we look from st. george's down over the lower country of the centre of the island. after the formation of the st. george's down gravel the vast mass of strata between this and the opposite downs of st. boniface and st. catherine's was removed by denudation; and gravels were then laid down on the lower land, along blake down, at arreton, over hale common, and along the course of the yar. patches of gravel occur on the sandown and shanklin cliffs. at little stairs a gravel, largely of angular chert, reaches a thickness of feet, and in parts are several feet of loam above gravel. at the west of the island a great sheet of gravel covers the top of headon hill, reaching a height of feet. it appears sometimes to measure feet in thickness. like that on st. george's down it slopes towards the solent, resting on an eroded surface, in this case of tertiary strata; and here too the upper part of the sheet has been removed by the wearing out of the deep valley between the hill and the freshwater downs. the sheet lies on an old valley bottom, which sloped from the chalk downs on the south, then much higher and more extensive than now. here too we may see something of the length of the glacial period. for at freshwater gate is a much later gravel, in which teeth of the mammoth have been found. it was probably derived from older gravels that once lay to the south, as the flints are rounded by transport. but the formation of all these gravels appears to belong to the glacial period; and as we stand in freshwater gate, and look at this great gap in the downs worn out by the western yar, and think of the time when a river valley passed over the tops of the high downs and headon hill, we receive a strong impression of the length of the great ice age. now surely the question will be asked, what caused these changes of climate in the world's past history--so that at times a tropical vegetation spread over this land, and vegetation flourished sufficient to leave beds of coal within the arctic circle, and in the antarctic continent, and at another the climate of greenland came down to england, and an ice sheet covered nearly the whole country? this still remains one of the difficult problems of geology. an explanation has been attempted by astronomical theory, according to which the varying eccentricity of the earth's orbit--that is to say a slight change in the elliptic orbit of the earth, by which at times it becomes less nearly circular--a change which is known to take place--may have had the effect of producing these variations of climatic conditions. the theory is very alluring, for if this be the cause, we can calculate mathematically the date and duration of the glacial period. but, unfortunately, supposing the astronomical phenomena to have the effect required, the course of events given by the astronomical theory would be entirely different to that revealed by geological research. geographical explanations have usually failed through being of too local a character to explain a phenomenon which affected the whole northern hemisphere, and the effects of which reached at least as far south as the equator,[ ] and are seen again in the southern hemisphere in australia, new zealand, and south america. it is now believed that great world-movements take place, due to the contraction by cooling of the earth's interior, and the adjustment of the crust to the shrinkage.[ ] possibly some explanation might be found in these world-wide movements; but their effect seems to last through too long periods of time to suit our ice ages. again, while the geographical distribution of animals and plants in the present and past seems to imply very great changes in the land masses and oceanic areas,[ ] these changes appear to bear no relation to glacial epochs. the cause of the ice ages remains at present an unsolved problem. more than one ice age has occurred during the long geological history. the marks of such a period are found in archæan rocks, in the cambrian, when glaciers flowed down to the sea level in china and south australia within a few degrees of the tropics, and above all in early permian times. the dwyka conglomerate of the karroo formation of south africa (deposits of permo-carboniferous age) show evidence of extensive glaciation; deposits of the same age in northern and central india, even within the tropics, a glacial series of great thickness in australia, and deposits in brazil, appear to show a glaciation greater than that of the recent glacial period. yet these epochs formed only episodes in the great geological eras. on the whole the climate throughout geological time would seem to have been warmer than at the present day. it may, perhaps, be doubted whether the earth has yet recovered what we may call its _normal_ temperature since the glacial epoch. note on astronomical theory.--if the ice age be due to the increased eccentricity of the earth's orbit, the theory shows that a long duration of normal temperature will be followed by a group of glacial periods alternating between the northern and southern hemispheres, the time elapsing between the culmination of such a period in one hemisphere and in the other being about , years. while one hemisphere is in a glacial period, the other will be enjoying a specially mild,--a "genial" period. now, according to the record of the rocks, the "genial" periods were far from being those breaks in the glacial which we know as inter-glacial periods. we have the immensely long warm period of the eocene and oligocene, the miocene with a still warm but reduced temperature, and then the gradual cooling during the pliocene, till the drop in temperature culminates in the ice age. moreover, the duration of each glaciation during this ice age is usually considered to have been much longer than the , years or so given by the astronomical theory. add to this that the periods of high eccentricity of the earth's orbit, though occurring at irregular intervals, are, on the scale of geological time, pretty frequent; so that several of such periods would have occurred during the eocene alone. yet the geological evidence shows unbroken sub-tropical conditions in this part of the world throughout the eocene. [footnote : the older division of the archæan rocks--the lewisian gneisse--consists entirely of metamorphic and igneous rocks; a later division--the torridonian sandstones--is comparatively little altered, but still unfossiliferous.] [footnote : the great equatorial mountains kilimanjaro and ruwenzori show signs of a former extension of glaciers.] [footnote : for an account of such movements, see prof. gregory's _making of the earth_ in the home university library.] [footnote : see the _wanderings of animals_. by h. gadow, f.r.s., cambridge manuals.] chapter xi the story of the island rivers; and how the isle of wight became an island we must now consider the history of the river system of the isle of wight, to which our study of the gravels has brought us. for rivers have a history, sometimes a most interesting one, which carries us back far into the past. even the little rivers of the isle of wight may be truly called ancient rivers. for though recent in comparison with the ages of geological time, they are of a vast antiquity compared with the historical periods of human history. to understand our river systems we must go back to the time when strata formed by deposit of sediment in the sea were upheaved above the sea level. to take the simplest case, that of a single anticlinal axis fading off gradually at each end, we shall have a sort of turtle back of land emerged from the sea, as in figure , _aa_ being the anticlinal axis. from this ridge streams will run down on either side in the direction of the dip, their course being determined by some minor folds of the strata, or difference of hardness in the surface, or cracks formed during elevation. on each side of the dip-streams smaller ones will flow, more or less in the direction of the strike, and run into the main streams. various irregularities, such as started the flow of the streams, will favour one or another. consider three streams, _a_, _b_, _c_, and let us suppose the middle one the strongest, with greatest flow of water, and cutting down its bed most rapidly. its side streams will become steeper and have more erosive force, and so will eat back their courses most rapidly until they strike the line of the streams on either side. their steeper channels will then offer the best way for the upper waters of the streams they have cut to reach the sea; and these streams will consequently be tapped, and their head waters cut off to flow to the channel of the centre stream. we shall thus have for a second stage in the history a system such as is shown in fig. . the same process will continue till one river has tapped several others; and there will result the usual figure of a river and its tributaries, to which we are accustomed on our maps. we shall observe that tributaries do not as a rule gradually approach the central stream, but suddenly turn off at nearly a right angle from the direction in which they are flowing, and, after a longer or shorter course, join at another sharp angle a river flowing more or less parallel to their original direction. [illustration: fig. ] [illustration: fig. ] development of river systems the chalk and overlying tertiary strata were uplifted from the sea in great folds forming a series of such turtle-backs as we have been considering. the line of upheaval was not south-west and north-east, as that which raised the older formations in bands across england, but took place in an east and west direction. the main upheaval was that of the great wealden anticline. other folds produced the sandown and brook anticlines, and that of the portsdown hills. the upheaval seemed to have been caused by pressure acting from the south, for the steeper slope of each fold is on the northern side. our latest oligocene strata are tilted with the chalk, showing that the upheaval took place after oligocene times. but the great movement was in the main earlier than the pliocene. for on the north downs near lenham is a patch of lower pliocene deposit resting directly on the chalk, the older tertiary strata having been removed by denudation, clearly due to the uplift of the wealden anticline. the raising of the pliocene deposit to its present position proves that the same movement was continued at a later time, probably during the pleistocene. but the greater part of the movement may be assigned to the miocene, the period of great world-movements which raised the alps and the himalaya. many remarkable, and, at first sight, very puzzling features connected with the courses of rivers find an explanation when we study the river history. thus, looking at the weald of kent and sussex, we see that it consists of comparatively low ground rising to a line of heights east and west along the centre, and surrounded on all sides but the south-east by a wall of chalk downs. if we considered the subject, we should suppose that the drainage of the country would be towards the south-east, which is open to the sea. not so. all the rivers flow from the central heights north and south,--go straight for the walls of chalk downs, and cut through the escarpment in deep clefts to flow into the thames and the channel. this is explained when we remember that the rivers began to flow when the great curve of strata rose above the sea. though eroded by the sea during its elevation, yet when it rose above the waters the arch of chalk must have been continuous from what are now north downs to south. and from the centre line of the great turtle back the streams began to flow north and south, cutting in the course of ages deep channels for themselves. the greater erosion in their higher courses has cut away the mass of chalk from the centre of the weald, but the rivers still flow in the direction determined when the arch was still entire. we have a similar state of things in the isle of wight. any one not knowing the geological story, and looking at the geography of the island, might naturally suppose that there would be a stream flowing from west to east, through the low ground between the two ranges of downs, and finding its way into the sea in sandown bay. instead of this the three rivers of the island, the two yars and the medina, all flow north, and cut through the chalk escarpment of the central downs, as if an earthquake had made rifts for them to pass, and so find their way into the solent. the explanation is the same as in the case of the weald. the rivers began to flow when the chalk strata were continuous over the centre of the island; and their course was determined when the east and west anticlinal axis rose above the sea. we shall notice, however, that the island rivers start from south of the anticlinal axis. the centre of the sandown anticline runs just north of sandown, but the various branches of the yar and medina flow from well south of this. the explanation would appear to be that the anticline is almost a monoclinal curve,--that is to say, one slope is steep, the other not far from horizontal. streams starting from the ridge would flow with much greater force down the northern than the southern side, and would cut back their course much more quickly. thus they would continually cut into the heads of the southern streams, and turn the water supplying them into their own channels. in its early history a river cuts out its bed, and carries along pebbles, sand and mud to the sea. the head waters are constantly cutting back, and the slope becoming less steep, till a time comes when the stream in its gently inclined lower course has no more power to excavate, and the finer sediment, which is all that now reaches the lower river, begins to fill up the old channel. and so the alluvium is formed which fills the lower portions of our river valleys. beyond this, the great rush of waters from melting snows and ice of the glacial period has come to an end. the gentler and diminished streams of a drier age have no power to roll flint stones along and form beds of gravel. gravel terraces border our river valleys at a higher level than the present streams. periods alternated during which gravels were laid down by the river, and when the river acquiring more erosive force, by an elevation of the land giving its bed a steeper gradient, or a wetter climate producing a greater rush of water, cut a new channel deeper in the old valley. so our valleys in southern england are frequently bordered by a succession of gravel terraces, the higher ones being the older, dating from times when the river flowed at a higher level than at present. such terraces may be seen above the eastern yar and its tributary streams. in the centre of the old gravels is the alluvial flat of a later age. the island rivers cut out their channels when the land stood at a higher level than at present. the old channels of the lower parts of the rivers are now filled with alluvium, partly brought down by the rivers and partly marine. the channels are cut down considerably below sea level; and by the sinking of the land the sea has flowed in, and the last parts of the river courses are now tidal estuaries. the sea does not cut out estuaries. they are the submerged ends of river valleys. some idea may be formed of the antiquity of our island rivers by observing the depth of the clefts they have cut through the downs at brading, newport, and freshwater. but to this we must add the depth at which the old channels lie below the alluvium. it would be interesting to know the thickness of the alluvium. but it is not often that borings come to be made in river alluvia. however, in the old spithead forts artesian wells are sunk; and these pass through to feet of recent deposits before entering eocene strata. under st. helen's fort, at the mouth of brading harbour, are feet of recent deposits. the old channel of the yar, at its mouth, must lie at least at this depth. before it passes through the gap in the chalk downs the yar has meandered about, and formed the alluvial flat called morton marshes. these marshes stretch out into the flat known as sandown level, which occupies the shore of the bay between sandown and the granite fort. what is the meaning of this extension of the alluvium away from the course of the river out to the sea at sandown? a glance at it as pictured on a geological map will suggest the answer. we see clearly the alluvia of two streams converging from right and left, and uniting to pass to the sea through brading harbour. but the stream to the right has been cut off by the sea encroaching on sandown bay: only the last mile of alluvium is left to tell of a river passed away. we must reconstruct the past. we see the bay covered by land sloping up to east and south east, the lines of downs extending eastward from dunnose and the culvers, and an old river flowing northward, and cutting through the chalk at brading after being joined by a branch from the west. this old river must have been the main stream. for it was a transverse stream, flowing nearly at right angles to the ridge of the anticline; while the yar comes in as a tributary in the direction of the strike. of other tributary streams, all from the right are gone by the destruction of the old land. on the left streams would flow in from the combes at shanklin and luccombe--streams which have now cut out shanklin and luccombe chines. passing the gap in the downs the river meandered about, and, with marine deposit, washed in by the tides, formed the expanse of alluvium which occupies what was brading harbour,--a harbour which in old times presented at high tide a beautiful spectacle of land-locked water extending up to brading. inclosures and drainings have been made from time to time, the upper part near yarbridge being taken in in the time of edward i. further innings were made in the reign of queen elizabeth; and sir hugh middleton, who brought the new river to london, made an attempt to enclose the whole, but the sea broke through his embankment. the harbour was finally reclaimed at great cost in , the present embankment enclosing an area of acres. the history of the western yar is similar to that of the eastern. the main stream must have flowed from land now destroyed by the sea stretching far south of freshwater gate. all that is left is its tidal estuary, and the gravel terraces and alluvial flat formed in the last part of its course. of a tributary stream an interesting relic remains. for more than miles from chilton chine through brook to compton grange a bed of river gravel lies at the top of the cliff, marking the course of an old stream, of which coast erosion has made a longitudinal section. this was a tributary of the yar, when the mammoth left his remains in the gravel at grange chine and freshwater gate. down the centre of the gravels lies a strip of alluvium laid down by a stream following the same course in later days. the sea had probably by this time cut into the stream; and it most likely flowed into the sea somewhere west of brook. in the alluvium hazel nuts and twigs of trees are found at shippard's chine near brook. the lower course of the medina is a submerged river valley, the tide flowing up to newport. the river rises near chale, and flows through a strip of alluvium, overgrown with marsh vegetation, known as "the wilderness." this upper course of the medina, from the absence of gravels or brick earth, has the appearance of a comparatively modern river. but the medina has a further history. if you look at the map you will see branches of the yar running south to north as transverse streams, but the main course is that of a lateral river. look at the two chief sources of the yar--the stream from near whitwell and niton, and that from the wroxall valley. when they get down to the marshes near rookley and merston, they are not flowing at all in the direction of sandown or brading. they rather look as if they would flow along the marshy flat by blackwater into the medina. but the yar cuts right across their course, and carries them off eastward to sandown. when we look, we find a line of river valley with a strip of alluvium running up from the medina at blackwater in the direction of these two streams--a valley which the railway up the yar valley from sandown makes use of to get to newport. there can be little doubt that these streams from niton and wroxall originally ran along this line into the medina; but the yar, cutting its course backward, has captured them, and diverted their course. they probably represent the main branches of the medina in earlier times, the direction of flow from south-east to north-west instead of south to north being possibly due to the overlapping in the neighbourhood of newport of the ends of the brook and sandown anticlines. the sheet of gravel on blake down belongs to this period of the river's history. the river must have diverted between the deposition of the plateau gravels and that of the valley gravels of the yar. for the former follow the original valley, the latter the new course of the river. we must now take a wider outlook, and see what became of our rivers after they had flowed across what is now the isle of wight from south to north. we have been speaking of times when the island was of much greater extent than at present. standing on the down above the needles, and looking westward, we see on a clear day the isle of purbeck lying opposite, and we can see that the headland there is formed by white chalk cliffs like those beneath us. in front of them stand the old harry rocks, answering to the needles, both relics of a former extension of the land. in fact purbeck is just like a continuation of the isle of wight. south of the chalk lie greensand and wealden strata in swanage bay, and north towards poole are tertiaries. clearly these strata were once continuous with those of the isle of wight. we must imagine the chalk downs of the island continued as a long range across what is now sea, and on through purbeck. a great valley must have stretched from west to east, north of this line, along the course of the frome, which runs through dorset, and now enters the sea at poole harbour, on by bournemouth, and along the present solent channel--a valley still much above sea level, not yet cut down by rivers and the sea--and down the centre of this valley a river must have flowed, which may be called the river solent. it received as tributaries from the south the rivers of the isle of wight, and others from land since destroyed by the sea. there flowed into it from the north the waters of the stour and avon, and an old river which flowed down the line of what is now southampton water. southampton water looks like the valley of a large river, much larger than the present test and itchen. its direction points to a river from the north west; and it has been shown by mr. clement reid that the salisbury rivers--avon, nadder, and wily--at a former time, when they flowed far above their present level--continued their course into the valley of southampton water. for fragments of purbeck rocks from the vale of wardour, west of salisbury, have been found by him in gravels on high land near bramshaw, carried right over the deep vale of the avon in the direction of the water. the lower avon would originally be a tributary of the solent river; and it enters the sea about mid-way between the needles and the chalk cliffs of purbeck, just opposite the point where we might suppose the sea would have first broken through the line of chalk downs. no doubt it broke through a gap made by the course of an old river from the south, as it is now breaking through the gap made by the old yar at freshwater. when the river solent had been tapped at this point, the avon just opposite would have acquired a much steeper flow, causing it to cut back at a faster rate, till it cut the course of the old river which ran by salisbury to southampton, and, having a steeper fall, diverted the upper waters of this river into its own channel. [illustration: fig. the old solent river] frost and rain and rivers cut down the valleys of the river system for hundreds of feet; the sea which had broken through the chalk range gradually cut away the south side of the main river valley from purbeck to the needles; and eventually the valley itself was submerged by a subsidence of the land, and the sea flowed between the isle of wight and the mainland. a gravel of somewhat different character to the rest is the sheet of flint shingle at bembridge foreland. it forms a cliff of gravel about feet high resting on bembridge marls, and consists of large flints, with lines of smaller flints and sand showing current bedding, and also contains greensand chert and sandstone, which must have been brought from some district beyond the chalk. the shingle slopes to north-east. to the south-west it ends abruptly, the dividing line between shingle and marls running up steeply into the cliff. this evidently marks an old sea cliff in the marls, against which the gravel has been laid down.[ ] one or two comparatively recent deposits may be mentioned here. at the top of the cliff in totland bay, about ft. above the sea, for a distance of yards, is a lacustrine deposit, consisting in the main of a calcareous tufa deposited by springs flowing from the limestone of headon hill. the tufa contains black lines from vegetable matter, and numerous land and freshwater shells of present-day species--many species of helix, especially h. nemoralis and h. rotundata, cyclostoma elegans, limnæa palustris, pupa, clausilia, cyclas, and others. on the top of gore cliff is a deposit of hard calcareous mud, reaching a thickness of about feet, and forming a small vertical cliff above the slopes of chalk marl. it extends north a few yards beyond the chalk marl on to lower greensand. it has been formed by rainwash from a hill of chalk, which must once have existed to the south. the deposit contains numerous existing land-shells, especially _helix nemoralis_ and other species of helix. between atherfield and chale at the top of the cliff is a large area of blown sand. the sand is blown up from the face of the cliff below. it reaches a thickness of feet, and possibly more in places, and forms a line of sand dunes along the edge of the cliff. the upper part of ladder chine shows an interesting example of wind-erosion. the sand driven round it by the wind has worn it into a semi-circular hollow like a roman theatre. small spits, consisting partly of blown sand, extend opposite the mouths of the western yar, the newtown river, and the most extensive--at the mouth of the old brading harbour, separating the present reduced bembridge harbour from the sea. this is called st. helen's spit, or "dover,"--the local name for these sand spits. [footnote : fig. , p. .] chapter xii the coming of man. we have watched the long succession of varied life on the earth recorded in the rocks, and now we come to the most momentous event of all in the history--the coming of man. the first certain evidence of the presence of man on the earth is found with the coming of the glacial period,--unless indeed the supposed flint implements found by mr. reid moir, under the crag in suffolk, should prove him earlier still. it is a rare chance that the skeleton of a land animal is preserved; especially rare in the case of a skeleton so frail as that of man. the best chance for the preservation of bones is in deposits in caves, which were frequently the dens of wild beasts and the shelters of man. but the implements used by early man were happily of a very imperishable nature. his favourite material, if he could get it, was flint. flint could by dexterous blows have flake after flake taken off, till it formed a tool or weapon with sharp point and cutting edge. the implements, though only chipped, or flaked, were often admirably made. they have very characteristic shapes. moreover, the kind of blow--struck obliquely--by which these early men made their tools left marks which stamp them as of human workmanship. the flake struck off shows what is called a "bulb of percussion"--a swelling which marks the spot where the blow was struck--and from this extends a series of ripples, producing a surface like that of a shell, from which this mode of breaking is called conchoidal fracture. often, by further chipping the flake itself is worked into an implement. implements have also been made of chert, but it is far more difficult to work, as it naturally breaks in an irregular way into sharp angular fragments. flint, on the other hand, lent itself admirably to the use of early man, who in time acquired a perfect mastery of the material. the working of flints is so characteristic that, once accustomed to them, you cannot mistake a good specimen. sea waves dashing pebbles about will sometimes produce a conchoidal fracture, but never a series of fractures in the methodical way in which a flint was worked by man. and, of course, specimens may be found so worn that it is difficult to be sure about their nature. again early man may, especially in very early times, have been content to use a sharp stone almost as he found it, with only the slightest amount of knocking it into shape. so that in such a case it will be very difficult to decide whether the stones have formed the implements of man or not. in later times men learnt to polish their implements, and made polished stone axes like those the new zealanders and south sea islanders used to make in modern times. the old age of chipped or flaked implements is called the palæolithic; the later age when they were ground or polished the neolithic. (simple implements, as knives and scrapers, were still unpolished.) the history of early man is a long story in itself, and of intense interest. but we must not leave our geological story unfinished by leaving out the culmination of it all in man. in the higher gravels--the plateau gravels--no remains of man are found; but in the lower--the valley gravels,--of the south of england is found abundant evidence of the presence of man. large numbers of flint implements have been collected from the thames valley and over the whole area of the rivers which have gravel terraces along their course. over a large sheet of gravel at southampton, whenever a large gravel pit is dug, implements are found at the base of the gravel.[ ] the occurrence of the mammoth and other arctic creatures in the gravels shows that in the glacial period man was contemporary with these animals. remains in caves tell the same story. in limestone caverns in devon, derbyshire, and yorkshire, implements made by man are found in company with remains of the cave bear, cave hyæna, lion, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, and other animals either extinct or no longer inhabitants of this country--remains which have been preserved under floors of stalagmite deposited in the caves. in caves of central france men have left carvings on bone and ivory, representing the wild animals of that day--carvings which show a remarkable artistic sense, and a keen observation of animal life. among them is a drawing of the mammoth on a piece of mammoth ivory, showing admirably the appearance of the animal, with his long hair, as he has been found preserved in ice to the present day near the mouths of siberian rivers. drawings of the reindeer, true to life, are frequent. till recently very few palæolithic implements had been recorded as found in the isle of wight. in the memoir of the geological survey ( ) only one such is recorded, found in a patch of brick earth near howgate farm, bembridge.[ ] a few more implements, which almost certainly came from this brick-earth, have been found on the shore since. in recent years a large number of palæolithic implements have been found at priory bay near st. helen's. they were first observed on the beach by prof. e. b. poulton, f.r.s., in , and were traced to their source in the gravel in the cliff by miss moseley in . from that time, and especially from onwards, many have been found by prof. poulton, by r. w. poulton (and others). up to about implements had been found, and there have been more finds since.[ ] the most important finds, besides those at priory bay, have been those of mr. s. hazzledine warren at freshwater, especially in trial borings in loam and clay below the surface soil in a depression of the high downs, south of headon hill, at a level of about ft. o.d., in which a number of palæolithic tools, flakes, and cores were found[ ]. isolated implements have been found in recent years in various localities in the island. there are references to finds of implements at different times in the past, but the descriptions are generally too vague to conclude certainly to what date they belong. much of the gravel used in the island comes from the angular gravel on st. boniface down, or the high plateau gravel of st. george's down; but in the lower gravels and associated brick earth, it is highly probable that more remains of palæolithic man will yet be found in the island, and quite possible that such have been found in the past, but for want of accurate descriptions of the circumstances of the finds are lost to us. we must pass on to the men of the neolithic or later stone age. the palæolithic age was of very great duration, much longer than all succeeding human history. between palæolithic and neolithic times there is in england a large gap. in france various stages have been traced showing a continual advance in culture. in england little, if anything, has been found belonging to the intermediate stages. such remains may yet be found in caves, or in lower river gravels, now buried below the alluvium. the gap between palæolithic and neolithic is marked by the great amount of river erosion which took place in the interval. palæolithic implements are found in gravels formed when the rivers flowed some feet above their present courses. take, _e.g._, the itchen at southampton. after the foot gravels were deposited the river cut down, not merely to its present level, but to an old bed now covered up by various deposits beneath the river. after cutting down to that bed the river laid down gravels upon it; and then--the land standing at a higher level than to-day--the river valley and the surrounding country were covered by a forest, which, as the climate altered and became damper, was succeeded by the formation of peat. the land has since sunk, and the peat, in parts ft. thick, is now found under southampton water, covered by estuarine silt. the empress dock at southampton was dug where a mud bank was exposed at low water. the mud bank was formed of river silt to feet thick. below this was the peat, resting on gravel. on the gravel horns of reindeer were found. in the peat were large horn cores of the great extinct ox, _bos primigenius_, also horns of red deer, and also in the peat were found neolithic flint chips, a circular stone hammer head, with a hole bored through for a wooden handle, and a large needle made of horn. here, at a great interval of time after palæolithic man, as we see by the history of the river we have just traced, we come to the new race of men, the neolithic. when neolithic man appeared the land stood higher than at present, though not so high as during great part of the pleistocene. britain was divided from the continent, but the shores were a good way out into what is now sea round the coasts, and forests clothed these further shores. remains of these, known as submerged forest, are found below the tide mark round many parts of our coast. peat as at southampton docks, is found under the estuarine mud off netley. the wells at the spithead forts show an old land surface with peat more than feet below the tide level. the old bed of the solent river lies much lower still-- feet below high tide at noman's land fort; this channel was probably an estuary after the subsidence of the land till it silted up with marine deposits to the level on which the submerged forest grew. when the solent and southampton water were wooded valleys with rivers flowing down the middle, the isle of wight rivers were tributaries to the solent river, and the forest, as might be expected, extended up their valleys, and covered the low ground of the island. under the alluvial flats are remains of buried forests. in digging a well at sandford in large trunks of hard oak were found blocking the sinking of the well. when the land sank the sea flowed up the river valleys, converting them into strait and estuary, and largely filling up the channels with the silt, which now covers the peat. in the silt of newtown river are found bones of _bos primigenius_, which was found with the neolithic remains in the peat of southampton docks. the remains of neolithic man are not only found in submerged forests, but over the present surface of the land, or buried in recent deposits. he has left us the tombs of his chiefs, known as long barrows--great mounds of earth covering a row of chambers made of flat stones, such as the mounds of new grange in ireland, and the cromlechs or dolmens still standing in wales and cornwall. these consist of a large flat or curved stone--it may be feet in length,--supported on three or four others. originally a great mound of earth or stones was piled on top. these have generally been removed since by the hand of later man. the stones have been taken for road metal, the earth to lay on the land. the great cromlech at lanyon in cornwall was uncovered by a farmer, who had removed cart loads of earth to lay on his stony land before he had any idea that it was not a natural mound. then he came on the great cromlech underneath. another form of monument was the great standing stone or menhir, one of which, the longstone on the down above mottistone still stands to mark the tomb of some chieftain of, it may be, , years ago. the implements of neolithic man are found all over england, the smooth polished axe head, commonly called a celt (lat. _celtis_, a chisel), the chipped arrow head, the flaked flint worked by secondary chipping on the edge into a knife, or a scraper for skins; and much more common than the implement, even of the simplest description, are the waste flakes struck off in the making. very few stone celts have been found in the isle of wight. the flakes are extremely numerous, and a scraper or knife may often be found. they are turned up by the plough on the surface of the fields, in the earth of which they have been preserved from rubbing and weathering. they have however, acquired a remarkable polish, or "patina"--how is not clearly explained--which distinguishes their surface from the waxy appearance of newly-broken flint. in places the ground is so covered with flakes that we can have no doubt that these are the sites of settlements. the implements were made from the black flints fresh out of the chalk, and we can locate the neolithic flint workings. in our northern range of downs where the strata are vertical the layers of flint in the upper chalk run out on the top of the downs, only covered with a thin surface soil. in places where this soil has been removed--as in digging a quarry--the chalk is seen to be covered with flakes similar to those found on the lower ground, save that they are weathered white from lying exposed on the hard chalk, instead of on soft soil into which they would gradually sink by the burrowing of worms. it is probable that these flakes would be found more or less along the range of downs under the surface soil. in places on the undercliff have been found what are known as kitchen middens--heaps of shells which have accumulated near the huts of tribes of coast dwellers, who lived on shellfish. one such was formerly exposed in the stream below the old church at bonchurch, and is believed to extend below the foundations of the church. after a long duration of neolithic times a great step in civilisation took place with the introduction of bronze. bronze implements were introduced into this country probably some time about b.c. - ; and bronze continued to be the best material of manufacture till the introduction of iron some two or three centuries before the visit of julius caesar to these islands. to the early bronze age belong the graves of ancient chieftains known as round barrows, of which many are to be seen on the island downs. funeral urns and other remains have been found in these, some of which are now in the museum at carisbrooke castle. belonging to later times are the remains of the roman villa at brading and smaller remains of villas in other places; and cemeteries of anglo-saxon date, rich in weapons and ornaments, which have been excavated on chessil and bowcombe downs. but the study of the remains of ancient man forms a science in itself--archæology. in studying the periods of palæolithic and neolithic man we have stood on the borderland where geology and archæology meet. we have seen that vast geological changes have taken place since man appeared on earth. we must remember that the geological record is still in process of being written. it is not the record of a time sundered from the present day, but continuous with our own times; and it is by the study of processes still in operation that we are able to read the story of the past. [footnote : mr. w. dale, f.s.a.] [footnote : see figure , p. .] [footnote : see account by r. w. poulton in f. morey's "guide to the natural history of the isle of wight."] [footnote : surv. mem., i.w., , p. .] chapter xiii. the scenery of the island--conclusion. after studying the various geological formations that enter into the composition of the isle of wight, and learning how the island was made, it will be interesting to take a general view of the scenery, and see how its varied character is due to the nature of its geology. it would hardly be possible to find anywhere an area so small as this little island with such a variety of geological formations. the result is a remarkable variety in the scenery. the main feature of the island is the range of chalk downs running east and west, and terminating in the bold cliffs of white chalk at freshwater and the culvers. here we have vertical cliffs of great height, their white softened to grey by weathering and the soft haze through which they are often seen. in striking contrast of colour are the red cliff of lower greensand adjoining the culvers, and the many-coloured sands of alum bay joining on to the chalk of freshwater. the summits of the chalk downs have a characteristic softly rounded form, and the chalk is covered with close short herbage suited to the sheep which frequently dot the green surface. where sheets of flint gravel cap the downs, as on st. boniface, they are covered by furze and heather, producing a charming variation from the smooth turf where the surface is chalk. the lower greensand forms most of the undulating country between the two ranges of downs; while the upper greensand, though occupying a smaller area, produces one of the most conspicuous features of the scenery--the walls of escarpment that form the inland cliffs between shanklin and wroxall, gat cliff above appuldurcombe, the fine wall of gore cliff above rocken end, and the line of cliffs above the undercliff. to the gault clay is due the formation of the undercliff--the terrace of tumbled strata running for miles well above the sea, but sheltered by an upper cliff on the north, and in parts overgrown with picturesque woods. the impervious gault clay throws out springs around the downs, which form the headwaters of the various island streams. the upper division of the lower greensand, the sandrock, forms picturesque undulating foothills, often wooded, as at apsecastle, and at appuldurcombe and godshill park. on a spur of the sandrock stands godshill church, a landmark visible for miles around. at atherfield we have a fine line of cliffs of lower greensand, while the wealden strata on to brook form lower and softer cliffs. to the north of the central downs the tertiary sands and clays, often covered by plateau gravel, form an extended slope towards the solent shore, much of it well wooded, and presenting a charming landscape seen from the tops of the downs. this slope of tertiary strata is deeply cut into by streams, which form ravines and picturesque creeks, as wootton creek, feet below the level of the surrounding country. while much of the island coast is a line of vertical cliff, the northern shores are of gentler aspect, wooded slopes reaching to the water's edge, or meadow land sloping gradually to the sea level. opposite the mouths of streams are banks of shingle and sand dunes, forming the spits locally known as "dovers." some of these, in particular, st. helen's spit, afford interesting hunting grounds for the botanist. the great variety of soil and situation renders the isle of wight a place of interest to the botanist. we have the plants of chalk downs, of the sea cliff and shore, of the woods and meadows, of lane and hedgerow, and of the marshes. the old villages of the island, often occupying very picturesque situations--as godshill on a spur of the southern downs, newchurch on a bluff overlooking the yar valley, shorwell nestling among trees in a south-looking hollow of the downs, brighstone with its old church cottages and farmhouses among trees and meadows between down and sea--the old and interesting churches, the thatched cottages, the old manor houses of elizabethan or jacobean date, now mostly farm houses, for which the island is famous, add to the varied natural beauty. one of the most characteristic features of the southern coasts of the island, should be mentioned, the chines,--narrow ravines which cut inland from the coast through the sandstone and clays of the greensand and wealden strata, and along the beds of which small streams flow to the sea. narrow and steep-sided,--the name by which they are called is akin to _chink_--they are in striking contrast to the more open valleys of the streams which flow into the solent on the north shore of the island. the most beautiful is shanklin chine. the cliff at the mouth of the chine, just inside which stands a picturesque fisherman's cottage with thatched roof, is ft. high; and the chasm runs inland for yds., to where a very reduced cascade (for the water thrown out of the upper greensand by the gault clay is tapped at its source for the town supply) falls vertically over a ledge produced by hard ferruginous beds of the greensand. above the cascade the ravine runs on, but much shallower, for some yards. the lower ravine has much beauty, tall trees rising up the sides, and overshadowing the chasm, the banks thickly clothed with large ferns and other verdure. much wilder are the chines on the south-west of the island. the cascade at blackgang falls over hard ferruginous beds (to which the beds over which shanklin cascade falls--though on a smaller scale--probably correspond). the chine above these beds, being hollowed out in the soft clays and sands of the sandrock series, is much more open. whale chine is a long winding ravine between steep walls, the stream at the bottom making its way through blocks of fallen strata. the cause of these chines seems to be the same in all cases. it may be noticed that shanklin and luccombe chines are cut in the floors of open combes,--wide valleys with gently sloping floors; and at each side of these chines is to be seen the gravel spread over the floor of the old valley. it can scarcely be doubted that these combes are the heads of the valleys of the old streams, which flowed down a gradual slope till they joined the old branch (or, rather the old main river)[ ] of the yar, flowing over land extending far over what is now sandown bay. when the sea encroached, and cut into the course of this old river, and on till it made a section of what had been the left slope of the valley, the old tributaries of the yar now fell over a line of cliff into the sea. they thus gained new erosive power, and cut back at a much greater rate new and deeper channels; with the result that narrow trenches were cut in the floors of the old gently sloping valleys. the chines on the s.w. coast are to be explained in a similar way. they have been cut back with vertical sides, because the encroachment of the sea caused the streams to flow over cliffs, and so gave then power to cut back ravines at so fast a rate that the weathering down of the sides could not keep pace with it. the remarkable wind-erosion of these bare south-westerly cliffs by a sort of sand-blast driven before the gales to which that stretch of coast is exposed has already been referred to. a few words in conclusion to the reader. i have tried to show you something of the interest and wonder of the story written in the rocks. we have seen something of the world's making, and of the many and varied forms of life which have succeeded each other on its surface. we have had a glimpse of great and deep problems suggested, which are gradually receiving an answer. geology has the advantage that it can be studied by all who take walks in the country, and especially by those who visit any part of the sea coast, without the need of elaborate and costly scientific instruments and apparatus. any country walk will suggest problems for solution. i have tried to lead you to observe nature accurately, to think for yourselves, to draw your own conclusions. i have shown you how to try to solve the questions of geology by looking around you at what is taking place to-day, and by applying this knowledge to explain the records which have reached us of what has happened in the past. you are not asked to accept the facts of the geological story on the word of the writer, or on the authority of others, but to think for yourselves, to learn to weigh evidence, to seek only to find out the truth, whether it be geology you are studying or any other subject, and to follow the truth whithersoever it leads. [footnote : see p. .] table of strata recent. peat and river alluvium. pleistocene. plateau gravels: valley gravels and brick-earth. { pliocene} absent from the isle of wight. { miocene } { { { marine, corbula beds { { hamstead { freshwater & estuarine. { { { { { bembridge marls { { bembridge { { { beds { bembridge limestone { { { oligocene { osborne and st. helen's beds. { { tertiary { { { upper. freshwater and brackish { { headon { middle. marine { { beds { lower. freshwater and brackish { { { barton} barton sand. { { beds} barton clay. { { { eocene { bracklesham beds. { { bagshot sands { { london clay { { plastic clay (reading beds) { { white { upper chalk (chalk with flints) { { chalk { middle chalk (chalk { { { without flints) { { { { { a. plenus marls { upper { lower { grey chalk { cretaceous { chalk { chalk marl { { { chloritic marl { { { { { upper { chert beds { { selbornian { greensand { sandstone and { { { rag beds mesozoic { { gault or { secondary{ { carstone { { lower { sandrock and clays { { greensand { ferruginious sands { { { atherfield clay { lower { { perna bed { cretaceous { { { { shales { { wealden { variegated marls for further study. memoirs of the geological survey. general memoir of the isle of wight, date . new edition, entitled "a short account of the geology of the isle of wight," by h. j. osborne white, f.g.s., , price s. the memoirs are the great authority for the geology of the island: technical; books for geologists. the new edition is more condensed than the original, but contains much later research. mantell's "geological excursions round the isle of wight," . by one of the great early geologists. long out of print, but worth getting, if it can be picked up second-hand. norman's "guide to the geology of the isle of wight," , still to be obtained of booksellers in the island. gives details of strata, and lists of fossils, with pencil drawings of fossils. other books bearing on the subject have been mentioned in the text and foot-notes. an excellent geological map of the island, printed in colour, scale in. to the mile, full of geological information, is published by the survey at s. a good collection of fossils and specimens of rocks from the various strata of the isle of wight has recently been arranged at the sandown free library, and should be visited by all interested in the geology of the island. it should prove a most valuable aid to all who take up the study, and a great assistance in identifying any specimens they may themselves find. [illustration] geological map of the isle of wight index words in italics refer to a page where the meaning of a term is given. agates, , , alum bay, - ammonites, , , , _anticline_, astronomical theory of ice age, , atherfeld, avon river, barrows, , barton, belemnites, bembridge limestone, -- shingle at, benettites, "blue slipper," bonchurch, , bos primigenius, , botany, bracklesham, , brading harbour, , bronze age, brook, building stone, , carstone, , chalcedony, , , chale, chalk, divisions of, , , -- marl, -- rock, chalybeate springs, chert, chloritic marl, climate. coal, , colwell bay, compton bay, , conglomerate, modern, "crackers," cretaceous. crioceras, current bedding, cycads. denudation, , , , , _dip_, echinoderms, , eocene, erosion, marine, " pre-tertiary, _escarpment_, _faults_, fault at brook, flint, origin of, " implements, flora, alum bay, " eocene, , " wealden, , foraminifera, , gat cliff, gault, glacial period, - glauconite, , , gore cliff, , greensand, lower, - " upper, gravels, , , , - hamstead, , headon hill, - hempstead, see hamstead. hyopotamus, ice age, - iguanodon, insect limestone, iron ore, , iron pyrites, landslips, , limnæa, , , lobsters, atherfield, london clay, luccombe, landslip at, mammalian remains, , mammoth, , marvel, medina, melbourn rock, miocene, , , nautilus, , needles, neolithic man, newtown river, nummulites, oligocene, palæolithic man, perna bed, , pine raft, planorbis, , , plastic clay, priory bay, purbeck marble, quarr, rag, rock (place), roman villas, st. boniface down, , , st. george's down, , sandown anticline, - , sandrock, , scaphites, scenery, sea urchins, , , shanklin chine, solent, southampton dock, " water, sponges in flint, stone age, strata, table of, , _strike_, submerged forest, swanage, _syncline_, table of strata, , tertiary, totland bay, , tufa, turtle, , , undercliff, formation of, , volcanic action, wealden, whitcliff bay, - wood, fossil, , , , , yar, eastern, - " western, zones of chalk, , _printed by the crypt house press, bell lane, gloucester._ transcriber's notes with the exception of the changes noted below, the text in this file is the same as that in the original printed version. these may include alternate spelling from what may be common today (for example, gneisse); punctuational and/or grammatical nuances. additionally, several missing periods were inserted; but are not listed below. lastly, the index seems to be missing a few references to page numbers and were left as originally printed. emphasis encoding _text_ - italicized text $text$ - greek translation typographical corrections page : regious => regions page : sourrounding => surrounding page : remains in the peat => ... in ... page : surounding => surrounding a new species of heteromyid rodent from the middle oligocene of northeast colorado with remarks on the skull by edwin c. galbreath university of kansas publications museum of natural history volume , no. , pp. - , plates august , university of kansas lawrence university of kansas publications, museum of natural history editors: e. raymond hall, chairman; h. h. lane, edward h. taylor volume , no. , pp. - , plates august , university of kansas lawrence, kansas printed by ferd voiland, jr., state printer topeka, kansas [illustration] - [transcriber's note: words surrounded by tildes, like ~this~ signifies words in bold. words surrounded by underscores, like _this_, signifies words in italics.] [illustration: plate . _heliscomys tenuiceps._ univ. kans. mus. nat. hist., vert. paleo. coll. no. . a, dorsal view; b, lateral view; c, ventral view. all views approximately × .] [illustration: plate . _heliscomys tenuiceps._ univ. kans. mus. nat. hist., vert. paleo. coll. no. . a, lateral view of right side of skull showing structures in orbital area. als, alisphenoid. fr, frontal. max, maxillary. os, orbitosphenoid. pal, palatine. pc, presphenoid canal. sf, sphenoidal fissure. sfr, sphenofrontal foramen. spal, sphenopalatine foramen. approximately × . ; b, occlusal view of p -m . approximately × . .] a new species of heteromyid rodent from the middle oligocene of northeast colorado with remarks on the skull by edwin c. galbreath heretofore our knowledge of the osteology of _heliscomys_ cope has been extremely limited; this genus previously was known by its teeth, fragmental maxillaries, incomplete palatine bone and mandible, and part of one forelimb. in the summer of the writer, as a member of the university of kansas museum of natural history field party, discovered the anterior part of a skull of _heliscomys_ in the middle oligocene deposits of logan county, colorado. this specimen, representing a new species, yields a welcome, and greatly desired addition to our fund of information about the genus. the writer is indebted to dr. robert w. wilson for advice and helpful criticism in the course of this study, and to mr. bryan patterson of the chicago natural history museum for the loan of comparative material. mrs. bernita mansfield of the geology department, university of kansas, prepared the plates. family heteromyidae ~heliscomys tenuiceps~, new species _holotype._--anterior part of a skull with left p -m , no. , vertebrate paleontological collection, museum of natural history, university of kansas. _geological age and locality._--silts of orellan age in the cedar creek facies of the brule formation in "chimney canyon," sec. , t. n, r. w, logan county, colorado. _diagnosis._--size larger than any known species; p with posteroexternal cusp (metacone) anterior to central (hypocone) and lingual (entostyle) cusps, which are connected by a cingulum; internal cingula of molars undivided, and as high as paracone and metacone; style of each cingulum opposite the straight median valley; rostrum deep and laterally compressed. _description._--the type consists of the preorbital and interorbital parts of a skull. its size is comparable to that of the recent heteromyid, _liomys pictus_ merriam. _l. pictus_ is the species referred to in the comparisons below when only the generic name _liomys_ is mentioned. both incisors have been broken off. the right tooth-row is missing, but the left row is complete, and its orientation indicates that the tooth rows were parallel. the zygomata are broken off close to the rostrum, which is relatively narrow in comparison with its length and depth. in this narrowness, the specimen resembles _florentiamys_ wood more than it does such recent heteromyids as _liomys_ or _heteromys_, where the rostrum is much wider at the dorsal surface than at the ventral surface (correlating with the wide interorbital dimension). in no. the rostrum is not appreciably expanded on the dorsal surface. the wide interorbital dimension also gives a tapering appearance to the rostrum of the recent heteromyids, when viewed dorsally, which is not seen in the fossil specimen. like those of most heteromyids, the nasals and premaxillaries project forward beyond the incisors. _h. tenuiceps_ has a distinctly heteromyidlike appearance, and it is obvious that the features of the anterior part of the skull, which characterize the heteromyids, had been established by middle oligocene time. the nasal bone extends caudad as far as does the premaxillary; they terminate at the anterior border of the orbit. the nasal is widest anteriorly where it curves downward on the side to meet the anterior projection of the premaxillary bone beyond the incisor. posteriorly, the two nasals have practically parallel lateral borders much as in _liomys_. the frontal bone dorsally is relatively narrower than in any recent heteromyid, and closely resembles that of the geomyids. there is a slight depression in the midline of the skull where the two frontals unite, but no evidence of a ridge for the attachment of the temporal muscle. in lateral view, the ledge seen in _liomys_ at the dorsal surface is absent, nor is this surface rounded as in _geomys_. preservation around the nasolacrimal canal is poor, but traces of sutures indicate that the frontal bone is not involved in the posteromedial wall of that canal. the orbital plate is broad, comparatively flat, and extends farther ventrad than in _liomys_, and enters into the composition of the sphenopalatine foramina. ventrally the frontal bone meets the orbital processes of the palatine and maxillary bones, and posterolaterally meets the orbitosphenoid. in the anterodorsal angle of the rim of the orbit the lacrimal bone rests against the frontal and maxillary bones, where the body of the lacrimal contributes to the formation of the posteromedial wall of the nasolacrimal canal. only a slight part of the maxillary process of the lacrimal remains on each side. the premaxillary bone, which constitutes most of the anterior part of the rostrum, is typically heteromyid in shape. the frontal process is long and slender. on the side of the rostrum the premaxillary forms the anterointernal border of the infraorbital foramen. the ventrolateral border of the bone is expanded slightly and aids in the formation of the tuberosity made by the maxillary bone at the ventroposterior border of the foramen. ventrally the premaxillary makes up the anterior two-thirds of the lateral wall of the incisive (anterior palatine) foramen. it is not possible to establish what part of the median septum between the foramina is made up of premaxillary bones. the incisor arches through the premaxillary in a manner similar to that in _liomys_, with the upper wall of the root canal being formed by the upper surface of the bone. due to the narrowness of the rostrum, the root of the incisor is prominently outlined on the side of the rostrum, both in the premaxillary and maxillary bones. with this modeling of the side of the rostrum because of the incisor root canal, and the flaring of the posterior and ventral edges of the infraorbital foramen, the side wall of the premaxillary appears as a depressed area. anterior to the incisor root the tip of the premaxillary projects forward, and parallels its opposite, laterally, instead of turning inward as in _liomys_. this condition, together with the prominence of the root canal, makes the anterior tip project as a flange. the premaxillary extends downward as a plate of bone, and embraces the posterior and lateral sides of the incisor as in recent heteromyids. the interpremaxillary foramen, if present, is obscure. however, there appears to be a foramen posterior to the incisor, which possibly has taken over the function of the interpremaxillary foramen. both maxillary bones are incomplete, and lack the zygomatic processes. the rostral part of the maxillary is compressed laterally, as is the premaxillary. the anterior border of the maxillary contributes to the formation of the border of the anterior opening of the infraorbital canal where, at the posteroventral border of the opening, the bone is produced into a prominent tuberosity which projects laterally approximately one millimeter on each side. the infraorbital foramen (anterior opening of the infraorbital canal) lies about midway between the anterior end of the skull and the root of the zygoma. high on each side of the rostrum, and beneath the dorsal edge of the masseteric plate, is an area containing small foramina. the zygomasseteric plate is inclined forward at the dorsal end, and extends anteriorly almost to the highest part of the arch of the canal for the root of the incisor. the posterior end of the infraorbital canal lies on the median side of the zygomatic root as it does in _h. hatcheri_ wood. ventrally the zygomatic root rises above the fourth premolar as in _h. gregoryi_ wood, _h. hatcheri_, and in recent heteromyids. the ventral part of the orbit, containing the sphenopalatine foramen, presphenoid foramen, and the sphenoidal fissure, is not constricted as in _liomys_, but is open like that of the squirrels. this condition is emphasized by the narrowness of the interorbital part of the skull and the more vertical position of the orbital plate. the alisphenoid bone is large and forms part of the posteromedial wall of the orbit. the sphenofrontal foramen lies in the suture between the extreme anterior margin of this bone and the frontal bone. the orbitosphenoid bone makes up little of the orbital wall. it occupies the posterior area of the orbit between the alisphenoid and palatine, and is in contact with these bones and the frontal. the presphenoid canal between the orbits is large, and the entrance at each end is well separated from the sphenoidal fissure. damage to the sphenoidal fissure, which occurred prior to preservation, obscures its relationship to the optic foramen. no bar was found that would indicate that the two openings were widely separate. anteroventrally the sphenoidal fissure is bounded by the orbitosphenoid bone, and dorsolaterally by the alisphenoid bone. between the presphenoid foramen and the orbitosphenoid-frontal suture there is a distinct ridge, and the suture between the two bones lies in an elongate pit or trough formed by the anterior sloping side of the ridge and the impressed lateral wall of the frontal bone. the palatine bone is represented by fragments joined to other bones of the skull. the maxillary process of the left palatine bone is united to the maxillary by a highly sinuous suture. the union of the palatines to the maxillaries make a suture in the shape of a "v" with the base forward and somewhat blunt. the canal for the palatine artery and nerve has a multiple opening on the palate. one major foramen opens on each side of the palatomaxillary suture, and two or possibly three smaller foramina open posteriorly on the palatine bone. prominent on the palatine bone, posteromedial to the third molar, is the foramen (palatine pit) for the palatine vein. collectively, this complex of foramina is often known as the posterior palatine foramina. wood ( ) states that _h. gregoryi_ has two posterior palatine foramina as in recent genera, the anterior one opening opposite the posterior end of m , and the posterior one opposite the median part of m . the orbital process of the left palatine bone lies inside (medial to) the palatine process of the maxillary. anteriorly this orbital process meets the orbital process of the maxillary bone, and the sphenopalatine foramen is found in the suture between these two bones and the frontal. as previously mentioned, the preserved dentition of this specimen consists of the complete left row of cheek teeth and roots of the incisors. the incisor is compressed laterally, more so than in any recent heteromyid. the anterior face is rounded, asulcate, and covered with a heavy band of enamel, whereas the posterior side, due to lateral compression, is drawn out into a thin blade. the root of the incisor is at the lateral border of the premaxillary, so it is obvious that the two incisors converged on each other at the midline to form a cutting surface. the writer has not examined the asulcate, laterally compressed incisors of _h. hatcheri_, and cannot say how they compare with this specimen. the most significant features of the cheek teeth are their size, and the undivided internal cingulum. the molars are well worn, but the pattern, as a whole, is easily discernable. p has an anterior cusp and three posterior cusps as in other members of the genus. however, the buccal cusp (metacone) of the metaloph is considerably anterior to the central (hypocone) and lingual (entostyle) cusps, and the three cusps do not form a curve as in other species. in size the central cusp is largest, the buccal cusp is practically as large, and the lingual cusp is small. a cingulum connects the lingual and central cusps at the posterior margin of the tooth. in the pipestone springs specimen of _heliscomys_ reported by mcgrew ( ) the central and buccal cusps were connected by a cingulum, and some _h. hatcheri_ specimens have all three cusps connected in a similar manner. a low arm or ridge extends from the lingual cusp forward to the lingual side of the base of the anterior cusp. the valleys between the posterior cusps are shallow. there is no sign of the small cuspule on the anteroexternal base of the anterior cusp seen in _h. gregoryi_, _h. hatcheri_, and the pipestone springs specimen. however, when one sees the variability of the cuspules on p of _h. hatcheri_, the presence of a minor cuspule does not seem to be of taxonomic importance. m deviates from the pattern typical of _heliscomys_ more than do any of the other molar teeth. however, it must be kept in mind that some of the differences may be due to wear. for example, the protocone and paracone, and the hypocone and metacone are united to form protoloph and metaloph respectively. if the height of the external border of the paracone and metacone is taken into account and compared with the worn inner parts of these two cusps and the equally well-worn protocone and hypocone, it appears that these cusps formed no more of a true bilophodont tooth than do the cusps in other species of _heliscomys_; in each of the species the cusps generally are separate entities. _h. gregoryi_ is reported to have an "incipient tendency to form lophs," and _h. hatcheri_ does the same when worn, but by union with the anterior cingulum. if cusps in _h. tenuiceps_ do form lophs, the process is definitely not by union of the cusps with the anterior cingulum. the transverse median valley is deep and divides the tooth on the buccal side. the anteroposterior valleys are shallow and hanging, and can be said to exist only as indentations between the two sets of cusps. the paracone and metacone are much higher than the other two cusps, but much of this disparity in height may be the result of greater wear on the protocone and hypocone; _h. gregoryi_ agrees with _h. tenuiceps_ in these respects. possibly the protocone and hypocone were much larger than the paracone and metacone. the internal cingulum of m exhibits only one large cusp opposite the medial end of the transverse valley, and shows no evidence of having been divided into two cusps. it is barely possible that there may have been two cusps and that wear makes it appear that there was only one. i doubt that there were two cusps because the cingulum is still so high (as high as the outer edges of the paracone and metacone) as to suggest that it is only slightly worn. posteriorly this single cusp in the cingulum is united with the hypocone. anteriorly the cusp is confluent with an anterior cingulum that is small, but, nevertheless, plainly visible as it crosses the occlusal face of the tooth to the paracone. there is some reason to believe that there was a posterior cingulum, but wear, which has obliterated even the posterior wall of the hypocone, prevents my being certain about this. this cingulum is absent in _h. gregoryi_ and present in _h. hatcheri_. m compares favorably with m except for the following differences: the protocone and hypocone are equal to the paracone and metacone in area, but not in height; although the internal cingulum is undivided, there is no evidence of a cusp as in m . here, too, the cingulum is as high as the paracone and metacone. possibly the cingulum was confluent with the hypocone. the internal cingulum continues around the margin of the tooth to the paracone as an anterior cingulum which is sharper and plainer than the anterior cingulum on m . there is no evidence of a posterior cingulum. m shows a great amount of wear, and the occlusal pattern is not too clear. the median transverse valley is reduced almost to a pit, and the paracone and metacone are divided by a small notch. the protocone and paracone, the latter being much higher, are larger than the metacone which is reduced in size, and not all this difference in size can be the result of wear. the hypocone is absent. the internal cingulum is as high as the paracone and shows no evidence of division into two cusps, but in m this character is apparently variable for _h. gregoryi_ does not have the internal cingulum divided and _h. hatcheri_ has it markedly so. a slight anterior arm of the internal cingulum may have reached forward to the anterior face of the protocone. wear prevents knowing whether a crest surrounds the tooth completely, or only on three sides. in size the teeth of _h. tenuiceps_ average twenty per cent larger than any of the upper teeth of _h. gregoryi_, _h. hatcheri_, or the pipestone springs specimen, and exceed any of the known lower teeth including those of _h. vetus_ and _h. senex_ by twenty-five per cent or more. inasmuch as the upper teeth rarely exceed the lower in length in all the related genera of heteromyids, it is assumed that a similar relationship existed between the upper and lower molars of _h. tenuiceps_ and, therefore, that this species can be distinguished by its large size. the relative size of the premolars and molars is the same in _h. tenuiceps_ as in other species of _heliscomys_. however, within the framework of this similar relationship there are two differences. p of _h. tenuiceps_ is relatively larger than the p of _h. gregoryi_, and relatively smaller than the p of _h. hatcheri_. the width of the molars is relatively greater in _h. tenuiceps_ and _h. gregoryi_ than in _h. hatcheri_. measurements (in millimeters) u. k. m. n. h. (vert. paleo.) no. height of skull at m . length from anterior end of nasals to rear of m . length of nasal bones . width of rostrum at highest point of root canal . interorbital width . estimated length of skull . i, anteroposterior length . i, transverse width . p -m crown length . p -m alveolar length . p , anteroposterior length[a] . p , transverse width . m , anteroposterior length . m , transverse width . m , anteroposterior length . m , transverse width . m , anteroposterior length . m , transverse width . [note a: this and the following measurements at occlusal surface.] _discussion._--_heliscomys tenuiceps_ shows beyond any doubt that the heteromyid pattern of skull was developed by mid-oligocene times, and in this species was already undergoing lateral compression. the major change later made in heteromyid skulls is broadening of the dorsal surface of the skull in the interorbital area. the complete confirmation of wood's ( ) statement that the "sciuromorph" zygomasseteric structure had been developed by this time in the heteromyid rodents as it had been in the early eomyids is demonstrated in this specimen. further, it is to be noted that the infraorbital canal is not sciuridlike, but has been forced forward on the rostrum, as in the geomyoidea. in some ways this skull shows similarities to _florentiamys loomisi_ wood, of the early miocene, which aid in determining the relationship of that unusual genus to _heliscomys_ and to the heteromyids in general. when wood described _florentiamys_ the peculiar combination of characters found in this animal prompted him to speculate that: ( ) it was a typical heteromyid which had secondarily developed cingula; ( ) its cheek teeth were nearer the primitive pattern than were those of any other known fossil heteromyid, and that _heliscomys_ represented a simplification in the reduction of the cingula; or ( ) it was not a heteromyid, but a parallel development from the "paramys" stock. wood favored the second possibility. now that a part of the skull of one species of _heliscomys_ is known, the undivided internal cingulum that is confluent with the hypocone, the lateral compression of the deep rostrum, and the general similarity to the heteromyids appear as points in common between the two skulls, and demonstrate the closeness of _florentiamys_ to the heteromyids. however, the specimen does not contribute anything new to use in choosing between wood's first two postulates. in the writer's opinion the undivided internal cingulum is a primitive condition that has survived in _florentiamys_ and _heliscomys tenuiceps_. this common character together with the laterally compressed rostrum leads me to think that structurally, _h. tenuiceps_ is a link between _florentiamys_ and the ancestral form of _heliscomys_. admittedly p of _florentiamys_ seems far from the _heliscomys_ pattern, but i think that this highly specialized structure could have been derived from _heliscomys_ or a common ancestor. literature cited mcgrew, paul o. . heteromyids from the miocene and lower oligocene. geol. ser. of field mus. nat. hist., vol. , pp. - , fig. wood, albert e. . a new heteromyid rodent from the oligocene of montana. jour. mamm., vol. , pp. - , figs. . evolution and relationship of the heteromyid rodents with new forms from the tertiary of western north america. annals of the carnegie mus., vol. , pp. - , figs. . part ii. rodentia, in the mammalian fauna of the white river oligocene; by william berryman scott and glenn lowell jepsen. trans. amer. phil. soc., n.s., vol. , pp. - , figs. - , pls. - . . additional specimens of the heteromyid rodent heliscomys from the oligocene of nebraska. amer. jour. sci., vol. , pp. - , figs. _transmitted march , ._ - georgius agricola de re metallica translated from the first latin edition of with biographical introduction, annotations and appendices upon the development of mining methods, metallurgical processes, geology, mineralogy & mining law from the earliest times to the th century by herbert clark hoover a. b. stanford university, member american institute of mining engineers, mining and metallurgical society of america, société des ingéniéurs civils de france, american institute of civil engineers, fellow royal geographical society, etc., etc. and lou henry hoover a. b. stanford university, member american association for the advancement of science, the national geographical society, royal scottish geographical society, etc., etc. _dover publications, inc._ new york to john caspar branner ph.d., _the inspiration of whose teaching is no less great than his contribution to science._ this new edition of de re metallica is a complete and unchanged reprint of the translation published by the mining magazine, london, in . it has been made available through the kind permission of honorable herbert c. hoover and mr. edgar rickard, author and publisher, respectively, of the original volume. printed in the united states of america translators' preface. there are three objectives in translation of works of this character: to give a faithful, literal translation of the author's statements; to give these in a manner which will interest the reader; and to preserve, so far as is possible, the style of the original text. the task has been doubly difficult in this work because, in using latin, the author availed himself of a medium which had ceased to expand a thousand years before his subject had in many particulars come into being; in consequence he was in difficulties with a large number of ideas for which there were no corresponding words in the vocabulary at his command, and instead of adopting into the text his native german terms, he coined several hundred latin expressions to answer his needs. it is upon this rock that most former attempts at translation have been wrecked. except for a very small number, we believe we have been able to discover the intended meaning of such expressions from a study of the context, assisted by a very incomplete glossary prepared by the author himself, and by an exhaustive investigation into the literature of these subjects during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. that discovery in this particular has been only gradual and obtained after much labour, may be indicated by the fact that the entire text has been re-typewritten three times since the original, and some parts more often; and further, that the printer's proof has been thrice revised. we have found some english equivalent, more or less satisfactory, for practically all such terms, except those of weights, the varieties of veins, and a few minerals. in the matter of weights we have introduced the original latin, because it is impossible to give true equivalents and avoid the fractions of reduction; and further, as explained in the appendix on weights it is impossible to say in many cases what scale the author had in mind. the english nomenclature to be adopted has given great difficulty, for various reasons; among them, that many methods and processes described have never been practised in english-speaking mining communities, and so had no representatives in our vocabulary, and we considered the introduction of german terms undesirable; other methods and processes have become obsolete and their descriptive terms with them, yet we wished to avoid the introduction of obsolete or unusual english; but of the greatest importance of all has been the necessity to avoid rigorously such modern technical terms as would imply a greater scientific understanding than the period possessed. agricola's latin, while mostly free from mediæval corruption, is somewhat tainted with german construction. moreover some portions have not the continuous flow of sustained thought which others display, but the fact that the writing of the work extended over a period of twenty years, sufficiently explains the considerable variation in style. the technical descriptions in the later books often take the form of house-that-jack-built sentences which have had to be at least partially broken up and the subject occasionally re-introduced. ambiguities were also sometimes found which it was necessary to carry on into the translation. despite these criticisms we must, however, emphasize that agricola was infinitely clearer in his style than his contemporaries upon such subjects, or for that matter than his successors in almost any language for a couple of centuries. all of the illustrations and display letters of the original have been reproduced and the type as closely approximates to the original as the printers have been able to find in a modern font. there are no footnotes in the original text, and mr. hoover is responsible for them all. he has attempted in them to give not only such comment as would tend to clarify the text, but also such information as we have been able to discover with regard to the previous history of the subjects mentioned. we have confined the historical notes to the time prior to agricola, because to have carried them down to date in the briefest manner would have demanded very much more space than could be allowed. in the examination of such technical and historical material one is appalled at the flood of mis-information with regard to ancient arts and sciences which has been let loose upon the world by the hands of non-technical translators and commentators. at an early stage we considered that we must justify any divergence of view from such authorities, but to limit the already alarming volume of this work, we later felt compelled to eliminate most of such discussion. when the half-dozen most important of the ancient works bearing upon science have been translated by those of some scientific experience, such questions will, no doubt, be properly settled. we need make no apologies for _de re metallica_. during years it was not superseded as the text-book and guide to miners and metallurgists, for until schlüter's great work on metallurgy in it had no equal. that it passed through some ten editions in three languages at a period when the printing of such a volume was no ordinary undertaking, is in itself sufficient evidence of the importance in which it was held, and is a record that no other volume upon the same subjects has equalled since. a large proportion of the technical data given by agricola was either entirely new, or had not been given previously with sufficient detail and explanation to have enabled a worker in these arts himself to perform the operations without further guidance. practically the whole of it must have been given from personal experience and observation, for the scant library at his service can be appreciated from his own preface. considering the part which the metallic arts have played in human history, the paucity of their literature down to agricola's time is amazing. no doubt the arts were jealously guarded by their practitioners as a sort of stock-in-trade, and it is also probable that those who had knowledge were not usually of a literary turn of mind; and, on the other hand, the small army of writers prior to his time were not much interested in the description of industrial pursuits. moreover, in those thousands of years prior to printing, the tedious and expensive transcription of manuscripts by hand was mostly applied to matters of more general interest, and therefore many writings may have been lost in consequence. in fact, such was the fate of the works of theophrastus and strato on these subjects. we have prepared a short sketch of agricola's life and times, not only to give some indication of his learning and character, but also of his considerable position in the community in which he lived. as no appreciation of agricola's stature among the founders of science can be gained without consideration of the advance which his works display over those of his predecessors, we therefore devote some attention to the state of knowledge of these subjects at the time by giving in the appendix a short review of the literature then extant and a summary of agricola's other writings. to serve the bibliophile we present such data as we have been able to collect it with regard to the various editions of his works. the full titles of the works quoted in the footnotes under simply authors' names will be found in this appendix. we feel that it is scarcely doing agricola justice to publish _de re metallica_ only. while it is of the most general interest of all of his works, yet, from the point of view of pure science, _de natura fossilium_ and _de ortu et causis_ are works which deserve an equally important place. it is unfortunate that agricola's own countrymen have not given to the world competent translations into german, as his work has too often been judged by the german translations, the infidelity of which appears in nearly every paragraph. we do not present _de re metallica_ as a work of "practical" value. the methods and processes have long since been superseded; yet surely such a milestone on the road of development of one of the two most basic of human industrial activities is more worthy of preservation than the thousands of volumes devoted to records of human destruction. to those interested in the history of their own profession we need make no apologies, except for the long delay in publication. for this we put forward the necessity of active endeavour in many directions; as this book could be but a labour of love, it has had to find the moments for its execution in night hours, weekends, and holidays, in all extending over a period of about five years. if the work serves to strengthen the traditions of one of the most important and least recognized of the world's professions we shall be amply repaid. it is our pleasure to acknowledge our obligations to professor h. r. fairclough, of stanford university, for perusal of and suggestions upon the first chapter; and to those whom we have engaged from time to time for one service or another, chiefly bibliographical work and collateral translation. we are also sensibly obligated to the printers, messrs. frost & sons, for their patience and interest, and for their willingness to bend some of the canons of modern printing, to meet the demands of the th century. _july , ._ the red house, hornton street, london. introduction. biography.[ ] georgius agricola was born at glauchau, in saxony, on march th, , and therefore entered the world when it was still upon the threshold of the renaissance; gutenberg's first book had been printed but forty years before; the humanists had but begun that stimulating criticism which awoke the reformation; erasmus, of rotterdam, who was subsequently to become agricola's friend and patron, was just completing his student days. the reformation itself was yet to come, but it was not long delayed, for luther was born the year before agricola, and through him agricola's homeland became the cradle of the great movement; nor did agricola escape being drawn into the conflict. italy, already awake with the new classical revival, was still a busy workshop of antiquarian research, translation, study, and publication, and through her the greek and latin classics were only now available for wide distribution. students from the rest of europe, among them at a later time agricola himself, flocked to the italian universities, and on their return infected their native cities with the newly-awakened learning. at agricola's birth columbus had just returned from his great discovery, and it was only three years later that vasco da gama rounded cape good hope. thus these two foremost explorers had only initiated that greatest period of geographical expansion in the world's history. a few dates will recall how far this exploration extended during agricola's lifetime. balboa first saw the pacific in ; cortes entered the city of mexico in ; magellan entered the pacific in the same year; pizarro penetrated into peru in ; de soto landed in florida in , and potosi was discovered in . omitting the sporadic settlement on the st. lawrence by cartier in , the settlement of north america did not begin for a quarter of a century after agricola's death. thus the revival of learning, with its train of humanism, the reformation, its stimulation of exploration and the re-awakening of the arts and sciences, was still in its infancy with agricola. we know practically nothing of agricola's antecedents or his youth. his real name was georg bauer ("peasant"), and it was probably latinized by his teachers, as was the custom of the time. his own brother, in receipts preserved in the archives of the zwickau town council, calls himself "bauer," and in them refers to his brother "agricola." he entered the university of leipsic at the age of twenty, and after about three and one-half years' attendance there gained the degree of _baccalaureus artium_. in he became vice-principal of the municipal school at zwickau, where he taught greek and latin. in he became principal, and among his assistants was johannes förster, better known as luther's collaborator in the translation of the bible. during this time our author prepared and published a small latin grammar[ ]. in he removed to leipsic to become a lecturer in the university under his friend, petrus mosellanus, at whose death in he went to italy for the further study of philosophy, medicine, and the natural sciences. here he remained for nearly three years, from to . he visited the universities of bologna, venice, and probably padua, and at these institutions received his first inspiration to work in the sciences, for in a letter[ ] from leonardus casibrotius to erasmus we learn that he was engaged upon a revision of galen. it was about this time that he made the acquaintance of erasmus, who had settled at basel as editor for froben's press. in agricola returned to zwickau, and in he was chosen town physician at joachimsthal. this little city in bohemia is located on the eastern slope of the erzgebirge, in the midst of the then most prolific metal-mining district of central europe. thence to freiberg is but fifty miles, and the same radius from that city would include most of the mining towns so frequently mentioned in _de re metallica_--schneeberg, geyer, annaberg and altenberg--and not far away were marienberg, gottesgab, and platten. joachimsthal was a booming mining camp, founded but eleven years before agricola's arrival, and already having several thousand inhabitants. according to agricola's own statement[ ], he spent all the time not required for his medical duties in visiting the mines and smelters, in reading up in the greek and latin authors all references to mining, and in association with the most learned among the mining folk. among these was one lorenz berman, whom agricola afterward set up as the "learned miner" in his dialogue _bermannus_. this book was first published by froben at basel in , and was a sort of catechism on mineralogy, mining terms, and mining lore. the book was apparently first submitted to the great erasmus, and the publication arranged by him, a warm letter of approval by him appearing at the beginning of the book[ ]. in he published _de mensuris et ponderibus_, through froben, this being a discussion of roman and greek weights and measures. at about this time he began _de re metallica_--not to be published for twenty-five years. agricola did not confine his interest entirely to medicine and mining, for during this period he composed a pamphlet upon the turks, urging their extermination by the european powers. this work was no doubt inspired by the turkish siege of vienna in . it appeared first in german in , and in latin--in which it was originally written--in , and passed through many subsequent editions. at this time, too, he became interested in the god's gift mine at abertham, which was discovered in . writing in , he says[ ]: "we, as a shareholder, through the goodness of god, have enjoyed the proceeds of this god's gift since the very time when the mine began first to bestow such riches." agricola seems to have resigned his position at joachimsthal in about , and to have devoted the next two or three years to travel and study among the mines. about he became city physician of chemnitz, in saxony, and here he resided until his death in . there is but little record of his activities during the first eight or nine years of his residence in this city. he must have been engaged upon the study of his subjects and the preparation of his books, for they came on with great rapidity soon after. he was frequently consulted on matters of mining engineering, as, for instance, we learn, from a letter written by a certain johannes hordeborch[ ], that duke henry of brunswick applied to him with regard to the method for working mines in the upper harz. in he married anna, widow of matthias meyner, a petty tithe official; there is some reason to believe from a letter published by schmid,[ ] that anna was his second wife, and that he was married the first time at joachimsthal. he seems to have had several children, for he commends his young children to the care of the town council during his absence at the war in . in addition to these, we know that a son, theodor, was born in ; a daughter, anna, in ; another daughter, irene, was buried at chemnitz in ; and in his widow and three children--anna, valerius, and lucretia--were still living. in began the publication of the series of books to which agricola owes his position. the first volume comprised five works and was finally issued in ; it was subsequently considerably revised, and re-issued in . these works were: _de ortu et causis subterraneorum_, in five "books," the first work on physical geology; _de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra_, in four "books," on subterranean waters and gases; _de natura fossilium_, in ten "books," the first systematic mineralogy; _de veteribus et novis metallis_, in two "books," devoted largely to the history of metals and topographical mineralogy; a new edition of _bermannus_ was included; and finally _rerum metallicarum interpretatio_, a glossary of latin and german mineralogical and metallurgical terms. another work, _de animantibus subterraneis_, usually published with _de re metallica_, is dated in the preface. it is devoted to animals which live underground, at least part of the time, but is not a very effective basis of either geologic or zoologic classification. despite many public activities, agricola apparently completed _de re metallica_ in , but did not send it to the press until ; nor did it appear until a year after his death in . but we give further details on the preparation of this work on p. xv. during this period he found time to prepare a small medical work, _de peste_, and certain historical studies, details of which appear in the appendix. there are other works by agricola referred to by sixteenth century writers, but so far we have not been able to find them although they may exist. such data as we have, is given in the appendix. as a young man, agricola seems to have had some tendencies toward liberalism in religious matters, for while at zwickau he composed some anti-popish epigrams; but after his return to leipsic he apparently never wavered, and steadily refused to accept the lutheran reformation. to many even liberal scholars of the day, luther's doctrines appeared wild and demagogic. luther was not a scholarly man; his addresses were to the masses; his latin was execrable. nor did the bitter dissensions over hair-splitting theology in the lutheran church after luther's death tend to increase respect for the movement among the learned. agricola was a scholar of wide attainments, a deep-thinking, religious man, and he remained to the end a staunch catholic, despite the general change of sentiment among his countrymen. his leanings were toward such men as his friend the humanist, erasmus. that he had the courage of his convictions is shown in the dedication of _de natura eorum_, where he addresses to his friend, duke maurice, the pious advice that the dissensions of the germans should be composed, and that the duke should return to the bosom of the church those who had been torn from her, and adds: "yet i do not wish to become confused by these turbulent waters, and be led to offend anyone. it is more advisable to check my utterances." as he became older he may have become less tolerant in religious matters, for he did not seem to show as much patience in the discussion of ecclesiastical topics as he must have possessed earlier, yet he maintained to the end the respect and friendship of such great protestants as melanchthon, camerarius, fabricius, and many others. in , when he was at the age of , began agricola's activity in public life, for in that year he was elected a burgher of chemnitz; and in the same year duke maurice appointed him burgomaster--an office which he held for four terms. before one can gain an insight into his political services, and incidentally into the character of the man, it is necessary to understand the politics of the time and his part therein, and to bear in mind always that he was a staunch catholic under a protestant sovereign in a state seething with militant protestantism. saxony had been divided in between the princes ernest and albert, the former taking the electoral dignity and the major portion of the principality. albert the brave, the younger brother and duke of saxony, obtained the subordinate portion, embracing meissen, but subject to the elector. the elector ernest was succeeded in by frederick the wise, and under his support luther made saxony the cradle of the reformation. this elector was succeeded in by his brother john, who was in turn succeeded by his son john frederick in . of more immediate interest to this subject is the albertian line of saxon dukes who ruled meissen, for in that principality agricola was born and lived, and his political fortunes were associated with this branch of the saxon house. albert was succeeded in by his son george, "the bearded," and he in turn by his brother henry, the last of the catholics, in , who ruled until . henry was succeeded in by his protestant son maurice, who was the patron of agricola. at about this time saxony was drawn into the storms which rose from the long-standing rivalry between francis i., king of france, and charles v. of spain. these two potentates came to the throne in the same year ( ), and both were candidates for emperor of that loose confederation known as the holy roman empire. charles was elected, and intermittent wars between these two princes arose--first in one part of europe, and then in another. francis finally formed an alliance with the schmalkalden league of german protestant princes, and with the sultan of turkey, against charles. in maurice of meissen, although a protestant, saw his best interest in a secret league with charles against the other protestant princes, and proceeded (the schmalkalden war) to invade the domains of his superior and cousin, the elector frederick. the emperor charles proved successful in this war, and maurice was rewarded, at the capitulation of wittenberg in , by being made elector of saxony in the place of his cousin. later on, the elector maurice found the association with catholic charles unpalatable, and joined in leading the other protestant princes in war upon him, and on the defeat of the catholic party and the peace of passau, maurice became acknowledged as the champion of german national and religious freedom. he was succeeded by his brother augustus in . agricola was much favoured by the saxon electors, maurice and augustus. he dedicates most of his works to them, and shows much gratitude for many favours conferred upon him. duke maurice presented to him a house and plot in chemnitz, and in a letter dated june th, [ ] in connection therewith, says: "... that he may enjoy his life-long a freehold house unburdened by all burgher rights and other municipal service, to be used by him and inhabited as a free dwelling, and that he may also, for the necessities of his household and of his wife and servants, brew his own beer free, and that he may likewise purvey for himself and his household foreign beer and also wine for use, and yet he shall not sell any such beer.... we have taken the said doctor under our especial protection and care for our life-long, and he shall not be summoned before any court of justice, but only before us and our councillor...." agricola was made burgomaster of chemnitz in . a letter[ ] from fabricius to meurer, dated may th, , says that agricola had been made burgomaster by the command of the prince. this would be maurice, and it is all the more a tribute to the high respect with which agricola was held, for, as said before, he was a consistent catholic, and maurice a protestant prince. in this same year the schmalkalden war broke out, and agricola was called to personal attendance upon the duke maurice in a diplomatic and advisory capacity. in also he was a member of the diet of freiberg, and was summoned to council in dresden. the next year he continued, by the duke's command, burgomaster at chemnitz, although he seems to have been away upon ducal matters most of the time. the duke addresses[ ] the chemnitz council in march, : "we hereby make known to you that we are in urgent need of your burgomaster, dr. georgius agricola, with us. it is, therefore, our will that you should yield him up and forward him that he should with the utmost haste set forth to us here near freiberg." he was sent on various missions from the duke to the emperor charles, to king ferdinand of austria, and to other princes in matters connected with the war--the fact that he was a catholic probably entering into his appointment to such missions. chemnitz was occupied by the troops of first one side, then the other, despite the great efforts of agricola to have his own town specially defended. in april, , the war came to an end in the battle of mühlberg, but agricola was apparently not relieved of his burgomastership until the succeeding year, for he wrote his friend wolfgang meurer, in april, ,[ ] that he "was now relieved." his public duties did not end, however, for he attended the diet of leipzig in and in , and was at the diet at torgau in . in he was again installed as burgomaster; and in , for the fourth time, he became head of the municipality, and during this year had again to attend the diets at leipzig and dresden, representing his city. he apparently now had a short relief from public duties, for it is not until , shortly before his death, that we find him again attending a diet at torgau. agricola died on november st, . a letter[ ] from his life-long friend, fabricius, to melanchthon, announcing this event, states: "we lost, on november st, that distinguished ornament of our fatherland, georgius agricola, a man of eminent intellect, of culture and of judgment. he attained the age of . he who since the days of childhood had enjoyed robust health was carried off by a four-days' fever. he had previously suffered from no disease except inflammation of the eyes, which he brought upon himself by untiring study and insatiable reading.... i know that you loved the soul of this man, although in many of his opinions, more especially in religious and spiritual welfare, he differed in many points from our own. for he despised our churches, and would not be with us in the communion of the blood of christ. therefore, after his death, at the command of the prince, which was given to the church inspectors and carried out by tettelbach as a loyal servant, burial was refused him, and not until the fourth day was he borne away to zeitz and interred in the cathedral.... i have always admired the genius of this man, so distinguished in our sciences and in the whole realm of philosophy--yet i wonder at his religious views, which were compatible with reason, it is true, and were dazzling, but were by no means compatible with truth.... he would not tolerate with patience that anyone should discuss ecclesiastical matters with him." this action of the authorities in denying burial to one of their most honoured citizens, who had been ever assiduous in furthering the welfare of the community, seems strangely out of joint. further, the elector augustus, although a protestant prince, was agricola's warm friend, as evidenced by his letter of but a few months before (see p. xv). however, catholics were then few in number at chemnitz, and the feeling ran high at the time, so possibly the prince was afraid of public disturbances. hofmann[ ] explains this occurrence in the following words:--"the feelings of chemnitz citizens, who were almost exclusively protestant, must certainly be taken into account. they may have raised objections to the solemn interment of a catholic in the protestant cathedral church of st. jacob, which had, perhaps, been demanded by his relatives, and to which, according to the custom of the time, he would have been entitled as burgomaster. the refusal to sanction the interment aroused, more especially in the catholic world, a painful sensation." a brass memorial plate hung in the cathedral at zeitz had already disappeared in , nor have the cities of his birth or residence ever shown any appreciation of this man, whose work more deserves their gratitude than does that of the multitude of soldiers whose monuments decorate every village and city square. it is true that in a marble tablet was placed behind the altar in the church of st. jacob in chemnitz, but even this was removed to the historical museum later on. he left a modest estate, which was the subject of considerable litigation by his descendants, due to the mismanagement of the guardian. hofmann has succeeded in tracing the descendants for two generations, down to , but the line is finally lost among the multitude of other agricolas. to deduce georgius agricola's character we need not search beyond the discovery of his steadfast adherence to the religion of his fathers amid the bitter storm of protestantism around him, and need but to remember at the same time that for twenty-five years he was entrusted with elective positions of an increasingly important character in this same community. no man could have thus held the respect of his countrymen unless he were devoid of bigotry and possessed of the highest sense of integrity, justice, humanity, and patriotism. agricola's intellectual attainments and position in science. agricola's education was the most thorough that his times afforded in the classics, philosophy, medicine, and sciences generally. further, his writings disclose a most exhaustive knowledge not only of an extraordinary range of classical literature, but also of obscure manuscripts buried in the public libraries of europe. that his general learning was held to be of a high order is amply evidenced from the correspondence of the other scholars of his time--erasmus, melanchthon, meurer, fabricius, and others. our more immediate concern, however, is with the advances which were due to him in the sciences of geology, mineralogy, and mining engineering. no appreciation of these attainments can be conveyed to the reader unless he has some understanding of the dearth of knowledge in these sciences prior to agricola's time. we have in appendix b given a brief review of the literature extant at this period on these subjects. furthermore, no appreciation of agricola's contribution to science can be gained without a study of _de ortu et causis_ and _de natura fossilium_, for while _de re metallica_ is of much more general interest, it contains but incidental reference to geology and mineralogy. apart from the book of genesis, the only attempts at fundamental explanation of natural phenomena were those of the greek philosophers and the alchemists. orthodox beliefs agricola scarcely mentions; with the alchemists he had no patience. there can be no doubt, however, that his views are greatly coloured by his deep classical learning. he was in fine to a certain distance a follower of aristotle, theophrastus, strato, and other leaders of the peripatetic school. for that matter, except for the muddy current which the alchemists had introduced into this already troubled stream, the whole thought of the learned world still flowed from the greeks. had he not, however, radically departed from the teachings of the peripatetic school, his work would have been no contribution to the development of science. certain of their teachings he repudiated with great vigour, and his laboured and detailed arguments in their refutation form the first battle in science over the results of observation _versus_ inductive speculation. to use his own words: "those things which we see with our eyes and understand by means of our senses are more clearly to be demonstrated than if learned by means of reasoning."[ ] the bigoted scholasticism of his times necessitated as much care and detail in refutation of such deep-rooted beliefs, as would be demanded to-day by an attempt at a refutation of the theory of evolution, and in consequence his works are often but dry reading to any but those interested in the development of fundamental scientific theory. in giving an appreciation of agricola's views here and throughout the footnotes, we do not wish to convey to the reader that he was in all things free from error and from the spirit of his times, or that his theories, constructed long before the atomic theory, are of the clear-cut order which that basic hypothesis has rendered possible to later scientific speculation in these branches. his statements are sometimes much confused, but we reiterate that their clarity is as crystal to mud in comparison with those of his predecessors--and of most of his successors for over two hundred years. as an indication of his grasp of some of the wider aspects of geological phenomena we reproduce, in appendix a, a passage from _de ortu et causis_, which we believe to be the first adequate declaration of the part played by erosion in mountain sculpture. but of all of agricola's theoretical views those are of the greatest interest which relate to the origin of ore deposits, for in these matters he had the greatest opportunities of observation and the most experience. we have on page reproduced and discussed his theory at considerable length, but we may repeat here, that in his propositions as to the circulation of ground waters, that ore channels are a subsequent creation to the contained rocks, and that they were filled by deposition from circulating solutions, he enunciated the foundations of our modern theory, and in so doing took a step in advance greater than that of any single subsequent authority. in his contention that ore channels were created by erosion of subterranean waters he was wrong, except for special cases, and it was not until two centuries later that a further step in advance was taken by the recognition by van oppel of the part played by fissuring in these phenomena. nor was it until about the same time that the filling of ore channels in the main by deposition from solutions was generally accepted. while werner, two hundred and fifty years after agricola, is generally revered as the inspirer of the modern theory by those whose reading has taken them no farther back, we have no hesitation in asserting that of the propositions of each author, agricola's were very much more nearly in accord with modern views. moreover, the main result of the new ideas brought forward by werner was to stop the march of progress for half a century, instead of speeding it forward as did those of agricola. in mineralogy agricola made the first attempt at systematic treatment of the subject. his system could not be otherwise than wrongly based, as he could scarcely see forward two or three centuries to the atomic theory and our vast fund of chemical knowledge. however, based as it is upon such properties as solubility and homogeneity, and upon external characteristics such as colour, hardness, &c., it makes a most creditable advance upon theophrastus, dioscorides, and albertus magnus--his only predecessors. he is the first to assert that bismuth and antimony are true primary metals; and to some sixty actual mineral species described previous to his time he added some twenty more, and laments that there are scores unnamed. as to agricola's contribution to the sciences of mining and metallurgy, _de re metallica_ speaks for itself. while he describes, for the first time, scores of methods and processes, no one would contend that they were discoveries or inventions of his own. they represent the accumulation of generations of experience and knowledge; but by him they were, for the first time, to receive detailed and intelligent exposition. until schlüter's work nearly two centuries later, it was not excelled. there is no measure by which we may gauge the value of such a work to the men who followed in this profession during centuries, nor the benefits enjoyed by humanity through them. that agricola occupied a very considerable place in the great awakening of learning will be disputed by none except by those who place the development of science in rank far below religion, politics, literature, and art. of wider importance than the details of his achievements in the mere confines of the particular science to which he applied himself, is the fact that he was the first to found any of the natural sciences upon research and observation, as opposed to previous fruitless speculation. the wider interest of the members of the medical profession in the development of their science than that of geologists in theirs, has led to the aggrandizement of paracelsus, a contemporary of agricola, as the first in deductive science. yet no comparative study of the unparalleled egotistical ravings of this half-genius, half-alchemist, with the modest sober logic and real research and observation of agricola, can leave a moment's doubt as to the incomparably greater position which should be attributed to the latter as the pioneer in building the foundation of science by deduction from observed phenomena. science is the base upon which is reared the civilization of to-day, and while we give daily credit to all those who toil in the superstructure, let none forget those men who laid its first foundation stones. one of the greatest of these was georgius agricola. de re metallica agricola seems to have been engaged in the preparation of _de re metallica_ for a period of over twenty years, for we first hear of the book in a letter from petrus plateanus, a schoolmaster at joachimsthal, to the great humanist, erasmus,[ ] in september, . he says: "the scientific world will be still more indebted to agricola when he brings to light the books _de re metallica_ and other matters which he has on hand." in the dedication of _de mensuris et ponderibus_ (in ) agricola states that he means to publish twelve books _de re metallica_, if he lives. that the appearance of this work was eagerly anticipated is evidenced by a letter from george fabricius to valentine hertel:[ ] "with great excitement the books _de re metallica_ are being awaited. if he treats the material at hand with his usual zeal, he will win for himself glory such as no one in any of the fields of literature has attained for the last thousand years." according to the dedication of _de veteribus et novis metallis_, agricola in already looked forward to its early publication. the work was apparently finished in , for the dedication to the dukes maurice and august of saxony is dated in december of that year. the eulogistic poem by his friend, george fabricius, is dated in . the publication was apparently long delayed by the preparation of the woodcuts; and, according to mathesius,[ ] many sketches for them were prepared by basilius wefring. in the preface of _de re metallica_, agricola does not mention who prepared the sketches, but does say: "i have hired illustrators to delineate their forms, lest descriptions which are conveyed by words should either not be understood by men of our own times, or should cause difficulty to posterity." in the completed book was sent to froben for publication, for a letter[ ] from fabricius to meurer in march, , announces its dispatch to the printer. an interesting letter[ ] from the elector augustus to agricola, dated january , , reads: "most learned, dear and faithful subject, whereas you have sent to the press a latin book of which the title is said to be _de rebus metallicis_, which has been praised to us and we should like to know the contents, it is our gracious command that you should get the book translated when you have the opportunity into german, and not let it be copied more than once or be printed, but keep it by you and send us a copy. if you should need a writer for this purpose, we will provide one. thus you will fulfil our gracious behest." the german translation was prepared by philip bechius, a basel university professor of medicine and philosophy. it is a wretched work, by one who knew nothing of the science, and who more especially had no appreciation of the peculiar latin terms coined by agricola, most of which he rendered literally. it is a sad commentary on his countrymen that no correct german translation exists. the italian translation is by michelangelo florio, and is by him dedicated to elizabeth, queen of england. the title page of the first edition is reproduced later on, and the full titles of other editions are given in the appendix, together with the author's other works. the following are the short titles of the various editions of _de re metallica_, together with the name and place of the publisher:-- latin editions. _de re metallica_, froben basel folio . " " " " " " . " " " ludwig könig " " . " " " emanuel könig " " . in addition to these, leupold,[ ] schmid,[ ] and others mention an octavo edition, without illustrations, schweinfurt, . we have not been able to find a copy of this edition, and are not certain of its existence. the same catalogues also mention an octavo edition of _de re metallica_, wittenberg, or , with notes by joanne sigfrido; but we believe this to be a confusion with agricola's subsidiary works, which were published at this time and place, with such notes. german editions. _vom bergkwerck_, froben, folio, . _bergwerck buch_, sigmundi feyrabendt, frankfort-on-main, folio, . " " ludwig könig, basel, folio, . there are other editions than these, mentioned by bibliographers, but we have been unable to confirm them in any library. the most reliable of such bibliographies, that of john ferguson,[ ] gives in addition to the above; _bergwerkbuch_, basel, , folio, and schweinfurt, , octavo. italian edition. _l'arte de metalli_, froben, basel, folio, . other languages. so far as we know, _de re metallica_ was never actually published in other than latin, german, and italian. however, a portion of the accounts of the firm of froben were published in [ ], and therein is an entry under march, , of a sum to one leodigaris grymaldo for some other work, and also for "correction of agricola's _de re metallica_ in french." this may of course, be an error for the italian edition, which appeared a little later. there is also mention[ ] that a manuscript of _de re metallica_ in spanish was seen in the library of the town of bejar. an interesting note appears in the glossary given by sir john pettus in his translation of lazarus erckern's work on assaying. he says[ ] "but i cannot enlarge my observations upon any more words, because the printer calls for what i did write of a metallick dictionary, after i first proposed the printing of erckern, but intending within the compass of a year to publish georgius agricola, _de re metallica_ (being fully translated) in english, and also to add a dictionary to it, i shall reserve my remaining essays (if what i have done hitherto be approved) till then, and so i proceed in the dictionary." the translation was never published and extensive inquiry in various libraries and among the family of pettus has failed to yield any trace of the manuscript. footnotes: [ ] for the biographical information here set out we have relied principally upon the following works:--petrus albinus, _meissnische land und berg chronica_, dresden, ; adam daniel richter, _umständliche ... chronica der stadt chemnitz_, leipzig, ; johann gottfried weller, _altes aus allen theilen der geschichte_, chemnitz, ; freidrich august schmid, _georg agrikola's bermannus_, freiberg, ; georg heinrich jacobi, _der mineralog georgius agricola_, zwickau, ; dr. reinhold hofmann, _dr. georg agricola_, gotha, . the last is an exhaustive biographical sketch, to which we refer those who are interested. [ ] _georgii agricolae glaucii libellus de prima ac simplici institutione grammatica_, printed by melchior lotther, leipzig, . petrus mosellanus refers to this work (without giving title) in a letter to agricola, june, . [ ] _briefe an desiderius erasmus von rotterdam._ published by joseph förstemann and otto günther. _xxvii. beiheft zum zentralblatt für bibliothekswesen_, leipzig, . p. . [ ] _de veteribus et novis metallis._ preface. [ ] a summary of this and of agricola's other works is given in the appendix a. [ ] _de veteribus et novis metallis_, book i. [ ] printed in f. a. schmid's _georg agrikola's bermannus_, p. , freiberg, . [ ] op. cit., p. . [ ] archive , chemnitz municipal archives. [ ] baumgarten-crusius. _georgii fabricii chemnicensis epistolae ad w. meurerum et alios aequales_, leipzig, , p. . [ ] hofmann, op. cit., p. . [ ] weber, _virorum clarorum saeculi xvi. et xvii. epistolae selectae_, leipzig, , p. . [ ] baumgarten-crusius. op. cit., p. . [ ] hofmann, op. cit., p. . [ ] _de ortu et causis_, book iii. [ ] _briefe an desiderius erasmus von rotterdam._ published by joseph förstemann & otto günther. _xxvii. beiheft zum zentralblatt für bibliothekswesen_, leipzig, , p. . [ ] petrus albinus, _meissnische land und berg chronica_, dresden, , p. . [ ] this statement is contained under " " in a sort of chronicle bound up with mathesius's _sarepta_, nuremberg, . [ ] baumgarten-crusius, p. , letter no. . [ ] principal state archives, dresden, cop. , folio . [ ] jacob leupold, _prodromus bibliothecae metallicae_, , p. . [ ] f. a. schmid, _georg agrikola's bermannus_, freiberg, , p. . [ ] _bibliotheca chemica_, glasgow, , p. . [ ] _rechnungsbuch der froben und episcopius buchdrucker und buchhändler zu basel_, - , published by r. wackernagle, basel, . p. . [ ] _colecion del sr monoz_ t. , fol. _en la acad. de la hist._ madrid. [ ] sir john pettus, _fleta minor_, the laws of art and nature, &c., london, , p. . [illustration xix (title page from first edition)] georgius fabricius in libros metallicos georgii agricolae philosophi præstantissimi.[ ] ad lectorem. si iuuat ignita cognoscere fronte chimæram, semicanem nympham, semibouemque uirum: si centum capitum titanem, totque ferentem sublimem manibus tela cruenta gygen: si iuuat Ætneum penetrare cyclopis in antrum, atque alios, vates quos peperere, metus: nunc placeat mecum doctos euoluere libros, ingenium agricolae quos dedit acre tibi. non hic uana tenet suspensam fabula mentem: sed precium, utilitas multa, legentis erit. quidquid terra sinu, gremioque recondidit imo, omne tibi multis eruit ante libris: siue fluens superas ultro nitatur in oras, inueniat facilem seu magis arte uiam. perpetui proprijs manant de fontibus amnes, est grauis albuneæ sponte mephitis odor. lethales sunt sponte scrobes dicæarchidis oræ, et micat è media conditus ignis humo. plana nariscorum cùm tellus arsit in agro, ter curua nondum falce resecta ceres, nec dedit hoc damnum pastor, nec iuppiter igne: vulcani per se ruperat ira solum. terrifico aura foras erumpens, incita motu, sæpe facit montes, antè ubi plana uia est. hæc abstrusa cauis, imoque incognita fundo, cognita natura sæpe fuere duce. arte hominum, in lucem ueniunt quoque multa, manuque terræ multiplices effodiuntur opes. lydia sic nitrum profert, islandia sulfur, ac modò tyrrhenus mittit alumen ager. succina, quâ trifido subit æquor vistula cornu, piscantur codano corpora serua sinu. quid memorem regum preciosa insignia gemmas, marmoraque excelsis structa sub astra iugis? nil lapides, nil saxa moror: sunt pulchra metalla, croese tuis opibus clara, mydaque tuis, quæque acer macedo terra creneide fodit, nomine permutans nomina prisca suo. at nunc non ullis cedit germania terris, terra ferax hominum, terraque diues opum. hic auri in uenis locupletibus aura refulget, non alio messis carior ulla loco. auricomum extulerit felix campania ramum, nec fructu nobis deficiente cadit. eruit argenti solidas hoc tempore massas fossor, de proprijs armaque miles agris. ignotum graijs est hesperijsque metallum, quod bisemutum lingua paterna uocat. candidius nigro, sed plumbo nigrius albo, nostra quoque hoc uena diuite fundit humus. funditur in tormenta, corus cum imitantia fulmen, Æs, inque hostiles ferrea massa domos. scribuntur plumbo libri: quis credidit antè quàm mirandam artem teutonis ora dedit? nec tamen hoc alijs, aut illa petuntur ab oris, eruta germano cuncta metalla solo. sed quid ego hæc repeto, monumentis tradita claris agricolae, quæ nunc docta per ora uolant? hic caussis ortus, & formas uiribus addit, et quærenda quibus sint meliora locis. quæ si mente prius legisti candidus æqua: da reliquis quoque nunc tempora pauca libris. vtilitas sequitur cultorem: crede, uoluptas non iucunda minor, rara legentis, erit. iudicioque prius ne quis malè damnet iniquo, quæ sunt auctoris munera mira dei: eripit ipse suis primùm tela hostibus, inque mittentis torquet spicula rapta caput. fertur equo latro, uehitur pirata triremi: ergo necandus equus, nec fabricanda ratis? visceribus terræ lateant abstrusa metalla, vti opibus nescit quòd mala turba suis? quisquis es, aut doctis pareto monentibus, aut te inter habere bonos ne fateare locum. se non in prærupta metallicus abijcit audax, vt quondam immisso curtius acer equo: sed prius ediscit, quæ sunt noscenda perito, quodque facit, multa doctus ab arte facit. vtque gubernator seruat cum sidere uentos: sic minimè dubijs utitur ille notis. iasides nauim, currus regit arte metiscus: fossor opus peragit nec minus arte suum. indagat uenæ spacium, numerumque, modumque, siue obliqua suum, rectaúe tendat iter. pastor ut explorat quæ terra sit apta colenti, quæ bene lanigeras, quæ malè pascat oues. en terræ intentus, quid uincula linea tendit? fungitur officio iam ptolemæe tuo. vtque suæ inuenit mensuram iuraque uenæ, in uarios operas diuidit inde uiros. iamque aggressus opus, uiden' ut mouet omne quod obstat, assidua ut uersat strenuus arma manu? ne tibi surdescant ferri tinnitibus aures, ad grauiora ideo conspicienda ueni. instruit ecce suis nunc artibus ille minores: sedulitas nulli non operosa loco. metiri docet hic uenæ spaciumque modumque, vtque regat positis finibus arua lapis, ne quis transmisso uiolentus limite pergens, non sibi concessas, in sua uertat, opes. hic docet instrumenta, quibus plutonia regna tutus adit, saxi permeat atque uias. quanta (uides) solidas expugnet machina terras: machina non ullo tempore uisa prius. cede nouis, nulla non inclyta laude uetustas, posteritas meritis est quoque grata tuis. tum quia germano sunt hæc inuenta sub axe, si quis es, inuidiæ contrahe uela tuæ. ausonis ora tumet bellis, terra attica cultu, germanum infractus tollit ad astra labor. nec tamen ingenio solet infeliciter uti, mite gerát phoebi, seu graue martis opus, tempus adest, structis uenarum montibus, igne explorare, usum quem sibi uena ferat, non labor ingenio caret hic, non copia fructu, est adaperta bonæ prima fenestra spei. ergo instat porrò grauiores ferre labores, intentas operi nec remouere manus. vrere siue locus poscat, seu tundere uerras, siue lauare lacu præter euntis aquæ. seu flammis iterum modicis torrere necesse est, excoquere aut fastis ignibus omne malum, cùm fluit æs riuis, auri argentique metallum, spes animo fossor uix capit ipse suas. argentum cupidus fuluo secernit ab auro, et plumbi lentam demit utrique moram. separat argentum, lucri studiosus, ab ære, seruatis, linquens deteriora, bonis. quæ si cuncta uelim tenui percurrere uersu, ante alium reuehat memnonis orta diem. postremus labor est, concretos discere succos, quos fert innumeris teutona terra locis. quo sal, quo nitrum, quo pacto fiat alumen, vsibus artificis cùm parat illa manus: nec non chalcantum, sulfur, fluidumque bitumen, massaque quo uitri lenta dolanda modo. suscipit hæc hominum mirandos cura labores, pauperiem usque adeo ferre famemque graue est, tantus amor uictum paruis extundere natis, et patriæ ciuem non dare uelle malum. nec manet in terræ fossoris mersa latebris mens, sed fert domino uota precesque deo. munificæ expectat, spe plenus, munera dextræ, extollens animum lætus ad astra suum. diuitias christus dat noticiamque fruendi, cui memori grates pectore semper agit. hoc quoque laudati quondam fecere philippi, qui uirtutis habent cum pietate decus. huc oculos, huc flecte animum, suauissime lector, auctoremque pia noscito mente deum. agricolae hinc optans operoso fausta labori, laudibus eximij candidus esto uiri. ille suum extollit patriæ cum nomine nomen, et uir in ore frequens posteritatis erit. cuncta cadunt letho, studij monumenta uigebunt, purpurei donec lumina solis erunt. misenæ m. d. li. èludo illustri. footnotes: [ ] for completeness' sake we reproduce in the original latin the laudation of agricola by his friend, georgius fabricius, a leading scholar of his time. it has but little intrinsic value for it is not poetry of a very high order, and to make it acceptable english would require certain improvements, for which only poets have licence. a "free" translation of the last few lines indicates its complimentary character:-- "he doth raise his country's fame with his own and in the mouths of nations yet unborn his praises shall be sung; death comes to all but great achievements raise a monument which shall endure until the sun grows cold." to the most illustrious and most mighty dukes of saxony, landgraves of thuringia, margraves of meissen, imperial overlords of saxony, burgraves of altenberg and magdeburg, counts of brena, lords of pleissnerland, to maurice grand marshall and elector of the holy roman empire and to his brother augustus,[ ] george agricola s. d. most illustrious princes, often have i considered the metallic arts as a whole, as moderatus columella[ ] considered the agricultural arts, just as if i had been considering the whole of the human body; and when i had perceived the various parts of the subject, like so many members of the body, i became afraid that i might die before i should understand its full extent, much less before i could immortalise it in writing. this book itself indicates the length and breadth of the subject, and the number and importance of the sciences of which at least some little knowledge is necessary to miners. indeed, the subject of mining is a very extensive one, and one very difficult to explain; no part of it is fully dealt with by the greek and latin authors whose works survive; and since the art is one of the most ancient, the most necessary and the most profitable to mankind, i considered that i ought not to neglect it. without doubt, none of the arts is older than agriculture, but that of the metals is not less ancient; in fact they are at least equal and coeval, for no mortal man ever tilled a field without implements. in truth, in all the works of agriculture, as in the other arts, implements are used which are made from metals, or which could not be made without the use of metals; for this reason the metals are of the greatest necessity to man. when an art is so poor that it lacks metals, it is not of much importance, for nothing is made without tools. besides, of all ways whereby great wealth is acquired by good and honest means, none is more advantageous than mining; for although from fields which are well tilled (not to mention other things) we derive rich yields, yet we obtain richer products from mines; in fact, one mine is often much more beneficial to us than many fields. for this reason we learn from the history of nearly all ages that very many men have been made rich by the mines, and the fortunes of many kings have been much amplified thereby. but i will not now speak more of these matters, because i have dealt with these subjects partly in the first book of this work, and partly in the other work entitled _de veteribus et novis metallis_, where i have refuted the charges which have been made against metals and against miners. now, though the art of husbandry, which i willingly rank with the art of mining, appears to be divided into many branches, yet it is not separated into so many as this art of ours, nor can i teach the principles of this as easily as columella did of that. he had at hand many writers upon husbandry whom he could follow,--in fact, there are more than fifty greek authors whom marcus varro enumerates, and more than ten latin ones, whom columella himself mentions. i have only one whom i can follow; that is c. plinius secundus,[ ] and he expounds only a very few methods of digging ores and of making metals. far from the whole of the art having been treated by any one writer, those who have written occasionally on any one or another of its branches have not even dealt completely with a single one of them. moreover, there is a great scarcity even of these, since alone of all the greeks, strato of lampsacus,[ ] the successor of theophrastus,[ ] wrote a book on the subject, _de machinis metallicis_; except, perhaps a work by the poet philo, a small part of which embraced to some degree the occupation of mining.[ ] pherecrates seems to have introduced into his comedy, which was similar in title, miners as slaves or as persons condemned to serve in the mines. of the latin writers, pliny, as i have already said, has described a few methods of working. also among the authors i must include the modern writers, whosoever they are, for no one should escape just condemnation who fails to award due recognition to persons whose writings he uses, even very slightly. two books have been written in our tongue; the one on the assaying of mineral substances and metals, somewhat confused, whose author is unknown[ ]; the other "on veins," of which pandulfus anglus[ ] is also said to have written, although the german book was written by calbus of freiberg, a well-known doctor; but neither of them accomplished the task he had begun.[ ] recently vannucci biringuccio, of sienna, a wise man experienced in many matters, wrote in vernacular italian on the subject of the melting, separating, and alloying of metals.[ ] he touched briefly on the methods of smelting certain ores, and explained more fully the methods of making certain juices; by reading his directions, i have refreshed my memory of those things which i myself saw in italy; as for many matters on which i write, he did not touch upon them at all, or touched but lightly. this book was given me by franciscus badoarius, a patrician of venice, and a man of wisdom and of repute; this he had promised that he would do, when in the previous year he was at marienberg, having been sent by the venetians as an ambassador to king ferdinand. beyond these books i do not find any writings on the metallic arts. for that reason, even if the book of strato existed, from all these sources not one-half of the whole body of the science of mining could be pieced together. seeing that there have been so few who have written on the subject of the metals, it appears to me all the more wonderful that so many alchemists have arisen who would compound metals artificially, and who would change one into another. hermolaus barbarus,[ ] a man of high rank and station, and distinguished in all kinds of learning, has mentioned the names of many in his writings; and i will proffer more, but only famous ones, for i will limit myself to a few. thus osthanes has written on [greek: chymeutika]; and there are hermes; chanes; zosimus, the alexandrian, to his sister theosebia; olympiodorus, also an alexandrian; agathodæmon; democritus, not the one of abdera, but some other whom i know not; orus chrysorichites, pebichius, comerius, joannes, apulejus, petasius, pelagius, africanus, theophilus, synesius, stephanus to heracleus cæsar, heliodorus to theodosius, geber, callides rachaidibus, veradianus, rodianus, canides, merlin, raymond lully, arnold de villa nova, and augustinus pantheus of venice; and three women, cleopatra, the maiden taphnutia, and maria the jewess.[ ] all these alchemists employ obscure language, and johanes aurelius augurellus of rimini, alone has used the language of poetry. there are many other books on this subject, but all are difficult to follow, because the writers upon these things use strange names, which do not properly belong to the metals, and because some of them employ now one name and now another, invented by themselves, though the thing itself changes not. these masters teach their disciples that the base metals, when smelted, are broken up; also they teach the methods by which they reduce them to the primary parts and remove whatever is superfluous in them, and by supplying what is wanted make out of them the precious metals--that is, gold and silver,--all of which they carry out in a crucible. whether they can do these things or not i cannot decide; but, seeing that so many writers assure us with all earnestness that they have reached that goal for which they aimed, it would seem that faith might be placed in them; yet also seeing that we do not read of any of them ever having become rich by this art, nor do we now see them growing rich, although so many nations everywhere have produced, and are producing, alchemists, and all of them are straining every nerve night and day to the end that they may heap a great quantity of gold and silver, i should say the matter is dubious. but although it may be due to the carelessness of the writers that they have not transmitted to us the names of the masters who acquired great wealth through this occupation, certainly it is clear that their disciples either do not understand their precepts or, if they do understand them, do not follow them; for if they do comprehend them, seeing that these disciples have been and are so numerous, they would have by to-day filled whole towns with gold and silver. even their books proclaim their vanity, for they inscribe in them the names of plato and aristotle and other philosophers, in order that such high-sounding inscriptions may impose upon simple people and pass for learning. there is another class of alchemists who do not change the substance of base metals, but colour them to represent gold or silver, so that they appear to be that which they are not, and when this appearance is taken from them by the fire, as if it were a garment foreign to them, they return to their own character. these alchemists, since they deceive people, are not only held in the greatest odium, but their frauds are a capital offence. no less a fraud, warranting capital punishment, is committed by a third sort of alchemists; these throw into a crucible a small piece of gold or silver hidden in a coal, and after mixing therewith fluxes which have the power of extracting it, pretend to be making gold from orpiment, or silver from tin and like substances. but concerning the art of alchemy, if it be an art, i will speak further elsewhere. i will now return to the art of mining. since no authors have written of this art in its entirety, and since foreign nations and races do not understand our tongue, and, if they did understand it, would be able to learn only a small part of the art through the works of those authors whom we do possess, i have written these twelve books _de re metallica_. of these, the first book contains the arguments which may be used against this art, and against metals and the mines, and what can be said in their favour. the second book describes the miner, and branches into a discourse on the finding of veins. the third book deals with veins and stringers, and seams in the rocks. the fourth book explains the method of delimiting veins, and also describes the functions of the mining officials. the fifth book describes the digging of ore and the surveyor's art. the sixth book describes the miners' tools and machines. the seventh book is on the assaying of ore. the eighth book lays down the rules for the work of roasting, crushing, and washing the ore. the ninth book explains the methods of smelting ores. the tenth book instructs those who are studious of the metallic arts in the work of separating silver from gold, and lead from gold and silver. the eleventh book shows the way of separating silver from copper. the twelfth book gives us rules for manufacturing salt, soda, alum, vitriol, sulphur, bitumen, and glass. although i have not fulfilled the task which i have undertaken, on account of the great magnitude of the subject, i have, at all events, endeavoured to fulfil it, for i have devoted much labour and care, and have even gone to some expense upon it; for with regard to the veins, tools, vessels, sluices, machines, and furnaces, i have not only described them, but have also hired illustrators to delineate their forms, lest descriptions which are conveyed by words should either not be understood by men of our own times, or should cause difficulty to posterity, in the same way as to us difficulty is often caused by many names which the ancients (because such words were familiar to all of them) have handed down to us without any explanation. i have omitted all those things which i have not myself seen, or have not read or heard of from persons upon whom i can rely. that which i have neither seen, nor carefully considered after reading or hearing of, i have not written about. the same rule must be understood with regard to all my instruction, whether i enjoin things which ought to be done, or describe things which are usual, or condemn things which are done. since the art of mining does not lend itself to elegant language, these books of mine are correspondingly lacking in refinement of style. the things dealt with in this art of metals sometimes lack names, either because they are new, or because, even if they are old, the record of the names by which they were formerly known has been lost. for this reason i have been forced by a necessity, for which i must be pardoned, to describe some of them by a number of words combined, and to distinguish others by new names,--to which latter class belong _ingestor_, _discretor_, _lotor_, and _excoctor_.[ ] other things, again, i have alluded to by old names, such as the _cisium_; for when nonius marcellus wrote,[ ] this was the name of a two-wheeled vehicle, but i have adopted it for a small vehicle which has only one wheel; and if anyone does not approve of these names, let him either find more appropriate ones for these things, or discover the words used in the writings of the ancients. these books, most illustrious princes, are dedicated to you for many reasons, and, above all others, because metals have proved of the greatest value to you; for though your ancestors drew rich profits from the revenues of their vast and wealthy territories, and likewise from the taxes which were paid by the foreigners by way of toll and by the natives by way of tithes, yet they drew far richer profits from the mines. because of the mines not a few towns have risen into eminence, such as freiberg, annaberg, marienberg, schneeberg, geyer, and altenberg, not to mention others. nay, if i understand anything, greater wealth now lies hidden beneath the ground in the mountainous parts of your territory than is visible and apparent above ground. farewell. _chemnitz, saxony, december first, ._ footnotes: [ ] for agricola's relations with these princes see p. ix. [ ] lucius junius moderatus columella was a roman, a native of cadiz, and lived during the st century. he was the author of _de re rustica_ in books. it was first printed in , and some fifteen or sixteen editions had been printed before agricola's death. [ ] we give a short review of pliny's _naturalis historia_ in the appendix b. [ ] this work is not extant, as agricola duly notes later on. strato succeeded theophrastus as president of the lyceum, b.c. [ ] for note on theophrastus see appendix b. [ ] it appears that the poet philo did write a work on mining which is not extant. so far as we know the only reference to this work is in athenæus' ( a.d.) _deipnosophistae_. the passage as it appears in c. d. yonge's translation (bonn's library, london, , vol. ii, book vii, p. ) is: "and there is a similar fish produced in the red sea which is called stromateus; it has gold-coloured lines running along the whole of his body, as philo tells us in his book on mines." there is a fragment of a poem of pherecrates, entitled "miners," but it seems to have little to do with mining. [ ] the title given by agricola _de materiae metallicae et metallorum experimento_ is difficult to identify. it seems likely to be the little _probier büchlein_, numbers of which were published in german in the first half of the th century. we discuss this work at some length in the appendix b on ancient authors. [ ] pandulfus, "the englishman," is mentioned by various th and th century writers, and in the preface of mathias farinator's _liber moralitatum ... rerum naturalium_, etc., printed in augsburg, , there is a list of books among which appears a reference to a work by pandulfus on veins and minerals. we have not been able to find the book. [ ] jacobi (_der mineralog georgius agricola_, zwickau, , p. ) says: "calbus freibergius, so called by agricola himself, is certainly no other than the freiberg doctor rühlein von kalbe; he was, according to möller, a doctor and burgomaster at freiberg at the end of the th and the beginning of the th centuries.... the chronicler describes him as a fine mathematician, who helped to survey and design the mining towns of annaberg in and marienberg in ." we would call attention to the statement of calbus' views, quoted at the end of book iii, _de re metallica_ (p. ), which are astonishingly similar to statements in the _nützlich bergbüchlin_, and leave little doubt that this "calbus" was the author of that anonymous book on veins. for further discussion see appendix b. [ ] for discussion of biringuccio see appendix b. the proper title is _de la pirotechnia_ (venice, ). [ ] hermolaus barbarus, according to watt (_bibliotheca britannica_, london, ), was a lecturer on philosophy in padua. he was born in , died in , and was the author of a number of works on medicine, natural history, etc., with commentaries on the older authors. [ ] the debt which humanity does owe to these self-styled philosophers must not be overlooked, for the science of chemistry comes from three sources--alchemy, medicine and metallurgy. however polluted the former of these may be, still the vast advance which it made by the discovery of the principal acids, alkalis, and the more common of their salts, should be constantly recognized. it is obviously impossible, within the space of a footnote, to give anything but the most casual notes as to the personages here mentioned and their writings. aside from the classics and religious works, the libraries of the middle ages teemed with more material on alchemy than on any other one subject, and since that date a never-ending stream of historical, critical, and discursive volumes and tracts devoted to the old alchemists and their writings has been poured upon the world. a collection recently sold in london, relating to paracelsus alone, embraced over seven hundred volumes. of many of the alchemists mentioned by agricola little is really known, and no two critics agree as to the commonest details regarding many of them; in fact, an endless confusion springs from the negligent habit of the lesser alchemists of attributing the authorship of their writings to more esteemed members of their own ilk, such as hermes, osthanes, etc., not to mention the palpable spuriousness of works under the names of the real philosophers, such as aristotle, plato, or moses, and even of jesus christ. knowledge of many of the authors mentioned by agricola does not extend beyond the fact that the names mentioned are appended to various writings, in some instances to mss yet unpublished. they may have been actual persons, or they may not. agricola undoubtedly had perused such manuscripts and books in some leading library, as the quotation from boerhaave given later shows. shaw (a new method of chemistry, etc., london, . vol. i, p. ) considers that the large number of such manuscripts in the european libraries at this time were composed or transcribed by monks and others living in constantinople, alexandria, and athens, who fled westward before the turkish invasion, bringing their works with them. for purposes of this summary we group the names mentioned by agricola, the first class being of those who are known only as names appended to mss or not identifiable at all. possibly a more devoted student of the history of alchemy would assign fewer names to this department of oblivion. they are maria the jewess, orus chrysorichites, chanes, petasius, pebichius, theophilus, callides, veradianus, rodianus, canides, the maiden taphnutia, johannes, augustinus, and africanus. the last three are names so common as not to be possible of identification without more particulars, though johannes may be the johannes rupeseissa ( ), an alchemist of some note. many of these names can be found among the bishops and prelates of the early christian church, but we doubt if their owners would ever be identified with such indiscretions as open, avowed alchemy. the theophilus mentioned might be the metal-working monk of the th century, who is further discussed in appendix b on ancient authors. in the next group fall certain names such as osthanes, hermes, zosimus, agathodaemon, and democritus, which have been the watchwords of authority to alchemists of all ages. these certainly possessed the great secrets, either the philosopher's stone or the elixir. hermes trismegistos was a legendary egyptian personage supposed to have flourished before , b.c., and by some considered to be a corruption of the god thoth. he is supposed to have written a number of works, but those extant have been demonstrated to date not prior to the second century; he is referred to by the later greek alchemists, and was believed to have possessed the secret of transmutation. osthanes was also a very shadowy personage, and was considered by some alchemists to have been an egyptian prior to hermes, by others to have been the teacher of zoroaster. pliny mentions a magician of this name who accompanied xerxes' army. later there are many others of this name, and the most probable explanation is that this was a favourite pseudonym for ancient magicians; there is a very old work, of no great interest, in mss in latin and greek, in the munich, gotha, vienna, and other libraries, by one of this name. agathodaemon was still another shadowy character referred to by the older alchemists. there are mss in the florence, paris, escurial, and munich libraries bearing his name, but nothing tangible is known as to whether he was an actual man or if these writings are not of a much later period than claimed. to the next group belong the greek alchemists, who flourished during the rise and decline of alexandria, from b.c. to a.d., and we give them in order of their dates. comerius was considered by his later fellow professionals to have been the teacher of the art to cleopatra ( st century b.c.), and a mss with a title to that effect exists in the bibliothèque nationale at paris. the celebrated cleopatra seems to have stood very high in the estimation of the alchemists; perhaps her doubtful character found a response among them; there are various works extant in mss attributed to her, but nothing can be known as to their authenticity. lucius apulejus or apuleius was born in numidia about the nd century; he was a roman platonic philosopher, and was the author of a romance, "the metamorphosis, or the golden ass." synesius was a greek, but of unknown period; there is a mss treatise on the philosopher's stone in the library at leyden under his name, and various printed works are attributed to him; he mentions "water of saltpetre," and has, therefore, been hazarded to be the earliest recorder of nitric acid. the work here referred to as "heliodorus to theodosius" was probably the mss in the libraries at paris, vienna, munich, etc., under the title of "heliodorus the philosopher's poem to the emperor theodosius the great on the mystic art of the philosophers, etc." his period would, therefore, be about the th century. the alexandrian zosimus is more generally known as zosimus the panopolite, from panopolis, an ancient town on the nile; he flourished in the th century, and belonged to the alexandrian school of alchemists; he should not be confused with the roman historian of the same name and period. the following statement is by boerhaave (_elementa chemiae_, paris, , chap. i.):--"the name chemistry written in greek, or _chemia_, is so ancient as perhaps to have been used in the antediluvian age. of this opinion was zosimus the panopolite, whose greek writings, though known as long as before the year to george agricola, and afterwards perused ... by jas. scaliger and olaus borrichius, still remain unpublished in the king of france's library. in one of these, entitled, 'the instruction of zosimus the panopolite and philosopher, out of those written to theosebia, etc....'" olympiodorus was an alexandrian of the th century, whose writings were largely commentaries on plato and aristotle; he is sometimes accredited with being the first to describe white arsenic (arsenical oxide). the full title of the work styled "stephanus to heracleus caesar," as published in latin at padua in , was "stephan of alexandria, the universal philosopher and master, his nine processes on the great art of making gold and silver, addressed to the emperor heraclius." he, therefore, if authentic, dates in the th century. to the next class belong those of the middle ages, which we give in order of date. the works attributed to geber play such an important part in the history of chemistry and metallurgy that we discuss his book at length in appendix b. late criticism indicates that this work was not the production of an th century arab, but a compilation of some latin scholar of the th or th centuries. arnold de villa nova, born about , died in , was celebrated as a physician, philosopher, and chemist; his first works were published in lyons in ; many of them have apparently never been printed, for references may be found to some different works. raymond lully, a spaniard, born in , who was a disciple of arnold de villa nova, was stoned to death in africa in . there are extant over works attributed to this author, although again the habit of disciples of writing under the master's name may be responsible for most of these. john aurelio augurello was an italian classicist, born in rimini about . the work referred to, _chrysopoeia et gerontica_ is a poem on the art of making gold, etc., published in venice, , and re-published frequently thereafter; it is much quoted by alchemists. with regard to merlin, as satisfactory an account as any of this truly english magician may be found in mark twain's "yankee at the court of king arthur." it is of some interest to note that agricola omits from his list avicenna ( - a.d.), roger bacon ( - ), albertus magnus ( - ), basil valentine (end th century?), and paracelsus, a contemporary of his own. in _de ortu et causis_ he expends much thought on refutation of theories advanced by avicenna and albertus, but of the others we have found no mention, although their work is, from a chemical point of view, of considerable importance. [ ] _ingestor_,--carrier; _discretor_,--sorter; _lotor_,--washer; _excoctor_,--smelter. [ ] nonius marcellus was a roman grammarian of the th century b.c. his extant treatise is entitled, _de compendiosa doctrina per litteras ad filium_. book i. many persons hold the opinion that the metal industries are fortuitous and that the occupation is one of sordid toil, and altogether a kind of business requiring not so much skill as labour. but as for myself, when i reflect carefully upon its special points one by one, it appears to be far otherwise. for a miner must have the greatest skill in his work, that he may know first of all what mountain or hill, what valley or plain, can be prospected most profitably, or what he should leave alone; moreover, he must understand the veins, stringers[ ] and seams in the rocks[ ]. then he must be thoroughly familiar with the many and varied species of earths, juices[ ], gems, stones, marbles, rocks, metals, and compounds[ ]. he must also have a complete knowledge of the method of making all underground works. lastly, there are the various systems of assaying[ ] substances and of preparing them for smelting; and here again there are many altogether diverse methods. for there is one method for gold and silver, another for copper, another for quicksilver, another for iron, another for lead, and even tin and bismuth[ ] are treated differently from lead. although the evaporation of juices is an art apparently quite distinct from metallurgy, yet they ought not to be considered separately, inasmuch as these juices are also often dug out of the ground solidified, or they are produced from certain kinds of earth and stones which the miners dig up, and some of the juices are not themselves devoid of metals. again, their treatment is not simple, since there is one method for common salt, another for soda[ ], another for alum, another for vitriol[ ], another for sulphur, and another for bitumen. furthermore, there are many arts and sciences of which a miner should not be ignorant. first there is philosophy, that he may discern the origin, cause, and nature of subterranean things; for then he will be able to dig out the veins easily and advantageously, and to obtain more abundant results from his mining. secondly, there is medicine, that he may be able to look after his diggers and other workmen, that they do not meet with those diseases to which they are more liable than workmen in other occupations, or if they do meet with them, that he himself may be able to heal them or may see that the doctors do so. thirdly follows astronomy, that he may know the divisions of the heavens and from them judge the direction of the veins. fourthly, there is the science of surveying that he may be able to estimate how deep a shaft should be sunk to reach the tunnel which is being driven to it, and to determine the limits and boundaries in these workings, especially in depth. fifthly, his knowledge of arithmetical science should be such that he may calculate the cost to be incurred in the machinery and the working of the mine. sixthly, his learning must comprise architecture, that he himself may construct the various machines and timber work required underground, or that he may be able to explain the method of the construction to others. next, he must have knowledge of drawing, that he can draw plans of his machinery. lastly, there is the law, especially that dealing with metals, that he may claim his own rights, that he may undertake the duty of giving others his opinion on legal matters, that he may not take another man's property and so make trouble for himself, and that he may fulfil his obligations to others according to the law. it is therefore necessary that those who take an interest in the methods and precepts of mining and metallurgy should read these and others of our books studiously and diligently; or on every point they should consult expert mining people, though they will discover few who are skilled in the whole art. as a rule one man understands only the methods of mining, another possesses the knowledge of washing[ ], another is experienced in the art of smelting, another has a knowledge of measuring the hidden parts of the earth, another is skilful in the art of making machines, and finally, another is learned in mining law. but as for us, though we may not have perfected the whole art of the discovery and preparation of metals, at least we can be of great assistance to persons studious in its acquisition. but let us now approach the subject we have undertaken. since there has always been the greatest disagreement amongst men concerning metals and mining, some praising, others utterly condemning them, therefore i have decided that before imparting my instruction, i should carefully weigh the facts with a view to discovering the truth in this matter. so i may begin with the question of utility, which is a two-fold one, for either it may be asked whether the art of mining is really profitable or not to those who are engaged in it, or whether it is useful or not to the rest of mankind. those who think mining of no advantage to the men who follow the occupation assert, first, that scarcely one in a hundred who dig metals or other such things derive profit therefrom; and again, that miners, because they entrust their certain and well-established wealth to dubious and slippery fortune, generally deceive themselves, and as a result, impoverished by expenses and losses, in the end spend the most bitter and most miserable of lives. but persons who hold these views do not perceive how much a learned and experienced miner differs from one ignorant and unskilled in the art. the latter digs out the ore without any careful discrimination, while the former first assays and proves it, and when he finds the veins either too narrow and hard, or too wide and soft, he infers therefrom that these cannot be mined profitably, and so works only the approved ones. what wonder then if we find the incompetent miner suffers loss, while the competent one is rewarded by an abundant return from his mining? the same thing applies to husbandmen. for those who cultivate land which is alike arid, heavy, and barren, and in which they sow seeds, do not make so great a harvest as those who cultivate a fertile and mellow soil and sow their grain in that. and since by far the greater number of miners are unskilled rather than skilled in the art, it follows that mining is a profitable occupation to very few men, and a source of loss to many more. therefore the mass of miners who are quite unskilled and ignorant in the knowledge of veins not infrequently lose both time and trouble[ ]. such men are accustomed for the most part to take to mining, either when through being weighted with the fetters of large and heavy debts, they have abandoned a business, or desiring to change their occupation, have left the reaping-hook and plough; and so if at any time such a man discovers rich veins or other abounding mining produce, this occurs more by good luck than through any knowledge on his part. we learn from history that mining has brought wealth to many, for from old writings it is well known that prosperous republics, not a few kings, and many private persons, have made fortunes through mines and their produce. this subject, by the use of many clear and illustrious examples, i have dilated upon and explained in the first book of my work entitled "_de veteribus et novis metallis_," from which it is evident that mining is very profitable to those who give it care and attention. again, those who condemn the mining industry say that it is not in the least stable, and they glorify agriculture beyond measure. but i do not see how they can say this with truth, for the silver mines at freiberg in meissen remain still unexhausted after years, and the lead mines of goslar after years. the proof of this can be found in the monuments of history. the gold and silver mines belonging to the communities of schemnitz and cremnitz have been worked for years, and these latter are said to be the most ancient privileges of the inhabitants. some then say the profit from an individual mine is unstable, as if forsooth, the miner is, or ought to be dependent on only one mine, and as if many men do not bear in common their expenses in mining, or as if one experienced in his art does not dig another vein, if fortune does not amply respond to his prayers in the first case. the new schönberg at freiberg has remained stable beyond the memory of man[ ]. it is not my intention to detract anything from the dignity of agriculture, and that the profits of mining are less stable i will always and readily admit, for the veins do in time cease to yield metals, whereas the fields bring forth fruits every year. but though the business of mining may be less reliable it is more productive, so that in reckoning up, what is wanting in stability is found to be made up by productiveness. indeed, the yearly profit of a lead mine in comparison with the fruitfulness of the best fields, is three times or at least twice as great. how much does the profit from gold or silver mines exceed that earned from agriculture? wherefore truly and shrewdly does xenophon[ ] write about the athenian silver mines: "there is land of such a nature that if you sow, it does not yield crops, but if you dig, it nourishes many more than if it had borne fruit." so let the farmers have for themselves the fruitful fields and cultivate the fertile hills for the sake of their produce; but let them leave to miners the gloomy valleys and sterile mountains, that they may draw forth from these, gems and metals which can buy, not only the crops, but all things that are sold. the critics say further that mining is a perilous occupation to pursue, because the miners are sometimes killed by the pestilential air which they breathe; sometimes their lungs rot away; sometimes the men perish by being crushed in masses of rock; sometimes, falling from the ladders into the shafts, they break their arms, legs, or necks; and it is added there is no compensation which should be thought great enough to equalize the extreme dangers to safety and life. these occurrences, i confess, are of exceeding gravity, and moreover, fraught with terror and peril, so that i should consider that the metals should not be dug up at all, if such things were to happen very frequently to the miners, or if they could not safely guard against such risks by any means. who would not prefer to live rather than to possess all things, even the metals? for he who thus perishes possesses nothing, but relinquishes all to his heirs. but since things like this rarely happen, and only in so far as workmen are careless, they do not deter miners from carrying on their trade any more than it would deter a carpenter from his, because one of his mates has acted incautiously and lost his life by falling from a high building. i have thus answered each argument which critics are wont to put before me when they assert that mining is an undesirable occupation, because it involves expense with uncertainty of return, because it is changeable, and because it is dangerous to those engaged in it. now i come to those critics who say that mining is not useful to the rest of mankind because forsooth, gems, metals, and other mineral products are worthless in themselves. this admission they try to extort from us, partly by arguments and examples, partly by misrepresentations and abuse of us. first, they make use of this argument: "the earth does not conceal and remove from our eyes those things which are useful and necessary to mankind, but on the contrary, like a beneficent and kindly mother she yields in large abundance from her bounty and brings into the light of day the herbs, vegetables, grains, and fruits, and the trees. the minerals on the other hand she buries far beneath in the depth of the ground; therefore, they should not be sought. but they are dug out by wicked men who, as the poets say, are the products of the iron age." ovid censures their audacity in the following lines:-- "and not only was the rich soil required to furnish corn and due sustenance, but men even descended into the entrails of the earth, and they dug up riches, those incentives to vice, which the earth had hidden and had removed to the stygian shades. then destructive iron came forth, and gold, more destructive than iron; then war came forth."[ ] another of their arguments is this: metals offer to men no advantages, therefore we ought not to search them out. for whereas man is composed of soul and body, neither is in want of minerals. the sweetest food of the soul is the contemplation of nature, a knowledge of the finest arts and sciences, an understanding of virtue; and if he interests his mind in excellent things, if he exercise his body, he will be satisfied with this feast of noble thoughts and knowledge, and have no desire for other things. now although the human body may be content with necessary food and clothing, yet the fruits of the earth and the animals of different kinds supply him in wonderful abundance with food and drink, from which the body may be suitably nourished and strengthened and life prolonged to old age. flax, wool, and the skins of many animals provide plentiful clothing low in price; while a luxurious kind, not hard to procure--that is the so called _seric_ material, is furnished by the down of trees and the webs of the silk worm. so that the body has absolutely no need of the metals, so hidden in the depths of the earth and for the greater part very expensive. wherefore it is said that this maxim of euripides is approved in assemblies of learned men, and with good reason was always on the lips of socrates: "works of silver and purple are of use, not for human life, but rather for tragedians."[ ] these critics praise also this saying from timocreon of rhodes: "o unseeing plutus, would that thou hadst never appeared in the earth or in the sea or on the land, but that thou didst have thy habitation in tartarus and acheron, for out of thee arise all evil things which overtake mankind"[ ]. they greatly extol these lines from phocylides: "gold and silver are injurious to mortals; gold is the source of crime, the plague of life, and the ruin of all things. would that thou were not such an attractive scourge! because of thee arise robberies, homicides, warfare, brothers are maddened against brothers, and children against parents." this from naumachius also pleases them: "gold and silver are but dust, like the stones that lie scattered on the pebbly beach, or on the margins of the rivers." on the other hand, they censure these verses of euripides: "plutus is the god for wise men; all else is mere folly and at the same time a deception in words." so in like manner these lines from theognis: "o plutus, thou most beautiful and placid god! whilst i have thee, however bad i am, i can be regarded as good." they also blame aristodemus, the spartan, for these words: "money makes the man; no one who is poor is either good or honoured." and they rebuke these songs of timocles: "money is the life and soul of mortal men. he who has not heaped up riches for himself wanders like a dead man amongst the living." finally, they blame menander when he wrote: "epicharmus asserts that the gods are water, wind, fire, earth, sun, and stars. but i am of opinion that the gods of any use to us are silver and gold; for if thou wilt set these up in thy house thou mayest seek whatever thou wilt. all things will fall to thy lot; land, houses, slaves, silver-work; moreover friends, judges, and witnesses. only give freely, for thus thou hast the gods to serve thee." but besides this, the strongest argument of the detractors is that the fields are devastated by mining operations, for which reason formerly italians were warned by law that no one should dig the earth for metals and so injure their very fertile fields, their vineyards, and their olive groves. also they argue that the woods and groves are cut down, for there is need of an endless amount of wood for timbers, machines, and the smelting of metals. and when the woods and groves are felled, then are exterminated the beasts and birds, very many of which furnish a pleasant and agreeable food for man. further, when the ores are washed, the water which has been used poisons the brooks and streams, and either destroys the fish or drives them away. therefore the inhabitants of these regions, on account of the devastation of their fields, woods, groves, brooks and rivers, find great difficulty in procuring the necessaries of life, and by reason of the destruction of the timber they are forced to greater expense in erecting buildings. thus it is said, it is clear to all that there is greater detriment from mining than the value of the metals which the mining produces. so in fierce contention they clamour, showing by such examples as follow that every great man has been content with virtue, and despised metals. they praise bias because he esteemed the metals merely as fortune's playthings, not as his real wealth. when his enemies had captured his native priene, and his fellow-citizens laden with precious things had betaken themselves to flight, he was asked by one, why he carried away none of his goods with him, and he replied, "i carry all my possessions with me." and it is said that socrates, having received twenty minae sent to him by aristippus, a grateful disciple, refused them and sent them back to him by the command of his conscience. aristippus, following his example in this matter, despised gold and regarded it as of no value. and once when he was making a journey with his slaves, and they, laden with the gold, went too slowly, he ordered them to keep only as much of it as they could carry without distress and to throw away the remainder[ ]. moreover, anacreon of teos, an ancient and noble poet, because he had been troubled about them for two nights, returned five talents which had been given him by polycrates, saying that they were not worth the anxiety which he had gone through on their account. in like manner celebrated and exceedingly powerful princes have imitated the philosophers in their scorn and contempt for gold and silver. there was for example, phocion, the athenian, who was appointed general of the army so many times, and who, when a large sum of gold was sent to him as a gift by alexander, king of macedon, deemed it trifling and scorned it. and marcus curius ordered the gold to be carried back to the samnites, as did also fabricius luscinus with regard to the silver and copper. and certain republics have forbidden their citizens the use and employment of gold and silver by law and ordinance; the lacedaemonians, by the decrees and ordinances of lycurgus, used diligently to enquire among their citizens whether they possessed any of these things or not, and the possessor, when he was caught, was punished according to law and justice. the inhabitants of a town on the tigris, called babytace, buried their gold in the ground so that no one should use it. the scythians condemned the use of gold and silver so that they might not become avaricious. further are the metals reviled; in the first place people wantonly abuse gold and silver and call them deadly and nefarious pests of the human race, because those who possess them are in the greatest peril, for those who have none lay snares for the possessors of wealth, and thus again and again the metals have been the cause of destruction and ruin. for example, polymnestor, king of thrace, to obtain possession of his gold, killed polydorus, his noble guest and the son of priam, his father-in-law, and old friend. pygmalion, the king of tyre, in order that he might seize treasures of gold and silver, killed his sister's husband, a priest, taking no account of either kinship or religion. for love of gold eriphyle betrayed her husband amphiaraus to his enemy. likewise lasthenes betrayed the city of olynthus to philip of macedon. the daughter of spurius tarpeius, having been bribed with gold, admitted the sabines into the citadel of rome. claudius curio sold his country for gold to cæsar, the dictator. gold, too, was the cause of the downfall of aesculapius, the great physician, who it was believed was the son of apollo. similarly marcus crassus, through his eager desire for the gold of the parthians, was completely overcome together with his son and eleven legions, and became the jest of his enemies; for they poured liquid gold into the gaping mouth of the slain crassus, saying: "thou hast thirsted for gold, therefore drink gold." but why need i cite here these many examples from history?[ ] it is almost our daily experience to learn that, for the sake of obtaining gold and silver, doors are burst open, walls are pierced, wretched travellers are struck down by rapacious and cruel men born to theft, sacrilege, invasion, and robbery. we see thieves seized and strung up before us, sacrilegious persons burnt alive, the limbs of robbers broken on the wheel, wars waged for the same reason, which are not only destructive to those against whom they are waged, but to those also who carry them on. nay, but they say that the precious metals foster all manner of vice, such as the seduction of women, adultery, and unchastity, in short, crimes of violence against the person. therefore the poets, when they represent jove transformed into a golden shower and falling into the lap of danae, merely mean that he had found for himself a safe road by the use of gold, by which he might enter the tower for the purpose of violating the maiden. moreover, the fidelity of many men is overthrown by the love of gold and silver, judicial sentences are bought, and innumerable crimes are perpetrated. for truly, as propertius says: "this is indeed the golden age. the greatest rewards come from gold; by gold love is won; by gold is faith destroyed; by gold is justice bought; the law follows the track of gold, while modesty will soon follow it when law is gone." diphilus says: "i consider that nothing is more powerful than gold. by it all things are torn asunder; all things are accomplished." therefore, all the noblest and best despise these riches, deservedly and with justice, and esteem them as nothing. and this is said by the old man in plautus: "i hate gold. it has often impelled many people to many wrong acts." in this country too, the poets inveigh with stinging reproaches against money coined from gold and silver. and especially did juvenal: "since the majesty of wealth is the most sacred thing among us; although, o pernicious money, thou dost not yet inhabit a temple, nor have we erected altars to money." and in another place: "demoralising money first introduced foreign customs, and voluptuous wealth weakened our race with disgraceful luxury."[ ] and very many vehemently praise the barter system which men used before money was devised, and which even now obtains among certain simple peoples. and next they raise a great outcry against other metals, as iron, than which they say nothing more pernicious could have been brought into the life of man. for it is employed in making swords, javelins, spears, pikes, arrows--weapons by which men are wounded, and which cause slaughter, robbery, and wars. these things so moved the wrath of pliny that he wrote: "iron is used not only in hand to hand fighting, but also to form the winged missiles of war, sometimes for hurling engines, sometimes for lances, sometimes even for arrows. i look upon it as the most deadly fruit of human ingenuity. for to bring death to men more quickly we have given wings to iron and taught it to fly."[ ] the spear, the arrow from the bow, or the bolt from the catapult and other engines can be driven into the body of only one man, while the iron cannon-ball fired through the air, can go through the bodies of many men, and there is no marble or stone object so hard that it cannot be shattered by the force and shock. therefore it levels the highest towers to the ground, shatters and destroys the strongest walls. certainly the ballistas which throw stones, the battering rams and other ancient war engines for making breaches in walls of fortresses and hurling down strongholds, seem to have little power in comparison with our present cannon. these emit horrible sounds and noises, not less than thunder, flashes of fire burst from them like the lightning, striking, crushing, and shattering buildings, belching forth flames and kindling fires even as lightning flashes. so that with more justice could it be said of the impious men of our age than of salmoneus of ancient days, that they had snatched lightning from jupiter and wrested it from his hands. nay, rather there has been sent from the infernal regions to the earth this force for the destruction of men, so that death may snatch to himself as many as possible by one stroke. but because muskets are nowadays rarely made of iron, and the large ones never, but of a certain mixture of copper and tin, they confer more maledictions on copper and tin than on iron. in this connection too, they mention the brazen bull of phalaris, the brazen ox of the people of pergamus, racks in the shape of an iron dog or a horse, manacles, shackles, wedges, hooks, and red-hot plates. cruelly racked by such instruments, people are driven to confess crimes and misdeeds which they have never committed, and innocent men are miserably tortured to death by every conceivable kind of torment. it is claimed too, that lead is a pestilential and noxious metal, for men are punished by means of molten lead, as horace describes in the ode addressed to the goddess fortune: "cruel necessity ever goes before thee bearing in her brazen hand the spikes and wedges, while the awful hook and molten lead are also not lacking."[ ] in their desire to excite greater odium for this metal, they are not silent about the leaden balls of muskets, and they find in it the cause of wounds and death. they contend that, inasmuch as nature has concealed metals far within the depths of the earth, and because they are not necessary to human life, they are therefore despised and repudiated by the noblest, and should not be mined, and seeing that when brought to light they have always proved the cause of very great evils, it follows that mining is not useful to mankind, but on the contrary harmful and destructive. several good men have been so perturbed by these tragedies that they conceive an intensely bitter hatred toward metals, and they wish absolutely that metals had never been created, or being created, that no one had ever dug them out. the more i commend the singular honesty, innocence, and goodness of such men, the more anxious shall i be to remove utterly and eradicate all error from their minds and to reveal the sound view, which is that the metals are most useful to mankind. in the first place then, those who speak ill of the metals and refuse to make use of them, do not see that they accuse and condemn as wicked the creator himself, when they assert that he fashioned some things vainly and without good cause, and thus they regard him as the author of evils, which opinion is certainly not worthy of pious and sensible men. in the next place, the earth does not conceal metals in her depths because she does not wish that men should dig them out, but because provident and sagacious nature has appointed for each thing its place. she generates them in the veins, stringers, and seams in the rocks, as though in special vessels and receptacles for such material. the metals cannot be produced in the other elements because the materials for their formation are wanting. for if they were generated in the air, a thing that rarely happens, they could not find a firm resting-place, but by their own force and weight would settle down on to the ground. seeing then that metals have their proper abiding place in the bowels of the earth, who does not see that these men do not reach their conclusions by good logic? they say, "although metals are in the earth, each located in its own proper place where it originated, yet because they lie thus enclosed and hidden from sight, they should not be taken out." but, in refutation of these attacks, which are so annoying, i will on behalf of the metals instance the fish, which we catch, hidden and concealed though they be in the water, even in the sea. indeed, it is far stranger that man, a terrestrial animal, should search the interior of the sea than the bowels of the earth. for as birds are born to fly freely through the air, so are fishes born to swim through the waters, while to other creatures nature has given the earth that they might live in it, and particularly to man that he might cultivate it and draw out of its caverns metals and other mineral products. on the other hand, they say that we eat fish, but neither hunger nor thirst is dispelled by minerals, nor are they useful in clothing the body, which is another argument by which these people strive to prove that metals should not be taken out. but man without metals cannot provide those things which he needs for food and clothing. for, though the produce of the land furnishes the greatest abundance of food for the nourishment of our bodies, no labour can be carried on and completed without tools. the ground itself is turned up with ploughshares and harrows, tough stalks and the tops of the roots are broken off and dug up with a mattock, the sown seed is harrowed, the corn field is hoed and weeded; the ripe grain with part of the stalk is cut down by scythes and threshed on the floor, or its ears are cut off and stored in the barn and later beaten with flails and winnowed with fans, until finally the pure grain is stored in the granary, whence it is brought forth again when occasion demands or necessity arises. again, if we wish to procure better and more productive fruits from trees and bushes, we must resort to cultivating, pruning, and grafting, which cannot be done without tools. even as without vessels we cannot keep or hold liquids, such as milk, honey, wine, or oil, neither could so many living things be cared for without buildings to protect them from long-continued rain and intolerable cold. most of the rustic instruments are made of iron, as ploughshares, share-beams, mattocks, the prongs of harrows, hoes, planes, hay-forks, straw cutters, pruning shears, pruning hooks, spades, lances, forks, and weed cutters. vessels are also made of copper or lead. neither are wooden instruments or vessels made without iron. wine cellars, oil-mills, stables, or any other part of a farm building could not be built without iron tools. then if the bull, the wether, the goat, or any other domestic animal is led away from the pasture to the butcher, or if the poulterer brings from the farm a chicken, a hen, or a capon for the cook, could any of these animals be cut up and divided without axes and knives? i need say nothing here about bronze and copper pots for cooking, because for these purposes one could make use of earthen vessels, but even these in turn could not be made and fashioned by the potter without tools, for no instruments can be made out of wood alone, without the use of iron. furthermore, hunting, fowling, and fishing supply man with food, but when the stag has been ensnared does not the hunter transfix him with his spear? as he stands or runs, does he not pierce him with an arrow? or pierce him with a bullet? does not the fowler in the same way kill the moor-fowl or pheasant with an arrow? or does he not discharge into its body the ball from the musket? i will not speak of the snares and other instruments with which the woodcock, woodpecker, and other wild birds are caught, lest i pursue unseasonably and too minutely single instances. lastly, with his fish-hook and net does not the fisherman catch the fish in the sea, in the lakes, in fish-ponds, or in rivers? but the hook is of iron, and sometimes we see lead or iron weights attached to the net. and most fish that are caught are afterward cut up and disembowelled with knives and axes. but, more than enough has been said on the matter of food. now i will speak of clothing, which is made out of wool, flax, feathers, hair, fur, or leather. first the sheep are sheared, then the wool is combed. next the threads are drawn out, while later the warp is suspended in the shuttle under which passes the wool. this being struck by the comb, at length cloth is formed either from threads alone or from threads and hair. flax, when gathered, is first pulled by hooks. then it is dipped in water and afterward dried, beaten into tow with a heavy mallet, and carded, then drawn out into threads, and finally woven into cloth. but has the artisan or weaver of the cloth any instrument not made of iron? can one be made of wood without the aid of iron? the cloth or web must be cut into lengths for the tailor. can this be done without knife or scissors? can the tailor sew together any garments without a needle? even peoples dwelling beyond the seas cannot make a covering for their bodies, fashioned of feathers, without these same implements. neither can the furriers do without them in sewing together the pelts of any kind of animals. the shoemaker needs a knife to cut the leather, another to scrape it, and an awl to perforate it before he can make shoes. these coverings for the body are either woven or stitched. buildings too, which protect the same body from rain, wind, cold, and heat, are not constructed without axes, saws, and augers. but what need of more words? if we remove metals from the service of man, all methods of protecting and sustaining health and more carefully preserving the course of life are done away with. if there were no metals, men would pass a horrible and wretched existence in the midst of wild beasts; they would return to the acorns and fruits and berries of the forest. they would feed upon the herbs and roots which they plucked up with their nails. they would dig out caves in which to lie down at night, and by day they would rove in the woods and plains at random like beasts, and inasmuch as this condition is utterly unworthy of humanity, with its splendid and glorious natural endowment, will anyone be so foolish or obstinate as not to allow that metals are necessary for food and clothing and that they tend to preserve life? moreover, as the miners dig almost exclusively in mountains otherwise unproductive, and in valleys invested in gloom, they do either slight damage to the fields or none at all. lastly, where woods and glades are cut down, they may be sown with grain after they have been cleared from the roots of shrubs and trees. these new fields soon produce rich crops, so that they repair the losses which the inhabitants suffer from increased cost of timber. moreover, with the metals which are melted from the ore, birds without number, edible beasts and fish can be purchased elsewhere and brought to these mountainous regions. i will pass to the illustrations i have mentioned. bias of priene, when his country was taken, carried away out of the city none of his valuables. so strong a man with such a reputation for wisdom had no need to fear personal danger from the enemy, but this in truth cannot be said of him because he hastily took to flight; the throwing away of his goods does not seem to me so great a matter, for he had lost his house, his estates, and even his country, than which nothing is more precious. nay, i should be convinced of bias's contempt and scorn for possessions of this kind, if before his country was captured he had bestowed them freely on relations and friends, or had distributed them to the very poor, for this he could have done freely and without question. whereas his conduct, which the greeks admire so greatly, was due, it would seem, to his being driven out by the enemy and stricken with fear. socrates in truth did not despise gold, but would not accept money for his teaching. as for aristippus of cyrene, if he had gathered and saved the gold which he ordered his slaves to throw away, he might have bought the things which he needed for the necessaries of life, and he would not, by reason of his poverty, have then been obliged to flatter the tyrant dionysius, nor would he ever have been called by him a king's dog. for this reason horace, speaking of damasippus when reviling staberus for valuing riches very highly, says: "what resemblance has the grecian aristippus to this fellow? he who commanded his slaves to throw away the gold in the midst of libya because they went too slowly, impeded by the weight of their burden--which of these two men is the more insane?"[ ] insane indeed is he who makes more of riches than of virtue. insane also is he who rejects them and considers them as worth nothing, instead of using them with reason. yet as to the gold which aristippus on another occasion flung into the sea from a boat, this he did with a wise and prudent mind. for learning that it was a pirate boat in which he was sailing, and fearing for his life, he counted his gold and then throwing it of his own will into the sea, he groaned as if he had done it unwillingly. but afterward, when he escaped the peril, he said: "it is better that this gold itself should be lost than that i should have perished because of it." let it be granted that some philosophers, as well as anacreon of teos, despised gold and silver. anaxagoras of clazomenae also gave up his sheep-farms and became a shepherd. crates the theban too, being annoyed that his estate and other kinds of wealth caused him worry, and that in his contemplations his mind was thereby distracted, resigned a property valued at ten talents, and taking a cloak and wallet, in poverty devoted all his thought and efforts to philosophy. is it true that because these philosophers despised money, all others declined wealth in cattle? did they refuse to cultivate lands or to dwell in houses? there were certainly many, on the other hand, who, though affluent, became famous in the pursuit of learning and in the knowledge of divine and human laws, such as aristotle, cicero, and seneca. as for phocion, he did not deem it honest to accept the gold sent to him by alexander. for if he had consented to use it, the king as much as himself would have incurred the hatred and aversion of the athenians, and these very people were afterward so ungrateful toward this excellent man that they compelled him to drink hemlock. for what would have been less becoming to marcus curius and fabricius luscinus than to accept gold from their enemies, who hoped that by these means those leaders could be corrupted or would become odious to their fellow citizens, their purpose being to cause dissentions among the romans and destroy the republic utterly. lycurgus, however, ought to have given instructions to the spartans as to the use of gold and silver, instead of abolishing things good in themselves. as to the babytacenses, who does not see that they were senseless and envious? for with their gold they might have bought things of which they were in need, or even given it to neighbouring peoples to bind them more closely to themselves with gifts and favours. finally, the scythians, by condemning the use of gold and silver alone, did not free themselves utterly from avarice, because although he is not enjoying them, one who can possess other forms of property may also become avaricious. now let us reply to the attacks hurled against the products of mines. in the first place, they call gold and silver the scourge of mankind because they are the cause of destruction and ruin to their possessors. but in this manner, might not anything that we possess be called a scourge to human kind,--whether it be a horse, or a garment, or anything else? for, whether one rides a splendid horse, or journeys well clad, he would give occasion to a robber to kill him. are we then not to ride on horses, but to journey on foot, because a robber has once committed a murder in order that he may steal a horse? or are we not to possess clothing, because a vagabond with a sword has taken a traveller's life that he may rob him of his garment? the possession of gold and silver is similar. seeing then that men cannot conveniently do all these things, we should be on our guard against robbers, and because we cannot always protect ourselves from their hands, it is the special duty of the magistrate to seize wicked and villainous men for torture, and, if need be, for execution. again, the products of the mines are not themselves the cause of war. thus, for example, when a tyrant, inflamed with passion for a woman of great beauty, makes war on the inhabitants of her city, the fault lies in the unbridled lust of the tyrant and not in the beauty of the woman. likewise, when another man, blinded by a passion for gold and silver, makes war upon a wealthy people, we ought not to blame the metals but transfer all blame to avarice. for frenzied deeds and disgraceful actions, which are wont to weaken and dishonour natural and civil laws, originate from our own vices. wherefore tibullus is wrong in laying the blame for war on gold, when he says: "this is the fault of a rich man's gold; there were no wars when beech goblets were used at banquets." but virgil, speaking of polymnestor, says that the crime of the murderer rests on avarice: "he breaks all law; he murders polydorus, and obtains gold by violence. to what wilt thou not drive mortal hearts, thou accursed hunger for gold?" and again, justly, he says, speaking of pygmalion, who killed sichaeus: "and blinded with the love of gold, he slew him unawares with stealthy sword."[ ] for lust and eagerness after gold and other things make men blind, and this wicked greed for money, all men in all times and places have considered dishonourable and criminal. moreover, those who have been so addicted to avarice as to be its slaves have always been regarded as mean and sordid. similarly, too, if by means of gold and silver and gems men can overcome the chastity of women, corrupt the honour of many people, bribe the course of justice and commit innumerable wickednesses, it is not the metals which are to be blamed, but the evil passions of men which become inflamed and ignited; or it is due to the blind and impious desires of their minds. but although these attacks against gold and silver may be directed especially against money, yet inasmuch as the poets one after another condemn it, their criticism must be met, and this can be done by one argument alone. money is good for those who use it well; it brings loss and evil to those who use it ill. hence, very rightly, horace says: "dost thou not know the value of money; and what uses it serves? it buys bread, vegetables, and a pint of wine." and again in another place: "wealth hoarded up is the master or slave of each possessor; it should follow rather than lead, the 'twisted rope.'"[ ] when ingenious and clever men considered carefully the system of barter, which ignorant men of old employed and which even to-day is used by certain uncivilised and barbarous races, it appeared to them so troublesome and laborious that they invented money. indeed, nothing more useful could have been devised, because a small amount of gold and silver is of as great value as things cumbrous and heavy; and so peoples far distant from one another can, by the use of money, trade very easily in those things which civilised life can scarcely do without. the curses which are uttered against iron, copper, and lead have no weight with prudent and sensible men, because if these metals were done away with, men, as their anger swelled and their fury became unbridled, would assuredly fight like wild beasts with fists, heels, nails, and teeth. they would strike each other with sticks, hit one another with stones, or dash their foes to the ground. moreover, a man does not kill another with iron alone, but slays by means of poison, starvation, or thirst. he may seize him by the throat and strangle him; he may bury him alive in the ground; he may immerse him in water and suffocate him; he may burn or hang him; so that he can make every element a participant in the death of men. or, finally, a man may be thrown to the wild beasts. another may be sewn up wholly except his head in a sack, and thus be left to be devoured by worms; or he may be immersed in water until he is torn to pieces by sea-serpents. a man may be boiled in oil; he may be greased, tied with ropes, and left exposed to be stung by flies and hornets; he may be put to death by scourging with rods or beating with cudgels, or struck down by stoning, or flung from a high place. furthermore, a man may be tortured in more ways than one without the use of metals; as when the executioner burns the groins and armpits of his victim with hot wax; or places a cloth in his mouth gradually, so that when in breathing he draws it slowly into his gullet, the executioner draws it back suddenly and violently; or the victim's hands are fastened behind his back, and he is drawn up little by little with a rope and then let down suddenly. or similarly, he may be tied to a beam and a heavy stone fastened by a cord to his feet, or finally his limbs may be torn asunder. from these examples we see that it is not metals that are to be condemned, but our vices, such as anger, cruelty, discord, passion for power, avarice, and lust. the question next arises, whether we ought to count metals amongst the number of good things or class them amongst the bad. the peripatetics regarded all wealth as a good thing, and merely spoke of externals as having to do with neither the mind nor the body. well, let riches be an external thing. and, as they said, many other things may be classed as good if it is in one's power to use them either well or ill. for good men employ them for good, and to them they are useful. the wicked use them badly, and to them they are harmful. there is a saying of socrates, that just as wine is influenced by the cask, so the character of riches is like their possessors. the stoics, whose custom it is to argue subtly and acutely, though they did not put wealth in the category of good things, they did not count it amongst the evil ones, but placed it in that class which they term neutral. for to them virtue alone is good, and vice alone evil. the whole of what remains is indifferent. thus, in their conviction, it matters not whether one be in good health or seriously ill; whether one be handsome or deformed. in short: "whether, sprung from inachus of old, and thus hast lived beneath the sun in wealth, or hast been poor and despised among men, it matters not." for my part, i see no reason why anything that is in itself of use should not be placed in the class of good things. at all events, metals are a creation of nature, and they supply many varied and necessary needs of the human race, to say nothing about their uses in adornment, which are so wonderfully blended with utility. therefore, it is not right to degrade them from the place they hold among the good things. in truth, if there is a bad use made of them, should they on that account be rightly called evils? for of what good things can we not make an equally bad or good use? let me give examples from both classes of what we term good. wine, by far the best drink, if drunk in moderation, aids the digestion of food, helps to produce blood, and promotes the juices in all parts of the body. it is of use in nourishing not only the body but the mind as well, for it disperses our dark and gloomy thoughts, frees us from cares and anxiety, and restores our confidence. if drunk in excess, however, it injures and prostrates the body with serious disease. an intoxicated man keeps nothing to himself; he raves and rants, and commits many wicked and infamous acts. on this subject theognis wrote some very clever lines, which we may render thus: "wine is harmful if taken with greedy lips, but if drunk in moderation it is wholesome."[ ] but i linger too long over extraneous matters. i must pass on to the gifts of body and mind, amongst which strength, beauty, and genius occur to me. if then a man, relying on his strength, toils hard to maintain himself and his family in an honest and respectable manner, he uses the gift aright, but if he makes a living out of murder and robbery, he uses it wrongly. likewise, too, if a lovely woman is anxious to please her husband alone she uses her beauty aright, but if she lives wantonly and is a victim of passion, she misuses her beauty. in like manner, a youth who devotes himself to learning and cultivates the liberal arts, uses his genius rightly. but he who dissembles, lies, cheats, and deceives by fraud and dishonesty, misuses his abilities. now, the man who, because they are abused, denies that wine, strength, beauty, or genius are good things, is unjust and blasphemous towards the most high god, creator of the world; so he who would remove metals from the class of blessings also acts unjustly and blasphemously against him. very true, therefore, are the words which certain greek poets have written, as pindar: "money glistens, adorned with virtue; it supplies the means by which thou mayest act well in whatever circumstances fate may have in store for thee."[ ] and sappho: "without the love of virtue gold is a dangerous and harmful guest, but when it is associated with virtue, it becomes the source and height of good." and callimachus: "riches do not make men great without virtue; neither do virtues themselves make men great without some wealth." and antiphanes: "now, by the gods, why is it necessary for a man to grow rich? why does he desire to possess much money unless that he may, as much as possible, help his friends, and sow the seeds of a harvest of gratitude, sweetest of the goddesses."[ ] having thus refuted the arguments and contentions of adversaries, let us sum up the advantages of the metals. in the first place, they are useful to the physician, for they furnish liberally the ingredients for medicines, by which wounds and ulcers are cured, and even plagues; so that certainly if there were no other reasons why we should explore the depths of the earth, we should for the sake of medicine alone dig in the mines. again, the metals are of use to painters, because they yield certain pigments which, when united with the painter's slip, are injured less than others by the moisture from without. further, mining is useful to the architects, for thus is found marble, which is suitable not only for strengthening large buildings, but also for decoration. it is, moreover, helpful to those whose ambition urges them toward immortal glory, because it yields metals from which are made coins, statues, and other monuments, which, next to literary records, give men in a sense immortality. the metals are useful to merchants with very great cause, for, as i have stated elsewhere, the use of money which is made from metals is much more convenient to mankind than the old system of exchange of commodities. in short, to whom are the metals not of use? in very truth, even the works of art, elegant, embellished, elaborate, useful, are fashioned in various shapes by the artist from the metals gold, silver, brass, lead, and iron. how few artists could make anything that is beautiful and perfect without using metals? even if tools of iron or brass were not used, we could not make tools of wood and stone without the help of metal. from all these examples are evident the benefits and advantages derived from metals. we should not have had these at all unless the science of mining and metallurgy had been discovered and handed down to us. who then does not understand how highly useful they are, nay rather, how necessary to the human race? in a word, man could not do without the mining industry, nor did divine providence will that he should. further, it has been asked whether to work in metals is honourable employment for respectable people or whether it is not degrading and dishonourable. we ourselves count it amongst the honourable arts. for that art, the pursuit of which is unquestionably not impious, nor offensive, nor mean, we may esteem honourable. that this is the nature of the mining profession, inasmuch as it promotes wealth by good and honest methods, we shall show presently. with justice, therefore, we may class it amongst honourable employments. in the first place, the occupation of the miner, which i must be allowed to compare with other methods of acquiring great wealth, is just as noble as that of agriculture; for, as the farmer, sowing his seed in his fields injures no one, however profitable they may prove to him, so the miner digging for his metals, albeit he draws forth great heaps of gold or silver, hurts thereby no mortal man. certainly these two modes of increasing wealth are in the highest degree both noble and honourable. the booty of the soldier, however, is frequently impious, because in the fury of the fighting he seizes all goods, sacred as well as profane. the most just king may have to declare war on cruel tyrants, but in the course of it wicked men cannot lose their wealth and possessions without dragging into the same calamity innocent and poor people, old men, matrons, maidens, and orphans. but the miner is able to accumulate great riches in a short time, without using any violence, fraud, or malice. that old saying is, therefore, not always true that "every rich man is either wicked himself, or is the heir to wickedness." some, however, who contend against us, censure and attack miners by saying that they and their children must needs fall into penury after a short time, because they have heaped up riches by improper means. according to them nothing is truer than the saying of the poet naevius: "ill gotten gains in ill fashion slip away." the following are some of the wicked and sinful methods by which they say men obtain riches from mining. when a prospect of obtaining metals shows itself in a mine, either the ruler or magistrate drives out the rightful owners of the mines from possession, or a shrewd and cunning neighbour perhaps brings a law-suit against the old possessors in order to rob them of some part of their property. or the mine superintendent imposes on the owners such a heavy contribution on shares, that if they cannot pay, or will not, they lose their rights of possession; while the superintendent, contrary to all that is right, seizes upon all that they have lost. or, finally, the mine foreman may conceal the vein by plastering over with clay that part where the metal abounds, or by covering it with earth, stones, stakes, or poles, in the hope that after several years the proprietors, thinking the mine exhausted, will abandon it, and the foreman can then excavate that remainder of the ore and keep it for himself. they even state that the scum of the miners exist wholly by fraud, deceit, and lying. for to speak of nothing else, but only of those deceits which are practised in buying and selling, it is said they either advertise the veins with false and imaginary praises, so that they can sell the shares in the mines at one-half more than they are worth, or on the contrary, they sometimes detract from the estimate of them so that they can buy shares for a small price. by exposing such frauds our critics suppose all good opinion of miners is lost. now, all wealth, whether it has been gained by good or evil means, is liable by some adverse chance to vanish away. it decays and is dissipated by the fault and carelessness of the owner, since he loses it through laziness and neglect, or wastes and squanders it in luxuries, or he consumes and exhausts it in gifts, or he dissipates and throws it away in gambling: "just as though money sprouted up again, renewed from an exhausted coffer, and was always to be obtained from a full heap." it is therefore not to be wondered at if miners do not keep in mind the counsel given by king agathocles: "unexpected fortune should be held in reverence," for by not doing so they fall into penury; and particularly when the miners are not content with moderate riches, they not rarely spend on new mines what they have accumulated from others. but no just ruler or magistrate deprives owners of their possessions; that, however, may be done by a tyrant, who may cruelly rob his subjects not only of their goods honestly obtained, but even of life itself. and yet whenever i have inquired into the complaints which are in common vogue, i always find that the owners who are abused have the best of reasons for driving the men from the mines; while those who abuse the owners have no reason to complain about them. take the case of those who, not having paid their contributions, have lost the right of possession, or those who have been expelled by the magistrate out of another man's mine: for some wicked men, mining the small veins branching from the veins rich in metal, are wont to invade the property of another person. so the magistrate expels these men accused of wrong, and drives them from the mine. they then very frequently spread unpleasant rumours concerning this amongst the populace. or, to take another case: when, as often happens, a dispute arises between neighbours, arbitrators appointed by the magistrate settle it, or the regular judges investigate and give judgment. consequently, when the judgment is given, inasmuch as each party has consented to submit to it, neither side should complain of injustice; and when the controversy is adjudged, inasmuch as the decision is in accordance with the laws concerning mining, one of the parties cannot be injured by the law. i do not vigorously contest the point, that at times a mine superintendent may exact a larger contribution from the owners than necessity demands. nay, i will admit that a foreman may plaster over, or hide with a structure, a vein where it is rich in metals. is the wickedness of one or two to brand the many honest with fraud and trickery? what body is supposed to be more pious and virtuous in the republic than the senate? yet some senators have been detected in peculations, and have been punished. is this any reason that so honourable a house should lose its good name and fame? the superintendent cannot exact contributions from the owners without the knowledge and permission of the bergmeister or the deputies; for this reason deception of this kind is impossible. should the foremen be convicted of fraud, they are beaten with rods; or of theft, they are hanged. it is complained that some sellers and buyers of the shares in mines are fraudulent. i concede it. but can they deceive anyone except a stupid, careless man, unskilled in mining matters? indeed, a wise and prudent man, skilled in this art, if he doubts the trustworthiness of a seller or buyer, goes at once to the mine that he may for himself examine the vein which has been so greatly praised or disparaged, and may consider whether he will buy or sell the shares or not. but people say, though such an one can be on his guard against fraud, yet a simple man and one who is easily credulous, is deceived. but we frequently see a man who is trying to mislead another in this way deceive himself, and deservedly become a laughing-stock for everyone; or very often the defrauder as well as the dupe is entirely ignorant of mining. if, for instance, a vein has been found to be abundant in ore, contrary to the idea of the would-be deceiver, then he who was to have been cheated gets a profit, and he who has been the deceiver loses. nevertheless, the miners themselves rarely buy or sell shares, but generally they have _jurati venditores_[ ] who buy and sell at such prices as they have been instructed to give or accept. seeing therefore, that magistrates decide disputes on fair and just principles, that honest men deceive nobody, while a dishonest one cannot deceive easily, or if he does he cannot do so with impunity, the criticism of those who wish to disparage the honesty of miners has therefore no force or weight. in the next place, the occupation of the miner is objectionable to nobody. for who, unless he be naturally malevolent and envious, will hate the man who gains wealth as it were from heaven? or who will hate a man who to amplify his fortune, adopts a method which is free from reproach? a moneylender, if he demands an excessive interest, incurs the hatred of men. if he demands a moderate and lawful rate, so that he is not injurious to the public generally and does not impoverish them, he fails to become very rich from his business. further, the gain derived from mining is not sordid, for how can it be such, seeing that it is so great, so plentiful, and of so innocent a nature. a merchant's profits are mean and base when he sells counterfeit and spurious merchandise, or puts far too high a price on goods that he has purchased for little; for this reason the merchant would be held in no less odium amongst good men than is the usurer, did they not take account of the risk he runs to secure his merchandise. in truth, those who on this point speak abusively of mining for the sake of detracting from its merits, say that in former days men convicted of crimes and misdeeds were sentenced to the mines and were worked as slaves. but to-day the miners receive pay, and are engaged like other workmen in the common trades. certainly, if mining is a shameful and discreditable employment for a gentleman because slaves once worked mines, then agriculture also will not be a very creditable employment, because slaves once cultivated the fields, and even to-day do so among the turks; nor will architecture be considered honest, because some slaves have been found skilful in that profession; nor medicine, because not a few doctors have been slaves; nor will any other worthy craft, because men captured by force of arms have practised it. yet agriculture, architecture, and medicine are none the less counted amongst the number of honourable professions; therefore, mining ought not for this reason to be excluded from them. but suppose we grant that the hired miners have a sordid employment. we do not mean by miners only the diggers and other workmen, but also those skilled in the mining arts, and those who invest money in mines. amongst them can be counted kings, princes, republics, and from these last the most esteemed citizens. and finally, we include amongst the overseers of mines the noble thucydides, the historian, whom the athenians placed in charge of the mines of thasos.[ ] and it would not be unseemly for the owners themselves to work with their own hands on the works or ore, especially if they themselves have contributed to the cost of the mines. just as it is not undignified for great men to cultivate their own land. otherwise the roman senate would not have created dictator l. quintius cincinnatus, as he was at work in the fields, nor would it have summoned to the senate house the chief men of the state from their country villas. similarly, in our day, maximilian cæsar would not have enrolled conrad in the ranks of the nobles known as counts; conrad was really very poor when he served in the mines of schneeberg, and for that reason he was nicknamed the "poor man"; but not many years after, he attained wealth from the mines of fürst, which is a city in lorraine, and took his name from "luck."[ ] nor would king vladislaus have restored to the assembly of barons, tursius, a citizen of cracow, who became rich through the mines in that part of the kingdom of hungary which was formerly called dacia.[ ] nay, not even the common worker in the mines is vile and abject. for, trained to vigilance and work by night and day, he has great powers of endurance when occasion demands, and easily sustains the fatigues and duties of a soldier, for he is accustomed to keep long vigils at night, to wield iron tools, to dig trenches, to drive tunnels, to make machines, and to carry burdens. therefore, experts in military affairs prefer the miner, not only to a commoner from the town, but even to the rustic. but to bring this discussion to an end, inasmuch as the chief callings are those of the moneylender, the soldier, the merchant, the farmer, and the miner, i say, inasmuch as usury is odious, while the spoil cruelly captured from the possessions of the people innocent of wrong is wicked in the sight of god and man, and inasmuch as the calling of the miner excels in honour and dignity that of the merchant trading for lucre, while it is not less noble though far more profitable than agriculture, who can fail to realize that mining is a calling of peculiar dignity? certainly, though it is but one of ten important and excellent methods of acquiring wealth in an honourable way, a careful and diligent man can attain this result in no easier way than by mining. end of book i. footnotes: [ ] _fibrae_--"fibres." see note , p. . [ ] _commissurae saxorum_--"rock joints," "seams," or "cracks." agricola and all of the old authors laid a wholly unwarranted geologic value on these phenomena. see description and footnotes, book iii., pages and . [ ] _succi_--"juice," or _succi concreti_--"solidified juice." ger. trans., _saffte_. the old english translators and mineralogists often use the word juices in the same sense, and we have adopted it. the words "solutions" and "salts" convey a chemical significance not warranted by the state of knowledge in agricola's time. instances of the former use of this word may be seen in barba's "first book of the art of metals," (trans. earl sandwich, london, , p. , etc.,) and in pryce's _mineralogia cornubiensis_ (london, , p. , ). [ ] in order that the reader should be able to grasp the author's point of view as to his divisions of the mineral kingdom, we introduce here his own statement from _de natura fossilium_, (p. ). it is also desirable to read the footnote on his theory of ore-deposits on pages to , and the review of _de natura fossilium_ given in the appendix. "the subterranean inanimate bodies are divided into two classes, one of which, because it is a fluid or an exhalation, is called by those names, and the other class is called the minerals. mineral bodies are solidified from particles of the same substance, such as pure gold, each particle of which is gold, or they are of different substances such as lumps which consist of earth, stone, and metal; these latter may be separated into earth, stone and metal, and therefore the first is not a mixture while the last is called a mixture. the first are again divided into simple and compound minerals. the simple minerals are of four classes, namely earths, solidified juices, stones and metals, while the mineral compounds are of many sorts, as i shall explain later. "earth is a simple mineral body which may be kneaded in the hands when moistened, or from which lute is made when it has been wetted. earth, properly so called, is found enclosed in veins or veinlets, or frequently on the surface in fields and meadows. this definition is a general one. the harder earth, although moistened by water, does not at once become lute, but does turn into lute if it remains in water for some time. there are many species of earths, some of which have names but others are unnamed. "solidified juices are dry and somewhat hard (_subdurus_) mineral bodies which when moistened with water do not soften but liquefy instead; or if they do soften, they differ greatly from the earths by their unctuousness (_pingue_) or by the material of which they consist. although occasionally they have the hardness of stone, yet because they preserve the form and nature which they had when less hard, they can easily be distinguished from the stones. the juices are divided into 'meagre' and unctuous (_macer et pinguis_). the 'meagre' juices, since they originate from three different substances, are of three species. they are formed from a liquid mixed with earth, or with metal, or with a mineral compound. to the first species belong salt and _nitrum_ (soda); to the second, chrysocolla, verdigris, iron-rust, and azure; to the third, vitriol, alum, and an acrid juice which is unnamed. the first two of these latter are obtained from pyrites, which is numbered amongst the compound minerals. the third of these comes from _cadmia_ (in this case the cobalt-zinc-arsenic minerals; the acrid juice is probably zinc sulphate). to the unctuous juices belong these species: sulphur, bitumen, realgar and orpiment. vitriol and alum, although they are somewhat unctuous yet do not burn, and they differ in their origin from the unctuous juices, for the latter are forced out from the earth by heat, whereas the former are produced when pyrites is softened by moisture. "stone is a dry and hard mineral body which may either be softened by remaining for a long time in water and be reduced to powder by a fierce fire; or else it does not soften with water but the heat of a great fire liquefies it. to the first species belong those stones which have been solidified by heat, to the second those solidified (literally 'congealed') by cold. these two species of stones are constituted from their own material. however, writers on natural subjects who take into consideration the quantity and quality of stones and their value, divide them into four classes. the first of these has no name of its own but is called in common parlance 'stone': to this class belong loadstone, jasper (or bloodstone) and _aetites_ (geodes?). the second class comprises hard stones, either pellucid or ornamental, with very beautiful and varied colours which sparkle marvellously; they are called gems. the third comprises stones which are only brilliant after they have been polished, and are usually called marble. the fourth are called rocks; they are found in quarries, from which they are hewn out for use in building, and they are cut into various shapes. none of the rocks show colour or take a polish. few of the stones sparkle; fewer still are transparent. marble is sometimes only distinguishable from opaque gems by its volume; rock is always distinguishable from stones properly so-called by its volume. both the stones and the gems are usually to be found in veins and veinlets which traverse the rocks and marble. these four classes, as i have already stated, are divided into many species, which i will explain in their proper place. "metal is a mineral body, by nature either liquid or somewhat hard. the latter may be melted by the heat of the fire, but when it has cooled down again and lost all heat, it becomes hard again and resumes its proper form. in this respect it differs from the stone which melts in the fire, for although the latter regain its hardness, yet it loses its pristine form and properties. traditionally there are six different kinds of metals, namely gold, silver, copper, iron, tin and lead. there are really others, for quicksilver is a metal, although the alchemists disagree with us on this subject, and bismuth is also. the ancient greek writers seem to have been ignorant of bismuth, wherefore ammonius rightly states that there are many species of metals, animals, and plants which are unknown to us. _stibium_ when smelted in the crucible and refined has as much right to be regarded as a proper metal as is accorded to lead by writers. if when smelted, a certain portion be added to tin, a bookseller's alloy is produced from which the type is made that is used by those who print books on paper. each metal has its own form which it preserves when separated from those metals which were mixed with it. therefore neither electrum nor _stannum_ is of itself a real metal, but rather an alloy of two metals. electrum is an alloy of gold and silver, _stannum_ of lead and silver (see note , p. ). and yet if silver be parted from the electrum, then gold remains and not electrum; if silver be taken away from _stannum_, then lead remains and not _stannum_. whether brass, however, is found as a native metal or not, cannot be ascertained with any surety. we only know of the artificial brass, which consists of copper tinted with the colour of the mineral calamine. and yet if any should be dug up, it would be a proper metal. black and white copper seem to be different from the red kind. metal, therefore, is by nature either solid, as i have stated, or fluid, as in the unique case of quicksilver. but enough now concerning the simple kinds. "i will now speak of the compounds which are composed of the simple minerals cemented together by nature, and under the word 'compound' i now discuss those mineral bodies which consist of two or three simple minerals. they are likewise mineral substances, but so thoroughly mixed and alloyed that even in the smallest part there is not wanting any substance that is contained in the whole. only by the force of the fire is it possible to separate one of the simple mineral substances from another; either the third from the other two, or two from the third, if there were three in the same compound. these two, three or more bodies are so completely mixed into one new species that the pristine form of none of these is recognisable. "the 'mixed' minerals, which are composed of those same simple minerals, differ from the 'compounds,' in that the simple minerals each preserves its own form so that they can be separated one from the other not only by fire but sometimes by water and sometimes by hand. as these two classes differ so greatly from one another i usually use two different words in order to distinguish one from the other. i am well aware that galen calls the metallic earth a compound which is really a mixture, but he who wishes to instruct others should bestow upon each separate thing a definite name." for convenience of reference we may reduce the above to a diagram as follows: . fluids and gases. { { earths { (a) simple { solidified juices { minerals { stones { { metals { a. homogenous { { bodies { { { (b) compound { being heterogeneous mixtures { { minerals { of (a) { . mineral { bodies { { { b. mixtures. being homogenous mixtures of (a) [ ] _experiendae_--"a trial." that actual assaying in its technical sense is meant, is sufficiently evident from book vii. [ ] _... plumbum ... candidum ac cinereum vel nigrum_. "lead ... white, or ash-coloured, or black." agricola himself coined the term _plumbum cinereum_ for bismuth, no doubt following the roman term for tin--_plumbum candidum_. the following passage from _bermannus_ (p. ) is of interest, for it appears to be the first description of bismuth, although mention of it occurs in the _nützlich bergbüchlin_ (see appendix b). "_bermannus_: i will show you another kind of mineral which is numbered amongst metals, but appears to me to have been unknown to the ancients; we call it _bisemutum_. _naevius_: then in your opinion there are more kinds of metals than the seven commonly believed? _bermannus_: more, i consider; for this which just now i said we called _bisemutum_, cannot correctly be called _plumbum candidum_ (tin), nor _nigrum_ (lead), but is different from both and is a third one. _plumbum candidum_ is whiter and _plumbum nigrum_ is darker, as you see. _naevius_: we see that this is of the colour of _galena_. _ancon_: how then can _bisemutum_, as you call it, be distinguished from _galena_? _bermannus_: easily; when you take it in your hands it stains them with black, unless it is quite hard. the hard kind is not friable like _galena_, but can be cut. it is blacker than the kind of _rudis_ silver which we say is almost the colour of lead, and thus is different from both. indeed, it not rarely contains some silver. it generally indicates that there is silver beneath the place where it is found, and because of this our miners are accustomed to call it the 'roof of silver.' they are wont to roast this mineral, and from the better part they make metal; from the poorer part they make a pigment of a kind not to be despised." [ ] _nitrum._ the ancients comprised many salts under this head, but agricola in the main uses it for soda, although sometimes he includes potash. he usually, however, refers to potash as _lixivium_ or salt therefrom, and by other distinctive terms. for description of method of manufacture and discussion, see book xii., p. . [ ] _atramentum sutorium_--"shoemaker's blacking." see p. for description of method of manufacture and historical footnote. in the main agricola means green vitriol, but he does describe three main varieties, green, blue, and white (_de natura fossilium_, p. ). the blue was of course copper sulphate, and it is fairly certain that the white was zinc vitriol. [ ] _lavandi_--"washing." by this term the author includes all the operations of sluicing, buddling, and wet concentration generally. there is no english equivalent of such wide application, and there is some difficulty in interpretation without going further than the author intends. book viii. is devoted to the subject. [ ] _operam et oleum perdit_--"loss of labour and oil." [ ] in _veteribus et novis metallis_, and _bermannus_, agricola states that the mines of schemnitz were worked years before that time ( ), or about a.d., and, further, that the lead mines of goslar in the hartz were worked by otho the great ( - ), and that the silver mines at freiberg were discovered during the rule of prince otho (about ). to continue the argument to-day we could add about years more of life to the mines of goslar and freiberg. see also note , p. , and note , p. . [ ] xenophon. essay on the revenues of athens, i., . [ ] ovid, _metamorphoses_, i., to . [ ] diogenes laertius, ii., . the lines are assigned, however, to philemon, not euripides. (kock, _comicorum atticorum fragmenta_ ii., ). [ ] we have not considered it of sufficient interest to cite the references to all of the minor poets and those whose preserved works are but fragmentary. the translations from the greek into latin are not literal and suffer again by rendering into english; we have however considered it our duty to translate agricola's view of the meaning. [ ] diogenes laertius, ii. [ ] an inspection of the historical incidents mentioned here and further on, indicates that agricola relied for such information on diogenes laertius, plutarch, livy, valerius maximus, pliny, and often enough on homer, horace, and virgil. [ ] juvenal. _satires_ i., l. , and vi., l. . [ ] pliny, xxxiv., . [ ] horace. _odes_, i., , ll. - . [ ] horace. _satires_, ii., , ll. - . [ ] virgil. _Æneid_, iii., l. , and i., l. . [ ] horace. _satires_, i., l. ; and epistle, i., , l. . [ ] theognis. maxims, ii., l. . [ ] pindar. _olymp._ ii., - . [ ] antiphanes, . [ ] _jurati venditores_--"sworn brokers." (?) [ ] there is no doubt that thucydides had some connection with gold mines; he himself is the authority for the statement that he worked mines in thrace. agricola seems to have obtained his idea that thucydides held an appointment from the athenians in charge of mines in thasos, from marcellinus (_vita_, thucydides, ), who also says that thucydides obtained possession of mines in thrace through his marriage with a thracian woman, and that it was while residing on the mines at scapte-hyle that he wrote his history. later scholars, however, find little warrant for these assertions. the gold mines of thasos--an island off the mainland of thrace--are frequently mentioned by the ancient authors. herodotus, vi., - , says:--"their (the thasians') revenue was derived partly from their possessions upon the mainland, partly from the mines which they owned. they were masters of the gold mines of scapte-hyle, the yearly produce of which amounted to eighty talents. their mines in thasos yielded less, but still were so prolific that besides being entirely free from land-tax they had a surplus of income derived from the two sources of their territory on the mainland and their mines, in common years two hundred and in best years three hundred talents. i myself have seen the mines in question. by far the most curious of them are those which the phoenicians discovered at the time when they went with thasos and colonized the island, which took its name from him. these phoenician workings are in thasos itself, between coenyra and a place called aenyra over against samothrace; a high mountain has been turned upside down in the search for ores." (rawlinson's trans.). the occasion of this statement of herodotus was the relations of the thasians with darius ( - b.c.). the date of the phoenician colonization of thasos is highly nebular--anywhere from to b.c. [ ] agricola, _de veteribus et novis metallis_, book i., p. , says:--"conrad, whose nickname in former years was 'pauper,' suddenly became rich from the silver mines of mount jura, known as the _firstum_." he was ennobled with the title of graf cuntz von glück by the emperor maximilian (who was emperor of the holy roman empire, - ). conrad was originally a working miner at schneeberg where he was known as armer cuntz (poor cuntz or conrad) and grew wealthy from the mines of fürst in leberthal. this district is located in the vosges mountains on the borders of lorraine and upper alsace. the story of cuntz or conrad von glück is mentioned by albinus (_meissnische land und berg chronica_, dresden, , p. ), mathesius (_sarepta_, nuremberg, , fol. xvi.), and by others. [ ] vladislaus iii. was king of poland, - , and also became king of hungary in . tursius seems to be a latinized name and cannot be identified. book ii. qualities which the perfect miner should possess and the arguments which are urged for and against the arts of mining and metallurgy, as well as the people occupied in the industry, i have sufficiently discussed in the first book. now i have determined to give more ample information concerning the miners. in the first place, it is indispensable that they should worship god with reverence, and that they understand the matters of which i am going to speak, and that they take good care that each individual performs his duties efficiently and diligently. it is decreed by divine providence that those who know what they ought to do and then take care to do it properly, for the most part meet with good fortune in all they undertake; on the other hand, misfortune overtakes the indolent and those who are careless in their work. no person indeed can, without great and sustained effort and labour, store in his mind the knowledge of every portion of the metallic arts which are involved in operating mines. if a man has the means of paying the necessary expense, he hires as many men as he needs, and sends them to the various works. thus formerly sosias, the thracian, sent into the silver mines a thousand slaves whom he had hired from the athenian nicias, the son of niceratus[ ]. but if a man cannot afford the expenditure he chooses of the various kinds of mining that work which he himself can most easily and efficiently do. of these kinds, the two most important are the making prospect trenches and the washing of the sands of rivers, for out of these sands are often collected gold dust, or certain black stones from which tin is smelted, or even gems are sometimes found in them; the trenching occasionally lays bare at the grass-roots veins which are found rich in metals. if therefore by skill or by luck, such sands or veins shall fall into his hands, he will be able to establish his fortune without expenditure, and from poverty rise to wealth. if on the contrary, his hopes are not realized, then he can desist from washing or digging. when anyone, in an endeavour to increase his fortune, meets the expenditure of a mine alone, it is of great importance that he should attend to his works and personally superintend everything that he has ordered to be done. for this reason, he should either have his dwelling at the mine, where he may always be in sight of the workmen and always take care that none neglect their duties, or else he should live in the neighbourhood, so that he may frequently inspect his mining works. then he may send word by a messenger to the workmen that he is coming more frequently than he really intends to come, and so either by his arrival or by the intimation of it, he so frightens the workmen that none of them perform their duties otherwise than diligently. when he inspects the mines he should praise the diligent workmen and occasionally give them rewards, that they and the others may become more zealous in their duties; on the other hand, he should rebuke the idle and discharge some of them from the mines and substitute industrious men in their places. indeed, the owner should frequently remain for days and nights in the mine, which, in truth, is no habitation for the idle and luxurious; it is important that the owner who is diligent in increasing his wealth, should frequently himself descend into the mine, and devote some time to the study of the nature of the veins and stringers, and should observe and consider all the methods of working, both inside and outside the mine. nor is this all he ought to do, for sometimes he should undertake actual labour, not thereby demeaning himself, but in order to encourage his workmen by his own diligence, and to teach them their art; for that mine is well conducted in which not only the foreman, but also the owner himself, gives instruction as to what ought to be done. a certain barbarian, according to xenophon, rightly remarked to the king of persia that "the eye of the master feeds the horse,"[ ] for the master's watchfulness in all things is of the utmost importance. when several share together the expenditure on a mine, it is convenient and useful to elect from amongst their own number a mine captain, and also a foreman. for, since men often look after their own interests but neglect those of others, they cannot in this case take care of their own without at the same time looking after the interests of the others, neither can they neglect the interests of the others without neglecting their own. but if no man amongst them be willing or able to undertake and sustain the burdens of these offices, it will be to the common interest to place them in the hands of most diligent men. formerly indeed, these things were looked after by the mining prefect[ ], because the owners were kings, as priam, who owned the gold mines round abydos, or as midas, who was the owner of those situated in mount bermius, or as gyges, or as alyattes, or as croesus, who was the owner of those mines near a deserted town between atarnea and pergamum[ ]; sometimes the mines belonged to a republic, as, for instance, the prosperous silver mines in spain which belonged to carthage[ ]; sometimes they were the property of great and illustrious families, as were the athenian mines in mount laurion[ ]. when a man owns mines but is ignorant of the art of mining, then it is advisable that he should share in common with others the expenses, not of one only, but of several mines. when one man alone meets the expense for a long time of a whole mine, if good fortune bestows on him a vein abundant in metals, or in other products, he becomes very wealthy; if, on the contrary, the mine is poor and barren, in time he will lose everything which he has expended on it. but the man who, in common with others, has laid out his money on several mines in a region renowned for its wealth of metals, rarely spends it in vain, for fortune usually responds to his hopes in part. for when out of twelve veins in which he has a joint interest one yields an abundance of metals, it not only gives back to the owner the money he has spent, but also gives a profit besides; certainly there will be for him rich and profitable mining, if of the whole number, three, or four, or more veins should yield metal. very similar to this is the advice which xenophon gave to the athenians when they wished to prospect for new veins of silver without suffering loss. "there are," he said, "ten tribes of athenians; if, therefore, the state assigned an equal number of slaves to each tribe, and the tribes participated equally in all the new veins, undoubtedly by this method, if a rich vein of silver were found by one tribe, whatever profit were made from it would assuredly be shared by the whole number. and if two, three, or four tribes, or even half the whole number find veins, their works would then become more profitable; and it is not probable that the work of all the tribes will be disappointing."[ ] although this advice of xenophon is full of prudence, there is no opportunity for it except in free and wealthy states; for those people who are under the authority of kings and princes, or are kept in subjection by tyranny, do not dare, without permission, to incur such expenditure; those who are endowed with little wealth and resources cannot do so on account of insufficient funds. moreover, amongst our race it is not customary for republics to have slaves whom they can hire out for the benefit of the people[ ]; but, instead, nowadays those who are in authority administer the funds for mining in the name of the state, not unlike private individuals. some owners prefer to buy shares[ ] in mines abounding in metals, rather than to be troubled themselves to search for the veins; these men employ an easier and less uncertain method of increasing their property. although their hopes in the shares of one or another mine may be frustrated, the buyers of shares should not abandon the rest of the mines, for all the money expended will be recovered with interest from some other mine. they should not buy only high priced shares in those mines producing metals, nor should they buy too many in neighbouring mines where metal has not yet been found, lest, should fortune not respond, they may be exhausted by their losses and have nothing with which they may meet their expenses or buy other shares which may replace their losses. this calamity overtakes those who wish to grow suddenly rich from mines, and instead, they become very much poorer than before. so then, in the buying of shares, as in other matters, there should be a certain limit of expenditure which miners should set themselves, lest blinded by the desire for excessive wealth, they throw all their money away. moreover, a prudent owner, before he buys shares, ought to go to the mine and carefully examine the nature of the vein, for it is very important that he should be on his guard lest fraudulent sellers of shares should deceive him. investors in shares may perhaps become less wealthy, but they are more certain of some gain than those who mine for metals at their own expense, as they are more cautious in trusting to fortune. neither ought miners to be altogether distrustful of fortune, as we see some are, who as soon as the shares of any mine begin to go up in value, sell them, on which account they seldom obtain even moderate wealth. there are some people who wash over the dumps from exhausted and abandoned mines, and those dumps which are derived from the drains of tunnels; and others who smelt the old slags; from all of which they make an ample return. now a miner, before he begins to mine the veins, must consider seven things, namely:--the situation, the conditions, the water, the roads, the climate, the right of ownership, and the neighbours. there are four kinds of situations--mountain, hill, valley, and plain. of these four, the first two are the most easily mined, because in them tunnels can be driven to drain off the water, which often makes mining operations very laborious, if it does not stop them altogether. the last two kinds of ground are more troublesome, especially because tunnels cannot be driven in such places. nevertheless, a prudent miner considers all these four sorts of localities in the region in which he happens to be, and he searches for veins in those places where some torrent or other agency has removed and swept the soil away; yet he need not prospect everywhere, but since there is a great variety, both in mountains and in the three other kinds of localities, he always selects from them those which will give him the best chance of obtaining wealth. in the first place, mountains differ greatly in position, some being situated in even and level plains, while others are found in broken and elevated regions, and others again seem to be piled up, one mountain upon another. the wise miner does not mine in mountains which are situated on open plains, neither does he dig in those which are placed on the summits of mountainous regions, unless by some chance the veins in those mountains have been denuded of their surface covering, and abounding in metals and other products, are exposed plainly to his notice,--for with regard to what i have already said more than once, and though i never repeat it again, i wish to emphasize this exception as to the localities which should not be selected. all districts do not possess a great number of mountains crowded together; some have but one, others two, others three, or perhaps a few more. in some places there are plains lying between them; in others the mountains are joined together or separated only by narrow valleys. the miner should not dig in those solitary mountains, dispersed through the plains and open regions, but only in those which are connected and joined with others. then again, since mountains differ in size, some being very large, others of medium height, and others more like hills than mountains, the miner rarely digs in the largest or the smallest of them, but generally only in those of medium size. moreover, mountains have a great variety of shapes; for with some the slopes rise gradually, while others, on the contrary, are all precipitous; in some others the slopes are gradual on one side, and on the other sides precipitous; some are drawn out in length; some are gently curved; others assume different shapes. but the miner may dig in all parts of them, except where there are precipices, and he should not neglect even these latter if metallic veins are exposed before his eyes. there are just as great differences in hills as there are in mountains, yet the miner does not dig except in those situated in mountainous districts, and even very rarely in those. it is however very little to be wondered at that the hill in the island of lemnos was excavated, for the whole is of a reddish-yellow colour, which furnishes for the inhabitants that valuable clay so especially beneficial to mankind[ ]. in like manner, other hills are excavated if chalk or other varieties of earth are exposed, but these are not prospected for. there are likewise many varieties of valleys and plains. one kind is enclosed on the sides with its outlet and entrance open; another has either its entrance or its outlet open and the rest of it is closed in; both of these are properly called valleys. there is a third variety which is surrounded on all sides by mountains, and these are called _convalles_. some valleys again, have recesses, and others have none; one is wide, another narrow; one is long, another short; yet another kind is not higher than the neighbouring plain, and others are lower than the surrounding flat country. but the miner does not dig in those surrounded on all sides by mountains, nor in those that are open, unless there be a low plain close at hand, or unless a vein of metal descending from the mountains should extend into the valley. plains differ from one another, one being situated at low elevation, and others higher, one being level and another with a slight incline. the miner should never excavate the low-lying plain, nor one which is perfectly level, unless it be in some mountain, and rarely should he mine in the other kinds of plains. with regard to the conditions of the locality the miner should not contemplate mining without considering whether the place be covered with trees or is bare. if it be a wooded place, he who digs there has this advantage, besides others, that there will be an abundant supply of wood for his underground timbering, his machinery, buildings, smelting, and other necessities. if there is no forest he should not mine there unless there is a river near, by which he can carry down the timber. yet wherever there is a hope that pure gold or gems may be found, the ground can be turned up, even though there is no forest, because the gems need only to be polished and the gold to be purified. therefore the inhabitants of hot regions obtain these substances from rough and sandy places, where sometimes there are not even shrubs, much less woods. the miner should next consider the locality, as to whether it has a perpetual supply of running water, or whether it is always devoid of water except when a torrent supplied by rains flows down from the summits of the mountains. the place that nature has provided with a river or stream can be made serviceable for many things; for water will never be wanting and can be carried through wooden pipes to baths in dwelling-houses; it may be carried to the works, where the metals are smelted; and finally, if the conditions of the place will allow it, the water can be diverted into the tunnels, so that it may turn the underground machinery. yet on the other hand, to convey a constant supply of water by artificial means to mines where nature has denied it access, or to convey the ore to the stream, increases the expense greatly, in proportion to the distance the mines are away from the river. the miner also should consider whether the roads from the neighbouring regions to the mines are good or bad, short or long. for since a region which is abundant in mining products very often yields no agricultural produce, and the necessaries of life for the workmen and others must all be imported, a bad and long road occasions much loss and trouble with porters and carriers, and this increases the cost of goods brought in, which, therefore, must be sold at high prices. this injures not so much the workmen as the masters; since on account of the high price of goods, the workmen are not content with the wages customary for their labour, nor can they be, and they ask higher pay from the owners. and if the owners refuse, the men will not work any longer in the mines but will go elsewhere. although districts which yield metals and other mineral products are generally healthy, because, being often situated on high and lofty ground, they are fanned by every wind, yet sometimes they are unhealthy, as has been related in my other book, which is called "_de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra_." therefore, a wise miner does not mine in such places, even if they are very productive, when he perceives unmistakable signs of pestilence. for if a man mines in an unhealthy region he may be alive one hour and dead the next. then, the miner should make careful and thorough investigation concerning the lord of the locality, whether he be a just and good man or a tyrant, for the latter oppresses men by force of his authority, and seizes their possessions for himself; but the former governs justly and lawfully and serves the common good. the miner should not start mining operations in a district which is oppressed by a tyrant, but should carefully consider if in the vicinity there is any other locality suitable for mining and make up his mind if the overlord there be friendly or inimical. if he be inimical the mine will be rendered unsafe through hostile attacks, in one of which all of the gold or silver, or other mineral products, laboriously collected with much cost, will be taken away from the owner and his workmen will be struck with terror; overcome by fear, they will hastily fly, to free themselves from the danger to which they are exposed. in this case, not only are the fortunes of the miner in the greatest peril but his very life is in jeopardy, for which reason he should not mine in such places. since several miners usually come to mine the veins in one locality, a settlement generally springs up, for the miner who began first cannot keep it exclusively for himself. the _bergmeister_ gives permits to some to mine the superior and some the inferior parts of the veins; to some he gives the cross veins, to others the inclined veins. if the man who first starts work finds the vein to be metal-bearing or yielding other mining products, it will not be to his advantage to cease work because the neighbourhood may be evil, but he will guard and defend his rights both by arms and by the law. when the _bergmeister_[ ] delimits the boundaries of each owner, it is the duty of a good miner to keep within his bounds, and of a prudent one to repel encroachments of his neighbours by the help of the law. but this is enough about the neighbourhood. the miner should try to obtain a mine, to which access is not difficult, in a mountainous region, gently sloping, wooded, healthy, safe, and not far distant from a river or stream by means of which he may convey his mining products to be washed and smelted. this indeed, is the best position. as for the others, the nearer they approximate to this position the better they are; the further removed, the worse. now i will discuss that kind of minerals for which it is not necessary to dig, because the force of water carries them out of the veins. of these there are two kinds, minerals--and their fragments[ ]--and juices. when there are springs at the outcrop of the veins from which, as i have already said, the above-mentioned products are emitted, the miner should consider these first, to see whether there are metals or gems mixed with the sand, or whether the waters discharged are filled with juices. in case metals or gems have settled in the pool of the spring, not only should the sand from it be washed, but also that from the streams which flow from these springs, and even from the river itself into which they again discharge. if the springs discharge water containing some juice, this also should be collected; the further such a stream has flowed from the source, the more it receives plain water and the more diluted does it become, and so much the more deficient in strength. if the stream receives no water of another kind, or scarcely any, not only the rivers, but likewise the lakes which receive these waters, are of the same nature as the springs, and serve the same uses; of this kind is the lake which the hebrews call the dead sea, and which is quite full of bituminous fluids[ ]. but i must return to the subject of the sands. springs may discharge their waters into a sea, a lake, a marsh, a river, or a stream; but the sand of the sea-shore is rarely washed, for although the water flowing down from the springs into the sea carries some metals or gems with it, yet these substances can scarcely ever be reclaimed, because they are dispersed through the immense body of waters and mixed up with other sand, and scattered far and wide in different directions, or they sink down into the depths of the sea. for the same reasons, the sands of lakes can very rarely be washed successfully, even though the streams rising from the mountains pour their whole volume of water into them. the particles of metals and gems from the springs are very rarely carried into the marshes, which are generally in level and open places. therefore, the miner, in the first place, washes the sand of the spring, then of the stream which flows from it, then finally, that of the river into which the stream discharges. it is not worth the trouble to wash the sands of a large river which is on a level plain at a distance from the mountains. where several springs carrying metals discharge their waters into one river, there is more hope of productive results from washing. the miner does not neglect even the sands of the streams in which excavated ores have been washed. the waters of springs taste according to the juice they contain, and they differ greatly in this respect. there are six kinds of these tastes which the worker[ ] especially observes and examines; there is the salty kind, which shows that salt may be obtained by evaporation; the nitrous, which indicates soda; the aluminous kind, which indicates alum; the vitrioline, which indicates vitriol; the sulphurous kind, which indicates sulphur; and as for the bituminous juice, out of which bitumen is melted down, the colour itself proclaims it to the worker who is evaporating it. the sea-water however, is similar to that of salt springs, and may be drawn into low-lying pits, and, evaporated by the heat of the sun, changes of itself into salt; similarly the water of some salt-lakes turns to salt when dried by the heat of summer. therefore an industrious and diligent man observes and makes use of these things and thus contributes something to the common welfare. the strength of the sea condenses the liquid bitumen which flows into it from hidden springs, into amber and jet, as i have described already in my books "_de subterraneorum ortu et causis_"[ ]. the sea, with certain directions of the wind, throws both these substances on shore, and for this reason the search for amber demands as much care as does that for coral. moreover, it is necessary that those who wash the sand or evaporate the water from the springs, should be careful to learn the nature of the locality, its roads, its salubrity, its overlord, and the neighbours, lest on account of difficulties in the conduct of their business they become either impoverished by exhaustive expenditure, or their goods and lives are imperilled. but enough about this. the miner, after he has selected out of many places one particular spot adapted by nature for mining, bestows much labour and attention on the veins. these have either been stripped bare of their covering by chance and thus lie exposed to our view, or lying deeply hidden and concealed they are found after close search; the latter is more usual, the former more rarely happens, and both of these occurrences must be explained. there is more than one force which can lay bare the veins unaided by the industry or toil of man; since either a torrent might strip off the surface, which happened in the case of the silver mines of freiberg (concerning which i have written in book i. of my work "_de veteribus et novis metallis_")[ ]; or they may be exposed through the force of the wind, when it uproots and destroys the trees which have grown over the veins; or by the breaking away of the rocks; or by long-continued heavy rains tearing away the mountain; or by an earthquake; or by a lightning flash; or by a snowslide; or by the violence of the winds: "of such a nature are the rocks hurled down from the mountains by the force of the winds aided by the ravages of time." or the plough may uncover the veins, for justin relates in his history that nuggets of gold had been turned up in galicia by the plough; or this may occur through a fire in the forest, as diodorus siculus tells us happened in the silver mines in spain; and that saying of posidonius is appropriate enough: "the earth violently moved by the fires consuming the forest sends forth new products, namely, gold and silver."[ ] and indeed, lucretius has explained the same thing more fully in the following lines: "copper and gold and iron were discovered, and at the same time weighty silver and the substance of lead, when fire had burned up vast forests on the great hills, either by a discharge of heaven's lightning, or else because, when men were waging war with one another, forest fires had carried fire among the enemy in order to strike terror to them, or because, attracted by the goodness of the soil, they wished to clear rich fields and bring the country into pasture, or else to destroy wild beasts and enrich themselves with the game; for hunting with pitfalls and with fire came into use before the practice of enclosing the wood with toils and rousing the game with dogs. whatever the fact is, from whatever cause the heat of flame had swallowed up the forests with a frightful crackling from their very roots, and had thoroughly baked the earth with fire, there would run from the boiling veins and collect into the hollows of the grounds a stream of silver and gold, as well as of copper and lead."[ ] but yet the poet considers that the veins are not laid bare in the first instance so much by this kind of fire, but rather that all mining had its origin in this. and lastly, some other force may by chance disclose the veins, for a horse, if this tale can be believed, disclosed the lead veins at goslar by a blow from his hoof[ ]. by such methods as these does fortune disclose the veins to us. but by skill we can also investigate hidden and concealed veins, by observing in the first place the bubbling waters of springs, which cannot be very far distant from the veins because the source of the water is from them; secondly, by examining the fragments of the veins which the torrents break off from the earth, for after a long time some of these fragments are again buried in the ground. fragments of this kind lying about on the ground, if they are rubbed smooth, are a long distance from the veins, because the torrent, which broke them from the vein, polished them while it rolled them a long distance; but if they are fixed in the ground, or if they are rough, they are nearer to the veins. the soil also should be considered, for this is often the cause of veins being buried more or less deeply under the earth; in this case the fragments protrude more or less widely apart, and miners are wont to call the veins discovered in this manner "_fragmenta_."[ ] further, we search for the veins by observing the hoar-frosts, which whiten all herbage except that growing over the veins, because the veins emit a warm and dry exhalation which hinders the freezing of the moisture, for which reason such plants appear rather wet than whitened by the frost. this may be observed in all cold places before the grass has grown to its full size, as in the months of april and may; or when the late crop of hay, which is called the _cordum_, is cut with scythes in the month of september. therefore in places where the grass has a dampness that is not congealed into frost, there is a vein beneath; also if the exhalation be excessively hot, the soil will produce only small and pale-coloured plants. lastly, there are trees whose foliage in spring-time has a bluish or leaden tint, the upper branches more especially being tinged with black or with any other unnatural colour, the trunks cleft in two, and the branches black or discoloured. these phenomena are caused by the intensely hot and dry exhalations which do not spare even the roots, but scorching them, render the trees sickly; wherefore the wind will more frequently uproot trees of this kind than any others. verily the veins do emit this exhalation. therefore, in a place where there is a multitude of trees, if a long row of them at an unusual time lose their verdure and become black or discoloured, and frequently fall by the violence of the wind, beneath this spot there is a vein. likewise along a course where a vein extends, there grows a certain herb or fungus which is absent from the adjacent space, or sometimes even from the neighbourhood of the veins. by these signs of nature a vein can be discovered. there are many great contentions between miners concerning the forked twig[ ], for some say that it is of the greatest use in discovering veins, and others deny it. some of those who manipulate and use the twig, first cut a fork from a hazel bush with a knife, for this bush they consider more efficacious than any other for revealing the veins, especially if the hazel bush grows above a vein. others use a different kind of twig for each metal, when they are seeking to discover the veins, for they employ hazel twigs for veins of silver; ash twigs for copper; pitch pine for lead and especially tin, and rods made of iron and steel for gold. all alike grasp the forks of the twig with their hands, clenching their fists, it being necessary that the clenched fingers should be held toward the sky in order that the twig should be raised at that end where the two branches meet. then they wander hither and thither at random through mountainous regions. it is said that the moment they place their feet on a vein the twig immediately turns and twists, and so by its action discloses the vein; when they move their feet again and go away from that spot the twig becomes once more immobile. the truth is, they assert, the movement of the twig is caused by the power of the veins, and sometimes this is so great that the branches of trees growing near a vein are deflected toward it. on the other hand, those who say that the twig is of no use to good and serious men, also deny that the motion is due to the power of the veins, because the twigs will not move for everybody, but only for those who employ incantations and craft. moreover, they deny the power of a vein to draw to itself the branches of trees, but they say that the warm and dry exhalations cause these contortions. those who advocate the use of the twig make this reply to these objections: when one of the miners or some other person holds the twig in his hands, and it is not turned by the force of a vein, this is due to some peculiarity of the individual, which hinders and impedes the power of the vein, for since the power of the vein in turning and twisting the twig may be not unlike that of a magnet attracting and drawing iron toward itself, this hidden quality of a man weakens and breaks the force, just the same as garlic weakens and overcomes the strength of a magnet. for a magnet smeared with garlic juice cannot attract iron; nor does it attract the latter when rusty. further, concerning the handling of the twig, they warn us that we should not press the fingers together too lightly, nor clench them too firmly, for if the twig is held lightly they say that it will fall before the force of the vein can turn it; if however, it is grasped too firmly the force of the hands resists the force of the veins and counteracts it. therefore, they consider that five things are necessary to insure that the twig shall serve its purpose: of these the first is the size of the twig, for the force of the veins cannot turn too large a stick; secondly, there is the shape of the twig, which must be forked or the vein cannot turn it; thirdly, the power of the vein which has the nature to turn it; fourthly, the manipulation of the twig; fifthly, the absence of impeding peculiarities. these advocates of the twig sum up their conclusions as follows: if the rod does not move for everybody, it is due to unskilled manipulation or to the impeding peculiarities of the man which oppose and resist the force of the veins, as we said above, and those who search for veins by means of the twig need not necessarily make incantations, but it is sufficient that they handle it suitably and are devoid of impeding power; therefore, the twig may be of use to good and serious men in discovering veins. with regard to deflection of branches of trees they say nothing and adhere to their opinion. [illustration (divining rod): a--twig. b--trench.] since this matter remains in dispute and causes much dissention amongst miners, i consider it ought to be examined on its own merits. the wizards, who also make use of rings, mirrors and crystals, seek for veins with a divining rod shaped like a fork; but its shape makes no difference in the matter,--it might be straight or of some other form--for it is not the form of the twig that matters, but the wizard's incantations which it would not become me to repeat, neither do i wish to do so. the ancients, by means of the divining rod, not only procured those things necessary for a livelihood or for luxury, but they were also able to alter the forms of things by it; as when the magicians changed the rods of the egyptians into serpents, as the writings of the hebrews relate[ ]; and as in homer, minerva with a divining rod turned the aged ulysses suddenly into a youth, and then restored him back again to old age; circe also changed ulysses' companions into beasts, but afterward gave them back again their human form[ ]; moreover by his rod, which was called "caduceus," mercury gave sleep to watchmen and awoke slumberers[ ]. therefore it seems that the divining rod passed to the mines from its impure origin with the magicians. then when good men shrank with horror from the incantations and rejected them, the twig was retained by the unsophisticated common miners, and in searching for new veins some traces of these ancient usages remain. but since truly the twigs of the miners do move, albeit they do not generally use incantations, some say this movement is caused by the power of the veins, others say that it depends on the manipulation, and still others think that the movement is due to both these causes. but, in truth, all those objects which are endowed with the power of attraction do not twist things in circles, but attract them directly to themselves; for instance, the magnet does not turn the iron, but draws it directly to itself, and amber rubbed until it is warm does not bend straws about, but simply draws them to itself. if the power of the veins were of a similar nature to that of the magnet and the amber, the twig would not so much twist as move once only, in a semi-circle, and be drawn directly to the vein, and unless the strength of the man who holds the twig were to resist and oppose the force of the vein, the twig would be brought to the ground; wherefore, since this is not the case, it must necessarily follow that the manipulation is the cause of the twig's twisting motion. it is a conspicuous fact that these cunning manipulators do not use a straight twig, but a forked one cut from a hazel bush, or from some other wood equally flexible, so that if it be held in the hands, as they are accustomed to hold it, it turns in a circle for any man wherever he stands. nor is it strange that the twig does not turn when held by the inexperienced, because they either grasp the forks of the twig too tightly or hold them too loosely. nevertheless, these things give rise to the faith among common miners that veins are discovered by the use of twigs, because whilst using these they do accidentally discover some; but it more often happens that they lose their labour, and although they might discover a vein, they become none the less exhausted in digging useless trenches than do the miners who prospect in an unfortunate locality. therefore a miner, since we think he ought to be a good and serious man, should not make use of an enchanted twig, because if he is prudent and skilled in the natural signs, he understands that a forked stick is of no use to him, for as i have said before, there are the natural indications of the veins which he can see for himself without the help of twigs. so if nature or chance should indicate a locality suitable for mining, the miner should dig his trenches there; if no vein appears he must dig numerous trenches until he discovers an outcrop of a vein. a _vena dilatata_ is rarely discovered by men's labour, but usually some force or other reveals it, or sometimes it is discovered by a shaft or a tunnel on a _vena profunda_[ ]. the veins after they have been discovered, and likewise the shafts and tunnels, have names given them, either from their discoverers, as in the case at annaberg of the vein called "kölergang," because a charcoal burner discovered it; or from their owners, as the geyer, in joachimsthal, because part of the same belonged to geyer; or from their products, as the "pleygang" from lead, or the "bissmutisch" at schneeberg from bismuth[ ]; or from some other circumstances, such as the rich alluvials from the torrent by which they were laid bare in the valley of joachim. more often the first discoverers give the names either of persons, as those of german kaiser, apollo, janus; or the name of an animal, as that of lion, bear, ram, or cow; or of things inanimate, as "silver chest" or "ox stalls"; or of something ridiculous, as "glutton's nightshade"; or finally, for the sake of a good omen, they call it after the deity. in ancient times they followed the same custom and gave names to the veins, shafts and tunnels, as we read in pliny: "it is wonderful that the shafts begun by hannibal in spain are still worked, their names being derived from their discoverers. one of these at the present day, called baebelo, furnished hannibal with three hundred pounds weight (of silver) per day."[ ] end of book ii. footnotes: [ ] xenophon. essay on the revenues of athens, iv., . "but we cannot but feel surprised that the state, when it sees many private individuals enriching themselves from its resources, does not imitate their proceedings; for we heard long ago, indeed, at least such of us as attended to these matters, that nicias the son of niceratus kept a thousand men employed in the silver mines, whom he let on hire to sosias of thrace on condition that he should give him for each an obolus a day, free of all charges; and this number he always supplied undiminished." (see also note ). an obolus a day each, would be about oz. troy of silver per day for the whole number. in modern value this would, of course, be but about s. per day, but in purchasing power the value would probably be to (see note on p. ). nicias was estimated to have a fortune of talents--about , troy ounces of silver, and was one of the wealthiest of the athenians. (plutarch, life of nicias). [ ] xenophon. _oeconomicus_ xii., . "'i approve,' said ischomachus, 'of the barbarian's answer to the king who found a good horse, and, wishing to fatten it as soon as possible, asked a man with a good reputation for horsemanship what would do it?' the man's reply was: 'its master's eye.'" [ ] _praefectus metallorum._ in saxony this official was styled the _berghauptmann_. for further information see page and note on page . [ ] this statement is either based upon apollodorus, whom agricola does not mention among his authorities, or on strabo, whom he does so include. the former in his work on mythology makes such a statement, for which strabo (xiv., , ) takes him to task as follows: "with this vain intention they collected the stories related by the scepsian (demetrius), and taken from callisthenes and other writers, who did not clear them from false notions respecting the halizones; for example, that the wealth of tantalus and of the pelopidae was derived, it is said, from the mines about phrygia and sipylus; that of cadmus from the mines of thrace and mount pangaeum; that of priam from the gold mines of astyra, near abydos (of which at present there are small remains, yet there is a large quantity of matter ejected, and the excavations are proofs of former workings); that of midas from the mines about mount bermium; that of gyges, alyattes, and croesus, from the mines in lydia and the small deserted city between atarneus and pergamum, where are the sites of exhausted mines." (hamilton's trans., vol. iii., p. ). in adopting this view, agricola apparently applied a wonderful realism to some greek mythology--for instance, in the legend of midas, which tells of that king being rewarded by the god dionysus, who granted his request that all he touched might turn to gold; but the inconvenience of the gift drove him to pray for relief, which he obtained by bathing in the pactolus, the sands of which thereupon became highly auriferous. priam was, of course, king of troy, but homer does not exhibit him as a mine-owner. gyges, alyattes, and croesus were successively kings of lydia, from to b.c., and were no doubt possessed of great treasure in gold. some few years ago we had occasion to inquire into extensive old workings locally reputed to be croesus' mines, at a place some distance north of smyrna, which would correspond very closely to the locality here mentioned. [ ] there can be no doubt that the carthaginians worked the mines of spain on an extensive scale for a very long period anterior to their conquest by the romans, but whether the mines were worked by the government or not we are unable to find any evidence. [ ] the silver mines of mt. laurion formed the economic mainstay of athens for the three centuries during which the state had the ascendency in greece, and there can be no doubt that the dominance of athens and its position as a sea-power were directly due to the revenues from the mines. the first working of the mines is shrouded in mystery. the scarcity of silver in the time of solon ( - b.c.) would not indicate any very considerable output at that time. according to xenophon (essay on revenue of athens, iv., ), written about b.c., "they were wrought in very ancient times." the first definite discussion of the mines in greek record begins about b.c., for about that time the royalties began to figure in the athenian budget (aristotle, constitution of athens, ). there can be no doubt that the mines reached great prosperity prior to the persian invasion. in the year b.c. the mines returned talents (about , oz. troy) to the treasury, and this, on the advice of themistocles, was devoted to the construction of the fleet which conquered the persians at salamis ( b.c.). the mines were much interfered with by the spartan invasions from to b.c., and again by their occupation in b.c.; and by b.c., when xenophon wrote the "revenues," exploitation had fallen to a low ebb, for which he proposes the remedies noted by agricola on p. . by the end of the th century, b.c., the mines had again reached considerable prosperity, as is evidenced by demosthenes' orations against pantaenetus and against phaenippus, and by lycurgus' prosecution of diphilos for robbing the supporting pillars. the domination of the macedonians under philip and alexander at the end of the th and beginning of the rd centuries b.c., however, so flooded greece with money from the mines of thrace, that this probably interfered with laurion, at this time, in any event, began the decadence of these mines. synchronous also was the decadence of athens, and, but for fitful displays, the state was not able to maintain even its own independence, not to mention its position as a dominant state. finally, strabo, writing about b.c. gives the epitaph of every mining district--reworking the dumps. he says (ix., , ): "the silver mines in attica were at first of importance, but are now exhausted. the workmen, when the mines yielded a bad return to their labour, committed to the furnace the old refuse and scoria, and hence obtained very pure silver, for the former workmen had carried on the process in the furnace unskilfully." since , the mines have been worked with some success by a french company, thus carrying the mining history of this district over a period of twenty-seven centuries. the most excellent of many memoirs upon the mines at laurion, not only for its critical, historical, and archæological value, but also because of its author's great insight into mining and metallurgy, is that of edouard ardaillon (_les mines du laurion dans l'antiquité_, paris, ). we have relied considerably upon this careful study for the following notes, and would refer others to it for a short bibliography on the subject. we would mention in passing that augustus boeckh's "silver mines of laurion," which is incorporated with his "public economy of athens" (english translation by lewis, london, ) has been too much relied upon by english students. it is no doubt the product of one acquainted with written history, but without any special knowledge of the industry and it is based on no antiquarian research. the mt. laurion mining district is located near the southern end of the attic peninsula. the deposits are silver-lead, and they occur along the contact between approximately horizontal limestones and slates. there are two principal beds of each, thus forming three principal contacts. the most metalliferous of these contacts are those at the base of the slates, the lowest contact of the series being the richest. the ore-bodies were most irregular, varying greatly in size, from a thin seam between schist planes, to very large bodies containing as much as , cubic metres. the ores are argentiferous galena, accompanied by considerable amounts of blende and pyrites, all oxidized near the surface. the ores worked by the ancients appear to have been fairly rich in lead, for the discards worked in recent years by the french company, and the pillars left behind, ran % to % lead. the ratio of silver was from to ounces per ton of lead. the upper contacts were exposed by erosion and could be entered by tunnels, but the lowest and most prolific contact line was only to be reached by shafts. the shafts were ordinarily from four to six feet square, and were undoubtedly cut by hammer and chisel; they were as much as feet deep. in some cases long inclines for travelling roads join the vertical shafts in depth. the drives, whether tunnels or from shafts, were not level, but followed every caprice of the sinuous contact. they were from two to two and a half feet wide, often driven in parallels with cross-cuts between, in order to exploit every corner of the contact. the stoping of ore-bodies discovered was undertaken quite systematically, the methods depending in the main on the shape of the ore-body. if the body was large, its dimensions were first determined by drives, crosscuts, rises, and winzes, as the case might require. if the ore was mainly overhead it was overhand-stoped, and the stopes filled as work progressed, inclined winzes being occasionally driven from the stopes to the original entry drives. if the ore was mainly below, it was underhand-stoped, pillars being left if necessary--such pillars in some cases being thirty feet high. they also employed timber and artificial pillars. the mines were practically dry. there is little evidence of breaking by fire. the ore was hand-sorted underground and carried out by the slaves, and in some cases apparently the windlass was used. it was treated by grinding in mills and concentrating upon a sort of buddle. these concentrates--mostly galena--were smelted in low furnaces and the lead was subsequently cupelled. further details of metallurgical methods will be found in notes on p. and p. , on metallurgical subjects. the mines were worked by slaves. even the overseers were at times apparently slaves, for we find (xenophon, _memorabilia_, ii., ) that nicias paid a whole talent for a good overseer. a talent would be about troy ounces of silver. as wages of skilled labour were about two and one half pennyweights of silver per diem, and a family income of ounces of silver per annum was affluence, the ratio of purchasing power of attic coinage to modern would be about to . therefore this mine manager was worth in modern value roughly £ , . the mines were the property of the state. the areas were defined by vertical boundaries, and were let on lease for definite periods for a fixed annual rent. more ample discussion of the law will be found on p. . [ ] xenophon. (essay on the revenues, iv., ). "i think, however, that i am able to give some advice with regard to this difficulty also (the risk of opening new mines), and to show how new operations may be conducted with the greatest safety. there are ten tribes at athens, and if to each of these the state should assign an equal number of slaves, and the tribes should all make new cuttings, sharing their fortunes in common, then if but one tribe should make any useful discovery it would point out something profitable to the whole; but if two, three, or four, or half the number should make some discovery, it is plain that the works would be more profitable in proportion, and that they should all fail is contrary to all experience in past times." (watson's trans. p. ). [ ] agricola here refers to the proposal of xenophon for the state to collect slaves and hire them to work the mines of laurion. there is no evidence that this recommendation was ever carried out. [ ] _partes._ agricola, p. - , describes in detail the organization and management of these share companies. see note , p. . [ ] this island in the northern Ægean sea has produced this "earth" from before theophrastus' time ( - b.c.) down to the present day. according to dana (system of mineralogy ), it is cimolite, a hydrous silicate of aluminium. the ancients distinguished two kinds,--one sort used as a pigment, and the other for medicinal purposes. this latter was dug with great ceremony at a certain time of the year, moulded into cubes, and stamped with a goat,--the symbol of diana. it thus became known as _terra sigillata_, and was an article of apothecary commerce down to the last century. it is described by galen (xii., ), dioscorides (v., ), and pliny (xxxv., ), as a remedy for ulcers and snake bites. [ ] _magister metallorum_. see note , p. , for the reasons of the adoption of the term _bergmeister_ and page for details of his duties. [ ] _ramenta_. "particles." the author uses this term indifferently for fragments, particles of mineral, concentrates, gold dust, black tin, etc., in all cases the result of either natural or artificial concentration. as in technical english we have no general term for both natural and artificial "concentrates," we have rendered it as the context seemed to demand. [ ] a certain amount of bitumen does float ashore in the dead sea; the origin of it is, however, uncertain. strabo (xvi., , ), pliny (v., and ), and josephus (iv., ), all mention this fact. the lake for this reason is often referred to by the ancient writers by the name _asphaltites_. [ ] _excoctor_,--literally, "smelter" or "metallurgist." [ ] this reference should be to the _de natura fossilium_ (p. ), although there is a short reference to the matter in _de ortu et causis_ (p. ). agricola maintained that not only were jet and amber varieties of bitumen, but also coal and camphor and obsidian. as jet (_gagates_) is but a compact variety of coal, the ancient knowledge of this substance has more interest than would otherwise attach to the gem, especially as some materials described in this connection were no doubt coal. the greeks often refer to a series of substances which burned, contained earth, and which no doubt comprised coal. such substances are mentioned by aristotle (_de mirabilibus_. , , ), nicander (_theriaca_. ), and others, previous to the nd century b.c., but the most ample description is that of theophrastus ( - ): "some of the more brittle stones there also are, which become as it were burning coals when put into a fire, and continue so a long time; of this kind are those about bena, found in mines and washed down by the torrents, for they will take fire on burning coals being thrown on them, and will continue burning as long as anyone blows them; afterward they will deaden, and may after that be made to burn again. they are therefore of long continuance, but their smell is troublesome and disagreeable. that also which is called the _spinus_, is found in mines. this stone, cut in pieces and thrown together in a heap, exposed to the sun, burns; and that the more, if it be moistened or sprinkled with water (a pyritiferous shale?). but the _lipara_ stone empties itself, as it were, in burning, and becomes like the _pumice_, changing at once both its colour and density; for before burning it is black, smooth, and compact. this stone is found in the pumices, separately in different places, as it were, in cells, nowhere continuous to the matter of them. it is said that in melos the pumice is produced in this manner in some other stone, as this is on the contrary in it; but the stone which the pumice is found in is not at all like the _lipara_ stone which is found in it. certain stones there are about tetras, in sicily, which is over against lipara, which empty themselves in the same manner in the fire. and in the promontory called erineas, there is a great quantity of stone like that found about bena, which, when burnt, emits a bituminous smell, and leaves a matter resembling calcined earth. those fossil substances that are called coals, and are broken for use, are earthy; they kindle, however, and burn like wood coals. these are found in liguria, where there also is amber, and in elis, on the way to olympia over the mountains. these are used by smiths." (based on hill's trans.). dioscorides and pliny add nothing of value to this description. agricola (_de nat. fos._, p. - ) not only gives various localities of jet, but also records its relation to coal. as to the latter, he describes several occurrences, and describes the deposits as _vena dilatata_. coal had come into considerable use all over europe, particularly in england, long before agricola's time; the oft-mentioned charter to mine sea-coal given to the monks of newbottle abbey, near preston, was dated . amber was known to the greeks by the name _electrum_, but whether the alloy of the same name took its name from the colour of amber or _vice versa_ is uncertain. the gum is supposed to be referred to by homer (od. xv. ), and thales of miletus ( - b.c.) is supposed to have first described its power of attraction. it is mentioned by many other greek authors, Æschylus, euripides, aristotle, and others. the latter (_de mirabilibus_, ) records of the amber islands in the adriatic, that the inhabitants tell the story that on these islands amber falls from poplar trees. "this, they say, resembles gum and hardens like stone, the story of the poets being that after phaeton was struck by lightning his sisters turned to poplar trees and shed tears of amber." theophrastus ( ) says: "amber is also a stone; it is dug out of the earth in liguria and has, like the before-mentioned (lodestone), a power of attraction." pliny (xxxvii., ) gives a long account of both the substance, literature, and mythology on the subject. his view of its origin was: "certainly amber is obtained from the islands of the northern ocean, and is called by the germans _glaesum_. for this reason the romans, when germanicus cæsar commanded in those parts, called one of them _glaesaria_, which was known to the barbarians as _austeravia_. amber originates from gum discharged by a kind of pine tree, like gum from cherry and resin from the ordinary pine. it is liquid at first, and issues abundantly and hardens in time by cold, or by the sea when the rising tides carry off the fragments from the shores of those islands. certainly it is thrown on the coasts, and is so light that it appears to roll in the water. our forefathers believed that it was the juice of a tree, for they called it _succinum_. and that it belongs to a kind of pine tree is proved by the odour of the pine tree which it gives when rubbed, and that it burns when ignited like a pitch pine torch." the term amber is of arabic origin--from _ambar_--and this term was adopted by the greeks after the christian era. agricola uses the latin term _succinum_ and (_de nat. fos._, p. - ) disputes the origin from tree gum, and contends for submarine bitumen springs. [ ] the statement in _de veteribus et novis metallis_ (p. ) is as follows:-- "it came about by chance and accident that the silver mines were discovered at freiberg in meissen. by the river sala, which is not unknown to strabo, is hala, which was once country, but is now a large town; the site, at any rate, even from roman times was famous and renowned for its salt springs, for the possession of which the hermunduri fought with the chatti. when people carried the salt thence in wagons, as they now do straight through meissen (saxony) into bohemia--which is lacking in that seasoning to-day no less than formerly--they saw galena in the wheel tracks, which had been uncovered by the torrents. this lead ore, since it was similar to that of goslar, they put into their carts and carried to goslar, for the same carriers were accustomed to carry lead from that city. and since much more silver was smelted from this galena than from that of goslar, certain miners betook themselves to that part of meissen in which is now situated freiberg, a great and wealthy town; and we are told by consistent stories and general report that they grew rich out of the mines." agricola places the discovery of the mines at freiberg at about . see note , p. . [ ] diodorus siculus (v., ). "these places being covered with woods, it is said that in ancient times these mountains were set on fire by shepherds, and continued burning for many days, and parched the earth, so that an abundance of silver ore was melted, and the metal flowed in streams of pure silver like a river." aristotle, nearly three centuries before diodorus, mentions this same story (_de mirabilibus_, ): "they say that in ibernia the woods were set on fire by certain shepherds, and the earth thus heated, the country visibly flowed silver; and when some time later there were earthquakes, and the earth burst asunder at different places, a large amount of silver was collected." as the works of posidonius are lost, it is probable that agricola was quoting from strabo (iii., , ), who says, in describing spain: "posidonius, in praising the amount and excellence of the metals, cannot refrain from his accustomed rhetoric, and becomes quite enthusiastic in exaggeration. he tells us we are not to disbelieve the fable that formerly the forests having been set on fire, the earth, which was loaded with silver and gold, melted and threw up these metals to the surface, for inasmuch as every mountain and wooded hill seemed to be heaped up with money by a lavish fortune." (hamilton's trans. i., p. ). or he may have been quoting from the _deipnosophistae_ of athenaeus (vi.), where posidonius is quoted: "and the mountains ... when once the woods upon them had caught fire, spontaneously ran with liquid silver." [ ] lucretius, _de rerum natura_ v. . [ ] agricola's account of this event in _de veteribus et novis metallis_ is as follows (p. ): "now veins are not always first disclosed by the hand and labour of man, nor has art always demonstrated them; sometimes they have been disclosed rather by chance or by good fortune. i will explain briefly what has been written upon this matter in history, what miners tell us, and what has occurred in our times. thus the mines at goslar are said to have been found in the following way. a certain noble, whose name is not recorded, tied his horse, which was named ramelus, to the branch of a tree which grew on the mountain. this horse, pawing the earth with its hoofs, which were iron shod, and thus turning it over, uncovered a hidden vein of lead, not unlike the winged pegasus, who in the legend of the poets opened a spring when he beat the rock with his hoof. so just as that spring is named hippocrene after that horse, so our ancestors named the mountain rammelsberg. whereas the perennial water spring of the poets would long ago have dried up, the vein even to-day exists, and supplies an abundant amount of excellent lead. that a horse can have opened a vein will seem credible to anyone who reflects in how many ways the signs of veins are shown by chance, all of which are explained in my work _de re metallica_. therefore, here we will believe the story, both because it may happen that a horse may disclose a vein, and because the name of the mountain agrees with the story." agricola places the discovery of goslar in the hartz at prior to . see note , p. . [ ] _fragmenta_. the glossary gives "_geschube_." this term is defined in the _bergwerks' lexicon_ (chemnitz, , p. ) as the pieces of stone, especially tin-stone, broken from the vein and washed out by the water--the croppings. [ ] so far as we are able to discover, this is the first published description of the divining rod as applied to minerals or water. like agricola, many authors have sought to find its origin among the ancients. the magic rods of moses and homer, especially the rod with which the former struck the rock at horeb, the rod described by ctesias (died b.c.) which attracted gold and silver, and the _virgula divina_ of the romans have all been called up for proof. it is true that the romans are responsible for the name _virgula divina_, "divining rod," but this rod was used for taking auguries by casting bits of wood (cicero, _de divinatione_). despite all this, while the ancient naturalists all give detailed directions for finding water, none mention anything akin to the divining rod of the middle ages. it is also worth noting that the monk theophilus in the th century also gives a detailed description of how to find water, but makes no mention of the rod. there are two authorities sometimes cited as prior to agricola, the first being basil valentine in his "last will and testament" (xxiv-viii.), and while there may be some reason (see appendix) for accepting the authenticity of the "triumphal chariot of antimony" by this author, as dating about , there can be little doubt that the "last will and testament" was spurious and dated about years after agricola. paracelsus (_de natura rerum_ ix.), says: "these (divinations) are vain and misleading, and among the first of them are divining rods, which have deceived many miners. if they once point rightly they deceive ten or twenty times." in his _de origine morborum invisibilium_ (book i.) he adds that the "faith turns the rod." these works were no doubt written prior to _de re metallica_--paracelsus died in --but they were not published until some time afterward. those interested in the strange persistence of this superstition down to the present day--and the files of the patent offices of the world are full of it--will find the subject exhaustively discussed in m. e. chevreul's "_de la baguette divinatoire_," paris, ; l. figuier, "_histoire du merveilleux dans les temps moderne ii._", paris, ; w. f. barrett, proceedings of the society of psychical research, part , , and , ; r. w. raymond, american inst. of mining engineers, , p. . of the descriptions by those who believed in it there is none better than that of william pryce (_mineralogia cornubiensis_, london, , pp. - ), who devotes much pains to a refutation of agricola. when we consider that a century later than agricola such an advanced mind as robert boyle ( - ), the founder of the royal society, was convinced of the genuineness of the divining rod, one is more impressed with the clarity of agricola's vision. in fact, there were few indeed, down to the th century, who did not believe implicitly in the effectiveness of this instrument, and while science has long since abandoned it, not a year passes but some new manifestation of its hold on the popular mind breaks out. [ ] exodus vii., , , . [ ] odyssey xvi., , and x., . [ ] odyssey xxiv., , etc. the _caduceus_ of hermes had also the power of turning things to gold, and it is interesting to note that in its oldest form, as the insignia of heralds and of ambassadors, it had two prongs. [ ] in a general way _venae profundae_ were fissure veins and _venae dilatatae_ were sheeted deposits. for description see book iii. [ ] these mines are in the erzgebirge. we have adopted the names given in the german translation. [ ] the quotation from pliny (xxxiii., ) as a whole reads as follows:-- "silver is found in nearly all the provinces, but the finest of all in spain; where it is found in the barren lands, and in the mountains. wherever one vein of silver has been found, another is sure to be found not far away. this is the case of nearly all the metals, whence it appears that the greeks derived _metalla_. it is wonderful that the shafts begun by hannibal in spain still remain, their names being derived from their makers. one of these at the present day called baebelo, furnished hannibal with three hundred pounds' weight (of silver) per day. this mountain is excavated for a distance of fifteen hundred paces; and for this distance there are waterbearers lighted by torches standing night and day baling out the water in turns, thus making quite a river." hannibal dates - b.c. and was therefore dead years when pliny was born. according to a footnote in bostock and riley's translation of pliny, these workings were supposed to be in the neighbourhood of castulo, now cazlona, near linares. it was at castulo that hannibal married his rich wife himilce; and in the hills north of linares there are ancient silver mines still known as los pozos de anibal. book iii. previously i have given much information concerning the miners, also i have discussed the choice of localities for mining, for washing sands, and for evaporating waters; further, i described the method of searching for veins. with such matters i was occupied in the second book; now i come to the third book, which is about veins and stringers, and the seams in the rocks[ ]. the term "vein" is sometimes used to indicate _canales_ in the earth, but very often elsewhere by this name i have described that which may be put in vessels[ ]; i now attach a second significance to these words, for by them i mean to designate any mineral substances which the earth keeps hidden within her own deep receptacles. [illustration a (vein in mountain): a, c--the mountain. b--_vena profunda_.] first i will speak of the veins, which, in depth, width, and length, differ very much one from another. those of one variety descend from the surface of the earth to its lowest depths, which on account of this characteristic, i am accustomed to call "_venae profundae_." [illustration b (vein in mountain): a, d--the mountain. b, c--_vena dilatata_.] another kind, unlike the _venae profundae_, neither ascend to the surface of the earth nor descend, but lying under the ground, expand over a large area; and on that account i call them "_venae dilatatae_." [illustration (veins in mountain): a, b, c, d--the mountain. e, f, g, h, i, k--_vena cumulata_.] another occupies a large extent of space in length and width; therefore i usually call it "_vena cumulata_," for it is nothing else than an accumulation of some certain kind of mineral, as i have described in the book entitled _de subterraneorum ortu et causis_. it occasionally happens, though it is unusual and rare, that several accumulations of this kind are found in one place, each one or more fathoms in depth and four or five in width, and one is distant from another two, three, or more fathoms. when the excavation of these accumulations begins, they at first appear in the shape of a disc; then they open out wider; finally from each of such accumulations is usually formed a "_vena cumulata_." [illustration a (veins in mountain): a--_vena profunda_. b--_intervenium_. c--another _vena profunda_.] [illustration b (veins in mountain): a & b--_vena dilatatae_. c--_intervenium_. d & e--other _venae dilatatae_.] the space between two veins is called an _intervenium_; this interval between the veins, if it is between _venae dilatatae_ is entirely hidden underground. if, however, it lies between _venae profundae_ then the top is plainly in sight, and the remainder is hidden. [illustration (veins in mountain): a--wide _vena profunda_. b--narrow _vena profunda_.] _venae profundae_ differ greatly one from another in width, for some of them are one fathom wide, some are two cubits, others one cubit; others again are a foot wide, and some only half a foot; all of which our miners call wide veins. others on the contrary, are only a palm wide, others three digits, or even two; these they call narrow. but in other places where there are very wide veins, the widths of a cubit, or a foot, or half a foot, are said to be narrow; at cremnitz, for instance, there is a certain vein which measures in one place fifteen fathoms in width, in another eighteen, and in another twenty; the truth of this statement is vouched for by the inhabitants. [illustration a (veins in mountain): a--thin _vena dilatata_. b--thick _vena dilatata_.] _venae dilatatae_, in truth, differ also in thickness, for some are one fathom thick, others two, or even more; some are a cubit thick, some a foot, some only half a foot; and all these are usually called thick veins. some on the other hand, are but a palm thick, some three digits, some two, some one; these are called thin veins. [illustration b (seams in the rocks): a, b, c--vein. d, e, f--seams in the rock (_commissurae saxorum_).] _venae profundae_ vary in direction; for some run from east to west. [illustration a (seams in the rocks): a, b, c--vein. d, e, f--_seams in the rocks_.] others, on the other hand, run from west to east. [illustration b (seams in the rocks): a, b, c--vein. d, e, f--_seams in the rocks_.] others run from south to north. [illustration (seams in the rocks): a, b, c--vein. d, e, f--_seams in the rocks_.] others, on the contrary, run from north to south. the seams in the rocks indicate to us whether a vein runs from the east or from the west. for instance, if the rock seams incline toward the westward as they descend into the earth, the vein is said to run from east to west; if they incline toward the east, the vein is said to run from west to east; in a similar manner, we determine from the rock seams whether the veins run north or south. [illustration (compass)] now miners divide each quarter of the earth into six divisions; and by this method they apportion the earth into twenty-four directions, which they divide into two parts of twelve each. the instrument which indicates these directions is thus constructed. first a circle is made; then at equal intervals on one half portion of it right through to the other, twelve straight lines called by the greeks [greek: diametroi], and in the latin _dimetientes_, are drawn through a central point which the greeks call [greek: kentron], so that the circle is thus divided into twenty-four divisions, all being of an equal size. then, within the circle are inscribed three other circles, the outermost of which has cross-lines dividing it into twenty-four equal parts; the space between it and the next circle contains two sets of twelve numbers, inscribed on the lines called "diameters"; while within the innermost circle it is hollowed out to contain a magnetic needle[ ]. the needle lies directly over that one of the twelve lines called "diameters" on which the number xii is inscribed at both ends. when the needle which is governed by the magnet points directly from the north to the south, the number xii at its tail, which is forked, signifies the north, that number xii which is at its point indicates the south. the sign vi superior indicates the east, and vi inferior the west. further, between each two cardinal points there are always five others which are not so important. the first two of these directions are called the prior directions; the last two are called the posterior, and the fifth direction lies immediately between the former and the latter; it is halved, and one half is attributed to one cardinal point and one half to the other. for example, between the northern number xii and the eastern number vi, are points numbered i, ii, iii, iv, v, of which i and ii are northern directions lying toward the east, iv and v are eastern directions lying toward the north, and iii is assigned, half to the north and half to the east. one who wishes to know the direction of the veins underground, places over the vein the instrument just described; and the needle, as soon as it becomes quiet, will indicate the course of the vein. that is, if the vein proceeds from vi to vi, it either runs from east to west, or from west to east; but whether it be the former or the latter, is clearly shown by the seams in the rocks. if the vein proceeds along the line which is between v and vi toward the opposite direction, it runs from between the fifth and sixth divisions of east to the west, or from between the fifth and sixth divisions of west to the east; and again, whether it is the one or the other is clearly shown by the seams in the rocks. in a similar manner we determine the other directions. [illustration (compass with winds)] now miners reckon as many points as the sailors do in reckoning up the number of the winds. not only is this done to-day in this country, but it was also done by the romans who in olden times gave the winds partly latin names and partly names borrowed from the greeks. any miner who pleases may therefore call the directions of the veins by the names of the winds. there are four principal winds, as there are four cardinal points: the _subsolanus_, which blows from the east; and its opposite the _favonius_, which blows from the west; the latter is called by the greeks [greek: zephyros], and the former [greek: apêliôtês]. there is the _auster_, which blows from the south; and opposed to it is the _septentrio_, from the north; the former the greeks called [greek: notos], and the latter [greek: aparktias]. there are also subordinate winds, to the number of twenty, as there are directions, for between each two principal winds there are always five subordinate ones. between the _subsolanus_ (east wind) and the _auster_ (south wind) there is the _ornithiae_ or the bird wind, which has the first place next to the _subsolanus_; then comes _caecias_; then _eurus_, which lies in the midway of these five; next comes _vulturnus_; and lastly, _euronotus_, nearest the _auster_ (south wind). the greeks have given these names to all of these, with the exception of _vulturnus_, but those who do not distinguish the winds in so precise a manner say this is the same as the greeks called [greek: euros]. between the _auster_ (south wind) and the _favonius_ (west wind) is first _altanus_, to the right of the _auster_ (south wind); then _libonotus_; then _africus_, which is the middle one of these five; after that comes _subvesperus_; next _argestes_, to the left of _favonius_ (west wind). all these, with the exception of _libonotus_ and _argestes_, have latin names; but _africus_ also is called by the greeks [greek: lips]. in a similar manner, between _favonius_ (west wind) and _septentrio_ (north wind), first to the right of _favonius_ (west wind), is the _etesiae_; then _circius_; then _caurus_, which is in the middle of these five; then _corus_; and lastly _thrascias_ to the left of _septentrio_ (north wind). to all of these, except that of _caurus_, the greeks gave the names, and those who do not distinguish the winds by so exact a plan, assert that the wind which the greeks called [greek: koros] and the latins _caurus_ is one and the same. again, between _septentrio_ (north wind) and the _subsolanus_ (east wind), the first to the right of _septentrio_ (north wind) is _gallicus_; then _supernas_; then _aquilo_, which is the middle one of these five; next comes _boreas_; and lastly _carbas_, to the left of _subsolanus_ (east wind). here again, those who do not consider the winds to be in so great a multitude, but say there are but twelve winds in all, or at the most fourteen, assert that the wind called by the greeks [greek: boreas] and the latins _aquilo_ is one and the same. for our purpose it is not only useful to adopt this large number of winds, but even to double it, as the german sailors do. they always reckon that between each two there is one in the centre taken from both. by this method we also are able to signify the intermediate directions by means of the names of the winds. for instance, if a vein runs from vi east to vi west, it is said to proceed from _subsolanus_ (east wind) to _favonius_ (west wind); but one which proceeds from between v and vi of the east to between v and vi west is said to proceed out of the middle of _carbas_ and _subsolanus_ to between _argestes_ and _favonius_; the remaining directions, and their intermediates are similarly designated. the miner, on account of the natural properties of a magnet, by which the needle points to the south, must fix the instrument already described so that east is to the left and west to the right. [illustration (veins in mountain): a, b--_venae dilatatae_. c--_seams in the rocks_.] in a similar way to _venae profundae_, the _venae dilatatae_ vary in their lateral directions, and we are able to understand from the seams in the rocks in which direction they extend into the ground. for if these incline toward the west in depth, the vein is said to extend from east to west; if on the contrary, they incline toward the east, the vein is said to go from west to east. in the same way, from the rock seams we can determine veins running south and north, or the reverse, and likewise to the subordinate directions and their intermediates. [illustration a (veins in mountain): a--straight _vena profunda_. b--curved _vena profunda_ [should be _vena dilatata_(?)].] further, as regards the question of direction of a _vena profunda_, one runs straight from one quarter of the earth to that quarter which is opposite, while another one runs in a curve, in which case it may happen that a vein proceeding from the east does not turn to the quarter opposite, which is the west, but twists itself and turns to the south or the north. [illustration b (veins in mountain): a--horizontal _vena dilatata_. b--inclined _vena dilatata_. c--curved _vena dilatata_.] similarly some _venae dilatatae_ are horizontal, some are inclined, and some are curved. [illustration a (veins in mountain)] also the veins which we call _profundae_ differ in the manner in which they descend into the depths of the earth; for some are vertical (a), some are inclined and sloping (b), others crooked (c). [illustration b (veins in mountain)] moreover, _venae profundae_ (b) differ much among themselves regarding the kind of locality through which they pass, for some extend along the slopes of mountains or hills (a-c) and do not descend down the sides. [illustration a (veins in mountain)] other _venae profundae_ (d, e, f) from the very summit of the mountain or hill descend the slope (a) to the hollow or valley (b), and they again ascend the slope or the side of the mountain or hill opposite (c). [illustration b (veins in mountain)] other _venae profundae_ (c, d) descend the mountain or hill (a) and extend out into the plain (b). [illustration a (veins in mountain): a--mountainous plain. b--_vena profunda_.] some veins run straight along on the plateaux, the hills, or plains. [illustration b (intersections of veins): a--principal vein. b--transverse vein. c--vein cutting principal one obliquely.] in the next place, _venae profundae_ differ not a little in the manner in which they intersect, since one may cross through a second transversely, or one may cross another one obliquely as if cutting it in two. [illustration (intersections of veins): a--principal vein. b--vein which cuts a obliquely. c--part carried away. d--that part which has been carried forward.] if a vein which cuts through another principal one obliquely be the harder of the two, it penetrates right through it, just as a wedge of beech or iron can be driven through soft wood by means of a tool. if it be softer, the principal vein either drags the soft one with it for a distance of three feet, or perhaps one, two, three, or several fathoms, or else throws it forward along the principal vein; but this latter happens very rarely. but that the vein which cuts the principal one is the same vein on both sides, is shown by its having the same character in its footwalls and hangingwalls. [illustration a (intersections of veins): a, b--two veins descend inclined and dip toward each other. c--junction. likewise two veins. d--indicates one descending vertically. e--marks the other descending inclined, which dips toward d. f--their junction.] sometimes _venae profundae_ join one with another, and from two or more outcropping veins[ ], one is formed; or from two which do not outcrop one is made, if they are not far distant from each other, and the one dips into the other, or if each dips toward the other, and they thus join when they have descended in depth. in exactly the same way, out of three or more veins, one may be formed in depth. [illustration b (intersections of veins)] however, such a junction of veins sometimes disunites and in this way it happens that the vein which was the right-hand vein becomes the left; and again, the one which was on the left becomes the right. furthermore, one vein may be split and divided into parts by some hard rock resembling a beak, or stringers in soft rock may sunder the vein and make two or more. these sometimes join together again and sometimes remain divided. [illustration (intersections of veins): a, b--veins dividing. c--the same joining.] whether a vein is separating from or uniting with another can be determined only from the seams in the rocks. for example, if a principal vein runs from the east to the west, the rock seams descend in depth likewise from the east toward the west, and the associated vein which joins with the principal vein, whether it runs from the south or the north, has its rock seams extending in the same way as its own, and they do not conform with the seams in the rock of the principal vein--which remain the same after the junction--unless the associated vein proceeds in the same direction as the principal vein. in that case we name the broader vein the principal one, and the narrower the associated vein. but if the principal vein splits, the rock seams which belong respectively to the parts, keep the same course when descending in depth as those of the principal vein. [illustration (intersections of veins): a, c--_vena dilatata_ crossing a _vena profunda_. b--_vena profunda_. d, e--_vena dilatata_ which junctions with a _vena profunda_. f--_vena profunda_. g--_vena dilatata_. h, i--its divided parts. k--_vena profunda_ which divides the _vena dilatata_.] but enough of _venae profundae_, their junctions and divisions. now we come to _venae dilatatae_. a _vena dilatata_ may either cross a _vena profunda_, or join with it, or it may be cut by a _vena profunda_, and be divided into parts. [illustration a (veins in mountain): a--the "beginning" (_origo_). b--the "end" (_finis_). c--the "head" (_caput_). d--the "tail" (_cauda_).] finally, a _vena profunda_ has a "beginning" (_origo_), an "end" (_finis_), a "head" (_caput_), and a "tail" (_cauda_). that part whence it takes its rise is said to be its "beginning," that in which it terminates the "end." its "head"[ ] is that part which emerges into daylight; its "tail" that part which is hidden in the earth. but miners have no need to seek the "beginning" of veins, as formerly the kings of egypt sought for the source of the nile, but it is enough for them to discover some other part of the vein and to recognise its direction, for seldom can either the "beginning" or the "end" be found. the direction in which the head of the vein comes into the light, or the direction toward which the tail extends, is indicated by its footwall and hangingwall. the latter is said to hang, and the former to lie. the vein rests on the footwall, and the hangingwall overhangs it; thus, when we descend a shaft, the part to which we turn the face is the footwall and seat of the vein, that to which we turn the back is the hangingwall. also in another way, the head accords with the footwall and the tail with the hangingwall, for if the footwall is toward the south, the vein extends its head into the light toward the south; and the hangingwall, because it is always opposite to the footwall, is then toward the north. consequently the vein extends its tail toward the north if it is an inclined _vena profunda_. similarly, we can determine with regard to east and west and the subordinate and their intermediate directions. a _vena profunda_ which descends into the earth may be either vertical, inclined, or crooked; the footwall of an inclined vein is easily distinguished from the hangingwall, but it is not so with a vertical vein; and again, the footwall of a crooked vein is inverted and changed into the hangingwall, and contrariwise the hangingwall is twisted into the footwall, but very many of these crooked veins may be turned back to vertical or inclined ones. [illustration b (veins in mountain): a--the "beginning." b--the "end." c, d--the "sides."] a _vena dilatata_ has only a "beginning" and an "end," and in the place of the "head" and "tail" it has two sides. [illustration (veins in mountain): a--the "beginning." b--the "end." c--the "head." d--the "tail." e--transverse vein.] a _vena cumulata_ has a "beginning," an "end," a "head," and a "tail," just as a _vena profunda_. moreover, a _vena cumulata_, and likewise a _vena dilatata_, are often cut through by a transverse _vena profunda_. [illustration a (fibra dilatata): a, b--veins. c--transverse stringer. d--oblique stringer. e--associated stringer. f--_fibra dilatata_.] stringers (_fibrae_)[ ], which are little veins, are classified into _fibrae transversae_, _fibrae obliquae_ which cut the vein obliquely, _fibrae sociae_, _fibrae dilatatae_, and _fibrae incumbentes_. the _fibra transversa_ crosses the vein; the _fibra obliqua_ crosses the vein obliquely; the _fibra socia_ joins with the vein itself; the _fibra dilatata_, like the _vena dilatata_, penetrates through it; but the _fibra dilatata_, as well as the _fibra profunda_, is usually found associated with a vein. [illustration b (fibra incumbens): a--vein. b--_fibra incumbens_ from the surface of the hangingwall. c--same from the footwall.] the _fibra incumbens_ does not descend as deeply into the earth as the other stringers, but lies on the vein, as it were, from the surface to the hangingwall or footwall, from which it is named _subdialis_.[ ] in truth, as to direction, junctions, and divisions, the stringers are not different from the veins. [illustration (seams in the rocks): a--seams which proceed from the east. b--the inverse.] lastly, the seams, which are the very finest stringers (_fibrae_), divide the rock, and occur sometimes frequently, sometimes rarely. from whatever direction the vein comes, its seams always turn their heads toward the light in the same direction. but, while the seams usually run from one point of the compass to another immediately opposite it, as for instance, from east to west, if hard stringers divert them, it may happen that these very seams, which before were running from east to west, then contrariwise proceed from west to east, and the direction of the rocks is thus inverted. in such a case, the direction of the veins is judged, not by the direction of the seams which occur rarely, but by those which constantly recur. [illustration (veins in mountain): a--solid vein. b--solid stringer. c--cavernous vein. d--cavernous stringer. e--barren vein. f--barren stringer.] both veins or stringers may be solid or drusy, or barren of minerals, or pervious to water. solid veins contain no water and very little air. the drusy veins rarely contain water; they often contain air. those which are barren of minerals often carry water. solid veins and stringers consist sometimes of hard materials, sometimes of soft, and sometimes of a kind of medium between the two. but to return to veins. a great number of miners consider[ ] that the best veins in depth are those which run from the vi or vii direction of the east to the vi or vii direction of the west, through a mountain slope which inclines to the north; and whose hangingwalls are in the south, and whose footwalls are in the north, and which have their heads rising to the north, as explained before, always like the footwall, and finally, whose rock seams turn their heads to the east. and the veins which are the next best are those which, on the contrary, extend from the vi or vii direction of the west to the vi or vii direction of the east, through the slope of a mountain which similarly inclines to the north, whose hangingwalls are also in the south, whose footwalls are in the north, and whose heads rise toward the north; and lastly, whose rock seams raise their heads toward the west. in the third place, they recommend those veins which extend from xii north to xii south, through the slope of a mountain which faces east; whose hangingwalls are in the west, whose footwalls are in the east; whose heads rise toward the east; and whose rock seams raise their heads toward the north. therefore they devote all their energies to those veins, and give very little or nothing to those whose heads, or the heads of whose rock seams rise toward the south or west. for although they say these veins sometimes show bright specks of pure metal adhering to the stones, or they come upon lumps of metal, yet these are so few and far between that despite them it is not worth the trouble to excavate such veins; and miners who persevere in digging in the hope of coming upon a quantity of metal, always lose their time and trouble. and they say that from veins of this kind, since the sun's rays draw out the metallic material, very little metal is gained. but in this matter the actual experience of the miners who thus judge of the veins does not always agree with their opinions, nor is their reasoning sound; since indeed the veins which run from east to west through the slope of a mountain which inclines to the south, whose heads rise likewise to the south, are not less charged with metals, than those to which miners are wont to accord the first place in productiveness; as in recent years has been proved by the st. lorentz vein at abertham, which our countrymen call gottsgaab, for they have dug out of it a large quantity of pure silver; and lately a vein in annaberg, called by the name of himmelsch hoz[ ], has made it plain by the production of much silver that veins which extend from the north to the south, with their heads rising toward the west, are no less rich in metals than those whose heads rise toward the east. it may be denied that the heat of the sun draws the metallic material out of these veins; for though it draws up vapours from the surface of the ground, the rays of the sun do not penetrate right down to the depths; because the air of a tunnel which is covered and enveloped by solid earth to the depth of only two fathoms is cold in summer, for the intermediate earth holds in check the force of the sun. having observed this fact, the inhabitants and dwellers of very hot regions lie down by day in caves which protect them from the excessive ardour of the sun. therefore it is unlikely that the sun draws out from within the earth the metallic bodies. indeed, it cannot even dry the moisture of many places abounding in veins, because they are protected and shaded by the trees. furthermore, certain miners, out of all the different kinds of metallic veins, choose those which i have described, and others, on the contrary, reject copper mines which are of this sort, so that there seems to be no reason in this. for what can be the reason if the sun draws no copper from copper veins, that it draws silver from silver veins, and gold from gold veins? moreover, some miners, of whose number was calbus[ ], distinguish between the gold-bearing rivers and streams. a river, they say, or a stream, is most productive of fine and coarse grains of gold when it comes from the east and flows to the west, and when it washes against the foot of mountains which are situated in the north, and when it has a level plain toward the south or west. in the second place, they esteem a river or a stream which flows in the opposite course from the west toward the east, and which has the mountains to the north and the level plain to the south. in the third place, they esteem the river or the stream which flows from the north to the south and washes the base of the mountains which are situated in the east. but they say that the river or stream is least productive of gold which flows in a contrary direction from the south to the north, and washes the base of mountains which are situated in the west. lastly, of the streams or rivers which flow from the rising sun toward the setting sun, or which flow from the northern parts to the southern parts, they favour those which approach the nearest to the lauded ones, and say they are more productive of gold, and the further they depart from them the less productive they are. such are the opinions held about rivers and streams. now, since gold is not generated in the rivers and streams, as we have maintained against albertus[ ] in the book entitled "_de subterraneorum ortu et causis_," book v, but is torn away from the veins and stringers and settled in the sands of torrents and water-courses, in whatever direction the rivers or streams flow, therefore it is reasonable to expect to find gold therein; which is not opposed by experience. nevertheless, we do not deny that gold is generated in veins and stringers which lie under the beds of rivers or streams, as in other places. end of book iii. footnotes: [ ] modern nomenclature in the description of ore-deposits is so impregnated with modern views of their origin, that we have considered it desirable in many instances to adopt the latin terms used by the author, for we believe this method will allow the reader greater freedom of judgment as to the author's views. the latin names retained are usually expressive even to the non-latin student. in a general way, a _vena profunda_ is a fissure vein, a _vena dilatata_ is a bedded deposit, and a _vena cumulata_ an impregnation, or a replacement or a _stockwerk_. the _canales_, as will appear from the following footnote, were ore channels. "the seams of the rocks" (_commissurae saxorum_) are very puzzling. the author states, as appears in the following note, that they are of two kinds,--contemporaneous with the formation of the rocks, and also of the nature of veinlets. however, as to their supposed relation to the strike of veins, we can offer no explanation. there are passages in this chapter where if the word "ore-shoot" were introduced for "seams in the rocks" the text would be intelligible. that is, it is possible to conceive the view that the determination of whether an east-west vein ran east or ran west was dependent on the dip of the ore-shoot along the strike. this view, however, is utterly impossible to reconcile with the description and illustration of _commissurae saxorum_ given on page , where they are defined as the finest stringers. the following passage from the _nützliche bergbüchlin_ (see appendix), reads very much as though the dip of ore-shoots was understood at this time in relation to the direction of veins. "every vein (_gang_) has two (outcrops) _ausgehen_, one of the _ausgehen_ is toward daylight along the whole length of the vein, which is called the _ausgehen_ of the whole vein. the other _ausgehen_ is contrary to or toward the strike (_streichen_) of the vein, according to its rock (_gestein_), that is called the _gesteins ausgehen_; for instance, every vein that has its strike from east to west has its _gesteins ausgehen_ to the east, and _vice-versa_." agricola's classification of ore-deposits, after the general distinction between alluvial and _in situ_ deposits, is based entirely upon form, as will be seen in the quotation below relating to the origin of _canales_. the german equivalents in the glossary are as follows:-- fissure vein (_vena profunda_) _gang._ bedded deposit (_vena dilatata_) _schwebender gang oder fletze._ stockwerk or impregnation (_vena cumulata_) _geschute oder stock._ stringer (_fibra_) _klufft._ seams or joints (_commissurae saxorum_) _absetzen des gesteins._ it is interesting to note that in _de natura fossilium_ he describes coal and salt, and later in _de re metallica_ he describes the mannsfeld copper schists, as all being _venae dilatatae_. this nomenclature and classification is not original with agricola. pliny (xxxiii, ) uses the term _vena_ with no explanations, and while agricola coined the latin terms for various kinds of veins, they are his transliteration of german terms already in use. the _nützliche bergbüchlin_ gives this same classification. historical note on the theory of ore deposits. prior to agricola there were three schools of explanation of the phenomena of ore deposits, the orthodox followers of the genesis, the greek philosophers, and the alchemists. the geology of the genesis--the contemporaneous formation of everything--needs no comment other than that for anyone to have proposed an alternative to the dogma of the orthodox during the middle ages, required much independence of mind. of the greek views--which are meagre enough--that of the peripatetics greatly dominated thought on natural phenomena down to the th century. aristotle's views may be summarized: the elements are earth, water, air, and fire; they are transmutable and never found pure, and are endowed with certain fundamental properties which acted as an "efficient" force upon the material cause--the elements. these properties were dryness and dampness and heat and cold, the latter being active, the former passive. further, the elements were possessed of weight and lightness, for instance earth was absolutely heavy, fire absolutely light. the active and passive properties existed in binary combinations, one of which is characteristic, _i.e._, "earth" is cold and dry, water damp and cold, fire hot and dry, air hot and wet; transmutation took place, for instance, by removing the cold from water, when air resulted (really steam), and by removing the dampness from water, when "earth" resulted (really any dissolved substance). the transmutation of the elements in the earth (meaning the globe) produces two "exhalations," the one fiery (probably meaning gases), the other damp (probably meaning steam). the former produces stones, the latter the metals. theophrastus (on stones, i to vii.) elaborates the views of aristotle on the origin of stones, metals, etc.: "of things formed in the earth some have their origin from water, others from earth. water is the basis of metals, silver, gold, and the rest; 'earth' of stones, as well the more precious as the common.... all these are formed by solidification of matter pure and equal in its constituent parts, which has been brought together in that state by mere afflux or by means of some kind of percolation, or separated.... the solidification is in some of these substances due to heat and in others to cold." (based on hill's trans., pp. - ). that is, the metals inasmuch as they become liquid when heated must be in a large part water, and, like water, they solidify with cold. therefore, the "metals are cold and damp." stones, on the other hand, solidify with heat and do not liquefy, therefore, they are "dry and hot" and partake largely of "earth." this "earth" was something indefinite, but purer and more pristine than common clay. in discussing the ancient beliefs with regard to the origin of deposits, we must not overlook the import of the use of the word "vein" (_vena_) by various ancient authors including pliny (xxxiii, ), although he offers no explanation of the term. during the middle ages there arose the horde of alchemists and astrologers, a review of the development of whose muddled views is but barren reading. in the main they held more or less to the peripatetic view, with additions of their own. geber ( th (?) century, see appendix b) propounded the conception that all metals were composed of varying proportions of "spiritual" sulphur and quicksilver, and to these albertus magnus added salt. the astrologers contributed the idea that the immediate cause of the metals were the various planets. the only work devoted to description of ore-deposits prior to agricola was the _bergbüchlin_ (about , see appendix b), and this little book exhibits the absolute apogee of muddled thought derived from the peripatetics, the alchemists, and the astrologers. we believe it is of interest to reproduce the following statement, if for no other reason than to indicate the great advance in thought shown by agricola. "the first chapter or first part; on the common origin of ore, whether silver, gold, tin, copper, iron, or lead ore, in which they all appear together, and are called by the common name of metallic ore. it must be noticed that for the washing or smelting of metallic ore, there must be the one who works and the thing that is worked upon, or the material upon which the work is expended. the general worker (efficient force) on the ore and on all things that are born, is the heavens, its movement, its light and influences, as the philosophers say. the influence of the heavens is multiplied by the movement of the firmaments and the movements of the seven planets. therefore, every metallic ore receives a special influence from its own particular planet, due to the properties of the planet and of the ore, also due to properties of heat, cold, dampness, and dryness. thus gold is of the sun or its influence, silver of the moon, tin of jupiter, copper of venus, iron of mars, lead of saturn, and quicksilver of mercury. therefore, metals are often called by these names by hermits and other philosophers. thus gold is called the sun, in latin _sol_, silver is called the moon, in latin _luna_, as is clearly stated in the special chapters on each metal. thus briefly have we spoken of the 'common worker' of metal and ore. but the thing worked upon, or the common material of all metals, according to the opinion of the learned, is sulphur and quicksilver, which through the movement and influence of the heavens must have become united and hardened into one metallic body or one ore. certain others hold that through the movement and the influence of the heavens, vapours or _braden_, called mineral exhalations, are drawn up from the depths of the earth, from sulphur and quicksilver, and the rising fumes pass into the veins and stringers and are united through the effect of the planets and made into ore. certain others hold that metal is not formed from quicksilver, because in many places metallic ore is found and no quicksilver. but instead of quicksilver they maintain a damp and cold and slimy material is set up on all sulphur which is drawn out from the earth, like your perspiration, and from that mixed with sulphur all metals are formed. now each of these opinions is correct according to a good understanding and right interpretation; the ore or metal is formed from the fattiness of the earth as the material of the first degree (primary element), also the vapours or _braden_ on the one part and the materials on the other part, both of which are called quicksilver. likewise in the mingling or union of the quicksilver and the sulphur in the ore, the sulphur is counted the male and quicksilver the female, as in the bearing or conception of a child. also the sulphur is a special worker in ore or metal. "the second chapter or part deals with the general capacity of the mountain. although the influence of the heavens and the fitness of the material are necessary to the formation of ore or metal, yet these are not enough thereto. but there must be adaptability of the natural vessel in which the ore is formed, such are the veins, namely _steinendegange_, _flachgange_, _schargange_, _creutzgange_, or as these may be termed in provincial names. also the mineral force must have easy access to the natural vessel such as through the _kluffte_ (stringers), namely _hengkluft_, _querklufte_, _flachekluffte_, _creutzklufft_, and other occasional _flotzwerk_, according to their various local names. also there must be a suitable place in the mountain which the veins and stringers can traverse." agricola's views on the origin of ore deposits. agricola rejected absolutely the biblical view which, he says, was the opinion of the vulgar; further, he repudiates the alchemistic and astrological view with great vigour. there can be no doubt, however, that he was greatly influenced by the peripatetic philosophy. he accepted absolutely the four elements--earth, fire, water, and air, and their "binary" properties, and the theory that every substance had a material cause operated upon by an efficient force. beyond this he did not go, and a large portion of _de ortu et causis_ is devoted to disproof of the origin of metals and stones from the peripatetic "exhalations." no one should conclude that agricola's theories are set out with the clarity of darwin or lyell. however, the matter is of such importance in the history of the theory of ore-deposits, and has been either so ignored or so coloured by the preconceptions of narrators, that we consider it justifiable to devote the space necessary to a reproduction of his own statements in _de ortu et causis_ and other works. before doing so we believe it will be of service to readers to summarize these views, and in giving quotations from the author's other works, to group them under special headings, following the outline of his theory given below. his theory was:-- ( ) openings in the earth (_canales_) were formed by the erosion of subterranean waters. ( ) these ground waters were due (_a_) to the infiltration of the surface waters, rain, river, and sea water; (_b_) to the condensation of steam (_halitus_) arising from the penetration of the surface waters to greater depths,--the production of this _halitus_ being due to subterranean heat, which in his view was in turn due in the main to burning bitumen (a comprehensive genera which embraced coal). ( ) the filling of these _canales_ is composed of "earth," "solidified juices," "stone," metals, and "compounds," all deposited from water and "juices" circulating in the _canales_. (see also note , page ). "earth" comprises clay, mud, ochre, marl, and "peculiar earths" generally. the origin of these "earths" was from rocks, due to erosion, transportation, and deposition by water. "solidified juices" (_succi concreti_) comprised salt, soda, vitriol, bitumen, etc., being generally those substances which he conceived were soluble in and deposited from water. "stones" comprised precious, semi-precious, and unusual stones, such as quartz, fluor-spar, etc., as distinguished from country rock; the origin of these he attributed in minor proportion to transportation of fragments of rock, but in the main to deposits from ordinary mineral juice and from "stone juice" (_succus lapidescens_). metals comprised the seven traditional metals; the "compounds" comprised the metallic minerals; and both were due to deposition from juices, the compounds being due to a mixture of juices. the "juices" play the most important part in agricola's theory. each substance had its own particular juice, and in his theory every substance had a material and an efficient cause, the first being the juice, the second being heat or cold. owing to the latter the juices fell into two categories--those solidified by heat (_i.e._, by evaporation, such as salt), and those solidified by cold, (_i.e._, because metals melt and flow by heat, therefore their solidification was due to cold, and the juice underwent similar treatment). as to the origin of these juices, some were generated by the solution of their own particular substance, but in the main their origin was due to the combination of "dry things," such as "earth," with water, the mixture being heated, and the resultant metals depended upon the proportions of "earth" and water. in some cases we have been inclined to translate _succus_ (juice) as "solution," but in other cases it embraced substances to which this would not apply, and we feared implying in the text a chemical understanding not warranted prior to the atomic theory. in order to distinguish between earths, (clays, etc.,) the peripatetic "earth" (a pure element) and the earth (the globe) we have given the two former in quotation marks. there is no doubt some confusion between earth (clays, etc.) and the peripatetic "earth," as the latter was a pure substance not found in its pristine form in nature; it is, however, difficult to distinguish between the two. origin of canales (_de ortu_, p. ). "i now come to the _canales_ in the earth. these are veins, veinlets, and what are called 'seams in the rocks.' these serve as vessels or receptacles for the material from which minerals (_res fossiles_) are formed. the term _vena_ is most frequently given to what is contained in the _canales_, but likewise the same name is applied to the _canales_ themselves. the term vein is borrowed from that used for animals, for just as their veins are distributed through all parts of the body, and just as by means of the veins blood is diffused from the liver throughout the whole body, so also the veins traverse the whole globe, and more particularly the mountainous districts; and water runs and flows through them. with regard to veinlets or stringers and 'seams in the rocks,' which are the thinnest stringers, the following is the mode of their arrangement. veins in the earth, just like the veins of an animal, have certain veinlets of their own, but in a contrary way. for the larger veins of animals pour blood into the veinlets, while in the earth the humours are usually poured from the veinlets into the larger veins, and rarely flow from the larger into the smaller ones. as for the seams in the rocks (_commissurae saxorum_) we consider that they are produced by two methods: by the first, which is peculiar to themselves, they are formed at the same time as the rocks, for the heat bakes the refractory material into stone and the non-refractory material similarly heated exhales its humours and is made into 'earth,' generally friable. the other method is common also to veins and veinlets, when water is collected into one place it softens the rock by its liquid nature, and by its weight and pressure breaks and divides it. now, if the rock is hard, it makes seams in the rocks and veinlets, and if it is not too hard it makes veins. however, if the rocks are not hard, seams and veinlets are created as well as veins. if these do not carry a very large quantity of water, or if they are pressed by a great volume of it, they soon discharge themselves into the nearest veins. the following appears to be the reason why some veinlets or stringers and veins are _profundae_ and others _dilatatae_. the force of the water crushes and splits the brittle rocks; and when they are broken and split, it forces its way through them and passes on, at one time in a downward direction, making small and large _venae profundae_, at another time in a lateral direction, in which way _venae dilatatae_ are formed. now since in each class there are found some which are straight, some inclined, and some crooked, it should be explained that the water makes the _vena profunda_ straight when it runs straight downward, inclined when it runs in an inclined direction; and that it makes a _vena dilatata_ straight when it runs horizontally to the right or left, and in a similar way inclined when it runs in a sloping direction. stringers and large veins of the _profunda_ sort, extending for considerable lengths, become crooked from two causes. in one case when narrow veins are intersected by wide ones, then the latter bend or drag the former a little. in the other case, when the water runs against very hard rock, being unable to break through, it goes around the nearest way, and the stringers and veins are formed bent and crooked. this last is also the reason we sometimes see crooked small and large _venae dilatatae_, not unlike the gentle rise and fall of flowing water. next, _venae profundae_ are wide, either because of abundant water or because the rock is fragile. on the other hand, they are narrow, either because but little water flows and trickles through them, or because the rock is very hard. the _venae dilatatae_, too, for the same reasons, are either thin or thick. there are other differences, too, in stringers and veins, which i will explain in my work _de re metallica_.... there is also a third kind of vein which, as it cannot be described as a wide _vena profunda_, nor as a thick _vena dilatata_, we will call a _vena cumulata_. these are nothing else than places where some species of mineral is accumulated; sometimes exceeding in depth and also in length and breadth feet; sometimes, or rather generally, not so deep nor so long, nor so wide. these are created when water has broken away the rock for such a length, breadth, and thickness, and has flung aside and ejected the stones and sand from the great cavern which is thus made; and afterward when the mouth is obstructed and closed up, the whole cavern is filled with material from which there is in time produced some one or more minerals. now i have stated when discoursing on the origin of subterranean humours, that water erodes away substances inside the earth, just as it does those on the surface, and least of all does it shun minerals; for which reason we may daily see veinlets and veins sometimes filled with air and water, but void and empty of mining products, and sometimes full of these same materials. even those which are empty of minerals become finally obstructed, and when the rock is broken through at some other point the water gushes out. it is certain that old springs are closed up in some way and new ones opened in others. in the same manner, but much more easily and quickly than in the solid rock, water produces stringers and veins in surface material, whether it be in plains, hills, or mountains. of this kind are the stringers in the banks of rivers which produce gold, and the veins which produce peculiar earth. so in this manner in the earth are made _canales_ which bear minerals." origin of ground waters. (_de ortu_ p. ). "... besides rain there is another kind of water by which the interior of the earth is soaked, so that being heated it can continually give off _halitus_, from which arises a great and abundant force of waters." in description of the _modus operandi_ of _halitum_, he says (p. ): "... _halitus_ rises to the upper parts of the _canales_, where the congealing cold turns it into water, which by its gravity and weight again runs down to the lowest parts and increases the flow of water if there is any. if any finds its way through a _canales dilatata_ the same thing happens, but it is carried a long way from its place of origin. the first phase of distillation teaches us how this water is produced, for when that which is put into the ampulla is warmed it evaporates (_expirare_), and this _halitus_ rising into the operculum is converted by cold into water, which drips through the spout. in this way water is being continually created underground." (_de ortu_, p. ): "and so we know from all this that of the waters which are under the earth, some are collected from rain, some arise from _halitus_ (steam), some from river-water, some from sea-water; and we know that the _halitum_ is produced within the earth partly from rain-water, partly from river-water, and partly from sea-water." it would require too much space to set out agricola's views upon the origin of the subterranean heat which produced this steam. it is an involved theory embracing clashing winds, burning bitumen, coal, etc., and is fully set out in the latter part of book ii, _de ortu et causis_. origin of gangue minerals. it is necessary to bear in mind that agricola divided minerals (_res fossiles_--"things dug up," see note , p. ) into "earths," "solidified juices," "stones," "metals," and "compounds;" and, further, to bear in mind that in his conception of the origin of things generally, he was a disciple of the peripatetic logic of a "material substance" and an "efficient force," as mentioned above. as to the origin of "earths," he says (_de ortu_, p. ): "pure and simple 'earth' originates in the _canales_ in the following way: rain water, which is absorbed by the surface of the earth, first of all penetrates and passes into the inner parts of the earth and mixes with it; next, it is collected from all sides into stringers and veins, where it, and sometimes water of other origin, erodes the 'earth' away,--a great quantity of it if the stringers and veins are in 'earth,' a small quantity if they are in rock. the softer the rock is, the more the water wears away particles by its continual movement. to this class of rock belongs limestone, from which we see chalk, clay, and marl, and other unctuous 'earths' made; also sandstone, from which are made those barren 'earths' which we may see in ravines and on bare rocks. for the rain softens limestone or sandstone and carries particles away with it, and the sediment collects together and forms mud, which afterward solidifies into some kind of 'earth.' in a similar way under the ground the power of water softens the rock and dissolves the coarser fragments of stone. this is clearly shown by the following circumstance, that frequently the powder of rock or marble is found in a soft state and as if partly dissolved. now, the water carries this mixture into the course of some underground _canalis_, or dragging it into narrow places, filters away. and in each case the water flows away and a pure and uniform material is left from which 'earth' is made.... particles of rock, however, are only by force of long time so softened by water as to become similar to particles of 'earth.' it is possible to see 'earth' being made in this way in underground _canales_ in the earth, when drifts or tunnels are driven into the mountains, or when shafts are sunk, for then the _canales_ are laid bare; also it can be seen above ground in ravines, as i have said, or otherwise disclosed. for in both cases it is clear to the eye that they are made out of the 'earth' or rocks, which are often of the same colour. and in just the same way they are made in the springs which the veins discharge. since all those things which we see with our eyes and which are perceived with our senses, are more clearly understood than if they were learnt by means of reasoning, we deem it sufficient to explain by this argument our view of the origin of 'earth.' in the manner which i have described, 'earths' originate in veins and veinlets, seams in the rocks, springs, ravines, and other openings, therefore all 'earths' are made in this way. as to those that are found in underground _canales_ which do not appear to have been derived from the earth or rock adjoining, these have undoubtedly been carried by the water for a greater distance from their place of origin; which may be made clear to anyone who seeks their source." on the origin of solidified juices he states (_de ortu_, p. ): "i will now speak of solidified juices (_succi concreti_). i give this name to those minerals which are without difficulty resolved into liquids (_humore_). some stones and metals, even though they are themselves composed of juices, have been compressed so solidly by the cold that they can only be dissolved with difficulty or not at all.... for juices, as i said above, are either made when dry substances immersed in moisture are cooked by heat, or else they are made when water flows over 'earth,' or when the surrounding moisture corrodes metallic material; or else they are forced out of the ground by the power of heat alone. therefore, solidified juices originate from liquid juices, which either heat or cold have condensed. but that which heat has dried, fire reduces to dust, and moisture dissolves. not only does warm or cold water dissolve certain solidified juices, but also humid air; and a juice which the cold has condensed is liquefied by fire and warm water. a salty juice is condensed into salt; a bitter one into soda; an astringent and sharp one into alum or into vitriol. skilled workmen in a similar way to nature, evaporate water which contains juices of this kind until it is condensed; from salty ones they make salt, from aluminous ones alum, from one which contains vitriol they make vitriol. these workmen imitate nature in condensing liquid juices with heat, but they cannot imitate nature in condensing them by cold. from an astringent juice not only is alum made and vitriol, but also _sory_, _chalcitis_, and _misy_, which appears to be the 'flower' of vitriol, just as _melanteria_ is of _sory_. (see note on p. for these minerals.) when humour corrodes pyrites so that it is friable, an astringent juice of this kind is obtained." on the origin of stones (_de ortu_, p. ), he states: "it is now necessary to review in a few words what i have said as to all of the material from which stones are made; there is first of all mud; next juice which is solidified by severe cold; then fragments of rock; afterward stone juice (_succus lapidescens_), which also turns to stone when it comes out into the air; and lastly, everything which has pores capable of receiving a stony juice." as to an "efficient force," he states (p. ): "but it is now necessary that i should explain my own view, omitting the first and antecedent causes. thus the immediate causes are heat and cold; next in some way a stony juice. for we know that stones which water has dissolved, are solidified when dried by heat; and on the contrary, we know that stones which melt by fire, such as quartz, solidify by cold. for solidification and the conditions which are opposite thereto, namely, dissolving and liquefying, spring from causes which are the opposite to each other. heat, driving the water (_humorem_) out of a substance, makes it hard; and cold, by withdrawing the air, solidifies the same stone firmly. but if a stony juice, either alone or mixed with water, finds its way into the pores either of plants or animals ... it creates stones.... if stony juice is obtained in certain stony places and flows through the veins, for this reason certain springs, brooks, streams, and lakes, have the power of turning things to stone." on the origin of metals, he says (_de ortu_, p. ): "having now refuted the opinions of others, i must explain what it really is from which metals are produced. the best proof that there is water in their materials is the fact that they flow when melted, whereas they are again solidified by the cold of air or water. this, however, must be understood in the sense that there is more water in them and less 'earth'; for it is not simply water that is their substance but water mixed with 'earth.' and such a proportion of 'earth' is in the mixture as may obscure the transparency of the water, but not remove the brilliance which is frequently in unpolished things. again, the purer the mixture, the more precious the metal which is made from it, and the greater its resistance to fire. but what proportion of 'earth' is in each liquid from which a metal is made no mortal can ever ascertain, or still less explain, but the one god has known it, who has given certain sure and fixed laws to nature for mixing and blending things together. it is a juice (_succus_) then, from which metals are formed; and this juice is created by various operations. of these operations the first is a flow of water which softens the 'earth' or carries the 'earth' along with it, thus there is a mixture of 'earth' and water, then the power of heat works upon the mixtures so as to produce that kind of a juice. we have spoken of the substance of metals; we must now speak of their efficient cause.... (p. ): we do not deny the statement of albertus magnus that the mixture of 'earth' and water is baked by subterranean heat to a certain denseness, but it is our opinion that the juice so obtained is afterward solidified by cold so as to become a metal.... we grant, indeed, that heat is the efficient cause of a good mixture of elements, and also cooks this same mixture into a juice, but until this juice is solidified by cold it is not a metal.... (p. ): this view of aristotle is the true one. for metals melt through the heat and somehow become softened; but those which have become softened through heat are again solidified by the influence of cold, and, on the contrary, those which become softened by moisture are solidified by heat." on the origin of compounds, he states (_de ortu_, p. ): "there now remain for our consideration the compound minerals (_mistae_), that is to say, minerals which contain either solidified juice (_succus concretus_) and 'stone,' or else metal or metals and 'stone,' or else metal-coloured 'earth,' of which two or more have so grown together by the action of cold that one body has been created. by this sign they are distinguished from mixed minerals (_composita_), for the latter have not one body. for example, pyrites, galena, and ruby silver are reckoned in the category of compound minerals, whereas we say that metallic 'earths' or stony 'earths' or 'earths' mingled with juices, are mixed minerals; or similarly, stones in which metal or solidified juices adhere, or which contain 'earth.' but of both these classes i will treat more fully in my book _de natura fossilium_. i will now discuss their origin in a few words. a compound mineral is produced when either a juice from which some metal is obtained, or a _humour_ and some other juice from which stone is obtained, are solidified by cold, or when two or more juices of different metals mixed with the juice from which stone is made, are condensed by the same cold, or when a metallic juice is mixed with 'earth' whose whole mass is stained with its colour, and in this way they form one body. to the first class belongs _galena_, composed of lead juice and of that material which forms the substance of opaque stone. similarly, transparent ruby silver is made out of silver juice and the juice which forms the substance of transparent stone; when it is smelted into pure silver, since from it is separated the transparent juice, it is no longer transparent. then too, there is pyrites, or _lapis fissilis_, from which sulphur is melted. to the second kind belongs that kind of pyrites which contains not only copper and stone, but sometimes copper, silver, and stone; sometimes copper, silver, gold, and stone; sometimes silver, lead, tin, copper and silver glance. that compound minerals consist of stone and metal is sufficiently proved by their hardness; that some are made of 'earth' and metal is proved from brass, which is composed of copper and calamine; and also proved from white brass, which is coloured by artificial white arsenic. sometimes the heat bakes some of them to such an extent that they appear to have flowed out of blazing furnaces, which we may see in the case of _cadmia_ and pyrites. a metallic substance is produced out of 'earth' when a metallic juice impregnating the 'earth' solidifies with cold, the 'earth' not being changed. a stony substance is produced when viscous and non-viscous 'earth' are accumulated in one place and baked by heat; for then the viscous part turns into stone and the non-viscous is only dried up." the origin of juices. the portion of agricola's theory surrounding this subject is by no means easy to follow in detail, especially as it is difficult to adjust one's point of view to the peripatetic elements, fire, water, earth, and air, instead of to those of the atomic theory which so dominates our every modern conception. that agricola's 'juice' was in most cases a solution is indicated by the statement (_de ortu_, p. ): "nor is juice anything but water, which on the other hand has absorbed 'earth' or has corroded or touched metal and somehow become heated." that he realized the difference between mechanical suspension and solution is evident from (_de ortu_, p. ): "a stony juice differs from water which has abraded something from rock, either because it has more of that which deposits, or because heat, by cooking water of that kind, has thickened it, or because there is something in it which has powerful astringent properties." much of the author's notion of juices has already been given in the quotations regarding various minerals, but his most general statement on the subject is as follows:--(_de ortu_, p. ): "juices, however, are distinguished from water by their density (_crassitudo_), and are generated in various ways--either when dry things are soaked with moisture and the mixture is heated, in which way by far the greatest part of juices arise, not only inside the earth, but outside it; or when water running over the earth is made rather dense, in which way, for the most part the juice becomes salty and bitter; or when the moisture stands upon metal, especially copper, and corrodes it, and in this way is produced the juice from which chrysocolla originates. similarly, when the moisture corrodes friable cupriferous pyrites an acrid juice is made from which is produced vitriol and sometimes alum; or, finally, juices are pressed out by the very force of the heat from the earth. if the force is great the juice flows like pitch from burning pine ... in this way we know a kind of bitumen is made in the earth. in the same way different kinds of moisture are generated in living bodies, so also the earth produces waters differing in quality, and in the same way juices." conclusion. if we strip his theory of the necessary influence of the state of knowledge of his time, and of his own deep classical learning, we find two propositions original with agricola, which still to-day are fundamentals: ( ) that ore channels were of origin subsequent to their containing rocks; ( ) that ores were deposited from solutions circulating in these openings. a scientist's work must be judged by the advancement he gave to his science, and with this gauge one can say unhesitatingly that the theory which we have set out above represents a much greater step from what had gone before than that of almost any single observer since. moreover, apart from any tangible proposition laid down, the deduction of these views from actual observation instead of from fruitless speculation was a contribution to the very foundation of natural science. agricola was wrong in attributing the creation of ore channels to erosion alone, and it was not until von oppel (_anleitung zur markscheidekunst_, dresden, and other essays), two centuries after agricola, that the positive proposition that ore channels were due to fissuring was brought forward. von oppel, however, in neglecting channels due to erosion (and in this term we include solution) was not altogether sound. nor was it until late in the th century that the filling of ore channels by deposition from solutions was generally accepted. in the meantime, agricola's successors in the study of ore deposits exhibited positive retrogression from the true fundamentals advocated by him. gesner, utman, meier, lohneys, barba, rössler, becher, stahl, henckel, and zimmerman, all fail to grasp the double essentials. other writers of this period often enough merely quote agricola, some not even acknowledging the source, as, for instance, pryce (_mineralogia cornubiensis_, london, ) and williams (natural history of the mineral kingdom, london, ). after von oppel, the two fundamental principles mentioned were generally accepted, but then arose the complicated and acrimonious discussion of the origin of solutions, and nothing in agricola's view was so absurd as werner's contention (_neue theorie von der entstehung der gänge_, freiberg, ) of the universal chemical deluge which penetrated fissures open at the surface. while it is not the purpose of these notes to pursue the history of these subjects subsequent to the author's time, it is due to him and to the current beliefs as to the history of the theory of ore deposits, to call the attention of students to the perverse representation of agricola's views by werner (op. cit.) upon which most writers have apparently relied. why this author should be (as, for instance, by posepny, amer. inst. mining engineers, ) so generally considered the father of our modern theory, can only be explained by a general lack of knowledge of the work of previous writers on ore deposition. not one of the propositions original with werner still holds good, while his rejection of the origin of solutions within the earth itself halted the march of advance in thought on these subjects for half a century. it is our hope to discuss exhaustively at some future time the development of the history of this, one of the most far-reaching of geologic hypotheses. [ ] the latin _vena_, "vein," is also used by the author for ore; hence this descriptive warning as to its intended double use. [ ] the endeavour to discover the origin of the compass with the chinese, arabs, or other orientals having now generally ceased, together with the idea that the knowledge of the lodestone involved any acquaintance with the compass, it is permissible to take a rational view of the subject. the lodestone was well known even before plato and aristotle, and is described by theophrastus (see note , p. .) the first authentic and specific mention of the compass appears to be by alexander neckam (an englishman who died in ), in his works _de utensilibus_ and _de naturis rerum_. the first tangible description of the instrument was in a letter to petrus peregrinus de maricourt, written in , a translation of which was published by sir sylvanus thompson (london, ). his circle was divided into four quadrants and these quarters divided into degrees each. the first mention of a compass in connection with mines so far as we know is in the _nützlich bergbüchlin_, a review of which will be found in appendix b. this book, which dates from , gives a compass much like the one described above by agricola. it is divided in like manner into two halves of divisions each. the four cardinal points being marked _mitternacht_, _morgen_, _mittag_, and _abend_. thus the directions read were referred to as ii. after midnight, etc. according to joseph carne (trans. roy. geol. socy. of cornwall, vol. ii, ), the cornish miners formerly referred to north-south veins as o'clock veins; south-east north-west veins as o'clock veins, etc. [ ] _crudariis._ pliny (xxxiii., ), says:--"_argenti vena in summo reperta crudaria appellatur._" "silver veins discovered at the surface are called _crudaria._" the german translator of agricola uses the term _sylber gang_--silver vein, obviously misunderstanding the author's meaning. [ ] it might be considered that the term "outcrop" could be used for "head," but it will be noticed that a _vena dilatata_ would thus be stated to have no outcrop. [ ] it is possible that "veinlets" would be preferred by purists, but the word "stringer" has become fixed in the nomenclature of miners and we have adopted it. the old english term was "stringe," and appears in edward manlove's "rhymed chronicle," london, ; pryce's, _mineralogia cornubiensis_, london, , pp. and ; mawe's "mineralogy of devonshire," london, , p. , etc., etc. [ ] _subdialis._ "in the open air." the glossary gives the meaning as _ein tag klufft oder tag gehenge_--a surface stringer. [ ] the following from chapter iv of the _nützlich bergbüchlin_ (see appendix b) may indicate the source of the theory which agricola here discards:--"as to those veins which are most profitable to work, it must be remarked that the most suitable location for the vein is on the slope of the mountain facing south, so its strike is from vii or vi east to vi or vii west. according to the above-mentioned directions, the outcrop of the whole vein should face north, its _gesteins ausgang_ toward the east, its hangingwall toward the south, and its footwall toward the north, for in such mountains and veins the influence of the planets is conveniently received to prepare the matter out of which the silver is to be made or formed.... the other strikes of veins from between east and south to the region between west and north are esteemed more or less valuable, according to whether they are nearer or further away from the above-mentioned strikes, but with the same hangingwall, footwall, and outcrops. but the veins having their strike from north to south, their hangingwall toward the west, their footwall and their outcrops toward the east, are better to work than veins which extend from south to north, whose hangingwalls are toward the east, and footwalls and outcrops toward the west. although the latter veins sometimes yield solid and good silver ore, still it is not sure and certain, because the whole mineral force is completely scattered and dispersed through the outcrop, etc." [ ] the names in the latin are given as _donum divinum_--"god's gift," and _coelestis exercitus_--"heavenly host." the names given in the text are from the german translation. the former of these mines was located in the valley of joachim, where agricola spent many years as the town physician at joachimsthal. it is of further interest, as agricola obtained an income from it as a shareholder. he gives the history of the mine (_de veteribus et novis metallis_, book i.), as follows:--"the mines at abertham were discovered, partly by chance, partly by science. in the eleventh year of charles v. ( ), on the th of february, a poor miner, but one skilled in the art of mining, dwelt in the middle of the forest in a solitary hut, and there tended the cattle of his employer. while digging a little trench in which to store milk, he opened a vein. at once he washed some in a bowl and saw particles of the purest silver settled at the bottom. overcome with joy he informed his employer, and went to the _bergmeister_ and petitioned that official to give him a head mining lease, which in the language of our people he called _gottsgaab_. then he proceeded to dig the vein, and found more fragments of silver, and the miners were inspired with great hopes as to the richness of the vein. although such hopes were not frustrated, still a whole year was spent before they received any profits from the mine; whereby many became discouraged and did not persevere in paying expenses, but sold their shares in the mine; and for this reason, when at last an abundance of silver was being drawn out, a great change had taken place in the ownership of the mine; nay, even the first finder of the vein was not in possession of any share in it, and had spent nearly all the money which he had obtained from the selling of his shares. then this mine yielded such a quantity of pure silver as no other mine that has existed within our own or our fathers' memories, with the exception of the st. george at schneeberg. we, as a shareholder, through the goodness of god, have enjoyed the proceeds of this 'god's gift' since the very time when the mine began first to bestow such riches." later on in the same book he gives the following further information with regard to these mines:--"now if all the individual mines which have proved fruitful in our own times are weighed in the balance, the one at annaberg, which is known as the _himmelsch hoz_, surpasses all others. for the value of the silver which has been dug out has been estimated at , rhenish gulden. next to this comes the lead mine in joachimsthal, whose name is the _sternen_, from which as much silver has been dug as would be equivalent to , rhenish gulden; from the gottsgaab at abertham, explained before, the equivalent of , . but far before all others within our fathers' memory stands the st. george of schneeberg, whose silver has been estimated as being equal to two million rhenish gulden." a rhenish gulden was about . shillings, or, say, $ . . however, the ratio value of silver to gold at this period was about . to one, or in other words an ounce of silver was worth about a gulden, so that, for purposes of rough calculation, one might say that the silver product mentioned in gulden is practically of the same number of ounces of silver. moreover, it must be remembered that the purchasing power of money was vastly greater then. [ ] the following passage occurs in the _nützlich bergbüchlin_ (chap. v.), which is interesting on account of the great similarity to agricola's quotation:--"the best position of the stream is when it has a cliff beside it on the north and level ground on the south, but its current should be from east to west--that is the most suitable. the next best after this is from west to east, with the same position of the rocks as already stated. the third in order is when the stream flows from north to south with rocks toward the east, but the worst flow of water for the preparation of gold is from south to north if a rock or hill rises toward the west." calbus was probably the author of this booklet. [ ] albertus magnus. book iv. the third book has explained the various and manifold varieties of veins and stringers. this fourth book will deal with mining areas and the method of delimiting them, and will then pass on to the officials who are connected with mining affairs[ ]. now the miner, if the vein he has uncovered is to his liking, first of all goes to the _bergmeister_ to request to be granted a right to mine, this official's special function and office being to adjudicate in respect of the mines. and so to the first man who has discovered the vein the _bergmeister_ awards the head meer, and to others the remaining meers, in the order in which each makes his application. the size of a meer is measured by fathoms, which for miners are reckoned at six feet each. the length, in fact, is that of a man's extended arms and hands measured across his chest; but different peoples assign to it different lengths, for among the greeks, who called it an [greek: orguia], it was six feet, among the romans five feet. so this measure which is used by miners seems to have come down to the germans in accordance with the greek mode of reckoning. a miner's foot approaches very nearly to the length of a greek foot, for it exceeds it by only three-quarters of a greek digit, but like that of the romans it is divided into twelve _unciae_[ ]. [illustration a (square with lengths and area): shape of a square meer.] now square fathoms are reckoned in units of one, two, three, or more "measures", and a "measure" is seven fathoms each way. mining meers are for the most part either square or elongated; in square meers all the sides are of equal length, therefore the numbers of fathoms on the two sides multiplied together produce the total in square fathoms. thus, if the shape of a "measure" is seven fathoms on every side, this number multiplied by itself makes forty-nine square fathoms. [illustration b (rectangle with lengths and area): shape of a long meer or double measure.] the sides of a long meer are of equal length, and similarly its ends are equal; therefore, if the number of fathoms in one of the long sides be multiplied by the number of fathoms in one of the ends, the total produced by the multiplication is the total number of square fathoms in the long meer. for example, the double measure is fourteen fathoms long and seven broad, which two numbers multiplied together make ninety-eight square fathoms. [illustration c (rectangle with lengths and area): shape of a head meer.] since meers vary in shape according to the different varieties of veins it is necessary for me to go more into detail concerning them and their measurements. if the vein is a _vena profunda_, the head meer is composed of three double measures, therefore it is forty-two fathoms in length and seven in width, which numbers multiplied together give two hundred and ninety-four square fathoms, and by these limits the _bergmeister_ bounds the owner's rights in a head-meer. [illustration a (rectangle with lengths and area): shape of a meer.] the area of every other meer consists of two double measures, on whichever side of the head meer it lies, or whatever its number in order may be, that is to say, whether next to the head meer, or second, third, or any later number. therefore, it is twenty-eight fathoms long and seven wide, so multiplying the length by the width we get one hundred and ninety-six square fathoms, which is the extent of the meer, and by these boundaries the _bergmeister_ defines the right of the owner or company over each mine. now we call that part of the vein which is first discovered and mined, the head-meer, because all the other meers run from it, just as the nerves from the head. the _bergmeister_ begins his measurements from it, and the reason why he apportions a larger area to the head-meer than to the others, is that he may give a suitable reward to the one who first found the vein and may encourage others to search for veins. since meers often reach to a torrent, or river, or stream, if the last meer cannot be completed it is called a fraction[ ]. if it is the size of a double measure, the _bergmeister_ grants the right of mining it to him who makes the first application, but if it is the size of a single measure or a little over, he divides it between the nearest meers on either side of it. it is the custom among miners that the first meer beyond a stream on that part of the vein on the opposite side is a new head-meer, and they call it the "opposite,"[ ] while the other meers beyond are only ordinary meers. formerly every head-meer was composed of three double measures and one single one, that is, it was forty-nine fathoms long and seven wide, and so if we multiply these two together we have three hundred and forty-three square fathoms, which total gives us the area of an ancient head-meer. [illustration b (rectangle with lengths and area): shape of an ancient head-meer.] every ancient meer was formed of a single measure, that is to say, it was seven fathoms in length and width, and was therefore square. in memory of which miners even now call the width of every meer which is located on a _vena profunda_ a "square"[ ]. the following was formerly the usual method of delimiting a vein: as soon as the miner found metal, he gave information to the _bergmeister_ and the tithe-gatherer, who either proceeded personally from the town to the mountains, or sent thither men of good repute, at least two in number, to inspect the metal-bearing vein. thereupon, if they thought it of sufficient importance to survey, the _bergmeister_ again having gone forth on an appointed day, thus questioned him who first found the vein, concerning the vein and the diggings: "which is your vein?" "which digging carried metal?" then the discoverer, pointing his finger to his vein and diggings, indicated them, and next the _bergmeister_ ordered him to approach the windlass and place two fingers of his right hand upon his head, and swear this oath in a clear voice: "i swear by god and all the saints, and i call them all to witness, that this is my vein; and moreover if it is not mine, may neither this my head nor these my hands henceforth perform their functions." then the _bergmeister_, having started from the centre of the windlass, proceeded to measure the vein with a cord, and to give the measured portion to the discoverer,--in the first instance a half and then three full measures; afterward one to the king or prince, another to his consort, a third to the master of the horse, a fourth to the cup-bearer, a fifth to the groom of the chamber, a sixth to himself. then, starting from the other side of the windlass, he proceeded to measure the vein in a similar manner. thus the discoverer of the vein obtained the head-meer, that is, seven single measures; but the king or ruler, his consort, the leading dignitaries, and lastly, the _bergmeister_, obtained two measures each, or two ancient meers. this is the reason there are to be found at freiberg in meissen so many shafts with so many intercommunications on a single vein--which are to a great extent destroyed by age. if, however, the _bergmeister_ had already fixed the boundaries of the meers on one side of the shaft for the benefit of some other discoverer, then for those dignitaries i have just mentioned, as many meers as he was unable to award on that side he duplicated on the other. but if on both sides of the shaft he had already defined the boundaries of meers, he proceeded to measure out only that part of the vein which remained free, and thus it sometimes happened that some of those persons i have mentioned obtained no meer at all. to-day, though that old-established custom is observed, the method of allotting the vein and granting title has been changed. as i have explained above, the head-meer consists of three double measures, and each other meer of two measures, and the _bergmeister_ grants one each of the meers to him who makes the first application. the king or prince, since all metal is taxed, is himself content with that, which is usually one-tenth. of the width of every meer, whether old or new, one-half lies on the footwall side of a _vena profunda_ and one half on the hangingwall side. if the vein descends vertically into the earth, the boundaries similarly descend vertically; but if the vein inclines, the boundaries likewise will be inclined. the owner always holds the mining right for the width of the meer, however far the vein descends into the depth of the earth.[ ] further, the _bergmeister_, on application being made to him, grants to one owner or company a right over not only the head meer, or another meer, but also the head meer and the next meer or two adjoining meers. so much for the shape of meers and their dimensions in the case of a _vena profunda_. i now come to the case of _venae dilatatae_. the boundaries of the areas on such veins are not all measured by one method. for in some places the _bergmeister_ gives them shapes similar to the shapes of the meers on _venae profundae_, in which case the head-meer is composed of three double measures, and the area of every other mine of two measures, as i have explained more fully above. in this case, however, he measures the meers with a cord, not only forward and backward from the ends of the head-meer, as he is wont to do in the case where the owner of a _vena profunda_ has a meer granted him, but also from the sides. in this way meers are marked out when a torrent or some other force of nature has laid open a _vena dilatata_ in a valley, so that it appears either on the slope of a mountain or hill or on a plain. elsewhere the _bergmeister_ doubles the width of the head-meer and it is made fourteen fathoms wide, while the width of each of the other meers remains single, that is seven fathoms, but the length is not defined by boundaries. in some places the head-meer consists of three double measures, but has a width of fourteen fathoms and a length of twenty-one. [illustration a (rectangle with lengths): shape of a head-meer.] [illustration b (square with lengths): shape of every other meer.] in the same way, every other meer is composed of two measures, doubled in the same fashion, so that it is fourteen fathoms in width and of the same length. elsewhere every meer, whether a head-meer or other meer, comprises forty-two fathoms in width and as many in length. in other places the _bergmeister_ gives the owner or company all of some locality defined by rivers or little valleys as boundaries. but the boundaries of every such area of whatsoever shape it be, descend vertically into the earth; so the owner of that area has a right over that part of any _vena dilatata_ which lies beneath the first one, just as the owner of the meer on a _vena profunda_ has a right over so great a part of all other _venae profundae_ as lies within the boundaries of his meer; for just as wherever one _vena profunda_ is found, another is found not far away, so wherever one _vena dilatata_ is found, others are found beneath it. finally, the _bergmeister_ divides _vena cumulata_ areas in different ways, for in some localities the head-meer is composed of three measures, doubled in such a way that it is fourteen fathoms wide and twenty-one long; and every other meer consists of two measures doubled, and is square, that is, fourteen fathoms wide and as many long. in some places the head-meer is composed of three single measures, and its width is seven fathoms and its length twenty-one, which two numbers multiplied together make one hundred and forty-seven square fathoms. [illustration (rectangle with lengths and area): shape of a head-meer.] each other meer consists of one double measure. in some places the head-meer is given the shape of a double measure, and every other meer that of a single measure. lastly, in other places the owner or a company is given a right over some complete specified locality bounded by little streams, valleys, or other limits. furthermore, all meers on _venae cumulatae_, as in the case of _dilatatae_, descend vertically into the depths of the earth, and each meer has the boundaries so determined as to prevent disputes arising between the owners of neighbouring mines. the boundary marks in use among miners formerly consisted only of stones, and from this their name was derived, for now the marks of a boundary are called "boundary stones." to-day a row of posts, made either of oak or pine, and strengthened at the top with iron rings to prevent them from being damaged, is fixed beside the boundary stones to make them more conspicuous. by this method in former times the boundaries of the fields were marked by stones or posts, not only as written of in the book "_de limitibus agrorum_,"[ ] but also as testified to by the songs of the poets. such then is the shape of the meers, varying in accordance with the different kinds of veins. now tunnels are of two sorts, one kind having no right of property, the other kind having some limited right. for when a miner in some particular locality is unable to open a vein on account of a great quantity of water, he runs a wide ditch, open at the top and three feet deep, starting on the slope and running up to the place where the vein is found. through it the water flows off, so that the place is made dry and fit for digging. but if it is not sufficiently dried by this open ditch, or if a shaft which he has now for the first time begun to sink is suffering from overmuch water, he goes to the _bergmeister_ and asks that official to give him the right for a tunnel. having obtained leave, he drives the tunnel, and into its drains all the water is diverted, so that the place or shaft is made fit for digging. if it is not seven fathoms from the surface of the earth to the bottom of this kind of tunnel, the owner possesses no rights except this one: namely, that the owners of the mines, from whose leases the owner of the tunnel extracts gold or silver, themselves pay him the sum he expends within their meer in driving the tunnel through it. to a depth or height of three and a half fathoms above and below the mouth of the tunnel, no one is allowed to begin another tunnel. the reason for this is that this kind of a tunnel is liable to be changed into the other kind which has a complete right of property, when it drains the meers to a depth of seven fathoms, or to ten, according as the old custom in each place acquires the force of law. in such case this second kind of tunnel has the following right; in the first place, whatever metal the owner, or company owning it, finds in any meer through which it is driven, all belongs to the tunnel owner within a height or depth of one and a quarter fathoms. in the years which are not long passed, the owner of a tunnel possessed all the metal which a miner standing at the bottom of the tunnel touched with a bar, whose handle did not exceed the customary length; but nowadays a certain prescribed height and width is allowed to the owner of the tunnel, lest the owners of the mines be damaged, if the length of the bar be longer than usual. further, every metal-yielding mine which is drained and supplied with ventilation by a tunnel, is taxed in the proportion of one-ninth for the benefit of the owner of the tunnel. but if several tunnels of this kind are driven through one mining area which is yielding metals, and all drain it and supply it with ventilation, then of the metal which is dug out from above the bottom of each tunnel, one-ninth is given to the owner of that tunnel; of that which is dug out below the bottom of each tunnel, one-ninth is in each case given to the owner of the tunnel which follows next in order below. but if the lower tunnel does not yet drain the shaft of that meer nor supply it with ventilation, then of the metal which is dug out below the bottom of the higher tunnel, one-ninth part is given to the owner of such upper tunnel. moreover, no one tunnel deprives another of its right to one-ninth part, unless it be a lower one, from the bottom of which to the bottom of the one above must not be less than seven or ten fathoms, according as the king or prince has decreed. further, of all the money which the owner of the tunnel has spent on his tunnel while driving it through a meer, the owner of that meer pays one-fourth part. if he does not do so he is not allowed to make use of the drains. finally, with regard to whatever veins are discovered by the owner at whose expense the tunnel is driven, the right of which has not been already awarded to anyone, on the application of such owner the _bergmeister_ grants him a right of a head-meer, or of a head-meer together with the next meer. ancient custom gives the right for a tunnel to be driven in any direction for an unlimited length. further, to-day he who commences a tunnel is given, on his application, not only the right over the tunnel, but even the head and sometimes the next meer also. in former days the owner of the tunnel obtained only so much ground as an arrow shot from the bow might cover, and he was allowed to pasture cattle therein. in a case where the shafts of several meers on some vein could not be worked on account of the great quantity of water, ancient custom also allowed the _bergmeister_ to grant the right of a large meer to anyone who would drive a tunnel. when, however, he had driven a tunnel as far as the old shafts and had found metal, he used to return to the _bergmeister_ and request him to bound and mark off the extent of his right to a meer. thereupon, the _bergmeister_, together with a certain number of citizens of the town--in whose place jurors have now succeeded--used to proceed to the mountain and mark off with boundary stones a large meer, which consisted of seven double measures, that is to say, it was ninety-eight fathoms long and seven wide, which two numbers multiplied together make six hundred and eighty-six square fathoms. [illustration (rectangle with lengths and area): large area.] but each of these early customs has been changed, and we now employ the new method. i have spoken of tunnels; i will now speak about the division of ownership in mines and tunnels. one owner is allowed to possess and to work one, two, three, or more whole meers, or similarly one or more separate tunnels, provided he conforms to the decrees of the laws relating to metals, and to the orders of the _bergmeister_. and because he alone provides the expenditure of money on the mines, if they yield metal he alone obtains the product from them. but when large and frequent expenditures are necessary in mining, he to whom the _bergmeister_ first gave the right often admits others to share with him, and they join with him in forming a company, and they each lay out a part of the expense and share with him the profit or loss of the mine. but the title of the mines or tunnels remains undivided, although for the purpose of dividing the expense and profit it may be said each mine or tunnel is divided into parts[ ]. this division is made in various ways. a mine, and the same thing must be understood with regard to a tunnel, may be divided into two halves, that is into two similar portions, by which method two owners spend an equal amount on it and draw an equal profit from it, for each possesses one half. sometimes it is divided into four shares, by which compact four persons can be owners, so that each possesses one-fourth, or also two persons, so that one possesses three-fourths, and the other only one-fourth; or three owners, so that the first has two-fourths, and the second and third one-fourth each. sometimes it is divided into eight shares, by which plan there may be eight owners, so that each is possessor of one-eighth; sometimes there are two owners, so that one has five-sixths[ ] together with one twenty-fourth, and the other one-eighth; or there may be three owners, in which one has three-quarters and the second and third each one-eighth; or it may be divided so that one owner has seven-twelfths, together with one twenty-fourth, a second owner has one-quarter, and a third owner has one-eighth; or so that the first has one-half, the second one-third and one twenty-fourth, and the third one-eighth; or so that the first has one-half, as before, and the second and third each one-quarter; or so that the first and second each have one-third and one twenty-fourth, and the third one-quarter; and in the same way the divisions may be adjusted in all the other proportions. the different ways of dividing the shares originate from the different proportions of ownership. sometimes a mine is divided into sixteen parts, each of which is a twenty-fourth and a forty-eighth; or it may be divided into thirty-two parts, each of which is a forty-eighth and half a seventy-second and a two hundred and eighty-eighth; or into sixty-four parts of which each share is one seventy-second and one five hundred and seventy-sixth; or finally, into one hundred and twenty-eight parts, any one of which is half a seventy-second and half of one five hundred and seventy-sixth. now an iron mine either remains undivided or is divided into two, four, or occasionally more shares, which depends on the excellence of the veins. but a lead, bismuth, or tin mine, and likewise one of copper or even quicksilver, is also divided into eight shares, or into sixteen or thirty-two, and less commonly into sixty-four. the number of the divisions of the silver mines at freiberg in meissen did not formerly progress beyond this; but within the memory of our fathers, miners have divided a silver mine, and similarly the tunnel at schneeberg, first of all into one hundred and twenty-eight shares, of which one hundred and twenty-six are the property of private owners in the mines or tunnels, one belongs to the state and one to the church; while in joachimsthal only one hundred and twenty-two shares of the mines or tunnels are the property of private owners, four are proprietary shares, and the state and church each have one in the same way. to these there has lately been added in some places one share for the most needy of the population, which makes one hundred and twenty-nine shares. it is only the private owners of mines who pay contributions. a proprietary holder, though he holds as many as four shares such as i have described, does not pay contributions, but gratuitiously supplies the owners of the mines with sufficient wood from his forests for timbering, machinery, buildings, and smelting; nor do those belonging to the state, church, and the poor pay contributions, but the proceeds are used to build or repair public works and sacred buildings, and to support the most needy with the profits which they draw from the mines. furthermore, in our state, the one hundred and twenty-eighth share has begun to be divided into two, four, or eight parts, or even into three, six, twelve, or smaller parts. this is done when one mine is created out of two, for then the owner who formerly possessed one-half becomes owner of one-fourth; he who possessed one-fourth, of one-eighth; he who possessed one-third, of one-sixth; he who possessed one-sixth, of one-twelfth. since our countrymen call a mine a _symposium_, that is, a drinking bout, we are accustomed to call the money which the owners subscribe a _symbolum_, or a contribution[ ]. for, just as those who go to a banquet (_symposium_) give contributions (_symbola_), so those who purpose making large profits from mining are accustomed to contribute toward the expenditure. however, the manager of the mine assesses the contributions of the owners annually, or for the most part quarterly, and as often he renders an account of receipts and expenses. at freiberg in meissen the old practice was for the manager to exact a contribution from the owners every week, and every week to distribute among them the profits of the mines, but this practice during almost the last fifteen years has been so far changed that contribution and distribution are made four[ ] times each year. large or small contributions are imposed according to the number of workmen which the mine or tunnel requires; as a result, those who possess many shares provide many contributions. four times a year the owners contribute to the cost, and four times during the year the profits of the mines are distributed among them; these are sometimes large, sometimes small, according as there is more or less gold or silver or other metal dug out. indeed, from the st. george mine in schneeberg the miners extracted so much silver in a quarter of a year that silver cakes, which were worth , rhenish guldens, were distributed to each one hundred and twenty-eighth share. from the annaberg mine which is known as the himmelisch höz, they had a dole of eight hundred thaler; from a mine in joachimsthal which is named the sternen, three hundred thaler; from the head mine at abertham, which is called st. lorentz, two hundred and twenty-five thaler[ ]. the more shares of which any individual is owner the more profits he takes. i will now explain how the owners may lose or obtain the right over a mine, or a tunnel, or a share. formerly, if anyone was able to prove by witnesses that the owners had failed to send miners for three continuous shifts[ ], the _bergmeister_ deprived them of their right over the mine, and gave the right over it to the informer, if he desired it. but although miners preserve this custom to-day, still mining share owners who have paid their contributions do not lose their right over their mines against their will. formerly, if water which had not been drawn off from the higher shaft of some mine percolated through a vein or stringer into the shaft of another mine and impeded their work, then the owners of the mine which suffered the damage went to the _bergmeister_ and complained of the loss, and he sent to the shafts two jurors. if they found that matters were as claimed, the right over the mine which caused the injury was given to the owners who suffered the injury. but this custom in certain places has been changed, for the _bergmeister_, if he finds this condition of things proved in the case of two shafts, orders the owners of the shaft which causes the injury to contribute part of the expense to the owners of the shaft which receives the injury; if they fail to do so, he then deprives them of their right over their mine; on the other hand, if the owners send men to the workings to dig and draw off the water from the shafts, they keep their right over their mine. formerly owners used to obtain a right over any tunnel, firstly, if in its bottom they made drains and cleansed them of mud and sand so that the water might flow out without any hindrance, and restored those drains which had been damaged; secondly, if they provided shafts or openings to supply the miners with air, and restored those which had fallen in; and finally, if three miners were employed continuously in driving the tunnel. but the principal reason for losing the title to a tunnel was that for a period of eight days no miner was employed upon it; therefore, when anyone was able to prove by witnesses that the owners of a tunnel had not done these things, he brought his accusation before the _bergmeister_, who, after going out from the town to the tunnel and inspecting the drains and the ventilating machines and everything else, and finding the charge to be true, placed the witness under oath, and asked him: "whose tunnel is this at the present time?" the witness would reply: "the king's" or "the prince's." thereupon the _bergmeister_ gave the right over the tunnel to the first applicant. this was the severe rule under which the owners at one time lost their rights over a tunnel; but its severity is now considerably mitigated, for the owners do not now forthwith lose their right over a tunnel through not having cleaned out the drains and restored the shafts or ventilation holes which have suffered damage; but the _bergmeister_ orders the tunnel manager to do it, and if he does not obey, the authorities fine the tunnel. also it is sufficient for one miner to be engaged in driving the tunnel. moreover, if the owner of a tunnel sets boundaries at a fixed spot in the rocks and stops driving the tunnel, he may obtain a right over it so far as he has gone, provided the drains are cleaned out and ventilation holes are kept in repair. but any other owner is allowed to start from the established mark and drive the tunnel further, if he pays the former owners of the tunnel as much money every three months as the _bergmeister_ decides ought to be paid. there remain for discussion, the shares in the mines and tunnels. formerly if anybody conveyed these shares to anyone else, and the latter had once paid his contribution, the seller[ ] was bound to stand by his bargain, and this custom to-day has the force of law. but if the seller denied that the contribution had been paid, while the buyer of the shares declared that he could prove by witnesses that he had paid his contribution to the other proprietors, and a case arose for trial, then the evidence of the other proprietors carried more weight than the oath of the seller. to-day the buyer of the shares proves that he has paid his contribution by a document which the mine or tunnel manager always gives each one; if the buyer has contributed no money there is no obligation on the seller to keep his bargain. formerly, as i have said above, the proprietors used to contribute money weekly, but now contributions are paid four times each year. to-day, if for the space of a month anyone does not take proceedings against the seller of the shares for the contribution, the right of taking proceedings is lost. but when the clerk has already entered on the register the shares which had been conveyed or bought, none of the owners loses his right over the share unless the money is not contributed which the manager of the mine or tunnel has demanded from the owner or his agent. formerly, if on the application of the manager the owner or his agent did not pay, the matter was referred to the _bergmeister_, who ordered the owner or his agent to make his contribution; then if he failed to contribute for three successive weeks, the _bergmeister_ gave the right to his shares to the first applicant. to-day this custom is unchanged, for if owners fail for the space of a month to pay the contributions which the manager of the mine has imposed on them, on a stated day their names are proclaimed aloud and struck off the list of owners, in the presence of the _bergmeister_, the jurors, the mining clerk, and the share clerk, and each of such shares is entered on the proscribed list. if, however, on the third, or at latest the fourth day, they pay their contributions to the manager of the mine or tunnel, and pay the money which is due from them to the share clerk, he removes their shares from the proscribed list. they are not thereupon restored to their former position unless the other owners consent; in which respect the custom now in use differs from the old practice, for to-day if the owners of shares constituting anything over half the mine consent to the restoration of those who have been proscribed, the others are obliged to consent whether they wish to or not. formerly, unless such restoration had been sanctioned by the approval of the owners of one hundred shares, those who had been proscribed were not restored to their former position. the procedure in suits relating to shares was formerly as follows: he who instituted a suit and took legal proceedings against another in respect of the shares, used to make a formal charge against the accused possessor before the _bergmeister_. this was done either at his house or in some public place or at the mines, once each day for three days if the shares belonged to an old mine, and three times in eight days if they belonged to a head-meer. but if he could not find the possessor of the shares in these places, it was valid and effectual to make the accusation against him at the house of the _bergmeister_. when, however, he made the charge for the third time, he used to bring with him a notary, whom the _bergmeister_ would interrogate: "have i earned the fee?" and who would respond: "you have earned it"; thereupon the _bergmeister_ would give the right over the shares to him who made the accusation, and the accuser in turn would pay down the customary fee to the _bergmeister_. after these proceedings, if the man whom the _bergmeister_ had deprived of his shares dwelt in the city, one of the proprietors of the mine or of the head-mine was sent to him to acquaint him with the facts, but if he dwelt elsewhere proclamation was made in some public place, or at the mine, openly and in a loud voice in the hearing of numbers of miners. nowadays a date is defined for the one who is answerable for the debt of shares or money, and information is given the accused by an official if he is near at hand, or if he is absent, a letter is sent him; nor is the right over his shares taken from anyone for the space of one and a half months. so much for these matters. now, before i deal with the methods which must be employed in working, i will speak of the duties of the mining prefect, the _bergmeister_, the jurors, the mining clerk, the share clerk, the manager of the mine or tunnel, the foreman of the mine or tunnel, and the workmen. to the mining prefect, whom the king or prince appoints as his deputy, all men of all races, ages, and rank, give obedience and submission. he governs and regulates everything at his discretion, ordering those things which are useful and advantageous in mining operations, and prohibiting those which are to the contrary. he levies penalties and punishes offenders; he arranges disputes which the _bergmeister_ has been unable to settle, and if even he cannot arrange them, he allows the owners who are at variance over some point to proceed to litigation; he even lays down the law, gives orders as a magistrate, or bids them leave their rights in abeyance, and he determines the pay of persons who hold any post or office. he is present in person when the mine managers present their quarterly accounts of profits and expenses, and generally represents the king or prince and upholds his dignity. the athenians in this way set thucydides, the famous historian, over the mines of thasos[ ]. next in power to the mining prefect comes the _bergmeister_, since he has jurisdiction over all who are connected with mines, with a few exceptions, which are the tithe gatherer, the cashier, the silver refiner, the master of the mint, and the coiners themselves. fraudulent, negligent, or dissolute men he either throws into prison, or deprives of promotion, or fines; of these fines, part is given as a tribute to those in power. when the mine owners have a dispute over boundaries he arbitrates it; or if he cannot settle the dispute, he pronounces judgment jointly with the jurors; from them, however, an appeal lies to the mining prefect. he transcribes his decrees in a book and sets up the records in public. it is also his duty to grant the right over the mines to those who apply, and to confirm their rights; he also must measure the mines, and fix their boundaries, and see that the mine workings are not allowed to become dangerous. some of these duties he observes on fixed days; for on wednesday in the presence of the jurors he confirms the rights over the mines which he has granted, settles disputes about boundaries, and pronounces judgments. on mondays, tuesdays, thursdays, and fridays, he rides up to the mines, and dismounting at some of them explains what is required to be done, or considers the boundaries which are under controversy. on saturday all the mine managers and mine foremen render an account of the money which they have spent on the mines during the preceding week, and the mining clerk transcribes this account into the register of expenses. formerly, for one principality there was one _bergmeister_, who used to create all the judges and exercise jurisdiction and control over them; for every mine had its own judge, just as to-day each locality has a _bergmeister_ in his place, the name alone being changed. to this ancient _bergmeister_, who used to dwell at freiberg in meissen, disputes were referred; hence right up to the present time the one at freiberg still has the power of pronouncing judgment when mine owners who are engaged in disputes among themselves appeal to him. the old _bergmeister_ could try everything which was presented to him in any mine whatsoever; whereas the judge could only try the things which were done in his own district, in the same way that every modern _bergmeister_ can. to each _bergmeister_ is attached a clerk, who writes out a schedule signifying to the applicant for a right over a mine, the day and hour on which the right is granted, the name of the applicant, and the location of the mine. he also affixes at the entrance to the mine, quarterly, at the appointed time, a sheet of paper on which is shown how much contribution must be paid to the manager of the mine. these notices are prepared jointly with the mining clerk, and in common they receive the fee rendered by the foremen of the separate mines. i now come to the jurors, who are men experienced in mining matters and of good repute. their number is greater or less as there are few or more mines; thus if there are ten mines there will be five pairs of jurors, like a _decemviral college_[ ]. into however many divisions the total number of mines has been divided, so many divisions has the body of jurors; each pair of jurors usually visits some of the mines whose administration is under their supervision on every day that workmen are employed; it is usually so arranged that they visit all the mines in the space of fourteen days. they inspect and consider all details, and deliberate and consult with the mine foreman on matters relating to the underground workings, machinery, timbering, and everything else. they also jointly with the mine foreman from time to time make the price per fathom to the workmen for mining the ore, fixing it at a high or low price, according to whether the rock is hard or soft; if, however, the contractors find that an unforeseen and unexpected hardness occurs, and for that reason have difficulty and delay in carrying out their work, the jurors allow them something in excess of the price fixed; while if there is a softness by reason of water, and the work is done more easily and quickly, they deduct something from the price. further, if the jurors discover manifest negligence or fraud on the part of any foreman or workman, they first admonish or reprimand him as to his duties and obligations, and if he does not become more diligent and improve, the matter is reported to the _bergmeister_, who by right of his authority deprives such persons of their functions and office, or, if they have committed a crime, throws them into prison. lastly, because the jurors have been given to the _bergmeister_ as councillors and advisors, in their absence he does not confirm the right over any mine, nor measure the mines, nor fix their boundaries, nor settle disputes about boundaries, nor pronounce judgment, nor, finally, does he without them listen to any account of profits and expenditure. now the mining clerk enters each mine in his books, the new mines in one book, the old mines which have been re-opened in another. this is done in the following way: first is written the name of the man who has applied for the right over the mine, then the day and hour on which he made his application, then the vein and the locality in which it is situated, next the conditions on which the right has been given, and lastly, the day on which the _bergmeister_ confirmed it. a document containing all these particulars is also given to the person whose right over a mine has been confirmed. the mining clerk also sets down in another book the names of the owners of each mine over which the right has been confirmed; in another any intermission of work permitted to any person for certain reasons by the _bergmeister_; in another the money which one mine supplies to another for drawing off water or making machinery; and in another the decisions of the _bergmeister_ and the jurors, and the disputes settled by them as honorary arbitrators. all these matters he enters in the books on wednesday of every week; if holidays fall on that day he does it on the following thursday. every saturday he enters in another book the total expenses of the preceding week, the account of which the mine manager has rendered; but the total quarterly expenses of each mine manager, he enters in a special book at his own convenience. he enters similarly in another book a list of owners who have been proscribed. lastly, that no one may be able to bring a charge of falsification against him, all these books are enclosed in a chest with two locks, the key of one of which is kept by the mining clerk, and of the other by the _bergmeister_. the share clerk enters in a book the owners of each mine whom the first finder of the vein names to him, and from time to time replaces the names of the sellers with those of the buyers of the shares. it sometimes happens that twenty or more owners come into the possession of some particular share. unless, however, the seller is present, or has sent a letter to the mining clerk with his seal, or better still with the seal of the mayor of the town where he dwells, his name is not replaced by that of anyone else; for if the share clerk is not sufficiently cautious, the law requires him to restore the late owner wholly to his former position. he writes out a fresh document, and in this way gives proof of possession. four times a year, when the accounts of the quarterly expenditure are rendered, he names the new proprietors to the manager of each mine, that the manager may know from whom he should demand contributions and among whom to distribute the profits of the mines. for this work the mine manager pays the clerk a fixed fee. i will now speak of the duties of the mine manager. in the case of the owners of every mine which is not yielding metal, the manager announces to the proprietors their contributions in a document which is affixed to the doors of the town hall, such contributions being large or small, according as the _bergmeister_ and two jurors determine. if anyone fails to pay these contributions for the space of a month, the manager removes their names from the list of owners, and makes their shares the common property of the other proprietors. and so, whomsoever the mine manager names as not having paid his contribution, that same man the mining clerk designates in writing, and so also does the share clerk. of the contribution, the mine manager applies part to the payment of the foreman and workmen, and lays by a part to purchase at the lowest price the necessary things for the mine, such as iron tools, nails, firewood, planks, buckets, drawing-ropes, or grease. but in the case of a mine which is yielding metal, the tithe-gatherer pays the mine manager week by week as much money as suffices to discharge the workmen's wages and to provide the necessary implements for mining. the mine manager of each mine also, in the presence of its foreman, on saturday in each week renders an account of his expenses to the _bergmeister_ and the jurors, he renders an account of his receipts, whether the money has been contributed by the owners or taken from the tithe-gatherer; and of his quarterly expenditure in the same way to them and to the mining prefect and to the mining clerk, four times a year at the appointed time; for just as there are four seasons of the year, namely, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, so there are fourfold accounts of profits and expenses. in the beginning of the first month of each quarter an account is rendered of the money which the manager has spent on the mine during the previous quarter, then of the profit which he has taken from it during the same period; for example, the account which is rendered at the beginning of spring is an account of all the profits and expenses of each separate week of winter, which have been entered by the mining clerk in the book of accounts. if the manager has spent the money of the proprietors advantageously in the mine and has faithfully looked after it, everyone praises him as a diligent and honest man; if through ignorance in these matters he has caused loss, he is generally deprived of his office; if by his carelessness and negligence the owners have suffered loss, the _bergmeister_ compels him to make good the loss; and finally, if he has been guilty of fraud or theft, he is punished with fine, prison, or death. further, it is the business of the manager to see that the foreman of the mine is present at the beginning and end of the shifts, that he digs the ore in an advantageous manner, and makes the required timbering, machines, and drains. the manager also makes the deductions from the pay of the workmen whom the foreman has noted as negligent. next, if the mine is rich in metal, the manager must see that its ore-house is closed on those days on which no work is performed; and if it is a rich vein of gold or silver, he sees that the miners promptly transfer the output from the shaft or tunnel into a chest or into the strong room next to the house where the foreman dwells, that no opportunity for theft may be given to dishonest persons. this duty he shares in common with the foreman, but the one which follows is peculiarly his own. when ore is smelted he is present in person, and watches that the smelting is performed carefully and advantageously. if from it gold or silver is melted out, when it is melted in the cupellation furnace he enters the weight of it in his books and carries it to the tithe-gatherer, who similarly writes a note of its weight in his books; it is then conveyed to the refiner. when it has been brought back, both the tithe-gatherer and manager again enter its weight in their books. why again? because he looks after the goods of the owners just as if they were his own. now the laws which relate to mining permit a manager to have charge of more than one mine, but in the case of mines yielding gold or silver, to have charge of only two. if, however, several mines following the head-mine begin to produce metal, he remains in charge of these others until he is freed from the duty of looking after them by the _bergmeister_. last of all, the manager, the _bergmeister_, and the two jurors, in agreement with the owners, settle the remuneration for the labourers. enough of the duties and occupation of the manager. i will now leave the manager, and discuss him who controls the workmen of the mine, who is therefore called the foreman, although some call him the watchman. it is he who distributes the work among the labourers, and sees diligently that each faithfully and usefully performs his duties. he also discharges workmen on account of incompetence, or negligence, and supplies others in their places if the two jurors and manager give their consent. he must be skilful in working wood, that he may timber shafts, place posts, and make underground structures capable of supporting an undermined mountain, lest the rocks from the hangingwall of the veins, not being supported, become detached from the mass of the mountain and overwhelm the workmen with destruction. he must be able to make and lay out the drains in the tunnels, into which the water from the veins, stringers, and seams in the rocks may collect, that it may be properly guided and can flow away. further, he must be able to recognize veins and stringers, so as to sink shafts to the best advantage, and must be able to discern one kind of material which is mined from another, or to train his subordinates that they may separate the materials correctly. he must also be well acquainted with all methods of washing, so as to teach the washers how the metalliferous earth or sand is washed. he supplies the miners with iron tools when they are about to start to work in the mines, and apportions a certain weight of oil for their lamps, and trains them to dig to the best advantage, and sees that they work faithfully. when their shift is finished, he takes back the oil which has been left. on account of his numerous and important duties and labours, only one mine is entrusted to one foreman, nay, rather sometimes two or three foremen are set over one mine. since i have mentioned the shifts, i will briefly explain how these are carried on. the twenty-four hours of a day and night are divided into three shifts, and each shift consists of seven hours. the three remaining hours are intermediate between the shifts, and form an interval during which the workmen enter and leave the mines. the first shift begins at the fourth hour in the morning and lasts till the eleventh hour; the second begins at the twelfth and is finished at the seventh; these two are day shifts in the morning and afternoon. the third is the night shift, and commences at the eighth hour in the evening and finishes at the third in the morning. the _bergmeister_ does not allow this third shift to be imposed upon the workmen unless necessity demands it. in that case, whether they draw water from the shafts or mine the ore, they keep their vigil by the night lamps, and to prevent themselves falling asleep from the late hours or from fatigue, they lighten their long and arduous labours by singing, which is neither wholly untrained nor unpleasing. in some places one miner is not allowed to undertake two shifts in succession, because it often happens that he either falls asleep in the mine, overcome by exhaustion from too much labour, or arrives too late for his shift, or leaves sooner than he ought. elsewhere he is allowed to do so, because he cannot subsist on the pay of one shift, especially if provisions grow dearer. the _bergmeister_ does not, however, forbid an extraordinary shift when he concedes only one ordinary shift. when it is time to go to work the sound of a great bell, which the foreigners call a "campana," gives the workmen warning, and when this is heard they run hither and thither through the streets toward the mines. similarly, the same sound of the bell warns the foreman that a shift has just been finished; therefore as soon as he hears it, he stamps on the woodwork of the shaft and signals the workmen to come out. thereupon, the nearest as soon as they hear the signal, strike the rocks with their hammers, and the sound reaches those who are furthest away. moreover, the lamps show that the shift has come to an end when the oil becomes almost consumed and fails them. the labourers do not work on saturdays, but buy those things which are necessary to life, nor do they usually work on sundays or annual festivals, but on these occasions devote the shift to holy things. however, the workmen do not rest and do nothing if necessity demands their labour; for sometimes a rush of water compels them to work, sometimes an impending fall, sometimes something else, and at such times it is not considered irreligious to work on holidays. moreover, all workmen of this class are strong and used to toil from birth. the chief kinds of workmen are miners, shovellers, windlass men, carriers, sorters, washers, and smelters, as to whose duties i will speak in the following books, in their proper place. at present it is enough to add this one fact, that if the workmen have been reported by the foreman for negligence, the _bergmeister_, or even the foreman himself, jointly with the manager, dismisses them from their work on saturday, or deprives them of part of their pay; or if for fraud, throws them into prison. however, the owners of works in which the metals are smelted, and the master of the smelter, look after their own men. as to the government and duties of miners, i have now said enough; i will explain them more fully in another work entitled _de jure et legibus metallicis_[ ]. end of book iv. footnotes: [ ] the nomenclature in this chapter has given unusual difficulty, because the organisation of mines, either past or present, in english-speaking countries provides no exact equivalents for many of these offices and for many of the legal terms. the latin terms in the text were, of course, coined by the author, and have no historical basis to warrant their adoption, while the introduction of the original german terms is open to much objection, as they are not only largely obsolete, but also in the main would convey no meaning to the majority of readers. we have, therefore, reached a series of compromises, and in the main give the nearest english equivalent. of much interest in this connection is a curious exotic survival in mining law to be found in the high peak of derbyshire. we believe (see note on p. ) that the law of this district was of saxon importation, for in it are not only many terms of german origin, but the character of the law is foreign to the older english districts and shows its near kinship to that of saxony. it is therefore of interest in connection with the nomenclature to be adopted in this book, as it furnishes about the only english precedents in many cases. the head of the administration in the peak was the steward, who was the chief judicial officer, with functions somewhat similar to the _berghauptmann_. however, the term steward has come to have so much less significance that we have adopted a literal rendering of the latin. under the steward was the barmaster, barghmaster, or barmar, as he was variously called, and his duties were similar to those of the _bergmeister_. the english term would seem to be a corruption of the german, and as the latter has come to be so well understood by the english-speaking mining class, we have in this case adopted the german. the barmaster acted always by the consent and with the approval of a jury of from to members. in this instance the english had functions much like a modern jury, while the _geschwornen_ of saxony had much more widely extended powers. the german _geschwornen_ were in the main inspectors; despite this, however, we have not felt justified in adopting any other than the literal english for the latin and german terms. we have vacillated a great deal over the term _praefectus fodinae_, the german _steiger_ having, like the cornish "captain," in these days degenerated into a foreman, whereas the duties as described were not only those of the modern superintendent or manager, but also those of treasurer of the company, for he made the calls on shares and paid the dividends. the term purser has been used for centuries in english mining for the accountant or cashier, but his functions were limited to paying dividends, wages, etc., therefore we have considered it better not to adopt the latter term, and have compromised upon the term superintendent or manager, although it has a distinctly modern flavor. the word for _area_ has also caused much hesitation, and the "meer" has finally been adopted with some doubt. the title described by agricola has a very close equivalent in the meer of old derbyshire. as will be seen later, the mines of saxony were regal property, and were held subject to two essential conditions, _i.e._, payment of a tithe, and continuous operation. this form of title thus approximates more closely to the "lease" of australia than to the old cornish _sett_, or the american _claim_. the _fundgrube_ of saxony and agricola's equivalent, the _area capitis_--head lease--we have rendered literally as "head meer," although in some ways "founders' meer" might be better, for, in derbyshire, this was called the "finder's" or founder's meer, and was awarded under similar circumstances. it has also an analogy in australian law in the "reward" leases. the term "measure" has the merit of being a literal rendering of the latin, and also of being the identical term in the same use in the high peak. the following table of the principal terms gives the originals of the latin text, their german equivalents according in the glossary and other sources, and those adopted in the translation:-- agricola. german glossary. term adopted. _praefectus metallorum_ _bergamptmann_ mining prefect. _magister metallicorum_ _bergmeister_ bergmeister. _scriba magister _bergmeister's schreiber_ bergmeister's clerk. metallicorum_ _jurati_ _geschwornen_ jurates or jurors. _publicus signator_ _gemeiner sigler_ notary. _decumanus_ _zehender_ tithe gatherer. _distributor_ _aussteiler_ cashier. _scriba partium_ _gegenschreiber_ share clerk. _scriba fodinarum_ _bergschreiber_ mining clerk. _praefectus fodinae_ } _steiger_ { manager of the mine. _praefectus cuniculi_ } { manager of the tunnel. _praeses fodinae_ } _schichtmeister_ { foreman of the mine. _praeses cuniculi_ } { foreman of the tunnel. _fossores_ _berghauer_ miners or diggers. _ingestores_ _berganschlagen_ shovellers. _vectarii_ _hespeler_ lever workers (windlass men). _discretores_ _ertzpucher_ sorters. _lotores_ _wescher und seiffner_ washers, buddlers, sifters, etc. _excoctores_ _schmeltzer_ smelters. _purgator argenti_ _silber brenner_ silver refiner. _magister monetariorum_ _müntzmeister_ master of the mint. _monetarius_ _müntzer_ coiner. _area fodinarum_ _masse_ meer. _area capitis fodinarum_ _fundgrube_ head meer. _demensum_ _lehen_ measure. [ ] the following are the equivalents of the measures mentioned in this book. it is not always certain which "foot" or "fathom" agricola actually had in mind although they were probably the german. greek-- _dactylos_ = . inches = _pous_ = . inches = _orguia_ = . inches. roman-- _uncia_ = . " = _pes_ = . " = _passus_ = . " german-- _zoll_ = . " = _werckschuh_ = . " = _lachter_ = . " english-- inch = . " = foot = . " = fathom = . " the discrepancies are due to variations in authorities and to decimals dropped. the _werckschuh_ taken is the chemnitz foot deduced from agricola's statement in his _de mensuris et ponderibus_, basel, , p. . for further notes see appendix c. [ ] _subcisivum_--"remainder." german glossary, _ueberschar_. the term used in mendip and derbyshire was _primgap_ or _primegap_. it did not, however, in this case belong to adjacent mines, but to the landlord. [ ] _adversum_. glossary, _gegendrumb_. the _bergwerk lexicon_, chemnitz, , gives _gegendrom_ or _gegentramm_, and defines it as the _masse_ or lease next beyond a stream. [ ] _quadratum_. glossary, _vierung_. the _vierung_ in old saxon title meant a definite zone on either side of the vein, - / _lachter_ (_lachter_ = ft. . inches) into the hangingwall and the same into the footwall, the length of one _vierung_ being _lachter_ along the strike. it must be borne in mind that the form of rights here referred to entitled the miner to follow his vein, carrying the side line with him in depth the same distance from the vein, in much the same way as with the apex law of the united states. from this definition as given in the _bergwerk lexicon_, p. , it would appear that the vein itself was not included in the measurements, but that they started from the walls. [ ] historical note on the development of mining law.--there is no branch of the law of property, of which the development is more interesting and illuminating from a social point of view than that relating to minerals. unlike the land, the minerals have ever been regarded as a sort of fortuitous property, for the title of which there have been four principal claimants--that is, the overlord, as represented by the king, prince, bishop, or what not; the community or the state, as distinguished from the ruler; the landowner; and the mine operator, to which class belongs the discoverer. the one of these that possessed the dominant right reflects vividly the social state and sentiment of the period. the divine right of kings; the measure of freedom of their subjects; the tyranny of the land-owning class; the rights of the community as opposed to its individual members; the rise of individualism; and finally, the modern return to more communal view, have all been reflected promptly in the mineral title. of these parties the claims of the overlord have been limited only by the resistance of his subjects; those of the state limited by the landlord; those of the landlord by the sovereign or by the state; while the miner, ever in a minority in influence as well as in numbers, has been buffeted from pillar to post, his only protection being the fact that all other parties depended upon his exertion and skill. the conception as to which of these classes had a right in the title have been by no means the same in different places at the same time, and in all it varies with different periods; but the whole range of legislation indicates the encroachment of one factor in the community over another, so that their relative rights have been the cause of never-ending contention, ever since a record of civil and economic contentions began. in modern times, practically over the whole world, the state has in effect taken the rights from the overlord, but his claims did not cease until his claims over the bodies of his subjects also ceased. however, he still remains in many places with his picture on the coinage. the landlord has passed through many vicissitudes; his complete right to minerals was practically never admitted until the doctrine of _laissez-faire_ had become a matter of faith, and this just in time to vest him with most of the coal and iron deposits in the world; this, no doubt, being also partially due to the little regard in which such deposits were generally held at that time, and therefore to the little opposition to his ever-ready pretentions. their numbers, however, and their prominence in the support of the political powers _de jure_ have usually obtained them some recognition. in the rise of individualism, the apogee of the _laissez-faire_ fetish came about the time of the foundation of the united states, and hence the relaxation in the claims of the state in that country and the corresponding position attained by the landlord and miner. the discoverer and the operator--that is, the miner himself--has, however, had to be reckoned with by all three of the other claimants, because they have almost universally sought to escape the risks of mining, to obtain the most skilful operation, and to stimulate the productivity of the mines; thereupon the miner has secured at least partial consideration. this stands out in all times and all places, and while the miner has had to take the risks of his fortuitous calling, the overlord, state, or landlord have all made for complacent safety by demanding some kind of a tithe on his exertions. moreover, there has often been a low cunning displayed by these powers in giving something extra to the first discoverer. in these relations of the powers to the mine operator, from the very first we find definite records of the imposition of certain conditions with extraordinary persistence--so fixed a notion that even the united states did not quite escape it. this condition was, no doubt, designed as a stimulus to productive activity, and was the requirement that the miner should continuously employ himself digging in the piece of ground allotted to him. the greeks, romans, mediæval germans, old and modern englishmen, modern australians, all require the miner to keep continuously labouring at his mines, or lose his title. the american, as his inauguration of government happened when things were easier for individuals, allows him a vacation of months in the year for a few years, and finally a holiday altogether. there are other points where the overlord, the state, or the landlord have always considered that they had a right to interfere, principally as to the way the miner does his work, lest he should miss, or cause to be missed, some of the mineral; so he has usually been under pains and penalties as to his methods--these quite apart from the very proper protection to human life, which is purely a modern invention, largely of the miner himself. somebody has had to keep peace and settle disputes among the usually turbulent miners (for what other sort of operators would undertake the hazards and handicaps?), and therefore special officials and codes, or courts, for his benefit are of the oldest and most persistent of institutions. between the overlord and the landowner the fundamental conflict of view as to their respective rights has found its interpretation in the form of the mineral title. the overlord claimed the metals as distinguished from the land, while the landowner claimed all beneath his soil. therefore, we find two forms of title--that in which the miner could follow the ore regardless of the surface (the "apex" conception), and that in which the boundaries were vertical from the land surface. lest the americans think that the apex law was a sin original to themselves, we may mention that it was made use of in europe a few centuries before agricola, who will be found to set it out with great precision. from these points of view, more philosophical than legal, we present a few notes on various ancient laws of mines, though space forbids a discussion of a tithe of the amount it deserves at some experienced hand. of the ancient egyptian, lydian, assyrian, persian, indian, and chinese laws as to mines we have no record, but they were of great simplicity, for the bodies as well as the property of subjects were at the abject disposition of the overlord. we are informed on countless occasions of emperors, kings, and princes of various degree among these races, owning and operating mines with convicts, soldiers, or other slaves, so we may take it for certain that continuous labour was enforced, and that the boundaries, inspection, and landlords did not cause much anxiety. however, herein lies the root of regalian right. our first glimpse of a serious right of the subject to mines is among some of the greek states, as could be expected from their form of government. with republican ideals, a rich mining district at mount laurion, an enterprising and contentious people, it would be surprising indeed if athenian literature was void on the subject. while we know that the active operation of these mines extended over some years, from to b.c., the period of most literary reference was from to b.c. our information on the subject is from two of demosthenes' orations--one against pantaenetus, the other against phaenippus--the first mining lawsuit in which the address of counsel is extant. there is also available some information in xenophon's essay upon the revenues, aristotle's constitution of athens, lycurgus' prosecution of diphilos, the tablets of the poletae, and many incidental references and inscriptions of minor order. the minerals were the property of the state, a conception apparently inherited from the older civilizations. leases for exploitation were granted to individuals for terms of three to ten years, depending upon whether the mines had been previously worked, thus a special advantage was conferred upon the pioneer. the leases did not carry surface rights, but the boundaries at mt. laurion were vertical, as necessarily must be the case everywhere in horizontal deposits. what they were elsewhere we do not know. the landlord apparently got nothing. the miner must continuously operate his mine, and was required to pay a large tribute to the state, either in the initial purchase of his lease or in annual rent. there were elaborate regulations as to interference and encroachment, and proper support of the workings. diphilos was condemned to death and his fortune confiscated for robbing pillars. the mines were worked with slaves. the romans were most intensive miners and searchers after metallic wealth already mined. the latter was obviously the objective of most roman conquest, and those nations rich in these commodities, at that time necessarily possessed their own mines. thus a map showing the extensions of empire coincides in an extraordinary manner with the metal distribution of europe, asia, and north africa. further, the great indentations into the periphery of the imperial map, though many were rich from an agricultural point of view, had no lure to the roman because they had no mineral wealth. on the roman law of mines the student is faced with many perplexities. with the conquest of the older states, the plunderers took over the mines and worked them, either by leases from the state to public companies or to individuals; or even in some cases worked them directly by the state. there was thus maintained the concept of state ownership of the minerals which, although apparently never very specifically defined, yet formed a basis of support to the contention of regalian rights in europe later on. parallel with this system, mines were discovered and worked by individuals under tithe to the state, and in pliny (xxxiv, ) there is reference to the miners in britain limiting their own output. individual mining appears to have increased with any relaxation of central authority, as for instance under augustus. it appears, as a rule, that the mines were held on terminable leases, and that the state did at times resume them; the labour was mostly slaves. as to the detailed conditions under which the mine operator held his title, we know less than of the greeks--in fact, practically nothing other than that he paid a tithe. the romans maintained in each mining district an official--the _procurator metallorum_--who not only had general charge of the leasing of the mines on behalf of the state, but was usually the magistrate of the district. a bronze tablet found near aljustrel, in portugal, in , generally known as the aljustrel tablet, appears to be the third of a series setting out the regulations of the mining district. it refers mostly to the regulation of public auctions, the baths, barbers, and tradesmen; but one clause (vii.) is devoted to the regulation of those who work dumps of scoria, etc., and provides for payment to the administrator of the mines of a _capitation_ on the slaves employed. it does not, however, so far as we can determine, throw any light upon the actual regulations for working the mines. (those interested will find ample detail in jacques flach, "_la table de bronze d'aljustrel: nouvelle revue historique de droit francais et etranger_," , p. ; _estacio da veiga, memorias da acad. real das ciencias de lisbon, nova scrie, tome v, part ii_, lisbon, .) despite the systematic law of property evolved by the romans, the codes contain but small reference to mines, and this in itself is indirect evidence of the concept that they were the property of the state. any general freedom of the metals would have given rise to a more extensive body of law. there are, of course, the well-known sections in the justinian and theodosian codes, but the former in the main bears on the collection of the tithe and the stimulation of mining by ordering migrant miners to return to their own hearths. there is also some intangible prohibition of mining near edifices. there is in the theodosian code evident extension of individual right to mine or quarry, and this "freeing" of the mines was later considerably extended. the empire was, however, then on the decline; and no doubt it was hoped to stimulate the taxable commodities. there is nothing very tangible as to the position of the landlord with regard to minerals found on his property; the metals were probably of insufficient frequency on the land of italian landlords to matter much, and the attitude toward subject races was not usually such as to require an extensive body of law. in the chaos of the middle ages, europe was governed by hundreds of potentates, great and small, who were unanimous on one point, and this that the minerals were their property. in the bickerings among themselves, the stronger did not hesitate to interpret the roman law in affirming regalian rights as an excuse to dispossess the weaker. the rights to the mines form no small part of the differences between these potentates and the more important of their subjects; and with the gradual accretion of power into a few hands, we find only the most powerful of vassals able to resist such encroachment. however, as to what position the landlord or miner held in these rights, we have little indication until about the beginning of the th century, after which there appear several well-known charters, which as time went on were elaborated into practical codes of mining law. the earliest of these charters are those of the bishop of trent, ; that of the harz miners, ; of the town of iglau in . many such in connection with other districts appear throughout the th, th, and th centuries. (references to the most important of such charters may be found in sternberg, _umrisse der geschichte des bergbaues_, prague, ; eisenhart, _de regali metalli fodinarium_, helmestadt, ; gmelin, _beyträge zur geschichte des teutschen bergbaus_, halle, ; inama-sternegg, _deutsche wirthschaftsgeschichte_, leipzig, - ; transactions, royal geol. soc. cornwall vi, ; lewis, the stannaries, new york, .) by this time a number of mining communities had grown up, and the charters in the main are a confirmation to them of certain privileges; they contain, nevertheless, rigorous reservation of the regalian right. the landlord, where present, was usually granted some interest in the mine, but had to yield to the miner free entry. the miner was simply a sort of tributer to the crown, loaded with an obligation when upon private lands to pay a further portion of his profits to the landlord. he held tenure only during strenuous operation. however, it being necessary to attract skilled men, they were granted many civil privileges not general to the people; and from many of the principal mining towns "free cities" were created, possessing a measure of self-government. there appear in the iglau charter of the first symptoms of the "apex" form of title, this being the logical development of the conception that the minerals were of quite distinct ownership from the land. the law, as outlined by agricola, is much the same as set out in the iglavian charter of three centuries before, and we must believe that such fully developed conceptions as that charter conveys were but the confirmation of customs developed over generations. in france the landlord managed to maintain a stronger position _vis-à-vis_ with the crown, despite much assertion of its rights; and as a result, while the landlord admitted the right to a tithe for the crown, he maintained the actual possession, and the boundaries were defined with the land. in england the law varied with special mining communities, such as cornwall, devon, the forest of dean, the forest of mendip, alston moor, and the high peak, and they exhibit a curious complex of individual growth, of profound interest to the student of the growth of institutions. these communities were of very ancient origin, some of them at least pre-roman; but we are, except for the reference in pliny, practically without any idea of their legal doings until after the norman occupation ( a.d.). the genius of these conquerors for systematic government soon led them to inquire into the doings of these communities, and while gradually systematising their customs into law, they lost no occasion to assert the regalian right to the minerals. in the two centuries subsequent to their advent there are on record numerous inquisitions, with the recognition and confirmation of "the customs and liberties which had existed from time immemorial," always with the reservation to the crown of some sort of royalty. except for the high peak in derbyshire, the period and origin of these "customs and liberties" are beyond finding out, as there is practically no record of english history between the roman withdrawal and the norman occupation. there may have been "liberties" under the romans, but there is not a shred of evidence on the subject, and our own belief is that the forms of self-government which sprang up were the result of the roman evacuation. the miner had little to complain of in the norman treatment in these matters; but between the crown and the landlord as represented by the barons, lords of the manor, etc., there were wide differences of opinion on the regalian rights, for in the extreme interpretation of the crown it tended greatly to curtail the landlord's position in the matter, and the success of the crown on this subject was by no means universal. in fact, a considerable portion of english legal history of mines is but the outcropping of this conflict, and one of the concessions wrung from king john at runnymede in was his abandonment of a portion of such claims. the mining communities of cornwall and devon were early in the th century definitely chartered into corporations--"the stannaries"--possessing definite legislative and executive functions, judicial powers, and practical self-government; but they were required to make payment of the tithe in the shape of "coinage" on the tin. such recognition, while but a ratification of prior custom, was not obtained without struggle, for the norman kings early asserted wide rights over the mines. tangible record of mining in these parts, from a legal point of view, practically begins with a report by william de wrotham in upon his arrangements regarding the coinage. a charter of king john in , while granting free right of entry to the miners, thus usurped the rights of the landlords--a claim which he was compelled by the barons to moderate; the crown, as above mentioned did maintain its right to a royalty, but the landlord held the minerals. it is not, however, until the time of richard carew's "survey of cornwall" (london, ) that we obtain much insight into details of miners' title, and the customs there set out were maintained in broad principle down to the th century. at carew's time the miner was allowed to prospect freely upon "common" or wastrel lands (since mostly usurped by landlords), and upon mineral discovery marked his boundaries, within which he was entitled to the vertical contents. even upon such lands, however, he must acknowledge the right of the lord of the manor to a participation in the mine. upon "enclosed" lands he had no right of entry without the consent of the landlord; in fact, the minerals belonged to the land as they do to-day except where voluntarily relinquished. in either case he was compelled to "renew his bounds" once a year, and to operate more or less continuously to maintain the right once obtained. there thus existed a "labour condition" of variable character, usually imposed more or less vigorously in the bargains with landlords. the regulations in devonshire differed in the important particular that the miner had right of entry to private lands, although he was not relieved of the necessity to give a participation of some sort to the landlord. the forests of dean, mendip, and other old mining communities possessed a measure of self-government, which do not display any features in their law fundamentally different from those of cornwall and devon. the high peak lead mines of derbyshire, however, exhibit one of the most profoundly interesting of these mining communities. as well as having distinctively saxon names for some of the mines, the customs there are of undoubted saxon origin, and as such their ratification by the normans caused the survival of one of the few saxon institutions in england--a fact which, we believe, has been hitherto overlooked by historians. beginning with inquisitions by edward i. in , there is in the record office a wealth of information, the bare titles of which form too extensive a list to set out here. (of published works, the most important are edward manlove's "the liberties and customs of the lead mines within the wapentake of wirksworth," london, , generally referred to as the "rhymed chronicle"; thomas houghton, "rara avis in terra," london, ; william hardy, "the miner's guide," sheffield, ; thomas tapping, "high peak mineral customs," london, .) the miners in this district were presided over by a "barmaster," "barghmaster," or "barmar," as he was variously spelled, all being a corruption of the german bergmeister, with precisely the same functions as to the allotment of title, settlement of disputes, etc., as his saxon progenitor had, and, like him, he was advised by a jury. the miners had entry to all lands except churchyards (this regulation waived upon death), and a few similar exceptions, and was subject to royalty to the crown and the landlord. the discoverer was entitled to a finder's "meer" of extra size, and his title was to the vein within the end lines, _i.e._, the "apex" law. this title was held subject to rigorous labour conditions, amounting to forfeiture for failure to operate the mine for a period of nine weeks. space does not permit of the elaboration of the details of this subject, which we hope to pursue elsewhere in its many historical bearings. among these we may mention that if the american "apex law" is of english descent, it must be laid to the door of derbyshire, and not of cornwall, as is generally done. our own belief, however, is that the american "apex" conception came straight from germany. it is not our purpose to follow these inquiries into mining law beyond the th century, but we may point out that with the growth of the sentiment of individualism the miners and landlords obtained steadily wider and wider rights at the cost of the state, until well within the th century. the growth of stronger communal sentiment since the middle of the last century has already found its manifestation in the legislation with regard to mines, for the laws of south africa, australia, and england, and the agitation in the united states are all toward greater restrictions on the mineral ownership in favour of the state. [ ] ?_de limitibus et de re agraria_ of sextus julius frontinus (about - a.d.) [ ] such a form of ownership is very old. apparently upon the instigation of xenophon (see note , p. ) the greeks formed companies to work the mines of laurion, further information as to which is given in note , p. . pliny (note , p. ) mentions the company working the quicksilver mines in spain. in fact, company organization was very common among the romans, who speculated largely in the shares, especially in those companies which farmed the taxes of the provinces, or leased public lands, or took military and civil contracts. [ ] the latin text gives one-sixth, obviously an error. [ ] a _symposium_ is a banquet, and a _symbola_ is a contribution of money to a banquet. this sentence is probably a play on the old german _zeche_, mine, this being also a term for a drinking bout. [ ] in the latin text this is "three"--obviously an error. [ ] see note , p. , for further information with regard to these mines. the rhenish gulden was about . shillings, or $ . . silver was worth about this amount per troy ounce at this period, so that roughly, silver of a value of , gulden would be about , troy ounces. the saxon thaler was worth about . shillings or about $ . . the thaler, therefore, represented about . troy ounces of silver, so that thalers were about troy ounces, and thalers about troy ounces. [ ] _opera continens_. the glossary gives _schicht_,--the origin of the english "shift." [ ] the terms in the latin text are _donator_, a giver of a gift, and _donatus_, a receiver. it appears to us, however, that some consideration passed, and we have, therefore, used "seller" and "buyer." [ ] see note , p. . [ ] _decemviri_--"the ten men." the original _decemviri_ were a body appointed by the romans in b.c., principally to codify the law. such commissions were afterward instituted for other purposes, but the analogy of the above paragraph is a little remote. [ ] this work was apparently never published; see appendix a. book v. in the last book i have explained the methods of delimiting the meers along each kind of vein, and the duties of mine officials. in this book[ ] i will in like manner explain the principles of underground mining and the art of surveying. first then, i will proceed to deal with those matters which pertain to the former heading, since both the subject and methodical arrangement require it. and so i will describe first of all the digging of shafts, tunnels, and drifts on _venae profundae_; next i will discuss the good indications shown by _canales_[ ], by the materials which are dug out, and by the rocks; then i will speak of the tools by which veins and rocks are broken down and excavated; the method by which fire shatters the hard veins; and further, of the machines with which water is drawn from the shafts and air is forced into deep shafts and long tunnels, for digging is impeded by the inrush of the former or the failure of the latter; next i will deal with the two kinds of shafts, and with the making of them and of tunnels; and finally, i will describe the method of mining _venae dilatatae_, _venae cumulatae_, and stringers. now when a miner discovers a _vena profunda_ he begins sinking a shaft and above it sets up a windlass, and builds a shed over the shaft to prevent the rain from falling in, lest the men who turn the windlass be numbed by the cold or troubled by the rain. the windlass men also place their barrows in it, and the miners store their iron tools and other implements therein. next to the shaft-house another house is built, where the mine foreman and the other workmen dwell, and in which are stored the ore and other things which are dug out. although some persons build only one house, yet because sometimes boys and other living things fall into the shafts, most miners deliberately place one house apart from the other, or at least separate them by a wall. [illustration (shafts): three vertical shafts, of which the first, a, does not reach the tunnel; the second, b, reaches the tunnel; to the third, c, the tunnel has not yet been driven. d--tunnel.] [illustration (shafts): three inclined shafts, of which a does not yet reach the tunnel; b reaches the tunnel; to the third, c, the tunnel has not yet been driven. d--tunnel.] now a shaft is dug, usually two fathoms long, two-thirds of a fathom wide, and thirteen fathoms deep; but for the purpose of connecting with a tunnel which has already been driven in a hill, a shaft may be sunk to a depth of only eight fathoms, at other times to fourteen, more or less[ ]. a shaft may be made vertical or inclined, according as the vein which the miners follow in the course of digging is vertical or inclined. a tunnel is a subterranean ditch driven lengthwise, and is nearly twice as high as it is broad, and wide enough that workmen and others may be able to pass and carry their loads. it is usually one and a quarter fathoms high, while its width is about three and three-quarters feet. usually two workmen are required to drive it, one of whom digs out the upper and the other the lower part, and the one goes forward, while the other follows closely after. each sits upon small boards fixed securely from the footwall to the hangingwall, or if the vein is a soft one, sometimes on a wedge-shaped plank fixed on to the vein itself. miners sink more inclined shafts than vertical, and some of each kind do not reach to tunnels, while some connect with them. but as for some shafts, though they have already been sunk to the required depth, the tunnel which is to pierce the mountain may not yet have been driven far enough to connect with them. [illustration (shafts): a--shaft. b, c--drift. d--another shaft. e--tunnel. f--mouth of tunnel.] it is advantageous if a shaft connects with a tunnel, for then the miners and other workmen carry on more easily the work they have undertaken; but if the shaft is not so deep, it is usual to drift from one or both sides of it. from these openings the owner or foreman becomes acquainted with the veins and stringers that unite with the principal vein, or cut across it, or divide it obliquely; however, my discourse is now concerned mainly with _vena profunda_, but most of all with the metallic material which it contains. excavations of this kind were called by the greeks [greek: kryptai] for, extending along after the manner of a tunnel, they are entirely hidden within the ground. this kind of an opening, however, differs from a tunnel in that it is dark throughout its length, whereas a tunnel has a mouth open to daylight. i have spoken of shafts, tunnels, and drifts. i will now speak of the indications given by the _canales_, by the materials which are dug out, and by the rocks. these indications, as also many others which i will explain, are to a great extent identical in _venae dilatatae_ and _venae cumulatae_ with _venae profundae_. when a stringer junctions with a main vein and causes a swelling, a shaft should be sunk at the junction. but when we find the stringer intersecting the main vein crosswise or obliquely, if it descends vertically down to the depths of the earth, a second shaft should be sunk to the point where the stringer cuts the main vein; but if the stringer cuts it obliquely the shaft should be two or three fathoms back, in order that the junction may be pierced lower down. at such junctions lies the best hope of finding the ore for the sake of which we explore the ground, and if ore has already been found, it is usually found in much greater abundance at that spot. again, if several stringers descend into the earth, the miner, in order to pierce through the point of contact, should sink the shaft in the midst of these stringers, or else calculate on the most prominent one. since an inclined vein often lies near a vertical vein, it is advisable to sink a shaft at the spot where a stringer or cross-vein cuts them both; or where a _vena dilatata_ or a stringer _dilatata_ passes through, for minerals are usually found there. in the same way we have a good prospect of finding metal at the point where an inclined vein joins a vertical one; this is why miners cross-cut the hangingwall or footwall of a main vein, and in these openings seek for a vein which may junction with the principal vein a few fathoms below. nay, further, these same miners, if no stringer or cross-vein intersects the main vein so that they can follow it in their workings, even cross-cut through the solid rock of the hangingwall or footwall. these cross-cuts are likewise called "[greek: kryptai]," whether the beginning of the opening which has to be undertaken is made from a tunnel or from a drift. miners have some hope when only a cross vein cuts a main vein. further, if a vein which cuts the main vein obliquely does not appear anywhere beyond it, it is advisable to dig into that side of the main vein toward which the oblique vein inclines, whether the right or left side, that we may ascertain if the main vein has absorbed it; if after cross-cutting six fathoms it is not found, it is advisable to dig on the other side of the main vein, that we may know for certain whether it has carried it forward. the owners of a main vein can often dig no less profitably on that side where the vein which cuts the main vein again appears, than where it first cuts it; the owners of the intersecting vein, when that is found again, recover their title, which had in a measure been lost. the common miners look favourably upon the stringers which come from the north and join the main vein; on the other hand, they look unfavourably upon those which come from the south, and say that these do much harm to the main vein, while the former improve it. but i think that miners should not neglect either of them: as i showed in book iii, experience does not confirm those who hold this opinion about veins, so now again i could furnish examples of each kind of stringers rejected by the common miners which have proved good, but i know this could be of little or no benefit to posterity. if the miners find no stringers or veins in the hangingwall or footwall of the main vein, and if they do not find much ore, it is not worth while to undertake the labour of sinking another shaft. nor ought a shaft to be sunk where a vein is divided into two or three parts, unless the indications are satisfactory that those parts may be united and joined together a little later. further, it is a bad indication for a vein rich in mineral to bend and turn hither and thither, for unless it goes down again into the ground vertically or inclined, as it first began, it produces no more metal; and even though it does go down again, it often continues barren. stringers which in their outcrops bear metals, often disappoint miners, no metal being found in depth. further, inverted seams in the rocks are counted among the bad indications. the miners hew out the whole of solid veins when they show clear evidence of being of good quality; similarly they hew out the drusy[ ] veins, especially if the cavities are plainly seen to have formerly borne metal, or if the cavities are few and small. they do not dig barren veins through which water flows, if there are no metallic particles showing; occasionally, however, they dig even barren veins which are free from water, because of the pyrites which is devoid of all metal, or because of a fine black soft substance which is like wool. they dig stringers which are rich in metal, or sometimes, for the purpose of searching for the vein, those that are devoid of ore which lie near the hangingwall or footwall of the main vein. this then, generally speaking, is the mode of dealing with stringers and veins. let us now consider the metallic material which is found in the _canales_ of _venae profundae_, _venae dilatatae_, and _venae cumulatae_, being in all these either cohesive and continuous, or scattered and dispersed among them, or swelling out in bellying shapes, or found in veins or stringers which originate from the main vein and ramify like branches; but these latter veins and stringers are very short, for after a little space they do not appear again. if we come across a small quantity of metallic material it is an indication; but if a large quantity, it is not an "indication," but the very thing for which we explore the earth. as soon as a miner who searches for veins discovers pure metal or minerals, or rich metallic material, or a great abundance of material which is poor in metal, let him sink a shaft on the spot without any delay. if the material appears more abundant or of better quality on the one side, he will incline his digging in that direction. gold, silver, copper, and quicksilver are often found native[ ]; less often iron and bismuth; almost never tin and lead. nevertheless tin-stone is not far removed from the pure white tin which is melted out of them, and galena, from which lead is obtained, differs little from that metal itself. now we may classify gold ores. next after native gold, we come to the _rudis_[ ], of yellowish green, yellow, purple, black, or outside red and inside gold colour. these must be reckoned as the richest ores, because the gold exceeds the stone or earth in weight. next come all gold ores of which each one hundred _librae_ contains more than three _unciae_ of gold[ ]; for although but a small proportion of gold is found in the earth or stone, yet it equals in value other metals of greater weight.[ ] all other gold ores are considered poor, because the earth or stone too far outweighs the gold. a vein which contains a larger proportion of silver than of gold is rarely found to be a rich one. earth, whether it be dry or wet, rarely abounds in gold; but in dry earth there is more often found a greater quantity of gold, especially if it has the appearance of having been melted in a furnace, and if it is not lacking in scales resembling mica. the solidified juices, azure, chrysocolla, orpiment, and realgar, also frequently contain gold. likewise native or _rudis_ gold is found sometimes in large, and sometimes in small quantities in quartz, schist, marble, and also in stone which easily melts in fire of the second degree, and which is sometimes so porous that it seems completely decomposed. lastly, gold is found in pyrites, though rarely in large quantities. when considering silver ores other than native silver, those ores are classified as rich, of which each one hundred _librae_ contains more than three _librae_ of silver. this quality comprises _rudis_ silver, whether silver glance or ruby silver, or whether white, or black, or grey, or purple, or yellow, or liver-coloured, or any other. sometimes quartz, schist, or marble is of this quality also, if much native or _rudis_ silver adheres to it. but that ore is considered of poor quality if three _librae_ of silver at the utmost are found in each one hundred _librae_ of it[ ]. silver ore usually contains a greater quantity than this, because nature bestows quantity in place of quality; such ore is mixed with all kinds of earth and stone compounds, except the various kinds of _rudis_ silver; especially with pyrites, _cadmia metallica fossilis_, galena, _stibium_, and others. as regards other kinds of metal, although some rich ores are found, still, unless the veins contain a large quantity of ore, it is very rarely worth while to dig them. the indians and some other races do search for gems in veins hidden deep in the earth, but more often they are noticed from their clearness, or rather their brilliancy, when metals are mined. when they outcrop, we follow veins of marble by mining in the same way as is done with rock or building-stones when we come upon them. but gems, properly so called, though they sometimes have veins of their own, are still for the most part found in mines and rock quarries, as the lodestone in iron mines, the emery in silver mines, the _lapis judaicus_, _trochites_, and the like in stone quarries where the diggers, at the bidding of the owners, usually collect them from the seams in the rocks.[ ] nor does the miner neglect the digging of "extraordinary earths,"[ ] whether they are found in gold mines, silver mines, or other mines; nor do other miners neglect them if they are found in stone quarries, or in their own veins; their value is usually indicated by their taste. nor, lastly, does the miner fail to give attention to the solidified juices which are found in metallic veins, as well as in their own veins, from which he collects and gathers them. but i will say no more on these matters, because i have explained more fully all the metals and mineral substances in the books "_de natura fossilium_." but i will return to the indications. if we come upon earth which is like lute, in which there are particles of any sort of metal, native or _rudis_, the best possible indication of a vein is given to miners, for the metallic material from which the particles have become detached is necessarily close by. but if this kind of earth is found absolutely devoid of all metallic material, but fatty, and of white, green, blue, and similar colours, they must not abandon the work that has been started. miners have other indications in the veins and stringers, which i have described already, and in the rocks, about which i will speak a little later. if the miner comes across other dry earths which contain native or _rudis_ metal, that is a good indication; if he comes across yellow, red, black, or some other "extraordinary" earth, though it is devoid of mineral, it is not a bad indication. chrysocolla, or azure, or verdigris, or orpiment, or realgar, when they are found, are counted among the good indications. further, where underground springs throw up metal we ought to continue the digging we have begun, for this points to the particles having been detached from the main mass like a fragment from a body. in the same way the thin scales of any metal adhering to stone or rock are counted among the good indications. next, if the veins which are composed partly of quartz, partly of clayey or dry earth, descend one and all into the depths of the earth together, with their stringers, there is good hope of metal being found; but if the stringers afterward do not appear, or little metallic material is met with, the digging should not be given up until there is nothing remaining. dark or black or horn or liver-coloured quartz is usually a good sign; white is sometimes good, sometimes no sign at all. but calc-spar, showing itself in a _vena profunda_, if it disappears a little lower down is not a good indication; for it did not belong to the vein proper, but to some stringer. those kinds of stone which easily melt in fire, especially if they are translucent (fluorspar?), must be counted among the medium indications, for if other good indications are present they are good, but if no good indications are present, they give no useful significance. in the same way we ought to form our judgment with regard to gems. veins which at the hangingwall and footwall have horn-coloured quartz or marble, but in the middle clayey earth, give some hope; likewise those give hope in which the hangingwall or footwall shows iron-rust coloured earth, and in the middle greasy and sticky earth; also there is hope for those which have at the hanging or footwall that kind of earth which we call "soldiers' earth," and in the middle black earth or earth which looks as if burnt. the special indication of gold is orpiment; of silver is bismuth and _stibium_; of copper is verdigris, _melanteria_, _sory_, _chalcitis_, _misy_, and vitriol; of tin is the large pure black stones of which the tin itself is made, and a material they dig up resembling litharge; of iron, iron rust. gold and copper are equally indicated by chrysocolla and azure; silver and lead, by the lead. but, though miners rightly call bismuth "the roof of silver," and though copper pyrites is the common parent of vitriol and _melanteria_, still these sometimes have their own peculiar minerals, just as have orpiment and _stibium_. now, just as certain vein materials give miners a favourable indication, so also do the rocks through which the _canales_ of the veins wind their way, for sand discovered in a mine is reckoned among the good indications, especially if it is very fine. in the same way schist, when it is of a bluish or blackish colour, and also limestone, of whatever colour it may be, is a good sign for a silver vein. there is a rock of another kind that is a good sign; in it are scattered tiny black stones from which tin is smelted; especially when the whole space between the veins is composed of this kind of rock. very often indeed, this good kind of rock in conjunction with valuable stringers contains within its folds the _canales_ of mineral bearing veins: if it descends vertically into the earth, the benefit belongs to that mine in which it is seen first of all; if inclined, it benefits the other neighbouring mines[ ]. as a result the miner who is not ignorant of geometry can calculate from the other mines the depth at which the _canales_ of a vein bearing rich metal will wind its way through the rock into his mine. so much for these matters. i now come to the mode of working, which is varied and complex, for in some places they dig crumbling ore, in others hard ore, in others a harder ore, and in others the hardest kind of ore. in the same way, in some places the hangingwall rock is soft and fragile, in others hard, in others harder, and in still others of the hardest sort. i call that ore "crumbling" which is composed of earth, and of soft solidified juices; that ore "hard" which is composed of metallic minerals and moderately hard stones, such as for the most part are those which easily melt in a fire of the first and second orders, like lead and similar materials. i call that ore "harder" when with those i have already mentioned are combined various sorts of quartz, or stones which easily melt in fire of the third degree, or pyrites, or _cadmia_, or very hard marble. i call that ore hardest, which is composed throughout the whole vein of these hard stones and compounds. the hanging or footwalls of a vein are hard, when composed of rock in which there are few stringers or seams; harder, in which they are fewer; hardest, in which they are fewest or none at all. when these are absent, the rock is quite devoid of water which softens it. but the hardest rock of the hanging or footwall, however, is seldom as hard as the harder class of ore. miners dig out crumbling ore with the pick alone. when the metal has not yet shown itself, they do not discriminate between the hangingwall and the veins; when it has once been found, they work with the utmost care. for first of all they tear away the hangingwall rock separately from the vein, afterward with a pick they dislodge the crumbling vein from the footwall into a dish placed underneath to prevent any of the metal from falling to the ground. they break a hard vein loose from the footwall by blows with a hammer upon the first kind of iron tool[ ], all of which are designated by appropriate names, and with the same tools they hew away the hard hangingwall rock. they hew out the hangingwall rock in advance more frequently, the rock of the footwall more rarely; and indeed, when the rock of the footwall resists iron tools, the rock of the hangingwall certainly cannot be broken unless it is allowable to shatter it by fire. with regard to the harder veins which are tractable to iron tools, and likewise with regard to the harder and hardest kind of hangingwall rock, they generally attack them with more powerful iron tools, in fact, with the fourth kind of iron tool, which are called by their appropriate names; but if these are not ready to hand, they use two or three iron tools of the first kind together. as for the hardest kind of metal-bearing vein, which in a measure resists iron tools, if the owners of the neighbouring mines give them permission, they break it with fires. but if these owners refuse them permission, then first of all they hew out the rock of the hangingwall, or of the footwall if it be less hard; then they place timbers set in hitches in the hanging or footwall, a little above the vein, and from the front and upper part, where the vein is seen to be seamed with small cracks, they drive into one of the little cracks one of the iron tools which i have mentioned; then in each fracture they place four thin iron blocks, and in order to hold them more firmly, if necessary, they place as many thin iron plates back to back; next they place thinner iron plates between each two iron blocks, and strike and drive them by turns with hammers, whereby the vein rings with a shrill sound; and the moment when it begins to be detached from the hangingwall or footwall rock, a tearing sound is heard. as soon as this grows distinct the miners hastily flee away; then a great crash is heard as the vein is broken and torn, and falls down. by this method they throw down a portion of a vein weighing a hundred pounds more or less. but if the miners by any other method hew the hardest kind of vein which is rich in metal, there remain certain cone-shaped portions which can be cut out afterward only with difficulty. as for this knob of hard ore, if it is devoid of metal, or if they are not allowed to apply fire to it, they proceed round it by digging to the right or left, because it cannot be broken into by iron wedges without great expense. meantime, while the workmen are carrying out the task they have undertaken, the depths of the earth often resound with sweet singing, whereby they lighten a toil which is of the severest kind and full of the greatest dangers. as i have just said, fire shatters the hardest rocks, but the method of its application is not simple[ ]. for if a vein held in the rocks cannot be hewn out because of the hardness or other difficulty, and the drift or tunnel is low, a heap of dried logs is placed against the rock and fired; if the drift or tunnel is high, two heaps are necessary, of which one is placed above the other, and both burn until the fire has consumed them. this force does not generally soften a large portion of the vein, but only some of the surface. when the rock in the hanging or footwall can be worked by the iron tools and the vein is so hard that it is not tractable to the same tools, then the walls are hollowed out; if this be in the end of the drift or tunnel or above or below, the vein is then broken by fire, but not by the same method; for if the hollow is wide, as many logs are piled into it as possible, but if narrow, only a few. by the one method the greater fire separates the vein more completely from the footwall or sometimes from the hangingwall, and by the other, the smaller fire breaks away less of the vein from the rock, because in that case the fire is confined and kept in check by portions of the rock which surround the wood held in such a narrow excavation. further, if the excavation is low, only one pile of logs is placed in it, if high, there are two, one placed above the other, by which plan the lower bundle being kindled sets alight the upper one; and the fire being driven by the draught into the vein, separates it from the rock which, however hard it may be, often becomes so softened as to be the most easily breakable of all. applying this principle, hannibal, the carthaginian general, imitating the spanish miners, overcame the hardness of the alps by the use of vinegar and fire. even if a vein is a very wide one, as tin veins usually are, miners excavate into the small streaks, and into those hollows they put dry wood and place amongst them at frequent intervals sticks, all sides of which are shaved down fan-shaped, which easily take light, and when once they have taken fire communicate it to the other bundles of wood, which easily ignite. [illustration (fire-setting): a--kindled logs. b--sticks shaved down fan-shaped. c--tunnel.] while the heated veins and rock are giving forth a foetid vapour and the shafts or tunnels are emitting fumes, the miners and other workmen do not go down in the mines lest the stench affect their health or actually kill them, as i will explain in greater detail when i come to speak of the evils which affect miners. the _bergmeister_, in order to prevent workmen from being suffocated, gives no one permission to break veins or rock by fire in shafts or tunnels where it is possible for the poisonous vapour and smoke to permeate the veins or stringers and pass through into the neighbouring mines, which have no hard veins or rock. as for that part of a vein or the surface of the rock which the fire has separated from the remaining mass, if it is overhead, the miners dislodge it with a crowbar, or if it still has some degree of hardness, they thrust a smaller crowbar into the cracks and so break it down, but if it is on the sides they break it with hammers. thus broken off, the rock tumbles down; or if it still remains, they break it off with picks. rock and earth on the one hand, and metal and ore on the other, are filled into buckets separately and drawn up to the open air or to the nearest tunnel. if the shaft is not deep, the buckets are drawn up by a machine turned by men; if it is deep, they are drawn by machines turned by horses. it often happens that a rush of water or sometimes stagnant air hinders the mining; for this reason miners pay the greatest attention to these matters, just as much as to digging, or they should do so. the water of the veins and stringers and especially of vacant workings, must be drained out through the shafts and tunnels. air, indeed, becomes stagnant both in tunnels and in shafts; in a deep shaft, if it be by itself, this occurs if it is neither reached by a tunnel nor connected by a drift with another shaft; this occurs in a tunnel if it has been driven too far into a mountain and no shaft has yet been sunk deep enough to meet it; in neither case can the air move or circulate. for this reason the vapours become heavy and resemble mist, and they smell of mouldiness, like a vault or some underground chamber which has been completely closed for many years. this suffices to prevent miners from continuing their work for long in these places, even if the mine is full of silver or gold, or if they do continue, they cannot breathe freely and they have headaches; this more often happens if they work in these places in great numbers, and bring many lamps, which then supply them with a feeble light, because the foul air from both lamps and men make the vapours still more heavy. a small quantity of water is drawn from the shafts by machines of different kinds which men turn or work. if so great a quantity has flowed into one shaft as greatly to impede mining, another shaft is sunk some fathoms distant from the first, and thus in one of them work and labour are carried on without hindrance, and the water is drained into the other, which is sunk lower than the level of the water in the first one; then by these machines or by those worked by horses, the water is drawn up into the drain and flows out of the shaft-house or the mouth of the nearest tunnel. but when into the shaft of one mine, which is sunk more deeply, there flows all the water of all the neighbouring mines, not only from that vein in which the shaft is sunk, but also from other veins, then it becomes necessary for a large sump to be made to collect the water; from this sump the water is drained by machines which draw it through pipes, or by ox-hides, about which i will say more in the next book. the water which pours into the tunnels from the veins and stringers and seams in the rocks is carried away in the drains. air is driven into the extremities of deep shafts and long tunnels by powerful blowing machines, as i will explain in the following book, which will deal with these machines also. the outer air flows spontaneously into the caverns of the earth, and when it can pass through them comes out again. this, however, comes about in different ways, for in spring and summer it flows into the deeper shafts, traverses the tunnels or drifts, and finds its way out of the shallower shafts; similarly at the same season it pours into the lowest tunnel and, meeting a shaft in its course, turns aside to a higher tunnel and passes out therefrom; but in autumn and winter, on the other hand, it enters the upper tunnel or shaft and comes out at the deeper ones. this change in the flow of air currents occurs in temperate regions at the beginning of spring and the end of autumn, but in cold regions at the end of spring and the beginning of autumn. but at each period, before the air regularly assumes its own accustomed course, generally for a space of fourteen days it undergoes frequent variations, now blowing into an upper shaft or tunnel, now into a lower one. but enough of this, let us now proceed to what remains. there are two kinds of shafts, one of the depth already described, of which kind there are usually several in one mine; especially if the mine is entered by a tunnel and is metal-bearing. for when the first tunnel is connected with the first shaft, two new shafts are sunk; or if the inrush of water hinders sinking, sometimes three are sunk; so that one may take the place of a sump and the work of sinking which has been begun may be continued by means of the remaining two shafts; the same is done in the case of the second tunnel and the third, or even the fourth, if so many are driven into a mountain. the second kind of shaft is very deep, sometimes as much as sixty, eighty, or one hundred fathoms. these shafts continue vertically toward the depths of the earth, and by means of a hauling-rope the broken rock and metalliferous ores are drawn out of the mine; for which reason miners call them vertical shafts. over these shafts are erected machines by which water is extracted; when they are above ground the machines are usually worked by horses, but when they are in tunnels, other kinds are used which are turned by water-power. such are the shafts which are sunk when a vein is rich in metal. now shafts, of whatever kind they may be, are supported in various ways. if the vein is hard, and also the hanging and footwall rock, the shaft does not require much timbering, but timbers are placed at intervals, one end of each of which is fixed in a hitch cut into the rock of the hangingwall and the other fixed into a hitch cut in the footwall. to these timbers are fixed small timbers along the footwall, to which are fastened the lagging and ladders. the lagging is also fixed to the timbers, both to those which screen off the shaft on the ends from the vein, and to those which screen off the rest of the shaft from that part in which the ladders are placed. the lagging on the sides of the shaft confine the vein, so as to prevent fragments of it which have become loosened by water from dropping into the shaft and terrifying, or injuring, or knocking off the miners and other workmen who are going up or down the ladders from one part of the mine to another. for the same reason, the lagging between the ladders and the haulage-way on the other hand, confine and shut off from the ladders the fragments of rock which fall from the buckets or baskets while they are being drawn up; moreover, they make the arduous and difficult descent and ascent to appear less terrible, and in fact to be less dangerous. [illustration (timbering shafts): a--wall plates. b--dividers. c--long end posts. d--end plates.] if a vein is soft and the rock of the hanging and footwalls is weak, a closer structure is necessary; for this purpose timbers are joined together, in rectangular shapes and placed one after the other without a break. these are arranged on two different systems; for either the square ends of the timbers, which reach from the hangingwall to the footwall, are fixed into corresponding square holes in the timbers which lie along the hanging or footwall, or the upper part of the end of one and the lower part of the end of the other are cut out and one laid on the other. the great weight of these joined timbers is sustained by stout beams placed at intervals, which are deeply set into hitches in the footwall and hangingwall, but are inclined. in order that these joined timbers may remain stationary, wooden wedges or poles cut from trees are driven in between the timbers and the vein and the hangingwall and the footwall; and the space which remains empty is filled with loose dirt. if the hanging and footwall rock is sometimes hard and sometimes soft, and the vein likewise, solid joined timbers are not used, but timbers are placed at intervals; and where the rock is soft and the vein crumbling, carpenters put in lagging between them and the wall rocks, and behind these they fill with loose dirt; by this means they fill up the void. when a very deep shaft, whether vertical or inclined, is supported by joined timbers, then, since they are sometimes of bad material and a fall is threatened, for the sake of greater firmness three or four pairs of strong end posts are placed between these, one pair on the hangingwall side, the other on the footwall side. to prevent them from falling out of position and to make them firm and substantial, they are supported by frequent end plates, and in order that these may be more securely fixed they are mortised into the posts. further, in whatever way the shaft may be timbered, dividers are placed upon the wall plates, and to these is fixed lagging, and this marks off and separates the ladder-way from the remaining part of the shaft. if a vertical shaft is a very deep one, planks are laid upon the timbers by the side of the ladders and fixed on to the timbers, in order that the men who are going up or down may sit or stand upon them and rest when they are tired. to prevent danger to the shovellers from rocks which, after being drawn up from so deep a shaft fall down again, a little above the bottom of the shaft small rough sticks are placed close together on the timbers, in such a way as to cover the whole space of the shaft except the ladder-way. a hole, however, is left in this structure near the footwall, which is kept open so that there may be one opening to the shaft from the bottom, that the buckets full of the materials which have been dug out may be drawn from the shaft through it by machines, and may be returned to the same place again empty; and so the shovellers and other workmen, as it were hiding beneath this structure, remain perfectly safe in the shaft. [illustration (timbering tunnels): a--posts. b--caps. c--sills. d--doors. e--lagging. f--drains.] in mines on one vein there are driven one, two, or sometimes three or more tunnels, always one above the other. if the vein is solid and hard, and likewise the hanging and footwall rock, no part of the tunnel needs support, beyond that which is required at the mouth, because at that spot there is not yet solid rock; if the vein is soft, and the hanging and footwall rock are likewise soft, the tunnel requires frequent strong timbering, which is provided in the following way. first, two dressed posts are erected and set into the tunnel floor, which is dug out a little; these are of medium thickness, and high enough that their ends, which are cut square, almost touch the top of the tunnel; then upon them is placed a smaller dressed cap, which is mortised into the heads of the posts; at the bottom, other small timbers, whose ends are similarly squared, are mortised into the posts. at each interval of one and a half fathoms, one of these sets is erected; each one of these the miners call a "little doorway," because it opens a certain amount of passage way; and indeed, when necessity requires it, doors are fixed to the timbers of each little doorway so that it can be closed. then lagging of planks or of poles is placed upon the caps lengthwise, so as to reach from one set of timbers to another, and is laid along the sides, in case some portion of the body of the mountain may fall, and by its bulk impede passage or crush persons coming in or out. moreover, to make the timbers remain stationary, wooden pegs are driven between them and the sides of the tunnel. lastly, if rock or earth are carried out in wheelbarrows, planks joined together are laid upon the sills; if the rock is hauled out in trucks, then two timbers three-quarters of a foot thick and wide are laid on the sills, and, where they join, these are usually hollowed out so that in the hollow, as in a road, the iron pin of the truck may be pushed along; indeed, because of this pin in the groove, the truck does not leave the worn track to the left or right. beneath the sills are the drains through which the water flows away. miners timber drifts in the same way as tunnels. these do not, however, require sill-pieces, or drains; for the broken rock is not hauled very far, nor does the water have far to flow. if the vein above is metal-bearing, as it sometimes is for a distance of several fathoms, then from the upper part of tunnels or even drifts that have already been driven, other drifts are driven again and again until that part of the vein is reached which does not yield metal. the timbering of these openings is done as follows: stulls are set at intervals into hitches in the hanging and footwall, and upon them smooth poles are laid continuously; and that they may be able to bear the weight, the stulls are generally a foot and a half thick. after the ore has been taken out and the mining of the vein is being done elsewhere, the rock then broken, especially if it cannot be taken away without great difficulty, is thrown into these openings among the timber, and the carriers of the ore are saved toil, and the owners save half the expense. this then, generally speaking, is the method by which everything relating to the timbering of shafts, tunnels, and drifts is carried out. all that i have hitherto written is in part peculiar to _venae profundae_, and in part common to all kinds of veins; of what follows, part is specially applicable to _venae dilatatae_, part to _venae cumulatae_. but first i will describe how _venae dilatatae_ should be mined. where torrents, rivers, or streams have by inundations washed away part of the slope of a mountain or a hill, and have disclosed a _vena dilatata_, a tunnel should be driven first straight and narrow, and then wider, for nearly all the vein should be hewn away; and when this tunnel has been driven further, a shaft which supplies air should be sunk in the mountain or hill, and through it from time to time the ore, earth, and rock can be drawn up at less expense than if they be drawn out through the very great length of the tunnel; and even in those places to which the tunnel does not yet reach, miners dig shafts in order to open a _vena dilatata_ which they conjecture must lie beneath the soil. in this way, when the upper layers are removed, they dig through rock sometimes of one kind and colour, sometimes of one kind but different colours, sometimes of different kinds but of one colour, and, lastly, of different kinds and different colours. the thickness of rock, both of each single stratum and of all combined, is uncertain, for the whole of the strata are in some places twenty fathoms deep, in others more than fifty; individual strata are in some places half a foot thick; in others, one, two, or more feet; in others, one, two, three, or more fathoms. for example, in those districts which lie at the foot of the harz mountains, there are many different coloured strata, covering a copper _vena dilatata_. when the soil has been stripped, first of all is disclosed a stratum which is red, but of a dull shade and of a thickness of twenty, thirty, or five and thirty fathoms. then there is another stratum, also red, but of a light shade, which has usually a thickness of about two fathoms. beneath this is a stratum of ash-coloured clay nearly a fathom thick, which, although it is not metalliferous, is reckoned a vein. then follows a third stratum, which is ashy, and about three fathoms thick. beneath this lies a vein of ashes to the thickness of five fathoms, and these ashes are mixed with rock of the same colour. joined to the last, and underneath, comes a stratum, the fourth in number, dark in colour and a foot thick. under this comes the fifth stratum, of a pale or yellowish colour, two feet thick; underneath which is the sixth stratum, likewise dark, but rough and three feet thick. afterward occurs the seventh stratum, likewise of dark colour, but still darker than the last, and two feet thick. this is followed by an eighth stratum, ashy, rough, and a foot thick. this kind, as also the others, is sometimes distinguished by stringers of the stone which easily melts in fire of the second order. beneath this is another ashy rock, light in weight, and five feet thick. next to this comes a lighter ash-coloured one, a foot thick; beneath this lies the eleventh stratum, which is dark and very much like the seventh, and two feet thick. below the last is a twelfth stratum of a whitish colour and soft, also two feet thick; the weight of this rests on a thirteenth stratum, ashy and one foot thick, whose weight is in turn supported by a fourteenth stratum, which is blackish and half a foot thick. there follows this, another stratum of black colour, likewise half a foot thick, which is again followed by a sixteenth stratum still blacker in colour, whose thickness is also the same. beneath this, and last of all, lies the cupriferous stratum, black coloured and schistose, in which there sometimes glitter scales of gold-coloured pyrites in the very thin sheets, which, as i said elsewhere, often take the forms of various living things.[ ] the miners mine out a _vena dilatata_ laterally and longitudinally by driving a low tunnel in it, and if the nature of the work and place permit, they sink also a shaft in order to discover whether there is a second vein beneath the first one; for sometimes beneath it there are two, three, or more similar metal-bearing veins, and these are excavated in the same way laterally and longitudinally. they generally mine _venae dilatatae_ lying down; and to avoid wearing away their clothes and injuring their left shoulders they usually bind on themselves small wooden cradles. for this reason, this particular class of miners, in order to use their iron tools, are obliged to bend their necks to the left, not infrequently having them twisted. now these veins also sometimes divide, and where these parts re-unite, ore of a richer and a better quality is generally found; the same thing occurs where the stringers, of which they are not altogether devoid, join with them, or cut them crosswise, or divide them obliquely. to prevent a mountain or hill, which has in this way been undermined, from subsiding by its weight, either some natural pillars and arches are left, on which the pressure rests as on a foundation, or timbering is done for support. moreover, the materials which are dug out and which are devoid of metal are removed in bowls, and are thrown back, thus once more filling the caverns. next, as to _venae cumulatae_. these are dug by a somewhat different method, for when one of these shows some metal at the top of the ground, first of all one shaft is sunk; then, if it is worth while, around this one many shafts are sunk and tunnels are driven into the mountain. if a torrent or spring has torn fragments of metal from such a vein, a tunnel is first driven into the mountain or hill for the purpose of searching for the ore; then when it is found, a vertical shaft is sunk in it. since the whole mountain, or more especially the whole hill, is undermined, seeing that the whole of it is composed of ore, it is necessary to leave the natural pillars and arches, or the place is timbered. but sometimes when a vein is very hard it is broken by fire, whereby it happens that the soft pillars break up, or the timbers are burnt away, and the mountain by its great weight sinks into itself, and then the shaft buildings are swallowed up in the great subsidence. therefore, about a _vena cumulata_ it is advisable to sink some shafts which are not subject to this kind of ruin, through which the materials that are excavated may be carried out, not only while the pillars and underpinnings still remain whole and solid, but also after the supports have been destroyed by fire and have fallen. since ore which has thus fallen must necessarily be broken by fire, new shafts through which the smoke can escape must be sunk in the abyss. at those places where stringers intersect, richer ore is generally obtained from the mine; these stringers, in the case of tin mines, sometimes have in them black stones the size of a walnut. if such a vein is found in a plain, as not infrequently happens in the case of iron, many shafts are sunk, because they cannot be sunk very deep. the work is carried on by this method because the miners cannot drive a tunnel into a level plain of this kind. there remain the stringers in which gold alone is sometimes found, in the vicinity of rivers and streams, or in swamps. if upon the soil being removed, many of these are found, composed of earth somewhat baked and burnt, as may sometimes be seen in clay pits, there is some hope that gold may be obtained from them, especially if several join together. but the very point of junction must be pierced, and the length and width searched for ore, and in these places very deep shafts cannot be sunk. i have completed one part of this book, and now come to the other, in which i will deal with the art of surveying. miners measure the solid mass of the mountains in order that the owners may lay out their plans, and that their workmen may not encroach on other people's possessions. the surveyor either measures the interval not yet wholly dug through, which lies between the mouth of a tunnel and a shaft to be sunk to that depth, or between the mouth of a shaft and the tunnel to be driven to that spot which lies under the shaft, or between both, if the tunnel is neither so long as to reach to the shaft, nor the shaft so deep as to reach to the tunnel; and thus on both sides work is still to be done. or in some cases, within the tunnels and drifts, are to be fixed the boundaries of the meers, just as the _bergmeister_ has determined the boundaries of the same meers above ground.[ ] each method of surveying depends on the measuring of triangles. a small triangle should be laid out, and from it calculations must be made regarding a larger one. most particular care must be taken that we do not deviate at all from a correct measuring; for if, at the beginning, we are drawn by carelessness into a slight error, this at the end will produce great errors. now these triangles are of many shapes, since shafts differ among themselves and are not all sunk by one and the same method into the depths of the earth, nor do the slopes of all mountains come down to the valley or plain in the same manner. for if a shaft is vertical, there is a triangle with a right angle, which the greeks call [greek: orthogônion] and this, according to the inequalities of the mountain slope, has either two equal sides or three unequal sides. the greeks call the former [greek: trigônon isoskeles] the latter [greek: skalênon] for a right angle triangle cannot have three equal sides. if a shaft is inclined and sunk in the same vein in which the tunnel is driven, a triangle is likewise made with a right angle, and this again, according to the various inequalities of the mountain slope, has either two equal or three unequal sides. but if a shaft is inclined and is sunk in one vein, and a tunnel is driven in another vein, then a triangle comes into existence which has either an obtuse angle or all acute angles. the former the greeks call [greek: amblygônion], the latter [greek: oxygônion]. that triangle which has an obtuse angle cannot have three equal sides, but in accordance with the different mountain slopes has either two equal sides or three unequal sides. that triangle which has all acute angles in accordance with the different mountain slopes has either three equal sides, which the greeks call [greek: trigônon isopleuron] or two equal sides or three unequal sides. the surveyor, as i said, employs his art when the owners of the mines desire to know how many fathoms of the intervening ground require to be dug; when a tunnel is being driven toward a shaft and does not yet reach it; or when the shaft has not yet been sunk to the depth of the bottom of the tunnel which is under it; or when neither the tunnel reaches to that point, nor has the shaft been sunk to it. it is of importance that miners should know how many fathoms remain from the tunnel to the shaft, or from the shaft to the tunnel, in order to calculate the expenditure; and in order that the owners of a metal-bearing mine may hasten the sinking of a shaft and the excavation of the metal, before the tunnel reaches that point and the tunnel owners excavate part of the metal by any right of their own; and on the other hand, it is important that the owners of a tunnel may similarly hasten their driving before a shaft can be sunk to the depth of a tunnel, so that they may excavate the metal to which they will have a right. [illustration (surveying): a--upright forked posts. b--pole over the posts. c--shaft. d--first cord. e--weight of first cord. f--second cord. g--same fixed ground. h--head of first cord. i--mouth of tunnel. k--third cord. l--weight of third cord. m--first side minor triangle. n--second side minor triangle. o--third side minor triangle. p--the minor triangle.] the surveyor, first of all, if the beams of the shaft-house do not give him the opportunity, sets a pair of forked posts by the sides of the shaft in such a manner that a pole may be laid across them. next, from the pole he lets down into the shaft a cord with a weight attached to it. then he stretches a second cord, attached to the upper end of the first cord, right down along the slope of the mountain to the bottom of the mouth of the tunnel, and fixes it to the ground. next, from the same pole not far from the first cord, he lets down a third cord, similarly weighted, so that it may intersect the second cord, which descends obliquely. then, starting from that point where the third cord cuts the second cord which descends obliquely to the mouth of the tunnel, he measures the second cord upward to where it reaches the end of the first cord, and makes a note of this first side of the minor triangle[ ]. afterward, starting again from that point where the third cord intersects the second cord, he measures the straight space which lies between that point and the opposite point on the first cord, and in that way forms the minor triangle, and he notes this second side of the minor triangle in the same way as before. then, if it is necessary, from the angle formed by the first cord and the second side of the minor triangle, he measures upward to the end of the first cord and also makes a note of this third side of the minor triangle. the third side of the minor triangle, if the shaft is vertical or inclined and is sunk on the same vein in which the tunnel is driven, will necessarily be the same length as the third cord above the point where it intersects the second cord; and so, as often as the first side of the minor triangle is contained in the length of the whole cord which descends obliquely, so many times the length of the second side of the minor triangle indicates the distance between the mouth of the tunnel and the point to which the shaft must be sunk; and similarly, so many times the length of the third side of the minor triangle gives the distance between the mouth of the shaft and the bottom of the tunnel. when there is a level bench on the mountain slope, the surveyor first measures across this with a measuring-rod; then at the edges of this bench he sets up forked posts, and applies the principle of the triangle to the two sloping parts of the mountain; and to the fathoms which are the length of that part of the tunnel determined by the triangles, he adds the number of fathoms which are the width of the bench. but if sometimes the mountain side stands up, so that a cord cannot run down from the shaft to the mouth of the tunnel, or, on the other hand, cannot run up from the mouth of the tunnel to the shaft, and, therefore, one cannot connect them in a straight line, the surveyor, in order to fix an accurate triangle, measures the mountain; and going downward he substitutes for the first part of the cord a pole one fathom long, and for the second part a pole half a fathom long. going upward, on the contrary, for the first part of the cord he substitutes a pole half a fathom long, and for the next part, one a whole fathom long; then where he requires to fix his triangle he adds a straight line to these angles. [illustration (surveying triangle): a triangle having a right angle and two equal sides.] to make this system of measuring clear and more explicit, i will proceed by describing each separate kind of triangle. when a shaft is vertical or inclined, and is sunk in the same vein on which the tunnel is driven, there is created, as i said, a triangle containing a right angle. now if the minor triangle has the two sides equal, which, in accordance with the numbering used by surveyors, are the second and third sides, then the second and third sides of the major triangle will be equal; and so also the intervening distances will be equal which lie between the mouth of the tunnel and the bottom of the shaft, and which lie between the mouth of the shaft and the bottom of the tunnel. for example, if the first side of the minor triangle is seven feet long and the second and likewise the third sides are five feet, and the length shown by the cord for the side of the major triangle is times seven feet, that is fathoms and five feet, then the intervening space, of course, whether the whole of it has been already driven through or has yet to be driven, will be one hundred times five feet, which makes eighty-three fathoms and two feet. anyone with this example of proportions will be able to construct the major and minor triangles in the same way as i have done, if there be the necessary upright posts and cross-beams. when a shaft is vertical the triangle is absolutely upright; when it is inclined and is sunk on the same vein in which the tunnel is driven, it is inclined toward one side. therefore, if a tunnel has been driven into the mountain for sixty fathoms, there remains a space of ground to be penetrated twenty-three fathoms and two feet long; for five feet of the second side of the major triangle, which lies above the mouth of the shaft and corresponds with the first side of the minor triangle, must not be added. therefore, if the shaft has been sunk in the middle of the head meer, a tunnel sixty fathoms long will reach to the boundary of the meer only when the tunnel has been extended a further two fathoms and two feet; but if the shaft is located in the middle of an ordinary meer, then the boundary will be reached when the tunnel has been driven a further length of nine fathoms and two feet. since a tunnel, for every one hundred fathoms of length, rises in grade one fathom, or at all events, ought to rise as it proceeds toward the shaft, one more fathom must always be taken from the depth allowed to the shaft, and one added to the length allowed to the tunnel. proportionately, because a tunnel fifty fathoms long is raised half a fathom, this amount must be taken from the depth of the shaft and added to the length of the tunnel. in the same way if a tunnel is one hundred or fifty fathoms shorter or longer, the same proportion also must be taken from the depth of the one and added to the length of the other. for this reason, in the case mentioned above, half a fathom and a little more must be added to the distance to be driven through, so that there remain twenty-three fathoms, five feet, two palms, one and a half digits and a fifth of a digit; that is, if even the minutest proportions are carried out; and surveyors do not neglect these without good cause. similarly, if the shaft is seventy fathoms deep, in order that it may reach to the bottom of the tunnel, it still must be sunk a further depth of thirteen fathoms and two feet, or rather twelve fathoms and a half, one foot, two digits, and four-fifths of half a digit. and in this instance five feet must be deducted from the reckoning, because these five feet complete the third side of the minor triangle, which is above the mouth of the shaft, and from its depth there must be deducted half a fathom, two palms, one and a half digits and the fifth part of half a digit. but if the tunnel has been driven to a point where it is under the shaft, then to reach the roof of the tunnel the shaft must still be sunk a depth of eleven fathoms, two and a half feet, one palm, two digits, and four-fifths of half a digit. [illustration (surveying triangle): a triangle having a right angle and three unequal sides.] if a minor triangle is produced of the kind having three unequal sides, then the sides of the greater triangle cannot be equal; that is, if the first side of the minor triangle is eight feet long, the second six feet long, and the third five feet long, and the cord along the side of the greater triangle, not to go too far from the example just given, is one hundred and one times eight feet, that is, one hundred and thirty-four fathoms and four feet, the distance which lies between the mouth of the tunnel and the bottom of the shaft will occupy one hundred times six feet in length, that is, one hundred fathoms. the distance between the mouth of the shaft and the bottom of the tunnel is one hundred times five feet, that is, eighty-three fathoms and two feet. and so, if the tunnel is eighty-five fathoms long, the remainder to be driven into the mountain is fifteen fathoms long, and here, too, a correction in measurement must be taken from the depth of the shaft and added to the length of the tunnel; what this is precisely, i will pursue no further, since everyone having a small knowledge of arithmetic can work it out. if the shaft is sixty-seven fathoms deep, in order that it may reach the bottom of the tunnel, the further distance required to be sunk amounts to sixteen fathoms and two feet. [illustration a (surveying triangle): triangle having an obtuse angle and two equal sides.] the surveyor employs this same method in measuring the mountain, whether the shaft and tunnel are on one and the same vein, whether the vein is vertical or inclined, or whether the shaft is on the principal vein and the tunnel on a transverse vein descending vertically to the depths of the earth; in the latter case the excavation is to be made where the transverse vein cuts the vertical vein. if the principal vein descends on an incline and the cross-vein descends vertically, then a minor triangle is created having one obtuse angle or all three angles acute. if the minor triangle has one angle obtuse and the two sides which are the second and third are equal, then the second and third sides of the major triangle will be equal, so that if the first side of the minor triangle is nine feet, the second, and likewise the third, will be five feet. then the first side of the major triangle will be one hundred and one times nine feet, or one hundred and fifty-one and one-half fathoms, and each of the other sides of the major triangle will be one hundred times five feet, that is, eighty-three fathoms and two feet. but when the first shaft is inclined, generally speaking, it is not deep; but there are usually several, all inclined, and one always following the other. therefore, if a tunnel is seventy-seven fathoms long, it will reach to the middle of the bottom of a shaft when six fathoms and two feet further have been sunk. but if all such inclined shafts are seventy-six fathoms deep, in order that the last one may reach the bottom of the tunnel, a depth of seven fathoms and two feet remains to be sunk. [illustration b (surveying triangle): triangle having an obtuse angle and three unequal sides.] if a minor triangle is made which has an obtuse angle and three unequal sides, then again the sides of the large triangle cannot be equal. for example, if the first side of the minor triangle is six feet long, the second three feet, and the third four feet, and the cord along the side of the greater triangle one hundred and one times six feet, that is, one hundred and one fathoms, the distance between the mouth of the tunnel and the bottom of the last shaft will be a length one hundred times three feet, or fifty fathoms; but the depth that lies between the mouth of the first shaft and the bottom of the tunnel is one hundred times four feet, or sixty-six fathoms and four feet. therefore, if a tunnel is forty-four fathoms long, the remaining distance to be driven is six fathoms. if the shafts are fifty-eight fathoms deep, the newest will touch the bottom of the tunnel when eight fathoms and four feet have been sunk. [illustration a (surveying triangle): a triangle having all its angles acute and its three sides equal.] if a minor triangle is produced which has all its angles acute and its three sides equal, then necessarily the second and third sides of the minor triangle will be equal, and likewise the sides of the major triangle frequently referred to will be equal. thus if each side of the minor triangle is six feet long, and the cord measurement for the side of the major triangle is one hundred and one times six feet, that is, one hundred and one fathoms, then both the distances to be dug will be one hundred fathoms. and thus if the tunnel is ninety fathoms long, it will reach the middle of the bottom of the last shaft when ten fathoms further have been driven. if the shafts are ninety-five fathoms deep, the last will reach the bottom of the tunnel when it is sunk a further depth of five fathoms. [illustration b (surveying triangle): triangle having all its angles acute and two sides equal, a, b, unequal side c.] if a triangle is made which has all its angles acute, but only two sides equal, namely, the first and third, then the second and third sides are not equal; therefore the distances to be dug cannot be equal. for example, if the first side of the minor triangle is six feet long, and the second is four feet, and the third is six feet, and the cord measurement for the side of the major triangle is one hundred and one times six feet, that is, one hundred and one fathoms, then the distance between the mouth of the tunnel and the bottom of the last shaft will be sixty-six fathoms and four feet. but the distance from the mouth of the first shaft to the bottom of the tunnel is one hundred fathoms. so if the tunnel is sixty fathoms long, the remaining distance to be driven into the mountain is six fathoms and four feet. if the shaft is ninety-seven fathoms deep, the last one will reach the bottom of the tunnel when a further depth of three fathoms has been sunk. [illustration (surveying triangle): a triangle having all its angles acute and its three sides unequal.] if a minor triangle is produced which has all its angles acute, but its three sides unequal, then again the distances to be dug cannot be equal. for example, if the first side of the minor triangle is seven feet long, the second side is four feet, and the third side is six feet, and the cord measurement for the side of the major triangle is one hundred and one times seven feet or one hundred and seventeen fathoms and four feet, the distance between the mouth of the tunnel and the bottom of the last shaft will be four hundred feet or sixty-six fathoms, and the depth between the mouth of the first shaft and the bottom of the tunnel will be one hundred fathoms. therefore, if a tunnel is fifty fathoms long, it will reach the middle of the bottom of the newest shaft when it has been driven sixteen fathoms and four feet further. but if the shafts are then ninety-two fathoms deep, the last shaft will reach the bottom of the tunnel when it has been sunk a further eight fathoms. this is the method of the surveyor in measuring the mountain, if the principal vein descends inclined into the depths of the earth or the transverse vein is vertical. but if they are both inclined, the surveyor uses the same method, or he measures the slope of the mountain separately from the slope of the shaft. next, if a transverse vein in which a tunnel is driven does not cut the principal vein in that spot where the shaft is sunk, then it is necessary for the starting point of the survey to be in the other shaft in which the transverse vein cuts the principal vein. but if there be no shaft on that spot where the outcrop of the transverse vein cuts the outcrop of the principal vein, then the surface of the ground which lies between the shafts must be measured, or that between the shaft and the place where the outcrop of the one vein intersects the outcrop of the other. [illustration (hemicycle): a--waxed semicircle of the hemicycle. b--semicircular lines. c--straight lines. d--line measuring the half. e--line measuring the whole. f--tongue.] [illustration a (surveying rods): a--lines of the rod which separate minor spaces. b--lines of the rod which separate major spaces.] some surveyors, although they use three cords, nevertheless ascertain only the length of a tunnel by that method of measuring, and determine the depth of a shaft by another method; that is, by the method by which cords are re-stretched on a level part of the mountain or in a valley, or in flat fields, and are measured again. some, however, do not employ this method in surveying the depth of a shaft and the length of a tunnel, but use only two cords, a graduated hemicycle[ ] and a rod half a fathom long. they suspend in the shaft one cord, fastened from the upper pole and weighted, just as the others do. fastened to the upper end of this cord, they stretch another right down the slope of the mountain to the bottom of the mouth of the tunnel and fix it to the ground. then to the upper part of this second cord they apply on its lower side the broad part of a hemicycle. this consists of half a circle, the outer margin of which is covered with wax, and within this are six semi-circular lines. from the waxed margin through the first semi-circular line, and reaching to the second, there proceed straight lines converging toward the centre of the hemicycle; these mark the middles of intervening spaces lying between other straight lines which extend to the fourth semi-circular line. but all lines whatsoever, from the waxed margin up to the fourth line, whether they go beyond it or not, correspond with the graduated lines which mark the minor spaces of a rod. those which go beyond the fourth line correspond with the lines marking the major spaces on the rod, and those which proceed further, mark the middle of the intervening space which lies between the others. the straight lines, which run from the fifth to the sixth semi-circular line, show nothing further. nor does the line which measures the half, show anything when it has already passed from the sixth straight line to the base of the hemicycle. when the hemicycle is applied to the cord, if its tongue indicates the sixth straight line which lies between the second and third semi-circular lines, the surveyor counts on the rod six lines which separate the minor spaces, and if the length of this portion of the rod be taken from the second cord, as many times as the cord itself is half-fathoms long, the remaining length of cord shows the distance the tunnel must be driven to reach under the shaft. but if he sees that the tongue has gone so far that it marks the sixth line between the fourth and fifth semi-circular lines, he counts six lines which separate the major spaces on the rod; and this entire space is deducted from the length of the second cord, as many times as the number of whole fathoms which the cord contains; and then, in like manner, the remaining length of cord shows us the distance the tunnel must be driven to reach under the shaft.[ ] [illustration (surveying triangle): stretched cords: a--first cord. b--second cord. c--third cord. d--triangle.] both these surveyors, as well as the others, in the first place make use of the haulage rope. these they measure by means of others made of linden bark, because the latter do not stretch at all, while the former become very slack. these cords they stretch on the surveyor's field, the first one to represent the parts of mountain slopes which descend obliquely. then the second cord, which represents the length of the tunnel to be driven to reach the shaft, they place straight, in such a direction that one end of it can touch the lower end of the first cord; then they similarly lay the third cord straight, and in such a direction that its upper end may touch the upper end of the first cord, and its lower end the other extremity of the second cord, and thus a triangle is formed. this third cord is measured by the instrument with the index, to determine its relation to the perpendicular; and the length of this cord shows the depth of the shaft. [illustration (surveying triangles): stretched cords: a--first. b--second. b--third. c--fourth. c--fifth. d--quadrangle.] some surveyors, to make their system of measuring the depth of a shaft more certain, use five stretched cords: the first one descending obliquely; two, that is to say the second and third, for ascertaining the length of the tunnel; two for the depth of the shaft; in which way they form a quadrangle divided into two equal triangles, and this tends to greater accuracy. these systems of measuring the depth of a shaft and the length of a tunnel, are accurate when the vein and also the shaft or shafts go down to the tunnel vertically or inclined, in an uninterrupted course. the same is true when a tunnel runs straight on to a shaft. but when each of them bends now in this, now in that direction, if they have not been completely driven and sunk, no living man is clever enough to judge how far they are deflected from a straight course. but if the whole of either one of the two has been excavated its full distance, then we can estimate more easily the length of one, or the depth of the other; and so the location of the tunnel, which is below a newly-started shaft, is determined by a method of surveying which i will describe. first of all a tripod is fixed at the mouth of the tunnel, and likewise at the mouth of the shaft which has been started, or at the place where the shaft will be started. the tripod is made of three stakes fixed to the ground, a small rectangular board being placed upon the stakes and fixed to them, and on this is set a compass. then from the lower tripod a weighted cord is let down perpendicularly to the earth, close to which cord a stake is fixed in the ground. to this stake another cord is tied and drawn straight into the tunnel to a point as far as it can go without being bent by the hangingwall or the footwall of the vein. next, from the cord which hangs from the lower tripod, a third cord likewise fixed is brought straight up the sloping side of the mountain to the stake of the upper tripod, and fastened to it. in order that the measuring of the depth of the shaft may be more certain, the third cord should touch one and the same side of the cord hanging from the lower tripod which is touched by the second cord--the one which is drawn into the tunnel. all this having been correctly carried out, the surveyor, when at length the cord which has been drawn straight into the tunnel is about to be bent by the hangingwall or footwall, places a plank in the bottom of the tunnel and on it sets the orbis, an instrument which has an indicator peculiar to itself. this instrument, although it also has waxed circles, differs from the other, which i have described in the third book. but by both these instruments, as well as by a rule and a square, he determines whether the stretched cords reach straight to the extreme end of the tunnel, or whether they sometimes reach straight, and are sometimes bent by the footwall or hangingwall. each instrument is divided into parts, but the compass into twenty-four parts, the orbis into sixteen parts; for first of all it is divided into four principal parts, and then each of these is again divided into four. both have waxed circles, but the compass has seven circles, and the orbis only five circles. these waxed circles the surveyor marks, whichever instrument he uses, and by the succession of these same marks he notes any change in the direction in which the cord extends. the orbis has an opening running from its outer edge as far as the centre, into which opening he puts an iron screw, to which he binds the second cord, and by screwing it into the plank, fixes it so that the orbis may be immovable. he takes care to prevent the second cord, and afterward the others which are put up, from being pulled off the screw, by employing a heavy iron, into an opening of which he fixes the head of the screw. in the case of the compass, since it has no opening, he merely places it by the side of the screw. that the instrument does not incline forward or backward, and in that way the measurement become a greater length than it should be, he sets upon the instrument a standing plummet level, the tongue of which, if the instrument is level, indicates no numbers, but the point from which the numbers start. [illustration (compass): compass. a, b, c, d, e, f, g are the seven waxed circles.] [illustration a (orbis): a, b, c, d, e--five waxed circles of the _orbis_. f--opening of same. g--screw. h--perforated iron.] [illustration (miner using level): a--standing plummet level. b--tongue. c--level and tongue.] when the surveyor has carefully observed each separate angle of the tunnel and has measured such parts as he ought to measure, then he lays them out in the same way on the surveyor's field[ ] in the open air, and again no less carefully observes each separate angle and measures them. first of all, to each angle, according as the calculation of his triangle and his art require it, he lays out a straight cord as a line. then he stretches a cord at such an angle as represents the slope of the mountain, so that its lower end may reach the end of the straight cord; then he stretches a third cord similarly straight and at such an angle, that with its upper end it may reach the upper end of the second cord, and with its lower end the last end of the first cord. the length of the third cord shows the depth of the shaft, as i said before, and at the same time that point on the tunnel to which the shaft will reach when it has been sunk. if one or more shafts reach the tunnel through intermediate drifts and shafts, the surveyor, starting from the nearest which is open to the air, measures in a shorter time the depth of the shaft which requires to be sunk, than if he starts from the mouth of the tunnel. first of all he measures that space on the surface which lies between the shaft which has been sunk and the one which requires to be sunk. then he measures the incline of all the shafts which it is necessary to measure, and the length of all the drifts with which they are in any way connected to the tunnel. lastly, he measures part of the tunnel; and when all this is properly done, he demonstrates the depth of the shaft and the point in the tunnel to which the shaft will reach. but sometimes a very deep straight shaft requires to be sunk at the same place where there is a previous inclined shaft, and to the same depth, in order that loads may be raised and drawn straight up by machines. those machines on the surface are turned by horses; those inside the earth, by the same means, and also by water-power. and so, if it becomes necessary to sink such a shaft, the surveyor first of all fixes an iron screw in the upper part of the old shaft, and from the screw he lets down a cord as far as the first angle, where again he fixes a screw, and again lets down the cord as far as the second angle; this he repeats again and again until the cord reaches to the bottom of the shaft. then to each angle of the cord he applies a hemicycle, and marks the waxed semi-circle according to the lines which the tongue indicates, and designates it by a number, in case it should be moved; then he measures the separate parts of the cord with another cord made of linden bark. afterward, when he has come back out of the shaft, he goes away and transfers the markings from the waxed semi-circle of the hemicycle to an orbis similarly waxed. lastly, the cords are stretched on the surveyor's field, and he measures the angles, as the system of measuring by triangles requires, and ascertains which part of the footwall and which part of the hangingwall rock must be cut away in order that the shaft may descend straight. but if the surveyor is required to show the owners of the mine, the spot in a drift or a tunnel in which a shaft needs to be raised from the bottom upward, that it should cut through more quickly, he begins measuring from the bottom of the drift or tunnel, at a point beyond the spot at which the bottom of the shaft will arrive, when it has been sunk. when he has measured the part of the drift or tunnel up to the first shaft which connects with an upper drift, he measures the incline of this shaft by applying a hemicycle or orbis to the cord. then in a like manner he measures the upper drift and the incline shaft which is sunk therein toward which a raise is being dug, then again all the cords are stretched in the surveyor's field, the last cord in such a way that it reaches the first, and then he measures them. from this measurement is known in what part of the drift or tunnel the raise should be made, and how many fathoms of vein remain to be broken through in order that the shaft may be connected. i have described the first reason for surveying; i will now describe another. when one vein comes near another, and their owners are different persons who have late come into possession, whether they drive a tunnel or a drift, or sink a shaft, they may encroach, or seem to encroach, without any lawful right, upon the boundaries of the older owners, for which reason the latter very often seek redress, or take legal proceedings. the surveyor either himself settles the dispute between the owners, or by his art gives evidence to the judges for making their decision, that one shall not encroach on the mine of the other. thus, first of all he measures the mines of each party with a basket rope and cords of linden bark; and having applied to the cords an orbis or a compass, he notes the directions in which they extend. then he stretches the cords on the surveyor's field; and starting from that point whose owners are in possession of the old meer toward the other, whether it is in the hanging or footwall of the vein, he stretches a cross-cord in a straight line, according to the sixth division of the compass, that is, at a right angle to the vein, for a distance of three and a half fathoms, and assigns to the older owners that which belongs to them. but if both ends of one vein are being dug out in two tunnels, or drifts from opposite directions, the surveyor first of all considers the lower tunnel or drift and afterward the upper one, and judges how much each of them has risen little by little. on each side strong men take in their hands a stretched cord and hold it so that there is no point where it is not strained tight; on each side the surveyor supports the cord with a rod half a fathom long, and stays the rod at the end with a short stick as often as he thinks it necessary. but some fasten cords to the rods to make them steadier. the surveyor attaches a suspended plummet level to the middle of the cord to enable him to calculate more accurately on both sides, and from this he ascertains whether one tunnel has risen more than another, or in like manner one drift more than another. afterward he measures the incline of the shafts on both sides, so that he can estimate their position on each side. then he easily sees how many fathoms remain in the space which must be broken through. but the grade of each tunnel, as i said, should rise one fathom in the distance of one hundred fathoms. [illustration (plummet cord and weight): indicator of a suspended plummet level.] [illustration (compass): a--needle of the instrument. b--its tongue. c, d, e--holes in the tongue.] the swiss surveyors, when they wish to measure tunnels driven into the highest mountains, also use a rod half a fathom long, but composed of three parts, which screw together, so that they may be shortened. they use a cord made of linden bark to which are fastened slips of paper showing the number of fathoms. they also employ an instrument peculiar to them, which has a needle; but in place of the waxed circles they carry in their hands a chart on which they inscribe the readings of the instrument. the instrument is placed on the back part of the rod so that the tongue, and the extended cord which runs through the three holes in the tongue, demonstrates the direction, and they note the number of fathoms. the tongue shows whether the cord inclines forward or backward. the tongue does not hang, as in the case of the suspended plummet level, but is fixed to the instrument in a half-lying position. they measure the tunnels for the purpose of knowing how many fathoms they have been increased in elevation; how many fathoms the lower is distant from the upper one; how many fathoms of interval is not yet pierced between the miners who on opposite sides are digging on the same vein, or cross-stringers, or two veins which are approaching one another. but i return to our mines. if the surveyor desires to fix the boundaries of the meer within the tunnels or drifts, and mark to them with a sign cut in the rock, in the same way that the _bergmeister_ has marked these boundaries above ground, he first of all ascertains, by measuring in the manner which i have explained above, which part of the tunnel or drift lies beneath the surface boundary mark, stretching the cords along the drifts to a point beyond that spot in the rock where he judges the mark should be cut. then, after the same cords have been laid out on the surveyor's field, he starts from that upper cord at a point which shows the boundary mark, and stretches another cross-cord straight downward according to the sixth division of the compass--that is at a right angle. then that part of the lowest cord which lies beyond the part to which the cross-cord runs being removed, it shows at what point the boundary mark should be cut into the rock of the tunnel or drift. the cutting is made in the presence of the two jurors and the manager and the foreman of each mine. for as the _bergmeister_ in the presence of these same persons sets the boundary stones on the surface, so the surveyor cuts in the rock a sign which for this reason is called the boundary rock. if he fixes the boundary mark of a meer in which a shaft has recently begun to be sunk on a vein, first of all he measures and notes the incline of that shaft by the compass or by another way with the applied cords; then he measures all the drifts up to that one in whose rock the boundary mark has to be cut. of these drifts he measures each angle; then the cords, being laid out on the surveyor's field, in a similar way he stretches a cross-cord, as i said, and cuts the sign on the rock. but if the underground boundary rock has to be cut in a drift which lies beneath the first drift, the surveyor starts from the mark in the first drift, notes the different angles, one by one, takes his measurements, and in the lower drift stretches a cord beyond that place where he judges the mark ought to be cut; and then, as i said before, lays out the cords on the surveyor's field. even if a vein runs differently in the lower drift from the upper one, in which the first boundary mark has been cut in the rock, still, in the lower drift the mark must be cut in the rock vertically beneath. for if he cuts the lower mark obliquely from the upper one some part of the possession of one mine is taken away to its detriment, and given to the other. moreover, if it happens that the underground boundary mark requires to be cut in an angle, the surveyor, starting from that angle, measures one fathom toward the front of the mine and another fathom toward the back, and from these measurements forms a triangle, and dividing its middle by a cross-cord, makes his cutting for the boundary mark. lastly, the surveyor sometimes, in order to make more certain, finds the boundary of the meers in those places where many old boundary marks are cut in the rock. then, starting from a stake fixed on the surface, he first of all measures to the nearest mine; then he measures one shaft after another; then he fixes a stake on the surveyors' field, and making a beginning from it stretches the same cords in the same way and measures them, and again fixes in the ground a stake which for him will signify the end of his measuring. afterward he again measures underground from that spot at which he left off, as many shafts and drifts as he can remember. then he returns to the surveyor's field, and starting again from the second stake, makes his measurements; and he does this as far as the drift in which the boundary mark must be cut in the rock. finally, commencing from the stake first fixed in the ground, he stretches a cross-cord in a straight line to the last stake, and this shows the length of the lowest drift. the point where they touch, he judges to be the place where the underground boundary mark should be cut. end of book v. footnotes: [ ] it has been suggested that we should adopt throughout this volume the mechanical and mining terms used in english mines at agricola's time. we believe, however, that but a little inquiry would illustrate the undesirability of this course as a whole. where there is choice in modern miner's nomenclature between an old and a modern term, we have leaned toward age, if it be a term generally understood. but except where the subject described has itself become obsolete, we have revived no obsolete terms. in substantiation of this view, we append a few examples of terms which served the english miner well for centuries, some of which are still extant in some local communities, yet we believe they would carry as little meaning to the average reader as would the reproduction of the latin terms coined by agricola. rake = a perpendicular vein. woughs = walls of the vein. shakes = cracks in the walls. flookan = gouge. bryle = outcrop. hade = incline or underlay of the vein. dawling = impoverishment of the vein. rither = a "horse" in a vein. twitches = "pinching" of a vein. slough = drainage tunnel. sole = lowest drift. stool = face of a drift or stope. winds } turn } = winze. dippas} grove = shaft. dutins = set of timber. stemple = post or stull. laths = lagging. as examples of the author's coinage and adaptations of terms in this book we may cite:-- _fossa latens_ = drift. _fossa latens transversa_ = crosscut. _tectum_ = hangingwall. _fundamentum_ = footwall. _tigna per intervalla posita_ = wall plate. _arbores dissectae_ = lagging. _formae_ = hitches. we have adopted the term "tunnel" for openings by way of outlet to the mine. the word in this narrow sense is as old as "adit," a term less expressive and not so generally used in the english-speaking mining world. we have for the same reason adopted the word "drift" instead of the term "level" so generally used in america, because that term always leads to confusion in discussion of mine surveys. we may mention, however, that the term "level" is a heritage from the derbyshire mines, and is of an equally respectable age as "drift." [ ] see note on p. - . the _canales_, as here used, were the openings in the earth, in which minerals were deposited. [ ] this statement, as will appear by the description later on, refers to the depth of winzes or to the distance between drifts, that is "the lift." we have not, however, been justified in using the term "winze," because some of these were openings to the surface. as showing the considerable depth of shafts in agricola's time, we may quote the following from _bermannus_ (p. ): "the depths of our shafts forced us to invent hauling machines suitable for them. there are some of them larger and more ingenious than this one, for use in deep shafts, as, for instance, those in my native town of geyer, but more especially at schneeberg, where the shaft of the mine from which so much treasure was taken in our memory has reached the depth of about fathoms (feet?), wherefore the necessity of this kind of machinery. _naevius_: what an enormous depth! have you reached the inferno? _bermannus_: oh, at kuttenberg there are shafts more than fathoms (feet?) deep. _naevius_: and not yet reached the kingdom of pluto?" it is impossible to accept these as fathoms, as this would in the last case represent , feet vertically. the expression used, however, for fathoms is _passus_, presumably the roman measure equal to . inches. [ ] _cavernos_. the glossary gives _drusen_, our word _drusy_ having had this origin. [ ] _purum_,--"pure." _interpretatio_ gives the german as _gedigen_,--"native." [ ] _rudis_,--"crude." by this expression the author really means ores very rich in any designated metal. in many cases it serves to indicate the minerals of a given metal, as distinguished from the metal itself. our system of mineralogy obviously does not afford an acceptable equivalent. agricola (_de nat. foss._, p. ) says: "i find it necessary to call each genus (of the metallic minerals) by the name of its own metal, and to this i add a word which differentiates it from the pure (_puro_) metal, whether the latter has been mined or smelted; so i speak of _rudis_ gold, silver, quicksilver, copper, tin, bismuth, lead, or iron. this is not because i am unaware that varro called silver _rudis_ which had not yet been refined and stamped, but because a word which will distinguish the one from the other is not to be found." [ ] the reasons for retaining the latin weights are given in the appendix on weights and measures. a _centumpondium_ weighs . lbs. avoirdupois, an _uncia_ . troy grains, therefore, this value is equal to ounces pennyweights per short ton. [ ] agricola mentions many minerals in _de re metallica_, but without such description as would make possible a hazard at their identity. from his _de natura fossilium_, however, and from other mineralogies of the th century, some can be fully identified and others surmised. while we consider it desirable to set out the probable composition of these minerals, on account of the space required, the reasons upon which our opinion has been based cannot be given in detail, as that would require extensive quotations. in a general way, we have throughout the text studiously evaded the use of modern mineralogical terms--unless the term used to-day is of agricola's age--and have adopted either old english terms of pre-chemistry times or more loose terms used by common miners. obviously modern mineralogic terms imply a precision of knowledge not existing at that period. it must not be assumed that the following is by any means a complete list of the minerals described by agricola, but they include most of those referred to in this chapter. his system of mineralogy we have set out in note , p. , and it requires no further comment here. the grouping given below is simply for convenience and does not follow agricola's method. where possible, we tabulate in columns the latin term used in _de re metallica_; the german equivalent given by the author in either the _interpretatio_ or the glossary; our view of the probable modern equivalent based on investigation of his other works and other ancient mineralogies, and lastly the terms we have adopted in the text. the german spelling is that given in the original. as an indication of agricola's position as a mineralogist, we mark with an asterisk the minerals which were first specifically described by him. we also give some notes on matters of importance bearing on the nomenclature used in _de re metallica_. historical notes on the chief metals will be found elsewhere, generally with the discussion of smelting methods. we should not omit to express our indebtedness to dana's great "system of mineralogy," in the matter of correlation of many old and modern minerals. gold minerals. agricola apparently believed that there were various gold minerals, green, yellow, purple, black, etc. there is nothing, however, in his works that permits of any attempt to identify them, and his classification seems to rest on gangue colours. silver minerals. _argentum purum in _gedigen silber_ -- *native silver venis reperitur_ _argentum rude_ _gedigen silber -- _rudis_ silver, or ertz_ pure silver minerals _argentum rude _glas ertz_ argentite *silver glance plumbei coloris_ (ag_{ }s) _argentum rude _rot gold ertz_ pyrargyrite *red silver rubrum_ (ag_{ }sbs_{ }) _argentum rude _durchsichtig proustite *ruby silver rubrum rod gulden (ag_{ }ass_{ }) translucidum_ ertz_ _argentum rude _weis rod gulden -- white silver album_ ertz: dan es ist frisch wie offtmals rod gulden ertz pfleget zusein_ _argentum rude _gedigen part bromyrite liver-coloured jecoris leberfarbig (ag br) silver colore_ ertz_ _argentum rude _gedigen -- yellow silver luteum_ geelertz_ _argentum rude _gedigen graw } { *grey silver cineraceum_ ertz_ } part cerargurite { } (ag cl) (horn { _argentum rude _gedigen } silver) part { *black silver nigrum_ schwartz ertz_ } stephanite { } (ag_{ }sbs_{ }) { _argentum rude _gedigen braun } { *purple silver purpureum_ ertz_ } { the last six may be in part also alteration products from all silver minerals. the reasons for indefiniteness in determination usually lie in the failure of ancient authors to give sufficient or characteristic descriptions. in many cases agricola is sufficiently definite as to assure certainty, as the following description of what we consider to be silver glance, from _de natura fossilium_ (p. ), will indicate: "lead-coloured _rudis_ silver is called by the germans from the word glass (_glasertz_), not from lead. indeed, it has the colour of the latter or of galena (_plumbago_), but not of glass, nor is it transparent like glass, which one might indeed expect had the name been correctly derived. this mineral is occasionally so like galena in colour, although it is darker, that one who is not experienced in minerals is unable to distinguish between the two at sight, but in substance they differ greatly from one another. nature has made this kind of silver out of a little earth and much silver. whereas galena consists of stone and lead containing some silver. but the distinction between them can be easily determined, for galena may be ground to powder in a mortar with a pestle, but this treatment flattens out this kind of _rudis_ silver. also galena, when struck by a mallet or bitten or hacked with a knife, splits and breaks to pieces; whereas this silver is malleable under the hammer, may be dented by the teeth, and cut with a knife." copper minerals. _aes purum _gedigen kupfer_ native copper native copper fossile_ _aes rude _kupferglas ertz_ chalcocite *copper glance plumbei (cu_{ }s) coloris_ _chalcitis_ _rodt atrament_ a decomposed _chalcitis_ (see copper or notes on p. ) iron sulphide _pyrites aurei } _geelkis oder { part chalcopyrite copper pyrites colore_ } kupferkis_ { (cu fe s) part } { bornite _pyrites aerosus_ } { (cu_{ }fes_{ }) _caeruleum_ _berglasur_ azurite azure _chrysocolla_ _berggrün und { part chrysocolla chrysocolla (see schifergrün_ { part malachite note , p. ) _molochites_ _molochit_ malachite malachite _lapis aerarius_ _kupfer ertz_ -- copper ore _aes caldarium } _lebeter kupfer_ { when used for rubrum fuscum_ } { an ore, is *ruby copper ore or } { probably _aes sui coloris_ } _rotkupfer_ { cuprite _aes nigrum_ _schwartz kupfer_ probably cuo from *black copper oxidation of other minerals in addition to the above the author uses the following, which were in the main artificial products: _aerugo_ _grünspan oder verdigris verdigris spanschgrün_ _aes luteum_ _gelfarkupfer_ } impure blister { unrefined copper } copper { (see note , } { p. ) _aes caldarium_ _lebeterkupfer_ } { _aeris flos_ _kupferbraun_ } cupric oxide { copper flower } scales { } { _aeris squama_ _kupferhammer- } { copper scale (see schlag_ } { note , p. ) _atramentum _blaw kupfer chalcanthite native blue sutorium wasser_ vitriol (see caeruleum_ or note on p. ) _chalcanthum_ blue and green copper minerals were distinguished by all the ancient mineralogists. theophrastus, dioscorides, pliny, etc., all give sufficient detail to identify their _cyanus_ and _caeruleum_ partly with modern azurite, and their _chrysocolla_ partly with the modern mineral of the same name. however, these terms were also used for vegetable pigments, as well as for the pigments made from the minerals. the greek origin of _chrysocolla_ (_chrysos_, gold and _kolla_, solder) may be blamed with another and distinct line of confusion, in that this term has been applied to soldering materials, from greek down to modern times, some of the ancient mineralogists even asserting that the copper mineral _chrysocolla_ was used for this purpose. agricola uses _chrysocolla_ for borax, but is careful to state in every case (see note xx., p. x): "_chrysocolla_ made from _nitrum_," or "_chrysocolla_ which the moors call borax." dioscorides and pliny mention substances which were evidently copper sulphides, but no description occurs prior to agricola that permits a hazard as to different species. lead minerals. _plumbarius lapis_ _glantz_ galena galena _galena_ _glantz und galena galena pleiertz_ _plumbum nigrum } _pleiertz oder cerussite yellow lead ore lutei coloris_ } pleischweis_ (pbco_{ }) } _plumbago } metallica_ } _cerussa_ _pleiweis_ artificial white-lead (see white-lead note , p. ) _ochra facticia_ _pleigeel_ massicot (pb o) *lead-ochre (see or _ochra note , p. ) plumbaria_ _molybdaena_ } _herdplei_ part litharge hearth-lead (see } note , p. ) _plumbago } fornacis_ } _spuma argenti_ } _glett_ litharge litharge (see note } on p. ) _lithargyrum_ } _minium _menning_ minium red-lead (see note secundarium_ (pb_{ }o_{ }) , p. ) so far as we can determine, all of these except the first three were believed by agricola to be artificial products. of the first three, galena is certain enough, but while he obviously was familiar with the alteration lead products, his descriptions are inadequate and much confused with the artificial oxides. great confusion arises in the ancient mineralogies over the terms _molybdaena_, _plumbago_, _plumbum_, _galena_, and _spuma argenti_, all of which, from roman mineralogists down to a century after agricola, were used for lead in some form. further discussion of such confusion will be found in note , p. . agricola in _bermannus_ and _de natura fossilium_, devotes pages to endeavouring to reconcile the ancient usages of these terms, and all the confusion existing in agricola's time was thrice confounded when the names _molybdaena_ and _plumbago_ were assigned to non-lead minerals. tin. agricola knew only one tin mineral: _lapilli nigri ex quibus conflatur plumbum candidum_, _i.e._, "little black stones from which tin is smelted," and he gives the german equivalent as _zwitter_, "tin-stone." he describes them as being of different colours, but probably due to external causes. antimony. (_interpretatio_,--_spiesglas_.) the _stibi_ or _stibium_ of agricola was no doubt the sulphide, and he follows dioscorides in dividing it into male and female species. this distinction, however, is impossible to apply from the inadequate descriptions given. the mineral and metal known to agricola and his predecessors was almost always the sulphide, and we have not felt justified in using the term antimony alone, as that implies the refined product, therefore, we have adopted either the latin term or the old english term "grey antimony." the smelted antimony of commerce sold under the latter term was the sulphide. for further notes see p. . bismuth*. _plumbum cinereum_ (_interpretatio_,--_bismut_). agricola states that this mineral occasionally occurs native, "but more often as a mineral of another colour" (_de nat. fos._, p. ), and he also describes its commonest form as black or grey. this, considering his localities, would indicate the sulphide, although he assigns no special name to it. although bismuth is mentioned before agricola in the _nützliche bergbüchlin_, he was the first to describe it (see p. ). quicksilver. apart from native quicksilver, agricola adequately describes cinnabar only. the term used by him for the mineral is _minium nativum_ (_interpretatio_,--_bergzinober_ or _cinnabaris_). he makes the curious statement _(de nat. fos._ p. ) that _rudis_ quicksilver also occurs liver-coloured and blackish,--probably gangue colours. (see p. ). arsenical minerals. metallic arsenic was unknown, although it has been maintained that a substance mentioned by albertus magnus (_de rebus metallicis_) was the metallic form. agricola, who was familiar with all albertus's writings, makes no mention of it, and it appears to us that the statement of albertus referred only to the oxide from sublimation. our word "arsenic" obviously takes root in the greek for orpiment, which was also used by pliny (xxxiv, ) as _arrhenicum_, and later was modified to _arsenicum_ by the alchemists, who applied it to the oxide. agricola gives the following in _bermannus_ (p. ), who has been previously discussing realgar and orpiment:--"_ancon_: avicenna also has a white variety. _bermannus_: i cannot at all believe in a mineral of a white colour; perhaps he was thinking of an artificial product; there are two which the alchemists make, one yellow and the other white, and they are accounted the most powerful poisons to-day, and are called only by the name _arsenicum_." in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ) is described the making of "the white variety" by sublimating orpiment, and also it is noted that realgar can be made from orpiment by heating the latter for five hours in a sealed crucible. in _de re metallica_ (book x.), he refers to _auripigmentum facticum_, and no doubt means the realgar made from orpiment. the four minerals of arsenic base mentioned by agricola were:-- _auripigmentum_ _operment_ orpiment orpiment (as_{ }s_{ }) _sandaraca_ _rosgeel_ realgar (as s) realgar _arsenicum_ _arsenik_ artificial white arsenic arsenical oxide _lapis subrutilus _mistpuckel_ arsenopyrite *mispickel atque ... (fe as s) splendens_ we are somewhat uncertain as to the identification of the last. the yellow and red sulphides, however, were well known to the ancients, and are described by aristotle, theophrastus ( and ), dioscorides (v, ), pliny (xxxiii, , etc.); and strabo (xii, , ) mentions a mine of them near pompeiopolis, where, because of its poisonous character none but slaves were employed. the ancients believed that the yellow sulphide contained gold--hence the name _auripigmentum_, and pliny describes the attempt of the emperor caligula to extract the gold from it, and states that he did obtain a small amount, but unprofitably. so late a mineralogist as hill ( ) held this view, which seemed to be general. both realgar and orpiment were important for pigments, medicinal purposes, and poisons among the ancients. in addition to the above, some arsenic-cobalt minerals are included under _cadmia_. iron minerals. _ferrum purum_ _gedigen eisen_ native iron *native iron _terra ferria_ _eisen ertz_ } various soft and } ironstone } hard iron } _ferri vena_ _eisen ertz_ } ores, probably } } mostly hematite} _galenae genus _eisen glantz_ } } tertium omnis } } metalli } } inanissimi_ } } } } _schistos_ _glasköpfe oder } } blütstein_ } } } } _ferri vena _leber ertz_ } } jecoris colore_ } } _ferrugo_ _rüst_ part limonite iron rust _magnes_ _siegelstein magnetite lodestone oder magnet_ _ochra nativa_ _berg geel_ limonite yellow ochre or ironstone _haematites_ _blüt stein_ { part hematite bloodstone or { part jasper ironstone _schistos_ _glas köpfe_ part limonite ironstone _pyrites_ _kis_ pyrites pyrites _pyrites argenti _wasser oder marcasite *white iron coloris_ weisser kis_ pyrites _misy_ _gel atrament_ part copiapite _misy_ (see note on p. ) _sory_ _graw und partly a _sory_ (see note schwartz decomposed iron on p. ) atrament_ pyrite _melanteria_ _schwartz und melanterite _melanteria_ (see grau atrament_ (native vitriol) note on p. ) the classification of iron ores on the basis of exterior characteristics, chiefly hardness and brilliancy, does not justify a more narrow rendering than "ironstone." agricola (_de nat. fos._, book v.) gives elaborate descriptions of various iron ores, but the descriptions under any special name would cover many actual minerals. the subject of pyrites is a most confused one; the term originates from the greek word for fire, and referred in greek and roman times to almost any stone that would strike sparks. by agricola it was a generic term in somewhat the same sense that it is still used in mineralogy, as, for instance, iron pyrite, copper pyrite, etc. so much was this the case later on, that henckel, the leading mineralogist of the th century, entitled his large volume _pyritologia_, and in it embraces practically all the sulphide minerals then known. the term _marcasite_, of mediæval arabic origin, seems to have had some vogue prior and subsequent to agricola. he, however, puts it on one side as merely a synonym for pyrite, nor can it be satisfactorily defined in much better terms. agricola apparently did not recognise the iron base of pyrites, for he says (_de nat. fos._, p. ): "sometimes, however, pyrites do not contain any gold, silver, copper, or lead, and yet it is not a pure stone, but a compound, and consists of stone and a substance which is somewhat metallic, which is a species of its own." many varieties were known to him and described, partly by their other metal association, but chiefly by their colour. cadmia. the minerals embraced under this term by the old mineralogists form one of the most difficult chapters in the history of mineralogy. these complexities reached their height with agricola, for at this time various new minerals classed under this heading had come under debate. all these minerals were later found to be forms of zinc, cobalt, or arsenic, and some of these minerals were in use long prior to agricola. from greek and roman times down to long after agricola, brass was made by cementing zinc ore with copper. aristotle and strabo mention an earth used to colour copper, but give no details. it is difficult to say what zinc mineral the _cadmium_ of dioscorides (v, ) and pliny (xxxiv, ), really was. it was possibly only furnace calamine, or perhaps blende for it was associated with copper. they amply describe _cadmia_ produced in copper furnaces, and _pompholyx_ (zinc oxide). it was apparently not until theophilus ( ) that the term _calamina_ appears for that mineral. precisely when the term "zinc," and a knowledge of the metal, first appeared in europe is a matter of some doubt; it has been attributed to paracelsus, a contemporary of agricola (see note on p. ), but we do not believe that author's work in question was printed until long after. the quotations from agricola given below, in which _zincum_ is mentioned in an obscure way, do not appear in the first editions of these works, but only in the revised edition of . in other words, agricola himself only learned of a substance under this name a short period before his death in . the metal was imported into europe from china prior to this time. he however does describe actual metallic zinc under the term _conterfei_, and mentions its occurrence in the cracks of furnace walls. (see also notes on p. ). the word cobalt (german _kobelt_) is from the greek word _cobalos_, "mime," and its german form was the term for gnomes and goblins. it appears that the german miners, finding a material (agricola's "corrosive material") which injured their hands and feet, connected it with the goblins, or used the term as an epithet, and finally it became established for certain minerals (see note , p. , on this subject). the first written appearance of the term in connection with minerals, appears in agricola's _bermannus_ ( ). the first practical use of cobalt was in the form of _zaffre_ or cobalt blue. there seems to be no mention of the substance by the greek or roman writers, although analyses of old colourings show some traces of cobalt, but whether accidental or not is undetermined. the first mention we know of, was by biringuccio in (_de la pirotechnia_, book ii, chap. ix.), who did not connect it with the minerals then called _cobalt_ or _cadmia_. "_zaffera_ is another mineral substance, like a metal of middle weight, which will not melt alone, but accompanied by vitreous substances it melts into an azure colour so that those who colour glass, or paint vases or glazed earthenware, make use of it. not only does it serve for the above-mentioned operations, but if one uses too great a quantity of it, it will be black and all other colours, according to the quantity used." agricola, although he does not use the word _zaffre_, does refer to a substance of this kind, and in any event also missed the relation between _zaffre_ and cobalt, as he seems to think (_de nat. fos._, p. ) that _zaffre_ came from bismuth, a belief that existed until long after his time. the cobalt of the erzgebirge was of course, intimately associated with this mineral. he says, "the slag of bismuth, mixed together with metalliferous substances, which when melted make a kind of glass, will tint glass and earthenware vessels blue." _zaffre_ is the roasted mineral ground with sand, while _smalt_, a term used more frequently, is the fused mixture with sand. the following are the substances mentioned by agricola, which, we believe, relate to cobalt and zinc minerals, some of them arsenical compounds. other arsenical minerals we give above. _cadmia fossilis_ _calmei_; _lapis calamine calamine calaminaris_ _cadmia metallica_ _kobelt_ part cobalt *_cadmia metallica_ _cadmia fornacis_ _mitlere und furnace furnace accretions obere accretions or offenbrüche_ furnace calamine _bituminosa _kobelt des (mannsfeld copper _bituminosa cadmia_ cadmia_ bergwacht_ schists) (see note , p. ) _galena inanis_ _blende_ sphalerite* *blende (zn s) _cobaltum -- smallite* } _cadmia metallica_ cineraceum_ (coas_{ }) } } _cobaltum nigrum_ -- abolite* } } _cobaltum ferri -- cobaltite } colore_ (coass) } _zincum_ _zinck_ zinc zinc _liquor candidus _conterfei_ zinc see note , p. ex fornace ... etc._ _atramentum -- goslarite *native white sutorium, (zn so_{ }) vitriol candidum, potissimum reperitur goselariae_ _spodos _geeler zechen } either natural { grey _spodos_ subterranea rauch_ } or artificial { cinerea_ } zinc oxides, { } no doubt { _spodos _schwartzer } containing { black _spodos_ subterranea zechen rauch, } arsenical { nigra_ auff dem } oxides { altenberge } { nennet man in } { kis_ } { } { _spodos _grauer zechen } { green _spodos_ subterranea rauch_ } { viridis_ } { } { _pompholyx_ _hüttenrauch_ } { _pompholyx_ (see } { note , p. ) as seen from the following quotations from agricola, on _cadmia_ and cobalt, there was infinite confusion as to the zinc, cobalt, and arsenic minerals; nor do we think any good purpose is served by adding to the already lengthy discussion of these passages, the obscurity of which is natural to the state of knowledge; but we reproduce them as giving a fairly clear idea of the amount of confusion then existing. it is, however, desirable to bear in mind that the mines familiar to agricola abounded in complex mixtures of cobalt, nickel, arsenic, bismuth, zinc, and antimony. agricola frequently mentions the garlic odour from _cadmia metallica_, which, together with the corrosive qualities mentioned below, would obviously be due to arsenic. _bermannus_ (p. ). "this kind of pyrites miners call _cobaltum_, if it be allowed to me to use our german name. the greeks call it _cadmia_. the juices, however, out of which pyrites and silver are formed, appear to solidify into one body, and thus is produced what they call _cobaltum_. there are some who consider this the same as pyrites, because it is almost the same. there are some who distinguish it as a species, which pleases me, for it has the distinctive property of being extremely corrosive, so that it consumes the hands and feet of the workmen, unless they are well protected, which i do not believe that pyrites can do. three kinds are found, and distinguished more by the colour than by other properties; they are black (abolite?), grey (smallite?), and iron colour (cobalt glance?). moreover, it contains more silver than does pyrites...." _bermannus_ (p. ). "it (a sort of pyrites) is so like the colour of galena that not without cause might anybody have doubt in deciding whether it be pyrites or galena.... perhaps this kind is neither pyrites nor galena, but has a genus of its own. for it has not the colour of pyrites, nor the hardness. it is almost the colour of galena, but of entirely different components. from it there is made gold and silver, and a great quantity is dug out from reichenstein which is in silesia, as was lately reported to me. much more is found at raurici, which they call _zincum_; which species differs from pyrites, for the latter contains more silver than gold, the former only gold, or hardly any silver." (_de natura fossilium_, p. ). "_cadmia fossilis_ has an odour like garlic" ... (p. ). "we now proceed with _cadmia_, not the _cadmia fornacis_ (furnace accretions) of which i spoke in the last book, nor the _cadmia fossilis_ (calamine) devoid of metal, which is used to colour copper, whose nature i explained in book v, but the metallic mineral (_fossilis metallica_), which pliny states to be an ore from which copper is made. the ancients have left no record that another metal could be smelted from it. yet it is a fact that not only copper but also silver may be smelted from it, and indeed occasionally both copper and silver together. sometimes, as is the case with pyrites, it is entirely devoid of metal. it is frequently found in copper mines, but more frequently still in silver mines. and there are likewise veins of _cadmia_ itself.... there are several species of the _cadmia fossilis_ just as there were of _cadmia fornacum_. for one kind has the form of grapes and another of broken tiles, a third seems to consist of layers. but the _cadmia fossilis_ has much stronger properties than that which is produced in the furnaces. indeed, it often possesses such highly corrosive power that it corrodes the hands and feet of the miners. it, therefore, differs from pyrites in colour and properties. for pyrites, if it does not contain vitriol, is generally either of a gold or silver colour, rarely of any other. _cadmia_ is either black or brown or grey, or else reddish like copper when melted in the furnace.... for this _cadmia_ is put in a suitable vessel, in the same way as quicksilver, so that the heat of the fire will cause it to sublimate, and from it is made a black or brown or grey body which the alchemists call 'sublimated _cadmia_' (_cadmiam sublimatam_). this possesses corrosive properties of the highest degree. cognate with _cadmia_ and pyrites is a compound which the noricians and rhetians call _zincum_. this contains gold and silver, and is either red or white. it is likewise found in the sudetian mountains, and is devoid of those metals.... with this _cadmia_ is naturally related mineral _spodos_, known to the moor serapion, but unknown to the greeks; and also _pompholyx_--for both are produced by fire where the miners, breaking the hard rocks in drifts, tunnels, and shafts, burn the _cadmia_ or pyrites or galena or other similar minerals. from _cadmia_ is made black, brown, and grey _spodos_; from pyrites, white _pompholyx_ and _spodos_; from galena is made yellow or grey _spodos_. but _pompholyx_ produced from copper stone (_lapide aeroso_) after some time becomes green. the black _spodos_, similar to soot, is found at altenberg in meissen. the white _pompholyx_, like wool which floats in the air in summer, is found in hildesheim in the seams in the rocks of almost all quarries except in the sandstone. but the grey and the brown and the yellow _pompholyx_ are found in those silver mines where the miners break up the rocks by fire. all consist of very fine particles which are very light, but the lightest of all is white _pompholyx_." quartz minerals. _quarzum_ ("which _quertz oder quartz quartz (see note latins call kiselstein_ , p. ) _silex_") _silex_ _hornstein oder flinty or jaspery hornstone feurstein_ quartz _crystallum_ _crystal_ clear crystals crystal _achates_ _achat_ agate agate _sarda_ _carneol_ carnelian carnelian _jaspis_ _jaspis_ part coloured _jaspis_ quartz, part jade _murrhina_ _chalcedonius_ chalcedony chalcedony _coticula_ _goldstein_ a black silicious touchstone (see stone note , p. ) _amethystus_ _amethyst_ amethyst amethyst lime minerals. _lapis } _gips_ gypsum gypsum specularis_ } } _gypsum_ } _marmor_ _marmelstein_ marble marble _marmor _alabaster_ alabaster alabaster alabastrites_ _marmor glarea_ -- calcite (?) calc spar(?) _saxum calcis_ _kalchstein_ limestone limestone _marga_ _mergel_ marl marl _tophus_ _toffstein oder sintry _tophus_ (see note topstein_ limestones, , p. ) stalagmites, etc. miscellaneous. _amiantus_ _federwis, pliant usually asbestos asbestos salamanderhar_ _magnetis_ _silberweis oder } mica *mica katzensilber_ } } _bracteolae -- } magnetidi simile_ } } _mica_ _katzensilber } oder glimmer_ } _silex ex eo ictu -- feldspar *feldspar ferri facile ignis elicitur.... excubus figuris_ _medulla saxorum_ _steinmarck_ kaolinite porcelain clay _fluores (lapides _flusse_ fluorspar *fluorspar gemmarum simili)_ (see note , p. ) _marmor in _spat_ barite *heavy spar metallis repertum_ apart from the above, many other minerals are mentioned in other chapters, and some information is given with regard to them in the footnotes. [ ] three _librae_ of silver per _centumpondium_ would be equal to ounces per short ton. [ ] as stated in note on p. , agricola divided "stones so called" into four kinds; the first, common stones in which he included lodestone and jasper or bloodstone; the second embraced gems; the third were decorative stones, such as marble, porphyry, etc.; the fourth were rocks, such as sandstone and limestone. lodestone. (_magnes_; _interpretatio_ gives _siegelstein oder magnet_). the lodestone was well-known to the ancients under various names--_magnes_, _magnetis_, _heraclion_, and _sideritis_. a review of the ancient opinions as to its miraculous properties would require more space than can be afforded. it is mentioned by many greek writers, including hippocrates ( - b.c.) and aristotle; while theophrastus ( ), dioscorides (v, ), and pliny (xxxiv, , xxxvi, ) describe it at length. the ancients also maintained the existence of a stone, _theamedes_, having repellant properties, and the two were supposed to exist at times in the same stone. emery. (_smiris_; _interpretatio_ gives _smirgel_). agricola (_de natura fossilium_, p. ) says: "the ring-makers polish and clean their hard gems with _smiris_. the glaziers use it to cut their glass into sheets. it is found in the silver mines of annaberg in meissen and elsewhere." stones used for polishing gems are noted by the ancient authors, and dana (syst. of mineralogy, p. ) considers the stone of armenia, of theophrastus ( ), to be emery, although it could quite well be any hard stone, such as novaculite--which is found in armenia. dioscorides (v, ) describes a stone with which the engravers polish gems. lapis judaicus. (_interpretatio_ gives _jüden stein_). this was undoubtedly a fossil, possibly a _pentremites_. agricola (_de natura fossilium_, p. ) says: "it is shaped like an acorn, from the obtuse end to the point proceed raised lines, all equidistant, etc." many fossils were included among the semi-precious stones by the ancients. pliny (xxxvii, , , ) describes many such stones, among them the _balanites_, _phoenicitis_ and the _pyren_, which resemble the above. trochitis. (_interpretatio_ gives _spangen oder rederstein_). this was also a fossil, probably crinoid stems. agricola (_de natura fossilium_, p. ) describes it: "_trochites_ is so called from a wheel, and is related to _lapis judaicus_. nature has indeed given it the shape of a drum (_tympanum_). the round part is smooth, but on both ends as it were there is a module from which on all sides there extend radii to the outer edge, which corresponds with the radii. these radii are so much raised that it is fluted. the size of these _trochites_ varies greatly, for the smallest is so little that the largest is ten times as big, and the largest are a digit in length by a third of a digit in thickness ... when immersed in vinegar they make bubbles." [ ] the "extraordinary earths" of agricola were such substances as ochres, tripoli, fullers earth, potters' clay, clay used for medicinal purposes, etc., etc. [ ] presumably the ore-body dips into a neighbouring property. [ ] the various kinds of iron tools are described in great detail in book vi. [ ] fire-setting as an aid to breaking rock is of very ancient origin, and moreover it persisted in certain german and norwegian mines down to the end of the th century-- years after the first application of explosives to mining. the first specific reference to fire-setting in mining is by agatharchides ( nd century b.c.) whose works are not extant, but who is quoted by both diodorus siculus and photius, for which statement see note , p. . pliny (xxxiii, ) says: "occasionally a kind of silex is met with, which must be broken with fire and vinegar, or as the tunnels are filled with suffocating fumes and smoke, they frequently use bruising machines, carrying _librae_ of iron." this combination of fire and vinegar he again refers to (xxiii, ), where he dilates in the same sentence on the usefulness of vinegar for breaking rock and for salad dressing. this myth about breaking rocks with fire and vinegar is of more than usual interest, and its origin seems to be in the legend that hannibal thus broke through the alps. livy ( b.c., a.d.) seems to be the first to produce this myth in writing; and, in any event, by pliny's time ( - a.d.) it had become an established method--in literature. livy (xxi, ) says, in connection with hannibal's crossing of the alps: "they set fire to it (the timber) when a wind had arisen suitable to excite the fire, then when the rock was hot it was crumbled by pouring on vinegar (_infuso aceto_). in this manner the cliff heated by the fire was broken by iron tools, and the declivities eased by turnings, so that not only the beasts of burden but also the elephants could be led down." hannibal crossed the alps in b.c. and livy's account was written years later, by which time hannibal's memory among the romans was generally surrounded by herculean fables. be this as it may, by pliny's time the vinegar was generally accepted, and has been ceaselessly debated ever since. nor has the myth ceased to grow, despite the remarks of gibbon, lavalette, and others. a recent historian (hennebert, _histoire d' annibal_ ii, p. ) of that famous engineer and soldier, soberly sets out to prove that inasmuch as literal acceptance of ordinary vinegar is impossible, the phoenicians must have possessed some mysterious high explosive. a still more recent biographer swallows this argument _in toto_. (morris, "hannibal," london, , p. ). a study of the commentators of this passage, although it would fill a volume with sterile words, would disclose one generalization: that the real scholars have passed over the passage with the comment that it is either a corruption or an old woman's tale, but that hosts of soldiers who set about the biography of famous generals and campaigns, almost to a man take the passage seriously, and seriously explain it by way of the rock being limestone, or snow, or by the use of explosives, or other foolishness. it has been proposed, although there are grammatical objections, that the text is slightly corrupt and read _infosso acuto_, instead of _infuso aceto_, in which case all becomes easy from a mining point of view. if so, however, it must be assumed that the corruption occurred during the years between livy and pliny. by the use of fire-setting in recent times at königsberg (arthur l. collins, "fire-setting," federated inst. of mining engineers, vol. v, p. ) an advance of from to feet per month in headings was accomplished, and on the score of economy survived the use of gunpowder, but has now been abandoned in favour of dynamite. we may mention that the use of gunpowder for blasting was first introduced at schemnitz by caspar weindle, in , but apparently was not introduced into english mines for nearly years afterward, as the late th century english writers continue to describe fire-setting. [ ] the strata here enumerated are given in the glossary of _de re metallica_ as follows:-- _corium terrae_ _die erd oder leim._ _saxum rubrum_ _rot gebirge._ _alterum item rubrum_ _roterkle._ _argilla cinerea_ _thone._ _tertium saxum_ _gerhulle._ _cineris vena_ _asche._ _quartum saxum_ _gniest._ _quintum saxum_ _schwehlen._ _sextum saxum_ _oberrauchstein._ _septimum saxum_ _zechstein._ _octavum saxum_ _underrauchstein._ _nonum saxum_ _blitterstein._ _decimum saxum_ _oberschuelen._ _undecimum saxum_ _mittelstein._ _duodecimum saxum_ _underschuelen._ _decimumtertium saxum_ _dach._ _decimumquartum saxum_ _norweg._ _decimumquintum saxum_ _lotwerg._ _decimumsextum saxum_ _kamme._ _lapis aerosus fissilis_ _schifer._ the description is no doubt that of the mannsfeld cupriferous slates. it is of some additional interest as the first attempt at stratigraphic distinctions, although this must not be taken too literally, for we have rendered the different numbered "_saxum_" in this connection as "stratum." the german terms given by agricola above, can many of them be identified in the miners' terms to-day for the various strata at mannsfeld. over the _kupferschiefer_ the names to-day are _kammschale_, _dach_, _faule_, _zechstein_, _rauchwacke_, _rauchstein_, _asche_. the relative thickness of these beds is much the same as given by agricola. the stringers in the th stratum of stone, which fuse in the fire of the second order, were possibly calcite. the _rauchstein_ of the modern section is distinguished by stringers of calcite, which give it at times a brecciated appearance. [ ] the history of surveying and surveying instruments, and in a subsidiary way their application to mine work, is a subject upon which there exists a most extensive literature. however, that portion of such history which relates to the period prior to agricola represents a much less proportion of the whole than do the citations to this chapter in _de re metallica_, which is the first comprehensive discussion of the mining application. the history of such instruments is too extensive to be entered upon in a footnote, but there are some fundamental considerations which, if they had been present in the minds of historical students of this subject, would have considerably abridged the literature on it. first, there can be no doubt that measuring cords or rods and boundary stones existed almost from the first division of land. there is, therefore, no need to try to discover their origins. second, the history of surveying and surveying instruments really begins with the invention of instruments for taking levels, or for the determination of angles with a view to geometrical calculation. the meagre facts bearing upon this subject do not warrant the endless expansion they have received by argument as to what was probable, in order to accomplish assumed methods of construction among the ancients. for instance, the argument that in carrying the grand canal over watersheds with necessary reservoir supply, the chinese must have had accurate levelling and surveying instruments before the christian era, and must have conceived in advance a completed work, does not hold water when any investigation will demonstrate that the canal grew by slow accretion from the lateral river systems, until it joined almost by accident. much the same may be said about the preconception of engineering results in several other ancient works. there can be no certainty as to who first invented instruments of the order mentioned above; for instance, the invention of the dioptra has been ascribed to hero, _vide_ his work on the _dioptra_. he has been assumed to have lived in the st or nd century b.c. recent investigations, however, have shown that he lived about a.d. (sir thomas heath, encyc. brit. th ed., xiii, ). as this instrument is mentioned by vitruvius ( - b.c.) the myth that hero was the inventor must also disappear. incidentally vitruvius (viii, ) describes a levelling instrument called a _chorobates_, which was a frame levelled either by a groove of water or by plumb strings. be the inventor of the _dioptra_ who he may, hero's work on that subject contains the first suggestion of mine surveys in the problems (xiii, xiv, xv, xvi), where geometrical methods are elucidated for determining the depths required for the connection of shafts and tunnels. on the compass we give further notes on p. . it was probably an evolution of the th century. as to the application of angle- and level-determining instruments to underground surveys, so far as we know there is no reference prior to agricola, except that of hero. mr. bennett brough (cantor lecture, london, ) points out that the _nützliche bergbüchlin_ (see appendix) describes a mine compass, but there is not the slightest reference to its use for anything but surface direction of veins. although map-making of a primitive sort requires no instruments, except legs, the oldest map in the world possesses unusual interest because it happens to be a map of a mining region. this well-known turin papyrus dates from seti i. (about b.c.), and it represents certain gold mines between the nile and the red sea. the best discussion is by chabas (_inscriptions des mines d'or_, chalons-sur-saone, paris, , p. - ). fragments of another papyrus, in the turin museum, are considered by lieblein (_deux papyras hiératiques_, christiania, ) also to represent a mine of the time of rameses i. if so, this one dates from about b.c. as to an actual map of underground workings (disregarding illustrations) we know of none until after agricola's time. at his time maps were not made, as will be gathered from the text. [ ] for greater clarity we have in a few places interpolated the terms "major" and "minor" triangles. [ ] the names of the instruments here described in the original text, their german equivalents in the glossary, and the terms adopted in translation are given below:-- latin text. glossary. terms adopted. _funiculus_ -- cord _pertica_ _stab_ rod _hemicyclium_ _donlege bretlein_ hemicycle _tripus_ _stul_ tripod _instrumentum cui _compass_ compass index_ _orbis_ _scheube_ orbis _libra stativa_ _auffsafz_ standing plummet level _libra pensilis_ _wage_ suspended plummet level _instrumentum cui _der schiner swiss compass index alpinum_ compass_ [ ] it is interesting to note that the ratio of any length so obtained, to the whole length of the staff, is practically equal to the cosine of the angle represented by the corresponding gradation on the hemicycle; the gradations on the rod forming a fairly accurate table of cosines. [ ] it must be understood that instead of "plotting" a survey on a reduced scale on paper, as modern surveyors do, the whole survey was reproduced in full scale on the "surveyor's field." book vi. digging of veins i have written of, and the timbering of shafts, tunnels, drifts, and other excavations, and the art of surveying. i will now speak first of all, of the iron tools with which veins and rocks are broken, then of the buckets into which the lumps of earth, rock, metal, and other excavated materials are thrown, in order that they may be drawn, conveyed, or carried out. also, i will speak of the water vessels and drains, then of the machines of different kinds,[ ] and lastly of the maladies of miners. and while all these matters are being described accurately, many methods of work will be explained. [illustration (iron tools): a--first "iron tool." b--second. c--third. d--fourth.[ ] e--wedge. f--iron block. g--iron plate. h--wooden handle. i--handle inserted in first tool.] there are certain iron tools which the miners designate by names of their own, and besides these, there are wedges, iron blocks, iron plates, hammers, crowbars, pikes, picks, hoes, and shovels. of those which are especially referred to as "iron tools" there are four varieties, which are different from one another in length or thickness, but not in shape, for the upper end of all of them is broad and square, so that it can be struck by the hammer. the lower end is pointed so as to split the hard rocks and veins with its point. all of these have eyes except the fourth. the first, which is in daily use among miners, is three-quarters of a foot long, a digit and a half wide, and a digit thick. the second is of the same width as the first, and the same thickness, but one and one half feet long, and is used to shatter the hardest veins in such a way that they crack open. the third is the same length as the second, but is a little wider and thicker; with this one they dig the bottoms of those shafts which slowly accumulate water. the fourth is nearly three palms and one digit long, two digits thick, and in the upper end it is three digits wide, in the middle it is one palm wide, and at the lower end it is pointed like the others; with this they cut out the harder veins. the eye in the first tool is one palm distant from the upper end, in the second and third it is seven digits distant; each swells out around the eye on both sides, and into it they fit a wooden handle, which they hold with one hand, while they strike the iron tool with a hammer, after placing it against the rock. these tools are made larger or smaller as necessary. the smiths, as far as possible, sharpen again all that become dull. a wedge is usually three palms and two digits long and six digits wide; at the upper end, for a distance of a palm, it is three digits thick, and beyond that point it becomes thinner by degrees, until finally it is quite sharp. the iron block is six digits in length and width; at the upper end it is two digits thick, and at the bottom a digit and a half. the iron plate is the same length and width as the iron block, but it is very thin. all of these, as i explained in the last book, are used when the hardest kind of veins are hewn out. wedges, blocks, and plates, are likewise made larger or smaller. [illustration (hammers): a--smallest of the smaller hammers. b--intermediate. c--largest. d--small kind of the larger hammer. e--large kind. f--wooden handle. g--handle fixed in the smallest hammer.] hammers are of two kinds, the smaller ones the miners hold in one hand, and the larger ones they hold with both hands. the former, because of their size and use, are of three sorts. with the smallest, that is to say, the lightest, they strike the second "iron tool;" with the intermediate one the first "iron tool;" and with the largest the third "iron tool"; this one is two digits wide and thick. of the larger sort of hammers there are two kinds; with the smaller they strike the fourth "iron tool;" with the larger they drive the wedges into the cracks; the former are three, and the latter five digits wide and thick, and a foot long. all swell out in their middle, in which there is an eye for a handle, but in most cases the handles are somewhat light, in order that the workmen may be able to strike more powerful blows by the hammer's full weight being thus concentrated. [illustration a (crowbars): a--round crowbar. b--flat crowbar. c--pike.] the iron crowbars are likewise of two kinds, and each kind is pointed at one end. one is rounded, and with this they pierce to a shaft full of water when a tunnel reaches to it; the other is flat, and with this they knock out of the stopes on to the floor, the rocks which have been softened by the fire, and which cannot be dislodged by the pike. a miner's pike, like a sailor's, is a long rod having an iron head. [illustration b (picks): a--pick. b--hoe. c--shovel.] the miner's pick differs from a peasant's pick in that the latter is wide at the bottom and sharp, but the former is pointed. it is used to dig out ore which is not hard, such as earth. likewise a hoe and shovel are in no way different from the common articles, with the one they scrape up earth and sand, with the other they throw it into vessels. now earth, rock, mineral substances and other things dug out with the pick or hewn out with the "iron tools" are hauled out of the shaft in buckets, or baskets, or hide buckets; they are drawn out of tunnels in wheelbarrows or open trucks, and from both they are sometimes carried in trays. [illustration a (buckets for hoisting ore)] [illustration b (buckets for hoisting ore): a--small bucket. b--large bucket. c--staves. d--iron hoops. e--iron straps. f--iron straps on the bottom. g--hafts. h--iron bale. i--hook of drawing-rope. k--basket. l--hide bucket or sack.] buckets are of two kinds, which differ in size, but not in material or shape. the smaller for the most part hold only about one _metreta_; the larger are generally capable of carrying one-sixth of a _congius_; neither is of unchangeable capacity, but they often vary.[ ] each is made of staves circled with hoops, one of which binds the top and the other the bottom. the hoops are sometimes made of hazel and oak, but these are easily broken by dashing against the shaft, while those made of iron are more durable. in the larger buckets the staves are thicker and wider, as also are both hoops, and in order that the buckets may be more firm and strong, they have eight iron straps, somewhat broad, four of which run from the upper hoop downwards, and four from the lower hoop upwards, as if to meet each other. the bottom of each bucket, both inside and outside, is furnished with two or three straps of iron, which run from one side of the lower hoop to the other, but the straps which are on the outside are fixed crosswise. each bucket has two iron hafts which project above the edge, and it has an iron semi-circular bale whose lower ends are fixed directly into the hafts, that the bucket may be handled more easily. each kind of bucket is much deeper than it is wide, and each is wider at the top, in order that the material which is dug out may be the more easily poured in and poured out again. into the smaller buckets strong boys, and into larger ones men, fill earth from the bottom of the shaft with hoes; or the other material dug up is shovelled into them or filled in with their hands, for which reason these men are called "shovellers.[ ]" afterward they fix the hook of the drawing-rope into the bale; then the buckets are drawn up by machines--the smaller ones, because of their lighter weight, by machines turned by men, and the larger ones, being heavier, by the machines turned by horses. some, in place of these buckets, substitute baskets which hold just as much, or even more, since they are lighter than the buckets; some use sacks made of ox-hide instead of buckets, and the drawing-rope hook is fastened to their iron bale, usually three of these filled with excavated material are drawn up at the same time as three are being lowered and three are being filled by boys. the latter are generally used at schneeberg and the former at freiberg. [illustration (wheelbarrows): a--small wheelbarrow. b--long planks thereof. c--end-boards. d--small wheel. e--larger barrow. f--front end-board thereof.] that which we call a _cisium_[ ] is a vehicle with one wheel, not with two, such as horses draw. when filled with excavated material it is pushed by a workman out of tunnels or sheds. it is made as follows: two planks are chosen about five feet long, one foot wide, and two digits thick; of each of these the lower side is cut away at the front for a length of one foot, and at the back for a length of two feet, while the middle is left whole. then in the front parts are bored circular holes, in order that the ends of an axle may revolve in them. the intermediate parts of the planks are perforated twice near the bottom, so as to receive the heads of two little cleats on which the planks are fixed; and they are also perforated in the middle, so as to receive the heads of two end-boards, while keys fixed in these projecting heads strengthen the whole structure. the handles are made out of the extreme ends of the long planks, and they turn downward at the ends that they may be grasped more firmly in the hands. the small wheel, of which there is only one, neither has a nave nor does it revolve around the axle, but turns around with it. from the felloe, which the greeks called [greek: apsides], two transverse spokes fixed into it pass through the middle of the axle toward the opposite felloe; the axle is square, with the exception of the ends, each of which is rounded so as to turn in the opening. a workman draws out this barrow full of earth and rock and draws it back empty. miners also have another wheelbarrow, larger than this one, which they use when they wash earth mixed with tin-stone on to which a stream has been turned. the front end-board of this one is deeper, in order that the earth which has been thrown into it may not fall out. [illustration (trucks): a--rectangular iron bands on truck. b--its iron straps. c--iron axle. d--wooden rollers. e--small iron keys. f--large blunt iron pin. g--same truck upside down.] the open truck has a capacity half as large again as a wheelbarrow; it is about four feet long and about two and a half feet wide and deep; and since its shape is rectangular, it is bound together with three rectangular iron bands, and besides these there are iron straps on all sides. two small iron axles are fixed to the bottom, around the ends of which wooden rollers revolve on either side; in order that the rollers shall not fall off the immovable axles, there are small iron keys. a large blunt pin fixed to the bottom of the truck runs in a groove of a plank in such a way that the truck does not leave the beaten track. holding the back part with his hands, the carrier pushes out the truck laden with excavated material, and pushes it back again empty. some people call it a "dog"[ ], because when it moves it makes a noise which seems to them not unlike the bark of a dog. this truck is used when they draw loads out of the longest tunnels, both because it is moved more easily and because a heavier load can be placed in it. [illustration (batea): a--small batea. b--rope. c--large batea.] bateas[ ] are hollowed out of a single block of wood; the smaller kind are generally two feet long and one foot wide. when they have been filled with ore, especially when but little is dug from the shafts and tunnels, men either carry them out on their shoulders, or bear them away hung from their necks. pliny[ ] is our authority that among the ancients everything which was mined was carried out on men's shoulders, but in truth this method of carrying forth burdens is onerous, since it causes great fatigue to a great number of men, and involves a large expenditure for labour; for this reason it has been rejected and abandoned in our day. the length of the larger batea is as much as three feet, the width up to a foot and a palm. in these bateas the metallic earth is washed for the purpose of testing it. [illustration a (buckets for hoisting water): a--smaller water-bucket. b--larger water-bucket. c--dipper.] water-vessels differ both in the use to which they are put and in the material of which they are made; some draw the water from the shafts and pour it into other things, as dippers; while some of the vessels filled with water are drawn out by machines, as buckets and bags; some are made of wood, as the dippers and buckets, and others of hides, as the bags. the water-buckets, just like the buckets which are filled with dry material, are of two kinds, the smaller and the larger, but these are unlike the other buckets at the top, as in this case they are narrower, in order that the water may not be spilled by being bumped against the timbers when they are being drawn out of the shafts, especially those considerably inclined. the water is poured into these buckets by dippers, which are small wooden buckets, but unlike the water-buckets, they are neither narrow at the top nor bound with iron hoops, but with hazel,--because there is no necessity for either. the smaller buckets are drawn up by machines turned by men, the larger ones by those turned by horses. [illustration b (bags for hoisting water): a--water-bag which takes in water by itself. b--water-bag into which water pours when it is pushed with a shovel.] our people give the name of water-bags to those very large skins for carrying water which are made of two, or two and a half, ox-hides. when these water-bags have undergone much wear and use, first the hair comes off them and they become bald and shining; after this they become torn. if the tear is but a small one, a piece of smooth notched stick is put into the broken part, and the broken bag is bound into its notches on either side and sewn together; but if it is a large one, they mend it with a piece of ox-hide. the water-bags are fixed to the hook of a drawing-chain and let down and dipped into the water, and as soon as they are filled they are drawn up by the largest machine. they are of two kinds; the one kind take in the water by themselves; the water pours into the other kind when it is pushed in a certain way by a wooden shovel. [illustration (trough): a--trough. b--hopper.] when the water has been drawn out from the shafts, it is run off in troughs, or into a hopper, through which it runs into the trough. likewise the water which flows along the sides of the tunnels is carried off in drains. these are composed of two hollowed beams joined firmly together, so as to hold the water which flows through them, and they are covered by planks all along their course, from the mouth of the tunnel right up to the extreme end of it, to prevent earth or rock falling into them and obstructing the flow of the water. if much mud gradually settles in them the planks are raised and the drains are cleaned out, for they would otherwise become stopped up and obstructed by this accident. with regard to the trough lying above ground, which miners place under the hoppers which are close by the shaft houses, these are usually hollowed out of single trees. hoppers are generally made of four planks, so cut on the lower side and joined together that the top part of the hopper is broader and the bottom part narrower. i have sufficiently indicated the nature of the miners' iron tools and their vessels. i will now explain their machines, which are of three kinds, that is, hauling machines, ventilating machines, and ladders. by means of the hauling machines loads are drawn out of the shafts; the ventilating machines receive the air through their mouths and blow it into shafts or tunnels, for if this is not done, diggers cannot carry on their labour without great difficulty in breathing; by the steps of the ladders the miners go down into the shafts and come up again. [illustration (windlass): a--timber placed in front of the shaft. b--timber placed at the back of the shaft. c--pointed stakes. d--cross-timbers. e--posts or thick planks. f--iron sockets. g--barrel. h--ends of barrel. i--pieces of wood. k--handle. l--drawing-rope. m--its hook. n--bucket. o--bale of the bucket.] hauling machines are of varied and diverse forms, some of them being made with great skill, and if i am not mistaken, they were unknown to the ancients. they have been invented in order that water may be drawn from the depths of the earth to which no tunnels reach, and also the excavated material from shafts which are likewise not connected with a tunnel, or if so, only with very long ones. since shafts are not all of the same depth, there is a great variety among these hauling machines. of those by which dry loads are drawn out of the shafts, five sorts are in the most common use, of which i will now describe the first. two timbers a little longer than the shaft are placed beside it, the one in the front of the shaft, the other at the back. their extreme ends have holes through which stakes, pointed at the bottom like wedges, are driven deeply into the ground, so that the timbers may remain stationary. into these timbers are mortised the ends of two cross-timbers, one laid on the right end of the shaft, while the other is far enough from the left end that between it and that end there remains suitable space for placing the ladders. in the middle of the cross-timbers, posts are fixed and secured with iron keys. in hollows at the top of these posts thick iron sockets hold the ends of the barrel, of which each end projects beyond the hollow of the post, and is mortised into the end of another piece of wood a foot and a half long, a palm wide and three digits thick; the other end of these pieces of wood is seven digits wide, and into each of them is fixed a round handle, likewise a foot and a half long. a winding-rope is wound around the barrel and fastened to it at the middle part. the loop at each end of the rope has an iron hook which is engaged in the bale of a bucket, and so when the windlass revolves by being turned by the cranks, a loaded bucket is always being drawn out of the shaft and an empty one is being sent down into it. two robust men turn the windlass, each having a wheelbarrow near him, into which he unloads the bucket which is drawn up nearest to him; two buckets generally fill a wheelbarrow; therefore when four buckets have been drawn up, each man runs his own wheelbarrow out of the shed and empties it. thus it happens that if shafts are dug deep, a hillock rises around the shed of the windlass. if a vein is not metal-bearing, they pour out the earth and rock without discriminating; whereas if it is metal-bearing, they preserve these materials, which they unload separately and crush and wash. when they draw up buckets of water they empty the water through the hopper into a trough, through which it flows away. [illustration (windlass): a--barrel. b--straight levers. c--usual crank. d--spokes of wheel. e--rim of the same wheel.] the next kind of machine, which miners employ when the shaft is deeper, differs from the first in that it possesses a wheel as well as cranks. this windlass, if the load is not being drawn up from a great depth, is turned by one windlass man, the wheel taking the place of the other man. but if the depth is greater, then the windlass is turned by three men, the wheel being substituted for a fourth, because the barrel having been once set in motion, the rapid revolutions of the wheel help, and it can be turned more easily. sometimes masses of lead are hung on to this wheel, or are fastened to the spokes, in order that when it is turned they depress the spokes by their weight and increase the motion; some persons for the same reason fasten into the barrel two, three, or four iron rods, and weight their ends with lumps of lead. the windlass wheel differs from the wheel of a carriage and from the one which is turned by water power, for it lacks the buckets of a water-wheel and it lacks the nave of a carriage wheel. in the place of the nave it has a thick barrel, in which are mortised the lower ends of the spokes, just as their upper ends are mortised into the rim. when three windlass men turn this machine, four straight levers are fixed to the one end of the barrel, and to the other the crank which is usual in mines, and which is composed of two limbs, of which the rounded horizontal one is grasped by the hands; the rectangular limb, which is at right angles to the horizontal one, has mortised in its lower end the round handle, and in the upper end the end of the barrel. this crank is worked by one man, the levers by two men, of whom one pulls while the other pushes; all windlass workers, whatsoever kind of a machine they may turn, are necessarily robust that they can sustain such great toil. [illustration (tread whim): a--upright axle. b--block. c--roof beam. d--wheel. e--toothed-drum. f--horizontal axle. g--drum composed of rundles. h--drawing rope. i--pole. k--upright posts. l--cleats on the wheel.] the third kind of machine is less fatiguing for the workman, while it raises larger loads; even though it is slower, like all other machines which have drums, yet it reaches greater depths, even to a depth of feet. it consists of an upright axle with iron journals at its extremities, which turn in two iron sockets, the lower of which is fixed in a block set in the ground and the upper one in the roof beam. this axle has at its lower end a wheel made of thick planks joined firmly together, and at its upper end a toothed drum; this toothed drum turns another drum made of rundles, which is on a horizontal axle. a winding-rope is wound around this latter axle, which turns in iron bearings set in the beams. so that they may not fall, the two workmen grasp with their hands a pole fixed to two upright posts, and then pushing the cleats of the lower wheel backward with their feet, they revolve the machine; as often as they have drawn up and emptied one bucket full of excavated material, they turn the machine in the opposite direction and draw out another. [illustration (horse whim): a--upright beams. b--sills laid flat upon the ground. c--posts. d--area. e--sill set at the bottom of the hole. f--axle. g--double cross-beams. h--drum. i--winding-ropes. k--bucket. l--small pieces of wood hanging from double cross-beams. m--short wooden block. n--chain. o--pole bar. p--grappling hook. (some members mentioned in the text are not shown).] the fourth machine raises burdens once and a half as large again as the two machines first explained. when it is made, sixteen beams are erected each forty feet long, one foot thick and one foot wide, joined at the top with clamps and widely separated at the bottom. the lower ends of all of them are mortised into separate sills laid flat upon the ground; these sills are five feet long, a foot and a half wide, and a foot thick. each beam is also connected with its sill by a post, whose upper end is mortised into the beam and its lower end mortised into the sill; these posts are four feet long, one foot thick, and one foot wide. thus a circular area is made, the diameter of which is fifty feet; in the middle of this area a hole is sunk to a depth of ten feet, and rammed down tight, and in order to give it sufficient firmness, it is strengthened with contiguous small timbers, through which pins are driven, for by them the earth around the hole is held so that it cannot fall in. in the bottom of the hole is planted a sill, three or four feet long and a foot and a half thick and wide; in order that it may remain fixed, it is set into the small timbers; in the middle of it is a steel socket in which the pivot of the axle turns. in like manner a timber is mortised into two of the large beams, at the top beneath the clamps; this has an iron bearing in which the other iron journal of the axle revolves. every axle used in mining, to speak of them once for all, has two iron journals, rounded off on all sides, one fixed with keys in the centre of each end. that part of this journal which is fixed to the end of the axle is as broad as the end itself and a digit thick; that which projects beyond the axle is round and a palm thick, or thicker if necessity requires; the ends of each miner's axle are encircled and bound by an iron band to hold the journal more securely. the axle of this machine, except at the ends, is square, and is forty feet long, a foot and a half thick and wide. mortised and clamped into the axle above the lower end are the ends of four inclined beams; their outer ends support two double cross-beams similarly mortised into them; the inclined beams are eighteen feet long, three palms thick, and five wide. the two cross-beams are fixed to the axle and held together by wooden keys so that they will not separate, and they are twenty-four feet long. next, there is a drum which is made of three wheels, of which the middle one is seven feet distant from the upper one and from the lower one; the wheels have four spokes which are supported by the same number of inclined braces, the lower ends of which are joined together round the axle by a clamp; one end of each spoke is mortised into the axle and the other into the rim. there are rundles all round the wheels, reaching from the rim of the lowest one to the rim of the middle one, and likewise from the rim of the middle wheel to the rim of the top one; around these rundles are wound the drawing-ropes, one between the lowest wheel and the middle one, the other between the middle and top wheels. the whole of this construction is shaped like a cone, and is covered with a shingle roof, with the exception of that square part which faces the shaft. then cross-beams, mortised at both ends, connect a double row of upright posts; all of these are eighteen feet long, but the posts are one foot thick and one foot wide, and the cross-beams are three palms thick and wide. there are sixteen posts and eight cross-beams, and upon these cross-beams are laid two timbers a foot wide and three palms thick, hollowed out to a width of half a foot and to a depth of five digits; the one is laid upon the upper cross-beams and the other upon the lower; each is long enough to reach nearly from the drum of the whim to the shaft. near the same drum each timber has a small round wooden roller six digits thick, whose ends are covered with iron bands and revolve in iron rings. each timber also has a wooden pulley, which together with its iron axle revolves in holes in the timber. these pulleys are hollowed out all round, in order that the drawing-rope may not slip out of them, and thus each rope is drawn tight and turns over its own roller and its own pulley. the iron hook of each rope is engaged with the bale of the bucket. further, with regard to the double cross-beams which are mortised to the lower part of the main axle, to each end of them there is mortised a small piece of wood four feet long. these appear to hang from the double cross-beams, and a short wooden block is fixed to the lower part of them, on which a driver sits. each of these blocks has an iron clavis which holds a chain, and that in turn a pole-bar. in this way it is possible for two horses to draw this whim, now this way and now that; turn by turn one bucket is drawn out of the shaft full and another is let down into it empty; if, indeed, the shaft is very deep four horses turn the whim. when a bucket has been drawn up, whether filled with dry or wet materials, it must be emptied, and a workman inserts a grappling hook and overturns it; this hook hangs on a chain made of three or four links, fixed to a timber. [illustration (horse whim): a--toothed drum which is on the upright axle. b--horizontal axle. c--drum which is made of rundles. d--wheel near it. e--drum made of hubs. f--brake. g--oscillating beam. h--short beam. i--hook.] the fifth machine is partly like the whim, and partly like the third rag and chain pump, which draws water by balls when turned by horse power, as i will explain a little later. like this pump, it is turned by horse power and has two axles, namely, an upright one--about whose lower end, which descends into an underground chamber, there is a toothed drum--and a horizontal one, around which there is a drum made of rundles. it has indeed two drums around its horizontal axle, similar to those of the big machine, but smaller, because it draws buckets from a shaft almost two hundred and forty feet deep. one drum is made of hubs to which cleats are fixed, and the other is made of rundles; and near the latter is a wheel two feet deep, measured on all sides around the axle, and one foot wide; and against this impinges a brake,[ ] which holds the whim when occasion demands that it be stopped. this is necessary when the hide buckets are emptied after being drawn up full of rock fragments or earth, or as often as water is poured out of buckets similarly drawn up; for this machine not only raises dry loads, but also wet ones, just like the other four machines which i have already described. by this also, timbers fastened on to its winding-chain are let down into a shaft. the brake is made of a piece of wood one foot thick and half a foot long, projecting from a timber that is suspended by a chain from one end of a beam which oscillates on an iron pin, this in turn being supported in the claws of an upright post; and from the other end of this oscillating beam a long timber is suspended by a chain, and from this long timber again a short beam is suspended. a workman sits on the short beam when the machine needs to be stopped, and lowers it; he then inserts a plank or small stick so that the two timbers are held down and cannot be raised. in this way the brake is raised, and seizing the drum, presses it so tightly that sparks often fly from it; the suspended timber to which the short beam is attached, has several holes in which the chain is fixed, so that it may be raised as much as is convenient. above this wheel there are boards to prevent the water from dripping down and wetting it, for if it becomes wet the brake will not grip the machine so well. near the other drum is a pin from which hangs a chain, in the last link of which there is an iron hook three feet long; a ring is fixed to the bottom of the bucket, and this hook, being inserted into it, holds the bucket back so that the water may be poured out or the fragments of rock emptied. [illustration (sleigh for ore): a--sledge with box placed on it. b--sledge with sacks placed on it. c--stick. d--dogs with pack-saddles. e--pigskin sacks tied to a rope.] the miners either carry, draw, or roll down the mountains the ore which is hauled out of the shafts by these five machines or taken out of the tunnels. in the winter time our people place a box on a sledge and draw it down the low mountains with a horse; and in this season they also fill sacks made of hide and load them on dogs, or place two or three of them on a small sledge which is higher in the fore part and lower at the back. sitting on these sacks, not without risk of his life, the bold driver guides the sledge as it rushes down the mountain into the valleys with a stick, which he carries in his hand; when it is rushing down too quickly he arrests it with the stick, or with the same stick brings it back to the track when it is turning aside from its proper course. some of the noricians[ ] collect ore during the winter into sacks made of bristly pigskins, and drag them down from the highest mountains, which neither horses, mules nor asses can climb. strong dogs, that are trained to bear pack saddles, carry these sacks when empty into the mountains. when they are filled with ore, bound with thongs, and fastened to a rope, a man, winding the rope round his arm or breast, drags them down through the snow to a place where horses, mules, or asses bearing pack-saddles can climb. there the ore is removed from the pigskin sacks and put into other sacks made of double or triple twilled linen thread, and these placed on the pack-saddles of the beasts are borne down to the works where the ores are washed or smelted. if, indeed, the horses, mules, or asses are able to climb the mountains, linen sacks filled with ore are placed on their saddles, and they carry these down the narrow mountain paths, which are passable neither by wagons nor sledges, into the valleys lying below the steeper portions of the mountains. but on the declivity of cliffs which beasts cannot climb, are placed long open boxes made of planks, with transverse cleats to hold them together; into these boxes is thrown the ore which has been brought in wheelbarrows, and when it has run down to the level it is gathered into sacks, and the beasts either carry it away on their backs or drag it away after it has been thrown into sledges or wagons. when the drivers bring ore down steep mountain slopes they use two-wheeled carts, and they drag behind them on the ground the trunks of two trees, for these by their weight hold back the heavily-laden carts, which contain ore in their boxes, and check their descent, and but for these the driver would often be obliged to bind chains to the wheels. when these men bring down ore from mountains which do not have such declivities, they use wagons whose beds are twice as long as those of the carts. the planks of these are so put together that, when the ore is unloaded by the drivers, they can be raised and taken apart, for they are only held together by bars. the drivers employed by the owners of the ore bring down thirty or sixty wagon-loads, and the master of the works marks on a stick the number of loads for each driver. but some ore, especially tin, after being taken from the mines, is divided into eight parts, or into nine, if the owners of the mine give "ninth parts" to the owners of the tunnel. this is occasionally done by measuring with a bucket, but more frequently planks are put together on a spot where, with the addition of the level ground as a base, it forms a hollow box. each owner provides for removing, washing, and smelting that portion which has fallen to him. (illustration p. ). [illustration (wagons for hauling ore): a--horses with pack-saddles. b--long box placed on the slope of the cliff. c--cleats thereof. d--wheelbarrow. e--two-wheeled cart. f--trunks of trees. g--wagon. h--ore being unloaded from the wagon. i--bars. k--master of the works marking the number of carts on a stick. l--boxes into which are thrown the ore which has to be divided.] into the buckets, drawn by these five machines, the boys or men throw the earth and broken rock with shovels, or they fill them with their hands; hence they get their name of shovellers. as i have said, the same machines raise not only dry loads, but also wet ones, or water; but before i explain the varied and diverse kinds of machines by which miners are wont to draw water alone, i will explain how heavy bodies, such as axles, iron chains, pipes, and heavy timbers, should be lowered into deep vertical shafts. a windlass is erected whose barrel has on each end four straight levers; it is fixed into upright beams and around it is wound a rope, one end of which is fastened to the barrel and the other to those heavy bodies which are slowly lowered down by workmen; and if these halt at any part of the shaft they are drawn up a little way. when these bodies are very heavy, then behind this windlass another is erected just like it, that their combined strength may be equal to the load, and that it may be lowered slowly. sometimes for the same reason, a pulley is fastened with cords to the roof-beam, and the rope descends and ascends over it. [illustration (windlass): a--windlass. b--straight levers. c--upright beams. d--rope. e--pulley. f--timbers to be lowered.] water is either hoisted or pumped out of shafts. it is hoisted up after being poured into buckets or water-bags; the water-bags are generally brought up by a machine whose water-wheels have double paddles, while the buckets are brought up by the five machines already described, although in certain localities the fourth machine also hauls up water-bags of moderate size. water is drawn up also by chains of dippers, or by suction pumps, or by "rag and chain" pumps.[ ] when there is but a small quantity, it is either brought up in buckets or drawn up by chains of dippers or suction pumps, and when there is much water it is either drawn up in hide bags or by rag and chain pumps. [illustration (chain pumps): a--iron frame. b--lowest axle. c--fly-wheel. d--smaller drum made of rundles. e--second axle. f--smaller toothed wheel. g--larger drum made of rundles. h--upper axle. i--larger toothed wheel. k--bearings. l--pillow. m--framework. n--oak timber. o--support of iron bearing. p--roller. q--upper drum. r--clamps. s--chain. t--links. v--dippers. x--crank. y--lower drum or balance weight.] first of all, i will describe the machines which draw water by chains of dippers, of which there are three kinds. for the first, a frame is made entirely of iron bars; it is two and a half feet high, likewise two and a half feet long, and in addition one-sixth and one-quarter of a digit long, one-fourth and one-twenty-fourth of a foot wide. in it there are three little horizontal iron axles, which revolve in bearings or wide pillows of steel, and also four iron wheels, of which two are made with rundles and the same number are toothed. outside the frame, around the lowest axle, is a wooden fly-wheel, so that it can be more readily turned, and inside the frame is a smaller drum which is made of eight rundles, one-sixth and one twenty-fourth of a foot long. around the second axle, which does not project beyond the frame, and is therefore only two and a half feet and one-twelfth and one-third part of a digit long, there is on the one side, a smaller toothed wheel, which has forty-eight teeth, and on the other side a larger drum, which is surrounded by twelve rundles one-quarter of a foot long. around the third axle, which is one inch and one-third thick, is a larger toothed wheel projecting one foot from the axle in all directions, which has seventy-two teeth. the teeth of each wheel are fixed in with screws, whose threads are screwed into threads in the wheel, so that those teeth which are broken can be replaced by others; both the teeth and rundles are steel. the upper axle projects beyond the frame, and is so skilfully mortised into the body of another axle that it has the appearance of being one; this axle proceeds through a frame made of beams which stands around the shaft, into an iron fork set in a stout oak timber, and turns on a roller made of pure steel. around this axle is a drum of the kind possessed by those machines which draw water by rag and chain; this drum has triple curved iron clamps, to which the links of an iron chain hook themselves, so that a great weight cannot tear them away. these links are not whole like the links of other chains, but each one being curved in the upper part on each side catches the one which comes next, whereby it presents the appearance of a double chain. at the point where one catches the other, dippers made of iron or brass plates and holding half a _congius_[ ] are bound to them with thongs; thus, if there are one hundred links there will be the same number of dippers pouring out water. when the shafts are inclined, the mouths of the dippers project and are covered on the top that they may not spill out the water, but when the shafts are vertical the dippers do not require a cover. by fitting the end of the lowest small axle into the crank, the man who works the crank turns the axle, and at the same time the drum whose rundles turn the toothed wheel of the second axle; by this wheel is driven the one that is made of rundles, which again turns the toothed wheel of the upper small axle and thus the drum to which the clamps are fixed. in this way the chain, together with the empty dippers, is slowly let down, close to the footwall side of the vein, into the sump to the bottom of the balance drum, which turns on a little iron axle, both ends of which are set in a thick iron bearing. the chain is rolled round the drum and the dippers fill with water; the chain being drawn up close to the hangingwall side, carries the dippers filled with water above the drum of the upper axle. thus there are always three of the dippers inverted and pouring water into a lip, from which it flows away into the drain of the tunnel. this machine is less useful, because it cannot be constructed without great expense, and it carries off but little water and is somewhat slow, as also are other machines which possess a great number of drums. [illustration (chain pumps): a--wheel which is turned by treading. b--axle. c--double chain. d--link of double chain. e--dippers. f--simple clamps. g--clamp with triple curves.] the next machine of this kind, described in a few words by vitruvius,[ ] more rapidly brings up dippers, holding a _congius_; for this reason, it is more useful than the first one for drawing water out of shafts, into which much water is continually flowing. this machine has no iron frame nor drums, but has around its axle a wooden wheel which is turned by treading; the axle, since it has no drum, does not last very long. in other respects this pump resembles the first kind, except that it differs from it by having a double chain. clamps should be fixed to the axle of this machine, just as to the drum of the other one; some of these are made simple and others with triple curves, but each kind has four barbs. [illustration (chain pumps): a--wheel whose paddles are turned by the force of the stream. b--axle. c--drum of axle, to which clamps are fixed. d--chain. e--link. f--dippers. g--balance drum.] the third machine, which far excels the two just described, is made when a running stream can be diverted to a mine; the impetus of the stream striking the paddles revolves a water-wheel in place of the wheel turned by treading. with regard to the axle, it is like the second machine, but the drum which is round the axle, the chain, and the balance drum, are like the first machine. it has much more capacious dippers than even the second machine, but since the dippers are frequently broken, miners rarely use these machines; for they prefer to lift out small quantities of water by the first five machines or to draw it up by suction pumps, or, if there is much water, to drain it by the rag and chain pump or to bring it up in water-bags. [illustration (suction pumps): a--sump. b--pipes. c--flooring. d--trunk. e--perforations of trunk. f--valve. g--spout. h--piston-rod. i--hand-bar of piston. k--shoe. l--disc with round openings. m--disc with oval openings. n--cover. o--this man is boring logs and making them into pipes. p--borer with auger. q--wider borer.] enough, then, of the first sort of pumps. i will now explain the other, that is the pump which draws, by means of pistons, water which has been raised by suction. of these there are seven varieties, which though they differ from one another in structure, nevertheless confer the same benefits upon miners, though some to a greater degree than others. the first pump is made as follows. over the sump is placed a flooring, through which a pipe--or two lengths of pipe, one of which is joined into the other--are let down to the bottom of the sump; they are fastened with pointed iron clamps driven in straight on both sides, so that the pipes may remain fixed. the lower end of the lower pipe is enclosed in a trunk two feet deep; this trunk, hollow like the pipe, stands at the bottom of the sump, but the lower opening of it is blocked with a round piece of wood; the trunk has perforations round about, through which water flows into it. if there is one length of pipe, then in the upper part of the trunk which has been hollowed out there is enclosed a box of iron, copper, or brass, one palm deep, but without a bottom, and a rounded valve so tightly closes it that the water, which has been drawn up by suction, cannot run back; but if there are two lengths of pipe, the box is enclosed in the lower pipe at the point of junction. an opening or a spout in the upper pipe reaches to the drain of the tunnel. thus the workman, eager at his labour, standing on the flooring boards, pushes the piston down into the pipe and draws it out again. at the top of the piston-rod is a hand-bar and the bottom is fixed in a shoe; this is the name given to the leather covering, which is almost cone-shaped, for it is so stitched that it is tight at the lower end, where it is fixed to the piston-rod which it surrounds, but in the upper end where it draws the water it is wide open. or else an iron disc one digit thick is used, or one of wood six digits thick, each of which is far superior to the shoe. the disc is fixed by an iron key which penetrates through the bottom of the piston-rod, or it is screwed on to the rod; it is round, with its upper part protected by a cover, and has five or six openings, either round or oval, which taken together present a star-like appearance; the disc has the same diameter as the inside of the pipe, so that it can be just drawn up and down in it. when the workman draws the piston up, the water which has passed in at the openings of the disc, whose cover is then closed, is raised to the hole or little spout, through which it flows away; then the valve of the box opens, and the water which has passed into the trunk is drawn up by the suction and rises into the pipe; but when the workman pushes down the piston, the valve closes and allows the disc again to draw in the water. [illustration (suction pumps): a--erect timber. b--axle. c--sweep which turns about the axle. d--piston rod. e--cross-bar. f--ring with which two pipes are generally joined.] the piston of the second pump is more easily moved up and down. when this pump is made, two beams are placed over the sump, one near the right side of it, and the other near the left. to one beam a pipe is fixed with iron clamps; to the other is fixed either the forked branch of a tree or a timber cut out at the top in the shape of a fork, and through the prongs of the fork a round hole is bored. through a wide round hole in the middle of a sweep passes an iron axle, so fastened in the holes in the fork that it remains fixed, and the sweep turns on this axle. in one end of the sweep the upper end of a piston-rod is fastened with an iron key; at the other end a cross-bar is also fixed, to the extreme ends of which are handles to enable it to be held more firmly in the hands. and so when the workman pulls the cross-bar upward, he forces the piston into the pipe; when he pushes it down again he draws the piston out of the pipe; and thus the piston carries up the water which has been drawn in at the openings of the disc, and the water flows away through the spout into the drains. this pump, like the next one, is identical with the first in all that relates to the piston, disc, trunk, box, and valve. [illustration (suction pumps): a--posts. b--axle. c--wooden bars. d--piston rod. e--short piece of wood. f--drain. g--this man is diverting the water which is flowing out of the drain, to prevent it from flowing into the trenches which are being dug.] the third pump is not unlike the one just described, but in place of one upright, posts are erected with holes at the top, and in these holes the ends of an axle revolve. to the middle of this axle are fixed two wooden bars, to the end of one of which is fixed the piston, and to the end of the other a heavy piece of wood, but short, so that it can pass between the two posts and may move backward and forward. when the workman pushes this piece of wood, the piston is drawn out of the pipe; when it returns by its own weight, the piston is pushed in. in this way, the water which the pipe contains is drawn through the openings in the disc and emptied by the piston through the spout into the drain. there are some who place a hand-bar underneath in place of the short piece of wood. this pump, as also the last before described, is less generally used among miners than the others. [illustration (duplex suction pumps): a--box. b--lower part of box. c--upper part of same. d--clamps. e--pipes below the box. f--column pipe fixed above the box. g--iron axle. h--piston-rods. i--washers to protect the bearings. k--leathers. l--eyes in the axle. m--rods whose ends are weighted with lumps of lead. n--crank. (_this plate is unlettered in the first edition but corrected in those later._)] the fourth kind is not a simple pump but a duplex one. it is made as follows. a rectangular block of beechwood, five feet long, two and a half feet wide, and one and a half feet thick, is cut in two and hollowed out wide and deep enough so that an iron axle with cranks can revolve in it. the axle is placed between the two halves of this box, and the first part of the axle, which is in contact with the wood, is round and the straight end forms a journal. then the axle is bent down the depth of a foot and again bent so as to continue straight, and at this point a round piston-rod hangs from it; next it is bent up as far as it was bent down; then it continues a little way straight again, and then it is bent up a foot and again continues straight, at which point a second round piston-rod is hung from it; afterward it is bent down the same distance as it was bent up the last time; the other end of it, which also acts as a journal, is straight. this part which protrudes through the wood is protected by two iron washers in the shape of discs, to which are fastened two leather washers of the same shape and size, in order to prevent the water which is drawn into the box from gushing out. these discs are around the axle; one of them is inside the box and the other outside. beyond this, the end of the axle is square and has two eyes, in which are fixed two iron rods, and to their ends are weighted lumps of lead, so that the axle may have a greater propensity to revolve; this axle can easily be turned when its end has been mortised in a crank. the upper part of the box is the shallower one, and the lower part the deeper; the upper part is bored out once straight down through the middle, the diameter of the opening being the same as the outside diameter of the column pipe; the lower box has, side by side, two apertures also bored straight down; these are for two pipes, the space of whose openings therefore is twice as great as that of the upper part; this lower part of the box is placed upon the two pipes, which are fitted into it at their upper ends, and the lower ends of these pipes penetrate into trunks which stand in the sump. these trunks have perforations through which the water flows into them. the iron axle is placed in the inside of the box, then the two iron piston-rods which hang from it are let down through the two pipes to the depth of a foot. each piston has a screw at its lower end which holds a thick iron plate, shaped like a disc and full of openings, covered with a leather, and similarly to the other pump it has a round valve in a little box. then the upper part of the box is placed upon the lower one and properly fitted to it on every side, and where they join they are bound by wide thick iron plates, and held with small wide iron wedges, which are driven in and are fastened with clamps. the first length of column pipe is fixed into the upper part of the box, and another length of pipe extends it, and a third again extends this one, and so on, another extending on another, until the uppermost one reaches the drain of the tunnel. when the crank worker turns the axle, the pistons in turn draw the water through their discs; since this is done quickly, and since the area of openings of the two pipes over which the box is set, is twice as large as the opening of the column pipe which rises from the box, and since the pistons do not lift the water far up, the impetus of the water from the lower pipes forces it to rise and flow out of the column pipe into the drain of the tunnel. since a wooden box frequently cracks open, it is better to make it of lead or copper or brass. [illustration (suction pumps): a--tappets of piston-rods. b--cams of the barrel. c--square upper parts of piston-rods. d--lower rounded parts of piston-rods. e--cross-beams. f--pipes. g--apertures of pipes. h--trough. (fifth kind of pump--see p. ).] the fifth kind of pump is still less simple, for it is composed of two or three pumps whose pistons are raised by a machine turned by men, for each piston-rod has a tappet which is raised, each in succession, by two cams on a barrel; two or four strong men turn it. when the pistons descend into the pipes their discs draw the water; when they are raised these force the water out through the pipes. the upper part of each of these piston-rods, which is half a foot square, is held in a slot in a cross-beam; the lower part, which drops down into the pipes, is made of another piece of wood and is round. each of these three pumps is composed of two lengths of pipe fixed to the shaft timbers. this machine draws the water higher, as much as twenty-four feet. if the diameter of the pipes is large, only two pumps are made; if smaller, three, so that by either method the volume of water is the same. this also must be understood regarding the other machines and their pipes. since these pumps are composed of two lengths of pipe, the little iron box having the iron valve which i described before, is not enclosed in a trunk, but is in the lower length of pipe, at that point where it joins the upper one; thus the rounded part of the piston-rod is only as long as the upper length of pipe; but i will presently explain this more clearly. [illustration (suction pumps): a--water-wheel. b--axle. c--trunk on which the lowest pipe stands. d--basket surrounding trunk. (sixth kind of pump--see p. .)] the sixth kind of pump would be just the same as the fifth were it not that it has an axle instead of a barrel, turned not by men but by a water-wheel, which is revolved by the force of water striking its buckets. since water-power far exceeds human strength, this machine draws water through its pipes by discs out of a shaft more than one hundred feet deep. the bottom of the lowest pipe, set in the sump, not only of this pump but also of the others, is generally enclosed in a basket made of wicker-work, to prevent wood shavings and other things being sucked in. (see p. .) [illustration (suction pumps): a--shaft. b--bottom pump. c--first tank. d--second pump. e--second tank. f--third pump. g--trough. h--the iron set in the axle. i--first pump rod. k--second pump rod. l--third pump rod. m--first piston rod. n--second piston rod. o--third piston rod. p--little axles. q--"claws."] the seventh kind of pump, invented ten years ago, which is the most ingenious, durable, and useful of all, can be made without much expense. it is composed of several pumps, which do not, like those last described, go down into the shaft together, but of which one is below the other, for if there are three, as is generally the case, the lower one lifts the water of the sump and pours it out into the first tank; the second pump lifts again from that tank into a second tank, and the third pump lifts it into the drain of the tunnel. a wheel fifteen feet high raises the piston-rods of all these pumps at the same time and causes them to drop together. the wheel is made to revolve by paddles, turned by the force of a stream which has been diverted to the mountain. the spokes of the water-wheel are mortised in an axle six feet long and one foot thick, each end of which is surrounded by an iron band, but in one end there is fixed an iron journal; to the other end is attached an iron like this journal in its posterior part, which is a digit thick and as wide as the end of the axle itself. then the iron extends horizontally, being rounded and about three digits in diameter, for the length of a foot, and serves as a journal; thence, it bends to a height of a foot in a curve, like the horn of the moon, after which it again extends straight out for one foot; thus it comes about that this last straight portion, as it revolves in an orbit becomes alternately a foot higher and a foot lower than the first straight part. from this round iron crank there hangs the first flat pump-rod, for the crank is fixed in a perforation in the upper end of this flat pump-rod just as the iron key of the first set of "claws" is fixed into the lower end. in order to prevent the pump-rod from slipping off it, as it could easily do, and that it may be taken off when necessary, its opening is wider than the corresponding part of the crank, and it is fastened on both sides by iron keys. to prevent friction, the ends of the pump-rods are protected by iron plates or intervening leathers. this first pump-rod is about twelve feet long, the other two are twenty-six feet, and each is a palm wide and three digits thick. the sides of each pump-rod are covered and protected by iron plates, which are held on by iron screws, so that a part which has received damage can be repaired. in the "claws" is set a small round axle, a foot and a half long and two palms thick. the ends are encircled by iron bands to prevent the iron journals which revolve in the iron bearings of the wood from slipping out of it.[ ] from this little axle the wooden "claws" extend two feet, with a width and thickness of six digits; they are three palms distant from each other, and both the inner and outer sides are covered with iron plates. two rounded iron keys two digits thick are immovably fixed into the claws. the one of these keys perforates the lower end of the first pump-rod, and the upper end of the second pump-rod which is held fast. the other key, which is likewise immovable, perforates the iron end of the first piston-rod, which is bent in a curve and is immovable. each such piston-rod is thirteen feet long and three digits thick, and descends into the first pipe of each pump to such depth that its disc nearly reaches the valve-box. when it descends into the pipe, the water, penetrating through the openings of the disc, raises the leather, and when the piston-rod is raised the water presses down the leather, and this supports its weight; then the valve closes the box as a door closes an entrance. the pipes are joined by two iron bands, one palm wide, one outside the other, but the inner one is sharp all round that it may fit into each pipe and hold them together. although at the present time pipes lack the inner band, still they have nipples by which they are joined together, for the lower end of the upper one holds the upper end of the lower one, each being hewn away for a length of seven digits, the former inside, the latter outside, so that the one can fit into the other. when the piston-rod descends into the first pipe, that valve which i have described is closed; when the piston-rod is raised, the valve is opened so that the water can run in through the perforations. each one of such pumps is composed of two lengths of pipe, each of which is twelve feet long, and the inside diameter is seven digits. the lower one is placed in the sump of the shaft, or in a tank, and its lower end is blocked by a round piece of wood, above which there are six perforations around the pipe through which the water flows into it. the upper part of the upper pipe has a notch one foot deep and a palm wide, through which the water flows away into a tank or trough. each tank is two feet long and one foot wide and deep. there is the same number of axles, "claws," and rods of each kind as there are pumps; if there are three pumps, there are only two tanks, because the sump of the shaft and the drain of the tunnel take the place of two. the following is the way this machine draws water from a shaft. the wheel being turned raises the first pump-rod, and the pump-rod raises the first "claw," and thus also the second pump-rod, and the first piston-rod; then the second pump-rod raises the second "claw," and thus the third pump-rod and the second piston-rod; then the third pump-rod raises the third "claw" and the third piston-rod, for there hangs no pump-rod from the iron key of these claws, for it can be of no use in the last pump. in turn, when the first pump-rod descends, each set of "claws" is lowered, each pump-rod and each piston-rod. and by this system, at the same time the water is lifted into the tanks and drained out of them; from the sump at the bottom of the shaft it is drained out, and it is poured into the trough of the tunnel. further, around the main axle there may be placed two water wheels, if the river supplies enough water to turn them, and from the back part of each round iron crank, one or two pump-rods can be hung, each of which can move the piston-rods of three pumps. lastly, it is necessary that the shafts from which the water is pumped out in pipes should be vertical, for as in the case of the hauling machines, all pumps which have pipes do not draw the water so high if the pipes are inclined in inclined shafts, as if they are placed vertically in vertical shafts. [illustration (suction pumps): a--water wheel of upper machine. b--its pump. c--its trough. d--wheel of lower machine. e--its pump. f--race.] if the river does not supply enough water-power to turn the last-described pump, which happens because of the nature of the locality or occurs during the summer season when there are daily droughts, a machine is built with a wheel so low and light that the water of ever so little a stream can turn it. this water, falling into a race, runs therefrom on to a second high and heavy wheel of a lower machine, whose pump lifts the water out of a deep shaft. since, however, the water of so small a stream cannot alone revolve the lower water-wheel, the axle of the latter is turned at the start with a crank worked by two men, but as soon as it has poured out into a pool the water which has been drawn up by the pumps, the upper wheel draws up this water by its own pump, and pours it into the race, from which it flows on to the lower water-wheel and strikes its buckets. so both this water from the mine, as well as the water of the stream, being turned down the races on to that subterranean wheel of the lower machine, turns it, and water is pumped out of the deeper part of the shaft by means of two or three pumps.[ ] [illustration (duplex suction pumps): a--upper axle. b--wheel whose buckets the force of the stream strikes. c--toothed drum. d--second axle. e--drum composed of rundles. f--curved round irons. g--rows of pumps.] if the stream supplies enough water straightway to turn a higher and heavier water-wheel, then a toothed drum is fixed to the other end of the axle, and this turns the drum made of rundles on another axle set below it. to each end of this lower axle there is fitted a crank of round iron curved like the horns of the moon, of the kind employed in machines of this description. this machine, since it has rows of pumps on each side, draws great quantities of water. [illustration (rag and chain pumps): a--wheel. b--axle. c--journals. d--pillows. e--drum. f--clamps. g--drawing-chain. h--timbers. i--balls. k--pipe. l--race of stream.] of the rag and chain pumps there are six kinds known to us, of which the first is made as follows: a cave is dug under the surface of earth or in a tunnel, and timbered on all sides by stout posts and planks, to prevent either the men from being crushed or the machine from being broken by its collapse. in this cave, thus timbered, is placed a water-wheel fitted to an angular axle. the iron journals of the axle revolve in iron pillows, which are held in timbers of sufficient strength. the wheel is generally twenty-four feet high, occasionally thirty, and in no way different from those which are made for grinding corn, except that it is a little narrower. the axle has on one side a drum with a groove in the middle of its circumference, to which are fixed many four-curved iron clamps. in these clamps catch the links of the chain, which is drawn through the pipes out of the sump, and which again falls, through a timbered opening, right down to the bottom into the sump to a balancing drum. there is an iron band around the small axle of the balancing drum, each journal of which revolves in an iron bearing fixed to a timber. the chain turning about this drum brings up the water by the balls through the pipes. each length of pipe is encircled and protected by five iron bands, a palm wide and a digit thick, placed at equal distances from each other; the first band on the pipe is shared in common with the preceding length of pipe into which it is fitted, the last band with the succeeding length of pipe which is fitted into it. each length of pipe, except the first, is bevelled on the outer circumference of the upper end to a distance of seven digits and for a depth of three digits, in order that it may be inserted into the length of pipe which goes before it; each, except the last, is reamed out on the inside of the lower end to a like distance, but to the depth of a palm, that it may be able to take the end of the pipe which follows. and each length of pipe is fixed with iron clamps to the timbers of the shaft, that it may remain stationary. through this continuous series of pipes, the water is drawn by the balls of the chain up out of the sump as far as the tunnel, where it flows but into the drains through an aperture in the highest pipe. the balls which lift the water are connected by the iron links of the chain, and are six feet distant from one another; they are made of the hair of a horse's tail sewn into a covering to prevent it from being pulled out by the iron clamps on the drum; the balls are of such size that one can be held in each hand. if this machine is set up on the surface of the earth, the stream which turns the water-wheel is led away through open-air ditches; if in a tunnel, the water is led away through the subterranean drains. the buckets of the water-wheel, when struck by the impact of the stream, move forward and turn the wheel, together with the drum, whereby the chain is wound up and the balls expel the water through the pipes. if the wheel of this machine is twenty-four feet in diameter, it draws water from a shaft two hundred and ten feet deep; if thirty feet in diameter, it will draw water from a shaft two hundred and forty feet deep. but such work requires a stream with greater water-power. the next pump has two drums, two rows of pipes and two drawing-chains whose balls lift out the water; otherwise they are like the last pump. this pump is usually built when an excessive amount of water flows into the sump. these two pumps are turned by water-power; indeed, water draws water. the following is the way of indicating the increase or decrease of the water in an underground sump, whether it is pumped by this rag and chain pump or by the first pump, or the third, or some other. from a beam which is as high above the shaft as the sump is deep, is hung a cord, to one end of which there is fastened a stone, the other end being attached to a plank. the plank is lowered down by an iron wire fastened to the other end; when the stone is at the mouth of the shaft the plank is right down the shaft in the sump, in which water it floats. this plank is so heavy that it can drag down the wire and its iron clasp and hook, together with the cord, and thus pull the stone upwards. thus, as the water decreases, the plank descends and the stone is raised; on the contrary, when the water increases the plank rises and the stone is lowered. when the stone nearly touches the beam, since this indicates that the water has been exhausted from the sump by the pump, the overseer in charge of the machine closes the water-race and stops the water-wheel; when the stone nearly touches the ground at the side of the shaft, this indicates that the sump is full of water which has again collected in it, because the water raises the plank and thus the stone drags back both the rope and the iron wire; then the overseer opens the water-race, whereupon the water of the stream again strikes the buckets of the water-wheel and turns the pump. as workmen generally cease from their labours on the yearly holidays, and sometimes on working days, and are thus not always near the pump, and as the pump, if necessary, must continue to draw water all the time, a bell rings aloud continuously, indicating that this pump, or any other kind, is uninjured and nothing is preventing its turning. the bell is hung by a cord from a small wooden axle held in the timbers which stand over the shaft, and a second long cord whose upper end is fastened to the small axle is lowered into the shaft; to the lower end of this cord is fastened a piece of wood; and as often as a cam on the main axle strikes it, so often does the bell ring and give forth a sound. [illustration (rag and chain pumps): a--upright axle. b--toothed wheel. c--teeth. d--horizontal axle. e--drum which is made of rundles. f--second drum. g--drawing-chain. h--the balls.] the third pump of this kind is employed by miners when no river capable of turning a water-wheel can be diverted, and it is made as follows. they first dig a chamber and erect strong timbers and planks to prevent the sides from falling in, which would overwhelm the pump and kill the men. the roof of the chamber is protected with contiguous timbers, so arranged that the horses which pull the machine can travel over it. next they again set up sixteen beams forty feet long and one foot wide and thick, joined by clamps at the top and spreading apart at the bottom, and they fit the lower end of each beam into a separate sill laid flat on the ground, and join these by a post; thus there is created a circular area of which the diameter is fifty feet. through an opening in the centre of this area there descends an upright square axle, forty-five feet long and a foot and a half wide and thick; its lower pivot revolves in a socket in a block laid flat on the ground in the chamber, and the upper pivot revolves in a bearing in a beam which is mortised into two beams at the summit beneath the clamps; the lower pivot is seventeen feet distant from either side of the chamber, _i.e._, from its front and rear. at the height of a foot above its lower end, the axle has a toothed wheel, the diameter of which is twenty-two feet. this wheel is composed of four spokes and eight rim pieces; the spokes are fifteen feet long and three-quarters of a foot wide and thick[ ]; one end of them is mortised in the axle, the other in the two rims where they are joined together. these rims are three-quarters of a foot thick and one foot wide, and from them there rise and project upright teeth three-quarters of a foot high, half a foot wide, and six digits thick. these teeth turn a second horizontal axle by means of a drum composed of twelve rundles, each three feet long and six digits wide and thick. this drum, being turned, causes the axle to revolve, and around this axle there is a drum having iron clamps with fourfold curves in which catch the links of a chain, which draws water through pipes by means of balls. the iron journals of this horizontal axle revolve on pillows which are set in the centre of timbers. above the roof of the chamber there are mortised into the upright axle the ends of two beams which rise obliquely; the upper ends of these beams support double cross-beams, likewise mortised to the axle. in the outer end of each cross-beam there is mortised a small wooden piece which appears to hang down; in this wooden piece there is similarly mortised at the lower end a short board; this has an iron key which engages a chain, and this chain again a pole-bar. this machine, which draws water from a shaft two hundred and forty feet deep, is worked by thirty-two horses; eight of them work for four hours, and then these rest for twelve hours, and the same number take their place. this kind of machine is employed at the foot of the harz[ ] mountains and in the neighbourhood. further, if necessity arises, several pumps of this kind are often built for the purpose of mining one vein, but arranged differently in different localities varying according to the depth. at schemnitz, in the carpathian mountains, there are three pumps, of which the lowest lifts water from the lowest sump to the first drains, through which it flows into the second sump; the intermediate one lifts from the second sump to the second drain, from which it flows into the third sump; and the upper one lifts it to the drains of the tunnel, through which it flows away. this system of three machines of this kind is turned by ninety-six horses; these horses go down to the machines by an inclined shaft, which slopes and twists like a screw and gradually descends. the lowest of these machines is set in a deep place, which is distant from the surface of the ground feet. [illustration (rag and chain pumps): a--axle. b--drum. c--drawing-chain. d--balls. e--clamps.] the fourth species of pump belongs to the same genera, and is made as follows. two timbers are erected, and in openings in them, the ends of a barrel revolve. two or four strong men turn the barrel, that is to say, one or two pull the cranks, and one or two push them, and in this way help the others; alternately another two or four men take their place. the barrel of this machine, just like the horizontal axle of the other machines, has a drum whose iron clamps catch the links of a drawing-chain. thus water is drawn through the pipes by the balls from a depth of forty-eight feet. human strength cannot draw water higher than this, because such very heavy labour exhausts not only men, but even horses; only water-power can drive continuously a drum of this kind. several pumps of this kind, as of the last, are often built for the purpose of mining on a single vein, but they are arranged differently for different positions and depths. [illustration (rag and chain pumps): a--axles. b--levers. c--toothed drum. d--drum made of rundles. e--drum in which iron clamps are fixed.] the fifth pump of this kind is partly like the third and partly like the fourth, because it is turned by strong men like the last, and like the third it has two axles and three drums, though each axle is horizontal. the journals of each axle are so fitted in the pillows of the beams that they cannot fly out; the lower axle has a crank at one end and a toothed drum at the other end; the upper axle has at one end a drum made of rundles, and at the other end, a drum to which are fixed iron clamps, in which the links of a chain catch in the same way as before, and from the same depth, draw water through pipes by means of balls. this revolving machine is turned by two pairs of men alternately, for one pair stands working while the other sits taking a rest; while they are engaged upon the task of turning, one pulls the crank and the other pushes, and the drums help to make the pump turn more easily. [illustration (rag and chain pumps): a--axles. b--wheel which is turned by treading. c--toothed wheel. d--drum made of rundles. e--drum to which are fixed iron clamps. f--second wheel. g--balls.] the sixth pump of this kind likewise has two axles. at one end of the lower axle is a wheel which is turned by two men treading, this is twenty-three feet high and four feet wide, so that one man may stand alongside the other. at the other end of this axle is a toothed wheel. the upper[ ] axle has two drums and one wheel; the first drum is made of rundles, and to the other there are fixed the iron clamps. the wheel is like the one on the second machine which is chiefly used for drawing earth and broken rock out of shafts. the treaders, to prevent themselves from falling, grasp in their hands poles which are fixed to the inner sides of the wheel. when they turn this wheel, the toothed drum being made to revolve, sets in motion the other drum which is made of rundles, by which means again the links of the chain catch to the cleats of the third drum and draw water through pipes by means of balls,--from a depth of sixty-six feet. [illustration (baling water): a--reservoir. b--race. c, d--levers. e, f--troughs under the water gates. g, h--double rows of buckets. i--axle. k--larger drum. l--drawing-chain. m--bag. n--hanging cage. o--man who directs the machine. p, q--men emptying bags.] but the largest machine of all those which draw water is the one which follows. first of all a reservoir is made in a timbered chamber; this reservoir is eighteen feet long and twelve feet wide and high. into this reservoir a stream is diverted through a water-race or through the tunnel; it has two entrances and the same number of gates. levers are fixed to the upper part of these gates, by which they can be raised and let down again, so that by one way the gates are opened and in the other way closed. beneath the openings are two plank troughs which carry the water flowing from the reservoir, and pour it on to the buckets of the water-wheel, the impact of which turns the wheel. the shorter trough carries the water, which strikes the buckets that turn the wheel toward the reservoir, and the longer trough carries the water which strikes those buckets that turn the wheel in the opposite direction. the casing or covering of the wheel is made of joined boards to which strips are affixed on the inner side. the wheel itself is thirty-six feet in diameter, and is mortised to an axle, and it has, as i have already said, two rows of buckets, of which one is set the opposite way to the other, so that the wheel may be turned toward the reservoir or in the opposite direction. the axle is square and is thirty-five feet long and two feet thick and wide. beyond the wheel, at a distance of six feet, the axle has four hubs, one foot wide and thick, each one of which is four feet distant from the next; to these hubs are fixed by iron nails as many pieces of wood as are necessary to cover the hubs, and, in order that the wood pieces may fit tight, they are broader on the outside and narrower on the inside; in this way a drum is made, around which is wound a chain to whose ends are hooked leather bags. the reason why a drum of this kind is made, is that the axle may be kept in good condition, because this drum when it becomes worn away by use can be repaired easily. further along the axle, not far from the end, is another drum one foot broad, projecting two feet on all sides around the axle. and to this, when occasion demands, a brake is applied forcibly and holds back the machine; this kind of brake i have explained before. near the axle, in place of a hopper, there is a floor with a considerable slope, having in front of the shaft a width of fifteen feet and the same at the back; at each side of it there is a stout post carrying an iron chain which has a large hook. five men operate this machine; one lets down the doors which close the reservoir gates, or by drawing down the levers, opens the water-races; this man, who is the director of this machine, stands in a hanging cage beside the reservoir. when one bag has been drawn out nearly as far as the sloping floor, he closes the water gate in order that the wheel may be stopped; when the bag has been emptied he opens the other water gate, in order that the other set of buckets may receive the water and drive the wheel in the opposite direction. if he cannot close the water-gate quickly enough, and the water continues to flow, he calls out to his comrade and bids him raise the brake upon the drum and stop the wheel. two men alternately empty the bags, one standing on that part of the floor which is in front of the shaft, and the other on that part which is at the back. when the bag has been nearly drawn up--of which fact a certain link of the chain gives warning--the man who stands on the one part of the floor, catches a large iron hook in one link of the chain, and pulls out all the subsequent part of the chain toward the floor, where the bag is emptied by the other man. the object of this hook is to prevent the chain, by its own weight, from pulling down the other empty bag, and thus pulling the whole chain from its axle and dropping it down the shaft. his comrade in the work, seeing that the bag filled with water has been nearly drawn out, calls to the director of the machine and bids him close the water of the tower so that there will be time to empty the bag; this being emptied, the director of the machine first of all slightly opens the other water-gate of the tower to allow the end of the chain, together with the empty bag, to be started into the shaft again, and then opens entirely the water-gates. when that part of the chain which has been pulled on to the floor has been wound up again, and has been let down over the shaft from the drum, he takes out the large hook which was fastened into a link of the chain. the fifth man stands in a sort of cross-cut beside the sump, that he may not be hurt, if it should happen that a link is broken and part of the chain or anything else should fall down; he guides the bag with a wooden shovel, and fills it with water if it fails to take in the water spontaneously. in these days, they sew an iron band into the top of each bag that it may constantly remain open, and when lowered into the sump may fill itself with water, and there is no need for a man to act as governor of the bags. further, in these days, of those men who stand on the floor the one empties the bags, and the other closes the gates of the reservoir and opens them again, and the same man usually fixes the large hook in the link of the chain. in this way, three men only are employed in working this machine; or even--since sometimes the one who empties the bag presses the brake which is raised against the other drum and thus stops the wheel--two men take upon themselves the whole labour. but enough of haulage machines; i will now speak of ventilating machines. if a shaft is very deep and no tunnel reaches to it, or no drift from another shaft connects with it, or when a tunnel is of great length and no shaft reaches to it, then the air does not replenish itself. in such a case it weighs heavily on the miners, causing them to breathe with difficulty, and sometimes they are even suffocated, and burning lamps are also extinguished. there is, therefore, a necessity for machines which the greeks call [greek: pneumatikai] and the latins _spiritales_--though they do not give forth any sound--which enable the miners to breathe easily and carry on their work. [illustration (windsails for ventilation): a--sills. b--pointed stakes. c--cross-beams. d--upright planks. e--hollows. f--winds. g--covering disc. h--shafts. i--machine without a covering.] these devices are of three genera. the first receives and diverts into the shaft the blowing of the wind, and this genus is divided into three species, of which the first is as follows. over the shaft--to which no tunnel connects--are placed three sills a little longer than the shaft, the first over the front, the second over the middle, and the third over the back of the shaft. their ends have openings, through which pegs, sharpened at the bottom, are driven deeply into the ground so as to hold them immovable, in the same way that the sills of the windlass are fixed. each of these sills is mortised into each of three cross-beams, of which one is at the right side of the shaft, the second at the left, and the third in the middle. to the second sill and the second cross-beam--each of which is placed over the middle of the shaft--planks are fixed which are joined in such a manner that the one which precedes always fits into the groove of the one which follows. in this way four angles and the same number of intervening hollows are created, which collect the winds that blow from all directions. the planks are roofed above with a cover made in a circular shape, and are open below, in order that the wind may not be diverted upward and escape, but may be carried downward; and thereby the winds of necessity blow into the shafts through these four openings. however, there is no need to roof this kind of machine in those localities in which it can be so placed that the wind can blow down through its topmost part. [illustration (windsails for ventilation): a--projecting mouth of conduit. b--planks fixed to the mouth of the conduit which does not project.] the second machine of this genus turns the blowing wind into a shaft through a long box-shaped conduit, which is made of as many lengths of planks, joined together, as the depth of the shaft requires; the joints are smeared with fat, glutinous clay moistened with water. the mouth of this conduit either projects out of the shaft to a height of three or four feet, or it does not project; if it projects, it is shaped like a rectangular funnel, broader and wider at the top than the conduit itself, that it may the more easily gather the wind; if it does not project, it is not broader than the conduit, but planks are fixed to it away from the direction in which the wind is blowing, which catch the wind and force it into the conduit. [illustration (windsails for ventilation): a--wooden barrels. b--hoops. c--blow-holes. d--pipe. e--table. f--axle. g--opening in the bottom of the barrel. h--wing.] the third of this genus of machine is made of a pipe or pipes and a barrel. above the uppermost pipe there is erected a wooden barrel, four feet high and three feet in diameter, bound with wooden hoops; it has a square blow-hole always open, which catches the breezes and guides them down either by a pipe into a conduit or by many pipes into the shaft. to the top of the upper pipe is attached a circular table as thick as the bottom of the barrel, but of a little less diameter, so that the barrel may be turned around on it; the pipe projects out of the table and is fixed in a round opening in the centre of the bottom of the barrel. to the end of the pipe a perpendicular axle is fixed which runs through the centre of the barrel into a hole in the cover, in which it is fastened, in the same way as at the bottom. around this fixed axle and the table on the pipe, the movable barrel is easily turned by a zephyr, or much more by a wind, which govern the wing on it. this wing is made of thin boards and fixed to the upper part of the barrel on the side furthest away from the blow-hole; this, as i have said, is square and always open. the wind, from whatever quarter of the world it blows, drives the wing straight toward the opposite direction, in which way the barrel turns the blow-hole towards the wind itself; the blow-hole receives the wind, and it is guided down into the shaft by means of the conduit or pipes. [illustration (ventilation fans): a--drum. b--box-shaped casing. c--blow-hole. d--second hole. e--conduit. f--axle. g--lever of axle. h--rods.] the second genus of blowing machine is made with fans, and is likewise varied and of many forms, for the fans are either fitted to a windlass barrel or to an axle. if to an axle, they are either contained in a hollow drum, which is made of two wheels and a number of boards joining them together, or else in a box-shaped casing. the drum is stationary and closed on the sides, except for round holes of such size that the axle may turn in them; it has two square blow-holes, of which the upper one receives the air, while the lower one empties into the conduit through which the air is led down the shaft. the ends of the axle, which project on each side of the drum, are supported by forked posts or hollowed beams plated with thick iron; one end of the axle has a crank, while in the other end are fixed four rods with thick heavy ends, so that they weight the axle, and when turned, make it prone to motion as it revolves. and so, when the workman turns the axle by the crank, the fans, the description of which i will give a little later, draw in the air by the blow-hole, and force it through the other blow-hole which leads to the conduit, and through this conduit the air penetrates into the shaft. [illustration (ventilation fans): a--box-shaped casing placed on the ground. b--its blow-hole. c--its axle with fans. d--crank of the axle. e--rods of same. f--casing set on timbers. g--sails which the axle has outside the casing.] the one with the box-shaped casing is furnished with just the same things as the drum, but the drum is far superior to the box; for the fans so fill the drum that they almost touch it on every side, and drive into the conduit all the air that has been accumulated; but they cannot thus fill the box-shaped casing, on account of its angles, into which the air partly retreats; therefore it cannot be as useful as the drum. the kind with a box-shaped casing is not only placed on the ground, but is also set up on timbers like a windmill, and its axle, in place of a crank, has four sails outside, like the sails of a windmill. when these are struck by the wind they turn the axle, and in this way its fans--which are placed within the casing--drive the air through the blow-hole and the conduit into the shaft. although this machine has no need of men whom it is necessary to pay to work the crank, still when the sky is devoid of wind, as it often is, the machine does not turn, and it is therefore less suitable than the others for ventilating a shaft. [illustration (ventilation fans): a--hollow drum. b--its blow-hole. c--axle with fans. d--drum which is made of rundles. e--lower axle. f--its toothed wheel. g--water wheel.] in the kind where the fans are fixed to an axle, there is generally a hollow stationary drum at one end of the axle, and on the other end is fixed a drum made of rundles. this rundle drum is turned by the toothed wheel of a lower axle, which is itself turned by a wheel whose buckets receive the impetus of water. if the locality supplies an abundance of water this machine is most useful, because to turn the crank does not need men who require pay, and because it forces air without cessation through the conduit into the shaft. [illustration (ventilation fans): a--first kind of fan. b--second kind of fan. c--third kind of fan. d--quadrangular part of axle. e--round part of same. f--crank.] of the fans which are fixed on to an axle contained in a drum or box, there are three sorts. the first sort is made of thin boards of such length and width as the height and width of the drum or box require; the second sort is made of boards of the same width, but shorter, to which are bound long thin blades of poplar or some other flexible wood; the third sort has boards like the last, to which are bound double and triple rows of goose feathers. this last is less used than the second, which in turn is less used than the first. the boards of the fan are mortised into the quadrangular parts of the barrel axle. [illustration (bellows for mine ventilation): a--smaller part of shaft. b--square conduit. c--bellows. d--larger part of shaft.] blowing machines of the third genus, which are no less varied and of no fewer forms than those of the second genus, are made with bellows, for by its blasts the shafts and tunnels are not only furnished with air through conduits or pipes, but they can also be cleared by suction of their heavy and pestilential vapours. in the latter case, when the bellows is opened it draws the vapours from the conduits through its blow-hole and sucks these vapours into itself; in the former case, when it is compressed, it drives the air through its nozzle into the conduits or pipes. they are compressed either by a man, or by a horse or by water-power; if by a man, the lower board of a large bellows is fixed to the timbers above the conduit which projects out of the shaft, and so placed that when the blast is blown through the conduit, its nozzle is set in the conduit. when it is desired to suck out heavy or pestilential vapours, the blow-hole of the bellows is fitted all round the mouth of the conduit. fixed to the upper bellows board is a lever which couples with another running downward from a little axle, into which it is mortised so that it may remain immovable; the iron journals of this little axle revolve in openings of upright posts; and so when the workman pulls down the lever the upper board of the bellows is raised, and at the same time the flap of the blow-hole is dragged open by the force of the wind. if the nozzle of the bellows is enclosed in the conduit it draws pure air into itself, but if its blow-hole is fitted all round the mouth of the conduit it exhausts the heavy and pestilential vapours out of the conduit and thus from the shaft, even if it is one hundred and twenty feet deep. a stone placed on the upper board of the bellows depresses it and then the flap of the blow-hole is closed. the bellows, by the first method, blows fresh air into the conduit through its nozzle, and by the second method blows out through the nozzle the heavy and pestilential vapours which have been collected. in this latter case fresh air enters through the larger part of the shaft, and the miners getting the benefit of it can sustain their toil. a certain smaller part of the shaft which forms a kind of estuary, requires to be partitioned off from the other larger part by uninterrupted lagging, which reaches from the top of the shaft to the bottom; through this part the long but narrow conduit reaches down nearly to the bottom of the shaft. [illustration (bellows for mine ventilation): a--tunnel. b--pipe. c--nozzle of double bellows.] when no shaft has been sunk to such depth as to meet a tunnel driven far into a mountain, these machines should be built in such a manner that the workman can move them about. close by the drains of the tunnel through which the water flows away, wooden pipes should be placed and joined tightly together in such a manner that they can hold the air; these should reach from the mouth of the tunnel to its furthest end. at the mouth of the tunnel the bellows should be so placed that through its nozzle it can blow its accumulated blasts into the pipes or the conduit; since one blast always drives forward another, they penetrate into the tunnel and change the air, whereby the miners are enabled to continue their work. [illustration (bellows for mine ventilation): a--machine first described. b--this workman, treading with his feet, is compressing the bellows. c--bellows without nozzles. d--hole by which heavy vapours or blasts are blown out. e--conduits. f--tunnel. g--second machine described. h--wooden wheel. i--its steps. k--bars. l--hole in same wheel. m--pole. n--third machine described. o--upright axle. p--its toothed drum. q--horizontal axle. r--its drum which is made of rundles.] if heavy vapours need to be drawn off from the tunnels, generally three double or triple bellows, without nozzles and closed in the forepart, are placed upon benches. a workman compresses them by treading with his feet, just as persons compress those bellows of the organs which give out varied and sweet sounds in churches. these heavy vapours are thus drawn along the air-pipes and through the blow-hole of the lower bellows board, and are expelled through the blow-hole of the upper bellows board into the open air, or into some shaft or drift. this blow-hole has a flap-valve, which the noxious blast opens, as often as it passes out. since one volume of air constantly rushes in to take the place of another which has been drawn out by the bellows, not only is the heavy air drawn out of a tunnel as great as , feet long, or even longer, but also the wholesome air is naturally drawn in through that part of the tunnel which is open outside the conduits. in this way the air is changed, and the miners are enabled to carry on the work they have begun. if machines of this kind had not been invented, it would be necessary for miners to drive two tunnels into a mountain, and continually, at every two hundred feet at most, to sink a shaft from the upper tunnel to the lower one, that the air passing into the one, and descending by the shafts into the other, would be kept fresh for the miners; this could not be done without great expense. there are two different machines for operating, by means of horses, the above described bellows. the first of these machines has on its axle a wooden wheel, the rim of which is covered all the way round by steps; a horse is kept continually within bars, like those within which horses are held to be shod with iron, and by treading these steps with its feet it turns the wheel, together with the axle; the cams on the axle press down the sweeps which compress the bellows. the way the instrument is made which raises the bellows again, and also the benches on which the bellows rest, i will explain more clearly in book ix. each bellows, if it draws heavy vapours out of a tunnel, blows them out of the hole in the upper board; if they are drawn out of a shaft, it blows them out through its nozzle. the wheel has a round hole, which is transfixed with a pole when the machine needs to be stopped. the second machine has two axles; the upright one is turned by a horse, and its toothed drum turns a drum made of rundles on a horizontal axle; in other respects this machine is like the last. here, also, the nozzles of the bellows placed in the conduits blow a blast into the shaft or tunnel. [illustration (ventilating with damp cloth): a--tunnel. b--linen cloth.] in the same way that this last machine can refresh the heavy air of a shaft or tunnel, so also could the old system of ventilating by the constant shaking of linen cloths, which pliny[ ] has explained; the air not only grows heavier with the depth of a shaft, of which fact he has made mention, but also with the length of a tunnel. [illustration (descent into mines): a--descending into the shaft by ladders. b--by sitting on a stick. c--by sitting on the dirt. d--descending by steps cut in the rock.] the climbing machines of miners are ladders, fixed to one side of the shaft, and these reach either to the tunnel or to the bottom of the shaft. i need not describe how they are made, because they are used everywhere, and need not so much skill in their construction as care in fixing them. however, miners go down into mines not only by the steps of ladders, but they are also lowered into them while sitting on a stick or a wicker basket, fastened to the rope of one of the three drawing machines which i described at first. further, when the shafts are much inclined, miners and other workmen sit in the dirt which surrounds their loins and slide down in the same way that boys do in winter-time when the water on some hillside has congealed with the cold, and to prevent themselves from falling, one arm is wound about a rope, the upper end of which is fastened to a beam at the mouth of the shaft, and the lower end to a stake fixed in the bottom of the shaft. in these three ways miners descend into the shafts. a fourth way may be mentioned which is employed when men and horses go down to the underground machines and come up again, that is by inclined shafts which are twisted like a screw and have steps cut in the rock, as i have already described. it remains for me to speak of the ailments and accidents of miners, and of the methods by which they can guard against these, for we should always devote more care to maintaining our health, that we may freely perform our bodily functions, than to making profits. of the illnesses, some affect the joints, others attack the lungs, some the eyes, and finally some are fatal to men. where water in shafts is abundant and very cold, it frequently injures the limbs, for cold is harmful to the sinews. to meet this, miners should make themselves sufficiently high boots of rawhide, which protect their legs from the cold water; the man who does not follow this advice will suffer much ill-health, especially when he reaches old age. on the other hand, some mines are so dry that they are entirely devoid of water, and this dryness causes the workmen even greater harm, for the dust which is stirred and beaten up by digging penetrates into the windpipe and lungs, and produces difficulty in breathing, and the disease which the greeks call [greek: asthma]. if the dust has corrosive qualities, it eats away the lungs, and implants consumption in the body; hence in the mines of the carpathian mountains women are found who have married seven husbands, all of whom this terrible consumption has carried off to a premature death. at altenberg in meissen there is found in the mines black _pompholyx_, which eats wounds and ulcers to the bone; this also corrodes iron, for which reason the keys of their sheds are made of wood. further, there is a certain kind of _cadmia_[ ] which eats away the feet of the workmen when they have become wet, and similarly their hands, and injures their lungs and eyes. therefore, for their digging they should make for themselves not only boots of rawhide, but gloves long enough to reach to the elbow, and they should fasten loose veils over their faces; the dust will then neither be drawn through these into their windpipes and lungs, nor will it fly into their eyes. not dissimilarly, among the romans[ ] the makers of vermilion took precautions against breathing its fatal dust. stagnant air, both that which remains in a shaft and that which remains in a tunnel, produces a difficulty in breathing; the remedies for this evil are the ventilating machines which i have explained above. there is another illness even more destructive, which soon brings death to men who work in those shafts or levels or tunnels in which the hard rock is broken by fire. here the air is infected with poison, since large and small veins and seams in the rocks exhale some subtle poison from the minerals, which is driven out by the fire, and this poison itself is raised with the smoke not unlike _pompholyx_,[ ] which clings to the upper part of the walls in the works in which ore is smelted. if this poison cannot escape from the ground, but falls down into the pools and floats on their surface, it often causes danger, for if at any time the water is disturbed through a stone or anything else, these fumes rise again from the pools and thus overcome the men, by being drawn in with their breath; this is even much worse if the fumes of the fire have not yet all escaped. the bodies of living creatures who are infected with this poison generally swell immediately and lose all movement and feeling, and they die without pain; men even in the act of climbing from the shafts by the steps of ladders fall back into the shafts when the poison overtakes them, because their hands do not perform their office, and seem to them to be round and spherical, and likewise their feet. if by good fortune the injured ones escape these evils, for a little while they are pale and look like dead men. at such times, no one should descend into the mine or into the neighbouring mines, or if he is in them he should come out quickly. prudent and skilled miners burn the piles of wood on friday, towards evening, and they do not descend into the shafts nor enter the tunnels again before monday, and in the meantime the poisonous fumes pass away. there are also times when a reckoning has to be made with orcus,[ ] for some metalliferous localities, though such are rare, spontaneously produce poison and exhale pestilential vapour, as is also the case with some openings in the ore, though these more often contain the noxious fumes. in the towns of the plains of bohemia there are some caverns which, at certain seasons of the year, emit pungent vapours which put out lights and kill the miners if they linger too long in them. pliny, too, has left a record that when wells are sunk, the sulphurous or aluminous vapours which arise kill the well-diggers, and it is a test of this danger if a burning lamp which has been let down is extinguished. in such cases a second well is dug to the right or left, as an air-shaft, which draws off these noxious vapours. on the plains they construct bellows which draw up these noxious vapours and remedy this evil; these i have described before. further, sometimes workmen slipping from the ladders into the shafts break their arms, legs, or necks, or fall into the sumps and are drowned; often, indeed, the negligence of the foreman is to blame, for it is his special work both to fix the ladders so firmly to the timbers that they cannot break away, and to cover so securely with planks the sumps at the bottom of the shafts, that the planks cannot be moved nor the men fall into the water; wherefore the foreman must carefully execute his own work. moreover, he must not set the entrance of the shaft-house toward the north wind, lest in winter the ladders freeze with cold, for when this happens the men's hands become stiff and slippery with cold, and cannot perform their office of holding. the men, too, must be careful that, even if none of these things happen, they do not fall through their own carelessness. mountains, too, slide down and men are crushed in their fall and perish. in fact, when in olden days rammelsberg, in goslar, sank down, so many men were crushed in the ruins that in one day, the records tell us, about women were robbed of their husbands. and eleven years ago, part of the mountain of altenberg, which had been excavated, became loose and sank, and suddenly crushed six miners; it also swallowed up a hut and one mother and her little boy. but this generally occurs in those mountains which contain _venae cumulatae_. therefore, miners should leave numerous arches under the mountains which need support, or provide underpinning. falling pieces of rock also injure their limbs, and to prevent this from happening, miners should protect the shafts, tunnels, and drifts. the venomous ant which exists in sardinia is not found in our mines. this animal is, as solinus[ ] writes, very small and like a spider in shape; it is called _solifuga_, because it shuns (_fugit_) the light (_solem_). it is very common in silver mines; it creeps unobserved and brings destruction upon those who imprudently sit on it. but, as the same writer tells us, springs of warm and salubrious waters gush out in certain places, which neutralise the venom inserted by the ants. in some of our mines, however, though in very few, there are other pernicious pests. these are demons of ferocious aspect, about which i have spoken in my book _de animantibus subterraneis_. demons of this kind are expelled and put to flight by prayer and fasting.[ ] some of these evils, as well as certain other things, are the reason why pits are occasionally abandoned. but the first and principal cause is that they do not yield metal, or if, for some fathoms, they do bear metal they become barren in depth. the second cause is the quantity of water which flows in; sometimes the miners can neither divert this water into the tunnels, since tunnels cannot be driven so far into the mountains, or they cannot draw it out with machines because the shafts are too deep; or if they could draw it out with machines, they do not use them, the reason undoubtedly being that the expenditure is greater than the profits of a moderately poor vein. the third cause is the noxious air, which the owners sometimes cannot overcome either by skill or expenditure, for which reason the digging is sometimes abandoned, not only of shafts, but also of tunnels. the fourth cause is the poison produced in particular places, if it is not in our power either completely to remove it or to moderate its effects. this is the reason why the caverns in the plain known as laurentius[ ] used not to be worked, though they were not deficient in silver. the fifth cause are the fierce and murderous demons, for if they cannot be expelled, no one escapes from them. the sixth cause is that the underpinnings become loosened and collapse, and a fall of the mountain usually follows; the underpinnings are then only restored when the vein is very rich in metal. the seventh cause is military operations. shafts and tunnels should not be re-opened unless we are quite certain of the reasons why the miners have deserted them, because we ought not to believe that our ancestors were so indolent and spiritless as to desert mines which could have been carried on with profit. indeed, in our own days, not a few miners, persuaded by old women's tales, have re-opened deserted shafts and lost their time and trouble. therefore, to prevent future generations from being led to act in such a way, it is advisable to set down in writing the reason why the digging of each shaft or tunnel has been abandoned, just as it is agreed was once done at freiberg, when the shafts were deserted on account of the great inrush of water. end of book vi. footnotes: [ ] this book is devoted in the main to winding, ventilating, and pumping machinery. their mechanical principles are very old. the block and pulley, the windlass, the use of water-wheels, the transmission of power through shafts and gear-wheels, chain-pumps, piston-pumps with valves, were all known to the greeks and romans, and possibly earlier. machines involving these principles were described by ctesibius, an alexandrian of b.c., by archimedes ( - b.c.), and by vitruvius ( st century b.c.) as to how far these machines were applied to mining by the ancients we have but little evidence, and this largely in connection with handling water. diodorus siculus ( st century b.c.) referring to the spanish mines, says (book v.): "sometimes at great depths they meet great rivers underground, but by art give check to the violence of the streams, for by cutting trenches they divert the current, and being sure to gain what they aim at when they have begun, they never leave off till they have finished it. and they admirably pump out the water with those instruments called egyptian pumps, invented by archimedes, the syracusan, when he was in egypt. by these, with constant pumping by turns they throw up the water to the mouth of the pit and thus drain the mine; for this engine is so ingeniously contrived that a vast quantity of water is strangely and with little labour cast out." strabo ( b.c.- a.d., iii., , ), also referring to spanish mines, quoting from posidonius (about b.c.), says: "he compares with these (the athenians) the activity and diligence of the turdetani, who are in the habit of cutting tortuous and deep tunnels, and draining the streams which they frequently encounter by means of egyptian screws." (hamilton's tran., vol. i., p. ). the "egyptian screw" was archimedes' screw, and was thus called because much used by the egyptians for irrigation. pliny (xxxiii., ) also says, in speaking of the spanish silver-lead mines: "the mountain has been excavated for a distance of , paces, and along this distance there are water-carriers standing by torch-light night and day steadily baling the water (thus) making quite a river." the re-opening of the mines at rio tinto in the middle of the th century disclosed old roman stopes, in which were found several water-wheels. these were about feet in diameter, lifting the water by the reverse arrangement to an overshot water-wheel. a wooden archimedian screw was also found in the neighbourhood. (nash, the rio tinto mine, its history and romance, london, ). until early in the th century, water formed the limiting factor in the depth of mines. to the great devotion to this water problem we owe the invention of the steam engine. in newcomen--no doubt inspired by savery's unsuccessful attempt--invented his engine, and installed the first one on a colliery at wolverhampton, in staffordshire. with its success, a new era was opened to the miner, to be yet further extended by watt's improvements sixty years later. it should be a matter of satisfaction to mining engineers that not only was the steam engine the handiwork of their profession, but that another mining engineer, stephenson, in his effort to further the advance of his calling, invented the locomotive. [ ] while these particular tools serve the same purpose as the "gad" and the "moil," the latter are not fitted with handles, and we have, therefore, not felt justified in adopting these terms, but have given a literal rendering of the latin. the latin and old german terms for these tools were:-- first iron tool = _ferramentum primum_ = _bergeisen_. second " = " _secundum_ = _rutzeisen_. third " = " _tertium_ = _sumpffeisen_. fourth " = " _quartum_ = _fimmel_. wedge = _cuneus_ = _keil_. iron block = _lamina_ = _plôtz_. iron plate = _bractea_ = _feder_. the german words obviously had local value and do not bear translation literally. [ ] one _metreta_, a greek measure, equalled about nine english gallons, and a _congius_ contained about six pints. [ ] _ingestores_. this is a case of agricola coining a name for workmen from the work, the term being derived from _ingero_, to pour or to throw in, used in the previous clause--hence the "reason." see p. xxxi. [ ] _cisium_. a two-wheeled cart. in the preface agricola gives this as an example of his intended adaptations. see p. xxxi. [ ] _canis_. the germans in agricola's time called a truck a _hundt_--a hound. [ ] _alveus_,--"tray." the spanish term _batea_ has been so generally adopted into the mining vocabulary for a wooden bowl for these purposes, that we introduce it here. [ ] pliny (xxxiii., ). "the fragments are carried on workmen's shoulders; night and day each passes the material to his neighbour, only the last of them seeing the daylight." [ ] _harpago_,--a "grapple" or "hook." [ ] ancient noricum covered the region of modern tyrol, with parts of bavaria, salzburg, etc. [ ] _machina quae pilis aquas haurit_. "machine which draws water with balls." this apparatus is identical with the cornish "rag and chain pump" of the same period, and we have therefore adopted that term. [ ] a _congius_ contained about six pints. [ ] vitruvius (x., ). "but if the water is to be supplied to still higher places, a double chain of iron is made to revolve on the axis of the wheel, long enough to reach to the lower level. this is furnished with brazen buckets, each holding about a _congius_. then by turning the wheel, the chain also turns upon the axis and brings the buckets to the top thereof, on passing which they are inverted and pour into the conduits the water they have raised." [ ] this description certainly does not correspond in every particular with the illustration. [ ] there is a certain deficiency in the hydraulics of this machine. [ ] the dimensions given in this description for the various members do not tally. [ ] _melibocian_,--the harz. [ ] in the original text this is given as "lower," and appears to be an error. [ ] pliny (xxxi, ). "in deep wells, the occurrence of _sulphurata_ or _aluminosa_ vapor is fatal to the diggers. the presence of this peril is shown if a lighted lamp let down into the well is extinguished. if so, other wells are sunk to the right and left, which carry off these noxious gases. apart from these evils, the air itself becomes noxious with depth, which can be remedied by constantly shaking linen cloths, thus setting the air in motion." [ ] this is given in the german translation as _kobelt_. the _kobelt_ (or _cobaltum_ of agricola) was probably arsenical-cobalt, a mineral common in the saxon mines. the origin of the application of the word cobalt to a mineral appears to lie in the german word for the gnomes and goblins (_kobelts_) so universal to saxon miners' imaginations,--this word in turn probably being derived from the greek _cobali_ (mimes). the suffering described above seems to have been associated with the malevolence of demons, and later the word for these demons was attached to this disagreeable ore. a quaint series of mining "sermons," by johann mathesius, entitled _sarepta oder bergpostill_, nürnberg, , contains the following passage (p. ) which bears out this view. we retain the original and varied spelling of cobalt and also add another view of mathesius, involving an experience of solomon and hiram of tyre with some mines containing cobalt. "sometimes, however, from dry hard veins a certain black, greenish, grey or ash-coloured earth is dug out, often containing good ore, and this mineral being burnt gives strong fumes and is extracted like 'tutty.' it is called _cadmia fossilis_. you miners call it _cobelt_. germans call the black devil and the old devil's furies, old and black _cobel_, who injure people and their cattle with their witchcrafts. now the devil is a wicked, malicious spirit, who shoots his poisoned darts into the hearts of men, as sorcerers and witches shoot at the limbs of cattle and men, and work much evil and mischief with _cobalt_ or _hipomane_ or horses' poison. after quicksilver and _rotgültigen_ ore, are _cobalt_ and _wismuth_ fumes; these are the most poisonous of the metals, and with them one can kill flies, mice, cattle, birds, and men. so, fresh _cobalt_ and _kisswasser_ (vitriol?) devour the hands and feet of miners, and the dust and fumes of _cobalt_ kill many mining people and workpeople who do much work among the fumes of the smelters. whether or not the devil and his hellish crew gave their name to _cobelt_, or _kobelt_, nevertheless, _cobelt_ is a poisonous and injurious metal even if it contains silver. i find in i. kings , the word _cabul_. when solomon presented twenty towns in galilee to the king of tyre, hiram visited them first, and would not have them, and said the land was well named _cabul_ as joshua had christened it. it is certain from joshua that these twenty towns lay in the kingdom of aser, not far from our _sarepta_, and that there had been iron and copper mines there, as moses says in another place. inasmuch, then, as these twenty places were mining towns, and _cobelt_ is a metal, it appears quite likely that the mineral took its name from the land of cabul. history and circumstances bear out the theory that hiram was an excellent and experienced miner, who obtained much gold from ophir, with which he honoured solomon. therefore, the great king wished to show his gratitude to his good neighbour by honouring a miner with mining towns. but because the king of tyre was skilled in mines, he first inspected the new mines, and saw that they only produced poor metal and much wild _cobelt_ ore, therefore he preferred to find his gold by digging the gold and silver in india rather than by getting it by the _cobelt_ veins and ore. for truly, _cobelt_ ores are injurious, and are usually so embedded in other ore that they rob them in the fire and consume (_madtet und frist_) much lead before the silver is extracted, and when this happens it is especially _speysig_. therefore hiram made a good reckoning as to the mines and would not undertake all the expense of working and smelting, and so returned solomon the twenty towns." [ ] pliny (xxxiii, ). "those employed in the works preparing vermilion, cover their faces with a bladder-skin, that they may not inhale the pernicious powder, yet they can see through the skin." [ ] _pompholyx_ was a furnace deposit, usually mostly zinc oxide, but often containing arsenical oxide, and to this latter quality this reference probably applies. the symptoms mentioned later in the text amply indicate arsenical poisoning, of which a sort of spherical effect on the hands is characteristic. see also note on p. for discussion of "corrosive" _cadmia_; further information on _pompholyx_ is given in note , p. . [ ] orcus, the god of the infernal regions,--otherwise pluto. [ ] caius julius solinus was an unreliable roman grammarian of the rd century. there is much difference of opinion as to the precise animal meant by _solifuga_. the word is variously spelled _solipugus, solpugus, solipuga, solipunga_, etc., and is mentioned by pliny (viii., ), and other ancient authors all apparently meaning a venomous insect, either an ant or a spider. the term in later times indicated a scorpion. [ ] the presence of demons or gnomes in the mines was so general a belief that agricola fully accepted it. this is more remarkable, in view of our author's very general scepticism regarding the supernatural. he, however, does not classify them all as bad--some being distinctly helpful. the description of gnomes of kindly intent, which is contained in the last paragraph in _de animantibus_ is of interest:-- "then there are the gentle kind which the germans as well as the greeks call cobalos, because they mimic men. they appear to laugh with glee and pretend to do much, but really do nothing. they are called little miners, because of their dwarfish stature, which is about two feet. they are venerable looking and are clothed like miners in a filleted garment with a leather apron about their loins. this kind does not often trouble the miners, but they idle about in the shafts and tunnels and really do nothing, although they pretend to be busy in all kinds of labour, sometimes digging ore, and sometimes putting into buckets that which has been dug. sometimes they throw pebbles at the workmen, but they rarely injure them unless the workmen first ridicule or curse them. they are not very dissimilar to goblins, which occasionally appear to men when they go to or from their day's work, or when they attend their cattle. because they generally appear benign to men, the germans call them _guteli_. those called _trulli_, which take the form of women as well as men, actually enter the service of some people, especially the _suions_. the mining gnomes are especially active in the workings where metal has already been found, or where there are hopes of discovering it, because of which they do not discourage the miners, but on the contrary stimulate them and cause them to labour more vigorously." the german miners were not alone in such beliefs, for miners generally accepted them--even to-day the faith in "knockers" has not entirely disappeared from cornwall. neither the sea nor the forest so lends itself to the substantiation of the supernatural as does the mine. the dead darkness, in which the miners' lamps serve only to distort every shape, the uncanny noises of restless rocks whose support has been undermined, the approach of danger and death without warning, the sudden vanishing or discovery of good fortune, all yield a thousand corroborations to minds long steeped in ignorance and prepared for the miraculous through religious teaching. [ ] the plains of laurentius extend from the mouth of the tiber southward--say twenty miles south of rome. what agricola's authority was for silver mines in this region we cannot discover. this may, however, refer to the lead-silver district of the attic peninsula, laurion being sometimes latinized as _laurium_ or _laurius_. book vii. since the sixth book has described the iron tools, the vessels and the machines used in mines, this book will describe the methods of assaying[ ] ores; because it is desirable to first test them in order that the material mined may be advantageously smelted, or that the dross may be purged away and the metal made pure. although writers have mentioned such tests, yet none of them have set down the directions for performing them, wherefore it is no wonder that those who come later have written nothing on the subject. by tests of this kind miners can determine with certainty whether ores contain any metal in them or not; or if it has already been indicated that the ore contains one or more metals, the tests show whether it is much or little; the miners also ascertain by such tests the method by which the metal can be separated from that part of the ore devoid of it; and further, by these tests, they determine that part in which there is much metal from that part in which there is little. unless these tests have been carefully applied before the metals are melted out, the ore cannot be smelted without great loss to the owners, for the parts which do not easily melt in the fire carry the metals off with them or consume them. in the last case, they pass off with the fumes; in the other case they are mixed with the slag and furnace accretions, and in such event the owners lose the labour which they have spent in preparing the furnaces and the crucibles, and further, it is necessary for them to incur fresh expenditure for fluxes and other things. metals, when they have been melted out, are usually assayed in order that we may ascertain what proportion of silver is in a _centumpondium_ of copper or lead, or what quantity of gold is in one _libra_ of silver; and, on the other hand, what proportion of copper or lead is contained in a _centumpondium_ of silver, or what quantity of silver is contained in one _libra_ of gold. and from this we can calculate whether it will be worth while to separate the precious metals from the base metals, or not. further, a test of this kind shows whether coins are good or are debased; and readily detects silver, if the coiners have mixed more than is lawful with the gold; or copper, if the coiners have alloyed with the gold or silver more of it than is allowable. i will explain all these methods with the utmost care that i can. the method of assaying ore used by mining people, differs from smelting only by the small amount of material used. inasmuch as, by smelting a small quantity, they learn whether the smelting of a large quantity will compensate them for their expenditure; hence, if they are not particular to employ assays, they may, as i have already said, sometimes smelt the metal from the ore with a loss or sometimes without any profit; for they can assay the ore at a very small expense, and smelt it only at a great expense. both processes, however, are carried out in the same way, for just as we assay ore in a little furnace, so do we smelt it in the large furnace. also in both cases charcoal and not wood is burned. moreover, in the crucible when metals are tested, be they gold, silver, copper, or lead, they are mixed in precisely the same way as they are mixed in the blast furnace when they are smelted. further, those who assay ores with fire, either pour out the metal in a liquid state, or, when it has cooled, break the crucible and clean the metal from slag; and in the same way the smelter, as soon as the metal flows from the furnace into the forehearth, pours in cold water and takes the slag from the metal with a hooked bar. finally, in the same way that gold and silver are separated from lead in a cupel, so also are they separated in the cupellation furnace. it is necessary that the assayer who is testing ore or metals should be prepared and instructed in all things necessary in assaying, and that he should close the doors of the room in which the assay furnace stands, lest anyone coming at an inopportune moment might disturb his thoughts when they are intent on the work. it is also necessary for him to place his balances in a case, so that when he weighs the little buttons of metal the scales may not be agitated by a draught of air, for that is a hindrance to his work. [illustration a (muffle furnace): round assay furnace.] [illustration b (muffle furnace): rectangular assay furnace.] [illustration (muffle assay furnace): a--openings in the plate. b--part of plate which projects beyond the furnace.] now i will describe the different things which are necessary in assaying, beginning with the assay furnace, of which one differs from another in shape, material, and the place in which it is set. in shape, they may be round or rectangular, the latter shape being more suited to assaying ores. the materials of the assay furnaces differ, in that one is made of bricks, another of iron, and certain ones of clay. the one of bricks is built on a chimney-hearth which is three and a half feet high; the iron one is placed in the same position, and also the one of clay. the brick one is a cubit high, a foot wide on the inside, and one foot two digits long; at a point five digits above the hearth--which is usually the thickness of an unbaked[ ] brick--an iron plate is laid, and smeared over with lute on the upper side to prevent it from being injured by the fire; in front of the furnace above the plate is a mouth a palm high, five digits wide, and rounded at the top. the iron plate has three openings which are one digit wide and three digits long, one is at each side and the third at the back; through them sometimes the ash falls from the burning charcoal, and sometimes the draught blows through the chamber which is below the iron plate, and stimulates the fire. for this reason this furnace when used by metallurgists is named from assaying, but when used by the alchemists it is named from the wind[ ]. the part of the iron plate which projects from the furnace is generally three-quarters of a palm long and a palm wide; small pieces of charcoal, after being laid thereon, can be placed quickly in the furnace through its mouth with a pair of tongs, or again, if necessary, can be taken out of the furnace and laid there. the iron assay furnace is made of four iron bars a foot and a half high; which at the bottom are bent outward and broadened a short distance to enable them to stand more firmly; the front part of the furnace is made from two of these bars, and the back part from two of them; to these bars on both sides are joined and welded three iron cross-bars, the first at a height of a palm from the bottom, the second at a height of a foot, and the third at the top. the upright bars are perforated at that point where the side cross-bars are joined to them, in order that three similar iron bars on the remaining sides can be engaged in them; thus there are twelve cross-bars, which make three stages at unequal intervals. at the lower stage, the upright bars are distant from each other one foot and five digits; and at the middle stage the front is distant from the back three palms and one digit, and the sides are distant from each other three palms and as many digits; at the highest stage from the front to the back there is a distance of two palms, and between the sides three palms, so that in this way the furnace becomes narrower at the top. furthermore, an iron rod, bent to the shape of the mouth, is set into the lowest bar of the front; this mouth, just like that of the brick furnace, is a palm high and five digits wide. then the front cross-bar of the lower stage is perforated on each side of the mouth, and likewise the back one; through these perforations there pass two iron rods, thus making altogether four bars in the lower stage, and these support an iron plate smeared with lute; part of this plate also projects outside the furnace. the outside of the furnace from the lower stage to the upper, is covered with iron plates, which are bound to the bars by iron wires, and smeared with lute to enable them to bear the heat of the fire as long as possible. as for the clay furnace, it must be made of fat, thick clay, medium so far as relates to its softness or hardness. this furnace has exactly the same height as the iron one, and its base is made of two earthenware tiles, one foot and three palms long and one foot and one palm wide. each side of the fore part of both tiles is gradually cut away for the length of a palm, so that they are half a foot and a digit wide, which part projects from the furnace; the tiles are about a digit and a half thick. the walls are similarly of clay, and are set on the lower tiles at a distance of a digit from the edge, and support the upper tiles; the walls are three digits high and have four openings, each of which is about three digits high; those of the back part and of each side are five digits wide, and of the front, a palm and a half wide, to enable the freshly made cupels to be conveniently placed on the hearth, when it has been thoroughly warmed, that they may be dried there. both tiles are bound on the outer edge with iron wire, pressed into them, so that they will be less easily broken; and the tiles, not unlike the iron bed-plate, have three openings three digits long and a digit wide, in order that when the upper one on account of the heat of the fire or for some other reason has become damaged, the lower one may be exchanged and take its place. through these holes, the ashes from the burning charcoal, as i have stated, fall down, and air blows into the furnace after passing through the openings in the walls of the chamber. the furnace is rectangular, and inside at the lower part it is three palms and one digit wide and three palms and as many digits long. at the upper part it is two palms and three digits wide, so that it also grows narrower; it is one foot high; in the middle of the back it is cut out at the bottom in the shape of a semicircle, of half a digit radius. not unlike the furnace before described, it has in its forepart a mouth which is rounded at the top, one palm high and a palm and a digit wide. its door is also made of clay, and this has a window and a handle; even the lid of the furnace which is made of clay has its own handle, fastened on with iron wire. the outer parts and sides of this furnace are bound with iron wires, which are usually pressed in, in the shape of triangles. the brick furnaces must remain stationary; the clay and iron ones can be carried from one place to another. those of brick can be prepared more quickly, while those of iron are more lasting, and those of clay are more suitable. assayers also make temporary furnaces in another way; they stand three bricks on a hearth, one on each side and a third one at the back, the forepart lies open to the draught, and on these bricks is placed an iron plate, upon which they again stand three bricks, which hold and retain the charcoal. the setting of one furnace differs from another, in that some are placed higher and others lower; that one is placed higher, in which the man who is assaying the ore or metals introduces the scorifier through the mouth with the tongs; that one is placed lower, into which he introduces the crucible through its open top. [illustration (crucible assay furnace): a--iron hoop. b--double bellows. c--its nozzle. d--lever.] in some cases the assayer uses an iron hoop[ ] in place of a furnace; this is placed upon the hearth of a chimney, the lower edge being daubed with lute to prevent the blast of the bellows from escaping under it. if the blast is given slowly, the ore will be smelted and the copper will melt in the triangular crucible, which is placed in it and taken away again with the tongs. the hoop is two palms high and half a digit thick; its diameter is generally one foot and one palm, and where the blast from the bellows enters into it, it is notched out. the bellows is a double one, such as goldworkers use, and sometimes smiths. in the middle of the bellows there is a board in which there is an air-hole, five digits wide and seven long, covered by a little flap which is fastened over the air-hole on the lower side of the board; this flap is of equal length and width. the bellows, without its head, is three feet long, and at the back is one foot and one palm wide and somewhat rounded, and it is three palms wide at the head; the head itself is three palms long and two palms and a digit wide at the part where it joins the boards, then it gradually becomes narrower. the nozzle, of which there is only one, is one foot and two digits long; this nozzle, and one-half of the head in which the nozzle is fixed, are placed in an opening of the wall, this being one foot and one palm thick; it reaches only to the iron hoop on the hearth, for it does not project beyond the wall. the hide of the bellows is fixed to the bellows-boards with its own peculiar kind of iron nails. it joins both bellows-boards to the head, and over it there are cross strips of hide fixed to the bellows-boards with broad-headed nails, and similarly fixed to the head. the middle board of the bellows rests on an iron bar, to which it is fastened with iron nails clinched on both ends, so that it cannot move; the iron bar is fixed between two upright posts, through which it penetrates. higher up on these upright posts there is a wooden axle, with iron journals which revolve in the holes in the posts. in the middle of this axle there is mortised a lever, fixed with iron nails to prevent it from flying out; the lever is five and a half feet long, and its posterior end is engaged in the iron ring of an iron rod which reaches to the "tail" of the lowest bellows-board, and there engages another similar ring. and so when the workman pulls down the lever, the lower part of the bellows is raised and drives the wind into the nozzle; then the wind, penetrating through the hole in the middle bellows-board, which is called the air-hole, lifts up the upper part of the bellows, upon whose upper board is a piece of lead, heavy enough to press down that part of the bellows again, and this being pressed down blows a blast through the nozzle. this is the principle of the double bellows, which is peculiar to the iron hoop where are placed the triangular crucibles in which copper ore is smelted and copper is melted. [illustration (muffles): a--broad little windows of muffle. b--narrow ones. c--openings in the back thereof.] i have spoken of the furnaces and the iron hoop; i will now speak of the muffles and the crucibles. the muffle is made of clay, in the shape of an inverted gutter tile; it covers the scorifiers, lest coal dust fall into them and interfere with the assay. it is a palm and a half broad, and the height, which corresponds with the mouth of the furnace, is generally a palm, and it is nearly as long as the furnace; only at the front end does it touch the mouth of the furnace, everywhere else on the sides and at the back there is a space of three digits, to allow the charcoal to lie in the open space between it and the furnace. the muffle is as thick as a fairly thick earthen jar; its upper part is entire; the back has two little windows, and each side has two or three or even four, through which the heat passes into the scorifiers and melts the ore. in place of little windows, some muffles have small holes, ten in the back and more on each side. moreover, in the back below the little windows, or small holes, there are cut away three semi-circular notches half a digit high, and on each side there are four. the back of the muffle is generally a little lower than the front. [illustration (containers): a--scorifier. b--triangular crucible. c--cupel.] the crucibles differ in the materials from which they are made, because they are made of either clay or ashes; and those of clay, which we also call "earthen," differ in shape and size. some are made in the shape of a moderately thick salver (scorifiers), three digits wide, and of a capacity of an _uncia_ measure; in these the ore mixed with fluxes is melted, and they are used by those who assay gold or silver ore. some are triangular and much thicker and more capacious, holding five, or six, or even more _unciae_; in these copper is melted, so that it can be poured out, expanded, and tested with fire, and in these copper ore is usually melted. the cupels are made of ashes; like the preceding scorifiers they are tray-shaped, and their lower part is very thick but their capacity is less. in these lead is separated from silver, and by them assays are concluded. inasmuch as the assayers themselves make the cupels, something must be said about the material from which they are made, and the method of making them. some make them out of all kinds of ordinary ashes; these are not good, because ashes of this kind contain a certain amount of fat, whereby such cupels are easily broken when they are hot. others make them likewise out of any kind of ashes which have been previously leached; of this kind are the ashes into which warm water has been infused for the purpose of making lye. these ashes, after being dried in the sun or a furnace, are sifted in a hair sieve; and although warm water washes away the fat from the ashes, still the cupels which are made from such ashes are not very good because they often contain charcoal dust, sand, and pebbles. some make them in the same way out of any kind of ashes, but first of all pour water into the ashes and remove the scum which floats thereon; then, after it has become clear, they pour away the water, and dry the ashes; they then sift them and make the cupels from them. these, indeed, are good, but not of the best quality, because ashes of this kind are also not devoid of small pebbles and sand. to enable cupels of the best quality to be made, all the impurities must be removed from the ashes. these impurities are of two kinds; the one sort light, to which class belong charcoal dust and fatty material and other things which float in water, the other sort heavy, such as small stones, fine sand, and any other materials which settle in the bottom of a vessel. therefore, first of all, water should be poured into the ashes and the light impurities removed; then the ashes should be kneaded with the hands, so that they will become properly mixed with the water. when the water has become muddy and turbid, it should be poured into a second vessel. in this way the small stones and fine sand, or any other heavy substance which may be there, remain in the first vessel, and should be thrown away. when all the ashes have settled in this second vessel, which will be shown if the water has become clear and does not taste of the flavour of lye, the water should be thrown away, and the ashes which have settled in the vessel should be dried in the sun or in a furnace. this material is suitable for the cupels, especially if it is the ash of beech wood or other wood which has a small annual growth; those ashes made from twigs and limbs of vines, which have rapid annual growth, are not so good, for the cupels made from them, since they are not sufficiently dry, frequently crack and break in the fire and absorb the metals. if ashes of beech or similar wood are not to be had, the assayer makes little balls of such ashes as he can get, after they have been cleared of impurities in the manner before described, and puts them in a baker's or potter's oven to burn, and from these the cupels are made, because the fire consumes whatever fat or damp there may be. as to all kinds of ashes, the older they are the better, for it is necessary that they should have the greatest possible dryness. for this reason ashes obtained from burned bones, especially from the bones of the heads of animals, are the most suitable for cupels, as are also those ashes obtained from the horns of deer and the spines of fishes. lastly, some take the ashes which are obtained from burnt scrapings of leather, when the tanners scrape the hides to clear them from hair. some prefer to use compounds, that one being recommended which has one and a half parts of ashes from the bones of animals or the spines of fishes, and one part of beech ashes, and half a part of ashes of burnt hide scrapings. from this mixture good cupels are made, though far better ones are obtained from equal portions of ashes of burnt hide scrapings, ashes of the bones of heads of sheep and calves, and ashes of deer horns. but the best of all are produced from deer horns alone, burnt to powder; this kind, by reason of its extreme dryness, absorbs metals least of all. assayers of our own day, however, generally make the cupels from beech ashes. these ashes, after being prepared in the manner just described, are first of all sprinkled with beer or water, to make them stick together, and are then ground in a small mortar. they are ground again after being mixed with the ashes obtained from the skulls of beasts or from the spines of fishes; the more the ashes are ground the better they are. some rub bricks and sprinkle the dust so obtained, after sifting it, into the beech ashes, for dust of this kind does not allow the hearth-lead to absorb the gold or silver by eating away the cupels. others, to guard against the same thing, moisten the cupels with white of egg after they have been made, and when they have been dried in the sun, again crush them; especially if they want to assay in it an ore of copper which contains iron. some moisten the ashes again and again with cow's milk, and dry them, and grind them in a small mortar, and then mould the cupels. in the works in which silver is separated from copper, they make cupels from two parts of the ashes of the crucible of the cupellation furnace, for these ashes are very dry, and from one part of bone-ash. cupels which have been made in these ways also need to be placed in the sun or in a furnace; afterward, in whatever way they have been made, they must be kept a long time in dry places, for the older they are, the dryer and better they are. [illustration (cupel moulds and pestles): a--little mould. b--inverted mould. c--pestle. d--its knob. e--second pestle.] not only potters, but also the assayers themselves, make scorifiers and triangular crucibles. they make them out of fatty clay, which is dry[ ], and neither hard nor soft. with this clay they mix the dust of old broken crucibles, or of burnt and worn bricks; then they knead with a pestle the clay thus mixed with dust, and then dry it. as to these crucibles, the older they are, the dryer and better they are. the moulds in which the cupels are moulded are of two kinds, that is, a smaller size and a larger size. in the smaller ones are made the cupels in which silver or gold is purged from the lead which has absorbed it; in the larger ones are made cupels in which silver is separated from copper and lead. both moulds are made out of brass and have no bottom, in order that the cupels can be taken out of them whole. the pestles also are of two kinds, smaller and larger, each likewise of brass, and from the lower end of them there projects a round knob, and this alone is pressed into the mould and makes the hollow part of the cupel. the part which is next to the knob corresponds to the upper part of the mould. so much for these matters. i will now speak of the preparation of the ore for assaying. it is prepared by roasting, burning, crushing, and washing. it is necessary to take a fixed weight of ore in order that one may determine how great a portion of it these preparations consume. the hard stone containing the metal is burned in order that, when its hardness has been overcome, it can be crushed and washed; indeed, the very hardest kind, before it is burned, is sprinkled with vinegar, in order that it may more rapidly soften in the fire. the soft stone should be broken with a hammer, crushed in a mortar and reduced to powder; then it should be washed and then dried again. if earth is mixed with the mineral, it is washed in a basin, and that which settles is assayed in the fire after it is dried. all mining products which are washed must again be dried. but ore which is rich in metal is neither burned nor crushed nor washed, but is roasted, lest that method of preparation should lose some of the metal. when the fires have been kindled, this kind of ore is roasted in an enclosed pot, which is stopped up with lute. a less valuable ore is even burned on a hearth, being placed upon the charcoal; for we do not make a great expenditure upon metals, if they are not worth it. however, i will go into fuller details as to all these methods of preparing ore, both a little later, and in the following book. for the present, i have decided to explain those things which mining people usually call fluxes[ ] because they are added to ores, not only for assaying, but also for smelting. great power is discovered in all these fluxes, but we do not see the same effects produced in every case; and some are of a very complicated nature. for when they have been mixed with the ore and are melted in either the assay or the smelting furnace, some of them, because they melt easily, to some extent melt the ore; others, because they either make the ore very hot or penetrate into it, greatly assist the fire in separating the impurities from the metals, and they also mix the fused part with the lead, or they partly protect from the fire the ore whose metal contents would be either consumed in the fire, or carried up with the fumes and fly out of the furnace; some fluxes absorb the metals. to the first order belongs lead, whether it be reduced to little granules or resolved into ash by fire, or red-lead[ ], or ochre made from lead[ ], or litharge, or hearth-lead, or galena; also copper, the same either roasted or in leaves or filings[ ]; also the slags of gold, silver, copper, and lead; also soda[ ], its slags, saltpetre, burned alum, vitriol, _sal tostus_, and melted salt[ ]; stones which easily melt in hot furnaces, the sand which is made from them[ ]; soft _tophus_[ ], and a certain white schist[ ]. but lead, its ashes, red-lead, ochre, and litharge, are more efficacious for ores which melt easily; hearth-lead for those which melt with difficulty; and galena for those which melt with greater difficulty. to the second order belong iron filings, their slag, _sal artificiosus_, argol, dried lees of vinegar[ ], and the lees of the _aqua_ which separates gold from silver[ ]; these lees and _sal artificiosus_ have the power of penetrating into ore, the argol to a considerable degree, the lees of vinegar to a greater degree, but most of all those of the _aqua_ which separates gold from silver; filings and slags of iron, since they melt more slowly, have the power of heating the ore. to the third order belong pyrites, the cakes which are melted from them, soda, its slags, salt, iron, iron scales, iron filings, iron slags, vitriol, the sand which is resolved from stones which easily melt in the fire, and _tophus_; but first of all are pyrites and the cakes which are melted from it, for they absorb the metals of the ore and guard them from the fire which consumes them. to the fourth order belong lead and copper, and their relations. and so with regard to fluxes, it is manifest that some are natural, others fall in the category of slags, and the rest are purged from slag. when we assay ores, we can without great expense add to them a small portion of any sort of flux, but when we smelt them we cannot add a large portion without great expense. we must, therefore, consider how great the cost is, to avoid incurring a greater expense on smelting an ore than the profit we make out of the metals which it yields. the colour of the fumes which the ore emits after being placed on a hot shovel or an iron plate, indicates what flux is needed in addition to the lead, for the purpose of either assaying or smelting. if the fumes have a purple tint, it is best of all, and the ore does not generally require any flux whatever. if the fumes are blue, there should be added cakes melted out of pyrites or other cupriferous rock; if yellow, litharge and sulphur should be added; if red, glass-galls[ ] and salt; if green, then cakes melted from cupriferous stones, litharge, and glass-galls; if the fumes are black, melted salt or iron slag, litharge and white lime rock. if they are white, sulphur and iron which is eaten with rust; if they are white with green patches, iron slag and sand obtained from stones which easily melt; if the middle part of the fumes are yellow and thick, but the outer parts green, the same sand and iron slag. the colour of the fumes not only gives us information as to the proper remedies which should be applied to each ore, but also more or less indication as to the solidified juices which are mixed with it, and which give forth such fumes. generally, blue fumes signify that the ore contains azure yellow, orpiment; red, realgar; green, chrysocolla; black, black bitumen; white, tin[ ]; white with green patches, the same mixed with chrysocolla; the middle part yellow and other parts green show that it contains sulphur. earth, however, and other things dug up which contain metals, sometimes emit similarly coloured fumes. if the ore contains any _stibium_, then iron slag is added to it; if pyrites, then are added cakes melted from a cupriferous stone and sand made from stones which easily melt. if the ore contains iron, then pyrites and sulphur are added; for just as iron slag is the flux for an ore mixed with sulphur, so on the contrary, to a gold or silver ore containing iron, from which they are not easily separated, is added sulphur and sand made from stones which easily melt. _sal artificiosus_[ ] suitable for use in assaying ore is made in many ways. by the first method, equal portions of argol, lees of vinegar, and urine, are all boiled down together till turned into salt. the second method is from equal portions of the ashes which wool-dyers use, of lime, of argol purified, and of melted salt; one _libra_ of each of these ingredients is thrown into twenty _librae_ of urine; then all are boiled down to one-third and strained, and afterward there is added to what remains one _libra_ and four _unciae_ of unmelted salt, eight pounds of lye being at the same time poured into the pots, with litharge smeared around on the inside, and the whole is boiled till the salt becomes thoroughly dry. the third method follows. unmelted salt, and iron which is eaten with rust, are put into a vessel, and after urine has been poured in, it is covered with a lid and put in a warm place for thirty days; then the iron is washed in the urine and taken out, and the residue is boiled until it is turned into salt. in the fourth method by which _sal artificiosus_ is prepared, the lye made from equal portions of lime and the ashes which wool-dyers use, together with equal portions of salt, soap, white argol, and saltpetre, are boiled until in the end the mixture evaporates and becomes salt. this salt is mixed with the concentrates from washing, to melt them. saltpetre is prepared in the following manner, in order that it may be suitable for use in assaying ore. it is placed in a pot which is smeared on the inside with litharge, and lye made of quicklime is repeatedly poured over it, and it is heated until the fire consumes it. wherefore the saltpetre does not kindle with the fire, since it has absorbed the lime which preserves it, and thus it is prepared[ ]. the following compositions[ ] are recommended to smelt all ores which the heat of fire breaks up or melts only with difficulty. of these, one is made from stones of the third order, which easily melt when thrown into hot furnaces. they are crushed into pure white powder, and with half an _uncia_ of this powder there are mixed two _unciae_ of yellow litharge, likewise crushed. this mixture is put into a scorifier large enough to hold it, and placed under the muffle of a hot furnace; when the charge flows like water, which occurs after half an hour, it is taken out of the furnace and poured on to a stone, and when it has hardened it has the appearance of glass, and this is likewise crushed. this powder is sprinkled over any metalliferous ore which does not easily melt when we are assaying it, and it causes the slag to exude. others, in place of litharge, substitute lead ash,[ ] which is made in the following way: sulphur is thrown into lead which has been melted in a crucible, and it soon becomes covered with a sort of scum; when this is removed, sulphur is again thrown in, and the skin which forms is again taken off; this is frequently repeated, in fact until all the lead is turned into powder. there is a powerful flux compound which is made from one _uncia_ each of prepared saltpetre, melted salt, glass-gall, and argol, and one-third of an _uncia_ of litharge and a _bes_ of glass ground to powder; this flux, being added to an equal weight of ore, liquefies it. a more powerful flux is made by placing together in a pot, smeared on the inside with litharge, equal portions of white argol, common salt, and prepared saltpetre, and these are heated until a white powder is obtained from them, and this is mixed with as much litharge; one part of this compound is mixed with two parts of the ore which is to be assayed. a still more powerful flux than this is made out of ashes of black lead, saltpetre, orpiment, _stibium_, and dried lees of the _aqua_ with which gold workers separate gold from silver. the ashes of lead[ ] are made from one pound of lead and one pound of sulphur; the lead is flattened out into sheets by pounding with a hammer, and placed alternately with sulphur in a crucible or pot, and they are heated together until the fire consumes the sulphur and the lead turns to ashes. one _libra_ of crushed saltpetre is mixed with one _libra_ of orpiment similarly ground to powder, and the two are cooked in an iron pan until they liquefy; they are then poured out, and after cooling are again ground to powder. a _libra_ of _stibium_ and a _bes_ of the dried lees (_of what?_) are placed alternately in a crucible and heated to the point at which they form a button, which is similarly reduced to powder. a _bes_ of this powder and one _libra_ of the ashes of lead, as well as a _libra_ of powder made out of the saltpetre and orpiment, are mixed together and a powder is made from them, one part of which added to two parts of ore liquefies it and cleanses it of dross. but the most powerful flux is one which has two _drachmae_ of sulphur and as much glass-galls, and half an _uncia_ of each of the following,--_stibium_, salt obtained from boiled urine, melted common salt, prepared saltpetre, litharge, vitriol, argol, salt obtained from ashes of musk ivy, dried lees of the _aqua_ by which gold-workers separate gold from silver, alum reduced by fire to powder, and one _uncia_ of camphor[ ] combined with sulphur and ground into powder. a half or whole portion of this mixture, as the necessity of the case requires, is mixed with one portion of the ore and two portions of lead, and put in a scorifier; it is sprinkled with powder of crushed venetian glass, and when the mixture has been heated for an hour and a half or two hours, a button will settle in the bottom of the scorifier, and from it the lead is soon separated. there is also a flux which separates sulphur, orpiment and realgar from metalliferous ore. this flux is composed of equal portions of iron slag, white _tophus_, and salt. after these juices have been secreted, the ores themselves are melted, with argol added to them. there is one flux which preserves _stibium_ from the fire, that the fire may not consume it, and which preserves the metals from the _stibium_; and this is composed of equal portions of sulphur, prepared saltpetre, melted salt, and vitriol, heated together in lye until no odour emanates from the sulphur, which occurs after a space of three or four hours.[ ] it is also worth while to substitute certain other mixtures. take two portions of ore properly prepared, one portion of iron filings, and likewise one portion of salt, and mix; then put them into a scorifier and place them in a muffle furnace; when they are reduced by the fire and run together, a button will settle in the bottom of the scorifier. or else take equal portions of ore and of lead ochre, and mix with them a small quantity of iron filings, and put them into a scorifier, then scatter iron filings over the mixture. or else take ore which has been ground to powder and sprinkle it in a crucible, and then sprinkle over it an equal quantity of salt that has been three or four times moistened with urine and dried; then, again and again alternately, powdered ore and salt; next, after the crucible has been covered with a lid and sealed, it is placed upon burning charcoal. or else take one portion of ore, one portion of minute lead granules, half a portion of venetian glass, and the same quantity of glass-galls. or else take one portion of ore, one portion of lead granules, half a portion of salt, one-fourth of a portion of argol, and the same quantity of lees of the _aqua_ which separates gold from silver. or else take equal portions of prepared ore and a powder in which there are equal portions of very minute lead granules, melted salt, _stibium_ and iron slag. or else take equal portions of gold ore, vitriol, argol, and of salt. so much for the fluxes. in the assay furnace, when it has been prepared in the way in which i have described, is first placed a muffle. then selected pieces of live charcoals are laid on it, for, from pieces of inferior quality, a great quantity of ash collects around the muffle and hinders the action of the fire. then the scorifiers are placed under the muffle with tongs, and glowing coals are placed under the fore part of the muffle to warm the scorifiers more quickly; and when the lead or ore is to be placed in the scorifiers, they are taken out again with the tongs. when the scorifiers glow in the heat, first of all the ash or small charcoals, if any have fallen into them, should be blown away with an iron pipe two feet long and a digit in diameter; this same thing must be done if ash or small coal has fallen into the cupels. next, put in a small ball of lead with the tongs, and when this lead has begun to be turned into fumes and consumed, add to it the prepared ore wrapped in paper. it is preferable that the assayer should wrap it in paper, and in this way put it in the scorifier, than that he should drop it in with a copper ladle; for when the scorifiers are small, if he uses a ladle he frequently spills some part of the ore. when the paper is burnt, he stirs the ore with a small charcoal held in the tongs, so that the lead may absorb the metal which is mixed in the ore; when this mixture has taken place, the slag partly adheres by its circumference to the scorifier and makes a kind of black ring, and partly floats on the lead in which is mixed the gold or silver; then the slag must be removed from it. the lead used must be entirely free from every trace of silver, as is that which is known as _villacense_.[ ] but if this kind is not obtainable, the lead must be assayed separately, to determine with certainty that proportion of silver it contains, so that it may be deducted from the calculation of the ore, and the result be exact; for unless such lead be used, the assay will be false and misleading. the lead balls are made with a pair of iron tongs, about one foot long; its iron claws are so formed that when pressed together they are egg-shaped; each claw contains a hollow cup, and when the claws are closed there extends upward from the cup a passage, so there are two openings, one of which leads to each hollow cup. and so when the molten lead is poured in through the openings, it flows down into the hollow cup, and two balls are formed by one pouring. in this place i ought not to omit mention of another method of assaying employed by some assayers. they first of all place prepared ore in the scorifiers and heat it, and afterward they add the lead. of this method i cannot approve, for in this way the ore frequently becomes cemented, and for this reason it does not stir easily afterward, and is very slow in mixing with the lead. [illustration a (tongs): a--claws of the tongs. b--iron, giving form of an egg. c--opening.] if the whole space of the furnace covered by the muffle is not filled with scorifiers, cupels are put in the empty space, in order that they may become warmed in the meantime. sometimes, however, it is filled with scorifiers, when we are assaying many different ores, or many portions of one ore at the same time. although the cupels are usually dried in one hour, yet smaller ones are done more quickly, and the larger ones more slowly. unless the cupels are heated before the metal mixed with lead is placed in them, they frequently break, and the lead always sputters and sometimes leaps out of them; if the cupel is broken or the lead leaps out of it, it is necessary to assay another portion of ore; but if the lead only sputters, then the cupels should be covered with broad thin pieces of glowing charcoal, and when the lead strikes these, it falls back again, and thus the mixture is slowly exhaled. further, if in the cupellation the lead which is in the mixture is not consumed, but remains fixed and set, and is covered by a kind of skin, this is a sign that it has not been heated by a sufficiently hot fire; put into the mixture, therefore, a dry pine stick, or a twig of a similar tree, and hold it in the hand in order that it can be drawn away when it has been heated. then take care that the heat is sufficient and equal; if the heat has not passed all round the charge, as it should when everything is done rightly, but causes it to have a lengthened shape, so that it appears to have a tail, this is a sign that the heat is deficient where the tail lies. then in order that the cupel may be equally heated by the fire, turn it around with a small iron hook, whose handle is likewise made of iron and is a foot and a half long. [illustration b (hook): small iron hook.] next, if the mixture has not enough lead, add as much of it as is required with the iron tongs, or with the brass ladle to which is fastened a very long handle. in order that the charge may not be cooled, warm the lead beforehand. but it is better at first to add as much lead as is required to the ore which needs melting, rather than afterward when the melting has been half finished, that the whole quantity may not vanish in fumes, but part of it remain fast. when the heat of the fire has nearly consumed the lead, then is the time when the gold and silver gleam in their varied colours, and when all the lead has been consumed the gold or silver settles in the cupel. then as soon as possible remove the cupel out of the furnace, and take the button out of it while it is still warm, in order that it does not adhere to the ashes. this generally happens if the button is already cold when it is taken out. if the ashes do adhere to it, do not scrape it with a knife, lest some of it be lost and the assay be erroneous, but squeeze it with the iron tongs, so that the ashes drop off through the pressure. finally, it is of advantage to make two or three assays of the same ore at the same time, in order that if by chance one is not successful, the second, or in any event the third, may be certain. [illustration (shield for muffle furnace): a--handle of tablet. b--its crack.] while the assayer is assaying the ore, in order to prevent the great heat of the fire from injuring his eyes, it will be useful for him always to have ready a thin wooden tablet, two palms wide, with a handle by which it may be held, and with a slit down the middle in order that he may look through it as through a crack, since it is necessary for him to look frequently within and carefully to consider everything. now the lead which has absorbed the silver from a metallic ore is consumed in the cupel by the heat in the space of three quarters of an hour. when the assays are completed the muffle is taken out of the furnace, and the ashes removed with an iron shovel, not only from the brick and iron furnaces, but also from the earthen one, so that the furnace need not be removed from its foundation. from ore placed in the triangular crucible a button is melted out, from which metal is afterward made. first of all, glowing charcoal is put into the iron hoop, then is put in the triangular crucible, which contains the ore together with those things which can liquefy it and purge it of its dross; then the fire is blown with the double bellows, and the ore is heated until the button settles in the bottom of the crucible. we have explained that there are two methods of assaying ore,--one, by which the lead is mixed with ore in the scorifier and afterward again separated from it in the cupel; the other, by which it is first melted in the triangular earthen crucible and afterward mixed with lead in the scorifier, and later separated from it in the cupel. now let us consider which is more suitable for each ore, or, if neither is suitable, by what other method in one way or another we can assay it. we justly begin with a gold ore, which we assay by both methods, for if it is rich and seems not to be strongly resistant to fire, but to liquefy easily, one _centumpondium_ of it (known to us as the lesser weights),[ ] together with one and a half, or two _unciae_ of lead of the larger weights, are mixed together and placed in the scorifier, and the two are heated in the fire until they are well mixed. but since such an ore sometimes resists melting, add a little salt to it, either _sal torrefactus_ or _sal artificiosus_, for this will subdue it, and prevent the alloy from collecting much dross; stir it frequently with an iron rod, in order that the lead may flow around the gold on every side, and absorb it and cast out the waste. when this has been done, take out the alloy and cleanse it of slag; then place it in the cupel and heat it until it exhales all the lead, and a bead of gold settles in the bottom. if the gold ore is seen not to be easily melted in the fire, roast it and extinguish it with brine. do this again and again, for the more often you roast it and extinguish it, the more easily the ore can be crushed fine, and the more quickly does it melt in the fire and give up whatever dross it possesses. mix one part of this ore, when it has been roasted, crushed, and washed, with three parts of some powder compound which melts ore, and six parts of lead. put the charge into the triangular crucible, place it in the iron hoop to which the double bellows reaches, and heat first in a slow fire, and afterward gradually in a fiercer fire, till it melts and flows like water. if the ore does not melt, add to it a little more of these fluxes, mixed with an equal portion of yellow litharge, and stir it with a hot iron rod until it all melts. then take the crucible out of the hoop, shake off the button when it has cooled, and when it has been cleansed, melt first in the scorifier and afterward in the cupel. finally, rub the gold which has settled in the bottom of the cupel, after it has been taken out and cooled, on the touchstone, in order to find out what proportion of silver it contains. another method is to put a _centumpondium_ (of the lesser weights) of gold ore into the triangular crucible, and add to it a _drachma_ (of the larger weights) of glass-galls. if it resists melting, add half a _drachma_ of roasted argol, and if even then it resists, add the same quantity of roasted lees of vinegar, or lees of the _aqua_ which separates gold from silver, and the button will settle in the bottom of the crucible. melt this button again in the scorifier and a third time in the cupel. we determine in the following way, before it is melted in the muffle furnace, whether pyrites contains gold in it or not: if, after being three times roasted and three times quenched in sharp vinegar, it has not broken nor changed its colour, there is gold in it. the vinegar by which it is quenched should be mixed with salt that is put in it, and frequently stirred and dissolved for three days. nor is pyrites devoid of gold, when, after being roasted and then rubbed on the touchstone, it colours the touchstone in the same way that it coloured it when rubbed in its crude state. nor is gold lacking in that, whose concentrates from washing, when heated in the fire, easily melt, giving forth little smell and remaining bright; such concentrates are heated in the fire in a hollowed piece of charcoal covered over with another charcoal. we also assay gold ore without fire, but more often its sand or the concentrates which have been made by washing, or the dust gathered up by some other means. a little of it is slightly moistened with water and heated until it begins to exhale an odour, and then to one portion of ore are placed two portions of quicksilver[ ] in a wooden dish as deep as a basin. they are mixed together with a little brine, and are then ground with a wooden pestle for the space of two hours, until the mixture becomes of the thickness of dough, and the quicksilver can no longer be distinguished from the concentrates made by the washing, nor the concentrates from the quicksilver. warm, or at least tepid, water is poured into the dish and the material is washed until the water runs out clear. afterward cold water is poured into the same dish, and soon the quicksilver, which has absorbed all the gold, runs together into a separate place away from the rest of the concentrates made by washing. the quicksilver is afterward separated from the gold by means of a pot covered with soft leather, or with canvas made of woven threads of cotton; the amalgam is poured into the middle of the cloth or leather, which sags about one hand's breadth; next, the leather is folded over and tied with a waxed string, and the dish catches the quicksilver which is squeezed through it. as for the gold which remains in the leather, it is placed in a scorifier and purified by being placed near glowing coals. others do not wash away the dirt with warm water, but with strong lye and vinegar, for they pour these liquids into the pot, and also throw into it the quicksilver mixed with the concentrates made by washing. then they set the pot in a warm place, and after twenty-four hours pour out the liquids with the dirt, and separate the quicksilver from the gold in the manner which i have described. then they pour urine into a jar set in the ground, and in the jar place a pot with holes in the bottom, and in the pot they place the gold; then the lid is put on and cemented, and it is joined with the jar; they afterward heat it till the pot glows red. after it has cooled, if there is copper in the gold they melt it with lead in a cupel, that the copper may be separated from it; but if there is silver in the gold they separate them by means of the _aqua_ which has the power of parting these two metals. there are some who, when they separate gold from quicksilver, do not pour the amalgam into a leather, but put it into a gourd-shaped earthen vessel, which they place in the furnace and heat gradually over burning charcoal; next, with an iron plate, they cover the opening of the operculum, which exudes vapour, and as soon as it has ceased to exude, they smear it with lute and heat it for a short time; then they remove the operculum from the pot, and wipe off the quicksilver which adheres to it with a hare's foot, and preserve it for future use. by the latter method, a greater quantity of quicksilver is lost, and by the former method, a smaller quantity. if an ore is rich in silver, as is _rudis_ silver[ ], frequently silver glance, or rarely ruby silver, gray silver, black silver, brown silver, or yellow silver, as soon as it is cleansed and heated, a _centumpondium_ (of the lesser weights) of it is placed in an _uncia_ of molten lead in a cupel, and is heated until the lead exhales. but if the ore is of poor or moderate quality, it must first be dried, then crushed, and then to a _centumpondium_ (of the lesser weights) an _uncia_ of lead is added, and it is heated in the scorifier until it melts. if it is not soon melted by the fire, it should be sprinkled with a little powder of the first order of fluxes, and if then it does not melt, more is added little by little until it melts and exudes its slag; that this result may be reached sooner, the powder which has been sprinkled over it should be stirred in with an iron rod. when the scorifier has been taken out of the assay furnace, the alloy should be poured into a hole in a baked brick; and when it has cooled and been cleansed of the slag, it should be placed in a cupel and heated until it exhales all its lead; the weight of silver which remains in the cupel indicates what proportion of silver is contained in the ore. we assay copper ore without lead, for if it is melted with it, the copper usually exhales and is lost. therefore, a certain weight of such an ore is first roasted in a hot fire for about six or eight hours; next, when it has cooled, it is crushed and washed; then the concentrates made by washing are again roasted, crushed, washed, dried, and weighed. the portion which it has lost whilst it is being roasted and washed is taken into account, and these concentrates by washing represent the cake which will be melted out of the copper ore. place three _centumpondia_ (lesser weights) of this, mixed with three _centumpondia_ (lesser weights) each of copper scales[ ], saltpetre, and venetian glass, mixed, into the triangular crucible, and place it in the iron hoop which is set on the hearth in front of the double bellows. cover the crucible with charcoal in such a way that nothing may fall into the ore which is to be melted, and so that it may melt more quickly. at first blow a gentle blast with the bellows in order that the ore may be heated gradually in the fire; then blow strongly till it melts, and the fire consumes that which has been added to it, and the ore itself exudes whatever slag it possesses. next, cool the crucible which has been taken out, and when this is broken you will find the copper; weigh this, in order to ascertain how great a portion of the ore the fire has consumed. some ore is only once roasted, crushed, and washed; and of this kind of concentrates, three _centumpondia_ (lesser weights) are taken with one _centumpondium_ each of common salt, argol and glass-galls. heat them in the triangular crucible, and when the mixture has cooled a button of pure copper will be found, if the ore is rich in this metal. if, however, it is less rich, a stony lump results, with which the copper is intermixed; this lump is again roasted, crushed, and, after adding stones which easily melt and saltpetre, it is again melted in another crucible, and there settles in the bottom of the crucible a button of pure copper. if you wish to know what proportion of silver is in this copper button, melt it in a cupel after adding lead. with regard to this test i will speak later. those who wish to know quickly what portion of silver the copper ore contains, roast the ore, crush and wash it, then mix a little yellow litharge with one _centumpondium_ (lesser weights) of the concentrates, and put the mixture into a scorifier, which they place under the muffle in a hot furnace for the space of half an hour. when the slag exudes, by reason of the melting force which is in the litharge, they take the scorifier out; when it has cooled, they cleanse it of slag and again crush it, and with one _centumpondium_ of it they mix one and a half _unciae_ of lead granules. they then put it into another scorifier, which they place under the muffle in a hot furnace, adding to the mixture a little of the powder of some one of the fluxes which cause ore to melt; when it has melted they take it out, and after it has cooled, cleanse it of slag; lastly, they heat it in the cupel till it has exhaled all of the lead, and only silver remains. lead ore may be assayed by this method: crush half an _uncia_ of pure lead-stone and the same quantity of the _chrysocolla_ which they call borax, mix them together, place them in a crucible, and put a glowing coal in the middle of it. as soon as the borax crackles and the lead-stone melts, which soon occurs, remove the coal from the crucible, and the lead will settle to the bottom of it; weigh it out, and take account of that portion of it which the fire has consumed. if you also wish to know what portion of silver is contained in the lead, melt the lead in the cupel until all of it exhales. another way is to roast the lead ore, of whatsoever quality it be, wash it, and put into the crucible one _centumpondium_ of the concentrates, together with three _centumpondia_ of the powdered compound which melts ore, mixed together, and place it in the iron hoop that it may melt; when it has cooled, cleanse it of its slag, and complete the test as i have already said. another way is to take two _unciae_ of prepared ore, five _drachmae_ of roasted copper, one _uncia_ of glass, or glass-galls reduced to powder, a _semi-uncia_ of salt, and mix them. put the mixture into the triangular crucible, and heat it over a gentle fire to prevent it from breaking; when the mixture has melted, blow the fire vigorously with the bellows; then take the crucible off the live coals and let it cool in the open air; do not pour water on it, lest the lead button being acted upon by the excessive cold should become mixed with the slag, and the assay in this way be erroneous. when the crucible has cooled, you will find in the bottom of it the lead button. another way is to take two _unciae_ of ore, a _semi-uncia_ of litharge, two _drachmae_ of venetian glass and a _semi-uncia_ of saltpetre. if there is difficulty in melting the ore, add to it iron filings, which, since they increase the heat, easily separate the waste from lead and other metals. by the last way, lead ore properly prepared is placed in the crucible, and there is added to it only the sand made from stones which easily melt, or iron filings, and then the assay is completed as formerly. you can assay tin ore by the following method. first roast it, then crush, and afterward wash it; the concentrates are again roasted, crushed, and washed. mix one and a half _centumpondia_ of this with one _centumpondium_ of the _chrysocolla_ which they call borax; from the mixture, when it has been moistened with water, make a lump. afterwards, perforate a large round piece of charcoal, making this opening a palm deep, three digits wide on the upper side and narrower on the lower side; when the charcoal is put in its place the latter should be on the bottom and the former uppermost. let it be placed in a crucible, and let glowing coal be put round it on all sides; when the perforated piece of coal begins to burn, the lump is placed in the upper part of the opening, and it is covered with a wide piece of glowing coal, and after many pieces of coal have been put round it, a hot fire is blown up with the bellows, until all the tin has run out of the lower opening of the charcoal into the crucible. another way is to take a large piece of charcoal, hollow it out, and smear it with lute, that the ore may not leap out when white hot. next, make a small hole through the middle of it, then fill up the large opening with small charcoal, and put the ore upon this; put fire in the small hole and blow the fire with the nozzle of a hand bellows; place the piece of charcoal in a small crucible, smeared with lute, in which, when the melting is finished, you will find a button of tin. in assaying bismuth ore, place pieces of ore in the scorifier, and put it under the muffle in a hot furnace; as soon as they are heated, they drip with bismuth, which runs together into a button. quicksilver ore is usually tested by mixing one part of broken ore with three-parts of charcoal dust and a handful of salt. put the mixture into a crucible or a pot or a jar, cover it with a lid, seal it with lute, place it on glowing charcoal, and as soon as a burnt cinnabar colour shows in it, take out the vessel; for if you continue the heat too long the mixture exhales the quicksilver with the fumes. the quicksilver itself, when it has become cool, is found in the bottom of the crucible or other vessel. another way is to place broken ore in a gourd-shaped earthen vessel, put it in the assay furnace, and cover with an operculum which has a long spout; under the spout, put an ampulla to receive the quicksilver which distills. cold water should be poured into the ampulla, so that the quicksilver which has been heated by the fire may be continuously cooled and gathered together, for the quicksilver is borne over by the force of the fire, and flows down through the spout of the operculum into the ampulla. we also assay quicksilver ore in the very same way in which we smelt it. this i will explain in its proper place. lastly, we assay iron ore in the forge of a blacksmith. such ore is burned, crushed, washed, and dried; a magnet is laid over the concentrates, and the particles of iron are attracted to it; these are wiped off with a brush, and are caught in a crucible, the magnet being continually passed over the concentrates and the particles wiped off, so long as there remain any particles which the magnet can attract to it. these particles are heated in the crucible with saltpetre until they melt, and an iron button is melted out of them. if the magnet easily and quickly attracts the particles to it, we infer that the ore is rich in iron; if slowly, that it is poor; if it appears actually to repel the ore, then it contains little or no iron. this is enough for the assaying of ores. i will now speak of the assaying of the metal alloys. this is done both by coiners and merchants who buy and sell metal, and by miners, but most of all by the owners and mine masters, and by the owners and masters of the works in which the metals are smelted, or in which one metal is parted from another. first i will describe the way assays are usually made to ascertain what portion of precious metal is contained in base metal. gold and silver are now reckoned as precious metals and all the others as base metals. once upon a time the base metals were burned up, in order that the precious metals should be left pure; the ancients even discovered by such burning what portion of gold was contained in silver, and in this way all the silver was consumed, which was no small loss. however, the famous mathematician, archimedes[ ], to gratify king hiero, invented a method of testing the silver, which was not very rapid, and was more accurate for testing a large mass than a small one. this i will explain in my commentaries. the alchemists have shown us a way of separating silver from gold by which neither of them is lost[ ]. gold which contains silver,[ ] or silver which contains gold, is first rubbed on the touchstone. then a needle in which there is a similar amount of gold or silver is rubbed on the same touchstone, and from the lines which are produced in this way, is perceived what portion of silver there is in the gold, or what portion of gold there is in the silver. next there is added to the silver which is in the gold, enough silver to make it three times as much as the gold. then lead is placed in a cupel and melted; a little later, a small amount of copper is put in it, in fact, half an _uncia_ of it, or half an _uncia_ and a _sicilicus_ (of the smaller weights) if the gold or silver does not contain any copper. the cupel, when the lead and copper are wanting, attracts the particles of gold and silver, and absorbs them. finally, one-third of a _libra_ of the gold, and one _libra_[ ] of the silver must be placed together in the same cupel and melted; for if the gold and silver were first placed in the cupel and melted, as i have already said, it absorbs particles of them, and the gold, when separated from the silver, will not be found pure. these metals are heated until the lead and the copper are consumed, and again, the same weight of each is melted in the same manner in another cupel. the buttons are pounded with a hammer and flattened out, and each little leaf is shaped in the form of a tube, and each is put into a small glass ampulla. over these there is poured one _uncia_ and one _drachma_ (of the large weight) of the third quality _aqua valens_, which i will describe in the tenth book. this is heated over a slow fire, and small bubbles, resembling pearls in shape, will be seen to adhere to the tubes. the redder the _aqua_ appears, the better it is judged to be; when the redness has vanished, small white bubbles are seen to be resting on the tubes, resembling pearls not only in shape, but also in colour. after a short time the _aqua_ is poured off and other is poured on; when this has again raised six or eight small white bubbles, it is poured off and the tubes are taken out and washed four or five times with spring water; or if they are heated with the same water, when it is boiling, they will shine more brilliantly. then they are placed in a saucer, which is held in the hand and gradually dried by the gentle heat of the fire; afterward the saucer is placed over glowing charcoal and covered with a charcoal, and a moderate blast is blown upon it with the mouth and then a blue flame will be emitted. in the end the tubes are weighed, and if their weights prove equal, he who has undertaken this work has not laboured in vain. lastly, both are placed in another balance-pan and weighed; of each tube four grains must not be counted, on account of the silver which remains in the gold and cannot be separated from it. from the weight of the tubes we learn the weight both of the gold and of the silver which is in the button. if some assayer has omitted to add so much silver to the gold as to make it three times the quantity, but only double, or two and a half times as much, he will require the stronger quality of _aqua_ which separates gold from silver, such as the fourth quality. whether the _aqua_ which he employs for gold and silver is suitable for the purpose, or whether it is more or less strong than is right, is recognised by its effect. that of medium strength raises the little bubbles on the tubes and is found to colour the ampulla and the operculum a strong red; the weaker one is found to colour them a light red, and the stronger one to break the tubes. to pure silver in which there is some portion of gold, nothing should be added when they are being heated in the cupel prior to their being parted, except a _bes_ of lead and one-fourth or one-third its amount of copper of the lesser weights. if the silver contains in itself a certain amount of copper, let it be weighed, both after it has been melted with the lead, and after the gold has been parted from it; by the former we learn how much copper is in it, by the latter how much gold. base metals are burnt up even to-day for the purpose of assay, because to lose so little of the metal is small loss, but from a large mass of base metal, the precious metal is always extracted, as i will explain in books x. and xi. we assay an alloy of copper and silver in the following way. from a few cakes of copper the assayer cuts out portions, small samples from small cakes, medium samples from medium cakes, and large samples from large cakes; the small ones are equal in size to half a hazel nut, the large ones do not exceed the size of half a chestnut, and those of medium size come between the two. he cuts out the samples from the middle of the bottom of each cake. he places the samples in a new, clean, triangular crucible and fixes to them pieces of paper upon which are written the weight of the cakes of copper, of whatever size they may be; for example, he writes, "these samples have been cut from copper which weighs twenty _centumpondia_." when he wishes to know how much silver one _centumpondium_ of copper of this kind has in it, first of all he throws glowing coals into the iron hoop, then adds charcoal to it. when the fire has become hot, the paper is taken out of the crucible and put aside, he then sets that crucible on the fire and gradually heats it for a quarter of an hour until it becomes red hot. then he stimulates the fire by blowing with a blast from the double bellows for half an hour, because copper which is devoid of lead requires this time to become hot and to melt; copper not devoid of lead melts quicker. when he has blown the bellows for about the space of time stated, he removes the glowing charcoal with the tongs, and stirs the copper with a splinter of wood, which he grasps with the tongs. if it does not stir easily, it is a sign that the copper is not wholly liquefied; if he finds this is the case, he again places a large piece of charcoal in the crucible, and replaces the glowing charcoal which had been removed, and again blows the bellows for a short time. when all the copper has melted he stops using the bellows, for if he were to continue to use them, the fire would consume part of the copper, and then that which remained would be richer than the cake from which it had been cut; this is no small mistake. therefore, as soon as the copper has become sufficiently liquefied, he pours it out into a little iron mould, which may be large or small, according as more or less copper is melted in the crucible for the purpose of the assay. the mould has a handle, likewise made of iron, by which it is held when the copper is poured in, after which, he plunges it into a tub of water placed near at hand, that the copper may be cooled. then he again dries the copper by the fire, and cuts off its point with an iron wedge; the portion nearest the point he hammers on an anvil and makes into a leaf, which he cuts into pieces. [illustration (copper mould for assaying): a--iron mould. b--its handle.] others stir the molten copper with a stick of linden tree charcoal, and then pour it over a bundle of new clean birch twigs, beneath which is placed a wooden tub of sufficient size and full of water, and in this manner the copper is broken up into little granules as small as hemp seeds. others employ straw in place of twigs. others place a broad stone in a tub and pour in enough water to cover the stone, then they run out the molten copper from the crucible on to the stone, from which the minute granules roll off; others pour the molten copper into water and stir it until it is resolved into granules. the fire does not easily melt the copper in the cupel unless it has been poured and a thin leaf made of it, or unless it has been resolved into granules or made into filings; and if it does not melt, all the labour has been undertaken in vain. in order that they may be accurately weighed out, silver and lead are resolved into granules in the same manner as copper. but to return to the assay of copper. when the copper has been prepared by these methods, if it is free of lead and iron, and rich in silver, to each _centumpondium_ (lesser weights) add one and a half _unciae_ of lead (larger weights). if, however, the copper contains some lead, add one _uncia_ of lead; if it contains iron, add two _unciae_. first put the lead into a cupel, and after it begins to smoke, add the copper; the fire generally consumes the copper, together with the lead, in about one hour and a quarter. when this is done, the silver will be found in the bottom of the cupel. the fire consumes both of those metals more quickly if they are heated in that furnace which draws in air. it is better to cover the upper half of it with a lid, and not only to put on the muffle door, but also to close the window of the muffle door with a piece of charcoal, or with a piece of brick. if the copper be such that the silver can only be separated from it with difficulty, then before it is tested with fire in the cupel, lead should first be put into the scorifier, and then the copper should be added with a moderate quantity of melted salt, both that the lead may absorb the copper and that the copper may be cleansed of the dross which abounds in it. tin which contains silver should not at the beginning of the assay be placed in a cupel, lest the silver, as often happens, be consumed and converted into fumes, together with the tin. as soon as the lead[ ] has begun to fume in the scorifier, then add that[ ] to it. in this way the lead will take the silver and the tin will boil and turn into ashes, which may be removed with a wooden splinter. the same thing occurs if any alloy is melted in which there is tin. when the lead has absorbed the silver which was in the tin, then, and not till then, it is heated in the cupel. first place the lead with which the silver is mixed, in an iron pan, and stand it on a hot furnace and let it melt; afterward pour this lead into a small iron mould, and then beat it out with a hammer on an anvil and make it into leaves in the same way as the copper. lastly, place it in the cupel, which assay can be carried out in the space of half an hour. a great heat is harmful to it, for which reason there is no necessity either to cover the half of the furnace with a lid or to close up its mouth. the minted metal alloys, which are known as money, are assayed in the following way. the smaller silver coins which have been picked out from the bottom and top and sides of a heap are first carefully cleansed; then, after they have been melted in the triangular crucible, they are either resolved into granules, or made into thin leaves. as for the large coins which weigh a _drachma_, a _sicilicus_, half an _uncia_, or an _uncia_, beat them into leaves. then take a _bes_ of the granules, or an equal weight of the leaves, and likewise take another _bes_ in the same way. wrap each sample separately in paper, and afterwards place two small pieces of lead in two cupels which have first been heated. the more precious the money is, the smaller portion of lead do we require for the assay, the more base, the larger is the portion required; for if a _bes_ of silver is said to contain only half an _uncia_ or one _uncia_ of copper, we add to the _bes_ of granules half an _uncia_ of lead. if it is composed of equal parts of silver and copper, we add an _uncia_ of lead, but if in a _bes_ of copper there is only half an _uncia_ or one _uncia_ of silver, we add an _uncia_ and a half of lead. as soon as the lead has begun to fume, put into each cupel one of the papers in which is wrapped the sample of silver alloyed with copper, and close the mouth of the muffle with charcoal. heat them with a gentle fire until all the lead and copper are consumed, for a hot fire by its heat forces the silver, combined with a certain portion of lead, into the cupel, in which way the assay is rendered erroneous. then take the beads out of the cupel and clean them of dross. if neither depresses the pan of the balance in which it is placed, but their weight is equal, the assay has been free from error; but if one bead depresses its pan, then there is an error, for which reason the assay must be repeated. if the _bes_ of coin contains but seven _unciae_ of pure silver it is because the king, or prince, or the state who coins the money, has taken one _uncia_, which he keeps partly for profit and partly for the expense of coining, he having added copper to the silver. of all these matters i have written extensively in my book _de precio metallorum et monetis_. we assay gold coins in various ways. if there is copper mixed with the gold, we melt them by fire in the same way as silver coins; if there is silver mixed with the gold, they are separated by the strongest _aqua valens_; if there is copper and silver mixed with the gold, then in the first place, after the addition of lead, they are heated in the cupel until the fire consumes the copper and the lead, and afterward the gold is parted from the silver. it remains to speak of the touchstone[ ] with which gold and silver are tested, and which was also used by the ancients. for although the assay made by fire is more certain, still, since we often have no furnace, nor muffle, nor crucibles, or some delay must be occasioned in using them, we can always rub gold or silver on the touchstone, which we can have in readiness. further, when gold coins are assayed in the fire, of what use are they afterward? a touchstone must be selected which is thoroughly black and free of sulphur, for the blacker it is and the more devoid of sulphur, the better it generally is; i have written elsewhere of its nature[ ]. first the gold is rubbed on the touchstone, whether it contains silver or whether it is obtained from the mines or from the smelting; silver also is rubbed in the same way. then one of the needles, that we judge by its colour to be of similar composition, is rubbed on the touchstone; if this proves too pale, another needle which has a stronger colour is rubbed on the touchstone; and if this proves too deep in colour, a third which has a little paler colour is used. for this will show us how great a proportion of silver or copper, or silver and copper together, is in the gold, or else how great a proportion of copper is in silver. these needles are of four kinds.[ ] the first kind are made of gold and silver, the second of gold and copper, the third of gold, silver, and copper, and the fourth of silver and copper. the first three kinds of needles are used principally for testing gold, and the fourth for silver. needles of this kind are prepared in the following ways. the lesser weights correspond proportionately to the larger weights, and both of them are used, not only by mining people, but by coiners also. the needles are made in accordance with the lesser weights, and each set corresponds to a _bes_, which, in our own vocabulary, is called a _mark_. the _bes_, which is employed by those who coin gold, is divided into twenty-four double _sextulae_, which are now called after the greek name _ceratia_; and each double _sextula_ is divided into four _semi-sextulae_, which are called _granas_; and each _semi-sextula_ is divided into three units of four _siliquae_ each, of which each unit is called a _grenlin_. if we made the needles to be each four _siliquae_, there would be two hundred and eighty-eight in a _bes_, but if each were made to be a _semi-sextula_ or a double _scripula_, then there would be ninety-six in a _bes_. by these two methods too many needles would be made, and the majority of them, by reason of the small difference in the proportion of the gold, would indicate nothing, therefore it is advisable to make them each of a double _sextula_; in this way twenty-four needles are made, of which the first is made of twenty-three _duellae_ of silver and one of gold. fannius is our authority that the ancients called the double _sextula_ a _duella_. when a bar of silver is rubbed on the touchstone and colours it just as this needle does, it contains one _duella_ of gold. in this manner we determine by the other needles what proportion of gold there is, or when the gold exceeds the silver in weight, what proportion of silver. [illustration (touch-needles)] the needles are made[ ]:-- the st needle of _duellae_ of silver and _duella_ of gold. " nd " " " _duellae_ of gold. " rd " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " st " " " " " " nd " " " " " " rd " " " " " " th " pure gold by the first eleven needles, when they are rubbed on the touchstone, we test what proportion of gold a bar of silver contains, and with the remaining thirteen we test what proportion of silver is in a bar of gold; and also what proportion of either may be in money. since some gold coins are composed of gold and copper, thirteen needles of another kind are made as follows:-- the st of _duellae_ of gold and _duellae_ of copper. " nd " " " " " " rd " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " pure gold. these needles are not much used, because gold coins of that kind are somewhat rare; the ones chiefly used are those in which there is much copper. needles of the third kind, which are composed of gold, silver, and copper, are more largely used, because such gold coins are common. but since with the gold there are mixed equal or unequal portions of silver and copper, two sorts of needles are made. if the proportion of silver and copper is equal, the needles are as follows:-- gold. silver. copper. the st of _duellae_ _duellae_ _sextula_ _duellae_ _sextula_ " nd " " " " " " " rd " " " " " th " " " " " " " th " " " " " th " " " " " " " th " " " " " th " " " " " " " th " " " " " th " " " " " " " th " " " " " th " " " " th " pure gold. some make twenty-five needles, in order to be able to detect the two _scripula_ of silver or copper which are in a _bes_ of gold. of these needles, the first is composed of twelve _duellae_ of gold and six of silver, and the same number of copper. the second, of twelve _duellae_ and one _sextula_ of gold and five _duellae_ and one and a half _sextulae_ of silver, and the same number of _duellae_ and one and a half _sextulae_ of copper. the remaining needles are made in the same proportion. pliny is our authority that the romans could tell to within one _scripulum_ how much gold was in any given alloy, and how much silver or copper. needles may be made in either of two ways, namely, in the ways of which i have spoken, and in the ways of which i am now about to speak. if unequal portions of silver and copper have been mixed with the gold, thirty-seven needles are made in the following way:-- gold. silver. copper. _duellae_. _duellae_ _duellae_ _sextulae_ _sextulae_ _siliquae_. _siliquae_. the st of " nd " " rd " " th " / / " th " / " th " / " th " " th " / " th " - / " th " - / / " th " " th " / - / " th " " th " / " th " / " th " / - / " th " / " th " - / " th " " th " " st " " nd " - / / " rd " / " th " - / " th " " th " / " th " / " th " / - / " th " " th " - / / " st " " nd " / " rd " - / " th " - / / " th " / " th " / " th " pure gold. since it is rarely found that gold, which has been coined, does not amount to at least fifteen _duellae_ gold in a _bes_, some make only twenty-eight needles, and some make them different from those already described, inasmuch as the alloy of gold with silver and copper is sometimes differently proportioned. these needles are made:-- gold. silver. copper. _duellae_. _duellae_ _duellae_ _sextulae_ _sextulae_ _siliquae_. _siliquae_. the st of / " nd " - / " rd " / - / " th " / - / " th " / " th " - / " th " / " th " - / " th " / " th " " th " " th " " th " - / " th " / " th " - / " th " " th " " th " " th " / " th " - / " st " / " nd " / " rd " " th " / " th " - / " th " - / / " th " / " th " pure gold next follows the fourth kind of needles, by which we test silver coins which contain copper, or copper coins which contain silver. the _bes_ by which we weigh the silver is divided in two different ways. it is either divided twelve times, into units of five _drachmae_ and one _scripulum_ each, which the ordinary people call _nummi_[ ]; each of these units we again divide into twenty-four units of four _siliquae_ each, which the same ordinary people call a _grenlin_; or else the _bes_ is divided into sixteen _semunciae_ which are called _loths_, each of which is again divided into eighteen units of four _siliquae_ each, which they call _grenlin_. or else the _bes_ is divided into sixteen _semunciae_, of which each is divided into four _drachmae_, and each _drachma_ into four _pfennige_. needles are made in accordance with each method of dividing the _bes_. according to the first method, to the number of twenty-four half _nummi_; according to the second method, to the number of thirty-one half _semunciae_, that is to say a _sicilicus_; for if the needles were made to the number of the smaller weights, the number of needles would again be too large, and not a few of them, by reason of the small difference in proportion of silver or copper, would have no significance. we test both bars and coined money composed of silver and copper by both scales. the one is as follows: the first needle is made of twenty-three parts of copper and one part silver; whereby, whatsoever bar or coin, when rubbed on the touchstone, colours it just as this needle does, in that bar or money there is one twenty-fourth part of silver, and so also, in accordance with the proportion of silver, is known the remaining proportion of the copper. the st needle is made of parts of copper and of silver. " nd " " " " " " rd " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " th " " " " " " st " " " " " " nd " " " " " " rd " " " " " " th of pure silver. the other method of making needles is as follows:-- copper. silver. _semunciae_ _sicilici._ _semunciae_ _sicilici._ the st is of " nd " " " rd " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " st " " " nd " " " rd " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " st of pure silver. so much for this. perhaps i have used more words than those most highly skilled in the art may require, but it is necessary for the understanding of these matters. i will now speak of the weights, of which i have frequently made mention. among mining people these are of two kinds, that is, the greater weights and the lesser weights. the _centumpondium_ is the first and largest weight, and of course consists of one hundred _librae_, and for that reason is called a hundred weight. the various weights are:-- st = _librae_ = _centumpondium_. nd = " rd = " th = " th = " th = " th = " th = _libra_. this _libra_ consists of sixteen _unciae_, and the half part of the _libra_ is the _selibra_, which our people call a _mark_, and consists of eight _unciae_, or, as they divide it, of sixteen _semunciae_:-- th = _unciae_. th = _semunciae_. th = " th = " th = _semuncia_. th = _sicilicus_. th = _drachma_. th = _dimidi-drachma_. [illustration (weights for assay balances)] the above is how the "greater" weights are divided. the "lesser" weights are made of silver or brass or copper. of these, the first and largest generally weighs one _drachma_, for it is necessary for us to weigh, not only ore, but also metals to be assayed, and smaller quantities of lead. the first of these weights is called a _centumpondium_ and the number of _librae_ in it corresponds to the larger scale, being likewise one hundred[ ]. the st is called _centumpondium_. " nd " _librae_. " rd " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " _selibra_. " th " _semunciae_. " th " " " th " " " th " " " th " _sicilicus_. the fourteenth is the last, for the proportionate weights which correspond with a _drachma_ and half a _drachma_ are not used. on all these weights of the lesser scale, are written the numbers of _librae_ and of _semunciae_. some copper assayers divide both the lesser and greater scale weights into divisions of a different scale. their largest weight of the greater scale weighs one hundred and twelve _librae_, which is the first unit of measurement. st = _librae_. nd = " rd = " th = " th = " th = " th = " th = " th = _selibra_ or sixteen _semunciae_. th = _semunciae_. th = " th = " th = " as for the _selibra_ of the lesser weights, which our people, as i have often said, call a _mark_, and the romans call a _bes_, coiners who coin gold, divide it just like the greater weights scale, into twenty-four units of two _sextulae_ each, and each unit of two _sextulae_ is divided into four _semi-sextulae_ and each _semi-sextula_ into three units of four _siliquae_ each. some also divide the separate units of four _siliquae_ into four individual _siliquae_, but most, omitting the _semi-sextulae_, then divide the double _sextula_ into twelve units of four _siliquae_ each, and do not divide these into four individual _siliquae_. thus the first and greatest unit of measurement, which is the _bes_, weighs twenty-four double _sextulae_. the nd = double _sextulae_. " rd = " " " th = " " " th = " " " th = " " " th = _semi-sextulae_ or four _semi-sextulae_. " th = _semi-sextula_ or units of _siliquae_ each. " th = units of four _siliquae_ each. " th = " " " coiners who mint silver also divide the _bes_ of the lesser weights in the same way as the greater weights; our people, indeed, divide it into sixteen _semunciae_, and the _semuncia_ into eighteen units of four _siliquae_ each. there are ten weights which are placed in the other pan of the balance, when they weigh the silver which remains from the copper that has been consumed, when they assay the alloy with fire. the st = _semunciae_ = _bes_. " nd = " " rd = " " th = " " th = " or units of _siliquae_ each. " th = units of _siliquae_ each. " th = " " " th = " " " th = " " " th = " " the coiners of nuremberg who mint silver, divide the _bes_ into sixteen _semunciae_, but divide the _semuncia_ into four _drachmae_, and the _drachma_ into four _pfennige_. they employ nine weights. the st = _semunciae_. " nd = " " rd = " " th = " " th = " for they divide the _bes_ in the same way as our own people, but since they divide the _semuncia_ into four _drachmae_, the th weight = _drachmae_. " th " = _drachma_ or _pfennige_. " th " = _pfennige_. " th " = _pfennig_. the men of cologne and antwerp[ ] divide the _bes_ into twelve units of five _drachmae_ and one _scripulum_, which weights they call _nummi_. each of these they again divide into twenty-four units of four _siliquae_ each, which they call _grenlins_. they have ten weights, of which the st = _nummi_ = _bes_. " nd = " " rd = " " th = " " th = " = units of _siliquae_ each. " th = units of _siliquae_ each. " th = " " " th = " " " th = " " " th = " " and so with them, just as with our own people, the _mark_ is divided into two hundred and eighty-eight _grenlins_, and by the people of nuremberg it is divided into two hundred and fifty-six _pfennige_. lastly, the venetians divide the _bes_ into eight _unciae_. the _uncia_ into four _sicilici_, the _sicilicus_ into thirty-six _siliquae_. they make twelve weights, which they use whenever they wish to assay alloys of silver and copper. of these the st = _unciae_ = _bes_. " nd = " " rd = " " th = " or _sicilici_. " th = _sicilici_. " th = _sicilicus_. " th = _siliquae_. " th = " " th = " " th = " " th = " " th = " since the venetians divide the _bes_ into eleven hundred and fifty-two _siliquae_, or two hundred and eighty-eight units of _siliquae_ each, into which number our people also divide the _bes_, they thus make the same number of _siliquae_, and both agree, even though the venetians divide the _bes_ into smaller divisions. this, then, is the system of weights, both of the greater and the lesser kinds, which metallurgists employ, and likewise the system of the lesser weights which coiners and merchants employ, when they are assaying metals and coined money. the _bes_ of the larger weight with which they provide themselves when they weigh large masses of these things, i have explained in my work _de mensuris et ponderibus_, and in another book, _de precio metallorum et monetis_. [illustration (balances): a--first small balance. b--second. c--third, placed in a case.] there are three small balances by which we weigh ore, metals, and fluxes. the first, by which we weigh lead and fluxes, is the largest among these smaller balances, and when eight _unciae_ (of the greater weights) are placed in one of its pans, and the same number in the other, it sustains no damage. the second is more delicate, and by this we weigh the ore or the metal, which is to be assayed; this is well able to carry one _centumpondium_ of the lesser weights in one pan, and in the other, ore or metal as heavy as that weight. the third is the most delicate, and by this we weigh the beads of gold or silver, which, when the assay is completed, settle in the bottom of the cupel. but if anyone weighs lead in the second balance, or an ore in the third, he will do them much injury. whatsoever small amount of metal is obtained from a _centumpondium_ of the lesser weights of ore or metal alloy, the same greater weight of metal is smelted from a _centumpondium_ of the greater weight of ore or metal alloy. end of book vii. footnotes: [ ] we have but little record of anything which could be called "assaying" among the greeks and romans. the fact, however, that they made constant use of the touchstone (see note , p. ) is sufficient proof that they were able to test the purity of gold and silver. the description of the touchstone by theophrastus contains several references to "trial" by fire (see note , p. ). they were adepts at metal working, and were therefore familiar with melting metals on a small scale, with the smelting of silver, lead, copper, and tin ores (see note , p. ) and with the parting of silver and lead by cupellation. consequently, it would not require much of an imaginative flight to conclude that there existed some system of tests of ore and metal values by fire. apart from the statement of theophrastus referred to, the first references made to anything which might fill the _rôle_ of assaying are from the alchemists, particularly geber (prior to ), for they describe methods of solution, precipitation, distillation, fusing in crucibles, cupellation, and of the parting of gold and silver by acid and by sulphur, antimony, or cementation. however, they were not bent on determining quantitative values, which is the fundamental object of the assayer's art, and all their discussion is shrouded in an obscure cloak of gibberish and attempted mysticism. nevertheless, therein lies the foundation of many cardinal assay methods, and even of chemistry itself. the first explicit records of assaying are the anonymous booklets published in german early in the th century under the title _probierbüchlein_. therein the art is disclosed well advanced toward maturity, so far as concerns gold and silver, with some notes on lead and copper. we refer the reader to appendix b for fuller discussion of these books, but we may repeat here that they are a collection of disconnected recipes lacking in arrangement, the items often repeated, and all apparently the inheritance of wisdom passed from father to son over many generations. it is obviously intended as a sort of reminder to those already skilled in the art, and would be hopeless to a novice. apart from some notes in biringuccio (book iii, chaps. and ) on assaying gold and silver, there is nothing else prior to _de re metallica_. agricola was familiar with these works and includes their material in this chapter. the very great advance which his account represents can only be appreciated by comparison, but the exhaustive publication of other works is foreign to the purpose of these notes. agricola introduces system into the arrangement of his materials, describes implements, and gives a hundred details which are wholly omitted from the previous works, all in a manner which would enable a beginner to learn the art. furthermore, the assaying of lead, copper, tin, quicksilver, iron, and bismuth, is almost wholly new, together with the whole of the argument and explanations. we would call the attention of students of the history of chemistry to the general oversight of these early th century attempts at analytical chemistry, for in them lie the foundations of that science. the statement sometimes made that agricola was the first assayer, is false if for no other reason than that science does not develop with such strides at any one human hand. he can, however, fairly be accounted as the author of the first proper text-book upon assaying. those familiar with the art will be astonished at the small progress made since his time, for in his pages appear most of the reagents and most of the critical operations in the dry analyses of gold, silver, lead, copper, tin, bismuth, quicksilver, and iron of to-day. further, there will be recognised many of the "kinks" of the art used even yet, such as the method of granulation, duplicate assays, the "assay ton" method of weights, the use of test lead, the introduction of charges in leaf lead, and even the use of beer instead of water to damp bone-ash. the following table is given of the substances mentioned requiring some comment, and the terms adopted in this book, with notes for convenience in reference. the german terms are either from agricola's glossary of _de re metallica_, his _interpretatio_, or the german translation. we have retained the original german spelling. the fifth column refers to the page where more ample notes are given:-- terms latin. german. remarks. further adopted. notes. alum _alumen_ _alaun_ either potassium p. or ammonia alum ampulla _ampulla_ _kolb_ a distillation jar antimony _stibium_ _spiesglas_ practically always p. antimony sulphide _aqua valens_ _aqua valens_ _scheidewasser_ mostly nitric acid p. or _aqua_ argol _feces vini _die crude tartar p. siccae_ weinheffen_ ash of lead _nigrum artificial lead p. plumbum sulphide cinereum_ ash of musk ivy _sal ex _salalkali_ mostly potash p. (salt made anthyllidis from) cinere factus_ ashes which _cineres quo mostly potash p. wool-dyers use infectores lanarum utuntur_ assay _venas experiri_ _probiren_ assay furnace _fornacula_ _probir ofen_ "little" furnace azure _caeruleum_ _lasur_ partly copper p. carbonate (azurite) partly silicate bismuth _plumbum _wismut_ _bismuth_ p. cinereum_ bitumen _bitumen_ _bergwachs_ p. blast furnace _prima fornax_ _schmeltzofen_ borax _chrysocolla ex _borras; tincar_ p. nitro confecta; chrysocolla quam boracem nominant_ burned alum _alumen coctum_ _gesottener probably p. alaun_ dehydrated alum _cadmia_ ( ) furnace p. (see note accretions ( ) , p. ) calamine ( ) zinc blende ( ) cobalt arsenical sulphides camphor _camphora_ _campffer_ p. chrysocolla called borax (see borax) chrysocolla _chrysocolla_ _berggrün und partly p. (copper schifergrün_ chrysocolla, mineral) partly malachite copper filings _aeris scobs _kupferfeilich_ apparently finely p. elimata_ divided copper metal copper flowers _aeris flos_ _kupferbraun_ cupric oxide p. copper scales _aeris squamae_ _kupfer probably cupric hammerschlag oxide oder kessel braun_ copper minerals (see note , p. ) crucible _catillus _dreieckicht- see illustration p. (triangular) triangularis_ schirbe_ cupel _catillus _capelle_ cinereus_ cupellation _secunda _treibherd_ furnace fornax_ flux _additamentum_ _zusetze_ p. furnace _cadmia _mitlere und accretions fornacum_ obere offenbrüche_ galena _lapis _glantz_ lead sulphide p. plumbarius_ glass-gall _recrementum _glassgallen_ skimmings from p. vitri_ glass melting grey antimony or _stibi_ or _spiesglas_ antimony sulphide, p. stibium _stibium_ stibnite hearth-lead _molybdaena_ _herdplei_ the saturated p. furnace bottoms from cupellation hoop (iron) _circulus _ring_ a forge for p. ferreus_ crucibles iron filings _ferri scobs _eisen feilich_ metallic iron elimata_ iron scales _squamae ferri_ _eisen partly iron oxide hammerschlag_ iron slag _recrementum _sinder_ ferri_ lead ash _cinis plumbi _pleiasche_ artificial lead p. nigri_ sulphide lead granules _globuli _gekornt plei_ granulated lead plumbei_ lead ochre _ochra _pleigeel_ modern massicot p. plumbaria_ (pbo) lees of _aqua_ _feces aquarum _scheidewasser uncertain p. which separates quae aurum ab heffe_ gold from argento silver secernunt_ dried lees of _siccae feces _heffe des argol p. vinegar aceti_ essigs_ dried lees of _feces vini _wein heffen_ argol p. wine siccae_ limestone _saxum calcis_ _kalchstein_ litharge _spuma argenti_ _glette_ lye _lixivium_ _lauge durch mostly potash p. asschen gemacht_ muffle _tegula_ _muffel_ latin, literally "roof-tile" operculum _operculum_ _helm oder helmet or cover alembick_ for a distillation jar orpiment _auripigmentum_ _operment_ yellow sulphide p. of arsenic (as_{ }s_{ }) pyrites _pyrites_ _kis_ rather a genus p. of sulphides, than iron pyrite in particular pyrites (cakes _panes ex _stein_ iron or copper p. from) pyrite matte conflati_ realgar _sandaraca_ _rosgeel_ red sulphide of p. arsenic (ass) red lead _minium_ _menning_ pb_{ }o_{ } p. roasted copper _aes ustum_ _gebrandt artificial p. kupffer_ copper sulphide (?) salt _sal_ _saltz_ nacl p. salt (rock) _sal fossilis_ _berg saltz_ nacl p. _sal _sal a stock flux? p. artificiosus_ artificiosus_ sal ammoniac _sal _salarmoniac_ nh_{ }cl p. ammoniacus_ saltpetre _halinitrum_ _salpeter_ kno_{ } p. salt (refined) _sal facticius nacl purgatus_ _sal tostus_ _sal tostus_ _geröst saltz_ apparently p. simply heated or melted common salt _sal _sal _geröst saltz_ p. torrefactus_ torrefactus_ salt (melted) _sal _geflossen melted salt or p. liquefactus_ saltz_ salt glass scorifier _catillus _scherbe_ fictilis_ schist _saxum fissile_ _schifer_ silver minerals (see note , p. ) slag _recrementum_ _schlacken_ soda _nitrum_ mostly soda from p. egypt, na_{ }co_{ } stones which _lapides qui _flüs_ quartz and p. easily melt facile igni fluorspar liquescunt_ sulphur _sulfur_ _schwefel_ p. _tophus_ _tophus_ _topstein_ marl(?) p. touchstone _coticula_ _goldstein_ venetian glass _venetianum vitrum_ verdigris _aerugo _grünspan_ copper p. oder sub-acetate spanschgrün_ vitriol _atramentum _kupferwasser_ mostly feso_{ } p. sutorium_ white schist _saxum fissile _weisser p. album_ schifer_ weights (see appendix). [ ] _crudorum_,--unbaked? [ ] this reference is not very clear. apparently the names refer to the german terms _probier ofen_ and _windt ofen_. [ ] _circulus_. this term does not offer a very satisfactory equivalent, as such a furnace has no distinctive name in english. it is obviously a sort of forge for fusing in crucibles. [ ] _spissa_,--"dry." this term is used in contra-distinction to _pingue_, unctuous or "fatty." [ ] _additamenta_,--"additions." hence the play on words. we have adopted "flux" because the old english equivalent for all these materials was "flux," although in modern nomenclature the term is generally restricted to those substances which, by chemical combination in the furnace, lower the melting point of some of the charge. the "additions" of agricola, therefore, include reducing, oxidizing, sulphurizing, desulphurizing, and collecting agents as well as fluxes. a critical examination of the fluxes mentioned in the next four pages gives point to the author's assertion that "some are of a very complicated nature." however, anyone of experience with home-taught assayers has come in contact with equally extraordinary combinations. the four orders of "additions" enumerated are quite impossible to reconcile from a modern metallurgical point of view. [ ] _minium secundarium_. (_interpretatio_,--_menning_. pb_{ }o_{ }). agricola derived his latin term from pliny. there is great confusion in the ancient writers on the use of the word _minium_, for prior to the middle ages it was usually applied to vermilion derived from cinnabar. vermilion was much adulterated with red-lead, even in roman times, and finally in later centuries the name came to be appropriated to the lead product. theophrastus ( ) mentions a substitute for vermilion, but, in spite of commentators, there is no evidence that it was red-lead. the first to describe the manufacture of real red-lead was apparently vitruvius (vii, ), who calls it _sandaraca_ (this name was usually applied to red arsenical sulphide), and says: "white-lead is heated in a furnace and by the force of the fire becomes red lead. this invention was the result of observation in the case of an accidental fire, and by the process a much better material is obtained than from the mines." he describes _minium_ as the product from cinnabar. dioscorides (v, ), after discussing white-lead, says it may be burned until it becomes the colour of _sandaracha_, and is called _sandyx_. he also states (v, ) that those are deceived who consider cinnabar to be the same as _minium_, for _minium_ is made in spain out of stone mixed with silver sands. therefore he is not in agreement with vitruvius and pliny on the use of the term. pliny (xxxiii, ) says: "these barren stones (apparently lead ores barren of silver) may be recognised by their colour; it is only in the furnace that they turn red. after being roasted it is pulverized and is _minium secundarium_. it is known to few and is very inferior to the natural kind made from those sands we have mentioned (_cinnabar_). it is with this that the genuine _minium_ is adulterated in the works of the company." this proprietary company who held a monopoly of the spanish quicksilver mines, "had many methods of adulterating it (_minium_)--a source of great plunder to the company." pliny also describes the making of red lead from white. [ ] _ochra plumbaria_. (_interpretatio_,--_pleigeel_; modern german,--_bleigelb_). the german term indicates that this "lead ochre," a form of pbo, is what in the english trade is known as _massicot_, or _masticot_. this material can be a partial product from almost any cupellation where oxidation takes place below the melting point of the oxide. it may have been known to the ancients among the various species into which they divided litharge, but there is no valid reason for assigning to it any special one of their terms, so far as we can see. [ ] there are four forms of copper named as re-agents by agricola: copper filings _aeris scobs elimata._ copper scales _aeris squamae._ copper flowers _aeris flos._ roasted copper _aes ustum._ the first of these was no doubt finely divided copper metal; the second, third, and fourth were probably all cupric oxide. according to agricola (_de nat. fos._, p. ), the scales were the result of hammering the metal; the flowers came off the metal when hot bars were quenched in water, and a third kind were obtained from calcining the metal. "both flowers (_flos_) and hammer-scales (_squama_) have the same properties as _crematum_ copper.... the particles of flower copper are finer than scales or _crematum_ copper." if we assume that the verb _uro_ used in _de re metallica_ is of the same import as _cremo_ in the _de natura fossilium_, we can accept this material as being merely cupric oxide, but the _aes ustum_ of pliny--agricola's usual source of technical nomenclature--is probably an artificial sulphide. dioscorides (v, ), who is apparently the source of pliny's information, says:--"of _chalcos cecaumenos_, the best is red, and pulverized resembles the colour of cinnabar; if it turns black, it is over-burnt. it is made from broken ship nails put into a rough earthen pot, with alternate layers of equal parts of sulphur and salt. the opening should be smeared with potter's clay and the pot put in the furnace until it is thoroughly heated," etc. pliny (xxxiv, ) states: "moreover cyprian copper is roasted in crude earthen pots with an equal amount of sulphur; the apertures of the pots are well luted, and they are kept in the furnace until the pot is thoroughly heated. some add salt, others use _alumen_ instead of sulphur, others add nothing, but only sprinkle it with vinegar." [ ] the reader is referred to note , p. , for more ample discussion of the alkalis. agricola gives in this chapter four substances of that character: soda (_nitrum_). lye. "ashes which wool-dyers use." "salt made from the ashes of musk ivy." the last three are certainly potash, probably impure. while the first might be either potash or soda, the fact that the last three are mentioned separately, together with other evidence, convinces us that by the first is intended the _nitrum_ so generally imported into europe from egypt during the middle ages. this imported salt was certainly the natural bicarbonate, and we have, therefore, used the term "soda." [ ] in this chapter are mentioned seven kinds of common salt: salt _sal._ rock salt _sal fossilis._ "made" salt _sal facticius._ refined salt _sal purgatius._ melted salt _sal liquefactus._ and in addition _sal tostus_ and _sal torrefactus_. _sal facticius_ is used in distinction from rock-salt. the melted salt would apparently be salt-glass. what form the _sal tostus_ and _sal torrefactus_ could have we cannot say, however, but they were possibly some form of heated salt; they may have been combinations after the order of _sal artificiosus_ (see p. ). [ ] "stones which easily melt in hot furnaces and sand which is made from them" (_lapides qui in ardentibus fornacibus facile liquescunt arenae ab eis resolutae_). these were probably quartz in this instance, although fluorspar is also included in this same genus. for fuller discussion see note on p. . [ ] _tophus_. (_interpretatio_, _toffstein oder topstein_). according to dana (syst. of min., p. ), the german _topfstein_ was english potstone or soapstone, a magnesian silicate. it is scarcely possible, however, that this is what agricola meant by this term, for such a substance would be highly infusible. agricola has a good deal to say about this mineral in _de natura fossilium_ (p. and ), and from these descriptions it would seem to be a tufaceous limestone of various sorts, embracing some marls, stalagmites, calcareous sinter, etc. he states: "generally fire does not melt it, but makes it harder and breaks it into powder. tophus is said to be a stone found in caverns, made from the dripping of stone juice solidified by cold ... sometimes it is found containing many shells, and likewise the impressions of alder leaves; our people make lime by burning it." pliny, upon whom agricola depends largely for his nomenclature, mentions such a substance (xxxvi, ): "among the multitude of stones there is _tophus_. it is unsuitable for buildings, because it is perishable and soft. still, however, there are some places which have no other, as carthage, in africa. it is eaten away by the emanations from the sea, crumbled to dust by the wind, and washed away by the rain." in fact, _tophus_ was a wide genus among the older mineralogists, wallerius (_meditationes physico-chemicae de origine mundi_, stockholm, , p. ), for instance, gives varieties. for the purposes for which it is used we believe it was always limestone of some form. [ ] _saxum fissile album._ (_the interpretatio_ gives the german as _schifer_). agricola mentions it in _bermannus_ ( ), in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ), but nothing definite can be derived from these references. it appears to us from its use to have been either a quartzite or a fissile limestone. [ ] argol (_feces vini siccae_,--"dried lees of wine." germ. trans. gives _die wein heffen_, although the usual german term of the period was _weinstein_). the lees of wine were the crude tartar or argols of commerce and modern assayers. the argols of white wine are white, while they are red from red wine. the white argol which agricola so often specifies would have no special excellence, unless it may be that it is less easily adulterated. agricola (_de nat. fos._, p. ) uses the expression "_fex vini sicca_ called _tartarum_"--one of the earliest appearances of the latter term in this connection. the use of argol is very old, for dioscorides ( st century a.d.) not only describes argol, but also its reduction to impure potash. he says (v, ): "the lees (_tryx_) are to be selected from old italian wine; if not, from other similar wine. lees of vinegar are much stronger. they are carefully dried and then burnt. there are some who burn them in a new earthen pot on a large fire until they are thoroughly incinerated. others place a quantity of the lees on live coals and pursue the same method. the test as to whether it is completely burned, is that it becomes white or blue, and seems to burn the tongue when touched. the method of burning lees of vinegar is the same.... it should be used fresh, as it quickly grows stale; it should be placed in a vessel in a secluded place." pliny (xxiii, ) says: "following these, come the lees of these various liquids. the lees of wine (_vini faecibus_) are so powerful as to be fatal to persons on descending into the vats. the test for this is to let down a lamp, which, if extinguished, indicates the peril.... their virtues are greatly increased by the action of fire." matthioli, commenting on this passage from dioscorides in , makes the following remark (p. ): "the precipitate of the wine which settles in the casks of the winery forms stone-like crusts, and is called by the works-people by the name _tartarum_." it will be seen above that these lees were rendered stronger by the action of fire, in which case the tartar was reduced to potassium carbonate. the _weinstein_ of the old german metallurgists was often the material lixiviated from the incinerated tartar. dried lees of vinegar (_siccae feces aceti_; _interpretatio_, _die heffe des essigs_). this would also be crude tartar. pliny (xxiii, ) says: "the lees of vinegar (_faex aceti_); owing to the more acrid material are more aggravating in their effects.... when combined with _melanthium_ it heals the bites of dogs and crocodiles." [ ] dried lees of _aqua_ which separates gold and silver. (_siccae feces aquarum quae aurum ab argento secernunt_. german translation, _der scheidwasser heffe_). there is no pointed description in agricola's works, or in any other that we can find, as to what this material was. the "separating _aqua_" was undoubtedly nitric acid (see p. , book x). there are two precipitates possible, both referred to as _feces_,--the first, a precipitate of silver chloride from clarifying the _aqua valens_, and the second, the residues left in making the acid by distillation. it is difficult to believe that silver chloride was the _feces_ referred to in the text, because such a precipitate would be obviously misleading when used as a flux through the addition of silver to the assays, too expensive, and of no merit for this purpose. therefore one is driven to the conclusion that the _feces_ must have been the residues left in the retorts when nitric acid was prepared. it would have been more in keeping with his usual mode of expression, however, to have referred to this material as a _residuus_. the materials used for making acid varied greatly, so there is no telling what such a _feces_ contained. a list of possibilities is given in note , p. . in the main, the residue would be undigested vitriol, alum, saltpetre, salt, etc., together with potassium, iron, and alum sulphates. the _probierbüchlin_ (p. ) also gives this re-agent under the term _toden kopff das ist schlam oder feces auss dem scheydwasser_. [ ] _recrementum vitri_. (_interpretatio_, _glassgallen_). formerly, when more impure materials were employed than nowadays, the surface of the mass in the first melting of glass materials was covered with salts, mostly potassium and sodium sulphates and chlorides which escaped perfect vitrification. this "slag" or "_glassgallen_" of agricola was also termed _sandiver_. [ ] the whole of this expression is "_candidus, candido_." it is by no means certain that this is tin, for usually tin is given as _plumbum candidum_. [ ] _sal artificiosus_. these are a sort of stock fluxes. such mixtures are common in all old assay books, from the _probierbüchlin_ to later than john cramer in (whose latin lectures on assaying were published in english under the title of "elements of the art of assaying metals," london, ). cramer observes (p. ) that: "artificers compose a great many fluxes with the above-mentioned salts and with the reductive ones; nay, some use as many different fluxes as there are different ores and metals; all which, however, we think needless to describe. it is better to have explained a few of the simpler ones, which serve for all the others, and are very easily prepared, than to tire the reader with confused compositions: and this chiefly because unskilled artificers sometimes attempt to obtain with many ingredients of the same nature heaped up beyond measure, and with much labour, though not more properly and more securely, what might have been easily effected, with one only and the same ingredient, thus increasing the number, not at all the virtue of the things employed. nevertheless, if anyone loves variety, he may, according to the proportions and cautions above prescribed, at his will chuse among the simpler kinds such as will best suit his purpose, and compose a variety of fluxes with them." [ ] this operation apparently results in a coating to prevent the deflagration of the saltpetre--in fact, it might be permitted to translate _inflammatur_ "deflagrate," instead of kindle. [ ] the results which would follow from the use of these "fluxes" would obviously depend upon the ore treated. they can all conceivably be successful. of these, the first is the lead-glass of the german assayers--a flux much emphasized by all old authorities, including lohneys, ercker and cramner, and used even yet. the "powerful flux" would be a reducing, desulphurizing, and an acid flux. the "more powerful" would be a basic flux in which the reducing action of the argols would be largely neutralised by the nitre. the "still more powerful" would be a strongly sulphurizing basic flux, while the "most powerful" would be a still more sulphurizing flux, but it is badly mixed as to its oxidation and basic properties. (see also note on _sal artificiosus_). [ ] lead ash (_cinis plumbi_. glossary, _pleyasch_).--this was obviously, from the method of making, an artificial lead sulphide. [ ] ashes of lead (_nigri plumbi cinis_). this, as well as lead ash, was also an artificial lead sulphide. such substances were highly valued by the ancients for medicinal purposes. dioscorides (v, ) says: "burned lead (_molybdos cecaumenos_) is made in this way: sprinkle sulphur over some very thinnest lead plates and put them into a new earthen pot, add other layers, putting sulphur between each layer until the pot is full; set it alight and stir the melted lead with an iron rod until it is entirely reduced to ashes and until none of the lead remains unburned. then take it off, first stopping up your nose, because the fumes of burnt lead are very injurious. or burn the lead filings in a pot with sulphur as aforesaid." pliny (xxxiv., ) gives much the same directions. [ ] camphor (_camphora_). this was no doubt the well-known gum. agricola, however, believed that camphor (_de nat. fossilium_, p. ) was a species of bitumen, and he devotes considerable trouble to the refutation of the statements by the arabic authors that it was a gum. in any event, it would be a useful reducing agent. [ ] inasmuch as orpiment and realgar are both arsenical sulphides, the use of iron "slag," if it contains enough iron, would certainly matte the sulphur and arsenic. sulphur and arsenic are the "juices" referred to (see note , p. ). it is difficult to see the object of preserving the antimony with such a sulphurizing "addition," unless it was desired to secure a regulus of antimony alone from a given antimonial ore. [ ] the lead free from silver, called _villacense_, was probably from bleyberg, not far from villach in upper austria, this locality having been for centuries celebrated for its pure lead. these mines were worked prior to, and long after, agricola's time. [ ] this method of proportionate weights for assay charges is simpler than the modern english "assay ton," both because of the use of units in the standard of weight (the _centumpondium_), and because of the lack of complication between the avoirdupois and troy scales. for instance, an ore containing a _libra_ of silver to the _centumpondium_ would contain / th part, and the same ratio would obtain, no matter what the actual weight of a _centumpondium_ of the "lesser weight" might be. to follow the matter still further, an _uncia_ being / , of a _centumpondium_, if the ore ran one "_uncia_ of the lesser weight" to the "_centumpondium_ of the lesser weight," it would also run one actual _uncia_ to the actual _centumpondium_; it being a matter of indifference what might be the actual weight of the _centumpondium_ upon which the scale of lesser weights is based. in fact agricola's statement (p. ) indicates that it weighed an actual _drachma_. we have, in some places, interpolated the expressions "lesser" and "greater" weights for clarity. this is not the first mention of this scheme of lesser weights, as it appears in the _probierbüchlein_ ( ? see appendix b) and biringuccio ( ). for a more complete discussion of weights and measures see appendix c. for convenience, we repeat here the roman scale, although, as will be seen in the appendix, agricola used the latin terms in many places merely as nomenclature equivalents of the old german scale. ozs. dwts. troy gr. grains. per short ton. _siliqua_ . per _centumpondium_ _siliquae_ = _scripulum_ . " " _scripula_ = _sextula_ . " " _sextulae_ = _uncia_ . " " _unciae_ = _libra_ . " " _librae_ = _centumpondium_ . however agricola may occasionally use _unciae_ = _libra_ . (?) _librae_ = _centumpondium_ . (?) also oz. dwts. gr. per short ton. _scripulum_ . per _centumpondium_ _scripula_ = _drachma_ . " " _drachmae_ = _sicilicus_ . " " _sicilici_ = _uncia_ . " " _unciae_ = _bes_ . " " [ ] the amalgamation of gold ores is fully discussed in note , p. . [ ] for discussion of the silver ores, see note , p. . _rudis_ silver was a fairly pure silver mineral, the various coloured silvers were partly horn-silver and partly alteration products. [ ] it is difficult to see why copper scales (_squamae aeris_--copper oxide?) are added, unless it be to collect a small ratio of copper in the ore. this additional copper is not mentioned again, however. the whole of this statement is very confused. [ ] this old story runs that hiero, king of syracuse, asked archimedes to tell him whether a crown made for him was pure gold or whether it contained some proportion of silver. archimedes is said to have puzzled over it until he noticed the increase in water-level upon entering his bath. whereupon he determined the matter by immersing bars of pure gold and pure silver, and thus determining the relative specific weights. the best ancient account of this affair is to be found in vitruvius, ix, preface. the story does not seem very probable, seeing that theophrastus, who died the year archimedes was born, described the touchstone in detail, and that it was of common knowledge among the greeks before (see note ). in any event, there is not sufficient evidence in this story on which to build the conclusion of meyer (hist. of chemistry, p. ) and others, that, inasmuch as archimedes was unable to solve the problem until his discovery of specific weights, therefore the ancients could not part gold and silver. the probability that he did not want to injure the king's jewellery would show sufficient reason for his not parting these metals. it seems probable that the ancients did part gold and silver by cementation. (see note on p. ). [ ] the alchemists (with whose works agricola was familiar--_vide_ preface) were the inventors of nitric acid separation. (see note on p. ). [ ] parting gold and silver by nitric acid is more exhaustively discussed in book x. and note , p. . [ ] the lesser weights, probably. [ ] lead and tin seem badly mixed in this paragraph. [ ] it is not clear what is added. [ ] historical note on touchstone. (_coticula_. _interpretatio_,--_goldstein_). theophrastus is, we believe, the first to describe the touchstone, although it was generally known to the greeks, as is evidenced by the metaphors of many of the poets,--pindar, theognis, euripides, etc. the general knowledge of the constituents of alloys which is implied, raises the question as to whether the greeks did not know a great deal more about parting metals, than has been attributed to them. theophrastus says ( - ): "the nature of the stone which tries gold is also very wonderful, as it seems to have the same power with fire; which is also a test of that metal. some people have for this reason questioned the truth of this power in the stone, but their doubts are ill-founded, for this trial is not of the same nature or made in the same manner as the other. the trial by fire is by the colour and by the quantity lost by it; but that by the stone is made only by rubbing the metal on it; the stone seeming to have the power to receive separately the distinct particles of different metals. it is said also that there is a much better kind of this stone now found out, than that which was formerly used; insomuch that it now serves not only for the trial of refined gold, but also of copper or silver coloured with gold; and shows how much of the adulterating matter by weight is mixed with gold; this has signs which it yields from the smallest weight of the adulterating matter, which is a grain, from thence a colybus, and thence a quadrans or semi-obolus, by which it is easy to distinguish if, and in what degree, that metal is adulterated. all these stones are found in the river tmolus; their texture is smooth and like that of pebbles; their figure broad, not round; and their bigness twice that of the common larger sort of pebbles. in their use in the trial of metals there is a difference in power between their upper surface, which has lain toward the sun, and their under, which has been to the earth; the upper performing its office the more nicely; and this is consonant to reason, as the upper part is dryer; for the humidity of the other surface hinders its receiving so well the particles of metals; for the same reason also it does not perform its office as well in hot weather as in colder, for in the hot it emits a kind of humidity out of its substance, which runs all over it. this hinders the metalline particles from adhering perfectly, and makes mistakes in the trials. this exudation of a humid matter is also common to many other stones, among others, to those of which statues are made; and this has been looked on as peculiar to the statue." (based on hill's trans.) this humid "exudation of fine-grained stones in summer" would not sound abnormal if it were called condensation. pliny (xxxiii, ) says: "the mention of gold and silver should be accompanied by that of the stone called _coticula_. formerly, according to theophrastus, it was only to be found in the river tmolus but now found in many parts, it was found in small pieces never over four inches long by two broad. that side which lay toward the sun is better than that toward the ground. those experienced with the _coticula_ when they rub ore (_vena_) with it, can at once say how much gold it contains, how much silver or copper. this method is so accurate that they do not mistake it to a scruple." this purported use for determining values of _ore_ is of about pliny's average accuracy. the first detailed account of touch-needles and their manner of making, which we have been able to find, is that of the _probierbüchlein_ ( ? see appendix) where many of the tables given by agricola may be found. [ ] _de natura fossilium_ (p. ) and _de ortu et causis subterraneorum_ (p. ). the author does not add any material mineralogical information to the quotations from theophrastus and pliny given above. [ ] in these tables agricola has simply adopted roman names as equivalents of the old german weights, but as they did not always approximate in proportions, he coined terms such as "units of _siliquae_," etc. it might seem more desirable to have introduced the german terms into this text, but while it would apply in this instance, as we have discussed on p. , the actual values of the roman weights are very different from the german, and as elsewhere in the book actual roman weights are applied, we have considered it better to use the latin terms consistently throughout. further, the obsolete german would be to most readers but little improvement upon the latin. for convenience of readers we set out the various scales as used by agricola, together with the german:-- roman scale. old german scale. _siliquae_ = _scripulum_ _grenlin_ = _gran_ _scripula_ = _sextula_ _gran_ = _krat_ _sextulae_ = _duella_ _kratt_ = _mark_ _duellae_ = _bes_ or _grenlin_ = "_nummus_" "_nummi_" = _mark_ also the following scales are applied to fineness by agricola:-- _scripula_ = _drachma_ _pfennige_ = _quintlein_ _drachmae_ = _sicilicus_ _quintlein_ = _loth_ _sicilici_ = _semuncia_ _loth_ = _mark_ _semunciae_ = _bes_ the term "_nummus_," a coin, given above and in the text, appears in the german translation as _pfennig_ as applied to both german scales, but as they are of different values, we have left agricola's adaptation in one scale to avoid confusion. the latin terms adopted by agricola are given below, together with the german:-- number in one value in roman term. german term. mark or bes. _siliquae_. _siliqua_ "unit of _siliquae_" _grenlin_ _pfennig_ -- _scripulum_ _scruple_ (?) _semi-sextula_ _gran_ _drachma_ _quintlein_ _sextula_ _halb krat_ _sicilicus_ _halb loth_ _duella_ _krat_ _semuncia_ _loth_ "_unit of drachmae "_nummus_" & scripulum_" _uncia_ _untzen_ _bes_ _mark_ while the proportions in a _bes_ or _mark_ are the same in both scales, the actual weight values are vastly different--for instance, the _mark_ contained about . , and the _bes_ troy grains. agricola also uses: _selibra_ _halb-pfundt_ _libra_ _pfundt_ _centumpondium_ _centner_. as the roman _libra_ contains _unciae_ and the german _pfundt_ _untzen_, the actual weights of these latter quantities are still further apart--the former and the latter troy grains. [ ] there are no tables in the latin text, the whole having been written out _in extenso_, but they have now been arranged as above, as being in a much more convenient and expressive form. [ ] see note above. [ ] see note , p. , for discussion of this "assay ton" arrangement. [ ] _agrippinenses_ and _antuerpiani_. book viii. questions of assaying were explained in the last book, and i have now come to a greater task, that is, to the description of how we extract the metals. first of all i will explain the method of preparing the ore[ ]; for since nature usually creates metals in an impure state, mixed with earth, stones, and solidified juices, it is necessary to separate most of these impurities from the ores as far as can be, before they are smelted, and therefore i will now describe the methods by which the ores are sorted, broken with hammers, burnt, crushed with stamps, ground into powder, sifted, washed, roasted, and calcined[ ]. i will start at the beginning with the first sort of work. experienced miners, when they dig the ore, sort the metalliferous material from earth, stones, and solidified juices before it is taken from the shafts and tunnels, and they put the valuable metal in trays and the waste into buckets. but if some miner who is inexperienced in mining matters has omitted to do this, or even if some experienced miner, compelled by some unavoidable necessity, has been unable to do so, as soon as the material which has been dug out has been removed from the mine, all of it should be examined, and that part of the ore which is rich in metal sorted from that part of it which is devoid of metal, whether such part be earth, or solidified juices, or stones. to smelt waste together with an ore involves a loss, for some expenditure is thrown away, seeing that out of earth and stones only empty and useless slags are melted out, and further, the solidified juices also impede the smelting of the metals and cause loss. the rock which lies contiguous to rich ore should also be broken into small pieces, crushed, and washed, lest any of the mineral should be lost. when, either through ignorance or carelessness, the miners while excavating have mixed the ore with earth or broken rock, the work of sorting the crude metal or the best ore is done not only by men, but also by boys and women. they throw the mixed material upon a long table, beside which they sit for almost the whole day, and they sort out the ore; when it has been sorted out, they collect it in trays, and when collected they throw it into tubs, which are carried to the works in which the ores are smelted. [illustration (sorting ore): a--long table. b--tray. c--tub.] [illustration (cutting metal): a--masses of metal. b--hammer. c--chisel. d--tree stumps. e--iron tool similar to a pair of shears.] the metal which is dug out in a pure or crude state, to which class belong native silver, silver glance, and gray silver, is placed on a stone by the mine foreman and flattened out by pounding with heavy square hammers. these masses, when they have been thus flattened out like plates, are placed either on the stump of a tree, and cut into pieces by pounding an iron chisel into them with a hammer, or else they are cut with an iron tool similar to a pair of shears. one blade of these shears is three feet long, and is firmly fixed in a stump, and the other blade which cuts the metal is six feet long. these pieces of metal are afterward heated in iron basins and smelted in the cupellation furnace by the smelters. [illustration (spalling ore): a--tables. b--upright planks. c--hammer. d--quadrangular hammer. e--deeper vessel. f--shallower vessel. g--iron rod.] although the miners, in the shafts or tunnels, have sorted over the material which they mine, still the ore which has been broken down and carried out must be broken into pieces by a hammer or minutely crushed, so that the more valuable and better parts can be distinguished from the inferior and worthless portions. this is of the greatest importance in smelting ore, for if the ore is smelted without this separation, the valuable part frequently receives great damage before the worthless part melts in the fire, or else the one consumes the other; this latter difficulty can, however, be partly avoided by the exercise of care and partly by the use of fluxes. now, if a vein is of poor quality, the better portions which have been broken down and carried out should be thrown together in one place, and the inferior portion and the rock thrown away. the sorters place a hard broad stone on a table; the tables are generally four feet square and made of joined planks, and to the edge of the sides and back are fixed upright planks, which rise about a foot from the table; the front, where the sorter sits, is left open. the lumps of ore, rich in gold or silver, are put by the sorters on the stone and broken up with a broad, but not thick, hammer; they either break them into pieces and throw them into one vessel, or they break and sort--whence they get their name--the more precious from the worthless, throwing and collecting them separately into different vessels. other men crush the lumps of ore less rich in gold or silver, which have likewise been put on the stone, with a broad thick hammer, and when it has been well crushed, they collect it and throw it into one vessel. there are two kinds of vessels; one is deeper, and a little wider in the centre than at the top or bottom; the other is not so deep though it is broader at the bottom, and becomes gradually a little narrower toward the top. the latter vessel is covered with a lid, while the former is not covered; an iron rod through the handles, bent over on either end, is grasped in the hand when the vessel is carried. but, above all, it behooves the sorters to be assiduous in their labours. [illustration (spalling ore): a--pyrites. b--leggings. c--gloves. d--hammer.] by another method of breaking ore with hammers, large hard fragments of ore are broken before they are burned. the legs of the workmen--at all events of those who crush pyrites in this manner with large hammers in goslar--are protected with coverings resembling leggings, and their hands are protected with long gloves, to prevent them from being injured by the chips which fly away from the fragments. [illustration (spalling ore): a--area paved with stones. b--broken ore. c--area covered with broken ore. d--iron tool. e--its handle. f--broom. g--short strake. h--wooden hoe.] in that district of greater germany which is called westphalia and in that district of lower germany which is named eifel, the broken ore which has been burned, is thrown by the workmen into a round area paved with the hardest stones, and the fragments are pounded up with iron tools, which are very much like hammers in shape and are used like threshing sledges. this tool is a foot long, a palm wide, and a digit thick, and has an opening in the middle just as hammers have, in which is fixed a wooden handle of no great thickness, but up to three and a half feet long, in order that the workmen can pound the ore with greater force by reason of its weight falling from a greater height. they strike and pound with the broad side of the tool, in the same way as corn is pounded out on a threshing floor with the threshing sledges, although the latter are made of wood and are smooth and fixed to poles. when the ore has been broken into small pieces, they sweep it together with brooms and remove it to the works, where it is washed in a short strake, at the head of which stands the washer, who draws the water upward with a wooden hoe. the water running down again, carries all the light particles into a trough placed underneath. i shall deal more fully with this method of washing a little later. ore is burned for two reasons; either that from being hard, it may become soft and more easily broken and more readily crushed with a hammer or stamps, and then can be smelted; or that the fatty things, that is to say, sulphur, bitumen, orpiment, or realgar[ ] may be consumed. sulphur is frequently found in metallic ores, and, generally speaking, is more harmful to the metals, except gold, than are the other things. it is most harmful of all to iron, and less to tin than to bismuth, lead, silver, or copper. since very rarely gold is found in which there is not some silver, even gold ores containing sulphur ought to be roasted before they are smelted, because, in a very vigorous furnace fire, sulphur resolves metal into ashes and makes slag of it. bitumen acts in the same way, in fact sometimes it consumes silver, which we may see in bituminous _cadmia_[ ]. [illustration (stall roasting ore): a--area. b--wood. c--ore. d--cone-shaped piles. e--canal.] i now come to the methods of roasting, and first of all to that one which is common to all ores. the earth is dug out to the required extent, and thus is made a quadrangular area of fair size, open at the front, and above this, firewood is laid close together, and on it other wood is laid transversely, likewise close together, for which reason our countrymen call this pile of wood a crate; this is repeated until the pile attains a height of one or two cubits. then there is placed upon it a quantity of ore that has been broken into small pieces with a hammer; first the largest of these pieces, next those of medium size, and lastly the smallest, and thus is built up a gently sloping cone. to prevent it from becoming scattered, fine sand of the same ore is soaked with water and smeared over it and beaten on with shovels; some workers, if they cannot obtain such fine sand, cover the pile with charcoal-dust, just as do charcoal-burners. but at goslar, the pile, when it has been built up in the form of a cone, is smeared with _atramentum sutorium rubrum_[ ], which is made by the leaching of roasted pyrites soaked with water. in some districts the ore is roasted once, in others twice, in others three times, as its hardness may require. at goslar, when pyrites is roasted for the third time, that which is placed on the top of the pyre exudes a certain greenish, dry, rough, thin substance, as i have elsewhere written[ ]; this is no more easily burned by the fire than is asbestos. very often also, water is put on to the ore which has been roasted, while it is still hot, in order to make it softer and more easily broken; for after fire has dried up the moisture in the ore, it breaks up more easily while it is still hot, of which fact burnt limestone affords the best example. [illustration (heap roasting ore): a--lighted pyre. b--pyre which is being constructed. c--ore. d--wood. e--pile of the same wood.] by digging out the earth they make the areas much larger, and square; walls should be built along the sides and back to hold the heat of the fire more effectively, and the front should be left open. in these compartments tin ore is roasted in the following manner. first of all wood about twelve feet long should be laid in the area in four layers, alternately straight and transverse. then the larger pieces of ore should be laid upon them, and on these again the smaller ones, which should also be placed around the sides; the fine sand of the same ore should also be spread over the pile and pounded with shovels, to prevent the pile from falling before it has been roasted; the wood should then be fired. [illustration (stall roasting ore): a--burning pyre which is composed of lead ore with wood placed above it. b--workman throwing ore into another area. c--oven-shaped furnace. d--openings through which the smoke escapes.] lead ore, if roasting is necessary, should be piled in an area just like the last, but sloping, and the wood should be placed over it. a tree trunk should be laid right across the front of the ore to prevent it from falling out. the ore, being roasted in this way, becomes partly melted and resembles slag. thuringian pyrites, in which there is gold, sulphur, and vitriol, after the last particle of vitriol has been obtained by heating it in water, is thrown into a furnace, in which logs are placed. this furnace is very similar to an oven in shape, in order that when the ore is roasted the valuable contents may not fly away with the smoke, but may adhere to the roof of the furnace. in this way sulphur very often hangs like icicles from the two openings of the roof through which the smoke escapes. [illustration (hearths for roasting): a--iron plates full of holes. b--walls. c--plate on which ore is placed. d--burning charcoal placed on the ore. e--pots. f--furnace. g--middle part of upper chamber. h--the other two compartments. i--divisions of the lower chamber. k--middle wall. l--pots which are filled with ore. m--lids of same pots. n--grating.] if pyrites or _cadmia_, or any other ore containing metal, possesses a good deal of sulphur or bitumen, it should be so roasted that neither is lost. for this purpose it is thrown on an iron plate full of holes, and roasted with charcoal placed on top; three walls support this plate, two on the sides and the third at the back. beneath the plate are placed pots containing water, into which the sulphurous or bituminous vapour descends, and in the water the fat accumulates and floats on the top. if it is sulphur, it is generally of a yellow colour; if bitumen, it is black like pitch. if these were not drawn out they would do much harm to the metal, when the ore is being smelted. when they have thus been separated they prove of some service to man, especially the sulphurous kind. from the vapour which is carried down, not into the water, but into the ground, there is created a sulphurous or a bituminous substance resembling _pompholyx_[ ], and so light that it can be blown away with a breath. some employ a vaulted furnace, open at the front and divided into two chambers. a wall built in the middle of the furnace divides the lower chamber into two equal parts, in which are set pots containing water, as above described. the upper chamber is again divided into three parts, the middle one of which is always open, for in it the wood is placed, and it is not broader than the middle wall, of which it forms the topmost portion. the other two compartments have iron doors which are closed, and which, together with the roof, keep in the heat when the wood is lighted. in these upper compartments are iron bars which take the place of a floor, and on these are arranged pots without bottoms, having in place of a bottom, a grating made of iron wire, fixed to each, through the openings of which the sulphurous or bituminous vapours roasted from the ore run into the lower pots. each of the upper pots holds a hundred pounds of ore; when they are filled they are covered with lids and smeared with lute. [illustration (heap roasting): a--heap of cupriferous stones. b--kindled heap. c--stones being taken to the beds of faggots.] in eisleben and the neighbourhood, when they roast the schistose stone from which copper is smelted, and which is not free from bitumen, they do not use piles of logs, but bundles of faggots. at one time, they used to pile this kind of stone, when extracted from the pit, on bundles of faggots and roast it by firing the faggots; nowadays, they first of all carry these same stones to a heap, where they are left to lie for some time in such a way as to allow the air and rain to soften them. then they make a bed of faggot bundles near the heap, and carry the nearest stones to this bed; afterward they again place bundles of faggots in the empty place from which the first stones have been removed, and pile over this extended bed, the stones which lay nearest to the first lot; and they do this right up to the end, until all the stones have been piled mound-shape on a bed of faggots. finally they fire the faggots, not, however, on the side where the wind is blowing, but on the opposite side, lest the fire blown up by the force of the wind should consume the faggots before the stones are roasted and made soft; by this method the stones which are adjacent to the faggots take fire and communicate it to the next ones, and these again to the adjoining ones, and in this way the heap very often burns continuously for thirty days or more. this schist rock when rich in copper, as i have said elsewhere, exudes a substance of a nature similar to asbestos. [illustration (stamp-mill): a--mortar. b--upright posts. c--cross-beams. d--stamps. e--their heads. f--axle (cam-shaft). g--tooth of the stamp (tappet). h--teeth of axle (cams).] ore is crushed with iron-shod stamps, in order that the metal may be separated from the stone and the hangingwall rock.[ ] the machines which miners use for this purpose are of four kinds, and are made by the following method. a block of oak timber six feet long, two feet and a palm square, is laid on the ground. in the middle of this is fixed a mortar-box, two feet and six digits long, one foot and six digits deep; the front, which might be called a mouth, lies open; the bottom is covered with a plate of iron, a palm thick and two palms and as many digits wide, each end of which is wedged into the timber with broad wedges, and the front and back part of it are fixed to the timber with iron nails. to the sides of the mortar above the block are fixed two upright posts, whose upper ends are somewhat cut back and are mortised to the timbers of the building. two and a half feet above the mortar are placed two cross-beams joined together, one in front and one in the back, the ends of which are mortised into the upright posts already mentioned. through each mortise is bored a hole, into which is driven an iron clavis; one end of the clavis has two horns, and the other end is perforated in order that a wedge driven through, binds the beams more firmly; one horn of the clavis turns up and the other down. three and a half feet above the cross-beams, two other cross-beams of the same kind are again joined in a similar manner; these cross-beams have square openings, in which the iron-shod stamps are inserted. the stamps are not far distant from each other, and fit closely in the cross-beams. each stamp has a tappet at the back, which requires to be daubed with grease on the lower side that it can be raised more easily. for each stamp there are on a cam-shaft, two cams, rounded on the outer end, which alternately raise the stamp, in order that, by its dropping into the mortar, it may with its iron head pound and crush the rock which has been thrown under it. to the cam-shaft is fixed a water-wheel whose buckets are turned by water-power. instead of doors, the mouth of the mortar has a board, which is fitted into notches cut out of the front of the block. this board can be raised, in order that when the mouth is open, the workmen can remove with a shovel the fine sand, and likewise the coarse sand and broken rock, into which the rocks have been crushed; this board can be lowered, so that the mouth thus being closed, the fresh rock thrown in may be crushed with the iron-shod stamps. if an oak block is not available, two timbers are placed on the ground and joined together with iron clamps, each of the timbers being six feet long, a foot wide, and a foot and a half thick. such depth as should be allowed to the mortar, is obtained by cutting out the first beam to a width of three-quarters of a foot and to a length of two and a third and one twenty-fourth of a foot. in the bottom of the part thus dug out, there should be laid a very hard rock, a foot thick and three-quarters of a foot wide; about it, if any space remains, earth or sand should be filled in and pounded. on the front, this bed rock is covered with a plank; this rock when it has been broken, should be taken away and replaced by another. a smaller mortar having room for only three stamps may also be made in the same manner. [illustration (stamps): a--stamp. b--stem cut out in lower part. c--shoe. d--the other shoe, barbed and grooved. e--quadrangular iron band. f--wedge. g--tappet. h--angular cam-shaft. i--cams. k--pair of compasses.] the stamp-stems are made of small square timbers nine feet long and half a foot wide each way. the iron head of each is made in the following way; the lower part of the head is three palms long and the upper part the same length. the lower part is a palm square in the middle for two palms, then below this, for a length of two digits it gradually spreads until it becomes five digits square; above the middle part, for a length of two digits, it again gradually swells out until it becomes a palm and a half square. higher up, where the head of the shoe is enclosed in the stem, it is bored through and similarly the stem itself is pierced, and through the opening of each, there passes a broad iron wedge, which prevents the head falling off the stem. to prevent the stamp head from becoming broken by the constant striking of fragments of ore or rocks, there is placed around it a quadrangular iron band a digit thick, seven digits wide, and six digits deep. those who use three stamps, as is common, make them much larger, and they are made square and three palms broad each way; then the iron shoe of each has a total length of two feet and a palm; at the lower end, it is hexagonal, and at that point it is seven digits wide and thick. the lower part of it which projects beyond the stem is one foot and two palms long; the upper part, which is enclosed in the stem, is three palms long; the lower part is a palm wide and thick; then gradually the upper part becomes narrower and thinner, so that at the top it is three digits and a half wide and two thick. it is bored through at the place where the angles have been somewhat cut away; the hole is three digits long and one wide, and is one digit's distance from the top. there are some who make that part of the head which is enclosed in the stem, barbed and grooved, in order that when the hooks have been fixed into the stem and wedges fitted to the grooves, it may remain tightly fixed, especially when it is also held with two quadrangular iron bands. some divide the cam-shaft with a compass into six sides, others into nine; it is better for it to be divided into twelve sides, in order that successively one side may contain a cam and the next be without one. [illustration (stamp-mill): a--box. although the upper part is not open, it is shown open here, that the wheel may be seen. b--wheel. c--cam-shaft. d--stamps.] the water-wheel is entirely enclosed under a quadrangular box, in case either the deep snows or ice in winter, or storms, may impede its running and its turning around. the joints in the planks are stopped all around with moss. the cover, however, has one opening, through which there passes a race bringing down water which, dropping on the buckets of the wheel, turns it round, and flows out again in the lower race under the box. the spokes of the water-wheel are not infrequently mortised into the middle of the cam-shaft; in this case the cams on both sides raise the stamps, which either both crush dry or wet ore, or else the one set crushes dry ore and the other set wet ore, just as circumstances require the one or the other; further, when the one set is raised and the iron clavises in them are fixed into openings in the first cross-beam, the other set alone crushes the ore. [illustration (handling stamped material): a--box laid flat on the ground. b--its bottom which is made of iron wire. c--box inverted. d--iron rods. e--box suspended from a beam, the inside being visible. f--box suspended from a beam, the outside being visible.] broken rock or stones, or the coarse or fine sand, are removed from the mortar of this machine and heaped up, as is also done with the same materials when raked out of the dump near the mine. they are thrown by a workman into a box, which is open on the top and the front, and is three feet long and nearly a foot and a half wide. its sides are sloping and made of planks, but its bottom is made of iron wire netting, and fastened with wire to two iron rods, which are fixed to the two side planks. this bottom has openings, through which broken rock of the size of a hazel nut cannot pass; the pieces which are too large to pass through are removed by the workman, who again places them under stamps, while those which have passed through, together with the coarse and fine sand, he collects in a large vessel and keeps for the washing. when he is performing his laborious task he suspends the box from a beam by two ropes. this box may rightly be called a quadrangular sieve, as may also that kind which follows. [illustration (sifting ore): a--sieve. b--small planks. c--post. d--bottom of sieve. e--open box. f--small cross-beam. g--upright posts.] some employ a sieve shaped like a wooden bucket, bound with two iron hoops; its bottom, like that of the box, is made of iron wire netting. they place this on two small cross-planks fixed upon a post set in the ground. some do not fix the post in the ground, but stand it on the ground until there arises a heap of the material which has passed through the sieve, and in this the post is fixed. with an iron shovel the workman throws into this sieve broken rock, small stones, coarse and fine sand raked out of the dump; holding the handles of the sieve in his hands, he agitates it up and down in order that by this movement the dust, fine and coarse sand, small stones, and fine broken rock may fall through the bottom. others do not use a sieve, but an open box, whose bottom is likewise covered with wire netting; this they fix on a small cross-beam fastened to two upright beams and tilt it backward and forward. [illustration (sifting ore): a--box. b--bale. c--rope. d--beam. e--handles. f--five-toothed rake. g--sieve. h--its handles. i--pole. k--rope. l--timber.] some use a sieve made of copper, having square copper handles on both sides, and through these handles runs a pole, of which one end projects three-quarters of a foot beyond one handle; the workman then places that end in a rope which is suspended from a beam, and rapidly shakes the pole alternately backward and forward. by this movement the small particles fall through the bottom of the sieve. in order that the end of the pole may be easily placed in the rope, a stick, two palms long, holds open the lower part of the rope as it hangs double, each end of the rope being tied to the beam; part of the rope, however, hangs beyond the stick to a length of half a foot. a large box is also used for this purpose, of which the bottom is either made of a plank full of holes or of iron netting, as are the other boxes. an iron bale is fastened from the middle of the planks which form its sides; to this bale is fastened a rope which is suspended from a wooden beam, in order that the box may be moved or tilted in any direction. there are two handles on each end, not unlike the handles of a wheelbarrow; these are held by two workmen, who shake the box to and fro. this box is the one principally used by the germans who dwell in the carpathian mountains. the smaller particles are separated from the larger ones by means of three boxes and two sieves, in order that those which pass through each, being of equal size, may be washed together; for the bottoms of both the boxes and sieves have openings which do not let through broken rock of the size of a hazel nut. as for the dry remnants in the bottoms of the sieves, if they contain any metal the miners put them under the stamps. the larger pieces of broken rock are not separated from the smaller by this method until the men and boys, with five-toothed rakes, have separated them from the rock fragments, the little stones, the coarse and the fine sand and earth, which have been thrown on to the dumps. [illustration (sifting ore): a--workman carrying broken rock in a barrow. b--first chute. c--first box. d--its handles. e--its bales. f--rope. g--beam. h--post. i--second chute. k--second box. l--third chute. m--third box. n--first table. o--first sieve. p--first tub. q--second table. r--second sieve. s--second tub. t--third table. v--third sieve. x--third tub. y--plugs.] at neusohl, in the carpathians, there are mines where the veins of copper lie in the ridges and peaks of the mountains, and in order to save expense being incurred by a long and difficult transport, along a rough and sometimes very precipitous road, one workman sorts over the dumps which have been thrown out from the mines, and another carries in a wheelbarrow the earth, fine and coarse sand, little stones, broken rock, and even the poorer ore, and overturns the barrow into a long open chute fixed to a steep rock. this chute is held apart by small cleats, and the material slides down a distance of about one hundred and fifty feet into a short box, whose bottom is made of a thick copper plate, full of holes. this box has two handles by which it is shaken to and fro, and at the top there are two bales made of hazel sticks, in which is fixed the iron hook of a rope hung from the branch of a tree or from a wooden beam which projects from an upright post. from time to time a sifter pulls this box and thrusts it violently against the tree or post, by which means the small particles passing through its holes descend down another chute into another short box, in whose bottom there are smaller holes. a second sifter, in like manner, thrusts this box violently against a tree or post, and a second time the smaller particles are received into a third chute, and slide down into a third box, whose bottom has still smaller holes. a third sifter, in like manner, thrusts this box violently against a tree or post, and for the third time the tiny particles fall through the holes upon a table. while the workman is bringing in the barrow, another load which has been sorted from the dump, each sifter withdraws the hooks from his bale and carries away his own box and overturns it, heaping up the broken rock or sand which remains in the bottom of it. as for the tiny particles which have slid down upon the table, the first washer--for there are as many washers as sifters--sweeps them off and in a tub nearly full of water, washes them through a sieve whose holes are smaller than the holes of the third box. when this tub has been filled with the material which has passed through the sieve, he draws out the plug to let the water run away; then he removes with a shovel that which has settled in the tub and throws it upon the table of a second washer, who washes it in a sieve with smaller holes. the sediment which has this time settled in his tub, he takes out and throws on the table of a third washer, who washes it in a sieve with the smallest holes. the copper concentrates which have settled in the last tub are taken out and smelted; the sediment which each washer has removed with a limp is washed on a canvas strake. the sifters at altenberg, in the tin mines of the mountains bordering on bohemia, use such boxes as i have described, hung from wooden beams. these, however, are a little larger and open in the front, through which opening the broken rock which has not gone through the sieve can be shaken out immediately by thrusting the sieve against its post. [illustration (sifting ore): a--sieve. b--its handles. c--tub. d--bottom of sieve made of iron wires. e--hoop. f--rods. g--hoops. h--woman shaking the sieve. i--boy supplying it with material which requires washing. k--man with shovel removing from the tub the material which has passed through the sieve.] if the ore is rich in metal, the earth, the fine and coarse sand, and the pieces of rock which have been broken from the hangingwall, are dug out of the dump with a spade or rake and, with a shovel, are thrown into a large sieve or basket, and washed in a tub nearly full of water. the sieve is generally a cubit broad and half a foot deep; its bottom has holes of such size that the larger pieces of broken rock cannot pass through them, for this material rests upon the straight and cross iron wires, which at their points of contact are bound by small iron clips. the sieve is held together by an iron band and by two cross-rods likewise of iron; the rest of the sieve is made of staves in the shape of a little tub, and is bound with two iron hoops; some, however, bind it with hoops of hazel or oak, but in that case they use three of them. on each side it has handles, which are held in the hands by whoever washes the metalliferous material. into this sieve a boy throws the material to be washed, and a woman shakes it up and down, turning it alternately to the right and to the left, and in this way passes through it the smaller pieces of earth, sand, and broken rock. the larger pieces remain in the sieve, and these are taken out, placed in a heap and put under the stamps. the mud, together with fine sand, coarse sand, and broken rock, which remain after the water has been drawn out of the tub, is removed by an iron shovel and washed in the sluice, about which i will speak a little later. [illustration (sifting ore): a--basket. b--its handles. c--dish. d--its back part. e--its front part. f--handles of same.] the bohemians use a basket a foot and a half broad and half a foot deep, bound together by osiers. it has two handles by which it is grasped, when they move it about and shake it in the tub or in a small pool nearly full of water. all that passes through it into the tub or pool they take out and wash in a bowl, which is higher in the back part and lower and flat in the front; it is grasped by the two handles and shaken in the water, the lighter particles flowing away, and the heavier and mineral portion sinking to the bottom. [illustration (mills for grinding ore): a--axle. b--water-wheel. c--toothed drum. d--drum made of rundles. e--iron axle. f--millstone. g--hopper. h--round wooden plate. i--trough.] gold ore, after being broken with hammers or crushed by the stamps, and even tin ore, is further milled to powder. the upper millstone, which is turned by water-power, is made in the following way. an axle is rounded to compass measure, or is made angular, and its iron pinions turn in iron sockets which are held in beams. the axle is turned by a water-wheel, the buckets of which are fixed to the rim and are struck by the force of a stream. into the axle is mortised a toothed drum, whose teeth are fixed in the side of the rim. these teeth turn a second drum of rundles, which are made of very hard material. this drum surrounds an iron axle which has a pinion at the bottom and revolves in an iron cup in a timber. at the top of the iron axle is an iron tongue, dove-tailed into the millstone, and so when the teeth of the one drum turn the rundles of the other, the millstone is made to turn round. an overhanging machine supplies it with ore through a hopper, and the ore, being ground to powder, is discharged from a round wooden plate into a trough and flowing away through it accumulates on the floor; from there the ore is carried away and reserved for washing. since this method of grinding requires the millstone to be now raised and now lowered, the timber in whose socket the iron of the pinion axle revolves, rests upon two beams, which can be raised and lowered. [illustration (mills for grinding ore): a--first mill. b--wheel turned by goats. c--second mill. d--disc of upright axle. e--its toothed drum. f--third mill. g--shape of lower millstone. h--small upright axle of the same. i--its opening. k--lever of the upper millstone. l--its opening.] there are three mills in use in milling gold ores, especially for quartz[ ] which is not lacking in metal. they are not all turned by water-power, but some by the strength of men, and two of them even by the power of beasts of burden. the first revolving one differs from the next only in its driving wheel, which is closed in and turned by men treading it, or by horses, which are placed inside, or by asses, or even by strong goats; the eyes of these beasts are covered by linen bands. the second mill, both when pushed and turned round, differs from the two above by having an upright axle in the place of the horizontal one; this axle has at its lower end a disc, which two workmen turn by treading back its cleats with their feet, though frequently one man sustains all the labour; or sometimes there projects from the axle a pole which is turned by a horse or an ass, for which reason it is called an _asinaria_. the toothed drum which is at the upper end of the axle turns the drum which is made of rundles, and together with it the millstone. the third mill is turned round and round, and not pushed by hand; but between this and the others there is a great distinction, for the lower millstone is so shaped at the top that it can hold within it the upper millstone, which revolves around an iron axle; this axle is fastened in the centre of the lower stone and passes through the upper stone. a workman, by grasping in his hand an upright iron bar placed in the upper millstone, moves it round. the middle of the upper millstone is bored through, and the ore, being thrown into this opening, falls down upon the lower millstone and is there ground to powder, which gradually runs out through its opening; it is washed by various methods before it is mixed with quicksilver, which i will explain presently. [illustration (stamp-mill): a--water-wheel. b--axle. c--stamp. d--hopper in the upper millstone. e--opening passing through the centre. f--lower millstone. g--its round depression. h--its outlet. i--iron axle. k--its crosspiece. l--beam. m--drum of rundles on the iron axle. n--toothed drum of main axle. o--tubs. p--the small planks. q--small upright axles. r--enlarged part of one. s--their paddles. t--their drums which are made of rundles. v--small horizontal axle set into the end of the main axle. x--its toothed drums. y--three sluices. z--their small axles. aa--spokes. bb--paddles.] some people build a machine which at one and the same time can crush, grind, cleanse, and wash the gold ore, and mix the gold with quicksilver. this machine has one water-wheel, which is turned by a stream striking its buckets; the main axle on one side of the water-wheel has long cams, which raise the stamps that crush the dry ore. then the crushed ore is thrown into the hopper of the upper millstone, and gradually falling through the opening, is ground to powder. the lower millstone is square, but has a round depression in which the round, upper millstone turns, and it has an outlet from which the powder falls into the first tub. a vertical iron axle is dove-tailed into a cross-piece, which is in turn fixed into the upper millstone; the upper pinion of this axle is held in a bearing fixed in a beam; the drum of the vertical axle is made of rundles, and is turned by the toothed drum on the main axle, and thus turns the millstone. the powder falls continually into the first tub, together with water, and from there runs into a second tub which is set lower down, and out of the second into a third, which is the lowest; from the third, it generally flows into a small trough hewn out of a tree trunk. quicksilver[ ] is placed in each tub, across which is fixed a small plank, and through a hole in the middle of each plank there passes a small upright axle, which is enlarged above the plank to prevent it from dropping into the tub lower than it should. at the lower end of the axle three sets of paddles intersect, each made from two little boards fixed to the axle opposite each other. the upper end of this axle has a pinion held by a bearing set in a beam, and around each of these axles is a small drum made of rundles, each of which is turned by a small toothed drum on a horizontal axle, one end of which is mortised into the large horizontal axle, and the other end is held in a hollow covered with thick iron plates in a beam. thus the paddles, of which there are three sets in each tub, turn round, and agitating the powder, thoroughly mix it with water and separate the minute particles of gold from it, and these are attracted by the quicksilver and purified. the water carries away the waste. the quicksilver is poured into a bag made of leather or cloth woven from cotton, and when this bag is squeezed, as i have described elsewhere, the quicksilver drips through it into a jar placed underneath. the pure gold[ ] remains in the bag. some people substitute three broad sluices for the tubs, each of which has an angular axle on which are set six narrow spokes, and to them are fixed the same number of broad paddles; the water that is poured in strikes these paddles and turns them round, and they agitate the powder which is mixed with the water and separate the metal from it. if the powder which is being treated contains gold particles, the first method of washing is far superior, because the quicksilver in the tubs immediately attracts the gold; if it is powder in which are the small black stones from which tin is smelted, this latter method is not to be despised. it is very advantageous to place interlaced fir boughs in the sluices in which such tin-stuff is washed, after it has run through the launders from the mills, because the fine tin-stone is either held back by the twigs, or if the current carries them along they fall away from the water and settle down. seven methods of washing are in common use for the ores of many metals; for they are washed either in a simple buddle, or in a divided buddle, or in an ordinary strake, or in a large tank, or in a short strake, or in a canvas strake, or in a jigging sieve. other methods of washing are either peculiar to some particular metal, or are combined with the method of crushing wet ore by stamps. [illustration (buddles): a--head of buddle. b--pipe. c--buddle. d--board. e--transverse buddle. f--shovel. g--scrubber.] a simple buddle is made in the following way. in the first place, the head is higher than the rest of the buddle, and is three feet long and a foot and a half broad; this head is made of planks laid upon a timber and fastened, and on both sides, side-boards are set up so as to hold the water, which flows in through a pipe or trough, so that it shall fall straight down. the middle of the head is somewhat depressed in order that the broken rock and the larger metallic particles may settle into it. the buddle is sunk into the earth to a depth of three-quarters of a foot below the head, and is twelve feet long and a foot and a half wide and deep; the bottom and each side are lined with planks to prevent the earth, when it is softened by the water, from falling in or from absorbing the metallic particles. the lower end of the buddle is obstructed by a board, which is not as high as the sides. to this straight buddle there is joined a second transverse buddle, six feet long and a foot and a half wide and deep, similarly lined with planks; at the lower end it is closed up with a board, also lower than the sides of the buddle so that the water can flow away; this water falls into a launder and is carried outside the building. in this simple buddle is washed the metallic material which has passed on to the floor of the works through the five large sieves. when this has been gathered into a heap, the washer throws it into the head of the buddle, and water is poured upon it through the pipe or small trough, and the portion which sinks and settles in the middle of the head compartment he stirs with a wooden scrubber,--this is what we will henceforth call the implement made of a stick to which is fixed a piece of wood a foot long and a palm broad. the water is made turbid by this stirring, and carries the mud and sand and small particles of metal into the buddle below. together with the broken rock, the larger metallic particles remain in the head compartment, and when these have been removed, boys throw them upon the platform of a washing tank or the short strake, and separate them from the broken rock. when the buddle is full of mud and sand, the washer closes the pipe through which the water flows into the head; very soon the water which remains in the buddle flows away, and when this has taken place, he removes with a shovel the mud and sand which are mixed with minute particles of metal, and washes them on a canvas strake. sometimes before the buddles have been filled full, the boys throw the material into a bowl and carry it to the strakes and wash it. pulverized ore is washed in the head of this kind of a buddle; but usually when tin-stone is washed in it, interlacing fir boughs are put into the buddle, in the same manner as in the sluice when wet ore is crushed with stamps. the larger tin-stone particles, which sink in the upper part of the buddle, are washed separately in a strake; those particles which are of medium size, and settle in the middle part, are washed separately in the same way; and the mud mixed with minute particles of tin-stone, which has settled in the lowest part of the buddle below the fir boughs, is washed separately on the canvas strakes. [illustration (buddles): a--pipe. b--cross launder. c--small troughs. d--head of the buddle. e--wooden scrubber. f--dividing boards. g--short strake.] the divided buddle differs from the last one by having several cross-boards, which, being placed inside it, divide it off like steps; if the buddle is twelve feet long, four of them are placed within; if nine feet long, three. the nearer each one is to the head, the greater is its height; the further from the head, the lower it is; and so when the highest is a foot and a palm high, the second is usually a foot and three digits high, the third a foot and two digits, and the lowest a foot and one digit. in this buddle is generally washed that metalliferous material which has been sifted through the large sieve into the tub containing water. this material is continuously thrown with an iron shovel into the head of the buddle, and the water which has been let in is stirred up by a wooden scrubber, until the buddle is full, then the cross-boards are taken out by the washer, and the water is drained off; next the metalliferous material which has settled in the compartments is again washed, either on a short strake or on the canvas strakes or in the jigging sieves. since a short strake is often united with the upper part of this buddle, a pipe in the first place carries the water into a cross launder, from which it flows down through one little launder into the buddle, and through another into the short strake. [illustration (washing material): a--head. b--strake. c--trowel. d--scrubber. e--canvas. f--rod by which the canvas is made smooth.] an ordinary strake, so far as the planks are concerned, is not unlike the last two. the head of this, as of the others, is first made of earth stamped down, then covered with planks; and where it is necessary, earth is thrown in and beaten down a second time, so that no crevice may remain through which water carrying the particles of metal can escape. the water ought to fall straight down into the strake, which has a length of eight feet and a breadth of a foot and a half; it is connected with a transverse launder, which then extends to a settling pit outside the building. a boy with a shovel or a ladle takes the impure concentrates or impure tin-stone from a heap, and throws them into the head of the strake or spreads them over it. a washer with a wooden scrubber then agitates them in the strake, whereby the mud mixed with water flows away into the transverse launder, and the concentrates or the tin-stone settle on the strake. since sometimes the concentrates or fine tin-stone flow down together with the mud into the transverse launder, a second washer closes it, after a distance of about six feet, with a cross-board and frequently stirs the mud with a shovel, in order that when mixed with water it may flow out into the settling-pit; and there remains in the launder only the concentrates or tin-stone. the tin-stuff of schlackenwald and erbisdorff is washed in this kind of a strake once or twice; those of altenberg three or four times; those of geyer often seven times; for in the ore at schlackenwald and erbisdorff the tin-stone particles are of a fair size, and are crushed with stamps; at altenberg they are of much smaller size, and in the broken ore at geyer only a few particles of tin-stone can be seen occasionally. this method of washing was first devised by the miners who treated tin ore, whence it passed on from the works of the tin workers to those of the silver workers and others; this system is even more reliable than washing in jigging-sieves. near this ordinary strake there is generally a canvas strake. [illustration (washing material): a--upper cross launder. b--small launders. c--heads of strakes. d--strakes. e--lower transverse launder. f--settling pit. g--socket in the sill. h--halved iron rings fixed to beam. i--pole. k--its little scrubber. l--second small scrubber.] in modern times two ordinary strakes, similarly made, are generally joined together; the head of one is three feet distant from that of the other, while the bodies are four feet distant from each other, and there is only one cross launder under the two strakes. one boy shovels, from the heap into the head of each, the concentrates or tin-stone mixed with mud. there are two washers, one of whom sits at the right side of one strake, and the other at the left of the other strake, and each pursues his task, using the following sort of implement. under each strake is a sill, from a socket in which a round pole rises, and is held by half an iron ring in a beam of the building, so that it may revolve; this pole is nine feet long and a palm thick. penetrating the pole is a small round piece of wood, three palms long and as many digits thick, to which is affixed a small board two feet long and five digits wide, in an opening of which one end of a small axle revolves, and to this axle is fixed the handle of a little scrubber. the other end of this axle turns in an opening of a second board, which is likewise fixed to a small round piece of wood; this round piece, like the first one, is three palms long and as many digits thick, and is used by the washer as a handle. the little scrubber is made of a stick three feet long, to the end of which is fixed a small tablet of wood a foot long, six digits broad, and a digit and a half thick. the washer constantly moves the handle of this implement with one hand; in this way the little scrubber stirs the concentrates or the fine tin-stone mixed with mud in the head of the strake, and the mud, on being stirred, flows on to the strake. in the other hand he holds a second little scrubber, which has a handle of half the length, and with this he ceaselessly stirs the concentrates or tin-stone which have settled in the upper part of the strake; in this way the mud and water flow down into the transverse launder, and from it into the settling-pit which is outside the building. [illustration (washing material): a--trough. b--platform. c--wooden scrubber.] before the short strake and the jigging-sieve had been invented, metalliferous ores, especially tin, were crushed dry with stamps and washed in a large trough hollowed out of one or two tree trunks; and at the head of this trough was a platform, on which the ore was thrown after being completely crushed. the washer pulled it down into the trough with a wooden scrubber which had a long handle, and when the water had been let into the trough, he stirred the ore with the same scrubber. [illustration (washing material): a--short strake. b--small launder. c--transverse launder. d--wooden scrubber.] the short strake is narrow in the upper part where the water flows down into it through the little launder; in fact it is only two feet wide; at the lower end it is wider, being three feet and as many palms. at the sides, which are six feet long, are fixed boards two palms high. in other respects the head resembles the head of the simple buddle, except that it is not depressed in the middle. beneath is a cross launder closed by a low board. in this short strake not only is ore agitated and washed with a wooden scrubber, but boys also separate the concentrates from the broken rock in them and collect them in tubs. the short strake is now rarely employed by miners, owing to the carelessness of the boys, which has been frequently detected; for this reason, the jigging-sieve has taken its place. the mud which settles in the launder, if the ore is rich, is taken up and washed in a jigging-sieve or on a canvas strake. [illustration (washing material): a--beams. b--canvas. c--head of strake. d--small launder. e--settling pit or tank. f--wooden scrubber. g--tubs.] a canvas strake is made in the following way. two beams, eighteen feet long and half a foot broad and three palms thick, are placed on a slope; one half of each of these beams is partially cut away lengthwise, to allow the ends of planks to be fastened in them, for the bottom is covered by planks three feet long, set crosswise and laid close together. one half of each supporting beam is left intact and rises a palm above the planks, in order that the water that is running down may not escape at the sides, but shall flow straight down. the head of the strake is higher than the rest of the body, and slopes so as to enable the water to flow away. the whole strake is covered by six stretched pieces of canvas, smoothed with a stick. the first of them occupies the lowest division, and the second is so laid as to slightly overlap it; on the second division, the third is similarly laid, and so on, one on the other. if they are laid in the opposite way, the water flowing down carries the concentrates or particles of tin-stone under the canvas, and a useless task is attempted. boys or men throw the concentrates or tin-stuff mixed with mud into the head of the strake, after the canvas has been thus stretched, and having opened the small launder they let the water flow in; then they stir the concentrates or tin-stone with a wooden scrubber till the water carries them all on to the canvas; next they gently sweep the linen with the wooden scrubber until the mud flows into the settling-pit or into the transverse launder. as soon as there is little or no mud on the canvas, but only concentrates or tin-stone, they carry the canvas away and wash it in a tub placed close by. the tin-stone settles in the tub, and the men return immediately to the same task. finally, they pour the water out of the tub, and collect the concentrates or tin-stone. however, if either concentrates or tin-stone have washed down from the canvas and settled in the settling-pit or in the transverse launder, they wash the mud again. [illustration (collecting concentrates): a--canvas strake. b--man dashing water on the canvas. c--bucket. d--bucket of another kind. e--man removing concentrates or tin-stone from the trough.] some neither remove the canvas nor wash it in the tubs, but place over it on each edge narrow strips, of no great thickness, and fix them to the beams with nails. they agitate the metalliferous material with wooden scrubbers and wash it in a similar way. as soon as little or no mud remains on the canvas, but only concentrates or fine tin-stone, they lift one beam so that the whole strake rests on the other, and dash it with water, which has been drawn with buckets out of the small tank, and in this way all the sediment which clings to the canvas falls into the trough placed underneath. this trough is hewn out of a tree and placed in a ditch dug in the ground; the interior of the trough is a foot wide at the top, but narrower in the bottom, because it is rounded out. in the middle of this trough they put a cross-board, in order that the fairly large particles of concentrates or fairly large-sized tin-stone may remain in the forepart into which they have fallen, and the fine concentrates or fine tin-stone in the lower part, for the water flows from one into the other, and at last flows down through an opening into the pit. as for the fairly large-sized concentrates or tin-stone which have been removed from the trough, they are washed again on the ordinary strake. the fine concentrates and fine tin-stone are washed again on this canvas strake. by this method, the canvas lasts longer because it remains fixed, and nearly double the work is done by one washer as quickly as can be done by two washers by the other method. [illustration (jigging sieve): a--fine sieves. b--limp. c--finer sieve. d--finest sieve.] the jigging sieve has recently come into use by miners. the metalliferous material is thrown into it and sifted in a tub nearly full of water. the sieve is shaken up and down, and by this movement all the material below the size of a pea passes through into the tub, and the rest remains on the bottom of the sieve. this residue is of two kinds, the metallic particles, which occupy the lower place, and the particles of rock and earth, which take the higher place, because the heavy substance always settles, and the light is borne upward by the force of the water. this light material is taken away with a limp, which is a thin tablet of wood almost semicircular in shape, three-quarters of a foot long, and half a foot wide. before the lighter portion is taken away the contents of the sieve are generally divided crosswise with a limp, to enable the water to penetrate into it more quickly. afterward fresh material is again thrown into the sieve and shaken up and down, and when a great quantity of metallic particles have settled in the sieve, they are taken out and put into a tray close by. but since there fall into the tub with the mud, not only particles of gold or silver, but also of sand, pyrites, _cadmia_, galena, quartz, and other substances, and since the water cannot separate these from the metallic particles because they are all heavy, this muddy mixture is washed a second time, and the part which is useless is thrown away. to prevent the sieve passing this sand again too quickly, the washer lays small stones or gravel in the bottom of the sieve. however, if the sieve is not shaken straight up and down, but is tilted to one side, the small stones or broken ore move from one part to another, and the metallic material again falls into the tub, and the operation is frustrated. the miners of our country have made an even finer sieve, which does not fail even with unskilled washers; in washing with this sieve they have no need for the bottom to be strewn with small stones. by this method the mud settles in the tub with the very fine metallic particles, and the larger sizes of metal remain in the sieve and are covered with the valueless sand, and this is taken away with a limp. the concentrates which have been collected are smelted together with other things. the mud mixed with the very fine metallic particles is washed for a third time and in the finest sieve, whose bottom is woven of hair. if the ore is rich in metal, all the material which has been removed by the limp is washed on the canvas strakes, or if the ore is poor it is thrown away. i have explained the methods of washing which are used in common for the ores of many metals. i now come to another method of crushing ore, for i ought to speak of this before describing those methods of washing which are peculiar to ores of particular metals. [illustration (stamp-mill): a--mortar. b--open end of mortar. c--slab of rock. d--iron sole plates. e--screen. f--launder. g--wooden shovel. h--settling pit. i--iron shovel. k--heap of material which has settled. l--ore which requires crushing. m--small launder.] in the year , george, the illustrious duke of saxony[ ], gave the overlordship of all the dumps ejected from the mines in meissen to the noble and wise sigismund maltitz, father of john, bishop of meissen. rejecting the dry stamps, the large sieve, and the stone mills of dippoldswalde and altenberg, in which places are dug the small black stones from which tin is smelted, he invented a machine which could crush the ore wet under iron-shod stamps. that is called "wet ore" which is softened by water which flows into the mortar box, and they are sometimes called "wet stamps" because they are drenched by the same water; and on the other hand, the other kinds are called "dry stamps" or "dry ore," because no water is used to soften the ore when the stamps are crushing. but to return to our subject. this machine is not dissimilar to the one which crushes the ore with dry iron-shod stamps, but the heads of the wet stamps are larger by half than the heads of the others. the mortar-box, which is made of oak or beech timber, is set up in the space between the upright posts; it does not open in front, but at one end, and it is three feet long, three-quarters of a foot wide, and one foot and six digits deep. if it has no bottom, it is set up in the same way over a slab of hard, smooth rock placed in the ground, which has been dug down a little. the joints are stopped up all round with moss or cloth rags. if the mortar has a bottom, then an iron sole-plate, three feet long, three-quarters of a foot wide, and a palm thick, is placed in it. in the opening in the end of the mortar there is fixed an iron plate full of holes, in such a way that there is a space of two digits between it and the shoe of the nearest stamp, and the same distance between this screen and the upright post, in an opening through which runs a small but fairly long launder. the crushed particles of silver ore flow through this launder with the water into a settling-pit, while the material which settles in the launder is removed with an iron shovel to the nearest planked floor; that material which has settled in the pit is removed with an iron shovel on to another floor. most people make two launders, in order that while the workman empties one of them of the accumulation which has settled in it, a fresh deposit may be settling in the other. the water flows in through a small launder at the other end of the mortar that is near the water-wheel which turns the machine. the workman throws the ore to be crushed into the mortar in such a way that the pieces, when they are thrown in among the stamps, do not impede the work. by this method a silver or gold ore is crushed very fine by the stamps. [illustration (buddle): a--launder reaching to the screen. b--transverse trough. c--spouts. d--large buddles. e--shovel. f--interwoven twigs. g--boards closing the buddles. h--cross trough.] when tin ore is crushed by this kind of iron-shod stamps, as soon as crushing begins, the launder which extends from the screen discharges the water carrying the fine tin-stone and fine sand into a transverse trough, from which the water flows down through the spouts, which pierce the side of the trough, into the one or other of the large buddles set underneath. the reason why there are two is that, while the washer empties the one which is filled with fine tin-stone and sand, the material may flow into the other. each buddle is twelve feet long, one cubit deep, and a foot and a half broad. the tin-stone which settles in the upper part of the buddles is called the large size; these are frequently stirred with a shovel, in order that the medium sized particles of tin-stone, and the mud mixed with the very fine particles of the stones may flow away. the particles of medium size generally settle in the middle part of the buddle, where they are arrested by interwoven fir twigs. the mud which flows down with the water settles between the twigs and the board which closes the lower end of the buddle. the tin-stone of large size is removed separately from the buddle with a shovel; those of medium size are also removed separately, and likewise the mud is removed separately, for they are separately washed on the canvas strakes and on the ordinary strake, and separately roasted and smelted. the tin-stone which has settled in the middle part of the buddle, is also always washed separately on the canvas strakes; but if the particles are nearly equal in size to those which have settled in the upper part of the buddle, they are washed with them in the ordinary strake and are roasted and smelted with them. however, the mud is never washed with the others, either on the canvas strakes or on the ordinary strake, but separately, and the fine tin-stone which is obtained from it is roasted and smelted separately. the two large buddles discharge into a cross trough, and it again empties through a launder into a settling-pit which is outside the building. this method of washing has lately undergone a considerable change; for the launder which carries the water, mixed with the crushed tin-stone and fine sand which flow from the openings of the screen, does not reach to a transverse trough which is inside the same room, but runs straight through a partition into a small settling-pit. a boy draws a three-toothed rake through the material which has settled in the portion of the launder outside the room, by which means the larger sized particles of tin-stone settle at the bottom, and these the washer takes out with the wooden shovel and carries into the room; this material is thrown into an ordinary strake and swept with a wooden scrubber and washed. as for those tin-stone particles which the water carries off from the strake, after they have been brought back on to the strake, he washes them again until they are clean. [illustration (buddle): a--first launder. b--three-toothed rake. c--small settling pit. d--large buddle. e--buddle resembling the simple buddle. f--small roller. g--boards. h--their holes. i--shovel. k--building. l--stove. (this picture does not entirely agree with the text).] the remaining tin-stone, mixed with sand, flows into the small settling-pit which is within the building, and this discharges into two large buddles. the tin-stone of moderate size, mixed with those of fairly large size, settle in the upper part, and the small size in the lower part; but both are impure, and for this reason they are taken out separately and the former is washed twice, first in a buddle like the simple buddle, and afterward on an ordinary strake. likewise the latter is washed twice, first on a canvas strake and afterward on an ordinary strake. this buddle, which is like the simple buddle, differs from it in the head, the whole of which in this case is sloping, while in the case of the other it is depressed in the centre. in order that the boy may be able to rest the shovel with which he cleanses the tin-stone, this sluice has a small wooden roller which turns in holes in two thick boards fixed to the sides of the buddle; if he did not do this, he would become over-exhausted by his task, for he spends whole days standing over these labours. the large buddle, the one like the simple buddle, the ordinary strake, and the canvas strakes, are erected within a special building. in this building there is a stove that gives out heat through the earthen tiles or iron plates of which it is composed, in order that the washers can pursue their labours even in winter, if the rivers are not completely frozen over. [illustration (workroom with settling-pit): a--launder from the screen of the mortar-box. b--three-toothed rake. c--small settling-pit. d--canvas. e--strakes. f--brooms.] on the canvas strakes are washed the very fine tin-stone mixed with mud which has settled in the lower end of the large buddle, as well as in the lower end of the simple buddle and of the ordinary strake. the canvas is cleaned in a trough hewn out of one tree trunk and partitioned off with two boards, so that three compartments are made. the first and second pieces of canvas are washed in the first compartment, the third and fourth in the second compartment, the fifth and sixth in the third compartment. since among the very fine tin-stone there are usually some grains of stone, rock, or marble, the master cleanses them on the ordinary strake, lightly brushing the top of the material with a broom, the twigs of which do not all run the same way, but some straight and some crosswise. in this way the water carries off these impurities from the strake into the settling-pit because they are lighter, and leaves the tin-stone on the table because it is heavier. below all buddles or strakes, both inside and outside the building, there are placed either settling-pits or cross-troughs into which they discharge, in order that the water may carry on down into the stream but very few of the most minute particles of tin-stone. the large settling-pit which is outside the building is generally made of joined flooring, and is eight feet in length, breadth and depth. when a large quantity of mud, mixed with very fine tin-stone, has settled in it, first of all the water is let out by withdrawing a plug, then the mud which is taken out is washed outside the house on the canvas strakes, and afterward the concentrates are washed on the strake which is inside the building. by these methods the very finest tin-stone is made clean. [illustration (streaming for tin): a--river. b--weir. c--gate. d--area. e--meadow. f--fence. g--ditch.] the mud mixed with the very fine tin-stone, which has neither settled in the large settling-pit nor in the transverse launder which is outside the room and below the canvas strakes, flows away and settles in the bed of the stream or river. in order to recover even a portion of the fine tin-stone, many miners erect weirs in the bed of the stream or river, very much like those that are made above the mills, to deflect the current into the races through which it flows to the water-wheels. at one side of each weir there is an area dug out to a depth of five or six or seven feet, and if the nature of the place will permit, extending in every direction more than sixty feet. thus, when the water of the river or stream in autumn and winter inundates the land, the gates of the weir are closed, by which means the current carries the mud mixed with fine tin-stone into the area. in spring and summer this mud is washed on the canvas strakes or on the ordinary strake, and even the finest black-tin is collected. within a distance of four thousand fathoms along the bed of the stream or river below the buildings in which the tin-stuff is washed, the miners do not make such weirs, but put inclined fences in the meadows, and in front of each fence they dig a ditch of the same length, so that the mud mixed with the fine tin-stone, carried along by the stream or river when in flood, may settle in the ditch and cling to the fence. when this mud is collected, it is likewise washed on canvas strakes and on the ordinary strake, in order that the fine tin-stone may be separated from it. indeed we may see many such areas and fences collecting mud of this kind in meissen below altenberg in the river moglitz,--which is always of a reddish colour when the rock containing the black tin is being crushed under the stamps. [illustration (stamp-mill): a--first machine. b--its stamps. c--its mortar-box. d--second machine. e--its stamps. f--its mortar-box. g--third machine. h--its stamps. i--its mortar-box. k--fourth machine. l--its stamps. m--its mortar-box.] but to return to the stamping machines. some usually set up four machines of this kind in one place, that is to say, two above and the same number below. by this plan it is necessary that the current which has been diverted should fall down from a greater height upon the upper water-wheels, because these turn axles whose cams raise heavier stamps. the stamp-stems of the upper machines should be nearly twice as long as the stems of the lower ones, because all the mortar-boxes are placed on the same level. these stamps have their tappets near their upper ends, not as in the case of the lower stamps, which are placed just above the bottom. the water flowing down from the two upper water-wheels is caught in two broad races, from which it falls on to the two lower water-wheels. since all these machines have the stamps very close together, the stems should be somewhat cut away, to prevent the iron shoes from rubbing each other at the point where they are set into the stems. where so many machines cannot be constructed, by reason of the narrowness of the valley, the mountain is excavated and levelled in two places, one of which is higher than the other, and in this case two machines are constructed and generally placed in one building. a broad race receives in the same way the water which flows down from the upper water-wheel, and similarly lets it fall on the lower water-wheel. the mortar-boxes are not then placed on one level, but each on the level which is appropriate to its own machine, and for this reason, two workmen are then required to throw ore into the mortar-boxes. when no stream can be diverted which will fall from a higher place upon the top of the water-wheel, one is diverted which will turn the foot of the wheel; a great quantity of water from the stream is collected in one pool capable of holding it, and from this place, when the gates are raised, the water is discharged against the wheel which turns in the race. the buckets of a water-wheel of this kind are deeper and bent back, projecting upward; those of the former are shallower and bent forward, inclining downward. [illustration (stamp-mill): a--stamps. b--mortar. c--plates full of holes. d--transverse launder. e--planks full of cup-like depressions. f--spout. g--bowl into which the concentrates fall. h--canvas strake. i--bowls shaped like a small boat. k--settling-pit under the canvas strake.] further, in the julian and rhaetian alps[ ] and in the carpathian mountains, gold or even silver ore is now put under stamps, which are sometimes placed more than twenty in a row, and crushed wet in a long mortar-box. the mortar has two plates full of holes through which the ore, after being crushed, flows out with the water into the transverse launder placed underneath, and from there it is carried down by two spouts into the heads of the canvas strakes. each head is made of a thick broad plank, which can be raised and set upright, and to which on each side are fixed pieces projecting upward. in this plank there are many cup-like depressions equal in size and similar in shape, in each of which an egg could be placed. right down in these depressions are small crevices which can retain the concentrates of gold or silver, and when the hollows are nearly filled with these materials, the plank is raised on one side so that the concentrates will fall into a large bowl. the cup-like depressions are washed out by dashing them with water. these concentrates are washed separately in different bowls from those which have settled on the canvas. this bowl is smooth and two digits wide and deep, being in shape very similar to a small boat; it is broad in the fore part, narrow in the back, and in the middle of it there is a cross groove, in which the particles of pure gold or silver settle, while the grains of sand, since they are lighter, flow out of it. in some parts of moravia, gold ore, which consists of quartz mixed with gold, is placed under the stamps and crushed wet. when crushed fine it flows out through a launder into a trough, is there stirred by a wooden scrubber, and the minute particles of gold which settle in the upper end of the trough are washed in a black bowl. so far i have spoken of machines which crush wet ore with iron-shod stamps. i will now explain the methods of washing which are in a measure peculiar to the ore of certain metals, beginning with gold. the ore which contains particles of this metal, and the sand of streams and rivers which contains grains of it, are washed in frames or bowls; the sands especially are also washed in troughs. more than one method is employed for washing on frames, for these frames either pass or retain the particles or concentrates of gold; they pass them if they have holes, and retain them if they have no holes. but either the frame itself has holes, or a box is substituted for it; if the frame itself is perforated it passes the particles or concentrates of gold into a trough; if the box has them, it passes the gold material into the long sluice. i will first speak of these two methods of washing. the frame is made of two planks joined together, and is twelve feet long and three feet wide, and is full of holes large enough for a pea to pass. to prevent the ore or sand with which the gold is mixed from falling out at the sides, small projecting edge-boards are fixed to it. this frame is set upon two stools, the first of which is higher than the second, in order that the gravel and small stones can roll down it. the washer throws the ore or sand into the head of the frame, which is higher, and opening the small launder, lets the water into it, and then agitates it with a wooden scrubber. in this way, the gravel and small stones roll down the frame on to the ground, while the particles or concentrates of gold, together with the sand, pass through the holes into the trough which is placed under the frame, and after being collected are washed in the bowl. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--head of frame. b--frame. c--holes. d--edge-boards. e--stools. f--scrubber. g--trough. h--launder. i--bowl.] [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--sluice. b--box. c--bottom of inverted box. d--open part of it. e--iron hoe. f--riffles. g--small launder. h--bowl with which settlings are taken away. i--black bowl in which they are washed.] a box which has a bottom made of a plate full of holes, is placed over the upper end of a sluice, which is fairly long but of moderate width. the gold material to be washed is thrown into this box, and a great quantity of water is let in. the lumps, if ore is being washed, are mashed with an iron shovel. the fine portions fall through the bottom of the box into the sluice, but the coarse pieces remain in the box, and these are removed with a scraper through an opening which is nearly in the middle of one side. since a large amount of water is necessarily let into the box, in order to prevent it from sweeping away any particles of gold which have fallen into the sluice, the sluice is divided off by ten, or if it is as long again, by fifteen riffles. these riffles are placed equidistant from one another, and each is higher than the one next toward the lower end of the sluice. the little compartments which are thus made are filled with the material and the water which flows through the box; as soon as these compartments are full and the water has begun to flow over clear, the little launder through which this water enters into the box is closed, and the water is turned in another direction. then the lowest riffle is removed from the sluice, and the sediment which has accumulated flows out with the water and is caught in a bowl. the riffles are removed one by one and the sediment from each is taken into a separate bowl, and each is separately washed and cleansed in a bowl. the larger particles of gold concentrates settle in the higher compartments, the smaller size, in the lower compartments. this bowl is shallow and smooth, and smeared with oil or some other slippery substance, so that the tiny particles of gold may not cling to it, and it is painted black, that the gold may be more easily discernible; on the exterior, on both sides and in the middle, it is slightly hollowed out in order that it may be grasped and held firmly in the hands when shaken. by this method the particles or concentrates of gold settle in the back part of the bowl; for if the back part of the bowl is tapped or shaken with one hand, as is usual, the contents move toward the fore part. in this way the moravians, especially, wash gold ore. the gold particles are also caught on frames which are either bare or covered. if bare, the particles are caught in pockets; if covered, they cling to the coverings. pockets are made in various ways, either with iron wire or small cross-boards fixed to the frame, or by holes which are sunk into the sluice itself or into its head, but which do not quite go through. these holes are round or square, or are grooves running crosswise. the frames are either covered with skins, pieces of cloth, or turf, which i will deal with one by one in turn. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--plank. b--side-boards. c--iron wire. d--handles.] in order to prevent the sand which contains the particles of gold from spilling out, the washer fixes side-boards to the edges of a plank which is six feet long and one and a quarter wide. he then lays crosswise many iron wires a digit apart, and where they join he fixes them to the bottom plank with iron nails. then he makes the head of the frame higher, and into this he throws the sand which needs washing, and taking in his hands the handles which are at the head of the frame, he draws it backward and forward several times in the river or stream. in this way the small stones and gravel flow down along the frame, and the sand mixed with particles of gold remains in the pockets between the strips. when the contents of the pockets have been shaken out and collected in one place, he washes them in a bowl and thus cleans the gold dust. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--head of the sluice. b--riffles. c--wooden scrubber. d--pointed stick. e--dish. f--its cup-like depression. g--grooved dish.] other people, among whom are the lusitanians[ ], fix to the sides of a sluice, which is about six feet long and a foot and a half broad, many cross-strips or riffles, which project backward and are a digit apart. the washer or his wife lets the water into the head of the sluice, where he throws the sand which contains the particles of gold. as it flows down he agitates it with a wooden scrubber, which he moves transversely to the riffles. he constantly removes with a pointed wooden stick the sediment which settles in the pockets between the riffles, and in this way the particles of gold settle in them, while the sand and other valueless materials are carried by the water into a tub placed below the sluice. he removes the particles of metal with a small wooden shovel into a wooden bowl. this bowl does not exceed a foot and a quarter in breadth, and by moving it up and down in the stream he cleanses the gold dust, for the remaining sand flows out of the dish, and the gold dust settles in the middle of it, where there is a cup-like depression. some make use of a bowl which is grooved inside like a shell, but with a smooth lip where the water flows out. this smooth place, however, is narrower where the grooves run into it, and broader where the water flows out. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--head of the sluice. b--side-boards. c--lower end of the sluice. d--pockets. e--grooves. f--stools. g--shovel. h--tub set below. i--launder.] the cup-like pockets and grooves are cut or burned at the same time into the bottom of the sluice; the bottom is composed of three planks ten feet long, and is about four feet wide; but the lower end, through which the water is discharged, is narrower. this sluice, which likewise has side-boards fixed to its edges, is full of rounded pockets and of grooves which lead to them, there being two grooves to one pocket, in order that the water mixed with sand may flow into each pocket through the upper groove, and that after the sand has partly settled, the water may again flow out through the lower groove. the sluice is set in the river or stream or on the bank, and placed on two stools, of which the first is higher than the second in order that the gravel and small stones may roll down the sluice. the washer throws sand into the head with a shovel, and opening the launder, lets in the water, which carries the particles of metal with a little sand down into the pockets, while the gravel and small stones with the rest of the sand falls into a tub placed below the sluice. as soon as the pockets are filled, he brushes out the concentrates and washes them in a bowl. he washes again and again through this sluice. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--cross grooves. b--tub set under the sluice. c--another tub.] some people cut a number of cross-grooves, one palm distant from each other, in a sluice similarly composed of three planks eight feet long. the upper edge of these grooves is sloping, that the particles of gold may slip into them when the washer stirs the sand with a wooden shovel; but their lower edge is vertical so that the gold particles may thus be unable to slide out of them. as soon as these grooves are full of gold particles mixed with fine sand, the sluice is removed from the stools and raised up on its head. the head in this case is nothing but the upper end of the planks of which the sluice is composed. in this way the metallic particles, being turned over backward, fall into another tub, for the small stones and gravel have rolled down the sluice. some people place large bowls under the sluice instead of tubs, and as in the other cases, the unclean concentrates are washed in the small bowl. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--sluice covered with canvas. b--its head full of pockets and grooves. c--head removed and washed in a tub. d--sluice which has square pockets. e--sluice to whose planks small shavings cling. f--broom. g--skins of oxen. h--wooden scrubber.] the thuringians cut rounded pockets, a digit in diameter and depth, in the head of the sluice, and at the same time they cut grooves reaching from one to another. the sluice itself they cover with canvas. the sand which is to be washed, is thrown into the head and stirred with a wooden scrubber; in this way the water carries the light particles of gold on to the canvas, and the heavy ones sink in the pockets, and when these hollows are full, the head is removed and turned over a tub, and the concentrates are collected and washed in a bowl. some people make use of a sluice which has square pockets with short vertical recesses which hold the particles of gold. other workers use a sluice made of planks, which are rough by reason of the very small shavings which still cling to them; these sluices are used instead of those with coverings, of which this sluice is bare, and when the sand is washed, the particles of gold cling no less to these shavings than to canvas, or skins, or cloths, or turf. the washer sweeps the sluice upward with a broom, and when he has washed as much of the sand as he wishes, he lets a more abundant supply of water into the sluice again to wash out the concentrates, which he collects in a tub set below the sluice, and then washes again in a bowl. just as thuringians cover the sluice with canvas, so some people cover it with the skins of oxen or horses. they push the auriferous sand upward with a wooden scrubber, and by this system the light material flows away with the water, while the particles of gold settle among the hairs; the skins are afterward washed in a tub; and the concentrates are collected in a bowl. [illustration (washing material in spring): a--spring. b--skin. c--argonauts.] the colchians[ ] placed the skins of animals in the pools of springs; and since many particles of gold had clung to them when they were removed, poets invented the "golden fleece" of the colchians. in like manner, it can be contrived by the methods of miners that skins should take up, not only particles of gold, but also of silver and gems. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--head of frame. b--frame. c--cloth. d--small launder. e--tub set below the frame. f--tub in which cloth is washed.] many people cover the frame with a green cloth as long and wide as the frame itself, and fasten it with iron nails in such a way that they can easily draw them out and remove the cloth. when the cloth appears to be golden because of the particles which adhere to it, it is washed in a special tub and the particles are collected in a bowl. the remainder which has run down into the tub is again washed on the frame. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--cloth full of small knots, spread out. b--small knots more conspicuously shown. c--tub in which cloth is washed.] some people, in place of a green cloth, use a cloth of tightly woven horsehair, which has a rough knotty surface. since these knots stand out and the cloth is rough, even the very small particles of gold adhere to it; these cloths are likewise washed in a tub with water. [illustration (frames for washing ore or alluvial): a--head of frame. b--small launder through which water flows into head of frame. c--pieces of turf. d--trough placed under frame. e--tub in which pieces of turf are washed.] some people construct a frame not unlike the one covered with canvas, but shorter. in place of the canvas they set pieces of turf in rows. they wash the sand, which has been thrown into the head of the frame, by letting in water. in this way the particles of gold settle in the turf, the mud and sand, together with the water, are carried down into the settling-pit or trough below, which is opened when the work is finished. after all the water has passed out of the settling-pit, the sand and mud are carried away and washed over again in the same manner. the particles which have clung to the turf are afterward washed down into the settling-pit or trough by a stronger current of the water, which is let into the frame through a small launder. the concentrates are finally collected and washed in a bowl. pliny was not ignorant of this method of washing gold. "the ulex," he says, "after being dried, is burnt, and its ashes are washed over a grassy turf, that the gold may settle on it." [illustration (trays for washing alluvial): a--tray. b--bowl-like depression. c--handles.] sand mixed with particles of gold is also washed in a tray, or in a trough or bowl. the tray is open at the further end, is either hewn out of a squared trunk of a tree or made out of a thick plank to which side-boards are fixed, and is three feet long, a foot and a half wide, and three digits deep. the bottom is hollowed out into the shape of an elongated bowl whose narrow end is turned toward the head, and it has two long handles, by which it is drawn backward and forward in the river. in this way the fine sand is washed, whether it contains particles of gold or the little black stones from which tin is made. [illustration (trough for washing alluvial): a--trough. b--its open end. c--end that may be closed. d--stream. e--hoe. f--end-board. g--bag.] the italians who come to the german mountains seeking gold, in order to wash the river sand which contains gold-dust and garnets,[ ] use a fairly long shallow trough hewn out of a tree, rounded within and without, open at one end and closed at the other, which they turn in the bed of the stream in such a way that the water does not dash into it, but flows in gently. they stir the sand, which they throw into it, with a wooden hoe, also rounded. to prevent the particles of gold or garnets from running out with the light sand, they close the end with a board similarly rounded, but lower than the sides of the trough. the concentrates of gold or garnets which, with a small quantity of heavy sand, have settled in the trough, they wash in a bowl and collect in bags and carry away with them. [illustration (bowls for alluvial washing): a--large bowl. b--ropes. c--beam. d--other large bowl which coiners use. e--small bowl.] some people wash this kind of sand in a large bowl which can easily be shaken, the bowl being suspended by two ropes from a beam in a building. the sand is thrown into it, water is poured in, then the bowl is shaken, and the muddy water is poured out and clear water is again poured in, this being done again and again. in this way, the gold particles settle in the back part of the bowl because they are heavy, and the sand in the front part because it is light; the latter is thrown away, the former kept for smelting. the one who does the washing then returns immediately to his task. this method of washing is rarely used by miners, but frequently by coiners and goldsmiths when they wash gold, silver, or copper. the bowl they employ has only three handles, one of which they grasp in their hands when they shake the bowl, and in the other two is fastened a rope by which the bowl is hung from a beam, or from a cross-piece which is upheld by the forks of two upright posts fixed in the ground. miners frequently wash ore in a small bowl to test it. this bowl, when shaken, is held in one hand and thumped with the other hand. in other respects this method of washing does not differ from the last. [illustration (ground sluicing): a--stream. b--ditch. c--mattock. d--pieces of turf. e--seven-pronged fork. f--iron shovel. g--trough. h--another trough below it. i--small wooden trowel.] i have spoken of the various methods of washing sand which contains grains of gold; i will now speak of the methods of washing the material in which are mixed the small black stones from which tin is made[ ]. eight such methods are in use, and of these two have been invented lately. such metalliferous material is usually found torn away from veins and stringers and scattered far and wide by the impetus of water, although sometimes _venae dilatatae_ are composed of it. the miners dig out the latter material with a broad mattock, while they dig the former with a pick. but they dig out the little stones, which are not rare in this kind of ore, with an instrument like the bill of a duck. in districts which contain this material, if there is an abundant supply of water, and if there are valleys or gentle slopes and hollows, so that rivers can be diverted into them, the washers in summer-time first of all dig a long ditch sloping so that the water will run through it rapidly. into the ditch is thrown the metallic material, together with the surface material, which is six feet thick, more or less, and often contains moss, roots of plants, shrubs, trees, and earth; they are all thrown in with a broad mattock, and the water flows through the ditch. the sand and tin-stone, as they are heavy, sink to the bottom of the ditch, while the moss and roots, as they are light, are carried away by the water which flows through the ditch. the bottom of the ditch is obstructed with turf and stones in order to prevent the water from carrying away the tin-stone at the same time. the washers, whose feet are covered with high boots made of hide, though not of rawhide, themselves stand in the ditch and throw out of it the roots of the trees, shrubs, and grass with seven-pronged wooden forks, and push back the tin-stone toward the head of the ditch. after four weeks, in which they have devoted much work and labour, they raise the tin-stone in the following way; the sand with which it is mixed is repeatedly lifted from the ditch with an iron shovel and agitated hither and thither in the water, until the sand flows away and only the tin-stone remains on the shovel. the tin-stone is all collected together and washed again in a trough by pushing it up and turning it over with a wooden trowel, in order that the remaining sand may separate from it. afterward they return to their task, which they continue until the metalliferous material is exhausted, or until the water can no longer be diverted into the ditches. [illustration (sluicing tin): a--trough. b--wooden shovel. c--tub. d--launder. e--wooden trowel. f--transverse trough. g--plug. h--falling water. i--ditch. k--barrow conveying material to be washed. l--pick like the beak of a duck with which the miner digs out the material from which the small stones are obtained.] the trough which i mentioned is hewn out of the trunk of a tree and the interior is five feet long, three-quarters of a foot deep, and six digits wide. it is placed on an incline and under it is put a tub which contains interwoven fir twigs, or else another trough is put under it, the interior of which is three feet long and one foot wide and deep; the fine tin-stone, which has run out with the water, settles in the bottom. some people, in place of a trough, put a square launder underneath, and in like manner they wash the tin-stone in this by agitating it up and down and turning it over with a small wooden trowel. a transverse trough is put under the launder, which is either open on one end and drains off into a tub or settling-pit, or else is closed and perforated through the bottom; in this case, it drains into a ditch beneath, where the water falls when the plug has been partly removed. the nature of this ditch i will now describe. [illustration (sluicing tin): a--launder. b--interlacing fir twigs. c--logs; three on one side, for the fourth cannot be seen because the ditch is so full with material now being washed. d--logs at the head of the ditch. e--barrow. f--seven-pronged fork. g--hoe.] if the locality does not supply an abundance of water, the washers dig a ditch thirty or thirty-six feet long, and cover the bottom, the full length, with logs joined together and hewn on the side which lies flat on the ground. on each side of the ditch, and at its head also, they place four logs, one above the other, all hewn smooth on the inside. but since the logs are laid obliquely along the sides, the upper end of the ditch is made four feet wide and the tail end, two feet. the water has a high drop from a launder and first of all it falls into interlaced fir twigs, in order that it shall fall straight down for the most part in an unbroken stream and thus break up the lumps by its weight. some do not place these twigs under the end of the launder, but put a plug in its mouth, which, since it does not entirely close the launder, nor altogether prevent the discharge from it, nor yet allow the water to spout far afield, makes it drop straight down. the workman brings in a wheelbarrow the material to be washed, and throws it into the ditch. the washer standing in the upper end of the ditch breaks the lumps with a seven-pronged fork, and throws out the roots of trees, shrubs, and grass with the same instrument, and thereby the small black stones settle down. when a large quantity of the tin-stone has accumulated, which generally happens when the washer has spent a day at this work, to prevent it from being washed away he places it upon the bank, and other material having been again thrown into the upper end of the ditch, he continues the task of washing. a boy stands at the lower end of the ditch, and with a thin pointed hoe stirs up the sediment which has settled at the lower end, to prevent the washed tin-stone from being carried further, which occurs when the sediment has accumulated to such an extent that the fir branches at the outlet of the ditch are covered. [illustration (sifting ore): a--strakes. b--tank. c--launder. d--plug. e--wooden shovel. f--wooden mallet. g--wooden shovel with short handle. h--the plug in the strake. i--tank placed under the plug.] the third method of washing materials of this kind follows. two strakes are made, each of which is twelve feet long and a foot and a half wide and deep. a tank is set at their head, into which the water flows through a little launder. a boy throws the ore into one strake; if it is of poor quality he puts in a large amount of it, if it is rich he puts in less. the water is let in by removing the plug, the ore is stirred with a wooden shovel, and in this way the tin-stone, mixed with the heavier material, settles in the bottom of the strake, and the water carries the light material into the launder, through which it flows on to a canvas strake. the very fine tin-stone, carried by the water, settles on to the canvas and is cleansed. a low cross-board is placed in the strake near the head, in order that the largest sized tin-stone may settle there. as soon as the strake is filled with the material which has been washed, he closes the mouth of the tank and continues washing in the other strake, and then the plug is withdrawn and the water and tin-stone flow down into a tank below. then he pounds the sides of the loaded strake with a wooden mallet, in order that the tin-stone clinging to the sides may fall off; all that has settled in it, he throws out with a wooden shovel which has a short handle. silver slags which have been crushed under the stamps, also fragments of silver-lead alloy and of cakes melted from pyrites, are washed in a strake of this kind. [illustration (sifting ore): a--sieve. b--tub. c--water flowing out of the bottom of it. d--strake. e--three-toothed rake. f--wooden scrubber.] material of this kind is also washed while wet, in a sieve whose bottom is made of woven iron wire, and this is the fourth method of washing. the sieve is immersed in the water which is contained in a tub, and is violently shaken. the bottom of this tub has an opening of such size that as much water, together with tailings from the sieve, can flow continuously out of it as water flows into it. the material which settles in the strake, a boy either digs over with a three-toothed iron rake or sweeps with a wooden scrubber; in this way the water carries off a great part of both sand and mud. the tin-stone or metalliferous concentrates settle in the strake and are afterward washed in another strake. [illustration (sluicing tin): a--box. b--perforated plate. c--trough. d--cross-boards. e--pool. f--launder. g--shovel. h--rake.] these are ancient methods of washing material which contains tin-stone; there follow two modern methods. if the tin-stone mixed with earth or sand is found on the slopes of mountains or hills, or in the level fields which are either devoid of streams or into which a stream cannot be diverted, miners have lately begun to employ the following method of washing, even in the winter months. an open box is constructed of planks, about six feet long, three feet wide, and two feet and one palm deep. at the upper end on the inside, an iron plate three feet long and wide is fixed, at a depth of one foot and a half from the top; this plate is very full of holes, through which tin-stone about the size of a pea can fall. a trough hewn from a tree is placed under the box, and this trough is about twenty-four feet long and three-quarters of a foot wide and deep; very often three cross-boards are placed in it, dividing it off into compartments, each one of which is lower than the next. the turbid waters discharge into a settling-pit. the metalliferous material is sometimes found not very deep beneath the surface of the earth, but sometimes so deep that it is necessary to drive tunnels and sink shafts. it is transported to the washing-box in wheelbarrows, and when the washers are about to begin they lay a small launder, through which there flows on to the iron plate so much water as is necessary for this washing. next, a boy throws the metalliferous material on to the iron plate with an iron shovel and breaks the small lumps, stirring them this way and that with the same implement. then the water and sand penetrating the holes of the plate, fall into the box, while all the coarse gravel remains on the plate, and this he throws into a wheelbarrow with the same shovel. meantime, a younger boy continually stirs the sand under the plate with a wooden scrubber nearly as wide as the box, and drives it to the upper end of the box; the lighter material, as well as a small amount of tin-stone, is carried by the water down into the underlying trough. the boys carry on this labour without intermission until they have filled four wheelbarrows with the coarse and worthless residues, which they carry off and throw away, or three wheelbarrows if the material is rich in black tin. then the foreman has the plank removed which was in front of the iron plate, and on which the boy stood. the sand, mixed with the tin-stone, is frequently pushed backward and forward with a scrubber, and the same sand, because it is lighter, takes the upper place, and is removed as soon as it appears; that which takes the lower place is turned over with a spade, in order that any that is light can flow away; when all the tin-stone is heaped together, he shovels it out of the box and carries it away. while the foreman does this, one boy with an iron hoe stirs the sand mixed with fine tin-stone, which has run out of the box and has settled in the trough and pushes it back to the uppermost part of the trough, and this material, since it contains a very great amount of tin-stone, is thrown on to the plate and washed again. the material which has settled in the lowest part of the trough is taken out separately and piled in a heap, and is washed on the ordinary strake; that which has settled in the pool is washed on the canvas strake. in the summer-time this fruitful labour is repeated more often, in fact ten or eleven times. the tin-stone which the foreman removes from the box, is afterward washed in a jigging sieve, and lastly in a tub, where at length all the sand is separated out. finally, any material in which are mixed particles of other metals, can be washed by all these methods, whether it has been disintegrated from veins or stringers, or whether it originated from _venae dilatatae_, or from streams and rivers. [illustration (ground sluicing): a--launder. b--cross trough. c--two spouts. d--boxes. e--plate. f--grating. g--shovels. h--second cross trough. i--strake. k--wooden scrubber. l--third cross trough. m--launder. n--three-toothed rake.] the sixth method of washing material of this kind is even more modern and more useful than the last. two boxes are constructed, into each of which water flows through spouts from a cross trough into which it has been discharged through a pipe or launder. when the material has been agitated and broken up with iron shovels by two boys, part of it runs down and falls through the iron plates full of holes, or through the iron grating, and flows out of the box over a sloping surface into another cross trough, and from this into a strake seven feet long and two and a half feet wide. then the foreman again stirs it with a wooden scrubber that it may become clean. as for the material which has flowed down with the water and settled in the third cross trough, or in the launder which leads from it, a third boy rakes it with a two-toothed rake; in this way the fine tin-stone settles down and the water carries off the valueless sand into the creek. this method of washing is most advantageous, for four men can do the work of washing in two boxes, while the last method, if doubled, requires six men, for it requires two boys to throw the material to be washed on to the plate and to stir it with iron shovels; two more are required with wooden scrubbers to keep stirring the sand, mixed with the tin-stone, under the plate, and to push it toward the upper end of the box; further, two foremen are required to clean the tin-stone in the way i have described. in the place of a plate full of holes, they now fix in the boxes a grating made of iron wire as thick as the stalks of rye; that these may not be depressed by the weight and become bent, three iron bars support them, being laid crosswise underneath. to prevent the grating from being broken by the iron shovels with which the material is stirred in washing, five or six iron rods are placed on top in cross lines, and are fixed to the box so that the shovels may rub them instead of the grating; for this reason the grating lasts longer than the plates, because it remains intact, while the rods, when worn by rubbing, can easily be replaced by others. [illustration (ground sluicing): a--pits. b--torrent. c--seven-pronged fork. d--shovel.] miners use the seventh method of washing when there is no stream of water in the part of the mountain which contains the black tin, or particles of gold, or of other metals. in this case they frequently dig more than fifty ditches on the slope below, or make the same number of pits, six feet long, three feet wide, and three-quarters of a foot deep, not any great distance from each other. at the season when a torrent rises from storms of great violence or long duration, and rushes down the mountain, some of the miners dig the metalliferous material in the woods with broad hoes and drag it to the torrent. other miners divert the torrent into the ditches or pits, and others throw the roots of trees, shrubs, and grass out of the ditches or pits with seven-pronged wooden forks. when the torrent has run down, they remove with shovels the uncleansed tin-stone or particles of metal which have settled in the ditches or pits, and cleanse it. [illustration (ground sluicing): a--gully. b--ditch. c--torrent. d--sluice box employed by the lusitanians.] the eighth method is also employed in the regions which the lusitanians hold in their power and sway, and is not dissimilar to the last. they drive a great number of deep ditches in rows in the gullies, slopes, and hollows of the mountains. into these ditches the water, whether flowing down from snow melted by the heat of the sun or from rain, collects and carries together with earth and sand, sometimes tin-stone, or, in the case of the lusitanians, the particles of gold loosened from veins and stringers. as soon as the waters of the torrent have all run away, the miners throw the material out of the ditches with iron shovels, and wash it in a common sluice box. [illustration (trough for washing alluvial): a--trough. b--launder. c--hoe. d--sieve.] the poles wash the impure lead from _venae dilatatae_ in a trough ten feet long, three feet wide, and one and one-quarter feet deep. it is mixed with moist earth and is covered by a wet and sandy clay, and so first of all the clay, and afterward the ore, is dug out. the ore is carried to a stream or river, and thrown into a trough into which water is admitted by a little launder, and the washer standing at the lower end of the trough drags the ore out with a narrow and nearly pointed hoe, whose wooden handle is nearly ten feet long. it is washed over again once or twice in the same way and thus made pure. afterward when it has been dried in the sun they throw it into a copper sieve, and separate the very small pieces which pass through the sieve from the larger ones; of these the former are smelted in a faggot pile and the latter in the furnace. of such a number then are the methods of washing. [illustration (tin burning furnace): a--furnace. b--its mouth. c--poker. d--rake with two teeth. e--hoe.] one method of burning is principally employed, and two of roasting. the black tin is burned by a hot fire in a furnace similar to an oven[ ]; it is burned if it is a dark-blue colour, or if pyrites and the stone from which iron is made are mixed with it, for the dark blue colour if not burnt, consumes the tin. if pyrites and the other stone are not volatilised into fumes in a furnace of this kind, the tin which is made from the tin-stone is impure. the tin-stone is thrown either into the back part of the furnace, or into one side of it; but in the former case the wood is placed in front, in the latter case alongside, in such a manner, however, that neither firebrands nor coals may fall upon the tin-stone itself or touch it. the fuel is manipulated by a poker made of wood. the tin-stone is now stirred with a rake with two teeth, and now again levelled down with a hoe, both of which are made of iron. the very fine tin-stone requires to be burned less than that of moderate size, and this again less than that of the largest size. while the tin-stone is being thus burned, it frequently happens that some of the material runs together. the burned tin-stone should then be washed again on the strake, for in this way the material which has been run together is carried away by the water into the cross-trough, where it is gathered up and worked over, and again washed on the strake. by this method the metal is separated from that which is devoid of metal. [illustration (stall roasting matte): a--pits. b--wood. c--cakes. d--launder.] cakes from pyrites, or _cadmia_, or cupriferous stones, are roasted in quadrangular pits, of which the front and top are open, and these pits are generally twelve feet long, eight feet wide, and three feet deep. the cakes of melted pyrites are usually roasted twice over, and those of _cadmia_ once. these latter are first rolled in mud moistened with vinegar, to prevent the fire from consuming too much of the copper with the bitumen, or sulphur, or orpiment, or realgar. the cakes of pyrites are first roasted in a slow fire and afterward in a fierce one, and in both cases, during the whole following night, water is let in, in order that, if there is in the cakes any alum or vitriol or saltpetre capable of injuring the metals, although it rarely does injure them, the water may remove it and make the cakes soft. the solidified juices are nearly all harmful to the metal, when cakes or ore of this kind are smelted. the cakes which are to be roasted are placed on wood piled up in the form of a crate, and this pile is fired[ ]. [illustration (matte roasting): a--cakes. b--bundles of faggots. c--furnaces.] the cakes which are made of copper smelted from schist are first thrown upon the ground and broken, and then placed in the furnace on bundles of faggots, and these are lighted. these cakes are generally roasted seven times and occasionally nine times. while this is being done, if they are bituminous, then the bitumen burns and can be smelled. these furnaces have a structure like the structure of the furnaces in which ore is smelted, except that they are open in front; they are six feet high and four feet wide. as for this kind of furnace, three of them are required for one of those in which the cakes are melted. first of all they are roasted in the first furnace, then when they are cooled, they are transferred into the second furnace and again roasted; later they are carried to the third, and afterward back to the first, and this order is preserved until they have been roasted seven or nine times. end of book viii. footnotes: [ ] as would be expected, practically all the technical terms used by agricola in this chapter are adaptations. the latin terms, _canalis_, _area_, _lacus_, _vasa_, _cribrum_, and _fossa_, have had to be pressed into service for many different devices, largely by extemporised combinations. where the devices described have become obsolete, we have adopted the nomenclature of the old works on cornish methods. the following examples may be of interest:-- simple buddle = _canalis simplex_ divided buddle = _canalis tabellis distinctus_ ordinary strake = _canalis devexus_ short strake = _area curta_ canvas strake = _area linteis extensis contecta_ limp = _radius_. the strake (or streke) when applied to alluvial tin, would have been termed a "tye" in some parts of cornwall, and the "short strake" a "gounce." in the case of the stamp mill, inasmuch as almost every mechanical part has its counterpart in a modern mill, we have considered the reader will have less difficulty if the modern designations are used instead of the old cornish. the following are the essential terms in modern, old cornish, and latin:-- stamp stamper _pilum_ stamp-stem lifter _pilum_ shoes stamp-heads _capita_ mortar-box box _capsa_ cam-shaft barrell _axis_ cams caps _dentes_ tappets tongues _pili dentes_ screen crate _laminae foraminum plenae_ settling pit catchers _lacus_ jigging sieve dilleugher _cribrum angustum_ [ ] agricola uses four latin verbs in connection with heat operations at temperatures under the melting point: _calefacio_, _uro_, _torreo_, and _cremo_. the first he always uses in the sense of "to warm" or "to heat," but the last three he uses indiscriminately in much the same way as the english verbs burn, roast, and calcine are used; but in general he uses the latin verbs in the order given to indicate degrees of heat. we have used the english verbs in their technical sense as indicated by the context. it is very difficult to say when roasting began as a distinct and separate metallurgical step in sulphide ore treatment. the greeks and romans worked both lead and copper sulphides (see note on p. , and note on p. ), but neither in the remains of old works nor in their literature is there anything from which satisfactory details of such a step can be obtained. the ancients, of course, understood lime-burning, and calcined several salts to purify them or to render them more caustic. practically the only specific mention is by pliny regarding lead ores (see p. ). even the statement of theophilus ( - , a.d.), may refer simply to rendering ore more fragile, for he says (p. ) in regard to copper ore: "this stone dug up in abundance is placed upon a pile and burned (_comburitur_) after the manner of lime. nor does it change colour, but loses its hardness and can be broken up, and afterward it is smelted." the _probierbüchlein_ casually mentions roasting prior to assaying, and biringuccio (iii, ) mentions incidentally that "dry and ill-disposed ores before everything must be roasted in an open oven so that the air can get in." he gives no further information; and therefore this account of agricola's becomes practically the first. apparently roasting, as a preliminary to the treatment of copper sulphides, did not come into use in england until some time later than agricola, for in col. grant francis' "smelting of copper in the swansea district" (london, , p. ), a report is set of the "doeinges of jochim ganse"--an imported german--at the "mynes by keswicke in cumberland, a.d., ," wherein the delinquencies of the then current practice are described: "thei never coulde, nether yet can make (copper) under xxii. tymes passinge thro the fire, and xxii. weekes doeing thereof ane sometyme more. but now the nature of these ix. hurtfull humors abovesaid being discovered and opened by jochim's way of doeing, we can, by his order of workeinge, so correct theim, that parte of theim beinge by nature hurtfull to the copper in wasteinge of it, ar by arte maide freindes, and be not onely an encrease to the copper, but further it in smeltinge; and the rest of the other evill humors shalbe so corrected, and their humors so taken from them, that by once rosteinge and once smeltinge the ure (which shalbe done in the space of three dayes), the same copper ure shall yeeld us black copper." jochim proposed by 'rostynge' to be rid of "sulphur, arsineque, and antimony." [ ] _orpiment_ and _realgar_ are the red and yellow arsenical sulphides. (see note on p. ). [ ] _cadmia bituminosa_. the description of this substance by agricola, given below, indicates that it was his term for the complex copper-zinc-arsenic-cobalt minerals found in the well-known, highly bituminous, copper schists at mannsfeld. the later mineralogists, wallerius (_mineralogia_, stockholm, ), valmont de bomare (_mineralogie_, paris, ), and others assume agricola's _cadmia bituminosa_ to be "black arsenic" or "arsenic noir," but we see no reason for this assumption. agricola's statement (_de nat. foss._, p. ) is "... the schistose stone dug up at the foot of the melibocus mountains, or as they are now called the harz (_hercynium_), near eisleben, mannsfeld, and near hettstedt, is similar to _spinos_ (a bituminous substance described by theophrastus), if not identical with it. this is black, bituminous, and cupriferous, and when first extracted from the mine it is thrown out into an open space and heaped up in a mound. then the lower part of the mound is surrounded by faggots, on to which are likewise thrown stones of the same kind. then the faggots are kindled and the fire soon spreads to the stones placed upon them; by these the fire is communicated to the next, which thus spreads to the whole heap. this easy reception of fire is a characteristic which bitumen possesses in common with sulphur. yet the small, pure and black bituminous ore is distinguished from the stones as follows: when they burn they emit the kind of odour which is usually given off by burning bituminous coal, and besides, if while they are burning a small shower of rain should fall, they burn more brightly and soften more quickly. indeed, when the wind carries the fumes so that they descend into nearby standing waters, there can be seen floating in it something like a bituminous liquid, either black, or brown, or purple, which is sufficient to indicate that those stones were bituminous. and that genus of stones has been recently found in the harz in layers, having occasionally gold-coloured specks of pyrites adhering to them, representing various flat sea-fish or pike or perch or birds, and poultry cocks, and sometimes salamanders." [ ] _atramentum sutorium rubrum_. literally, this would be red vitriol. the german translation gives _rot kupferwasser_, also red vitriol. we must confess that we cannot make this substance out, nor can we find it mentioned in the other works of agricola. it may be the residue from leaching roasted pyrites for vitriol, which would be reddish oxide of iron. [ ] the statement "elsewhere" does not convey very much more information. it is (_de nat. fos._, p. ): "when goslar pyrites and eisleben (copper) schists are placed on the pyre and roasted for the third time, they both exude a certain substance which is of a greenish colour, dry, rough, and fibrous (_tenue_). this substance, like asbestos, is not consumed by the fire. the schists exude it more plentifully than the pyrites." the _interpretatio_ gives _federwis_, as the german equivalent of _amiantus_ (asbestos). this term was used for the feathery alum efflorescence on aluminous slates. [ ] bearing in mind that bituminous cadmia contained arsenical-cobalt minerals, this substance "resembling _pompholyx_" would probably be arsenic oxide. in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ). agricola discusses the _pompholyx_ from _cadmia_ at length and pronounces it to be of remarkably "corrosive" quality. (see also note on p. .) [ ] historical note on crushing and concentration of ores. there can be no question that the first step in the metallurgy of ores was direct smelting, and that this antedates human records. the obvious advantages of reducing the bulk of the material to be smelted by the elimination of barren portions of the ore, must have appealed to metallurgists at a very early date. logically, therefore, we should find the second step in metallurgy to be concentration in some form. the question of crushing is so much involved with concentration that we have not endeavoured to keep them separate. the earliest indication of these processes appears to be certain inscriptions on monuments of the iv dynasty ( , b.c.?) depicting gold washing (wilkinson, the ancient egyptians, london, , ii, p. ). certain stelae of the xii dynasty ( , b.c.) in the british museum ( bay and bay ) refer to gold washing in the sudan, and one of them appears to indicate the working of gold ore as distinguished from alluvial. the first written description of the egyptian methods--and probably that reflecting the most ancient technology of crushing and concentration--is that of agatharchides, a greek geographer of the second century b.c. this work is lost, but the passage in question is quoted by diodorus siculus ( st century b.c.) and by photius (died a.d.). we give booth's translation of diodorus (london, , p. ), slightly amended: "in the confines of egypt and the neighbouring countries of arabia and ethiopia there is a place full of rich gold mines, out of which with much cost and pains of many labourers gold is dug. the soil here is naturally black, but in the body of the earth run many white veins, shining like white marble, surpassing in lustre all other bright things. out of these laborious mines, those appointed overseers cause the gold to be dug up by the labour of a vast multitude of people. for the kings of egypt condemn to these mines notorious criminals, captives taken in war, persons sometimes falsely accused, or against whom the king is incens'd; and not only they themselves, but sometimes all their kindred and relations together with them, are sent to work here, both to punish them, and by their labour to advance the profit and gain of the kings. there are infinite numbers upon these accounts thrust down into these mines, all bound in fetters, where they work continually, without being admitted any rest night or day, and so strictly guarded that there is no possibility or way left to make an escape. for they set over them barbarians, soldiers of various and strange languages, so that it is not possible to corrupt any of the guard by discoursing one with another, or by the gaining insinuations of familiar converse. the earth which is hardest and full of gold they soften by putting fire under it, and then work it out with their hands. the rocks thus soften'd and made more pliant and yielding, several thousands of profligate wretches break in pieces with hammers and pickaxes. there is one artist that is the overseer of the whole work, who marks out the stone, and shows the labourers the way and manner how he would have it done. those that are the strongest amongst them that are appointed to this slavery, provided with sharp iron pickaxes, cleave the marble-shining rock by mere force and strength, and not by arts or sleight-of-hand. they undermine not the rock in a direct line, but follow the bright shining vein of the mine. they carry lamps fastened to their foreheads to give them light, being otherwise in perfect darkness in the various windings and turnings wrought in the mine; and having their bodies appearing sometimes of one colour and sometimes of another (according to the nature of the mine where they work) they throw the lumps and pieces of the stone cut out of the rock upon the floor. and thus they are employed continually without intermission, at the very nod of the overseer, who lashes them severely besides. and there are little boys who penetrate through the galleries into the cavities and with great labour and toil gather up the lumps and pieces hewed out of the rock as they are cast upon the ground, and carry them forth and lay them upon the bank. those that are over thirty years of age take a piece of the rock of such a certain quantity, and pound it in a stone mortar with iron pestles till it be as small as a vetch; then those little stones so pounded are taken from them by women and older men, who cast them into mills that stand together there near at hand in a long row, and two or three of them being employed at one mill they grind a certain measure given to them at a time, until it is as small as fine meal. no care at all is taken of the bodies of these poor creatures, so that they have not a rag so much as to cover their nakedness, and no man that sees them can choose but commiserate their sad and deplorable condition. for though they are sick, maimed, or lame, no rest nor intermission in the least is allowed them; neither the weakness of old age, nor women's infirmities are any plea to excuse them; but all are driven to their work with blows and cudgelling, till at length, overborne with the intolerable weight of their misery, they drop down dead in the midst of their insufferable labours; so that these miserable creatures always expect the future to be more terrible than even the present, and therefore long for death as far more desirable than life. "at length the masters of the work take the stone thus ground to powder, and carry it away in order to perfect it. they spread the mineral so ground upon a broad board, somewhat sloping, and pouring water upon it, rub it and cleanse it; and so all the earthy and drossy part being separated from the rest by the water, it runs off the board, and the gold by reason of its weight remains behind. then washing it several times again, they first rub it lightly with their hands; afterward they draw off any earthy and drossy matter with slender sponges gently applied to the powdered dust, till it be clean, pure gold. at last other workmen take it away by weight and measure, and these put it into earthen pots, and according to the quantity of the gold in every pot they mix with it some lead, grains of salt, a little tin and barley bran. then, covering every pot close, and carefully daubing them over with clay, they put them in a furnace, where they abide five days and nights together; then after a convenient time that they have stood to cool, nothing of the other matter is to be found in the pots but only pure, refined gold, some little thing diminished in the weight. and thus gold is prepared in the borders of egypt, and perfected and completed with so many and so great toils and vexations. and, therefore, i cannot but conclude that nature itself teaches us, that as gold is got with labour and toil, so it is kept with difficulty; it creates everywhere the greatest cares; and the use of it is mixed both with pleasure and sorrow." the remains at mt. laurion show many of the ancient mills and concentration works of the greeks, but we cannot be absolutely certain at what period in the history of these mines crushing and concentration were introduced. while the mines were worked with great activity prior to b.c. (see note , p. ), it was quite feasible for the ancient miner to have smelted these argentiferous lead ores direct. however, at some period prior to the decadence of the mines in the rd century b.c., there was in use an extensive system of milling and concentration. for the following details we are indebted mostly to edouard ardaillon (_les mines du laurion dans l'antiquité_, chap. iv.). the ore was first hand-picked (in one portion of these rejects was estimated at , , tons) and afterward it was apparently crushed in stone mortars some to inches in diameter, and thence passed to the mills. these mills, which crushed dry, were of the upper and lower millstone order, like the old-fashioned flour mills, and were turned by hand. the stones were capable of adjustment in such a way as to yield different sizes. the sand was sifted and the oversize returned to the mills. from the mills it was taken to washing plants, which consisted essentially of an inclined area, below which a canal, sometimes with riffles, led through a series of basins, ultimately returning the water again to near the head of the area. these washing areas, constructed with great care, were made of stone cemented over smoothly, and were so efficiently done as to remain still intact. in washing, a workman brushed upward the pulp placed on the inclined upper portion of the area, thus concentrating there a considerable proportion of the galena; what escaped had an opportunity to settle in the sequence of basins, somewhat on the order of the buddle. a quotation by strabo (iii, , ) from the lost work of polybius ( - b.c.) also indicates concentration of lead-silver ores in spain previous to the christian era: "polybius speaking of the silver mines of new carthage, tells us that they are extremely large, distant from the city about stadia, and occupy a circuit of stadia, that there are , men regularly engaged in them, and that they yield daily to the roman people (a revenue of) , drachmae. the rest of the process i pass over, as it is too long, but as for the silver ore collected, he tells us that it is broken up, and sifted through sieves over water; that what remains is to be again broken, and the water having been strained off, it is to be sifted and broken a third time. the dregs which remain after the fifth time are to be melted, and the lead being poured off, the silver is obtained pure. these silver mines still exist; however, they are no longer the property of the state, neither these nor those elsewhere, but are possessed by private individuals. the gold mines, on the contrary, nearly all belong to the state. both at castlon and other places there are singular lead mines worked. they contain a small proportion of silver, but not sufficient to pay for the expense of refining." (hamilton's translation, vol. i., p. ). while pliny gives considerable information on vein mining and on alluvial washing, the following obscure passage (xxxiii, ) appears to be the only reference to concentration of ores: "that which is dug out is crushed, washed, roasted, and ground to powder. this powder is called _apitascudes_, while the silver (lead?) which becomes disengaged in the furnace is called _sudor_ (sweat). that which is ejected from the chimney is called _scoria_ as with other metals. in the case of gold this _scoria_ is crushed and melted again." it is evident enough from these quotations that the ancients by "washing" and "sifting," grasped the practical effect of differences in specific gravity of the various components of an ore. such processes are barely mentioned by other mediæval authors, such as theophilus, biringuccio, etc., and thus the account in this chapter is the first tangible technical description. lead mining has been in active progress in derbyshire since the th century, and concentration was done on an inclined board until the th century, when william humphrey (see below) introduced the jigging sieve. some further notes on this industry will be found in note , p. . however, the buddle and strake which appear at that time, are but modest improvements over the board described by agatharchides in the quotation above. the ancient crushing appliances, as indicated by the ancient authors and by the greek and roman remains scattered over europe, were hand-mortars and mill-stones of the same order as those with which they ground flour. the stamp-mill, the next advance over grinding in mill-stones, seems to have been invented some time late in the th or early in the th centuries, but who invented it is unknown. beckmann (hist. of inventions, ii, p. ) says: "in the year the process of sifting and wet-stamping was established at joachimsthal by paul grommestetter, a native of schwarz, named on that account the schwarzer, whom melzer praises as an ingenious and active washer; and we are told that he had before introduced the same improvements at schneeberg. soon after, that is in , a large stamping-work was erected at joachimsthal, and the process of washing was begun. a considerable saving was thus made, as a great many metallic particles were before left in the washed sand, which was either thrown away or used as mortar for building. in the year , hans pörtner employed at schlackenwalde the wet method of stamping, whereas before that period the ore there was ground. in the harz this invention was introduced at wildenmann by peter philip, who was assay-master there soon after the works at the upper harz were resumed by duke henry the younger, about the year . this we learn from the papers of herdan hacke or haecke, who was preacher at wildenmann in ." in view of the great amount of direct and indirect reference to tin mining in cornwall, covering four centuries prior to agricola, it would be natural to expect some statement bearing upon the treatment of ore. curiously enough, while alluvial washing and smelting of the black-tin are often referred to, there is nothing that we have been able to find, prior to richard carew's "survey of cornwall" (london, , p. ) which gives any tangible evidence on the technical phases of ore-dressing. in any event, an inspection of charters, tax-rolls, stannary court proceedings, etc., prior to that date gives the impression that vein mining was a very minor portion of the source of production. although carew's work dates years after agricola, his description is of interest: "as much almost dooth it exceede credite, that the tynne, for and in so small quantitie digged up with so great toyle, and passing afterwards thorow the managing of so many hands, ere it comes to sale, should be any way able to acquite the cost: for being once brought above ground in the stone, it is first broken in peeces with hammers; and then carryed, either in waynes, or on horses' backs, to a stamping mill, where three, and in some places sixe great logges of timber, bounde at the ends with yron, and lifted up and downe by a wheele, driven with the water, doe break it smaller. if the stones be over-moyst, they are dried by the fire in an yron cradle or grate. from the stamping mill, it passeth to the crazing mill, which betweene two grinding stones, turned also with a water-wheel, bruseth the same to a find sand; howbeit, of late times they mostly use wet stampers, and so have no need of the crazing mills for their best stuffe, but only for the crust of their tayles. the streame, after it hath forsaken the mill, is made to fall by certayne degrees, one somewhat distant from another; upon each of which, at every discent, lyeth a greene turfe, three or foure foote square, and one foote thick. on this the tinner layeth a certayne portion of the sandie tinne, and with his shovel softly tosseth the same to and fro, that, through this stirring, the water which runneth over it may wash away the light earth from the tinne, which of a heavier substance lyeth fast on the turfe. having so clensed one portion, he setteth the same aside, and beginneth with another, until his labour take end with his taske. the best of those turfes (for all sorts serve not) are fetched about two miles to the eastwards of s. michael's mount, where at low water they cast aside the sand, and dig them up; they are full of rootes of trees, and on some of them nuts have been found, which confirmeth my former assertion of the sea's intrusion. after it is thus washed, they put the remnant into a wooden dish, broad, flat, and round, being about two foote over, and having two handles fastened at the sides, by which they softly shogge the same to and fro in the water betweene their legges, as they sit over it, untill whatsoever of the earthie substance that was yet left be flitted away. some of later time, with a sleighter invention, and lighter labour, doe cause certayne boyes to stir it up and down with their feete, which worketh the same effect; the residue, after this often clensing, they call blacke tynne." it will be noticed that the "wet stampers" and the buddle--worked with "boyes feete"--are "innovations of late times." and the interesting question arises as to whether cornwall did not derive the stamp-mill, buddle, and strake, from the germans. the first adequate detailed description of cornish appliances is that of pryce (_mineralogia cornubiensis_, london, ) where the apparatus is identical with that described by agricola years before. the word "stamper" of cornwall is of german origin, from _stampfer_, or, as it is often written in old german works, _stamper_. however, the pursuit of the subject through etymology ends here, for no derivatives in german can be found for buddle, tye, strake, or other collateral terms. the first tangible evidence of german influence is to be found in carew who, continuing after the above quotation, states: "but sithence i gathered stickes to the building of this poore nest, sir francis godolphin (whose kind helpe hath much advanced this my playing labour) entertained a dutch mynerall man, and taking light from his experience, but building thereon farre more profitable conclusions of his owne invention, hath practised a more saving way in these matters, and besides, made tynne with good profit of that refuse which tynners rejected as nothing worth." beyond this quotation we can find no direct evidence of the influence of "dutch mynerall men" in cornish tin mining at this time. there can be no doubt, however, that in copper mining in cornwall and elsewhere in england, the "dutch mynerall men" did play a large part in the latter part of the th century. pettus (_fodinæ regales_, london, , p. ) states that "about the third year of queen elizabeth ( ) she by the advice of her council sent over for some germans experienced in mines, and being supplied, she, on the tenth of october, in the sixth of her reign, granted the mines of eight counties ... to houghsetter, a german whose name and family still continue in cardiganshire." elizabeth granted large mining rights to various germans, and the opening paragraphs of two out of several charters may be quoted in point. this grant is dated , and in part reads: "elizabeth, by the grace of god, queen of england, france, and ireland, defender of the faith, &c. to all men to whom these letters patents shall come, greeting. where heretofore we have granted privileges to cornelius de voz, for the mining and digging in our realm of england, for allom and copperas, and for divers ewers of metals that were to be found in digging for the said allom and copperas, incidently and consequently without fraud or guile, as by the same our privilege may appear. and where we also moved, by credible report to us made, of one daniel houghsetter, a german born, and of his skill and knowledge of and in all manner of mines, of metals and minerals, have given and granted privilege to thomas thurland, clerk, one of our chaplains, and master of the hospital of savoy, and to the same daniel, for digging and mining for all manner of ewers of gold, silver, copper, and quicksilver, within our counties of york, lancaster, cumberland, westmorland, cornwall, devon, gloucester, and worcester, and within our principality of wales; and with the same further to deal, as by our said privilege thereof granted and made to the said thomas thurland and daniel houghsetter may appear. _and_ we now being minded that the said commodities, and all other treasures of the earth, in all other places of our realm of england...." on the same date another grant reads: "elizabeth, by the grace of god, queen of england, france, and ireland, defender of the faith, &c. to all men to whom these our letters patents shall come, greeting. where we have received credible information that our faithful and well-beloved subject william humfrey, saymaster of our mint within our tower of london, by his great endeavour, labour, and charge, hath brought into this our realm of england one christopher shutz, an almain, born at _st. annen berg_, under the obedience of the electer of saxony; a workman as it is reported, of great cunning, knowledge, and experience, as well in the finding of the calamin stone, call'd in latin, _lapis calaminaris_, and in the right and proper use and commodity thereof, for the composition of the mix'd metal commonly call'd _latten_, etc." col. grant-francis, in his most valuable collection (smelting of copper in the swansea district, london, ) has published a collection of correspondence relating to early mining and smelting operations in great britain. and among them (p. ., etc.) are letters in the years - from william carnsewe and others to thomas smyth, with regard to the first smelter erected at neath, which was based upon copper mines in cornwall. he mentions "mr. weston's (a partner) provydence in bringynge hys dutch myners hether to aplye such businys in this countrye ys more to be commendyd than his ignorance of our countrymen's actyvytyes in suche matters." the principal "dutche mineral master" referred to was one ulrick frosse, who had charge of the mine at perin sands in cornwall, and subsequently of the smelter at neath. further on is given (p. ) a report by jochim gaunse upon the smelting of copper ores at keswick in cumberland in , referred to in note , p. . the daniel hochstetter mentioned in the charter above, together with other german and english gentlemen, formed the "company of mines royal" and among the properties worked were those with which gaunse's report is concerned. there is in the record office, london (exchequer k.r. com. derby . eliz.) the record of an interesting inquisition into derbyshire methods in which a then recent great improvement was the jigging sieve, the introduction of which was due to william humphrey (mentioned above). it is possible that he learned of it from the german with whom he was associated. much more evidence of the activity of the germans in english mining at this period can be adduced. on the other hand, cornwall has laid claims to having taught the art of tin mining and metallurgy to the germans. matthew paris, a benedictine monk, by birth an englishman, who died in , relates (_historia major angliae_, london, ) that a cornishman who fled to germany on account of a murder, first discovered tin there in , and that in consequence the price of tin fell greatly. this statement is recalled with great persistence by many writers on cornwall. (camden, _britannia_, london, ; borlase, natural history of cornwall, oxford, ; pryce, _mineralogia cornubiensis_, london, , p. , and others). [ ] _lapidibus liquescentibus_. (see note , p. ). [ ] historical note on amalgamation. the recovery of gold by the use of mercury possibly dates from roman times, but the application of the process to silver does not seem to go back prior to the th century. quicksilver was well-known to the greeks, and is described by theophrastus ( ) and others (see note , p. , on quicksilver). however, the greeks made no mention of its use for amalgamation, and, in fact, dioscorides (v, ) says "it is kept in vessels of glass, lead, tin or silver; if kept in vessels of any other kind it consumes them and flows away." it was used by them for medicinal purposes. the romans amalgamated gold with mercury, but whether they took advantage of the principle to recover gold from ores we do not know. vitruvius (vii, ) makes the following statement:--"if quicksilver be placed in a vessel and a stone of a hundred pounds' weight be placed on it, it will swim at the top, and will, notwithstanding its weight, be incapable of pressing the liquid so as to break or separate it. if this be taken out, and only a single scruple of gold be put in, that will not swim, but immediately descend to the bottom. this is a proof that the gravity of a body does not depend on its weight, but on its nature. quicksilver is used for many purposes; without it, neither silver nor brass can be properly gilt. when gold is embroidered on a garment which is worn out and no longer fit for use, the cloth is burnt over the fire in earthen pots; the ashes are thrown into water and quicksilver added to them; this collects all the particles of gold and unites with them. the water is then poured off and the residuum placed in a cloth, which, when squeezed with the hands, suffers the liquid quicksilver to pass through the pores of the cloth, but retains the gold in a mass within it." (gwilt's trans., p. ). pliny is rather more explicit (xxxiii, ): "all floats on it (quicksilver) except gold. this it draws into itself, and on that account is the best means of purifying; for, on being repeatedly agitated in earthen pots it casts out the other things and the impurities. these things being rejected, in order that it may give up the gold, it is squeezed in prepared skins, through which, exuding like perspiration, it leaves the gold pure." it may be noted particularly that both these authors state that gold is the only substance that does not float, and, moreover, nowhere do we find any reference to silver combining with mercury, although beckmann (hist. of inventions, vol. i, p. ) not only states that the above passage from pliny refers to silver, but in further error, attributes the origin of silver amalgamation of ores to the spaniards in the indies. the alchemists of the middle ages were well aware that silver would amalgamate with mercury. there is, however, difficulty in any conclusion that it was applied by them to separating silver or gold from ore. the involved gibberish in which most of their utterances was couched, obscures most of their reactions in any event. the school of geber (appendix b) held that all metals were a compound of "spiritual" mercury and sulphur, and they clearly amalgamated silver with mercury, and separated them by distillation. the _probierbüchlein_ ( ?) describes a method of recovering silver from the cement used in parting gold and silver, by mixing the cement (silver chlorides) with quicksilver. agricola nowhere in this work mentions the treatment of silver ores by amalgamation, although he was familiar with biringuccio (_de la pirotechnia_), as he himself mentions in the preface. this work, published at least ten years before _de re metallica_, contains the first comprehensive account of silver amalgamation. there is more than usual interest in the description, because, not only did it precede _de re metallica_, but it is also a specific explanation of the fundamental essentials of the patio process long before the date when the spaniards could possibly have invented that process in mexico. we quote mr. a. dick's translation from percy (metallurgy of silver and gold, p. ): "he was certainly endowed with much useful and ingenious thought who invented the short method of extracting metal from the sweepings produced by those arts which have to do with gold and silver, every substance left in the refuse by smelters, and also the substance from certain ores themselves, without the labour of fusing, but by the sole means and virtue of mercury. to effect this, a large basin is first constructed of stone or timber and walled, into which is fitted a millstone made to turn like that of a mill. into the hollow of this basin is placed matter containing gold (_della materia vra che tiene oro_), well ground in a mortar and afterward washed and dried; and, with the above-mentioned millstone, it is ground while being moistened with vinegar, or water, in which has been dissolved corrosive sublimate (_solimato_), verdigris (_verde rame_), and common salt. over these materials is then put as much mercury as will cover them; they are then stirred for an hour or two, by turning the millstone, either by hand, or horse-power, according to the plan adopted, bearing in mind that the more the mercury and the materials are bruised together by the millstone, the more the mercury may be trusted to have taken up the substance which the materials contain. the mercury, in this condition, can then be separated from the earthy matter by a sieve, or by washing, and thus you will recover the auriferous mercury (_el vro mercurio_). after this, by driving off the mercury by means of a flask (_i.e._, by heating in a retort or an alembic), or by passing it through a bag, there will remain, at the bottom, the gold, silver, or copper, or whatever metal was placed in the basin under the millstone to be ground. having been desirous of knowing this secret, i gave to him who taught it to me a ring with a diamond worth ducats; he also required me to give him the eighth part of any profit i might make by using it. this i wished to tell you, not that you should return the ducats to me for teaching you the secret, but in order that you should esteem it all the more and hold it dear." in another part of the treatise biringuccio states that washed (concentrated) ores may be ultimately reduced either by lead or mercury. concerning these silver concentrates he writes: "afterward drenching them with vinegar in which has been put green copper (_i.e._, verdigris); or drenching them with water in which has been dissolved vitriol and green copper...." he next describes how this material should be ground with mercury. the question as to who was the inventor of silver amalgamation will probably never be cleared up. according to ulloa (_relacion historica del viage a la america meridional_, madrid, ) dom pedro fernandes de velasco discovered the process in mexico in . the earliest technical account is that of father joseph de acosta (_historia natural y moral de las indias_, seville, , english trans. edward grimston, london, , re-published by the hakluyt society, ). acosta was born in , and spent the years to in peru, and in mexico. it may be noted that potosi was discovered in . he states that refining silver with mercury was introduced at potosi by pedro fernandes de velasco from mexico in , and states (grimston's trans., vol. i, p. ): "... they put the powder of the metall into the vessels upon furnaces, whereas they anoint it and mortifie it with brine, putting to every fiftie quintalles of powder five quintalles of salt. and this they do for that the salt separates the earth and filth, to the end the quicksilver may the more easily draw the silver unto it. after, they put quicksilver into a piece of holland and presse it out upon the metall, which goes forth like a dewe, alwaies turning and stirring the metall, to the end it may be well incorporate. before the invention of these furnaces of fire, they did often mingle their metall with quicksilver in great troughes, letting it settle some daies, and did then mix it and stirre it againe, until they thought all the quicksilver were well incorporate with the silver, the which continued twentie daies and more, and at least nine daies." frequent mention of the different methods of silver amalgamation is made by the spanish writers subsequent to this time, the best account being that of alonso barba, a priest. barba was a native of lepe, in andalusia, and followed his calling at various places in peru from about to about , and at one time held the curacy of st. bernard at potosi. in he published at madrid his _arte de los metales_, etc., in five books. the first two books of this work were translated into english by the earl of sandwich, and published in london in , under the title "the first book of the art of metals." this translation is equally wretched with those in french and german, as might be expected from the translators' total lack of technical understanding. among the methods of silver amalgamation described by barba is one which, upon later "discovery" at virginia city, is now known as the "washoe process." none of the spanish writers, so far as we know, make reference to biringuccio's account, and the question arises whether the patio process was an importation from europe or whether it was re-invented in mexico. while there is no direct evidence on the point, the presumption is in favour of the former. the general introduction of the amalgamation of silver ores into central europe seems to have been very slow, and over years elapsed after its adoption in peru and mexico before it received serious attention by the german metallurgists. ignaz elder v. born was the first to establish the process effectually in europe, he having in erected a "quick-mill" at glasshutte, near shemnitz. he published an elaborate account of a process which he claimed as his own, under the title _ueber das anquicken der gold und silberhältigen erze_, vienna, . the only thing new in his process seems to have been mechanical agitation. according to born, a spaniard named don juan de corduba, in the year , applied to the court at vienna offering to extract silver from ores with mercury. various tests were carried out under the celebrated lazarus erckern, and although it appears that some vitriol and salt were used, the trials apparently failed, for erckern concluded his report with the advice: "that their lordships should not suffer any more expense to be thrown away upon this experiment." born's work was translated into english by r. e. raspe, under the title--"baron inigo born's new process of amalgamation, etc.," london, . some interest attaches to raspe, in that he was not only the author of "baron munchausen," but was also the villain in scott's "antiquary." raspe was a german professor at cassel, who fled to england to avoid arrest for theft. he worked at various mines in cornwall, and in involved sir john sinclair in a fruitless mine, but disappeared before that was known. the incident was finally used by sir walter scott in this novel. [ ] _aurum in ea remanet purum_. this same error of assuming squeezed amalgam to be pure gold occurs in pliny; see previous footnote. [ ] george, duke of saxony, surnamed "the bearded," was born , and died . he was chiefly known for his bitter opposition to the reformation. [ ] the julian alps are a section east of the carnic alps and lie north of trieste. the term rhaetian alps is applied to that section along the swiss italian boundary, about north of lake como. [ ] ancient lusitania comprised portugal and some neighbouring portions of spain. [ ] colchis, the traditional land of the golden fleece, lay between the caucasus on the north, armenia on the south, and the black sea on the west. if agricola's account of the metallurgical purpose of the fleece is correct, then jason must have had real cause for complaint as to the tangible results of his expedition. the fact that we hear nothing of the fleece after the day it was taken from the dragon would thus support agricola's theory. tons of ink have been expended during the past thirty centuries in explanations of what the fleece really was. these explanations range through the supernatural and metallurgical, but more recent writers have endeavoured to construct the journey of the argonauts into an epic of the development of the greek trade in gold with the euxine. we will not attempt to traverse them from a metallurgical point of view further than to maintain that agricola's explanation is as probable and equally as ingenious as any other, although strabo (xi, , .) gives much the same view long before. alluvial mining--gold washing--being as old as the first glimmer of civilization, it is referred to, directly or indirectly, by a great majority of ancient writers, poets, historians, geographers, and naturalists. early egyptian inscriptions often refer to this industry, but from the point of view of technical methods the description by pliny is practically the only one of interest, and in pliny's chapter on the subject, alluvial is badly confused with vein mining. this passage (xxxiii, ) is as follows: "gold is found in the world in three ways, to say nothing of that found in india by the ants, and in scythia by the griffins. the first is as gold dust found in streams, as, for instance, in the tagus in spain, in the padus in italy, in the hebrus in thracia, in the pactolus in asia, and in the ganges in india; indeed, there is no gold found more perfect than this, as the current polishes it thoroughly by attrition.... others by equal labour and greater expense bring rivers from the mountain heights, often a hundred miles, for the purpose of washing this debris. the ditches thus made are called _corrugi_, from our word _corrivatio_, i suppose; and these entail a thousand fresh labours. the fall must be steep, that the water may rush down from very high places, rather than flow gently. the ditches across the valleys are joined by aqueducts, and in other places, impassable rocks have to be cut away and forced to make room for troughs of hollowed-out logs. those who cut the rocks are suspended by ropes, so that to those who watch them from a distance, the workmen seem not so much beasts as birds. hanging thus, they take the levels and trace the lines which the ditch is to take; and thus, where there is no place for man's footstep, streams are dragged by men. the water is vitiated for washing if the current of the stream carries mud with it. this kind of earth is called _urium_, hence these ditches are laid out to carry the water over beds of pebbles to avoid this _urium_. when they have reached the head of the fall, at the top of the mountain, reservoirs are excavated a couple of hundred feet long and wide, and about ten feet deep. in these reservoirs there are generally five gates left, about three feet square, so that when the reservoir is full, the gates are opened, and the torrent bursts forth with such violence that the rocks are hurled along. when they have reached the plain there is yet more labour. trenches called _agogae_ are dug for the flow of the water. the bottoms of these are spread at regular intervals with _ulex_ to catch the gold. this _ulex_ is similar to rosemary, rough and prickly. the sides, too, are closed in with planks and are suspended when crossing precipitous spots. the earth is carried to the sea and thus the shattered mountain is washed away and scattered; and this deposition of the earth in the sea has extended the shore of spain.... the gold procured from _arrugiae_ does not require to be melted, but is already pure gold. it is found in lumps, in shafts as well, sometimes even exceeding ten _librae_ in weight. these lumps are called _palagae_ and _palacurnae_, while the small grains are called _baluce_. the ulex is dried and burnt and the ashes are washed on a bed of grassy turf in order that the gold may settle thereon." [ ] _carbunculus carchedonius_--carthaginian carbuncle. the german is given by agricola in the _interpretatio_ as _granat_, _i.e._, garnet. [ ] as the concentration of crushed tin ore has been exhaustively treated of already, the descriptions from here on probably refer entirely to alluvial tin. [ ] from a metallurgical point of view all of these operations are roasting. even to-day, however, the expression "burning" tin is in use in some parts of cornwall, and in former times it was general. [ ] there can be no doubt that these are mattes, as will develop in book ix. the german term in the glossary for _panes ex pyrite_ is _stein_, the same as the modern german for matte. orpiment and realgar are the yellow and red arsenical sulphides. the _cadmia_ was no doubt the cobalt-arsenic minerals (see note on p. ). the "solidified juices" were generally anything that could be expelled short of smelting, _i.e._, roasted off or leached out, as shown in note , p. ; they embrace the sulphates, salts, sulphur, bitumen, and arsenical sulphides, etc. for further information on leaching out the sulphates, alum, etc., see note , p. . book ix.[ ] since i have written of the varied work of preparing the ores, i will now write of the various methods of smelting them. although those who burn, roast and calcine[ ] the ore, take from it something which is mixed or combined with the metals; and those who crush it with stamps take away much; and those who wash, screen and sort it, take away still more; yet they cannot remove all which conceals the metal from the eye and renders it crude and unformed. wherefore smelting is necessary, for by this means earths, solidified juices, and stones are separated from the metals so that they obtain their proper colour and become pure, and may be of great use to mankind in many ways. when the ore is smelted, those things which were mixed with the metal before it was melted are driven forth, because the metal is perfected by fire in this manner. since metalliferous ores differ greatly amongst themselves, first as to the metals which they contain, then as to the quantity of the metal which is in them, and then by the fact that some are rapidly melted by fire and others slowly, there are, therefore, many methods of smelting. constant practice has taught the smelters by which of these methods they can obtain the most metal from any one ore. moreover, while sometimes there are many methods of smelting the same ore, by which an equal weight of metal is melted out, yet one is done at a greater cost and labour than the others. ore is either melted with a furnace or without one; if smelted with a furnace the tap-hole is either temporarily closed or always open, and if smelted without a furnace, it is done either in pots or in trenches. but in order to make this matter clearer, i will describe each in detail, beginning with the buildings and the furnaces. a wall which will be called the "second wall" is constructed of brick or stone, two feet and as many palms thick, in order that it may be strong enough to bear the weight. it is built fifteen feet high, and its length depends on the number of furnaces which are put in the works; there are usually six furnaces, rarely more, and often less. there are three furnace walls, a back one which is against the "second" wall, and two side ones, of which i will speak later. these should be made of natural stone, as this is more serviceable than burnt bricks, because bricks soon become defective and crumble away, when the smelter or his deputy chips off the accretions which adhere to the walls when the ore is smelted. natural stone resists injury by the fire and lasts a long time, especially that which is soft and devoid of cracks; but, on the contrary, that which is hard and has many cracks is burst asunder by the fire and destroyed. for this reason, furnaces which are made of the latter are easily weakened by the fire, and when the accretions are chipped off they crumble to pieces. the front furnace wall should be made of brick, and there should be in the lower part a mouth three palms wide and one and a half feet high, when the hearth is completed. a hole slanting upward, three palms long, is made through the back furnace wall, at the height of a cubit, before the hearth has been prepared; through this hole and a hole one foot long in the "second" wall--as the back of this wall has an arch--is inserted a pipe of iron or bronze, in which are fixed the nozzles of the bellows. the whole of the front furnace wall is not more than five feet high, so that the ore may be conveniently put into the furnace, together with those things which the master needs for his work of smelting. both the side walls of the furnace are six feet high, and the back one seven feet, and they are three palms thick. the interior of the furnace is five palms wide, six palms and a digit long, the width being measured by the space which lies between the two side walls, and the length by the space between the front and the back walls; however, the upper part of the furnace widens out somewhat. [illustration (blast furnaces): a--furnaces. b--forehearths.] there are two doors in the second wall if there are six furnaces, one of the doors being between the second and third furnaces and the other between the fourth and fifth furnaces. they are a cubit wide and six feet high, in order that the smelters may not have mishaps in coming and going. it is necessary to have a door to the right of the first furnace, and similarly one to the left of the last, whether the wall is longer or not. the second wall is carried further when the rooms for the cupellation furnaces, or any other building, adjoin the rooms for the blast furnaces, these buildings being only divided by a partition. the smelter, and the ones who attend to the first and the last furnaces, if they wish to look at the bellows or to do anything else, go out through the doors at the end of the wall, and the other people go through the other doors, which are the common ones. the furnaces are placed at a distance of six feet from one another, in order that the smelters and their assistants may more easily sustain the fierceness of the heat. inasmuch as the interior of each furnace is five palms wide and each is six feet distant from the other, and inasmuch as there is a space of four feet three palms at the right side of the first furnace and as much at the left side of the last furnace, and there are to be six furnaces in one building, then it is necessary to make the second wall fifty-two feet long; because the total of the widths of all of the furnaces is seven and a half feet, the total of the spaces between the furnaces is thirty feet, the space on the outer sides of the first and last furnaces is nine feet and two palms, and the thickness of the two transverse walls is five feet, which make a total measurement of fifty-two feet.[ ] outside each furnace hearth there is a small pit full of powder which is compressed by ramming, and in this manner is made the forehearth which receives the metal flowing from the furnaces. of this i will speak later. [illustration (blast furnaces): a--furnaces. b--forehearth. c--door. d--water tank. e--stone which covers it. f--material of the vent walls. g--stone which covers it. h--pipe exhaling the vapour.] buried about a cubit under the forehearth and the hearth of the furnace is a transverse water-tank, three feet long, three palms wide and a cubit deep. it is made of stone or brick, with a stone cover, for if it were not covered, the heat would draw the moisture from below and the vapour might be blown into the hearth of the furnace as well as into the forehearth, and would dampen the blast. the moisture would vitiate the blast, and part of the metal would be absorbed and part would be mixed with the slags, and in this manner the melting would be greatly damaged. from each water-tank is built a walled vent, to the same depth as the tank, but six digits wide; this vent slopes upward, and sooner or later penetrates through to the other side of the wall, against which the furnace is built. at the end of this vent there is an opening where the steam, into which the water has been converted, is exhausted through a copper or iron tube or pipe. this method of making the tank and the vent is much the best. another kind has a similar vent but a different tank, for it does not lie transversely under the forehearth, but lengthwise; it is two feet and a palm long, and a foot and three palms wide, and a foot and a palm deep. this method of making tanks is not condemned by us, as is the construction of those tanks without a vent; the latter, which have no opening into the air through which the vapour may discharge freely, are indeed to be condemned. [illustration (bellows for blast furnaces)] fifteen feet behind the second wall is constructed the first wall, thirteen feet high. in both of these are fixed roof beams[ ], which are a foot wide and thick, and nineteen feet and a palm long; these are placed three feet distant from one another. as the second wall is two feet higher than the first wall, recesses are cut in the back of it two feet high, one foot wide, and a palm deep, and in these recesses, as it were in mortises, are placed one end of each of the beams. into these ends are mortised the bottoms of just as many posts; these posts are twenty-four feet high, three palms wide and thick, and from the tops of the posts the same number of rafters stretch downward to the ends of the beams superimposed on the first wall; the upper ends of the rafters are mortised into the posts and the lower ends are mortised into the ends of the beams laid on the first wall; the rafters support the roof, which consists of burnt tiles. each separate rafter is propped up by a separate timber, which is a cross-beam, and is joined to its post. planks close together are affixed to the posts above the furnaces; these planks are about two digits thick and a palm wide, and they, together with the wicker work interposed between the timbers, are covered with lute so that there may be no risk of fire to the timbers and wicker-work. in this practical manner is constructed the back part of the works, which contains the bellows, their frames, the mechanism for compressing the bellows, and the instrument for distending them, of all of which i will speak hereafter. [illustration (plan of smelter building): the four long walls: a--first. b--second. c--third. d--fourth. the seven transverse walls: e--first. f--second. g--third. h--fourth. i--fifth. k--sixth. l--seventh, or middle.] in front of the furnaces is constructed the third long wall and likewise the fourth. both are nine feet high, but of the same length and thickness as the other two, the fourth being nine feet distant from the third; the third is twenty-one and a half feet from the second. at a distance of twelve feet from the second wall, four posts seven and a half feet high, a cubit wide and thick, are set upon rock laid underneath. into the tops of the posts the roof beam is mortised; this roof beam is two feet and as many palms longer than the distance between the second and the fifth transverse walls, in order that its ends may rest on the transverse walls. if there should not be so long a beam at hand, two are substituted for it. as the length of the long beam is as above, and as the posts are equidistant, it is necessary that the posts should be a distance of nine feet, one palm, two and two-fifths digits from each other, and the end ones this distance from the transverse walls. on this longitudinal beam and to the third and fourth walls are fixed twelve secondary beams twenty-four feet long, one foot wide, three palms thick, and distant from each other three feet, one palm, and two digits. in these secondary beams, where they rest on the longitudinal beams, are mortised the ends of the same number of rafters as there are posts which stand on the second wall. the ends of the rafters do not reach to the tops of the posts, but are two feet away from them, that through this opening, which is like the open part of a forge, the furnaces can emit their fumes. in order that the rafters should not fall down, they are supported partly by iron rods, which extend from each rafter to the opposite post, and partly supported by a few tie-beams, which in the same manner extend from some rafters to the posts opposite, and give them stability. to these tie-beams, as well as to the rafters which face the posts, a number of boards, about two digits thick and a palm wide, are fixed at a distance of a palm from each other, and are covered with lute so that they do not catch fire. in the secondary beams, where they are laid on the fourth wall, are mortised the lower ends of the same number of rafters as those in a set of rafters[ ] opposite them. from the third long wall these rafters are joined and tied to the ends of the opposite rafters, so that they may not slip, and besides they are strengthened with substructures which are made of cross and oblique timbers. the rafters support the roof. in this manner the front part of the building is made, and is divided into three parts; the first part is twelve feet wide and is under the hood, which consists of two walls, one vertical and one inclined. the second part is the same number of feet wide and is for the reception of the ore to be smelted, the fluxes, the charcoal, and other things which are needed by the smelter. the third part is nine feet wide and contains two separate rooms of equal size, in one of which is the assay furnace, while the other contains the metal to be melted in the cupellation furnaces. it is thus necessary that in the building there should be, besides the four long walls, seven transverse walls, of which the first is constructed from the upper end of the first long wall to the upper end of the second long wall; the second proceeds from the end of this to the end of the third long wall; the third likewise from this end of the last extends to the end of the fourth long wall; the fourth leads from the lower end of the first long wall to the lower end of the second long wall; the fifth extends from the end of this to the end of the third long wall; the sixth extends from this last end to the end of the fourth long wall; the seventh divides into two parts the space between the third and fourth long walls. to return to the back part of the building, in which, as i said, are the bellows[ ], their frames, the machinery for compressing them, and the instrument for distending them. each bellows consists of a body and a head. the body is composed of two "boards," two bows, and two hides. the upper board is a palm thick, five feet and three palms long, and two and a half feet wide at the back part, where each of the sides is a little curved, and it is a cubit wide at the front part near the head. the whole of the body of the bellows tapers toward the head. that which we now call the "board" consists of two pieces of pine, joined and glued together, and of two strips of linden wood which bind the edges of the board, these being seven digits wide at the back, and in front near the head of the bellows one and a half digits wide. these strips are glued to the boards, so that there shall be less damage from the iron nails driven through the hide. there are some people who do not surround the boards with strips, but use boards only, which are very thick. the upper board has an aperture and a handle; the aperture is in the middle of the board and is one foot three palms distant from where the board joins the head of the bellows, and is six digits long and four wide. the lid for this aperture is two palms and a digit long and wide, and three digits thick; toward the back of the lid is a little notch cut into the surface so that it may be caught by the hand; a groove is cut out of the top of the front and sides, so that it may engage in mouldings a palm wide and three digits thick, which are also cut out in a similar manner under the edges. now, when the lid is drawn forward the hole is closed, and when drawn back it is opened; the smelter opens the aperture a little so that the air may escape from the bellows through it, if he fears the hides might be burst when the bellows are too vigorously and quickly inflated; he, however, closes the aperture if the hides are ruptured and the air escapes. others perforate the upper board with two or three round holes in the same place as the rectangular one, and they insert plugs in them which they draw out when it is necessary. the wooden handle is seven palms long, or even longer, in order that it may extend outside; one-half of this handle, two palms wide and one thick, is glued to the end of the board and fastened with pegs covered with glue; the other half projects beyond the board, and is rounded and seven digits thick. besides this, to the handle and to the board is fixed a cleat two feet long, as many palms wide and one palm thick, and to the under side of the same board, at a distance of three palms from the end, is fixed another cleat two feet long, in order that the board may sustain the force of distension and compression; these two cleats are glued to the board, and are fastened to it with pegs covered with glue. the lower bellows-board, like the upper, is made of two pieces of pine and of two strips of linden wood, all glued together; it is of the same width and thickness as the upper board, but is a cubit longer, this extension being part of the head of which i have more to say a little later. this lower bellows-board has an air-hole and an iron ring. the air-hole is about a cubit distant from the posterior end, and it is midway between the sides of the bellows-board, and is a foot long and three palms wide; it is divided into equal parts by a small rib which forms part of the board, and is not cut from it; this rib is a palm long and one-third of a digit wide. the flap of the air-hole is a foot and three digits long, three palms and as many digits wide; it is a thin board covered with goat skin, the hairy part of which is turned toward the ground. there is fixed to one end of the flap, with small iron nails, one-half of a doubled piece of leather a palm wide and as long as the flap is wide; the other half of the leather, which is behind the flap, is twice perforated, as is also the bellows-board, and these perforations are seven digits apart. passing through these a string is tied on the under side of the board; and thus the flap when tied to the board does not fall away. in this manner are made the flap and the air-hole, so when the bellows are distended the flap opens, when compressed it closes. at a distance of about a foot beyond the air-hole a slightly elliptical iron ring, two palms long and one wide, is fastened by means of an iron staple to the under part of the bellows-board; it is at a distance of three palms from the back of the bellows. in order that the lower bellows-board may remain stationary, a wooden bolt is driven into the ring, after it penetrates through the hole in the transverse supporting plank which forms part of the frame for the bellows. there are some who dispense with the ring and fasten the bellows-board to the frame with two iron screws something like nails. the bows are placed between the two boards and are of the same length as the upper board. they are both made of four pieces of linden wood three digits thick, of which the two long ones are seven digits wide at the back and two and a half at the front; the third piece, which is at the back, is two palms wide. the ends of the bows are a little more than a digit thick, and are mortised to the long pieces, and both having been bored through, wooden pegs covered with glue are fixed in the holes; they are thus joined and glued to the long pieces. each of the ends is bowed (_arcuatur_) to meet the end of the long part of the bow, whence its name "bow" originated. the fourth piece keeps the ends of the bow distended, and is placed a cubit distant from the head of the bellows; the ends of this piece are mortised into the ends of the bow and are joined and glued to them; its length without the tenons is a foot, and its width a palm and two digits. there are, besides, two other very small pieces glued to the head of the bellows and to the lower board, and fastened to them by wooden pegs covered with glue, and they are three palms and two digits long, one palm high, and a digit thick, one half being slightly cut away. these pieces keep the ends of the bow away from the hole in the bellows-head, for if they were not there, the ends, forced inward by the great and frequent movement, would be broken. the leather is of ox-hide or horse-hide, but that of the ox is far preferable to that of the horse. each of these hides, for there are two, is three and a half feet wide where they are joined at the back part of the bellows. a long leathern thong is laid along each of the bellows-boards and each of the bows, and fastened by t-shaped iron nails five digits long; each of the horns of the nails is two and a half digits long and half a digit wide. the hide is attached to the bellows-boards by means of these nails, so that a horn of one nail almost touches the horn of the next; but it is different with the bows, for the hide is fastened to the back piece of the bow by only two nails, and to the two long pieces by four nails. in this practical manner they put ten nails in one bow and the same number in the other. sometimes when the smelter is afraid that the vigorous motion of the bellows may pull or tear the hide from the bows, he also fastens it with little strips of pine by means of another kind of nail, but these strips cannot be fastened to the back pieces of the bow, because these are somewhat bent. some people do not fix the hide to the bellows-boards and bows by iron nails, but by iron screws, screwed at the same time through strips laid over the hide. this method of fastening the hide is less used than the other, although there is no doubt that it surpasses it in excellence. lastly, the head of the bellows, like the rest of the body, consists of two boards, and of a nozzle besides. the upper board is one cubit long, one and a half palms thick. the lower board is part of the whole of the lower bellows-board; it is of the same length as the upper piece, but a palm and a digit thick. from these two glued together is made the head, into which, when it has been perforated, the nozzle is fixed. the back part of the head, where it is attached to the rest of the bellows-body, is a cubit wide, but three palms forward it becomes two digits narrower. afterward it is somewhat cut away so that the front end may be rounded, until it is two palms and as many digits in diameter, at which point it is bound with an iron ring three digits wide. the nozzle is a pipe made of a thin plate of iron; the diameter in front is three digits, while at the back, where it is encased in the head of the bellows, it is a palm high and two palms wide. it thus gradually widens out, especially at the back, in order that a copious wind can penetrate into it; the whole nozzle is three feet long. [illustration (bellows for blast furnaces): a--upper bellows-board. b--lower bellows-board. c--the two pieces of wood of which each consists. d--posterior arched part of each. e--tapered front part of each. f--pieces of linden wood. g--aperture in the upper board. h--lid. i--little mouldings of wood. k--handle. l--cleat on the outside. the cleat inside i am not able to depict. m--interior of the lower bellows-board. n--part of the head. o--air-hole. p--supporting bar. q--flap. r--hide. s--thong. t--exterior of the lower board. v--staple. x--ring. y--bow. z--its long pieces. aa--back piece of the bow. bb--the bowed ends. cc--crossbar distending the bow. dd--the two little pieces. ee--hide. ff--nail. gg--horn of the nail. hh--a screw. ii--long thong. kk--head. ll--its lower board. mm--its upper board. nn--nozzle. oo--the whole of the lower bellows-board. pp--the two exterior plates of the head hinges. qq--their curved piece. rr--middle plate of the head. ss--the two outer plates of the upper bellows-board. tt--its middle plate. vv--little axle. xx--whole bellows.] the upper bellows-board is joined to the head of the bellows in the following way. an iron plate[ ], a palm wide and one and a half palms long, is first fastened to the head at a distance of three digits from the end; from this plate there projects a piece three digits long and two wide, curved in a small circle. the other side has a similar plate. then in the same part of the upper board are fixed two other iron plates, distant two digits from the edge, each of which are six digits wide and seven long; in each of these plates the middle part is cut away for a little more than three digits in length and for two in depth, so that the curved part of the plates on the head corresponding to them may fit into this cut out part. from both sides of each plate there project pieces, three digits long and two digits wide, similarly curved into small circles. a little iron pin is passed through these curved pieces of the plates, like a little axle, so that the upper board of the bellows may turn upon it. the little axle is six digits long and a little more than a digit thick, and a small groove is cut out of the upper board, where the plates are fastened to it, in such a manner that the little axle when fixed to the plates may not fall out. both plates fastened to the bellows-board are affixed by four iron nails, of which the heads are on the inner part of the board, whereas the points, clinched at the top, are transformed into heads, so to speak. each of the other plates is fastened to the head of the bellows by means of a nail with a wide head, and by two other nails of which the heads are on the edge of the bellows-head. midway between the two plates on the bellows-board there remains a space two palms wide, which is covered by an iron plate fastened to the board by little nails; and another plate corresponding to this is fastened to the head between the other two plates; they are two palms and the same number of digits wide. the hide is common to the head as to all the other parts of the body; the plates are covered with it, as well as the front part of the upper bellows-board, and both the bows and the back of the head of the bellows, so that the wind may not escape from that part of the bellows. it is three palms and as many digits wide, and long enough to extend from one of the sides of the lower board over the back of the upper; it is fastened by many t-headed nails on one side to the upper board, and on the other side to the head of the bellows, and both ends are fastened to the lower bellows-board. in the above manner the bellows is made. as two are required for each furnace, it is necessary to have twelve bellows, if there are to be six furnaces in one works. [illustration (bellows for blast furnaces): a--front sill. b--back sill. c--front posts. d--their slots. e--beam imposed upon them. f--higher posts. g--their slots. h--beam imposed upon them. i--timber joined in the mortises of the posts. k--planks. l--transverse supporting planks. m--the holes in them. n--pipe. o--its front end. p--its rear end.] now it is time to describe their framework. first, two sills a little shorter than the furnace wall are placed on the ground. the front one of these is three palms wide and thick, and the back one three palms and two digits. the front one is two feet distant from the back wall of the furnace, and the back one is six feet three palms distant from the front one. they are set into the earth, that they may remain firm; there are some who accomplish this by means of pegs which, through several holes, penetrate deeply into the ground. then twelve short posts are erected, whose lower ends are mortised into the sill that is near the back of the furnace wall; these posts are two feet high, exclusive of the tenons, and are three palms and the same number of digits wide, and two palms thick. a slot one and a half palms wide is cut through them, beginning two palms from the bottom and extending for a height of three palms. all the posts are not placed at the same intervals, the first being at a distance of three feet five digits from the second, and likewise the third from the fourth, but the second is two feet one palm and three digits from the third; the intervals between the other posts are arranged in the same manner, equal and unequal, of which each four pertain to two furnaces. the upper ends of these posts are mortised into a transverse beam which is twelve feet, two palms, and three digits long, and projects five digits beyond the first post and to the same distance beyond the fourth; it is two palms and the same number of digits wide, and two palms thick. since each separate transverse beam supports four bellows, it is necessary to have three of them. behind the twelve short posts the same number of higher posts are erected, of which each has the middle part of the lower end cut out, so that its two resulting lower ends are mortised into the back sill; these posts, exclusive of the tenons, are twelve feet and two palms high, and are five palms wide and two palms thick. they are cut out from the bottom upward, the slot being four feet and five digits high and six digits wide. the upper ends of these posts are mortised into a long beam imposed upon them; this long beam is placed close under the timbers which extend from the wall at the back of the furnace to the first long wall; the beam is three palms wide and two palms thick, and forty-three feet long. if such a long one is not at hand, two or three may be substituted for it, which when joined together make up that length. these higher posts are not placed at equal distances, but the first is at a distance of two feet three palms one digit from the second, and the third is at the same distance from the fourth; while the second is at a distance of one foot three palms and the same number of digits from the third, and in the same manner the rest of the posts are arranged at equal and unequal intervals. moreover, there is in every post, where it faces the shorter post, a mortise at a foot and a digit above the slot; in these mortises of the four posts is tenoned a timber which itself has four mortises. tenons are enclosed in mortises in order that they may be better joined, and they are transfixed with wooden pins. this timber is thirteen feet three palms one digit long, and it projects beyond the first post a distance of two palms and two digits, and to the same number of palms and digits beyond the fourth post. it is two palms and as many digits wide, and also two palms thick. as there are twelve posts it is necessary to have three timbers of this kind. on each of these timbers, and on each of the cross-beams which are laid upon the shorter posts, are placed four planks, each nine feet long, two palms three digits wide, and two palms one digit thick. the first plank is five feet one palm one digit distant from the second, at the front as well as at the back, for each separate plank is placed outside of the posts. the third is at the same distance from the fourth, but the second is one foot and three digits distant from the third. in the same manner the rest of the eight planks are arranged at intervals, the fifth from the sixth and the seventh from the eighth are at the same distances as the first from the second and the third from the fourth; the sixth is at the same distance from the seventh as the second from the third. two planks support one transverse plank six feet long, one foot wide, one palm thick, placed at a distance of three feet and two palms from the back posts. when there are six of these supporting planks, on each separate one are placed two bellows; the lower bellows-boards project a palm beyond them. from each of the bellows-boards an iron ring descends through a hole in its supporting plank, and a wooden peg is driven into the ring, so that the bellows-board may remain stationary, as i stated above. the two bellows communicate, each by its own plank, to the back of a copper pipe in which are set both of the nozzles, and their ends are tightly fastened in it. the pipe is made of a rolled copper or iron plate, a foot and two palms and the same number of digits long; the plate is half a digit thick, but a digit thick at the back. the interior of the pipe is three digits wide, and two and a half digits high in the front, for it is not absolutely round; and at the back it is a foot and two palms and three digits in diameter. the plate from which the pipe is made is not entirely joined up, but at the front there is left a crack half a digit wide, increasing at the back to three digits. this pipe is placed in the hole in the furnace, which, as i said, was in the middle of the wall and the arch. the nozzles of the bellows, placed in this pipe, are a distance of five digits from its front end. [illustration (bellows for blast furnaces): a--lever which when depressed by means of a cam compresses the bellows. b--slots through the posts. c--bar. d--iron implement with a rectangular link. e--iron instrument with round ring. f--handle of bellows. g--upper post. h--upper lever. i--box with equal sides. k--box narrow at the bottom. l--pegs driven into the upper lever.] the levers are of the same number as the bellows, and when depressed by the cams of the long axle they compress the bellows. these levers are eight feet three palms long, one palm wide and thick, and the ends are inserted in the slots of the posts; they project beyond the front posts to a distance of two palms, and the same distance beyond the back posts in order that each may have its end depressed by its two cams on the axle. the cams not only penetrate into the slots of the back posts, but project three digits beyond them. an iron pin is set in round holes made through both sides of the slot of each front post, at three palms and as many digits from the bottom; the pin penetrates the lever, which turns about it when depressed or raised. the back of the lever for the length of a cubit is a palm and a digit wider than the rest, and is perforated; in this hole is engaged a bar six feet and two palms long, three digits wide, and about one and one-half digits thick; it is somewhat hooked at the upper end, and approaches the handle of the bellows. under the lever there is a nail, which penetrates through a hole in the bar, so that the lever and bar may move together. the bar is perforated in the upper end at a distance of six digits from the top; this hole is two palms long and a digit wide, and in it is engaged the hook of an iron implement which is a digit thick. at the upper part this implement has either a round or square opening, like a link, and at the lower end is hooked; the link is two digits high and wide and the hook is three digits long; the middle part between the link and the hook is three palms and two digits long. the link of this implement engages either the handle of the bellows, or else a large ring which does engage it. this iron ring is a digit thick, two palms wide on the inside of the upper part, and two digits in the lower part, and this iron ring, not unlike the first one, engages the handle of the bellows. the iron ring either has its narrower part turned upward, and in it is engaged the ring of another iron implement, similar to the first, whose hook, extending upward, grips the rope fastened to the iron ring holding the end of the second lever, of which i will speak presently; or else the iron ring grips this lever, and then in its hook is engaged the ring of the other implement whose ring engages the handle of the bellows, and in this case the rope is dispensed with. resting on beams fixed in the two walls is a longitudinal beam, at a distance of four and a half feet from the back posts; it is two palms wide, one and a half palms thick. there are mortised into this longitudinal beam the lower ends of upper posts three palms wide and two thick, which are six feet two palms high, exclusive of their tenons. the upper ends of these posts are mortised into an upper longitudinal beam, which lies close under the rafters of the building; this upper longitudinal beam is two palms wide and one thick. the upper posts have a slot cut out upward from a point two feet from the bottom, and the slot is two feet high and six digits wide. through these upper posts a round hole is bored from one side to the other at a point three feet one palm from the bottom, and a small iron axle penetrates through the hole and is fastened there. around this small iron axle turns the second lever when it is depressed and raised. this lever is eight feet long, and its other end is three digits wider than the rest of the lever; at this widest point is a hole two digits wide and three high, in which is fixed an iron ring, to which is tied the rope i have mentioned; it is five palms long, its upper loop is two palms and as many digits wide, and the lower one is one palm one digit wide. this half of the second lever, the end of which i have just mentioned, is three palms high and one wide; it projects three feet beyond the slot of the post on which it turns; the other end, which faces the back wall of the furnaces, is one foot and a palm high and a foot wide. on this part of the lever stands and is fixed a box three and a half feet long, one foot and one palm wide, and half a foot deep; but these measurements vary; sometimes the bottom of this box is narrower, sometimes equal in width to the top. in either case, it is filled with stones and earth to make it heavy, but the smelters have to be on their guard and make provision against the stones falling out, owing to the constant motion; this is prevented by means of an iron band which is placed over the top, both ends being wedge-shaped and driven into the lever so that the stones can be held in. some people, in place of the box, drive four or more pegs into the lever and put mud between them, the required amount being added to the weight or taken away from it. there remains to be considered the method of using this machine. the lower lever, being depressed by the cams, compresses the bellows, and the compression drives the air through the nozzle. then the weight of the box on the other end of the upper lever raises the upper bellows-board, and the air is drawn in, entering through the air-hole. [illustration (bellows for blast furnaces): a--axle. b--water-wheel. c--drum composed of rundles. d--other axle. e--toothed wheel. f--its spokes. g--its segments. h--its teeth. i--cams of the axle.] the machine whose cams depress the lower lever is made as follows. first there is an axle, on whose end outside the building is a water-wheel; at the other end, which is inside the building, is a drum made of rundles. this drum is composed of two double hubs, a foot apart, which are five digits thick, the radius all round being a foot and two digits; but they are double, because each hub is composed of two discs, equally thick, fastened together with wooden pegs glued in. these hubs are sometimes covered above and around by iron plates. the rundles are thirty in number, a foot and two palms and the same number of digits long, with each end fastened into a hub; they are rounded, three digits in diameter, and the same number of digits apart. in this practical manner is made the drum composed of rundles. there is a toothed wheel, two palms and a digit thick, on the end of another axle; this wheel is composed of a double disc[ ]. the inner disc is composed of four segments a palm thick, everywhere two palms and a digit wide. the outer disc, like the inner, is made of four segments, and is a palm and a digit thick; it is not equally wide, but where the head of the spokes are inserted it is a foot and a palm and digit wide, while on each side of the spokes it becomes a little narrower, until the narrowest part is only two palms and the same number of digits wide. the outer segments are joined to the inner ones in such a manner that, on the one hand, an outer segment ends in the middle of an inner one, and, on the other hand, the ends of the inner segments are joined in the middle of the outer ones; there is no doubt that by this kind of joining the wheel is made stronger. the outer segments are fastened to the inner by means of a large number of wooden pegs. each segment, measured over its round back, is four feet and three palms long. there are four spokes, each two palms wide and a palm and a digit thick; their length, excluding the tenons, being two feet and three digits. one end of the spoke is mortised into the axle, where it is firmly fastened with pegs; the wide part of the other end, in the shape of a triangle, is mortised into the outer segment opposite it, keeping the shape of the same as far as the segment ascends. they also are joined together with wooden pegs glued in, and these pegs are driven into the spokes under the inner disc. the parts of the spokes in the shape of the triangle are on the inside; the outer part is simple. this triangle has two sides equal, the erect ones as is evident, which are a palm long; the lower side is not of the same length, but is five digits long, and a mortise of the same shape is cut out of the segments. the wheel has sixty teeth, since it is necessary that the rundle drum should revolve twice while the toothed wheel revolves once. the teeth are a foot long, and project one palm from the inner disc of the wheel, and three digits from the outer disc; they are a palm wide and two and a half digits thick, and it is necessary that they should be three digits apart, as were the rundles. the axle should have a thickness in proportion to the spokes and the segments. as it has two cams to depress each of the levers, it is necessary that it should have twenty-four cams, which project beyond it a foot and a palm and a digit. the cams are of almost semicircular shape, of which the widest part is three palms and a digit wide, and they are a palm thick; they are distributed according to the four sides of the axle, on the upper, the lower and the two lateral sides. the axle has twelve holes, of which the first penetrates through from the upper side to the lower, the second from one lateral side to the other; the first hole is four feet two palms distant from the second; each alternate one of these holes is made in the same direction, and they are arranged at equal intervals. each single cam must be opposite another; the first is inserted into the upper part of the first hole, the second into the lower part of the same hole, and so fixed by pegs that they do not fall out; the third cam is inserted into that part of the second hole which is on the right side, and the fourth into that part on the left. in like manner all the cams are inserted into the consecutive holes, for which reason it happens that the cams depress the levers of the bellows in rotation. finally we must not omit to state that this is only one of many such axles having cams and a water-wheel. i have arrived thus far with many words, and yet it is not unreasonable that i have in this place pursued the subject minutely, since the smelting of all the metals, to which i am about to proceed, could not be undertaken without it. the ores of gold, silver, copper, and lead, are smelted in a furnace by four different methods. the first method is for the rich ores of gold or silver, the second for the mediocre ores, the third for the poor ores, and the fourth method is for those ores which contain copper or lead, whether they contain precious metals or are wanting in them. the smelting of the first ores is performed in the furnace of which the tap-hole is intermittently closed; the other three ores are melted in furnaces of which the tap-holes are always open. [illustration (stamp-mill): a--charcoal. b--mortar-box. c--stamps.] first, i will speak of the manner in which the furnaces are prepared for the smelting of the ores, and of the first method of smelting. the powder from which the hearth and forehearth should be made is composed of charcoal and earth (clay?). the charcoal is crushed by the stamps in a mortar-box, the front of which is closed by a board at the top, while the charcoal, crushed to powder, is removed through the open part below; the stamps are not shod with iron, but are made entirely of wood, although at the lower part they are bound round at the wide part by an iron band. [illustration (clay washing): a--tub. b--sieve. c--rods. d--bench-frame.] the powder into which the charcoal is crushed is thrown on to a sieve whose bottom consists of interwoven withes of wood. the sieve is drawn backward and forward over two wooden or iron rods placed in a triangular position on a tub, or over a bench-frame set on the floor of the building; the powder which falls into the tub or on to the floor is of suitable size, but the pieces of small charcoal which remain in the sieve are emptied out and thrown back under the stamps. [illustration (clay washing): a--screen. b--poles. c--shovel. d--two-wheeled cart. e--hand-sieve. f--narrow boards. g--box. h--covered pit.] when the earth is dug up it is first exposed to the sun that it may dry. later on it is thrown with a shovel on to a screen--set up obliquely and supported by poles,--made of thick, loosely woven hazel withes, and in this way the fine earth and its small lumps pass through the holes of the screen, but the clods and stones do not pass through, but run down to the ground. the earth which passes through the screen is conveyed in a two-wheeled cart to the works and there sifted. this sieve, which is not dissimilar to the one described above, is drawn backward and forward upon narrow boards of equal length placed over a long box; the powder which falls through the sieve into the box is suitable for the mixture; the lumps that remain in the sieve are thrown away by some people, but by others they are placed under the stamps. this powdered earth is mixed with powdered charcoal, moistened, and thrown into a pit, and in order that it may remain good for a long time, the pit is covered up with boards so that the mixture may not become contaminated. [illustration (implements for furnace work): a--furnace. b--ladder. c--board fixed to it. d--hoe. e--five-toothed rake. f--wooden spatula. g--broom. h--rammer. i--rammer, same diameter. k--two wooden spatulas. l--curved blade. m--bronze rammer. n--another bronze rammer. o--wide spatula. p--rod. q--wicker basket. r--two buckets of leather in which water is carried for putting out a conflagration, should the _officina_ catch fire. s--brass pump with which the water is squirted out. t--two hooks. v--rake. x--workman beating the clay with an iron implement.] they take two parts of pulverised charcoal and one part of powdered earth, and mix them well together with a rake; the mixture is moistened by pouring water over it so that it may easily be made into shapes resembling snowballs; if the powder be light it is moistened with more water, if heavy with less. the interior of the new furnace is lined with lute, so that the cracks in the walls, if there are any, may be filled up, but especially in order to preserve the rock from injury by fire. in old furnaces in which ore has been melted, as soon as the rocks have cooled the assistant chips away, with a spatula, the accretions which adhere to the walls, and then breaks them up with an iron hoe or a rake with five teeth. the cracks of the furnace are first filled in with fragments of rock or brick, which he does by passing his hand into the furnace through its mouth, or else, having placed a ladder against it, he mounts by the rungs to the upper open part of the furnace. to the upper part of the ladder a board is fastened that he may lean and recline against it. then standing on the same ladder, with a wooden spatula, he smears the furnace walls over with lute; this spatula is four feet long, a digit thick, and for a foot upward from the bottom it is a palm wide, or even wider, generally two and a half digits. he spreads the lute equally over the inner walls of the furnace. the mouth of the copper pipe[ ] should not protrude from the lute, lest sows[ ] form round about it and thus impede the melting, for the furnace bellows could not force a blast through them. then the same assistant throws a little powdered charcoal into the pit of the forehearth and sprinkles it with pulverised earth. afterward, with a bucket he pours water into it and sweeps this all over the forehearth pit, and with the broom drives the turbid water into the furnace hearth and likewise sweeps it out. next he throws the mixed and moistened powder into the furnace, and then a second time mounting the steps of the ladder, he introduces the rammer into the furnace and pounds the powder so that the hearth is made solid. the rammer is rounded and three palms long; at the bottom it is five digits in diameter, at the top three and a half, therefore it is made in the form of a truncated cone; the handle of the rammer is round and five feet long and two and a half digits thick; the upper part of the rammer, where the handle is inserted, is bound with an iron band two digits wide. there are some who, instead, use two rounded rammers three and a half digits in diameter, the same at the bottom as at the top. some people prefer two wooden spatulas, or a rammer spatula. in a similar manner, mixed and moistened powder is thrown and pounded with a rammer in the forehearth pit, which is outside the furnace. when this is nearly completed, powder is again put in, and pushed with the rammer up toward the protruding copper pipe, so that from a point a digit under the mouth of the copper pipe the hearth slopes down into the crucible of the forehearth,[ ] and the metal can run down. the same is repeated until the forehearth pit is full, then afterward this is hollowed out with a curved blade; this blade is of iron, two palms and as many digits long, three digits wide, blunt at the top and sharp at the bottom. the crucible of the forehearth must be round, a foot in diameter and two palms deep if it has to contain a _centumpondium_ of lead, or if only seventy _librae_, then three palms in diameter and two palms deep like the other. when the forehearth has been hollowed out it is pounded with a round bronze rammer. this is five digits high and the same in diameter, having a curved round handle one and a half digits thick; or else another bronze rammer is used, which is fashioned in the shape of a cone, truncated at the top, on which is imposed another cut away at the bottom, so that the middle part of the rammer may be grasped by the hand; this is six digits high, and five digits in diameter at the lower end and four at the top. some use in its place a wooden spatula two and a half palms wide at the lower end and one palm thick. the assistant, having prepared the forehearth, returns to the furnace and besmears both sides as well as the top of the mouth with simple lute. in the lower part of the mouth he places lute that has been dipped in charcoal dust, to guard against the risk of the lute attracting to itself the powder of the hearth and vitiating it. next he lays in the mouth of the furnace a straight round rod three quarters of a foot long and three digits in diameter. afterward he places a piece of charcoal on the lute, of the same length and width as the mouth, so that it is entirely closed up; if there be not at hand one piece of charcoal so large, he takes two instead. when the mouth is thus closed up, he throws into the furnace a wicker basket full of charcoal, and in order that the piece of charcoal with which the mouth of the furnace is closed should not then fall out, the master holds it in with his hand. the pieces of charcoal which are thrown into the furnace should be of medium size, for if they are large they impede the blast of the bellows and prevent it from blowing through the tap-hole of the furnace into the forehearth to heat it. then the master covers over the charcoal, placed at the mouth of the furnace, with lute and extracts the wooden rod, and thus the furnace is prepared. afterward the assistant throws four or five larger baskets full of charcoal into the furnace, filling it right up; he also throws a little charcoal into the forehearth, and places glowing coals upon it in order that it may be kindled, but in order that the flames of this fire should not enter through the tap-hole of the furnace and fire the charcoal inside, he covers the tap-hole with lute or closes it with fragments of pottery. some do not warm the forehearth the same evening, but place large charcoals round the edge of it, one leaning on the other; those who follow the first method sweep out the forehearth in the morning, and clean out the little pieces of charcoal and cinders, while those who follow the latter method take, early in the morning, burning firebrands, which have been prepared by the watchman of the works, and place them on the charcoal. at the fourth hour the master begins his work. he first inserts a small piece of glowing coal into the furnace, through the bronze nozzle-pipe of the bellows, and blows up the fire with the bellows; thus within the space of half an hour the forehearth, as well as the hearth, becomes warmed, and of course more quickly if on the preceding day ores have been smelted in the same furnace, but if not then it warms more slowly. if the hearth and forehearth are not warmed before the ore to be smelted is thrown in, the furnace is injured and the metals lost; or if the powder from which both are made is damp in summer or frozen in winter, they will be cracked, and, giving out a sound like thunder, they will blow out the metals and other substances with great peril to the workmen. after the furnace has been warmed, the master throws in slags, and these, when melted, flow out through the tap-hole into the forehearth. then he closes up the tap-hole at once with mixed lute and charcoal dust; this plug he fastens with his hand to a round wooden rammer that is five digits thick, two palms high, with a handle three feet long. the smelter extracts the slags from the forehearth with a hooked bar; if the ore to be smelted is rich in gold or silver he puts into the forehearth a _centumpondium_ of lead, or half as much if the ore is poor, because the former requires much lead, the latter little; he immediately throws burning firebrands on to the lead so that it melts. afterward he performs everything according to the usual manner and order, whereby he first throws into the furnace as many cakes melted from pyrites[ ], as he requires to smelt the ore; then he puts in two wicker baskets full of ore with litharge and hearth-lead[ ], and stones which fuse easily by fire of the second order, all mixed together; then one wicker basket full of charcoal, and lastly the slags. the furnace now being filled with all the things i have mentioned, the ore is slowly smelted; he does not put too much of it against the back wall of the furnace, lest sows should form around the nozzles of the bellows and the blast be impeded and the fire burn less fiercely. this, indeed, is the custom of many most excellent smelters, who know how to govern the four elements[ ]. they combine in right proportion the ores, which are part earth, placing no more than is suitable in the furnaces; they pour in the needful quantity of water; they moderate with skill the air from the bellows; they throw the ore into that part of the fire which burns fiercely. the master sprinkles water into each part of the furnace to dampen the charcoal slightly, so that the minute parts of ore may adhere to it, which otherwise the blast of the bellows and the force of the fire would agitate and blow away with the fumes. but as the nature of the ores to be smelted varies, the smelters have to arrange the hearth now high, now low, and to place the pipe in which the nozzles of the bellows are inserted sometimes on a great and sometimes at a slight angle, so that the blast of the bellows may blow into the furnace in either a mild or a vigorous manner. for those ores which heat and fuse easily, a low hearth is necessary for the work of the smelters, and the pipe must be placed at a gentle angle to produce a mild blast from the bellows. on the contrary, those ores that heat and fuse slowly must have a high hearth, and the pipe must be placed at a steep incline in order to blow a strong blast of the bellows, and it is necessary, for this kind of ore, to have a very hot furnace in which slags, or cakes melted from pyrites, or stones which melt easily in the fire[ ], are first melted, so that the ore should not settle in the hearth of the furnace and obstruct and choke up the tap-hole, as the minute metallic particles that have been washed from the ores are wont to do. large bellows have wide nozzles, for if they were narrow the copious and strong blast would be too much compressed and too acutely blown into the furnace, and then the melted material would be chilled, and would form sows around the nozzle, and thus obstruct the opening into the furnace, which would cause great damage to the proprietors' property. if the ores agglomerate and do not fuse, the smelter, mounting on the ladder placed against the side of the furnace, divides the charge with a pointed or hooked bar, which he also pushes down into the pipe in which the nozzle of the bellows is placed, and by a downward movement dislodges the ore and the sows from around it. after a quarter of an hour, when the lead which the assistant has placed in the forehearth is melted, the master opens the tap-hole of the furnace with a tapping-bar. this bar is made of iron, is three and a half feet long, the forward end pointed and a little curved, and the back end hollow so that into it may be inserted a wooden handle, which is three feet long and thick enough to be well grasped by the hand. the slag first flows from the furnace into the forehearth, and in it are stones mixed with metal or with the metal adhering to them partly altered, the slag also containing earth and solidified juices. after this the material from the melted pyrites flows out, and then the molten lead contained in the forehearth absorbs the gold and silver. when that which has run out has stood for some time in the forehearth, in order to be able to separate one from the other, the master first either skims off the slags with the hooked bar or else lifts them off with an iron fork; the slags, as they are very light, float on the top. he next draws off the cakes of melted pyrites, which as they are of medium weight hold the middle place; he leaves in the forehearth the alloy of gold or silver with the lead, for these being the heaviest, sink to the bottom. as, however, there is a difference in slags, the uppermost containing little metal, the middle more, and the lowest much, he puts these away separately, each in its own place, in order that to each heap, when it is re-smelted, he may add the proper fluxes, and can put in as much lead as is demanded for the metal in the slag; when the slag is re-melted, if it emits much odour, there is some metal in it; if it emits no odour, then it contains none. he puts the cakes of melted pyrites away separately, as they were nearest in the forehearth to the metal, and contain a little more of it than the slags; from all these cakes a conical mound is built up, by always placing the widest of them at the bottom. the hooked bar has a hook on the end, hence its name; otherwise it is similar to other bars. [illustration (blast furnaces): a, b, c--three furnaces. at the first stands the smelter, who with a ladle pours the alloy out of the forehearth into the moulds. d--forehearth. e--ladle. f--moulds. g--round wooden rammer. h--tapping-bar. at the second furnace stands the smelter, who opens the tap-hole with his tapping-bar. the assistant, standing on steps placed against the third furnace which has been broken open, chips off the accretions. i--steps. k--spatula. l--the other hooked bar. m--mine captain carrying a cake, in which he has stuck the pick, to the scales to be weighed. n--another mine captain opens a chest in which his things are kept.] afterward the master closes up the tap-hole and fills the furnace with the same materials i described above, and again, the ores having been melted, he opens the tap-hole, and with a hooked bar extracts the slags and the cakes melted from pyrites, which have run down into the forehearth. he repeats the same operation until a certain and definite part of the ore has been smelted, and the day's work is at an end; if the ore was rich the work is finished in eight hours; if poor, it takes a longer time. but if the ore was so rich as to be smelted in less than eight hours, another operation is in the meanwhile combined with the first, and both are performed in the space of ten hours. when all the ore has been smelted, he throws into the furnace a basket full of litharge or hearth-lead, so that the metal which has remained in the accretions may run out with these when melted. when he has finally drawn out of the forehearth the slags and the cakes melted from pyrites, he takes out, with a ladle, the lead alloyed with gold or silver and pours it into little iron or copper pans, three palms wide and as many digits deep, but first lined on the inside with lute and dried by warming, lest the glowing molten substances should break through. the iron ladle is two palms wide, and in other respects it is similar to the others, all of which have a sufficiently long iron shaft, so that the fire should not burn the wooden part of the handle. when the alloy has been poured out of the forehearth, the smelter foreman and the mine captain weigh the cakes. then the master breaks out the whole of the mouth of the furnace with a crowbar, and with that other hooked bar, the rabble and the five-toothed rake, he extracts the accretions and the charcoal. this crowbar is not unlike the other hooked one, but larger and wider; the handle of the rabble is six feet long and is half of iron and half of wood. the furnace having cooled, the master chips off the accretions clinging to the walls with a rectangular spatula six digits long, a palm broad, and sharp on the front edge; it has a round handle four feet long, half of it being of iron and half of wood. this is the first method of smelting ores. because they generally consist of unequal constituents, some of which melt rapidly and others slowly, the ores rich in gold and silver cannot be smelted as rapidly or as easily by the other methods as they can by the first method, for three important reasons. the first reason is that, as often as the closed tap-hole of the furnace is opened with a tapping-bar, so often can the smelter observe whether the ore is melting too quickly or too slowly, or whether it is flaming in scattered bits, and not uniting in one mass; in the first case the ore is smelting too slowly and not without great expense; in the second case the metal mixes with the slag which flows out of the furnace into the forehearth, wherefore there is the expense of melting it again; in the third case, the metal is consumed by the violence of the fire. each of these evils has its remedy; if the ore melts slowly or does not come together, it is necessary to add some amount of fluxes which melt the ore; or if they melt too readily, to decrease the amount. the second reason is that each time that the furnace is opened with a tapping-bar, it flows out into the forehearth, and the smelter is able to test the alloy of gold and lead or of silver with lead, which is called _stannum_.[ ] when the tap-hole is opened the second or third time, this test shows us whether the alloy of gold or silver has become richer, or whether the lead is too debilitated and wanting in strength to absorb any more gold or silver. if it has become richer, some portion of lead added to it should renew its strength; if it has not become richer, it is poured out of the forehearth that it may be replaced with fresh lead. the third reason is that if the tap-hole of the furnace is always open when the ore and other things are being smelted, the fluxes, which are easily melted, run out of the furnace before the rich gold and silver ores, for these are sometimes of a kind that oppose and resist melting by the fire for a longer period. it follows in this case, that some part of the ore is either consumed or is mixed with the accretions, and as a result little lumps of ore not yet melted are now and then found in the accretions. therefore when these ores are being smelted, the tap-hole of the furnace should be closed for a time, as it is necessary to heat and mix the ore and the fluxes at the same time; since the fluxes fuse more rapidly than the ore, when the molten fluxes are held in the furnace, they thus melt the ore which does not readily fuse or mix with the lead. the lead absorbs the gold or silver, just as tin or lead when melted in the forehearth absorbs the other unmelted metal which has been thrown into it. but if the molten matter is poured upon that which is not molten, it runs off on all sides and consequently does not melt it. it follows from all this that ores rich in gold or silver, when put into a furnace with its tap-hole always open, cannot for that reason be smelted so successfully as in one where the tap-hole is closed for a time, so that during this time the ore may be melted by the molten fluxes. afterward, when the tap-hole has been opened, they flow into the forehearth and mix there with the molten lead. this method of smelting the ores is used by us and by the bohemians. [illustration (blast furnaces): a, b--two furnaces. c--forehearths. d--dipping-pot. the smelter standing by the first furnace draws off the slags with a hooked bar. e--hooked bar. f--slags. g--the assistant drawing a bucket of water which he pours over the glowing slags to quench them. h--basket made of twigs of wood intertwined. i--rabble. k--ore to be smelted. l--the master stands at the other furnace and prepares the forehearth by ramming it with two rammers. m--crowbar.] the three remaining methods of smelting ores are similar to each other in that the tap-holes of the furnaces always remain open, so that the molten metals may continually run out. they differ greatly from each other, however, for the tap-hole of the first of this kind is deeper in the furnace and narrower than that of the third, and besides it is invisible and concealed. it easily discharges into the forehearth, which is one and a half feet higher than the floor of the building, in order that below it to the left a dipping-pot can be made. when the forehearth is nearly full of the slags, which well up from the invisible tap-hole of the furnace, they are skimmed off from the top with a hooked bar; then the alloy of gold or silver with lead and the melted pyrites, being uncovered, flow into the dipping-pot, and the latter are made into cakes; these cakes are broken and thrown back into the furnace so that all their metal may be smelted out. the alloy is poured into little iron moulds. the smelter, besides lead and cognate things, uses fluxes which combine with the ore, of which i gave a sufficient account in book vii. the metals which are melted from ores that fuse readily in the fire, are profitable because they are smelted in a short time, while those which are difficult to fuse are not as profitable, because they take a long time. when fluxes remain in the furnace and do not melt, they are not suitable; for this reason, accretions and slags are the most convenient for smelting, because they melt quickly. it is necessary to have an industrious and experienced smelter, who in the first place takes care not to put into the furnace more ores mixed with fluxes than it can accommodate. the powder out of which this furnace hearth and the adjoining forehearth and the dipping-pot are usually made, consists mostly of equal proportions of charcoal dust and of earth, or of equal parts of the same and of ashes. when the hearth of the furnace is prepared, a rod that will reach to the forehearth is put into it, higher up if the ore to be smelted readily fuses, and lower down if it fuses with difficulty. when the dipping-pot and forehearth are finished, the rod is drawn out of the furnace so that the tap-hole is open, and through it the molten material flows continuously into the forehearth, which should be very near the furnace in order that it may keep very hot and the alloy thus be made purer. if the ore to be smelted does not melt easily, the hearth of the furnace must not be made too sloping, lest the molten fluxes should run down into the forehearth before the ore is smelted, and the metal thus remain in the accretions on the sides of the furnace. the smelter must not ram the hearth so much that it becomes too hard, nor make the mistake of ramming the lower part of the mouth to make it hard, for it could not breathe[ ], nor could the molten matter flow freely out of the furnace. the ore which does not readily melt is thrown as much as possible to the back of the furnace, and toward that part where the fire burns very fiercely, so that it may be smelted longer. in this way the smelter may direct it whither he wills. only when it glows at the part near the bellows' nozzle does it signify that all the ore is smelted which has been thrown to the side of the furnace in which the nozzles are placed. if the ore is easily melted, one or two wicker baskets full are thrown into the front part of the furnace so that the fire, being driven back by it, may also smelt the ore and the sows that form round about the nozzles of the bellows. this process of smelting is very ancient among the tyrolese[ ], but not so old among the bohemians. [illustration (blast furnaces): a, b--two furnaces. c--forehearth. d--dipping-pots. the master stands at the one furnace and draws away the slags with an iron fork. e--iron fork. f--wooden hoe with which the cakes of melted pyrites are drawn out. g--the forehearth crucible: one-half inside is to be seen open in the other furnace. h--the half outside the furnace. i--the assistant prepares the forehearth, which is separated from the furnace that it may be seen. k--bar. l--wooden rammer. m--ladder. n--ladle.] the second method of smelting ores stands in a measure midway between that one performed in a furnace of which the tap-hole is closed intermittently, and the first of the methods performed in a furnace where the tap-hole is always open. in this manner are smelted the ores of gold and silver that are neither very rich nor very poor, but mediocre, which fuse easily and are readily absorbed by the lead. it was found that in this way a large quantity of ore could be smelted at one operation without much labour or great expense, and could thus be alloyed with lead. this furnace has two crucibles, one of which is half inside the furnace and half outside, so that the lead being put into this crucible, the part of the lead which is in the furnace absorbs the metals of the ores which easily fuse; the other crucible is lower, and the alloy and the molten pyrites run into it. those who make use of this method of smelting, tap the alloy of gold or silver with lead from the upper crucible once or twice if need be, and throw in other lead or litharge, and each absorbs that flux which is nearest. this method of smelting is in use in styria[ ]. [illustration (furnaces): a, b--two furnaces. c--tap-holes of furnaces. d--forehearths. e--their tap-holes. f--dipping-pots. g--at the one furnace stands the smelter carrying a wicker basket full of charcoal. at the other furnace stands a smelter who with the third hooked bar breaks away the material which has frozen the tap-hole of the furnace. h--hooked bar. i--heap of charcoal. k--barrow on which is a box made of wicker work in which the coals are measured. l--iron spade.] the furnace in the third method of smelting ores has the tap-hole likewise open, but the furnace is higher and wider than the others, and its bellows are larger; for these reasons a larger charge of the ore can be thrown into it. when the mines yield a great abundance of ore for the smelter, they smelt in the same furnace continuously for three days and three nights, providing there be no defect either in the hearth or in the forehearth. in this kind of a furnace almost every kind of accretion will be found. the forehearth of the furnace is not unlike the forehearth of the first furnace of all, except that it has a tap-hole. however, because large charges of ore are smelted uninterruptedly, and the melted material runs out and the slags are skimmed off, there is need for a second forehearth crucible, into which the molten material runs through an opened tap-hole when the first is full. when a smelter has spent twelve hours' labour on this work, another always takes his place. the ores of copper and lead and the poorest ores of gold and silver are smelted by this method, because they cannot be smelted by the other three methods on account of the greater expense occasioned. yet by this method a _centumpondium_ of ore containing only one or two _drachmae_ of gold, or only a half to one _uncia_, of silver,[ ] can be smelted; because there is a large amount of ore in each charge, smelting is continuous, and without expensive fluxes such as lead, litharge, and hearth-lead. in this method of smelting we must use only cupriferous pyrites which easily melt in the fire, in truth the cakes melted out from this, if they no longer absorb much gold or silver, are replenished again from crude pyrites alone. if from this poor ore, with melted pyrites alone, material for cakes cannot be made, there are added other fluxes which have not previously been melted. these fluxes are, namely, lead ore, stones easily fused by fire of the second order and sand made from them, limestone, _tophus_, white schist, and iron stone[ ]. although this method of smelting ores is rough and might not seem to be of great use, yet it is clever and useful; for a great weight of ores, in which the gold, silver, or copper are in small quantities, may be reduced into a few cakes containing all the metal. if on being first melted they are too crude to be suitable for the second melting, in which the lead absorbs the precious metals that are in the cakes, or in which the copper is melted out of them, yet they can be made suitable if they are repeatedly roasted, sometimes as often as seven or eight times, as i have explained in the last book. smelters of this kind are so clever and expert, that in smelting they take out all the gold and silver which the assayer in assaying the ores has stated to be contained in them, because if during the first operation, when he makes the cakes, there is a _drachma_ of gold or half an _uncia_ of silver lost from the ores, the smelter obtains it from the slags by the second smelting. this method of smelting ores is old and very common to most of those who use other methods. [illustration (lead smelting furnaces): a--furnace of the carni. b--low wall. c--wood. d--ore dripping lead. e--large crucible. f--moulds. g--ladle. h--slabs of lead. i--rectangular hole at the back of the furnace. k--saxon furnace. l--opening in the back of the furnace. m--wood. n--upper crucible. o--dipping-pot. p--westphalian method of melting. q--heaps of charcoal. r--straw. s--wide slabs. t--crucibles. v--polish hearth.] although lead ores are usually smelted in the third furnace--whose tap-hole is always open,--yet not a few people melt them in special furnaces by a method which i will briefly explain. the _carni_[ ] first burn such lead ores, and afterward break and crush them with large round mallets. between the two low walls of a hearth, which is inside a furnace made of and vaulted with a rock that resists injury by the fire and does not burn into chalk, they place green wood with a layer of dry wood on the top of it; then they throw the ore on to this, and when the wood is kindled the lead drips down and runs on to the underlying sloping hearth[ ]. this hearth is made of pulverised charcoal and earth, as is also a large crucible, one-half of which lies under the furnace and the other half outside it, into which runs the lead. the smelter, having first skimmed off the slags and other things with a hoe, pours the lead with a ladle into moulds, taking out the cakes after they have cooled. at the back of the furnace is a rectangular hole, so that the fire may be allowed more draught, and so that the smelter can crawl through it into the furnace if necessity demands. the saxons who inhabit gittelde, when smelting lead ore in a furnace not unlike a baking oven, put the wood in through a hole at the back of the furnace, and when it begins to burn vigorously the lead trickles out of the ore into a forehearth. when this is full, the smelting being accomplished, the tap-hole is opened with a bar, and in this way the lead, together with the slags, runs into the dipping-pots below. afterward the cakes of lead, when they are cold, are taken from the moulds. in westphalia they heap up ten wagon-loads of charcoal on some hillside which adjoins a level place, and the top of the heap being made flat, straw is thrown upon it to the thickness of three or four digits. on the top of this is laid as much pure lead ore as the heap can bear; then the charcoal is kindled, and when the wind blows, it fans the fire so that the ore is smelted. in this wise the lead, trickling down from the heap, flows on to the level and forms broad thin slabs. a few hundred pounds of lead ore are kept at hand, which, if things go well, are scattered over the heap. these broad slabs are impure and are laid upon dry wood which in turn is placed on green wood laid over a large crucible, and the former having been kindled, the lead is re-melted. the poles use a hearth of bricks four feet high, sloping on both sides and plastered with lute. on the upper level part of the hearth large pieces of wood are piled, and on these is placed small wood with lute put in between; over the top are laid wood shavings, and upon these again pure lead ore covered with large pieces of wood. when these are kindled, the ore melts and runs down on to the lower layer of wood; and when this is consumed by the fire, the metal is collected. if necessity demand, it is melted over and over again in the same manner, but it is finally melted by means of wood laid over the large crucible, the slabs of lead being placed upon it. the concentrates from washing are smelted together with slags (fluxes?) in a third furnace, of which the tap-hole is always open. [illustration (blast furnaces): a--furnaces. b--vaulted roof. c--columns. d--dust-chamber. e--opening. f--chimney. g--window. h--door. i--chute.] it is worth while to build vaulted dust-chambers over the furnaces, especially over those in which the precious ores are to be smelted, in order that the thicker part of the fumes, in which metals are not wanting, may be caught and saved. in this way two or more furnaces are combined under the same vaulted ceiling, which is supported by the wall, against which the furnaces are built, and by four columns. under this the smelters of the ore perform their work. there are two openings through which the fumes rise from the furnaces into the wide vaulted chamber, and the wider this is the more fumes it collects; in the middle of this chamber over the arch is an opening three palms high and two wide. this catches the fumes of both furnaces, which have risen up from both sides of the vaulted chamber to its arch, and have fallen again because they could not force their way out; and they thus pass out through the opening mentioned, into the chimney which the greeks call [greek: kapnodochê], the name being taken from the object. the chimney has thin iron plates fastened into the walls, to which the thinner metallic substances adhere when ascending with the fumes. the thicker metallic substances, or _cadmia_,[ ] adhere to the vaulted chamber, and often harden into stalactites. on one side of the chamber is a window in which are set panes of glass, so that the light may be transmitted, but the fumes kept in; on the other side is a door, which is kept entirely closed while the ores are being smelted in the furnaces, so that none of the fumes may escape. it is opened in order that the workman, passing through it, may be enabled to enter the chamber and remove the soot and _pompholyx_[ ] and chip off the _cadmia_; this sweeping is done twice a year. the soot mixed with _pompholyx_ and the _cadmia_, being chipped off, is thrown down through a long chute made of four boards joined in the shape of a rectangle, that they should not fly away. they fall on to the floor, and are sprinkled with salt water, and are again smelted with ore and litharge, and become an emolument to the proprietors. such chambers, which catch the metallic substances that rise with the fumes, are profitable for all metalliferous ores; but especially for the minute metallic particles collected by washing crushed ores and rock, because these usually fly out with the fire of the furnaces. i have explained the four general methods of smelting ores; now i will state how the ores of each metal are smelted, or how the metal is obtained from the ore. i will begin with gold. its sand, the concentrates from washing, or the gold dust collected in any other manner, should very often not be smelted, but should be mixed with quicksilver and washed with tepid water, so that all the impurities may be eliminated. this method i explained in book vii. or they are placed in the _aqua_ which separates gold from silver, for this also separates its impurities. in this method we see the gold sink in the glass ampulla, and after all the _aqua_ has been drained from the particles, it frequently remains as a gold-coloured residue at the bottom; this powder, when it has been moistened with oil made from argol[ ], is then dried and placed in a crucible, where it is melted with borax or with saltpetre and salt; or the same very fine dust is thrown into molten silver, which absorbs it, and from this it is again parted by _aqua valens_[ ]. it is necessary to smelt gold ore either outside the blast furnace in a crucible, or inside the blast furnace; in the former case a small charge of ore is used, in the latter a large charge of it. _rudis_ gold, of whatever colour it is, is crushed with a _libra_ each of sulphur and salt, a third of a _libra_ of copper, and a quarter of a _libra_ of argol; they should be melted in a crucible on a slow fire for three hours, then the alloy is put into molten silver that it may melt more rapidly. or a _libra_ of the same crude gold, crushed up, is mixed together with half a _libra_ of _stibium_ likewise crushed, and put into a crucible with half an _uncia_ of copper filings, and heated until they melt, then a sixth part of granulated lead is thrown into the same crucible. as soon as the mixture emits an odour, iron-filings are added to it, or if these are not at hand, iron hammer-scales, for both of these break the strength of the _stibium_. when the fire consumes it, not alone with it is some strength of the _stibium_ consumed, but some particles of gold and also of silver, if it be mixed with the gold[ ]. when the button has been taken out of the crucible and cooled, it is melted in a cupel, first until the antimony is exhaled, and thereafter until the lead is separated from it. crushed pyrites which contains gold is smelted in the same way; it and the _stibium_ should be of equal weight and in truth the gold may be made from them in a number of different ways[ ]. one part of crushed material is mixed with six parts of copper, one part of sulphur, half a part of salt, and they are all placed in a pot and over them is poured wine distilled by heating liquid argol in an ampulla. the pot is covered and smeared over with lute and is put in a hot place, so that the mixture moistened with wine may dry for the space of six days, then it is heated for three hours over a gentle fire that it may combine more rapidly with the lead. finally it is put into a cupel and the gold is separated from the lead[ ]. or else one _libra_ of the concentrates from washing pyrites, or other stones to which gold adheres, is mixed with half a _libra_ of salt, half a _libra_ of argol, a third of a _libra_ of glass-galls, a sixth of a _libra_ of gold or silver slags, and a _sicilicus_ of copper. the crucible into which these are put, after it has been covered with a lid, is sealed with lute and placed in a small furnace that is provided with small holes through which the air is drawn in, and then it is heated until it turns red and the substances put in have alloyed; this should take place within four or five hours. the alloy having cooled, it is again crushed to powder and a pound of litharge is added to it; then it is heated again in another crucible until it melts. the button is taken out, purged of slag, and placed in a cupel, where the gold is separated from the lead. or to a _libra_ of the powder prepared from such metalliferous concentrates, is added a _libra_ each of salt, of saltpetre, of argol, and of glass-galls, and it is heated until it melts. when cooled and crushed, it is washed, then to it is added a _libra_ of silver, a third of copper filings, a sixth of litharge, and it is likewise heated again until it melts. after the button has been purged of slag, it is put into the cupel, and the gold and silver are separated from the lead; the gold is parted from the silver with _aqua valens_. or else a _libra_ of the powder prepared from such metalliferous concentrates, a quarter of a _libra_ of copper filings, and two _librae_ of that second powder[ ] which fuses ores, are heated until they melt. the mixture when cooled is again reduced to powder, roasted and washed, and in this manner a blue powder is obtained. of this, and silver, and that second powder which fuses ores, a _libra_ each are taken, together with three _librae_ of lead, and a quarter of a _libra_ of copper, and they are heated together until they melt; then the button is treated as before. or else a _libra_ of the powder prepared from such metalliferous concentrates, half a _libra_ of saltpetre, and a quarter of a _libra_ of salt are heated until they melt. the alloy when cooled is again crushed to powder, one _libra_ of which is absorbed by four pounds of molten silver. or else a _libra_ of the powder made from that kind of concentrates, together with a _libra_ of sulphur, a _libra_ and a half of salt, a third of a _libra_ of salt made from argol, and a third of a _libra_ of copper resolved into powder with sulphur, are heated until they melt. afterward the lead is re-melted, and the gold is separated from the other metals. or else a _libra_ of the powder of this kind of concentrates, together with two _librae_ of salt, half a _libra_ of sulphur, and one _libra_ of litharge, are heated, and from these the gold is melted out. by these and similar methods concentrates containing gold, if there be a small quantity of them or if they are very rich, can be smelted outside the blast furnace. if there be much of them and they are poor, then they are smelted in the blast furnace, especially the ore which is not crushed to powder, and particularly when the gold mines yield an abundance of it[ ]. the gold concentrates mixed with litharge and hearth-lead, to which are added iron-scales, are smelted in the blast furnace whose tap-hole is intermittently closed, or else in the first or the second furnaces in which the tap-hole is always open. in this manner an alloy of gold and lead is obtained which is put into the cupellation furnace. two parts of roasted pyrites or _cadmia_ which contain gold, are put with one part of unroasted, and are smelted together in the third furnace whose tap-hole is always open, and are made into cakes. when these cakes have been repeatedly roasted, they are re-smelted in the furnace whose tap-hole is temporarily closed, or in one of the two others whose tap-holes are always open. in this manner the lead absorbs the gold, whether pure or argentiferous or cupriferous, and the alloy is taken to the cupellation furnace. pyrites, or other gold ore which is mixed with much material that is consumed by fire and flies out of the furnace, is melted with stone from which iron is melted, if this is at hand. six parts of such pyrites, or of gold ore reduced to powder and sifted, four of stone from which iron is made, likewise crushed, and three of slaked lime, are mixed together and moistened with water; to these are added two and a half parts of the cakes which contain some copper, together with one and a half parts of slag. a basketful of fragments of the cakes is thrown into the furnace, then the mixture of other things, and then the slag. now when the middle part of the forehearth is filled with the molten material which runs down from the furnace, the slags are first skimmed off, and then the cakes made of pyrites; afterward the alloy of copper, gold and silver, which settles at the bottom, is taken out. the cakes are gently roasted and re-smelted with lead, and made into cakes, which are carried to other works. the alloy of copper, gold, and silver is not roasted, but is re-melted again in a crucible with an equal portion of lead. cakes are also made much richer in copper and gold than those i spoke of. in order that the alloy of gold and silver may be made richer, to eighteen _librae_ of it are added forty-eight _librae_ of crude ore, three _librae_ of the stone from which iron is made, and three-quarters of a _libra_ of the cakes made from pyrites, and mixed with lead, all are heated together in the crucible until they melt. when the slag and the cakes melted from pyrites have been skimmed off, the alloy is carried to other furnaces. there now follows silver, of which the native silver or the lumps of _rudis_ silver[ ] obtained from the mines are not smelted in the blast furnaces, but in small iron pans, of which i will speak at the proper place; these lumps are heated and thrown into molten silver-lead alloy in the cupellation furnace when the silver is being separated from the lead, and refined. the tiny flakes or tiny lumps of silver adhering to stones or marble or rocks, or again the same little lumps mixed with earth, or silver not pure enough, should be smelted in the furnace of which the tap-hole is only closed for a short time, together with cakes melted from pyrites, with silver slags, and with stones which easily fuse in fire of the second order. in order that particles of silver should not fly away[ ] from the lumps of ore consisting of minute threads of pure silver and twigs of native silver, they are enclosed in a pot, and are placed in the same furnace where the rest of the silver ores are being smelted. some people smelt lumps of native silver not sufficiently pure, in pots or triangular crucibles, whose lids are sealed with lute. they do not place these pots in the blast furnace, but arrange them in the assay furnace into which the draught of the air blows through small holes. to one part of the native silver they add three parts of powdered litharge, as many parts of hearth-lead, half a part of galena[ ], and a small quantity of salt and iron-scales. the alloy which settles at the bottom of the other substances in the pot is carried to the cupellation furnace, and the slags are re-melted with the other silver slags. they crush under the stamps and wash the pots or crucibles to which silver-lead alloy or slags adhere, and having collected the concentrates they smelt them together with the slags. this method of smelting _rudis_ silver, if there is a small quantity of it, is the best, because the smallest portion of silver does not fly out of the pot or the crucible, and get lost. if bismuth ore or antimony ore or lead ore[ ] contains silver, it is smelted with the other ores of silver; likewise galena or pyrites, if there is a small amount of it. if there be much galena, whether it contain a large or a small amount of silver, it is smelted separately from the others; which process i will explain a little further on. because lead and copper ores and their metals have much in common with silver ores, it is fitting that i should say a great deal concerning them, both now and later on. also in the same manner, pyrites are smelted separately if there be much of them. to three parts of roasted lead or copper ore and one part of crude ore, are added concentrates if they were made by washing the same ore, together with slags, and all are put in the third furnace whose tap-hole is always open. cakes are made from this charge, which, when they have been quenched with water, are roasted. of these roasted cakes generally four parts are again mixed with one part of crude pyrites and re-melted in the same furnace. cakes are again made from this charge, and if there is a large amount of copper in these cakes, copper is made immediately after they have been roasted and re-melted; if there is little copper in the cakes they are also roasted, but they are re-smelted with a little soft slag. in this method the molten lead in the forehearth absorbs the silver. from the pyritic material which floats on the top of the forehearth are made cakes for the third time, and from them when they have been roasted and re-smelted is made copper. similarly, three parts of roasted _cadmia_[ ] in which there is silver, are mixed with one part of crude pyrites, together with slag, and this charge is smelted and cakes are made from it; these cakes having been roasted are re-smelted in the same furnace. by this method the lead contained in the forehearth absorbs the silver, and the silver-lead is taken to the cupellation furnace. crude quartz and stones which easily fuse in fire of the third order, together with other ores in which there is a small amount of silver, ought to be mixed with crude roasted pyrites or _cadmia_, because the roasted cakes of pyrites or _cadmia_ cannot be profitably smelted separately. in a similar manner earths which contain little silver are mixed with the same; but if pyrites and _cadmia_ are not available to the smelter, he smelts such silver ores and earths with litharge, hearth-lead, slags, and stones which easily melt in the fire. the concentrates[ ] originating from the washing of _rudis_ silver, after first being roasted[ ] until they melt, are smelted with mixed litharge and hearth-lead, or else, after being moistened with water, they are smelted with cakes made from pyrites and _cadmia_. by neither of these methods do (the concentrates) fall back in the furnace, or fly out of it, driven by the blast of the bellows and the agitation of the fire. if the concentrates originated from galena they are smelted with it after having been roasted; and if from pyrites, then with pyrites. pure copper ore, whether it is its own colour or is tinged with chrysocolla or azure, and copper glance, or grey or black _rudis_ copper, is smelted in a furnace of which the tap-hole is closed for a very short time, or else is always open[ ]. if there is a large amount of silver in the ore it is run into the forehearth, and the greater part of the silver is absorbed by the molten lead, and the remainder is sold with the copper to the proprietor of the works in which silver is parted from copper[ ]. if there is a small amount of silver in the ore, no lead is put into the forehearth to absorb the silver, and the above-mentioned proprietors buy it in with the copper; if there be no silver, copper is made direct. if such copper ore contains some minerals which do not easily melt, as pyrites or _cadmia metallica fossilis_[ ], or stone from which iron is melted, then crude pyrites which easily fuse are added to it, together with slag. from this charge, when smelted, they make cakes; and from these, when they have been roasted as much as is necessary and re-smelted, the copper is made. but if there be some silver in the cakes, for which an outlay of lead has to be made, then it is first run into the forehearth, and the molten lead absorbs the silver. indeed, _rudis_ copper ore of inferior quality, whether ash-coloured or purple, blackish and occasionally in parts blue, is smelted in the first furnace whose tap-hole is always open. this is the method of the tyrolese. to as much _rudis_ copper ore as will fill eighteen vessels, each of which holds almost as much as seven roman _moduli_[ ], the first smelter--for there are three--adds three cartloads of lead slags, one cartload of schist, one fifth of a _centumpondium_ of stones which easily fuse in the fire, besides a small quantity of concentrates collected from copper slag and accretions, all of which he smelts for the space of twelve hours, and from which he makes six _centumpondia_ of primary cakes and one-half of a _centumpondium_ of alloy. one half of the latter consists of copper and silver, and it settles to the bottom of the forehearth. in every _centumpondium_ of the cakes there is half a _libra_ of silver and sometimes half an _uncia_ besides; in the half of a _centumpondium_ of the alloy there is a _bes_ or three-quarters of silver. in this way every week, if the work is for six days, thirty-six _centumpondia_ of cakes are made and three _centumpondia_ of alloy, in all of which there is often almost twenty-four _librae_ of silver. the second smelter separates from the primary cakes the greater part of the silver by absorbing it in lead. to eighteen _centumpondia_ of cakes made from crude copper ore, he adds twelve _centumpondia_ of hearth-lead and litharge, three _centumpondia_ of stones from which lead is smelted, five _centumpondia_ of hard cakes rich in silver, and two _centumpondia_ of exhausted liquation cakes[ ]; he adds besides, some of the slags resulting from smelting crude copper, together with a small quantity of concentrates made from accretions, all of which he melts for the space of twelve hours, and makes eighteen _centumpondia_ of secondary cakes, and twelve _centumpondia_ of copper-lead-silver alloy; in each _centumpondium_ of the latter there is half a _libra_ of silver. after he has taken off the cakes with a hooked bar, he pours the alloy out into copper or iron moulds; by this method they make four cakes of alloy, which are carried to the works in which silver is parted from copper. on the following day, the same smelter, taking eighteen _centumpondia_ of the secondary cakes, again adds twelve _centumpondia_ of hearth-lead and litharge, three _centumpondia_ of stones from which lead is smelted, five _centumpondia_ of hard cakes rich in silver, together with slags from the smelting of the primary cakes, and with concentrates washed from the accretions which are usually made at that time. this charge is likewise smelted for the space of twelve hours, and he makes as many as thirteen _centumpondia_ of tertiary cakes and eleven _centumpondia_ of copper-lead-silver alloy, each _centumpondium_ of which contains one-third of a _libra_ and half an _uncia_ of silver. when he has skimmed off the tertiary cakes with a hooked bar, the alloy is poured into copper moulds, and by this method four cakes of alloy are made, which, like the preceding four cakes of alloy, are carried to the works in which silver is parted from copper. by this method the second smelter makes primary cakes on alternate days and secondary cakes on the intermediate days. the third smelter takes eleven cartloads of the tertiary cakes and adds to them three cartloads of hard cakes poor in silver, together with the slag from smelting the secondary cakes, and the concentrates from the accretions which are usually made at that time. from this charge when smelted, he makes twenty _centumpondia_ of quaternary cakes, which are called "hard cakes," and also fifteen _centumpondia_ of those "hard cakes rich in silver," each _centumpondium_ of which contains a third of a _libra_ of silver. these latter cakes the second smelter, as i said before, adds to the primary and secondary cakes when he re-melts them. in the same way, from eleven cartloads of quaternary cakes thrice roasted, he makes the "final" cakes, of which one _centumpondium_ contains only half an _uncia_ of silver. in this operation he also makes fifteen _centumpondia_ of "hard cakes poor in silver," in each _centumpondium_ of which is a sixth of a _libra_ of silver. these hard cakes the third smelter, as i have said, adds to the tertiary cakes when he re-smelts them, while from the "final" cakes, thrice roasted and re-smelted, is made black copper[ ]. the _rudis_ copper from which pure copper is made, if it contains little silver or if it does not easily melt, is first smelted in the third furnace of which the tap-hole is always open; and from this are made cakes, which after being seven times roasted are re-smelted, and from these copper is melted out; the cakes of copper are carried to a furnace of another kind, in which they are melted for the third time, in order that in the copper "bottoms" there may be more silver, while in the "tops" there may be less, which process is explained in book xi. pyrites, when they contain not only copper, but also silver, are smelted in the manner i described when i treated of ores of silver. but if they are poor in silver, and if the copper which is melted out of them cannot easily be treated, they are smelted according to the method which i last explained. finally, the copper schists containing bitumen or sulphur are roasted, and then smelted with stones which easily fuse in a fire of the second order, and are made into cakes, on the top of which the slags float. from these cakes, usually roasted seven times and re-melted, are melted out slags and two kinds of cakes; one kind is of copper and occupies the bottom of the crucible, and these are sold to the proprietors of the works in which silver is parted from copper; the other kind of cakes are usually re-melted with primary cakes. if the schist contains but a small amount of copper, it is burned, crushed under the stamps, washed and sieved, and the concentrates obtained from it are melted down; from this are made cakes from which, when roasted, copper is made. if either chrysocolla or azure, or yellow or black earth containing copper and silver, adheres to the schist, it is not washed, but is crushed and smelted with stones which easily fuse in fire of the second order. lead ore, whether it be _molybdaena_[ ], pyrites, (galena?) or stone from which it is melted, is often smelted in a special furnace, of which i have spoken above, but no less often in the third furnace of which the tap-hole is always open. the hearth and forehearth are made from powder containing a small portion of iron hammer-scales; iron slag forms the principal flux for such ores; both of these the expert smelters consider useful and to the owner's advantage, because it is the nature of iron to attract lead. if it is _molybdaena_ or the stone from which lead is smelted, then the lead runs down from the furnace into the forehearth, and when the slags have been skimmed off, the lead is poured out with a ladle. if pyrites are smelted, the first to flow from the furnace into the forehearth, as may be seen at goslar, is a white molten substance, injurious and noxious to silver, for it consumes it. for this reason the slags which float on the top having been skimmed off, this substance is poured out; or if it hardens, then it is taken out with a hooked bar; and the walls of the furnace exude the same substance[ ]. then the _stannum_ runs out of the furnace into the forehearth; this is an alloy of lead and silver. from the silver-lead alloy they first skim off the slags, not rarely white, as some pyrites[ ] are, and afterward they skim off the cakes of pyrites, if there are any. in these cakes there is usually some copper; but since there is usually but a very small quantity, and as the forest charcoal is not abundant, no copper is made from them. from the silver-lead poured into iron moulds they likewise make cakes; when these cakes have been melted in the cupellation furnace, the silver is parted from the lead, because part of the lead is transformed into litharge and part into hearth-lead, from which in the blast furnace on re-melting they make de-silverized lead, for in this lead each _centumpondium_ contains only a _drachma_ of silver, when before the silver was parted from it each _centumpondium_ contained more or less than three _unciae_ of silver[ ]. the little black stones[ ] and others from which tin is made, are smelted in their own kind of furnace, which should be narrower than the other furnaces, that there may be only the small fire which is necessary for this ore. these furnaces are higher, that the height may compensate for the narrowness and make them of almost the same capacity as the other furnaces. at the top, in front, they are closed and on the other side they are open, where there are steps, because they cannot have the steps in front on account of the forehearth; the smelters ascend by these steps to put the tin-stone into the furnace. the hearth of the furnace is not made of powdered earth and charcoal, but on the floor of the works are placed sandstones which are not too hard; these are set on a slight slope, and are two and three-quarters feet long, the same number of feet wide, and two feet thick, for the thicker they are the longer they last in the fire. around them is constructed a rectangular furnace eight or nine feet high, of broad sandstones, or of those common substances which by nature are composed of diverse materials[ ]. on the inside the furnace is everywhere evenly covered with lute. the upper part of the interior is two feet long and one foot wide, but below it is not so long and wide. above it are two hood-walls, between which the fumes ascend from the furnace into the dust chamber, and through this they escape by a narrow opening in the roof. the sandstones are sloped at the bed of the furnace, so that the tin melted from the tin-stone may flow through the tap-hole of the furnace into the forehearth.[ ] as there is no need for the smelters to have a fierce fire, it is not necessary to place the nozzles of the bellows in bronze or iron pipes, but only through a hole in the furnace wall. they place the bellows higher at the back so that the blast from the nozzles may blow straight toward the tap-hole of the furnace. that it may not be too fierce, the nozzles are wide, for if the fire were fiercer, tin could not be melted out from the tin-stone, as it would be consumed and turned into ashes. near the steps is a hollowed stone, in which is placed the tin-stone to be smelted; as often as the smelter throws into the furnace an iron shovel-ful of this tin-stone, he puts on charcoal that was first put into a vat and washed with water to be cleansed from the grit and small stones which adhere to it, lest they melt at the same time as the tin-stone and obstruct the tap-hole and impede the flow of tin from the furnace. the tap-hole of the furnace is always open; in front of it is a forehearth a little more than half a foot deep, three-quarters of two feet long and one foot wide; this is lined with lute, and the tin from the tap-hole flows into it. on one side of the forehearth is a low wall, three-quarters of a foot wider and one foot longer than the forehearth, on which lies charcoal powder. on the other side the floor of the building slopes, so that the slags may conveniently run down and be carried away. as soon as the tin begins to run from the tap-hole of the furnace into the forehearth, the smelter scrapes down some of the powdered charcoal into it from the wall, so that the slags may be separated from the hot metal, and so that it may be covered, lest any part of it, being very hot, should fly away with the fumes. if after the slag has been skimmed off, the powder does not cover up the whole of the tin, the smelter draws a little more charcoal off the wall with a scraper. after he has opened the tap-hole of the forehearth with a tapping-bar, in order that the tin can flow into the tapping-pot, likewise smeared with lute, he again closes the tap-hole with pure lute or lute mixed with powdered charcoal. the smelter, if he be diligent and experienced, has brooms at hand with which he sweeps down the walls above the furnace; to these walls and to the dust chamber minute tin-stones sometimes adhere with part of the fumes. if he be not sufficiently experienced in these matters and has melted at the same time all of the tin-stone,--which is commonly of three sizes, large, medium, and very small,--not a little waste of the proprietor's tin results; because, before the large or the medium sizes have melted, the small have either been burnt up in the furnace, or else, flying up from it, they not only adhere to the walls but also fall in the dust chamber. the owner of the works has the sweepings by right from the owner of the ore. for the above reasons the most experienced smelter melts them down separately; indeed, he melts the very small size in a wider furnace, the medium in a medium-sized furnace, and the largest size in the narrowest furnace. when he melts down the small size he uses a gentle blast from the bellows, with the medium-sized a moderate one, with the large size a violent blast; and when he smelts the first size he needs a slow fire, for the second a medium one, and for the third a fierce one; yet he uses a much less fierce fire than when he smelts the ores of gold, silver, or copper. when the workmen have spent three consecutive days and nights in this work, as is usual, they have finished their labours; in this time they are able to melt out a large weight of small sized tin-stone which melts quickly, but less of the large ones which melt slowly, and a moderate quantity of the medium-sized which holds the middle course. those who do not smelt the tin-stone in furnaces made sometimes wide, sometimes medium, or sometimes narrow, in order that great loss should not be occasioned, throw in first the smallest size, then the medium, then the large size, and finally those which are not quite pure; and the blast of the bellows is altered as required. in order that the tin-stone thrown into the furnace should not roll off from the large charcoal into the forehearth before the tin is melted out of it, the smelter uses small charcoal; first some of this moistened with water is placed in the furnace, and then he frequently repeats this succession of charcoal and tin-stone. the tin-stone, collected from material which during the summer was washed in a ditch through which a stream was diverted, and during the winter was screened on a perforated iron plate, is smelted in a furnace a palm wider than that in which the fine tin-stone dug out of the earth is smelted. for the smelting of these, a more vigorous blast of the bellows and a fiercer fire is needed than for the smelting of the large tin-stone. whichever kind of tin-stone is being smelted, if the tin first flows from the furnace, much of it is made, and if slags first flow from the furnace, then only a little. it happens that the tin-stone is mixed with the slags when it is either less pure or ferruginous--that is, not enough roasted--and is imperfect when put into the furnace, or when it has been put in in a larger quantity than was necessary; then, although it may be pure and melt easily, the ore either runs out of the furnace at the same time, mixed with the slags, or else it settles so firmly at the bottom of the furnace that the operation of smelting being necessarily interrupted, the furnace freezes up. [illustration (tin smelting furnaces): a--furnace. b--its tap-hole. c--forehearth. d--its tap-hole. e--slags. f--scraper. g--dipping-pot. h--walls of the chimney. i--broom. k--copper plate. l--latticework bars. m--iron seal or die. n--hammer.] the tap-hole of the forehearth is opened and the tin is diverted into the dipping-pot, and as often as the slags flow down the sloping floor of the building they are skimmed off with a rabble; as soon as the tin has run out of the forehearth, the tap-hole is again closed up with lute mixed with powdered charcoal. glowing coals are put in the dipping-pot so that the tin, after it has run out, should not get chilled. if the metal is so impure that nothing can be made from it, the material which has run out is made into cakes to be re-smelted in the hearth, of which i shall have something to say later; if the metal is pure, it is poured immediately upon thick copper plates, at first in straight lines and then transversely over these to make a lattice. each of these lattice bars is impressed with an iron die; if the tin was melted out of ore excavated from mines, then one stamp only, namely, that of the magistrate, is usually imprinted, but if it is made from tin-stone collected on the ground after washing, then it is impressed with two seals, one the magistrate's and the other a fork which the washers use. generally, three of this kind of lattice bars are beaten and amalgamated into one mass with a wooden mallet. the slags that are skimmed off are afterward thrown with an iron shovel into a small trough hollowed from a tree, and are cleansed from charcoal by agitation; when taken out they are broken up with a square iron mallet, and then they are re-melted with the fine tin-stone next smelted. there are some who crush the slags three times under wet stamps and re-melt them three times; if a large quantity of this be smelted while still wet, little tin is melted from it, because the slag, soon melted again, flows from the furnace into the forehearth. under the wet stamps are also crushed the lute and broken rock with which such furnaces are lined, and also the accretions, which often contain fine tin-stone, either not melted or half-melted, and also prills of tin. the tin-stone not yet melted runs out through the screen into a trough, and is washed in the same way as tin-stone, while the partly melted and the prills of tin are taken from the mortar-box and washed in the sieve on which not very minute particles remain, and thence to the canvas strake. the soot which adheres to that part of the chimney which emits the smoke, also often contains very fine tin-stone which flies from the furnace with the fumes, and this is washed in the strake which i have just mentioned, and in other sluices. the prills of tin and the partly melted tin-stone that are contained in the lute and broken rock with which the furnace is lined, and in the remnants of the tin from the forehearth and the dipping-pot, are smelted together with the tin-stone. when tin-stone has been smelted for three days and as many nights in a furnace prepared as i have said above, some little particles of the rock from which the furnace is constructed become loosened by the fire and fall down; and then the bellows being taken away, the furnace is broken through at the back, and the accretions are first chipped off with hammers, and afterward the whole of the interior of the furnace is re-fitted with the prepared sandstone, and again evenly lined with lute. the sandstone placed on the bed of the furnace, if it has become faulty, is taken out, and another is laid down in its place; those rocks which are too large the smelter chips off and fits with a sharp pick. [illustration (tin smelting furnaces): a--furnaces. b--forehearths. c--their tap-holes. d--dipping-pots. e--pillars. f--dust-chamber. g--window. h--chimneys. i--tub in which the coals are washed.] some build two furnaces against the wall just like those i have described, and above them build a vaulted ceiling supported by the wall and by four pillars. through holes in the vaulted ceiling the fumes from the furnaces ascend into a dust chamber, similar to the one described before, except that there is a window on each side and there is no door. the smelters, when they have to clear away the flue-dust, mount by the steps at the side of the furnaces, and climb by ladders into the dust chamber through the apertures in the vaulted ceilings over the furnaces. they then remove the flue-dust from everywhere and collect it in baskets, which are passed from one to the other and emptied. this dust chamber differs from the other described, in the fact that the chimneys, of which it has two, are not dissimilar to those of a house; they receive the fumes which, being unable to escape through the upper part of the chamber, are turned back and re-ascend and release the tin; thus the tin set free by the fire and turned to ash, and the little tin-stones which fly up with the fumes, remain in the dust chamber or else adhere to copper plates in the chimney. [illustration (refining tin): a--hearths. b--dipping-pots. c--wood. d--cakes. e--ladle. f--copper plate. g--lattice-shaped bars. h--iron dies. i--wooden mallet. k--mass of tin bars. l--shovel.] if the tin is so impure that it cracks when struck with the hammer, it is not immediately made into lattice-like bars, but into the cakes which i have spoken of before, and these are refined by melting again on a hearth. this hearth consists of sandstones, which slope toward the centre and a little toward a dipping-pot; at their joints they are covered with lute. dry logs are arranged on each side, alternately upright and lengthwise, and more closely in the middle; on this wood are placed five or six cakes of tin which all together weigh about six _centumpondia_; the wood having been kindled, the tin drips down and flows continuously into the dipping-pot which is on the floor. the impure tin sinks to the bottom of this dipping-pot and the pure tin floats on the top; then both are ladled out by the master, who first takes out the pure tin, and by pouring it over thick plates of copper makes lattice-like bars. afterward he takes out the impure tin from which he makes cakes; he discriminates between them, when he ladles and pours, by the ease or difficulty of the flow. one _centumpondium_ of the lattice-like bars sells for more than a _centumpondium_ of cakes, for the price of the former exceeds the price of the latter by a gold coin[ ]. these lattice-like bars are lighter than the others, and when five of them are pounded and amalgamated with a wooden mallet, a mass is made which is stamped with an iron die. there are some who do not make a dipping-pot on the floor for the tin to run into, but in the hearth itself; out of this the master, having removed the charcoal, ladles the tin and pours it over the copper-plate. the dross which adheres to the wood and the charcoal, having been collected, is re-smelted in the furnace. [illustration (blast furnaces): a--furnace. b--bellows. c--iron disc. d--nozzle. e--wooden disc. f--blow-hole. g--handle. h--haft. i--hoops. k--masses of tin.] some of the lusitanians melt tin from tin-stone in small furnaces. they use round bellows made of leather, of which the fore end is a round iron disc and the rear end a disc of wood; in a hole in the former is fixed the nozzle, in the middle of the latter the blow-hole. above this is the handle or haft, which draws open the round bellows and lets in the air, or compresses it and drives the air out. between the discs are several iron hoops to which the leather is fastened, making such folds as are to be seen in paper lanterns that are folded together. since this kind of bellows does not give a vigorous blast, because they are drawn apart and compressed slowly, the smelter is not able during a whole day to smelt much more than half a _centumpondium_ of tin. [illustration (iron smelting furnaces): a--hearth. b--heap. c--slag-vent. d--iron mass. e--wooden mallets. f--hammer. g--anvil.] very good iron ore is smelted[ ] in a furnace almost like the cupellation furnace. the hearth is three and a half feet high, and five feet long and wide; in the centre of it is a crucible a foot deep and one and a half feet wide, but it may be deeper or shallower, wider or narrower, according to whether more or less ore is to be made into iron. a certain quantity of iron ore is given to the master, out of which he may smelt either much or little iron. he being about to expend his skill and labour on this matter, first throws charcoal into the crucible, and sprinkles over it an iron shovel-ful of crushed iron ore mixed with unslaked lime. then he repeatedly throws on charcoal and sprinkles it with ore, and continues this until he has slowly built up a heap; it melts when the charcoal has been kindled and the fire violently stimulated by the blast of the bellows, which are skilfully fixed in a pipe. he is able to complete this work sometimes in eight hours, sometimes in ten; and again sometimes in twelve. in order that the heat of the fire should not burn his face, he covers it entirely with a cap, in which, however, there are holes through which he may see and breathe. at the side of the hearth is a bar which he raises as often as is necessary, when the bellows blow too violent a blast, or when he adds more ore and charcoal. he also uses the bar to draw off the slags, or to open or close the gates of the sluice, through which the waters flow down on to the wheel which turns the axle that compresses the bellows. in this sensible way, iron is melted out and a mass weighing two or three _centumpondia_ may be made, providing the iron ore was rich. when this is done the master opens the slag-vent with the tapping-bar, and when all has run out he allows the iron mass to cool. afterward he and his assistant stir the iron with the bar, and then in order to chip off the slags which had until then adhered to it, and to condense and flatten it, they take it down from the furnace to the floor, and beat it with large wooden mallets having slender handles five feet long. thereupon it is immediately placed on the anvil, and repeatedly beaten by the large iron hammer that is raised by the cams of an axle turned by a water-wheel. not long afterward it is taken up with tongs and placed under the same hammer, and cut up with a sharp iron into four, five, or six pieces, according to whether it is large or small. these pieces, after they have been re-heated in the blacksmith's forge and again placed on the anvil, are shaped by the smith into square bars or into ploughshares or tyres, but mainly into bars. four, six, or eight of these bars weigh one-fifth of a _centumpondium_, and from these they make various implements. during the blows from the hammer by which it is shaped by the smith, a youth pours water with a ladle on to the glowing iron, and this is why the blows make such a loud sound that they may be heard a long distance from the works. the masses, if they remain and settle in the crucible of the furnace in which the iron is smelted, become hard iron which can only be hammered with difficulty, and from these they make the iron-shod heads for the stamps, and such-like very hard articles. [illustration (iron smelting furnaces): a--furnace. b--stairs. c--ore. d--charcoal.] but to iron ore which is cupriferous, or which when heated[ ] melts with difficulty, it is necessary for us to give a fiercer fire and more labour; because not only must we separate the parts of it in which there is metal from those in which there is no metal, and break it up by dry stamps, but we must also roast it, so that the other metals and noxious juices may be exhaled; and we must wash it, so that the lighter parts may be separated from it. such ores are smelted in a furnace similar to the blast furnace, but much wider and higher, so that it may hold a great quantity of ore and much charcoal; mounting the stairs at the side of the furnace, the smelters fill it partly with fragments of ore not larger than nuts, and partly with charcoal; and from this kind of ore once or twice smelted they make iron which is suitable for re-heating in the blacksmith's forge, after it is flattened out with the large iron hammer and cut into pieces with the sharp iron. [illustration (steel making furnaces): a--forge. b--bellows. c--tongs. d--hammer. e--cold stream.] by skill with fire and fluxes is made that kind of iron from which steel is made, which the greeks call [greek: stomôma]. iron should be selected which is easy to melt, is hard and malleable. now although iron may be smelted from ore which contains other metals, yet it is then either soft or brittle; such (iron) must be broken up into small pieces when it is hot, and then mixed with crushed stone which melts. then a crucible is made in the hearth of the smith's furnace, from the same moistened powder from which are made the forehearths in front of the furnaces in which ores of gold or silver are smelted; the width of this crucible is about one and a half feet and the depth one foot. the bellows are so placed that the blast may be blown through the nozzle into the middle of the crucible. then the whole of the crucible is filled with the best charcoal, and it is surrounded by fragments of rock to hold in place the pieces of iron and the superimposed charcoal. as soon as all the charcoal is kindled and the crucible is glowing, a blast is blown from the bellows and the master pours in gradually as much of the mixture of iron and flux as he wishes. into the middle of this, when it is melted, he puts four iron masses each weighing thirty pounds, and heats them for five or six hours in a fierce fire; he frequently stirs the melted iron with a bar, so that the small pores in each mass absorb the minute particles, and these particles by their own strength consume and expand the thick particles of the masses, which they render soft and similar to dough. afterward the master, aided by his assistant, takes out a mass with the tongs and places it on the anvil, where it is pounded by the hammer which is alternately raised and dropped by means of the water-wheel; then, without delay, while it is still hot, he throws it into water and tempers it; when it is tempered, he places it again on the anvil, and breaks it with a blow from the same hammer. then at once examining the fragments, he decides whether the iron in some part or other, or as a whole, appears to be dense and changed into steel; if so, he seizes one mass after another with the tongs, and taking them out he breaks them into pieces. afterward he heats the mixture up again, and adds a portion afresh to take the place of that which has been absorbed by the masses. this restores the energy of that which is left, and the pieces of the masses are again put back into the crucible and made purer. each of these, after having been heated, is seized with the tongs, put under the hammer and shaped into a bar. while they are still glowing, he at once throws them into the very coldest nearby running water, and in this manner, being suddenly condensed, they are changed into pure steel, which is much harder and whiter than iron. the ores of the other metals are not smelted in furnaces. quicksilver ores and also antimony are melted in pots, and bismuth in troughs. [illustration (quicksilver distillation furnaces): a--hearth. b--poles. c--hearth without fire in which the pots are placed. d--rocks. e--rows of pots. f--upper pots. g--lower pots.] i will first speak of quicksilver. this is collected when found in pools formed from the outpourings of the veins and stringers; it is cleansed with vinegar and salt, and then it is poured into canvas or soft leather, through which, when squeezed and compressed, the quicksilver runs out into a pot or pan. the ore of quicksilver is reduced in double or single pots. if in double pots, then the upper one is of a shape not very dissimilar to the glass ampullas used by doctors, but they taper downward toward the bottom, and the lower ones are little pots similar to those in which men and women make cheese, but both are larger than these; it is necessary to sink the lower pots up to the rims in earth, sand, or ashes. the ore, broken up into small pieces is put into the upper pots; these having been entirely closed up with moss, are placed upside down in the openings of the lower pots, where they are joined with lute, lest the quicksilver which takes refuge in them should be exhaled. there are some who, after the pots have been buried, do not fear to leave them uncemented, and who boast that they are able to produce no less weight of quicksilver than those who do cement them, but nevertheless cementing with lute is the greatest protection against exhalation. in this manner seven hundred pairs of pots are set together in the ground or on a hearth. they must be surrounded on all sides with a mixture consisting of crushed earth and charcoal, in such a way that the upper pots protrude to a height of a palm above it. on both sides of the hearth rocks are first laid, and upon them poles, across which the workmen place other poles transversely; these poles do not touch the pots, nevertheless the fire heats the quicksilver, which fleeing from the heat is forced to run down through the moss into the lower pots. if the ore is being reduced in the upper pots, it flees from them, wherever there is an exit, into the lower pots, but if the ore on the contrary is put in the lower pots the quicksilver rises into the upper pot or into the operculum, which, together with the gourd-shaped vessels, are cemented to the upper pots. the pots, lest they should become defective, are moulded from the best potters' clay, for if there are defects the quicksilver flies out in the fumes. if the fumes give out a very sweet odour it indicates that the quicksilver is being lost, and since this loosens the teeth, the smelters and others standing by, warned of the evil, turn their backs to the wind, which drives the fumes in the opposite direction; for this reason, the building should be open around the front and the sides, and exposed to the wind. if these pots are made of cast copper they last a long time in the fire. this process for reducing the ores of quicksilver is used by most people. in a similar manner the antimony ore,[ ] if free from other metals, is reduced in upper pots which are twice as large as the lower ones. their size, however, depends on the cakes, which have not the same weight everywhere; for in some places they are made to weigh six _librae_, in other places ten, and elsewhere twenty. when the smelter has concluded his operation, he extinguishes the fire with water, removes the lids from the pots, throws earth mixed with ash around and over them, and when they have cooled, takes out the cakes from the pots. [illustration (quicksilver distillation furnaces): a--pots. b--opercula. c--nozzles. d--gourd-shaped earthenware vessels.] other methods for reducing quicksilver are given below. big-bellied pots, having been placed in the upper rectangular open part of a furnace, are filled with the crushed ore. each of these pots is covered with a lid with a long nozzle--commonly called a _campana_--in the shape of a bell, and they are cemented. each of the small earthenware vessels shaped like a gourd receives two of these nozzles, and these are likewise cemented. dried wood having been placed in the lower part of the furnace and kindled, the ore is heated until all the quicksilver has risen into the operculum which is over the pot; it then flows from the nozzle and is caught in the earthenware gourd-shaped vessel. [illustration (quicksilver distillation furnaces): a--enclosed chamber. b--door. c--little windows. d--mouths through the walls. e--furnace in the enclosed chamber. f--pots.] others build a hollow vaulted chamber, of which the paved floor is made concave toward the centre. inside the thick walls of the chamber are the furnaces. the doors through which the wood is put are in the outer part of the same wall. they place the pots in the furnaces and fill them with crushed ore, then they cement the pots and the furnaces on all sides with lute, so that none of the vapour may escape from them, and there is no entrance to the furnaces except through their mouths. between the dome and the paved floor they arrange green trees, then they close the door and the little windows, and cover them on all sides with moss and lute, so that none of the quicksilver can exhale from the chamber. after the wood has been kindled the ore is heated, and exudes the quicksilver; whereupon, impatient with the heat, and liking the cold, it escapes to the leaves of the trees, which have a cooling power. when the operation is completed the smelter extinguishes the fire, and when all gets cool he opens the door and the windows, and collects the quicksilver, most of which, being heavy, falls of its own accord from the trees, and flows into the concave part of the floor; if all should not have fallen from the trees, they are shaken to make it fall. [illustration (quicksilver distillation furnaces): a--larger pot. b--smaller. c--tripod. d--tub in which the sand is washed.] the following is the fourth method of reducing ores of quicksilver. a larger pot standing on a tripod is filled with crushed ore, and over the ore is put sand or ashes to a thickness of two digits, and tamped; then in the mouth of this pot is inserted the mouth of another smaller pot and cemented with lute, lest the vapours are emitted. the ore heated by the fire exhales the quicksilver, which, penetrating through the sand or the ashes, takes refuge in the upper pot, where condensing into drops it falls back into the sand or the ashes, from which the quicksilver is washed and collected. [illustration (quicksilver distillation furnaces): a--pots. b--lids. c--stones. d--furnace.] the fifth method is not very unlike the fourth. in the place of these pots are set other pots, likewise of earthenware, having a narrow bottom and a wide mouth. these are nearly filled with crushed ore, which is likewise covered with ashes to a depth of two digits and tamped in. the pots are covered with lids a digit thick, and they are smeared over on the inside with liquid litharge, and on the lid are placed heavy stones. the pots are set on the furnace, and the ore is heated and similarly exhales quicksilver, which fleeing from the heat takes refuge in the lid; on congealing there, it falls back into the ashes, from which, when washed, the quicksilver is collected. by these five methods quicksilver may be made, and of these not one is to be despised or repudiated; nevertheless, if the mine supplies a great abundance of ore, the first is the most expeditious and practical, because a large quantity of ore can be reduced at the same time without great expense.[ ] [illustration (bismuth smelting): a--pit across which wood is placed. b--forehearth. c--ladle. d--iron mould. e--cakes. f--empty pot lined with stones in layers. g--troughs. h--pits dug at the foot of the troughs. i--small wood laid over the troughs. k--wind.] bismuth[ ] ore, free from every kind of silver, is smelted by various methods. first a small pit is dug in the dry ground; into this pulverised charcoal is thrown and tamped in, and then it is dried with burning charcoal. afterward, thick dry pieces of beech wood are placed over the pit, and the bismuth ore is thrown on it. as soon as the kindled wood burns, the heated ore drips with bismuth, which runs down into the pit, from which when cooled the cakes are removed. because pieces of burnt wood, or often charcoal and occasionally slag, drop into the bismuth which collects in the pit, and make it impure, it is put back into another kind of crucible to be melted, so that pure cakes may be made. there are some who, bearing these things in mind, dig a pit on a sloping place and below it put a forehearth, into which the bismuth continually flows, and thus remains clean; then they take it out with ladles and pour it into iron pans lined inside with lute, and make cakes of it. they cover such pits with flat stones, whose joints are besmeared with a lute of mixed dust and crushed charcoal, lest the joints should absorb the molten bismuth. another method is to put the ore in troughs made of fir-wood and placed on sloping ground; they place small firewood over it, kindling it when a gentle wind blows, and thus the ore is heated. in this manner the bismuth melts and runs down from the troughs into a pit below, while there remains slag, or stones, which are of a yellow colour, as is also the wood laid across the pit. these are also sold. [illustration (bismuth smelting): a--wood. b--bricks. c--pans. d--furnace. e--crucible. f--pipe. g--dipping-pot.] others reduce the ore in iron pans as next described. they lay small pieces of dry wood alternately straight and transversely upon bricks, one and a half feet apart, and set fire to it. near it they put small iron pans lined on the inside with lute, and full of broken ore; then when the wind blows the flame of the fierce fire over the pans, the bismuth drips out of the ore; wherefore, in order that it may run, the ore is stirred with the tongs; but when they decide that all the bismuth is exuded, they seize the pans with the tongs and remove them, and pour out the bismuth into empty pans, and by turning many into one they make cakes. others reduce the ore, when it is not mixed with _cadmia_,[ ] in a furnace similar to the iron furnace. in this case they make a pit and a crucible of crushed earth mixed with pulverised charcoal, and into it they put the broken ore, or the concentrates from washing, from which they make more bismuth. if they put in ore, they reduce it with charcoal and small dried wood mixed, and if concentrates, they use charcoal only; they blow both materials with a gentle blast from a bellows. from the crucible is a small pipe through which the molten bismuth runs down into a dipping-pot, and from this cakes are made. [illustration (bismuth smelting): a--hearth in which ore is melted. b--hearth on which lie drops of bismuth. c--tongs. d--basket. e--wind.] on a dump thrown up from the mines, other people construct a hearth exposed to the wind, a foot high, three feet wide, and four and a half feet long. it is held together by four boards, and the whole is thickly coated at the top with lute. on this hearth they first put small dried sticks of fir wood, then over them they throw broken ore; then they lay more wood over it, and when the wind blows they kindle it. in this manner the bismuth drips out of the ore, and afterward the ashes of the wood consumed by the fire and the charcoals are swept away. the drops of bismuth which fall down into the hearth are congealed by the cold, and they are taken away with the tongs and thrown into a basket. from the melted bismuth they make cakes in iron pans. [illustration (bismuth smelting): a--box. b--pivot. c--transverse wood beams. d--grate. e--its feet. f--burning wood. g--stick. h--pans in which the bismuth is melted. i--pans for moulds. k--cakes. l--fork. m--brush.] others again make a box eight feet long, four feet wide, and two feet high, which they fill almost full of sand and cover with bricks, thus making the hearth. the box has in the centre a wooden pivot, which turns in a hole in two beams laid transversely one upon the other; these beams are hard and thick, are sunk into the ground, both ends are perforated, and through these holes wedge-shaped pegs are driven, in order that the beams may remain fixed, and that the box may turn round, and may be turned toward the wind from whichever quarter of the sky in may blow. in such a hearth they put an iron grate, as long and wide as the box and three-quarters of a foot high; it has six feet, and there are so many transverse bars that they almost touch one another. on the grate they lay pine-wood and over it broken ore, and over this they again lay pine-wood. when it has been kindled the ore melts, out of which the bismuth drips down; since very little wood is burned, this is the most profitable method of smelting the bismuth. the bismuth drips through the grate on to the hearth, while the other things remain upon the grate with the charcoal. when the work is finished, the workman takes a stick from the hearth and overturns the grate, and the things which have been accumulated on it; with the brush he sweeps up the bismuth and collects it in a basket, and then he melts it in an iron pan and makes cakes. as soon as possible after it is cool, he turns the pans over, so that the cakes may fall out, using for this purpose a two-pronged fork of which one prong is again forked. and immediately afterward he returns to his labours. end of book ix. footnotes: [ ] the history of the fusion of ores and of metals is the history of individual processes, and such information as we have been able to discover upon the individual methods previous to agricola we give on the pages where such processes are discussed. in general the records of the beginnings of metallurgy are so nebular that, if one wishes to shirk the task, he can adopt the explanation of william pryce one hundred and fifty years ago: "it is very probable that the nature and use of metals were not revealed to adam in his state of innocence: the toil and labour necessary to procure and use those implements of the iron age could not be known, till they made part of the curse incurred by his fall: 'in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life' (genesis). that they were very early discovered, however, is manifest from the mosaick account of tubal cain, who was the first instructor of every artificer in brass [_sic_] and iron" (_mineralogia cornubiensis_, p. ). it is conceivable that gold could be found in large enough pieces to have had general use in pre-historic times, without fusion; but copper, which was also in use, must have been smelted, and therefore we must assume a considerable development of human knowledge on the subject prior to any human record. such incidental mention as exists after record begins does not, of course, extend to the beginning of any particular branch of the art--in fact, special arts obviously existed long before such mention, and down to the complete survey of the state of the art by agricola our dates are necessarily "prior to" some first mention in literature, or "prior to" the known period of existing remains of metallurgical operations. the scant egyptian records, the scriptures, and the shoo king give a little insight prior to b.c. the more extensive greek literature of about the th to the rd centuries b.c., together with the remains of greek mines, furnish another datum point of view, and the roman and greek writers at the beginning of the christian era give a still larger view. after them our next step is to the monk theophilus and the alchemists, from the th to the th centuries. finally, the awakening of learning at the end of the th and the beginning of the th centuries, enables us for the first time to see practically all that was known. the wealth of literature which exists subsequent to this latter time makes history thereafter a matter of some precision, but it is not included in this undertaking. considering the great part that the metals have played in civilization, it is astonishing what a minute amount of information is available on metallurgy. either the ancient metallurgists were secretive as to their art, or the ancient authors despised such common things, or, as is equally probable, the very partial preservation of ancient literature, by painful transcription over a score of centuries, served only for those works of more general interest. in any event, if all the direct or indirect material on metallurgy prior to the th century were compiled, it would not fill pages such as these. it may be of service to give a tabular summary indicating approximately the time when evidence of particular operations appear on the historical horizon: gold washed from alluvial prior to recorded civilization copper reduced from ores by smelting prior to recorded civilization bitumen mined and used prior to recorded civilization tin reduced from ores by smelting prior to b.c. bronze made prior to b.c. iron reduced from ores by smelting prior to b.c. soda mined and used prior to b.c. gold reduced from ores by concentration prior to b.c. silver reduced from ores by smelting prior to b.c. lead reduced from ores by smelting prior to b.c. (perhaps prior to b.c.) silver parted from lead by cupellation prior to b.c. bellows used in furnaces prior to b.c. steel produced prior to b.c. base metals separated from ores by water prior to b.c. concentration gold refined by cupellation prior to b.c. sulphide ores smelted for lead prior to b.c. mercury reduced from ores by (?) prior to b.c. white-lead made with vinegar prior to b.c. touchstone known for determining gold and silver prior to b.c. fineness quicksilver reduced from ore by distillation prior to christian era silver parted from gold by cementation with salt prior to " " brass made by cementation of copper and calamine prior to " " zinc oxides obtained from furnace fumes by prior to " " construction of dust chambers antimony reduced from ores by smelting (accidental) prior to " " gold recovered by amalgamation prior to " " refining of copper by repeated fusion prior to " " sulphide ores smelted for copper prior to " " vitriol (blue and green) made prior to " " alum made prior to " " copper refined by oxidation and poling prior to a.d. gold parted from copper by cupelling with lead prior to a.d. gold parted from silver by fusion with sulphur prior to a.d. manufacture of nitric acid and _aqua regia_ prior to a.d. gold parted from silver by nitric acid prior to a.d. gold parted from silver with antimony sulphide prior to a.d. gold parted from copper with sulphur prior to a.d. silver parted from iron with antimony sulphide prior to a.d. first text book on assaying prior to a.d. silver recovered from ores by amalgamation prior to a.d. separation of silver from copper by liquation prior to a.d. cobalt and manganese used for pigments prior to a.d. roasting copper ores prior to smelting prior to a.d. stamp-mill used prior to a.d. bismuth reduced from ore prior to a.d. zinc reduced from ore (accidental) prior to a.d. further, we believe it desirable to sketch at the outset the development of metallurgical appliances as a whole, leaving the details to special footnotes; otherwise a comprehensive view of the development of such devices is difficult to grasp. we can outline the character of metallurgical appliances at various periods in a few words. it is possible to set up a description of the imaginary beginning of the "bronze age" prior to recorded civilization, starting with the savage who accidentally built a fire on top of some easily reducible ore, and discovered metal in the ashes, etc.; but as this method has been pursued times out of number to no particular purpose, we will confine ourselves to a summary of such facts as we can assemble. "founders' hoards" of the bronze age are scattered over western europe, and indicate that smelting was done in shallow pits with charcoal. with the egyptians we find occasional inscriptions showing small furnaces with forced draught, in early cases with a blow-pipe, but later--about b.c.--with bellows also. the crucible was apparently used by the egyptians in secondary melting, such remains at mt. sinai probably dating before b.c. with the advent of the prophets, and the first greek literature-- th to th century b.c.--we find frequent references to bellows. the remains of smelting appliances at mt. laurion ( - b.c.) do not indicate much advance over the primitive hearth; however, at this locality we do find evidence of the ability to separate minerals by specific gravity, by washing crushed ore over inclined surfaces with a sort of buddle attachment. stone grinding-mills were used to crush ore from the earliest times of mt. laurion down to the middle ages. about the beginning of the christian era the writings of diodorus, strabo, dioscorides, and pliny indicate considerable advance in appliances. strabo describes high stacks to carry off lead fumes; dioscorides explains a furnace with a dust-chamber to catch _pompholyx_ (zinc oxide); pliny refers to the upper and lower crucibles (a forehearth) and to the pillars and arches of the furnaces. from all of their descriptions we may conclude that the furnaces had then reached some size, and were, of course, equipped with bellows. at this time sulphide copper and lead ores were smelted; but as to fluxes, except lead for silver, and lead and soda for gold, we have practically no mention. charcoal was the universal fuel for smelting down to the th century. both dioscorides and pliny describe a distillation apparatus used to recover quicksilver. a formidable list of mineral products and metal alloys in use, indicate in themselves considerable apparatus, of the details of which we have no indication; in the main these products were lead sulphide, sulphate, and oxide (red-lead and litharge); zinc oxide; iron sulphide, oxide and sulphate; arsenic and antimony sulphides; mercury sulphide, sulphur, bitumen, soda, alum and potash; and of the alloys, bronze, brass, pewter, electrum and steel. from this period to the period of the awakening of learning our only light is an occasional gleam from theophilus and the alchemists. the former gave a more detailed description of metallurgical appliances than had been done before, but there is little vital change apparent from the apparatus of roman times. the alchemists gave a great stimulus to industrial chemistry in the discovery of the mineral acids, and described distillation apparatus of approximately modern form. the next period--the renaissance--is one in which our descriptions are for the first time satisfactory, and a discussion would be but a review of _de re metallica_. [ ] see footnote , p. , on verbs used for roasting. [ ] agricola has here either forgotten to take into account his three-palm-thick furnace walls, which will make the length of this long wall sixty-one feet, or else he has included this foot and a half in each case in the six-foot distance between the furnaces, so that the actual clear space is only four and a half feet between the furnace with four feet on the ends. [ ] the paucity of terms in latin for describing structural members, and the consequent repetition of "beam" (_trabs_), "timber" (_tignum_), "billet" (_tigillum_), "pole" (_asser_), with such modifications as small, large, and transverse, and with long explanatory clauses showing their location, renders the original very difficult to follow. we have, therefore, introduced such terms as "posts," "tie-beams," "sweeps," "levers," "rafters," "sills," "moulding," "braces," "cleats," "supports," etc., as the context demands. [ ] this set of rafters appears to start from the longitudinal beam. [ ] devices for creating an air current must be of very old invention, for it is impossible to conceive of anything but the crudest melting of a few simple ores without some forced draft. wilkinson (the ancient egyptians, ii, p. ) gives a copy of an illustration of a foot-bellows from a tomb of the time of thotmes iii. ( b.c.). the rest of the world therefore, probably obtained them from the egyptians. they are mentioned frequently in the bible, the most pointed reference to metallurgical purposes being jeremiah (vi, ): "the bellows are burned, the lead is consumed in the fire; the founder melteth in vain; for the wicked are not plucked away." strabo (vii, ) states that ephorus ascribed the invention of bellows to anacharsis--a thracian prince of about b.c. [ ] this whole arrangement could be summarized by the word "hinge." [ ] the rim of this wheel is obviously made of segments fixed in two layers; the "disc" meaning the aggregate of segments on either side of the wheel. [ ] it has not been considered necessary to introduce the modern term _twyer_ in these descriptions, as the literal rendering is sufficiently clear. [ ] _ferruminata_. these accretions are practically always near the hearth, and would correspond to english "sows," and therefore that term has been adopted. it will be noted that, like most modern metallurgists, agricola offers no method for treating them. pliny (xxxiv, ) describes a "sow," and uses the verb _ferruminare_ (to weld or solder): "some say that in the furnace there are certain masses of stone which become soldered together, and that the copper fuses around it, the mass not becoming liquid unless it is transferred to another furnace; it thus forms a sort of knot, as it were, of the metal." [ ] what are known in english as "crucible," "furnace well," "forehearth," "dipping-pot," "tapping-pot," "receiving-pot," etc., are in the text all _catinus_, _i.e._, crucible. for easier reading, however, we have assigned the names indicated in the context. [ ] _panes ex pyrite conflati_. while the term _matte_ would cover most cases where this expression appears, and in many cases would be more expressive to the modern reader, yet there are instances where the expression as it stands indicates its particular origin, and it has been, therefore, considered advisable to adhere to the literal rendering. [ ] _molybdaena_. see note , p. . it was the saturated furnace bottoms from cupellation. [ ] the four elements were earth, air, fire, and water. [ ] "stones which easily melt in the fire." nowhere in _de re metallica_ does the author explain these substances. however in the _interpretatio_ (p. ) he gives three genera or orders with their german equivalents, as follows:--"_lapides qui igni liquescunt primi generis,--schöne flüsse; secundi,--flüsse zum schmeltzen flock quertze; tertii,--quertze oder kiselstein."_ we confess our inability to make certain of most of the substances comprised in the first and second orders. we consider they were in part fluor-spar, and in any event the third order embraced varieties of quartz, flint, and silicious material generally. as the matter is of importance from a metallurgical point of view, we reproduce at some length agricola's own statements on the subject from _bermannus_ and _de natura fossilium_. in the latter (p. ) he states: "finally there now remain those stones which i call 'stones which easily melt in the fire,' because when thrown into hot furnaces they flow (_fluunt_). there are three orders (_genera_) of these. the first resembles the transparent gems; the second is not similar, and is generally not translucent; it is translucent in some part, and in rare instances altogether translucent. the first is sparingly found in silver and other mines; the second abounds in veins of its own. the third genus is the material from which glass is made, although it can also be made out of the other two. the stones of the first order are not only transparent, but are also resplendent, and have the colours of gems, for some resemble crystal, others emerald, heliotrope, lapis lazuli, amethyst, sapphire, ruby, _chrysolithus_, _morion_ (cairngorm?), and other gems, but they differ from them in hardness.... to the first genus belongs the _lapis alabandicus_ (modern albandite?), if indeed it was different from the alabandic carbuncle. it can be melted, according to pliny, in the fire, and fused for the preparation of glass. it is black, but verging upon purple. it comes from caria, near alabanda, and from miletus in the same province. the second order of stones does not show a great variety of colours, and seldom beautiful ones, for it is generally white, whitish, greyish, or yellowish. because these (stones) very readily melt in the fire, they are added to the ores from which the metals are smelted. the small stones found in veins, veinlets, and the spaces between the veins, of the highest peaks of the sudetic range (_suditorum montium_), belong partly to this genus and partly to the first. they differ in size, being large and small; and in shape, some being round or angular or pointed; in colour they are black or ash-grey, or yellow, or purple, or violet, or iron colour. all of these are lacking in metals. neither do the little stones contain any metals which are usually found in the streams where gold dust is collected by washing.... in the rivers where are collected the small stones from which tin is smelted, there are three genera of small stones to be found, all somewhat rounded and of very light weight, and devoid of all metals. the largest are black, both on the outside and inside, smooth and brilliant like a mirror; the medium-sized are either bluish black or ash-grey; the smallest are of a yellowish colour, somewhat like a silkworm. but because both the former and the latter stones are devoid of metals, and fly to pieces under the blows of the hammer, we classify them as sand or gravel. glass is made from the stones of the third order, and particularly from sand. for when this is thrown into the heated furnace it is melted by the fire.... this kind of stone is either found in its own veins, which are occasionally very wide, or else scattered through the mines. it is less hard than flint, on account of which no fire can be struck from it. it is not transparent, but it is of many colours--that is to say, white, yellowish, ash-grey, brown, black, green, blue, reddish or red. this genus of stones occurs here and there in mountainous regions, on banks of rivers, and in the fields. those which are black right through to the interior, and not merely on the surface, are more rare; and very frequently one coloured vein is intersected by another of a different colour--for instance, a white one by a red one; the green is often spotted with white, the ash-grey with black, the white with crimson. fragments of these stones are frequently found on the surface of the earth, and in the running water they become polished by rubbing against stones of their own or of another genus. in this way, likewise, fragments of rocks are not infrequently shaped into spherical forms.... this stone is put to many uses; the streets are paved with it, whatever its colour; the blue variety is added to the ash of pines for making those other ashes which are used by wool-dyers. the white variety is burned, ground, and sifted, and from this they make the sand out of which glass is made. the whiter the sand is, the more useful it is." perusal of the following from _bermannus_ (p. ) can leave little doubt as to the first or second order being in part fluor-spar. agricola derived the name _fluores_ from _fluo_ "to flow," and we in turn obtain "fluorite," or "fluorspar," from agricola. "_bermannus_.--these stones are similar to gems, but less hard. allow me to explain word for word. our miners call them _fluores_, not inappropriately to my mind, for by the heat of fire, like ice in the sun, they liquefy and flow away. they are of varied and bright colours. _naevius_.--theophrastus says of them that they are made by a conflux in the earth. these red _fluores_, to employ the words just used by you, are the ruby silver which you showed us before. _bermannus_.--at the first glance it appears so, although it is not infrequently translucent. _naevius_.--then they are rubies? _bermannus_.--not that either. _naevius_.--in what way, then, can they be distinguished from rubies? _bermannus_.--chiefly by this sign, that they glitter more feebly when translucent. those which are not translucent may be distinguished from rubies. moreover, _fluores_ of all kinds melt when they are subject to the first fire; rubies do not melt in fire. _naevius_.--you distinguish well. _bermannus_.--you see the other kind, of a paler purple colour? _naevius_.--they appear to be an inferior kind of amethyst, such as are found in many places in bohemia. _bermannus_.--indeed, they are not very dissimilar, therefore the common people who do not know amethysts well, set them in rings for gems, and they are easily sold. the third kind, as you see here, is white. _naevius_.--i should have thought it a crystal. _bermannus_.--a fourth is a yellow colour, a fifth ash colour, a sixth blackish. some are violet, some green, others gold-coloured. _anton_.--what is the use of _fluores_? _bermannus_.--they are wont to be made use of when metals are smelted, as they cause the material in the fire to be much more fluid, exactly like a kind of stone which we said is made from pyrites (matte); it is, indeed, made not far from here, at breitenbrunn, which is near schwarzenberg. moreover, from _fluores_ they can make colours which artists use." [ ] _stannum_. (_interpretatio_,--_werck_, modern _werk_). this term has been rendered throughout as "silver-lead" or "silver-lead alloy." it was the argentiferous lead suitable for cupellation. agricola, in using it in this sense, was no doubt following his interpretation of its use by pliny. further remarks upon this subject will be found in note , p. . [ ] _expirare_,--to exhale or blow out. [ ] _rhetos_. the ancient rhaetia comprised not only the greater part of tyrol, but also parts of switzerland and lombardy. the mining section was, however, in tyrol. [ ] _noricum_ was a region south of the danube, embracing not only modern styria, but also parts of austria, salzberg, and carinthia. [ ] one _drachma_ of gold to a _centumpondium_ would be (if we assume these were roman weights) ozs. dwt. troy per short ton. one-half _uncia_ of silver would be ozs. dwts. per short ton. [ ] for discussion of these fluxes see note page . [ ] _carni_. probably the people of modern austrian carniola, which lies south of styria and west of croatia. [ ] historical note on smelting lead and silver.--the history of lead and silver smelting is by no means a sequent array of exact facts. with one possible exception, lead does not appear upon the historical horizon until long after silver, and yet their metallurgy is so inextricably mixed that neither can be considered wholly by itself. as silver does not occur native in any such quantities as would have supplied the amounts possessed by the ancients, we must, therefore, assume its reduction by either ( ) intricate chemical processes, ( ) amalgamation, ( ) reduction with copper, ( ) reduction with lead. it is impossible to conceive of the first with the ancient knowledge of chemistry; the second (see note , p. ) does not appear to have been known until after roman times; in any event, quicksilver appears only at about b.c. the third was impossible, as the parting of silver from copper without lead involves metallurgy only possible during the last century. therefore, one is driven to the conclusion that the fourth case obtained, and that the lead must have been known practically contemporaneously with silver. there is a leaden figure exhibited in the british museum among the articles recovered from the temple of osiris at abydos, and considered to be of the archaic period--prior to b.c. the earliest known egyptian silver appears to be a necklace of beads, supposed to be of the xii. dynasty ( b.c.), which is described in the th memoir, egyptian exploration fund (london, , p. ). with this exception of the above-mentioned lead specimen, silver articles antedate positive evidence of lead by nearly a millennium, and if we assume lead as a necessary factor in silver production, we must conclude it was known long prior to any direct (except the above solitary possibility) evidence of lead itself. further, if we are to conclude its necessary association with silver, we must assume a knowledge of cupellation for the parting of the two metals. lead is mentioned in b.c. among the spoil captured by thotmes iii. leaden objects have frequently been found in egyptian tombs as early as rameses iii. ( b.c.). the statement is made by pulsifer (notes for a history of lead, new york , p. ) that egyptian pottery was glazed with lead. we have been unable to find any confirmation of this. it may be noted, incidentally, that lead is not included in the metals of the "tribute of yü" in the shoo king (the chinese classics, b.c.?), although silver is so included. after or b.c. evidences of the use of lead become frequent. moses (numbers xxxi, - ) directs the israelites with regard to their plunder from the midianites ( b.c.): "only the gold and the silver, the brass [_sic_], the iron, the tin, and the lead. everything that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless, it shall be purified with the water of separation, and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water." numerous other references occur in the scriptures (psalms xii, ; proverbs xvii, ; xxv, ; etc.), one of the most pointed from a metallurgical point of view being that of jeremiah ( b.c.), who says (vi, - ): "the bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain; for the wicked are not plucked away. reprobate silver shall men call them because the lord hath rejected them." from the number of his metaphors in metallurgical terms we may well conclude that jeremiah was of considerable metallurgical experience, which may account for his critical tenor of mind. these biblical references all point to a knowledge of separating silver and lead. homer mentions lead (iliad xxiv, ), and it has been found in the remains of ancient troy and mycenae (h. schliemann, "troy and its remains," london, , and "mycenae," new york, ). both herodotus (i, ) and diodorus (ii, ) speak of the lead used to fix iron clamps in the stone bridge of nitocris ( b.c.) at babylon. our best evidence of ancient lead-silver metallurgy is the result of the studies at mt. laurion by edouard ardaillon (_mines du laurion dans l'antiquité_, paris, ). here the very extensive old workings and the slag heaps testify to the greatest activity. the re-opening of the mines in recent years by a french company has well demonstrated their technical character, and the frequent mention in greek history easily determines their date. these deposits of argentiferous galena were extensively worked before b.c. and while the evidence of concentration methods is ample, there is but little remaining of the ancient smelters. enough, however, remains to demonstrate that the galena was smelted in small furnaces at low heat, with forced draught, and that it was subsequently cupelled. in order to reduce the sulphides the ancient smelters apparently depended upon partial roasting in the furnace at a preliminary period in reduction, or else upon the ferruginous character of the ore, or upon both. see notes p. and p. . theognis ( th century b.c.) and hippocrates ( th century b.c.) are frequently referred to as mentioning the refining of gold with lead; an inspection of the passages fails to corroborate the importance which has been laid upon them. among literary evidences upon lead metallurgy of later date, theophrastus ( b.c.) describes the making of white-lead with lead plates and vinegar. diodorus siculus ( st century b.c.), in his well-known quotation from agatharchides ( nd century b.c.) with regard to gold mining and treatment in egypt, describes the refining of gold with lead. (see note , p. .) strabo ( b.c.- a.d.) says (iii, , ): "the furnaces for silver are constructed lofty in order that the vapour, which is dense and pestilent, may be raised and carried off." and again (iii, , ), in quoting from polybius ( - b.c.): "polybius, speaking of the silver mines of new carthage, tells us that they are extremely large, distant from the city about stadia, and occupy a circuit of stadia; that there are , men regularly engaged in them, and that they yield daily to the roman people (a revenue of) , drachmae. the rest of the process i pass over, as it is too long; but as for the silver ore collected, he tells us that it is broken up and sifted through sieves over water; that what remains is to be again broken, and the water having been strained off it is to be sifted and broken a third time. the dregs which remain after the fifth time are to be melted, and the lead being poured off, the silver is obtained pure. these silver mines still exist; however, they are no longer the property of the state, neither these nor those elsewhere, but are possessed by private individuals. the gold mines, on the contrary, nearly all belong to the state. both at castlon and other places there are singular lead mines worked. they contain a small proportion of silver, but not sufficient to pay for the expense of refining" (hamilton's trans.). dioscorides ( st century a.d.), among his medicines, describes several varieties of litharge, their origin, and the manner of making white-lead (see on pp. , ), but he gives no very tangible information on lead smelting. pliny, at the same period in speaking of silver, (xxxiii, ), says: "after this we speak of silver, the next folly. silver is only found in shafts, there being no indications like shining particles as in the case of gold. this earth is sometimes red, sometimes of an ashy colour. it is impossible to melt it except with lead ore (_vena plumbi_), called _galena_, which is generally found next to silver veins. and this the same agency of fire separates part into lead, which floats on the silver like oil on water." (we have transferred lead and silver in this last sentence, otherwise it means nothing.) also (xxxiv, ) he says: "there are two different sources of lead, it being smelted from its own ore, whence it comes without the admixture of any other substance, or else from an ore which contains it in common with silver. the metal, which flows liquid at the first melting in the furnace, is called _stannum_ that at the second melting is silver; that which remains in the furnace is _galena_, which is added to a third part of the ore. this being again melted, produces lead with a deduction of two-ninths." we have, despite some grammatical objections, rendered this passage quite differently from other translators, none of whom have apparently had any knowledge of metallurgy; and we will not, therefore, take the several pages of space necessary to refute their extraordinary and unnecessary hypotheses. from a metallurgical point of view, two facts must be kept in mind,--first, that _galena_ in this instance was the same substance as _molybdaena_, and they were both either a variety of litharge or of lead carbonates; second, that the _stannum_ of the ancients was silver-lead alloy. therefore, the metallurgy of this paragraph becomes a simple melting of an argentiferous lead ore, its subsequent cupellation, with a return of the litharge to the furnace. pliny goes into considerable detail as to varieties of litharge, for further notes upon which see p. . the romans were most active lead-silver miners, not only in spain, but also in britain. there are scores of lead pigs of the roman era in various english museums, many marked "_ex argent_." bruce (the roman wall, london, , p. ) describes some roman lead furnaces in cumberland where the draught was secured by driving a tapering tunnel into the hills. the roman lead slag ran high in metal, and formed a basis for quite an industry in england in the early th century (hunt, british mining, london, , p. , etc.). there is nothing in mediæval literature which carries us further with lead metallurgy than the knowledge displayed by pliny, until we arrive at agricola's period. the history of cupellation is specially dealt with in note on p. . [ ] _cadmia_. in the german translation this is given as _kobelt_. it would be of uncertain character, but no doubt partially furnace calamine. (see note on p. .) [ ] _pompholyx_. (_interpretatio_ gives the german as _weisser hütten rauch als ober dem garherde und ober dem kupfer ofen_). this was the impure protoxide of zinc deposited in the furnace outlets, and is modern "tutty." the ancient products, no doubt, contained arsenical oxides as well. it was well known to the ancients, and used extensively for medicinal purposes, they dividing it into two species--_pompholyx_ and _spodos_. the first adequate description is by dioscorides (v, ): "_pompholyx_ differs from _spodos_ in species, not in genus. for _spodos_ is blacker, and is often heavier, full of straws and hairs, like the refuse that is swept from the floors of copper smelters. but _pompholyx_ is fatty, unctuous, white and light enough to fly in the air. of this there are two kinds--the one inclines to sky blue and is unctuous; the other is exceedingly white, and is extremely light. white _pompholyx_ is made every time that the artificer, in the preparation and perfecting of copper (brass?) sprinkles powdered _cadmia_ upon it to make it more perfect, for the soot which rises being very fine becomes _pompholyx_. other _pompholyx_ is made, not only in working copper (brass?), but is also made from _cadmia_ by continually blowing with bellows. the manner of doing it is as follows:--the furnace is constructed in a two-storied building, and there is a medium-sized aperture opening to the upper chamber; the building wall nearest the furnace is pierced with a small opening to admit the nozzle of the bellows. the building must have a fair-sized door for the artificer to pass in and out. another small building must adjoin this, in which are the bellows and the man who works them. then the charcoal in the furnace is lighted, and the artificer continually throws broken bits of _cadmia_ from the place above the furnace, whilst his assistant, who is below, throws in charcoals, until all of the _cadmia_ inside is consumed. by this means the finest and lightest part of the stuff flies up with the smoke to the upper chamber, and adheres to the walls of the roof. the substance which is thus formed has at first the appearance of bubbles on water, afterward increasing in size, it looks like skeins of wool. the heaviest parts settle in the bottom, while some fall over and around the furnaces, and some lie on the floor of the building. this latter part is considered inferior, as it contains a lot of earth and becomes full of dirt." pliny (xxxiv, ) appears somewhat confused as to the difference between the two species: "that which is called _pompholyx_ and _spodos_ is found in the copper-smelting furnaces, the difference between them being that _pompholyx_ is separated by washing, while _spodos_ is not washed. some have called that which is white and very light _pompholyx_, and it is the soot of copper and _cadmia_; whereas _spodos_ is darker and heavier. it is scraped from the walls of the furnace, and is mixed with particles of metal, and sometimes with charcoal." (xxxiv, .) "the cyprian _spodos_ is the best. it is formed by fusing _cadmia_ with copper ore. this being the lightest part of the metal, it flies up in the fumes from the furnace, and adheres to the roof, being distinguished from the soot by its whiteness. that which is less white is immature from the furnace, and it is this which some call '_pompholyx_.'" agricola (_de natura fossilium_, p. ) traverses much the same ground as the authors previously quoted, and especially recommends the _pompholyx_ produced when making brass by melting alternate layers of copper and calamine (_cadmia fossilis_). [ ] _oleo, ex fece vini sicca confecto_. this oil, made from argol, is probably the same substance mentioned a few lines further on as "wine," distilled by heating argol in a retort. still further on, salt made from argol is mentioned. it must be borne in mind that this argol was crude tartrates from wine vats, and probably contained a good deal of organic matter. heating argol sufficiently would form potash, but that the distillation product could be anything effective it is difficult to see. [ ] _aqua valens_. no doubt mainly nitric acid, the preparation of which is explained at length in book x, p. . [ ] _quod cum ignis consumit non modo una cum eo, quae ipsius stibii vis est, aliqua auri particula, sed etiam argenti, si cum auro fuerit permistum, consumitur._ the meaning is by no means clear. on p. is set out the old method of parting silver from gold with antimony sulphide, of which this may be a variation. the silver combines with sulphur, and the reduced antimony forms an alloy with the gold. the added iron and copper would also combine with the sulphur from the antimony sulphide, and no doubt assist by increasing the amount of free collecting agent and by increasing the volume of the matte. (see note , p. .) [ ] there follow eight different methods of treating crude bullion or rich concentrates. in a general way three methods are involved,-- st, reduction with lead or antimony, and cupellation; nd, reduction with silver, and separation with nitric acid; rd, reduction with lead and silver, followed by cupellation and parting with nitric acid. the use of sulphur or antimony sulphide would tend to part out a certain amount of silver, and thus obtain fairly pure bullion upon cupellation. but the introduction of copper could only result deleteriously, except that it is usually accompanied by sulphur in some form, and would thus probably pass off harmlessly as a matte carrying silver. (see note below.) [ ] it is not very clear where this lead comes from. should it be antimony? the german translation gives this as "silver." [ ] these powders are described in book vii., p. . it is difficult to say which the second really is. there are numbers of such recipes in the _probierbüchlein_ (see appendix b), with which a portion of these are identical. [ ] a variety of methods are involved in this paragraph: st, crude gold ore is smelted direct; nd, gold concentrates are smelted in a lead bath with some addition of iron--which would simply matte off--the lead bullion being cupelled; rd, roasted and unroasted pyrites and _cadmia_ (probably blende, cobalt, arsenic, etc.) are melted into a matte; this matte is repeatedly roasted, and then re-melted in a lead bath; th, if the material "flies out of the furnace" it is briquetted with iron ore and lime, and the briquettes smelted with copper matte. three products result: (_a_) slag; (_b_) matte; (_c_) copper-gold-silver alloy. the matte is roasted, re-smelted with lead, and no doubt a button obtained, and further matte. the process from this point is not clear. it appears that the copper bullion is melted with lead, and normally this product would be taken to the liquation furnace, but from the text it would appear that the lead-copper bullion was melted again with iron ore and pyrites, in which case some of the copper would be turned into the matte, and the lead alloy would be richer in gold and silver. historical note on gold.--there is ample evidence of gold being used for ornamental purposes prior to any human record. the occurrence of large quantities of gold in native form, and the possibility of working it cold, did not necessitate any particular metallurgical ingenuity. the earliest indications of metallurgical work are, of course, among the egyptians, the method of washing being figured as early as the monuments of the iv dynasty (prior to b.c.). there are in the british museum two stelae of the xii dynasty ( b.c.) ( bay and bay ) relating to officers who had to do with gold mining in nubia, and upon one there are references to working what appears to be ore. if this be true, it is the earliest reference to this subject. the papyrus map ( b.c.) of a gold mine, in the turin museum (see note , p. ), probably refers to a quartz mine. of literary evidences there is frequent mention of refining gold and passing it through the fire in the books of moses, arts no doubt learned from the egyptians. as to working gold, ore as distinguished from alluvial, we have nothing very tangible, unless it be the stelae above, until the description of egyptian gold mining by agatharchides (see note , p. ). this geographer, of about the nd century b.c., describes very clearly indeed the mining, crushing, and concentration of ore and the refining of the concentrates in crucibles with lead, salt, and barley bran. we may mention in passing that theognis ( th century b.c.) is often quoted as mentioning the refining of gold with lead, but we do not believe that the passage in question ( ): "but having been put to the test and being rubbed beside (or against) lead as being refined gold, you will be fair," etc.; or much the same statement again ( ) will stand much metallurgical interpretation. in any event, the myriads of metaphorical references to fining and purity of gold in the earliest shreds of literature do not carry us much further than do those of shakespeare or milton. vitruvius and pliny mention the recovery or refining of gold with mercury (see note , p. on amalgamation); and it appears to us that gold was parted from silver by cementation with salt prior to the christian era. we first find mention of parting with sulphur in the th century, with nitric acid prior to the th century, by antimony sulphide prior to the th century, and by cementation with nitre by agricola. (see historical note on parting gold and silver, p. .) the first mention of parting gold from copper occurs in the early th century (see note , p. ). the first comprehensive description of gold metallurgy in all its branches is in _de re metallica_. [ ] _rudis_ silver comprised all fairly pure silver ores, such as silver sulphides, chlorides, arsenides, etc. this is more fully discussed in note , p. . [ ] _evolent_,--volatilize? [ ] _lapidis plumbarii facile liquescentis_. the german translation gives _glantz_, _i.e._, galena, and the _interpretatio_ also gives _glantz_ for _lapis plumbarius_. we are, however, uncertain whether this "easily melting" material is galena or some other lead ore. [ ] _molybdaena_ is usually hearth-lead in _de re metallica_, but the german translation in this instance uses _pleyertz_, lead ore. from the context it would not appear to mean hearth-lead--saturated bottoms of cupellation furnaces--for such material would not contain appreciable silver. agricola does confuse what are obviously lead carbonates with his other _molybdaena_ (see note , p. ). [ ] the term _cadmia_ is used in this paragraph without the usual definition. whether it was _cadmia fornacis_ (furnace accretions) or _cadmia metallica_ (cobalt-arsenic-blende mixture) is uncertain. we believe it to be the former. [ ] _ramentum si lotura ex argento rudi_. this expression is generally used by the author to indicate concentrates, but it is possible that in this sentence it means the tailings after washing rich silver minerals, because the treatment of the _rudis_ silver has been already discussed above. [ ] _ustum_. this might be rendered "burnt." in any event, it seems that the material is sintered. [ ] _aes purum sive proprius ei color insederit, sive chrysocolla vel caeruleo fuerit tinctum, et rude plumbei coloris, aut fusci, aut nigri._ there are six copper minerals mentioned in this sentence, and from our study of agricola's _de natura fossilium_ we hazard the following:--_proprius ei color insederit_,--"its own colour,"--probably cuprite or "ruby copper." _tinctum chrysocolla_--partly the modern mineral of that name and partly malachite. _tinctum caeruleo_, partly azurite and partly other blue copper minerals. _rude plumbei coloris_,--"lead coloured,"--was certainly chalcocite (copper glance). we are uncertain of _fusci aut nigri_, but they were probably alteration products. for further discussion see note on p. . [ ] historical note on copper smelting.--the discoverer of the reduction of copper by fusion, and his method, like the discoverer of tin and iron, will never be known, because he lived long before humanity began to make records of its discoveries and doings. moreover, as different races passed independently and at different times through the so-called "bronze age," there may have been several independent discoverers. upon the metallurgy of pre-historic man we have some evidence in the many "founders' hoards" or "smelters' hoards" of the bronze age which have been found, and they indicate a simple shallow pit in the ground into which the ore was placed, underlaid with charcoal. rude round copper cakes eight to ten inches in diameter resulted from the cooling of the metal in the bottom of the pit. analyses of such bronze age copper by professor gowland and others show a small percentage of sulphur, and this is possible only by smelting oxidized ores. copper objects appear in the pre-historic remains in egypt, are common throughout the first three dynasties, and bronze articles have been found as early as the iv dynasty (from to b.c., according to the authority adopted). the question of the origin of this bronze, whether from ores containing copper and tin or by alloying the two metals, is one of wide difference of opinion, and we further discuss the question in note , p. , under tin. it is also interesting to note that the crucible is the emblem of copper in the hieroglyphics. the earliest source of egyptian copper was probably the sinai peninsula, where there are reliefs as early as seneferu (about b.c.), indicating that he worked the copper mines. various other evidences exist of active copper mining prior to b.c. (petrie, researches in sinai, london, , p. , etc.). the finding of crucibles here would indicate some form of refining. our knowledge of egyptian copper metallurgy is limited to deductions from their products, to a few pictures of crude furnaces and bellows, and to the minor remains on the sinai peninsula; none of the pictures were, so far as we are aware, prior to b.c., but they indicate a considerable advance over the crude hearth, for they depict small furnaces with forced draught--first a blow-pipe, and in the xviii dynasty (about b.c.) the bellows appear. many copper articles have been found scattered over the eastern mediterranean and asia minor of pre-mycenaean age, some probably as early as b.c. this metal is mentioned in the "tribute of yü" in the shoo king ( b.c.?); but even less is known of early chinese metallurgy than of the egyptian. the remains of mycenaean, phoenician, babylonian, and assyrian civilizations, stretching over the period from to b.c., have yielded endless copper and bronze objects, the former of considerable purity, and the latter a fairly constant proportion of from % to % tin. the copper supply of the pre-roman world seems to have come largely, first from sinai, and later from cyprus, and from the latter comes our word copper, by way of the romans shortening _aes cyprium_ (cyprian copper) to _cuprum_. research in this island shows that it produced copper from b.c., and largely because of its copper it passed successively under the domination of the egyptians, assyrians, phoenicians, greeks, persians, and romans. the bronze objects found in cyprus show % to % of tin, although tin does not, so far as modern research goes, occur on that island. there can be no doubt that the greeks obtained their metallurgy from the egyptians, either direct or second-hand--possibly through mycenae or phoenicia. their metallurgical gods and the tradition of cadmus indicate this much. by way of literary evidences, the following lines from homer (iliad, xviii.) have interest as being the first preserved description in any language of a metallurgical work. hephaestus was much interrupted by thetis, who came to secure a shield for achilles, and whose general conversation we therefore largely omit. we adopt pope's translation:-- there the lame architect the goddess found obscure in smoke, his forges flaming round, while bathed in sweat from fire to fire he flew; and puffing loud the roaring bellows blew. * * * in moulds prepared, the glowing ore (metal?) he pours. * * * "vouchsafe, oh thetis! at our board to share the genial rites and hospitable fare; while i the labours of the forge forego, and bid the roaring bellows cease to blow." then from his anvil the lame artist rose; wide with distorted legs oblique he goes, and stills the bellows, and (in order laid) locks in their chests his instruments of trade; then with a sponge, the sooty workman dress'd his brawny arms embrown'd and hairy breast. * * * thus having said, the father of the fires to the black labours of his forge retires. soon as he bade them blow the bellows turn'd their iron mouths; and where the furnace burn'd resounding breathed: at once the blast expires, and twenty forges catch at once the fires; just as the god directs, now loud, now low, they raise a tempest, or they gently blow; in hissing flames huge silver bars are roll'd, and stubborn brass (copper?) and tin, and solid gold; before, deep fixed, the eternal anvils stand. the ponderous hammer loads his better hand; his left with tongs turns the vex'd metal round. and thick, strong strokes, the doubling vaults rebound then first he formed the immense and solid shield; even if we place the siege of troy at any of the various dates from to b.c., it does not follow that the epic received its final form for many centuries later, probably - b.c.; and the experience of the race in metallurgy at a much later period than troy may have been drawn upon to fill in details. it is possible to fill a volume with indirect allusion to metallurgical facts and to the origins of the art, from greek mythology, from greek poetry, from the works of the grammarians, and from the bible. but they are of no more technical value than the metaphors from our own tongue. greek literature in general is singularly lacking in metallurgical description of technical value, and it is not until dioscorides ( st century a.d.) that anything of much importance can be adduced. aristotle, however, does make an interesting reference to what may be brass (see note on p. ), and there can be no doubt that if we had the lost work of aristotle's successor, theophrastus ( - b.c.), on metals we should be in possession of the first adequate work on metallurgy. as it is, we find the green and blue copper minerals from cyprus mentioned in his "stones." and this is the first mention of any particular copper ore. he also mentions (xix.) pyrites "which melt," but whether it was a copper variety cannot be determined. theophrastus further describes the making of verdigris (see note , p. ). from dioscorides we get a good deal of light on copper treatment, but as his objective was to describe medicinal preparations, the information is very indirect. he states (v, ) that "pyrites is a stone from which copper is made." he mentions _chalcitis_ (copper sulphide, see note on, p. ); while his _misy_, _sory_, _melanteria_, _caeruleum_, and _chrysocolla_ were all oxidation copper or iron minerals. (see notes on p. .) in giving a method of securing _pompholyx_ (zinc oxide), "the soot flies up when the copper refiners sprinkle powdered _cadmia_ over the molten metal" (see note , p. ); he indirectly gives us the first definite indication of making brass, and further gives some details as to the furnaces there employed, which embraced bellows and dust chambers. in describing the making of flowers of copper (see note , p. ) he states that in refining copper, when the "molten metal flows through its tube into a receptacle, the workmen pour cold water on it, the copper spits and throws off the flowers." he gives the first description of vitriol (see note , p. ), and describes the pieces as "shaped like dice which stick together in bunches like grapes." altogether, from dioscorides we learn for the first time of copper made from sulphide ores, and of the recovery of zinc oxides from furnace fumes; and he gives us the first certain description of making brass, and finally the first notice of blue vitriol. the next author we have who gives any technical detail of copper work is pliny ( - a.d.), and while his statements carry us a little further than dioscorides, they are not as complete as the same number of words could have afforded had he ever had practical contact with the subject, and one is driven to the conclusion that he was not himself much of a metallurgist. pliny indicates that copper ores were obtained from veins by underground mining. he gives the same minerals as dioscorides, but is a good deal confused over _chrysocolla_ and _chalcitis_. he gives no description of the shapes of furnaces, but frequently mentions the bellows, and speaks of the _cadmia_ and _pompholyx_ which adhered to the walls and arches of the furnaces. he has nothing to say as to whether fluxes are used or not. as to fuel, he says (xxxiii, ) that "for smelting copper and iron pine wood is the best." the following (xxxiv, ) is of the greatest interest on the subject:--"cyprian copper is known as _coronarium_ and _regulare_; both are ductile.... in other mines are made that known as _regulare_ and _caldarium_. these differ, because the _caldarium_ is only melted, and is brittle to the hammer; whereas the _regulare_ is malleable or ductile. all cyprian copper is this latter kind. but in other mines with care the difference can be eliminated from _caldarium_, the impurities being carefully purged away by smelting with fire, it is made into _regulare_. among the remaining kinds of copper the best is that of campania, which is most esteemed for vessels and utensils. this kind is made in several ways. at capua it is melted with wood, not with charcoal, after which it is sprinkled with water and washed through an oak sieve. after it is melted a number of times spanish _plumbum argentum_ (probably pewter) is added to it in proportion of ten pounds of the lead to one hundred pounds of copper, and thereby it is made pliable and assumes that pleasing colour which in other kinds of copper is effected by oil and the sun. in many parts of the italian provinces they make a similar kind of metal; but there they add eight pounds of lead, and it is re-melted over charcoal because of the scarcity of wood. very different is the method carried on in gaul, particularly where the ore is smelted between red hot stones, for this burns the metal and renders it black and brittle. moreover, it is re-melted only a single time, whereas the oftener this operation is repeated the better the quality becomes. it is well to remark that all copper fuses best when the weather is intensely cold." the red hot stones in gaul were probably as much figments of imagination as was the assumption of one commentator that they were a reverberatory furnace. apart from the above, pliny says nothing very direct on refining copper. it is obvious that more than one melting was practised, but that anything was known of the nature of oxidation by a blast and reduction by poling is uncertain. we produce the three following statements in connection with some bye-products used for medicinal purposes, which at least indicate operations subsequent to the original melting. as to whether they represent this species of refining or not, we leave it to the metallurgical profession (xxxiv, ):--"the flowers of copper are used in medicine; they are made by fusing copper and moving it to another furnace, where the rapid blast separates it into a thousand particles, which are called flowers. these scales are also made when the copper cakes are cooled in water (xxxiv, ). _smega_ is prepared in the copper works; when the metal is melted and thoroughly smelted charcoal is added to it and gradually kindled; after this, being blown upon by a powerful bellows, it spits out, as it were, copper chaff (xxxiv, ). there is another product of these works easily distinguished from _smega_, which the greeks call _diphrygum_. this substance has three different origins.... a third way of making it is from the residues which fall to the bottom in copper furnaces. the difference between the different substances (in the furnace) is that the copper itself flows into a receiver; the slag makes its escape from the furnace; the flowers float on the top (of the copper?), and the _diphrygum_ remains behind. some say that in the furnace there are certain masses of stone which, being smelted, become soldered together, and that the copper fuses around it, the mass not becoming liquid unless it is transferred to another furnace. it thus forms a sort of knot, as it were, in the metal." pliny is a good deal confused over the copper alloys, failing to recognise _aurichalcum_ as the same product as that made by mixing _cadmia_ and molten copper. further, there is always the difficulty in translation arising from the fact that the latin _aes_ was indiscriminately copper, brass, and bronze. he does not, except in one instance (xxxiv., ), directly describe the mixture of _cadmia_ and copper. "next to livian (copper) this kind (_corduban_, from spain) most readily absorbs _cadmia_, and becomes almost as excellent as _aurichalcum_ for making _sesterces_." as to bronze, there is no very definite statement; but the _argentatium_ given in the quotation above from xxxiv, , is stated in xxxiv, , to be a mixture of tin and lead. the romans carried on most extensive copper mining in various parts of their empire; these activities extended from egypt through cyprus, central europe, the spanish peninsula, and britain. the activity of such works is abundantly evidenced in the mines, but very little remains upon the surface to indicate the equipment; thus, while mining methods are clear enough, the metallurgy receives little help from these sources. at rio tinto there still remain enormous slag heaps from the romans, and the phoenician miners before them. professor w. a. carlyle informs us that the ore worked must have been almost exclusively sulphides, as only negligible quantities of carbonates exist in the deposits; they probably mixed basic and siliceous ores. there is some evidence of roasting, and the slags run from . to . %. they must have run down mattes, but as to how they ultimately arrived at metallic copper there is no evidence to show. the special processes for separating other metals from copper by liquation and matting, or of refining by poling, etc., are none of them clearly indicated in records or remains until we reach the th century. here we find very adequate descriptions of copper smelting and refining by the monk theophilus (see appendix b). we reproduce two paragraphs of interest from hendrie's excellent translation (p. and ): "copper is engendered in the earth. when a vein of which is found, it is acquired with the greatest labour by digging and breaking. it is a stone of a green colour and most hard, and naturally mixed with lead. this stone, dug up in abundance, is placed upon a pile and burned after the manner of chalk, nor does it change colour, but yet loses its hardness, so that it can be broken up. then, being bruised small, it is placed in the furnace; coals and the bellows being applied, it is incessantly forged by day and night. this should be done carefully and with caution; that is, at first coals are placed in, then small pieces of stone are distributed over them, and again coals, and then stone anew, and it is thus arranged until it is sufficient for the size of the furnace. and when the stone has commenced to liquefy, the lead flows out through some small cavities, and the copper remains within. ( ) of the purification of copper. take an iron dish of the size you wish, and line it inside and out with clay strongly beaten and mixed, and it is carefully dried. then place it before a forge upon the coals, so that when the bellows act upon it the wind may issue partly within and partly above it, and not below it. and very small coals being placed round it, place copper in it equally, and add over it a heap of coals. when, by blowing a long time, this has become melted, uncover it and cast immediately fine ashes of coals over it, and stir it with a thin and dry piece of wood as if mixing it, and you will directly see the burnt lead adhere to these ashes like a glue. which being cast out again superpose coals, and blowing for a long time, as at first, again uncover it, and then do as you did before. you do this until at length, by cooking it, you can withdraw the lead entirely. then pour it over the mould which you have prepared for this, and you will thus prove if it be pure. hold it with pincers, glowing as it is, before it has become cold, and strike it with a large hammer strongly over the anvil, and if it be broken or split you must liquefy it anew as before." the next writer of importance was biringuccio, who was contemporaneous with agricola, but whose book precedes _de re metallica_ by years. that author (iii, ) is the first to describe particularly the furnace used in saxony and the roasting prior to smelting, and the first to mention fluxes in detail. he, however, describes nothing of matte smelting; in copper refining he gives the whole process of poling, but omits the pole. it is not until we reach _de re metallica_ that we find adequate descriptions of the copper minerals, roasting, matte smelting, liquation, and refining, with a wealth of detail which eliminates the necessity for a large amount of conjecture regarding technical methods of the time. [ ] _cadmia metallica fossilis_ (see note on p. ). this was undoubtedly the complex cobalt-arsenic-zinc minerals found in saxony. in the german translation, however, this is given as _kalmey_, calamine, which is unlikely from the association with pyrites. [ ] the roman _modius_ (_modulus_?) held about cubic inches, the english peck holding cubic inches. then, perhaps, his seven _moduli_ would be roughly, bushel pecks, and vessels full would be about bushels--say, roughly, , lbs. of ore. [ ] exhausted liquation cakes (_panes aerei fathiscentes_). this is the copper sponge resulting from the first liquation of lead, and still contains a considerable amount of lead. the liquation process is discussed in great detail in book xi. [ ] the method of this paragraph involves two main objectives--first, the gradual enrichment of matte to blister copper; and, second, the creation of large cakes of copper-lead-silver alloy of suitable size and ratio of metals for liquation. this latter process is described in detail in book xi. the following groupings show the circuit of the various products, the "lbs." being roman _librae_:-- charge. products. { crude ore , lbs. } primary matte ( ) lbs. { lead slags cartloads } st { schist cartload } silver-copper alloy (a) " { flux lbs. } { concentrates from } slags (b) { slags & accretions small quantity } { primary matte ( ) , lbs. } secondary matte ( ) , lbs. { hearth-lead & litharge , " } { lead ore " } silver-copper-lead nd { rich hard cakes (a_{ }) " } alloy (liquation { liquated cakes " } cakes) (a_{ }) , " { slags (b) } { concentrates from } slags (b_{ }) { accretions } { secondary matte ( ) , lbs. } tertiary matte ( ) , lbs. { hearth-lead & litharge , " } silver-copper-lead { lead ore " } alloy (liquation rd { rich hard cakes (a_{ }) " } cakes) (a_{ }) , " { slags (b_{ }) } slags (b_{ }) { concentrates from } { accretions } { tertiary matte ( ) cartloads } quaternary hard cakes { poor hard cakes (a_{ }) " } matte ( ) , lbs. th { slags (b_{ }) } rich hard cakes of { concentrates from } matte (a_{ }) , " { accretions } { roasted quartz } poor hard cakes of th { matte ( ) (three } matte (a_{ }) , lbs. { times roasted) cartloads } final cakes of matte ( ) th final matte three times roasted is smelted to blister copper. the following would be a rough approximation of the value of the various products:-- ( .) primary matte = ounces troy per short ton. ( .) secondary matte = " " " ( .) tertiary matte = " " " ( .) quaternary matte = indeterminate. a. copper-silver alloy = ounces troy per short ton. a_{ } copper-silver-lead alloy = " " " a_{ } " " " = " " " a_{ } rich hard cakes = " " " a_{ } poor hard cakes = indeterminate. final blister copper = ozs. troy per short ton. [ ] this expression is usually used for hearth-lead, but in this case the author is apparently confining himself to lead ore, and apparently refers to lead carbonates. the german translation gives _pleyschweiss_. the pyrites mentioned in this paragraph may mean galena, as pyrites was to agricola a sort of genera. [ ] (_excoquitur_) ... "_si verò pyrites, primò è fornace, ut goselariae videre licet, in catinum defluit liquor quidam candidus, argento inimicus et nocivus; id enim comburit: quo circa recrementis, quae supernatant, detractis effunditur: vel induratus conto uncinato extrahitur: eundem liquorem parietes fornacis exudant._" in the glossary the following statement appears: "_liquor candidus primo è fornace defluens cum goselariae excoquitur pyrites,--kobelt; quem parietes fornacis exudant,--conterfei._" in this latter statement agricola apparently recognised that there were two different substances, _i.e._, that the substance found in the furnace walls--_conterfei_--was not the same substance as that which first flowed from the furnace--_kobelt_. we are at no difficulty in recognizing _conterfei_ as metallic zinc; it was long known by that term, and this accidental occurrence is repeatedly mentioned by other authors after agricola. the substance which first flowed into the forehearth presents greater difficulties; it certainly was not zinc. in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ), agricola says that at goslar the lead has a certain white slag floating upon it, the "colour derived from the pyrites (_pyriten argenteum_) from which it was produced." _pyriten argenteum_ was either marcasite or mispickel, neither of which offers much suggestion; nor are we able to hazard an explanation of value. historical note on zinc. the history of zinc metallurgy falls into two distinct lines--first, that of the metal, and second, that of zinc ore, for the latter was known and used to make brass by cementation with copper and to yield oxides by sublimation for medicinal purposes, nearly , years before the metal became generally known and used in europe. there is some reason to believe that metallic zinc was known to the ancients, for bracelets made of it, found in the ruins of cameros (prior to b.c.), may have been of that age (raoul jagnaux, _traité de chimie générale_, , ii, ); and further, a passage in strabo ( b.c.- a.d.) is of much interest. he states: (xiii, , ) "there is found at andeira a stone which when burnt becomes iron. it is then put into a furnace, together with some kind of earth, when it distils a mock silver (_pseudargyrum_), or with the addition of copper it becomes the compound called _orichalcum_. there is found a mock silver near tismolu also." (hamilton's trans., ii, p. ). about the christian era the terms _orichalcum_ or _aurichalcum_ undoubtedly refer to brass, but whether these terms as used by earlier greek writers do not refer to bronze only, is a matter of considerable doubt. beyond these slight references we are without information until the th century. if the metal was known to the ancients it must have been locally, for by its greater adaptability to brass-making it would probably have supplanted the crude melting of copper with zinc minerals. it appears that the metal may have been known in the far east prior to such knowledge in europe; metallic zinc was imported in considerable quantities from the east as early as the th and th centuries under such terms as _tuteneque_, _tuttanego_, _calaëm_, and _spiauter_--the latter, of course, being the progenitor of our term spelter. the localities of eastern production have never been adequately investigated. w. hommel (engineering and mining journal, june , ) gives a very satisfactory review of the eastern literature upon the subject, and considers that the origin of manufacture was in india, although the most of the th and th century product came from china. the earliest certain description seems to be some recipes for manufacture quoted by praphulla chandra ray (a history of hindu chemistry, london, , p. ) dating from the th to the th centuries. there does not appear to be any satisfactory description of the chinese method until that of sir george staunton (journal asiatique paris, , p. .) we may add that spelter was produced in india by crude distillation of calamine in clay pots in the early part of the th century (brooke, jour. asiatic soc. of bengal, vol. xix, , p. ), and the remains of such smelting in rajputana are supposed to be very ancient. the discovery of zinc in europe seems to have been quite independent of the east, but precisely where and when is clouded with much uncertainty. the _marchasita aurea_ of albertus magnus has been called upon to serve as metallic zinc, but such belief requires a hypothesis based upon a great deal of assumption. further, the statement is frequently made that zinc is mentioned in basil valentine's triumphant chariot of antimony (the only one of the works attributed to this author which may date prior to the th century), but we have been unable to find any such reference. the first certain mention of metallic zinc is generally accredited to paracelsus ( - ), who states (_liber mineralium_ ii.): "moreover there is another metal generally unknown called _zinken_. it is of peculiar nature and origin; many other metals adulterate it. it can be melted, for it is generated from three fluid principles; it is not malleable. its colour is different from other metals and does not resemble others in its growth. its ultimate matter (_ultima materia_) is not to me yet fully known. it admits of no mixture and does not permit of the _fabricationes_ of other metals. it stands alone entirely to itself." we do not believe that this book was published until after agricola's works. agricola introduced the following statements into his revised edition of _bermannus_ (p. ), published in : "it (a variety of pyrites) is almost the colour of galena, but of entirely different components. from it there is made gold and silver, and a great quantity is dug in reichenstein, which is in silesia, as was recently reported to me. much more is found at raurici, which they call _zincum_, which species differs from pyrites, for the latter contains more silver than gold, the former only gold or hardly any silver." in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ): "for this _cadmia_ is put, in the same way as quicksilver, in a suitable vessel so that the heat of the fire will cause it to sublime, and from it is made a black or brown or grey body which the alchemists call _cadmia sublimata_. this possesses corrosive properties to the highest degree. cognate with this _cadmia_ and pyrites is a compound which the noricans and rhetians call _zincum_." we leave it to readers to decide how near this comes to metallic zinc; in any event, he apparently did not recognise his _conterfei_ from the furnaces as the same substance as the _zincum_ from silesia. the first correlation of these substances was apparently by lohneys, in , who says (_vom bergwerk_, p. - ): "when the people in the smelting works are smelting, there is made under the furnace and in the cracks in the walls among the badly plastered stones, a metal which is called _zinc_ or _counterfeht_, and when the wall is scraped it falls into a vessel placed to receive it. this metal greatly resembles tin, but it is harder and less malleable.... the alchemists have a great desire for this _zinc_ or bismuth." that this metal originated from blende or calamine was not recognised until long after, and libavis (_alchymia_, frankfort, ), in describing specimens which came from the east, did not so identify it, this office being performed by glauber, who says (_de prosperitate germanias_, amsterdam, ): "zink is a volatile mineral or half-ripe metal when it is extracted from its ore. it is more brilliant than tin and not so fusible or malleable ... it turns (copper) into brass, as does _lapis calaminaris_, for indeed this stone is nothing but infusible zinc, and this zinc might be called a fusible _lapis calaminaris_, inasmuch as both of them partake of the same nature.... it sublimates itself up into the cracks of the furnace, whereupon the smelters frequently break it out." the systematic distillation of zinc from calamine was not discovered in europe until the th century. henkel is generally accredited with the first statement to that effect. in a contribution published as an appendix to his other works, of which we have had access only to a french translation (_pyritologie_, paris, , p. ), he concludes that zinc is a half-metal of which the best ore is calamine, but believes it is always associated with lead, and mentions that an englishman lately arrived from bristol had seen it being obtained from calamine in his own country. he further mentions that it can be obtained by heating calamine and lead ore mixed with coal in a thick earthen vessel. the bristol works were apparently those of john champion, established about . the art of distillation was probably learned in the east. definite information as to the zinc minerals goes back to but a little before the christian era, unless we accept nebular references to _aurichalcum_ by the poets, or what is possibly zinc ore in the "earth" mentioned by aristotle (_de mirabilibus_, ): "men say that the copper of the mossynoeci is very brilliant and white, no tin being mixed with it; but there is a kind of earth there which is melted with it." this might quite well be an arsenical mineral. but whether we can accept the poets or aristotle or the remark of strabo given above, as sufficient evidence or not, there is no difficulty with the description of _cadmia_ and _pompholyx_ and _spodos_ of dioscorides ( st century), parts of which we reproduce in note , p. . his _cadmia_ is described as rising from the copper furnaces and clinging to the iron bars, but he continues: "_cadmia_ is also prepared by burning the stone called pyrites, which is found near mt. soloi in cyprus.... some say that _cadmia_ may also be found in stone quarries, but they are deceived by stones having a resemblance to _cadmia_." _pompholyx_ and _spodos_ are evidently furnace calamine. from reading the quotation given on p. , there can be no doubt that these materials, natural or artificial, were used to make brass, for he states (v, ): "white _pompholyx_ is made every time that the artificer in the working and perfecting of the copper sprinkles powdered _cadmia_ upon it to make it more perfect, the soot arising from this ... is _pompholyx_." pliny is confused between the mineral _cadmia_ and furnace _calamine_, and none of his statements are very direct on the subject of brass making. his most pointed statement is (xxxiv, ): "... next to livian (copper) this kind best absorbs _cadmia_, and is almost as good as _aurichalcum_ for making sesterces and double asses." as stated above, there can be little doubt that the _aurichalcum_ of the christian era was brass, and further, we do know of brass sesterces of this period. other roman writers of this and later periods refer to earth used with copper for making brass. apart from these evidences, however, there is the evidence of analyses of coins and objects, the earliest of which appears to be a large brass of the cassia family of b.c., analyzed by phillips, who found . % zinc (records of mining and metallurgy, london, , p. ). numerous analyses of coins and other objects dating during the following century corroborate the general use of brass. professor gowland (presidential address, inst. of metals, ) rightly considers the romans were the first to make brass, and at about the above period, for there appears to be no certainty of any earlier production. the first adequate technical description of brass making is in about a.d. being that of theophilus, who describes (hendrie's trans., p. ) calcining _calamina_ and mixing it with finely divided copper in glowing crucibles. the process was repeated by adding more calamine and copper until the pots were full of molten metal. this method is repeatedly described with minor variations by biringuccio, agricola (_de nat. fos._), and others, down to the th century. for discussion of the zinc minerals see note on p. . [ ] "_... non raro, ut nonnulli pyritae sunt, candida...._" this is apparently the unknown substance mentioned above. [ ] one _drachma_ is about ounces troy per short ton. three _unciae_ are about ounces dwts. troy per short ton. [ ] in this section, which treats of the metallurgy of _plumbum candidum_, "tin," the word _candidum_ is very often omitted in the latin, leaving only _plumbum_, which is confusing at times with lead. the black tin-stone, _lapilli nigri_ has been treated in a similar manner, _lapilli_ (small stones) constantly occurring alone in the latin. this has been rendered as "tin-stone" throughout, and the material prior to extraction of the _lapilli nigri_ has been rendered "tin-stuff," after the cornish. [ ] "_... ex saxis vilibus, quae natura de diversa materia composuit._" the glossary gives _grindstein_. granite (?). [ ] historical notes on tin metallurgy. the first appearance of tin lies in the ancient bronzes. and while much is written upon the "bronze age" by archæologists, we seriously doubt whether or not a large part of so-called bronze is not copper. in any event, this period varied with each race, and for instance, in britain may have been much later than egyptian historic times. the bronze articles of the iv dynasty (from to b.c. depending on the authority) place us on certain ground of antiquity. professor gowland (presidential address, inst. of metals, london, ) maintains that the early bronzes were the result of direct smelting of stanniferous copper ores, and while this may be partially true for western europe, the distribution and nature of the copper deposits do not warrant this assumption for the earlier scenes of human activity--asia minor, egypt, and india. further, the lumps of rough tin and also of copper found by borlase (tin mining in spain, past and present, london, , p. ) in cornwall, mixed with bronze celts under conditions certainly indicating the bronze age, is in itself of considerable evidence of independent melting. to our mind the vast majority of ancient bronzes must have been made from copper and tin mined and smelted independently. as to the source of supply of ancient tin, we are on clear ground only with the advent of the phoenicians, - b.c., who, as is well known, distributed to the ancient world a supply from spain and britain. what the source may have been prior to this time has been subject to much discussion, and while some slender threads indicate the east, we believe that a more local supply to egypt, etc., is not impossible. the discovery of large tin fields in central africa and the native-made tin ornaments in circulation among the negroes, made possible the entrance of the metal into egypt along the trade routes. further, we see no reason why alluvial tin may not have existed within easy reach and have become exhausted. how quickly such a source of metal supply can be forgotten and no evidence remain, is indicated by the seldom remembered alluvial gold supply from ireland. however, be these conjectures as they may, the east has long been the scene of tin production and of transportation activity. among the slender evidences that point in this direction is that the sanskrit term for tin is _kastira_, a term also employed by the chaldeans, and represented in arabic by _kasdir_, and it may have been the progenitor of the greek _cassiteros_. there can be no doubt that the phoenicians also traded with malacca, etc., but beyond these threads there is little to prove the pre-western source. the strained argument of beckmann (hist. of inventions, vol. ii., p. ) that the _cassiteros_ of homer and the _bedil_ of the hebrews was possibly not tin, and that tin was unknown at this time, falls to the ground in the face of the vast amount of tin which must have been in circulation to account for the bronze used over a period , years prior to those peoples. tin is early mentioned in the scriptures (numbers xxxi, ), being enumerated among the spoil of the midianites ( b.c.?), also ezekiel ( b.c., xxvii, ) speaks of tin from tarshish (the phoenician settlement on the coast of spain). according to homer tin played considerable part in vulcan's metallurgical stores. even approximately at what period the phoenicians began their distribution from spain and britain cannot be determined. they apparently established their settlements at gades (cadiz) in tarshish, beyond gibraltar, about b.c. the remains of tin mining in the spanish peninsula prior to the christian era indicate most extensive production by the phoenicians, but there is little evidence as to either mining or smelting methods. generally as to the technical methods of mining and smelting tin, we are practically without any satisfactory statement down to agricola. however, such scraps of information as are available are those in homer (see note on p. ), diodorus, and pliny. diodorus says (v, ) regarding tin in spain: "they dig it up, and melt it down in the same way as they do gold and silver;" and again, speaking of the tin in britain, he says: "these people make tin, which they dig up with a great deal of care and labour; being rocky, the metal is mixed with earth, out of which they melt the metal, and then refine it." pliny (xxxiv, ), in the well-known and much-disputed passage: "next to be considered are the characteristics of lead, which is of two kinds, black and white. the most valuable is the white; the greeks called it _cassiteros_, and there is a fabulous story of its being searched for and carried from the islands of atlantis in barks covered with hides. certainly it is obtained in lusitania and gallaecia on the surface of the earth from black-coloured sand. it is discovered by its great weight, and it is mixed with small pebbles in the dried beds of torrents. the miners wash these sands, and that which settles they heat in the furnace. it is also found in gold mines, which are called _alutiae_. a stream of water passing through detaches small black pebbles variegated with white spots, the weight of which is the same as gold. hence it is that they remain in the baskets of the gold collectors with the gold; afterward, they are separated in a _camillum_ and when melted become white lead." there is practically no reference to the methods of cornish tin-working over the whole period of , years that mining operations were carried on there prior to the norman occupation. from then until agricola's time, a period of some four centuries, there are occasional references in stannary court proceedings, charters, and such-like official documents which give little metallurgical insight. from a letter of william de wrotham, lord warden of the stannaries, in , setting out the regulations for the impost on tin, it is evident that the black tin was smelted once at the mines and that a second smelting or refining was carried out in specified towns under the observation of the crown officials. in many other official documents there are repeated references to the right to dig turfs and cut wood for smelting the tin. under note , p. , we give some further information on tin concentration, and the relation of cornish and german tin miners. biringuccio ( ) gives very little information on tin metallurgy, and we are brought to _de re metallica_ for the first clear exposition. as to the description on these pages it must be remembered that the tin-stone has been already roasted, thus removing some volatile impurities and oxidizing others, as described on page . the furnaces and the methods of working the tin, here described, are almost identical with those in use in saxony to-day. in general, since agricola's time tin has not seen the mechanical and metallurgical development of the other metals. the comparatively small quantities to be dealt with; the necessity of maintaining a strong reducing atmosphere, and consequently a mild cold blast; and the comparatively low temperature demanded, gave little impetus to other than crude appliances until very modern times. [ ] _aureo nummo_. german translation gives _reinschen gülden_, which was the equivalent of about $ . , or . shillings. the purchasing power of money was, however, several times as great as at present. [ ] in the following descriptions of iron-smelting, we have three processes described; the first being the direct reduction of malleable iron from ore, the second the transition stage then in progress from the direct to indirect method by way of cast-iron; and the third a method of making steel by cementation. the first method is that of primitive iron-workers of all times and all races, and requires little comment. a pasty mass was produced, which was subsequently hammered to make it exude the slag, the hammered mass being the ancient "bloom." the second process is of considerable interest, for it marks one of the earliest descriptions of working iron in "a furnace similar to a blast furnace, but much wider and higher." this original german _stückofen_ or high bloomery furnace was used for making "masses" of wrought-iron under essentially the same conditions as its progenitor the forge--only upon a larger scale. with high temperatures, however, such a furnace would, if desired, yield molten metal, and thus the step to cast-iron as a preliminary to wrought-iron became very easy and natural, in fact agricola mentions above that if the iron is left to settle in the furnace it becomes hard. the making of malleable iron by subsequent treatment of the cast-iron--the indirect method--originated in about agricola's time, and marks the beginning of one of those subtle economic currents destined to have the widest bearing upon civilization. it is to us uncertain whether he really understood the double treatment or not. in the above paragraph he says from ore "once or twice smelted they make iron," etc., and in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ) some reference is made to pouring melted iron, all of which would appear to be cast-iron. he does not, however, describe the th century method of converting cast into wrought iron by way of in effect roasting the pig iron to eliminate carbon by oxidation, with subsequent melting into a "ball" or "mass." it must be borne in mind that puddling for this purpose did not come into use until the end of the th century. a great deal of discussion has arisen as to where and at what time cast-iron was made systematically, but without satisfactory answer; in any event, it seems to have been in about the end of the th century, as cast cannon began to appear about that time. it is our impression that the whole of this discussion on iron in _de re metallica_ is an abstract from biringuccio, who wrote years earlier, as it is in so nearly identical terms. those interested will find a translation of biringuccio's statement with regard to steel in percy's metallurgy of iron and steel, london, , p. . historical note on iron smelting. the archæologists' division of the history of racial development into the stone, bronze, and iron ages, based upon objects found in tumuli, burial places, etc., would on the face of it indicate the prior discovery of copper metallurgy over iron, and it is generally so maintained by those scientists. the metallurgists have not hesitated to protest that while this distinction of "ages" may serve the archæologists, and no doubt represents the sequence in which the metal objects are found, yet it by no means follows that this was the order of their discovery or use, but that iron by its rapidity of oxidation has simply not been preserved. the arguments which may be advanced from our side are in the main these. iron ore is of more frequent occurrence than copper ores, and the necessary reduction of copper oxides (as most surface ores must have been) to fluid metal requires a temperature very much higher than does the reduction of iron oxides to wrought-iron blooms, which do not necessitate fusion. the comparatively greater simplicity of iron metallurgy under primitive conditions is well exemplified by the hill tribes of northern nigeria, where in village forges the negroes reduce iron sufficient for their needs, from hematite. copper alone would not be a very serviceable metal to primitive man, and he early made the advance to bronze; this latter metal requires three metallurgical operations, and presents immeasurably greater difficulties than iron. it is, as professor gowland has demonstrated (presidential address, inst. of metals, london, ) quite possible to make bronze from melting stanniferous copper ores, yet such combined occurrence at the surface is rare, and, so far as known, the copper sources from which asia minor and egypt obtained their supply do not contain tin. it seems to us, therefore, that in most cases the separate fusions of different ores and their subsequent re-melting were required to make bronze. the arguments advanced by the archæologists bear mostly upon the fact that, had iron been known, its superiority would have caused the primitive races to adopt it, and we should not find such an abundance of bronze tools. as to this, it may be said that bronze weapons and tools are plentiful enough in egyptian, mycenæan, and early greek remains, long after iron was demonstrably well known. there has been a good deal pronounced by etymologists on the history of iron and copper, for instance, by max müller, (lectures on the science of language, vol. ii, p. , london, ), and many others, but the amazing lack of metallurgical knowledge nullifies practically all their conclusions. the oldest egyptian texts extant, dating b.c., refer to iron, and there is in the british museum a piece of iron found in the pyramid of kephron ( b.c.) under conditions indicating its co-incident origin. there is exhibited also a fragment of oxidized iron lately found by professor petrie and placed as of the vi dynasty (b.c. ). despite this evidence of an early knowledge of iron, there is almost a total absence of egyptian iron objects for a long period subsequent to that time, which in a measure confirms the view of its disappearance rather than that of ignorance of it. many writers have assumed that the ancients must have had some superior art of hardening copper or bronze, because the cutting of the gigantic stonework of the time could not have been done with that alloy as we know it; no such hardening appears among the bronze tools found, and it seems to us that the argument is stronger that the oldest egyptian stoneworkers employed mostly iron tools, and that these have oxidized out of existence. the reasons for preferring copper alloys to iron for decorative objects were equally strong in ancient times as in the present day, and accounts sufficiently for these articles, and, therefore, iron would be devoted to more humble objects less likely to be preserved. further, the egyptians at a later date had some prejudices against iron for sacred purposes, and the media of preservation of most metal objects were not open to iron. we know practically nothing of very early egyptian metallurgy, but in the time of thotmes iii. ( b.c.) bellows were used upon the forge. of literary evidences the earliest is in the shoo king among the tribute of yü ( b.c.?). iron is frequently mentioned in the bible, but it is doubtful if any of the early references apply to steel. there is scarcely a greek or latin author who does not mention iron in some connection, and of the earliest, none are so suggestive from a metallurgical point of view as homer, by whom "laboured" mass (wrought-iron?) is often referred to. as, for instance, in the odyssey (i., ) pallas in the guise of mentes, says according to pope: "freighted with iron from my native land i steer my voyage to the brutian strand, to gain by commerce for the laboured mass a just proportion of refulgent brass." (brass is modern poetic licence for copper or bronze). also, in the odyssey (ix, ) when homer describes how ulysses plunged the stake into cyclop's eye, we have the first positive evidence of steel, although hard iron mentioned in the tribute of yü, above referred to, is sometimes given as steel: "and as when armourers temper in the ford the keen-edg'd pole-axe, or the shining sword, the red-hot metal hisses in the lake." no doubt early wrought-iron was made in the same manner as agricola describes. we are, however, not so clear as to the methods of making steel. under primitive methods of making wrought-iron it is quite possible to carburize the iron sufficiently to make steel direct from ore. the primitive method of india and japan was to enclose lumps of wrought-iron in sealed crucibles with charcoal and sawdust, and heat them over a long period. neither pliny nor any of the other authors of the period previous to the christian era give us much help on steel metallurgy, although certain obscure expressions of aristotle have been called upon (for instance, st. john v. day, prehistoric use of iron and steel, london, , p. ) to prove its manufacture by immersing wrought-iron in molten cast-iron. [ ] _quae vel aerosa est, vel cocta_. it is by no means certain that _cocta_, "cooked" is rightly translated, for the author has not hitherto used this expression for heated. this may be residues from roasting and leaching pyrites for vitriol, etc. [ ] agricola draws no sharp line of distinction between antimony the metal, and its sulphide. he uses the roman term _stibi_ or _stibium_ (_interpretatio_,--_spiesglas_) throughout this book, and evidently in most cases means the sulphide, but in others, particularly in parting gold and silver, metallic antimony would be reduced out. we have been in much doubt as to the term to introduce into the text, as the english "stibnite" carries too much precision of meaning. originally the "antimony" of trade was the sulphide. later, with the application of that term to the metal, the sulphide was termed "grey antimony," and we have either used _stibium_ for lack of better alternative, or adopted "grey antimony." the method described by agricola for treating antimony sulphide is still used in the harz, in bohemia, and elsewhere. the stibnite is liquated out at a low heat and drips from the upper to the lower pot. the resulting purified antimony sulphide is the modern commercial "crude antimony" or "grey antimony." historical note on the metallurgy of antimony. the egyptologists have adopted the term "antimony" for certain cosmetics found in egyptian tombs from a very early period. we have, however, failed to find any reliable analyses which warrant this assumption, and we believe that it is based on the knowledge that antimony was used as a base for eye ointments in greek and roman times, and not upon proper chemical investigation. it may be that the ideograph which is interpreted as antimony may really mean that substance, but we only protest that the chemist should have been called in long since. in st. jerome's translation of the bible, the cosmetic used by jezebel (ii. kings ix, ) and by the lady mentioned by ezekiel (xxiii, ), "who didst wash thyself and paintedst thine eyes" is specifically given as _stibio_. our modern translation carries no hint of the composition of the cosmetic, and whether some of the greek or hebrew mss. do furnish a basis for such translation we cannot say. the hebrew term for this mineral was _kohl_, which subsequently passed into "alcool" and "alkohol" in other languages, and appears in the spanish bible in the above passage in ezekiel as _alcoholaste_. the term _antimonium_ seems to have been first used in latin editions of geber published in the latter part of the th century. in any event, the metal is clearly mentioned by dioscorides ( st century), who calls it _stimmi_, and pliny, who termed it _stibium_, and they leave no doubt that it was used as a cosmetic for painting the eyebrows and dilating the eyes. dioscorides (v, ) says: "the best _stimmi_ is very brilliant and radiant. when broken it divides into layers with no part earthy or dirty; it is brittle. some call it _stimmi_, others _platyophthalmon_ (wide eyed); others _larbason_, others _gynaekeion_ (feminine).... it is roasted in a ball of dough with charcoal until it becomes a cinder.... it is also roasted by putting it on live charcoal and blowing it. if it is roasted too much it becomes lead." pliny states (xxxiii, and ): "in the same mines in which silver is found, properly speaking there is a stone froth. it is white and shining, not transparent; is called _stimmi_, or _stibi_, or _alabastrum_, and _larbasis_. there are two kinds of it, the male and the female. the most approved is the female, the male being more uneven, rougher, less heavy, not so radiant, and more gritty. the female kind is bright and friable, laminar and not globular. it is astringent and refrigerative, and its principal use is for the eyes.... it is burned in manure in a furnace, is quenched with milk, ground with rain water in a mortar, and while thus turbid it is poured into a copper vessel and purified with nitrum ... above all in roasting it care should be taken that it does not turn to lead." there can be little doubt from dioscorides' statement of its turning to lead that he had seen the metal antimony, although he thought it a species of lead. of further interest in connection with the ancient knowledge of the metal is the chaldean vase made of antimony described by berthelot (_comptes rendus_, , civ, ). it is possible that agricola knew the metal, although he gives no details as to de-sulphurizing it or for recovering the metal itself. in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ) he makes a statement which would indicate the metal, "_stibium_ when melted in the crucible and refined has as much right to be regarded as a metal as is accorded to lead by most writers. if when smelted a certain portion be added to tin, a printer's alloy is made from which type is cast that is used by those who print books." basil valentine, in his "triumphal chariot of antimony," gives a great deal that is new with regard to this metal, even if we can accredit the work with no earlier origin than its publication--about ; it seems possible however, that it was written late in the th century (see appendix b). he describes the preparation of the metal from the crude ore, both by roasting and reduction from the oxide with argol and saltpetre, and also by fusing with metallic iron. while the first description of these methods is usually attributed to valentine, it may be pointed out that in the _probierbüchlein_ ( ) as well as in agricola the separation of silver from iron by antimony sulphide implies the same reaction, and the separation of silver and gold with antimony sulphide, often attributed to valentine, is repeatedly set out in the _probierbüchlein_ and in _de re metallica_. biringuccio ( ) has nothing of importance to say as to the treatment of antimonial ores, but mentions it as an alloy for bell-metal, which would imply the metal. [ ] historical note on the metallurgy of quicksilver. the earliest mention of quicksilver appears to have been by aristotle (_meteorologica_ iv, , ), who speaks of it as fluid silver (_argyros chytos_). theophrastus ( ) states: "such is the production of quicksilver, which has its uses. this is obtained from cinnabar rubbed with vinegar in a brass mortar with a brass pestle." (hill's trans., p. ). theophrastus also ( ) mentions cinnabar from spain and elsewhere. dioscorides (v, ) appears to be the first to describe the recovery of quicksilver by distillation: "quicksilver (_hydrargyros_, _i.e._, liquid silver) is made from _ammion_, which is called _cinnabari_. an iron bowl containing _cinnabari_ is put into an earthen vessel and covered over with a cup-shaped lid smeared with clay. then it is set on a fire of coals and the soot which sticks to the cover when wiped off and cooled is quicksilver. quicksilver is also found in drops falling from the walls of the silver mines. some say there are quicksilver mines. it can be kept only in vessels of glass, lead, tin (?), or silver, for if put in vessels of any other substances it consumes them and flows through." pliny (xxxiii, ): "there has been discovered a way of extracting _hydrargyros_ from the inferior _minium_ as a substitute for quicksilver, as mentioned. there are two methods: either by pounding _minium_ and vinegar in a brass mortar with a brass pestle, or else by putting _minium_ into a flat earthen dish covered with a lid, well luted with potter's clay. this is set in an iron pan and a fire is then lighted under the pan, and continually blown by a bellows. the perspiration collects on the lid and is wiped off and is like silver in colour and as liquid as water." pliny is somewhat confused over the _minium_--or the text is corrupt, for this should be the genuine _minium_ of roman times. the methods of condensation on the leaves of branches placed in a chamber, of condensing in ashes placed over the mouth of the lower pot, and of distilling in a retort, are referred to by biringuccio (a.d. ), but with no detail. [ ] most of these methods depend upon simple liquation of native bismuth. the sulphides, oxides, etc., could not be obtained without fusing in a furnace with appropriate de-sulphurizing or reducing agents, to which agricola dimly refers. in _bermannus_ (p. ), he says: "_bermannus_.--i will show you another kind of mineral which is numbered amongst metals, but appears to me to have been unknown to the ancients; we call it _bisemutum_. _naevius_.--then in your opinion there are more kinds of metals than the seven commonly believed? _bermannus_.--more, i consider; for this which just now i said we called _bisemutum_, cannot correctly be called _plumbum candidum_ (tin) nor _nigrum_ (lead), but is different from both, and is a third one. _plumbum candidum_ is whiter and _plumbum nigrum_ is darker, as you see. _naevius_.--we see that this is of the colour of _galena_. _ancon_.--how then can _bisemutum_, as you call it, be distinguished from _galena_? _bermannus_.--easily; when you take it in your hands it stains them with black unless it is quite hard. the hard kind is not friable like _galena_, but can be cut. it is blacker than the kind of crude silver which we say is almost the colour of lead, and thus is different from both. indeed, it not rarely contains some silver. it generally shows that there is silver beneath the place where it is found, and because of this our miners are accustomed to call it the 'roof of silver.' they are wont to roast this mineral, and from the better part they make metal; from the poorer part they make a pigment of a kind not to be despised." this pigment was cobalt blue (see note on p. ), indicating a considerable confusion of these minerals. this quotation is the first description of bismuth, and the above text the first description of bismuth treatment. there is, however, bare mention of the mineral earlier, in the following single line from the _probierbüchlein_ (p. ): "jupiter (controls) the ores of tin and _wismundt_." and it is noted in the _nützliche bergbüchlein_ in association with silver (see appendix b). [ ] this _cadmia_ is given in the german translation as _kobelt_. it is probably the cobalt-arsenic-bismuth minerals common in saxony. a large portion of the world's supply of bismuth to-day comes from the cobalt treatment works near schneeberg. for further discussion of _cadmia_ see note on p. . book x. questions as to the methods of smelting ores and of obtaining metals i discussed in book ix. following this, i should explain in what manner the precious metals are parted from the base metals, or on the other hand the base metals from the precious[ ]. frequently two metals, occasionally more than two, are melted out of one ore, because in nature generally there is some amount of gold in silver and in copper, and some silver in gold, copper, lead, and iron; likewise some copper in gold, silver, lead, and iron, and some lead in silver; and lastly, some iron in copper[ ]. but i will begin with gold. gold is parted from silver, or likewise the latter from the former, whether it be mixed by nature or by art, by means of _aqua valens_[ ], and by powders which consist of almost the same things as this _aqua_. in order to preserve the sequence, i will first speak of the ingredients of which this _aqua_ is made, then of the method of making it, then of the manner in which gold is parted from silver or silver from gold. almost all these ingredients contain vitriol or alum, which, by themselves, but much more when joined with saltpetre, are powerful to part silver from gold. as to the other things that are added to them, they cannot individually by their own strength and nature separate those metals, but joined they are very powerful. since there are many combinations, i will set out a few. in the first, the use of which is common and general, there is one _libra_ of vitriol and as much salt, added to a third of a _libra_ of spring water. the second contains two _librae_ of vitriol, one of saltpetre, and as much spring or river water by weight as will pass away whilst the vitriol is being reduced to powder by the fire. the third consists of four _librae_ of vitriol, two and a half _librae_ of saltpetre, half a _libra_ of alum, and one and a half _librae_ of spring water. the fourth consists of two _librae_ of vitriol, as many _librae_ of saltpetre, one quarter of a _libra_ of alum, and three-quarters of a _libra_ of spring water. the fifth is composed of one _libra_ of saltpetre, three _librae_ of alum, half a _libra_ of brick dust, and three-quarters of a _libra_ of spring water. the sixth consists of four _librae_ of vitriol, three _librae_ of saltpetre, one of alum, one _libra_ likewise of stones which when thrown into a fierce furnace are easily liquefied by fire of the third order, and one and a half _librae_ of spring water. the seventh is made of two _librae_ of vitriol, one and a half _librae_ of saltpetre, half a _libra_ of alum, and one _libra_ of stones which when thrown into a glowing furnace are easily liquefied by fire of the third order, and five-sixths of a _libra_ of spring water. the eighth is made of two _librae_ of vitriol, the same number of _librae_ of saltpetre, one and a half _librae_ of alum, one _libra_ of the lees of the _aqua_ which parts gold from silver; and to each separate _libra_ a sixth of urine is poured over it. the ninth contains two _librae_ of powder of baked bricks, one _libra_ of vitriol, likewise one _libra_ of saltpetre, a handful of salt, and three-quarters of a _libra_ of spring water. only the tenth lacks vitriol and alum, but it contains three _librae_ of saltpetre, two _librae_ of stones which when thrown into a hot furnace are easily liquefied by fire of the third order, half a _libra_ each of verdigris[ ], of _stibium_, of iron scales and filings, and of asbestos[ ], and one and one-sixth _librae_ of spring water. all the vitriol from which the _aqua_ is usually made is first reduced to powder in the following way. it is thrown into an earthen crucible lined on the inside with litharge, and heated until it melts; then it is stirred with a copper wire, and after it has cooled it is pounded to powder. in the same manner saltpetre melted by the fire is pounded to powder when it has cooled. some indeed place alum upon an iron plate, roast it, and make it into powder. although all these _aquae_ cleanse gold concentrates or dust from impurities, yet there are certain compositions which possess singular power. the first of these consists of one _libra_ of verdigris and three-quarters of a _libra_ of vitriol. for each _libra_ there is poured over it one-sixth of a _libra_ of spring or river water, as to which, since this pertains to all these compounds, it is sufficient to have mentioned once for all. the second composition is made from one _libra_ of each of the following, artificial orpiment, vitriol, lime, alum, ash which the dyers of wool use, one quarter of a _libra_ of verdigris, and one and a half _unciae_ of _stibium_. the third consists of three _librae_ of vitriol, one of saltpetre, half a _libra_ of asbestos, and half a _libra_ of baked bricks. the fourth consists of one _libra_ of saltpetre, one _libra_ of alum, and half a _libra_ of sal-ammoniac.[ ] [illustration (nitric acid making): a--furnace. b--its round hole. c--air-holes. d--mouth of the furnace. e--draught opening under it. f--earthenware crucible. g--ampulla. h--operculum. i--its spout. k--other ampulla. l--basket in which this is usually placed lest it be broken.] the furnace in which _aqua valens_ is made[ ] is built of bricks, rectangular, two feet long and wide, and as many feet high and a half besides. it is covered with iron plates supported with iron rods; these plates are smeared on the top with lute, and they have in the centre a round hole, large enough to hold the earthen vessel in which the glass ampulla is placed, and on each side of the centre hole are two small round air-holes. the lower part of the furnace, in order to hold the burning charcoal, has iron plates at the height of a palm, likewise supported by iron rods. in the middle of the front there is the mouth, made for the purpose of putting the fire into the furnace; this mouth is half a foot high and wide, and rounded at the top, and under it is the draught opening. into the earthen vessel set over the hole is placed clean sand a digit deep, and in it the glass ampulla is set as deeply as it is smeared with lute. the lower quarter is smeared eight or ten times with nearly liquid lute, each time to the thickness of a blade, and each time it is dried again, until it has become as thick as the thumb; this kind of lute is well beaten with an iron rod, and is thoroughly mixed with hair or cotton thread, or with wool and salt, that it should not crackle. the many things of which the compounds are made must not fill the ampulla completely, lest when boiling they rise into the operculum. the operculum is likewise made of glass, and is closely joined to the ampulla with linen, cemented with wheat flour and white of egg moistened with water, and then lute free from salt is spread over that part of it. in a similar way the spout of the operculum is joined by linen covered with lute to another glass ampulla which receives the distilled _aqua_. a kind of thin iron nail or small wooden peg, a little thicker than a needle, is fixed in this joint, in order that when air seems necessary to the artificer distilling by this process he can pull it out; this is necessary when too much of the vapour has been driven into the upper part. the four air-holes which, as i have said, are on the top of the furnace beside the large hole on which the ampulla is placed, are likewise covered with lute. all this preparation having been accomplished in order, and the ingredients placed in the ampulla, they are gradually heated over burning charcoal until they begin to exhale vapour and the ampulla is seen to trickle with moisture. but when this, on account of the rising of the vapour, turns red, and the _aqua_ distils through the spout of the operculum, then one must work with the utmost care, lest the drops should fall at a quicker rate than one for every five movements of the clock or the striking of its bell, and not slower than one for every ten; for if it falls faster the glasses will be broken, and if it drops more slowly the work begun cannot be completed within the definite time, that is within the space of twenty-four hours. to prevent the first accident, part of the coals are extracted by means of an iron implement similar to pincers; and in order to prevent the second happening, small dry pieces of oak are placed upon the coals, and the substances in the ampulla are heated with a sharper fire, and the air-holes on the furnace are re-opened if need arise. as soon as the drops are being distilled, the glass ampulla which receives them is covered with a piece of linen moistened with water, in order that the powerful vapour which arises may be repelled. when the ingredients have been heated and the ampulla in which they were placed is whitened with moisture, it is heated by a fiercer fire until all the drops have been distilled[ ]. after the furnace has cooled, the _aqua_ is filtered and poured into a small glass ampulla, and into the same is put half a _drachma_ of silver[ ], which when dissolved makes the turbid _aqua_ clear. this is poured into the ampulla containing all the rest of the _aqua_, and as soon as the lees have sunk to the bottom the _aqua_ is poured off, removed, and reserved for use. gold is parted from silver by the following method[ ]. the alloy, with lead added to it, is first heated in a cupel until all the lead is exhaled, and eight ounces of the alloy contain only five _drachmae_ of copper or at most six, for if there is more copper in it, the silver separated from the gold soon unites with it again. such molten silver containing gold is formed into granules, being stirred by means of a rod split at the lower end, or else is poured into an iron mould, and when cooled is made into thin leaves. as the process of making granules from argentiferous gold demands greater care and diligence than making them from any other metals, i will now explain the method briefly. the alloy is first placed in a crucible, which is then covered with a lid and placed in another earthen crucible containing a few ashes. then they are placed in the furnace, and after they are surrounded by charcoal, the fire is blown by the blast of a bellows, and lest the charcoal fall away it is surrounded by stones or bricks. soon afterward charcoal is thrown over the upper crucible and covered with live coals; these again are covered with charcoal, so that the crucible is surrounded and covered on all sides with it. it is necessary to heat the crucibles with charcoal for the space of half an hour or a little longer, and to provide that there is no deficiency of charcoal, lest the alloy become chilled; after this the air is blown in through the nozzle of the bellows, that the gold may begin to melt. soon afterward it is turned round, and a test is quickly taken to see whether it be melted, and if it is melted, fluxes are thrown into it; it is advisable to cover up the crucible again closely that the contents may not be exhaled. the contents are heated together for as long as it would take to walk fifteen paces, and then the crucible is seized with tongs and the gold is emptied into an oblong vessel containing very cold water, by pouring it slowly from a height so that the granules will not be too big; in proportion as they are lighter, more fine and more irregular, the better they are, therefore the water is frequently stirred with a rod split into four parts from the lower end to the middle. the leaves are cut into small pieces, and they or the silver granules are put into a glass ampulla, and the _aqua_ is poured over them to a height of a digit above the silver. the ampulla is covered with a bladder or with waxed linen, lest the contents exhale. then it is heated until the silver is dissolved, the indication of which is the bubbling of the _aqua_. the gold remains in the bottom, of a blackish colour, and the silver mixed with the _aqua_ floats above. some pour the latter into a copper bowl and pour into it cold water, which immediately congeals the silver; this they take out and dry, having poured off the _aqua_[ ]. they heat the dried silver in an earthenware crucible until it melts, and when it is melted they pour it into an iron mould. the gold which remains in the ampulla they wash with warm water, filter, dry, and heat in a crucible with a little _chrysocolla_ which is called borax, and when it is melted they likewise pour it into an iron mould. some workers, into an ampulla which contains gold and silver and the _aqua_ which separates them, pour two or three times as much of this _aqua valens_ warmed, and into the same ampulla or into a dish into which all is poured, throw fine leaves of black lead and copper; by this means the gold adheres to the lead and the silver to the copper, and separately the lead from the gold, and separately the copper from the silver, are parted in a cupel. but no method is approved by us which loses the _aqua_ used to part gold from silver, for it might be used again[ ]. [illustration (parting precious metals with nitric acid): a--ampullae arranged in the vessels. b--an ampulla standing upright between iron rods. c--ampullae placed in the sand which is contained in a box, the spouts of which reach from the opercula into ampullae placed under them. d--ampullae likewise placed in sand which is contained in a box, of which the spouts from the opercula extend crosswise into ampullae placed under them. e--other ampullae receiving the distilled _aqua_ and likewise arranged in sand contained in the lower boxes. f--iron tripod, in which the ampulla is usually placed when there are not many particles of gold to be parted from the silver. g--vessel.] a glass ampulla, which bulges up inside at the bottom like a cone, is covered on the lower part of the outside with lute in the way explained above, and into it is put silver bullion weighing three and a half roman _librae_. the _aqua_ which parts the one from the other is poured into it, and the ampulla is placed in sand contained in an earthen vessel, or in a box, that it may be warmed with a gentle fire. lest the _aqua_ should be exhaled, the top of the ampulla is plastered on all sides with lute, and it is covered with a glass operculum, under whose spout is placed another ampulla which receives the distilled drops; this receiver is likewise arranged in a box containing sand. when the contents are heated it reddens, but when the redness no longer appears to increase, it is taken out of the vessel or box and shaken; by this motion the _aqua_ becomes heated again and grows red; if this is done two or three times before other _aqua_ is added to it, the operation is sooner concluded, and much less _aqua_ is consumed. when the first charge has all been distilled, as much silver as at first is again put into the ampulla, for if too much were put in at once, the gold would be parted from it with difficulty. then the second _aqua_ is poured in, but it is warmed in order that it and the ampulla may be of equal temperature, so that the latter may not be cracked by the cold; also if a cold wind blows on it, it is apt to crack. then the third _aqua_ is poured in, and also if circumstances require it, the fourth, that is to say more _aqua_ and again more is poured in until the gold assumes the colour of burned brick. the artificer keeps in hand two _aquae_, one of which is stronger than the other; the stronger is used at first, then the less strong, then at the last again the stronger. when the gold becomes of a reddish yellow colour, spring water is poured in and heated until it boils. the gold is washed four times and then heated in the crucible until it melts. the water with which it was washed is put back, for there is a little silver in it; for this reason it is poured into an ampulla and heated, and the drops first distilled are received by one ampulla, while those which come later, that is to say when the operculum begins to get red, fall into another. this latter _aqua_ is useful for testing the gold, the former for washing it; the former may also be poured over the ingredients from which the _aqua valens_ is made. the _aqua_ that was first distilled, which contains the silver, is poured into an ampulla wide at the base, the top of which is also smeared with lute and covered by an operculum, and is then boiled as before in order that it may be separated from the silver. if there be so much _aqua_ that (when boiled) it rises into the operculum, there is put into the ampulla one lozenge or two; these are made of soap, cut into small pieces and mixed together with powdered argol, and then heated in a pot over a gentle fire; or else the contents are stirred with a hazel twig split at the bottom, and in both cases the _aqua_ effervesces, and soon after again settles. when the powerful vapour appears, the _aqua_ gives off a kind of oil, and the operculum becomes red. but, lest the vapours should escape from the ampulla and the operculum in that part where their mouths communicate, they are entirely sealed all round. the _aqua_ is boiled continually over a fiercer fire, and enough charcoal must be put into the furnace so that the live coals touch the vessel. the ampulla is taken out as soon as all the _aqua_ has been distilled, and the silver, which is dried by the heat of the fire, alone remains in it; the silver is shaken out and put in an earthenware crucible, and heated until it melts. the molten glass is extracted with an iron rod curved at the lower end, and the silver is made into cakes. the glass extracted from the crucible is ground to powder, and to this are added litharge, argol, glass-galls, and saltpetre, and they are melted in an earthen crucible. the button that settles is transferred to the cupel and re-melted. if the silver was not sufficiently dried by the heat of the fire, that which is contained in the upper part of the ampulla will appear black; this when melted will be consumed. when the lute, which was smeared round the lower part of the ampulla, has been removed, it is placed in the crucible and is re-melted, until at last there is no more appearance of black[ ]. if to the first _aqua_ the other which contains silver is to be added, it must be poured in before the powerful vapours appear, and the _aqua_ gives off the oily substance, and the operculum becomes red; for he who pours in the _aqua_ after the vapour appears causes a loss, because the _aqua_ generally spurts out and the glass breaks. if the ampulla breaks when the gold is being parted from the silver or the silver from the _aqua_, the _aqua_ will be absorbed by the sand or the lute or the bricks, whereupon, without any delay, the red hot coals should be taken out of the furnace and the fire extinguished. the sand and bricks after being crushed should be thrown into a copper vessel, warm water should be poured over them, and they should be put aside for the space of twelve hours; afterward the water should be strained through a canvas, and the canvas, since it contains silver, should be dried by the heat of the sun or the fire, and then placed in an earthen crucible and heated until the silver melts, this being poured out into an iron mould. the strained water should be poured into an ampulla and separated from the silver, of which it contains a minute portion; the sand should be mixed with litharge, glass-galls, argol, saltpetre, and salt, and heated in an earthen crucible. the button which settles at the bottom should be transferred to a cupel, and should be re-melted, in order that the lead may be separated from the silver. the lute, with lead added, should be heated in an earthen crucible, then re-melted in a cupel. we also separate silver from gold by the same method when we assay them. for this purpose the alloy is first rubbed against a touchstone, in order to learn what proportion of silver there is in it; then as much silver as is necessary is added to the argentiferous gold, in a _bes_ of which there must be less than a _semi-uncia_ or a _semi-uncia_ and a _sicilicus_[ ] of copper. after lead has been added, it is melted in a cupel until the lead and the copper have exhaled, then the alloy of gold with silver is flattened out, and little tubes are made of the leaves; these are put into a glass ampulla, and strong _aqua_ is poured over them two or three times. the tubes after this are absolutely pure, with the exception of only a quarter of a _siliqua_, which is silver; for only this much silver remains in eight _unciae_ of gold[ ]. as great expense is incurred in parting the metals by the methods that i have explained, as night vigils are necessary when _aqua valens_ is made, and as generally much labour and great pains have to be expended on this matter, other methods for parting have been invented by clever men, which are less costly, less laborious, and in which there is less loss if through carelessness an error is made. there are three methods, the first performed with sulphur, the second with antimony, the third by means of some compound which consists of these or other ingredients. [illustration (parting precious metals with sulphur): a--pot. b--circular fire. c--crucibles. d--their lids. e--lid of the pot. f--furnace. g--iron rod.] in the first method,[ ] the silver containing some gold is melted in a crucible and made into granules. for every _libra_ of granules, there is taken a sixth of a _libra_ and a _sicilicus_ of sulphur (not exposed to the fire); this, when crushed, is sprinkled over the moistened granules, and then they are put into a new earthen pot of the capacity of four _sextarii_, or into several of them if there is an abundance of granules. the pot, having been filled, is covered with an earthen lid and smeared over, and placed within a circle of fire set one and a half feet distant from the pot on all sides, in order that the sulphur added to the silver should not be distilled when melted. the pot is opened, the black-coloured granules are taken out, and afterward thirty-three _librae_ of these granules are placed in an earthen crucible, if it has such capacity. for every _libra_ of silver granules, weighed before they were sprinkled with sulphur, there is weighed out also a sixth of a _libra_ and a _sicilicus_ of copper, if each _libra_ consists either of three-quarters of a _libra_ of silver and a quarter of a _libra_ of copper, or of three-quarters of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver and a sixth of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of copper. if, however, the silver contains five-sixths of a _libra_ of silver and a sixth of a _libra_ of copper, or five-sixths of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver and an _uncia_ and a half of copper, then there are weighed out a quarter of a _libra_ of copper granules. if a _libra_ contains eleven-twelfths of a _libra_ of silver and one _uncia_ of copper, or eleven-twelfths and a _semi-uncia_ of silver and a _semi-uncia_ of copper, then are weighed out a quarter of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ and a _sicilicus_ of copper granules. lastly, if there is only pure silver, then as much as a third of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of copper granules are added. half of these copper granules are added soon afterward to the black-coloured silver granules. the crucible should be tightly covered and smeared over with lute, and placed in a furnace, into which the air is drawn through the draught-holes. as soon as the silver is melted, the crucible is opened, and there is placed in it a heaped ladleful more of granulated copper, and also a heaped ladleful of a powder which consists of equal parts of litharge, of granulated lead, of salt, and of glass-galls; then the crucible is again covered with the lid. when the copper granules are melted, more are put in, together with the powder, until all have been put in. a little of the regulus is taken from the crucible, but not from the gold lump which has settled at the bottom, and a _drachma_ of it is put into each of the cupels, which contain an _uncia_ of molten lead; there should be many of these cupels. in this way half a _drachma_ of silver is made. as soon as the lead and copper have been separated from the silver, a third of it is thrown into a glass ampulla, and _aqua valens_ is poured over it. by this method is shown whether the sulphur has parted all the gold from the silver, or not. if one wishes to know the size of the gold lump which has settled at the bottom of the crucible, an iron rod moistened with water is covered with chalk, and when the rod is dry it is pushed down straight into the crucible, and the rod remains bright to the height of the gold lump; the remaining part of the rod is coloured black by the regulus, which adheres to the rod if it is not quickly removed. if when the rod has been extracted the gold is observed to be satisfactorily parted from the silver, the regulus is poured out, the gold button is taken out of the crucible, and in some clean place the regulus is chipped off from it, although it usually flies apart. the lump itself is reduced to granules, and for every _libra_ of this gold they weigh out a quarter of a _libra_ each of crushed sulphur and of granular copper, and all are placed together in an earthen crucible, not into a pot. when they are melted, in order that the gold may more quickly settle at the bottom, the powder which i have mentioned is added. although minute particles of gold appear to scintillate in the regulus of copper and silver, yet if all that are in a _libra_ do not weigh as much as a single sesterce, then the sulphur has satisfactorily parted the gold from the silver; but if it should weigh a sesterce or more, then the regulus is thrown back again into the earthen crucible, and it is not advantageous to add sulphur, but only a little copper and powder, by which method a gold lump is again made to settle at the bottom; and this one is added to the other button which is not rich in gold. when gold is parted from sixty-six _librae_ of silver, the silver, copper, and sulphur regulus weighs one hundred and thirty-two _librae_. to separate the copper from the silver we require five hundred _librae_ of lead, more or less, with which the regulus is melted in the second furnace. in this manner litharge and hearth-lead are made, which are re-smelted in the first furnace. the cakes that are made from these are placed in the third furnace, so that the lead may be separated from the copper and used again, for it contains very little silver. the crucibles and their covers are crushed, washed, and the sediment is melted together with litharge and hearth-lead. those who wish to separate all the silver from the gold by this method leave one part of gold to three of silver, and then reduce the alloy to granules. then they place it in an ampulla, and by pouring _aqua valens_ over it, part the gold from the silver, which process i explained in book vii. if sulphur from the lye with which _sal artificiosus_ is made, is strong enough to float an egg thrown into it, and is boiled until it no longer emits fumes, and melts when placed upon glowing coals, then, if such sulphur is thrown into the melted silver, it parts the gold from it. [illustration (parting precious metals with antimony): a--furnace in which the air is drawn in through holes. b--goldsmith's forge. c--earthen crucibles. d--iron pots. e--block.] silver is also parted from gold by means of _stibium_[ ]. if in a _bes of_ gold there are seven, or six, or five double _sextulae_ of silver, then three parts of _stibium_ are added to one part of gold; but in order that the _stibium_ should not consume the gold, it is melted with copper in a red hot earthen crucible. if the gold contains some portion of copper, then to eight _unciae_ of _stibium_ a _sicilicus_ of copper is added; and if it contains no copper, then half an _uncia_, because copper must be added to _stibium_ in order to part gold from silver. the gold is first placed in a red hot earthen crucible, and when melted it swells, and a little _stibium_ is added to it lest it run over; in a short space of time, when this has melted, it likewise again swells, and when this occurs it is advisable to put in all the remainder of the _stibium_, and to cover the crucible with a lid, and then to heat the mixture for the time required to walk thirty-five paces. then it is at once poured out into an iron pot, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, which was first heated and smeared over with tallow or wax, and set on an iron or wooden block. it is shaken violently, and by this agitation the gold lump settles to the bottom, and when the pot has cooled it is tapped loose, and is again melted four times in the same way. but each time a less weight of _stibium_ is added to the gold, until finally only twice as much _stibium_ is added as there is gold, or a little more; then the gold lump is melted in a cupel. the _stibium_ is melted again three or four times in an earthen crucible, and each time a gold lump settles, so that there are three or four gold lumps, and these are all melted together in a cupel. to two _librae_ and a half of such _stibium_ are added two _librae_ of argol and one _libra_ of glass-galls, and they are melted in an earthen crucible, where a lump likewise settles at the bottom; this lump is melted in the cupel. finally, the _stibium_ with a little lead added, is melted in the cupel, in which, after all the rest has been consumed by the fire, the silver alone remains. if the _stibium_ is not first melted in an earthen crucible with argol and glass-galls, before it is melted in the cupel, part of the silver is consumed, and is absorbed by the ash and powder of which the cupel is made. the crucible in which the gold and silver alloy are melted with _stibium_, and also the cupel, are placed in a furnace, which is usually of the kind in which the air is drawn in through holes; or else they are placed in a goldsmith's forge. just as _aqua valens_ poured over silver, from which the sulphur has parted the gold, shows us whether all has been separated or whether particles of gold remain in the silver; so do certain ingredients, if placed in the pot or crucible "alternately" with the gold, from which the silver has been parted by _stibium_, and heated, show us whether all have been separated or not. we use cements[ ] when, without _stibium_, we part silver or copper or both so ingeniously and admirably from gold. there are various cements. some consist of half a _libra_ of brick dust, a quarter of a _libra_ of salt, an _uncia_ of saltpetre, half an _uncia_ of sal-ammoniac, and half an _uncia_ of rock salt. the bricks or tiles from which the dust is made must be composed of fatty clays, free from sand, grit, and small stones, and must be moderately burnt and very old. another cement is made of a _bes_ of brick dust, a third of rock salt, an _uncia_ of saltpetre, and half an _uncia_ of refined salt. another cement is made of a _bes_ of brick dust, a quarter of refined salt, one and a half _unciae_ of saltpetre, an _uncia_ of sal-ammoniac, and half an _uncia_ of rock salt. another has one _libra_ of brick dust, and half a _libra_ of rock salt, to which some add a sixth of a _libra_ and a _sicilicus_ of vitriol. another is made of half a _libra_ of brick dust, a third of a _libra_ of rock salt, an _uncia_ and a half of vitriol, and one _uncia_ of saltpetre. another consists of a _bes_ of brick dust, a third of refined salt, a sixth of white vitriol[ ], half an _uncia_ of verdigris, and likewise half an _uncia_ of saltpetre. another is made of one and a third _librae_ of brick dust, a _bes_ of rock salt, a sixth of a _libra_ and half an _uncia_ of sal-ammoniac, a sixth and half an _uncia_ of vitriol, and a sixth of saltpetre. another contains a _libra_ of brick dust, a third of refined salt, and one and a half _unciae_ of vitriol. those ingredients above are peculiar to each cement, but what follows is common to all. each of the ingredients is first separately crushed to powder; the bricks are placed on a hard rock or marble, and crushed with an iron implement; the other things are crushed in a mortar with a pestle; each is separately passed through a sieve. then they are all mixed together, and are moistened with vinegar in which a little sal-ammoniac has been dissolved, if the cement does not contain any. but some workers, however, prefer to moisten the gold granules or gold-leaf instead. the cement should be placed, alternately with the gold, in new and clean pots in which no water has ever been poured. in the bottom the cement is levelled with an iron implement, and afterward the gold granules or leaves are placed one against the other, so that they may touch it on all sides; then, again, a handful of the cement, or more if the pots are large, is thrown in and levelled with an iron implement; the granules and leaves are laid over this in the same manner, and this is repeated until the pot is filled. then it is covered with a lid, and the place where they join is smeared over with artificial lute, and when this is dry the pots are placed in the furnace. [illustration (parting precious metals by cementation): a--furnace. b--pot. c--lid. d--air-holes.] the furnace has three chambers, the lowest of which is a foot high; into this lowest chamber the air penetrates through an opening, and into it the ashes fall from the burnt wood, which is supported by iron rods, arranged to form a grating. the middle chamber is two feet high, and the wood is pushed in through its mouth. the wood ought to be oak, holmoak, or turkey-oak, for from these the slow and lasting fire is made which is necessary for this operation. the upper chamber is open at the top so that the pots, for which it has the depth, may be put into it; the floor of this chamber consists of iron rods, so strong that they may bear the weight of the pots and the heat of the fire; they are sufficiently far apart that the fire may penetrate well and may heat the pots. the pots are narrow at the bottom, so that the fire entering into the space between them may heat them; at the top the pots are wide, so that they may touch and hold back the heat of the fire. the upper part of the furnace is closed in with bricks not very thick, or with tiles and lute, and two or three air-holes are left, through which the fumes and flames may escape. the gold granules or leaves and the cement, alternately placed in the pots, are heated by a gentle fire, gradually increasing for twenty-four hours, if the furnace was heated for two hours before the full pots were stood in it, and if this was not done, then for twenty-six hours. the fire should be increased in such a manner that the pieces of gold and the cement, in which is the potency to separate the silver and copper from the gold, may not melt, for in this case the labour and cost will be spent in vain; therefore, it is ample to have the fire hot enough that the pots always remain red. after so many hours all the burning wood should be drawn out of the furnace. then the refractory bricks or tiles are removed from the top of the furnace, and the glowing pots are taken out with the tongs. the lids are removed, and if there is time it is well to allow the gold to cool by itself, for then there is less loss; but if time cannot be spared for that operation, the pieces of gold are immediately placed separately into a wooden or bronze vessel of water and gradually quenched, lest the cement which absorbs the silver should exhale it. the pieces of gold, and the cement adhering to them, when cooled or quenched, are rolled with a little mallet so as to crush the lumps and free the gold from the cement. then they are sifted by a fine sieve, which is placed over a bronze vessel; in this manner the cement containing the silver or the copper or both, falls from the sieve into the bronze vessel, and the gold granules or leaves remain on it. the gold is placed in a vessel and again rolled with the little mallet, so that it may be cleansed from the cement which absorbs silver and copper. the particles of cement, which have dropped through the holes of the sieve into the bronze vessel, are washed in a bowl, over a wooden tub, being shaken about with the hands, so that the minute particles of gold which have fallen through the sieve may be separated. these are again washed in a little vessel, with warm water, and scrubbed with a piece of wood or a twig broom, that the moistened cement may be detached. afterward all the gold is again washed with warm water, and collected with a bristle brush, and should be washed in a copper full of holes, under which is placed a little vessel. then it is necessary to put the gold on an iron plate, under which is a vessel, and to wash it with warm water. finally, it is placed in a bowl, and, when dry, the granules or leaves are rubbed against a touchstone at the same time as a touch-needle, and considered carefully as to whether they be pure or alloyed. if they are not pure enough, the granules or the leaves, together with the cement which attracts silver and copper, are arranged alternately in layers in the same manner, and again heated; this is done as often as is necessary, but the last time it is heated as many hours as are required to cleanse the gold. some people add another cement to the granules or leaves. this cement lacks the ingredients of metalliferous origin, such as verdigris and vitriol, for if these are in the cement, the gold usually takes up a little of the base metal; or if it does not do this, it is stained by them. for this reason some very rightly never make use of cements containing these things, because brick dust and salt alone, especially rock salt, are able to extract all the silver and copper from the gold and to attract it to themselves. it is not necessary for coiners to make absolutely pure gold, but to heat it only until such a fineness is obtained as is needed for the gold money which they are coining. the gold is heated, and when it shows the necessary golden yellow colour and is wholly pure, it is melted and made into bars, in which case they are either prepared by the coiners with _chrysocolla_, which is called by the moors borax, or are prepared with salt of lye made from the ashes of ivy or of other salty herbs. the cement which has absorbed silver or copper, after water has been poured over it, is dried and crushed, and when mixed with hearth-lead and de-silverized lead, is smelted in the blast furnace. the alloy of silver and lead, or of silver and copper and lead, which flows out, is again melted in the cupellation furnace, in order that the lead and copper may be separated from the silver. the silver is finally thoroughly purified in the refining furnace, and in this practical manner there is no silver lost, or only a minute quantity. there are besides this, certain other cements[ ] which part gold from silver, composed of sulphur, _stibium_ and other ingredients. one of these compounds consists of half an _uncia_ of vitriol dried by the heat of the fire and reduced to powder, a sixth of refined salt, a third of _stibium_, half a _libra_ of prepared sulphur (not exposed to the fire), one _sicilicus_ of glass, likewise one _sicilicus_ of saltpetre, and a _drachma_ of sal-ammoniac.[ ] the sulphur is prepared as follows: it is first crushed to powder, then it is heated for six hours in sharp vinegar, and finally poured into a vessel and washed with warm water; then that which settles at the bottom of the vessel is dried. to refine the salt it is placed in river water and boiled, and again evaporated. the second compound contains one _libra_ of sulphur (not exposed to fire) and two _librae_ of refined salt. the third compound is made from one _libra_ of sulphur (not exposed to the fire), half a _libra_ of refined salt, a quarter of a _libra_ of sal-ammoniac, and one _uncia_ of red-lead. the fourth compound consists of one _libra_ each of refined salt, sulphur (not exposed to the fire) and argol, and half a _libra_ of _chrysocolla_ which the moors call borax. the fifth compound has equal proportions of sulphur (not exposed to the fire), sal-ammoniac, saltpetre, and verdigris. the silver which contains some portion of gold is first melted with lead in an earthen crucible, and they are heated together until the silver exhales the lead. if there was a _libra_ of silver, there must be six _drachmae_ of lead. then the silver is sprinkled with two _unciae_ of that powdered compound and is stirred; afterward it is poured into another crucible, first warmed and lined with tallow, and then violently shaken. the rest is performed according to the process i have already explained. gold may be parted without injury from silver goblets and from other gilt vessels and articles[ ], by means of a powder, which consists of one part of sal-ammoniac and half a part of sulphur. the gilt goblet or other article is smeared with oil, and the powder is dusted on; the article is seized in the hand, or with tongs, and is carried to the fire and sharply tapped, and by this means the gold falls into water in vessels placed underneath, while the goblet remains uninjured. gold is also parted from silver on gilt articles by means of quicksilver. this is poured into an earthen crucible, and so warmed by the fire that the finger can bear the heat when dipped into it; the silver-gilt objects are placed in it, and when the quicksilver adheres to them they are taken out and placed on a dish, into which, when cooled, the gold falls, together with the quicksilver. again and frequently the same silver-gilt object is placed in heated quicksilver, and the same process is continued until at last no more gold is visible on the object; then the object is placed in the fire, and the quicksilver which adheres to it is exhaled. then the artificer takes a hare's foot, and brushes up into a dish the quicksilver and the gold which have fallen together from the silver article, and puts them into a cloth made of woven cotton or into a soft leather; the quicksilver is squeezed through one or the other into another dish.[ ] the gold remains in the cloth or the leather, and when collected is placed in a piece of charcoal hollowed out, and is heated until it melts, and a little button is made from it. this button is heated with a little _stibium_ in an earthen crucible and poured out into another little vessel, by which method the gold settles at the bottom, and the _stibium_ is seen to be on the top; then the work is completed. finally, the gold button is put in a hollowed-out brick and placed in the fire, and by this method the gold is made pure. by means of the above methods gold is parted from silver and also silver from gold. now i will explain the methods used to separate copper from gold[ ]. the salt which we call _sal-artificiosus_,[ ] is made from a _libra_ each of vitriol, alum, saltpetre, and sulphur not exposed to the fire, and half a _libra_ of sal-ammoniac; these ingredients when crushed are heated with one part of lye made from the ashes used by wool dyers, one part of unslaked lime, and four parts of beech ashes. the ingredients are boiled in the lye until the whole has been dissolved. then it is immediately dried and kept in a hot place, lest it turn into oil; and afterward when crushed, a _libra_ of lead-ash is mixed with it. with each _libra_ of this powdered compound one and a half _unciae_ of the copper is gradually sprinkled into a hot crucible, and it is stirred rapidly and frequently with an iron rod. when the crucible has cooled and been broken up, the button of gold is found. the second method for parting is the following. two _librae_ of sulphur not exposed to the fire, and four _librae_ of refined salt are crushed and mixed; a sixth of a _libra_ and half an _uncia_ of this powder is added to a _bes_ of granules made of lead, and twice as much copper containing gold; they are heated together in an earthen crucible until they melt. when cooled, the button is taken out and purged of slag. from this button they again make granules, to a third of a _libra_ of which is added half a _libra_ of that powder of which i have spoken, and they are placed in alternate layers in the crucible; it is well to cover the crucible and to seal it up, and afterward it is heated over a gentle fire until the granules melt. soon afterward, the crucible is taken off the fire, and when it is cool the button is extracted. from this, when purified and again melted down, the third granules are made, to which, if they weigh a sixth of a _libra_, is added one half an _uncia_ and a _sicilicus_ of the powder, and they are heated in the same manner, and the button of gold settles at the bottom of the crucible. the third method is as follows. from time to time small pieces of sulphur, enveloped in or mixed with wax, are dropped into six _librae_ of the molten copper, and consumed; the sulphur weighs half an _uncia_ and a _sicilicus_. then one and a half _sicilici_ of powdered saltpetre are dropped into the same copper and likewise consumed; then again half an _uncia_ and a _sicilicus_ of sulphur enveloped in wax; afterward one and a half _sicilici_ of lead-ash enveloped in wax, or of minium made from red-lead. then immediately the copper is taken out, and to the gold button, which is now mixed with only a little copper, they add _stibium_ to double the amount of the button; these are heated together until the _stibium_ is driven off; then the button, together with lead of half the weight of the button, are heated in a cupel. finally, the gold is taken out of this and quenched, and if there is a blackish colour settled in it, it is melted with a little of the _chrysocolla_ which the moors call borax; if too pale, it is melted with _stibium_, and acquires its own golden-yellow colour. there are some who take out the molten copper with an iron ladle and pour it into another crucible, whose aperture is sealed up with lute, and they place it over glowing charcoal, and when they have thrown in the powders of which i have spoken, they stir the whole mass rapidly with an iron rod, and thus separate the gold from the copper; the former settles at the bottom of the crucible, the latter floats on the top. then the aperture of the crucible is opened with the red-hot tongs, and the copper runs out. the gold which remains is re-heated with _stibium_, and when this is exhaled the gold is heated for the third time in a cupel with a fourth part of lead, and then quenched. the fourth method is to melt one and a third _librae_ of the copper with a sixth of a _libra_ of lead, and to pour it into another crucible smeared on the inside with tallow or gypsum; and to this is added a powder consisting of half an _uncia_ each of prepared sulphur, verdigris, and saltpetre, and an _uncia_ and a half of _sal coctus_. the fifth method consists of placing in a crucible one _libra_ of the copper and two _librae_ of granulated lead, with one and a half _unciae_ of _sal-artificiosus_; they are at first heated over a gentle fire and then over a fiercer one. the sixth method consists in heating together a _bes_ of the copper and one-sixth of a _libra_ each of sulphur, salt, and _stibium_. the seventh method consists of heating together a _bes_ of the copper and one-sixth each of iron scales and filings, salt, _stibium_, and glass-galls. the eighth method consists of heating together one _libra_ of the copper, one and a half _librae_ of sulphur, half a _libra_ of verdigris, and a _libra_ of refined salt. the ninth method consists of placing in one _libra_ of the molten copper as much pounded sulphur, not exposed to the fire, and of stirring it rapidly with an iron rod; the lump is ground to powder, into which quicksilver is poured, and this attracts to itself the gold. gilded copper articles are moistened with water and placed on the fire, and when they are glowing they are quenched with cold water, and the gold is scraped off with a brass rod. by these practical methods gold is separated from copper. either copper or lead is separated from silver by the methods which i will now explain.[ ] this is carried on in a building near by the works, or in the works in which the gold or silver ores or alloys are smelted. the middle wall of such a building is twenty-one feet long and fifteen feet high, and from this a front wall is distant fifteen feet toward the river; the rear wall is nineteen feet distant, and both these walls are thirty-six feet long and fourteen feet high; a transverse wall extends from the end of the front wall to the end of the rear wall; then fifteen feet back a second transverse wall is built out from the front wall to the end of the middle wall. in that space which is between those two transverse walls are set up the stamps, by means of which the ores and the necessary ingredients for smelting are broken up. from the further end of the front wall, a third transverse wall leads to the other end of the middle wall, and from the same to the end of the rear wall. the space between the second and third transverse walls, and between the rear and middle long walls, contains the cupellation furnace, in which lead is separated from gold or silver. the vertical wall of its chimney is erected upon the middle wall, and the sloping chimney-wall rests on the beams which extend from the second transverse wall to the third; these are so located that they are at a distance of thirteen feet from the middle long wall and four from the rear wall, and they are two feet wide and thick. from the ground up to the roof-beams is twelve feet, and lest the sloping chimney-wall should fall down, it is partly supported by means of many iron rods, and partly by means of a few tie-beams covered with lute, which extend from the small beams of the sloping chimney-wall to the beams of the vertical chimney-wall. the rear roof is arranged in the same way as the roof of the works in which ore is smelted. in the space between the middle and the front long walls and between the second[ ] and the third transverse walls are the bellows, the machinery for depressing and the instrument for raising them. a drum on the axle of a water-wheel has rundles which turn the toothed drum of an axle, whose long cams depress the levers of the bellows, and also another toothed drum on an axle, whose cams raise the tappets of the stamps, but in the opposite direction. so that if the cams which depress the levers of the bellows turn from north to south, the cams of the stamps turn from south to north. [illustration (cupellation furnace): a--rectangular stones. b--sole-stone. c--air-holes. d--internal walls. e--dome. f--crucible. g--bands. h--bars. i--apertures in the dome. k--lid of the dome. l--rings. m--pipes. n--valves. o--chains.] lead is separated from gold or silver in a cupellation furnace, of which the structure consists of rectangular stones, of two interior walls of which the one intersects the other transversely, of a round sole, and of a dome. its crucible is made from powder of earth and ash; but i will first speak of the structure and also of the rectangular stones. a circular wall is built four feet and three palms high, and one foot thick; from the height of two feet and three palms from the bottom, the upper part of the interior is cut away to the width of one palm, so that the stone sole may rest upon it. there are usually as many as fourteen stones; on the outside they are a foot and a palm wide, and on the inside narrower, because the inner circle is much smaller than the outer; if the stones are wider, fewer are required, if narrower more; they are sunk into the earth to a depth of a foot and a palm. at the top each one is joined to the next by an iron staple, the points of which are embedded in holes, and into each hole is poured molten lead. this stone structure has six air-holes near the ground, at a height of a foot above the ground; they are two feet and a palm from the bottom of the stones; each of these air-holes is in two stones, and is two palms high, and a palm and three digits wide. one of them is on the right side, between the wall which protects the main wall from the fire, and the channel through which the litharge flows out of the furnace crucible; the other five air-holes are distributed all round at equal distances apart; through these escapes the moisture which the earth exhales when heated, and if it were not for these openings the crucible would absorb the moisture and be damaged. in such a case a lump would be raised, like that which a mole throws up from the earth, and the ash would float on the top, and the crucible would absorb the silver-lead alloy; there are some who, because of this, make the rear part of the structure entirely open. the two inner walls, of which one intersects the other, are built of bricks, and are a brick in thickness. there are four air-holes in these, one in each part, which are about one digit's breadth higher and wider than the others. into the four compartments is thrown a wheelbarrowful of slag, and over this is placed a large wicker basket full of charcoal dust. these walls extend a cubit above the ground, and on these, and on the ledge cut in the rectangular stones, is placed the stone sole; this sole is a palm and three digits thick, and on all sides touches the rectangular stones; if there are any cracks in it they are filled up with fragments of stone or brick. the front part of the sole is sloped so that a channel can be made, through which the litharge flows out. copper plates are placed on this part of the sole-stone so that the silver-lead or other alloy may be more rapidly heated. a dome which has the shape of half a sphere covers the crucible. it consists of iron bands and of bars and of a lid. there are three bands, each about a palm wide and a digit thick; the lowest is at a distance of one foot from the middle one, and the middle one a distance of two feet from the upper one. under them are eighteen iron bars fixed by iron rivets; these bars are of the same width and thickness as the bands, and they are of such a length, that curving, they reach from the lower band to the upper, that is two feet and three palms long, while the dome is only one foot and three palms high. all the bars and bands of the dome have iron plates fastened on the underside with iron wire. in addition, the dome has four apertures; the rear one, which is situated opposite the channel through which the litharge flows out, is two feet wide at the bottom; toward the top, since it slopes gently, it is narrower, being a foot, three palms, and a digit wide; there is no bar at this place, for the aperture extends from the upper band to the middle one, but not to the lower one. the second aperture is situated above the channel, is two and a half feet wide at the bottom, and two feet and a palm at the top; and there is likewise no bar at this point; indeed, not only does the bar not extend to the lower band, but the lower band itself does not extend over this part, in order that the master can draw the litharge out of the crucible. there are besides, in the wall which protects the principal wall against the heat, near where the nozzles of the bellows are situated, two apertures, three palms wide and about a foot high, in the middle of which two rods descend, fastened on the inside with plates. near these apertures are placed the nozzles of the bellows, and through the apertures extend the pipes in which the nozzles of the bellows are set. these pipes are made of iron plates rolled up; they are two palms three digits long, and their inside diameter is three and a half digits; into these two pipes the nozzles of the bellows penetrate a distance of three digits from their valves. the lid of the dome consists of an iron band at the bottom, two digits wide, and of three curved iron bars, which extend from one point on the band to the point opposite; they cross each other at the top, where they are fixed by means of iron rivets. on the under side of the bars there are likewise plates fastened by rivets; each of the plates has small holes the size of a finger, so that the lute will adhere when the interior is lined. the dome has three iron rings engaged in wide holes in the heads of iron claves, which fasten the bars to the middle band at these points. into these rings are fastened the hooks of the chains with which the dome is raised, when the master is preparing the crucible. on the sole and the copper plates and the rock of the furnace, lute mixed with straw is placed to a depth of three digits, and it is pounded with a wooden rammer until it is compressed to a depth of one digit only. the rammer-head is round and three palms high, two palms wide at the bottom, and tapering upward; its handle is three feet long, and where it is set into the rammer-head it is bound around with an iron band. the top of the stonework in which the dome rests is also covered with lute, likewise mixed with straw, to the thickness of a palm. all this, as soon as it becomes loosened, must be repaired. [illustration (cupellation furnace): a--an artificer tamping the crucible with a rammer. b--large rammer. c--broom. d--two smaller rammers. e--curved iron plates. f--part of a wooden strip. g--sieve. h--ashes. i--iron shovel. k--iron plate. l--block of wood. m--rock. n--basket made of woven twigs. o--hooked bar. p--second hooked bar. q--old linen rag. r--bucket. s--doeskin. t--bundles of straw. v--wood. x--cakes of lead alloy. y--fork. z--another workman covers the outside of the furnace with lute where the dome fits on it. aa--basket full of ashes. bb--lid of the dome. cc--the assistant standing on the steps pours charcoal into the crucible through the hole at the top of the dome. dd--iron implement with which the lute is beaten. ee--lute. ff--ladle with which the workman or master takes a sample. gg--rabble with which the scum of impure lead is drawn off. hh--iron wedge with which the silver mass is raised.] the artificer who undertakes the work of parting the metals, distributes the operation into two shifts of two days. on the one morning he sprinkles a little ash into the lute, and when he has poured some water over it he brushes it over with a broom. then he throws in sifted ashes and dampens them with water, so that they could be moulded into balls like snow. the ashes are those from which lye has been made by letting water percolate through them, for other ashes which are fatty would have to be burnt again in order to make them less fat. when he has made the ashes smooth by pressing them with his hands, he makes the crucible slope down toward the middle; then he tamps it, as i have described, with a rammer. he afterward, with two small wooden rammers, one held in each hand, forms the channel through which the litharge flows out. the heads of these small rammers are each a palm wide, two digits thick, and one foot high; the handle of each is somewhat rounded, is a digit and a half less in diameter than the rammer-head, and is three feet in length; the rammer-head as well as the handle is made of one piece of wood. then with shoes on, he descends into the crucible and stamps it in every direction with his feet, in which manner it is packed and made sloping. then he again tamps it with a large rammer, and removing his shoe from his right foot he draws a circle around the crucible with it, and cuts out the circle thus drawn with an iron plate. this plate is curved at both ends, is three palms long, as many digits wide, and has wooden handles a palm and two digits long, and two digits thick; the iron plate is curved back at the top and ends, which penetrate into handles. there are some who use in the place of the plate a strip of wood, like the rim of a sieve; this is three digits wide, and is cut out at both ends that it may be held in the hands. afterward he tamps the channel through which the litharge discharges. lest the ashes should fall out, he blocks up the aperture with a stone shaped to fit it, against which he places a board, and lest this fall, he props it with a stick. then he pours in a basketful of ashes and tamps them with the large rammer; then again and again he pours in ashes and tamps them with the rammer. when the channel has been made, he throws dry ashes all over the crucible with a sieve, and smooths and rubs it with his hands. then he throws three basketsful of damp ashes on the margin all round the edge of the crucible, and lets down the dome. soon after, climbing upon the crucible, he builds up ashes all around it, lest the molten alloy should flow out. then, having raised the lid of the dome, he throws a basketful of charcoal into the crucible, together with an iron shovelful of glowing coals, and he also throws some of the latter through the apertures in the sides of the dome, and he spreads them with the same shovel. this work and labour is finished in the space of two hours. an iron plate is set in the ground under the channel, and upon this is placed a wooden block, three feet and a palm long, a foot and two palms and as many digits wide at the back, and two palms and as many digits wide in front; on the block of wood is placed a stone, and over it an iron plate similar to the bottom one, and upon this he puts a basketful of charcoal, and also an iron shovelful of burning charcoals. the crucible is heated in an hour, and then, with the hooked bar with which the litharge is drawn off, he stirs the remainder of the charcoal about. this hook is a palm long and three digits wide, has the form of a double triangle, and has an iron handle four feet long, into which is set a wooden one six feet long. there are some who use instead a simple hooked bar. after about an hour's time, he stirs the charcoal again with the bar, and with the shovel throws into the crucible the burning charcoals lying in the channel; then again, after the space of an hour, he stirs the burning charcoals with the same bar. if he did not thus stir them about, some blackness would remain in the crucible and that part would be damaged, because it would not be sufficiently dried. therefore the assistant stirs and turns the burning charcoal that it may be entirely burnt up, and so that the crucible may be well heated, which takes three hours; then the crucible is left quiet for the remaining two hours. when the hour of eleven has struck, he sweeps up the charcoal ashes with a broom and throws them out of the crucible. then he climbs on to the dome, and passing his hand in through its opening, and dipping an old linen rag in a bucket of water mixed with ashes, he moistens the whole of the crucible and sweeps it. in this way he uses two bucketsful of the mixture, each holding five roman _sextarii_,[ ] and he does this lest the crucible, when the metals are being parted, should break open; after this he rubs the crucible with a doe skin, and fills in the cracks. then he places at the left side of the channel, two fragments of hearth-lead, laid one on the top of the other, so that when partly melted they remain fixed and form an obstacle, that the litharge will not be blown about by the wind from the bellows, but remain in its place. it is expedient, however, to use a brick in the place of the hearth-lead, for as this gets much hotter, therefore it causes the litharge to form more rapidly. the crucible in its middle part is made two palms and as many digits deeper.[ ] there are some who having thus prepared the crucible, smear it over with incense[ ], ground to powder and dissolved in white of egg, soaking it up in a sponge and then squeezing it out again; there are others who smear over it a liquid consisting of white of egg and double the amount of bullock's blood or marrow. some throw lime into the crucible through a sieve. afterward the master of the works weighs the lead with which the gold or silver or both are mixed, and he sometimes puts a hundred _centumpondia_[ ] into the crucible, but frequently only sixty, or fifty, or much less. after it has been weighed, he strews about in the crucible three small bundles of straw, lest the lead by its weight should break the surface. then he places in the channel several cakes of lead alloy, and through the aperture at the rear of the dome he places some along the sides; then, ascending to the opening at the top of the dome, he arranges in the crucible round about the dome the cakes which his assistant hands to him, and after ascending again and passing his hands through the same aperture, he likewise places other cakes inside the crucible. on the second day those which remain he, with an iron fork, places on the wood through the rear aperture of the dome. when the cakes have been thus arranged through the hole at the top of the dome, he throws in charcoal with a basket woven of wooden twigs. then he places the lid over the dome, and the assistant covers over the joints with lute. the master himself throws half a basketful of charcoal into the crucible through the aperture next to the nozzle pipe, and prepares the bellows, in order to be able to begin the second operation on the morning of the following day. it takes the space of one hour to carry out such a piece of work, and at twelve all is prepared. these hours all reckoned up make a sum of eight hours. now it is time that we should come to the second operation. in the morning the workman takes up two shovelsful of live charcoals and throws them into the crucible through the aperture next to the pipes of the nozzles; then through the same hole he lays upon them small pieces of fir-wood or of pitch pine, such as are generally used to cook fish. after this the water-gates are opened, in order that the machine may be turned which depresses the levers of the bellows. in the space of one hour the lead alloy is melted; and when this has been done, he places four sticks of wood, twelve feet long, through the hole in the back of the dome, and as many through the channel; these sticks, lest they should damage the crucible, are both weighted on the ends and supported by trestles; these trestles are made of a beam, three feet long, two palms and as many digits wide, two palms thick, and have two spreading legs at each end. against the trestle, in front of the channel, there is placed an iron plate, lest the litharge, when it is extracted from the furnace, should splash the smelter's shoes and injure his feet and legs. with an iron shovel or a fork he places the remainder of the cakes through the aperture at the back of the dome on to the sticks of wood already mentioned. the native silver, or silver glance, or grey silver, or ruby silver, or any other sort, when it has been flattened out[ ], and cut up, and heated in an iron crucible, is poured into the molten lead mixed with silver, in order that impurities may be separated. as i have often said, this molten lead mixed with silver is called _stannum_[ ]. [illustration (cupellation furnace): a--furnace. b--sticks of wood. c--litharge. d--plate. e--the foreman when hungry eats butter, that the poison which the crucible exhales may not harm him, for this is a special remedy against that poison.] when the long sticks of wood are burned up at the fore end, the master, with a hammer, drives into them pointed iron bars, four feet long and two digits wide at the front end, and beyond that one and a half digits wide and thick; with these he pushes the sticks of wood forward and the bars then rest on the trestles. there are others who, when they separate metals, put two such sticks of wood into the crucible through the aperture which is between the bellows, as many through the holes at the back, and one through the channel; but in this case a larger number of long sticks of wood is necessary, that is, sixty; in the former case, forty long sticks of wood suffice to carry out the operation. when the lead has been heated for two hours, it is stirred with a hooked bar, that the heat may be increased. if it be difficult to separate the lead from the silver, he throws copper and charcoal dust into the molten silver-lead alloy. if the alloy of argentiferous gold and lead, or the silver-lead alloy, contains impurities from the ore, then he throws in either equal portions of argol and venetian glass or of sal-ammoniac, or of venetian glass and of venetian soap; or else unequal portions, that is, two of argol and one of iron rust; there are some who mix a little saltpetre with each compound. to one _centumpondium_ of the alloy is added a _bes_ or a _libra_ and a third of the powder, according to whether it is more or less impure. the powder certainly separates the impurities from the alloy. then, with a kind of rabble he draws out through the channel, mixed with charcoal, the scum, as one might say, of the lead; the lead makes this scum when it becomes hot, but that less of it may be made it must be stirred frequently with the bar. within the space of a quarter of an hour the crucible absorbs the lead; at the time when it penetrates into the crucible it leaps and bubbles. then the master takes out a little lead with an iron ladle, which he assays, in order to find what proportion of silver there is in the whole of the alloy; the ladle is five digits wide, the iron part of its handle is three feet long and the wooden part the same. afterward, when they are heated, he extracts with a bar the litharge which comes from the lead and the copper, if there be any of it in the alloy. wherefore, it might more rightly be called _spuma_ of lead than of silver[ ]. there is no injury to the silver, when the lead and copper are separated from it. in truth the lead becomes much purer in the crucible of the other furnace, in which silver is refined. in ancient times, as the author pliny[ ] relates, there was under the channel of the crucible another crucible, and the litharge flowed down from the upper one into the lower one, out of which it was lifted up and rolled round with a stick in order that it might be of moderate weight. for which reason, they formerly made it into small tubes or pipes, but now, since it is not rolled round a stick, they make it into bars. if there be any danger that the alloy might flow out with the litharge, the foreman keeps on hand a piece of lute, shaped like a cylinder and pointed at both ends; fastening this to a hooked bar he opposes it to the alloy so that it will not flow out. [illustration (cleansing of silver cakes): a--cake. b--stone. c--hammer. d--brass wire. e--bucket containing water. f--furnace from which the cake has been taken, which is still smoking. g--labourer carrying a cake out of the works.] now when the colour begins to show in the silver, bright spots appear, some of them being almost white, and a moment afterward it becomes absolutely white. then the assistant lets down the water-gates, so that, the race being closed, the water-wheel ceases to turn and the bellows are still. then the master pours several buckets of water on to the silver to cool it; others pour beer over it to make it whiter, but this is of no importance since the silver has yet to be refined. afterward, the cake of silver is raised with the pointed iron bar, which is three feet long and two digits wide, and has a wooden handle four feet long fixed in its socket. when the cake of silver has been taken from the crucible, it is laid upon a stone, and from part of it the hearth-lead, and from the other part the litharge, is chipped away with a hammer; then it is cleansed with a bundle of brass wire dipped in water. when the lead is separated from the silver, more silver is frequently found than when it was assayed; for instance, if before there were three _unciae_ and as many _drachmae_ in a _centumpondium_, they now sometimes find three _unciae_ and a half[ ]. often the hearth-lead remaining in the crucible is a palm deep; it is taken out with the rest of the ashes and is sifted, and that which remains in the sieve, since it is hearth-lead, is added to the hearth-lead[ ]. the ashes which pass through the sieve are of the same use as they were at first, for, indeed, from these and pulverised bones they make the cupels. finally, when much of it has accumulated, the yellow _pompholyx_ adhering to the walls of the furnace, and likewise to those rings of the dome near the apertures, is cleared away. [illustration (crane for cupellation furnace): a--crane-post. b--socket. c--oak cross-sills. d--band. e--roof-beam. f--frame. g--lower small cross-beam. h--upright timber. i--bars which come from the sides of the crane-post. k--bars which come from the sides of the upright timber. l--rundle drums. m--toothed wheels. n--chain. o--pulley. p--beams of the crane-arm. q--oblique beams supporting the beams of the crane-arm. r--rectangular iron plates. s--trolley. t--dome of the furnace. v--ring. x--three chains. y--crank. z--the crane-post of the other contrivance. aa--crane-arm. bb--oblique beam. cc--ring of the crane-arm. dd--the second ring. ee--lever-bar. ff--third ring. gg--hook. hh--chain of the dome. ii--chain of the lever-bar.] i must also describe the crane with which the dome is raised. when it is made, there is first set up a rectangular upright post twelve feet long, each side of which measures a foot in width. its lower pinion turns in a bronze socket set in an oak sill; there are two sills placed crosswise so that the one fits in a mortise in the middle of the other, and the other likewise fits in the mortise of the first, thus making a kind of a cross; these sills are three feet long and one foot wide and thick. the crane-post is round at its upper end and is cut down to a depth of three palms, and turns in a band fastened at each end to a roof-beam, from which springs the inclined chimney wall. to the crane-post is affixed a frame, which is made in this way: first, at a height of a cubit from the bottom, is mortised into the crane-post a small cross-beam, a cubit and three digits long, except its tenons, and two palms in width and thickness. then again, at a height of five feet above it, is another small cross-beam of equal length, width, and thickness, mortised into the crane-post. the other ends of these two small cross-beams are mortised into an upright timber, six feet three palms long, and three-quarters wide and thick; the mortise is transfixed by wooden pegs. above, at a height of three palms from the lower small cross-beam, are two bars, one foot one palm long, not including the tenons, a palm three digits wide, and a palm thick, which are mortised in the other sides of the crane-post. in the same manner, under the upper small cross-beam are two bars of the same size. also in the upright timber there are mortised the same number of bars, of the same length as the preceding, but three digits thick, a palm two digits wide, the two lower ones being above the lower small cross-beam. from the upright timber near the upper small cross-beam, which at its other end is mortised into the crane-post, are two mortised bars. on the outside of this frame, boards are fixed to the small cross-beams, but the front and back parts of the frame have doors, whose hinges are fastened to the boards which are fixed to the bars that are mortised to the sides of the crane-post. then boards are laid upon the lower small cross-beam, and at a height of two palms above these there is a small square iron axle, the sides of which are two digits wide; both ends of it are round and turn in bronze or iron bearings, one of these bearings being fastened in the crane-post, the other in the upright timber. about each end of the small axle is a wooden disc, of three palms and a digit radius and one palm thick, covered on the rim with an iron band; these two discs are distant two palms and as many digits from each other, and are joined with five rundles; these rundles are two and a half digits thick and are placed three digits apart. thus a drum is made, which is a palm and a digit distant from the upright timber, but further from the crane-post, namely, a palm and three digits. at a height of a foot and a palm above this little axle is a second small square iron axle, the thickness of which is three digits; this one, like the first one, turns in bronze or iron bearings. around it is a toothed wheel, composed of two discs a foot three palms in diameter, a palm and two digits thick; on the rim of this there are twenty-three teeth, a palm wide and two digits thick; they protrude a palm from the wheel and are three digits apart. and around this same axle, at a distance of two palms and as many digits toward the upright timber, is another disc of the same diameter as the wheel and a palm thick; this turns in a hollowed-out place in the upright timber. between this disc and the disc of the toothed wheel another drum is made, having likewise five rundles. there is, in addition to this second axle, at a height of a cubit above it, a small wooden axle, the journals of which are of iron; the ends are bound round with iron rings so that the journals may remain firmly fixed, and the journals, like the little iron axles, turn in bronze or iron bearings. this third axle is at a distance of about a cubit from the upper small cross-beam; it has, near the upright timber, a toothed wheel two and a half feet in diameter, on the rim of which are twenty-seven teeth; the other part of this axle, near the crane-post, is covered with iron plates, lest it should be worn away by the chain which winds around it. the end link of the chain is fixed in an iron pin driven into the little axle; this chain passes out of the frame and turns over a little pulley set between the beams of the crane-arm. above the frame, at a height of a foot and a palm, is the crane-arm. this consists of two beams fifteen feet long, three palms wide, and two thick, mortised into the crane-post, and they protrude a cubit from the back of the crane-post and are fastened together. moreover, they are fastened by means of a wooden pin which penetrates through them and the crane-post; this pin has at the one end a broad head, and at the other a hole, through which is driven an iron bolt, so that the beams may be tightly bound into the crane-post. the beams of the crane-arm are supported and stayed by means of two oblique beams, six feet and two palms long, and likewise two palms wide and thick; these are mortised into the crane-post at their lower ends, and their upper ends are mortised into the beams of the crane-arm at a point about four feet from the crane-post, and they are fastened with iron nails. at the back of the upper end of these oblique beams, toward the crane-post, is an iron staple, fastened into the lower sides of the beams of the crane-arm, in order that it may hold them fast and bind them. the outer end of each beam of the crane-arm is set in a rectangular iron plate, and between these are three rectangular iron plates, fixed in such a manner that the beams of the crane-arm can neither move away from, nor toward, each other. the upper sides of these crane-arm beams are covered with iron plates for a length of six feet, so that a trolley can move on it. the body of the trolley is made of wood from the ostrya or any other hard tree, and is a cubit long, a foot wide, and three palms thick; on both edges of it the lower side is cut out to a height and width of a palm, so that the remainder may move backward and forward between the two beams of the crane-arm; at the front, in the middle part, it is cut out to a width of two palms and as many digits, that a bronze pulley, around a small iron axle, may turn in it. near the corners of the trolley are four holes, in which as many small wheels travel on the beams of the crane-arm. since this trolley, when it travels backward and forward, gives out a sound somewhat similar to the barking of a dog, we have given it this name[ ]. it is propelled forward by means of a crank, and is drawn back by means of a chain. there is an iron hook whose ring turns round an iron pin fastened to the right side of the trolley, which hook is held by a sort of clavis, which is fixed in the right beam of the crane-arm. at the end of the crane-post is a bronze pulley, the iron axle of which is fastened in the beams of the crane-arm, and over which the chain passes as it comes from the frame, and then, penetrating through the hollow in the top of the trolley, it reaches to the little bronze pulley of the trolley, and passing over this it hangs down. a hook on its end engages a ring, in which are fixed the top links of three chains, each six feet long, which pass through the three iron rings fastened in the holes of the claves which are fixed into the middle iron band of the dome, of which i have spoken. therefore when the master wishes to lift the dome by means of the crane, the assistant fits over the lower small iron axle an iron crank, which projects from the upright beam a palm and two digits; the end of the little axle is rectangular, and one and a half digits wide and one digit thick; it is set into a similar rectangular hole in the crank, which is two digits long and a little more than a digit wide. the crank is semi-circular, and one foot three palms and two digits long, as many digits wide, and one digit thick. its handle is straight and round, and three palms long, and one and a half digits thick. there is a hole in the end of the little axle, through which an iron pin is driven so that the crank may not come off. the crane having four drums, two of which are rundle-drums and two toothed-wheels, is more easily moved than another having two drums, one of which has rundles and the other teeth. many, however, use only a simple contrivance, the pivots of whose crane-post turn in the same manner, the one in an iron socket, the other in a ring. there is a crane-arm on the crane-post, which is supported by an oblique beam; to the head of the crane-arm a strong iron ring is fixed, which engages a second iron ring. in this iron ring a strong wooden lever-bar is fastened firmly, the head of which is bound by a third iron ring, from which hangs an iron hook, which engages the rings at the ends of the chains from the dome. at the other end of the lever-bar is another chain, which, when it is pulled down, raises the opposite end of the bar and thus the dome; and when it is relaxed the dome is lowered. [illustration (cupellation furnace at freiberg): a--chamber of the furnace. b--its bed. c--passages. d--rammer. e--mallet. f--artificer making tubes from litharge according to the roman method. g--channel. h--litharge. i--lower crucible or hearth. k--stick. l--tubes.] in certain places, as at freiberg in meissen, the upper part of the cupellation furnace is vaulted almost like an oven. this chamber is four feet high and has either two or three apertures, of which the first, in front, is one and a half feet high and a foot wide, and out of this flows the litharge; the second aperture and likewise the third, if there be three, are at the sides, and are a foot and a half high and two and a half feet wide, in order that he who prepares the crucible may be able to creep into the furnace. its circular bed is made of cement, it has two passages two feet high and one foot wide, for letting out the vapour, and these lead directly through from one side to the other, so that the one passage crosses the other at right angles, and thus four openings are to be seen; these are covered at the top by rocks, wide, but only a palm thick. on these and on the other parts of the interior of the bed made of cement, is placed lute mixed with straw, to a depth of three digits, as it was placed over the sole and the plates of copper and the rocks of that other furnace. this, together with the ashes which are thrown in, the master or the assistant, who, upon his knees, prepares the crucible, tamps down with short wooden rammers and with mallets likewise made of wood. [illustration (cupellation furnace in poland): a--furnace similar to an oven. b--passage. c--iron bars. d--hole through which the litharge is drawn out. e--crucible which lacks a dome. f--thick sticks. g--bellows.] the cupellation furnace in poland and hungary is likewise vaulted at the top, and is almost similar to an oven, but in the lower part the bed is solid, and there is no opening for the vapours, while on one side of the crucible is a wall, between which and the bed of the crucible is a passage in place of the opening for vapours; this passage is covered by iron bars or rods extending from the wall to the crucible, and placed a distance of two digits from each other. in the crucible, when it is prepared, they first scatter straw, and then they lay in it cakes of silver-lead alloy, and on the iron bars they lay wood, which when kindled heats the crucible. they melt cakes to the weight of sometimes eighty _centumpondia_ and sometimes a hundred _centumpondia_[ ]. they stimulate a mild fire by means of a blast from the bellows, and throw on to the bars as much wood as is required to make a flame which will reach into the crucible, and separate the lead from the silver. the litharge is drawn out on the other side through an aperture that is just wide enough for the master to creep through into the crucible. the moravians and carni, who very rarely make more than a _bes_ or five-sixths of a _libra_ of silver, separate the lead from it, neither in a furnace resembling an oven, nor in the crucible covered by a dome, but on a crucible which is without a cover and exposed to the wind; on this crucible they lay cakes of silver-lead alloy, and over them they place dry wood, and over these again thick green wood. the wood having been kindled, they stimulate the fire by means of a bellows. [illustration (refining silver): a--pestle with teeth. b--pestle without teeth. c--dish or tray full of ashes. d--prepared tests placed on boards or shelves. e--empty tests. f--wood. g--saw.] [illustration (refining silver): a--straight knife having wooden handles. b--curved knife likewise having wooden handles. c--curved knife without wooden handles. d--sieve. e--balls. f--iron door which the master lets down when he refines silver, lest the heat of the fire should injure his eyes. g--iron implement on which the wood is placed when the liquid silver is to be refined. h--its other part passing through the ring of another iron implement enclosed in the wall of the furnace. i--tests in which burning charcoal has been thrown.] i have explained the method of separating lead from gold or silver. now i will speak of the method of refining silver, for i have already explained the process for refining gold. silver is refined in a refining furnace, over whose hearth is an arched chamber built of bricks; this chamber in the front part is three feet high. the hearth itself is five feet long and four wide. the walls are unbroken along the sides and back, but in front one chamber is placed over the other, and above these and the wall is the upright chimney. the hearth has a round pit, a cubit wide and two palms deep, into which are thrown sifted ashes, and in this is placed a prepared earthenware "test," in such a manner that it is surrounded on all sides by ashes to a height equal to its own. the earthenware test is filled with a powder consisting of equal portions of bones ground to powder, and of ashes taken from the crucible in which lead is separated from gold or silver; others mix crushed brick with the ashes, for by this method the powder attracts no silver to itself. when the powder has been made up and moistened with water, a little is thrown into the earthenware test and tamped with a wooden pestle. this pestle is round, a foot long, and a palm and a digit wide, out of which extend six teeth, each a digit thick, and a digit and a third long and wide, and almost a digit apart; these six teeth form a circle, and in the centre of them is the seventh tooth, which is round and of the same length as the others, but a digit and a half thick; this pestle tapers a little from the bottom up, that the upper part of the handle may be round and three digits thick. some use a round pestle without teeth. then a little powder is again moistened, and thrown into the test, and tamped; this work is repeated until the test is entirely full of the powder, which the master then cuts out with a knife, sharp on both sides, and turned upward at both ends so that the central part is a palm and a digit long; therefore it is partly straight and partly curved. the blade is one and a half digits wide, and at each end it turns upward two palms, which ends to the depth of a palm are either not sharpened or they are enclosed in wooden handles. the master holds the knife with one hand and cuts out the powder from the test, so that it is left three digits thick all round; then he sifts the powder of dried bones over it through a sieve, the bottom of which is made of closely-woven bristles. afterward a ball made of very hard wood, six digits in diameter, is placed in the test and rolled about with both hands, in order to make the inside even and smooth; for that matter he may move the ball about with only one hand. the tests[ ] are of various capacities, for some of them when prepared hold much less than fifteen _librae_ of silver, others twenty, some thirty, others forty, and others fifty. all these tests thus prepared are dried in the sun, or set in a warm and covered place; the more dry and old they are the better. all of them, when used for refining silver, are heated by means of burning charcoal placed in them. others use instead of these tests an iron ring; but the test is more useful, for if the powder deteriorates the silver remains in it, while there being no bottom to the ring, it falls out; besides, it is easier to place in the hearth the test than the iron ring, and furthermore it requires much less powder. in order that the test should not break and damage the silver, some bind it round with an iron band. [illustration (refining silver): a--grate. b--brass block. c--block of wood. d--cakes of silver. e--hammer. f--block of wood channelled in the middle. g--bowl full of holes. h--block of wood fastened to an iron implement. i--fir-wood. k--iron bar. l--implement with a hollow end. the implement which has a circular end is shown in the next picture. m--implement, the extremity of which is bent upwards. n--implement in the shape of tongs.] in order that they may be more easily broken, the silver cakes are placed upon an iron grate by the refiner, and are heated by burning charcoal placed under them. he has a brass block two palms and two digits long and wide, with a channel in the middle, which he places upon a block of hard wood. then with a double-headed hammer, he beats the hot cakes of silver placed on the brass block, and breaks them in pieces. the head of this hammer is a foot and two digits long, and a palm wide. others use for this purpose merely a block of wood channelled in the top. while the fragments of the cake are still hot, he seizes them with the tongs and throws them into a bowl with holes in the bottom, and pours water over them. when the fragments are cooled, he puts them nicely into the test by placing them so that they stand upright and project from the test to a height of two palms, and lest one should fall against the other, he places little pieces of charcoal between them; then he places live charcoal in the test, and soon two twig basketsful of charcoal. then he blows in air with the bellows. this bellows is double, and four feet two palms long, and two feet and as many palms wide at the back; the other parts are similar to those described in book vii. the nozzle of the bellows is placed in a bronze pipe a foot long, the aperture in this pipe being a digit in diameter in front and quite round, and at the back two palms wide. the master, because he needs for the operation of refining silver a fierce fire, and requires on that account a vigorous blast, places the bellows very much inclined, in order that, when the silver has melted, it may blow into the centre of the test. when the silver bubbles, he presses the nozzle down by means of a small block of wood moistened with water and fastened to an iron rod, the outer end of which bends upward. the silver melts when it has been heated in the test for about an hour; when it is melted, he removes the live coals from the test and places over it two billets of fir-wood, a foot and three palms long, a palm two digits wide, one palm thick at the upper part, and three digits at the lower. he joins them together at the lower edges, and into the billets he again throws the coals, for a fierce fire is always necessary in refining silver. it is refined in two or three hours, according to whether it was pure or impure, and if it is impure it is made purer by dropping granulated copper or lead into the test at the same time. in order that the refiner may sustain the great heat from the fire while the silver is being refined, he lets down an iron door, which is three feet long and a foot and three palms high; this door is held on both ends in iron plates, and when the operation is concluded, he raises it again with an iron shovel, so that its edge holds against the iron hook in the arch, and thus the door is held open. when the silver is nearly refined, which may be judged by the space of time, he dips into it an iron bar, three and a half feet long and a digit thick, having a round steel point. the small drops of silver that adhere to the bar he places on the brass block and flattens with a hammer, and from their colour he decides whether the silver is sufficiently refined or not. if it is thoroughly purified it is very white, and in a _bes_ there is only a _drachma_ of impurities. some ladle up the silver with a hollow iron implement. of each _bes_ of silver one _sicilicus_ is consumed, or occasionally when very impure, three _drachmae_ or half an _uncia_[ ]. [illustration (cleansing of silver cakes): a--implement with a ring. b--ladle. c--its hole. d--pointed bar. e--forks. f--cake of silver laid upon the implement shaped like tongs. g--tub of water. h--block of wood, with a cake laid upon it. i--hammer. k--silver again placed upon the implement resembling tongs. l--another tub full of water. m--brass wires. n--tripod. o--another block. p--chisel. q--crucible of the furnace. r--test still smoking.] the refiner governs the fire and stirs the molten silver with an iron implement, nine feet long, a digit thick, and at the end first curved toward the right, then curved back in order to form a circle, the interior of which is a palm in diameter; others use an iron implement, the end of which is bent directly upward. another iron implement has the shape of tongs, with which, by compressing it with his hands, he seizes the coals and puts them on or takes them off; this is two feet long, one and a half digits wide, and the third of a digit thick. when the silver is seen to be thoroughly refined, the artificer removes the coals from the test with a shovel. soon afterward he draws water in a copper ladle, which has a wooden handle four feet long; it has a small hole at a point half-way between the middle of the bowl and the edge, through which a hemp seed just passes. he fills this ladle three times with water, and three times it all flows out through the hole on to the silver, and slowly quenches it; if he suddenly poured much water on it, it would burst asunder and injure those standing near. the artificer has a pointed iron bar, three feet long, which has a wooden handle as many feet long, and he puts the end of this bar into the test in order to stir it. he also stirs it with a hooked iron bar, of which the hook is two digits wide and a palm deep, and the iron part of its handle is three feet long and the wooden part the same. then he removes the test from the hearth with a shovel or a fork, and turns it over, and by this means the silver falls to the ground in the shape of half a sphere; then lifting the cake with a shovel he throws it into a tub of water, where it gives out a great sound. or else, having lifted the cake of silver with a fork, he lays it upon the iron implement similar to tongs, which are placed across a tub full of water; afterward, when cooled, he takes it from the tub again and lays it on the block made of hard wood and beats it with a hammer, in order to break off any of the powder from the test which adheres to it. the cake is then placed on the implement similar to tongs, laid over the tub full of water, and cleaned with a bundle of brass wire dipped into the water; this operation of beating and cleansing is repeated until it is all clean. afterward he places it on an iron grate or tripod; the tripod is a palm and two digits high, one and a half digits wide, and its span is two palms wide; then he puts burning charcoal under the tripod or grate, in order again to dry the silver that was moistened by the water. finally, the royal inspector[ ] in the employment of the king or prince, or the owner, lays the silver on a block of wood, and with an engraver's chisel he cuts out two small pieces, one from the under and the other from the upper side. these are tested by fire, in order to ascertain whether the silver is thoroughly refined or not, and at what price it should be sold to the merchants. finally he impresses upon it the seal of the king or the prince or the owner, and, near the same, the amount of the weight. [illustration (refining silver): a--muffle. b--its little windows. c--its little bridge. d--bricks. e--iron door. f--its little window. g--bellows. h--hammer-chisel. i--iron ring which some use instead of the test. k--pestle with which the ashes placed in the ring are pounded.] there are some who refine silver in tests placed under iron or earthenware muffles. they use a furnace, on the hearth of which they place the test containing the fragments of silver, and they place the muffle over it; the muffle has small windows at the sides, and in front a little bridge. in order to melt the silver, at the sides of the muffle are laid bricks, upon which the charcoal is placed, and burning firebrands are put on the bridge. the furnace has an iron door, which is covered on the side next to the fire with lute in order that it may not be injured. when the door is closed it retains the heat of the fire, but it has a small window, so that the artificers may look into the test and may at times stimulate the fire with the bellows. although by this method silver is refined more slowly than by the other, nevertheless it is more useful, because less loss is caused, for a gentle fire consumes fewer particles than a fierce fire continually excited by the blast of the bellows. if, on account of its great size, the cake of silver can be carried only with difficulty when it is taken out of the muffle, they cut it up into two or three pieces while it is still hot, with a wedge or a hammer-chisel; for if they cut it up after it has cooled, little pieces of it frequently fly off and are lost. end of book x. footnotes: [ ] _vile a precioso_. [ ] the reagents mentioned in this book are much the same as those of book vii, where (p. ) a table is given showing the latin and old german terms. footnotes in explanation of our views as to these substances may be most easily consulted through the index. [ ] _aqua valens_, literally strong, potent, or powerful water. it will appear later, from the method of manufacture, that hydrochloric, nitric, and sulphuric acids and _aqua regia_ were more or less all produced and all included in this term. we have, therefore, used either the term _aqua valens_ or simply _aqua_ as it occurs in the text. the terms _aqua fortis_ and _aqua regia_ had come into use prior to agricola, but he does not use them; the alchemists used various terms, often _aqua dissolvia_. it is apparent from the uses to which this reagent was put in separating gold and silver, from the method of clarifying it with silver and from the red fumes, that agricola could have had practical contact only with nitric acid. it is probable that he has copied part of the recipes for the compounds to be distilled from the alchemists and from such works as the _probierbüchlein_. in any event he could not have had experience with them all, for in some cases the necessary ingredients for making nitric acid are not all present, and therefore could be of no use for gold and silver separation. the essential ingredients for the production of this acid by distillation, were saltpetre, water, and either vitriol or alum. the other substances mentioned were unnecessary, and any speculation as to the combinations which would result, forms a useful exercise in chemistry, but of little purpose here. the first recipe would no doubt produce hydrochloric acid. [ ] agricola, in the _interpretatio_, gives the german equivalent for the latin _aerugo_ as _spanschgrün_--"because it was first brought to germany from spain; foreigners call it _viride aeris_ (copper green)." the english "verdigris" is a corruption of _vert de grice_. both verdigris and white lead were very ancient products, and they naturally find mention together among the ancient authors. the earliest description of the method of making is from the rd century b.c., by theophrastus, who says ( - ): "but these are works of art, as is also ceruse (_psimythion_) to make which, lead is placed in earthen vessels over sharp vinegar, and after it has acquired some thickness of a kind of rust, which it commonly does in about ten days, they open the vessels and scrape off, as it were, a kind of foulness; they then place the lead over the vinegar again, repeating over and over again the same method of scraping it till it is wholly dissolved; what has been scraped off they then beat to powder and boil for a long time; and what at last subsides to the bottom of the vessel is the white lead.... also in a manner somewhat resembling this, verdigris (_ios_) is made, for copper is placed over lees of wine (grape refuse?), and the rust which it acquires by this means is taken off for use. and it is by this means that the rust which appears is produced." (based on hill's translation.) vitruvius (vii, ), dioscorides (v, ), and pliny (xxxiv, and ), all describe the method of making somewhat more elaborately. [ ] _amiantus_ (_interpretatio_ gives _federwis_, _pliant_, _salamanderhar_). from agricola's elaborate description in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ) there can be no doubt that he means asbestos. this mineral was well-known to the ancients, and is probably earliest referred to ( rd century b.c.) by theophrastus in the following passage ( ): "there is also found in the mines of scaptesylae a stone, in its external appearance somewhat resembling wood, on which, if oil be poured, it burns; but when the oil is burnt away, the burning of the stone ceases, as if it were in itself not liable to such accidents." there can be no doubt that strabo (x, ) describes the mineral: "at carystus there is found in the earth a stone, which is combed like wool, and woven, so that napkins are made of this substance, which, when soiled, are thrown into the fire and cleaned, as in the washing of linen." it is also described by dioscorides (v, ) and pliny (xix, ). asbestos cloth has been found in pre-augustinian roman tombs. [ ] this list of four recipes is even more obscure than the previous list. if they were distilled, the first and second mixtures would not produce nitric acid, although possibly some sulphuric would result. the third might yield nitric, and the fourth _aqua regia_. in view of the water, they were certainly not used as cements, and the first and second are deficient in the vital ingredients. [ ] _distillation_, at least in crude form, is very old. aristotle (_meteorologica_, iv.) states that sweet water can be made by evaporating salt-water and condensing the steam. dioscorides and pliny both describe the production of mercury by distillation (note , p. ). the alchemists of the alexandrian school, from the st to the th centuries, mention forms of imperfect apparatus--an ample discussion of which may be found in kopp, _beiträge zur geschichte der chemie_, braunschweig, , p. . [ ] it is desirable to note the contents of the residues in the retort, for it is our belief that these are the materials to which the author refers as "lees of the water which separates gold from silver," in many places in book vii. they would be strange mixtures of sodium, potassium, aluminium sulphates, with silica, brickdust, asbestos, and various proportions of undigested vitriol, salt, saltpetre, alum, iron oxides, etc. their effect must have been uncertain. many old german metallurgies also refer to the _todenkopf der scheidwasser_, among them the _probierbüchlein_ before agricola, and after him lazarus ercker (_beschreibung allerfürnemsten_, etc., prague, ). see also note , p. . [ ] this use of silver could apply to one purpose only, that is, the elimination of minor amounts of hydrochloric from the nitric acid, the former originating no doubt from the use of salt among the ingredients. the silver was thus converted into a chloride and precipitated. this use of a small amount of silver to purify the nitric acid was made by metallurgists down to fairly recent times. biringuccio (iv, ) and lazarus ercker (p. ) both recommend that the silver be dissolved first in a small amount of acid, and the solution poured into the newly-manufactured supply. they both recommend preserving this precipitate and its cupellation after melting with lead--which agricola apparently overlooked. [ ] in this description of parting by nitric acid, the author digresses from his main theme on pages and , to explain a method apparently for small quantities where the silver was precipitated by copper, and to describe another cryptic method of precipitation. these subjects are referred to in notes and below. the method of parting set out here falls into six stages: _a_--cupellation, _b_--granulation, _c_--solution in acid, _d_--treatment of the gold residues, _e_--evaporation of the solution, _f_--reduction of the silver nitrate. for nitric acid parting, bullion must be free from impurities, which cupellation would ensure; if copper were left in, it would have the effect he mentions if we understand "the silver separated from the gold soon unites with it again," to mean that the silver unites with the copper, for the copper would go into solution and come down with the silver on evaporation. agricola does not specifically mention the necessity of an excess of silver in this description, although he does so elsewhere, and states that the ratio must be at least three parts silver to one part gold. the first description of the solution of the silver is clear enough, but that on p. is somewhat difficult to follow, for the author states that the bullion is placed in a retort with the acid, and that distillation is carried on between each additional charge of acid. so far as the arrangement of a receiver might relate to the saving of any acid that came over accidentally in the boiling, it can be understood, but to distill off much acid would soon result in the crystallization of the silver nitrate, which would greatly impede the action of subsequent acid additions, and finally the gold could not be separated from such nitrate in the way described. the explanation may be (apart from incidental evaporation when heating) that the acids used were very weak, and that by the evaporation of a certain amount of water, not only was the acid concentrated, but room was provided for the further charges. the acid in the gold wash-water, mentioned in the following paragraph, was apparently thus concentrated. the "glass" mentioned as being melted with litharge, argols, nitre, etc., was no doubt the silver nitrate. the precipitation of the silver from the solution as a chloride, by the use of salt, so generally used during the th and th centuries, was known in agricola's time, although he does not mention it. it is mentioned in geber and the _probierbüchlein_. the clarity of the latter on the subject is of some interest (p. a): "how to pulverise silver and again make it into silver. take the silver and dissolve it in water with the _starckenwasser_, _aqua fort_, and when that is done, take the silver water and pour it into warm salty water, and immediately the silver settles to the bottom and becomes powder. let it stand awhile until it has well settled, then pour away the water from it and dry the settlings, which will become a powder like ashes. afterward one can again make it into silver. take the powder and put it on a _test_, and add thereto the powder from the settlings from which the _aqua forte_ has been made, and add lead. then if there is a great deal, blow on it until the lead has incorporated itself ... blow it until it _plickt_ (_blickens_). then you will have as much silver as before." [ ] the silver is apparently precipitated by the copper of the bowl. it would seem that this method was in considerable use for small amounts of silver nitrate in the th century. lazarus ercker gives elaborate directions for this method (_beschreibung allerfürnemsten_, etc., prague, , p. ). [ ] we confess to a lack of understanding of this operation with leaves of lead and copper. [ ] we do not understand this "appearance of black." if the nitrate came into contact with organic matter it would, of course, turn black by reduction of the silver, and sunlight would have the same effect. [ ] this would be equal to from to parts of copper in , . [ ] as _siliquae_ are _uncia_, then / _siliqua_ in _unciae_ would equal one part silver in , parts gold, or about . fine. [ ] the object of this treatment with sulphur and copper is to separate a considerable portion of silver from low-grade bullion (_i.e._, silver containing some gold), in preparation for final treatment of the richer gold-silver alloy with nitric acid. silver sulphide is created by adding sulphur, and is drawn off in a silver-copper regulus. after the first sentence, the author uses silver alone where he obviously means silver "containing some gold," and further he speaks of the "gold lump" (_massula_) where he likewise means a button containing a great deal of silver. for clarity we introduced the term "regulus" for the latin _mistura_. the operation falls into six stages: _a_, granulation; _b_, sulphurization of the granulated bullion; _c_, melting to form a combination of the silver sulphide with copper into a regulus, an alloy of gold and silver settling out; _d_, repetition of the treatment to abstract further silver from the "lump;" _e_, refining the "lump" with nitric acid; _f_, recovery of the silver from the regulus by addition of lead, liquation and cupellation. the use of a "circle of fire" secures a low temperature that would neither volatilize the sulphur nor melt the bullion. the amount of sulphur given is equal to a ratio of parts bullion and parts sulphur. we are not certain about the translation of the paragraph in relation to the proportion of copper added to the granulated bullion; because in giving definite quantities of copper to be added in the contingencies of various original copper contents in the bullion, it would be expected that they were intended to produce some positive ratio of copper and silver. however, the ratio as we understand the text in various cases works out to irregular amounts, _i.e._, parts of silver to , . , , . , . , . , or parts of copper. in order to obtain complete separation there should be sufficient sulphur to have formed a sulphide of the copper as well as of the silver, or else some of the copper and silver would come down metallic with the "lump". the above ratio of copper added to the sulphurized silver, in the first instance would give about parts of copper and parts of sulphur to parts of silver. the copper would require . parts of sulphur to convert it into sulphide, and the silver about parts, or a total of . parts required against parts furnished. it is plain, therefore, that insufficient sulphur is given. further, the litharge would probably take up some sulphur and throw down metallic lead into the "lump". however, it is necessary that there should be some free metallics to collect the gold, and, therefore, the separation could not be complete in one operation. in any event, on the above ratios the "gold lump" from the first operation was pretty coppery, and contained some lead and probably a good deal of silver, because the copper would tend to desulphurize the latter. the "powder" of glass-galls, salt, and litharge would render the mass more liquid and assist the "gold lump" to separate out. the roman silver _sesterce_, worth about - / pence or . american cents, was no doubt used by agricola merely to indicate an infinitesimal quantity. the test to be applied to the regulus by way of cupellation and parting of a sample with nitric acid, requires no explanation. the truth of the description as to determining whether the gold had settled out, by using a chalked iron rod, can only be tested by actual experiment. it is probable, however, that the sulphur in the regulus would attack the iron and make it black. the re-melting of the regulus, if some gold remains in it, with copper and "powder" without more sulphur, would provide again free metallics to gather the remaining gold, and by desulphurizing some silver this button would probably not be very pure. from the necessity for some free metallics besides the gold in the first treatment, it will be seen that a repetition of the sulphur addition and re-melting is essential gradually to enrich the "lump". why more copper is added is not clear. in the second melting, the ratio is parts of the "gold lump", parts of sulphur and parts copper. in this case the added copper would require about parts sulphur, and if we consider the deficiency of sulphur in the first operations pertained entirely to the copper, then about . parts would be required to make good the shortage, or in other words the second addition of sulphur is sufficient. in the final parting of the "lump" it will be noticed that the author states that the silver ratio must be arranged as three of silver to one of gold. as to the recovery of the silver from the regulus, he states that _librae_ of silver give _librae_ of _regulus_. to this, _librae_ of lead are added, and it is melted in the "second" furnace, and the litharge and hearth-lead made are re-melted in the "first" furnace, the cakes made being again treated in the "third" furnace to separate the copper and lead. the "first" is usually the blast furnace, the "second" furnace is the cupellation furnace, and the "third" the liquation furnace. it is difficult to understand this procedure. the charge sent to the cupellation furnace would contain between % and % copper, and between % and % sulphur. however, possibly the sulphur and copper could be largely abstracted in the skimmings from the cupellation furnace, these being subsequently liquated in the "third" furnace. it may be noted that two whole lines from this paragraph are omitted in the editions of _de re metallica_ after . for historical note on sulphur separation see page . [ ] there can be no doubt that in most instances agricola's _stibium_ is antimony sulphide, but it does not follow that it was the mineral _stibnite_, nor have we considered it desirable to introduce the precision of either of these modern terms, and have therefore retained the latin term where the sulphide is apparently intended. the use of antimony sulphide to part silver from gold is based upon the greater affinity of silver than antimony for sulphur. thus the silver, as in the last process, is converted into a sulphide, and is absorbed in the regulus, while the metallic antimony alloys with the gold and settles to the bottom of the pot. this process has several advantages over the sulphurization with crude sulphur; antimony is a more convenient vehicle of sulphur, for it saves the preliminary sulphurization with its attendant difficulties of volatilization of the sulphur; it also saves the granulation necessary in the former method; and the treatment of the subsequent products is simpler. however, it is possible that the sulphur-copper process was better adapted to bullion where the proportion of gold was low, because the fineness of the bullion mentioned in connection with the antimonial process was apparently much higher than the previous process. for instance, a _bes_ of gold, containing , , or double _sextulae_ of silver would be . , . or . fine. the antimonial method would have an advantage over nitric acid separation, in that high-grade bullion could be treated direct without artificial decrease of fineness required by inquartation to about . fine, with the consequent incidental losses of silver involved. the process in this description falls into six operations: _a_, sulphurization of the silver by melting with antimony sulphide; _b_, separation of the gold "lump" (_massula_) by jogging; _c_, re-melting the regulus (_mistura_) three or four times for recovery of further "lumps"; _d_, re-melting of the "lump" four times, with further additions of antimony sulphide; _e_, cupellation of the regulus to recover the silver; _f_, cupellation of the antimony from the "lump" to recover the gold. percy seems to think it difficult to understand the insistence upon the addition of copper. biringuccio (iv, ) states, among other things, that copper makes the ingredients more liquid. the later metallurgists, however, such as ercker, lohneys, and schlüter, do not mention this addition; they do mention the "swelling and frothing," and recommend that the crucible should be only partly filled. as to the copper, we suggest that it would desulphurize part of the antimony and thus free some of that metal to collect the gold. if we assume bullion of the medium fineness mentioned and containing no copper, then the proportions in the first charge would be about parts gold, parts silver, parts sulphur, parts antimony, and parts copper. the silver and copper would take up . parts of sulphur, and thus free about . parts of antimony as metallics. it would thus appear that the amount of metallics provided to assist the collection of the gold was little enough, and that the copper in freeing . parts of the antimony was useful. it appears to have been necessary to have a large excess of antimony sulphide; for even with the great surplus in the first charge, the reaction was only partial, as is indicated by the necessity for repeated melting with further antimony. the later metallurgists all describe the separation of the metallic antimony from the gold as being carried out by oxidation of the antimony, induced by a jet of air into the crucible, this being continued until the mass appears limpid and no cloud forms in the surface in cooling. agricola describes the separation of the silver from the regulus by preliminary melting with argols, glass-gall, and some lead, and subsequent cupellation of the lead-silver alloy. the statement that unless this preliminary melting is done, the cupel will absorb silver, might be consonant with an attempt at cupellation of sulphides, and it is difficult to see that much desulphurizing could take place with the above fluxes. in fact, in the later descriptions of the process, iron is used in this melting, and we are under the impression that agricola had omitted this item for a desulphurizing reagent. at the dresden mint, in the methods described by percy (metallurgy silver and gold, p. ) the gold lumps were tested for fineness, and from this the amount of gold retained in the regulus was computed. it is not clear from agricola's account whether the test with nitric acid was applied to the regulus or to the "lumps". for historical notes see p. . [ ] as will be shown in the historical note, this process of separating gold and silver is of great antiquity--in all probability the only process known prior to the middle ages, and in any event, the first one used. in general the process was performed by "cementing" the disintegrated bullion with a paste and subjecting the mass to long-continued heat at a temperature under the melting point of the bullion. the cement (_compositio_) is of two different species; in the first species saltpetre and vitriol and some aluminous or silicious medium are the essential ingredients, and through them the silver is converted into nitrate and absorbed by the mass; in the second species, common salt and the same sort of medium are the essentials, and in this case the silver is converted into a chloride. agricola does not distinguish between these two species, for, as shown by the text, his ingredients are badly mixed. the process as here described falls into five operations: _a_, granulation of the bullion or preparation of leaves; _b_, heating alternate layers of cement and bullion in pots; _c_, washing the gold to free it of cement; _d_, melting the gold with borax or soda; _e_, treatment of the cement by way of melting with lead and cupellation to recover the silver. investigation by boussingault (_ann. de chimie_, , p. - ), d'elhuyar (_bergbaukunde_, leipzig, , vol. ii, p. ), and percy (metallurgy of silver and gold, p. ), of the action of common salt upon silver under cementation conditions, fairly well demonstrated the reactions involved in the use of this species of cement. certain factors are essential besides salt: _a_, the admission of air, which is possible through the porous pots used; _b_, the presence of some moisture to furnish hydrogen; _c_, the addition of alumina or silica. the first would be provided by agricola in the use of new pots, the second possibly by use of wood fuel in a closed furnace, the third by the inclusion of brickdust. the alumina or silica at high temperatures decomposes the salt, setting free hydrochloric acid and probably also free chlorine. the result of the addition of vitriol in agricola's ingredients is not discussed by those investigators, but inasmuch as vitriol decomposes into sulphuric acid under high temperatures, this acid would react upon the salt to free hydrochloric acid, and thus assist to overcome deficiencies in the other factors. it is possible also that sulphuric acid under such conditions would react directly upon the silver to form silver sulphates, which would be absorbed into the cement. as nitric acid is formed by vitriol and saltpetre at high temperatures, the use of these two substances as a cementing compound would produce nitric acid, which would at once attack the silver to form silver nitrate, which would be absorbed into the melted cement. in this case the brickdust probably acted merely as a vehicle for the absorption, and to lower the melting point of the mass and prevent fusion of the metal. while nitric acid will only part gold and silver when the latter is in great excess, yet when applied as fumes under cementation conditions it appears to react upon a minor ratio of silver. while the reactions of the two above species of compounds can be accounted for in a general way, the problem furnished by agricola's statements is by no means simple, for only two of his compounds are simply salt cements, the others being salt and nitre mixtures. an inspection of these compounds produces at once a sense of confusion. salt is present in every compound, saltpetre in all but two, vitriol in all but three. lewis (_traité singulier de métallique_, paris, , ii, pp. - ), in discussing these processes, states that salt and saltpetre must never be used together, as he asserts that in this case _aqua regia_ would be formed and the gold dissolved. agricola, however, apparently found no such difficulty. as to the other ingredients, apart from nitre, salt, vitriol, and brickdust, they can have been of no use. agricola himself points out that ingredients of "metallic origin" corrupt the gold and that brickdust and common salt are sufficient. in a description of this process in the _probierbüchlein_ (p. ), no nitre is mentioned. this booklet does mention the recovery of the silver from the cement by amalgamation with mercury--the earliest mention of silver amalgamation. [ ] while a substance which we now know to be natural zinc sulphate was known to agricola (see note , p. ), it is hardly possible that it is referred to here. if green vitriol be dehydrated and powdered, it is white. [ ] the processes involved by these "other" compounds are difficult to understand, because of the lack of information given as to the method of operation. it might be thought that these were five additional recipes for cementing pastes, but an inspection of their internal composition soon dissipates any such assumption, because, apart from the lack of brickdust or some other similar necessary ingredient, they all contain more or less sulphur. after describing a preliminary treatment of the bullion by cupellation, the author says: "then the silver is sprinkled with two _unciae_ of that powdered compound and is stirred. afterward it is poured into another crucible ... and violently shaken. the rest is performed according to the process i have already explained." as he has already explained four or five parting processes, it is not very clear to which one this refers. in fact, the whole of this discussion reads as if he were reporting hearsay, for it lacks in every respect the infinite detail of his usual descriptions. in any event, if the powder was introduced into the molten bullion, the effect would be to form some silver sulphides in a regulus of different composition depending upon the varied ingredients of different compounds. the enriched bullion was settled out in a "lump" and treated "as i have explained," which is not clear. [ ] historical note on parting gold and silver. although the earlier classics contain innumerable references to refining gold and silver, there is little that is tangible in them, upon which to hinge the metallurgy of parting the precious metals. it appears to us, however, that some ability to part the metals is implied in the use of the touchstone, for we fail to see what use a knowledge of the ratio of gold and silver in bullion could have been without the power to separate them. the touchstone was known to the greeks at least as early as the th century b.c. (see note , p. ), and a part of theophrastus' statement (lxxviii.) on this subject bears repetition in this connection: "the nature of the stone which tries gold is also very wonderful, as it seems to have the same power as fire; which is also a test of that metal.... the trial by fire is by the colour and the quantity lost by it, but that of the stone is made only by rubbing," etc. this trial by fire certainly implies a parting of the metals. it has been argued from the common use of _electrum_--a gold-silver alloy--by the ancients, that they did not know how to part the two metals or they would not have wasted gold in such a manner, but it seems to us that the very fact that _electrum_ was a positive alloy ( % gold, % silver), and that it was deliberately made (pliny xxxiii, ) and held of value for its supposed superior brilliancy to silver and the belief that goblets made of it detected poison, is sufficient answer to this. to arrive by a process of elimination, we may say that in the middle ages, between and a.d., there were known four methods of parting these metals: _a_, parting by solution in nitric acid; _b_, sulphurization of the silver in finely-divided bullion by heating it with sulphur, and the subsequent removal of the silver sulphide in a regulus by melting with copper, iron, or lead; _c_, melting with an excess of antimony sulphide, and the direct conversion of the silver to sulphide and its removal in a regulus; _d_, cementation of the finely-divided bullion with salt, and certain necessary collateral re-agents, and the separation of the silver by absorption into the cement as silver chloride. inasmuch as it can be clearly established that mineral acids were unknown to the ancients, we can eliminate that method. further, we may say at once that there is not, so far as has yet been found, even a remote statement that could be applied to the sulphide processes. as to cementation with salt, however, we have some data at about the beginning of the christian era. before entering into a more detailed discussion of the history of various processes, it may be useful, in a word, to fix in the mind of the reader our view of the first authority on various processes, and his period. ( ) separation by cementation with salt, strabo (?) b.c.- a.d.; pliny - a.d. ( ) separation by sulphur, theophilus, - a.d. ( ) separation by nitric acid, geber, prior to th century. ( ) separation by antimony sulphide, basil valentine, end th century, or _probierbüchlein_, beginning th century. ( ) separation by antimony sulphide and copper, or sulphur and copper, _probierbüchlein_, beginning th century. ( ) separation by cementation with saltpetre, agricola, . ( ) separation by sulphur and iron, schlüter, . ( ) separation by sulphuric acid, d'arcet, . ( ) separation by chloride gas, thompson, . ( ) separation electrolytically, latter part th century. parting by cementation. the following passage from strabo is of prime interest as the first definite statement on parting of any kind (iii, , ): "that when they have melted the gold and purified it by means of a kind of aluminous earth, the residue left is _electrum_. this, which contains a mixture of silver and gold, being again subjected to the fire, the silver is separated and the gold left (pure); for this metal is easily dissipated and fat, and on this account gold is most easily molten by straw, the flame of which is soft, and bearing a similarity (to the gold) causes it easily to dissolve, whereas coal, besides wasting a great deal, melts it too much, by reason of its vehemence, and carries it off (in vapour)." this statement has provoked the liveliest discussion, not only on account of the metallurgical interest and obscurity, but also because of differences of view as to its translation; we have given that of mr. h. c. hamilton (london, ). a review of this discussion will be found in percy's metallurgy of gold and silver, p. . that it refers to cementation at all hangs by a slender thread, but it seems more nearly this than anything else. pliny (xxxiii, ) is a little more ample: "(the gold) is heated with double its weight of salt and thrice its weight of _misy_, and again with two portions of salt and one of a stone which they call _schistos_. the _virus_ is drawn out when these things are burnt together in an earthen crucible, itself remaining pure and incorrupt, the remaining ash being preserved in an earthen pot and mixed with water as a lotion for _lichen_ (ring-worm) on the face." percy (metallurgy silver and gold, p. ) rightly considers that this undoubtedly refers to the parting of silver and gold by cementation with common salt. especially as pliny further on states that with regard to _misy_, "in purifying gold they mix it with this substance." there can be no doubt from the explanations of pliny and dioscorides that _misy_ was an oxidized pyrite, mostly iron sulphate. assuming the latter case, then all of the necessary elements of cementation, _i.e._, vitriol, salt, and an aluminous or silicious element, are present. the first entirely satisfactory evidence on parting is to be found in theophilus ( th century), and we quote the following from hendrie's translation (p. ): "of heating the gold. take gold, of whatsoever sort it may be, and beat it until thin leaves are made in breadth three fingers, and as long as you can. then cut out pieces that are equally long and wide and join them together equally, and perforate through all with a fine cutting iron. afterwards take two earthen pots proved in the fire, of such size that the gold can lie flat in them, and break a tile very small, or clay of the furnace burned and red, weigh it, powdered, into two equal parts, and add to it a third part salt for the same weight; which things being slightly sprinkled with urine, are mixed together so that they may not adhere together, but are scarcely wetted, and put a little of it upon a pot about the breadth of the gold, then a piece of the gold itself, and again the composition, and again the gold, which in the digestion is thus always covered, that gold may not be in contact with gold; and thus fill the pot to the top and cover it above with another pot, which you carefully lute round with clay, mixed and beaten, and you place it over the fire, that it may be dried. in the meantime compose a furnace from stones and clay, two feet in height, and a foot and a half in breadth, wide at the bottom, but narrow at the top, where there is an opening in the middle, in which project three long and hard stones, which may be able to sustain the flame for a long time, upon which you place the pots with the gold, and cover them with other tiles in abundance. then supply fire and wood, and take care that a copious fire is not wanting for the space of a day and night. in the morning taking out the gold, again melt, beat and place it in the furnace as before. again also, after a day and night, take it away and mixing a little copper with it, melt it as before, and replace it upon the furnace. and when you have taken it away a third time, wash and dry it carefully, and so weighing it, see how much is wanting, then fold it up and keep it." the next mention is by geber, of whose date and authenticity there is great doubt, but, in any event, the work bearing his name is generally considered to be prior to the th, although he has been placed as early as the th century. we quote from russell's translation, pp. and , which we have checked with the latin edition of : "sol, or gold, is beaten into thin plates and with them and common salt very well prepared lay upon lay in a vessel of calcination which set into the furnace and calcine well for three days until the whole is subtily calcined. then take it out, grind well and wash it with vinegar, and dry it in the sun. afterwards grind it well with half its weight of cleansed _sal-armoniac_; then set it to be dissolved until the whole be dissolved into most clear water." further on: "now we will declare the way of cementing. seeing it is known to us that cement is very necessary in the examen of perfection, we say it is compounded of inflammable things. of this kind are, all blackening, flying, penetrating, and burned things; as is vitriol, _sal-armoniac_, _flos aeris_ (copper oxide scales) and the ancient _fictile_ stone (earthen pots), and a very small quantity, or nothing, of sulphur, and urine with like acute and penetrating things. all these are impasted with urine and spread upon thin plates of that body which you intend shall be examined by this way of probation. then the said plates must be laid upon a grate of iron included in an earthen vessel, yet so as one touch not the other that the virtue of the fire may have free and equal access to them. thus the whole must be kept in fire in a strong earthen vessel for the space of three days. but here great caution is required that the plates may be kept but not melt." albertus magnus ( - ) _de mineralibus et rebus metallicis_, lib. iv, describes the process as follows:--"but when gold is to be purified an earthen vessel is made like a cucurbit or dish, and upon it is placed a similar vessel; and they are luted together with the tenacious lute called by alchemists the lute of wisdom. in the upper vessel there are numerous holes by which vapour and smoke may escape; afterwards the gold in the form of short thin leaves is arranged in the vessel, the leaves being covered consecutively with a mixture obtained by mixing together soot, salt, and brick dust; and the whole is strongly heated until the gold becomes perfectly pure and the base substances with which it was mixed are consumed." it will be noted that salt is the basis of all these cement compounds. we may also add that those of biringuccio and all other writers prior to agricola were of the same kind, our author being the first to mention those with nitre. parting with nitric acid. the first mention of nitric acid is in connection with this purpose, and, therefore, the early history of this reagent becomes the history of the process. mineral acids of any kind were unknown to the greeks or romans. the works of the alchemists and others from the th to the th centuries, have been well searched by chemical historians for indications of knowledge of the mineral acids, and many of such suspected indications are of very doubtful order. in any event, study of the alchemists for the roots of chemistry is fraught with the greatest difficulty, for not only is there the large ratio of fraud which characterised their operations, but there is even the much larger field of fraud which characterised the authorship and dates of writing attributed to various members of the cult. the mention of saltpetre by roger bacon ( - ), and albertus magnus ( - ), have caused some strain to read a knowledge of mineral acids into their works, but with doubtful result. further, the monk theophilus ( - ) is supposed to have mentioned products which would be mineral acids, but by the most careful scrutiny of that work we have found nothing to justify such an assertion, and it is of importance to note that as theophilus was a most accomplished gold and silver worker, his failure to mention it is at least evidence that the process was not generally known. the transcribed manuscripts and later editions of such authors are often altered to bring them "up-to-date." the first mention is in the work attributed to geber, as stated above, of date prior to the th century. the following passage from his _de inventione veritatis_ (nuremberg edition, , p. ) is of interest:--"first take one _libra_ of vitriol of cyprus and one-half _libra_ of saltpetre and one-quarter of alum of jameni, extract the _aqua_ with the redness of the alembic--for it is very solvative--and use as in the foregoing chapters. this can be made acute if in it you dissolve a quarter of sal-ammoniac, which dissolves gold, sulphur, and silver." distilling vitriol, saltpetre and alum would produce nitric acid. the addition of sal-ammoniac would make _aqua regia_; geber used this solvent water--probably without being made "more acute"--to dissolve silver, and he crystallized out silver nitrate. it would not be surprising to find all the alchemists subsequent to geber mentioning acids. it will thus be seen that even the approximate time at which the mineral-acids were first made cannot be determined, but it was sometime previous to the th century, probably not earlier than the th century. beckmann (hist. of inventions ii, p. ) states that it appears to have been an old tradition that acid for separating the precious metals was first used at venice by some germans; that they chiefly separated the gold from spanish silver and by this means acquired great riches. beckmann considers that the first specific description of the process seems to be in the work of william budaeus (_de asse_, , iii, p. ), who speaks of it as new at this time. he describes the operation of one, le conte, at paris, who also acquired a fortune through the method. beckmann and others have, however, entirely overlooked the early _probierbüchlein_. if our conclusions are correct that the first of these began to appear at about , then they give the first description of inquartation. this book (see appendix) is made up of recipes, like a cook-book, and four or five different recipes are given for this purpose; of these we give one, which sufficiently indicates a knowledge of the art (p. ): "if you would part them do it this way: beat the silver which you suppose to contain gold, as thin as possible; cut it in small pieces and place it in 'strong' water (_starkwasser_). put it on a mild fire till it becomes warm and throws up blisters or bubbles. then take it and pour off the water into a copper-bowl; let it stand and cool. then the silver settles itself round the copper bowl; let the silver dry in the copper bowl, then pour the water off and melt the silver in a crucible. then take the gold also out of the glass _kolken_ and melt it together." biringuccio ( , book vi.) describes the method, but with much less detail than agricola. he made his acid from alum and saltpetre and calls it _lacque forti_. parting with sulphur. this process first appears in theophilus ( - ), and in form is somewhat different from that mentioned by agricola. we quote from hendrie's translation, p. , "how gold is separated from silver. when you have scraped the gold from silver, place this scraping in a small cup in which gold or silver is accustomed to be melted, and press a small linen cloth upon it, that nothing may by chance be abstracted from it by the wind of the bellows, and placing it before the furnace, melt it; and directly lay fragments of sulphur in it, according to the quantity of the scraping, and carefully stir it with a thin piece of charcoal until its fumes cease; and immediately pour it into an iron mould. then gently beat it upon the anvil lest by chance some of that black may fly from it which the sulphur has burnt, because it is itself silver. for the sulphur consumes nothing of the gold, but the silver only, which it thus separates from the gold, and which you will carefully keep. again melt this gold in the same small cup as before, and add sulphur. this being stirred and poured out, break what has become black and keep it, and do thus until the gold appear pure. then gather together all that black, which you have carefully kept, upon the cup made from the bone and ash, and add lead, and so burn it that you may recover the silver. but if you wish to keep it for the service of niello, before you burn it add to it copper and lead, according to the measure mentioned above, and mix with sulphur." this process appears in the _probierbüchlein_ in many forms, different recipes containing other ingredients besides sulphur, such as salt, saltpetre, sal-ammoniac, and other things more or less effective. in fact, a series of hybrid methods between absolute melting with sulphur and cementation with salt, were in use, much like those mentioned by agricola on p. . parting with antimony sulphide. the first mention of this process lies either in basil valentine's "triumphant chariot of antimony" or in the first _probierbüchlein_. the date to be assigned to the former is a matter of great doubt. it was probably written about the end of the th century, but apparently published considerably later. the date of the _probierbüchlein_ we have referred to above. the statement in the "triumphal chariot" is as follows (waite's translation, p. - ): "the elixir prepared in this way has the same power of penetrating and pervading the body with its purifying properties that antimony has of penetrating and purifying gold.... this much, however, i have proved beyond a possibility of doubt, that antimony not only purifies gold and frees it from foreign matter, but it also ameliorates all other metals, but it does the same for animal bodies." there are most specific descriptions of this process in the other works attributed to valentine, but their authenticity is so very doubtful that we do not quote. the _probierbüchlein_ gives several recipes for this process, all to the same metallurgical effect, of which we quote two: "how to separate silver from gold. take part of golden silver, part of _spiesglass_, part copper, part lead; melt them together in a crucible. when melted pour into the crucible pounded sulphur and directly you have poured it in cover it up with soft lime so that the fumes cannot escape, and let it get cold and you will find your gold in a button. put that same in a pot and blow on it." "how to part gold and silver by melting or fire. take as much gold-silver as you please and granulate it; take _mark_ of these grains, _mark_ of powder; put them together in a crucible. cover it with a small cover, put it in the fire, and let it slowly heat; blow on it gently until it melts; stir it all well together with a stick, pour it out into a mould, strike the mould gently with a knife so that the button may settle better, let it cool, then turn the mould over, strike off the button and twice as much _spiesglas_ as the button weighs, put them in a crucible, blow on it till it melts, then pour it again into a mould and break away the button as at first. if you want the gold to be good always add to the button twice as much _spiesglass_. it is usually good gold in three meltings. afterward take the button, place it on a cupel, blow on it till it melts. and if it should happen that the gold is covered with a membrane, then add a very little lead, then it shines (_plickt_) and becomes clearer." biringuccio ( ) also gives a fairly clear exposition of this method. all the old refiners varied the process by using mixtures of salt, antimony sulphide, and sulphur, in different proportions, with and without lead or copper; the net effect was the same. later than agricola these methods of parting bullion by converting the silver into a sulphide and carrying it off in a regulus took other forms. for instance, schlüter (_hütte-werken_, braunschweig, ) describes a method by which, after the granulated bullion had been sulphurized by cementation with sulphur in pots, it was melted with metallic iron. lampadius (_grundriss einer allgemeinen hüttenkunde_, göttingen, ) describes a treatment of the bullion, sulphurized as above, with litharge, thus creating a lead-silver regulus and a lead-silver-gold bullion which had to be repeatedly put through the same cycle. the principal object of these processes was to reduce silver bullion running low in gold to a ratio acceptable for nitric acid treatment. before closing the note on the separation of gold and silver, we may add that with regard to the three processes largely used to-day, the separation by solution of the silver from the bullion by concentrated sulphuric acid where silver sulphate is formed, was first described by d'arcet, paris, in ; the separation by introducing chlorine gas into the molten bullion and thus forming silver chlorides was first described by lewis thompson in a communication to the society of arts, , and was first applied on a large scale by f. b. miller at the sydney mint in - ; we do not propose to enter into the discussion as to who is the inventor of electrolytic separation. [ ] there were three methods of gilding practised in the middle ages--the first by hammering on gold leaf; the second by laying a thin plate of gold on a thicker plate of silver, expanding both together, and fabricating the articles out of the sheets thus prepared; and the third by coating over the article with gold amalgam, and subsequently driving off the mercury by heat. copper and iron objects were silver-plated by immersing them in molten silver after coating with sal-ammoniac or borax. tinning was done in the same way. [ ] see note , p. , for complete discussion of amalgamation. [ ] these nine methods of separating gold from copper are based fundamentally upon the sulphur introduced in each case, whereby the copper is converted into sulphides and separated off as a matte. the various methods are much befogged by the introduction of extraneous ingredients, some of which serve as fluxes, while others would provide metallics in the shape of lead or antimony for collection of the gold, but others would be of no effect, except to increase the matte or slag. inspection will show that the amount of sulphur introduced in many instances is in so large ratio that unless a good deal of volatilization took place there would be insufficient metallics to collect the gold, if it happened to be in small quantities. in a general way the auriferous button is gradually impoverished in copper until it is fit for cupellation with lead, except in one case where the final stage is accomplished by amalgamation. the lore of the old refiners was much after the order of that of modern cooks--they treasured and handed down various efficacious recipes, and of those given here most can be found in identical terms in the _probierbüchlein_, some editions of which, as mentioned before, were possibly fifty years before _de re metallica_. this knowledge, no doubt, accumulated over long experience; but, so far as we are aware, there is no description of sulphurizing copper for this purpose prior to the publication mentioned. [ ] _sal artificiosus_. the compound given under this name is of quite different ingredients from the stock fluxes given in book vii under the same term. the method of preparation, no doubt, dehydrated this one; it would, however, be quite effective for its purpose of sulphurizing the copper. there is a compound given in the _probierbüchlein_ identical with this, and it was probably agricola's source of information. [ ] throughout the book the cupellation furnace is styled the _secunda fornax_ (glossary, _treibeherd_). except in one or two cases, where there is some doubt as to whether the author may not refer to the second variety of blast furnace, we have used "cupellation furnace." agricola's description of the actual operation of the old german cupellation is less detailed than that of such authors as schlüter (_hütte-werken_, braunschweig, ) or winkler (_beschreibung der freyberger schmelz huttenprozesse_, freyberg, ). the operation falls into four periods. in the first period, or a short time after melting, the first scum--the _abzug_--arises. this material contains most of the copper, iron, zinc, or sulphur impurities in the lead. in the second period, at a higher temperature, and with the blast turned on, a second scum arises--the _abstrich_. this material contains most of the antimony and arsenical impurities. in the third stage the litharge comes over. at the end of this stage the silver brightens--"_blicken_"--due to insufficient litharge to cover the entire surface. winkler gives the following average proportion of the various products from a charge of _centners_:-- _abzug_ _centners_, containing % lead _abstrich_ - / " " % " _herdtplei_ - / " " % " impure litharge " " % " litharge " " % " --- total _centners_ he estimates the lead loss at from % to %, and gives the average silver contents of _blicksilber_ as about %. many analyses of the various products may be found in percy (metallurgy of lead, pp. - ), schnabel and lewis (metallurgy, vol. i, p. ); but as they must vary with every charge, a repetition of them here is of little purpose. historical note on cupellation. the cupellation process is of great antiquity, and the separation of silver from lead in this manner very probably antedates the separation of gold and silver. we can be certain that the process has been used continuously for at least , years, and was only supplanted in part by pattinson's crystallization process in , and further invaded by parks' zinc method in , and during the last fifteen years further supplanted in some works by electrolytic methods. however, it yet survives as an important process. it seems to us that there is no explanation possible of the recovery of the large amounts of silver possessed from the earliest times, without assuming reduction of that metal with lead, and this necessitates cupellation. if this be the case, then cupellation was practised in b.c. the subject has been further discussed on p. . the first direct evidence of the process, however, is from the remains at mt. laurion (note , p. ), where the period of greatest activity was at b.c., and it was probably in use long before that time. of literary evidences, there are the many metaphorical references to "fining silver" and "separating dross" in the bible, such as job (xxviii, ), psalms (xii, , lxvi, ), proverbs (xvii, ). the most certain, however, is jeremiah (vi, - ): "they are all brass [_sic_] and iron; they are corrupters. the bellows are burned, the lead is consumed in the fire, the founder melteth in vain; for the wicked are not plucked away. reprobate silver shall men call them." jeremiah lived about b.c. his contemporary ezekiel (xxii, ) also makes remark: "all they are brass and tin and iron and lead in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of the silver." among greek authors theognis ( th century b.c.) and hippocrates ( th century b.c.) are often cited as mentioning the refining of gold with lead, but we do not believe their statements will stand this construction without strain. aristotle (problems xxiv, ) makes the following remark, which has been construed not only as cupellation, but also as the refining of silver in "tests." "what is the reason that boiling water does not leap out of the vessel ... silver also does this when it is purified. hence those whose office it is in the silversmiths' shops to purify silver, derive gain by appropriation to themselves of the sweepings of silver which leap out of the melting-pot." the quotation of diodorus siculus from agatharchides ( nd century b.c.) on gold refining with lead and salt in egypt we give in note , p. . the methods quoted by strabo ( b.c.- a.d.) from polybius ( - b.c.) for treating silver, which appear to involve cupellation, are given in note , p. . it is not, however, until the beginning of the christian era that we get definite literary information, especially with regard to litharge, in dioscorides and pliny. the former describes many substances under the terms _scoria_, _molybdaena_, _scoria argyros_ and _lithargyros_, which are all varieties of litharge. under the latter term he says (v, ): "one kind is produced from a lead sand (concentrates?), which has been heated in the furnaces until completely fused; another (is made) out of silver; another from lead. the best is from attica, the second (best) from spain; after that the kinds made in puteoli, in campania, and at baia in sicily, for in these places it is mostly produced by burning lead plates. the best of all is that which is a bright golden colour, called _chrysitis_, that from sicily (is called) _argyritis_, that made from silver is called _lauritis_." pliny refers in several passages to litharge (_spuma argenti_) and to what is evidently cupellation, (xxxiii, ): "and this the same agency of fire separates part into lead, which floats on the silver like oil on water" (xxxiv, ). "the metal which flows liquid at the first melting is called _stannum_, the second melting is silver; that which remains in the furnace is _galena_, which is added to a third part of the ore. this being again melted, produced lead with a deduction of two-ninths." assuming _stannum_ to be silver-lead alloy, and _galena_ to be _molybdaena_, and therefore litharge, this becomes a fairly clear statement of cupellation (see note , p. ). he further states (xxxiii, ): "there is made in the same mines what is called _spuma argenti_ (litharge). there are three varieties of it; the best, known as _chrysitis_; the second best, which is called _argyritis_; and a third kind, which is called _molybditis_. and generally all these colours are to be found in the same tubes (see p. ). the most approved kind is that of attica; the next, that which comes from spain. _chrysitis_ is the product from the ore itself; _argyritis_ is made from the silver, and _molybditis_ is the result of smelting of lead, which is done at puteoli, and from this has its name. all three are made as the material when smelted flows from an upper crucible into a lower one. from this last it is raised with an iron bar, and is then twirled round in the flames in order to make it less heavy (made in tubes). thus, as may be easily perceived from the name, it is in reality the _spuma_ of a boiling substance--of the future metal, in fact. it differs from slag in the same way that the scum of a liquid differs from the lees, the one being purged from the material while purifying itself, the other an excretion of the metal when purified." the works of either theophilus ( - a.d.) or geber (prior to the th century) are the first where adequate description of the cupel itself can be found. the uncertainty of dates renders it difficult to say which is earliest. theophilus (hendrie's trans., p. ) says: "how gold is separated from copper: but if at any time you have broken copper or silver-gilt vessels, or any other work, you can in this manner separate the gold. take the bones of whatever animal you please, which (bones) you may have found in the street, and burn them, being cold, grind them finely, and mix with them a third part of beechwood ashes, and make cups as we have mentioned above in the purification of silver; you will dry these at the fire or in the sun. then you carefully scrape the gold from the copper, and you will fold this scraping in lead beaten thin, and one of these cups being placed in the embers before the furnace, and now become warm, you place in this fold of lead with the scraping, and coals being heaped upon it you will blow it. and when it has become melted, in the same manner as silver is accustomed to be purified, sometimes by removing the embers and by adding lead, sometimes by re-cooking and warily blowing, you burn it until, the copper being entirely absorbed, the gold may appear pure." we quote geber from the nuremberg edition of , p. : "now we describe the method of this. take sifted ashes or _calx_, or the powder of the burned bones of animals, or all of them mixed, or some of them; moisten with water, and press it with your hand to make the mixture firm and solid, and in the middle of this bed make a round solid crucible and sprinkle a quantity of crushed glass. then permit it to dry. when it is dry, place into the crucible that which we have mentioned which you intend to test. on it kindle a strong fire, and blow upon the surface of the body that is being tested until it melts, which, when melted, piece after piece of lead is thrown upon it, and blow over it a strong flame. when you see it agitated and moved with strong shaking motion it is not pure. then wait until all of the lead is exhaled. if it vanishes and does not cease its motion it is not purified. then again throw lead and blow again until the lead separates. if it does not become quiet again, throw in lead and blow on it until it is quiet and you see it bright and clear on the surface." cupellation is mentioned by most of the alchemists, but as a metallurgical operation on a large scale the first description is by biringuccio in . [ ] in agricola's text this is "first,"--obviously an error. [ ] the roman _sextarius_ was about a pint. [ ] this sentence continues, _ipsa vero media pars praeterea digito_, to which we are unable to attribute any meaning. [ ] _thus_, or _tus_--"incense." [ ] one _centumpondium_, roman, equals about . lbs. avoirdupois; one _centner_, old german, equals about . lbs. avoirdupois. therefore, if german weights are meant, the maximum charge would be about . short tons; if roman weights, about . short tons. [ ] see description, p. . [ ] _stannum_, as a term for lead-silver alloys, is a term which agricola (_de natura fossilium_, pp. - ) adopted from his views of pliny. in the _interpretatio_ and the glossary he gives the german equivalent as _werk_, which would sufficiently identify his meaning were it not obvious from the context. there can be little doubt that pliny uses the term for lead alloys, but it had come into general use for tin before agricola's time. the roman term was _plumbum candidum_, and as a result of agricola's insistence on using it and _stannum_ in what he conceived was their original sense, he managed to give considerable confusion to mineralogic literature for a century or two. the passages from pliny, upon which he bases his use, are (xxxiv, ): "the metal which flows liquid at the first melting in the furnace is called _stannum_, the second melting is silver," etc. (xxxiv, ): "when copper vessels are coated with _stannum_ they produce a less disagreeable flavour, and it prevents verdigris. it is also remarkable that the weight is not increased.... at the present day a counterfeit _stannum_ is made by adding one-third of white copper to tin. it is also made in another way, by mixing together equal parts of tin and lead; this last is called by some _argentarium_.... there is also a composition called _tertiarium_, a mixture of two parts of lead and one of tin. its price is twenty _denarii_ per pound, and it is used for soldering pipes. persons still more dishonest mix together equal parts of _tertiarium_ and tin, and calling the compound _argentarium_, when it is melted coat articles with it." although this last passage probably indicates that _stannum_ was a tin compound, yet it is not inconsistent with the view that the genuine _stannum_ was silver-lead, and that the counterfeits were made as stated by pliny. at what period the term _stannum_ was adopted for tin is uncertain. as shown by beckmann (hist. of inventions ii, p. ), it is used as early as the th century in occasions where tin was undoubtedly meant. we may point out that this term appears continuously in the official documents relating to cornish tin mining, beginning with the report of william de wrotham in . [ ] the latin term for litharge is _spuma argenti_, spume of silver. [ ] pliny, xxxiii, . this quotation is given in full in the footnote p. . agricola illustrates these "tubes" of litharge on p. . [ ] assuming roman weights, three _unciae_ and three _drachmae_ per _centumpondium_ would be about ozs., and the second case would equal about ozs. per short ton. [ ] agricola uses throughout _de re metallica_ the term _molybdaena_ for this substance. it is obvious from the context that he means saturated furnace bottoms--the _herdpley_ of the old german metallurgists--and, in fact, he himself gives this equivalent in the _interpretatio_, and describes it in great detail in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ). the derivatives coined one time and another from the greek _molybdos_ for lead, and their applications, have resulted in a stream of wasted ink, to which we also must contribute. agricola chose the word _molybdaena_ in the sense here used from his interpretation of pliny. the statements in pliny are a hopeless confusion of _molybdaena_ and _galena_. he says (xxxiii, ): "there are three varieties of it (litharge)--the best-known is _chrysitis_; the second best is called _argyritis_; and a third kind is called _molybditis_.... _molybditis_ is the result of the smelting of lead.... some people make two kinds of litharge, which they call _scirerytis_ and _peumene_; and a third variety being _molybdaena_, will be mentioned with lead." (xxxiv, ): "_molybdaena_, which in another place i have called _galena_, is an ore of mixed silver and lead. it is considered better in quality the nearer it approaches to a golden colour and the less lead there is in it; it is also friable and moderately heavy. when it is boiled with oil it becomes liver-coloured, adheres to the gold and silver furnaces, and in this state it is called _metallica_." from these two passages it would seem that _molybdaena_, a variety of litharge, might quite well be hearth-lead. further (in xxxiv, ), he says: "the metal which flows liquid at the first melting in the furnace is called _stannum_, at the second melting is silver, that which remains in the furnace is _galena_." if we still maintain that _molybdaena_ is hearth-lead, and _galena_ is its equivalent, then this passage becomes clear enough, the second melting being cupellation. the difficulty with pliny, however, arises from the passage (xxxiii, ), where, speaking of silver ore, he says: "it is impossible to melt it except with lead ore, called _galena_, which is generally found next to silver veins." agricola (_bermannus_, p. , &c.), devotes a great deal of inconclusive discussion to an attempt to reconcile this conflict of pliny, and also that of dioscorides. the probable explanation of this conflict arises in the resemblance of cupellation furnace bottoms to lead carbonates, and the native _molybdaena_ of dioscorides; and some of those referred to by pliny may be this sort of lead ores. in fact, in one or two places in book ix, agricola appears to use the term in this sense himself. after agricola's time the term _molybdaenum_ was applied to substances resembling lead, such as graphite, and what we now know as _molybdenite_ (_mos_{ }_). some time in the latter part of the th century, an element being separated from the latter, it was dubbed _molybdenum_, and confusion was five times confounded. [ ] agricola here refers to the german word used in this connection, _i.e._, _hundt_, a dog. [ ] if agricola means the german _centner_, this charge would be from about . to . short tons. if he is using roman weights, it would be from about to . short tons. [ ] the refining of silver in "tests" (latin _testa_) is merely a second cupellation, with greater care and under stronger blast. stirring the mass with an iron rod serves to raise the impurities which either volatilize as litharge or, floating to the edges, are absorbed into the "test." the capacity of the tests, from _librae_ to _librae_, would be from about to ozs. troy. [ ] a _drachma_ of impurities in a _bes_, would be one part in , or . fine. a loss of a _sicilicus_ of silver to the _bes_, would be one part in , or about . %; three _drachmae_ would equal . %, and half an _uncia_ . %, or would indicate that the original bullion had a fineness in the various cases of about , , and . [ ] _praefectus regis_. book xi. different methods of parting gold from silver, and, on the other hand, silver from gold, were discussed in the last book; also the separation of copper from the latter, and further, of lead from gold as well as from silver; and, lastly, the methods for refining the two precious metals. now i will speak of the methods by which silver must be separated from copper, and likewise from iron.[ ] [illustration (building plan for refinery): six long walls: a--the first. b--the first part of the second. c--the further part of the second. d--the third. e--the fourth. f--the fifth. g--the sixth. fourteen transverse walls: h--the first. i--the second. k--the third. l--the fourth. m--the fifth. n--the sixth. o--the seventh. p--the eighth. q--the ninth. r--the tenth. s--the eleventh. t--the twelfth. v--the thirteenth. x--the fourteenth.] the _officina_, or the building necessary for the purposes and use of those who separate silver from copper, is constructed in this manner. first, four long walls are built, of which the first, which is parallel with the bank of a stream, and the second, are both two hundred and sixty-four feet long. the second, however, stops at one hundred and fifty-one feet, and after, as it were, a break for a length of twenty-four feet, it continues again until it is of a length equal to the first wall. the third wall is one hundred and twenty feet long, starting at a point opposite the sixty-seventh foot of the other walls, and reaching to their one hundred and eighty-sixth foot. the fourth wall is one hundred and fifty-one feet long. the height of each of these walls, and likewise of the other two and of the transverse walls, of which i will speak later on, is ten feet, and the thickness two feet and as many palms. the second long wall only is built fifteen feet high, because of the furnaces which must be built against it. the first long wall is distant fifteen feet from the second, and the third is distant the same number of feet from the fourth, but the second is distant thirty-nine feet from the third. then transverse walls are built, the first of which leads from the beginning of the first long wall to the beginning of the second long wall; and the second transverse wall from the beginning of the second long wall to the beginning of the fourth long wall, for the third long wall does not reach so far. then from the beginning of the third long wall are built two walls--the one to the sixty-seventh foot of the second long wall, the other to the same point in the fourth long wall. the fifth transverse wall is built at a distance of ten feet from the fourth transverse wall toward the second transverse wall; it is twenty feet long, and starts from the fourth long wall. the sixth transverse wall is built also from the fourth long wall, at a point distant thirty feet from the fourth transverse wall, and it extends as far as the back of the third long wall. the seventh transverse wall is constructed from the second long wall, where this first leaves off, to the third long wall; and from the back of the third long wall the eighth transverse wall is built, extending to the end of the fourth long wall. then the fifth long wall is built from the seventh transverse wall, starting at a point nineteen feet from the second long wall; it is one hundred and nine feet in length; and at a point twenty-four feet along it, the ninth transverse wall is carried to the third end of the second long wall, where that begins again. the tenth transverse wall is built from the end of the fifth long wall, and leads to the further end of the second long wall; and from there the eleventh transverse wall leads to the further end of the first long wall. behind the fifth long wall, and five feet toward the third long wall, the sixth long wall is built, leading from the seventh transverse wall; its length is thirty-five feet, and from its further end the twelfth transverse wall is built to the third long wall, and from it the thirteenth transverse wall is built to the fifth long wall. the fourteenth transverse wall divides into equal parts the space which lies between the seventh transverse wall and the twelfth. the length, height, breadth, and position of the walls are as above. their archways, doors, and openings are made at the same time that the walls are built. the size of these and the way they are made will be much better understood hereafter. i will now speak of the furnace hoods and of the roofs. the first side[ ] of the hood stands on the second long wall, and is similar in every respect to those whose structure i explained in book ix, when i described the works in whose furnaces are smelted the ores of gold, silver, and copper. from this side of the hood a roof, which consists of burnt tiles, extends to the first long wall; and this part of the building contains the bellows, the machinery for compressing them, and the instruments for inflating them. in the middle space, which is situated between the second and third transverse walls, an upright post eight feet high and two feet thick and wide, is erected on a rock foundation, and is distant thirteen feet from the second long wall. on that upright post, and in the second transverse wall, which has at that point a square hole two feet high and wide, is placed a beam thirty-four feet and a palm long. another beam, of the same length, width, and thickness, is fixed on the same upright post and in the third transverse wall. the heads of those two beams, where they meet, are joined together with iron staples. in a similar manner another post is erected, at a distance of ten feet from the first upright post in the direction of the fourth wall, and two beams are laid upon it and into the same walls in a similar way to those i have just now described. on these two beams and on the fourth long wall are fixed seventeen cross-beams, forty-three feet and three palms long, a foot wide, and three palms thick; the first of these is laid upon the second transverse wall, the last lies along the third and fourth transverse walls; the rest are set in the space between them. these cross-beams are three feet apart one from the other. in the ends of these cross-beams, facing the second long wall, are mortised the ends of the same number of rafters reaching to those timbers which stand upright on the second long wall, and in this manner is made the inclined side of the hood in a similar way to the one described in book ix. to prevent this from falling toward the vertical wall of the hood, there are iron rods securing it, but only a few, because the four brick chimneys which have to be built in that space partly support it. twelve feet back are likewise mortised into the cross-beams, which lie upon the two longitudinal beams and the fourth long wall, the lower ends of as many rafters, whose upper ends are mortised into the upper ends of an equal number of similar rafters, whose lower ends are mortised to the ends of the beams at the fourth long wall. from the first set of rafters[ ] to the second set of rafters is a distance of twelve feet, in order that a gutter may be well placed in the middle space. between these two are again erected two sets of rafters, the lower ends of which are likewise mortised into the beams, which lie on the two longitudinal beams and the fourth long wall, and are interdistant a cubit. the upper ends of the ones fifteen feet long rest on the backs of the rafters of the first set; the ends of the others, which are eighteen feet long, rest on the backs of the rafters of the second set, which are longer; in this manner, in the middle of the rafters, is a sub-structure. upon each alternate cross-beam which is placed upon the two longitudinal beams and the fourth long wall is erected an upright post, and that it may be sufficiently firm it is strengthened by means of a slanting timber. upon these posts is laid a long beam, upon which rests one set of middle rafters. in a similar manner the other set of middle rafters rests on a long beam which is placed upon other posts. besides this, two feet above every cross-beam, which is placed on the two longitudinal beams and the fourth long wall, is placed a tie-beam which reaches from the first set of middle rafters to the second set of middle rafters; upon the tie-beams is placed a gutter hollowed out from a tree. then from the back of each of the first set of middle rafters a beam six feet long reaches almost to the gutter; to the lower end of this beam is attached a piece of wood two feet long; this is repeated with each rafter of the first set of middle rafters. similarly from the back of each rafter of the second set of middle rafters a little beam, seven feet long, reaches almost to the gutter; to the lower end of it is likewise attached a short piece of wood; this is repeated on each rafter of the second set of middle rafters. then in the upper part, to the first and second sets of principal rafters are fastened long boards, upon which are fixed the burnt tiles; and in the same manner, in the middle part, they are fastened to the first and second sets of middle rafters, and at the lower part to the little beams which reach from each rafter of the first and second set of middle rafters almost to the gutter; and, finally, to the little boards fastened to the short pieces of wood are fixed shingles of pine-wood extending into the gutter, so that the violent rain or melted snow may not penetrate into the building. the substructures in the interior which support the second set of rafters, and those on the opposite side which support the third, being not unusual, i need not explain. in that part of the building against the second long wall are the furnaces, in which exhausted liquation cakes which have already been "dried" are smelted, that they may recover once again the appearance and colour of copper, inasmuch as they really are copper. the remainder of the room is occupied by the passage which leads from the door to the furnaces, together with two other furnaces, in one of which the whole cakes of copper are heated, and in the other the exhausted liquation cakes are "dried" by the heat of the fire. likewise, in the room between the third and seventh[ ] transverse walls, two posts are erected on rock foundation; both of them are eight feet high and two feet wide and thick. the one is at a distance of thirteen feet from the second long wall; the other at the same distance from the third long wall; there is a distance of thirteen feet between them. upon these two posts and upon the third transverse wall are laid two longitudinal beams, forty-one feet and one palm long, and two feet wide and thick. two other beams of the same length, width, and thickness are laid upon the upright posts and upon the seventh transverse wall, and the heads of the two long beams, where they meet, are joined with iron staples. on these longitudinal beams are again placed twenty-one transverse beams, thirteen feet long, a foot wide, and three palms thick, of which the first is set on the third transverse wall, and the last on the seventh transverse wall; the rest are laid in the space between these two, and they are distant from one another three feet. into the ends of the transverse beams which face the second long wall, are mortised the ends of the same number of rafters erected toward the upright posts which are placed upon the second long wall, and in this manner is made the second inclined side wall of the hood. into the ends of the transverse beams facing the third long wall, are mortised the ends of the same number of rafters rising toward the rafters of the first inclined side of the second hood, and in this manner is made the other inclined side of the second hood. but to prevent this from falling in upon the opposite inclined side of the hood, and that again upon the opposite vertical one, there are many iron rods reaching from some of the rafters to those opposite them; and this is also prevented in part by means of a few tie-beams, extending from the back of the rafters to the back of those which are behind them. these tie-beams are two palms thick and wide, and have holes made through them at each end; each of the rafters is bound round with iron bands three digits wide and half a digit thick, which hold together the ends of the tie-beams of which i have spoken; and so that the joints may be firm, an iron nail, passing through the plate on both sides, is driven through the holes in the ends of the beams. since one weight counter-balances another, the rafters on the opposite hoods cannot fall. the tie-beams and middle posts which have to support the gutters and the roof, are made in every particular as i stated above, except only that the second set of middle rafters are not longer than the first set of middle rafters, and that the little beams which reach from the back of each rafter of the second set of middle rafters nearly to the gutter are not longer than the little beams which reach from the back of each rafter of the first set of middle rafters almost to the gutter. in this part of the building, against the second long wall, are the furnaces in which copper is alloyed with lead, and in which "slags" are re-smelted. against the third long wall are the furnaces in which silver and lead are liquated from copper. the interior is also occupied by two cranes, of which one deposits on the ground the cakes of copper lifted out of the moulding pans; the other lifts them from the ground into the second furnace. on the third and the fourth long walls are set twenty-one beams eighteen feet and three palms long. in mortises in them, two feet behind the third long wall, are set the ends of the same number of rafters erected opposite to the rafters of the other inclined wall of the second furnace hood, and in this manner is made the third inclined wall, exactly similar to the others. the ends of as many rafters are mortised into these beams where they are fixed in the fourth long wall; these rafters are erected obliquely, and rest against the backs of the preceding ones and support the roof, which consists entirely of burnt tiles and has the usual substructures. in this part of the building there are two rooms, in the first of which the cakes of copper, and in the other the cakes of lead, are stored. in the space enclosed between the ninth and tenth transverse walls and the second and fifth long walls, a post twelve feet high and two feet wide and thick is erected on a rock foundation; it is distant thirteen feet from the second long wall, and six from the fifth long wall. upon this post and upon the ninth transverse wall is laid a beam thirty-three feet and three palms long, and two palms wide and thick. another beam, also of the same length, width and thickness, is laid upon the same post and upon the tenth transverse wall, and the ends of these two beams where they meet are joined by means of iron staples. on these beams and on the fifth long wall are placed ten cross-beams, eight feet and three palms long, the first of which is placed on the ninth transverse wall, the last on the tenth, the remainder in the space between them; they are distant from one another three feet. into the ends of the cross-beams facing the second long wall, are mortised the ends of the same number of rafters inclined toward the posts which stand vertically upon the second long wall. this, again, is the manner in which the inclined side of the furnace hood is made, just as with the others; at the top where the fumes are emitted it is two feet distant from the vertical side. the ends of the same number of rafters are mortised into the cross-beams, where they are set in the fifth long wall; each of them is set up obliquely and rests against the back of one of the preceding set; they support the roof, made of burnt tiles. in this part of the building, against the second long wall, are four furnaces in which lead is separated from silver, together with the cranes by means of which the domes are lifted from the crucibles. in that part of the building which lies between the first long wall and the break in the second long wall, is the stamp with which the copper cakes are crushed, and the four stamps with which the accretions that are chipped off the walls of the furnace are broken up and crushed to powder, and likewise the bricks on which the exhausted liquation cakes of copper are stood to be "dried." this room has the usual roof, as also has the space between the seventh transverse wall and the twelfth and thirteenth transverse walls. [illustration (hearths for melting lead cakes): a--hearth. b--rocks sunk into the ground. c--walls which protect the fourth long wall from damage by fire. d--dipping-pot. e--masses of lead. f--trolley. g--its wheels. h--crane. i--tongs. k--wood. l--moulds. m--ladle. n--pick. o--cakes.] at the sides of these rooms are the fifth, the sixth, and the third long walls. this part of the building is divided into two parts, in the first of which stand the little furnaces in which the artificer assays metals; and the bone ash, together with the other powders, are kept here. in the other room is prepared the powder from which the hearths and the crucibles of the furnaces are made. outside the building, at the back of the fourth long wall, near the door to the left as you enter, is a hearth in which smaller masses of lead are melted from large ones, that they may be the more easily weighed; because the masses of lead, just as much as the cakes of copper, ought to be first prepared so that they can be weighed, and a definite weight can be melted and alloyed in the furnaces. to begin with, the hearth in which the masses of lead are liquefied is six feet long and five wide; it is protected on both sides by rocks partly sunk into the earth, but a palm higher than the hearth, and it is lined in the inside with lute. it slopes toward the middle and toward the front, in order that the molten lead may run down and flow out into the dipping-pot. there is a wall at the back of the hearth which protects the fourth long wall from damage by the heat; this wall, which is made of bricks and lute, is four feet high, three palms thick, and five feet long at the bottom, and at the top three feet and two palms long; therefore it narrows gradually, and in the upper part are laid seven bricks, the middle ones of which are set upright, and the end ones inclined; they are all thickly coated with lute. in front of the hearth is a dipping-pot, whose pit is a foot deep, and a foot and three palms wide at the top, and gradually narrows. when the masses of lead are to be melted, the workman first places the wood in the hearth so that one end of each billet faces the wall, and the other end the dipping-pot. then, assisted by other workmen, he pushes the mass of lead forward with crowbars on to a low trolley, and draws it to the crane. the trolley consists of planks fastened together, is two and one-half feet wide and five feet long, and has two small iron axles, around which at each end revolve small iron wheels, two palms in diameter and as many digits wide. the trolley has a tongue, and attached to this is a rope, by which it is drawn to the crane. the crane is exactly similar to those in the second part of the works, except that the crane-arm is not so long. the tongs in whose jaws[ ] the masses of lead are seized, are two feet a palm and two digits long; both of the jaws, when struck with a hammer, impinge upon the mass and are driven into it. the upper part of both handles of the tongs are curved back, the one to the right, the other to the left, and each handle is engaged in one of the lowest links of two short chains, which are three links long. the upper links are engaged in a large round ring, in which is fixed the hook of a chain let down from the pulley of the crane-arm. when the crank of the crane is turned, the mass is lifted and is carried by the crane-arm to the hearth and placed on the wood. the workmen wheel up one mass after another and place them in a similar manner on the wood of the hearth; masses which weigh a total of about a hundred and sixty _centumpondia_[ ] are usually placed upon the wood and melted at one time. then a workman throws charcoal on the masses, and all are made ready in the evening. if he fears that it may rain, he covers it up with a cover, which may be moved here and there; at the back this cover has two legs, so that the rain which it collects may flow down the slope on to the open ground. early in the morning of the following day, he throws live coals on the charcoal with a shovel, and by this method the masses of lead melt, and from time to time charcoal is added. the lead, as soon as it begins to run into the dipping-pot, is ladled out with an iron ladle into copper moulds such as the refiners generally use. if it does not cool immediately he pours water over it, and then sticks the pointed pick into it and pulls it out. the pointed end of the pick is three palms long and the round end is two digits long. it is necessary to smear the moulds with a wash of lute, in order that, when they have been turned upside down and struck with the broad round end of the pick, the cakes of lead may fall out easily. if the moulds are not washed over with the lute, there is a risk that they may be melted by the lead and let it through. others take hold of a billet of wood with their left hand, and with the heavy lower end of it they pound the mould, and with the right hand they stick the point of the pick into the cake of lead, and thus pull it out. then immediately the workman pours other lead into the empty moulds, and this he does until the work of melting the lead is finished. when the lead is melted, something similar to litharge is produced; but it is no wonder that it should be possible to make it in this case, when it used formerly to be produced at puteoli from lead alone when melted by a fierce fire in the cupellation furnace.[ ] afterward these cakes of lead are carried into the lead store-room. [illustration (stamp-mill for breaking copper cakes): a--block of wood. b--upright posts. c--transverse beams. d--head of the stamp. e--its tooth. f--the hole in the stamp-stem. g--iron bar. h--masses of lead. i--the bronze saddle. k--axle. l--its arms. m--little iron axle. n--bronze pipe.] the cakes of copper, put into wheelbarrows, are carried into the third part of the building, where each is laid upon a saddle, and is broken up by the impact of successive blows from the iron-shod stamp. this machine is made by placing upon the ground a block of oak, five feet long and three feet wide and thick; it is cut out in the middle for a length of two feet and two palms, a width of two feet, and a depth of three palms and two digits, and is open in front; the higher part of it is at the back, and the wide part lies flat in the block. in the middle of it is placed a bronze saddle. its base is a palm and two digits wide, and is planted between two masses of lead, and extends under them to a depth of a palm on both sides. the whole saddle is three palms and two digits wide, a foot long, and two palms thick. upon each end of the block stands a post, a cubit wide and thick, the upper end of which is somewhat cut away and is mortised into the beams of the building. at a height of four feet and two digits above the block there are joined to the posts two transverse beams, each of which is three palms wide and thick; their ends are mortised into the upright posts, and holes are bored through them; in the holes are driven iron claves, horned in front and so driven into the post that one of the horns of each points upward and the other downward; the other end of each clavis is perforated, and a wide iron wedge is inserted and driven into the holes, and thus holds the transverse beams in place. these transverse beams have in the middle a square opening three palms and half a digit wide in each direction, through which the iron-shod stamp passes. at a height of three feet and two palms above these transverse beams there are again two beams of the same kind, having also a square opening and holding the same stamp. this stamp is square, eleven feet long, three palms wide and thick; its iron shoe is a foot and a palm long; its head is two palms long and wide, a palm two digits thick at the top, and at the bottom the same number of digits, for it gradually narrows. but the tail is three palms long; where the head begins is two palms wide and thick, and the further it departs from the same the narrower it becomes. the upper part is enclosed in the stamp-stem, and it is perforated so that an iron bolt may be driven into it; it is bound by three rectangular iron bands, the lowest of which, a palm wide, is between the iron shoe and the head of the stamp; the middle band, three digits wide, follows next and binds round the head of the stamp, and two digits above is the upper one, which is the same number of digits wide. at a distance of two feet and as many digits above the lowest part of the iron shoe, is a rectangular tooth, projecting from the stamp for a distance of a foot and a palm; it is two palms thick, and when it has extended to a distance of six digits from the stamp it is made two digits narrower. at a height of three palms upward from the tooth there is a round hole in the middle of the stamp-stem, into which can be thrust a round iron bar two feet long and a digit and a half in diameter; in its hollow end is fixed a wooden handle two palms and the same number of digits long. the bar rests on the lower transverse beam, and holds up the stamp when it is not in use. the axle which raises the stamp has on each side two arms, which are two palms and three digits distant from each other, and which project from the axle a foot, a palm and two digits; penetrating through them are bolts, driven in firmly; the arms are each a palm and two digits wide and thick, and their round heads, for a foot downward on either side, are covered with iron plates of the same width as the arms and fastened by iron nails. the head of each arm has a round hole, into which is inserted an iron pin, passing through a bronze pipe; this little axle has at the one end a wide head, and at the other end a perforation through which is driven an iron nail, lest this little axle should fall out of the arms. the bronze pipe is two palms long and one in diameter; the little iron axle penetrates through its round interior, which is two digits in diameter. the bronze pipe not only revolves round the little iron axle, but it also rotates with it; therefore, when the axle revolves, the little axle and the bronze tube in their turn raise the tooth and the stamp. when the little iron axle and the bronze pipe have been taken out of the arms, the tooth of the stamps is not raised, and other stamps may be raised without this one. further on, a drum with spindles fixed around the axle of a water-wheel moves the axle of a toothed drum, which depresses the sweeps of the bellows in the adjacent fourth part of the building; but it turns in the contrary direction; for the axis of the drum which raises the stamps turns toward the north, while that one which depresses the sweeps of the bellows turns toward the south. [illustration (hearths for heating copper cakes): a--back wall. b--walls at the sides. c--upright posts. d--chimney. e--the cakes arranged. f--iron plates. g--rocks. h--rabble with two prongs. i--hammers.] those cakes which are too thick to be rapidly broken by blows from the iron-shod stamp, such as are generally those which have settled in the bottom of the crucible,[ ] are carried into the first part of the building. they are there heated in a furnace, which is twenty-eight feet distant from the second long wall and twelve feet from the second transverse wall. the three sides of this furnace are built of rectangular rocks, upon which bricks are laid; the back furnace wall is three feet and a palm high, and the rear of the side walls is the same; the side walls are sloping, and where the furnace is open in front they are only two feet and three palms high; all the walls are a foot and a palm thick. upon these walls stand upright posts not less thick, in order that they may bear the heavy weight placed upon them, and they are covered with lute; these posts support the sloping chimney and penetrate through the roof. moreover, not only the ribs of the chimney, but also the rafters, are covered thickly with lute. the hearth of the furnace is six feet long on each side, is sloping, and is paved with bricks. the cakes of copper are placed in the furnace and heated in the following way. they are first of all placed in the furnace in rows, with as many small stones the size of an egg between, so that the heat of the fire can penetrate through the spaces between them; indeed, those cakes which are placed at the bottom of the crucible are each raised upon half a brick for the same reason. but lest the last row, which lies against the mouth of the furnace, should fall out, against the mouth are placed iron plates, or the copper cakes which are the first taken from the crucible when copper is made, and against them are laid exhausted liquation cakes or rocks. then charcoal is thrown on the cakes, and then live coals; at first the cakes are heated by a gentle fire, and afterward more charcoal is added to them until it is at times three-quarters of a foot deep. a fiercer fire is certainly required to heat the hard cakes of copper than the fragile ones. when the cakes have been sufficiently heated, which usually occurs within the space of about two hours, the exhausted liquation cakes or the rocks and the iron plate are removed from the mouth of the furnace. then the hot cakes are taken out row after row with a two-pronged rabble, such as the one which is used by those who "dry" the exhausted liquation cakes. then the first cake is laid upon the exhausted liquation cakes, and beaten by two workmen with hammers until it breaks; the hotter the cakes are, the sooner they are broken up; the less hot, the longer it takes, for now and then they bend into the shape of copper basins. when the first cake has been broken, the second is put on to the other fragments and beaten until it breaks into pieces, and the rest of the cakes are broken up in the same manner in due order. the head of the hammer is three palms long and one wide, and sharpened at both ends, and its handle is of wood three feet long. when they have been broken by the stamp, if cold, or with hammers if hot, the fragments of copper or the cakes are carried into the store-room for copper. the foreman of the works, according to the different proportions of silver in each _centumpondium_ of copper, alloys it with lead, without which he could not separate the silver from the copper.[ ] if there be a moderate amount of silver in the copper, he alloys it fourfold; for instance, if in three-quarters of a _centumpondium_ of copper there is less than the following proportions, _i.e._: half a _libra_ of silver, or half a _libra_ and a _sicilicus_, or half a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_, or half a _libra_ and _semi-uncia_ and a _sicilicus_, then rich lead--that is, that from which the silver has not yet been separated--is added, to the amount of half a _centumpondium_ or a whole _centumpondium_, or a whole and a half, in such a way that there may be in the copper-lead alloy some one of the proportions of silver which i have just mentioned, which is the first alloy. to this "first" alloy is added such a weight of de-silverized lead or litharge as is required to make out of all of these a single liquation cake that will contain approximately two _centumpondia_ of lead; but as usually from one hundred and thirty _librae_ of litharge only one hundred _librae_ of lead are made, a greater proportion of litharge than of de-silverized lead is added as a supplement. since four cakes of this kind are placed at the same time into the furnace in which the silver and lead is liquated from copper, there will be in all the cakes three _centumpondia_ of copper and eight _centumpondia_ of lead. when the lead has been liquated from the copper, it weighs six _centumpondia_, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is a quarter of a _libra_ and almost a _sicilicus_ of silver. only seven _unciae_ of the silver remain in the exhausted liquation cakes and in that copper-lead alloy which we call "liquation thorns"; they are not called by this name so much because they have sharp points as because they are base. if in three-quarters of a _centumpondium_ of copper there are less than seven _uncia_ and a _semi-uncia_ or a _bes_ of silver, then so much rich lead must be added as to make in the copper and lead alloy one of the proportions of silver which i have already mentioned. this is the "second" alloy. to this is again to be added as great a weight of de-silverized lead, or of litharge, as will make it possible to obtain from that alloy a liquation cake containing two and a quarter _centumpondia_ of lead, in which manner in four of these cakes there will be three _centumpondia_ of copper and nine _centumpondia_ of lead. the lead which liquates from these cakes weighs seven _centumpondia_, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is a quarter of a _libra_ of silver and a little more than a _sicilicus_. about seven _unciae_ of silver remain in the exhausted liquation cakes and in the liquation thorns, if we may be allowed to make common the old name (_spinae_ = thorns) and bestow it upon a new substance. if in three-quarters of a _centumpondium_ of copper there is less than three-quarters of a _libra_ of silver, or three-quarters and a _semi-uncia_, then as much rich lead must be added as will produce one of the proportions of silver in the copper-lead alloy above mentioned; this is the "third" alloy. to this is added such an amount of de-silverized lead or of litharge, that a liquation cake made from it contains in all two and three-quarters _centumpondia_ of lead. in this manner four such cakes will contain three _centumpondia_ of copper and eleven _centumpondia_ of lead. the lead which these cakes liquate, when they are melted in the furnace, weighs about nine _centumpondia_, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is a quarter of a _libra_ and more than a _sicilicus_ of silver; and seven _unciae_ of silver remain in the exhausted liquation cakes and in the liquation thorns. if, however, in three-quarters of a _centumpondium_ of copper there is less than ten-twelfths of a _libra_ or ten-twelfths of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver, then such a proportion of rich lead is added as will produce in the copper-lead alloy one of the proportions of silver which i mentioned above; this is the "fourth" alloy. to this is added such a weight of de-silverized lead or of litharge, that a liquation cake made from it contains three _centumpondia_ of lead, and in four cakes of this kind there are three _centumpondia_ of copper and twelve _centumpondia_ of lead. the lead which is liquated therefrom weighs about ten _centumpondia_, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is a quarter of a _libra_ and more than a _semi-uncia_ of silver, or seven _unciae_; a _bes_, or seven _unciae_ and a _semi-uncia_, of silver remain in the exhausted liquation cakes and in the liquation thorns. [illustration (blast furnaces): a--furnace in which "slags" are re-smelted. b--furnace in which copper is alloyed with lead. c--door. d--forehearths on the ground. e--copper moulds. f--rabble. g--hook. h--cleft stick. i--arm of the crane. k--the hook of its chain.] against the second long wall in the second part of the building, whose area is eighty feet long by thirty-nine feet wide, are four furnaces in which the copper is alloyed with lead, and six furnaces in which "slags" are re-smelted. the interior of the first kind of furnace is a foot and three palms wide, two feet three digits long; and of the second is a foot and a palm wide and a foot three palms and a digit long. the side walls of these furnaces are the same height as the furnaces in which gold or silver ores are smelted. as the whole room is divided into two parts by upright posts, the front part must have, first, two furnaces in which "slags" are re-melted; second, two furnaces in which copper is alloyed with lead; and third, one furnace in which "slags" are re-melted. the back part of the room has first, one furnace in which "slags" are re-melted; next, two furnaces in which copper is alloyed with lead; and third, two furnaces in which "slags" are re-melted. each of these is six feet distant from the next; on the right side of the first is a space of three feet and two palms, and on the left side of the last one of seven feet. each pair of furnaces has a common door, six feet high and a cubit wide, but the first and the tenth furnace each has one of its own. each of the furnaces is set in an arch of its own in the back wall, and in front has a forehearth pit; this is filled with a powder compound rammed down and compressed in order to make a crucible. under each furnace is a hidden receptacle for the moisture,[ ] from which a vent is made through the back wall toward the right, which allows the vapour to escape. finally, to the right, in front, is the copper mould into which the copper-lead alloy is poured from the forehearth, in order that liquation cakes of equal weight may be made. this copper mould is a digit thick, its interior is two feet in diameter and six digits deep. behind the second long wall are ten pairs of bellows, two machines for compressing them, and twenty instruments for inflating them. the way in which these should be made may be understood from book ix. the smelter, when he alloys copper with lead, with his hand throws into the heated furnace, first the large fragments of copper, then a basketful of charcoal, then the smaller fragments of copper. when the copper is melted and begins to run out of the tap-hole into the forehearth, he throws litharge into the furnace, and, lest part of it should fly away, he first throws charcoal over it, and lastly lead. as soon as he has thrown into the furnace the copper and the lead, from which alloy the first liquation cake is made, he again throws in a basket of charcoal, and then fragments of copper are thrown over them, from which the second cake may be made. afterward with a rabble he skims the "slag" from the copper and lead as they flow into the forehearth. such a rabble is a board into which an iron bar is fixed; the board is made of elder-wood or willow, and is ten digits long, six wide, and one and a half digits thick; the iron bar is three feet long, and the wooden handle inserted into it is two and a half feet long. while he purges the alloy and pours it out with a ladle into the copper mould, the fragments of copper from which he is to make the second cake are melting. as soon as this begins to run down he again throws in litharge, and when he has put on more charcoal he adds the lead. this operation he repeats until thirty liquation cakes have been made, on which work he expends nine hours, or at most ten; if more than thirty cakes must be made, then he is paid for another shift when he has made an extra thirty. at the same time that he pours the copper-lead alloy into the copper mould, he also pours water slowly into the top of the mould. then, with a cleft stick, he takes a hook and puts its straight stem into the molten cake. the hook itself is a digit and a half thick; its straight stem is two palms long and two digits wide and thick. afterward he pours more water over the cakes. when they are cold he places an iron ring in the hook of the chain let down from the pulley of the crane arm; the inside diameter of this ring is six digits, and it is about a digit and a half thick; the ring is then engaged in the hook whose straight stem is in the cake, and thus the cake is raised from the mould and put into its place. the copper and lead, when thus melted, yield a small amount of "slag"[ ] and much litharge. the litharge does not cohere, but falls to pieces like the residues from malt from which beer is made. _pompholyx_ adheres to the walls in white ashes, and to the sides of the furnace adheres _spodos_. in this practical manner lead is alloyed with copper in which there is but a moderate portion of silver. if, however, there is much silver in it, as, for instance, two _librae_, or two _librae_ and a _bes_, to the _centumpondium_,--which weighs one hundred and thirty-three and a third _librae_, or one hundred and forty-six _librae_ and a _bes_,[ ]--then the foreman of the works adds to a _centumpondium_ of such copper three _centumpondia_ of lead, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is a third of a _libra_ of silver, or a third of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_. in this manner three liquation cakes are made, which contain altogether three _centumpondia_ of copper and nine _centumpondia_ of lead.[ ] the lead, when it has been liquated from the copper, weighs seven _centumpondia_; and in each _centumpondium_--if the _centumpondium_ of copper contain two _librae_ of silver, and the lead contain a third of a _libra_--there will be a _libra_ and a sixth and more than a _semi-uncia_ of silver; while in the exhausted liquation cakes, and in the liquation thorns, there remains a third of a _libra_. if a _centumpondium_ of copper contains two _librae_ and a _bes_ of silver, and the lead a third of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_, there will be in each liquation cake one and a half _librae_ and a _semi-uncia_, and a little more than a _sicilicus_ of silver. in the exhausted liquation cakes there remain a third of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver. [illustration (furnaces enriching copper bottoms): a--furnace. b--forehearth. c--dipping-pot. d--cakes.] if there be in the copper only a minute proportion of silver, it cannot be separated easily until it has been re-melted in other furnaces, so that in the "bottoms" there remains more silver and in the "tops" less.[ ] this furnace, vaulted with unbaked bricks, is similar to an oven, and also to the cupellation furnace, in which the lead is separated from silver, which i described in the last book. the crucible is made of ashes, in the same manner as in the latter, and in the front of the furnace, three feet above the floor of the building, is the mouth out of which the re-melted copper flows into a forehearth and a dipping-pot. on the left side of the mouth is an aperture, through which beech-wood may be put into the furnace to feed the fire. if in a _centumpondium_ of copper there were a sixth of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver, or a quarter of a _libra_, or a quarter of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_--there is re-melted at the same time thirty-eight _centumpondia_ of it in this furnace, until there remain in each _centumpondium_ of the copper "bottoms" a third of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver. for example, if in each _centumpondium_ of copper not yet re-melted, there is a quarter of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver, then the thirty-eight _centumpondia_ that are smelted together must contain a total of eleven _librae_ and an _uncia_ of silver. since from fifteen _centumpondia_ of re-melted copper there was a total of four and a third _librae_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver, there remain only two and a third _librae_. thus there is left in the "bottoms," weighing twenty-three _centumpondia_, a total of eight and three-quarter _librae_ of silver. therefore, each _centumpondium_ of this contains a third of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_, a _drachma_, and the twenty-third part of a _drachma_ of silver; from such copper it is profitable to separate the silver. in order that the master may be more certain of the number of _centumpondia_ of copper in the "bottoms," he weighs the "tops" that have been drawn off from it; the "tops" were first drawn off into the dipping-pot, and cakes were made from them. fourteen hours are expended on the work of thus dividing the copper. the "bottoms," when a certain weight of lead has been added to them, of which alloy i shall soon speak, are melted in the blast furnace; liquation cakes are then made, and the silver is afterward separated from the copper. the "tops" are subsequently melted in the blast furnace, and re-melted in the refining furnace, in order that red copper shall be made[ ]; and the "tops" from this are again smelted in the blast furnace, and then again in the refining furnace, that therefrom shall be made _caldarium_ copper. but when the copper, yellow or red or _caldarium_ is re-smelted in the refining furnace, forty _centumpondia_ are placed in it, and from it they make at least twenty, and at most thirty-five, _centumpondia_. about twenty-two _centumpondia_ of exhausted liquation cakes and ten of yellow copper and eight of red, are simultaneously placed in this latter furnace and smelted, in order that they may be made into refined copper. the copper "bottoms" are alloyed in three different ways with lead.[ ] first, five-eighths of a _centumpondium_ of copper and two and three-quarters _centumpondia_ of lead are taken; and since one liquation cake is made from this, therefore two and a half _centumpondia_ of copper and eleven _centumpondia_ of lead make four liquation cakes. inasmuch as in each _centumpondium_ of copper there is a third of a _libra_ of silver, there would be in the whole of the copper ten-twelfths of a _libra_ of silver; to these are added four _centumpondia_ of lead re-melted from "slags," each _centumpondium_ of which contains a _sicilicus_ and a _drachma_ of silver, which weights make up a total of an _uncia_ and a half of silver. there is also added seven _centumpondia_ of de-silverized lead, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is a _drachma_ of silver; therefore in the four cakes of copper-lead alloy there is a total of a _libra_, a _sicilicus_ and a _drachma_ of silver. in each single _centumpondium_ of lead, after it has been liquated from the copper, there is an _uncia_ and a _drachma_ of silver, which alloy we call "poor" argentiferous lead, because it contains but little silver. but as five cakes of that kind are placed together in the furnace, they liquate from them usually as much as nine and three-quarters _centumpondia_ of poor argentiferous lead, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is an _uncia_ and a _drachma_ of silver, or a total of ten _unciae_ less four _drachmae_. of the liquation thorns there remain three _centumpondia_, in each _centumpondium_ of which there are three _sicilici_ of silver; and there remain four _centumpondia_ of exhausted liquation cakes, each _centumpondium_ of which contains a _semi-uncia_ or four and a half _drachmae_. inasmuch as in a _centumpondium_ of copper "bottoms" there is a third of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ of silver, in five of those cakes there must be more than one and a half _unciae_ and half a _drachma_ of silver. then, again, from another two and a half _centumpondia_ of copper "bottoms," together with eleven _centumpondia_ of lead, four liquation cakes are made. if in each _centumpondium_ of copper there was a third of a _libra_ of silver, there would be in the whole of the _centumpondia_ of base metal five-sixths of a _libra_ of the precious metal. to this copper is added eight _centumpondia_ of poor argentiferous lead, each _centumpondium_ of which contains an _uncia_ and a _drachma_ of silver, or a total of three-quarters of a _libra_ of silver. there is also added three _centumpondia_ of de-silverized lead, in each _centumpondium_ of which there is a _drachma_ of silver. therefore, four liquation cakes contain a total of a _libra_, seven _unciae_, a _sicilicus_ and a _drachma_ of silver; thus each _centumpondium_ of lead, when it has been liquated from the copper, contains an _uncia_ and a half and a _sicilicus_ of silver, which alloy we call "medium" silver-lead. then, again, from another two and a half _centumpondia_ of copper "bottoms," together with eleven _centumpondia_ of lead, they make four liquation cakes. if in each _centumpondium_ of copper there were likewise a third of a _libra_ of silver, there will be in all the weight of the base metal five-sixths of a _libra_ of the precious metal. to this is added nine _centumpondia_ of medium silver-lead, each _centumpondium_ of which contains an _uncia_ and a half and a _sicilicus_ of silver; or a total of a _libra_ and a quarter and a _semi-uncia_ and a _sicilicus_ of silver. and likewise they add two _centumpondia_ of poor silver-lead, in each of which there is an _uncia_ and a _drachma_ of silver. therefore the four liquation cakes contain two and a third _librae_ of silver. each _centumpondium_ of lead, when it has been liquated from the copper, contains a sixth of a _libra_ and a _semi-uncia_ and a _drachma_ of silver. this alloy we call "rich" silver-lead; it is carried to the cupellation furnace, in which lead is separated from silver. i have now mentioned in how many ways copper containing various proportions of silver is alloyed with lead, and how they are melted together in the furnace and run into the casting pan. [illustration (crane for liquation cakes): a--crane. b--drum consisting of rundles. c--toothed drum. d--trolley and its wheels. e--triangular board. f--cakes. g--chain of the crane. h--its hook. i--ring. k--the tongs.] now i will speak of the method by which lead is liquated from copper simultaneously with the silver. the liquation cakes are raised from the ground with the crane, and placed on the copper plates of the furnaces. the hook of the chain let down from the arm of the crane, is inserted in a ring of the tongs, one jaw of which has a tooth; a ring is engaged in each of the handles of the tongs, and these two rings are engaged in a third, in which the hook of the chain is inserted. the tooth on the one jaw of the tongs is struck by a hammer, and driven into the hole in the cake, at the point where the straight end of the hook was driven into it when it was lifted out of the copper mould; the other jaw of the tongs, which has no tooth, squeezes the cake, lest the tooth should fall out of it; the tongs are one and a half feet long, each ring is a digit and a half thick, and the inside is a palm and two digits in diameter. those cranes by which the cakes are lifted out of the copper pans and placed on the ground, and lifted up again from there and placed in the furnaces, are two in number--one in the middle space between the third transverse wall and the two upright posts, and the other in the middle space between the same posts and the seventh transverse wall. the rectangular crane-post of both of these is two feet wide and thick, and is eighteen feet from the third long wall, and nineteen from the second long wall. there are two drums in the framework of each--one drum consisting of rundles, the other being toothed. the crane-arm of each extends seventeen feet, three palms and as many digits from the post. the trolley of each crane is two feet and as many palms long, a foot and two digits wide, and a palm and two digits thick; but where it runs between the beams of the crane-arm it is three digits wide and a palm thick; it has five notches, in which turn five brass wheels, four of which are small, and the fifth much larger than the rest. the notches in which the small wheels turn are two palms long and as much as a palm wide; those wheels are a palm wide and a palm and two digits in diameter; four of the notches are near the four corners of the trolley; the fifth notch is between the two front ones, and it is two palms back from the front. its pulley is larger than the rest, and turns in its own notch; it is three palms in diameter and one palm wide, and grooved on the circumference, so that the iron chain may run in the groove. the trolley has two small axles, to the one in front are fastened three, and to the one at the back, the two wheels; two wheels run on the one beam of the crane-arm, and two on the other; the fifth wheel, which is larger than the others, runs between those two beams. those people who have no cranes place the cakes on a triangular board, to which iron cleats are affixed, so that it will last longer; the board has three iron chains, which are fixed in an iron ring at the top; two workmen pass a pole through the ring and carry it on their shoulders, and thus take the cake to the furnace in which silver is separated from copper. from the vicinity of the furnaces in which copper is mixed with lead and the "slags" are re-melted, to the third long wall, are likewise ten furnaces, in which silver mixed with lead is separated from copper. if this space is eighty feet and two palms long, and the third long wall has in the centre a door three feet and two palms wide, then the spaces remaining at either side of the door will be thirty-eight feet and two palms; and if each of the furnaces occupies four feet and a palm, then the interval between each furnace and the next one must be a foot and three palms; thus the width of the five furnaces and four interspaces will be twenty-eight feet and a palm. therefore, there remain ten feet and a palm, which measurement is so divided that there are five feet and two digits between the first furnace and the transverse wall, and as many feet and digits between the fifth furnace and the door; similarly in the other part of the space from the door to the sixth furnace, there must be five feet and two digits, and from the tenth furnace to the seventh transverse wall, likewise, five feet and two digits. the door is six feet and two palms high; through it the foreman of the _officina_ and the workmen enter the store-room in which the silver-lead alloy is kept. [illustration (liquation furnace): a--sole-stones. b--rectangular stones. c--copper plates. d--front panel. e--side panels. f--bar. g--front end of the long iron rods. h--short chain. i--hooked rod. k--wall which protects the third long wall from injury by fire. l--third long wall. m--feet of the panels. n--iron blocks. o--cakes. p--hearth. q--receiving-pit.] each furnace has a bed, a hearth, a rear wall, two sides and a front, and a receiving-pit. the bed consists of two sole-stones, four rectangular stones, and two copper plates; the sole-stones are five feet and a palm long, a cubit wide, a foot and a palm thick, and they are sunk into the ground, so that they emerge a palm and two digits; they are distant from each other about three palms, yet the distance is narrower at the back than the front. each of the rectangular stones is two feet and as many palms long, a cubit wide, and a cubit thick at the outer edge, and a foot and a palm thick on the inner edge which faces the hearth, thus they form an incline, so that there is a slope to the copper plates which are laid upon them. two of these rectangular stones are placed on one sole-stone; a hole is cut in the upper edge of each, and into the holes are placed iron clamps, and lead is poured in; they are so placed on the sole-stones that they project a palm at the sides, and at the front the sole-stones project to the same extent; if rectangular stones are not available, bricks are laid in their place. the copper plates are four feet two palms and as many digits long, a cubit wide, and a palm thick; each edge has a protuberance, one at the front end, the other at the back; these are a palm and three digits long, and a palm wide and thick. the plates are so laid upon the rectangular stones that their rear ends are three digits from the third long wall; the stones project beyond the plate the same number of digits in front, and a palm and three digits at the sides. when the plates have been joined, the groove which is between the protuberances is a palm and three digits wide, and four feet long, and through it flows the silver-lead which liquates from the cakes. when the plates are corroded either by the fire or by the silver-lead, which often adheres to them in the form of stalactites, and is chipped off, they are exchanged, the right one being placed to the left, and the left one, on the contrary, to the right; but the left side of the plates, which, when the fusion of the copper took place, came into contact with the copper, must lie flat; so that when the exchange of the plates has been carried out, the protuberances, which are thus on the underside, raise the plate from the stones, and they have to be partially chipped off, lest they should prove an impediment to the work; and in each of their places is laid a piece of iron, three palms long, a digit thick at both ends, and a palm thick in the centre for the length of a palm and three digits. the passage under the plates between the rectangular stones is a foot wide at the back, and a foot and a palm wide at the front, for it gradually widens out. the hearth, which is between the sole-stones, is covered with a bed of hearth-lead, taken from the crucible in which lead is separated from silver. the rear end is the highest, and should be so high that it reaches to within six digits of the plates, from which point it slopes down evenly to the front end, so that the argentiferous lead alloy which liquates from the cakes can flow into the receiving-pit. the wall built against the third long wall in order to protect it from injury by fire, is constructed of bricks joined together with lute, and stands on the copper plates; this wall is two feet, a palm and two digits high, two palms thick, and three feet, a palm and three digits wide at the bottom, for it reaches across both of them; at the top it is three feet wide, for it rises up obliquely on each side. at each side of this wall, at a height of a palm and two digits above the top of it, there is inserted in a hole in the third long wall a hooked iron rod, fastened in with molten lead; the rod projects two palms from the wall, and is two digits wide and one digit thick; it has two hooks, the one at the side, the other at the end. both of these hooks open toward the wall, and both are a digit thick, and both are inserted in the last, or the adjacent, links of a short iron chain. this chain consists of four links, each of which is a palm and a digit long and half a digit thick; the first link is engaged in the first hole in a long iron rod, and one or other of the remaining three links engages the hook of the hooked rod. the two long rods are three feet and as many palms and digits long, two digits wide, and one digit thick; both ends of both of these rods have holes, the back one of which is round and a digit in diameter, and in this is engaged the first link of the chain as i have stated; the hole at the front end is two digits and a half long and a digit and a half wide. this end of each rod is made three digits wide, while for the rest of its length it is only two digits, and at the back it is two and a half digits. into the front hole of each rod is driven an iron bar, which is three feet and two palms long, two digits wide and one thick; in the end of this bar are five small square holes, two-thirds of a digit square; each hole is distant from the other half a digit, the first being at a distance of about a digit from the end. into one of these holes the refiner drives an iron pin; if he should desire to make the furnace narrower, then he drives it into the last hole; if he should desire to widen it, then into the first hole; if he should desire to contract it moderately, then into one of the middle holes. for the same reason, therefore, the hook is sometimes inserted into the last link of the chain, and sometimes into the third or the second. the furnace is widened when many cakes are put into it, and contracted when there are but few, but to put in more than five is neither usual nor possible; indeed, it is because of thin cakes that the walls are contracted. the bar has a hump, which projects a digit on each side at the back, of the same width and thickness as itself. these humps project, lest the bar should slip through the hole of the right-hand rod, in which it remains fixed when it, together with the rods, is not pressing upon the furnace walls. [illustration (liquation furnaces): a--furnace in which the operation of liquation is being performed. b--furnace in which it is not being performed. c--receiving-pit. d--moulds. e--cakes. f--liquation thorns.] there are three panels to the furnace--two at the sides, one in front and another at the back. those which are at the sides are three feet and as many palms and two digits long, and two feet high; the front one is two feet and a palm and three digits long, and, like the side ones, two feet high. each consists of iron bars, of feet, and of iron plates. those which are at the side have seven bars, the lower and upper of which are of the same length as the panels; the former holds up the upright bars; the latter is placed upon them; the uprights are five in number, and have the same height as the panels; the middle ones are inserted into holes in the upper and lower bars; the outer ones are made of one and the same bar as the lower and upper ones. they are two digits wide and one thick. the front panel has five bars; the lower one holds similar uprights, but there are three of them only; the upper bar is placed on them. each of these panels has two feet fixed at each end of the lower bar, and these are two palms long, one wide, and a digit thick. the iron plates are fastened to the inner side of the bars with iron wire, and they are covered with lute, so that they may last longer and may be uninjured by the fire. there are, besides, iron blocks three palms long, one wide, and a digit and a half thick; the upper surface of these is somewhat hollowed out, so that the cakes may stand in them; these iron blocks are dipped into a vessel in which there is clay mixed with water, and they are used only for placing under the cakes of copper and lead alloy made in the furnaces. there is more silver in these than in those which are made of liquation thorns, or furnace accretions, or re-melted "slags." two iron blocks are placed under each cake, in order that, by raising it up, the fire may bring more force to bear upon it; the one is put on the right bed-plate, the other on the left. finally, outside the hearth is the receiving-pit, which is a foot wide and three palms deep; when this is worn away it is restored with lute alone, which easily retains the lead alloy. if four liquation cakes are placed on the plates of each furnace, then the iron blocks are laid under them; but if the cakes are made from copper "bottoms," or from liquation thorns, or from the accretions or "slags," of which i have partly written above and will further describe a little later, there are five of them, and because they are not so large and heavy, no blocks are placed under them. pieces of charcoal six digits long are laid between the cakes, lest they should fall one against the other, or lest the last one should fall against the wall which protects the third long wall from injury by fire. in the middle empty spaces, long and large pieces of charcoal are likewise laid. then when the panels have been set up, and the bar has been closed, the furnace is filled with small charcoal, and a wicker basket full of charcoal is thrown into the receiving-pit, and over that are thrown live coals; soon afterward the burning coal, lifted up in a shovel, is spread over all parts of the furnace, so that the charcoal in it may be kindled; any charcoal which remains in the receiving-pit is thrown into the passage, so that it may likewise be heated. if this has not been done, the silver-lead alloy liquated from the cakes is frozen by the coldness of the passage, and does not run down into the receiving-pit. after a quarter of an hour the cakes begin to drip silver-lead alloy,[ ] which runs down through the openings between the copper plates into the passage. when the long pieces of charcoal have burned up, if the cakes lean toward the wall, they are placed upright again with a hooked bar, but if they lean toward the front bar they are propped up by charcoal; moreover, if some cakes shrink more than the rest, charcoal is added to the former and not to the others. the silver drips together with the lead, for both melt more rapidly than copper. the liquation thorns do not flow away, but remain in the passage, and should be turned over frequently with a hooked bar, in order that the silver-lead may liquate away from them and flow down into the receiving pit; that which remains is again melted in the blast furnace, while that which flows into the receiving pit is at once carried with the remaining products to the cupellation furnace, where the lead is separated from the silver. the hooked bar has an iron handle two feet long, in which is set a wooden one four feet long. the silver-lead which runs out into the receiving-pit is poured out by the refiner with a bronze ladle into eight copper moulds, which are two palms and three digits in diameter; these are first smeared with a lute wash so that the cakes of silver-lead may more easily fall out when they are turned over. if the supply of moulds fails because the silver-lead flows down too rapidly into the receiving-pit, then water is poured on them, in order that the cakes may cool and be taken out of them more rapidly; thus the same moulds may be used again immediately; if no such necessity urges the refiner, he washes over the empty moulds with a lute wash. the ladle is exactly similar to that which is used in pouring out the metals that are melted in the blast furnace. when all the silver-lead has run down from the passage into the receiving-pit, and has been poured out into copper moulds, the thorns are drawn out of the passage into the receiving-pit with a rabble; afterward they are raked on to the ground from the receiving-pit, thrown with a shovel into a wheelbarrow, and, having been conveyed away to a heap, are melted once again. the blade of the rabble is two palms and as many digits long, two palms and a digit wide, and joined to its back is an iron handle three feet long; into the iron handle is inserted a wooden one as many feet in length. the residue cakes, after the silver-lead has been liquated from the copper, are called "exhausted liquation cakes" (_fathiscentes_), because when thus smelted they appear to be dried up. by placing a crowbar under the cakes they are raised up, seized with tongs, and placed in the wheelbarrow; they are then conveyed away to the furnace in which they are "dried." the crowbar is somewhat similar to those generally used to chip off the accretions that adhere to the walls of the blast furnace. the tongs are two and a half feet long. with the same crowbar the stalactites are chipped off from the copper plates from which they hang, and with the same instrument the iron blocks are struck off the exhausted liquation cakes to which they adhere. the refiner has performed his day's task when he has liquated the silver-lead from sixteen of the large cakes and twenty of the smaller ones; if he liquates more than this, he is paid separately for it at the price for extraordinary work. silver, or lead mixed with silver, which we call _stannum_, is separated by the above method from copper. this silver-lead is carried to the cupellation furnace, in which lead is separated from silver; of these methods i will mention only one, because in the previous book i have explained them in detail. amongst us some years ago only forty-four _centumpondia_ of silver-lead and one of copper were melted together in the cupellation furnaces, but now they melt forty-six _centumpondia_ of silver-lead and one and a half _centumpondia_ of copper; in other places, usually a hundred and twenty _centumpondia_ of silver-lead alloy and six of copper are melted, in which manner they make about one hundred and ten _centumpondia_ more or less of litharge and thirty of hearth-lead. but in all these methods the silver which is in the copper is mixed with the remainder of silver; the copper itself, equally with the lead, will be changed partly into litharge and partly into hearth-lead.[ ] the silver-lead alloy which does not melt is taken from the margin of the crucible with a hooked bar. [illustration (exhausted liquation cakes): a--cakes. b--hammer.] the work of "drying" is distributed into four operations, which are performed in four days. on the first--as likewise on the other three days--the master begins at the fourth hour of the morning, and with his assistant chips off the stalactites from the exhausted liquation cakes. they then carry the cakes to the furnace, and put the stalactites upon the heap of liquation thorns. the head of the chipping hammer is three palms and as many digits long; its sharp edge is a palm wide; the round end is three digits thick; the wooden handle is four feet long. the master throws pulverised earth into a small vessel, sprinkles water over it, and mixes it; this he pours over the whole hearth, and sprinkles charcoal dust over it to the thickness of a digit. if he should neglect this, the copper, settling in the passages, would adhere to the copper bed-plates, from which it can be chipped off only with difficulty; or else it would adhere to the bricks, if the hearth was covered with them, and when the copper is chipped off these they are easily broken. on the second day, at the same time, the master arranges bricks in ten rows; in this manner twelve passages are made. the first two rows of bricks are between the first and the second openings on the right of the furnace; the next three rows are between the second and third openings, the following three rows are between the third and the fourth openings, and the last two rows between the fourth and fifth openings. these bricks are a foot and a palm long, two palms and a digit wide, and a palm and two digits thick; there are seven of these thick bricks in a row, so there are seventy all together. then on the first three rows of bricks they lay exhausted liquation cakes and a layer five digits thick of large charcoal; then in a similar way more exhausted liquation cakes are laid upon the other bricks, and charcoal is thrown upon them; in this manner seventy _centumpondia_ of cakes are put on the hearth of the furnace. but if half of this weight, or a little more, is to be "dried," then four rows of bricks will suffice. those who dry exhausted liquation cakes[ ] made from copper "bottoms" place ninety or a hundred _centumpondia_[ ] into the furnace at the same time. a place is left in the front part of the furnace for the topmost cakes removed from the forehearth in which copper is made, these being more suitable for supporting the exhausted liquation cakes than are iron plates; indeed, if the former cakes drip copper from the heat, this can be taken back with the liquation thorns to the first furnace, but melted iron is of no use to us in these matters. when the cakes of this kind have been placed in front of the exhausted liquation cakes, the workman inserts the iron bar into the holes on the inside of the wall, which are at a height of three palms and two digits above the hearth; the hole to the left penetrates through into the wall, so that the bar may be pushed back and forth. this bar is round, eight feet long and two digits in diameter; on the right side it has a haft made of iron, which is about a foot from the right end; the aperture in this haft is a palm wide, two digits high, and a digit thick. the bar holds the exhausted liquation cakes opposite, lest they should fall down. when the operation of "drying" is completed, a workman draws out this bar with a crook which he inserts into the haft, as i will explain hereafter. [illustration (drying furnace for liquation): a--side walls. b--front arch. c--rear arch. d--wall in the rear arch. e--inner wall. f--vent holes. g--chimney. h--hearth. i--tank. k--pipe. l--plug. m--iron door. n--transverse bars. o--upright bars. p--plates. q--rings of the bars. r--chains. s--rows of bricks. t--bar. v--its haft. x--copper bed-plates.] in order that one should understand those things of which i have spoken, and concerning which i am about to speak, it is necessary for me to give some information beforehand about the furnace and how it is to be made. it stands nine feet from the fourth long wall, and as far from the wall which is between the second and fourth transverse walls. it consists of walls, an arch, a chimney, an interior wall, and a hearth; the two walls are at the sides; and they are eleven feet three palms and two digits long, and where they support the chimney they are eight feet and a palm high. at the front of the arch they are only seven feet high; they are two feet three palms and two digits thick, and are made either of rock or of bricks; the distance between them is eight feet, a palm and two digits. there are two of the arches, for the space at the rear between the walls is also arched from the ground, in order that it may be able to support the chimney; the foundations of these arches are the walls of the furnace; the span of the arch has the same length as the space between the walls; the top of the arch is five feet, a palm and two digits high. in the rear arch there is a wall made of bricks joined with lime; this wall at a height of a foot and three palms from the ground has five vent-holes, which are two palms and a digit high, a palm and a digit wide, of which the first is near the right interior wall, and the last near the left interior wall, the remaining three in the intervening space; these vent-holes penetrate through the interior of the wall which is in the arch. half-bricks can be placed over the vent-holes, lest too much air should be drawn into the furnace, and they can be taken out at times, in order that he who is "drying" the exhausted liquation cakes may inspect the passages, as they are called, to see whether the cakes are being properly "dried." the front arch is three feet two palms distant from the rear one; this arch is the same thickness as that of the rear arch, but the span is six feet wide; the interior of the arch itself is of the same height as the walls. a chimney is built upon the arches and the walls, and is made of bricks joined together with lime; it is thirty-six feet high and penetrates through the roof. the interior wall is built against the rear arch and both the side walls, from which it juts out a foot; it is three feet and the same number of palms high, three palms thick, and is made of bricks joined together with lute and smeared thickly with lute, sloping up to the height of a foot above it. this wall is a kind of shield, for it protects the exterior walls from the heat of the fire, which is apt to injure them; the latter cannot be easily re-made, while the former can be repaired with little work. the hearth is made of lute, and is covered either with copper plates, such as those of the furnaces in which silver is liquated from copper, although they have no protuberances, or it may be covered with bricks, if the owners are unwilling to incur the expense of copper plates. the wider part of the hearth is made sloping in such a manner that the rear end reaches as high as the five vent-holes, and the front end of the hearth is so low that the back of the front arch is four feet, three palms and as many digits above it, and the front five feet, three palms and as many digits. the hearth beyond the furnaces is paved with bricks for a distance of six feet. near the furnace, against the fourth long wall, is a tank thirteen feet and a palm long, four feet wide, and a foot and three palms deep. it is lined on all sides with planks, lest the earth should fall into it; on one side the water flows in through pipes, and on the other, if the plug be pulled out, it soaks into the earth; into this tank of water are thrown the cakes of copper from which the silver and lead have been separated. the fore part of the front furnace arch should be partly closed with an iron door; the bottom of this door is six feet and two digits wide; the upper part is somewhat rounded, and at the highest point, which is in the middle, it is three feet and two palms high. it is made of iron bars, with plates fastened to them with iron wire, there being seven bars--three transverse and four upright--each of which is two digits wide and half a digit thick. the lowest transverse bar is six feet and two palms long; the middle one has the same length; the upper one is curved and higher at the centre, and thus longer than the other two. the upright bars are two feet distant from one another; both the outer ones are two feet and as many palms high; but the centre ones are three feet and two palms. they project from the upper curved transverse bar and have holes, in which are inserted the hooks of small chains two feet long; the topmost links of these chains are engaged in the ring of a third chain, which, when extended, reaches to one end of a beam which is somewhat cut out. the chain then turns around the beam, and again hanging down, the hook in the other end is fastened in one of the links. this beam is eleven feet long, a palm and two digits wide, a palm thick, and turns on an iron axle fixed in a nearby timber; the rear end of the beam has an iron pin, which is three palms and a digit long, and which penetrates through it where it lies under a timber, and projects from it a palm and two digits on one side, and three digits on the other side. at this point the pin is perforated, in order that a ring may be fixed in it and hold it, lest it should fall out of the beam; that end is hardly a digit thick, while the other round end is thicker than a digit. when the door is to be shut, this pin lies under the timber and holds the door so that it cannot fall; the pin likewise prevents the rectangular iron band which encircles the end of the beam, and into which is inserted the ring of a long hook, from falling from the end. the lowest link of an iron chain, which is six feet long, is inserted in the ring of a staple driven into the right wall of the furnace, and fixed firmly by filling in with molten lead. the hook suspended at the top from the ring should be inserted in one of these lower links, when the door is to be raised; when the door is to be let down, the hook is taken out of that link and put into one of the upper links. [illustration (drying furnace for liquation): a--the door let down. b--bar. c--exhausted liquation cakes. d--bricks. e--tongs.] on the third day the master sets about the principal operation. first he throws a basketful of charcoals on to the ground in front of the hearth, and kindles them by adding live coals, and having thrown live coals on to the cakes placed within, he spreads them equally all over with an iron shovel. the blade of the shovel is three palms and a digit long, and three palms wide; its iron handle is two palms long, and the wooden one ten feet long, so that it can reach to the rear wall of the furnace. the exhausted liquation cakes become incandescent in an hour and a half, if the copper was good and hard, or after two hours, if it was soft and fragile. the workman adds charcoal to them where he sees it is needed, throwing it into the furnace through the openings on both sides between the side walls and the closed door. this opening is a foot and a palm wide. he lets down the door, and when the "slags" begin to flow he opens the passages with a bar; this should take place after five hours; the door is let down over the upper open part of the arch for two feet and as many digits, so that the master can bear the violence of the heat. when the cakes shrink, charcoal should not be added to them lest they should melt. if the cakes made from poor and fragile copper are "dried" with cakes made from good hard copper, very often the copper so settles into the passages that a bar thrust into them cannot penetrate them. this bar is of iron, six feet and two palms long, into which a wooden handle five feet long is inserted. the refiner draws off the "slags" with a rabble from the right side of the hearth. the blade of the rabble is made of an iron plate a foot and a palm wide, gradually narrowing toward the handle; the blade is two palms high, its iron handle is two feet long, and the wooden handle set into it is ten feet long. [illustration (drying furnace for liquation): a--the door raised. b--hooked bar. c--two-pronged rake. d--tongs. e--tank.] when the exhausted liquation cakes have been "dried," the master raises the door in the manner i have described, and with a long iron hook inserted into the haft of the bar he draws it through the hole in the left wall from the hole in the right wall; afterward he pushes it back and replaces it. the master then takes out the exhausted liquation cakes nearest to him with the iron hook; then he pulls out the cakes from the bricks. this hook is two palms high, as many digits wide, and one thick; its iron handle is two feet long, and the wooden handle eleven feet long. there is also a two-pronged rake with which the "dried" cakes are drawn over to the left side so that they may be seized with tongs; the prongs of the rake are pointed, and are two palms long, as many digits wide, and one digit thick; the iron part of the handle is a foot long, the wooden part nine feet long. the "dried" cakes, taken out of the hearth by the master and his assistants, are seized with other tongs and thrown into the rectangular tank, which is almost filled with water. these tongs are two feet and three palms long, both the handles are round and more than a digit thick, and the ends are bent for a palm and two digits; both the jaws are a digit and a half wide in front and sharpened; at the back they are a digit thick, and then gradually taper, and when closed, the interior is two palms and as many digits wide. the "dried" cakes which are dripping copper are not immediately dipped into the tank, because, if so, they burst in fragments and give out a sound like thunder. the cakes are afterward taken out of the tank with the tongs, and laid upon the two transverse planks on which the workmen stand; the sooner they are taken out the easier it is to chip off the copper that has become ash-coloured. finally, the master, with a spade, raises up the bricks a little from the hearth, while they are still warm. the blade of the spade is a palm and two digits long, the lower edge is sharp, and is a palm and a digit wide, the upper end a palm wide; its handle is round, the iron part being two feet long, and the wooden part seven and a half feet long. on the fourth day the master draws out the liquation thorns which have settled in the passages; they are much richer in silver than those that are made when the silver-lead is liquated from copper in the liquation furnace. the "dried" cakes drip but little copper, but nearly all their remaining silver-lead and the thorns consist of it, for, indeed, in one _centumpondium_ of "dried" copper there should remain only half an _uncia_ of silver, and there sometimes remain only three _drachmae_.[ ] some smelters chip off the metal adhering to the bricks with a hammer, in order that it may be melted again; others, however, crush the bricks under the stamps and wash them, and the copper and lead thus collected is melted again. the master, when he has taken these things away and put them in their places, has finished his day's work. [illustration (dried liquation cakes): a--tank. b--board. c--tongs. d--"dried" cakes taken out of the tanks. e--block. f--rounded hammer. g--pointed hammer.] the assistants take the "dried" cakes out of the tank on the next day, place them on an oak block, and first pound them with rounded hammers in order that the ash-coloured copper may fall away from them, and then they dig out with pointed picks the holes in the cakes, which contain the same kind of copper. the head of the round hammer is three palms and a digit long; one end of the head is round and two digits long and thick; the other end is chisel-shaped, and is two digits and a half long. the sharp pointed hammer is the same length as the round hammer, but one end is pointed, the other end is square, and gradually tapers to a point. the nature of copper is such that when it is "dried" it becomes ash coloured, and since this copper contains silver, it is smelted again in the blast furnaces.[ ] [illustration (copper refining furnace): a--hearth of the furnace. b--chimney. c--common pillar. d--other pillars. the partition wall is behind the common pillar and not to be seen. e--arches. f--little walls which protect the partition wall from injury by the fire. g--crucibles. h--second long wall. i--door. k--spatula. l--the other spatula. m--the broom in which is inserted a stick. n--pestles. o--wooden mallet. p--plate. q--stones. r--iron rod.] i have described sufficiently the method by which exhausted liquation cakes are "dried"; now i will speak of the method by which they are made into copper after they have been "dried." these cakes, in order that they may recover the appearance of copper which they have to some extent lost, are melted in four furnaces, which are placed against the second long wall in the part of the building between the second and third transverse walls. this space is sixty-three feet and two palms long, and since each of these furnaces occupies thirteen feet, the space which is on the right side of the first furnace, and on the left of the fourth, are each three feet and three palms wide, and the distance between the second and third furnace is six feet. in the middle of each of these three spaces is a door, a foot and a half wide and six feet high, and the middle one is common to the master of each of the furnaces. each furnace has its own chimney, which rises between the two long walls mentioned above, and is supported by two arches and a partition wall. the partition wall is between the two furnaces, and is five feet long, ten feet high, and two feet thick; in front of it is a pillar belonging in common to the front arches of the furnace on either side, which is two feet and as many palms thick, three feet and a half wide. the front arch reaches from this common pillar to another pillar that is common to the side arch of the same furnace; this arch on the right spans from the second long wall to the same pillar, which is two feet and as many palms wide and thick at the bottom. the interior of the front arch is nine feet and a palm wide, and eight feet high at its highest point; the interior of the arch which is on the right side, is five feet and a palm wide, and of equal height to the other, and both the arches are built of the same height as the partition wall. imposed upon these arches and the partition wall are the walls of the chimney; these slope upward, and thus contract, so that at the upper part, where the fumes are emitted, the opening is eight feet in length, one foot and three palms in width. the fourth wall of the chimney is built vertically upon the second long wall. as the partition wall is common to the two furnaces, so its superstructure is common to the two chimneys. in this sensible manner the chimney is built. at the front each furnace is six feet two palms long, and three feet two palms wide, and a cubit high; the back of each furnace is against the second long wall, the front being open. the first furnace is open and sloping at the right side, so that the slags may be drawn out; the left side is against the partition wall, and has a little wall built of bricks cemented together with lute; this little wall protects the partition wall from injury by the fire. on the contrary, the second furnace has the left side open and the right side is against the partition wall, where also it has its own little wall which protects the partition wall from the fire. the front of each furnace is built of rectangular rocks; the interior of it is filled up with earth. then in each of the furnaces at the rear, against the second long wall, is an aperture through an arch at the back, and in these are fixed the copper pipes. each furnace has a round pit, two feet and as many palms wide, built three feet away from the partition wall. finally, under the pit of the furnace, at a depth of a cubit, is the hidden receptacle for moisture, similar to the others, whose vent penetrates through the second long wall and slopes upward to the right from the first furnace, and to the left from the second. if copper is to be made the next day, then the master cuts out the crucible with a spatula, the blade of which is three digits wide and as many palms long, the iron handle being two feet long and one and a half digits in diameter; the wooden handle inserted into it is round, five feet long and two digits in diameter. then, with another cutting spatula, he makes the crucible smooth; the blade of this spatula is a palm wide and two palms long; its handle, partly of iron, partly of wood, is similar in every respect to the first one. afterward he throws pulverised clay and charcoal into the crucible, pours water over it, and sweeps it over with a broom into which a stick is fixed. then immediately he throws into the crucible a powder, made of two wheelbarrowsful of sifted charcoal dust, as many wheelbarrowsful of pulverised clay likewise sifted, and six basketsful of river sand which has passed through a very fine sieve. this powder, like that used by smelters, is sprinkled with water and moistened before it is put into the crucible, so that it may be fashioned by the hands into shapes similar to snowballs. when it has been put in, the master first kneads it and makes it smooth with his hands, and then pounds it with two wooden pestles, each of which is a cubit long; each pestle has a round head at each end, but one of these is a palm in diameter, the other three digits; both are thinner in the middle, so that they may be held in the hand. then he again throws moistened powder into the crucible, and again makes it smooth with his hands, and kneads it with his fists and with the pestles; then, pushing upward and pressing with his fingers, he makes the edge of the crucible smooth. after the crucible has been made smooth, he sprinkles in dry charcoal dust, and again pounds it with the same pestles, at first with the narrow heads, and afterward with the wider ones. then he pounds the crucible with a wooden mallet two feet long, both heads of which are round and three digits in diameter; its wooden handle is two palms long, and one and a half digits in diameter. finally, he throws into the crucible as much pure sifted ashes as both hands can hold, and pours water into it, and, taking an old linen rag, he smears the crucible over with the wet ashes. the crucible is round and sloping. if copper is to be made from the best quality of "dried" cakes, it is made two feet wide and one deep, but if from other cakes, it is made a cubit wide and two palms deep. the master also has an iron band curved at both ends, two palms long and as many digits wide, and with this he cuts off the edges of the crucible if they are higher than is necessary. the copper pipe is inclined, and projects three digits from the wall, and has its upper end and both sides smeared thick with lute, that it may not be burned; but the underside of the pipe is smeared thinly with lute, for this side reaches almost to the edge of the crucible, and when the crucible is full the molten copper touches it. the wall above the pipe is smeared over with lute, lest that should be damaged. he does the same to the other side of an iron plate, which is a foot and three palms long and a foot high; this stands on stones near the crucible at the side where the hearth slopes, in order that the slag may run out under it. others do not place the plates upon stones, but cut out of the plate underneath a small piece, three digits long and three digits wide; lest the plate should fall, it is supported by an iron rod fixed in the wall at a height of two palms and the same number of digits, and it projects from the wall three palms. then with an iron shovel, whose wooden handle is six feet long, he throws live charcoal into the crucible; or else charcoal, kindled by means of a few live coals, is added to them. over the live charcoal he lays "dried" cakes, which, if they were of copper of the first quality, weigh all together three _centumpondia_, or three and a half _centumpondia_; but if they were of copper of the second quality, then two and a half _centumpondia_; if they were of the third quality, then two _centumpondia_ only; but if they were of copper of very superior quality, then they place upon it six _centumpondia_, and in this case they make the crucible wider and deeper.[ ] the lowest "dried" cake is placed at a distance of two palms from the pipe, the rest at a greater distance, and when the lower ones are melted the upper ones fall down and get nearer to the pipe; if they do not fall down they must be pushed with a shovel. the blade of the shovel is a foot long, three palms and two digits wide, the iron part of the handle is two palms long, the wooden part nine feet. round about the "dried" cakes are placed large long pieces of charcoal, and in the pipe are placed medium-sized pieces. when all these things have been arranged in this manner, the fire must be more violently excited by the blast from the bellows. when the copper is melting and the coals blaze, the master pushes an iron bar into the middle of them in order that they may receive the air, and that the flame can force its way out. this pointed bar is two and a half feet long, and its wooden handle four feet long. when the cakes are partly melted, the master, passing out through the door, inspects the crucible through the bronze pipe, and if he should find that too much of the "slag" is adhering to the mouth of the pipe, and thus impeding the blast of the bellows, he inserts the hooked iron bar into the pipe through the nozzle of the bellows, and, turning this about the mouth of the pipe, he removes the "slags" from it. the hook on this bar is two digits high; the iron part of the handle is three feet long; the wooden part is the same number of palms long. now it is time to insert the bar under the iron plate, in order that the "slags" may flow out. when the cakes, being all melted, have run into the crucible, he takes out a sample of copper with the third round bar, which is made wholly of iron, and is three feet long, a digit thick, and has a steel point lest its pores should absorb the copper. when he has compressed the bellows, he introduces this bar as quickly as possible into the crucible through the pipe between the two nozzles, and takes out samples two, three, or four times, until he finds that the copper is perfectly refined. if the copper is good it adheres easily to the bar, and two samples suffice; if it is not good, then many are required. it is necessary to smelt it in the crucible until the copper adhering to the bar is seen to be of a brassy colour, and if the upper as well as the lower part of the thin layer of copper may be easily broken, it signifies that the copper is perfectly melted; he places the point of the bar on a small iron anvil, and chips off the thin layer of copper from it with a hammer.[ ] [illustration (copper refining): a--pointed bar. b--thin copper layer. c--anvil. d--hammer.] [illustration (copper refining): a--crucible. b--board. c--wedge-shaped bar. d--cakes of copper made by separating them with the wedge-shaped bar. e--tongs. f--tub.] if the copper is not good, the master draws off the "slags" twice, or three times if necessary--the first time when some of the cakes have been melted, the second when all have melted, the third time when the copper has been heated for some time. if the copper was of good quality, the "slags" are not drawn off before the operation is finished, but at the time they are to be drawn off, he depresses the bar over both bellows, and places over both a stick, a cubit long and a palm wide, half cut away at the upper part, so that it may pass under the iron pin fixed at the back in the perforated wood. this he does likewise when the copper has been completely melted. then the assistant removes the iron plate with the tongs; these tongs are four feet three palms long, their jaws are about a foot in length, and their straight part measures two palms and three digits, and the curved a palm and a digit. the same assistant, with the iron shovel, throws and heaps up the larger pieces of charcoal into that part of the hearth which is against the little wall which protects the other wall from injury by fire, and partly extinguishes them by pouring water over them. the master, with a hazel stick inserted into the crucible, stirs it twice. afterward he draws off the slags with a rabble, which consists of an iron blade, wide and sharp, and of alder-wood; the blade is a digit and a half in width and three feet long; the wooden handle inserted in its hollow part is the same number of feet long, and the alder-wood in which the blade is fixed must have the figure of a rhombus; it must be three palms and a digit long, a palm and two digits wide, and a palm thick. subsequently he takes a broom and sweeps the charcoal dust and small coal over the whole of the crucible, lest the copper should cool before it flows together; then, with a third rabble, he cuts off the slags which may adhere to the edge of the crucible. the blade of this rabble is two palms long and a palm and one digit wide, the iron part of the handle is a foot and three palms long, the wooden part six feet. afterward he again draws off the slags from the crucible, which the assistant does not quench by pouring water upon them, as the other slags are usually quenched, but he sprinkles over them a little water and allows them to cool. if the copper should bubble, he presses down the bubbles with the rabble. then he pours water on the wall and the pipes, that it may flow down warm into the crucible, for, the copper, if cold water were to be poured over it while still hot, would spatter about. if a stone, or a piece of lute or wood, or a damp coal should then fall into it, the crucible would vomit out all the copper with a loud noise like thunder, and whatever it touches it injures and sets on fire. subsequently he lays a curved board with a notch in it over the front part of the crucible; it is two feet long, a palm and two digits wide, and a digit thick. then the copper in the crucible should be divided into cakes with an iron wedge-shaped bar; this is three feet long, two digits wide, and steeled on the end for the distance of two digits, and its wooden handle is three feet long. he places this bar on the notched board, and, driving it into the copper, moves it forward and back, and by this means the water flows into the vacant space in the copper, and he separates the cake from the rest of the mass. if the copper is not perfectly smelted the cakes will be too thick, and cannot be taken out of the crucible easily. each cake is afterward seized by the assistant with the tongs and plunged into the water in the tub; the first one is placed aside so that the master may re-melt it again immediately, for, since some "slags" adhere to it, it is not as perfect as the subsequent ones; indeed, if the copper is not of good quality, he places the first two cakes aside. then, again pouring water over the wall and the pipes, he separates out the second cake, which the assistant likewise immerses in water and places on the ground together with the others separated out in the same way, which he piles upon them. these, if the copper was of good quality, should be thirteen or more in number; if it was not of good quality, then fewer. if the copper was of good quality, this part of the operation, which indeed is distributed into four parts, is accomplished by the master in two hours; if of mediocre quality, in two and a half hours; if of bad quality, in three. the "dried" cakes are re-melted, first in the first crucible and then in the second. the assistant must, as quickly as possible, quench all the cakes with water, after they have been cut out of the second crucible. afterward with the tongs he replaces in its proper place the iron plate which was in front of the furnace, and throws the charcoal back into the crucible with a shovel. meanwhile the master, continuing his work, removes the wooden stick from the bars of the bellows, so that in re-melting the other cakes he may accomplish the third part of his process; this must be carefully done, for if a particle from any iron implement should by chance fall into the crucible, or should be thrown in by any malevolent person, the copper could not be made until the iron had been consumed, and therefore double labour would have to be expended upon it. finally, the assistant extinguishes all the glowing coals, and chips off the dry lute from the mouth of the copper pipe with a hammer; one end of this hammer is pointed, the other round, and it has a wooden handle five feet long. because there is danger that the copper would be scattered if the _pompholyx_ and _spodos_, which adhere to the walls and the hood erected upon them, should fall into the crucible, he cleans them off in the meantime. every week he takes the copper flowers out of the tub, after having poured off the water, for these fall into it from the cakes when they are quenched.[ ] the bellows which this master uses differ in size from the others, for the boards are seven and a half feet long; the back part is three feet wide; the front, where the head is joined on is a foot, two palms and as many digits. the head is a cubit and a digit long; the back part of it is a cubit and a palm wide, and then becomes gradually narrower. the nozzles of the bellows are bound together by means of an iron chain, controlled by a thick bar, one end of which penetrates into the ground against the back of the long wall, and the other end passes under the beam which is laid upon the foremost perforated beams. these nozzles are so placed in a copper pipe that they are at a distance of a palm from the mouth; the mouth should be made three digits in diameter, that the air may be violently expelled through this narrow aperture. there now remain the liquation thorns, the ash-coloured copper, the "slags," and the _cadmia_.[ ] liquation cakes are made from thorns in the following manner.[ ] there are taken three-quarters of a _centumpondium_ of thorns, which have their origin from the cakes of copper-lead alloy when lead-silver is liquated, and as many parts of a _centumpondium_ of the thorns derived from cakes made from once re-melted thorns by the same method, and to them are added a _centumpondium_ of de-silverized lead and half a _centumpondium_ of hearth-lead. if there is in the works plenty of litharge, it is substituted for the de-silverized lead. one and a half _centumpondia_ of litharge and hearth-lead is added to the same weight of primary thorns, and half a _centumpondium_ of thorns which have their origin from liquation cakes composed of thorns twice re-melted by the same method (tertiary thorns), and a fourth part of a _centumpondium_ of thorns which are produced when the exhausted liquation cakes are "dried." by both methods one single liquation cake is made from three _centumpondia_. in this manner the smelter makes every day fifteen liquation cakes, more or less; he takes great care that the metallic substances, from which the first liquation cake is made, flow down properly and in due order into the forehearth, before the material of which the subsequent cake is to be made. five of these liquation cakes are put simultaneously into the furnace in which silver-lead is liquated from copper, they weigh almost fourteen _centumpondia_, and the "slags" made therefrom usually weigh quite a _centumpondium_. in all the liquation cakes together there is usually one _libra_ and nearly two _unciae_ of silver, and in the silver-lead which drips from those cakes, and weighs seven and a half _centumpondia_, there is in each an _uncia_ and a half of silver. in each of the three _centumpondia_ of liquation thorns there is almost an _uncia_ of silver, and in the two _centumpondia_ and a quarter of exhausted liquation cakes there is altogether one and a half _unciae_; yet this varies greatly for each variety of thorns, for in the thorns produced from primary liquation cakes made of copper and lead when silver-lead is liquated from the copper, and those produced in "drying" the exhausted liquation cakes, there are almost two _unciae_ of silver; in the others not quite an _uncia_. there are other thorns besides, of which i will speak a little further on. those in the carpathian mountains who make liquation cakes from the copper "bottoms" which remain after the upper part of the copper is divided from the lower, in the furnace similar to an oven, produce thorns when the poor or mediocre silver-lead is liquated from the copper. these, together with those made of cakes of re-melted thorns, or made with re-melted litharge, are placed in a heap by themselves; but those that are made from cakes melted from hearth-lead are placed in a heap separate from the first, and likewise those produced from "drying" the exhausted liquation cakes are placed separately; from these thorns liquation cakes are made. from the first heap they take the fourth part of a _centumpondium_, from the second the same amount, from the third a _centumpondium_,--to which thorns are added one and a half _centumpondia_ of litharge and half a _centumpondium_ of hearth-lead, and from these, melted in the blast furnace, a liquation cake is made; each workman makes twenty such cakes every day. but of theirs enough has been said for the present; i will return to ours. the ash-coloured copper[ ] which is chipped off, as i have stated, from the "dried" cakes, used some years ago to be mixed with the thorns produced from liquation of the copper-lead alloy, and contained in themselves, equally with the first, two _unciae_ of silver; but now it is mixed with the concentrates washed from the accretions and the other material. the inhabitants of the carpathian mountains melt this kind of copper in furnaces in which are re-melted the "slags" which flow out when the copper is refined; but as this soon melts and flows down out of the furnace, two workmen are required for the work of smelting, one of whom smelts, while the other takes out the thick cakes from the forehearth. these cakes are only "dried," and from the "dried" cakes copper is again made. the "slags"[ ] are melted continually day and night, whether they have been drawn off from the alloyed metals with a rabble, or whether they adhered to the forehearth to the thickness of a digit and made it smaller and were taken off with spatulas. in this manner two or three liquation cakes are made, and afterward much or little of the "slag," skimmed from the molten alloy of copper and lead, is re-melted. such liquation cakes should weigh up to three _centumpondia_, in each of which there is half an _uncia_ of silver. five cakes are placed at the same time in the furnace in which argentiferous lead is liquated from copper, and from these are made lead which contains half an _uncia_ of silver to the _centumpondium_. the exhausted liquation cakes are laid upon the other baser exhausted liquation cakes, from both of which yellow copper is made. the base thorns thus obtained are re-melted with a few baser "slags," after having been sprinkled with concentrates from furnace accretions and other material, and in this manner six or seven liquation cakes are made, each of which weighs some two _centumpondia_. five of these are placed at the same time in the furnace in which silver-lead is liquated from copper; these drip three _centumpondia_ of lead, each of which contains half an _uncia_ of silver. the basest thorns thus produced should be re-melted with only a little "slag." the copper alloyed with lead, which flows down from the furnace into the forehearth, is poured out with a ladle into oblong copper moulds; these cakes are "dried" with base exhausted liquation cakes. the thorns they produce are added to the base thorns, and they are made into cakes according to the method i have described. from the "dried" cakes they make copper, of which some add a small portion to the best "dried" cakes when copper is made from them, in order that by mixing the base copper with the good it may be sold without loss. the "slags," if they are utilisable, are re-melted a second and a third time, the cakes made from them are "dried," and from the "dried" cakes is made copper, which is mixed with the good copper. the "slags," drawn off by the master who makes copper out of "dried" cakes, are sifted, and those which fall through the sieve into a vessel placed underneath are washed; those which remain in it are emptied into a wheelbarrow and wheeled away to the blast furnaces, and they are re-melted together with other "slags," over which are sprinkled the concentrates from washing the slags or furnace accretions made at this time. the copper which flows out of the furnace into the forehearth, is likewise dipped out with a ladle into oblong copper moulds; in this way nine or ten cakes are made, which are "dried," together with bad exhausted liquation cakes, and from these "dried" cakes yellow[ ] copper is made. [illustration (copper refining): a--furnace. b--forehearth. c--oblong moulds.] the _cadmia_,[ ] as it is called by us, is made from the "slags" which the master, who makes copper from "dried" cakes, draws off together with other re-melted base "slags"; for, indeed, if the copper cakes made from such "slags" are broken, the fragments are called _cadmia_; from this and yellow copper is made _caldarium_ copper in two ways. for either two parts of _cadmia_ are mixed with one of yellow copper in the blast furnaces, and melted; or, on the contrary, two parts of yellow copper with one of _cadmia_, so that the _cadmia_ and yellow copper may be well mixed; and the copper which flows down from the furnace into the forehearth is poured out with a ladle into oblong copper moulds heated beforehand. these moulds are sprinkled over with charcoal dust before the _caldarium_ copper is to be poured into them, and the same dust is sprinkled over the copper when it is poured in, lest the _cadmia_ and yellow copper should freeze before they have become well mixed. with a piece of wood the assistant cleanses each cake from the dust, when it is turned out of the mould. then he throws it into the tub containing hot water, for the _caldarium_ copper is finer if quenched in hot water. but as i have so often made mention of the oblong copper moulds, i must now speak of them a little; they are a foot and a palm long, the inside is three palms and a digit wide at the top, and they are rounded at the bottom. the concentrates are of two kinds--precious and base.[ ] the first are obtained from the accretions of the blast furnace, when liquation cakes are made from copper and lead, or from precious liquation thorns, or from the better quality "slags," or from the best grade of concentrates, or from the sweepings and bricks of the furnaces in which exhausted liquation cakes are "dried"; all of these things are crushed and washed, as i explained in book viii. the base concentrates are made from accretions formed when cakes are cast from base thorns or from the worst quality of slags. the smelter who makes liquation cakes from the precious concentrates, adds to them three wheelbarrowsful of litharge and four barrowsful of hearth-lead and one of ash-coloured copper, from all of which nine or ten liquation cakes are melted out, of which five at a time are placed in the furnace in which silver-lead is liquated from copper; a _centumpondium_ of the lead which drips from these cakes contains one _uncia_ of silver. the liquation thorns are placed apart by themselves, of which one basketful is mixed with the precious thorns to be re-melted. the exhausted liquation cakes are "dried" at the same time as other good exhausted liquation cakes. the thorns which are drawn off from the lead, when it is separated from silver in the cupellation furnace[ ], and the hearth-lead which remains in the crucible in the middle part of the furnaces, together with the hearth material which has become defective and has absorbed silver-lead, are all melted together with a little slag in the blast furnaces. the lead, or rather the silver-lead, which flows from the furnace into the forehearth, is poured out into copper moulds such as are used by the refiners; a _centumpondium_ of such lead contains four _unciae_ of silver, or, if the hearth was defective, it contains more. a small portion of this material is added to the copper and lead when liquation cakes are made from them, if more were to be added the alloy would be much richer than it should be, for which reason the wise foreman of the works mixes these thorns with other precious thorns. the hearth-lead which remains in the middle of the crucible, and the hearth material which absorbs silver-lead, is mixed with other hearth-lead which remains in the cupellation furnace crucible; and yet some cakes, made rich in this manner, may be placed again in the cupellation furnaces, together with the rest of the silver-lead cakes which the refiner has made. the inhabitants of the carpathian mountains, if they have an abundance of finely crushed copper[ ] or lead either made from "slags," or collected from the furnace in which the exhausted liquation cakes are dried, or litharge, alloy them in various ways. the "first" alloy consists of two _centumpondia_ of lead melted out of thorns, litharge, and thorns made from hearth-lead, and of half a _centumpondium_ each of lead collected in the furnace in which exhausted liquation cakes are "dried," and of copper _minutum_, and from these are made liquation cakes; the task of the smelter is finished when he has made forty liquation cakes of this kind. the "second" alloy consists of two _centumpondia_ of litharge, of one and a quarter _centumpondia_ of de-silverized lead or lead from "slags," and of half a _centumpondium_ of lead made from thorns, and of as much copper _minutum_. the "third" alloy consists of three _centumpondia_ of litharge and of half a _centumpondium_ each of de-silverized lead, of lead made from thorns, and of copper _minutum contusum_. liquation cakes are made from all these alloys; the task of the smelters is finished when they have made thirty cakes. the process by which cakes are made among the tyrolese, from which they separate the silver-lead, i have explained in book ix. silver is separated from iron in the following manner. equal portions of iron scales and filings and of _stibium_ are thrown into an earthenware crucible which, when covered with a lid and sealed, is placed in a furnace, into which air is blown. when this has melted and again cooled, the crucible is broken; the button that settles in the bottom of it, when taken out, is pounded to powder, and the same weight of lead being added, is mixed and melted in a second crucible; at last this button is placed in a cupel and the lead is separated from the silver.[ ] there are a great variety of methods by which one metal is separated from other metals, and the manner in which the same are alloyed i have explained partly in the eighth book of _de natura fossilium_, and partly i will explain elsewhere. now i will proceed to the remainder of my subject. end of book xi. footnotes: [ ] the whole of this book is devoted to the subject of the separation of silver from copper by liquation, except pages - on copper refining, and page on the separation of silver from iron. we believe a brief outline of the liquation process here will refresh the mind of the reader, and enable him to peruse the book with more satisfaction. the fundamental principle of the process is that if a copper-lead alloy, containing a large excess of lead, be heated in a reducing atmosphere, above the melting point of lead but below that of copper, the lead will liquate out and carry with it a large proportion of the silver. as the results are imperfect, the process cannot be carried through in one operation, and a large amount of bye-products is created which must be worked up subsequently. the process, as here described, falls into six stages. st, melting the copper and lead in a blast furnace to form "liquation cakes"--that is, the "leading." if the copper contain too little silver to warrant liquation directly, then the copper is previously enriched by melting and drawing off from a settling pot the less argentiferous "tops" from the metal, liquation cakes being made from the enriched "bottoms." nd, liquation of the argentiferous lead from the copper. this work was carried out in a special furnace, to which the admission of air was prevented as much as possible in order to prevent oxidation. rd, "drying" the residual copper, which retained some lead, in a furnace with a free admission of air. the temperature was raised to a higher degree than in the liquation furnace, and the expelled lead was oxidized. th, cupellation of the argentiferous lead. th, refining of the residual copper from the "drying" furnace by oxidation of impurities and poling in a "refining furnace." th, re-alloy and re-liquation of the bye-products. these consist of: _a_, "slags" from "leading"; _b_, "slags" from "drying"; _c_, "slags" from refining of the copper. all of these "slags" were mainly lead oxides, containing some cuprous oxides and silica from the furnace linings; _d_, "thorns" from liquation; _e_, "thorns" from "drying"; _f_, "thorns" from skimmings during cupellation; these were again largely lead oxides, but contained rather more copper and less silica than the "slags"; _g_, "ash-coloured copper," being scales from the "dried" copper, were cuprous oxides, containing considerable lead oxides; _h_, concentrates from furnace accretions, crushed bricks, &c. the discussion of detailed features of the process has been reserved to notes attached to the actual text, to which the reader is referred. as to the general result of liquation, karsten (see below) estimates the losses in the liquation of the equivalent of lbs. of argentiferous copper to amount to - lbs. of lead and to lbs. of copper. percy (see below) quotes results at lautenthal in the upper harz for the years - , showing losses of % of the silver, . % of the copper, and . lbs. of lead to the lbs. of copper, or say, % of the lead; and a cost of £ s. per ton of copper. the theoretical considerations involved in liquation have not been satisfactorily determined. those who may wish to pursue the subject will find repeated descriptions and much discussion in the following works, which have been freely consulted in the notes which follow upon particular features of the process. it may be mentioned that agricola's treatment of the subject is more able than any down to the th century. ercker (_beschreibung allerfürnemsten mineralischen_, etc., prague, ). lohneys (_bericht vom bergwercken_, etc., zellerfeldt, ). schlüter (_gründlicher unterricht von hütte-werken_, braunschweig, ). _karsten_ (_system der metallurgie v._ and _archiv für bergbau und hüttenwesen_, st series, ). berthier (_annales des mines_, , ii.). percy (metallurgy of silver and gold, london, ). nomenclature.--this process held a very prominent position in german metallurgy for over four centuries, and came to have a well-defined nomenclature of its own, which has never found complete equivalents in english, our metallurgical writers to the present day adopting more or less of the german terms. agricola apparently found no little difficulty in adapting latin words to his purpose, but stubbornly adhered to his practice of using no german at the expense of long explanatory clauses. the following table, prepared for convenience in translation, is reproduced. the german terms are spelled after the manner used in most english metallurgies, some of them appear in agricola's glossary to _de re metallica_. english. latin. german. blast furnace _prima fornax_ _schmeltzofen_ liquation furnace _fornax in qua argentum et _saigernofen_ plumbum ab aere secernuntur_ drying furnace _fornax in qua aerei panes _darrofen_ fathiscentes torrentur_ refining hearth _fornax in qua panes aerei _gaarherd_ torrefacti coquuntur_ cupellation _secunda fornax_, or _treibherd_ furnace _fornax in qua plumbum ab argento separatur_ leading _mistura_ _frischen_ liquating _stillare_, or _distillare_ _saigern_ "drying" _torrere_ _darren_ refining _aes ex panibus torrefactis _gaarmachen_ conficere_ liquation cakes _panes ex aere ac plumbo misti_ _saigerstock_ exhausted _panes fathiscentes_ _kiehnstock_, liquation cakes or _kinstocke_ "dried" cakes _panes torrefacti_ _darrlinge_ slags from leading _recrementa_ _frischschlacke_ (with explanatory phrases) slags from drying _recrementa_ _darrost_ (with explanatory phrases) slags from refining _recrementa_ _gaarschlacke_ (with explanatory phrases) liquation thorns _spinae_ _saigerdörner_, (with explanatory phrases) or _röstdörner_ thorns from "drying" _spinae_ _darrsöhle_ (with explanatory phrases) thorns from _spinae_ _abstrich_ cupellation (with explanatory phrases) silver-lead or _stannum_ _saigerwerk_ or liquated _saigerblei_ silver-lead ash-coloured copper _aes cinereum_ _pickschiefer_ or _schifer_ furnace accretions _cadmiae_ _offenbrüche_ or "accretions" historical note.--so far as we are aware, this is the first complete discussion of this process, although it is briefly mentioned by one writer before agricola--that is, by biringuccio (iii, , ), who wrote ten years before this work was sent to the printer. his account is very incomplete, for he describes only the bare liquation, and states that the copper is re-melted with lead and re-liquated until the silver is sufficiently abstracted. he neither mentions "drying" nor any of the bye-products. in his directions the silver-lead alloy was cupelled and the copper ultimately refined, obviously by oxidation and poling, although he omits the pole. in a.d. theophilus (p. , hendrie's trans.) describes melting lead out of copper ore, which would be a form of liquation so far as separation of these two metals is concerned, but obviously not a process for separating silver from copper. this passage is quoted in the note on copper smelting (note on p. ). a process of such well-developed and complicated a character must have come from a period long before agricola; but further than such a surmise, there appears little to be recorded. liquation has been during the last fifty years displaced by other methods, because it was not only tedious and expensive, but the losses of metal were considerable. [ ] _paries_,--"partition" or "wall." the author uses this term throughout in distinction to _murus_, usually applying the latter to the walls of the building and the former to furnace walls, chimney walls, etc. in order to gain clarity, we have introduced the term "hood" in distinction to "chimney," and so far as possible refer to the _paries_ of these constructions and furnaces as "side of the furnace," "side of the hood," etc. [ ] from this point on, the construction of the roofs, in the absence of illustration, is hopeless of intelligent translation. the constant repetition of "_tignum_," "_tigillum_," "_trabs_," for at least fifteen different construction members becomes most hopelessly involved, especially as the author attempts to distinguish between them in a sort of "house-that-jack-built" arrangement of explanatory clauses. [ ] in the original text this is given as the "fifth," a manifest impossibility. [ ] _chelae_,--"claws." [ ] if roman weights, this would be . short tons, and . tons if german _centner_ is meant. [ ] this is, no doubt, a reference to pliny's statement (xxxiii, ) regarding litharge at puteoli. this passage from pliny is given in the footnote on p. . puteoli was situated on the bay of naples. [ ] by this expression is apparently meant the "bottoms" produced in enriching copper, as described on p. . [ ] the details of the preparation of liquation cakes--"leading"--were matters of great concern to the old metallurgists. the size of the cakes, the proportion of silver in the original copper and in the liquated lead, the proportion of lead and silver left in the residual cakes, all had to be reached by a series of compromises among militant forces. the cakes were generally two and one-half to three and one-half inches thick and about two feet in diameter, and weighed to lbs. this size was wonderfully persistent from agricola down to modern times; and was, no doubt, based on sound experience. if the cakes were too small, they required proportionately more fuel and labour; whilst if too large, the copper began to melt before the maximum lead was liquated. the ratio of the copper and lead was regulated by the necessity of enough copper to leave a substantial sponge mass the shape of the original cake, and not so large a proportion as to imprison the lead. that is, if the copper be in too small proportion the cakes break down; and if in too large, then insufficient lead liquates out, and the extraction of silver decreases. ercker (p. - ) insists on the equivalent of about copper to . lead; lohneys (p. ), copper to or lead. schlüter (p. , etc.) insists on a ration of copper to about lead. kerl (_handbuch der metallurgischen hüttenkunde_, ; vol. iii., p. ) gives copper to to parts lead. agricola gives variable amounts of parts copper to from to parts lead. as to the ratio of silver in the copper, or to the cakes, there does not, except the limit of payability, seem to have been any difficulty on the minimum side. on the other hand, ercker, lohneys, schlüter, and karsten all contend that if the silver ran above a certain proportion, the copper would retain considerable silver. these authors give the outside ratio of silver permissible for good results in one liquation at what would be equivalent to to ozs. per ton of cakes, or about to ozs. per ton on the original copper. it will be seen, however, that agricola's cakes greatly exceed these values. a difficulty did arise when the copper ran low in silver, in that the liquated lead was too poor to cupel, and in such case the lead was used over again, until it became rich enough for this purpose. according to karsten, copper containing less than an equivalent of to ozs. per ton could not be liquated profitably, although the upper harz copper, according to kerl, containing the equivalent of about ozs. per ton, was liquated at a profit. in such a case the cakes would run only to ozs. per ton. it will be noticed that in the eight cases given by agricola the copper ran from to over ozs. per ton, and in the description of enrichment of copper "bottoms" the original copper runs ozs., and "it cannot be separated easily"; as a result, it is raised to ozs. per ton before treatment. in addition to the following tabulation of the proportions here given by agricola, the reader should refer to footnotes and , where four more combinations are tabulated. it will be observed from this table that with the increasing richness of copper an increased proportion of lead was added, so that the products were of similar value. it has been assumed (see footnote p. ), that roman weights are intended. it is not to be expected that metallurgical results of this period will "tie up" with the exactness of the modern operator's, and it has not been considered necessary to calculate beyond the nearest pennyweight. where two or more values are given by the author the average has been taken. st charge. nd charge. rd charge. th charge. amount of . lbs. . lbs. . lbs. . lbs. argentiferous copper amount of lead . " . " . " . " weight of each cake . " . " . " . " average value of ozs. ozs. ozs. ozs. charge dwts. dwts. dwts. dwts. per cent. of copper . % % . % % average value of ozs. ozs. ozs. ozs. original copper dwts. dwts. dwts. dwts. per ton weight of . lbs. . lbs. . lbs. lbs. argentiferous lead liquated out average value of ozs. ozs. ozs. ozs. liquated lead per ton weight of residues lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. (residual copper and thorns) average value of ozs. ozs. ozs. ozs. to residues per ton ozs. extraction of . % . % % . % silver into the argentiferous lead [ ] see p. . [ ] an analysis of this "slag" by karsten (_archiv_. st series ix, p. ) showed . % lead oxide, . % cuprous oxide, . % silica (from the fuel and furnace linings), together with some iron alumina, etc. the _pompholyx_ and _spodos_ were largely zinc oxide (see note, p. ). [ ] this description of a _centumpondium_ which weighed either - / _librae_, or - / _librae_, adds confusion to an already much mixed subject (see appendix c.). assuming the german _pfundt_ to weigh , troy grains, and the roman _libra_ , grains, then a _centner_ would weigh . _librae_, which checks up fairly well with the second case; but under what circumstances a _centner_ can weigh - / _librae_ we are unable to record. at first sight it might appear from this statement that where agricola uses the word _centumpondium_ he means the german _centner_. on the other hand, in the previous five or six pages the expressions one-third, five-sixths, ten-twelfths of a _libra_ are used, which are even divisions of the roman _unciae_ to one _libra_, and are used where they manifestly mean divisions of units. if agricola had in mind the german scale, and were using the _libra_ for a _pfundt_ of _untzen_, these divisions would amount to fractions, and would not total the _sicilicus_ and _drachma_ quantities given, nor would they total any of the possibly synonymous divisions of the german _untzen_ (see also page ). [ ] if we assume roman weights, the charge in the first case can be tabulated as follows, and for convenience will be called the fifth charge:-- th charge ( cakes). amount of copper . lbs. amount of lead . lbs. weight of each cake . lbs. average value of charge ozs. dwts. per cent. of copper % average value of original copper per ton ozs. dwts. grs. weight of argentiferous lead liquated out . lbs. average value of liquated lead per ton ozs. dwts. weight of residues lbs. average value of residues per ton ozs. (about). extraction of silver into the argentiferous lead % the results given in the second case where the copper contains _librae_ and a _bes_ per _centumpondium_ do not tie together at all, for each liquation cake should contain _librae_ - / _unciae_, instead of - / _librae_ and / _uncia_ of silver. [ ] in this enrichment of copper by the "settling" of the silver in the molten mass the original copper ran, in the two cases given, ozs. dwts. and ozs. dwt. per ton. the whole charge weighed , lbs., and contained in the second case ozs. troy, omitting fractions. on melting, , lbs. were drawn off as "tops," containing ozs. of silver, or running ozs. per ton, and there remained , lbs. of "bottoms," containing ozs. of silver, or averaging ozs. per ton. it will be noticed later on in the description of making liquation cakes from these copper bottoms, that the author alters the value from one-third _librae_, a _semi-uncia_ and a _drachma_ per _centumpondium_ to one-third of a _libra_, _i.e._, from ozs. to ozs. dwts. per ton. in the glossary this furnace is described as a _spleisofen_, _i.e._, a refining hearth. [ ] the latter part of this paragraph presents great difficulties. the term "refining furnace" is given in the latin as the "second furnace," an expression usually applied to the cupellation furnace. the whole question of refining is exhaustively discussed on pages to . exactly what material is meant by the term red (_rubrum_), yellow (_fulvum_) and _caldarium_ copper is somewhat uncertain. they are given in the german text simply as _rot_, _geel_, and _lebeter kupfer_, and apparently all were "coarse" copper of different characters destined for the refinery. the author states in _de natura fossilium_ (p. ): "copper has a red colour peculiar to itself; this colour in smelted copper is considered the most excellent. it, however, varies. in some it is red, as in the copper smelted at neusohl.... other copper is prepared in the smelters where silver is separated from copper, which is called yellow copper (_luteum_), and is _regulare_. in the same place a dark yellow copper is made which is called _caldarium_, taking its name among the germans from a caldron.... _regulare_ differs from _caldarium_ in that the former is not only fusible, but also malleable; while the latter is, indeed, fusible, but is not ductile, for it breaks when struck with the hammer." later on in _de re metallica_ (p. ) he describes yellow copper as made from "baser" liquation thorns and from exhausted liquation cakes made from thorns. these products were necessarily impure, as they contained, among other things, the concentrates from furnace accretions. therefore, there was ample source for zinc, arsenic or other metallics which would lighten the colour. _caldarium_ copper is described by pliny (see note, p. ), and was, no doubt, "coarse" copper, and apparently agricola adopted this term from that source, as we have found it used nowhere else. on page the author describes making _caldarium_ copper from a mixture of yellow copper and a peculiar _cadmia_, which he describes as the "slags" from refining copper. these "slags," which are the result of oxidation and poling, would contain almost any of the metallic impurities of the original ore, antimony, lead, arsenic, zinc, cobalt, etc. coming from these two sources the _caldarium_ must have been, indeed, impure. [ ] the liquation of these low-grade copper "bottoms" required that the liquated lead should be re-used again to make up fresh liquation cakes, in order that it might eventually become rich enough to warrant cupellation. in the following table the "poor" silver-lead is designated (a) the "medium" (b) and the "rich" (c). the three charges here given are designated sixth, seventh, and eighth for purposes of reference. it will be seen that the data is insufficient to complete the ninth and tenth. moreover, while the author gives directions for making four cakes, he says the charge consists of five, and it has, therefore, been necessary to reduce the volume of products given to this basis. th charge. th charge. th charge. amount of copper . lbs. . lbs. . lbs. bottoms amount of lead . lbs. . lbs. . lbs. (slags) of (a) of (b) amount of . lbs. . lbs. . lbs. (a) de-silverized lead weight of each cake . lbs. . lbs. . lbs. average value of ozs. ozs. ozs. charge per ton dwts. dwts. dwts. per cent. of copper . % . % . % average value per ozs. ozs. ozs. ton original copper dwts. dwts. dwts. average value per ozs. ozs. ozs. ton of dwts. (slags) dwts. (a) dwts. (a) average value per ozs. ozs. ozs. ton of dwt. (lead) dwt. (lead) dwts. (b) weight of liquated . lbs. lead average value of ozs. ozs. ozs. the liquated lead dwts. (a) dwts. (b) dwts. (c) per ton weight of exhausted . lbs. liquation cakes average value of ozs. the exhausted dwts. liquation cakes per ton weight of liquation . lbs. thorns average value of ozs. the liquation dwts. thorns per ton extraction of % silver into the liquated lead [ ] for the liquation it was necessary to maintain a reducing atmosphere, otherwise the lead would oxidize; this was secured by keeping the cakes well covered with charcoal and by preventing the entrance of air as much as possible. moreover, it was necessary to preserve a fairly even temperature. the proportions of copper and lead in the three liquation products vary considerably, depending upon the method of conducting the process and the original proportions. from the authors consulted (see note p. ) an average would be about as follows:--the residual copper--exhausted liquation cakes--ran from to % lead; the liquated lead from to % copper; and the liquation thorns, which were largely oxidized, contained about % copper oxides, % lead oxides, together with impurities, such as antimony, arsenic, etc. the proportions of the various products would obviously depend upon the care in conducting the operation; too high temperature and the admission of air would increase the copper melted and oxidize more lead, and thus increase the liquation thorns. there are insufficient data in agricola to adduce conclusions as to the actual ratios produced. the results given for the th charge (note , p. ) would indicate about % lead in the residual copper, and would indicate that the original charge was divided into about % of residual copper, % of liquation thorns, and % of liquated lead. this, however, was an unusually large proportion of liquation thorns, some of the authors giving instances of as low as %. [ ] the first instance given, of _centumpondia_ ( , lbs.) lead and one _centumpondium_ ( . lbs.) copper, would indicate that the liquated lead contained . % copper. the second, of _centumpondia_ ( , lbs.) lead and - / _centumpondia_ copper ( lbs.), would indicate % copper; and in the third, _centumpondia_ ( , lbs.) lead and six copper ( lbs.) would show . % copper. this charge of _centumpondia_ in the cupellation furnace would normally make more than _centumpondia_ of litharge and of hearth-lead, _i.e._, saturated furnace bottoms. the copper would be largely found in the silver-lead "which does not melt," at the margin of the crucible. these skimmings are afterward referred to as "thorns." it is difficult to understand what is meant by the expression that the silver which is in the copper is mixed with the remaining (_reliquo_) silver. the coppery skimmings from the cupellation furnace are referred to again in note , p. . [ ] a further amount of lead could be obtained in the first liquation, but a higher temperature is necessary, which was more economical to secure in the "drying" furnace. therefore, the "drying" was really an extension of liquation; but as air was admitted the lead and copper melted out were oxidized. the products were the final residual copper, called by agricola the "dried" copper, together with lead and copper oxides, called by him the "slags," and the scale of copper and lead oxides termed by him the "ash-coloured copper." the german metallurgists distinguished two kinds of slag: the first and principal one, the _darrost_, and the second the _darrsöhle_, this latter differing only in that it contained more impurities from the floor of the furnace, and remained behind until the furnace cooled. agricola possibly refers to these as "more liquation thorns," because in describing the treatment of the bye-products he refers to thorns from the process, whereas in the description of "drying" he usually refers to "slags." a number of analyses of these products, given by karsten, show the "dried" copper to contain from . to . % copper, and from . to . % lead; the "slag" to contain . to . % lead oxide, and from . to . % cuprous oxide, with to % silica from the furnace bottoms, together with some other impurities; the "ash-coloured copper" to contain about % cuprous oxide and % lead oxide, with some metallic copper and minor impurities. an average of proportions given by various authors shows, roughly, that out of _centners_ of "exhausted" liquation cakes, containing about % copper and % lead, there were about _centners_ of "dried" copper, _centners_ of "slag," and - / _centners_ of "ash-coloured copper." according to karsten, the process fell into stages; first, at low temperature some metallic lead appeared; second, during an increasing temperature for over to hours the slags ran out; third, there was a period of four hours of lower temperature to allow time for the lead to diffuse from the interior of the cakes; and fourth, during a period of eight hours the temperature was again increased. in fact, the latter portion of the process ended with the economic limit between leaving some lead in the copper and driving too much copper into the "slags." agricola gives the silver contents of the "dried" copper as _drachmae_ to _centumpondium_, or equal to about ozs. per ton; and assuming that the copper finally recovered from the bye-products ran no higher, then the first four charges (see note on p. ) would show a reduction in the silver values of from to %; the th and th charges (note on p. ) of about %. [ ] if roman weights, this would equal from , lbs. to , lbs. [ ] one half _uncia_, or three _drachmae_ of silver would equal either ozs. or ozs. per ton. if we assume the values given for residual copper in the first four charges (note p. ) of ozs., this would mean an extraction of, roughly, % of the silver from the exhausted liquation cakes. [ ] see note , p. . [ ] assuming roman weights: _centumpondia_ = . lbs. - / " = . " " = . " - / " = . " " = . " [ ] this description of refining copper in an open hearth by oxidation with a blast and "poling"--the _gaarmachen_ of the germans--is so accurate, and the process is so little changed in some parts of saxony, that it might have been written in the th century instead of the th. the best account of the old practice in saxony after agricola is to be found in schlüter's _hütte werken_ (braunschweig, , chap. cxviii.). the process has largely been displaced by electrolytic methods, but is still in use in most refineries as a step in electrolytic work. it may be unnecessary to repeat that the process is one of subjecting the molten mass of impure metal to a strong and continuous blast, and as a result, not only are the impurities to a considerable extent directly oxidized and taken off as a slag, but also a considerable amount of copper is turned into cuprous oxide. this cuprous oxide mostly melts and diffuses through the metallic copper, and readily parting with its oxygen to the impurities further facilitates their complete oxidation. the blast is continued until the impurities are practically eliminated, and at this stage the molten metal contains a great deal of dissolved cuprous oxide, which must be reduced. this is done by introducing a billet of green wood ("poling"), the dry distillation of which generates large quantities of gases, which reduce the oxide. the state of the metal is even to-day in some localities tested by dipping into it the point of an iron rod; if it be at the proper state the adhering copper has a net-like appearance, should be easily loosened from the rod by dipping in water, is of a reddish-copper colour and should be quite pliable; if the metal is not yet refined, the sample is thick, smooth, and detachable with difficulty; if over-refined, it is thick and brittle. by allowing water to run on to the surface of the molten metal, thin cakes are successively formed and taken off. these cakes were the article known to commerce over several centuries as "rosetta copper." the first few cakes are discarded as containing impurities or slag, and if the metal be of good quality the cakes are thin and of a red colour. their colour and thinness, therefore, become a criterion of purity. the cover of charcoal or charcoal dust maintained upon the surface of the metal tended to retard oxidation, but prevented volatilization and helped to secure the impurities as a slag instead. karsten (_archiv._, st series, p. ) gives several analyses of the slag from refining "dried" copper, showing it to contain from . to . % lead oxide, . to . % cuprous oxide, and . to . silica (from the furnace bottoms), with minor quantities of iron, antimony, etc. the "bubbles" referred to by agricola were apparently the shower of copper globules which takes place upon the evolution of sulphur dioxide, due to the reaction of the cuprous oxide upon any remaining sulphide of copper when the mass begins to cool. historical note.--it is impossible to say how the ancients refined copper, beyond the fact that they often re-smelted it. such notes as we can find are set out in the note on copper smelting (note , p. ). the first authentic reference to poling is in theophilus ( to a.d., hendrie's translation, p. ), which shows a very good understanding of this method of refining copper:--"of the purification of copper. take an iron dish of the size you wish, and line it inside and out with clay strongly beaten and mixed, and it is carefully dried. then place it before a forge upon the coals, so that when the bellows act upon it the wind may issue partly within and partly above it, and not below it. and very small coals being placed round it, place the copper in it equally, and add over it a heap of coals. when by blowing a long time this has become melted, uncover it and cast immediately fine ashes of coals over it, and stir it with a thin and dry piece of wood as if mixing it, and you will directly see the burnt lead adhere to these ashes like a glue, which being cast out again superpose coals, and blowing for a long time, as at first, again uncover it, and then do as you did before. you do this until at length by cooking it you can withdraw the lead entirely. then pour it over the mould which you have prepared for this, and you will thus prove if it be pure. hold it with the pincers, glowing as it is, before it has become cold, and strike it with a large hammer strongly over the anvil, and if it be broken or split you must liquefy it anew as before. if, however, it should remain sound, you will cool it in water, and you cook other (copper) in the same manner." biringuccio (iii, ) in describes the process briefly, but omits the poling, an essential in the production of malleable copper. [ ] _pompholyx_ and _spodos_ were impure zinc oxides (see note , p. ). the copper flowers were no doubt cupric oxide. they were used by the ancients for medicinal purposes. dioscorides (v, ) says: "of flowers of copper, which some call the scrapings of old nails, the best is friable; it is gold-coloured when rubbed, is like millet in shape and size, is moderately bright, and somewhat astringent. it should not be mixed with copper filings, with which it is often adulterated. but this deception is easily detected, for when bitten in the teeth the filings are malleable. it (the flowers) is made when the copper fused in a furnace has run into the receptacle through the spout pertaining to it, for then the workmen engaged in this trade cleanse it from dirt and pour clear water over it in order to cool it; from this sudden condensation the copper spits and throws out the aforesaid flowers." pliny (xxxiv, ) says: "the flower, too, of copper (_æris flos_) is used in medicine. this is made by fusing copper, and then removing it to another furnace, where the repeated blast makes the metal separate into small scales like millet, known as flowers. these scales also fall off when the cakes of metal are cooled in water; they become red, too, like the scales of copper known as '_lepis_,' by use of which the flowers of copper are adulterated, it being also sold for it. these are made when hammering the nails that are made from the cakes of copper. all these methods are carried on in the works of cyprus; the difference between these substances is that the _squamae_ (copper scales) are detached from hammering the cakes, while the flower falls off spontaneously." agricola (_de nat. fos._, p. ) notes that "flowers of copper (_flos æris_) have the same properties as 'roasted copper.'" [ ] it seems scarcely necessary to discuss in detail the complicated "flow scheme" of the various minor bye-products. they are all re-introduced into the liquation circuit, and thereby are created other bye-products of the same kind _ad infinitum_. further notes are given on:-- liquation thorns note . slags " . ash-coloured copper " . concentrates " . _cadmia_ " . there are no data given, either by agricola or the later authors, which allow satisfactory calculation of the relative quantities of these products. a rough estimate from the data given in previous notes would indicate that in one liquation only about % of the original copper came out as refined copper, and that about % of the original lead would go to the cupellation furnace, _i.e._, about % of the original metal sent to the blast furnace would go into the "thorns," "slags," and "ash-coloured copper." the ultimate losses were very great, as given before (p. ), they probably amounted to % of the silver, % copper, and % of the lead. [ ] there were the following classes of thorns:-- st. from liquation. nd. from drying. rd. from cupellation. in a general way, according to the later authors, they were largely lead oxide, and contained from % to % cuprous oxide. if a calculation be made backward from the products given as the result of the charge described, it would appear that in this case they must have contained at least one-fifth copper. the silver in these liquation cakes would run about ozs. per ton, in the liquated lead about ozs. per ton, and in the liquation thorns ozs. per ton. the extraction into the liquated lead would be about % of the silver. [ ] the "ash-coloured copper" is a cuprous oxide, containing some % lead oxide; and if agricola means they contained two _unciae_ of silver to the _centumpondium_, then they ran about ozs. per ton, and would contain much more silver than the mass. [ ] there are three principal "slags" mentioned-- st. slag from "leading." nd. slag from "drying." rd. slag from refining the copper. from the analyses quoted by various authors these ran from % to % lead oxide, % to % cuprous oxide, and considerable silica from the furnace bottoms. they were reduced in the main into liquation cakes, although agricola mentions instances of the metal reduced from "slags" being taken directly to the "drying" furnace. such liquation cakes would run very low in silver, and at the values given only averaged ozs. per ton; therefore the liquated lead running the same value as the cakes, or less than half that of the "poor" lead mentioned in note , p. , could not have been cupelled directly. [ ] see note , p. , for discussion of yellow and _caldarium_ copper. [ ] this _cadmia_ is given in the glossary and the german translation as _kobelt_. a discussion of this substance is given in the note on p. ; and it is sufficient to state here that in agricola's time the metal cobalt was unknown, and the substances designated _cadmia_ and _cobaltum_ were arsenical-cobalt-zinc minerals. a metal made from "slag" from refining, together with "base" thorns, would be very impure; for the latter, according to the paragraph on concentrates a little later on, would contain the furnace accretions, and would thus be undoubtedly zincky. it is just possible that the term _kobelt_ was used by the german smelters at this time in the sense of an epithet--"black devil" (see note , p. ). [ ] it is somewhat difficult to see exactly the meaning of base (_vile_) and precious (_preciosum_) in this connection. while "base" could mean impure, "precious" could hardly mean pure, and while "precious" could mean high value in silver, the reverse does not seem entirely _apropos_. it is possible that "bad" and "good" would be more appropriate terms. [ ] the skimmings from the molten lead in the early stages of cupellation have been discussed in note , p. . they are probably called thorns here because of the large amount of copper in them. the lead from liquation would contain % to % of copper, and this would be largely recovered in these skimmings, although there would be some copper in the furnace bottoms--hearth-lead--and the litharge. these "thorns" are apparently fairly rich, four _unciae_ to the _centumpondium_ being equivalent to about ozs. per ton, and they are only added to low-grade liquation material. [ ] _particulis aeris tusi_. unless this be the fine concentrates from crushing the material mentioned, we are unable to explain the expression. [ ] this operation would bring down a button of antimony under an iron matte, by de-sulphurizing the antimony. it would seem scarcely necessary to add lead before cupellation. this process is given in an assay method, in the _probierbüchlein_ (folio ) years before _de re metallica_: "how to separate silver from iron: take that silver which is in iron _plechen_ (_plachmal_), pulverize it finely, take the same iron or _plec_ one part, _spiesglasz_ (antimony sulphide) one part, leave them to melt in a crucible placed in a closed _windtofen_. when it is melted, let it cool, break the crucible, chip off the button that is in the bottom, and melt it in a crucible with as much lead. then break the crucible, and seek from the button in the cupel, and you will find what silver it contains." book xii. previously i have dealt with the methods of separating silver from copper. there now remains the portion which treats of solidified juices; and whereas they might be considered as alien to things metallic, nevertheless, the reasons why they should not be separated from it i have explained in the second book. solidified juices are either prepared from waters in which nature or art has infused them, or they are produced from the liquid juices themselves, or from stony minerals. sagacious people, at first observing the waters of some lakes to be naturally full of juices which thickened on being dried up by the heat of the sun and thus became solidified juices, drew such waters into other places, or diverted them into low-lying places adjoining hills, so that the heat of the sun should likewise cause them to condense. subsequently, because they observed that in this wise the solidified juices could be made only in summer, and then not in all countries, but only in hot and temperate regions in which it seldom rains in summer, they boiled them in vessels over a fire until they began to thicken. in this manner, at all times of the year, in all regions, even the coldest, solidified juices could be obtained from solutions of such juices, whether made by nature or by art. afterward, when they saw juices drip from some roasted stones, they cooked these in pots in order to obtain solidified juices in this wise also. it is worth the trouble to learn the proportions and the methods by which these are made. i will therefore begin with salt, which is made from water either salty by nature, or by the labour of man, or else from a solution of salt, or from lye, likewise salty. water which is salty by nature, is condensed and converted into salt in salt-pits by the heat of the sun, or else by the heat of a fire in pans or pots or trenches. that which is made salty by art, is also condensed by fire and changed into salt. there should be as many salt-pits dug as the circumstance of the place permits, but there should not be more made than can be used, although we ought to make as much salt as we can sell. the depth of salt-pits should be moderate, and the bottom should be level, so that all the water is evaporated from the salt by the heat of the sun. the salt-pits should first be encrusted with salt, so that they may not suck up the water. the method of pouring or leading sea-water into salt-pits is very old, and is still in use in many places. the method is not less old, but less common, to pour well-water into salt-pits, as was done in babylon, for which pliny is the authority, and in cappadocia, where they used not only well-water, but also spring-water. in all hot countries salt-water and lake-water are conducted, poured or carried into salt-pits, and, being dried by the heat of the sun, are converted into salt.[ ] while the salt-water contained in the salt-pits is being heated by the sun, if they be flooded with great and frequent showers of rain the evaporation is hindered. if this happens rarely, the salt acquires a disagreeable[ ] flavour, and in this case the salt-pits have to be filled with other sweet water. [illustration (salt pans): a--sea. b--pool. c--gate. d--trenches. e--salt basins. f--rake. g--shovel.] salt from sea-water is made in the following manner. near that part of the seashore where there is a quiet pool, and there are wide, level plains which the inundations of the sea do not overflow, three, four, five, or six trenches are dug six feet wide, twelve feet deep, and six hundred feet long, or longer if the level place extends for a longer distance; they are two hundred feet distant from one another; between these are three transverse trenches. then are dug the principal pits, so that when the water has been raised from the pool it can flow into the trenches, and from thence into the salt-pits, of which there are numbers on the level ground between the trenches. the salt-pits are basins dug to a moderate depth; these are banked round with the earth which was dug in sinking them or in cleansing them, so that between the basins, earth walls are made a foot high, which retain the water let into them. the trenches have openings, through which the first basins receive the water; these basins also have openings, through which the water flows again from one into the other. there should be a slight fall, so that the water may flow from one basin into the other, and can thus be replenished. all these things having been done rightly and in order, the gate is raised that opens the mouth of the pool which contains sea-water mixed with rain-water or river-water; and thus all of the trenches are filled. then the gates of the first basins are opened, and thus the remaining basins are filled with the water from the first; when this salt-water condenses, all these basins are incrusted, and thus made clean from earthy matter. then again the first basins are filled up from the nearest trench with the same kind of water, and left until much of the thin liquid is converted into vapour by the heat of the sun and dissipated, and the remainder is considerably thickened. then their gates being opened, the water passes into the second basins; and when it has remained there for a certain space of time the gates are opened, so that it flows into the third basins, where it is all condensed into salt. after the salt has been taken out, the basins are filled again and again with sea-water. the salt is raked up with wooden rakes and thrown out with shovels. [illustration (salt wells): a--shed. b--painted signs. c--first room. d--middle room. e--third room. f--two little windows in the end wall. g--third little window in the roof. h--well. i--well of another kind. k--cask. l--pole. m--forked sticks in which the porters rest the pole when they are tired.] salt-water is also boiled in pans, placed in sheds near the wells from which it is drawn. each shed is usually named from some animal or other thing which is pictured on a tablet nailed to it. the walls of these sheds are made either from baked earth or from wicker work covered with thick mud, although some may be made of stones or bricks. when of brick they are often sixteen feet high, and if the roof rises twenty-four feet high, then the walls which are at the ends must be made forty feet high, as likewise the interior partition walls. the roof consists of large shingles four feet long, one foot wide, and two digits thick; these are fixed on long narrow planks placed on the rafters, which are joined at the upper end and slope in opposite directions. the whole of the under side is plastered one digit thick with straw mixed with lute; likewise the roof on the outside is plastered one and a half feet thick with straw mixed with lute, in order that the shed should not run any risk of fire, and that it should be proof against rain, and be able to retain the heat necessary for drying the lumps of salt. each shed is divided into three parts, in the first of which the firewood and straw are placed; in the middle room, separated from the first room by a partition, is the fireplace on which is placed the caldron. to the right of the caldron is a tub, into which is emptied the brine brought into the shed by the porters; to the left is a bench, on which there is room to lay thirty pieces of salt. in the third room, which is in the back part of the house, there is made a pile of clay or ashes eight feet higher than the floor, being the same height as the bench. the master and his assistants, when they carry away the lumps of salt from the caldrons, go from the former to the latter. they ascend from the right side of the caldron, not by steps, but by a slope of earth. at the top of the end wall are two small windows, and a third is in the roof, through which the smoke escapes. this smoke, emitted from both the back and the front of the furnace, finds outlet through a hood through which it makes its way up to the windows; this hood consists of boards projecting one beyond the other, which are supported by two small beams of the roof. opposite the fireplace the middle partition has an open door eight feet high and four feet wide, through which there is a gentle draught which drives the smoke into the last room; the front wall also has a door of the same height and width. both of these doors are large enough to permit the firewood or straw or the brine to be carried in, and the lumps of salt to be carried out; these doors must be closed when the wind blows, so that the boiling will not be hindered. indeed, glass panes which exclude the wind but transmit the light, should be inserted in the windows in the walls. they construct the greater part of the fireplace of rock-salt and of clay mixed with salt and moistened with brine, for such walls are greatly hardened by the fire. these fireplaces are made eight and a half feet long, seven and three quarters feet wide, and, if wood is burned in them, nearly four feet high; but if straw is burned in them, they are six feet high. an iron rod, about four feet long, is engaged in a hole in an iron foot, which stands on the base of the middle of the furnace mouth. this mouth is three feet in width, and has a door which opens inward; through it they throw in the straw. [illustration (salt caldron): a--fireplace. b--mouth of fireplace. c--caldron. d--posts sunk into the ground. e--cross-beams. f--shorter bars. g--iron hooks. h--staples. i--longer bars. k--iron rod bent to support the caldron.] the caldrons are rectangular, eight feet long, seven feet wide, and half a foot high, and are made of sheets of iron or lead, three feet long and of the same width, all but two digits. these plates are not very thick, so that the water is heated more quickly by the fire, and is boiled away rapidly. the more salty the water is, the sooner it is condensed into salt. to prevent the brine from leaking out at the points where the metal plates are fastened with rivets, the caldrons are smeared over with a cement made of ox-liver and ox-blood mixed with ashes. on each side of the middle of the furnace two rectangular posts, three feet long, and half a foot thick and wide are set into the ground, so that they are distant from each other only one and a half feet. each of them rises one and a half feet above the caldron. after the caldron has been placed on the walls of the furnace, two beams of the same width and thickness as the posts, but four feet long, are laid on these posts, and are mortised in so that they shall not fall. there rest transversely upon these beams three bars, three feet long, three digits wide, and two digits thick, distant from one another one foot. on each of these hang three iron hooks, two beyond the beams and one in the middle; these are a foot long, and are hooked at both ends, one hook turning to the right, the other to the left. the bottom hook catches in the eye of a staple, whose ends are fixed in the bottom of the caldron, and the eye projects from it. there are besides, two longer bars six feet long, one palm wide, and three digits thick, which pass under the front beam and rest upon the rear beam. at the rear end of each of the bars there is an iron hook two feet and three digits long, the lower end of which is bent so as to support the caldron. the rear end of the caldron does not rest on the two rear corners of the fireplace, but is distant from the fireplace two thirds of a foot, so that the flame and smoke can escape; this rear end of the fireplace is half a foot thick and half a foot higher than the caldron. this is also the thickness and height of the wall between the caldron and the third room of the shed, to which it is adjacent. this back wall is made of clay and ashes, unlike the others which are made of rock-salt. the caldron rests on the two front corners and sides of the fireplace, and is cemented with ashes, so that the flames shall not escape. if a dipperful of brine poured into the caldron should flow into all the corners, the caldron is rightly set upon the fireplace. the wooden dipper holds ten roman _sextarii_, and the cask holds eight dippers full[ ]. the brine drawn up from the well is poured into such casks and carried by porters, as i have said before, into the shed and poured into a tub, and in those places where the brine is very strong it is at once transferred with the dippers into the caldron. that brine which is less strong is thrown into a small tub with a deep ladle, the spoon and handle of which are hewn out of one piece of wood. in this tub rock-salt is placed in order that the water should be made more salty, and it is then run off through a launder which leads into the caldron. from thirty-seven dippersful of brine the master or his deputy, at halle in saxony,[ ] makes two cone-shaped pieces of salt. each master has a helper, or in the place of a helper his wife assists him in his work, and, in addition, a youth who throws wood or straw under the caldron. he, on account of the great heat of the workshop, wears a straw cap on his head and a breech cloth, being otherwise quite naked. as soon as the master has poured the first dipperful of brine into the caldron the youth sets fire to the wood and straw laid under it. if the firewood is bundles of faggots or brushwood, the salt will be white, but if straw is burned, then it is not infrequently blackish, for the sparks, which are drawn up with the smoke into the hood, fall down again into the water and colour it black. [illustration (salt caldron): a--wooden dipper. b--cask. c--tub. d--master. e--youth. f--wife. g--wooden spade. h--boards. i--baskets. k--hoe. l--rake. m--straw. n--bowl. o--bucket containing the blood. p--tankard which contains beer.] in order to accelerate the condensation of the brine, when the master has poured in two casks and as many dippersful of brine, he adds about a roman _cyathus_ and a half of bullock's blood, or of calf's blood, or buck's blood, or else he mixes it into the nineteenth dipperful of brine, in order that it may be dissolved and distributed into all the corners of the caldron; in other places the blood is dissolved in beer. when the boiling water seems to be mixed with scum, he skims it with a ladle; this scum, if he be working with rock-salt, he throws into the opening in the furnace through which the smoke escapes, and it is dried into rock-salt; if it be not from rock-salt, he pours it on to the floor of the workshop. from the beginning to the boiling and skimming is the work of half-an-hour; after this it boils down for another quarter-of-an-hour, after which time it begins to condense into salt. when it begins to thicken with the heat, he and his helper stir it assiduously with a wooden spatula, and then he allows it to boil for an hour. after this he pours in a _cyathus_ and a half of beer. in order that the wind should not blow into the caldron, the helper covers the front with a board seven and a half feet long and one foot high, and covers each of the sides with boards three and three quarters feet long. in order that the front board may hold more firmly, it is fitted into the caldron itself, and the side-boards are fixed on the front board and upon the transverse beam. afterward, when the boards have been lifted off, the helper places two baskets, two feet high and as many wide at the top, and a palm wide at the bottom, on the transverse beams, and into them the master throws the salt with a shovel, taking half-an-hour to fill them. then, replacing the boards on the caldron, he allows the brine to boil for three quarters of an hour. afterward the salt has again to be removed with a shovel, and when the baskets are full, they pile up the salt in heaps. in different localities the salt is moulded into different shapes. in the baskets the salt assumes the form of a cone; it is not moulded in baskets alone, but also in moulds into which they throw the salt, which are made in the likeness of many objects, as for instance tablets. these tablets and cones are kept in the higher part of the third room of the house, or else on the flat bench of the same height, in order that they may dry better in the warm air. in the manner i have described, a master and his helper continue one after the other, alternately boiling the brine and moulding the salt, day and night, with the exception only of the annual feast days. no caldron is able to stand the fire for more than half a year. the master pours in water and washes it out every week; when it is washed out he puts straw under it and pounds it; new caldrons he washes three times in the first two weeks, and afterward twice. in this manner the incrustations fall from the bottom; if they are not cleared off, the salt would have to be made more slowly over a fiercer fire, which requires more brine and burns the plates of the caldron. if any cracks make their appearance in the caldron they are filled up with cement. the salt made during the first two weeks is not so good, being usually stained by the rust at the bottom where incrustations have not yet adhered. although salt made in this manner is prepared only from the brine of springs and wells, yet it is also possible to use this method in the case of river-, lake-, and sea-water, and also of those waters which are artificially salted. for in places where rock-salt is dug, the impure and the broken pieces are thrown into fresh water, which, when boiled, condenses into salt. some, indeed, boil sea-salt in fresh water again, and mould the salt into the little cones and other shapes. [illustration (salt boiling): a--pool. b--pots. c--ladle. d--pans. e--tongs.] some people make salt by another method, from salt water which flows from hot springs that issue boiling from the earth. they set earthenware pots in a pool of the spring-water, and into them they pour water scooped up with ladles from the hot spring until they are half full. the perpetual heat of the waters of the pool evaporates the salt water just as the heat of the fire does in the caldrons. as soon as it begins to thicken, which happens when it has been reduced by boiling to a third or more, they seize the pots with tongs and pour the contents into small rectangular iron pans, which have also been placed in the pool. the interior of these pans is usually three feet long, two feet wide, and three digits deep, and they stand on four heavy legs, so that the water flows freely all round, but not into them. since the water flows continuously from the pool through the little canals, and the spring always provides a new and copious supply, always boiling hot, it condenses the thickened water poured into the pans into salt; this is at once taken out with shovels, and then the work begins all over again. if the salty water contains other juices, as is usually the case with hot springs, no salt should be made from them. [illustration (salt boiling): a--pots. b--tripod. c--deep ladle.] others boil salt water, and especially sea-water, in large iron pots; this salt is blackish, for in most cases they burn straw under them. some people boil in these pots the brine in which fish is pickled. the salt which they make tastes and smells of fish. [illustration (salt evaporated on faggots): a--trench. b--vat into which the salt water flows. c--ladle. d--small bucket with pole fastened into it.] those who make salt by pouring brine over firewood, lay the wood in trenches which are twelve feet long, seven feet wide, and two and one half feet deep, so that the water poured in should not flow out. these trenches are constructed of rock-salt wherever it is to be had, in order that they should not soak up the water, and so that the earth should not fall in on the front, back and sides. as the charcoal is turned into salt at the same time as the salt liquor, the spaniards think, as pliny writes[ ], that the wood itself turns into salt. oak is the best wood, as its pure ash yields salt; elsewhere hazel-wood is lauded. but with whatever wood it be made, this salt is not greatly appreciated, being black and not quite pure; on that account this method of salt-making is disdained by the germans and spaniards. [illustration (lye making): a--large vat. b--plug. c--small tub. d--deep ladle. e--small vat. f--caldron.] the solutions from which salt is made are prepared from salty earth or from earth rich in salt and saltpetre. lye is made from the ashes of reeds and rushes. the solution obtained from salty earth by boiling, makes salt only; from the other, of which i will speak more a little later, salt and saltpetre are made; and from ashes is derived lye, from which its own salt is obtained. the ashes, as well as the earth, should first be put into a large vat; then fresh water should be poured over the ashes or earth, and it should be stirred for about twelve hours with a stick, so that it may dissolve the salt. then the plug is pulled out of the large vat; the solution of salt or the lye is drained into a small tub and emptied with ladles into small vats; finally, such a solution is transferred into iron or lead caldrons and boiled, until the water having evaporated, the juices are condensed into salt. the above are the various methods for making salt. (illustration p. .) [illustration (nitrum-pits): a--nile. b--nitrum-pits, such as i conjecture them to be.[ ]] _nitrum_[ ] is usually made from _nitrous_ waters, or from solutions or from lye. in the same manner as sea-water or salt-water is poured into salt-pits and evaporated by the heat of the sun and changed into salt, so the _nitrous_ nile is led into _nitrum_ pits and evaporated by the heat of the sun and converted into _nitrum_. just as the sea, in flowing of its own will over the soil of this same egypt, is changed into salt, so also the nile, when it overflows in the dog days, is converted into _nitrum_ when it flows into the _nitrum_ pits. the solution from which _nitrum_ is produced is obtained from fresh water percolating through _nitrous_ earth, in the same manner as lye is made from fresh water percolating through ashes of oak or hard oak. both solutions are taken out of vats and poured into rectangular copper caldrons, and are boiled until at last they condense into _nitrum_. [illustration (soda making): a--vat in which the soda is mixed. b--caldron. c--tub in which _chrysocolla_ is condensed. d--copper wires. e--mortar.] native as well as manufactured _nitrum_ is mixed in vats with urine and boiled in the same caldrons; the decoction is poured into vats in which are copper wires, and, adhering to them, it hardens and becomes _chrysocolla_, which the moors call _borax_. formerly _nitrum_ was compounded with cyprian verdigris, and ground with cyprian copper in cyprian mortars, as pliny writes. some _chrysocolla_ is made of rock-alum and sal-ammoniac.[ ] [illustration (saltpetre making): a--caldron. b--large vat into which sand is thrown. c--plug. d--tub. e--vat containing the rods.] saltpetre[ ] is made from a dry, slightly fatty earth, which, if it be retained for a while in the mouth, has an acrid and salty taste. this earth, together with a powder, are alternately put into a vat in layers a palm deep. the powder consists of two parts of unslaked lime and three parts of ashes of oak, or holmoak, or italian oak, or turkey oak, or of some similar kind. each vat is filled with alternate layers of these to within three-quarters of a foot of the top, and then water is poured in until it is full. as the water percolates through the material it dissolves the saltpetre; then, the plug being pulled out from the vat, the solution is drained into a tub and ladled out into small vats. if when tested it tastes very salty, and at the same time acrid, it is good; but, if not, then it is condemned, and it must be made to percolate again through the same material or through a fresh lot. even two or three waters may be made to percolate through the same earth and become full of saltpetre, but the solutions thus obtained must not be mixed together unless all have the same taste, which rarely or never happens. the first of these solutions is poured into the first vat, the next into the second, the third into the third vat; the second and third solutions are used instead of plain water to percolate through fresh material; the first solution is made in this manner from both the second and third. as soon as there is an abundance of this solution it is poured into the rectangular copper caldron and evaporated to one half by boiling; then it is transferred into a vat covered with a lid, in which the earthy matter settles to the bottom. when the solution is clear it is poured back into the same pan, or into another, and re-boiled. when it bubbles and forms a scum, in order that it should not run over and that it may be greatly purified, there is poured into it three or four pounds of lye, made from three parts of oak or similar ash and one of unslaked lime. but in the water, prior to its being poured in, is dissolved rock-alum, in the proportion of one hundred and twenty _librae_ of the former to five _librae_ of the latter. shortly afterward the solution will be found to be clear and blue. it is boiled until the waters, which are easily volatile (_subtiles_), are evaporated, and then the greater part of the salt, after it has settled at the bottom of the pan, is taken out with iron ladles. then the concentrated solution is transferred to the vat in which rods are placed horizontally and vertically, to which it adheres when cold, and if there be much, it is condensed in three or four days into saltpetre. then the solution which has not congealed, is poured out and put on one side or re-boiled. the saltpetre being cut out and washed with its own solution, is thrown on to boards that it may drain and dry. the yield of saltpetre will be much or little in proportion to whether the solution has absorbed much or little; when the saltpetre has been obtained from lye, which purifies itself, it is somewhat clear and pure. the purest and most transparent, because free from salt, is made if it is drawn off at the thickening stage, according to the following method. there are poured into the caldron the same number of _amphorae_ of the solution as of _congii_ of the lye of which i have already spoken, and into the same caldron is thrown as much of the already made saltpetre as the solution and lye will dissolve. as soon as the mixture effervesces and forms scum, it is transferred to a vat, into which on a cloth has been thrown washed sand obtained from a river. soon afterward the plug is drawn out of the hole at the bottom, and the mixture, having percolated through the sand, escapes into a tub. it is then reduced by boiling in one or another of the caldrons, until the greater part of the solution has evaporated; but as soon as it is well boiled and forms scum, a little lye is poured into it. then it is transferred to another vat in which there are small rods, to which it adheres and congeals in two days if there is but little of it, or if there is much in three days, or at the most in four days; if it does not condense, it is poured back into the caldron and re-boiled down to half; then it is transferred to the vat to cool. the process must be repeated as often as is necessary. others refine saltpetre by another method, for with it they fill a pot made of copper, and, covering it with a copper lid, set it over live coals, where it is heated until it melts. they do not cement down the lid, but it has a handle, and can be lifted for them to see whether or not the melting has taken place. when it has melted, powdered sulphur is sprinkled in, and if the pot set on the fire does not light it, the sulphur kindles, whereby the thick, greasy matter floating on the saltpetre burns up, and when it is consumed the saltpetre is pure. soon afterward the pot is removed from the fire, and later, when cold, the purest saltpetre is taken out, which has the appearance of white marble, the earthy residue then remains at the bottom. the earths from which the solution was made, together with branches of oak or similar trees, are exposed under the open sky and sprinkled with water containing saltpetre. after remaining thus for five or six years, they are again ready to be made into a solution. pure saltpetre which has rested many years in the earth, and that which exudes from the stone walls of wine cellars and dark places, is mixed with the first solution and evaporated by boiling. thus far i have described the methods of making _nitrum_, which are not less varied or multifarious than those for making salt. now i propose to describe the methods of making alum,[ ] which are likewise neither all alike, nor simple, because it is made from boiling aluminous water until it condenses to alum, or else from boiling a solution of alum which is obtained from a kind of earth, or from rocks, or from pyrites, or other minerals. [illustration (vitriol making): a--tanks. b--stirring poles. c--plug. d--trough. e--reservoir. f--launder. g--lead caldron. h--wooden tubs sunk into the earth. i--vats in which twigs are fixed.] this kind of earth having first been dug up in such quantity as would make three hundred wheelbarrow loads, is thrown into two tanks; then the water is turned into them, and if it (the earth) contains vitriol it must be diluted with urine. the workmen must many times a day stir the ore with long, thick sticks in order that the water and urine may be mixed with it; then the plugs having been taken out of both tanks, the solution is drawn off into a trough, which is carved out of one or two trees. if the locality is supplied with an abundance of such ore, it should not immediately be thrown into the tanks, but first conveyed into open spaces and heaped up, for the longer it is exposed to the air and the rain, the better it is; after some months, during which the ore has been heaped up in open spaces into mounds, there are generated veinlets of far better quality than the ore. then it is conveyed into six or more tanks, nine feet in length and breadth and five in depth, and afterward water is drawn into them of similar solution. after this, when the water has absorbed the alum, the plugs are pulled out, and the solution escapes into a round reservoir forty feet wide and three feet deep. then the ore is thrown out of the tanks into other tanks, and water again being run into the latter and the urine added and stirred by means of poles, the plugs are withdrawn and the solution is run off into the same reservoir. a few days afterward, the reservoirs containing the solution are emptied through a small launder, and run into rectangular lead caldrons; it is boiled in them until the greater part of the water has evaporated. the earthy sediment deposited at the bottom of the caldron is composed of fatty and aluminous matter, which usually consists of small incrustations, in which there is not infrequently found a very white and very light powder of asbestos or gypsum. the solution now seems to be full of meal. some people instead pour the partly evaporated solution into a vat, so that it may become pure and clear; then pouring it back into the caldron, they boil it again until it becomes mealy. by whichever process it has been condensed, it is then poured into a wooden tub sunk into the earth in order to cool it. when it becomes cold it is poured into vats, in which are arranged horizontal and vertical twigs, to which the alum clings when it condenses; and thus are made the small white transparent cubes, which are laid to dry in hot rooms. if vitriol forms part of the aluminous ore, the material is dissolved in water without being mixed with urine, but it is necessary to pour that into the clear and pure solution when it is to be re-boiled. this separates the vitriol from the alum, for by this method the latter sinks to the bottom of the caldron, while the former floats on the top; both must be poured separately into smaller vessels, and from these into vats to condense. if, however, when the solution was re-boiled they did not separate, then they must be poured from the smaller vessels into larger vessels and covered over; then the vitriol separating from the alum, it condenses. both are cut out and put to dry in the hot room, and are ready to be sold; the solution which did not congeal in the vessels and vats is again poured back into the caldron to be re-boiled. the earth which settled at the bottom of the caldron is carried back to the tanks, and, together with the ore, is again dissolved with water and urine. the earth which remains in the tanks after the solution has been drawn off is emptied in a heap, and daily becomes more and more aluminous in the same way as the earth from which saltpetre was made, but fuller of its juices, wherefore it is again thrown into the tanks and percolated by water. [illustration (alum making): a--furnace. b--enclosed space. c--aluminous rock. d--deep ladle. e--caldron. f--launder. g--troughs.] aluminous rock is first roasted in a furnace similar to a lime kiln. at the bottom of the kiln a vaulted fireplace is made of the same kind of rock; the remainder of the empty part of the kiln is then entirely filled with the same aluminous rocks. then they are heated with fire until they are red hot and have exhaled their sulphurous fumes, which occurs, according to their divers nature, within the space of ten, eleven, twelve, or more hours. one thing the master must guard against most of all is not to roast the rock either too much or too little, for on the one hand they would not soften when sprinkled with water, and on the other they either would be too hard or would crumble into ashes; from neither would much alum be obtained, for the strength which they have would be decreased. when the rocks are cooled they are drawn out and conveyed into an open space, where they are piled one upon the other in heaps fifty feet long, eight feet wide, and four feet high, which are sprinkled for forty days with water carried in deep ladles. in spring the sprinkling is done both morning and evening, and in summer at noon besides. after being moistened for this length of time the rocks begin to fall to pieces like slaked lime, and there originates a certain new material of the future alum, which is soft and similar to the _liquidae medullae_ found in the rocks. it is white if the stone was white before it was roasted, and rose-coloured if red was mixed with the white; from the former, white alum is obtained, and from the latter, rose-coloured. a round furnace is made, the lower part of which, in order to be able to endure the force of the heat, is made of rock that neither melts nor crumbles to powder by the fire. it is constructed in the form of a basket, the walls of which are two feet high, made of the same rock. on these walls rests a large round caldron made of copper plates, which is concave at the bottom, where it is eight feet in diameter. in the empty space under the bottom they place the wood to be kindled with fire. around the edge of the bottom of the caldron, rock is built in cone-shaped, and the diameter of the bottom of the rock structure is seven feet, and of the top ten feet; it is eight feet deep. the inside, after being rubbed over with oil, is covered with cement, so that it may be able to hold boiling water; the cement is composed of fresh lime, of which the lumps are slaked with wine, of iron-scales, and of sea-snails, ground and mixed with the white of eggs and oil. the edges of the caldron are surmounted with a circle of wood a foot thick and half a foot high, on which the workmen rest the wooden shovels with which they cleanse the water of earth and of the undissolved lumps of rock that remain at the bottom of the caldron. the caldron, being thus prepared, is entirely filled through a launder with water, and this is boiled with a fierce fire until it bubbles. then little by little eight wheelbarrow loads of the material, composed of roasted rock moistened with water, are gradually emptied into the caldron by four workmen, who, with their shovels which reach to the bottom, keep the material stirred and mixed with water, and by the same means they lift the lumps of undissolved rock out of the caldron. in this manner the material is thrown in, in three or four lots, at intervals of two or three hours more or less; during these intervals, the water, which has been cooled by the rock and material, again begins to boil. the water, when sufficiently purified and ready to congeal, is ladled out and run off with launders into thirty troughs. these troughs are made of oak, holm oak, or turkey oak; their interior is six feet long, five feet deep, and four feet wide. in these the water congeals and condenses into alum, in the spring in the space of four days, and in summer in six days. afterward the holes at the bottom of the oak troughs being opened, the water which has not congealed is drawn off into buckets and poured back into the caldron; or it may be preserved in empty troughs, so that the master of the workmen, having seen it, may order his helpers to pour it into the caldron, for the water which is not altogether wanting in alum, is considered better than that which has none at all. then the alum is hewn out with a knife or a chisel. it is thick and excellent according to the strength of the rock, either white or pink according to the colour of the rock. the earthy powder, which remains three to four digits thick as the residue of the alum at the bottom of the trough is again thrown into the caldron and boiled with fresh aluminous material. lastly, the alum cut out is washed, and dried, and sold. alum is also made from crude pyrites and other aluminous mixtures. it is first roasted in an enclosed area; then, after being exposed for some months to the air in order to soften it, it is thrown into vats and dissolved. after this the solution is poured into the leaden rectangular pans and boiled until it condenses into alum. the pyrites and other stones which are not mixed with alum alone, but which also contain vitriol, as is most usually the case, are both treated in the manner which i have already described. finally, if metal is contained in the pyrites and other rock, this material must be dried, and from it either gold, silver, or copper is made in a furnace. vitriol[ ] can be made by four different methods; by two of these methods from water containing vitriol; by one method from a solution of _melanteria_, _sory_ and _chalcitis_; and by another method from earth or stones mixed with vitriol. [illustration (vitriol making): a--tunnel. b--bucket. c--pit.] the vitriol water is collected into pools, and if it cannot be drained into them, it must be drawn up and carried to them in buckets by a workman. in hot regions or in summer, it is poured into out-of-door pits which have been dug to a certain depth, or else it is extracted from shafts by pumps and poured into launders, through which it flows into the pits, where it is condensed by the heat of the sun. in cold regions and in winter these vitriol waters are boiled down with equal parts of fresh water in rectangular leaden caldrons; then, when cold, the mixture is poured into vats or into tanks, which pliny calls wooden fish-tanks. in these tanks light cross-beams are fixed to the upper part, so that they may be stationary, and from them hang ropes stretched with little stones; to these the contents of the thickened solutions congeal and adhere in transparent cubes or seeds of vitriol, like bunches of grapes. [illustration (vitriol making): a--caldron. b--tank. c--cross-bars. d--ropes. e--little stones.] by the third method vitriol is made out of _melanteria_ and _sory_. if the mines give an abundant supply of _melanteria_ and _sory_, it is better to reject the _chalcitis_, and especially the _misy_, for from these the vitriol is impure, particularly from the _misy_. these materials having been dug and thrown into the tanks, they are first dissolved with water; then, in order to recover the pyrites from which copper is not rarely smelted and which forms a sediment at the bottom of the tanks, the solution is transferred to other vats, which are nine feet wide and three feet deep. twigs and wood which float on the surface are lifted out with a broom made of twigs, and afterward all the sediment settles at the bottom of this vat. the solution is poured into a rectangular leaden caldron eight feet long, three feet wide, and the same in depth. in this caldron it is boiled until it becomes thick and viscous, when it is poured into a launder, through which it runs into another leaden caldron of the same size as the one described before. when cold, the solution is drawn off through twelve little launders, out of which it flows into as many wooden tubs four and a half feet deep and three feet wide. upon these tubs are placed perforated crossbars distant from each other from four to six digits, and from the holes hang thin laths, which reach to the bottom, with pegs or wedges driven into them. the vitriol adheres to these laths, and within the space of a few days congeals into cubes, which are taken away and put into a chamber having a sloping board floor, so that the moisture which drips from the vitriol may flow into a tub beneath. this solution is re-boiled, as is also that solution which was left in the twelve tubs, for, by reason of its having become too thin and liquid, it did not congeal, and was thus not converted into vitriol. [illustration (vitriol making): a--wooden tub. b--cross-bars. c--laths. d--sloping floor of the chamber. e--tub placed under it.] [illustration (vitriol making): a--caldron. b--moulds. c--cakes.] the fourth method of making vitriol is from vitriolous earth or stones. such ore is at first carried and heaped up, and is then left for five or six months exposed to the rain of spring and autumn, to the heat of summer, and to the rime and frost of winter. it must be turned over several times with shovels, so that the part at the bottom may be brought to the top, and it is thus ventilated and cooled; by this means the earth crumbles up and loosens, and the stone changes from hard to soft. then the ore is covered with a roof, or else it is taken away and placed under a roof, and remains in that place six, seven, or eight months. afterward as large a portion as is required is thrown into a vat, which is half-filled with water; this vat is one hundred feet long, twenty-four feet wide, eight feet deep. it has an opening at the bottom, so that when it is opened the dregs of the ore from which the vitriol comes may be drawn off, and it has, at the height of one foot from the bottom, three or four little holes, so that, when closed, the water may be retained, and when opened the solution flows out. thus the ore is mixed with water, stirred with poles and left in the tank until the earthy portions sink to the bottom and the water absorbs the juices. then the little holes are opened, the solution flows out of the vat, and is caught in a vat below it; this vat is of the same length as the other, but twelve feet wide and four feet deep. if the solution is not sufficiently vitriolous it is mixed with fresh ore; but if it contains enough vitriol, and yet has not exhausted all of the ore rich in vitriol, it is well to dissolve the ore again with fresh water. as soon as the solution becomes clear, it is poured into the rectangular leaden caldron through launders, and is boiled until the water is evaporated. afterward as many thin strips of iron as the nature of the solution requires, are thrown in, and then it is boiled again until it is thick enough, when cold, to congeal into vitriol. then it is poured into tanks or vats, or any other receptacle, in which all of it that is apt to congeal does so within two or three days. the solution which does not congeal is either poured back into the caldron to be boiled again, or it is put aside for dissolving the new ore, for it is far preferable to fresh water. the solidified vitriol is hewn out, and having once more been thrown into the caldron, is re-heated until it liquefies; when liquid, it is poured into moulds that it may be made into cakes. if the solution first poured out is not satisfactorily thickened, it is condensed two or three times, and each time liquefied in the caldron and re-poured into the moulds, in which manner pure cakes, beautiful to look at, are made from it. the vitriolous pyrites, which are to be numbered among the mixtures (_mistura_), are roasted as in the case of alum, and dissolved with water, and the solution is boiled in leaden caldrons until it condenses into vitriol. both alum and vitriol are often made out of these, and it is no wonder, for these juices are cognate, and only differ in the one point,--that the former is less, the latter more, earthy. that pyrites which contains metal must be smelted in the furnace. in the same manner, from other mixtures of vitriolic and metalliferous material are made vitriol and metal. indeed, if ores of vitriolous pyrites abound, the miners split small logs down the centre and cut them off in lengths as long as the drifts and tunnels are wide, in which they lay them down transversely; but, that they may be stable, they are laid on the ground with the wide side down and the round side up, and they touch each other at the bottom, but not at the top. the intermediate space is filled with pyrites, and the same crushed are scattered over the wood, so that, coming in or going out, the road is flat and even. since the drifts or tunnels drip with water, these pyrites are soaked, and from them are freed the vitriol and cognate things. if the water ceases to drip, these dry and harden, and then they are raised from the shafts, together with the pyrites not yet dissolved in the water, or they are carried out from the tunnels; then they are thrown into vats or tanks, and boiling water having been poured over them, the vitriol is freed and the pyrites are dissolved. this green solution is transferred to other vats or tanks, that it may be made clear and pure; it is then boiled in the lead caldrons until it thickens; afterward it is poured into wooden tubs, where it condenses on rods, or reeds, or twigs, into green vitriol. sulphur is made from sulphurous waters, from sulphurous ores, and from sulphurous mixtures. these waters are poured into the leaden caldrons and boiled until they condense into sulphur. from this latter, heated together with iron-scales, and transferred into pots, which are afterward covered with lute and refined sulphur, another sulphur is made, which we call _caballinum_.[ ] [illustration (sulphur making): a--pots having spouts. b--pots without spouts. c--lids.] the ores[ ] which consist mostly of sulphur and of earth, and rarely of other minerals, are melted in big-bellied earthenware pots. the furnaces, which hold two of these pots, are divided into three parts; the lowest part is a foot high, and has an opening at the front for the draught; the top of this is covered with iron plates, which are perforated near the edges, and these support iron rods, upon which the firewood is placed. the middle part of the furnace is one and a half feet high, and has a mouth in front, so that the wood may be inserted; the top of this has rods, upon which the bottom of the pots stand. the upper part is about two feet high, and the pots are also two feet high and one digit thick; these have below their mouths a long, slender spout. in order that the mouth of the pot may be covered, an earthenware lid is made which fits into it. for every two of these pots there must be one pot of the same size and shape, and without a spout, but having three holes, two of which are below the mouth and receive the spouts of the two first pots; the third hole is on the opposite side at the bottom, and through it the sulphur flows out. in each furnace are placed two pots with spouts, and the furnace must be covered by plates of iron smeared over with lute two digits thick; it is thus entirely closed in, but for two or three vent-holes through which the mouths of the pots project. outside of the furnace, against one side, is placed the pot without a spout, into the two holes of which the two spouts of the other pots penetrate, and this pot should be built in at both sides to keep it steady. when the sulphur ore has been placed in the pots, and these placed in the furnace, they are closely covered, and it is desirable to smear the joint over with lute, so that the sulphur will not exhale, and for the same reason the pot below is covered with a lid, which is also smeared with lute. the wood having been kindled, the ores are heated until the sulphur is exhaled, and the vapour, arising through the spout, penetrates into the lower pot and thickens into sulphur, which falls to the bottom like melted wax. it then flows out through the hole, which, as i said, is at the bottom of this pot; and the workman makes it into cakes, or thin sticks or thin pieces of wood are dipped in it. then he takes the burning wood and glowing charcoal from the furnace, and when it has cooled, he opens the two pots, empties the residues, which, if the ores were composed of sulphur and earth, resemble naturally extinguished ashes; but if the ores consisted of sulphur and earth and stone, or sulphur and stone only, they resemble earth completely dried or stones well roasted. afterward the pots are re-filled with ore, and the whole work is repeated. [illustration (sulphur making): a--long wall. b--high walls. c--low walls. d--plates. e--upper pots. f--lower pots.] the sulphurous mixture, whether it consists of stone and sulphur only, or of stone and sulphur and metal, may be heated in similar pots, but with perforated bottoms. before the furnace is constructed, against the "second" wall of the works two lateral partitions are built seven feet high, three feet long, one and a half feet thick, and these are distant from each other twenty-seven feet. between them are seven low brick walls, that measure but two feet and the same number of digits in height, and, like the other walls, are three feet long and one foot thick; these little walls are at equal distances from one another, consequently they will be two and one half feet apart. at the top, iron bars are fixed into them, which sustain iron plates three feet long and wide and one digit thick, so that they can bear not only the weight of the pots, but also the fierceness of the fire. these plates have in the middle a round hole one and a half digits wide; there must not be more than eight of these, and upon them as many pots are placed. these pots are perforated at the bottom, and the same number of whole pots are placed underneath them; the former contain the mixture, and are covered with lids; the latter contain water, and their mouths are under the holes in the plates. after wood has been arranged round the upper pots and ignited, the mixture being heated, red, yellow, or green sulphur drips from it and flows down through the hole, and is caught by the pots placed underneath the plates, and is at once cooled by the water. if the mixture contains metal, it is reserved for smelting, and, if not, it is thrown away. the sulphur from such a mixture can best be extracted if the upper pots are placed in a vaulted furnace, like those which i described among other metallurgical subjects in book viii., which has no floor, but a grate inside; under this the lower pots are placed in the same manner, but the plates must have larger holes. [illustration (bitumen making): a--lower pot. b--upper pot. c--lid.] others bury a pot in the ground, and place over it another pot with a hole at the bottom, in which pyrites or _cadmia_, or other sulphurous stones are so enclosed that the sulphur cannot exhale. a fierce fire heats the sulphur, and it drips away and flows down into the lower pot, which contains water. (illustration p. ). [illustration (bitumen making): a--bituminous spring. b--bucket. c--pot. d--lid.] bitumen[ ] is made from bituminous waters, from liquid bitumen, and from mixtures of bituminous substances. the water, bituminous as well as salty, at babylon, as pliny writes, was taken from the wells to the salt works and heated by the great heat of the sun, and condensed partly into liquid bitumen and partly into salt. the bitumen being lighter, floats on the top, while the salt being heavier, sinks to the bottom. liquid bitumen, if there is much floating on springs, streams and rivers, is drawn up in buckets or other vessels; but, if there is little, it is collected with goose wings, pieces of linen, _ralla_, shreds of reeds, and other things to which it easily adheres, and it is boiled in large brass or iron pots by fire and condensed. as this bitumen is put to divers uses, some mix pitch with the liquid, others old cart-grease, in order to temper its viscosity; these, however long they are boiled in the pots, cannot be made hard. the mixtures containing bitumen are also treated in the same manner as those containing sulphur, in pots having a hole in the bottom, and it is rare that such bitumen is not highly esteemed. [illustration (chrysocolla making): a--mouth of the tunnel. b--trough. c--tanks. d--little trough.] since all solidified juices and earths, if abundantly and copiously mixed with the water, are deposited in the beds of springs, streams or rivers, and the stones therein are coated by them, they do not require the heat of the sun or fire to harden them. this having been pondered over by wise men, they discovered methods by which the remainder of these solidified juices and unusual earths can be collected. such waters, whether flowing from springs or tunnels, are collected in many wooden tubs or tanks arranged in consecutive order, and deposit in them such juices or earths; these being scraped off every year, are collected, as _chrysocolla_[ ] in the carpathians and as ochre in the harz. there remains glass, the preparation of which belongs here, for the reason that it is obtained by the power of fire and subtle art from certain solidified juices and from coarse or fine sand. it is transparent, as are certain solidified juices, gems, and stones; and can be melted like fusible stones and metals. first i must speak of the materials from which glass is made; then of the furnaces in which it is melted; then of the methods by which it is produced. it is made from fusible stones and from solidified juices, or from other juicy substances which are connected by a natural relationship. stones which are fusible, if they are white and translucent, are more excellent than the others, for which reason crystals take the first place. from these, when pounded, the most excellent transparent glass was made in india, with which no other could be compared, as pliny relates. the second place is accorded to stones which, although not so hard as crystal, are yet just as white and transparent. the third is given to white stones, which are not transparent. it is necessary, however, first of all to heat all these, and afterward they are subjected to the pestle in order to break and crush them into coarse sand, and then they are passed through a sieve. if this kind of coarse or fine sand is found by the glass-makers near the mouth of a river, it saves them much labour in burning and crushing. as regards the solidified juices, the first place is given to soda; the second to white and translucent rock-salt; the third to salts which are made from lye, from the ashes of the musk ivy, or from other salty herbs. yet there are some who give to this latter, and not to the former, the second place. one part of coarse or fine sand made from fusible stones should be mixed with two parts of soda or of rock-salt or of herb salts, to which are added minute particles of _magnes_.[ ] it is true that in our day, as much as in ancient times, there exists the belief in the singular power of the latter to attract to itself the vitreous liquid just as it does iron, and by attracting it to purify and transform green or yellow into white; and afterward fire consumes the _magnes_. when the said juices are not to be had, two parts of the ashes of oak or holmoak, or of hard oak or turkey oak, or if these be not available, of beech or pine, are mixed with one part of coarse or fine sand, and a small quantity of salt is added, made from salt water or sea-water, and a small particle of _magnes_; but these make a less white and translucent glass. the ashes should be made from old trees, of which the trunk at a height of six feet is hollowed out and fire is put in, and thus the whole tree is consumed and converted into ashes. this is done in winter when the snow lies long, or in summer when it does not rain, for the showers at other times of the year, by mixing the ashes with earth, render them impure; for this reason, at such times, these same trees are cut up into many pieces and burned under cover, and are thus converted into ashes. [illustration (glass-making furnace): a--lower chamber of the first furnace. b--upper chamber. c--vitreous mass.] some glass-makers use three furnaces, others two, others only one. those who use three, melt the material in the first, re-melt it in the second, and in the third they cool the glowing glass vessels and other articles. of these the first furnace must be vaulted and similar to an oven. in the upper chamber, which is six feet long, four feet wide, and two feet high, the mixed materials are heated by a fierce fire of dry wood until they melt and are converted into a vitreous mass. and if they are not satisfactorily purified from dross, they are taken out and cooled and broken into pieces; and the vitreous pieces are heated in pots in the same furnace. [illustration (glass-making furnace): a--arches of the second furnace. b--mouth of the lower chamber. c--windows of the upper chamber. d--big-bellied pots. e--mouth of the third furnace. f--recesses for the receptacles. g--openings in the upper chamber. h--oblong receptacles.] the second furnace is round, ten feet in diameter and eight feet high, and on the outside, so that it may be stronger, it is encompassed by five arches, one and one half feet thick; it consists in like manner of two chambers, of which the lower one is vaulted and is one and one half feet thick. in front this chamber has a narrow mouth, through which the wood can be put into the hearth, which is on the ground. at the top and in the middle of its vault, there is a large round hole which opens to the upper chamber, so that the flames can penetrate into it. between the arches in the walls of the upper chamber are eight windows, so large that the big-bellied pots may be placed through them on to the floor of the chamber, around the large hole. the thickness of these pots is about two digits, their height the same number of feet, and the diameter of the belly one and a half feet, and of the mouth and bottom one foot. in the back part of the furnace is a rectangular hole, measuring in height and width a palm, through which the heat penetrates into a third furnace which adjoins it. this third furnace is rectangular, eight feet long and six feet wide; it also consists of two chambers, of which the lower has a mouth in front, so that firewood may be placed on the hearth which is on the ground. on each side of this opening in the wall of the lower chamber is a recess for oblong earthenware receptacles, which are about four feet long, two feet high, and one and a half feet wide. the upper chamber has two holes, one on the right side, the other on the left, of such height and width that earthenware receptacles may be conveniently placed in them. these latter receptacles are three feet long, one and a half feet high, the lower part one foot wide, and the upper part rounded. in these receptacles the glass articles, which have been blown, are placed so that they may cool in a milder temperature; if they were not cooled slowly they would burst asunder. when the vessels are taken from the upper chamber, they are immediately placed in the receptacles to cool. [illustration (glass-making furnaces): a--lower chamber of the other second furnace. b--middle one. c--upper one. d--its opening. e--round opening. f--rectangular opening.] some who use two furnaces partly melt the mixture in the first, and not only re-melt it in the second, but also replace the glass articles there. others partly melt and re-melt the material in different chambers of the second furnace. thus the former lack the third furnace, and the latter, the first. but this kind of second furnace differs from the other second furnace, for it is, indeed, round, but the interior is eight feet in diameter and twelve feet high, and it consists of three chambers, of which the lowest is not unlike the lowest of the other second furnace. in the middle chamber wall there are six arched openings, in which are placed the pots to be heated, and the remainder of the small windows are blocked up with lute. in the middle top of the middle chamber is a square opening a palm in length and width. through this the heat penetrates into the upper chamber, of which the rear part has an opening to receive the oblong earthenware receptacles, in which are placed the glass articles to be slowly cooled. on this side, the ground of the workshop is higher, or else a bench is placed there, so that the glass-makers may stand upon it to stow away their products more conveniently. those who lack the first furnace in the evening, when they have accomplished their day's work, place the material in the pots, so that the heat during the night may melt it and turn it into glass. two boys alternately, during night and day, keep up the fire by throwing dry wood on to the hearth. those who have but one furnace use the second sort, made with three chambers. then in the evening they pour the material into the pots, and in the morning, having extracted the fused material, they make the glass objects, which they place in the upper chamber, as do the others. the second furnace consists either of two or three chambers, the first of which is made of unburnt bricks dried in the sun. these bricks are made of a kind of clay that cannot be easily melted by fire nor resolved into powder; this clay is cleaned of small stones and beaten with rods. the bricks are laid with the same kind of clay instead of lime. from the same clay the potters also make their vessels and pots, which they dry in the shade. these two parts having been completed, there remains the third. [illustration (glass making): a--blow-pipe. b--little window. c--marble. d--forceps. e--moulds by means of which the shapes are produced.] the vitreous mass having been made in the first furnace in the manner i described, is broken up, and the assistant heats the second furnace, in order that the fragments may be re-melted. in the meantime, while they are doing this, the pots are first warmed by a slow fire in the first furnace, so that the vapours may evaporate, and then by a fiercer fire, so that they become red in drying. afterward the glass-makers open the mouth of the furnace, and, seizing the pots with tongs, if they have not cracked and fallen to pieces, quickly place them in the second furnace, and they fill them up with the fragments of the heated vitreous mass or with glass. afterward they close up all the windows with lute and bricks, with the exception that in each there are two little windows left free; through one of these they inspect the glass contained in the pot, and take it up by means of a blow-pipe; in the other they rest another blow-pipe, so that it may get warm. whether it is made of brass, bronze, or iron, the blow-pipe must be three feet long. in front of the window is inserted a lip of marble, on which rests the heaped-up clay and the iron shield. the clay holds the blow-pipe when it is put into the furnace, whereas the shield preserves the eyes of the glass-maker from the fire. all this having been carried out in order, the glass-makers bring the work to completion. the broken pieces they re-melt with dry wood, which emits no smoke, but only a flame. the longer they re-melt it, the purer and more transparent it becomes, the fewer spots and blisters there are, and therefore the glass-makers can carry out their work more easily. for this reason those who only melt the material from which glass is made for one night, and then immediately make it up into glass articles, make them less pure and transparent than those who first produce a vitreous mass and then re-melt the broken pieces again for a day and a night. and, again, these make a less pure and transparent glass than do those who melt it again for two days and two nights, for the excellence of the glass does not consist solely in the material from which it is made, but also in the melting. the glass-makers often test the glass by drawing it up with the blowpipes; as soon as they observe that the fragments have been re-melted and purified satisfactorily, each of them with another blow-pipe which is in the pot, slowly stirs and takes up the glass which sticks to it in the shape of a ball like a glutinous, coagulated gum. he takes up just as much as he needs to complete the article he wishes to make; then he presses it against the lip of marble and kneads it round and round until it consolidates. when he blows through the pipe he blows as he would if inflating a bubble; he blows into the blow-pipe as often as it is necessary, removing it from his mouth to re-fill his cheeks, so that his breath does not draw the flames into his mouth. then, twisting the lifted blow-pipe round his head in a circle, he makes a long glass, or moulds the same in a hollow copper mould, turning it round and round, then warming it again, blowing it and pressing it, he widens it into the shape of a cup or vessel, or of any other object he has in mind. then he again presses this against the marble to flatten the bottom, which he moulds in the interior with his other blow-pipe. afterward he cuts out the lip with shears, and, if necessary, adds feet and handles. if it so please him, he gilds it and paints it with various colours. finally, he lays it in the oblong earthenware receptacle, which is placed in the third furnace, or in the upper chamber of the second furnace, that it may cool. when this receptacle is full of other slowly-cooled articles, he passes a wide iron bar under it, and, carrying it on the left arm, places it in another recess. the glass-makers make divers things, such as goblets, cups, ewers, flasks, dishes, plates, panes of glass, animals, trees, and ships, all of which excellent and wonderful works i have seen when i spent two whole years in venice some time ago. especially at the time of the feast of the ascension they were on sale at morano, where are located the most celebrated glass-works. these i saw on other occasions, and when, for a certain reason, i visited andrea naugerio in his house which he had there, and conversed with him and francisco asulano. end of book xii. footnotes: [ ] the history of salt-making in salt-pans, from sea-water or salt springs, goes further back than human records. from an historical point of view the real interest attached to salt lies in the bearing which localities rich in either natural salt or salt springs, have had upon the movements of the human race. many ancient trade routes have been due to them, and innumerable battles have been fought for their possession. salt has at times served for currency, and during many centuries in nearly every country has served as a basis of taxation. these subjects do not, however, come within the scope of this text. for the quotation from pliny referred to, see note below, on bitumen. [ ] the first edition gives _graviorem_, the latter editions _gratiorem_, which latter would have quite the reverse meaning from the above. [ ] the following are approximately the english equivalents:-- pints. quarts. gallons. _cyathus_ . _cyathi_ = _quartarius_ . _quartarii_ = _sextarius_ . _sextarii_ = _congius_ . . _sextarii_ = _modius_ . . . _congii_ = _amphora_ . . . the dipper mentioned would thus hold about one and one quarter gallons, and the cask ten gallons. [ ] the salt industry, founded upon salt springs, is still of importance to this city. it was a salt centre of importance to the germanic tribes before charles, the son of charlemagne, erected a fortress here in . mention of the salt works is made in the charter by otto i., conveying the place to the diocese of magdeburg, in . [ ] pliny xxxi., - . "in the gallic provinces in germany they pour salt water upon burning wood. the spaniards in a certain place draw the brine from wells, which they call _muria_. they indeed think that the wood turns to salt, and that the oak is the best, being the kind which is itself salty. elsewhere the hazel is praised. thus the charcoal even is turned into salt when it is steeped in brine. whenever salt is made with wood it is black." [ ] we have elsewhere in this book used the word "soda" for the latin term _nitrum_, because we believe as used by agricola it was always soda, and because some confusion of this term with its modern adaptation for saltpetre (nitre) might arise in the mind of the reader. fortunately, agricola usually carefully mentions other alkalis, such as the product from lixiviation of ashes, separately from his _nitrum_. in these paragraphs, however, he has soda and potash hopelessly mixed, wherefore we have here introduced the latin term. the actual difference between potash and soda--the _nitrum_ of the ancients, and the _alkali_ of geber (and the glossary of agricola), was not understood for two hundred years after agricola, when duhamel made his well-known determinations; and the isolation of sodium and potassium was, of course, still later by fifty years. if the reeds and rushes described in this paragraph grew near the sea, the salt from lixiviation would be soda, and likewise the egyptian product was soda, but the lixiviation of wood-ash produces only potash; as seen above, all are termed _nitrum_ except the first. historical notes.--the word _nitrum_, _nitron_, _nitri_, _neter_, _nether_, or similar forms, occurs in innumerable ancient writings. among such references are jeremiah (ii., ) proverbs (xxv., ), herodotus (ii., , ), aristotle (_prob._ i., , _de mirab._ ), theophrastus (_de igne_ ed. heinsii, hist. plants iii., ), dioscorides (v., ), pliny (xiv., , and xxxi., ). a review of disputations on what salts this term comprised among the ancients would itself fill a volume, but from the properties named it was no doubt mostly soda, more rarely potash, and sometimes both mixed with common salt. there is every reason to believe from the properties and uses mentioned, that it did not generally comprise nitre (saltpetre)--into which superficial error the nomenclature has led many translators. the preparation by way of burning, and the use of _nitrum_ for purposes for which we now use soap, for making glass, for medicines, cosmetics, salves, painting, in baking powder, for preserving food, embalming, etc., and the descriptions of its taste in "nitrous" waters,--all answer for soda and potash, but not for saltpetre. it is possible that the common occurrence of saltpetre as an efflorescence on walls might naturally lead to its use, but in any event its distinguishing characteristics are nowhere mentioned. as sal-ammoniac occurred in the volcanoes in italy, it also may have been included in the _nitrum_ mentioned. _nitrum_ was in the main exported from egypt, but theophrastus mentions its production from wood-ash, and pliny very rightly states that burned lees of wine (argol) had the nature of _nitrum_. many of the ancient writers understood that it was rendered more caustic by burning, and still more so by treatment with lime. according to beckmann (hist. of inventions ii., p. ), the form of the word _natron_ was first introduced into europe by two travellers in egypt, peter ballon and prosper alpinus, about . the word was introduced into mineralogy by linnaeus in . in the first instance _natron_ was applied to soda and potash in distinction to _nitre_ for saltpetre, and later _natron_ was applied solely to soda. it is desirable to mention here two other forms of soda and potash which are frequently mentioned by agricola. "ashes which wool dyers use" (_cineres quo infectores lanarum utuntur_).--there is no indication in any of agricola's works as to whether this was some special wood-ash or whether it was the calcined residues from wool washing. the "yolk" or "suint" of wool, originating from the perspiration of the animal, has long been a source of crude potash. the water, after washing the wool, is evaporated, and the residue calcined. it contains about % k_{ }co_{ }, the remainder being sodium and potassium sulphates. another reason for assuming that it was not a wood-ash product, is that these products are separately mentioned. in either event, whether obtained from wool residues or from lixiviation of wood-ash, it would be an impure potash. in some methods of wool dyeing, a wash of soda was first given, so that it is barely possible that this substance was sodium carbonate. "salt made from the ashes of musk ivy" (_sal ex anthyllidis cinere factus_,--glossary, _salalkali_). this would be largely potash. [ ] this wondrous illustration of soda-making from nile water is no doubt founded upon pliny (xxxi., ). "it is made in almost the same manner as salt, except that sea-water is put into salt pans, whereas in the nitrous pans it is water of the nile; these, with the subsidence of the nile during the forty days, are impregnated with _nitrum_." [ ] this paragraph displays hopeless ignorance. borax was known to agricola and greatly used in his time; it certainly was not made from these compounds, but was imported from central asia. sal-ammoniac was also known in his time, and was used like borax as a soldering agent. the reaction given by agricola would yield free ammonia. the following historical notes on borax and sal-ammoniac may be of service. borax.--the uncertainties of the ancient distinctions in salts involve borax deeply. the word _baurach_ occurs in geber and the other early alchemistic writings, but there is nothing to prove that it was modern borax. there cannot be the slightest doubt, however, that the material referred to by agricola as _borax_ was our borax, because of the characteristic qualities incidentally mentioned in book vii. that he believed it was an artificial product from _nitrum_ is evident enough from his usual expression "_chrysocolla_ made from _nitrum_, which the moors call _borax_." agricola, in _de natura fossilium_ (p. - ), makes the following statements, which could leave no doubt on the subject:--"native _nitrum_ is found in the earth or on the surface.... it is from this variety that the venetians make _chrysocolla_, which i call _borax_.... the second variety of artificial _nitrum_ is made at the present day from the native _nitrum_, called by the arabs _tincar_, but i call it usually by the greek name _chrysocolla_; it is really the arabic _borax_.... this _nitrum_ does not decrepitate nor fly out of the fire; however, the native variety swells up from within." the application of the word _chrysocolla_ (_chrysos_, gold; _colla_, solder) to soldering materials, and at the same time to the copper mineral, is of greek origin. if any further proof were needed as to the substance meant by agricola, it lies in the word _tincar_. for a long time the borax of europe was imported from central asia, through constantinople and venice, under the name of _tincal_ or _tincar_. when this trade began, we do not know; evidently before agricola's time. the statement here of making borax from alum and sal-ammoniac is identical with the assertion of biringuccio (ii., ). sal-ammoniac.--the early history of this--ammonium chloride--is also under a cloud. pliny (xxxi., ) speaks of a _sal-hammoniacum_, and dioscorides (v., ) uses much the same word. pliny describes it as from near the temple of ammon in egypt. none of the distinctive characteristics of sal-ammoniac are mentioned, and there is every reason to believe it was either common salt or soda. herodotus, strabo, and others mention common salt sent from about the same locality. the first authentic mention is in geber, who calls it _sal-ammoniacum_, and describes a method of making, and several characteristic reactions. it was known in the middle ages under various names, among them _sal-aremonicum_. agricola (_de nat. fos._, iii., p. ) notes its characteristic quality of volatilization. "sal-ammoniac ... in the fire neither crackles nor flies out, but is totally consumed." he also says (p. ): "borax is used by goldsmiths to solder gold, likewise silver. the artificers who make iron needles (tacks?) similarly use sal-ammoniac when they cover the heads with tin." the statement from pliny mentioned in this paragraph is from xxxiii., , where he describes the _chrysocolla_ used as gold solder as made from verdigris, _nitrum_, and urine in the way quoted. it is quite possible that this solder was sal-ammoniac, though not made in quite this manner. pliny refers in several places (xxxiii., , , , and , xxxv., , etc.) to _chrysocolla_, about which he is greatly confused as between gold-solder, the copper mineral, and a green pigment, the latter being of either mineral origin. [ ] saltpetre was secured in the middle ages in two ways, but mostly from the treatment of calcium nitrate efflorescence on cellar and similar walls, and from so-called saltpetre plantations. in this description of the latter, one of the most essential factors is omitted until the last sentence, _i.e._, that the nitrous earth was the result of the decay of organic or animal matter over a long period. such decomposition, in the presence of potassium and calcium carbonates--the lye and lime--form potassium and calcium nitrates, together with some magnesium and sodium nitrates. after lixiviation, the addition of lye converts the calcium and magnesium nitrates into saltpetre, _i.e._, ca(no_{ })_{ } + k_{ }co_{ } = caco_{ } + kno_{ }. the carbonates precipitate out, leaving the saltpetre in solution, from which it was evaporated and crystallized out. the addition of alum as mentioned would scarcely improve the situation. the purification by repeated re-solution and addition of lye, and filtration, would eliminate the remaining other salts. the purification with sulphur, however, is more difficult to understand. in this case the saltpetre is melted and the sulphur added and set alight. such an addition to saltpetre would no doubt burn brilliantly. the potassium sulphate formed would possibly settle to the bottom, and if the "greasy matter" were simply organic impurities, they might be burned off. this method of refining appears to have been copied from biringuccio (x., ), who states it in almost identical terms. historical note.--as mentioned in note above, it is quite possible that the ancients did include efflorescence of walls under _nitrum_; but, so far as we are aware, no specific mention of such an occurrence of _nitrum_ is given, and, as stated before, there is every reason to believe that all the substances under that term were soda and potash. especially the frequent mention of the preparation of _nitrum_ by way of burning, argues strongly against saltpetre being included, as they would hardly have failed to notice the decrepitation. argument has been put forward that greek fire contained saltpetre, but it amounts to nothing more than argument, for in those receipts preserved, no salt of any kind is mentioned. it is most likely that the leprosy of house-walls of the mosaic code (leviticus xiv., to ) was saltpetre efflorescence. the drastic treatment by way of destruction of such "unclean" walls and houses, however, is sufficient evidence that this salt was not used. the first certain mention of saltpetre (_sal petrae_) is in geber. as stated before, the date of this work is uncertain; in any event it was probably as early as the th century. he describes the making of "solvative water" with alum and saltpetre, so there can be no doubt as to the substance (see note on p. , on nitric acid). there is also a work by a nebulous marcus graecus, where the word _sal petrosum_ is used. and it appears that roger bacon (died ) and albertus magnus (died ) both had access to that work. bacon uses the term _sal petrae_ frequently enough, and was the first to describe gunpowder (_de mirabili potestate artis et naturae_ ). he gives no mention of the method of making his _sal petrae_. agricola uses throughout the latin text the term _halinitrum_, a word he appears to have coined himself. however, he gives its german equivalent in the _interpretatio_ as _salpeter_. the only previous description of the method of making saltpetre, of which we are aware, is that of biringuccio ( ), who mentions the boiling of the excrescences from walls, and also says a good deal about boiling solutions from "nitrous" earth, which may or may not be of "plantation" origin. he also gives this same method of refining with sulphur. in any event, this statement by agricola is the first clear and complete description of the saltpetre "plantations." saltpetre was in great demand in the middle ages for the manufacture of gunpowder, and the first record of that substance and of explosive weapons necessarily involves the knowledge of saltpetre. however, authentic mention of such weapons only begins early in the th century. among the earliest is an authority to the council of twelve at florence to appoint persons to make cannon, etc., ( ), references to cannon in the stores of the tower of london, , &c. [ ] there are three methods of manufacturing alum described by agricola, the first and third apparently from shales, and the second from alum rock or "alunite." the reasons for assuming that the first process was from shales, are the reference to the "aluminous earth" as ore (_venae_) coming from "veins," and also the mixture of vitriol. in this process the free sulphuric acid formed by the oxidation of pyrites reacts upon the argillaceous material to form aluminium sulphate. the decomposed ore is then placed in tanks and lixiviated. the solution would contain aluminium sulphate, vitriol, and other impurities. by the addition of urine, the aluminium sulphate would be converted into ammonia alum. agricola is, of course, mistaken as to the effect of the addition, being under the belief that it separated the vitriol from the alum; in fact, this belief was general until the latter part of the th century, when lavoisier determined that alum must have an alkali base. nor is it clear from this description exactly how they were separated. in a condensed solution allowed to cool, the alum would precipitate out as "alum meal," and the vitriol would "float on top"--in solution. the reference to "meal" may represent this phenomenon, and the re-boiling referred to would be the normal method of purification by crystallization. the "asbestos" and gypsum deposited in the caldrons were no doubt feathery and mealy calcium sulphate. the alum produced would, in any event, be mostly ammonia alum. the second process is certainly the manufacture from "alum rock" or "alunite" (the hydrous sulphate of aluminium and potassium), such as that mined at la tolfa in the papal states, where the process has been for centuries identical with that here described. the alum there produced is the double basic potassium alum, and crystallizes into cubes instead of octahedra, _i.e._, the roman alum of commerce. the presence of much ferric oxide gives the rose colour referred to by agricola. this account is almost identical with that of biringuccio (ii., ), and it appears from similarity of details that agricola, as stated in his preface, must have "refreshed his mind" from this description; it would also appear from the preface that he had himself visited the locality. the third process is essentially the same as the first, except that the decomposition of the pyrites was hastened by roasting. the following obscure statement of some interest occurs in agricola's _de natura fossilium_, p. :--"... alum is made from vitriol, for when oil is made from the latter, alum is distilled out (_expirat_). this absorbs the clay which is used in cementing glass, and when the operation is complete the clay is macerated with pure water, and the alum is soon afterward deposited in the shape of small cubes." assuming the oil of vitriol to be sulphuric acid and the clay "used in cementing glass" to be kaolin, we have here the first suggestion of a method for producing alum which came into use long after. "burnt alum" (_alumen coctum_).--agricola frequently uses this expression, and on p. , describes the operation, and the substance is apparently the same as modern dehydrated alum, often referred to as "burnt alum." historical notes.--whether the ancients knew of alum in the modern sense is a most vexed question. the greeks refer to a certain substance as _stypteria_, and the romans refer to this same substance as _alumen_. there can be no question as to their knowledge and common use of vitriol, nor that substances which they believed were entirely different from vitriol were comprised under the above names. beckmann (hist. of inventions, vol. i., p. ) seems to have been the founder of the doctrine that the ancient _alumen_ was vitriol, and scores of authorities seem to have adopted his arguments without inquiry, until that belief is now general. one of the strongest reasons put forward was that alum does not occur native in appreciable quantities. apart from the fact that the weight of this argument has been lost by the discovery that alum does occur in nature to some extent as an aftermath of volcanic action, and as an efflorescence from argillaceous rocks, we see no reason why the ancients may not have prepared it artificially. one of the earliest mentions of such a substance is by herodotus (ii., ) of a thousand talents of _stypteria_, sent by amasis from egypt as a contribution to the rebuilding of the temple of delphi. diodorus (v., ) mentions the abundance which was secured from the lipari islands (stromboli, etc.), and a small quantity from the isle of melos. dioscorides (v., ) mentions egypt, lipari islands, melos, sardinia, armenia, etc., "and generally in any other places where one finds red ochre (_rubrica_)." pliny (xxxv., ) gives these same localities, and is more explicit as to how it originates--"from an earthy water which exudes from the earth." of these localities, the lipari islands (stromboli, etc.), and melos are volcanic enough, and both lipari and melos are now known to produce natural alum (dana. syst. min., p. ; and tournefort, "_relation d'un voyage du levant_." london, , _lettre_ iv., vol. .). further, the hair-like alum of dioscorides, repeated by pliny below, was quite conceivably fibrous _kalinite_, native potash alum, which occurs commonly as an efflorescence. be the question of native alum as it may--and vitriol is not much more common--our own view that the ancient _alumen_ was alum, is equally based upon the artificial product. before entering upon the subject, we consider it desirable to set out the properties of the ancient substance, a complete review of which is given by pliny (xxxv., ), he obviously quoting also from dioscorides, which, therefore, we do not need to reproduce. pliny says:-- "not less important, or indeed dissimilar, are the uses made of _alumen_; by which name is understood a sort of salty earth. of this, there are several kinds. in cyprus there is a white _alumen_, and a darker kind. there is not a great difference in their colour, though the uses made of them are very dissimilar,--the white _alumen_ being employed in a liquid state for dyeing wool bright colours, and the dark-coloured _alumen_, on the other hand, for giving wool a sombre tint. gold is purified with black _alumen_. every kind of _alumen_ is from a _limus_ water which exudes from the earth. the collection of it commences in winter, and it is dried by the summer sun. that portion of it which first matures is the whitest. it is obtained in spain, egypt, armenia, macedonia, pontus, africa, and the islands of sardinia, melos, lipari, and strongyle; the most esteemed, however, is that of egypt, the next best from melos. of this last there are two kinds, the liquid _alumen_, and the solid. liquid _alumen_, to be good, should be of a limpid and milky appearance; when rubbed, it should be without roughness, and should give a little heat. this is called _phorimon_. the mode of detecting whether it has been adulterated is by pomegranate juice, for, if genuine, the mixture turns black. the other, or solid, is pale and rough and turns dark with nut-galls; for which reason it is called _paraphoron_. liquid _alumen_ is naturally astringent, indurative, and corrosive; used in combination with honey, it heals ulcerations.... there is one kind of solid _alumen_, called by the greeks _schistos_, which splits into filaments of a whitish colour; for which reason some prefer calling it _trichitis_ (hair like). _alumen_ is produced from the stone _chalcitis_, from which copper is also made, being a sort of coagulated scum from that stone. this kind of _alumen_ is less astringent than the others, and is less useful as a check upon bad humours of the body.... the mode of preparing it is to cook it in a pan until it has ceased being a liquid. there is another variety of _alumen_ also, of a less active nature, called _strongyle_. it is of two kinds. the fungous, which easily dissolves, is utterly condemned. the better kind is the pumice-like kind, full of small holes like a sponge, and is in round pieces, more nearly white in colour, somewhat greasy, free from grit, friable, and does not stain black. this last kind is cooked by itself upon charcoal until it is reduced to pure ashes. the best kind of all is that called _melinum_, from the isle of melos, as i have said, none being more effectual as an astringent, for staining black, and for indurating, and none becomes more dry.... above all other properties of _alumen_ is its remarkable astringency, whence its greek name.... it is injected for dysentry and employed as a gargle." the lines omitted refer entirely to medical matters which have no bearing here. the following paragraph (often overlooked) from pliny (xxxv., ) also has an important bearing upon the subject:--"in egypt they employ a wonderful method of dyeing. the white cloth, after it is pressed, is stained in various places, not with dye stuffs, but with substances which absorb colours. these applications are not apparent on the cloth, but when it is immersed in a caldron of hot dye it is removed the next moment brightly coloured. the remarkable circumstance is that although there be only one dye in the caldron yet different colours appear in the cloth." it is obvious from pliny's description above, and also from the making of vitriol (see note , p. ), that this substance was obtained from liquor resulting from natural or artificial lixiviation of rocks--in the case of vitriols undoubtedly the result of decomposition of pyritiferous rocks (such as _chalcitis_). such liquors are bound to contain aluminum sulphate if there is any earth or clay about, and whether they contained alum would be a question of an alkali being present. if no alkali were present in this liquor, vitriol would crystallize out first, and subsequent condensation would yield aluminum sulphate. if alkali were present, the alum would crystallize out either before or with the vitriol. pliny's remark, "that portion of it which first matures is whitest", agrees well enough with this hypothesis. no one will doubt that some of the properties mentioned above belong peculiarly to vitriol, but equally convincing are properties and uses that belong to alum alone. the strongly astringent taste, white colour, and injection for dysentry, are more peculiar to alum than to vitriol. but above all other properties is that displayed in dyeing, for certainly if we read this last quotation from pliny in conjunction with the statement that white _alumen_ produces bright colours and the dark kind, sombre colours, we have the exact reactions of alum and vitriol when used as mordants. therefore, our view is that the ancient salt of this character was a more or less impure mixture ranging from alum to vitriol--"the whiter the better." further, considering the ancient knowledge of soda (_nitrum_), and the habit of mixing it into almost everything, it does not require much flight of imagination to conceive its admixture to the "water," and the absolute production of alum. whatever may have been the confusion between alum and vitriol among the ancients, it appears that by the time of the works attributed to geber ( th or th century), the difference was well known. his work (_investigationes perfectiones_, iv.) refers to _alumen glaciale_ and _alumen jameni_ as distinguished from vitriol, and gives characteristic reactions which can leave no doubt as to the distinction. we may remark here that the repeated statement apparently arising from meyer (history of chemistry, p. ) that geber used the term _alum de rocca_ is untrue, this term not appearing in the early latin translations. during the th century alum did come to be known in europe as _alum de rocca_. various attempts have been made to explain the origin of this term, ranging from the italian root, a "rock," to the town of rocca in syria, where alum was supposed to have been produced. in any event, the supply for a long period prior to the middle of the th century came from turkey, and the origin of the methods of manufacture described by agricola, and used down to the present day, must have come from the orient. in the early part of the th century, a large trade in alum was done between italy and asia minor, and eventually various italians established themselves near constantinople and smyrna for its manufacture (dudae, _historia byzantina venetia_, , p. ). the alum was secured by burning the rock, and lixiviation. with the capture of constantinople by the turks ( ), great feeling grew up in italy over the necessity of buying this requisite for their dyeing establishments from the infidel, and considerable exertion was made to find other sources of supply. some minor works were attempted, but nothing much eventuated until the appearance of one john de castro. from the commentaries of pope pius ii. ( , p. ), it appears that this italian had been engaged in dyeing cloth in constantinople, and thus became aware of the methods of making alum. driven out of that city through its capture by the turks, he returned to italy and obtained an office under the apostolic chamber. while in this occupation he discovered a rock at tolfa which appeared to him identical with that used at constantinople in alum manufacture. after experimental work, he sought the aid of the pope, which he obtained after much vicissitude. experts were sent, who after examination "shed tears of joy, they kneeling down three times, worshipped god and praised his kindness in conferring such a gift on their age." castro was rewarded, and the great papal monopoly was gradually built upon this discovery. the industry firmly established at tolfa exists to the present day, and is the source of the roman alum of commerce. the pope maintained this monopoly strenuously, by fair means and by excommunication, gradually advancing the price until the consumers had greater complaint than against the turks. the history of the disputes arising over the papal alum monopoly would alone fill a volume. by the middle of the th century alum was being made in spain, holland, and germany, and later in england. in her efforts to encourage home industries and escape the tribute to the pope, elizabeth (see note on p. ) invited over "certain foreign chymistes and mineral masters" and gave them special grants to induce them to "settle in these realmes." among them was cornelius devoz, to whom was granted the privilege of "mining and digging in our realm of england for allom and copperas." what devoz accomplished is not recorded, but the first alum manufacture on a considerable scale seems to have been in yorkshire, by one thomas chaloner (about ), who was supposed to have seduced workmen from the pope's alum works at tolfa, for which he was duly cursed with all the weight of the pope and church. (pennant, tour of scotland, ). [ ] the term for vitriol used by the roman authors, followed by agricola, is _atramentum sutorium_, literally shoemaker's blacking, the term no doubt arising from its ancient (and modern) use for blackening leather. the greek term was _chalcanthon_. the term "vitriol" seems first to appear in albertus magnus (_de mineralibus_, _liber_ v.), who died in , where he uses the expression "_atramentum viride a quibusdam vitreolum vocatur_." agricola (_de nat. foss._, p. ) states, "in recent years the name _vitriolum_ has been given to it." the first adequate description of vitriol is by dioscorides (v., ), as follows:--"vitriol (_chalcanthon_) is of one genus, and is a solidified liquid, but it has three different species. one is formed from the liquids which trickle down drop by drop and congeal in certain mines; therefore those who work in the cyprian mines call it _stalactis_. petesius calls this kind _pinarion_. the second kind is that which collects in certain caverns; afterward it is poured into trenches, where it congeals, whence it derives its name _pectos_. the third kind is called _hephthon_ and is mostly made in spain; it has a beautiful colour but is weak. the manner of preparing it is as follows: dissolving it in water, they boil it, and then they transfer it to cisterns and leave it to settle. after a certain number of days it congeals and separates into many small pieces, having the form of dice, which stick together like grapes. the most valued is blue, heavy, dense, and translucent." pliny (xxxiv., ) says:--"by the name which they have given to it, the greeks indicate the similar nature of copper and _atramentum sutorium_, for they call it _chalcanthon_. there is no substance of an equally miraculous nature. it is made in spain from wells of this kind of water. this water is boiled with an equal quantity of pure water, and is then poured into wooden tanks (fish ponds). across these tanks there are fixed beams, to which hang cords stretched by little stones. upon these cords adheres the _limus_ (agricola's 'juice') in drops of a vitreous appearance, somewhat resembling a bunch of grapes. after removal, it is dried for thirty days. it is of a blue colour, and of a brilliant lustre, and is very like glass. its solution is the blacking used for colouring leather. _chalcanthon_ is made in many other ways: its kind of earth is sometimes dug from ditches, from the sides of which exude drops, which solidify by the winter frosts into icicles, called _stalagmia_, and there is none more pure. when its colour is nearly white, with a slight tinge of violet, it is called _leukoïon_. it is also made in rock basins, the rain water collecting the _limus_ into them, where it becomes hardened. it is also made in the same way as salt by the intense heat of the sun. hence it is that some distinguish two kinds, the mineral and the artificial; the latter being paler than the former and as much inferior to it in quality as it is in colour." while pliny gives prominence to blue vitriol, his solution for colouring leather must have been the iron sulphate. there can be no doubt from the above, however, that both iron and copper sulphates were known to the ancients. from the methods for making vitriol given here in _de re metallica_, it is evident that only the iron sulphate would be produced, for the introduction of iron strips into the vats would effectually precipitate any copper. it is our belief that generally throughout this work, the iron sulphate is meant by the term _atramentum sutorium_. in _de natura fossilium_ (p. - ) agricola gives three varieties of _atramentum sutorium_,--_viride_, _caeruleum_, and _candidum_, _i.e._, green, blue, and white. thus the first mention of white vitriol (zinc sulphate) appears to be due to him, and he states further (p. ): "a white sort is found, especially at goslar, in the shape of icicles, transparent like crystals." and on p. : "since i have explained the nature of vitriol and its relatives, which are obtained from cupriferous pyrites, i will next speak of an acrid solidified juice which commonly comes from _cadmia_. it is found at annaberg in the tunnel driven to the saint otto mine; it is hard and white, and so acrid that it kills mice, crickets, and every kind of animal. however, that feathery substance which oozes out from the mountain rocks and the thick substance found hanging in tunnels and caves from which saltpetre is made, while frequently acrid, does not come from _cadmia_." dana (syst. of min., p. ) identifies this as _goslarite_--native zinc sulphate. it does not appear, however, that artificial zinc vitriol was made in agricola's time. schlüter (_huette-werken_, braunschweig , p. ) states it to have been made for the first time at rammelsberg about . it is desirable here to enquire into the nature of the substances given by all of the old mineralogists under the latinized greek terms _chalcitis_, _misy_, _sory_, and _melanteria_. the first mention of these minerals is in dioscorides, who (v., - ) says: "the best _chalcitis_ is like copper. it is friable, not stony, and is intersected by long brilliant veins.... _misy_ is obtained from cyprus; it should have the appearance of gold, be hard, and when pulverised it should have the colour of gold and sparkle like stars. it has the same properties as _chalcitis_.... the best is from egypt.... one kind of _melanteria_ congeals like salt in the entries to copper mines. the other kind is earthy and appears on the surface of the aforesaid mines. it is found in the mines of cilicia and other regions. the best has the colour of sulphur, is smooth, pure, homogenous, and upon contact with water immediately becomes black.... those who consider _sory_ to be the same as _melanteria_, err greatly. _sory_ is a species of its own, though it is not dissimilar. the smell of _sory_ is oppressive and provokes nausea. it is found in egypt and in other regions, as libya, spain, and cyprus. the best is from egypt, and when broken is black, porous, greasy, and astringent." pliny (xxxiv., - ) says:--"that is called _chalcitis_ from which, as well as itself copper (?) is extracted by heat. it differs from _cadmia_ in that this is obtained from rocks near the surface, while that is taken from rocks below the surface. also _chalcitis_ is immediately friable, being naturally so soft as to appear like compressed wool. there is also this other distinction; _chalcitis_ contains three other substances, copper, _misy_, and _sory_. of each of these we shall speak in their appropriate places. it contains elongated copper veins. the most approved kind is of the colour of honey; it is streaked with fine sinuous veins and is friable and not stony. it is considered most valuable when fresh.... the _sory_ of egypt is the most esteemed, being much superior to that of cyprus, spain, and africa; although some prefer the _sory_ from cyprus for affections of the eyes. but from whatever nation it comes, the best is that which has the strongest odour, and which, when ground up, becomes greasy, black, and spongy. it is a substance so unpleasant to the stomach that some persons are nauseated by its smell. some say that _misy_ is made by the burning of stones in trenches, its fine yellow powder being mixed with the ashes of pine-wood. the truth is, as i said above, that though obtained from the stone, it is already made and in solid masses, which require force to detach them. the best comes from the works of cyprus, its characteristics being that when broken it sparkles like gold, and when ground it presents a sandy appearance, but on the contrary, if heated, it is similar to _chalcitis_. _misy_ is used in refining gold...." agricola's views on the subject appear in _de natura fossilium_. he says (p. ):--"the cupriferous pyrites (_pyrites aerosus_) called _chalcitis_ is the mother and cause of _sory_--which is likewise known as mine _vitriol_ (_atramentum metallicum_)--and _melanteria_. these in turn yield vitriol and such related things. this may be seen especially at goslar, where the nodular lumps of dark grey colour are called vitriol stone (_lapis atramenti_). in the centre of them is found greyish pyrites, almost dissolved, the size of a walnut. it is enclosed on all sides, sometimes by _sory_, sometimes by _melanteria_. from them start little veinlets of greenish vitriol which spread all over it, presenting somewhat the appearance of hairs extending in all directions and cohering together.... there are five species of this solidified juice, _melanteria_, _sory_, _chalcitis_, _misy_, and vitriol. sometimes many are found in one place, sometimes all of them, for one originates from the other. from pyrites, which is, as one might say, the root of all these juices, originates the above-mentioned _sory_ and _melanteria_. from _sory_, _chalcitis_, and _melanteria_ originate the various kinds of vitriol.... _sory_, _melanteria_, _chalcitis_, and _misy_ are always native; vitriol alone is either native or artificial. from them vitriol effloresces white, and sometimes green or blue. _misy_ effloresces not only from _sory_, _melanteria_, and _chalcitis_, but also from all the vitriols, artificial as well as natural.... _sory_ and _melanteria_ differ somewhat from the others, but they are of the same colours, grey and black; but _chalcitis_ is red and copper-coloured; _misy_ is yellow or gold-coloured. all these native varieties have the odour of lightning (brimstone), but _sory_ is the most powerful. the feathery vitriol is soft and fine and hair-like, and _melanteria_ has the appearance of wool and it has a similarity to salt; all these are rare and light; _sory_, _chalcitis_, and _misy_ have the following relations. _sory_ because of its density has the hardness of stone, although its texture is very coarse. _misy_ has a very fine texture. _chalcitis_ is between the two; because of its roughness and strong odour it differs from _melanteria_, although they do not differ in colour. the vitriols, whether natural or artificial, are hard and dense ... as regarding shape, _sory_, _chalcitis_, _misy_, and _melanteria_ are nodular, but _sory_ is occasionally porous, which is peculiar to it. _misy_ when it effloresces in no great quantity from the others is like a kind of pollen, otherwise it is nodular. _melanteria_ sometimes resembles wool, sometimes salt." the sum and substance, therefore, appears to be that _misy_ is a yellowish material, possibly ochre, and _sory_ a blackish stone, both impregnated with vitriol. _chalcitis_ is a partially decomposed pyrites; and _melanteria_ is no doubt native vitriol. from this last term comes the modern _melanterite_, native hydrous ferrous sulphate. dana (system of mineralogy, p. ) considers _misy_ to be in part _copiapite_--basic ferric sulphate--but any such part would not come under agricola's objection to it as a source of vitriol. the disabilities of this and _chalcitis_ may, however, be due to their copper content. [ ] agricola (_de nat. fos._, ) says:--"there is a species of artificial sulphur made from sulphur and iron hammer-scales, melted together and poured into moulds. this, because it heals scabs of horses, is generally called _caballinum_." it is difficult to believe such a combination was other than iron sulphide, but it is equally difficult to understand how it was serviceable for this purpose. [ ] inasmuch as pyrites is discussed in the next paragraph, the material of the first distillation appears to be native sulphur. until the receiving pots became heated above the melting point of the sulphur, the product would be "flowers of sulphur," and not the wax-like product. the equipment described for pyrites in the next paragraph would be obviously useful only for coarse material. but little can be said on the history of sulphur; it is mentioned often enough in the bible and also by homer (od. xxii., ). the greeks apparently knew how to refine it, although neither dioscorides nor pliny specifically describes such an operation. agricola says (_de nat. fos._, ): "sulphur is of two kinds; the mineral, which the latins call _vivum_, and the greeks _apyron_, which means 'not exposed to the fire' (_ignem non expertum_) as rightly interpreted by celsius; and the artificial, called by the greeks _pepyromenon_, that is, 'exposed to the fire.'" in book x., the expression _sulfur ignem non expertum_ frequently appears, no doubt in agricola's mind for native sulphur, although it is quite possible that the greek distinction was between "flowers" of sulphur and the "wax-like" variety. [ ] the substances referred to under the names _bitumen_, _asphalt_, _maltha_, _naphtha_, _petroleum_, _rock-oil_, etc., have been known and used from most ancient times, and much of our modern nomenclature is of actual greek and roman ancestry. these peoples distinguished three related substances,--the greek _asphaltos_ and roman _bitumen_ for the hard material,--greek _pissasphaltos_ and roman _maltha_ for the viscous, pitchy variety--and occasionally the greek _naphtha_ and roman _naphtha_ for petroleum proper, although it is often enough referred to as liquid _bitumen_ or liquid _asphaltos_. the term _petroleum_ apparently first appears in agricola's _de natura fossilium_ (p. ), where he says the "oil of bitumen ... now called _petroleum_." bitumen was used by the egyptians for embalming from pre-historic times, _i.e._, prior to b.c., the term "mummy" arising from the persian word for bitumen, _mumiai_. it is mentioned in the tribute from babylonia to thotmes iii., who lived about b.c. (wilkinson, ancient egyptians i., p. ). the egyptians, however, did not need to go further afield than the sinai peninsula for abundant supplies. bitumen is often cited as the real meaning of the "slime" mentioned in genesis (xi., ; xiv., ), and used in building the tower of babel. there is no particular reason for this assumption, except the general association of babel, babylon, and bitumen. however, the hebrew word _sift_ for pitch or bitumen does occur as the cement used for moses's bulrush cradle (exodus ii., ), and moses is generally accounted about b.c. other attempts to connect biblical reference to petroleum and bitumen revolve around job xxix., , deut. xxxii., , maccabees ii., i, , matthew v., , but all require an unnecessary strain on the imagination. the plentiful occurrence of bitumen throughout asia minor, and particularly in the valley of the euphrates and in persia, is the subject of innumerable references by writers from herodotus ( - b.c.) down to the author of the company prospectus of recent months. herodotus (i., ) and diodorus siculus (i) state that the walls of babylon were mortared with bitumen--a fact partially corroborated by modern investigation. the following statement by herodotus (vi., ) is probably the source from which pliny drew the information which agricola quotes above. in referring to a well at ardericca, a place about miles from ancient susa, in persia, herodotus says:--"for from the well they get bitumen, salt, and oil, procuring it in the way that i will now describe: they draw with a swipe, and instead of a bucket they make use of the half of a wine-skin; with this the man dips and, after drawing, pours the liquid into a reservoir, wherefrom it passes into another, and there takes three different shapes. the salt and bitumen forthwith collect and harden, while the oil is drawn off into casks. it is called by the persians _rhadinace_, is black, and has an unpleasant smell." (rawlinson's trans. iii., p. ). the statement from pliny (xxxi., ) here referred to by agricola, reads:--"it (salt) is made from water of wells poured into salt-pans. at babylon the first condensed is a bituminous liquid like oil which is burned in lamps. when this is taken off, salt is found beneath. in cappadocia also the water from both wells and springs is poured into salt-pans." when petroleum began to be used as an illuminant it is impossible to say. a passage in aristotle's _de mirabilibus_ ( ) is often quoted, but in reality it refers only to a burning spring, a phenomenon noted by many writers, but from which to its practical use is not a great step. the first really definite statement as to the use of petroleum as an illuminant is strabo's quotation (xvi., , ) from posidonius: "asphaltus is found in great abundance in babylonia. eratosthenes describes it as follows:--the liquid _asphaltus_, which is called _naphtha_, is found in susa; the dry kind, which can be made solid, in babylonia. there is a spring of it near the euphrates.... others say that the liquid kind is also found in babylonia.... the liquid kind, called _naphtha_, is of a singular nature. when it is brought near the fire, the fire catches it.... posidonius says that there are springs of _naphtha_ in babylonia, some of which produce white, others black _naphtha_; the first of these, i mean white _naphtha_, which attracts flame, is liquid sulphur; the second or black _naphtha_ is liquid _asphaltus_, and is burnt in lamps instead of oil." (hamilton's translation, vol. iii., p. ). eratosthenes lived about b.c., and posidonius about years later. dioscorides (i., ), after discussing the usual sources of bitumen says: "it is found in a liquid state in agrigentum in sicily, flowing on streams; they use it for lights in lanterns in place of oil. those who call the sicilian kind oil are under a delusion, for it is agreed that it is a kind of liquid bitumen." pliny adds nothing much new to the above quotations, except in regard to these same springs (xxxv., ) that "the inhabitants collect it on the panicles of reeds, to which it quickly adheres and they use it for burning in lamps instead of oil." agricola (_de natura fossilium_, book iv.) classifies petroleum, coal, jet, and obsidian, camphor, and amber as varieties of bitumen, and devotes much space to the refutation of the claims that the last two are of vegetable origin. [ ] agricola (_de natura fossilium_, p. ) in discussing substances which originate from copper, gives among them green _chrysocolla_ (as distinguished from borax, etc., see note above), and says: "native _chrysocolla_ originates in veins and veinlets, and is found mostly by itself like sand, or adhering to metallic substances, and when scraped off from this appears similar to its own sand. occasionally it is so thin that very little can be scraped off. or else it occurs in waters which, as i have said, wash these minerals, and afterward it settles as a powder. at neusohl in the carpathians, green water flowing from an ancient tunnel wears away this _chrysocolla_ with it. the water is collected in thirty large reservoirs, where it deposits the _chrysocolla_ as a sediment, which they collect every year and sell,"--as a pigment. this description of its occurrence would apply equally well to modern _chrysocolla_ or to malachite. the solution from copper ores would deposit some sort of green incrustation, of carbonates mostly. [ ] the statement in pliny (xxxvi., ) to which agricola refers is as follows: "then as ingenuity was not content with the mixing of _nitrum_, they began the addition of _lapis magnes_, because of the belief that it attracts liquefied glass as well as iron. in a similar manner many kinds of brilliant stones began to be added to the melting, and then shells and fossil sand. authors tell us that the glass of india is made of broken crystal, and in consequence nothing can compare with it. light and dry wood is used for fusing, _cyprium_ (copper?) and _nitrum_ being added, particularly _nitrum_ from ophir etc." a great deal of discussion has arisen over this passage, in connection with what this _lapis magnes_ really was. pliny (xxxvi., ) describes the lodestone under this term, but also says: "there (in ethiopia) also is _haematites magnes_, a stone of blood colour, which shows a red colour if crushed, or of saffron. the _haematites_ has not the same property of attracting iron as _magnes_." relying upon this sentence for an exception to the ordinary sort of _magnes_, and upon the impossible chemical reaction involved, most commentators have endeavoured to show that lodestone was not the substance meant by pliny, but manganese, and thus they find here the first knowledge of this mineral. there can be little doubt that pliny assumed it to be the lodestone, and agricola also. whether the latter had any independent knowledge on this point in glass-making or was merely quoting pliny--which seems probable--we do not know. in any event, biringuccio, whose work preceded _de re metallica_ by fifteen years, does definitely mention manganese in this connection. he dismisses this statement of pliny with the remark (p. - ): "the ancients wrote about lodestones, as pliny states, and they mixed it together with _nitrum_ in their first efforts to make glass." the following passage from this author (p. - ), however, is not only of interest in this connection, but also as possibly being the first specific mention of manganese under its own name. moreover, it has been generally overlooked in the many discussions of the subject. "of a similar nature (to _zaffir_) is also another mineral called _manganese_, which is found, besides in germany, at the mountain of viterbo in tuscany ... it is the colour of _ferrigno scuro_ (iron slag?). in melting it one cannot obtain any metal ... but it gives a very fine colour to glass, so that the glass workers use it in their pigments to secure an azure colour.... it also has such a property that when put into melted glass it cleanses it and makes it white, even if it were green or yellow. in a hot fire it goes off in a vapour like lead, and turns into ashes." to enter competently into the discussion of the early history of glass-making would employ more space than can be given, and would lead but to a sterile end. it is certain that the art was pre-grecian, and that the egyptians were possessed of some knowledge of making and blowing it in the xi dynasty (according to petrie , b.c.), the wall painting at beni hassen, which represents glass-blowing, being attributed to that period. the remains of a glass factory at tel el amarna are believed to be of the xviii dynasty. (petrie, , b.c.). the art reached a very high state of development among the greeks and romans. no discussion of this subject omits pliny's well-known story (xxxvi, ), which we also add: "the tradition is that a merchant ship laden with _nitrum_ being moored at this place, the merchants were preparing their meal on the beach, and not having stones to prop up their pots, they used lumps of _nitrum_ from the ship, which fused and mixed with the sands of the shore, and there flowed streams of a new translucent liquid, and thus was the origin of glass." appendix a. agricola's works. georgius agricola was not only the author of works on mining and allied subjects, usually associated with his name, but he also interested himself to some extent in political and religious subjects. for convenience in discussion we may, therefore, divide his writings on the broad lines of ( ) works on mining, geology, mineralogy, and allied subjects; ( ) works on other subjects, medical, religious, critical, political, and historical. in respect especially to the first division, and partially with regard to the others, we find three principal cases: (_a_) works which can be authenticated in european libraries to-day; (_b_) references to editions of these in bibliographies, catalogues, etc., which we have been unable to authenticate; and (_c_) references to works either unpublished or lost. the following are the short titles of all of the published works which we have been able to find on the subjects allied to mining, arranged according to their present importance:--_de re metallica_, first edition, ; _de natura fossilium_, first edition, ; _de ortu et causis subterraneorum_, first edition, ; _bermannus_, first edition, ; _rerum metallicarum interpretatio_, first edition, ; _de mensuris et ponderibus_, first edition, ; _de precio metallorum et monetis_, first edition, ; _de veteribus et novis metallis_, first edition, ; _de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra_, first edition, ; _de animantibus subterraneis_, first edition, . of the "lost" or unpublished works, on which there is some evidence, the following are the most important:--_de metallicis et machinis_, _de ortu metallorum defensio ad jacobum scheckium_, _de jure et legibus metallicis_, _de varia temperie sive constitutione aeris_, _de terrae motu_, and _commentariorum, libri vi_. the known published works upon other subjects are as follows:--latin grammar, first edition, ; two religious tracts, first edition, ; _galen_ (joint revision of greek text), first edition, ; _de bello adversus turcam_, first edition, ; _de peste_, first edition, . the lost or partially completed works on subjects unrelated to mining, of which some trace has been found, are:--_de medicatis fontibus_, _de putredine solidas partes_, etc., _castigationes in hippocratem_, _typographia mysnae et toringiae_, _de traditionibus apostolicis_, _oratio de rebus gestis ernesti et alberti_, _ducum saxoniae_. review of principal works. before proceeding with the bibliographical detail, we consider it desirable to review briefly the most important of the author's works on subjects related to mining. _de natura fossilium._ this is the most important work of agricola, excepting _de re metallica_. it has always been printed in combination with other works, and first appeared at basel, . this edition was considerably revised by the author, the amended edition being that of , which we have used in giving references. the work comprises ten "books" of a total of folio pages. it is the first attempt at systematic mineralogy, the minerals[ ] being classified into ( ) "earths" (clay, ochre, etc.), ( ) "stones properly so-called" (gems, semi-precious and unusual stones, as distinguished from rocks), ( ) "solidified juices" (salt, vitriol, alum, etc.), ( ) metals, and ( ) "compounds" (homogeneous "mixtures" of simple substances, thus forming such minerals as galena, pyrite, etc.). in this classification agricola endeavoured to find some fundamental basis, and therefore adopted solubility, fusibility, odour, taste, etc., but any true classification without the atomic theory was, of course, impossible. however, he makes a very creditable performance out of their properties and obvious characteristics. all of the external characteristics which we use to-day in discrimination, such as colour, hardness, lustre, etc., are enumerated, the origin of these being attributed to the proportions of the peripatetic elements and their binary properties. dana, in his great work[ ], among some fourscore minerals which he identifies as having been described by agricola and his predecessors, accredits a score to agricola himself. it is our belief, however, that although in a few cases agricola has been wrongly credited, there are still more of which priority in description might be assigned to him. while a greater number than fourscore of so-called species are given by agricola and his predecessors, many of these are, in our modern system, but varieties; for instance, some eight or ten of the ancient species consist of one form or another of silica. book i. is devoted to mineral characteristics--colour, brilliance, taste, shape, hardness, etc., and to the classification of minerals; book ii., "earths"--clay, lemnian earth, chalk, ochre, etc.; book iii., "solidified juices"--salt, _nitrum_ (soda and potash), saltpetre, alum, vitriol, chrysocolla, _caeruleum_ (part azurite), orpiment, realgar, and sulphur; book iv., camphor, bitumen, coal, bituminous shales, amber; book v., lodestone, bloodstone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, mica, calamine, various fossils, geodes, emery, touchstones, pumice, fluorspar, and quartz; book vi., gems and precious stones; book vii., "rocks"--marble, serpentine, onyx, alabaster, limestone, etc.; book viii., metals--gold, silver, quicksilver, copper, lead, tin, antimony, bismuth, iron, and alloys, such as electrum, brass, etc.; book ix., various furnace operations, such as making brass, gilding, tinning, and products such as slags, furnace accretions, _pompholyx_ (zinc oxide), copper flowers, litharge, hearth-lead, verdigris, white-lead, red-lead, etc.; book x., "compounds," embracing the description of a number of recognisable silver, copper, lead, quicksilver, iron, tin, antimony, and zinc minerals, many of which we set out more fully in note , page . _de ortu et causis subterraneorum._ this work also has always been published in company with others. the first edition was printed at basel, ; the second at basel, , which, being the edition revised and added to by the author, has been used by us for reference. there are five "books," and in the main they contain agricola's philosophical views on geologic phenomena. the largest portion of the actual text is occupied with refutations of the ancient philosophers, the alchemists, and the astrologers; and these portions, while they exhibit his ability in observation and in dialectics, make but dull reading. those sections of the book which contain his own views, however, are of the utmost importance in the history of science, and we reproduce extensively the material relating to ore deposits in the footnotes on pages to . briefly, book i. is devoted to discussion of the origin and distribution of ground waters and juices. the latter part of this book and a portion of book ii. are devoted to the origin of subterranean heat, which he assumes is in the main due to burning bitumen--a genus which with him embraced coal--and also, in a minor degree, to friction of internal winds and to burning sulphur. the remainder of book ii. is mainly devoted to the discussion of subterranean "air", "vapour", and "exhalations", and he conceives that volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are due to their agency, and in these hypotheses he comes fairly close to the modern theory of eruptions from explosions of steam. "vapour arises when the internal heat of the earth or some hidden fire burns earth which is moistened with vapour. when heat or subterranean fire meets with a great force of vapour which cold has contracted and encompassed in every direction, then the vapour, finding no outlet, tries to break through whatever is nearest to it, in order to give place to the insistent and urgent cold. heat and cold cannot abide together in one place, but expel and drive each other out of it by turns". as he was, we believe, the first to recognise the fundamental agencies of mountain sculpture, we consider it is of sufficient interest to warrant a reproduction of his views on this subject: "hills and mountains are produced by two forces, one of which is the power of water, and the other the strength of the wind. there are three forces which loosen and demolish the mountains, for in this case, to the power of the water and the strength of the wind we must add the fire in the interior of the earth. now we can plainly see that a great abundance of water produces mountains, for the torrents first of all wash out the soft earth, next carry away the harder earth, and then roll down the rocks, and thus in a few years they excavate the plains or slopes to a considerable depth; this may be noticed in mountainous regions even by unskilled observers. by such excavation to a great depth through many ages, there rises an immense eminence on each side. when an eminence has thus arisen, the earth rolls down, loosened by constant rain and split away by frost, and the rocks, unless they are exceedingly firm, since their seams are similarly softened by the damp, roll down into the excavations below. this continues until the steep eminence is changed into a slope. each side of the excavation is said to be a mountain, just as the bottom is called a valley. moreover, streams, and to a far greater extent rivers, effect the same results by their rushing and washing; for this reason they are frequently seen flowing either between very high mountains which they have created, or close by the shore which borders them.... nor did the hollow places which now contain the seas all formerly exist, nor yet the mountains which check and break their advance, but in many parts there was a level plain, until the force of winds let loose upon it a tumultuous sea and a scathing tide. by a similar process the impact of water entirely overthrows and flattens out hills and mountains. but these changes of local conditions, numerous and important as they are, are not noticed by the common people to be taking place at the very moment when they are happening, because, through their antiquity, the time, place, and manner in which they began is far prior to human memory. the wind produces hills and mountains in two ways: either when set loose and free from bonds, it violently moves and agitates the sand; or else when, after having been driven into the hidden recesses of the earth by cold, as into a prison, it struggles with a great effort to burst out. for hills and mountains are created in hot countries, whether they are situated by the sea coasts or in districts remote from the sea, by the force of winds; these no longer held in check by the valleys, but set free, heap up the sand and dust, which they gather from all sides, to one spot, and a mass arises and grows together. if time and space allow, it grows together and hardens, but if it be not allowed (and in truth this is more often the case), the same force again scatters the sand far and wide.... then, on the other hand, an earthquake either rends and tears away part of a mountain, or engulfs and devours the whole mountain in some fearful chasm. in this way it is recorded the cybotus was destroyed, and it is believed that within the memory of man an island under the rule of denmark disappeared. historians tell us that taygetus suffered a loss in this way, and that therasia was swallowed up with the island of thera. thus it is clear that water and the powerful winds produce mountains, and also scatter and destroy them. fire only consumes them, and does not produce at all, for part of the mountains--usually the inner part--takes fire." the major portion of book iii. is devoted to the origin of ore channels, which we reproduce at some length on page . in the latter part of book iii., and in books iv. and v., he discusses the principal divisions of the mineral kingdom given in _de natura fossilium_, and the origin of their characteristics. it involves a large amount of what now appears fruitless tilting at the peripatetics and the alchemists; but nevertheless, embracing, as agricola did, the fundamental aristotelian elements, he must needs find in these same elements and their subordinate binary combinations cause for every variation in external character. _bermannus._ this, agricola's first work in relation to mining, was apparently first published at basel, . the work is in the form of a dialogue between "bermannus," who is described as a miner, mineralogist, and "a student of mathematics and poetry," and "nicolaus ancon" and "johannes naevius," both scholars and physicians. ancon is supposed to be of philosophical turn of mind and a student of moorish literature, naevius to be particularly learned in the writings of dioscorides, pliny, galen, etc. "bermannus" was probably an adaptation by agricola of the name of his friend lorenz berman, a prominent miner. the book is in the main devoted to a correlation of the minerals mentioned by the ancients with those found in the saxon mines. this phase is interesting as indicating the natural trend of agricola's scholastic mind when he first comes into contact with the sciences to which he devoted himself. the book opens with a letter of commendation from erasmus, of rotterdam, and with the usual dedication and preface by the author. the three conversationalists are supposed to take walks among the mines and to discuss, incidentally, matters which come to their attention; therefore the book has no systematic or logical arrangement. there are occasional statements bearing on the history, management, titles, and methods used in the mines, and on mining lore generally. the mineralogical part, while of importance from the point of view of giving the first description of several minerals, is immensely improved upon in _de natura fossilium_, published years later. it is of interest to find here the first appearance of the names of many minerals which we have since adopted from the german into our own nomenclature. of importance is the first description of bismuth, although, as pointed out on page , the metal had been mentioned before. in the revised collection of collateral works published in , the author makes many important changes and adds some new material, but some of the later editions were made from the unrevised older texts. _rerum metallicarum interpretatio._ this list of german equivalents for latin mineralogical terms was prepared by agricola himself, and first appears in the collection of _de ortu et causis_, _de natura fossilium_, etc., being repeated in all subsequent publications of these works. it consists of some latin mineralogical and metallurgical terms, many of which are of agricola's own coinage. it is of great help in translation and of great value in the study of mineralogic nomenclature. _de mensuris et ponderibus._ this work is devoted to a discussion of the greek and roman weights and measures, with some correlation to those used in saxony. it is a careful work still much referred to by students of these subjects. the first edition was published at paris in , and in the edition at basel appears, for the first time, _de precio metallorum et monetis_. _de veteribus et novis metallis._ this short work comprises folio pages, and first appears in the collection of collateral works. it consists mainly of historical and geographical references to the occurrence of metals and mines, culled from the greek and latin classics, together with some information as to the history of the mines in central europe. the latter is the only original material, and unfortunately is not very extensive. we have incorporated some of this information in the footnotes. _de animantibus subterraneis._ this short work was first printed in basel, , and consists of one chapter of folio pages. practically the whole is devoted to the discussion of various animals who at least a portion of their time live underground, such as hibernating, cave-dwelling, and burrowing animals, together with cave-dwelling birds, lizards, crocodiles, serpents, etc. there are only a few lines of remote geological interest as to migration of animals imposed by geologic phenomena, such as earthquakes, floods, etc. this book also discloses an occasional vein of credulity not to be expected from the author's other works, in that he apparently believes aristotle's story of the flies which were born and lived only in the smelting furnace; and further, the last paragraph in the book is devoted to underground gnomes. this we reproduce in the footnote on page . _de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra._ this work of four books, comprising folio pages, first appears in the collection. as the title indicates, the discussion is upon the substances which flow from the earth, such as water, bitumen, gases, etc. altogether it is of microscopic value and wholly uninteresting. the major part refers to colour, taste, temperature, medicinal uses of water, descriptions of rivers, lakes, swamps, and aqueducts. bibliographical notes. for the following we have mainly to thank miss kathleen schlesinger, who has been employed many months in following up every clue, and although the results display very considerable literary activity on the part of the author, they do not by any means indicate miss schlesinger's labours. agricola's works were many of them published at various times in combination, and therefore to set out the title and the publication of each work separately would involve much repetition of titles, and we consequently give the titles of the various volumes arranged according to dates. for instance, _de natura fossilium_, _de ortu et causis_, _de veteribus et novis metallis_, _de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra_, and _interpretatio_ have always been published together, and the latin and italian editions of these works always include _bermannus_ as well. moreover, the latin _de re metallica_ of includes all of these works. we mark with an asterisk the titles to editions which we have been able to authenticate by various means from actual books. those unmarked are editions which we are satisfied do exist, but the titles of which are possibly incomplete, as they are taken from library catalogues, etc. other editions to which we find reference and of which we are not certain are noted separately in the discussion later on.[ ] * ( vo): _georgii agricolae medici, bermannus sive de re metallica._ (froben's mark). _basileae in aedibus frobenianis anno. mdxxx._ bound with this edition is (p. - ), at least occasionally, _rerum metallicarum appellationes juxta vernaculam germanorum linguam, autori plateano_. _basileae in officina frobeniana_, anno. mdxxx. * ( vo): _georgii agricolae medici libri quinque de mensuris et ponderibus: in quibus plaeraque à budaeo et portio parum animadversa diligenter excutiuntur. opus nunc primum in lucem aeditum._ (wechelus's mark). _parisiis. excudebat christianus wechelus, in vico iacobaeo, sub scuto basileiensi, anno mdxxxiii._ pages and index of pages. * ( to): _georgii agricolae medici libri quinque. de mensuris et ponderibus: in quibus pleraque à budaeo et portio parum animadversa diligenter excutiuntur._ (froben's mark). _basileae ex officina frobeniana anno mdxxxiii. cum gratia et privilegio caesareo ad sex annos._ ( to): _georgii agricolae. epistola ad plateanum, cui sunt adiecta aliquot loca castigata in libris de mensuris et ponderibus nuper editis._ froben, basel, . * ( vo): _georgii agricolae medici libri v. de mensuris et ponderibus: in quibus pleraque à budaeo et portio parum animadversa diligenter excutiuntur._ (printer's mark). at the end of index: _venitüs per juan anto. de nicolinis de sabio, sumptu vero et requisitione dñi melchionis sessae. anno. dñi mdxxxv. mense julii._ folios. on back of title page is given: _liber primus de mensuris romanis, secundus de mensuris graecis, tertius de rerum quas metimur pondere, quartus de ponderibus romanis, quintus de ponderibus graecis._ * ( vo): _georgii agricolae medici bermannus sive de re metallica._ _parisiis. apud hieronymum gormontiú. in vico jacobeo sub signotrium coronarum._ . * ( vo): _georgii agricolae medici bermannus, sive de metallica ab accurata autoris recognitione et emendatione nunc primum editus cum nomenclatura rerum metallicarum. eorum lipsiae in officina valentini papae anno. mdxlvi._ * (folio): _georgii agricolae de ortu et causis subterraneorum lib. v. de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra lib. iiii. de natura fossilium lib. x. de veteribus et novis metallis, lib. ii. bermannus sive de re metallica dialogus. interpretatio germanica vocum rei metallicae addito indice faecundissimo._ _apud hieron frobenium et nicolaum episcopium basileae, mdxlvi. cum privilegio imp. maiestatis ad quinquennium._ * ( vo): _georgii agricolae de animantibus subterraneis liber._ froben, basel, mdxlix. * ( vo): _di georgio agricola de la generatione de le cose, che sotto la terra sono, e de le cause de' loro effetti e natura, lib. v. de la natura di quelle cose, che de la terra scorrono lib. iiii. de la natura de le cose fossili, e che sotto la terra si cavano lib. x. de le minere antiche e moderne lib. ii. il bermanno, ò de le cose metallice dialogo, recato tutto hora dal latino in buona lingua volgare._ (vignette of sybilla surrounded by the words)--_qv al piv fermo e il mio foglio È il mio presaggio._ _col privilegio del sommo pontefice papa giulio iii. et del illustriss. senato veneto per anni. xx._ (colophon). _in vinegia per michele tramezzino, mdl._ * (folio): _georgii agricolae. de mensuris et ponderibus rom. atque graec. lib. v. de externis mensuris et ponderibus lib. ii. ad ea quae andreas alciatus denuo disputavit de mensuris et ponderibus brevis defensio lib. i. de mensuris quibus intervalla metimur lib. i. de restituendis ponderibus atque mensuris. lib. i. de precio metallorum et monetis. lib. iii._ _basileae._ froben. mdl. _cum privilegio imp. maiestatis ad quinquennium._[ ] * (folio): _georgii agricolae de re metallica libri xii. quibus officia, instrumenta, machinae, ac omnia denique ad metallicam spectantia, non modo luculentissime describuntur, sed et per effigies, suis locis insertas, adjunctis latinis, germanicisque appellationibus ita ob oculos ponuntur, ut clarius tradi non possint eiusdem de animantibus subterraneis liber, ab autore recognitus: cum indicibus diversis, quicquid in opere tractatum est, pulchre demonstrantibus._ (froben's mark). _basileae mdlvi. cum privilegio imperatoris in annos v. et galliarum regis ad sexennium._ folio pages and preface, glossary and index amounting to pages. this is the first edition of _de re metallica_. we reproduce this title-page on page xix. * (folio): _vom bergkwerck xii bücher darinn alle empter, instrument, gezeuge, unnd alles zu disem handel gehörig, mitt schönen figuren vorbildet, und klärlich beschriben seindt erstlich in lateinischer sprach durch den hochgelerten und weittberümpten herrn georgium agricolam, doctorn und. bürgermeistern der churfürstlichen statt kempnitz, jezundt aber verteüscht durch den achtparen. unnd hochgelerten herrn philippum bechium, philosophen, artzer und in der loblichen universitet zu basel professorn._ _gedruckt zu basel durch jeronymus froben und niclausen bischoff im jar mitt keiserlicher freyheit._ * (folio): _georgii agricolae de ortu et causis subterraneorum lib. v. de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra lib. iv. de natura fossilium lib. x. de veteribus et novis metallis lib. ii. bermannus, sive de re metallica dialogus liber. interpretatio germanica vocum rei metallicae, addito duplici indice, altero rerum, altero locorum omnia ab ipso authore, cum haud poenitenda accessione, recens recognita._ _froben, et episcop. basileae mdlviii. cum imp. maiestatis renovato privilegio ad quinquennium._ pages and index. as the title states, this is a revised edition by the author, and as the changes are very considerable it should be the one used. the italian translation and the wittenberg edition, mentioned below, are taken from the edition, and are, therefore, very imperfect. * (folio): second edition of _de re metallica_ including _de animantibus subterraneis_, with same title as the first edition except the addition, after the body of the title, of the words _atque omnibus nunc iterum ad archetypum diligenter restitutis et castigatis_ and the year mdlxi. pages and pages of glossary and index. * (folio): _opera di giorgio agricola de l'arte de metalli partita in xii. libri, ne quali si descrivano tutte le sorti, e qualità de gli uffizii, de gli strumenti, delle macchine, e di tutte l'altre cose attenenti a cotal arte, non pure con parole chiare ma eziandio si mettano a luoghi loro le figure di dette cose, ritratte al naturale, con l'aggiunta de nomi di quelle, cotanto chiari, e spediti, che meglio non si puo desiderare, o havere._ _aggiugnesi il libro del medesimo autore, che tratta de gl' animali di sottoterra da lui stesso corretto et riveduto. tradotti in lingua toscana da m. michelangelo florio fiorentino._ _con l'indice di tutte le cose piu notabili alla fine_ (froben's mark) _in basilea per hieronimo frobenio et nicolao episcopio, mdlxiii._ pages with pages of index. * (folio): _bergwerck buch: darinn nicht allain alle empte instrument gezeug und alles so zu diesem handel gehörig mit figuren vorgebildet und klärlich beschriben, etc. durch den hochgelehrten ... herrn georgium agricolam der artzney doctorn und burgermeister der churfürstlichen statt kemnitz erstlich mit grossem fleyss mühe und arbeit in latein beschriben und in zwölff bücher abgetheilt: nachmals aber durch den achtbarn und auch hochgelehrten philippum bechium philosophen artzt und in der löblichen universitet zu basel professorn mit sonderm fleyss teutscher nation zu gut verteutscht und an tag geben. allen berckherrn gewercken berckmeistern geschwornen schichtmeistern steigern berckheuwern wäschern und schmeltzern nicht allein nützlich und dienstlich sondern auch zu wissem hochnotwendig._ _mit römischer keys. may freyheit nicht nachzutrucken._ _getruckt in der keyserlichen reichsstatt, franckfort am mayn, etc. im jahr mdlxxx._ * ( mo): _georgii agricolae de ortu et causis subterraneorum lib. v. de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra, lib. iv. de natura fossilium lib. x. de veteribus et novis metallis lib. ii. bermannus, sive de re metallica dialogus. interpretatio germanica vocum rei metallicae._ _addito indice faecundissimo, plurimos jam annos à germanis, et externarum quoque nationum doctissimis viris, valde desiderati et expetiti._ _nunc vero in rei metallicae studiosorum gratiam recensiti, in certa capita distributi, capitum argumentis, et nonnullis scholiis marginalibus illustrati à johanne sigfrido philos: et medicinae doctore et in illustri julia professore ordinario._ _accesserunt de metallicis rebus et nominibus observationes variae et eruditae, ex schedis georgii fabricii, quibus ea potissimum explicantur, quae georgius agricola praeteriit_. _wittebergae sumptibus zachariae schüreri bibliopolae typis andreae rüdingeri, ._ there are pages in the work of agricola proper, the notes of fabricius comprising a further pages, and the index pages. * ( vo): _georgii agricolae de animantibus subterraneis liber hactenus à multis desideratus, nunc vero in gratiam studiosorum seorsim editus, in certa capita divisus, capitum argumentis et nonnullis marginalibus exornatus à johanne sigfrido, phil. & med. doctore_, etc. _wittebergae. typis meisnerianis: impensis zachariae. schureri bibliop. anno. mdcxiv._ * (folio): _georgii agricolae kempnicensis medici ac philosophi clariss. de re metallica libri xii quibus officia, instrumenta, machinae, ac omnia denique ad metallicam spectantia, non modo luculentissimè describuntur; sed et per effigies, suis locis insertas adjunctis latinis, germanicisque; appellationibus, ita ob oculos ponuntur, ut clarius tradi non possint._ _ejusdem de animantibus subterraneis liber, ab autore recognitus cum indicibus diversis quicquid in opere tractatum est, pulchrè demonstrantibus._ (vignette of man at assay furnace). _basileae helvet. sumptibus itemque typis chalcographicis ludovici regis anno mdcxxi._ pages and pages glossary and indices. * (folio): _bergwerck buch darinnen nicht allein alle empter instrument gezeug und alles so zu disem handel gehörig mit figuren vorgebildet und klärlich beschrieben:.... durch den hochgelehrten und weitberühmten herrn georgium agricolam, der artzney doctorn und burgermeister der churfürstlichen statt kemnitz erstlich mit grossem fleiss mühe und arbeit in latein beschrieben und in zwölff bücher abgetheilt: nachmals aber durch den achtbarn und auch hochgelehrten philippum bechium. philosophen, artzt, und in der loblichen universitet zu basel professorn mit sonderm fleiss teutscher nation zu gut verteutscht und an tag geben und nun zum andern mal getruckt._ _allen bergherrn gewercken bergmeistern geschwornen schichtmeistern steigern berghäwern wäschern unnd schmeltzern nicht allein nutzlich und dienstlich sondern auch zu wissen hochnohtwendig._ (vignette of man at assay furnace). _getruckt zu basel inverlegung ludwig königs im jahr, mdcxxi._ pages pages glossary--no index. * (folio): _georgii agricolae kempnicensis medici ac philosophi clariss. de re metallica libri xii. quibus officia, instrumenta, machinae, ac omnia denique ad metallicam spectantia, non modo luculentissimè describuntur: sed et per effigies, suis locis insertas, adjunctis latinis, germanicisque appellationibus, ita ob oculos ponuntur, ut clarius tradi non possint. quibus accesserunt hac ultima editione, tractatus ejusdem argumenti, ab eodem conscripti, sequentes._ _de animantibus subterraneis lib. i., de ortu et causis subterraneorum lib. v., de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra lib. iv., de natura fossilium lib. x., de veteribus et novis metallis lib. ii., bermannus sive de re metallica, dialogus lib. i._ _cum indicibus diversis, quicquid in opere tractatum est, pulchrè demonstrantibus._ (vignette of assayer and furnace). _basileae sumptibus et typis emanuelis könig. anno mdclvii._ folio, pages and pages of glossary and indices. this is a very serviceable edition of all of agricola's important works, and so far as we have noticed there are but few typographical errors. * ( vo): _gespräch vom bergwesen, wegen seiner fürtrefflich keit aus dem lateinischen in das deutsche übersetzet, mit nützl. anmerkungen erläutert. u. mit einem ganz neuen zusatze von zlüglicher anstellung des bergbaues u. von der zugutemachung der erze auf den hüttenwerken versehen von johann gottlieb stör._ _rotenburg a. d. fulda, hermstädt ._ pages. * ( vo): _georg agricola's bermannus eine einleitung in die metallurgischen schriften desselben, übersetzt und mit exkursionen herausgegeben von friedrich august schmid. haushalts- und befahrungs-protokollist im churf. vereinigten bergamte zu st. annaberg._ _freyberg . bey craz und gerlach._ * - ( vo). _georg agrikola's mineralogische schriften übersetzt und mit erläuternden anmerkungen. begleitet von ernst lehmann bergamts-assessor, berg- gegen- und receszschreiber in dem königl. sächs. bergamte voigtsberg der jenaischen societät für die gesammte mineralogie ehrenmitgliede._ _freyberg, - . bey craz und gerlach._ this german translation consists of four parts: the first being _de ortu et causis_, the second _de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra_, and the third in two volumes _de natura fossilium_, the fourth _de veteribus et novis metallis_; with glossary and index to the four parts. we give the following notes on other possible prints, as a great many references to the above works occur in various quarters, of date other than the above. unless otherwise convinced it is our belief that most of these refer to the prints given above, and are due to error in giving titles or dates. it is always possible that such prints do exist and have escaped our search. _de re metallica._ leupold, richter, schmid, van der linden, mercklinus and eloy give an vo edition of _de re metallica_ without illustrations, schweinfurt, . we have found no trace of this print. leupold, van der linden, richter, schmid and eloy mention an vo edition, wittenberg, . it is our belief that this refers to the wittenberg edition of the selected works, which contains a somewhat similar title referring in reality to _bermannus_, which was and is still continually confused with _de re metallica_. ferguson mentions a german edition, schweinfurt, vo, . we can find no trace of this; it may refer to the schweinfurt edition mentioned above. _de natura fossilium._ leupold and gatter refer to a folio edition of . this was probably an error for either the or the editions. watt refers to an edition of combined with _de medicatis fontibus_. we find no trace of such edition, nor even that the latter work was ever actually printed. he also refers to an edition of and one of , this probably being an error for the edition of the subsidiary works and the _de re metallica_ of . leupold also refers to an edition of , this probably being an error for . _de ortu et causis._ albinus, hofmann, jacobi, schmid, richter, and reuss mention an edition of . this we believe to be an error in giving the date of the dedication instead of that of the publication ( ). albinus and ferguson give an edition of , which date is, we believe, an error for . ferguson gives an edition of the italian translation as ; we believe this should be . draud gives an edition of ; probably this should be . _bermannus._ albinus, schmid, reuss, richter, and weinart give the first edition as . we have been unable to learn of any actual copy of that date, and it is our belief that the date is taken from the dedication instead of from the publication, and should be . leupold, schmid, and reuss give an edition by froben in ; we have been unable to confirm this. leupold also gives an edition of (folio), and jöcher gives an edition of geneva (folio); we have also been unable to find this, and believe the latter to be a confusion with the _de re metallica_ of , as it is unlikely that _bermannus_ would be published by itself in folio. the catalogue of the library at siena (vol. iii., p. ) gives _il bermanno, vinegia_, , vo. we have found no trace of this edition elsewhere. _de mensuris et ponderibus._ albinus and schmid mention an edition of , and one of . the biographie universelle, paris, gives one of , and leupold one of , all of which we have been unable to find. an epitome of this work was published at various times, sometimes in connection with editions of vitruvius; so far as we are aware on the following dates, , , , . there also appear extracts in relation to liquid measures in works entitled _vocabula rei numariae ponderum et mensurarum_, etc. paul eber and caspar peucer, _lipsiae_, , and in same wittenberg, . _de veteribus et novis metallis._ watt gives an edition, basel, , and paris, ; we believe this is incorrect and refers to _bermannus_. reuss mentions a folio print of basel, . we consider this very unlikely. _de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra._ albinus, hofmann, schmid, jacobi, richter, reuss, and weinart give an edition of . we believe this is again the dedication instead of the publication date ( ). _de animantibus subterraneis._ van der linden gives an edition at schweinfurt, vo, . although we have been unable to find a copy, this slightly confirms the possibility of an octavo edition of _de re metallica_ of this date, as they were usually published together. leupold gives assurance that he handled an octavo edition of wittenberg, , _cum notis johann sigfridi_. we think he confused this with _bermannus sive de re metallica_ of that date and place. schmid, richter, and draud all refer to an edition similarly annotated, leipzig, , vo. we have no trace of it otherwise. unpublished works on subjects related to mining. agricola apparently projected a complete series of works covering the whole range of subjects relating to minerals: geology, mineralogy, mining, metallurgy, history of metals, their uses, laws, etc. in a letter[ ] from fabricius to meurer (march, ), the former states that agricola intended writing about books (chapters) in addition to those already published, and to the twelve books _de re metallica_ which he was about to publish. apparently a number of these works were either unfinished or unpublished at agricola's death, for his friend george fabricius seems to have made some effort to secure their publication, but did not succeed, through lack of sympathy on the part of agricola's family. hofmann[ ] states on this matter: "his intentions were frustrated mainly through the lack of support with which he was met by the heirs of the mineralogist. these, as he complains to a councillor of the electorate, christopher von carlovitz, in , and to paul eber in another letter, adopted a grudging and ungracious tone with regard to his proposal to collect all agricola's works left behind, and they only consented to communicate to him as much as they were obliged by express command of the prince. at the prince's command they showed him a little, but he supposed that there was much more that they had suppressed or not preserved. the attempt to purchase some of the works--the elector had given fabricius money for the purpose ( nummos unciales)--proved unavailing, owing to the disagreeableness of agricola's heirs. it is no doubt due to these regrettable circumstances that all the works of the industrious scholar did not come down to us." the "disagreeableness" was probably due to the refusal of the protestant townsfolk to allow the burial of agricola in the cathedral at chemnitz. so far as we know the following are the unpublished or lost works. _de jure et legibus metallicis._ this work on mining law is mentioned at the end of book iv. of _de re metallica_, and it is referred to by others apparently from that source. we have been unable to find any evidence that it was ever published. _de varia temperie sive constitutione aeris._ in a letter[ ] to johann naevius, agricola refers to having a work in hand of this title. _de metallis et machinis._ hofmann[ ] states that a work of this title by agricola, dated basel , was sold to someone in america by a frankfort-on-main bookseller in . this is apparently the only reference to it that we know of, and it is possibly a confusion of titles or a "separate" of some chapters from _de re metallica_. _de ortu metallorum defensio ad jacobum scheckium._ referred to by fabricius in a letter[ ] to meurer. if published was probably only a tract. _de terrae motu._ in a letter[ ] from agricola to meurer (jan. , ) is some reference which might indicate that he was formulating a work on earthquakes under this title, or perhaps may be only incidental to the portions of _de ortu et causis_ dealing with this subject. _commentariorum in quibus utriusque linguae scriptorum locos difficiles de rebus subterraneis explicat, libri vi._ agricola apparently partially completed a work under some such title as this, which was to embrace chapters entitled _de methodis_ and _de demonstratione_. the main object seems to have been a commentary on the terms and passages in the classics relating to mining, mineralogy, etc. it is mentioned in the preface of _de veteribus et novis metallis_, and in a letter[ ] from one of froben's firm to agricola in , where it is suggested that agricola should defer sending his new commentaries until the following spring. the work is mentioned by albinus[ ], and in a letter from georg fabricius to meurer on the nd jan. ,[ ] in another from g. fabricius, to his brother andreas on oct. , ,[ ] and in a third from fabricius to melanchthon on december th, [ ], in which regret is expressed that the work was not completed by agricola. writings not related to mining, including lost or unpublished works. _latin grammar._ this was probably the first of agricola's publications, the full title to which is _georgii agricolae glaucii libellus de prima ac simplici institutione grammatica. excusum lipsiae in officina melchioris lottheri. anno mdxx._ ( to), folios.[ ] there is some reason to believe that agricola also published a greek grammar, for there is a letter[ ] from agricola dated march th, , in which henicus camitianus is requested to send a copy to stephan roth. _theological tracts._ there are preserved in the zwickau rathsschul library[ ] copies by stephan roth of two tracts, the one entitled, _deum non esse auctorem peccati_, the other, _religioso patri petri fontano, sacre theologie doctori eximio georgius agricola salutem dicit in christo_. the former was written from leipzig in , and the latter, although not dated, is assigned to the same period. both are printed in _zwei theologische abhandlungen des georg agricola_, an article by otto clemen, _neuen archiv fur sächsische geschichte_, etc., dresden, . there is some reason (from a letter of fabricius to melanchthon, dec. th, ) to believe that agricola had completed a work on the unwritten traditions concerning the church. there is no further trace of it. _galen._ agricola appears to have been joint author with andreas asulanus and j. b. opizo of a revision of this well-known greek work. it was published at venice in , under the title of _galeni librorum_, etc., etc. agricola's name is mentioned in a prefatory letter to opizo by asulanus. _de bello adversus turcam._ this political tract, directed against the turks, was written in latin and first printed by froben, basel, . it was translated into german apparently by agricola's friend laurenz berman, and published under the title _oration anrede und vormanunge ... widder den türcken_ by frederich peypus, nuremberg, in ( vo), and either in or by wolfgang stöckel, dresden, to. it was again printed in latin by froben, basel, , to; by h. grosius, leipzig, , vo; it was included among other works published on the same subject by nicholas reusnerus, leipzig, ; by michael lantzenberger, frankfurt-am-main, , to. further, there is reference by watt to an edition at eisleben, , of which we have no confirmation. there is another work on the subject, or a revision by the author mentioned by albinus[ ] as having been, after agricola's death, sent to froben by george fabricius to be printed; nothing further appears in this matter however. _de peste._ this work on the plague appears to have been first printed by froben, basel, , vo. the work was republished at schweinfurt, , and at augsburg in , under various editors. it would appear from albinus[ ] that the work was revised by agricola and in froben's hands for publication after the author's death. _de medicatis fontibus._ this work is referred to by agricola himself in _de natura eorum_,[ ] in the prefatory letter in _de veteribus et novis metallis_; and albinus[ ] quotes a letter of agricola to sebastian munster on the subject. albinus states (_bergchronik_, p. ) that to his knowledge it had not yet been published. conrad gesner, in his work _excerptorum et observationum de thermis_, which is reprinted in _de balneis_, venice, , after agricola's _de natura eorum_, states[ ] concerning agricola _in libris quos de medicatis fontibus instituerit copiosus se dicturum pollicetur_. watt mentions it as having been published in , , , and . he, however, apparently confuses it with _de natura eorum_. we are unable to state whether it was ever printed or not. a note of inquiry to the principal libraries in germany gave a negative result. _de putredine solidas partes humani corporis corrumpente._ this work, according to albinus was received by fabricius a year after agricola's death, but whether it was published or not is uncertain.[ ] _castigationes in hippocratem et galenum._ this work is referred to by agricola in the preface of _bermannus_, and albinus[ ] mentions several letters referring to the preparation of the work. there is no evidence of publication. _typographia mysnae et toringiae._ it seems from agricola's letter[ ] to munster that agricola prepared some sort of a work on the history of saxony and of the royal family thereof at the command of the elector and sent it to him when finished, but it was never published as written by agricola. albinus, hofmann, and struve give some details of letters in reference to it. fabricius in a letter[ ] dated nov. , asks meurer to send agricola some material for it; in a letter from fabricius to meurer dated oct. , , it appears that the elector had granted agricola thalers to assist in the work. after agricola's death the material seems to have been handed over to fabricius, who made use of it (as he states in the preface) in preparing the work he was commissioned by the elector to write, the title of which was, _originum illustrissimae stirpis saxonicae libri_, and was published in leipzig, . it includes on page a fragment of a work entitled _oratio de rebus gestis ernesti et alberti ducum saxoniae_, by agricola. works wrongly attributed to georgius agricola. the following works have been at one time or another wrongly attributed to georgius agricola:-- _galerazeya sive revelator secretorum de lapide philosophorum_, cologne, and , by one daniel agricola, which is merely a controversial book with a catch-title, used by catholics for converting heretics. _rechter gebrauch der alchimey_, a book of miscellaneous receipts which treats very slightly of transmutation.[ ] _chronik der stadt freiberg_ by a georg agricola (died ), a preacher at freiberg. _dominatores saxonici_, by the same author. _breviarum de asse_ by guillaume bude. _de inventione dialectica_ by rudolph agricola. footnotes: [ ] see footnote , page . [ ] system of mineralogy. [ ] the following are the titles of the works referred to in this discussion:-- petrus albinus: _meissnische land und berg chronica in welcher ein wollnstendige description des landes_, etc., dresden, (contains part i, _commentatorium de mysnia_). _newe chronica und beschreibung des landes zu meissen_, pp. to , besides preface and index, and part ii. _meissnische bergk chronica_, dresden, , pp. to , besides preface and index. adam daniel richter: _umständliche ... chronica der ... stadt chemnitz nebst beygefügten urkunden_, pts. to, zittau & leipzig, . ben. g. weinart: _versuch einer litteratur d. sächsischen geschichte und staats kunde_, leipzig, . friedrich august schmid: _georg agrikola's bermannus: einleitung in die metallurgischen schriften desselben_, freyberg, craz & gerlach. , pp. viii., - . franz ambros reuss: _mineralogische geographie van böhmen_. vols. to, dresden, - . (agricola vol. i, p. ). jacob leupold: _prodromus bibliothecae metallicae_, corrected, continued, and augmented by f. e. brückmann. wolfenbüttel, , s.v. agricola. christian gottlieb göcher: _allgemeines gelehrten-lexicon_, with continuation and supplements by adelung, leipzig, , s.v. agricola. john anton van der linden: _de scriptis medicis, libri duo_, amsterdam, , s.v. georgius agricola. nicolas françois joseph eloy: _dictionnaire historique de la médecine_, liége & francfort (chez j. f. bassompierre), , vo (agricola p. , vol. i). georg abraham mercklinus: _lindenius renovatus de scriptis medicis continuati ... amplificati_, etc., amsterdam, , s.v. georgius agricola. john ferguson: _bibliotheca chemica_: a catalogue of the alchemical, chemical, and pharmaceutical books in the collection of the late james young of kelly & durris, esq., l.l.d., f.r.s., f.r.s.e. glasgow, , to, vols., s.v. agricola. christoph wilhelm gatterer: _allgemeines repertorium der mineralogischen, bergwerks und salz werkswissenschaftlichen literatur_, göttingen, , vol. i. dr. reinhold hofmann: _dr. georg agricola, ein gelehrtenleben aus dem zeitalter der reformation_, vo, gotha, . georg heinrich jacobi: _der mineralog georgius agricola und sein verhältnis zur wissenschaft seiner zeit_, etc., vo. zwickau ( ), (_dissertation_--leipzig). georg draud: _bibliotheca classica_, frankfurt-am-main, . b. g. struve: _bibliotheca saxonica_, vo, halle, . [ ] albinus states (p. ): _omnes simul editi anno. , iterum , basileae_, as though two separate editions. [ ] _g. fabricii epistolae ad w. meurerum et alios aequales_, by baumgarten-crusius, leipzig, , p. . [ ] _dr. georg agricola_, gotha, , pp. - . [ ] albinus, _landchronik_, pp. - . [ ] _dr. georg agricola_, p. . [ ] _baumgarten-crusius_, p. . [ ] _virorum clarorum saec. xvi. et xvii._ _epistolae selectae_ by ernst weber, leipzig, , p. . [ ] nicholas episcopius to georg agricola, sept. , , published in schmid's _bermannus_ p. . see also hofmann, op. cit. pp. and . [ ] _meissnische landchronik_, dresden, , p. . [ ] printed in baumgarten-crusius, pp. - , letter xlviii. [ ] printed in hermann peter's _meissner jahresbericht der fürstenschule_, , p. . [ ] baumgarten-crusius. _georgii fabricii chemnicensis epistolae_, leipzig, , p. . [ ] there is a copy of this work in the rathsschul library at zwickau. [ ] in the rathsschul library at zwickau. [ ] contained in vols. xxxvii. and xl. of stephan roth's _kollectanenbände_ volumes of transcripts. [ ] _landchronik_, p. . [ ] op. cit., p. . [ ] book iv. [ ] op. cit., p. . [ ] page . [ ] see baumgarten-crusius, p. , letter from georg fabricius. [ ] op. cit., p. . [ ] albinus, op. cit., p. . [ ] baumgarten-crusius, p. . [ ] see ferguson, _bibliotheca chemica_, s.v. daniel agricola. appendix b. ancient authors. we give the following brief notes on early works containing some reference to mineralogy, mining, or metallurgy, to indicate the literature available to agricola and for historical notes bearing upon the subject. references to these works in the footnotes may be most easily consulted through the personal index. greek authors.--only a very limited greek literature upon subjects allied to mining or natural science survives. the whole of the material of technical interest could be reproduced on less than twenty of these pages. those of most importance are: aristotle ( - b.c.), theophrastus ( - b.c.), diodorus siculus ( st century b.c.), strabo ( b.c.- a.d.), and dioscorides ( st century a.d.). aristotle, apart from occasional mineralogical or metallurgical references in _de mirabilibus_, is mostly of interest as the author of the peripatetic theory of the elements and the relation of these to the origin of stones and metals. agricola was, to a considerable measure, a follower of this school, and their views colour much of his writings. we, however, discuss elsewhere[ ] at what point he departed from them. especially in _de ortu et causis_ does he quote largely from aristotle's _meteorologica_, _physica_, and _de coelo_ on these subjects. there is a spurious work on stones attributed to aristotle of some interest to mineralogists. it was probably the work of some arab early in the middle ages. theophrastus, the principal disciple of aristotle, appears to have written at least two works relating to our subject--one "on stones", and the other on metals, mining or metallurgy, but the latter is not extant. the work "on stones" was first printed in venice in , and the greek text, together with a fair english translation by sir john hill, was published in london in under the title "theophrastus on stones"; the translation is, however, somewhat coloured with hill's views on mineralogy. the work comprises short paragraphs, and would, if reproduced, cover but about four of these pages. in the first paragraphs are the peripatetic view of the origin of stones and minerals, and upon the foundation of aristotle he makes some modifications. the principal interest in theophrastus' work is the description of minerals; the information given is, however, such as might be possessed by any ordinary workman, and betrays no particular abilities for natural philosophy. he enumerates various exterior characteristics, such as colour, tenacity, hardness, smoothness, density, fusibility, lustre, and transparence, and their quality of reproduction, and then proceeds to describe various substances, but usually omits his enumerated characteristics. apart from the then known metals and certain "earths" (ochre, marls, clay, etc.), it is possible to identify from his descriptions the following rocks and minerals:--marble, pumice, onyx, gypsum, pyrites, coal, bitumen, amber, azurite, chrysocolla, realgar, orpiment, cinnabar, quartz in various forms, lapis lazuli, emerald, sapphire, diamond, and ruby. altogether there are some sixteen distinct mineral species. he also describes the touchstone and its uses, the making of white-lead and verdigris, and of quicksilver from cinnabar. diodorus siculus was a greek native of sicily. his "historical library" consisted of some books, of which parts of are extant. the first print was in latin, , and in greek in ; the first translation into english was by thomas stocker, london, , and later by g. booth, . we have relied upon booth's translation, but with some amendments by friends, to gain more literal statement. diodorus, so far as relates to our subject, gives merely the occasional note of a traveller. the most interesting paragraphs are his quotation from agatharchides on egyptian mining and upon british tin. strabo was also a geographer. his work consists of books, and practically all survive. we have relied upon the most excellent translation of hamilton and falconer, london, , the only one in english. mines and minerals did not escape such an acute geographer, and the matters of greatest interest are those with relation to spanish mines. dioscorides was a greek physician who wrote entirely from the standpoint of materia medica, most of his work being devoted to herbs; but book v. is devoted to minerals and rocks, and their preparation for medicinal purposes. the work has never been translated into english, and we have relied upon the latin translation of matthioli, venice, , and notes upon the greek text prepared for us by mr. c. katopodes. in addition to most of the substances known before, he, so far as can be identified, adds schist, _cadmia_ (blende or calamine), _chalcitis_ (copper sulphide), _misy_, _melanteria_, _sory_ (copper or iron sulphide oxidation minerals). he describes the making of certain artificial products, such as copper oxides, vitriol, litharge, _pompholyx_, and _spodos_ (zinc and/or arsenical oxides). his principal interest for us, however, lies in the processes set out for making his medicines. occasional scraps of information relating to the metals or mines in some connection are to be found in many other greek writers, and in quotations by them from others which are not now extant, such as polybius, posidonius, etc. the poets occasionally throw a gleam of light on ancient metallurgy, as for instance in homer's description of vulcan's foundry; while the historians, philosophers, statesmen, and physicians, among them herodotus, xenophon, demosthenes, galen, and many others, have left some incidental references to the metals and mining, helpful to gleaners from a field, which has been almost exhausted by time. even archimedes made pumps, and hero surveying instruments for mines. roman authors.--pre-eminent among all ancient writers on these subjects is, of course, pliny, and in fact, except some few lines by vitruvius, there is practically little else in extant roman literature of technical interest, for the metallurgical metaphors of the poets and orators were threadbare by this time, and do not excite so much interest as upon their first appearance among the greeks and hebrews. pliny (caius plinius secundus) was born a.d., and was killed by eruption of vesuvius a.d. his natural history should be more properly called an encyclopædia, the whole comprising books; but only portions of the last four books relate to our subject, and over one-half of the material there is upon precious stones. to give some rough idea of the small quantity of even this, the most voluminous of ancient works upon our subject, we have made an estimate that the portions of metallurgical character would cover, say, three pages of this text, on mining two pages, on building and precious stones about ten pages. pliny and dioscorides were contemporaries, and while pliny nowhere refers to the greek, internal evidence is most convincing, either that they drew from the same source, or that pliny drew from dioscorides. we have, therefore, throughout the text given precedence in time to the greek author in matters of historical interest. the works of pliny were first printed at venice in . they have passed dozens of editions in various languages, and have been twice translated into english. the first translation by philemon holland, london, , is quite impossible. the second translation, by bostock and riley, london, , was a great advance, and the notes are most valuable, but in general the work has suffered from a freedom justifiable in the translation of poetry, but not in science. we have relied upon the latin edition of janus, leipzig, . the frequent quotations in our footnotes are sufficient indication of the character of pliny's work. in general it should be remembered that he was himself but a compiler of information from others, and, so far as our subjects are concerned, of no other experience than most travellers. when one considers the reliability of such authors to-day on technical subjects, respect for pliny is much enhanced. further, the text is no doubt much corrupted through the generations of transcription before it was set in type. so far as can be identified with any assurance, pliny adds but few distinct minerals to those enumerated by theophrastus and dioscorides. for his metallurgical and mining information we refer to the footnotes, and in general it may be said that while those skilled in metallurgy can dimly see in his statements many metallurgical operations, there is little that does not require much deduction to arrive at a conclusion. on geology he offers no new philosophical deductions of consequence; the remote connection of building stones is practically all that can be enumerated, lest one build some assumption of a knowledge of ore-deposits on the use of the word "vein". one point of great interest to this work is that in his search for latin terms for technical purposes agricola relied almost wholly upon pliny, and by some devotion to the latter we have been able to disentangle some very puzzling matters of nomenclature in _de re metallica_, of which the term _molybdaena_ may be cited as a case in point. vitruvius was a roman architect of note of the st century b.c. his work of ten books contains some very minor references to pumps and machinery, building stones, and the preparation of pigments, the latter involving operations from which metallurgical deductions can occasionally be safely made. his works were apparently first printed in rome in . there are many editions in various languages, the first english translation being from the french in . we have relied upon the translation of joseph gwilt, london, , with such alterations as we have considered necessary. mediÆval authors.--for convenience we group under this heading the writers of interest from roman times to the awakening of learning in the early th century. apart from theophilus, they are mostly alchemists; but, nevertheless, some are of great importance in the history of metallurgy and chemistry. omitting a horde of lesser lights upon whom we have given some data under the author's preface, the works principally concerned are those ascribed to avicenna, theophilus, geber, albertus magnus, roger bacon, and basil valentine. judging from the preface to _de re metallica_, and from quotations in his subsidiary works, agricola must have been not only familiar with a wide range of alchemistic material, but also with a good deal of the arabic literature, which had been translated into latin. the arabs were, of course, the only race which kept the light of science burning during the dark ages, and their works were in considerable vogue at agricola's time. avicenna ( - ) was an arabian physician of great note, a translator of the greek classics into arabic, and a follower of aristotle to the extent of attempting to reconcile the peripatetic elements with those of the alchemists. he is chiefly known to the world through the works which he compiled on medicine, mostly from the greek and latin authors. these works for centuries dominated the medical world, and were used in certain european universities until the th century. a great many works are attributed to him, and he is copiously quoted by agricola, principally in his _de ortu et causis_, apparently for the purpose of exposure. theophilus was a monk and the author of a most illuminating work, largely upon working metal and its decoration for ecclesiastical purposes. an excellent translation, with the latin text, was published by robert hendrie, london, , under the title "an essay upon various arts, in three books, by theophilus, called also rugerus, priest and monk." hendrie, for many sufficient reasons, places the period of theophilus as the latter half of the th century. the work is mainly devoted to preparing pigments, making glass, and working metals, and their conversion into ecclesiastical paraphernalia, such as mural decoration, pictures, windows, chalices, censers, bells, organs, etc. however, he incidentally describes the making of metallurgical furnaces, cupellation, parting gold and silver by cementation with salt, and by melting with sulphur, the smelting of copper, liquating lead from it, and the refining of copper under a blast with poling. geber was until recent years considered to be an arab alchemist of a period somewhere between the th and th centuries. a mere bibliography of the very considerable literature which exists in discussion of who, where, and at what time the author was, would fill pages. those who are interested may obtain a start upon such references from hermann kopp's _beiträge zur geschichte der chemie_, braunschweig, , and in john ferguson's _bibliotheca chemica_, glasgow, . berthelot, in his _chimie au moyen age_, paris, , considers the works under the name of geber were not in the main of arabic origin, but composed by some latin scholar in the th century. in any event, certain works were, under this name, printed in latin as early as - , and have passed innumerable editions since. they were first translated into english by richard russell, london, , and we have relied upon this and the nuremberg edition in latin of . this work, even assuming berthelot's view, is one of the most important in the history of chemistry and metallurgy, and is characterised by a directness of statement unique among alchemists. the making of the mineral acids--certainly nitric and _aqua regia_, and perhaps hydrochloric and sulphuric--are here first described. the author was familiar with saltpetre, sal-ammoniac, and alkali, and with the acids he prepared many salts for the first time. he was familiar with amalgamation, cupellation, the separation of gold and silver by cementation with salt and by nitric acid. his views on the primary composition of bodies dominated the alchemistic world for centuries. he contended that all metals were composed of "spiritual" sulphur (or arsenic, which he seems to consider a special form of sulphur) and quicksilver, varying proportions and qualities yielding different metals. the more the quicksilver, the more "perfect" the metal. albertus magnus (albert von bollstadt) was a dominican monk, afterwards bishop, born about , and died about . he was rated the most learned man of his time, and evidence of his literary activities lies in the complete edition of his works issued by pierre jammy, lyons, , which comprises folio volumes. however, there is little doubt that a great number of works attributed to him, especially upon alchemy, are spurious. he covered a wide range of theology, logic, alchemy, and natural science, and of the latter the following works which concern our subject are considered genuine:--_de rebus metallicis et mineralibus_, _de generatione et corruptione_, and _de meteoris_. they are little more than compilations and expositions of the classics muddled with the writings of the arabs, and in general an attempt to conciliate the peripatetic and alchemistic schools. his position in the history of science has been greatly over-estimated. however, his mineralogy is, except for books on gems, the only writing of any consequence at all on the subject between pliny and agricola, and while there are but two or three minerals mentioned which are not to be found in the ancient authors, this work, nevertheless, deserves some place in the history of science, especially as some attempt at classification is made. agricola devotes some thousands of words to the refutation of his "errors." roger bacon ( - ) was a franciscan friar, a lecturer at oxford, and a man of considerable scientific attainments for his time. he was the author of a large number of mathematical, philosophical, and alchemistic treatises. the latter are of some importance in the history of chemistry, but have only minute bearing upon metallurgy, and this chiefly as being one of the earliest to mention saltpetre. basil valentine is the reputed author of a number of alchemistic works, of which none appeared in print until early in the th century. internal evidence seems to indicate that the "triumphant chariot of antimony" is the only one which may possibly be authentic, and could not have been written prior to the end of the th or early th century, although it has been variously placed as early as . to this work has been accredited the first mention of sulphuric and hydrochloric acid, the separation of gold and silver by the use of antimony (sulphide), the reduction of the antimony sulphide to the metal, the extraction of copper by the precipitation of the sulphate with iron, and the discovery of various antimonial salts. at the time of the publication of works ascribed to valentine practically all these things were well known, and had been previously described. we are, therefore, in much doubt as to whether this author really deserves any notice in the history of metallurgy. early th century works.--during the th century, and prior to _de re metallica_, there are only three works of importance from the point of view of mining technology--the _nützlich bergbüchlin_, the _probierbüchlein_, and biringuccio's _de la pirotechnia_. there are also some minor works by the alchemists of some interest for isolated statements, particularly those of paracelsus. the three works mentioned, however, represent such a stride of advance over anything previous, that they merit careful consideration. _eyn nützlich bergbüchlin._ under this title we frequently refer to a little booklet on veins and ores, published at the beginning of the th century. the title page of our copy is as below:-- [illustration (title page)] this book is small vo, comprises folios without pagination, and has no typographical indications upon the title page, but the last line in the book reads: _gedruckt zu erffurd durch johan loersfelt, _. another edition in our possession, that of "frankfurt am meyn", , by christian egenolph, is entitled _bergwerk und probierbüchlin_, etc., and contains, besides the above, an extract and plates from the _probierbüchlein_ (referred to later on), and a few recipes for assay tests. all of these booklets, of which we find mention, comprise instructions from daniel, a skilled miner, to knappius, "his mining boy". although the little books of this title are all anonymous, we are convinced, largely from the statement in the preface of _de re metallica_, that one calbus of freiberg was the original author of this work. agricola says: "two books have been written in our tongue: the one on the assaying of mineral substances and metals, somewhat confused, whose author is unknown; the other 'on veins', of which pandulfus anglus is also said to have written, _although the german book was written by calbus of freiberg, a well-known doctor; but neither of them accomplished the task he had begun_." he again refers to calbus at the end of book iii.[ ] of _de re metallica_, and gives an almost verbatim quotation from the _nützlich bergbüchlin_. jacobi[ ] says: "calbus fribergius, so called by agricola himself, is certainly no other than the freiberg doctor, rühlein von c(k)albe." there are also certain internal evidences that support agricola's statement, for the work was evidently written in meissen, and the statement of agricola that the book was unfinished is borne out by a short dialogue at the end of the earlier editions, designed to introduce further discussion. calbus (or dr. ulrich rühlein von kalbe) was a very active citizen of freiberg, having been a town councillor in , burgomaster in , a mathematician, mining surveyor, founder of a school of liberal arts, and in general a physician. he died in .[ ] the book possesses great literary interest, as it is, so far as we are aware, undoubtedly the first work on mining geology, and in consequence we have spent some effort in endeavour to find the date of its first appearance. through the courtesy of m. polain, who has carefully examined for us the _nützlich bergbüchlein_ described in marie pellechet's _catalogue général des incunables des bibliothèques publiques de france_,[ ] we have ascertained that it is similar as regards text and woodcuts to the erfurt edition, . this copy in the bibliothèque nationale is without typographical indications, and m. polain considers it very possible that it is the original edition printed at the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth centuries. mr. bennett brough,[ ] quoting hans von dechen,[ ] states that the first edition was printed at augsburg in , no copy of which seems to be extant. the librarian at the school of mines at freiberg has kindly furnished us with the following notes as to the titles of the copies in that institution:--( ) _eyn wolgeordent und nützlich bergbüchlein_, etc., worms, [ ] and [ ] (the place and date are written in), ( ) the same as ours ( ); ( ) the same, heinrich steyner, augsburg, ; ( ) the same, . on comparing these various editions (to which may be added one probably published in nürnberg by friedrich peypus in [ ]) we find that they fall into two very distinct groups, characterised by their contents and by two entirely different sets of woodcuts. group i. (_a_) _eyn nützlich bergbüchlein_ (in _bibl. nat._, paris) before (?). (_b_) ditto, erfurt, . group ii. (_c_) _wolgeordent nützlich bergbüchlein_, worms, peter schöfern, . (_d_) _wolgeordent nützlich bergbüchlein_, worms, peter schöfern, . (_e_) _bergbüchlin von erkantnus der berckwerck_, nürnberg, undated, (?). (_f_) _bergwerckbuch & probirbuch_, christian egenolph, frankfurt-am-meyn, . (_g_) _wolgeordent nützlich bergbüchlein_, augsburg, heinrich steyner, . (_h_) _wolgeordent nützlich bergbüchlein_, augsburg, heinrich steyner, . there are also others of later date toward the end of the sixteenth century. the _büchlein_ of group i. terminate after the short dialogue between daniel and knappius with the words: _mitt welchen das kleinspeissig ertz geschmeltzt soil werden_; whereas in those of group ii. these words are followed by a short explanation of the signs used in the woodcuts, and by directions for colouring the woodcuts, and in some cases by several pages containing definitions of some mining terms. in the editions of group i. the woodcut on the title page represents a miner hewing ore in a vein and two others working a windlass. in those of group ii. the woodcut on the title page represents one miner hewing on the surface, another to the right carting away ore in a handcart, and two others carrying between them a heavy timber. in our opinion group i. represents the older and original work of calbus; but as we have not seen the copy in the _bibliothèque nationale_, and the augsburg edition of has only so far been traced to veith's catalogue,[ ] the question of the first edition cannot be considered settled at present. in any event, it appears that the material grafted on in the second group was later, and by various authors. the earliest books comprise ten chapters, in which daniel delivers about , words of instruction. the first four chapters are devoted to the description of veins and the origin of the metals, of the remaining six chapters one each to silver, gold, tin, copper, iron, lead, and quicksilver. among the mining terms are explained the meaning of country rock (_zechstein_), hanging and footwalls (_hangends_ and _liegends_), the strike (_streichen_), dip (_fallen_), and outcrop (_ausgehen_). of the latter two varieties are given, one of the "whole vein," the other of the _gesteins_, which may be the ore-shoot. various veins are illustrated, and also for the first time a mining compass. the account of the origin of the metals is a muddle of the peripatetics, the alchemists, and the astrologers, for which acknowledgment to albertus magnus is given. they are represented to originate from quicksilver and sulphur through heat, cold, dampness, and dryness, and are drawn out as exhalations through the veins, each metal owing its origin to the special influence of some planet; the moon for silver, saturn for lead, etc. two types of veins are mentioned, "standing" (_stehendergang_) and flat (_flachgang_). stringers are given the same characteristics as veins, but divided into hanging, footwall, and other varieties. prominence is also given to the _geschick_ (selvage seams or joints?). the importance of the bearing of the junctions of veins and stringers on enrichment is elaborated upon, and veins of east-west strike lying upon a south slope are considered the best. from the following notes it will be seen that two or three other types of deposits besides veins are referred to. in describing silver veins, of peculiar interest is the mention of the association of bismuth (_wismuth_), this being, we believe, the first mention of that metal, galena (_glantz_), quartz (_quertz_), spar (_spar_), hornstone (_hornstein_), ironstone and pyrites (_kies_), are mentioned as gangue materials, "according to the mingling of the various vapours." the term _glasertz_ is used, but it is difficult to say if silver glance is meant; if so, it is the first mention of this mineral. so far as we know, this is the first use of any of the terms in print. gold alluvial is described, part of the gold being assumed as generated in the gravel. the best alluvial is in streams running east and west. the association of gold with pyrites is mentioned, and the pyrites is found "in some places as a complete stratum carried through horizontally, and is called a _schwebender gang_." this sort of occurrence is not considered very good "because the work of the heavens can be but little completed on account of the unsuitability of the position." gold pyrites that comes in veins is better. tin is mentioned as found in alluvial, and also in veins, the latter being better or worse, according to the amount of pyrites, although the latter can be burned off. tin-stone is found in masses, copper ore in schist and in veins sometimes with pyrites. the ore from veins is better than schist. iron ore is found in masses, and sometimes in veins; the latter is the best. "the iron veins with good hanging- and foot-walls are not to be despised, especially if their strike be from east to west, their dip to the south, the foot-wall and outcrop to the north, then if the ironstone is followed down, the vein usually reveals gold or other valuable ore". lead ore is found in _schwebenden gang_ and _stehenden gang_. quicksilver, like other ore, is sometimes found in brown earth, and sometimes, again, in caves where it has run out like water. the classification of veins is the same as in _de re metallica_.[ ] the book generally, however, seems to have raised agricola's opposition, for the quotations are given in order to be demolished. _probierbüchlein._ agricola refers in the preface of _de re metallica_ to a work in german on assaying and refining metals, and it is our belief that it was to some one of the little assay books published early in the th century. there are several of them, seemingly revised editions of each other; in the early ones no author's name appears, although among the later editions various names appear on the title page. an examination of these little books discloses the fact that their main contents are identical, for they are really collections of recipes after the order of cookery books, and intended rather to refresh the memory of those already skilled than to instruct the novice. the books appear to have grown by accretions from many sources, for a large number of methods are given over and over again in the same book with slight variations. we reproduce the title page of our earliest copy. [illustration (title page)] the following is a list of these booklets so far as we have been able to discover actual copies:-- _date._ _place._ _publisher._ _title (short)._ _author._ unknown unknown unknown _probierbüchlein_ anon. (undated; but catalogue of british museum suggests augsburg, .) magdeburg _probirbüchleyn anon. tzu gotteslob_ augsburg unknown _probierbuch aller anon. sachsischer ertze_ frankfurt a. _bergwerck und anon. meyn probierbüchlein_ augsburg heinrich _probirbüchlein_ anon. steyner, vo. augsburg ditto, ditto _probirbüchlein_ anon. augsburg ditto, ditto _probirbüchlein_ anon. augsburg math. francke, _probirbüchlein_ zach. lochner to augsburg vo. _probirbuch_ sam. zimmermann franckfurt _probierbüchlein_ anon. a. meyn ditto _probierbüchlein fremde cyriacus und subtile kunst_ schreittmann ditto _probierbüchlein_ anon. ditto _probierbüchlein darinn modestin fachs gründlicher bericht_ dresden to _metallische probier c. c. schindler kunst_ _bericht vom ursprung und erkenntniss der metallischen erze_ amsterdam _probierbüchlein darinn modestin fachs gründlicher bericht_ leipzig _probierbüchlein darinn modestin fachs gründlicher bericht_ leipzig _probierbüchlein darinn modestin fachs gründlicher bericht_ nürnberg mo. _deutliche vorstellung anon. der probier kunst_ lübeck vo. _neu-eröffnete probier anon. buch_ frankfurt vo. _scheid-künstler ... anon. and leipzig alle ertz und metalle ... probiren_ rotenburg an vo. _probierbuch aus k. a. scheidt der fulde erfahrung aufgesetzt_ as mentioned under the _nützlich bergbüchlein_, our copy of that work, printed in , contains only a portion of the _probierbüchlein_. ferguson[ ] mentions an edition of , and the freiberg school of mines catalogue gives also frankfort, , and nürnberg, . the british museum copy of earliest date, like the title page reproduced, contains no date. the title page woodcut, however, in the museum copy is referred from that above, possibly indicating an earlier date of the museum copy. the booklets enumerated above vary a great deal in contents, the successive prints representing a sort of growth by accretion. the first portion of our earliest edition is devoted to weights, in which the system of "lesser weights" (the principle of the "assay ton") is explained. following this are exhaustive lists of touch-needles of various composition. directions are given with regard to assay furnaces, cupels, muffles, scorifiers, and crucibles, granulated and leaf metals, for washing, roasting, and the preparation of assay charges. various reagents, including glass-gall, litharge, salt, iron filings, lead, "alkali", talc, argol, saltpetre, sal-ammoniac, alum, vitriol, lime, sulphur, antimony, _aqua fortis_, or _scheidwasser_, etc., are made use of. various assays are described and directions given for crucible, scorification, and cupellation tests. the latter part of the book is devoted to the refining and parting of precious metals. instructions are given for the separation of silver from iron, from lead, and from antimony; of gold from silver with antimony (sulphide) and sulphur, or with sulphur alone, with "_scheidwasser_," and by cementation with salt; of gold from copper with sulphur and with lead. the amalgamation of gold and silver is mentioned. the book is diffuse and confused, and without arrangement or system, yet a little consideration enables one of experience to understand most statements. there are over recipes, with, as said before, much repetition; for instance, the parting of gold and silver by use of sulphur is given eight times in different places. the final line of the book is: "take this in good part, dear reader, after it, please god, there will be a better." in truth, however, there are books on assaying four centuries younger that are worse. this is, without doubt, the first written word on assaying, and it displays that art already full grown, so far as concerns gold and silver, and to some extent copper and lead; for if we eliminate the words dependent on the atomic theory from modern works on dry assaying, there has been but very minor progress. the art could not, however, have reached this advanced stage but by slow accretion, and no doubt this collection of recipes had been handed from father to son long before the th century. it is of wider interest that these booklets represent the first milestone on the road to quantitative analysis, and in this light they have been largely ignored by the historians of chemistry. internal evidence in book vii. of _de re metallica_, together with the reference in the preface, leave little doubt that agricola was familiar with these booklets. his work, however, is arranged more systematically, each operation stated more clearly, with more detail and fresh items; and further, he gives methods of determining copper and lead which are but minutely touched upon in the _probierbüchlein_, while the directions as to tin, bismuth, quicksilver, and iron are entirely new. biringuccio (vanuccio). we practically know nothing about this author. from the preface to the first edition of his work it appears he was styled a mathematician, but in the text[ ] he certainly states that he was most of his time engaged in metallurgical operations, and that in pursuit of such knowledge he had visited germany. the work was in italian, published at venice in , the title page of the first edition as below:-- [illustration (title page)] it comprises ten chapters in folios demi-octavo. other italian editions of which we find some record are the second at venice, ; third, venice, ; fourth, venice, ; fifth, bologna, . a french translation, by jacques vincent, was published in paris, , and this translation was again published at rouen in . of the ten chapters the last six are almost wholly devoted to metal working and founding, and it is more largely for this description of the methods of making artillery, munitions of war and bells that the book is celebrated. in any event, with the exception of a quotation which we give on page on silver amalgamation, there is little of interest on our subject in the latter chapters. the first four chapters are undoubtedly of importance in the history of metallurgical literature, and represent the first work on smelting. the descriptions are, however, very diffuse, difficult to follow, and lack arrangement and detail. but like the _probierbüchlein_, the fact that it was written prior to _de re metallica_ demands attention for it which it would not otherwise receive. the ores of gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, and iron are described, but much interrupted with denunciations of the alchemists. there is little of geological or mineralogical interest, he too holding to a muddle of the classic elements astrology and alchemy. he has nothing of consequence to say on mining, and dismisses concentration with a few words. upon assaying his work is not so useful as the _probierbüchlein_. on ore smelting he describes the reduction of iron and lead ores and cupriferous silver or gold ores with lead. he gives the barest description of a blast furnace, but adds an interesting account of a _reverbero_ furnace. he describes liquation as consisting of one operation; the subsequent treatment of the copper by refining with an oxidizing blast, but does not mention poling; the cupellation of argentiferous lead and the reduction of the litharge; the manufacture of nitric acid and that method of parting gold and silver. he also gives the method of parting with antimony and sulphur, and by cementation with common salt. among the side issues, he describes the method of making brass with calamine; of making steel; of distilling quicksilver; of melting out sulphur; of making vitriol and alum. he states that _arsenico_ and _orpimento_ and _etrisagallio_ (realgar) are the same substance, and are used to colour copper white. in general, biringuccio should be accredited with the first description (as far as we are aware) of silver amalgamation, of a reverberatory furnace, and of liquation, although the description is not complete. also he is, so far as we are aware, the first to mention cobalt blue (_zaffre_) and manganese, although he classed them as "half" metals. his descriptions are far inferior to agricola's; they do not compass anything like the same range of metallurgy, and betray the lack of a logical mind. _other works._ there are several works devoted to mineralogy, dating from the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, which were, no doubt, available to agricola in the compilation of his _de natura fossilium_. they are, however, practically all compiled from the jeweller's point of view rather than from that of the miner. among them we may mention the poem on precious stones by marbodaeus, an author who lived from to , but which was first printed at vienna in ; _speculum lapidum_, a work on precious stones, by camilli leonardi, first printed in venice in . a work of wider interest to mineralogists is that by christoph entzelt (or enzelius, encelio, encelius, as it is variously given), entitled _de re metallica_, and first printed in . the work is five years later than _de natura fossilium_, but contains much new material and was available to agricola prior to his revised editions. footnotes: [ ] see pages and . [ ] page . [ ] _der mineralog georgius agricola_, zwickau, , p. . [ ] andreas möller, _theatrum freibergense chronicum_, etc., freiberg, . [ ] paris, , vol. i. p. . [ ] cantor lectures, london, april . [ ] hans von dechen, _das älteste deutsche bergwerksbuch_, reprint from _zts. für bergrecht bd. xxvi._, bonn, . [ ] panzer's _annalen_, nürnberg, , p. , gives an edition worms _bei_ peter schöfern, . [ ] the royal library at dresden and the state library at munich have each a copy, dated , worms. [ ] hans von decken _op. cit._, p. - . [ ] _annales typographiae augustanae ab ejus origine, mccclxvi. usque ad. an. m.d.xxx. accedit dom franc. ant. veith. diatribe de origine ... artis typographicae in urbe augusta vindelica edidit...._ georgius g. zapf., augsburg, , x. p. . [ ] see p. . [ ] _bibliotheca chemica_. [ ] book i., chap. . appendix c. weights and measures. as stated in the preface, the nomenclature to be adopted for weights and measures has presented great difficulty. agricola uses, throughout, the roman and the romanized greek scales, but in many cases he uses these terms merely as lingual equivalents for the german quantities of his day. moreover the classic language sometimes failed him, whereupon he coined new latin terms adapted from the roman scale, and thus added further confusion. we can, perhaps, make the matter clearer by an illustration of a case in weights. the roman _centumpondium_, composed of _librae_, the old german _centner_ of _pfundt_, and the english hundredweight of pounds can be called lingual equivalents. the first weighs about , troy grains, the second , , and the third , . while the divisions of the _centumpondium_ and the _centner_ are the same, the _libra_ is divided into _unciae_ and the _pfundt_ into _untzen_, and in most places a summation of the units given proves that the author had in mind the roman ratios. however, on p. he makes the direct statement that the _centumpondium_ weighs _librae_, which would be about the correct weight if the _centumpondium_ referred to was a _centner_. if we take an example such as "each _centumpondium_ of lead contains one _uncia_ of silver", and reduce it according to purely lingual equivalents, we should find that it runs . troy ounces per short ton, on the basis of roman values, and . ounces per short ton, on the basis of old german. if we were to translate these into english lingual equivalents of one ounce per hundredweight, then the value would be . ounces per short ton. several possibilities were open in translation: first, to calculate the values accurately in the english units; second, to adopt the nearest english lingual equivalent; third, to introduce the german scale of the period; or, fourth, to leave the original latin in the text. the first would lead to an indefinite number of decimals and to constant doubt as to whether the values, upon which calculations were to be based, were roman or german. the second, that is the substitution of lingual equivalents, is objectionable, not only because it would indicate values not meant by the author, but also because we should have, like agricola, to coin new terms to accommodate the lapses in the scales, or again to use decimals. in the third case, that is in the use of the old german scale, while it would be easier to adapt than the english, it would be more unfamiliar to most readers than the latin, and not so expressive in print, and further, in some cases would present the same difficulties of calculation as in using the english scale. nor does the contemporary german translation of _de re metallica_ prove of help, for its translator adopted only lingual equivalents, and in consequence the summation of his weights often gives incorrect results. from all these possibilities we have chosen the fourth, that is simply to reproduce the latin terms for both weights and measures. we have introduced into the footnotes such reductions to the english scale as we considered would interest readers. we have, however, digressed from the rule in two cases, in the adoption of "foot" for the latin _pes_, and "fathom" for _passus_. apart from the fact that these were not cases where accuracy is involved, agricola himself explains (p. ) that he means the german values for these particular terms, which, fortunately, fairly closely approximate to the english. further, we have adopted the anglicized words "digit", "palm", and "cubit", instead of their latin forms. for purposes of reference, we reproduce the principal roman and old german scales, in so far as they are used by agricola in this work, with their values in english. all students of weights and measures will realize that these values are but approximate, and that this is not an occasion to enter upon a discussion of the variations in different periods or by different authorities. agricola himself is the author of one of the standard works on ancient weights and measures (see appendix a), and further gives fairly complete information on contemporary scales of weight and fineness for precious metals in book vii. p. etc., to which we refer readers. roman scales of weights. troy grains. _siliqua_ = . _siliquae_ = _scripulum_ . _scripula_ = _sextula_ . _sextulae_ = _uncia_ . _unciae_ = _libra_ . _librae_ = _centumpondium_ . also _scripulum_ = . _scripula_ = _drachma_ . _drachmae_ = _sicilicus_ . _sicilici_ = _uncia_ . _unciae_ = _bes_ . scale of fineness (agricola's adaptation). _siliquae_ = unit of _siliquae_ _units of siliquae_ = _semi-sextula_ _semi-sextulae_ = _duella_ _duellae_ = _bes_ old german scale of weights. troy grains. _pfennig_ = . _pfennige_ = _quintlein_ . _quintlein_ = _loth_ . _loth_ = _untzen_ . _untzen_ = _mark_ . _mark_ = _pfundt_ . _pfundt_ = _centner_ . scale of fineness. _grenlin_ = _gran_ _gran_ = _krat_ _krat_ = _mark_ roman long measure. inches. _digitus_ = . _digiti_ = _palmus_ . _palmi_ = _pes_ . - / _pedes_ = _cubitus_ . _pedes_ = _passus_ . also roman _uncia_ = . _unciae_ = pes . greek long measure. inches. _dactylos_ = . _dactyloi_ = _palaiste_ . _palaistai_ = _pous_ . - / _pous_ = _pechus_ . _pous_ = _orguia_ . old german long measure. inches. _querfinger_ = . _querfinger_ = _werckschuh_ . _werckschuh_ = _elle_ . _elle_ = _lachter_ . also _zoll_ = . _zoll_ = _werkschuh_ roman liquid measure. cubic inches. pints. _quartarius_ = . . _quartarii_ = _sextarius_ . . _sextarii_ = _congius_ . . _sextarii_ = _modius_ . . _congii_ = _amphora_ . . (agricola nowhere uses the saxon liquid measures, nor do they fall into units comparable with the roman). general index. note.--the numbers in heavy type refer to the text; those in plain type to the footnotes, appendices, etc. abandonment of mines, = = abertham. mines at, = =; = =; abolite, _abstrich_, ; abydos. gold mines of, = =; lead figure from, _abzug_, ; ; _achates_ (_see_ agate). accidents to miners, = - = accounts (mining), = - = adit, _aeris flos_ (_see_ copper flowers). _aeris squama_ (_see_ copper scales). _aes caldarium_, _aes luteum_, _aes nigrum_, _aes purum fossile_ (_see_ native copper). _aes rude plumbei coloris_ (_see_ copper glance). _aes ustum_ (_see_ roasted copper). _aetites_, africa. iron, tin, agate, agriculture. mining compared with, = = ailments of miners (_see_ maladies of miners). air currents in mines, = =; = = alabaster, alchemists, xxvii-xxx; ; agricola's opinion of, xii; =xxvii.= amalgamation, assaying, = =; discovery of acids, ; distillation, aljustrel tablet, - alkali, alloys, assaying of, = - = alluvial mining, = - =; - alston moor, altenberg, =xxxi=; vi. collapse of mine, = = miners poisoned, = = tin working appliances, = =; = =; = = alum, = - =; - a solidified juice, elizabethan charter, in roasted pyrites, = = in _sal artificiosus_, = = latin and german terms, ; papal monopoly, use in making nitric acid, = =; amalgam. parting the gold from, = =; amalgamation, of gilt objects, = = mills, = - = amber, = =; amethyst, _amiantus_ (_see_ asbestos). ampulla, = - =; annaberg, vi; =xxxi=; = =; = =; profits, = = ant, venomous, = = antimony, ; ; minerals, smelting of, = =; = = use as type-metal, ; antimony sulphide, ; ; parting gold and silver with, = =; ; parting gold from copper, = = parting silver and iron, = = antwerp, scale of weights, = = apex law, ; - _aqua regia_, ; ; _aqua valens_ (_see also_ nitric acid), = - =; ; clarification with silver, = =; cleansing gold-dust with, = = parting precious metals with, = - = _arbores dissectae_ (lagging), archimedes, screw of, architecture. knowledge necessary for miners, = = _area fodinarum_ (_see_ meer). argentiferous copper ores, smelting of, = - = argentite, _argentum purum in venis_ (_see_ native silver). _argentum rude plumbei coloris_ (_see_ silver glance). _argentum rude rubrum translucidum_ (_see_ ruby silver). argol, ; as a flux, = =; = =; = = use in melting silver nitrate, = = use in smelting gold dust, = - = argonauts, arithmetical science. knowledge necessary for miners, = = armenia, stone of, arsenic (_see also_ orpiment _and_ realgar), ; _arsenicum_, arsenopyrite, asbestos, = =; ; ash-coloured copper, = - =; ; - ; from liquation, = - = ashes which wool dyers use (_see also_ potash), ; ; use in assaying, = - = ash of lead, = - =; ; ash of musk ivy (_see also_ potash and _nitrum_), = - =; asphalt, _asphaltites_ (_see_ dead sea). assay balances (_see_ balances). assay fluxes (_see_ fluxes). assay furnaces, = - =; crucible, = - = muffle, = - =; = = assaying (_see also_ _probierbüchlein_), = =; ; ; amalgamation, = = bismuth, = = copper, = = cupellation, = = gold and silver alloys, = = gold ore, = - = iron ore, = = lead, = - = silver, = - = silver and copper alloys, = - = tin, = = tin and silver alloys, = = assay muffles (_see_ muffles). assay ton, = =; assyrian copper, asthma, = = astronomy. knowledge necessary for miners, = = atarnea. mines near, = =; athens. mining law, sea power and mines, silver mines (_see_ mt. laurion, mines of). _atramentum sutorium_ (_see also_ vitriol), ; _atramentum sutorium candidum_, _atramentum sutorium rubrum_, = =; _aurichalcum_, ; _auripigmentum_ (_see_ orpiment). azure, ; ; an indication of copper, = = an indication of gold, = = colour of flame, = = azurite ; ; babel, tower of, babylonia. bitumen in, use of lead, babytace. gold buried by inhabitants, = =; = = baebelo, = =; balances, = =; = - = barite, barmaster, of high peak, bars, for furnace work, = = baskets, for hoisting, = = batea, = = beer, = =; bell, to call workmen, = = bellows, = - =; = = ancient use of, ; ; assay furnace, = =; = = mine ventilation with, = - = beni hassen, inscriptions at, _berg-geel_, bergmeister, = =; = =; = =; = =; ; deals with forfeited shares, = - = jurors, = = bergmeister's clerk, = =; _bergzinober_ (_see_ quicksilver). bermius (bermium), mt. (_see_ mt. bermius). bismuth, = =; ; assaying ores of, = = indication of silver, = = minerals, ; smelting of, = - =; = = the "roof of silver," = =; _zaffre_, bitumen. ancient knowledge of, ; - ; colour of fumes, = = dead sea, = = distillation, = = from springs, = = harmful to metals, = = roasting from ore, = =; = =; = = solidified juice, = = _bituminosa cadmia_ (_see_ _cadmia bituminosa_). blast, regulation of, = =; = = blasting, blende, bleyberg, bloodstone, ; bloom, _blütstein_ (_see_ ironstone). bohemia. antimony sulphide, pestilential vapours, = = sifting ore in, = = smelting, = = bone-ash, = =; borax, ; ; method of manufacture, = = use in gold smelting, = =; = =; = = use in assaying, = =; = = bornite, boundary stones, = =; boundaries, = =; = = bowls for alluvial washing, = =; = =; = =; = = brass, ; ; ancient methods of making, - ; breaking ore, = - = brick dust. used in cementation, = =; used in making nitric acid, = = brine (_see also_ salt). evaporation of, = - = britain. lead-silver smelting, miners mentioned by pliny, tin trade, - british museum. egyptian gold-mining, egyptian lead, egyptian steel, bromyrite, bronze. historical notes, ; ; bronze age, ; = =; bryle (outcrop), buckets, for hoisting ore, = - =; = = buddle, ; ; divided, = - = simple, = - =; = - = bullion, pouring into bars, = = burning ore, = =; = =; burnt alum, = =; ; _cadmia_ (_see also_ zinc, _pompholyx_, _and_ cobalt), = =; ; - ancient ore of brass, from dust chambers, = = from liquation, = =; from roasting matte, = = poisonous to miners, = =; roasting, = = smelting for gold and silver, = = _cadmia bituminosa_, = =; ; _cadmia fornacis_ (_see_ furnace accretions). _cadmia fossilis_ (_see_ calamine _and_ blende). _cadmia metallica_ (_see also_ cobalt), = =; _caeruleum_ (_see_ azure). cakes of melted pyrites, ; a flux, = = roasting of, = - = use in smelting, = = calaëm (_see also_ zinc), = = calamine, ; ; ; calcite, calcspar, = =; _caldarium_ copper, = =; = =; ; caldrons, for evaporating salts, = = _calmei_ (_see_ calamine). cameros. zinc found at, camphor, = =; ; cam-shaft, = - =; _canales_ (ore channels), ; ; ore shoots in, = = cannon, = = cardinal points, = =; = = carnelian, _carneol_ (_see_ carnelian). _carni_, cupellation, = = smelting of lead ores, = = carpathian mountains. liquation practice in, = =; = = sieves, = = stamp-milling, = = carthage. mines in spain, = = castulo (cazlona), cementation (_see also_ parting gold from silver), = - =; ; _centumpondium_, ; ; scale of weights, = - = cerargurite, _cerussa_ (_see_ white-lead). cerussite, chain pumps, = - = chalcanthite, _chalcanthum_ (_see also_ vitriol), ; chalcedony, _chalcitis_, ; indication of copper, = = chalcocite, ; chalcopyrite, chaldean antimony, chemistry. origin, xxvii; chemnitz. agricola appointed city physician, vii. agricola elected burgomaster, viii; ix. quarrel over agricola's burial, xi. china, grand canal of, chinese. early copper smelting, early iron, early silver metallurgy, early zinc smelting, _chrysocolla_ (_see also_ borax), ; ; ; collection in vats, = = colour of fumes, = = indication of copper, = = indication of gold, = = mineral, smelting of, = = church, share in mines, = = cimolite, cinnabar (_see_ quicksilver _and_ _minium_). claim, in american title, cloth. lining sluices, = = ventilation by shaking, = = coal, cobalt, ; ; - cobalt-blue, ; from lead smelting, king hiram's experience with, poisonous to miners, relation to _cadmia_, relation to bismuth, smelting ores of, cobalt-arsenic minerals (_see_ arsenic). cobaltite, _cobaltum cineraceum_ (_see_ smallite). _cobaltum ferri colore_ (_see_ cobaltite). _cobaltum nigrum_ (_see_ abolite). coiners, = =; coins, = - =; = = colchis. alluvial gold washing, = = cologne. scale of weights, = = companies, mining, = - =; fraudulent dealing, = = investment in, = = compass, = - =; ; divisions of the, = =; = = swiss, = =; concentrates. from washing liquation products, = = sintering of, = = smelting of, = =; = - =; = = concentration, = - =; ; _congius_, ; , constantinople, alum trade, consumption. miners liable to, = = _conterfei_ (_see_ zinc). contracts, method of setting, = = copiapite, copper (_see also_ liquation), ; ; assay of, = =; = = granulation of, = = indications of, = = parting from gold, = - = parting gold from silver, = - =; ratio in liquation cakes, ; residues from liquation, = = rosette, = = copper-filings, = =; ; copper flowers, = =; ; ; pliny's description, copper glance, = =; copper matte. roasting, = = smelting, = - = copper ore (_see also_ copper smelting, _etc._), assaying, = - = copper pyrites, = =; copper refining, = - =; ; ; - breaking cakes, = - = enrichment of silver by settling, roman method, rosette copper, copper scales, ; ; ; use in assaying, = = copper schists (_see also_ mannsfeld copper slates), method of smelting, = = copper smelting, = - =; = =; = =; invention of appliances, - cornwall. ancient tin mining, early german miners, early mining law, early ore dressing, influence on german mining, "knockers," mining terms, ; ; ; royal geol. soc. transactions, _coticula_ (_see_ touchstone). _counterfeht_ (_see_ zinc). crane. for cupellation furnaces, = - = for lead cakes, = = for liquation cakes, = = cremnitz. age of mines, = = width of veins, = = crinoid stems, croppings, = =; crosscuts, = = crowbars, = = crucible. assay, = =; = =; = =; = =; of blast furnaces, = =; = = _crudaria_, crushing mills (_see_ stamp-mill _and_ mills). crushing ore, = =; = - =; crystal (_crystallum_), cumberland. early report on ores of, roman lead furnaces, cup-bearer. right to a meer, = = cupellation, = - =; - buildings and furnaces, = - =; brightening of the silver, = =, = = in assaying, = = in "tests," = = latin and german terms, ; litharge, = = cupels, = - =; ; drying of, = = moulds, = = cupric oxide, cuprite, ; _cyanus_ (_see also_ azurite), cyprus. ancient copper smelting, _dach_, _dactylos_, ; dangers to miners, = - = _darrlinge_, _darrofen_, _darrsöhle_, dawling, of a vein, dead sea. bitumen in, = = decemviral college, = = _decumanus_ (_see_ tithe gatherer). _demensum_ (_see_ measure). demons (_see also_ gnomes), = =; derbyshire (_see also_ high peak). early ore washing, introduction jigging sieve, mining law, ; - descent into mines, = = devon. mining law, dilleugher, dioptra, _diphrygum_, dip of veins, = - = dippas, dippers, = = of pumps, = = _discretores_ (_see_ sorters). distillation, for making nitric acid, = = of amalgam, = = of quicksilver, = - = _distributor_, divining rod, = - =; ; divisions of the compass, = =; = = drainage of mines, = =; = - = with buckets, = = with chain pumps, = = with rag and chain pumps, = = with suction pumps, = = with water bags, = = drawing. knowledge necessary for miners, = = drifts, = =; = =; timbering of, = = drusy veins, = =; "drying" liquation residues (_see also_ liquation), = - =; ; furnaces for, = =; = =; silver extracted by, = = slags from, dumps, working of, = = dust chambers, = =; = =; dutins, (timbers), dynamite, "earths." agricola's view of, ; ; extraordinary, = = peripatetic view of, ; egyptians. alluvial mining, antimony, bronze, ; copper smelting, crushing and concentration, furnaces, glass making, gold mining, iron, maps, mining law, silver and lead metallurgy, tin, ; egyptian screw (_see_ archimedes, screw of). eifel. spalling ore, = = _eisenertz_ (_see_ ironstone). _eisenglantz_ (_see_ ironstone). eisleben. heap roasting, = =; _electrum_, ; ; elements, peripatetic theory of, emery, erbisdorff. tin strakes, = = _excoctores_ (_see_ smelters). exhalations. from veins, = =; = = exhausted liquation cakes (_see_ liquation cakes, exhausted). fans, ventilation, = - = fathom, ; = =; _federwis_, (_see also_ asbestos), ; feldspar, _ferrugo_ (_see_ iron-rust). _ferrum purum_ (_see_ native iron). _fibrae_ (_see_ stringers). fineness, scales of, ; fire-setting, = - =; - firstum mines (_see_ fürst). fissure vein (_see_ _vena profunda_). flame. determination of metal by, = = determination of required flux by, = = flint, as a flux, float, from veins, = = flookan, flue-dust, = - = _fluores_ (_see_ fluorspar). fluorspar, ; ; indication of ore, = = _flüsse_ (_see_ fluorspar). fluxes (_see also_ argol, saltpetre, limestone, stones which easily melt, _etc._), = - =; ; ; ; basic, de-sulphurizing, = =; for smelting, = =; = =; = =; = = reducing, = =; stock fluxes for assaying, = = sulphurizing, = =; footwall, = =; = = forehearth, = =; = - =; = =; for tin furnaces, = =; = = foreman (_see_ mining foreman). forest-fires, = =; forest of dean, forest of mendip, _formae_, _fossa latens_ (_see also_ drifts), _fossa latens transversa_ (_see also_ crosscuts), _fossores_ (_see_ miners). founders' hoards, ; fractional meers, = = france. mediæval mining law, free mining cities, freiberg, =xxxi.= age of the mines, = = bergmeister, = = division of shares, = =; = =; = = first discovery of veins, = =; flooding of mines, = = method of cupellation, = = fullers' earth, fumes. from heated ore, = = poisonous, = - = _fundamentum_ (_see also_ footwall), _fundgrube_ (_see also_ meer), furnaces, = - =; = =; = =; ; assaying (_see_ assay furnaces). bismuth smelting, = - = burning tin concentrates, = = cementation, = = copper smelting, = - = cupellation, = - =; = - = "drying" liquated copper, = - = enriching copper bottoms, = = gold and silver ores, = - = heating copper cakes, = = iron smelting, = - =; latin and german terms, lead ores, = - = liquation of silver, = = melting lead cakes, = = nitric acid making, = = parting precious metals with antimony, = - = quicksilver distillation, = - = refining copper, = - = refining silver, = =; = = refining tin, = = roasting, = - = smelting liquation slags, = = tin smelting, = - =; = = furnace accretions, ; ; removal of, = = furnace hoods, = = fürst. mines of, = =; _gaarherd_ (_see_ refining-hearth). _gaarmachen_ (_see_ copper refining). gad, galena, ; ; ; bismuth distinguished from, smelting of, = - = gangue minerals, garlic. magnet weakened by, = = garnets, = = gases (_see also_ fumes) from fire-setting, = = _gedigen eisen, silber_, etc. (_see_ native iron, silver, etc.). _gel atrament_ (_see_ _misy_). gems, = =; geology. agricola's views, germans. english mining influenced by, mining men imported into england, ore-dressing methods, - _geschwornen_ (in saxon mines), geyer, =xxxi=; = =; vi. shafts, tin-strakes, = = gilding, removal from objects, = =; = = gips (_see_ gypsum). gittelde. smelting of lead ore, = = _glantz_ (_see_ galena). _glasertz_ (_see_ silver glance). _glasköpfe_ (_see_ ironstone). glass, = - = blowing, = = furnaces, = - = from sand, glass-galls, ; as a flux, = =; = =; = =; = = use in parting gold from copper, = = use in smelting gold concentrates, = =; = = _glette_ (_see_ litharge). _glimmer_ (_see_ mica). gnomes. in mines, = =; ; ; goblins (_see_ gnomes). god's gift mine (_see_ gottsgaab mine). gold (_see also_ gold ores, parting, smelting, stamp-mill, _etc._). alluvial mining, = - =; alluvial streams, = = amalgamation, gold-dust, = = historical notes, ; indications of, = =; = = lust for, not the fault of the metal, = = minerals, minerals associated with, = - = smelting of ores, = - =; = =; = =; = =; = = wickedness caused by, = - = gold concentrates, = - =; golden fleece, = =; gold ores, = - = amalgamation, = - =; assay by amalgamation, = - = assay by fire, = - = flux used in assaying, = = flux used in smelting, = = smelting in blast furnace, = - = smelting cupriferous ores, = - = smelting in lead bath, = = smelting pyritiferous ore, = - = stamp-milling, = = _goldstein_ (_see_ touchstone). goslar, = =; = =; lead smelting, = = native zinc vitriol, roasting ores, = =; spalling hard ore, = = goslarite, ; gottsgaab mine, vi; vii; = =; gounce, grand canal of china, granulation methods for bullion, = = granulation of copper, = = greeks. antimony, brass making, copper smelting, iron and steel making, metallurgy from egypt, mining law, ore dressing, quicksilver, silver-lead smelting, smelting appliances, grey antimony (_see also_ _stibium_), ; ; griffins, groom of the chamber. right to a meer, = = groove (_see also_ shafts), ground sluices, = - = ground waters, - _grünspan_ (_see_ verdigris). _gulden_, ; gunpowder. first use for blasting in mines, invention of, gypsum, hade, _haematites_ (_see_ ironstone). _halinitrum_ (_see_ saltpetre). halle, salt industry, = = hammers, = = with water power, = = hangingwall, = =; = = harz miners. agricola consulted, vii. antimony sulphide, first mining charter, first stamp-mill, pumps, = = hauling appliances (_see also_ whims _and_ windlasses), = - =; heap roasting, = - = hearth-lead (_see also_ _molybdaena_), = =; ; ; as a flux, = = use in smelting, = =; = =; = = hearths. for bismuth smelting, = - = for melting lead, = =; = = heavenly host mine (_see_ _himmelisch höz_ mine). heavy spar, hebrews. knowledge of antimony, silver-lead smelting, term for tin, hematite, hemicycle (_hemicyclium_), = - = _heraclion_ (_see_ lodestone). _herdplei_ (_see_ hearth-lead). hiero, king, = =; high peak (derbyshire). mining law, nomenclature in mines, saxon customs, connection with, ; _himmelisch höz_ mine, = =; = =; hoe, = = holidays of miners, = = horn silver, horns of deer, = = hornstone, = =; hungary. cupellation, = = _hüttenrauch_ (_see_ _pompholyx_). iglau, charter of, incense in cupellation furnaces, = = indications of ore, = =; = =; = = _ingestores_ (_see_ shovellers). india. steel, zinc, _intervenium_, = =; = = investment in mines, = - = iron, ; ; cast, censure of, = = indications of, = = malleable, smelting, = - = sulphur harmful to, = = iron age, iron filings (_see also_ iron-scales), use in assaying, = =; = =; = = iron ore. assaying of, = = smelting of, = - = iron-rust, = =; = =; ; iron-scales, flux, = = use in smelting gold, = = use in smelting silver, = = use in making nitric acid, = = use in parting gold from copper, = = iron-slag, as a flux, = =; = = ironstone, = =; italians. alluvial mining in germany, = = italy. mining formerly forbidden, = = jade, japan. steel, jasper, ; _jaspis_, jet, jigging sieve, = =; ; joachimsthal, vi. first stamp-mill, mining shares and profits, = =; = = _jüdenstein_ (_see_ _lapis judaicus_). juices, ; agricola's theory, ; from springs and streams, = = stone juice, ; tastes of, = = juices, solidified. agricola's view of, ; extraction of metals from, = = preparation of, = = julian alps. stamp-milling in, = = junctions (_see_ veins, intersections of). _jurati_ (_see_ jurors). jurors, = =; = =; = =; in english mining custom, relations to bergmeister, = =; justinian code. mines, _kalchstein_ (_see_ limestone). _kammschale_, kaolinite (_see_ porcelain clay). _katzensilber_ (_see_ mica). king. deputy, = = right to a meer, = = _kinstock_ (_see_ liquation cakes, exhausted). _kis_ (_see_ pyrites). knockers (_see_ gnomes). _kobelt_ (_see_ cobalt). kölergang vein, = = königsberg. fire-setting, _kupferglas ertz_ (_see_ copper glance). _kupferschiefer_ (_see_ copper schists). kuttenberg. depths of shafts, labour condition in mining title, = =; - lacedaemonians (_see_ spartans). _lachter_ (_see_ fathom). ladderways in shafts, = =; = = ladle for bullion, = = _lapis aerarius_ (_see_ copper ore). _lapis alabandicus_, _lapis judaicus_, = =; _lapis specularis_ (_see_ gypsum). laths (lagging), la tolfa. alum manufacture, discovery of, laurion (laurium), mt. (_see_ mt. laurion, mines of). lautental, liquation at, law (_see_ mining law). law-suits over shares in mines, = = lead, ; ; censure of, = = cupellation, = - = melting prior to liquation, = = in liquation cakes, = - =; ; refining silver, = - = smelting of ores, = - =; = = use in assaying, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = washing in sluices, = = lead-ash, = =; ; as a flux, = = use in parting gold from copper, = = lead bath, = = lead-glass, lead granules, = =; = =; leading (in liquation), = =; = =; = =; ; ; components of the charge, = - = lead ochre, ; ; lead ore. assay methods, = - = roasting, = = smelting in blast furnace, = =; = = lease, in australian title, leaves, preparation of bullion into, = = leberthal, lees of _aqua_ which separates gold from silver, ; ; as a flux, = =; = = lees of vinegar (_see also_ argol), as a flux, = =; = =; = =; lees of wine (_see_ argol). lemnos, island of, = = lemnian earth, leprosy of house walls (_see_ saltpetre). level (_see also_ drift), level, plummet (_see_ plummet level). limestone, ; as a flux, = =; = = limonite, limp, linares. hannibal's mines near, lipari islands. alum from, liquated silver-lead (_see_ _stannum_ _and_ silver-lead). liquation, = - =; ; ash-coloured copper from, = = buildings for, furnace, = - =; historical note on, losses, ; nomenclature, liquation cakes, = - =; ; ; enrichment of the lead, = =; extraction of silver from, from bye-products of liquation, = - = from copper bottoms, = =; proportion of lead in rich silver copper, = = liquation cakes, exhausted, = - =; = =; ; liquation slags, ; ; furnaces for, = = treatment of, = = liquation thorns, = =; = =; ; ; from cupellation, = =; from "drying" copper residues, = = litharge (_see also_ cupellation), = =; = - =; ; ; ; use in reducing silver nitrate, = = use in smelting, = =; = =; = = _lithargyrum_ (_see_ litharge). lodestone, = =; ; ; compass, _los pozos de anibal_, _lotores_ (_see_ washers). lusitania. gold alluvial, = = sluices for gold washing, = = tin smelting, = = lute, preparation of for furnace linings, = - = lydia. mining law, the king's mines, lye, = =; ; use in making fluxes, = = use in parting, = = _magister metallicorum_ (_see_ bergmeister). _magister monetariorum_ (_see_ master of the mint). _magnes_ (_see also_ lodestone _and_ manganese), = =; ; ; magnet, = = garlic, = = _magnetis_ (_see_ mica). magnetite, malachite, ; maladies of miners, = - = maltha, manager (_see_ mine manager). manganese, ; mannsfeld copper slates, = - =; = =; ; map-making, marble, = =; ; marcasite, ; ; _marga_ (_see_ marl). marienberg, =xxxi=; vi. marl, marmelstein (_see_ marble). _marmor_ (_see_ marble). _marmor alabastrites_ (_see_ alabaster). _marmor glarea_, massicot (_see also_ lead ochre), ; ; master of the horse, = = master of the mint, = =; matte (_see_ cakes of melted pyrites). matte smelting, = - = measure (unit of mining area), = =; measures, - ; ; medicine. knowledge necessary for miners, = = _medulla saxorum_ (_see_ porcelain clay). meer, = - = boundary stones, = = on _vena cumulata_, = = on _vena dilatata_, = = meissen. dumps from mines, = = _melanteria_, = =; ; indication of copper, = = melanterite, melos, island of, _menning_ (_see_ red-lead). _mergel_ (_see_ marl). metals, ; ; advantages and uses, = =; = = necessity to man, =xxv=; = - = not responsible for evil passions, = = _metreta_, mexico. patio process, mica, middle ages, mining law of, mills for grinding ore, = - =; mimes (_see also_ gnomes), mine captain, = =; mine manager, = =; = =; ; mineral kingdom, agricola's divisions of, minerals, ; ; ; compound, ; mixed, ; miners, = - =; = =; duties and punishments, = =; = = law (_see_ mining law). litigation among, = = slaves as, = = mines. abandonment of, = = conditions desirable, = - = investments in, = - = management of, = =; = = names of, = = mines royal, company of, mining (_see also_ sett, lease, claim, meer, _etc._). criticisms of, = - = harmless and honourable, = =; = =; = = methods of breaking ore, = - = stoping, = = mining clerk, = =; = =; = =; mining companies (_see_ companies, mining). mining foreman, = - =; frauds by, = - = mining law, - boundary stones, = = drainage requirements, = - = england, - europe, forfeiture of title, = - = france, greek and roman, middle ages, - right of overlord, landowner, state and miner, tunnels, = - = mining prefect, = =; = =; mining rights (_see_ mining law _and_ meer). mining terms, old english, ; mining tools, = - = buckets for ore, = - = buckets for water, = = trucks, = = wheelbarrows, = = _minium_, quicksilver from, red-lead, _minium secundarium_ (_see_ red-lead). mispickel (_mistpuckel_), _misy_ (the mineral), ; ; an indication of copper, = = use in parting gold and silver, _mitlere und obere offenbrüche_ (_see_ furnace accretions). _modius_, ; moglitz. tin working, = = moil, _molybdaena_, ; ; ; ; term for lead carbonates, ; molybdenite, _monetarius_ (_see_ coiners). money, assaying of, = - = morano glass factories, = = moravia. cupellation, = = stamp-milling, = = washing gold ore, = = mordants, mortar-box, = - =; = =; = =; mountains. formation of, = = mt. bermius. gold mines of, = =; mt. laurion, mines of, = =; - ; crushing and concentration of ores, cupellation, mining law, smelting appliances, xenophon on, = = mt. sinai. ancient copper smelting, ; muffle furnaces, = - =; = = muffles, = =; = =; refining silver, = - = mühlberg, battle of, x. _murrhina_ (_see_ chalcedony). muskets, = = mycenae. copper, silver-lead smelting, names of mines, = = naphtha, native copper, native iron, native minerals, = = native silver, = =; natron (_see_ _nitrum_). neolithic furnaces, neusohl, method of screening ore, = = newbottle abbey, nitocris, bridge of, nitric acid (_see also_ _aqua valens_), = - =; ; ; assay parting gold and silver, = = testing silver regulus with, = = use in cleaning gold dust, = = _nitrum_ (_see also_ soda), ; nomenclature, i; mining law, ; mining officials, ; _norici_, conveyance of ore, = = normans. mining law in england, notary, = =; nubia. early gold-mining, nuremberg, scale of weights, = = _obolus_, _ochra nativa_, ochre yellow, _offenbrüche_ (_see_ furnace accretions). olynthus. betrayal to philip of macedon, = = operculum, = =; orbis, = =; ore (_see various metals_, assaying, mining, _etc._). ore channels (_see_ canales). ore deposits, theory of, xiii; - ore dressing, = - = burning, = = hand spalling, = - = sorting, = - = _orguia_, = =; ; _orichalcum_ (_see_ _aurichalcum_). orpiment, ; ; colour of fumes, = = harmful to metals, = = indication of gold, etc., = = roasted from ore, = = use in assaying, = = outcrops, ; ox-blood in salt making, = = pactolus, gold sands of, park's process, parting gold from copper, = - = parting gold from silver, = - =; - antimony sulphide, = - =; - ; cementation, = - =; = - =; = = chlorine gas, ; electrolysis, ; nitric acid, = - =; ; ; nitric acid (in assaying), = - = sulphur and copper, = - =; ; sulphuric acid, ; partitions, passau, peace of, ix. _passus_, ; patio process, - pattinson's process, peak, the (_see_ high peak). _pentremites_, pergamum. brazen ox of, = = mines near, = =; peripatetics, xii. theory of ore deposits, = =; view of wealth, = = persians. ancient mining law, _pes_, ; pestles, = =; = = petroleum, - phalaris, brazen bull of, = = philosophy. knowledge necessary for miners, = = phoenicians. copper and bronze, in thasos, tin, - picks, = - = _pickschiefer_ (_see_ ash-coloured copper). placer mining, = - = _pleigeel_ (_see_ lead ochre). _pleiweis_ (_see_ white-lead). pleygang vein, = = _plumbago_, _plumbum candidum_, ; ; _plumbum cinereum_, ; _plumbum nigrum lutei coloris_, ; plummet level. standing, = =; suspended, = =; = =; pockets in alluvial sluices, = - = poisonous fumes (_see_ fumes). poland. cupellation, = = lead ore washing, = = lead smelting, = = _poletae_, tablets of the, poling copper, = - =; - pompeiopolis. arsenic mine at, _pompholyx_, ; - ; from copper refinings, = = from cupellation, = = from dust-chambers, = = from roasting ore, = = poisonous, = =; used for brass making, porcelain clay, potash, = - =; ; ; in _sal artificiosus_, = = pottery, egyptian, potosi, pozos de anibal, los, _pous_, ; _praefectus cuniculi_, _praefectus fodinae_ (_see_ mine manager). _praefectus metallorum_ (_see_ mining prefect). _praeses cuniculi_, _praeses fodinae_ (_see_ mining foreman). precious and base metals, primgap, _procurator metallorum_, prospecting, = = proustite, pumps, = - =; chain, = - = rag and chain, = - = suction, = - = _purgator argenti_ (_see_ silver refiner). purser, puteoli, = = pyrargyrite, _pyriten argentum_, pyrites (_see also_ cakes of melted pyrites), ; ; ; as a flux, = = assay for gold, = = in tin concentrates, = = latin and german terms, roasting, = - = roasting cakes of, = - = smelting for gold and silver, = =; = = used in making vitriol, _pyrites aerosus_ (_see_ copper pyrites). _pyrites aurei coloris_ (_see_ copper pyrites). quartz (_see also_ stones which easily melt), as a flux, an indication of ore, = = material of glass, silver ore, = = smelting of, = = _quarzum_ (_see_ quartz). quertze, quicksilver, ; ; ; amalgamation of gilt objects, = = amalgamation of gold dust, = = amalgamation of gold ores, = =; assaying methods, = = ore, - use in assaying gold ore, = = rag and chain pumps, = - = rake veins, rammelsberg. collapse of mines, = = discovery, early vitriol making, _rauchstein_, realgar, ; ; colour of fumes, = = harmful to metals, = = indication of ore, = = roasted from ore, = = _rederstein_ (_see_ _trochitis_). red-lead, ; ; use in parting gold from copper, = = use in parting gold from silver, = = refined salt, = =; = =; refinery for silver and copper, = - = refining gold from copper, = - = refining gold from silver, = - = refining-hearth, refining silver, = - =; ; refining silver from lead, = = reformation, the, v; viii. re-opening of old mines, = = revival of learning. agricola's position in, xiii. reward lease, in australian law, rhaetia, rhaetian alps. stamp milling in, = = ring-fire, = = rio tinto mines. roman methods of smelting, roman water-wheels, risks of mining, = - = rither (a horse), roasted copper, = =; ; roasting, = - =; heap roasting, = - = in furnaces, = = mattes, = - = prior to assaying, = = rocks, = =; rock-salt, = =; use in cementation, = = roman alum, romans. amalgamation, antimony, brass making, companies, copper smelting, - mining law, minium company, quicksilver, roasting, silver-lead smelting, washing of ore, rosette copper, = =; _rosgeel_ (_see_ realgar). ruby copper, ; ruby silver, ; assaying of, = = cupellation, = = _rudis_ ores, rust (_see_ iron-rust). sabines, = = _saigerdörner_ (_see_ liquation thorns). _saigerwerk_ (_see_ _stannum_). _salamander har_ (_see_ asbestos). salamis, battle of, sal-ammoniac, = =; ; in cements for parting gold and silver, = - = in making _aqua valens_, = = uses in cupellation, = = uses in making _aqua regia_, uses in parting gold from copper, = = _sal artificiosus_, = =; = =; in assaying, = = as a flux, = = salt, = =; = =; ; ; as a flux, = - = pans, = =; = = solidified juice, use in cementation, = =; use in parting gold from copper, = =; = = use in smelting ores, = =; = = wells, = - = salt made from ashes of musk ivy, ; _sal torrefactus_, = =; ; _sal tostus_, = =; ; saltpetre, = - =; ; ; as a flux, = =; = - =; = =; = = in smelting gold concentrates, = = uses in cementation, = =; uses in making nitric acid, = =; = =; = =; = = uses in melting silver nitrate, = = sampling copper bullion, = = sand, = = _sandaraca_ (_see_ realgar). sandiver (_see_ glass-galls). _sarda_ (_see_ carnelian). saxony. high peak customs from, ; political state in agricola's time, viii; ix. reformation, ix. _saxum calcis_ (_see_ limestone). scales of fineness, ; scapte-hyle, mines of, schemnitz. age of mines, = = gunpowder for blasting, pumps, = = schist, _schistos_ (_see_ ironstone). schlackenwald. ore washing, = = schmalkalden league, ix. schmalkalden war, ix; x. schneeberg, =xxxi=; vi. cobalt, = = depth of shafts, ore stamping, shares, = = st. george mine, = =; ; _schwartz-atrament_ (_see_ _melanteria_ _and_ _sory_). scorification assay, = = scorifier, = =; = =; assays in, = =; = = screening ore (_see_ sifting ore). screens (_see also_ screening), in stamp-mill, = = _scriba fodinarum_ (_see_ mining clerk). _scriba magistri metallicorum_ (_see_ bergmeister's clerk). _scriba partium_ (_see_ share clerk). scum of lead from cupellation, = = scythians. wealth condemned, = =; = = seams in the rocks, = =; ; indications of ore, = =; = = sea-water, salt from, = - = _sesterce_, sett, settling pits, = =; shaft-houses, = = shafts, = - =; = - = surveys of, = - = _venae cumulatae_, = = shakes, share clerk, = =; = =; share in mines (_see_ companies, mining). shears for cutting native silver, = = shift, = =; shoes (stamp), = - =; shovellers, = =; = =; _sideritis_ (_see_ lodestone). _siegelstein_ (_see_ lodestone). sieves. for charcoal, = = for crushed ore, = - =; = = sifting ore, = - = _signator publicus_ (_see_ notary). _silberweis_ (_see_ mica). _silex_, ; silver (_see also_ assaying, liquation, parting, refining, _etc._), ; ; amalgamation, ; assaying, = - = cupellation, = - =; = = "drying" copper residues from liquation, enrichment in copper bottoms, = =; exhausted liquation cakes, indicated by bismuth, etc., = = liquation, = - =; ; ; parting from gold (_see_ parting gold and silver). parting from iron, = =; precipitation from solution in copper bowl, = = refining, = - =; ; smelting of ores, = - =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = use in clarification of nitric acid, = =; silver, ruby (_see_ ruby silver). silver glance, assaying, = = cupellation, = = dressing, = = silver-lead alloy (_see_ _stannum_, _etc._). silver ores, = =; assaying, = - = assaying cupriferous ores, = = fluxes required in assaying, = = smelting cupriferous ores, = - = silver-plating, silver refiner, = =; silver refining (_see_ refining). silver veins, = = singing by miners, = = sintering concentrates, = = slags (_see also_ liquation slags), from blast furnace, = =; = = from liquation, ; ; slaves as miners, = =; in greek mines, = =; ; slough (tunnel), sluices, = =; = - = smallite, smalt, _smega_, smelters, smelting (_see also various metals_), = - =; - assaying compared, = = building for, = - = objects of, = = _smirgel_ (_see_ emery). _smiris_ (_see_ emery). smyrna. mines near, snake-bites, soda (_see also_ _nitrum_), = =; = =; ; as a flux, = =; = = historical notes, ; solidified juice, sole, solidified juices (_see_ juices, solidified). _solifuga_, = =; sorters, sorting ore, = - = _sory_, ; ; sows, = =; = =; spain (_see also_ lusitania). ancient silver-lead mines, ; ancient silver mines of carthage, = = ancient tin mines, - spalling ore, = - = _spangen_ (_see_ _trochitis_). _spanschgrün_ (_see_ verdigris). spartans. gold and silver forbidden, = =; = = interference with athenian mines, spat (_see_ heavy spar). spelter, sphalerite, _spiauter_, _spiesglas_ (_see_ _stibium_). spines of fishes for cupels, = = _spodos_, = =; ; ; _spuma argenti_ (_see_ litharge). staffordshire. first pumping engine, stalagmites, stall roasting, = - = stamp, for breaking copper cakes, = - = for crushing crucible lining, = - = stamping refined silver, = = stamp-mill, = - =; - ; wet ore, = - =; = - = standing plummet level (_see_ plummet level). stannaries, _stannum_, ; ; ; steel, = - =; - ; _steiger_, _steinmarck_ (_see_ porcelain clay). stemple (stull), stephanite, sternen mine, = =; steward (of high peak mines), st. george mine (schneeberg), = =; ; _stibium_ (_see also_ antimony _and_ antimony sulphide), ; ; ; flux to be added to, = = in assaying, = - = in cementation, = - = indication of silver, = = in making nitric acid, = = in parting gold and silver, = - =; = = in parting gold from copper, = = in treatment of gold concentrates, = =; = = stibnite, ; st. lorentz mine, = =; = = stockwerke (_see_ _vena cumulata_). stoics. views on wealth, = = _stomoma_, = = stone juice, ; stones. agricola's view of, ; ; various orders of fusibility, = = "stones which easily melt" (_see also_ quartz), ; as a flux, = =; = =; in making nitric acid, = = in smelting, = =; = =; = = smelting of, = = stool (of a drift), stope, = = stoping, = = _venae cumulatae_, = = _venae dilatatae_, = =; = = strake, = - =; ; canvas, = - =; = =; = =; egyptians, greeks, short, = - =; washing tin concentrates, = - = strata, = = streaming, = - = stringers, = =; ; ; indication of ore, = = mining method, = = styria, = = subterranean heat, ; suction pumps, = - = sulphides, ; sulphur, = - =; ; colour of fumes, = = harmful to metals, = = in assaying, = - = in parting gold from copper, = =; in parting gold from silver, = - =; ; in smelting gold dust, = = roasted from ores, = =; = = solidified juice, sulphur "not exposed to the fire," = =; = =; surveyor's field, = =; = =; surveying, = - =; necessary for miners, = = rod, = - = suspended plummet level (_see_ plummet level). swiss compass, = =; swiss surveyors, = = _symposium_, = = tap-hole, = =; = = tappets, = =; = =; tapping-bar, = = tarshish, tin trade, tartar (cream of), ; _tectum_ (hangingwall), _terra sigillata_ (_see_ lemnian earth). "tests", refining silver in, = - =; ; _thaler_, thasos, mines of, = =; = =; _theamedes_, theodosian code. mines, thorns (_see_ liquation thorns). thuringia. roasting pyrites, = = sluices of gold washing, = = tigna (wall plate), timbering. of ladderways and shafts, = =; = =; = = of stopes, = = of tunnels and drifts, = - = tin, - ; ; alluvial mining, = - = assaying ore, = = assaying for silver, = = colour of fumes, = = concentrates, = - =; = - = cornish treatment, refining, = - = smelting, = - = stamp-milling, = - = streaming, = - = washing, = =; = =; = = _tincar_ or _tincal_ (_see_ borax). tithe gatherer, = =; = =; = =; tithe on metals, = =; _toden kopff_, _tofstein_ (_see_ _tophus_). tolfa, la (_see_ la tolfa). tools, = - = _topfstein_ (_see_ _tophus_). _tophus_, ; ; as a flux, = =; = =; = = tortures. with metals, = = without metals, = = touch-needles, = - =; touchstone, = - =; ; ; ; mineral, uses, = =; = =; = = trade-routes. salt-deposits influence on, transport of ore, = - = trent, bishop of. charter ( ), triangles in surveying, = - = tripoli, _trochitis_, = =; trolley, = =; = =; = = troy. lead found in, troy weights, ; ; trucks, = = tunnels, = =; law, = - = surveys of, = - = timbering, = = turin papyrus, ; turn (winze), _tuteneque_, _tuttanego_, tutty, twitches of the vein, twyer, tye, type. _stibium_ used for, ; tyrants. inimical to miners, = = tyrolese. smelting, = =; = = ulcers, = =; _uncia_ (length), = =; ; _uncia_ (weight), ; undercurrents (_see_ sluices). united states. apex law, _vectiarii_ (_see_ windlass men). veins, = =; = - =; = - =; barren, = =; = = direction of, = - = drusy, = =; = =; = = hardness variable, = = indications, = - = intersections of, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = _vena_. use of term, ; _vena cumulata_, = =; = =; = =; ; mining method, = = mining rights, = = _vena dilatata_, = =; = =; = =; = - =; ; junctions with _vena profunda_, = =; = = mining method, = - = mining rights, = - = washing lead ore from, = = _vena profunda_, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; ; cross veins, = = functions, = =; = =; = =; = = mining rights, = - = venetian glass, factories, = = in assaying, = =; = =; = = in cupellation, = = venice. glass-factories, = = parting with nitric acid, scale of weights, = = ventilation, = - =; = = with bellows, = - = with fans, = - = with linen cloths, = = with windsails, = - = verdigris, ; ; ; in cementation, = =; = = indication of ore, = = in making nitric acid, = = in parting gold from copper, = = vermilion. adulteration with red-lead, poisonous, = = villacense lead, = =; vinegar. use in breaking rocks, = =; use in cleansing quicksilver, = = use in roasting matte, = = use in softening ore, = = _virgula divina_ (_see_ divining rod). vitriol, = =; ; ; ; in assaying, = - = in cementation, = =; indication of copper, = = in making nitric acid, = - = in roasted ores, = = in _sal artificiosus_, = = native, native blue, native white, red, white, volcanic eruptions, washers, washing ore (_see also_ concentration, screening ore, _etc._), = - = water-bags, = - =; = = water-buckets, = - = water-wheels, = =; = =; = =; = = water-tank, under blast furnaces, = - = wealth, = - = wedges, = = weights, = - =; - ; ; _weisser kis_, _werckschuh_, ; westphalia. smelting lead ore, = = spalling ore, = = wheelbarrows, = = whims, = - = white-lead, ; ; ; white schist, = =; = =; ; winding appliances (_see_ hauling appliances). windlasses, = =; = =; windlass men, = =; winds. greek and roman names, = = sailors' names, = =; = = winds (winze), windsails, = - = winzes, wittenberg, capitulation of, ix. wizards. divining rods, = = workmen, = =; = = woughs, _zaffre_, zeitz, xi. zinc (_see also_ _cadmia_ _and_ cobalt). historical notes, - ; minerals, - zinck (_see_ zinc). zinc oxides, ; zinc sulphate (_see_ vitriol). _zincum_ (_see_ zinc). _zoll_, ; zwickau, vi. _zwitter_, index to persons and authorities. note.--the numbers in heavy type refer to the text; those in plain type to the footnotes, appendices, etc. acosta, joseph de, aeschylus. amber, aesculapius. love of gold, = = africanus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii agatharchides. cupellation, egyptian gold mining, ; ; fire-setting, agathocles. money, = = agathodaemon (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii agricola, daniel, agricola, georg (a preacher at freiberg), agricola, georgius. assaying, biography, v-xvi founder of science, xiv geologist, xii; ; interest in _gottsgaab_ mine, vii; mineralogist, xii; ; paracelsus compared with, xiv real name, v works, appendix a see also: _bermannus._ _de animantibus._ _de natura eorum_, etc. _de natura fossilium._ _de ortu et causis._ _de peste._ _de precio metallorum._ _de re metallica._ _de veteribus metallis._ etc. agricola, rudolph, albert the brave, duke of meissen, viii albertus magnus (albert von bollstadt), xxx; alluvial gold, = = cementation, metallic arsenic, metals, saltpetre, zinc, albinus, petrus, v; cuntz von glück, alpinus, prosper, alyattes, king of lydia. mines owned by, = =; american institute of mining engineers, ; anacharsis. invention of bellows, anacreon of teos. money despised by, = =; = = anaxagoras. money despised by, = = anna, daughter of agricola, vii anna, wife of agricola, vii antiphanes. on wealth, = = apollodorus, apulejus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxix archimedes. king hiero's crown, = = machines, ardaillon, edouard. mt. laurion, ; ; aristippus. gold, = =; = = aristodemus. money, = = aristotle, xii; amber, athenian mines, ; burning springs, coal, cupellation, distillation, lodestone, nitrum, ores of brass, quicksilver, silver from forest fires, theory of ore deposits, wealth of, = = arnold de villa nova. (_see_ villa nova, arnold de). athenaeus. silver from forest fires, augurellus, johannes aurelius (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxx augustinus pantheus (alchemist), =xxvii= augustus, elector of saxony, =ix= dedication of _de re metallica_, =xxv= letter to agricola, =xv= avicenna, xxx; bacon, roger, xxx; saltpetre, ; badoarius, franciscus, =xxvii= balboa, v. n. de, v ballon, peter, barba, alonso, ; barbarus, hermolaus, =xxvii= barrett, w. f., becher, j. j., bechius, philip, xv beckmann, johann. _alumen_, amalgamation, _nitrum_, parting with nitric acid, stamp-mills, _stannum_, tin, _bergbüchlein_ (_see_ _nützlich bergbüchlin_). _bergwerks lexicon_, ; ; berman, lorenz, vi; _bermannus_, ; ; vi arsenical minerals, bismuth, ; _cadmia_, cobalt, fluorspar, _molybdaena_, schist, shafts, zinc, berthelot, m. p. e., ; berthier, bias of priene. wealth, = =; = = biringuccio, vannuccio, agricola indebted to, =xxvii= amalgamation of silver ores, assaying, assay ton, brass making, clarifying nitric acid, copper refining, copper smelting, cupellation, liquation, manganese, parting precious metals, ; ; roasting, steel making, _zaffre_, boeckh, august, boerhaave, hermann, xxix borlase, w. c. bronze celts, borlase, william. cornish miners in germany, born, ignaz edler von, boussingault, j. b., boyle, robert. divining rod, brough, bennett, bruce, j. c., brunswick, duke henry of (_see_ henry, duke of brunswick). budaeus, william (guillaume bude), ; cadmus, calbus (_see also_ _nützlich bergbüchlin_), ; =xxvi=; xxvii alluvial gold, = = caligula. gold from _auripigmentum_, callides (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii callimachus. on wealth, = = camerarius, =viii= canides (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii carew, richard. cornish mining law, cornish ore-dressing, carlyle, w. a. ancient rio tinto smelting, carne, joseph. cornish cardinal points, casibrotius, leonardus, vi _castigationes in hippocratem et galenum_, castro, john de, chabas, f. j., chaloner, thomas, chanes (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii charles v. of spain, =ix= agricola sent on mission to, =x= chevreul, m. e., _chronik der stadt freiberg_, cicero. divining rod, wealth of, = = cincinnatus l. quintius, = = circe. magic rod, = = cleopatra. as an alchemist, =xxvii=; xxix collins, a. l. columbus, christopher, v columella, moderatus, =xxv=; =xxvi= comerius, =xxvii=; xxix _commentariorum ... libri vi._, conrad (graf cuntz von glück), = =; corduba, don juan de, cortes, hernando, =v= cramer, john, crassus, marcus. love of gold, = = crates, the theban. money despised by, = = croesus, king of lydia. mines owned by, = =; ctesias. divining rod, ctesibius. machines, curio, claudius. love of gold, = = curius, marcus. gold of samnites, = =; = = dana, j. d., alum, copiapite, emery, lemnian earth, minerals of agricola, zinc vitriol, danae. jove and, = = d'arcet, j. parting with sulphuric acid, day, st. john v. ancient steel making, _de animantibus subterraneis_, ; =vii= editions, gnomes, = =; _de bello adversus turcam_, _de inventione dialectica_, _de jure et legibus metallicis_, = =; _de medicatis fontibus_, _de mensuris et ponderibus_, editions, weights and measures, = =; _de metallis et machinis_, democritus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii demosthenes. mt. laurion mines, ; _de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra_, ; = = dedication, vii editions, _de natura fossilium_, ; ; iii; xii alum, amber, antimony, argol, arsenical minerals, asbestos, bismuth, bitumen, borax, brass making, _cadmia_, _caldarium_ copper, camphor, _chrysocolla_, coal, cobalt, copper flowers, ; copper scales, crinoid stems, emery, fluorspar, goslar ores, goslar smelting, iron ores, iron smelting, jet, _lapis judaicus_, lead minerals, mannsfeld ores, _melanteria_, mineral kingdom, _misy_, _molybdaena_, native metals, petroleum, _pompholyx_, ; pyrites, quicksilver, _rudis_ minerals, sal-ammoniac, silver glance, _sory_, _spodos_, _stannum_, stones which easily melt, sulphur, _tophus_, touchstone, white schist, zinc, _de ortu et causis subterraneorum_, ; ; iii; vii; xii; xiii earths, gangue minerals, gold in alluvial, = = ground waters, juices, metals, solidified juices, stones, touchstone, veins, _de ortu metallorum defensio ad j. scheckium_, _de peste_, ; viii _de precio metallorum et monetis_, ; mention by agricola, = =; = = _de putredine solidas partes_, etc., _de re metallica_, i; xiii; xiv-xvi editions, ; xiv title page, =xix= de soto, fernandes, v _de terrae motu_, _de varia temperie sive constitutione aeris_, _de veteribus et novis metallis_, ; ; vii; =xxvi=; agricola's training, vi conrad, discovery of mines, = =; ; _gottsgaab_ mine, devoz (de voz), cornelius, ; diodorus siculus, alum, bitumen, cupellation, drainage of spanish mines, egyptian gold mining, fire-setting, lead, silver from forest fires, = = tin, diogenes laertius, ; ; dioscorides, ; alum, antimony, argol, arsenic minerals, asbestos, bitumen, brass making, burned lead, _cadmia_, _chalcitis_, copper flowers, ; copper smelting, cupellation, distillation apparatus, dust-chambers, ; emery, lead, lead minerals, lemnian earth, litharge, lodestone, _melanteria_, _misy_, naphtha, _pompholyx_, ; quicksilver, ; red-lead, sal-ammoniac, _sory_, _spodos_, verdigris, vitriol, white-lead, diphilos, ; diphilus (poet). gold, = = _dominatores saxonici_, draud, g., dudae. alum trade, elizabeth, queen of england. charters to alum makers, ; dedication of italian _de re metallica_ to, xv importation of german miners, ; eloy, n. f. j., entzelt (enzelius, encelio), erasmus, vi; viii; xiv ercker, lazarus. amalgamation, liquation, ; nitric acid preparation, parting gold and silver, ; eriphyle. love of gold, = = ernest, elector of saxony, viii euripides. amber mentioned by, plutus, = =; = = ezekiel, prophet. antimony, cupellation, tin, fabricius, george. agricola's death, x friendship with agricola, viii laudatory poem on agricola, =xxi= letters, ix; x; xiv; xv posthumous editor of agricola, ; fairclough, h. r., iii farinator, mathias, xxvi ferdinand, king of austria. agricola sent on mission to, x badoarius sent on mission to, =xxvii= ferguson, john. editions of _de re metallica_, xvi; feyrabendt, sigmundi, xv figuier, l., flach, jacques. aljustrel tablet, florio, michelangelo, xv förster, johannes, vi francis, col. grant, ; francis i., king of france, ix frederick, elector of saxony, viii; ix froben, publisher of _de re metallica_, xiv; xv frontinus, sextus julius, galen. agricola's revision of, ; vi lemnian earth, mention by agricola, _galerazeya sive revelator secretorum_, etc., gama, vasco da, v ganse (gaunse), joachim, ; gatterer, c. w., geber, =xxvii=; xxx; alum, = = assaying, cementation, cupels, nitric acid, origin of metals, precipitation of silver nitrate, _genesis, book of_, xii; george, duke of saxony, ix; = =; gesner, conrad, gibbon, edward, glauber, j. r., glück, cuntz von (_see_ conrad). gmelin, j. f., göcher, c. g., godolphin, sir francis, gowland, william. ancient bronze, ; ; early smelting, graecus, marcus. saltpetre, grommestetter, paul, grymaldo, leodigaris, xvi gyges, king of lydia. mines owned by, = =; hannibal. alps broken by vinegar, spanish mines, = =; hardy, william, heath, thomas. on hero, heliodorus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxix henckel, j. f., ; ; hendrie, r., hennebert, e., henry, duke of brunswick, vii henry, duke of meissen, ix hermes (alchemist), =xxvi=; xxviii hermes (mercury). magic rod, hero. underground surveying, herodotus. alum, bitumen, lead, mines of thrace, _nitrum_, hertel, valentine, xiv hiero, king of syracuse. crown, hill, john, _auripigmentum_, himilce, wife of hannibal, hippocrates. cupellation, ; lodestone, hiram, king of tyre. mines, hofmann, dr. r. biography of agricola, v; xi; ; homer. amber, divining rod, = =; lead, smelting, steel, sulphur, tin, hommel, w. early zinc smelting, horace. metals, = = wealth, = =; = = hordeborch, johannes, vii houghstetter, daniel, houghton, thomas, humphrey, william. jigging sieve, hunt, robert. roman lead smelting, inama-sternegg, k. t. von, _interpretatio rerum metallicarum_ (_see_ _rerum metall. interpretatio_). irene, daughter of agricola, vii jacobi, g. h. biography of agricola, v; calbus, xxvii; jagnaux, raoul. ancient zinc, jason. golden fleece, jeremiah. bellows, cupellation, lead smelting, _nitrum_, jezebel. use of antimony, job. refining silver, johannes (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii john, elector of saxony, ix john, king of england. mining claims, john frederick, elector of saxony, ix josephus. dead sea bitumen, jove. danae legend, = = justin, = = juvenal. money, = = karsten, k. j. b. liquation, ; ; ; ; ; kerl, bruno. liquation, könig, emanuel, xv könig, ludwig, xv kopp, dr. hermann, ; lampadius, g. a., lasthenes. love of gold, = = _latin grammar_ (agricola), leonardi, camilli, leupold, jacob, xv; _leviticus_. leprosy of walls, lewis, g. r, lewis, libavis, andrew, lieblein, j. d. c., linnaeus, charles, livy. hannibal's march over the alps, lohneys, g. e. liquation, ; parting with antimony, zinc, ; lucretia, daughter of agricola, vii lucretius. forest fires melting veins, = = lully, raymond, =xxvii=; xxx luscinus, fabricius. gold, = =; = = luther, martin, v; vi; viii; ix lycurgus (athenian orator). prosecution of diphilos, ; lycurgus (spartan legislator). wealth prohibited by, = =; = = magellan, f. de, v maltitz, sigismund, manlove, edward, ; marbodaeus, marcellinus, ammianus. on thucydides, marcellus, nonius, xxxi maria the jewess, =xxvii=; xxviii mathesius, johann. cobalt, conrad mentioned by, _de re metallica_, xiv king hiram's mines, matthew paris. cornish miners in germany, maurice, elector of saxony, =xxv=; viii; ix; x mawe, j., maximilian, emperor, = =; meissen, dukes of (_see under personal names_: albert, henry, _etc._). melanchthon. relations with agricola, viii; x menander. riches, = = mercklinus, g. a., mercury (_see_ hermes). merlin (magician), =xxvii=; xxx meurer, wolfgang. letters, ix; x meyer, ernst von, ; meyner, matthias, vii midas, king of lydia. mines owned by, = =; miller, f. b., minerva. magic rod, = = morris, w. o'c., mosellanus, petrus, vi moses. bitumen, lead, refining gold, rod of horeb, ; = = müller, max. ancient iron, naevius. money, = = nash, w. g. rio tinto mine, naumachius. gold and silver, = = neckam, alexander. compass, newcomen, thomas, nicander. on coal, nicias. sosias and slaves of, = =; _nützlich bergbüchlin_, ; =xxvi=; xxvii alluvial gold, bismuth, ; compass, ; ore-deposits, ore-shoots, veins, ; ; olympiodorus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxx oppel, van (_see_ van oppel). orus chrysorichites (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii osthanes (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxix otho the great, otho, prince, ovid. mining censured by, = = pandulfus anglus, =xxvi= pantaenetus. demosthenes' oration against, ; pantheus, augustinus (alchemist), =xxvii= paracelsus, xiv; xxx divining rod, zinc, ; paris, matthew (_see_ matthew paris). pebichius (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii pelagius (alchemist), =xxvii= pennent, thomas, percy, john. cementation, ; cupellation, liquation, parting with antimony, ; peregrinus, petrus. compass, petasius (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii petrie, w. m. f. egyptian iron, mt. sinai copper, pettus, sir john, xvi; phaenippus. demosthenes' oration against, ; phaeton's sisters, pherecrates, =xxvi= philemon. riches, philip of macedonia, philip, peter, phillips, j. a., philo. lost work on mining, =xxvi= phocion. bribe of alexander, = =; = = phocylides. gold, = = photius, fire-setting, pindar. wealth, = =; pius ii, pope. alum maker, pizarro, f., =v= plateanus, petrus, xiv plautus. gold, = = pliny (caius plinius secundus), =xxvi=; alluvial mining, ; alum, amalgamation, amber, antimony, argol, _arrhenicum_, asbestos, bitumen, = =; brass, british miners, cadmia, cementation, chrysocolla, copper flowers and scales, ; copper smelting, cupellation, drainage of spanish mines, _electrum_, fire-setting, galena, glass, ; hannibal's silver mine, = =; hoisting ore, = =; iron, jew-stone, lead, lemnian earth, litharge, = =; ; lodestone, manganese (?), metallurgical appliances, _misy_, _molybdaena_, ; naphtha, _nitrum_, ore-dressing, outcrops, _pompholyx_, protection from poison, quicksilver, red-lead, roasting, sal-ammoniac, salt from wood, silver-lead smelting, _sory_, _spodos_, _stannum_, tin, spanish, _tophus_, touchstone, = =; turfs in sluices, = =; _vena_, ventilation with wet cloths, = =; verdigris, vitriol, white-lead, plutarch, pluto, = = polybius. ore washing, silver-lead smelting, ; polymnestor, king of thrace. love of gold, = =; = = pörtner, hans, posepny, franz, posidonius. asphalt and naphtha, drainage of spanish mines, silver from forest fires, priam, king of troy. gold mines of, = =; _probierbüchlein_, ; =xxvi= amalgamation, antimony, assaying, assay ton, bismuth, cementation, nitric acid, parting, ; ; precipitation of silver nitrate, residues from distillation of nitric acid, ; roasting, stock fluxes, ; touchstone, propertius. gold, = = pryce, william. adam's fall, divining rod, juices, ore-deposits, stamp-mill, stringers, psalms. silver refining, pulsifer, wm. h., pygmalion. love of gold, = =; = = rachaidibus (alchemist), =xxvii= rameses i. map of mines, rameses iii. leaden objects dating from, raspe, r. e., rawlinson, george, ray, p. chandra. indian zinc, raymond, rossiter w., _rechter gebrauch der alchimey_, _rerum metallicarum interpretatio_, ; vii; reuss, f. a., richter, a. d., v; rodianus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii rössler, b., royal geological society of cornwall, rühlein von kalbe (_see_ calbus). salmoneus. lightning, = = sandwich, earl of, trans. barba's book, sappho. wealth, = = savery, thomas, saxony, dukes and electors of. (_see under personal names_: albert, ernest, _etc._). schliemann, h., schlüter, c. a. artificial zinc vitriol, copper refining, cupellation, liquation, ; parting with sulphur, schmid, f. a., v; xv; schnabel and lewis, scott, sir walter. "antiquary," seneca. wealth of, = = seneferu. copper mines, seti i. map of mine, shaw, peter, xxviii shoo king. copper and lead, ; iron, shutz, christopher, sigfrido, joanne. ed. agricola's works, xv socrates. riches, = =; = =; = =; = = solinus, c. julius. _solifuga_, = =; solomon, king. cobalt in mines, solon. scarcity of silver under, sosias, the thracian. slaves employed by, = = stahl, g. e., staunton, sir george, stephanus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxx stephenson, george, strabo, arsenical minerals, asbestos, asphalt, ; bellows, cementation, cupellation, drainage of spanish mines, forest fires melting veins, high stacks, lydian mines, ; mt. laurion, silver-lead smelting, spanish ore-washing, zinc (?), strato. lost work on mines, =xxvi=; =xxvii=; xii struve, b. g., synesius (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxix tantalus, taphnutia (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii tapping, thomas, thales of miletus. amber, themistocles. athenian mine royalties, theodor, son of agricola, vii theognis. cupellation, on greed, = = plutus, = = refining gold, _theological tracts_ (agricola), theophilus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii theophilus the monk, brass making, calamine, cementation, copper refining, copper smelting, cupels, divining rod, liquation, metallurgical appliances, parting with sulphur, roasting, theophrastus, xii; amber, arsenical minerals, asbestos, assaying, coal, copper minerals, copper ore, emery, lodestone, lost works, =xxvi=; origin of minerals, parting precious metals, quicksilver, ; touchstone, verdigris, vermilion, white-lead, ; thompson, lewis, thoth. hermes trismegistos, xxix thotmes iii. lead, ; thucydides. mining prefect, = =; ; tibullus. wealth condemned by, = = timocles. riches, = = timocreon of rhodes. plutus, = = tournefort, joseph p. de, tubal cain. instructor in metallurgy, tursius, = = twain, mark. merlin, xxx _typographia mysnae et toringiae_, ulloa, don antonio de, ulysses. magic rod, = = valentine, basil, xxx; antimony, divining rod, parting with antimony, zinc, valerius, son of agricola, vii van der linden, j. a., van oppel, xiii; varro, marcus, =xxvi= vasco da gama (_see_ gama, vasco da). veiga, estacia de, velasco, dom pedro de, veradianus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxviii villa nova, arnold de (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxx virgil. avarice condemned by, = = vitruvius, amalgamation, hiero's crown, pumps, ; red-lead, surveying, verdigris, white-lead, vladislaus iii., king of poland, = = von oppel (_see_ van oppel). voz, cornelius de (_see_ devoz, cornelius). wallerius, j. g., ; watt, james, watt, robert, xxvii wefring, basilius, xiv weindle, caspar, weinart, b. g., weller, j. g., v werner, a. g., xiii; wilkinson, j. gardner. bitumen, egyptian bellows, egyptian gold-washing, williams, john, winkler, k. a., wrotham, william de, ; ; xenophon. athenian mines, = =; = =; ; fruitfulness of mines, = = mining companies, mine slaves, ; quoted by agricola, = =; = = zimmerman, c. f., zosimus (alchemist), =xxvii=; xxix index to illustrations. alum making, = = amalgamation mill, = = ampulla, = =; = = argonauts, = = assay balances (_see_ balances). assay crucible, = = assay furnaces. crucible, = = muffle, = =; = = balances, = = baling water, = = bars, for furnace work, = =; = = batea, = = bellows. for blast furnaces, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = for mine ventilation, = =; = =; = = for tin furnace, = = bismuth smelting, = =; = =; = =; = = bitumen making, = = bitumen spring, = = bowls for alluvial washing (_see also_ batea), = = buckets. for hoisting ore, = = for hoisting water, = = buddle, = =; = =; = =; = = building plan for refinery, = = building plan for smelter, = = chain pumps, = =; = =; = = _chrysocolla_ making, = = circular fire (_see_ ring-fire). clay washing, = =; = = compass, = =; = =; = =; = = copper mould for assaying, = = copper refining, = =; = = copper refining furnace, = = crane. for cupellation furnace, = = for liquation cakes, = = crowbars, = = cupel, = = mould, = = cupellation furnace, = =; = =; = = at freiberg, = = in poland, = = cutting metal, = = descent into mines, = = dipping-pots, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = distillation (_see_ nitric acid _and_ quicksilver). divining rod, = = dogs packing ore, = = drifts, = = drying furnace for liquation, = =; = =; = = dust chambers, = =; = = fans, ventilation, = =; = =; = =; = = fire-buckets, = = fire pump, = = fire-setting, = = forehearth, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = frames (or sluices) for washing ore or alluvial, = - =; = - =; = - = furnaces. assaying (_see_ assay furnaces). blast, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = copper refining, = = cupellation, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = distilling sulphur, = = enriching copper bottoms, = = glass-making, = =; = =; = =; = = iron smelting, = =; = = lead smelting (_see also_ furnaces, blast), = = liquation, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = nitric acid making, = = nitric acid parting, = = parting precious metals with antimony, = = ditto cementation, = = quicksilver distillation, = - = refining silver, = =; = =; = = roasting, = = steel making, = = tin burning, = = tin smelting, = = gad, = = glass making, = = furnaces, = =; = =; = = ground sluicing, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = hammers, = = with water-power, = =; = = heap roasting, = =; = = hearths. for bismuth smelting, = =; = = for heating copper cakes, = = for melting lead, = = for melting lead cakes, = = for refining tin, = = for roasting, = = hemicycle, = = hoe, = = _intervenium_, = = iron fork for metal, = = iron hook for assaying, = = iron smelting, = =; = = iron tools, = = jigging sieve, = = ladders, = = ladle for metal, = = lead mould for assaying, = = liquation cakes. dried, = = liquation cakes, exhausted, = = liquation furnaces, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = lye making, = = matte roasting, = =; = = meers, shape of, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = mills for grinding ore, = =; = = muffle furnaces, = =; = = muffles, = = nitric acid making, = = _nitrum_ pits, = = _operculum_, = = _orbis_, = a= parting precious metals. with antimony, = = by cementation, = = with nitric acid, = = with sulphur, = = picks, = = plummet level. standing, = = suspended, = = pumps. chain, = =; = =; = = duplex suction, = =; = =; = = rag and chain, = =; = =; = =; = = suction, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = quicksilver distillation, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = rag and chain pumps, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = rammers for fire-clay, = =; = = ring-fire, for parting with sulphur, = = roasting (_see also_ heap _and_ stall roasting), = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = rosette copper making, = = salt. boiling, = =; = =; = = caldron, = =; = = evaporated on faggots, = = pans, = = wells, = = saltpetre making, = = saxon lead furnace, = = scorifier, = = seams in the rocks, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = shafts. inclined, = = timbering, = = vertical, = =; = = shears for cutting metal, = = shield for muffle furnace, = = sifting ore, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = silver. cakes, cleansing of, = =; = = refining, = =; = =; = =; = = sleigh for ore, = = sluicing tin, = =; = =; = =; = = smelter, plan of building, = = soda making, = = sorting ore, = =; = = spalling ore, = =; = =; = = stall roasting. matte, = =; = = ore, = =; = = stamp-mill, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = for breaking copper cakes, = = stamps, = = steel furnace, = = strake, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = canvas, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = streaming for tin, = = stringers. associated, = = _fibra dilatata_, = = _fibra incumbens_, = = oblique, = = transverse, = = surveying. rods, = a= shafts and tunnels, = = triangles, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = suction pumps (_see_ pumps). sulphur making, = =; = = tap-holes in furnaces, = = tapping-bar, = =; = = "tests" for refining silver, = =; = = timbering. shafts, = = tunnels, = = tin. bars, = = burning, = = refining, = = smelting, = =; = = touch-needles, = = trays for washing alluvial, = = tread whim, = = trough, = = for washing alluvial, = =; = = trucks, = = tunnels, = =; = =; = =; = = timbering, = = veins. barren, = = beginning of, = = cavernous, = = curved, = = end of, = = head of, = = horizontal, = = intersections of, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = solid, = = strike of, = =; = = _vena cumulata_, = =; = = _vena dilatata_, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = _vena profunda_, = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = =; = = ventilating with damp cloth (_see also_ bellows, fans, and windsails), = = vitriol making, = =; = =; = =; = =; = = wagons, for hauling ore, = = washing ore (_see_ sifting ore). water tanks, under furnaces, = = wedges, = = weights, for assay balances, = = westphalian lead smelting, = = wheelbarrows, = = whims. horse, = =; = = tread, = = windlasses, = =; = =; = = winds, direction of, = = windsails for ventilation, = =; = =; = = transcriber's notes. this document includes quotes from very early authors. as such, it's no surprise that there are many spelling and punctuation irregularities. also the authors were american, but writing for a british journal. in addition, whether "ae" and "oe" appear as ligatures or separate characters seems to be fairly random. unless there was a clearly preferred spelling choice, variants were kept as is. all changes are explicitly documented below. noted spelling variants that were preserved include: "aluminum" and "aluminium;" "ampullas" and "ampullae;" "beechwood" and "beech-wood;" "blütstein" and "blüt stein;" "brick dust" and "brickdust;" "calcspar," "calc spar" and "calc-spar;" derivatives of "crossbar" and "cross-bar," and similarly for "crosscut," "crosspiece," etc.; (hans von) "dechen" and "decken;" "desulphurizing" and "de-sulphurizing;" "dissension" and "dissention" (and their plurals); "distill" and "distil" (and derivatives); "encrusted" and "incrusted;" "enquire" and "inquire" (and derivatives); "ensure" and "insure;" (lazarus) "ercker" and "erckern;" "flavor" and "flavour;" "fluor-spar" and "fluorspar;" "flusse" and "flüsse;" (rotenburg an der) "fulda" and "fulde;" "gatter" and "gatterer" may be the same person; "gold workers," "goldworkers" and "gold-workers;" "gray" and "grey" (and derivatives); "grove" and "groove" (english mining term for a shaft); "halitum" and "halitus;" "henckel" and "henkel;" "holm oak" and "holmoak;" "homogenous" and "homogeneous;" daniel "houghsetter," "houghstetter" and "hochstetter;" "joannes" and "johannes" (the alchemist); "johanes" and "johannes" (aurelius augurellus), a.k.a. "john aurelio augurello;" "jüdenstein" and "jüden stein;" "kinstock" and "kinstocke;" "lautental" and "lautenthal;" "lawsuit" and "law-suit;" "leipsic" and "leipzig;" "krat" and "kratt;" "mosaic" and "mosaick;" "mineralogic" and "mineralogical;" "nützlich bergbüchlin," "nützliche bergbüchlin," "nützlich bergbüchlein," and "nützliche bergbüchlein;" "organisation" and "organization;" (thomas) "pennant" and "pennent;" "probier büchlein," "probierbüchlin," "probierbüchlein," "probirbüchlein," and "probirbüchleyn" (which may be different books in some cases); derivatives of "pulverise" and "pulverize;" "reagent" and "re-agent" (and their plurals); derivatives of "recognise" and "recognize;" "republished" and "re-published;" "salamander har" and "salamanderhar;" "seashore" and "sea-shore;" "semicircle" and "semi-circle" (and derivatives); "shovelful" and "shovel-ful;" "spiesglas," "spiesglass," and "spiesglasz;" "turkey oak" and "turkey-oak;" "vannucci," "vannuccio" and "vanuccio" (biringuccio); "vectarii" and "vectiarii;" derivatives of "volatilise" and "volatilize." there appears to be no rule whether punctuation following a quote should be inside or outside the quotation marks. the text was simply left as is. there appears to be no rule whether roman numerals have periods after them or not; even references to the same document may differ. the text was simply left as is. for the text version of the document, replaced the oe-ligature with the separate characters "oe." also removed the macron from the "e" in "pectos." some footnote numbers are skipped. to avoid confusion with references to the footnotes, none of the footnotes were re-numbered. in particular, book i does not have footnote ; book vi does not have footnote ; book viii does not have footnote , or ; book ix does not have footnote ; book xi does not have footnote . inserted missing anchor for footnote on page v. changed "albertham" to "abertham" on page vii: "the god's gift mine at abertham." changed "honored" to "honoured" on page xi: "most honoured citizens." treated the explanatory text on page xxiv as a footnote (number ) and created its anchor on page xxi. changed "license" to "licence" in the note on page xxiv: "only poets have licence." changed "bibliotheque" to "bibliothèque" in the footnote on page xxix: "the bibliothèque nationale." changed "theosebeia" to "theosebia" and inserted closing double quotation mark after "written to theosebia, etc....'" on page xxx. left "loadstone" on page although it's spelled "lodestone" everywhere else, because it's in a quote. changed "silver-mines" to "silver mines" on page : "the silver mines at freiberg." removed the extra comma after "ll." in footnote on page : "odes, i., , ll. - ;" and in footnote on page : "satires, ii., , ll. - ." changed "realised" to "realized" on page : "his hopes are not realized." removed extra double quotation mark from before "probable that the work" on page . changed "hipprocrene" to "hippocrene" in footnote on page : "named hippocrene after that horse." changed "joachimstal" to "joachimsthal" on page . adjusted the formats of the captions to the illustrations on page , , and to be consistent with other captions. removed extra double quotation mark after "not a metal" in the footnote from page . changed "foot walls and hanging walls" to "footwalls and hangingwalls" on page . changed "hanging-wall" to "hangingwall" in footnote on page : "into the hangingwall." changed "phaenippis" to "phaenippus" in the footnote on page : "the other against phaenippus." inserted double quotation mark after "droit francais et etranger" in the footnote on page . changed "inama-strenegg" to "inama-sternegg" in the footnote on page . changed "himmelich" to "himmelisch" on page : "himmelisch höz." "himmelsch hoz" was retained as a variant elsewhere. changed "shovelers" to "shovellers" on page : "miners, shovellers, windlass men." the table in the note on page refers to note on p. . it would make more sense to refer to note , but was left as is. changed "chrusos" to "chrysos" in the footnote on page : "(chrysos, gold and kolla, solder)." the footnote on page contains the reference "(see note xx., p. x)." rather than roman numerals, this appears to be a placeholder to a reference that was not filled in. perhaps it should be "(see note , p. )," but it was left as is. changed "tinstone" to "tin-stone" in the footnote on page . changed "de la pirotechnica" to "de la pirotechnia" in the footnote on page . changed "mansfeld" to "mannsfeld" in the footnote on page : "mannsfeld copper schists." changed "coasa" to "coass" in the footnote on page : "cobaltite (coass)." changed "phoenecians" to "phoenicians" on page : "phoenicians must have possessed." changed "hanging wall" to "hangingwall" on page : "the hangingwall and the footwall." changed "venæ dilatatæ" (ae-ligature) to "venae dilatatae" on page : "mine venae dilatatae lying down." changed "venæ cumulatæ" (ae-ligature) to "venae cumulatae" on page : "as to venae cumulatae." changed "watts's" to "watt's" in footnote on page : "watt's improvements." changed "locks" to "blocks" on page : "blocks, and plates." something is wrong with the sentence on page that ends with the reference to footnote . one metreta is larger than one-sixth of a congius. perhaps "metreta" and "congius" should be swapped in this sentence, but it was left as is. changed "bail" to "bale" on page : "iron semi-circular bale." changed "fosilium" to "fossilium" twice in the footnote on page : "de natura fossilium." changed "decends" to "descends" on page : "descends into an underground chamber," and again on page : "the plank descends." changed "pig-skin" to "pigskin" in the caption to the illustration on page : "pigskin sacks." left "vapor" as is in footnote on page although it's spelled "vapour" everywhere else, because it's in a quote. changed "de hydrated" to "dehydrated" in the footnote on page : "probably dehydrated alum." changed "na_{ }co_{ }" to "na_{ }co_{ }" in the footnote on page . changed "fore-part" to "forepart" on page : "the forepart lies." changed "four-fold" to "fourfold" on page : "with fourfold curves." changed "or" to "of" on page : "an ore of copper." changed "factictius" to "facticius" in the footnote on page : "sal facticius." changed "interpretaltio" to "interpretatio" in footnote on page : "interpretatio, die heffe." changed "loehneys" to "lohneys" in footnote on page . "cramner" in footnote on page may be a typo for "cramer," but it was left as is. changed "neutralized" to "neutralised" in footnote on page : "neutralised by the nitre." changed "notes" to "note" in footnote on page : "note ." changed "liquified" to "liquefied" on page : "has become sufficiently liquefied." changed "touchneedles" to "touch-needles" in footnote on page : "detailed account of touch-needles." the reference to page in footnote on page does not seem to make sense, but was not changed. perhaps the reference should be to footnote on page . in the table on page , the entries for the th and st needles do not add up, because the entry for the number of sextulae of copper belongs in the st needle, not the th. this was corrected. however, there are other errors in this table, which are not so obvious and were not corrected. in particular, the entries for the nd, th and st needles do not add correctly. in the table on page , the number for the siliquae of copper was sometimes in the sextulae column. these were corrected. the affected lines were the ones for needles , and . there is some other error (uncorrected) for the th needle; probably it should have another sextula of silver. filled in the missing " " in the line for the th needle in the table on page . changed " " to " " in the line for the rd weight in the table for the "greater" weights on page . changed "stele" to "stelae" on page : "certain stelae." changed "hanging-wall" to "hangingwall" on page : "the hangingwall rock;" and on page : "from the hangingwall." changed "lead" to "led" in the footnote on page : "led through a series." changed "humpfrey" to "humphrey" in the footnote on page : "william humphrey." changed "erbisdroff" to "erbisdorff" on page : "tin-stuff of schlackenwald and erbisdorff." changed "colleced" to "collected" on page : "concentrates are collected." changed "civilisation" to "civilization" in footnote on page : "glimmer of civilization." changed "chapter ix" to "book ix" in footnote from page . changed "thothmes" to "thotmes" in footnote on page : "the time of thotmes iii." changed "unseasonable" to "unreasonable" on page : "yet it is not unreasonable." inserted "l--" in the caption for the illustration on page . footnote , p. , refers to a note on p. , but there is no such note. changed "carni" to "carni" in the caption to the illustration on page . removed extra right parenthesis at end of footnote , from page , and footnote , from page . changed "agatharcides" to "agatharchides" in the footnote on page , and again in the footnote on page . changed "bare" to "bars" on page : "the lattice-like bars sells." changed "nütliche" to "nützliche" in footnote on page : "the nützliche bergbüchlein in association." changed "threequarters" to "three-quarters" on page : "three-quarters of a foot." changed "the spout from the opercula extends" to "the spouts from the opercula extend" in the caption to the illustration on page . changed "earthern" to "earthen" on page : "melted with copper in a red hot earthen crucible." changed "boussingalt" to "boussingault" in footnote on page : "investigation by boussingault." footnote , on page , refers to a discussion on page ; there is no such discussion. perhaps the note on page was intended, but no change was made. the reference to p. in the footnote on page doesn't seem to make sense. perhaps the reference should be to the note on p. or the illustration on p. , but it was not changed. changed "agricolas'" to "agricola's" in footnote on page . changed "roman" to "roman" in the caption to the figure on page . changed "pinewood" to "pine-wood" on page : "shingles of pine-wood." changed "fore-hearths" to "forehearths" in the caption to the illustration on page . changed "or" to "of" in the table in footnote on page : " . lbs. of (a)." changed "near-by" to "nearby" on page : "in a nearby timber." changed "fore-hearth" to "forehearth" on page : "into the forehearth," and on page : "into the forehearth." changed "sideboards" to "side-boards" on page : "the side-boards are fixed." changed superscripts to subscripts in footnote on page : "ca(no_{ })_{ } + k_{ }co_{ } = caco_{ } + kno_{ }." changed "crystallised" to "crystallized" in footnote on page . changed "hydros" to "hydrous" in the footnote on page : "the hydrous sulphate." changed "octrahedra" to "octahedra" in the footnote on page . changed "subtance" to "substance" in footnote on page : "that feathery substance." changed "ventholes" to "vent-holes" on page : "two or three vent-holes." changed "prehistoric" to "pre-historic" on page : "from pre-historic times." changed "rawlinsons, trans." to "rawlinson's trans." in the footnote on page . changed "neavius" to "naevius" on page : "johannes naevius." changed "unständliche" to "umständliche" in footnote on page : "umständliche ... chronica." changed "watts" to "watt" on page : "watt mentions it." changed "begininng" to "beginning" on page : "beginning of the sixteenth centuries." changed "oxidising" to "oxidizing" on page : "an oxidizing blast." changed "oryguia" to "orguia" on page . changed the reference for annaberg on page from "xxi" to "xxxi." changed "ceragurite" to "cerargurite" in its index entry on page . changed "fibræ" to "fibrae" (ae-ligature) in its index entry on page . changed the reference for glass on page from " - " to " - ." changed two references for magnes on page from " " to " ." changed the reference for nuremberg, scale of weights on page from " " to " ." changed "pickscheifer" to "pickschiefer" in its index entry on page . changed the reference for proustite on page , and the references for pyrargyrite, for ruby silver, for silver, for silver glance and for silver ores on page , from " " to " ." changed the reference for quicksilver on page from " " to " ." changed "stuices" to "sluices" on page , in the index entry for "pockets in alluvial sluices." changed the references for schneeberg, st. george mine and for st. george mine on page from " " to " ." changed "steinmack" to "steinmarck" in its index entry on page . in the index to persons and authorities (starting page ), there are a number of references to page that appear to make more sense as references to , but which were not changed. changed the reference for venice, scale of weights on page from " " to " ." changed the reference for de mensuris et ponderibus, weights and measures on page from " " to " ." changed the reference for de natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra, dedication on page from "viii" to "vii." changed the reference for de precio metallorum et monetis on page from " " to " ." changed "diphilus" to "diphilos" in its index entry on page . changed the references for forehearth and for furnaces, blast on page from " " to " ." changed the references for pumps, suction on page from " ; " to " ; ." changed the reference for "tests" for refining silver on page from " " to " ." transcriber's note: a list of corrections is at the end of the text. italics are indicated by _underscores_, bold by =equal signs= and superscripts by '^'. _illogical geology_ _the weakest point in_ _the evolution theory_ [illustration: author] by george mccready price editor of "the modern heretic," and author of "outlines of modern science and modern christianity." the modern heretic company s. hill street, los angeles, cal. single copies ^c copies c: copies $ . illogical geology the weakest point in the evolution theory to the reader. this _advance edition_ has been issued by the publishers in this cheap form to enable them to get out several thousand copies for critical review at comparatively small expense. succeeding editions will be in regular book form, and will be sold at the usual rates for bound volumes. "it is a singular and a notable fact, that while most other branches of science have emancipated themselves from the trammels of metaphysical reasoning, the science of geology still remains imprisoned in '_a priori_' theories."--_sir henry howorth: "the glacial nightmare and the flood." preface. vii._ _the modern heretic company_ s. hill st., los angeles, california copyright by george mccready price los angeles, cal. part i preface this book is not written especially for geologists or other scientists as such, though it deals with the question which it discusses from a purely scientific standpoint, and presupposes a good general knowledge of the rocks and of current theories. it is addressed rather to that large class of readers to whom geology is only an incident in larger problems, and who are not quite wholly satisfied with those explanations of the universe which are now commonly accepted on the testimony of biological science. i am free to say that my own conviction of the higher value and surer truth of other data outside of the biological sciences have always been given formative power in my own private opinions, and that in this way i have long held that there =must be something wrong= with the evolution theory, and also that there must be a surer way of gauging the value of that theory, even from the scientific standpoint, than the long devious processes connected with darwinism and biology. some years ago, when compelled to investigate the subject more fully than i had hitherto done, i discovered, somewhat to my own surprise, the phenomenal weakness of the geological argument. the results of that investigation have grown into the present work. though mostly critical and analytic, it is not wholly so. but so far as it is constructive there is one virtue which can rightly be claimed for it. it is at least an honest effort to study the foundation facts of geology from the inductive may be standpoint, and whether or not i have succeeded in this, it is, so far as i know, the only work published in the english or any other language which does not treat the science of geology more or less as a cosmogony. that such a statement is possible is, i think, my chief justification in giving it to the public. it would seem as if the twentieth century could afford at least one book built up from the present, instead of being postulated from the past. george mccready price. south hill street, los angeles, california, june, . contents part i i the abstract idea ii history of the idea iii fact number one iv fact number two v turned upside down v fact number four vii extinct species viii skipping part ii ix graveyards x change of climate xi degeneration xii fossil men xiii inductive methods appendix introduction a brief outline of the argument which i have used in the following pages will be in order here. darwinism, as a part, the chief part, of the general evolution theory, rests logically and historically on the succession of life idea as taught by geology. if there has actually been this succession of life on the globe, then some form of genetic connection between these successive types is the intuitive conclusion of every thinking mind. but if there is no positive evidence that certain types are essentially older than others, =if this succession of life is not an actual scientific fact=, then darwinism or any other form of evolution has no more scientific value than the vagaries of the old greeks--in short, from the standpoint of true inductive science it is a most gigantic hoax, historically scarce second to the ptolemaic astronomy. in part one i have examined critically this succession of life theory. it is improper to speak of my argument as destructive, for there never was any real constructive argument to be thus destroyed. it is essentially =an exposure=, and i am willing to =give a thousand dollars= to any one who will, in the face of the facts here presented, show me how to prove that one kind of fossil is older than another. in part two i have attempted to build up a true, safe induction in the candid, unprejudiced spirit of a coroner called upon to hold a _post mortem_. the abnormal character of most of the fossiliferous deposits, the sudden world-wide change of climate they record, the marked degeneration in all organic forms in passing from the older to the modern world, together with the great outstanding fact that human beings, with thousands of other living species of animals and plants have at this great world-crisis left their fossils in the rocks all over the world, prove beyond a possible doubt that our once magnificently stocked world met with a tremendous catastrophe some thousands of years ago, before the dawn of history. as for the =origin= of the living beings that existed before that event, we can only suppose a =direct creation=, since modern science knows nothing of the spontaneous generation of life, or of certain types of life having originated =before= other types, and thus being able to serve as =the source of origin= of other alleged succeeding types. with the myth of a life succession dissipated once and for ever, the world stands face to face with creation as the direct act of the infinite god. chapter i the abstract idea how many of us have ever tried to think out a statement of just how we would prove that there has been a succession of life on the globe in a particular order? herbert spencer did[ ] and he did not seem to think the way in which it is usually attempted a very praiseworthy example of the methods to be pursued in natural science. he starts out with werner, of neptunian fame, and shows that the latter's main idea of the rocks always succeeding one another over the whole globe like the coats of an onion was "untenable if analyzed," and "physically absurd," for among other things it is incomprehensible that these very different kinds of rocks could have been precipitated one after another by the same "chaotic menstrum." but he then proceeds to show that the science is "still swayed by the crude hypotheses it set out with; so that even now, old doctrines that are abandoned as untenable in theory, continue in practice to mould the ideas of geologists, and to foster sundry beliefs that are logically indefensible." werner had taken for his data the way in which the rocks happened to occur in "a narrow district of germany," and had at once jumped to the conclusion that they must always occur in this relative order over the entire globe. "thus on a very incomplete acquaintance with a thousandth part of the earth's crust, he based a sweeping generalization applying to the whole of it." werner classified the rocks according to their mineral characters, but when the fossils were taken as the prime test of age, the "original nomenclature of periods and formations" kept alive the original idea of complete envelopes encircling the whole globe one outside each other like the coats of an onion. so that now, instead of werner's successive ages of sandstone making or limestone making, and successive suites of these rocks, we have successive ages of various types of life, with successive systems or "groups of formations which everywhere succeed each other in a given order; and are severally everywhere of the same age. though it may not be asserted that these successive systems are universal, yet it seems to be tacitly assumed that they are so.... though, probably, no competent geologist would contend that the european classification of strata is applicable to the globe as a whole; yet most, if not all geologists, write as though it were so." spencer then goes on to show how dogmatic and unscientific it is to say that when the carboniferous flora, for example, existed in some localities, this type of life and this only must have enveloped the world. "now this belief," he says, "that geologic 'systems' are universal, is quite as untenable as the other. it is just as absurd when considered _a priori_: and it is equally inconsistent with the facts," for all such systems of similar life-forms must in olden time have been of merely "local origin," just as they are now. in other words, we have no scientific knowledge of a time in the past when there were not zoological provinces and zones as there are to-day, one type of life existing in one locality, while another and totally different type existed somewhere else. then, after quoting from lyell a strong protest against the old fancy that only certain types of sandstone and marls were made at certain epochs, he proceeds: "nevertheless, while in this and numerous passages of like implication, sir c. lyell protests against the bias here illustrated, he seems himself not completely free from it. though he utterly rejects the old hypothesis that all over the earth the same continuous strata lie upon each other in regular order, like the coats of an onion, he still writes as though geologic 'systems' do thus succeed each other. a reader of his 'manual' would certainly suppose him to believe, that the primary epoch ended, and the secondary epoch commenced, all over the world at the same time.... =must we not say that though the onion-coat hypothesis is dead, its spirit is tractable, under a transcendental form, even in the conclusions of its antagonists.=" spencer then examines at considerable length the kindred idea that the same or similar species "lived in all parts of the earth at the same time." "this theory," he says, "is scarcely more tenable than the other." he then shows how in some localities there are now forming coral deposits, in some places chalk, and in others beds of molluscs; while in still other places entirely different forms of life are existing. in fact, each zone or depth of the ocean has its particular type of life, just as successive altitudes do on the sides of a mountain; and it is a dogmatic and arbitrary assumption to say that such conditions have not existed in the past. "on our own coasts, the marine remains found a few miles from shore, in banks where fish congregate, are different from those found close to the shore, where only littoral species flourish. a large proportion of aquatic creatures have structures that do not admit of fossilization; while of the rest, the great majority are destroyed, when dead, by the various kinds of scavengers that creep among the rocks and weeds. so that no one deposit near our shores can contain anything like a true representation of the fauna of the surrounding sea; much less of the co-existing faunas of other seas in the same latitude; and still less of the faunas of seas in distant latitudes. were it not that the assertion seems needful, it would be almost absurd to say that the organic remains now being buried in the dogger bank can tell us next to nothing about the fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and corals that are now being buried in the bay of bengal." this author evidently found it difficult to keep within the bounds of parliamentary language when speaking of the absurd and vicious reasoning at the very basis of the whole current geological theory; for, unlike the other physical sciences, the great leading ideas of geology are not generalisations framed from the whole series or group of observed facts, but are really abstract statements supposed to be reasonable in themselves, or at the most =very hasty conclusions based on wholly insufficient data=, like that of werner in his "narrow district of germany." sir henry howorth[ ] has well expressed the urgent need that there is of a complete reconstruction of geological theory: "it is a singular and a notable fact, that while most other branches of science have emancipated themselves from the trammels of metaphysical reasoning, the science of geology still remains imprisoned in _a priori_ theories." but huxley[ ] also has left us some remarks along the same line which are almost equally helpful in showing the essential absurdity of the assumption that when one type of life was living and being buried in one locality another and very diverse type could not have been doing the same things in other distant localities. this is how he expresses it: "all competent authorities will probably assent to the proposition that physical geology does not enable us in any way to reply to this question--were the british cretaceous rocks deposited at the same time as those of india, or were they a million of years younger, or a million of years older?" this phase of the idea, however, is not so bad, for the human mind refuses to believe that distant and disconnected groups of similar forms were not connected in time and genetic relationship. it is really the reverse of this proposition that contains the most essential absurdity, and this is the very phase that is most essential to the whole succession of life idea. huxley, indeed, seems to have caught a glimpse of this truth, for he says: "a devonian fauna and flora in the british islands =may= have been contemporaneous with silurian life in north america, and with a carboniferous fauna and flora in africa. =geographical provinces and zones may have been as distinctly marked in the palaeozoic epoch as at present.=" certainly; but if this be true, it is equally certain that the carboniferous flora of pennsylvania may have been contemporaneous alike with the cretaceous flora of british columbia and the tertiary flora of germany and australia. but in that case what becomes of this succession of life which for nearly a century has been the pole star of all the other biological sciences--i might almost say of the historical and theological as well? must it not be admitted that in any system of clear thinking this whole idea of there having really been a succession of life on the globe is not only =not proved= by scientific methods, but that it is essentially unprovable and absurd? huxley, in point of fact, admits this, though he goes right on with his scheme of evolution, just as if he never thought of the logical consequences involved. his words are: "in the present condition of our knowledge and of our methods (_sic_) one verdict--'=not proven and not provable='--must be recorded against all grand hypotheses of the palaeontologist respecting the general succession of life on the globe." in view of these startling facts, is it not amazing to see the supernatural knowledge of the past continually and quietly assumed in every geological vision of the earth's history? footnotes: [ ] "illogical geology; illustrations of universal progress," pp. - ; d. appleton & co., . [ ] "the glacial nightmare and the flood," preface vii. [ ] "discourses biol. and geol.," pp. - . chapter ii history of the idea among the few stray principles that the future will probably be able to save from the wreck of spencer's philosophy, is the advisability of looking into =the genealogy of an idea=. what has been its surroundings? what is its family history? does it come of good stock, or is its family low and not very respectable? this is especially true in the case of a scientific idea, which above all others needs to have a clean bill of health and a good family record. but, unfortunately, the idea we are here considering has a bad record, very bad in fact; for the whole family of cosmogonies, of which this notion is the only surviving representative, were supposed to have been banished from the land of science long ago, and were all reported dead. some of them had to be executed by popular ridicule, but most of them died natural deaths, the result of inherited taint, in the latter part of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. it is perfectly astonishing how any of the family could have survived over into the twentieth century, in the face of such an antecedent record. for one of the chief traits of the family as a whole is that of mental disorder of various stages and degrees. some of them were raving crazy; others were mild and comparatively harmless, except that their drivel had such a disturbing effect on scientific investigations that they had to be put out of the way. it seems such a pity that when this last fellow, early in life, was up before doctors huxley and spencer for examination, he was not locked up or put in limbo forthwith. this is especially unfortunate, because this survivor of an otherwise extinct race has since then produced a large family, some of which it is true have already expired, while the eldest son, darwinism, was reported in to be "at its last gasp,"[ ] and was even said last year to have had its "tombstone inscription" written by von hartmann of germany. but the succession of life idea itself, the father of all this brood, is still certified by those in authority to be healthy and _compos mentis_. the cosmogony family is a very ancient one, running back to the time of plato and thales of miletus. indeed the cuneiform inscriptions of babylonia seem to indicate that a tribe with very similar characteristics existed several millenniums before the christian era. but discarding all these, the first men that we need to mention are perhaps burnet and whiston, who knew no other way of arriving at geological truth than to spin a yarn about how the world was made. woodward seems to have had a little better sense, and is named along with hooke and john ray as one of the real founders of the science. unfortunately the brood of cosmogonists was not dead, for moro and de maillet were at this same period spinning their fantastic theories about the origin of things; or as zittel puts it, "accepted the risks of error, and set about explaining the past and present =from the subjective standpoint=."[ ] this tendency we will find to be a birthmark in the family, and will serve to invariably identify any of them wherever found. we must remember this, and apply the test to the modern survivors. buffon seems to have been really the founder of the family in the modern form. he is credited with the sarcastic remark that "geologists must feel like the ancient roman augurs who could not meet each other without laughing;" though in view of his fantastic scheme of seven "epochs," in which he endeavors to portray "the beginning, the past, and the future (_sic_) of our planet,"[ ] one is reminded of the common symptom which manifests itself in thinking all the rest of the world crazy. the "heroic age of geology" succeeded this period, and was characterized largely by a determination to discard speculation, and to seek to build up a true science of actual fact and truth. we have already seen from spencer's remarks that a. g. werner, who was, however, one of the leaders in germany at this time, was very far from following true inductive methods. and the following language of sir arch. geikie shows that in him the family characteristics were decidedly prominent: "but never in the history of science did a stranger hallucination arise than that of werner and his school, when they supposed themselves to discard theory and build on a foundation of accurately-ascertained fact. never was a system devised in which theory was more rampant; theory, too, unsupported by observation, and, as we now know, utterly erroneous. from beginning to end of werner's method and its applications, assumptions were made for which there was no ground, and these assumptions were treated as demonstrable facts. =the very point to be proved was taken for granted=, and the geognosts, who boasted of their avoidance of speculation, were in reality among the most hopelessly speculative of all the generations that had tried to solve the problem of the theory of the earth."[ ] in fact this author says that: "the wernerians were as certain of the origin and sequence of the rocks as if they had been present at the formation of the earth's crust." (pp. - .) here we see the family characteristics very strongly developed. in speaking of werner's five successive "suites" or onion-coats in which he wrapped his embryo world, zittel complains: "unfortunately, werner's field observations were =limited to a small district=, the erz mountains and the neighboring parts of saxony and bohemia. and his chronological scheme of formations was founded upon the mode of occurrence of the rocks within these narrow confines." (p. .) and yet, as we have seen, it is precisely such a charge as this that spencer and huxley bring against the modern phase of the doctrine of successive ages based on the succession of life idea. werner, from observations "limited to a small district," constructed his scheme of exact chronological sequence, basing it entirely upon the mineral or mechanical character of his "suites." and hundreds of enthusiastic followers long declared that the rocks everywhere conformed to this classification, even so great an observer as von humboldt thinking that the rocks which he examined in central and south america fully confirmed werner's chronological arrangement. but such notions to-day only cause a smile of pity, for it is now well known that, take the world over, =the rocks do not occur= as werner imagined, though, as geikie says, he and his disciples were as certain of the matter "as if they had been present at the formation of the earth's crust." besides, as already pointed out, we moderns ought now to have pretty well assimilated the idea that while one kind of mineral or rock was forming in one locality, =a totally different kind of deposit= may have been in process of formation in another spot some distance off =at the very same time=, and we cannot imagine a time in the past when this principle would not hold good. but in a precisely similar way the idea of a time value was, as we shall see, transferred from the mechanical and mineral character of the rocks to their fossil contents; and from observations again "limited to a small district," william smith and cuvier conceived the idea that the fossils occurred =only= in a certain order; that only certain fossils lived at a certain time; that, for example, while trilobites were living and dying in one locality, nummulites or mammals positively were not living and dying in another locality, though in any system of clear thinking this latter notion is just as irrational as that of werner. hence spencer is compelled to say, "though the onion-coat hypothesis is dead, its spirit is still traceable, under a transcendental form, even in the conclusions of its antagonists." the two cases are exactly parallel; only it has taken us nearly a hundred years, it seems, to find out that the fossils do not follow the prearranged order of smith and cuvier any better than the rocks and minerals do the scheme of werner. if hundreds of geologists still seem to think that the fossils in general agree with the standard order, we must remember how many sharp observers said the same thing for decades about werner's scheme. the taint of heredity will always come out sooner or later; and both of these schemes exhibit very strongly the family history of the whole tribe of cosmogonies, viz., =the facts refuse to certify that they are of sound mind=. it was william smith, an english land surveyor, who first conceived the idea of fixing the relative ages of strata by their fossils. just how far he carried this idea it seems difficult to determine exactly. lyell[ ] says nothing along this line about him, save that he followed the leading divisions of the secondary strata as outlined by werner, though he claims "independently" of the latter. whewell[ ] remarks rather pityingly on his having had "no literary cultivation" in his youth, but has nothing about the degree in which he is responsible for the modern scheme of life succession of which many modern geologists have made him the "father". geikie and zittel are much more explicit. the former[ ] says that "he had reached early in life the conclusions on which his fame rests, and he never advanced beyond them." "his plain, solid, matter-of-fact intellect never branched into theory or speculation, but occupied itself wholly in the observation of facts." zittel[ ] says pretty much the same thing, remarking that "smith confined himself to the empirical investigation of his country, and was never tempted into general speculations about the history of the formation of the earth"--words which to my mind are the very highest praise, for they seem to indicate that he was only in a very limited way responsible for the unscientific and illogical scheme of a "phylogenic series" or complete "life-history of the earth," which now passes as the science of geology. doubtless like his little bright-eyed german contemporary, a. g. werner, he had not had his imagination sufficiently cultivated in his youth to be able to appreciate the beauty of first assuming your premises and then proving them by means of your conclusion, i.e., first assuming that there has been a gradual development on the earth from the lowest to the highest, and then arranging the fossils from scattered localities over the earth in such a way that they cannot fail to testify to the fact. the following may be taken as a fair statement of what he actually accomplished and taught: "after his long period of field observations, william smith came to the conclusion that one and the same succession of strata stretched through england from the south coast to the east, and that each individual horizon could be recognized by its particular fossils, that certain forms reappear in the same beds in the different localities, and that each fossil species belongs to a definite horizon of rock."[ ] but even granting the perfect accuracy of this generalization of smith's for the rocks which he examined, i fail to see how it is any better than werner's scheme, which zittel characterizes as "weak" and premature, and of which whewell (p. ) says that "he promulgated, as respecting the world, a scheme collected from a province, and even too hastily gathered from that narrow field." quoting again from zittel's criticism of werner's work ("hist. of geology," p. ), we must admit that smith's observations also were "limited to a small district," and "his chronological scheme of formations was founded upon the mode of occurrence of the rocks (fossils) within these narrow confines." there is, as we have shown, a monstrous jump from this to the conclusion that =even these particular fossils= must always occur in this particular relative order over the whole earth. how can any one deny that if we had a complete collection of all the fossils laid down during the last thousand years--when all admit that the so-called "phylogenic series" is complete--particular fossils would in many cases be found to occur only in particular rocks, and we could still arrange them in this same order from the lowest to the highest forms of life, while we might even happen to find "small districts" where the "mode of occurrence of the rocks within these narrow confines" would have all the appearance of showing a true "phylogenic" order. this of itself ought to be sufficient to show us the weakness of this subjective method of study, and the purely hypothetical and imaginary value of the fossils in determining the real age of a rock deposit. the name of baron cuvier is the next that we have to consider. an examination of part of his teaching will come naturally a little later when considering "extinct species." that part of his work which related to the doctrine of catastrophism is somewhat aside from the subject of our study; while with regard to his influence on the succession of life idea _per se_ there is not very much that need be said. and yet cuvier is the real founder of modern cosmological geology, and thus in a certain sense the father of biological evolution. but if the absence of the architectonic mania for building a cosmogony will serve to remove in a great measure any suspicions with regard to william smith's results, we cannot say the same for those of cuvier. in his scheme the hereditary cosmological taint, which is such an invariable characteristic of the family, is very strong, though disguised and almost transfigured by learning and genius. it is doubtless these latter qualities which have secured for the theory such a phenomenal length of life, though of course we know that nothing born of this whole brood can ever secure a permanent home in the kingdom of science. "how glorious," wrote this otherwise truly great man in his famous "preliminary discourse," "it would be if we could arrange the organized products of the universe in their chronological order, as we can already (werner's onion-coats) do with the more important mineral substances!" his work (with that of his co-laborer brongniart) on the fossils of the paris basin was probably accurate and logical enough for that limited locality. it was only when he quietly assumed as werner had done, that the rocks must always occur in this particular order all over the world, or as whewell expresses it, "promulgated as respecting the world, a scheme collected from a province, and (perhaps) even too hastily gathered from that narrow field"--it was only, i say, when this monstrous assumption was incorporated into his scheme, and he began to call into being his vision of organic creation on the instalment plan, as werner had done with the minerals, that his great and valuable work for science became tainted with the deadly cosmological virus, dooming it to death sooner or later. sherlock holmes might attempt to diagnose a disease by a mere glance at his patient's boots, but even this gave him more data and was a more logical proceeding than the facts and methods of cuvier supplied for constructing a scheme of organic creation. it will not be necessary to detail the manner in which the modern "phylogenic series" was gradually pieced together from the scattered fragments here and there all over the globe; but it should be noted here that the whole chain of life was practically complete before any serious attempt was made to study the rocks on the top of the ground, and to find out how this marvellous record of the past =joined on to the modern period=, thus reversing completely the true inductive method, and leaving the most important of all, viz., the rocks containing human remains and other living species, over till the last, with the result that we have for over half a century been laboring under a "glacial nightmare," and these deposits on the top of the ground "still remain in many respects the despair of geology." then came lyell, agassiz, and darwin; and now in the light of the keen discussions instituted by weismann in the later eighties of the last century, the modern world is pretty well agreed on two results, viz., that so far from natural selection being able to originate a species, it can't possibly =originate= anything at all, and also that no individual can transmit to his descendants what he has himself acquired in his lifetime, and hence it is hard to see how he can transmit what he has not got himself and what none of his ancestors ever had. i have not the space to show how agassiz further complicated the problem immensely by his absurdly illogical use of his three "laws" of comparison, when the prime fact of there ever having been a succession of life on the globe in any order whatever had never been proved; but i am free to say that if cuvier's system of creation on the instalment plan had been fact instead of fancy, some scheme of evolution would undoubtedly be implied in this general fact. it is this instinctive feeling on the part of modern scientists which makes them to-day, while confessing the failure of darwinism, still cling to the general idea of evolution =somehow=. hence it seems quite evident that, having deviated from strict inductive methods by pursuing this _ignis fatuus_ of a cosmological history of creation, it was essential in the interests of true science to go the whole journey and make a complete investigation of the biological side of the question, in order to complete the demonstration that science was on a wrong tack entirely. darwin and weismann were inevitable in view of the wholly unscientific course on which biology entered under the guidance of buffon and cuvier. what then can we take as the general lesson to be learned from the stubborn way in which, for over a hundred years, the world has followed this hypnotic suggestion of folly, that we might explain our genesis and being from the scientific standpoint? one of the lessons--there may be others--is that =science knows nothing about origins=, and that, in speculating along these lines, the cosmological taint will always vitiate the accuracy of our conclusions and debauch the true spirit of induction. a hundred years ago, they thought they knew all about how the world was made. the keen investigations inspired by darwinism were necessary to convince us that we know nothing at all about it. modern biology has simply developed a gigantic _reductio ad absurdum_ argument against the easy assumptions of the earlier geologists that it occurred by a progression from the low to the high. a hundred years--nay fifty years ago--this assumption did not appear so unscientific, for we did not then have the biological evidence to refute such an idea. now, however, in the light of the modern progress of science, this awful mystery of our existence, of our creation and destiny, is borne in upon us from every dividing cell, from every sprouting seed, from countless millions of the eloquent voices of nature, which our forefathers were too blind to see, too deaf to understand; and with weary, reluctant sadness does science confess that about it all she knows absolutely nothing. footnotes: [ ] nature, nov. , , pp. , . [ ] "history of geology," p. . [ ] zittel, p. . [ ] "founders of geology," p. ; johns hopkins press, . [ ] "principles," p. , th ed. [ ] "history of the inductive sciences," vol. ii., p. . [ ] "founders of geology," pp. - . [ ] "history," p. . [ ] zittel, "history," p. . it should be noted that all these rocks in england thus examined by smith make up only a small fraction of the total geological series--largely what we now call the jurassic and cretaceous rocks. chapter iii fact number one hitherto we have been dealing only with the _a priori_ aspects of the succession of life idea. we have seen that it is really based on two primary assumptions, viz.: ( ) that over all the earth the fossils =must always occur= in the particular order in which they were found to occur in a few corners of western europe; and also-- ( ) that in the long ago =there were no such things as zoological provinces and zones=, and totally different types of fossils from separated localities could not possibly have been contemporaneous with one another as we know they are to-day in "recent" deposits.[ ] on the blending of these two assumptions, the latter essentially absurd, and the former long ago disproved by the facts of the rocks, has been built up the towering structure of a complete "phylogenic series" from the cambrian to the pleistocene. the way in which, as we have been, spencer and huxley treated this subject, reminds us very much of the old advice, "when you meet with an insuperable difficulty, look it steadfastly in the face--and pass on." for neither they nor any of their thousands of followers have ever, so far as i know, pointed out the horrible logic in taking this immense complex of guesses and assumptions as the starting-point for new departures, the solid foundation for detailed "investigations" as to =just how= this wonderful phenomenon of development has occurred. for after agassiz and his contemporaries had built on these large assumptions of cuvier, and had arranged the details and the exact order of these successive forms by comparison with the embryonic life of the modern individual, the evolutionists of our time, led by such men as spencer and haeckel, with their "philogenetic principle," =prove= their theory of evolution by showing that the embryonic life of the individual is only "a brief recapitulation, as it were from memory," of the geological succession in time. there would really seem to be little hope of reaching with any arguments a generation of scientists who can elaborate genealogical trees of descent for the different families and genera of the animal kingdom, based wholly on such a series of assumptions and blind guesses, and then palm off their work on a credulous world as the proved results of =inductive= science. and yet i am tempted to make some effort in this direction. and since we have now examined the _a priori_ aspects of the question, it remains to test the two above mentioned assumptions by the facts of the rocks. the =second=, indeed, involving as it does a profound supernatural knowledge of the past, and being so positively contrary to all that we know of the modern world as to seem essentially absurd, is yet by its very nature beyond the reach of any tests that we can bring to bear upon it. hence it remains to test by the facts of the rocks =the assumption that all over the earth the fossils invariably occur in the particular order in which they were first found in a few corners of western europe= by the founders of the science. have we already a sufficiently broad knowledge of the rocks of the world to decide such a question? i think we have. to begin then at the beginning, let us try to find out how we can fix on the rocks which are absolutely the oldest on the globe. we would expect to find a good many patches of them here and there, but there must be some common characteristic by which they may be distinguished wherever found. of course, when i say "rocks" here i mean fossils, for as has long been agreed upon by geologists, mineral and mechanical characters are of practically no use in determining the age of deposits, and we are here dealing only with life and the order in which it has occurred on the globe. accordingly our problem is really to find that typical group of fossils which is essentially older than all dissimilar groups of fossils. in most localities we do not have to go very far down[ ] into the earth to find granite or other so-called igneous rocks, which not only do not contain any traces of fossils, but which we have no proper reason for supposing ever contained any. these azoic or archaean rocks constitute practically all the earth's crust, there being only a thin skim of fossiliferous strata on the outside somewhat like the skin on an apple. now it would be natural enough to suppose that those fossils which occur at the bottom, or next to the archaean, are the oldest. this is doubtless what the earlier geologists had in mind, or at least ought to have had, for it is not quite certain that they had any clear thoughts on the matter whatever. they did not really begin at the bottom, but half way up, so to speak, at the mesozoic and tertiary rocks, and sedgwick and murchison, who undertook to find bottom, got too excited over their cambro-silurian controversy to attend to such an insignificant detail as the logical proof that any type of fossils was really older than all others. if they had really stopped to consider that some type of fossil might occur next to the archaean in wales, and another type occur thus in scotland, while still another type altogether might be found in this position in some other locality, and so on over the world, leading us to the very natural conclusion that in the olden times as now =there were zoological provinces and districts=, the history of science during the nineteenth century might have been very different, and this chapter might never have been written. but this commonplace of modern geology, that any type of fossil whatever, even the very "youngest," may occur next to the archaean, was not then considered or understood; and when about it came to be recognized, other things were allowed to obscure its significance, and the habit of arranging the rocks in chronological order according to their fossils was too firmly established to be disturbed by such an idea. but the fact number one, which i have chosen as the subject of this chapter, is the now well established principle that =any kind of fossil whatever, even "young" tertiary rocks, may rest upon the archaean or azoic series, or may themselves be almost wholly metamorphosed or crystalline, thus resembling in position and outward appearance the so-called "oldest" rocks=. the first part of this proposition, about any rocks occurring next to the archaean, is covered by the following quotation from dana:[ ] "a stratum of one era may rest upon any stratum in the whole of the series below it,--the coal-measures on either the archaean, silurian, or devonian strata; and the jurassic, cretaceous, or tertiary on any one of the earlier rocks, the intermediate being wanting. the quaternary in america in some cases rests on archaean rocks, in others on silurian or devonian, in others on cretaceous or tertiary." it would be tedious to multiply testimony on a point so universally understood. as for the other half of this fact, that even the so-called "youngest" rocks may be metamorphic and crystalline just as well as the "oldest," it also is now a recognized commonplace of science. dana[ ] says that as early as lyell taught this as a general truth applicable to "all the formations from the earliest to the latest." the first reference i can find to any disproof of this old fable of werner's, that only certain kinds of rock are to be found next to the "primitive" or archaean, is in the observations of studer and beaumont in the alps, ( - ), who found "relatively young" fossils in crystalline schists, which, as zittel says, "was a very great blow to the geologists who upheld the hypothesis of the archaean or pre-cambrian age of all gneisses and schists." james geikie, doubtless referring to the same series of rocks, tells us that:-- "in the central alps of switzerland, some of the eocene strata are so highly metamorphosed that they closely resemble some of the most ancient deposits of the globe, consisting, as they do, of crystalline rocks, marble, quartz-rock, mica schist, and gneiss."[ ] hence we need not be surprised at the following statement of the situation by zittel.[ ] "the last fifteen years of the nineteenth century witnessed very great advances in our knowledge of rock-deformation and metamorphism. =it has been found that there is no geological epoch whose sedimentary deposits have been wholly safeguarded from metamorphic changes=, and, as this broad fact has come to be realized, it has proved most unsettling, and has necessitated a revision of the stratigraphy of many districts in the light of new possibilities. the newer researches scarcely recognize any theory; they are directed rather to the empirical method of obtaining all possible information regarding microscopic and field evidences of the passage from metamorphic to igneous rocks, and from metamorphic to sedimentary rocks." but in addition to what zittel means by recognizing "no theory" as to the origin of the various sorts of "igneous" rocks, it seems to me that this "broad fact" ought surely to prove "most unsettling," to the traditional theories about certain fossils being intrinsically older than others. with our minds divested of all prejudice, and this "broad" fact number one well comprehended, that any kind of fossil whatever may occur next to the archaean, and the rocky strata containing it may in texture and appearance "closely resemble some of the most ancient deposits on the globe," =where= on this broad earth shall we look for the place =to start= our life-succession that is, where can we now go to find those kinds of fossils which we can prove, by independent arguments, to be absolutely older than all others? it may seem very difficult for some of us to discard a theory so long an integral part of all geology; but until it can be proved that this "broad fact" as stated by zittel and dana is no fact at all, i see no escape from the acknowledgment that the doctrine of any particular fossils being essentially older than others is a pure invention, with absolutely nothing in nature to support it. or, to state the matter in another way, since the life succession theory rests logically and historically on werner's notion that only certain kinds of rocks (fossils) are to be found at the "bottom" or next to the archaean, and it is now acknowledged everywhere that any kind of rocks whatever may be thus situated, it is as clear as sunlight that the life succession theory rests logically and historically on a myth, and that there is =no way of proving what kind of fossil was buried first=. of course, the reason the followers of cuvier and his life succession now find themselves in such a fix as this is because they have not been following true inductive methods. theirs has been a geology by hypothesis instead of by observed fact. they started out with a pretty scheme ready-made about the origin and formation of the world, perfectly innocent of any evil intent in such a method of procedure, and unconscious of its speculative character; and for nearly a hundred years they have supposed that they were following inductive methods in geology. but in view of what we have now learned i think we are perfectly justified in adapting and applying to cuvier and the modern school of geologists what geikie[ ] says about werner and his school: "but never in the history of science did a stranger hallucination arise than that of cuvier and the modern school, when they supposed themselves to discard theory and build on a foundation of accurately ascertained fact. never was a system devised in which theory was more rampant; theory, too, unsupported by observation, and, as we now know, utterly erroneous. from beginning to end of cuvier's method and its applications, assumptions were made for which there was no ground, and these assumptions were treated as demonstrable facts. the very point to be proved was taken for granted, and the evolutionary geologists who boasted of their avoidance of speculation, were in reality among the most hopelessly speculative of all the generations that had tried to solve the problem of the theory of the earth." footnotes: [ ] the onion-coat hypothesis, which is the only other alternative, modern science professes to have abandoned. [ ] when the text-books speak of ten or twelve miles thickness of the fossiliferous rocks, the reader should remember how the rocks have to be patched up together from here and there to make this incredible thickness, as only a small fraction of such a thickness exists in any one place. [ ] "manual," p. , fourth ed. [ ] "manual," p. . [ ] "manual of historical geol.," p. . [ ] "hist.," p. . [ ] "founders of geology," p. . chapter iv fact number two if we had ample evidence that a certain man was personally acquainted with julius caesar, that they were born in the same town, went to school together, served in the same wars, and later carried on an extensive mutual correspondence, would we not conclude that they must have lived in the same age of the world's history? i confess that the conclusion seems quite unavoidable. who would dream that eighteen centuries or more had separated the two lives, and that while one was an old roman the other was an american of the latter nineteenth century? some such a puzzle as this is presented in geology under the general subject of =conformability=. let me define this term. strata laid down by water are in the first place in a horizontal position. some subsequent force may have disturbed them, so that we may now find them standing up on edge like books in a library. but all human experience goes to show that they were not deposited in this position. some disturbing cause must have taken hold of them since they were laid down, for the water in which they were made must have spread them out smooth and horizontal, each subsequent layer or stratum fitting "like a glove" on the preceding. thus when we find two successive layers agreeing with one another in their planes of bedding, with every indication that the lower one was not disturbed in any way before the upper one was spread out upon it, the two are said to be =conformable=. but if the lower bed has evidently been upturned or disturbed before the other was laid down, or if its surface has even been partly eroded or washed away by the water, the strata are said to be =unconformable=, or they show =unconformability= in bedding. of course, in all this we are dealing only with =relative= time. when we find one bed or stratum lying above another in their natural position, the lower one is of course the older of the two; but whether laid down ten minutes earlier, or ten million years earlier, how are we to determine? ignoring the matter of the fossils they contain, must we not own that, though there is no way of telling just how much longer the lower one was deposited before the next succeeding, yet if the two are conformable to one another, and the bottom one shows no evidence of disturbance or erosion before the other was fitted upon it, the strong presumption would seem to be that no great length of time could have elapsed between the laying down of the two layers. to say that we have here a geological example similar to that of a modern american having been personally acquainted with julius caesar, would seem to be quite "inexplicable," as herbert spencer used to say. but if the life succession theory be true, we have just such a conundrum in our fact number two, which is that =any formation whatever may rest conformably upon any other "older" formation=. the lower may be devonian, silurian, or cambrian, and the upper one cretaceous or tertiary, and thus according to the theory millions on millions of years must have elapsed after the first, and before the following bed was laid down, but the conformability is perfect, and the beds have all the appearance of having followed in quick succession. sometimes, too, though less frequently, these age-separated formations are lithologically the same, and can only be separated by their fossils! but before going into the minute description of any of these cases, we must notice some general statements. thus as long ago as the date of the publication of "the origin of species," darwin, in speaking of the "imperfection of the geological record," could speak of "the many cases on record of a formation conformably covered, after an immense interval of time, by another and later formation, without the underlying bed having suffered in the interval by any wear and tear."[ ] also geikie,[ ] in speaking of how "fossil evidence may be made to prove the existence of gaps which are not otherwise apparent," says that "it is not so easy to give a satisfactory account of those which occur where the strata are strictly conformable, and where no evidence can be observed of any considerable change of physical conditions at the time of deposit. a group of quite conformable strata having the same general lithological characters throughout, may be marked by a great discrepance between the fossils of the upper and the lower part." in many cases he says these conditions are "not merely local, but persistent over wide areas.... they occur abundantly among the european palaeozoic and secondary rocks," and are "traceable over wide regions." we have seen how dana admits that "a stratum of one era may rest upon any stratum in the whole series below it, ... the intermediate being wanting." he classes this under the head of the "=difficulties=" of the science, quite naturally as it would seem, though he does not expressly assert that these age-separated formations are often =conformable= to one another, as geikie and darwin have said in the above given quotations. the literature really teems with illustrations of these facts, and the more detailed accounts contained in the various geological reports are often quite charmingly _naive_ in their description of the conditions. two examples, however, must suffice, both from the canadian north west. the first is from the report on the region about banff, in alberta, near the line of the canadian pacific railway, and just east of the rockies. "east of the main divide the lower carboniferous is overlaid in places by beds of lower cretaceous age, and here again, although the two formations differ so widely in respect to age, one overlies the other without any perceptible break, and the separation of one from the other is rendered more difficult by the fact that the upper beds of the carboniferous =are lithologically almost precisely like those of the cretaceous (above them.) were it not for fossil evidence, one would naturally suppose that a single formation was being dealt with.="[ ] the other example is from the district of athabasca. "the devonian limestone is apparently succeeded conformably by the cretaceous, and with the possible exception of a thin bed of conglomerate of limited extent, which occurs below crooked rapid on the athabasca, the age of which is doubtful, the =vast interval of time= which separated the two formations, is, so far as observed, =unrepresented= either by deposition or erosion."[ ] of course, some geological writers labor to explain this thundering rebuke of their theory, just as the ptolemaic astronomers had their "deterrents" and "epicycles" for every new difficulty. but surely the detailed records of such observations as these are fearful examples of the power of tradition to blind the minds of investigators to the meaning of the very plainest facts. on a previous page (id. p. ,) the author last quoted gives us some idea of the "remarkable persistence" of this instructive case of conformability, which extends from the athabasca "in a broad band around the southern end of birch mountains, and across lake claire to peace river, and up the latter stream to a point two miles above vermillion falls." the distance, as i judge from the map, can not be less than miles in a straight direction, thus making a district of probably several thousand square miles in extent where, according to the theory of a life succession, nature must have put an injunction on the action of the elements, and they had to continue in the _status quo_ for millions of ages, or from the devonian to the cretaceous "age," the water neither wearing away nor building up over any part of this consecrated ground during all this time. nor is this all, for from part e, report (p. ) of this same volume, we are told of strata near lake manitoba, =over miles away=, in almost the same wonderful relationship,--"devonian rocks very similar in character" to those in athabasca still overlaid directly by the cretaceous, though in this case as it happens "unconformably." it would almost seem to be a _bona fide_ case of werner's onion coats cropping out. and all this incredible picture of nature's inconsistent behaviour in past ages is necessitated solely by the loving allegiance with which the infallibility of the life succession theory is regarded by modern geologists. footnotes: [ ] "origin," vol. ii., p. : sixth ed. the first edition, i believe, contains the same language. [ ] "text-book," p. . [ ] canadian "annual report," new series, vol. ii., part a, p. . [ ] "annual report," new series, vol. v., part d, p. . chapter v turned upside down how many of us have ever seen a mountain fall? not very many. and yet events even more wonderful than this have frequently occurred in the past, as we are confidently assured by the leaders in geological science. thus, in speaking of a certain region in the alps, dana[ ] says that "one of the overthrust folds has put the beds upside down over an area of square miles." it is well worth our while to try to understand this statement. our first and most natural inquiry is, what is it that leads scientists to think so? the details of this particular case are not very accessible, and so we are driven to reasoning from analogy from the known methods and constructions employed in this science. we must agree that none of the authorities who report this circumstance can testify as eye-witnesses of this marvellous event: they were not there on the spot when old mother earth turned this huge calcareous and silicious pancake. and yet there must be some kind of evidence by which these eminent men have arrived at this conclusion. what kind of evidence can it be? we cannot imagine any physical evidence which could even remotely suggest such an idea. in fact from the universal custom of making the contained fossils the supreme test of the age of a rock deposit, we are perfectly safe in concluding that it is =solely because the fossils occur here in the reverse of the accepted order=, that we have this astounding picture of an immense mountain mass having been put "upside down over an area of square miles." the "older" fossils are evidently here on top, while the "younger" ones are underneath, and of course some explanation must be given of this flat contradiction of the life succession theory. but let us retrace our steps somewhat, and pick up the thread of our argument. we have already found quite serious reason to question the accuracy of this life succession theory: but there is still another way of testing its rationality. if certain fossils are not necessarily older than certain others, it might reasonably be expected that we would now and then find them reversed as to position, i.e., with the "younger" below and the "older" above. accordingly we have the following very necessary caution from prof. nicholson:[ ] "it may even be said that in any case where there should appear to be a clear and decisive discordance between the physical and the palaeontological (fossil) evidence as to the age of a given series of beds, it is the former that is to be distrusted rather than the latter." to meet all ordinary cases of this character, where the differences involve only a few formations representing a few "ages" or a few million years, the theory of pioneer "colonies" was invented by barrande in . but for extreme cases, say where silurian or cambrian fossils occur =above= jurassic, cretaceous or tertiary, there is in such a predicament always an anxious search made for faults and displacements; or gigantic "thrust-faults" or "overthrust folds," like the example already quoted from dana, are described in picturesque language, many miles in extent--inventions which, as i have already suggested of a similar expedient to explain away evidence, deserve to rank with the famous "epicycles" of ptolemy, and will do so some day. here is geikie's highly instructive statement regarding the same conditions:-- "we may even demonstrate that in some mountainous ground, the strata have been turned completely upside down, _if_ we can show that the fossils in what are now the uppermost layers =ought properly= to lie underneath those in the beds below them."[ ] some day, i fancy, a statement like this will be regarded as a literary curiosity. there are plenty of examples under this head, though two or three ought to be as good as a dozen. in the part of alberta east of the rockies already referred to, is a section of country of about fourteen square miles at least--and we know not how much more--where cambrian fossils are found =above= cretaceous, and the inevitable "thrust fault" is thus described by one of the officers of the canadian geological survey. he has just been speaking of "a series" of these "gigantic thrust faults":-- "one of the largest and most important of these occurs along the eastern base of the chain, and brings the cambrian limestones of the castle mountain group over the cretaceous of the foot hills. this fault has a vertical displacement of more than , feet (? three miles), and an estimated horizontal displacement of the cambrian beds of about seven miles in an easterly section. the actually observed overlap amounts to nearly two miles. the angle of inclination of its plane to the horizon is =very low=, and in consequence of this its outcrop follows a very sinuous line along the base of the mountains, =and acts exactly like the line of contact of two nearly horizontal formations=. "the best places for examining this fault are at the gaps of the bow and of the south fork of the ghost river. at the former place the cretaceous shales form the floor of the bay which the bow has cut in the eastern wall of the range, and rise to a considerable height in the surrounding slopes. their line of contact with the massive gray limestones of the overlying castle mountain group is well seen near the entrance of the gap in the hills to the north. the fault plane here is nearly horizontal, and the two formations, viewed from the valley, =appear to succeed one another conformably=."[ ] but what an amazing condition of affairs is this. here are great mountainous masses of rock, very similar in mechanical and mineral make-up to thousands of examples elsewhere. the line of bedding between them "acts exactly like the line of contact of two nearly horizontal formations," and in a natural section cut out by a river the two "appear to succeed one another conformably." and yet we are asked to believe that all this is merely an optical illusion. the rocks could not possibly have been deposited in this way, for the lower ones contain "benton fossils" (cretaceous), and the upper ones are cambrian, and almost the whole geological series and untold millions of years occurred =after= the upper one, and =before= the lower one was formed. solely on the strength of the infallibility of a theory invented a hundred years ago in a little corner of western europe, which "promulgated, as respecting the world, a scheme collected from that province," and assumed that over all the world the rocks must always follow the order there observed, we are here asked to deny the positive evidence of our senses =because= these rocks do not follow this accepted order. i must confess that i cannot see the force of such a method of reasoning. it is carrying the argument several degrees beyond the reasoning of the three little green peas in the little green pod, as narrated in the exquisite fable of eugene field. these wise little fellows noticed that their little world was all green, and they themselves green likewise, and they shrewdly concluded from this that the whole universe must also be green. but we are not told of their travelling abroad and persisting in a systematic attempt to explain all subsequently observed facts in terms of their theory. this government report last quoted from says that in the eastern part of tennessee the appalachian chain "presents an almost identical structure," and refers to a similar state of things in the highlands of scotland. dana, in the last edition of his "manual" (p. ), refers to this report, and reproduces some of its plates showing some of the structures referred to; and on another page, in speaking of this similar example in scotland, says that "a mass of the oldest crystalline rocks, many miles in length from north to south, was thrust at least ten miles westward over younger rocks, part of the latter fossiliferous"; and further declares that "the thrust planes look like planes of bedding, and were long so considered."[ ] geikie quite naturally devotes several pages in his "text-book" to a description of these conditions in the highlands; but from one of his first reports on these observations, published in _nature_[ ] we get some much more suggestive details. the thrust-planes, he says, are difficult to be "distinguished from ordinary stratification planes, like which they have been plicated, faulted, and denuded. here and there, as a result of denudation, a portion of one of them =appears capping a hill-top=. one almost refuses to believe that the little outlier on the summit does not lie normally on the rocks below it, but on a nearly horizontal fault by which it has been moved into its place." speaking of some similar conditions in ross shire, which he himself had previously described as naturally conformable, he declares:-- "=had these sections been planned for the purpose of deception= they could not have been more skillfully devised ... and no one coming first to this ground would suspect that what appears to be a normal stratigraphical sequence is not really so." "when a geologist finds" things in this condition, he says, "he may be excused if he begins to wonder =whether he himself is not really standing on his head=." but i would only weary the reader by attempting to pursue this subject further. those who wish to do so will find many additional examples in the larger works of dana, leconte, prestwich, and geikie, to say nothing of the more detailed statements buried in numerous government reports and special monographs in german and french. from the very same set of beds different observers try to explain these puzzles in very different ways. some, like helm, will describe gigantic overthrust folds, and will draw immense arcs of circles several miles high in the air, as the place where the rocks must once have been. others, like rothpletz, from an examination of the very same rocks, will cut the mountain up into sections with imaginary fault-planes, and will tell how, in the district about glarus for example, an enormous mass of mountains "travelled from east to west a distance of about twenty-five miles from the rhine valley to the linth," or how the "rhatikon mountain mass travelled from montafon valley to the rhine valley, about nineteen miles from east to west."[ ] with regard to some at least of these conditions in the alps, geikie virtually admits that these incredible and self-contradictory earth-movements are necessitated by and described from fossil evidence only, for he says:-- "... the strata could scarcely be supposed to have been really inverted, save for the evidence (_sic_) as to their true order of succession supplied by their included fossils." "... portions of carboniferous strata appear as if regularly interbedded among jurassic rocks, and indeed could not be separated save after a study of their enclosed organic remains."[ ] in fact, we are perfectly safe in concluding in all similar cases that we may encounter in the literature of the science that it is the reversed order of the fossils which constitutes the whole evidence; for, as i have said, we can imagine no possible physical evidence competent to form a foundation for such ideas, nor do i know of anything save the exigencies of this venerable theory of life succession, for which otherwise competent observers will thus freely sacrifice their common sense. when the dividing line between two sets of strata "acts exactly like the line of contact between two nearly horizontal formations," so much so that in a natural section cut out by a river the two "appear to succeed one another conformably," a calm judicial mind, divested of all theoretical prejudice, instead of talking about these conditions having been planned by nature "for the purpose of deception," will find no difficulty at all in believing that these rocks were really laid down in the =reverse order= in which we now find them, with the "younger" below and the "older" above, and only one under the hypnotic spell of a preconceived theory would at the suggestion of such a fact begin "to wonder whether he himself is not really standing on his head." footnotes: [ ] "manual," p. . [ ] "ancient life-history of the earth," p. . [ ] "text-book," p. , ed. of . [ ] "annual report," new series, vol. ii., part d, pp. - . [ ] pp. , . [ ] nov. , , pp. - . [ ] see _nature_, jan. , , p. . [ ] "text-book," p. . chapter vi fact number four there is only one class of agents now working upon the rocks of the globe which have been in business continuously ever since the dry land appeared, and which have left us a legible record of approximately the amount of business they have been doing all these centuries. and my fact number four, which will complete this line of argument in illustrating the antagonism between the facts of the rocks and the theory of life succession, is that the =rivers= of the world, which of course are the agents to which i have referred, in traveling across the country, =act precisely as if they knew nothing of the varying ages of the rocks=, but on the contrary treat them all alike as if they were of the same age, and =as if they began sawing at them all at the same time=. of course it is, evidently, in only a few cases where the records are so free from ambiguity as to be quite incapable of being misunderstood, that is, the cases of rivers with steep rocky gorges, or those that cut through mountain ranges; but there are several such rivers in the world, and they all seem to tell the same story. the famous colorado river is a good example. it flows from "younger" strata into "older" in its deep cutting across the arizona plateau.[ ] stated in terms of the current theory, this means that when the region of country about the lower part of this river's course first became dry land, the upper part was still sea, and that thus there was no such river in existence here until the very "youngest" of these rocks was formed. for otherwise the river must have started running from the sea toward the dry land, i.e., running up hill. stated in terms neutral as to theory, it means that the whole of this region of country, drained by this large river, with its rocks of many varying "ages," was all elevated practically as it is now before this river began its work of erosion. it treats all these rocks as if they were of the same age, and as if it began sawing at them all at the same time. also its companion, the green river, cuts through the uinta range in the same manner. similar conditions are said to occur on the danube, and in the river-courses of the himalayas, and elsewhere. in the case of the colorado, zittel says that: "powell's explanation of the apparent enigma is that after the river had eroded its channel rocks were uplifted in one portion of its course, but so slow was the rate of uplift that the river was enabled to deepen its channel, either proportionately or more rapidly, so that it was never diverted from its former course." it was by similarly cunning inventions that the early writers on astronomy, alchemy, and medicine evaded the force of accumulated facts which told against their absurd theories. we have now completed our survey of the strictly stratigraphical phases of this question, and have found four very remarkable principles about the rocks, which i wish to summarize here before proceeding further. ( ) the "broad fact," as stated by zittel and dana, that any kind of rocks whatever, i.e. containing any kinds of fossils, even the "youngest," may rest on the archaean, and may thus in position, as also in texture and appearance, resemble the very oldest deposits on the globe. ( ) that any kind of beds may rest in such perfect conformability on any other so-called "older" beds over vast stretches of country that, "were it not for fossil evidence, one would naturally suppose that a single formation was being dealt with," while "the vast interval of time intervening is unrepresented either by deposition or erosion." the youngest seem to have followed the oldest in quick succession. ( ) that in very many cases and over many square miles of country these conditions are exactly reversed, and such very "ancient" rocks as cambrian limestones are on top of the comparatively "young" cretaceous, while the lime between them "acts exactly like the line of contact of two nearly horizontal formations," and in a natural section made by a river the two "appear to succeed one another conformably." to any one ignorant of the theory of life succession they have every appearance of having been deposited as we find them. ( ) that the rivers of the world, in cutting across the country, completely ignore the varying ages of the rocks in the different parts of their courses, and act precisely as if they began sawing at them all at the same time. now i know not what additional fact can be demanded or imagined to complete the demonstration that there is =no particular order= in which the fossils can be said to occur as regards succession in time. it is true, some fossiliferous deposits, metamorphosed almost beyond recognition, and buried deep beneath thousands of feet of subsequent deposits, have enough appearance of remote antiquity about them in all conscience. but to increase this antiquity by saying that other equally prodigious masses of rocks elsewhere were deposited long after these, or by pointing to still other deposits in another region which are said to be older than any of the others, is an illogical and wholly unscientific procedure. i fear i could scarcely confine myself within the bounds of parliamentary language were i to attempt to express an opinion regarding any effort that may now be made to justify the life succession theory in view of the above acknowledged facts. and surely it is scarcely necessary in this enlightened age to point out how completely this vitiates any biological argument (such as that of darwinism) which has incorporated into its system the results of such illogical reasoning, or which in any way is dependent upon the conclusions of such a theory of geology. in view of the laws of evidence, which every intelligent person is supposed to understand now-a-days, surely some strange things passed for scientific proof during the nineteenth century. for, as we have seen, the earlier geologists did little better than =assume= the succession of life bodily; than agassiz and his contemporaries =arranged the details= and the exact order of these successive life forms by comparison with the embryonic life of the modern individual; and now the evolutionists of our day, led by such men as spencer and haeckel with their "phylogenetic principle," =prove their theory of evolution= by showing that the embryonic life of the modern individual is only "a brief recapitulation, as it were, from memory," of the (assumed) geological succession in time. surely this will some day make a more amazing record for posterity than those of phlogiston or the epicycles of ptolemy. if i am now asked: what do the rocks have to tell us, in view of the fact that they refuse to testify to a life succession? i can only say that we are not as yet in a position to decide this question. there are several other matters connected with the character and mode of occurrence of the fossils, which are almost equally important with anything already considered, in forming a true scientific induction regarding this matter. these facts must be considered in subsequent chapters. already, however, we can say this much, that we have in the rocks almost as complete a world, in some respects vastly more complete, than the living world of to-day. with the life succession theory repudiated, we have still to deal with the fossils themselves which have been thus systematically classified; =but this geological series becomes only the taxonomic or classification series of an older state of our present world=, buried somehow and at some time or times in the remote past--the how and the when of which we have not as yet the means to determine. but i think we are now prepared to enter the mazes of the biological argument, and to study the subject of extinct species, which by many is supposed to furnish a line of independent evidence in favor of the life succession theory. footnote: [ ] see zittel, "history of geol.," pp. , . chapter vii extinct species let us now test the value of this assumed life succession by another very simple question. in "eocene times," so we are told, england was a land of palms, with a semi-tropical flora and fauna. in fact at this time, cycads, gourds, proteads (like the australian shrubs and trees), the fig, cinnamon, screw-pine, and various species of acacias and palms, abounded in england and western europe; while turtles, monkeys, crocodiles, and other sub-tropical and warm-temperate forms were equally abundant. then again, in the pleistocene deposits of the same countries, we find various species of elephant and rhinoceros, with a hippopotamus, lion, and hyena, identical with species now living in the tropics, "although," as dana says, "these modern kinds are dwarfs in comparison." =now, how are we to prove that these various forms of animal life did not exist together in these countries at the same time as the trees and plants before mentioned?= lions and monkeys, hippopotami and crocodiles, with elephants, hyenas, and rhinoceroses, now live beneath the palms, mimosas, acacias, and other tropical plants represented in the eocene and miocene beds. what is there to hinder us from believing that they all lived there together in that olden time? surely it would be the very irony of scientific fate if forms now so closely connected in life should in death be so divided. or, to present it in another form, why should we be asked to believe that these acacias, cinnamons, palms, etc., lived and died ages or millions of years before the lions, elephants, rhinoceroses and hippopotami, came into existence to enjoy their shade; and then, after these unnumbered ages had dragged their slow length along and vanished into the dim past, and all these semi-tropical plants had shifted to the tropics or been turned into lignite, these lions, elephants, and hippopotami came into existence in these same localities, when no such plants existed anywhere in europe? surely we ought to expect some pretty substantial evidence for such a violation of "the observed uniformity of nature." we generally boast that we have outgrown the crude ideas of the earlier years of the science when they spoke of "ages" of limestone making or of sandstone making; but it seems that some of us have not yet attained to that broad view of the essential =unity of nature= in which the flora and fauna of our world are seen to be just as indissolubly connected with each other. but nature could as easily be persuaded to produce for a whole age nothing in the way of rock but limestone or conglomerate, as to adjust her powers to such an unbalanced state of affairs as is spoken of above, with the animals in one age and the complementary plants in another. but in considering this question as to why the eocene plants and the pleistocene animals may not be supposed to have lived contemporaneously together, we are brought face to face with the =second= supposed argument in favor of there having been a succession of life on the globe. the answer given is that all the animals of these "early" tertiary beds are extinct species, also very many of the plants; while the hyena, lion, hippopotamus, etc., of the pleistocene are identical with the living species, and even the mammoth is so closely like its nearest surviving relative, the asiatic elephant (_e. indicus_), that these also might be classed as identical.[ ] this point being considered by many as so important, and having such a vital connection with the whole life succession theory, we must go into the matter somewhat in detail, even at the risk of appearing rather technical to some. if the palaeozoic and mesozoic strata are often of enormous extent, spreading in vast sheets over wide regions, so that their stratigraphical order in any particular district is quite readily made out, it is in =most cases= altogether different with the tertiary and pleistocene deposits. for these resemble one another so much in everything except their fossils, and occur so generally in detached and fragmentary beds, holding no stratigraphical relation to one another, that lyell devised the plan of distinguishing them from one another and arranging them in the accustomed order of successive ages, by their relative percentages of living and extinct mollusca. with only unimportant changes, lyell's divisions are still followed in classifying off the tertiary and post-tertiary beds. those with all the species extinct, or less than per cent. living, are classed as eocene; those containing =few= extinct forms, or nearly all living species, are classed as pleistocene or post-tertiary. the miocene and pliocene represent the intermediate grades, and all are supposed to be a true chronological order. it goes without saying that in actual practice it is often so extremely difficult to adjust these differences that beds are assigned to an "early" or a "late" division on =general principles= by what the literary critics would call "tact" or "intuition," rather than by the strict percentage system, though for these large and important divisions of tertiary and post-tertiary rocks, these are absolutely the only professed grounds on which the subdivisions are distinguished and arranged in the customary order of time. in the words of dr. david page: "as there is often no perceptible mineral distinction between many clays, sands and gravels, it is only by their imbedded fossils that geologists can determine their tertiary or post-tertiary character."[ ] now to say that a set of beds, ninety-five per cent. of whose fossils belong to extinct species, and only five per cent. are now living, must be vastly older than another set where these percentages are reversed, i.e. where the species are nearly all living, seems at first thought an eminently reasonable idea, and we immediately begin to imagine the long ages it must have taken for these exceedingly numerous and apparently vigorous species to wear out and become extinct in the alleged ordinary way by the merciless struggle for existence with forms more fitted to survive. but it is hardly necessary to point out that all this is based on the assumption of =uniformity= in its most extreme type, a doctrine which not only denies that these living forms are merely the =lucky survivors= of tremendous changes in which their contemporaries perished, but which in essence is taking for granted beforehand the very point which ought to be the chief aim of all geological inquiry, viz., how did the geological changes take place? it would not be considered a very scientific procedure for a coroner, called upon to hold a _post mortem_, to content himself with interesting statistics about the percentage of people who die of old age, fever, and other causes, while there was clear and decisive evidence that the poor fellow had been =shot=. in this case, as in geology, it is not merely the result that is wrong, but the whole method of investigation. for, as in the latter case we don't want to know how people generally die, but how this particular person actually did die, so, in our study of geology, we do not wish to know merely the rate at which changes of surface and extinctions of species are now going on, and then project this measure backward into the past as an infallible guide, but we wish to know for sure just what changes of this nature have taken place. a true induction is, i think, capable of deciding very positively whether or not the tools of nature have always worked at the same rate and with the same force as at present; and this method of arranging the fossils in supposed chronological order on the percentage basis mentioned above, is only an extreme form of methods claiming to be inductive which in this age of the world ought to be considered a shame and a disgrace, because, as howorth says, they are based, "not upon induction, but upon hypotheses," and have "all the infirmity of the science of the middle ages." then again, it occurs to us, that this method, of attaching a time-value to percentages of extinct or living species, would make the sub-fossil remains of the bison on the western prairies almost infinitely =older= than those of the lion, hippopotamus, etc., in the pleistocene beds of europe; for (except for some few specimens artificially preserved, and which may be ignored in this connection) the bison is to-day absolutely extinct, while the pleistocene mammals are found by the thousand in the proper localities and show no signs of surrender in the struggle for existence. similar comparisons might be made between the great wingless birds of madagascar, mauritius and new zealand, and the many cases of "persistent" forms which have survived unchanged from carboniferous, silurian, or cambrian times, a period of time which, in the language of the current geology, means quite a large fraction of eternity. but all of these considerations show that the mere fact of certain species being extinct and others being now alive, is no trustworthy guide in determining the relative age of their remains, until we first find out =how they happened to become extinct=. the inquiry as to the =how= and the =when= (relatively) is an absolutely essential preliminary in any such investigation; and is inseparably united in nature with the general question of how the great geological changes have taken place in the past. of course, if everything like a world-catastrophe is =a priori= denied; if, in other words, it is settled from the first that all these fossils living and extinct did not live contemporaneously with each other, the living ones being simply the lucky survivors of stupendous changes in which the others perished, then all pretense of a scientific investigation of the subject is at an end. if a coroner has it settled beforehand that an accident or a murder could not possibly have occurred, then his profession of a candid _post mortem_ examination is only a farce; for he does not hold it to find out anything, since he knows everything essential about it beforehand. uniformitarians would certainly make poor coroners, or for that matter poor investigators of law or history, or anything else. will some one please give us a reasonable explanation of why the lion, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, and elephant shifted from england to the tropics? or will they explain how, at this same general time, some elephants and rhinoceroses got caught in the merciless frosts of northern siberia so suddenly that their flesh has remained untainted all these centuries, and is now, wherever exposed, greedily devoured by the dogs and wolves? an abundant warm-climate vegetation once mantled all the polar regions, and its fossils have been found just about as far north as explorers have ever gone; while dana says that, "the encasing in ice of huge elephants, and the perfect preservation of the flesh, shows that the cold finally became =suddenly= extreme, as of a single winter's night, and knew no relenting afterwards."[ ] now, if no one can deny this =sudden= change of climate over half the world or so at least, is it not extremely unscientific to deny that this same cause, whatever it may have been, was quite competent to bring about a good many other changes, and the extinction of numerous other species which we are so often reminded must imply the lapse of untold ages of time? the economizing of energy, or the famous law of parsimony as stated by leibnitz, is quite appropriate in this case, and may be referred to again in the sequel. the principle upon which i must here insist is that the mere fact of certain species being extinct, and others being now alive, gives no clue whatever to the relative age of these remains, until we first ascertain =why=, =how= and =when= this extinction was brought about. and yet, though every one admits the fact of tremendous changes of climate, etc., having intervened between that ancient world and our own (the true extent and character of which, as i have said, ought to be the chief point of all geological investigation), no allowance seems ever to be made for this as a powerful cause of extermination of all forms of life. but in the utter absence of any such explanation as to =how= and =when=, and in the very teeth of these facts assuming a dead-level uniformitarianism, the presence of ten, fifty or a hundred per cent. of extinct forms in a set of beds is manifestly of no scientific value in determining age. it would be many degrees more reasonable and accurate to arrange all the greek and latin books of the world in chronological order according to the percentage of their =words= which have survived into the english language. indeed, it would be much like a coroner, at the inquest following a railway disaster, attempting to arrange the exact order in which the various victims had perished by the proportionate number of surviving relatives which each had left behind him. and the completely worthless character of such "evidence" of age becomes, if possible, more apparent when we consider that very many of these so-called "extinct" forms are not really distinct species from their living representatives of to-day. "it is notorious," says darwin, "on what excessively slight differences many palaeontologists have founded their species." and even to-day, in spite of all that we have learned about variation, little or no allowance seems ever to be made for the effects of a certainly greatly changed environment. if the fossil forms among the mollusks and other shell fish for instance, are not precisely like the modern ones in every respect, they are always classed as separate species, the older forms thus being "extinct," in utter disregard of the striking anatomical differences between the huge pleistocene mammals and their dwarfish descendants of to-day, which for a hundred years or so were declared positively to be distinct from one another, but are now acknowledged to be identical. of course no one denies that there are numerous extinct forms among the invertebrates, just as we know there are among the huge vertebrates of the mesozoic and tertiaries, none of which we moderns have ever seen alive. other forms do not appear familiar to our modern eyes, because larger or of somewhat different form; but to say that they are really distinct species from their modern representatives, or to say that no human being ever saw them alive, are statements utterly incapable of proof. up to about the year it was stoutly maintained that man had never seen =any= of these fossil forms in life. but no one now maintains this view, for human remains have now been found along with undisturbed fossils of the pleistocene, or even middle tertiaries, while the paintings on the cave walls of southern france seem conclusive that they were copied from life when the mammoth and reindeer lived side by side with man in that latitude. hence the only question now is, and it is the supreme question of all modern geology, =with how much of that ancient fossil world were these equally fossil men acquainted?= if man lived in "pliocene" or perhaps "miocene times," when a luxuriant vegetation was spread out over all the arctic regions, what possible evidence is there to show that his companions, the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, mammoth, etc., were not also living then and browsing off just such plants, when the arctic frosts caught them in the grip of death and put their "mummies" in cold storage for our astonishment and scientific information? things which are equal to the same thing are equal to each other; why should not the plants and animals, contemporary with the same creature (man), be just as truly contemporary with one another? if man was contemporary with the miocene plants, and the pleistocene mammals were contemporary with man, what is there to forbid the idea that the pleistocene mammals and the middle tertiary flora were contemporary with each other? for nearly half a century geologists have never had the courage to face this problem fairly and squarely, with all preconceived prejudices about uniformity cast aside. is it possible that all the plants and animals of the tertiaries and the pleistocene may have really lived together in the same world after all? but the trouble would then be that, with this much conceded, the whole "phylogenic series" would tumble with it, and become only the taxonomic or classification series of that ancient world with which these fossil men were acquainted. to appropriate the words of one who has done much to clear the ground for a common-sense study of geology, i know of nothing against such an idea save "the almost pathetic devotion of a large school of thinkers to the religion founded by hutton, whose high priest was lyell, and which in essence is based on _a priori_ arguments like those which dominated mediaeval scholasticism and made it so barren."[ ] baron cuvier's work in the line of comparative osteology has never been surpassed, perhaps never equalled since, and he is said to have been "the greatest naturalist and comparative anatomist of that, or perhaps of any time." (leconte, "evol. and rel. thought," pp. , ); and yet he maintained till the last that all those which we now call the pleistocene mammals were distinct species from the modern ones; and it is only of recent years and with extreme reluctance that many of them have been admitted to be identical with the ones now living. all of which tends to show how unreliable are those assertions commonly found in the text-books about all the species of the so-called "older" rocks being extinct. it is only with hesitation that such specific distinctions are surrendered even to-day, though during the last few decades a steady progress has been made in bringing the palaeontology of the higher vertebrates into line with our increased knowledge of zoology, thus breaking down many of the specific distinctions which have long been maintained between the fossil and the living forms. even the mammoth has been found to have so many characters identical with the modern elephant of india, and such a complete gradation exists between the two types, that flower and lydekker acknowledge the transition from one to the other is "almost imperceptible," and express a doubt whether they "can be specifically distinguished" from one another.[ ] but the extreme reluctance with which anything like a confession of this fact leaks out in our modern literature can be readily understood when we try the hopeless task of splicing the environment of the modern form with that of the ancient on any basis of uniformity. zittel gives us a peep behind the scenes which helps us to appreciate the value of a percentage of extinct species as a test of the age of a rock deposit. he pictures the uncritical work of the earlier writers on fossil botany, until august schink ( - ) made a great reform in this science; and zittel declares that "now the author of a paper on any department" of fossil botany "is expected to have a sound knowledge" of the systematic botany of recent forms. but he adds: "it cannot be said that palaeozoology (the science of fossil animals) has yet arrived at this desirable standpoint." but he justifies this charge of want of confidence by saying: "comparatively few individuals have such a thorough grasp of zoological and geological knowledge as to enable them to treat palaeontological researches worthily, and there has accumulated a dead weight of stratigraphical-palaeontological literature wherein the fossil remains of animals are named and pigeon-holed solely as an additional ticket of the age of a rock-deposit, with a willful disregard of the much more difficult problem of their relationships in the long chain of existence. "the terminology which has been introduced in the innumerable monographs of special fossil faunas in the majority of cases makes only the slenderest pretext of any connection with recent systematic zoology; if there is a difficulty, then stratigraphical arguments are made the basis of a solution. zoological students are, as a rule, too actively engaged and keenly interested in building up new observations to attempt to spell through the arbitrary palaeontological conclusions arrived at by many stratigraphers, or to revise their labors from a zoological point of view."[ ] doubtless this scathing impeachment of the common mania for creating new names for the fossils has especial reference to the case of the lower forms of life. for if, in spite of the brilliant and withal careful work of cuvier, owen, wallace, huxley, ray lankester, and leith adams, with numerous others that might be mentioned, there are still grounds for such grave doubts of the values of specific distinctions in the case of the mammals, whose general anatomy and life-history are so well known and their almost countless variations so well studied out, =what must be the confusion and inaccuracy= in the case of the lower vertebrates, and especially of the invertebrates, whose general life-history in so many instances is so dimly understood, and the limits of their variations absolutely unknown? remembering all this, what is our amazement when we read in this same volume by professor zittel[ ] that the tendency among many modern writers in dealing with these lower forms of life, is toward the erection of the closest possible distinctions between genera and species, until recent palaeontological literature is fairly inundated with new names; and all this with =the purpose=, unblushingly avowed, of "enhancing the value" of such distinctions as a means of determining the relative ages of strata, and to "bring the ontogenetic and phylogenetic development" of the various forms "into more =apparent= correspondence." i do not exaggerate in the least, as the reader may see by referring to zittel's book; though not wishing to make my readers "spell through" another quite technical paragraph i have refrained from direct quotation. but surely we have here a most amazing style of reasoning. it is another clear case of first assuming one's premises, and then proving them by means of one's conclusion. the method here employed seems about like this: first assume the succession of life from the low to the high as a whole; then in any particular group, as of brachiopods or mollusks, decide the momentous question as to which came first and which later in "geological time" by comparing them as to size, shape, etc., with the live modern individual in its development from the egg to maturity; and lastly, =take the results= of this alleged chronological arrangement to prove just =how= the modern forms have evolved. surely it is a most fearful example of otherwise intelligent men being hypnotized by their theory into blind obedience to its suggestions and necessities. not long ago i had occasion to write to a well-known geologist about a lower cambrian mollusk which appears strikingly like a modern species. i give below an extract from his reply which bears directly upon this point. i withhold the name, for the information was given in a half-confidential manner, but i may say that the author's work on the palaeozoic fossils is recognized on both sides of the atlantic. "some geologists make it a point to =give a new name= to all forms found in the palaeozoic rocks, i.e. a name different from those of modern species. i was taken to task by a noted palaeontologist for finding a pupa (a kind of land snail) in devonian beds; but i could not find any point in which it differed from the modern genus [? species]. yet if i could have had more perfect specimens i might have found differences." such disclosures speak volumes for those able to understand; and lead one to receive with a smile the familiar assertion that all the species of the palaeozoic and other "older" rocks are extinct. and we can now form a truer estimate of the high scientific accuracy of lyell's ingenious division of the tertiary beds, according to the percentage of living or extinct mollusks which they contain. but from the inherent weakness of the argument about extinct species as thus revealed, it follows that chronological distinctions based on any proportionate number of extinct species =have absolutely no scientific value=; and hence that the life succession theory finds no support from these chronological distinctions, just as we have already seen that it is without a vestige of support from the stratigraphical argument. the life succession theory has not a single fact to confirm it in the realm of nature. it is not the result of scientific research, but purely the product of the imagination. footnotes: [ ] see p. of this volume. [ ] "intro. text-book," p. . [ ] "manual," p. . prof. dana has italicized the word "=suddenly=." [ ] howorth, "the glacial nightmare and the flood," preface, xx, xxi. [ ] "mammals, living and extinct," pp. - . [ ] "hist. of geol.," pp. - . [ ] pp. , , . chapter viii skipping we have now to deal with another absurdity involved in the life succession theory, the discussion of which grows naturally out of the subject of extinct species. as preliminary to the subject here to be presented, we must bear in mind that the present arrangement of the fossils in alleged chronological order, as well as the naming of thousands of typical specimens, was all well advanced while as yet little or nothing was known of the contents of the depths of the ocean, or even of the land forms of africa, australia, and other foreign countries. in most of the important groups of both plants and animals, the detailed knowledge of the fossil forms preceded the knowledge of the corresponding living forms, just as zittel says that the theories of the igneous origin of the crystalline rocks "had been laid without the assistance of chemistry" and the knowledge of the microscopic structure of these rocks.[ ] on pp. - of his "history," this author shows how, up to , little or nothing of a scientific character was known of any of the classes of living animals save mammals. during the last half century, however, the progress of science has been steadily showing case after case where families and genera, long boldly said to have been "extinct" since "palaeozoic time," are found in thriving abundance and in little altered condition in unsuspected places all over the world. and the point for consideration here is the manifest absurdity of these inhabitants of the modern seas and the modern land =skipping= all the uncounted millions of years from "palaeozoic times" down to the "recent," for, though found in profuse abundance in these "older" rocks, not a trace of many of them is to be found in all the "subsequent" deposits. the proposition here to be considered and proved i shall venture to formulate as follows: =there is a fossil world, and there is a modern living world; the two resembling one another in various details as well as in a general way; but to get the ancestral representatives of many modern types, e.g., countless invertebrates, with other lower forms of animals and plants, we must go clear back to the mesozoic or the palaeozoic rocks, for they are not found in any of the "more recent" deposits.= i have already remarked that the blending of the doctrine of life succession with that of uniformity, must inevitably have given birth to the evolution theory, for it is evident that the succession from the low to the high could only have taken place by each type blending with those before and those after it in the alleged order of time. that such is not the testimony of the rocks, even when arranged with this idea in view, is too notorious to need any words of mine, for it has been considered by many[ ] the "greatest of all objections" to the theory of evolution. this abruptness in the disappearance of "old" and the first appearance of "new" forms, has brought into being that "geological scape-goat," as james geikie has called the doctrine of the =imperfection of the record=. but dawson has well disposed of this argument in the following words: "when we find abundance of examples of the young and old of many fossil species, and can trace them through their ordinary embryonic development, why should we not find examples of the links which bound the species together?"[ ] but it is equally evident that each successive series ought to contain, in addition to its own characteristic or "new" species, =all the older forms which survived into any later deposits, or are now to be found living in our modern world=. such no doubt was the idea of those of the early geological explorers who discarded werner's onion-coat theory, and they tried to arrange their series accordingly. this reasonable demand is still recognized as good; and the principle is alluded to by dana when he attempts to show how strata might be discovered and "proved" to be older than the present lower cambrian rocks.[ ] it is, i say, still recognized =in theory= that the "younger" deposits ought to contain samples of the "older" types which were still surviving, in addition to their own characteristic species; but with the progress of geological discovery it has long since been found that such an arrangement was utterly impossible. indeed, it would almost seem as if modern writers had forgotten the principle altogether. for, as already said, according to the present chronological arrangement, many kinds of invertebrates, both terrestrial and marine, occurring in comparative abundance in our modern world, are found as fossils only in the very "oldest" rocks and are =wholly absent from all the rest!!!= others which date from "mesozoic times" are wholly absent from the tertiaries, though abundant in our modern world. this i regard as another crucial test of the rationality of this idea of a life succession. of course there are certain limitations which must be borne in mind. if we find a series of beds made up largely of deep sea deposits, we cannot reasonably expect to find in them examples of all the land forms of the preceding "ages" which then survived, nor even of the shallow water types. nor, conversely, can we demand that, in beds crowded with the remains of the great mammals and plants, and thus probably of fresh or shallow water formation, we ought to find examples of all the marine types still surviving. we now know that each level of ocean depth has its characteristic types of life, just as do the different heights on a mountain side. this doctrine of "rock facies" was, i believe, enunciated first in . edward forbes also did much for this same idea, showing how at the present time certain faunas are confined to definite geographical limits, and particular ocean depths. jules marcou about applied this principle to the fossils and showed how such distinctions must have prevailed during geological time. here it seems that we are at last getting a refreshing breath of true science; but if carried out in its entirety how shall we assure ourselves that in the long ago very diverse types of fossils, e.g., gratolites and nummulites, or even trilobites and mammals, =could not have been contemporary with each other=? this principle of "rock facies," if incorporated into the science in its early days, would have saved the world from a large share of the nonsense in our modern geological and zoological text-books. but in answer to any pleadings about the imperfection of the record, or any protests about the injustice of judging all the life-forms of an "age" by a few examples of local character, i.e., of fresh, shallow, or deep water as the case may be, the very obvious retort is, why then are such local and fragmentary records given =a time value=? why, for example, should the carboniferous and associated formations be counted as representing all the deposits made in a certain age of the world, when we know from the cambrian and silurian and also from the alleged "subsequent" jurassic that there must have been vast open sea deposits formed contemporaneously? as dana expresses it: "the lias and oolyte of britain and europe afforded the first full display of the marine fauna of the world since the era of the subcarboniferous. very partial exhibits were made by the few marine beds of the coal measures: still less by the beds of the permian, and far less by the triassic. the seas had not been depopulated. the occurrence of over , invertebrate species in britain in the single jurassic period is evidence, not of deficient life for the eras preceding, but of extremely deficient records."[ ] surely these words exhibit the "phylogenic series" in all its native, unscientific deformity. it is =because= the coal-measures, the permian, and the triassic, are necessarily "extremely deficient records" of the total life-forms then in the world, that i am writing this chapter, and this book. but it seems like perverseness to plead about the imperfection of the record, and yet refuse the =evidently complementary= deposits when they are presented. if, as this illustrious author says, "the seas had not been depopulated," what would he have us think they were doing? were they forming no deposits all these intervening ages that the carboniferous, permian, and triassic were being piled up? were the fishes and invertebrates all immortalized for these ages, or were they, when old and full of days translated to some supermundane sphere, thus escaping deposit in the rocks? did the elements continue in the _status quo_ all these uncounted millions of years? and if so, how did they receive notice that the triassic period was at last ended, and that it was time for them to begin work again? i do not like to appear trivial; but these questions serve to expose the folly of taking diverse, local, and partial deposits, and attaching a chronological value to each of them separately, and then pleading in a piteous, helpless way about the imperfection of the record. and yet i cannot promise to present a tithe of the possible evidence, because of two serious handicaps. first, the ordinary literature of the science is silent and meagre enough in all conscience, even though the bare fact may be recorded that a "genus" of the cambrian or silurian is "closely allied" to some genus now living. it may be even admitted that "according to some it is not genetically distinct from the modern genus" so-and-so; but the authors =never descend below the "genus,"= and in most cases forget to tell us whether or not it occurs in other "later" formations, though of course the presumption is that it does not, but has skipped all the intervening ages, or it would hardly be named as a characteristic type of the formation in which it occurs. but this disadvantage, serious though it be, is scarcely worth speaking of when we remember the significant words of a well-known authority already quoted: "some geologists make it a point to give a new name to all forms found in the palaeozoic rocks, i.e. a name different from those of modern species." or zittel's confession that: "the terminology which has been introduced in the innumerable monographs of special fossil faunas in the majority of cases makes only the slenderest pretext of any connection with recent systematic zoology; if there is a difficulty, then stratigraphical arguments are made the basis of a solution. zoological students are as a rule too actively engaged and keenly interested in building up new observations to attempt to spell through the arbitrary palaeontological conclusions arrived at by many stratigraphers, or to revise their labors from a zoological point of view." hence i have no reluctance in saying that, in the present confused state of the science, it is utterly impossible to find out the truth as to how many hundreds of these "genera" of the paleozoic rocks may have survived to the present, though having skipped perhaps all the formations of the intervening millions of years. i doubt not that the number is enormously large, though as i have not attempted "to spell through the arbitrary palaeontological conclusions" scattered through the literature, i can only depend on a few though striking examples that lie on the open pages of the ordinary text-books. the larger mammals can of course furnish us no examples, for the "age" in which they abounded is quite conveniently modern, and is separated from the present by no great lapse of time. of the smaller marsupials, quite a number of jaw-bones have been found in the jurassic and triassic, one from the latter being strikingly like the living _myrmecobius_ of australia. they are scarcely more numerous in the cretaceous of america, while in the foreign rocks of this system dana says that "only one species had been reported up to ." those strange, sad-eyed creatures called lemurs deserve a passing notice, for though now confined as to their typical forms to the island of madagascar, their fossils seem as exclusively confined to the temperate regions of the new and the old world. flower and lydekker enumerate about fifteen fossil species, and add that: "... it is very noteworthy that all these types seem to have disappeared from both regions with the close of the upper portion of the eocene period."[ ] but this jump from the "eocene period" to the present is as nothing compared with the secular acrobatics of some of the fishes and especially of the invertebrates. the living cestraciont sharks, of which there are four species found in the seas between japan and australia, seem to disappear with the cretaceous, skipping the whole tertiary epoch, as do also a tribe of modern barnacles which, as darwin says, "coat the rocks all over the world in infinite numbers." the dipnoans or lung-fishes (having lungs as well as gills, such as the _ceratodus_ and _lepidosiren_), which are represented by several living species in australia and south africa, are the remains of a tribe found in whole shoals in the carboniferous, triassic and jurassic rocks, but not, so far as i know, in any of the intervening rocks. the living ceratodus was only discovered in , and was regarded as a marvel of "persistence." on a pinch, as when his native streams dry up, this curious fellow can get along all right without water, breathing air by his lungs like a land animal. if in the meantime he was off on a trip to the moon, he must have "persisted" a few million years without either. but his cousin, the _polypterus_ of the upper nile, has a still more amazing record, for he has actually skipped all the formations from the devonian down to the modern; while the limuloids or sea scorpions have jumped from the carboniferous down. the mollusks and brachiopods would afford us examples too numerous to mention. how is it possible that these numerous families disappear suddenly and completely with the mesozoic or even the "early" palaeozoic, and are not found in any "later" deposits, though alive now in our modern world? parts of europe and america have, we are told, been down under the sea and up again a dozen times since then; why then should we not expect to find abundant remains of these "persistent" types in the mesozoic and tertiaries? surely these feats of time-acrobatics show the folly of arranging contemporaneous, taxonomic groups in single file and giving to each a time value. the chalk points a similar lesson. it was not till the time of the "challenger" expedition that the modern deposits of globigerina ooze, made up of species identical with those of the chalk, were known to be now forming over vast areas of the ocean floor. in the words of huxley, these modern species "bridge over the interval between the present and the mesozoic periods."[ ] as for the silicious sponges found in the chalk, which were such puzzles for the scientists during the first half of the nineteenth century, because their living forms were unknown, the deep-sea investigations have solved the problem, for in sollas demonstrated "the identity of their structure with that of living hexactinellids, lithistids, and monactinellids."[ ] and yet with all the alleged vicissitudes of the continents during the millions of years since the cretaceous age, there is so far as i am aware not a trace of either the chalk or the sponges in any of the "subsequent" rocks. pieces of cretaceous rock are of course found thus sporadically as boulders, but there is no natural deposit of this kind. but in the light of these modern discoveries why is not the chalk of "the white dear cliffs of dover," full of modern living species as we now know it to be, just as "recent" a deposit as the "late" tertiaries or the pleistocene? another good illustration of the absurdity of the present arrangement of the rocks is found in the echinoderms--crinoids, star-fishes, sea-urchins, etc. of the latter prof. a. agassiz found in the deep waters of the west indies, four genera of echinids or sea-urchins of the "later tertiary," =but genera of the "early" tertiary, of the cretaceous, and of the jurassic=.[ ] but far from being uncommon we know that similar discoveries have been in almost constant progress during the last half century. and were it not that "zoological students are," as zittel says, "too actively engaged and keenly interested in building up new observations to attempt to spell through the arbitrary palaeontological conclusions" found in the "dead weight of stratigraphical-palaeontological literature," there is no telling what hosts of similar facts might not be pointed to regarding the forms found in all the "older" rocks. of the star-fishes and serpent-stars (_asteridea_ and _ophiuridea_), zittel says: "it would seem that the palaeozoic 'sea-stars' differed very little from those in the seas of the present age." (p. .) the crinoids, we are told, "are among the earliest in geological history," making up vast limestones of the palaeozoic rocks; and forms scarcely separable from the modern are found in the jurassic, but so far as the text-books tell us are =absolutely unknown in any later deposits=. but there are several modern genera, such as pentacrinus, rhizocrinus, bathycrinus, etc., found in the deep waters of nearly all the oceans. the genus rhizocrinus was discovered off the coast of norway about the sixties of the last century. but what were these creatures doing since "jurassic times," while the "pulsating crust" was putting parts of the continents under the sea for ages at a stretch? why did they form no deposits during the cretaceous, eocene, miocene or pliocene ages? surely the absurdity of the present arrangement is evident to a child. during all these intervening ages the climate of the globe continued of the same remarkable mildness, fossils of all these formations being found about as far north as explorers have ever gone. why did the crinoids and polyp-corals suspend business from "jurassic times" to the "recent," merely to accommodate a modern theory? dana says that "the coral reefs of the oolyte in england consist of corals of the same group with the reef-making species of the existing tropics,"[ ] and he argues from this fact that the mean temperature of the waters must have been about deg. f. but a luxuriant vegetation still continued in the arctic regions during the cretaceous and the tertiaries. how absurd to say that these corals built no reefs about the european coasts during all these ages. or, to put the matter in another way, considering how many of their characteristic types are alive in our modern seas, why should we say that the crinoidal or coral limestones of the mesozoic or palaeozoic rocks are not as recent as the nummulitic limestones of the eocene or any late tertiary deposits? it is no answer at all to tell us that, though the general types are the same, the =species= of the palaeozoic and the mesozoic are entirely extinct. i have not had the courage "to attempt to spell through" all the "dead weight" of the modern literature, but i think that the world would like more satisfactory proof of this oft-repeated assertion than the customs and traditions of a hundred years, and the exigencies of a fanciful theory. this worn-out argument of cuvier's about extinct species has kept up a running fight with common sense for many decades, and though driven backward from one point to another over the long thin line of this taxonomic series of the fossil world, it still contests every inch of ground. but let us try the tree-ferns and cycads of the coal beds of the "older" rocks. in northern regions they are not found "later" than the triassic and jurassic, and doubtless the same holds good of the rocks in the tropics, where the modern species now live in fair abundance. but how did they come to shift to the tropics so many millions of years before the palms, etc., of the tertiaries thought it time to do the same? the climate had not changed a bit: how did they come to scent the coming "glacial age" so much earlier than their more highly organized fellows? the "challenger" expedition found some cyathophylloid corals now building reefs at the bottom of our modern ocean. the geologists had already assigned =the last= of them to the carboniferous and permian rocks with the idea that they were extinct. but where have these fellows kept themselves during all the intervening ages while the continents were deep under the ocean time and time again? or why are not the rocks containing their fossils as "recent" as any deposits on the globe? and so i might go on. there is hardly a tribe found in the "older" rocks which does not have its living representatives of to-day, and with, i believe, a fair proportion of the species identical; though in hundreds, perhaps thousands, of cases these species, genera, or even whole tribes, have somehow skipped all the intervening formations. but let us drop this method of studying our subject, and look at it from a slightly different standpoint. thus dana[ ] says that: "the absence of lamellibranchs in the middle cambrian, although present in both lower and upper, means =the absence of fossils from the rocks, not of species from the faunas=." he puts this in italics by way of emphasis, for it is certainly a reasonable idea, and as a. r. wallace says, "no one =now= doubts that where any type appears in two remote periods it must have been in existence during the whole intervening period, although we may have no record of it."[ ] but what would be the result if we only extend this idea to its logical conclusion? it seems to be an effort to avoid one of the absurdities of the onion-coat theory, without, however, discarding that theory altogether. in speaking of some corals and crinoids of the devonian which "were absent" from some of the divisions of this formation because the conditions of the seas about new york "were unfavorable," dana says that "they were back when the seas were again of sufficient purity."[ ] in his review of these formations he enlarges on this subject: "at the close of the early devonian the evidences of clear seas--the corals and crinoids, with most of the attendant life--disappear, migrating no one knows whither.... with the variations in the fineness, or other characteristics of the beds as h. s. williams has illustrated, the species vary.... =the faunas of each stratum are not strictly faunas of epochs or periods of time, but local topographical faunas.= after the corniferous period, corals, crinoids, and trilobites still flourished =somewhere=, as before, but they are absent from the central interior until the carboniferous age[ ] opens." here we are certainly getting a refreshing breath of common-sense geology; but what would become of current theories if we enlarge a little on this idea? what if the gigantic dinosaurs of the cretaceous or the equally marvellous mammals of the "early" tertiaries of the western states, described by marsh and cope, and the pleistocene mammals of other parts of america and of europe and northern siberia, "are not strictly faunas of epochs or periods of time, but local topographical faunas?" what if the world-wide limestones of the cambrian and silurian, and the no less enormous or widespread nummulitic limestones of the eocene, extending from the alps to eastern asia, and constituting mountains ten, fifteen, or twenty thousand feet high--what if these are possibly =contemporaneous with one another=? supposing the coal-measures of nova scotia and pennsylvania, and the cretaceous and tertiary lignites of vancouver island, alberta, and the western states are not strictly floras of epochs or periods of time, but local topographical floras?[ ] but it must be confessed that the logical extension of this broad view of the fossils, and the projection of our modern zoological provinces and zones back into the fossil world would mean the death-blow to the life succession theory, and might have a very disturbing effect upon certain theories about human origins and other genetic relationships which have grown quite popular since the middle of the last century. footnotes: [ ] "history," pp. , . [ ] see leconte, "evol. and religious thought," p. . [ ] "modern ideas of evol.," p. . [ ] see "manual," pp. - . [ ] "manual," p. . [ ] "mammals, etc." p. . [ ] "discourses biol. and geol.," p. . [ ] zittel, "hist. of geo.," p. . [ ] dana, "manual," p. . [ ] "manual," p. . [ ] "manual," p. . [ ] "distribution of life," p. . [ ] "manual," p. . [ ] "manual," pp. - . [ ] note--this is only carrying the argument a little further than huxley does when he says that "a devonian fauna and flora in the british islands may have been contemporaneous with silurian life in north america, and with a carboniferous fauna and flora in africa. geographical provinces and zones may have been as distinctly marked in the palaeozoic epoch as at present." "discourses," p. . part ii. chapter ix graveyards "the crust of our globe," writes a distinguished scientist, "is a great cemetery, where the rocks are tombstones on which the buried dead have written their own epitaphs." the reading of these epitaphs is the business of geology; and too often, as we shall see, the record is that of a violent and sudden death. with the doctrine of uniformity as a theoretical proposition, i shall have little to say. at best it is a pure assumption that the present quiet and regular action of the elements has always prevailed in the past, or that this supposition is sufficient to explain the facts of the rocks. in its more extreme form it becomes an iron dogma, which shuts out all evidence not agreeable to its teachings. but in its essential nature, whether in its least or its most extreme form, it is not approaching the subject from the right standpoint. it seeks to show how the past geological changes may have occurred; it never attempts to prove how they =must= have occurred. and i may say in passing, that it is largely for the purpose of avoiding the cumulative character of the evidence gathered from every stone quarry and from every section of strata in every corner of the globe, that the uniformitarians have wished to have these burials take place on the installment plan; for otherwise the violent and catastrophic character of the events recorded in the rocks would become too plainly manifest. but if a coroner, called upon to hold an inquest, were to content himself, after the manner of lyell and hutton, with glittering generalities about how people are all the time dying of old age, fever, or other causes, coupled with assurances of the quiet, regular habits and good reputation of all his fellow citizens, i do not think that he would be praised for his adherence to inductive methods if we could get at clear and decisive evidence that the poor fellow under examination had been shot. just so with common-sense methods in geology. =a true induction is capable of finding out for certain= whether or not the present quiet regular action of the elements has always prevailed in the past; and it is most unscientific to assume, as the followers of hutton and lyell have done, that the comparatively insignificant changes within historic time have always prevailed in the past, when there is plenty of clear and decisive evidence to the contrary. the general fact which i wish to develop in this chapter may be stated somewhat as follows: =rocks belonging to all the various systems or formations give us fossils in such a state of preservation, and heaped together in such astonishing numbers, that we cannot resist the conviction that the majority of these deposits were formed in some sudden and not modern manner, catastrophic in nature.= but before giving any examples of these abnormal deposits we must first study the modern normal deposits; before we can rightly understand the sharp contrast between the ancient and the modern action of the elements, we must become familiar with the way in which fossils are now being buried by our rivers and oceans. one of the many geological myths dissipated by the work of the "challenger" expedition, which, as zittel says, "marks the grandest scientific event of the nineteenth century," is that about the ocean bottom and the work now being carried on there. the older text-books taught that, not only was the bottom of the ocean thickly strewn with the remains of the animals which died there and in the waters above, but also that the oceanic currents were constantly wearing away in some places and building up in others over all the ocean floor, and hence producing true stratified deposits. accordingly it was said that it was only necessary for these beds to be lifted above the surface to produce the ordinary rocks that we find everywhere about us. but we now know that the ocean currents have, as dana says, "no sensible, mechanical effects, either in the way of transportation or abrasion."[ ] we know also that all kinds of sediment drop so much quicker in salt water than in fresh, that none of it gets beyond the narrow "continental shelf" and the classic fathom line, which in most cases is not very far from shore. in the north atlantic there are sediments found in deeper water produced by ice-floes or icebergs dropping their loads there; but we cannot suppose such work to have gone on when the arctic regions were clothed with a temperate-climate vegetation, much less that such things occurred over all the earth. on the floor of the open ocean, and away from the tracks of our modern icebergs, we have two or three kinds of mud or ooze formed from minute particles of organic matter; but besides these =absolutely nothing= save a possible sprinkling of volcanic products, which of course are limited in their distribution. where then can we find a stratified or bedded structure now being formed over the ocean bottom? dana says there is nothing of the kind now being produced there, save as the result of possible variations during the passing ages in the organic deposits thrown down, where a bed of ooze may be supposed to be thrown down directly upon another kind of ooze. there is =no gravel=, =no sand=, =no clay=, but whatever variation there might be in the organic deposits, the new kind would be laid down immediately upon the preceding similar deposits, unless a thin sprinkling of volcanic dust happened to intervene. thus to explain practically all the deposits found in the rocks, we are absolutely limited to the shore deposits and the mouths of large rivers. here we certainly have alternations of sand, clay and gravel, producing a true bedded structure. but i ask: what kind of organic remains will we get from these modern deposits? certainly nothing like the crowded graveyards which we find everywhere in the ancient ones. darwin, in his famous chapter on "the imperfection of the geological record," has well shown how scanty and imperfect are the modern fossiliferous deposits. the progress of research has only confirmed and accentuated the argument there presented on this point. thus nordenskiold, the veteran arctic explorer, remarks with amazement on the scarcity of recent organic remains in the arctic regions, where such a profusion of animal life exists; while in spite of the great numbers of cats, dogs and other domestic animals which are constantly being thrown into rivers like the hudson or the thames, dredgings about their mouths have revealed the surprising fact that scarcely a trace of any of them is there to be found.[ ] even the fishes themselves stand a very poor chance of being buried intact. as dana[ ] puts it: "vertebrate animals, as fishes, reptiles, etc., which fall to pieces when the animal portion is removed, =require speedy burial after death=, to escape destruction from this source (decomposition and chemical solution from air, rain-water, etc.), as well as from animals that would prey upon them." if a vertebrate fish should die a natural death, which of itself must be a rare occurrence, the carcass would soon be devoured whole or bit by bit by other creatures near by. possibly the lower jaw, or the teeth, spines, etc., in the case of sharks, or a bone or two of the skeleton, might be buried unbroken, but a whole vertebrate fish entombed in a modern deposit is surely a unique occurrence. but every geologist knows that the remains of fishes are, in countless millions of cases, found in a marvelous state of preservation. they have been entombed in =whole shoals=, with the beds containing them miles in extent, and scattered over all the globe. indeed, so accustomed have we grown to this state of affairs in the rocks we hammer up, that if we fail to find such well-preserved remains of vertebrate fishes, land animals, or plants, we feel disappointed, almost hurt; we think that nature has somehow slighted this particular set of beds. but where in our modern quiet earth will we go to find deposits now forming like the copper slate of the mansfield district, the jurassic shales of solenhofen, the calcareous marls of oeningen on lake constance, the black slates of glarus, or the shales of monte bolca?--to mention some cases from the continent of europe more than usually famous in the literature for exquisitely preserved vertebrate fishes, to say nothing of other fossils. according to dana, all these must have met with a "speedy burial after death"--perhaps before, who knows? buckland[ ] in speaking of the fossil fish of monte bolca, which may be taken as typical of all the others, is quite positive that these fish must have "perished suddenly," by some tremendous catastrophe. "the skeletons of these fish," he says, "lie parallel to the laminae of the strata of the calcareous slate; they are always entire, and so closely packed on one another that many individuals are often contained in a single block.... =all these fish must have died suddenly= on this fatal spot, and have been speedily buried in the calcareous sediment then in course of deposition. from the fact that certain individuals have even preserved traces of color upon their skin, we are certain that they were entombed before decomposition of their soft parts had taken place." in many places in america as well as europe, where these remains of fish are found, the shaley rock is so full of fish oil that it will burn almost like coal, while some have even thought that the peculiar deposits like albertite "coal" and some cannel coals were formed from the distillation of the fish oil from the supersaturated rocks. de la beche[ ] was also of the opinion that most of the fossils were buried suddenly and in an abnormal manner. "a very large proportion of them," he says, "must have been =entombed uninjured, and many alive=, or, if not alive, at least before decomposition ensued." in this he is speaking not of the fishes alone but of the fossiliferous deposits in general. there is a series of strata found in all parts of the world which used to be called the "old red sandstone," now known as the devonian. in this, almost wherever we find it, the remains of whole shoals of fishes occur in such profusion and preservation that the "period" is often known as the "age of fishes." dr. david page, after enumerating nearly a dozen genera, says: "these fishes seem to have thronged the waters of the period, and their remains are often found in masses, =as if they had been suddenly entombed in living shoals= by the sediment which now contains them." i beg leave to quote somewhat at length the picturesque language of hugh miller[ ] regarding these rocks as found in scotland. "the river bull-head, when attacked by an enemy, or immediately as it feels the hook in its jaws, erects its two spines at nearly right angles with the plates of the head, as if to render itself as difficult of being swallowed as possible. the attitude is one of danger and alarm; and it is a curious fact, to which i shall afterward have occasion to advert, that =in this attitude nine-tenths of the= _pterichthes_ =of the lower old red sandstone are to be found=.... it presents us, too, with a wonderful record of violent death falling at once, not on a few individuals, but on whole tribes." "at this period of our history, some terrible catastrophe involved in sudden destruction the fish of an area at least a hundred miles from boundary to boundary, perhaps much more. the same platform in orkney as at cromarty is strewed thick with remains, which exhibit unequivocally the marks of violent death. the figures are contorted, contracted, curved, the tail in many instances is bent round to the head; the spines stick out; the fins are spread to the full, as in fish that die in convulsions.... the record is one of destruction at once widely spread and total, so far as it extended.... by what quiet but potent agency of destruction were the innumerable existences of =an area perhaps ten thousand square miles in extent annihilated at once=, and yet the medium in which they had lived left undisturbed in its operations? "conjecture lacks footing in grappling with the enigma, and expatiates in uncertainty over all the known phenomena of death." i shall not taunt the uniformitarians by asking them to direct us to some modern analogies. but i would have the reader remember that these devonian and other rocks are absolutely world-wide in extent. surely howorth is talking good science when he says that his masters sedgwick and murchison taught him "that no plainer witness is to be found of any physical fact than that nature has at times worked with enormous energy and rapidity," and "that the rocky strata teem with evidence of violent and sudden dislocations on a great scale." i have spoken only of the class fishes. but what other class of the animal kingdom will not point us a similar lesson? the reptiles and amphibians, to say nothing of the larger mammals, are also found in countless myriads, packed together as if in natural graveyards. everybody knows of the enormous numbers and splendid preservation of the great reptiles of the western and southern states, untombed by leidy, cope and marsh. one patch of cretaceous strata in england, the wealden, has afforded over thirty different species of dinosaurs, crocodiles, and pleisosaurs. mr. chas. h. sternberg, one of zittel's assistants, recently reported great quantities of amphibians from the permian of texas. they are of all sizes, some frogs being six feet long, others ten. besides these he found three "bone-beds" full of minute forms an inch or less in length. of the small ones, which i judge must represent whole millions of young ones =suddenly= entombed, he says: "i got over twenty perfect skulls, many with vertebrae attached, and thousands of small bones from all parts of the skeleton. in one case, a complete skull, one-fourth of an inch in length, had connected with it nearly the entire vertebral column, with ribs in position, coiled upon itself, bedded with many bones of other species in a red silicious matrix. so perfectly were they weathered out that they lay in bas-relief =as white and perfect as if they had died a month ago=; a single row of teeth, =like the points of cambric needles=, occupied both sets of jaws."[ ] how many more such cases there may have been in these "three bone-beds full" of similar remains, it would be interesting to know. but though somewhat aside from the present subject, i cannot refrain in passing from referring to the wonderful preservation of these remains. it is preposterous to say that these bones have lain thus exposed to the weather for the millions of years postulated by the popular theory. there is not a particle of scientific evidence to prove that they are not just as recent as any specimen from the tertiaries or the pleistocene. buffon and cuvier proved the mammals to be of "recent" age, because they occurred in the superficial deposits. they never heard of the triassic, jurassic, and cretaceous of colorado and wyoming, nor these permian of texas. think of this frog's teeth "like the points of cambric needles," and he and his fellows "as perfect as if they had died a month ago." of one of the big six-foot specimens this author says: "its head was so beautifully preserved, and cleaned under long erosion, it was difficult to believe it was not a recent specimen." while of the little six-inch fellow referred to above he says: "the bones of the skull are perfectly preserved, quite smooth, and show the sutures distinctly; there is no distortion, some red matrix attached below seems absolutely necessary to convince the mind that it is not =a thing of yesterday=." james geikie[ ] mentions the case of the elgin sandstones "formerly classed as 'old red,'" but which are now called triassic, "from the fact that they have yielded reptilian remains of a higher grade than one would expect to meet with in old red sandstone." since these strata =slide up and down so easily=, we have here far more urgent scientific reasons for calling these amphibian remains of texas among the most "recent" geological deposits on the globe. but i must return to my subject. the invertebrates are also eloquent to the fact of abnormal conditions having prevailed when their remains were entombed. we could go through the whole list, but it is the same old story of abnormal deposits, essentially different from anything that is being made to-day. where, for instance, in the modern seas, will we find the remains of polyp-corals now being intercalated between beds of clays or sands over vast areas, as we find them in the lias and oolyte of england and elsewhere? corals require a definite depth of water, neither too deep nor too shallow, but it must be clear and pure; and nothing but some awful catastrophe could place a bed of coral remains a few feet or a =few inches= in thickness over the vast areas that we find them. crinoids require the same clear, pure water, but much deeper, some of the modern kinds living =over a mile down=, but every student of the science knows that the subcarboniferous limestone of both europe and america (called mountain limestone in england), so noted for its crinoids and its corals, is constantly found intercalated between shale or sandstone, or between the coal beds themselves as at springfield, ill., or in the lower coal measures of westmorland county, pa. there are of course, here and there, great masses of these rocks which represent an original formation by growth _in situ_; but no sane man can say this for these great sheets perhaps =only a few inches= in thickness, for in many cases they show a stratified or bedded structure just as much as a sandstone or a shale. in some tables given by dana on pp. - of his "manual," compiled from four different localities, i count no less than = beds= of limestone thus intercalated, though we are not told how many of them contain corals or crinoids. such details are generally omitted as of little consequence. next, let us try the lamellibranchs, such as the clam, oyster, and other true bivalves. these creatures have an arrangement in the hinge region by which the valves of the shell tend to open, but during life are held together by the adductor muscles. when dead, however, these muscles relax and decay, and then the valves spread wide open. of course there are some, such as certain kinds of clams, which burrow in the mud or sand, and the shells of these, if they happened to die a natural death in their holes, could not spread very far apart. however =some mud= must even then wash into their burrows and into their empty shells. but many kinds of bivalves do not thus burrow in the ground; and when the fossils of such kinds are found in quantity with the valves =applied= and often =hollow=, as is so frequently the case in many of the "older" rocks, i cannot see how we are to understand any ordinary conditions of deposit. and yet we are gravely assured by a high authority, that "a sudden burial is not necessary to entombment in this condition." or, let us take the brachiopods. these have a bivalve shell, the parts of which, however, are not pulled apart after death, and only need to open a little way even in life to admit the sea water which brings them their food. yet, though the valves do not gape after death, there is when dead and empty a =hole= at the hinge or beak, which would readily admit mud if such were present in the water, or if the shells after death were subject to the ordinary movements of tide, wave and current. yet dawson[ ] says of the brachiopods, spirifer and athyris: "i may mention here that in all the carboniferous limestones of nova scotia the shells of this family are usually found with the valves closed and =the interior often hollow=." of course he tries to explain how this state of things might occur "in deep and clear water"--for some of the modern species are found in the clear depths , feet down--and he thinks that their entombment in this condition "does not prove that the death of the animals was sudden." but we now know that there is no means of producing a stratified formation in this "deep and clear water," and hence that some revolution of nature is implied by the conditions in which we find them. some people seem to have converted david hume's famous sentence into a scientific formula, thus: "anything contrary to uniformity is impossible: hence no amount of evidence can prove anything contrary to uniformity." for the trouble in this case is that, not only do such conditions prevail "in all the carboniferous limestones of nova scotia," which must be several thousands of square miles in extent, but in the devonian shales and silurian limestones of ontario and the middle states at least--perhaps over the rest of the world--the brachiopods are found =in this same tell-tale condition=, and it would establish a very dangerous precedent to admit abnormal conditions in even a single case. i have only touched upon the voluminous evidence that might be adduced in the case of the lower forms of life. had i the space, i might show how the marvelously preserved plants of the coal beds tell the same story. but we must pass on to consider the remains of the larger land animals. i have already given a quotation from dana about the mammoth and rhinoceros in northern siberia, where he says that their encasing in ice and the perfect preservation of their flesh "shows that the cold finally became =suddenly= extreme, as of a single winter's night, and knew no relenting afterward." not very many serious attempts have been made to account for this remarkable state of things, which is a protest against uniformity that can be appreciated by a child, and i never heard of any theory which attempted to account for the facts without some kind of awful catastrophe. many, however, seem to have little idea of the extent of these remains in the arctic regions. they are not all thus perfectly preserved, for thousands of skeletons are found in localities where the ground thaws out somewhat in the short summer, and here of course, the skin and tissues could not remain intact. remains of these beasts occur in only a little less abundance over all western europe, and the mammoth also in north america, well preserved specimens having been obtained from the klondike region of alaska; and there is nothing to forbid the idea that many, if not most of these latter specimens were also at one time enshrined as "mummies" in the ice, which has since melted over the more temperate regions. but we must confine ourselves to the remains in siberia. flower and lydekker tell us that since the tenth century at least, these remains have been quarried for the sake of the ivory tusks, and a regular trade in this fossil ivory, in a state fit for commercial purposes, has been carried on "both eastward to china, and westward to europe," and that "fossil ivory has its price current as well as wheat." "they are found at all suitable places along the whole line of the shore between the mouth of the obi and behring straits, and the further north the more numerous do they become, the islands of new siberia being now one of the favorite collecting localities. the soil of bear island and of liachoff islands is said to consist only of sand and ice with such quantities of mammoth bones as almost to compose its chief substance. the remains are not only found around the mouths of the great rivers, as would be the case if the carcasses had been washed down from more southern localities in the interior of the continent, but are imbedded in the frozen soil in such circumstances as to indicate that the animals had lived not far from the localities in which they are now found, and they are exposed either by the melting of the ice in unusually warm summers, or by the washing away of the sea cliffs or river banks by storms or floods. in this way the bodies of more or less nearly perfect animals, even standing in the erect position, with the soft parts and hairy covering entire, have been brought to light."[ ] but these remains of the mammoth, though the best known, are not the only ones attesting extraordinary conditions: though of course in warmer latitudes we do not find perfect "mummies" with the hide and flesh preserved untainted. let us go to a warmer climate, to sicily, and read a description of the remains of the hippopotamus found there. i quote from sir joseph prestwich: "the chief localities, which centre on the hills around palermo, arrest attention from the extraordinary quantity of bones of _hippopotami_ (in complete hecatombs) which have there been found. twenty tons of these bones were shipped from around the one cave of san ciro, near palermo, within the first six months of exploiting them, and they were so fresh that they were sent to marseilles to furnish animal charcoal for use in the sugar factories. how could this bone breccia have been accumulated?... the only suggestion that has been made is that the bones are those of successive generations of _hippopotami_ which went there to die. but this is not the habit of the animal, and besides, the bones are those of animals =of all ages down to the foetus=, nor do they show traces of weathering or exposure.... "my supposition is, therefore, that when the island was submerged, the animate in the plain of palermo naturally retreated, as the waters advanced, deeper into the amphitheatre of hills until they found themselves embayed, as in a seine, with promontories running out to sea on either side and a mural precipice in front. as the area became more and more circumscribed the animals must have thronged together in vast multitudes, crushing into the more accessible caves, and swarming over the ground at their entrance, until overtaken by the waters and destroyed."[ ] our author then adds this summary of his argument: "the extremely fresh condition of the bones, proved by the retention of so large a proportion of animal matter, and the fact that animals of all ages were involved in the catastrophe, shows that the event was geologically, comparatively recent, as other facts show it to have been sudden." that it must have been a good deal more "sudden" than even this author will admit, is evident from the nature of the hippopotamus. i never thought that it was particularly afraid of the water, or likely to be drowned by any such moderate catastrophe as prestwich invokes in this singular volume. the reader must, however, note that this affair, like the entombment of the mammoth, certainly =took place since man was upon the globe=, even according to the uniformitarians. would it not be economy of energy to correlate the two together? but if man dates from "miocene times," as some contend, he must have witnessed half a dozen awful affairs like these, for there is scarcely a country on the globe that has not been under the ocean since then. let us proceed. but whither shall we turn to avoid finding similar phenomena? the vast deposits of mammals in the rocky mountains may occur to the reader. as dana says, they "have been found to be literally tertiary burial grounds." i need not go into the details of these deposits, nor of those in other places containing the great mammals which must have been contemporary with "tertiary man," for i would only weary the reader with a monotony of abnormal conditions of deposit--unlike anything now being produced this wide world over. we shall be stating the case very mildly indeed, if we conclude that the vast majority of the fossils, by their profuse abundance and their astonishing preservation, tell a very plain story of "speedy burial after death," and =are of an essentially different character= from modern deposits. prof. nicholson, in speaking of the remains of the zeuglodon, says: "remains of these gigantic whales are very common in the 'jackson beds' of the southern united states. so common are they that, according to dana, 'the large vertebrae, some of them a foot and a half long and a foot in diameter, were formerly so abundant over the country in alabama that they were used for making walls, or were burned to rid the fields of them.'"[ ] shortly before his death in , dana prepared a revised edition of his "manual," and in it he gives us quite a rational explanation of this case, as follows: "vertebrae were so abundant, on the first discovery, in some places that many of these eocene whales must have been stranded together in a common catastrophe, on the northern borders of the mexican gulf--possibly by a series of earthquake waves of great violence; or by an elevation along the sea limit that made a confined basin of the border region, which the hot sun rendered destructive alike to zeuglodons and their game; or by an unusual retreat of the tide, which left them dry and floundering under a tropical sun." (p. .) that is, this veteran geologist in his old age would not attempt to account for such abnormal conditions without a catastrophe of some kind. but if we use similar explanations for similar conditions, where shall we stop through the whole range of the rocks from the cambrian to the pleistocene? dana became very fond of this idea of earthquake waves, and invoked them to account for "the universality and abruptness" with which the species disappear at the close of "palaeozoic time," using as the generating cause the uplifting of the appalachian mountains, with "flexures miles in height and space, and slips along newly opened fractures that kept up their interrupted progress through thousands of feet of displacement," from which he says "incalculable violence and great surgings of the ocean should have occurred and been often repeated.... under such circumstances the devastation of the sea border and the low-lying lands of the period, the destruction of their animals and plants, would have been a sure result. the survivors within a long distance of the coast line would have been few."[ ] but as this sudden break in the life-chain "was so general and extensive that no carboniferous species is known to occur among the fossils of succeeding beds, not only in america and europe, but also over the rest of the world" (p. ), he is obliged to make his catastrophe by earthquake waves positively =world wide=. hence he adds: "the same waves would have swept over european land and seas, and there found coadjutors for new strife in earthquake waves of european origin." at the close of the mesozoic he uses similar language, though in this case he has the whole range of the mountains on the west of both north and south america, the rockies and the andes, in length a "third of the circumference of the globe," "undergoing simultaneous orogenic movements, with like grand results." (p. .) "the deluging waves sent careering over the land" would, he thinks, "have been destructive over all the coasts of a hemisphere," and "may have made their marches inland for hundreds of miles" (p. ), sweeping all before them. i should think so; but then what becomes of this doctrine of uniformity? personally, i have not the slightest objection to these "deluging waves sent careering over the land," for i feel sure that just such things have occurred, and on just such a scale as our author pictures, for, as he says, the destruction of species "was great, =world-wide=, and one of the most marvelous events in geological history." (p. .) but it seems to me that here we have an enormous amount of energy going to waste. others have demanded a continent to explain the appearance of a beetle in a certain locality; but here we have a great world-wide catastrophe to explain the sudden disappearance of merely a few species. why not utilize this surplus energy in doing other necessary work, that has certainly been accomplished somehow, but has hitherto gone a-begging for a competent cause? the only thing i object to in dana's view of the case is his way of having these "exterminations" take place on the installment plan. for in that way we have to work up a great world catastrophe to do only a very limited amount of work, and then have to repeat the thing another time for a similarly limited work, =when one such cosmic convulsion is competent to do the whole thing=. i plead for the "law of parsimony," and the economizing of energy. the vast shoals of carcasses which seem to be piled up in almost every corner of the world are _prima facie_ evidence that our old globe has witnessed some sort of cosmic convulsion. the exact cause, nature, and extent of this event we may never have sufficient facts to determine, though two or three additional facts having a bearing on the subject will be considered in the following chapters. footnotes: [ ] "manual," p. . [ ] _pop. sci. mo._, vol. xxi, pp. , . [ ] "manual," p. . [ ] "geol. and min.," vol. i., pp. - . ed. . [ ] "theoretical geol.," p. . london, . [ ] "old red sandstone," pp. , - . [ ] _pop. sci. news_, may, , pp. - . [ ] "histor. geol.," p. . [ ] "acadian geol.," p. . [ ] "mammals," p. . [ ] "on certain phenomena, etc.," pp. - . [ ] "ancient life-history," p. . [ ] "manual," p. . chapter x change of climate another great general fact about the fossil world may be stated about as follows: =all of the fossils= (save a very few of the so-called "glacial age," and they admit of other easy explanation) =give us proofs of an almost eternal spring having prevailed in the arctic regions, and semi-tropical conditions in north temperate latitudes; in short give us proofs of a singular uniformity of climate over the globe which we can hardly conceive possible, let alone account for.= the proofs of this are almost unnecessary, as this subject of climate has been pretty well discussed of late years. and it was the overwhelming evidence on this point which forced lyell and so many others to decide against the theory of croll, which called for a regular rotation of climates, for they said that the fossil evidence was wholly against such a view. howorth has given an admirable argument on this point in chapter xi of his second work on the glacial theory[ ] and to it i would refer the reader for details which i have not the space to reproduce here. this author first remarks: "the best thermometer we can use to test the character of a climate is the flora and fauna which lived while it prevailed. this is not only the best, but is virtually the only thermometer available when we inquire into the climate of past geological ages. other evidence is always sophisticated by the fact that we may be attributing to climate what is due to other causes; boulders can be rolled by the sea as well as by sub-glacial streams, and conglomerates can be formed by other agencies than ice. but the biological evidence is unmistakable; cold-blooded reptiles cannot live in icy water; semi-tropical plants, or plants whose habitat is in the temperate zone, cannot ripen their seeds and sow themselves under arctic conditions.... we may examine the whole series of geological horizons, from the earliest palaeozoic beds down to the so-called glacial beds, and find, so far as i know, no adequate evidence of discontinuous and alternating climates, no evidence whatever of the existence of periods of intense cold intervening between warm periods, but just the contrary. not only so, but we shall find that the differentiation of the earth's climate into tropical and arctic zones is comparatively modern, and that in past ages not only were the climates more uniform, but more evenly distributed over the whole world." without attempting to follow through the whole series of formations we may note a few characteristic statements of the text-books. thus dana says of the cambrian: "there was no frigid zone, and there may have been no excessively torrid zone." while of the silurian coral limestones of the arctic regions he says: "the formation of thick strata of limestone shows that life like that of the lower latitudes not only existed there, but flourished in profusion."[ ] howorth thus quotes colonel fielden, the arctic explorer, regarding the fossil sclerodermic corals of the silurian, widely distributed in the arctic regions: "these undoubted reef-forming corals of the silurian epoch were just as much inhabitants of warm water in northern latitudes at that period as are the sclerodermata of to-day in the indo-pacific and atlantic oceans.... these corals were forms of life which must have been tropical in habits and requirement." in fact coral limestones of the carboniferous system are the nearest known fossiliferous rocks to the north pole, and from the strike of the beds must underlie the polar sea. in the words of howorth, "coal strata with similar fossils have occurred all round the polar basin ... and may be said, therefore, to have occupied a continuous cap around the north pole."[ ] again i quote from howorth regarding the mesozoic rocks: "this very widespread fauna and flora proves that the high temperature of the secondary era prevailed in all latitudes, and not only so, it pervaded them apparently continuously without a break. there is no evidence whatever, known to me, that can be derived from the fauna and flora of secondary times, which points to any period of cold as even possible. there are no shrunken and stunted forms, and no types such as we associate with cold conditions, and no changes evidenced by intercalated beds showing vicissitudes of life." the following is from nordenskiold, as quoted by howorth, and refers to the whole geological series: "from what has been already stated it appears that the animal and vegetable relics found in the polar regions, imbedded in strata deposited in widely separated geological eras, uniformly testify that a warm climate has in former times prevailed over the whole globe. from palaeontological science no support can be obtained for the assumption of a periodical alternation of warm and cold climates on the surface of the earth."[ ] and now we have the equally positive language of a. r. wallace: "it is quite impossible to ignore or evade the force of the testimony as to the continuous warm climate of the north temperate and polar zones =throughout tertiary times=. the evidence extends over a vast area both in space and time, it is derived from the work of the most competent living geologists, and it is absolutely consistent in its general tendency ... whether in miocene, upper or lower cretaceous, jurassic, triassic, carboniferous or silurian times, and in all the numerous localities extending over more than half the polar regions, we find =one uniform climatic aspect of the fossils=."[ ] of course in all this i am taking the various kinds of fossils in the traditional chronological order. but i shall presently show on the best of authority that man existed in "pliocene" or perhaps "miocene times," and in view of such an admission we have, even from the standpoint of current theory, a vital, personal interest in this question of climate. let us take, then, the following from james geikie, the great champion of the glacial theory, on the climate of the arctic regions at this part of the =human epoch=: "miocene deposits occur in greenland, iceland, spitzbergen, and at other places within the arctic circle. the beds contain a similar (similar to the "most luxuriant vegetation" of switzerland) assemblage of plant-remains; the palm-trees, however, being wanting. it is certainly wonderful that within so recent a period as the miocene, a climate existed within the arctic regions so mild and genial as to nourish there beeches, oaks, planes, poplars, walnuts, limes, magnolias, hazel, holly, blackthorn, logwood, hawthorn, ivy, vines, and many evergreens, besides numerous conifers, among which was the sequoia, allied to the gigantic _wellingtonia_ of california. this ancient vegetation has been traced up to within eleven degrees of the pole."[ ] according to dana and other american geologists the "glacial period" is only a variation intervening between the warm tertiary and the equally warm "champlain period," and it was during the latter that the mammoth, mastodon, etc., roamed over europe, asia, and america. of the climate then indicated, when all acknowledge that man was in existence, this author says: "the genial climate that followed the glacial appears to have been marvelously genial to the species, =and alike for all the continents, australia included=. the kinds that continued into modern time became dwindled in the change wherever found over the globe, notwithstanding the fact that genial climates are still to be found over large regions."[ ] in his "geological story briefly told," he uses even stronger language: "the brute mammals reached their maximum in numbers and size during the warm champlain period, and many species lived then which have since become extinct. those of europe and britain were largely warm-climate species, such as are now confined to warm temperate and tropical regions; and only in a warm period like the champlain could they have thrived and attained their gigantic size. the great abundance of their remains and their condition show that the climate and food were all the animals could have desired. they were masters of their wanderings, and had their choice of the best."[ ] "the genial climate of the champlain period was _abruptly_ (italics dana's) terminated. for carcasses of the siberian elephants were frozen so suddenly and so completely at the change, that the flesh has remained untainted." (id. p. .) i quite agree with this author that the evidence is conclusive as to the climate and food being "all the animals could have desired," and that they must have "had their choice of the best." but it seems to me that in following out their theory these authors have not left the poor creatures very much to choose from. for as the inevitable result of their theory in arranging the plants as well as the animals in chronological order according to the percentages of living and extinct forms, they have already disposed of, and consigned to the "early" tertiaries, etc., all the probable vegetation on which these animals lived, and thus have nothing left on which to feed the horse and bison, rhinoceros and elephant, etc., away within the arctic circle, except the few miserable shrubs and lichens which now survive there. but this strange, inconsistent notion of dana's that the so-called glacial phenomena lie in between the warm tertiary and the equally warm "champlain period," is easily understood as the survival of the notion, so tenaciously held even later than the middle decades of the nineteenth century, that man was =not= a witness of any of the great geological changes. when the evidence became overwhelming that man lived while the semi-tropical animals roamed over england, the "glacial period" still remained as a sort of buffer against the dangerous possibility of extending the =human= period back any further. i am not aware that this venerable scientist ever became quite reconciled to the idea of "tertiary man," though in his "manual" he mentions a few evidences in favor of this now almost universally accepted opinion. as for the real teachings of the drift phenomena there is no need of explanation here. at the very most they are confined to a quite limited part of the northern hemisphere, there being no trace of them in alaska, nor on the plains of siberia, where now almost eternal frosts prevail.[ ] in fact they are practically confined between the rocky mountains and the missouri river on the west, and the ural mountains on the east; and with a little common sense infused into the foundation principles of the science we will cease to be tormented with a "glacial nightmare." much of the drift phenomena with the raised beaches are certainly =later= events than most of the other geological work, but are inseparably connected with the general problem in their explanation. even from the ordinary standpoint, i am not aware that the elaborate argument of howorth has even been satisfactorily answered. indeed, i feel almost like saying that this writer's various contributions to the cause of inductive geology mark the beginning of the dawn. hence it may suffice here to merely call attention to the great simplicity introduced into this vast complexity of the glacialists, by the positive assurance of this author that the "drift period" and the pleistocene =end together=, and join onto the modern; or perhaps i ought rather to say that the so-called glacial phenomena lie in between the true fossil world and our modern one. "thus, in regard to the pleistocene mammals, the view is now generally accepted that, in every place where they have been found in a contemporary bed, that bed underlies the till, and is therefore pre-glacial. as in other places, so here (scotland), teeth and bones of mammals have occurred in the clay itself; but in all such cases they occur sporadically and as boulders. as mr. james geikie says, 'they almost invariably afford marks of having been subjected to the same action as the stones and boulders by which they are surrounded; that is to say, they are rubbed, ground, striated, and smoothed.'"[ ] and again: "=the pleistocene fauna, so far as i know, came to an end with the so-called glacial age.=" (id. p. .) from a recent notice in _nature_[ ] it would seem that even dr. h. woodward, of the british museum, supports this general view in his "table of british strata," by the statement that the glacial deposits contain =only derived fossils=. but this is such a decided simplification of the problem of climate that i am utterly at a loss to understand how any one can still cling to the complex and highly artificial arrangement of numerous "interglacial" periods, to account for a few bones of mammals or a few pockets of lignite; and how they can even place between the "glacial period" and our times the "genial champlain period," with it, as dana says, "=abruptly terminated=," and becoming "=suddenly= extreme as of a single winter's night." howorth, in the latter part of the chapter already quoted from (pp. - ), gives a good review of this subject of intermittent climates, and strongly supports his contention that the =stratigraphical evidence= all points to the fact that the pleistocene forms are always older than the drift-beds, and where the flora and fauna of the pleistocene occur in the drift, they do so only as boulders; that, in fact, as he says in his preface, "the pleistocene flood ... =forms a great dividing line= in the superficial deposits," separating the true fossil world from the modern. i have hardly the space to repeat here my argument about the extremely fanciful way in which geologists classify the various members of the tertiary group and the pleistocene. and yet i must say a few words. i have tried to show the utter nonsense of the common custom of classifying these beds according to the percentage of living and extinct forms which they contain, when the real fact is that the number and kinds of the ancient life-forms which have survived into the modern era is a purely fortuitous circumstance, being limited solely to those lucky ones which could stand the radical change from a tepid water or a genial air to the ice and frosts which they now experience, to mention only one circumstance of that cosmic convulsion which we now know to have really intervened between that ancient world and our own. =yet it is on such evidence only= that these pleistocene forms are separated from the tertiaries, or that the tertiaries themselves are classified off--at least as far as the invertebrates and the plants are concerned. no one claims that the so-called glacial beds can be sharply distinguished from other deposits on purely mechanical make-up. indeed, i am strongly of the opinion that very many archaean soils, totally unfossiliferous themselves, and resting on unfossiliferous rocks, have been assigned to the "glacial age," merely because their discoverers did not know what else to do with them. when beds contain fossils, the latter are the one and only guide in determining age; but in view of the purely arbitrary character of this method of classifying off the tertiary and post-tertiary rocks, i do not see where we are going to =draw the line= when we once admit that the post-tertiary beds contain only "derived fossils." it seems to me truly astonishing that shrewd reasoners, like howorth and dr. woodward, have not seen the dangerous character of this precedent which they have admitted. for with that marvelous climate of all geological time continuing right up to that fatal day when it was "abruptly terminated," and the mammoth and his fellows were caught in the merciless frosts which now hold them, the percentage of all the lucky forms of life, plants, invertebrates, or mammals, which could stand such a change and "persist" into our modern world, must be =utterly nonsensical as a test of age= even from their standpoint. in resuming the main argument of this chapter, i need only summarize by saying that the evidence is conclusive that all geological time down to this sharp "dividing line" was characterized by a surprisingly mild and uniform climate over all the earth. the modern period is characterized by terrific extremes of heat and cold; and now little or nothing can exist where previously plant and animal life flourished in profusion. this radical and world-wide change in climate, therefore, demands ample consideration when seeking a true induction as to the past of our globe. that it was no gradual or secular affair, but that the climate "became =suddenly= extreme as of a single winter's night," the siberian "mummies" are unanswerable arguments. =that it occurred within the human epoch= all are now agreed. footnotes: [ ] "the glacial nightmare and the flood," pp. - . [ ] "manual," pp. , - . [ ] op. cit., pp. - . [ ] id., p. . [ ] "island life," pp. , - ; "nightmare," pp. - . [ ] "historical geology," p. . [ ] "manual," p. . [ ] p. , edition of . [ ] see dana's "manual," pp. , ; also "the glacial nightmare," pp. - , , etc. [ ] "great ice age," p. ; "nightmare," p. . [ ] see _nature_ april , , p. . chapter xi degeneration there is another great general fact about the fossil world which seems to be a natural corollary from the one already given about climate. it is this: =the fossils, regarded as a whole, invariably supply us with types larger of their kind and better developed in every way than their nearest modern representatives, whether of plants or animals.= this fact also is so well known that it needs no proof. through the whole range of geological literature i do not know of a word of dissent from this general fact by any writer whatever. proof therefore is not necessary, though a brief review of a little of the evidence may refresh our memories. to begin with the cambrian, dana says: "the pteropods, among mollusks, were much larger than the modern species of the tribe. the trilobites even of the lower cambrian comprise species as large as living crustaceans. the ostrapods are generally larger than those of recent times."[ ] again, in speaking of the general character of the cambrian fossils, he says: "the types of the early cambrian are mostly identical with those now represented in existing seas, and although inferior in general as to grade [in the "phylogenic series"], they bear no marks of imperfect or stunted growth from unfit or foul surroundings." (p. .) the well known mollusk, _maclurea magna_, which is so enormously abundant in the silurian, is often eight inches in diameter, and the astounding cephalopod genus, _endoceras_, consisting of twenty species, found only in two divisions of the lower silurian, has left shells over a foot in diameter, and ten or twelve feet long! of the fishes of the devonian we have, among other remarks of a similar character, the following: "the dipnoans, or 'lung-fishes,' were represented by gigantic species called by newberry _dinichthys_ and _titanichthys_, from their size and formidable dental armature.... a still larger species is the _titanichthys clarki_ of newberry, in which the head was four feet or more broad, the lower jaw a yard long. this jaw was shaped posteriorly like an oar blade, and anteriorly was turned upward like a sled runner."[ ] one of the ancient eurypterids from the old red sandstone of europe has a length of six feet, which is more than three times that of any crustacean now living. while a gigantic isopod crustacean from the same strata had a leg the basal joint of which was three inches long, and three-quarters of an inch through, which is larger than the whole body of any modern species. the ancient "horse-tails," "ground-pines," ferns and cycads were trees from to feet high, and their carbonized stems and leaves make up many of our largest and best beds of coal. compared with them the modern representatives are mere herbs or shrubbery. of the gigantic insects of the devonian and carboniferous beds we might make similar remarks. some of the ancient locusts had an expanse of wing of over seven inches; while many of the ancient dragon-flies had bodies from a foot to sixteen inches long, with wings a foot long and over two feet in spread from tip to tip. here is james geikie's summary of the leading types of the palaeozoic: "many palaeozoic species were characterized by their large size as compared with species of the same groups that belong to later times. thus, some trilobites and other crustaceans were larger than any modern species of crustaceans. the palaeozoic amphibians also much exceeded in size any living members of their class. again, the modern club-mosses, which are insignificant plants, either trailing on the ground or never reaching more than two feet in height, were represented by great lepidodendroid trees." sternberg, in speaking of some of the frogs which he found in the permian of texas, says: "i found several skulls that measured over a foot from the end of the chin to the distal point of the horns.... i think when alive the frog must have been six feet long."[ ] he mentions another specimen which was "about feet long," the head of which was "about inches in length," with jaws "more powerful than those of an ox." of the monstrous dinosaurs of the mesozoic rocks one hardly needs to speak. "they were the most gigantic of terrestrial animals, in some cases reaching a length of or feet, while at the same time they had a height of body and massiveness of limb that, without evidence from the bones, would have been thought too great for muscle to move."[ ] they abound in both the old and the new world. of the gigantic mammals of the tertiary beds of the western states, it would also be superfluous to speak; their gigantic size is known by every high school pupil, or every one who has visited any important museum in europe or america. we may perhaps be reminded again that all the species of these "older" rocks are extinct species. i have already suggested the grave doubts on this point, regarding the great mass of the lower forms of life, plant and animal; but we will let that pass. but let us take some of the "late" tertiary and pleistocene mammals, which cannot be distinguished from living species, and how do we fare? it is the same old story; the moderns are degenerate dwarfs. the hippopotamus (_h. major_) is a good one to start with, for flower and lydekker[ ] say that it "cannot be specifically distinguished from _h. amphibius_" of africa. this gigantic brute used to live in the rivers of england and western europe. the text-books generally say in "pliocene times," because, i suppose, no one has the courage to suggest that it lived under the ice of the "glacial period." we are always pointed to the wool on the rhinoceros and the mammoth as indicating a somewhat cool climate, but the well known amphibious habits of the hippopotamus cannot be so easily disposed of. but if, as i believe, this world never saw a foot of ice at the sea level till the end of the "pleistocene period," to speak after the current manner, the problem becomes very simple. in that case the time of the hippopotamus in england was neither earlier nor later than that of the palms and acacias of the "early" tertiary or mesozoic rocks, or than that of the mammoth, lion, and hyena of the pleistocene. there is as we now know absolutely nothing but an out-of-date hypothesis to indicate that they did not all live there together. we may, if we choose, try to dovetail those conditions into the present on the basis of uniformity and slow secular change, by assuming a few million years for the process, but there is neither a particle of evidence nor of probability that the hippopotamus was not contemporary alike with the palms of the eocene and the elephants and lions of the post-tertiary. as for the mammoth itself, which flower and lydekker have intimated may turn out identical with _e. columbi_ and _e. armeniacus_, and thus the direct ancestor of the modern asiatic elephant (_e. indicus_), some have argued that its average size was not greater than that of the existing species of india and africa. but nicholson says that it was: "... considerably larger than the largest of living elephants, the skeleton being over sixteen feet in length, exclusive of the tusks, and over nine feet in height."[ ] dana is equally positive: "the species was over twice the weight of the largest modern elephant, and nearly a third taller."[ ] the upper incisors or tusks were very much longer than in the modern species, being from ten to twelve feet long, and sometimes curved up and back so as to form an almost complete circle. as these tusks continue to grow throughout life, their enormous length is, i take it, a proof of much greater longevity and thus of greater vitality than in the cases of the modern species. the latter is simply a degenerate. and so i might go on with the edentates, the ungulates, the rodents, the carnivores, etc., for the same thing must be said of all. as sir william dawson[ ] remarks: "nothing is more evident in the history of fossil animals and plants of past geological ages than that =persistence or degeneracy are the rule= rather than the exception.... we may almost say that all things left to themselves =tend to degenerate=, and only a new breathing of the almighty spirit can start them again on the path of advancement." in spite of the long popular views of cuvier, every modern scientist admits that the great lion and hyena of the pleistocene are identical with the living species of africa. many say the same thing of the fossil bear as compared with the modern brown bear and the grizzly, though, as dana remarks of all three, lion, hyena, and bear, "these modern kinds are dwarfs in comparison." i quote again from dana: "thus the brute races of the middle quaternary on all the continents exceeded the moderns greatly in magnitude. why, no one has explained."[ ] this was in . in the last edition of his "manual," published shortly after his death, he has this to say in addition: "a species thrives best in the region of fittest climate. =in the pleistocene, the fittest climate was universal.= geologists have attributed the extinction of most of the species and the dwindling of others to the cold of the reindeer epoch. it is the only explanation yet found, though seemingly insufficient for the americas." (p. .) however, since the discovery of the pictures of the reindeer and the mammoth drawn and even painted =side by side= on the caverns of southern france, undoubtedly from life and by the same artist, we do not hear so much about the "reindeer epoch," and the "mammoth epoch." a little thought should have suggested long ago that it was more reasonable to suppose the reindeer, glutton, musk-ox, etc., to have been originally adapted to the high mountains and table lands of that ancient world, than to imagine all the fauna careering up and down over continents and across seas like a lot of crazy scandinavian lemmings, as the migration theory involved. but most geologists seem never to have had any use for mountains or plateaus, except to breed glaciers and continental ice-sheets. but the only point which i wish to insist upon here is that the cause, =whatever it was=, that made such a zoological break at the "close" of the pleistocene, and which compelled the shivering, degenerate survivors, that could not stand the new extremes of frost and snow, to shift to the tropics--this cause was certainly competent to do a good deal more work in the way of "extinction" or "dwindling" of species than the uniformitarians have generally given it credit for. and in summing up this matter regarding the size and physical development of species, we must confess that we find in geology no indication of inherent progress upward. variation there is and variation there has been, even "mutations" and "saltations," but with one voice do the rocks testify that the general results of such variation have not been upward. rather must we confess as a great biological law, that =degeneration has marked the history of every living form=. footnotes: [ ] "manual," p. . [ ] pp. - . [ ] _pop. sc. news_, may, , p. . [ ] dana, "manual," p. . [ ] "mammals, etc.," p. . [ ] "ancient life-history," p. . [ ] "manual," p. . [ ] "modern ideas of evolution," appendix. [ ] "geol. story briefly told," p. . chapter xii fossil men there is still another fact which we must consider ere we can frame any wise or safe induction regarding the geological changes. it is this: =man himself, to say nothing of numerous living animals and plants, must have witnessed something of the nature of a cosmic convulsion--how much it is the object of our search to find out.= even according to the ordinary text-books, he must have seen the uplifting of the greater part of the mountain chains of the world; while he certainly lived in conditions of climate, and of land and water distribution, together with plant and animal surroundings, which preclude the possibility of dovetailing those conditions into the present order of things on any basis of uniformity. by this proposition i simply mean that man must have witnessed a cosmic geological catastrophe of some character and of some dimensions--the true nature and probable limits of this catastrophe ought to be the chief point of all geological inquiry. but instead of this method, instead of finding out whether our present world was ever a witness of such an event, the founders of the science began at the little end of an assumed succession of life (involving a preposterous supernatural knowledge of the past), and gradually worked up a habit of explaining everything in terms of uniformity long decades before they would acknowledge that man or the present order of things had anything to do with this fossil world. the evidence on this latter point finally became overwhelming; but with their habit of uniformity well mastered, and their long, single file of life succession all tabulated off and infallibly fixed, modern geologists have hitherto refused to look at the whole science from this new point of view, or to reconstruct geological theory if need be in accordance with a true modern induction. and in this proposition the reader will understand that i believe in what is called "tertiary man." i am aware that a few scientists still contest this view, but the evidence (from the standpoint of current theory) seems to me to be overwhelmingly against them. but in this fact, if it be a fact, that man lived under the wholly strange and different conditions of "pliocene" or perhaps "miocene times," is =the very strongest possible argument= that i can conceive of for the necessity of a complete reconstruction of geological theory--i mean, of course, apart altogether from the preposterous way in which the life succession was assumed and built up and then treated as an actual fact. it was when this grim fact of man's inseparable connection with the fossil world was borne in upon me, that i began to realize the possibility and imperative necessity of reconstructing the science on a truly inductive basis. i shall not undertake to give a complete up-to-date argument for "miocene" or even "pliocene man." the subject is still under discussion as to =just how far back= along this thin line of receding life forms man actually did live, and from the peculiar methods now in vogue which are so wholly subjective in character, it would seem to be capable of settlement in almost any way one chooses. however, whole volumes are being written on the subject, and the end is not yet. but there is no denying that human remains have frequently been found in strata which, but for their presence, would have been assigned a place far back in "tertiary time." the existence of strong evidence for "tertiary man" no one would think of denying. in all this, of course, i am considering the question from the common uniformitarian standpoint. but why should it be necessary for us to positively settle the question as to just how far back in geological time man actually did live? for those who have attentively read my statement of the unscientific methods of classifying these tertiary and post-tertiary beds--or all the others for that matter--i need not here add any further argument if the accepted succession of life is, to put it as mildly as possible, not quite a scientific certainty; if the time-honored custom of classifying these so-called "superficial" beds by their relative percentages of extinct and living forms rests under a shadow of suspicion as to its scientific accuracy; if, above all, we do not at the beginning prejudice the whole case by the assumption of uniformity, =what need is there of determining whether "pliocene" or "miocene" shells are found with these fossil human remains?= that man lived in western europe contemporary with those giants of the prime, the elephant and the musk-ox, the rhinoceros and the reindeer, the lion, the cape hyena, and the hippopotamus, at which time a very different distribution of land and water prevailed over these parts, with a radically different mantle of climate spread over all, no one will deny for a moment. such facts are now found in the primary text-books for our children in the public schools. but since geologists still classify the rocks as they do, and give a time value to percentages of extinct and living species of marine shells, etc., we are in a measure compelled to take the matter where we find it, and enquire how far back in geological time, i.e., among what kinds of fossils, are human remains found? one of the best popular works on the subject that i know of is "the meeting-place of geology and history," ( ) by sir j. w. dawson; though, like all other works of its kind written from the religious standpoint, it endeavors as far as possible to minimize the evidence in support of man's geological antiquity. this author thinks that dr. mourlan, of belgium, has "established the strongest case yet on record for the existence of tertiary man." (p. .) it is that of some worked flints and broken bones of animals "imbedded in sands derived from eocene and pliocene beds, and supposed to have been remanie by wind action." prestwich[ ] has brought forward similar facts; and though the evidence in favor of the genuine geological character of these remains seems to me little if any better than that from the auriferous gravels of california, i am willing to =take them as reported=. dawson speaks of the nearly entire human skeleton described by quatrefages from the lower pliocene beds of castelnedolo, near brescia, and only answers it with a sarcastic remark about the well developed skull of this ancient man. "unfortunately the skull of the only perfect skeleton is said to have been of fair proportions and superior to those of the ruder types of post-glacial men. this has cast a shade of suspicion on the discovery, especially on the part of evolutionists, who think it is not in accordance with theory that man should retrograde between the pliocene and the early modern period instead of advancing."[ ] lastly, we have the following about the miocene: "there are, however, in france two localities (puy, courney and thenay), one in the upper and the other in the middle miocene, which have afforded what are supposed to be worked flints." he adds that "the geological age of the deposits seems in both cases beyond question;" but contents himself with a derisive answer about these chipped flints being possibly "the handiwork of miocene apes." this language, coming from such a source, would seem as good evidence as is needed to prove that man was contemporary with, and that his remains are now found among the fossils of the middle miocene. for it must be remembered that these are reluctant admissions drawn from this illustrious scientist, who was one of the last champions of the old ideas about the "recent" origin of man. as pres. asa mahan of cornell has said, "admissions in favor of truth from the ranks of its enemies constitute the highest kind of evidence." at any rate, i shall treat this point as already proved, =for whether this particular instance is accepted or not, practically all modern writers admit the fact of "middle tertiary man."= i have already alluded to the recently discovered paintings on the cave walls of southern france, where reindeer, aurochs, horses and mammoths have been reproduced with striking accuracy and skill, and of such an age that they have in places been covered by stalactites over two inches in thickness. the marquis de nadaillac,[ ] who has given the best description of these interesting antiquities that i have been able to see, remarks that "the drawing is wonderful," and that "we are justly astonished to find such artistic performances in times so distant from ours, and in which we did not suppose a like civilization." i have not seen the geological date to which these remains have been assigned, but doubtless it is the very "latest" part of the pleistocene--they show far too high a development for "miocene" or even "pliocene times." but i should like to be shown some good and sufficient reason for saying that these men are not just as likely to have been contemporary with the middle tertiary fauna and flora as any others. =some men were as commonly admitted.= and in the name of sacred common sense, if the human period is thus elastic enough to stretch out over the pleistocene, the pliocene, and clear back to the "middle miocene," =why can't we do the same for all of man's strange companions=, the mammoth and the cape hyena, the reindeer and the hippopotamus, the lion and the musk-ox, etc.? the usual sneers about it being impossible for this apparently incongruous mixture to live side by side in the same district must now cease. they certainly did live side by side, as is shown by these companion pictures of the mammoth and the reindeer in the very southern part of sunny france, to say nothing of the numerous cases where the bones of the above mentioned animals are all mixed together indiscriminately. how is it unreasonable to suppose that these elephants, lions and hippopotami lived beneath the "early" tertiary palms, cinnamons, and mimosas of the lower elevations, while the reindeer, musk-ox and glutton lived beneath the maples, birches and beeches of the high mountain sides? some such conditions must have existed, for that magnificent world, whose ruins we now find buried beneath our feet, was a =homogeneous and harmonious= unit in its plant and animal life, in spite of the fables upon which we have so long been fed in the name of geological science. things which are equal to the same thing must be equal to one another; hence the plants and animals which were contemporary with the same creature (man) must have been =contemporary with each other=; and hence there is absolutely nothing to forbid the idea that man and his pleistocene companions were really contemporary with the flora and fauna of the middle tertiary. hence we may now proceed to inquire what geological changes have occurred since the "middle of the miocene," according to the accepted teachings of geology. our first point must be that of climate, and i have already given abundant evidence to show that at that "time" an abundant warm-climate vegetation mantled all the arctic regions. as already quoted from wallace, throughout the whole arctic regions, and during the whole of geological time, "we find one uniform climatic aspect of the fossils," and "it is quite impossible to ignore or evade the force of the testimony as to the continuous warm climate of the north temperate and polar zones throughout tertiary times." that this astonishingly mild and uniform climate prevailed over these regions until and during the time of the mammoth, we ought not to have a shadow of doubt. =what single bit of positive evidence is there to show that it did not?= that he must have had some such vegetation on which to feed is certain, and there is no proof of any previous interruption of these conditions save a series of hypotheses. he and his fellows browsed on semi-tropical and warm temperate plants far within the arctic circle, if there happened to be land there, doubtless over the very pole itself; but suddenly!! lo, something caught him with the grip of death-- "and wrapped his corpse in winding-sheet of ice, and sung the requiem of his shivering ghost." who has not read of their untainted meat now making food for dogs and wolves? their stomachs are well filled with undigested food, showing, as one author remarks, that they "were quietly feeding when the crisis came." dr. hertz recently reported one not only with its stomach full of food, but with its mouth full, too. no wonder that even an orthodox geologist like prof. dana is compelled to say that these things prove "that the cold finally became =suddenly= extreme, as of a single winter's night, and knew no relenting afterward." here then is one very notable geological event which has taken place within the human epoch, and the only thing of its kind of which geology has an undeniable record, viz., a sudden and radical change in the earth's climate; =a cosmic affair, and not a local phenomenon=. i need not here attempt to discuss the how of this world catastrophe as it must have been, or the other changes inseparably involved. the fact itself is as certain as man's own existence. the next division of our subject, in further consideration of the changes that have taken place since man's existence, as stated at the beginning of this chapter, relates to the changes of land and water distribution since "middle miocene times." and here again i shall try to take the classification of these rocks just as i find them. the first thing which impresses us is the extremely fragmentary distribution of the miocene and pliocene beds. not, however, that they are uncommon nor yet of small extent. on the contrary they are scattered over america and eurasia--and all the rest of the globe for that matter--like the spots on a leopard, or the warts on a toad's back, till it becomes one of the unsearchable mysteries of the science how these innumerable patches can be got down under the ocean to receive their load of sediment, without deluging the surrounding regions in a similar manner. but then, to be sure, fresh-water lakes will answer the same purpose, and are particularly indicated when the proportion of plants and terrestrial animals is =in excess= of the true marine fossils. and so enormous fresh-water basins are described here and there, with the great mammals crowding about their margins in their zeal to become fossilized, that the mountain tops may be saved from going under once more--or perhaps i should say to enable the modern writers to get some of these strata puckered up to their full height before these "late" tertiary deposits were made. this mountain making business is another affair that geologists would like to have take place on the installment plan, but unfortunately it seems to have been nearly all postponed till the very close of "geological time." this arrangement of fresh-water lakes saves the central rocky mountain region from going down again beneath the deep. but it cannot save the alps, juras and appennines in europe, nor parts of the himalayas, and i know not what other mountains in asia, nor the coast region of california and oregon in america, to say nothing of large parts of the andes in south america, with regions in africa and australia. but what is the use of trying to figure out the amount of our earth which has been under the ocean since "middle tertiary times," and thus since man was upon it? to save the northern half of europe with all of canada from again going under at the close of the "tertiary period," geologists have spread out their continental ice sheets, and have asked them to do duty instead of water. but this is hardly sufficient, for the "upper" or "later" part of the so-called "glacial" deposits are clearly stratified; and so they either invoke a "=flood vast beyond conception=," as dana does in america for the "final event in the history of the glacier," or, as others prefer, the whole region is baptized again. as dawson says in his "meeting-place of geology and history," "=no geological event is better established than the post-pliocene submergence.=" but i must not weary the reader by dwelling on this monotonous repetition of catastrophes--for must they not have been catastrophic if such ups and downs of whole continents are crowded within the human period? we may allow a number of thousands of years for man's possible existence, but archaeology and history alike protest against the =millions= of years required to explain these continental oscillations on any basis of uniformity. one such period of horror ought to be enough for us, and to understand or explain it in a truly scientific manner, we must with it correlate the sudden and world-wide change of climate already described. one more point demands consideration ere we complete this subject of what man has witnessed of geological change. for, according to current theory =almost all the mountains have been either wholly formed or at least completed within quite "recent" times=: indeed many of the greatest mountain chains have been puckered up from the position of horizontal strata wholly since "miocene times," which for us means since man was upon the globe. thus dana in speaking of the part of western america which has been elevated since "miocene times," says that it-- "... probably included the whole of the pacific mountain border, from the line of the mississippi valley to the pacific coast line and outside of this line for one or more scores of miles."[ ] and he adds the significant words: "contemporaneously, similar movements were in progress over the other continents: along the andes, affecting half, at least, of south america; the pyrenees, carpathian alps, and a large part of europe; the himalayas and much of asia." (p. .) let us now take a brief glance at a few of the details of what these mountains were thus doing while man was living in semi-tropical england, or at least western europe. in speaking of foreign examples of tertiary mountain-making this author devotes especial attention to the alps and the juras, for their structure is better understood, having been more carefully studied. and of an example described by heim, already spoken of, he says: "one of the overthrust folds in the region has put the beds upside down over an area of square miles. fifty thousand feet of formations of the jurassic, cretaceous, eocene tertiary and miocene tertiary, were upturned =at the close of the miocene period=."[ ] with what a whack must this mighty mass of rocks have fallen on itself--miles in thickness, and turned "upside down over an area of square miles"!!! of course i am here taking the record just as i find it, as i have already discussed this matter of "overthrust folds." i need not give further examples from the other great mountain ranges. their structure is not so well understood as that of the alps, though doubtless when examined they will be found just as "young," and just as full of astonishing mountain movements as those already examined. but this much is already certain, that =practically over all the world the mountains were either completed or wholly raised from the sea level= during "late tertiary" and "early quaternary time." no wonder dana says that this fact "is one of the most marvelous in geological history." "it has been thought incredible that the orographic climax should have come =so near the end= of geological time, instead of in an early age when the crust had a plastic layer beneath, and was free to move; yet =the fact is beyond question=." ("manual," p. .) i think i have now abundantly proved the various heads of the proposition with which i began this chapter, viz., that even from the standpoint of the current theories:--[ ] ( ) man must have seen the entire elevation or at least the completion of practically all the great mountains of the world, such as the rockies, andes, alps, himalayas, etc. ( ) the relative distribution of land and water surface has--since man's advent as commonly stated--changed completely. the land and water have practically changed places over the greater part of the globe. ( ) man lived while the arctic regions had a mild soft climate, and he lived to see these conditions so suddenly changed that some of his dumb brute companions were caught in the waters and frozen so speedily that their flesh has remained untainted. other considerations show this change of climate to have affected the whole globe. the lesson to be drawn from this as the last fact in the line of cumulative evidence here presented, will be considered in the following chapter. footnotes: [ ] "controverted questions of geology," article iii., . [ ] "meeting-place," pp. , . [ ] _pop. sc. news_, feb. . [ ] "manual," p. . [ ] p. . [ ] (note. in this discussion i have purposely ignored the various instances where human remains have been reported from deposits of even greater "antiquity" than the middle tertiaries.) chapter xiii inductive methods in the first part of this book i tried to examine into the facts and methods which are commonly supposed to prove that there has been a succession of life on the globe. we found that this life succession theory has not a single fact to support it; that it is not the result of scientific research, but wholly the product of an inventive imagination; that no one kind of fossil has even been proved or can be proved to be intrinsically older than another, or than man himself; and hence that a complete reconstruction of geological theory is imperatively demanded by our modern knowledge. in the second part i have brought out the following additional facts: . the abnormal character of much of the fossiliferous deposits. . a radical and world-wide change of climate. . the marked degeneration in passing from the fossil world to the modern one. . the fact that the human race, to say nothing of a vast number of living species of plants and animals, has participated in some of the greatest of the geological changes--we really know not how to limit the number or character of these changes. surely a true spirit of scientific investigation would now begin to inquire, =how did these changes take place?= discarding the use of stronger language, it is at least utterly unscientific to begin somewhere at the vanishing point of a past eternity and formulate our pretty theories as to how this deposit was made, and how that was laid down, and the exact order in which they all occurred; while these "recent" deposits, in which our race and the plants and animals living about us are acknowledged to be concerned, are left over till the last, and we then find that they admit of absolutely no explanation. we ourselves, to say nothing of thousands of living species of plants and animals, have participated in some of the very greatest of the geological changes--we know not how many or how great. =these things must be first explained.= has anything happened to our world that will explain them? are there known forces and changes now in operation which, granting time enough, will amply and sufficiently explain these facts, as simply one in kind with those of the present day? to this last question we must admit that our historic experience, prolonged over several thousand years, utters a thundering =no!= volcanoes are every now and then breaking forth; but volcanoes and mountain ranges have nothing in common with one another as to structure and origin. no one claims that a single mountain flexure is now being formed or has been formed within the historic period. there are indeed "creeps" in the rocks in certain places, but these are not such as to contribute to the height of the mountains in which they occur, but rather the reverse. sudden changes of level within small areas have occurred, but neither in extent nor in kind do they furnish any key as to past changes of level; while the so-called "secular" changes are so microscopic in extent and so doubtful in character that they are utterly unworthy of consideration in view of the stupendous problems which we are trying to explain. the well-known work of eduard suess is a standing protest that such geological chances are =not now in progress=; for, in speaking of how the land and ocean have exchanged places in the past, zittel represents him as teaching that their "cause of origin until now =has not yet been discovered=."[ ] or, to quote the expressive words of suess himself, with which he concludes his discussion of this very subject: "as rama looks across the ocean of the universe, and sees its surface blend in the distant horizon with the dipping sky, and as he considers if indeed a path might be built far out into the almost immeasurable space, so we gaze over the ocean of the ages, but =no sign of a shore shows itself to our view=." (id. p. .) as for climate, i never heard any one suggest that cosmic changes of climate are now known to be going on, much less that =sudden= changes of the kind indicated by the north siberian "mummies" are in the habit of occurring. in fact, we must all own that the mountains, the relative position of land and water, as well as the climate of our globe, are each and all now in a state of stable equilibrium, and have been in this state since the dawn of history or of scientific observation. accordingly i ask, =how much time is needed= to account for the facts before us on the basis of uniformity? in common honesty will a short eternity itself satisfy the stern problem before us? i cannot see that it holds out the slightest promise of solving it; while, on the other hand, i am sure that, in dealing with the past of man's existence (theories of evolution and all other theories of origins whatever cast aside), we are not at liberty to make unreasonable demands of time. the evidence of history and archaeology is all against it. from the latter sciences it can be shown that at their very dawn we have, over all the continents, a group of civilizations seldom equalled since save in very modern times, and all so undeniably related to one another and of such a character that they prove a previous state of civilization in some locality =together=, before these scattered fragments of our race were dispersed abroad. we can track these various peoples all back to some region in southwestern asia, though the exact locality for this source of inherited civilization has never yet been found, and it is now almost certain that it is somehow lost in the geological changes which have intervened. for when we cross the well marked boundary line between history and geology, we have still to deal with men who apparently =were not savages=, men who with tremendous disadvantages could carve and draw and paint as no savages have ever done, and who had evidently domesticated the horse and other animals. but as to time, history gives no countenance to long time, i.e., what geologists would call long. good authentic history extends back a few score centuries, archaeology may promise us a few more. as for =millions= of years, of even a few =hundred thousands=, the thing seems too absurd for discussion, unless we forsake inductive methods, and assume some form of evolution _a priori_. hence it ought to be evident that no amount of learned trifling with time will solve our problem without supposing some strange event to have happened our world and our race, long ago, and before the dawn of history. i see no possible way for scientific reasoning to avoid this conclusion. ignoring for the present the chaldean deluge tablets, and what rawlinson calls the "consentient belief" in a world-catastrophe "among members of all the great races into which ethnologists have divided mankind," which like their civilization has the earmarks of being =an inheritance= from some common source before their dispersion, we may note that most geologists now admit the certainty of some sort of catastrophe since man was upon the earth. i might mention quatrefages and dupont, boyd dawkins, howorth, prestwich, wright and sir william dawson, with many others. even eduard suess teaches a somewhat similar local catastrophe, though like the others only as a reluctant concession to the insistent demands of chaldean history and archaeological tradition. but all of these affairs are mere makeshifts in view of the tremendous demands of the purely geological evidence, and all alike (save perhaps those of wright and howorth) labor under the strange inconsistency of supposing that such an event could occur without leaving abundant and indelible marks upon the rocks of our globe. while in view of the evidence given through the previous pages, i insist that the purely geological evidence of a world catastrophe is immeasurably stronger than that of archaeology, that in fact the whole geological phenomena constitute a cumulative argument of this nature. but if this be granted, we must then inquire, what was its nature? and what its extent? the former is quite easily answered: the latter problem is still somewhat beyond our reach. as to its character, the evidence is very plain. it was a veritable cataclysm of some sort: it deals with great changes of land and water surface. if the geological succession is but a hoary myth, and if we find countless modern living species of plants and animals mixed up in all the "older" rocks, we cannot ignore these in a rational and unprejudiced reconstruction of the science. but, ignoring these, we must remember that =even the tertiary and post-tertiary deposits are absolutely world wide, and are packed with fossils of living species=. not a continent and scarcely a country on the globe but contains great stretches of these deposits, laid down by the sea where now the land is high and dry. the sea and land have practically shifted places over all the globe since man and thousands of other living species left their fossils in the rocks. it is only the stupendous magnitude of these changes which has made our scientists reluctant to admit the possibility of such a catastrophe. with the myth of a life succession dissipated, a broad view of the fossil world cannot fail to convince the mind of the reality of some such cosmic convulsion, and convince it with all the force of a mathematical demonstration. great groups of animals have dropped out of sight over all the continents, and their carcasses have been buried by sea water where we now find high plateaus or mountain ranges. ignoring completely the abundant fossils in the so-called "older" rocks, and fixing our attention entirely on the tertiary and pleistocene beds that are acknowledged to be closely connected with the human race and the modern world, we still have =a problem in race extinction alone= that appalls the mind. the mammoth, rhinoceros and mastodon, together with "not less than thirty distinct species of the horse tribe," as marsh says, =all disappear from north america at one time=, and the most ingenious disciple of hutton and lyell has been puzzled to invent a plausible explanation. but when we consider that at this same "geological period" =similar events were occurring on all the other continents=--the huge ground-sloths (megatheriums) and glyptodons in south america; "wombats as large as tapirs," and "kangaroos the size of elephants" in australia; the mammoth and woolly rhinoceros in eurasia; together with an enormous hippopotamus, as far as england is concerned, to say nothing of those great bears, lions and hyenas, with a semi-tropical vegetation, =all disappearing together at the same time=, or shifting to the other side of the world--it becomes almost like a deliberate insult to our intellectual honesty to be approached with offers of "explanations" based on any so-called "natural" action of the forces of nature. but when, in addition to all this, we consider the fact that those human giants of the caves of western europe were contemporary with the animals mentioned above, =and disappeared along with them at this same time=, while mountain masses in all parts of the world crowded with marine forms of the so-called "older" types positively =cannot be separated in time from the others=, it becomes as certain as any other ordinary scientific fact, like sunrise or sunset, that our once magnificently stocked world =met with some sudden and awful catastrophe in the long ago=; and is it in any way transgressing the bounds of true inductive science to correlate this event with the deluge of the hebrew scriptures and the traditions of every race on earth? we have already seen how dana supposes =two= such events, one at the close of the "palaeozoic age," and the other at the close of the "mesozoic," merely to account for the astonishing disappearance of species at these periods when the fossils are arranged in taxonomic order; but if we once admit such an event =with man and all the other species contemporary with one another=, where shall we limit its power to disturb the land and water and churn them all up together, leaving the present simply as the ruins of that previous world? the fact is, the current geology is wholly built up from the cambrian to the pleistocene on the =dogmatic denial= that any such catastrophe has occurred to the world in which man lived, for =one= such event happening in our modern homogeneous world is enough to make the whole pretty scheme found in our text-books tumble like a house of cards. like the patient and exact observations of the ptolemaic astronomers, which accumulated volumes of evidence contradicting their own theories, and which in the hands of copernicus and galileo, kepler and newton, sealed the doom of astronomical speculation and laid the foundations of an exact science of the heavens; so have the indefatigable labors of thousands of geologists accumulated evidence which strikes at the very foundation of the current uniformitarianism, and casts a pall of doubt over every conclusion as to how or when any given deposit of the "older" rocks was produced. here we must leave the question for the present. the possibility of such a world-wide catastrophe, which might account for the major part of the geological changes, needs no apology here. the slightest disturbance of the nice equilibrium of our elements would suffice to send the waters of the ocean careering over the land; and in the abundance of astronomical causes competent for such disturbance we cease to regard such an event as necessarily contrary to "natural law." the possibility of such a thing no competent scientist now denies; it is the problem of =recovery= from such a disaster which makes the perplexity. but incredible or not as the latter may be regarded, i claim to have established a perfect chain of scientific argument proving a world-wide catastrophe of some sort since man was upon it. but this fact, if once admitted, strikes at the very foundation of the current science, and bids us readjust our theories from this view-point. the venerable scheme of a life succession =becomes only the taxonomic or classification series of the world that existed before this disaster=, and it becomes the business of our science to find out how many and what deposits were =due to this event=, and what were accumulated during the =unknown period= of previous existence. those of us who wish to speculate can then let our imaginations have free play as to the uncounted ages before that event; but the "phylogenic series" as a rational scientific theory is in limbo forever. inductive geology, therefore, deals not with the formation of a world, but =with the ruins of one=; it can teach us absolutely nothing about origins. the latter problem lies across the boundary line in the domain of philosophy and theology, and to these systems of thought we may cheerfully leave the task of readjustment in view of the facts here presented. a few disconnected thoughts along these lines i have ventured to insert here, not strictly as a part of my purely scientific argument, but as an appendix. footnote: [ ] "history," p. . appendix appendix reflections in the preceding pages i have endeavored to develop a scientific argument pure and simple. yet i do not feel called upon to apologize in any way for attempting now to show the connection between an inductive scheme of geology as set forth in the body of this work and the religion of christianity; though my remarks along this line must necessarily be very brief. the most fundamental idea of religion is the fatherhood of god as our creator. the only true basis of morality lies in our relationship to him as his creatures. during the latter half of the nineteenth century the biblical idea of a creation at some definite and not very remote period in the past became much modified by reason of certain theories of evolution, which explained the origin of plants and animals as the result of slow-acting causes, now in operation around us, prolonged over immense ages of time. these theories, though built up wholly on the current geology as a foundation, were yet supposed to be firmly established in science, and after a spirited discussion among biologists for a few years, were almost universally accepted in some form or other by the religious leaders of christendom. and though the "theistic evolution" of recent years may be supposed to have modified somewhat the stern heartlessness of pure darwinism, it still leaves the christian world quite at variance with the old pauline doctrines regarding good and evil, creation, redemption, the atonement, etc. and these are not the only effects of the general acceptance of these ideas as an explanation of the origin of things. we see their moral effects in the generation now coming on the stage of action--men educated in an atmosphere of evolution, and accustomed from youth to the idea that all progress, whether in the individual or the race, is to be reached only by a ceaseless struggle for existence and survival at the expense of others. in the words of sir william dawson, these doctrines have "stimulated to an intense degree that popular unrest so natural to an age discontented with its lot ... and which threatens to overthrow the whole fabric of society as at present constituted."[ ] this popular and perfectly natural application of the evolution doctrine to every-day life is certainly intensifying, as never before, the innate selfishness of human nature, and, in every pursuit of life, embittering the sad struggle for place and power. perhaps no other one cause and result serve more plainly to differentiate the present strenuous age from those that have gone before. the hitherto undreamed-of advantages and creature comforts of the present day, instead of tending toward universal peace and happiness, are apparently only giving a wider range to the discontent and depravity of the natural human heart. so much so, that any one familiar with the history of nations cannot but feel a terrible foreboding creep over him as he faces the prospect presented to-day by civilised society the world over. the only remedy for the many and increasing evils of our world is the old-fashioned religion of christ and his apostles. and this applied, not to the state, but to the individual. the soul-regenerating truths of christianity have always, wherever given a proper test by the individual, resulted in moral uplift and blessing. ecclesiastical policies and ideas have always, wherever allowed to influence civil legislation, resulted in oppression and tyranny. what has geology to do with all this? it has much to do with it. correct ideas of geology will remove a great many vain notions--i had almost said superstitions--regarding our origin, which now pass under the name of science. and in thus removing false ideas it =leaves the ground cleared= for more correct ideas regarding =creation=, and thus for truer concepts of =morality=, the old idea of "must" and "ought" based on our relation to god as his creatures. mark the words i have used. =inductive geology can never prove creation.= it may remove obstructions which have hitherto obscured this idea, but this is the utmost limit of any true science. inductive geology removes forever the succession-of-life idea, and thus may =suggest= the only seeming alternative, viz., creation as the definite act of the infinite god. before this awful yet sublime fact, with all the fogs of evolution and metaphysical subtleties cleared away, the human mind stands to-day as never before within historic times. with a fairly complete knowledge of the chemical make-up of protoplasm, with a good acquaintance with the life history and reproduction of living cells, we yet =know nothing of the origin of life=. with a good working knowledge of variation, hybridization, etc., =we know nothing of the origin of species=. while with a fairly good understanding of the present geographical distribution of species, and of where their fossils occur in the rocks, we are =profoundly ignorant of any particular order= in which these species originated on our globe, or whether they all took origin at =approximately one and the same time=. in short, having reached out along every known line of investigation, until we have apparently reached the limits of the human powers in investigation and research, twentieth century science must stand with uncovered head and bowed form in presence of that most august thought of the human mind, "=in the beginning god created=." and yet, personally, i am firmly convinced that the origin of life and of our cosmos, was according to law, and the laws of nature. as has been said, how could the origin of nature be contrary to nature? how could the origin of present forms and conditions be in any way at variance with the laws by which these forms or conditions are maintained? and while i do not consider it a very promising field of research, we ought to have no more reluctance, _per se_, to considering the manner in which the first cell or the first species was formed, than the way in which a chicken is produced from the egg. of course in either case we must have the materials, and some outside cause to originate the conditions and conduct the process; they both require the immanent presence and fostering care of the great creator. in this connection i beg leave to quote somewhat at length from my book, "outlines of modern science and modern christianity." "we are getting no nearer the real mystery in the case by saying that all the tissues of the chick are built up by the protoplasm in the egg. the protoplasm in the toes is the same as that in the little creature's brain. why does the one build up claws and the other brain cells? does memory guide these little things in their wonderful division of labor? but they all started from one original germ cell, hence they all ought to have the same memory pictures. or have they entered into a mutual-benefit arrangement, like the members of a community, as haeckel would have us believe, each contributing by actual desire and effort, i suppose, an individual share to the general progress of the whole?--no; they have all the appearance of being mere automata working at the direct bidding of a master mind. every step of the process needs a creator, just as much as the first cell division. in the words of one of the highest of scientific authorities, 'we still do not know why a certain cell becomes a gland-cell, another a ganglion-cell; why one cell gives rise to a smooth muscle-fibre, while a neighbor forms voluntary muscle;' and this also 'at certain, usually predestined, times in particular places.'[ ] and in the same way the idea of a creator would not be disposed of, even if we could possibly hit upon the probable process of world-formation. we would not, by understanding the process, really get at the cause of the phenomena, any more than we do now at the real cause of life. from the scientific method the real mystery remains as much behind the veil as ever before." (pp. , .) again i quote from this same work: "the origin of organic nature could not well have been otherwise than by natural process. do we understand all natural processes? at some time life was not in existence on our globe. all agree that it had a beginning. even if created by the great creator, the living was at some time formed from the not-living or the not-material. it does not take even huxley's famous 'act of philosophic faith' to believe that. so that, in spite of all the haze that has been thrown about this question, the biblical creation of the organic from the inorganic is no more contrary to, or even outside of, natural law than is evolution.... "but see what we avoid. according to the bible, death in even the lower animals (and consequently all misery and suffering: the less is included in the greater) is only the result of sin on the part of man, the head of animated nature, a reflex or sympathetic result, if you will. but with evolution we have countless millions of years of creature suffering, cruelty, and death before man appeared at all, cruelty and death that ... have no moral meaning at all, save as the work of a fiend creator, or a bungling or incompetent one."[ ] the author then gives a quotation from leconte, illustrating the extremely various ways in which matter and energy act on the different planes of their existence, while "the passage from one plane upward to another is not a gradual passage by sliding scale, but at one bound. when the necessary conditions are present, a new and higher form of force at once appears, like birth into a higher sphere.... it is no gradual process, but sudden, like birth into a higher sphere."[ ] the argument then proceeds as follows: "the living at some time originated from the not-living. =we call it creation.= can any one find a better name? it is preposterous to call it a process of development or evolution due to the inherent properties of the atoms, and effected by them alone. and yet it is doubtless as much according to 'natural law' as are the invariable and exact combinations of chemistry. we do not understand the ultimate reasons for chemical affinity any more than we do for gravitation. they are only expressions of the methodical, order-loving mind of deity. creation was only another action of the same mind, and we are not really finding any new difficulty when we say that the processes or the reasons for creative action are beyond our comprehension. when we can really solve some of the myriad problems right before our eyes, it will be time enough to complain about creation being incomprehensible or contrary to 'natural law.' "well, then, remembering that, even according to huxley's 'act of philosophic faith,' the origin of the living from the not-living must at some time have taken place according to natural law, =why should we suppose that such a process was confined to one example=? if, when the young planet 'was passing through physical and chemical conditions which it can no more see again than a man can recall his infancy,' the 'necessary conditions' were favorable for one such creation of life, =why not a few billion=? would the production of a few billion such beginnings of protoplasm be any less 'natural' than of one alone? remember, however, that both the arrangement of these 'necessary conditions,' as well as the endowing of matter with these 'properties,' not only requires a cause, but this cause must be intelligent, for there is indisputable design in this first origin of life.... the food for a developing embryo might, for aught that we know, be conveyed to it direct from the ultimate laboratories of nature, and it thus be built up by protoplasm in the usual way, without the medium of a parent form--other than the great father of all. or would it be any less according to natural law to believe that a bird passed through all the usual stages of embryonic development from the not-living up to the full-fledged songster of the skies =in one day=--the fifth day of creation? and =if one example, why not a million=? for, remember that the youthful earth was then passing through strange conditions, 'which,' as huxley says, 'it can no more see again than a man can recall his infancy.'"[ ] omitting some remarks about embryology, i continue this quotation as follows: "but what 'law' would be violated in this springtime of the world if, instead of twenty years or so for full development, the first man passed through all these stages =in one day=--the sixth of creation week? he might as well have originated from the not-living as the evolutionist's first speck of protoplasm, for he certainly now starts from a mass of this same protoplasm, identical, as we have seen, in all plants and animals. "and by originating thus, he would escape that horrible heritage of bestial and savage propensities which he would get through evolution, a heritage that would make it not his fault, but his misfortune, that sin and evil are in the world, and which would also shift the responsibility for the evidently abnormal condition of 'this present evil world' off from the creature to the creator, and change to us his character from that of a loving father, fettered by no conditions in his creation, to that of either a bungling, incompetent workman or a heartless fiend; for, though i am almost ashamed to write the words, the god of the evolutionist must be either the one or the other." (p. .) * * * * * =with an appreciation nurtured by centuries of study of god's larger book, baffled often though she has been, and disappointed many times in the words she has endeavored to spell out, science to-day proclaims its subject, its title page, which she has now at last deciphered, "in the beginning god created the heaven and the earth." footnotes: [ ] "modern ideas of evolution," p. . [ ] "_nature_," may , , pp. , . [ ] "outlines," etc., p. . [ ] "evolution and religious thought," pp. - . [ ] "outlines," etc., p. , . report on "illogical geology" having read the foregoing argument, will you now do the publishers and the author the favor of _filling out the following blank_ and mailing this slip, or a copy of it, to us as early as possible? it makes no difference to us even if your opinion is _adverse_. the modern heretic co. s. hill st., los angeles, cal. cut out here +-------------------------------------------------------------------- | . what is your opinion of part i as an exposure of the evolution | theory? | | | | . how can it be improved? | | | | . what fact or facts have been omitted from part ii that should be | included in a true, safe, induction regarding the past of our | globe? | | | | . other remarks. | | | | | | name......................................... | | street and number............................ | | city..................... | |profession or occupation........................... modern science and modern christianity by george mccready price the evolution theory in its whole range, from the nebulous cloud, the cooling earth, and the origin of life, through geology and biology up to the moral nature of man, carefully discussed in a popular style. no one, after reading it, could for a moment suppose that the evolution theory had been proved by sound scientific arguments, while the moral and religious tendencies of the doctrine are shown to be anti-christian to the last degree. cloth bound, pages, _net_, cents. postage extra. god's two books by george mccready price a pamphlet covering that part of the evolution theory which deals with geology, archæology, darwinism, and ethics. it is especially full on geology and darwinism, and presents many facts and arguments on these subjects not found in anything now published. (in preparation). paper covers, about pages, cents, postpaid. the modern heretic co. so. hill st., los angeles, cal. the modern heretic a magazine of primal orthodoxy george mccready price, editor we believe that the claims of evolution, "higher criticism," new theology, new thought, spiritism, etc., are unscientific and un-christian. we realize that we are in a small minority, and that to assail these doctrines is to-day called _heresy_. but we have chosen our position deliberately, and shall abide by the consequences. this journal will try to give the most recent discoveries in geology, biology, physiology and archæology, and to discuss their bearings on the christian religion; and we think that no intelligent person can afford to be without its regular visits. monthly; c per year; sample copies free. the modern heretic co. s. hill st. los angeles, cal. * * * * * transcriber's note: punctuation has been standardised, in particular, missing periods have been supplied where obviously required. all other original errors and inconsistencies have been retained, except as follows; (the first line is the original text, the second the passage as currently stands): must less of the co-existing faunas of other much less of the co-existing faunas of other which it discusses from a purely scientfic which it discusses from a purely scientific works of dana, le conte, prestwich, and geikie works of dana, leconte, prestwich, and geikie of looking into the =geneology of an idea=. of looking into the =genealogy of an idea=. history of science did a stranger halucination history of science did a stranger hallucination we know they are today in "recent" deposits we know they are to-day in "recent" deposits the author then gives a quotation from le conte, the author then gives a quotation from leconte, but is is equally evident that each successive but it is equally evident that each successive dominated mediaeval scolasticism and made it dominated mediaeval scholasticism and made it the glacian nightmare and the flood, the glacial nightmare and the flood, larger species is the _titnichthys clarki larger species is the _titanichthys clarki happening in our modern homogenous world is enough happening in our modern homogeneous world is enough widespread numulitic limestones of the eocene widespread nummulitic limestones of the eocene of organic creation on the instal ment plan, of organic creation on the instalment plan, numulites or mammals positively were not living nummulites or mammals positively were not living here and there to make this incredible thicknss, here and there to make this incredible thickness, about it came to the recognized, other about it came to be recognized, other the bison is today absolutely extinct, the bison is to-day absolutely extinct, see le conte, "evol. and religious thought," see leconte, "evol. and religious thought," they are directed rather to the empyrical method they are directed rather to the empirical method fitting "like a glove" on the preceeding. fitting "like a glove" on the preceding. le conte, "evol. and rel. thought," pp. , leconte, "evol. and rel. thought," pp. , and spcial monographs in german and french. and special monographs in german and french. but to incrase this antiquity by saying but to increase this antiquity by saying lions and monkys, hippopotami and crocodiles, lions and monkeys, hippopotami and crocodiles, and rhinoceroces, now live beneath the palms, and rhinoceroses, now live beneath the palms, scientists who can elaborate geneological trees of descent scientists who can elaborate genealogical trees of descent have taken for these excedingly numerous have taken for these exceedingly numerous the pleistocene mammals and the middle tertiary flora the pleistocene mammals and the middle tertiary flora literature is fairly innundated with new names; literature is fairly inundated with new names; a noted paiaeontologist for finding a pupa a noted palaeontologist for finding a pupa the theories of the igenous origin of the crystalline rocks the theories of the igneous origin of the crystalline rocks went to school toegther, served in the same wars, went to school together, served in the same wars, =or are now to be found iiving in our modern world= =or are now to be found living in our modern world= e.g. gratolites and numulites e.g. gratolites and nummulites these davonian and other rocks are absolutely these devonian and other rocks are absolutely it cannot save the alps, juras and appenines it cannot save the alps, juras and appennines without leaving abundant and indellible marks without leaving abundant and indelible marks which it can no more see again than a can can recall which it can no more see again than a man can recall and yet refuse the =evidently complemntary= dposits and yet refuse the =evidently complementary= deposits pages of the ordinary text-boks. pages of the ordinary text-books. these is no telling what hosts of similar facts there is no telling what hosts of similar facts but so far as the text-boks tell us are but so far as the text-books tell us are as recent as the numulitic limestones of the eocene as recent as the nummulitic limestones of the eocene [footnote : "old red sandstone," pp. - - .] [footnote : "old red sandstone," pp. , - ] for thousands of skletons are found in localities for thousands of skeletons are found in localities is easily understod as the survival of the notion, is easily understood as the survival of the notion, the dim past, and all these semitropical plants had the dim past, and all these semi-tropical plants had =better established than the post-piiocene submergence.=" =better established than the post-pliocene submergence.=" example described by helm, already spoken of, example described by heim, already spoken of, the former is qulet easily answered: the former is quite easily answered: =race extinction alone= that appals the mind. =race extinction alone= that appalls the mind. which in the hands of copernicus and galilio, which in the hands of copernicus and galileo, chapter xii inductive methods chapter xiii inductive methods in the last edition of his "=manual=," in the last edition of his "manual," pre-conceived theory would at the suggestion of such preconceived theory would at the suggestion of such evolution and metaphysical subtilties cleared away, evolution and metaphysical subtleties cleared away, animals of the past [illustration: phororhacos, a patagonian giant of the miocene. _from a drawing by charles r. knight._] _science for everybody_ animals of the past by frederic a. lucas _curator of the division of comparative anatomy, united states national museum_ fully illustrated new york mcclure, phillips & co. copyright, , by s. s. mcclure co. , by mcclure, phillips & co. published november, . table of contents introductory and explanatory use of scientific names, xvi; estimates of age of earth, xvii; restorations by mr. knight, xviii; works of reference, xix. i. fossils, and how they are formed definition of fossils, ; fossils may be indications of animals or plants, ; casts and impressions, ; why fossils are not more abundant, ; conditions under which fossils are formed, ; enemies of bones, ; dinosaurs engulfed in quicksand, ; formation of fossils, ; petrified bodies frauds, ; natural casts, ; leaves, ; incrustations, ; destruction of fossils, ; references, . ii. the earliest known vertebrates methods of interrogating nature, ; thickness of sedimentary rocks, ; earliest traces of life, ; early vertebrates difficult of preservation, ; armored fishes, ; abundance of early fishes, ; destruction of fish, ; carboniferous sharks, ; known mostly from teeth and spines, ; references, . iii. impressions of the past records of extinct animals, ; earliest traces of animal life, ; formation of tracks, ; tracks in all strata, ; discovery of tracks, ; tracks of dinosaurs, ; species named from tracks, ; footprints aid in determining attitude of animals, ; tracks at carson city, ; references, . iv. rulers of the ancient seas the mosasaurs, ; history of the first known mosasaur, ; jaws of reptiles, ; extinction of mosasaurs, ; the sea-serpent, ; zeuglodon, ; its habits, ; koch's hydrarchus, ; bones collected by mr. schuchert, ; abundance of sharks, ; the great carcharodon, ; arrangement of sharks' teeth, ; references, . v. birds of old earliest birds, ; wings, ; study of young animals, ; the curious hoactzin, ; first intimation of birds, ; archæopteryx, ; birds with teeth, ; cretaceous birds, ; hesperornis, ; loss of power of flight, ; covering of hesperornis, ; attitude of hesperornis, ; curious position of legs, ; toothed birds disappointing, ; early development of birds, ; eggs of early birds, ; references, . vi. the dinosaurs discovery of dinosaur remains, ; nearest relatives of dinosaurs, ; relation of birds to reptiles, ; brain of dinosaurs, ; parallel between dinosaurs and marsupials, ; the great brontosaurus, ; food of dinosaurs, ; habits of diplodocus, ; the strange australian moloch, ; combats of triceratops, ; skeleton of triceratops, ; thespesius and his kin, ; the carnivorous ceratosaurus, ; stegosaurus, the plated lizard, ; preferences, . vii. reading the riddles of the rocks fossils regarded as sports of nature, ; qualifications of a successful collector, ; chances of collecting, ; excavation of fossils, ; strengthening fossils for shipment, ; great size of some specimens, ; the preparation of fossils, ; mistakes of anatomists, ; reconstruction of triceratops, ; distinguishing characters of bones, ; the skeleton a problem in mechanics, ; clothing the bones with flesh, ; the covering of animals, ; outside ornamentation, ; probabilities in the covering of animals, ; impressions of extinct animals, ; mistaken inferences from bones of mammoth, ; coloring of large land animals, ; color markings of young animals, ; references, . viii. feathered giants legend of the moa, ; our knowledge of the moas, ; some moas wingless, ; deposits of moa bones, ; legend of the roc, ; discovery of Æpyornis, ; large-sounding names, ; eggs of great birds, ; the patagonian phororhacos, ; the huge brontornis, ; development of giant birds, ; distribution of flightless birds, ; relation between flightlessness and size, ; references, . ix. the ancestry of the horse north america in the eocene age, ; appearance of early horses, ; early domestication of the horse, ; the toes of horses, ; miocene horses small, ; evidence of genealogy of the horse, ; meaning of abnormalities, ; changes in the climate and animals of the west, ; references, . x. the mammoth the story of the killing of the mammoth, ; derivation of the word "mammoth," ; mistaken ideas as to size of the mammoth, ; size of mammoth and modern elephants, ; finding of an entire mammoth, ; birthplace of the mammoth, ; beliefs concerning its bones, ; the range of the animal, ; theories concerning the extinction of the mammoth, ; man and mammoth, ; origin of the alaskan live mammoth story, ; traits of the innuits, ; an entire mammoth recently found, ; references, . xi. the mastodon differences between mastodon and mammoth, ; affinities of the mastodon, ; vestigial structures, ; distribution of american mastodon, ; first noticed in north america, ; thought to be carnivorous, ; koch's missourium, ; former abundance of mastodons, ; appearance of the animal, ; its size, ; was man contemporary with mastodon? ; the lenape stone, ; legend of the big buffalo, ; references, . xii. why do animals become extinct? extinction sometimes evolution, ; over-specialization as a cause for extinction, ; extinction sometimes unaccountable, ; man's capability for harm small in the past, ; old theories of great convulsions, ; changes in nature slow, ; the case of lingula, ; local extermination, ; the moas and the great auk, ; the case of large animals, ; inter-dependence of living beings, ; coyotes and fruit, ; shaler on the miocene flora of europe, ; man's desire for knowledge, . index, note on the illustrations the original drawings, made especially for this book, are by charles r. knight and james m. gleeson, under the direction of mr. knight. the fact that the originals of these drawings have been presented to and accepted by the united states national museum is evidence of their scientific value. mr. knight has been commissioned by the smithsonian institution, the united states national museum, and the new york museum of natural history, to do their most important pictures of extinct animals. he is the one modern artist who can picture prehistoric animals with artistic charm of presentation as well as with full scientific accuracy. in this instance, the author has personally superintended the artist's work, so that it is as correct in every respect as present knowledge makes possible. of the minor illustrations, some are by mr. bruce horsfall, an artist attached to the staff of the new york museum of natural history, and all have been drawn with the help of and under the author's supervision. list of illustrations fig. page phororhacos, a patagonian giant of the miocene _from a drawing by charles r. knight_ _frontispiece_ . diplomystus, an ancient member of the shad family _from the fish-bed at green river, wyoming. from a specimen in the united states national museum._ . bryozoa, from the shore of the devonian sea that covered eastern new york _from a specimen in yale university museum, prepared by dr. beecher._ . skeleton of a radiolarian very greatly enlarged . cephalaspis and loricaria, an ancient and a modern armored fish . pterichthys, the wing fish . where a dinosaur sat down . footprints of dinosaurs on the brownstone of the connecticut valley _from a slab in the museum of amherst college._ . the track of a three-toed dinosaur . a great sea lizard, _tylosaurus dyspelor from a drawing by j. m. gleeson._ . jaw of a mosasaur, showing the joint that increased the swallowing capacity of that reptile . koch's hydrarchus. composed of portions of the skeletons of several zeuglodons . a tooth of zeuglodon, one of the "yoke teeth," from which it derives the name . archæopteryx, the earliest known bird _from the specimen in the berlin museum._ . nature's four methods of making a wing: bat, pteryodactyl, archæopteryx, and modern bird . young hoactzins . hesperornis, the great toothed diver _from a drawing by j. m. gleeson._ . archæopteryx _as restored by mr. pycraft._ . thespesius, a common herbivorous dinosaur of the cretaceous _from a drawing by charles r. knight._ . a hind leg of the great brontosaurus, the largest of the dinosaurs . a single vertebra of brontosaurus . moloch, a modern lizard that surpasses the stegosaurs in all but size _from a drawing by j. m. gleeson._ . skeleton of triceratops . the horned ceratosaurus, a carnivorous dinosaur _from a drawing by j. m. gleeson._ . stegosaurus, an armored dinosaur of the jurassic _from a drawing by charles r. knight._ . skull of ceratosaurus _from a specimen in the united states national museum._ . triceratops, he of the three-horned face _from a statuette by charles r. knight._ . a hint of buried treasures . relics of the moa . eggs of feathered giants, Æpyornis, ostrich, moa, compared with a hen's egg . skull of phororhacos compared with that of the race-horse lexington . leg of a horse compared with that of the giant moa . the three giants, phororhacos, moa, ostrich . skeleton of the modern horse and of his eocene ancestor . the development of the horse . the mammoth _from a drawing by charles r. knight._ . skeleton of the mammoth in the royal museum of st. petersburg . the mammoth _as engraved by a primitive artist on a piece of mammoth-tusk._ . tooth of mastodon and of mammoth . the missourium of koch _from a tracing of the figure illustrating koch's description._ . the mastodon _from a drawing by j. m. gleeson._ . the lenape stone, reduced _introductory and explanatory_ _at the present time the interest in the ancient life of this earth is greater than ever before, and very considerable sums of money are being expended to dispatch carefully planned expeditions to various parts of the world systematically to gather the fossil remains of the animals of the past. that this interest is not merely confined to a few scientific men, but is shared by the general public, is shown by the numerous articles, including many telegrams, in the columns of the daily papers. the object of this book is to tell some of the interesting facts concerning a few of the better known or more remarkable of these extinct inhabitants of the ancient world; also, if possible, to ease the strain on these venerable animals, caused by stretching them so often beyond their due proportions._ _the book is admittedly somewhat on the lines of mr. hutchinson's "extinct monsters" and "creatures of other days," but it is hoped that it may be considered with books as with boats, a good plan to build after a good model. the information scattered through these pages has been derived from varied sources; some has of necessity been taken from standard books, a part has been gathered in the course of museum work and official correspondence; for much, the author is indebted to his personal friends, and for a part, he is under obligations to friends he has never met, who have kindly responded to his inquiries. the endeavor has been conscientiously made to exclude all misinformation; it is, nevertheless, entirely probable that some mistakes may have crept in, and due apology for these is hereby made beforehand._ _the author expects to be taken to task for the use of scientific names, and the reader may perhaps sympathize with the old lady who said that the discovery of all these strange animals did not surprise her so much as the fact that anyone should know their names when they were found. the real trouble is that there are no common names for these animals. then, too, people who call for easier names do not stop to reflect that, in many cases, the scientific names are no harder than others, simply less familiar, and, when domesticated, they cease to be hard: witness mammoth, elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe, boa constrictor, all of which are scientific names. and if, for example, we were to call the hyracotherium a hyrax beast it would not be a name, but a description, and not a bit more intelligible._ _again, it is impossible to indicate the period at which these creatures lived without using the scientific term for it--jurassic, eocene, pliocene, as the case may be--because there is no other way of doing it._ _some readers will doubtless feel disappointed because they are not told how many years ago these animals lived. the question is often asked--how long ago did this or that animal live? but when the least estimate puts the age of the earth at only , , years, while the longest makes it , , , , it does seem as if it were hardly worth while to name any figures. even when we get well toward the present period we find the time that has elapsed since the beginning of the jurassic, when the dinosaurs held carnival, variously put at from , , to , , years; while from the beginning of the eocene, when the mammals began to gain the supremacy, until now, the figures vary from , , to , , years. so the question of age will be left for the reader to settle to his or her satisfaction._ _the restorations of extinct animals may be considered as giving as accurate representations of these creatures as it is possible to make; they were either drawn by mr. knight, whose name is guarantee that they are of the highest quality, or by mr. gleeson, with the aid of mr. knight's criticism. that they are infallibly correct is out of the question; for, as dr. woodward writes in the preface to "extinct monsters," "restorations are ever liable to emendation, and the present ... will certainly prove no exception to the rule." as a striking instance of this, it was found necessary at the last moment to change the figure of hesperornis, the original life-like portrait proving to be incorrect in attitude, a fact that would have long escaped detection but for the pan-american exposition. the connection between the two is explained on page . however, the reader may rest assured that these restorations are infinitely more nearly correct than many figures of living animals that have appeared within the last twenty-five years, and are even now doing duty._ _the endeavor has been made to indicate, at the end of each chapter, the museums in which the best examples of the animals described may be seen, and also some book or article in which further information may be obtained. as this book is intended for the general reader, references to purely technical articles have, so far as possible, been avoided, and none in foreign languages mentioned._ _for important works of reference on the subject of paleontology, the reader may consult "a manual of paleontology," by alleyne nicholson and r. lydekker, a work in two volumes dealing with invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants, or "a text-book of paleontology," by karl von zittel, english edition, only the first volume of which has so far been published. an admirable book on the vertebrates is "outlines of vertebrate paleontology," by arthur smith woodward. it is to be understood that these are not at all "popular" in their scope, but intended for students who are already well advanced in the study of zoölogy._ animals of the past i fossils, and how they are formed "_how of a thousand snakes each one was changed into a coil of stone._" fossils are the remains, or even the indications, of animals and plants that have, through natural agencies, been buried in the earth and preserved for long periods of time. this may seem a rather meagre definition, but it is a difficult matter to frame one that will be at once brief, exact, and comprehensive; fossils are not necessarily the remains of extinct animals or plants, neither are they, of necessity, objects that have become petrified or turned into stone. bones of the great auk and rytina, which are quite extinct, would hardly be considered as fossils; while the bones of many species of animals, still living, would properly come in that category, having long ago been buried by natural causes and often been changed into stone. and yet it is not essential for a specimen to have had its animal matter replaced by some mineral in order that it may be classed as a fossil, for the siberian mammoths, found entombed in ice, are very properly spoken of as fossils, although the flesh of at least one of these animals was so fresh that it was eaten. likewise the mammoth tusks brought to market are termed fossil-ivory, although differing but little from the tusks of modern elephants. many fossils indeed merit their popular appellation of petrifactions, because they have been changed into stone by the slow removal of the animal or vegetable matter present and its replacement by some mineral, usually silica or some form of lime. but it is necessary to include 'indications of plants or animals' in the above definition because some of the best fossils may be merely impressions of plants or animals and no portion of the objects themselves, and yet, as we shall see, some of our most important information has been gathered from these same imprints. nearly all our knowledge of the plants that flourished in the past is based on the impressions of their leaves left on the soft mud or smooth sand that later on hardened into enduring stone. such, too, are the trails of creeping and crawling things, casts of the burrows of worms and the many footprints of the reptiles, great and small, that crept along the shore or stalked beside the waters of the ancient seas. the creatures themselves have passed away, their massive bones even are lost, but the prints of their feet are as plain to-day as when they were first made. many a crustacean, too, is known solely or mostly by the cast of its shell, the hard parts having completely vanished, and the existence of birds in some formations is revealed merely by the casts of their eggs; and these natural casts must be included in the category of fossils. impressions of vertebrates may, indeed, be almost as good as actual skeletons, as in the case of some fishes, where the fine mud in which they were buried has become changed to a rock, rivalling porcelain in texture; the bones have either dissolved away or shattered into dust at the splitting of the rock, but the imprint of each little fin-ray and every threadlike bone is as clearly defined as it would have been in a freshly prepared skeleton. so fine, indeed, may have been the mud, and so quiet for the time being the waters of the ancient sea or lake, that not only have prints of bones and leaves been found, but those of feathers and of the skin of some reptiles, and even of such soft and delicate objects as jelly fishes. but for these we should have little positive knowledge of the outward appearance of the creatures of the past, and to them we are occasionally indebted for the solution of some moot point in their anatomy. the reader may possibly wonder why it is that fossils are not more abundant; why, of the vast majority of animals that have dwelt upon the earth since it became fit for the habitation of living beings, not a trace remains. this, too, when some objects--the tusks of the mammoth, for example--have been sufficiently well preserved to form staple articles of commerce at the present time, so that the carved handle of my lady's parasol may have formed part of some animal that flourished at the very dawn of the human race, and been gazed upon by her grandfather a thousand times removed. the answer to this query is that, unless the conditions were such as to preserve at least the hard parts of any creature from immediate decay, there was small probability of its becoming fossilized. these conditions are that the objects must be protected from the air, and, practically, the only way that this happens in nature is by having them covered with water, or at least buried in wet ground. [illustration: fig. .--diplomystus, an ancient member of the shad family. from the fishbed at green river, wyoming. _from a specimen in the united states national museum._] if an animal dies on dry land, where its bones lie exposed to the summer's sun and rain and the winter's frost and snow, it does not take these destructive agencies long to reduce the bones to powder; in the rare event of a climate devoid of rain, mere changes of temperature, by producing expansion and contraction, will sooner or later cause a bone to crack and crumble. usually, too, the work of the elements is aided by that of animals and plants. every one has seen a dog make way with a pretty good-sized bone, and the hyena has still greater capabilities in that line; and ever since vertebrate life began there have been carnivorous animals of some kind to play the rôle of bone-destroyers. even were there no carnivores, there were probably then, as now, rats and mice a-plenty, and few suspect the havoc small rodents may play with a bone for the grease it contains, or merely for the sake of exercising their teeth. now and then we come upon a fossil bone, long since turned into stone, on which are the marks of the little cutting teeth of field mice, put there long, long ago, and yet looking as fresh as if made only last week. these little beasts, however, are indirect rather than direct agents in the destruction of bones by gnawing off the outer layers, and thus permitting the more ready entrance of air and water. plants, as a rule, begin their work after an object has become partly or entirely buried in the soil, when the tiny rootlets find their way into fissures, and, expanding as they grow, act like so many little wedges to force it asunder. thus on dry land there is small opportunity for a bone to become a fossil; but, if a creature so perishes that its body is swept into the ocean or one of its estuaries, settles to the muddy bottom of a lake or is caught on the sandy shoals of some river, the chances are good that its bones will be preserved. they are poorest in the ocean, for unless the body drifts far out and settles down in quiet waters, the waves pound the bones to pieces with stones or scour them away with sand, while marine worms may pierce them with burrows, or echinoderms cut holes for their habitations; there are more enemies to a bone than one might imagine. suppose, however, that some animal has sunk in the depths of a quiet lake, where the wash of the waves upon the shore wears the sand or rock into mud so fine that it floats out into still water and settles there as gently as dew upon the grass. little by little the bones are covered by a deposit that fills every groove and pore, preserving the mark of every ridge and furrow; and while this may take long, it is merely a matter of time and favorable circumstance to bury the bones as deeply as one might wish. scarce a reader of these lines but at some time has cast anchor in some quiet pond and pulled it up, thickly covered with sticky mud, whose existence would hardly be suspected from the sparkling waters and pebbly shores. if, instead of a lake, our animal had gone to the bottom of some estuary into which poured a river turbid with mud, the process of entombment would have been still more rapid, while, had the creature been engulfed in quicksand, it would have been the quickest method of all; and just such accidents did take place in the early days of the earth as well as now. at least two examples of the great dinosaur thespesius have been found with the bones all in place, the thigh bones still in their sockets and the ossified tendons running along the backbone as they did in life. this would hardly have happened had not the body been surrounded and supported so that every part was held in place and not crushed, and it is difficult to see any better agency for this than burial in quicksand. if such an event as we have been supposing took place in a part of the globe where the land was gradually sinking--and the crust of the earth is ever rising and falling--the mud and sand would keep on accumulating until an enormously thick layer was formed. the lime or silica contained in the water would tend to cement the particles of mud and grains of sand into a solid mass, while the process would be aided by the pressure of the overlying sediment, the heat created by this pressure, and that derived from the earth beneath. during this process the animal matter of bones or other objects would disappear and its place be taken by lime or silica, and thus would be formed a layer of rock containing fossils. the exact manner in which this replacement is effected and in which the chemical and mechanical changes occur is very far from being definitely known--especially as the process of "fossilization" must at times have been very complicated. in the case of fossil wood greater changes have taken place than in the fossilization of bone, for there is not merely an infiltration of the specimen but a complete replacement of the original vegetable by mineral matter, the interior of the cells being first filled with silica and their walls replaced later on. so completely and minutely may this change occur that under the microscope the very cellular structure of the wood is visible, and as this varies according to the species, it is possible, by microscopical examination, to determine the relationship of trees in cases where nothing but fragments of the trunk remain. the process of fossilization is at best a slow one, and soft substances such as flesh, or even horn, decay too rapidly for it to take place, so that all accounts of petrified bodies, human or otherwise, are either based on deliberate frauds or are the result of a very erroneous misinterpretation of facts. that the impression or cast of a body _might_ be formed in nature, somewhat as casts have been made of those who perished at pompeii, is true; but, so far, no authentic case of the kind has come to light, and the reader is quite justified in disbelieving any report of "a petrified man." natural casts of such hard bodies as shells are common, formed by the dissolving away of the original shell after it had become enclosed in mud, or even after this had changed to stone, and the filling up of this space by the filtering in of water charged with lime or silica, which is there deposited, often in crystalline form. in this way, too, are formed casts of eggs of reptiles and birds, so perfect that it is possible to form a pretty accurate opinion as to the group to which they belong. [illustration: fig. .--bryozoa from the shore of the devonian sea that covered eastern new york. _from a specimen in yale university museum, prepared by dr. beecher._] sometimes it happens that shells or other small objects imbedded in limestone have been dissolved and replaced by silica, and in such cases it is possible to eat away the enveloping rock with acid and leave the silicified casts. by this method specimens of shells, corals, and bryozoans are obtained of almost lace-like delicacy, and as perfect as if only yesterday gathered at the sea-shore. casts of the interior of shells, showing many details of structure, are common, and anyone who has seen clams dug will understand how they are formed by the entrance of mud into the empty shell. casts of the kernels of nuts are formed in much the same way, and professor e. h. barbour has thus described the probable manner in which this was done. when the nuts were dropped into the water of the ancient lake the kernel rotted away, but the shell, being tough and hard, would probably last for years under favorable circumstances. throughout the marls and clays of the bad lands (of south dakota) there is a large amount of potash. this is dissolved by water, and then acts upon quartz, carrying it away in solution. this would find its way by infiltration into the interior of the nut. at the same time with this process, carrying lime carbonate in solution was going on, so that doubtless the stone kernels, consisting of pretty nearly equal parts of lime and silica, were deposited within the nuts. these kernels, of course, became hard and flinty in time, and capable of resisting almost any amount of weathering. not so the organic shell; this eventually would decay away, and so leave the filling or kernel of chalcedony and lime.[ ] [ ] _right here is the weak spot in professor barbour's explanation, and an illustration of our lack of knowledge. for it is difficult to see why the more enduring husk should not have become mineralized equally with the cavity within._ "fossil leaves" are nothing but fine casts, made in natural moulds, and all have seen the first stages in their formation as they watched the leaves sailing to the ground to be covered by mud or sand at the next rain, or dropping into the water, where sooner or later they sink, as we may see them at the bottom of any quiet woodland spring. impressions of leaves are among the early examples of color-printing, for they are frequently of a darker, or even different, tint from that of the surrounding rock, this being caused by the carbonization of vegetable matter or to its action on iron that may have been present in the soil or water. besides complete mineralization, or petrifaction, there are numerous cases of incomplete or semi-fossilization, where modern objects, still retaining their phosphate of lime and some animal matter even, are found buried in rock. this takes place when water containing carbonate of lime, silica, or sometimes iron, flows over beds of sand, cementing the grains into solid but not dense rock, and at the same time penetrating and uniting with it such things as chance to be buried. in this way was formed the "fossil man" of guadeloupe, west indies, a skeleton of a modern carib lying in recent concretionary limestone, together with shells of existing species and fragments of pottery. in a similar way, too, human remains in parts of florida have, through the infiltration of water charged with iron, become partially converted into limonite iron ore; and yet we know that these bones have been buried within quite recent times. sometimes we hear of springs or waters that "turn things into stone," but these tales are quite incorrect. waters there are, like the celebrated hot springs of auvergne, france, containing so much carbonate of lime in solution that it is readily deposited on objects placed therein, coating them more or less thickly, according to the length of time they are allowed to remain. this, however, is merely an encrustation, not extending into the objects. in a similar way the precipitation of solid material from waters of this description forms the porous rock known as tufa, and this often encloses moss, twigs, and other substances that are in no way to be classed with fossils. but some streams, flowing over limestone rocks, take up considerable carbonate of lime, and this may be deposited in water-soaked logs, replacing more or less of the woody tissue and thus really partially changing the wood into stone. the very rocks themselves may consist largely of fossils; chalk, for example, is mainly made up of the disintegrated shells of simple marine animals called foraminifers, and the beautiful flint-like "skeletons" of other small creatures termed radiolarians, minute as they are, have contributed extensively to the formation of some strata. even after an object has become fossilized, it is far from certain that it will remain in good condition until found, while the chance of its being found at all is exceedingly small. when we remember that it is only here and there that nature has made the contents of the rocks accessible by turning the strata on edge, heaving them into cliffs or furrowing them with valleys and canyons, we realize what a vast number of pages of the fossil record must remain not only unread, but unseen. the wonder is, not that we know so little of the history of the past, but that we have learned so much, for not only is nature careless in keeping the records--preserving them mostly in scattered fragments--but after they have been laid away and sealed up in the rocks they are subject to many accidents. some specimens get badly flattened by the weight of subsequently deposited strata, others are cracked and twisted by the movements of the rocks during periods of upheaval or subsidence, and when at last they are brought to the surface, the same sun and rain, snow and frost, from which they once escaped, are ready to renew the attack and crumble even the hard stone to fragments. such, very briefly, are some of the methods by which fossils may be formed, such are some of the accidents by which they may be destroyed; but this description must be taken as a mere outline and as applying mainly to vertebrates, or backboned animals, since it is with them that we shall have to deal. it may, however, show why it is that fossils are not more plentiful, why we have mere hints of the existence of many animals, and why myriads of creatures may have flourished and passed away without so much as leaving a trace of their presence behind. _references_ _a very valuable and interesting article by dr. charles a. white, entitled "the relation of biology to geological investigation," will be found in the report of the united states national museum for . this comprises a series of essays on the nature and scientific uses of fossil remains, their origin, relative chronological value and other questions pertaining to them. the united states national museum has published a pamphlet, part k, bulletin , containing directions for collecting and preparing fossils, by charles schuchert; and another, part b, bulletin , collecting recent and fossil plants, by f. h. knowlton._ [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of a radiolarian very greatly enlarged.] ii the earliest known vertebrates "_we are the ancients of the earth and in the morning of the times._" there is a universal, and perfectly natural, desire for information, which in ourselves we term thirst for knowledge and in others call curiosity, that makes mankind desire to know how everything began and causes much speculation as to how it all will end. this may take the form of a wish to know how a millionaire made his first ten cents, or it may lead to the questions--what is the oldest animal? or, what is the first known member of the great group of backboned animals at whose head man has placed himself? and, what did this, our primeval and many-times-removed ancestor, look like? the question is one that has ever been full of interest for naturalists, and nature has been interrogated in various ways in the hope that she might be persuaded to yield a satisfactory answer. the most direct way has been that of tracing back the history of animal life by means of fossil remains, but beyond a certain point this method cannot go, since, for reasons stated in various places in these pages, the soft bodies of primitive animals are not preserved. to supplement this work, the embryologist has studied the early stages of animals, as their development throws a side-light on their past history. and, finally, there is the study of the varied forms of invertebrates, some of which have proved to be like vertebrates in part of their structure, while others have been revealed as vertebrates in disguise. so far these various methods have yielded various answers, or the replies, like those of the delphic oracle, have been variously interpreted so that vertebrates are considered by some to have descended from the worms, while others have found their beginnings in some animal allied to the king crab. every student of genealogy knows only too well how difficult a matter it is to trace a family pedigree back a few centuries, how soon the family names become changed, the line of descent obscure, and how soon gaps appear whose filling in requires much patient research. how much more difficult must it be, then, to trace the pedigree of a race that extends, not over centuries, but thousands of centuries; how wide must be some of the gaps, how very different may the founders of the family be from their descendants! the words old and ancient that we use so often in speaking of fossils appeal to us somewhat vaguely, for we speak of the ancient civilizations of greece and rome, and call a family old that can show a pedigree running back four or five hundred years, when such as these are but affairs of yesterday compared with even recent fossils. perhaps we may better appreciate the meaning of these words by recalling that, since the dawn of vertebrate life, sufficient of the earth's surface has been worn away and washed into the sea to form, were the strata piled directly one upon the other, fifteen or twenty miles of rock. this, of course, is the sum total of sedimentary rocks, for such a thickness as this is not to be found at any one locality; because, during the various ups and downs that this world of ours has met with, those portions that chanced to be out of water would receive no deposit of mud or sand, and hence bear no corresponding stratum of rock. the reader may think that there is a great deal of difference between fifteen and twenty miles, but this liberal margin is due to the difficulty of measuring the thickness of the rocks, and in europe the sum of the measurable strata is much greater than in north america. the earliest traces of animal life are found deeper still, beneath something like eighteen to twenty-five miles of rock, while below this level are the strata in which dwelt the earliest living things, organisms so small and simple that no trace of their existence has been left, and we infer that they were there because any given group starts in a modest way with small and simple individuals. at the bottom, then, of twenty miles of rocks the seeker for the progenitor of the great family of backboned animals finds the scant remains of fish-like animals that the cautious naturalist, who is much given to "hedging," terms, not vertebrates, but prevertebrates or the forerunners of backboned animals. the earliest of these consist of small bony plates, and traces of a cartilaginous backbone from the lower silurian of colorado, believed to represent relatives of chimæra and species related to those better-known forms holoptychius and osteolepis, which occur in higher strata. there are certainly indications of vertebrate life, but the remains are so imperfect that little more can be said regarding them, and this is also true of the small conical teeth which occur in the lower silurian of st. petersburg, and are thought to be the teeth of some animal like the lamprey. a little higher up in the rocks, though not in the scale of life, in the lower old red sandstone of england, are found more numerous and better preserved specimens of another little fish-like creature, rarely if ever exceeding two inches in length, and also related (probably) to the hag-fishes and lampreys that live to-day. these early vertebrates are not only small, but they were cartilaginous, so that it was essential for their preservation that they should be buried in soft mud as soon as possible after death. even if this took place they were later on submitted to the pressure of some miles of overlying rock until, in some cases, their remains have been pressed out thinner than a sheet of paper, and so thoroughly incorporated into the surrounding stone that it is no easy matter to trace their shadowy outlines. with such drawbacks as these to contend with, it can scarcely be wondered at that, while some naturalists believe these little creatures to be related to the lamprey, others consider that they belong to a perfectly distinct group of animals, and others still think it possible that they may be the larval or early stages of larger and better-developed forms. still higher up we come upon the abundant remains of numerous small fish-like animals, more or less completely clad in bony armor, indicating that they lived in troublous times when there was literally a fight for existence and only such as were well armed or well protected could hope to survive. a parallel case exists to-day in some of the rivers of south america, where the little cat-fishes would possibly be eaten out of existence but for the fact that they are covered--some of them very completely--with plate-armor that enables them to defy their enemies, or renders them such poor eating as not to be worth the taking. the arrangement of the plates or scales in the living loricaria is very suggestive of the series of bony rings covering the body of the ancient cephalaspis, only the latter, so far as we know, had no side-fins; but the creatures are in no wise related, and the similarity is in appearance only. [illustration: fig. .--cephalaspis and loricaria, an ancient and a modern armored fish.] pterichthys, the wing fish, was another small, quaint, armor-clad creature, whose fossilized remains were taken for those of a crab, and once described as belonging to a beetle. certainly the buckler of this fish, which is the part most often preserved, with its jointed, bony arms, looks to the untrained eye far more like some strange crustacean than a fish, and even naturalists have pictured the animal as crawling over the bare sands by means of those same arms. these fishes and their allies were once the dominant type of life, and must have abounded in favored localities, for in places are great deposits of their protective shields jumbled together in a confused mass, and, save that they have hardened into stone, lying just as they were washed up on the ancient beach ages ago. how abundant they were may be gathered from the fact that it is believed their bodies helped consolidate portions of the strata of the english old red sandstone. says mr. hutchinson, speaking of the caithness flagstones, "they owe their peculiar tenacity and durability to the dead fishes that rotted in their midst while yet they were only soft mud. for just as a plaster cast boiled in oil becomes thereby denser and more durable, so the oily and other matter coming from decomposing fish operated on the surrounding sand or mud so as to make it more compact." it may not be easy to explain how it came to pass that fishes dwelling in salt water, as these undoubtedly did, were thus deposited in great numbers, but we may now and then see how deposits of fresh-water fishes may have been formed. when rivers flowing through a stretch of level country are swollen during the spring floods, they overflow their banks, often carrying along large numbers of fishes. as the water subsides these may be caught in shallow pools that soon dry up, leaving the fishes to perish, and every year the illinois game association rescues from the "back waters" quantities of bass that would otherwise be lost. mr. f. s. webster has recorded an instance that came under his observation in texas, where thousands of gar pikes, trapped in a lake formed by an overflow of the rio grande, had been, by the drying up of this lake, penned into a pool about seventy-five feet long by twenty-five feet wide. the fish were literally packed together like sardines, layer upon layer, and a shot fired into the pool would set the entire mass in motion, the larger gars as they dashed about casting the smaller fry into the air, a score at a time. mr. webster estimates that there must have been not less than or fish in the pool, from a foot and a half up to seven feet in length, every one of which perished a little later. in addition to the fish in the pond, hundreds of those that had died previously lay about in every direction, and one can readily imagine what a fish-bed this would have made had the occurrence taken place in the past. from the better-preserved specimens that do now and then turn up, we are able to obtain a very exact idea of the construction of the bony cuirass by which pterichthys and its american cousin were protected, and to make a pretty accurate reconstruction of the entire animal. these primitive fishes had mouths, for eating is a necessity; but these mouths were not associated with true jaws, for the two do not, as might be supposed, necessarily go together. neither did these animals possess hard backbones, and, while pterichthys and its relatives had arms or fins, the hard parts of these were not on the inside but on the outside, so that the limb was more like the leg of a crab than the fin of a fish; and this is among the reasons why some naturalists have been led to conclude that vertebrates may have developed from crustaceans. pteraspis, another of these little armored prevertebrates, had a less complicated covering, and looked very much like a small fish with its fore parts caught in an elongate clam-shell. the fishes that we have so far been considering--orphans of the past they might be termed, as they have no living relatives--were little fellows; but their immediate successors, preserved in the devonian strata, particularly of north america, were the giants of those days, termed, from their size and presumably fierce appearance, titantichthys and dinichthys, and are related to a fish, _ceratodus_, still living in australia. we know practically nothing of the external appearance of these fishes, great and fierce though they may have been, with powerful jaws and armored heads, for they had no bony skeleton--as if they devoted their energies to preying upon their neighbors rather than to internal improvements. they attained a length of ten to eighteen feet, with a gape, in the large species called titanichthys, of four feet, and such a fish might well be capable of devouring anything known to have lived at that early date. succeeding these, in carboniferous times, came a host of shark-like creatures known mainly from their teeth and spines, for their skeletons were of cartilage, and belonging to types that have mostly perished, giving place to others better adapted to the changed conditions wrought by time. almost the only living relative of these early fishes is a little shark, known as the port jackson shark, living in australian waters. like the old sharks, this one has a spine in front of his back fins, and, like them, he fortunately has a mouthful of diversely shaped teeth; fortunately, because through their aid we are enabled to form some idea of the manner in which some of the teeth found scattered through the rocks were arranged. for the teeth were not planted in sockets, as they are in higher animals, but simply rested on the jaws, from which they readily became detached when decomposition set in after death. to complicate matters, the teeth in different parts of the jaws were often so unlike one another that when found separately they would hardly be suspected of having belonged to the same animal. besides teeth these fishes, for purposes of offence and defence, were usually armed with spines, sometimes of considerable size and strength, and often elaborately grooved and sculptured. as the soft parts perished the teeth and spines were left to be scattered by waves and currents, a tooth here, another there, and a spine somewhere else; so it has often happened that, being found separately, two or three quite different names have been given to one and the same animal. now and then some specimen comes to light that escaped the thousand and one accidents to which such things were exposed, and that not only shows the teeth and spines but the faint imprint of the body and fins as well. and from such rare examples we learn just what teeth and spines go with one another, and sometimes find that one fish has received names enough for an entire school. these ancient sharks were not the large and powerful fishes that we have to-day--these came upon the scene later--but mostly fishes of small size, and, as indicated by their spines, fitted quite as much for defence as offence. their rise was rapid, and in their turn they became the masters of the world, spreading in great numbers through the waters that covered the face of the earth; but their supremacy was of short duration, for they declined in numbers even during the carboniferous period, and later dwindled almost to extinction. and while sharks again increased, they never reached their former abundance, and the species that arose were swift, predatory forms, better fitted for the struggle for existence. _references_ _the early fishes make but little show in a museum, both on account of their small size and the conditions under which they have been preserved. the museum of comparative zoölogy has a large collection of these ancient vertebrates, and there is a considerable number of fine teeth and spines of carboniferous sharks in the united states national museum._ _hugh miller's "the old red sandstone" contains some charming descriptions of his discoveries of pterichthys and related forms, and this book will ever remain a classic._ [illustration: fig. .--pterichthys, the wing fish.] iii impressions of the past "_the weird palimpsest, old and vast, wherein thou hid'st the spectral past._" the rev. h. n. hutchinson commences one of his interesting books with emerson's saying, "that everything in nature is engaged in writing its own history;" and, as this remark cannot be improved on, it may well stand at the head of a chapter dealing with the footprints that the creatures of yore left on the sands of the sea-shore, the mud of a long-vanished lake bottom, or the shrunken bed of some water-course. not only have creatures that walked left a record of their progress, but the worms that burrowed in the sand, the shell-fish that trailed over the mud when the tide was low, the stranded crab as he scuttled back to the sea--each and all left some mark to tell of their former presence. even the rain that fell and the very wind that blew sometimes recorded the direction whence they came, and we may read in the rocks, also, accounts of freshets sweeping down with turbid waters, and of long periods of drouth, when the land was parched and lakes and rivers shrank beneath the burning sun. all these things have been told and retold; but, as there are many who have not read mr. hutchinson's books and to whom buckland is quite unknown, it may be excusable to add something to what has already been said in the first chapter of these impressions of the past. the very earliest suggestion we have of the presence of animal life upon this globe is in the form of certain long dark streaks below the cambrian of england, considered to be traces of the burrows of worms that were filled with fine mud, and while this interpretation may be wrong there is, on the other hand, no reason why it may not be correct. plant and animal life must have had very lowly beginnings, and it is not at all probable that we shall find any trace of the simple and minute forms with which they started,[ ] though we should not be surprised at finding hints of the presence of living creatures below the strata in which their remains are actually known to occur. [ ] _within the last few years what are believed to be indications of bacteria have been described from carboniferous rocks. naturally such announcements must be accepted with great caution, for while there is no reason why this may not be true, it is much more probable that definite evidence of the effects of bacteria on plants should be found than that these simple, single-celled organisms should themselves have been detected._ worm burrows, to be sure, are hardly footprints, but tracks are found in cambrian rocks just above the strata in which the supposed burrows occur, and from that time onward there are tracks a-plenty, for they have been made, wherever the conditions were favorable, ever since animals began to walk. all that was needed was a medium in which impressions could be made and so filled that there was imperfect adhesion between mould and matrix. thus we find them formed not only by the sea-shore, in sands alternately dry and covered, but by the river-side, in shallow water, or even on land where tracks might be left in soft or moist earth into which wind-driven dust or sand might lodge, or sand or mud be swept by the mimic flood caused by a thunder shower. so there are tracks in strata of every age; at first those of invertebrates: after the worm burrows the curious complicated trails of animals believed to be akin to the king crab; broad, ribbed, ribbon-like paths ascribed to trilobites; then faint scratches of insects, and the shallow, palmed prints of salamanders, and the occasional slender sprawl of a lizard; then footprints, big and little, of the horde of dinosaurs and, finally, miles above the cambrian, marks of mammals. sometimes, like the tracks of salamanders and reptiles in the carboniferous rocks of pennsylvania and kansas, these are all we have to tell of the existence of air-breathing animals. again, as with the iguanodon, the foot to fit the track may be found in the same layer of rock, but this is not often the case. although footprints in the rocks must often have been seen, they seem to have attracted little or no notice from scientific men until about to , when they were almost simultaneously described both in europe and america; even then, it was some time before they were generally conceded to be actually the tracks of animals, but, like worm burrows and trails, were looked upon as the impressions of sea-weeds. the now famous tracks in the "brown stone" of the connecticut valley seem to have first been seen by pliny moody in , when he ploughed up a specimen on his farm, showing small imprints, which later on were popularly called the tracks of noah's raven. the discovery passed without remark until in the footprints came under the observation of dr. james deane, who, in turn, called professor hitchcock's attention to them. the latter at once began a systematic study of these impressions, publishing his first account in and continuing his researches for many years, in the course of which he brought together the fine collection in amherst college. at that time dinosaurs were practically unknown, and it is not to be wondered at that these three-toed tracks, great and small, were almost universally believed to be those of birds. so it is greatly to the credit of dr. deane, who also studied these footprints, that he was led to suspect that they might have been made by other animals. this suspicion was partly caused by the occasional association of four and five-toed prints with the three-toed impressions, and partly by the rare occurrence of imprints showing the texture of the sole of the foot, which was quite different from that of any known bird. [illustration: fig. .--where a dinosaur sat down.] in the light of our present knowledge we are able to read many things in these tracks that were formerly more or less obscure, and to see in them a complete verification of dr. deane's suspicion that they were not made by birds. we see clearly that the long tracks called _anomoepus_, with their accompanying short fore feet, mark where some dinosaur squatted down to rest or progressed slowly on all-fours, as does the kangaroo when feeding quietly;[ ] and we interpret the curious heart-shaped depression sometimes seen back of the feet, not as the mark of a stubby tail, but as made by the ends of the slender pubes, bones that help form the hip-joints. then, too, the mark of the inner, or short first, toe, is often very evident, although it was a long time before the bones of this toe were actually found, and many of the dinosaurs now known to have four toes were supposed to have but three. [ ] _it is to be noted that a leaping kangaroo touches the ground neither with his heel nor his tail, but that between jumps he rests momentarily on his toes only; hence impressions made by any creature that jumped like a kangaroo would be very short._ it seems strange, and it is strange, that while so many hundreds of tracks should have been found in the limited area exposed to view, so few bones have been found--our knowledge of the veritable animals that made the tracks being a blank. a few examples have, it is true, been found, but these are only a tithe of those known to have existed; while of the great animals that strode along the shore, leaving tracks fifteen inches long and a yard apart pressed deeply into the hard sand, not a bone remains. the probability is that the strata containing their bones lie out to sea, whither their bodies were carried by tides and currents, and that we may never see more than the few fragments that were scattered along the seaside. that part of the valley of the connecticut wherein the footprints are found seems to have been a long, narrow estuary running southward from turner's falls, mass., where the tracks are most abundant and most clear. the topography was such that this estuary was subject to sudden and great fluctuations of the water-level, large tracts of shore being now left dry to bake in the sun, and again covered by turbid water which deposited on the bottom a layer of mud. over and over again this happened, forming layer upon layer of what is now stone, sometimes the lapse of time between the deposits being so short that the tracks of the big dinosaurs extend through several sheets of stone; while again there was a period of drouth when the shore became so dry and firm as to retain but a single shallow impression. [illustration: fig. .--footprints of dinosaurs on the brownstone of the connecticut valley. _from a slab in the museum of amherst college._] something of the wealth of animal life that roamed about this estuary may be gathered from the number of different footprints recorded on the sands, and these are so many and so varied that professor hitchcock in two extensive reports enumerated over species, representing various groups of animals. one little point must, however, be borne in mind, that mere size is no sure indication of differences in dealing with reptiles, for these long-lived creatures grow almost continuously throughout life, so that one animal even may have left his footprints over and over in assorted sizes from one end of the valley to the other. the slab shown in fig. is a remarkably fine example of these connecticut river footprints; it shows in relief forty-eight tracks of the animal called brontozoum sillimanium and six of a lesser species. it was quarried near middletown, in , and for sixty years did duty as a flagstone, fortunately with the face downwards. when taken up for repairs the tracks were discovered, and later on the slab, which measures three by five feet, was transferred to the museum of amherst college. there is an interesting parallel between the history of footprints in england and america, for they were noticed at about the same time, , in both countries; in each case the tracks were in rocks of triassic age, and, in both instances, the animals that made them have never been found. in england, however, the tracks first found were those ascribed to tortoises, though a little later dinosaur footprints were discovered in the same locality. oddly enough these numerous tracks all run one way, from west to east, as if the animals were migrating, or were pursuing some well-known and customary route to their feeding grounds. for some reason triassic rocks are particularly rich in footprints; for from strata of this same age in the rhine valley come those curious examples so like the mark of a stubby hand that dr. kaup christened the beast supposed to have made them _cheirotherium_, beast with a hand, suggesting that they had been made by some gigantic opossum. as the tracks measure five by eight inches, it would have been rather a large specimen, but the mammals had not then arisen, and it is generally believed that the impressions were made by huge (for their kind) salamander-like creatures, known as labyrinthodonts, whose remains are found in the same strata. footprints may aid greatly in determining the attitude assumed by extinct animals, and in this way they have been of great service in furnishing proof that many of the dinosaurs walked erect. the impressions on the sands of the old connecticut estuary may be said to show this very plainly, but in england and belgium is evidence still more conclusive, in the shape of tracks ascribed to the iguanodon. these were made on soft soil into which the feet sank much more deeply than in the connecticut sands, and the casts made in the natural moulds show the impression of toes very clearly. if the animals had walked flat-footed, as we do, the prints of the toes would have been followed by a long heel mark, but such is not the case; there are the sharply defined marks of the toes and nothing more, showing plainly that the iguanodons walked, like birds, on the toes alone. more than this, had these dinosaurs dragged their tails there would have been a continuous furrow between the footprints; but nothing of this sort is to be found; on the contrary, a fine series of tracks, uncovered at hastings, england, made by several individuals and running for seventy-five feet, shows footprints only. hence it may be fairly concluded that these great creatures carried their tails clear of the ground, as shown in the picture of _thespesius_, the weight of the tail counterbalancing that of the body. where crocodilians or some of the short-limbed dinosaurs have crept along there is, as we should expect, a continuous furrow between the imprints of the feet. this is what footprints tell us when their message is read aright; when improperly translated they only add to the enormous bulk of our ignorance. some years ago we were treated to accounts of wonderful footprints in the rock of the prison-yard at carson city, nev., which, according to the papers, not only showed that men existed at a much earlier period than the scientific supposed, but that they were men of giant stature. this was clearly demonstrated by the footprints, for they were such as _might_ have been made by huge moccasined feet, and this was all that was necessary for the conclusion that they _were_ made by just such feet. for it is a curious fact that the majority of mankind seem to prefer any explanation other than the most simple and natural, particularly in the case of fossils, and are always looking for a primitive race of gigantic men. bones of the mastodon and mammoth have again and again been eagerly accepted as those of giants; a salamander was brought forward as evidence of the deluge (_homo diluvii testis_); ammonites and their allies pose as fossil snakes, and the "petrified man" flourishes perennially. however, in this case the prints were recognized by naturalists as having most probably been made by some great ground sloth, such as the mylodon or morotherium, these animals, though belonging to a group whose headquarters were in patagonia, having extended their range as far north as oregon. that the tracks seemed to have been made by a biped, rather than a quadruped, was due to the fact that the prints of the hind feet fell upon and obliterated the marks of the fore. still, a little observation showed that here and there prints of the fore feet were to be seen, and on one spot were indications of a struggle between two of the big beasts. the mud, or rather the stone that had been mud, bears the imprints of opposing feet, one set deeper at the toes, the other at the heels, as if one animal had pushed and the other resisted. in the rock, too, are broad depressions bearing the marks of coarse hair, where one creature had apparently sat on its haunches in order to use its fore limbs to the best advantage. other footprints there are in this prison-yard; the great round "spoor" of the mammoth, the hoofs of a deer, and the paws of a wolf(?), indicating that hereabout was some pool where all these creatures came to drink. more than this, we learn that when these prints were made, or shortly after, a strong wind blew from the southeast, for on that face of the ridges bounding the margin of each big footprint, we find sand that lodged against the squeezed-up mud and stuck there to serve as a perpetual record of the direction of the wind. _references_ _almost every museum has some specimen of the connecticut valley footprints, but the largest and finest collections are in the museums of amherst college, mass., and yale university, although, owing to lack of room, only a few of the yale specimens are on exhibition. the collection at amherst comprises most of the types described by professor e. hitchcock in his "ichnology of new england," a work in two fully illustrated quarto volumes. other footprints are described and figured by dr. j. deane in "ichnographs from the sandstone of the connecticut river."_ [illustration: fig. .--the track of a three-toed dinosaur.] iv rulers of the ancient seas "_a time there was when the universe was darkness and water, wherein certain animals of frightful and compound mien were generated. there were serpents, and other creatures with the mixed shapes of one another...._"--_the archaic genesis._ history shows us how in the past nation after nation has arisen, increased in size and strength, extended its bounds and dominion until it became the ruling power of the world, and then passed out of existence, often so completely that nothing has remained save a few mounds of dirt marking the graves of former cities. and so has it been with the kingdoms of nature. just as greece, carthage, and rome were successively the rulers of the sea in the days that we call old, so, long before the advent of man, the seas were ruled by successive races of creatures whose bones now lie scattered over the beds of the ancient seas, even as the wrecks of galleys lie strewn over the bed of the mediterranean. for a time the armor-clad fishes held undisputed sway; then their reign was ended by the coming of the sharks, who in their turn gave way to the fish-lizards, the ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. these, however, were rather local in their rule; but the next group of reptiles to appear on the scene, the great marine reptiles called mosasaurs, practically extended their empire around the world, from new zealand to north america. we properly call these reptiles great, for so they were; but there are degrees of greatness, and there is a universal tendency to think of the animals that have become extinct as much greater than those of the present day, to magnify the reptile that we never saw as well as the fish that "got away," and it may be safely said that the greatest of animals will shrink before a two-foot rule. as a matter of fact, no animals are known to have existed that were larger than the whales; and, while there are now no reptiles that can compare in bulk with the dinosaurs, there were few mosasaurs that exceeded in size a first-class crocodile. an occasional mosasaur reaches a length of forty feet, but such are rare indeed, and one even twenty-five feet long is a large specimen,[ ] while the great mugger, or man-eating crocodile, grows, if permitted, to a length of twenty-five or even thirty feet, and need not be ashamed to match his bulk and jaws against those of most mosasaurs. [ ] _it is surprising to find professor cope placing the length of the mosasaurs at , , or feet, as there is not the slightest basis for even the lowest of these figures. professor williston, the best authority on the subject, states, in his volume on the "cretaceous reptiles of kansas," that there is not in existence any specimen of a mosasaur indicating a greater length than feet._ the first of these sea-reptiles to be discovered has passed into history, and now reposes in the jardin des plantes, paris, after changing hands two or three times, the original owner being dispossessed of his treasure by the subtleties of law, while the next holder was deprived of the specimen by main force. thus the story is told by m. faujas st. fond, as rendered into english, in mantell's "petrifactions and their teachings": "some workmen, in blasting the rock in one of the caverns of the interior of the mountain, perceived, to their astonishment, the jaws of a large animal attached to the roof of the chasm. the discovery was immediately made known to m. hoffman, who repaired to the spot, and for weeks presided over the arduous task of separating the mass of stone containing these remains from the surrounding rock. his labors were rewarded by the successful extrication of the specimen, which he conveyed in triumph to his house. this extraordinary discovery, however, soon became the subject of general conversation, and excited so much interest that the canon of the cathedral which stands on the mountain resolved to claim the fossil, in right of being lord of the manor, and succeeded, after a long and harassing lawsuit, in obtaining the precious relic. it remained for years in his possession, and hoffman died without regaining his treasure. at length the french revolution broke out, and the armies of the republic advanced to the gates of maestricht. the town was bombarded; but, at the suggestion of the committee of savans who accompanied the french troops to select their share of the plunder, the artillery was not suffered to play on that part of the city in which the celebrated fossil was known to be preserved. in the meantime, the canon of st. peter's, shrewdly suspecting the reason why such peculiar favor was shown to his residence, removed the specimen and concealed it in a vault; but, when the city was taken, the french authorities compelled him to give up his ill-gotten prize, which was immediately transmitted to the jardin des plantes, at paris, where it still forms one of the most interesting objects in that magnificent collection." and there it remains to this day. [illustration: fig. .--a great sea lizard, _tylosaurus dyspelor_. _from a drawing by j. m. gleeson._] the seas that rolled over western kansas were the headquarters of the mosasaurs, and hundreds--aye, thousands--of specimens have been taken from the chalk bluffs of that region, some of them in such a fine state of preservation that we are not only well acquainted with their internal structure, but with their outward appearance as well. they were essentially swimming lizards--great, overgrown, and distant relatives of the monitors of africa and asia, especially adapted to a roving, predatory life by their powerful tails and paddle-shaped feet. their cup-and-ball vertebræ indicate great flexibility of the body, their sharp teeth denote ability to capture slippery prey, and the structure of the lower jaw shows that they probably ate in a hurry and swallowed their food entire, or bolted it in great chunks. the jaws of all reptiles are made up of a number of pieces, but these are usually so spliced together that each half of the jaw is one inflexible, or nearly inflexible, mass of bone. in snakes, which swallow their prey entire, the difficulty of swallowing animals greater in diameter than themselves is surmounted by having the two halves of the lower jaw loosely joined at the free ends, so that these may spread wide apart and thus increase the gape of the mouth. this is also helped by the manner in which the jaw is joined to the head. the pelican solves the problem by the length of his mandibles, this allowing so much spring that when open they bow apart to form a nice little landing net. in the mosasaurs, as in the cormorants, among birds, there is a sort of joint in each half of the lower jaw which permits it to bow outward when opened, and this, aided by the articulation of the jaw with the cranium, adds greatly to the swallowing capacity. thus in nature the same end is attained by very different methods. to borrow a suggestion from professor cope, if the reader will extend his arms at full length, the palms touching, and then bend his elbows outward he will get a very good idea of the action of a mosasaur's jaw. the western sea was a lively place in the day of the great mosasaurs, for with them swam the king of turtles, archelon, as mr. wieland has fitly named him, a creature a dozen feet or more in length, with a head a full yard long, while in the shallows prowled great fishes with massive jaws and teeth like spikes. [illustration: fig. .--jaw of a mosasaur, showing the joint that increased the swallowing capacity of that reptile.] there, too, was the great, toothed diver, hesperornis (see page ), while over the waters flew pterodactyls, with a spread of wing of twenty feet, largest of all flying creatures; and, not improbably--nay, very probably--fish-eaters, too; and when each and all of these were seeking their dinners, there were troublous times for the small fry in that old kansan sea. and then there came a change; to the south, to the west, to the north, the land was imperceptibly but surely rising, perhaps only an inch or two in a century, but still rising, until "the ocean in which flourished this abundant and vigorous life was at last completely inclosed on the west by elevations of sea-bottom, so that it only communicated with the atlantic and pacific at the gulf of mexico and the arctic sea." the continued elevation of both eastern and western shores contracted its area, and when ridges of the sea-bottom reached the surface, forming long, low bars, parts of the water-area were included, and connection with salt-water prevented. thus were the living beings imprisoned and subjected to many new risks to life. the stronger could more readily capture the weaker, while the fishes would gradually perish through the constant freshening of the water. with the death of any considerable class, the balance of food-supply would be lost, and many large species would disappear from the scene. the most omnivorous and enduring would longest resist the approach of starvation, but would finally yield to inexorable fate--the last one caught by the shifting bottom among shallow pools, from which his exhausted energies could not extricate him.[ ] [ ] _cope: "the vertebrata of the cretaceous formations of the west," p. , being the "report of the united states geological survey of the territories," vol. ii._ like the "fossil man" the sea-serpent flourishes perennially in the newspapers and, despite the fact that he is now mainly regarded as a joke, there have been many attempts to habilitate this mythical monster and place him on a foundation of firm fact. the most earnest of these was that of m. oudemans, who expressed his belief in the existence of some rare and huge seal-like creature whose occasional appearance in southern waters gave rise to the best authenticated reports of the sea-serpent. among other possibilities it has been suggested that some animal believed to be extinct had really lived over to the present day. now there are a few waifs, spared from the wrecks of ancient faunas, stranded on the shores of the present, such as the australian ceratodus and the gar pikes of north america, and these and all other creatures that could be mustered in were used as proofs to sustain this theory. if, it was said, these animals have been spared, why not others? if a fish of such ancient lineage as the gar pike is so common as to be a nuisance, why may there not be a few plesiosaurs or a mosasaur somewhere in the depths of the ocean? the argument was a good one, the more that we may "suppose" almost anything, but it must be said that no trace of any of these creatures has so far been found outside of the strata in which they have long been known to occur, and all the probabilities are opposed to this theory. still, if some of these creatures _had_ been spared, they might well have passed for sea-serpents, even though zeuglodon, the one most like a serpent in form, was the one most remotely related to snakes. zeuglodon, the yoke-tooth, so named from the shape of its great cutting teeth, was indeed a strange animal, and if we wonder at the greenland whale, whose head is one-third its total length, we may equally wonder at zeuglodon, with four feet of head, ten feet of body, and forty feet of tail. no one, seeing the bones of the trunk and tail for the first time, would suspect that they belonged to the same animal, for while the vertebræ of the body are of moderate size, those of the tail are, for the bulk of creature, the longest known, measuring from fifteen to eighteen inches in length, and weighing in a fossil condition fifty to sixty pounds. in life, the animal was from fifty to seventy feet in length, and not more than six or eight feet through the deepest part of the body, while the tail was much less; the head was small and pointed, the jaws well armed with grasping and cutting teeth, and just back of the head was a pair of short paddles, not unlike those of a fur seal. it is curious to speculate on the habits of a creature in which the tail so obviously wagged the dog and whose articulations all point to great freedom of movement up and down. this may mean that it was an active diver, descending to great depths to prey upon squid, as the sperm-whale does to-day, while it seems quite certain that it must have reared at least a third of its great length out of water to take a comprehensive view of its surroundings. and if size is any indication of power, the great tail, which obviously ended in flukes like those of a whale, must have been capable of propelling the beast at a speed of twenty or thirty miles an hour. something of the kind must have been needed in order that the small head might provide food enough for the great tail, and it has been suggested that inability to do this was the reason why zeuglodon became extinct. on the other hand, it has been ingeniously argued that the huge tail served to store up fat when food was plenty, which was drawn upon when food became scarce. the fur seals do something similar to this, for the males come on shore in may rolling in blubber, and depart in september lean and hungry after a three months' fast. zeuglodons must have been very numerous in the old gulf of mexico, for bones are found abundantly through portions of our southern states; it was also an inhabitant of the old seas of southern europe, but, as we shall see, it gave place to the great fossil shark, and this in turn passed out of existence. still, common though its bones may be, stories of their use for making stone walls--and these stories are still in circulation--resolve themselves on close scrutiny into the occasional use of a big vertebra to support the corner of a corn-crib. the scientific name of zeuglodon is _basilosaurus cetoides_, the whale-like king lizard--the first of these names, _basilosaurus_, having been given to it by the original describer, dr. harlan, who supposed the animal to have been a reptile. now it is a primary rule of nomenclature that the first name given to an animal must stick and may not be changed, even by the act of a zoölogical congress, so zeuglodon must, so far as its name is concerned, masquerade as a reptile for the rest of its paleontological life. this, however, really matters very little, because scientific names are simply verbal handles by which we may grasp animals to describe them, and dr. le conte, to show how little there may be in a name, called a beetle gyascutus. owen's name of zeuglodon, although not tenable as a scientific name, is too good to be wasted, and being readily remembered and easily pronounced may be used as a popular name. [illustration: fig. .--koch's hydrarchus, composed of portions of the skeleton of several zeuglodons.] one might think that a creature sixty or seventy feet long was amply long enough, but dr. albert koch thought otherwise, and did with zeuglodon as, later on, he did with the mastodon, combining the vertebræ of several individuals until he had a monster feet long! this he exhibited in europe under the name of hydrarchus, or water king, finally disposing of the composite creature to the museum of dresden, where it was promptly reduced to its proper dimensions. the natural make-up of zeuglodon is sufficiently composite without any aid from man, for the head and paddles are not unlike those of a seal, the ribs are like those of a manatee, and the shoulder blades are precisely like those of a whale, while the vertebræ are different from those of any other animal, even its own cousin and lesser contemporary dorudon. there were also tiny hind legs tucked away beneath skin, but these, as well as many other parts of the animal's structure were unknown, until mr. charles schuchert collected a series of specimens for the national museum, from which it was possible to restore the entire skeleton. owing to a rather curious circumstance the first attempt at a restoration was at fault; among the bones originally obtained by mr. schuchert there were none from the last half of the tail, an old gully having cut off the hinder portion of the backbone and destroyed the vertebræ. not far away, however, was a big lump of stone containing several vertebræ of just the right size, and these were used as models to complete the papier-maché skeleton shown at atlanta, in . but a year after mr. schuchert collected a series of vertebræ, beginning with the tip of the tail, and these showed conclusively that the first lot of tail vertebræ belonged to a creature still undescribed and one probably more like a whale than zeuglodon himself, whose exact relationships are a little uncertain, as may be imagined from what was said of its structure. mixed with the bones of zeuglodon was the shell of a turtle, nearly three feet long, and part of the backbone of a great water-snake that must have been twenty-five feet long, both previously quite unknown. one more curious thing about zeuglodon bones remains to be told, and then we are done with him; ordinarily a fossil bone will break indifferently in any direction, but the bones of zeuglodon are built, like an onion, of concentric layers, and these have a great tendency to peel off during the preparation of a specimen. * * * * * and now, as the wheels of time and change rolled slowly on, sharks again came uppermost, and the warmer eocene and miocene oceans appear to have fairly teemed with these sea wolves. there were small sharks with slender teeth for catching little fishes, there were larger sharks with saw-like teeth for cutting slices out of larger fishes, and there were sharks that might almost have swallowed the biggest fish of to-day whole, sharks of a size the waters had never before contained, and fortunately do not contain now. we know these monsters mostly by their teeth, for their skeletons were cartilaginous, and this absence of their remains is probably the reason why these creatures are passed by while the adjectives huge, immense, enormous are lavished on the mosasaurs and plesiosaurs--animals that the great-toothed shark, _carcharodon megalodon_, might well have eaten at a meal. for the gaping jaws of one of these sharks, with its hundreds of gleaming teeth must, at a moderate estimate, have measured not less than six feet across. the great white shark, the man-eater, so often found in story books, so rarely met with in real life, attains a length of thirty feet, and a man just makes him a good, satisfactory lunch. now a tooth of this shark is an inch and a quarter long, while a tooth of the huge _megalodon_ is commonly three, often four, and not infrequently five inches long. applying the rule of three to such a tooth as this would give a shark feet long, bigger than most whales, to whom a man would be but a mouthful, just enough to whet his sharkship's appetite. even granting that the rule of three unduly magnifies the dimensions of the brute, and making an ample reduction, there would still remain a fish between seventy-five and one hundred feet long, quite large enough to satisfy the most ambitious of _tuna_ fishers, and to have made bathing in the miocene ocean unpopular. contemporary with the great-toothed shark was another and closely related species that originated with him in eocene times, and these two may possibly have had something to do with the extinction of zeuglodon. this species is distinguished by having on either side of the base of the great triangular cutting teeth a little projection or cusp, like the "ear" on a jar, so that this species has been named _auriculatus_, or eared. the edges of the teeth are also more saw-like than in those of its greater relative, and as the species must have attained a length of fifty or sixty feet it may, with its better armature, have been quite as formidable. and, as perhaps the readers of these pages may know, the supply of teeth never ran short. back of each tooth, one behind another arranged in serried ranks, lay a reserve of six or seven smaller, but growing teeth, and whenever a tooth of the front row was lost, the tooth immediately behind it took its place, and like a well-trained soldier kept the front line unbroken. thus the teeth of sharks are continually developing at the back, and all the teeth are steadily pushing forward, a very simple mechanical arrangement causing the teeth to lie flat until they reach the front of the jaw and come into use. once fairly started in life, these huge sharks spread themselves throughout the warm seas of the world, for there was none might stand before them and say nay. they swarmed along our southern coast, from maryland to texas; they swarmed everywhere that the water was sufficiently warm, for their teeth occur in tertiary strata in many parts of the world, and the deep-sea dredges of the challenger and albatross have brought up their teeth by scores. and then--they perished, perished as utterly as did the hosts of sennacherib. why? we do not know. did they devour everything large enough to be eaten throughout their habitat, and then fall to eating one another? again, we do not know. but perish they did, while the smaller white shark, which came into being at the same time, still lives, as if to emphasize the fact that it is best not to overdo things, and that in the long run the victory is not _always_ to the largest. _references_ _the finest mosasaur skeleton ever discovered, an almost complete skeleton of tylosaurus dyspelor, feet in length, may be seen at the head of the staircase leading to the hall of paleontology, in the american museum of natural history, new york. another good specimen may be seen in the yale university museum, which probably has the largest collection of mosasaurs in existence. another fine collection is in the museum of the state university of kansas, at lawrence._ _the best zeuglodon, the first to show the vestigial hind legs and to make clear other portions of the structure, is in the united states national museum._ _the great sharks are known in this country by their teeth only, and, as these are common in the phosphate beds, specimens may be seen in almost any collection. in the united states national museum, the jaws of a twelve-foot blue shark are shown for comparison. the largest tooth in that collection is - / inches high and inches across the base. it takes five teeth of the blue shark to fill the same number of inches._ _the mosasaurs are described in detail by professor s. w. williston, in vol. iv. of the "university geological survey of kansas." there is a technical--and, consequently, uninteresting--account of zeuglodon in vol. xxiii. of the "proceedings of the united states national museum," page ._ [illustration: fig. .--a tooth of zeuglodon, one of the "yoke teeth," from which it derives the name.] v birds of old "_with head, hands, wings, or feet, pursues his way, and swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies._" when we come to discuss the topic of the earliest bird--not the one in the proverb--our choice of subjects is indeed limited, being restricted to the famous and oft-described archæopteryx from the quarries of solenhofen, which at present forms the starting-point in the history of the feathered race. bird-like, or at least feathered, creatures, must have existed before this, as it is improbable that feathers and flight were acquired at one bound, and this lends probability to the view that at least some of the tracks in the connecticut valley are really the footprints of birds. not birds as we now know them, but still creatures wearing feathers, these being the distinctive badge and livery of the order. for we may well speak of the feathered race, the exclusive prerogative of the bird being not flight but feathers; no bird is without them, no other creature wears them, so that birds may be exactly defined in two words, feathered animals. reptiles, and even mammals, may go quite naked or cover themselves with a defensive armor of bony plates or horny scales; but under the blaze of the tropical sun or in the chill waters of arctic seas birds wear feathers only, although in the penguins the feathers have become so changed that their identity is almost lost. [illustration: fig. .--archæopteryx, the earliest known bird. _from the specimen in the berlin museum._] so far as flight goes, there is one entire order of mammals, whose members, the bats, are quite as much at home in the air as the birds themselves, and in bygone days the empire of the air belonged to the pterodactyls; even frogs and fishes have tried to fly, and some of the latter have nearly succeeded in the attempt. as for wings, it may be said that they are made on very different patterns in such animals as the pterodactyl, bat, and bird, and that while the end to be achieved is the same, it is reached by very different methods. the wing membrane of a bat is spread between his out-stretched fingers, the thumb alone being left free, while in the pterodactyl the thumb is wanting and the membrane supported only by what in us is the little finger, a term that is a decided misnomer in the case of the pterodactyl. in birds the fingers have lost their individuality, and are modified for the attachment or support of the wing feathers, but in archæopteryx the hand had not reached this stage, for the fingers were partly free and tipped with claws. [illustration: fig. .--nature's four methods of making a wing. bat, pterodactyl, archæopteryx, and modern bird.] we get some side lights on the structure of primitive birds by studying the young and the earlier stages of living species, for in a very general way it may be said that the development of the individual is a sort of rough sketch or hasty outline of the development of the class of which it is a member; thus the transitory stages through which the chick passes before hatching give us some idea of the structure of the adult birds or bird-like creatures of long ago. now, in embryonic birds the wing ends in a sort of paw and the fingers are separate, quite different from what they become a little later on, and not unlike their condition in archæopteryx, and even more like what is found in the wing of an ostrich. then, too, there are a few birds still left, such as the ostrich, that have not kept pace with the others, and are a trifle more like reptiles than the vast majority of their relatives, and these help a little in explaining the structure of early birds. among these is a queer bird with a queer name, hoactzin, found in south america, which when young uses its little wings much like legs, just as we may suppose was done by birds of old, to climb about the branches. mr. quelch, who has studied these curious birds in their native wilds of british guiana, tells us that soon after hatching, the nestlings begin to crawl about by means of their legs and wings, the well-developed claws on the thumb and finger being constantly in use for hooking to surrounding objects. if they are drawn from the nest by means of their legs, they hold on firmly to the twigs, both with their bill and wings; and if the nest be upset they hold on to all objects with which they come in contact by bill, feet, and wings, making considerable use of the bill, with the help of the clawed wings, to raise themselves to a higher level. [illustration: fig. .--young hoactzins.] thus, by putting these various facts together we obtain some pretty good ideas regarding the appearance and habits of the first birds. the immediate ancestors of birds, their exact point of departure from other vertebrates, is yet to be discovered; at one time it was considered that they were the direct descendants of dinosaurs, or that at least both were derived from the same parent forms, and while that view was almost abandoned, it is again being brought forward with much to support it. it has also been thought that birds and those flying reptiles, the pterodactyls, have had a common ancestry, and the possibility of this is still entertained. be that as it may, it is safe to consider that back in the past, earlier than the jurassic, were creatures neither bird nor reptile, but possessing rudimentary feathers and having the promise of a wing in the structure of their fore legs, and some time one of these animals may come to light; until then archæopteryx remains the earliest known bird. in the jurassic, then, when the dinosaurs were the lords of the earth and small mammals just beginning to appear, we come upon traces of full-fledged birds. the first intimation of their presence was the imprint of a single feather found in that ancient treasure-house, the solenhofen quarries; but as hercules was revealed by his foot, so the bird was made evident by the feather whose discovery was announced august , . and a little later, in september of the same year, the bird itself turned up, and in a second specimen was found, the two representing two species, if not two distinct genera. these were very different from any birds now living--so different, indeed, and bearing such evident traces of their reptilian ancestry, that it is necessary to place them apart from other animals in a separate division of the class birds. archæopteryx was considerably smaller than a crow, with a stout little head armed with sharp teeth (as scarce as hens' teeth was no joke in that distant period), while as he fluttered through the air he trailed after him a tail longer than his body, beset with feathers on either side. everyone knows that nowadays the feathers of a bird's tail are arranged like the sticks of a fan, and that the tail opens and shuts like a fan. but in archæopteryx the feathers were arranged in pairs, a feather on each side of every joint of the tail, so that on a small scale the tail was something like that of a kite; and because of this long, lizard-like tail this bird and his immediate kith and kin are placed in a group dubbed saururæ, or lizard tailed. because impressions of feathers are not found all around these specimens some have thought that they were confined to certain portions of the body--the wings, tail, and thighs--the other parts being naked. there seems, however, no good reason to suppose that such was the case, for it is extremely improbable that such perfect and important feathers as those of the wings and tail should alone have been developed, while there are many reasons why the feathers of the body might have been lost before the bird was covered by mud, or why their impressions do not show. it was a considerable time after the finding of the first specimen that the presence of teeth in the jaws was discovered, partly because the british museum specimen was imperfect,[ ] and partly because no one suspected that birds had ever possessed teeth, and so no one ever looked for them. when, in , a more complete example was found, the existence of teeth was unmistakably shown; but in the meantime, in february, , professor marsh had announced the presence of teeth in hesperornis, and so to him belongs the credit of being the discoverer of birds with teeth. [ ] _the skull was lacking, and a part of the upper jaw lying to one side was thought to belong to a fish._ the next birds that we know are from our own country, and although separated by an interval of thousands of years from the jurassic archæopteryx, time enough for the members of one group to have quite lost their wings, they still retain teeth, and in this respect the most bird-like of them is quite unlike any modern bird. these come from the chalk beds of western kansas, and the first specimens were obtained by professor marsh in his expeditions of and , but not until a few years later, after the material had been cleaned and was being studied, was it ascertained that these birds were armed with teeth. the smaller of these birds, which was apparently not unlike a small gull in general appearance, was, saving its teeth, so thoroughly a bird that it may be passed by without further notice, but the larger was remarkable in many ways. hesperornis, the western bird, was a great diver, in some ways the greatest of the divers, for it stood higher than the king penguin, though more slender and graceful in general build, looking somewhat like an overgrown, absolutely wingless loon. the penguins, as everyone knows, swim with their front limbs--we can't call them wings--which, though containing all the bones of a wing, have become transformed into powerful paddles; hesperornis, on the other hand, swam altogether with its legs--swam so well with them, indeed, that through disuse the wings dwindled away and vanished, save one bone. this, however, is not stating the theory quite correctly; of course the matter cannot be actually proved. hesperornis was a large bird, upwards of five feet in length, and if its ancestors were equally bulky their wings were quite too large to be used in swimming under water, as are those of such short-winged forms as the auks which fly under the water quite as much as they fly over it. hence the wings were closely folded upon the body so as to offer the least possible resistance, and being disused, they and their muscles dwindled, while the bones and muscles of the legs increased by constant use. by the time the wings were small enough to be used in so dense a medium as water the muscles had become too feeble to move them, and so degeneration proceeded until but one bone remained, a mere vestige of the wing that had been. the penguins retain their great breast muscles, and so did the great auk, because their wings are used in swimming, since it requires even more strength to move a small wing in water than it does to move a large wing in the thinner air. as for our domesticated fowls--the turkeys, chickens, and ducks--there has not been sufficient lapse of time for their muscles to dwindle, and besides artificial selection, the breeding of fowls for food has kept up the mere size of the muscles, although these lack the strength to be found in those of wild birds. as a swimming bird, one that swims with its legs and not with its wings, hesperornis has probably never been equalled, for the size and appearance of the bones indicate great power, while the bones of the foot were so joined to those of the leg as to turn edgewise as the foot was brought forward and thus to offer the least possible resistance to the water. it is a remarkable fact that the leg bones of hesperornis are hollow, remarkable because as a rule the bones of aquatic animals are more or less solid, their weight being supported by the water; but those of the great diver were almost as light as if it had dwelt upon the dry land. that it did not dwell there is conclusively shown by its build, and above all by its feet, for the foot of a running bird is modified in quite another way. the bird was probably covered with smooth, soft feathers, something like those of an apteryx; this we know because professor williston found a specimen showing the impression of the skin of the lower part of the leg as well as of the feathers that covered the "thigh" and head. while such a covering seems rather inadequate for a bird of such exclusively aquatic habits as hesperornis must have been, there seems no getting away from the facts in the case in the shape of professor williston's specimen, and we have in the snake bird, one of the most aquatic of recent birds, an instance of similarly poor covering. as all know who have seen this bird at home, its feathers shed the water very imperfectly, and after long-continued submersion become saturated, a fact which partly accounts for the habit the bird has of hanging itself out to dry. [illustration: fig. .--hesperornis, the great toothed diver. _from a drawing by j. m. gleeson._] the restoration which mr. gleeson has drawn differs radically from any yet made, and is the result of a careful study of the specimen belonging to the united states national museum. no one can appreciate the peculiarities of hesperornis and its remarkable departures from other swimming birds who has not seen the skeleton mounted in a swimming attitude. the great length of the legs, their position at the middle of the body, the narrowness of the body back of the hip joint, and the disproportionate length of the outer toe are all brought out in a manner which a picture of the bird squatting upon its haunches fails utterly to show. as for the tail, it is evident from the size and breadth of the bones that something of the kind was present; it is also evident that it was not like that of an ordinary bird, and so it has been drawn with just a suggestion of archæopteryx about it. the most extraordinary thing about hesperornis, however, is the position of the legs relative to the body, and this is something that was not even suspected until the skeleton was mounted in a swimming attitude. as anyone knows who has watched a duck swim, the usual place for the feet and legs is beneath and in a line with the body. but in our great extinct diver the articulations of the leg bones are such that this is impossible, and the feet and lower joint of the legs (called the tarsus) must have stood out nearly at right angles to the body, like a pair of oars. this is so peculiar and anomalous an attitude for a bird's legs that, although apparently indicated by the shape of the bones, it was at first thought to be due to the crushing and consequent distortion to which the bones had been subjected, and an endeavor was made to place the legs in the ordinary position, even though this was done at the expense of some little dislocation of the joints. but when the mounting of the skeleton had advanced further it became more evident that hesperornis was not an ordinary bird, and that he could not have swum in the usual manner, since this would have brought his great knee-caps up into his body, which would have been uncomfortable. and so, at the cost of some little time and trouble,[ ] the mountings were so changed that the legs stood out at the sides of the body, as shown in the picture. [ ] _the mounting of fossil bones is quite a different matter from the wiring of an ordinary skeleton, since the bones are not only so hard that they cannot be bored and wired like those of a recent animal, but they are so brittle and heavy that often they will not sustain their own weight. hence such bones must be supported from the outside, and to do this so that the mountings will be strong enough to support their weight, allow the bones to be removed for study, and yet be inconspicuous, is a difficult task._ a final word remains to be said about toothed birds, which is, that the visitor who looks upon one for the first time will probably be disappointed. the teeth are so loosely implanted in the jaw that most of them fall out shortly after death, while the few that remain are so small as not to attract observation. by the time the eocene period was reached, even before that, birds had become pretty much what we now see them, and very little change has taken place in them since that time; they seem to have become so exactly adapted to the conditions of existence that no further modification has taken place. this may be expressed in another way, by saying that while the mammals of the eocene have no near relatives among those now living, entire large groups having passed completely out of existence, the few birds that we know might, so far as their appearance and affinities go, have been killed yesterday. were we to judge of the former abundance of birds by the number we find in a fossil state, we should conclude that in the early days of the world they were remarkably scarce, for bird bones are among the rarest of fossils. but from the high degree of development evidenced by the few examples that have come to light, and the fact that these represent various and quite distinct species,[ ] we are led to conclude that birds were abundant enough, but that we simply do not find them. [ ] _but three birds, besides a stray feather or two, are so far known from the eocene of north america. one of these is a fowl not very unlike some of the small curassows of south america; another is a little bird, supposed to be related to the sparrows, while the third is a large bird of uncertain relationships._ several eggs, too--or, rather, casts of eggs--have lately been found in the cretaceous and miocene strata of the west; and, as eggs and birds are usually associated, we are liable at any time to come upon the bones of the birds that laid them. to the writer's mind no thoroughly satisfactory explanation has been given for the scarcity of bird remains; but the reason commonly advanced is that, owing to their lightness, dead birds float for a much longer time than other animals, and hence are more exposed to the ravages of the weather and the attacks of carrion-feeding animals. it has also been said that the power of flight enabled birds to escape calamities that caused the death of contemporary animals; but all birds do not fly; and birds do fall victims to storms, cold, and starvation, and even perish of pestilence, like the cormorants of bering island, whose ranks have twice been decimated by disease. it is true that where carnivorous animals abound, dead birds do disappear quickly; and my friend dr. stejneger tells me that, while hundreds of dead sea-fowl are cast on the shores of the commander islands, it is a rare thing to find one after daylight, as the bodies are devoured by the arctic foxes that prowl about the shores at night. but, again, as in the miocene of southern france and in the pliocene of oregon, remains of birds are fairly numerous, showing that, under proper conditions, their bones are preserved for future reference, so that we may hope some day to come upon specimens that will enable us to round out the history of bird life in the past. _references_ _the first discovered specimen of archæopteryx, archæopteryx macrura, is in the british museum, the second more complete example is in the royal museum of natural history, berlin. the largest collection of toothed birds, including the types of hesperornis, ichthyornis and others, is in the yale university museum, at new haven. the united states national museum at washington has a fine mounted skeleton of hesperornis, and the state university of kansas, at lawrence, has the example showing the impressions of feathers._ _for scientific descriptions of these birds the reader is referred to owen's paper "on the archæopteryx of von meyer, with a description of the fossil remains, etc.," in the "transactions of the philosophical society of london for ," page , and "odontornithes, a monograph of the extinct toothed birds of north america," by o. c. marsh. much popular and scientific information concerning the early birds is to be found in newton's "dictionary of birds," and "the story of bird life," by w. p. pycraft; the "structure and life of birds," by f. w. headley; "the story of the birds," by j. newton baskett._ [illustration: fig. .--archæopteryx as restored by mr. pycraft.] vi the dinosaurs "_shapes of all sorts and sizes, great and small._" a few million years ago, geologists and physicists do not agree upon the exact number, although both agree upon the millions, when the rocky mountains were not yet born and the now bare and arid western plains a land of lakes, rivers, and luxuriant vegetation, the region was inhabited by a race of strange and mighty reptiles upon whom science has bestowed the appropriate name of dinosaurs, or terrible lizards. our acquaintance with the dinosaurs is comparatively recent, dating from the early part of the nineteenth century, and in america, at least, the date may be set at , when the first dinosaur remains were found in the valley of the connecticut, although they naturally were not recognized as such, nor had the term been devised. the first dinosaur to be formally recognized as representing quite a new order of reptiles was the carnivorous megalosaur, found near oxford, england, in . [illustration: fig. .--thespesius. a common herbivorous dinosaur of the cretaceous. _from a drawing by charles r. knight._] for a long time our knowledge of dinosaurs was very imperfect and literally fragmentary, depending mostly upon scattered teeth, isolated vertebræ, or fragments of bone picked up on the surface or casually encountered in some mine or quarry. now, however, thanks mainly to the labors of american palæontologists, thanks also to the rich deposits of fossils in our western states, we have an extensive knowledge of the dinosaurs, of their size, structure, habits, and general appearance. there are to-day no animals living that are closely related to them; none have lived for a long period of time, for the dinosaurs came to an end in the cretaceous, and it can only be said that the crocodiles, on the one hand, and the ostriches, on the other, are the nearest existing relatives of these great reptiles. for, though so different in outward appearance, birds and reptiles are structurally quite closely allied, and the creeping snake and the bird on which it preys are relatives, although any intimate relationship between them is of the serpent's making, and is strongly objected to by the bird. but if we compare the skeleton of a dinosaur with that of an ostrich--a young one is preferable--and with those of the earlier birds, we shall find that many of the barriers now existing between reptiles and birds are broken down, and that they have many points in common. in fact, save in the matter of clothes, wherein birds differ from all other animals, the two great groups are not so very far apart. the dinosaurs were by no means confined to north america, although the western united states seem to have been their headquarters, but ranged pretty much over the world, for their remains have been found in every continent, even in far-off new zealand. in point of time they ranged from the trias to the upper cretaceous, their golden age, marking the culminating point of reptilian life, being in the jurassic, when huge forms stalked by the sea-shore, browsed amid the swamps, or disported themselves along the reedy margins of lakes and rivers. they had their day, a day of many thousand years, and then passed away, giving place to the superior race of mammals which was just springing into being when the huge dinosaurs were in the heyday of their existence. and it does seem as if in the dim and distant past, as in the present, brains were a potent factor in the struggle for supremacy; for, though these reptiles were giants in size, dominating the earth through mere brute force, they were dwarfs in intellect. the smallest human brain that is thought to be compatible with life itself weighs a little over ten ounces, the smallest that can exist with reasoning powers is two pounds; this in a creature weighing from to pounds. what do we find among dinosaurs? thespesius, or claosaurus, which may have walked where baltimore now stands, was twenty-five feet in length and stood a dozen feet high in his bare feet, had a brain smaller than a man's clenched fist, weighing less than one pound. brontosaurus, in some respects the biggest brute that ever walked, was but little better off, and triceratops, and his relatives, creatures having twice the bulk of an elephant, weighing probably over ten tons, possessed a brain weighing not over two pounds! how much of what we term intelligence could such a creature possess--what was the extent of its reasoning powers? judging from our own standpoint and the small amount of intellect apparent in some humans with much larger brains, these big reptiles must have known just about enough to have eaten when they were hungry, anything more was superfluous. however, intelligence is one thing, life another, and the spinal cord, with its supply of nerve-substance, doubtless looked after the mere mechanical functions of life; and while even the spinal cord is in many cases quite small, in some places, particularly in the sacral region, it is subject to considerable enlargement. this is notably true of stegosaurus, where the sacral enlargement is twenty times the bulk of the puny brain--a fact noted by professor marsh, and seized upon by the newspapers, which announced that he had discovered a dinosaur with a brain in its pelvis. in their great variety of size and shape the dinosaurs form an interesting parallel with the marsupials of australia. for just as these are, as it were, an epitome of the class of mammals, mimicking the herbivores, carnivores, rodents and even monkeys, so there are carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs--dinosaurs that dwelt on land and others that habitually resided in the water, those that walked upright and those that crawled about on all fours; and, while there are no hints that any possessed the power of flight, some members of the group are very bird-like in form and structure, so much so that it has been thought that the two may have had a common ancestry. the smallest of the dinosaurs whose acquaintance we have made were little larger than chickens; the largest claim the distinction of being the largest known quadrupeds that have walked the face of the earth, the giants not only of their day, but of all time, before whose huge frames the bones of the mammoth, that familiar byword for all things great, seem slight. for brontosaurus, the thunder lizard, beneath whose mighty tread the earth shook, and his kindred were from to feet long and to feet high, their thigh bones measuring to feet in length, being the largest single bones known to us, while some of the vertebræ were - / feet high, exceeding in dimensions those of a whale. [illustration: fig. --a hind leg of the great brontosaurus, the largest of the dinosaurs.] the group to which brontosaurus belongs, including diplodocus and morosaurus, is distinguished by a large, though rather short, body, very long neck and tail, and, for the size of the animal, a very small head. in fact, the head was so small and, in the case of diplodocus, so poorly provided with teeth that it must have been quite a task, or a long-continued pleasure, according to the state of its digestive apparatus, for the animal to have eaten its daily meal. [illustration: fig. .--a single vertebra of brontosaurus.] an elephant weighing tons eats pounds of hay and pounds of grain for his day's ration; but, as this food is in a comparatively concentrated form, it would require at least twice this weight of green fodder. it is a difficult matter to estimate the weight of a live diplodocus or a brontosaurus, but it is pretty safe to say that it would not be far from tons, and that one would devour at the very least something over pounds of leaves or twigs or plants each day--more, if the animal felt really hungry. but here we must, even if reluctantly, curb our imagination a little and consider another point: the cold-blooded, sluggish reptiles, as we know them to-day, do not waste their energies in rapid movements, or in keeping the temperature of their bodies above that of the air, and so by no means require the amount of food needed by more active, warm-blooded animals. alligators, turtles, and snakes will go for weeks, even months, without food, and while this applies more particularly to those that dwell in temperate climes and during their winter hibernation practically suspend the functions of digestion and respiration, it is more or less true of all reptiles. and as there is little reason for supposing that reptiles behaved in the past any differently from what they do in the present, these great dinosaurs may, after all, not have been gifted with such ravenous appetites as one might fancy. still, it is dangerous to lay down any hard and fast laws concerning animals, and he who writes about them is continually obliged to qualify his remarks--in sporting parlance, to hedge a little, and in the present instance there is some reason, based on the arrangement of vertebræ and ribs, to suppose that the lungs of dinosaurs were somewhat like those of birds, and that, as a corollary, their blood may have been better aërated and warmer than that of living reptiles. but, to return to the question of food. from the peculiar character of the articulations of the limb-bones, it is inferred that these animals were largely aquatic in their habits, and fed on some abundant species of water plants. one can readily see the advantage of the long neck in browsing off the vegetation on the bottom of shallow lakes, while the animal was submerged, or in rearing the head aloft to scan the surrounding shores for the approach of an enemy. or, with the tail as a counterpoise, the entire body could be reared out of water and the head be raised some thirty feet in the air. triceratops, he of the three-horned face, had a remarkable skull which projected backward over the neck, like a fireman's helmet, or a sunbonnet worn hind side before, while over each eye was a massive horn directed forward, a third, but much smaller horn being sometimes present on the nose. the little "horned toad," which isn't a toad at all, is the nearest suggestion we have to-day of triceratops; but, could he realize the ambition of the frog in the fable and swell himself to the dimensions of an ox, he would even then be but a pigmy compared with his ancient and distant relative. so far as mere appearance goes he would compare very well, for while so much is said about the strange appearance of the dinosaurs, it is to be borne in mind that their peculiarities are enhanced by their size, and that there are many lizards of to-day that lack only stature to be even more _bizarre_; and, for example, were the australian moloch but big enough, he could give even stegosaurus "points" in more ways than one. standing before the skull of triceratops, looking him squarely in the face, one notices in front of each eye a thick guard of projecting bone, and while this must have interfered with vision directly ahead it must have also furnished protection for the eye. so long as triceratops faced an adversary he must have been practically invulnerable, but as he was the largest animal of his time, upward of twenty-five feet in length, it is probable that his combats were mainly with those of his own kind and the subject of dispute some fair female upon whom two rival suitors had cast covetous eyes. what a sight it would have been to have seen two of these big brutes in mortal combat as they charged upon each other with all the impetus to be derived from ten tons of infuriate flesh! we may picture to ourselves horn clashing upon horn, or glancing from each bony shield until some skilful stroke or unlucky slip placed one combatant at the mercy of the other, and he went down before the blows of his adversary "as falls on mount alvernus a thunder-smitten oak." [illustration: fig. .--moloch. a modern lizard that surpasses the stegosaurs in all but size. _from a drawing by j. m. gleeson._] a pair of triceratops horns in the national museum bears witness to such encounters, for one is broken midway between tip and base; and that it was broken during life is evident from the fact that the stump is healed and rounded over, while the size of the horns shows that their owner reached a ripe old age. for, unlike man and the higher vertebrates, reptiles and fishes do not have a maximum standard of size which is soon reached and rarely exceeded, but continue to grow throughout life, so that the size of a turtle, a crocodile, or a dinosaur tells something of the duration of its life. before quitting triceratops let us glance for a moment at its skeleton. now among other things a skeleton is the solution of a problem in mechanics, and in triceratops the head so dominates the rest of the structure that one might almost imagine the skull was made first and the body adjusted to it. the great head seems made not only for offence and defence; the spreading frill serves for the attachment of muscles to sustain the weight of the skull, while the work of the muscles is made easier by the fact that the frill reaches so far back of the junction of head with neck as to largely counterbalance the weight of the face and jaws. when we restored the skull of this animal it was found that the centre of gravity lay back of the eye. several of the bones of the neck are united in one mass to furnish a firm attachment for the muscles that support and move the skull, but as the movements of the neck are already restricted by the overhanging frill, this loss of motion is no additional disadvantage. [illustration: triceratops prorsus marsh fig. .--skeleton of triceratops.] to support all this weight of skull and body requires very massive legs, and as the fore legs are very short, this enables triceratops to browse comfortably from the ground by merely lowering the front of the head. these forms we have been considering were the giants of the group, but a commoner species, thespesius, though less in bulk than those just mentioned, was still of goodly proportions, for, as he stalked about, the top of his head was twelve feet from the ground. thespesius and his kin seem to have been comparatively abundant, for they have a wide distribution, and many specimens, some almost perfect, have been discovered in this country and abroad. no less than twenty-nine iguanodons, a european relative of thespesius, were found in one spot in mining for coal at bernissart, belgium. here, during long years of cretaceous time, a river slowly cut its way through the coal-bearing strata to a depth of feet, a depth almost twice as great as the deepest part of the gorge of niagara, and then, this being accomplished, began the work of filling up the valley it had excavated. it was then a sluggish stream with marshy borders, a stream subject to frequent floods, when the water, turbid with mud and laden with sand, overflowed its banks, leaving them, as the waters subsided, covered thickly with mud. here, amidst the luxuriant vegetation of a semi-tropical climate, lived and died the iguanodons, and here the pick of the miner rescued them from their long entombment to form part of the treasures of the museum at brussels. like other reptiles, living and extinct, thespesius was continually renewing his teeth, so that as fast as one tooth was worn out it was replaced by another, a point wherein thespesius had a decided advantage over ourselves. on the other hand, as there was a reserve supply of something like teeth in the lower jaw alone, what an opportunity for the toothache! and then we have a multitude of lesser dinosaurs, including the active, predatory species with sharp claws and double-edged teeth. megalosaurus, the first of the dinosaurs to be really known, was one of these carnivorous species, and from our west comes a near relative, ceratosaurus, the nose-horned lizard, a queer beast with tiny fore legs, powerful, sharp-clawed hind feet, and well-armed jaws. a most formidable foe he seems, the more that the hollow bones speak of active movements, and professor cope pictured him, or a near relative, vigorously engaged in combat with his fellows, or preying upon the huge but helpless herbivores of the marshes, leaping, biting, and tearing his enemy to pieces with tooth and claw. professor osborn, on the other hand, is inclined to consider him as a reptilian hyena, feeding upon carrion, although one can but feel that such an armament is not entirely in the interests of peace. last, but by no means least, are the stegosaurs, or plated lizards, for not only were they beasts of goodly size, but they were among the most singular of all known animals, singular even for dinosaurs. they had diminutive heads, small fore legs, long tails armed on either side near the tip, with two pairs of large spines, while from these spines to the neck ran series of large, but thin, and sharp-edged plates standing on edge, so that their backs looked like the bottom of a boat provided with a number of little centreboards. just how these plates were arranged is not decided beyond a peradventure, but while originally figured as having them in a single series down the back it seems much more probable that they formed parallel rows. [illustration: fig. .--the horned ceratosaurus. a carnivorous dinosaur. _from a drawing by j. m. gleeson._] the largest of these plates were two feet in height and length, and not more than an inch thick, except at the base, where they were enlarged and roughened to give a firm hold to the thick skin in which they were imbedded. be it remembered, too, that these plates and spines were doubtless covered with horn, so that they were even longer in life than as we now see them. the tail spines varied in length, according to the species, from eight or nine inches to nearly three feet, and some of them have a diameter of six inches at the base. they were swung by a tail eight to ten feet long, and as a visitor was heard to remark, one wouldn't like to be about such an animal in fly time. such were some of the strange and mighty animals that once roamed this continent from the valley of the connecticut, where they literally left their footprints on the sands of time, to the rocky mountains, where the ancient lakes and rivers became cemeteries for the entombment of their bones. the labor of the collector has gathered their fossil remains from many a western canyon, the skill of the preparator has removed them from their stony sepulchres and the study of the anatomist has restored them as they were in life. _references._ _most of our large museums have on exhibition fine specimens of many dinosaurs, comprising skulls, limbs, and large portions of their skeletons. the american museum of natural history, new york, has the largest and finest display. the first actual skeleton of a dinosaur to be mounted in this country was the splendid claosaurus at the yale university museum, where other striking pieces are also to be seen. the mounting of this claosaurus, which is feet long and feet high, took an entire year. the united states national museum is particularly rich in examples of the great, horned triceratops, while the carnegie museum, pittsburgh, has the best diplodocus. the field columbian museum and the universities of wyoming and colorado all have good collections._ [illustration: fig. .--stegosaurus. an armored dinosaur of the jurassic. _from a drawing by charles r. knight._] _the largest single bone of a dinosaur is the thigh bone of a brontosaurus in the field columbian museum, this measuring feet inches in length. the height of a complete hind leg in the american museum of natural history is feet, while a single claw measures by inches. the skeleton of triceratops restored in papier-maché for the pan-american exposition measured feet from tip of nose to end of tail and was feet inches to the top of the backbone over the hips, this being the highest point. the head in the united states national museum used as a model is feet inches long in a straight line and feet inches across the frill. there is a skull in the yale university museum even larger than this._ _articles relating to dinosaurs are mostly technical in their nature and scattered through various scientific journals. the most accessible probably is "the dinosaurs of north america," by professor o. c. marsh, published as part of the sixteenth annual report of the united states geological survey. this contains many figures of the skulls, bones, and entire skeletons of many dinosaurs._ [illustration: fig. .--skull of ceratosaurus. _from a specimen in the united states national museum._] vii reading the riddles of the rocks "_and the first morning of creation wrote what the last dawn of reckoning shall read._" it is quite possible that the reader may wish to know something of the manner in which the specimens described in these pages have been gathered, how we acquire our knowledge of brontosaurus, claosaurus, or any of the many other "sauruses," and how their restorations have been made. there was a time, not so very long ago, when fossils were looked upon as mere sports of nature, and little attention paid to them; later their true nature was recognized, though they were merely gathered haphazard as occasion might offer. but now, and for many years past, the fossil-bearing rocks of many parts of the world have been systematically worked, and from the material thus obtained we have acquired a great deal of information regarding the inhabitants of the ancient world. this is particularly true of our own western country, where a vast amount of collecting has been done, although very much remains to be done in the matter of perfecting this knowledge, and hosts of new animals remain to be discovered. for this information we are almost as much indebted to the collector who has gathered the needed material, and the preparator whose patience and skill have made it available for study, as to the palæontologist who has interpreted the meaning of the bones. to collect successfully demands not only a knowledge of the rocks in which fossils occur and of the localities where they are best exposed to view, but an eye quick to detect a piece of bone protruding from a rock or lying amongst the shale, and, above all, the ability to work a deposit to advantage after it has been found. the collector of living animals hies to regions where there is plenty for bird and beast to eat and drink, but the collector of extinct animals cares little for what is on the surface of the earth; his great desire is to see as much as possible of what may lie beneath. so the prospector in search of fossils betakes himself to some region where the ceaseless warfare waged by water against the dry land has seamed the face of the earth with countless gullies and canyons, or carved it into slopes and bluffs in which the edges of the bone-bearing strata are exposed to view, and along these he skirts, ever on the look-out for some projecting bit of bone. the country is an almost shadeless desert, burning hot by day, uncomfortably cool at night. water is scarce, and when it can be found, often has little to commend it save wetness; but the collector is buoyed up through all this with the hope that he may discover some creature new to science that shall not only be bigger and uglier and stranger than any heretofore found, but shall be the long-sought form needed for the solution of some difficult problem in the history of the past. now collecting is a lottery, differing from most lotteries, however, in that while some of the returns may be pretty small, there are few absolute blanks and some remarkably large prizes, and every collector hopes that it may fall to his lot to win one of these, and is willing to work long and arduously for the chance of obtaining it. it may give some idea of the chances to say that some years ago dr. wortman spent almost an entire season in the field without success, and then, at the eleventh hour, found the now famous skeleton of phenacodus, or that a party from princeton actually camped within yards of a rich deposit of rare fossils and yet failed to discover it. let us, however, suppose that the reconnaissance has been successful, and that an outcrop of bone has been found, serving like a tombstone carven with strange characters to indicate the burial-place of some primeval monster. possibly nature long ago rifled the grave, washing away much of the skeleton, and leaving little save the fragments visible on the surface; on the other hand, these pieces may form part of a complete skeleton, and there is no way to decide this important question save by actual excavation. the manner of disinterment varies, but much depends on whether the fossil lies in comparatively loose shale or is imbedded in the solid rock, whether the strata are level or dip downward into the hillside. if, unfortunately, this last is the case, it necessitates a careful shoring up of the excavation with props of cotton-wood or such boards as may have been brought along to box specimens, or it may even be necessary to run a short tunnel in order to get at some coveted bone. should the specimen lie in shale, as is the case with most of the large reptiles that have been collected, much of that work may be done with pick and shovel; but if it is desirable or necessary to work in firm rock, drills and hammers, wedges, even powder, may be needed to rend from nature her long-kept secrets. in any event, a detailed plan is made of the excavation, and each piece of bone or section of rock duly recorded therein by letter and number, so that later on the relation of the parts to one another may be known, or the various sections assembled in the work-room exactly as they lay in the quarry. bones which lie in loose rock are often, one might say usually, more or less broken, and when a bone three, four, or even six feet long, weighing anywhere from to , pounds, has been shattered to fragments the problem of removing it is no easy one. but here the skill of the collector comes into play to treat the fossil as a surgeon treats a fractured limb, to cover it with plaster bandages, and brace it with splints of wood or iron so that the specimen may not only be taken from the ground but endure in safety the coming journey of a thousand or more miles. for simpler cases or lighter objects strips of sacking, or even paper, applied with flour and water, suffice, or pieces of sacking soaked in thin plaster may be laid over the bone, first covering it with thin paper in order that the plaster jacket may simply stiffen and not adhere to it. collecting has not always been carried on in this systematic manner, for the development of the present methods has been the result of years of experience; formerly there was a mere skimming-over of the surface in what professor marsh used to term the potato-gathering style, but now the effort is made to remove specimens intact, often imbedded in large masses of rock, in order that all parts may be preserved. we will take it for granted that our specimens have safely passed through all perils by land and water, road and rail; that they have been quarried, boxed, carted over a roadless country to the nearest railway, and have withstood , miles of jolting in a freight-car. the first step in reconstruction has been taken; the problem, now that the boxes are reposing on the work-room floor, is to make the blocks of stone give up the secrets they have guarded for ages, to free the bones from their enveloping matrix in order that they may tell us something of the life of the past. the method of doing this varies with the conditions under which the material has been gathered, and if from hard clay, chalk, or shale, the process, though tedious enough at best, is by no means so difficult as if the specimens are imbedded in solid rock. in this case the fragments from a given section of quarry must be assembled according to the plan which has been carefully made as the work of exhumation progressed, all pieces containing bone must be stuck together, and weak parts strengthened with gum or glue. now the mass is attacked with hammer and chisel, and the surrounding matrix slowly and carefully cut away until the contained bone is revealed, a process much simpler and more expeditious in the telling than in the actuality; for the preparator may not use the heavy tools of the ordinary stone-cutter: sometimes an awl, or even a glover's needle, must suffice him, and the chips cut off are so small and such care must be taken not to injure the bone that the work is really tedious. this may, perhaps, be better appreciated by saying that to clean a single vertebra of such a huge dinosaur as diplodocus may require a month of continuous labor, and that a score of these big and complicated bones, besides others of simpler structure, are included in the backbone. the finished specimen weighs over pounds, while as originally collected, with all the adherent rock, the weight was twice or thrice as great. such a mass as this is comparatively small, and sometimes huge blocks are taken containing entire skulls or a number of bones, and not infrequently weighing a ton. the largest single specimen is a skull of triceratops, collected by mr. j. b. hatcher, which weighed, when boxed, , pounds. or, as the result of some mishap, or through the work of an inexperienced collector, a valuable specimen may arrive in the shape of a box full of irregular fragments of stone compared with which a dissected map or an old-fashioned chinese puzzle is simplicity itself, and one may spend hours looking for some piece whose proper location gives the clew to an entire section, and days, even, may be consumed before the task is completed. while this not only tries the patience, but the eyes as well, there is, nevertheless, a fascination about this work of fashioning a bone out of scores, possibly hundreds, of fragments, and watching the irregular bits of stone shaping themselves into a mosaic that forms a portion of some creature, possibly quite new to science, and destined to bear a name as long as itself. and thus, after many days of toil, the bone that millions of years before sank into the mud of some old lake-bottom or was buried in the sandy shoals of an ancient river, is brought to light once more to help tell the tale of the creatures of the past. one bone might convey a great deal of information; on the other hand it might reveal very little; for, while it is very painful to say so, the popular impression that it is possible to reconstruct an animal from a single bone, or tell its size and habits from a tooth is but partially correct, and sometimes "the eminent scientist" has come to grief even with a great many bones at his disposal. did not one of the ablest anatomists describe and figure the hip-bones of a dinosaur as its shoulder-blade, and another, equally able, reconstruct a reptile "hind side before," placing the head on the tail! this certainly sounds absurd enough; but just as absurd mistakes are made by men in other walks of life, often with far more deplorable results. before passing to the restoration of the exterior of animals it may be well to say something of the manner in which the skeleton of an extinct animal may be reconstructed and the meaning of its various parts interpreted. for the adjustment of the muscles is dependent on the structure of the skeleton, and putting on the muscles means blocking out the form, details of external appearance being supplied by the skin and its accessories of hair, scales, or horns. let us suppose in the present instance that we are dealing with one of the great reptiles known as triceratops whose remains are among the treasures of the national museum at washington, for the reconstruction of the big beast well illustrates the methods of the palæontologist and also the troubles by which he is beset. moreover, this is not a purely imaginary case, but one that is very real, for the skeleton of this animal which was shown at buffalo was restored in papier-maché in exactly the manner indicated. we have a goodly number of bones, but by no means an entire skeleton, and yet we wish to complete the skeleton and incidentally to form some idea of the creature's habits. now we can interpret the past only by a knowledge of the present, and it is by carefully studying the skeletons of the animals of to-day that we can learn to read the meaning of the symbols of bones left by the animals of a million yesterdays. thus we find that certain characters distinguish the bone of a mammal from that of a bird, a reptile, or a fish, and these in turn from one another, and this constitutes the a b c of comparative anatomy. and, in a like manner, the bones of the various divisions of these main groups have to a greater or less extent their own distinguishing characteristics, so that by first comparing the bones of extinct animals with those of creatures that are now living we are enabled to recognize their nearest existing relative, and then by comparing them with one another we learn the relations they bore in the ancient world. but it must be borne in mind that some of the early beasts were so very different from those of to-day that until pretty much their entire structure was known there was nothing with which to compare odd bones. had but a single incomplete specimen of triceratops come to light we should be very much in the dark concerning him; and although remains of some thirty individuals have been discovered, these have been so imperfect that we are very far from having all the information we need. a great part of the head, with its formidable looking horns, is present, and although the nose is gone, we know from other specimens that it, too, was armed with a knob, or horn, and that the skull ended in a beak, something like that of a snapping turtle, though formed by a separate and extra bone; similarly the end of the lower jaw is lacking, but we may be pretty certain that it ended in a beak, to match that of the skull. the large leg-bones of our specimen are mostly represented, for these being among the more solid parts of the skeleton are more frequently preserved than any others, and though some are from one side and some from another, this matters not. if the hind legs were disproportionately long it would indicate that our animal often or habitually walked erect, but as there is only difference enough between the fore and hind limbs to enable triceratops to browse comfortably from the ground we would naturally place him on all fours, even were the skull not so large as to make the creature too top-heavy for any other mode of locomotion. were the limbs very small in comparison with the other bones, it would obviously mean that their owner passed his life in the water. for a skeleton has a twofold meaning, it is the best, the most enduring, testimony we have as to an animal's place in nature and the relationships it sustains to the creatures that lived with it, before it, and after it. more than this, a skeleton is the solution of a problem in mechanics, the problem of carrying a given weight and of adaptation to a given mode of life. thus the skeleton varies according as a creature dwells on land, in the water, or in the air, and according as it feeds on grass or preys upon its fellows. and so the mechanics of a skeleton afford us a clew to the habits of the living animal. something, too, may be gathered from the structure of the leg-bones, for solid bones mean either a sluggish animal or a creature of more or less aquatic habits, while hollow bones emphatically declare a land animal, and an active one at that; and this, in the case of the dinosaurs, hints at predatory habits, the ability to catch and eat their defenceless and more sluggish brethren. a claw, or, better yet, a tooth, may confirm or refute this hint; for a blunt claw could not be used in tearing prey limb from limb, nor would a double-edged tooth, made for rending flesh, serve for champing grass. but few bones of the feet, and especially the fore feet, are present, these smaller parts of the skeleton having been washed away before the ponderous frame was buried in the sand, and the best that can be done is to follow the law of probabilities and put three toes on the hind foot and five on the fore, two of these last without claws. the single blunt round claw among our bones shows, as do the teeth, that triceratops was herbivorous; it also pointed a little downward, and this tells that in the living animal the sole of the foot was a thick, soft pad, somewhat as it is in the elephant and rhinoceros, and that the toes were not entirely free from one another. there are less than a dozen vertebræ and still fewer ribs, besides half a barrelful of pieces, from which to reconstruct a backbone twenty feet long. that the ribs are part from one side and part from another matters no more than it did in the case of the leg-bones; but the backbone presents a more difficult problem, since the pieces are not like so many checkers--all made after one pattern--but each has an individuality of its own. the total number of vertebræ must be guessed at (perhaps it would sound better to say estimated, but it really means the same), and knowing that some sections are from the front part of the vertebral column and some from the back, we must fill in the gaps as best we may. the ribs offer a little aid in this task, giving certain details of the vertebræ, while those in turn tell something about the adjoining parts of the ribs. we finish our triceratops with a tail of moderate length, as indicated by the rapid taper of the few vertebræ available, and from these we gather, too, that in life the tail was round, and not flattened, and that it neither served for swimming nor for a balancing pole. and so, little by little, have been pieced together the fragments from which we have derived our knowledge of the past, and thus has the palæontologist read the riddles of the rocks. [illustration: fig. .--triceratops, he of the three-horned face. _from a statuette by charles r. knight._] to make these dry bones live again, to clothe them with flesh and reconstruct the creature as he was or may have been in life, is, to be honest, very largely guesswork, though to make a guess that shall come anywhere near the mark not only demands a thorough knowledge of anatomy--for the basis of all restoration must be the skeleton--but calls for more than a passing acquaintance with the external appearance of living animals. and while there is nothing in the bones to tell how an animal is, or was, clad, they will at least show to what group the creature belonged, and, that known, there are certain probabilities in the case. a bird, for example, would certainly be clad in feathers. going a little farther, we might be pretty sure that the feathers of a water-fowl would be thick and close; those of strictly terrestrial birds, such as the ostrich and other flightless forms, lax and long. these as general propositions; of course, in special cases, one might easily come to grief, as in dealing with birds like penguins, which are particularly adapted for an aquatic life, and have the feathers highly modified. these birds depend upon their fat, and not on their feathers, for warmth, and so their feathers have become a sort of cross between scales and hairs. hair and fur belong to mammals only, although these creatures show much variety in their outer covering. the thoroughly marine whales have discarded furs and adopted a smooth and slippery skin,[ ] well adapted to movement through the water, relying for warmth on a thick undershirt of blubber. the earless seals that pass much of their time on the ice have just enough hair to keep them from absolute contact with it, warmth again being provided for by blubber. the fur seals, which for several months in the year dwell largely on land, have a coat of fur and hair, although warmth is mostly furnished, or rather kept in, by fat. [ ] _the reader is warned that this is a mere figure of speech, for, of course, the process of adaptation to surroundings is passive, not active, although there is a most unfortunate tendency among writers on evolution, and particularly on mimicry, to speak of it as active. the writer believes that no animal in the first stages of mimicry, consciously mimics or endeavors to resemble another animal or any part of its surroundings, but a habit at first accidental may in time become more or less conscious._ no reptile, therefore, would be covered with feathers, neither, judging from those we know to-day, would they be clad in fur or hair; but, such coverings being barred out, there remain a great variety of plates and scales to choose from. folds and frills, crests and dewlaps, like beauty, are but skin deep, and, being thus superficial, ordinarily leave no trace of their former presence, and in respect to them the reconstructor must trust to his imagination, with the law of probabilities as a check rein to his fancy. this law would tell us that such ornaments must not be so placed as to be in the way, and that while there would be a possibility--one might even say probability--of the great, short-headed, iguana-like dinosaurs having dewlaps, that there would be no great likelihood of their possessing ruffs such as that of the australian chlamydosaurus (mantled lizard) to flap about their ears. even stegosaurus, with his bizarre array of great plates and spines, kept them on his back, out of the way. such festal ornamentation would, however, more likely be found in small, active creatures, the larger beasts contenting themselves with plates and folds. spines and plates usually leave some trace of their existence, for they consist of a super-structure of skin or horn, built on a foundation of bone; and while even horn decomposes too quickly to "petrify," the bone will become fossilized and changed into enduring stone. but while this affords a pretty sure guide to the general shape of the investing horn, it does not give all the details, and there may have been ridges and furrows and sculpturing that we know not of. knowing, then, what the probabilities are, we have some guide to the character of the covering that should be placed on an animal, and if we may not be sure as to what should be done, we may be pretty certain what should not. for example, to depict a dinosaur with smooth, rubbery hide walking about on dry land would be to violate the probabilities, for only such exclusively aquatic creatures as the whales among mammals, and the salamanders among batrachians, are clothed in smooth, shiny skin. there might, however, be reason to suspect that a creature largely aquatic in its habits did occasionally venture on land, as, for instance, when vertebræ that seem illy adapted for carrying the weight of a land animal are found in company with huge limb-bones and massive feet we may feel reasonably certain that their owner passed at least a portion of his time on _terra firma_. so much for the probabilities as to the covering of animals known to us only by their fossil remains; but it is often possible to go beyond this, and to state certainly how they were clad. for while the chances are small that any trace of the covering of an extinct animal, other than bony plates, will be preserved, nature does now and then seem to have relented, and occasionally some animal settled to rest where it was so quickly and quietly covered with fine mud that the impression of small scales, feathers, or even smooth skin, was preserved; curiously enough, there seems to be scarcely any record of the imprint of hair. then, too, it is to be remembered that while the chances were very much against such preservation, in the thousands or millions of times creatures died the millionth chance might come uppermost. silhouettes of those marine reptiles, the ichthyosaurs, have been found, probably made by the slow carbonization of animal matter, showing not only the form of the body and tail, but revealing the existence of an unsuspected back fin. and yet these animals were apparently clad in a skin as thin and smooth as that of a whale. impressions of feathers were known long before the discovery of archæopteryx; a few have been found in the green river and florissant shales of wyoming, and a hesperornis in the collection of the state university of kansas shows traces of the existence of long, soft feathers on the legs and very clear imprints of the scales and reticulated skin that covered the tarsus. from the chalk of kansas, too, came the example of tylosaur, showing that the back of this animal was decorated with the crest shown in mr. knight's restoration, one not unlike that of the modern iguana. from the laramie sandstone of montana mr. hatcher and mr. butler have obtained the impressions of portions of the skin of the great dinosaur, thespesius, which show that the covering of this animal consisted largely, if not entirely, of small, irregularly hexagonal horny scutes, slightly thickened in the centre. the quarries of lithographic stone at solenhofen have yielded a few specimens of flying reptiles, pterodactyls, which not only verify the correctness of the inference that these creatures possessed membranous wings, like the bats, but show the exact shape, and it was sometimes very curious, of this membrane. and each and all of these wonderfully preserved specimens serve both to check and guide the restorer in his task of clothing the animal as it was in life. and all this help is needed, for it is an easy matter to make a wide-sweeping deduction, apparently resting on a good basis of fact, and yet erroneous. remains of the mammoth and woolly rhinoceros, found in siberia and northern europe, were thought to indicate that at the period when these animals lived the climate was mild, a very natural inference, since the elephants and rhinoceroses we now know are all inhabitants of tropical climes. but the discovery of more or less complete specimens makes it evident that the climate was not particularly mild; the animals were simply adapted to it; instead of being naked like their modern relatives, they were dressed for the climate in a woolly covering. we think of the tiger as prowling through the jungles of india, but he ranges so far north that in some localities this beast preys upon reindeer, which are among the most northern of large mammals, and there the tiger is clad in fairly thick fur. when we come to coloring a reconstructed animal we have absolutely no guide, unless we assume that the larger a creature the more soberly will it be colored. the great land animals of to-day, the elephant and rhinoceros, to say nothing of the aquatic hippopotamus, are very dully colored, and while this sombre coloration is to-day a protection, rendering these animals less easily seen by man than they otherwise would be, yet at the time this color was developing man was not nor were there enemies sufficiently formidable to menace the race of elephantine creatures. for where mere size furnishes sufficient protection one would hardly expect to find protective coloration as well, unless indeed a creature preyed upon others, when it might be advantageous to enable a predatory animal to steal upon its prey. color often exists (or is supposed to) as a sexual characteristic, to render the male of a species attractive to, or readily recognizable by, the female, but in the case of large animals mere size is quite enough to render them conspicuous, and possibly this may be one of the factors in the dull coloration of large animals. so while a green and yellow triceratops would undoubtedly have been a conspicuous feature in the cretaceous landscape, from what we know of existing animals it seems best to curb our fancy and, so far as large dinosaurs are concerned, employ the colors of a rembrandt rather than those of a sign painter. aids, or at least hints, to the coloration of extinct animals are to be found in the coloration of the young of various living species, for as the changes undergone by the embryo are in a measure an epitome of the changes undergone by a species during its evolution, so the brief color phases or markings of the young are considered to represent the ordinary coloring of distant ancestors. young thrushes are spotted, young ostriches and grebes are irregularly striped, young lions are spotted, and in restoring the early horse, or hyracothere, professor osborn had the animal represented as faintly striped, for the reason that zebras, the wild horses of to-day, are striped, and because the ass, which is a primitive type of horse, is striped over the shoulders, these being hints that the earlier horse-like forms were also striped. thus just as the skeleton of a dinosaur may be a composite structure, made up of the bones of a dozen individuals, and these in turn mosaics of many fragments, so may the semblance of the living animal be based on a fact, pieced out with a probability and completed by a bit of theory. _references_ _there is a large series of restorations of extinct animals, prepared by mr. charles r. knight, under the direction of professor osborn, in the hall of palæontology of the american museum of natural history, and these are later to be reproduced and issued in portfolio form._ _should the reader visit princeton, he may see in the museum there a number of b. waterhouse hawkins's creations--creations is the proper word--which are of interest as examples of the early work in this line._ _the "report of the smithsonian institution for " contains an article on "the restoration of extinct animals," pages - , which includes a number of plates showing the progress that has been made in this direction._ [illustration: fig. .--a hint of buried treasures.] viii feathered giants _"there were giants in the earth in those days."_ nearly every group of animals has its giants, its species which tower above their fellows as goliath of gath stood head and shoulders above the philistine hosts; and while some of these are giants only in comparison with their fellows, belonging to families whose members are short of stature, others are sufficiently great to be called giants under any circumstances. some of these giants live to-day, some have but recently passed away, and some ceased to be long ages before man trod this earth. the most gigantic of mammals--the whales--still survive, and the elephant of to-day suffers but little in comparison with the mammoth of yesterday; the monstrous dinosaurs, greatest of all reptiles--greatest, in fact, of all animals that have walked the earth--flourished thousands upon thousands of years ago. as for birds, some of the giants among them are still living, some existed long geologic periods ago, and a few have so recently vanished from the scene that their memory still lingers amid the haze of tradition. the best known among these, as well as the most recent in point of time, are the moas of new zealand, first brought to notice by the rev. w. colenso, later on bishop of new zealand, one of the many missionaries to whom science is under obligations. early in , bishop colenso, while on a missionary visit to the east cape region, heard from the natives of waiapu tales of a monstrous bird, called moa, having the head of a man, that inhabited the mountain-side some eighty miles away. this mighty bird, the last of his race, was said to be attended by two equally huge lizards that kept guard while he slept, and on the approach of man wakened the moa, who immediately rushed upon the intruders and trampled them to death. none of the maoris had seen this bird, but they had seen and somewhat irreverently used for making parts of their fishing tackle, bones of its extinct relatives, and these bones they declared to be as large as those of an ox. about the same time another missionary, the rev. richard taylor, found a bone ascribed to the moa, and met with a very similar tradition among the natives of a near-by district, only, as the foot of the rainbow moves away as we move toward it, in his case the bird was said to dwell in quite a different locality from that given by the natives of east cape. while, however, the maoris were certain that the moa still lived, and to doubt its existence was little short of a crime, no one had actually seen it, and as time went on and the bird still remained unseen by any explorer, hope became doubt and doubt certainty, until it even became a mooted question whether such a bird had existed within the past ten centuries, to say nothing of having lived within the memory of man. but if we do not know the living birds, their remains are scattered broadcast over hillside and plain, concealed in caves, buried in the mud of swamps, and from these we gain a good idea of their size and structure, while chance has even made it possible to know something of their color and general appearance. this chance was the discovery of a few specimens, preserved in exceptionally dry caves on the south island, which not only had some of the bones still united by ligaments, but patches of skin clinging to the bones, and bearing numerous feathers of a chestnut color tipped with white. these small, straggling, rusty feathers are not much to look at, but when we reflect that they have been preserved for centuries without any care whatever, while the buffalo bugs have devoured our best smyrna rugs in spite of all possible precautions, our respect for them increases. [illustration: fig. .--relics of the moa.] from the bones we learn that there were a great many kinds of moas, twenty at least, ranging in size from those little larger than a turkey to that giant among giants, _dinornis maximus_, which stood at least ten feet high,[ ] or two feet higher than the largest ostrich, and may well claim the distinction of being the tallest of all known birds. we also learn from the bones that not only were the moas flightless, but that many of them were absolutely wingless, being devoid even of such vestiges of wings as we find in the cassowary or apteryx. but if nature deprived these birds of wings, she made ample amends in the matter of legs, those of some species, the elephant-footed moa, _pachyornis elephantopus_, for example, being so massively built as to cause one to wonder what the owner used them for, although the generally accepted theory is that they were used for scratching up the roots of ferns on which the moas are believed to have fed. and if a blow from an irate ostrich is sufficient to fell a man, what must have been the kicking power of an able-bodied moa? beside this bird the ostrich would appear as slim and graceful as a gazelle beside a prize ox. [ ] _the height of the moas, and even of some species of Æpyornis, is often stated to be twelve or fourteen feet, but such a height can only be obtained by placing the skeleton in a wholly unnatural attitude._ the moas were confined to new zealand, some species inhabiting the north island, some the south, very few being common to both, and from these peculiarities of distribution geologists deduce that at some early period in the history of the earth the two islands formed one, that later on the land subsided, leaving the islands separated by a strait, and that since this subsidence there has been sufficient time for the development of the species peculiar to each island. although moas were still numerous when man made his appearance in this part of the world, the large deposits of their bones indicate that they were on the wane, and that natural causes had already reduced the feathered population of these islands. a glacial period is believed to have wrought their destruction, and in one great morass, abounding in springs, their bones occur in such enormous numbers, layer upon layer, that it is thought the birds sought the place where the flowing springs might afford their feet at least some respite from the biting cold, and there perished miserably by thousands. what nature spared man finished, and legends of moa hunts and moa feasts still lingered among the maoris when the white man came and began in turn the extermination of the maori. the theory has been advanced, with much to support it, that the big birds were eaten off the face of the earth by an earlier race than the maoris, and that after the extirpation of the moas the craving for flesh naturally led to cannibalism. but by whomsoever the destruction was wrought, the result was the same, the habitat of these feathered giants knew them no longer, while multitudes of charred bones, interspersed with fragments of egg-shells, bear testimony to former barbaric feasts. it is a far cry from new zealand to madagascar, but thither must we go, for that island was, pity we cannot say is, inhabited by a race of giant birds from whose eggs it has been thought may have been hatched the roc of sindbad. arabian tales, as we all know, locate the roc either in madagascar or in some adjacent island to the north and east, and it is far from unlikely that legends of the Æpyornis, backed by the substantial proof of its enormous eggs, may have been the slight foundation of fact whereon the story-teller erected his structure of fiction. true, the roc of fable was a gigantic bird of prey capable of bearing away an elephant in its talons, while the Æpyornis has shed its wings and shrunk to dimensions little larger than an ostrich, but this is the inevitable result of closer acquaintance and the application of a two-foot rule. like the moa the Æpyornis seems to have lived in tradition long after it became extinct, for a french history of madagascar, published as early as makes mention of a large bird, or kind of ostrich, said to inhabit the southern end of the island. still, in spite of bones having been found that bear evident traces of the handiwork of man, it is possible that this and other reports were due to the obvious necessity of having some bird to account for the presence of the eggs. the actual introduction of the Æpyornis to science took place in , when a french traveller sent jules verreaux, the ornithologist, a sketch of a huge egg, saying that he had seen two of that size, one sawed in twain to make bowls, the other, traversed by a stick, serving in the preparation of rice uses somewhat in contrast with the proverbial fragility of egg-shells. a little later another traveller procured some fragments of egg-shells, but it was not until that any entire eggs were obtained, when two were secured, and with a few bones sent to france, where geoffroy st. hilaire bestowed upon them the name of _Æpyornis maximus_ (the greatest lofty bird). maximus the eggs remain, for they still hold the record for size; but so far as the bird that is supposed to have laid them is concerned, the name was a little premature, for other and larger species subsequently came to hand. between the Æpyornithes and the moas science has had a hard time, for the supply of big words was not large enough to go around, and some had to do duty twice. in the way of generic names we have dinornis, terrible bird; Æpyornis, high bird; pachyornis, stout bird; and brontornis, thunder bird, while for specific names there are robustus, maximus, titan; gravis, heavy; immanis, enormous; crassus, stout; ingens, great; and elephantopus, elephant-footed--truly a goodly array of large-sounding words. but to return to the big eggs! usually we look upon those of the ostrich as pretty large, but an ostrich egg measures - / by inches, while that of the Æpyornis is by inches; or, to put it another way, it would hold the contents of six ostrichs' eggs, or one hundred and forty-eight hens' eggs, or thirty thousand humming birds' eggs; and while this is very much smaller than a waterbutt, it is still as large as a bucket, and one or two such eggs might suffice to make an omelet for gargantua himself. the size of an egg is no safe criterion of the size of the bird that laid it, for a large bird may lay a small egg, or a small bird a large one. comparing the egg of the great moa with that of our Æpyornis one might think the latter much the larger bird, say twelve feet in height, when the facts in the case are that while there was no great difference in the weight of the two, that difference, and a superiority of at least two feet in height, are in favor of the bird that laid the smaller egg. the record of large eggs, however, belongs to the apteryx, a new zealand bird smaller than a hen, though distantly related to the moas, which lays an egg about one-third of its own weight, measuring by inches; perhaps it is not to be wondered at that the bird lays but two. although most of the eggs of these big birds that have been found have literally been unearthed from the muck of swamps, now and then one comes to light in a more interesting manner as, for example, when a perfect egg of Æpyornis was found afloat after a hurricane, bobbing serenely up and down with the waves near st. augustine's bay, or when an egg of the moa was exhumed from an ancient maori grave, where for years it had lain unharmed, safely clasped between the skeleton fingers of the occupant. so far very few of these huge eggs have made their way to this country, and the only egg of Æpyornis now on this side of the water is the property of a private individual. most recent in point of discovery, but oldest in point of time, are the giant birds from patagonia, which are burdened with the name of phororhacidæ, a name that originated in an error, although the error may well be excused. the first fragment of one of these great birds to come to light was a portion of the lower jaw, and this was so massive, so un-bird-like, that the finder dubbed it _phororhacos_, and so it must remain. [illustration: fig. .--eggs of feathered giants, Æpyornis, ostrich, moa, compared with a hen's egg.] it is a pity that all the large names were used up before this group of birds was discovered, and it is particularly unfortunate that dinornis, terrible bird, was applied to the root-eating moas, for these patagonian birds, with their massive limbs, huge heads and hooked beaks, were truly worthy of such a name; and although in nowise related to the eagles, they may in habit have been terrestrial birds of prey. not all the members of this family are giants, for as in other groups, some are big and some little, but the largest among them might be styled the daniel lambert of the feathered race. _brontornis_, for example, the thunder bird, or as the irreverent translate it, the thundering big bird, had leg-bones larger than those of an ox, the drumstick measuring inches in length by - / inches in diameter, or - / inches across the ends, while the tarsus, or lower bone of the leg to which the toes are attached, was - / inches long and - / inches wide where the toes join on. bear this in mind the next time you see a large turkey, or compare these bones with those of an ostrich: but lest you may forget, it may be said that the same bone of a fourteen-pound turkey is - / inches long, and one inch wide at either end, while that of an ostrich measures inches long and inches across the toes, or at the upper end. if brontornis was a heavy-limbed bird, he was not without near rivals among the moas, while the great phororhacos, one of his contemporaries, was not only nearly as large, but quite unique in build. imagine a bird seven or eight feet in height from the sole of his big, sharp-clawed feet, to the top of his huge head, poise this head on a neck as thick as that of a horse, arm it with a beak as sharp as an icepick and almost as formidable, and you have a fair idea of this feathered giant of the ancient pampas. the head indeed was truly colossal for that of a bird, measuring inches in length by in depth, while that of the racehorse lexington, and he was a good-sized horse, measures inches long by - / inches deep. the depth of the jaw is omitted because we wish to make as good a case as possible for the bird, and the jaw of a horse is so deep as to give him an undue advantage in that respect. [illustration: fig. .--skull of phororhacos compared with that of the race-horse lexington.] we can only speculate on the food of these great birds, and for aught we know to the contrary they may have caught fish, fed upon carrion, or used their powerful feet and huge beaks for grubbing roots; but if they were not more or less carnivorous, preying upon such reptiles, mammals and other birds as came within reach, then nature apparently made a mistake in giving them such a formidable equipment of beak and claw. so far as habits go we might be justified in calling them cursorial birds of prey. [illustration: fig. .--leg of a horse compared with that of the giant moa.] we really know very little about these patagonian giants, but they are interesting not only from their great size and astounding skulls, but because of the early age (miocene) at which they lived and because in spite of their bulk they are in nowise related to the ostriches, but belong near the heron family. as usual, we have no idea why they became extinct, but in this instance man is guiltless, for they lived and died long before he made his appearance, and the ever-convenient hypothesis "change of climate" may be responsible for their disappearance. something, perhaps, remains to be said concerning the causes which seem to have led to the development of these giant birds, as well as the reasons for their flightless condition and peculiar distribution, for it will be noticed that, with the exception of the african and south american ostriches the great flightless birds as a rule are, and were, confined to uninhabited or sparsely populated islands, and this is equally true of the many small, but equally flightless birds. it is a seemingly harsh law of nature that all living beings shall live in a more or less active struggle with each other and with their surroundings, and that those creatures which possess some slight advantage over their fellows in the matter of speed, or strength, or ability to adapt themselves to surrounding conditions, shall prosper at the expense of the others. in the power of flight, birds have a great safeguard against changes of climate with their accompanying variations in the supply of food, and, to a lesser extent, against their various enemies, including man. this power of flight, acquired early in their geological history, has enabled birds to spread over the length and breadth of the globe as no other group of animals has done, and to thrive under the most varying conditions, and it would seem that if this power were lost it must sooner or later work harm. now to-day we find no great wingless birds in thickly populated regions, or where beasts of prey abound; the ostriches roam the desert wastes of arabia, africa and south america where men are few and savage beasts scarce, and against these is placed a fleetness of foot inherited from ancestors who acquired it before man was. the heavy cassowaries dwell in the thinly inhabited, thickly wooded islands of malaysia, where again there are no large carnivores and where the dense vegetation is some safeguard against man; the emu comes from the australian plains, where also there are no four-footed enemies[ ] and where his ancestors dwelt in peace before the advent of man. and the same things are true of the moas, the Æpyornithes, the flightless birds of patagonia, the recent dodo of mauritius and the solitaire of rodriguez, each and all of which flourished in places where there were no men and practically no other enemies. hence we deduce that absence of enemies is the prime factor in the existence of flightless birds,[ ] although presence of food is an essential, while isolation, or restriction to a limited area, plays an important part by keeping together those birds, or that race of birds, whose members show a tendency to disuse their wings. it will be seen that such combinations of circumstances will most naturally be found on islands whose geological history is such that they have had no connection with adjacent continents, or such a very ancient connection that they were not then peopled with beasts of prey, while subsequently their distance from other countries has prevented them from receiving such population by accident in recent times and has also retarded the arrival of man. [ ] _the dingo, or native dog, is not forgotten, but, like man, it is a comparatively recent animal._ [ ] _note that in tasmania, which is very near australia, both in space and in the character of its animals, there are two carnivorous mammals, the tasmanian "wolf" and the tasmanian devil, and no flightless birds._ once established, flightlessness and size play into one another's hands; the flightless bird has no limit placed on its size[ ] while granted a food supply and immunity from man; the larger the bird the less the necessity for wings to escape from four-footed foes. so long as the climate was favorable and man absent, the big, clumsy bird might thrive, but upon the coming of man, or in the face of any unfavorable change of climate, he would be at a serious disadvantage and hence whenever either of these two factors has been brought to bear against them the feathered giants have vanished. [ ] _while we do not know the limit of size to a flying creature, none has as yet been found whose wings would spread over twenty feet from tip to tip, and it is evident that wings larger than this would demand great strength for their manipulation._ _references_ _there is a fine collection of mounted skeletons of various species of moas in the museum of comparative zoology at cambridge, mass., and another in the american museum of natural history, new york. a few _other skeletons and numerous bones are to be found in other institutions, but the author is not aware of any egg being in this country. specimens of the Æpyornis are rare in this country, but mr. robert gilfort, of orange, n.j., is the possessor of a very fine egg. a number of eggs have been sold in london, the prices ranging from £ down to £ , this last being much less than prices paid for eggs of the great auk. but then, the great auk is somewhat of a fad, and there are just enough eggs in existence to bring one into the market every little while. besides, the number of eggs of the great auk is a fixed quantity, while no one knows how many more of Æpyornis remain to be discovered in the swamps of madagascar. no specimens of the gigantic patagonian birds are now in this country, but a fine example of one of the smaller forms, pelycornis, including the only breast-bone yet found, is in the museum of princeton university._ _the largest known tibia of a moa, the longest bird-bone known, is in the collection of the canterbury museum, christchurch, new zealand; it is feet inches long. this, however, is exceptional, the measurements of the leg-bones of an ordinary dinornis maximus being as follows: femur, inches; tibia, inches; tarsus, inches, a total of feet inches. the egg measures - / by - / inches._ _there is plenty of literature, and very interesting literature, about the moas, but, unfortunately, the best of it is not always accessible, being contained in the "new zealand journal of science" and the "transactions of the new zealand institute." the volume of "transactions" for , being vol. xxvi., contains a very full list of articles relating to the moas, compiled by mr. a. hamilton; it will be found to commence on page . there is a good article on moa in newton's "dictionary of birds," a book that should be in every library._ [illustration: fig. .--the three giants, phororhacos, moa, ostrich.] ix the ancestry of the horse "_said the little eohippus i am going to be a horse and on my middle finger-nails to run my earthly course._" the american whose ancestors came over in the "mayflower" has a proper pride in the length of the line of his descent. the englishman whose genealogical tree sprang up at the time of william the conqueror has, in its eight centuries of growth, still larger occasion for pluming himself on the antiquity of his family. but the pedigree of even the latter is a thing of yesterday when compared with that of the horse, whose family records, according to professor osborn, reach backward for something like , , years. and if, as we have been told, "it is a good thing to have ancestors, but sometimes a little hard on the ancestor," in this instance at least the founders of the family have every reason to regard their descendants with undisguised pride. for the horse family started in life in a small way, and the first of the line, the hyracotherium, was "a little animal no bigger than a fox, and on five[ ] toes he scampered over tertiary rocks," in the age called eocene, because it was the morning of life for the great group of mammals whose culminating point was man. at that time, western north america was a country of many lakes, for the most part comparatively shallow, around the reedy margins of which moved a host of animals, quite unlike those of to-day, and yet foreshadowing them, the forerunners of the rhinoceros, tapir, and the horse. [ ] _four, to be exact; but we prefer to sacrifice the foot of the hyracothere rather than to take liberties with one of the feet of mrs. stetson's poem._ the early horse--we may call him so by courtesy, although he was then very far from being a true horse--was an insignificant little creature, apparently far less likely to succeed in life's race than his bulky competitors, and yet, by making the most of their opportunities, his descendants have survived, while most of theirs have dropped by the wayside; and finally, by the aid of man, the horse has become spread over the length and breadth of the habitable globe. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of the modern horse and of his eocene ancestor.] now right here it may be asked, how do we know that the little hyracothere _was_ the progenitor of the horse, and how can it be shown that there is any bond of kinship between him and, for example, the great french percheron? there is only one way in which we can obtain this knowledge, and but one method by which the relationship can be shown, and that is by collecting the fossil remains of animals long extinct and comparing them with the bones of the recent horse, a branch of science known as palæontology. it has taken a very long time to gather the necessary evidence, and it has taken a vast amount of hard work in our western territories, for "the country that is as hot as hades, watered by stagnant alkali pools, is almost invariably the richest in fossils." likewise it has called for the expenditure of much time and more patience to put together some of this petrified evidence, fragmentary in every sense of the word, and get it into such shape that it could be handled by the anatomist. still, the work has been done, and, link by link, the chain has been constructed that unites the horse of to-day with the horse of very many yesterdays. the very first links in this chain are the remains of the bronze age and those found among the ruins of the ancient swiss lake dwellings; but earlier still than these are the bones of horses found abundantly in northern europe, asia, and america. the individual bones and teeth of some of these horses are scarcely distinguishable from those of to-day, a fact noted in the name, _equus fraternus_, applied to one species; and when teeth alone are found, it is at times practically impossible to say whether they belong to a fossil horse or to a modern animal. but when enough scattered bones are gathered to make a fairly complete skeleton, it becomes evident that the fossil horse had a proportionately larger head and smaller feet than his existing relative, and that he was a little more like an ass or zebra, for the latter, spite of his gay coat, is a near relative of the lowly ass. moreover, primitive man made sketches of the primitive horse, just as he did of the mammoth, and these indicate that the horse of those days was something like an overgrown shetland pony, low and heavily built, large-headed and rough-coated. for the old cave-dwellers of europe were intimately acquainted with the prehistoric horses, using them for food, as they did almost every animal that fell beneath their flint arrows and stone axes. and if one may judge from the abundance of bones, the horses must have roamed about in bands, just as the horses escaped from civilization roam, or have roamed, over the pampas of south america and the prairies of the west. the horse was just as abundant in north america in pleistocene time as in europe; but there is no evidence to show that it was contemporary with early man in north america, and, even were this the case, it is generally believed that long before the discovery of america the horse had disappeared. and yet, so plentiful and so fresh are his remains, and so much like those of the mustang, that the late professor cope was wont to say that it almost seemed as if the horse _might_ have lingered in texas until the coming of the white man. and sir william flower wrote: "there is a possibility of the animal having still existed, in a wild state, in some parts of the continent remote from that which was first visited by the spaniards, where they were certainly unknown. it has been suggested that the horses which were found by cabot in la plata in cannot have been introduced." still we have not the least little bit of positive proof that such was the case, and although the site of many an ancient indian village has been carefully explored, no bones of the horse have come to light, or if they have been found, bones of the ox or sheep were also present to tell that the village was occupied long after the advent of the whites. it is also a curious fact that within historic times there have been no wild horses, in the true sense of the word, unless indeed those found on the steppes north of the sea of azof be wild, and this is very doubtful. but long before the dawn of history the horse was domesticated in europe, and cæsar found the germans, and even the old britons, using war chariots drawn by horses--for the first use man seems to have made of the horse was to aid him in killing off his fellow-man, and not until comparatively modern times was the animal employed in the peaceful arts of agriculture. the immediate predecessors of these horses were considerably smaller, being about the size and build of a pony, but they were very much like a horse in structure, save that the teeth were shorter. as they lived during pliocene times, they have been named "pliohippus." going back into the past a step farther, though a pretty long step if we reckon by years, we come upon a number of animals very much like horses, save for certain cranial peculiarities and the fact that they had three toes on each foot, while the horse, as every one knows, has but one toe. now, if we glance at the skeleton of a horse, we will see on either side of the canon-bone, in the same situation as the upper part of the little toes of the hippotherium, as these three-toed horses are called, a long slender bone, termed by veterinarians the splint bone; and it requires no anatomical training to see that the bones in the two animals are the same. the horse lacks the lower part of his side toes, that is all, just as man will very probably some day lack the last bones of his little toe. we find an approach to this condition in some of the hippotheres even, known as protohippus, in which the side toes are quite small, foreshadowing the time when they shall have disappeared entirely. it may also be noted here that the splint bones of the horses of the bronze age are a little longer than those of existing horses, and that they are never united with the large central toe, while nowadays there is something of a tendency for the three bones to fuse into one, although part of this tendency the writer believes to be due to inflammation set up by the strain of the pulling and hauling the animal is now called upon to do. some of these three-toed hippotheres are not in the direct line of ancestry of the horse, but are side branches on the family tree, having become so highly specialized in certain directions that no further progress horseward was possible. backward still, and the bones we find in the miocene strata of the west, belonging to those ancestors of the horse to which the name of mesohippus has been given because they are midway in time and structure between the horse of the past and present, tell us that then all horses were small and that all had three toes on a foot, while the fore feet bore even the suggestion of a fourth toe. from this to our eocene hyracothere with four toes is only another long-time step. we may go even beyond this in time and structure, and carry back the line of the horse to animals which only remotely resembled him and had five good toes to a foot; but while these contained the possibility of a horse, they made no show of it. [illustration: fig. .--the development of the horse.] increase in size and decrease in number of the toes were not the only changes that were required to transform the progeny of the hyracothere into a horse. these are the most evident; but the increased complexity in the structure of the teeth was quite as important. the teeth of gnawing animals have often been compared to a chisel which is made of a steel plate with soft iron backing, and the teeth of a horse, or of other grass-eating animals, are simply an elaboration of this idea. the hard enamel, which represents the steel, is set in soft dentine, which represents the iron, and in use the dentine wears away the faster of the two, so that the enamel stands up in ridges, each tooth becoming, as it is correctly termed, "a grinder." in a horse the plates of enamel form curved, complex, irregular patterns; but as we go back in time, the patterns become less and less elaborate, until in the hyracothere, standing at the foot of the family tree, the teeth are very simple in structure. moreover, his teeth were of limited growth, while those of the horse grow for a considerable time, thus compensating for the wear to which they are subjected. we have, then, this direct evidence as to the genealogy of the horse, that between the little eocene hyracothere and the modern horse we can place a series of animals by which we can pass by gradual stages from one to the other, and that as we come upward there is an increase in stature, in the complexity of the teeth, and in the size of the brain. at the same time, the number of toes decreases, which tells that the animals were developing more and more speed; for it is a rule that the fewer the toes the faster the animal: the fastest of birds, the ostrich, has but two toes, and one of these is mostly ornamental; and the fastest of mammals, the horse, has but one. all breeders of fancy stock, particularly of pigeons and poultry, recognize the tendency of animals to revert to the forms whence they were derived and reproduce some character of a distant ancestor; to "throw back," as the breeders term it. if now, instead of reproducing a trait or feature possessed by some ancestor a score, a hundred, or perhaps a thousand years ago, there should reappear a characteristic of some ancestor that flourished , years back, we should have a seeming abnormality, but really a case of reversion; and the more we become acquainted with the structure of extinct animals and the development of those now living, the better able are we to explain these apparent abnormalities. bearing in mind that the two splint bones of the horse correspond to the upper portions of the side toes of the hippotherium and mesohippus, it is easy to see that if for any reason these should develop into toes, they would make the foot of a modern horse appear like that of his distant ancestor. while such a thing rarely happens, yet now and then nature apparently does attempt to reproduce a horse's foot after the ancient pattern, for occasionally we meet with a horse having, instead of the single toe with which the average horse is satisfied, one or possibly two extra toes. sometimes the toe is extra in every sense of the word, being a mere duplication of the central toe; but sometimes it is an actual development of one of the splint bones. no less a personage than julius cæsar possessed one of these polydactyl horses, and the reporters of the _daily roman_ and the _tiberian gazette_ doubtless wrote it up in good journalistic latin, for we find the horse described as having feet that were almost human, and as being looked upon with great awe. while this is the most celebrated of extra-toed horses, other and more plebeian individuals have been much more widely known through having been exhibited throughout the country under such titles as "clique, the horse with six feet," "the eight-footed cuban horse," and so on; and possibly some of these are familiar to readers of this page. so the collateral evidence, though scanty, bears out the circumstantial proof, derived from fossil bones, that the horse has developed from a many-toed ancestor; and the evidence points toward the little hyracothere as being that ancestor. it remains only to show some good reason why this development should have taken place, or to indicate the forces by which it was brought about. we have heard much about "the survival of the fittest," a phrase which simply means that those animals best adapted to their surroundings will survive, while those ill adapted will perish. but it should be added that it means also that the animals must be able to adapt themselves to changes in their environment, or to change with it. living beings cannot stand still indefinitely; they must progress or perish. and this seems to have been the cause for the extinction of the huge quadrupeds that flourished at the time of the three-toed miocene horse. they were adapted to their environment as it was; but when the western mountains were thrust upward, cutting off the moist winds from the pacific, making great changes in the rainfall and climate to the eastward of the rocky mountains, these big beasts, slow of foot and dull of brain, could not keep pace with the change, and their race vanished from the face of the earth. the day of the little hyracothere was at the beginning of the great series of changes by which the lake country of the west, with its marshy flats and rank vegetation, became transformed into dry uplands sparsely clad with fine grasses. on these dry plains the more nimble-footed animals would have the advantage in the struggle for existence; and while the four-toed foot would keep its owner from sinking in soft ground, he was handicapped when it became a question of speed, for not only is a fleet animal better able to flee from danger than his slower fellows, but in time of drouth he can cover the greater extent of territory in search of food or water. so, too, as the rank rushes gave place to fine grasses, often browned and withered beneath the summer's sun, the complex tooth had an advantage over that of simpler structure, while the cutting-teeth, so completely developed in the horse family, enabled their possessors to crop the grass as closely as one could do it with scissors. likewise, up to a certain point, the largest, most powerful animal will not only conquer, or escape from, his enemies, but prevail over rivals of his own kind as well, and thus it came to pass that those early members of the horse family who were preëminent in speed and stature, and harmonized best with their surroundings, outstripped their fellows and transmitted these qualities to their progeny, until, as a result of long ages of natural selection, there was developed the modern horse. the rest man has done: the heavy, slow-paced dray horse, the fleet trotter, the huge percheron, and the diminutive pony are one and all the recent products of artificial selection. _references_ _the best collection of fossil horses, and one specially arranged to illustrate the line of descent of the modern horse, is to be found in the american museum of natural history, new york, but some good specimens, of particular interest because they were described by professor marsh and studied by huxley are in the yale university museum. they are referred to in huxley's "american addresses; lectures on evolution." "the horse," by sir w. h. flower, discusses the horse in a popular manner from various points of view and contains numerous references to books and articles on the subject from which anyone wishing for further information could obtain it._ [illustration: fig. .--the mammoth. _from a drawing by charles r. knight._] x the mammoth "_his legs were as thick as the bole of the beech, his tusks as the buttonwood white, while his lithe trunk wound like a sapling around an oak in the whirlwind's might._" _in the october number of mcclure's magazine for was published a short story, "the killing of the mammoth," by "h. tukeman," which, to the amazement of the editors, was taken by many readers not as fiction, but as a contribution to natural history. immediately after the appearance of that number of the magazine, the authorities of the smithsonian institution, in which the author had located the remains of the beast of his fancy, were beset with visitors to see the stuffed mammoth, and the daily mail of the magazine, as well as that of the smithsonian institution, was filled with inquiries for more information and for requests to settle wagers as to whether it was a true story or not. the contribution in question was printed purely as fiction, with no idea of misleading the public, and was entitled a story in the table of contents. we doubt if any writer of realistic fiction ever had a more general and convincing proof of success._ about three centuries ago, in , a russian, one ludloff by name, described some bones belonging to what the tartars called "mamantu"; later on, blumenbach pressed the common name into scientific use as "mammut," and cuvier gallicized this into "mammouth," whence by an easy transition we get our familiar mammoth. we are so accustomed to use the word to describe anything of remarkable size that it would be only natural to suppose that the name mammoth was given to the extinct elephant because of its extraordinary bulk. exactly the reverse of this is true, however, for the word came to have its present meaning because the original possessor of the name was a huge animal. the siberian peasants called the creature "mamantu," or "ground-dweller," because they believed it to be a gigantic mole, passing its life beneath the ground and perishing when by any accident it saw the light. the reasoning that led to this belief was very simple and the logic very good; no one had ever seen a live mamantu, but there were plenty of its bones lying at or near the surface; consequently if the animal did not live above the ground, it must dwell below. to-day, nearly every one knows that the mammoth was a sort of big, hairy elephant, now extinct, and nearly every one has a general idea that it lived in the north. there is some uncertainty as to whether the mammoth was a mastodon, or the mastodon a mammoth, and there is a great deal of misconception as to the size and abundance of this big beast. it may be said in passing that the mastodon is only a second or third cousin of the mammoth, but that the existing elephant of asia is a very near relative, certainly as near as a first cousin, possibly a very great grandson. popularly, the mammoth is supposed to have been a colossus somewhere from twelve to twenty feet in height, beside whom modern elephants would seem insignificant; but as "trout lose much in dressing," so mammoths shrink in measuring, and while there were doubtless jumbos among them in the way of individuals of exceptional magnitude, the majority were decidedly under jumbo's size. the only mounted mammoth skeleton in this country, that in the chicago academy of sciences, is one of the largest, the thigh-bone measuring five feet one inch in length, or a foot more than that of jumbo; and as jumbo stood eleven feet high, the rule of three applied to this thigh-bone would give the living animal a height of thirteen feet eight inches. the height of this specimen is given as thirteen feet in its bones, with an estimate of fourteen feet in its clothes; but as the skeleton is obviously mounted altogether too high, it is pretty safe to say that thirteen feet is a good, fair allowance for the height of this animal when alive. as for the majority of mammoths, they would not average more than nine or ten feet high. sir samuel baker tells us that he has seen plenty of wild african elephants that would exceed jumbo by a foot or more, and while this must be accepted with caution, since unfortunately he neglected to put a tape-line on them, yet mr. thomas baines did measure a specimen twelve feet high. this, coupled with sir samuel's statement, indicates that there is not so much difference between the mammoth and the elephant as there might be. this applies to the mammoth _par excellence_, the species known scientifically as _elephas primigenius_, whose remains are found in many parts of the northern hemisphere and occur abundantly in siberia and alaska. there were other elephants than the mammoth, and some that exceeded him in size, notably _elephas meridionalis_ of southern europe, and _elephas columbi_ of our southern and western states, but even the largest cannot positively be asserted to have exceeded a height of thirteen feet. tusks offer convenient terms of comparison, and those of an average fully grown mammoth are from eight to ten feet in length; those of the famous st. petersburg specimen and those of the huge specimen in chicago measuring respectively nine feet three inches, and nine feet eight inches. so far as the writer is aware, the largest tusks actually measured are two from alaska, one twelve feet ten inches long, weighing pounds, reported by mr. jay beach; and another eleven feet long, weighing pounds, noted by mr. t. l. brevig. compared with these we have the big tusk that used to stand on fulton street, new york, just an inch under nine feet long, and weighing pounds, or the largest shown at chicago in , which was seven feet six inches long, and weighed pounds. the largest, most beautiful tusks, probably, ever seen in this country were a pair brought from zanzibar and displayed by messrs. tiffany & company in . the measurements and weights of these were as follows: length along outer curve, ten feet and three-fourths of an inch, circumference one foot, eleven inches, weight, pounds; length along outer curve, ten feet, three and one-half inches, circumference two feet and one-fourth of an inch, weight, pounds. for our knowledge of the external appearance of the mammoth we are indebted to the more or less entire examples which have been found at various times in siberia, but mainly to the noted specimen found in near the lena, embedded in the ice, where it had been reposing, so geologists tell us, anywhere from , to , years. how the creature gradually thawed out of its icy tomb, and the tusks were taken by the discoverer and sold for ivory; how the dogs fed upon the flesh in summer, while bears and wolves feasted upon it in winter; how the animal was within an ace of being utterly lost to science when, at the last moment, the mutilated remains were rescued by mr. adams, is an old story, often told and retold. suffice it to say that, besides the bones, enough of the beast was preserved to tell us exactly what was the covering of this ancient elephant, and to show that it was a creature adapted to withstand the northern cold and fitted for living on the branches of the birch and hemlock. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of the mammoth in the royal museum of st. petersburg.] the exact birthplace of the mammoth is as uncertain as that of many other great characters; but his earliest known resting-place is in the cromer forest beds of england, a country inhabited by him at a time when the german ocean was dry land and great britain part of a peninsula. here his remains are found to-day, while from the depths of the north sea the hardy trawlers have dredged hundreds, aye thousands, of mammoth teeth in company with soles and turbot. if, then, the mammoth originated in western europe, and not in that great graveyard of fossil elephants, northern india, eastward he went spreading over all europe north of the pyrenees and alps, save only scandinavia, whose glaciers offered no attractions, scattering his bones abundantly by the wayside to serve as marvels for future ages. strange indeed have been some of the tales to which these and other elephantine remains have given rise when they came to light in the good old days when knowledge of anatomy was small and credulity was great. the least absurd theory concerning them was that they were the bones of the elephants which hannibal brought from africa. occasionally they were brought forward as irrefutable evidences of the deluge; but usually they figured as the bones of giants, the most famous of them being known as teutobochus, king of the cimbri, a lusty warrior said to have had a height of nineteen feet. somewhat smaller, but still of respectable height, fourteen feet, was "littell johne" of scotland, whereof hector boece wrote, concluding, in a moralizing tone, "be quilk (which) it appears how extravegant and squaire pepill grew in oure regioun afore they were effeminat with lust and intemperance of mouth." more than this, these bones have been venerated in greece and rome as the remains of pagan heroes, and later on worshipped as relics of christian saints. did not the church of valencia possess an elephant tooth which did duty as that of st. christopher, and, so late as , was not a thigh-bone, figuring as the arm-bone of a saint, carried in procession through the streets in order to bring rain? out of europe eastward into asia the mammoth took his way, and having peopled that vast region, took advantage of a land connection then existing between asia and north america and walked over into alaska, in company with the forerunners of the bison and the ancestors of the mountain sheep and alaskan brown bear. still eastward and southward he went, until he came to the atlantic coast, the latitude of southern new york roughly marking the southern boundary of the broad domain over which the mammoth roamed undisturbed.[ ] not that of necessity all this vast area was occupied at one time; but this was the range of the mammoth during pleistocene time, for over all this region his bones and teeth are found in greater or less abundance and in varying conditions of preservation. in regions like parts of siberia and alaska, where the bones are entombed in a wet and cold, often icy, soil, the bones and tusks are almost as perfectly preserved as though they had been deposited but a score of years ago, while remains so situated that they have been subjected to varying conditions of dryness and moisture are always in a fragmentary state. as previously noted, several more or less entire carcasses of the mammoth have been discovered in siberia, only to be lost; and, while no entire animal has so far been found in alaska, some day one may yet come to light. that there is some possibility of this is shown by the discovery, recorded by mr. dall, of the partial skeleton of a mammoth in the bank of the yukon with some of the fat still present, and although this had been partially converted into adipocere, it was fresh enough to be used by the natives for greasing, not their boots, but their boats. and up to the present time this is the nearest approach to finding a live mammoth in alaska. [ ] _this must be taken as a very general statement, as the distinction between and habitats of elephas primigenius and elephas columbi, the southern mammoth, are not satisfactorily determined; moreover, the two species overlap through a wide area of the west and northwest._ as to why the mammoth became extinct, we _know_ absolutely nothing, although various theories, some much more ingenious than plausible, have been advanced to account for their extermination--they perished of starvation; they were overtaken by floods on their supposed migrations and drowned in detachments; they fell through the ice, equally in detachments, and were swept out to sea. but all we can safely say is that long ages ago the last one perished off the face of the earth. strange it is, too, that these mighty beasts, whose bulk was ample to protect them against four-footed foes, and whose woolly coat was proof against the cold, should have utterly vanished. they ranged from england eastward to new york, almost around the world; from the alps to the arctic ocean; and in such numbers that to-day their tusks are articles of commerce, and fossil ivory has its price current as well as wheat. mr. boyd dawkins thinks that the mammoth was actually exterminated by early man, but, even granting that this might be true for southern and western europe, it could not be true of the herds that inhabited the wastes of siberia, or of the thousands that flourished in alaska and the western united states. so far as man is concerned, the mammoth might still be living in these localities, where, before the discovery of gold drew thousands of miners to alaska, there were vast stretches of wilderness wholly untrodden by the foot of man. neither could this theory account for the disappearance of the mastodon from north america, where that animal covered so vast a stretch of territory that man, unaided by nature, could have made little impression on its numbers. that many were swept out to sea by the flooded rivers of siberia is certain, for some of the low islands off the coast are said to be formed of sand, ice, and bones of the mammoth, and thence, for hundreds of years, have come the tusks which are sold in the market beside those of the african and indian elephants. that man was contemporary with the mammoth in southern europe is fairly certain, for not only are the remains of the mammoth and man's flint weapons found together, but in a few instances some primeval landseer graved on slate, ivory, or reindeer antler a sketchy outline of the beast, somewhat impressionistic perhaps, but still, like the work of a true artist, preserving the salient features. we see the curved tusks, the snaky trunk, and the shaggy coat that we know belonged to the mammoth, and we may feel assured that if early man did not conquer the clumsy creature with fire and flint, he yet gazed upon him from the safe vantage point of some lofty tree or inaccessible rock, and then went home to tell his wife and neighbors how the animal escaped because his bow missed fire. that man and mammoth lived together in north america is uncertain; so far there is no evidence to show that they did, although the absence of such evidence is no proof that they did not. that any live mammoth has for centuries been seen on the alaskan tundras is utterly improbable, and on mr. c. h. townsend seems to rest the responsibility of having, though quite unintentionally, introduced the alaskan live mammoth into the columns of the daily press. it befell in this wise: among the varied duties of our revenue marine is that of patrolling and exploring the shores of arctic alaska and the waters of the adjoining sea, and it is not so many years ago that the cutter _corwin_, if memory serves aright, held the record of farthest north on the pacific side. on one of these northern trips, to the kotzebue sound region, famous for the abundance of its deposits of mammoth bones,[ ] the _corwin_ carried mr. townsend, then naturalist to the united states fish commission. at cape prince of wales some natives came on board bringing a few bones and tusks of the mammoth, and upon being questioned as to whether or not any of the animals to which they pertained were living, promptly replied that all were dead, inquiring in turn if the white men had ever seen any, and if they knew how these animals, so vastly larger than a reindeer, looked. [ ] _elephant point, at the mouth of the buckland river, is so named from the numbers of mammoth bones which have accumulated there._ fortunately, or unfortunately, there was on board a text-book of geology containing the well-known cut of the st. petersburg mammoth, and this was brought forth, greatly to the edification of the natives, who were delighted at recognizing the curved tusks and the bones they knew so well. next the natives wished to know what the outside of the creature looked like, and as mr. townsend had been at ward's establishment in rochester when the first copy of the stuttgart restoration was made, he rose to the emergency, and made a sketch. this was taken ashore, together with a copy of the cut of the skeleton that was laboriously made by an innuit sprawled out at full length on the deck. now the innuits, as mr. townsend tells us, are great gadabouts, making long sledge journeys in winter and equally long trips by boat in summer, while each season they hold a regular fair on kotzebue sound, where a thousand or two natives gather to barter and gossip. on these journeys and at these gatherings the sketches were no doubt passed about, copied, and recopied, until a large number of innuits had become well acquainted with the appearance of the mammoth, a knowledge that naturally they were well pleased to display to any white visitors. also, like the celt, the alaskan native delights to give a "soft answer," and is always ready to furnish the kind of information desired. thus in due time the newspaper man learned that the alaskans could make pictures of the mammoth, and that they had some knowledge of its size and habits; so with inference and logic quite as good as that of the tungusian peasant, the reporter came to the conclusion that somewhere in the frozen wilderness the last survivor of the mammoths must still be at large. and so, starting on the pacific coast, the live mammoth story wandered from paper to paper, until it had spread throughout the length and breadth of the united states, when it was captured by mr. tukeman, who with much artistic color and some realistic touches, transferred it to _mcclure's magazine_, and--unfortunately for the officials thereof--to the smithsonian institution. and now, once for all, it may be said that _there is no mounted mammoth_ to awe the visitor to the national collections or to any other; and yet there seems no good and conclusive reason why there should not be. true, there are no live mammoths to be had at any price; neither are their carcasses to be had on demand; still there is good reason to believe that a much smaller sum than that said to have been paid by mr. conradi for the mammoth which is _not_ in the smithsonian institution, would place one there.[ ] it probably could not be done in one year; it might not be possible in five years; but should any man of means wish to secure enduring fame by showing the world the mammoth as it stood in life, a hundred centuries ago, before the dawn of even tradition, he could probably accomplish the result by the expenditure of a far less sum than it would cost to participate in an international yacht race. [ ] _since these lines were written another fine example of the mammoth has been discovered in siberia and even now (oct., ) an expedition is on its way to secure the skin and skeleton for the academy of natural sciences at st. petersburg._ _references_ _the mounted skeleton of the mammoth in the museum of the chicago academy of science is still the only one on exhibition in the united states; this specimen is probably the southern mammoth, elephas columbi, a species, or race, characterized by its great size and the coarse structure of the teeth. remains of the mammoth are common enough but, save in alaska, they are usually in a poor state of preservation or consist of isolated bones or teeth. a great many skeletons of mammoth have been found by gold miners in alaska, and with proper care some of these could undoubtedly have been secured. naturally, however, the miners do not feel like taking the time and trouble to exhume bones whose value is uncertain, while the cost of transportation precludes the bringing out of many specimens._ _some reports of mammoths have been based on the bones of whales, including a skull that was figured in the daily papers._ _almost every museum has on exhibition teeth of the mammoth, and there is a skull, though from a small individual, of the southern mammoth in the american museum of natural history, new york._ _the tusk obtained by mr. beach and mentioned in the text still holds the record for mammoth tusks. the greatest development of tusks occurred in elephas ganesa, a species found in pliocene deposits of the siwalik hills, india. this species appears not to have exceeded the existing elephant in bulk, but the tusks are twelve feet nine inches long, and two feet two inches in circumference. how the animal ever carried them is a mystery, both on account of their size and their enormous leverage. as for teeth, an upper grinder of elephas columbi in the united states national museum is ten and one-half inches high, nine inches wide, the grinding face being eight by five inches. this tooth, which is unusually perfect, retaining the outer covering of cement, came from afton, indian territory, and weighs a little over fifteen pounds. the lower tooth, shown in fig. , is twelve inches long, and the grinding face is nine by three and one-half inches; this is also from elephas columbi. grinders of the northern mammoth are smaller, and the plates of enamel thinner, and closer to one another. mr. f. e. andrews, of gunsight, texas, reports having found a femur, or thigh-bone five feet four inches long, and a humerus measuring four feet three inches, these being the largest bones on record indicating an animal fourteen feet high._ _there is a vast amount of literature relating to the mammoth, some of it very untrustworthy. a list of all discoveries of specimens in the flesh is given by nordenskiold in "the voyage of the vega" and "the mammoth and the flood" by sir henry howorth, is a mine of information. mr. townsend's "alaska live-mammoth story" may be found in "forest and stream" for august , ._ [illustration: fig. .--the mammoth as engraved by a primitive artist on a piece of mammoth tusk.] xi the mastodon "_... who shall place a limit to the giant's unchained strength?_" the name mastodon is given to a number of species of fossil elephants differing from the true elephants, of which the mammoth is an example, in the structure of the teeth. in the mastodons the crown, or grinding face of the tooth, is formed by more or less regular /\-shaped cross ridges, covered with enamel, while in the elephants the enamel takes the form of narrow, pocket-shaped plates, set upright in the body of the tooth. moreover, in the mastodons the roots of the teeth are long prongs, while in the elephants the roots are small and irregular. a glance at the cuts will show these distinctions better than they can be explained by words. back in the past, however, we meet, as we should if there is any truth in the theory of evolution, with elephants having an intermediate pattern of teeth. [illustration: fig. .--tooth of mastodon and of mammoth.] there is usually, or at least often, another point of difference between elephants and mastodons, for many of the latter not only had tusks in the upper, but in the lower jaw, and these are never found in any of the true elephants. the lower tusks are longer and larger in the earlier species of mastodon than in those of more recent age and in the latest species, the common american mastodon, the little lower tusks were usually shed early in life. these afford some hints of the relationships of the mastodon; for in europe are found remains of a huge beast well called dinotherium, or terrible animal, which possessed lower tusks only, and these, instead of sticking out from the jaw are bent directly downwards. no perfect skull of this creature has yet been found, but it is believed to have had a short trunk. for a long time nothing but the skull was known, and some naturalists thought the animal to have been a gigantic manatee, or sea cow, and that the tusks were used for tearing food from the bottom of rivers and for anchoring the animal to the bank, just as the walrus uses his tusks for digging clams and climbing out upon the ice. in the first restorations of dinotherium it is represented lying amidst reeds, the feet concealed from view, the head alone visible, but now it is pictured as standing erect, for the discovery of massive leg-bones has definitely settled the question as to whether it did or did not have limbs. there is another hint of relationship in the upper tusks of the earlier mastodons, and this is the presence of a band of enamel running down each tusk. in all gnawing animals the front, cutting teeth are formed of soft dentine, or ivory, faced with a plate of enamel, just as the blade of a chisel or plane is formed of a plate of tempered steel backed with soft iron; the object of this being the same in both tooth and chisel, to keep the edge sharp by wearing away the softer material. in the case of the chisel this is done by a man with a grindstone, but with the tooth it is performed automatically and more pleasantly by the gnawing of food. in the mastodon and elephant the tusks, which are the representatives of the cutting teeth of rodents, are wide apart, and of course do not gnaw anything, but the presence of these enamel bands hints at a time when they and their owner were smaller and differently shaped, and the teeth were used for cutting. thus, great though the disparity of size may be, there is a suggestion that through the mastodon the elephant is distantly related to the mouse, and that, could we trace their respective pedigrees far enough, we might find a common ancestor. this presence of structures that are apparently of no use, often worse than useless, is regarded as the survival of characters that once served some good purpose, like the familiar buttons on the sleeve or at the back of a man's coat, or the bows and ruffles on a woman's dress. we are told that these are put on "to make the dress look pretty," but the student regards the bows as vestiges of the time when there were no buttons and hooks and eyes had not been invented, and dresses were tied together with strings or ribbons. as for ruffles, they took the place of flounces, and flounces are vestiges of the time when a young woman wore the greater part of her wardrobe on her back, putting on one dress above another, the bottoms of the skirts showing like so many flounces. so buttons, ruffles, and the vermiform appendix of which we hear so much all fall in the category of vestigial structures. where the mastodons originated, we know not: señor ameghino thinks their ancestors are to be found in patagonia, and he is very probably wrong; professor cope thought they came from asia, and he is probably right; or they may have immigrated from the convenient antarctica, which is called up to account for various facts in the distribution of animals.[ ] [ ] _during the past year, , mr. c. w. andrews of the british museum has discovered in egypt a small and primitive species of mastodon, also the remains of another animal which he thinks may be the long sought ancestor of the elephant family, which includes the mammoth and mastodon._ neither do we at present know just how many species of mastodons there may have been in the western hemisphere, for most of them are known from scattered teeth, single jaws, and odd bones, so that we cannot tell just what differences may be due to sex or individual variation. it is certain, however, that several distinct kinds, or species, have inhabited various parts of north america, while remains of others occur in south america. _the_ mastodon, however, the one most recent in point of time, and the best known because its remains are scattered far and wide over pretty much the length and breadth of the united states, and are found also in southern and western canada, is the well-named _mastodon americanus_,[ ] and unless otherwise specified this alone will be meant when the name mastodon is used. in some localities the mastodon seems to have abounded, but between the hudson and connecticut rivers indications of its former presence are rare, and east of that they are practically wanting. the best preserved specimens come from ulster and orange counties, new york, for these seem to have furnished the animal with the best facilities for getting mired. just west of the catskills, parallel with the valley of the hudson, is a series of meadows, bogs, and pools marking the sites of swamps that came into existence after the recession of the mighty ice-sheet that long covered eastern north america, and in these many a mastodon, seeking for food or water, or merely wallowing in the mud, stuck fast and perished miserably. and here to-day the spade of the farmer as he sinks a ditch to drain what is left of some beaver pond of bygone days, strikes some bone as brown and rugged as a root, so like a piece of water-soaked wood that nine times out of ten it is taken for a fragment of tree-trunk. [ ] _this has also been called giganteus and ohioticus, but the name americanus claims priority, and should therefore be used._ the first notice of the mastodon in north america goes back to , and is found in a letter from cotton mather to dr. woodward (of england?) written at boston on november th, in which he speaks of a large work in manuscript entitled _biblia americana_, and gives as a sample a note on the passage in genesis (vi. ) in which we read that "there were giants in the earth in those days." we are told that this is confirmed by "the bones and teeth of some large animal found lately in albany, in new england, which for some reason he thinks to be human; particularly a tooth brought from the place where it was found to new york in , being a very large grinder, weighing four pounds and three quarters; with a bone supposed to be a thigh-bone, seventeen feet long," the total length of the body being taken as seventy-five feet. thus bones of the mastodon, as well as those of the mammoth, have done duty as those of giants. and as the first mastodon remains recorded from north america came from the region west of the hudson, so the first fairly complete skeleton also came from that locality, secured at a very considerable outlay of money and a still more considerable expenditure of labor by the exertions of c. w. peale. this specimen was described at some length by rembrandt peale in a privately printed pamphlet, now unfortunately rare, and described in some respects better than has been done by any subsequent writer, since the points of difference between various parts of the mastodon and elephant were clearly pointed out. this skeleton was exhibited in london, and afterwards at peale's museum in philadelphia where, with much other valuable material, it was destroyed by fire. struck by the evident crushing power of the great ridged molars, peale was led to believe that the mastodon was a creature of carnivorous habits, and so described it, but this error is excusable, the more that to this day, when the mastodon is well known, and its description published time and again in the daily papers, finders of the teeth often consider them as belonging to some huge beast of prey. since the time of peale several fine specimens have been taken from ulster and orange counties, among them the well-known "warren mastodon," and there is not the slightest doubt that many more will be recovered from the meadows, swamps, and pond holes of these two counties. [illustration: fig. .--the missourium of koch, from a tracing of the figure illustrating koch's description.] the next mastodon to appear on the scene was the so-called missourium of albert koch, which he constructed somewhat as he did the hydrarchus (see p. ) of several individuals pieced together, thus forming a skeleton that was a monster in more ways than one. to heighten the effect, the curved tusks were so placed that they stood out at right angles to the sides of the head, like the swords upon the axles of ancient war chariots. like peale's specimen this was exhibited in london, and there it still remains, for, stripped of its superfluous bones, and remounted, it may now be seen in the british museum. many a mastodon has come to light since the time of koch, for while it is commonly supposed that remains of the animal are great rarities, as a matter of fact they are quite common, and it may safely be said that during the seasons of ditching, draining, and well-digging not a week passes without one or more mastodons being unearthed. not that these are complete skeletons, very far from it, the majority of finds are scattered teeth, crumbling tusks, or massive leg-bones, but still the mastodon is far commoner in the museums of this country than is the african elephant, for at the present date there are eleven of the former to one of the latter, the single skeleton of african elephant being that of jumbo in the american museum of natural history. if one may judge by the abundance of bones, mastodons must have been very numerous in some favored localities such as parts of michigan, florida, and missouri and about big bone lick, ky. perhaps the most noteworthy of all deposits is that at kimmswick, about twenty miles south of st. louis, where in a limited area mr. l. w. beehler has exhumed bones representing several hundred individuals, varying in size from a mere baby mastodon up to the great tusker whose wornout teeth proclaim that he had reached the limit of even mastodonic old age. the spot where this remarkable deposit was found is at the foot of a bluff near the junction of two little streams, and it seems probable that in the days when these were larger the spring floods swept down the bodies of animals that had perished during the winter to ground in an eddy beneath the bluff. or as the place abounds in springs of sulphur and salt water it may be that this was where the animals assembled during cold weather, just as the moas are believed to have gathered in the swamps of new zealand, and here the weaker died and left their bones. the mastodon must have looked very much like any other elephant, though a little shorter in the legs and somewhat more heavily built than either of the living species, while the head was a trifle flatter and the jaw decidedly longer. the tusks are a variable quantity, sometimes merely bowing outwards, often curving upwards to form a half circle; they were never so long as the largest mammoth tusks, but to make up for this they were a shade stouter for their length. as the mastodon ranged well to the north it is fair to suppose that he may have been covered with long hair, a supposition that seems to be borne out by the discovery, noted by rembrandt peale, of a mass of long, coarse, woolly hair buried in one of the swamps of ulster county, new york. and with these facts in mind, aided by photographs of various skeletons of mastodons, mr. gleeson made the restoration which accompanies this chapter. [illustration: fig. .--the mastodon. _from a drawing by j. m. gleeson._] as for the size of the mastodon, this, like that of the mammoth, is popularly much over-estimated, and it is more than doubtful if any attained the height of a full-grown african elephant. the largest femur, or thigh-bone, that has come under the writer's notice was one he measured as it lay in the earth at kimmswick, and this was just four feet long, three inches shorter than the thigh-bone of jumbo. several of the largest thigh-bones measured show so striking an unanimity in size, between and inches in length, that we may be pretty sure they represent the average old "bull" mastodon, and if we say that these animals stood ten feet high we are probably doing them full justice. an occasional tusk reaches a length of ten feet, but seven or eight is the usual size, with a diameter of as many inches, and this is no larger than the tusks of the african elephant would grow if they had a chance. it is painful to be obliged to scale down the mastodon as we have just done the mammoth, but if any reader knows of specimens larger than those noted, he should by all means publish their measurements.[ ] [ ] _as skeletons are sometimes mounted, they stand a full foot or more higher at the shoulders than the animal stood in life, this being caused by raising the body until the shoulder-blades are far below the tips of the vertebræ, a position they never assume in life._ the disappearance of the mastodon is as difficult to account for as that of the mammoth, and, as will be noted, there is absolutely no evidence to show that man had any hand in it. neither can it be ascribed to change of climate, for the mastodon, as indicated by the wide distribution of its bones, was apparently adapted to a great diversity of climates, and was as much at home amid the cool swamps of michigan and new york as on the warm savannas of florida and louisiana. certainly the much used, and abused, glacial epoch cannot be held accountable for the extermination of the creature, for the mastodon came into new york after the recession of the great ice-sheet, and tarried to so late a date that bones buried in the swamps retain much of their animal matter. so recent, comparatively speaking, has been the disappearance of the mastodon, and so fresh-looking are some of its bones, that thomas jefferson thought in his day that it might still be living in some part of the then unexplored northwest. it is a moot question whether or not man and the mastodon were contemporaries in north america, and while many there be who, like the writer of these lines, believe that this was the case, an expression of belief is not a demonstration of fact. the best that can be said is that there are scattered bits of testimony, slight though they are, which seem to point that way, but no one so strong by itself that it could not be shaken by sharp cross-questioning and enable man to prove an alibi in a trial by jury. for example, in the great bone deposit at kimmswick, mo., mr. beehler found a flint arrowhead, but this may have lain just over the bone-bearing layer, or have got in by some accident in excavating. how easily a mistake may be made is shown by the report sent to the united states national museum of many arrowheads associated with mastodon bones in a spring at afton, indian territory. this spring was investigated, and a few mastodon bones and flint arrowheads were found, but the latter were in a stratum just above the bones, although this was overlooked by the first diggers.[ ] koch reported finding charcoal and arrowheads so associated with mastodon bones that he inferred the animal to have been destroyed by fire and arrows after it became mired. it has been said that koch could have had no object in disseminating this report, and hence that it may be credited, but he had just as much interest in doing this as he did in fabricating the hydrarchus and the missourium, and his testimony is not to be considered seriously. it seems to be with the mastodon much as it is with the sea-serpent; the latter never appears to a naturalist, remains of the former are never found by a trained observer associated with indications of the presence of man. perhaps an exception should be made in the case of professor j. m. clarke, who found fragments of charcoal in a deposit of muck under some bones of mastodon. [ ] _this locality has just been carefully investigated by mr. w. h. holmes of the united states national museum who found bones of the mastodon and southern mammoth associated with arrowheads. but he also found fresh bones of bison, horse, and wolf, showing that these and the arrowheads had simply sunk to the level of the older deposit._ we may pass by the so-called "elephant mound," which to the eye of an unimaginative observer looks as if it might have been intended for any one of several beasts; also, with bated breath and due respect for the bitter controversy waged over them, pass we by the elephant pipes. there remains, then, not a bit of man's handiwork, not a piece of pottery, engraved stone, or scratched bone that can _unhesitatingly_ be said to have been wrought into the shape of an elephant before the coming of the white man. true, there is "the lenape stone," found near doyleston, pa., in , a gorget graven on one side with the representation of men attacking an elephant, while the other bears a number of figures of various animals. the good faith of the finder of this stone is unimpeachable, but it is a curious fact that, while this gorget is elaborately decorated on both sides, no similar stone, out of all that have been found, bears any image whatsoever. on the other hand, if not made by the aborigines, who made it, why was it made, and why did nine years elapse between the discovery of the first and second portions of the broken ornament? these are questions the reader may decide for himself; the author will only say that to his mind the drawing is too elaborate, and depicts entirely too much to have been made by a primitive artist. a much better bit of testimony seems to be presented by a fragment of fulgur shell found near hollyoak, del., and now in the united states national museum, which bears a very rudely scratched image of an animal that may have been intended for a mastodon or a bison. this piece of shell is undeniably old, but there is, unfortunately, the uncertainty just mentioned as to the animal depicted. the familiar legend of the big buffalo that destroyed animals and men and defied even the lightnings of the great spirit has been thought by some to have originated in a tradition of the mastodon handed down from ancient times; but why consider that the mastodon is meant? why not a legendary bison that has increased with years of story-telling? and so the co-existence of man and mastodon must rest as a case of not proven, although there is a strong probability that the two did live together in the dim ages of the past, and some day the evidence may come to light that will prove it beyond a peradventure. if scientific men are charged with obstinacy and unwarranted incredulity in declining to accept the testimony so far presented, it must be remembered that the evidence as to the existence of the sea serpent is far stronger, since it rests on the testimony of eye-witnesses, and yet the creature himself has never been seen by a trained observer, nor has any specimen, not a scale, a tooth, or a bone, ever made its way into any museum. _references_ _there are at least eleven mounted skeletons of the mastodon in the united states, and the writer trusts he may be pardoned for mentioning only those which are most accessible. these are in the american museum of natural history, new york; the state museum, albany, n. y.; field columbian museum, chicago; carnegie museum, pittsburg; museum of comparative zoölogy, cambridge, mass. there is no mounted skeleton in the united states national museum, nor has there ever been._ _the heaviest pair of tusks is in the possession of t. o. tuttle, seneca, mich., and they are nine and one-half inches in diameter, and a little over eight feet long; very few tusks, however, reach eight inches in diameter. the thigh-bone of an old male mastodon measures from forty-five to forty-six and one-half inches long, the humerus from thirty-five to forty inches. the height of the mounted skeleton is of little value as an indication of size, since it depends so much upon the manner in which the skeleton is mounted. the grinders of the mastodon have three cross ridges, save the last, which has four, and a final elevation, or heel. this does not apply to the teeth of very young animals. the presence or absence of the last grinder will show whether or not the animal is of full age and size, while the amount of wear indicates the comparative age of the specimen._ _the skeleton of the "warren mastodon" is described at length by dr. j. c. warren, in a quarto volume entitled "mastodon giganteus." there is much information in a little book by j. p. maclean, "mastodon, mammoth, and man," but the reader must not accept all its statements unhesitatingly. the first volume, , of the new scribner's magazine contains an article on "american elephant myths," by professor w. b. scott, but he is under an erroneous impression regarding the size of the mastodon, and photographs of the maya carvings show that their resemblance to elephants has been exaggerated in the wood cuts. the story of the lenape stone is told at length by h. c. mercer in "the lenape stone, or the indian and the mammoth."_ [illustration: fig. .--the lenape stone, reduced.] xii why do animals become extinct? "_and sultan after sultan with his pomp abode his destined hour and went his way._" it is often asked "why do animals become extinct?" but the question is one to which it is impossible to give a comprehensive and satisfactory reply; this chapter does not pretend to do so, merely to present a few aspects of this complicated, many-sided problem. in very many cases it may be said that actual extermination has not taken place, but that in the course of evolution one species has passed into another; species may have been lost, but the race, or phylum endures, just as in the growth of a tree, the twigs and branches of the sapling disappear, while the tree, as a whole, grows onward and upward. this is what we see in the horse, which is the living representative of an unbroken line reaching back to the little eocene hyracothere. so in a general way it may be said that much of what at the first glance we might term extinction is really the replacement of one set of animals by another better adapted to surrounding conditions. again, there are many cases of animals, and particularly of large animals, so peculiar in their make up, so very obviously adapted to their own special surroundings that it requires little imagination to see that it would have been a difficult matter for them to have responded to even a slight change in the world about them. such great and necessarily sluggish brutes as brontosaurus and diplodocus, with their tons of flesh, small heads, and feeble teeth, were obviously reared in easy circumstances, and unfitted to succeed in any strenuous struggle for existence. stegosaurus, with his bizarre array of plates and spines, and huge-headed triceratops, had evidently carried specialization to an extreme, while in turn the carnivorous forms must have required an abundant supply of slow and easily captured prey. coming down to a more recent epoch, when the big titanotheres flourished, it is easy to see from a glance at their large, simple teeth that these beasts needed an ample provision of coarse vegetation, and as they seem never to have spread far beyond their birthplace, climatic change, modifying even a comparatively limited area, would suffice to sweep them out of existence. to use the epitaph proposed by professor marsh for the tombstone of one of the dinosaurs, many a beast might say, "i, and my race perished of over specialization." to revert to the horse it will be remembered that this very fate is believed to have overtaken those almost horses the european hippotheres; they reached a point where no further progress was possible, and fell by the wayside. there is, however, still another class of cases where species, families, orders, even, seem to have passed out of existence without sufficient cause. those great marine reptiles, the ichthyosaurs, of europe, the plesiosaurs and mosasaurs, of our own continent, seem to have been just as well adapted to an aquatic life as the whales, and even better than the seals, and we can see no reason why columbus should not have found these creatures still disporting themselves in the gulf of mexico. the best we can do is to fall back on an unknown "law of progress," and say that the trend of life is toward the replacement of large, lower animals by those smaller and intellectually higher. but _why_ there should be an allotted course to any group of animals, why some species come to an end when they are seemingly as well fitted to endure as others now living, we do not know, and if we say that a time comes when the germ-plasm is incapable of further subdivision, we merely express our ignorance in an unnecessary number of words. the mammoth and mastodon have already been cited as instances of animals that have unaccountably become extinct, and these examples are chosen from among many on account of their striking nature. the great ground sloths, the mylodons, megatheres, and their allies, are another case in point. at one period or another they reached from oregon to virginia, florida, and patagonia, though it is not claimed that they covered all this area at one time. and, while it may be freely admitted that in some portions of their range they may have been extirpated by a change in food-supply, due in turn to a change in climate, it seems preposterous to claim that there was not at all times, somewhere in this vast expanse of territory, a climate mild enough and a food-supply large enough for the support of even these huge, sluggish creatures. we may evoke the aid of primitive man to account for the disappearance of this race of giants, and we know that the two were coeval in patagonia, where the sloths seem to have played the rôle of domesticated animals, but again it seems incredible that early man, with his flint-tipped spears and arrows, should have been able to slay even such slow beasts as these to the very last individual. of course, in modern times man has directly exterminated many animals, while by the introduction of dogs, cats, pigs, and goats he has indirectly not only thinned the ranks of animals, but destroyed plant life on an enormous scale. but in the past man's capabilities for harm were infinitely less than now, while of course the greatest changes took place before man even existed, so that, while he is responsible for the great changes that have taken place in the world's flora and fauna during recent times, his influence, as a whole, has been insignificant. thus, while man exterminated the great northern sea-cow, rytina, and pallas's cormorant on the commander islands, these animals were already restricted to this circumscribed area[ ] by natural causes, so that man but finished what nature had begun. the extermination of the great auk in european waters was somewhat similar. there is, however, this unfortunate difference between extermination wrought by man and that brought about by natural causes: the extermination of species by nature is ordinarily slow, and the place of one is taken by another, while the destruction wrought by man is rapid, and the gaps he creates remain unfilled. [ ] _it is possible that the cormorant may always have been confined to this one spot, but this is probably not the case with the sea-cow._ not so very long ago it was customary to account for changes in the past life of the globe by earthquakes, volcanic outbursts, or cataclysms of such appalling magnitude that the whole face of nature was changed, and entire races of living beings swept out of existence at once. but it is now generally conceded that while catastrophes have occurred, yet, vast as they may have been, their effects were comparatively local, and, while the life of a limited region may have been ruthlessly blotted out, life as a whole was but little affected. the eruption of krakatoa shook the earth to its centre and was felt for hundreds of miles around, yet, while it caused the death of thousands of living beings, it remains to be shown that it produced any effect on the life of the region taken in its entirety. changes in the life of the globe have been in the main slow and gradual, and in response to correspondingly slow changes in the level of portions of the earth's crust, with their far-reaching effects on temperature, climate, and vegetation. animals that were what is termed plastic kept pace with the altering conditions about them and became modified, too, while those that could not adapt themselves to their surroundings died out. how slowly changes may take place is shown by the occurrence of a depression in the isthmus of panama, in comparatively recent geologic time, permitting free communication between the atlantic and pacific, a sort of natural inter-oceanic canal. and yet the alterations wrought by this were, so to speak, superficial, affecting only some species of shore fishes and invertebrates, having no influence on the animals of the deeper waters. again, on the pacific coast are now found a number of shells that, as we learn from fossils, were in pliocene time common on both coasts of the united states, and mr. dall interprets this to mean that when this continent was rising, the steeper shore on the pacific side permitted the shell-fish to move downward and adapt themselves to the ever changing shore, while on the atlantic side the drying of a wide strip of level sea-bottom in a relatively short time exterminated a large proportion of the less active mollusks. and in this instance "relatively short" means positively long; for, compared to the rise of a continent from the ocean's bed, the flow of a glacier is the rapid rush of a mountain torrent. then, too, while a tendency to vary seems to be inherent in animals, some appear to be vastly more susceptible than others to outside influences, to respond much more readily to any change in the world about them. in fact, professor cook has recently suggested that the inborn tendency to variation is sufficient in itself to account for evolution, this tendency being either repressed or stimulated as external conditions are stable or variable. the more uniform the surrounding conditions, and the simpler the animal, the smaller is the liability to change, and some animals that dwell in the depths of the ocean, where light and temperature vary little, if any, remain at a standstill for long periods of time. the genus lingula, a small shell, traces its ancestry back nearly to the base of the ordovician system of rocks, an almost inconceivable lapse of time, while one species of brachiopod shell endures unchanged from the trenton limestone to the lower carboniferous. in the first case one species has been replaced by another, so that the shell of to-day is not exactly like its very remote ancestor, but that the type of shell should have remained unchanged when so many other animals have arisen, flourished for a time, and perished, means that there was slight tendency to variation, and that the surrounding conditions were uniform. says professor brooks, speaking of lingula: "the everlasting hills are the type of venerable antiquity; but lingula has seen the continents grow up, and has maintained its integrity unmoved by the convulsions which have given the crust of the earth its present form." many instances of sudden but local extermination might be adduced, but among them that of the tile-fish is perhaps the most striking. this fish, belonging to a tropical family having its headquarters in the gulf of mexico, was discovered in in moderately deep water to the southward of massachusetts and on the edge of the gulf stream, where it was taken in considerable numbers. in the spring of vessels arriving at new york reported having passed through great numbers of dead and dying fishes, the water being thickly dotted with them for miles. from samples brought in, it was found that the majority of these were tile-fish, while from the reports of various vessels it was shown that the area covered by dead fish amounted to somewhere between , and , square miles, and the total number of dead was estimated at not far from _a billion_. this enormous and widespread destruction is believed to have been caused by an unwonted duration of northerly and easterly winds, which drove the cold arctic current inshore and southwards, chilling the warm belt in which the tile-fish resided and killing all in that locality. it was thought possible that the entire race might have been destroyed, but, while none were taken for many years, in and in a number were caught, showing that the species was beginning to reoccupy the waters from which it had been driven years before. the effect of any great fall in temperature on animals specially adapted to a warm climate is also illustrated by the destruction of the manatees in the sebastian river, florida, by the winter of - , which came very near exterminating this species. readers may remember that this was the winter that wrought such havoc with the blue-birds, while in the vicinity of washington, d. c., the fish-crows died by hundreds, if not by thousands. fishes may also be exterminated over large areas by outbursts of poisonous gases from submarine volcanoes, or more rarely by some vast lava flood pouring into the sea and actually cooking all living beings in the vicinity. and in the past these outbreaks took place on a much larger scale than now, and naturally wrought more widespread destruction. a recent instance of local extermination is the total destruction of a humming-bird, _bellona ornata_, peculiar to the island of st. vincent, by the west indian hurricane of , but this is naturally extirpation on a very small scale. still, the problems of nature are so involved that while local destruction is ordinarily of little importance, or temporary in its effects, it may lead to the annihilation of a species by breaking a race of animals into isolated groups, thereby leading to inbreeding and slow decline. the european bison, now confined to a part of lithuania and a portion of the caucasus, seems to be slowly but surely approaching extinction in spite of all efforts to preserve the race, and no reason can be assigned for this save that the small size of the herds has led to inbreeding and general decadence. in other ways, too, local calamity may be sweeping in its effects, and that is by the destruction of animals that resort to one spot during the breeding season, like the fur-seals and some sea-birds, or pass the winter months in great flocks or herds, as do the ducks and elk. the supposed decimation of the moas by severe winters has been already discussed, and the extermination of the great auk in european waters was indirectly due to natural causes. these birds bred on the small, almost inaccessible island of eldey, off the coast of iceland, and when, through volcanic disturbances, this islet sank into the sea, the few birds were forced to other quarters, and as these were, unfortunately, easily reached, the birds were slain to the last one. from the great local abundance of their remains, it has been thought that the curious short-legged pliocene rhinoceros, _aphelops fossiger_, was killed off in the west by blizzards when the animals were gathered in their winter quarters, and other long-extinct animals, too, have been found under such conditions as to suggest a similar fate. among local catastrophes brought about by unusually prolonged cold may be cited the decimation of the fur-seal herds of the pribilof islands in and , when the breeding seals were prevented from landing by the presence of ice-floes, and perished by thousands. peculiar interest is attached to this case, because the restriction of the northern fur-seals to a few isolated, long undiscovered islands, is believed to have been brought about by their complete extermination in other localities by prehistoric man. had these two seasons killed all the seals, it would have been a reversal of the customary extermination by man of a species reduced in numbers by nature. in the case of large animals another element probably played a part. the larger the animal, the fewer young, as a rule, does it bring forth at a birth, the longer are the intervals between births, and the slower the growth of the young. the loss of two or three broods of sparrows or two or three litters of rabbits makes comparatively little difference, as the loss is soon supplied, but the death of the young of the larger and higher mammals is a more serious matter. a factor that has probably played an important rôle in the extinction of animals is the relation that exists between various animals, and the relations that also exist between animals and plants, so that the existence of one is dependent on that of another. thus no group of living beings, plants or animals, can be affected without in some way affecting others, so that the injury or destruction of some plant may result in serious harm to some animal. nearly everyone is familiar with the classic example given by darwin of the effect of cats on the growth of red clover. this plant is fertilized by bumble bees only, and if the field mice, which destroy the nests of the bees, were not kept in check by cats, or other small carnivores, their increase would lessen the numbers of the bees and this in turn would cause a dearth of clover. the yuccas present a still more wonderful example of the dependence of plants on animals, for their existence hangs on that of a small moth whose peculiar structure and habits bring about the fertilization of the flower. the two probably developed side by side until their present state of inter-dependence was reached, when the extinction of the one would probably bring about that of the other. it is this inter-dependence of living things that makes the outcome of any direct interference with the natural order of things more or less problematical, and sometimes brings about results quite different from what were expected or intended. the gamekeepers on the grouse moors of scotland systematically killed off all birds of prey because they caught some of the grouse, but this is believed to have caused far more harm than good through permitting weak and sickly birds, that would otherwise have fallen a prey to hawks, to live and disseminate the grouse distemper. the destruction of sheep by coyotes led the state of california to place a bounty on the heads of these animals, with the result that in eighteen months the state was called upon to pay out $ , . as a result of the war on coyotes the animals on which they fed, notably the rabbits, increased so enormously that in turn a bounty was put on rabbits, the damage these animals caused the fruit-growers being greater than the losses among sheep-owners from the depredations of coyotes. and so, says dr. palmer, "in this remarkable case of legislation a large bounty was offered by a county in the interest of fruit-growers to counteract the effects of a state bounty expended mainly for the benefit of sheep-owners!" professor shaler, in noting the sudden disappearance of such trees as the gums, magnolias, and tulip poplars from the miocene flora of europe has suggested that this may have been due to the attacks, for a series of years, of some insect enemy like the gipsy moth, and the theory is worth considering, although it must be looked upon as a possibility rather than a probability. still, anyone familiar with the ravages of the gipsy moth in massachusetts, where the insect was introduced by accident, can readily imagine what _might_ have been the effect of some sudden increase in the numbers of such a pest on the forests of the past. trees might resist the attacks of enemies and the destruction of their leaves for two or three years, but would be destroyed by a few additional seasons of defoliation. ordinarily the abnormal increase of any insect is promptly followed by an increase in the number of its enemies; the pest is killed off, the destroyers die of starvation and nature's balance is struck. but if by some accident, such as two or three consecutive seasons of wet, drought, or cold, the natural increase of the enemies was checked, the balance of nature would be temporarily destroyed and serious harm done. that such accidents may occur is familiar to us by the damage wrought in florida and other southern states by the unwonted severity of the winters of , , and . if any group of forest trees was destroyed in the manner suggested by professor shaler, the effects would be felt by various plants and animals. in the first place, the insects that fed on these trees would be forced to seek another source of food and would be brought into a silent struggle with forms already in possession, while the destruction of one set of plants would be to the advantage of those with which they came into competition and to the disadvantage of vegetation that was protected by the shade. finally, these changed conditions would react in various ways on the smaller birds and mammals, the general effect being, to use a well-worn simile, like that of casting a stone into a quiet pool and setting in motion ripples that sooner or later reach to every part of the margin. it is scarcely necessary to warn the reader that for the most part this is purely conjectural, for from the nature of the case it is bound to be so. but it is one of the characteristics of educated man that he wishes to know the why and wherefore of everything, and is in a condition of mental unhappiness until he has at least formulated some theory which seems to harmonize with the visible facts. and from the few glimpses we get of the extinction of animals from natural causes we must formulate a theory to fit the continued extermination that has been taking place ever since living beings came into the world and were pitted against one another and against their surroundings in the silent and ceaseless struggle for existence. the end. index _the asterisk denotes that the animal or object is figured on or opposite the page referred to._ Æpyornis, egg of, , ,* , eggs found in swamps, ; found floating, eggs used for bowls, origin of fable of roc, , alaskan live mammoth story, - , anomoepus tracks, apteryx egg, archæopteryx, description of, , discovery of, earliest known bird, restoration, * specimens of, ,* wing, ,* archelon, a great turtle, basilosaurus, see also zeuglodon beehler, l. w., , birds, always clad in feathers, , earliest, birds, first intimation of, rarity of fossil, , related to reptiles, wings of embryonic, with teeth, , bison, european, books of reference, xix, , , , , , , , , , , breeding of large animals, brontornis, size of leg-bones, brontosaurus, size of bones, ,* ,* brooks, w. k., on lingula, buffalo legend, buttons as vestigial structures, carcharodon auriculatus, teeth, megalodon, estimated size, teeth, , carson city footprints, casts, how formed, , cats and clover, cephalaspis, * ceratosaurus, habits, restoration, * skull, * changes in nature slow, cheirotherium, chlamydosaurus, claosaurus. see thespesius climate, changes in western united states, clover and cats, cold, effects of, on animals, , , cold winters, collecting fossils, , - color of large land animals, of young animals, covering of extinct animals sometimes indicated, , coyotes, effect of their destruction on fruit, dall, w. h., theory as to extinction of mollusks, dinosaurs, bones of, , brain of, collections of, compared to marsupials, first discovered, food required by, hip-bones mistaken for shoulder-blade, professor marsh's epitaph for, range, recognized as new order of reptiles, related to ostrich and alligator, size of, , , tracks, ascribed to birds, dinotherium, diplodocus, estimated weight, supposed habits, egg of Æpyornis, , ; apteryx, ; ostrich, ; moa, eggs, casts of, elephant, size, size of tusks, , elephas ganesa, tusks, encrustations, extermination. see extinction extinction, ascribed to great convulsions, ascribed to primitive man, , of dinosaurs, local, by man, , of marine reptiles, often unaccountable, , of pliocene rhinoceros, sometimes evolution, , of titanotheres, feathers, imprints of, , fishes, abundance of, armored, , , , collections of, killed by cold, killed by volcanoes, fish-crows, killed by cold, flesh does not petrify, flightless birds, absent from tasmania, present distribution, , relation between flightlessness and size, folds and frills, footprints, collections of, books on, see also under tracks fossil birds, rarity of, fossil man, fossilization a slow process, fossils, conditions under which they are formed, , collecting, - definition of, deformation of, impressions, , not necessarily petrifactions, preparation of, - why they are not more common, , , fowls, muscles of, frill of triceratops, fur-seals killed by ice-floes, gar pikes, destruction of, giant birds, reasons for distribution and flightlessness, giant moa, leg compared with that of horse, * giant sloth, domesticated by man, struggle between, giant sloth, tracks at carson city, gilfort, robert, great auk, extermination of, grouse on scotch moors, hawkins, b. w., restorations by, hesperornis, description of, impressions of feathers, position of legs, , restoration of, * hippotherium, , hoactzin, habits of, , * horn does not petrify, horse, abundant in pleistocene time, books on, of bronze age, , collections of fossil, development of, , ,* differences between fossil and living, early domestication, evidence as to genealogy, - extra-toed, , found in south america in , of julius cæsar, none found wild in historic times, pliocene, possibility of existence in america up to the time of its discovery, , primitive, , * horse, sketched by primitive man, teeth of, three-toed, humming-bird, exterminated by hurricane, hydrarchus, * hyracotherium, , ,* , ichthyosaurs, silhouettes of, iguanodons, found at bernissart, impressions of feathers, of scales, of skin, inbreeding, effects of, , information, sources of, xvi innuits, habits, interdependence of animals and plants, , , ivory, fossil, , , , jaw of mosasaur, * of reptiles, killing of the mammoth, story, , kimmswick, deposit of mastodon bones, knight, charles r., restorations by, xviii, koch's hydrarchus, , * missourium, ,* leaves, impressions of, , leg of brontornis, * leg of the great brontosaurus, * of giant moa, * position in hesperornis, position in ducks, lenape stone, , , * life, earliest traces of, , lingula, antiquity of, professor brooks on, loricaria, * mammoth, adapted to a cold climate, alaskan live, story, believed to live underground, bones taken for those of giants, contemporary with man, derivation of name, description, discovery of entire specimens, , distribution, , drawn by early man, , * entire specimens obtainable, reasons for extermination, killing of the, literature on, misconception as to size, mounted skeleton, not now living, preservation of remains, skeletons in alaska, , mammoth, in chicago academy of sciences, at st. petersburg, * restoration, * size, , , size of tusks, , teeth, , * teeth dredged in north sea, tusks brought into market, , man contemporary with mammoth, fossil, of guadeloupe, manatees killed by cold, marsh, prof. o. c., collection of fossil horses, on dinosaurs, on toothed birds, , mastodon, bones taken for those of giants, thought to be carnivorous, covering, description, distribution, , , extinction, literature, and man, , first noticed in america, origin unknown, remains abundant, , remains in ulster and orange counties, new york, , restoration, * mastodon, size, skeletons on exhibition, species, teeth, , ,* tusks, , mesohippus, mimicry, not conscious, missourium of koch, ,* moas, collections of, , contemporary with man, , deductions from distribution, destruction of, , discovery of bones, elephant-footed, feathers of, giant, supposed food of, legends of, , literature, scientific names, size of, species of, moloch, an australian lizard, * mosasaurs, abundance of, in kansas, books on, collections of, extinction of, first discovery, jaw of, * mosasaurs, range of, restoration, * size of, , mylodon tracks at carson city, names, scientific, reasons for using, xvi, xvii nature, balance of, nuts, fossil, oldest animals, vertebrates, , ostrich egg, over-specialization, , peale, c. w., peale, rembrandt, , pelican, mandible, penguins, depend on fat for warmth, feathers highly modified, swim with wings, petrified bodies, phororhacos, description of, mistaken for mammal, patagonian bird, related to heron family, restoration, frontispiece skull, , * protohippus, pteraspis, pterichthys, , , * mistaken for crab, pterodactyls, impressions of wings, from kansas, wing, * pycraft, w. p., restoration of archæopteryx, radiolarians, , * reconstruction of animals, , , reptiles, fasting powers of, growth throughout life, jaws, restorations, xviii archæopteryx, * ceratosaurus, * hesperornis, * mammoth, * mastodon, * phororhacos, frontispiece progress in, stegosaurus, * thespesius, * triceratops, * tylosaurus, * reversion of fancy stock, rhinoceros, exterminated by cold, roc, legend of, , rocks, thickness of sedimentary, ruffles on dresses, schuchert, charles, on collecting fossils, collector of zeuglodon bones, seals, covering of, sea-serpent, belief in, possibility of existence, shaler, professor, on changes in miocene flora of europe, , sharks, early, great-toothed, known from spines and teeth, port jackson, teeth of, white, or man-eater, skeleton, basis of all restorations, best testimony of animal's relationships, information to be derived from, , , , , , , a problem in mechanics, , reconstruction of, relation of, to exterior of animal, , of triceratops, ,* spines and plates, stegosaurus, description of, restoration of, * survival of the fittest, teeth, birds with, of gnawing animals, , of grass-eaters, teeth, of horse, of mammoth, , * of mastodon, , * of sharks, , of thespesius, thespesius, abundance of, , brain of, (same as claosaurus) engulfed in quicksand, impressions of skin, restoration of, * teeth of, at yale, tiger, preying on reindeer, tile-fish, destruction of, titanichthys, , toothed birds, collections of, discovery of, townsend c. h., - tracks, ascribed to birds, ascribed to giants, animals known from, collections of, of connecticut valley, deductions from, of dinosaurs, ,* ,* , * discovery in england and america, , how formed, , at hastings, tracks, of mylodon, of worms, , triceratops, brain, broken horn, description, , restoration, * skeleton, * tufa, tukeman, killing of the mammoth, , variation in animals, vertebrates, oldest, vestigial structures, , volcanic outbursts, , webster, f. s., on destruction of gar pikes, white, c. a., on the nature and uses of fossils, white shark, wings, , ,* of embryonic birds, wood, fossil, , worm trails, , yucca, fertilization, zeuglodon, abundance of remains, same as basilosaurus description, , habits, zeuglodon, koch's restoration, name, , once numerous, size, specimen of, structure of bones, teeth, , * transcriber's note whole and fractional parts of numbers are displayed as - / . text emphasis is denoted as follows: _italic_ and =bold=. extinct monsters. [illustration: plate xi. a gigantic horned dinosaur, triceratops prorsus. length about feet.] extinct monsters. _a popular account of some of the larger forms of ancient animal life._ by rev. h. n. hutchinson, b.a., f.g.s., author of "the autobiography of the earth," and "the story of the hills." with illustrations by j. smit and others. _fifth and cheaper edition._ london: chapman & hall, ld. . _all rights reserved._ "the possibilities of existence run so deeply into the extravagant that there is scarcely any conception too extraordinary for nature to realise."--agassiz. preface by dr. henry woodward, f.r.s. keeper of geology, natural history museum. i have been requested by my friend mr. hutchinson, to express my opinion upon the series of drawings which have been prepared by that excellent artist of animals, mr. smit, for this little book entitled "extinct monsters." many of the stories told in early days, of giants and dragons, may have originated in the discovery of the limb-bones of the mammoth, the rhinoceros, or other large animals, in caves, associated with heaps of broken fragments, in which latter the ignorant peasant saw in fancy the remains of the victims devoured at the monster's repasts. in louis figuier's _world before the deluge_ we are favoured with several highly sensational views of extinct monsters; whilst the pen of dr. kinns has furnished valuable information as to the "slimy" nature of their blood! the late mr. g. waterhouse hawkins (formerly a lithographic artist) was for years occupied in unauthorised restorations of various secondary reptiles and tertiary mammals, and about he received encouragement from professor owen to undertake the restorations of extinct animals which still adorn the lower grounds of the crystal palace at sydenham. but the discoveries of later years have shown that the dicynodon and labyrinthodon, instead of being toad-like in form, were lacertilian or salamander-like reptiles, with elongated bodies and moderately long tails; that the iguanodon did not usually stand upon "all-fours," but more frequently sat up like some huge kangaroo with short fore limbs; that the horn on its snout was really on its wrist; that the megalosaurus, with a more slender form of skeleton, had a somewhat similar erect attitude, and the habit, perhaps, of springing upon its prey, holding it with its powerful clawed hands, and tearing it with its formidable carnivorous teeth. although the bernissart iguanodon has been to us a complete revelation of what a dinosaur really looked like, it is to america, and chiefly to the discoveries of marsh, that we owe the knowledge of a whole series of new reptiles and mammals, many of which will be found illustrated within these pages. of long and short-tailed pterodactyles we now know almost complete skeletons and details of their patagia or flying membranes. the discovery of the long-tailed feathered bird with teeth--the archæopteryx, from the oolite of solenhofen, is another marvellous addition to our knowledge; whilst marsh's great hesperornis, a wingless diving bird with teeth, and his flying toothed bird, the ichthyornis dispar, are to us equally surprising. certainly, both in singular forms of fossil reptilia and in early mammals, north america carries off the palm. of these the most remarkable are marsh's stegosaurus, a huge torpid reptile, with very small head and teeth, about twenty feet in length, and having a series of flattened dorsal spines, nearly a yard in height, fixed upon the median line of its back; and his triceratops, another reptile bigger than stegosaurus, having a huge neck-shield joined to its skull, and horns on its head and snout. nor do the eocene mammals fall short of the marvellous, for in dinoceras we find a beast with six horns, and sword-bayonet tusks, joined to a skeleton like an elephant. latest amongst the marvels in modern palæontological discovery has been that made by professor fraas of the outline of the skin and fins in ichthyosaurus tenuirostris, which shows it to have been a veritable shark-like reptile, with a high dorsal fin and broad fish-tail, so that "fish-lizard" is more than ever an appropriate term for these old liassic marine reptiles. as every palæontologist is well aware, restorations are ever liable to emendation, and that the present and latest book of extinct monsters will certainly prove no exception to the rule is beyond a doubt, but the author deserves our praise for the very boldness of his attempt, and the honesty with which he has tried to follow nature and avoid exaggeration. every one will admire the simple and unaffected style in which the author has endeavoured to tell his story, avoiding, as far as possible, all scientific terms, so as to bring it within the intelligence of the unlearned. he has, moreover, taken infinite pains to study up his subject with care, and to consult all the literature bearing upon it. he has thus been enabled to convey accurate information in a simple and pleasing form, and to guide the artist in his difficult task with much wisdom and intelligence. that the excellence of the sketches is due to the artist, mr. smit, is a matter of course, and so is the blame, where criticism is legitimate; and no one is more sensible of the difficulties of the task than mr. smit himself. speaking for myself, i am _very well pleased_ with the series of sketches; and i may say so with the greater ease and freedom from responsibility, as i have had very little to do with them, save in one or two trifling matters of criticism. i may venture, however, to commend them to my friends among the public at large as the happiest set of restorations that has yet appeared. h. w. [illustration: plate xxiv. the late sir richard owen and a skeleton of dinornis maximus. (_from a photograph._)] author's preface. natural history is deservedly a popular subject. the manifestations of life in all its varied forms is a theme that has never failed to attract all who are not destitute of intelligence. from the days of the primitive cave-dwellers of europe, who lived with mammoths and other animals now lost to the world; of the ancient egyptians, who drew and painted on the walls of their magnificent tombs the creatures inhabiting the delta of the nile; of the greeks, looking out on the world with their bright and child-like curiosity, down to our own times, this old, yet ever new, theme has never failed. never before was there such a profusion of books describing the various forms of life inhabiting the different countries of the globe, or the rivers, lakes, and seas that diversify its scenery. popular writers have done good service in making the way plain for those who wish to acquaint themselves with the structures, habits, and histories of living animals; while for students a still greater supply of excellent manuals and text-books has been, and still continues to be, forthcoming. but in our admiration for the present we forget the great past. how seldom do we think of that innumerable host of creatures that once trod this earth! how little in comparison has been done for _them_! our natural-history books deal only with those that are alive now. few popular writers have attempted to depict, as on a canvas, the great earth-drama that has, from age to age, been enacted on the terrestrial stage, of which we behold the latest, but probably not the closing scenes. when our poet wrote "all the world's a stage," he thought only of "men and women," whom he called "merely players," but the geologist sees a wider application of these words, as he reviews the drama of past life on the globe, and finds that animals, too, have had "their exits and their entrances;" nay more, "the strange eventful history" of a human life, sketched by the master-hand, might well be chosen to illustrate the birth and growth of the tree of life, the development of which we shall briefly trace from time to time, as we proceed on our survey of the larger and more wonderful animals of life that flourished in bygone times. we might even make out a "seven ages" of the world, in each of which some peculiar form of life stood out prominently, but such a scheme would be artificial. there is a wealth of material for reconstructing the past that is simply bewildering; and yet little has been done to bring before the public the strange creatures that have perished.[ ] [ ] figuier's _world before the deluge_ is hardly a trustworthy book, and is often not up to date. the restorations also are misleading. professor dawson's _story of the earth and man_ is better; but the illustrations are poor. nicholson's _life-history of the earth_ is a student's book. messrs. cassells' _our earth and its story_ deals with the whole of geology, and so is too diffusive; its ideal landscapes to the writer it is a matter of astonishment that the and restorations leave much to be desired. discoveries of marsh, cope, leidy, and others in america, not to mention some important european discoveries, should have attracted so little notice in this country. in the far and wild west a host of strange reptiles and quadrupeds have been unearthed from their rocky sepulchres, often of incredibly huge proportions, and, in many cases, more weird and strange than the imagination could conceive; and yet the public have never heard of these discoveries, by the side of which the now well-known "lost creations" of cuvier, buckland, or conybeare sink into the shade. for once, we beg leave to suggest, the hungry pressman, seeking "copy," has failed to see a good thing. descriptions of some of "marsh's monsters" and how they were found, might, one would think, have proved attractive to a public ever on the look out for something new. professor huxley, comparing our present knowledge of the mammals of the tertiary era with that of , states that the discoveries of gaudry, marsh, and filhol, are "as if zoologists were to become acquainted with a country hitherto unknown, as rich in novel forms of life as brazil or south america once were to europeans." the object of this book is to describe some of the larger and more monstrous forms of the past--the lost creations of the old world; to clothe their dry bones with flesh, and suggest for them backgrounds such as are indicated by the discoveries of geology: in other words, to endeavour, by means of pen and pencil, to bring them back to life. the ordinary public cannot learn much by merely gazing at skeletons set up in museums. one longs to cover their nakedness with flesh and skin, and to see them as they were when they walked this earth. our present imperfect knowledge renders it difficult in some cases to construct successful restorations; but, nevertheless, the attempt is worth making: and if some who think geology a very dry subject, can be converted to a different opinion on reading these pages, we shall be well rewarded for our trouble. we venture to hope that those who will take the trouble to peruse this book, or even to look at its pictures, on which much labour and thought have been expended, will find pleasure in visiting the splendid geological collection at cromwell road. we have often watched visitors walking somewhat aimlessly among those relics of a former world, and wished that we could be of some service. but, if this little book should help them the better to understand what they see there, our wish will be accomplished. another object which the writer has kept in view is to connect the past with the present. it cannot be too strongly urged that the best commentary on the dead past is the living present. it is unfortunate that there is still too great a tendency to separate, as by a great gulf, the dead from the living, the past from the present, forms of life. the result of this is seen in our museums. fossils have too often been left to the attention of geologists not always well acquainted with the structures of living animals. the more frequent introduction of fossil specimens side by side with modern forms of life would not only be a gain to the progress and spread of geological science, but would be a great help to students of anatomy and natural history. the tree of life is but a mutilated thing, and half its interest is gone, when the dead branches are lopped off. it is, perhaps, justifiable to give to the term "monster" a somewhat extended meaning. the writer has therefore included in his menagerie of extinct animals one or two creatures which, though not of any great size, are nevertheless remarkable in various ways--such, for instance, as the winged reptiles, and anomalous birds with teeth, of later times, and others. compared with living forms, these creatures appear to us as "monstrosities," and may well find a place in our collection. the author wishes, in a few words, to thank those friends who have rendered him assistance in his task. dr. henry woodward, f.r.s., keeper of geology, natural history museum, has from the first taken a lively interest in this little book. he kindly helped the author with his advice on difficult matters, criticising some of the artist's preliminary sketches and suggesting improvements in the restorations. with unfailing courtesy he has ever been willing, in spite of many demands on his time, to place his knowledge at the disposal of both the author and artist; and in this way certain errors have been avoided. besides this, he took the trouble to read through the proof-sheets, and made suggestions and corrections which have greatly improved the text. for all this welcome aid the author begs to return his sincere thanks. to mr. smith woodward, of the natural history museum, the author is also much indebted for his kindness in reading through the text and giving valuable information with regard to the latest discoveries. the artist, mr. smit, notwithstanding the novelty of the subject and the difficulties of the task, has thrown himself heartily into the work of making the twenty-four restorations of extinct animals. to him, also, the author is greatly indebted, and considers himself fortunate in having secured the services of so excellent an artist. to the publishers his thanks are due for their liberality in the matter of illustrations, and the readiness with which they have responded to suggestions. with regard to minor illustrations the following acknowledgments are due:-- to the palæontological society of great britain for permission to reproduce three of the illustrations in sir richard owen's great work, _british fossil reptiles_, published in their yearly volumes, viz. figs. , , and . to messrs. bell and co. for the following cuts from the late dr. gideon a. mantell's works: viz. figs. , , , , , . to messrs. a. and c. black for the following cuts from owen's _palæontology_: viz. figs. , , , . * * * * * appendix iv. contains a list of some of the works of which the writer has made use; but it would be impossible within reasonable limits to enumerate all the separate papers which have necessarily been consulted. the reader will find numerous references, such as "case y on plan," in brackets; these refer to the plan given at the end of the excellent little _guide to the exhibition galleries in the department of geology and palæontology in the natural history museum_, cromwell road (price one shilling), which visitors to the museum are advised to obtain. preface to second edition. the appearance of a second edition affords the author a pleasant opportunity of thanking the reading public, and the press, for the kind way in which his endeavour to popularise the results of modern palæontology has been received. there seem to be fashions in all things--even in sciences; and perhaps the wonderful advances we have witnessed of late years in the physical sciences on the one hand, and in biological sciences on the other, may have tended to throw palæontology somewhat into the shade. let us hope that it will not remain there long. a large number of illustrations have been added for the present edition, besides additional matter here and there in the text. three of the plates (viz. plates ii. x. xv.) have been redrawn. plate ii. shows the ichthyosaurus as interpreted by the latest discovery from würtemberg. plate x. gives a somewhat different interpretation of the stegosaurus, suggested by some remarks of mr. lydekker. a slight change will be noticed in plate xv. (brontops). plate xvii. is a great improvement on the old drawing (fig. , old edition) of the megatherium skeleton. plate xxiv., besides containing a valuable portrait of the late sir richard owen, gives another drawing of the dinornis skeleton. _april, ._ contents. page preface by dr. henry woodward v author's preface ix preface to second edition xv introduction chapter i. how extinct monsters are preserved chapter ii. sea-scorpions chapter iii. the great fish-lizards chapter iv. the great sea-lizards and their allies chapter v. the dragons of old time--dinosaurs chapter vi. the dragons of old time--dinosaurs chapter vii. the dragons of old time--dinosaurs chapter viii. flying dragons chapter ix. sea-serpents chapter x. some american monsters chapter xi. some indian monsters chapter xii. giant sloths and armadillos chapter xiii. the mammoth chapter xiv. the mastodon and the woolly rhinoceros chapter xv. giant birds chapter xvi. the great irish deer and steller's sea-cow appendices. i.--table of stratified rocks ii.--the great sea-serpent iii.--list of british localities where remains of the mammoth have been discovered iv.--literature v.--ichthyosaurs index list of full-page illustrations. plate to face page xi. a gigantic horned dinosaur, triceratops prorsus _frontispiece_ xxiv. sir richard owen and skeleton of dinornis maximus ix i. sea-scorpions ii. fish-lizards iii. pterodactyls--long-necked sea-lizard--cuttle-fish or belemnite iv. a gigantic dinosaur, brontosaurus excelsus v. thigh-bone of the largest of the dinosaurs, atlantosaurus vi. a carnivorous dinosaur, megalosaurus bucklandi vii. a gigantic dinosaur, iguanodon bernissartensis viii. a gigantic dinosaur, iguanodon mantelli ix. an armoured dinosaur, scelidosaurus harrisoni x. a gigantic armoured dinosaur, stegosaurus ungulatus xii. group of small flying dragons, or pterodactyls xiii. group of sea-serpents, elasmosaur, and fishes xiv. a large extinct mammal, tinoceras ingens xv. a huge extinct mammal, brontops robustus xvi. a gigantic hoofed mammal, sivatherium giganteum xvii. skeleton of great ground sloth of south america xviii. great ground sloth of south america, megatherium americanum xix. a gigantic armadillo, glyptodon asper xx. the mammoth, elephas primigenius xxi. the mastodon of ohio, m. americanus xxii. the woolly rhinoceros, rhinoceros tichorhinus xxiii. moa-birds xxv. the great irish deer, cervus megaceros xxvi. steller's sea-cow, rhytina gigas list of figures in text. fig. page . pterygotus anglicus . silurian merostomata . ichthyosaurus intermedius . teeth of ichthyosauri . skull of ichthyosaurus latifrons . skull of ichthyosaurus platyodon . mandibles of long-necked sea-lizards . skeleton of plesiosaurus macrocephalus . restored skeleton of brontosaurus excelsus . neck vertebræ of brontosaurus . head of diplodocus . lower jaw-bone of megalosaurus, with teeth . skeleton of megalosaurus . portion of a slab of new red sandstone . portion of a slab, with tracks . limb-bones of allosaurus . skull of ceratosaurus . skull of ceratosaurus nasicornis . skeleton of compsognathus longipes . tooth of iguanodon . skeleton of iguanodon bernissartensis . skull and skeleton of iguanodon mantelli . tracks of iguanodon . restored skeleton of scelidosaurus harrisoni . skeleton of stegosaurus ungulatus . tail vertebræ of stegosaurus . limb-bones of stegosaurus . plates of stegosaurus . head of triceratops . skeleton of triceratops prorsus . bony spines belonging to the skin of triceratops . skeleton of dimorphodon macronyx . skeleton of scaphognathus crassirostris . skeleton of pterodactylus spectabilis . skeleton of rhamphorhynchus phyllurus . skull of pteranodon . skull of mosasaurus hoffmanni . teeth of mosasaurus . lower tooth of leiodon . snout of tylosaurus . skeleton of clidastes cineriarum a. skull of platecarpus . skeleton of tinoceras ingens . skull of dinoceras mirabile . cast of brain-cavity of dinoceras mirabile . skeleton of brontops robustus . skull of sivatherium giganteum . skeleton of sivatherium giganteum . restored figure of gigantic tortoise, colossochelys atlas . the elephant victorious over the tortoise, supporting the world, and unfolding the mysteries of the "fauna sivalensis" . skeleton of scelidotherium . extinct gigantic armadillo, glyptodon clavipes . skeleton of mammoth, elephas primigenius . figure of the mammoth, engraved on mammoth ivory . skeleton of mastodon arvernensis . head of woolly rhinoceros . skeleton of the elephant-footed moa, dinornis elephantopus . skeleton of great irish deer, cervus giganteus . skeleton of rhytina gigas extinct monsters. introduction. "the earth hath gathered to her breast again and yet again, the millions that were born of her unnumbered, unremembered tribes." let us see if we can get some glimpses of the primæval inhabitants of the world, that lived and died while as yet there were no men and women having authority over the fishes of the sea and the fowls of the air. we shall, perhaps, find this antique world quite as strange as the fairy-land of grimm or lewis carroll. true, it was not inhabited by "slithy toves" or "jabber-wocks," but by real beasts, of whose shapes, sizes, and habits much is already known--a good deal more than might at first be supposed. and yet, real as it all is, this antique world--this panorama of scenes that have for ever passed away--is a veritable fairy-land. in those days of which geologists tell us, the principal parts were played, not by kings and queens, but by creatures many of which were very unlike those we see around us now. and yet it is no fairy-land after all, where impossible things happen, and where impossible dragons figure largely; but only the same old world in which you and i were born. everything you will see here is quite true. all these monsters once lived. truth is stranger than fiction; and perhaps we shall enjoy our visit to this fairy-land all the more for that reason. for not even the dragons supposed to have been slain by armed knights in old times, when people gave ear to any tale, however extravagant, could equal in size or strength the real dragons we shall presently meet with, whose actual bones may be seen in the natural history museum at south kensington. many people who visit this great museum and find their way to the geological galleries on the right, pass hastily by the cases of bones, teeth, and skeletons. these things, it seems, fail to interest them. they do not know how to interpret them. they cannot picture to themselves the kinds of creatures to which the relics once belonged; and so they pass them by and presently go to the more attractive collection of stuffed birds on the other side. there they see the feathered tribes of the air all beautifully arranged; some poised in the air by almost invisible wires; some perched on branches: but all surrounded by grass, flowers, and natural objects, imitated with marvellous reality, so that they see the birds as they really are in nature, and can almost fancy they hear them singing. now, it has often occurred to the present writer that something more might be done for the long-neglected "lost creations" of the world, to bring them out of their obscurity, that they may be made to tell to the passer-by their wondrous story. we can, however, well imagine some of our readers asking, "can these dry bones live?" "yes," we would say, "they can be made to live; reason and imagination will, if we give them proper play, provide us eyes wherewith to see the world's lost creations." to such men as cuvier, owen, huxley, and others, these dry bones _do_ live. it will be our object to describe to the reader some of the wonderful results that have rewarded the lifelong labours of such great men. we shall take some of the largest and strangest forms of life that once lived, and try to picture them as they really were when alive, whether walking on land, swimming in the sea, or flying in the air; to understand the meanings of their more obvious structures; and to form some conclusions with regard to their habits, as well as to find out, if possible, their relations,--as far as such questions have been answered by those most qualified to settle these difficult matters. all technical details, such as the general reader is unfamiliar with, will be as far as possible suppressed. let us fancy a long procession of extinct monsters passing in single file before us, and ourselves endeavouring to pick out their "points" as they present themselves to the eye of imagination. it is not, be it remembered, mere imagination that guides the man of science in such matters, for all his conclusions are carefully based on reason; and when conclusions are given, we shall endeavour to show how they have been arrived at. for millions of years countless multitudes of living animals have played their little parts on the earth and passed away, to be buried up in the oozy beds of the seas of old time, or entombed with the leaves that sank in the waters of primæval lakes. the majority of these perished beyond all recovery, leaving not a trace behind; yet a vast number of fossilised remains have been, in various ways, preserved; sometimes almost as completely as if dame nature had thoughtfully embalmed them for our instruction and delight. down in those old seas and lakes she kept her great museum, in order to preserve for us a selection of her treasures. in course of time she slowly raised up sea-beds and lake-bottoms to make them into dry land. this museum is everywhere around us. we have but to enter quarries and railway cuttings, or to search in coal-mines, or under cliffs at the sea-side, and we can consult her records. as the ancient egyptians built tombs, pyramids, and temples, from which we may learn their manner of life and partly read their history, so nature has entombed, not one race only, but many races of the children of life. her records are written in strange hieroglyphs, yet it is not difficult to interpret their meaning; and thus many an old story, many an old scene, may be pictured in the mind of man. shall we call this earth-drama a tragedy or a comedy? doubtless tragic scenes occurred at times; as, for instance, when fierce creatures engaged in deadly combat: and probably amusing, if not comic, incidents took place occasionally, such as might have provoked us to laughter, had we been there to see them. but let us simply call it a drama. backgrounds of scenery were not wanting. then, as now, the surface of the earth was clothed with vegetation, and strange cattle pastured on grassy plains. vegetation was at times very luxuriant. the forests of the coal period, with their giant reeds and club-moss trees, must have made a strange picture. then, as now, there rose up from the plains lofty ranges of mountains, reaching to the clouds, their summits clothed with the eternal snows. these, too, played their part, feeding the streams and the rivers that meandered over the plains, bringing life and fertility with them, as they do now. the sun shone and the wind blew: sometimes gently, so that the leaves just whispered in an evening breeze; at other times so violently that the giants of the forest swayed to and fro, and the seas lashed themselves furiously against rocky coasts. nor were the underground forces of the earth less active than they are now: volcanic eruptions often took place on a magnificent scale; volcanoes poured out fiery lava streams for leagues beneath their feet; great showers of ashes and fine dust were ejected in the air, so that the sun was darkened for a time, and the surface of the sea was covered for many miles with floating pumice and volcanic dust, which in time sank to the bottom, and was made into hard rock, such as we now find on the top of snowdon. earthquake shocks were quite as frequent, and no doubt the ground swayed to and fro, or was rent open as some unusually great earth-movement took place, and perhaps a mountain range was raised several feet or yards higher. all this we learn from the testimony of the rocks beneath our feet. it only requires the use of a little imagination to conjure up scenes of the past, and paint them as on a moving diorama. we shall not, however, dwell at any length on the scenery, or the vegetation that clothed the landscape at different periods; for these features are sufficiently indicated in the beautiful drawings of extinct animals by our artist, mr. j. smit. the researches of the illustrious baron cuvier, at paris, as embodied in his great work, _ossemens fossiles_, gave a great impetus to the study of organic remains. it was he who laid the foundations of the science of palæontology,[ ] which, though much has already been accomplished, yet has a great future before it. agassiz, owen, huxley, marsh, cope, and others, following in his footsteps, have greatly extended its boundaries; but he was the pioneer. [ ] palæontology is the science which treats of the living beings, whether animal or vegetable, which have inhabited this globe at past periods in its history. (greek--_palaios_, ancient; _onta_, beings; _logos_, discourse.) before his time fossil forms were very little known, and still less understood. his researches, especially among vertebrates, or backboned animals, revealed an altogether undreamed-of wealth of entombed remains. it is true the old and absurd notion that fossils were mere "sports of nature," sometimes bearing more or less resemblance to living animals, but still only an accidental (!) resemblance, had been abandoned by leibnitz, buffon, and pallas; and that daubenton had actually compared the fossil bones of quadrupeds with those of living forms; while camper declared his opinion that some of these remains belonged to extinct species of quadrupeds. it is to cuvier, however, that the world owes the first systematic application of the science of comparative anatomy, which he himself had done so much to place on a sound basis, to the study of the bones of fossil animals. he paid great attention to the relative shapes of animals, and the different developments of the same kind of bones in various animals, and especially to the nature of their teeth. so great did his experience and knowledge become, that he rarely failed in naming an animal from a part of its skeleton. he appreciated more clearly than others before him the mutual dependence of the various parts of an animal's organisation. "the organism," he said, "forms a connected unity, in which the single parts cannot change without modifications in the other parts." it will hardly be necessary to give examples of this now well-known truth; but, just to take one case: the elephant has a long proboscis with which it can reach the ground, and consequently its neck is quite short; but take away the long proboscis, and you would seriously interfere with the relation of various parts of its structure to each other. how, then, could it reach or pick up anything lying on the ground? other changes would have to follow: either its legs would require to be shortened, or its neck to be lengthened. in every animal, as in a complex machine, there is a mutual dependence of the different parts. as he progressed in these studies, cuvier was able with considerable success to restore extinct animals from their fossilised remains, to discover their habits and manner of life, and to point out their nearest living ally. to him we owe the first complete demonstration of the possibility of restoring an extinct animal. his "law of correlation" however, has been found to be not infallible; as professor huxley has shown, it has exceptions. it expresses our experience among living animals, but, when applied to the more ancient types of life, is liable to be misleading. to take one out of many examples of this law: carnivorous animals, such as cats, lions, and tigers, have claws in their feet, very different from the hoofs of an ox, which is herbivorous; while the teeth of the former group are very different to those of the latter. thus the teeth and limbs have a certain definite relation to each other, or, in other words, are correlated. again, horned quadrupeds are all herbivorous (or graminivorous), and have hoofs to their feet. the following amusing anecdote serves to illustrate cuvier's law. one of his students thought he would try and frighten his master, and, having dressed up as a wild beast, entered cuvier's bedroom by night, and, presenting himself by his bedside, said in hollow tones, "cuvier, cuvier, i've come to eat you!" the great naturalist, who on waking up was able to discern something with horns and hoofs, simply remarked, "what! horns, hoofs--graminivorous--you can't!" what better lesson could the master have given the pupil to help him to remember his "law of correlation"? cuvier's great work, entitled _ossemens fossiles_, will long remain an imperishable monument of the genius and industry of the greatest pioneer in this region of investigation. this work proved beyond a doubt to his astonished contemporaries the great antiquity of the tribes of animals now living on the surface of the earth. it proved more than that, however; for it showed the existence of a great philosophy in nature which linked the past with the present in a scheme that pointed to a continuity of life during untold previous ages. all this was directly at variance with the prevalent ideas of his time, and consequently his views were regarded by many with alarm, and he received a good deal of abuse--a fate which many other original thinkers before him have shared. it is somewhat difficult for people living now, and accustomed to modern teaching, to realise how novel were the conclusions announced by cuvier. in his _discourse on the revolutions of the surface of the globe_, translated into most european languages under the title _theory of the earth_, he lays down, among others, the two following propositions:-- . that all organised existences were not created at the same time; but at different times, probably very remote from each other--vegetables before animals, mollusca and fishes before reptiles, and the latter before mammals. . that fossil remains in the more recent strata are those which approach nearest to the present type of corresponding living species. teaching such as this gave a new impetus to the study of organic remains, and palæontology, as a science, began with cuvier. chapter i. how extinct monsters are preserved. "geology, beyond almost every other science, offers fields of research adapted to all capacities and to every condition and circumstance of life in which we may be placed. for while some of its phenomena require the highest intellectual powers, and the greatest attainments in abstract science for their successful investigation, many of its problems may be solved by the most ordinary intellect, and facts replete with the deepest interest may be gleaned by the most casual observer."--mantell. let us suppose we are visiting a geological museum for the first time, passing along from one department to another with ever-increasing wonder--now admiring the beautiful polished marbles from devonshire, with their delicate corals, or the wonderful fishes from the old red sandstone, with their plates of enamel; now the delicate shells and ammonites from the lias or oolites, with their pearly lustre still preserved; now the white fresh-looking shells from the isle of wight; now the ponderous bones and big teeth of ancient monsters from the wealden beds of sussex. the question might naturally occur, "how were all these creatures preserved from destruction and decay, and sealed up so securely that it is difficult to believe they are as old as the geologists tell us they are?" it will be worth our while to consider this before we pass on to describe the creatures themselves. now, in the first place, "fossils" are not always "petrifactions," as some people seem to think; that is to say, they are not all turned into stone. this is true in many cases, no doubt, yet one frequently comes across the remains of plants and animals that have undergone very little change, and have, as it were, been simply sealed up. the state of a fossil depends on several circumstances, such as the soil, mud, or other medium in which it may happen to be preserved. again, the newest, or most recent, fossils are generally the least altered. we have fossils of all ages, and in all states of preservation. as examples of fossils very little altered, we may take the case of the wonderful collection of bones discovered by professor boyd dawkins in caves in various parts of great britain. the results of many years of research are given in his most interesting book on _cave-hunting_. this enthusiastic explorer and geologist has discovered the remains of a great many animals, some of which are quite extinct, while others are still living in this country. these remains belong to a late period, when lions, tigers, cave-bears, wolves, hyænas, and reindeer inhabited our country. in some cases the caves were the dens of hyænas, who brought their prey into caverns in our limestone rocks, to devour them at their leisure; for the marks of their teeth may yet be seen on the bones. in other cases the bones seem to have been washed into the caves by old streams that have ceased to run; but in all cases they are fairly fresh, though often stained by iron-rust brought in by water that has dissolved iron out of various rocks--for iron is a substance met with almost everywhere in nature. sometimes they are buried up in a layer of soil, or "cave-earth," and at other times in a layer of stalagmite--a deposit of carbonate of lime gradually formed on the floors of caves by the evaporation of water charged with carbonate of lime. air and water are great destroyers of animal and vegetable substances from which life has departed. the autumn leaves that fall by the wayside soon undergo change, and become at last separated or resolved into their original elements. in the same way when any wild animal, such as a bird or rabbit, dies in an exposed place, its flesh decays under the influence of rain and wind, so that before long nothing but dry bones is left. hamlet's wish that this "too too solid flesh would melt" is soon realised after death; and that active chemical element in the air known as oxygen, in breathing which we live, has a tenfold power over dead matter, slowly causing chemical actions somewhat similar to those that take place in a burning candle, whereby decaying flesh is converted into water-vapour and carbonic acid gas. thus we see that oxygen not only supports life, but breaks up into simpler forms the unwholesome and dangerous products of decaying matter, thus keeping the atmosphere sweet and pure; but in time, even the dry bones of the bird or rabbit, though able for a longer period to resist the attacks of the atmosphere, crumble into dust, and serve to fertilise the soil that once supported them. now, if water and air be excluded, it is wonderful how long even the most perishable things may be preserved from this otherwise universal decay. in the edinburgh museum of antiquities may be seen an old wooden cask of butter that has lain for centuries in peat--which substance has a curiously preservative power; and human bodies have been dug out of irish peat with the flesh well preserved, which, from the nature of the costume worn by the person, we can tell to be very ancient. meat packed in tins, so as to be entirely excluded from the air, may be kept a very long time, and will be found to be quite fresh and fit for use. but air and water have a way of penetrating into all sorts of places, so that in nature they are almost everywhere. water can slowly filter through even the hardest rocks, and since it contains dissolved air, it causes the decay of animal or vegetable substances. take the case of a dead leaf falling into a lake, or some quiet pool in a river. it sinks to the bottom, and is buried up in gravel, mud, or sand. now, our leaf will stand a very poor chance of preservation on a sandy or gravelly bottom, because these materials, being porous, allow the water to pass through them easily. but if it settles down on fine mud it may be covered up and become a fossil. in time the soft mud will harden into clay or shale, retaining a delicate impression of the leaf; and even after thousands of years, the brown body of the leaf will be there, only partly changed. in the case of the plants found in coal, the lapse of ages since they were buried up has been so great (and the strata have been so affected by the great pressure and by the earth's internal heat) that certain chemical changes have converted leaves and stems into carbon and some of its compounds, much in the same way that, if you heat wood in a closed vessel, you convert it into charcoal, which is mostly carbon. the coal we burn in our fires is entirely of vegetable origin, and every seam in a coal-mine is a buried forest of trees, ferns, reeds, and other plants. the reader will understand how it is that rocks composed of hardened sand or gravel, sandstones and conglomerates, contain but few fossils; while, on the other hand, such rocks as clay, shale, slate, and limestone often abound in fossils, because they are formed of what was once soft mud, that sealed up and protected corals, shell-fish, sea-urchins, fishes, and other marine animals. had they been covered up in sand the chances are that percolating water would have slowly dissolved the shells and corals, the hard coats of the crabs, and the bones of the fishes, all of which are composed of carbonate of lime; and we know that is a substance easily dissolved by water. it is in the rocks formed during the later geological periods that we find fossils least changed from their original state; for time works great changes, and too little time has elapsed since those periods for any considerable alterations to have taken place. but when we come to examine some of the earlier rocks, which have been acted upon in various ways for long periods of time, such as the pressure of vast piles of overlying rocks, and the percolation of water charged with mineral substances (water sometimes warmed by the earth's internal heat), then we may expect to find the remains of the world's lost creations in a much more mineralised condition. every fossil-collector must be familiar with examples of changes of this kind. for instance, shells originally composed of carbonate of lime are often found to have been turned into flint or silica. another curious change is illustrated in the case of a stratum found in cambridgeshire and other counties. in this remarkable layer, only about a foot in thickness, one frequently finds bones and teeth of fishes and reptiles. these, however, have all undergone a curious change, whereby they have been converted into phosphate of lime--a compound of phosphorus and lime. it abounds in "nodules," or lumps, of this substance, which, along with thousands of fossils, are every year ground up and converted by a chemical process into valuable artificial manure for the farmer. the soft parts of animals, as we have said before, cannot be preserved in a fossil state; but, as if to compensate for this loss, we sometimes meet with the most faithful and delicate impressions. thus, cuttle-fishes have, in some instances, left, on the clays which buried them up, impressions of their soft, long arms, or tentacles, and, as the mud hardened into solid rock, the impressions are fixed imperishably. examples of these interesting records may be seen at the natural history museum at south kensington. even soft jelly-fishes have left their mark on certain rocks! at a place in bavaria, called solenhofen, there is a remarkably fine-grained limestone containing a multitude of wonderful impressions. this stone is well known to lithographers, and is largely used in printing. on it the oldest known bird has left its skeleton and faithful impressions of its feathers. the footprints of birds and reptiles are by no means uncommon. such records are most valuable, for a great deal may be learned from even a footprint as to the nature of the animal that made it (see p. ). since the greater number of animals described in this book are reptiles, quadrupeds, and other inhabitants of the land, and only a few had their home in the sea, we must endeavour to try and understand how their remains may have been preserved. our object in writing this book is to interpret their story, and, as it were, to bring them to life again. each one must be made to tell its own story, and that story will be far from complete if we cannot form some idea of how it found its way into a watery grave, and so was added to nature's museum. for this purpose we must briefly explain to the reader how the rocks we see around us have been deposited; for these rocks are the tombs in which lost creations lie. go into any ordinary quarry, where the men are at work, getting out the stone in blocks to be used in building, or for use on the roads, or for some other purpose, and you will be pretty sure to notice at the first glance that the rock is arranged as if it had been built up in layers. now, this is true of all rocks that have been laid down by the agency of water--as most of them have been. true, there are exceptions, but every rule has its exceptions. if you went into a granite quarry at aberdeen, or a basalt quarry near edinburgh, you would not see these layers; but such rocks as these do not contain fossils. they have been mainly formed by the action of great heat, and were forced up to the surface of the earth by pressure from below. as they slowly cooled, the mineral substances of which they were formed gradually crystallised; and it is this crystalline state, together with the signs of movement, that tells us of their once heated state. such rocks are said to be of igneous origin (lat. _ignis_, fire). but nearly all the other rocks were formed by the action of water--that is, under water,--and hence are known to geologists as aqueous deposits (lat. _aqua_, water). they may be considered as sediments that slowly settled down in seas, lakes, or at the mouths of rivers. such deposits are in the course of being formed at the present day. all round our coasts mud, sand, and gravel are being accumulated, layer by layer. these materials are constantly being swept off the land by the action of rain and rivers, and carried down to the sea. perhaps, when staying at the sea-side, you may have noticed, after rainy and rough weather, how the sea, for some distance from the shore, is discoloured with mud--especially at the mouth of a river. the sand, being heavy, soon sinks down, and this is the reason why sand-bars so frequently block the entrance to rivers. then again, the waves of the sea beat against the sea-shore and undermine the cliffs, bringing down great fragments, which after a time are completely broken up and worn down into rounded pebbles, or even fine sand and mud. it is very easy to see that in this way large quantities of sand, gravel, and mud are continually supplied to our seas. we can picture how they will settle down; the sand not far from the shore, and the fine mud further out to sea. when the rough weather ceases, the river becomes smaller and flows less rapidly, so that when the coarse _débris_ of the land has settled down to form layers, or strata, of sand and gravel, then the fine mud will begin to settle down also, and will form a layer overlying them or further out. thus we learn, from a little observation of what is now going on, how layers of sand and mud, such as we see in a quarry, were made thousands and thousands of years ago. when we think of all the big rivers and small streams continually flowing into the sea, we shall begin to realise what a great work rain and rivers are doing in making the rocks of the future. if, at a later period, a slight upheaval of the sea-bed were to take place so as to bring it above water, and such is very likely, these materials would be found neatly arranged in layers, and more or less hardened into solid rock. the reader may, perhaps, find it rather hard at first to realise that in this simple way vast deposits of rock are being formed in the seas of the present day, and that the finer material thus derived from a continent may be carried by ocean currents to great distances; but so it is. over thousands of square miles of ocean, deposits are being gradually accumulated which will doubtless be some day turned into hard rock. just to take one example: it has been found that in the atlantic ocean, a distance of over two hundred miles from the mouth of that great river, the amazon, the sea is discoloured by fine sediment. there is another kind of rock frequently met with, the building up of which cannot be explained in the way we have pointed out; and that is limestone. this rock has not been deposited as a sediment, like clays and sandstones, but geologists have good reasons for believing that it has been gradually formed in the deeper and clearer parts of oceans by the slow accumulation of marine shells, corals, and other creatures, whose bodies are partly composed of carbonate of lime. this seems incredible at first, but the proofs are quite convincing.[ ] as professor huxley well remarked, there is as good evidence that chalk has been built up by the accumulation of minute shells as that the pyramids were built by the ancient egyptians. [ ] see _the autobiography of the earth_, p. . the science of geology reveals the startling fact that all the great series of the stratified rocks, whose united thickness is over , feet, has been mainly accumulated under water, either by the action of those powerful geological agents--rain and rivers--or through the agency of myriads of tiny marine animals. when we have grasped this idea, we have learned our first, and, perhaps, most useful lesson in geology. now let us apply what has been above explained to the question immediately before us. we want to know how the skeletons of animals living on land came to be buried up under water, among the stratified rocks that are to be seen all over our country, and most of which were made under the sea. we can answer this question by going to nature herself, in order to find out what is actually going on at the present time, by inquiring into the habits of land animals, their surroundings, and the accidents to which they are liable at sundry times and in divers manners. it is by this simple method of studying present actions that nearly all difficult questions in geology may be solved. the leading principle of the geologist is to interpret the past by the light of the present, or, in other words, to find out what happens now, in order to learn what took place ages ago; for it is clear that the world has been going on in the same way for at least as far back as geological history can take us. there has been a _uniformity_, or sameness, in nature's actions ever since living things first dwelt on the earth. just as rivers are mainly responsible for bringing down to the sea the materials of which rocks are made, so these universal carrying agents are the means by which the bodies of many animals that live in the plains, over which they wander, are brought to their last resting-place. we have only to consult the records of great floods to see what fearful havoc they sometimes make among living things, and how the dead bodies are swept away. great floods rise rapidly, so that the herds of wild animals pasturing on grassy plains are surprised by the rising waters, and, being unable to withstand the force of the water, are hurried along, and so drowned. when dead they sink to the bottom, and may, in some cases, be buried up in the _débris_ hurried along by the river; but as a rule their bodies, being swollen by the gases formed by decomposing flesh, rise again to the surface, and consequently may be carried along for many a mile, till they reach some lake, or perhaps right down to the mouth of a river, and so may be taken out to sea. one or two examples will be given to show how important is the action of such floods. sir charles lyell has given some striking illustrations of this. there was a memorable flood in the southern borders of scotland on the th of june, , which caused great destruction in the region of the solway firth. heavy rains had fallen, so that every stream entering the firth was greatly swollen. not only sheep and cattle, but even herdsmen and shepherds were drowned. when the flood had subsided, a fearful spectacle was seen on a large sand-bank, called "the beds of esk," where the waters meet; for on this one bank were found collected together the bodies of black cattle, horses, sheep, dogs, hares, together with those of many smaller animals, also the corpses of two men and one woman. humboldt, the celebrated traveller, says that when, at certain seasons, the large rivers of south america are swollen by heavy rains, great numbers of quadrupeds are drowned every year. troops of wild horses that graze in the "savannahs," or grassy plains, are said to be swept away in thousands. in java, in the year , batavian river was flooded during an earthquake, and drowned buffaloes, tigers, rhinoceroses, deer, apes, crocodiles, and other wild beasts, which were brought down to the coast by the current. in tropical countries, where very heavy rains fall at times, and rivers become rapidly swollen, floods are a great source of danger to man and beast. probably the greater number of the bodies of animals thus drowned find their way into lakes, through which rivers flow, and never reach the sea; and if the growth of sediment in such lakes goes on fairly rapidly, their remains may be buried up, and so preserved. but in many cases the bones fall one by one from the floating carcase, and so may in that way be scattered at random over the bottom of the lake, or the bed of a river at its mouth. in hot countries such bodies, on reaching the sea, run a great chance of being instantly devoured by sharks, alligators, and other carnivorous animals. but during very heavy floods, the waters that reach the sea are so heavily laden with mud, that these predaceous animals are obliged to retire to some place where the waters are clear, so that at such times the dead bodies are more likely to escape their ravages; and, at the same time, the mud with which the waters are charged falls so rapidly that it may quickly cover them up. we shall find further on that this explanation probably applies to the case of the "fish-lizards," whose remains are found in the lias formation (see p. ). but, for several reasons, sedimentary rocks formed in lakes are much more likely to contain the remains of land animals, than those that were formed in seas, and they are more likely to be in a complete state of preservation. within the last century, five or six small lakes in scotland, which had been artificially drained, yielded the remains of several hundred skeletons of stags, oxen, boars, horses, sheep, dogs, hares, foxes, and wolves. there are two ways in which these animals may have met with a watery grave. in the first place, they may have got mired on going into the water, or in trying to land on the other side, after swimming across. any one who knows scotch lakes will be familiar with the fact that their margins are often most treacherous ground for bathers. the writer has more than once found it necessary to be very cautious on wading into a lake while fishing, or in search of plants. secondly, when such lakes are frozen over in winter, the ice is often very treacherous in consequence of numerous springs; and animals attempting to cross may be easily drowned. no remains of birds were discovered in these lakes, in spite of the fact that, until drained, they were largely frequented by water-fowl. but it must be remembered that birds are protected by their powers of flight from perishing in such ways as other animals frequently do. and, even should they die on the water, their bodies are not likely to be submerged; for, being light and feathery, they do not sink, but continue floating until the body rots away, or is devoured by some creature such as a hungry pike. for these reasons the remains of birds are unfortunately very rare in the stratified rocks; and hence our knowledge of the bird life of former ages is slight. the imperfection of the record. a very little consideration will serve to convince us that the record which nature has kept in the stratified rocks is an incomplete one. there are many reasons why it must be so. it is not to be expected that these rocks should contain anything like a complete collection of the remains of the various tribes of plants and animals that from time to time have flourished in seas, lakes, and estuaries, or on islands and continents of the world. in endeavouring to trace the course of life on the globe at successive periods, we are continually met by want of evidence due to the "imperfection of the record"--to use darwin's phrase. the reasons are not far to seek. the preservation of organic remains, or even of impressions thereof, in sedimentary strata is, to some extent, a matter of chance. it is obvious that no wholly soft creature, such as a jelly-fish, can be preserved; although on some strata they have left impressions telling of their existence at a very early period. a creature, to become fossilised, must possess some hard part, such as a shell, _e.g._ an oyster (fossil oysters abound in some strata); or a hard chitinous covering, like that of the shrimp, or the trilobites of silurian times; or a skeleton, such as all the backboned (vertebrate) animals possess. but even creatures that had skeletons have not by any means always been preserved. bones, when left on the bottom of the sea, where no sediment, or very little, is forming, will decay, and so disappear altogether. as darwin points out, we are in error in supposing that over the greater part of the ocean-bed of the present day sediment is deposited fast enough to seal up organic remains before they can decay. over a large part of the ocean-bed such cannot be the case; and this conclusion has, of late years, been confirmed by the observations made during the fruitful voyage of h.m.s. _challenger_ in the atlantic and pacific oceans. again, even in shallower parts of the old seas, where sand or mud was once deposited, fossilisation was somewhat accidental; for some materials, being porous, allow of the percolation of water, and in this way shells, bones, etc., have been dissolved and lost. thus sandstone strata are always barren in fossils compared to shales and limestones, which are much less pervious. to take examples from our own country, the new red sandstone of the south-west of england, the midland counties, cheshire, and other parts contains very few fossils indeed, while the clays and limestones of the succeeding lias period abound in organic remains of all sorts. even insects have left delicate impressions of their wings and bodies! while shells, corals, encrinites, fish-teeth, and bones of saurians are found in great numbers. again, it must be borne in mind that the series of stratified rocks known to geologists is not complete or unbroken. they have been well compared to the leaves of a book on history, of which whole chapters and many separate pages have been torn out. these gaps, or "breaks," are due to what is called "denudation;" that is to say, a great many rocks, after having been slowly deposited in water, have been upraised to form dry land, and then, being subjected for ages to the destroying action of "rain and rivers," or the waves of the sea, have been largely destroyed. such rocks, in the language of geology, have been "denuded;" that is, stripped off, so that the underlying rocks are left bare. but the process of rock-making does not go on continuously in any one area. sedimentary strata have been formed in slowly sinking areas. but, if subsidence ceases, and the downward movement becomes an upward one, then the bed of the sea is converted into dry land, and the geological record is broken; for aqueous strata do not form on dry land. blown sands and terrestrial lava-flows are exceptions; but such accumulations are very small and insignificant, and may therefore be neglected, especially as they contain no fossils. in this way, as well as by the process of "denudation" already alluded to, breaks occur; and these breaks often represent long intervals of time. there are several such gaps in the british series of stratified rocks; and it is partly by means of these breaks, during which important geographical and other changes took place, that sedimentary rocks have been classified and arranged in groups representing geological periods. thus, the cainozoic, or tertiary, rocks of the thames' basin are separated by a long "break" from those of the preceding cretaceous period. during that interval great changes in animal life took place, whereby, in the course of evolution, new types appeared on the scene. (see table of strata, appendix i.) another cause interfering with the record is to be found in those important internal changes that have taken place in stratified rocks--often over large areas--which may be ascribed to the influence of heat and pressure combined. this process of change, whereby soft deposits have been altered or "metamorphosed" into hard crystalline rocks, is known as "metamorphism." metamorphic rocks have lost not only their original structure and appearance, but also their included organic remains, or fossils. thus, when a soft limestone has been converted by these means into crystalline statuary marble, any fossils it may once have contained have been destroyed. it is true that this applies more to older and lower deposits,--for the lowest are the oldest--but there can be no doubt that valuable records of the forms of life which peopled the world in former periods have been lost by this means. and lastly, it must ever be borne in mind that, as yet, our knowledge of the stratified rocks of the earth's crust is very limited. in course of time, no doubt, this deficiency will be to a great extent made good; but it will take a long time. already, within the last thirty years, the labours of zealous geologists in the colonies and in various countries have added largely to our knowledge of the geological record. still, only a small portion of the earth's surface has at present been explored; and doubtless one may look forward to future discoveries of extinct forms of animal and plant life as wonderful and strange as those that have been of late years unearthed in the "far west," in africa, and india. the siwalik hills of northern india offer a rich harvest of fossils to future explorers. already, one remarkable and large horned quadruped has come from this region; and it is known that other valuable treasures are sealed up within these hills, only awaiting the "open sesame" of some enterprising explorer to bring them to light. as previously pointed out, deposits formed in lakes are the most promising field for geologists in search of the remains of old terrestrial quadrupeds and reptiles; but, unfortunately, such deposits are rare. it is very much to be regretted that the carelessness and indifference of ignorant workmen in quarries, clay-pits, and railway cuttings have sometimes been the cause of valuable fossils being broken up, and so lost for ever. unless they are accustomed to the visits of fossil-collectors who will pay them liberally for their finds, the men will not take the trouble to preserve any bones they may come across in the course of their work. (an example of this negligence will be found on p. .) but when once they realise that such finds have what political economists call an "exchange value," or, in other words, can be turned into money, it is astonishing what zealous guardians of nature's treasures they become! for this reason collectors often find what professor bonney calls the "silver hammer"--in other words, cash--more effective than the iron implement they carry with them. chapter ii. sea-scorpions. "and some rin up the hill and down dale, knapping the chucky stanes to pieces wi' hammers like sae many road-makers run daft. they say 'tis to see how the warld was made."--_st. ronan's well._ our first group of monsters is taken from a tribe of armed warriors that lived in the seas of a very ancient period in the world's history. like the crabs and lobsters inhabiting the coasts of britain, they possessed a coat of armour, and jointed bodies, supplied with limbs for crawling, swimming, or seizing their prey. they were giants in their day, far eclipsing in size any of their relations that have lived on to the present time. some of them, such as the pterygotus (fig. , p. ), attained a length of nearly six feet. they belonged to the humbler ranks of life, and, if now living, would without doubt be assigned, by fishmongers ignorant of natural history, to that vague category of "shell-fish" in which they include crabs, lobsters, mussels, etc. these lobster-like creatures, though claiming no relationship with the higher ranks of animals, may well engage our attention, not only for their great size, but also for their strange build. [illustration: plate i. sea-scorpions. _pterygotus anglicus._ _eurypterus._ _stylonurus._ length feet.] there are no living creatures quite like them. certainly they are not true lobsters, and yet we may consider them to be first or second cousins of those ten-footed crustaceans[ ] of the present day--lobsters, crabs, and shrimps, so welcome on the tables of both rich and poor. some naturalists say that their nearest relations at the present day are the king-crabs inhabiting the china seas and the east coast of north america; and there certainly are some points of resemblance between them. others say that they are related to scorpions, and for this reason we call them sea-scorpions. (see plate i.) [ ] crustaceans are a class of jointed creatures (articulate animals), possessing a hard shell or crust (lat. _crusta_), which they cast periodically. they all breathe by gills. the first feature we notice in these creatures is the way in which their bodies and limbs are divided into rings or joints. this fact tells us that they belong to that great division of animals called "articulates," of which crabs, lobsters, spiders, centipedes, and insects are examples. the celebrated linnæus called them _all_ insects, because their bodies are in this way cut into divisions.[ ] but this arrangement has since been abandoned. however, they are all built upon this simple plan, their bodies being like a series of rings, to which are attached paired appendages or limbs, also composed of rings, some longer and some shorter. now, there must be something very fitting and appropriate in this arrangement, for the creatures that are thus built up are far more numerous than any other group of animals. they must be particularly well qualified to fight the battle of life; for like a victorious army they have taken the world by storm, and still remain in possession. we find them everywhere--in seas, rivers, and lakes; in fields and forests; in the soil, and in all sorts of nooks and crannies; in the air, and even upon or inside the bodies of other animals. some of them, such as ants, bees, and wasps, show an intelligence that is simply marvellous, and have acquired social habits which excite our admiration. [ ] lat. _in_, into, and _secta_, cut. articulate animals are a very ancient race, as well as a flourishing one, for the oldest rocks containing undoubted fossils--namely, certain slates found in wales and the lake district--tell us of a time when shallow seas swarmed with little articulate animals known as _trilobites_. they were in appearance something like wood-lice of the present day; and the record of the rocks tells us plainly that creatures built upon this plan have flourished ever since. we mention this because they are related to the king-crabs of the present day, and therefore to the huge old-fashioned sea-scorpions we are now considering. [illustration: fig. .--_pterygotus anglicus._ (after woodward.) . upper side. . under side.] the best-known and largest of these creatures is represented in fig. . it has received the name _pterygotus_ (or wing-eared) from certain fanciful resemblances pointed out by the quarrymen. it was first discovered, along with others of its kind, by hugh miller, at carmylie in forfarshire, in a certain part of the old red sandstone (see table of strata, appendix i.) known as the arbroath paving-stone. the quarrymen, in the course of their work, came upon and dug out large pieces of the fossilised remains of this creature. its hard coat of jointed armour bore on its surface curious wavy markings that suggested to their minds the sculptured feathers on the wings of cherubs--of all subjects of the chisel the most common. hence they christened these remains "seraphim." they did not succeed in getting complete specimens that could be pieced together; and the part to which this fanciful name was given turned out to be part of the under side below the mouth. it was composed of several large plates, two of which are not unlike the wings of a cherub in shape. hugh miller says in his classic work, _the old red sandstone_--"the form altogether, from its wing-like appearance, its feathery markings, and its angular points, will suggest to the reader the origin of the name given it by forfarshire workmen." a correct restoration, in proportion to the fragments found in the lower old red sandstone, would give a creature measuring nearly six feet in length, and more than a foot across. _pterygotus anglicus_ may therefore be justly considered a monster crustacean. the illustrious cuvier, who, in the eighteenth century founded the science of comparative anatomy (see p. ), astonished the scientific world by his bold interpretations of fossil bones. from a few broken fragments of bone he could restore the skeleton of an entire animal, and determine its habits and mode of living. when other wise men were unable to read the writing of nature on the walls of her museum--in the shape of fossil bones--he came forward, like a second daniel, to interpret the signs, and so instructed us how to restore the world's lost creations. hugh miller submitted the fragments found at balruddery to the celebrated naturalist agassiz, a pupil of cuvier, who had written a famous work on fossil fishes; and he says that he was much struck with the skill displayed by him in piecing together the fragments of the huge pterygotus. "agassiz glanced over the collection. one specimen especially caught his attention--an elegantly symmetrical one. his eye brightened as he contemplated it. 'i will tell you,' he said, turning to the company--'i will tell you what these are--the remains of a huge lobster.' he arranged the specimens in the group before him with as much ease as i have seen a young girl arranging the pieces of ivory in an indian puzzle. there is a homage due to supereminent genius, which nature spontaneously pays when there are no low feelings of jealousy or envy to interfere with her operations; and the reader may well believe that it was willingly rendered on this occasion to the genius of agassiz." agassiz himself, previous to this, had considered such fragments as he had seen to be the remains of fishes. as we have said before, this creature was _not_ a true lobster; but agassiz, when he expressed the opinion just quoted, was not far off the mark, and did great service in showing it to be a crustacean. there were no lobsters or scorpions at that early period of the world's history, and this creature, with its long "jaw-feet" and powerful tail, was a near approach to a king-crab on the one hand and scorpion on the other. if living now, it would no doubt command a high price at billingsgate; but, then, it would be a dangerous thing to handle when alive, and might be more troublesome to catch than our crabs or lobsters. the front part of its body was entirely enveloped in a kind of shield, called a carapace, bearing near the centre minute eyes, which probably were useless, and at the corners two large compound eyes, made up of numerous little lenses, such as we see in the eye of a dragon-fly. this is clearly proved by certain well-preserved specimens. there are five pairs of appendages, all attached under or near the head. behind the head follow thirteen rings, or segments, the last of which forms the tail, two at least of these bore gills for breathing. all but two of them, below the mouth, must have been beautifully articulated, so as to allow them to move freely, as we see in the lobster of the present day. but look at that lowest and largest pair of appendages, the end joints of which are flattened out, and you will see that they must have been a powerful oar-like apparatus for swimming forwards. we can fancy this creature propelling itself much in the same way as a "water-beetle" rows itself through the water in a pond. in all other crustaceans the antennæ are used for feeling about, but in the pterygotus they are used as claws for seizing the prey. in general external appearance, this huge pterygotus greatly reminds us of a tiny fresh-water crustacean, known as cyclops--because it has only one eye, like the giant in homer's _odyssey_. this little creature, which is only / inch in length, is an inhabitant of ponds. from its large eyes, powerful oar-like limbs, or appendages, and from the general form of its body, dr. henry woodward (the author of a learned monograph on these creatures) concludes that the pterygotus was a very active animal; and the reader will easily gather from its pair of antennæ, converted at their extremities into nippers, and from the nature of its "jaw-feet," that the creature was a hungry and predaceous monster, seizing everything eatable that came in its way. the whole family to which it belongs--including pterygotus, eurypterus, slimonia, stylonurus, and others--seems to have been fitted for rather rapid motion, if we may judge from the long tapering and well-articulated body. in two forms (pterygotus and slimonia) the tail-flap probably served both as a powerful propeller, and as a rudder for directing the creature's course; but others, such as eurypterus and stylonurus, had long sword-like tails, which may have assisted them to burrow into the sand, in the same way that king-crabs do. eurypterus remipes is shown in fig. . it has been stated above that our sea-scorpions are related to the king-crabs. now, this creature, it is well known, burrows into the mud and sand at the bottom of the sea. this it does by shoving its broad sharp-edged head-shield downwards, working rapidly at the same time with its hinder feet, or appendages, and by pushing with the long spike that forms a kind of tail. it will thus sink deeper and deeper until nothing can be seen of its body, and only the eyes peep out of the mud. it will crawl and wander about by night, but remains hidden by day. some of them are of large size, and occasionally measure two feet in length. they possess six pairs of well-formed feet, the joints of which, near the body, are armed with teeth and spines, and serve the purpose of jaws, being used to masticate the food and force it into the mouth, which is situated between them. [illustration: fig. .--_silurian merostomata._ . _stylonurus._ . _eurypterus._ (after woodward.)] now, this fact is of great importance; for it helps us to understand the use of the four pairs of "jaw-feet" in our sea-scorpions. what curious animals they must have been, using the same limbs for walking, holding their prey, and eating! look at the broad plates at the base of the oar-like limbs, or appendages, with their tooth-like edges. these are the plates found by hugh miller's quarrymen, and compared by them to the wings of seraphim. you will easily perceive that by a backward and forward movement, they would perform the office of teeth and jaws, while the long antennæ with their nippers--helped by the other and smaller appendages--held the unfortunate victim in a relentless grasp. and even these smaller limbs, you will see from the figure, had their first joints, near the mouth, provided with toothed edges like a saw. with regard to the habits of sea-scorpions, it would not be altogether safe to conclude that, because in so many ways they resembled king-crabs, they therefore had the same habit of burrowing into the soft muddy or sandy bed of the sea, as some authorities have supposed. seeing that there is a difference of opinion on this subject, the author consulted dr. woodward on the question, and he said he thought it unlikely, seeing that, in some of them, such as the pterygotus, the eyes are placed on the margin of the head-shield; for it would hardly care to rub its eyes with sand. whether it chose at times to bury its long body in the sand by a process of wriggling backwards, as certain modern crustaceans do, we may consider to be an open question. if only sea-scorpions had not unfortunately died out, how interesting it would be to watch them alive, and to see exactly what use they would make of their long bodies, tail-flaps, and tail-spikes! were they nocturnal in their habits, wandering about by night, and taking their rest by day? such questions, we fear, can never be answered. but their large eyes would have been able to collect a great deal of light when the moon and stars feebly illumined the shallower waters of the seas of old red sandstone times; and so there is nothing to contradict the idea. now, it is an interesting fact that young crabs, soon after they are hatched, have long bodies somewhat similar to those of our sea-scorpions, with a head-shield under which are their jaw-feet, and then a number of free body-rings without any appendages. these end in a spiked tail. as the crab grows older, he ceases to be a free-swimming animal--for which kind of life his long body is well suited,--tucks up his long tail, and takes to crawling instead. thus his body is rendered more compact and handy for the life he is going to lead. lobsters, on the other hand, can swim gently forwards, or dart rapidly backwards. thus we see that the ten-footed crustaceans of the present day are divided into two groups--the long-tailed and free-swimming forms, such as lobsters, shrimps, and cray-fishes; and the short-tailed crawling forms, namely, the crabs. now, in the same way, pterygotus and its allies were long-tailed forms, while the king-crabs are short-tailed forms. so were the trilobites of old. hence we learn that, ages and ages ago, before the days of crabs and lobsters, there were long-tailed and short-tailed forms of crustaceans, just as there are now, only they did not possess true walking legs. they belonged to quite a different order, called "thigh-mouthed" crustaceans, merostomata, because their legs are all placed near the mouth; and, as we have already learned, were used for feeding as well as for purposes of locomotion. now, one of the many points of interest in pterygotus and its allies is that they somewhat resemble the crab in its young or larval state. to a modern naturalist, this fact is important as showing that crustacean forms of life have advanced since the days of the sea-scorpions. their resemblance to land-scorpions is so close that, if it were not for the important fact that scorpions breathe _air_ instead of _water_, and for this purpose are provided with air-tubes (or trachea) such as all insects have, they would certainly be removed bodily out of the crustacean class, and put into that in which scorpions and spiders are placed, viz. the arachnida. but, in spite of this important difference, there are some naturalists in favour of such a change. it will thus be seen that our name sea-scorpions is quite permissible. hugh miller described some curious little round bodies found with the remains of the pterygotus, which it was thought were the eggs of these creatures! finally, these extinct crustaceans flourished in those ages of the world's history known as the silurian and the old red sandstone periods. as far as we know, they did not survive beyond the succeeding period, known as the carboniferous.[ ] [ ] the student should consult dr. henry woodward's valuable _monograph of the british merostomata_ (palæontographical society), to which the writer is much indebted. with regard to the representation of _pterygotus anglicus_ in plate i., it has been pointed out by dr. woodward that the creature was unable to bend its body into such a position as is shown there. as in a modern lobster, or shrimp, there were certain overlapping plates in the rings, or segments, of the body, which prevented movement from side to side, and only allowed of a vertical movement. chapter iii. the great fish-lizards. "berossus, the chaldæan saith: a time was when the universe was darkness and water, wherein certain animals of frightful and compound forms were generated. there were serpents and other creatures with the mixed shapes of one another, of which pictures are kept in the temple of belus at babylon."--_the archaic genesis._ visitors to sydenham, who have wandered about the spacious gardens so skilfully laid out by the late sir joseph paxton, will be familiar with the great models of extinct animals on the "geological island." these were designed and executed by that clever artist, mr. waterhouse hawkins, who made praiseworthy efforts to picture to our eyes some of the world's lost creations, as restored by the genius of sir richard owen and other famous naturalists. his drawings of extinct animals may yet be seen hanging on the walls of some of our provincial museums; and doubtless others still linger among the natural history collections of schools and colleges. lazily basking in the sun, when it condescends to shine, and resting his clumsy carcase on the ground that forms the shore near the said geological island at sydenham, may be seen the old fish-lizard, or ichthyosaurus, that forms the subject of the present chapter. he looks awkward on land, as if longing to get into his native element once more, and cleave its waters with his powerful tail-fin. his "flippers" seem too weak to enable him to crawl on land. moreover, the most recent discoveries of dr. fraas lead us to conclude that the ichthyosaur never ventured to leave the "briny ocean" to bask upon the land. this great uncouth beast presents some curious anomalies in his constitution, being planned on different lines to anything now living, and presenting, as so many other extinct animals do, a mixture, or fusion, of types that greatly puzzled the learned men of the time when his remains were first brought to light, after their long entombment in the lias rocks forming the cliffs on the coast of dorset. some have christened him a "sea-dragon," and such indeed he may be considered. but the name ichthyosaurus, given above, has received the sanction of high authority, and, moreover, serves to remind us of the fact that, although in many respects a lizard, he yet retains in his bony framework the traces of a remote fishy ancestry. so we will call him a fish-lizard. we remember in our young days the amiable endeavours of mr. "peter parley" to introduce us to the wonders of creation; and his account of the ichthyosaurus particularly impressed itself on our youthful imagination. how surprised that inestimable instructor of youth would be could he now see the still more wonderful remains that have been brought to light from europe, asia, africa, and america! the curious quotation given at the head of the present chapter refers to a widespread belief, prevalent among the highly civilised nations of antiquity, that the world was once inhabited by dragons, or other monsters "of mixed shape" and characters. to the student of ancient history traces of this curious belief will be familiar. sir charles lyell refers to such a belief when he says, in his _principles of geology_, "the egyptians, it is true, had taught, and the stoics had repeated, that the earth had once given birth to some monstrous animals that existed no longer." it may be surprising to some, but it is undoubtedly the fact, that modern scientific truths were partly anticipated by the civilised nations of long ago. take the ideas of the ancients as interpreted from the records of egypt, chaldæa, india, and china; and you will find that our discoveries in geology, astronomy, and ethnology go far to prove that the traditions of these ancient peoples, however derived, after making due allowance for oriental allegory and poetic hyperbole, are not far from the truth. to the babylonian tradition of the monstrous forms of life at first created we have already alluded; but in other fields of discovery we find the same foreshadowing of discoveries made in our own day. take the vast cycles of egyptian tradition, wherein the stars returned to their places after a circle of constant change, only to start again on their unwearied round; the atomic theory of lucretius, now expanded and incorporated into modern chemistry; or the philosopher's pregnant saying--_omne vivum ex ovo_ ("every living thing comes from an egg"). these and other examples might be cited to show how true the old saying is, "there is nothing new under the sun." in the writings of ancient authors may be found singular notices of bones and skeletons found in "the bowels of the earth," which are referred to an imaginary era of long ago, when giants of huge dimensions walked this earth. one is inclined sometimes to wonder whether the old fables of griffins and horrid dragons may not be to some extent based upon the occasional discovery, in former times, of fossil bones, such as evidently belonged to animals the like of which are not to be seen nowadays. (see chaps. xiii. and xiv.) the illustrious cuvier, in his day, considered the fish-lizard to be one of the most heteroclite and monstrous animals ever discovered. he said of this creature that it possessed the snout of a dolphin, the teeth of a crocodile, the head and breast-bone of a lizard, the paddles of a whale or dolphin, and the vertebræ of a fish! no wonder that naturalists and palæontologists, whose realm is the natural history of the past, were obliged to make a new division, or order, of reptiles to accommodate the fish-lizard. it is obvious that a creature with such very "mixed" relationships would be out of place in any of the four orders into which living reptiles, as represented by turtles, snakes, lizards, and crocodiles are divided. here is what professor blackie says of the ichthyosaurus-- "behold, a strange monster our wonder engages! if dolphin or lizard your wit may defy. some thirty feet long, on the shore of lyme-regis, with a saw for a jaw, and a big staring eye. a fish or a lizard? an ichthyosaurus, with a big goggle eye, and a very small brain, and paddles like mill-wheels in chattering chorus, smiting tremendous the dread-sounding main." a glance at our restoration, plate ii., will show that the fish-lizard was a powerful monster, well endowed with the means of propelling itself rapidly through the water as it sought its living prey, to seize it within those cruel jaws. the long and powerful tail was its chief organ of propulsion; but the paddles would also be useful for this purpose, as well as for guiding its course. the pointed head and generally tapering body suggests a capability of rapid movement through the water; and since we know for certain that it fed on fishes, this conclusion is confirmed, for fishes are not easily caught now, and most probably were not easily caught ages ago. the personal history of the fish-lizard, merely as a fossil or "remain," is interesting; so much so, that we may perhaps be allowed to relate the circumstances of his _début_ before the scientific world, in the days of the ever-illustrious cuvier, to whom we have already alluded. but england had its share of illustrious men, too, though lesser lights compared to the founder of comparative anatomy,--such as sir richard owen, on whom the mantle of his friend cuvier has fallen; conybeare, de la beche, and dean buckland. these scientific men, aided by the untiring labours of many enthusiastic collectors of organic remains, have been the means of solving the riddle of the fish-lizard, and of introducing him to the public. by this time there is, perhaps, no creature among the host of antediluvian types better known than this reptile. the remains of fish-lizards have attracted the attention of collectors and describers of fossils for nearly two centuries past. the vertebræ, or "cup-bones," as they are often called, of which the spinal column was composed, were figured by scheüchzer, in an old work entitled _querelæ piscium_; and, at that time, they were supposed to be the vertebræ of fishes. in the year sir everard home described the fossil remains of this creature, in a paper read before the royal society, and published in their _philosophical transactions_. this fossil was first discovered in the lias strata of the dorsetshire coast. other papers followed till the year . we are chiefly indebted to de la beche and conybeare for pointing out and illustrating the nature of the fish-lizard; and that at a time when the materials for so doing were far more scanty than they are now. mr. charles könig, mr. thomas hawkins, dean buckland, sir philip egerton, and professor owen have all helped to throw light on the structure and habits of these old tyrants of the seas of that age, which is known as the jurassic period. they lived on, however, to the succeeding or cretaceous period, during which our english chalk was forming; but the liassic age was the one in which they flourished most abundantly, and developed the greatest variety. in the year a few bones were found on the dorsetshire coast between charmouth and lyme-regis, and added to the collection of bullock. they came from the lias cliffs, undermined by the encroaching sea. sir everard's attention being attracted to them, he published the notices already referred to. the analogy of some of the bones to those of a crocodile, induced mr. könig, of the british museum, to believe the animal to have been a saurian, or lizard; but the vertebræ, and also the position of certain openings in the skull, indicated some remote affinity with fishes, but this must not be pressed too far. the choice of a name, therefore, involved much difficulty; and at length he decided to call it the _ichthyosaurus_, or fish-lizard. mr. johnson, of bristol, who had collected for many years in that neighbourhood, found out some valuable particulars about these remains. the conclusions of dean buckland, then professor of geology at oxford, led sir everard to abandon many of his former conclusions. the labours of the learned men of the day were greatly assisted by the exertions of miss anning, an enthusiastic collector of fossils. this lady, devoting herself to science, explored the frowning and precipitous cliffs in the neighbourhood of lyme-regis, when the furious spring-tide combined with the tempest to overthrow them, and rescued from destruction by the sea, sometimes at the peril of her life, the few specimens which originated all the facts and speculations of those persons whose names will ever be remembered with gratitude by geologists. [illustration: fig. .--_ichthyosaurus intermedius._] probably our readers are already more or less familiar with the drawings of the fossilised remains of ichthyosauri to be seen in almost every text-book of geology. (fig. is from owen's _british fossil reptiles_.) but we recommend all who take an interest in the world's lost creations to pay a visit to the great natural history museum, at south kensington. the fossil reptile gallery contains a magnificent series of ichthyosauri, about thirty in number. of these a large number were obtained through the exertions of the late mr. t. hawkins, a somersetshire gentleman, who was a most ardent collector of fossil reptiles, and who devoted himself with great enthusiasm and unsparing energy to the acquisition of a truly splendid collection of these most interesting relics of the past. nearly sixty years ago he arranged for the purchase of his treasures by the authorities of the british museum, and thus his collection became the property of the nation. his specimens were figured and described by him in two large folio volumes. the first was published in , under the title, _memoirs of the ichthyosauri and plesiosauri_; his second, with the same plates, in , under the quaint title of _the book of the great sea-dragons_. the large lithographic drawings of his fine specimens were beautifully executed by scharf and o'neil. the plates are the only really valuable part of these two curious and ill-written books. his descriptions are not of much value, and his pages are encumbered with a vast amount of extraneous matter. the author is immensely proud of his collection, and his vanity is conspicuous throughout. instead of confining himself to descriptions of what he found, and how he found them, he continually wanders into all sorts of subjects that are, to say the least, irrelevant. in one place he introduces ancient history and mythology; in another, old testament chronology; in another, the unbelieving spirit of the age; and here and there indulges in vague unphilosophical speculations. altogether his two volumes are a curious mixture of bigotry, conceit, and unrestrained fancy, and they afforded to the present writer no small amusement. one rises from the perusal of such men's writings with a strong sense of the contrast between the humble and patient spirit in which our great men of to-day, such as professor owen, study nature and record their observations, and the vague, conceited outpourings of some old-fashioned writers. mr. hawkins tells us that his youthful attention was directed to the lias quarries, near edgarly, in somersetshire, in consequence of some strange reports. it was said that the bones of giants and infants had, at distant intervals, been found in them. these quarries he visited, and, by offers of generous payment, induced the workmen to keep for him all the remains they might find. in this way he finally obtained the co-operation of all the quarrymen in the county. [illustration: plate ii. fish-lizards. _ichthyosaurus communis._ _ichthyosaurus tenuirostris._ length about feet. fishes, _dapedius_, etc. a smaller species.] mr. hawkins thus expresses his delight on obtaining an ichthyosaurus which was pointed out to him by miss anning, near the church at lyme-regis, in the year : "who can describe my transport at the sight of the colossus? my eyes the first which beheld it! who shall ever see them lit up with the same unmitigated enthusiasm again? and i verily believe that the uncultivated bosoms of the working men were seized with the same contagious feeling; for they and the surrounding spectators waved their hats to an 'hurra!' that made hill and mossy dell echoing ring." this specimen, however, got sadly broken in its fall from the cliff; but in time he put all the pieces together again. speaking of his own collection, he says, "this stupendous treasure was gathered by me from every part of england; arranged, and its multifarious features elaborated from the hard limestone by my own hands. a tyro in collecting at the age of twelve years, i then boasted of all the antiquities that were come-at-able in my neighbourhood, but, finding that everybody beat my cabinet of coins, i addressed myself to worm-eaten books, and last to fossils." before he was twenty years of age he had obtained a very fine collection of organic remains. when, however, he complains of the philistine dulness and stupidity of quarrymen, who often, in their ignorance, break up finds of almost priceless value, we can fully sympathize. in general contour the body of the fish-lizard was long and tapering, like that of a whale (see plate ii.). it probably showed no distinct neck. the long tail was its chief organ of propulsion. we notice two pairs of fins, or paddles; one on the fore part of the body, the other on the hinder part, like the pectoral and abdominal fins of a fish. the skin was scaleless and smooth, or slightly wrinkled, like that of a whale. no traces of scales have ever been found; and if such had existed, they would certainly have been preserved, since those of fishes and crocodiles of the jurassic period have been found in considerable number and variety. it is therefore safe to conclude that such were absent in this case. in the lias strata, at least, the specimens are often preserved with most wonderful completeness (see p. ). the long and pointed jaws are a striking feature of these animals. the eyes were very large and powerful, and specially adapted, as we shall see presently, to the conditions of their life. it might, perhaps, be asked whether the fish-lizards breathed, like fishes, by means of gills. that question can easily be answered; for if they had possessed gills for taking in water and breathing the air dissolved therein, they would reveal the fact by showing a bony framework for the support of gills, such as are to be found in all fishes. these structures, known as "branchial arches," are absent; therefore the fish-lizards possessed lungs, and breathed air like reptiles of the present day. their skulls show where the nostrils were situated; namely, near the eyes, and not at the end of the upper jaw-bone. there are also passages in the skull leading from the nostrils to the palate, along which currents of air passed on their way to the lungs. being air-breathers, they would be compelled occasionally to seek the surface of the sea, in order to obtain a fresh supply of the life-giving element--oxygen; but, being cold-blooded and with a small brain, needing a much less supply of oxygen for its work, the fish-lizards had, like fishes, this advantage over whales, which are warm-blooded--that their stern-propeller, or tail-fin, could take the form best adapted for a swift, straight-forward course through the water. in the whale tribe the tail-fin is horizontal; and this is so on account of their need, as large-brained, warm-blooded air-breathers, of speedy access to the atmospheric air. were it otherwise, they would not have the means of rising with sufficient rapidity to the surface of the sea; for they have only one pair of fins. but the fish-lizards had two pairs of these appendages, and the hinder or pelvic pair no doubt were of great service in helping the creatures to come up to the surface when necessary. thus we see that the whale, with its one pair of paddles, has a tail specially planned with a view to rapid vertical movement through the water; while in the fish-lizards, who did not require to breathe so frequently, the tail-fin was planned with a view to swift and straight movement forward as they pursued their prey, and they were compensated by having bestowed upon them an extra pair of paddles. thus we learn how one part of an animal is related to and dependent upon another, and how they all work together with the greatest harmony for certain definite purposes (see p. ). [illustration: fig. .--(a) lateral and (b) profile views of a tooth of _ichthyosaurus platyodon_ (conybeare), lower lias, lyme regis, dorsetshire, (c) tooth of _ichthyosaurus communis_ (conybeare), lower lias, lyme regis, dorset.] these great marine predaceous reptiles literally swarmed in the seas of the lias period, and no doubt devoured immense shoals of the fishes of those times, whose numbers were thus to some extent kept down. there is clear proof of this in the fossilised droppings--known as "coprolites,"--which show on examination the broken and comminuted remains of the little bony plates of ganoid fishes that we know were contemporaries of these reptiles. probably young ones were sometimes devoured too. it was in the period of the lias that fish-lizards attained to their greatest development, both in numbers and variety; and the strata of that period have preserved some interesting variations. it will be sufficient here to point out two, namely, ichthyosaurus tenuirostris--an elegant little form, in which the jaws, instead of being massive and strong, were long and slender like a bird's beak; and also ichthyosaurus latifrons (fig. ), with jaws still more bird-like. our artist has attempted to show the former variety in our illustration (plate ii.). a most perfect example of this pretty little ichthyosaur, from the lower lias of street in somerset, has recently been presented to the national collection at south kensington by mr. alfred gillett, of street, and may be seen there. in this group of fish-lizards the eyes are relatively larger, and we should imagine that they were very quick in detecting and catching their prey; their paddles also have larger bones. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _ichthyosaurus latifrons_.] there is a remarkably fine specimen at burlington house, in the rooms of the geological society, of an ichthyosaurus' head, which the writer found, on measuring, to be about five feet six inches long. a cast of this head is exhibited at south kensington. the largest of the specimens in the national collection is twenty-two feet long and eight feet across the expanded paddles; but it is known that many attained much greater dimensions. judging from detached heads and parts of skeletons, it is probable that some of them were between thirty and forty feet long. a specimen of ichthyosaurus platyodon in the collection of the late mr. johnson, of bristol, has an eye-cavity with a diameter of fourteen inches. this collection is now dispersed. with regard to their habits, sir richard owen concludes that they occasionally sought the shores, crawled on the strand, and basked in the sunshine. his reason for this conjecture (which, however, is not confirmed by dr. fraas's recent discoveries) is to be found in the bony structure connected with the fore-paddles, which is not to be found in any porpoise, dolphin, grampus, or whale, and for want of which these creatures are so helpless when left high and dry on the shore.[ ] the structure in question is a strong bony arch, inverted and spanning across beneath the chest from one shoulder to the other. a fish-lizard, when so visiting the shore for sleep, or in the breeding season, would lie or crawl, prostrate, with its under side resting or dragging on the ground--somewhat after the manner of a turtle. [ ] it is, perhaps, hardly necessary to remark that whales are not fishes, but mammals which have undergone great change in order to adapt themselves to a marine life. their hind limbs have practically vanished, only a rudiment of them being left. it is a curious fact that this bony arch resembles the same part in those singular and problematical mammals, the echidna and the platypus, or duck-mole. the enormous magnitude and peculiar construction of the eye are highly interesting features. the expanded pupil must have allowed of the admittance of a large quantity of light, so that the creature possessed great powers of vision. the organic remains associated with fish-lizards tell us that they inhabited waters of moderate depth, such as prevails near a coast-line or among coral islands. moreover, an air-breathing creature would obviously be unable to live in "the depths of the sea;" for it would take a long time to get to the surface for a fresh supply of air. perhaps no part of the skeleton is more interesting than the curious circular series of bony plates surrounding the iris and pupil of the eye. the eyes of many fishes are defended by a bony covering consisting of two pieces; but a circle of bony overlapping plates is now only found in the eyes of turtles, tortoises, lizards, and birds, and some alligators. this elaborate apparatus must have been of some special use; the question is--what service or services did it perform? here, again, we find answers suggested by owen and buckland. it would aid, they say, in protecting the eye-ball from the waves of the sea when the creature rose to the surface, as well as from the pressure of the water when it dived down to the bottom--for even at a slight depth pressure increases, as divers know. but it appears that the ring of bony plates fulfilled a yet more important office, thereby enabling the fish-lizards to play admirably their part in the world in which they lived, and to succeed in the struggle of life; for even in those remote days there must have been, as now, a keen competition among all animals, so that the victory was to those that were best equipped. would it not be an advantage for them to have the power of seeing their finny prey whether near or far? certainly it would; and so we are told that, by bringing the plates a little nearer together, and causing them to press gently on the eye-ball, so as to make the eye more convex--that is, bulging out--a nearer object would be the better discerned. on the other hand, by relaxing this pressure, thus enlarging the aperture of the pupil and diminishing the convexity, a distant object would be focussed upon the retina. in this manner some birds alter the focus of their eyes while swooping down on their prey. what a wonderful arrangement! we often hear of people having two pairs of spectacles--with lenses of different curvature--one for reading, and the other for seeing more distant objects than a book held in the hand. but here is a creature that possessed an apparatus far more simple and effective than that supplied by the optician! dr. buckland, speaking of these "sclerotic plates," as they are called, says they show "that the enormous eye of which they formed the front was an optical instrument of varied and prodigious power, enabling the ichthyosaurus to descry its prey in the obscurity of night and in the depths of the sea." but the last expression must be taken in a limited sense (see fig. ). [illustration: fig. .--head of _ichthyosaurus platyodon_.] it might well be supposed that no record had been preserved from which we could learn anything about the nature of the skin of our fish-lizard; but even this wish has been partly fulfilled, to the delight of all geologists. certain specimens have been obtained, from the lias of england and germany, that show faithful impressions of the skin that covered the paddles. a specimen of this nature has lately been presented to the national treasure-house at south kensington by mr. montague brown. on the inner side of the paddle was a broad fin-like expansion, admirably adapted to obtain the full advantage of the stroke of the limb in swimming.[ ] [ ] mr. smith woodward informs the writer that specimens have lately been found near würtemberg, with evidence of a triangular fin on the back. plate ii. has been redrawn for this edition, to make it more in harmony with dr. fraas's discoveries. (see appendix v.) speaking of the limbs, it should be mentioned that the bones of each finger, instead of being elongated and limited in number to three in each of the five fingers, are polygonal in shape and arranged in as many as seven or eight rows, while those of each finger are exceedingly numerous. thus the whole structure forms a kind of bony pavement which must have been very supple. such a limb would be one of the most efficient and powerful swimming organs known in the whole animal kingdom. in whales the fingers of the flippers are of the usual number, namely, five. some species of fish-lizards had as many as over a hundred separate little bones in the fore-paddle. another question naturally suggests itself: were they viviparous, or did they lay eggs like crocodiles? this question seems to have been answered in favour of the first supposition; and in the following interesting manner. it not infrequently happens that entire little skeletons of very small individuals are found under the ribs of large ones. they are invariably uninjured, and of the same species as the one that encloses them, and with the head pointing in one direction. such specimens are most probably the fossilised remains of little fish-lizards, that were yet unborn when their mothers met with an untimely end (see p. ). in some cases, however, they may be young ones that were swallowed. (see appendix v.) the jaws of these hungry formidable monsters were provided with a series of formidable teeth--sometimes over two hundred in number--inserted in a long groove, and not in distinct sockets, as in the case of crocodiles. in some cases, sixty or more have been found on each side of the upper and lower jaws, giving a total of over two hundred and forty teeth! the larger teeth may be two inches or more in length. the jaws were admirably constructed on a plan that combined lightness, elasticity, and strength. instead of consisting of one piece only, they show a union of plates of bone, as in recent crocodiles. these plates are strongest and most numerous just where the greatest strength was wanted, and thinner and fewer towards the extremities of the jaw. a crocodile, sir samuel baker says, in his _wild beasts and their ways_, can bite a man in two; and no doubt our fish-lizard would have been glad to perform the same feat! but in his pre-adamite days the opportunity did not present itself. the spinal column, or backbone, with its generally concave vertebræ, must have been highly flexible, as is that of a fish, especially the long tail which the creature worked rapidly from side to side as it lashed the waters. the hollows of these concave vertebræ must have been originally filled up with fluid forming an elastic bag, or capsule. to get a clearer idea of this, take a small portion of the backbone of a boiled cod, or other "bony" fish, and you will see on pulling it to pieces, the white, jelly-like substance that fills up the hollows between the vertebræ. in this way nature provides a soft cushion between the joints, that allows of a certain amount of movement, while, at the same time, the column holds together. the backbone of a fish may not inaptly be compared to a railway train. each of the carriages represents a vertebra, and the buffers act as cushions when the train is bent in running round a curve. after all, we must learn from nature; and many of the greatest mechanical and engineering triumphs of to-day are based upon the methods used by nature in the building up and equipment of vegetable and animal forms of life. it may, perhaps, be inquired whether there is any evidence for the existence of a tail-fin, such as is shown in our illustration. to this it may be replied that the presence of such an appendage is as good as proved by a certain flattening of the vertebræ at the end of the tail, detected by owen. the direction of this flattening is from side to side, and therefore the tail-fin must have been vertical, like that of a fish. in one specimen sir richard owen has detected as many as vertebræ to the whole body. our description of the fish-lizard has, we trust, been sufficient--although not couched in the language used by men of science--to give a fair idea of its structure and habits. in conclusion, a few words may be said about the ancestry and life-history of these ancient monsters. palæontologists have good reason to believe that they were descended from some early form of land reptile. if so, they show that whales are not the first land animals that have gone back to the sea, from which so many forms of life have taken their rise. during the long mesozoic period fish-lizards played the part that whales now play in the economy of the world; and they resembled the latter, not only in general shape, but in the situation of the nostrils (near the eye), and in their teeth and long jaws. but these curious resemblances must not be interpreted to mean that whales and fish-lizards are related to each other. they only show that similar modes of life tend to produce artificial resemblances--just as some whales, in their turn, show a superficial resemblance to fishes. with regard to the particular form of reptile from which the fish-lizard may have been derived, no certain conclusion has at present been arrived at. this is chiefly from want of fuller knowledge of early forms, such as may have existed in the previous periods known as the carboniferous and trias (see appendix i.). but there are certain features in the skulls, teeth, and vertebræ that suggest a relationship with the labyrinthodonts, or primæval salamanders that flourished during the above periods, or at least from amphibians more or less closely allied to them. they cannot by any possibility be regarded as modified fishes; for fishes have gills instead of lungs. the fish-lizards played their part, and played it admirably; but their days were numbered, and the place they occupied has since been taken by a higher type--the mammal. as reptiles, they were eminently a success; but, then, they were only reptiles, and therefore were at last left behind in the struggle for existence, until finally they died out, at the end of the cretaceous period, when certain important geographical and other changes took place, helping to cause the extinction of many other strange forms of life, as we shall see later on (see p. ). they had a wide geographical range; for their remains have been discovered in arctic regions, in europe, india, ceram, north america, the east coast of africa, australia, and new zealand. in american deposits they are represented by certain toothless forms, to which the name sauranodon ("toothless lizard") has been given. these have been discovered by professor marsh, in the jurassic strata of the rocky mountains. they were eight or nine feet long, and in every other respect resembled ichthyosaurs. as we have endeavoured to indicate in our illustration, the fish-lizards flourished in seas wherein animal, and doubtless vegetable life was very abundant. any one who has collected fossils from the lias of england will have found how full it is of beautiful organic remains, such as corals, mollusca, encrinites, sea-urchins, and other echinoids, fishes, etc. the climate of this period in europe was mild and genial, or even semi-tropical. coral reefs and coral islands varied the landscape. there is just one more point of interest that ought not to be omitted; it refers to the manner in which these reptiles of the lias age met their deaths, and were thus buried up in their rocky tombs. sir charles lyell and other writers point out that the individuals found in those strata must have met with a sudden death and quick burial; for if their uncovered bodies had been left, even for a few hours, exposed to putrification and the attacks of fishes at the bottom of the sea, we should not now find their remains so completely preserved that often scarcely a single bone has been moved from its right place. what was the exact nature of this operation is at present a matter of doubt. chapter iv. the great sea-lizards and their allies. "the wonders of geology exercise every faculty of the mind--reason, memory, imagination; and though we cannot put our fossils to the question, it is something to be so aroused as to be made to put the questions to one's self."--hugh miller. the fish-lizards, described in our last chapter, were not the only predaceous monsters that haunted the seas of the great mesozoic age, or era. we must now say a few words about certain contemporary creatures that shared with them the spoils of those old seas, so teeming with life. and first among these--as being more fully known--come the long-necked sea-lizards, or plesiosaurs. the plesiosaurus was first discovered in the lias rocks of lyme-regis, in the year . it was christened by the above name, and introduced to the scientific world by the rev. mr. conybeare (afterwards dean of llandaff) and mr. (afterwards sir henry) de la beche. they gave it this name in order to distinguish it from the ichthyosaurus, and to record the fact that it was more nearly allied to the lizard than the latter.[ ] conybeare, with the assistance of de la beche, first described it in a now-classic paper read before the geological society of london, and published in the _transactions_ of that society in the year . in a later paper ( ) he gave a restoration of the entire skeleton of plesiosaurus dolichodeirus; and the accuracy of that restoration is still universally acknowledged. this fine specimen was in the possession of the duke of buckingham, who kindly placed it at the disposal of dr. buckland, for a time, that it might be properly described and investigated. [ ] the name is derived from two greek words--_plesios_, near, or allied to, and _sauros_, a lizard. a glance at our illustration, plate iii., will show that this strange creature was not inaptly compared at the time to a snake threaded through the body of a turtle. dr. buckland truly observes that the discovery of this genus forms one of the most important additions that geology has made to comparative anatomy. "it is of the plesiosaurus," says that graphic author, in his _bridgewater treatise_, "that cuvier asserts the structure to have been the most heteroclite, and its characters altogether the most monstrous that have been yet found amid the ruins of a former world. to the head of a lizard it united the teeth of a crocodile; a neck of enormous length, resembling the body of a serpent; a trunk and tail having the proportions of an ordinary quadruped; the ribs of a chameleon, and the paddles of a whale! such are the strange combinations of form and structure in the plesiosaurus--a genus, the remains of which, after interment for thousands of years amidst the wreck of millions of extinct inhabitants of the ancient earth, are at length recalled to light by the researches of the geologist, and submitted to our examination in nearly as perfect a state as the bones of species that are now existing upon the earth." perhaps the best way in which we can gain a clear idea of the general characters of a long-necked sea-lizard, as we may call our plesiosaurus, is by comparing it with the fish-lizard, described in the last chapter. its long neck and small head are the most conspicuous features. then we notice the short tail. but if we compare the paddles of these two extinct forms of life, we notice at once certain important differences. in the fish-lizard the bone of the arm was very short, while all the bones of the fore-arm and fingers were modified into little many-sided bodies, and so articulated together as to make the whole limb, or paddle, a solid yet flexible structure. in the long-necked sea-lizard, however, we find a long arm-bone with a club-like shape; and the two bones of the fore-arm are seen to be longer than in the fish-lizard. but a still greater difference shows itself in the bones of the finger, as we look at a fossilised skeleton (or a drawing of one); for the fingers are long and slender, like those of ordinary reptiles. there are only five fingers, and each finger is quite distinct from the others. this is the reason why the plesiosaur was considered to depart less from the type of an ordinary reptile, and so received its name. other remarkable differences present themselves in the shoulders and haunches, but these need not be considered here. the species shown in fig. had rather a large head. it is obvious that such a long slender neck as these creatures had could not have supported a large head, like that of the fish-lizard. consequently, we find a striking contrast in the skulls of the two forms. that of the plesiosaur was short and stout, and therefore such as could easily be supported, as well as rapidly moved about by the long slender neck. thus we find another simple illustration of the "law of correlation," alluded to on p. . the teeth were set in distinct sockets, as they are in crocodiles, to which animals there are also points of resemblance, in the backbone, ribs, and skull. fig. shows three different types of lower jaws of plesiosaurs. the one marked c belongs to plesiosaurus dolichodeirus, the species represented in our plate. there were no bony plates in the eye. professor owen thinks that they were long-lived. the skin was probably smooth, like that of a porpoise. [illustration: plate iii. pterodactyls. long-necked sea-lizard. cuttle-fish or belemnite. _plesiosaurus dolichodeirus._ length feet.] [illustration: fig. .--mandibles of fish-lizards. a, _peloneustes philarchus_ (seeley); from the oxford clay. b, _thaumatosaurus indicus_ (lydekker); upper jurassic of india. c, _plesiosaurus aolichodirus_ (conybeare); from the lower lias, lyme regis.] the visitor to the geological collection at south kensington will find a splendid series of the fossilised remains of long-necked sea-lizards. they were mostly obtained from the lias formation of street in somersetshire, lyme-regis in dorset, and whitby in yorkshire. those from the lias are mostly small, about eight to ten feet in length. but in the rocks of the cretaceous period, which was later, are found larger specimens. there is a cast of a very fine specimen from the upper lias on the wall of the east corridor (no. on plan) of the geological galleries at south kensington, which is twenty-two feet long. but some of the cretaceous forms, both in europe and america, attained a length of forty feet, and had vertebræ six inches in diameter. the bodies of the vertebræ, or "cup-bones," are either flat or slightly concave, showing that the backbone as a whole was less flexible than in the fish-lizards. [illustration: fig. .--_plesiosaurus macrocephalus._] it may be mentioned here that mr. smith woodward, of the natural history museum, recently showed the writer a fossil plesiosaur that is being set up in the formatore's shop, in the same manner that a recent skeleton might be. in this, and many other ways, the guardians of the national treasure-house are endeavouring to make the collection intelligible and interesting to the general public. specimens of extinct animals thus set up, give one a much better idea than when the bones are all lying huddled together on a slab of rock. but it is not always possible to get the bones entirely out of their rocky bed, or matrix. great credit is due to mr. alfred n. leeds, of eyebury, who has disinterred the separate bones of many distinct skeletons of plesiosaurs from oxford clay strata near peterborough. it will be remembered that the long and powerful tail of the fish-lizard was its principal organ of propulsion through the water; and that, consequently, the paddles only played a secondary part. they were small, but amply large enough for the work they had to perform. but our long-necked sea-lizards possessed very short tails. what, then, was the consequence? obviously that the paddles had all the more work to do. they were the chief swimming organs. the vertebræ of this short tail show that it probably was highly flexible, and could move rapidly from side to side; but, for all that, its use as a propeller would not be of much importance. we see now why the paddles are so long and powerful, like two pairs of great oars, one pair on each side of the body. in a fossil skeleton you will notice the flattened shape of the arm-bone (or humerus), and of the thigh-bone (or femur). this gave breadth to the paddles, and made them more efficient as swimming organs. they give no indication of having carried even such imperfect claws as those of turtles and seals, and therefore we may conclude that the plesiosaur was far more at home in the water than on land, and it seems probable that progression on land was impossible. the tail was probably useful as a rudder, to steer the animal when swimming on the surface, and to elevate or depress it in ascending and descending through the water. like the fish-lizard, this creature was an air-breather, and therefore was obliged occasionally to visit the surface for fresh supplies of air. but probably it possessed the power of compressing air within its lungs, so that the frequency of its visits to the surface would not be very great. from the long neck and head, situated so far away from the paddles, as well as for other reasons, it may be concluded that this creature was a rapid swimmer, as was the ichthyosaurus. although of considerable size, it probably had to seek its food, as well as its safety, chiefly by artifice and concealment. the fish-lizard, its contemporary, must have been a formidable rival and a dangerous enemy, whom to attack would be unadvisable. speaking of the habits of the long-necked sea-lizard, mr. conybeare, in his second paper, already alluded to, says, "that it was aquatic, is evident from the form of its paddles; that it was marine, is almost equally so, from the remains with which it is universally associated; that it may occasionally have visited the shore, the resemblance of its extremities to those of the turtle may lead us to conjecture; its motion, however, must have been very awkward on land; its long neck must have impeded its progress through the water, presenting a striking contrast to the organisation which so admirably fits the ichthyosaurus to cut through the waves. "may it not therefore be concluded (since, in addition to these circumstances, its respiration must have required frequent access of air) that it swam upon or near the surface, arching back its long neck like the swan, occasionally darting it down at the fish which happened to float within its reach? it may, perhaps, have lurked in shoal-water along the coast, concealed among the sea-weed, and, raising its nostrils to a level with the surface from a considerable depth, may have found a secure retreat from the assaults of dangerous enemies; while the length and flexibility of its neck may have compensated for the want of strength in its jaws and its incapacity for swift motion through the water, by the suddenness and agility of the attack which they enabled it to make on every animal fitted for its prey, which came within its extensive sweep." more than twenty species of long-necked sea-lizards are known to geologists. professor owen, in his great work on _british fossil reptiles_, when describing the huge plesiosaurus dolichodeirus from dorset, suggests that the carcase of this monster, after it sank to the bottom of the sea, was preyed upon by some carnivorous animal (perhaps sharks). it seems, he says, as if a bite of the neck had pulled out of place the eighth to the twelfth vertebræ. those at the base of the neck are scattered and dispersed as if through more "tugging and riving." so with regard to its body, probably some hungry creature had a grip of the spine near the middle of the back, and pulled all the succeeding vertebræ in the region of the hind limbs. thus we get a little glimpse of scenes of violence that took place at the bottom of the bright sunny seas of the period when the clays and limestones of the lias rocks were being deposited in the region of lyme-regis. as time went on, these curious reptiles increased in size, until, in the period when our english chalk was being formed (cretaceous period), they reached their highest point (see p. ). after that they became extinct--whether slowly or somewhat suddenly we cannot tell. until more is known of the ancient life of the earth, it will not be possible to say with certainty what were the nearest relations of the long-necked sea-lizards. they first appear in the strata of the new red sandstone, which is below the lias. certain little reptiles, about three feet long, from the former rocks, known as neusticosaurus and lariosaurus, seem to be rather closely related to the creatures we are now considering, and to connect them with another group, namely, the pliosaurs. they were partly terrestrial and partly aquatic; but it is not easy to say whether their limbs had been converted into true paddles or not. at any rate, there is every reason to believe that the long-necked sea-lizards were descended from an earlier form of land reptile. they gradually underwent considerable modifications, in order to adapt themselves to an aquatic life. we noticed that the same conclusion has been arrived at with regard to the fish-lizards. both these extinct groups, therefore, present an interesting analogy to whales, which are now considered to have been derived, by a like series of changes, from mammals that once walked the earth. the plesiosaur presents, on the one hand, points of resemblance to turtles and lizards,--on the other hand, to crocodiles, whales, and, according to some authorities, even the strange ornithorhynchus. but it will be very long before its ancestry can be made known. in the mean time, we must put it in a place somewhere near the fish-lizards, and leave posterity to complete what has at present only been begun. it must, however, be borne in mind that some of the above resemblances are purely accidental, and not such as point to relationship. because their flippers are like those of a whale, it does not mean that plesiosaurs are related to modern whales. it only means that similar habits tend to produce accidental resemblances--just as the whales and porpoises, in their turn, resemble fishes. to make torpedoes go rapidly through the water, inventors have given them a fish-like shape;--in the same way the early forms of mammals, from which whales are descended, gradually adapted themselves to a life in the water, and so became modified to some extent to the shapes of fishes. the pliosaurs, above mentioned, are evidently relations, but with short necks instead of long ones. they had enormous heads and thick necks. fine specimens of their huge jaws, paddle-bones, etc., may be seen at the end of the reptile-gallery at cromwell road. one of the skulls exhibited there is nearly six feet long, while a hind paddle measures upwards of six and a half feet in length, of which thirty-seven inches is taken up by the thigh-bone alone. the teeth at the end of the jaws are truly enormous. one tooth, from a deposit known as the kimmeridge clay, is nearly a foot long from the tip of the crown to the base of the root. in some, the two jaw-bones of the lower jaw are partly united, as in the sperm-whale or cachalot. creatures so armed must have been very destructive. chapter v. the dragons of old time--dinosaurs. "what we know is but little; what we do not know is immense."--la place. was there ever an age of dragons? tradition says there was; but there is every reason to believe that the fierce and blood-thirsty creatures, of which such a variety present themselves, are but creations of the imagination,--useful in their way, no doubt, as pointing a moral or adorning a tale, but, nevertheless, wholly without foundation in fact. the dragon figures in the earliest traditions of the human race, and crops up again in full force in european mediæval or even late romance. in ancient egyptian mythology, horus, the son of isis, slays the evil dragon. in greece, the infant hercules, while yet in his cradle, strangles deadly snakes; and perseus, after engaging in fierce struggle with the sea-monster, slays it, and rescues andromeda from a cruel death. in england, we have the heroic legend of st. george and the dragon depicted on our sovereigns. but it is easy to see a common purpose running through these legends. they are considered by many to be solar myths, and have a moral purpose. the dragons or snakes are emblems of darkness and evil; the heroes emblems of light, and so of good. the triumph of good over evil is the theme they were intended to illustrate. the dragons, then, are clearly products of the imagination, based, no doubt, on the huge and uncouth reptiles of the present human era, such as crocodiles, pythons, and such creatures. amidst much diversity there is yet a strange similarity in the dragons that figure in the folk-lore of eastern and western peoples. probably our european traditions were brought by the tribes which, wave after wave, poured in from central asia. they are, for the most part, unnatural beasts, breathing out fire, and often endowed with wings, while at the same time possessing limbs ending in cruel claws, fitted for clutching their unfortunate victims. the wings seem, to say the least, very much in the way. poisonous fangs, claws, scaly armour, and a long pointed tail were all very well,--but wings are hardly wanted, unless to add one more element of mystery or terror. some, however, are devoid of wings: the imperial japanese dragons showing no sign of such appendages. the temple bar griffin is a grim example of a winged monster. nevertheless, in spite of all the manifest absurdities of the dragons of various nations and times, geology reveals to us that there once lived upon this earth reptiles so great and uncouth that we can think of no other but the time-honoured word "dragon" to convey briefly the slightest idea of their monstrous forms and characters. so there is some truth in dragons, after all. but then we must make this important reservation--viz. that the days of these dragons were long before the human period; they flourished in one of those dim geological ages of which the rocks around us bear ample records. it is a strange fact that human fancy should have, in some cases at least, created monsters not very unlike some of those antediluvian animals that have, during the present century, been discovered in various parts of europe and america. some unreasonable persons will have it that certain monstrous reptiles of the mesozoic era, about to be described, must have somehow managed to survive into the human period, and so have suggested to early races of men the dragons to which we have alluded. but there is no need for this untenable supposition. by a free blending together of ideas culled from living types of animals it would be very easy to construct no small variety of dragons; and so we may believe this is what the ancients did. having said so much of dragons in general, let us proceed to consider those both possible and real monsters revealed of late years by the researches of geologists. for this purpose we shall devote the present and two following chapters to the consideration of a great and wonderful group of fossil reptiles known as dinosaurs. the strange fish-lizards and sea-lizards previously described were the geological contemporaries of a host of reptiles, now mostly extinct, which inhabited both the lands and waters of those periods known as the triassic, jurassic, and cretaceous, which taken together represent the great mesozoic, formerly called the secondary, era. the announcement by baron cuvier--the illustrious founder of palæontology--that there was a period when our planet was inhabited by reptiles of appalling magnitude, with many of the features of modern quadrupeds, was of so novel and startling a character as to require the prestige of even his name to obtain for it any degree of credence. but subsequent discoveries have fully confirmed the truth of his belief, and the "age of reptiles" is no longer considered fabulous. this expression was first used by dr. mantell as the title of a paper published in the _edinburgh philosophical journal_ in , and serves to remind us that reptilian forms of life were once the ruling class among animals. the dinosaurs are an extinct order comprising the largest terrestrial and semi-aquatic reptiles that ever lived; and while some of them in a general way resembled crocodiles, others show in the bony structures they have left behind a very remarkable and interesting resemblance to birds of the ostrich tribe. this resemblance shows itself in the pelvis, or bony arch with which the hind limbs are connected in vertebrate or backboned animals, and in the limbs themselves. this curious fact, first brought into notice by professor huxley, has been variously interpreted by anatomists; some concluding, with professor huxley, that birds are descended from dinosaurs; while others, with professor owen, consider the resemblance accidental, and in no way implying relationship. huxley has proposed the name ornithoscelida, or bird-legged, for these remarkable reptiles. dinosaurs must have formerly inhabited a large part of the primæval world; for their remains are found, not only in europe, but in africa, india, america, and even in australia; and the geologist finds that they reigned supreme on the earth throughout the whole of the great mesozoic era. their bodies were, in some cases, defended by a formidable coat of armour, consisting of bony plates and spines, as illustrated by the case of scelidosaurus (p. ), thus giving them a decidedly dragon-like appearance. the vertebræ, or bony segments of the backbone, generally have their centra hollow on both sides, as in the ichthyosaurus; but in the neck and tail they are not unfrequently hollow on one side and convex on the other. in some of the largest forms the vertebræ are excavated into hollow chambers. this is apparently for the sake of lightness; for a very large animal with heavy solid bones would find it difficult to move freely. in this way strength was combined with lightness. all the dinosaurs had four limbs, and in many cases the hind pair were very large compared to the fore limbs. they varied enormously in size, as well as in appearance. thus certain of the smaller families were only two feet long and lightly built; while others were truly colossal in size, far out-rivalling our modern rhinoceroses and elephants. the limbs of cetiosaurus, for example, or of stegosaurus, remind us strikingly of those of elephants. the celebrated von meyer was so struck with this likeness that he proposed the name pachypoda for them, which means thick-footed. professor owen opposed this name; for it was misleading, and only applied to a few of them. he therefore proposed the name we have already been using, viz. dinosauria,[ ] and this name has been generally retained. we are thus led to connect them with lizards and crocodiles, rather than with birds or quadrupeds. the strange and curiously mixed characters of the old-fashioned reptiles is forcibly illustrated by these differences of opinion among leading naturalists. professor seeley, another living authority, refuses to consider them as reptiles, at least in the ordinary sense of the word. [ ] greek--_deinos_, terrible; _sauros_, lizard. extinct forms of life are often so very different to the creatures inhabiting the world of to-day, that naturalists find it a hard task to assign them their places in the animal kingdom. the classes, orders, and families under which living forms are grouped are often found inadequate for the purpose, so much so that new orders and new families require to be made for them; and then it is often quite impossible to determine the relations of these new groups to the old ones we are accustomed to. dinosaurs offer a good example of this difficulty. were they related to ancient crocodiles? no one can say for certain; but it is quite possible, and even probable. again, did certain long-legged dinosaurs eventually give rise by evolution to the running birds, ostriches, emeus, etc.? this, although supported by weighty authority, is a matter of speculation: we ought to be very careful in accepting such conclusions. it may perhaps be safer to look upon the ancestry of birds as one of those problems on which the oracle of science cannot at present declare itself. various attempts have been made to classify dinosaurs, and arrange them in family groups; but, considering our imperfect knowledge, it will be wise to regard all such attempts as purely temporary and provisional, although in some ways convenient. professor marsh, of yale college, u.s., whose wonderful discoveries in the far west have attracted universal attention, has grouped the dinosaurs into five sub-orders. it will, however, be sufficient for our purpose if we follow certain english authorities who divide them into three groups--taking the names given by professor marsh, only running together some which he would separate. we shall first consider the very interesting and huge forms included in his sub-order the sauropoda, or lizard-footed dinosaurs. various parts of the skeletons, such as vertebræ, leg-bones, etc., of these cumbrous beasts have long been known in this country; but professor marsh was the first person to discover a complete skeleton. we shall, therefore, now turn our attention to the bony framework of the huge brontosaurus (fig. ), a vegetable-feeding lizard. but it will be necessary to completely lay aside all our previous notions taken from lizards of the present day, with their short legs and snake-like scaly bodies, before we can come to any fair conclusion with regard to this monstrous beast. it was nearly sixty feet long, and probably when alive weighed more than twenty tons! that it was a stupid, slow-moving reptile, may be inferred from its very small brain and slender spinal cord. by taking casts of the brain-cavities in the skulls of extinct animals, anatomists can obtain a very good idea of the nature and capacity of their brains; and in this way important evidence is obtained, and such as helps to throw light upon their habits and general intelligence. no bony plates or spines have been discovered with the remains of this monster; so that we are driven to conclude that it was wholly without armour: and, moreover, there seem to be no signs of offensive weapons of any kind. professor marsh concludes that it was more or less amphibious in its habits, and that it fed upon aquatic plants and other succulent vegetation. its remains, he says, are generally found in localities where the animal had evidently become mired, just as cattle at the present day sometimes become hopelessly fixed in a swampy place on the margin of a lake or river (see p. ). each track made by the creature in walking occupied one square yard in extent! [illustration: fig. .--restored skeleton of _brontosaurus excelsus_. (after marsh.)] the remarkably small head is one of the most striking features of this dinosaur, and presents a curious contrast to the large and formidable skulls possessed by some other forms to be described further on. but it is clear that no animal with such a long neck as this creature had could have borne the weight of a heavy skull. short thick necks and heavy skulls always go together. indeed, the weight of the long neck itself would have been serious had it not been for the fact that the vertebræ in this part of the skeleton, and as far as the region of the tail, have large cavities in the sides of the centra. this cavernous structure of the vertebræ gradually decreases towards the tail. the cavities communicated with a series of internal cavities which give a kind of honeycombed structure to the whole vertebra. this arrangement affords a combination of strength and lightness in the massive supports required for the huge ribs, limbs, and muscles, such as could not have been provided by any other plan. (see fig. .) [illustration: fig. .--neck vertebræ of _brontosaurus_. . front view. . back view.] [illustration: plate iv. a gigantic dinosaur, brontosaurus excelsus. length nearly feet.] the body of the brontosaur was comparatively short, with a fairly large paunch (see restoration, plate iv.). the legs and feet were strong and massive, and the limb-bones solid. as if partly in order to balance the neck, we find a long and powerful tail, in which the vertebræ are nearly all solid. in most dinosaurs the fore limbs are small compared to the hind limbs--_e.g._ megalosaurus, iguanodon, and scelidosaurus,--but here we find them unusually large. in this case, then, it is hardly possible that the creature walked upon its hind legs, as many of the dinosaurs did. but, at the same time, we may believe that occasionally it assumed a more erect position; and may not the light hollowed structure of the vertebræ in the fore part of the body, already alluded to, have imparted such lightness as made it possible for the creature to assume such attitudes? there can be little doubt but that many other fierce and formidable dinosaurs were living at the same time and in the same region with brontosaurus, whose remains are found in the jurassic rocks of colorado (atlantosaurus beds). how this apparently helpless and awkward animal escaped in the struggle for existence it is not easy to conjecture; but since there is reason to believe it was more or less at home in the water, and could use its powerful tail in swimming, we may perhaps find a way out of the difficulty by supposing that, when alarmed by dangerous flesh-eating foes, it took to the water, and found discretion to be the better part of valour. although apparently stupid, the brontosaur probably possessed a good deal of cunning, and we can fancy it stretching its long neck above reeds, ferns, and cycads to get a view of the approaching enemy. the sauropoda, or lizard-footed dinosaurs, show in many ways a decided approach to a simple or generalised crocodile; so much so, that professor cope is inclined to include crocodiles and sauropodous dinosaurs in the same order. still, there are important differences in other members of this sub-order. unfortunately, our knowledge is at present rather limited, owing to the want of complete skeletons. vertebræ, limb-bones, skulls, and teeth have all been discovered through the zeal and energy of professor marsh and his comrades, in the far west of america, as well as by the researches of english geologists, assisted by the labours of many ardent collectors of fossils, in this country. some of these may now be briefly considered. in plate v. we have endeavoured to give some idea of a huge thigh-bone (femur) belonging to the truly gigantic dinosaur called atlantosaurus. it is six feet two inches long, and a cast of it may be seen in the fossil reptile gallery of the british museum of natural history (wall-case no. ). it should be mentioned, however, that the original specimen is partly restored, so that its exact length to an inch or so is not quite certain. in our illustration it is shown to be a little taller, when placed upright, than a full-grown man. professor marsh, the fortunate discoverer of this wonderful bone, calculates that the atlantosaurus must have attained a length of over eighty feet! and, assuming that it walked upon its hind feet, a height of thirty feet! it doubtless fed upon the luxuriant foliage of the sub-tropical forests, portions of which are preserved with its remains. besides this thigh-bone, professor marsh has procured specimens of vertebræ from the different parts of the vertebral column; but no skull or teeth. the vertebræ are hollowed out much in the same way as those of brontosaurus. the fore limbs were large, as in the latter animal; and the extremities of the limbs were provided with claws. taking all present evidence, it appears that the atlantosaurus bore a general resemblance to its smaller contemporary. we can therefore form a fairly good idea of its aspect and proportions. the same jurassic strata from the rocky mountains have yielded remains of another big dinosaur, belonging to the same family. this genus, which has been named the apatosaurus, is represented by a nearly complete skeleton, in the yale college museum; and is fortunately in an excellent state of preservation. another species, of smaller size, though not so complete, adorns the same collection. this was about thirty feet long, and is known as apatosaurus grandis. [illustration: plate v. thigh-bone of the largest of the dinosaurs, atlantosaurus. from a cast in the natural history museum. length feet inches.] morosaurus, another important genus, is known from a large number of individuals discovered in the now famous atlantosaurus beds of colorado, including one nearly complete skeleton. the head of this creature was small; the neck elongated; and the vertebræ of the neck are lightened by deep cavities in their centra, similar to those in birds of flight. the tail, also, was long. when alive, this dinosaur was about forty feet in length. it probably walked on all fours; and in many other respects was very unlike a typical dinosaur. the brain was small, and it must have been sluggish in all its movements. the nearly complete remains of morosaurus grandis were found together in a very good state of preservation in wyoming, and many of the bones lay just in their natural positions. diplodocus, of which several incomplete specimens have been discovered, was intermediate in size between atlantosaurus and morosaurus, and may have reached when living, a length of forty or fifty feet. its skull was of moderate size, with slender jaws. the teeth were weaker than those of any other known dinosaur, and entirely confined to the front of the jaws. professor marsh concludes from the teeth that diplodocus was herbivorous, feeding on succulent vegetation, and that it probably led an aquatic life. fig. shows its skull. the remains of this interesting dinosaur (brontosaurus), which in several ways differs from other members of the "lizard-footed" group, were found in upper jurassic beds, near cañon city, colorado. a second smaller species was also discovered near morrison, colorado. all the remains lay in the atlantosaurus beds. these strata--the tomb in which nature has buried up so many of her dragons of old time--can be traced for several hundred miles on the flanks of the rocky mountains, and are always to be known by the bones they contain. they lie above the triassic strata and just below the sandstone of the dakota group. some have regarded them as of cretaceous age; but, judging from their fossils, there can be but little doubt that they were deposited during the jurassic period--probably in an old estuary. they consist of shale and sandstone. besides the numerous dinosaurs, professor marsh's colleagues have found abundant remains of crocodiles, tortoises, and fishes, with one pterodactyl, a flying reptile (see chap. viii.), and several small marsupials. the wonderful collection of american jurassic dinosaurs in the museum of yale college includes the remains of several hundred individuals, many of them in excellent preservation, and has afforded to professor marsh the material for his classification already alluded to. [illustration: fig. .--head of _diplodocus_. . side view. . front view.] english dinosaurs of the lizard-footed group. unfortunately, there are at present no complete skeletons known of english dinosaurs related to the american forms above described. but, since the english fossils were first in evidence by many years, and marsh's discoveries have confirmed in a remarkable way conclusions drawn by owen, huxley, hulke, and seeley, and others from materials that were rather fragmentary, it may be worth while to give some account of these remains and the interpretations they have received. dr. buckland, in his _bridgewater treatise_, , referred to a limb-bone in the oxford museum, from the great oolite formation near woodstock, which was examined by cuvier, and pronounced to have once belonged to a whale; also a very large rib, which seemed whale-like. in professor owen, when collecting materials for his famous _report on the fossil reptiles of great britain_, inspected this remarkable limb-bone, and could not match it with any bones known among the whale tribe; and yet its structure, where exposed, was like that of the long bone (humerus) of the paddle of a whale. later on, he abandoned the idea that it once belonged to a whale, and it was thought that the extinct animal in question might have been a reptile of the crocodilean order. in time, a fine series of limb-bones and vertebræ was added to the oxford museum by professor phillips (dr. buckland's successor at oxford), who pronounced them to be dinosaurian. the name "cetiosaurus"[ ] (or whale-lizard), originally given by owen, was unfortunate, because there is really nothing whale-like about it, except a certain coarse texture of some of the bones. [ ] greek--_ketion_, whale; _sauros_, lizard. in dr. buckland announced the discovery of another limb-bone (a femur), which owen referred to cetiosaurus; it was four feet three inches in length. between and , however, a considerable portion of a skeleton was discovered in the same formation at kirtlington station, near oxford. these remains were the subject of careful examination by professors owen and phillips. the femur this time was five feet four inches long. their studies threw much light on the nature and habits of cetiosaurus. although showing in many ways an approach to the crocodile type of reptile, yet it was perceived from the nature of the limbs that they were better fitted for walking on land than are those of a crocodile, with its sprawling limbs. still, professor owen was careful to point out that the vertebræ of its long tail indicate suitability as a powerful swimming organ, and concluded that the creature was more aquatic than terrestrial in its habits. plaster casts of the limb-bones may be seen at the british museum of natural history, side by side with the huge atlantosaurus cast sent by professor marsh. the kimmeridge clay of weymouth has yielded a huge arm-bone (or humerus), nearly five feet long; and from wealden strata of sussex and the isle of wight vertebræ have been collected. altogether we have remains of cetiosaurus from at least half a dozen counties. unfortunately, no specimen of a skull has yet been found, and only two or three small and incomplete teeth, which may possibly have belonged to some other animal. professor owen estimated the length of the trunk and tail of the creature to have been thirty-five or thirty-six feet; but in the absence of further evidence it was not possible to form any conclusion as to its total length. it is evident that cetiosaurus was closely allied to the american brontosaurus (p. ); and so these earlier english discoveries have gained much in interest from the light thrown upon them by professor marsh's huge saurian. another english saurian of this group was the ornithopsis, from wealden strata in the isle of wight, which has been the subject of careful study by mr. hulke and professor seeley. their conclusions, based on the examination of separate portions of the skeleton (such as vertebræ), have been singularly confirmed by the discovery of brontosaurus. in ornithopsis the vertebræ of the neck and back, though of great size, were remarkably light, and yet of great strength. one of the vertebræ of the back had a body, or centrum, ten inches long. hoplosaurus and pelosaurus were evidently reptiles closely allied to the above types; but at present are so imperfectly known that we need not consider them here. chapter vi. dinosaurs (_continued_). "fossils have been eloquently and appropriately termed 'medals of creation.'"--dr. mantell. when any tribe of plants or animals becomes very flourishing, and spreads over the face of the earth, occupying regions far apart from one another, where the geographical and other conditions, such as climate, are unlike, its members will inevitably develop considerable differences among themselves. during the great mesozoic period, dinosaurs spread over a large part of the world; they became very numerous and powerful. just as the birds and beasts (quadrupeds) of to-day show an almost endless variety, according to the circumstances in which they are placed, so that great and powerful order of reptiles we are now considering ran riot, and gave rise to a variety of forms, or types. those described in the last chapter were heavy, slow-moving dinosaurs, of great proportions, and were all herbivorous creatures, apparently without weapons of offence or defence. the group theropoda, or "beast-footed" dinosaurs, that partly form the subject of the present chapter, were all flesh-eating animals; and, as we shall discover from their fossilised remains, were of less size, and led active lives. in fact, they acted in their day the part played by lions and tigers to-day. in the year that keen observer and original thinker, the rev. dr. buckland, described to the geological society of london some remains of a very strange and formidable reptile found in the limestone of stonesfield, near woodstock (about twelve miles from oxford). this rock, known as "stonesfield slate" from its property of splitting up into thin layers, has long been celebrated for its fossil remains, and from it have also been obtained the bones of some early mammals. it is a member of the lower oolitic group. the portions of skeleton originally discovered consisted of part of a lower jaw, with teeth, a thigh bone (femur), a series of vertebræ of the trunk, a few ribs, and some other fragments. the name megalosaurus,[ ] or "great lizard," suggested itself both to dr. buckland and baron cuvier, because it was evident from the size of the bones that the creature must have been very big. it is true these bones were not found together in one spot; but professor owen came to the conclusion that they all belonged to the same species. [ ] greek--_megas_, great; _sauros_, lizard. no entire skeleton of the megalosaur has ever been found, but there was enough material to enable dr. buckland, professor owen, and professor phillips to form a very fair idea of its general structure. it should be mentioned here that dr. mantell, the enthusiastic geologist to whose labours palæontologists are greatly indebted, had previously discovered similar teeth and bones in the wealden strata of tilgate forest. sherborne, in dorset, is another locality which has yielded a fine specimen of parts of both jaws with teeth. a cast of this may be seen in the geological collection at south kensington. it was found in the inferior oolite (wall-case iv.); the original specimen lies in the museum of sherborne college. remains of megalosaurus have also been found at the following places: lyme-regis and watchet (in the lias); near bridport (in inferior oolite); enslow bridge (upper part of the great oolite and forest marble beds); weymouth (in oxford clay); cowley and dry sandford (in the coral rag); malton in yorkshire (in coralline oolite); also in normandy. they have also been found in wealden strata. the portion of a lower jaw in the oxford museum is twelve inches long, with a row of nine teeth, or sockets for teeth. the structure of the teeth leaves no doubt as to the carnivorous habits of the creature. with a length of perhaps thirty feet, capable of free and rapid movement on land, with strong hind limbs, short head, with long pointed teeth, and formidable claws to its feet, the megalosaur must have been without a rival among the carnivorous reptiles on this side of the world. it probably walked for the most part on its hind legs, as depicted in our illustration, and professors huxley and owen, on examining the bones in the oxford museum, were much impressed with the bird-like character of some parts of the skeleton, showing an approach to the ostrich type. the form of the teeth, as pointed out by dr. buckland, exhibits a remarkable combination of contrivances. when young and first protruding above the gum, the apex of the tooth presented a double cutting edge of serrated enamel; but as it advanced in growth its direction was turned backwards in the form of a pruning knife, and the enamelled sawing edge was continued downwards to the base of the inner and cutting side, but became thicker on the other side, obtaining additional strength when it was no longer needed as a cutting instrument (fig. ). [illustration: fig. .--lower jaw-bone of megalosaurus, with teeth.] the genus megalosaurus--now rendered classic through the labours of professors buckland, phillips, and owen--may be regarded as the type of the carnivorous dinosaurs; and it affords an excellent and instructive instance of the gradual restoration of the skeleton of a new monster from more or less fragmentary remains. certain very excusable errors were at first made in the restoration, but these have since been rectified by a comparison with the allied american forms, such as allosaurus, of which nearly entire skeletons have of late been discovered in strata of jurassic age--in fact, the same rock in colorado as that in which the huge atlantosaurus bones lay hid. the accompanying woodcut (fig. ) shows how the skeleton has been restored in the light of these later discoveries of professor marsh. the large bones of the limbs of these formidable flesh-eating monsters were hollow, and many of the vertebræ, as well as some of those of the feet, contained cavities, or were otherwise lightened in order to give the creature a greater power of rapid movement. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of megalosaurus, restored. (after meyer.)] it is not very difficult to imagine a megalosaur lying in wait for his prey (perhaps a slender, harmless little mammal of the ant-eater type) with his hind limbs bent under his body, so as to bring the heels to the ground, and then with one terrific bound from those long legs springing on to the prey, and holding the mammal tight in its clawed fore limbs, as a cat might hold a mouse. then the sabre-like teeth would be brought into action by the powerful jaws, and soon the flesh and bones of the victim would be gone! (see plate vi.) [illustration: plate vi. a carnivorous dinosaur, megalosaurus bucklandi. length about feet.] as we remarked before, the carnivorous dinosaurs were the lions and tigers of the mesozoic era, and, what with small mammals and numerous reptiles of those days, it would seem that they were not limited in their choice of diet. it is a question not yet decided whether dinosaurs laid eggs as most modern reptiles do, or were viviparous like quadrupeds; but professor marsh thinks there are reasons for the latter supposition. during the early part of the mesozoic era, at the period known as the triassic (new red sandstone), dinosaurs flourished vigorously in america, developing a great variety of forms and sizes. although but few of their bones have as yet been discovered in those rocks, they have left behind unmistakable evidence of their presence in the well-known footprints and other impressions upon the shores of the waters which they frequented.[ ] the triassic sandstone of the connecticut valley has long been famous for its fossil footprints, especially the so-called "bird-tracks," which are generally supposed to have been made by birds, the tracks of which they certainly appear to resemble. but a careful investigation of nearly all the specimens yet discovered has convinced professor marsh that these fossil impressions were not made by birds (see fig. ). most of the three-toed tracks, he thinks, were made by dinosaurs, who usually walked upon their hind feet alone, and only occasionally put to the ground their small fore limbs. he has detected impressions of the latter in connection with nearly all the larger tracks of the hind limbs. these double impressions are just such as dinosaurs would make; and, since the only characteristic bones yet found in the same rocks belong to this order of reptiles, it is but fair to attribute all these footprints to dinosaurs, even where no impressions of fore feet have been detected, _until_ some evidence of birds is forthcoming. the size of some of these impressions, as well as the length of stride they indicate, is against the idea of their having been made by birds. some of them, for instance, are twenty inches in length, and four or five feet apart! the foot of the african ostrich is but ten inches long, so we must fall back on the dinosaurs for an explanation. however, it is quite possible that some of the smaller impressions were made by birds. [ ] since the above was written, professor marsh has described, in _the american journal of science_ for june, , several more or less complete skeletons of triassic dinosaurs, lately found, and now in the yale college museum. this is an important discovery. [illustration: fig. .--portion of a slab of new red sandstone, from turner's falls, massachusetts, u.s., covered with numerous tracks, probably of dinosaurs. this specimen is now in the natural history museum. the separate tracks are indicated by the numbers. (after hitchcock.)] there is at south kensington a fine series of these and other specimens of fossil footprints (gallery no. xi., wall-cases - ). the surface of one large slab in the geological collection is eight feet by six feet, and bears upwards of seventy distinct impressions disposed in several tracks, as shown in fig. . the lines were added by dr. hitchcock, who has published full descriptions in order to show the direction and disposition of the tracks. [illustration: fig. .--portion of a slab, with tracks. (after hitchcock.)] in a presidential address to the geological society, sir charles lyell, speaking of the connecticut sandstone and its impressions, said, "when i first examined these strata of slate and sandstone near jersey city, in company with mr. redfield, i saw at once from the ripple-marked surface of the slabs, from the casts of cracks, the marks of rain-drops, and the embedded fragments of drift-wood, that these beds had been formed precisely under circumstances most favourable for the reception of impressions of the feet of animals walking between high and low water. in the prolongation of the same beds in the valley of connecticut, there have been found, according to professor hitchcock, the footprints of no less than thirty-two species of bipeds, and twelve of quadrupeds. they have been observed in more than twenty localities, which are scattered over an area of nearly eighty miles from north to south, in the states of massachusetts and connecticut. after visiting several of these places, i entertained no doubt that the sand and mud were deposited on an area which was slowly subsiding all the while, so that at some points a thickness of more than a thousand feet of superimposed strata had accumulated in very shallow water, the footprints being repeated at various intervals on the surface of the mud throughout the entire series of superimposed beds." when sir charles lyell first examined this region in , professor hitchcock had already seen two thousand impressions of feet! it is not difficult to imagine the conditions under which such impressions may have been preserved, for at the present day there are to be seen, on some shores, illustrations of similar operations. dr. gould, of boston, u.s., was the first to call the attention of naturalists to a very instructive example of such processes on the shores of the bay of fundy, where the tide is said to rise in some places seventy feet high. here we have a very perfect surface for receiving and retaining impressions. vast are the numbers of wading and sea-birds that course to and fro over the extensive tract of plastic red surface left dry by the far retreat of the tide in the bay of fundy. during the period that elapses between one spring tide and the next, the highest part of the tidal deposit is exposed long enough to receive and retain many impressions; even during the hours of hot sunshine, to which, in the summer months, this so-trodden tract is left exposed, the layer last deposited becomes baked hard and dry, and before the returning tidal wave has power to break up the preceding one, the impressions left on that stratum have received a deposit. a cast is thus taken of the mould previously made, and each succeeding tide brings another layer of deposit. we can easily imagine that in succeeding ages the petrifying influences will consolidate the sandy layers into a fossil rock. such a rock would split in such a way, along its natural layers of formation, as to show the old moulds on one surface, and the casts on the other. [illustration: fig. .--limb-bones of _allosaurus_. (after marsh.) . fore leg. . hind leg.] professor marsh has had the good fortune to discover a very peculiar new form of carnivorous dinosaur, to which he has given the name ceratosaurus,[ ] because its skull supported a horn. but the horn is not the only new feature presented by this interesting creature. its vertebræ are of a strange and unexpected type; and in the pelvis all the bones are fused together, as in modern birds. externally, also, the ceratosaurus differed from other members of the carnivorous group, for its body was partly protected by long plates in the skin, such as crocodiles have: these extended from the back of the head, along the neck, and over the back. an almost complete skeleton was found which indicates an animal about seventeen feet long. when alive it was probably about half the bulk of the allosaurus mentioned above. (see fig. .) [ ] greek--_keras_, horn; _sauros_, lizard. some authorities consider it to be identical with megalosaurus. seen from above, its skull resembles in general outline that of a crocodile, the facial portion being elongated and gradually tapering to the muzzle, with the nasal openings separate, and placed near the end of the snout. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _ceratosaurus_. top view. (after marsh.)] the teeth of this horned dinosaur resemble those of the megalosaur. its eyes were protected by protuberances of the skull just above the cavity in which the eye was placed (see figs. and ). the brain was a good deal larger in proportion to the size of the animal than in brontosaurus and its allies; so perhaps we may infer that it was endowed with greater intelligence, as it certainly was more active in its habits. the fore limbs, as in megalosaurus, were small, and some of the fingers ended in powerful claws, which no doubt it used to good purpose. perhaps the most remarkable of all the dinosaurs was a diminutive creature only two feet in length, which was related to those we have just been considering, and whose skeleton has been found almost entire in the now famous lithographic stone of solenhofen in bavaria. of this unique type, the compsognathus, the skeleton of which is in many ways so bird-like, professor huxley remarks, "it is impossible to look at the conformation of this strange reptile and to doubt that it hopped, or walked, in an erect or semi-erect position, after the manner of a bird, to which its long neck, slight head, and small anterior limbs must have given it an extraordinary resemblance." (see fig. .) [illustration: fig. .--skull of _ceratosaurus nasicornis_. (after marsh.)] at the head of this chapter are placed the words of dr. mantell, "fossils have been eloquently and appropriately termed _medals of creation_," and the eloquent passage by which those words are followed may be transcribed here. he goes on to say, "for as an accomplished numismatist, even when the inscription of an ancient and unknown coin is illegible, can from the half-obliterated effigy, and from the style of art, determine with precision the people by whom, and the period when, it was struck: in like manner the geologist can decipher these natural memorials, interpret the hieroglyphics with which they are inscribed, and from apparently the most insignificant relics trace the history of beings of whom no other records are extant, and ascertain the forms and habits of unknown types of organisation whose races are swept from the face of the earth, ere the creation of man, and the creatures which are his contemporaries. well might the illustrious bergman exclaim, "_sunt instar nummorum memoralium quæ de præteritis globi nostri fatis testantur, ubi omnia silent monumenta historica._"" [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _compsognathus longipes_. (from the solenhofen limestone.)] geology owes a deep debt of gratitude to the late dr. gideon a. mantell, who, during the intervals of a laborious professional life, collected and described the remains of several strange extinct reptiles, and wrote a number of works on geology, such as served in his day to advance the science to which he was so enthusiastically devoted. we propose to give a brief account of a wonderful group of dinosaurs, first introduced to the scientific world through dr. mantell's labours. the first of these monsters is the iguanodon, the earliest known individual of the "bird-footed" division (ornithopoda). the history of the gradual reconstruction of its skeleton is an instructive instance of the results that may be obtained by a careful and patient study of fragmentary remains. through the labours of dr. mantell, in the first half of this century, a considerable knowledge was acquired of the greater part of the skeleton, but certain portions remained a puzzle; these, however, were eventually explained by professor huxley and mr. hulke, and a few years ago a series of complete skeletons were most fortunately obtained in belgium, so that now every part of the huge framework of this monster is known to the palæontologist. its history, as a fossil, is a most interesting one, and furnishes one more example of the marvellous insight into the nature of extinct animals displayed by the illustrious baron cuvier. let us begin with the teeth, since they were the first part of the monster brought to light. it is, perhaps, hardly necessary to remark that, to one thoroughly acquainted with the structures of living animals, a tooth, or a series of teeth, will furnish material from which important conclusions with regard to the structure and habits of an extinct animal may be drawn. so, also, with regard to some other parts, such as limb-bones, but more especially the bones of which the backbone is composed (known as vertebræ). these are very important. the veteran anatomist, professor owen, has said, "if i were restricted to a single specimen on which to deduce the nature of an extinct animal, i should choose a vertebra to work out a reptile, and a tooth in the case of a mammal." seven or eight different "characters," he says, may be deduced from a reptilian vertebra. it is, of course, impossible for any one to reconstruct an entire animal from a single bone or a few teeth, yet such fragments indicate in a general way the nature of a lost creation and its position in the animal kingdom. [illustration: fig. .--tooth of iguanodon, with the apex slightly worn. (from the wealden beds of tilgate forest. natural size.) . front aspect, showing the longitudinal ridges and serrated margins of the crown. . view of the back, or inner surface of the tooth. _a._ serrated margins. _b._ apex of the crown worn by use.] it is all the more important to give to the general reader this warning, because an impression seems still to remain in the popular mind that owen could and did restore extinct types from a single bone or a single tooth; but no anatomist would attribute to any mortal man such superhuman power. let us, therefore, while gratefully acknowledging the debt we all owe to the great naturalist--who has gone to his rest since our first edition appeared--not attribute to him impossible things. nor can it be denied that even he sometimes fell into error, or drew conclusions not borne out by later discoveries. it must also be confessed that in some respects he lagged behind in the march of scientific progress. while on this subject we cannot do better than quote some remarks of our friend, mr. a. smith woodward, of the natural history museum, in an able review of sir richard's work on vertebrates.[ ] he says, "owen, in fact, was cuvier's direct successor, and, apart from his striking hypotheses ..., it is in this character that he has left the deepest impression upon biological science. extending and elaborating comparative anatomy as understood by cuvier, owen concentrated his efforts on utilising the results for the interpretation of the fossil remains--even isolated bones and teeth--of extinct animals. he never hesitated to deal with the most fragmentary evidence, having complete faith in the principles established by cuvier; and it is particularly interesting, in the light of present knowledge, to study the long series of successes and failures that characterise his work. however, unwittingly, owen may be said to have contributed most to the demolition of the narrow cuvierian views. when dealing with animals closely related to those now living, his correctness of interpretation was usually assured; when treating of more remote types, he could do little more than guess, unless tolerably complete skeletons happened to be at his disposal.... "in short, owen's work on fragmentary fossils has demonstrated that the principles of comparative anatomy are very different from those inferred by cuvier from his limited field of observation, and the discoveries of leidy, marsh, cope, scott, and osborn, in america, have finally led to a new era that owen only began to foresee clearly in his later days." [ ] _natural science_, ii. p. . (feb. .) the first specimens of teeth of the iguanodon were found by mrs. mantell, in , in the coarse conglomerate of certain strata in tilgate forest, belonging to the cretaceous period (see table of strata, appendix i.). dr. and mrs. mantell subsequently collected a most interesting series of these remarkable teeth (which, for a time, puzzled the most learned men of the day), from the perfect tooth of a young animal, to the last stage, that of a mere long stump worn away by mastication. in external form they bore a striking resemblance to the grinders of herbivorous mammals, and were wholly unlike any that had previously been known. even the quarrymen, accustomed to collect the remains of fishes, shells, and other objects embedded in the rocks, had not observed fossils of this kind; and until dr. mantell showed them his specimens, were not aware of the presence of such teeth in the stone they were constantly breaking up for the roads. the first specimen that arrested his attention was a large tooth, which, from the worn surface of its crown, had evidently once belonged to some herbivorous animal. in form it so entirely resembled the corresponding part of an incisor tooth of a large pachydermatous animal ground down by use, that dr. mantell was much embarrassed to account for its presence in the ancient wealden strata, in which, according to all previous experience, no fossil remains of mammals would be likely to occur. no reptiles of the present day are capable of masticating their food; how, then, could he venture to assign it to a reptile? here was a puzzle to be solved, and in his perplexity he determined to try whether the great naturalist at paris would be able to throw any light on the question. through sir charles (then mr.) lyell, this perplexing tooth was submitted to baron cuvier; and great was the doctor's astonishment on hearing that it had been without hesitation pronounced to be the upper incisor of a rhinoceros! the same tooth, with some other specimens, had already been exhibited at a meeting of the geological society, and shown to dr. buckland, mr. conybeare, and others, but with no more satisfactory result. worse than that: dr. mantell was told that the teeth were of no particular interest, and that, without doubt, they either belonged to some large fish, or were the teeth of a mammal, and derived from some superficial deposit of the "glacial drift," then called diluvium. there was one man, however, who foresaw the importance of mantell's discovery, and that was dr. wollaston. this distinguished philosopher, though not a naturalist, supported the doctor's idea that the teeth belonged to an unknown herbivorous reptile, and encouraged him to continue his researches. as if to add to the difficulty of solving the enigma, certain bones of the fore limb, discovered soon after in the same quarry and forwarded to paris, were declared to belong to a species of hippopotamus! another very curious bone--of which we shall speak presently--was declared to be the lesser horn of a rhinoceros! the famous dr. buckland even went so far as to warn dr. mantell not to publish it forth that these bones and teeth had been found in the tilgate forest strata. to him it seemed incredible that such remains could have been obtained from beds older than the superficial drift deposits of the district. we must bear in mind that in those days palæontology, or the knowledge of the world's former inhabitants, was a new science still in its infancy, and the idea of mammals having existed so far back as the cretaceous period must have appeared incredible. however, the workmen in the quarry were stimulated by suitable rewards, and at length the doctor's efforts resulted in the discovery of teeth which displayed the curious serrated edges, and the entire form of the unused crown. having forwarded specimens and drawings of these to paris, dr. mantell went to london, and ransacked all the drawers in the hunterian museum that contained jaws and teeth of reptiles, but without finding any that threw light on this subject. fortunately, mr. samuel stuchbury, then a young man, was present, and proposed to show him the skeleton of an iguana, which he had himself prepared from a specimen that had long been immersed in spirits. and now the puzzle was in a fair way to being solved; for, to his great delight, the doctor found that the minute teeth of that reptile bore a closer resemblance in their general form to those from tilgate forest than any others he had ever seen. in spite of this fortunate discovery, however, others remained obstinate and unconvinced; and it was not until he had collected a series of specimens, exhibiting various stages of the teeth, that the correctness of his opinion was admitted, either as to their true interpretation, or the age of the strata in which they were imbedded. and now there came good news from paris. cuvier, with the fresh material submitted to him, had boldly renounced his previous opinion, and gave the weight of his great authority to the view maintained by the discoverer of these teeth. in a letter to the doctor he said that such teeth were quite unknown to him, and that they belonged to some reptile. he suggested that they implied the existence of a _new animal_, a _herbivorous reptile_. time would either confirm or disprove the idea, and in the mean time he advised dr. mantell to seek diligently for further evidence, and, if part of a jaw could be found with teeth adhering, he believed he could solve the problem. in his immortal work, _ossemens fossiles_, cuvier generously admits his former mistake, and said he was entirely convinced of his error. baron cuvier alone amongst the doctor's friends or correspondents was able to give any hint as to the character and probable relations of the animal to which the recently discovered teeth belonged. being hampered by arduous professional duties in a provincial town, remote from museums and libraries, dr. mantell transmitted to the royal society figures and drawings of the specimens, and, at the suggestion of the rev. w. d. conybeare, adopted the name iguanodon (iguana-tooth) for the extinct reptile, a name which pointed to the resemblance of its teeth to those of the modern iguana, a land-lizard inhabiting many parts of america and the west indies, and rarely met with north or south of the tropics. these lizards are from three to five feet in length, and perfectly harmless, feeding on insects and vegetables, and climbing trees in quest of the tender leaves and buds, which they chip off and swallow whole; they nestle in the hollows of rocks, and deposit their eggs in the sands and banks of rivers. in all living reptiles the insects or vegetables on which they feed are seized by the tongue or teeth, and swallowed whole, so that a movable covering to the jaws, similar to the lips and cheeks of the mammalia, is not necessary, either for seizing and retaining food, or for subjecting it by muscular movements to the action of the teeth. it is the power of perfect mastication possessed by the iguanodon that is so strange, for it implies a most remarkable approach in extinct reptiles to characters possessed now only by herbivorous mammalia, such as horses, cows, deer, etc. from this and other strange characters seen in the dinosaurs, we learn that they in their day played the part of our modern quadrupeds, whether carnivorous or herbivorous, and showed a remarkable approach to the mammalian type, which of course is a much higher one. it is, therefore, not to be wondered at that dr. mantell's contemporaries, with the exception of cuvier, found in the teeth we have described an awkward puzzle, and refused to believe that they belonged to a reptile. such a notion was at variance with all previous experience, and we naturally form our conclusions to a large extent by experience. let us, then, beware lest we allow our ideas to be limited by what after all is, as it were, only an expression of our ignorance. the hottentot who has never seen snow would refuse to believe that rain can assume a solid form; and, in the same way, if we bind ourselves down by experience, we might refuse to believe in some of the still more wonderful dinosaurian types to be described in this chapter, such as the triceratops, with a pair of large horns, a skull over six feet long, and limbs larger than those of the rhinoceros! (see p. ). the strange vagaries of dinosaurs have led professor marsh and other authorities to exalt them, from their former position of a mere order in the reptile class, to the dignity of a sub-class all to themselves; and there is much to be said for this view. compared with the marsupials, living and extinct, they show an equal diversity of structure and variations in size from by far the largest land animals known down to some of the smallest.[ ] [ ] bauer, after a full critical examination of the dinosauria, considers that one order is insufficient, and has proposed to make three orders of them, which he names after the iguanodon, cetiosaurus, and megalosaurus. the importance of discovering, if possible, a portion of the jaw of an iguanodon was fully recognised by dr. mantell, and, urged on by the encouragement he had received from the illustrious cuvier, he eagerly sought for the required evidence. but nearly a quarter of a century elapsed before it was forthcoming. in and , however, portions of the lower jaw, with some teeth attached, were found; and his memoir _on the structure of the jaws and teeth of the iguanodon_ was published by the royal society in . for this important communication the gold medal of the society was awarded to the author. the second of these finds (by captain brickenden) confirmed in every essential particular the inferences suggested by the detached teeth. the first important connected series of bones of this monster was discovered in , by mr. bensted, in the "kentish rag" quarries of the lower greensand formation at maidstone. mr. bensted, who was the proprietor of the quarry, one day had his attention drawn by the workmen to what they supposed to be petrified wood in some pieces of stone which they had been blasting. he perceived that what they supposed to be wood was fossil bone, and, with a zeal and care which have always characterised this estimable man (says professor owen) in his endeavour to secure for science any evidence of fossil remains in his quarry, he immediately resorted to the spot. he found that the bore, or blast, by which these remains were brought to light had been inserted into the centre of the specimen, so that the mass of stone containing it had been shattered into many pieces, some of which were blown into the adjoining fields! all these pieces he had carefully collected, and, proceeding with equal ardour and success to the removal of the matrix from the fossils, he succeeded, after a month's labour, in exposing them to view, and in fitting the fragments in their proper place. this valuable specimen was presented to dr. mantell (and afterwards purchased with the rest of his collection by the british museum), and its present condition is the result of his skill, as well as that of its discoverer. certain gentlemen in brighton, anxious that the specimen should be placed in the hands of the original discoverer of iguanodon, purchased and presented it to dr. mantell--a tribute of respect which was highly gratifying to him. (wall-case .) it belonged to a young iguanodon. this fortunate discovery was one of those cuvier foresaw, and has served to verify his sagacious conjecture that some of the great bones collected by the doctor from the wealden strata of sussex belonged to the same animal, and to confirm other conclusions formed by the discoverer of the iguanodon. great was dr. mantell's delight on finding that every bone he had ascribed to iguanodon solely from analogy was present in the maidstone specimen. one of the chief advantages of this discovery was that it afforded demonstration of the characters of the vertebræ, which, as previously stated, are very important to the anatomist. of these professor owen has given full descriptions, and has shown that they differ from those of any animal previously known, whether living or extinct. it is very interesting, in the light of recent discoveries, to read the conclusions arrived at by mantell and owen, with regard to the organisation of this great wealden reptile, and to see how, with the exception of certain details, they have been confirmed. considering the imperfect nature of the materials at their command, it is wonderful that their forecasts should have turned out so successful. thus professor owen predicted for the iguanodon a total length of twenty-eight feet, and specimens discovered of late years show a length of twenty-four feet. in some, the thigh-bone exceeded a yard in length; this indicated an animal of great size, since in the largest crocodiles this bone is scarcely a foot long. again, dr. mantell, from a study of the imperfect jaw-bones in his collection, concluded that the lower jaw was invested with a well-developed fleshy flexible lip, and that the mouth was provided with a tongue of great mobility and power. "there are strong reasons," he says, "for supposing that the lip was flexible, and, in conjunction with the long fleshy prehensile tongue, constituted the instrument for seizing and cropping the leaves and branches, which, from the construction of the molars, we may infer, constituted the chief food of the iguanodon. the mechanism of the maxillary organs (jaws), as elucidated by recent discoveries, is thus in perfect harmony with the remarkable characters which rendered the first known teeth so enigmatical; and in the wealden herbivorous reptile we have a solution of the problem, how the integrity of the type of organisation peculiar to the class of cold-blooded vertebrata was maintained, and yet adapted, by simple modifications, to fulfil the conditions required by the economy of a gigantic terrestrial reptile, destined to obtain support exclusively from vegetable substances; in like manner, as the extinct colossal herbivorous edentata (sloths, see chapter xii.), which flourished in south america ages after the country of the iguanodon and its inhabitants had been swept away from the face of the earth." dr. mantell also was the first to prove, from the nature of the wealden strata, that they were deposited in or near the estuary of a mighty river. with regard to the aspect of the country in which the iguanodon flourished, he showed that coniferous trees probably clothed its alpine regions; palms and arborescent ferns, and cycadaceous plants (_i.e._ plants resembling the modern zamia, or "false palm"), constituted the groves and forests of its plains and valleys; and in its fens and marshes the equisetaceæ (mare's-tails) and plants of a like nature prevailed. [illustration: plate vii. a gigantic dinosaur, iguanodon bernissartensis. length about feet.] the iguanodons of the wealden epoch did not live and die where their bones are now found--the condition in which their fossil relics occur proves that they floated down the streams and rivers, with rafts of trees and other spoils of the land, till, arrested in their course, they sank down and became buried in the fluviatile and sometimes marine sediments then being slowly laid down. in this way only can we account for the generally broken and rolled condition of the bones, their separation from each other, the numerous specimens of teeth which must have been detached from their sockets, and the broken stems and branches of trees without leaves that have been found in the wealden strata of england. since the days of dr. mantell, the remains of iguanodon, or closely allied genera, have been found on the continent, in other parts of england, and in north america, in strata of various ages, from the trias or new red sandstone to the chalk (see table of strata, appendix i.). the american hadrosaurus must have decidedly resembled the iguanodon. the beautiful restoration by our artist (plate vii.) is based upon the belgian specimens described in the following chapter. chapter vii. dinosaurs (_continued_). "everything in nature is engaged in writing its own history: the planet and the pebble are attended by their shadows, the rolling rock leaves its furrows on the mountain side, the river its channel in the soil, the animal its bones in the stratum, the fern and the leaf inscribe their modest epitaphs on the coal, the falling drop sculptures its story on the sand and on the stone,--not a footstep on the snow or on the ground, but traces in characters more or less enduring the record of its progress."--emerson. in the year was announced one of the most fortunate discoveries known in the whole history of geological science--a discovery unique of its kind, and one which throws considerable light on the nature of the monster first discovered by dr. mantell. in that year came the good news that no less than twenty-three iguanodons had been found in the colliery of bernissart, in belgium, between mons and tournai, near the french frontier. the coal-bearing rocks (coal-measures) of this colliery, overlain by chalk and other deposits of later age, are fissured in many places by deep valleys or chasms more than yards deep. though now filled up, they must at one time have been open gorges on an old land surface. into one of these chasms were somehow precipitated twenty-three iguanodons, numbers of fish, a frog-like animal, several species of turtles, crocodiles, and numerous ferns similar to those described by mantell from the weald. it it not easy to conjecture how this large and varied assemblage of animals came to be collected together and entombed in this one place, but possibly their carcases were swept by some flood into the chasm in which the remains were discovered. they were buried in clay interstratified with sand, a fact which was interpreted in accordance with the above suggestion. m. de pauw, the accomplished controller of the workshops in the royal museum of natural history at brussels, spent three whole years in extracting this splendid series of fossils from the pit-shaft, the bones being brought up from a depth of rather more than yards. but at the end of this time it was only the rough material that had been got together, and every block containing bones requires a great deal of most careful labour before the bones in it are so exposed that they can be properly studied. out of the twenty-three specimens, fifteen had, in the year , been chiselled out, eight remaining to be worked at; and although five skilled workmen were then constantly at work, progress was necessarily slow. in , that is after seven years, two huge entire skeletons had been set up in a great glass case in the courtyard of the museum at brussels, and these exhibit with marvellous completeness the structure of the extinct monster.[ ] the work reflects the highest credit on m. de pauw;[ ] and the director of the bernissart mining company, m. fages, deserves the thanks of all scientific men for so liberally aiding this important undertaking. these specimens illustrate the conclusion, previously arrived at by professor huxley, that dinosaurs, as a group, occupy a position in the great chain of animal life intermediate between reptiles and birds. indeed, it is the opinion of this great authority, and of many naturalists of the present day, that whenever future discoveries may reveal the ancestry of birds, it will be found that they came from dinosaurs, or that both originated from a common ancestor. [ ] in august, , mr. dollo wrote, in answer to inquiries from south kensington, to say that five are already mounted and exhibited, and five more are almost ready for mounting. he also stated that the remains represent twenty-nine individuals, not twenty-three, as above. [ ] _geological magazine_, january, . the specimens so skilfully set up by m. de pauw represent two distinct species. the larger one, iguanodon bernissartensis, cannot be less than fifteen feet high, and, measured from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail, is rather over thirty feet long, covering nearly twenty-four feet of ground in its erect position (see fig. ). iguanodon mantelli is smaller and more slender looking, with a height of over ten feet, and a length of about twenty feet. (see fig. .) [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _iguanodon bernissartensis_.] [illustration: plate viii. iguanodon mantelli. length about feet.] [illustration: fig. .--skull and skeleton of _iguanodon mantelli_. (from bernissart.)] the huge three-toed impressions found in sussex prove that the monster, although owning a body as large as that of an elephant, habitually walked on its hind legs! some of the thighbones found by dr. mantell measured between four and five feet in length. it will be seen that the fore limbs are small in comparison to the hind limbs. a remarkable feature of the hand is the large pointed bone at the end of the thumb, forming a kind of spur. the conical shape of this bone found by dr. mantell, who had no clue to its place in the skeleton, led him to suppose that it was a horn answering to that of a rhinoceros--a conclusion which professor owen refused for various reasons to accept. the latter concluded that it belonged to the hand, and now we see that he was right. unfortunately, certain popular works on geology, such as _our earth and its story_ (cassell) still continue to spread this error, by showing a (very indifferent) restoration of the iguanodon with the impossible horn on its nose. it has been suggested that the spur was a weapon of offence, and that, when attacked, an iguanodon may have seized its aggressor in its short arms, and made use of the spur as a dagger. but this is only conjecture, and perhaps the spur may have been useful in seizing and pulling down the foliage and branches of trees, or in grubbing them up by the roots. detached specimens of this curious bone may be seen among the other remains of iguanodon at south kensington, and also some of the gigantic tracks already alluded to. (gallery iv. on plan, wall-cases and ; and gallery xi., wall-case .) the bernissart specimens even afford some evidence as to the nature of the integument, or skin, and this supports the idea previously held that the creature possessed a smooth skin, or, at least, only slightly roughened. the muzzle was quite toothless, and perhaps may have been sheathed in horn, like the beak of turtles--an arrangement highly useful for biting off the leaves of trees. [illustration: fig. .--tracks of _iguanodon_, much reduced. (from wealden strata, sussex.)] probably it passed much of its time in the water, using its immense powerful tail as an organ of propulsion. when swimming slowly it may have used both sets of limbs, but when going fast it probably fixed its fore limbs closely beside its body, and drove itself through the water by means of the long hind limbs alone. mr. dollo, of brussels, is preparing a final monograph on the bernissart iguanodons, a work to which palæontologists eagerly look forward. there cannot be much doubt that these unarmoured dinosaurs were molested and preyed upon by their carnivorous contemporaries, such as the fierce megalosaurus, previously described (p. ). and with regard to this, mr. dollo makes the suggestion that, when on land, their great height and erect posture enabled them to descry such enemies a long way off. their great height must also have stood them in good stead, by enabling them easily to reach the leaves of trees, tree-ferns, cycads, and other forms of vegetable life, which constituted their daily food. (see restorations, plates vii. and viii.) should the reader visit the "geological island" in the grounds of the crystal palace, he will see that mr. waterhouse hawkins's great model iguanodon there set up is by no means in accordance with the description given above; but we must remember how imperfect was the material at his command. another dinosaur, of considerable dimensions, that flourished during the wealden period was the hylæosaurus, also discovered by dr. mantell, and so named by him because it came from the weald.[ ] in the summer of , upon visiting a quarry in tilgate forest, which had yielded many organic remains, he perceived in some fragments of a large mass of stone which had recently been broken up and thrown in the roadside, traces of numerous pieces of bone. with great care he cemented together and fixed in a stout frame, all the portions of this block that he could find, and set to work to "develop" the block with his chisel. this work occupied many weeks, but his labour was rewarded by the discovery of certain new and remarkable features displayed by this monster; for it must have presented, when alive, a formidable array of bony plates and long sharp spines, the latter of which probably stood in bristling array along the back and tail, and other parts of the body. (wall-case .) of the spines no less than ten were found in this block, varying in length from five to seventeen inches, the largest being four inches thick. it is known that many lizards, such as iguanas and cycluras, have large processes with horny coverings, forming a kind of fringe or crest along the back, and, judging by analogy, dr. mantell concluded that this gigantic saurian was similarly armed with a row of large angular spines covered by a thick horny investment. as weapons of offence and defence, they were no doubt highly effective, but their precise arrangement is still a matter of speculation. [ ] from greek--_hule_, wood, or weald; and _sauros_, lizard. this first specimen displayed, besides the bony scutes and spines, a portion of the backbone, eleven ribs and portions of the pectoral arch. a second specimen was found near bolney, in sussex, and was unfortunately almost wholly destroyed by the labourers; but dr. mantell was able to obtain many of the bones, such as ribs and limb-bones, and they also indicated a reptile of great size. a third specimen was brought to light in tilgate forest in ; but, unfortunately, this also fell into the hands of the parish labourers, who were unacquainted with its value. although with due care a much larger portion of the skeleton might have been kept, yet dr. mantell was able to obtain a fine series of twenty-six vertebræ belonging to the tail, with a total length of nearly six feet: the same spines were present here also. no specimen of the skull of this strange monster is known, and no teeth that can be with certainty referred to it. mr. waterhouse hawkins's model at sydenham, near the iguanodon, was based on the above discoveries, which are insufficient, and is far from the truth. [illustration: plate ix. an armoured dinosaur, scelidosaurus harrisoni. length feet or more.] [illustration: fig. .--restored skeleton of _scelidosaurus harrisoni_ (after woodward), greatly reduced, from the lower lias of charmouth, dorset. the figure shows the large lateral dermal spines on the shoulders, and the long lateral line of smaller spines, reaching from the pectoral region to the extremity of the tail.] * * * * * the next monster to be described is one that has fortunately left to posterity a much better record of itself, and probably was not very unlike the hylæosaurus of mantell. this is the scelidosaurus: so named by professor owen from the indications of greater power in the hind legs than in most saurians.[ ] it is the only known example of an almost entire skeleton of an english dinosaur, and the history of its discovery is rather curious. some time previous to , mr. j. harrison, of charmouth, obtained from the lower lias of that neighbourhood portions of the hind limb of a dinosaur, and, later on, a nearly complete skull. these specimens were described by owen, and the genus was founded on them. mr. harrison, whose discovery aroused great interest, continued to search on the same spot, and was rewarded by finding all the rest of the skeleton, except most of the neck vertebræ. this was extracted in several blocks, and these, after careful "development" of the bones, were fitted together so as to exhibit the whole skeleton. this most valuable specimen can now be seen at south kensington in a separate glass case, and is one of the treasures of the unrivalled gallery of fossil reptiles. the case is placed so that both sides of the specimen can be seen (case y, gallery iv., on plan). its length is about twelve feet; perhaps the individual it represents was not fully grown, but, on account of the absence of most of the neck vertebræ, it is impossible to give the exact length. both hind limbs are entire and well seen, but of the fore limbs the hands are wanting. the former were provided with four "functional" toes--that is, toes that were used,--and one "rudimentary" or unused one. there were two big spines, one placed on each shoulder, and a series of long plates arranged in lines along the back and side. plate ix. shows an attempted restoration of this remarkable dinosaur based upon the skeleton just described. it seems to have been organised for a terrestrial rather than an aquatic life, but to have been amphibious, frequenting the margins of rivers or lakes. professor owen considers that the carcase of this individual drifted down a river emptying itself in the old liassic sea, on the muddy bottom of which it would settle down when the skin had been so far decomposed as to permit the escape of gases due to decomposition. in that case the carcase would attract large carnivorous fishes and reptiles, such as swarmed in this old sea, so that portions of the skin and flesh would probably be torn away before the weight of the bones had completely buried it in mud. in this way, perhaps, the loss of much of the external armature and of the two fore feet may be accounted for. the hind limbs, being stronger, were better able to resist such attacks, and they are therefore preserved. like many other specimens, this fossil has, in the course of ages, been subjected to enormous pressure from overlying strata, causing compression and dislocation or fracture. [ ] from greek--_scelis_, limb, and _sauros_, lizard. but there were in existence during the long jurassic period, other and even stranger forms of armoured dinosaurs. one of these, only imperfectly known at present, was the many-spined polacanthus.[ ] this remarkable monster had the whole region of the loins and haunches protected by a continuous sheet of bony plate armour, rising into knobs and spines, after the fashion of the shield or carapace of certain extinct armadillos known as glyptodonts (see chapter xii.). a specimen of such a shield is to be seen in the collection at south kensington (wall-case ). it is to be hoped that, some day, further remains of the polacanthus will be brought to light, so that a restoration may become possible. dr. mantell had already pointed out certain analogies between iguanodon and the huge extinct sloths of the south american continent, that flourished in the much more recent pleistocene period; and this idea is now considerably strengthened by the later discoveries of armoured dinosaurs. these are his words: "in fine, we have in the iguanodon the type of the terrestrial herbivora which, in the remote epoch of the earth's physical history termed by geologists _the age of reptiles_, occupied the same relative position in the scale of being, and fulfilled the same general purposes in the economy of nature, as the mastodons, mammoths, and mylodons (extinct sloths) of the tertiary period, and the existing pachyderms." [ ] from greek--_polus_, many, and _acantha_, spine. it is, perhaps, one of the most interesting discoveries of modern geology, that certain races of animals now extinct have in various ways assumed some of the characteristics presented by animals much higher in the scale of being, that flourish in the present day. it seems as if there had been some strange law of anticipation at work, if we may venture so to formulate the idea. it has already been shown how the great saurians ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus presumed to put on some of the characters of whales, and to play their _rôle_ in nature, though they were only reptiles; how the carnivorous dinosaurs acquired teeth like those now possessed by lions and tigers, which also are mammals; and now we find herbivorous dinosaurs imitating the glyptodon, an armadillo that lived in south america almost down to the human period. we shall not lose sight of this very interesting and curious discovery, for other cases will present themselves to our view in future chapters. the reader might ask, "if reptiles were able in these and other ways to imitate the mammals of to-day, or of yesterday, why should they not have been able to go a few steps further, and actually _become_ mammals?" the evolutionist, if confronted with such a question, would say, that there is no evidence of dinosaurs turning into mammals, but that both may have branched off at an early geological period (say the permian) from a primitive group of reptiles, or even of amphibians. it must be borne in mind that, during the "age of reptiles" (mesozoic period), the mammalian type was but feebly represented by certain small and humble forms, probably marsupials. as far as we know, there were no big quadrupeds such as flourish to-day; therefore reptiles played their part, and in so doing acquired some of their habits and structural peculiarities. it is difficult for us, living in an age of quadrupeds, to realise this, and to picture to ourselves reptilian types posing as "lords of creation," or, to use a homely phrase, "strutting in peacock's feathers." * * * * * leaving now the english herbivorous dinosaurs, we pass on to those still more wonderful forms discovered of late years by professor marsh. the former have been treated at considerable length, first because they are english, and, as such, the history of their discovery possesses considerable interest; secondly, because their elucidation reflects the highest credit on our great pioneers in this fruitful field of research, and illustrates the manner in which great naturalists have been able to draw most important and wonderful conclusions (afterwards verified in most cases) from material apparently far from promising. for example, cuvier's prophecy of the iguanodon from a few teeth is a striking example of the result of reasoning from the known to the unknown, an example which seems to us worthy to be ranked with the discovery of neptune by adams and leverrier, or, to take a more recent case, the discovery by mendeleef of the periodic law, by means of which he has foretold the discovery of new chemical elements. whatever may have been the origin of the great mammalian class, the possibility and even probability of birds and dinosaurs being descended from a common ancestor is a theory for which much may be said, and it has been adopted by many leading naturalists of the present day, who have been convinced by professor huxley's clear elucidation of the nature of the pelvic region in the group of dinosaurs which has been above described (the ornithopoda, or bird-footed group). it was professor huxley who first propounded this interesting speculation, basing his belief on the many bird-like characters presented by this strange group of extinct reptiles--the small head and fore limbs, the long and often three-toed hollow hind limbs, the bones of the pelvis or haunch, their habit of walking in a semi-erect position on those limbs (as proved by their tracks), and in some of hopping, as the little compsognathus most probably did. and, last but not least, the strange mixture of bird-like and reptilian characters presented by certain most anomalous birds discovered by professor marsh in american cretaceous rocks, viz. the huge hesperornis and the smaller ichthyornis. speaking on this subject some years ago, professor marsh said, "it is now generally admitted by biologists who have made a study of vertebrates, that birds have come down to us through the dinosaurs, and the close affinity of the latter with recent struthious birds (ostrich, etc.), will hardly be questioned. the case amounts almost to a demonstration, if we compare with dinosaurs their contemporaries, the mesozoic birds. the classes of birds and reptiles, as now living, are separated by a gulf so profound that a few years since it was cited by the opponents of evolution as the most important break in the animal series, and one which that doctrine could not bridge over. since then, as professor huxley has clearly shown, this gap has been virtually filled by the discovery of bird-like reptiles and reptilian birds. compsognathus and archæopteryx of the old world, and ichthyornis and hesperornis of the new, are the stepping-stones by which the evolutionist of to-day leads the doubting brother across the shallow remnant of the gulf, once thought impassable."[ ] [ ] _the introduction and succession of vertebrate life in america._ an address delivered before the american association for the advancement of science, at nashville, tenn., august, . see _nature_, vol. xvi. we now pass on to describe two of the strangest and most wonderful of all the dinosaurs, recently discovered in the far west. the first of these is the stegosaurus,[ ] or plated lizard, not wholly unknown before, because part of its skeleton was found some years ago in a brickfield in the kimmeridge clay at swindon. it has been proved that some of the bones to which the name omosaurus[ ] has been applied really belonged to the former genus. [ ] greek--_stegos_, roof or covering; _sauros_, lizard. [ ] greek--_omos_, humerus, and _sauros_, lizard. with such complete specimens now known by professor marsh's descriptions, it will not be necessary to mention the meagre remains discovered in this country, or the conclusions arrived at by owen and seeley, interesting as they are. in the year professor marsh described, in the _american journal of science_, a considerable portion of a skeleton of a stegosaur, remarking that this genus proved to be one of the most remarkable animals yet discovered. it was found on the eastern flank of the rocky mountains, in strata of jurassic age; they indicated an animal about twenty-five feet long, and for this discovery science is indebted to professor a. lakes and engineer h. c. beckwith of the united states navy, who found the remains in colorado, near the locality of the gigantic atlantosaurus. the solid limb-bones seem to point to an aquatic life, but there can be little doubt that the monster did not pass all its time in the water. (fig. shows the skeleton.)[ ] [ ] the writer is informed that this skeleton is not yet mounted in the yale college museum, but that it will be before long. our artist has drawn it as if set up, with a man standing by for comparison. in professor marsh announced the discovery of additional remains from several localities. the most striking feature--from which the stegosaur takes its name--was the presence of huge bony plates belonging to its skin, as well as large and small spines. some of the plates were from two to three feet in diameter, and they were of various shapes. of the spines, some were of great size and power, one pair being each over two feet long! the skull was remarkably small, and more like that of a lizard than we find in most dinosaurs; the jaws were short and massive. little was known at first of the brain, but fortunately a later discovery showed the brain-case well preserved. later still, more than twenty other specimens of this dinosaur were obtained, so that nearly every portion of the skeleton is now known. the skulls indicate that the creature possessed large eyes and a considerable power of smell. the jaws contain but a single row of teeth in actual use; but as these wore out, they were replaced by others lodged in a cavity below. teeth, however, were not its strong point; they indicate a diet of soft succulent vegetation. the vertebræ have the faces of their centra more or less bi-concave. many curious features in the skeleton can only be explained with reference to the heavy armour of plates and spines with which the stegosaur was provided. thus the vertebræ have their "neural spines" expanded at the summit to aid in supporting part of the armour. (see fig. .) the fore limbs were short and massive, but provided with five fingers; the hind limbs were very much larger and more powerful. these and the powerful tail show that the monster could support itself on them as on a tripod, in an upright position, and this position must have been easily assumed in consequence of the massive hind quarters. as in iguanodon, there were three toes to the hind feet, and these were probably covered by strong hoofs. the fore limbs could move freely in various directions like a human arm, and were probably used in self-defence. (see fig. .) but for this purpose the tail with its four pairs of huge spines would be very effective, and one could easily imagine that a single deadly blow from such a tail would be sufficient to drive away, if not to kill, one of the carnivorous enemies of the species. all the plates and spines were, during life, protected by a thick horny covering, which must have increased their size and weight. such a covering seems to be clearly indicated by certain grooves and impressions that mark their surfaces. (see fig. .) the largest plates are unsymmetrical, and were probably arranged along the back, as in our restoration, plate ix. it will be noticed, by those who are familiar with our first edition that plate x. gives a somewhat different representation of the stegosaur, in which the length of the hind limbs is more apparent, and also they are more free from the body. [illustration: fig. --skeleton of _stegosaurus ungulatus_; length about feet. (after marsh.)] [illustration: plate x. a gigantic armoured dinosaur, stegosaurus ungulatus. length about feet.] [illustration: fig. .--tail vertebræ of _stegosaurus_. (after marsh.) . side view. . front view.] finally, the stegosaur displays a rather remarkable feature; for a very large chamber was found in the sacrum[ ] formed by an enlargement of the spinal cord. the chamber strongly resembled the brain-case in the skull, but was about ten times as large! so this anomalous monster had two sets of brains, one in its skull, and the other in the region of its haunches! and the latter, in directing the movements of the huge hind limbs and tail, did a large share of the work. the subject is a highly suggestive one, but at present requires further explanation. [ ] the sacrum may be thus defined: the vertebræ (usually fused together) which unite with the haunch-bones (_ilia_) to form the pelvis. [illustration: fig. .--limb-bones of _stegosaurus_. (after marsh.) . fore leg. . hind leg.] on the walls of the fossil reptile gallery at south kensington the reader will find a large framed drawing of the skeleton of stegosaurus, kindly sent by professor marsh, whose forthcoming monograph will be welcomed by all palæontologists. [illustration: fig. .-- , . plates of stegosaurus. the middle figures show their thickness. (after marsh.)] [illustration: fig. .-head of _triceratops_, seen from above. (after marsh.)] the last, and in some ways the strangest of the dinosaurs, was the triceratops[ ] that flourished in america at the end of the long mesozoic era, during the cretaceous period. the name refers to the three horn-cores found on the skull, which probably supported true horns like those of oxen. whereas the stegosaur was provided with quite a small skull, this monster had one of huge dimensions and remarkable shape (see figs. and ).[ ] in the younger ones it was about six feet long, but in an old individual must have reached a length of seven or eight feet. such a skull is only surpassed by some whales of the present day. twenty different skulls of this kind have been found, and professor marsh places the horned dinosaurs in a separate family, to which he has given the name ceratopsidæ, or horn-faced. their remains come from the laramie beds, believed to be of cretaceous age, but representing a remarkably mixed fauna and flora, so that some have considered them to be tertiary. the strata containing these fossils are very rich in organic remains, and have yielded not only other dinosaurs, but plesiosaurs, crocodiles, turtles, many small reptiles, a few birds, fishes, and small mammals. the ceratops beds are of fresh-water or brackish origin, and can now be traced for nearly eight hundred miles along the east flank of the rocky mountains. [ ] greek--_treis_, three; _ceras_, horn; _ops_, face. [ ] this skeleton has not yet been set up in the yale college museum, but will be before long. our artist has drawn it as if set up, with a man standing by for comparison. in an article in _the californian illustrated magazine_ for april, (quoted in the _review of reviews_ for may), an american writer incorrectly describes this monster as "higher than jumbo, and longer than two jumbos placed in a row." but the article is altogether untrustworthy, and the two "restorations" are absurd. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _triceratops prorsus_; length about feet. (after marsh.)] in this dinosaur we find the fore feet larger than usual in proportion to the hind limbs, and there can be no doubt that it walked on all fours. its length was about twenty-five feet. all the vertebræ and limb-bones are solid. the brain was smaller in proportion to the skull than in any known vertebrate. the teeth are remarkable in having two distinct roots. the wedge-like form of the skull is also very peculiar. the two large horns come immediately over the eyes, and the small one above the nose; this dinosaur was, therefore, well provided with weapons of offence, such as would be highly useful in driving away or wounding carnivorous enemies. the back part of the skull rises up into a kind of huge crest, and this during life was protected by a special fringe of bony plates. such an arrangement doubtless formed an effective shield to ward off blows when one triceratops was fighting another, as bulls or buffaloes of the present day fight with their horns. the mouths of these dinosaurs formed a kind of beak, sheathed in horn. the body as well as the skull was protected, but the nature and position of the defensive parts in different forms cannot yet be determined with certainty. various spines, bones, and plates have been found that evidently were meant for the protection of the creature's body, and belonged to the skin. probably some of these were placed on the back, behind the crest of the skull; some may have defended the throat, as in stegosaurus. altogether, triceratops is very different to any other dinosaur. one cannot help picturing it rather as a fierce rhinoceros-like animal. in the restoration (plate xi., frontispiece) our artist has given it a thick skin, rather like that of the rhinoceros, only indicating small bony plates, etc., here and there. professor marsh thinks that as the head increased in size to bear its armour of bony plates, the neck first, then the fore feet, and then the whole skeleton was specially modified to support it; and he concludes that as these changes took place in the course of the evolution of this wonderful dinosaur, the head at last became so large and heavy that it must have been too much for the body to bear, and so have led to its destruction! this conclusion, if sound, is a warning against carrying "specialisation" too far. if we wished to write an epitaph on the tomb of the monster, it ought (according to professor marsh) to be, "i and my race died of over-specialisation." [illustration: fig. .--bony spines belonging to the skin of _triceratops_. (after marsh.)] after all these various efforts to improve themselves and to perfect their organisation so as to bring it into harmony with their surroundings, or "environment," as the biologists say, it seems rather hard that the dinosaurs should have been extinguished, and their place in nature taken by a higher type; but all things have their day, even dinosaurs. with regard to the difficulties, hardships, and dangers attending the discovery and transport of the remains, professor marsh's concluding remarks may be quoted here, since they give us a glimpse into the nature of his explorations in the far west that have now become so famous. he says, "in conclusion, let me say a word as to how the discoveries here recorded have been accomplished. the main credit for the work justly belongs to my able assistant, mr. j. b. hatcher, who has done so much to bring to light the ancient life of the rocky mountain regions. i can only claim to have shared a few of the dangers and hardships with him, but without his skill little would have been accomplished. if you will bear in mind that two of the skulls weighed nearly two tons each, when partially freed from their matrix and ready for shipment, in a deep desert cañon, fifty miles from a railway, you will appreciate one of the mechanical difficulties overcome. when i add that some of the most interesting discoveries were made in the hunting-grounds of the hostile sioux indians, who regard such explorations with superstitious dread, you will understand another phase of the problem. i might speak of even greater difficulties and dangers, but the results attained repay all past efforts, and i hope at no distant day to have something more of interest to lay before you."[ ] [ ] _american journal of science_, vol. xli. p. . chapter viii. flying dragons. "geology does better in reclothing dry bones and revealing lost creations than in tracing veins of lead or beds of iron."--ruskin. the great ocean of air was not uninhabited during the long ages of the mesozoic era, when fishes swarmed in the seas, and reptiles, such as we have attempted to describe in the last five chapters, trod the earth, or swam across lakes and rivers. with such an exuberance of life in various forms, it would indeed have been strange if the atmosphere had only been tenanted by humble little insects like dragon-flies, locusts, or butterflies and moths, all of which we know were living then. now, the record of the rocks tells us that one great order of reptiles somehow acquired the power of flying, and flitted about as bats or flying-foxes do now. since they were undoubtedly reptiles--in spite of certain resemblances to birds--we have ventured to call them "flying dragons," as others have done. the notion of a flying reptile may perhaps seem strange, or even impossible to some persons; but no one has a right to say such and such a thing "cannot be," or is "contrary to nature," for the world is full of wonderful things such as we should have considered impossible had we not seen them with our eyes. charles kingsley, in his delightful fairy tale, _the water-babies_, makes some humorous remarks on that matter, which we may quote here. he says, "did not learned men too hold, till within the last twenty-five years, that a flying dragon was an impossible monster? and do we not now know that there are hundreds of them found fossil up and down the world? people call them pterodactyls; but that is only because they are ashamed to call them flying dragons, after denying so long that flying dragons could exist." the illustrious cuvier observes that it was not merely in magnitude that reptiles stood pre-eminent in ancient days, but they were distinguished by forms more varied and extraordinary than any that are now known to exist on the face of the earth. among these extinct beings of ages incalculably remote, are the pterodactyls,[ ] or "wing-fingered" creatures, which had the power of flight, not by a membrane stretched over elongated fingers as in bats, nor by a wing without distinct or complete fingers, as in birds, but by a membrane supported chiefly by a greatly extended little finger, the other fingers being short and armed with claws. [ ] from the greek--_pteron_, wing, and _dactylos_, finger. the only reptile now existing which has any power of sustaining itself in the air is the little _draco volans_, or "flying lizard," so called; but this can scarcely be regarded as a flying animal. its hinder pair of ribs, however, are prolonged to such an extent that they support a broad expansion of the skin, so spread out from side to side as to perform the office of a parachute, thus enabling the creature to spring from tree to tree by means of extended leaps; and this it does with wonderful activity. many forms of pterodactyl are known. some were not larger than a sparrow; others about the size of a woodcock; yet others much larger, the largest of all having a spread of wing (or rather of the flying membranes) of twenty-five feet! it has been concluded that they could perch on trees, hang against perpendicular surfaces, such as the edge of a cliff, stand firmly on the ground, and probably crawl on all fours with wings folded. it may be well at once to point out that the pterodactyl had no _true_ wings like those of a bird, but a thin membrane similar to that of a bat, only differently supported; so it must be understood that, when we use the word "wing," it is not in the scientific sense that we are using it, but in the popular sense, just as we might speak of the wing of a bat, although the bat has no true wing. figs. , , , and will give the reader some idea of the various forms presented by the skeletons of pterodactyls, or, as some authorities call them, pterosaurians (winged lizards). great differences of opinion have existed among palæontologists as to whether they are more reptilian than bird-like, or even mammalian. more than a hundred years ago, in , collini, who was director of the elector-palatine museum at mannheim, described a skeleton which he regarded as that of an unknown marine animal. it was a long-billed pterodactyl from the famous lithographic stone of solenhofen in bavaria. the specimen was figured in the _memoirs of the palatine academy_. collini was able from this specimen to make out the head, neck, small tail, left leg, and two arms; but beyond that, he was at a loss. his conclusion was that the skeleton belonged neither to a bat nor to a bird, and he inquired whether it might not be an amphibian. in this specimen came into cuvier's hands, who at once perceived that it belonged to a reptile that could fly, and it was he who proposed the name pterodactyl. until the oracle at paris was consulted, the greatest uncertainty prevailed, one naturalist regarding it as a bird, another as a bat. cuvier, with his penetrating eye and patient investigation, combated these theories, supported though they were by weighty authorities. the principal key by means of which he solved the problem, and detected the saurian relationship of the pterodactyl, seems to have been a certain bone belonging to the skull, known as the quadrate bone. in his great work, _ossemens fossiles_, he says, "behold an animal which, in its osteology, from its teeth to the end of its claws, offers all the characters of the saurians.... but it was, at the same time, an animal provided with the means of flight--which, when stationary, could not have made much use of its anterior extremities, even if it did not keep them always folded as birds keep their wings, which nevertheless might use its small anterior fingers to suspend itself from the branches of trees, but when at rest must have been ordinarily on its hind feet, like the birds again; and also, like them, must have carried its neck sub-erect and curved backwards, so that its enormous head should not interrupt its equilibrium." pterodactylus macronyx, or, as it is now called, dimorphodon macronyx (fig. ), was about the size of a raven. it was discovered in by the late miss mary anning, the well-known collector of fossils from the liassic rocks that form the cliffs alone: the coast of dorsetshire, near lyme-regis. this important specimen was figured and described by dr. buckland, in the _transactions of the geological society_. he suggested the specific name macronyx on account of the great length of the claws. [illustration: fig. --skeleton of _dimorphodon macronyx_. (after owen.)] this authority pointed out an unusual provision for giving support and power of movement to the large head at the extremity of a rather long neck, namely, the occurrence of fine long tendons running parallel to the neck-vertebræ. this does not occur in any modern lizards, whose necks are short, and require no such aid to support the head. they are a compensation for weakness that would otherwise arise from the elongation of the neck, supporting, as it did, such a large head. the neck-vertebræ in this species are large and strong, and capable of great flexibility forwards and backwards, so that the creature, by bending its neck during flight into the shape of an s, could throw its head back towards the centre of gravity. the restoration of the skeleton seen in the figure is by professor owen. it is probable that this pterodactyl could walk on the ground with its wings folded, and perhaps it was also capable of perching on trees, by clinging on to their branches with its feet and toes. when the flying membrane was stretched out it must, on account of the long tail to which it was also attached, have presented a triangular shape, somewhat like a boy's kite. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _scaphognathus crassirostris_. / natural size.] another genus, also from the lithographic slate of bavaria, namely, scaphognathus crassirostris (so called on account of its large beak and jaws), had a very short tail, and its skeleton looks somewhat clumsy for a creature adapted to fly through the air (fig. ). pterodactylus spectabilis, from the same strata, also possessed a very short tail, but has a more elegant and bird-like skull. this pretty little flying dragon was only about as large as a sparrow (see fig. ). its neck is comparatively short, with but few joints. the long slender beak was probably sheathed in horn, and the skull in several ways approaches that of a bird. since there are no teeth in the jaws, we may suppose that it devoured dragon-flies or other insects, such as we know were in existence during the period when the lithographic stone of bavaria was being deposited. those forms that were provided with teeth probably devoured such fishes as they could catch by swooping down upon the surface of the water. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _pterodactylus spectabilis_.] cuvier thought, from the magnitude of their eyes, that pterodactyls were of nocturnal habits. "with flocks of such creatures flying in the air, and shoals of no less monstrous ichthyosauri and plesiosauri swarming in the ocean, and gigantic crocodiles and tortoises crawling on the shores of the primæval lakes and rivers--air, sea, and land must have been strangely tenanted in these early periods of our infant world."[ ] [ ] buckland, _bridgewater treatise_. it was thought at one time that birds differed from pterodactyls in the absence of teeth; but this only holds good for modern birds. if we go back to the mesozoic age, we find that birds at that time did possess teeth. the oldest known bird, the archæopteryx, had teeth in its jaws, and presents some very striking points of resemblance to reptiles. but if we compare the skeleton of a pterodactyl (such as the p. spectabilis, now under consideration) with that of a bird, we shall see in its fore limbs certain very obvious differences. a bird never has more than three fingers in its hand or wing (viz. the thumb and next two digits), and the bones that support these fingers, corresponding to the bones in the palm of a human hand, are joined together. neither of the bones corresponding to our fingers are much elongated, and of these the longest is that which corresponds to the thumb. but, on referring to the skeleton of our pterodactyl, we find that it has four fingers, three of which are fairly developed and furnished with claws, while the outermost one is enormously elongated. this is believed to correspond to the little finger of the human hand, while the thumb seems to be represented by a small bone seen at the wrist. it was this long outside finger that chiefly served to support the flying membrane of the pterodactyl. for this and other reasons, we are forbidden to look upon these creatures as relatives of birds. again, all birds that can fly possess a "merrythought," or furculum; and such is not found in the pterodactyl. as we have already remarked, some authorities, when these creatures were first brought to light, considered them to be mammals, as bats are. but equally conclusive arguments may be brought forward against that view. all mammals have the skull jointed to the backbone by two articulations, known as "condyles," whereas pterodactyls have only one--in that respect resembling reptiles and birds. also there are important differences in the structure of their jaws, showing that they are constructed on the reptilian plan, and not on that of the mammal. in order to give rapid movement to their wings during flight, they had powerful muscles in the region of the chest. these were attached to a shield-like breast-bone provided with a keel--as in birds. but this bird-like feature is only a necessary provision to enable them to fly, and does not point to any relationship. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _rhamphorhynchus phyllurus_, with delicate impressions of the flying membranes. (after marsh.)] in the year was discovered, in the lithographic stone of bavaria, at eichstädt, a very beautiful new form of pterodactyl. this was the rhamphorhynchus phyllurus. the specimen is in a remarkable state of preservation; for the bones of the skeleton are nearly all in position, while those of both wings show very perfect impressions of the membranes attached to them. its long tail supported another small leaf-like membrane, which was evidently used as a rudder in flight (see fig. ). the discovery of this valuable specimen attracted much attention at the time. it was bought, by telegram, for professor marsh, and so secured for the yale college museum; but a cast may be seen at south kensington (wall-case, no. , gallery iv. on plan). any one who looks carefully at the beautiful impressions of the wings of this specimen can see that they must have been produced by a thin smooth membrane, very similar to that of bats. when this elegant little creature was covered up by the fine soft mud that now forms the lithographic stone, its wings were partly folded, so that the membranes were more or less contracted into folds, like an umbrella only partly open. these appear to have been attached all along the arm and to the end of the long finger. they then made a graceful curve backward to the hind foot, and probably were continued beyond the latter so as to join the tail. with its graceful pointed wings and long tail, this little flying saurian must have been a beautiful object, as it slowly mounted upwards from some cliff overlooking the jurassic seas. (see plate xii.) like those already described, it was provided with four short-clawed fingers, as well as the one which mainly supported its wing. some of the continental museums contain good collections of fossil pterodactyls; but the largest collection in the world is that of yale college, where professor marsh declares there are the remains of six hundred individuals from the american cretaceous rocks alone! [illustration: fig. .--skull of _pteranodon_. . side view. . top view. (after marsh.)] some of the fragmentary remains from our cambridge greensand formation indicate pterodactyls of enormous size. thus the neck-vertebræ of one species measure two inches in length, while portions of arm-bones are three inches broad. it is probable that the creatures to which these bones once belonged measured eighteen or twenty feet from tip to tip of the wings. other also fragmentary remains from the chalk of kent testify to the existence of pterodactyls during that period fully equal in size. but the largest pterodactyls hail, like so many other big things, from america. professor marsh tells us of monsters in his famous collection with a spread of wings of twenty to twenty-five feet! these large forms had no teeth in their jaws, and their skulls are of a peculiar form. the long-pointed jaws were probably sheathed in horn during life, as in birds (see fig. ). according to marsh, these toothless forms (which he calls pteranodonts) were mostly of gigantic size. with regard to their food it is almost vain to speculate; but if they _did_ prey upon fishes, they must have had a capacious mouth and gullet, and must have swallowed their prey whole, after the fashion of pelicans. but we doubt if they had the peculiar pouch possessed by those birds. in the absence of more complete accounts of the large forms the artist has only attempted to restore the small ones. (see plate xii., showing four different kinds.) [illustration: plate xii. group of small flying dragons, or pterodactyls. _rhamphorhynchus phyllurus._ _pterodactylus crassirostris. dimorphodon macronyx._ _pterodactylus spectabilis._] whether pterodactyls were cold-blooded or warm-blooded is a question on which the authorities are not agreed. professor owen argued from the absence of feathers that they could not have been warm-blooded. but, in spite of this great authority, who has defended his opinion somewhat strongly, there are others who argue that the amount of work involved in sustaining a pterodactyl in the air make it highly probable that it was warm-blooded. the absence of feathers to retain the heat of the body need not be regarded as conclusive, for bats are warm-blooded animals, and in their case the heat of the body is retained by a slight downy covering to the skin. such a covering may have protected the bodies of pterodactyls, and we could not expect to see any trace of it in the bavarian specimen of rhamphorhynchus referred to above. an important fact bearing on this question is the discovery of perforations in the bones of these animals very similar to those seen in birds. now, birds have a wonderful system of respiration, or breathing. the air they breathe passes, not into their lungs only, but penetrates to the remotest parts of their system, filling their very bones with life, and endowing them with activity and animation adapted to their active aërial existence. it may, therefore, be argued that pterodactyls breathed much in the same way; that their bones, too, were supplied with air by an elaborate system of air-sacs, and that they had lungs like those of birds. we cannot, however, stop there, but are led on by physiological reasoning to conclude that the circulation of the blood must have been rapid, and that the heart was like that of birds and mammals, four-celled. it would therefore follow--since birds and mammals are warm-blooded--that pterodactyls were also. such, at least, is the view of professor h. g. seeley, who says of the cambridge specimens, "that they lived exclusively upon land and in air is improbable, considering the circumstances under which their remains are found. it is likely that they haunted the sea-shores, and, while sometimes rowing themselves over the water with their powerful wings, used the wing-membranes, as the bat does, to enclose their prey, and bring it to the mouth. "the large cambridge pterodactyls probably pursued a more substantial prey than dragon-flies. their teeth are well suited for fish, but probably fowl and small mammals, and even fruits, made a variety in their food. as lord of the cliff, it may be presumed to have taken toll of all animals that could be conquered with tooth and nail. from its brain it might be regarded as an intelligent animal. the jaws present indications of having been sheathed with a horny covering." probably the large pterodactyls of the cretaceous period, soaring like albatrosses and giant petrels over the surface of the ocean, co-operated with the marine reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, crocodiles, and others, as those sea-birds now do with the whales, porpoises, and dolphins, in reducing the excessive numbers of the teeming tribes of fishes, and in maintaining the balance of oceanic life. with regard to the place of pterodactyls in the animal kingdom, professor seeley places them as a distinct sub-class, side by side with birds, and between mammals and reptiles, thus-- mammalia. o r n i t a h v o e s s a u r i a reptilia. the name ornithosauria (bird-lizards) is frequently used instead of the other name, because it expresses the idea of their being partly saurian, and partly bird-like. they flourished from the period of the lias to that of the chalk; and then, like so many other strange forms, seem to have suddenly disappeared. chapter ix. sea-serpents. "sand-strewn caverns, cool and deep, where the winds are all asleep; where the spent lights quiver and gleam, where the salt weed sways in the stream; where the sea-beasts, ranged all round, feed in the ooze of their pasture-ground; where the sea-snakes coil and twine, dry their mail, and bask in the brine." _the forsaken merman._ it has been said that everything on earth has its double in the water. are there not water-beetles, water-scorpions, water-rats, water-snakes, sea-lions, sea-horses, and a host of other living things, whether plants or animals, bearing some sort of resemblance to others that live on land? then why not sea-serpents? the great controversy of the sea-serpent, that has so often been discussed in the newspapers, need not be considered here. we are dealing not with the present, but with the past; and whether or no the wonderful sailors' yarns of sea-serpents can be regarded as authentic, even in a single case, we can offer our readers infallible proof that, during the so-called "age of reptiles," certain monstrous saurian animals flourished in considerable abundance, which, though not true serpents, nevertheless must have borne a striking resemblance to such, as they cleaved he waters of primæval seas.[ ] [ ] see an interesting little work, entitled, _sea-monsters unmasked_, by h. lee (clowes and sons). appendix ii. contains some extracts therefrom. the modern evolutionist believes that snakes are descended from lizards, possessing, as usual, four legs; that some primitive form of lizard with very small legs appeared on the scene, and found that it could better move along by wriggling its body and pushing with its ribs than by walking. so, in course of time, a race of lizards without legs arose; these, by natural selection, and perhaps other means, became more and more elongated, so that they could move faster than their ancestors, and glide out of harm's way more effectually. thus was the snake evolved from a lizard. now, in the great geological museum of the stratified rocks, there have been discovered skeletons of marine reptiles, which propelled themselves chiefly by means of their tails and elongated bodies, rather than by their limbs. the limbs were not discarded entirely as in the case of the serpents, but were useful in their way as the fins of fishes are. perhaps, therefore, we may be justified in calling these ancient monsters sea-serpents, in consideration of their long thin bodies; for they certainly would be called by that name if now living. strictly speaking, they were not serpents, but more or less like some of the extinct saurians described in chap. iv. the name, however, has been adopted by geologists, and is useful in so far as it serves to remind us of their very peculiar shape and structure. remains of these strange creatures have been found both in europe and america. one of the earliest discoveries of remains of a fossil sea-serpent was made by m. hoffman, a dutch military surgeon, in the year . maestricht, a city in the interior of the netherlands, situated in the valley of the meuse, stands on certain strata of limestone and sandstone, belonging to the upper chalk. extensive quarries have, for many centuries, been worked in the sandstone, especially in the eminence called st. peter's mount, which is a cape or headland between the meuse and the jaar. this elevated plateau extends for some distance towards liége, and presents an almost perpendicular cliff towards the meuse. from the extensive works that have so long been carried on, immense quantities of stone have been removed, and the centre of the mountain is traversed by galleries, and hollowed by vast excavations. innumerable fossils, such as marine shells, corals, crustaceans, bones and teeth of fishes, have been obtained from this rock. but st. peter's mount is now chiefly celebrated for the discovery of the bones and teeth of a huge saurian, to which mr. conybeare has given the name mosasaurus, on account of its connection with the river meuse. m. hoffman had long been an assiduous collector of fossils from this neighbourhood, and he had the good fortune to obtain the famous specimen on which this genus is founded. it was at first considered, by m. faujas st. fond, to be a crocodile; but cuvier and camper formed a different and better conclusion. perhaps no fossil ever had such a remarkable history as this one, as the following account, from m. faujas st. fond's work on the fossils of st. peter's mount,[ ] will show. [ ] _histoire naturelle de la montagne de st. pierre._ this account is given by dr. mantell, in his _petrifactions and their teaching_, . "some workmen, on blasting the rock in one of the caverns of the interior of the mountain, perceived, to their astonishment, the jaws of a large animal attached to the roof of the chasm. the discovery was immediately made known to m. hoffman, who repaired to the spot, and for weeks presided over the arduous task of separating the mass of stone containing these remains from the surrounding rock. his labours were rewarded by the successful extrication of the specimen, which he conveyed in triumph to his house. this extraordinary discovery, however, soon became the subject of general conversation, and excited so much interest, that the canon of the cathedral which stands on the mountain resolved to claim the fossil, in right of being lord of the manor; and succeeded, after a long and harassing lawsuit, in obtaining this precious relic. it remained for years in his possession, and hoffman died without regaining his treasure, or receiving any compensation. at length the french revolution broke out, and the armies of the republic advanced to the gates of maestricht. the town was bombarded; but, at the suggestion of the committee of savans who accompanied the french troops to select their share of the plunder, the artillery was not suffered to play on that part of the city in which the celebrated fossil was known to be preserved. in the mean time, the canon of st. peter's, shrewdly suspecting the reason why such peculiar favour was shown to his residence, removed the specimen, and concealed it in a vault; but when the city was taken, the french authorities compelled him to give up his ill-gotten prize, which was immediately transmitted to the jardin des plantes, at paris, where it still forms one of the most striking objects in that magnificent collection." dr. mantell quotes the frenchman's remark on this transaction: "_la justice, quoique tardive, arrive enfin avec le temps_:" but adds, "the reader will probably think that, although the reverend canon was justly despoiled of his ill-gotten treasure, the french commissioners were but very equivocal representatives of _justice_!" the beautiful cast (fig. ) at south kensington (fossil reptile gallery, wall-case ) was presented to dr. mantell by baron cuvier in . it consists of both jaws, with numerous teeth, and some other parts (see fig. ). the length is about four and a half feet. this nearly perfect head was for a time a stumbling-block to many naturalists, some of whom were of opinion that it belonged to a whale. cuvier and others considered it to be a kind of link between the iguanas and the monitors.[ ] [ ] the monitors are a family of large lizards inhabiting the warmer parts of africa and asia. they live near the banks of rivers, and some are altogether aquatic. they often devour the eggs of crocodiles and aquatic birds. the nile monitor, or varanus, grows to a length of six feet. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _mosasaurus hoffmanni_. the original is - / ft. by - / ft.] [illustration: fig. .--teeth of mosasaurus (half natural size). ^a, ^a, transverse sections of the teeth.] the entire backbone of the maestricht animal appears to have consisted of one hundred and thirty-one vertebræ, of which ninety-seven belonged to the tail. the total length of the skeleton is estimated at twenty-four feet, and the head was about one-sixth of the total length. the tail is only ten feet long, whereas in a crocodile the tail exceeds the length of the body. although in his day the limbs of the mosasaurus were imperfectly known, cuvier rightly considered them to be adapted for swimming, and, with his usual foresight, concluded that this monster was a marine reptile of great strength and activity, having a large tail flattened vertically and capable of being moved from side to side with such force and rapidity as to be a powerful organ of propulsion, capable of stemming the most agitated waters. the large conical recurved teeth, the largest of which was nearly three inches long, are well seen in figs. and . dr. mantell was fortunate enough to find, in the year , some vertebræ from the english chalk near lewes, which were identified as belonging to a mosasaurus. in a portion of a lower jaw with large conical teeth was discovered in the chalk near norwich. but these teeth were not quite similar to those of the maestricht specimen, and professor owen therefore founded upon them the new genus leiodon.[ ] but leiodon must have been very similar to mosasaurus. [ ] greek--_leios_, smooth, and _odous_, tooth. [illustration: fig. .--lower tooth of _leiodon_. . side view. . profile.] of late years many fine specimens have been discovered in north america, and the labours of leidy, marsh, and cope have been of the greatest service in completing our knowledge of this strange group of saurians. in the american cretaceous seas they ruled supreme, as their numbers, size, and carnivorous habits enabled them easily to vanquish all rivals. probably some of them were seventy-five feet in length, the smallest being ten or twelve feet long. in the inland cretaceous sea from which the rocky mountains were beginning to emerge, these ancient sea-serpents abounded; and many were entombed in its muddy deposits. on one occasion, as professor marsh rode through a valley washed out of this old ocean bed, he observed no less than seven different skeletons of these monsters in sight at once! the same authority mentions that the museum of yale college contains remains of not less than distinct individuals. in some of these the skeleton is nearly if not quite complete; so that every part of its structure can be determined with almost absolute certainty. according to professor cope of pennsylvania university, who has made a special study of this group of extinct saurians, fifty-one species have been discovered in north america, in the states of new jersey, alabama, kansas, north carolina, mississippi, and nebraska. the same authority has shown that they were characterised by a wonderful elongation of form, especially of the tail; that their heads were large, flat, and conical in shape, with eyes directed partly upward; that they were furnished with two pairs of paddles like the flippers of a whale. with these flippers, and the eel-like strokes of their flattened tail, they swam with considerable speed. like snakes, they were furnished with four rows of formidable teeth on the roof of the mouth, which served admirably for seizing their prey. but the most remarkable feature in these creatures was the arrangement for permitting them to swallow their prey whole, in the manner of snakes. thus each half of the lower jaw was articulated at a point nearly midway between the ear and the chin, so as to greatly widen the space between the jaws, and professor cope thinks that the throat must consequently have been loose and baggy. professor cope, however, in giving the name pythonomorpha to this ancient group, has pressed his views too far, and dwelt unduly on their supposed relationship with serpents. other authorities regard them as essentially swimming lizards, with four well-developed paddles; and this is probably the right view to take of them. the following graphic account of the region where professor cope has discovered the skeletons of many sea-serpents, and of their habits and aspect when alive, is taken from his well-known work on the cretaceous vertebrata of the west.[ ] after describing this region as a vast level tract between the missouri and the rocky mountains, he says, "if the explorer searches the bottoms of the rain-washes and ravines, he will doubtless come upon the fragment of a tooth or jaw, and will generally find a line of such pieces leading to an elevated position on the bank or bluff, where lies the skeleton of some monster of the ancient sea. he may find the vertebral column running far into the limestone that locks him in his last prison; or a paddle extended on the slope, as though entreating aid; or a pair of jaws lined with horrid teeth, which grin despair on enemies they are helpless to resist; or he may find a conic mound, on whose apex glisten in the sun the bleached bones of one whose last office has been to preserve from destruction the friendly soil on which he reposed. sometimes a pile of huge remains will be discovered, which the dissolution of the rock has deposited on the lower level; the force of rain and wash having been insufficient to carry them away." [ ] _report of the united states geological and geographical survey of the territories_, vol. ii., (_cretaceous vertebrata_). [illustration: plate xiii. group of sea-serpents, elasmosaur, and fishes. fishes, _portheus_. _elasmosaurus._ length feet. _beryx._ _clidastes._ length feet. _osmeroides_, etc. _mosasaurus._ length feet.] but the reader inquires, "what is the nature of these creatures thus left stranded a thousand miles from either ocean? how came they in the limestone of kansas, and were they denizens of land?" these creatures lived in the cretaceous period. the remains found in this region were mostly those of reptiles and fishes. thirty-five species of reptiles are known from kansas alone, representing six orders, and varying in length from ten to eighty feet. one was terrestrial, four were fliers, the rest inhabited the ocean. "when they swam over what are now the plains, the coast-line extended from arkansas to near fort riley, on the kansas river, and, passing a little eastward, traversed minnesota to the british possessions, near the head of lake superior. the extent of sea to the westward was vast, and geology has not yet laid down its boundary; it was probably a shore now submerged beneath the waters of the north pacific." other very elongated marine reptiles of this period, but with much thicker bodies, are called, by professor cope, elasmosaurs. in this group, which is not yet fully worked out, occur such genera as cimoliosaurus, polycotylus, polyptychodon, and others. but it seems a pity that they should be in any way separated from the plesiosaurs, which they strongly resemble (see chap. iv., plate iii.). though not sea-serpents, we have introduced them here because they flourished at the same time, and lived in the same seas with the mosasaurs and other forms of that group. the very large teeth, with strongly marked ridges, of the polyptychodon are abundant in the cambridge greensand that underlies the chalk, and represent a very huge animal. in our illustration, plate xiii., the artist has represented the elasmosaurus[ ] (of cope) with its long thin neck stretched out in search of food on the bed of the sea. professor cope--thus describing this monster, in language which seems somewhat fanciful--says, "far out on the expanse of this ancient sea might have been seen a huge snake-like form, which rose above the surface, and stood erect, with tapering throat and arrow-shaped head, or swayed about, describing a circle of twenty feet radius above the water. then plunging into the depths, naught would be visible but the foam caused by the disappearing mass of life. should several have appeared together, we can easily imagine tall, flexible forms rising to the height of the masts of a fishing-fleet, or like snakes twisting and knotting themselves together. this extraordinary neck--for such it was--rose from a body of elephantine proportions. the limbs were probably two pairs of paddles, like those of plesiosaurus, from which this diver chiefly differed in the arrangement of the bones of the breast. in the best-known species twenty-two feet represent the neck in a total length of fifty feet. this is elasmosaurus platyurus (cope), a carnivorous sea-reptile, no doubt adapted for deeper waters than many of the others. like the snake-bird of florida, it probably often swam many feet below the surface, raising the head to the distant air for breath, then withdrawing it, and exploring the depths forty feet below, without altering the position of its body. from the localities in which the bones have been found in kansas, it must have wandered far from land; and that many kinds of fishes formed its food is shown by the teeth and scales found in the position of its stomach." [ ] greek--_elasmos_, plate; _sauros_, lizard: probably on account of the shape of the paddles. but to return to the sea-serpents. mosasaurus is now known to have been a long slender reptile, with a pair of powerful paddles in front, a moderately long neck, and flat pointed head. the tail was very long--flat and deep--like that of a great eel. mosasaurus princeps is computed to have been seventy-five to eighty feet long. clidastes was another genus of long and slender shape, one species of which reached a length of forty feet. some forms of sea-serpent had sclerotic plates in the eye, such as we found in the fish-lizard, or ichthyosaurus (p. ), but the announcement that their bodies were protected by bony plates has turned out to be a mistake, and the supposed plates really belonged to the eye. leiodon proriger (cope) was abundant in the old north american cretaceous sea, and reached a length of seventy-five feet. it had a long projecting muzzle, somewhat like the snout of a sturgeon. platecarpus and tylosaurus had peculiarly sharp-pointed heads (see fig. ). [illustration: fig. .--snout of tylosaurus. (after marsh.)] a few words may be added here with regard to professor cope's important discovery of leiodon--a genus already alluded to as having been founded by sir richard owen. the type specimen of leiodon dyseplor,[ ] which first indicated the characters of this wonderful species, was obtained from the yellow beds of the niobrara epoch of the jornada del muerto, near fort mcrae, new mexico. the greater part of the remains have been described by professor leidy. but a second specimen, more complete in all respects, was discovered by professor cope's exploring party during an expedition from fort wallace, kansas, in . this specimen he has fully described and figured in the report already referred to (p. ). it is a very instructive specimen, including fifty of the vertebræ from all parts of the vertebral column, a large part of the cranium, with teeth, as well as important limb-bones. these precious relics were excavated from a chalk "bluff," or high bank. fragments of the jaws were seen lying on the slope, and other portions entered the shale. on being followed, a part of the skull was taken from beneath the roots of a bush, and the vertebræ and limb-bones were found farther in. the series of vertebræ, after extending some way along the face of the bluff, finally turned into the hill, and were followed as far as time would permit, but part of the tail series had to be left. in size, the vertebræ of this enormous sea-serpent exceed those of mosasaurus brumbyi. the latter has hitherto been the largest known species of the order of pythonomorphs, exceeding twofold in its measurements the m. giganteus of belgium. so the present reptile is much larger in its dimensions than the new jersey species called maximus by professor cope. "if, as appears certain," says the professor, "the mosasauroid discovered by webb measures seventy-five feet in length, and the m. maximus measured eighty, the leiodon dyspelor must have been the longest reptile known, and approaches very nearly the extreme of the mammalian growth seen in the whales, though, of course, without their bulk. such monsters may well excite our surprise, as well as our curiosity, in the inquiry as to their source of food-supply, and what the character of those contemporary animals preserved in the same geologic horizon." [ ] we retain the old spelling with the _e_ as being nearer to the greek, although professor cope writes it "liodon." in our illustration, plate xiii., the artist has endeavoured to realise the outward aspect of the two genera of sea-serpents, mosasaurus and clidastes. the fishes which they are pursuing are well-known genera from the english chalk, such as beryx. ten species of clidastes have been unearthed from the kansas strata. they did not reach such a size as the leiodons, but were of elegant and flexible build, the largest species, c. cineriarum, reaching a length of forty feet (see fig. ). a smaller species, of elegant proportions, has been called c. tortor (cope). its slenderness of body was remarkable, and the large head was long and lance-shaped. its lithe movements doubtless helped it to secure many fishes. it was found coiled up beneath a ledge of rock, with its skull lying undisturbed in the centre. the accounts given by professor cope of his explorations and the difficulties encountered in procuring the valuable specimens on which his conclusions are based, are most interesting, and such as every fossil-hunter will appreciate. we, in england, who visit clay pits, stone quarries, railway cuttings, etc., during a morning or an afternoon walk, and return home at our leisure with a few small specimens in our pockets, or in a bag at our back, can hardly realise how arduous must be the work of finding, digging out, and transporting for such long distances the remains of the monsters of kansas and other parts of north america. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _clidastes cineriarum_; length feet. (after cope.)] the following extracts have been selected from professor cope's report, with a view to illustrating the nature of the explorations undertaken. "the circumstances attending the discovery of one of these will always be a pleasant recollection to the writer. a part of the face, with teeth, was observed projecting from the side of a bluff by a companion in exploration, lieutenant james h. whitten, united states army, and we at once proceeded to follow up the indication with knives and picks. soon the lower jaws were uncovered, with their glistening teeth, and then the vertebræ and ribs. our delight was at its height when the bones of the pelvis and part of the hind limb were laid bare, for they had never been seen before in the species, and scarcely in the order. while lying on the bottom of the cretaceous sea, the carcase had been dragged hither and thither by the sharks and other rapacious animals, and the parts of the skeleton were displaced and gathered into a small area. the massive tail stretched away into the bluff, and, after much laborious excavation, we left a portion of it to more persevering explorers." "the discovery of a related species, platecarpus coryphæus (cope), was made by the writer under circumstances of difficulty peculiar to the plains. after examining the bluffs for half a day without result, a few bone fragments were found in a wash above their base. others led the way to a ledge forty or fifty feet from both summit and foot, where, stretched along in the yellow chalk, lay the projecting portions of the whole monster. a considerable number of vertebræ were found preserved by the protective embrace of the roots of a small bush, and, when they were secured, the pick and knife were brought into requisition to remove the remainder. about this time, one of the gales, so common in that region, sprang up, and striking the bluff fairly, reflected itself upwards. so soon as the pick pulverised the rock, the limestone dust was carried into eyes, nose, and every available opening in the clothing. i was speedily blinded, and my aid disappeared in the cañon, and was seen no more while the work lasted. a handkerchief tied over the face, and pierced by minute holes opposite the eyes, kept me from total blindness, though dirt in abundance penetrated the mask. but a fine relic of creative genius was extracted from its ancient bed, and one that leads its genus in size, and explains its structure." [illustration: fig. _a_.--skull of _platecarpus_. upper cretaceous. north america. (after cope.)] "on another occasion, riding along a spur of yellow chalk bluff, some vertebræ lying at its foot met my eye. an examination showed that the series entered the rock, and, on passing round to the opposite side, the jaws and muzzle were seen projecting from it, as though laid bare for the convenience of the geologist. the spur was small and of soft material, and we speedily removed it in blocks, to the level of the reptile, and took out the remains as they lay across the base from side to side." in taking leave of the "age of reptiles," we cannot but marvel greatly at the diversity of forms assumed by the various orders of this class, their strange uncouth appearance, their assumption, in some cases, of characters only known at the present day among the mammals, their great abundance, and the perfect state in which their remains have been preserved in the stratified rocks of various parts of the world. and the reader may naturally ask, "how is it that so many types have disappeared altogether, leaving us out of a total of at least nine orders, only four, viz. those represented by crocodiles, lizards, snakes, and turtles?" to such a question we can only answer that the causes of the extinction of plants and animals in the past are not yet known. climate, geographical conditions, food-supply, competition, with other causes, doubtless operated then as now; but if there is one clear lesson taught by the record of the rocks, it is this--that there has been at work from the earliest periods a law of progress, so that higher types, coming in at certain stages, have ousted the lower types, sometimes only partially, sometimes completely. but why the dinosaurs, for instance, perished entirely, while the crocodiles survived to the present day, no one can yet explain. we can see no reason, however, why such problems as these should not be solved in the future by the co-operating labours of naturalists and geologists. in the great onward and upward struggle for existence, higher types have supplanted lower ones; and, in accordance with this biological truth, we find that in the next era (known as the tertiary or cainozoic) the mammal held the field while the reptile took a subordinate place. chapter x. some american monsters. "geology, in the magnitude and sublimity of the objects of which it treats, ranks next to astronomy in the scale of the sciences."--sir john f. w. herschel. with the advent of the cainozoic or tertiary era, we enter upon the "age of mammals," when great quadrupeds suddenly came upon the scene. the place of the reptile was now taken by the mammal. in the long previous era this higher type of life was not altogether wanting, but as far as the geological record is yet known, it appears only to have been represented by a few primitive little creatures, probably marsupials, whose jaw-bones have been discovered in the new red sandstone, and the stonesfield oolite.[ ] [ ] the english cretaceous rocks, previously thought to be destitute of mammalian remains, have quite recently yielded teeth belonging to some small mammal. these were found in wealden strata. geology tells of a great gap between the highest rocks of the cretaceous period and the lowest group of the succeeding eocene period (see table of strata, appendix i.). this gap, or break, testifies to a very long interval of time during which important geographical and other changes took place; and consequently we find in eocene rocks (at the base of the cainozoic series) a very different fauna and flora to that which is preserved in the chalk formation. the researches of cuvier among the fossils collected from eocene rocks in the neighbourhood of paris, especially the gypseous series of montmartre, revealed the existence of a very extensive fauna, especially of new types of mammals; and his restoration of the palæotherium, a tapir-like animal, and other forms, created a vast amount of interest, and greatly stimulated the study of extinct animals. as we have already remarked, the science of palæontology may be said to have been founded by cuvier (see introduction, p. ). but now the scene shifts once more from europe to the wilds of the far west. american geologists tell us that a long time ago (during the eocene period) there was a great tropical lake in the wyoming territory, on the borders of which roamed, amidst luxuriant vegetation, a large number of strange and primitive quadrupeds, together with many other forms of life. the most wonderful group of animals that haunted the shores of this lake, or series of lakes, was the dinocerata so fully described by professor marsh, in his exhaustive monograph.[ ] the name implies that they were terrible horned monsters, but whether nature provided them with true horns, like those of horned cattle to-day, is at least open to doubt. [ ] _the dinocerata_, a monograph by o. c. marsh, _united states geological survey_, vol. x. fig. shows the skeleton of one of these, namely, tinoceras ingens. its length was about feet without the tail. its weight, when alive, is calculated to have been six thousand pounds, or about two tons and three quarters. plate xiv. is a restoration of the tinoceras, made by our artist, after much consideration and careful study of the valuable cast exhibited in the natural history museum at south kensington, which was generously presented by professor marsh (gallery i. case mm on plan). in planning this and other restorations, both artist and author have received valuable assistance from dr. henry woodward, f.r.s., keeper of the geological department of the museum, who is ever ready to help with his great knowledge those who come to consult him. there may be differences of opinion among palæontologists as to the appearance presented by this formidable creature when alive, and no doubt the nature of the skin must always be more or less a matter of conjecture in such cases, but we venture to hope that the restoration here given, based as it is upon mr. smit's thorough acquaintance with living animals and professor marsh's description, will meet with a favourable verdict. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _tinoceras ingens_. (after marsh.)] looking at the skeleton, one is struck with a certain resemblance to the rhinoceros on one hand, and to the elephant on the other. the legs are very elephantine, and the feet must have been covered with thick pads, but the body reminds one more of the rhinoceros; and yet, again, there is some suggestion of the hippopotamus. the eye was small and deep set, as in the rhinoceros. in the upper jaw the two canine teeth are developed into dagger-shaped tusks, the use of which can only be conjectured. in the females these are but slightly developed. [illustration: plate xiv. a large extinct mammal, tinoceras ingens. from north america. length about feet (without the tail).] it is quite clear, then, that we cannot place the dinoceras in any order of living mammals. it is what palæontologists call a "generalised type;" that is to say, it presents certain characters seen in several groups of living quadrupeds, and not any of those elaborated or highly developed parts which we see in such animals to-day. thus the proboscis of the elephant is a greatly elongated nose; in other words, the elephant is highly "specialised" in that direction, whereas our dinoceras had no proboscis, or only a very slight one. [illustration: fig. .--skull of _dinoceras mirabile_. (after marsh.)] again, the six remarkable bony protuberances of the skull served to some extent as horns, and probably were covered with thick bosses of skin, and did not support true horns like those of our modern oxen and other ruminants. speaking of these protuberances, professor marsh says, "none of the covering of these elevations, or horn-cores, has, of course, been preserved; yet a fortunate discovery may perhaps reveal their nature by the form of a natural cast, as the eye-ball of the oreodon is sometimes thus clearly indicated in the fine miocene matrix which envelops these animals." it looks rather as if we have here an early stage in the evolution of horns, and it may be that in the course of subsequent ages such prominences as those developed into true "horn cores," such as sheep or goats have, while the thick bosses of skin that covered them slowly developed into the true horns that are attached to these cores. if this is so, then we have here another instance of a "generalised" structure. again, the limbs with their five toes tell us at once that the creature's place in nature is outside of those two great groups of modern ungulates, or hoofed quadrupeds, the odd-toed and the even-toed, represented on the one hand by the horse, rhinoceros, and tapir, on the other by the pig, camel, deer, ox, and many other forms. probably the two groups had not at this early period branched off from the primitive ungulate stock with five toes in each foot, of which the elephant is a living descendant, and from which also the dinoceras must have come. [illustration: fig. .--cast of brain-cavity of _dinoceras mirabile_. (after marsh.)] the limbs were strong and massive, but the brain was remarkably small, so that our dinoceras cannot be credited with any high degree of intelligence: and here again we see an absence of "specialisation" compared with the sagacious elephant. professor marsh has taken casts of its brain-cavity (see fig. ). these casts show that the brain was smaller (in proportion to the size of the animal) than in any other mammal, whether living or extinct--and even less than in some reptiles! in fact, it was a decidedly reptilian kind of brain. perhaps it may seem hardly credible, but so small was the brain of dinoceras mirabile, that it could have been pulled through the apertures (neural canals) of all the neck vertebræ! in certain marsupials of the present day we find an approach to this kind of brain. it seems to be an established fact, according to professor marsh, that all the eocene or earlier tertiary mammals had small brains. his researches among fossil mammals have led him to the important conclusion that, as time went on, the brains of mammals grew larger; and thus he has been able to establish his law of brain-growth during the tertiary period, a law which appears to be plainly recorded in the fossil skulls of succeeding races of ancient mammals. the importance of a discovery such as this cannot fail to strike the imagination of even the most unlearned in geology as being singularly suggestive and instructive. it is not difficult to picture these dull, heavy, slow-moving creatures haunting the forests and palm jungles around the margin of the great eocene lake, into the waters of which their carcases from time to time found their way--perhaps swept down by floods. no footprints have been discovered as yet. the dinocerata were very abundant for a long time during the middle of the eocene period. the position of their remains suggests that they lived together in herds, as cattle do now, and they probably found an abundance of food in the shape of succulent vegetation round the great lake. geological evidence points to their sudden extinction before the close of the eocene period; but it is difficult to understand this. professor marsh thinks that from their sluggish nature they were incapable of adapting themselves with sufficient rapidity and readiness to new conditions, such as may have been brought about by geographical changes. it must be admitted, however, that the geological record in this region does not give evidence of any sudden change. possibly they may only have migrated to some other region, where their remains have not yet been discovered, or where, for various reasons, their skeletons were not preserved. in this eocene lake, where sediments went on being quietly deposited for a long time, we have the most favourable conditions for the preservation of the different forms of life that flourished round its borders. in the museum at yale college are collected the spoils of numerous expeditions to the west, and the many tons of bones lying there are believed to represent the remains of no less than two hundred individuals of the dinocerata. so perfectly have these bones been preserved by nature that, even if the creatures had been living now, the material for studying their skeletons could hardly be more complete. professor marsh recognises three distinct types in this strange group of quadrupeds, on each of which a genus has been founded. the first and oldest form is the uintatherium, which takes its name from the uinta mountains. this, as might be expected, is the most primitive or least specialised form, and comes from lower strata. the most highly developed or specialised form is the tinoceras, and this is found at the highest geological level or "horizon." between these two extremes, and from an intermediate horizon, comes the dinoceras,[ ] so that in tracing these animals through the strata in which they occur the geologist finds that he is following for a while the course of their evolution. doubtless there were many slight differences presented by the members of this group, but at present it has not been found possible to determine the number of species, although about thirty forms more or less distinct have been recognised. professor marsh says that the specimen of the skull of dinoceras mirabile, on which the whole order dinocerata was founded, is, fortunately, in a very perfect state of preservation, and that it belonged to a fully adult animal. moreover, it was embedded in so soft a matrix that the brain-cavity and the openings leading from it could be worked out without difficulty. in removing the skull from the rock, on the high and almost inaccessible cliff where it was found, two or three important fragments were lost; but professor marsh, after a laborious search, recovered them from the bottom of a deep ravine, where they had been washed down and covered up. [ ] the dinoceras of marsh is the same form as eobasileus of cope. uintatherium was discovered by leidy. it is about twenty-two years since the wonderful forms of life sealed up within these eocene lake-deposits first became known to science. long before then, however, the wandering indian had been accustomed to seeing strange-looking skulls and skeletons that peeped out upon him from the sides of cañons and hills, as the rocks that enclosed them crumbled away under the influence of atmospheric agents of change--the ceaseless working of wind, rain, heat, and cold. to his untrained mind no other explanation suggested itself than the idea that these were the bones of his ancestors, which it would be highly impious to disturb. _requiescant in pace!_ so he left them in peace. perhaps he believed in a former race of human giants; if so, these would be their bones. long before professor marsh's expeditions, the earliest squatters, trappers, and others used to bring back news of marvellous monsters grinning from the ledges of rock beneath which they camped. at last these tales attracted the notice of some enthusiastic naturalists in the eastern states. professor leidy obtained a number of bones, from which he was able to bring to light an extinct creature at that time unknown to science, namely, the uintatherium. professor cope also described some extinct animals disinterred by himself from the same region. but our knowledge of the dinocerata is chiefly due to professor marsh, who has despatched one expedition after another, and who, after many years of laborious research both in the western deserts and in his wonderful collection at yale college, has published a splendid monograph on the subject. no trouble and no expense have been spared in order to obtain material for this great work, and all geologists must feel grateful to professor marsh for so liberally devoting his time and his private resources in order to advance the science of palæontology. the region in which the remains occur of the remarkable group of extinct animals now under consideration, has a peculiar scenery of its own, unlike anything in europe. the following graphic description of its features is from the pen of sir archibald geikie:--[ ] [ ] _nature_, vol. xxxii. p. . "on the high plateau that lies to the west of the rocky mountains, along the southern borders of the wyoming territory, the traveller moving westwards begins to enter on peculiar scenery. bare, treeless wastes of naked stone, rising here and there into terraced ledges and strange tower-like prominences, or sinking into hollows where the water gathers in salt or bitter pools. under the cloudless sky, and in the clear dry atmosphere, the extraordinary colouring of these landscapes forms, perhaps, their weirdest feature. bars of deep red alternate with strips of orange, now deepening into sombre browns, now blazing out again into vermilion, with belts of lilac, buff, pale green, and white. and everywhere the colours run in almost horizontal bands, running across hollows and river-gorges for mile after mile through this rocky desert. the parallel strips of colour mark the strata that cover all this wide plateau country. they are the tints characteristic of an enormous accumulation of sedimentary rocks, that mark the site of a vast eocene lake, or succession of lakes, on what is now nearly the crest of the continent." in this strange region the flat-topped hills, table-lands, or terraces, as they are variously named, seen from lower levels, are usually called "buttes," especially when they are of limited extent. this name is of french origin, and signifies a bank of earth or rising ground. it is also applied in a limited sense to the more prominent irregularities of the deeply sculptured slopes of the larger terraces. these buttes, therefore, vary in extent, from a mere mound rising slightly above the level of the plains to hills of varied configuration reaching to the level of the broader buttes or terraces. the _débris_ resulting from the continual wearing away, or demolition of these buttes and terraces, now lies spread out on the plains below. from the lower plains the smaller terraces appear like vast earth-work fortifications, and when not too much cut up by erosion, remind one of long railway embankments. but in many cases the terraces are so much cut up by narrow ravines that they appear as great groups of naked buttes rising from the midst of the plain. nothing can be more desolate in appearance than some of these vast assemblages of crumbling buttes, destitute of vegetation, and traversed by ravines, in which the watercourses in midsummer are almost all dried up. to these assemblages of naked buttes, often worn into castellated and fantastic forms, and extending through miles and miles of territory, the early canadian _voyageurs_ gave the name _mauvais terres_. they occur in many localities of the tertiary formations west of the mississippi river. professor leidy, who with two friends made an expedition in search of fossils to dry creek cañon in this region of the "bad lands," about forty miles to the southeast of fort bridger (wyoming), thus describes his impressions:-- "on descending the butte to the east of our camp, i found before me another valley, a treeless barren plain, probably ten miles in width. from the far side of this valley butte after butte arose and grouped themselves along the horizon, and looked together in the distance like the huge fortified city of a giant race, the utter desolation of the scene, the dried-up watercourses, the absence of any moving object, the profound silence which prevailed, produced a feeling that was positively oppressive. when i thought of the buttes beneath our feet, with their entombed remains of multitudes of animals for ever extinct, and reflected upon the time when the country teemed with life, i truly felt that i was standing on the wreck of a former world." these old lake-basins, in which so many forms of life have been sealed up, all lie between the rocky mountains on the east, and the wasatch range on the west, or along the high central plateau of the continent. as the mountains were slowly elevated, part of the old sea of the cretaceous period (that sea in which the "sea-serpents" played so important a part) was enclosed and cut off from the ocean. rivers began to pour their waters into it, so that the waters became less and less salt, until at last a fresh-water lake, or series of lakes, was formed. as the upward movement of this region continued these lakes were all the while receiving sedimentary materials, such as sand and mud, from the rivers, until finally they were filled up, but not until the sediments had formed a mass of strata over a mile in thickness. thus we see how favourable were the conditions for a faithful record of eocene life-history. but another process was going on which helped to bring them to an end; for they were being slowly drained by the rivers that flowed out of them, and these rivers kept on continually deepening their channels, so that we have dry land where the lakes once were. _now_ the region is over feet above the sea, and probably more than one-half of these fresh-water deposits have been washed away, mainly through the colorado river. what is left of the eocene strata forms the "bad lands." the same geological action that has cut up and carved out this region into buttes, cañons, cliffs, peaks, and columns of fantastic shapes, has also brought to light the extinct animals preserved in the rocks, much in the same way as an old burial-ground, if cut up by intersecting trenches, might be made to yield up the bones of those who for generations had been buried therein. professor marsh first discovered remains of dinocerata in , while investigating this eocene lake-basin, which had never before been explored. it was here, also, that he found the wonderful series of fossil horses by means of which he has been able to prove that our modern horse is descended from a small quadruped with five toes, and to show the different stages in its evolution. here, also, were found old-fashioned types of carnivorous quadrupeds, of rodents, and of insectivorous creatures. but reptiles as well as quadrupeds flourished on the borders of the old lake, for the remains were found of crocodiles, tortoises, lizards, and serpents; its waters, too, were well stocked with fish. everything here testifies to a long continuance of those conditions under which plant and animal life can flourish, namely, a warm climate, plenty of food, and freedom from those physical changes which, by altering the geographical features of a country, bring so many important consequences in their train. the geological record tells us that this happy state of things lasted all through the eocene period, and until the fresh-water lakes had at last been drained away by their outflowing rivers. in october, , a later eocene lake-basin was discovered by the same exploring party, and this professor marsh calls the uinta basin, because it was situated south of the uinta mountains. "in the attempt to explore it," he says, "our party endured much hardship, and also were exposed to serious danger, since we had only a small escort of united states soldiers, and the region visited was one of the favourite resorts of the uinta-utes. these indians were then, many of them, insolent and aggressive, and since have been openly hostile, at one time massacring a large body of government troops sent against them. two subsequent attempts ... to explore this region met with little success." this lower lake was of later (or upper) eocene age, and the extinct animals preserved in its ancient bed appear to resemble more nearly those of the famous paris basin, referred to in the beginning of this chapter, than any yet discovered in america. but the basin north of the uinta mountains, where alone the dinocerata had been found, offered so inviting a field that, in the spring of , professor marsh began to explore it systematically. he organised an expedition, with an escort of u.s. soldiers, and the work continued during the whole season. in this way a large collection was secured. explorations were continued in the spring of the following year, which resulted in the discovery of the type specimen of the dinoceras mirabile. another expedition was organised in , also with an escort of soldiers, and a great many specimens were collected. these researches were continued during , and again in , with good results. since then various small parties have been equipped and sent out by professor marsh to collect in the same region of the "bad lands;" and, finally, during the entire season of , the work was vigorously prosecuted under his direction, and afterwards under the auspices of the united states geological survey. this brief account of the difficulties and hardships encountered by professor marsh and his companions, for which we are indebted to his exhaustive monograph, will serve to give some idea of the nature of those labours, undertaken in the cause of science, which he has brought to so successful an issue. * * * * * in the country east of the rocky mountains, including the states of dakota, nebraska, wyoming, and part of colorado, professor marsh has discovered the remains of yet another strange group of large quadrupeds. the best known of these is brontops, of which the skeleton is seen in fig. . these animals lived after the dinocerata, namely, in the miocene period, and were the largest american mammals of that period. they constitute a distinct family more nearly allied to the rhinoceros than to any other living form. the skeleton on which fig. is founded was the most complete of any yet discovered by professor marsh. portions of it were exhumed at different times, but it was first found in . our artist has made the restoration seen in plate xv. from this skeleton, as figured by professor marsh. [illustration: plate xv. a huge extinct mammal from north america. brontops robustus.] this strange group of creatures flourished in great numbers on the borders of an old lake of miocene age. the brontops was a heavy massive animal, larger than any of the dinocerata, with a length of twelve feet, not including the tail, and a height of eight feet. the limbs are shorter than those of the elephant, which it nearly equalled in size. as in the tapir, there were four toes to the front limbs, and three to the hind limbs. its skull was of a peculiar shape, shallow, and very large. that of brontops ingens is thirty-six inches long, and twenty inches between the tips of the two horns, or protuberances. the creature was probably provided with an elongated, flexible nose, like that of the tapir, but not longer, because the length of the neck shows that it could reach the ground without the aid of a trunk such as the elephant's. it is doubtful if the two prominences on the front of the skull were provided with horns, for, if directed forwards, they would interfere with the animal when grazing. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of brontops robustus. (after marsh.)] chapter xi. some indian monsters. "what a glorious privilege it would be, could we live back--were it but for an instant--into those ancient times when these extinct animals peopled the earth! to see them all congregated together in one grand natural menagerie--these mastodons and elephants, so numerous in species, toiling their ponderous forms and trumpeting their march in countless herds through the swamps and reedy forests!"--hugh falconer. it is a far cry back, against the sun's path, from wyoming and the flanks of the rocky mountains to the sacred himalayas--the "abode of snow"--of northern india. but if the reader will follow us to that country, we will endeavour to describe two or three out of many strange and now lost forms of life brought to light from the famous sivalik hills, on the southern border of the himalayas, for the knowledge of which science is greatly indebted to a very distinguished palæontologist, the late mr. hugh falconer. together with his friend captain cautley (afterwards sir proby cautley), he explored this region, and their joint arduous labours show that it was at one time inhabited by a very large and varied group of quadrupeds, together with many birds, reptiles, fishes, mollusca, and crustaceans. in this region there lived, throughout a considerable part of the tertiary period, elephants, of various species, whose skulls and bones were found in great numbers; mastodons (a closely allied form); and several species of hippopotamus, rhinoceros, and horse: among ruminants, species of the camel, the ox, the stag, and the antelope, together with a colossal creature unknown before, the sivatherium, which has never been found elsewhere; a huge tortoise, and various species of carnivora, rodents, and apes. with regard to the geography of the region, it appears that the continent of india, at an early period of the tertiary era, was a large island, situated in a bight, or bay, formed by the himalayas and the hindoo koosh range. the valleys of the ganges and indus formed a long estuary, into which the drainage of the himalayas poured its silt and alluvium. later on, an upheaval took place, converting these straits into the plains of india, connecting them with the ancient island, and forming the existing continent. the large and varied forms whose remains now lie "sealed within the iron hills" then spread over the continent, from the irrawaddi to the mouths of the indus, two thousand miles; and north-west to the jhelum, fifteen hundred miles. after a long interval of repose, another great upheaval took place, which threw up a strip of the plains of india, crumpled and ridged it up to form the sivalik hills, and at the same time increased the elevation of the himalayas by many thousands of feet. it would be easy to show that such events as these must have been followed by changes in climate, for the climate of a region depends largely on its physical features--the proportion of land and water, the presence of hills and mountain ranges, and their height; and it is considered probable that the physical changes above mentioned helped to bring about the extinction of this most interesting and ancient fauna. throughout the latter part of the tertiary era it is well known to geologists that the climate of europe was becoming gradually colder, until at last a glacial period, or "ice age," was experienced, during which northern europe was subjected to an arctic climate, and the great ice-sheet seems to have been slowly retiring and melting away in the early part of the stone age. but in india there has been no such decrease in temperature, and it enjoyed in tertiary times as warm a climate as it now has, so that both animal and vegetable life continued to flourish vigorously. by the sivalik (or sewalik) hills is meant that range of lower elevations which stretches along the south-west foot of the himalayas, for the greater portion of their extent from the indus to the brahmapootra, where those rivers respectively debouche from the hills into the plains of india. it extends for nearly a thousand miles, and it appears to have been entirely built up of alluvial _débris_, washed down from the himalayas into that sea which we have already referred to as having once separated the plains of india from the great range now forming its northern boundary. the strata thus formed were subsequently upheaved to form the sivalik hills. thus we see that one mountain range may help to form another one running parallel to itself. the name is derived from siva, or mahadeo, the hindoo god; these hills, as well as the himalayas, being connected in hindoo mythology in various ways with the history of siva. dr. falconer and captain cautley soon found that they had "struck oil" in the sivalik hills, or, in other words, had come upon one of nature's great graveyards, full of material most valuable to the palæontologist--one which, extending for hundreds of miles, might perhaps prove to be as rich in relics of the world's "lost creations" as the lake-basin in wyoming, where professor marsh discovered his dinocerata and other extinct types. let us give dr. falconer and captain cautley their due. they found themselves suddenly confronted with a perfect mine of wealth, in a far country, where the ordinary means resorted to by men of science for determining extinct types and species, by comparison with living forms, were not to be obtained, for there were no libraries and no museums of comparative anatomy in that remote quarter of india. but dr. falconer was not the man to be baffled by such drawbacks, which would have deterred and discouraged some men. he appealed to the living forms that abounded in the surrounding forests, rivers, and swamps, and took toll of them to supply the want. nature herself became his library and his museum. skeletons of all kinds were prepared; the extinct forms he collected were compared with their nearest living allies, and a valuable series of "memoirs" by himself and captain cautley was the result.[ ] [ ] these appeared in the _asiatic researches_, the _journal of the asiatic society of bengal_, and in the _geological transactions_ of the london geological society. the sivalik explorations soon attracted attention in europe, and in the wollaston medal, in duplicate, was awarded for their discoveries to dr. falconer and captain cautley by the geological society, the fountain of geological honours in england; while the value of the distinction was enhanced by the terms in which the president, sir charles lyell, was pleased to announce the award. this is what he said: "when captain cautley and dr. falconer first discovered these remarkable remains, their curiosity was awakened, and they felt convinced of their great scientific value; but they were not versed in fossil osteology [the study of bones], and, being stationed on the remote confines of our indian possessions, they were far distant from any living authorities or books on comparative anatomy to which they could refer. the manner in which they overcame these disadvantages, and the enthusiasm with which they continued for years to prosecute their researches, when thus isolated from the scientific world, are truly admirable. dr. royle has permitted me to read a part of their correspondence with him, when they were exploring the sivalik mountains, and i can bear witness to their extraordinary energy and perseverance. from time to time they earnestly requested that cuvier's works might be sent out to them, and expressed their disappointment when, from various accidents, these volumes failed to arrive. the delay, perhaps, was fortunate; for, being thrown entirely upon their own resources, they soon found a museum of comparative anatomy in the surrounding plains, hills, and jungles, where they slew the wild tigers, buffaloes, antelopes, and other indian quadrupeds, of which they preserved the skeletons, besides obtaining specimens of all the reptiles which inhabited that region. they were compelled to see and think for themselves, while comparing and discriminating the different recent and fossil bones, and reasoning on the laws of comparative osteology, till at length they were fully prepared to appreciate the lessons which they were taught by the works of cuvier." in captain cautley presented his vast collection, the result of ten years' unremitting labour and great personal outlay, to the british museum, the geological society having declined to accept it, as it was beyond their means of accommodation. its extent and value may be estimated from the fact that it filled large chests, the average weight of each of which amounted to cwt., and that the charges on its transmission to england alone, which were defrayed by the government of india, amounted to £ . dr. falconer's selected collection was divided between the india house and the british museum; the greater part was presented to the former, but a large number of unique or choice specimens, required to fill up blanks, were presented to the latter. the greater part of the specimens in the british museum were still unarranged and embedded in their matrix. in a memorial was presented to the court of directors of the honourable east india company, pointing out the desirability of having the specimens in the national collection prepared, arranged, and displayed, and also of publishing an illustrated work, which would convey to men of science in both hemispheres a knowledge of the contents of the sivalik hills, and suggesting dr. falconer as the person most fitted to superintend the work. the government of the time, under sir robert peel, made a grant of £ to enable the collection to be exhibited in the british museum, and dr. falconer was entrusted with the work. besides this, a large illustrated work, entitled _fauna antiqua sivalensis_, was begun, but owing to the demands upon dr. falconer's time, and his subsequent death, this work was not completed, although nine out of the twelve parts originally contemplated were finished. the great indian collection of fossils, mainly the gift of sir proby cautley (the specimens of which, stupendous in their size, and in fine preservation, were prepared, identified, and arranged by dr. falconer), has long constituted one of the chief ornaments of the collection at the british museum--now removed to the natural history museum, cromwell road, south kensington. other collections of fossils from the sivalik hills have been presented to the museum of edinburgh university by colonel colvin, and to the oxford university by mr. walter ewer. when it is remembered that these collections have since been increased tenfold, and that the remains were either excavated or found in the _débris_ of cliffs, and that the explored surface bears a very small proportion to that which has not yet been investigated, one may conceive how prodigious must have been the number of animals that lived together in the former plains of india, even when every allowance is made for the bones having accumulated during many successive generations in the sivalik strata. from this large and important collection we select two of special interest for brief notice here, namely, the sivatherium,[ ] and an immense tortoise known as the colossochelys. [ ] from _siva_, the hindoo god; and greek, _therion_, a beast. the first of these monsters was a remarkable form of animal, unlike anything living. in size it surpassed the largest rhinoceros, and was bigger than any living ruminant. altogether, it was one of the most remarkable forms of life yet detected in the more recent strata. it had two pairs of horns on its head--two short and quite simple ones in front, and two larger ones, more or less expanded, behind them. from the character of these long horn-cores, which are prolongations of the skull, it may be concluded that the sivatherium was a gigantic ruminant with four horns. a cast of the original skull, with the horn-cores restored from actual parts, in the collection and elsewhere, has been placed on a stand in the centre of the long gallery of fossil vertebrates at south kensington (stand i) near to the case containing the skull and other portions of the skeleton (see fig. ). there is also hanging on the wall near, a clever painting by berjeau, representing the creature as it may have appeared when alive. the entire skeleton, partly restored, is shown in fig. , with a conjectural outline of the body. a hornless skull of a nearly allied animal from the same strata and locality is placed with that of the sivatherium, and was considered by dr. falconer and others to be the skull of the hornless female (also represented as such in the above picture referred to); but is now, by more recent writers, regarded as a separate genus, viz. the helladotherium, so named because the remains were first discovered at pikermi, near athens, greece (ancient hellas). (see plate xvi.) [illustration: fig. .--skull of _sivatherium giganteum_, from the sivalik hills, northern india.] [illustration: plate xvi. a gigantic hoofed mammal, sivatherium giganteum. from the sivalik hills, northern india. an allied form, _helladotherium_, is seen on the left] in the sivatherium we have a new type which seems to connect together two families at the present time well marked off from each other, namely, the giraffe and the antelope. its teeth resemble those of the former animal, while in its four horns it resembles a certain antelope (antilope quadricornis). the head in certain respects shows resemblances to that of the ox, but the upper lip must have been prolonged into a short proboscis, or trunk, like that of the tapir. the form and proportions of the jaw agree closely with the corresponding parts of a buffalo. but no known ruminant, fossil or existing, has a jaw of such large size, the average dimensions being more than double those of a buffalo. the skull is the best known part of the animal, but captain cautley came across some of the bones of the limbs. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _sivatherium giganteum_.] the colossochelys atlas,[ ] or gigantic fossil tortoise of india, supplies a fit representative of the tortoise which sustained the elephant and the infant world in the fables of the pythagorean and hindoo cosmogonies. it is highly interesting to trace back to its probable source a matter of belief like this, so widely connected with the speculations of an early period of the human race. [ ] greek, _colossos_, colossus, and _chelus_, tortoise. atlas was supposed to sustain the world on his shoulders. the carapace, or buckler, of the shell of this crawling monster is similar in general form to the large land-tortoises of the present day.[ ] the shell is estimated to have been at least six feet long. the limbs were probably similar to those of a modern land-tortoise, and the limb-bones are of huge size--a single humerus, or arm-bone, measuring inches. probably the foot was as large as that of a rhinoceros. a restored cast of a young individual stands at the west end of the fossil reptile gallery, south kensington (stand z on plan). length of the shield, feet[ ] (see fig. ). [ ] giant tortoises of the present day live on islands--where they have escaped competition with large carnivora and other foes--such as the aldabra group, n.w. of madagascar, in the mascarenes, which comprise mauritius and rodriguez; and the galapagos, or "tortoise islands," off the coast of south america. when mr. darwin visited the latter islands he saw the relics, as it were, of a family of huge tortoises, which lived there in abundance a few years before, and was able to verify many interesting facts which had been recorded by porter in , who stated that some of those captured by him weighed from to lbs., and that on one island they were - / feet long. those of one island differed from those of another. some had long necks. after mr. darwin's visit the process of extermination went on. at the present time it is most probable that the gigantic tortoises are very rare where formerly they were so abundant. one of these great tortoises is that of abingdon island, in the galapagos archipelago, of which there is a fine stuffed specimen in the natural history museum (reptile gallery). it has a very long neck, and a small flat-topped head with a short snout. it weighed originally lbs. the indian tortoises of the present day are not of large size. see the fine specimens in the natural history museum--reptile gallery (left wing of the building). [ ] dr. falconer's estimate was much too great, so that this model is too large. mr. lydekker prefers to drop the generic term colossochelys, and call it testudo atlas. in length it was only one-third greater than testudo elephantina of the galapagos islands. the first fossil remains of this colossal tortoise were discovered by dr. falconer and captain cautley in , in the tertiary strata of the sivalik hills. at the period when it was living--probably the pliocene--there was great abundance and variety of life on the scene, for its remains were found to be associated with those of many great quadrupeds, such as the elephant, mastodon, rhinoceros, horse, camel, giraffe, sivatherium, and many other mammals. the sivalik fauna also included a great number of reptiles, such as crocodiles, lizards, and snakes. [illustration: fig. .--restored figure of gigantic tortoise, _colossochelys atlas_, from the sivalik hills, northern india.] the greater part of the remains of the colossochelys atlas were collected during a period of eight or nine years, along a range of about a hundred miles of hilly country. consequently, they belong to a large number of individuals, varying in size and age. they were met with in crushed fragments, contained in upheaved strata, which have undergone considerable disturbance, so that it is improbable that an entire uncrushed specimen will ever be found. when the first fragments, in huge shapeless masses, were found by the discoverers, they were utterly at a loss what to make of them, and for many months could do nothing more than look upon them in bewildered and nearly hopeless admiration. but no sooner was the clue found to a single specimen than every fragment moved into its place so as to form a consistent whole. it is not possible at present to say, with any degree of certainty, whether this colossal tortoise survived into the human period; but at least there is no evidence against the idea, and dr. falconer shows it is quite possible that the frequent allusions to a gigantic tortoise in hindoo and other mythologies are to be explained on the supposition that the creature was seen by the men of a prehistoric age. other species of tortoises and turtles that were coeval with the colossochelys have lived on to the present day. so have other reptiles, for some of the crocodiles now living in india appear to be identical with the forms dug out of the sivalik hills. in the absence of direct geological evidence, we must fall back on traditions. now, there are traditions connected with the speculations of nearly all eastern nations with regard to the world (cosmogonies) that refer to a tortoise of such gigantic size as to be associated with the elephant in their fables. the question therefore arises--was this tortoise a creature of the imagination, or was the idea of it drawn from a living reality? besides a tradition current among the iroquois indians of north america, referring to the important share which the tortoise had in the formation of the earth, there are several cases in ancient history bearing on the same point. thus, we find in the pythagorean doctrine the infant world represented as having been placed on the back of an elephant, which was sustained on a huge tortoise. greek and hindoo mythologies were undoubtedly related to each other, and accordingly we find in the hindoo accounts of the second avatar of vishnoo, that the ocean is said to have been churned by means of the mountain placed on the back of the king of the tortoises, and the serpent asokee used as the churning-rope. again, vishnoo was said to have assumed the form of the tortoise, and to have sustained the created world on his back to make it stable. this fable has taken such a firm hold of the hindoos, that to this day they believe the world rests on the back of a tortoise (see fig. ). in the narratives of the feasts of the bird-demigod, garuda, the tortoise again figures largely, and guruda is said on one occasion to have appeased his hunger at a certain lake where an elephant and a tortoise were fighting. [illustration: fig. .--the elephant victorious over the tortoise, supporting the world, and unfolding the mysteries of the _fauna sivalensis_. from a sketch in pencil in one of dr. falconer's note-books, by the late professor edward forbes.] these three instances, in each of which there is a distinct reference to a gigantic form of tortoise, comparable in size with the elephant, suggest the question whether we are to regard the idea as a mere fiction of the imagination, like the minotaur or the chimæra, or as founded on a living tortoise. dr. falconer points out that it seems unlikely that such fables could have been suggested by any of the small species of tortoises now living in india, and consequently is inclined to think that the monster was seen by man many centuries ago, long before he began to write history. we have already alluded to the large number of mammalian forms of life that were contemporary with the sivatherium and colossochelys, but if we examine this old sivalik fauna we find it presents several very interesting features. in the first place, it exhibits a wonderful richness and variety of forms, compared to the living fauna of india. take the pachydermata, for instance--an old order established by cuvier to include the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, elephant, etc.--and we find there were, in the period under consideration, about five times the number of species now known in india. elephants and mastodons, too, of various species abounded. so it is with the ruminants; besides a large number of species allied to those now living, such as the ox, buffalo, bison, deer, antelope, musk-deer, and others, there were giraffes and camels, as well as the strange sivatherium. and so it is with the other orders, such as carnivora, rodents, insectivora, etc. secondly, this great and varied fauna of the past shows a striking resemblance to that of india at the present day. darwin found the same resemblance in south america; and now it is accepted as a general law, that the living fauna of a country resembles its extinct fauna, especially that of the latest geological period. dr. falconer found that india's living fauna is but, as it were, a remnant of that which it once possessed. thirdly, this extinct sivalik fauna presents a singular mixture of old and new forms. and lastly, it points to a very different geographical distribution of animals. thus the giraffe, the hippopotamus, and the ostrich are _now_ confined to africa. facts such as these serve to throw light on the geography of the past; but we cannot stay to enlarge on that subject here. much might be said about the fossil elephants and mastodons from the sivalik hills, so fully described by dr. falconer, but since chapters xiii. and xiv. deal with elephants, we must reserve our remarks till then, only alluding here to one striking form from the sivalik hills, namely, the elephas ganesa, the tusks of which were more than ten feet in length, and much less curved than those of the mammoth. a very fine specimen of the head and tusks may be seen in the gallery of fossil mammals in the natural history museum (gallery i, stand d). with the following eloquent passage from dr. falconer's "memoirs," we take leave of the remarkable sivalik fauna, hoping that future geologists will endeavour to follow his example and bring to light yet other "lost creations" from that region, so rich in fossils, yet comparatively unexplored. would that the english government could see their way to follow the example of the united states, and send out a scientific expedition to explore this wonderful region! there can be no doubt that a rich harvest lies waiting there to be reaped. "what a glorious privilege it would be, could we live back--were it but for an instant--into those ancient times when these extinct animals peopled the earth! to see them all congregated together in one grand natural menagerie--these mastodons and elephants, so numerous in species, toiling their ponderous forms and trumpeting their march in countless herds through the swamps and reedy forests! to view the giant sivatherium, armed in front with four horns, spurning the timidity of his race, and, ruminant though he be, proud in his strength, and bellowing his sturdy career in defiance of all aggression! and then the graceful giraffes, flitting their shadowy forms like spectres through the trees, mixed with troops of large as well as pigmy horses, and camels, antelopes, and deer! and then, last of all, by way of contrast, to contemplate the colossus of the tortoise race, heaving his unwieldy frame, and stamping his toilsome march along plains which hardly look over strong to sustain him! "assuredly it would be a heart-stirring sight to behold! but although we may not actually enjoy the effect of the living pageant, a still higher order of privilege is vouchsafed to us. we have only to light the torch of philosophy, to seize the clue of induction, and, like the prophet ezekiel in the vision, to proceed into the valley of death, when the graves open before us and render forth their contents; the dry and fragmented bones run together, each bone to his bone; the sinews are laid over, the flesh is brought on, the skin covers all, and the past existence--_to the mind's eye_--starts again into being, decked out in all the lineaments of life. 'he who calls that which hath vanished back again into being, enjoys a bliss like that of creating.' such were the words of the philosophical niebuhr, when attempting to fill up the blanks in the fragmentary records of the ancient romans, whose period in relation to past time dates but as of yesterday. how much more highly privileged, then, are we, who can recall, as it were, the beings of countless remote ages, when man was not yet dreamed of! not only this, but if we use discreetly the lights which have been given to us, we may invoke the spirit of the winds, and learn how _they_ were tempered to suit the natures of these extinct beings." chapter xii. giant sloths and armadillos. "injecta monstris terra dolet suis." horace, _odes_, book iii. it would have been strange, considering how much we owe to north america, had the great south american continent not enriched our knowledge of past forms of life on the globe. but such is not the case. the honours are, as it were, divided, although it must be admitted that the north american extinct forms at present known are far more numerous. there are, however, two or three "extinct monsters" of very great interest which once had a home in south america--in that strange region of the pampas, where the naturalist of the present day finds so much to excite his interest. of these the present chapter treats. the megatherium[ ] (cuvier) was a gigantic mammal allied to sloths and ant-eaters, and perhaps to the armadillos. in its skull and teeth this colossus of the past resembled the sloths, in its limbs and backbone it resembled the ant-eaters, while in size it surpassed the largest rhinoceros (plate xvii.). the famous, but imperfect, specimen at madrid was for a long time the principal if not the only source of information with regard to this extinct genus, and for nearly a century it remained unique. [ ] greek--_megas_, great; _therion_, beast. later on, however, the zeal and energy of sir woodbine parish, his late majesty's _chargé-d'affaires_ at buenos ayres, greatly helped to augment the materials for arriving at a just conclusion with regard to its proper place in the animal kingdom. according to one writer, spain formerly possessed considerable parts of three different skeletons. the first and most complete is that which is preserved in the royal cabinet at madrid. this was sent over in , by the marquis of loreto, viceroy of buenos ayres, with a notice stating that it was found on the banks of the river luxan. in a second specimen arrived from lima, and other portions, probably not very considerable, were in the possession of father fernando scio, to whom they had been presented by a lady from paraguay. but two german doctors, messrs. pander and d'alton, who published in a beautiful monograph on the subject, state that they were unable in to find any traces of either the lima specimen or that which had belonged to fernando scio. the remains collected by sir woodbine parish were discovered in the river salado, which runs through the flat alluvial plains (pampas) to the south of the city of buenos ayres, after a succession of three unusually dry seasons, "which lowered the waters in an extraordinary degree, and exposed parts of the pelvis to view as it stood upright in the bottom of the river."[ ] [ ] "some account of the remains of the _megatherium_ sent to england from buenos ayres, by woodbine parish, jun., esq., f.r.s.," by wm. clift, esq., f.r.s., _geological transactions_, second series, vol. iii. p. . [illustration: plate xvii. cast of a skeleton of megatherium americanum. set up in the natural history museum.] this and other parts having been carried to buenos ayres by the country people, were placed at the disposal of sir woodbine parish by don hilario sosa, the owner of the property on which the bones were found. a further inquiry was instituted by sir woodbine; and on his application, the governor granted assistance, the result of which was the discovery of the remains of two other skeletons on his excellency's properties, at no great distance from the place where the first had been found. it was in the year that sir woodbine parish sent his valuable collection of bones from buenos ayres, and presented them to the royal college of surgeons. these specimens formed the subject of mr. clift's memoir above quoted. but even then the materials were not complete for a thorough knowledge of the bony framework of the megatherium, and it was not till , when more remains (discovered near luxan, ) reached this country, that professor owen was able to clear up one or two doubtful details. these were purchased by the trustees of the british museum, and casts of the bones were taken. among the various writings by learned men on the subject, professor owen's masterly description stands pre-eminent; indeed, he was the only one to solve the riddle, to thoroughly explain the structure of this giant sloth, and to show how its food was obtained.[ ] neither cuvier, nor the german doctors, nor mr. clift had succeeded in so doing. [ ] his views are expounded in his _memoir on the megatherium, or giant ground sloth of america_, , which is beautifully illustrated. the royal society gave £ (part of a government grant of £ ) to enable professor owen to carry out this important work. in the natural history museum (stand o, gallery no. on plan) is a cast representing the animal nearly erect, and grasping a tree. this magnificent cast (see plate xvii.) represents an animal eighteen feet in length, and its bones are more massive than those of the elephant. for instance, the thigh-bone is nearly thrice the thickness of the same bone in the largest of existing elephants, the circumference being equal to the entire length. to a comparative anatomist several striking indications of great strength present themselves; thus, not only the very forms of the bones themselves mean strength, but their surfaces, ridges, and crests are everywhere made rough for the firm attachment of powerful muscles and tendons. in the fore part of the body the skeleton is _comparatively_ slender, but the hind quarters show enormous strength and weight combined. the tail, also, is very powerful and massive. the fore limbs are long, and evidently constructed for the exertion of great force. how this force was applied we shall see presently. in both sets of limbs we notice powerful claws, such as might be used for scratching up the ground near the roots of a tree, and it was at one time thought that this was the way in which the creature obtained its leafy food, namely, by digging up trees by the roots and then devouring the leaves. but professor owen had another explanation. as in the living sloths and armadillos (edentata[ ]), there are no teeth in the fore part of the jaw. the molar teeth, of which there are five on each side of the upper jaw, and four in the lower, are hollow prismatic cylinders, straight, seven to nine inches long, and implanted in deep sockets. there are no other teeth, but these are composed of different substances, and so arranged that, as the tooth wears, the surface always presents a pair of transverse ridges, thus producing a dental apparatus well suited for grinding up vegetable food. in the elephants, which live on similar food, the grinding is effected by great molar teeth, which are replaced by new ones as the old ones are worn away. in the megatherium, however, only _one_ set of teeth was provided; but these, by constant upward growth, and continual addition of new matter beneath, lasted as long as the animal lived, and never needed to be renewed. [ ] this word, which means _toothless_, is misleading. all the edentata, however, agree in having no front, or incisor, teeth. on looking at the model so skilfully set up at south kensington, and especially at the front part of the skull, it will be seen that the snout and lips must have been somewhat elongated, possibly into a slight proboscis like that of the tapir. the specimens of the lower jaw in the wall-case close by show that it was much prolonged and grooved. this fact must be interpreted to mean that the creature possessed a long and powerful tongue, aided by which it could, like the giraffe, strip off the small branches of the trees which it had broken or bent down within its reach. a bony shield (or carapace) of a great armadillo was found with one of the specimens described by mr. clift, and buckland and others thought it belonged to the megatherium; but owen afterwards showed, by most clear and convincing reasoning from the skeleton, that the megatherium could not have been protected as armadillos are, by such a shield (see p. ). [illustration: plate xviii. great ground-sloth of south america, megatherium americanum. length feet.] and now we come to the question how it obtained its food. the idea of digging round trees with its claws in order to uproot them, must be partly, if not entirely, given up; for professor owen has proved, by a masterly piece of reasoning, that this cumbrous creature, instead of climbing up trees as modern sloths do, actually pulled down the tree bodily, or broke it short off above the ground by a _tour de force_, and, in order to do so, sat up on its huge haunches and tail as on a tripod, while it grasped the trunk in its long powerful arms! marvellous as this may seem, it can be shown that every detail in its skeleton agrees with the idea. of course there would be limits to possibilities in this direction, and the larger trees of the period must have been proof against any such samson-like attempts on the part of the megatherium; but when the trunk was too big, doubtless it pulled down some of the lower branches. plate xviii. is a restoration, by our artist, of the south kensington skeleton. speaking of the extinct sloths of south america, mr. darwin thus describes professor owen's remarkable discovery: "the habits of these megatheroid animals were a complete puzzle to naturalists until professor owen solved the problem with remarkable ingenuity. their teeth indicate by their simple structure that these animals ... lived on vegetable food, and probably on the leaves and small twigs of trees; their ponderous forms and great strong curved claws seem so little adapted for locomotion, that some eminent naturalists believed that, like sloths, to which they are intimately related, they subsisted by climbing, back downwards, on trees, and feeding on the leaves. it was a bold, not to say preposterous, idea to conceive even antediluvian trees with branches strong enough to bear animals as large as elephants. professor owen, with far more probability, believes that, instead of climbing on trees, they pulled the branches down to them, and tore up the smaller ones by the roots, and so fed on the leaves. the colossal breadth and weight of their hinder quarters, which can hardly be imagined without having been seen, become, on this view, of obvious service instead of being an encumbrance; their apparent clumsiness disappears. with their great tails and huge heels firmly fixed like a tripod in the ground, they could freely exert the full force of their most powerful arms and great claws."[ ] [ ] _journal of researches._ to this we may add dean buckland's description,[ ] "his entire frame was an apparatus of colossal mechanism, adapted exactly to the work it had to do; strong and ponderous in proportion as this work was heavy, and calculated to be the vehicle of life and enjoyment to a gigantic race of quadrupeds, which, though they have ceased to be counted among the living inhabitants of our planet, have, in their fossil bones, left behind them imperishable monuments of the consummate skill with which they were constructed. each limb and fragment of a limb form coordinate parts of a well-adjusted and perfect whole." [ ] _bridgewater treatise._ after reading these descriptions, it is not difficult to form a mental picture of the great beast laying siege to a tree, and to conceive the massive frame of the megatherium convulsed with the mighty wrestling, every vibrating fibre reacting upon its bony attachment with the force of a hundred giants; extraordinary must be the strength and proportions of the tree if, when rocked to and fro, to right and left, in such an embrace, it can long withstand the efforts of its assailant. it yields, the roots fly up, the earth is scattered wide upon the surrounding foliage, and the tree comes down with a thundering crash, cracking and snapping the great boughs like glass. then the coveted food is within reach, and the giant reaps the reward of his herculean labours. sir woodbine parish thought that the megatherium fed on the agave, or american aloe. another form of extinct sloth found in the same region is the mylodon. though of smaller size, it was much bigger than any living sloth, and attained a length of eleven feet. it has the same general structure, but the head and jaws are somewhat different, and more like the recent forms. a nearly perfect and original skeleton of mylodon gracilis has been set up beside its huge relative's cast in the same gallery at the natural history museum. the crowns of its molar teeth are flat instead of being ridged; hence its name, which signified "mill-toothed." yet another was the scelidotherium[ ] with its long limbs. darwin obtained an almost entire skeleton of one of these. it was as large as a polar bear. speaking of his discovery, he says, "the beds containing the fossil skeletons consist of stratified gravel and reddish mud; a proof that the elevation of the land has been inconsiderable since the great quadrupeds wandered over the surrounding plains, and the external features of the country were then very nearly the same as now. the number of the remains of these quadrupeds embedded in the vast estuary deposits which form the pampas and cover the granitic rocks of banda oriental must be extraordinarily great. i believe a straight line drawn in any direction through the country would cut through some skeleton or bones. as far as i am aware, not one of these animals perished, as was formerly supposed, in the marshes or muddy river-beds of the present land, but their bones have been exposed by the streams intersecting the subaqueous deposit in which they were originally embedded. we may conclude that the whole area of the pampas is one wide sepulchre of these extinct gigantic quadrupeds."[ ] [ ] greek--_scelis_, limb; _therion_, beast. [ ] _journal of researches._ the genus scelidotherium comprises a number of species and presents characters more or less intermediate between megatherium and some other genera. the skull is low and elongated, and shows an approach to that of the modern ant-eater. the feet also are different from those of megatherium (see fig. ). [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _scelidotherium_. (after capellini.)] these monster sloths inhabited south america during the latest geological period, known as the pleistocene. during part of that time north america, as well as northern europe and asia, were invaded by a great ice-sheet, and an arctic climate prevailed. it is therefore very probable that while the mammoth and the mastodon were roaming over north america, giant sloths and armadillos were monarchs of the southern continent. what cause, or causes, led to the extermination of the giant sloths and armadillos is still a matter of speculation. one writer suggests an explanation that seems to deserve consideration. the southern parts of this great continent are even now subject to long-continued droughts, sometimes lasting for three years in succession, and bringing great destruction to cattle. in fact, the discoveries related above were rendered possible by several successive dry seasons. it is argued that the upright position of most of the skeletons found _in situ_ seems to suggest that the creatures must have been mired in adhesive mud sufficiently firm to uphold the ponderous bones after the flesh had decayed. a long drought would bring the creatures from the drained and parched country to the rivers, reduced by want of rain to slender streams running between extensive mud-banks; and it is possible that, in their anxious efforts to reach the water, they may have only sunk deeper and deeper in the mud until they were engulfed. this idea is strengthened by information supplied to mr. darwin when in these parts (recorded in his _journal_). an eye-witness told him that during the _gran seco_, or great drought, the cattle in herds of thousands rushed into the parana, and, being exhausted by hunger and thirst, were unable to crawl up the muddy banks, and so were drowned. in the last great drought, from to , it is probable (according to calculations made) that the number of animals that died was over one million and a half. the borders of all the lakes and streamlets in the province were long afterwards white with their bones. in the year reports were published of the discovery of large footprints--supposed to be human--in a certain sandstone near carson, nevada, u.s. the locality was the yard of the state prison, and the tracks were uncovered in quarrying stone for building purposes. many different kinds of tracks were found, some of which were made by an animal allied to the elephant; some resembled those of the horse and deer; others seem to have been made by a wolf, and yet others by large birds. those supposed to have been made by human giants were in six series, each with alternate right and left tracks. the stride is from two and a half to over three feet, and each footprint is about eighteen inches long. now, those who believed these tracks to be human must have found it hard to explain how a giant with a foot some eighteen inches long had a stride no longer than that of an ordinary man of to-day, to say nothing of the fact that the straddle was eighteen to nineteen inches! for these and other reasons professor marsh has exploded the idea of their having been made by men, and gave good reasons to show that they were probably made by a giant sloth, such as the mylodon above mentioned, the remains of which have been discovered in the same strata. they agree in size, in stride, and in width between the right and left impressions, very closely with the tracks that a mylodon would have made, and it seems that those of the fore feet were afterwards impressed by the hind feet, so that each track contains two impressions. the reader who has some knowledge of natural history will not need to be told that the sloths of the present day, inhabiting the same region as their gigantic ancestors, are of small size, and live among the branches of the trees, together with the spider monkeys, howlers, and other apes. an interesting question to the evolutionist is--how did the change take place from the old huge and heavy types to the smaller and agile types of the present day? can it be possible that the more difficult and tedious task of pulling down branches and even stems of trees, in order to devour the leaves, was abandoned for the simpler method of climbing up and feeding among the branches? it certainly looks as if a change of this kind had been instituted at some distant period in the past--distant, that is, to _us_, but not very remote geologically. the present method seems so much simpler that we need not be surprised at its adoption, for nature is ever ready to encourage and assist those among the children of life which can hit upon and adopt new and improved methods, either in obtaining food or repelling enemies, or other duties imposed upon them. now, suppose that, in accordance with the well-known fact that variations in the offspring of animals are constantly cropping up, some considerably smaller variety of megatherium, or mylodon, or other now extinct type, appeared on the scene, and, by virtue of its comparative agility, could climb a tree and feed among the branches instead of pulling them down: then, as darwin has so well explained, nature would seize upon this accidental variation, and give it an advantage over its more awkward relations. its offspring, too, would inherit the same characteristics, they would adopt the same habits, and, in time, as "natural selection" further increased these characters, by weeding out those that were unfit while fostering all those that were neither large nor clumsy in climbing trees, a new race of sloths would arise. this new race, it can well be imagined, would in time outstrip the old race in numbers, for successful races multiply while unsuccessful ones diminish. victory is not always to the great and the strong, for cunning and quickness are often of more service than mere brute strength; and perhaps the sloths, as we now see them in the brazilian forests, have hit upon "a new and original plan" by means of which the old colossal forms described above have been driven out of the field, and so exterminated by a process of competition. such an explanation would be in thorough harmony with modern teaching, and, as the other suggestion about long-continued droughts, given on p. , may not appear satisfactory to some of our readers, we offer this theory for what it may be worth. a few words about these modern sloths may not be out of place; for we shall better understand how they have succeeded in the struggle for existence when we know something of their manner of life; and in some ways they still resemble their great ancestors. there are few animals which exhibit in a greater degree what appears to the careless observer to be _deformity_ than the sloth, and none that have, on this account, been more maligned by naturalists. buffon, and many of the older zoologists, were eloquent upon the supposed defects of the unfortunate sloth. these writers gravely asserted that when the sloth ascends a tree, for the purpose of feeding upon its leaves, it is so lazy that it will not quit its station until every trace of verdure is devoured. some of them even went so far as to assert that when the sloth was compelled, after thus stripping a tree, to look out for a fresh supply of food, it would not take the trouble to descend the tree, but just allowed itself to drop from a branch to the ground. even cuvier, who ought to have known better, echoes this tale, and insinuates that nature, becoming weary of perfection, "wished to amuse herself by producing something imperfect and grotesque," when the sloths were formed; and he proceeds, with great gravity, to show the "inconvenience of organisation," which, in his opinion, rendered the sloths unfit for the enjoyment of life. it is quite true that, on the ground, these animals are about the most awkward creatures that can well be imagined. their fore legs are much longer than their hind ones; all their toes are terminated by very long curved claws, and the general structure of the animal is such as to prevent them from walking in the manner of an ordinary quadruped, for they are compelled to rest on the sides of their hands and feet. thus they appear the most helpless of animals, and their only means of progression consists in hooking their claws to some inequality in the ground, and thus dragging their bodies painfully along. but in their natural home, amongst the branches of trees, all these seeming disadvantages vanish--nay, the very peculiarities of structure which render the sloths objects of pity on the ground, are found to render them admirably adapted to their peculiar mode of life. the sloth is a small animal, rarely more than two feet in length, and covered with woolly hair--probably a protection against snakes, its only enemies. it spends nearly the whole of its life in the trees. there, safe from the prowling animals on the ground below, it hangs like a hammock from the bough, and even travels along the branches with its body downwards, using its long claws like grappling-irons. it looks slothful enough when asleep, for then it resembles a bunch of rough hair, and a jumble of limbs close together, hanging to a branch; but when awake it is industrious in its search for nice twigs and leaves, and moves along with considerable activity. when the atmosphere is still, the sloth keeps to its tree, feeding on the leaves and twigs, but when there is wind, and the branches of neighbouring trees come in contact, the opportunity is seized, and the animal moves along the forest under the shady cover of the boughs. the indians have a saying that "when the wind blows the sloth begins to crawl;" and the reason is quite evident, for they cannot jump, but can hang, swing, and crawl suspended. [illustration: plate xix. a gigantic armadillo, glyptodon asper. from buenos ayres. length feet inches.] we now pass on to the old gigantic representative of the armadillo, the glyptodon.[ ] to the eye it resembles more or less an armadillo, and has a huge cuirass, or large plate of armour, covering the whole of the body, but allowing the head to show in front, while the legs come out beneath. both head and tail were also protected with armour. the great shield, or carapace, in most of the extinct armadillos, is composed of long plates of regular shape, closely united at their edges (sutures) so as to form a solid piece. it is evident, therefore, that this creature, having no movable bands, as living armadillos have, could not roll itself up into a ball. the fore feet have thick, short toes, instead of long ones, such as their modern representatives have; and from this we may infer that they were not in the habit of burrowing or of seeking their food underground. the family of glyptodonts seem to have been chiefly confined to the continent of south america, but some species are known to have extended their range as far as mexico, and texas into north america. a good deal of confusion has arisen with regard to the classification of these old-fashioned armadillos, on account of the fact that isolated specimens of their tails have often been found, and these cannot always be referred to the right carapaces. for example, it should be pointed out here that the tail represented in fig. really belongs to another genus, known as hoplophorus.[ ] [ ] so named by sir r. owen, in reference to the sculptured aspect of the grinding surface of the teeth. greek--_glupho_, i carve; _odous, odontos_, tooth. [ ] greek--_hoplon_, armour; _phero_, i bear. in glyptodon asper (plate xix.), the scutes of the carapace had a beautiful rosette-like sculpture, while the sheath of the tail was entirely composed of a series of movable rings, ornamented with large projecting tubercles. the vertebræ of the backbone are almost entirely fused together into a long tube, and also are joined to the under surface of the great shield, to which the ribs are united. the cheek-teeth are sixteen in number, four above and four below on each side. these are channelled with two broad and deep grooves, which divide the surface into three distinct lobes. hence the name of the animal. the tessellated carapace of the glyptodon was at first thought to belong to the megatherium, with which the remains were associated, but professor owen clearly demonstrated the impossibility of this idea. fig. represents glyptodon clavipes (owen) from the pleistocene deposits of buenos ayres; but the reader will gain a much better idea of the animal by inspecting the splendid specimen of glyptodon asper in the natural history museum, near the centre window at the east end of the pavilion (glass-case q on plan). plate xix. is a restoration of another species by our artist.[ ] [ ] this plate is based on a beautiful drawing in a spanish work, _anales del museo publico buenos aires_. g. burmeister, m.d., phil. d. tomo segundo. in the museum of the royal college of surgeons (which the reader is recommended to visit) there are several most valuable specimens of these extinct armadillos from south america. [illustration: fig. .--extinct gigantic armadillo, _glyptodon clavipes_, from pleistocene deposits, buenos ayres. (the tail sheath here represented probably belongs to another genus, hoplophorus.)] armadillos belong, with sloths and ant-eaters, to the same family of so-called toothless animals (edentata) with no front teeth, though one or two forms really are toothless. those of the present day have their bony armour divided up into a series of bands, so that they can roll themselves up, more or less, into balls. they burrow under the ground, where they get their food to a certain extent, and live a safe life, protected by their casque of mail. their only enemies seem to be the monkeys, and one of the tricks of the young monkeys in the american forests is, when they find an armadillo away from home, to pull its tail unmercifully, and try to drag it about. snakes cannot hurt them. mr. hudson, in his most interesting book, _a naturalist in la plata_, narrates how he watched an armadillo kill a snake and then devour it. if we examine the anatomy of the armadillo, we shall find that its bones greatly resemble those of the sloth, but still there are a few differences. it is a burrowing animal, and therefore requires great power of scratching and tearing the ground. why the colossal forms of armadillo should have become extinct and only small ones survived to the present time, is one of the many and perplexing problems presented by the study of extinct animals. one would have thought from its size and strength that the glyptodon had been built, like rome, for eternity. chapter xiii. the mammoth. "yes, where the huntsman winds his matin horn, and the couched hare beneath the covert trembles; where shepherds tend their flocks, and grow their corn where fashion in our gay parade assembles-- wild horses, deer, and elephants have strayed, treading beneath their feet old ocean's races." horace smith. many are the traditions and tales that have clustered round the mammoth.[ ] he is, however, no fabulous product of the imagination, like the dragon, for he has actually been seen in the flesh, and not only _seen_, but eaten, both by men and animals! but, for all that, men's minds have been busy for centuries past making up tales, often of the wildest description, about him; and it is little wonder that a creature whose bones are found in the soils and gravels, etc., over more than half the world, and whose body has been seen frozen in siberian ice, should have given rise to many tales and superstitions. to students of folk-lore these legends are of considerable interest, and to some extent also to men of science. to the latter, however, one of its many points of interest is that palæontology may be said to have been founded on the mammoth. cuvier, the illustrious founder of the science of organic remains, was enabled, by his accurate and minute knowledge of the structures of living animals, to prove to his astonished contemporaries that the mammoth bones and teeth, so plentifully discovered in europe, were not such as could have belonged to any living elephant, and consequently that there must have existed, at some previous period in the world's history, an elephant of a different kind, and quite unknown to naturalists. this was a new idea, and accordingly one that met with opposition as well as incredulity. [ ] the word _mammoth_ is thought by pallas and nordenskiöld to be of tartar origin. the former asserts that the name originated in the word _mamma_, which signifies earth (the mammoth being found frozen in the earth). it was introduced into the languages of western europe about two centuries ago, from the russian. but other writers have attempted to prove that it is a corruption of the arabic word _behemoth_, or "great beast," which in the book of job signifies an unknown animal. in an ancient chinese work, of the fifth century before christ, it is spoken of under the name _tien-schu_, that is to say, "the mouse which hides itself." the chinese legends are referred to on p. . it was thought in those days that whatever animals lived in the past _must_ have resembled those now inhabiting the world, and the idea of extinct types unknown to man, and unknown to the regions where their bones were found embedded below the soil, was of so novel and startling a character as to appear incredible. besides, the mosaic account of creation made no direct reference to extinct animals, and therefore the notion was not to be entertained. it is amusing to note the devices to which people resorted in order to combat this revolutionary teaching. thus, when cuvier first announced the discovery of the fossil remains of the elephant, hippopotamus, and rhinoceros in the superficial deposits of continental europe, he was gravely reminded of the elephants introduced into italy by pyrrhus in the roman wars, and afterwards in the roman triumphal processions or the games at the colosseum. it was only by means of minute anatomical differences that he was able to show that the bones and teeth of these elephants must have belonged to a species unlike those now living. but these differences proved too subtle for even scientific men to appreciate, so slight was their knowledge of anatomy compared with his; so that they were either disallowed or explained away. but he was not to be beaten, and appealed to the fact that similar remains occurred in great britain, whither neither romans nor others could have introduced such animals. these are his words: "if, passing across the german ocean, we transport ourselves into britain, which in ancient history by its position could not have received many living elephants besides that one which cæsar brought thither, according to polycenus; we shall, nevertheless, find these fossils in as great abundance as on the continent." another crushing answer to the absurd explanations of cuvier's countrymen was added by the sagacious dean buckland, who pointed out that in england, as on the continent, the remains of elephants are accompanied by the bones of the rhinoceros and hippopotamus, animals which not even roman armies could have subdued or tamed! owen also adds that the bones of fossil elephants are found in ireland, where cæsar's army never set foot. it was in that cuvier announced that the teeth and bones of the european fossil elephants were distinct in species from both the african and the indian elephant, the only two living species (el. africanus and el. indicus). this fundamental fact opened out to him new views about the creation of the world and its inhabitants, and a rapid glance over other fossil bones in his collection showed him the truth and the value of this great idea (namely, the existence of extinct types), to which he consecrated the rest of his life. thus palæontology may be said to have been founded on the mammoth. the fossil remains of elephants have, on account of their common occurrence in various parts of the world, attracted a great deal of attention, both from the learned and the unlearned. in the north of europe they have been found in ireland, in germany; in central europe, in poland, middle and south russia, greece, spain, italy; also in africa, and over a large part of asia. in the new world they have been found abundantly in north america. but in the frozen regions of siberia its tusks, teeth, and bones are met with in very great abundance. according to pallas, the great russian savant, there is not in the whole of asiatic russia, from the don to the extremity of the tchutchian promontory, any brook or river on the banks of which some bones of elephants and other animals foreign to these regions have not been found. the primæval elephants (mammoth, mastodon, etc.) appear to have formerly ranged over the whole northern hemisphere of the globe, from the fortieth parallel to the sixtieth, and possibly to near the seventieth degree of latitude. just as the north american indian regards the great bones of professor marsh's extinct eocene mammals that peep out from the sides of buttes and cañons, as belonging to his ancestors, so we find that in all parts of the world the bones of extinct elephants have, on account of their great size (and partly from a certain resemblance, in some, to bones of the human skeleton), been regarded as testifying to the former existence of giants, heroes, and demigods. to the present day the hindoos consider such remains as belonging to the _rakshas_, or titans,--beings that figure largely in their ancient writings. theophrastus, of lesbos, a pupil of aristotle, appears to have been the first to record the discovery of fossil ivory and bones. these were probably obtained by the country people from certain deposits in the neighbourhood, and are mentioned five hundred years later by pausanias. several greek legends and traditions appear to be founded on such discoveries. thus the greeks mistook the knee-bone of an elephant for that of ajax. in like manner the supposed body of orestes, thirteen feet in length, discovered by the spartans at tegea, doubtless was the skeleton of some elephant. in the isle of rhodes, in sicily, and near palmero, syracuse, and at many other places, similar remains have afforded a basis for stories of giants. in fact, so much has been said by old writers on this subject, that whole volumes might be filled with such matter. let one or two examples suffice. in the year some workmen in a sand-pit near the castle of chaumont, not far from st. antoine, found some bones (probably of the mammoth or mastodon) of the nature of which they were entirely ignorant, and many of them they broke up. but a certain surgeon named mazuyer, hearing of the discovery, bought the bones, and announced that he had himself discovered them in a tomb thirty feet long, bearing in gothic characters the inscription, "teutobochus rex." this was a barbarian king who invaded gaul at the head of the cimbri, and was defeated near aix, in provence, by marius, who brought him to rome to grace his triumphal procession. mazuyer reminded his credulous readers that, according to the testimony of roman authors, the head of this king was larger than any of the trophies borne upon the lances in triumph, and for a time his marvellous story was accepted. the skeleton of this pretended giant-king was exhibited in many cities of france and germany, and also before louis xii., who took great interest in it. the imposture was detected and exposed by riolan, and thus a great controversy arose, and numerous pamphlets were written on both sides. the skeleton remained at bordeaux till the year , when it was sent to the museum of natural history at paris, where it may still be seen. it is needless to say that, on its arrival there, m. blainville at once recognised it as being that of an elephant--a mastodon, in fact. another giant-story may be narrated as follows. in the year some large bones were discovered, through the uprooting of an oak by a storm, in the canton of lucerne, in switzerland. these bones were afterwards declared by the celebrated physician and professor at basle, felix plater, to be those of a giant. this learned man estimated the height of the giant at nineteen feet! and made a drawing thereof, which he sent to lucerne. the bones have since nearly all vanished, but blumenbach, at the beginning of this century, saw enough of them to prove their elephantine nature. the good people of lucerne, however, being reluctant to abandon their giant, have, since the sixteenth century, made him the supporter of their city arms. the church of st. christopher, at valence, possessed an elephant's tooth, which was shown as the tooth of st. christopher. as this relic was "bigger than a man's fist," it is difficult to picture what idea the people entertained of their saint! in two peasants observed on the banks of the rhone, along a slope, some great bones sticking out of the ground. these they carried to the neighbouring village, where they were examined by cassanion, who lived at valence, and was the author of a treatise on giants (_de gigantibus_). cuvier concluded from this writer's description of the tooth that it belonged to an elephant. otto de guericke, famous as the inventor of the air-pump, in witnessed the discovery of a fossil elephant, with its tusks preserved. these he mistook for horns; so did even the illustrious leibnitz, who created out of his own imagination a strange animal, with a great horn in the middle of its forehead, as the creature to which these remains belonged! one is reminded of bret harte's amusing _jeu d'esprit, the society upon the stanislaus_-- "then brown he read a paper, and he reconstructed there, from those same bones, an animal that was extremely rare;" and how the members of this learned society came to blows over their fossil bones, and hurled them at one another--"till the skull of an old mammoth caved the head of thomson in." but in this case, the "animal that was extremely rare" was believed in for a long time, and leibnitz's "fossil unicorn" was universally accepted throughout germany for more than thirty years. at last, however, a complete skeleton of a mammoth was discovered, and recognised as belonging to an elephant; but the unicorn was not given up without a keen controversy.[ ] [ ] the writer is indebted for much of the information here given with regard to the discoveries of mammoth bones, and legends founded thereon, to m. figuier's _world before the deluge_. near the city of constadt, in the year , a great quantity of bones and tusks of elephants were discovered, after excavations had been made by order of the reigning duke, who had been informed by a soldier of würtemberg of the presence of bones in the soil. in this way some sixty tusks were unearthed. the whole ones were preserved, but those which were broken were given to the court physician, who made use of them for medicinal purposes. after this the "ebur fossile," or "unicornu fossile," was freely used by the german doctors, until the discovery of the bone-caves of the hartz, when it became too abundant to pass for true unicorn, and consequently lost much of its repute. in our own country elephantine remains have also given rise to strange tales. the village of walton, near harwich, is famous for the abundance of mammoth remains, which lie along the base of the sea-cliffs, mixed with the bones of horses, oxen, and deer. "the more bulky of these fossils," says professor owen, "appear to have early attracted the notice of the curious. lambard, in his _dictionary_, says that 'in queen elizabeth's time bones were found, at walton, of a man whose skull would contain five pecks, and one of his teeth as big as a man's fist, and weighed ten ounces. these bones had sometimes bodies, not of beasts, but of men, for the difference is manifest.'" according to the same authority, there is reason to believe that instances have occurred in great britain in which, with due care and attention, a more or less entire skeleton of the mammoth might have been secured. he mentions the case of the discovery of a number of mammoth bones by some workmen in a brick-ground, near the village of grays, in essex. but most unfortunately, in their ignorance, they broke up these valuable relics, and sold the fragments, for three half-pence a pound, to a dealer in old bones! this somewhat lucrative traffic went on for over half a year before the matter came to the notice of mr. r. ball, f.g.s., who recovered some fine bones from the men, and thus rescued them from the destruction that awaited them. it is greatly to be hoped that some day our national treasure house at south kensington may be enriched with a complete mammoth skeleton from british soil. the chinese, as might be expected, heard of the mammoth long before europeans did, and they have some strange stories about it. in the northern part of siberia, so great is the abundance of mammoth tusks, that for a very long period there has been a regular export of mammoth ivory, both eastward to china and westward to europe. even in the middle of the tenth century an active trade was carried on at khiva in fossil ivory, which was fashioned into combs, vases, and other objects, as related by an arab writer of that time. middendorf reckoned that the number of fossil tusks which have yearly come into the market, during the last two centuries, has been at least a hundred pairs--an estimate which nordenskiöld considers as well within the mark. they are found all along the line of the shore between the mouth of the obi and behring straits, and the further north a traveller goes, the more numerous does he find them. the soil of bear island and of the liachoff islands (new siberia) is said to consist only of sand and ice with such quantities of mammoth bones that it appears as if they were almost made up of bones and tusks. every summer numbers of fishermen make for these islands to collect fossil ivory, and during the winter immense caravans return laden with mammoth tusks. the convoys are drawn by dogs, and in this way the ivory reaches both the ancient eastern and the newer western markets. it is evident from the chinese legends that the frozen bodies of mammoths have for ages past been either seen by, or reported to, members of the celestial empire, for it is mentioned in some of their old books as an animal that lives underground. in a great chinese work on natural history, written in the sixteenth century, the following quaint description occurs: "the animal named _tien-schu_, of which we have already spoken, in the ancient work upon the ceremonial entitled _lyki_ [a work of the fifth century before christ] is called also _fyn-schu_, or _yn-schu_, that is to say, 'the mouse that hides itself.' it always lives in subterranean caverns; it resembles a mouse, but is of the size of a buffalo or ox. it has no tail; its colour is dark; it is very strong, and excavates caverns in places full of rocks and forests." another writer says, "the _fyn-schu_ haunts obscure and unfrequented places. it dies as soon as it is exposed to the rays of the sun or moon; its feet are short in proportion to its size, which causes it to walk badly. its tail is a chinese ell in length. its eyes are small, and its neck short. it is very stupid and sluggish. when the inundations of the river _tamschuann-tuy_ took place [in ] a great many _fyn-schu_ appeared in the plain; it fed on the roots of the plant _fu-kia_." an old russian traveller, who, in , was sent by peter the great as ambassador to the emperor of china, mentions the discovery of the heads and legs of mammoths in frozen soil. after referring to these discoveries, he says, "concerning this animal there are very different reports. the heathens of jakutsk, tungus, and ostiaks say that they continually, or at least, by reason of the very hard frosts, mostly live underground, where they go backwards and forwards; to confirm which they tell us that they have often seen the earth heaved up when one of these beasts was upon the march, and, after he passed, the place sink in, and thereby make a deep pit. they further believe that if this animal comes so near to the surface of the frozen earth as to smell the air, he immediately dies, which they say is the reason that several of them are found dead on the high banks of the river, where they unawares came out of the ground. this is the opinion of the infidels concerning these beasts, which are never seen. but the old siberian russians affirm that the mammoth is very like the elephant, with this difference only, that the teeth of the former are firmer, and not so straight as those of the latter.... by all i could gather from the heathens, no person ever saw one of these beasts alive, or can give any account of its shape; so that all we heard said on this subject arises from bare conjecture only." but making all allowance for the gross absurdities of these accounts, it is clear that they are based on descriptions--probably by the tungusian fishermen--of carcases that have been washed out of the frozen soil by rivers in flood time. now that we are in possession of trustworthy accounts, we can understand how these strange tales arose among an ignorant and superstitious people, such as the fishermen of these inhospitable shores. we will now put before the reader the true accounts given by adams[ ] and benkendorf. [ ] abridged from _memoirs of the imperial academy of sciences of st. petersburg_, vol. v. london, . in a tungusian, named schumachoff, who generally went to hunt and fish at the peninsula of tamut after the fishing season of the lena was over, had constructed for his wife some cabins on the banks of the lake oncoul, and had embarked to seek along the coasts for mammoth tusks. one day he saw among the blocks of ice a shapeless mass, but did not then discover what it was. in he perceived that this object was more disengaged from the ice, and that it had two projecting parts; and towards the end of the summer of the entire side of the animal and one of his tusks were quite free from ice. in the enormous mass fell by its own weight on a bank of sand. it was a frozen mammoth! in schumachoff came to his mammoth, and having cut off the tusks, exchanged them with a merchant for goods. two years afterwards mr. adams, the narrator of the story, traversed these distant and desert regions, and found the mammoth still in the same place, but sadly mutilated. the people of the neighbourhood had cut off the flesh, and fed their dogs with it during the scarcity. wild beasts, such as white bears, wolves, and foxes, also had fed on it, and the traces of their footsteps were seen around. the skeleton was complete all except one leg, but the flesh had almost all gone. the head was covered with a dry skin, one of the ears was seen to be covered with a tuft of hairs. all these parts suffered more or less injury in transport for a distance of miles to st. petersburg, yet the eyes have been preserved. this mammoth was a male, with a long mane on its neck, but both tail and proboscis had disappeared. the skin is of a dark grey colour, covered with a reddish wool and black hairs. the entire carcase was nine feet four inches high. the skin of the side on which the carcase had lain was detached by mr. adams, for it was well preserved, but so heavy was it that ten persons found great difficulty in transporting it to the shore. the white bears, while devouring the flesh, had trodden into the ground much of the hair belonging to the carcase, but mr. adams was able by digging to procure about sixty pounds' weight of hair. in a few days the work was completed, and he found himself in possession of a treasure which amply compensated him for the fatigues and dangers of the journey as well as the expense of the enterprise. when first seen, this mammoth was embedded in clear pure ice, which forms in that coast escarpments of considerable thickness, sloping towards the sea, the top of which is covered with moss and earth. if the account of the tungusians can be trusted, the carcase was some way below the surface of the ice when first seen. arrived at takutsk, mr. adams purchased a pair of tusks which he believed to belong to this mammoth, but there is reason to doubt whether he did get the right tusks. they are nine feet six inches long. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of mammoth, _elephas primigenius_ (partly restored), in the museum at brussels. drawn from a photograph, by j. smit.] the skeleton of this specimen, the fame of which may be said to have spread all over the world, is now set up in the museum of the st. petersburg academy, and the skin still remains attached to the head and feet. a part of the skin and some of the hair were sent by mr. adams to sir joseph banks, who presented them to the museum of the royal college of surgeons.[ ] a photograph of the skeleton as it now stands, may be seen on the wall of the big geological gallery at south kensington (no. i. on plan), near the specimens of mammoth tusks. but it should be pointed out that _the tusks are put on the wrong way_; for they curve outwards instead of inwards, thus presenting a somewhat grotesque appearance. for this reason we have not reproduced the familiar woodcut based on an engraving in the memoir already referred to.[ ] but we give, instead, a sketch taken from a photograph (also on the wall in gallery no. i.) of a fine skeleton in the brussels museum (fig. ). here the tusks are seen correctly inserted. we must also draw the reader's attention to the remarkably fine specimen (glazed case e on plan) consisting of the skull and both tusks complete, found at ilford in essex. [ ] a specimen of the hair of a mammoth may be also seen at the natural history museum (pier case ) in a tall glass jar. it came from frozen soil, behring strait. by the side of this will be seen, in a glass box, a portion of the skin of a mammoth, from the banks of the river alaseja, province of yakutsk, siberia. it exhibits the under fur, the long hair having entirely disappeared. [ ] fig. in part i. of the _guide to the exhibition galleries in the department of geology and palæontology in the british museum (natural history), cromwell road_. (price _s._) this most useful guide should be consulted by the reader. adams's specimen was, dr. woodward thinks, an old individual, and its tusks had curved upwards so much as to be of little use. in younger ones they were less curved. the hair that still remains on the skin of the st. petersburg specimen is of the colour of the camel, very thick-set and curled in locks. bristles of a dark colour are interspersed, some reddish, and some nearly black. the colour of the skin is a dull black, as in living elephants (see restoration, plate xx.). remains of the mammoth (elephas primigenius) have been found in great numbers in the british isles. a list of localities (from mr. leith adams's monograph on fossil elephants) is given in the appendix, but even this might be extended. mr. samuel woodward calculated that upward of two thousand grinders of elephants have been dredged up during a period of thirteen years upon the oyster-bed off hasborough, on the norfolk coast. but many of these doubtless belong to other species of older date, such as elephas antiquus. dr. bree, of colchester, says that the sea-bottom off dunkirk, whence he has made a collection, is so full of mammalian remains that the sailors speak of it as "the burying-ground." the remains of the mammoth occur over a very large geographical area--fully half the globe. by far the most important discovery of a frozen mammoth is that of a young russian engineer, benkendorf by name, who was an eye-witness of its resurrection, though, most unfortunately, he was unable either to procure his specimen, as mr. adams did, or to make drawings of it. being employed by the russian government in making a survey of the coast off the mouth of the lena and indigirka rivers, he was despatched up the latter river in , in command of a small steam-cutter. the following is a translation of the account which he wrote to a friend in germany. [illustration: plate xx. the mammoth, elephas primigenius. an inhabitant of northern regions during the great ice age.] "in there was unusually warm weather in the north of siberia. already in may unusual rains poured over the moors and bogs, storms shook the earth, and the streams carried not only ice to the sea, but also large tracts of land, thawed by the masses of warm water fed by the southern rains.... we steamed on the first favourable day up the indigirka; but there were no thoughts of land; we saw around us only a sea of dirty brown water, and knew the river only by the rushing and roaring of the stream. the river rolled against us trees, moss, and large masses of peat, so that it was only with great trouble and danger that we could proceed. at the end of the second day, we were only about forty versts up the stream; some one had to stand with the sounding-rod in hand continually, and the boat received so many shocks that it shuddered to the keel. a wooden vessel would have been smashed. around us we saw nothing but the flooded land for eight days. we met with the like hindrances until at last we reached the place where our jakuti were to have met us. further up was a place called ujandina, whence the people were to have come to us; but they were not there, prevented evidently by the floods. "as we had been there in former years, we knew the place. but how it had changed! the indigirka, here about three versts wide, had torn up the land and worn itself a fresh channel; and when the waters sank we saw, to our astonishment, that the old river-bed had become merely that of an insignificant stream. this allowed me to cut through the soft earth, and we went reconnoitring up the new stream, which had worn its way westwards. afterwards we landed on the new shore, and surveyed the undermining and destructive operation of the wild waters, that carried away, with extraordinary rapidity, masses of soft peat and loam. it was then that we made a wonderful discovery. the land on which we were treading was moorland, covered thickly with young plants. many lovely flowers rejoiced the eye in the warm beams of the sun, that shone for twenty-two out of the twenty-four hours. the stream rolled over and tore up the soft wet ground like chaff, so that it was dangerous to go near the brink. while we were all quiet, we suddenly heard under our feet a sudden gurgling and stirring, which betrayed the working of the disturbed waters. suddenly our jäger, ever on the outlook, called loudly, and pointed to a singular and unshapely object, which rose and sank through the disturbed waters. i had already remarked it, but not given it any attention, considering it only drift-wood. now we all hastened to the spot on the shore, had the boat drawn near, and waited until the mysterious thing should again show itself. our patience was tried, but at last a black, horrible, giant-like mass was thrust out of the water, and we beheld a colossal elephant's head, armed with mighty tusks, with its long trunk moving in the water in an unearthly manner, as though seeking for something lost therein. breathless with astonishment, i beheld the monster hardly twelve feet from me, with his half-open eyes yet showing the whites. it was still in good preservation. "'a mammoth! a mammoth!' broke out the tschernomori; and i shouted, 'here, quickly. chains and ropes!' i will go over our preparations for securing the giant animal, whose body the water was trying to tear from us. as the animal again sank, we waited for an opportunity to throw the ropes over his neck. this was only accomplished after many efforts. for the rest we had no cause for anxiety, for after examining the ground i satisfied myself that the hind legs of the mammoth still stuck in the earth, and that the waters would work for us to unloosen them. we therefore fastened a rope round his neck, threw a chain round his tusks, that were eight feet long, drove a stake into the ground about twenty feet from the shore, and made chain and rope fast to it. the day went by quicker than i thought for, but still the time seemed long before the animal was secured, as it was only after the lapse of twenty-four hours that the waters had loosened it. but the position of the animal was interesting to me; it was standing in the earth, and not lying on its side or back as a dead animal naturally would, indicating by this the manner of its destruction. the soft peat or marsh land, on which he stepped thousands of years ago, gave way under the weight of the giant, and he sank as he stood on it, feet foremost, incapable of saving himself; and a severe frost came and turned him into ice, and the moor which had buried him. the latter, however, grew and flourished, every summer renewing itself. possibly the neighbouring stream had heaped over the dead body plants and sand. god only knows what causes had worked for its preservation; now, however, the stream had brought it once more to light of day, and i, an ephemera of life compared with this primæval giant, was sent by heaven just at the right time to welcome him. you can imagine how i jumped for joy. "during our evening meal, our posts announced strangers--a troop of jakuti came on their fast, shaggy horses. they were our appointed people, and were very joyful at the sight of us. our company was augmented by them to about fifty persons. on showing them our wonderful capture, they hastened to the stream, and it was amusing to hear how they chattered and talked over the sight. the first day i left them in quiet possession, but when, on the following, the ropes and chains gave a great jerk, a sign that the mammoth was quite freed from the earth, i commanded them to use their utmost strength and bring the beast to land. at length, after much hard work, in which the horses were extremely useful, the animal was brought to land, and we were able to roll the body about twelve feet from the shore. the decomposing effect of the warm air filled us all with astonishment. "picture to yourself an elephant with a body covered with thick fur, about thirteen feet in height, and fifteen in length, with tusks eight feet long, thick, and curving outward at their ends,[ ] a stout trunk of six feet in length, colossal limbs of one and a half feet in thickness, and a tail, naked up to the end, which was covered with thick tufty hair. the animal was fat and well-grown; death had overtaken him in the fulness of his powers. his parchment-like, large, naked ears, lay fearfully turned over the head; about the shoulders and the back he had stiff hair, about a foot in length, like a mane. the long outer hair was deep brown and coarsely rooted. the top of the head looked so wild, and so penetrated with pich[ ] that it resembled the rind of an old oak tree. on the sides it was cleaner, and under the outer hair there appeared everywhere a wool, very soft, warm and thick, and of a fallow-brown colour. the giant was well protected against the cold. the whole appearance of the animal was fearfully strange and wild. it had not the shape of our present elephants. as compared with our indian elephants, its head was rough, the brain-case low and narrow, but the trunk and mouth were much larger. the teeth were very powerful. our elephant is an awkward animal, but compared with this mammoth it is as an arabian steed to a coarse, ugly dray-horse. i could not divest myself of a feeling of fear as i approached the head; the broken, widely-open eyes, gave the animal an appearance of life, as though it might move in a moment and destroy us with a roar.... the bad smell of the body warned us that it was time to save of it what we could, and the swelling flood, too, bid us hasten. first of all we cut off the tusks, and sent them to the cutter. then the people tried to hew off the head, but notwithstanding their good will, this work was slow. as the belly of the animal was cut open the intestines rolled out, and then the smell was so dreadful that i could not overcome my nauseousness, and was obliged to turn away. but i had the stomach separated, and brought on one side. it was well filled, and the contents instructive and well preserved. the principal were young shoots of the fir and pine; a quantity of young fir-cones, also in a chewed state, were mixed with the mass.... as we were eviscerating the animal, i was as careless and forgetful as my jakuti, who did not notice that the ground was sinking under their feet, until a fearful scream warned me of their misfortune, as i was still groping in the animal's stomach. shocked, i sprang up, and beheld how the river was burying in its waves our five jakuti and our laboriously saved beast. fortunately, the boat was near, so that our poor workpeople were all saved, but the mammoth was swallowed up by the waves, and never more made its appearance." [ ] this must be incorrect (see p. ). [ ] "und mit pech so durchgedrungen." much may be learned from this highly interesting account; it contains the key to several questions which otherwise might have remained unsolved. let us see what conclusions can be derived therefrom. _first_, its position and perfect state of preservation are sufficient to prove that it was buried where it died. it sank in a marsh, probably during the summer. then came the cold of winter; the carcase, together with the ground around it, was frozen so that decomposition was arrested, and frozen it must have remained for many centuries till the day when m. benkendorf came across it. or it may have been buried up in a snow-drift which in time became ice. in the region where frozen mammoths occur (and there are at least nine cases on record), a considerable thickness of frozen soil may be found at all seasons of the year; so that if a carcase be once embedded in mud or ice, its putrefaction may be arrested for indefinite ages. according to one authority, the ground is now permanently frozen even to the depth of four hundred feet at the town of jakutsh, on the western bank of the river lena. throughout a large part of siberia the boundary cliffs of the lakes and rivers consist of earthy materials and ice in horizontal layers. middendorf bored to the depth of seventy feet, and after passing through much frozen soil mixed with ice, came down upon a solid mass of pure transparent ice, the depth of which he was unable to ascertain. the year , when m. benkendorf saw his mammoth, was exceptional on account of its unusually warm summer, so that the ground of the tundra region thawed, and was converted into a morass. had any mammoths been alive then, and strayed beyond the limits of the woods into the tundra, probably some of them would have been likewise engulphed, and, when once covered up and protected from the decaying action of the air, the cold of the next winter would have frozen their carcases as this one must have been frozen up. truly, "there is nothing new under the sun," and the present highly useful method of freezing meat and bringing it over from america or new zealand to add to our insufficient home supplies, is but a resort to a process employed by nature long before the age of steamships, and perhaps even before the appearance of man on the earth! _secondly_, with regard to the food of the mammoth, benkendorf's discovery is of great service in solving the question how such a creature could have maintained its existence in so inhospitable and unpromising a country. the presence of fir-spikes in the stomach is sufficient to prove that it fed on vegetation such as is now found at the northern part of the woods as they join the low treeless tundra in which the body lay buried. before this discovery the food of the mammoth was unknown, and all sorts of theories were devised in order to account for its remains being found so far north. some thought that the mammoth lived in temperate regions, and that the carcases were swept down by great floods into higher and colder latitudes. but it would be impossible for the bodies to be hurried along a devious course for so many miles without a good deal of injury, and probably they would fall to pieces on the way. but, as professor owen has so convincingly argued, there is no reason why herds of mammoths should not have obtained a sufficient supply of food in a country like the southern part of siberia, where trees abound in spite of the fact that during a great part of the year it is covered with snow. and this is his line of reasoning. the molar teeth of the elephant show a highly complicated and peculiar structure, and there are no other quadrupeds that feed to such an extent on the woody fibre of the branches of trees. many mammals, as we know, eat the leaves of trees; some gnaw the bark; but elephants alone tear down and crunch the branches. one would think there was but little nourishment to be got from such. but the hard vertical plates of their huge grinders enable them to pound up the tough vegetable tissue and render it more or less palatable. of course, the foliage is the most tempting, but where foliage is scarce something more is required. now, in the teeth of the mammoth the same principle of construction is observed, only with greater complexity, for there are more of these grinding plates and a larger proportion of dense enamel. hence the inference seems unmistakable that the extinct species fed more largely on woody fibre than does the elephant of to-day. forests of hardy trees and shrubs still grow upon the frozen soil of siberia, and skirt the banks of the lena as far north as the sixtieth parallel of latitude. if the mammoth flourished in temperate latitudes only, as formerly suggested, then its thick shaggy coat becomes superfluous and meaningless; but if it lived in the region where its body has been found, then the argument from its teeth, and the fir-spikes found in its stomach, is confirmed by the nature of its skin, and all the old difficulties vanish. professor owen considers that we may safely infer that, if living at the present day, it would find a sufficient supply of food at all seasons of the year in the sixtieth parallel, and even higher. perhaps they migrated north during the summer; and, judging from the present limits of arboreal vegetation, they may have been able to subsist even in latitude ° north, for at the extreme points of lapland pines attain a height of sixty feet.[ ] [ ] sir henry howorth, in his _mammoth and the flood_, suggests another theory, and gives some valuable information. it is often no easy matter to form conclusions with regard to the habits of extinct animals; and too much reliance must not be placed on arguments derived from the habits of their living descendants or their near relations. the older geologists fell into this mistake with regard to the mammoth, as did even cuvier. modern elephants are at present restricted to regions where trees flourish with perennial foliage, and, therefore, it was argued that there must have been a change of climate--either gradual or sudden, in the country of the mammoth. cuvier, who believed in sudden revolutions on the earth's surface, argued that the mammoth could not possibly have lived in siberia as it is now; and that, at the very moment when the beast was destroyed, the land was suddenly converted into a glacial region! ("c'est donc le même instant qui a fait périr les animaux, et qui a rendu glacial le pays qu'ils habitaient, cet événement a été subit, instantané, sans aucune gradation."[ ]) sir charles lyell argued, from geological evidence with regard to the rise of land along the siberian coast, that the climate had become somewhat more severe, and that finally the mammoth, though protected by its shaggy coat, died out on account of scarcity of food.[ ] [ ] _ossemens fossiles_, tom. i. p. . [ ] see _the principles of geology_, vol. i. chap. x. professor owen is unwilling to believe that such changes as these brought about the final extinction of the mammoth, and he concludes that it was quite possible for such an animal to have flourished as near to the north pole as is compatible with the growth of hardy trees or shrubs. "the fact seems to have been generally overlooked, that an animal organised to gain its subsistence from the branches or woody fibre of trees, is thereby rendered independent of the seasons which regulate the development of leaves and fruit; the forest food of such a species becomes as perennial as the lichens that flourish beneath the winter snows of lapland; and, were such a quadruped to be clothed, like the reindeer, with a natural garment capable of resisting the rigours of an arctic winter, its adaptation for such a climate would be complete.... the wonderful and unlooked-for discovery of an entire mammoth, demonstrating the arctic character of its natural clothing, has, however, confirmed the deductions which might have been legitimately founded upon the localities of its most abundant remains, as well as upon the structure of its teeth, viz. that, like the reindeer and musk ox of the present day, it was capable of existing in high northern latitudes."[ ] [ ] _a history of british fossil mammals and birds_, by richard owen, f.r.s., etc. london, . the problem of the extinction of the mammoth is not an easy one to solve. we can hardly account for its disappearance by calling in geographical changes by which its range became restricted, and its food supply diminished, so that in the competition with other herbivorous animals this primæval giant "went to the wall," as the saying is. nor does lyell's appeal to a change in climate, by which the cold of siberia became too intense even for the mammoth, seem quite satisfactory, especially when we remember how very far north fir trees range (p. ). the mammoth, probably, was endowed with a fairly tough constitution. in siberia it fed on fir trees. in kentucky it fared better, and was surrounded by such vegetation as now flourishes in that temperate region. in the valley of the tiber (where also its remains are found), though during the "glacial period" the temperature was, doubtless, lower than at present, we cannot imagine that an arctic climate prevailed. thus we see that it was capable of flourishing in various and widely separated regions where the conditions of climate and food supply could hardly have been similar. professor boyd dawkins, whose views we are adopting here,[ ] considers that the mammoth was exterminated by man--a simple solution of the question, which seems to present no difficulties. that it was hunted by the primitive folk of the "reindeer period" in france, is proved by its remains in the caves where men dwelt, and by a drawing cut by a hunter of the older stone age on one of its own tusks! a cast of this most interesting relic may be seen in the prehistoric collection at the british museum, and shows that the men of that time were not devoid of artistic power (see fig. ). some of the lines in this illustration represent cracks in the original, so that the actual outline is not easily made out. but here we see the head particularly well drawn, the tusks and downward lines indicating the hairy mane. reindeer and other animals were also engraved on horn, etc., by the men who were contemporary with the mammoth. [ ] _popular science review_, vol. vii. p. ( ). [illustration: fig. .--figure of the mammoth, engraved on mammoth ivory by cavemen, la madelaine, france. in the lartet collection, paris.] we know that man has exterminated a great many noble animals in his time, and, alas! continues to do so at the present time in africa, and in north and south america. the giraffe and the bison, once so plentiful, are now almost extinct. primitive man was a hunter, and, as he multiplied, his wants became greater, and more animals were therefore destroyed. probably the same explanation applies to the great moa bird of new zealand, and possibly even to the megatherium of south america. with regard to the tusks of the mammoth, which are considerably larger than those of either the african or indian elephant, it is evident that they must have been of some service, for nature would never have endowed the animal with such great and ponderous instruments--to support which the skull is greatly modified in both the mammoth and elephant--without some definite purpose. we have often been asked how the mammoth used his tusks; now, this question can best be answered by reference to the habits of living elephants. the elephant of to-day is a fairly peaceable creature, but, if attacked, can despatch the aggressor in various ways. some enemies he can crush under his feet; a man he can pick up with his trunk and hurl to a considerable distance, probably with fatal results. but the tusks do not appear to be used as weapons of offence or defence. we must consider how the animal feeds. the general food of the elephant consists of the foliage of trees. in africa it feeds largely on mimosas. now, it is clear that, in spite of having a long trunk, an elephant cannot obtain all the leaves of a tall tree while the tree remains standing; mimosa trees, for instance, are often thirty feet high, and have richer foliage at the crown. so it appears that they actually overturn them. on this point we have the testimony of sir samuel baker, who says, "the destruction caused by a herd of elephants in a mimosa forest is extraordinary, and i have seen trees uprooted of so large a size that i am convinced no single elephant could have overturned them. i have measured trees four feet six inches in circumference, and about thirty feet high, uprooted by elephants. the natives assured me that the elephants mutually assist each other, and that several engage together in the work of overturning a large tree. none of the mimosas have tap-roots; thus the powerful tusks of the elephants applied as crowbars at the roots, while others pull at the branches with their trunks, will effect the destruction of a tree so large as to appear invulnerable." another writer says the elephant also feeds on a variety of bulbs, the situation of which is indicated by his exquisite sense of smell, and that, to obtain these, he turns up the ground with his tusks, so that whole acres may be seen thus ploughed up. now, in siberia, where the ground would be harder, we can imagine that the larger tusks of the mammoth would be highly serviceable in uprooting fir trees and breaking off their branches, for benkendorf's fortunate discovery informs us that such trees formed at least part of their food. chapter xiv. the mastodon and the woolly rhinoceros. "of one departed world i see the mighty show." another elephantine monster, evidently allied to the mammoth, was the mastodon, a creature which there is reason to think was contemporary, in america, with the men of prehistoric age. it was so named by baron cuvier to distinguish it from the mammoth, with which it was by others considered identical; and his discrimination of the two forms marked an important and early step in the history of palæontology. the chief difference between these two extinct types lies in their molar teeth. these, on cutting the gum, must have exhibited a number of somewhat conical protuberances of a mammiform appearance; hence the name.[ ] as these points were worn down by mastication, the surface of the tooth showed a series of discs of various sizes. the teeth were covered by a very thick coat of dense, brittle enamel. there are, however, differences in the bony framework of the animal, as well as in its general proportions, which serve to distinguish it from the mammoth; but it will not be necessary to enter into these matters here, for this is difficult ground, even to the student who is well versed in anatomy. notwithstanding a vast amount of observation on the subject, considerable differences of opinion have prevailed among palæontologists with regard to the proper relation of the mastodon to the mammoth and living elephants. [ ] greek--_mastos_, teat; _odous_, _odontos_, tooth. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton _mastodon arvernensis_, pliocene, europe.] at the entrance of the geological gallery in the natural history museum, south kensington, the reader will see a magnificent skeleton of an american mastodon, of which more presently. on this specimen our artist has based his restoration, plate xxi. a large part of the great gallery referred to is devoted to the fossil remains of proboscideans; that is, creatures provided with a long proboscis, or trunk, such as elephants and mastodons. this collection, from widely different quarters, is the largest and most complete in the world. by comparing the specimens of teeth in the cases, and looking at the fine specimens of skulls, and the numerous bones and tusks in the side cases, the reader will carry away a better idea than we can convey by description. fig. shows the skeleton of mastodon arvernensis with two very long tusks. mastodon augustidens had four tusks, two in each jaw, but one of those in the lower jaw sometimes dropped out as the animal grew older. [illustration: plate xxi. the mastodon of ohio, m. americanus.] no genus of quadrupeds has been more extensively diffused over the globe than the mastodon. from the tropics it has extended both north and south into temperate regions, and in america its remains have been discovered as high as latitude ° n. but the true home of the mastodon giganteus, in the united states, like that of m. augustidens in europe, lies in a more temperate zone, and, as professor owen says, we have no evidence that any species was specially adapted, like the mammoth, for braving the rigours of an arctic winter. now, we know from trustworthy geological evidence that the mastodon is a much older form of life than the mammoth. the record of the rocks tells us that it first put in an appearance in an early tertiary period known as the miocene (see table of strata, appendix i.), and in the old world lived on to the end of the succeeding pliocene period. but in america several species, especially m. giganteus, survived till late in the pleistocene period, where it was probably seen by primitive men. this is all that is known about its geographical range, and its antiquity or range in time; some day, perhaps before very long, palæontologists may be able to trace the great proboscideans further back in time, and to show from what form of animal they were derived. strange as it may seem, anatomists declare that they show some remote affinity with the rodents, or gnawing animals, and, in some respects, even with sirenians, such as the manatee (see chapter xvi.). but at present the evolution of this remarkable group of animals is an unsolved problem. those strange animals, the dinocerata, from wyoming, described in chapter x., may perhaps give some indication as to the direction in which we must look for the elephant's ancestors. we noticed that their limbs were decidedly elephantine (see p. ), but they had no trunks, and their skulls showed curious prominences like horn-cores; their teeth too are very different. the visitor to the geological collection at south kensington will also notice a splendid cranium of an elephant, with very long tusks, from the famous sivalik hills of northern india[ ] (stand d on plan). it belonged to elephas ganesa, one of the largest of all the fossil elephants known. the total length of the cranium and tusks is fourteen feet, and the tusks alone measure ten feet six inches in length! this remarkable specimen was presented by sir william erskine baker, k.c.b. [ ] there is some difficulty in determining the precise geological age of the strata in question, on account of the curious mixture of fossil forms of life they contain; but many authorities consider them to be of older pliocene age. but to return to our mastodon. it was early in the eighteenth century that the teeth and bones of the mastodon were first described,[ ] and it is curious to observe how differently scientific discoveries were regarded in those days; for this society of learned men published in these _transactions_ a letter from dr. mather to dr. woodward, in which the former gives an account of a large work in manuscript, but does not name the author. this book, which appears to have been a commentary on the bible, dr. mather recommends "to the patronage of some generous moecenas to promote the publication of it," and transcribes, as a specimen, a passage announcing the discovery at albany, now the capital of new york state, in the year , of enormous bones and teeth. these relics he considered to belong to a former race of giants, and appeals to them in confirmation of genesis vi. ("the nephilim (giants) were in the earth in those days"). [ ] _philosophical transactions of the royal society_, , vol. xxix. portions of the skeleton of mastodon, discovered in , were sent to england and france, and two complete specimens were at length put together in america. one of these was exhibited as a mammoth, in bristol and london, by mr. c. w. peale, a naturalist, by whom they were found in marly clay on the banks of the hudson, near newburgh, in the state of new york. previous to this, in , a french officer, m. de longueil, traversed the virgin forests bordering on the river ohio, in order to reach the mississippi, and the indians who escorted him accidentally discovered, on the borders of a marsh, various bones, some of which seemed to be those of unknown animals. in this turfy marsh, known as the big bone lick, or salt lick, in consequence of the saltness of its waters, herds of wild animals collect together, attracted by the salt, for which they have a great liking. this is probably the reason why so many bones have accumulated here. m. de longueil carried away some bones and teeth, and, on his return to france, presented them to daubenton and buffon. the former declared the teeth to be those of a hippopotamus, and the tusk and gigantic thigh-bone he reported to belong to an elephant. buffon, however, did not share this opinion, and succeeded in converting daubenton, as well as other french naturalists, to his views. he gave to this fossil animal the name of "the elephant of ohio," but formed an exaggerated idea of its size. this discovery produced a great impression in europe. the english, becoming masters of canada by the peace of , sought eagerly for more remains. croghan, the geographer, visited the big bone lick, and found there some more bones of the same kind. he forwarded many cases to different naturalists in london. sir henry howorth, in his recent work, _the mammoth and the flood_ (in which are brought forward certain views not shared by most geologists), mentions that in the shawnee indians found, some three miles from the river ohio, the skeletons of five mastodons, and reported that one of the heads had a long nose attached to it, below which was the mouth. several explorers report discoveries of a like nature, which, if they may be trusted, and if they really refer to the mastodon, and not the mammoth, seem to show that portions of the skin and hairy covering have been seen. if so, their preservation is probably due to the saltness of the waters of this marsh, for salt is a good preservative. in _the american journal of science_,[ ] dr. koch reports the discovery of a mastodon's skeleton, of which the head and fore foot were well preserved, also large pieces of the skin, which looked like freshly tanned leather. but some of these accounts refer to tufts of hair--in one case three inches long. [ ] vol. xxxvi. p. . the great skeleton of mastodon americanus already referred to was purchased by the trustees of the british museum, of mr. albert koch, a well-known collector of fossil remains, who had exhibited it in the egyptian hall, piccadilly, in and , under the name of "the missouri leviathan," an enormous and ill-constructed monster, made up of the bones of this skeleton, together with many belonging to other individuals, in such a way as to horrify an anatomist and appeal all the more forcibly to the imagination of the public. from this heterogeneous assemblage of bones those belonging to the same animal have now been selected and articulated in their proper places. the height of this specimen is nine feet and a half, and the total length about eighteen feet. according to mr. koch, the remains exhibited by him were found in alluvial deposits on the banks of a small tributary of the osage river, in benton county, missouri. the bones were embedded in a brown, sandy deposit, full of vegetable matter, in which were recognised remains of the cypress, tropical cane, swamp moss, etc., and this was covered by blue clay and gravel to a thickness of about fifteen feet. mr. koch personally assured dr. mantell that an indian flint arrow-head was found beneath the leg-bones of this skeleton, and that four similar weapons were embedded in the same stratum. he declared that he took them out of the bed with his own hands. in the pier-case (no. ), near the mastodon americanus, may be seen fifteen heads and jaws, together with other parts of the skeleton, mostly obtained from the same locality, but some of them came from the "big bone lick," kentucky. a fine specimen, obtained from a marsh near newburgh, by dr. warren, measured eleven feet in height, and seventeen in length, while the tusks were nearly ten feet long, not including the portion in the long sockets of the cranium. twenty-six species of mastodon are known. an interesting find was that of dr. barton, a professor of the university of pennsylvania. at a depth of six feet, and under a great bank of chalk, bones of the mastodon were found sufficient to form a skeleton, and in the middle of the bones was seen a mass of vegetable matter enveloped in a kind of sac (which probably was the stomach of the animal). this matter was found to be composed of small leaves and branches, amongst which was recognised a species of rush yet common in virginia. in north america, where the mastodon survived into the period of primitive man, various strange legends exist that seem to refer to it. traditions were rife among the red men concerning this giant form and its destruction. a french officer named fabri informed m. buffon, the naturalist, that the "savages" (indians) regarded the bones found in various parts of canada and louisiana as belonging to an animal which they named "father of the ox." the shawnee indians believed that with this enormous animal there existed men of proportionate development, and that the great being destroyed both with thunderbolts. those of virginia state that as a troop of these terrible animals were destroying the deer, bisons, and other animals created for the use of indians, the great man slew them all with his thunder, except the big bull, who shook off the thunderbolts as they fell on him, till at last, being wounded in the side, he fled towards the great lakes, where he lies to this day. this is one of the songs which fabri heard in canada: "when the great _manitou_ descended to the earth, in order to satisfy himself that the creatures he had created were happy, and he interrogated all the animals, the bison replied that he would be quite contented with his fate in the grassy meadows, where the grass reached his belly, if he were not also compelled to keep his eyes constantly turned towards the mountains to catch the first sight of the 'father of the ox,' as he descended, with fury, to devour him and his companions." many other tribes repeat similar legends. the bones with which mazuyer practised his famous deception were those of a mastodon (see p. ). [illustration: fig. .--head of woolly rhinoceros, partly restored by m. deslongchamps.] contemporary with the mammoth in siberia and in northern and western europe, was the "woolly rhinoceros" (rhinoceros tichorhinus). its body has been found in frozen soil in siberia, with the skin, the two horns, the hair, and even the flesh preserved, as in the case of the mammoth. it had a smooth skin without folds, covered with a fine curly and coarse hairy coat, to enable it to withstand the rigours of an arctic climate. the traveller pallas gives a long account of one of these creatures, which was taken out of the ice, with its skin, hair, and flesh preserved. the following is a brief summary of his narrative. the body was observed in december, , by some jakuts near the river vilui, which discharges itself into the lena below jakutsk in siberia, latitude ° north. it lay in frozen sand upon the banks of the river. a certain russian inspector had sent on to irkutsk the head and two feet of the animal, all well preserved. the rest of it was too much decomposed, and so was left. the head was quite recognisable, since it was covered with its leathery skin. the eyelids had escaped total decay (see fig. ). the skin and tendons of the head and feet still preserved considerable flexibility. he was, however, compelled to cross the baikal lake before the ice broke up, and so could neither draw up a sufficiently careful description nor make sketches of those parts which were sufficiently preserved. plate xxii. is a restoration. [illustration: plate xxii. the woolly rhinoceros, rhinoceros tichorhinus. contemporary with the mammoth.] the rhinoceros in question was neither large for its species nor advanced in age; but it was at least fully grown. the horns were gone, but had left evident traces on the head. the skin which covered the orbits of the eyes and formed the eyelids was so well preserved, that the openings of the eyelids could be seen, though deformed and scarcely penetrable to the finger. the foot that was left--after some parts had unfortunately been burned while left to dry slowly on the top of a furnace--was furnished with hairs. these hairs adhering in many places to the skin, were from one to three lines in length, tolerably stiff and ash-coloured. what remained proved that the foot was covered with bunches of hair hanging down. like the mammoth and the mastodon, its contemporaries, the woolly rhinoceros has given rise to some curious legends. in the city of klagenfurt, in carinthia, is a fountain on which is sculptured the head of a monstrous dragon with six feet, and a head surmounted by a stout horn. according to popular tradition, still prevalent at klagenfurt, this dragon lived in a cave, whence it issued from time to time to frighten and ravage the country. a bold cavalier killed the dragon, paying with his life for this proof of courage. the same kind of legend seems to be current in every country, such as that of the valiant st. george and the dragon, and of st. martha, who about the same time conquered the famous _tarasque_ of the city of languedoc, which bears the name of tarascon. but at klagenfurt the popular legend has happily found a mouthpiece; the head of the pretended dragon killed by the valorous knight is preserved in the hôtel de ville, and this head has furnished the sculptor of the fountain with a model for the head of his statue. herr unger, of vienna, recognised at a glance the cranium of the fossil rhinoceros; its discovery in some cave had probably originated the fable of the knight and the dragon. it is always interesting to discover a scientific basis for fables which otherwise it would be difficult to account for. the same rhinoceros was once a denizen of our country, and its remains are met with in caves and river-gravels. specimens of its skull have also been dredged up by fishermen from the "dogger bank" in the north sea. chapter xv. giant birds. "to discover order and intelligence in scenes of apparent wildness and confusion is the pleasing task of the geological inquirer."--dr. paris. of all the monsters that ever lived on the face of the earth, the giant birds were perhaps the most grotesque. an emu or a cassowary of the present day looks sufficiently strange by the side of ordinary birds; but "running birds" much larger than these flourished not so very long ago in new zealand and madagascar, and must at one time have inhabited areas now sunk below the ocean waves. the history of the discovery of these remarkable and truly gigantic birds in new zealand, and the famous researches of professor owen, by which their structures have been made known, must now engage our attention. in the year professor owen exhibited, at a meeting of the zoological society, part of a thigh-bone, or femur, inches in length, and - / inches in its smallest circumference, with both extremities broken off. this bone of an unknown struthious bird was placed in his hands for examination, by mr. rule, with the statement that it was found in new zealand, where the natives have a tradition that it belonged to a bird now extinct, to which they give the name moa. similar bones, it was said, were found buried on the banks of the rivers. a minute description of this bone was given by the professor, who pointed out the peculiar interest of this discovery on account of the remarkable character of the existing fauna of new zealand, which still includes one of the most extraordinary birds of the struthious order ("running birds"), viz. the apteryx, and also because of the close analogy which the event indicated by the present relic offers to the extinction of the dodo in the island of mauritius. on the strength of this one fragment he ventured to assert that there once lived in new zealand a bird as large as the ostrich, and of the same order. this conclusion was more than confirmed by subsequent discoveries, which he anticipated; and, as we shall see, his estimate was a most moderate one, for the extinct bird turned out to be considerably larger than the ostrich. later on he received from a friend in new zealand news of the discovery of more bones. in a collection of bones of large birds was sent to dr. buckland, dean of westminster, by the rev. william williams, a zealous and successful church missionary, long resident in new zealand. on sending off his consignment mr. williams wrote a letter, of which we give the greater part below. /* "poverty bay, new zealand, february , . "dear sir, */ "it is about three years ago, on paying a visit to this coast--south of the east cape, that the natives told me of some extraordinary monster, which they said was in existence in an inaccessible cavern on the side of a hill near the river wairoa; and they showed me at the same time some fragments of bone taken out of the beds of rivers, which they said belonged to this creature, to which they gave the name moa. "when i came to reside in this neighbourhood i heard the same story a little enlarged; for it was said that this creature _was still existing_ at the said hill, of which the name is wakapunake, and that it is guarded by a reptile of the lizard species [genus]; but i could not learn that any of the present generation had seen it. i still considered the whole as an idle fable, but offered a large reward to any one who would catch me either the bird or its protector...." these offers procured the collection of a considerable number of fossil bones, on which mr. williams, in his letter, makes the following observations:-- "none of these bones have been found on the dry land, but are all of them from the banks and beds of fresh-water rivers, buried only a little distance in the mud.... all the streams are in immediate connection with hills of some altitude. " . this bird was in existence here at no very distant time, though not in the memory of any of the inhabitants; for the bones are found in the beds of the present streams, and do not appear to have been brought into their present situation by the action of any violent rush of waters. " . they existed in considerable numbers"--an observation which has since been abundantly confirmed. " . it may be inferred that this bird was long-lived, and that it was many years before it attained its full size." this is doubtful. " . the greatest height of the bird was probably not less than fourteen or sixteen feet." fourteen is probably the extreme limit. "within the last few days i have obtained a piece of information worthy of notice. happening to speak to an american about these bones, he told me that the bird is still in existence in the neighbourhood of cloudy bay, in cook's straits. he said that the natives there had mentioned to an englishman belonging to a whaling party that there was a bird of extraordinary size to be seen only at night, on the side of a hill near the place, and that he, with a native and a second englishman, went to the spot; that, after waiting some time, they saw the creature at a little distance, which they describe as being about fourteen or sixteen feet high. one of the men proposed to go nearer and shoot, but his companion was so exceedingly terrified, or perhaps both of them, that they were satisfied with looking at the bird, when, after a little time it took alarm, and strode off up the side of the mountain. "this incident might not have been worth mentioning, had it not been for the extraordinary agreement in point of size of the bird"--with his deductions from the bones. "_here_ are the bones which will satisfy you that such a bird _has been_ in existence; and _there_ is said to be the _living bird_, the supposed size of which, given by an independent witness, precisely agrees." in spite, however, of several tales of this kind, it is almost certain that these birds are now quite extinct. the leg-bones sent to london greatly exceeded in bulk those of the largest horse. the leg-bone of a tall man is about ft. in. in length, and the thigh of o'brien, the irish giant, whose skeleton, eight feet high, is mounted in the museum of the royal college of surgeons, is not quite two feet. but some of the leg-bones (tibiæ) of moa-birds measure as much as inches. in and mr. walter mantell, eldest son of dr. mantell, who had resided several years in new zealand, explored every known locality within his reach in the north island. he also went into the interior of the country and lived among the natives for the purpose of collecting specimens, and of ascertaining whether any of these gigantic birds were still in existence; resolving, if there appeared to be the least chance of success, to penetrate into the unfrequented regions, and obtain a live moa. the information gathered from the natives offered no encouragement to follow up the pursuit, but tended to confirm the idea that this race of colossal bipeds was extinct. he succeeded, however, in obtaining a most interesting collection of the bones of moa-birds, belonging to birds of various species and genera, differing considerably in size. this collection was purchased by the trustees of the british museum for £ . another collection was made by mr. percy earle from a submerged swamp, visible only at low water, situated on the south-eastern shore of the middle island. this collection also was purchased by the trustees for the sum of £ . mr. walter mantell, who described this locality, near waikouaiti, seventeen miles north of otago, thinks it was originally a swamp or morass, in which the new zealand flax once grew luxuriantly. the appearance and position of the bones are similar to those of the quadrupeds embedded in peat-bogs, as, for instance, the great irish elk (see next chapter). they have acquired a rich umber colour, and their texture is firm and tough. they still contain a large proportion of animal matter. unfortunately, even when mr. walter mantell visited this spot, the bed containing the bones was rapidly diminishing from the inroads of the sea, and perhaps by this time is entirely washed away. mr. w. mantell, however, obtained fine specimens and feet of a large moa-bird (dinornis) in an upright position; and there seems to be little doubt that the unfortunate bird was mired in the swamp, and perished on the spot. the bones which he obtained from the north island presented a different appearance, being light and porous, and of a delicate fawn-colour. they were embedded in loose volcanic sand. though perfect, they were as soft and plastic as putty, and required most careful handling. they were dug out with great care, and exposed to the air and sun to dry before they could be packed up and removed. the natives were a great source of trouble to him, for as soon as they caught sight of his operations they came down in swarms--men, women, and children, trampling on the bones he had laid out to dry, and seizing on every morsel they could get. the reason of this was that their cupidity and avarice had been excited by the large rewards given by europeans in search of these treasures. mixed with the bones he found fragments of shells, and sometimes portions of the windpipe, or trachea. one portion of an egg which he found was large enough to enable him to calculate the size of the egg when complete. "as a rough guess, i may say that a common hat would have served as an egg-cup for it: what a loss for the breakfast-table! and if many native traditions are worthy of credit, the ladies have cause to mourn the extinction of the moa: the long feathers of its crest were by their remote ancestors prized above all other ornaments; those of the white crane, which now bear the highest value, were mere pigeon's feathers in comparison." the total number of species of moa once inhabiting new zealand was probably at least fifteen, and, judging from the enormous accumulations of their bones found in some districts, they must have been extremely common, and probably went about in flocks. "birds of a feather _flock_ together" (proverb). it is justly concluded, both from the vast number of bones discovered, and from the fact of their great diversity in size and other features, that they must have had the country pretty much to themselves; or, in other words, they enjoyed immunity from the attacks of carnivorous quadrupeds. in whatever way the moas originated in new zealand, it is evident that the land was a favourable one, for they multiplied enormously, and spread from one end to the other. not only was the number of individuals very large, but they belonged (according to mr. f.w. hutton) to no less than seven genera, containing twenty-five different species, a remarkable fact which is unparalleled in any other part of the world. the species described by professor owen in his great work,[ ] vary in size from ft. to or even ft. in height, and differ greatly in their forms, some being tall and slender, and probably swift-footed like the ostrich, whilst others were short and had stout limbs, such as dinornis elephantopus (fig. ), which was undoubtedly a bird of great strength, but very heavy-footed. dinornis crassus also had stout limbs. (see plate xxiii.) [ ] memoir on _the extinct wingless birds of new zealand_. london, . the beautiful drawing by mr. smit (plate xxiv.) is from a photograph in this valuable work representing the late sir richard owen standing in his academic robes by the side of a specimen of the skeleton of the great dinornis maximus. [illustration: plate xxiii. moa-birds. _dinornis giganteus._ _d. elephantopus._ height feet. a smaller species.] [illustration: fig. .--_a._ skeleton of the elephant-footed moa, _dinornis elephantopus_, from new zealand. _b._ leg-bones of _dinornis giganteus_, representing a bird over ft. high. _r_, _b_, footprints.] the natural history museum at south kensington contains a valuable collection of remains of moa-birds. these skeletons may be seen in gallery no. (at the end of the long gallery) in the glass cases r, r´, and s. dinornis elephantopus (elephant-footed) is in front of the window. in d. giganteus the leg-bone (see fig. ) attains the enormous length of ft., and in an allied species it is even in.! the next bone below (cannon bone) is sometimes more than half the length of the leg-bone (tibia). a skeleton in one of the glass cases has a height of about - / ft., and it is concluded that the largest birds did not stand less than ft., and possibly were ft. high! dinornis parvus (the dwarf moa) was only three feet high. in the trustees obtained, from a cave in otago, the head, neck, two legs, and feet of a moa (d. didinus), having the skin, still preserved in a dried state, covering the bones, and some few feathers of a reddish hue still attached to the leg (table case ). the rings of the windpipe may be seen _in situ_, the sclerotic plates of the eye, and the sheaths of the claws. one foot also shows the hind claw still attached. from traditions and other circumstances it is supposed that the present natives of new zealand came there not more than about six hundred years ago, and there is reason to believe that the ancient maoris, when they landed, feasted on moa-birds as long as any remained. their extermination _probably_ only dates back to about the period at which the islands were thrice visited by captain cook, - . the moa-bird is mixed up with their songs and stories, and they even have a tradition of caravans being attacked by them. still, some people believe that they were killed off by the race which inhabited new zealand before the maoris came. but they must have been there up to a time not far removed from the present. it is even said that the "runs" made by them were visible on the sides of the hills up to a few years ago; and possibly they may still be visible. the charred bones and egg-shells have been found mixed with charcoal where the native ovens were formerly made, and their eggs are said to have been found in maori graves. mr. hutton considers that in the north island they were exterminated three or four centuries ago, while in the south island they may have lingered a century longer. the nearest ally of the moa is the small apteryx, or kiwi, of new zealand, specimens of which may be seen at the natural history museum, at the end of the long gallery devoted to living birds. this bird, however, has a long pointed bill for probing in the soft mud for worms, whereas the bill of the moa was short like that of an ostrich. another difference between the two is that, while the kiwi still retains the rudiments of wing-bones, the moa had hardly a vestige of such. in australia the remains have been found of a bird probably related to the cassowaries, but at present imperfectly known. to this type of struthious, or running bird, the name dromornis has been given. now, it is a remarkable fact that remains of another giant bird and its eggs have been found on the opposite side of the great indian ocean, namely, in the island of madagascar, the existence of which was first revealed by its eggs, found sunk in the swamps, but of which some imperfect bones were afterwards discovered. one of these eggs was so enormous that its diameter was nearly fourteen inches, and was reckoned to be as big as three ostrich eggs, or hen's eggs! this means a cubic content of more than two gallons! the natives search for the eggs by probing in the soft mud of the swamps with long iron rods. a large and perfect specimen of an egg of this bird, such as was recently exhibited at a meeting of the zoological society, is said to be worth £ . what the dimensions of Æpyornis were it is impossible to say, and it would be unsafe to venture a calculation from the size of the egg.[ ] the reader who wishes to see some of the remains of this huge bird may be referred to the natural history museum. in wall case no. , gallery (geological department), may be seen a tibia and plaster casts of other bones; also two entire eggs, many broken pieces, and one plaster cast of an egg found in certain surface deposits in madagascar. in the same case may be seen bones of the dodo from the isle of mauritius. unlike new zealand, madagascar possesses no living wingless bird. but in the neighbouring island of mauritius the dodo has been exterminated less than three centuries ago. the little island of rodriguez, in the same geographical province, has also lost its wingless solitaire. [ ] from the size of a femur and tibia of _Æpyornis_ preserved in the paris museum, it could not have been less in stature than the dinornis elephantopus of new zealand. it will thus be seen that we have three distinct groups of giant land birds--the moas, the dromornis, and the Æpyornis,--occupying areas at present widely separated by the ocean. this raises the difficult but very interesting question, how they got there; and the same applies to their living ancestors. the ostrich proper, struthio camelus, inhabits africa and arabia; but there is evidence from history to show that it formerly existed in beluchistan and central asia. and, going still further back, the geological record informs us that, in the pliocene period, they inhabited what is now northern india. in australia we have the cassowary (casuarius) and the emeu (dromaius); in new zealand, the apteryx (or kiwi). now, as none of these birds can either fly or swim, it is impossible that they could have reached these regions separated as they now are; and it is hardly likely that they arose spontaneously in each district from totally different ancestors. but the new doctrine of evolution affords a key to the problem, and tells us that they all sprang from a common ancestor, of the struthious type (probably inhabiting the great northern continental area), and gradually migrated south along land areas now submerged. in this way we get some idea of the vast changes that have taken place in the geography of the world during later geological periods. perhaps they were compelled to move south until they reached abodes free from carnivorous enemies. having done so, they evidently flourished abundantly, especially in new zealand, where there are so few mammals, except those recently introduced by man. in north america professor cope has reported a large wingless fossil bird from the eocene strata of new mexico. in england we have two such--namely, the dasornis, from the london clay of sheppey (eocene period), and the gastornis, from the woolwich beds near croydon, and from paris (also eocene). it will thus be seen that big struthious birds have a long history, going far back into the tertiary era, and that they once had a much wider geographical range than they have now. doubtless, future discoveries will tend to fill up the gaps between all these various types, both living and extinct, and to connect them together in one chain of evolution. the last great find of moa-birds in new zealand took place only last year, and was reported by a correspondent to the _scotsman_ (november , ), writing from oamaru. in the letter that appeared at the above date, our friend mr. h. o. forbes announces the discovery of an immense number of bones, estimated to represent at least five hundred moas! they were found in the neighbourhood of oamaru. and, after some preliminary remarks, he continues as follows:-- "the part of the field on which the remains were found bears no traces of any physical disturbance--_e.g._ of earthquake, or flood, or hurricane--that would account for the sudden destruction of a flock or 'mob' of moas. the moa, when alive, carried in its crop--like our own hens--a quantity of stones to serve as a private coffee-mill for digestive grinding; stones which, being somewhat in proportion to the magnitude of the giant bird, form, when found in one place, a 'heap' of stones which are easily identified as a moa heap, and nothing else. and in the present case the heap was here and there found in such relation to the bones of an individual bird as to show that the moa must have died on that spot, and remained there quietly undisturbed. further, the number of birds represented by the exhumed remains is so great that the living birds could not have stood together on the space of ground on which the remains were found lying. and there is not on any of the bones any trace of such violence as must have left its mark if the death of the birds had been caused by a moa-hunting mankind. finally, it does not appear that in this particular district there ever has been, at any traceable period of the physical history of the land, a forest vegetation, such as might suggest that the catastrophe was caused by fire. "the question how to account for the slaughter is raised likewise by two previous finds of moa bones. the first of these, at glenmark, in canterbury, was the most memorable, because, being the first, it made the deepest impression. the second great find, far inland, up the molineux river, otherwise the clutha, was beneath the diluvium that is now worked by the gold-digger. the spot must have been the site of a lagoon, at one point of which there was a spring. round about this point there were found the remains of, it was reckoned, five hundred individual moas. the bones were quietly _laid_ there, with, in some cases, the 'heap' of digestive stones _in situ_ along with the skeletons. and mr. booth, whose elaborate investigation of this case is recorded in the annual volume of _the new zealand institute_, suggested the theory that the climate of new zealand was changing to a degree of cold intolerable to moa nature; and that the birds, fleeing from its rigour, sought comfort in the spring of water, sheltering their featherless breast in it, and so dozing out of this troubled life. and in this new find the wonder comes back unmitigated, as a mystery unsolved. for here is no bog deep enough, as in the first instance, nor lagoon spring, as in the second, to account for that multitude of giant birds dying in one spot. "another curious puzzle is, on close inspection, found everywhere in the moa bone discoveries. it is hardly possible to make sure that the bones of any one complete moa skeleton all belong to the same individual i heard some one say the other day that it is not certain that any moa in any earthly museum has all his own bones, and only his own. "a main interest of such a find lies not in the power of supplying museums with specimens of what is rapidly disappearing from the face of the world, but in the possibility of finding species of moa that have not hitherto been tabulated. whether any new species have been brought to light on this occasion the experts will not say until there has been time to make a careful study of the bones, nor do they venture on any theory to account for there being so many individual birds dead in that one place, where there appears to be no room for the explanations offered in connection with previous great finds. the date of these birds appears to be earlier than that of the coming of the maoris into new zealand, say five or six hundred years ago, as the maori memory appears to have in it no trace of feasting on these giant moas, but celebrates the rat-hunt in its ancient heroic song. and your readers may picture their appearance by noticing the fact that one of the recently found bones must have belonged to a moa fourteen feet high!" note.--for further information on this interesting subject, the reader is referred to a paper in _natural science_, october, , by mr. f. w. hutton. in a valuable paper, read before the royal geographical society by mr. h. o. forbes, march , , the lecturer alluded to the important fact that bone belonging to big extinct struthious birds have been discovered in patagonia. this is interesting news as bearing upon the theory of a former antarctic continent connecting australia and new zealand with south africa, and perhaps even with south america. after the lecture, to which we listened with great interest, the subject was discussed by mr. slater, dr. günther, and dr. henry woodward. for ourselves we can see no great difficulty in accepting the theory that such a continent once existed, though it is out of harmony with the now rather fashionable theory of "the permanence of ocean basins"--a doctrine which seems to have been pressed too far. chapter xvi. the great irish deer and steller's sea-cow. "and, above all others, we should protect and hold sacred those types, nature's masterpieces, which are first singled out for destruction on account of their size, or splendour, or rarity, and that false detestable glory which is accorded to their most successful slayers. in ancient times the spirit of life shone brightest in these; and when others that shared the earth with them were taken by death they were left, being more worthy of perpetuation. like immortal flowers they have drifted down to us on the ocean of time, and their strangeness and beauty bring to our imaginations a dream and a picture of that unknown world, immeasurably far removed, where man was not: and when they perish, something of the gladness goes out of nature, and the sunshine loses something of its brightness."--w. h. hudson, in _the naturalist in la plata_. among the extinct animals of prehistoric times the "great irish elk,"[ ] as it is generally called, deserves special notice, both from the enormous size of its antlers, and from the fact that its remains are exceedingly plentiful in ireland. [ ] the term "elk" is misleading, for it is not an elk (_alces_) at all, but a true _cervus_ (stag). it should be called "the great irish deer." this magnificent creature, so well depicted by our artist (plate xxv.), was, however, by no means confined to ireland; its remains are found in many parts of great britain, particularly in cave deposits, and also on the continent. some writers think that it was contemporary with men in ireland; it may have been so, but at present the question cannot be considered as proved. mr. r. j. ussher, who found its remains in a cave near cappagh, cappoquin, thinks he has obtained evidence to show that it was hunted by man at the time when he hunted reindeer in this part of europe, but the age of the strata containing the remains is doubtful. again, there is a rib in the dublin museum with a perforation which is sometimes taken to be the result of a wound from a dart, arrow, or spear; but the wound may have been inflicted by one of the sharp tynes in a fight between two bucks. dr. hart mentions the discovery of a human body in gravel, under eleven feet of peat, soaked in bog-water, in good preservation, and completely clothed in antique garments of hair, which it has been conjectured might be that of the great deer. but if some individual animal had perished and left its body under the like circumstances, its hide and hair ought equally to have been preserved. dr. molyneux, to whom we owe the first account of its discovery, says that its extinction in ireland has occurred "so many ages past, as there remains among us not the least record in writing, or any manner of tradition, that makes so much as mention of its name; as that most laborious inquirer into the pretended ancient but certainly fabulous history of this country, mr. roger o'flaherty, the author of _ogygia_, has lately informed me."[ ] [ ] _philosophical transactions_, vol. xix. p. . in the romance of the "niebelungen," now immortalised by wagner, which was written in the thirteenth century, the word _shelch_ occurs, and is applied to one of the beasts slain in a great hunt a few hundred years before that time in germany. this word has been cited by some naturalists as probably signifying the great irish deer. but this is mere conjecture, and the word might apply to some big red deer. the total silence of cæsar and tacitus respecting such remarkable animals renders it highly improbable that they were known to the ancient britons. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of great irish deer, _cervus giganteus_, from shell-marl beneath the peat, ireland. antlers over feet across.] two entire skeletons of the male, with antlers measuring a little over nine feet from tip to tip, and one skeleton of the hornless doe, are to be seen set up in the middle of the long gallery no. at the natural history museum. the drawing in fig. is from a specimen in the museum of the royal college of surgeons (lincoln's inn fields). the height of this specimen to the summit of the antlers is ft. in. the span of the antlers, from tip to tip, is ft. (in the living moose it is only ft). the weight of the skull and antlers together is lbs., but those of another specimen belonging to the royal dublin society weigh lbs. this great extinct deer surpassed the largest wapite (cervus canadensis) in size, and its antlers were very much larger, wider, and heavier. in some cases the antlers have measured more than ft. from tip to tip. the body of the animal, as well as its antlers, were larger and stronger than in any existing deer. the limbs are stouter, as might be expected from the great weight of the head and neck. another and more striking feature is the great size of the vertebræ of the neck; this was necessary in order to form a column capable of supporting the head and its massive antlers. (see plate xxv.) [illustration: plate xxv. the great irish deer, cervus megaceros. height to the summit of the antlers feet; spread of antlers feet.] the first tolerably perfect skeleton was found in the isle of man, and presented by the duke of athol to the edinburgh museum. it was figured in cuvier's _ossemens fossiles_. besides those already mentioned at south kensington and dublin, there is one in the woodwardian museum at cambridge. it cannot be doubted that, like all existing deer, the animal shed its antlers periodically, and such shed antlers have been found. when it is recollected that all the osseous matter of which they are composed must have been drawn from the blood carried along certain arteries to the head, in the course of a few months, our wonder may well be excited at the vigorous circulation that took place in these parts. in the red deer the antlers, weighing about lbs., are developed in the course of about ten weeks; but what is that compared to the growth of over lbs. weight in some three or four months? it is a mistake to suppose that the remains discovered in ireland were found in peat; they occur not in the peat, but in shell-marls and in clays _under the peat_. this is an important point for if the remains _were_ found in the peat, they would prove that the great deer survived into a later period; instead of being (as is believed from geological evidence) contemporary with the mammoth and woolly rhinoceros in this country, and then disappearing from view. as already stated, it existed on the continent, and may there have been exterminated by man. mr. w. williams, who has explored several peat-bogs in ireland, marking the site of ancient lakes, and found many specimens in beds underlying the peat, has given much interesting information bearing upon the question of the period when the great deer inhabited ireland, and the manner in which it was preserved in the lake-beds.[ ] he spent ten weeks in - , excavating deer remains in the bog of ballybetagh, and subsequently made similar excavations in the counties of mayo, limerick, and meath. these peat-bogs occupy the basins of lakes, the deeper hollows of which have long since been silted up with marls, clays, and sands, and in this silt, or mud, the plants which produced the peat grew. in all the bogs examined he found a general resemblance in the order of succession of the beds, with only slight variations in the nature of the materials such as might be easily accounted for by differences in the surrounding rocks. in these deposits the geologist may read, as in a book, the successive changes in climate that have taken place since the time when the country was deeply covered with snow and ice during the glacial period. [ ] _geological magazine_, new series, vol. viii. ( ), p. . he found at the bottom of the old ballybetagh lake, and resting on the true boulder clay (a product of the ice-sheet), a fine stiff clay which seems to have been brought in by the action of rain washing fine clay out of the boulder clay, that nearly covered the land, and depositing it in the lake. this action probably took place during a period of thaw, when the climate was damp, from the melting of so much ice, and the rainfall considerable. then the climate improved, the cold of the glacial period passed away, and the climate became warm. during this phase the next stratum was formed, consisting chiefly of vegetable remains. the summers must have been unusually warm, dry, and favourable to the growth of vegetation on the bed of the lake. about this time the great irish deer appeared on the scene, for its remains were found resting on this layer, or stratum, in a brownish clay. this deposit also was the product of a time when the climate was mild. it is a true lake-sediment, with seams of clay and fine sand, the latter having been brought down by heavy rainfall from the hills, just as at the present day. now, we have to consider how these great deer got buried in this deposit. how did they get drowned? they may have gone into the lakes to escape from wolves, or possibly to escape from ancient britons (but that is still doubtful). perhaps they went into the water to wallow, as is usual with deer, or they may have ventured to swim the lakes (see p. ). to enter the lake from a sandy shore would be easy enough, but, on reaching the other side, they might find a soft mud instead, into which their small feet would sink; and the more they plunged and struggled, the worse became their plight, until at last, weary and exhausted, the heavy antlers pressed their heads down under the water, and they were drowned. it does not follow, according to this theory, that either the entire animal ought to be found, or even its legs, sticking in the clay. for a few days it might remain so, but the motion of the waters of the lake would sway the body to and fro, while the gases due to decomposition would render it buoyant, and perhaps raise it bodily off the bottom. then it might float before the wind, its head hanging down, till it reached the lee-side of the lake. then the antlers would get fastened in mud near the shore, thus mooring the body until at last so much of the flesh of the neck had decayed that the body got separated from it, leaving the head and antlers near the shore. nearly a hundred heads had been found in this lake previous to mr. williams's explorations, and yet scarcely six skeletons. at first it is somewhat puzzling to account for this scarcity of skeletons compared with heads; but very likely the bodies, minus their heads, were carried right out of the lake, down a river, and perhaps reached the sea or got stranded somewhere down the river in such a way that the bones were never covered up. but in the limerick bogs heads and skeletons were often found together. in that district the lakes were probably shallow and with but a feeble current, and so the body never floated away. this explanation by mr. williams seems satisfactory. he reports that the female skulls were rarely met with. either they were more timid in swimming lakes, or, having no antlers, they may have succeeded in getting out, or the care of their young ones may have kept them out of the lakes during the summer months. the clay in which the remains occur is succeeded by another bed of pure clay, which _never_ yields any skulls or bones. this, mr. williams thinks, was deposited at a time when the climate was more or less severe, and the musk-ox, reindeer, and other arctic animals came down from more northern regions, even down to the south of france. he concludes that this period marks the extinction of the great deer in ireland, whether rightly or wrongly it is hard to say. many observers are inclined to think that it lived on to a later period. an interesting fact, having some bearing on the question, is this: that the bones in some cases even yet retain their marrow in the state of a fatty substance, which will burn with a clear lambent flame. evidence such as this seems to point to a more recent date for its extinction. steller's sea-cow.[ ] [ ] for fuller information, see the _geological magazine_, decade iii. vol. ii. p. . paper by dr. henry woodward, f.r.s. the sirenia of the present day form a remarkable group of aquatic herbivorous animals, really quite distinct from the cetacea (whales and dolphins), although sometimes erroneously classed with them. in the former group are the dugong and the manatee. these creatures pass their whole life in the water, inhabiting the shallow bogs, estuaries, and lagoons, and large rivers, but never venturing far away from the shore. they browse beneath the surface on aquatic plants, as the terrestrial herbivorous mammals feed upon the green pastures on land. not a few of the tales of mermen and mermaids owe their origin to these creatures, as well as to seals, and even walruses. the portuguese and spaniards give the manatee a name signifying "woman-fish," and the dutch call the dugong the "little bearded man." a very little imagination, and a memory only for the marvellous, doubtless sufficed to complete the metamorphosis of the half-woman, or man, half-fish, into a siren, a mermaid, or a merman. hence the general name sirenia. the manatee (_manatus_) inhabits the west coast and rivers of tropical africa, and the east coast and rivers of tropical america, the west indies, and florida. the dugong (_halicore_) extends along the red sea coasts, the shores of india, and the adjacent islands, and goes as far as the northern and eastern coasts of australia. [illustration: fig. .--skeleton of _rhytina gigas_ (steller's "sea-cow"), from a peat deposit, behring's island.] the most remarkable sirenian is the rhytina gigas, or "steller's sea-cow." early in the trustees of the british museum acquired a nearly complete skeleton of this animal, now extinct, from peat deposits in behring's island, of pleistocene age. formerly it was abundant along the shores of kamtchatka, the kurile islands, and alaska. it was first discovered by the german naturalist, steller, who, in company with vitus behring, a captain in the russian navy and a celebrated navigator of the northern seas, was with his vessel and crew cast away upon behring's island (where behring died) in . steller's original description is preserved in the _memoirs of the academy of sciences st. petersburg_. he saw it alive during his long enforced residence on the island. in the course of forty years, - , it appears to have been exterminated, probably for the sake of its flesh and hide, around both behring's island and copper island, to the shores of which it was, in steller's time, limited. fig. shows its skeleton, ft. in. long, now preserved in the geological collection at south kensington (glass-case n). the skeletons are found, in the islands, at a distance from the shore in old raised beaches and peat-mosses, deeply buried and thickly overgrown with grass. they are discovered by boring into the peat with an iron rod, just as timber is found in irish peat-bogs. (see restoration, plate xxvi.) steller records that when he came to behring's island, the sea-cows fed in the shallows along the shore, and collected in herds like cattle. every few minutes they raised their heads in order to get more air before descending again to browse on the thick sea-weed (probably laminaria) surrounding the coast. with regard to their habits, they were very slow in their movements: mild and inoffensive in disposition. their colour was dark brown, sometimes varied with spots. the skin was naked; but thick, hard, and rugged. they are said to have sometimes reached a length of thirty-five feet, when full grown. most of their time was spent in browsing, and whilst so occupied, were not easily disturbed. their attachment to each other was great, so that when one was harpooned, the others made great attempts to rescue it. according to steller, they were so heavy that it required forty men with ropes to drag the body of one to land. [illustration: plate xxvi. steller's sea-cow, rhytina gigas. found alive by steller at behring's island. length feet inches.] when, in , the news of the discovery of behring island reached kamtchatka, several expeditions were fitted out for the purpose of hunting the sea-cow and the various fur-bearing animals, such as the sea-otter, fur seal, and blue fox, which are found there; and very soon many whaling vessels began to stop there to lay in a supply of sea-cow meat for food. so great was the destruction wrought by these whalers and fur-hunters that in , only thirteen years after its discovery, the sea-cow had become practically exterminated. in , according to the investigations of dr. l. stejneger of the u. s. national museum, washington, who has made a most careful study of the question, this large and important marine mammal became wholly extinct, the last individual ever seen alive having been killed in that year; and the fate which overtook rhytina so speedily has almost become that of the buffalo, and will as certainly become that of the fur seal unless it be protected. it may interest the reader, especially if he be a traveller, to know that, besides the fine specimen of rhytina in the natural history museum, already alluded to, good skeletons are possessed by the museums of st. petersburg, helsingsfors (finland), stockholm, u. s. national museum, washington, as well as portions of skeletons by other museums. the sirenians are an ancient race, for their remains have been found in tertiary strata, of various ages, from eocene to pleistocene, over the greater part of europe--in england, holland, belgium, france, germany, austria, and italy; also near cairo. in the new world, fossil sirenians have been found in south carolina, new jersey, and jamaica. another european species is the halitherium, from the miocene rocks of hesse-darmstadt, of which a cast may be seen in the natural history museum, south kensington. its length is ft. in. the teeth in this form resembled those of the dugong. the rhytina was probably intermediate between the dugong and the manatee, judging from the casts of its brain-cavity. its brain was very small considering the size of the animals. altogether, as many as fourteen fossil genera and thirty species are known. evidently, then, the old sirenia were once a much more flourishing race. at present, they are confined exclusively to the tropical regions of the earth, and their past distribution, as revealed to the geologists, adds one more proof to the now well-established fact, that throughout most of the tertiary era the climate of northern latitudes was very much warmer than now--in fact, sub-tropical. what cause, or causes, brought about so great a change, we cannot stay to consider here. in conclusion, it only remains to express a hope that the reader may have been interested in our humble endeavours to describe some of the largest, most strange, and wonderful forms of life that in remote ages have found a home on this planet. and perhaps a few of our readers may be induced to add a new and never-failing interest to their lives by searching in the stony record for traces of the world's "lost creations." if so, our labour will not have been in vain. appendix i. table of stratified rocks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ periods. | systems. | formations. | ------------+------------------+-------------------------------+-------- quaternary. | {|terrestrial, alluvial, | |=recent= {| estuarine, and marine beds of | | {| historic, iron, bronze, and | | {| neolithic ages | | | | | {|peat, alluvium, loess |dominant | {|valley gravels, brickearths | type, | {|cave-deposits |man |=pleistocene= {|raised beaches | | {|palæolithic age | | {|boulder clay and gravels | ------------+------------------+-------------------------------+-------- cainozoic. | {|norfolk forest-bed series | tertiary. |=pliocene= {|norwich and red crags | | {|coralline crag (diestian) | | | | |=miocene= |oeningen beds freshwater, etc. | | | | | {|fluvio-marine series | | {| (oligocene) |dominant |=eocene= {|bagshot beds }(nummulitic | types, | {|london tertiaries } beds) |birds ------------+------------------+-------------------------------| and secondary, | {|maestricht beds |mammals or mesozoic.| {|chalk | |=cretaceous= {|upper greensand | | {|gault | | {|lower greensand } neocomian | | {|wealden } | |------------------+-------------------------------+-------- | {|purbeck beds | | {|portland beds | | {|kimmeridge clay | | {| (solenhofen beds) | |=jurassic= {|corallian beds | | {|oxford clay |dominant | {|great oolite series | type | {|inferior oolite series |reptilia | {|lias | |-------------- ---+-------------------------------| | {|rhætic beds | |=triassic= {|keuper | | {|muschelkalk | | {|bunter | ------------+------------------+-------------------------------+-------- primary, |=permian or {|red sandstone, marl } | or |dyas= {|magnesian limestone, }zechstein| | {| etc. } |dominant palÆozoic. | {|red sandstone and conglomerate | type, | {|rothliegende |fishes | | | |=carboniferous= {|coal measures and millstone | | {| grit | | {|carboniferous limestone series | | | | |=devonian & old {|upper old red sandstone | | red sandstone= {|devonian | | {|lower old red sandstone | | | | |=silurian= {|ludlow series | | {|wenlock series | | {|llandovery series | | {|may hill series | | | | |=ordovician= {|bala and caradoc series | | {|llandeilo series | | {|llanvirn series | | {|arenig and skiddaw series | | | | |=cambrian= {|tremadoc slates | | {|lingula flags | | {|menevian series | | {|harlech and longmynd series | ------------+------------------+-------------------------------+-------- |=eozoic-archÆan= {|pebidian, arvonian, and |dominant | {| dimetian | type, | {|huronian and laurentian |inverte- | | | brata ------------+------------------+-------------------------------+-------- appendix ii. the great sea-serpent. mr. henry lee, formerly naturalist to the brighton aquarium, discusses the question of "the great sea-serpent" in an interesting little book, entitled _sea monsters unmasked_, illustrated ( ), published as one of the handbooks issued in connection with the international fisheries exhibition. he goes fully into the history of the subject, and shows how some of the appearances described may be accounted for; but yet is inclined to think that there may exist in the sea animals of great size unknown to science, and concludes as follows:-- "this brings us face to face with the question, 'is it, then, so impossible that there may exist some great sea creature, or creatures, with which zoologists are hitherto unacquainted, that it is necessary in every case to regard the authors of such narratives as wilfully untruthful or mistaken in their observations, if their descriptions are irreconcilable with something already known?' i, for one, am of the opinion that there is no such impossibility. calamaries or squids of the ordinary size have, from time immemorial, been amongst the commonest and best known of marine animals in many seas; but only a few years ago any one who expressed his belief in one formidable enough to capsize a boat or pull a man out of one was derided for his credulity, although voyagers had constantly reported that in the indian seas they were so dreaded that the natives always carried hatchets with them in their canoes, with which to cut off the arms or tentacles of these creatures, if attacked by them. we now know that their existence is no fiction; for individuals have been captured measuring more than fifty feet, and some are reported to have measured eighty feet in total length. as marine snakes some feet in length, and having fin-like tails adapted for swimming, abound over an extensive range, and are frequently met with far at sea, i cannot regard it as impossible that some of these also may attain to an abnormal and colossal development. dr. andrew wilson, who has given much attention to this subject, is of the opinion that 'in this huge development of ordinary forms we discover the true and natural law of the production of the giant serpent of the sea.' it goes far at any rate towards accounting for its supposed appearance. i am convinced that whilst naturalists have been searching amongst the vertebrata for a solution of the problem, the great unknown, and therefore unrecognised, calamaries, by their elongated cylindrical bodies and peculiar mode of swimming, have played the part of the sea-serpent in many a well-authenticated incident. in other cases, such as those mentioned by 'pontoppidan' (_history of norway_), the supposed vertical undulations of the snake seen out of water have been the burly bodies of so many porpoises swimming in line--the connecting undulations beneath the surface have been supplied by the imagination. the dorsal fins of basking sharks, as figured by dr. andrew wilson, may have furnished the 'ridge of fins;' an enormous conger is not an impossibility; a giant turtle may have done duty, with its propelling flippers and broad back; or a marine snake of enormous size may really have been seen. but if we accept as accurate the observations recorded (which i certainly do not in all cases, for they are full of errors and mistakes), the difficulty is not entirely met, even by this last admission, for the instances are very few in which an ophidian proper--a true serpent--is indicated. there has seemed to be wanting an animal having a long snake-like neck, a small head, and a slender body, and propelling itself by paddles. "the similarity of such an animal to the plesiosaurus of old was remarkable. that curious compound reptile, which has been compared with 'a snake threaded through the body of a turtle,' is described by dean buckland as having 'the head of a lizard, the teeth of a crocodile, a neck of enormous length resembling the body of a serpent, the ribs of a chameleon, and the paddles of a whale.' in the number of its cervical vertebræ (about thirty-three) it surpasses that of the longest-necked bird, the swan. "the form and probable movements of this ancient saurian agree so markedly with some of the accounts given of 'the great sea-serpent,' that mr. edward newman advanced the opinion that the closest affinities of the latter would be found to be with the enaliosaurians, or marine lizards, whose fossil remains are so abundant in the oolite and the lias. this view has been taken by other writers, and emphatically by mr. gosse. neither he nor mr. newman insist that 'the great unknown' must be the plesiosaurus itself. mr. gosse says, 'i should not look for any species, scarcely for any genus, to be perpetuated from the oolitic period to the present. admitting the actual continuation of the order enaliosauria, it would be, i think, quite in conformity with general analogy to find some salient features of several extinct forms.' "the form and habits of the recently recognised gigantic cuttles account for so many appearances which, without knowledge of them, were inexplicable when mr. gosse and mr. newman wrote, that i think this theory is not forced upon us. mr. gosse well and clearly sums up the evidence as follows: 'carefully comparing the independent narratives of english witnesses of known character and position, most of them being officers under the crown, we have a creature possessing the following characteristics: ( ) the general form of a serpent; ( ) great length, say above sixty feet; ( ) head considered to resemble that of a serpent; ( ) neck from twelve to sixteen inches in diameter; ( ) appendages on the head, neck, or back, resembling a crest or mane (considerable discrepancy in details); ( ) colour, dark brown or green, streaked or spotted with white; ( ) swims at surface of the water with a rapid or slow movement, the head and neck projected and elevated above the surface; ( ) progression steady and uniform, the body straight, but capable of being thrown into convolutions; ( ) spouts in the manner of a whale; ( ) like a long "nun-buoy."' he concludes with the question, 'to which of the recognised classes of created beings can this huge rover of the ocean be referred?' "i reply, 'to the cephalopoda.' there is not one of the above judiciously summarised characteristics that is not supplied by the great calamary, and its ascertained habits and peculiar mode of locomotion. "only a geologist can fully appreciate how enormously the balance of probability is contrary to the supposition that any of the gigantic marine saurians of the secondary deposits should have continued to live up to the present time. and yet i am bound to say that this does not amount to an impossibility, for the evidence against it is entirely negative. nor is the conjecture that there may be in existence some congeners of these great reptiles inconsistent with zoological science. dr. j. e. gray, late of the british museum, a strict zoologist, is cited by mr. gosse as having long ago expressed his opinion that some undescribed form exists which is intermediate between the tortoises and the serpents." (this is quoted by mr. lee in a footnote.) "professor agassiz, too, is adduced by a correspondent of the _zoologist_ (p. ), as having said concerning the present existence of the enaliosaurian type, that 'it would be in precise conformity with analogy that such an animal should exist in the american seas, as he had found numerous instances in which the fossil forms of the old world were represented by living types in the new.' "on this point, mr. newman records in the _zoologist_ (p ), an actual testimony which he considers 'in all respects the most interesting natural history fact of the present century.' he writes-- "'captain the hon. george hope states that when in h.m.s. _fly_, in the gulf of california, the sea being perfectly calm, he saw at the bottom a large marine animal with the head and general figure of the alligator, except that the neck was much longer, and that instead of legs the creature had four large flappers, somewhat like those of turtles, the anterior pair being larger than the posterior, the creature was distinctly visible, and all its movements could be observed with ease; it appeared to be pursuing its prey at the bottom of the sea; its movements were somewhat serpentine, and an appearance of annulations, or ring-like divisions of the body, was distinctly perceptible. captain hope made this relation in company, and as a matter of conversation. when i heard it from the gentleman to whom it was narrated, i inquired whether captain hope was acquainted with those remarkable fossil animals, ichthyosauri and plesiosauri, the supposed forms of which so nearly corresponded with what he describes as having seen alive, and i cannot find that he had heard of them; the alligator being the only animal he mentioned as bearing a partial similarity to the creature in question.' "unfortunately, the estimated dimensions of this creature are not given. "that negative evidence alone is an unsafe basis for argument against the existence of unknown animals, the following illustrations will show:-- "during the deep-sea dredgings of h.m.s. _lightning_, _porcupine_, and _challenger_, many new species of mollusca and others, which had been supposed to have been extinct ever since the chalk, were brought to light; and by the deep-sea trawlings of the last-mentioned ship there have been brought up from great depths fishes of unknown species, and which could not exist near the surface, owing to the distention and rupture of their air-bladder when removed from the pressure of deep water. "mr. gosse mentions that the ship in which he made the voyage to jamaica was surrounded in the north atlantic, for seventeen continuous hours, by a troop of whales of large size, of an undescribed species, which on no other occasion has fallen under scientific observation. unique specimens of other cetaceans are also recorded. "we have evidence, to which attention has been directed by mr. a. d. bartlett, that 'even on land there exists at least one of the largest mammals, probably in thousands, of which only one individual has been brought to notice, namely, the hairy-eared, two-horned rhinoceros (_r. lasiotis_), now in the zoological gardens, london. it was captured in , at chittagong, in india, where for years collectors and naturalists have worked and published lists of the animals met with, and yet no knowledge of this great beast was ever before obtained, nor is there any portion of one in any museum. it remains unique. "i have arrived at the following conclusions: . that without straining resemblances, or casting a doubt upon narratives not proved to be erroneous, the various appearances of the supposed 'great sea-serpent' may now be nearly all accounted for by the forms and habits of known animals; especially if we admit, as proposed by dr. andrew wilson, that some of them, including the marine snakes, may, like the cuttles, attain to extraordinary size. . that to assume that naturalists have perfect cognisance of every existing marine animal of large size, would be quite unwarrantable. it appears to me more than probable that many marine animals, unknown to science, and some of them of gigantic size, may have their ordinary habitat in the sea, and only occasionally come to the surface; and i think it not impossible that amongst them may be marine snakes of greater dimensions than we are aware of, and even a creature having close affinities with the old sea-reptiles whose fossil skeletons tell of their magnitude and abundance in past ages. "it is most desirable that every supposed appearance of 'the great sea-serpent' shall be faithfully noted and described; and i hope that no truthful observer will be deterred from reporting such an occurrence by fear of the disbelief of naturalists or the ridicule of witlings." appendix iii. list of british localities where remains of the mammoth have been discovered.[ ] [ ] from mr. leith adams's monograph on _british fossil elephants_. palæontographical society, london. . . from river valleys and alluvial deposits. england. _cornwall and devonshire._--none. _somersetshire._--hinton, larkhall, hartlip, st. audries, weston-super-mare, chedzoy, freshford. _gloucestershire._--gloucester, barnwood, beckford, stroud, tewkesbury. _dorsetshire._--bridport, portland fissure. _hampshire._--gale bay, newton. _wiltshire._--christian malford, fisherton, milford hill, near salisbury. _berkshire._--maidenhead, taplow, reading, hurley bottom. _oxfordshire._--yarnton, bed of the cherwell, city of oxford, wytham, culham. _essex._--lexden, orford, hedingham, lamarsh, isle of dogs, walton-on-the-naze, ilford (the finest specimen, see p. ), wenden, harwich, colchester, ballingdon, walthamstow. _hertfordshire._--camp's hill. _sussex._--bracklesham bay, brighton, lewes, valley of arun, pagham. _suffolk._--ipswich, hoxne. _norfolk._--bacton, cromer, yarmouth. _cambridge._--barrington, barnwell, chesterton, great shelford, barton, westwick hall. _huntingdonshire._--huntingdon, st. neots. _bedfordshire._--leighton buzzard. _middlesex._--at london, under various streets, etc., viz., st. james's square, pall mall, kensington, battersea, hammersmith, and, recently ( ), in endsleigh street. turnham green. in the bed of the thames at millbank, brentford, kew, acton, clapton, etc. kingsland. _surrey._--wellington, tooting, peckham, dorking, peasemarsh, near guildford. _kent._--crayford, erith, dartford, aylesford, hartlip, otterham, isle of sheppey, broughton fissure, medway, sittingbourne, newington, green street green, bromley, whitstable. _buckinghamshire._--fenny stratford. _northamptonshire._--oundle, kettering, northampton. _warwickshire._--rugby, wellesborne, lawford, bromwich hill, halston, newnam. _worcestershire._--stour valley, droitwich, banks of avon, fladbury, malvern. _leicestershire._--kirby park. _staffordshire._--copen hall, trentham. _cheshire._--northwich. _lincolnshire._--spalding. _yorkshire._--whitby, aldborough, gristhorpe bay, harswell, leeds, bielbecks, brandsburton, middleton, overton, alnwick, hornsea. _herefordshire._--kingsland. scotland. _ayrshire._--kilmaurs. between edinburgh and falkirk. chapel hall in lanarkshire, and bishopbriggs. at clifton hall. ireland. _cavan._--belturbet. _antrim._--corncastle. _waterford._--near whitechurch (but somewhat doubtful). . from caverns. _devonshire._--kent's cavern, oreston, beach cave, brixham. _somerset._--hutton cave, and a cave near wells, wookey hole, bleadon cave, box hill, near bath, durdham down, sandford hill. _kent._--in boughton cave, near maidstone. _nottinghamshire._--in church hole. _derbyshire._--in cresswell crags, robin hood cave, church hole. _glamorganshire._--in long hole, spritsail tor, paviland. _caermarthen._--in coygan cave. _waterford._--in shandon cave. appendix iv. literature. . popular works. _the story of the earth and man._ by sir wm. dawson. _the mammoth and the flood._ by sir henry howorth. _works by doctor gideon a. mantell_:-- _medals of creation._ _wonders of geology._ _petrifactions and their teaching._ _phases of animal life._ by r. lydekker. _science for all._ vols. (chapters on extinct animals.) _our earth and its story_, vol. ii. _winners in life's race._ by arabella buckley. _the autobiography of the earth._ by rev. h. n. hutchinson. _sea monsters unmasked._ by h. lee. . works of reference. _a manual of palæontology._ vols. by prof. alleyne nicholson, and r. lydekker. _the life-history of the earth._ by prof. alleyne nicholson. _origin of species._ by c. darwin. also _the journal of researches._ _the old red sandstone._ by hugh miller. _sketch book of popular geology._ by hugh miller. _early man in britain._ by prof. boyd dawkins. _the english encyclopedia._ (the vols. on natural history contain much information on extinct animals.) _the encyclopedia britannica._ ninth edition. _memoirs of the ichthyosauri and plesiosauri._ by thos. hawkins. phillips's _manual of geology_. new edition, by prof. h. g. seeley and r. etheridge. _the book of the great sea-dragons._ by thos. hawkins. _the geographical and geological distribution of animals._ by a. heilprin. _prehistoric europe._ by prof. james geikie. _palæontological memoirs._ by hugh falconer, m.d. _mammals, living and extinct._ by prof. flower and r. lydekker. _british fossil mammals and birds._ by sir r. owen. _a manual of palæontology._ by sir r. owen. _a catalogue of british fossil vertebrata._ by a. s. woodward and c. d. sherborn. . monographs. _the dinocerata._ by prof. o. c. marsh. _united states geological survey_, vol. x. washington, . _the odontornithes_, a monograph on the extinct toothed birds of north america. by prof. o. c. marsh. new haven, connecticut, . _the vertebrata of the tertiary formations._ by prof. e. d. cope. washington, . _the vertebrata of the cretaceous formations of the west._ by prof. e. d. cope. washington, . _contributions to the extinct vertebrate fauna of the western territories._ by joseph leidy. washington, . (the last three are in the reports of the _united states geological survey of the territories_.) _the british merostomata_ (palæontographical society). by dr. henry woodward, f.r.s. monographs by sir richard owen. _a history of british fossil reptiles._ vols. (cassell.) (most of which has been previously published in the _monographs of the palæontographical society_.) _on the megatherium, or giant ground sloth of america._ london, . _on the mylodon._ london, . _on the extinct wingless birds of new zealand._ london, . reprinted from _the transactions of the zoological society_. . journals. the student should consult the numerous papers by prof. marsh in _the american journal of science_; and by prof. cope in _the american naturalist_. many of prof. marsh's papers have also appeared in _the geological magazine_ and in _nature_. the two latter journals contain many other valuable papers (and reviews of monographs, etc.), too numerous to be separately mentioned. some are referred to in the text. _the quarterly journal of the geological society_ contains many papers on extinct animals. see also papers in _natural science_ and _knowledge_. appendix v. ichthyosaurs. [illustration: fig. .--_ichthyosaurus tenuirostris_, from würtemberg.] it was unfortunate that news of the highly interesting discovery at würtemberg came too late for our artist to make a new drawing for our first edition, to show the dorsal fin and large tail-fin, etc., described by dr. fraas.[ ] this has now been done, as shown in plate ii. by the courtesy of the proprietors of _natural science_, we are enabled to reproduce two drawings (fig. ) from the september number, illustrating a paper by mr. lydekker, in which he gives a _résumé_ of the latest intelligence with regard to ichthyosaurian reptiles. [ ] ueber einen neuen fund von _ichthyosaurus_ in würtemberg. _neues jahrbuch f. mineralogie_, , vol. ii. pp. - . the same author has published a valuable monograph, with beautiful plates, entitled _die ichthysaurier der süddentschen trias- und jura-ablagerungen_. to. tübingen, . in the present year ( ) there has been discovered in the lias of würtemberg the skeleton of an ichthyosaur, in which the outline of the fleshy parts is completely preserved (see lower figure). the reader will see from the figure that the tail-fin is very large, and the backbone appears to run into the lower lobe. such a tail-fin as this impression indicates must have resembled that of the shark's, only it is wider; but the shark's backbone runs into the _upper_ lobe. sir richard owen long ago foretold the existence of this appendage, and the discovery, coming now (when his life is despaired of), adds one more tribute to his genius. behind the triangular fin on the back comes a row of horny excrescences reminding us of those of the crested newt. as dr. fraas remarks, this discovery shows how closely analogous ichthyosaurs were in form to fishes, and further justifies the title of "fish-lizards." he considers that they did _not_ visit the shore. the reader will find much valuable matter in mr. lydekker's paper, above referred to. the following extract refers to the question of their reproduction: "it has long been known that certain large skeletons of ichthyosaurs from the upper lias of holzmaden, in würtemberg, and elsewhere, are found with the skeletons of one or more much smaller individuals enclosed partly or entirely within the cavity of the ribs [a specimen is figured]. of such skeletons there are four in the museum at stuttgart, two in that of tübingen, one at munich, and others in gent and paris. of these, two in stuttgart, as well as the two in tübingen, contain but a single young skeleton, while one of those at stuttgart has four, the munich specimen five, and the remaining stuttgart example upwards of seven young. some of these young and, presumably, foetal ichthyosaurs have the head turned towards the tail of the parent, while in others it is directed the other way. that these young have not been swallowed by the larger individuals within whose ribs they are found is pretty evident from several considerations. in the first place, their skeletons are always perfect. then they never exceed one particular size, and always belong to the same species as the parent. moreover, it would appear to be a physical impossibility for one ichthyosaur of the size of the stuttgart specimen to have had seven smaller ones of such dimensions in its stomach at one and the same time. we may accordingly take it for granted that these imprisoned skeletons were those of foetuses. it is, however, very remarkable, that, so far as we are aware, all the skeletons with foetuses belong to one single species; thus suggesting that this particular species was alone viviparous." it is to be hoped that further discoveries will be made, such as may finally settle this question. one would have expected that in some cases the young ones, if foetal, would be imperfectly developed. index. a Æpyornis. vid. moa-bird. agassiz, "age of reptiles," , ; "age of mammals," air, action of, allosaurus, ancients, ideas of the, , , , , apatosaurus, aqueous rocks, arbroath paving-stone, armadillo. vid. glyptodon. articulata, atlantosaurus, b backbone of fishes, "bad lands" of wyoming, baker, sir samuel, on crocodiles, ; on elephants, basalt, berossus, the chaldæan, birds, fossilisation of, ; ancestry of, , . vid. hesperornis, moa. blackie, prof. j. s., on ichthyosaurus, "breaks," , brontops, brontosaurus, ; vertebræ of, ; habits of, buckland, dean, , , , , - , , , buffon, , c cautley, captain, cave-earth, ceratosaurus, cetiosaurus, , _challenger_, h.m.s., chinese legends of mammoth, clidastes, , climate, of lias period, ; of eocene period, ; of tertiary era, collini, compsognathus, conybeare, rev., on plesiosaurus, , ; on sea-serpents, cope, prof. e. d., on sea-serpents, , , ; on eocene wingless bird, correlation, law of, , , , , crustaceans, cuvier, , , , , , ; on ichthyosaurus, ; on plesiosaurus, ; on iguanodon teeth, , ; on pterodactyls, , , ; on mosasaurus, , ; on tertiary animals, ; on megatherium, ; on mammoth, , ; on mastodon, d darwin, charles, ; on extinct sloths, dawkins, prof. boyd, ; on mammoth, de la beche, sir henry, , denudation, dimorphodon, dinocerata, ; skull and limbs of, ; where found, dinornis. vid. moa-bird. dinosaurs, chaps. v., vi., vii.; anatomy of, ; geographical range of, ; classification of, ; relations of, . vid. also allosaurus, atlantosaurus, brontosaurus, ceratosaurus, cetiosaurus, compsognathus, diplodocus, hadrosaurus, hoplosaurus, hylæosaurus, iguanodon, megalosaurus, morosaurus, ornithopsis, pelorosaurus, polacanthus, scelidosaurus, triceratops. diplodocus, dollo, m., draco volans, dragons, in mythology, ; flying dragons, ; legends of, e earth-drama, the, elephas ganesa, ; e. primigenius. vid. mammoth. eobasileus (cope), eocene period, , , eurypterus, evolution, of ichthyosaurs, ; of plesiosaurs, ; of dinosaurs, , ; of dinocerata, ; of sloths, explorations, in rocky mountains, by marsh, , ; in kansas, by cope, , ; in wyoming, by leidy, ; in uinta basin, by marsh, ; in sivalik hills, by falconer, ; in siberia, , f falconer, hugh, floods, destruction of animals by, flying dragons (pterodactyls), early discovery of, ; pterodactylus macronyx, ; p. crassrostris, ; p. spectabilis, ; differences between (pterodactyls) and birds, ; rhamphorhynchus, ; pterodactyls from the greensand, ; american pterodactyls, ; bones of ditto, ; habits of, footprints, of birds and reptiles, , ; of brontosaurus, ; iguanodon, ; supposed human footprints, forbes, mr. h. o., on moa-birds, fossils, how preserved, - ; changes in, g geikie, sir archibald, on scenery of a western plateau, "generalised types," geography of wealden period, ; of cretaceous period, , ; of eocene period, , , ; of miocene period, ; of pliocene period, giants, stories of, founded on discoveries of bones, , , - , , glyptodon, h hadrosaurus, harrison, mr. j., discovers scelidosaurus, hawkins, mr. t., his collection of fossil reptiles, ; his books, hoffman, home, sir everard, hoplosaurus, humboldt, huxley, on dinosaurus, , , , , ; on origin of birds, hylæosaurus, i ice age, or glacial period, , , ichthyornis, ichthyosaurus, ; scheüchzer on, ; droppings of, ; i. tenuirostris, , ; owen on habits of, ; eyes of, ; jaws of, ; vertebræ of, ; ancestry of, ; part played by, ; tail-fin, ; range of, ; sauranodon, ; toothless forms of, . vid. cuvier. iguana, teeth of, iguanodon, discovery of teeth, ; dr. wollaston, ; origin of name, ; jaws of, , ; food of, , ; discovery of belgian specimens, ; figure of skeleton, ; impressions of feet, ; thumb of, ; habits of, ; restoration by w. hawkins, ilia, imperfection of the record, impressions, of leaves, ; of cuttle-fishes, ; of jelly-fishes, ; of fish-lizards, and appendix v. irish elk, k king crabs, habits of, könig, l laramie beds, lariosaurus, legends. vid. giants. leidy, professor, leiodon, lias rocks, , , , , lyell, sir charles, on floods, ; on ideas of the ancients, ; on sudden destruction of fish-lizards, ; on tracks in connecticut sandstone, ; on mammoth, m mammals, evolution of, mammoth, distinct from living elephants, ; finding of, by adams, ; by benkendorf, ; how preserved, ; food of, ; extinction of, ; primitive drawing of, ; legends of, - mantell, dr. g. a., ; on "medals of creation," ; discovery of iguanodon, , ; on jaws and teeth of ditto, ; on wealden strata, ; discovery of hylæosaurus, ; on analogies of iguanodon and sloths, ; on discovery of mosasaurus, mantell, mr. walter, on moa-birds, - marsh, prof. o. c., on classification of dinosaurs, ; on brontosaurus, ; on atlantosaurus, ; his collection at yale college, ; on megalosaurus, ; on tracks of dinosaurs, etc., ; on ceratosaurus, ; on ancient vertebrate life in america, ; on reptiles and birds, ; on stegosaurus, , ; on triceratops, , ; his collection of pterodactyls, ; on sea-serpents, ; on dinocerata, , ; on explorations in the far west, , ; on footprints of mylodon, mastodon, ; bones and teeth first described, ; discovery of, by m. de longueil, ; exhibited as "the missouri leviathan," ; legends of, medals of creation. vid. mantell. megaceros. vid. irish elk. megalosaurus, ; localities of, ; teeth of, ; habits of, ; skeleton of, (fig. ) megatherium, ; habits of, miller, hugh, miocene period, , moa-birds, first discovery of, ; letter to prof. owen, ; w. mantell on, ; species of, ; native traditions of, ; Æpyornis, ; geographical distribution of giant birds, ; a new find of moas, monitors, morosaurus, mosasaurus, head, etc., found by hoffman, ; origin of name, ; head of, ; structure of, ; habits of, ; cuvier's opinion of, ; cope on sea-serpents, ; marsh's collection of ditto, museum at brussels, mylodon, , n neusticosaurus, new red sandstone period, ; tracks in new red sandstone, nodules, phosphatic, o old red sandstone, , omosaurus, ornithopoda, a group of dinosaurs, ornithopsis, ornithosauria, . vid. pterodactyls. owen, sir r., , , , ; on ichthyosaurus, , ; on plesiosaurus, , ; on dinosaurs, , ; on cetiosaurus, ; on megalosaurus, ; on iguanodon, ; on scelidosaurus, ; on pterodactyls, , ; on sea-serpents, ; on megatherium, ; on mammoth, - ; on mastodon, ; on dinornis, , p parish, sir woodbine, , pauw, m. de, peat, human bodies in, ; deer in, pelorosaurus, petrifactions, phillips, prof., on megalosaurus, plesiosaurus, origin of name, ; length of, ; skin, ; limbs, , ; habits, , ; relations, , . vid. buckland, conybeare, and könig. pliosaurus, , polacanthus, pterodactyls, c. kingsley on, ; origin of name, ; sizes of, ; first discovery of, ; structure of, , ; dimorphodon, ; p. spectabilis, ; condyle of, ; ramphorhynchus, ; specimens at yale college, u.s., ; range in time, ; whether warm-blooded, . vid. seeley, marsh, owen. pterygotus, pythonomorphs. vid. sea-serpents. r ramphorhynchus. vid. pterodactyls. record, imperfection of the, rhinoceros; tichorhine or woolly, ; legends founded on, rhytina, or "sea-cow," rocks, how made, - s sacrum, the, sauranodon. vid. ichthyosaurus. scelidosaurus, discovery of, scelidotherium, sclerotic plates, of ichthyosaurus, sea-cow. vid. rhytina. sea-scorpions, ; habits of, ; relations of, , , ; discovery of, ; "seraphim," ; woodward on, ; range in time of, sea-serpents, chap. ix. vid. mosasaurus, leiodon, clidastes. seeley, prof. h. g., on dinosaurs, , , ; on pterodactyls, sivalik hills, - sivatherium, - sloths. vid. megatherium, scelidotherium, mylodon. solenhofen limestone, or lithographic stone of bavaria, , , , specialisation, , stegosaurus, ; skeleton figured, ; restoration of, ; second brain, ; discovery of, , ; bony plates, steller's "sea-cow," vid. rhytina. st. fond, m. faujas, stonesfield slate, stratified rocks, table of, appendix i.; how formed, - stylonurus, sydenham, models of extinct animals at crystal palace, t theropoda, tinoceras, , triceratops, ; teeth of, ; skull, ; spines, etc., ; extinction of, trilobites, u uintatherium, uniformity, v vegetation of jurassic period, ; of wealden period, ; of eocene period in america, von meyer, on dinosaurs, w water, action of, on organic matter, , ; on fossils, waterhouse hawkins, , wealden strata, , , williams, mr. r., on great irish deer, wings, of pterodactyls, , , , ; of moa-bird, woodward, dr. henry, , , , workmen (in pits and quarries), carelessness of, , , printed by william clowes and sons, limited, london and beccles. _recently published, by the same author. price s._ the story of the hills. _a popular account of mountains and how they were made._ by the rev. h. n. hutchinson, b.a., f.g.s., author of "the autobiography of the earth." _opinions of the press._ "this work belongs to that useful class whose intention is to arouse interest in the works of nature, and quicken the faculty of observation." _manchester guardian._ "it tells in the pleasantest way the first things that geologists learn and teach crabbedly about the heaving up of hills, the wearing of them down by the weather, the breaking out of volcanoes, and kindred matters."--_scotsman._ "the author is a man of wide geological and physiographical reading, possessed of the gift of clearly interpreting the writers he reads, and of reproducing their facts and conclusions in easily understood and even attractive language."--_science gossip._ "it will be read with pleasure and profit by the tourist who likes to know just enough about the sundry points of interest connected with the scene of his wanderings to make the enjoyment of his outing intelligent."--_nature._ "mr. hutchinson's book deals with the slow moulding of mountain forms by streams and by weathering, and with the forces by which mountains have been upheaved, and will double the pleasure of a mountain trip. it is of a handy and portable size, and is illustrated with several excellent reproductions of photographs by the late mr. w. donkin."--_knowledge._ "a charmingly written and beautifully illustrated account of the making of the mountains. an admirable gift book."--_yorkshire post._ "this is a popular and well illustrated account of mountains and how they were made. the illustrations are especially excellent, being reproductions of photographs taken by the late mr. w. donkin, messrs. walentine and sons (dundee), and mr. wilson (aberdeen). mr. hutchinson writes interestingly, and evidently knows geology and physiography."--_journal of education._ seeley and co., limited, essex street, strand. _recently published, by the same author_ the autobiography of the earth. _a popular account of geological history._ by the rev. h. n. hutchinson, b.a., f.g.s. _crown vo, cloth, with illustrations, price s. d._ contents.-- . cloud-land, or nebular beginnings-- . the key to geology-- . an archaic era-- . cambrian slates-- . the slates and ashes of siluria-- . the old red sandstone-- . the mountain limestone-- . forests of the coal-period-- . a great interval-- . the cheshire sandstones-- . new phases of life-- . bath oolites-- . an age of reptiles-- . the chalk downs-- . the new era-- . the ice-age and advent of man. _some opinions of the press._ "his sketch of historic geology has a genuine continuity. it is so written as to be understanded of plain people, and is illustrated by some very good woodcuts and diagrams."--_saturday review._ "this most interesting book."--_spectator._ "a delightfully written and thoroughly accurate popular work on geology, well calculated to engage the interest of readers in the fascinating study of the stony science."--_science gossip._ "in this work the rev. h. n. hutchinson produces a popular account of geological history, and explains the principles and methods by which that history has been read. he endeavours to interpret the past by the light of the present, first acquiring a knowledge, by direct observation and self-instruction, of the chief operations now taking place on the earth's surface, and then employing this knowledge to ascertain the meaning of the record of stratified rocks. this principle of 'uniformity' knocked the old teaching of catastrophism on the head. the author is accurate in all his details, yet his subject is touched into something not at all unlike romance. the illustrations are good."--_national observer._ london: edward stanford, & , cockspur street, s.w. * * * * * transcriber's note spelling and hyphenation was standardized. all oe and oe ligatures were converted to "oe" and "oe" respectively. the word garuda has a macron over the u in the printed version. missing endquote from the quoted passage, beginning in the last paragraph on page , was confirmed by consulting mantell's "the medals of creation" (p. ). by the same author. the foraminifera an introduction to the study of the protozoa by frederick chapman, a.l.s., f.r.m.s. this book has been written with a view of meeting a demand which has arisen for a concise account of the foraminifera, suited to the requirements of the student of natural history and palaeontology. with plates and illustrations in the text. demy vo. cloth, s. d. [illustration: the keystone printing co., - lonsdale st., melb.] [illustration: =a fossil crinoid= (helicocrinus plumosus), about / nat. size, in silurian mudstone, brunswick, victoria. (_spec. in nat. mus., melbourne_). ] australasian fossils a students' manual of palaeontology by frederick chapman, palaeontologist to the national museum, melbourne. formerly assistant in the geological department of the royal college of science, london. assoc. linnean soc. [lond.], f.r.m.s., etc. author of "the foraminifera," "a monograph of the silurian bivalved mollusca of victoria," "new or little-known victorian fossils in the national museum," etc. with an introduction by professor e. w. skeats, d.sc., f.g.s. george robertson & company propy. ltd., melbourne, sydney, adelaide, brisbane and london. . to professor john wesley judd this work is dedicated as a slight tribute of esteem, and in grateful acknowledgement of kindly help and encouragement through many years. contents. page preface introduction by professor e. w. skeats, d.sc., f.g.s. part i.--general principles. chap. i.--nature and uses of fossils " ii.--classification of fossil animals and plants " iii.--the geological epochs and time-range of fossils " iv.--how fossils are found, and the rocks they form part ii.--systematic palaeontology. chap. v.--fossil plants " vi.--fossil foraminifera and radiolaria " vii.--fossil sponges, corals and graptolites " viii.--fossil starfishes, sea-lilies and sea-urchins " ix.--fossil worms, sea-mats and lamp-shells " x.--fossil shell-fish " xi.--fossil trilobites, crustacea and insects " xii.--fossil fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals appendix.--notes on collecting and preserving fossils index list of illustrations. fig. page . fossil shells in clay . tracks, probably of crustaceans . structure of silicified wood in tangential section: _araucarioxylon daintreei_, chapm. . portrait of william smith . raised beach: brighton, england . raised beach: torquay, victoria . marine fossils in volcanic tuff: summit of snowdon . kitchen middens: torquay, victoria . submerged forest on the cheshire coast . _pecten murrayanus_, tate. a fossil shell allied to a living species . cliff section: torquay, victoria . diagram of superposition of strata . diagram of the range-in-time of australasian fossils . _diprotodon_ skeletons in situ: lake callabonna, s. australia . bird remains on sand dunes: king island, bass strait . impression of bird's feather in ironstone: western victoria . a fossil turtle: _notochelone costata_, owen sp. . a ganoid fish: _pristisomus crassus_, a. s. woodward . a fossil insect in amber (_tipula sp._) . a fossil crustacean: _thalassina emerii_, bell . an ammonite: _desmoceras flindersi_, mccoy sp. . belemnites: _belemnites diptycha_, mccoy . a group of lamp-shells: _magellania flavescens_, lam. sp. . zoarium of a living polyzoan: _retepora_ sp. . a fossil polyzoan: _macropora clarkei_, t. woods sp. . fossil worm-tubes: (?) _serpula_ . a living sea-urchin: _strongylocentrotus erythrogrammus_, val. . a fossil sea-urchin: _linthia antiaustrails_, tate . a fossil brittle-star: _ophioderma egertoni_, brod. sp. . a fossil crinoid: _taxocrinus simplex_, phillips sp. . graptolites on slate: _tetragraptus fruticosus_, j. hall sp. . a stromatoporoid: _actinostroma_ . corals in devonian marble: _favosites_ . siliceous skeleton of a living sponge: (?) _chonelasma_ . spicules of a fossil sponge: _ecionema newberyi_, mccoy sp. . nummulites: _n. gizehensis_, ehr. var. _champollioni_, de la harpe . cainozoic radiolaria . radiolaria in siliceous limestone . travertin limestone, with leaves of beech (_fagus_) . freshwater limestone with shells (_bulinus_) . hardened mudstone with brachiopods (_orthis_, etc.) . diatomaceous earth . _lepidocyclina_ limestone . coral in limestone: _favosites grandipora_, eth. fil. . crinoidal limestone . turritella limestone . ostracodal limestone . _halimeda_ limestone . tasmanite: a spore coal . kerosene shale . bone bed . bone breccia . cainozoic ironstone with leaves (_banksia_) . _girvanella conferta_, chapm., in silurian limestone . palaeozoic plants . restoration of _lepidodendron_ . stem of _lepidodendron (lepidophloios)_, showing leaf-scars . upper palaeozoic plants . map of gondwana-land . mesozoic plants . cainozoic plants . eucalyptus leaves from the deep leads . palaeozoic and mesozoic foraminifera . _lepidocyclina marginata_, mich. sp. sections of shell showing structure . cainozoic foraminifera . fossil radiolaria . palaeozoic sponges and archaeocyathinae . cainozoic sponges . silurian corals . upper palaeozoic corals . cainozoic corals . stromatoporoidea and cladophora . lower ordovician graptolites . lower ordovician graptolites . upper ordovician and silurian graptolites . fossil crinoids . fossil starfishes . _protaster brisingoides_, gregory, in silurian sandstone . _gregoriura spryi_, chapm., in silurian mudstone . cainozoic sea-urchins . cainozoic sea-urchins . fossil worms . palaeozoic polyzoa . cainozoic polyzoa . lower palaeozoic brachiopods . silurian and devonian brachiopods . carbopermian brachiopods . mesozoic brachiopods . cainozoic brachiopods . lower palaeozoic bivalves . palaeozoic bivalves . carbopermian bivalves . lower mesozoic bivalves . cretaceous bivalves . cainozoic bivalves . cainozoic bivalves . fossil scaphopods and chitons . lower palaeozoic gasteropoda . silurian gasteropoda . upper palaeozoic gasteropoda . mesozoic gasteropoda . cainozoic gasteropoda . cainozoic gasteropoda . late cainozoic and pleistocene gasteropoda . palaeozoic cephalopoda . mesozoic and cainozoic cephalopoda . diagram restoration of an australian trilobite (_dalmanites_) . cambrian trilobites . older silurian trilobites . newer silurian trilobites . carboniferous trilobites and a phyllopod . silurian ostracoda . upper palaeozoic and mesozoic ostracoda . cainozoic ostracoda . fossil cirripedes . cirripedes. _lepas anatifera_, linn.: living goose barnacle, and _l. pritchardi_, hall: cainozoic . _ceratiocaris papilio_, salter . ordovician phyllocarids . silurian phyllocarids . fossil crabs and insects . silurian eurypterids . _thyestes magnificus_, chapm. . _gyracanthides murrayi_, a. s. woodw. restoration . teeth and scales of palaeozoic and mesozoic fishes . _cleithrolepis granulatus_, egerton . tooth of _ceratodus avus_, a. s. w., and phalangeal of a carnivorous deinosaur . scale of _ceratodus ? avus_ . the queensland lung-fish: _neoceratodus forsteri_, krefft . _leptolepis gregarius_, a. s. w. . cretaceous and cainozoic fish-teeth . cainozoic fish remains . _bothriceps major_, a. s. w. . _ichthyosaurus australis_, mccoy . fossil reptiles . impression of bird's feather, magnified, cainozoic: victoria . _cnemiornis calcitrans_, owen . _dinornis maximus_, owen. great moa . _pachyornis elephantopus_, owen . skeleton of _sarcophilus ursinus_, harris sp. . skull of fossil specimen of _sarcophilus ursinus_ . _thylacinus major_, owen. hind part of mandible . _phascolomys pliocenus_, mccoy. mandible . cainozoic teeth and otolith . skeleton of _diprotodon australis_, owen . right hind foot of _diprotodon australis_ . restoration of _diprotodon australis_ . skull and mandible of _thylacoleo carnifex_, owen . _wynyardia bassiana_, spencer . tooth of _scaldicetus macgeei_, chapm. . impressions of footprints in dune sand-rock, warrnambool map of australia, showing chief fossiliferous localities. preface. the more important discoveries of fossils in the southern hemisphere have received, as a rule, very meagre notice in many of the text-books of geology and palaeontology published in england, germany and america, and used by australasian students. it is thought, therefore, that the time has arrived when an attempt should be made to collect the main facts bearing upon this subject, in order to present them from an _australasian_ standpoint. with this in view, references to fossils occurring in the northern hemisphere are subordinated, seeing that these may be easily obtained on reference to the accepted text-books in general use. the present work does not presume to furnish a complete record of australasian palaeontology, since that would mean the production of a much more extensive and costly volume. sufficient information is here given, however, to form a groundwork for the student of this section of natural science, and a guide to the collector of these "medals of creation." the systematic portion of this book has been arranged primarily from the biological side, since palaeontology is the "study of ancient life." taking each life-group, therefore, from the lowest to the highest types, all the divisions represented by fossils are dealt with in turn, beginning with their occurrence in the oldest rocks and ending with those in the newest strata. if a commendation of the study of fossils, apart from its scientific utility, were needed, it could be pointed out that palaeontology as a branch of geology is, _par excellence_, an open-air study: and since it requires as handmaids all the sister sciences, is a subject of far-reaching interest. microscopy and photography are of immense value in certain branches of fossil research, the former in the examination of the minute forms of mollusca, foraminifera and ostracoda, the latter in the exact portraiture of specimens too intricate to copy with the brush, or too evanescent to long retain, when out of their matrix, their clean fresh surfaces. with geology or palaeontology as an objective, a country walk may be a source of much enjoyment to its students, for "in their hand is nature like an open book"; and the specimens collected on a summer excursion may be closely and profitably studied in the spare time of the winter recess. the author sincerely trusts that students may share the same pleasure which he has derived from the study of these relics of past life; and that the present attempt to show their relationship both in geological time and biological organisation, may be the means of inducing many to make further advances in this fascinating subject. in the production of this work several friends and collaborators have materially assisted, their aid considerably increasing its value. it is therefore with grateful thanks that the author acknowledges the help and encouragement given by professor e. w. skeats, d.sc., who has not only been good enough to write the introductory passages, but who has carefully gone over the ms. and made many helpful suggestions. mr. w. s. dun, f.g.s., palaeontologist to the geological survey branch of the department of mines, sydney, has also rendered generous help in giving the benefit of his full acquaintance of the palaeontology of his own state. to the trustees of the national museum the author is under special obligations for permission to photograph many unique fossil specimens in the museum collection, comprising figs. , - , - , - , , , , , , - , , , , , , , , and . the author's thanks are also due to dr. e. c. stirling, m.d., m.a., f.r.s., for permission to use figs. , and , whilst similar privileges have been accorded by prof. a. g. seward, f.r.s., dr. f. a. bather, f.r.s., and mr. c. l. barrett. prof. t. w. edgeworth david, f.r.s., has kindly cleared up some doubtful points of stratigraphy and further increased the author's indebtedness by the loan of a unique slide of radiolaria figured on p. . mr. eastwood moore, to whom special thanks are due, has greatly added to the pictorial side of this work by his skillful help in preparing many of the illustrations for the press, as well as in the drawing of the several maps. the grouped sets of fossils have been especially drawn for this work by the author. they are either copied from authentic specimens or from previously published drawings; references to the authorities being given in the accompanying legends. dr. t. s. hall has kindly read the section on graptolites and mammalia. for many helpful suggestions and the careful reading of proofs, thanks are especially owing to mr. w. e. g. simons, mr. r. a. keble, and to my wife. introduction. geological department, the university, melbourne. william smith, the father of english geology, used to apologize for the study of palaeontology by claiming that "the search for a fossil is at least as rational a proceeding as the pursuit of a hare." those of us who are accustomed to take the field, armed with a hammer, in the search for "medals of creation" and from time to time have experienced the sporting enjoyment of bringing to light a rare or perfect specimen are quite prepared to support his claim. but the student of fossils needs the help of a text book to guide him to the literature on the subject, to help him with his identifications or to indicate that some of his finds are new and hitherto undescribed. european and american workers have long been provided with excellent books treating generally of fossils, but the illustrations have been quite naturally taken mainly from forms occurring in the northern hemisphere. our own fossil forms both plants and animals are numerous, interesting and in many cases peculiar, but the literature concerning them is so widely scattered in various scientific publications that a warm welcome should be given to this book of mr. chapman's, in which the australian evidence is brought together and summarised by one, whose training, long experience, and personal research qualify him to undertake the task. especially will teachers and students of geology and palaeontology value such an undertaking. workers in other countries who have only partial access to the australian literature on the subject should also find this a valuable book of reference. in the study of fossils we are concerned with the nature, evolution and distribution of the former inhabitants of the earth. the study of palaeontology may be justified as a means of scientific discipline, for the contributions the subject makes to the increase of natural knowledge and the unfolding of panoramas of ancient life. it also provides perhaps the most positive evidence in the story of evolution. so, too, the student of the present day distribution of animals and plants finds the key to many a problem in zoo-geography in the records of past migrations yielded by the study of fossils in different lands. the stratigraphical geologist is of course principally concerned with two important aspects of the study of fossils. the masterly generalisation of william smith that strata can be identified by their fossil contents established by close study of the rocks and fossils of the british oolites has been confirmed generally by subsequent work. the comparative study of the fossil contents of rocks in widely separated areas has proved to be the most valuable means by which the correlation of the rocks can be effected and their identity of age established. in some cases the recognition of a single fossil species in two areas separated, perhaps, by thousands of miles may suffice to demonstrate that the rocks are of the same age. for example, a graptolite such as _phyllograptus typus_ is found in many parts of the world, but has only a very restricted range in time. it has been found only in rocks of lower ordovician age. its occurrence in wales and in the rocks of bendigo practically suffices to establish the identity in age of the rocks in these widely separated areas. generally, however, much closer study and a more detailed examination of a large number of the fossils of a rock series are required before the age of the rocks can be surely established and a safe correlation made with distant localities. the stratigraphical generalisations to be made from the study of fossils however must be qualified by certain considerations. among these are the fact that our knowledge of the life forms of a given geological period is necessarily incomplete, that the differences in the fossil contents of rocks may depend not only on differences of age but also in the conditions under which the organisms lived and the rocks were accumulated, and that forms of life originating in one area do not spread themselves immediately over the earth but migrate at velocities depending on their mode of life and the presence or absence of barriers to their progress. our incomplete knowledge of the forms living in remote geological periods arises partly from the fact that some forms had no permanent skeleton and were therefore incapable of preservation, partly to the obliteration of the skeletons of organisms through subsequent earth movements in the rocks or through the solvent action of water. many land forms, too, probably disintegrated on the surface before deposits were formed over the area. apart from these causes which determine that a full knowledge of the fossils from ancient rocks in particular, will never be acquired, our knowledge is incomplete by reason either of difficulty of access to certain areas or incomplete search. as a result of later discoveries earlier conclusions based on incomplete evidence as to the age of a rock series, have not infrequently been modified. the study of the present distribution of animals and plants over the earth is a help in the attempt to decide how far the fossil differences in the sets of rocks are due to differences in the ages of the rocks or to differences in the conditions under which the organisms lived. the present, in this, as in many other geological problems, is the key to the past. we know, for instance, that differences of climate largely control the geographical distribution of land animals and especially of land plants, and for that reason among others, fossil plants are generally less trustworthy guides to geological age than fossil animals. in the distribution of marine animals at the present day we find that organisms of simple structure are generally more wide-spread and less susceptible to changes in their environment than are the more complex organisms with specialised structures. hence we find, for instance, a fossil species of the foraminifera may persist unchanged through several geological periods, while a species of fossil fish has in general not only a short range in time but often a restricted geographical extent. if we consider the marine organisms found at the present day we find a number of free-swimming forms very widely distributed, while a large number are restricted either by reason of climate or of depth. certain organisms are only to be found between high and low tide levels, others between low tide level and a depth of thirty fathoms, while many quite different forms live in deeper waters. if we confine our attention to shallow-water marine forms we note that certain forms are at the present day restricted to waters of a certain temperature. we find, therefore, a contrast between arctic and tropical faunas, while other types characterize temperate latitudes. climatic and bathymetrical differences at the present day therefore lead to distinct differences in the distribution of certain organisms, while other forms, less sensitive to these factors, range widely and may be almost universally distributed. similar conditions obtained in past geological times, and therefore in attempting to correlate the rocks of one area with those of another those fossils which are most wide-spread are often found to be the most valuable. attention should also be paid to the conditions under which the deposits accumulated, since it is clear that rocks may be formed at the same time in different areas and yet contain many distinct fossils by reason of climatic or bathymetrical differences. among living marine organisms we find certain forms restricted to sandy or muddy sea-bottoms and others to clear water, and these changes in the conditions of deposition of sediment have played their part in past geological periods in determining differences in the fossil faunas of rocks which were laid down simultaneously. we not infrequently find mudstones passing laterally into limestones, and this lithological change is always accompanied by a more or less notable change in the fossil contents of the two rock types. such facts emphasize the close connection between stratigraphy and palaeontology, and indicate that the successful tracing out of the geological history of any area is only possible when the evidence of the stratigrapher is reinforced by that provided by the palaeontologist. the fact that species of animals and plants which have been developed in a particular area do not spread all over the world at once but migrate very slowly led huxley many years ago to put forward his hypothesis of "homotaxis." he agreed that when the order of succession of rocks and fossils has been made out in one area, this order and succession will be found to be generally similar in other areas. the deposits in two such contrasted areas are homotaxial, that is, show a similarity of order, but, he claimed, are not necessarily synchronous in their formation. in whatever parts of the world carboniferous, devonian and silurian fossils may be found, the rocks with carboniferous fossils will be found to overlie those with devonian, and these in their turn rest upon those containing silurian fossils. and yet huxley maintained that if, say, africa was the area in which faunas and floras originated, the migration of a silurian fauna and flora might take place so slowly that by the time it reached britain the succeeding devonian forms had developed in africa, and when it reached north america, devonian forms had reached britain and carboniferous forms had developed in africa. if this were so a devonian fauna and flora in britain may have been contemporaneous with silurian life in north america and with a carboniferous fauna and flora in africa. this could only be true if the time taken for the migration of faunas and floras was so great as to transcend the boundaries between great geological periods. this does not appear to be the case, and huxley's idea in its extreme form has been generally abandoned. at the same time certain anomalies in the range in time of individual genera have been noted, and may possibly be explained on such lines. for instance, among the group of the graptolites, in britain the genus _bryograptus_ occurs only in the upper cambrian and the genus _leptograptus_ only in the upper ordovician rocks. in victoria these two genera, together with typical lower ordovician forms, may be found near lancefield preserved on a single slab of shale. in the same way, in a single quarry in triassic rocks in new south wales, a number of fossil fish have been found and described, some of which have been compared to jurassic, others to permian, and others to carboniferous forms in the northern hemisphere. another point which the palaeontologist may occasionally find evidence for is the existence of "biological asylums," areas which by means of land or other barriers may be for a long period separated from the main stream of evolution. we know that the present fauna and flora of australia is largely of archaic aspect, as it includes a number of types which elsewhere have long ago become extinct or were never developed. this appears to be due to the long isolation of australia and, as professor gregory happily puts it--its "development in a biological backwater." we have some evidence that similar asylums have existed in past geological periods, with the result that in certain areas where uniform conditions prevailed for a long time or where isolation from competition prevented rapid evolution, some organisms which became extinct in other areas, persisted unchanged in the "asylum" into a younger geological period. the broad generalizations that rocks may be identified by their fossil contents and that the testimony of the rocks demonstrates the general order of evolution from simple to complex forms, have only been placed on a surer footing by long continued investigations. the modifications produced by conditions of deposit, of climate and of natural barriers to migration, while introducing complexities into the problems of palaeontology, are every year becoming better known; and when considered in connection with the variations in the characters of the rocks, provide valuable and interesting evidence towards the solution of the ultimate problems of geology and palaeontology, which include the tracing out of the evolution of the history of the earth from the most remote geological period to that point at which the geologist hands over his story to the archaeologist, the historian, and the geographer. ernest w. skeats. part i. general principles. chapter i. nature and uses of fossils. =scope of geology.--= the science of geology, of which palaeontology or the study of fossils, forms a part, is concerned with the nature and structure of the earth, the physical forces that have shaped it, and the organic agencies that have helped to build it. =nature of fossils.--= the remains of animals and plants that formerly existed in the different periods of the history of the earth are spoken of as fossils. they are found, more or less plentifully, in such common rocks as clays, shales, sandstones, and limestones, all of which are comprised in the great series of sedimentary rocks (fig. ). according to the surroundings of the organisms, whether they existed on land, in rivers, lakes, estuaries, or the sea, they are spoken of as belonging to terrestrial, fluviatile, lacustrine, estuarine, or marine deposits. [illustration: =fig. .--fossil shells embedded in sandy clay.= about / nat. size. of cainozoic or tertiary age (kalimnan series). grange burn, near hamilton, victoria. (_f.c. coll._) (g = glycimeris. l = limopsis. n = natica).] [illustration: =fig. .--tracks probably of crustaceans (phyllocarids).= about / nat. size. impression of a slab of upper ordovician shale. diggers' rest, victoria. (_f.c. coll._) ] the name fossil, from the latin 'fodere' to dig,--'fossilis,' dug out,--is applied to the remains of any animals or plants which have been buried either in sediments laid down in water, in materials gathered together by the wind on land as sand-dunes, in beds of volcanic ash, or in cave earths. but not only remains of organisms are thus called fossils, for the name is also applied to structures only indirectly connected with once living objects, such as rain-prints, ripple-marks, sun-cracks, and tracks or impressions of worms and insects (fig. ). =preservation of fossils.--= in ordinary terms, fossils are the durable parts of animals and plants which have resisted complete decay by being covered over with the deposits above-named. it is due, then, to the fact that they have been kept from the action of the air, with its destructive bacteria, that we are able to still find these relics of life in the past. =petrifaction of fossils.--= when organisms are covered by a tenacious mud, they sometimes undergo no further change. very often, however, moisture containing mineral matter such as carbonate of lime or silica, percolates through the stratum which contains the fossils, and then they not only have their pores filled with the mineral, but their actual substance may also undergo a molecular change, whereby the original composition of the shell or the hard part is entirely altered. this tends almost invariably to harden the fossils still further, which change of condition is called petrifaction, or the making into stone. [illustration: =fig. . thin slice of petrified or silicified wood in tangential section.= araucarioxylon daintreei, chapm. = dadoxylon australe, arber; Ã� . carbopermian: newcastle, new south wales. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] =structure preserved.--= petrifaction does not necessarily destroy the structure of a fossil. for example, a piece of wood, which originally consisted of carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, may be entirely replaced by flint or silica: and yet the original structure of the wood may be so perfectly preserved that when a thin slice of the petrifaction is examined under a high power of the microscope, the tissues with their component cells are seen and easily recognised (fig. ). =early observers.--= remains of animals buried in the rocks were known from the earliest times, and frequent references to these were made by the ancient greek and roman philosophers. xenophanes.-- xenophanes, who lived b.c. , wrote of shells, fishes and seals which had become dried in mud, and were found inland and on the tops of the highest mountains. the presence of these buried shells and bones was ascribed by the ancients to a plastic force latent in the earth itself, while in some cases they were regarded as freaks of nature. leonardo da vinci.-- in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries italian observers came to the fore in clearly demonstrating the true nature of fossils. this was no doubt due in part to the fact that the italian coast affords a rich field of observation in this particular branch of science. the celebrated painter leonardo da vinci (early part of the sixteenth century), who carried out some engineering works in connection with canals in the north of italy, showed that the mud brought down by rivers had penetrated into the interior of shells at a time when they were still at the bottom of the sea near the coast. steno.-- in , steno, a danish physician residing in italy, wrote a work on organic petrifactions which are found enclosed in solid rocks, and showed by his dissection of a shark which had been recently captured and by a comparison of its teeth with those found fossil in the cliffs, that they were identical. the same author also pointed out the resemblance between the shells discovered in the italian strata and those living on the adjacent shores. it was not until the close of the eighteenth century, however, that the study of fossil remains received a decided impetus. it is curious to note that many of these later authors maintained the occurrence of a universal flood to account for the presence of fossil shells and bones on the dry land. [illustration: =fig. .--william smith ( - .)= "the father of english geology," at the age of . (_from brit. mus. cat._) ] =fossils an index to age.--= a large part of the credit of showing how fossils are restricted to certain strata, and help to fix the succession and age of the beds, is due to the english geologist and surveyor, william smith (fig. ). "the father of english geology," as he has been called, published two works[ ] in the early part of last century, in which he expressed his view of the value of fossils to the geologist and surveyor, and showed that there was a regular law of superposition of one bed upon another, and that strata could be identified at distant localities by their included fossils. upon this foundation the work of later geologists has been firmly established; and students of strata and of fossils work hand in hand. [footnote : "strata identified by organised fossils," - ; and "stratigraphical system of organised fossils," .] =stratigraphy.--= that branch of geology which discusses the nature and relations of the various sediments of the earth's crust, and the form in which they were laid down, is called stratigraphy. from it we learn that in bygone times many of those places that are now occupied by dry land have been, often more than once, covered by the sea; and thus tennyson's lines are forcibly brought to mind-- "there where the long street roars hath been the stillness of the central sea." =elevated sea-beds.--= a striking illustration in proof of this emergence of the land from the sea is the occurrence of marine shells similar to those now found living in the sea, in sea-cliffs sometimes many hundreds of feet above sea-level. when these upraised beds consist of shingle or sand with shore-loving shells, as limpets and mussels, they are spoken of as raised beaches. elevated beaches are often found maintaining the same level along coast-lines for many miles, like those recorded by darwin at chili and peru, or in the south of england (fig. ). they also occur intermittently along the victorian coast, especially around the indents, where they have survived the wear and tear of tides along the coast line (fig. ). they are also a common feature, as a capping, on many coral islands which have undergone elevation. [illustration: =fig. .--a raised beach at black rock, brighton, england.= (_original_). ] [illustration: =fig. .--raised beach (a) and native middens (b)= torquay, victoria. (original). ] [illustration: =fig. .--marine fossils (orthis flabellulum, sowerby.)= about nat. size. in volcanic tuff of ordovician age. from the summit of snowdon, north wales, at an elevation of feet above sea level. (_f.c. coll._) ] =sea-beds far from the present coast.--= marine beds of deeper water origin may be found not only close to the coast-line, but frequently on the tops of inland hills some miles from the sea-coast. their included sea-shells and other organic remains are often found covered by fine sediment forming extensive beds; and they may frequently occur in the position in which they lived and died (fig. ). although it is well known that sea-birds carry shell-fish for some distance inland, yet this would not account for more than a few isolated examples. =raised beaches as distinct from middens.--= again, it may be argued that the primitive inhabitants of countries bordering the coast were in the habit of piling up the empty shells of the edible molluscs used by them for food: but these "kitchen middens" are easily distinguished from fossil deposits like shelly beaches, by the absence of stratified layers; and, further, by the shells being confined to edible species, as the cockle (_cardium_), the blood-cockle (_arca_), the mussel (_mytilus_), and the oyster (_ostrea_) (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. .--remains of edible shell fish= (kitchen-midden--native, mirrn-yong) in sand dunes near spring creek, torquay, victoria. (_original_). ] [illustration: =fig. .--part of a submerged forest= seen at low water on the cheshire coast at leasowe, england. (_from seward's "fossil plants"_) ] =submerged forests.--= evidence of change in the coast-line is shown by the occurrence of submerged forest-land, known as "fossil forests," which consist of the stumps of trees still embedded in the black, loamy soil. such forests, when of comparatively recent age, are found near the existing coast-line, and may sometimes extend for a considerable distance out to sea (fig. ). from the foregoing we learn that:-- _ .--fossils afford data of the various changes that have taken place in past times in the relative positions of land and water._ =changes of climate in the past.--= at the present day we find special groups of animals (fauna), and plants (flora), restricted to tropical climates; and others, conversely, to the arctic regions. cycads and tree-ferns, for example, seem to flourish best in warm or sub-tropical countries: yet in past times they were abundant in northern europe in what are now temperate and arctic regions, as in yorkshire, spitzbergen, and northern siberia, where indeed at one time they formed the principal flora. the rein-deer and musk-sheep, now to be found only in the arctic regions, once lived in the south of england, france and germany. the dwarf willow (_salix polaris_) and an arctic moss (_hypnum turgescens_), now restricted to the same cold region, occur fossil in the south of england. in southern australia and in new zealand, the marine shells which lived during the earlier and middle tertiary times belong to genera and species which are indicative of a warmer climate than that now prevailing; this ancient fauna being like that met with in dredging around the northern coasts of australia (fig. .) [illustration: =fig. .--a fossil shell (pecten murrayanus, tate).= of oligocene to lower pliocene age in southern australia; closely allied to, if not identical with, a species living off the coast of queensland. about nat. size. (_f.c. coll._) ] from the above evidence we may say that:-- _ .--fossils teach us that in former times the climate of certain parts of the earth's surface was different from that now existing._ =fossils as guides to age of strata.--= in passing from fossil deposits of fairly recent origin to those of older date, we find the proportion of living species gradually diminish, being replaced by forms now extinct. after this the genera themselves are replaced by more ancient types, and if we penetrate still deeper into the series of geological strata, even families and orders of animals and plants give place to others entirely unknown at the present day. from this we conclude that:-- _ .--fossil types, or guide fossils, are of great value in indicating the relative age of geological formations._ =gradual evolution of life-forms from lower to higher types.--= as a general rule the various types of animals and plants become simpler in organisation as we descend the geological scale. for example, in the oldest rocks the animals are confined to the groups of foraminifera, sponges, corals, graptolites, shell-fish and trilobites, all back-boneless animals: whilst it was not until the devonian period that the primitive fishes appeared as a well-defined group; and in the next formation, the carboniferous series, the first traces of the batrachians (frog-like animals) and reptiles are found. birds do not appear, so far as their remains are known, until near the close of the jurassic; whilst mammals are sparsely represented by monotremes and marsupials in the triassic and jurassic, becoming more abundant in cainozoic times, and by the eutheria (higher mammals) from the commencement of the eocene period. it is clear from the above and other facts in the geological distribution of animal types that:-- _ .--the geological record supports in the main the doctrine of evolution from simpler to more complex types; and fossils throw much light upon the ancestry of animals and plants now found living._ chapter ii. the classification of fossil animals and plants. an elementary knowledge of the principles underlying the classification of animals and plants is essential to the beginner in the study of fossils. =the naming of animals.--= in order to make a clearly understood reference to an animal, or the remains of one, it is as necessary to give it a name as it is in the case of a person or a place. before the time of linnaeus ( - ), it was the custom to refer, for example, to a shell, in latin[ ] as "the little spiral shell, with cross markings and tubercles, like a ram's horn;" or to a worm as "the rounded worm with an elevated back." improvements in this cumbersome method of naming were made by several of the earlier authors by shortening the description; but no strict rule was established until the tenth edition of linnaeus' "systema naturae" ( ), when that author instituted his binomial nomenclature by giving each form enumerated both a generic and specific name. in plain words, this method takes certain life-forms closely related, but differing in minute particulars, and places them together in a genus or kindred group. thus the true dogs belong to the genus _canis_, but since this group also includes wolves, jackals, and foxes, the various canine animals are respectively designated by a specific name; thus the dog (_canis familiaris_), the dingo (_c. dingo_), the wolf (_c. lupus_), the jackal (_c. aureus_), and the fox (_c. vulpes_). the generic name is placed first. allied genera are grouped in families, (for example, canidae), these into orders (ex. carnivora), the orders into classes (ex. mammalia), and the classes into phyla or subkingdoms (ex. vertebrata). [footnote : the latin description was used more commonly than it is at present, as a universal scientific language.] plants are classified in much the same way, with the exception that families and orders are, by some authors, regarded as of equal value, or even reversed in value; and instead of the term phylum the name series is used. classification of the animal kingdom. name of phylum. | forms found fossil ----------------------+------------------------------------------------- i.--protozoa | foraminifera, radiolaria. | ii.--coelenterata | sponges, corals, stromatoporoids, graptolites. | iii.--echinodermata | crinoids, starfishes, brittle-stars, sea-urchins. | iv.--vermes | worms (tube-making and burrowing kinds). | v.--molluscoidea | polyzoa or sea-mats, brachiopods or lamp-shells. | vi.--mollusca | shell-fish: as bivalves, tusk-shells, | chitons or mail-shells, gasteropods or | snails, pteropods or sea-butterflies; | cuttle-fishes. | vii.--arthropoda | joint-footed animals: as trilobites, cyprids, | crabs and lobsters, centipedes, spiders | and insects. | viii.--vertebrata | fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. classification of animal kingdom. the first seven groups of the above classification are back-boneless animals or invertebrata; the eighth division alone comprising the animals with a vertebra or backbone. =characters of the several phyla.--= in the first group are placed those animals which, when living, consist of only one cell, or a series of similar cells, but where the cells were never combined to form tissues having special functions, as in the higher groups. protozoa.-- the _amoeba_ of freshwater ponds is an example of such, but owing to its skin or cortex being soft, and its consequent inability to be preserved, it does not concern us here. there are, however, certain marine animals of this simple type of the protozoa which secrete carbonate of lime to form a chambered shell (foraminifera); or silica to form a netted and concentrically coated shell held together with radial rods (radiolaria); and both of these types are found abundantly as fossils. they are mainly microscopic, except in the case of the nummulites and a few other kinds of foraminifera, which are occasionally as large as a crown piece. coelenterata.-- the second group, the coelenterata, shows a decided advance in organisation, for the body is multicellular, and provided with a body-cavity which serves for circulation and digestion. the important divisions of this group, in which the organisms have hard parts capable of being fossilised, are the limy and flinty sponges, the corals, and allied groups, as well as the delicate graptolites which often cover the surface of the older slates with their serrated, linear forms, resembling pieces of fret-saws. echinodermata.-- the third group, echinodermata, comprises the sea-lilies (crinoids), starfishes and sea-urchins, besides a few other less important types; and all these mentioned are found living at the present day. their bodies are arranged in a radial manner, the skin being strengthened by spicules and hardened by limy deposits ultimately forming plates. they have a digestive canal and a circulatory system, and are thus one remove higher than the preceding group. vermes.-- the fourth group, vermes (worms), are animals with a bilateral or two-sided body, which is sometimes divided into segments, but without jointed appendages. those which concern the student of fossils are the tube-making worms, the errant or wandering worms which form casts like the lob-worm, and the burrowing kinds whose crypts or dwellings become filled with solid material derived from the surrounding mud. molluscoidea.-- group five, the molluscoidea, contains two types; the flustras or sea-mats (polyzoa) and the lamp-shells (brachiopoda). they are at first sight totally unlike; for the first-named are colonies of compound animals, and the second are simple, and enclosed between two valves. they show in common, however, a bilateral symmetry. the mouth is furnished with fine tentacles, or with spirally rolled hair-like or ciliated processes. mollusca.-- the sixth group, the mollusca, includes all shell-fish. they are soft-bodied, bilaterally symmetrical animals, without definite segments. the shells, on account of being formed of carbonate of lime on an organic basis, are often found preserved in fossiliferous strata. arthropoda.-- the seventh group, the arthropoda, or joint-footed animals, are distinguished by their segmented, lateral limbs, and by having a body composed of a series of segments or somites. the body and appendages are usually protected by a horny covering, the 'exoskeleton.' the group of the trilobites played an important part in the first era of the formation of the earth's crust; whilst the other groups were more sparsely represented in earlier geological times, but became more and more predominant until the present day. vertebrata.-- the great group of the vertebrata comes last, with its chief characteristic of the backbone structure, which advances in complexity from the fishes to the higher mammals. =a simplified classification of the vegetable kingdom.= series. | forms found fossil. ---------------------+---------------------------------- i.--thallophyta |sea-weeds: as corallines and | calcareous algae. | ii.--bryophyta |mosses, liverworts. | iii.--pteridophyta |fern-like plants, as horse-tails, | club-mosses and true ferns. | iv.--pteridospermeae|oldest seed-bearing plants, | with fern-like foliage. | v.--gymnospermeae |plants with naked seeds, as cycads | (fern-palms), ginkgo | (maiden-hair tree), and | conifers (pine trees). | vi.--angiospermeae |flowering plants, as grasses, | lilies and all ordinary trees | and plants. =characters of the plant series.= thallophyta.-- the first series, the thallophytes, are simple unicellular plants, and occupy the same position in the vegetable kingdom as the protozoa do in the animal kingdom. fossil remains of these organisms seem to be fairly well distributed throughout the entire geological series, but, owing to the soft structure of the fronds in most of the types, it is often a matter of doubt whether we are dealing with a true thallophyte or not. many of the so-called sea-weeds (fucoids) may be only trails or markings left by other organisms, as shell-fish and crustaceans. bryophyta.-- the second series, the bryophytes or moss plants, are represented in the fossil state by a few unimportant examples. pteridophyta.-- the third series, the pteridophytes, includes the ferns found from the devonian up to the present day, horse-tails and allied forms, like _equisetites_, and the club-mosses and _lepidodendron_ of the carboniferous period in various parts of the world. pteridospermeae.-- the fourth series, the pteridospermeae, comprises some of the earliest seed-bearing plants, as _alethopteris_ and _neuropteris_. they occur in rocks of upper palaeozoic age as far as known. gymnospermeae. the fifth series, the gymnospermeae, contains the most important types of plants found fossil, especially those of the primary and secondary rocks: they were more abundant, with the exception of the coniferae, in the earlier than in the more recent geological periods. angiospermeae.-- the sixth series, the angiospermeae, comprises all the flowering trees and plants forming the bulk of the flora now living, and is divided into the kinds having single or double seed-leaves (monocotyledones the dicotyledones respectively). this important group came into existence towards the close of the cretaceous period simultaneously with the higher mammals, and increased in abundance until modern times. chapter iii. the geological epochs: and the time range of fossils. =superposition of strata.--= fossils are chiefly found in rocks which have been formed of sediments laid down in water, such as sandstone, shale and most limestones. these rocks, broadly speaking, have been deposited in a horizontal position, though really slightly inclined from shore to deep-water. one layer has been formed above another, so that the oldest layer is at the bottom, and the newest at the top, of the series (fig. ). let us, for instance, examine a cliff showing three layers: the lower, a sandstone, we will call a; the intermediate, a shale or clay bed, b; and the uppermost, a limestone or marl, c (fig. ). in forming a conclusion about the relative ages of the beds, we shall find that a is always older than b, and b than c, provided no disturbance of the strata has taken place. for instance, the beds once horizontally deposited may have been curved and folded over, or even broken and thrust out of place, within limited areas; but occurrences like these are extremely rare. moreover, an examination of the surrounding country, or of deep cuttings in the neighbourhood, will tell us if there is any probability of this inversion of strata having taken place. [illustration: =fig. .--horizontal layers of fossiliferous clays and sands.= in sea cliff, torquay coast, victoria, looking towards bird rock. (_original_). ] [illustration: =fig. .--cliff-section to show superposition of strata.= a = sandstone. b = shale. c = limestone.] this law of superposition holds good throughout the mass of sedimentary rocks forming the crust of the earth. ( ). thus, the position of the strata shows the relative ages of the beds. =differences in fossil faunas.--= turning once again to our ideal cliff section, if we examine the fossils obtained from bed a, we shall find them differing in the number of kinds or species common to the other beds above and below. thus, there will be more species alike in beds a and b or in b and c. in other words the faunas of a and b are more nearly related than those of a and c. this is explained by the fact that there is a gradual change in specific forms as we pass through the time series of strata from below upwards; so that the nearer one collecting platform is to another, as a rule, the stronger is the community of species. =guide fossils.--= certain kinds of fossils are typical of particular formations. they are known as guide fossils, and by their occurrence help us to gain some idea of the approximate age of rocks widely separated by ocean and continent. thus we find fossils typical of the middle devonian rocks in europe, which also occur in parts of australia, and we therefore conclude that the australian rocks containing those particular fossils belong to the same formation, and are nearly of the same age. ( ). the included fossils, therefore, give evidence of the age of the beds. =value of lithological evidence.--= the test of age by rock-structure has a more restricted use, but is of value when taken in conjunction with the sequence of the strata and the character of their included fossils. to explain both the valuable and the uncertain elements of this last method as a determinant of age, we may cite, for instance, the upper ordovician slates of victoria and new south wales as an example of uniform rock formation; whilst the yellow mudstones and the grey limestones of the upper silurian (yeringian series) of the same states, are instances of diverse lithological structures in strata of similar age. a reference in the latter case to the assemblages of fossils found therein, speedily settles the question. ( ). hence, the structure and composition of the rocks (lithology), gives only partial evidence in regard to age. =strata vertically arranged.--= the stratigraphical series of fossiliferous sediments comprises bedded rocks from all parts of the world, which geologists arrange in a vertical column according to age. a general computation of such a column for the fossiliferous rocks of europe gives a thickness of about miles. this is equivalent to a mass of strata lying edgewise from melbourne to ringwood. the australian sediments form a much thicker pile of rocks, for they can hardly fall short of miles, or nearly the distance from melbourne to healesville. this vertical column of strata was formed during three great eras of time. the oldest is called the primary or palaeozoic ("ancient life"), in which the animals and plants are of primitive types. this is followed by the secondary or mesozoic ("middle life"), in which the animals and plants are intermediate in character between the palaeozoic and the later, cainozoic. the third era is the tertiary or cainozoic ("recent life"), in which the animals and plants are most nearly allied to living forms. these great periods are further subdivided into epochs, as the silurian epoch; and these again into stages, as the yeringian stage. vertical column of fossiliferous strata, australia. era. | epochs in | equivalent strata | europe. | in australia. -------------+---------------+------------------------------- | holocene | dunes, beaches, and shell-beds | | now forming. | | | pleistocene | raised beaches, river terraces, | | swamp deposits | | with diprotodon, cave | | breccias, helix sandstone. | | cainozoic | pliocene | upper.--estuarine beds of or | | bores in the murray basin, tertiary | | marine beds of (note ). | | limestone creek, glenelg | | river, vic. (werrikooian). | | | | lower.--kalimnan red | | sands (terrestrial) and | | shell marls (marine) of | | victoria, deep leads | | (fluviatile) in part, upper | | aldingan of south | | australia. -------------+---------------+------------------------------- cainozoic | miocene | deep leads in part: leaf-beds or | | of bacchus marsh, tertiary | | dalton and gunning. (continued). | | janjukian series of c. | | otway, spring creek, and | | table cape. batesford | | limestone. polyzoal | | rock of mt. gambier and | | the nullarbor plains. | | older cainozoic of murray | | basin, lower aldingan | | series of s. australia, | | corio bay and | | bairnsdale series. | | | oligocene | shelly clays and leaf-beds | | of the balcombian series | | at mornington; also | | shell-marls and clays | | with brown coal, altona | | bay, and lower beds at | | muddy creek, w. vict. | | | eocene | probably no representatives. -------------+---------------+------------------------------- | | mesozoic | cretaceous | upper.--leaf-beds of croydon, or | | q. desert sandstone, secondary | | q. radiolarian rock, n. | | territory. gin-gin chalk, | | w.a. | | | | lower.--rolling downs | | formn., q. lake eyre | | beds, s.a. | | | jurassic | marine.--geraldton, w.a. | | | | freshwater.--carbonaceous | | sandstone of s. | | gippsland, the wannon, | | c. otway and barrabool | | hills. ipswich series, q. | | mesozoic of tasmania, | | talbragar beds, n.s.w. | | | triassic | upper leaf-beds at bald | | hill, bacchus marsh, vict. | | hawkesbury series (parramatta | | shales, hawkesbury | | sandstone, narrabeen | | beds), n.s.w. burrum | | beds, q. -------------+---------------+------------------------------ palaeozoic | permian and | carbopermian (note ), or | carboniferous,| coal measures of new primary | upper | south wales, w. australia, | | queensland (gympie | | series) and tasmania. | | gangamopteris beds of | | bacchus marsh, vict. | | upper carboniferous of | | clarence town, n.s.w. | carboniferous,| fish and plant beds, | lower | mansfield, vict. grampian | | sandstone; avon | | river sandstone, vict. | | (?) star beds, queensland. | | lepidodendron | | beds of kimberley, w.a. | | (note ). | devonian | upper.--sandstones of iguana | | creek, with plant remains. | | lepidodendron | | beds with lingula, nyrang | | creek, n.s. wales. | | middle.--fossiliferous marbles | | and mudstones of | | buchan, bindi and tabberabbera, | | vict. rocks | | of the murrumbidgee, | | n.s. wales, and of burdekin, | | queensland. | silurian | upper.--(yeringian stage).--lilydale, | | loyola, thomson | | river, and waratah | | bay, vict.; bowning and | | yass (in part), n.s. | | wales; queensland. | | lower (melbournian | | stage).--melbourne, | | heathcote, vict.; bowning | | and yass (in part), | | n.s. wales. gordon r. | | limestone. | ordovician, | slates (graptolitic).--victoria | upper and | and new south | lower | wales. (?) gordon river | | limestone, tas., in part | | (note ). larapintine | | series of central australia. | cambrian | mudstones and limestones | | of tasmania, | | south australia, victoria | | and w. australia. | pre-cambrian | fossiliferous rocks doubtful; | | chiefly represented | | by schistose and other | | metamorphic rocks. .--the classification of the cainozoics as employed here is virtually the same as given by mccoy in connection with his work for the victorian geological survey. the writer has obtained further evidence to support these conclusions from special studies in the groups of the cetacea, mollusca and the protozoa. the alternative classification of the cainozoics as given by one or two later authors, introducing the useful local terminology of hall and pritchard for the various stages or assises is as follows:-- tate and dennant. | hall and pritchard. stages. | stages. | werrikooian pleistocene | werrikooian pliocene. pliocene | | kalimnan miocene | kalimnan miocene. | janjukian (?) oligocene | balcombian eocene. | balcombian eocene | janjukian | and aldingan eocene | aldingan eocene. (lower beds | in part at that loc.) | .--or permo-carboniferous. as the series is held by some authorities to partake of the faunas of both epochs, it is preferable to use the shorter word, which moreover gives the natural sequence. there is, however, strong evidence in favour of using the term permian for this important series. .--mr. w. s. dun regards the _lepidodendron_ beds of w. australia, new south wales and queensland as of upper devonian age. there is no doubt, from a broad view of the whole question as to the respective age of these beds in australia, that the one series is continuous, and probably represents the upper devonian and the lower carboniferous of the northern hemisphere. .--these limestones contain a fauna of brachiopods and corals which, at present, seems to point to the series as intermediate between the older silurian and the upper ordovician. vertical column of fossiliferous strata, new zealand. | epochs in | equivalent strata era. | europe. | in new zealand. ------------+------------------+---------------------- | holocene | river alluvium. beach | | sands and gravel. | | cainozoic | pleistocene | raised beaches. older gravel or | | drifts. tertiary | | moraines. boulder clays. | | | pliocene | upper.--petane series. } | | lower.--waitotara } wanganui | | and awatere series. } system. | | | miocene | oamaru series. | | | oligocene | waimangaroa series. ------------+------------------+--------------------------- | cretaceous | waipara series (of hutton). | | mesozoic | jurassic | mataura and putataka or | | series. secondary | | | triassic | wairoa, otapiri and kaihiku | | series. ------------+------------------+----------------------------- | permian | aorangi (unfossiliferous) | | series. | | | (?)carboniferous | maitai series (with spirifer | | and productus.) | | | | (?)te anau series (unfossiliferous). palaeozoic | | or | silurian | wangapeka series. primary | | | ordovician | kakanui series (with lower | | ordovician graptolite | | facies). | | | cambrian | unfossiliferous. metamorphic | | schists of the maniototo | | series. .--based for the most part, but with some slight modifications, on prof. j. park's classification in "geology of new zealand," . [illustration: =fig. .= range-in-time of fossils in australasian sedimentary rocks. _e.m., del._] ] [illustration: =fig. .--skeleton of diprotodon australis, owen.= uncovered in morass at lake callabonna, south australia. (_by permission of dr. e. c. stirling_). ] chapter iv. how fossils are found: and the rocks they form. as already noticed, it is the hard parts of buried animals and plants that are generally preserved. we will now consider the groups of organisms, one by one, and note the particular parts of each which we may reasonably expect to find in the fossil state. mammals.--the bones and teeth: as the _diprotodon_ remains of lake callabonna in south australia (fig. ), of west melbourne swamp, victoria, and the darling downs, queensland. rarely the skin, as in the carcases of the frozen mammoth of the tundras of northern siberia; or the dried remains of the _grypotherium_ of south american caves. [illustration: =fig. .--bird bones.= exposed on sand-blow at seal bay, king island. (_photo by c. l. barrett_). ] [illustration: =fig. .--impression of a bird's feather in ironstone.= about / nat. size. of cainozoic (? janjukian) age. redruth, victoria. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig. .--notochelone costata, owen sp. (anterior portion of carapace.)= about / nat. size. a marine turtle from the lower cretaceous of flinders river, queensland. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] birds:--bones: as the moa bones of new zealand and the emu bones of the king island sand-dunes (fig. ). very rarely the impressions of the feathers of birds are found, as in the ironstone occurring in the wannon district of victoria (fig. ), and others in fine clays and marls on the continent of europe and in england. fossil eggs of sea-birds are occasionally found in coastal sand-dunes of holocene age. reptiles.--skeletons of fossil turtles (_notochelone_) are found in queensland (fig. ). whole skeletons and the dermal armour (spines and bony plates) of the gigantic, specialised reptiles are found in europe, north america, and in other parts of the world. fishes.--whole skeletons are sometimes found in sand and clay rocks, as in the trias of gosford, new south wales (fig. ), and in the jurassic of south gippsland. the ganoid or enamel-scaled fishes are common fossils in the devonian and jurassic, notably in germany, scotland and canada: and they also occur in the sandy mudstone of the lower carboniferous of mansfield, victoria. insects.--notwithstanding their fragility, insects are often well preserved as fossils, for the reason that their skin and wings consist of the horny substance called chitin. the tertiary marls of europe are very prolific in insect remains (fig. ). from the miocene beds of florissant, colorado, u.s.a., several hundred species of insects have been described. [illustration: =fig. .= =a fossil fish with ganoid scales (pristisomus crassus, a.s. woodw.).= about / nat. size. trias (hawkesbury series), of gosford, new south wales. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig .--a fossil insect (tipula sp.) in amber.= nat. size. oligocene beds; baltic prussia. (_f.c. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig. .--a fossil lobster (thalassina emerii, bell).= slightly reduced. from the pleistocene of port darwin, northern territory. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig. .--an ammonite (desmoceras flindersi, mccoy sp.)= half nat. size. showing complex sutures. l. cretaceous: marathon, flinders river, queensland. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] crustacea.--the outer crust, or exoskeleton, of these animals is often hard, being formed of a compound of carbonate and phosphate of lime on an organic, chitinous base. the earliest forms of this group were the trilobites, commencing in cambrian times, and of which there is a good representative series in australian rocks. remains of crabs and lobsters are found in the various cainozoic deposits in australia (fig. ), and also in the jurassic in other parts of the world. mollusca.--the cuttle-fish group (cephalopoda, "head-footed"), is well represented by the nautilus-like, but straight _orthoceras_ shells commencing in ordovician times, and, in later periods, by the beautiful, coiled ammonites (fig. ). the true cuttle-fishes possess an internal bone, the sepiostaire, which one may see at the present day drifted on to the sand at high-water mark on the sea-shore. the rod-like belemnites are of this nature, and occur abundantly in the australian cretaceous rocks of south australia and queensland (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. . belemnites (belemnites diptycha, mccoy).= / nat. size. lower cretaceous. central south australia. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig. .--a group of lamp shells (magellania flavescens, lam. sp.)= attached to a polyzoan. about / nat. size. dredged from westernport, victoria. (_c.j. gabriel coll._) ] elephant-tusk shells (scaphopoda) are frequent in our tertiary beds: they are also sparingly found in the cretaceous, and some doubtful remains occur in the palaeozoic strata of australia. the shells of the ordinary mollusca, such as the snails, whelks, mussels, and scallops, are abundant in almost all geological strata from the earliest periods. their calcareous shells form a covering which, after the decay of the animal within, are from their nature among the most easily preserved of fossil remains. there is hardly an estuary bed, lake-deposit, or sea-bottom, but contains a more or less abundant assemblage of these shell-fish remains, or testacea as they were formerly called ("testa," a shell or potsherd). we see, therefore, the importance of this group of fossils for purposes of comparison of one fauna with another (_antea_, fig. ). the chitons or mail-shells, by their jointed nature, consisting of a series of pent-roof-shaped valves united by ligamental tissue, are nearly always represented in the fossil state by separate valves. fossil examples of this group occur in australia both in palaeozoic rocks and, more numerously, in the cainozoic series. [illustration: =fig. .--zoarium of a living polyzoan. (retepora)= / nat. size. flinders, victoria. (_f.c. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig. .--a fossil polyzoan (macropora clarkei, t. woods, sp.)= about / nat. size. cainozoic (balcombian). muddy creek, victoria. (_f.c. coll._) ] molluscoidea.--the brachiopods or lamp-shells consist generally of two calcareous valves as in the true mollusca (fig. ), but are sometimes of horny texture. like the previous class, they are also easily preserved as fossils. they possess bent, loop-like or spiral arms, called brachia, and by the movement of fine ciliated (hair-like) processes on their outer edges conduct small food particles to the mouth. the brachia are supported by shelly processes, to which are attached, in the spirifers, delicate spirally coiled ribbons. these internal structures are often beautifully preserved, even though they are so delicate, from the fact that on the death of the animal the commissure or opening round the valves is so tightly closed as to prevent the coarse mud from penetrating while permitting the finer silt, and more rarely mineral matter in solution, to pass, and subsequently to be deposited within the cavity. at the murray river cliffs in south australia, a bed of cainozoic limestone contains many of these brachiopod shells in a unique condition, for the hollow valves have been filled in with a clear crystal of selenite or gypsum, through which may be seen the loop or brachial support preserved in its entirety. the sea-mats or polyzoa, represented by _retepora_ (the lace-coral) (fig. ) and _flustra_ (the sea-mat) of the present sea-shore, have a calcareous skeleton, or zoarium, which is easily preserved as a fossil. polyzoa are very abundant in the cainozoic beds of australia, new zealand, and elsewhere (fig. ). in the mesozoic series, on the other hand, they are not so well represented; but in europe and north america they play an important part in forming the cretaceous and some jurassic strata by the abundance of their remains. worms (vermes).--the hard, calcareous tubes of sea-worms, the polychaeta ("many bristles") are often found in fossiliferous deposits, and sometimes form large masses, due to their gregarious habits of life; they also occur attached to shells such as oysters (fig. ). the burrows of the wandering worms are found in silurian strata in australia; and the sedentary forms likewise occur from the devonian upwards. echinodermata.--sea-urchins (echinoidea) possess a hard, calcareous, many-plated test or covering and, when living are covered with spines (fig. ). both the tests and spines are found fossil, the former sometimes whole when the sediment has been quietly thrown down upon them; but more frequently, as in the shepherd's crown type (_cidaris_), are found in disjointed plates, owing to the fact that current action, going on during entombment has caused the plates to separate. the spines are very rarely found attached to the test, more frequently being scattered through the marl or sandy clay in which the sea-urchins are buried. the best conditions for the preservation of this group is a marly limestone deposit, in which case the process of fossilisation would be tranquil (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. .--fossil worm tubes (? serpula.)= attached to a pecten. slightly enlarged. cainozoic (balcombian). muddy creek, hamilton, victoria. (_f. c. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig. .= =a regular sea-urchin (strongylocentrotus erythrogrammus, val.)= about / nat. size. showing spines attached. living. victoria. (_f. c. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig. .--a fossil sea-urchin (linthia antiaustralis, tate).= test denuded of spines. about / nat. size. cainozoic (janjukian): curlewis, victoria. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig. .--ophioderma egertoni, broderip, sp.= about / nat. size. a brittle star from the lias of seaton, devon, england. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] the true starfishes (asteroidea), are either covered with calcareous plates, or the skin is hardened by rough tubercles; and these more lasting portions are preserved in rocks of all ages. the shape of the animal is also often preserved in an exquisite manner in beds of fine mud or clay. the brittle-stars (ophiuroidea) have their body covered with hard, calcareous plates. their remains are found in rocks as old as the ordovician in bohemia but their history in australia begins with the silurian period (fig. ). from thence onward they are occasionally found in successive strata in various parts of the world. the bag-like echinoderms (cystidea) form a rare group, restricted to palaeozoic strata. the plates of the sack, or theca, and those of the slender arms are calcareous, and are capable of being preserved in the fossil state. a few doubtful remains of this group occur in australia. the bud-shaped echinoderms (blastoidea) also occur chiefly in devonian and carboniferous strata. this is also a rare group, and is represented by several forms found only in new south wales and queensland. the well known and beautiful fossil forms, the stone-lilies (crinoidea) have a very extended geological history, beginning in the cambrian; whilst a few species are living in the ocean at the present day. the many-jointed skeleton lends itself well to fossilisation, and remains of the crinoids are common in australia mainly in palaeozoic strata (fig. ). in europe they are found abundantly also in jurassic strata, especially in the lias. [illustration: =fig. .= =a fossil crinoid (taxocrinus simplex, phillips sp.)= about / nat. size. wenlock limestone (silurian), dudley, england. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig. .--graptolites on slate (tetragraptus fruticosus, j. hall, sp.)= nat. size. lower ordovician. bendigo, victoria. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig. .= =polished vertical section of a stromatoporoid. (actinostroma).= nat. size. middle devonian. south devon, england. (_f.c. coll._) ] hydrozoa.--the graptolites ("stone-writing") have a chitinous skin (periderm) to the body or hydrosome, which is capable of preservation to a remarkable degree; for their most delicate structures are preserved on the surfaces of the fine black mud deposits which subsequently became hardened into slates. in australia graptolites occur from the base of the ordovician to the top of the silurian (fig. ). another section of the hydrozoa is the stromatoporoidea. these are essentially calcareous, and their structure reminds one of a dense coral. the polyps build their tiers of cells (coenosteum) in a regular manner, and seem to have played the same part in the building of ancient reefs in silurian, devonian and carboniferous times as the millepora at the present day (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. .--fossil corals (favosites).= photograph of a polished slab, / nat. size. in devonian limestone, buchan, victoria.] [illustration: =fig. .--siliceous skeleton of a living hexactinellid sponge.= probably chonelasma. Ã� . mauritius. (viewed in two directions.) (_f.c. coll._) ] anthozoa.--the true corals have a stony skeleton, and this is capable of easy preservation as a fossil. there is hardly any fossiliferous stratum of importance which has not its representative corals. in australia their remains are especially abundant in the silurian, devonian (fig. ), and carboniferous formations, and again in the oligocene and miocene. sponges.--the framework of the sponge may consist either of flinty, calcareous, or horny material (fig. ). the two former kinds are well represented in our australian rocks, the first appearing in the lower ordovician associated with graptolites, and again in the cretaceous and tertiary rocks (fig. ); whilst the calcareous sponges are found in silurian strata, near yass, and again in the cainozoic beds of flinders, curlewis and mornington in victoria. [illustration: =fig. .= =spicules of a siliceous sponge (ecionema newberyi, mccoy sp.)= highly magnified. cainozoic shell-marl. altona bay coal-shaft.] [illustration: =fig. .= =nummulites (n. gizehensis ehr. var. champollioni, de la harpe).= about nat. size. middle eocene limestone. cyrene, northern africa. (_coll. by dr. j. w. gregory_). ] protozoa.--the important and widely-distributed group of the foraminifera ("hole-bearers") belonging to the lowest phylum, the protozoa, generally possess a calcareous shell. the tests range in size from tiny specks of the fiftieth of an inch in diameter, to the giant nummulite, equalling a five shilling piece in size (fig. ). their varied and beautiful forms are very attractive, but their great interest lies in their multifarious distribution in all kinds of sediments: they are also of importance because certain of the more complex forms indicate distinct life zones, being restricted to particular strata occurring in widely-separated areas. [illustration: =fig. .--siliceous skeletons of radiolaria.= Ã� . late cainozoic age. bissex hill, barbados, west indies. (_f.c. coll._) ] members of the allied order of the radiolaria have a flinty shell (fig. ); and these organisms are often found building up siliceous rocks such as cherts (fig. ). plants.--the harder portions of plants which are found in the fossil state are,--the wood, the coarser vascular (vessel-bearing) tissue of the leaves, and the harder parts of fruits and seeds. fossil wood is of frequent occurrence in palaeozoic, mesozoic and cainozoic strata in australia, as, for instance, the wood of the trees called _araucarioxylon_ and _dadoxylon_ in the coal measures of new south wales (see _antea_, fig. ). [illustration: =fig. .--radiolaria in siliceous limestone.= Ã� . middle devonian: tamworth, new south wales. (_from prof. david's collection_). ] [illustration: =fig. .--travertin limestone with leaves of beech (fagus).= nat. size. pleistocene: near hobart, tasmania. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] fossil leaves frequently occur in pipe-clay beds, as at berwick, victoria, and in travertine from near hobart, tasmania (fig. ). fossil fruits are found in abundance in the ancient river gravels at several hundreds of feet below the surface, in the "deep leads" of haddon, victoria, and other localities in new south wales, queensland and tasmania. [illustration: =fig. --freshwater limestone with shells (bulinus).= about / nat. size. mount arapiles, western victoria. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig. .--fossiliferous mudstone of silurian (yeringian) age.= with brachiopods. about / nat. size. near lilydale, victoria. (_f.c. coll._) ] fossiliferous rocks. section i.--argillaceous rocks. under this head are placed the muds, clays, mudstones, shales and slates. muds are usually of a silty nature, that is, containing a variable proportion of sand (quartz) grains. such are the estuarine muds of pleistocene and recent age, containing brackish water foraminifera and ostracoda, and those shells of the mollusca usually found associated with brackish conditions. lacustrine mud can be distinguished by the included freshwater shells, as _limnaea_, _coxiella_ (brackish), _cyclas_ and _bulinus_, as well as the freshwater ostracoda or cyprids (fig. ). clays are tenacious mud deposits, having the general composition of a hydrous silicate of alumina with some iron. when a clay deposit tends to split into leaves or laminae, either through moderate pressure or by the included fossil remains occupying distinct planes in the rock, they are called shales. clays and shales of marine origin are often crowded with the remains of mollusca. the shells are sometimes associated with leaves and other vegetable remains, if forming part of an alternating series of freshwater and marine conditions. an example of this type of sediments is seen in the mornington beds of the balcombian series in victoria. mudstone is a term applied to a hardened clay deposit derived from the alteration of an impure limestone, and is more often found in the older series of rocks. mudstones are frequently crowded with fossils, but owing to chemical changes within the rock, the calcareous organisms are as a rule represented by casts and moulds. at times these so faithfully represent the surface and cavities of the organism that they are almost equivalent to a well preserved fossil (fig. ). slate.--when shale is subjected to great pressure, a plane of regular splitting called cleavage is induced, which is rarely parallel to the bedding plane or surface spread out on the original sea-floor: the cleavage more often taking place at an appreciable angle to the bedding plane. the graptolitic rocks of victoria are either shales or slates, according to the absence or development of this cleavage structure in the rock. section ii.--siliceous rocks. in this group are comprised all granular quartzose sediments, and organic rocks of flinty composition. sandstones.--although the base of this type of rock is formed of quartz sand, it often contains fossils. owing to its porous nature, percolation of water containing dissolved co_{ } tends to bring about the solution of the calcareous shells, with the result that only casts of the shells remain. flints and cherts.--these are found in the form of nodules and bands in other strata, principally in limestone. in europe, flint is usually found in the chalk formation, whilst chert is found in the lower greensands, the jurassics, the carboniferous limestone and in cambrian rocks. in australia, flint occurs in the miocene or polyzoal-rock formation of mount gambier, cape liptrap and the mallee borings. flint is distinguished from chert by its being black in the mass, often with a white crust, and translucent in thin flakes; chert being more or less granular in texture and sub-opaque in the mass. both kinds appear to be formed as a pseudomorph or replacement of a portion of the limestone stratum by silica, probably introduced in solution as a soluble alkaline silicate. both flint and chert often contain fossil shells and other organic remains, such as radiolaria and sponge-spicules, which can be easily seen with a lens in thin flakes struck off by the hammer. diatomite is essentially composed of the tiny frustules or flinty cases of diatoms (unicellular algae), usually admixed with some spicules of the freshwater sponge, _spongilla_. it generally forms a layer at the bottom of a lake bed (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. .--diatomaceous earth. (post-tertiary).= containing freshwater forms, as pinnularia, cocconeis and synedra. Ã� . talbot, victoria.] section iii.--calcareous rocks. limestones formed by organisms.--organic limestones constitute by far the most important group of fossiliferous rocks. rocks of this class are composed either wholly of carbonate of lime, or contain other mineral matter also, in varying proportion. many kinds of limestones owe their origin directly to the agency of animals or plants, which extracted the calcareous matter from the water in which they lived in order to build their hard external cases, as for example the sea-urchins; or their internal skeletons, as the stony corals. the accumulated remains of these organisms are generally compacted by a crystalline cement to form a coherent rock. the chief groups of animals and plants forming such limestone rocks are:-- (a) _foraminifera._--example. foraminiferal limestone as the nummulitic limestone of the pyramids of egypt, or the _lepidocyclina_ limestone of batesford, near geelong, victoria (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. .= =limestone composed of polyzoa and foraminifera (lepidocyclina).= Ã� . cainozoic (janjukian). batesford, near geelong, victoria. (_f.c. coll._) ] (b) _corals._--ex. "madrepore limestone," or devonian marble, with _pachypora_. also the lilydale limestone, with _favosites_, of silurian age, victoria (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. .--a fossil coral (favosites grandipora).= / nat. size. from the silurian of lilydale, victoria. (_f.c. coll._). ] [illustration: =fig. .--polished slab of marble formed of joints of crinoids.= about / nat. size. silurian. toongabbie, gippsland, victoria. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] (c) _stone-lilies._--ex. crinoidal or entrochial limestone, silurian, toongabbie, victoria (fig. ). also the carboniferous or mountain limestone, derbyshire, england. (d) _worm-tubes.-_-ex. serpulite limestone of hanover, germany. _ditrupa_ limestone of torquay and wormbete creek, victoria. (e) _polyzoa._---ex. polyzoal limestone, as the so-called coralline crag of suffolk, england; and the polyzoal rock of mount gambier, s. australia. (f) _brachiopoda._--ex. brachiopod limestone of silurian age, dudley, england. _orthis_ limestone of cambrian age, dolodrook river, n. e. gippsland. (g) _mollusca._--ex. shell limestone, as the _turritella_ bed of table cape, tasmania, and of camperdown, victoria (fig. ), or the purbeck marble of swanage, dorset, england. [illustration: =fig. .--turritella limestone.= (t. acricula, tate); / nat. size. cainozoic. lake bullen merri, near camperdown, victoria.] [illustration: =fig. .--limestone composed of the valves of an ostracod (cypridea).= upper jurassic. Ã� . swanage, dorset, england.] (h) _ostracoda._--ex. cypridiferous limestone, formed of the minute valves of the bivalved ostracoda, as that of durlston, dorset, england (fig. ). (i) _caddis fly larvae._--ex. indusial limestone, formed of tubular cases constructed by the larvae of the caddis fly (_phryganea_). occurs at durckheim, rhine district, germany. (j) _red seaweeds._--ex. nullipore limestone, formed by the stony thallus (frond) of the calcareous sea-weed _lithothamnion_, as in the leithakalk, a common building stone of vienna. (k) _green seaweeds._--ex. _halimeda_ limestone, forming large masses of rock in the late cainozoic reefs of the new hebrides (fig. ). (l) (?) _blue-green seaweeds._--ex. _girvanella_ limestone, forming the peagrit of jurassic age, of gloucester, england. section iv.--carbonaceous and miscellaneous rocks. coals and kerosene shales (cannel coal).--these carbonaceous rocks are formed in much the same way as the deposits in estuaries and lagoon swamps. they result from the sometimes vast aggregation of vegetable material (leaves, wood and fruits), brought down by flooded rivers from the surrounding country, which form a deposit in a swampy or brackish area near the coast, or in an estuary. layer upon layer is thus formed, alternating with fine mud. the latter effectually seals up the organic layers and renders their change into a carbonaceous deposit more certain. when shale occurs between the coal-layers it is spoken of as the under-clay, which in most cases is the ancient sub-soil related to the coal-layer immediately above. it is in the shales that the best examples of fossil ferns and other plant-remains are often found. the coal itself is composed of a partially decomposed mass of vegetation which has become hardened and bedded by pressure and gradual drying. spore coals are found in thick deposits in some english mines, as at burnley in yorkshire. they result from the accumulation of the spores of giant club-mosses which flourished in the coal-period. they are generally referred to under the head of cannel coals. the "white coal" or tasmanite of the mersey basin in tasmania is an example of an impure spore coal with a sandy matrix (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. .= =rock composed of the calcareous joints of halimeda (a green sea-weed).= about / nat. size. late cainozoic. reef-rock. malekula, new hebrides. (_coll. by dr. d. mawson._) ] [illustration: =fig. .--thin slices of "white coal" or "tasmanite," showing crushed megaspores.= Ã� . carbopermian. latrobe, tasmania. (_f. c. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig. .--thin slice of "kerosene shale."= Ã� . carbopermian. hartley, new south wales. (_f. c. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig. .--bone bed, with fish and reptilian remains.= about / nat. size. (rhaetic). aust cliff, gloucestershire, england. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] the kerosene shale of new south wales is related to the torbanite of scotland and central france. it occurs in lenticular beds between the bituminous coal. it is a very important deposit, commercially speaking, for it yields kerosene oil, and is also used for the manufacture of gas. the rock is composed of myriads of little cell-bodies, referred to as _reinschia_, and first supposed to be allied to the freshwater alga, _volvox_; but this has lately been questioned, and an alternative view is that they may be the megaspores of club-mosses (fig. ). the coals of jurassic age in australia are derived from the remains of coniferous trees and ferns; and some beautiful examples of these plants may often be found in the hardened clay or shale associated with the coal seams. the brown coals of cainozoic or tertiary age in australia are still but little advanced from the early stage, lignite. the leaves found in them are more or less like the present types of the flora. the wood is found to be of the cypress type (_cupressinoxylon_). in new zealand, however, important deposits of coal of a more bituminous nature occur in the oligocene of westport and the grey river valley, in the nelson district. bone beds.--the bones and excreta of fish and reptiles form considerable deposits in some of the sedimentary formations; especially those partly under the influence of land or swamp conditions. they constitute a kind of conglomerate in which are found bone-fragments and teeth (fig. ). these bone-beds are usually rich in phosphates, and are consequently valuable as a source of manure. the miocene bone-bed with fish teeth at florida, u.s.a., is a notable example. the nodule bed of the victorian cainozoics contains an assemblage of bones of cetaceans (whales, etc.). [illustration: =fig. .--bone breccia, with remains of marsupials.= about / nat. size. pleistocene. limeburners point, geelong, victoria. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] bone breccias.--these are usually formed of the remains of the larger mammals, and consist of a consolidated mass of fragments of bones and teeth embedded in a calcareous matrix. bone-breccias are of frequent occurrence on the floors of caves which had formerly been the resort of carnivorous animals, and into which they dragged their prey. the surface water percolating through the overlying calcareous strata dissolved a certain amount of lime, and this was re-deposited on the animal remains lying scattered over the cave floor. a deposit so formed constitutes a stalagmite or floor encrustation. as examples of bone-breccias we may refer to the limestone at limeburners point, geelong (fig. ); and the stalagmitic deposits of the buchan caves. ironstone.--rocks formed almost entirely of limonite (hydrated peroxide of iron) are often due to the agency of unicellular plants known as diatoms, which separate the iron from water, and deposit it as hydrous peroxide of iron within their siliceous skeletons. in norway and sweden there are large and important deposits of bog iron-ore, which have presumably been formed in the beds of lakes. [illustration: =fig. .= =cainozoic ironstone with leaves (banksia ? marginata, cavanilles).= slightly enlarged. below wannon falls, redruth, victoria.] clay ironstone nodules (sphaerosiderite) have generally been formed as accretions around some decaying organic body. many clay ironstone nodules, when broken open, reveal a fossil within, such as a coprolitic body, fern frond, fir-cone, shell or fish. oolitic ironstones are composed of minute granules which may have originally been calcareous grains, formed by a primitive plant or alga, but since replaced by iron oxide or carbonate. the tertiary ironstone of western victoria is found to contain leaves, which were washed into lakes and swamps (fig. ); and the ferruginous groundmass may have been originally due to the presence of diatoms, though this yet remains to be proved. part ii.--systematic palaeontology. chapter v. fossil plants. =cambrian plants.--= the oldest australian plant-remains belong to the genus _girvanella_. this curious little tubular unicellular organism, once thought to be a foraminifer, shows most affinity with the blue-green algae (cyanophyceae), an important type of plant even now forming calcareous deposits such as the calcareous grains on the shores of the salt lake, utah, and the pea-grit of the carlsbad hot springs. _girvanella problematica_ occurs in the lower cambrian limestones of south australia, at ardrossan and elsewhere. =silurian plants.--= amongst silurian plants may be mentioned the doubtful sea-weeds known as _bythotrephis_. their branch-like impressions are fairly common in the mudstones of silurian age found in and around melbourne. they generally occur in association with shallow-water marine shells and crustacea of that period. the genus _girvanella_ before mentioned is also found in the silurian (yeringian) of lilydale and the tyers river limestone, victoria (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. .--section through pellet of girvanella conferta=, chapm. Ã� . from the silurian (yeringian) limestone of tyers river, gippsland, victoria. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] _haliserites_ is a primitive plant of the type of the club-mosses so common in the rocks of the carboniferous period. this genus is found in some abundance in the yeringian stage of the silurian in gippsland (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. .--palaeozoic plants.= (approximate dimensions in fractions). a--bythotrephis tenuis, j. hall. silurian. victoria. b--haliserites dechenianus, göppert. silurian. victoria. c--cordaites australis, mccoy. upper devonian. victoria. d--sphenopteris iguanensis, mccoy. upper devonian. victoria. e--glossopteris browniana, brongniart. carbopermian. n.s.w. ] [illustration: =fig. .= =restoration of lepidodendron elegans.= (_after grand'eury._) ] [illustration: =fig. .= =lepidodendron australe, mccoy.= portion of stem showing leaf-cushions. slightly reduced. carboniferous. manilla river, co. darling, n.s.w. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] =devonian and carboniferous plants.--= [illustration: =fig. .--upper palaeozoic plants.= a--rhacopteris inaequilatera, göppert sp. up. carboniferous. stroud, new south wales. (_after feistmantel_). b--gangamopteris spatulata, mccoy. carbopermian. bacchus marsh, victoria.] plant-life was not abundant, however, until upper devonian and carboniferous times. in the rocks of these periods we meet with the large strap-shaped leaves of _cordaites_ and a fern, _sphenopteris_, in the first-named series; and the widely distributed _lepidodendron_ with its handsome lozenge-scarred stems in the later series (fig. ). _cordaites_ has been found in victoria in the iguana creek beds (upper devonian), and it also probably occurs at the same horizon at nungatta, new south wales. _lepidodendron_ occurs in the lower carboniferous sandstone of victoria and queensland (fig. ): in new south wales it is found at mt. lambie, goonoo, tamworth and copeland in beds generally regarded as upper devonian. both of these plants are typical of carboniferous (coal measure) beds in europe and north america. the fern _rhacopteris_ is characteristic of upper carboniferous shales and sandstones near stroud, and other localities in new south wales as well as in queensland (fig. ). these beds yield a few inferior seams of coal. _girvanella_ is again seen in the oolitic limestones of carboniferous age in queensland and new south wales. =carbopermian plants.--= the higher division of the australian carboniferous usually spoken of as the permo-carboniferous, and here designated the carbopermian (see footnote , page ), is typified by a sudden accession of plant forms, chiefly belonging to ferns of the _glossopteris_ type. the lingulate or tongue-shaped fronds of this genus, with their characteristic reticulate venation, are often found entirely covering the slabs of shale intercalated with the coal seams of new south wales; and it is also a common fossil in tasmania and western australia. the allied form, _gangamopteris_, which is distinguished from _glossopteris_ by having no definite midrib, is found in beds of the same age in victoria, new south wales, and tasmania. these plant remains are also found in india, south africa, south america and the falkland islands. this wide distribution of such ancient ferns indicates that those now isolated land-surfaces were once connected, forming an extensive continent named by prof. suess "gondwana-land," from the gondwana district in india (fig. ). [illustration: _e. m. del._ (_after j. w. gregory_). =fig. .--map of the world in the upper carboniferous era.= ] =triassic plants.--= the widely distributed pinnate fern known as _thinnfeldia_ is first found in the trias; in the narrabeen shales near manly, and the hawksbury sandstone at mount victoria, new south wales. it is also a common fossil of the jurassic of south gippsland, and other parts of victoria. the grass-like leaves of _phoenicopsis_ are frequently met with in triassic strata, as in the upper series at bald hill, bacchus marsh, and also in tasmania. the large banana-palm-like leaves of _taeniopteris_ (_macrotaeniopteris_) are common to the triassic and lower jurassic beds of india: they are also met with in new zealand, and in the upper beds at bald hill, bacchus marsh. [illustration: =fig. .--mesozoic plants.= a--thinnfeldia odontopteroides. morris sp. trias. n.s. wales. b--cladophlebis denticulata, brongn. sp. var. australis, morr. jurassic, victoria. c--taeniopteris spatulata, mcclell. var. daintreei, mccoy. jurassic, victoria. d--brachyphyllum gippslandicum, mccoy. jurassic, victoria. e--ginkgo robusta, mccoy. jurassic, victoria. ] =jurassic plants.--= the jurassic flora of australasia is very prolific in plant forms. these range from liverworts and horse-tails to ferns and conifers. the commonest ferns were _cladophlebis_, _sphenopteris_, _thinnfeldia_ and _taeniopteris_. the conifers are represented by _araucarites_ (cone-scales, leaves and fruits), _palissya_ and _brachyphyllum_ (fig. ). the _ginkgo_ or maiden-hair tree, which is still living in china and japan, and also as a cultivated plant, was extremely abundant in jurassic times, accompanied by the related genus, _baiera_, having more deeply incised leaves; both genera occur in the jurassic of s. gippsland, victoria, and in queensland. the jurassic flora of australasia is in many respects like that of the yorkshire coast near scarborough. in new zealand this flora is represented in the mataura series, in which there are many forms identical with those of the australian jurassic, and even of india. =cretaceous plants.--= an upper cretaceous fern, (?) _didymosorus gleichenioides_, is found in the sandstones of the croydon gold-field, north queensland. =plants of the cainozoic.--balcombian stage.--= the older part of the cainozoic series in australasia may be referred to the oligocene. these are marine beds with occasional, thick seams of lignite, and sometimes of pipe-clay with leaves, the evidence of river influence in the immediate neighbourhood. the fossil wood in the lignite beds appears to be a _cupressinoxylon_ or cypress wood. leaves referable to plants living at the present day are also found in certain clays, as at mornington, containing _eucalyptus precoriacea_ and a species of _podocarpus_. [illustration: =fig. .--cainozoic plants.= a--cinnamomum polymorphoides, mccoy. cainozoic. victoria. b--laurus werribeensis, mccoy. cainozoic. victoria. c--banksia campbelli, ettingsh. cainozoic. vegetable creek, n.s.w. d--fagus risdoniana, ettingsh. cainozoic. tasmania. e--spondylostrobus smythi, mueller. cainozoic. (deep leads), victoria. ] =miocene leaf-beds.--janjukian stage.--= later cainozoic deposits, evidently accumulated in lakes, and sometimes ferruginous, may be referred to the miocene. they are comparable in age with the janjukian marine beds of spring creek and waurn ponds in victoria. these occur far inland and occupy distinct basins, as at the wannon, bacchus marsh (maddingley), and pitfield plains. leaf-beds of this age occur also on the otway coast, victoria, containing the genera _coprosmaephyllum_, _persoonia_ and _phyllocladus_. in all probability the dalton and gunning leaf-beds of new south wales belong here. examples of the genera found in beds of this age are _eucalyptus_ (a species near _e. amygdalina_), _banksia_ or native honeysuckle, _cinnamomum_ or cinnamon, _laurus_ or laurel, and _fagus_ (_notofagus_) or beech (fig. ). in the leaf-beds covered by the older basalt on the dargo high plains, gippsland, leaves of the _ginkgo murrayana_ occur. in south australia several occurrences of leaf beds have been recorded, containing similar species to those found in the cainozoic of dalton and vegetable creek, new south wales. for example, _magnolia brownii_ occurs at lake frome, _bombax sturtii_ and _eucalyptus mitchelli_ at elizabeth river, and _apocynophyllum mackinlayi_ at arcoona. =fruits of the "deep leads."--= the deep leads of victoria, new south wales and tasmania probably begin to date from the period just named, for they seem to be contemporaneous with the "older gold drift" of victoria; a deposit sometimes containing a marine fauna of janjukian age. this upland river system persisted into lower pliocene times, and their buried silts yield many fruits, of types not now found in australia, such as _platycoila_, _penteune_ and _pleioclinis_, along with _cupressus_ (_spondylostrobus_) and _eucalyptus_ of the existing flora (fig. ). =pleistocene plants.--= the pleistocene volcanic tuffs of mount gambier have been shown to contain fronds of the living _pteris_ (_pteridium_) _aquilina_ or bracken fern, and a _banksia_ in every way comparable with _b. marginata_, a species of the native honeysuckle still living in the same district. [illustration: =fig. .--leaves of a fossil eucalyptus. (e. pluti, mccoy).= about / nat. size. from the cainozoic deep leads, daylesford, victoria. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] the siliceous valves of freshwater diatoms constitute the infusorial earths of victoria, queensland, new south wales and new zealand. the commonest genera met with are _melosira_, _navicula_, _cymbella_ (or _cocconema_), _synedra_, _tabellaria_, _stauroneis_ and _gomphonema_. they are, generally speaking, of pleistocene age, as they are often found filling hollows in the newer basalt flows. in victoria diatomaceous earths are found at talbot (see fig. ), sebastopol and lancefield; in queensland, at pine creek; in new south wales, at cooma, barraba, and the richmond river; and in new zealand at pakaraka, bay of islands. in the latter country there is also a marine diatomaceous rock in the oamaru series, of miocene age. common or characteristic fossils of the foregoing chapter. _girvanella problematica_, nicholson and etheridge. cambrian: s. australia. _bythotrephis tenuis_, j. hall. silurian: victoria. _haliserites dechenianus_, göppert sp. silurian and devonian: victoria. _cordaites australis_, mccoy. upper devonian: victoria. _lepidodendron australe_, mccoy. lower carboniferous: victoria and queensland. up. devonian: new south wales. _rhacopteris inaequilatera_, göppert sp. carboniferous: new south wales. _glossopteris browniana_, brongniart. carbopermian: new south wales, queensland, tasmania and w. australia. _gangamopteris spatulata_, mccoy. carbopermian: victoria, new south wales and tasmania. _thinnfeldia odontopteroides_, morris sp. triassic: new south wales. jurassic: victoria, queensland and tasmania. _cladophlebis denticulata._, brongn. sp., var. australis, morris. jurassic: queensland, new south wales, victoria, tasmania and new zealand. _taeniopteris spatulata_, mcclelland. jurassic: queensland, new south wales, victoria, and tasmania. (?) _didymosorus gleichenioides_, etheridge fil. upper cretaceous: queensland. _eucalyptus precoriacea_, deane. oligocene: victoria. _eucalyptus_, _banksia_, _cinnamomum_, _laurus_ and _fagus_. miocene: victoria, new south wales and tasmania. _spondylostrobus smythi_, von mueller. (fruits and wood). lower pliocene: victoria and tasmania. _pteris_ (_pteridium_) _aquilina_, linné, and _banksia_ cf. _marginata_, cavanilles. pleistocene: victoria and south australia. * * * * * literature. girvanella.--etheridge, r. jnr. trans. r. soc. s. australia, vol. xiii. , pp. , . etheridge, r. and card, g. geol. surv. queensland, bull. no. , , pp. , , . chapman, f. rep. austr. assoc. adv. sci., adelaide meeting ( ), , p. . devonian ferns and cordaites.--mccoy, f. prod. pal. vict. dec. v., , p. . dun, w. s. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. v. pt. , , p. . lepidodendron.--mccoy, f. prod. pal. vict., dec. i. , p. . etheridge, r. jnr. rec. geol. surv, new south wales, vol. ii., pt. , , p. . idem, geol. and pal. queensland, , p. . carboniferous fungi.--etheridge, r. jnr. geol. surv. w.a., bull, no. , , pp. - . carboniferous ferns.--dun, w. s. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. viii. pt. , , pp. - , pls. xxii. and xxiii. glossopteris.--feistmantel, o. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , . arber, n. cat. foss. plants, glossopteris flora, brit. mus., . gangamopteris.--mccoy, f. prod. pal. vict., dec. ii. , p. . jurassic plants.--mccoy, f. prod. pal. vic., dec. ii. , p. . woods, t. proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. viii. pt. i. , p. . etheridge, r. jnr. geol. pal. queensland, , p. . dun, w. s. (taeniopteris), rep. austr. asso. adv. sci., sydney, , pp. - . seward, a. c. rec. geol. surv. vic., vol. i. pt. , ; chapman, f. ibid., vol ii. pt. , ; vol. iii., pt. , . dun, w. s. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. viii. pt. , , p. . older cainozoic plants.--mccoy, f. prod. pal. vic., dec. iv. , p. . ettingshausen, c. von. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , . idem, trans. new zealand inst., vol. xxiii. ( ), , p. . deane, h. rec. geol. surv. vict., vol. i. pt. , , pp. , . lower pliocene deep leads.--mccoy, f. prod. pal. vict., dec. iv. , p. . mueller, f. von. geol. surv. vic., new veg. foss., and . pleistocene and other diatom earths.--card, g. w. and dun, w. s., rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. v. pt. , , p. . chapter vi. fossil foraminifera and radiolaria. =protozoans, their structure.--= the animals forming the sub-kingdom protozoa ("lowliest animals"), are unicellular (one-celled), as distinguished from all the succeeding higher groups, which are known as the metazoa ("animals beyond"). the former group, protozoa, have all their functions performed by means of a simple cell, any additions to the cell-unit merely forming a repetitional or aggregated cell-structure. a familiar example of such occurs in pond-life, in the amoeba, a form which is not found fossilised on account of the absence of any hard parts or covering capable of preservation. foraminifera and radiolaria, however, have such hard parts, and are frequently found fossilised. =foraminifera: their habitats.--= the _foraminifera_ are a group which, although essentially one-celled, have the protoplasmic body often numerously segmented. the shell or test formed upon, and enclosing the jelly-like sarcode, may consist either of carbonate of lime, cemented sand-grains, or a sub-calcareous or chitinous (horny) covering. the foraminifera, with very few exceptions, as _mikrogromia_, _lieberkuehnia_, and some forms of _gromia_, are all marine in habit. some genera, however, as _miliolina_, _rotalia_ and _nonionina_, affect brackish water conditions. since foraminifera are of so lowly a grade in the animal kingdom, we may naturally expect to find their remains in the oldest known rocks that show any evidence of life. they are, indeed, first seen in rocks of cambrian age, although they have not yet been detected there in australian strata. =cambrian foraminifera.--= in parts of siberia and in the baltic provinces, both cambrian and ordovician rocks contain numerous glauconite casts of foraminifera, generally of the _globigerina_ type of shell. in england some middle cambrian rocks of shropshire are filled with tiny exquisitely preserved spiral shells belonging to the genus _spirillina_, in which all the characters of the test are seen as clearly as in the specimens picked out of shore-sand at the present day. =silurian foraminifera.--= the silurian rocks in all countries are very poor in foraminiferal shells, only occasional examples being found. in rocks of this age at lilydale, victoria, the genus _ammodiscus_, with fine sandy, coiled tests, is found in the cave hill limestone. so far as known, hardly any forms of this group occur in devonian strata, although some ill-defined shells have been found in the eifel, germany. =carboniferous foraminifera.--= the carboniferous rocks in many parts of the world yield an abundant foraminiferal fauna. such, for instance, are the _saccammina_ and _endothyra_ limestones of the north of england and the north of ireland. the australian rocks of this age have not afforded any examples of the group, since they are mainly of estuarine or freshwater origin. [illustration: =fig. .--palaeozoic and mesozoic foraminifera.= a--nubecularia stephensi, howchin. carbopermian. n.s.w. b--frondicularia woodwardi, howchin. carbopermian. n.s.w. c--geinitzina triangularis, chapman and howchin. carbopermian. n.s.w. d--valvulina plicata, brady. carbopermian. west australia. e--vaginulina intumescens, reuss. jurassic. west australia. f--flabellina dilatata, wisniowski. jurassic. west australia. g--marginulina solida, terquem. jurassic. west australia. h--frondicularia gaultina, reuss. cretaceous. west australia. ] =carbopermian foraminifera.--= in australia, as at pokolbin, new south wales, in the mersey river district, tasmania, and in the irwin river district, western australia, the permian rocks, or "permo-carboniferous" as they are generally called, often contain beds of impure limestone crowded with the chalky white tests of _nubecularia_: other interesting genera occur at the first named locality as _pelosina_, _hyperammina_, _haplophragmium_, _placopsilina_, _lituola_, _thurammina_, _ammodiscus_, _stacheia_, _monogenerina_, _valvulina_, _bulimina_, (?)_pleurostomella_, _lagena_, _nodosaria_, _frondicularia_, _geinitzina_, _lunucammina_, _marginulina_, _vaginulina_, _anomalina_ and _truncatulina_. the sandy matrix of certain _glossopteris_ leaf-beds in the collie coal measures in w. australia have yielded some dwarfed examples belonging to the genera _bulimina_, _endothyra_, _valvulina_, _truncatulina_ and _pulvinulina_; whilst in the irwin river district similar beds contain _nodosaria_ and _frondicularia_ (fig. ). =triassic foraminifera.--= the triassic and rhaetic clays of europe occasionally show traces of foraminiferal shells, probably of estuarine habitat, as do the wianamatta beds of new south wales, which also belong to the triassic epoch. the australian representatives are placed in the genera _nubecularia_, _haplophragmium_, _endothyra_, _discorbina_, _truncatulina_, and _pulvinulina_. these shells are diminutive even for foraminifera, and their starved condition indicates uncongenial environment. =jurassic foraminifera.--= the jurassic limestones of western australia, at geraldton, contain many species of foraminifera, principally belonging to the spirally coiled and slipper-shaped _cristellariae_. other genera present are _haplophragmium_, _textularia_, _bulimina_, _flabellina_, _marginulina_, _vaginulina_, _polymorphina_, _discorbina_, and _truncatulina_. =cretaceous foraminifera.--= in the lower cretaceous rocks known as the rolling downs formation in queensland, shells of the foraminifera are found in some abundance at wollumbilla. they are represented chiefly by _cristellaria_ and _polymorphina_. [illustration: =fig. .--structure in lepidocyclina.= a--vertical section through test of lepidocyclina marginata, michelotti sp.: showing the equatorial chambers (eq. c) and the lateral chambers (l.c.) b--section through the median disc, showing the hexagonal and ogive chambers. Ã� . cainozoic (janjukian). batesford, near geelong, victoria. (_f.c. coll._) ] =cainozoic foraminifera.--= the cainozoic strata in all parts of the world are very rich in foraminifera, and the genera, and even many species are similar to those now found living. certain types, however, had a restricted range, and are therefore useful as indicators of age. such are the nummulites and the _orbitoides_ of the eocene and the oligocene of europe, india and the west indies; and the _lepidocyclinae_ of the miocene of europe, india, japan and australia (fig. ). the genus _lepidocyclina_ is typically represented in the batesford beds near geelong, victoria by _l. tournoueri_, a fossil of the burdigalian stage (middle miocene) in europe, as well as by _l. marginata_. a limestone with large, well-preserved tests of the same genus, and belonging to a slightly lower horizon in the miocene has lately been discovered in papua. [illustration: =fig. .--cainozoic foraminifera.= a--miliolina vulgaris, d'orb. sp. oligocene-recent. vict. and s.a. b--textularia gibbosa, d'orb. oligocene and miocene. vict. & s.a. c--nodosaria affinis, d'orb. oligocene. victoria. d--polymorphina elegantissima. p. and j. oligocene-recent. vict. and s.a. e--truncatulina ungeriana, d'orb. sp. oligocene-recent. vict. & s.a. f--amphistegina vulgaris, d'orb. oligocene-l. pliocene. vict. & s.a. ] some of the commoner foraminifera found in the cainozoic beds of southern australia are--_miliolina vulgaris_, _textularia gibbosa_, _nodosaria affinis_, _polymorphina elegantissima_, _truncatulina ungeriana_ and _amphistegina lessonii_ (fig. ). the first-named has a chalky or porcellanous shell; the second a sandy test; the third and fourth glassy or hyaline shells with excessively fine tubules; the fifth a glassy shell with numerous surface punctations due to coarser tubules than usual in the shell-walls; whilst the last-named has a smooth, lenticular shell, also hyaline, and occurring in such abundance as often to constitute a foraminiferal rock in itself. =pleistocene foraminifera.--= the estuarine deposits of pleistocene age in southern australia often contain innumerable shells of _miliolina_, _rotalia_ and _polystomella_. one thin seam of sandy clay struck by the bores in the victorian mallee consists almost entirely of the shells of the shallow-water and estuarine species, _rotalia beccarii_. * * * * * =radiolaria: their structure.--= the organisms belonging to the order _radiolaria_ are microscopic, and they are all of marine habitat. the body of a radiolarian consists of a central mass of protoplasm enclosed in a membranous capsule, and contains the nuclei, vacuoles, granules and fat globules; whilst outside is a jelly-like portion which throws off pseudopodia or thin radiating threads. the skeleton of radiolaria is either chitinous or composed of clear, glassy silica, and is often of exquisitely ornamental and regular form. =habitat.--= these tiny organisms generally live in the open ocean at various depths, and sinking to the bottom, sometimes as deep as , to , fathoms, they form an ooze or mud. =subdivisions.--= radiolaria are divided into the four legions or orders,--acantharia, spumellaria, nasselaria and phaeodaria: only the second and third groups are found fossil. the spumellarians are spherical, ellipsoidal, or disc-shaped, and the nasselarians conical or helmet-shaped. =cambrian radiolaria.--= certain cherts or hard, siliceous rocks of the palaeozoic era are often crowded with the remains of radiolaria, giving the rock a spotted appearance. (see _antea_, fig. ). some of the genera thus found are identical with those living at the present day, whilst others are peculiar to those old sediments. in australia, remains of their siliceous shells have been found in cherts of lower cambrian age near adelaide. these have been provisionally referred to the genera _carposphaera_ and _cenellipsis_ (fig. ). =ordovician radiolaria.--= radiolaria have been detected in the lower ordovician rocks of victoria, in beds associated with the graptolite slates of this series. in new south wales radiolarian remains are found in the cherts and slates of upper ordovician age at cooma and mandurama. =silurian radiolaria.--= the silurian black cherts of the jenolan caves in new south wales contain casts of radiolaria. =devonian radiolaria.--= the lower devonian red jaspers of bingera and barraba in new south wales have afforded some casts of radiolaria, resembling _carposphaera_ and _cenosphaera_. [illustration: =fig. .--fossil radiolaria.= a--aff. carposphaera (after david and howchin). cambrian. brighton, s.a. b--cenosphaera affinis, hinde. mid. devonian. tamworth, n.s.w. c--amphibrachium truncatum, hinde. up. cretaceous. pt. darwin. d--dictyomitra triangularis, hinde. up. cretaceous. pt. darwin. ] the large number of fifty-three species have been found in the radiolarian rocks of middle devonian age at tamworth in new south wales (fig. ). these have been referred to twenty-nine genera comprising amongst others, _cenosphaera_, _xiphosphaera_, _staurolonche_, _heliosphaera_, _acanthosphaera_ and _spongodiscus_. =cretaceous radiolaria.--= although certain silicified rocks in the jurassic in europe have furnished a large series of radiolaria, the australian marine limestones of this age have not yielded any of their remains up to the present. they have been found, however, in the lower cretaceous of queensland, and in the (?)upper cretaceous of port darwin, n. australia. the radiolaria from the latter locality belong to the sub-orders prunoidea, discoidea and cyrtoidea (fig. ). the rock which contains these minute fossils is stated to be eaten by the natives for medicinal purposes. as its composition is almost pure silica, its efficacy in such cases must be more imaginary than real. =cainozoic radiolaria.--= cainozoic rocks of pliocene age, composed entirely of radiolaria, occur at barbados in the west indies. no cainozoic radiolaria, however, have been found either in australia or new zealand up to the present time. * * * * * common or characteristic fossils of the foregoing chapter. foraminifera. _nubecularia stephensi_, howchin. carbopermian: tasmania and new south wales. _frondicularia woodwardi_, howchin. carbopermian: w. australia and new south wales. _geinitzina triangularis_, chapm. & howchin. carbopermian: new south wales. _pulvinulina insignis_, chapman. trias (wianamatta series): new south wales. _marginulina solida_, terquem. jurassic: w. australia. _flabellina dilatata_, wisniowski. jurassic: w. australia. _vaginulina striata_, d'orbigny. lower cretaceous: queensland. _truncatulina lobatula_, w. and j. sp. lower cretaceous: queensland. _miliolina vulgaris_, d'orb. sp. cainozoic: victoria and s. australia. _textularia gibbosa_, d'orb. cainozoic: victoria and s. australia. _nodosaria affinis_, d'orb. cainozoic: victoria and s. australia. _polymorphina elegantissima_, parker and jones. cainozoic: victoria, tasmania, and s. australia. _truncatulina ungeriana_, d'orb. sp. cainozoic: victoria, king island, and s. australia. _amphistegina lessonii_, d'orb. cainozoic: victoria and s. australia. _lepidocyclina martini_, schlumberger. cainozoic (balcombian and janjukian): victoria. _l. tournoueri_, lemoine and douvillé. cainozoic (junjukian): victoria. _cycloclypeus pustulosus_, chapman. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria. _fabularia howchini_, schlumberger. cainozoic (kalimnan): victoria. _hauerina intermedia_, howchin. cainozoic (kalimnan): victoria. _rotalia beccarii_, linné sp. pleistocene: victoria and s. australia. _polystomella striatopunctata_, fichtel and moll sp. pleistocene: victoria and s. australia. radiolaria. (?) _carposphaera_ sp. lower cambrian: south australia. (?) _cenellipsis_ sp. lower cambrian: south australia. _cenosphaera affinis_, hinde. devonian: new south wales. _staurolonche davidi_, hinde. devonian: new south wales. _amphibrachium truncatum_, hinde. upper cretaceous: northern territory. _dictyomitra triangularis_, hinde. upper cretaceous: northern territory. * * * * * literature. foraminifera. carbopermian.--howchin, w. trans. roy. soc. s. austr., vol. xix. ; pp. - . chapman, f. and howchin, w. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , . chapman, f. bull. geol. surv. w. austr., no. , , pp. - . trias.--chapman, f. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. viii. pt. , , pp. - . jurassic.--chapman, f. proc. roy. soc. vict., vol. xvi. (n.s.), pt. ii., , pp. - . cretaceous.--moore, c. quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. xxvi. , pp. and . howchin, w. trans. roy. soc. s. austr., vol. viii. , pp. - . idem, ibid., vol. xix., , pp. - . idem, bull. geol. surv. w. austr., no. , , pp. - . cainozoic.--howchin, w. trans. roy. soc. s. austr., vol. xii. , pp. - . idem, ibid., vol. xiv. , pp. - . jensen, h. i. proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. xxix. pt. , , pp. - . goddard, e. j. and jensen, h. i. ibid., vol. xxxii. pt. , , pp. - . chapman, f. journ. linn. soc. lond. zool., vol. xxx. , pp. - . general.--howchin, w. rep. austr. assoc. adv. sci., adelaide meeting, , pp. - . radiolaria. lower cambrian.--david, t. w. e. and howchin, w. proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. xxi. , p. . devonian.--david, t. w. e. proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. xxi. , pp. - . hinde, g. j. quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. lv. , pp. - . upper cretaceous.--hinde, g. j. quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. xlix. , pp. - . chapter vii. fossil sponges, corals and graptolites. _sponges._ =characteristics of sponges.--= the sponges are sometimes placed by themselves as a separate phylum, the porifera. with the exception of a few freshwater genera, they are of marine habit and to be found at all depths between low tide (littoral) and deep water (abyssal). sponges are either fixed or lie loosely on the sea-floor. they possess no organs of locomotion, and have no distinct axis or lateral appendages. they exist by setting up currents in the water whereby the latter is circulated through the system, carrying with it numerous food particles, their tissues being at the same time oxygenated. their framework, in the siliceous and calcareous sponges, is strengthened by a mineral skeleton, wholly or partially capable of preservation as a fossil. =cambrian and ordovician sponges.--= the oldest rocks in australia containing the remains of sponges are the cambrian limestones of south australia, at ardrossan and elsewhere. some of these sponge-remains are referred to the genus _protospongia_, a member of the hexactinellid group having -rayed skeletal elements. when complete, the _protospongia_ has a cup- or funnel-shaped body, composed of large and small modified spicules, which form quadrate areas, often seen in isolated or aggregated patches on the weathered surface of the rock. _protospongia_ also occurs in the lower ordovician slates and shales of lancefield (_p. oblonga_), and bendigo (_p. reticulata_ and _p. cruciformis_), in victoria (fig. a). at st. david's, in south wales, the genus is found in rocks of middle cambrian age. the south australian limestones in which _protospongia_ occurs are usually placed in the lower cambrian. [illustration: =fig. .--palaeozoic sponges, &c.= a--protospongia reticulata, t. s. hall. low. ordovician. bendigo. b--receptaculites fergusoni, chapm. silurian. wombat creek, vict. c--r. australis, salter. (section of wall, etched, after eth. & dun) mid. devonian. co. murray, n.s.w. d--protopharetra scoulari, eth. fil. cambrian. s.a. ] another genus of sponges, _hyalostelia_, whose affinities are not very clear, occurs in the south australian cambrian at curramulka. this type is represented by the long, slightly bent, rod-like spicules of the root-tuft, and the skeletal spicules with six rays, one of which is much elongated. _stephanella maccoyi_ is a monactinellid sponge, found in the lower ordovician (bendigo series) of bendigo, victoria. =silurian sponges.--= numerous sponges of silurian age are found in the neighbourhood of yass, new south wales, which belong to the lithistid group, having irregular, knotty and branching spicules. these sponges resemble certain fossil fruits, generally like diminutive melons; their peculiar spicular structure, however, is usually visible on the outside of the fossil, especially in weathered specimens. the commonest genus is _carpospongia_. =receptaculites: silurian to carboniferous.--= in upper silurian, devonian, and carboniferous times the curious saucer- or funnel-shaped bodies known as _receptaculites_ must have been fairly abundant in australia, judging by their frequent occurrence as fossils. they are found as impressions or moulds and casts in some of the mudstones and limestones of silurian age in victoria, as at loyola and wombat creek, in west and north-east gippsland respectively. in the devonian limestones of new south wales they occur at fernbrook, near mudgee, at the goodradigbee river, and at cavan, near yass; also in beds of the same age in victoria, at bindi, and buchan (fig. , b.c.). _receptaculites_ also occur in the star beds of upper devonian or lower carboniferous age in queensland, at mount wyatt. it will thus be seen that this genus has an extensive geological range. =carbopermian sponges.--= a monactinellid sponge, provisionally referred to _lasiocladia_, has been described from the gympie beds of the rockhampton district, queensland. _lasiocladia_, as well as the hexactinellid sponge _hyalostelia_, occurs in the carbopermian of new south wales. =cretaceous sponges.--= no sponge-remains seem to occur above the carbopermian in australia until we reach the cretaceous rocks. in the lower cretaceous series in queensland a doubtful member of the hexactinellid group is found, namely, _purisiphonia clarkei_. in the upper cretaceous of the darling downs district pyritized sponges occur which have been referred to the genus _siphonia_, a member of the lithistid group, well known in the cretaceous of europe. =cainozoic sponges.--= a white siliceous clay, supposed to be from a "deep lead," in the norseman district in western australia, has proved to consist almost entirely of siliceous sponge-spicules, belonging to the monactinellid, the tetractinellid, the lithistid, and the hexactinellid groups (fig. a, b). the reference of the deposit to a "deep lead" or alluvial deposit presents a difficulty, since these sponge-spicules represent moderately deep water marine forms. this deposit resembles in some respects the spicule-bearing rock of oamaru, new zealand, which is of miocene age. [illustration: =fig. .--cainozoic sponges.= a--latrunculia sp. (after hinde). cainozoic. deep lead, norseman, w.a. b--geodia sp. (after hinde). cainozoic. deep lead, norseman, w.a. c--ecionema newberyi. mccoy sp. cainozoic. boggy creek, gippsland, vict. d--plectroninia halli, hinde. cainozoic (janjukian). moorabool, vict. e--tretocalia pezica, hinde. cainozoic. flinders, vict. ] [illustration: =fig. .--silurian corals.= a--cyathophyllum approximans, chapm. silurian (yer.). gippsland, vict. b--favosites grandipora, eth. fil. silurian (yer.). lilydale, vict. c--favosites grandipora, vertical section. ditto. d--f. grandipora, transverse section. ditto. e--pleurodictyum megastomum, dun. lilydale, vict. f--halysites peristephesicus, eth. fil. silurian. n.s. wales. g--heliolites interstincta, wahl sp vict. (transv. sect). silurian.. ] in the cainozoic beds of southern australia sponges with calcareous skeletons are not at all uncommon. the majority of these belong to the lithonine section of the calcispongiae, in which the spicules are regular, and not fixed together. living examples of these sponges, closely related to the fossils, have been dredged from the japanese sea. the fossils are found mainly in the janjukian, at curlewis, in the moorabool river limestones, and in the polyzoal rock of flinders, all in victoria. they belong to the genera _bactronella_, _plectroninia_ and _tretocalia_ (fig. , d and e). some diminutive forms also occur in the older series, the balcombian, at mornington, namely, _bactronella parvula_. at boggy creek, near sale, in victoria, a tetractinellid sponge, _ecionema newberyi_, is found in the janjukian marls; spicules of this form have also been noted from the clays of the altona bay coal-shaft (fig. c). * * * * * the _archaeocyathinae_: an ancient class of organisms related both to the sponges and the corals. =archaeocyathinae in cambrian strata.--= these curious remains have been lately made the subject of detailed research, and it is now concluded that they form a group probably ancestral both to the sponges and the corals. they are calcareous, and generally cup-shaped or conical, often furnished at the pointed base with roots or strands for attachment to the surrounding reef. they have two walls, both the inner and the outer being perforated like sponges. as in the corals, they are divided by transverse septa and these are also perforated. certain of the genera as _protopharetra_ (fig. d), _coscinocyathus_, and _archaeocyathina_, are common to the cambrian of sardinia and south australia, whilst other genera of the class are also found in siberia, china, canada and the united states. a species of _protopharetra_ was recently detected in a pebble derived from the cambrian limestone in the antarctic, as far south as deg. an _archaeocyathina_ limestone has also been found in situ from shackleton's farthest south. _corals_ (class anthozoa). =rugose corals.--= many of the older types of corals from the palaeozoic rocks belong to the tetracoralla (septa in multiples of four), or rugosa (i.e., with wrinkled exterior). =ordovician corals.--= in great britain and north america rugose corals are found as early as ordovician times, represented by _streptelasma_, _petraia_, etc. in australia they seem to first make their appearance in the silurian period. =silurian corals.--= in rocks of silurian age in australia we find genera like _cyathophyllum_ (with single cups or compound coralla), _diphyphyllum_, _tryplasma_ and _rhizophyllum_, the first-named often being very abundant. the compound corallum of _cyathophyllum approximans_ presents a very handsome appearance when cut transversely and polished. this coral is found in the newer silurian limestone in victoria; it shows an alliance with _c. mitchelli_ of the middle devonian of the murrumbidgee river, new south wales (fig. a). =silurian hexacoralla.--= it is, however, to the next group, the hexacoralla, with septa in multiples of six, twelve, and twenty-four, that we turn for the most varied and abundant types of corals in silurian times. the genus _favosites_ (honey-comb coral) is extremely abundant in australian limestones (fig. b, c), such as those of lilydale, walhalla, and waratah bay in victoria, and of hatton's corner and other localities near yass, in new south wales. _pleurodictyum_ is also a familiar type in the australian silurian, being one of the commonest corals in the yeringian stage; although, strange to say, in germany and n. america, it is typical of devonian strata (fig. e). _pleurodictyum_ had a curious habit of growing, barnacle fashion, on the side of the column of the crinoids or sea-lilies which flourished in those times. _syringopora_, with its funnel-shaped tabulae or floor partitions, is typical of many australian limestones, as those from lilydale, victoria, and the delegate river, new south wales. _halysites_ (chain coral), with its neat strings of tubular and tabulated corallites joined together by their edges, is another striking coral of the silurian period (fig. f). this and the earlier mentioned _syringopora_, is by some authors regarded as belonging to the alcyonarian corals (typically with eight tentacles). _halysites_ is known from the limestones of the mitta mitta river, n.e. gippsland, victoria; from the molong and canobolas districts in new south wales; from the gordon river limestone in tasmania; and from chillagoe in queensland. abroad it is a well known type of coral in the wenlockian of gotland in scandinavia, and shropshire in england, as well as in the niagara limestone of the united states. =silurian octocoralla.--= perhaps the most important of the octocoralla is _heliolites_ ("sunstone"), which is closely allied to the blue coral, _heliopora_, a frequent constituent of our modern coral reefs. the genus _heliolites_ has a massive, calcareous corallum, bearing two kinds of pores or tubes, large (autopores) containing complete polyps, and small (siphonopores) containing the coenosarc or flesh of the colony. both kinds of tubes are closely divided by tabulae, whilst the former are septate. _heliolites_ is of frequent occurrence in the silurian limestones of new south wales and victoria (fig. g). =devonian corals.--= the middle devonian beds of australia are chiefly limestones, such as the buchan limestone, victoria; the burdekin series, queensland; and the tamworth limestone of new south wales. these rocks, as a rule, are very fossiliferous, and the chief constituent fossils are the rugose and perforate corals. _campophyllum gregorii_ is a common form in the buchan limestone (fig. a), as well as some large mushroom-shaped _favosites_, as _f. gothlandica_ and _f. multitabulata_. other genera which may be mentioned as common to the australian middle devonian rocks are, _cyathophyllum_, _sanidophyllum_ and _spongophyllum_, _heliolites_ is also found in limestones of this age in new south wales and queensland. [illustration: =fig. .--upper palaeozic corals.= a--campophyllum gregorii, eth. fil. mid. devonian. buchan, vict. b--pachypora meridionalis, nich. & eth. fil. mid devonian. queens. c--aulopora repens, kn. & w. (after hinde). devonian. kimberley district, w.a. d--zaphrentis culleni, eth. fil. carboniferous. new south wales. e--trachypora wilkinsoni, eth. fil. carbopermian (up. marine ser.) new south wales. f--stenopora crinita, lonsdale. carbopermian (up. mar. ser.) n.s.w. ] in the burdekin series (middle devonian) in queensland we also find _cystiphyllum_, _favosites gothlandica_, and _pachypora meridionalis_ (fig. b), whilst in beds of the same age at rough range in western australia are found _aulopora repens_ (fig. c), and another species of _pachypora_, namely, _p. tumida_. =carbopermian corals.--= the only true carboniferous marine fauna occurring in australia, appears to be that of the star beds in queensland, but so far no corals have been found. the so-called carboniferous of western australia may be regarded as carbopermian or even of permian age. the marine carbopermian beds of new south wales contain several genera of corals belonging to the group rugosa, as _zaphrentis_ (fig. d), _lophophyllum_, and _campophyllum_. of the tabulate corals may be mentioned _trachypora wilkinsoni_, very typical of the upper marine series (fig. e) and _cladochonus_. in the gympie beds of the same system in queensland occur the following rugose corals, _zaphrentis profunda_ and a species of _cyathophyllum_. in the carbopermian of western australia the rugose corals are represented by _amplexus_, _cyathophyllum_, and _plerophyllum_, which occur in rocks on the gascoyne river. the imperfectly understood group of the monticuliporoids, by some authors placed with the polyzoa (order trepostomata), are well represented in australia by the genus _stenopora_ (fig. f). the corallum is a massive colony of long tubes set side by side and turned outwards, the polyp moving upwards in growth and cutting off the lower part of the tube by platforms like those in the tabulate corals. some of the species of _stenopora_, like _s. tasmaniensis_, of new south wales and tasmania, are found alike in the lower and upper marine series. _s. australis_ is confined to the bowen river coal-field of queensland. _stenopora_ often attains a large size, the corallum reaching over a foot in length. neither jurassic or cretaceous corals have been found in australasia, although elsewhere as in europe and india, the representatives of modern corals are found in some abundance. =cainozoic corals.--= in tertiary times the marine areas of southern australia were the home of many typical solitary corals of the group of the hexacoralla. in the balcombian beds of mornington, victoria, for instance, we have genera such as _flabellum_, _placotrochus_, _sphenotrochus_, _ceratotrochus_, _conosmilia_, _trematotrochus_, _notophyllia_ and _balanophyllia_ (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. .--cainozoic corals.= a--flabellum victoriae, duncan. balcombian. mornington, vict. b--placotrochus deltoideus, dunc. balcombian. muddy creek, hamilton, vic. c--balanophyllia seminuda, dunc. balcombian. muddy creek, hamilton, vic. d--stephanotrochus tatei, dennant. janjukian. torquay, near geelong, vict. e--thamnastraea sera, duncan. janjukian. table cape, tas. f--graphularia senescens. tate sp. janjukian. waurn ponds, near geelong, vic. g--trematotrochus clarkii, dennant. kalimnan. gippsland lakes, vic. ] corals especially characteristic of the janjukian series are _paracyathus tasmanicus_, _stephanotrochus tatei_, _montlivaltia variformis_, _thamnastraea sera_ and _dendrophyllia epithecata_. the stony axis of the sea-pen, _graphularia senescens_, a member of the octocoralla, is also typical of this stage, and are called "square-bones" by the quarrymen at waurn ponds, near geelong, where these fossils occur. the kalimnan corals are not so abundantly represented as in the foregoing stages, but certain species of _flabellum_ and _trematotrochus_, as _f. curtum_ and _t. clarkii_, are peculiar to those beds. several of the janjukian corals persist into kalimnan times, some dating as far back as the balcombian, as _sphenotrochus emarciatus_. the sea-pen, _graphularia senescens_ is again found at this higher horizon, at beaumaris; it probably represents a varietal form, the axis being smaller and more slender. other examples of the octocoralla are seen in _mopsea_, two species of which are found in the janjukian at cape otway; the deeper beds of the mallee; and the mount gambier series. a species of the astraeidae (star-corals) of the reef-forming section, _plesiastraea st.vincenti_, is found in the kalimnan of hallett's cove, south australia. _hydrozoa._ the few animals of this group met with in fossil faunas are represented by the living _millepora_ (abundant as a coral reef organism), _hydractinia_ (parasitic on shells, etc.), and _sertularia_ (sea-firs). =milleporids and stylasterids.--= although so abundant at the present time, the genus _millepora_ does not date back beyond the pleistocene. the eocene genus _axopora_ is supposed to belong here, but is not australian. of the stylasterids one example is seen in _deontopora_, represented by the branchlets of _d. mooraboolensis_, from the janjukian limestone of the moorabool valley, near geelong. =hydractinia.--= _hydractinia_ dates from the upper cretaceous rocks in england, and in australia its encrusting polypidom is found attached to shells in the polyzoal limestone of mount gambier (miocene). stromatoporoids. an important group of reef-builders in palaeozoic times was the organism known as _stromatopora_, and its allies. the structures of these hydroid polyps resemble successional and repetitional stages of a form like _hydractinia_. as in that genus it always commenced to grow upon a base of attachment such as a shell, increasing by successive layers, until the organic colony often reached an enormous size, and formed great mounds and reefs (see _antea_, fig. ). the stromatoporoid structure was formed by a layer of polyp cells separated by vertical partitions, upon which layer after layer was added until a great vertical thickness was attained. this limestone-making group first appeared in the silurian, and probably reached its maximum development in middle devonian times, when it almost disappeared, except to be represented in carbopermian strata by a few diminutive forms. [illustration: =fig. .--stromatoporoidea and cladophora.= a--actinostroma clathratum, nich. devonian. rough range, w.a. b--actinostroma clathratum, nich. devonian. rough range, w.a. vertical section. (_after g. j. hinde_). c--callograptus sp. up. ordovician. san remo, vict. (_after t. s. hall_). d--ptilograptus sp. up. ordovician. san remo, vict. (_after t. s. hall_). e--dictyonema pulchellum, t. s. hall. l. ordov. lancefield, vict. f--dictyonema macgillivrayi, t. s. hall. l. ordov. lancefield, vict. ] =silurian stromatoporoids.--= in the silurian limestones of victoria (lilydale, waratah bay, walhalla and loyola), and new south wales (near yass), stromatoporoids belonging to the genera _clathrodictyon_ (probably _c. regulare_), _stromatopora_ and _idiostroma_ occur. _stromatoporella_ has been recorded from the silurian rocks of the jenolan caves, new south wales. =devonian stromatoporids.--= the middle devonian strata of bindi, victoria, yield large, massive examples of _actinostroma_. this genus is distinguished from the closely allied _clathrodictyon_ by its vertical pillars passing through several laminae in succession. rocks of the same age in queensland contain _stromatopora_, whilst in western australia the rough range limestone has been shown to contain _actinostroma clathratum_ (fig. a, b) and _stromatoporella eifeliensis_. cladophora. =palaeozoic cladophora.--= some branching and dendroid forms of hydrozoa probably related to the modern calyptoblastea ("covered buds"), such as _sertularia_ and _campanularia_, are included in the cladophora ("branch bearers"). they existed from cambrian to devonian times, and consist of slender, forking branches sometimes connected by transverse processes or dissepiments, the branches bearing on one or both sides little cups or hydrothecae which evidently contained the polyps, and others of modified form, perhaps for the purpose of reproduction. the outer layer, called the periderm was of chitinous material. they were probably attached to the sea-floor like the sertularians (sea-firs). =dictyonema and allies.--= remains of the above group are represented in the australian rocks by several species of _dictyonema_ (fig. e, f) occurring in the lower ordovician of lancefield, and in similar or older shales near mansfield. some of these species are of large size, _d. grande_ measuring nearly a foot in width. the genera _callograptus_, _ptilograptus_ (fig. c, d) and _dendrograptus_ are also sparsely represented in the upper ordovician of victoria, the two former from san remo, the latter from bulla. graptolites (graptolitoidea).-- =value of graptolites to stratigraphist.--= the graptolites were so named by linnaeus from their resemblances to writing on the slates in which their compressed remains are found. they form a very important group of palaeozoic fossils in all parts of the world where these rocks occur, and are well represented in australasia. the species of the various graptolite genera are often restricted to particular beds, and hence they are of great value as indicators of certain horizons or layers in the black, grey or variously coloured slates and shales of lower ordovician to silurian times. by their aid a stratum or set of strata can be traced across country for long distances, and the typical species can be correlated even with those in the older slates and shales of great britain and north america. =nature of graptolites.--= the graptolites were compound animals, consisting of a number of polyps inserted in cups or thecae which budded out in a line from the primary sicula or conical chamber, which chamber was probably attached to floating sea-weed, either by a fine thread (nema), or a disc-like expansion. this budding of the polyp-bearing thecae gives to the polypary or colony the appearance of a fret-saw, with the teeth directed away from the sicula. the habit of the earlier graptolites was to branch repeatedly, as in _clonograptus_, or to show a compound leaf-like structure as in _phyllograptus_. later on the many-branched forms had their branches reduced until, as in _didymograptus_, there were only two branches. sometimes the branches opened out to direct the thecae upwards, the better to procure their food supply. in _diplograptus_ the thecae turned upwards and acquired a support by the formation of a medium rod (virgula), often ending in a disc or float. in silurian times _monograptus_ prevailed, a genus having only a single row of thecae supported by a straight or curved virgula. in _retiolites_ the polypary opened out by means of a net-work of fine strands, rendering it better able to float, at the same time retaining its original strength. =lower ordovician graptolites, victoria.--= the lower ordovician slates and shales of victoria have been successfully divided into several distinct series by means of the graptolites. these, commencing at the oldest, are:-- ( ) lancefield series. characterised by _bryograptus clarki_, _b. victoriae_, _didymograptus pritchardi_, _d. taylori_ and _tetragraptus decipiens_. other forms less restricted are, _clonograptus magnificus_ (measuring over a yard in breadth), _c. flexilis_, _c. rigidus_, _leptograptus antiquus_ and _tetragraptus approximatus_ (fig. ). ( ) bendigo series. characterised by _tetragraptus fruticosus_, _t. pendens_, _trichograptus fergusoni_ and _goniograptus thureaui_. this series also contains _tetragraptus serra_ (ranging into darriwill series), _t. bryonoides_, _t. quadribrachiatus_, _t. approximatus_ (base of the series), _phyllograptus typus_, _dichograptus octobrachiatus_, _goniograptus macer_ and many _didymograpti_, including _d. bifidus_ (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. .--lower ordovician graptolites.= a--bryograptus clarki, t. s. hall. l. ordovician. lancefield, vict. b--tetragraptus fruticosus, j. hall sp. l. ordovician. lancefield. c--phyllograptus typus, j. hall. l. ordovician. lancefield. d--goniograptus macer, t. s. hall. l. ordovician. lancefield. e--didymograptus caduceus, salter. l. ordovician. lancefield. f--trigonograptus wilkinsoni, t. s. hall. l. ordov. darriwill, vict. ] [illustration: =fig. .--lower ordovician graptolites.= a--loganograptus logani, j. hall sp. l. ordov. newham, vict. b--tetragraptus approximatus, nich. l. ordovician. canada and victoria. (_after nicholson_) c--tetragraptus serra, brongn. sp. l. ordovician. lancefield, vict. d--didymograptus bifidus, j. hall. l. ordovician. guildford, vict. ] ( ) castlemaine series. characterised by _didymograptus bifidus_, _d. caduceus_ and _loganograptus logani_. _phyllograptus_ persists from the bendigo series. it also contains _tetragraptus serra_, _t. bryonoides_, _t. quadribrachiatus_, _goniograptus macer_ and several _didymograpti_. ( ) darriwill series. characterised by _trigonograptus wilkinsoni_. also contain _diplograptus_, _glossograptus_ and _lasiograptus_, whilst _didymograptus_ is rare. =lower ordovician graptolites, new zealand.--= in new zealand lower ordovician graptolites are found in the kakanui series, at nelson, north-west of south island. some of the commoner forms are _didymograptus extensus_, _d. caduceus_, _loganograptus logani_, _phyllograptus typus_, _tetragraptus similis_ and _t. quadribrachiatus_. graptolites agreeing closely with those of the lancefield series of victoria occur near preservation inlet in the extreme south-west, and have been identified as _clonograptus rigidus_, _bryograptus victoriae_ and _tetragraptus decipiens_. =upper ordovician graptolites, victoria.--= the upper ordovician rocks of victoria, as at wombat creek and mount wellington in gippsland, and at diggers' rest near sunbury, contain the double branched forms like _dicranograptus ramosus_, _dicellograptus elegans_ and _d. sextans_; the sigmoidal form _stephanograptus gracilis_; and the diprionidian (biserial) forms as _diplograptus tardus_, _climacograptus bicornis_, _cryptograptus tricornis_, _glossograptus hermani_ and _lasiograptus margaritatus_ (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. .--upper ordovician and silurian graptolites.= a--dicranograptus ramosus, j. hall sp. up. ordovician. victoria. b--dicellograptus elegans, carruthers sp. up. ordovician. victoria. c--diplograptus carnei, t. s. hall. up. ordovician. n. s. wales. d--climacograptus bicornis, j. hall. up. ordovician. victoria. e--glossograptus hermani, t. s. hall. up. ordovician. victoria. f--retiolites australis, mccoy. silurian. keilor, victoria. g--monograptus dubius, suess. silurian. wood's point, victoria. ] =upper ordovician graptolites, new south wales.--= in new south wales, at tallong, the upper ordovician graptolites are well represented by such forms as _dicellograptus elegans_, _dicranograptus nicholsoni_, _diplograptus carnei_, _d. foliaceus_, _cryptograptus tricornis_ and _glossograptus quadrimucronatus_, etc. other localities in new south wales for this graptolite fauna are stockyard creek, currowang, tingaringi, lawson, and mandurama. =tasmania.--= from tasmania a _diplograptus_ has been recorded, but the particular horizon and locality are uncertain. =silurian graptolites, victoria.--= in the silurian shales at keilor, in victoria, _monograptus_ is a common genus, and _cyrtograptus_ and _retiolites australis_ (fig. f) also occur. several species of _monograptus_ have also been found at south yarra and studley park. at the latter place and walhalla _monograptus dubius_, which is a wenlock and ludlow fossil in britain, has been found in some abundance (fig. g). * * * * * common or characteristic fossils of the foregoing chapter. sponges. _protospongia_ sp. cambrian: s. australia. _hyalostelia_ sp. cambrian: s. australia. _protospongia oblonga_, hall. l. ordovician: victoria. _stephanella maccoyi_, hall. l. ordovician: victoria. _carpospongia_ sp. silurian: yass, new south wales. _receptaculites fergusoni_, chapman. silurian: victoria. _receptaculites australis_, salter sp. devonian: victoria and new south wales. carboniferous: queensland. (?) _lasiocladia hindei_, eth. fil. carbopermian: queensland. _purisiphonia clarkei_, bowerbank. lower cretaceous: queensland. _geodia_ sp. cainozoic: w. australia. _tethya_ sp. cainozoic: w. australia. _ecionema newberyi_, mccoy sp. cainozoic: victoria. _plectroninia halli_, hinde. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria. _tretocalia pezica_, hinde. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria. archaeocyathinae. _protopharetra scoulari_, etheridge, fil. cambrian: s. australia. _coscinocyathus australis_, taylor. cambrian: s. australia. _archaeocyathina ajax_, taylor. cambrian: s. australia. corals. _cyathophyllum approximans_, chapman. silurian: victoria. _tryplasma liliiformis_, etheridge, fil. silurian: new south wales. _favosites grandipora_, etheridge fil. silurian: victoria. _pleurodictyum megastomum_, dun. silurian: victoria. _halysites peristephicus_, etheridge, fil. silurian: new south wales. _heliolites interstincta_, linné sp. silurian: victoria. _campophyllum gregorii_, eth. fil. middle devonian: victoria and queensland. _cystiphyllum australasicum_, eth. fil. middle devonian: new south wales and queensland. _favosites multitabulata_, eth. fil. middle devonian: victoria and new south wales. _pachypora meridionalis_, eth. fil. middle devonian: queensland. _zaphrentis culleni_, eth. fil. carboniferous: new south wales. _lophophyllum corniculum_, de koninck. carboniferous: new south wales. _zaphrentis profunda_, eth. fil. carbopermian: queensland. _campophyllum columnare_, eth. fil. carbopermian: new south wales. _trachypora wilkinsoni_, eth. fil. carbopermian: new south wales. _stenopora tasmaniensis_, lonsdale. carbopermian: tasmania and new south wales. _flabellum gambierense_, duncan. cainozoic: victoria, s. australia and tasmania. _placotrochus deltoideus_, duncan. cainozoic: victoria, s. australia and tasmania. _sphenotrochus emarciatus_, duncan. cainozoic: victoria, s. australia, and tasmania. _ceratotrochus exilis_, dennant. cainozoic: victoria. _conosmilia elegans_, duncan. cainozoic: victoria. _balanophyllia armata_, duncan. cainozoic: victoria. _thamnastraea sera_, duncan. cainozoic: victoria and tasmania. _graphularia senescens_, tate sp. cainozoic: victoria and s. australia. hydrozoa. _clathrodictyon_ (?) _regulare_, rosen sp. silurian: victoria. _actinostroma clathratum_, nicholson. devonian: w. australia. _stromatoporella eifeliensis_, nich. devonian: w. australia. _dictyonema pulchella_, t. s. hall. lower ordovician: victoria. _ptilograptus_ sp. l. ordovician: victoria. _callograptus_ sp. lower ordovician: victoria. graptolites. _bryograptus victoriae_, t. s. hall. lower ordovician (lancefield series): victoria. _tetragraptus fruticosus_, j. hall. l. ordovician (bendigo series): victoria. _didymograptus caduceus_, salter. l. ordovician (castlemaine series): victoria. also new zealand. _didymograptus bifidus_, j. hall. l. ordovician (castlemaine series): victoria. also new zealand. _trigonograptus wilkinsoni_, t. s. hall. l. ordovician (darriwill series): victoria. _dicranograptus ramosus_, j. hall sp. upper ordovician: victoria. _monograptus dubius_, suess. silurian: victoria. _retiolites australis_, mccoy. silurian: victoria. * * * * * literature. sponges. cambrian.--tate, r. trans. r. soc. s. austr., vol. xv. (n.s.), , p. . ordovician.--hall, t. s. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. i. pt. i. , pp. , (_protospongia_). idem, ibid., vol. xi. (n.s.), pt. ii. , pp. - (_protospongia and stephanella_). silurian to carboniferous.--salter, j. w. canad. org. rem. dec. i. , p. . etheridge, r. jnr. and dun, w. s. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. vi. , pp. - . chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict. vol. xviii. (n.s.), pt. , , pp. - . carbopermian.--etheridge, r. jnr., in geol. and pal. q., , p. . cretaceous.--bowerbank, j. s. proc. zool. soc. lond., , p. . etheridge, r. jnr. in geol. and pal. queensland, , pp. , (_purisiphonia_). cainozoic.--mccoy, f. prod. pal. vict., dec. v. . chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xx. (n.s.), pt. , , pp. - (_ecionema_). hinde, g. j. quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. lvi., , pp. - (calcisponges). idem, bull. geol. surv. w. austr., no. , , pp. - (sponge-spicules). archaeocyathinae. etheridge, r. jnr., trans. r. soc. s. austr., vol. xiii. , pp. - . taylor, t. g. mem. roy. soc. s. austr., vol. ii., pt. , (a monograph). corals. silurian.--etheridge, r. jnr. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. ii. pt. , , pp. - (silurian and devonian). idem, ibid., vol. ii. pt. , , pp. - (silurian and devonian). idem, in pal. and geol. queensland, . idem, rec. austr. mus., vol. i., no. , , pp. - (_rhizophyllum_). id., ibid., vol. iii. no. , , pp. - (_columnaria_). id., prog. rep. geol. surv. vict., no. , , pp. - . idem, mem. geol. surv. new south wales, no. , pt. i., (_halysites_). id., ibid., no. , pt. , (_tryplasma_). de koninck, l. g. ibid., pal. no. , . shearsby, a. j. geol. mag., dec. v., vol. iii. , pp. - . chapman, f. rec. geol. surv. vict., vol. ii. pt. , , pp. - . devonian.--etheridge, r. jnr. and foord, a. h. ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. v., vol. xiv., , pp. - (_alveolites_ and _amplexopora_ = _litophyllum_). etheridge, r. jnr., in geol. and pal. queensland, . idem, proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. ix. , pp. - . id., rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. vi. pt. , , pp. - (tamworth district). id., rec. austr. mus., vol. iv. no. , , pp. - . de koninck, l. g. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , . chapman, f. rec. geol. surv. vict., vol. iii, pt. , , pp. - . carbopermian.--etheridge, r. jnr. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , . idem, in geol. and pal. queensland, . id., bull. geol. surv., w. austr., no. , , pp. - . cainozoic.--duncan, p. m. quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. xxvi. , pp. - ; vol. xxxi. , pp. - ; vol. xxxii. , pp. - . woods, t. proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. xi., , pp. - ; ibid., vol. xxx. , pp. - . idem, trans. roy. soc. s. austr., vol. i., , pp. - . dennant, j. trans. r. soc. s. austr., vols. xxiii. ( ) to xxviii. ( ). stromatoporoids. hinde, g. j. geol. mag., dec. iii. vol. vii, , p. . graptolites. mccoy, f. prod. pal. vict., decades i. ( ): ii. ( ): v. ( ). hall, t. s. proc. roy. soc. vict., vol. iv. p. i. , pp. , (_dictyonema_). idem, geol. mag. dec. iv. vol. vi. , pp. - ; id., rep. austr. assoc. adv. sci., brisbane, , pp. - . id., rec. geol. surv. vict., vol. i. pt. , , pp. - . id., ibid., vol. iii. pt. , , pp. - . idem, rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. vii. part , , pp. , . ibid., pp. - . chapter viii. fossil sea-lilies, starfishes, brittle-stars and sea-urchins. =divisions of echinodermata.--= the sub-kingdom of echinodermata includes the above groups comprised in the classes crinoidea, asteroidea, ophiuroidea and echinoidea. besides these are the less important classes of the cystidea or sac-shaped echinoderms (of which no definite remains are recorded from australian rocks); the blastoidea or bud-shaped echinoderms (of which four genera are known from australia); the edrioasteroidea or sessile starfishes (unknown in australia); and the holothuroidea or sea-cucumbers (represented as fossils by the skin spicules and plates, an example of which has been recorded from australia). _crinoidea, or sea-lilies._ =crinoidea, their general structure.--= these often beautiful and graceful animals resemble a starfish mounted on a stalk. they are composed of calcareous joints and plates, and are therefore important as rock-formers. the stalk or column may be either short or long, and is generally rooted, in the adult stage, in the mud of the sea-floor. fossil crinoids were sometimes furnished with a coiled termination, which could be entwined around such objects as the stems of sea-weeds. the crinoid column is composed of numerous plates, and is round or pentagonal. upon this is fixed the calyx or cup, with its attached arms, which serve to bring food to the mouth, situated on the upper part of the cup. the arms are grooved, and the water, being charged with food particles (animalcula), pours down these channels into the mouth. the stem elevates the animal above the mud or silt of the sea-floor, thus making it more easy for it to obtain its food supply. the stalks of fossil crinoids sometimes reached the enormous length of feet. their calcareous skeleton is built upon a plan having five planes of symmetry; this pentamerism is found throughout the crinoids, the blastoids and the free-moving echinoderma. crinoids range from moderately shallow- to deep-water, and at the present day are almost restricted to abyssal conditions. the more ancient types usually found their habitats amongst reefs or in comparatively clear water, where there was a marked freedom from sediment, although that was not an essential, as seen by their numerous remains in the australian mudstones and sandstones. =cambrian crinoids.--= the group of the crinoidea first appears in the upper cambrian, and persists to the present time. in north america the genus _dendrocrinus_ occurs in the cambrian and ordovician; and some stem-joints from the upper cambrian limestone of the mount wellington district, victoria, may be provisionally referred to this genus. [illustration: =fig. .--fossil crinoids.= a--(?) pisocrinus yassensis, eth. fil. side of calyx. silurian. yass, new south wales. b--(?) pisocrinus yassensis, eth. fil. dorsal surface. silurian. n. s. w. c--botryocrinus longibrachiatus, chapm. silurian. flemington, vict. d--helicocrinus plumosus, chapm. stem, distal end. brunswick, victoria. e--phialocrinus konincki, eth. fil. carbopermian (up. mar. ser.) nowra, new south wales. f--isocrinus australis, moore sp. l. cretaceous. wollumbilla, q'ld. ] =ordovician crinoids.--= no undoubted crinoid remains have been found in the australian ordovician; although many genera are found elsewhere in that system, chiefly in n. america, as _reteocrinus_, _hybocrinus_, _heterocrinus_ and _dendrocrinus_, and in europe and north america, as _rhodocrinus_ and _taxocrinus_. =silurian crinoids.--= the silurian crinoidea of australia are largely represented by the remains of the columns or stalks, which are often found in such abundance as to constitute large masses of sub-crystalline limestone, as that of toongabbie, victoria. the columns of the crinoids do not usually possess sufficient characters to enable the forms to be identified. there are, however, more perfect and identifiable remains of several very interesting generic types in the silurian faunas as follows:-- in new south wales _pisocrinus_ is represented with some reservation by (?) _p. yassensis_, found at limestone creek, near yass (fig. a, b). in victoria, _helicocrinus plumosus_ and _botryocrinus longibrachiatus_ occur at brunswick and flemington, respectively (fig. ). the former is a delicate and handsome species, having a small cup with finely pinnate arms, which are forked once, and with a pentagonal stem coiled at the distal end (see frontispiece). the genus _botryocrinus_ is found in rocks of a similar age in north america and england. _hapalocrinus victoriae_, a member of the platycrinidae, has been described from the mudstone of south yarra, near melbourne. the species above mentioned are of melbournian age, belonging to the lower stage of the silurian system. =devonian crinoids.--= in the middle devonian of queensland, fragmentary crinoid stems are found interbedded with the limestone of the broken river. thin slices of the limestone of the same age from buchan, victoria, show numerous ossicles and stem-joints of crinoids. similar remains have also been recorded from the devonian of the kimberley district and the gascoyne river in western australia. =carboniferous crinoids.--= the carboniferous (star beds) of queensland has yielded remains of _actinocrinus_. the matai series of new zealand, which may be regarded as almost certainly of carboniferous age, contains remains of a _cyathocrinus_, found in the limestone of the wairoa gorge. =carbopermian crinoids.--= the carbopermian (upper marine series) of new south wales yields the interesting crinoid having a large, globular cup, known as _phialocrinus_; the best known species of this genus are _p. konincki_ (fig. e) and _p. princeps_. beds of the same age in new south wales, also in the upper marine series, contain the aberrant crinoid with strongly sculptured plates of the calyx in the decorticated condition, _tribrachiocrinus clarkei_. _poteriocrinus_ and _platycrinus_ are, with some reservation, recorded from the gympie series at stanwell and the marine beds of the bowen river coal-field respectively, both in queensland. in western australia the carbopermian rocks of the gascoyne river are known to contain crinoid stems, tentatively referred to either the rhodocrinidae or the actinocrinidae. there is also a species of _platycrinus_ known from the gascoyne and irwin rivers, and from the kimberley district. =triassic crinoids.--= the kaihiku series of nelson, new zealand, has yielded some crinoid stems, but the genus has not yet been determined. =cretaceous crinoids.--= in the lower cretaceous limestone of queensland, at mitchell downs and wollumbilla, a typical crinoid, closely allied to the living _pentacrinus_ is found, namely, _isocrinus australis_ (fig. f). the upper cretaceous opal deposits of white cliffs in wilcannia, new south wales, contain many opalised fossil remains, amongst them being _isocrinus australis_, already noticed as occurring in the lower cretaceous of queensland. =cainozoic crinoids.--= _pentacrinus stellatus_ is a species founded on some deeply indented pentagonal stem-joints found in the oamaru series (miocene) at curiosity shop, south canterbury, new zealand, and also occurring in the chatham islands. this species has been identified in the aire coastal beds in victoria, of the same age. another generic type, _antedon_, the beautiful "feather star," is frequently met with in janjukian strata in victoria and south australia, as at batesford and mount gambier, represented by the denuded crown and the ossicles of the arms of a comparatively large species; whilst another and smaller form has been described from beds of the same age from borings in the victorian mallee, under the name of _a. protomacronema_. _blastoidea--bud-shaped echinoderms._ =distribution and characters of blastoidea.--= this forms a small class which has a few representatives in the rocks of australia. elsewhere they are chiefly of devonian and carboniferous ages. in australia they are confined, so far as known, to sediments of the carboniferous system. the animal was rooted to the sea-floor and a jointed stem was usually present. the cup or theca, as before noted, is bud-shaped, and consists of basal, radial and deltoid plates, the edges of which are folded inwards into the thecal cavity, and thus the internal organs came into contact with the incurrent water. the cup bears five food grooves, bordered by numerous arms or brachioles, which directed the incurrent particles into the thecal cavity. =carbopermian blastoids.--= three genera of blastoids have been recorded from the gympie beds, or carbopermian, of the rockhampton district of queensland. they are, _mesoblastus_, _granatocrinus_ and _tricoelocrinus_. a similar fossil in beds of like age, and provisionally referred to the genus _metablastus_, has been lately recorded from glenwilliam, clarence town, new south wales. _asteroidea, or starfishes._ =characters of true starfishes.--= these free-moving echinoderms are usually five-sided, though sometimes star-shaped, with numerous arms surrounding a central disc. the mouth is central on the under side of the disc, and the anus above and near the centre (excentric), the latter being covered by a porous plate called the madreporite. the hydraulic system of starfishes consists of tubes extending along the grooved arms and giving off side branches which end in processes called podia and terminating in suckers. the podia pass through pores in the floor plates of the grooves, and communicate within the body with distensions called ampulla. by this means the podia serve as feet, and can be withdrawn by the expulsion of the water in them into the ampulla. the stout flexible covering of the starfish is strengthened by calcareous plates and bars, owing to the presence of which they are often preserved as fossils. [illustration: =fig. .--fossil starfish.= a--palaeaster smythi. mccoy sp. silurian. flemington, victoria. b--urasterella selwyni, mccoy. silurian. kilmore, victoria. c--palaeaster giganteus, eth. fil. carbopermian. near farley, new south wales. d--pentagonaster sp. tertiary (janjukian). bore in mallee, victoria. ] =silurian starfishes.--= the oldest australian fossil starfishes are found in the silurian. in victoria they occur in some abundance in the lower, melbournian, series, but appear to be absent or at all events very scarce in the upper, or yeringian series. the commonest genus is _palaeaster_, of which there are two species, _p. smythi_ (fig. a) and _p. meridionalis_, found alike in the sandy and argillaceous strata near melbourne. _urasterella_ is another genus found in the silurian rocks near melbourne, in which the marginal series of plates seen in _palaeaster_ are wanting, giving to the starfish a slender, long-armed aspect (fig. b). =carbopermian starfishes.--= in the lower marine series of the carbopermian of new south wales a very large species of _palaeaster_ occurs (_p. giganteus_), measuring inches from point to point across the disc (fig. c). two other species of the same genus occur in this series (_p. stutchburii_ and _p. clarkei_) the latter also ranging into the upper marine series. =cainozoic starfishes.--= no remains of true starfishes have been recorded from australia between the carbopermian and the tertiary systems. in the janjukian series of victoria the marginal plates of a species of _pentagonaster_ are typical fossils. they have been recorded from waurn ponds, spring creek near torquay, and batesford (fig. d). in the mallee bores, both marginal and abactinal plates of this genus are found in polyzoal limestone (miocene). _pentagonaster_ also occurs in the lower muddy creek beds (oligocene), and the upper beds of the same locality (lower pliocene). a species of _astropecten_ has been described from the waikari river, new zealand (oamaru series). _ophiuroidea, or brittle-stars._ =characters of brittle-stars.--= the brittle-stars are frequently found at the present day cast up on the fine sandy beaches of the coast. they are easily distinguished from true starfishes by having a definite central disc, to which the arms are attached. the arms are used for locomotion and prehension, and have their grooves covered over with plates. the ossicles of the arms are moveable and controlled by muscles which enable them to be used as feet. the lower surface of the disc has a central arrangement of five rhomboidal sets of jaws, formed of modified ossicles, called the mouth frame, whilst the upper surface bears, between one set of arms, the madreporite or covering plate to the water vascular system, as in starfishes. [illustration: =fig. .--protaster brisingoides=, gregory. negative cast of the calcareous skeleton. nat. size. silurian sandstone, flemington, victoria. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] =silurian brittle-stars.--= the brittle-stars in australia first appear in the silurian, but in england and bohemia date back to the ordovician. _protaster_ is the commonest genus, and is represented by _p. brisingoides_ of the melbournian stage of silurian strata at flemington (fig. ). it also occurs rarely in the yeringian beds at yering, both victorian localities. a very ornamental form, _gregoriura spryi_, occurs in the same division of the silurian at south yarra. in this fossil the delicate spines attached to the adambulacral ossicles are well preserved and form a marginal fringe to the arm (fig. ). _sturtzura_ is another silurian genus, found in the wenlock of england and in the melbournian of flemington, victoria. [illustration: =fig. .--a brittle-star.= (gregoriura spryi, chapm.) nat. size. from the silurian mudstone of south yarra, victoria. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] =cainozoic brittle-stars.--= from the victorian cainozoic beds, in the lower pliocene of grange burn, hamilton, a vertebral ossicle of an ophiurian has been obtained, which has been provisionally referred to the genus _sigsbeia_. _echinoidea, or sea-urchins._ this group is an important one amongst australian fossils, especially those of cainozoic age. =characters of sea-urchins.--= echinoids are animals enclosed in a spheroidal box or test composed of numerous calcareous plates, disposed geometrically as in the starfishes, along five principal lines. the test in the living condition is more or less densely covered with spines. the mouth is on the under surface. the anus is either on the top of the test (dorso-central), or somewhere in the median line between the two lower ambulacra. the ambulacra ("a garden path") are the rows of perforated plates on the upper (abactinal) surface sometimes extending to the lower surface, through which protrude the podia, which in starfishes are situated in grooves on the lower surface. =silurian palaeechinoids.--= the palaeechinoids are represented in the silurian of australia by occasional plates, as at bowning, new south wales, and near kilmore, victoria, whilst spines are not uncommon in certain silurian limestones at tyer's river, gippsland. =carbopermian palaeechinoids.--= in the carbopermian of new south wales, tests of _archaeocidaris_ have been recorded, and also a plate of the same genus in the gympie beds of rockhampton, queensland. =regular echinoids.--= the regular echinoids date from permian times. they have two vertical rows of plates for each ambulacrum and inter-ambulacrum. the mouth is on the underside, and the anus abactinal (on the upper side) and near the centre. [illustration: =fig. .--cainozoic sea-urchins.= a--cidaris (leiocidaris) australiae, duncan sp. cainozoic (janjukian). cape otway, victoria b--psammechinus woodsi, laube. cainozoic (janjukian). murray river cliffs, s. australia c--fibularia gregata, tate. cainozoic (janjukian). aldinga, s.a. d--echinocyamus (scutellina) patella, tate sp. cainozoic (janjukian). torquay, victoria e--clypeaster gippslandicus, mccoy. cainozoic (janjukian). bairnsdale, victoria f--studeria elegans, laube. sp. cainozoic (janjukian). murray river cliffs, s. australia. ] =cainozoic regular echinoids.--= in australasia they make their first appearance in strata of tertiary age, and some species, as _paradoxechinus novus_, range through balcombian strata to kalimnan in victoria, or oligocene to lower pliocene, but are more typically janjukian. _echinus_ (_psammechinus_) _woodsi_ (fig. b) is common in janjukian strata in victoria and south australia and occurs sparingly in the kalimnan. another common form of the regular echinoids in southern australia is _cidaris australiae_ (fig. a), ranging from janjukian to kalimnan, occurring more frequently in the older series. in new zealand a species of _cidaris_ (_c. striata_), is known from the oamaru series at brighton. an _echinus_ occurs in the oamaru series of broken river, and two species of that genus in the wanganui formation of shakespeare cliff. _temnechinus macleayana_ has been recorded from the cainozoic (miocene or pliocene) of yule island, papua. =irregular echinoids.--= the irregular echinoids are not known before the upper cretaceous in australia, and are very common in the tertiaries. they are distinguished by the anus (periproct) passing backward from the apex, as compared with the regular forms, and by the elongation of the test and the loss of the strong solid spines, which are replaced by thin, slender hair-like spines. the animal is thus better fitted to burrow through the ooze on which it feeds. =cretaceous irregular echinoids.--= an interesting form, _micraster sweeti_, is found in the upper cretaceous or desert sandstone of maryborough in queensland, which reminds one of typical european species of this genus. =cainozoic irregular echinoids.--= amongst the australian cainozoic echinoids of the irregular type the following may be mentioned. the little subglobular test of _fibularia gregata_, and _echinocyamus_ (_scutellina_) _patella_ (fig. c, d) are janjukian in age. the large _clypeaster, c. gippslandicus_ (fig. e), ranges from the oligocene to lower pliocene in victoria (balcombian to kalimnan), and vies in size, especially in the janjukian, with some large species like those from malta and egypt. this genus includes some of the largest known sea-urchins. the biscuit urchin, _arachnoides (monostychia) australis_, is commonest in the janjukian, but ranges from balcombian to kalimnan. a common urchin from the polyzoal rock of mt. gambier is _echinolampas gambierensis_, which is also found in the lower beds of muddy creek. a typical janjukian fossil is _duncaniaster australiae_, formerly thought to belong to the cretaceous genus _holaster_. although found living, the genus _linthia_ attained its maximum development both in size and abundance, in janjukian or miocene times, as seen in _l. gigas_ (having a length of - / inches) and _l. mooraboolensis_. _echinoneus dennanti_ is restricted to the janjukian. several species of _eupatagus_ occur in the cainozoic or tertiary beds of south australia, victoria and new zealand; _lovenia forbesi_ (fig. c) is common in the janjukian to kalimnan, both in victoria and south australia. in the latter state also occur the following genera:--_studeria_, _cassidulus_, _echinolampas_, _plesiolampas_, _linthia_, _schizaster_ and _brissopsis_. in new zealand the following cainozoic genera, amongst others of the irregular sea-urchins, may be cited:--_hemipatagus_, _brissopsis_, _hemiaster_, and _schizaster_ (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. --cainozoic sea-urchins.= a--hemiaster planedeclivis, gregory. cainozoic (janjukian). morgan, s. australia b--schizaster sphenoides, t. s. hall. cainozoic (barwonian). sherbrooke river, victoria c--lovenia forbesi, t. woods sp. cainozoic (janjukian). murray river cliffs, s. australia ] a clypeastroid, _peronella decagonalis_ has been described from the (?) lower pliocene of papua. =cainozoic holothuroidea.--= the _holothuroidea_ (sea-cucumbers) are represented in australian deposits by a unique example of a dermal spicule of wheel-like form, referred to _chiridota_, obtained from the cainozoic (janjukian) beds of torquay. this genus is also known from the "calcaire grossier" or middle eocene of the paris basin, and is found living in all parts of the world. * * * * * common or characteristic fossils of the foregoing chapter. crinoids. (?) _pisocrinus yassensis_, eth. fil. silurian: new south wales. _helicocrinus plumosus_, chapman. silurian: victoria. _botryocrinus longibrachiatus_, chapm. silurian: victoria. _hapalocrinus victoriae_, bather. silurian: victoria. _actinocrinus_ sp. carboniferous: queensland. _cyathocrinus_ sp. carboniferous: new zealand. _phialocrinus konincki_, clarke sp. carbopermian: new south wales. _phialocrinus princeps_, eth. fil. carbopermian: new south wales. _tribrachiocrinus clarkei_, mccoy. carbopermian: new south wales. (?) _platycrinus_ sp. carbopermian: queensland. _platycrinus_ sp. carbopermian: w. australia. _isocrinus australis_, moore sp. cretaceous: queensland. _pentacrinus stellatus_, hutton. miocene: new zealand, chatham ids. and victoria. _antedon protomacronema_, chapman. miocene: victoria (deep borings). blastoids. (?) _mesoblastus australis_, eth. fil. carbopermian: queensland. starfishes. _palaeaster smythi_, mccoy. silurian: victoria. _palaeaster meridionalis_, eth. fil. silurian: victoria. _urasterella selwyni_, mccoy. silurian: victoria. _palaeaster giganteus_, eth. fil. carbopermian (l. mar. ser.): new south wales. _palaeaster clarkei_, de koninck. carbopermian (l. and up. mar. ser.): new south wales. _pentagonaster_ sp. miocene: victoria. _astropecten_ sp. miocene: new zealand. brittle-stars. _protaster brisingoides_, gregory. silurian: victoria. _gregoriura spryi_, chapman. silurian: victoria. _sturtzura leptosomoides_, chapman. silurian: victoria. (?) _sigsbeia_ sp. lower pliocene: victoria. echinoids. _palaeechinus_ sp. silurian: victoria. (?) _archaeocidaris selwyni_, eth. fil. carbopermian: new south wales. _micraster sweeti_, eth. fil. cretaceous: queensland. _cidaris (leiocidaris) australiae_, duncan. miocene and lower pliocene: victoria and s. australia. _cidaris striata_, hutton. miocene: new zealand. _echinus (psammechinus) woodsi_, laube sp. miocene and l. pliocene: victoria and s. australia. _temnechinus macleayana_, t. woods. cainozoic (? lower pliocene): papua. _fibularia gregata_, tate. miocene: victoria and s. australia. _echinocyamus (scutellina) patella_, tate sp. oligocene to miocene: victoria and s. australia. _clypeaster gippslandicus_, mccoy. oligocene to l. pliocene: victoria. _arachnoides (monostychia) australis_, laube sp. oligocene to l. pliocene: victoria and s. australia. _echinoneus dennanti_, hall. miocene: victoria. _duncaniaster australiae_, duncan sp. miocene: victoria. _lovenia forbesi_, t. woods sp. miocene and l. pliocene: victoria and s. australia. _hemiaster planedeclivis_, gregory. miocene: victoria. holothurian. _chiridota_ sp. miocene: victoria. * * * * * literature. crinoids. silurian.--etheridge, r. jnr. rec. austr. mus., vol. v. no. , , pp. - (_pisocrinus_). bather, f. a. geol. mag., dec. xv. vol. iv. , pp. - (_hapalocrinus_). chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xv. (n.s.), pt. ii. , pp. - (_helicocrinus_ and _botryocrinus_). bather, f. a. ottawa nat., vol. xx. no. , , pp. , . carboniferous and carbopermian.--de koninck, l. g. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , , pp. - . etheridge, r. jnr., in geol. and pal. queensland, , pp. - . idem, mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , , pp. - . cretaceous.--moore, c. quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. xxvi. , p. . etheridge, r. jnr., in geol. and pal. queensland, , p. (_isocrinus_). cainozoic.--hutton, f. w. cat. tert. moll. and ech. of new zealand, , p. . blastoids. carbopermian.--etheridge, r. jnr., in geol. and pal. queensland, , pp. - . taylor, t. g. proc. linn. soc. new south wales, , pp. - (_? metablastus_). starfishes. silurian.--mccoy, f. prod. pal. vict., dec. i., , pp. - . etheridge, r. jnr. rec. austr. mus., vol. i., no. , , pp. , . carboniferous and carbopermian.--etheridge, r. jnr. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , pt. , , pp. - . de koninck, l. g. ibid., pal. no. , , p. . cainozoic.--hall, t. s. proc. r. soc., vict., vol. xv. (n.s.), pt. i. , pp. , (_pentagonaster_). hutton, f. w. cat. tert. moll, and ech. new zealand, , p. . brittle-stars. silurian.--gregory, j. w. geol. mag., dec. iii. vol. vi. , pp. - . chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xix. (n.s.), pt. ii. , pp. - . cainozoic.--hall, t. s. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xv. (n.s.), pt. i. , p. (cf. _sigsbeia_). echinoids. silurian.--chapman, f. rec. geol. surv. vict., vol. ii. pt. , , pp. , . carbopermian.--etheridge, r. jnr. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , pt. , , pp. - . cretaceous.--etheridge, r. jnr., in geol. and pal. queensland, , pp. , . cainozoic.--t. woods. trans. adelaide phil. soc., . laube, g. c. sitz, k. k. ak. wiss. wien, vol. lix. , pp. - . hutton, f. w. cat. tert. moll, and ech. new zealand, , pp. - . duncan, p. m. quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. xxxiii. , pp. - . tate, r. quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. xxxiii. , pp. - . idem, southern science record, , p. . idem, trans. r. soc. s. austr., vol. xiv. pt. , , pp. - . mccoy, f. prod. pal. vict., dec. vi. vii. , . gregory, j. w. geol. mag., dec. iii. vol. vii. , pp. - . ibid., dec. iii. vol. ix. , pp. - . cotteau, g. h. mem. zool. france, vol. ii. no. , , p. ; vol. iii. no. , , pp. - ; vol. iv. no. , , pp. - . bittner, a. sitz. k.k. ak. wiss. wien, , vol. , pp. - . hall, t. s. proc. roy. soc. vic., vol. xix. (n.s.), pt. ii. , pp. , . chapman, f. proc. roy. soc. vict., vol. xx. (n.s.), pt. ii. , pp. - . pritchard, g. b. ibid., vol. xxi. (n.s.), pt. i. , pp. - . holothurian. cainozoic.--hall, t. s. proc, r. soc. vict., vol. x. (n.s.), pt. i. , pp. , . chapter ix. fossil worms, sea-mats and lamp-shells. the first-named group, the ringed worms, belong to the phylum annelida, so-called because of the ring-like structure of their bodies. the two remaining groups, the polyzoa or sea-mats and the brachiopods or lamp-shells, are comprised in the phylum molluscoidea, or mollusc-like animals. _worms (annelida)._ =annelida and their fossil representatives.--= these animals, owing to the scarcity of hard parts within their bodies, play a rather insignificant role as a fossil group. worms are laterally symmetrical animals, with a dorsal and a ventral surface. they are segmented, the body being formed of numerous rings. only those of the class chaetopoda ("bristle-feet") are represented by identifiable fossil remains. fossil worms, moreover, chiefly belong to the order polychaeta ("many bristles"). the horny jaws of these worms are sometimes found in the older rocks and are known as conodonts. =silurian conodonts.--= conodonts belonging to three genera are known from australia. they are all from the silurian of the bowning district, near yass, new south wales, and are referred to the genera _eunicites_, _oenonites_ and _arabellites_. [illustration: =fig. --fossil worms.= a--trachyderma crassituba, chapm, silurian. south yarra, vict. b--cornulites tasmanicus, eth. fil. silurian. heazlewood, tas. c--spirorbis ammonius, m. edwards, var. truncata, mid. devonian. buchan, victoria d--torlessia mackayi, bather. ? trias. mt. torlesse, n. zealand. ] =palaeozoic errant worms.--= the wandering worms (polychaeta errantia) are also recognised by their impressions, trails, borings and castings. burrows formed by these worms are seen in _arenicolites_, found in the silurian sandstone of new south wales, near yass, and in the carbopermian (gympie series) near rockhampton, queensland. the membranous-lined burrows of _trachyderma_ (_t. crassituba_), occur in some abundance in the silurian mudstones in the neighbourhood of melbourne, victoria (fig. a). the genus _trachyderma_ is common also to great britain and burmah, in beds of the same age. =worm tracks.--= some of the curious markings on the carboniferous sandstone of mansfield, victoria, may be due to worm trails and castings, especially since they are associated with sun-cracks and ripple-marks. =sedentary worms.--= the sedentary or tube-making worms (polychaeta tubicola) are represented by numerous forms. the long conical tube of _cornulites tasmanicus_ is recorded from the silurian of zeehan, tasmania (fig. b). _spirorbis_ occurs in the middle devonian of victoria (fig. c), and w. australia, and also in the carbopermian of w. australia. _torlessia_ is found in the trias or lower jurassic of the province of canterbury, new zealand (fig. d). the genus _serpula_ is widely distributed, occurring in the carbopermian (upper jurassic series), near east maitland, new south wales (_s. testatrix_), in the jurassic of w. australia (_s. conformis_), in the lower cretaceous of wollumbilla, queensland (_s. intestinalis_), and the darling river, north west of new south wales, (_s. subtrachinus_), as well as in cainozoic deposits in victoria (_s. ouyenensis_). _ditrupa_ is very abundant in some shelly deposits of janjukian age in victoria. molluscoidea. the sea-mats (polyzoa) and the lamp-shells (brachiopoda) constitute a natural group, the molluscoidea, which, although unlike in outward form, have several physiological structures in common. the respiratory organs lie in front of the mouth, and are in the form of fleshy tentacles or spiral appendages. these animals are more nearly allied to the worms than to the molluscs. _polyzoa._ =characters of polyzoa.--= these are almost exclusively marine forms, and are important as fossils. they form colonies (polypary or zoarium), and by their branching, foliaceous or tufty growth resemble sea-weeds. the cells in which the separate zoöids lived have peculiar characters of their own, which serve to distinguish the different genera. =subdivisions of polyzoa.--= polyzoa are divided into the sub-classes phylactolaemata, in which the mouth of the zoöid has a lip, and the series of tentacles is horse-shoe shaped; and the gymnolaemata, in which there is no lip to the mouth, and the tentacles form a complete circle. the first group forms its polypary of soft or horny material, which is not preserved fossil. the latter has a calcareous polypary, and is of much importance as a fossil group. this latter sub-class is further subdivided into the following orders, viz.:--trepostomata ("turned mouths"), cryptostomata ("hidden mouths"), cyclostomata ("round mouths"), and cheilostomata ("lip mouths" furnished with a moveable operculum). =trepostomata (palaeozoic).--= the order trepostomata may include some genera as _monticulipora_ and _fistulipora_, previously referred to under the corals. they become extinct after permian times. _fistulipora_ occurs in certain gippsland limestones. [illustration: =fig. --palaeozoic polyzoa.= a--fenestella margaritifera, chapm. silurian. near yering, vict. b--polypora australis, hinde. carbopermian. gascoyne river, western australia c--rhombopora tenuis, hinde. carbopermian. gascoyne river, western australia d--protoretepora ampla, lonsdale sp. carbopermian. n.s.w. ] =cryptostomata (palaeozoic).--= in the order cryptostomata we have the genus _rhombopora_ with its long, slender branches, which occurs in the silurian of victoria and the carbopermian of queensland and w. australia (fig. c). of this order a very important australian genus is _fenestella_, the funnel-shaped zoaria of which are found in the silurian of victoria and new south wales, and also in the carboniferous of the latter state. _fenestella_ also occurs in the carbopermian of w. australia and tasmania (fig. a). accompanying the remains of _fenestella_ in the carbopermian rocks, and closely related to it, are found the genera _protoretepora_ and _polypora_ (fig. b, d). polyzoa have been noticed in jurassic rocks in w. australia, but no species have been described. [illustration: =fig. --cainozoic polyzoa.= a--lichenopora australis, macgillivray. balcombian. hamilton, victoria b--heteropora pisiformis, macgillivray. janjukian. moorabool, victoria c--cellaria australis, macgillivray. balcombian. hamilton, vict. d--selenaria cupola, t. woods sp. balcombian. hamilton, vict. e--lepralia elongata, macgill. balcombian. hamilton, victoria ] =cheilostomata (cretaceous).--= species of the genera (?) _membranipora_ and (?) _lepralia_, belonging to the cheilostomata, have been described from the lower cretaceous of the darling river, new south wales, and wollumbilla, queensland, respectively. =cainozoic polyzoa.--= a very large number of genera of the polyzoa have been described from the tertiary strata of south australia and victoria. some of the principal of these are _crisia_, _idmonea_, _stomatopora_, _lichenopora_, _hornera_, _entalophora_ and _heteropora_ of the order cyclostomata; and _catenicella_, _cellaria_, _membranipora_, _lunulites_, _selenaria_, _macropora_, _tessarodoma_, _adeona_, _lepralia_, _bipora_, _smittia_, _porina_, _cellepora_ and _retepora_ of the order cheilostomata. many of these genera, and not a few australian species, are found also in the cainozoic or tertiary beds of orakei bay, new zealand (fig. ). _brachiopoda (lamp-shells)._ =brachiopods: their structure.--= these are marine animals, and are enclosed in a bivalved shell. they differ, however, from true bivalves (pelecypoda) in having the shell on the back and front of the body, instead of on each side as in the bivalved mollusca. each valve is equilateral, but the valves differ from one another in that one is larger and generally serves to attach the animal to rocks and other objects of support by a stalk or pedicle. thus the larger valve is called the pedicle valve and the smaller, on account of its bearing the calcareous supports for the brachia or arms, the brachial valve. generally speaking, the shell of the valve is penetrated by numerous canals, which give the shell a punctate appearance. some brachiopod shells, as _atrypa_ and _rhynchonella_, are, however, devoid of these. [illustration: =fig. --lower palaeozoic brachiopods.= a--orthis (?) lenticularis, wahlenberg. up. cambrian. florentine valley, tasmania b--siphonotreta maccoyi, chapm. up. ordovician. bulla, vict. c--lingula yarraensis, chapm. silurian. south yarra, victoria d--orbiculoidea selwyni, chapm. silurian. merri creek, victoria e--chonetes melbournensis, chapm. silurian. south yarra, vict. f--stropheodonta alata, chapm. silurian. near lilydale, vict. ] =cambrian brachiopods.--= brachiopods are very important fossils in australasian rocks. they first appear in cambrian strata, as for example, in the florentine valley, in tasmania, where we find _orthis lenticularis_ (fig. a). in victoria, near mount wellington, in the mountainous region of n.e. gippsland, _orthis platystrophioides_ is found in a grey limestone. in south australia the grey cambrian limestone of wirrialpa contains the genus _huenella_ (_h. etheridgei_). this genus is also found in the middle and upper cambrian of n. america. =ordovician brachiopods.--= coming to ordovician rocks, the limestones of the upper finke basin in south australia contain _orthis leviensis_ and _o. dichotomalis_. the victorian mudstone at heathcote may be of ordovician age or even older; it has afforded a limited fauna of brachiopods and trilobites, amongst the former being various species of _orthis_, _chonetes_, and _siphonotreta_. the latter genus is represented in both the lower and upper ordovician rocks of slaty character in victoria (fig. b). =silurian brachiopods.--= the silurian system in australasia as in europe, n. america and elsewhere, is very rich in brachiopod life. it is impossible to enumerate even all the genera in a limited work like the present, the most typical only being mentioned. in new zealand the palaeozoic fauna is at present imperfectly worked out, but the following genera from the wangapekian (silurian) have been identified, viz., _chonetes_, _stricklandinia_, _orthis_, _wilsonia_, _atrypa_, and _spirifer_. the specific identification of these forms with european types is still open to question, but the species are undoubtedly closely allied to some of those from great britain and scandinavia. the victorian silurian brachiopods are represented by the horny-shelled _lingula_, the conical _orbiculoidea_, a large species of _siphonotreta_, _stropheodonta_ (with toothed hinge-line), _strophonella_, _chonetes_ (with hollow spines projecting from the ventral valve, one of the species _c. melbournensis_ being characteristic of the melbournian division of silurian rocks), _orthis_, _pentamerus_, _camarotoechia_, _rhynchotrema_, _wilsonia_, _atrypa_ (represented by the world-wide _a. reticularis_), _spirifer_ and _nucleospira_ (figs. , ). new south wales has a very similar assemblage of genera; whilst tasmania possesses _camarotoechia_, _stropheodonta_ and _orthis_. =devonian brachiopods.--= the devonian limestones and associated strata are fairly rich in brachiopods. the victorian rocks of this age at bindi and buchan contain genera such as _chonetes_ (_c. australis_), _spirifer_ (_s. yassensis_ and _s. howitti_) and _athyris_. in new south wales we again meet with _spirifer yassensis_, veritable shell-banks of this species occurring in the neighbourhood of yass, associated with a species of _chonetes_ (_c. culleni_) (fig. d, e). [illustration: =fig. --silurian and devonian brachiopods.= a--camarotoechia decemplicata, sow. silurian. victoria b--nucleospira australis, mccoy. silurian. victoria c--atrypa reticularis, l. sp. silurian. victoria d--chonetes culleni, dun. mid. devonian. new south wales e--spirifer yassensis, de koninck. devonian. new south wales and victoria ] in the upper devonian of new south wales abundant remains occur of both _spirifer disjunctus_ and _camarotoechia pleurodon_ (var.). the upper devonian series at nyrang creek near canowindra, new south wales, contains a _lingula_ (_l. gregaria_) associated with the _lepidodendron_ plant beds of that locality. queensland devonian rocks contain _pentamerus_, _atrypa_ and _spirifer_. in western australia the devonian species are _atrypa reticularis_, _spirifer_ cf _verneuili_, _s. musakheylensis_ and _uncinulus_ cf. _timorensis_. =carboniferous brachiopods.--= the carboniferous brachiopod fauna is represented in new south wales at clarence town and other localities by a species which has an extensive time-range, _leptaena rhomboidalis_ var. _analoga_, and the following, a few of which extend upwards into the carbopermian:--_chonetes papilionacea_, _productus semireticulatus_, _p. punctatus_, _p. cora_, _orthothetes crenistria_, _orthis (rhipidomella) australis_, _o. (schizophoria) resupinata_, _spirifer striatus_, _s. bisulcatus_, _cyrtina carbonaria_ and _athyris planosulcatus_. in new zealand the matai series, referred to the jurassic by hutton, as formerly regarded by hector, and latterly by park, as of carboniferous age, on the ground of a supposed discovery of _spirifer subradiatus_ (_s. glaber_) and _productus brachythaerus_ in the wairoa gorge. although these species may not occur, the genera _spirifer_ and _productus_ are present, which, according to dr. thomson, are distinctly of pre-triassic types. [illustration: =fig. --carbopermian brachiopods.= a--productus brachythaerus, sow. carbopermian. new south wales, &c. b--strophalosia clarkei, eth. sp. carbopermian. n.s.w., &c. c--spirifer convolutus, phillips. carbopermian. n.s.w., &c. d--spirifer (martiniopsis) subradiatus, sow. carbopermian. new south wales, &c. ] =carbopermian brachiopods.--= the brachiopod fauna of carbopermian age in new south wales is rich in species of _productus_ and _spirifer_. amongst the former are _p. cora_ (also found in western australia, queensland and tasmania), _p. brachythaerus_ (also found in western australia and queensland), (fig. a), _p. semireticulatus_ (also found in western australia, queensland and the island of timor, and a common species in europe), and _p. undatus_ (also found in western australia and queensland, as well as in great britain and russia). _strophalosia_ is an allied genus to _productus_. it is a common form in beds of the same age in w. australia, tasmania, and new south wales. the best known species is _s. clarkei_ (fig. b). this type of shell is distinguished from _productus_ in being cemented by the umbo of the ventral valve, which valve is also generally less spinose than the dorsal. when weathered the shells present a peculiar silky or fibrous appearance. the genus _spirifer_ is represented in w. australia by such forms as _s. vespertilio_, _s. convolutus_, _s. hardmani_, _s. musakheylensis_, and _s. striatus_; whilst _s. vespertilio_ and _s. convolutus_ are common also to new south wales (fig. c), and the latter only to tasmania. _s. vespertilio_ is found in the gympie beds near rockhampton, queensland; and _s. tasmaniensis_ in queensland (bowen river coal-field, marine series), new south wales and tasmania. of the smoother, stout forms, referred to the sub-genus _martiniopsis_, we may mention _s. (m.) subradiatus_, which occurs in w. australia, new south wales, and tasmania (fig. d). in the queensland fauna, the gympie series contains, amongst other brachiopods _productus cora_, _leptaena rhomboidalis_ var., _analoga_, _spirifer vespertilio_ and _s. strzeleckii_. other carbopermian brachiopod genera found in australian faunas are _cleiothyris_, _dielasma_, _hypothyris_, _reticularia_, _seminula_, _cyrtina_, and _syringothyris_. =triassic brachiopods.--= the kaihiku series of new zealand (hokonui hills and nelson) are probably referable to the trias. the supposed basal beds contain plants such as _taeniopteris_, _cladophlebis_, _palissya_ and _baiera_. above these are marine beds containing brachiopods belonging to _spiriferina_, _rhynchonella_, _dielasma_ and _athyris_. the succession of these beds presents some palaeontological anomalies still to be explained, for the flora has a decided leaning towards a jurassic facies. next in order of succession the wairoa series, in the hokonui hills and nelson, new zealand, contains _dielasma_ and _athyris wreyi_. the succeeding series in new zealand, the otapiri, or upper triassic contains the brachiopod genera _athyris_[ ] and _spiriferina_, found at well's creek, nelson. [footnote : referred by hector to a new sub-genus _clavigera_, which name, however, is preoccupied.] =jurassic brachiopods.--= [illustration: =fig. --mesozoic brachiopods.= a--rhynchonella variabilis schloth. sp. jurassic. w. australia b--terebratella davidsoni, moore. l. cretaceous. queensland c--lingula subovalis, davidson. l. cretaceous. s. australia d--rhynchonella croydonensis, eth. fil. up. cretaceous. queensland ] the marine jurassic beds of w. australia, as at shark bay and greenough river, contain certain _rhynchonellae_ allied to european species, as _r. variabilis_ (fig. a), and _r._ cf. _solitaria_. =lower cretaceous brachiopods.--= the lower cretaceous or rolling downs formation of queensland has yielded a fair number of brachiopods, principally from wollumbilla,--as _terebratella davidsoni_ (fig. b), (?) _argiope wollumbillensis_, (?) _a. punctata_, _rhynchonella rustica_, _r. solitaria_, _discina apicalis_ and _lingula subovalis_. from beds of similar age in central south australia and the lake eyre basin _lingula subovalis_ (fig. c), and _rhynchonella eyrei_ have been recorded; the latter has been compared with a species (_r. walkeri_) from the middle neocomian of tealby in yorkshire. =upper cretaceous brachiopod.--= a solitary species of the brachiopoda occurs in the upper cretaceous of australia, namely, _rhynchonella croydonensis_ (fig. d) of the desert sandstone of the croydon gold-fields and mount angas, queensland. =cainozoic brachiopods.--= the brachiopoda of the cainozoic or tertiary strata of australia and new zealand are well represented by the genera _terebratula_, _magellania_, _terebratulina_, _terebratella_, _magasella_ and _acanthothyris_. in the balcombian or oligocene of southern australia occur the following:--_terebratula tateana_, _magellania corioensis_, _m. garibaldiana_ and _magasella compta_ (figs. a, d); and most of these range into the next stage, the janjukian, whilst some extend even to the kalimnan. _terebratulina suessi_, hutton sp. (= _t. scoulari_, tate) ranges through the balcombian and janjukian, but is most typical of the janjukian beds in victoria: it also occurs in the oamaru series of new zealand (= janjukian). _acanthothyris squamosa_ (fig. f) is typical of the janjukian of southern australia, and it occurs also in the pareora beds of the broken river, new zealand. the latter are green, sandy, fossiliferous strata immediately succeeding the oamaru stone of the hutchinson quarry beds. _a. squamosa_ is said to be still living south of kerguelen island. _magellania insolita_ is a victorian species which is also found in the oamaru series of new zealand. [illustration: =fig. --cainozoic brachiopods.= a--terebratula tateana, t. woods. cainozoic. victoria b--magellania corioensis, mccoy, sp. cainozoic. victoria c--magellania garibaldiana, dav. sp. cainozoic. victoria d--magasella compta, sow. sp. cainozoic. victoria e--terebratulina catinuliformis, tate. cainozoic. s. australia f--acanthothyris squamosa, hutton sp. cainozoic. tasmania ] whilst many of the older tertiary brachiopods range into the next succeeding stage of the kalimnan in victoria, such as _magellania insolita_, _terebratulina_ catinuliformis_ (fig. e) and _magasella compta_, one species, _terebratella pumila_, is restricted to the kalimnan, occurring at the gippsland lakes. the next stage, the werrikooian, typical in upraised marine beds on the banks of the glenelg river in western victoria, contains _magellania flavescens_, a species still living (see _antea_, fig. ), and _m. insolita_, having the extraordinarily wide range of the whole of the cainozoic stages in southern australia. * * * * * common or characteristic fossils of the foregoing chapter. worms. _eunicites mitchelli_, eth. fil. silurian: new south wales. _oenonites hebes_, eth. fil. silurian: new south wales. _arabellites bowningensis_, eth. fil. silurian: new south wales. _arenicolites_ sp. silurian: new south wales. _trachyderma crassituba_, chapm. silurian: victoria. _cornulites tasmanicus_, eth. fil. silurian: tasmania. _spirorbis ammonius_, m. edw. var. _truncata_, chapm. mid. devonian: victoria. _spirorbis omphalodes_, goldfuss. devonian: w. australia. _serpula testatrix_, eth. fil. carbopermian: new south wales. _torlessia mackayi_, bather. lower mesozoic: new zealand. _serpula conformis_, goldfuss. jurassic: w. australia. _serpula intestinalis_, phillips. lower cretaceous: queensland. _serpula subtrachinus_, eth. fil. lower cretaceous: new south wales. _serpula ouyenensis_, chapm. cainozoic: victoria. _ditrupa cornea_, l. sp. var. _wormbetiensis_, mccoy. cainozoic: victoria. polyzoa. _rhombopora gippslandica_, chapm. silurian: victoria. _fenestella australis_, chapm. silurian: victoria. _protoretepora ampla_, lonsdale. carbopermian: w. australia, new south wales, queensland, and tasmania. _polypora australis_, hinde. carbopermian: w. australia. _rhombopora tenuis_, hinde. carbopermian: w. australia. _rhombopora laxa_, etheridge sp. carbopermian: queensland. _membranipora wilsonensis_, eth. fil. lower cretaceous: new south wales. (?) _lepralia oolitica_, moore. lower cretaceous: queensland. _lichenopora australis_, macgillivray. cainozoic: victoria. _heteropora pisiformis_, macgillivray. cainozoic: victoria. _cellaria australis_, macgillivray. cainozoic: victoria. _membranipora macrostoma_, reuss. cainozoic: victoria (also living). _selenaria marginata_, t. woods. cainozoic: victoria (also living). _macropora clarkei_, t. woods sp. cainozoic: victoria. _adeona obliqua_, macgill. cainozoic: victoria. _lepralia burlingtoniensis_, waters. cainozoic: victoria. _bipora philippinensis_, busk sp. cainozoic: victoria (also living). _porina gracilis_, m. edwards sp. cainozoic: victoria (also living). _cellepora fossa_, haswell, sp. cainozoic: victoria (also living). _retepora fissa_, macgill. sp. cainozoic: victoria (also living). brachiopoda. _orthis lenticularis_, wahlenberg sp. cambrian: tasmania. _orthis platystrophioides_, chapm. cambrian: victoria. _huenella etheridgei_, walcott. cambrian: s. australia. _orthis leviensis_, eth. fil. ordovician: s. australia, (?) victoria. _siphonotreta discoidalis_, chapm. ordovician: victoria. _siphonotreta maccoyi_, chapm. ordovician: victoria. _lingula yarraensis_, chapm. silurian: victoria. _orbiculoidea selwyni_, chapm. silurian: victoria. _chonetes melbournensis_, chapm. silurian: victoria. _stropheodonta alata_, chapm. silurian: victoria. _orthis elegantula_, dalman. silurian: victoria. _pentamerus australis_, mccoy. silurian: victoria and new south wales. _conchidium knightii_, sow. sp. silurian: victoria and new south wales. _camarotoechia decemplicata_, sow. sp. silurian: victoria. _rhynchotrema liopleura_, mccoy sp. silurian: victoria. _atrypa reticularis_, l. sp. silurian: new south wales and victoria. devonian: new south wales, w. australia and queensland. _spirifer sulcatus_, hisinger sp. silurian: victoria. _nucleospira australis_, mccoy. silurian: victoria. _chonetes australis_, mccoy. mid. devonian: victoria. _chonetes culleni_, dun. mid. devonian: new south wales. _spirifer yassensis_, de koninck. mid. devonian: new south wales and victoria. _spirifer_ cf. _verneuili_, de kon. mid. devonian: new south wales and w. australia. _lingula gregaria_, eth. fil. upper devonian: new south wales. _spirifer disjunctus_, sow. up. devonian: new south wales. _productus cora_, d'orb. carboniferous: new south wales and queensland. _orthothetes crenistria_, sow. sp. carboniferous: new south wales. _spirifer striatus_, sow. carboniferous: new south wales. _productus brachythaerus_, sow. carbopermian: new south wales, queensland, w. australia. _strophalosia clarkei_, eth. sp. carbopermian: new south wales, tasmania and w. australia. _spirifer (martiniopsis) subradiatus_, sow. carbopermian: new south wales, tasmania and w. australia. _spirifer convolutus_, phillips. carbopermian: new south wales, tasmania and w. australia. _cleiothyris macleayana_, eth. fil. sp. carbopermian: w. australia. _dielasma elongata_, schlotheim sp. trias (kaihiku series): new zealand. _athyris wreyi_, suess sp. trias (wairoa series): new zealand. _athyris_ sp. trias (otapiri series): new zealand. _rhynchonella variabilis_, schlotheim sp. jurassic: w. australia. _terebratella davidsoni_, moore. lower cretaceous: queensland. _rhynchonella solitaria_, moore. lower cretaceous: queensland. _lingula subovalis_, davidson. lower cretaceous: queensland and s. australia. _rhynchonella croydonensis_, eth. fil. upper cretaceous: queensland. _terebratula tateana_, t. woods. cainozoic (balcombian and janjukian): victoria and s. australia. _magellania corioensis_, mccoy, sp. cainozoic (balcombian and janjukian): victoria and s. australia. _magellania garibaldiana_, davidson sp. cainozoic (balcombian and janjukian): victoria and s. australia. _magasella compta_, sow. sp. cainozoic (balcombian to kalimnan): victoria and s. australia. _terebratula suessi_, hutton sp. cainozoic (balcombian and janjukian): victoria, s. australia, and new zealand (oamaru series.) _acanthothyris squamosa_, hutton sp. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria and s. australia, new zealand (oamaru series) (also living). _terebratella pumila_, tate. cainozoic (kalimnan): victoria. _magellania flavescens_, lam. sp. pleistocene: victoria (also living). * * * * * literature. worms. silurian.--etheridge, r. jnr. geol. mag., dec. iii. vol. vii. , pp. , . idem, proc. roy. soc. tas. (for ), , p. . chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xxii. (n.s.), pt. ii. , pp. - . devonian.--hinde, g. j. geol. mag., dec. ii. vol. vii. , p. . chapman, f. rec. geol. surv. vict., vol. iii. pt. , , p. . carboniferous.--etheridge, r. jnr. bull. geol. surv. w. australia, no. , , p. . carbopermian.--etheridge, r. jnr. mem. geol. surv. new south wales. pal. no. , , pp. - . lower mesozoic.--bather, f. a. geol. mag., dec. v. vol. ii. , pp. - . lower cretaceous.--etheridge, r. jnr. mem. soc. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. . , pp. , . cainozoic.--chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xxvi. (n.s.) pt. i. , pp. - . polyzoa. silurian.--chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xvi. (n.s.), pt. i. , pp. - . idem, rec. geol. surv. vic., vol. ii., pt. , , p. . carboniferous.--hinde, g. j. geol. mag. dec. iii. vol. vii. , pp. - . carbopermian.--de koninck mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , , pp. - . cainozoic.--stolicka, f. novara exped., geol. theil., vol. i. pt. , pp. - . waters, a. w. quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. xxxvii. , pp. - ; ibid., vol. xxxviii. , pp. - and pp. - ; ibid., vol. xxxix. , pp. - ; ibid., vol. xl. , pp. - ; ibid., vol. xli. , pp. - ; ibid., vol. xliii. , pp. - and - . macgillivray, p. h. mon. tert. polyzoa vict., trans. roy. soc. vict., vol. iv. . maplestone, c. m. "further descr. polyzoa vict.," proc. roy. soc. vict., vol. xi. (n.s.), pt. i. , pp. - , et seqq. brachiopoda. cambrian.--tate, r. trans. r. soc. s. austr., vol. xv. , pp. , . etheridge, r. jnr. rec. austr. mus., vol. v. pt. , , p. . walcott, c. d. smiths. misc. coll., vol. liii. , p. . chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vic., vol. xxiii. (n.s.), pt. i. , pp. - . ordovician.--etheridge, r. jnr. parl. papers, s. aust., no. , , pp. , . tate, r. rep. horn exped., pt. , , pp. , . chapman, f. rec. geol. surv. vict., vol. i. pt. , , pp. - . silurian.--mccoy, f. prod. pal. vic. dec. v. , pp. - . eth., r. jnr. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. , pt. , , pp. - (silurian and devonian _pentameridae_). idem, proc. roy. soc., tas., (for ), , pp. - . de koninck, l. g. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , , pp. - . dun, w. s. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. vii. pt. , , pp. - (silurian to carboniferous). ibid., vol. viii. pt. , , pp. - . chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xvi. (n.s.), pt. , , pp. - . ibid., vol. xxi. (n.s.), pt. , , pp. , . ibid., vol. xxvi. (n.s.) pt. . , pp. - . devonian.--mccoy, f. prod. pal. vict., dec. iv., , pp. - . foord, a. h. geol. mag., dec. iii. vol. vii. , pp. - . etheridge, r. jnr. geol. and pal. queensland, , pp. - . de koninck, l. g. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal., no. , , pp. - . chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xviii. (n.s.), pt. , , pp. - . carboniferous.--etheridge, r. jnr. rec. austr. mus., vol. iv. no. , , pp. , . idem, geol. surv. w. austr., bull. no. , , pp. - . dun, w. s. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. vii., pt. , , pp. - and - . carbopermian.--sowerby, g. b., in strzelecki's phys. descr. of new south wales, etc., , pp. - . mccoy, f. ann. mag. nat. hist., vol. xx. , pp. - . foord, a. h. geol. mag. dec. iii. vol. vii. , pp. and - . etheridge, r. jnr. geol. and pal. queensland, , pp. - . de koninck, l. g. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal., no. , , pp. - . dun, w. s. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. viii. pt. , , pp. - . lower cretaceous.--moore, c. quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. xxvi. , pp. - . etheridge, r. jnr. mem. r. soc. s. austr., vol. ii. pt. , , pp. , . upper cretaceous.--etheridge, r. jnr. geol. and pal. queensland, , p. . cainozoic.--mccoy, f. prod. pal. vict., dec. v. , pp. - . tate, r. trans. r. soc. s. austr., vol. iii. , pp. - . idem, ibid., vol. xxiii. , pp. - . hutton, f. w. trans. n.z. inst., vol. xxxvii. , pp. - (revn. tert. brach.). chapter x. fossil shell-fish (mollusca). =molluscan characters.--= the phylum or sub-kingdom mollusca is a group of soft-bodied animals (mollis, soft), which, although having no external skeleton, usually possess the protective covering of a shell. this shell is secreted from the outer skin or mantle, and is composed of carbonate of lime (calcareous) with a varying proportion of organic material. =hard parts.--= fossil molluscan remains consist practically of the shells, but the calcareous apertural lid (operculum) of some kinds is often preserved, as in _turbo_ and _hyolithes_; or the horny lids of others, as _bithynia_ of the european pleistocene "brick earths." the cuttle-fishes have hard, horny beaks and internal bones, and the latter are frequently found fossil in australia. =characters of pelecypoda.--= the class for first consideration is the important one of the bivalved mollusca, the _lamellibranchiata_ ("plate-gills") or _pelecypoda_ ("hatchet foot"). the shells are double, hinged dorsally and placed on either side of the animal, that is, they are left and right. the height is measured on a vertical line drawn from the beaks or umbones to the ventral margin. the length is the greatest distance between the margins parallel with a line drawn through the mouth and posterior adductor impression. the thickness is measured by a line at right angles to the line of height. the shell being placed mouth forward, the valves are thus left and right. the anterior is usually shorter, excepting in some cases, as in _donax_ and _nucula_. =hinge structure.--= in the absence of the animal, the character of the hinge-structure is very important. some are without teeth (edentulous). the oldest forms have been grouped as the "palaeoconcha," and it has been shown that here, although well-developed teeth were absent, the radial ribs of the surface and ventral areas were carried over to the dorsal margin and became a fixed character in the form of crenulations or primitive teeth. the taxodont type of hinge teeth shows alternating teeth and sockets, as in _nucula_. the schizodont type is seen in the heavy, variable teeth of _trigonia_ and _schizodus_. the isodont type of hingement is a modification of the taxodont, represented by two ridges originally divergent below the beak, and forming an interlocking series of two pairs of teeth and sockets as in _spondylus_; or where the primitive hinge disappears as in _pecten_, the divergent ridge-teeth (crura) may only partially develop. the dysodonts have a feeble hinge-structure derived from the external sculpture impinging on the hinge-line, as in _crenella_. the pantodonta are an ancient palaeozoic group which seems allied to the modern teleodont or long toothed shells, but the laterals may exceed a pair in a single group, as in _allodesma_. the diogenodonta have lateral and cardinal teeth upon a hinge-plate, but never more than two laterals and three cardinals in any one group, as in _crassatellites_. the cyclodonta have extremely arched teeth, which curve out from under the beaks, as in _cardium_. [illustration: =fig. --lower palaeozoic bivalves.= a--ambonychia macroptera, tate. cambrian. s. australia b--grammysia cuneiformis, eth. fil. silurian. victoria c--panenka gippslandica, mccoy sp. silurian. victoria d--nucula melbournensis, chapm. silurian. victoria e--nuculites maccoyianus. chapm. silurian. victoria f--palaeoneilo victoriae, chapm. silurian. victoria ] the teleodonts include the more highly developed types of hinge, with attenuated teeth and sockets. common shells of our coast, and from cainozoic beds, belonging to this group are _venus_, _mactra_ and _meretrix_. the asthenodonta are boring and burrowing molluscs that have lost the hinge dentition from disuse as _corbula_ and _pholas_. =cambrian bivalve.--= the earliest example of a bivalved shell in australian rocks is _ambonychia macroptera_ (fig. a), which occurs in the cambrian limestone of curramulka, s. australia. it is quite a small form, being less than a quarter of an inch in length. =ordovician bivalve.--= in the basal ordovician mudstone of heathcote, victoria, there is a bivalve which in some respects resembles a _modiolopsis_ (?_m. knowsleyensis_), but the exact relationship is still doubtful. =silurian bivalves.--= the silurian sandstones, mudstones, slates and limestones of australia and new zealand, unlike the older rocks just mentioned, contain a rich assemblage of bivalve fossils. in victoria the lower division or melbournian stage contains the following principal genera:--_orthonota_, _grammysia_, _leptodomus_, _edmondia_, _cardiola_, _ctenodonta_, _nuculites_, _nucula_, _palaeoneilo_, _conocardium_, _modiolopsis_ and _paracyclas_. the upper division or yeringian stage contains other species of similar genera to those in the melbournian, as _grammysia_, _palaeoneilo_ and _conocardium_; whilst _panenka_, _mytilarca_, _sphenotus_, _actinodesma_, _lunulicardium_, _actinopteria_ and cypricardinia are, so far as known, peculiar to this and a still higher stage. _cardiola_ is a widely distributed genus, occurring as well in tasmania; whilst in europe it is found both in bohemia and great britain. its time-range in the northern hemisphere is very extensive, being found in beds ranging from upper ordovician to devonian. _actinopteria_ is found also in new south wales and new zealand, and _pterinea_ and _actinodesma_ in new south wales. the molluscs with a taxodont hinge-line (beset with numerous little teeth and sockets) are quite plentiful in the australian silurian; such as _nucula_, a form common around melbourne (_n. melbournensis_ (fig. d)); _nuculites_, which has an internal radial buttress or clavicle separating the anterior muscle-scar from the shell-cavity, and which is found likewise in the melbourne shales (_n. maccoyianus_ (fig. e)); _ctenodonta_, represented in both the melbournian and yeringian stages (_c. portlocki_); and _palaeoneilo_, a handsome, subrostrate generic type with concentric lamellae or striae, commonest in the melbournian, but occasionally found in the younger stage (_p. victoriae_ fig. f, melbournian;--_p. raricostae_, yeringian). _conocardium_ is represented by two species in victoria (_c. bellulum_ and _c. costatum_); whilst in new south wales _c. davidis_ is found at oakey creek. in new zealand _actinopteria_ and _pterinea_ occur in the wangapeka series (silurian). =devonian bivalves.--= the compact limestone and some shales of middle devonian age in the n.e. gippsland area in victoria, contain several as yet undescribed species belonging to the genera _sphenotus_, _actinodesma_ and _paracyclas_. [illustration: =fig. --palaeozoic bivalves.= a--mytilarca acutirostris, chapm. silurian. victoria b--modiolopsis melbournensis, chapm. silurian. victoria c--goniophora australis, chapm. silurian. victoria d--paracyclas siluricus, chapm. silurian. victoria e--actinopteria australis, dun. devonian. new south wales f--lyriopecten gracilis, dun. devonian. new south wales ] the genera _paracyclas_, _aviculopecten_ and _pterinea_ have been recorded from new south wales, chiefly from the yass district. the derived boulders found in the upper cretaceous beds forming the opal-fields at white cliffs, new south wales, have been determined as of devonian age. they contain, amongst other genera, examples of _actinopteria_ (_a. australis_), _lyriopecten_ (_l. gracilis_) (fig. f), and _leptodesma_ (_l. inflatum_ and _l. obesum_). [illustration: =fig. --carbopermian bivalves.= a--stutchburia farleyensis, eth. fil. carbopermian. n.s. wales b--deltopecten limaeformis, morris sp. carbopermian. n.s. wales c--aviculopecten sprenti, johnston. carbopermian. n.s. wales d--chaenomya etheridgei, de kon. carbopermian. n.s. wales e--pachydomus globosus j. de c. sow. carbopermian. n.s. wales ] =carbopermian bivalves.--= one of the most prolific palaeozoic series for bivalved mollusca is the carbopermian. to select from the numerous genera and species we may mention _stutchburia farleyensis_ (fig. a) and _edmondia nobilissima_ from farley, new south wales; and _deltopecten limaeformis_ (fig. b), found in the lower marine series at ravensfield, new south wales, and in the upper marine series at burragorang and pokolbin in the same state, in queensland at the mount britton gold-field, and in maria id., tasmania. _deltopecten fittoni_ occurs in both series in new south wales, and in the upper marine series associated with "tasmanite shale" in tasmania. _aviculopecten squamuliferus_ is a handsome species found alike in tasmania and new south wales; whilst _a. tenuicollis_ is common to w. australia and new south wales. other characteristic bivalves of the carbopermian of new south wales are _chaenomya etheridgei_ (fig. d) and _pachydomus globosus_ (fig. e). the gigantic _eurydesma cordatum_ is especially characteristic of the new south wales lower marine series, and is also found in tasmania. all three species are found in queensland. =triassic bivalves.--= the triassic rocks of new south wales were accumulated under either terrestrial, lacustrine, or brackish (estuarine) conditions. hence the only bivalved mollusca found are referred to the freshwater genera _unio_ (_u. dunstani_) and _unionella_ (_u. bowralensis_ and _u. carnei_ (fig. a)). the latter genus differs from unio in the structure of the adductor muscle-impressions. [illustration: =fig. --lower mesozoic bivalves.= a--unionella carnei, eth. fil. triassic. new south wales b--mytilus problematicus, zittel. triassic. new zealand c--monotis salinaria, zittel. triassic. new zealand d--trigonia moorei, lycett. jurassic. w. australia e--astarte cliftoni, moore. jurassic. w. australia ] the queensland trias (burrum formation) contains a solitary species of bivalved mollusca, _corbicula burrumensis_. this genus is generally found associated with freshwater or brackish conditions. in new zealand marine triassic beds occur, containing, amongst other genera, a species of _leda_. in the succeeding wairoa series the interesting fossil, _daonella lommeli_ occurs. this shell is typical of the norian (upper trias) of the southern tyrol. above the _daonella_ bed occurs the _trigonia_ bed, with that genus and _edmondia_. in the next younger stage, the otapiri series, near nelson, there are fine-grained sandstones packed full of the remains of _mytilus problematicus_ (fig. b) and _monotis salinaria_ (fig. c), the latter also a norian fossil. =jurassic bivalves.--= jurassic bivalved molluscs are plentiful in the w. australian limestones, as at greenough river. amongst others may be mentioned _cucullaea semistriata_, _ostrea_, _gryphaea_, _trigonia moorei_ (fig. d), _pecten cinctus_, _ctenostreon pectiniforme_ and _astarte cliftoni_ (fig. e). several of the species found are identical with european jurassic fossils. jurassic strata in victoria, being of a freshwater and lacustrine nature, yield only species of _unio_, as _u. dacombei_, and _u. stirlingi_. the jurassic beds of s. australia contain a species of _unio_ named _u. eyrensis_. in the same strata which contains this shell, plant remains are found, as _cladophlebis_ and _thinnfeldia_, two well-known types of jurassic ferns. =lower cretaceous bivalves.--= in queensland the lower cretaceous limestones and marls contain a large assemblage of bivalves, the more important of which are _nucula truncata_ (fig. a), _maccoyella reflecta_ (fig. b), _m. barkleyi_, _pecten socialis_ and _fissilunula clarkei_ (fig. c), from wollumbilla; and _inoceramus pernoides_, _i. carsoni_ and _aucella hughendenensis_ from the flinders river (the latter also from new south wales). in the lake eyre district of s. australia we find _maccoyella barkleyi_, which also occurs in queensland and new south wales (at white cliffs), _trigonia cinctuta_, _mytilus rugocostatus_ and _modiola eyrensis_. the handsome bivalve, _pleuromya plana_ occurs near broome in w. australia. [illustration: =fig. --cretaceous bivalves.= a--nucula truncata, moore. l. cretaceous. south australia b--maccoyella reflecta, moore sp. up. and l. cretaceous. q'land. c--fissilunula clarkei, moore sp. up. and l. cretaceous. q'land. d--inoceramus carsoni, mccoy. l. cretaceous. queensland e--cyrenopsis opallites, eth. fil. up. cretaceous. new south wales f--conchothyra parasitica, hutton. cretaceous. new zealand ] =upper cretaceous bivalves.--= the upper cretaceous or desert sandstone at maryborough, queensland, has yielded amongst others, the following shells:--(_nucula gigantea_, _maccoyella reflecta_ also found in the lower cretaceous of queensland, new south wales and s. australia), and _fissilunula clarkei_ (also found in the l. cretaceous of new south wales, queensland and s. australia). some of these beds, however, which were hitherto believed to belong to the upper and lower series respectively may yet prove to be on one horizon--the lower cretaceous. _cyrenopsis opallites_ (fig. e) of white cliffs, new south wales, appears to be a truly restricted upper cretaceous species. the cretaceous of new zealand (amuri system) contains _trigonia sulcata_, _inoceramus_ sp. and the curious, contorted shell, _conchothyra parasitica_ (fig. f) which is related to _pugnellus_, a form usually considered as a sub-genus of _strombus_. from papua an _inoceramus_ has been recorded from probable cretaceous beds. =cainozoic bivalves.--= in victoria, south australia, and the n.w. of tasmania, as well as in new zealand, cainozoic marine beds are well developed, and contain an extensive bivalved molluscan fauna. of these fossils only a few common and striking examples can here be noticed, on account of the limits of the present work. the commonest genera are:--_ostrea_, _placunanomia_, _dimya_, _spondylus_, _lima_, _pecten_, _arca_, _barbatia_, _plagiarca_, _cucullaea_, _glycimeris_, _limopsis_, _nucula_, _leda_, _trigonia_, _cardita_, _cuna_, _crassatellites_, _cardium_, _protocardium_, _chama_, _meretrix_, _venus_ (_chione_), _dosinea_, _gari_, _mactra_, _corbula_, _lucina_, _tellina_, _semele_ and _myodora_. [illustration: =fig. --cainozoic bivalves.= a--dimya dissimilis, tate. balcombian. victoria b--spondylus pseudoradula, mccoy. balcombian. victoria c--pecten polymorphoides, zittel. janjukian. south australia d--leda vagans, tate. janjukian. south australia e--modiola praerupta, pritchard. balcombian. victoria ] =persistent species.--= to mention a few species of persistent range, from balcombian to kalimnan, we may cite the following from the cainozoic of southern australia:--_dimya dissimilis_ (fig. a), _spondylus pseudoradula_ (fig. b), _lima (limatula) jeffreysiana_, _pecten polymorphoides_ (found also in the oamaru series, new zealand) (fig. c), _amusium zitteli_ (found also in both the waimangaroa and oamaru series of new zealand), _barbatia celleporacea_, _cucullaea corioensis_, _limopsis maccoyi_, _nucula tenisoni_, _leda vagans_ (fig. d), _corbula ephamilla_ and _myodora tenuilirata_. =balcombian bivalves.--= on the other hand, many species have a restricted range, and these are invaluable for purposes of stratigraphical correlation. for example, in the balcombian we have _modiola praerupta_ (fig. e), _modiolaria balcombei_, _cuna regularis_, _cardium cuculloides_, _cryptodon mactraeformis_, _verticordia pectinata_ and _v. excavata_. [illustration: =fig. --cainozoic bivalves.= a--modiola pueblensis, pritchard. janjukian. victoria b--cardita tasmanica, tate. janjukian. tasmania c--lucina planatella, tate. janjukian. tasmania d--ostrea manubriata, tate. kalimnan. victoria e--limopsis beaumariensis, chap. kalimnan. victoria f--venus (chione) subroborata, tate sp. kalimnan. victoria ] =janjukian bivalves.--= in the janjukian series restricted forms of bivalves are exceptionally numerous, amongst them being:--_dimya sigillata_, _plicatula ramulosa_, _lima polynema_, _pecten praecursor_, _p. eyrei_, _p. gambierensis_, _pinna cordata_, _modiola pueblensis_ (fig. a), _arca dissimilis_, _limopsis multiradiata_, _l. insolita_, _leda leptorhyncha_, _l. crebrecostata_, _cardita maudensis_, _c. tasmanica_ (fig. b), _cuna radiata_, _lepton crassum_, _cardium pseudomagnum_, _venus (chione) multitaeniata_, _solenocurtus legrandi_, _lucina planatella_ (fig. c), _tellina porrecta_ and _myodora lamellata_. in papua a _pecten_ (_p. novaeguineae_) has been recorded from the ? lower pliocene of yule island. =kalimnan bivalves.--= the kalimnan beds contain the following restricted or upward ranging species:--_ostrea arenicola_, _o. manubriata_ (fig. d), _pecten antiaustralis_ (also in the werrikooian series), _perna percrassa_, _mytilus hamiltonensis_, _glycimeris halli_, _limopsis beaumariensis_ (also werrikooian) (fig. e), _leda crassa_ (also living), _trigonia howitti_, _cardita solida_, _c. calva_ (also living), _erycina micans_, _meretrix paucirugata_, _sunetta gibberula_, _venus (chione) subroborata_ (fig. f), _donax depressa_, _corbula scaphoides_ (also living), _barnea tiara_, _lucina affinis_, _tellina albinelloides_ and _myodora corrugata_. =werrikooian bivalves.--= the next stage, the werrikooian (upper pliocene), contains a large percentage of living species, as _ostrea angasi_, _placunanomia ione_ (ranging down into janjukian), _glycimeris radians_, _leda crassa_ (also a common kalimnan fossil), various species of _venus (chione)_, as _v. strigosa_ and _v. placida_, and _barnea australasiae_. =pleistocene bivalves.--= the bivalved shells of the pleistocene are similar to those now found living round the australian coast, as _pecten asperrimus_, _mytilus latus_, _leda crassa_, _soletellina biradiata_ and _spisula parva_. pleistocene shells of bivalved genera occur in the coastal hills of papua, including the following:--_cultellus_, _corbula_, _mactra_, _tellina_, _venus (chione)_, _dione_, _dosinea_, _leda_ and _arca_. the _scaphopods_ ("digger foot") or the "elephant-tusk shells" are adapted, by their well-developed foot, to burrow into the mud and sand. [illustration: =fig. --fossil scaphopods and chitons.= a--dentalium huttoni, bather. jurassic. new zealand b--dentalium mantelli, zittel. cainozoic. victoria c--chelodes calceoloides, eth. fil. silurian. new south wales d--ischnochiton granulosus, ashby and torr sp. cainozoic (balc). victoria e--cryptoplax pritchardi, hall. cainozoic (kalimnan). victoria ] =devonian scaphopods.--= this group of mollusca makes its first appearance in australasian sediments in the middle devonian (murrumbidgee beds) of new south wales, represented by _dentalium tenuissimum_. =jurassic scaphopods.--= in the jurassic strata of the mataura series of new zealand, _dentalium huttoni_ (fig. a) occurs at the kowhai river and wilberforce. =cretaceous scaphopods.--= _dentalium wollumbillensis_ occurs in the drab and dark-coloured limestones of the lower cretaceous of the lake eyre basin in s. australia, and the same species is also found in the lower cretaceous (rolling downs formation) of wollumbilla, queensland. =cainozoic scaphopods.--= the cainozoic beds both of new zealand and southern australia yield many species of _dentalium_, the commonest and most widely distributed being the longitudinally ribbed _d. mantelli_ (fig. b), which ranges from the balcombian to the werrikooian stages in australia, and is also typical of the oamaru series in new zealand, where it is accompanied by the ponderous species, _d. giganteum_, which attained a length of over six inches. another form common in our cainozoics is the smooth-shelled _d. subfissura_; this also has a wide range, namely balcombian to kalimnan. =palaeozoic chitons.--= the _polyplacophora_ or chitons ("mail-shells"), first appeared in the ordovician. in australia _chelodes calceoloides_ (fig. c) is found in the silurian of derrengullen creek, yass, new south wales; and another species of the genus is found in beds of the same age at lilydale, victoria. between that period and the cainozoic or tertiary there is a gap in their history in australia. =cainozoic chitons.--= _ischnochiton granulosus_ (fig. d) is a balcombian species of the modern type of "mail-shell," occurring not infrequently in the clays of balcombe's bay, port phillip, victoria. _cryptoplax pritchardi_ (fig. e) is a curious form belonging to the attenuated, worm-like group of the cryptoplacidae, until lately unknown in the fossil state; it is found in the kalimnan series near hamilton, victoria. several other genera of the chitons are found fossil in the australian cainozoics which still live on our coasts, as _lorica_, _plaxiphora_ and _chiton_. the first-named genus is represented fossil by _lorica duniana_ from the _turritella_ bed (janjukian) of table cape, tasmania. =characters of gasteropoda.--= the _gasteropoda_ ("belly-foot") or univalve shells possess a muscular foot placed beneath the stomach and viscera. in the heteropoda this foot is modified as a vertical fin, and in the pteropoda as two wing-like swimming membranes close to the head. the mantle lobe is elevated along the back like a hood, and its surfaces and edges secrete the shell which contains the animal. the shell is typically a cone (example, _patella_ or limpet) which is often spirally coiled either in a plane (ex. _planorbis_), conically turbinoid (ex. _trochus_), or turreted (ex. _turritella_). the body and shell are attached by muscles, the spiral forms being attached to the columella or axial pillar, and the bowl-shaped forms to the inner surface of the shell. gasteropod shells are normally right-handed (dextral), but a few genera as _clausilia_, _bulinus_ and _physa_, are left-handed (sinistral). the height or length of the shell is measured from the apex to the lower margin of the mouth. in coiled shells we may regard them as a more or less elongated cone wound round a central pillar, the columella, or around a central tube. a turn or coil of the shell is a whorl, and together, with the exception of the last, form the spire. the line between two adjacent whorls is the suture. when the columella is solid the shell is said to be imperforate, and when a central tube is left by the imperfect fusion of the whorls, it is perforate. the opening of the tubular columella is termed the umbilicus, and this is sometimes contracted by the encroachment of shell matter termed the callus. the aperture is entire when the rim is uninterrupted; and channelled when there is a basal notch, where the siphon which conducts water to the gills is lodged. as a rule the large heavy gasteropods inhabit shallow water. the following living genera are characteristic of rocky shore-lines; _risella_, _buccinum_, _purpura_ and _patella_. genera typical of sandy shores are _nassa_, _natica_, _cypraea_, _turritella_ and _scala_. =cambrian gasteropods.--= from the cambrian of south australia prof. tate described some minute gasteropods which he referred to the genera _stenotheca_ (_s. rugosa_, var. _paupera_), _ophileta (o. subangulata)_ (fig. a), and _platyceras (p. etheridgei)_. in these beds at curramulka the following pteropods were found by the same authority, viz., _salterella planoconvexa_, _hyolithes communis_ (fig. c) and _h. conularioides_. the cambrian limestone of the kimberley district, w. australia, contains the characteristic pteropod _salterella hardmani_ (fig. b). the shell is a conical tube, straight or slightly curved, and measuring scarcely an inch in length. [illustration: =fig. --lower palaeozoic gasteropoda.= a--ophileta subangulata, tate. cambrian. south australia b--salterella hardmani, foord. cambrian. west australia c--hyolithes communis, billings. cambrian. south australia d--scenella tenuistriata, chapm. cambrian. victoria e--raphistoma browni, eth. fil. ordovician. south australia f--helicotoma johnstoni, eth. fil. silurian. tasmania ] the upper cambrian of the mersey river district in tasmania has afforded some doubtful examples of the genus _ophileta_. in the upper cambrian limestones of the dolodrook valley, near mt. wellington, victoria, a minute limpet shaped gasteropod occurs, named _scenella tenuistriata_ (fig. d). =ordovician gasteropods.--= ordovician limestones with fossil shells occur in the leigh's creek district in south australia, and also at tempe downs and petermann and laurie's creeks, w. of alice springs. the euomphaloid shell _ophileta gilesi_ was described from laurie's creek, and _eunema larapinta_ from the tempe downs. a pleurotomarid, _raphistoma browni_ (fig. ) occurs near leigh's creek, and at laurie's and petermann creeks. a pteropod, _hyolithes leptus_, has been described from the lower ordovician of coole barghurk creek, near meredith, victoria. =silurian gasteropods.--= the silurian gasteropods are fairly well represented, especially in the upper stage, and are widely distributed throughout the australian fossiliferous localities. moreover, some of the species are identical with those found as far off as north america and europe. in victoria the shales and sandstones of the lower stage (melbournian) contain the genera _bellerophon_, _cyrtolites_ and _loxonema_. the pteropoda include _tentaculites_, _coleolus_, _hyolithes_ and _conularia_ (_c. sowerbii_ (fig. f), a species also found in great britain). the victorian limestones and mudstones of the upper stage (yeringian) are somewhat rich in gasteropods, such genera occurring as _pleurotomaria_, _phanerotrema_ (with cancellated shell and large slit-band), _murchisonia_, _gyrodoma_, _bellerophon_, _trematonotus_ (a spiral shell with a large trumpet-shaped mouth and a dorsal row of perforations in place of a slit-band), _euomphalus_, _cyclonema_, _trochus (scalaetrochus)_, _niso (vetotuba)_, _loxonema_, _platyceras_ and _capulus_. the section pteropoda contains _tentaculites_, _hyolithes_ and _conularia_. [illustration: =fig. --silurian gasteropoda.= a--hyolithes spryi, chapm. silurian (melb.) victoria b--gyrodoma etheridgei, cressw. sp. silurian (yeringian). vict. c--bellerophon cresswelli. eth. fil. silurian (yeringian). victoria d--euomphalus northi, eth. fil. sp. silurian (yeringian). victoria e--trochonema montgomerii. eth. fil. sp. silurian. tasmania f--conularia sowerbii, defr. silurian (yeringian). victoria ] in the silurian of new south wales the chief gasteropod genera are _bellerophon (b. jukesi)_, _euomphalus_, _omphalotrochus_, and _conularia (c. sowerbii.)_. in tasmania are found _raphistoma_, _murchisonia_, _bellerophon_, _helicotoma_, _trochonema_ and _tentaculites_. =devonian gasteropods.--= the derived boulders of the white cliffs opal field have been referred to the devonian system, but of this there is some doubt, as the gasteropods noted from these boulders closely resemble those of the silurian fauna: they are _murchisonia euomphalus_ (_e. culleni_), and _loxonema_. the genus _murchisonia_ has also been recorded from the baton river, new zealand (wangepeka series) by mackay. the middle devonian gasteropod fauna in victoria, as found in the buchan and bindi limestones, comprises _murchisonia_, _trochus_, and _platyceras_. [illustration: =fig. --upper palaeozoic gasteropoda.= a--gosseletina australis, eth. fil. sp. carboniferous. n.s. wales b--yvania konincki, eth. fil. carboniferous. n.s. wales c--loxonema babbindoonensis, eth. fil. carboniferous. n.s. wales d--pleurotomaria (ptychomphalina) morrisiana, mccoy. carbopermian. n.s. wales e--platyschisma oculum, sow. sp. carbopermian. n.s. wales f--murchisonia carinata, eth. carbopermian. queensland ] in new south wales the best known genera are _pleurotomaria_, _murchisonia_, _bellerophon_, _euomphalus_ and _loxonema_. the two latter genera have also been obtained at barker gorge, western australia. =carboniferous gasteropods.--= carboniferous gasteropoda have been found in new south wales, belonging to the genera _gosseletina_ (_g. australis_) (fig. a) and _yvania_ (_y. konincki_) (fig. b), both of which have their countertypes in the carboniferous of belgium. _y. konincki_ is also found in the carbopermian (gympie beds) of rockhampton, queensland, while _y. levellii_ is found in the carbopermian of western australia. =carbopermian gasteropods.--= the carbopermian gasteropods of new south wales are _pleurotomaria_ (_mourlonia_), _keeneia platyschismoides_, _murchisonia_, _euomphalus_, _platyschisma_ (_p. oculum_) (fig. e), _loxonema_ and _macrocheilus_. examples of the genus _conularia_ are sometimes found, probably attaining a length, when complete, of centimetres. in tasmania we find _conularia tasmanica_, a handsome pteropod, also of large dimensions. _platyschisma_, _pleurotomaria_ (_mourlonia_), _bellerophon_ and _porcellia_ are amongst the carbopermian gasteropods of queensland. in western australia _pleurotomaria_ (_mourlonia_), _bellerophon_, _euomphalus_, _euphemus_, _platyceras_, and _loxonema_ occur in the carbopermian. =jurassic gasteropods.--= jurassic gasteropods are found sparingly in the limestone of the geraldton district and other localities in western australia. the more important of these are _pleurotomaria_ (_p. greenoughiensis_), _turbo_ (_t. australis_) (fig. a) and _rissoina_ (_r. australis_) (fig. b). [illustration: =fig. --mesozoic gasteropoda.= a--turbo australis, moore. jurassic. west australia b--rissoina australis, moore. jurassic. west australia c--natica ornatissima, moore. cretaceous. queensland d--pseudamaura variabilis, moore sp. cretaceous. queensland e--rostellaria waiparensis, hector.--cretaceous. new zealand ] =cretaceous gasteropods.--= the queensland gasteropod fauna comprises _cinulia_ a typical cretaceous genus, _actaeon_ and _natica_. these occur in the lower cretaceous or rolling downs formation. _cinulia_ is also found in south australia at lake eyre with _natica_ (_n. ornatissima_) (fig. c). _pseudamaura variabilis_ (fig. d) is found in new south wales, queensland and south australia; whilst _anchura wilkinsoni_ occurs in queensland and south australia. in new zealand the waipara greensands (cretaceous) contain a species of _rostellaria_ (_r. waiparensis_) (fig. e). =cainozoic gasteropods.--= cainozoic gasteropods are exceedingly abundant in beds of that system in australasia. the cainozoic marine fauna in australia is practically restricted to the states of victoria, south australia, and tasmania; whilst new zealand has many species in common with australia. =genera.--= the commonest genera of the marine cainozoic or tertiary deposits are:--_haliotis_, _fissurellidea_, _emarginula_, _subemarginula_, _astralium_, _liotia_, _gibbula_, _eulima_, _niso_, _odostomia_, _scala_, _solarium_, _crepidula_, _calyptraea_, _natica_, _rissoa_, _turritella_, _siliquaria_, _cerithium_, _newtoniella_, _tylospira_, _cypraea_, _trivia_, _morio_, _semicassis_, _lotorium_, _murex_, _typhis_, _columbella_, _phos_, _nassa_, _siphonalia_, _euthria_ (_dennantia_), _fusus_, _columbarium_, _fasciolaria_, _latirus_, _marginella_, _mitra_, _volutilithes_, _voluta_, _harpa_, _ancilla_, _cancellaria_, _terebra_, _pleurotoma_, _drillia_, _conus_, _bullinella_ and _vaginella_. =persistent species.--= amongst the cainozoic gasteropoda of southern australia which have a persistent range through balcombian to kalimnan times, we find:--_niso psila_, _crepidula unguiformis_ (also werrikooian and recent), _natica perspectiva_, _n. hamiltonensis_, _turritella murrayana_, _cerithium apheles_, _cypraea leptorhyncha_, _lotorium gibbum_, _volutilithes antiscalaris_ (also in werrikooian), _marginella propinqua_, _ancilla pseudaustralis_, _conus ligatus_ and _bullinella exigua_. =balcombian gasteropods.--= species restricted to the balcombian stage include _scala dolicho_, _seguenzia radialis_, _dissocheilus eburneus_, _trivia erugata_, _cypraea ampullacea_ (fig. a), _c. gastroplax_, _colubraria leptoskeles_, _murex didymus_ (fig. b), _eburnopsis aulacoessa_ (fig. c), _fasciolaria concinna_, _mitra uniplica_, _harpa abbreviata_, _ancilla lanceolata_, _cancellaria calvulata_ (fig. d), _buchozia oblongula_, _pleurotoma optata_, _terebra leptospira_ and _vaginella eligmostoma_ (fig. e), (also found at gellibrand river). [illustration: =fig. --cainozoic gasteropoda.= a--cypraea ampullacea, tate. cainozoic (balc.) victoria b--murex didymus, tate. cainozoic (balc.) victoria c--eburnopsis aulacoessa, tate. cainozoic (balc.) victoria d--cancellaria calvulata, tate. cainozoic (balc.) victoria e--vaginella eligmostoma, tate. cainozoic (balc.) victoria ] [illustration: =fig. --cainozoic gasteropoda.= a--eutrochus fontinalis, pritchard. cainozoic (janjukian). vict. b--morio wilsoni, tate. cainozoic (janjukian). victoria c--scala lampra, tate sp. cainozoic (janjukian). south australia d--natica gibbosa, hutton. cainozoic (janjukian). south australia e--volutilithes anticingulatus, mccoy sp. cainozoic (janjukian). victoria f--struthiolaria sulcata, hutton. cainozoic (awatere series). new zealand ] =janjukian gasteropods.--= species of gasteropods restricted to the janjukian stage include:--_pleurotomaria tertiaria_, _haliotis mooraboolensis_, _liotia lamellosa_, _thalotia alternata_, _eutrochus fontinalis_ (fig. a), _astralium hudsonianum_, _turbo atkinsoni_, _odostomia polita_, _scala lampra_ (fig. c), _natica gibbosa_ (fig. d) (also found in the pareora series of the oamaru system and in the wanganui beds of new zealand), _calyptraea subtabulata_, _turritella aldingae_, _cerithiopsis mulderi_, _cerithium flemingtonense_, _cypraea platyrhyncha_, _c. consobrina_, _morio wilsoni_ (fig. b), _lotorium abbotti_, _murex otwayensis_, _eburnopsis tesselatus_, _tudicla costata_, _latirus semiundulatus_, _fusus meredithae_, _columbarium spiniferum_, _voluta pueblensis_, _v. heptagonalis_, _v. macroptera_ (also recorded from hall's sound, papua) (fig. e), _volutilithes anticingulatus_ (also from papua), _harpa clathrata_, _bela woodsi_, _bathytoma paracantha_ and _volvulella inflatior_. _dolium costatum_, allied to the "fig-shell" has been noted from the cainozoic clays (? lower pliocene), yule island, papua. [illustration: =fig. --late cainozoic and pleistocene gasteropoda= a--bankivia howitti, pritchard. cainozoic (kal.) victoria b--eglisia triplicata, tate sp. cainozoic (kal.) victoria c--voluta masoni, tate. cainozoic (kal.) victoria d--ancilla papillata. tate sp. cainozoic (kal.) victoria e--terebra geniculata, tate. cainozoic (kal.) victoria f--helix simsoniana, johnston. pleistocene. tasmania ] =kalimnan gasteropods.--= species of gasteropods restricted to the kalimnan stage, or only passing upwards include:--_bankivia howitti_ (fig. a), _liopyrga quadricingulata_, _calyptraea corrugata_, _natica subvarians_, _turritella pagodula_, _eglisia triplicata_ (fig. b), _tylospira clathrata_, _cypraea jonesiana_, _lotorium ovoideum_, _sistrum subreticulatum_, _voluta masoni_ (fig. c), _ancilla papillata_ (fig. d), _cancellaria wannonensis_, _drillia wanganuiensis_ (also in the petane series of new zealand), _terebra catenifera_, _t. geniculata_ (fig. e) and _ringicula tatei_. =new zealand cainozoic gasteropods.--= characteristic gasteropoda of the oamaru series in new zealand are _pleurotomaria tertiaria_ (also in the australian janjukian), _scala lyrata_, _natica darwinii_, _turritella cavershamensis_, _ancilla hebera_ (also in the australian balcombian and janjukian) and _pleurotoma hamiltoni_. gasteropods of the awatere series in new zealand are _natica ovata_, _struthiolaria sulcata_ (fig. f), and _scaphella corrugata_ (found also in the oamaru series). the putiki beds of the petane series in new zealand contain _trophon expansus_, _pisania drewi_ and _pleurotoma wanganuiensis_. =werrikooian gasteropods.--= the marine gasteropods of the werrikooian of southern australia, as found at limestone creek, glenelg river, western victoria, and the moorabool viaduct near geelong, are nearly all living at the present time, with the exception of a few older cainozoic species. amongst these latter are _conus ralphi_, _pleurotoma murndaliana_, _volutilithes antiscalaris_ and _columbarium craspedotum_. =pleistocene gasteropoda.--= the pleistocene land mollusca, and especially the gasteropods of australia, present some striking points of interest, for whilst most of the species are still living, some appear to be extinct. the travertine deposits of geilston, near hobart, tasmania contain _helix geilstonensis_ and _h. stanleyana_, the latter still living. the calcareous _helix_ sandstone of the islands in bass strait are largely composed of shells of that genus and generally represent consolidated sand-dunes which have undergone a certain amount of elevation. one of the prevalent species is _helix simsoniana_ (fig. f), a handsome keeled form, somewhat related to the living _h. launcestonensis_. it is found in some abundance in the kent's group and in the adjacent islands. the large ovoid land-shells, _panda atomata_, although still existing, are found associated with extinct marsupials, as _thylacoleo_, in the stalagmitic floor of the buchan caves, gippsland. the _diprotodon_-breccias of queensland have afforded several species of _helix_ and other land-shells, as well as the brackish-water genus _melania_. the raised beaches of queensland, new south wales, victoria, and tasmania all contain species of land and freshwater shells identical with those now found living in the same localities. the raised beaches of new zealand contain numerous marine shells all having living representatives. some of these elevated beaches occur as high as feet above sea-level at taranaki, and at feet near cape palliser in cook strait. many species of pleistocene mollusca identical with those now living in torres strait, the china sea and the philippine islands are found in papua. they occur in the greenish sandy clay of the hills near the present coast line and comprise the following genera of gasteropods:--_ranella_, _nassa_, _mitra_, _oliva_, _terebra_, _conus_, _strombus_, _bulla_ and _atys_. =characters of cephalopoda.--= the highest class of the mollusca is the _cephalopoda_ ("head-feet"). in these shell-fish the extremity of the body or foot is modified, and furnished with eyes, a funnel and tentacles. it has also strong horny beaks or jaws which make it a formidable enemy to the surrounding life in the sea. in the chambered forms of this group the animal partitions off its shell at regular intervals, like the pearly nautilus and the ammonite, inhabiting only the last chamber cavity, but still communicating with the earlier series by a continuous spiral tube (siphuncle). in some forms like the living squid and the extinct belemnite, the shell is internal and either spoon-shaped, or dart-shaped, that is, subcylindrical and pointed. =characters of cephalopod shells.--nautiloidea.--= in geological times the nautiloid forms were the first to appear (in the ordovician), and they were either straight shells, as _orthoceras_, or only slightly curved, as _cyrtoceras_. later on they became more closely coiled, and as they were thus less likely to be damaged, they gradually replaced the straight forms. the ammonites have the siphuncle close to the outside of the shell, whilst in the nautilus it is more or less median. the sutures or edges of the septa in _nautilus_ and its allies are curved or wavy, but not so sharply flexed or foliaceous as in _ammonites_. the nautiloidea range from the ordovician and are still found living. =ammonoidea.--= the ammonoidea appear in devonian times and die out in the cretaceous. they were very abundant in jurassic times, especially in europe. =belemnoidea.--= the belemnoidea, ranging from the trias to eocene, comprise the extinct _belemnites_, the interesting genus _spirulirostra_ of miocene times, and the living _spirula_. =sepioidea.--= the sepioidea or true cuttle-fishes ("pen-and-ink fish") range from the trias to the present day. =octopoda.--= the octopoda, with _octopus_ and _argonauta_ (the paper "nautilus") are present-day modifications. the male of the latter is without a shell, the female only being provided with a delicate boat-shaped shell secreted by the mantle and the two fin-like expansions of the dorsal arms. =ordovician cephalopods.--= the ordovician cephalopods of australasia are not numerous, and are, so far as known, practically restricted to the limestones of the larapintine series at laurie's creek and tempe downs, in central south australia. amongst them may be mentioned _endoceras warburtoni_ (fig. a), (a straight form in which the siphuncle is partially filled with organic deposits); _orthoceras gossei_; _o. ibiciforme_; _trochoceras reticostatum_ (a coiled form); and _actinoceras tatei_ (a genus characterised by swollen siphuncular beads between the septa). [illustration: =fig. --palaeozoic cephalopoda.= a--endoceras warburtoni, eth. fil. ordovician. south australia b--orthoceras lineare, münster sp. silurian (yer.) victoria c--cycloceras ibex, sow. sp. silurian (melb.) victoria d--phragmoceras subtrigorium, mccoy. mid devonian. victoria e--gastrioceras jacksoni, eth. fil. carbopermian. w. australia f--agathiceras micromphalum, morris sp. carbopermian. n.s.w. ] =silurian cephalopods.--= silurian cephalopods are more generally distributed, and in victoria constitute an important factor in the molluscan fauna of that system. _orthoceras_ and _cycloceras_ are the best known genera, represented by _orthoceras capillosum_, found near kilmore, victoria; _o. lineare_ (fig. b), from the upper yarra; _cycloceras bullatum_, from the melbournian of collingwood and whittlesea; and _c. ibex_ (fig. c) from south yarra and flemington, in both melbournian shale and sandstone. the latter species occurs also at rock flat greek, new south wales. other victorian species are _kionoceras striatopunctatum_, a well-known european fossil with a reticulated and beaded ornament, found near warburton and at mcmahon's creek, upper yarra. _orthoceras_ is also recorded from tasmania and from the wangapeka beds of baton river, new zealand. _cyclolituites_, a partially coiled nautilian is recorded from bowning, near yass, new south wales; whilst the closely related _lituites_ is noted from the silurian of tasmania. =devonian cephalopods.--= the only genus of cephalopoda at present recorded from the devonian of victoria is _phragmoceras_ (_p. subtrigonum_) (fig. d), which occurs in the middle devonian limestone of buchan, e. gippsland. from beds of similar age in new south wales _orthoceras_, _cyrtoceras_ and _goniatites_ have been noted; whilst the latter genus also occurs near kimberley, western australia. in queensland _gyroceras philpi_ is a characteristic shell, found in the fanning and reid gap limestones of the burdekin formation (middle devonian). =carbopermian cephalopods.--= the carbopermian rocks of new south wales have yielded _orthoceras striatum_, _cameroceras_, _nautilus_ and _agathiceras micromphalum_ (fig. f). in queensland the gympie formation contains _orthoceras_, _gyroceras_, _nautilus_, _agathiceras micromphalum_ and _a. planorbiforme_. in western australia the kimberley rocks contain _orthoceras_, _glyphioceras sphaericum_ and _agathiceras micromphalum_; whilst the largest known australian goniatite, _gastrioceras jacksoni_ (fig. e) is found in the irwin river district. _actinoceras hardmani_ is an interesting fossil from the carbopermian of lennard river, n.w. australia. in tasmania the genera _orthoceras_ and _goniatites_ have been recorded from beds of similar age. =triassic cephalopods.--= for triassic cephalopoda we look to new zealand, where, in the mount potts _spiriferina_ beds of the kaihiku series a species of _orthoceras_ has been recorded. the wairoa series next in succession contains _orthoceras_ and an ammonite. =jurassic cephalopods.--= [illustration: =fig. --mesozoic and cainozoic cephalopoda.= a--perisphinctes championensis, crick. jurassic. west australia b--nautilus hendersoni, eth. fil. l. cretaceous. queensland c--haploceras daintreei, eth. sp. l. cretaceous. queensland d--crioceras australe, moore. l. cretaceous. queensland e--aturia australis, mccoy. cainozoic. victoria f--spirulirostra curta, tate. cainozoic (janjukian). victoria ] the jurassic of western australia yields a rich cephalopod fauna, from which may be selected as typical examples the _nautilus_, _n. perornatus_ and the following ammonites: _dorsetensia clarkei_; _normanites australis_; and _perisphinctes championensis_ (fig. a). these all occur in the greenough river district, and at several other jurassic localities in western australia. the jurassic system of new zealand (putataka series) contains _ammonites aucklandicus_ and _belemnites aucklandicus_, both from the upper marine horizon of that series. upper jurassic ammonites belonging to the genera _macrocephalites_ (_m._ cf. _calloviensis_) and _erymnoceras_ (_e._ cf. _coronatum_) have been recorded from papua. =lower cretaceous cephalopods.--= remains of cephalopoda are fairly abundant in the lower cretaceous of australasia. from amongst them may be selected the following--_nautilus hendersoni_ (fig. b) (q.); _haploceras daintreei_ (fig. c) (q. and n.s.w.); _desmoceras flindersi_ (q. and n.s.w.); _schloenbachia inflatus_ (q.); _scaphites cruciformis_ (n. terr.); _ancyloceras flindersi_ (q. and n.s.w.); _crioceras australe_ (fig. d) (q. and s.a.); _belemites australis_ (q.); _b. oxys_ (q., n.s.w., and s.a.); _b. sellheimi_ (q. and s.a.); _b. diptycha_, = _canhami_, tate, (q., n.s.w., and s.a.); and _b. eremos_ (centr. s.a.). =upper cretaceous cephalopods.--= in the upper cretaceous (desert sandstone) of queensland there occurs a belemnite somewhat resembling _belemnites diptycha_, but with a very pointed apex. =cretaceous cephalopods, new zealand.--= in new zealand the amuri system (cretaceous) contains fossils which have been referred to the genera _ammonites_, _baculites_, _hamites_, _ancyloceras_ and _belemnites_, but probably these determinations require some further revision. a species of belemnite has also been noted from probable cretaceous beds in papua. the cainozoic system in victoria contains a true _nautilus, n. geelongensis_; and _aturia australis_ (fig. e), a nautiloid shell having zig-zag suture lines and septal necks enclosing the siphuncle. _a. australis_ is also found in the oamaru series of new zealand; in victoria it has an extensive vertical range, from balcombian to kalimnan (oligocene to lower pliocene). species of _nautilus_ are also found in the janjukian of the murray river cliffs; where, in some cases the shell has been infilled with clear gypsum or selenite, through which can be seen the tubular siphuncle in its original position. _spirulirostra curta_ (fig. f) is an interesting cuttle-bone of rare occurrence. the genus is represented by two other species only, occurring in the miocene of italy and germany. in victoria it is occasionally found in the janjukian marly limestone at bird rock near torquay. common or characteristic fossils of the foregoing chapter. pelecypoda. _ambonychia, macroptera_, tate. cambrian: s. australia. (?) _modiolopsis knowsleyensis_, chapm. l. ordovician: victoria. _orthonota australis_, chapm. silurian (melbournian): victoria. _grammysia cuneiformis_, eth. fil. silurian (melbournian): victoria. _leptodomus maccoyianus_, chapm. silurian (melbournian): victoria. _edmondia perobliqua_, chapm. silurian (melbournian): victoria. _cardiola cornucopiae_, goldfuss sp. silurian (melbournian): victoria. _panenka gippslandica_, mccoy sp. silurian (tanjilian): victoria. _ctenodonta portlocki_, chapm. silurian: victoria. _nuculites maccoyianus_, chapm. silurian: victoria. _nucula melbournensis_, chapm. silurian (melb.): victoria. _palaeoneilo victoriae_, chapm. silurian (melb.): victoria. _pterinea lineata_, goldfuss. silurian (yeringian): victoria. _lunulicardium antistriatum_, chapm. silurian (tanj.): victoria. _conocardium costatum_, cressw. sp. silurian: victoria. _conocardium davidis_, dun. silurian: new south wales. _actinopteria boydi_, conrad sp. silurian (yer.): victoria. _aviculopecten spryi_, chapm. silurian (melb.): victoria. _modiolopsis complanata_, sowerby sp. silurian (melb.): victoria. _goniophora australis_, chapm. silurian (yer.): victoria. _cypricardinia contexta_, barrande. silurian (yer.): victoria. _paracyclas siluricus_, chapm. silurian (melb.): victoria. _actinopteria australis_, dun. devonian: new south wales. _lyriopecten gracilis_, dun. devonian: new south wales. _leptodesma inflatum_, dun. devonian: new south wales. _stutchburia farleyensis_, eth. fil. carbopermian: new south wales. _edmondia nobilissima_, de koninck. carbopermian: new south wales. _deltopecten limaeformis_, morris sp. carbopermian: new south wales, queensland and tasmania. _aviculopecten squamuliferus_, morris sp. carbopermian: new south wales and tasmania. _aviculopecten tenuicollis_, dana sp. carbopermian: new south wales and w. australia. _chaenomya etheridgei_, de koninck sp. carbopermian: new south wales and queensland. _maeonia elongata_, dana. carbopermian: new south wales. _pachydomus globosus_, j. de c. sow. sp. carbopermian: new south wales, tasmania and queensland. _eurydesma cordatum_, morris. carbopermian: new south wales and queensland. _unio dunstani_, eth. fil. trias: new south wales. _unionella carnei_, eth. fil. trias: new south wales. _corbicula burrumensis_, eth. fil. trias: queensland. _daonella lommeli_, wissm. sp. trias: new zealand. _mytilus problematicus_, zittel. trias: new zealand. _monotis salinaria_, zittel. trias: new zealand. _cucullaea semistriata_, moore. jurassic: w. australia. _trigonia moorei_, lycett. jurassic: w. australia. _ctenostreon pectiniforme_, schlotheim sp. jurassic: w. australia. _astarte cliftoni_, moore. jurassic: w. australia. _unio dacombei_, mccoy. jurassic: victoria. _unio eyrensis_, tate. jurassic: s. australia. _nucula truncata_, moore. lower cretaceous: queensland and s. australia. _maccoyella reflecta_, moore sp. l. cretaceous: new south wales, queensland (also u. cretaceous), and s. australia. _maccoyella barkleyi_, moore sp. l. cretaceous: new south wales, queensland and s. australia. _fissilunula clarkei_, moore sp. l. cretaceous: new south wales, queensland, and s. australia; also up. cret. in queensland and south australia. _inoceramus carsoni_, mccoy. lower cretaceous: queensland. _trigonia cinctuta_, eth. fil. lower cretaceous: s. australia. _mytilus rugocostatus_, moore. lower cretaceous: queensland and s. australia. _cyrenopsis opallites_, eth. fil. upper cretaceous: new south wales. _conchothyra parasitica_, hutton. cretaceous: new zealand. _dimya dissimilis_, tate. cainozoic (balc.-kal.): victoria and south australia. _spondylus pseudoradula_, mccoy. cainozoic (balc.-kal.): victoria and south australia. _pecten polymorphoides_, zittel. cainozoic (balc.-kal.): victoria and south australia; also new zealand. _cucullaea corioensis_, mccoy. cainozoic (balc.-kal.): victoria and south australia. _leda vagans_, tate. cainozoic (balc.-kal.): victoria and south australia. _corbula ephamilla_, tate. cainozoic (balc.-kal.): victoria and south australia. _modiola praerupta_, pritchard. cainozoic (balc.): victoria. _pecten praecursor_, chapm. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria. _modiola pueblensis_, pritchard. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria. _limopsis insolita_, sow. sp. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria and s. australia. also oamaru ser., n.z. _cardita tasmanica_, tate. cainozoic (janj.): tasmania. _lucina planatella_, tate. cainozoic (janj.): victoria and tasmania. _pecten novaeguineae_, t. woods. cainozoic (?lower pliocene), yule island, papua. _ostrea manubriata_, tate. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _glycimeris halli_, pritch. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _limopsis beaumariensis_, chapm. cainozoic (kalimnan and werrikooian): victoria. _trigonia howitti_, mccoy. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _meretrix paucirugata_, tate sp. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _venus (chione) subroborata_, tate, sp. cainozoic (kal.): victoria and south australia. scaphopoda. _dentalium tenuissimum_, de koninck. mid. devonian: new south wales. _dentalium huttoni_, bather. jurassic: new zealand. _dentalium wollumbillensis_, eth. fil. l. cretaceous: queensland. _dentalium, mantelli_, zittel. cainozoic: victoria, s. australia and new zealand. polyplacophora. _chelodes calceoloides_, eth. fil. silurian: new south wales. _ischnochiton granulosus_, ashby and torr sp. cainozoic (balc.): victoria. _lorica duniana_, hull. cainozoic (janjukian): tasmania. _cryptoplax pritchardi_, hall. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. gasteropoda. _ophileta subangulata_, tate. cambrian: s. australia. _platyceras etheridgei_, tate. cambrian: s. australia. _salterella planoconvexa_, tate. cambrian: s. australia. _salterella hardmani_, foord. cambrian: w. australia. _hyolithes communis_, billings. cambrian: s. australia. _scenella tenuistriata_, chapm. cambrian (upper): victoria. _ophileta gilesi_, tate. ordovician: s. australia. _raphistoma browni_, tate. ordovician: s. australia. _hyolithes leptus_, chapm. lower ordovician: victoria. _helicotoma johnstoni_, eth. fil. ordovician: tasmania. _coleolus (?) aciculum_, j. hall. silurian (melb.): victoria. _hyolithes spryi_, chapm. silurian (melb.): victoria. _conularia ornatissima_, chapm. silurian (melb.): victoria. _phanerotrema australis_, eth. fil. silurian (yer.): victoria. _gyrodoma etheridgei_, cressw. sp. silurian (yer.): victoria. _trematonotus pritchardi_, cressw. silurian (yer.): victoria. _bellerophon cresswelli_, eth. fil. sp. silurian (yer.) victoria. _euomphalus northi_, eth. fil. sp. silurian (yer.): victoria. _cyclonema australis_, eth. fil. silurian (yer.): victoria. _trochonema montgomerii_, eth. fil. sp. silurian: tasmania. _bellerophon jukesii_, de koninck. silurian: new south wales. _conularia sowerbii_, defrance. silurian: victoria and new south wales. _euomphalus culleni_, dun. devonian: new south wales. _gosseletina australis_, eth. fil. carboniferous: new south wales. _yvania konincki_, eth. fil. carboniferous: new south wales; and carbopermian: queensland. _bellerophon costatus_, sow. carbopermian: w. australia. _mourlonia humilis_, de koninck. carbopermian: west australia and new south wales. _pleurotomaria (ptychomphalina) morrisiana_, mccoy. carbopermian: new south wales. _keeneia platyschismoides_, eth. fil. carbopermian (lower marine): new south wales. _platyschisma oculum_, sow. sp. carbopermian: new south wales and queensland. _macrocheilus filosus_, sow. carbopermian: new south wales. _loxonema babbindonensis_, eth. fil. carbopermian: new south wales. _conularia tenuistriata_, mccoy. carbopermian: new south wales and queensland. _conularia tasmanica_, carbopermian: tasmania. _murchisonia carinata_, etheridge. carbopermian: queensland. _pleurotomaria greenoughiensis_, eth. fil. jurassic: w. australia. _turbo australis_, moore. jurassic: w. australia. _rissoina australis_, moore. jurassic: w. australia. _cinulia hochstetteri_, moore. cretaceous: queensland and s. australia. _natica ornatissima_, moore. cretaceous: s. australia. _pseudamaura variabilis_, moore sp. cretaceous: new south wales, queensland and s. australia. _anchura wilkinsoni_, eth. fil. cretaceous: queensland and s. australia. _rostellaria waiparensis_, hector. cretaceous: new zealand. _niso psila_, t. woods. cainozoic (balc.-kal.): victoria and s. australia. _crepidula unguiformis_, lam. cainozoic (balc.-recent): victoria and tasmania. _natica hamiltonensis_, tate. cainozoic (balc.-recent): victoria and south australia. _turritella murrayana_, tate. cainozoic (balc.-kal.): victoria, s. australia and tasmania. _cerithium apheles_, t. woods. cainozoic (balc.-kal.): victoria. _volutilithes antiscalaris_, mccoy sp. cainozoic (balc.-werrikooian): victoria. _ancilla pseudaustralis_, tate sp. cainozoic (balc.-kal.): victoria, s. australia and tasmania. _cypraea ampullacea_, tate. cainozoic (balc.): victoria. _murex didyma_, tate. cainozoic (balc.): victoria. _eburnopsis aulacoessa_, tate. cainozoic (balc.): victoria. _cancellaria calvulata_, tate. cainozoic (balc.): victoria. _vaginella eligmostoma_, tate. cainozoic (balc.): victoria. _eutrochus fontinalis_, pritchard. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria. _turbo atkinsoni_, pritchard. cainozoic (janjukian): tasmania and victoria. _scala lampra_, tate sp. cainozoic (janjukian): s. australia. _natica gibbosa_, hutton. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria. also oamaru and wanganui series: new zealand. _morio wilsoni_, tate. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria. _voluta heptagonalis_, tate. cainozoic (janjukian): s. australia. _volutilithes anticingulatus_, mccoy sp. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria and tasmania. also papua. _bathytoma paracantha_, t. woods sp. cainozoic (janj.): victoria and tasmania. also papua. _dolium costatum_, deshayes. cainozoic. (? lower pliocene): yule island, papua. _bankivia howitti_, pritch. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _eglisia triplicata_, tate sp. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _voluta masoni_, tate. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _ancilla papillata_, tate sp. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _drillia wanganuiensis_, hutton. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. also petane series: new zealand. _terebra geniculata_, tate. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _pleurotomaria tertiaria_, mccoy. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. also oamaru series: new zealand. _scala lyrata_, zittel sp. cainozoic (oamaru): new zealand. _natica darwinii_, hutton. cainozoic (oamaru): new zealand. _turritella cavershamensis_, harris. cainozoic (oamaru): new zealand. _ancilla hebera_, hutton sp. cainozoic (oamaru): new zealand. also (balc. and janj.): victoria, south australia and tasmania. _pleurotoma hamiltoni_, hutton. cainozoic (oamaru): new zealand. _natica ovata_, hutton. cainozoic (awatere series): new zealand. _struthiolaria sulcata_, hutton. cainozoic (awatere series): new zealand. _trophon expansus_, hutton. cainozoic (petane series): new zealand. _pisania drewi_, hutton. cainozoic (petane series): new zealand. _bankivia fasciata_, menke. cainozoic (werrikooian-recent): victoria. _astralium aureum_, jonas sp. cainozoic (werrikooian-recent): victoria. _natica subinfundibulum_, tate. cainozoic (balc.-werr.): victoria and s. australia. _nassa pauperata_, lam. cainozoic (werr.-rec.): victoria. _helix tasmaniensis_, sow. cainozoic (pleistocene): tasmania. _helix geilstonensis_, johnston. cainozoic (pleistocene): tasmania. _panda atomata_, gray sp. cainozoic (pleist.-rec.): victoria and new south wales. cephalopoda. _endoceras warburtoni_, eth. fil. ordovician: s. australia. _orthoceras gossei_, eth. fil. ordovician: s. australia. _orthoceras ibiciforme_, tate. ordovician: s. australia. _trochoceras reticostatum_, tate. ordovician: s. australia. _actinoceras tatei_, eth. fil. sp. ordovician: s. australia. _orthoceras capillosum_, barrande. silurian: victoria. _orthoceras lineare_, münster sp. silurian (yer.): victoria. _cycloceras bullatum_, sow. sp. silurian (melbournian): victoria. _cycloceras ibex_, sow. sp. silurian (melbournian): victoria. _kionoceras striatopunctatum_, münster sp. silurian (tanjilian): victoria. _phragmoceras subtrigonum_, mccoy. mid. devonian: victoria. _gyroceras philpi_, eth. fil. mid. devonian: queensland. _orthoceras striatum_, sow. carbopermian: new south wales. _agathiceras micromphalum_, morris sp. carbopermian: new south wales and w. australia. _gastrioceras jacksoni_, eth. fil. carbopermian: w. australia. _actinoceras hardmani_, eth. fil. carbopermian: n.w. australia. _nautilus perornatus_, crick. jurassic: w. australia. _dorsetensia clarkei_, crick. jurassic: w. australia. _normanites australis_, crick sp. jurassic: w. australia. _perisphinctes championensis_, crick. jurassic: w. australia. _ammonites aucklandicus_, hector. jurassic: new zealand. _belemnites aucklandicus_, hector. jurassic: new zealand. _nautilus hendersoni_, eth. fil. lower cretaceous: queensland. _haploceras daintreei_, etheridge sp. lower cretaceous: queensland and new south wales. _ancyloceras flindersi_, mccoy. lower cretaceous: queensland and new south wales. _crioceras australe_, moore. lower cretaceous: queensland and s. australia. _scaphites eruciformis_, eth. fil. lower cretaceous: northern territory. _belemnites diptycha_, mccoy. lower cretaceous: queensland, new south wales, and s. australia. _belemnites eremos_, tate. lower cretaceous: s. australia. _nautilus geelongensis_, foord. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria. _aturia australis_, mccoy. cainozoic (balc.-kal.): victoria. oamaru series: new zealand. _spirulirostra curta_, tate. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria. * * * * * literature. mollusca. cambrian.--foord, a. h. geol. mag., dec. iii. vol. vii. , pp. , (pteropoda). tate, r. trans. r. soc. s. austr., vol. xv. , pp. - (pelec. and gastr.), pp. , (pteropoda). etheridge, r. jnr. trans. r. soc. s. austr., vol. xxix. , p. (pteropoda). chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xxiii. pt. ii. , pp. , (gastr.). ordovician.--etheridge, r. jnr. parl. papers, leg. assemb., s. austr., no. , , pp. , (gastr. and ceph.). tate, r. rep. horn. sci. exped., pt. , , pp. - . chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vic., vol. xv. pt. ii. , pp. , (_hyolithes_). silurian.--mccoy, f. prod. pal. vic., dec. vi. , pp. - . etheridge, r. jnr. rec. austr. mus., vol. i. no. , , pp. - (gastr.). idem, ibid., vol. i. no. , , pp. - (pelec. and gastr.). cresswell, a. w. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. v. , pp. - . etheridge, r. jun. rec. austr. mus., vol. iii. no. , , pp. - (gastr.). idem, rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. v. pt. , , pp. - (_chelodes_). de koninck, l. g. mem. geo. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , , pp. - . etheridge, r. jnr. prog. rep. geol. surv. vict., no. xi. , pp. , (pelec.). idem, rec. austr. mus., vol. v. no. , , pp. - (ceph.). chapman, f. proc. r. soc., vict., vol. xvi. pt. . , pp. - (pteropoda). idem, mem. nat. mus. melbourne, no. , (pelecypoda). devonian.--mccoy, f. prod. pal., vict., dec. iv. , pp. , (ceph.). etheridge, r. jnr. geol. and pal. queensland, , p. (_gyroceras_). de koninck, l. g. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , , pp. - . carboniferous.--etheridge, r. jnr. rec. austr. mus., vol. iii. no. , , pp. - (_actinoceras_). idem, geol. surv. w.a., bull. no. , , pp. - . carbopermian.--morris, j., in strzelecki's phys. descr. of new south wales, etc., , pp. - and - . foord, a. h. geol. mag., dec. iii. vol. vii. , pp. , . etheridge, r. jnr. geol. and pal. queensland, , pp. - . idem., proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. ix. , pp. - (pelec. and gastr.). de koninck, l. g. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , , pp. - . etheridge, r. jnr. and dun, w. s. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , vol. ii. pt. i. (_palaeopecten_). idem, ibid., vol. ii., pt. , (_eurydesma_). trias.--zittel, k. novara exped., vol. i. abth. ii. geol. theil., , pp. - . etheridge, r. jnr. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , , pp. - . jurassic.--zittel, k. novara exped., vol. i., abth. ii. geol. theil., , pp. - . moore, c. quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. xxvi. pp. - (jurassic and cretaceous moll.). etheridge, r. jnr. ibid., vol. xxviii. , pp. - (palaeozoic, jur. and cret. moll.). crick, g. c. geol. mag., dec. iv. vol. i. , pp. and - (ceph.). chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xvi. pt. ii. , pp. - . marshall, p. trans. new zealand inst., vol. xli. , pp. - (new zealand ceph.). etheridge, r. jnr. geol. surv. w.a. bull. no. , , pp. - . cretaceous.--etheridge, r. jnr. geol. and pal. queensland, , pp. - and - . idem, geol. surv. queensland, bull. no. , , pp. - . idem, mem. roy. soc. s. aust., vol. ii. pt. , (s.a. moll.). idem, mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , , pp. - (new south wales moll.). cainozoic.--zittel, k. novara exped. geol. theil., vol. i. abth. ii. , pp. - (pelec. and gastr. new zealand). mccoy, f. prod., pal. vict., dec. i. ; dec. ii. ; dec. iii. ; dec. v. ; dec. vi. . woods, j. e. t. proc. r. soc. tas. ( ), , pp. - (table cape moll.). idem, proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. iii. , pp. - (muddy creek moll.). idem, ibid., vol. iv. , pp. - . hutton, f. w. trans. new zealand inst. vol. ix. , pp. - . ibid., vol. xvii. , pp. - (new zealand pelec. and gastr.). idem, proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. i. nd ser. ( ), , pp. - , (distr. lists, pareora and oamaru). idem, macleay, mem. vol. linn. soc. new south wales, , pp. - (pliocene moll. new zealand). tate, r. trans. r. soc. s. austr., vol. vii. , pp. - , and vol. ix., , pp. - (pelec.); ibid., pp. - (scaphopoda); ibid., - (pteropoda). idem, ibid., vol. x. , pp. - ; vol. xi. , pp. - ; vol. xiii. , pp. - ; and vol. xvii. , pp. - (gastr.). idem, journ. r. soc., new south wales, vol. xxvii. , pp. - . idem, ibid., vol. xxxi. , pp. - (gastr. and pelec.). idem, trans. roy. soc. s. austr., vol. xxiii. , pp. - (revision of moll.). pritchard, g. b. proc. roy. soc. vic., vol. vii. , pp. - (pelec.). idem, ibid., vol. viii. , pp. - (moll. of t. cape). idem, ibid., vol. xi. pt. i. , pp. - (gastr.). idem, ibid., vol. xiv. pt. i. , pp. - (pelec.). idem, ibid., vol. xvi. pt. ii. , pp. - (pelec.). idem, ibid., vol. xvi. pt. i. , pp. - (_pleurotomaria_). idem, ibid., vol. xvii. pt. i. , pp. - (gastr.) idem, ibid., vol. xxvi. (n.s.) pt. i. , pp. - (volutes). hall, t. s. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xvii. pt. ii. , pp. - (chitons). ashby, e. and torr. w. g. trans. r. soc. s. austr., vol. xxv. , pp. - (chitons). thomson, j. a. trans. new zealand inst., vol. xl. , pp. , (n.z. moll.). chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict. vol. xx. pt. ii. , pp. - (chiton). idem, ibid., vol. xxv. pt. i. , pp. - (gastr.). chapter xi. fossil trilobites, crustacea and insects. =arthropods and their structure.--= the above-named fossil groups are included by zoologists in the sub-kingdom arthropoda ("joint-footed animals"). the arthropods possess a body and limbs composed of a number of jointed segments covered externally with a hard, shelly material and separated by a softer, flexible skin. they have no internal skeleton, and therefore the only portion which can be preserved in the fossil state is the harder part of the outer covering. under exceptional conditions of fossilisation, however, even frail insects such as ants, wasps and dragon-flies are sometimes found more or less wholly preserved and showing their original minute structure. =subdivisions of arthropoda.--= the principal representatives of the group of the arthropods which are found as fossils include the trilobites; various crustacea proper, as crabs, lobsters, shrimps, pod-shrimps and water-fleas; the insects; and occasionally spiders and scorpions (arachnida). the king-crabs and eurypterids (as the extinct _pterygotus_) form a separate sub-class, the merostomata, which are placed by some authors in the group of spiders and scorpions: their remains date back to the time when the older palaeozoic strata were deposited. =crustacea, an archaic group.--= a typical division of the arthropod group, and one which was well represented from the earliest period up to the present day, is the _crustacea_. as the name denotes, these animals are generally invested with a strong shelly covering or "crust," usually of horny or chitinous material, which in some forms is strengthened by deposits of phosphate of lime. of the horny condition of the shell the groups of the bivalved crustacea (ostracoda) and the "water-fleas" (entomostraca) supply notable instances; whilst the limy-structured shell is seen in the common crab. some authorities separate the great extinct group of the trilobites from the rest of the crustacea; but it will here be convenient, in a preliminary study, to consider them together. =development of crustacea.--= the development of the lower forms of the crustacea is interesting, from the fact that the young usually escapes from the egg in a larval state known as a "nauplius." in this stage there are no segments to the body, and but a solitary median eye, such as may be seen in the common water-flea known to microscopists as _cyclops_. the three pairs of appendages seen in this larval crustacean represent the two pairs of antennae and the jaws or mandibles of the full-grown form. among the higher crustacea, however, there is no larval form; the young escaping from the egg in a more or less highly developed condition resembling the adult. the group of the crabs, lobsters and shrimps (or decapoda, _i.e._, having ten ambulatory feet) exhibit a larval stage in which the young form ("zoea") has a segmented abdomen and seven pairs of appendages. =trilobites.--= the first group of arthropods here described is that of the _trilobites_. these were so named on account of the three-lobed form of the body. this particular feature distinguishes them from the crustacea proper; which includes the phyllopods (with leaf-like limbs), as the freshwater _estheria_, the ostracoda or bivalved water-fleas, the barnacles or cirripedia and the higher crustacea (malacostraca), including shrimps, crabs, and lobsters, of which the oldest representatives are the pod-shrimps (phyllocarida). =habits of trilobites.--= the remains of these primitive but often strikingly ornamented crustacean-like animals, the trilobites, are found in comparative abundance in the limestones, mudstones, and even the sandstones of the older sedimentary rocks of australasia. they were amongst the most prolific types of animal life existing in the seas of palaeozoic times, and are especially characteristic of cambrian, ordovician and silurian rocks. trilobites, as a group, seem to have adapted themselves to almost all conditions of marine life: some are found in the hardened black mud of shallow waters, whilst others are to be looked for in the limestones and excessively fine sediments of deeper waters. in all probability certain of these forms crawled over the soft, oozy sea-bed in order to obtain their food, and consequently their remains in the stratified rocks would be restricted to the fine black shales; whilst the freely swimming forms could change their habitat at will, and would be found alike in sandy or clayey deposits. as some indication of their varied habits, the eyes of trilobites differ greatly in size. they are always compound like the eye of the house-fly, though of a semi-lunar shape. in some forms the eyes are very small or even absent, whilst in others they are exceedingly large and prominent. this latter feature probably indicates their frequenting moderately deep water. [illustration: =fig. --diagram-restoration of an australian trilobite.= (dalmanites meridianus, eth. fil. and mitch, sp.) to show the sutures or joints, and the structure of the back of the carapace. about / natural size. ] =structure of trilobites.--= the complete structure and zoological relationship of the trilobites has always been open to some doubt. as regards the former, within recent years exceptionally well-preserved specimens from the utica slates and the cincinnati limestone of ohio, rocks of ordovician age, have been discovered and dissected, whereby our knowledge of the organisation of this group is greatly advanced. these remarkable fossil remains show that the trilobites bore on their under surface a number of appendages, one pair to each segment, except that of the anal. the front pair is whip-like and served as antennae; the others are branched, the forward portion being a crawling limb, and the hinder, which was fringed with bristles or thin plates, may have served either for swimming or breathing. at the base of the four pairs of appendages attached to the head there was an arrangement for biting the food, from whence it was passed to the mouth. taking one of the commonest australasian trilobites, _dalmanites meridianus_, for an example of general structure, and looking at the back of the shell or upper surface, we see the trilobate (three-lobed) form well defined (fig. ). the central ridge is termed the axis, and on either side of this are arranged the pleural lobes, each well marked transverse division of which, in the central or thoracic region, being a pleuron or rib. the whole body is divided into three more or less distinct portions,--the head-shield or cephalon, the thorax, and the tail-shield or pygidium. the central area of the head-shield is called the glabella or cranidium, against which, on either side, are placed the free cheeks carrying the compound sessile eyes when present. the appendages of the head are pediform or leglike, arranged in five pairs, and biramous or forked, excepting the antennae, which are simple and used as sensory organs. in front of the mouth is the hypostoma or forelip, and behind it is the metastoma or hind-lip. the segments of the head-shield are most closely united, and in all the trilobites are of the same number. those of the thorax have flexible joints and are variable in number. the segments of the abdomen are fused together and form a caudal shield or pygidium. the larval stage of the trilobite was a protonauplian form (that is more primitive than the nauplius), the protoaspis; the adult stage, being attained by the addition of segments at the successive moults. the earliest known trilobites in australia are some cambrian species from south australia, western australia, victoria, and tasmania. =lower cambrian trilobites.--= [illustration: =fig. --cambrian trilobites.= a--ptychoparia howchini, eth. fil. l. cambrian. south australia b--dolichometopus tatei, h. woodw. l. cambrian. south australia c--agnostus australiensis, chapm. up. cambrian. victoria d--ptychoparia thielei, chapm. up. cambrian. victoria e--dikellocephalus florentinensis, eth. fil. l. cambrian. tasmania ] in the lower cambrian limestone of yorke peninsula, south australia, the following trilobites occur:--a species doubtfully referred to _olenellus_ (? _o. pritchardi_); _ptychoparia howchini_ (fig. a); _p. australis_; _dolichometopus tatei_ (fig. b); and _microdiscus subsagittatus_. the cambrian of the northern territory contains _olenellus brownii_. in western australia _olenellus forresti_ is found in similar beds. =upper cambrian trilobites.--= the dolodrook limestone (upper cambrian) of gippsland, victoria, contains the remains of the primitive little trilobite _agnostus_ (_a. australiensis_, fig. c); _crepicephalus_ (_c. etheridgei_); and _ptychoparia_ (_p. thielei_ (fig. d) and _p. minima_). the upper cambrian sandstones of caroline creek, tasmania, contain _dikellocephalus_ (_d. tasmanicus_); a species of _asaphus_ and _ptychoparia_ (_p. stephensi_). beds of the same age in the florentine valley, tasmania, have yielded _dikellocephalus_ (_d. florentinensis_, fig. e). =ordovician trilobites.--= trilobites of lower ordovician age or even older, are found in the knowsley beds near heathcote in victoria. they are referred to two genera, _dinesus_ and _notasaphus_. both forms belong to the ancient family of the asaphidae. associated with these trilobites are some doubtful species of sea-weed, spicules of siliceous sponges, traces of threadlike hydrozoa, some fragments of graptolites allied to _bryograptus_, and several brachiopods. at the lyndhurst gold-fields, near mandurama, new south wales, trilobites related to the genus _shumardia_ have been found associated with brachiopods (lamp-shells), pteropods (sea-butterflies), and graptolites (hydrozoa) of an upper ordovician facies. the limestone beds at laurie's creek and other localities in central australia contain remains of _asaphus illarensis_, _a. howchini_ and _a. lissopelta_; whilst in the limestone and quartzite of middle valley, tempe downs, _a. thorntoni_ also occurs. =silurian trilobites.--= [illustration: =fig. --older silurian trilobites.= a--ampyx parvulus, forbes, var. jikaensis, chapm. silurian (melb.) victoria b--cypaspis spryi, gregory. silurian (melb.) victoria c--homalonotus harrisoni, mccoy. silurian (melb.) victoria d--phacops latigenalis, eth. fil. and mitch. silurian. n.s. wales ] trilobites are well-known fossils in the australasian silurian strata. as they occur rather abundantly along with other fossils in rocks of this age they are extremely useful aids in separating the system into the different beds or zones. in victoria the silurian is divisible into two sets of beds: an older, or melbournian stage (the bed-rock of melbourne) and a younger, yeringian (lilydale series). trilobites of melbournian age are found to belong to the genera _ampyx_, _illaenus_, _proetus_, _cyphaspis_, _encrinurus (cromus)_ and _homalonotus_. the commonest species are _cyphaspis spryi_ (fig. b), and _encrinurus (cromus) spryi_ from the south yarra mudstones; and _ampyx parvulus_, var. _jikaensis_ (fig. a), and _homalonotus harrisoni_ (fig. c), from the sandstone of moonee ponds creek. the handsome _dalmanites meridianus_ and _homalonotus vomer_ occur at wandong in what appear to be passage beds between the melbournian and yeringian. the yeringian of victoria is far richer in trilobites than the preceding series, and includes the genera _proetus_, _cyphaspis_, _bronteus_, _lichas_, _odontopleura_, _encrinurus_, _calymene_, _homalonotus_, _cheirurus_, and _phacops_. the rocks in this division occur as mudstones, limestones, and occasionally sandstones and conglomerates. the mudstones, however, prevail, and these pass insensibly into impure limestones of a blue-black colour, weathering to brown, as at seville; the change of structure indicating less turbid water. at lilydale, and on the thomson river, as well as at loyola and waratah bay, almost pure limestone occurs, which represents clear water conditions, not necessarily deep; there, however, trilobites are scarce, and the prevailing fauna is that of an ancient coral reef. some described yeringian species are _lichas australis_ (fig. a), _odontopleura jenkinsi_ (fig. b) (found also in new south wales), _encrinurus punctatus_ (fig. c), _calymene tuberculosa_, _bronteus enormis_, _phacops sweeti_, and _p. serratus_ (fig. e). in _calymene_ ("covered up") the joints of the thorax are facetted at the angles, so that each pleuron could work over that immediately behind; in consequence of this it could roll itself up like a woodlouse or slater, hence the name of the genus. this trilobite also occurs in england, and is there known amongst the quarry men and fossil collectors as the "dudley locust." perhaps the most characteristic and common trilobite of the yeringian series in victoria is _phacops sweeti_ (fig. d), formerly identified with barrande's _p. fecundus_, from which it differs in the longer and larger eye with more numerous lenses. it is found in victoria in the upper yarra district near the junction of the woori yallock and the yarra rivers; north-west of lilydale; near seville; at loyola near mansfield; and at fraser's creek near springfield, kilmore. [illustration: =fig. --newer silurian trilobites.= a--lichas australis, mccoy. silurian (yeringian). victoria b--odontopleura jenkinsi. eth. fil. and mitch. silurian. n.s. wales c--encrinurus punctatus, brunnich sp. silurian. n.s. wales. d--phacops sweeti, eth. fil. and mitch. silurian. n.s. wales e--phacops serratus, foerste. silurian. n.s. wales ] in new south wales trilobites are abundant in the yass district, amongst other localities, where the upper beds, corresponding to the yeringian of victoria, are well developed. _dalmanites meridianus_ is common to the silurian of new south wales, victoria, and tasmania. in victoria this handsome species is found in the hard, brown, sandy mudstone of broadhurst's and kilmore creeks, and, as previously noted, in the hard, blue mudstone of wandong. at the latter locality specimens may be found in the railway ballast quarry, where they are known to the workmen as "fossil butterflies." the species also occurs at the famous fossil locality of hatton's corner, yass; at bowning; and at limestone creek, all in new south wales. other trilobites occurring in the silurian of new south wales are _odontopleura jenkinsi_, _o. bowningensis_, _cheirurus insignis_ and _phacops latigenalis_ (fig. d). in the wangapeka series of new zealand the calcareous shales and limestones of the upper division contain _calymene blumenbachii_, _homalonotus knightii_ and _h. expansus_. =devonian trilobites.--= trilobites suddenly became rare in the australian devonian. the only known examples of trilobite remains belong to a species of _cheirurus_ occasionally found in the middle devonian limestone of buchan, victoria; and a species of _proetus_ in the devonian of barker gorge, napier range, west australia. =carbopermian trilobites.--= trilobites of carbopermian age are found in new south wales, queensland, and western australia. all the genera belong to the family proetidae. the genera _phillipsia_ (_p. seminifera_, fig. a), _griffithides_ (_g. eichwaldi_, fig. b), and _brachymetopus_ (_b. strzelecki_, fig. c) occur in new south wales. _griffithides eichwaldi_ is also found in queensland. other queensland species are _phillipsia woodwardi_, _p. seminifera_ var. _australasica_ and _p. dubia_. _phillipsia grandis_ is found in the carbopermian of the gascoyne river, western australia. [illustration: =fig. --carboniferous trilobites and a phyllopod.= a--phillipsia seminifera, phillips. carboniferous. n.s. wales b--griffithides eichwaldi, waldheim. carboniferous. n.s. wales c--brachymetopus strzelecki, mccoy. carboniferous. n.s. wales d--estheria coghlani, cox. triassic. n.s. wales ] =phyllopoda in carboniferous, triassic and jurassic.= the _phyllopoda_, which belong to the crustacea in the strict sense of the term, comprise the estheriidae and cladocera (water-fleas). the former group is represented by _leaia mitchelli_, which is found in the upper carboniferous or carbopermian of the newcastle district, new south wales. in the still later hawkesbury series (triassic) of new south wales, _estheria coghlani_ (fig. d) occurs. this species is a minute form, the carapace measuring from . mm. to mm. in the longer diameter of the shell. in the upper part of the wairoa series (triassic) of nelson, new zealand, there is found another species of _estheria_, identified with a european form _e. minuta_. _estheria mangaliensis_ is another form occurring in the jurassic (ipswich series) of queensland. at the present day these little _estheriae_ sometimes swarm in countless numbers in freshwater lakes or salt marshes. =ostracoda: their structure.--= passing on to the next group, the bivalved _ostracoda_, we note that these have existed from the earliest geological periods to the present day. they are usually of minute size, commonly about the sixteenth of an inch in length, although some attained a length of nearly one inch (_leperditia_). their bodies are indistinctly segmented, and are enclosed within a horny or calcareous shell. this shell consists of two valves which are joined along the back by a ligament or hinge, the ends and ventral edge remaining quite free. the pairs of appendages present are the antennae ( ), mandibles ( ), maxillae ( ), and thoracic feet ( ). the only portion found in the fossil state is the bivalved carapace, the two valves being frequently met with still united, especially when these tiny animals have settled down quietly on the sea-bed and have been quickly covered with sediment. =features of the ostracod carapace.--= since the body parts of the ostracod are wanting in the fossil examples, the generic determination is attended with some difficulty, especially in regard to the smooth or bean-shaped forms. the chief distinctive characters to note are, the contour of the carapace seen in three directions (top, side and end views), the structure of the hinge, and the position and figure of the muscle-spots or points of adhesion of the muscular bands which hold or relax the two valves. the valves in certain genera fit closely upon one another. in others, one overlaps the other, the larger being sometimes the right (as in _leperditia_), sometimes the left (as in _leperditella_). the hinge-line is often simple or flange-like, or it may consist of a groove and corresponding bar, or there may be a series of teeth and sockets. lateral eye-tubercles are sometimes seen on the surface of the valve, whilst in the animal there was also a small eye. =habits of ostracoda.--= ostracoda swarmed in many of the streams, lakes and seas of past geological times, and they still exist in vast numbers under similar conditions. like some other minute forms of life, they played a most important part in building up the rock formations of the sedimentary series of the earth's crust; and by the decomposition of the organism itself they are of real economic value, seeing that in some cases their decay resulted in the subsequent production of oil or kerosene shales and bituminous limestones. the carboniferous oil shales in the lothians of scotland, for example, are crowded with the carapaces of ostracoda associated with the remains of fishes. =cambrian ostracoda.--= some undescribed forms of the genus _leperditia_ occur in the hard, sub-crystalline cambrian limestone of curramulka, south australia. =silurian ostracoda.--= in victoria and new south wales the oldest rocks from which we have obtained the remains of ostracoda up to the present, are the uppermost silurians, in which series they occur both in the limestone and the mudstone. in victoria their bivalved carapaces are more often found in the limestone; but one genus, _beyrichia_, is also met with in abundance in the mudstone. these mudstones, by the way, must have originally contained a large percentage of carbonate of lime, since the casts of the shells of mollusca are often excessively abundant in the rock, and the mudstone is cavernous, resembling an impure, decalcified limestone. these yeringian mudstones of victoria seem, therefore, to be the equivalent of the calcareous shales met with in the wenlock and gotland series in europe; a view entirely in accordance with the character of the remainder of the fauna. one of the commonest of the silurian ostracods is _beyrichia kloedeni_, a form having an extensive distribution in europe. it occurs in the silurian mudstone of the upper yarra district. other species of the same genus are _b. wooriyallockensis_ (fig. a), distinguished from the former by differences in the shape of the lobes and its longer valves; also a form with narrow lobes, _b. kilmoriensis_; and the ornate _b. maccoyiana_, var. _australis_. of the smooth-valved forms, mention may be made of _bythocypris hollii_, _b. caudalis_ (fig. d), and the striking form, _macrocypris flexuosa_. regarding the group of the _primitiae_, of which as many as thirteen species and varieties have been described from the lilydale limestone, we may mention as common forms _p. reticristata_ (fig. e) and _p. punctata_. this genus is distinguished by the bean-shaped or purse-shaped carapace, with its well developed marginal flange and mid-dorsal pit. other genera which occur in our silurians and are of great interest on account of their distribution elsewhere. are _isochilina_, _aparchites_, _xestoleberis_, _aechmina_, and _argilloecia_. [illustration: =fig. --silurian ostracoda.= a--beyrichia wooriyallockensis, chapm. silurian (yer.) victoria b--xestoleberis lilydalensis, chapm. silurian (yer.) victoria c--argilloecia acuta, jones and kirkby. silurian (yer.) victoria d--bythocypris caudalis, jones. silurian (yer.) victoria e--primitia reticristata, jones. silurian (yer.) victoria ] the largest ostracod yet described from australia, measuring more than a quarter of an inch in length, occurs in the upper silurian of cliftonwood, near yass, new south wales. it belongs to the genus _leperditia_ (_l. shearsbii_), and is closely related to _l. marginata_, keyserling sp.; which occurs in strata of similar age in the swedish and russian baltic area. a limestone at fifield, new south wales, probably of silurian age, contains _primitia_, _kloedenia_, and _beyrichia_. =devonian ostracoda.--= the little _primitia cuneus_ (fig. a) with a bean-shaped carapace and median pit or depression occurs somewhat frequently in the middle devonian limestone of buchan, victoria. another species, _primitia yassensis_, is found in the shaly rock of narrengullen greek, new south wales. it is probable that many other species of the group of the ostracoda remain to be described from australian devonian rocks. =carboniferous ostracoda.--= in queensland a conspicuous little ostracod is _beyrichia varicosa_ from the star beds of corner creek. =carbopermian ostracoda.--= in the carbopermian of cessnock, new south wales, _primitia dunii_ occurs; and in that of farley is found _jonesina etheridgei_. from both these localities _leperditia prominens_ was also obtained. another species from new south wales is _entomis jonesi_ (fig. b), described from the muree sandstone by de koninck. [illustration: =fig. --upper palaeozoic and mesozoic ostracoda.= a--primitia cuneus, chapm. mid. devonian. victoria b--entomis jonesi, de kon. carboniferous. new south wales c--synaphe mesozoica, chapm. sp. triassic. new south wales d--cythere lobulata, chapm. jurassic. west australia e--paradoxorhyncha foveolata, chapm. jurassic. west australia f--loxoconcha jurassica, chapm. jurassic. west australia g--cytheropteron australiense, chapm. jurassic. west australia ] =triassic ostracoda.--= the triassic (wiannamatta shales) of grose vale, new south wales has afforded a few specimens of ostracoda belonging to _synaphe_ (_s. mesozoica_, fig. c), _? darwinula_, and _? cytheridea_. =jurassic ostracoda.--= the marine jurassic strata of western australia at geraldton, have yielded a small but interesting series of ostracoda, largely of modern generic types. the genera, which were found in a rubbly _trigonia_-limestone, are _cythere_, _paradoxorhyncha_, _loxoconcha_, and _cytheropteron_. [illustration: =fig. --cainozoic ostracoda.= a--bairdia amygdaloides, g. s. brady. balcombian. victoria b--cythere clavigera, g. s. brady. balcombian. victoria c--cythere scabrocuneata, g. s. brady. balcombian. victoria d--cytherella punctata, g. s. brady. balcombian. victoria ] =cainozoic ostracoda.--= the fossiliferous clays and calcareous sands of the southern australian cainozoic beds often contain abundant remains of ostracoda. the moderately shallow seas in which the fossiliferous clays, such as those of balcombe's bay, were laid down, teemed with these minute bivalved crustacea. all the forms found in these beds are microscopic. they either belong to living species, or to species closely allied to existing forms. some of the more prominent of the balcombian species are _cythere senticosa_, a form which is now found living at tenedos, and _c. clavigera_ (fig. b), with the young form sometimes referred to as _c. militaris_, a species which may still be dredged alive in hobson's bay. other genera common in these clays are _bairdia_, with its broad, pear-shaped carapace, represented by the still living _b. amygdaloides_ (fig. a). _cytherella_, with its compressed, subquadrate carapace, as seen in _c. punctata_ (fig. d), a species having an elaborate series of muscle-spots, and which, like the previous species, is found living in australian seas; and _macrocypris_, with its slender, pointed, pear-shaped outline. =cirripedia: their habits and structure.--= _cirripedia or barnacles._--these curious modifications of the higher group of crustacea (eucrustacea) date back to ordovician times. they appear to have tried every possible condition of existence; and although they are mostly of shallow water habits, some are found at the great depth of , fathoms (over two miles). those which secrete lime or have calcareous shells, attach themselves to stones, pieces of wood, shell-fish, crabs, corals and sea-weeds. others are found embedded in the thick skin of whales and dolphins, or in cavities which they have bored in corals or shells of molluscs. some are found parasitic in the stomachs of crabs and lobsters, or within other cirripedes. they begin life, after escaping from the egg, as a free-swimming, unsegmented larva ("nauplius" stage), and before settling down, pass through the free-swimming, segmented "cypris" stage, which represents the pupa condition, and in which state they explore their surroundings in search of a suitable resting place for their final change and fixed condition. just before this occurs, glands are developed in the pupa barnacle, which open into the suckers of the first pair of appendages or antennae. when a suitable place for fixation has been found, these glands pour out a secretion which is not dissolved by water, and thus the barnacle is fixed head downwards to its permanent position. the compound eyes of the "cypris" stage disappear, and henceforth the barnacle is blind. the characteristic plates covering the barnacle are now developed, and the six pairs of swimming feet become the cirri or plumes, with which the barnacle, by incessant waving, procures its food. in short, as remarked by one authority, it is a crustacean "fixed by its head, and kicking the food into its mouth with its legs." cirripedes may be roughly divided into two groups, the acorn barnacles and the goose barnacles. although dissimilar in general appearance, they pass through identical stages, and are closely related in most of their essential characters. the latter forms are affixed by a chitinous stalk or peduncle, whilst the acorn barnacles are more or less conical and affixed by the base. =silurian cirripedes.--= the stalked barnacles are probably the oldest group, being found as far back as the ordovician period. in australia the genus _turrilepas_ occurs in silurian rocks, _t. mitchelli_ (fig. a) being found at bowning in the yass district of new south wales. the isolated plume-like plates of _t. yeringiae_ (fig. b) are not uncommon in the olive mudstone of the lilydale district in victoria. [illustration: =fig. --fossil cirripedia.= a--turrilepas mitchelli, eth. fil. silurian. new south wales b--turrilepas yeringiae, chapm. silurian. victoria c--(?) pollicipes aucklandicus, hector sp. cainozoic (oamaru series). new zealand ] [illustration: =fig. --living and fossil cirripedes.= a--lepas anatifera, l. common goose barnacle. living b--lepas pritchardi, hall. cainozoic. victoria ] =cainozoic lepadidae.--= the genus _lepas_ (the modern goose barnacles) is represented by isolated plates in the cainozoic (janjukian) limestones and marls of waurn ponds, and torquay near geelong: it also occurs in a stratum of about the same age, the nodule bed, at muddy creek, near hamilton, victoria (_l. pritchardi_, fig. ). in new zealand the gigantic cirripede, _?pollicipes aucklandicus_ (fig. c), occurs in the motutapu beds. =cainozoic balanidae.--= the acorn barnacles are represented in our cainozoic shell marls and clays by a species of _balanus_ from the janjukian of torquay; whilst two species of the genus occur in the kalimnan beds at beaumaris, port phillip, in similar beds in the hamilton district, and at the gippsland lakes. =phyllocarida: their structure.--= a large and important group of the higher crustacea, but confined to the older rocks of victoria, is the order _phyllocarida_. this seems to form a link between the entomostraca, including the bivalved ostracoda and the well-known group of the lobsters, shrimps and crabs. the body of these phyllocarids consists of five segments to the head, eight to the thorax, and from two to eight to the abdomen. the portion usually preserved in this group is the carapace, which covers the head and thorax, and although often in one piece, is sometimes hinged, or otherwise articulated along the back. in front of the carapace there is a moveable plate, the rostrum or beak (fig. ). there are two pairs of antennae to the head, and the animal is provided with a pair of stalked compound eyes. the thoracic segments are furnished with soft leaf-like legs as in the phyllopods. the abdomen is formed of ring-like segments, and generally terminates in a sharp tail-piece or telson, often furnished with lateral spines. in many respects the ancient phyllocarids correspond with the living genus _nebalia_, which is found inhabiting the shallow waters of the mediterranean and elsewhere. [illustration: =fig. --ceratiocaris papilio, salter.= silurian. lanarkshire. (_after h. woodward_) ] [illustration: =fig. --ordovician phyllocarids.= a--rhinopterocaris maccoyi, eth. fil. sp. l. ordovician. victoria b--caryocaris angusta, chapm. l. ordovician. victoria c--saccocaris tetragona, chapm. l. ordovician. victoria ] [illustration: =fig. --silurian phyllocarids.= a--ceratiocaris pritchardi, chapm. silurian. victoria b--ceratiocaris cf. murchisoni, agassiz sp. silurian. victoria c--ceratiocaris pinguis, chapm. silurian. victoria ] =ordovician phyllocarids.--= phyllocarids of the lower ordovician slates are referred to the genera _rhinopterocaris_, _caryocaris_, _saccocaris_ and _hymenocaris_. the first-named is the commonest type; and is found in slates of the lancefield, bendigo and castlemaine series at the localities named, as well as at dromana. _rhinopterocaris_ (fig. a) is readily distinguished by its long--ovate outline, and this, together with its wrinkled chitinous appearance makes it resemble the wing of a dipterous insect. _caryocaris_ (fig. b) is a smaller and narrower form which occurs in the victorian lower ordovician slates, as well as in ice-borne blocks derived from the ordovician, at wynyard, in n.w. tasmania. =silurian phyllocarids.--= the chief type of phyllocarid in the silurian is _ceratiocaris_ (fig. ). the carapace is typically ovate, straight on one edge, the dorsal, and convexly curved on the other, the ventral. they resemble bean-pods in outline, hence the name "pod-shrimps." several species are known from the victorian shales, mudstones, and sandstones; the forms found in australia if complete would seldom attain five inches in length, whilst some british species are known to reach the exceptional length of two feet. the long, grooved and jointed telson is not uncommon in the sandstones of melbourne and kilmore. other genera described from victoria are _aptychopsis_ and _dithyrocaris_. =lower cretaceous crab.--= the earliest example of the _decapoda_ in the australian rocks, so far recorded, is the lower cretaceous _prosopon etheridgei_ (fig. a) from queensland, which has affinities with some jurassic and neocomian crabs found in europe. other crustacean remains of less decipherable nature occur in this same deposit. [illustration: =fig. --fossil crabs and insects.= a--prosopon etheridgei, h. woodw. l. cretaceous. queensland b--ommatocarcinus corioensis, cressw. sp. cainozoic (jan.) vic. c--harpactocarcinus tumidus, h. woodw. cainozoic (oamaru). new zealand d--aeschna flindersensis, h. woodw. l. cretaceous. queensland e--ephemera culleni, eth. fil. and olliff. cainozoic (deep leads). new south wales ] =cainozoic crabs.--= of the cainozoic decapod crustacea there is a victorian species of a stalk-eyed crab, _ommatocarcinus corioensis_ (fig. b), found in the marls of curlewis and port campbell, and probably of janjukian age. various portions of similar crustacea, consisting of claws and fragmentary carapaces, are found from time to time in the victorian clays and limestones of balcombian and janjukian ages, but they are insufficient for identification. a carapace of one of the oxystomata (with rounded cephalo-thorax and non-salient frontal region) has occurred in the kalimnan marl of the beaumaris cliffs, port phillip. it is closely allied to a crab now found in hobson's bay and generally along the victorian coast. remains of a shore-crab (fam. cancridae) are found at three localities, in the oamaru series, in new zealand; near brighton, in nelson and at wharekuri in the waitaki valley. it has been described under the name of _harpactocarcinus tumidus_ (fig. c), a genus of the cyclometopa or "bow crabs." =pleistocene lobster.--= numerous remains of a lobster, _thalassina emerii_ (see _antea_, fig. ), supposed to be of pleistocene age, occur in nodules found on queensland and north australian (port darwin) beaches. =eurypterids in the silurian.--= the order _eurypterida_ comprises an extinct group of crustacea closely allied to the modern king-crab (_limulus_). the body was covered with a thin chitinous skeleton, ornamented with regular scale-like markings. this group is represented in victorian rocks by the remains of _pterygotus_ ("sea-scorpions"), animals which often attained a length of six feet. _pterygotus_ (see fig. a) had the fore part of the body fused, forming the cephalo-thorax, which was furnished with anterior, marginal facetted eyes and central ocelli or smaller simple ones. to the ventral surface of the body were attached six pairs of appendages. the first pair are modified antennae with pincer-like terminations, used for prehensile purposes. then come four pairs of slender walking feet. the sixth pair of appendages is in the form of powerful swimming feet or paddles, at the bases of which are the comb-like jaws. the abdomen consists of thirteen joints, the last of which, the telson, is spatulate and posteriorly pointed. fragments of a tolerably large species of _pterygotus_ occur in the silurian shales of south yarra, melbourne, victoria. it was probably about inches in length when complete. of this form, known as _p. australis_ (fig. b), portions of the chelate (clawed) appendages, and parts of the abdominal segments have been found from time to time, but no complete fossil has yet been discovered. [illustration: =fig. --silurian eurypterids.= a--pterygotus osiliensis, schmidt. i. of oesel. (_after schmidt_) b--pterygotus australis, mccoy. part of a body-segment. silurian (melb.) victoria ] =jurassic insects.--= of the group of the _insecta_, the ipswich coal measures (jurassic) of queensland have yielded an interesting buprestid beetle (_mesostigmodera_), whilst beds of the same age in new south wales contain the remains of a probable _cicada_, associated with leaves of the fern _taeniopteris_. =lower cretaceous dragon-fly.--= from the lower cretaceous of the flinders river district, queensland, there has been obtained a fossil dragon-fly, _aeschna flindersensis_ (fig. d). =cainozoic insects.--= certain cainozoic beds of new south wales, of the age of the deep-leads of victoria, and probably equivalent to the kalimnan terrestrial series, contain a species of _cydnus_, a bug-like insect belonging to the order rhynchota; and there are in the same series a midge (_chironomus_), a day-fly (_ephemera_, fig. e) and several beetles (? _lagria_, _palaeolycus_, _cyphon_ and _oxytelus_). the occurrence of these insects of the deep-leads helps to complete the landscape picture of those far-off lower pliocene times, when the old river systems brought down large contributions of vegetable waste from higher lands, in the form of twigs with leaves and fruits; with occasional evidences of the rich and varied fauna of insect life which was especially promoted in the damp and vegetative areas of the lower lands. common or characteristic species of the foregoing chapter. trilobites. _ptychoparia howchini_, eth. fil. lower cambrian: south australia. _dolichometopus tatei_, h. woodward. lower cambrian: south australia. _olenellus browni_, eth. fil. lower cambrian: northern territory. _agnostus australiensis_, chapm. upper cambrian: victoria. _ptychoparia thielei_, chapm. upper cambrian: victoria. _dikellocephalus florentinensis_, eth. fil. upper cambrian: tasmania. _dinesus ida_, eth. fil. lower ordovician: victoria. _asaphus illarensis_, eth. fil. ordovician: central s. australia. _ampyx parvulus_, forbes, var. _jikaensis_, chapm. silurian (melbournian): victoria. _illaenus jutsoni_, chapm. silurian (melbournian): victoria. _proetus euryceps_, mccoy. silurian: victoria. _cyphaspis spryi_, gregory. silurian (melbournian): victoria. _bronteus enormis_, eth. fil. silurian (yeringian): victoria. _lichas australis_, mccoy. silurian (yeringian): victoria. _odontopleura jenkinsi_, eth. fil. silurian: new south wales. silurian (yeringian): victoria. _encrinurus punctatus_, brunnich sp. silurian: new south wales. silurian (yeringian): victoria. _encrinurus (cromus) murchisoni_, de koninck. silurian: new south wales. _encrinurus (cromus) spryi_, chapm. silurian (melbournian): victoria. _calymene blumenbachii_, brongn. silurian (wangapeka series): new zealand. _homalonotus expansus_, hector. silurian (wangapeka series): new zealand. _homalonotus knightii_, könig. silurian (wangapeka series): new zealand. _homalonotus harrisoni_, mccoy. silurian (melbournian): victoria. _homalonotus vomer_, chapm. silurian: victoria. _cheirurus insignis_, beyrich. silurian: new south wales. _phacops sweeti_, eth. fil. and mitch. silurian: new south wales. silurian (yeringian): victoria. _phacops serratus_, foerste. silurian (yeringian): victoria. silurian: new south wales. _dalmanites meridianus_, eth. fil. and mitch, sp. silurian: new south wales, victoria and tasmania. _cheirurus_ sp. middle devonian: victoria. _proetus_ sp. devonian: western australia. _phillipsia seminifera_, phillips. carbopermian: new south wales. _phillipsia grandis_, eth. fil. carbopermian: w. australia and queensland. _griffithides eichwaldi_, waldheim. carbopermian: new south wales and queensland. _brachymetopus strzelecki_, mccoy. carbopermian: new south wales. phyllopoda. _leaia mitchelli_, eth. fil. upper carboniferous: new south wales. _estheria coghlani_, cox. trias: new south wales. _estheria minuta_, alberti sp. trias: new zealand. _estheria mangaliensis_, jones. jurassic: queensland. ostracoda. _leperditia_ sp. lower cambrian: s. australia. _beyrichia kloedeni_, mccoy. silurian (yeringian): victoria. _beyrichia wooriyallockensis_, chapm. silurian (yeringian): victoria. _beyrichia maccoyiana_, jones, var. _australis_, chapm. silurian: (yeringian): victoria. _bythocypris hollii_, jones. silurian (yeringian): victoria. _macrocypris flexuosa_, chapm. silurian (yeringian) victoria. _primitia reticristata_, jones. silurian (yeringian): victoria. _leperditia shearsbii_, chapm. silurian: new south wales. _primitia cuneus_, chapm. middle devonian: victoria. _beyrichia varicosa_, t. r. jones. carboniferous: queensland. _primitia dunii_, chapm. carbopermian: new south wales. _jonesina etheridgei_, chapm. carbopermian: new south wales. _entomis jonesi_, de koninck. carbopermian: new south wales. _synaphe mesozoica_, chapm. sp. trias: new south wales. _cythere lobulata_, chapm. jurassic: w. australia. _paradoxorhyncha foveolata_, chapm. jurassic: w. australia. _loxoconcha jurassica_, chapm. jurassic: w. australia. _cytheropteron australiense_, chapm. jurassic: w. australia. _bairdia amygdaloides_, brady. cainozoic and living: victoria. _cythere senticosa_, baird. cainozoic. also living: victoria. _cythere clavigera_, g. s. brady. cainozoic and living: victoria. _cytherella punctata_, g. s. brady. cainozoic and living: victoria. _cytherella pulchra_, g. s. brady. cainozoic and living: victoria. cirripedia. _turrilepas mitchelli_, eth. fil. silurian: new south wales. _turrilepas yeringiae_, chapm. silurian (yeringian): victoria. _lepas pritchardi_, hall. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria. _(?) pollicipes aucklandicus_, hector sp. cainozoic (oamaru series): new zealand. _balanus_ sp. cainozoic (janjukian and kalimnan): victoria. phyllocarida. _rhinopterocaris maccoyi_, eth. fil. sp. lower ordovician: victoria. _hymenocaris hepburnensis_, chapm. l. ordovician: victoria. _caryocaris marri_, jones and woodw. l. ordovician: victoria and tasmania. _caryocaris angusta_, chapm. l. ordovician: victoria. _saccocaris tetragona_, chapm. l. ordovician: victoria. _ceratiocaris_ cf. _murchisoni_, agassiz sp. silurian: victoria. _ceratiocaris pinguis_, chapm. silurian (melbournian): victoria. _ceratiocaris pritchardi_, chapm. silurian: victoria. _aptychopsis victoriae_, chapm. silurian (melbournian): victoria. _dithyrocaris praecox_, chapm. silurian (melbournian): victoria. decapoda. _prosopon etheridgei_, h. woodw. lower cretaceous: queensland. _ommatocarcinus corioensis_, cresswell sp. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria. _ebalia_ sp. cainozoic (kalimnan): victoria. _harpactocarcinus tumidus_, h. woodw. cainozoic (oamaru series): new zealand. _thalassina emerii_, bell. (?) pleistocene: queensland and northern territory. eurypterida. _pterygotus australis_, mccoy. silurian (melbournian): victoria. insecta. _mesostigmodera typica_, etheridge fil. and olliff. jurassic: queensland. _(?) cicada lowei_, etheridge fil. and olliff. jurassic: new south wales. _aeschna flindersensis_, h. woodward. lower cretaceous: queensland. _chironomus venerabilis_, eth. fil. and oll. cainozoic: new south wales. _ephemera culleni_, eth. fil. and oll. cainozoic: new south wales. _palaeolycus problematicum_, eth. fil. and oll. cainozoic: new south wales. * * * * * literature. trilobites. mccoy, f. prod. pal. vict., dec. iii. , pp. - , pls. xxii. and xxiii. (silurian). hector, j. trans. n.z. inst., vol. ix. , p. , pl. xxvii. (_homalonotus_). woodward, h. geol. mag., dec. iii. vol. i. , pp. - , pl. xi. (cambrian). mitchell, j. proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. ii. , pp. - , pl. xi. (silurian). foerste, a. f. bull. sci. lab. denison univ., vol. iii. pt. v. , pp. - , pl. xiii. etheridge, r. jnr. proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. v. pp. - , pl. xviii. (_bronteus_). idem, parl. papers, leg. assemb. s.a., vol. i. no. , ; ibid., vol. , no. , (_asaphus_). id., geol. queensland, , pp. - , pls. vii. viii. and xliv. (carboniferous). id., proc. r. soc. vict., vol. vi. (n.s.), , pp. - , pl. xi. (_bronteus_). id., ibid, vol. viii. (n.s.), , pp. , , pl. i. (_dinesus_). id., rec. austr. mus., vol. v. no. , , pp. - , pl. x. (cambrian). id., trans. r. soc. s. austr., vol. xxii. , pp. - , pl. iv. (cambrian). etheridge, r. jnr. and mitchell, j. proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. vi. , pp. - , pl. xxv.; ibid., vol. viii. , pp. - , pls. vi. vii.; ibid., vol. x. , pp. - , pls. xxxviii.-xl.; ibid., vol. xxi. , pp. - , pls. l.-lv. tate, r. rep. horn exped., , part , palaeontology, pp. , , pl. iii. de koninck, l. g. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , , pp. - pl. i. (silurian); pp. - , pl. xxiv. (carboniferous). gregory, j. w. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xiii. (n.s.) pt. ii, , pp. - , pl. xxii. (_cyphaspis_). ibid., vol. xv. (n.s.) pt. ii. , pp. - , pl. xxvi. (_dinesus_ and _notasaphus_.) chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xxiii. (n.s.), pt. ii. , pp. - , pls. lviii. and lix. (cambrian). ibid., vol. xxiv. (n.s.) pt. ii. , pp. - , pls. lxi.-lxiii. (silurian). phyllopoda. cox, j. c. proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. v., pt. , , p. (_estheria_). etheridge, r. jnr. ibid., vol. vii. , pp. - , text fig. (_leaia_). idem, mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , , pp. - , pl. i. (_estheria_). ostracoda. brady, g. s. in etheridge, jnr. geol. mag., , p. (cainozoic). de koninck, l. g. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , , pp. , (silurian); ibid., pp. , , pl. xxiv. (carboniferous). chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xvi. (n.s.), pt. ii. , pp. - , pl. xxiii. (jurassic). idem, ibid., vol. xxii. (n.s.), pt. i. , pp. - , pl. i. (_leperditia_). idem, rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. viii. pt. , , pp. - , pl. liv. (triassic). idem, rec. geol. surv. vict., vol. iii. pt. , , p. , pl. xxxvi. (_primitia_). idem, proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xv. (n.s.), pt. ii. , pp. - , pl. xvi. (_beyrichia_). ibid., vol. xvii. (n.s.) pt. i. , pp. - , pls. xiii.-xvii. (silurian). cirripedia. etheridge, r. jnr. geol. mag., dec. iii. vol. vii. , pp. , , pl. xi. (_turrilepas_). hall, t.s. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xv. (n.s.) pt. i. , pp. , , pl. xi. (_lepas_). benham, w. b. geol. mag., dec. iv. vol. x. pp. - , pls. ix. x. (_? pollicipes_). chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict. vol. xxii. (n.s.) pt. ii. , pp. - , pls. xxviii. xxix. (_turrilepas_). phyllocarida. etheridge, r. jnr. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. iii. pt. i. , pp. - , pl. iv. (ordovician). chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict. vol. xv. (n.s.), pt. ii. , pp. - , pl. xviii. (ordovician); ibid., vol. xvii. (n.s.) pt. i. , pp. - , pl. xvii.; ibid., vol. xxii. (n.s.), pt. ii. , pp. - , pl. xxviii. (silurian). idem, rec. geol. surv. vict., vol. iii. pt. , , pp. , , pls. xvii. xviii. (ordovician). decapoda. bell, t. proc. geol. soc. lond., vol. i. , pp. , . text-fig. (_thalassina_). woodward, h. quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. xxxii. , pp. - , pl. vii. (_harpactocarcinus_). idem., proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. vii. ( ), pt. , , pp. - pl. iv. (_prosopon_). hall, t. s. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xvii. (n.s.) pt. ii. , pp. - , pl. xxiii. (_ommatocarcinus_). eurypterida. mccoy, f. geol. mag. dec. iv. vol. vi. , pp. , , text fig. (_pterygotus_). insecta. woodward, h. geol. mag. dec. iii. vol. i. , pp. - , pl. xi. (_aeschna_). etheridge, r. jnr. and olliff, a. s. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , (mesozoic and cainozoic). chapter xii. fossil fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. =vertebrates.--= the above-named classes of animals are distinguished from those previously dealt with, by the presence of a vertebral column. the vertebral axis may be either cartilaginous as in some fishes, or bony as in the greater number of animals belonging to this sub-kingdom. =chordata.--= _links between the invertebrates and fishes._--the curious little ascidians or "sea-squirts," belonging to the group tunicata, are held by some authorities to be the degenerate descendants of a free-swimming animal having a complete notochord and nerve-tube, structures which are now only seen in the tails of their tadpole-like larvae. the fully developed tunicate is generally sessile and provided with a thick outer coat (tunic) and muscular inner lining. this outer coat in some forms, as _leptoclinum_, is strengthened with tiny calcareous spicules, and these are sometimes found in the fossil state in cainozoic clays, as well as in some of the calcareous deep-sea oozes. the little stellate spicules of _leptoclinum_ are abundant in the balcombian clays of mornington, victoria. another primitive form with a notochord is the lancelet, but this, having no hard parts, is not found in the fossil state. =primitive types of fishes.--= _fishes._--the remains of fishes are naturally more abundant in the fossil condition, owing to their aquatic habits, than those of other vertebrates. the earliest fishes were probably entirely cartilaginous, and some have left only a mere trace or impression on the rocks in which they were embedded. these primitive fishes have no lower jaw, and are without paired limbs. they are sometimes placed in a class by themselves (_agnatha_). the orders of this primitive fish series as represented in australasia are the osteostraci ("bony shells"), of which the remains of the _cephalaspis_-like head-shield of _thyestes_ has been found in the silurian of n.e. gippsland, victoria (fig. ); and the antiarchi, with its many-plated cuirass, armoured body-appendages, internal bony tissue, and coarsely tuberculated exterior, as seen in _asterolepis australis_, a fossil occasionally found in the middle devonian limestone of buchan, gippsland. =true fishes.--devonian.--= of the true fishes (pisces), the elasmobranchii ("slit-gills"), a sub-class to which the modern sharks belong, are represented in the devonian series by the paired spines of a form resembling _climatius_, found both in victoria and new south wales. remains of dipnoi ("double-breather" or lung-fishes) occur in the devonian of barker gorge, western australia, represented by a new species allied to _coccosteus_ ("berry-bone" fish); and in a bed of the same age at the murrumbidgee river, new south wales by the cranial buckler of _ganorhynchus süssmilchi_. [illustration: =fig. --incomplete head-shield= of thyestes magnificus, chapm. from the silurian (yeringian) of wombat creek, n.e. gippsland. / nat. size] [illustration: =fig. = =gyracanthides murrayi=, a. s. woodw. l. carboniferous. mansfield, victoria. (restoration). about / nat. size] [illustration: =fig. --teeth and scales of palaeozoic and mesozoic fishes.= a--strepsodus decipiens, a. s. woodw. l. carboniferous. victoria b--elonichthys sweeti, a. s. woodw. l. carboniferous. victoria c--corax australis, chapm. l. cretaceous. queensland d--belouostomus sweeti, eth. fil. and woodw. l. cretaceous. q. ] =carboniferous fishes.--= the lower carboniferous sandstone of burnt creek and other localities near mansfield, victoria, contains an abundant fish fauna, associated with stems of _lepidodendron_. the slabs of sandstone are often ripple-marked and show signs of tracks and castings of shore-living animals. these deposits were probably laid down in shallow water at the shore margin or in salt lagoons or brackish areas skirting the coast, into which at intervals the remains of the giant lycopods were drifted. the more important of these fish remains are elasmobranchs, as _gyracanthides murrayi_ (fig. ) and _acanthodes australis_; the dipnoan, _ctenodus breviceps_; a rhizodont or fringe-finned ganoid, _strepsodus decipiens_ (fig. a); and a genus related to _palaeoniscus_, _elonichthys_ (_e. sweeti_, fig. b, and _e. gibbus_). the defence spines of _gyracanthides_ are fairly abundant in the sandstones; whilst on some slabs the large enamelled scales of _strepsodus_ are equally conspicuous. from the sandstones of the same age, lower carboniferous, in the grampians of western victoria, some small but well-preserved spines belonging to the genus _physonemus_ have been found associated with a new variety of the well-known european carboniferous brachiopod, _lingula squamiformis_ (var. _borungensis_). =carbopermian fishes.--= in the carbopermian (gympie beds) of the rockhampton district, queensland, a tooth of a cochliodont ("snail tooth") occurs, which has been doubtfully referred to the genus _deltodus_ (? _d. australis_). the cochliodontidae show dentition remarkably like that of the _cestracion_ or port jackson shark. another tooth having the same family relationship has been referred to _tomodus ? convexus_, agassiz; this is from the carbopermian of the port stephen district of new south wales. from the newcastle coal measures in new south wales a _palaeoniscus_-like fish, _urosthenes australis_ has been described. carbopermian fish remains are rare in western australia. they comprise a wrinkled tooth of _edestus_ (_e. davisii_) from the gascoyne river, belonging to a fish closely related to the port jackson shark; and a cochliodont, _poecilodus_ (_p. jonesi_, ag.) from the kimberley district. =triassic fishes.--= fossil fishes are important and numerous in australian triassic beds, especially in new south wales. at the base of the hawkesbury or close of the narrabeen series, the railway ballast quarry near gosford has yielded an extensive and extremely interesting collection. near the floor of the quarry there is a band of sandy shale and laminated sandstone feet inches in thickness, and this contains the following genera:--a dipnoan, _gosfordia_; and the following ganoids or enamelled scale fishes--_myriolepis_, _apateolepis_, _dictyopyge_, _belonorhynchus_, _semionotus_, _pristisomus_ (see _antea_, fig. ), _cleithrolepis_ (fig. ), _pholidophorus_ and ? _peltopleurus_. =upper triassic fishes.--= in the middle of the wianamatta or upper trias series at st. peter's, near sydney, which contains a fauna described as slightly older in aspect than that of gosford, having carbopermian affinities, there occur in the hard shale or clay stone the genera _pleuracanthus_ (a palaeozoic shark); _sagenodus_ (a dipnoan related to _ctenodus_ of the victorian carboniferous); and the following ganoids,--_palaeoniscus_, _elonichthys_, _myriolepis_, _elpisopholis_, _platysomus_ and _acentrophorus_. from the soft shales were obtained _palaeoniscus_, _semionotus_, _cleithrolepis_ and _pholidophorus_; an assemblage of genera somewhat comparable with the gosford fauna. [illustration: =fig. --cleithrolepis granulatus, egerton.= triassic (hawkesbury series). gosford, new south wales. / nat. size. (_after smith woodward_.) ] =lower mesozoic fishes.--= from the lower mesozoic sandstone (?triassic) of tasmania, two species of _acrolepis_ have been described, viz., _a. hamiltoni_ and _a. tasmanicus_. the former occurs in the thick bed of sandstone, of nearly , feet, at knocklofty; the latter species in the sandstone with _vertebraria_ conformably overlying the carbopermian at tinderbox bay. [illustration: =fig. --remains of jurassic and other vertebrates.= --ceratodus avus, a. s. woodw. left splenial with lower tooth. cape paterson, victoria. about / nat. size --ceratodus forsteri, krefft. left lower tooth. living. queensland. about / nat. size --phalangeal of carnivorous dinosaur. cape paterson. about / nat. size --phalangeal of megalosaurian. wealden, sussex, england. / nat. size ] =jurassic fishes.--= the jurassic beds of victoria contain three genera. _psilichthys selwyni_, a doubtful palaeoniscid was described from carapook, co. dundas; whilst _leptolepis_, a genus found in the trias of new south wales and the lias and oolite of europe, is represented by _l. crassicauda_ from casterton, associated with the typical jurassic fern, _taeniopteris_. in the jurassic beds of south gippsland, at cape paterson, an interesting splenial tooth of the mudfish, _ceratodus_, was found, named _c. avus_ (fig. ). since then, in a bore-core from kirrak near the same place a fish scale was discovered (fig. ) which, by its shape, size and structure seems to differ in no way from the living lung-fish of queensland (fig. ). it is reasonable to infer that tooth and scale belong to the same species; and in view of the close relationship of the tooth with that of the living mudfish, rather than with that of the _ceratodus_ found fossil in the mesozoic of europe, it may be referred to _neoceratodus_, in which genus the living species is now placed. [illustration: =fig. --scale of ceratodus (neoceratodus)= (?)avus, a. s. woodw. jurassic. kirrak, s. gippsland, victoria. about nat. size] [illustration: =fig. --the queensland lung-fish= or barramunda (neoceratodus forsteri). about / th. nat. size (_after lydekker, in warne's natural history_) ] [illustration: =fig. --leptolepis gregarius=, a. s. woodw. talbragar series, jurassic. talbragar river, new south wales / nat. size] from the jurassic beds (talbragar series) of new south wales, an interesting collection of ganoid fishes has been described, comprising _coccolepis australis_, _aphnelepis australis_, _aetheolepis mirabilis_, _archaeomaene tenuis_, _a. robustus_, _leptolepis talbragarensis_, _l. lowei_ and _l. gregarina_ (fig. ). =lower cretaceous fishes.--= fish remains are fairly abundant in the lower cretaceous of queensland. they comprise both the sharks and the ganoids. of the sharks, a specimen, showing seven conjoined vertebrae has been named _lamna daviesii_, from the richmond downs, flinders river district; and a tooth referred to _lamna appendiculatus_, agassiz, from kamileroy, leichhardt river, n.w. queensland. the typical cretaceous genus _corax_ is represented by a small tooth named _c. australis_ (fig. c), from the hamilton river, queensland, and which closely approaches the tooth of _corax affinis_, agassiz, from the upper cretaceous of europe. of the ganoid fishes two genera, both members of the family _aspidorhynchidae_, have been found in queensland. _aspidorhynchus_ sp. and _belonostomus sweeti_ (fig. d) have both occurred at hughenden, flinders river district. the former genus has a slender body and produced rostrum; in europe it is more characteristic of jurassic strata. _belonostomus_ ranges from the upper oolite, bavaria, to the upper cretaceous in other parts of the world. remains of a species of _portheus_, one of the predaceous fishes which lived in the cretaceous period, consisting of a portion of the cranium with the anterior part of the jaws, has been obtained from the rolling downs formation (lower cretaceous) near hughenden, queensland. =cretaceous fishes, new zealand.--= [illustration: =fig. --cretaceous and cainozoic fish-teeth.= a--notidanus marginalis, davis. cainozoic. new zealand b--callorhynchus hectori, newton. cainozoic. new zealand c--oxyrhina hastalis, ag. cainozoic. victoria d--lamna apiculata, ag. cainozoic. victoria e--carcharodon auriculatus, blainv. sp. cainozoic. victoria f--sargus laticonus, davis. cainozoic. new zealand ] the cretaceous beds of new zealand are grouped in ascending order as the waipara greensands, the amuri limestone and the weka pass stone. in the waipara beds occur the teeth of _notidanus marginalis_ (fig. a), and _n. dentatus_. in the amuri limestone _n. dentatus_ is again found, as well as the genus _lamna_, represented by _l. compressa_, ag. (originally described as _l. marginalis_, davis), _l. carinata_ and _l. hectori_. two forms of "elephant fish" are represented by their dental plates, namely _callorhynchus hectori_ (fig. b) and _ischyodus thurmanni_, pictet and campiche (recorded as _i. brevirostris_, ag.). =cainozoic fishes.--= fish remains principally consisting of teeth, are common fossils in the cainozoic beds of southern australia, particularly in victoria, and also in new zealand. =balcombian series, southern australia.--= the balcombian beds as seen at mornington and in the lower beds at muddy creek, hamilton, contain the teeth of sharks as _odontaspis contortidens_, _lamna crassidens_, _l. apiculata_, _oxyrhina hastalis_ (rarely), _o. minuta_, _carcharodon megalodon_, and _c. robustus_. =janjukian.--= the janjukian series (miocene), represented at torquay, waurn ponds and table cape, contains an abundant fish fauna, including amongst sharks, _cestracion cainozoicus_, _asteracanthus eocaenicus_, _galeocerdo davisi_, _carcharoides totuserratus_, _odontaspis contortidens_, _o. incurva_, _o. cuspidata_, _lamna crassidens_, _l. apiculata_ (fig. d), _l. compressa_, _l. bronni_, _oxyrhina hastalis_ (occasional) (fig. c), _o. desori_, _o. retroflexa_, _o. minuta_, _carcharodon auriculatus_ (fig. e), _c. megalodon_ and _c. robustus_. a species of chimaeroid or elephant fish is represented by a left mandibular tooth named _ischyodus mortoni_, from the table cape beds, tasmania. the corio bay series contains teeth of _acanthias geelongensis_, _sphyrna prisca_, _odontaspis contortidens_, _o. attenuata_, _oxyrhina minuta_, _carcharodon megalodon_, amongst sharks; whilst the spine of a porcupine fish, _diodon connewarrensis_ has been obtained from the clays of lake connewarre, victoria. =kalimnan.--= [illustration: =fig. --cainozoic fish remains.= a--carcharoides tenuidens, chapm. cainozoic (janj.) victoria b--odontaspis contortidens. agassiz. cainozoic (kal.) victoria c--galeocerdo latidens, agassiz. cainozoic (kal.) victoria d--myliobatis morrabbinensis, chapm. and pritch. cainozoic (kal.) victoria e--labrodon confertidens. chapm. and pritch. cainozoic (kal.) vict. f--diodon formosus, chapm. and pritch. cainozoic (kal.) vict. ] the kalimnan series is also prolific in the remains of fishes, the principal localities being beaumaris and grange burn, hamilton. amongst the sharks there found are, _notidanus jenningsi_ (related to the indian grey shark), _cestracion cainozoicus_ (related to the port jackson shark), _asteracanthus eocaenicus_, _galeocerdo davisi_, _g. latidens_ (fig. c), _g. aduncus_, _odontaspis contortidens_ (fig. b), _o. incurva_, _o. cuspidata_, _o. attenuata_, _lamna apiculata_, _l. compressa_, _oxyrhina hastalis_ (abundant), _o. desori_, _o. retroflexa_, _o. eocaena_, _o. minuta_, _carcharodon auriculatus_ and _c. megalodon_. an extinct species of sting ray, _myliobatis moorabbinensis_ (fig. d), is found at beaumaris, represented by occasional palatal teeth. mandibular and palatine teeth of an extinct genus of elephant fish, _edaphodon_ (_e. sweeti_) are occasionally found at beaumaris, and at grange burn near hamilton. two extinct forms of the wrasse family, the labridae, are found in victoria; the pharyngeals of _labrodon confertidens_ (fig. e), occurring at grange burn, hamilton, and those of _l. depressus_, at beaumaris. the palatal jaws of a porcupine fish, _diodon formosus_ (fig. f), are frequently met with at the base of the kalimnan series, both at grange burn and beaumaris. =oamaru series, new zealand.--= in new zealand the oamaru series, which is comparable in age with the victorian janjukian, contains numerous fish remains, chiefly teeth of sharks. these are: _notidanus primigenius_, _n. marginalis_ (also occurring in the waipara series), _galeocerdo davisi_, _odontaspis incurva_, _o. cuspidata_, _o. attenuata_, _lamna apiculata_, _l. compressa_, _oxyrhina retroflexa_, _carcharodon auriculatus_, _c. megalodon_ and _c. robustus_. the teeth of a sting ray, _myliobatis plicatilis_ and of a species of sea-bream, _sargus laticonus_, also occur in this series (fig. f). =pleistocene.--= a species of fish belonging to the family of the perches, _ctenolates avus_, has been described from freshwater carbonaceous shale of pleistocene age from nimbin on the richmond river, new south wales. =amphibians: their structure.--= _amphibians._--this group includes amongst living forms the frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders. the remains of amphibia are rare in australasian rocks, and practically limited to the group of the triassic labyrinthodonts. the amphibia are distinguished from reptiles by certain changes which their young undergo after leaving the egg. in this intermediate stage they breathe by external gills, these being sometimes retained together with the internal lungs in the adult stage. in the older forms of this group the vertebra is of the nature of a notochord, the joints consisting of a thin bony ring with a gelatinous interior. the labyrinthodontia have a long, lizard-like body, short pectoral limbs as compared with the pelvic, and five-toed feet. the skull is completely roofed over. the teeth are pointed, with a large pulp cavity and wall of infolded or plicated dentine (hence the name labyrinthodont--maze-tooth). the vertebrae are hollow on both sides, sometimes imperfectly ossified, and with a notochordal canal. ventral aspect with bony thoracic plates. cranial bones deeply sculptured, and carrying mucus canals. =carbopermian labyrinthodonts.--= the genus _bothriceps_, probably an archegosaurian, is represented by two species, _b. australis_ and _b. major_ from new south wales (fig. ). the latter species occurs in the oil shale (carbopermian) of airly. [illustration: =fig. --bothriceps major, a. s. woodward.= carbopermian. new south wales. about / th. nat. size (_after a. s. woodward_). ] =triassic labyrinthodonts.--= from the hawkesbury series near gosford, new south wales, the labyrinthodont, _platyceps wilkinsoni_ has been described. the skeleton is nearly complete and exposed on the ventral face; the head is mm. long and mm. broad. this specimen is associated with the remains of ganoid fishes, as _palaeoniscus_ and _cleithrolepis_, together with the equisetum-like plant _phyllotheca_. other, somewhat doubtful remains having similar affinities to the labyrinthodonts are also recorded from the wianamatta beds (upper trias) at bowral, new south wales, consisting of a maxilla with teeth and vertebrae with ribs of the left side. remains of a labyrinthodont, _biloela_, supposed to be related to _mastodonsaurus_, have been recorded from the hawkesbury series of cockatoo island, port jackson, new south wales, by w. j. stephens, and consisting of a pectoral plate compared by that author with _m. robustus_ (now transferred to the genus _capitosaurus_). the only other recorded remains of this group in australasia are those noted by w. j. stephens from the kaihiku series (trias) at nugget point, otago; and in the otapiri series (upper trias) of the wairoa district, new zealand. =reptilia: their structure.--= _reptilia._--the reptiles are cold-blooded, vertebrated animals, with a scaly skin or armour. their respiration is essentially by means of lungs, and they are terrestrial or aquatic in habit. the skeleton is completely ossified (bony). reptiles, although resembling amphibians externally, are more differentiated in structure and of generally larger proportions. they exhibit great diversity of form, especially as regards their extremities. they were even adapted for flying, as in the pterosaurs ("flying dragons") with their membranous wing attached to the anterior limb. the deinosaurs ("terrible reptiles") were often of great size, exceeding the dimensions of any land mammals, and their limbs were adapted for walking. the marine reptiles, as the ichthyosauria ("fish-lizards") and sauropterygia ("lizard-finned") had the limbs transformed into paddles. the neural spines in the vertebra of the turtles are laterally expanded into a carapace and united with dermal plates. the vertebrae of reptilia show great variation of form, being biplanate (amphiplatyan), biconcave (amphicoelus), hollow in front (procoelus), or hollow at the back (opisthocoelus). in the case of reptiles having both pairs of limbs developed, the cervical, dorsal, sacral and caudal regions may be separately distinguished. amongst the ophidia (snakes), pythonomorpha ("sea-lizards") and ichthyosaurs ("fish-lizards") there is no differentiated sacral region. the skull of the reptiles is nearer that of birds than amphibians. the basiocciput (basal bone of the skull at the back) articulates with the atlas (top joint of the backbone) by means of a single condyle (protuberance). all reptiles, with the exception of the chelonians (turtles), and a few others, are furnished with teeth: these are formed chiefly of dentine with a layer of enamel. =dentition.--= some teeth have solid crowns (pleodont); some grow from persistent pulps (coelodont); socketed teeth (thecodont) are inserted in alveoli; some are fused with the supporting bone along the outer rim or top (acrodont); whilst others are developed laterally along the flange-like inner rim of the jaw (pleurodont). =permian and triassic reptiles.--= the history of reptilia commences in permian and triassic times, when they were notably represented by the theromorphs, _pareiasaurus_ and _tritylodon_ in south africa; the proterosauria of the european and american permian and trias, represented by the lizard-like _palaeohatteria_ and the dorsally frilled _dimetrodon_, with its formidable array of neural spines; also the rhynchosauria, with their beak-like jaws of the same formations. these two groups constitute the order rhynchocephalia, which is represented at the present day by the tuatera of new zealand. =triassic reptile, new zealand.--= the earliest australian reptilian record is that of a vertebra of _ichthyosaurus_ from the kaihiku series of mount potts, new zealand (triassic). this specimen was named _i. australis_ by hector, but since that species name was preoccupied by mccoy in it is suggested here that the new zealand species should be distinguished as _i. hectori_. the new zealand occurrence of _ichthyosaurus_ makes the geological history of the genus very ancient in this part of the world. =jurassic reptiles.--= at cape paterson, victoria, in the jurassic coal-bearing sandstone an extremely interesting discovery was made a few years ago, of the ungual bone (claw) of a carnivorous deinosaur, probably related to _megalosaurus_ of the european jurassic and cretaceous beds (see fig. , , a). the presence of an animal like this in australia points to the former existence of a concomitant terrestrial animal fauna, upon which the deinosaur must have preyed. [illustration: =fig. --ichthyosaurus australis, mccoy.= a--part of head, showing eye protected by sclerotic plates b--left pectoral paddle. l. cretaceous. flinders river, queensland. / nat. size (_nat. mus. coll._) ] =lower cretaceous reptiles.--= the rolling downs formation (lower cretaceous) of the thompson and flinders rivers in queensland has yielded remains of a tortoise, _notochelone costata_ (see _antea_, fig. ); and the interesting fish-lizard _ichthyosaurus_. numerous and well preserved remains of _i. australis_ mccoy come from the flinders river (fig. ); whilst _i. marathonensis_ is recorded from marathon station, queensland. the former species is typically represented by a nearly complete skeleton, and was considered by mccoy to be one of the largest examples of the genus, since a perfect specimen would probably reach the length of feet. its teeth resemble those of _i. campylodon_, carter, from the english chalk. of the sauropterygia two species of _pliosaurus_ (_p. macrospondylus_ and _p. sutherlandi_) have been described from the lower cretaceous of the flinders river; whilst the latter species has also occurred at pitchery creek, central queensland and at marathon. _p. macrospondylus_ is distinguished from _p. sutherlandi_ by the roughened edges of the vertebral centra. another genus of the "lizard-finned" reptiles (sauropterygia), viz., _cimoliosaurus_, occurs in the upper cretaceous of white cliffs, new south wales (fig. b, c.) [illustration: =fig. --fossil reptiles.= a--taniwhasaurus oweni. hector. (lower jaw). cretaceous. new zealand b--cimoliosaurus leucoscopelus, eth. fil. (teeth). up. cretaceous. new south wales c--cimoliosaurus leucoscopelus, eth. fil. (phalangeal). up. cretaceous. new south wales d--miolania oweni, a. s. woodw. pleistocene. queensland ] =cretaceous reptiles, new zealand.--= the waipara series (cretaceous) of new zealand contains a fairly large number of reptilian species belonging to several genera among which may be mentioned _plesiosaurus_, _polycotylus_, and _cimoliosaurus_ among the sauropterygia; and _tylosaurus_ and _taniwhasaurus_ (fig. a), marine lizard-like reptiles, belonging to the sub-order pythonomopha. =cainozoic and pleistocene reptiles.--= the later cainozoic deposits of queensland contain remains of crocodiles referred to _pallymnarchus pollens_ (from maryvale creek) and _crocodilus porosus_ (from chinchilla and arcola, near brisbane, queensland). the former species has also occurred at clunes, whilst _crocodilus porosus_ is recorded from the loddon valley, both in victoria. another late tertiary reptile is the remarkable horned turtle, _miolania oweni_, which is found in queensland in pleistocene deposits (fig. d), and in the pliocene (deep leads) of gulgong, new south wales; whilst a second species of the same genus, _m. platyceps_, is found in coral sand at lord howe island, miles distant from australia. this genus has a skull with large bony protuberances, giving it a horned appearance, and the tail is encased in a bony sheath. a species of _miolania_ is also described from patagonia. the cave deposits of wellington valley, new south wales, as well as the fluviatile deposits of queensland, have, yielded the bones of several genera of lizards, including the giant lizard (_megalania_), which, in its length of feet exceeded that of most living crocodiles. =birds.--= _birds (aves)._--these warm-blooded animals are closely related to reptiles in many essential particulars; and are generally considered to more nearly approach the deinosaurs than any other group. the ratitae ("raft-breasted" or keel-less birds) and carinatae (with keeled breast-bones), a sub-class including most modern birds, were probably differentiated before the cainozoic period. =jurassic bird.--= the oldest recorded bird, the remarkable _archaeopteryx_, of the upper jurassic of bavaria in europe, belonging to the saururae (reptilian-tailed) is, so far, restricted to the beds of that age. =miocene bird, new zealand.--= the earliest known birds in australasia occur in the miocene rocks (oamaru series), of new zealand. in this series, in the marawhenua greensands, a giant penguin, _palaeeudyptes antarcticus_ is found at kakanui near oamaru, at curiosity shop near christchurch and at brighton near nelson, new zealand: this interesting occurrence shows that these restricted antarctic birds had already become an established type as early as the miocene. =victorian cainozoic bird.--= the impression of a bird's feather, probably of a wader, has lately been described from western victoria (see _antea_ fig. and fig. ). this occurs in ironstone, on the surface of which are also impressions of gum (_eucalyptus_) and native honeysuckle (_banksia_) leaves, of species closely related to those now growing in the same locality. this ironstone is probably of janjukian age, and may therefore be coincident with the new zealand occurrence of the _palaeeudyptes_ in the oamaru series. =pliocene moa, new zealand.--= in the wanganui system (pliocene) the putiki beds have yielded bones of a small moa (_dinornis_), probably the oldest example of the group of great flightless birds which later predominated in new zealand. [illustration: =fig. --impression of bird's feather in ironstone.= wannon river, victoria. (enlarged).] =pleistocene struthious birds, australia.--= bones of a struthious or ostrich-like bird, described by owen under the name of _dromornis australis_, a bird as large as the moa, have been recorded from the pleistocene of peak downs and the paroo river, queensland. indeterminate species of the same genera occur in phillip co., new south wales, and the mount gambier caves, south australia; whilst _dromaeus patricius_ is known from king's creek, darling downs, queensland. _genyornis newtoni_ is an extinct bird allied to the emeus; it has been found in pleistocene deposits at lake callabonna, south australia, and other fragmentary remains have been identified by dr. stirling and mr. zietz from mount gambier and queensland. regarding the build and habits of _genyornis_, those authors remark that "its legs combine a huge femur nearly as massive, in all but length, as that of _dinornis maximus_, and a tibia equalling that of _pachyornis elephantopus_ with the relatively slender metatarse of _dinornis novae-zealandiae_ (_ingens_) and toes which are insignificant beside those of any of the larger moas."... "in height it may be confidently stated to have been from feet to feet inches, that is if the neck should have been of proportions similar to those of _pachyornis elephantopus_." those authors also attribute a slow, sluggish habit to the bird, and suggest that herbage rather than roots formed its food. it is very probable that the footprints of birds found in the older dune rock of warrnambool, victoria, associated with the doubtful "human footprints" may have been made by _genyornis_ or a related form. an extinct emu, _dromaeus minor_, has lately been described from the sub-recent deposits in king island, bass strait. =pleistocene carinate birds, australia.--= many genera of carinate birds belonging to living australian types have been identified by de vis from the fluviatile deposits on the darling downs, queensland. these include falcons (_taphaetus_ and _necrastur)_; a pelican (_pelicanus_); an ibis (_palaeopelargus_); a spoonbill (_platalea_); ducks (_anas_, _dendrocygna_, _biziura_ and _nyroca_); a darter (_plotus_); a pigeon (_lithophaps_); a ground-pigeon (_progura_); a mound-builder (_chosornis_); a rail (_porphyrio_); moor-hens (_gallinula_, _tribonyx_ and _fulica_); and a stork (_xenorhynchus_). =pleistocene and holocene birds, new zealand.--= in new zealand numerous remains of birds are found, chiefly in the pleistocene strata, associated with moa bones: such are _cnemiornis_, the flightless pigeon goose (fig. ); _harpagornis_, a predatory hawk-like bird larger than any existing eagle; and _aptornis_, an extinct rail. the sand-dunes, peat bogs, swamps, river alluvium, caves and rock shelters of new zealand often contain numerous remains of the gigantic moa birds included in the genera _dinornis_, _pachyornis_ and _anomalopteryx_, of which perhaps the best known are _d. giganteus_, _d. maximus_ (fig. ), _d. robustus_, _p. elephantopus_ (fig. ), and _a. antiqua_. some of the species have become so recently extinct that remains of their skin and feathers have been preserved in fissures in the rocks where they were shielded from the influence of air and moisture. the remains of moa birds are very abundant in some of the localities as at hamilton in southland, where, as hutton estimated, the remains of at least birds were contained within a radius of feet. [illustration: =fig. --cnemiornis calcitrans, owen.= pleistocene. new zealand. / th. nat. size (_after owen_). ] [illustration:=fig. --dinornis maximus, owen. (great moa).= pleistocene and holocene. new zealand. vertical height, ft. measured along spine, ft. in. (_nat. mus. coll._) ] [illustration: =fig. --pachyornis elephantopus, owen sp.= pleistocene. new zealand. about / th. nat. size. (_after owen_). ] =mammalia: early types.--= _mammalia._--the history of those warm-blooded animals, the mammals, commences in the early part of the mesozoic period. it was then that the skull began to assume the characters seen in the modern quadrupeds, and their well-formed limb-bones, and fusion of the three bones on each side of the pelvic arch to form the innominate bone, also show relationship to the later types. the earliest ancestral mammalian forms seem to be related to the theromorphic reptiles, predominant in the permian and trias. the mammals first to make their appearance were probably related to those of the monotreme and marsupial orders. more nearly related to the former is the group of mammals of the mesozoic period, the multituberculata. =multituberculata.--= this group comprises the triassic _tritylodon_ (south africa and germany); the upper jurassic _bolodon_ (england and united states); the upper jurassic to lower cainozoic _plagiaulax_ (england, united states and france); and the lower eocene _polymastodon_ (new mexico). the molar teeth are ridged longitudinally, and carry numerous tubercles, hence the name of the group, and resemble the deciduous teeth of the duck-billed platypus (_ornithorhynchus_). =monotremata.--= the monotremata are represented at the present day in australia and new guinea by the _echidna_ or spiny anteater, and by the _ornithorhynchus_ or duck-billed platypus of eastern australia and tasmania. these egg-laying mammals show relationship towards the reptiles both in structure and in methods of reproduction. a pliocene species of _ornithorhynchus_ (_o. maximus_) has been recorded from the deep-leads of gulgong, new south wales, and the same beds have yielded the remains of _echidna (proechidna) robusta_. remains of another species, _echidna, (p.) oweni_, have been described from the pleistocene cave-breccias of the wellington valley caves, new south wales; and _ornithorhynchus agilis_ is found in deposits of similar age in queensland. =marsupials.--= the marsupials or pouched mammals belong to the sub-class metatheria. they are divided into diprotodontia and polyprotodontia, accordingly as they possess a single pair of incisor teeth in the lower jaw, or many front teeth, hence the names of the two sub-orders. a later classification of the marsupials is that of their division into syndactyla and diadactyla. the diadactyla have the second and third toes separate, and are represented by the family dasyuridae or native cats. these are polyprotodont. they are the most archaic of the marsupial group. remains of _dasyurus_, both of extinct and still living species are found in pleistocene cave-breccias in victoria and new south wales. the tasmanian devil (_sarcophilus ursinus_) (fig. , ) and the tasmanian wolf (_thylacinus cynocephalus_), still living in tasmania, have left numerous remains on the mainland, in victoria and new south wales. of the latter genus an extinct species is _t. major_ from the pleistocene of queensland (fig. ). [illustration: =fig. = =skeleton of sarcophilus ursinus, harris sp. (tasmanian devil).= (_f. j. moore, prep._) ] [illustration: =fig. = =skull of sarcophilus ursinus, harris sp. (tasmanian devil).= pleistocene. queenscliff, victoria. about / nat. size (_after mccoy_). ] the syndactyla have the second and third toes enclosed in a common skin. the peramelidae and the notoryctidae are polyprotodont. the remainder are all diprotodont. the peramelidae or bandicoot family are represented in pleistocene cave-breccias in new south wales by the genera _peragale_ and _perameles_. [illustration: =fig. --thylacinus major, owen.= hind part of mandible, outer side. pleistocene. queensland. / nat. size] =pleistocene diprotodonts.--= pleistocene remains of the diprotodont forms of this syndactylous group are _phascolomys_ (the wombat), perhaps ranging as low as upper pliocene (_p. pliocenus_) (fig. ); _phascolonus (p. gigas)_ (fig. a)[ ], a large wombat from queensland and new south wales and south australia; the giant kangaroos, as _macropus titan_ (queensland, new south wales, victoria and south australia), _procoptodon goliah_ (queensland, new south wales and victoria), _sthenurus atlas_ (new south wales, queensland, victoria and south australia), _palorchestes azael_ (victoria, new south wales and queensland); also the great _diprotodon_, the largest known marsupial, as large as, and rather taller than, a rhinoceros, found in almost every part of australia, with an allied form referred to _nototherium_ occurring also in tasmania (figs. , , ). _nototherium_ (queensland, south australia and victoria), was a smaller animal than _diprotodon_, with a shorter and broader skull and similar dentition. remains of the extinct "marsupial lion," _thylacoleo carnifex_, an animal allied to the phalangers, have been found in cave-deposits in new south wales, queensland, victoria and western australia. incised bones of other animals, which are believed to have been gnawed by _thylacoleo_, have been found associated with its remains. _thylacoleo_ possessed a peculiar dentition, the first pair of incisors in the upper jaw being very large and trenchant, whilst the canine and two anterior premolars are small and functionless: the lower jaw has also a pair of large first incisors, behind which are two small premolars, and an enormous chisel-edged last premolar biting against a similar tooth in the upper jaw (fig. ). [footnote : this genus was described by owen in as a sub-genus of _phascolomys_ founded on some cheek-teeth; and subsequently, in , the same author described some incisors under the name of _sceparnodon ramsayi_, which are now known to belong to the same animal that bore the cheek-teeth.] [illustration: =fig. --mandible of phascolomys pliocenus, mccoy.= (?) upper pliocene ("gold cement.") dunolly, vict. about / nat. size. (_after mccoy_). ] [illustration: =fig. --cainozoic teeth and otolith.= a--phascolonus gigas, owen. (molar). pleistocene. queensland b--parasqualodon wilkinsoni, mccoy. (molar). cainozoic (janj.) vict. c--parasqualodon wilkinsoni, mccoy. (incisor). cainozoic (janj.) vict. d--metasqualodon harwoodi, sanger sp. (molar). cainozoic (janj.) south australia e--kekenodon onamata, hector. (molar). cainozoic (oamaruian). new zealand f--cetotolithes nelsoni, mccoy. (tympanic bone). cainozoic (janj.) victoria ] [illustration: =fig. --diprotodon australis, owen.= pleistocene. south australia. (_after stirling and zeitz_). ] [illustration: =fig. --upper surface of the right hind foot of diprotodon australis=. a--with the astragalus (ankle-bone) in position. b-- " " " " removed. cir. / nat. size.] [illustration: =fig. --diprotodon australis, owen. (restored).= from a sketch by c. h. angas.] [illustration: =fig. --thylacoleo carnifex, owen.= right lateral aspect of skull and mandible. pleistocene. australia. / th nat. size. c, canine. i, incisors. m, molars. pm, premolars. ] [illustration: =fig. --wynyardia bassiana, spencer.= upper cainozoic (turritella bed). table cape. tasmania. / th nat. size. (_casts in nat. mus. coll._) ] =oldest known marsupial.= the oldest marsupial found in australia is probably _wynyardia bassiana_ (fig. ), whose remains occurred in the _turritella_-bed at table cape, which is either of miocene or lower pliocene age. this stratum occurs above the well-known _crassatellites_-bed (miocene) of that locality. so far as can be gathered from its incomplete dentition, _wynyardia_ represents an annectant form between the diprotodonts and the polyprotodonts. =pleistocene genera, also living.--= besides the genera above enumerated, many other marsupials of well-known living species are represented by fossil remains in cave-deposits and on "sand-blows" in most of the australian states. the genera thus represented in the pleistocene deposits of australia are _bettongia_ (prehensile rat-kangaroo); _dasyurus_ (native cat); _hypsiprymnus_ (rat-kangaroo); _macropus_ (kangaroo); _perameles_ (bandicoot); _petaurus_ (flying phalanger); _phalanger_ (cuscus); _phascolomys_ (wombat); _sarcophilus_ (tasmanian devil); _thylacinus_ (tasmanian wolf). =cetacea.--= the order cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. the earliest known forms belong to the sub-order archaeoceti, and whilst absent from australian deposits, are found in the eocene of europe, northern africa and north america. =odontoceti: toothed whales.--= remains of cetacea are first met with in australian rocks in the oligocene (balcombian) of victoria. at muddy creek near hamilton fragments of ribs and other bones of cetacea, not yet determined, occur in the tenacious blue clays of the lower part of the clifton bank section. in australia and new zealand the oldest determinable remains of this order belong to the odontoceti, members of which range from miocene to pliocene. teeth of the toothed whales like _squalodon_ of the miocene of france and bavaria have been found in new zealand (_kekenodon_); in south australia (_metasqualodon_); and in victoria (_parasqualodon_). in victoria the teeth of squalodontidae occur in the janjukian beds of cape otway, waurn ponds and torquay, represented by molars and anterior teeth of _parasqualodon wilkinsoni_ (fig. b, c). the same species also occurs at table cape, tasmania, in beds of similar age. teeth of _metasqualodon harwoodi_ (fig. d) occasionally occur in the white polyzoal rock of the mount gambier district, south australia. the gigantic toothed whale, _kekenodon onamata_ (fig. e) occurs in the marawhenua greensands (oamaru series) at waitaki valley, waihao, ngapara, waikouaiti and milburn in new zealand. the molar teeth of this striking species, with their serrated crowns, measure nearly five inches in length. =ear-bones of whales.--= the tympanic bones of whales are not uncommon in the janjukian beds of waurn ponds, near geelong, victoria; and they are occasionally found in the basement bed of the kalimnan at beaumaris, port phillip. in the absence of any distinctive generic characters they have been referred to the quasi-genus _cetotolithes_ (fig. f). mccoy has expressed the opinion that they may perhaps be referable to the ziphioid or beaked whales, for undoubted remains of that group, as teeth of _ziphius geelongensis_, occur in these same beds; as well as portions of their rostrate crania, in the kalimnan basement beds at grange burn, near hamilton. the large curved and flattened teeth of _ziphius (dolichodon) geelongensis_ are occasionally found, more or less fragmentary, in the polyzoal rock of waurn ponds. [illustration: =fig. .--tooth of scaldicetus macgeei, chapm.= an extinct sperm whale. from the kalimnan beds of beaumaris, port phillip, victoria. about / nat. size.] =kalimnan-scaldicetus.--= from the kalimnan series (lower pliocene) of beaumaris, port phillip, there was described a short time since, a remarkably well preserved specimen of _scaldicetus_ tooth belonging to a new form, _s. macgeei_ (fig. ). another species of the genus, with teeth of a slender form, has been found in the same geological series, at grange burn, near hamilton. in only one other locality besides australia does the genus occur, viz., at antwerp, belgium, in crag deposits of lower pliocene age. =sirenia.--= the order sirenia (manatees and dugongs) is represented in the australian pleistocene by _chronozoön australe_. the remains consist of the parietal and upper part of the occipital bones of the skull, and were discovered in the fluviatile deposits on the darling downs, queensland. this fossil skull, according to de vis, had a shallower temporal fossa and feebler masticating muscles, as well as a less highly developed brain than the existing dugong. =carnivora.--= the order carnivora is represented in australia by the native dog or dingo (_canis dingo_). it is by no means a settled question whether the dingo can boast of very great antiquity. the evidence of its remains having been found under volcanic tuff beds in victoria is not very convincing, for the original record does not indicate the precise position where the bones were found. the fact of the remains of the dingo having been found in cave deposits often associated with extinct marsupials, goes a good way to prove its antiquity. mccoy was strongly inclined to the view of its pleistocene age, and points out that it shows cranial characters intermediate between the dogs of south america and the old world. fossil remains of the dingo, associated with pleistocene mammalian forms have been recorded from the wellington, valley caves, new south wales; from the mount macedon cave, near gisborne; and in the neighbourhood of warrnambool, western victoria. =pinnipedia.--= of the fin-footed carnivores or seals and walruses, the earliest australasian record is that of the remains of a small seal in the okehu shell-beds near wanganui, found in association with the bones of a small moa-bird (_dinornis_). =newer pliocene seal.--= this seal was referred by hector to _arctocephalus cinereus_, a species synonymous, however, with the widely distributed living seal, _otaria forsteri_, lesson, of the southern ocean. another and larger species of eared seal allied to the living fur seal, _otaria forsteri_, occurs in victoria. =pleistocene seal.--= this fossil was named _arctocephalus williamsi_ by mccoy, and was found in pleistocene deposits at queenscliff, port phillip, at feet below the surface, in marl and sand stone overlain with limestone. although referred at the time of description to the pliocene, it has since been proved that at this locality there is a considerable thickness of practically sub-recent material which is more accurately classed with the pleistocene. similar remains of eared seals are not uncommon in the pleistocene deposits of the otway coast. =subrecent human remains.= on turning to the occurrence of "human fossils" in australia we find the geological evidence for any great antiquity of man on this continent to be very scanty and inconclusive. this does not, however, imply that man's existence in australia will not eventually be proved to date back far beyond the period of the "kitchen middens" of modern aspect, such as are now exposed on the slopes behind the sea-beaches, and on the inland camping grounds. almost all the records of australian human remains that have been found in other than ordinary burial places, have proved to be of comparatively recent date. for example, the partially lime-encrusted body found in the cave in the mosquito plains, north of penola, south australia, recorded by tenison woods, is that of an aborigine who, in the early days of settlement, crawled into the cave in a wounded condition. other occurrences of human remains in caves, but of fairly recent date are, a child's skull found in a small cave at bungonia, co. argyle, new south wales, recorded by etheridge; and the non-petrified limb-bones found in a cave at wellington, new south wales, recorded by krefft, which were probably washed in from the surface in recent times. as regards the former, in western australia, as observed by froggatt, the natives at the present time seek shelter in caves, where these occur, instead of building mia-mias. a more interesting, because probably much older, occurrence of human remains has been described by etheridge and trickett from one of the jenolan caves (skeleton cave); and those authors conclude from "the great lapse of time that must have accrued to enable the changes already outlined to have taken place since the introduction of the remains into the skeleton cave," that these remains are ancient. [illustration: =fig. --impressions of footprints in dune sand-rock.= warrnambool, victoria. / nat. size. (_f. c. photo_). (_warrnambool museum_). ] curious footprints supposed to resemble impressions of human feet with accompanying impress as if made by natives seated, have been long known from the older sand-dune rock of warrnambool. they were found at kellas' quarry, on the port fairy road in and at a depth of feet. in november, , a further discovery of similar footprints were found at messrs. steere bros.' quarry, warrnambool, at a depth of feet, as a block of stone was being removed for building purposes. these footprints are even more obscure than those previously found, and it would be unsafe to affirm their human origin, although they are suggestive of such. their antiquity is certainly great, since the lavas and tuffs of the tower hill district are found overlying this old dune-rock. other footprints associated with these resemble those of the dingo and a gigantic bird, possibly like _genyornis_. =probable origin of aborigines.--= ethnology appears to throw more light upon the subject than does geology. australia has in the past been peopled by two distinct types of man. ( ), the ancestors of the tasmanians, now alas, extinct, who according to some authorities came by way of australia from papua through the malay peninsula, passing over to tasmania from the mainland before the separation caused by the subsidence of the bass strait area; and who were represented by a negroid or woolly-haired type: ( ), the present aboriginals of australia, showing affinities with the dravidians of southern india, a primitive race from whose original stock the white caucasian races of europe were derived. by intermarriage with a negroid race like the melanesian, it is supposed that the black caucasian gave rise to the present australian mixed aboriginal type, with negroid features, but possessing the long black hair and keener intellect of the "melanochroi," as the dark eurasian stock was termed by huxley. =aboriginal implements.--= the stone implements fashioned by the tasmanian aboriginals were roughly chipped and of primitive type, of such forms as used at the present day by the bushmen of south africa, and representing the eoliths and palaeoliths of early man in the south of england. the implements of the australian aboriginals on the other hand include besides these both flakes and worked and polished tools, such as were produced by the neolithic men of europe, as contrasted with the typically rough palaeolithic tools of the tasmanian, who never grooved his axes for hafting as did the australian aboriginal. according to some authorities the tasmanians represent palaeolithic or even eolithic man in the character of their implements; whilst the australian resembles the middle or mousterian stage of early man in certain of their ethnological characters and in the forms of their implements, although a marked exception is seen in their manufacture of polished adzes, of the neolithic period and in the use of bone implements such as were used in europe in upper palaeolithic times. so far no human remains or handiwork in the form of chipped implements have been found in other than superficial deposits, either in tasmania or australia. the incised bone-fragment found near ballarat, in a bed of silt beneath a sheet of basalt which flowed from mount buninyong, is believed by some to be evidence of man's handiwork in the early pleistocene, though by others thought to have been cut by the teeth of the "marsupial lion" (_thylacoleo_). a stone axe of basalt, grooved for the purpose of mounting in a handle, was found in gravel at ballarat at a depth of inches from the surface. this, however, is no proof of man's antiquity, for superficial deposits of much greater depth are easily accumulated within a short period. another implement was found at maryborough in queensland in gravels at a depth of feet from the surface, but not below the basalt of the main lead. in this case it is believed that the implement may have fallen into a natural hollow or wombat-burrow. a bone pointer, such as used by native medicine men, was some years ago found buried in the miocene marls of waurn ponds near geelong. its presence in so old a rock is easily explained from the fact that in the aboriginal ceremonies the pointer was buried after the incantations. seeing the difficulties in the way of discovering reliable occurrences of man's handiwork in isolated examples amongst the older superficial deposits of silt and gravels, the ancient sand-dunes of victoria, which date back at least to upper pliocene, should afford favourable conditions for the preservation of any really ancient kitchen middens, did such exist. moreover, these deposits would have been less liable to disturbance when once they were covered, than the inland deposits, for the former are now consolidated into a tolerably hard stone. =antiquity of man in australia.--= a strong argument in favour of a considerable antiquity for man in australia is the fact that the dialects are many, and marriage and tribal customs more complex and intricate than would be found in a comparatively recent primitive race. in any case, it is quite possible, if not probable, that man was in southern australia before the termination of the last phase of volcanic activity, since the tuff beds of koroit, for example, are quite modern and were laid down on a modern sea-beach strewn with shells identical in species and condition with those now found thrown up in the vicinity at high tide. this view is quite compatible with the occurrence of dingo remains (assuming this animal was introduced by man) in cave deposits in australia, associated with extinct forms of marsupials. * * * * * common or characteristic fossils of the foregoing chapter. fishes. _thyestes magnificus_, chapman. silurian: victoria. _asterolepis australis_, mccoy. middle devonian: victoria. _ganorhynchus süssmilchi_, etheridge fil. devonian: new south wales. _gyracanthides murrayi_, a. s. woodward. lower carboniferous: victoria. _acanthodes australis_, a. s. woodward. lower carboniferous: victoria. _ctenodus breviceps_, a. s. woodward. lower carboniferous: victoria. _strepsodus decipiens_, a. s. woodward. lower carboniferous: victoria. _elonichthys sweeti_, a. s. woodward. lower carboniferous: victoria. _physonemus micracanthus_, chapman. lower carboniferous: victoria. _(?) deltodus australis_, eth. fil. carbopermian: queensland. _tomodus (?) convexus_, agassiz. carbopermian: new south wales. _edestus davisii_, h. woodward. carbopermian: w. australia. _peocilodus jonesi_, agassiz. carbopermian: w. australia. _gosfordia truncata_, a. s. woodw. triassic: new south wales. _myriolepis clarkei_, egerton. triassic: new south wales. _apateolepis australis_, a. s. woodw. triassic: new south wales. _dictyopyge robusta_, a. s. woodw. triassic: new south wales. _belonorhynchus gigas_, a. s. woodw. triassic: new south wales. _semionotus australis_, a. s. woodw. triassic: new south wales. _pristisomus latus_, a. s. woodw. triassic: new south wales. _cleithrolepis granulatus_, egerton. triassic: new south wales. _pholidophorus gregarius_, a. s. woodw. triassic: new south wales. _pleuracanthus parvidens_, a. s. woodw. upper trias: new south wales. _sagenodus laticeps_, a. s. woodw. upper trias: new south wales. _palaeoniscus crassus_, a. s. woodw. upper trias: new south wales. _elonichthys armatus_, a. s. woodw. upper trias: new south wales. _elpisopholis dunstani_, a. s. woodw. upper trias: new south wales. _pholidophorus australis_, a. s. woodw. upper trias: new south wales. _psilichthys selwyni_, hall. jurassic: victoria. _leptolepis crassicauda_, hall. jurassic: victoria. _ceratodus avus_, a. s. woodw. jurassic: victoria. _coccolepis australis_, a. s. woodw. jurassic: new south wales. _aphnelepis australis_, a. s. woodw. jurassic: new south wales. _aetheolepis mirabilis_, a. s. woodw. jurassic: new south wales. _archaeomaene tenuis_, a. s. woodw. jurassic: new south wales. _leptolepis talbragarensis_, a. s. woodw. jurassic: new south wales. _lamna daviesii_, eth. fil. lower cretaceous: queensland. _lamna appendiculatus_, agassiz. lower cretaceous: queensland. _corax australis_, chapm. lower cretaceous: queensland. _aspidorhynchus_ sp. lower cretaceous: queensland. _belonostomus sweeti_, eth. fil. and a. s. woodw. lower cretaceous: queensland. _portheus australis_, a. s. woodw. lower cretaceous: queensland. _cladocyclus sweeti_, a. s. woodw. lower cretaceous: queensland. _notidanus marginalis_, davis. cretaceous: new zealand. _lamna compressa_, agassiz. cretaceous: new zealand. _callorhynchus hectori_, newton. cretaceous: new zealand. _ischyodus thurmanni_, pictet and campiche. cretaceous: new zealand. _odontaspis contortidens_, agassiz. cainozoic (bal. and janj.): victoria. _lamna apiculata_, ag. sp. cainozoic (bal. and janj.): victoria. also cainozoic (oamaru series): new zealand. _carcharodon megalodon_, agassiz. cainozoic (bal. janj. and kal.): victoria. also cainozoic (oamaru series): new zealand. _cestracion cainozoicus_, chapm. and pritch. cainozoic (janj. and kal.): victoria. _asteracanthus eocaenicus_, tate sp. cainozoic (janj. and kal.): victoria. _galeocerdo davisi_, chapm. and pritch. cainozoic (janj.): victoria. also cretaceous (waipara series) and cainozoic (oamaru series): new zealand. _carcharoides totuserratus_, ameghino. cainozoic (janj.): victoria. _odontaspis incurva_, davis sp. cainozoic (janj. and kal.): victoria. also cainozoic (oamaru series): new zealand. _oxyrhina retroflexa_, agassiz. cainozoic (janj.): victoria. also cainozoic (oamaru series): new zealand. _carcharodon auriculatus_, blainville sp. cainozoic (janj. and kal.): victoria. _acanthias geelongensis_, chapm. and pritch. cainozoic (janj.): victoria. _ischyodus mortoni_, chapm. and pritch. cainozoic (janj.): tasmania. _notidanus jenningsi_, chapm. and pritch. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _galeocerdo aduncus_, agassiz. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _oxyrhina hastalis_, agassiz. cainozoic (rare in balc. and janj., abundant in kal.): victoria. _myliobatis moorabbinensis_, chapm. and pritch. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _edaphodon sweeti_, chapm. and pritch. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _labrodon confertidens_, chap. and pritch. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _diodon formosus_, chapm. and pritch. cainozoic (kal.): victoria. _notidanus marginalis_, davis. cretaceous (waipara series); and cainozoic (oamaru series): new zealand. _myliobatis plicatilis_, davis. cainozoic (oamaru series): new zealand. _sargus laticonus_, davis. cainozoic (oamaru series): new zealand. _ctenolates avus_, a. s. woodw. pleistocene: new south wales. _neoceratodus forsteri_, krefft, sp. pleistocene: new south wales. amphibia. _bothriceps australis_, huxley. carbopermian: new south wales. _bothriceps major_, a. s. woodw. carbopermian: new south wales. _platyceps wilkinsoni_, stephens. triassic: new south wales. reptilia. _ichthyosaurus hectori_, ch. (nom. mut.). triassic: new zealand. _(?) megalosaurus_ sp. jurassic: victoria. _notochelone costata_, owen sp. lower cretaceous: queensland. _ichthyosaurus australis_, mccoy. lower cretaceous: queensland. _ichthyosaurus marathonensis_, eth. fil. lower cretaceous: queensland. _cimoliosaurus leucoscopelus_, eth. fil. upper cretaceous: new south wales. _plesiosaurus australis_, owen. cretaceous: new zealand. _polycotylus tenuis_, hector. cretaceous: new zealand. _cimoliosaurus haastii_, hector sp. cretaceous: new zealand. _tylosaurus haumuriensis_, hector sp. cretaceous: new zealand. _taniwhasaurus oweni_, hector. cretaceous: new zealand. _pallymnarchus pollens_, de vis. pleistocene: queensland and victoria. _crocodilus porosus_, schneider. pleistocene: queensland and victoria. _miolania oweni_, a. s. woodw. pliocene (deep-leads): new south wales. pleistocene: queensland. _miolania platyceps_, owen. pleistocene: lord howe island. _megalania prisca_, owen. pleistocene: queensland. birds. _palaeeudyptes antarcticus_, huxley. cainozoic (oamaru series): new zealand. _dinornis_ sp. cainozoic (petane series): new zealand. _pelecanus proavis_, de vis. pleistocene: queensland. _platalea subtenuis_, de vis. pleistocene: queensland. _anas elapsa_, de vis. pleistocene: queensland. _gallinula strenuipes_, de vis. pleistocene: queensland. _fulica prior_, de vis. pleistocene: queensland. _dromornis australis_, owen. pleistocene: queensland and new south wales. _dromaeus patricius_, de vis. pleistocene. queensland. _dromaeus minor_, spencer. pleistocene: king island. _genyornis newtoni_, stirling and zietz. pleistocene: s. australia. _cnemiornis calcitrans_, owen. pleistocene: new zealand. _harpagornis moorei_, von haast. pleistocene: new zealand. _aptornis otidiformis_, owen sp. pleistocene: new zealand. _dinornis giganteus_, owen. pleistocene and holocene: n. id., new zealand. _pachyornis elephantopus_, owen sp. pleistocene and holocene: s. id., new zealand. _anomalopteryx antiqua_, hutton. pleistocene: s. id., new zealand. mammalia. _ornithorhynchus maximus_, dun. cainozoic (kalimnan or l. pliocene): new south wales. _echidna (proechidna) robusta_, dun. cainozoic (kalimnan): new south wales. _ornithorhynchus agilis_, de vis. pleistocene: new south wales. _echidna (proechidna) oweni_, krefft. pleistocene: new south wales. _wynyardia bassiana_, spencer. cainozoic (kalimnan): tasmania. _dasyurus maculatus_, kerr sp. pleistocene: victoria and new south wales. living: queensland, new south wales, victoria and tasmania. _phascolomys pliocenus_, mccoy. cainozoic (werrikooian): victoria. _sarcophilus ursinus_, harris sp. pleistocene: victoria and new south wales. living: tasmania. _thylacinus cynocephalus_, harris sp. pleistocene: victoria and new south wales. living: tasmania. _thylacinus spelaeus_, owen. pleistocene: queensland and new south wales. _thylacinus major_, owen. pleistocene: queensland. _peragale lagotis_, reid sp. pleistocene: new south wales. living: s. australia and w. australia. _perameles gunni_, gray. pleistocene: victoria. living: queensland and victoria. _phascolomys parvus_, owen. pleistocene: queensland. _phascolonus gigas_, owen. pleistocene: queensland, new south wales and s. australia. _macropus titan_, owen. pleistocene: queensland, victoria, new south wales and s. australia. _macropus anak_, owen. pleistocene: queensland, s. australia and new south wales. _procoptodon goliah_, owen sp. pleistocene: queensland, new south wales and victoria. _sthenurus atlas_, owen sp. pleistocene: queensland, new south wales, victoria, and south australia. _sthenurus occidentalis_, glauert. pleistocene: w. australia. _palorchestes azael_, owen. pleistocene: queensland, new south wales and victoria. _diprotodon australis_, owen. pleistocene: queensland, new south wales, victoria and s. australia. _nototherium mitchelli_, owen. pleistocene: queensland, s. australia and victoria. _thylacoleo carnifex_, owen. pleistocene: queensland, new south wales, victoria and w. australia. _parasqualodon wilkinsoni_, mccoy sp. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria and tasmania. _metasqualodon harwoodi_, sanger sp. cainozoic (janjukian): s. australia. _kekenodon onamata_, hector. cainozoic (oamaru series): new zealand. _cetotolithes nelsoni_, mccoy. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria. _ziphius (dolichodon) geelongensis_, mccoy. cainozoic (janjukian): victoria. _scaldicetus macgeei_, chapm. cainozoic (kalimnan): victoria. _chronozoön australis_, de vis. pleistocene: queensland. _canis dingo_, blumenbach. late pleistocene or holocene: victoria. _otaria forsteri_, lesson. pliocene (petane series): n. id., new zealand. _arctocephalus williamsi_, mccoy. pleistocene: victoria. * * * * * literature. fishes. silurian.--chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xviii. (n.s.), pt. ii. , pp. - , pls. vii. and viii. (_thyestes_). devonian.--mccoy, f. prod. pal. vict., dec. iv. , pp. , , pl. xxxv. figs. , _a_, _b_ (_asterolepis_). etheridge, r. jnr. rec. austr. mus., vol. vi. pp. - , pl. xxviii. (_ganorhynchus_). carboniferous and carbopermian.--woodward, h. geol. mag., dec. iii. vol. iii. , pp. - , pl. i. (_edestus_). etheridge, r. jnr. geol. and pal. queensland, , p. , pl. xxxix. fig. (_deltodus_). de koninck, l. g. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , , p. , pl. xxiv., fig. (_tomodus_). woodward, a. s. mem. nat. mus. melbourne, no. . (mansfield series). triassic.--johnston, r. m. and morton, a. proc. r. soc. tasmania ( ), , pp. - ; ibid. ( ), , pp. - (_acrolepis_). woodward, a. s. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , (gosford). ibid. no. , (st. peters). jurassic.--woodward, a. s. mem. geol. surv. new south wales, pal. no. , . id., ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. vii. vol. xviii. , pp. - , pl. i. (_ceratodus_). hall, t. s. proc. r. soc. vict. vol. xii. (n.s.) pt. ii. , pp. - , pl. xiv. chapman, f. rec. geol. surv. vict. vol. iii. pt. , , pp. - , pl. xxxix. (_ceratodus_). cretaceous.--etheridge, r. jnr. proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. iii. ser. , , pp. - , pl. iv. idem, geol. and pal. queensland, , pp. - . davis, j. w. trans. r. dubl. soc. vol. iv. ser. . , pp. - , pls. i.-vii. (cretaceous and cainozoic of new zealand). etheridge, r. jnr. and woodward, a. s. trans. r. soc. vict., vol. ii. pt. ii. , pp. - , pl. i. (_belonostomus_). woodward, a. s. ann. mag. nat. hist., ser. , vol. xix. , pp. - , pl. x. (_portheus_ and _cladocyclus_). chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xxi. (n.s.), pt. ii. , pp. , (_corax_). cainozoic.--mccoy, f. prod. pal. vict., dec. ii. , pp. - , pl. xi. (_carcharodon_). chapman, f. and pritchard, g. b. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xvii. (n.s.), pt. i. , pp. - , pls. v.-viii. idem, ibid, vol. xx. (n.s.), pt. i. , pp. - , pls. v.-viii. see also davis, j. w. (_cretaceous_). pleistocene.--etheridge, r. jnr. geol. and pal. queensland, , p. (_neoceratodus_). woodward, a. s. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. vii. pt. , , pp. - , pl. xxiv. (_ctenolates_). amphibia. huxley, t. h. quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. xv. , pp. - , pl. xxii. figs. , (_bothriceps_). stephens, w. j. proc. linn. soc. new south wales, ser. . vol. i. , pp. - . ibid., , pp. - , pl. xxii. ibid., vol. ii. , pp. - . woodward, a. s. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. viii. pt. , , pp. - , pl. li. (_bothriceps_). reptilia. jurassic and cretaceous.--hector, j. trans. n.z. inst., vol. vi. , pp. - . cretaceous.--mccoy, f. proc. r. soc. vic., vol. viii. pt. i. , p. (_plesiosaurus_). ibid., vol. ix. pt. ii. , p. (_ichthyosaurus_). owen, r. geol. mag., dec. i. vol. vii. , pp. - , pl. iii. (_plesiosaurus_). id., quart. journ. geol. soc. vol. xxxviii. , pp. - (_"notochelys" = notochelone_). etheridge, r. jnr. proc. linn. soc. new south wales, ser. , vol. iii. , pp. - , pls. vii. and viii. (_ichthyosaurus_). id., geol. and pal. queensland, , pp. - . hutton, f. w. trans. n.z. inst. vol. xxvi. , pp. - , pl. (_cimoliosaurus_). pleistocene.--etheridge, r. jnr. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. i. pt. , , pp. - (_miolania_). id., geol. and pal. queensland, , pp. - . aves. miocene.--huxley, t. h. quart. journ. geol. soc. vol. xv. , pp. - . also hector, j. trans. n.z. inst. vol. iv. , pp. - , pl. (_palaeeudyptes_). chapman, f. proc. r. soc. vict. (n.s.) pt. i. , pp. - , pls. iv. and v. pleistocene and holocene.--von haast, j. trans. n.z. inst., vol. iv., , pp. - ; and vol. vi. , pp. - (_harpagornis_). owen, r. memoirs on the extinct wingless birds of new zealand, london, , vols. de vis, c. w. proc. r. soc. queensland, vol. vi. pt. i. , pp. - . id., proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. iii. ser. , , pp. - , pls. xxxiii.-xxxvi. (carinatae). etheridge, r. jnr. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. i. pt. , , pp. - , pls. xi.-xiii. (_dromornis_). id., geol. and pal. queensland, , pp. - . hutton, f. w. trans. n.z. inst., vol. xxiv. , pp. - (moas). id., ibid., vol. xxv. , pp. - , pl. (_anomalopteryx_). id., ibid., vol. xxix. , pp. - , figs. (moas). id., ibid., vol. xxxviii. , pp. and (_emeus crassus_). hamilton, a. ibid, vol. xxvi. , pp. - (bibliography of moas). ibid, vol. xxx. , pp. and (_euryapteryx_). stirling, e. c. and zietz, a. h. c. mem. r. soc. s. austr., vol. i. pt. ii. , pp. - , pls. xix.-xxiv. (_genyornis_). spencer, w. b. vict. nat. vol. xxiii. , pp. and ; also spencer, w. b. and kershaw, j. a. mem. nat. mus. melbourne no. , , pp. - , pls. i.-vii. (_dromaeus minor_). mammals. huxley, t. h. quart. journ. geol. soc., vol. xv. , pp. - (_phocaenopsis_). mccoy, f. prod. pal. vict., dec. i. , pp. , , pls. iii.-v. (_phascolomys_). ibid, dec. ii. , pp. - , pl. xi. and dec. vi. , pp. and , pl. lv. (_squalodon_). ibid, dec. iii. , pp. - , pl. xxi. (_thylacoleo_). ibid, dec. iv. , pp. - , pl. xxxi.-xxxiii. (_diprotodon_). ibid, dec. v. , pp. - , pl. xli. and xlii. (_arctocephalus_). ibid, dec. vi. , pp. - , pl. li. (_macropus_): pp. - , pl. li.-liii. (_procoptodon_): pp. - , pl. liv. (_cetotolithes_); pp. and , pl. lv. (_physetodon_). ibid, dec. vii. , pp. - , pl. lx. (_canis dingo_): pp. - , pl. lxxii. and lxii. (_sarcophilus_): pp. - , pl. lix. (_ziphius_). owen, r. extinct mammals of australia, london , vols. hector, j. trans. n.z. inst., vol. xiii. , pp. - , pl. (_kekenodon_). lydekker, r. cat. foss. mammalia, brit. mus. part v. . id., handbook to the marsupialia, and monotremata. allen's nat. library, , pt. iii. pp. - . de vis, c. w. proc. linn. soc. new south wales, vol. viii. pt. , , p. (sirenian). id., ibid, vol. x. , pp. - , pls. xiv.-xviii. (macropodidae). id., proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xii. (n.s.), pt. i, , pp. - (marsupials). etheridge, r. jnr. geol. and pal. queensland, , pp. - (pleistocene mammals). dun, w. s. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. iii. pt. , , pp. - , pl. xvi. (_palorchestes_). ibid., vol. iv. pt. , , pp. - , pls. xi. and xii. (monotremes). stirling, e. c. and zietz, a. h. c. mem. roy. soc. s. australia, vol. i. pt. i. (descr. of _diprotodon_, manus and pes.). spencer, w. b. proc. zool. soc. , pp. - , pls. xlix. and l. (_wynyardia_). hall, t. s. proc. r. soc. vict. vol. xxiii. (n.s.), pt. ii. , pp. - , pl. xxxvi. (rev. of squalodontidae). spencer, w. b. and walcott, r. h. proc. r. soc. vict., vol. xxiv. (n.s.), pt. i. , pp. - , pls. xxxvi.-xxix. (_thylacoleo_). chapman, f. rec. geol. surv. vict., vol. iii. pt. , , pp. - , pl. xl. (_scaldicetus_). woods, j. e. t. geol. observations in s. australia, , pp. and (human remains): also krefft, g. australian vertebrata, recent and fossil, , p. ; etheridge, r. jnr. rec. geol. surv. new south wales, vol. iii. pt. , , pp. - ; etheridge, r. jnr. and trickett, o. ibid., vol. vii. pt. , , pp. - . appendix.--on the collection and preservation of fossils. the tools and other paraphernalia necessary for fossil collecting are fortunately within the reach of all. the principal of these is a geological hammer, preferably with a pick at one end of the head and the opposite end square-faced. the pick end is useful for digging out fossils from soft clays, or for extracting a block of fossils entire. the square end is employed for breaking up the slabs or masses containing fossils. to get good results, much will of course depend upon one's skill in striking the right face of a block. if bedding planes are present on the lump from which we wish to extract our fossils, it will be well to strike at right angles to these layers in order to split them asunder, thus exposing a shell-layer corresponding to the original surface of the ancient sea-bed upon which the organisms accumulated. in some cases the splitting of fossiliferous rocks may be best carried out with the pick end, provided it be not too sharply curved. the hammer should be faced with steel, for many fossiliferous rocks, especially compact limestones, are apt to severely try the temper of an ill-made tool. a chisel, of chilled steel, should accompany the hammer, since this is often of the greatest use in working out large fossils, more particularly those that are buried in a cliff or quarry face. the process of extracting difficult specimens should never be hurried, for one often gets surprisingly good results with a little extra care. a strong pocket knife may be used in trimming specimens and partially cleaning shells that can be safely manipulated on the spot, but the final cleaning should be left until the return home. the knife is also useful for cleaning slates and shales, since the chisel-edge is frequently a trifle too thick for this kind of work. for the more delicate fossils, means for careful packing should be provided; chip-boxes and cotton-wool being indispensable for the smaller specimens. a ready method of packing the fossils obtained from the friable, sandy tertiary deposits is to store them in tins, the contents of which can be firmly secured from rattling by filling up with sand. this sand, however, should be taken from the same bed in which the fossils occur, so as to get no admixture of the smaller shells from another formation or deposit; for although we may not wish to examine the finer material ourselves, it will yield in many cases a rich harvest to our microscopical friends, such residues containing microzoa, as shells of foraminifera, polyzoa and carapaces of the ostracoda. the residues referred to may be obtained from many of our marls and rubbly limestones by the simple process of washing in water, and repeatedly pouring off the finest clayey mud, until only a sandy deposit remains, which can then be dried and sorted over by the aid of a lens or low power microscope. =hints on fossil collecting.--= as regards the places most suitable for collecting fossils, the cainozoic beds are perhaps, the most accessible to a beginner, especially in victoria. for instance, the cliff exposures at beaumaris, port phillip, will afford a plentiful supply of the little heart-shaped sea-urchin, _lovenia_, and an occasional _trigonia_ and _limopsis_, as well as many other fossils of the great group of the shell-fish or mollusca. the richest bed containing the sharks' teeth at the above locality is almost perpetually covered with a bed of shingle, but can be reached by digging at the cliff-base. isolated specimens, however, although rather the worse for wear, may often be picked up amongst the shingle, having been washed up from the foreshore by the tide. an enticing band of large bivalve shells (_dosinea_), can be seen halfway up the cliffs, near the baths at this locality, but are somewhat disappointing, for when obtained they crumble to pieces in the hand, since their shells are composed of the changeable form of carbonate of lime called aragonite, which has decomposed in place in the bed, after the shells were covered up by the deposit. good collections of shells of the balcombian series may be easily made at balcombe's bay and grice's creek, port phillip. they can there be dug out of the grey-blue clay with a knife, and afterwards cleaned at leisure by means of a soft tooth brush dipped in water. in the cement stone at the same place there are numerous shells of pteropods or "sea-butterflies" (_vaginella_), and specimens of the stone may be obtained, showing myriads of the porcelain-like shells, and also their internal casts in the hard greenish coloured matrix. the ferruginous or ironstone beds seen in the flemington railway cutting, melbourne, is an old marine shell-bank, resting on basalt. the shells have all been dissolved away, and only their casts and moulds remain. these impressions are, however, so faithfully moulded that the ornamentation of each shell can often be reproduced on a squeeze taken with a piece of modelling wax or plasticine. such fossil remains are easily collected by carefully breaking up the blocks of ironstone with a hammer. quarries in the older limestones and mudstones in victoria, new south wales and other states, are often good hunting grounds for fossils. the quarry at cave hill, lilydale, for example, will be found very profitable, for the limestone is full of corals and molluscan shells; whilst the friable or rubbly portion is worth breaking down for the smaller fossils. the bed-rock (silurian) of melbourne is in places very fossiliferous; the sandstones of moonee ponds creek generally affording a fair number of brachiopods, and occasionally corals. the mudstones of south yarra, studley park, yan yean, and other places on the same geological horizon, contain a rich fauna, to be obtained only by the assiduous collector who will search over and break up a large number of blocks. practice in this work makes a good collector; although of course one must know something about the objects looked for, since many apparently obscure fossil remains of great interest might easily be passed over for lack of knowledge as to what should be expected to occur at each particular locality. many other good collecting grounds might here be alluded to, but we have purposely cited only a few near melbourne, since a selection from other parts of australasia may easily be made from the localities mentioned in connection with the various groups of fossils dealt with in the systematic portion of this work. =preservation of fossils.--= many of the cainozoic fossils from the shelly sands and clays are extremely delicate, owing in some cases to their being imperfectly preserved, seeing that they frequently contain in their shell-structure layers of the unstable form of carbonate of lime called aragonite. fossils containing aragonite are:--calcareous sponges; corals; bivalved shells, except oysters, pectens, and the outer layer of _spondylus_, _pinna_, and _mytilus_; gasteropods (with a few exceptions); and cephalopods. in some of these, however, a transformation of the aragonite into calcite enables the fossil to be permanently preserved. the delicate fossils referred to should be dipped in weak glue or gelatine and left to dry; after which their final cleaning can be done with the aid of a little warm water and a soft brush. certain of the clays and mudstones, both of cainozoic and jurassic ages which show remains of plants, such as leaves and fern fronds, are often best treated with a thin surface layer of paper varnish, before they lose the natural moisture of the rock; for when they become perfectly dry the thin carbonaceous film representing the original leaf-substance peels off, and the fossil is consequently destroyed. a method of treatment for cainozoic leaves, by dipping them in warm vaseline and brushing off the superfluous material, has been described by mr. h. deane. =storing fossils for reference.--= fossils specimens are generally best displayed in cardboard trays; or if thin wooden paper-covered tablets are used, say of about - in. thickness and cut to proportionate sizes, the fossils should be held in place by pins for easy removal, unless more than one example can be shown together, exhibiting all aspects, when they can be secured to the tablet by a touch of seccotine. the smaller shells may be displayed in glass topped boxes, which in turn may be stuck down to tablets or placed in trays. index. aboriginal implements, aborigines, probable origin of, _acanthias_, _acanthodes_, _acanthosphaera_, _acanthothyris_, , _acentrophorus_, _acrolepis_, _actaeon_, _actinoceras_, , _actinocrinus_, _actinodesma_, , _actinopteria_, , _actinostroma_, , _adeona_, _aechmina_, _aeschna_, _aetheolepis_, _agathiceras_, agnatha, _agnostus_, _allodesma_, _ambonychia_, _ammodiscus_, , _ammonites_, , , ammonoidea, _amoeba_, , amphibia, structure of, _amphistegina_, _amplexus_, _ampyx_, _amusium_, _anas_, _anchura_, _ancilla_, , , _ancyloceras_, , angiospermeae, characters of, annelida, _anomalina_, _anomalopteryx_, _antedon_, anthozoa, , antiquity of man in australia, _aparchites_, _apateolepis_, _aphnelepis_, _apocynophyllum_, _aptornis_, _aptychopsis_, _arabellites_, _arachnoides_, _araucarioxylon_, _araucarites_, _arca_, , , _archaeocidaris_, _archaeocyathina_, archaeocyathinae, _archaeomaene_, _archaeopteryx_, _arctocephalus_, _arenicolites_, argillaceous rocks, _argilloecia_, _?argiope_, _argonauta_, arthropoda, structure and subdivisions of, , _asaphus_, , _aspidorhynchus_, _astarte_, _asteracanthus_, , asteroidea, _asterolepis_, _astralium_, , _astropecten_, _athyris_, , , _atrypa_, , , _aturia_, _atys_, _aucella_, _aulopora_, australian fossiliferous strata, - . aves, aviculopecten, , _axopora_, bactronella, _baculites_, _baiera_, , _bairdia_, _balanophyllia_, _balanus_, balcombian bivalves, " gasteropods, bandicoot, , _bankivia_, _banksia_, , _barbatia_, , barnacles, _barnea_, _bathytoma_, _bela_, _belemnites_, , , belemnoidea, _bellerophon_, , , , _belonorhynchus_, _belonostomus_, _bettongia_, _beyrichia_, , , _biloela_, _bipora_, birds, fossil, , _biziura_, blastoidea, distribution and characters of, , blue-green algae, , bog iron-ore, _bolodon_, _bombax_, bone-beds, bone-breccias, _bothriceps_, _botryocrinus_, brachiopoda, structure of, , brachiopod limestone, _brachymetopus_, _brachyphyllum_, bracken fern, _brissopsis_, brittle-stars, characters of, , _bronteus_, , _bryograptus_, , , bryophyta, characters of, _buccinum_, _buchozia_, _bulimina_, , _bulinus_, , _bulla_, _bullinella_, , _bythocypris_, _bythotrephis_, cainozoic balanidae, " bird, victoria, " bivalves, " brachiopods, " brittle-stars, " chitons, " corals, " crabs, " echinoids, irregular, " echinoids, regular, " fishes, " foraminifera, " gasteropods, " gasteropods, new zealand, " holothuroidea, " insects, " lepadidae, " ostracoda, " and pleistocene reptiles, " plants, " polyzoa, cainozoic radiolaria, " scaphopods, " sponges, " starfishes, " strata, , calcareous rocks, " sponges, _callograptus_, _callorhynchus_, _calymene_, , , calyptoblastea, _calyptraea_, , , _camarotoechia_, , , cambrian bivalves, " brachiopods, " crinoids, " foraminifera, " gasteropods, " ostracoda, " plants, " radiolaria, " sponges, _cameroceras_, _campanularia_, _campophyllum_, , _cancellaria_, , , _canis_, cannel coal, _capitosaurus_, _capulus_, carbonaceous rocks, carboniferous brachiopods, " crinoids, " fishes, " foraminifera, " gasteropods, " ostracoda, " plants, carbopermian bivalves, " blastoids, " brachiopods, " cephalopods, " corals, " crinoids, " fishes, " foraminifera, " gasteropods, " labyrinthodonts, " ostracoda, " palaeechinoids, " phyllopoda, " plants, " sponges, " starfishes, " trilobites, _carcharodon_, , , _carcharoides_, _cardiola_, , _cardita_, , _cardium_, , , , carnivora, _carposphaera_, _carpospongia_, _caryocaris_, , _cassidulus_, _catenicella_, _cellaria_, _cellepora_, _cenellipsis_, _cenosphaera_, , cephalopoda, characters of, _ceratiocaris_, _ceratodus_, , _ceratotrochus_, _cerithiopsis_, _cerithium_, , _cestracion_, , , cetacea, _cetotolithes_, _chaenomya_, chaetopoda, _chama_, changes of climate in the past, cheilostomata, , _cheirurus_, , _chelodes_, cherts, _chione_, , , _chiridota_, _chironomus_, _chiton_, _chonetes_, , , chordata, _chosornis_, _chronozoön_, _cicada_, _cidaris_, _cimoliosaurus_, _cinnamomum_, _cinulia_, cirripedia, habits and structure of, _cladochonus_, _cladophlebis_, , , cladophora, classification of animals, _clathrodictyon_, _clausilia_, _clavigera_, clays, _cleiothyris_, _cleithrolepis_, , , _climacograptus_, _climatius_, _clonograptus_, , , _clypeaster_, _cnemiornis_, coals, _coccolepis_, _cocconema_, _coccosteus_, coelenterata, characters of, _coleolus_, collecting fossils, _colubraria_, _columbarium_, , , _columbella_, _conchothyra_, _conocardium_, , conodonts, _conosmilia_, _conularia_, , , _conus_, , , , _coprosmaephyllum_, coral limestone, corals, , _corax_, _corbicula_, _corbula_, , , , _cordaites_, _cornulites_, _coscinocyathus_, _coxiella_, _crassatellites_, , _crenella_, _crepicephalus_, _crepidula_, cretaceous (lower and upper) cephalopods, " cephalopods, new zealand, " cheilostomata, " crinoids, " echinoids (irregular), " (lower) fishes, " fishes, new zealand, " foraminifera, " gasteropods, " plants, " radiolaria, " (lower) reptiles, " reptiles, new zealand, " scaphopods, " sponges, crinoidal limestone, crinoidea, occurrence and structure of, , _crioceras_, _crisia_, _cristellaria_, _crocodilus_, _cromus_, crustacea, an archaic group, " development of, " fossil, _cryptodon_, _cryptograptus_, _cryptoplax_, _cryptostomata_, , _ctenodonta_, , _ctenodus_, , _ctenolates_, _ctenostreon_, _cucullaea_, , , _cultellus_, _cuna_, , , _cupressinoxylon_, , _cupressus_, _cuscus_, cuttle-fishes, cyanophyceae, _cyathocrinus_, _cyathophyllum_, , , _cyclas_, _cycloceras_, _cyclolituites_, _cyclometopa_, _cyclonema_, cyclostomata, _cydnus_, _cymbella_, _cyphaspis_, _cyphon_, _cypraea_, , , , , _cypricardinia_, cyprid limestone, _cyrenopsis_, _cyrtoceras_, , _cyrtograptus_, _cyrtina_, , _cyrtolites_, cystideans, _cystiphyllum_, _cythere_, , _cytherella_, _?cytheridea_, _cytheropteron_, _dadoxylon_, _dalmanites_, , , , _daonella_, darter, _?darwinula_, _dasyurus_, , decapoda, deep leads, fruits of, " insects from, _deltodus_, _deltopecten_, _dendrocrinus_, , _dendrocygna_, _dendrograptus_, _dendrophyllia_, _dennantia_, _dentalium_, dentition of reptiles, _deontopora_, _desmoceras_, devonian bivalves, " brachiopods, " cephalopods, " corals, " crinoids, " fishes, " gasteropods, " ostracoda, " plants, " radiolaria, " scaphopods, " stromatoporoids, " trilobites, diadactyla, diatomite, diatoms, _dicellograptus_, , _dichograptus_, _dicranograptus_, , _dictyonema_, and allies, _dictyopyge_, _didymograptus_, , _?didymosorus_, _dielasma_, , _dikellocephalus_, _dimetrodon_, _dimya_, , , _dinesus_, dingo, , _dinornis_, , , , _diodon_, , _dione_, _diphyphyllum_, _diplograptus_, , , , _diprotodon_, , , _diprotodon_-breccias, diprotodontia, _discina_, _discorbina_, _dissocheilus_, _dithyrocaris_, _ditrupa_, _ditrupa_ limestone, _dolichodon_, _dolichometopus_, _dolium_, _donax_, , _dorsetensia_, _dosinea_, , _drillia_, , _dromaeus_, , _dromornis_, duck, _duncaniaster_, ear-bones of whales, early observers, _eburnopsis_, , _echidna_, , _echinocyamus_, echinodermata, characters of, , " divisions of, echinoidea, _echinolampas_, , _echinoneus_, _echinus_, _ecionema_, _edaphodon_, _edestus_, _edmondia_, , , _eglisia_, elephant-fish, , elephant-tusk shells, elevated sea-beds, _elonichthys_, , _elpisopholis_, _emarginula_, emu, _encrinurus_, _endoceras_, _endothyra_, , _entalophora_, _entomis_, _ephemera_, _equisetites_, errant worms, _erycina_, _erymnoceras_, _estheria_, _eucalyptus_, , , _eulima_, _eunema_, _eunicites_, _euomphalus_, , , _eupatagus_, _euphemus_, _eurydesma_, eurypterida, _euthria_, _eutrochus_, evolution of life-forms, _fagus (notofagus)_, falcon, _fasciolaria_, , _favosites_, , , , feather-star, _fenestella_, , _fibularia_, fishes, fossil, " primitive types, " true, fish-lizards, , , , _fissilunula_, , _fissurellidea_, _fistulipora_, , _flabellina_, _flabellum_, , flightless pigeon goose, flints, flying phalanger, foraminifera, characters of, , " fossil, foraminiferal limestone, fossil faunas, differences in, fossiliferous strata, australia, - " strata, new zealand fossil, origin of name, fossils an index to age of strata, , " nature of, " petrifaction of, " preservation of, " structure preserved in, fossil wood, , , _frondicularia_, , fruits of the deep leads, _fulica_, _fusus_, , _galeocerdo_, , _gallinula_, _gangamopteris_, _ganorhynchus_, _gari_, gasteropoda, characters of, _gastrioceras_, _geinitzina_, _genyornis_, , geological epochs, - geology, scope of, giant kangaroo, " lizard, " penguin, _gibbula_, _ginkgo_, , _girvanella_, , , glauconite casts of foraminifera, _glossograptus_, , _glossopteris_, _glycimeris_, , _glyphioceras_, _gomphonema_, gondwana-land, _goniatites_, , _goniograptus_, , _gosfordia_, _gosseletina_, _grammysia_, _granatocrinus_, _graphularia_, , graptolites, bendigo series, " lancefield series, " nature of, , " tasmania, graptolitoidea, _gregoriura_, _griffithides_, _gromia_, ground pigeon, _gryphaea_, _grypotherium_, guide fossils, gymnospermeae, characters of, _gyracanthides_, _gyroceras_, _gyrodoma_, _halimeda_ limestone, _haliotis_, , _haliserites_, _halysites_, _hamites_, _hapalocrinus_, _haploceras_, _haplophragmium_, , _harpa_, , , _harpactocarcinus_, _harpagornis_, _hawk_, _helicocrinus_, _helicotoma_, _heliolites_, , _heliopora_, _heliosphaera_, _helix_, _hemiaster_, _hemipatagus_, _heterocrinus_, heteropoda, _heteropora_, hexactinellid sponge, , hinge-structure, in bivalves, _holaster_, holothuroidea, _homalonotus_, , _hornera_, _huenella_, human remains, sub-recent, _hyalostelia_, , _hybocrinus_, _hydractinia_, , hydrozoa, , _hymenocaris_, _hyperammina_, _hyolithes_, , , _hypothyris_, _hypsiprymnus_, ibis, _ichthyosaurus_, , , _idiostroma_, _idmonea_, _illaenus_, indusial limestone, _inoceramus_, , insects, , ironstone, irregular echinoids, _ischnochiton_, _ischyodus_, , _isochilina_, _isocrinus_, , janjukian bivalves, " gasteropods, _jonesina_, jurassic bird, " bivalves, " brachiopods, " cephalopods, " fishes, " foraminifera, " gasteropods, " insects, " ostracoda, " phyllopoda, " plants, " reptiles, " scaphopods, kalimnan bivalves, " gasteropods, kangaroo, _keeneia_, _kekenodon_, , kerosene shale, _kionoceras_, _kloedenia_, _labrodon_, labyrinthodontia, _lagena_, _?lagria_, _lamna_, , , lamp-shells, , _lasiocladia_, _lasiograptus_, , _latirus_, , _laurus_, _leaia_, leda, , , , , leonardo da vinci, _lepas_, _leperditella_, _leperditia_, , , , , _lepidocyclina_, , " limestone, _lepidodendron_, , , " beds, _lepralia_, , _leptaena_, , _leptoclinum_, , _leptodesma_, _leptodomus_, _leptograptus_, _leptolepis_, , , _lepton_, _lichas_, _lichenopora_, _lieberkuehnia_, _lima_, , , _limatula_, limestones formed by organisms, _limnaea_, _limopsis_, , , _limulus_, _lingula_, , , , _linthia_, , _liopyrga_, _liotia_, , lithistid sponges, , lithological evidence, value of, _lithophaps_, _lithothamnion_, _lituites_, _lituola_, _loganograptus_, _lophophyllum_, _lorica_, _lotorium_, , , _lovenia_, lower cambrian trilobites, " cretaceous bivalves, " " brachiopods, " " cephalopods, " " crab, " " dragon-fly, " " fishes, " " reptiles, " mesozoic fishes, " ordovician graptolites, new zealand, " ordovician graptolites, victoria, _loxoconcha_, _loxonema_, , , , _lucina_, , lung-fish, _lunucammina_, _lunulicardium_, _lunulites_, _lyriopecten_, _maccoyella_, , _macrocephalites_, _macrocheilus_, _macrocypris_, , _macropora_, _macropus_, , _macrotaeniopteris_, _mactra_, , , madrepore limestone, _magasella_, , _magellania_, , , _magnolia_, maiden-hair tree, mail-shells, mammalia, early types, mammals, fossil, manatees and dugongs, _marginella_, , _marginulina_, marsupial lion, marsupial, oldest known australian, marsupials, " pleistocene and living, _martiniopsis_, _mastodonsaurus_, material for fossil collecting, _megalania_, _megalosaurus_, _melania_, _melosira_, _membranipora_, , _meretrix_, , , _mesoblastus_, _mesostigmodera_, mesozoic strata, _metablastus_, _metasqualodon_, , metazoa, _micraster_, _microdiscus_, _mikrogromia_, _millepora_, _milleporids_, _miliolina_, , , miocene bird, new zealand, " leaf-beds, miolania, mitra, , , moa-birds, - , _modiola_, , _modiolaria_, _modiolopsis_, mollusca, characters of, , , molluscoidea, characters of, , , monactinellid sponges, , _monogenerina_, _monograptus_, , _monostychia_, _monotis_, monotremata, _monticulipora_, monticuliporoids, _montlivaltia_, moor-hen, _mopsea_, _morio_, , mound-builders, _mourlonia_, mud-fish, , muds, mudstone, multituberculata, _murchisonia_, , , _murex_, , , _myodora_, , _myriolepis_, , _mytilarca_, _mytilus_, , , , naming of animals, _nassa_, , , _natica_, , , , , native cat, , " dog, " honeysuckle, , nautiloidea, _nautilus_, , , , _navicula_, _nebalia_, _necrastur_, _neoceratodus_, newer pliocene seal, _newtoniella_, new zealand fossiliferous strata, _niso_, , _nodosaria_, , _nonionina_, _normanites_, _notasaphus_, _notidanus_, , , , _notochelone_, , _notophyllia_, _nototherium_, _nubecularia_, , _nucleospira_, _nucula_, , , , , , _nuculites_, , nullipore limestone, _nummulites_, , nummulitic limestone, _nyroca_, octopoda, _octopus_, _odontaspis_, , , odontoceti, _odontopleura_, , _odostomia_, , _oenonites_, _olenellus_, , _oliva_, _ommatocarcinus_, _omphalotrochus_, oolitic ironstone, _ophileta_, , ophiuroidea, _orbiculoidea_, _orbitoides_, ordovician bivalve, " brachiopods, " cephalopods, " corals, " crinoids, " gasteropods, " phyllocarida, " radiolaria, " sponges, " trilobites, _ornithorhynchus_, , _orthis_, , , , " limestone, _orthoceras_, , , , , _orthonota_, _orthothetes_, ostracoda, features of carapace, " habits of, " structure of, _ostrea_, , , _otaria_, _oxyrhina_, , , oxystomata, _oxytelus_, _pachydomus_, _pachyornis_, , _pachypora_, , _palaeaster_, , _palaeeudyptes_, , _palaeohatteria_, _palaeolycus_, _palaeoneilo_, , _palaeoniscus_, , , _palaeopelargus_, palaeozoic chitons, " cladophora, " cryptostomata, " errant worms, " strata, " trepostomata, _palissya_, , _pallymnarchus_, _palorchestes_, _panda_, _panenka_, _paracyainus_, _paracyclas_, , _paradoxechinus_, _paradoxorhyncha_, _parasqualodon_, , _pareiasaurus_, _patella_, , _pecten_, , , , , , , , pelecypoda, characters of, " hinge structure of, pelican, _pelicanus_, _pelosina_, _?peltopleurus_, _pentacrinus_, , _pentagonaster_, _pentamerus_, , _penteune_, _peragale_, _perameles_, , _perisphinctes_, permian and triassic reptiles, _perna_, _peronella_, _persoonia_, _petaurus_, _petraia_, _phacops_, , , phalanger, _phanerotrema_, _phascolomys_, , _phascolonus_, _phialocrinus_, _phillipsia_, _phoenicopsis_, _pholas_, _pholidophorus_, , _phos_, _phragmoceras_, _phryganea_, phylactolaemata, phyllocarida, structure of, _phyllocladus_, _phyllograptus_, , phyllopoda, _phyllotheca_, _physa_, _physonemus_, pigeon, _pinna_, pinnipedia, _pisania_, _?pisocrinus_, _placopsilina_, _placotrochus_, _placunanomia_, , _plagiarca_, _plagiaulax_, _planorbis_, plants, fossil, plant series, characters of, _platalea_, _platyceps_, _platyceras_, , , , _platycoila_, _platycrinus_, _platyschisma_, _platysomus_, _plaxiphora_, _plectroninia_, _pleioclinis_, pleistocene birds, new zealand, " bivalves, " carinate birds, " diprotodonts, " fish, " foraminifera, " gasteropods, " lobster, " plants, " seal, _plerophyllum_, _plesiastraea_, _plesiolampas_, _plesiosaurus_, _pleuracanthus_, _pleurodictyum_, _pleuromya_, _?pleurostomella_, _pleurotoma_, , , _pleurotomaria_, , , , , _plicatula_, pliocene moa, new zealand, _pliosaurus_, _plotus_, _podocarpus_, _poecilodus_, _?pollicipes_, polychaeta, , _polycotylus_, _polymastodon_, _polymorphina_, , polyplacophora, _polypora_, polyprotodontia, _polystomella_, polyzoa, characters of, , " subdivisons of, polyzoal limestone, _porcellia_, porcupine fish, , _porina_, _porphyrio_, _portheus_, _poteriocrinus_, prehensile rat-kangaroo, preservation of fossils, _primitia_, , _pristisomus_, _procoptodon_, _productus_, , , _proechidna_, _proetus_, , _progura_, _prosopon_, _protaster_, _protocardium_, _protopharetra_, _protoretepora_, _protospongia_, , protozoa, characters of, , , _psammechinus_, _pseudamaura_, _psilichthys_, pteridophyta, characters of, pteridospermeae, characters of, _pterinea_, , _pteris_ (_pteridium_), pteropoda, , , , _pterygotus_, , _ptilograptus_, _ptychoparia_, , _pugnellus_, _pulvinulina_, purbeck marble, _purisiphonia_, _purpura_, radiolaria, characters of, , " habitat of, " structure of, " subdivisions, rail, raised beaches as distinct from middens, _ranella_, range-in-time of fossils, _raphistoma_, , rat-kangaroo, _receptaculites_, regular echinoids, _reinschia_, reptiles, fossil, " dentition of, " structure of, _reteocrinus_, _retepora_, _reticularia_, _retiolites_, , _rhacopteris_, _rhinopterocaris_, , _rhipidomella_, _rhizophyllum_, _rhodocrinus_, _rhombopora_, _rhynchonella_, , , rhynchota, _rhynchotrema_, _ringicula_, _risella_, _rissoa_, _rissoina_, _rostellaria_, _rotalia_, , rugose corals, _saccammina_, _saccocaris_, _sagenodus_, _salterella_, sandstones, _sanidophyllum_, _sarcophilus_, , _sargus_, _scala_, , , , , _scalaetrochus_, _scaldicetus_, _scaphella_, _scaphites_, scaphopoda, _scenella_, _sceparnodon_, _schizaster_, _schizodus_, _schizophoria_, _schloenbachia_, _scutellina_, sea-beds far from the present coast, sea-bream, " -cucumbers, " -firs, , " -mats, , " -pen, " -urchins, , " characters of, sedentary worms, _seguenzia_, _selenaria_, _semele_, _semicassis_, _seminula_, _semionotus_, , sepioidea, _serpula_, serpulite limestone, _sertularia_, , shales, sharks, , , , shell-limestone, _shumardia_, _sigsbeia_, siliceous rocks, silicified wood, _siliquaria_, silurian bivalves, " brachiopods, " brittle-stars, " cephalopods, " cirripedes, " conodonts, " corals, " crinoids, " foraminifera, " gasteropods, " graptolites, victoria, " hexacoralla, " octocoralla, " ostracoda, " palaeechinoids, " phyllocarida, " plants, " radiolaria, " sponges, " starfishes, " stromatoporoids, " trilobites, _siphonalia_, _siphonia_, _siphonotreta_, sirenia, _sistrum_, slate, smith, william, smittia, _solarium_, _solenocurtus_, _soletellina_, sphaerosiderite, _sphenopteris_, , _sphenotrochus_, , _sphenotus_, , _sphyrna_, _spirifer_, , , , , _spiriferina_, " -beds, _spirillina_, _spirorbis_, _spirula_, _spirulirostra_, , _spisula_, _spondylostrobus_, _spondylus_, , , sponges, characteristics of, , _spongilla_, _spongodiscus_, _spongophyllum_, spoonbill, spore coal, _squalodon_, _stacheia_, star-corals, starfishes, characters of, , _staurolonche_, _stauroneis_, steno, _stenopora_, _stenotheca_, _stephanella_, _stephanograptus_, _stephanotrochus_, _sthenurus_, sting-ray, _stomatopora_, storing fossils, stork, strata, superposition of, " vertically arranged, stratigraphical series, general thickness, stratigraphy, _strepsodus_, _streptelasma_, _stricklandinia_, _stromatopora_, , _stromatoporella_, , stromatoporoids, , _strombus_, , _strophalosia_, _stropheodonta_, , _strophonella_, _struthiolaria_, _studeria_, _sturtzura_, _stutchburia_, stylasterids, _subemarginula_, submerged forests, _sunetta_, superposition of strata, _synaphe_, syndactyla, _synedra_, _syringopora_, _syringothyris_, _tabellaria_, _taeniopteris_, , , , , _taniwhasaurus_, _taphaetus_, tasmanian devil, , " wolf, , tasmanite, _taxocrinus_, _tellina_, , , _temnechinus_, _tentaculites_, , , _terebra_, , , , _terebratella_, , _terebratula_, _terebratulina_, , tertiary ironstone, _tessarodoma_, tetracoralla, tetractinellid sponge, , _tetragraptus_, , _textularia_, , _thalassina_, thallophyta, characters of, _thalotia_, _thamnastraea_, _thinnfeldia_, , , _thurammina_, _thyestes_, _thylacinus_, , _thylacoleo_, , time-range of fossils, _tomodus_, toothed whales, torbanite, _torlessia_, _trachyderma_, , _trachypora_, _trematonotus_, _trematotrochus_, , trepostomata, _tretocalia_, triassic bivalves, " brachiopods, " cephalopods, " crinoids, " fishes, " foraminifera, " labyrinthodonts, " ostracoda, " phyllopoda, " plants, " reptiles, new zealand, _tribonyx_, _tribrachiocrinus_, _trichograptus_, _tricoelocrinus_, _trigonia_, , , , , _trigonograptus_, trilobites, habits of, " structure of, _tritylodon_, , _trivia_, , _trochoceras_, _trochonema_, _trochus_, , , _trophon_, _truncatulina_, , _tryplasma_, tuatera, _tudicla_, tunicata, _turbo_, , _turrilepas_, , _turritella_, , , , , _turritella_ -limestone, _tylosaurus_, _tylospira_, , _typhis_, _uncinulus_, _unio_, , _unionella_, upper cambrian trilobites, " cretaceous bivalves, " cretaceous brachiopod, " cretaceous cephalopod, " triassic fishes, " ordovician graptolites, new south wales, " ordovician graptolites, victoria, _urasterella_, _urosthenes_, _vaginella_, , _vaginulina_, _valvulina_, , _venus_, , , , vermes, characters of, _vertebraria_, vertebrata, characters of, , _verticordia_, _vetotuba_, _voluta_, , , _volutilithes_, , , _volvox_, _volvulella_, warrnambool footprints, werrikooian bivalves, " gasteropods, whales, white coal, _wilsonia_, wombat, , worms, fossil, , worm-tracks, wrasse family, _wynyardia_, xenophanes, _xenorhynchus_, _xestoleberis_, _xiphosphaera_, _yvania_, _zaphrentis_, _ziphius_, index to australasian localities. appended letters indicate the state or country:-- n.s.w., new south wales; n.t., northern territory; n.z., new zealand; q., queensland; s.a., south australia; t., tasmania; v., victoria; w.a., western australia. adelaide, s.a., aire coast, v., airly, n.s.w., alice springs, s.a., altona bay, v., arcola, q., arcoona, s.a., ardrossan, s.a., , bacchus marsh, v., , balcombe's bay, v., , , bald hill, v., barker gorge, w.a., , , barraba, n.s.w., , batesford, v., , , , baton river, n.z., , bay of islands, n.z., beaumaris, v., , , , , , , , bendigo, v., , , , berwick, v., bindi, v., , , , bingera, n.s.w., boggy creek, v., bowen river, q., , , bowning, n.s.w., , , , , bowral, n.s.w., brighton, n.z., , , broadhurst's creek, v., broken river, n.z., , broken river, q., broome, w.a., brunswick, v., buchan, v., , , , , , , , , , , bulla, v., bungonia, n.s.w., burdekin, q., , burnt creek, v., burragorang, n.s.w., camperdown, v., canobolas district, n.s.w., canowindra, n.s.w., canterbury, n.z., cape liptrap, v., cape otway, v., , cape palliser, n.z., cape paterson, v., , carapook, v., caroline creek, t., casterton, v., castlemaine, v., , cavan, n.s.w., cessnock, n.s.w., chatham ids., chillagoe, q., chinchilla, q., clarence town, n.s.w., , cliftonwood, n.s.w., clunes, v., cockatoo id., n.s.w., collie, w.a., collingwood, v., coole barghurk creek, v., cooma, n.s.w., , copeland, n.s.w., corio bay, v., corner creek, q., croydon, q., , curiosity shop, n.z., , curlewis, v., , curramulka, s.a., , , , currowang, n.s.w., dalton, n.s.w., , dargo high plains, v., darling downs, q., , , , , darling river, n.s.w., , darriwill, v., delegate river, n.s.w., derrengullen creek, n.s.w., diggers' rest, v., dolodrook river, v., , dromana, v., dundas co., v., east maitland, n.s.w., elizabeth river, s.a., fanning river, q., farley, n.s.w., , fernbrook, n.s.w., fifield, n.s.w., flemington, v., , , , , flinders, v., , flinders river, q., , , , , florentine valley, t., , fraser's creek, v., gascoyne river, w.a., , , , , geelong, v., , , , geilston, t., gellibrand river, v., geraldton, w.a., , , gippsland lakes, v., , gisborne, v., glenelg river, v., glenwilliam, n.s.w., goodradigbee river, n.s.w., goonoo, n.s.w., gordon river, t., gosford, n.s.w., , , , grampians, v., grange burn, hamilton, v., , , , , greenough river, w.a., , , grey river, n.z., grice's creek, v., grose vale, n.s.w., gulgong, n.s.w., , gunning, n.s.w., haddon, v., hallett's cove, s.a., hall's sound, papua, hamilton, n.z., hamilton, v., , , , , , , hamilton river, q., hatton's corner, n.s.w., , heathcote, v., , , hobart, t., , hokonui hills, n.z., , hughenden, q., , iguana creek, v., irwin river, w.a., , , , island of timor, jenolan caves, n.s.w., , , kakanui, n.z., kamileroy, q., keilor, v., kent's group, t., kilmore, v., , , , kilmore creek, v., kimberley, w.a., , , , , king island, t., , , king's creek, q., kirrak, v., knocklofty, t., knowsley, v., koroit, v., kowhai river, n.z., lake callabonna, s.a., , lake connewarre, v., lake eyre, s.a., , , , lake frome, s.a., lancefield, v., , , , , laurie's creek, s.a., , , lawson, n.s.w., leichhardt river, q., leigh's creek, s.a., lennard river, w.a., lilydale, v., , , , , , , , , , , limeburners point, v., limestone creek, glenelg river, v., limestone creek, yass, n.s.w.; , loddon valley, v., lord howe id., loyola, v., , , , lyndhurst, n.s.w., maddingley, v., mallee, v., , , , , mandurama, n.s.w., , , manly, n.s.w., mansfield, v., , , , , marathon station, q., maria id., t., maryborough, q., , , maryvale creek, q., mcmahon's creek, v., melbourne, v., , , , , , mersey river, t., , , milburn, n.z., mitchell downs, q., mitta mitta river, v., molong, n.s.w., moonee ponds creek, v., , moorabool river, v., , , mornington, v., , , , , , , mosquito plains, s.a., mount angas, q., " buninyong, v., " gambier, s.a., , , , , , , , " lambie, n.s.w., " macedon cave, " potts, n.z., " victoria, n.s.w., " wellington, v., , , , " wyatt, q., muddy creek, hamilton, v., , , , , mudgee, n.s.w., muree, raymond terrace, n.s.w., murray river cliffs, s.a., , murrumbidgee river, n.s.w., , , napier range, w.a., narrengullen creek, n.s.w., nelson, n.z., , , , , , , newcastle, n.s.w., ngapara, n.z., nimbin, richmond river, n.s.w., norseman district, w.a., nugget point, otago, n.z., nungatta, n.s.w., nyrang creek, n.s.w., oakey creek, n.s.w., oamaru, n.z., , orakei bay, n.z., otway coast, v., pakaraka, n.z., papua, , , , , , , , , , paroo river, q., peak downs, q., penola, s.a., petermann creek, s.a., phillip co., n.s.w., pine creek, q., pitfield plains, v., pitchery creek, q., pokolbin, n.s.w., , port campbell, v., port darwin, n.t., , port stephen, n.s.w., preservation inlet, n.z., ravensfield, n.s.w., reid gap, q., richmond downs, q., richmond river, n.s.w., rock flat creek, n.s.w., rockhampton, q., , , , , , , rough range, w.a., , sale, v., san remo, v., sebastopol, v., seville, v., , shakespeare cliff, n.z., southland, n.z., south yarra, v., , , , , , , spring creek, torquay, v., st. peter's, sydney, n.s.w., stanwell, q., stockyard creek, n.s.w., stroud, n.s.w., studley park, v., , sunbury, v., table cape, t., , , , , , talbot, v., talbragar, tallong, n.s.w., tamworth, n.s.w., , , taranaki, n.z., tempe downs, s.a., , , thompson river, q., thomson river, v., tinderbox bay, t., tingaringi, n.s.w., toongabbie, v., , torquay, v., , , , , , tyer's river, v., , upper finke basin, s.a., upper yarra, v., , , , vegetable creek, n.s.w., waihao, n.z., waikari river, n.z., waikouaiti, n.z., wairoa, n.z., wairoa gorge, n.z., , waitaki valley, n.z., walhalla, v., , , wandong, v., , wanganui, n.z., wannon river district, v., , waratah bay, v., , , warburton, v., warrnambool, v., , , , waurn ponds, v., , , , , , wellington valley, n.s.w., , , well's creek, n.z., west melbourne swamp, v., westport, n.z., wharekuri, n.z., white cliffs, n.s.w., , , , , , whittlesea, v., wilberforce, n.z., wilcannia, n.s.w., wirrialpa, s.a., wollumbilla, q., , , , , , , wombat creek, v., , woori yallock creek, v., wormbete creek, v., wynyard, t., yan yean, v., yass, n.s.w., , , , , , , , , , , , yering, v., yorke peninsula, s.a., yule id., papua, , , zeehan, t., * * * * * [illustration: australia _shewing chief fossiliferous localities._] * * * * * corrigenda. page , for head-line "_protozoa_" read "_how fossils are found_." page , for head-line "_characteristic fossils_" read "_sea-urchins_." page , for head-line "_reptiles_" read "_amphibians_." [transcriber note: these changes were not utilized here as they only apply to the titles at the top of the printed pages.] * * * * * erratum--page . _in st column_--_for_ "mesozoic or secondary (continued)." _read_ "palaeozoic or primary" and omit divisional line. [transcriber note: these changes were applied to the text.] * * * * * transcriber note images were moved so paragraphs were not split. minor typographical errors were corrected. hyphenation was standardized to the most prevalent form utilized. as the æ ligature was only used five times and "ae" was used more than times, the ligature was converted to "ae". obtained from the internet archive. the story of the earth and man. by j. w. dawson diagram of the earth's history. -------------------------------------------------------- animals rock formations plants -------------------------------------------------------- age n modern age of e t post-pliocene of man o i pliocene angiosperms (upper z m pliocene and strata) o e miocene plants and i eocene mammals c -------------------------------------------------------- m age e cretaceous age s t of of o i jurassic cycads z m and reptiles o e triassic pines i c -------------------------------------------------------- permian age of age of p amphibians a carboniferous acrogens and fishes l t Æ i erian or and ------ o m z e devonian gymnosperms age of o mollusks i silurian ------ corals c and siluro- age crustaceans cambrian of cambrian algæ huronian? ------------------------------------------------------ age of e laurentian plants protozoa o t z i not o m i e determinable c harper & brothers new york. the story of the earth and man, by j. w. dawson, ll.d., f.k.s., f.g.s., principal and vice-chancellor of mcgill university, montreal, author of "archaia," "acadian geology," etc. new york: harper & brothers, publishers, franklin square preface the science of the earth as illustrated by geological research, is one of the noblest outgrowths of our modern intellectual life. constituting the sum of all the natural sciences in their application to the history of our world, it affords a very wide and varied scope for mental activity, and deals with some of the grandest problems of space and time and of organic existence. it invites us to be present at the origin of things, and to enter into the very workshop of the creator. it has, besides, most important and intimate connection with the industrial arts and with the material resources at the disposal of man. its educational value, as a means of cultivating the powers of observing and reasoning, and of accustoming the mind to deal with large and intricate questions, can scarcely be overrated. but fully to serve these high ends, the study of geology must be based on a thorough knowledge of the subjects which constitute its elementary data. it must be divested as far as possible of merely local colouring, and of the prejudices of specialists. it must be emancipated from the control of the bald metaphysical speculations so rife in our time, and above all it must be delivered from that materialistic infidelity, which, by robbing nature of the spiritual element, and of its presiding divinity, makes science dry, barren, and repulsive, diminishes its educational value, and even renders it less efficient for purposes of practical research. that the want of these preliminary conditions mars much of the popular science of our day is too evident; and i confess that the wish to attempt something better, and thereby to revive the interest in geological study, to attract attention to its educational value, and to remove the misapprehensions which exist in some quarters respecting it, were principal reasons which induced me to undertake the series of papers for the _leisure hour_, which are reproduced, with some amendments and extension, in the present work. how far i have succeeded, i must leave to the intelligent and, i trust, indulgent reader to decide. in any case i have presented this many-sided subject in the aspect in which it appears to a geologist whose studies have led him to compare with each other the two great continental areas which are the classic ground of the science, and who retains his faith in those unseen realities of which the history of the earth itself is but one of the shadows projected on the field of time. to geologists who may glance at the following pages, i would say that, amidst much that is familiar, they will find here and there some facts which may be new to them, as well as some original suggestions and conclusions as to the relations of things, which though stated in familiar terms, i have not advanced without due consideration of a wide range of facts, to the general reader i have endeavoured to present the more important results of geological investigation divested of technical difficulties, yet with a careful regard to accuracy of statement, and in such a manner as to invite to the farther and more precise study of the subject in nature, and in works which enter into technical details. i have endeavoured as far as possible to mention the authors of important discoveries; but it is impossible in a work of this kind to quote authority for every statement, while the omission of much important matter relating to the topics discussed is also unavoidable. shortcomings in these respects must be remedied by the reader himself, with the aid of systematic text-books. those who may desire any farther explanation of the occasional allusions to the record of creation in genesis, will find this in my previously published volume entitled "archaia." j. w. d, mcgill college, montreal, _january, _. contents. page chapter i.--the genesis of the earth. uniformity and progress.--internal heat.--nebular theory.--probable condition of the primitive world chapter ii.--the eozoic ages. the laurentian rocks.--their character and distribution.--the conditions of their deposition.--their metamorphism.--eozoon canadense.--laurentian vegetation chapter iii.--the primordial or cambrian age. connection of the laurentian and primordial.--animals of the primordial seas.--lingula, trilobites, oldhamia, etc.--the terms cambrian and silurian.--statistics of primordial life chapter iv.--the silurian ages. geography of the continental plateaus.--life of the silurian.--reign of invertebrates.--corals, crinoids, mollusks, crustaceans.--the first vertebrates. silurian fishes.--land plants chapter v.--the devonian or erian age. physical character of the age.--difference of deposits in marginal and continental areas.--specialisation of physical geography.--corals, crustaceans, fishes, insects, plants chapter vi.--the carboniferous age. perfection of palæozoic life.--carboniferous geography.--colours of sediments.--vegetation.--origin of coal.--land life.--reptiles, land snails, millipedes, etc.--oceanic life chapter vii.--the permian age. movements of the land.--plication of the crust.--chemical conditions of dolomite, etc.--geographical results of permian movements.--life of the period. summary of palæozoic history chapter viii.--the mesozoic ages. characters of the trias.--summary of changes in the triassic and cretaceous periods.--changes of the continental plateaus.--relative duration of the palæozoic and mesozoic.--mesozoic forests.--land animals.--the reign of reptiles.--early mammals and birds chapter ix.--the mesozoic ages (continued). animals of the sea.--great sea lizards, fishes, cephalopods, etc.--chalk and its history.--tabular view of the mesozoic ages chapter x.--the neozoic ages. physical changes at the end of mesozoic.--subdivisions of the neozoic.--great eocene seas.--land animals and plants. life of the miocene.--reign of mammals chapter xi.--the neozoic ages (_continued_). later vegetation.--the animals of the pliocene period. approach of the glacial period.--character of the post-pliocene or glacial chapter xii.--close of the post-pliocene, and advent or man. connection of geological and human history.--the post-glacial period.--its relations to the pre-historic human period.--elevation of post-pliocene land.--introduction of man.--subsidence and re-elevation.--calculations as to time.--tabular view of the neozoic ages chapter xiii.--advent of man (_continued_). relations of post-pliocene and modern animals.--cavern deposits.--kent's cave.--general remarks. chapter xiv.--primitive man. theory of evolution as applied to man.--its demands.--its deficiencies.--fallacious character of arguments of derivationists. hypothesis of creation.--its demands and advantages chapter xv.--primitive man (_continued_). geological conditions of man's introduction.--his modern date.--his isolated position.--his higher powers.--pictures of primitive man according to evolution and creation.--general conclusion list of illustrations. page ideal sections illustrating the genesis or the earth america in the laurentian period eozoon canadense life in the primordial age organic limestone of the silurian life in the silurian life in the devonian vegetation of the devonian carboniferous plants oldest land snails carboniferous reptiles foldings of the crust in the permian period curves of elevation and depression culmination of types of palæozoic animals land animals of the mesozoic aquatic animals of the mesozoic foraminiferal rock-builders miocene mammals britain in the post-pliocene the story of the earth and man. chapter i. the genesis of the earth. the title of this work is intended to indicate precisely its nature. it consists of rough, broad sketches of the aspects of successive stages in the earth's history, as disclosed by geology, and as they present themselves to observers at the present time. the last qualification is absolutely necessary, when dealing with a science whose goal to-day will be its starting point to-morrow, and in whose view every geological picture must have its light and shaded portions, its clear foreground and its dim distance, varying according to the lights cast on them by the progress of investigation, and according to the standpoint of the observer. in such pictures results only can be given, not the processes by which they have been obtained; and with all possible gradations of light and distance, it may be that the artist will bring into too distinct outline facts still only dimly perceived, or will give too little prominence to others which, should appear in bold relief. he must in this judge for himself; and if the writer's impressions do not precisely correspond with those of others, he trusts that they will allow something for difference of vision and point of view. the difficulty above referred to perhaps rises to its maximum in the present chapter. for how can any one paint chaos, or give form and filling to the formless void? perhaps no word-picture of this period of the first phase of mundane history can ever equal the two negative touches of the inspired penman--"without form and void"--a world destitute of all its present order, and destitute of all that gives it life and animation. this it was, and not a complete and finished earth, that sprang at first from its creator's hand; and we must inquire in this first chapter what information science gives as to any such condition of the earth. in the first place, the geological history of the earth plainly intimates a beginning, by utterly negativing the idea that "all things continue as they were from the creation of the world." it traces back to their origin not only the animals and plants which at present live, but also their predecessors, through successive dynasties emerging in long procession from the depths of a primitive antiquity. not only so; it assigns to their relative ages all the rocks of the earth's crust, and all the plains and mountains built up of them. thus, as we go back in geological time, we leave behind us, one by one, all the things with which we are familiar, and the inevitable conclusion gains on us that we must be approaching a beginning, though this may be veiled from us in clouds and thick darkness. how is it, then, that there are "uniformitarians" in geology, and that it has been said that our science shows no traces of a beginning, no indications of an end? the question deserves consideration; but the answer is not difficult. in all the lapse of geological time there has been an absolute uniformity of natural law. the same grand machinery of force and matter has been in use throughout all the ages, working out the great plan. yet the plan has been progressive and advancing, nevertheless. the uniformity has been in the methods, the results have presented a wondrous diversity and development. again, geology, in its oldest periods, fails to reach the beginning of things. it shows us how course after course of the building has been laid, and how it has grown to completeness, but it contains as yet no record of the laying of the foundation-stones, still less of the quarry whence they were dug. still the constant progress which we have seen points to a beginning which we have not seen; and the very uniformity of the process by which the edifice has been erected, implies a time when it had not been begun, and when its stones were still reposing in their native quarry. what, then, is the oldest condition of the earth actually shown to us by geology,--that which prevailed in the eozoic or laurentian period, when the oldest rocks known, those constituting the foundation-stones of our present continents, were formed and laid in their places? with regard to physical conditions, it was a time when our existing continents were yet in the bosom of the waters, when the ocean was almost universal, yet when sediments were being deposited in it as at present, while there were also volcanic foci, vomiting forth molten matter from the earth's hidden interior. then, as now, the great physical agencies of water and fire were contending with one another for the mastery, doing and undoing, building up and breaking down. but is this all? has the earth no earlier history? that it must have had, we may infer from many indications; but as to the nature of these earlier states, we can learn from conjecture and inference merely, and must have recourse to other witnesses then those rocky monuments which are the sure guides of the geologist. one fact bearing on these questions which has long excited attention, is the observed increase in temperature in descending into deep mines, and in the water of deep artesian wells--an increase which may be stated in round numbers at one degree of heat of the centigrade thermometer for every feet of depth from the surface. these observations apply of course to a very inconsiderable depth, and we have no certainty that this rate continues for any great distance towards the centre of the earth. if, however, we regard it as indicating the actual law of increase of temperature, it would result that the whole crust of the earth is a mere shell covering a molten mass of rocky matter. thus a very slight step of imagination would carry us back to a time when this slender crust had not yet formed, and the earth rolled through space an incandescent globe, with all its water and other vaporisable matters in a gaseous state. astronomical calculation has, however, shown that the earth, in its relation to the other heavenly bodies, obeys the laws of a rigid ball, and not of a fluid globe. hence it has been inferred that its actual crust must be very thick, perhaps not less then , miles, and that its fluid portion must therefore be of smaller dimensions then has been inferred from the observed increase of temperature. further, it seems to have been rendered probable, from the density of rocky matter in the solid and liquid states, that a molten globe would solidify at the centre as well as at the surface, and consequently that the earth must not only have a solid crust of great thickness, but also a solid nucleus, and that any liquid portions must be of the nature of a sheet or of detached masses intervening between these. on the other hand, it has recently been maintained that the calculations which are supposed to have established the great thickness of the crust, on the ground that the earth does not change its form in obedience to the attraction of the sun and moon, are based on a misconception, and that a molten globe with a thin crust would attain to such a state of equilibrium in this respect as not to be distinguishable from a solid planet. this view has been maintained by the french physicist, delaunay, and for some time it made geologists suppose that, after all, the earth's crust may be very thin. sir william thomson, however, and archdeacon pratt, have ably maintained the previous opinion, based on hopkins' calculations; and it is now believed that we may rest upon this as representing the most probable condition of the interior of the earth at present. another fact bearing on this point is the form of the earth, which is now actually a spheroid of rotation; that is, of such a shape as would result from the action of gravity and centrifugal force in the motion of a huge liquid drop rotating in the manner in which the earth rotates. of course it may be said that the earth may have been made in that shape to fit it for its rotation; but science prefers to suppose that the form is the result of the forces acting on it. this consideration would of course corroborate the deductions from that just mentioned. again, if we examine a map showing the distribution of volcanoes upon the earth, and trace these along the volcanic belt of western america and eastern asia, and in the pacific islands, and in the isolated volcanic regions in other parts of the world; and if we add to these the multitude of volcanoes now extinct, we shall be convinced that the sources of internal heat, of which these are the vents, must be present almost everywhere under the earth's crust. lastly, if we consider the elevations and depressions which large portions of the crust of the earth have undergone in geological time, and the actual crumpling and folding of the crust visible in great mountain chains, we arrive at a similar conclusion, and also become convinced that the crust has been not too thick to admit of extensive fractures, flexures, and foldings. there are, however, it must be admitted, theories of volcanic action, strongly supported by the chemical nature of the materials ejected by modern volcanoes, which would refer all their phenomena to the softening, under the continued influence of heat and water, of materials within the crust of the earth rather then under it.[a] still, the phenomena of volcanic action, and of elevation and subsidence, would, under any explanation, suppose intense heat, and therefore probably an original incandescent condition. [a] dr. t. sterry hunt, in silliman'a journal, . la place long ago based a theory of the originally gaseous condition of the solar system on the relation of the planets to each other, and to the sun, on their planes of revolution, the direction of their revolution, and that of their satellites. on these grounds he inferred that the solar system had been formed out of a nebulous mass by the mutual attraction of its parts. this view was further strengthened by the discovery of nebulae, which it might be supposed were undergoing the same processes by which the solar system was produced. this nebular theory, as it was called, was long very popular. it was subsequently supposed to be damaged by the fact that some of the nebulæ which had been regarded as systems in progress of formation were found by improved telescopes to be really clusters of stars, and it was inferred that the others might be of like character. the spectroscope has, however, more recently shown that some nebulæ are actually gaseous; and it has even been attempted to demonstrate that they are probably undergoing change fitting them to become systems. this has served to revive the nebular hypothesis, which has been further strengthened by the known fact that the sun is still an incandescent globe surrounded by an immense luminous envelope of vapours rising from its nucleus and condensing at its surface. on the other hand, while the sun may be supposed, from its great magnitude, to remain intensely heated, and while it will not be appreciably less powerful for myriads of years, the moon seems to be a body which has had time to complete the whole history of geological change, and to become a dry, dead, and withered world, a type of what our earth would in process of time actually become. [illustration: _figs. to ._--_ideal sections illustrating the genesis of the earth._ fig. . a vaporous world. fig. . a world with a central fluid nucleus (_b_) and a photosphere (_a_). fig. . the photosphere darkened, and a solid crust (_c_) and solid nucleus (_d_) formed. fig. . water (_e_) deposited on the crust, forming a universal ocean. fig. . the crust crumpled by shrinkage, land elevated, and the water occupying the intervening depressions. the figures are all of uniform size; but the circle (a) shows th diameter of the globe when in the state of fig. , and that marked (b) its diameter when in the state of fig. . in all the figures (_a_) represents vapour or air; (_b_) liquid rock; (_c_) solid rock as a crust; (_d_) solid nucleus; (_e_) water.] such considerations lead to the conclusion that the former watery condition of our planet was not its first state, and that we must trace it back to a previous reign of fire. the reasons which can be adduced in support of this are no doubt somewhat vague, and may in their details be variously interpreted; but at present we have no other interpretation to give of that chaos, formless and void, that state in which "nor aught nor nought existed," which the sacred writings and the traditions and poetry of ancient nations concur with modern science in indicating as the primitive state of the earth. let our first picture, then, be that of a vaporous mass, representing our now solid planet spread out over a space nearly two thousand times greater in diameter then that which it now occupies, and whirling in its annual round about the still vaporous centre of our system, in which at an earlier period the earth had been but an exterior layer, or ring of vapour. the atoms that now constitute the most solid rocks are in this state as tenuous as air, kept apart by the expansive force of heat, which prevents not only their mechanical union, but also their chemical combination. but within the mass, slowly and silently, the force of gravitation is compressing the particles in its giant hand, and gathering the denser toward the centre, while heat is given forth on all sides from the condensing mass into the voids of space without. little by little the denser and less volatile matters collect in the centre as a fluid molten globe, the nucleus of the future planet; and in this nucleus the elements, obeying their chemical affinities hitherto latent, are arranging themselves in compounds which are to constitute the future rocks. at the same time, in the exterior of the vaporous envelope, matters cooled by radiation into the space without, are combining with each other, and are being precipitated in earthy rain or snow into the seething mass within, where they are either again vaporised and sent to the surface or absorbed in the increasing nucleus. as this process advances, a new brilliancy is given to the faint shining of the nebulous matter by the incandescence of these solid particles in the upper layers of its atmosphere, a condition which at this moment, on a greater scale, is that of the sun; in the case of the earth, so much smaller in volume, and farther from the centre of the system, it came on earlier, and has long since passed away. this was the glorious starlike condition of our globe: in a physical point of view, its most perfect and beautiful state, when, if there were astronomers with telescopes in the stars, they might have seen our now dull earth flash forth--a brilliant white star secondary to the sun. but in process of time this passes away. all the more solid and less volatile substances are condensed and precipitated; and now the atmosphere, still vast in bulk, and dark and misty in texture, contains only the water, chlorine, carbonic acid, sulphuric acid, and other more volatile substances; and as these gather in dense clouds at the outer surface, and pour in fierce corrosive rains upon the heated nucleus, combining with its materials, or flashing again into vapour, darkness dense and gross settles upon the vaporous deep, and continues for long ages, until the atmosphere is finally cleared of its acid vapours and its superfluous waters.[b] in the meantime, radiation, and the heat abstracted from the liquid nucleus by the showers of condensing material from the atmosphere, have so far cooled its surface that a crust of slag or cinder forms upon it. broken again and again by the heavings of the ocean of fire, it at length sets permanently, and receives upon its bare and blistered surface the ever-increasing aqueous and acid rain thrown down from the atmosphere, at first sending it all hissing and steaming back, but at length allowing it to remain a universal boiling ocean. then began the reign of the waters, and the dominion of fire was confined to the abysses within the solid crust. under the primeval ocean were formed the first stratified rocks, from the substances precipitated from its waters, which must have been loaded with solid matter. we must not imagine this primeval ocean like our own blue sea, clear and transparent, but filled with earthy and saline matters, thick and turbid, until these were permitted to settle to the bottom and form the first sediments. the several changes above referred to are represented in diagrammatic form in figs. to . [b] hunt, "chemistry of the primeval earth," _silliman's journal_, . in the meantime all is not at rest in the interior of the new-formed earth. under the crust vast oceans of molten rock may still remain, but a solid interior nucleus is being crystallised in the centre, and the whole interior globe is gradually shrinking. at length this process advances so far that the exterior crust, like a sheet of ice from below which the water has subsided, is left unsupported; and with terrible earthquake-throes it sinks downward, wrinkling up into huge folds, between which are vast sunken areas into which the waters subside, while from the intervening ridges the earth's pent-up fires belch forth ashes and molten rocks. (fig. .) so arose the first dry land:-- "the mountains huge appear emergent, and their broad bare backs upheave into the clouds, their tops ascend the sky, so high as heaved the tumid hills, so low down sunk a hollow bottom, broad and deep, capacious bed of waters." the cloud was its garment, it was swathed in thick darkness, and presented but a rugged pile of rocky precipices; yet well might the "morning stars sing together, and all the sons of god shout with joy," when its foundations were settled and its corner-stone laid, for then were inaugurated the changes which were to lead to the introduction of life on the earth, and to all the future development of the continents. physical geographers have taught us that the great continents, whether we regard their coasts or their mountain chains, are built up on lines which run north-east and south-west, and north-west and south-east; and it is also observed that these lines are great circles of the earth tangent to the polar circle. further, we find, as a result of geological investigation, that these lines determined the deposition and the elevation of the oldest rocks known to us. hence it is fair to infer that these were the original directions of the first lines of fracture and upheaval. whether these lines were originally drawn by the influence of of the seasons on the cooling globe, or by the currents of its molten interior, or of the superficial ocean, they bespeak a most uniform and equable texture for the crust, and a definite law of fracture and upheaval; and they have modified all the subsequent action of the ocean as a depositor of sediment, and of the internal heat as a cause of alteration and movement of rocks. against these earliest belts of land the ocean first chafed and foamed. along their margins marine denudation first commenced, and the oceanic currents first deposited banks of sediment; and along these first lines have the volcanic orifices of all periods been most plentiful, and elevatory movements most powerfully felt. we must not suppose that the changes thus shortly sketched were rapid and convulsive. they must have required periods of enormous duration, all of which had elapsed before the beginning of geological time, properly so called. from sir william thomson's calculations, it would appear that the time which has elapsed from the first formation of a solid crust on the earth to the modern period may have been from seventy to one hundred millions of years, and the whole time from the vaporous condition of the solar system to the present, must of course have been still greater then even this enormous series of ages. such a lapse of time is truly almost inconceivable, but it is only a few days to him with whom one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. how many and strange pictures does this series of processes call up! first, the uniform vaporous nebula. then the formation of a liquid nucleus, and a brilliant photosphere without. then the congealing of a solid crust under dark atmospheric vapours, and the raining down of acid and watery showers. then the universal ocean, its waves rolling unobstructed around the globe, and its currents following without hindrance the leading of heat and of the earth's rotation. then the rupture of the crust and the emergence of the nuclei of continents. some persons seem to think that by these long processes of creative work we exclude the creator, and would reduce the universe into a mere fortuitous concourse of atoms. to put it in more modern phrase, "given a quantity of detached fragments cast into space, then mutual gravitation and the collision of the fragments would give us the spangled heavens." but we have still to ask the old question, "whence the atoms?" and we have to ask it with all the added weight of our modern chemistry, so marvellous in its revelations of the original differences of matter and their varied powers of combination. we have to ask, what is gravitation itself, unless a mode of action of almighty power? we have to ask for the origin of of thousands of correlations, binding together the past and the future in that orderly chain of causes and effects which constitutes the plan of the creation. if it pleased god to create in the beginning an earth "formless and void" and to elaborate from this all that has since existed, who are we, to say that the plan was not the best? nor would it detract from our view of the creative wisdom and power if we were to hold that in ages to come the sun may experience the same change that has befallen the earth, and may become "black as sackcloth of hair," preparatory perhaps, to changes which may make him also the abode of life; or if the earth, cooling still further, should, like our satellite the moon, absorb all its waters and gases into its bosom, and become bare, dry, and parched, until there shall be "no more sea" how do we know but that then there shall be no more need of the sun, because a better light may be provided? or that there may not be a new baptism of fire in store for the earth, whereby, being melted with fervent heat, it may renew its youth in the fresh and heavenly loveliness of a new heaven and a new earth, free from all the evils and imperfections of the present? god is not slack in these things, as some men count slackness; but his ways are not like our ways. he has eternity wherein to do his work, and takes his own time for each of his operations. the divine wisdom, personified by a sacred writer, may well in this exalt his own office:-- "jehovah possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his work of old. i was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. when there were no deeps, t was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding in water. before the mountains were settled, before the hills, was i brought forth: while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the plains, nor the higher part of the habitable world, when he gave the sea his decree, that her waters should not pass his limits; when he determined the foundations of the earth." chapter ii. the eozoic ages. the dominion of heat has passed away; the excess of water has been precipitated from the atmosphere, and now covers the earth as a universal ocean. the crust has folded itself into long ridges, the bed of the waters has subsided into its place, and the sea for the first time begins to rave against the shores of the newly elevated land, while the rain, washing the bare surfaces of rocky ridges, carries its contribution of the slowly wasting rocks back into the waters whence they were raised, forming, with the material worn from the crust by the surf, the first oceanic sediments. do we know any of these earliest aqueous beds, or are they all hidden from view beneath newer deposits, or have they been themselves worn away and destroyed by denuding agencies? whether we know the earliest formed sediments is, and may always remain, uncertain; but we do know certain very ancient rocks which may be at least their immediate successors. [illustration: fig. .--the laurentian nucleus of the american continent.] deepest and oldest of all the rocks we are acquainted with in the crust of the earth, are certain beds much altered and metamorphosed, baked by the joint action of heat and heated moisture--rocks once called azoic, as containing no traces of life, but for which i have elsewhere proposed the name "eozoic," or those that afford the traces of the earliest known living beings. these rocks are the laurentian series of sir william logan, so named from the laurentide hills, north of the river st. lawrence, which are composed of these ancient beds, and where they are more largely exposed then in any other region. it may seem at first sight strange that any of these ancient rocks should be found at the surface of the earth; but this is a necessary result of the mode of formation of the continents. the oldest rocks, thrown up in places into high ridges, have either not been again brought under the waters, or have lost by denudation the sediments once resting on them; and being of a hard and resisting nature, still remain; and often rise into hills of considerable elevation, showing as it were portions of the skeleton of the earth protruding through its superficial covering. such rocks stretch along the north side of the st. lawrence river from labrador to lake superior, and thence northwardly to an unknown distance, constituting a wild and rugged district often rising into hills feet high, and in the deep gorge of the saguenay forming cliffs , feet in sheer height from the water's edge. south of this great ridge, the isolated mass of the adirondack mountains rises to the height of , feet, rivalling the newer, though still very ancient, chain of the white mountains. along the eastern coast of north america, a lower ridge of laurentian rock, only appearing here and there from under the overlying sediments, is seen in newfoundland, in new brunswick, possibly in nova scotia, and perhaps farther south in massachusetts, and as far as maryland. in the old world, rocks of this age do not, so far as known, appear so extensively. they have been recognised in norway and sweden, in the hebrides, and in bavaria, and may, no doubt, be yet discerned in other localities. still, the grandest and most instructive development of these rocks is in north america; and it is there that we may best investigate their nature, and endeavour to restore the conditions in which they were deposited. it has been already stated that the oldest wrinkles of the crust of the globe take the direction of great circles of the earth tangent to the polar circle, forming north-east and south-west, and north-west and south-east lines. to such lines are the great exposures of laurentian rock conformed, as may be well seen from the map of north america (fig. ), taken from dana, with some additions. the great angular laurentian belt is evidently the nucleus of the continent, and consists of two broad bands or ridges meeting in the region of the great lakes. the remaining exposures are parallel to these, and appear to indicate a subordinate coast-line of comparatively little elevation. it is known that these laurentian exposures constitute the oldest part of the continent, a part which was land before any of the rocks of the shaded portion of the map were deposited in the bed of the ocean--all this shaded portion being composed of rocks of various geological ages resting on the older laurentian. it is further to be observed that the beds occurring in the laurentian bands are crumpled and folded in a most remarkable manner, and that these folds were impressed upon them before the deposition of the rocks next in geological age. what then are these oldest rocks deposited by the sea--the first-born of the reign of the waters? they are very different in their external aspect from the silt and mud, the sand and gravel, and the shell and coral rocks of the modern sea, or of the more recent geological formations. yet the difference is one in condition rather then composition. the members of this ancient aristocracy of the rocks are made of the same clay with their fellows, but have been subjected to a refining and crystallizing process which has greatly changed their condition. they have been, as geologists say, metamorphosed; and are to ordinary rocks what a china vase is to the lump of clay from which it has been made. deeply buried in the earth under newer sediments, they have been baked, until sandstones, gravels, and clays came out bright and crystalline, as gneiss, mica-schist, hornblende-schist, and quartzite--all hard crystalline rocks showing at first sight no resemblance to their original material, except in the regularly stratified or bedded arrangement which serves to distinguish them from igneous or volcanic rocks. in like manner certain finer, calcareous sediments have been changed into labrador feldspar, sometimes gay with a beautiful play of colour, and what were once common limestones appear as crystalline marble. if the evidence of such metamorphoses is asked for, this is twofold. in the first place, these rocks are similar in structure to more modern beds which have been partially metamorphosed, and in which the transition from the unaltered to the altered state can be observed. secondly, there are limited areas in the laurentian itself, in which the metamorphism has been so imperfect as to permit traces of the original character of the rocks to remain. it seems also quite certain, and this is a most important point for our sketch, that the laurentian ocean was not universal, but that there were already elevated portions of the crust capable of yielding sediment to the sea. in north america these laurentian rocks attain to an enormous thickness. this has been estimated by sir w. e. logan at , feet, so that the beds would, if piled on each other horizontally, be as high as the highest mountains on earth. they appear to consist of two great series, the lower and upper laurentian. even if we suppose that in the earlier stages of the world's history erosion and deposition were somewhat more rapid then at present, the formation of such deposits, probably more widely spread then any that succeeded them, must have required an enormous length of time. geologists long looked in vain for evidences of life in the laurentian period; but just as astronomers' have suspected the existence of unknown planets from the perturbations due to their attraction, geologists have guessed that there must have been some living things on earth even at this early time. dana and sterry hunt especially have committed themselves to such speculations. the reasons for this belief may be stated thus: ( .) in later formations limestone is usually an organic rock, produced by the accumulation of shells, corals, and similar calcareous organisms in the sea, and there are enormous limestones in the laurentian, constituting regular beds. ( .) in later formations coaly matter is an organic substance, derived from vegetables, and there are large quantities of laurentian carbon in the form of graphite. ( .) in later formations deposits of iron ores are almost always connected with the deoxidising influence of organic matters as an efficient cause of their accumulation, and the laurentian contains immense deposits of iron ore, occurring in layers in the manner of later deposits of these minerals. ( .) the limestone, carbon, and iron of the laurentian exist in association with the other beds in the same manner as in the later formations in which they are known to be organic. [illustration: fig. .--_eozoon canadense._ dawson. the oldest known animal. portion of skeleton, two-thirds natural size, (_a_) tabulated cell-wall, magnified, (_b_) portion of canal system, magnified.] in addition to this inferential evidence, however, one well-marked animal fossil has at length been found in the laurentian of canada, eozoon canadense, (fig. ), a gigantic representative of one of the lowest forms of animal life, which the writer had the honour of naming and describing in --its name of "dawn-animal" having reference to its great antiquity and possible connection with the dawn of life on our planet. in the modern seas, among the multitude of low forms of life with which they swarm, occur some in which the animal matter is a mere jelly, almost without distinct parts or organs, yet unquestionably endowed with life of an animal character. some of these creatures, the foraminifera, have the power of secreting at the surface of their bodies a calcareous shell, often divided into numerous chambers, communicating with each other, and with the water without, by pores or orifices through which, the animal can extend soft and delicate prolongations of its gelatinous body, which, when stretched out into the water, serve for arms and legs. in modern times these creatures, though extremely abundant in the ocean, are usually small, often microscopic; but in a fossil state there are others of somewhat larger size, though few equaling the eozoon, which seems to been a sessile creature, resting on the bottom of the sea, and covering its gelatinous body with a thin crust of carbonate of lime or limestone, adding to this, as it grew in size, crust after crust, attached to each other by numerous partitions, and perforated with pores for the emission of gelatinous filaments. this continued growth of gelatinous animal matter and carbonate of lime went on from age to age, accumulating great beds of limestone, in some of which the entire form and most minute structures of the creature are preserved, while in other cases the organisms have been broken up, and the limestones are a mere congeries of their fragments. it is a remarkable instance of the permanence of fossils, that in these ancient organisms the minutest pores through which the semi-fluid matter of these humble animals passed, have been preserved in the most delicate perfection. the existence of such creatures supposes that of other organisms, probably microscopic plants, on which they could feed. no traces of these have been observed, though the great quantity of carbon in the beds probably implies the existence of larger sea-weeds. no other form of animal has yet been distinctly recognized in the laurentian limestones, but there are fragments of calcareous matter which may have belonged to organisms distinct from eozoon. of life on the laurentian land we know nothing, unless the great beds of iron ore already referred to may be taken as a proof of land vegetation.[c] [c] it is proper to state here that some geologists and naturalists still doubt the organic nature of eozoon. their objections however, so far as stated publicly, have been shown to depend on misapprehension as to the structures observed and their state of preservation; and specimens recently found in comparatively unaltered rocks have indicated the true character of those more altered by metamorphism. to an observer in the laurentian period, the earth would have presented an almost boundless ocean, its waters, perhaps, still warmed with the internal heat, and sending up copious exhalations to be condensed in thick clouds and precipitated in rain. here and there might be seen chains of rocky islands, many of them volcanic, or ranges of bleak hills, perhaps clothed with vegetation the forms of which are unknown to us. in the bottom of the sea, while sand and mud and gravel were being deposited in successive layers in some portions of the ocean floor, in others great reefs of eozoon were growing up in the manner of reefs of coral. if we can imagine the modern pacific, with its volcanic islands and reefs of coral, to be deprived of all other forms of life, 'we should have a somewhat accurate picture of the eozoic time as it appears to us now. i say as it appears to us now; for we do not know what new discoveries remain to be made. more especially the immense deposits of carbon and iron in the laurentian would seem to bespeak a profusion of plant life in the sea or on the land, or both, second to that of no other period that succeeded, except that of the great coal formation. perhaps no remnant of this primitive vegetation exists retaining its form or structure; but we may hope for better things, and cherish the expectation that some fortunate discovery may still reveal to us the forms of the vegetation of the laurentian time. it is remarkable that the humbly organized living things which built up the laurentian limestones have continued to exist unchanged, save in dimensions, up to modern times; and here and there throughout the geological series we find beds of foraminiferous limestone, similar, except in the species of foraminifera composing them, to that of the laurentian. it is true that other kinds of creatures, the coral animals more particularly, have been introduced, and have proved equally efficient builders of limestones; but in the deeper parts of the sea the foraminifera continue to assert their pre-eminence in this respect, and the dredge reveals in the depths of our modern oceans beds of calcareous matter which may be regarded as identical in origin with the limestones formed in the period which is to us the dawn of organic life. many inquiries suggest themselves to the zoologist in connection with the life of the laurentian period. was eozoon the first creature in which the wondrous forces of animal life were manifested, when, in obedience to the divine fiat, the waters first "swarmed with swarmers," as the terse and expressive language of the mosaic record phrases it? if so, in contemplating this organism we are in the presence of one of the greatest of natural wonders--brought nearer then in any other case to the actual workshop of the almighty maker. still we cannot affirm that other creatures even more humble may not have preceded eozoon, since such humble organisms are known in the present world. attempts have often been made, and very recently have been renewed with much affirmation of success, to prove that such low forms of life may originate spontaneously from their materials in the waters; but so far these attempts merely prove that the invisible germs of the lower animals and plants exist everywhere, and that they have marvellous powers of resisting extreme heat and other injurious influences. we need not, therefore, be surprised if even lower forms then eozoon may have preceded that creature, or if some of these may be found, like the organisms said to live in modern boiling springs, to have had the power of existing even at a time when the ocean may have been almost in a state of ebullition. another problem is that of means of subsistence for the eozoic foraminifera. a similar problem exists in the case of the modern ocean, in whose depths live multitudes of creatures, where, so far as we know, vegetable matter, ordinarily the basis of life, cannot exist in a living condition. it is probable, however, from the researches of dr. wyville thompson, that this is to be accounted for by the abundance of life at the surface and in the shallower parts of the sea, and by the consequent diffusion through the water of organic matter in an extremely tenuous state, but yet sufficient to nourish these creatures. the same may have been the case in the eozoic sea, where, judging from the vast amount of residual carbon, there must have been abundance of organic matter, either growing at the bottom, or falling upon it from the surface; and as the eozoon limestones are usually free from such material, we may assume that the animal life in them was sufficient to consume the vegetable pabulum. on the other hand, as detached specimens of eozoon occur in graphitic limestones, we suppose that in some cases the vegetable matter was in excess of the animal, and this may have been either because of its too great exuberance, or because the water was locally too shallow to permit eozoon and similar creatures to nourish. these details we must for the present fill up conjecturally; bu the progress of discovery may give us further light as to the precise conditions of the beginning of life in the "great and wide sea wherein are moving things innumerable" and which is as much a wonder now as in the days of the author of the "hymn of creation"[d] in regard to the life that swarms in all its breadth and depth, the vast variety of that life, and its low and simple types, of which we can affirm little else then that they move. [d] psalm civ. the enormous accumulations of sediment on the still thin crust of the earth in the laurentian period--accumulations probably arranged in lines parallel to the directions of disturbance already indicated--weighed down the surface, and caused great masses of the sediment to come within the influence of the heated interior nucleus. thus, extensive metamorphism took place, and at length the tension becoming too great to be any longer maintained, a second great collapse occurred, crumpling and disturbing the crust, and throwing up vast masses of the laurentian itself, probably into lofty mountains--many of which still remain of considerable height, though they have been subjected to erosion throughout all the extent of subsequent geological time. the eozoic age, whose history we have thus shortly sketched, is fertile in material of thought for the geologist and the naturalist. until the labours of murchison, sedgwick, hall, and barrande had developed the vast thickness and organic richness of the silurian and cambrian rocks, no geologist had any idea of the extent to which life had reached backward in time. but when this new and primitive world of siluria was unveiled, men felt assured that they had now at last reached to the beginnings of life. the argument on this side of the question was thus put by one of the most thoughtful of english geologists, professor phillips: "it is ascertained that in passing downwards through the lower palæozoic strata, the forms of life grow fewer and fewer, until in the lowest cambrian rocks they vanish entirely. in the thick series of these strata in the longmynd, hardly any traces of life occur, yet these strata are of such a kind as might be expected to yield them.... the materials are fine-grained or arenaceous, with or without mica, in laminae or beds quite distinct, and of various thicknesses, by no means unlikely to retain impressions of a delicate nature, such as those left by graptolites, or mollusks, or annulose crawlers. indeed, one or two such traces are supposed to have been recognised, so that the almost total absence of the traces of life in this enormous series is best understood by the supposition that in these parts of the sea little or no life existed. but the same remark of the excessive rarity of life in the lower deposits is made in north america, in norway, and in bohemia, countries well searched for this very purpose, so that all our observations lead to the conviction that the lowest of all the strata are quite deficient of organic remains. the absence is general--it appears due to a general cause. is it not probable that during these very early periods the ocean and its sediments were nearly devoid of plants and animals, and in the earliest time of all, which is represented by sediments, quite deprived of such?" these words were written ten years ago, and about the same time were published in america those anticipations of the probability of life in the laurentian already referred to, and lyell was protesting against the name primordial, on the ground that it implied that we had reached the beginning of life, when this was not proved. yet there were elements of truth in both views. it is true now, as then, that the primordial seems to be a morning hour of life, having, as we shall see in our next paper, unmistakable signs about it of that approach to the beginning to which phillips refers. it is also true that it is not so early a morning hour as one who has not risen with the dawn might suppose, since with its apparently small beginnings of life it is almost as far removed from the eozoon reefs of the early laurentian on the one hand, as it is from the modern period on the other. the dawn of life seems to have been a very slow and protracted process, and it may have required as long a time between the first appearance of eozoon and the first of those primordial trilobites which the next period will introduce to our notice, as between these and the advent of adam. perhaps no lesson is more instructive then this as to the length of the working days of the almighty. another lesson lies ready for us in these same facts. theoretically, plants should have preceded animals; and this also is the assertion of the first chapter of genesis; but the oldest fossil certainly known to us is an animal. what if there were still earlier plants, whose remains are still to be discovered? for my own part, i can see no reason to despair of the discovery of an _eophytic_ period preceding the eozoic; perhaps preceding it through ages of duration to us almost immeasurable, though still within the possible time of the existence of the crust of the earth. it is even possible that in a warm and humid condition of the atmosphere, before it had been caused "to rain upon the earth" and when dense "mists ascended from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground,"[e] vegetation may have attained to a profusion and grandeur unequalled in the periods whose flora is known to us. [e] genesis ii. . for a description of this eophytic period of genesis, see the author's "archaia," pp. _et seq._ but while eozoon thus preaches of progress and of development, it has a tale to tell of unity and sameness just as eozoon lived in the laurentian sea, and was preserved for us by the infiltration of its canals with siliceous mineral matters, so its successors and representatives have gone on through all the ages accumulating limestone in the sea bottom. to-day they are as active as they were then, and are being fossilised in the same way. the english chalk and the chalky modern mud of the atlantic sea-bed, are precisely similar in origin to the eozoic limestones. there is also a strange parallelism in the fact that in the modern seas foraminifera can live under conditions of deprivation of light and vital air, and of enormous pressure, under which few organisms of greater complexity could exist, and that in like manner eozoon could live in seas which were perhaps as yet unfit for most other forms of life. it has been attempted to press the eozoic foraminifers into the service of those theories of evolution which would deduce the animals of one geological period by descent with modification from those of another; but it must be confessed that eozoon proves somewhat intractable in this connection. in the first place, the creature is the grandest of his class, both in form and structure; and if, on the hypothesis of derivation, it has required the whole lapse of geological time to disintegrate eozoon into orbulina, globigerina, and other comparatively simple foraminifers of the modern seas, it may have taken as long, probably much longer, to develop eozoon from such simple forms in antecedent periods. time fails for such a process. again, the deep sea has been the abode of foraminifers from the first. in this deep sea they have continued to live without improvement, and with little material change. how little likely is it that in less congenial abodes they could have improved into higher grades of being; especially since we know that the result in actual fact of any such struggle for existence is merely the production of depauperated foraminifers? further, there is no link of connection known to us between eozoon and any of the animals of the succeeding primordial, which are nearly all essentially new types, vastly more different from eozoon then it is from many modern creatures. any such connection is altogether imaginary and unsupported by proof. the laws of creation actually illustrated by this primeval animal are only these: first, that there has been a progress in creation from few, low, and generalised types of life to more numerous, higher, and more specialised types; and secondly, that every type, low or high, was introduced at first in its best and highest form, and was, as a type, subject to degeneracy, and to partial or total replacement by higher types subsequently introduced. i do not mean that we could learn all this from eozoon alone; but that, rightly considered, it illustrates these laws, which we gather from the subsequent progress of the creative work. as to the mystery of the origin of living beings from dead matter, or any changes which they may have undergone after their creation, it is absolutely silent. chapter iii. the primordial, or cambrian age. between the time when _eozoon canadense_ flourished in the seas of the laurentian period, and the age which we have been in the habit of calling primordial, or cambrian, a great gap evidently exists in our knowledge of the succession of life on both of the continents, representing a vast lapse of time, in which the beds of the upper laurentian were deposited, and in which the laurentian sediments were altered, contorted, and upheaved, before another immense series of beds, the huronian, or lower cambrian, was formed in the bottom of the sea. eozoon and its companions occur in the lower laurentian. the upper laurentian has afforded no evidence of life; and even those conditions from which we could infer life are absent. the lowest cambrian, as we shall see, presents only a few traces of living beings. still, the physical history of this interval must have been most important. the wide level bottom of the laurentian sea was broken up and thrown into those bold ridges which were to constitute the nuclei of the existing continents. along the borders of these new-made lands intense volcanic eruptions broke forth, producing great quantities of lava and scoriæ and huge beds of conglomerate and volcanic ash, which are characteristic features of the older cambrian in both hemispheres. such conditions, undoubtedly not favourable to life, seem to have prevailed, and extended their influence very widely, so that the sediments of this period are among the most barren in fossils of any in the crust of the earth. if any quiet undisturbed spots existed in which the lower laurentian life could be continued and extended in preparation for the next period, we have yet discovered few of them. the experience of other geological periods would, however, entitle us to look for such oases in the lower cambrian desert, and to expect to find there some connecting links between the life of the eozoic and the very dissimilar fauna of the primordial. the western hemisphere, where the laurentian is so well represented, is especially unproductive in fossils of the immediately succeeding period. the only known exception is the occurrence of eozoon and of apparent casts of worm-burrows in rocks at madoc in canada, overlying the laurentian, and believed to be of huronian age, and certain obscure fossils of uncertain affinities, recently detected by mr. billings, in rocks supposed to be of this age, in newfoundland. here, however, the european series comes in to give us some small help. gümbel has described in bavaria a great series of gneissic rocks corresponding to the laurentian, or at least to the lower part of it; above these are what he calls the hercynian mica-slate and primitive clay-slate, in the latter of which he finds a peculiar species of eozoon, which he names _eozoon bavaricum_. in england also the longmynd groups of rocks in shropshire and in wales appears to be the immediate successor to the upper laurentian; and it has afforded some obscure "worm-burrows" or, perhaps, casts of sponges or fucoids, with a small shell of the genus _lingulella_, and also fragments of crustaceans (_palæeopyge_). the "fucoid sandstones" of sweden, believed to be of similar age, afford traces of marine plants and burrows of worms, while the harlech beds of wales have afforded to mr. hicks a considerable number of fossil animals, not very dissimilar from those of the upper cambrian. if these rocks are really the next in order to the eozoic, they show a marked advance in life immediately on the commencement of the primordial period. in ireland, the curious oldhamia, noticed below, appears to occur in rocks equally old. as we ascend, however, into the middle and upper parts of the cambrian, the menevian and lingula flag-beds of britain, and their equivalents in bohemia and scandinavia, and the acadian and potsdam groups of america, we find a rich and increasing abundance of animal remains, constituting the first primordial fauna of barrande. the rocks of the primordial are principally sandy and argillaceous, forming flags and slates, without thick limestones, and often through great thicknesses, very destitute of organic remains, but presenting some layers, especially in their upward extension, crowded with fossils. these are no longer mere protozoa, but include representatives of all the great groups of animals which yet exist, except the vertebrates. we shall not attempt any systematic classification of these; but, casting our dredge and tow-net into the primordial sea, examine what we collect, rather in the order of relative abundance then of classification. over great breadths of the sea bottom we find vast numbers of little bivalve shells of the form and size of a finger-nail, fastened by fleshy peduncles imbedded in the sand or mud; and thus anchored, collecting their food by a pair of fringed arms from the minute animals and plants which swarm in the surrounding waters. these are the _lingulæ_, from the abundance of which some of the primordial beds have received in england and wales the name of lingula flags. in america, in like manner, in some beds near st. john, new brunswick, the valves of these shells are so abundant as to constitute at least half of the material of the bed; and alike in europe and america, lingula and allied forms are among the most abundant primordial fossils. the lingulæ are usually reckoned to belong to the great sub-kingdom of mollusks, which includes all the bivalve and univalve shell-fish, and several other groups of creatures; but an able american naturalist, mr. morse, has recently shown that they have many points of resemblance to the worms; and thus, perhaps, constitute one of those curious old-fashioned "comprehensive" types, as they have been called, which present resemblances to groups of creatures, in more modern times quite distinct from each other. he has also found that the modern lingulæ are very tenacious of life, and capable of suiting themselves to different circumstances, a fact which, perhaps, has some connection with their long persistence in geological time. they are in any case members of the group of lamp-shells, creatures specially numerous and important in the earlier geological ages. [illustration: fig. .--life in the primordial sea. on the bottom are seen, proceeding from left to right, _oldhamia antiqua_, _lingulæ_, _arenicolæ_, _oldhamia radiata_, _paradoxides_, _histioderma_, _agnostus_, _oldhamia radiata_, _algæ_, and _lingulæ_. in the water are _hymenocaris_, different species of _trilobites_, and _pteropods_.] the lingulæ are especially interesting as examples of a type of beings continued almost from the dawn of life until now; for their shells, as they exist in the primordial, are scarcely distinguishable from those of members of the genus which still live. while other tribes of animals have run through a great number of different forms, these little creatures remain the same. another interesting point is a most curious chemical relation of the lingula, with reference to the material of its shell. the shells of mollusks generally, and even of the ordinary lamp-shells, are hardened by common limestone or carbonate of lime: the rarer substance, phosphate of lime, is in general restricted to the formation of the bones of the higher animals. in the case of the latter, this relation depends apparently on the fact that the albuminous substances on which animals are chiefly nourished require for their formation the presence of phosphates in the plant. hence the animal naturally obtains phosphate of lime or bone-earth with its food, and its system is related to this chemical fact in such wise that phosphate of lime is a most appropriate and suitable material for its teeth and bones. now, in the case of the lower animals of the sea, their food, not being of the nature of the richer land plants, but consisting mainly of minute algæ and of animals which prey on these, furnishes, not phosphate of lime, but carbonate. an exception to this occurs in the case of certain animals of low grade, sponges, etc., which, feeding on minute plants with siliceous cell-walls, assimilate the flinty matter and form a siliceous skeleton. but this is an exception of downward tendency, in which these animals approach to plants of low grade. the exception in the case of lingulæ is in the other direction. it gives to these humble creatures the same material for their hard parts which is usually restricted to animals of much higher rank. the purpose of this arrangement, whether in relation to the cause of the deviation from the ordinary rule or its utility to the animal itself, remains unknown. it has, however, been ascertained by dr. hunt, who first observed the fact in the case of the primordial lingulæ, that their modern successors coincide with them, and differ from their contemporaries among the mollusks in the same particular. this may seem a trifling matter, but it shows in this early period the origination of the difference still existing in the materials of which animals construct their skeletons, and also the wonderful persistence of the lingulæ, through all the geological ages, in the material of their shells. this is the more remarkable, in connection with our own very slender acquaintance with the phenomenon, in relation either to its efficient or final causes. before leaving the lingulæ, i may mention that mr. morse informs me that living specimens, when detached from their moorings, can creep like worms, leaving long furrows on the sand, and that they can also construct sand-tubes wherein to shelter themselves. this shows that some of the abundant "worm burrows" of the primordial may have been the work of these curious little shell-fishes, as well as, perhaps, some of the markings which have been described under the name of _eophyton_, and have been supposed, i think incorrectly, to be remains of land plants. in addition to lingula we may obtain, though rarely, lamp-shells of another type, that of the orthids, these have the valves hinged along a straight line, in the middle of which is a notch for the peduncle, and the valves are often marked with ribs or striae. the orthids were content with limestone for their shells, and apparently lived in the same circumstances with the lingulæ; and in the period succeeding the primordial they became far more abundant. yet they perished at an early stage of the world's progress, and have no representatives in the modern seas. in many parts of the primordial ocean the muddy bottom swarmed with crustaceans, relatives of our shrimps and lobsters, but of a form which differs so much from these modern shell-fishes that the question of their affinities has long been an unsettled one with zoologists. hundreds of species are known, some almost microscopic in size, others a foot in length. all are provided with a broad flat horseshoe-shaped head-plate, which, judging from its form and a comparison with the modern king-crabs or horseshoe-crabs, must have been intended as a sort of mud-plough to enable them to excavate burrows or hide themselves in the slimy ooze of the ocean bed. on the sides of this buckler are placed the prominent eyes, furnished with many separate lenses, on precisely the same plan with those of modern crustaceans and insects, and testifying, as buckland long ago pointed out, to the identity of the action of light in the ancient and the modern seas. the body was composed of numerous segments, each divided transversely into three lobes, whence they have received the name of _trilobites_, and the whole articulated, so that the creature could roll itself into a ball, like the modern slaters or wood-lice, which are not very distant relatives of these old crustaceans.[f] the limbs of trilobites were long unknown, and it was even doubted whether they had any; but recent discoveries have shown that they had a series of flat limbs useful both for swimming and creeping. the trilobites, under many specific and generic forms, range from the primordial to the carboniferous rocks, but are altogether wanting in the more recent formations and in the modern seas. the trilobites lived on muddy bottoms, and their remains are extremely abundant in shaly and slaty beds, though found also in limestone and sandstone. in the latter they have left most curious traces of their presence in the trails which they have produced. some of the most ancient sandstones have their surfaces covered with rows of punctured impressions (_protichnites_, first footprints), others have strange series of transverse grooves with longitudinal ones at the side (_climactichnites_, ladder footprints); others are oval burrows, marked with transverse lines and a ridge along the middle (_rusichnites_, wrinkle footprints). all of these so nearly resemble the trails and tracks of modern king-crabs that there can be little doubt as to their origin. many curious striated grooves and bifid marks, found on the surfaces of primordial beds, and which have been described as plants, are probably only the marks of the oral organs or feet of these and similar creatures, which passed their lives in grubbing for food in the soft, slimy ooze, though they could, no doubt, like the modern king-crabs, swim when necessary. some still more shrimp-like creatures, hymenocaris, which are found with them, certainly had this power. [f] woodward has recently suggested affinities of trilobites with the isopods or equal-footed crustaceans, on the evidence of a remarkable specimen with remains of feet described by billings. a lower type of annulose or ringed animal then that of the trilobites, is that of the worms. these creatures cannot be preserved in a fossil state, except in the case of those which inhabit calcareous tubes: but the marks which their jointed bodies and numerous side-bristles leave on the sand and mud may, when buried under succeeding sediments, remain; and extensive surfaces of very old rocks are marked in this way, either with cylindrical burrows or curious trails with side scratches looking like pinnate leaves. these constitute the genus _crusiana_, while others of more ordinary form belong to the genus _arenicolites_, so named from the common arenicola, or lobworm, whose burrows they are supposed to resemble. markings referable to seaweed also occur in the primordial rocks, and also some grotesque and almost inexplicable organisms known as _oldhamia_, which have been chiefly found in the primordial of ireland. one of the most common forms consists of a series of apparently jointed threads disposed in fan-like clusters on a central stem (_oldhamia antiqua_). another has a wider and simpler fan-like arrangement of filaments. these have been claimed by botanists as algæ, and have been regarded by zoologists as minute zoophytes, while some more sceptical have supposed that they may be mere inorganic wrinklings of the beds. this last view does not, however, seem tenable. they are, perhaps, the predecessors of the curious _graptolites_, which we shall have to represent in the silurian. singularly enough, foraminifera, the characteristic fossils of the laurentian, have been little recognised in the primordial, nor are there any limestones known so massive as those of the former series. there are, however, a number of remarkable organisms, which have usually been described as sponges, but are more probably partly of the nature of sponges and partly of that of foraminifera. of this kind are some of the singular conical fossils described by billings as _archæocyathus_, and found in the primordial limestone of labrador. they are hollow within, with radiating pores and plates, calcareous in some, and in others with siliceous spicules like those of modern sponges. some of them are several inches in diameter, and they must have grown rooted in muddy bottoms, in the manner of some of the deep-sea sponges of modern times. one species at least of these creatures was a true foraminifer, allied, though somewhat distantly, to eozoon. in some parts of the primordial sandstones, curious funnel-shaped casts in sand occur, sometimes marked with spiral lines. the name _histioderma_ has been given to some of these, and they have been regarded as mouths of worm-burrows. others of larger size have been compared to inverted stumps of trees. if they were produced by worms, some of these must have been of gigantic size, but billings has recently suggested that they may be casts of sponges that lived like some modern species imbedded in the sand. in accordance with this view i have represented these curious objects in the engraving, on the whole, the life of these oldest palæozoic rocks is not very abundant; but there are probably representatives of three of the great subdivisions of animals or, as some would reckon them, of four the protozoa, the radiata (coelenterata), the mollusca, and the annulosa. and it is most interesting thus to find in these very old rocks the modern subdivisions of animals already represented, and these by types some of them nearly allied to existing inhabitants of the seas i have endeavoured in the engraving to represent some of the leading forms of marine life in this ancient period. perhaps one of the most interesting discoveries in these rocks is that of rain-marks and shrinkage-cracks, in some of the very oldest beds--those of the longmynd in shropshire. on the modern muddy beach any ordinary observer is familiar with the cracks produced by the action of the sun and air on the dried surfaces left by the tides. such cracks, covered by the waters of a succeeding tide, may be buried in newer silt, and once preserved in this way are imperishable. in like manner, the pits left by passing showers of rain on the mud recently left bare by the tide may, when the mud has dried, become sufficiently firm to be preserved. in this way we have rain-marks of various geological ages; but the oldest known are those of the longmynd, where they are associated both with ripple-marks and shrinkage-cracks. we thus have evidence of the action of tides, of sun, and of rain, in these ancient periods just as in the present day. were there no land animals to prowl along the low tidal flats in search of food? were there no herbs or trees to drink in the rains and flourish in the sunshine? if there were, no bone or footprint on the shore, or drifted leaf or branch, has yet revealed their existence to the eyes of geologists the beds of the primordial age exist in england, in bohemia, in sweden and norway, and also in north america. they appear to have been deposited along the shores of the old laurentian continent, and probably some of them indicate very deep water. the primordial rocks are in many parts of the world altered and hardened. they have often assumed a slaty structure, and their bedding, and the fossils which they contain, are both affected by this. the usual view entertained as to what is called slaty structure is, that it depends on pressure, acting on more or less compressible material in some direction usually different from that of the bedding. such pressure has the effect of arranging all the flat particles as scales of mica, etc. in planes parallel to the compressing surface. hence, if much material of this kind is present in the sediment, the whole rock assumes a fissile character causing it to split readily into thin plates. that such yielding to pressure has actually taken place is seen very distinctly in microscopic sections of some slaty rocks, which often show not only a laminated structure, but an actual crumpling on a small scale, causing them to assume almost the aspect of woody fibre. such rocks often remind a casual observer of decaying trunks of trees, and sections of them under the microscope show the most minute and delicate crumpling. it is also proved by the condition of the fossils the beds contain. these are often distorted, so that some of them are lengthened and others shortened, and if specimens were selected with, that view, it would be quite easy to suppose that those lengthened by distortion are of different species from those distorted so as to be shortened. slaty cleavage and distortion are not, however, confined to primordial rocks, but occur in altered sediments of various ages. the primordial sediments must have at one time been very widely distributed, and must have filled up many of the inequalities produced by the rending and contortion of the laurentian beds. their thicker and more massive portions are, however, necessarily along the borders of the laurentian continents, and as they in their turn were raised up into land, they became exposed to the denuding action first of the sea, and afterwards of the rain and rivers, and were so extensively wasted away that only in a few regions do large areas of them remain visible. that of bohemia has afforded to barrande a great number of most interesting fossils. the rocks of st. david's in wales, those of shropshire in england, and those of wicklow in ireland are also of great interest; and next to these in importance are, perhaps, the huronian and acadian groups of north america, in which continent--as for example in nova scotia and in some parts of new england--there are extensive areas of old metamorphic rocks whose age has not been determined by fossils, but which may belong to this period. the question of division lines of formations is one much agitated in the case of the cambrian rocks. whether certain beds are to be called cambrian or silurian has been a point greatly controverted; and the terms primordial and primordial silurian have been used as means to avoid the raising of this difficulty. many of our division lines in geology are arbitrary and conventional, and this may be the case with that between the primordial and silurian, the one age graduating into the other. there appears to be, however, the best reason to recognise a distinct cambrian period, preceding the two great periods, those of the second and third faunas of barrande, to which the term silurian is usually applied. on the other hand, in so far as our knowledge extends at present, a strongly marked line of separation exists between the laurentian and primordial, the latter resting on the edges of the former, which seems then to have been as much altered as now. still a break of this kind may be, perhaps must be, merely local; and may vary in amount. thus, in some places we find rocks of silurian and later ages resting directly on the laurentian, without the intervention of the primordial. in any case, where a line of coast is steadily sinking, each succeeding deposit will overlap that which went before; and this seems to have been the case with the laurentian shore when the primordial and silurian were being deposited. hence over large spaces the primordial is absent, being probably buried up, except where exposed by denudation at the margin of the two formations. this occurs in several parts of canada, while the laurentian rocks have evidently been subjected to metamorphism and long-continued weathering before the lower silurian were deposited; and in some cases the latter rest on weather-worn and pitted surfaces, and are filled with angular bits of the underlying rock, as well as with drift-shells which have been cast on these old laurentian shores; while in other cases the silurian rests on smooth water-worn laurentian rocks, and is filled at the junction with well-rounded pebbles and grains of sand which have evidently been subjected to a more thorough attrition then those of the present beach. with respect to the line of division between the primordial and the next succeeding rocks, it will be seen that important movements of the continents occurred at the close of the cambrian, and in some places the cambrian rocks have been much disturbed before the deposition of the lower silurian. seated on some ancient promontory of the laurentian, and looking over the plain which, in the primordial and lower silurian periods was the sea, i have often wished for some shred of vegetable matter to tell what lived on that land when the primordial surf beat upon its shore, and washed up the trilobites and brachiopods of those old seas; but no rock has yet taken up its parable to reveal the secret, and the primordial is vocal only with the old story: "and god said, let the waters swarm with swarming living things, and it was so." so our picture of the period may represent a sea-bottom swarming with animals of low grade, some sessile, some locomotive; and we may merely suppose a distant shore with vegetation dimly seen, and active volcanoes; but a shore on which no foot of naturalist has yet trod to scan its productions. very different estimates have been formed of the amount of life in this period, according to the position given to its latest limit. taking some of the more modern views of this subject, we might have included among the primordial animals many additional creatures, which we prefer noticing in the silurian, since it may at least be affirmed that their head-quarters were in that age, even if they had a beginning in the primordial. it may be interesting here, however, to note the actual amount of life known to us in this period, taken in its largest scope. in doing this, i shall take advantage of an interesting table given by dr. bigsby,[g] and representing the state of knowledge in , and shall group the species in such a manner as to indicate the relative abundance of distinct types of structure. we find then-- plants (all, or nearly all, supposed to be sea-weeds, and some, probably, mere tracks or trails of animals) species. sponges, and similar creatures " corals and their allies " starfishes and their allies " worms " trilobites and other crustaceans " lamp-shells and other molluscoids " common bivalve mollusks " common univalve mollusks and their allies " higher mollusks, nautili, cuttle-fishes, etc. " --- in all " [g] "thesaurus siluricus." now in this enumeration we observe, in the first place, a representation of all the lower or invertebrate groups of the waters. we have next the remarkable fact that the radiata of cuvier, the lowest and most plant-like of the marine animals, are comparatively slenderly represented, yet that there are examples of their higher as well as of their lower forms. we have the further fact that the crustaceans, the highest marine animals of the annulose type, are predominant in the waters; and that in the mollusks the highest and lowest groups are most plentiful, the middle less so. the whole number of species is small, and this may arise either from our having here reached an early period in the history of life, or from our information being defective. both are probably true. still, of the animals known, we cannot say that the proportions of the different kinds depend on defective knowledge. there is no reason, for example, why corals should not have been preserved as well as trilobites, or why brachiopods should have been preserved rather then ordinary bivalves. the proportions, therefore, it may be more safe to reason from then the aggregate. in looking at these proportions, and comparing them with those of modern seas, we are struck with the great number of species representing some types either now extinct or comparatively rare: the trilobites and brachiopods more particularly. we are astonished at the enormous preponderance of these two groups, and especially of the trilobites. further, we observe that while some forms, like lingula and nautilus, have persisted down to modern times, others, like the trilobites and orthids, perished very early. in all this we can dimly perceive a fitness of living things to physical conditions, a tendency to utilise each type to the limit of its capacities for modification, and then to abandon it for something higher; a tendency of low types to appear first, but to appear in their highest perfection and variety; a sudden apparition of totally diverse plans of structure subserving similar ends simultaneously with each other, as for instance those of the mollusk and the crustacean; the appearance of optical and mechanical contrivances, as for example the compound eyes of the trilobite and the swimming float of the orthoceras, in all their perfection at first, just as they continue to this day in creatures of similar grade. that these and other similar things point to a uniform and far-reaching plan, no rational mind can doubt; and if the world had stopped short in the primordial period, and attained to no further development, this would have been abundantly apparent; though it shines forth more and more conspicuously in each succeeding page of the stony record. how far such unity and diversity can be explained by the modern philosophy of a necessary and material evolution out of mere death and physical forces, and how far it requires the intervention of a creative mind, are questions which we may well leave with the thoughtful reader, till we have traced this history somewhat further. chapter iv. the lower and upper silurian ages. by english geologists, the great series of formations which succeeds to the cambrian is usually included under the name silurian system, first proposed by sir roderick murchison. it certainly, however, consists of two distinct groups, holding the second and third faunas of barrande. the older of the two, usually called the lower silurian, is the upper cambrian of sedgwick, and may properly be called the _siluro-cambrian_. the newer is the true silurian, or silurian proper--the upper silurian of murchison. we shall in this chapter, for convenience, consider both in connection, using occasionally the term lower silurian as equivalent to siluro-cambrian. the silurian presents us with a definite physical geography, for the northern hemisphere at least; and this physical geography is a key to the life conditions of the time. the north american continent, from its great unbroken area, affords, as usual, the best means of appreciating this. in this period the northern currents, acting perhaps in harmony with old laurentian outcrops, had deposited in the sea two long submarine ridges, running to the southward from the extreme ends of the laurentian nucleus, and constituting the foundations of the present ridges of the rocky mountains and the alleghanies. between these the extensive triangular area now constituting the greater part of north america, was a shallow oceanic plateau, sheltered from the cold polar currents by the laurentian land on the north, and separated by the ridges already mentioned from the atlantic and pacific. it was on this great plateau of warm and sheltered ocean that what we call the silurian fauna lived; while of the creatures that inhabited the depths of the great bounding oceans, whose abysses must have been far deeper and at a much lower temperature, we know little. during the long silurian periods, it is true, the great american plateau underwent many revolutions, sometimes being more deeply submerged, and having clear water tenanted by vast numbers of corals and shell-fishes, at others rising so as to become shallow and to receive deposits of sand and mud; but it was always distinct from the oceanic area without. in europe, in like manner, there seems to have been a great internal plateau bounded by the embryo hills of western europe on the west, and harbouring a very similar assemblage of creatures to those existing in america. further, during these long periods there were great changes, from a fauna of somewhat primordial type up to a new order of things in the upper silurian, tending toward the novelties which were introduced in the succeeding devonian and carboniferous. we may, in the first place, sketch these changes as they occurred on the two great continental plateaus, noting as we proceed such hints as can be obtained with reference to the more extensive oceanic spaces. before the beginning of the age, both plateaus seem to have been invaded by sandy and muddy sediments charged at some periods and places with magnesian limestone; and these circumstances were not favourable to the existence or preservation of organic remains. such are the potsdam and calciferous beds of america and the tremadoc and llandeilo beds of england. the potsdam and tremadoc are by their fossils included in the cambrian, and may at least be regarded as transition groups. it is further to be observed, in the case of these beds, that if we begin at the west side of europe and proceed easterly, or at the east side of america and proceed westerly, they become progressively thinner, the greater amount of material being deposited at the edges of the future continents; just as on the sides of a muddy tideway the flats are higher, and the more coarse sediment deposited near the margin of the channel, and fine mud is deposited at a greater distance and in thinner beds. the cause, however, on the great scale of the atlantic, was somewhat different, ancient ridges determining the border of the channel. this statement holds good not only of these older beds, but of the whole of the silurian, and of the succeeding devonian and carboniferous, all deposited on these same plateaus. thus, in the case of the silurian in england and wales, the whole series is more then , feet thick, but in russia, it is less then , feet. in the eastern part of america the thickness is estimated at quite as great an amount as in europe, while in the region of the mississippi the silurian rocks are scarcely thicker then in russia, and consist in great part of limestones and fine sediments, the sandstones and conglomerates thinning out rapidly eastward of the appalachian mountains. in both plateaus the earlier period of coarse accumulations was succeeded by one in which was clear water depositing little earthy sediment, and this usually fine; and in which the sea swarmed with animal life, from the _débris_ of which enormous beds of limestone were formed the trenton limestone of america and the bala limestone of europe. the fossils of this part of the series open up to us the head-quarters of lower silurian life, the second great fauna of barrande, that of the upper cambrian of sedgwick; and in america more especially, the trenton and its associated limestones can be traced over forty degrees of longitude; and throughout the whole of this space its principal beds are composed entirely of comminuted corals, shells, and crinoids, and studded with organisms of the same kinds still retaining their forms. out of these seas, in the european area, arose in places volcanic islets, like those of the modern pacific. in the next succeeding era the clear waters became again invaded with muddy and sandy sediments, in various alternations, and with occasional bands of limestone, constituting the caradoc beds of britain and the utica and hudson river groups of america. during the deposition of these, the abounding life of the siluro-cambrian plateaus died away, and a middle group of sandstones and shales, the oneida and medina of america and the mayhill of england, form the base of the upper silurian. but what was taking place meanwhile in the oceanic areas separating our plateaus? these were identical with the basins of the atlantic and pacific, which already existed in this period as depressions of the earth's crust, perhaps not so deep as at present. as to the deposits in their deeper portions we know nothing; but on the margin of the atlantic area are some rocks which give us at least a little information. in the later part of the cambrian period the enormous thickness of the quebec group of north america appears to represent a broad stripe of deep water parallel to the eastern edge of the american plateau, and in which an immense thickness of beds of sand and mud was deposited with very few fossils, except in particular beds, and these of a more primordial aspect then those of the plateau itself. these rocks no doubt represent the margin of a deep atlantic area, over which cold currents destructive of life were constantly passing, and in which great quantities of sand and mud, swept from the icy regions of the north, were continually being laid. the researches of dr. carpenter and dr. wyville thomson show us that there are at present cold areas in the deeper parts of the atlantic, on the european side, as we have long known that they exist at less depths on the american side; and these same researches, with the soundings on the american banks, show that sand and gravel may be deposited not merely on shallows, but in the depths of the ocean, provided that these depths are pervaded by cold and heavy currents capable of eroding the bottom, and of moving coarse material. the quebec group in canada and the united states, and the metalliferous lower silurian rocks of nova scotia and newfoundland, destitute of great marine limestones and coral reefs, evidently represent deep and cold-water areas on the border of the atlantic plateau. at a later period, the beginning of the upper silurian, the richly fossiliferous and exceptional deposits of the island of anticosti, formed in the deep hollow of the gulf of st. laurence, show that when the plateau had become shallowed up by deposition and elevation, and converted into desolate sand-banks, the area of abundant life was transferred to the still deep atlantic basin and its bordering bays, in which the forms of lower silurian life continued to exist until they were mixed up with those of the upper silurian. if we turn now to these latter rocks, and inquire as to their conditions on our two great plateaus, we shall find a repetition of changes similar to those which occurred in the times preceding. the sandy shallows of the earlier part of this period give place to wide oceanic areas similar to those of the lower silurian; in these we find vast and thick coral and shell limestones, the wenlock of england and niagara of america, as rich in life as the limestones of the lower silurian, and with the generic and family forms similar, but the species for the most part different. in america these limestones were followed by a singularly shallow condition of the plateau, in which the surface was so raised as at times to be converted into separate salt lakes in which beds of salt were deposited. on both plateaus there were alternations of oceanic and shallow conditions, under which the lower helderberg and ludlow beds, the closing members of the silurian, were laid down. of the atlantic beds of this period we know little, except that the great limestones appear to be wanting, and to be replaced by sandy and muddy deposits, in some parts at least of the margins of the area. in some portions also of the plateaus and their margins, extensive volcanic outbursts seem to have occurred; so that the american plateau presented, at least in parts, the aspect of a coral sea with archipelagos of volcanic islands, the ejections from which became mixed with the aqueous deposits forming around them. having thus traced the interesting series of geographical conditions indicated by the silurian series, we may next take our station on one of the submerged plateaus, and inquire as to the new forms of life now introduced to our notice; and in doing so shall include the life of both the lower and upper silurian. [illustration: fig. .--fragment of lower silurian limestone, sliced and magnified ten diameters, showing the manner in which it is made up of fragments of corals, crinoids, and shells. (from a paper oil the microscopic structure of canadian limestone, "canadian naturalist.")] first, we may remark the vast abundance and variety of corals. the polyps, close relatives of the common sea-anemone of our coasts, which build up our modern coral reefs, were represented in the silurian seas by a great number of allied yet different forms, equally effectual in the great work of secreting carbonate of lime in stony masses, and therefore in the building-up of continents. let us note some of the differences. in the first place, whereas our modern coral-workers can show us but the topmost pinnacles of their creations, peeping above the surface of the sea in coral reefs and islands, the work of the coral animals of the silurian has been finished, by these limestones being covered with masses of new sediment consolidated into hard rock, and raised out of the sea to constitute a part of the dry land. in the silurian limestones we thus have, not merely the coral reefs, but the wide beds of comminuted coral, mixed with the remains of other animals, which are necessarily accumulated in the ocean bed around the reefs and islands. further, these beds, which we might find loose and unconsolidated in the modern sea, have their fragments closely cemented together in the old limestones. the nature of this difference can be well seen by comparing a fragment of modern coral or shell limestone from bermuda, with a similar fragment of the trenton limestone, both being sliced for examination under the microscope. the old limestone is black or greyish, the modern one is nearly white, because in the former the organic matter in the animal fragments has been carbonised or converted into coaly and bituminous matter. the old limestone is much more dense and compact, partly because its materials have been more closely compressed by superincumbent weight, but chiefly because calcareous matter in solution in water has penetrated all the interstices, and filled them up with a deposit of crystalline limestone. in examining a slice, however, under the microscope, it will be seen that the fragments of corals and other organisms are as distinct and well preserved as in the crumbling modern rock, except that they are perfectly imbedded in a paste of clear transparent limestone, or rather calcareous spar, infiltrated between them. i have examined great numbers of slices of these limestones, ever with new wonder at the packing of the organic fragments which they present. the hard marble-like limestones used for building in the silurian districts of europe and america, are thus in most cases consolidated masses of organic fragments. in the next place, the animals themselves must have differed somewhat from their modern successors. this we gather from the structure of their stony cells, which present points of difference indicating corresponding difference of detail in the soft parts. zoologists thus separate the rugose or wrinkled corals and the tabulate or floored corals of the silurian from those of the modern seas. the former must have been more like the ordinary coral animals; the latter were very peculiar, more especially in the close union of the cells, and in the transverse floors which they were in the habit of building across these cells as they grew in height. they presented, however, all the forms of our modern corals. some were rounded and massive in form, others delicate and branching. some were solitary or detached, others aggregative in communities. some had the individual animals large and probably showy, others had them of microscopic size. perhaps the most remarkable of all is the american _beatricea_,[h] which grew like a great trunk of a tree twenty feet or more in height, its solitary animal at the top like a pillar-saint, though no doubt more appropriate and comfortable; and multitudes of delicate and encrusting corals clinging like mosses or lichens to its sides. this creature belongs to the very middle of the silurian, and must have lived in great depths, undisturbed by swell or breakers, and sheltering vast multitudes of other creatures in its stony colonnades. [h] first described by mr. billings. it has been regarded as a plant, and as a cephalopod shell; but i believe it was a coral allied to _cystiphyllum_. [illustration: fig. .--life in the silurian age. on the bottom are seen, proceeding from left to right, corals (_stenopora_ and _beatricea_) and a gasteropod; _orthoceras_; coral (_patria_); crinoids, _lingulæ_, and cystideans; a _trilobite_ and _cyrtolites_. in the water is a large _pterygotus_, and under it a _trinucleus_. further on, are cephalopods, a heteropod, and fishes. at the surface, _phyllograptus_, _graptolithus_, and _bellerophon_. on the land, _lepidodendron_, _psilophyton_, and _prototaxites_.] lastly, the silurian corals nourished in latitudes more boreal then their modern representatives. in both hemispheres as far north as silurian limestones have been traced, well-developed corals have been found. on the great plateaus sheltered by laurentian ridges to the north, and exposed to the sun and to the warmer currents of the equatorial regions, they nourished most grandly and luxuriantly: but they lived also north of the laurentian bands in the arctic sea basins, though probably in the shallower and more sheltered parts. undoubtedly the geographical arrangements of the silurian period contributed to this. we have already seen how peculiarly adapted to an exuberant marine life were the submerged continents of the period; and there was probably little arctic land producing icebergs to chill the seas. the great arctic currents, which then as now flowed powerfully toward the equator, must have clung to the deeper parts of the ocean basins, while the return waters from the equator would spread themselves widely over the surface; so that wherever the arctic seas presented areas a little elevated out of the cold water bottom, there might be suitable abodes for coral animals. it has been supposed that in the silurian period the sea might have derived some appreciable heat from the crust of the earth below, and astronomical conditions have been suggested as tending to produce changes of climate; but it is evident that whatever weight may be due to these causes, the observed geographical conditions are sufficient to account for the facts of the case. it is also to be observed, that we cannot safely infer the requirements as to temperature of silurian coral animals from those of the tenants of the modern ocean. in the modern seas many forms of life thrive best and grow to the greatest size in the colder seas; and in the later tertiary period there were elephants and rhinoceroses sufficiently hardy to endure the rigours of an arctic climate. so there may have been in the silurian seas corals of much less delicate constitution then those now living. next to the corals we may place the crinoids, or stone-lilies--creatures abounding throughout the silurian seas, and realizing a new creative idea, to be expanded in subsequent geological time into all the multifarious types of star-fishes and sea-urchins. a typical crinoid, such as the _glyptocrinus_ of the lower silurian, consists of a flexible jointed stem, sometimes several feet in length, composed of short cylindrical discs, curiously articulated together, a box-like body on top made up of polygonal pieces attached to each other at the edges, and five radiating jointed arms furnished with branches and branchlets, or fringes, all articulated and capable of being flexed in any direction. such a creature has more the aspect of a flower then of an animal; yet it is really an animal, and subsists by collecting with its arms and drifting into its mouth minute creatures floating in the water. another group, less typical, but abundantly represented in the silurian seas, is that of the cystideans, in which the body is sack-like, and the arms few and sometimes attached to the body. they resemble the young or larvæ of crinoids. in the modern seas the crinoids are extremely few, though dredging in very deep water has recently added to the number of known species; but in the silurian period they had their birth, and attained to a number and perfection not afterwards surpassed. perhaps the stone-lilies of the upper silurian rocks of dudley, in england, are the most beautiful of palæozoic animals. judging from the immense quantities of their remains in some limestones, wide areas of the sea bottom must have been crowded with their long stalks and flower-like bodies, presenting vast submarine fields of these stony water-lilies. passing over many tribes of mollusks, continued or extended from the primordial--and merely remarking that the lamp-shells and the ordinary bivalve and univalve shell-fishes are all represented largely, more especially the former group, in the silurian--we come to the highest of the mollusca, represented in our seas by the cuttle-fishes and nautili, creatures which, like the crinoids, may be said to have had their birth in the silurian, and to have there attained to some of their grandest forms. the modern pearly nautilus shell, well known in every museum, is beautifully coiled in a disc-like form, and when sliced longitudinally shows a series of partitions dividing it into chambers, air-tight, and serving as a float to render the body of the creature independent of the force of gravity. as the animal grows it retracts its body toward the front of the shell, and forms new partitions, so that the buoyancy of the float always corresponds with the weight of the animal; while by the expansion and contraction of the body and removal of water from a tube or syphon which traverses the chambers, or the injection of additional water, slight differences can be effected, rendering the creature a very little lighter or heavier then the medium in which it swims. thus practically delivered from the encumbrance of weight, and furnished with long flexible arms provided with suckers, with great eyes and a horny beak, the nautilus becomes one of the tyrants of the deep, creeping on the bottom or swimming on the surface at will, and everywhere preying on whatever animals it can master. fortunately for us, as well as for the more feeble inhabitants of the sea, the nautili are not of great size, though some of their allies, the cuttle-fishes, which, however, want the floating apparatus, are sufficiently powerful to be formidable to man. in the silurian period, however, there were not only nautili like ours, but a peculiar kind of straight nautilus--the _orthoceratites_--which sometimes attained to gigantic size. the shells of these creatures may be compared to those of nautili straightened out, the chambers being placed in a direct line in front of each other. a great number of species have been discovered, many quite insignificant in size, but others as much as twelve feet in length and a foot in diameter at the larger end. indeed, accounts have been given of individuals of much larger growth. these large _orthoceratites_ were the most powerful marine animals known to us in the silurian, and must have been in those days the tyrants of the seas.[i] [i] zoologists will observe that i have, in the illustrations given the orthoceras the arms rather of a cuttle-fish then of a nautilus. the form of the outer chamber of the shell, i think, warrants this view of the structure of the animal, which must have been formed on a very comprehensive type. among the crustaceans, or soft shell-fishes of the silurian, we meet with the _trilobites_, continued from the primordial in great and increasing force, and represented by many and beautiful species; while an allied group of shell-fishes of low organization but gigantic size, the _eurypterids_, characteristic of the upper silurian, were provided with powerful limbs, long flexible bodies, and great eyes in the front of the head, and were sometimes several feet in length. instead of being mud grovellers, like the trilobites and modern king-crabs, these _eurypterids_ must have been swimmers, careering rapidly through the water, and probably active and predaceous. there were also great multitudes of those little crustaceans which are inclosed in two horny or shelly valves like a bivalve shell-fish, and the remains of which sometimes fill certain beds of silurian shale and limestone. no remains found in the silurian rocks have been more fertile sources of discussion then the so-called _graptolites_, or written stones--a name given long ago by linnæus, in allusion to the resemblance of some species having rows of cells on one side, to minute lines of writing. these little bodies usually appear as black coaly stains on the surface of the rock, showing a slender stem or stalk, with a row of little projecting cells at one side, or two rows, one on each side. the more perfect specimens show that, in many of the species at least, these fragments were branches of a complex organism spreading from a centre; and at this centre there is sometimes perceived a sort of membrane connecting the bases of the branches, and for which various uses have been conjectured. the branches themselves vary much in different species. they may be simple or divided, narrow, or broad and leaf-like, with one row of cells, or two rows of cells. hence arise generic distinctions into single and double graptolites, leaf and tree graptolites, net graptolites, and so on. but while it is easy to recognise these organisms, and to classify them in species and genera, it is not so easy to say what their affinities are with modern things. they are exclusively silurian, disappearing altogether at the close of this period, and, so far as we know, not succeeded by any similar creatures serving to connect them with modern forms. hence the most various conjectures as to their nature. they have been supposed to be plants, and have been successively referred to most of the great divisions of the lower animals. most recently they have been regarded by hall, nicholson,[j] and others, who have studied them most attentively, as zoophytes or hydroids allied to the sertularise, or tooth-corallines and sea-fir-corallines of our coasts, to the cell-bearing branches of which their fragments bear a very close resemblance. in this case, each of the little cells or teeth at the sides of the fibres must have been the abode of a little polyp, stretching out its tentacles into the water, and enjoying a common support and nutrition with the other polyps ranged with it. still the mode of life of the community of branching stems is uncertain. in some species there is a little radicle or spike at the base of the main stem, which may have been a means of attachment. in others the hollow central disk has been conjectured to have served as a float. occurring as the specimens do usually in shales and slates, which must have been muddy beds, they could not have been attached to stones or rocks, and they must have lived in clear water, either seated on the surface of the mud, attached to sea-weeds, or floating freely by means of hollow disks filled with air. after much thought on their structure and mode of occurrence, i am inclined to believe that in their younger stages they were attached, but by a very slender thread; that at a more advanced stage they became free, and acquiring a central membranous disk filled with air, floated by means of this at the surface, their long branches trailing in the waters below. they would thus be, with reference to their mode of life, though not to the details of their structure, prototypes of the modern portuguese man-of-war, which now drifts so gaily over the surface of the warmer seas. i have represented them in this attitude; but in case i should be mistaken, the reader may imagine it possible that they may be adhering to the lower surface of floating tangle. the head-quarters of the graptolites seem to be in the upper part of the cambrian, and in the siluro-cambrian, and they are widely distributed in europe, in america, and in australia. this very wide distribution of the species is probably connected with their floating and oceanic habits. [j] see also an able paper by carruthers, in the _geological magazine_, vol. v., p. . lastly, just as the silurian period was passing away, we find a new thing in the earth--vertebrate animals, represented by several species of shark-like fishes, which came in here as forerunners of the dynasty of the vertebrates, which from that day to this have been the masters of the world. these earliest vertebrates are especially interesting as the first known examples of a plan of structure which culminates only in man himself. they appear to have had cartilaginous skeletons; and in this and their shagreen-like skin, strong bony spines, and trenchant teeth, to have much resembled our modern sharks, or rather the dog-fishes, for they were of small size. one genus (_pteraspis_), apparently the oldest of the whole, belongs, however, to a tribe of mailed fishes allied to some of those of the old red sandstone. in both cases the groups of fishes representing the first known appearance of the vertebrates were allied to tribes of somewhat high organization in that class; and they asserted their claims to dominancy by being predaceous and carnivorous creatures, which must have rendered themselves formidable to their invertebrate contemporaries. coprolites, or fossil masses of excrement, which are found with them, indicate that they chased and devoured orthoceratites and sea-snails of various kinds, and snapped lingulæ and crinoids from their stalks; and we can well imagine that these creatures, when once introduced, found themselves in rich pasture and increased accordingly. space prevents us from following further our pictures of the animal life of the great silurian era, the monuments of which were first discovered by two of england's greatest geologists, murchison and sedgwick. how imperfect such a notice must be, may be learned from the fact that dr. bigsby, in his "thesaurus siluricus" in , catalogues , silurian species, of which only are known in the primordial. our illustration, carefully studied, may do more to present to the reader the teeming swarms of the silurian seas then our word-picture, and it includes many animal forms not mentioned above, more especially the curved and nautilus-like cuttle-fishes, those singular molluscous swimmers by fin or float known to zoologists as violet-snails, winged-snails or pteropods, and carinarias; and which, under various forms, have existed from the silurian to the present time. the old _lingulæ_ are also there as well as in the primordial, while the fishes and the land vegetation belong, as far as we yet know, exclusively to the upper silurian, and point forward to the succeeding devonian. we know as yet no silurian animal that lived on the land or breathed air. but our knowledge of land plants, though very meagre, is important. without regarding such obscure and uncertain forms as the _eophyton_ of sweden, hooker, page, and barrande have noticed, in the upper silurian, plants allied to the lycopods or club-mosses. i have found in the same deposits another group of plants allied to lycopods and pill-worts (psilophyton), and fragments of wood representing the curious and primitive type of pine-like trees known as _prototaxites_. these are probably only a small instalment of silurian land plants, such as a voyager might find floating in the sea on his approach to some unknown shore, which had not yet risen above his horizon. time and careful search will, no doubt, add largely to our knowledge. in the silurian, as in the cambrian, the head-quarters of animal life were in the sea. perhaps there was no animal life on the land; but here our knowledge may be at fault. it is, however, interesting to observe the continued operation of the creative fiat, "let the waters swarm with swarmers" which, beginning to be obeyed in the eozoic age, passes down through all the periods of geological time to the "moving things innumerable" of the modern ocean. can we infer anything further as to the laws of creation from these silurian multitudes of living things? one thing we can see plainly, that the life of the silurian is closely related to that of the cambrian. the same generic and ordinal forms are continued. even some species may be identical. does this indicate direct genetic connection, or only like conditions in the external world correlated with likeness in the organic world? it indicates both. first, it is in the highest degree probable that many of the animals of the lower silurian are descendants of those of the cambrian. sometimes these descendants may be absolutely unchanged. sometimes they may appear as distinct varieties. sometimes they may have been regarded as distinct though allied species. the continuance in this manner of allied forms of life is necessarily related to the continuance of somewhat similar conditions of existence, while changes in type imply changed external conditions. but is this all? i think not; for there are forms of life in the silurian which cannot be traced to the cambrian, and which relate to new and even prospective conditions, which the unaided powers of the animals of the earlier period could not have provided for. these new forms require the intervention of a higher power, capable of correlating the physical and organic conditions of one period with those of succeeding periods. whatever powers may be attributed to natural selection or to any other conceivable cause of merely genetic evolution, surely prophetic gifts cannot be claimed for it; and the life of all these geological periods is full of mute prophecies to be read only in the light of subsequent fulfilments. the fishes of the upper silurian are such a prophecy. they can claim no parentage in the older rocks, and they appear at once as kings of their class. with reference to the silurian itself, they are of little consequence; and in the midst of its gigantic forms of invertebrate life they seem almost misplaced. but they predict the coming devonian, and that long and varied reign of vertebrate life which culminates in man himself. no such prophetic ideas are represented by the giant crustaceans and cuttle-fishes and swarming graptolites. they had already attained their maximum, and were destined to a speedy and final grave in the silurian, or to be perpetuated only in decaying families whose poverty is rendered more conspicuous by the contrast with the better days gone by. the law of creation provided for new types, and at once for the elevation and degradation of them when introduced; and all this with reference to the physical conditions not of the present only but of the future. such facts, which cannot be ignored save by the wilfully blind, are beyond the reach of any merely material philosophy. the little that we know of silurian plants is as eloquent of plan and creation as that which we can learn of animals. i saw not long ago a series of genealogies in geological time reduced to tabular form by that ingenious but imaginative physiologist, haeckel. in one of these appeared the imaginary derivation of the higher plants from algæ or sea-weeds. nothing could more curiously contradict actual facts. algæ were apparently in the silurian neither more nor less elevated then in the modern seas, and those forms of vegetable life which may seem to bridge over the space between them and the land plants in the modern period, are wanting in the older geological periods, while land plants seem to start at once into being in the guise of club-mosses, a group by no means of low standing. our oldest land plants thus represent one of the highest types of that cryptogamous series to which they belong, and moreover are better developed examples of that type then those now existing. we may say, if we please, that all the connecting links have been lost; but this is begging the whole question, since no thing 'but the existence of such links could render the hypothesis of derivation possible. further, the occurrence of any number of successive yet distinct species would not be the kind of chain required, or rather would not be a chain at all. yet in some respects development is obvious in creation. old forms of life are often embryonic, or resemble the young of modern animals, but enlarged and exaggerated, as if they had overgrown themselves and had prematurely become adult. old forms are often generalized, or less specific in their adaptations then those of modern times. there is less division of labour among them. old forms sometimes not only rise to the higher places in their groups, but usurp attributes which in later times are restricted to their betters. old forms are often gigantic in size in comparison with their modern successors, which, if they could look back on their predecessors, might say, "there were giants in those days." some old forms have gone onward in successive stages of elevation by a regular and constant gradation. others have remained as they were through all the ages, some have no equals in their groups in modern days. all these things speak of order, but of order along with development, and this development not evolution; unless by this term we understand the emergence into material facts of the plans of the creative mind. these plans we may hope in some degree to understand, though we may not be able to comprehend the mode of action of creative power any more then the mode in which our own thought and will act upon the machinery of our own nerves. still, the power is not the less real, that we are ignorant of its mode of operation. the wind bloweth whither it listeth, and we feel its strength, though we may not be able to calculate the wind of to-morrow or the winds of last year. so is the spirit of god when it breathes into animals the breath of life, or the almighty word when it says, "let the waters bring forth." chapter v. the devonian age. paradoxical as it may appear, this period of geological history has been held as of little account, and has even been by some geologists regarded as scarcely a distinct age, just because it was one of the most striking and important of the whole. the devonian was an age of change and transition, in both physical and organic existence; and an age which introduced, in the northern hemisphere at least, more varied conditions of land and water and climate then had previously existed. hence, over large areas of our continents, its deposits are irregular and locally diverse; and the duration and importance of the period are to be measured rather by the changes and alterations of previous formations, and the ejection of masses of molten rock from beneath, then by a series of fossiliferous deposits. nevertheless, in some regions in north america and eastern europe, the formations of this era are of vast extent and volume, those of north america being estimated at the enormous thickness of , feet, while they are spread over areas of almost continental breadth. at the close of the upper silurian, the vast continental plateaus of the northern hemisphere were almost wholly submerged. no previous marine limestone spreads more widely then that of the upper silurian, and in no previous period have we much less evidence of the existence of dry land; yet before the end of the period we observe, in a few fragments of land plants scattered here and there in the marine limestones--evidence that islands rose amid the waste of waters. as it is said that the sailors of columbus saw the first indications of the still unseen western continent in drift canes, and fragments of trees floating in mid ocean, so the voyager through the silurian seas finds his approach to the verdant shores of the devonian presaged by a few drift plants borne from shores yet below the horizon. the small remains of land in the upper silurian were apparently limited to certain clusters of islands in the north-eastern part of america and north-western part of europe, with perhaps some in the intervening atlantic on these limited surfaces grew the first land plants certainly known to us--herbs and trees allied to the modern club-mosses, and perhaps forests of trees allied to the pines, though of humbler type; and this wide upper silurian sea, with archipelagos of wooded islands, may have continued for a long time. but with the beginning of the devonian, indications of an unstable condition of the earth's crust began to develop themselves. new lands were upheaved; great shallow, muddy, and sandy flats were deposited around them the domains of corals and sea-weeds were contracted and on banks, and in shallows and estuaries, there swarmed shoals of fishes of many species, and some of them of most remarkable organization. on the margins of these waters stretched vast swamps, covered with a rank vegetation. but the period was one of powerful igneous activity. volcanoes poured out their molten rocks over sea and land, and injected huge dykes of trap into the newly-formed beds. the land was shaken with earthquake throes, and was subject to many upheavals and subsidences. violent waves desolated the coasts, throwing sand and gravel over the flats, and tearing up newly-deposited beds; and poisonous exhalations, or sudden changes of level, often proved fatal to immense shoals of fishes. this was the time of the lower devonian, and it is marked, both in the old world and the new, by extensive deposits of sandstones and conglomerates. but the changes going on at the surface were only symptomatic of those occurring beneath. the immense accumulations of silurian sediment had by this time so overweighted certain portions of the crust, that great quantities of aqueous sediment had been pressed downward into the heated bowels of the earth, and were undergoing, under an enormous weight of superincumbent material, a process of baking and semi-fusion. this process was of course extremely active along the margins of the old silurian plateaus, and led to great elevation of land, while in the more central parts of the plateaus the oceanic conditions still continued; and in the middle devonian, in america at least, one of the most remarkable and interesting coral limestones in the world--the corniferous limestone--was deposited. in process of time, however, these clear waters became shallow, and were invaded by muddy sediments; and in the upper devonian the swampy flats and muddy shallows return in full force, and in some degree anticipate the still greater areas of this kind which existed in the succeeding coal formation. such is a brief sketch of the devonian, or, as it may be better called in america, from the vast development of its beds on the south side of lake erie, the _erian_ formation. in america the marine beds of the devonian were deposited on the same great continental plateau which supported the seas of the upper and lower silurian, and the beds were thicker towards the east and thinned towards the west, as in the case of the older series. but in the devonian there was much, land in the north-east of america; and on the eastern margin of this land, as in gaspé and new brunswick, the deposits throughout the whole period were sandstones and shales, without the great coral limestones of the central plateau. something of the same kind occurred in europe, where, however, the area of devonian sea was smaller. there the fossiliferous limestones of the middle devonian in devon, in the eifel district, in france and in russia, represent the great corniferous limestone of america; while the sandstones of south wales, of ireland, and of scotland, resemble the local conditions of gaspé and new brunswick, and belonged to a similar area in the north-west of europe, in which shallow water and land conditions prevailed during the whole of the devonian, and which was perhaps connected with the corresponding region in eastern america by a north atlantic archipelago, now submerged. this whole subject is so important to the knowledge of the devonian, and of geology in general, that i may be pardoned for introducing it here in a tabular form, taking the european series from etheridge's excellent and exhaustive paper in the "journal of the geological society." devonian of erian. divisions. central areas. devon. rhen. prussia. new york. {pilton group:-- clymenia, cypridina, chemung and portage. { brown calcareous etc. shales, sandstones upper { shales, brown and limestones, and and shales. { yellow sandstone. sandstones. plants and marine { land plants and plants and marine shells. { marine shells. shells. {ilfracombe group:-- eifel limestone, hamilton shales, { grey and red calceola shales, and corniferous middle { sandstones and etc. or cherty { flags, calcareous corals, shells, limestone. { slates and etc. many corals and { limestones, with shells, also { corals, etc. plants. {lynton group:-- coblentz and schoharie and { bed and purple wissenbach shales, caudagalli grits. lower { sandstones. marine rhenish greywacke, oriskany { shells, etc. spinier sandstones. { sandstone. marine shells. { marine shells. divisions. marginal areas. scotland. ireland. gaspé and new brunswick. {yellow and red yellow and red red and grey { sandstones. sandstones, etc. sandstones, grits upper {fishes and plants. plants, fishes, and shales, and { etc. conglomerates of { gaspé and mispeck. { plants. {red shales and grits and grey and red { sandstones, and sandstones of sandstones, and middle { conglomerates. dingle. grey and dark {caithness flags. shales. gaspé {fishes and plants. and st. john. { many plants and { fishes. {flagstones, shales glengariff grits, sandstone and { and conglomerates. etc. conglomerate. lower {fishes and plants. gaspé and st. { john. { plants and fishes. a glance at this table suffices to show that when we read hugh miller's graphic descriptions of the old red sandstone of scotland, with its numerous and wonderful fishes, we have before us a formation altogether distinct from that of devonshire or the eifel. but the one represents the shallow, and the other the deeper seas of the same period. we learn this by careful tracing of the beds to their junction with, corresponding series, and by the occasional occurrence of the characteristic fishes of the scottish strata in the english and german beds. in like manner a geologist who explores the gaspé sandstones or the new brunswick shales has under his consideration a group of beds very dissimilar from that which he would have to study on the shores of lake erie. but here again identity of relations to the silurian below and the carboniferous above, shows the contemporaneousness of the beds, and this is confirmed by the occurrence in both series of some of the same plants and shells and fishes. it will further be observed that it is in the middle that the greatest difference occurs. sand and mud and pebble-banks were almost universal over our two great continental plateaus in the older and newer devonian. but in the middle there were in some places deeper waters with coral reefs, in others shallow flats and swamps rich in vegetation. herein we see the greater variety and richness of the devonian. had we lived in that age, we should not have seen great continents like those that now exist, but we could have roamed over lovely islands with breezy hills and dense lowland jungles, and we could have sailed over blue coral seas, glowing below with all the fanciful forms and brilliant colours of polyp life, and filled with active and beautiful fishes. especially did all these conditions culminate in the middle devonian, when what are now the continental areas of the northern hemisphere must have much resembled the present insular and oceanic regions of the south pacific. out of the rich and varied life of the devonian i may select for illustration its corals, its crustaceans, its fishes, its plants, and its insects. [illustration: fig. .--corals, fishes, and crustaceans of the devonian in the foreground are corals of the genera _favosites_, _michelina_, _phillipsatrea_, _zaphrentis_, _blothrophyllum_, and _syringopora_, and the seaweed spirephyton; also fishes of the genera _cephalaspis_ and _pterichthys_. above are _pterygotus_ and _dinichtys_, with fishes of the genera _diplacanthus_, _osteolepis_, _holoptychius_, _pteraspis_, _coccosteus_, etc. the distant land had _lepidodendra_, pines and tree-ferns.] the central limestones of the devonian may be regarded as the head-quarters of the peculiar types of coral characteristic of the palæozoic age. here they were not only vastly numerous, but present some of their grandest and also their most peculiar forms. edwards and haime, in their "monograph of british fossil corals" in , enumerate one hundred and fifty well-ascertained species, and the number has since been largely increased; i have no doubt that my friend dr. bigsby, in his forth-coming "thesaurus devonicus," will more then double it. in the devonian limestones of england, as for instance at torquay, the specimens, though abundant and well preserved as to their internal structure, are too firmly imbedded in the rock to show their external forms. in the devonian of the continent of europe much finer specimens occur; but, perhaps, in no part of the world is there so clear an exhibition of them as in the devonian limestones of the united states and canada. sir charles lyell thus expresses his admiration of the exposure of these corals, which he saw at the falls of the ohio, near louisville. he says, "although the water was not at its lowest, i saw a grand display of what may be termed an ancient coral-reef, formed by zoophytes which flourished in a sea of earlier date then the carboniferous period. the ledges of horizontal limestone, over which the water flows, belong to the devonian group, and the softer parts of the stone have decomposed and wasted away, so that the harder calcareous corals stand out in relief. many branches of these zoophytes project from their erect stems precisely as if they were living. among other species i observed large masses, not less then five feet in diameter, of _favosites gothlandica_, with its beautiful honeycomb structure well displayed. there was also the cup-shaped _cyathophyllum_, and the delicate network of _fenestella_, and that elegant and well-known european species of fossil, the chain coral, _catenipora escharoides_, with a profusion of others which it would be tedious to all but the geologist to enumerate. although hundreds of fine specimens have been detached from these rocks to enrich the museums of europe and america, another crop is constantly working its way out under the action of the stream, and of the sun and rain in the warm season when the channel is laid dry."[k] these limestones have been estimated to extend, as an almost continuous coral reef, over the enormous area of five hundred thousand square miles of the now dry and inland surface of the great american continental plateau. the limestones described by sir charles are known in the western states as the "cliff limestone." in the state of new york and in western canada the "corniferous limestone," so called from the masses of hornstone, like the flint of the english chalk, contained in it, presents still more remarkable features. the corals which it contains have been replaced by the siliceous or flinty matter in such a manner that, when the surrounding limestone weathers away, they remain projecting in relief in all the beauty of their original forms. not only so, but on the surface of the country they remain as hard siliceous stones, and may be found in ploughing the soil and in stone fences and roadside heaps, so that tons of them could often be collected over a very limited space. when only partly disengaged from the matrix, the process may be completed by immersing them in a dilute acid. the beauty of these specimens when thus prepared is very great not at all inferior to that of modern corals, which they often much resemble in general form, though differing in details of structure. one of the most common forms is that of the _favosites_, or honeycomb coral, presenting regular hexagonal cells with transverse floors or tabulæ. of these there are several species, usually flat or massive in form; but one species, _f. polymorpha_, branches out like the modern stag-horn corals. another curious form, _michelina_, looks exactly like a mass of the papery cells of the great american hornet in a petrified state, and the convex floors simulate the covers of the cells, so that it is quite common to find them called fossil wasps' nests. some of the largest belong to the genus _phillipsastrea_ or _smithia_, which hugh miller has immortalized by comparing its crowded stars, with confluent rays, to the once-popular calico pattern known as "lane's net"--a singular instance of the accidental concurrence of a natural and artificial design. another very common type is that of the conical _zaphrentis_, with a deep cut at top to lodge the body of the animal, whose radiating chambers are faithfully represented by it's delicate lamellæ. perhaps the most delicate of the whole is the _syringopora_, with its cylindrical worm-like pipes bound together by transverse processes, and which sometimes can be dissolved out in all its fragile perfection by the action of an acid on a mass of corniferous limestone filled with these corals in a silicified state. [k] "travels in north america." second series. these devonian corals, like those of the silurian, belong to the great extinct groups of tabulate and rugose corals; groups which present, on the one hand, points of resemblance to the ordinary coral animals of the modern seas, and, on the other, to those somewhat exceptional corals, the millepores, which are produced by another kind of polyp, the hydroids. some of them obviously combine properties belonging to both, as, for example, the radiating partitions with the arrangement of the parts in multiples of four, the horizontal floors, and the external solid wall; and this fact countenances the conclusion that in these old corals we have a group of high and complex organization, combining properties now divided between two great groups of animals, neither of them probably, either in their stony skeletons or the soft parts of the animal, of as high organization as their paleozoic predecessors. this sort of disintegration of composite types, or dissolution of old partnerships, seems to have been no unusual occurrence in the history of life.[l] [l] verril has suggested that the tabulata may be divided into two groups, one referable to actinoids, the other to hydroids. if the devonian witnessed the culmination of the palæozoic corals, its later stages saw the final decadence of the great dynasty of the trilobites. of these creatures there are in the devonian some large and ornate species, remarkable for their spines and tubercles; as if in this, the latter day of their dominion, they had fallen into habits of luxurious decoration unknown to their sterner predecessors, and at the same time had found it necessary to surround their now disputed privileges with new safeguards of defensive armour. not improbably the decadence of the trilobites may have been connected with the introduction of the numerous and formidable fishes of the period. but while the venerable race of the trilobites was preparing to fight its last and unsuccessful battle, another and scarcely less ancient tribe of crustaceans, the eurypterids, already strong in the silurian, was armed with new and formidable powers. the _pterygotus anglicus_, which should have been named _scoticus_, since its head-quarters are in scotland, was in point of size the greatest of known crustaceans, recent or fossil. according to mr. henry woodward, who has published an admirable description and figures of the creature in the palæontographical society's memoirs, it must have been six feet in length, and nearly two feet in breadth. its antennæ were, unlike the harmless feelers of modern crustacea, armed with powerful claws. two great eyes stood in the front of the head, and two smaller ones on the top. it had four pairs of great serrated jaws, the largest as wide as a man's hand. at the sides were a pair of powerful paddles, capable of urging it swiftly through the water as it pursued its prey; and when attacked by any predaceous fish, it could strike the water with its broad tail, terminated by a great flat "telson," and retreat backward with the rapidity of an arrow. woodward says it must have been the "shark of the devonian seas;" rather, it was the great champion of the more ancient family of the lobsters, set to arrest, if possible, the encroachments of the coming sharks. the trilobites and eurypterids constitute a hard case for the derivationists. unlike those melchisedeks, the fishes of the silurian, which are without father or mother, the devonian crustaceans may boast of their descent, but they have no descendants. no distinct link connects them with any modern crustaceans except the limuli, or horse-shoe crabs; and here the connection is most puzzling, for while there seems some intelligible resemblance between the adult eurypterids and the horse-shoe, or king-crabs, the latter, in their younger state, rather resemble trilobites, as dr. packard has recently shown. thus the two great tribes of eurypterids and trilobites have united in the small modern group of king-crabs, while on the other hand, there are points of resemblance, as already stated, between trilobites and isopods, and the king-crabs had already begun to exist, since one species is now known in the upper silurian. so puzzling are these various relationships, that one naturalist of the derivationist school has recently attempted to solve the difficulty by suggesting that the trilobites are allied to the spiders! thus nature sports with our theories, showing us in some cases, as in the corals and fishes, partnerships split up into individuals, and in others distinct lines of being converging and becoming lost in one slender thread. barrande, the great palæontologist of bohemia, has recently, in an elaborate memoir on the trilobites, traced these and other points through all their structures and their whole succession in geological time thereby elaborating a most powerful inductive argument against the theory of evolution, and concluding that, so far from the history of these creatures favouring such a theory, it seems as if expressly contrived to exclude its possibility. but, while the gigantic eurypterids and ornate trilobites of the devonian were rapidly approaching their end, a few despised little crustaceans,--represented by the _amphipeltis_ of new brunswick and _kampecaris_ of scotland,--were obscurely laying the foundation of a new line of beings, that of the stomapods, destined to culminate in the squillas and their allies, which, however different in structure, are practically the eurypterids of the modern ocean. so change the dynasties of men and animals. "thou takest away their breath, they die, they return to their dust; thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created; thou renewest the form of the earth." the reign of fishes began in the upper silurian, for in the rocks of this age, more especially in england, several species have been found. they occur, however, only in the newer beds of this formation, and are not of large size, nor very abundant. it is to be observed that, in so far as the fragments discovered can be interpreted, they indicate the existence already of two distinct types of fishes, the ganoids, or gar-fishes, protected with bony plates and scales, and the placoids, or shark-like fishes; and that in the existing world these fishes are regarded as occupying a high place in their class. further, these two groups of fishes are those which throughout a large portion of geological time continue to prevail to the exclusion of other types, the ordinary bony fishes having been introduced only in comparatively recent periods. with the devonian, however, there comes a vast increase to the finny armies; and so characteristic are these that the devonian has been called the age of fishes _par excellence_, and we must try, with the help of our illustration, to paint these old inhabitants of the waters as distinctly as we can. among the most ancient and curious of these fishes are those singular forms covered with broad plates, of which the _pteraspis_ of the upper silurian is the herald, and which are represented in the lower devonian by several distinct genera. of these, one of the most curious is the _cephalaspis_, or buckler-head, distinguished by its broad flat head, rounded in front and prolonged at the sides into two great spines, which project far beyond the sides of the comparatively slender body. this fish, it may be mentioned, is the type of a family highly characteristic of the lower devonian, as well as of the upper silurian, and all of which are provided with large plate-like cephalic coverings, sometimes with a long snout in front, and, in so far as is known, a comparatively weak body and tail. they were all probably ground-living creatures, feeding on worms and shell-fishes, and "rooting" for these in the mud, or burrowing therein for their safety. in these respects they have a most curious analogy to the trilobites, which in habits they must have greatly resembled, though belonging by their structure to an entirely different and much higher class. so close is this resemblance, that their head-shields used to be mistaken for those of trilobites. the case is one of those curious analogies which often occur in nature, and which must always be distinguished from the true affinities which rest on structural resemblances. another group of small fishes, likewise cuirassed in bony armour of plates, may be represented by the _pterichthys_, with its two strong bony fins at the sides, which may have served for swimming, but probably also for defence, and for creeping on or shovelling up the mud at the bottom of the sea. but, besides the ganoids which were armed in plated cuirasses, there were others, active and voracious, clad in shining enamelled scales, like the bony pikes of the american rivers and the _polypterus_ of the nile. some of these, like the _diplacanthus_, or "double-spine" were of small size, and chiefly remarkable for their sharp defensive bony spines. others, like _holoptychius_ (wrinkled-scale) and _osteolepis_ (bone-scale), were strongly built, and sometimes of great size. one russian species of _asterolepis_ (star-scale) is supposed to have been twenty feet in length, and furnished with strong and trenchant teeth in two rows. these great fishes afford a good reason for the spines and armour-plates of the contemporary trilobites and smaller fishes. just as man has been endeavouring to invent armour impenetrable to shot, for soldiers and for ships, and, on the other hand, shot and shells that can penetrate any armoury so nature has always presented the spectacle of the most perfect defensive apparatus matched with the most perfect weapons for destruction. in the class of fishes, no age of the world is more eminent in these respects then the devonian.[m] in addition to these fishes, there were others, represented principally by their strong bony spines, which must have been allied to some of the families of modern sharks, most of them, however, probably to that comparatively harmless tribe which, furnished with flat teeth, prey upon shell-fishes. there are other fishes difficult to place in our systems of classification; and among these an eminent example is the huge _dinichthys_ of newberry, from the hamilton group of ohio. the head of this creature is more then three feet long and eighteen inches broad, with the bones extraordinarily strong and massive. in the upper jaw, in addition to strong teeth, there were in front two huge sabre-shaped tusks or incisors, each nearly a foot long; and corresponding to these in the massive lower jaw were two closely joined conical tusks, fitting between those of the upper jaw. no other fish presents so frightful an apparatus for destruction; and if, as is probable, this was attached to a powerful body, perhaps thirty feet in length, and capable of rapid motion through the water, we cannot imagine any creature so strong or so well armed as to cope with the mighty _dinichthys_. [m] many of these were discovered and successfully displayed and described by hugh miller, and are graphically portrayed in his celebrated work on the "old red sandstone," published in . the difference between the fishes of the devonian and those of the modern seas is well marked by the fact that, while the ordinary bony fishes now amount to probably , species, and the ganoid fishes to less then thirty, the finny tribes of the devonian are predominantly ganoids, and none of the ordinary type are known. to what is this related, with reference to conditions of existence? two explanations, different yet mutually connected, may be suggested. one is that armour was especially useful in the devonian as a means of defence from the larger predaceous species, and the gigantic crustaceans of the period. that this was the case may be inferred from the conditions of existence of some modern ganoids. the common bony pike of canada (_lepidosteus_), frequenting shallow and stagnant waters, seems to be especially exposed to injury from its enemies. consequently, while it is rare to find an ordinary fish showing any traces of wounds, a large proportion of the specimens of the bony pike which i have examined have scars on their scales, indicating injuries which they have experienced, and which possibly, to fishes not so well armed, might have proved fatal. again, in the modern amia, or mud-fish, in the bony pike and _polypterus_, there is an extremely large air-bladder, amply supplied with blood-vessels, and even divided into cells or chambers, and communicating with the mouth by an "air-duct." this organ is unquestionably in function a lung, and enables the animal to dispense in some degree with the use of its gills, which of course depend for their supply of vital air on the small quantity of oxygen dissolved in the water. hence, by the power of partially breathing air, these fishes can live in stagnant and badly aerated waters, where other fishes would perish. in the case of the _amia_, the grunting noises which it utters, its habit of frequenting the muddy creeks of swamps, and its possession of gill-cleaners, correspond with this view. it is possible that the devonian fishes possessed this semi-reptilian respiration; and if so, they would be better adapted then other fishes to live in water contaminated with organic matter in a state of decay, or in waters rich in carbonic acid or deficient in oxygen. possibly the palæozoic waters, as well as the palæozoic atmosphere, were less rich in pure oxygen then those of the present world; and it is certain that, in many of the beds in which the smaller devonian fishes abound, there was so much decaying vegetable matter as to make it probable that the water was unfit for the ordinary fishes. thus, though at first sight the possession of external armour and means to respire air, in the case of these peculiar fishes, may seem to have no direct connection with each other, their obvious correlation in some modern ganoids may have had its parallel on a more extensive scale among their ancient relatives. just as the modern gar-fish, by virtue of its lungs, can live in stagnant shallows and hunt frogs, but on that account needs strong armour to defend it against the foes that assail it in such places; so in the devonian the capacity to inhabit unaërated water and defensive plates and scales may have been alike necessary, especially to the feebler tribes of fishes. we shall find that in the succeeding carboniferous period there is equally good evidence of this. we have reserved little space for the devonian plants and insects; but we may notice both in a walk through a devonian forest, in which we may include the vegetation of the several subordinate periods into which this great era was divisible. the devonian woods were probably, like those of the succeeding carboniferous period, dense and dark, composed of but few species of plants, and these somewhat monotonous in appearance, and spreading out into broad swampy jungles, encroaching on the shallow bays and estuaries. landing on one of these flats, we may first cast our eyes over a wide expanse, covered with what at a distance we might regard as reeds or rushes. but on a near approach they appear very different; rising in slender, graceful stems, they fork again and again, and their thin branches are sparsely covered with minute needle-like leaves, while the young shoots curl over in graceful tresses, and the older are covered with little oval fruits, or spore-cases; for these plants are cryptogamous, or flowerless. this singular vegetation stretches for miles along the muddy flats, and rises to a height of two or three feet from a knotted mass of cylindrical roots or root-stocks, twining like snakes through and over the soil. this plant may, according as we are influenced by its fruit or structure, be regarded as allied to the modern club-mosses or the modern pill-worts. it is _psilophyton_, in every country one of the most characteristic plants of the period, though, when imperfectly preserved, often relegated by careless and unskilled observers to the all-engulfing group of fucoids. a little further inland we see a grove of graceful trees, forking like _psilophyton_, but of grander dimensions, and with the branches covered with linear leaves, and sometimes terminated by cones. these are _lepidodendra_, gigantic club-mosses, which were developed to still greater dimensions in the coal period. near these we may see a still more curious tree, more erect in its growth, with rounded and somewhat rigid leaves and cones of different form, and with huge cable-like roots, penetrating the mud, and pitted with the marks of long rootlets. this is _cyclostigma_, a plant near to the _lepidodendron_, but distinct, and peculiar to the devonian. some of its species attain to the dimensions of considerable trees; others are small and shrubby. another small tree, somewhat like the others, but with very long shaggy leaves, and its bark curiously marked with regular diamond-shaped scars, is the _leptophleum_. all these plants are probably allied to our modern club-mosses, which are, however, also represented by some low and creeping species cleaving to the ground. a little further, and we reach a dense clump of _sigillariæ_, with tall sparsely forking stems, and ribbed with ridges holding rows of leaf-scars a group of plants which we shall have further occasion to notice in the coal formation; and here is an extensive jungle of _calamites_, gigantic and overgrown mares'-tails, allies of the modern equisetums. [illustration: fig. .--vegetation of the devonian. to the left are _calamites_; next to these, _leptophleum_; in the centre are _lepidodendron_, _sigillaria_, and a pine. below are _psilophyton_, _cordaites_, ferns, and _asterophyllites_.] amidst these trees, every open glade is filled with delicate ferns of marvellous grace and beauty; and here and there a tree-fern rears its head, crowned with its spreading and graceful leaves, and its trunk clad with a shaggy mass of aërial roots--an old botanical device, used in these ancient times, as well as now, to strengthen and protect the stems of trees not fitted for lateral expansion. beyond this mass of vegetation, and rising on the slopes of the distant hills, we see great trees that look like pines. we cannot approach them more nearly; but here on the margin of a creek we see some drift-trunks, that have doubtless been carried down by a land flood. one of them is certainly a pine, in form and structure of its wood very like those now living in the southern hemisphere; it is a _dadoxylon_. another is different, its sides rough and gnarled, and marked with huge irregular ridges; its wood loose, porous, and stringy, more like the bark of modern pines, yet having rings of growth and a true bark of its own, and sending forth large branches and roots. it is the strange and mysterious _prototaxites_, one of the wonders of the devonian land, and whose leaves and fruits would be worth their weight in gold in our museums, could we only procure them. a solitary fragment further indicates that in the yet unpenetrated solitudes of the devonian forests there may be other trees more like our ordinary familiar friends of the modern woods; but of these we know as yet but little. what inhabitants have these forests? all that we yet know are a few large insects, relatives of our modern may-flies, flitting with broad veined wings over the stagnant waters in which their worm-like larvæ dwell, and one species at least assuming one of the properties of the grasshopper tribe, and enlivening the otherwise silent groves with a cricket-like chirp, the oldest music of living things that geology as yet reveals to us; and this, not by the hearing of the sound itself, but by the poor remains of the instrument attached to a remnant of a wing from the devonian shales of new brunswick. a remarkable illustration of the abundance of certain plants in the devonian, and also of the slow and gradual accumulation of some of its beds, is furnished by layers of fossil spore-cases, or the minute sacs which contain the microscopic germs of club-mosses and similar plants. in the american forests, in spring, the yellow pollen-grains of spruces and pines sometimes drift away in such quantities in the breeze that they fall in dense showers, popularly called showers of sulphur; and this vegetable sulphur, falling in lakes and ponds, is drifted to the shore in great sheets and swathes. the same thing appears to have occurred in the devonian, not with the pollen of flowering plants, but with the similar light spores and spore-cases of species of lepidodendron and allied trees. in a bed of shale, at kettle point, lake huron, from to feet thick, not only are the surfaces of the beds dotted over with minute round spore-cases, but, on making a section for the microscope, the substance of each layer is seen to be filled with them; and still more minute bodies, probably the escaped spores, are seen to fill up their interstices. the quantity of these minute bodies is so great that the shale is combustible, and burns with much flame. a bed of this nature must have been formed in shallow and still water, on the margin of an extensive jungle or forest; and as the spore-cases are similar to those of the lepidodendra of the coal-measures, the trees were probably of this kind. year after year, as the spores became ripe, they were wafted away, and fell in vast quantities into the water, to be mixed with the fine mud there accumulating. when we come to the coal period, we shall see that such beds of spore-cases occur there also, and that they have even been supposed to be mainly instrumental in the accumulation of certain beds of coal. their importance in this respect may have been exaggerated, but the fact of their occurrence in immense quantities in certain coals and shales is indisputable. this is but a slender sketch of the devonian forests: but we shall find many of the same forms of plants in the carboniferous period which succeeds. with one thought we may close. we are prone to ask for reasons and uses for things, but sometimes we cannot be satisfied. of what use were the devonian forests? they did not, like those of the coal formation, accumulate rich beds of coal for the use of man. except possibly a few insects, we know no animals that subsisted on their produce, nor was there any rational being to admire their beauty. their use, except as helping us in these last days to complete the order of the vegetable kingdom as it has existed in geological time, is a mystery. we can but fall back on that ascription of praise to him "who liveth for ever and ever," on the part of the heavenly elders who cast down their crowns before the throne and say, "thou art worthy, lord, to receive the glory, and the honour, and the might; because thou didst create all things, and by reason of _thy will_ they are and were created." chapter vi. the carboniferous age. that age of the world's history which, from its richness in accumulations of vegetable matter destined to be converted into coal, has been named the carboniferous, is in relation to living beings the most complete and noble of the palæozoic periods. in it those varied arrangements of land and water which had been increasing in perfection in the previous periods, attained to their highest development. in it the forms of animal and plant life that had been becoming more numerous and varied from the eozoic onward, culminated. the permian which succeeded was but the decadence of the carboniferous, preparatory to the introduction of a new order of things. thus the carboniferous was to the previous periods what the modern is to the preceding tertiary and mesozoic ages the summation and completion of them all, and the embodiment of their highest excellence. if the world's history had closed with the carboniferous, a naturalist, knowing nothing further, would have been obliged to admit that it had already fulfilled all the promise of its earlier years. it is important to remember this, since we shall find ourselves entering on an entirely new scene in the mesozoic period, and since this character of the carboniferous, as well as its varied conditions and products, may excuse us for dwelling on it a little longer then on the others, on the other hand, the immense economic importance of the coal formation, and the interesting points connected with it, have made the carboniferous more familiar to general readers then most other geological periods, so that we may select points less common and well-known for illustration. popular expositions of geology are, however, generally so one-sided and so distorted by the prevalent straining after effect, that the true aspect of this age is perhaps not much better known then that of others less frequently described. let us first consider the carboniferous geography of the northern hemisphere; and in doing so we may begin with a fact concerning the preceding age. one of the most remarkable features of the newer devonian is the immense quantity of red rocks, particularly red sandstones, contained in it. red sandstones, it is true, occur in older formations, but comparatively rarely; their great head-quarters, both in europe and america, in so far as the palæozoic is concerned, are in the upper devonian. now red sandstone is an infallible mark of rapid deposition, and therefore of active physical change. if we examine the grains of sand in a red sandstone, we shall find that they are stained or coated, externally, with the peroxide of iron, or iron rust; and that this coating, with perhaps a portion of the same substance in the intervening cement, is the cause of the colour. in finer sandstones and red clays the same condition exists, though less distinctly perceptible. consequently, if red sands and clays are long abraded or scoured in water, or are subjected to any chemical agent capable of dissolving the iron, they cease to be red, and resume their natural grey or white colour. now in nature, in addition to mechanical abrasion, there is a chemical cause most potent in bleaching red rocks, namely, the presence of vegetable or animal matter in a state of decay. without entering into chemical details, we may content ourselves with the fact that organic matter decaying in contact with peroxide of iron tends to take oxygen from it, and then to dissolve it in the state of protoxide, while the oxygen set free aids the decay. carrying this fact with us, we may next affirm that iron is so plentiful in the crust of the earth that nearly all sands and clays when first produced from the weathering of rocks are stained with it, and that when this weathering takes place in the air, the iron is always in the state of peroxide. more especially does this apply to the greater number of igneous or volcanic rocks, which nearly always weather brown or red. now premising that the original condition of sediment is that of being reddened with iron, and that it may lose this by abrasion, or by the action of organic matter, it follows that when sand has been produced by decay of rocks in the air, and when it is rapidly washed into the sea and deposited there, red beds will result. for instance, in the bay of fundy, whose rapid tides cut away the red rocks of its shores and deposit their materials quickly, red mud and sand constitute the modern deposit. on the other hand, when the red band and mud are long washed about, their red matter may disappear; and when the deposition is slow and accompanied with the presence of organic matter, the red colour is not only removed, but is replaced by the dark tints due to carbon. thus, in the gulf of st. lawrence, where red rocks similar to those of the bay of fundy are being more slowly wasted, and deposited in the presence of sea-weeds and other vegetable substances, the resulting sands and clays are white and grey or blackened in colour. an intermediate condition is sometimes observed, in which red beds are stained with grey spots and lines, where sea-weeds or land-plants have rested on them. i have specimens of devonian red shale with the forms of fern leaves, the substance of which has entirely perished, traced most delicately upon them in greenish marks. it follows from these facts that extensive and thick deposits of red beds evidence sub-aërial decay of rocks, followed by comparatively rapid deposition in water, and that such red rocks will usually contain few fossils, not only because of their rapid deposition, but because the few organic fragments deposited with them will probably have been destroyed by the chemical action of the superabundant oxide of iron, which, so to speak, "iron-moulds" them, just as stains of iron eat holes out of linen. now when sir roderick murchison tells us of , feet in thickness of red iron-stained rocks in the old red sandstone of england, we can see in this the evidence of rapid aqueous deposition, going on for a very long time, and baring vast areas of former land surface. consequently we have proof of changes of level and immense and rapid denudation--a conclusion further confirmed by the apparent unconformity of different members of the series to each other in some parts of the british islands, the lower beds having been tilted up before the newer were deposited. such was the state of affairs very generally at the close of the devonian, and it appears to have been accompanied with some degree of subsidence of the land, succeeded by re-elevation at the beginning of the carboniferous, when many and perhaps large islands and chains of islands were raised out of the sea, along whose margins there were extensive volcanic eruptions, evidenced by the dykes of trap traversing the devonian, and the beds of old lava interstratified in the lower part of the carboniferous, where also the occurrence of thick beds of conglomerate or pebble-rock indicates the tempestuous action of the sea. but a careful study of the lower carboniferous beds, where their margins rest upon the islands of older rocks, shows great varieties in these old shores. in some places there were shingly beaches; in others, extensive sand-banks; in others, swampy flats clothed with vegetation, and sometimes bearing peaty beds, still preserved as small seams of coal. the bays and creeks swarmed with, fishes. a few sluggish reptiles crept along the muddy or sandy shores, and out sea-ward were great banks and reefs of coral and shells in the clear blue sea. the whole aspect of nature, taken in a general view, in the older carboniferous period, must have much resembled that at present seen among the islands of the southern hemisphere. and the plants and animals, though different, were more like those of the modern south pacific then any others now living. as the age wore on, the continents were slowly lifted out of the water, and the great continental plateaus were changed from coral seas into swampy flats or low uplands, studded in many places with shallow lakes, and penetrated with numerous creeks and sluggish streams. in the eastern continent these land surfaces prevailed extensively, more especially in the west; and in america they spread both eastward and westward from the appalachian ridge, until only a long north and south mediterranean, running parallel to the rocky mountains, remained of the former wide internal ocean. on this new and low land, comparable with the "sylvas" of the south american continent, flourished the wondrous vegetation of the coal period, and were introduced the new land animals, whose presence distinguishes the close of the palæozoic. after a vast lapse of time, in which only slow and gradual subsidence occurred, a more rapid settlement of the continental areas brought the greater part of the once fertile plains of the coal formation again under the waters; and shifting sand-banks and muddy tides engulfed and buried the remains of the old forests, and heaped on them a mass of sediment, which, like the weights of a botanical press, flattened and compressed the vegetable _débris_ preserved in the leaves of the coal formation strata. then came on that strange and terrible permian period, which, like the more modern boulder-formation, marked the death of one age and the birth of another. the succession just sketched is the normal one; but the terms in which it has been described show that it cannot be universal. there are many places in which the whole thickness of the carboniferous is filled with fossils of the land, and of estuaries and creeks. there are places, on the other hand, where the deep sea appears to have continued during the whole period. in america this is seen on the grandest scale in the absence of the marine members along the western slopes of the appalachians, and the almost exclusive prevalence of marine beds in the far west, where the great carboniferous mediterranean of america spread itself, and continued uninterruptedly into the succeeding permian period. in our survey of the carboniferous age, though there are peculiarities in the life of its older, middle, and newer divisions, we may take the great coal measures of the middle portion as the type of the land life of the period, and the great limestones of the lower portion as that of the marine life; and as the former is in this period by far the most important, we may begin with it. before doing so, however, to prevent misapprehension, it is necessary to remind the reader that the flora of the middle coal period is but one of a succession of related floras that reach from the upper silurian to the permian. the meagre flora of club-mosses and their allies in the upper silurian and lower devonian was succeeded by a comparatively rich and varied assemblage of plants in the middle devonian. the upper devonian was a period of decadence, and in the lower carboniferous we have another feeble beginning, presenting features somewhat different from those of the upper devonian. this was the time of the culm of germany, the tweedian formation of the north of england and south of scotland, and the lower coal formation of nova scotia. it was a period eminently rich in lepidodendra. it was followed by the magnificent flora of the middle coal formation, and then there was a time of decadence in the upper coal formation and only a slight revival in the permian. in the present condition of our civilization, coal is the most important product which the bowels of the earth afford to man. and though there are productive beds of coal in most of the later geological formations, down to the peats of the modern period, which are only unconsolidated coals, yet the coal of the carboniferous age is the earliest valuable coal in point of time, and by far the most important in point of quantity. mineral coal may be defined to be vegetable matter which has been buried in the strata of the earth's crust, and there subjected to certain chemical and mechanical changes. the proof of its vegetable origin will grow upon us as we proceed. the chemical changes which it has undergone are not very material. wood or bark, taken as an example of ordinary vegetable matter, consists of carbon or charcoal, with the gases hydrogen and oxygen. coal has merely parted with a portion of these ingredients in the course of a slow and imperfect putrefaction, so that it comes to have much less oxygen and considerably less hydrogen then wood, and it has been blackened by the disengagement of a quantity of free carbon. the more bituminous flaming coals have a larger amount of residual hydrogen. in the anthracite coals the process of carbonisation has proceeded further, and little remains but charcoal in a dense and compact form. in cannel coals, and in certain bituminous shales, on the contrary, the process seems to have taken place entirely under water, by which putrefaction has been modified, so that a larger proportion then usual of hydrogen has been retained. the mechanical change which the coal has experienced consists in the flattening and hardening effect of the immense pressure of thousands of feet of superincumbent rock, which has crashed together the cell-walls of the vegetable matter, and reduced what was originally a pulpy mass of cellular tissue to the condition of a hard laminated rock. to understand this, perhaps the simplest way is to compare under the microscope a transverse section of recent pine-wood with a similar section of a pine trunk compressed into brown coal or jet. in the one the tissue appears as a series of meshes with thin woody walls and comparatively wide cavities for the transmission of the sap. in the other the walls of the cells have been forced into direct contact, and in some cases have altogether lost their separate forms, and have been consolidated into a perfectly compact structureless mass. with regard to its mode of occurrence, coal is found in beds ranging in vertical thickness from less then an inch to more then thirty feet, and of wide horizontal extent. many such beds usually occur in the thickness of the coal formation, or "coal measures," as the miners call it, separated from each other by beds of sandstone and compressed clay or shale. very often the coal occurs in groups of several beds, somewhat close to each other and separated from other groups by "barren measures" of considerable thickness. in examining a bed of coal, where it is exposed in a cutting or shore cliff, we nearly always find that the bed below it, or the "underclay," as it is termed by miners, is a sort of fossil soil, filled with roots and rootlets. on this rests the coal, which, when we examine it closely, is found to consist of successive thin layers of hard coal of different qualities as to lustre and purity, and with intervening laminae of a dusty fibrous substance, like charcoal, called "mother coal" by miners, and sometimes mineral charcoal. thin partings of dark shale also occur, and these usually present marks and impressions of the stems and leaves of plants. above the coal is its "roof" of hardened clay or sandstone, and this generally holds great quantities of remains of plants, and sometimes large stumps of trees with their bark converted into coal, and the hollow once occupied with wood filled with sandstone, while their roots spread over the surface of the coal. such fossil forests of erect stumps are also found at various levels in the coal measures, resting directly on under-clays without any coals. a bed of coal would thus appear to be a fossil bog or swamp. this much being premised about the general nature of the sooty blocks which fill our coal-scuttles, we may now transport ourselves into the forests and bogs of the coal formation, and make acquaintance with this old vegetation, while it still waved its foliage in the breeze and drank in the sunshine and showers. we are in the midst of one of those great low plains formed by the elevation of the former sea bed. the sun pours down its fervent rays upon us, and the atmosphere, being loaded with vapour, and probably more rich in carbonic acid then that of the present world, the heat is as it were accumulated and kept near the surface, producing a close and stifling atmosphere like that of a tropical swamp. this damp and oppressive air is, however, most favourable to the growth of the strange and grotesque trees which tower over our heads, and to the millions of delicate ferns and club-mosses, not unlike those of our modern woods, which carpet the ground. around us for hundreds of miles spreads a dense and monotonous forest, with here and there open spaces occupied by ponds and sluggish streams, whose edges are bordered with immense savannahs of reed-like plants, springing from the wet and boggy soil. everything bespeaks a rank exuberance of vegetable growth; and if we were to dig downward into the soil, we should find a thick bed of vegetable mould evidencing the prevalence of such conditions for ages. but the time will come when this immense flat will meet with the fate which in modern times befell a large district at the mouth of the indus. quietly, or with earthquake shocks, it will sink under the waters; fishes and mollusks will swarm where trees grew, beds of sand and mud will be deposited by the water, inclosing and preserving the remains of the vegetation, and in some places surrounding and imbedding the still erect trunks of trees. many feet of such deposits may be formed, and our forest surface, with its rich bed of vegetable mould, has been covered up and is in process of transformation into coal; while in course of time the shallow waters being filled up with deposit, or a slight re-elevation occurring, a new forest exactly like the last will flourish on the same spot. such changes would be far beyond the compass of the life even of a methuselah; but had we lived in the coal period, we might have seen all stages of these processes contemporaneously in different parts of either of the great continents. but let us consider the actual forms of vegetation presented to us in the coal period, as we can restore them from the fragments preserved to us in the beds of sandstone and shale, and as we would have seen them in our imaginary excursion through the carboniferous forests. to do this we must first glance slightly at the great subdivisions of modern plants, which we may arrange in such a way as to give an easy means for comparison of the aspects of the vegetable kingdom in ancient and modern times. in doing this i shall avail myself of an extract from a previous publication of my own on this subject. "the modern flora of the earth admits of a grand twofold division into the _phænogamous_, or flowering and seed-bearing plants, and the _cryptogamous_, or flowerless and spore-bearing plants. in the former series, we have, first, those higher plants which start in life with two seed-leaves, and have stems with distinct bark, wood, and pith--the _exogens_; secondly, those similar plants which begin life with one seed-leaf only, and have no distinction of bark, wood, and pith, in the stem--the _endogens_; and, thirdly, a peculiar group starting with two or several seed-leaves, and having a stem with bark, wood, and pith, but with very imperfect flowers, and wood of much simpler structure then either of the others--the _gymnosperms_. to the first of these groups or classes belong most of the ordinary trees of temperate climates. to the second belong the palms and allied trees found in tropical climates. to the third belong the pines and cycads. in the second or cryptogamous series we have also three classes,--( .) the _acrogens_, or ferns and club-mosses, with stems having true vessels marked on the sides with cross-bars--the scalariform vessels. ( .) the _anophytes_, or mosses and their allies, with stems and leaves, but no vessels. ( .) the _thallophytes_, or lichens, fungi, sea-weeds, etc., without true stems and leaves. "in the existing climates of the earth we find these classes of plants variously distributed as to relative numbers. in some, pines predominate. in others, palms and tree-ferns form a considerable part of the forest vegetation. in others, the ordinary exogenous trees predominate, almost to the exclusion of others. in some arctic and alpine regions, mosses and lichens prevail. in the coal period we have found none of the higher exogens, though one species is known in the devonian, and only a few obscure indications of the presence of endogens; but gymnosperms abound, and are highly characteristic. on the other hand, we have no mosses or lichens, and very few algæ, but a great number of ferns and lycopodiaceæ or club-mosses. thus the coal formation period is botanically a meeting-place of the lower phænogams and the higher cryptogams, and presents many forms which, when imperfectly known, have puzzled botanists in regard to their position in one or other series. in the present world, the flora most akin to that of the coal period is that of moist and warm islands in the southern hemisphere. it is not properly a tropical flora, nor is it the flora of a cold region, but rather indicative of a moist and equable climate. in accordance with this is the fact that the equable but not warm climate of the southern hemisphere at present (which is owing principally to its small extent of land) enables sub-tropical plants to extend into high latitudes. in the coal period this uniformity was evidently still more marked, since we find similar plants extending from regions within the arctic circle to others near to the tropics. still we must bear in mind that we may often be mistaken in reasoning as to the temperature required by extinct species of plants differing from those now in existence. further, we must not assume that the climatal conditions of the northern hemisphere were in the coal period at all similar to those which now prevail. as sir charles lyell has argued, a less amount of land in the higher latitudes would greatly modify climates, and there is every reason to believe that in the coal period there was less land then now. it has been shown by tyndall that a very small additional amount of carbonic acid in the atmosphere would, by obstructing the radiation of heat from the earth, produce almost the effect of a glass roof or conservatory, extending over the whole world. there is much in the structure of the leaves of the coal plants, as well as in the vast amount of carbon which they accumulated in the form of coal, and the characteristics of the animal life of the period, to indicate, on independent grounds, that the carboniferous atmosphere differed from that of the present world in this way, or in the presence of more carbonic acid--a substance now existing in the very minute proportion of one-thousandth of the whole by weight, a quantity adapted to the present requirements of vegetable and animal life, but probably not to those of the coal period." returning from this digression to the forests of the coal period, we may first notice that which is the most conspicuous and abundant tree in the swampy levels--the sigillaria or seal-tree, so called from the stamp-like marks left by the fall of its leaves--a plant which has caused much discussion as to its affinities. some regard it as a gymnosperm, others as a cryptogam. most probably we have under this name trees allied in part to both groups, and which, when better known, may bridge over the interval between them. these trees present tall pillar-like trunks, often ribbed vertically with raised bands, and marked with rows of scars left by the fallen leaves. they are sometimes branchless, or divide at top into a few thick limbs, covered with long rigid grass-like foliage. on their branches they bear long slender spikes of fruit, and we may conjecture that quantities of nut-like seeds scattered over the ground around their trunks are their produce. if we approach one of these trees closely, more especially a young specimen not yet furrowed by age, we are amazed to observe the accurate regularity and curious forms of the leaf-scars, and the regular ribbing, so very different from that of our ordinary forest trees. if we cut into its stem, we are still further astonished at its singular structure. externally it has a firm and hard rind. within this is a great thickness of soft cellular inner bark, traversed by large bundles of tough fibres. in the centre is a core or axis of woody matter very slender in proportion to the thickness of the trunk, and still further reduced in strength by a large cellular pith. thus a great stem four or five feet in diameter is little else then a mass of cellular tissue, altogether unfit to form a mast or beam, but excellently adapted, when flattened and carbonised, to blaze upon our winter hearth as a flake of coal. the roots of these trees were perhaps more singular then their stems; spreading widely in the soft soil by regular bifurcation, they ran out in long snake-like cords, studded all over with thick cylindrical rootlets, which spread from them in every direction. they resembled in form, and probably in function, those cable-like root-stocks of the pond-lilies which run through the slime of lakes, but the structure of the rootlets was precisely that of those of some modern cycads. it was long before these singular roots were known to belong to a tree. they were supposed to be the branches of some creeping aquatic plant, and botanists objected to the idea of their being roots; but at length their connection with sigillaria was observed simultaneously by mr. binney, in lancashire, and by mr. richard brown, in cape breton, and it has been confirmed by many subsequently observed facts. this connection, when once established, further explained the reason of the almost universal occurrence of stigmaria, as these roots were called, under the coal beds; while trunks of the same plants were the most abundant fossils of their partings and roofs. the growth of successive generations of sigillariæ was, in fact, found to be the principal cause of the accumulation of a bed of coal. two species form the central figures in our illustration. [illustration: fig. .--group of carboniferous plants, restored from actual specimens. (_a_) calamites (type of _c. suckovii_). (_b_) lepidofloios, or ulodendron. (_c_) sigillaria (type of _s. reniformis_). (_d_) (type of _s. elegans_). (_e_) lepidodendron (type of _l. corrugatum_). (_f_) megaphyton (type of _m. magnificum_). (_g_) cordaites, or pychnophyllum (type of _c. borassifolia_).] along with the trees last mentioned, we observe others of a more graceful and branching form, the successors of those lepidodendra already noticed in the devonian, and which still abound in the carboniferous, and attain to larger dimensions then their older relations, though they are certainly more abundant and characteristic in the lower portions of the carboniferous. relatives, as already stated, of our modern club-mosses, now represented only by comparatively insignificant species, they constitute the culmination of that type, which thus had attained its acme very long ago, though it still continues to exist under depauperated forms. they all branched by bifurcation, sometimes into the most graceful and delicate sprays. they had narrow slender leaves, placed in close spirals on the branches. they bore their spores in scaly cones. their roots were similar to stigmaria in general appearance, though differing in details. in the coal period there were several generic forms of these plants, all attaining to the dimensions of trees. like the sigillariæ, they contributed to the materials of the coal; and one mode of this has recently attracted some attention. it is the accumulation of their spores and spore-cases already referred to in speaking of the devonian, and which was in the carboniferous so considerable as to constitute an important feature locally in some beds of coal. a similar modern accumulation of spore-cases of tree-ferns occurs in tasmania; but both in the modern and the carboniferous, such beds are exceptional; though wherever spore-cases exist as a considerable constituent of coal, from their composition they give to it a highly bituminous character, an effect, however, which is equally produced by the hard scales supporting the spores, and by the outer epidermal tissues of plants when these predominate in the coal, more especially by the thick corky outer bark of sigillaria. in short, the corky substance of bark and similar vegetable tissues, from its highly carbonaceous character, its indestructibility, and its difficult permeability by water carrying mineral matter in solution, is the best of all materials for the production of coal; and the microscope shows that of this the principal part of the coal is actually composed. in the wide, open forest glades, tree-ferns almost precisely similar to those of the modern tropics reared their leafy crowns. but among them was one peculiar type, in which the fronds were borne in pairs on opposite sides of the stem, leaving when they fell two rows of large horseshoe-shaped scars marking the sides of the trunk. botanists, who have been puzzled with these plants almost as much as with the stigmaria, have supposed these scars to be marks of branches, of cones, and even of aërial roots; but specimens in my collection prove conclusively that the stem of this genus was a great caudex made up of the bases of two rows of huge leaves cemented together probably by intervening cellular tissue. as in the devonian and in modern times, the stems of the tree-ferns of the carboniferous strengthened themselves by immense bundles of cord-like aërial roots, which look like enormous fossil brooms, and are known under the name psaronius. we have only time to glance at the vast brakes of tall calamites which fringe the sigillaria woods, and stretch far sea-ward over tidal flats. they were allied to modern mares' tails or equisetums, but were of gigantic size, and much more woody structure of stem. the calamites grew on wet mud and sand-flats, and also in swamps; and they appear to have been especially adapted to take root in and clothe and mat together soft sludgy material recently deposited or in process of deposition. when the seed or spore of a calamite had taken root, it probably produced a little low whorl of leaves surrounding one small joint, from which another and another, widening in size, arose, producing a cylindrical stem, tapering to a point below. to strengthen the unstable base, the lower joints, especially if the mud had been accumulating around the plant, shot out long roots instead of leaves, while secondary stems grew out of the sides at the surface of the soil, and in time there was a stool of calamites, with tufts of long roots stretching downwards, like an immense brush, into the mud. when calamites thus grew on inundated flats, they would, by causing the water to stagnate, promote the elevation of the surface by new deposits, so that their stems gradually became buried; but this only favoured their growth, for they continually pushed out new stems, while the old buried ones shot out bundles of roots instead of regular whorls of leaves. the calamites, growing in vast fields along the margins of the sigillaria forests, must have greatly protected these from the effects of inundations, and by collecting the mud brought down by streams in times of flood, must have done much to prevent the intrusion of earthy deposits among the vegetable matter. their chief office, therefore, as coal-producers, seems to have been to form for the sigillaria forests those reedy fringes which, when inundations took place, would exclude mud, and prevent that mixture of earthy matter in the coal which would have rendered it too impure for use. quantities of fragments of their stems can, however, be detected by the microscope in most coals. the modern mares' tails have thin-walled hollow stems, and some of the gigantic calamites of the coal resembled them in this. but others, to which the name _calamodendron_, or reed-tree, has been given, had stems with thick woody walls of a remarkable structure, which, while similar in plan to that of the mares' tails, was much more perfect in its development. professor williamson has shown that there were forms intervening between these extremes; and thus in the calamites and calamodendrons we have another example of the exaltation in ancient times of a type now of humble structure; or, in other words, of a comprehensive type, low in the modern world, but in older periods taking to itself by anticipation the properties afterward confined to higher forms. the gigantic club-mosses of the coal period constitute a similar example, and it is very curious that both of these types have been degraded in the modern world, though retaining precisely their general aspect, while the tree-ferns contemporary with them in the palæozoic still survive in all their original grandeur. barely in the swampy flats, perhaps more frequently in the uplands, grew great pines of several kinds; trees capable of doing as good service for planks and beams as many of their modern successors, but which lived before their time, and do not appear even to have aided much in the formation of coal. these pines of the coal-period seem to have closely resembled some species still living in the southern hemisphere; and, like the ferns, they present to us a vegetable type which has endured through vast periods of time almost unchanged. indeed, in the middle devonian we have pines almost as closely resembling those of the modern world as do those of the coal period. it is in accordance with this long duration of the ferns and pines, that they are plants now of world-wide distribution--suited to all climates and stations. capacity to exist under varied conditions is near akin to capacity to survive cosmical changes. a botanist in the strange and monstrous woods which we have tried to describe, would probably have found many curious things among the smaller herbaceous plants, and might have gathered several precursors of the modern exogens and endogens which have not been preserved to us as fossils, or are known only as obscure fragments. but incomplete though our picture necessarily is, and obscured by the dust of time, it may serve in some degree to render green to our eyes those truly primeval forests which treasured up for our long winter nights the palæozoic sunshine, and established for us those storehouses of heat-giving material which work our engines and propel our ships and carriages. truly they lived not in vain, both as realizing for us a type of vegetation which otherwise we could not have imagined, and as preparing the most important of all the substrata of our modern arts and manufactures. in this last regard even the vegetable waste of the old coal swamps was most precious to us, as the means of producing the clay iron ores of the coal measures. i may close this notice of the carboniferous forests with a suggestive extract from a paper by professor huxley in the _contemporary review_:-- "nature is never in a hurry, and seems to have had always before her eyes the adage, 'keep a thing long enough, and you will find a use for it.' she has kept her beds of coal for millions of years without being able to find much use for them; she has sent them down beneath the sea, and the sea-beasts could make nothing of them: she has raised them up into dry land and laid the black veins bare, and still for ages and ages there was no living thing on the face of the earth that could see any sort of value in them; and it was only the other day, so to speak, that she turned a new creature oat of her workshop, who by degrees acquired sufficient wits to make a fire, and then to discover that the black rock would burn. "i suppose that nineteen hundred years ago, when julius cæsar was good enough to deal with britain as we have dealt with new zealand, the primeval briton, blue with cold and woad, may have known that the strange black stone, of which he found lumps here and there in his wanderings, would burn, and so help to warm his body and cook his food. saxon, dane, and norman swarmed into the land. the english people grew into a powerful nation, and nature still waited for a return for the capital she had invested in the ancient club-mosses. the eighteenth century arrived, and with it james watt. the brain of that man was the spore out of which was developed the steam-engine, and all the prodigious trees and branches of modern industry which have grown out of this. but coal is as much an essential condition of this growth and development as carbonic acid is for that of a club-moss. wanting the coal, we could not have smelted the iron needed to make our engines, nor have worked our engines when we had got them. but take away the engines, and the great towns of yorkshire and lancashire vanish like a dream. manufactures give place to agriculture and pasture, and not ten men could live where now ten thousand are amply supported. "thus all this abundant wealth of money and of vivid life is nature's investment in club-mosses and the like so long ago. but what becomes of the coal which is burnt in yielding the interest? heat comes out of it, light comes out of it, and if we could gather together all that goes up the chimney and all that remains in the grate of a thoroughly-burnt coal fire, we should find ourselves in possession of a quantity of carbonic acid, water, ammonia, and mineral matters, exactly equal in weight to the coal. but these are the very matters with which nature supplied the club-moss which made the coal. she is paid back principal and interest at the same time; and she straightway invests the carbonic acid, the water, and the ammonia in new forms of life, feeding with them the plants that now live. thrifty nature! surely no prodigal, but most notable of housekeepers!" all this is true and admirably put. its one weak point is the poetical personification of nature as an efficient planner of the whole. such an imaginary goddess is a mere superstition, unknown alike to science and theology. surely it is more rational to hold that the mind which can utilize the coal and understand the manner of its formation, is itself made in the image and likeness of the supreme creative spirit, in whom we live and move and have our being, who knows the end from the beginning, whose power is the origin of natural forces, whose wisdom is the source of laws and correlations of laws, and whose great plan is apparent alike in the order of nature of the palæozoic world and of the modern world, as well as in the relation of these to each other. in the carboniferous, as in the devonian age, insects existed, and in greater numbers. the winged insects of the period, so far as known, belong to three of the nine or ten orders into which modern insects are usually divided. conspicuous among them are representatives of our well-known domestic pests the cockroaches, which thus belong geologically to a very old family. the carboniferous roaches had not the advantage of haunting our larders, but they had abundance of vegetable food in the rank forests of their time, and no doubt lived much as the numerous wild out-of-door species of this family now do. it is, however, a curious fact that a group of insects created so long ago, should prove themselves capable of the kind of domestication to which these creatures attain in our modern days; and that, had we lived even so far back as the coal period, we might have been liable to the attacks of this particular kind of pest. another group, represented by many species in the coal forests, was that of the may-flies and shad-flies, or ephemeras, which spend their earlier days under water, feeding on vegetable matter, and affording food to many fresh-water fishes--a use which they no doubt served in the coal period also. some of them were giants in their way, being probably seven inches in expanse of wing, and their larvæ must have been choice morsels to the ganoid fishes, and would have afforded abundant bait had there been anglers in those days. another group of insects was that of the weevils, a family of beetles, whose grubs must have found plenty of nuts and fruits to devour, without attracting the wrathful attentions of any gardener or orchardist. a curious and exceptional little group of creatures in the present world is that of the galley-worms or millipedes; wingless, many-jointed, and many-footed crawlers, resembling worms, but more allied to insects. these animals seem to have swarmed in the coal forests, and perhaps attained their maximum numbers and importance in this period, though they still remain, a relic of an ancient comprehensive type. i have myself found specimens referred by mr. scudder, a most competent entomologist, to two genera and five species, in a few decayed fossil stumps in nova scotia, and several others have been discovered in other parts of the world. it is not wonderful that animals like these, feeding on decayed vegetable matter, should have flourished in the luxuriant sigillaria swamps. a few species of scorpions and spiders, very like those of the modern world, have been found in the coal measures, both in europe and america; so that while we know of no enemy of the devonian insects except the fishes, we know in addition to these in the carboniferous the spiders and their allies, and the smaller reptiles or batrachians to be noticed in the sequel. with reference to the latter, it is a curious fact that one of the first fragments of a winged insect found in the coal-fields of america was a part of a head and some other remains contained in the coprolites or excrementitious matter of one of the smaller fossil reptiles. it is perhaps equally interesting that this head shows one of the compound facetted eyes as perfectly developed as those of any modern neuropter, a group of insects remarkable even in the present world for their large and complex organs of vision. we may pause here to note that, just as in the primordial we already have the trilobites presenting all the modifications of which the type is susceptible, so in the carboniferous we have in the case of the terrestrial articulates a similar fact--highly specialised forms like the beetles, the spiders, and the scorpions, already existing along with comprehensive forms like the millipedes. let us formulate the law of creation which the primordial trilobites, the devonian fishes, and the carboniferous club-mosses and insects have taught us: it is, that every new type rapidly attains its maximum of development in magnitude and variety of forms, and then remains stationary, or even retrogrades, in subsequent ages. we may connect this with other laws in the sequel. in the coal measures we also meet, for the first time in our ascending progress, the land snails so familiar now in every part of the world, and which are represented by two little species found in the coal formation of nova scotia. the figures of these must speak for themselves; but the fact of their occurrence here and the mode of their preservation require some detailed mention. the great province of the mollusks we have carried with us since we met with the lingulæ in the primordial, but all its members have been aquatic, and probably marine. for the first time, in the carboniferous period, snails emerge from the waters, and walk upon the ground and breathe air; for, like the modern land snails, these creatures no doubt had air-sacks instead of gills. they come suddenly upon us--two species at once, and these representing two distinct forms of the snail tribe, the elongated and the rounded. they were very numerous. in the beds where they occur, probably thousands of specimens, more or less perfect, could be collected. were they the first-born of land snails? it would be rash to affirm this, more especially since in all the coal-fields of the world no specimens have been found except at one locality in nova scotia;[n] and in all the succeeding beds we meet with no more till we have reached a comparatively modern time. yet it is very unlikely that these creatures were in the coal period limited to one country, and that, after that period, they dropped out of existence for long ages, and then reappeared. still it may have been so. [n] bradley has recently announced the discovery of other species in the coal-field of illinois. the two oldest land snails. [illustration: fig. .--_pupa vetusta_, dawson. (_a_) natural size, (_b_) enlarged, (_c_) apex, enlarged, (_d_) sculpture, magnified.] [illustration: fig. .--_conulus priscus_, carpenter. (_a_) specimen enlarged, (_b_) sculpture, magnified.] there are cases of geographical limitation quite as curious now. here again another peculiarity meets us. if these are really the oldest land snails, it is curious that they are so small,--so much inferior to many of their modern successors even in the same latitudes. the climate of the coal period must have suited them, and there was plenty of vegetable food, though perhaps not the richest or most tender. there is no excuse for them in their outward circumstances. why, then, unlike so many other creatures, do they enter on existence in this poor and sneaking way. we must here for their benefit modify in two ways the statement broadly made in a previous chapter, that new types come in under forms of great magnitude. first, we often have, in advance of the main inroad of a new horde of animals, a few insignificant stragglers as a sort of prelude to the rest--precursors intimating beforehand what is to follow. we shall find this to be the case with the little reptiles of the coal, and the little mammals of the trias, preceding the greater forms which subsequently set in. secondly, this seems to be more applicable in the case of land animals then in the case of those of the waters. to the waters was the fiat to bring forth living things issued. they have always kept to themselves the most gigantic forms of life; and it seems as if new forms of life entering on the land had to begin in a small way and took more time to culminate. the circumstances in which the first specimens of carboniferous snails and gally-worms were found are so peculiar and so characteristic of the coal formation, that i must pause here to notice them, and to make of them an introduction to the next group of creatures we have to consider. in the coal formation in all parts of the world it is not unusual, as stated already in a previous page, to find erect trees or stumps of trees, usually sigillariæ, standing where they grew; and where the beds are exposed in coast cliffs, or road cuttings, or mines, these fossil trees can be extracted from the matrix and examined. they usually consist of an outer cylinder of coal representing the outer bark, while the space within, once occupied by the inner bark and wood, is filled with sandstone, sometimes roughly arranged in layers, the lowest of which is usually mixed with coaly matter or mineral charcoal derived from the fallen remains of the decayed wood, a kind of deposit which affords to the fossil botanist one of the best modes of investigating the tissues of these trees. these fossil stumps are not uncommon in the roofs of the coal-seams. in some places they are known to the miners as "coal pipes," and are dreaded by them in consequence of the accidents which occur from their suddenly falling after the coal which supported them has been removed. an old friend and helper of mine in carboniferous explorations had a lively remembrance of the fact that one of these old trees, falling into the mine in which he was working, had crushed his leg and given him a limp for life; and if he had been a few inches nearer to it would have broken his back. the manner in which such trees become fossilized may be explained as follows:--imagine a forest of sigillariæ growing on a low flat. this becomes submerged by subsidence or inundation, the soil is buried under several feet of sand or mud, and the trees killed by this agency stand up as bare and lifeless trunks. the waters subside, and the trees rapidly decay, the larvæ of wood-boring insects perhaps aiding in the process, as they now do in the american woods. the dense coaly outer bark alone resists decomposition, and stands as a hollow cylinder until prostrated by the wind or by the waters of another inundation, while perhaps a second forest or jungle has sprung up on the new surface. when it falls, the part buried in the soil becomes an open hole, with a heap of shreds of wood and bark in the bottom. such a place becomes a fit retreat for gally-worms and land-snails; and reptiles pursuing such animals, or pursued by their own enemies, or heedlessly scrambling among the fallen trunks, may easily fall into such holes and remain as prisoners. i remember to have observed, when a boy, a row of post-holes dug across a pasture-field and left open for a few days, and that in almost every hole one or two toads were prisoners. this was the fate which must have often befallen the smaller reptiles of the coal forests in the natural post-holes left by the decay of the sigillariæ. yet it may be readily understood that the combination of circumstances which would effect this result must have been rare, and consequently this curious fact has been as yet observed only in the coal formation of nova scotia; and in it only in one locality, and in this in one only out of more then sixty beds in which erect trees have been found. but these hollow trees must be filled up in order to preserve their contents; and as inundation and subsequent decay have been the grave-diggers for the reptiles, so inundations filled up their graves with sand, to be subsequently hardened into sandstone, burying up at the same time the newer vegetation which had grown upon the former surface. the idea that something interesting might be found in these erect stumps, first occurred to sir c. lyell and the writer while exploring the beautiful coast cliffs of western nova scotia in ; and it was in examining the fragments scattered on the beach that we found the bones of the first carboniferous reptile discovered in america, and the shell of the oldest known land snail. these were not, however, the earliest known instances of carboniferous reptiles. in , sir william logan found footprints of a reptile at horton bluff, in nova scotia, in rocks of lower carboniferous age. in , von dechen found reptilian bones in the coal-field of saarbruck; and in the same year dr. king found reptilian footprints in the carboniferous of pennsylvania. like robinson crusoe on his desert island, we saw the footprints before we knew the animals that produced them; and the fact that there were marks on a slab of shale or sandstone that must have been made by an animal walking on feet, was as clear and startling a revelation of the advent of a new and higher form of life, as were the footprints of man friday. within the thirty years since the discovery of the first slab of footprints, the knowledge of coal formation reptiles has grown apace. i can scarcely at present sum up exactly the number of species, but may estimate it at thirty-five at least. i must, however, here crave pardon of some of my friends for the use of the word reptile. in my younger days frogs and toads and newts used to be reptiles; now we are told that they are more like fishes, and ought to be called batrachians or amphibians, whereas reptiles are a higher type, more akin to birds then to these lower and more grovelling creatures. the truth is, that the old class reptilia bridges over the space between the fishes and the birds, and it is in some degree a matter of taste whether we make a strong line at the two ends of it alone, or add another line in the middle. i object to the latter course, however, in the period of the world's history of which i am now writing, since i am sure that there were animals in those days which were batrachians in some points and true reptiles in others; while there are some of them in regard to which it is quite uncertain whether they are nearer to the one group or the other. although, therefore, naturalists, with the added light and penetration which they obtain by striding on to the mesozoic and modern periods, may despise my old-fashioned grovellers among the mire of the coal-swamps, i shall, for convenience, persist in calling them reptiles in a general way, and shall bring out whatever claims i can to justify this title for some of them at least. perhaps the most fish-like of the whole are the curious creatures from the coal measures of saarbruck, first found by yon dechen, and which constitute the genus _archegosaurus_. their large heads, short necks, supports for permanent gills, feeble limbs, and long tails for swimming, show that they were aquatic creatures presenting many points of resemblance to the ganoid fishes with which they must have associated; still they were higher then these in possessing lungs and true feet, though perhaps better adapted for swimming then even for creeping. from these creatures the other coal reptiles diverge, and ascend along two lines of progress, the one leading to gigantic crocodile-like animals provided with powerful jaws and teeth, and probably haunting the margins of the waters and preying on fishes; the other leading to small and delicate lizard-like species, with well-developed limbs, large ribs, and ornate horny scales and spines, living on land and feeding on insects and similar creatures. [illustration: fig. .--restorations of baphetes, dendrerpeton. hylonomus, and hylerpeton, with carboniferous plants in the distance.] in the first direction we have a considerable number of species found in the jarrow coal-field in ireland, and described by professor huxley. some of them were like snakes in their general form, others more like lizards. still higher stand such animals as _baphetes_ and _eosaurus_ from the nova scotia coal-field and _anthracosaurus_ from that of scotland. the style and habits of these creatures it is easy to understand, however much haggling the comparative anatomists may make over their bones. they were animals of various size, ranging from a foot to at least ten feet in length, the body generally lizard-like in form, with stout limbs and a flattened tail useful in swimming. their heads were flat, stout, and massive, with large teeth, strengthened by the insertion and convolution of plates of enamel. the fore limbs were probably larger then the hind limbs, the better to enable them to raise themselves out of the water. the belly was strengthened by bony plates and closely imbricated scales, to resist, perhaps, the attacks of fishes from beneath, and to enable them without injury to drag their heavy bodies over trunks of trees and brushwood, whether in the water or on the land. their general aspect and mode of life were therefore by no means unlike those of modern alligators; and in the vast swamps of the coal measures, full of ponds and sluggish streams swarming with fish, such creatures must have found a most suitable habitat, and probably existed in great numbers, basking on the muddy banks, surging through the waters, and filling the air with their bellowings. the most curious point about these creatures is, that while rigid anatomy regards them as allied in structure more to frogs and toads and newts then to true lizards, it is obvious to common sense that they were practically crocodiles; and even anatomy must admit that their great ribs and breastplates, and powerful teeth and limbs, indicate a respiration, circulation, and general vitality, quite as high as those of the proper reptiles. hence, it happens that very different views are stated as to their affinities; questions into which we need not now enter, satisfied with the knowledge of the general appearance and mode of life of these harbingers of the reptilian life of the succeeding geological periods. in the other direction, we find several animals of small size but better developed limbs, leading to a group of graceful little creatures, quite as perplexing with regard to affinities as those first mentioned, but tending towards the smaller lizards of the modern world. at the top of these i may place the genus _hylonomus_ from hollow fossil trees of nova scotia, of which two species are represented as restored in our illustration. in these restorations i have adhered as faithfully as possible to the proportions of parts as seen in my specimens. imagine a little animal six or seven inches long, with small short head, not so flat as those of most lizards, but with a raised fore-head, giving it an aspect of some intelligence. its general form is that of a lizard, but with the hind feet somewhat large, to aid it in leaping and standing erect, and long and flexible toes. its belly is covered with bony scales, its sides with bright and probably coloured scale armour of horny consistency, and its neck and back adorned with horny crests, tubercles, and pendants. it runs, leaps, and glides through the herbage of the coal forests, intent on the pursuit of snails and insects, its eye glancing and its bright scales shining in the sun. this is a picture of the best known species of hylonomus drawn from the life. yet the anatomist, when he examines the imperfectly-ossified joints of its backbone, and the double joint at the back of its skull, will tell you that it is after all little better then a mere newt, an ass in a lion's skin, a jackdaw with borrowed feathers, and that it has no right to have fine scales, or to be able to run on the land. it may be so; but i may plead in its behalf, that in the old coal times, when reptiles with properly-made skeletons had not been created, the next best animals may have been entitled to wear their clothes and to assume their functions as well. in short, functionally or officially, our ancient batrachians were reptiles; in point of rank, as measured by type of skeleton, they belonged to a lower grade. to this view of the case i think most naturalists will agree, and they will also admit that the progress of our views has been in this direction, since the first discovery of carboniferous air-breathing vertebrates. in evidence of this i may quote from professor huxley's description of his recently found species,[o] after noticing the prevalent views that the coal reptiles were of low organization, he says: "discoveries in the nova scotia coal-fields first shook this view, which ceased to be tenable when the great _anthracosaurus_ of the scotch coal-field was found to have well-ossified biconcave vertebrae." [o] _geological magazine_, vol. iii. the present writer may, however, be suspected of a tendency to extend forms of life backward in time, since it has fallen to his lot to be concerned in this process of stretching backward in several cases. he has named and described the oldest known animal. he has described the oldest true exogen, and the oldest known pine-tree. he was concerned in the discovery of the oldest known land snails, and found the oldest millipedes. he has just described the oldest bituminous bed composed of spore-cases, and he claims that his genus hylonomus includes the oldest animals which have a fair claim to be considered reptiles. still this discovery of old things comes rather of fortune and careful search then of a desire to innovate; and a distinction should be drawn between that kind of novelty which consists in the development of new truths, and that which consists in the invention of new fancies, or the revival of old ones. there is too much of this last at present; and it would be a more promising line of work for our younger naturalists, if they would patiently and honestly question nature, instead of trying to extort astounding revelations by throwing her on the rack of their own imaginations. we may pause here a moment to contemplate the greatness of the fact we have been studying the introduction into our world of the earliest known vertebrate animals which could open their nostrils and literally "breathe the breath of life." all previous animals that we know, except a few devonian insects, had respired in the water by means of gills or similar apparatus, now we not only have the little land snails, with their imperfect substitutes for lungs, but animals which must have been able to draw in the vital air into capacious chambered lungs, and with this power must have enjoyed a far higher and more active style of vitality; and must have possessed the faculty of uttering truly vocal sounds. what wondrous possibilities unknown to these creatures, perhaps only dimly perceived by such rational intelligences as may have watched the growth of our young world, were implied in these gifts. it is one of the remarkable points in the history of creation in genesis, that this step of the creative work is emphatically marked. of all the creatures we have noticed up to this point, it is stated that god said, "let the waters bring them forth"--but it is said that "god created" great reptiles (_tanninim_).[p] no doubt these "great tanninim" culminate in the succeeding mesozoic age, but their first introduction dates as far back as the carboniferous; and this introduction was emphatically a creation, as being the commencement of a new feature among living beings. what further differences may be implied in the formulæ, "let the waters produce" and "god created," we do not know; very probably he who wrote the words did not fully know. but if we could give a scientific expression to this difference, and specify the cases to which its terms apply, we might be able to solve one of the most vexed questions of biology. [p] not "whales," as in our version. let us observe, however, that even here, where, if anywhere, we have actual creation, especial pains are taken to bridge over the gap, and to prevent any appearance of discontinuity in the work. the ganoid fishes of the coal period very probably had, like their modern congeners, well-developed air-bladders, serving to some extent, though very imperfectly, as lungs. the humbler and more aquatic reptiles of the period retained the gills, and also some of the other features of the fishes; so that, like some modern creatures of their class, they stood, as to respiration, on two stools, and seemed unwilling altogether to commit themselves to the new mode of life in the uncongenial element of air. even the larger and more lizard-like of the coal reptiles may--though this we do not certainly know, and in some cases there are reasons for doubting it--have passed the earliest stage of their lives in the water as gilled tadpoles, in the manner of our modern frogs. thus at the very point where one of the greatest advances of animal life has its origin, we have no sudden stop, but an inclined plane; and yet, as i have elsewhere endeavoured to show by arguments which cannot be repeated here,[q] we have not a shadow of reason to conclude that, in the coal period, fishes were transmuted into reptiles. [q] "air-breathers of the coal period," p. . but the reader may be wearied with our long sojourn in the pestilential atmosphere of the coal swamps, and in the company of their low-browed and squalid inhabitants. let us turn for a little to the sea, and notice the animal life of the great coral reefs and shell beds preserved for us in the carboniferous limestone. before doing so, one point merits attention. the coal formation for the first time distinctly presents to us the now familiar differences in the inhabitants of the open sea and those of creeks, estuaries and lakes. such distinctions are unknown to us in the silurian. there all is sea. they begin to appear in the devonian, in the shallow fish-banks and the anodon-like bivalves found with fossil plants. in the coal period they become very manifest. the animals found in the shales with the coal are all, even the aquatic ones, distinct from those of the open seas of the period. some of them may have lived in salt or brackish water, but not in the open sea. they are creatures of still and shallow waters. it is true that in some coal-fields marine beds occur in the coal measures with their characteristic fossils, but these are quite distinct from the usual animal remains of the coal-fields, and mark occasional overflows of the sea, owing to subsidence of the land. it is important to notice this geographical difference, marking the greater specialisation and division of labour, if we may so speak, that was in the process of introduction. the sea of the carboniferous period presented in the main similar great groups of animals to those of the devonian, represented however by different species. we may notice merely some of the salient points of resemblance or difference. the old types of corals continue in great force; but it is their last time, for they rapidly decay in the succeeding permian and disappear. the crinoids are as numerous and beautiful as in any other period, and here for the first time we meet with the new and higher type of the sea-urchin, in large and beautiful species. one curious group, that of the _pentremites_, a sort of larval form, is known here alone. among the lamp-shells we may note, as peculiarly and abundantly carboniferous, those with one valve very convex and the other very concave and anchored in the mud by long spines instead of a peduncle attached to stones and rocks.[r] there are many beautiful shells allied to modern scallops, and not a few sea-snails of various sorts. the grand _orthoceratites_ of the silurian diminish in size preparatory to their disappearance in the permian, and the more modern type of _nautilus_ and its allies becomes prevalent. among the crustaceans we may notice the appearance of the _limulus_, or king-crab, of which the single little species described by woodward from the upper silurian may be regarded as merely a prophecy. it is curious that the carboniferous king-crabs are very small, apparently another case of a new form appearing in humble guise; but as the young of modern king-crabs haunt creeks and swampy flats, while the adults live in the sea, it may be that only the young of the carboniferous species are yet known to us, the specimens found being mostly in beds likely to be frequented by the young rather then by the full-grown individuals. [r] the productidæ. the old order of the trilobites, which has accompanied us from primordial times, here fails us, and a few depauperated species alone remain, the sole survivors of their ancient race--small, unornamented, and feeble representatives of a once numerous and influential tribe. how strange that a group of creatures so numerous and apparently so well adapted to conditions of existence which still continue in the sea, should thus die out, while the little bivalved crustaceans, which began life almost as far back and lived on the same sea-floors with the trilobites, should still abound in all our seas; and while the king-crabs, of precisely similar habits with the trilobites, should apparently begin to prosper. equally strange is the fate of the great swimming eurypterids which we saw in the devonian. they also continue, but in diminished force, in the carboniferous, and there lay down for ever their well-jointed cuirasses and formidable weapons, while a few little shrimp-like creatures, their contemporaries, form the small point of the wedge of our great tribes of squillas and crabs and lobsters. some years ago the late lamented palæontologist, salter, a man who scarcely leaves his equal in his department, in conjunction with mr. henry woodward, prepared a sort of genealogical chart of the crustacea on which these facts are exhibited. some new species have since been discovered, and a little additional light about affinities has been obtained; but taken as it stands, the history of the crustacea as there shown in one glance, has in it more teaching on the philosophy of creation then i have been able to find in many ponderous quartos of tenfold its pretensions. had salter been enabled, with the aid of other specialists like woodward, to complete similar charts of other classes of invertebrate animals, scientific palaeontology in england would have been further advanced then it is likely to be in the next ten years. to return to our trilobites: one of the most remarkable points in their history is their appearance in full force in the primordial. in these rocks we have some of the largest in size--some species of paradoxides being nearly two feet long, and some of the very smallest. we have some with the most numerous joints, others with the fewest; some with very large tails, others with very small; some with no ornamentation, others very ornate; some with large eyes, others with none that have been made out, though it is scarcely probable that they were wholly blind. they increased in numbers and variety through the silurian and devonian, and then suddenly drop off at the end of the lower carboniferous. throughout their whole term of existence they kept rigidly to that type of the mud-plough which the king-crab still retains, and which renders the anterior extremity so different from that of the ordinary crustacea. they constitute one of the few cases in which we seem to see before us the whole history of an animal type; and the more we look into that history, the more do we wonder at their inscrutable introduction, the unity and variety mingled in their progress, and their strange and apparently untimely end. i have already referred (page ) to the use which barrande makes of this as an argument against theories of evolution; but must refer to his work for the details. one word more i must say before leaving their graves. i have reason to believe that they were not only the diggers of the burrows, and of the ladder-tracks and pitted tracks[s] of the silurian and primordial, but that with the strokes of their rounded or spinous tails, the digging of their snouts, and the hoe-work of their hard upper lips, or hypostomes, they made nearly all those strange marks in the primordial mud which have been referred to fucoids, and even to higher plants. the trilobites worked over all the mud bottoms of the primordial, even in places where no remains of them occur, and the peculiarities of the markings which they left are to be explained only by a consideration of the structures of individual species. [s] _climactichnites_ and _protichnites_. i had almost lost sight of the fishes of the carboniferous period, but after saying so much of those of the devonian, it would be unfair to leave their successors altogether unnoticed. in the carboniferous we lose those broad-snouted plate-covered species that form so conspicuous a feature in the devonian; and whatever its meaning, it is surely no accident that these mud-burrowing fishes should decay along with those crustacean mud-burrowers, the trilobites. but swarms of fishes remain, confined, as in the devonian, wholly to the two orders of the gar-fishes (_ganoids_) and the sharks (_placoids_). in the former we have a multitude of small and beautiful species haunting the creeks and ponds of the coal swamps, and leaving vast quantities of their remains in the shaly and even coaly beds formed in such places. such were the pretty, graceful fishes of the genera _palæoniscus_ and _amblypterus_. pursuing and feeding on these were larger ganoids, armed with strong bony scales, and formidable conical or sharp-edged teeth. of these were _rhizodus_ and _acrolepis_. there were besides multitudes of sharks whose remains consist almost wholly of their teeth and spines, their cartilaginous skeletons having perished. one group was allied to the few species of modern sharks whose mouths are paved with flat teeth for crushing shells. these were the most abundant sharks of the carboniferous--slow and greedy monsters, haunting shell banks and coral reefs, and grinding remorselessly all the shell-fishes that came in their way. there were also sharks furnished with sharp and trenchant teeth, which must have been the foes of the smaller mailed fishes, pursuing them into creeks and muddy shallows; and if we may judge from the quantity of their remains in some of these places, sometimes perishing in their eager efforts. on the whole, the fishes of the carboniferous were, in regard to their general type, a continuation of those of the devonian, but the sharks and the scaly ganoids were relatively more numerous. they differed from our modern fishes in the absence of the ordinary horny-scaled type to which all our more common fishes belong, and in the prevalence of that style of tail which has been termed "heterocercal," in which the continuation of the backbone forms the upper lobe of the tail, a style which, if we may judge from modern examples, gives more power of upward and downward movement, and is especially suitable to fishes which search for food only at the bottom, or only above the surface of the waters. most reluctantly i must here leave one of the most remarkable periods of the world's history, and reserve to our next chapter the summation of the history of the older world of life in its concluding stage, the permian. chapter vii. the permian age and close of the palÆozoic. the immense swamps and low forest-clad plains which occupied the continental areas of the northern hemisphere, and which we now know extended also into the regions south of the equator, appear at the close of the carboniferous age to have again sunk beneath the waves, or to have relapsed into the condition of sand and gravel banks; for a great thickness of such deposits rests on the coal measures and constitutes the upper coal formation, the upper "barren measures" of the coal-miners. there is something grand in the idea of this subsidence of a world of animal and vegetable life beneath the waters. the process was very slow, so slow that at first vegetable growth and deposition of silt kept pace with it; and this is the reason of the immense series of deposits, in some places nearly , feet thick, which inclose or rest upon the coal beds; but at length it became more rapid, so that forests and their inhabitants perished, and the wild surf drifted sand and pebbles over their former abodes. so the carboniferous world, like that of noah, being overflowed with water, perished. but it was not a wicked world drowned for its sins, but merely an old and necessarily preliminary system, which had fully served its purpose; and, like the stubble of last year, must be turned under by the plough that it may make way for a new verdure. the plough passed over it, and the winter of the permian came, and then the spring of a new age. the permian and the succeeding triassic are somewhat chilly and desolate periods of the earth's history. the one is the twilight of the palæozoic day, the other is the dawn of the mesozoic. yet to the philosophical geologist no ages excel them in interest. they are times of transition, when old dynasties and races pass away and are replaced by new and vigorous successors, founding new empires and introducing new modes of life and action. three great leading points merit our attention in entering on the permian age. the first is the earth-movements of the period. the second is the resulting mineral characteristics of the deposits formed. the third is the aspect of the animal and vegetable life of this age in their relation more especially to those which preceded. [illustration: diagram of foldings of the crust in the permian period. (the vertical scale of heights and depressions exaggerated more then six times.) the lower figure shows a portion of folded strata in the appalachians--after rogers.] with respect to the first point above named, the earth's crust was subjected in the permian period to some of the grandest movements which have occurred in the whole course of geologic time, and we can fix the limits of these, in europe and america at least, with some distinctness. if we examine the permian rocks in england and germany, we shall find that everywhere they lie on the upturned edges of the preceding carboniferous beds. in other words, the latter have been thrown into a series of folds, and the tops of these folds have been more or less worn away before the permian beds were placed on them. but if we pass on to the eastward, in the great plain between the volga and the ural mountains, where, in the "ancient kingdom of perm," the greatest known area of these rocks is found, an area equal in extent to twice that of france, and which sir r. i. murchison, who first proposed the name, took as the typical district, we find, on the contrary, that the permian and carboniferous are conformable to one another. if now we cross the atlantic and inquire how the case stands in america, we shall find it precisely the same. here the great succession of earth-waves constituting the appalachian mountains rises abruptly at the eastern edge of the continent, and becomes flatter and flatter, until, in the broad plains west of the mississippi, the permian beds appear, as in russia, resting upon the carboniferous so quietly that it is not always easy to draw a line of separation between them. as dana has remarked, we find at the western side of europe and the eastern side of america, great disturbances inaugurating the permian period; and in the interior of both, in the plains between the volga and the ural in one, and between the mississippi and rocky mountains in the other, an entire absence of these disturbances. the main difference is, that in eastern america the whole carboniferous areas have apparently been so raised up that no permian was deposited on them, while in europe considerable patches of the disturbed areas became or remained submerged. another american geologist has largely illustrated the fact that the movements which threw up the appalachian folds were strongest to the eastward, and that the ridges of rock are steepest on their west sides, the force which caused them acting from the direction of the sea. it seems as if the atlantic area had wanted elbow-room, and had crushed up the edges of the continents next to it. in other words, in the lapse of the palæozoic ages the nucleus of the earth had shrunk away from its coating of rocky layers, which again collapsed into great wrinkles. such a process may seem difficult of comprehension. to understand it we must bear in mind some of its conditions. first, the amount of this wrinkling was extremely small relatively to the mass of the earth. in the diagram on page it is greatly exaggerated, yet is seen to be quite insignificant, however gigantic in comparison with microscopic weaklings like ourselves. secondly, it was probably extremely slow. beds of solid rock cannot be suddenly bent into great folds without breaking, and the abruptness of some of the folds may be seen from our figure, copied from rogers (page ), of some of the foldings of the appalachian mountains. thirdly, the older rocks below the carboniferous and the devonian must have been in a softened and plastic state, and so capable of filling up the vacancies left by the bending of the hard crust above. in evidence of this, we have in the lower permian immense volcanic ejections--lavas and other molten rocks spewed out to the surface from the softened and molten masses below. fourthly, the basin of the atlantic must have been sufficiently strong to resist the immense lateral pressure, so that the yielding was all concentrated on the weaker parts of the crust near the old fractures at the margins of the great continents. in these places also, as we have seen in previous papers, the greatest thickness of deposits had been formed; so that there was great downward pressure, and probably, also, greater softening of the lower part of the crust. fifthly, as suggested in a previous chapter, the folding of the earth's crust may have resulted from the continued shrinkage of its interior in consequence of cooling, leading after long intervals to collapse of the surface. astronomers have, however, suggested another cause. the earth bulges at the equator, and is flattened at the poles in consequence of, or in connection with, the swiftness of its rotation; but it has been shown that the rotation of the earth is being very gradually lessened by the attraction of the moon.[t] pierce has recently brought forward the idea[u] that this diminution of rotation, by causing the crust to subside in the equatorial regions and expand in the polar, might produce the movements observed; and which, according to lesley, have amounted in the whole course of geological time to about two per cent, of the diameter of our globe. we thus have two causes, either of which seems sufficient to produce the effect. [t] sir william thomson, who quotes adams and delaunay. [u] "nature," february, . viewed in this way, the great disturbances at the close of the palæozoic period constitute one of the most instructive examples in the whole history of the earth of that process of collapse to which the crust was subject after long intervals, and of which no equally great instance occurs except at the close of the laurentian and the close of the mesozoic. the mineral peculiarities of the permian are also accounted for by the above considerations. let us now notice some of these. in nearly all parts of the world the permian presents thick beds of red sandstone and conglomerate as marked ingredients. these, as we have already seen, are indications of rapid deposition accompanying changes of level. in the permian, as elsewhere, these beds are accompanied by volcanic rocks, indicating the subterranean causes of the disturbances. again, these rocks are chiefly abundant in those regions, like western europe, where the physical changes were at a maximum. another remarkable feature of the permian rocks is the occurrence of great beds of magnesian limestone, or dolomite. in england, the thick yellow magnesian limestone, the outcrop of which crosses in nearly a straight line through durham, yorkshire, and nottingham, marks the edge of a great permian sea extending far to the eastward. in the marls and sandstones of the permian period there is also much gypsum. now, chemistry shows us that magnesian limestones and gypsums are likely to be deposited where sea water, which always contains salts of magnesia, is evaporating in limited or circumscribed areas into which carbonate of lime and carbonate of soda are being carried by streams from the land or springs from below;[v] and it is also to be observed that solutions of sulphuric acid, and probably also of sulphate of magnesia, are characteristic products of igneous activity. hence we find in various geological periods magnesian limestones occurring as a deposit in limited shallow sea basins, and also in connection with volcanic breccias. now these were obviously the new permian conditions of what had once been the wide flat areas of the carboniferous period. still further, we find in europe, as characteristic of this period, beds impregnated with metallic salts, especially of copper. of this kind are very markedly the copper slates of thuringia. such beds are not, any more then magnesian limestones, limited to this age; but they are eminently characteristic of it. to produce them it is required that water should bring forth from the earth's crust large quantities of metallic salts, and that these should come into contact with vegetable matters in limited submerged areas, so that sulphates of the metals should be deoxidized into sulphides. a somewhat different chemical process, as already explained, was very active in the coal period, and was connected with the production of its iron ores; but, in the permian, profound and extensive fractures opened up the way to the deep seats of copper and other metals, to enrich the copper slate and its associated beds. it is also to be observed that the alkaline springs and waters which contain carbonate of soda, very frequently hold various metallic salts; so that where, owing to the action of such waters, magnesian limestone is being deposited, we may expect also to find various metallic ores. [v] hunt, "silliman's journal," and . let us sum up shortly this history. we have foldings of the earth's crust, causing volcanic action and producing limited and shallow sea-basins, and at the same time causing the evolution of alkaline and metalliferous springs. the union of these mechanical and chemical causes explains at once the conglomerates, the red sandstones, the trap rocks, the magnesian limestones, the gypsum, and the metalliferous beds of the permian. the same considerations explain the occurrence of similar deposits in various other ages of the earth's history; though, perhaps, in none of these were they so general over the northern hemisphere as in the permian. from the size of the stones in some of the permian conglomerates, and their scratched surfaces, it has been supposed that there were in this period, on the margins of the continents, mountains sufficiently high to have snow-clad summits, and to send down glaciers, bearing rocks and stones to the sea, on which may have floated, as now in the north atlantic, huge icebergs.[w] this would be quite in accordance with the great elevation of land which we know actually occurred; and the existence of snow-clad mountains along with volcanoes would be a union of fire and frost of which we still have examples in some parts of the earth's surface, and this in proximity to forms of vegetable life very similar to those which we know existed in the permian. [w] ramsay has ably illustrated this in the permian conglomerates of england. with the exception of a few small and worthless beds in russia, the permian is not known to contain any coal. the great swamps of the coal period had disappeared. in part they were raised up into rugged mountains. in part they were sunken into shallow sea areas. thus, while there was much dry land, there was little opportunity for coal production, or for the existence of those rank forests which had accumulated so much vegetable matter in the carboniferous age. in like manner the fauna of the permian waters is poor. according to murchison, the permian limestones of europe have afforded little more then one-third as many species of fossils as the older carboniferous. the fossils themselves also have a stunted and depauperated aspect, indicating conditions of existence unfavourable to them. this is curiously seen in contrasting davidson's beautiful illustrations of the british lamp-shells of the permian and carboniferous periods. another illustrative fact is the exceptionally small size of the fossils even in limestones of the carboniferous period when these are associated with gypsum, red sandstones, and magnesian minerals; as, for instance, those of some parts of nova scotia. in truth, the peculiar chemical conditions conducive to the production of magnesian limestones and gypsum are not favourable to animal life, though no doubt compatible with its existence. hence the rich fauna of the carboniferous seas died out in the permian, and was not renewed; and the atlantic areas of the period are unknown to us. they were, however, probably very deep and abrupt in slope, and not rich in life. this would be especially the case if they were desolated by cold ice-laden currents. during the permian period there was in each of our continental areas a somewhat extensive inland sea. that of western america was a northward extension of the gulf of mexico. that of eastern europe was a northward extension of the euxine and caspian. in both, the deposits formed were very similar--magnesian limestones, sandstones, conglomerates, marls, and gypsums. in both, these alternate in such a way as to show that there were frequent oscillations of level, producing alternately shallow and deep waters. in both, the animal remains are of similar species, in many instances even identical. but in the areas intervening between these sea basins and the atlantic the conditions were somewhat different. in europe the land was interrupted by considerable water areas, not lakes, but inland sea basins; sometimes probably connected with the open sea, sometimes isolated. in these were, deposited the magnesian limestone and its associated beds in england, and the zechstein and rotheliegende with their associates in germany. in america the case was different. in all that immense area which extends from the atlantic to the plains east of the mississippi, we know no permian rocks, unless a portion of those reckoned as upper carboniferous, or permo-carboniferous in northern nova scotia, and prince edward island, should be included in this group. if such existed, they may possibly be covered up in some places by more modern deposits, or may have been swept away by denudation in the intervening ages; but even in these cases we should expect to find some visible remains of them. their entire absence would seem to indicate that a vast, and in many parts rugged and elevated, continent represented north america in the permian period. yet if so, that great continent is an absolute blank to us. we know nothing of the animals or plants which may have lived on it, nor do we even know with certainty that it had active volcanoes, or snow-clad mountains sending down glaciers. our picture of the permian world has not been inviting, yet in many respects it was a world more like that in which we live then was any previous one. it certainly presented more of variety and grand physical features then any of the previous ages; and we might have expected that on its wide and varied continents some new and higher forms of life would have been introduced. but it seems rather to have been intended to blot out the old palæozoic life, as an arrangement which had been fully tried and served its end, preparatory to a new beginning in the succeeding age. still the permian has some life features of its own, and we must now turn to these. the first is the occurrence here, not only of the representatives of the great batrachians of the coal period, but of true reptiles, acknowledged to be such by all naturalists. the animals of the genus _protorosaurus_, found in rocks of this age both in england and germany, were highly-organised lizards, having socketed teeth like those of crocodiles, and well-developed limbs, with long tails, perhaps adapted for swimming. they have, however, biconcave vertebræ like the lizard-like animals of the coal already mentioned, which, indeed, in their general form and appearance, they must have very closely resembled. the protorosaurs were not of great size; but they must have been creatures of more stately gait then their carboniferous predecessors, and they serve to connect them with the new and greater reptiles of the next period. another interesting feature of the permian is its flora, which, in so far as known, is closely related to that of the coal period, though the species are regarded as different; some of the forms, however, being so similar as to be possibly identical. in a picture of the permian flora we should perhaps place in the foreground the tree-ferns, which seem to have been very abundant, and furnished with dense clusters of aërial roots to enable them to withstand the storms of this boisterous age. the tree-ferns, now so plentiful in the southern hemisphere, should be regarded as one of the permanent vegetable institutions of our world--those of the far-back lower devonian, and of all intervening ages up to the present day, having been very much alike. the great reed-like calamites have had a different fate. in their grander forms they make their last appearance in the permian, where they culminate in great ribbed stems, sometimes nearly a foot in diameter, and probably of immense height. the brakes of these huge mares'-tails which overspread the lower levels of the permian in europe, would have been to us what the hayfields of brobdingnag were to gulliver. the lepidodendra also swarmed, though in diminished force; but the great sigillariæ of the coal are absent, or only doubtfully present. another feature of the permian woods was the presence of many pine-trees different in aspect from those of the coal period. some of these are remarkable for their slender and delicate branches and foliage.[x] others have more dense and scaly leaves, and thick short cones.[y] both of these styles of pines are regarded as distinct, on the one hand, from those of the coal formation, and on the other from those of the succeeding trias. i have shown, however, many years ago, that in the upper coal formation of america there are branches of pine-trees very similar to walchia, and, on the other hand, the permian pines are not very remote in form and structure from some of their modern relations. the pines of the first of the above-mentioned types (walchia) may indeed be regarded as allies of the modern araucarian pines of the southern hemisphere, and of the old conifers of the carboniferous. those of the second type (ulmannia) may be referred to the same group with the magnificent sequoias or redwoods of california. [x] walchia. [y] ulmannia. it is a curious indication of the doubts which sometimes rest on fossil botany, that some of the branches of these permian pines, when imperfectly preserved, have been described as sea-weeds, while others have been regarded as club-mosses. it is true, however, that the resemblance of some of them to the latter class of plants is very great; and were there no older pines, we might be pardoned for imagining in the permian a transition from club-mosses to pines. unfortunately, however, we have pines nearly as far back in geological time as we have club-mosses; and, in so far as we know, no more like the latter then are the pines of the permian, so that this connection fails us. in all probability the permian forests are much less perfectly known to us then those of the coal period, so that we can scarcely make comparisons. it appears certain, however, that the permian plants are much more closely related to the coal plants then to those of the next succeeding epoch, and that they are not so much a transition from the one to the other as the finishing of the older period to make way for the newer. but we must reserve some space for a few remarks on the progress and termination of the palæozoic as a whole, and on the place which it occupies in the world's history. these remarks we may group around the central question, what is the meaning or value of an age or period in the history of the earth, as these terms are understood by geologists? in most geological books terms referring to time are employed very loosely. period, epoch, age, system, series, formation, and similar terms, are used or abused in a manner which only the indefiniteness of our conceptions can excuse. a great american geologist[z] has made an attempt to remedy this by attaching definite values to such words as those above mentioned. in his system the greater divisions of the history were "times:" thus the eozoic was a time and the palæozoic was a time. the larger divisions of the times are "ages:" thus the lower and upper silurian, the devonian, and the carboniferous are ages, which are equivalent in the main to what english geologists call systems of formations. ages, again, may be divided into "periods:" thus, in the upper silurian, the ludlow of england, or lower helderberg of america, would constitute a period. these periods may again be divided into "epochs," which are equivalent to what english geologists call formations, a term referring not directly to the time elapsed, but to the work done in it. now this mode of regarding geological time introduces many thoughts as to the nature of our chronology and matters relating to it. a "time" in geology is an extremely long time, and the palæozoic was perhaps the longest of the whole. by the close of the palæozoic nine-tenths of all the rocks we know in the earth's crust were formed. at least this is the case if we reckon mere thickness. for aught that we know, the eozoic time may have accumulated as much rock as the palæozoic; but leaving this out of the question, the rocks of the palæozoic are vastly thicker then those of the mesozoic and cainozoic united. thus the earth's history seems to have dragged slowly in its earlier stages, or to have become accelerated in its latter times. to place it in another point of view, life changes were greater relatively to merely physical changes in the later then in the earlier times. [z] dana. the same law seems to have obtained within the palæozoic time itself. its older periods, as the cambrian and lower silurian, present immense thicknesses of rock with little changes in life. its later periods, the carboniferous and permian, have greater life-revolution relatively to less thickness of deposits. this again was evidently related to the growing complexity and variety of geographical conditions, which went on increasing all the way up to the permian, when they attained their maximum for the palæozoic time. again, each age was signalized, over the two great continental plateaus, by a like series of elevations and depressions. we may regard the siluro-cambrian, the silurian, the devonian, the carboniferous, and permian, as each of them a distinct age. each of these began with physical disturbances and coarse shallow-water deposits. in each this was succeeded by subsidence and by a sea area tenanted by corals and shell-fishes. in each case this was followed by a re-elevation, leading to a second but slow and partial subsidence, to be followed by the great re-elevation preparatory to the next period. thus we have throughout the palæozoic a series of cycles of physical change which we may liken to gigantic pulsations of the thick hide of mother earth. the final catastrophe of the permian collapse was quite different in kind from these pulsations as well as much greater in degree. the cambrian or primordial does not apparently present a perfect cycle of this kind, perhaps because in that early period the continental plateaus were not yet definitely formed, and thus its beds are rather portions of the general oceanic deposit. in this respect it is analogous in geological relations to the chalk formation of a later age, though very different in material. the cambrian may, however, yet vindicate its claim to be regarded as a definite cycle: and the recent discoveries of hicks in north wales, have proved the existence of a rich marine fauna far down in the lower part of this system. it is also to be observed that the peculiar character of the cambrian, as an oceanic bottom rather then a continental plateau, has formed an important element in the difficulties in establishing it as a distinct group; just as a similar difficulty in the case of the chalk has led to a recent controversy about the continuance of the conditions of that period into modern times. but in each of the great successive heaves or pulsations of the palæozoic earth, there was a growing balance in favour of the land as compared with the water. in each successive movement more and more elevated land was thrown up, until the permian flexures finally fixed the forms of our continents. this may be made evident to the eye in a series of curves, as in the following diagram, in which i have endeavoured to show the recurrence of similar conditions in each of the great periods of the palæozoic, and thus their equivalency to each other as cycles of the earth's history. there is thus in these great continental changes a law of recurrence and a law of progress; but as to the efficient causes of the phenomena we have as yet little information. it seems that original fractures and shrinkages of the crust were concerned in forming the continental areas at first. once formed, unequal burdening of the earth's still plastic mass by deposits of sediment in the waters, and unequal expansion by the heating and crystallization of immense thicknesses of the sediment, may have done the rest; but the results are surprisingly regular to be produced by such causes. we shall also find that similar cycles can be observed in the geological ages which succeeded the palæozoic. geologists have hitherto for the most part been content to assign these movements to causes purely terrestrial; but it is difficult to avoid the suspicion that the succession of geological cycles must have depended on some recurring astronomical force tending to cause the weaker parts of the earth's crust alternately to rise and subside at regular intervals of time. herschel, adhémar, and more recently croll, have directed attention to astronomical cycles supposed to have important influences on the temperature of the earth. whether these or other changes may have acted on the equilibrium of its crust is a question well worthy of attention, as its solution might give us an astronomical measure of geological time. this question, however, the geologist must refer to the astronomer. [illustration: curves showing the successive elevations and depressions of the american continent, in several cycles of the palÆozoic time.] there are two notes of caution which must here be given to the reader. first, it is not intended to apply the doctrine of continental oscillations to the great oceanic areas. whether they became shallower or deeper, their conditions would be different from those which occurred in the great shallow plateaus, and these conditions are little known to us. further, throughout the palæozoic period, the oscillations do not seem to have been sufficient to reverse the positions of the oceans and continents. secondly, it is not meant to affirm that the great permian plications were so widespread in their effects as to produce a universal destruction of life. on the contrary, after they had occurred, remnants of the carboniferous fauna still flourished even on the surfaces of the continents, and possibly the inhabitants of the deep ocean were little affected by these great movements. true it is that the life of the palæozoic terminates with the permian, but not by a great and cataclysmic overthrow. we know something at least of the general laws of continental oscillations during the palæozoic. do we know anything of law in the case of life? the question raises so many and diverse considerations that it seems vain to treat it in the end of a chapter; still we must try to outline it with at least a few touches. first, then, the life of the palæozoic was remarkable, as compared with that of the present world, in presenting a great prevalence of animals and plants of synthetic types, as they are called by agassiz that is, of creatures comprehending in one the properties of several groups which were to exist as distinct in the future. such types are also sometimes called embryonic, because the young of animals and plants often show these comprehensive features. such types were the old corals, presenting points of alliance with two distinct groups now widely separated; the old trilobites, half king-crabs and half isopods; the amphibians of the coal, part fish, part newt, and part crocodile; the sigillariæ, part club-mosses and part pines; the orthoceratites, half nautili and half cuttle-fishes. i proposed, in the illustration in a former article, to give a restoration of one of the curious creatures last mentioned, the orthoceratites; but on attempting this, with the idea that, as usually supposed, they were straight nautili, it appeared that the narrow aperture, the small outer chamber, the thin outer wall, often apparently only membranous, and the large siphuncle, would scarcely admit of this; and i finished by representing it as something like a modern squid; perhaps wrongly, but it was evidently somewhere between them and the nautili. secondly, these synthetic types often belonged to the upper part of a lower group, or to the lower part of an upper group. hence in one point of view they may be regarded as of high grade, in another as of low grade, and they are often large in size or in vegetative development.[aa] from this law have arisen many controversies about the grade and classification of the palæozoic animals and plants. [aa] it seems, indeed, as if the new synthetic forms intermediate between great groups were often large in size, while the new special types came in as small species. there are some remarkable cases of this in the plant world; though here we have such examples as the pines and tree-ferns continuing almost unchanged from an early palæozoic period until now. thirdly, extinctions of species occur in every great oscillation of the continental areas, but some species reappear after such oscillations, and the same genus often recurs under new specific forms. families and orders, such as those of the trilobites and orthoceratites, appear to have a grand and gradual culmination and decadence extending over several successive periods, or even over the whole stretch of the palæozoic time. toward the close of the palæozoic, while all the species disappear, some whole families and orders are altogether dropped, and, being chiefly synthetic groups, are replaced by more specialised types, some of which, however, make small beginnings alongside of the more general types which are passing away. our diagram (page ) illustrates these points. [illustration: diagram showing the advance, culmination, and decadence of some of the leading types of palÆozoic life.] fourthly, the progress in animal life in the palæozoic related chiefly to the lower or invertebrate tribes, and to the two lower classes of the vertebrates. the oldest animal known to us is not only a creature of the simplest structure, but also a representative of that great and on the whole low type of animal life, in which the parts are arranged around a central axis, and not on that plan of bilateral symmetry which constitutes one great leading distinction of the higher animals. with the cambrian, bilateral animals abound and belong to two very distinct lines of progress--the one, the mollusks, showing the nutritive organs more fully developed--the other, the articulates, having the organs of sense and of locomotion more fully organized. these three great types shared the world among them throughout the earlier palæozoic time, and only in its later ages began to be dominated by the higher types of fishes and reptiles. in so far as we know, it remained for the mesozoic to introduce the birds and mammals. in plant life the changes were less marked, though here also there is progress--land plants appear to begin, not with the lowest forms, but with the highest types of the lower of the two great series into which the vegetable kingdom is divided. from this they rapidly rise to a full development of the lowest type of the flowering plants, the pines and their allies, and there the progress ceases; for the known representatives of the higher plants are extremely few and apparently of little importance. fifthly, in general the history tells of a continued series of alternate victories and defeats of the species that had their birth on the land and in the shallow waters, and those which were born in the ocean depths, the former spread themselves widely after every upheaval, and then by every subsidence were driven back to their mountain fastnesses. the latter perished from the continental plateaus at every upheaval, but climbed again in new hordes and reoccupied the ground after every subsidence. but just as in human history every victory or defeat urges on the progress of events, and develops the great plan of god's providence in the elevation of man; so here every succeeding change brings in new and higher actors on the stage, and the scheme of creation moves on in a grand and steady progress towards the more varied and elevated life of the modern world. but, after all, how little do we know of these laws, which are only beginning to dawn on the minds of naturalists; and which the imperfections of our classification and nomenclature, and the defects in our knowledge of fossil species, render very dim and uncertain. all that appears settled is the existence of a definite plan, working over long ages, and connected with the most remarkable correlation of physical and organic change: going on with regular march throughout the palæozoic, and then brought to a close to make room for another great succession. this following mesozoic time must next engage our attention. we may close for the present with presenting to the eye in tabular form the periods over which we have passed. the table on page , and the diagram (page ), mutually illustrate each other; and it will be seen that each age constitutes cycle, similar in its leading features to the other cycles, while each is distinguished by some important fact in relation to the introduction of living beings. in this table i have, with mr. hull,[ab] for simplicity, arranged the formations of each age under three periods--an older, middle, and newer. of these, however, the last or newest is in each case so important and varied as to merit division into two, in the manner which i have suggested in previous publications for the palæozoic rocks of north america.[ac] under each period i have endeavoured to give some characteristic example from europe and america, except where, as in the case of the coal formation, the same names are used on both continents. such a table as this, it must be observed, is only tentative, and may admit of important modifications. the laurentian more especially may admit of division into several ages; and a separate age may be found to intervene between it and the cambrian. the reader will please observe that this table refers to the changes on the continental plateaus; and that on both of these each age was introduced with shallow water and usually coarse deposits, succeeded by deeper water and finer beds, usually limestones, and these by a mixed formation returning to the shallow water and coarse deposits of the older period of the age. this last kind of deposition culminates in the great swamps of the coal formation. [ab] "quarterly journal of science," july, . [ac] "acadian geology," p. . condensed tabular view of the ages and periods of the palÆozoic and eozoic. key to symbols ### tabulate and rugose corals, abundant. *** age of algæ. === age of acrogens and gymnosperms. +++ and god said, "let the waters bring forth abundantly the swarming living creatures." --- and god created great reptiles. times. ages. periods. animals and plants. palÆozoic { {newer. red sandstones, # { rauchwacke, etc. # beginning = - {permian {middle. zechstein, or # of age = - { magnesian limestone. # of reptiles. = - { {older. conglomerates, etc., # = - { rotheliegendes. # = - { # = - { {n. coal formation. # = - {carboniferous {m. carboniferous limestone. # age of = - { {o. lower coal measures and # batrachians. = { conglomerates. # = { # = { {n. upper old red, chemung. # = {devonian {m. eifel and corniferous # = { { limestones. # age of fishes. = { or erian {o. lower old red, oriskany # = { { sandstone. # = + { # + { {n. ludlow, lower helderberg. # + {upper silurian {m. wenlock and niagara # + { { limestones. # age of + { {o. mayhill, etc., oneida # mollusks. + { { conglomerates. # + { # + { {n. caradoc, hudson r. # + {lower silurian {m. bala and trenton # + { or { limestones. # * + {siluro-cambrian {o. llandielo, etc., chazy. # * + { # * + { {n. lingula flags, etc., * + { { potsdam sandstone. * + { { {acadian, etc.? age of * + {cambrian {m. (uncertain){ crustaceans. * + { { {menevian? * + { {o. longmynd, huronian? + + eozoic + + { {n. anorthosite gneiss, etc. + {laurentian {m. eozoon limestones, etc. age of + { {o. lower gneiss. protozoa. + chapter viii. the mesozoic ages. physically, the transition from the permian to the trias is easy. in the domain of life a great gulf lies between; and the geologist whose mind is filled with the forms of the palæozoic period, on rising into the next succeeding beds, feels himself a sort of rip van winkle, who has slept a hundred years and awakes in a new world. the geography of our continents seems indeed to have changed little from the time of the permian to that next succeeding group which all geologists recognise as the beginning of the mesozoic or middle age of the world's history, the triassic period. where best developed, as in germany, it gives us the usual threefold series, conglomerates and sandstones below, a shelly limestone in the middle, and sandstones and marls above. curiously enough, the germans, recognising this tripartite character here more distinctly then in their other formations, named this the _trias_ or triple group, a name which it still retains, though as we have seen it is by no means the earliest of the triple groups of strata. in england, where the middle limestone is absent, it is a "new red sandstone," and the same name may be appropriately extended to eastern america, where bright red sandstones are a characteristic feature. in the trias, as in the permian, the continents of the northern hemisphere presented large land areas, and there were lagoons and landlocked seas in which gypsum, magnesian limestones, and rock salt were thrown down, a very eminent example of which is afforded by the great salt deposits of cheshire. there were also tremendous outbursts of igneous activity along the margins of the continents, more especially in eastern america. but with all this there was a rich land flora and a wonderful exuberance of new animal life on the land; and in places there were even swamps in which pure and valuable beds of coal, comparable with those of the old coal formation, were deposited. the triple division of the trias as a cycle of the earth's history, and its local imperfection, are well seen in the european development of the group, thus:-- german series. french series. english series. keuper, sandstone and } marnes irisées {saliferous and gypseous shale } { shales and sandstones. muschelkalk, limestone} calcaire coquillier {wanting. and dolomite } bunter, sandstone and } grès bigarré {sandstone and conglomerate } { conglomerate. the trias is succeeded by a great and complex system of formations, usually known as the jurassic, from its admirable development and exposure in the range of the jura; but which the english geologists often name the "oolitic," from the occurrence in it of beds of oolite or roe-stone. this rock, of which the beautiful cream-coloured limestone of bath is an illustration, consists of an infinity of little spheres, like seeds or the roe of a fish. under the microscope these are seen to present concentric layers, each with a radiating fibrous: structure, and often to have a minute grain of sand or fragment of shell in the centre. they are, in short, miniature concretions, produced by the aggregation of the calcareous matter around centres, by a process of molecular attraction to which fine sediments, and especially those containing much lime, are very prone. this style of limestone is very abundant in the jurassic system, but it is not confined to it. i have seen very perfect oolites in the silurian and the carboniferous. the jurassic series, as developed in england, may be divided into three triplets or cycles of beds, in the following way: {purbeck beds. upper jurassic {portland limestone. {portland sand. {kimmeridge clay, etc. middle jurassic {coral rag, limestone. {lower calcareous grit, oxford clay, etc. {cornbrash and forest marble. lower jurassic[ad] {great and inferior oolite, limestone. {lias clays and limestones. [ad] this last group is very complex, and might perhaps admit of sub division, locally at least, into subordinate cycles. these rocks occupy a large space in england, as the names above given will serve to show; and they are also largely distributed over the continent of europe and asia which had evidently three great and long-continued dips under water, indicated by the three great limestones. in america the case was different. the jurassic has not been distinctly recognised in any part of the eastern coast of that continent, which then perhaps extended farther into the atlantic then it does at present; so that no marine beds were formed on its eastern border. but in the west, along the base of the rocky mountains and also in the arctic area, there were jurassic seas of large extent, swarming with characteristic animals. at the close of the jurassic period our continents seem to have been even more extensive then at present. in england and the neighbouring parts of the continent of europe, according to lyell, the fresh-water and estuarine beds known as the wealden have been traced miles from west to east, and miles from north-west to south-east, and their thickness in one part of this area is estimated at no less then , feet. such a deposit is comparable in extent with the deltas of such great rivers as the niger or even the mississippi, and implies the existence of a continent much more extensive and more uniform in drainage then europe as it at present exists. lyell even speculates on the possible existence of an atlantic continent west of europe. america also at this time had, as already stated, attained to even more then its present extension eastwards. thus this later jurassic period was the culmination of the mesozoic, the period of its most perfect continental development, corresponding in this to the carboniferous in the palæozoic. the next or closing period of this great mesozoic time brought a wondrous change. in the cretaceous period, so called from the vast deposits of chalk by which it is characterized, the continents sunk as they had never sunk before, so that vast spaces of the great continental plateaus were brought down, for the first time since the laurentian, to the condition of abyssal depths, tenanted by such creatures as live in the deepest recesses of our modern oceans. this great depression affected europe more severely then america; the depression of the latter being not only less, but somewhat later in date. in europe, at the period of greatest submergence, the hills of scandinavia and of britain, and the urals, perhaps alone stood out of the sea. the alps and their related mountains, and even the himalayas, were not yet born, for they have on their high summits deep-sea beds of the cretaceous and even of later date. in america, the appalachians and the old laurentian ranges remained above water; but the rocky mountains and the andes were in great part submerged, and a great cretaceous sea extended from the appalachians westward to the pacific, and southward to the gulf of mexico, opening probably to the north into the arctic ocean. this great depression must have been of very long continuance, since in western europe it sufficed for the production of nearly , feet in thickness of chalk, a rock which, being composed almost entirely of microscopic shells, is, as we shall see in the sequel, necessarily of extremely slow growth. if we regard the cretaceous group as one of our great ages or cycles, it seems to be incomplete. the sandstones and clays known as the greensand and gault constitute its lower or shallow-water member. the chalk is its middle or deep-sea member, but the upper shallow-water member is missing, or only very locally and imperfectly developed. and the oldest of the succeeding tertiary deposits, which indicate much less continuous marine conditions, rest on the chalk, as if the great and deep sea of the cretaceous age had been suddenly upheaved into land. this abrupt termination of the last cycle of the mesozoic is obviously the reason of the otherwise inexplicable fact that the prevalent life of the period ceases at the top of the chalk, and is exchanged immediately and without any transition for the very different fauna of the tertiary. this further accords with the fact that the cretaceous subsidence ended in another great crumpling of the crust, like that which distinguished the permian. by this the mesozoic time was terminated and the cainozoic inaugurated; while the rocky mountains, the andes, the alps, and the himalayas, rose to importance as great mountain ranges, and the continents were again braced up to retain a condition of comparative equilibrium during that later period of the earth's chronology to which we ourselves belong. [illustration: life on land in the mesozoic period. in the foreground are a pine, cycads, and a pandanus; also small mammals, an herbivorous dinosaur, and a labyrinthodont. in the distance are other dinosaurs and crocodiles. in the air are birds (_archæopterux_) and pterodactyls. was the length of the mesozoic time equal to that of the palæozoic? measured by recurring cycles it was. in the latter period we find five great cycles, from the lower silurian to the permian inclusive. so in the mesozoic we have five also, from the trias to the cretaceous inclusive. we have a right to reckon these cycles as ages or great years of the earth; and so reckoning them, the mesozoic time may have been as long as the palæozoic. but if we take another criterion the result will be different. the thickness of the deposits in the palæozoic as compared with the mesozoic, where these are severally best developed, may be estimated as at least four or five to one; so that if we suppose the beds to have been formed with equal rapidity in the two great periods, then the older of the two was between four and five times as long as the latter, which would indeed be only a little greater then one of the separate ages of the palæozoic. either, therefore, the deposits took place with greater rapidity in the palæozoic, or that period was by much the longer of the two. this it will be observed, is only another aspect of the great laws of geological sequence referred to in our last paper. let us look into this question a little more minutely. if the several pulsations of our continents depended upon any regularly recurring astronomical or terrestrial change, then they must represent, at least approximately, equal portions of time, and this, if proved, would settle the question in favour of an equal duration of these two great eras of the earth's history. but as we cannot yet prove this, we may consider what light we can derive from the nature of the rocks produced. these may be roughly classified as of two kinds: first, the beds of sediment, sand, clay, etc., accumulated by the slow chemical decay of rocks and the mechanical agency of water. secondly, the beds formed by accumulation of the harder and less perishable parts of living beings, of which the limestones are the chief. with reference to the first of these kinds of deposit, the action of the atmosphere and rains on rocks in the earlier times might have been somewhat more powerful if there was more carbonic acid in the atmosphere, that substance being the most efficient agent in the chemical decay of rocks. it might have been somewhat more powerful if there was a greater rainfall. it must, on the other hand, have been lessened by the apparently more equable temperature which then prevailed. these differences might perhaps nearly balance one another. then the rocks of the older time were quite as intractable as those of the newer, and they were probably neither so high nor so extensive. further, the dips and emergences of the great continental plateaus were equally numerous in the two great periods, though they were probably, with the exception of the latest one of each, more complete in the older period. in so far, then, as deposition of sediment is concerned, these considerations would scarcely lead us to infer that it was more rapid in the palæozoic. but the palæozoic sediments may be estimated in the aggregate at about , feet in thickness, while those of the mesozoic scarcely reach , . we might, therefore, infer that the palæozoic period was perhaps five or six times as long as the mesozoic. if we take the second class of rocks, the limestones, and suppose these to have been accumulated by the slow growth of corals, shells, etc., in the sea, we might, at first sight, suppose that palæozoic animals would not grow or accumulate limestone faster then their mesozoic successors. we must, however, consider here the probability that the older oceans contained more lime in solution then those which now exist, and that the equable temperature and extensive submerged plateaus gave very favourable conditions for the lower animals of the sea, so that it would perhaps be fair to allow a somewhat more rapid rate of growth of limestone for the palæozoic. now the actual proportions of limestone may be roughly stated at , feet in the palæozoic, and , feet in the mesozoic, which would give a proportion of about four and a quarter to one; and as a foot of limestone may be supposed on the average to require five times as long for its formation as a foot of sediment, this would give an even greater absolute excess in favour of the palæozoic on the evidence of the limestones an excess probably far too great to be accounted for by any more favourable conditions for the secretion of carbonate of lime by marine animals. the data for such calculations are very uncertain, and three elements of additional uncertainty closely related to each other must also be noticed. the first is the unknown length of the intervals in which no deposition whatever may have been taking place over the areas open to our investigation. the second is the varying amounts in which material once deposited may have been swept away by water. the third is the amount of difference that may have resulted from the progressive change of the geographical features of our continents. these uncertainties would all tend to diminish our estimate of the relative length of the mesozoic. lastly, the changes that have taken place in living beings, though a good measure of the lapse of time, cannot be taken as a criterion here, since there is much reason to believe that more rapid changes of physical conditions act as an inducing cause of rapid changes of life. on the whole, then, taking such facts as we have, and making large deductions for the several causes tending to exaggerate our conception of palæozoic time, we can scarcely doubt that the palæozoic may have been three times as long as the mesozoic. if so, the continental pulsations, and the changes in animal and vegetable life, must have gone on with accelerated rapidity in the later period,--a conclusion to which we shall again have occasion to refer when we arrive at the consideration of the tertiary or neozoic time, and the age of man, and the probable duration of the order of things under which we live. i have given this preliminary sketch of the whole mesozoic time, because we cannot here, as in the palæozoic, take up each age separately; and now we must try to picture to ourselves the life and action of these ages. in doing so we may look at, first, the plant life of this period; second, animal life on the land; and third, animal life in the waters and in the ocean depths. the mesozoic shores were clothed with an abundant flora, which changed considerably in its form during the lapse of this long time; but yet it has a character of its own distinct from that of the previous palæozoic and the succeeding tertiary. perhaps no feature of this period is more characteristic then the great abundance of those singular plants, the cycads, which in the modern flora are placed near to the pines, but in their appearance and habit more resemble palms, and which in the modern world are chiefly found in the tropical and warm temperate zones of asia and america. no plants certainly of this order occur in the carboniferous, where their nearest allies are perhaps some of the sigillariæ; and in the modern time the cycads are not so abundant, nor do they occur at all in climates where their predecessors appear to have abounded. in the quarries of the island of portland, we have a remarkable evidence of this in beds with numerous stems of cycads still _in situ_ in the soil in which they grew, and associated with stumps of pines which seem to have flourished along with them. in further illustration of this point, i may refer to the fact that carruthers, in a recent paper, catalogues twenty-five british species belonging to eight genera--a fact which markedly characterizes the british flora of the mesozoic period. these plants will therefore occupy a prominent place in our restoration of the mesozoic landscape, and we should give especial prominence to the beautiful species _williamsonia gigas_, discovered by the eminent botanist whose name it bears, and restored in his paper on the plant in the "linnæan transactions." these plants, with pines and gigantic equisetums, prevailed greatly in the earlier mesozoic flora, but as the time wore on, various kinds of endogens, resembling the palms and the screw-pines of the tropical islands, were introduced, and toward its close some representatives of the exogens very like our ordinary trees. among these we find for the first time in our upward progress in the history of the earth, species of our familiar oaks, figs, and walnut, along with some trees now confined to australia and the cape of good hope, as the banksias and "silver-trees," and their allies. in america a large number of the genera of the modern trees are present, and even some of those now peculiar to america, as the tulip-trees and sweet-gums. these forests of the later mesozoic must therefore have been as gay with flowers and as beautiful in foliage as those of the modern world, and there is evidence that they swarmed with insect life. further, the mesozoic plants produced in some places beds of coal comparable in value and thickness to those of the old coal formation. of this kind are the coal beds of brora in sutherlandshire, those of richmond in virginia, and deep river in n. carolina, those of vancouver's island, and a large part of those of china. to the same age have been referred some at least of the coal beds of australia and india. so important are these beds in china, that had geology originated in that country, the mesozoic might have been our age of coal. if the forests of the mesozoic present a great advance over those of the palæozoic, so do the animals of the land, which now embrace all the great types of vertebrate life. some of these creatures have left strange evidence of their existence in their footprints on the sand and clay, now cemented into beds of hard rock excavated by the quarryman. if we had landed on some wide muddy mesozoic shore, we might have found it marked in all directions with animal footprints. some of these are shaped much like a human hand. the creature that made this mark was a gigantic successor of the crocodilian newts or labyrinthodonts of the carboniferous, and this type seems to have attained its maximum in this period, where one species, _labyrinthodon giganteus_, had great teeth three or four inches in length, and presenting in their cross section the most complicated foldings of enamel imaginable. but we may see on the shores still more remarkable footprints. they indicate biped and three-toed animals of gigantic size, with a stride perhaps six feet in length. were they enormous birds? if so, the birds of this age must have been giants which would dwarf even our ostriches. but as we walk along the shore we see many other impressions, some of them much smaller and different in form. some, again, very similar in other respects, have four toes; and, more wonderful still, in tracing up some of the tracks, we find that here and there the creature has put down on the ground a sort of four-fingered hand, while some of these animals seem to have trailed long tails behind them. what were these portentous creatures--bird, beast, or reptile? the answer has been given to us by their bones, as studied by yon meyer and owen, and more recently by huxley and cope. we thus have brought before us the _dinosaurs_--the terrible saurians--of the mesozoic age, the noblest of the tanninim of old. these creatures constitute numerous genera and species, some of gigantic size, others comparatively small;--some harmless browsers on plants, others terrible renders of living flesh; but all remarkable for presenting a higher type of reptile organization then any now existing, and approaching in some respects to the birds and in others to the mammalia. let us take one example of each of the principal groups. and first marches before us the _iguanodon_ or his relation _hadrosaurus_--a gigantic biped, twenty feet or more in height, with enormous legs shaped like those of an ostrich, but of elephantine thickness. it strides along, not by leaps like a kangaroo, but with slow and stately tread, occasionally resting, and supporting itself on the tripod formed by its hind limbs and a huge tail, like the inverted trunk of a tree. the upper part of its body becomes small and slender, and its head, of diminutive size and mild aspect, is furnished with teeth for munching the leaves and fruits of trees, which it can easily reach with its small fore-limbs, or hands, as it walks through the woods. the outward appearance of these creatures we do not certainly know. it is not likely that they had bony plates like crocodiles, but they may have shone resplendent in horny scale armour of varied hues. but another and more dreadful form rises before us. it is _megalosaurus_ or perhaps _lælaps_. here we have a creature of equally gigantic size and biped habits; but it is much more agile, and runs with great swiftness or advances by huge leaps, and its feet and hands are armed with strong curved claws; while its mouth has a formidable armature of sharp-edged and pointed teeth. it is a type of a group of biped bird-like lizards, the most terrible and formidable of rapacious animals that the earth has ever seen. some of these creatures, in their short deep jaws and heads, resembled the great carnivorous mammals of modern times, while all in the structure of their limbs had a strange and grotesque resemblance to the birds. nearly all naturalists regard them as reptiles; but in their circulation and respiration they must have approached to the mammalia, and their general habit of body recalls that of the kangaroos. they were no doubt oviparous; and this, with their biped habit, seems to explain the strong resemblance of their hind quarters to those of birds. had we seen the eagle-clawed lælaps rushing on his prey; throwing his huge bulk perhaps thirty feet through the air, and crushing to the earth under his gigantic talons some feebler hadrosaur, we should have shudderingly preferred the companionship of modern wolves and tigers to that of those savage and gigantic monsters of the mesozoic. we must not leave the great land-lizards of the reptilian age, without some notice of that goliath of the race which, by a singular misnomer, has received the appellation of _ceteosaurus_ or "whale-saurian." it was first introduced to naturalists by the discovery of a few enormous vertebrae in the english oolite; and as these in size and form seemed best to fit an aquatic creature, it was named in accordance with this view. but subsequent discoveries have shown that, incredible though this at first appeared, the animal had limbs fitted for walking on the land. professor phillips has been most successful in collecting and restoring the remains of ceteosaurus, and devotes to its history a long and interesting section of his "geology of oxford." the size of the animal may be estimated, from the fact that its thigh-bone is sixty-four inches long, and thick in proportion. from this and other fragments of the skeleton, we learn that this huge monster must have stood ten feet high when on all fours, and that its length, could not have been less then fifty feet; perhaps much more. from a single tooth, which has been found, it seems to have been herbivorous; and it was probably a sort of reptilian hippopotamus, living on the rich herbage by the sides of streams and marshes, and perhaps sometimes taking to the water, where the strokes of its powerful tail would enable it to move more rapidly then on the land. in structure, it seems to have been a composite creature, resembling in many points the contemporary dinosaurs; but in others, approaching to the crocodiles and the lizards. but the wonders of mesozoic reptiles are not yet exhausted. while noticing numerous crocodiles and lizard: like creatures, and several kinds of tortoises, we are startled by what seems a flight of great bats, wheeling and screaming overhead, pouncing on smaller creatures of their own kind, as hawks seize sparrows and partridges, and perhaps diving into the sea for fish. these were the pterodactyles, the reptile bats of the mesozoic. they fly by means of a membrane stretched on a monstrously enlarged little finger, while the other fingers of the fore limb are left free to be used as hands or feet. to move these wings, they had large breast-muscles like those of birds. in their general structure, they were lizards, but no doubt of far higher organization then any animals of this order now living; and in accordance with this, the interior of their skull shows that they must have had a brain comparable with that of birds, which, they rivalled in energy and intelligence. some of them were larger then the largest modern birds of prey, others were like pigeons and snipes in size. specimens in the cambridge museum indicate one species twenty feet in the expanse of its wings. cope has recently described an equally gigantic species from the mesozoic of western america, and fragments of much larger species are said to exist.[ae] imagine such a creature, a flying dragon, with vast skinny wings, its body, perhaps, covered with scales, both wings and feet armed with strong claws, and with long jaws furnished with sharp teeth. nothing can be conceived more strange and frightful. some of them had the hind limbs long, like wading birds. some had short, legs, adapted perhaps for perching. they could probably fold up their wings, and walk on all fours. their skeleton, like that of birds, was very light, yet strong; and the hollow bones have pores, which show that, as in birds, air could be introduced into them from the lungs. this proves a circulation resembling that of birds, and warm blood. indeed, in many respects, these creatures bridge over the space between the birds and the reptiles. "that they lived," says seeley, "exclusively upon land or in the air is improbable, considering the circumstances under which their remains are found. it is likely that they haunted the sea-shores; and while sometimes rowing themselves over the water with their powerful wings, used the wing membrane, as does the bat, to encloses the prey and bring it to the mouth. the large pterodactyles probably pursued a more substantial prey then dragon-flies. their teeth were well suited for fish; but probably fowl and small mammal, and even fruits, made a variety in their food. as the lord of the cliff, it may be supposed to have taken toll of all animals that could be conquered with tooth and nail. from its brain, it might be regarded as an intelligent animal. the jaws present indications of having been sheathed with a horny covering, and some species show a rugose anterior termination of the snout, suggestive of fleshy lips like those of the bat, and which may have been similarly used to stretch and clean the wing-membrane." [ae] seeley: "_ornithosauria._" here, however, perched on the trees, we see true birds. at least they have beaks, and are clothed with feathers. but they have very strange wings, the feathers all secondaries, without any large quills, and several fingers with claws at the angle of the wing, so that though less useful as wings, they served the double purpose of wing and hand. more strange still, the tail was long and flexible, like that of a lizard, with the feathers arranged in rows along its sides. if the lizards of this strange and uncertain time had wings like bats, the birds had tails and hands like lizards. this was in short the special age of reptiles, when animals of that class usurped the powers which rightfully belonged to creatures yet in their nonage, the true birds and mammals of our modern days, while the birds were compelled to assume some reptilian traits. yet, strange to say, representatives of the higher creatures destined to inherit the earth at a later date actually existed. toward the close of the mesozoic we find birds approaching to those of our own day, and almost at the beginning of the time there were small mammals, remains of which are found both in the earlier and later formations of the mesozoic, but which never seem to have thriven; at least so far as the introduction of large and important species is concerned. traversing the mesozoic woods, we might see here and there little hairy creatures, which would strike a naturalist as allies of the modern bandicoots, kangaroo rats, and myrmecobius of australia; and closer study would confirm this impression, though showing differences of detail. in their teeth, their size, and general form, and probably in their pouched or marsupial reproduction, these animals were early representatives of the smaller quadrupeds of the austral continent, creatures which are not only small but of low organisation in their class. one of these mammals, known to us only by its teeth, and well named _microlestes_, the "little thief" sneaks into existence, so to speak, in the trias of europe, while another very similar, _dromatherium_, appears in rocks of similar age in america; and this is the small beginning of the great class mammalia, destined in its quadrupedal forms to culminate in the elephants and their contemporaries in the tertiary period. who that saw them trodden under foot lay the reptile aristocracy of the mesozoic could have divined their destiny? but, notwithstanding the struggle for existence, the weakest does not always "go to the wall." the weak things of this world are often chosen to confound those that are mighty; and the little quadrupeds of the mesozoic are an allegory. they may typify the true, the good, and the hopeful, mildly and humbly asserting themselves in the world that now is, in the presence of the dragon monsters of pride and violence, which in the days to come they will overthrow. physically the mesozoic has passed away, but still exists morally in an age of evil reptiles, whose end is as certain as that of the great dinosaurs of the old world. the mesozoic mammals are among the most interesting fossils known to us. in a recent memoir by professor owen, thirty-three species are indicated--all, or nearly all, marsupial--all small--all closely allied to modern australian animals; some herbivorous, some probably carnivorous. owen informs us that these animals are not merely marsupials, but marsupials of low grade, a point in which, however, huxley differs somewhat in opinion. they are at least not lower then some that still exist, and not so low as those lowest of mammals in modern australia, the duck-billed platypus and the echidna. owen further supposes that they were possibly the first mammals, and not only the predecessors but the progenitors of the modern marsupials. if so, we have the singular fact that they not only did not improve throughout the vast mesozoic time, but that they have been in the progress of subsequent geological ages expelled out of the great eastern continent, and, with the exception of the american opossums, banished, like convicts, to australia. yet, notwithstanding their multiplied travels and long experiences, they have made little advance. it thus seems that the mesozoic mammals were, from the evolutionist point of view, a decided failure, and the work of introducing mammals had to be done over again in the tertiary; and then, as we shall find, in a very different way. if nothing more, however, the mesozoic mammals were a mute prophecy of a better time, a protest that the age of reptiles was an imperfect age, and that better things were in store for the world. moses seems to have been more hopeful of them then owen or even huxley would have been. he says that god "created" the great tanninim, the dinosaurs and their allies, but only "made" the mammals of the following creative day; so that when microlestes and his companions quietly and unnoticed presented themselves in the mesozoic, they would appear in some way to have obviated, in the case of the tertiary mammals, the necessity of a repetition of the greater intervention implied in the word "create." how that was effected none of us know; but, perhaps, we may know hereafter. chapter ix. the mesozoic ages (_continued_). the waters of the mesozoic period present features quite as remarkable as the land. in our survey of their teeming multitudes, we indeed scarcely know where to begin or whither to turn. let us look first at the higher or more noble inhabitants of the waters. and here, just as in the case of the greater animals of the land, the mesozoic was emphatically an age of reptiles. in the modern world the highest animals the sea are mammals, and these belong to three great and somewhat diverse groups. the first is that of the seals and their allies, the walruses, sea-lions, etc. the second is that of the whales and dolphins and porpoises. the third is that of the manatees, or dugongs. all these creatures breathe air, and bring forth their young alive, and nourish them with milk. yet they all live habitually or constantly in the water. between these aquatic mammals and the fishes, we have some aquatic reptiles as the turtles, and a few sea-snakes and sea-lizards, and crocodiles; but the number of these is comparatively small, and in the more temperate latitudes there are scarcely any of them. all this was different in the mesozoic. in so far as we know, there were no representatives of the seals and whales and their allies, but there were vast numbers of marine reptiles, and many of these of gigantic size. britain at present does not possess one large reptile, and no marine reptile whatever. in the mesozoic, in addition to the great dinosaurs and pterodactyls of the land, it had at least fifty or sixty species of aquatic reptiles, besides many turtles. some of these were comparable in size with our modern whales, and armed with tremendous powers of destruction. america is not relatively rich in remains of mesozoic saurians, yet while the existing fauna of the temperate parts of north america is nearly destitute of aquatic reptiles, with the exception of the turtles, it can boast, according to cope's lists, about fifty mesozoic species, many of them of gigantic size, and the number of known species is increasing every year when it is taken in connection with these statistics, that while we know all the modern species, we know but a small percentage of the fossils, the discrepancy becomes still more startling. further, from the number of specimens and fragments found, it is obvious that these great aquatic saurians were by no means rare; and that some of the species at least must have been very abundant. could we have taken our post on the mesozoic shore, or sailed over its waters, we should have found ourselves in the midst of swarms of these strange, often hideous, and always grotesque creatures. let us consider for a little some of the more conspicuous forms, referring to our illustration for their portraits. every text-book figures the well-known types of the genera _ichthyosaurus_ and _plesiosaurus_; we need scarcely, therefore, dwell on them, except to state that the catalogues of british fossils include eleven species of the former genus and eighteen of the latter, we may, however, notice some of the less familiar points of comparison of the two genera. both were aquatic, and probably marine. both swam by means of paddles; both were carnivorous, and probably fed principally upon fishes; both were proper reptiles, and breathed air, and had large and capacious lungs. yet with these points in common, no two animals could have been more different in detail. the ichthyosaurus had an enormous head, with powerful jaws, furnished with numerous and strong teeth. its great eyes, strengthened by a circle of bony plates, exceeded in dimensions, and probably in power of vision under water, those of any other animal, recent or fossil. its neck was short, its trunk massive, with paddles or swimming limbs of comparatively small size, and a long tail, probably furnished with a caudal fin or paddle for propulsion through the water. the plesiosaur, on the other hand, had a small and delicate head, with slender teeth and small eyes. its neck, of great length and with numerous joints, resembled the body of a serpent. its trunk, short, compact, and inflexible, was furnished with large and strong paddles, and its tail was too short to be of any service except for steering. compared with the ichthyosaur, it was what the giraffe is to the rhinoceros, or the swan to the porpoise. two fishermen so variously and differently fitted for their work it would be difficult to imagine. but these differences were obviously related to corresponding differences in food and habit. the ichthyosaur was fitted to struggle with the waves of the stormy sea, to roll therein like modern whales and grampuses, to seize and devour great fishes, and to dive for them into the depths; and its great armour-plated eyes must have been well adapted for vision in the deeper waters. the plesiosaur, on the contrary, was fitted for comparatively still and shallow waters; swimming near the surface with its graceful neck curving aloft, it could dart at the smaller fishes on the surface, or stretch its long neck downward in search of those near the bottom. the ichthyosaurs rolled like porpoises in the surf of the liassic coral reefs and the waves beyond; the plesiosaurs careered gracefully in the quiet waters within. both had their beginning at the same time in the earlier mesozoic, and both found a common and final grave in its later sediments. some of the species were of very moderate size, but there were ichthyosaurs twenty five feet long, and plesiosaurs at least eighteen feet in length. another strange and monstrous group of creatures, the elasmosaurs and their allies, combined the long neck of plesiosaurs with the swimming tail of ichthyosaurs, the latter enormously elongated, so that these creatures were sometimes fifty feet in length, and whale-like in the dimensions of their bodies. it is curious that these composite creatures belong to a later period of the mesozoic then the typical ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs, as if the characters at one time separated in these genera had united in their successors. one of the relatives of the plesiosaurs, the pliosaur, of which genus several species of great size are known perhaps realized in the highest degree possible the idea of a huge marine predaceous reptile. the head in some of the species was eight feet in length, armed with conical teeth a foot long. the neck was not only long, but massive and powerful, the paddles, four in number, were six or seven feet in length and must have urged the vast bulk of the animal, perhaps forty feet in extent, through the water with prodigious speed. the capacious chest and great ribs show a powerful heart and lungs. imagine such a creature raising its huge head twelve feet or more out of water, and rushing after its prey, impelled with perhaps the most powerful oars ever possessed by any animal. we may be thankful that such monsters, more terrible then even the fabled sea-serpent, are unknown in our days. buckland, i think, at one time indulged in the _jeu d'esprit_ of supposing an ichthyosaur lecturing on the human skull. "you will at once perceive," said the lecturer, "that the skull before us belonged to one of the lower orders of animals. the teeth are very insignificant, the power of the jaws trifling, and altogether it seems wonderful how the creature could have procured food." we cannot retort on the ichthyosaur and his contemporaries, for we can see that they were admirably fitted for the work they had in hand; but we can see that had man been so unfortunate as to have lived in their days, he might have been anything but the lord of creation. but there were sea-serpents as well as other monsters in the mesozoic seas. many years ago the lower cretaceous beds of st. peter's mount, near maestricht, afforded a skull three feet in length, of massive proportions, and furnished with strong conical teeth, to which the name _mosasaurus camperi_ was given. the skull and other parts of the skeleton found with it, were held to indicate a large aquatic reptile, but its precise position in its class was long a subject of dispute. faujas held it to be a crocodile; camper, cuvier, and owen regarded it as a gigantic lizard. more recently, additional specimens, especially those found in the cretaceous formations of north america, have thrown new light upon its structure, and have shown it to present a singular combination of the character of serpents, lizards, and of the great sea saurians already referred to. some parts of the head and the articulation of the jaws, in important points resemble those of serpents, while in other respects the head is that of a gigantic lizard. the body and tail are greatly lengthened out, having more then a hundred vertebral joints, and in one of the larger species attaining the length of eighty feet. the trunk itself is much elongated, and with ribs like those of a snake. there are no walking feet, but a pair of fins or paddles like those of ichthyosaurus. cope, who has described these great creatures as they occur in the cretaceous of the united states, thus sketches the mosasaur: "it was a long and slender reptile, with a pair of powerful paddles in front, a moderately long neck, and flat pointed head. the very long tail was flat and deep, like that of a great eel, forming a powerful propeller. the arches of the vertebral column were more extensively interlocked then in any other reptiles except the snakes. in the related genus _clidastes_ this structure is as fully developed as in the serpents, so that we can picture to ourselves its well-known consequences; their rapid progress through the water by lateral undulations, their lithe motions on the land, the rapid stroke, the ready coil, or the elevation of the head and vertebral column, literally a living pillar, towering above the waves or the thickets of the shore swamps." as in serpents, the mouth was wide in its gape, and the lower jaw capable of a certain separation from the skull to admit of swallowing large prey. besides this the lower jaw had an additional peculiarity, seen in some snakes, namely, a joint in the middle of the jaw enabling its sides to expand, so that the food might be swallowed "between the branches of the jaw." perhaps no creatures more fully realize in their enormous length and terrible powers the great tanninim (the stretched-out or extended reptiles) of the fifth day of the mosaic record, then the mosasaurus and elasmosaurus. when mr. cope showed me, a few years ago, a nearly complete skeleton of elasmosaurus, which for want of space he had stretched on a gallery along two sides of a large room, i could not help suggesting to him that the name of the creature should be _teinosaurus_[af] instead of that which he had given. marsh has recently ascertained that the mosasaurs were covered in part at least with bony scales. [af] heb. _tanan_; gr. _teino_, _tanuo_; sansc. _tanu_; lat. _tendo_.--ges. lex. [illustration: life in the mesozoic period. aquatic reptiles and cephalopods. _reptiles._--plesiosaur and osteopygis, ichthyosaur, teliosaur, plesiosaur, elasmosaur, mosasaur (in order of the heads from left to right).--_cephalopods._--ammonite, crioceras, belemnites, baculites, and ammonites (in order from left to right). the reptiles after hawkins and cope's restorations.] these animals may serve as specimens of the reptilian giants of the mesozoic seas; but before leaving them we must at least invite attention to the remarkable fact that they were contemporary with species which represent the more common aquatic reptiles of the modern world. in other words, the monsters which we have described existed over and above a far more abundant population of crocodiles and turtles then the modern waters can boast. the crocodiles were represented both in europe and america by numerous and large species, most of them with long snouts like the modern gavials, a few with broad heads like those of the alligators. the turtles again presented not only many species, but most of the aquatic subdivisions of the group known in modern times, as for instance the emydes or ordinary fresh-water forms, the snapping turtles, and the soft-shelled turtles. cope says that the cretaceous of new jersey alone affords twenty species, one of them a snapping turtle six feet in length. owen records above a dozen large species from the upper mesozoic of england, and dates the first appearance of the turtles in england about the time of the portland stone, or in the upper half of the mesozoic; but footprints supposed to be those of turtles are found as far back as the trias. perhaps no type of modern reptiles is more curiously specialized then these animals, yet we thus find them contemporaneous with many generalized types, and entering into existence perhaps as soon as they. the turtles did not culminate in the mesozoic, but go on to be represented by more numerous and larger species in the tertiary and modern. in the case of the crocodiles, while they attained perhaps a maximum toward the end of the mesozoic, it was in a peculiar form. the crocodiles of this old time had vertebrae with a hollow at each end like the fishes, or with a projection in the front. at the end of the mesozoic this was changed, and they assumed a better-knit back, with joints having a ball behind and a socket in front. in the cretaceous age, species having these two kinds of backbone were contemporaneous. perhaps this improvement in the crocodilian back had something to do with the persistence of this type after so many others of the sea-lizards of the mesozoic had passed away. of the fishes of the mesozoic we need only say that they were very abundant, and consisted of sharks and ganoids of various types, until near the close of the period, when the ordinary horny-scaled fishes, such as abound in our present seas, appear to have been introduced. one curious point of difference is that the unequally lobed tail of the palæozoic fishes is dropped in the case of the greater part of the ganoids, and replaced by the squarely-cut tail prevalent in modern times. in the sub-kingdom of the mollusca many important revolutions occurred. among the lamp-shells a little _leptaena_, no bigger then a pea, is the last and depauperated representative of a great palæozoic family. another, that of the spirifers, still shows a few species in the lower mesozoic. others, like rhynchonella, and terebratula, continue through the period, and extend into the modern. passing over the ordinary bivalves and sea-snails, which in the main conform to those of our own time, we find perhaps the most wonderful changes among the relatives of the cuttle-fishes and nautili. as far back as the silurian we find the giant orthoceratites contemporary with nautili, very like those of the present ocean. with the close of the palæozoic, however, the orthoceratites and their allies disappear, while the nautili continue, and are reinforced by multitudes of new forms of spiral chambered shells, some of them more wonderful and beautiful then any of those which either preceded or followed them. supreme among these is the great group of the _ammonites_,--beautifully spiral shells, thin and pearly like the nautilus, and chambered like it, so as to serve as a float, but far more elaborately constructed, inasmuch as the chambers were not simply curved, but crimped and convoluted, so as to give the outer wall much more effectual support. this outer wall, too, was worked into ornamental ribs and bands, which not only gave it exquisite beauty, but contributed to combine strength to resist pressure with the lightness necessary to a float. in some of these points it is true the gyroceras and goniatites of the palæozoic partially anticipated them, but much less perfectly. the animals which inhabited these shells must have been similar to that of nautilus, but somewhat different in the proportion of parts. they must have had the same power of rising and sinking in the water, but the mechanical construction of their shells was so much more perfect relatively to this end, that they were probably more active and locomotive then the nautili. they must have swarmed in the mesozoic seas, some beds of limestone and shale being filled with them; and as many as eight hundred species of this family are believed to be known, including, however, such forms as the _baculites_ or straight ammonites, bearing to them perhaps a relation similar to that of orthoceras to nautilus. further, some of the ammonites are of gigantic size, one species being three feet in diameter, while others are very minute. the whole family of ammonitids, which begins to be in force in the trias, disappears at the end of the mesozoic, so that this may be called the special age of ammonites as well as of reptiles. further, this time was likewise distinguished by the introduction of true cuttle-fishes, the most remarkable of which were those furnished with the internal supports or "bones," known as _belemnites_, from a fancied resemblance to javelins or thunder-bolts, a comparison at least as baseless as that often made in england of the ammonites to fossil snakes. the shell of the belemnite is a most curious structure. its usual general shape is a pointed cylinder or elongated cone. at top it has a deep cavity for the reception of certain of the viscera of the animal. below this is a conical series of chambers, the phragmacone; and the lower half of the shell is composed of a solid shelly mass or guard, which, in its structure of radiating fibres and concentric layers, resembles a stalactite, or a petrified piece of exogenous wood. this structure was an internal shell or support like those of the modern cuttle-fishes; but it is difficult to account for its peculiarities, so much more complex then in any existing species. the most rational supposition seems to be that it was intended to serve the triple purpose of a support, a float, and a sinker. unlike the shell of a nautilus, if thrown into the water it would no doubt have, sunk, and with the pointed end first. consequently, it was not a float simply, but a float and sinker combined, and its effect must have been to keep the animal at the bottom, with its head upward. the belemnite was therefore an exceptional cuttle-fish, intended to stand erect on the sea-bottom and probably to dart upward in search of its prey; for the suckers and hooks with which its arms were furnished show that, like other cuttle-fishes, it was carnivorous and predaceous. the guard may have been less ponderous when recent then in the fossil specimens, and in some species it was of small size or slender, and in others it was hollow. possibly, also, the soft tissues of the animal were not dense, and it may have had swimming fins at the sides. in any case they must have been active creatures, and no doubt could dart backward by expelling water from their gill chamber, while we know that they had ink-bags, provided with that wonderfully divided pigment, inimitable by art, with which the modern sepia darkens the water to shelter itself from its enemies. the belemnites must have swarmed in the mesozoic seas; and as squids and cuttles now afford choice morsels to the larger fishes, so did the belemnites in their day. there is evidence that even the great sea-lizards did not disdain to feed on them. we can imagine a great shoal of these creatures darting up and down, seizing with their ten hooked arms their finny or crustacean prey. in an instant a great fish or saurian darts down among them; they blacken the water with a thick cloud of inky secretion and disperse on all sides, while their enemy, blindly seizing a few mouthfuls, returns sullenly to the surface. a great number of species of belemnites and allied animals have been described; but it is probable that in naming them too little regard has been paid to distinctions of age and sex. the belemnites were for the most part small creatures; but there is evidence that there existed with them some larger and more formidable cuttles; and it is worthy of note that, in several of these, the arms, as in the belemnites, were furnished with hooks as well as suckers, an exceptional arrangement in their modern allies. it is probable that while the four-gilled or shell-bearing cuttles culminated in size and perfection in the ammonitids of the mesozoic, the modern cuttles of the two-gilled and shell-less type are grander in dimensions then their mesozoic predecessors. it is, however, not a little singular that a group so peculiar and apparently so well provided with means, both of offence and defence, as the belemnites, should come in and go out with the mesozoic, and that the nautiloid group, after attaining to the magnitude and complexity of the great ammonites, should retreat to a few species of diminutive and simply-constructed nautili; and in doing so should return to one of the old types dating as far back as the older palæozoic, and continuing unchanged through all the intervening time. the crustaceans of the mesozoic had lost all the antique peculiarities of the older time, and had so much of the aspect of those of the present day, that an ordinary observer, if he could be shown a quantity of jurassic or cretaceous crabs, lobsters, and shrimps, would not readily recognise the difference, which did not exceed what occurs in distant geographical regions in the present day. the same remark may be made as to the corals of the mesozoic; and with some limitations, as to the star-fishes and sea-urchins, which latter are especially numerous and varied in the cretaceous age. in short, all the invertebrate forms of life, and the fishes and reptiles among the vertebrates, had already attained their maximum elevation in the mesozoic; and some of them have subsequently sunk considerably in absolute as well as relative importance. in the course of the mesozoic, as indicated in the last chapter, there had been several great depressions and re-elevations of the continental areas. but these had been of the same quiet and partial character with those of the palæozoic, and it was not until the close of the mesozoic time, in the cretaceous age, that a great and exceptional subsidence involved for a long period the areas of our present continents in a submergence wider and deeper then any that had previously occurred since the dry land first rose out of the waters. every one knows the great chalk beds which appear in the south of england, and which have given its name to the latest age of the mesozoic. this great deposit of light-coloured and usually soft calcareous matter attains in some places to the enormous thickness of , feet. nor is it limited in extent. according to lyell, its european distribution is from ireland to the crimea, a distance of , geographical miles; and from the south of france to sweden, a distance of geographical miles. similar rocks, though not in all cases of the precise nature of chalk, occur extensively in asia and in africa, and also in north and south america. but what is chalk? it was, though one of the most familiar, one of the most inscrutable of rocks, until the microscope revealed its structure. the softer varieties, gently grated or kneaded down in water, or the harder varieties cut in thin slices, show a congeries of microscopic chambered shells belonging to the humble and simple group of protozoa. these shells and their fragments constitute the material of the ordinary chalk. with these are numerous spicules of sponges and silicious cell-walls of the minute one-celled plants called diatoms. further, the flinty matter of these organisms has by the law of molecular attraction been collected into concretions, which are the flints of the chalk. such a rock is necessarily oceanic; but more then this, it is abyssal. laborious dredging has shown that similar matter is now being formed only in the deep bed of the ocean, whither no sand or mud is drifted from the land, and where the countless hosts of microscopic shell-bearing protozoa continually drop their little skeletons on the bottom, slowly accumulating a chalky mud or slime. that such a rock should occur over vast areas of the continental plateaus, that both in europe and america it should be found to cover the tops of hills several thousand feet high, and that its thickness should amount to several hundreds of feet, are facts which evidence a revolution more stupendous perhaps then that at the close of the palæozoic. for the first time since the laurentian, the great continental plateaus changed places with the abysses of the ocean, and the successors of the laurentian eozoon again reigned on surfaces which through the whole lapse of palæozoic and mesozoic time had been separated more or less from that deep ocean out of which they rose at first. this great cretaceous subsidence was different from the disturbances of the permian age. there was at first no crumpling of the crust, but merely a slow and long-continued sinking of the land areas, followed, however, by crumpling of the most stupendous character, which led at the close of the cretaceous and in the earlier tertiary to the formation of what are now the greatest mountain chains in the world. as examples may be mentioned the himalaya, the andes, and the alps, on all which the deep-sea beds of the cretaceous are seen at great elevations. in europe this depression was almost universal, only very limited areas remaining out of water. in america a large tract remained above water in the region of the appalachians. this gives us some clue to the phenomena. the great permian collapse led to the crumpling-up of the appalachians and the urals, and the older hills of western europe. the cretaceous collapse led to the crumpling of the great n.w. and s.e. chain of the rocky mountains and andes, and to that of the east and west chains of the south of asia and europe. the cause was probably in both cases the same; but the crust gave way in a different part, and owing to this there was a greater amount of submergence of our familiar continental plateaus in the cretaceous then in the permian. another remarkable indication of the nature of the cretaceous subsidence, is the occurrence of beds filled with grains of the mineral glauconite or "green-sand." these grains are not properly sand, but little concretions, which form in the bottom of the deep sea, often filling and taking casts of the interior and fine tubes of foraminiferal shells. now this glauconite, a hydrous silicate of iron and potash, is akin to similar materials found filling the pores of fossils in silurian beds. it is also akin to the serpentine filling the pores of eozoon in the laurentian. such materials are formed only in the deeper parts of the ocean, and apparently most abundantly where currents of warm water are flowing at the surface, as in the area of the gulf stream. thus, not only in the prevalence of foraminifera, but in the formation of hydrous silicates, does the cretaceous recall the laurentian. such materials had no doubt been forming, and such animals living in the ocean depths, all through the intervening ages, but with the exception of a few and merely local instances, we know nothing of them, till the great subsidence and re-elevation of the cretaceous again allows them to ascend to the continental plateaus, and again introduces us to this branch of the world-making process. the attention recently drawn to these facts by the researches of dr. carpenter and others, and especially the similarity in mineral character and organic remains of some of the deposits now forming in the atlantic and those of the chalk, have caused it to be affirmed that in the bed of the atlantic these conditions of life and deposit have continued from the cretaceous up to the present time, or as it has been expressed, that "we are still living in the cretaceous epoch." now, this is true or false just as we apply the statement. we have seen that the distinction between abyssal areas, continental oceanic plateaus, and land surfaces has extended through the whole lapse of geological time. in this broad sense we may be said to be still living in the laurentian epoch. in other words, the whole plan of the earth's development is one and the same, and each class of general condition once introduced is permanent somewhere. but in another important sense we are not living in the cretaceous epoch; otherwise the present site of london would be a thousand fathoms deep in the ocean; the ichthyosaurs and ammonites would be disporting themselves in the water, and the huge dinosaurs and strange pterodactyls living on the land. the italian peasant is still in many important points living in the period of the old roman empire. the arab of the desert remains in the patriarchal period, and there are some tribes not yet beyond the primitive age of stone. but the world moves, nevertheless, and the era of victoria is not that of the plantagenets or of julius cæsar. so while we may admit that certain of the conditions of the cretaceous seas still prevail in the bed of the present ocean, we must maintain that nearly all else is changed, and that the very existence of the partial similarity is of itself the most conclusive proof of the general want of resemblance, and of the thorough character of the changes which have occurred. the duration of the cretaceous subsidence must have been very great. we do not know the rate at which the foraminifera accumulate calcareous mud. in some places, where currents heap up their shells, they may be gathered rapidly; but on the average of the ocean bed, afoot of such material must indicate the lapse of ages very long when compared with those of modern history. we need not wonder, therefore, that while some forms of deep-sea cretaceous life, especially of the lower grades, seem to have continued to our time, the inhabitants of the shallow waters and the land have perished; and that the neozoic or tertiary period introduces us to a new world of living beings. i say we need not wonder; yet there is no reason why we should expect this as a necessary consequence. as the cretaceous deluge rose over the continents of the mesozoic, the great sea saurians might have followed. those of the land might have retreated to the tracts still remaining out of water, and when the dry land again appeared in the earlier tertiary, they might again have replenished the earth, and we might thus have truly been living in the reptilian age up to this day. but it was not so. the old world again perished, and the dawn of the tertiary shows to us at once the dynasties of the mammalian age, which was to culminate in the introduction of man. with the great cretaceous subsidence the curtain falls upon the age of reptiles, and when it rises again, after the vast interval occupied in the deposition of the green-sand and chalk, the scene has entirely changed. there are new mountains and new plains, forests of different type, and animals such as no previous age had seen. how strange and inexplicable is this perishing of types in the geological ages! some we could well spare. we would not wish to have our coasts infested by terrible sea saurians, or our forests by carnivorous dinosaurs. yet why should these tyrants of creation so utterly disappear without waiting for us to make war on them? other types we mourn. how glorious would the hundreds of species of ammonites have shone in the cases of our museums, had they still lived! what images of beauty would they have afforded to the poets who have made so much of the comparatively humble nautilus! how perfectly, too, were they furnished with all those mechanical appliances for their ocean life, which are bestowed only with a niggardly hand on their successors! nature gives us no explanation of the mystery. "from scarped cliff and quarried stone, she cries--'a thousand types are gone.'" but why or how one was taken and another left she is silent, and i believe must continue to be so, because the causes, whether efficient or final, are beyond her sphere. if we wish for a full explanation, we must leave nature, and ascend to the higher domain of the spiritual. condensed tabular view of the ages and periods of the mesozoic. key to symbols ### duration of ammonites and belemnites. === ages of cycads and pines. --- beginning of age of angiospermous exogens. +++ "and god created great reptiles, and every living moving thing which the waters brought forth abundantly, and every flying creature after its kind." time. ages. periods. animals and plants. mesozoic. cretaceous {newer.{maestricht beds; fox hill # - + { {and pierre groups of # - + { {western america; greensand # - + { {of new jersey. # - + { # - + {middle.{chalk; benton and dakota # close of - + { {groups of western america. # reptilian - + { # ages. - + {older.{lower greensand and gault; # - + { {lower clays of new jersey # + { {and alabama. # + # + upper {n. purbeck beds. }jurassic # culmination + jurassic {m. portland limestone. } beds of # of + {o. portland sandstone. }nebraska # reptilian + } and # ages. + middle {n. kimmeridge clay, etc.}colorado.# = + jurassic {m. coralline limestone. } # = + {o. calcareous grit & } # = + { oxford clay. } # = + # = + lower {n. cornbrash & forest } lower # = + jurassic { marble. }jurassic # = + {m. great & inferior } of # = + { oolites., etc. } utah, # = + {o. lias clay and }nevada, # = + { limestone. } etc. = + = + {n. keuper {upper triassic appearance of = + { sandstone, {sandstones of mammals = + { etc. {prince edward i., and = + {m. muschelkalk.{connecticut, etc. birds. + triassic { + {o. bunter {lower triassic beginning of + { sandstone. {sandstones of reptilian + { {prince edward i., ages. + { {connecticut, etc. + chapter x. the neozoic ages. between the mesozoic and the next succeeding time which may be known as the neozoic or tertiary,[ag] there is in the arrangements of most geologists a great break in the succession of life; and undoubtedly the widespread and deep subsidence of the cretaceous, followed by the elevation of land on a great scale at the beginning of the next period, is a physical cause sufficient to account for vast life changes. yet we must not forget to consider that even in the cretaceous itself there were new features beginning to appear. let us note in this way, in the first place, the introduction of the familiar generic forms of exogenous trees. next we may mention the decided prevalence of the modern types of coral animals and of a great number of modern generic forms of mollusks. then we have the establishment of the modern tribes of lobsters and crabs, and the appearance of nearly all the orders of insects. among vertebrates, the ordinary fishes are now introduced. modern orders of reptiles, as the crocodiles and chelonians, had already appeared, and the first mammals. henceforth the progress of organic nature lies chiefly in the dropping of many mesozoic forms and in the introduction of the higher tribes of mammals and of man. [ag] the former name is related to palæozoic and mesozoic, the latter to the older terms primary and secondary. for the sake of euphony we shall use both. the term neozoic was proposed by edward forbes for the mesozoic and cainozoic combined; but i use it here as a more euphonious and accurate term for the cainozoic alone. it is further to be observed that the new things introduced in the later mesozoic came in little by little in the progress of the period, and anticipated the great physical changes occurring at its close. on the other hand, while many family and even generic types pass over from the mesozoic to the earlier tertiary, very few species do so. it would seem, therefore, as if changes of species were more strictly subordinate to physical revolutions then were changes of genera and orders--these last overriding under different specific forms many minor vicissitudes, and only in part being overwhelmed in the grander revolutions of the earth. both in europe and america there is evidence of great changes of level at the beginning of the tertiary. in the west of europe beds often of shallow-water or even fresh-water origin fill the hollows in the bent cretaceous strata. this is manifestly the case with the formations of the london and paris basins, contemporaneous but detached deposits of the tertiary age, lying in depressions of the chalk. still this does not imply much want of conformity, and according to the best explorers of those alpine regions in which both the mesozoic and tertiary beds have been thrown up to great elevations, they are in the main conformable to one another. something of the same kind occurs in america. on the atlantic coast the marine beds of the older tertiary cover the cretaceous, and little elevation seems to have occurred farther west the elevation increases, and in the upper part of the valley of the mississippi it amounts to feet. still farther west, in the region of the rocky mountains, there is evidence of elevation to the extent of as much as feet. throughout all these regions scarcely any disturbance of the old cretaceous sea-bottom seems to have occurred until after the deposition of the older tertiary, so that there was first a slow and general elevation of the cretaceous ocean bottom, succeeded by gigantic folds and fractures, and extensive extravasations of the bowels of the earth in molten rocks, in the course of the succeeding tertiary age. these great physical changes inaugurated the new and higher life of the tertiary, just as the similar changes in the permian did that of the mesozoic. the beginning of these movements consisted of a great and gradual elevation of the northern parts of both the old and new continents out of the sea, whereby a much greater land surface was produced, and such changes of depth and direction of currents in the ocean as must have very much modified the conditions of marine life. the effect of all these changes in the aggregate was to cause a more varied and variable climate, and to convert vast areas previously tenanted by marine animals into the abodes of animals and plants of the land, and of estuaries, lakes, and shallow waters. still, however, very large areas now continental were under the sea. as the tertiary period advanced, these latter areas were elevated, and in many cases were folded up into high mountains. this produced further changes of climate and habitat of animals, and finally brought our continents into all the variety of surface which they now present, and which fits them so well for the habitation of the higher animals and of man. the thoughtful reader will observe that it follows from the above statements that the partial distribution and diversity in different localities which apply to the deposits of such ages as the permian and the trias apply also to the earlier tertiary; and as the continents, notwithstanding some dips under water, have retained their present forms since the beginning of the tertiary, it follows that these beds are more definitely related to existing geographical conditions then are those of the older periods, and that the more extensive marine deposits of the tertiary are, to a great extent, unknown to us. this has naturally led to some difficulty in the classification of neozoic deposits--those of some of the tertiary ages being very patchy and irregular, while others spread very widely. in consequence of this, sir charles lyell, to whom we owe very much of our definite knowledge of this period, has proposed a subdivision based on the percentage of recent and fossil animals. in other words, he takes it for granted that a deposit which contains more numerous species of animals still living then another, may be judged on that account to be more recent. such a mode of estimation is, no doubt, to some extent arbitrary; but in the main, when it can be tested by the superposition of deposits, it has proved itself reliable. further, it brings before us this remarkable fact, that while in the older periods all the animals whose remains we find are extinct as species, so soon as we enter on the neozoic we find some which still continue to our time--at first only a very few, but in later and later beds in gradually increasing percentage, till the fossil and extinct wholly disappear in the recent and living. the lyellian classification of the tertiary will therefore stand as in the following table, bearing in mind that the percentage of fossils is taken from marine forms, and mainly from mollusks, and that the system has in some cases been modified by stratigraphical evidence:-- { post-pliocene, including that which immediately { precedes the modern. in this the shells, etc., { are recent, the mammalia in part extinct. { { pliocene, or more recent age. in this the { majority of shells found are recent in the tertiary, or { upper beds. in the lower beds the extinct neozoic time. { become predominant. { { miocene, or less recent. in this the large { majority of shells found are extinct. { { eocene, the dawn of the recent. in this only { a few recent shells occur. if we attempt to divide the tertiary time into ages corresponding to those of the older times, we are met by the difficulty that as the continents have retained their present forms and characters to a great extent throughout this time, we fail to find those evidences of long-continued submergences of the whole continental plateaus, or very large portions of them, which we have found so very valuable in the palæozoic and mesozoic. in the eocene, however, we shall discover one very instructive case in the great nummulitic limestone. in the miocene and pliocene the oscillations seem to have been slight and partial. in the post-pliocene we have the great subsidence of the glacial drift; but that seems to have been a comparatively rapid dip, though of long duration when measured by human history; not allowing time for the formation of great limestones, but only of fossiliferous sands and clays, which require comparatively short time for their deposition if then we ask as to the duration of the neozoic, i answer that we have not a definite measure of its ages, if it had any; and that it is possible that the neozoic may have as yet had but one age, which closed with the great drift period, and that we are now only in the beginning of its second age. some geologists, impressed with this comparative shortness of the tertiary, connect it with mesozoic, grouping both together. this, however, is obviously unnatural. the mesozoic time certainly terminated with the cretaceous, and what follows belongs to a distinct aeon. but we must now try to paint the character of this new and peculiar time; and this may perhaps be best done in the following sketches: . the seas of the eocene. . mammals from the eocene to the modern. . tertiary floras. . the glacial period. . the advent of man. the great elevation of the continents which closed the cretaceous was followed by a partial and unequal subsidence, affecting principally the more southern parts of the land of the northern hemisphere. thus, a wide sea area stretched across all the south of europe and asia, and separated the northern part of north america from what of land existed in the southern hemisphere. this is the age of the great nummulitic limestones of europe, africa, and asia, and the orbitoidal limestones of north america. the names are derived from the prevalence of certain forms of those humble shell-bearing protozoa which we first met with in the laurentian, and which we have found to be instrumental in building up the chalk, the _foraminifera_ of zoologists. (fig. p. .) but in the eocene the species of the chalk were replaced by certain broad flat forms, the appearance of which is expressed by the term nummulite, or money-stone; the rock appearing to be made up of fossils, somewhat resembling shillings, sixpences, or three-penny pieces, according to the size of the shells, each of which includes a vast number of small concentric chambers, which during life were filled with the soft jelly of the animal. the nummulite limestone was undoubtedly oceanic, and the other shells contained in it are marine species. after what we have already seen we do not need this limestone to convince us of the continent-building powers of the oceanic protozoa; but the distribution of these limestones, and the elevation which they attain, furnish the most striking proofs that we can imagine of the changes which the earth's crust has undergone in times geologically modern, and also of the extreme newness of man and his works. large portions of those countries which constitute the earliest seats of man in southern europe, northern africa, and western and southern asia, are built upon the old nummulitic sea-bottom. the egyptians and many other ancient nations quarried it for their oldest buildings. in some of these regions it attains a thickness of several thousand feet, evidencing a lapse of time in its accumulation equal to that implied in the chalk itself. in the swiss alps it reaches a height above the sea of , feet, and it enters largely into the structure of the carpathians and pyrenees. in thibet it has been observed at an elevation of , feet above the sea. thus we learn that at a time no more geologically remote then the eocene tertiary, lands now of this great elevation were in the bottom of the deep sea; and this not merely for a little time, but during a time sufficient for the slow accumulation of hundreds of feet of rock, made up of the shells of successive generations of animals. if geology presented to us no other revelation then this one fact, it would alone constitute one of the most stupendous pictures in physical geography which could be presented to the imagination. i beg leave here to present to the reader a little illustration of the limestone-making foraminifera of the cretaceous and eocene seas. in the middle above is a nummulite of the natural size. below is another, sliced to show its internal chambers. at one side is a magnified section of the common building stone of paris, the milioline limestone of the eocene, so called from its immense abundance of microscopic shells of the genus miliolina. at the other side is a magnified section of one of the harder varieties of chalk, ground so thin as to become transparent,[ah] and mounted in canada balsam. it shows many microscopic chambered shells of foraminifera. these may serve as illustrations of the functions of these humble inhabitants of the sea as accumulators of calcareous matter. it is further interesting to remark that some of the beds of nummulitic limestone are so completely filled with these shells, that we might from detached specimens suppose that they belonged to sea-bottoms whereon no other form of life was present. yet some beds of this age are remarkably rich in other fossils. lyell states that as many as six hundred species of shells have been found in the principal limestone of the paris basin alone; and the lower eocene beds afford remains of fishes, of reptiles, of birds, and of mammals. among the latter are the bones of gigantic whales, of which one of the most remarkable is the zeuglodon of alabama, a creature sometimes seventy feet in length, and which replaces in the tertiary the great elasmosaurs and ichthyosaurs of the mesozoic, marking the advent, even in the sea, of the age of mammals as distinguished from the age of reptiles. [ah] as for instance that of the giant's causeway, antrim. [illustration: foraminiferal rock-builders. a. nummulites lævigata--eocene. b. the same, showing chambered interior. c. milioline limestone, magnified--eocene, paris. d. hard chalk, section magnified--cretaceous.] this fact leads us naturally to consider in the second place the mammalia, and other land animals of the tertiary. at the beginning of the period we meet with that higher group of mammals, not pouched, which now prevails. among the oldest of these tertiary beasts are _coryphodon_, an animal related to the modern tapirs, and _arctocyon_, a creature related to the bears and racoons. these animals represent respectively the pachyderms, or thick-skinned mammals, and the ordinary carnivora. contemporary with or shortly succeeding these, were species representing the rodents, or gnawing animals, and many other creatures of the group pachydermata, allied to the modern tapirs and hogs, as well as several additional carnivorous quadrupeds. thus at the very beginning of the tertiary period we enter on the age of mammals, it may be well, however, to take these animals somewhat in chronological order. if the old egyptian, by quarrying the nummulite limestone, bore unconscious testimony to the recent origin of man (whose remains are wholly absent from the tertiary deposits), so did the ancient britons and gauls, when they laid the first rude foundations of future capitals on the banks of the themes and of the seine. both cities lie in basins of eocene tertiary, occupying hollows in the chalk. under london there is principally a thick bed of clay, the "london clay" attaining a thickness of five hundred feet. this bed is obviously marine, containing numerous species of sea shells; but it must have been deposited near land, as it also holds many fossil fruits and other remains of plants to which we shall refer in the sequel, and the bones of several species of large animals. among these the old reptiles of the mesozoic are represented by the vertebrae of a supposed "sea snake" (palæophis) thirteen feet long, and species of crocodile allied both to the alligators and the gavials. but besides these there are bones of several animals allied to the hog and tapir, and also a species of opossum, these remains must be drift carcases from neighbouring shores, and they show first the elevation of the old deep-sea bottom represented by the chalk, so that part of it became dry land; next, the peopling of that land by tribes of animals and plants unknown to the mesozoic; and lastly, that a warm climate must have existed, enabling england at this time to support many types of animals and plants now proper to intertropical regions. as lyell well remarks, it is most interesting to observe that these beds belong to the beginning of the tertiary, that they are older then those great nummulite limestones to which we have referred, and that they are older then the principal mountain chains of europe and asia. they show that no sooner was the cretaceous sea dried from off the new land, then there were abundance of animals and plants ready to occupy it, and these not the survivors of the flora and fauna of the wealden, but a new creation. the mention of the deposit last named places this in a striking light. we have seen that the wealden beds, under the chalk, represent a mesozoic estuary, and in it we have the remains of the animals and plants of the land that then was. the great cretaceous subsidence intervened, and in the london clay we have an estuary of the eocene. but if we pass through the galleries of a museum where these formations are represented, though we know that both existed in the same locality under a warm climate, we see that they belong to two different worlds, the one to that of the dinosaurs, the ammonites, the cycads, and the minute marsupials of the mesozoic, the other to that of the pachyderms, the palms, and the nautili of the tertiary. the london clay is lower eocene; but in the beds of the isle of wight and neighbouring parts of the south of england, we have the middle and upper members of the series. they are not, however, so largely developed as in the paris basin, where, resting on the equivalent of the london clay, we have a thick marine limestone, the calcaire grossier, abounding in marine remains, and in some beds composed of shells of foraminifera. the sea in which this limestone was deposited, a portion no doubt of the great atlantic area of the period, became shallow, so that beds of sand succeeded those of limestone, and finally it was dried up into lake basins, in which gypsum, magnesian sediments, and siliceous limestone were deposited. these lakes or ponds must at some period have resembled the american "salt-licks," and were no doubt resorted to by animals from all the surrounding country in search of the saline mud and water which they afforded. hence in some marly beds intervening between the layers of gypsum, numerous footprints occur, exactly like those already noticed in the trias. had there been a nimrod in those days to watch with bow or boomerang by the muddy shore, he would have seen herds of heavy short-legged and three-hoofed monsters (palæotherium), with large heads and long snouts, probably scantily covered with sleek hair, and closely resembling the modern tapirs of south america and india, laboriously wading through the mud, and grunting with indolent delight as they rolled themselves in the cool saline slime. others more light and graceful, combining some features of the antelope with those of the tapir (anoplotherium) ran in herds over the drier ridges, or sometimes timidly approached the treacherous clay, tempted by the saline waters. other creatures representing the modern damans or conies--"feeble folk" which, with the aspect of hares, have the structure of pachyderms--were also present. creatures of these types constituted the great majority of the animals of the parisian eocene lakes; but there were also carnivorous animals allied to the hyæna, the wolf, and the opossum, which prowled along the shores by night to seize unwary wanderers, or to prey on the carcases of animals mired in the sloughs. wading birds equal in size to the ostrich also stalked through the shallows, and tortoises crawled over the mud. lyell mentions the discovery of some bones of one of these gigantic birds (gastornis) in a bed of the rolled chalk flints which form the base of the paris series, resting immediately on the chalk; one of the first inhabitants perhaps to people some island of chalk just emerged from the waters, and under which lay the bones of the mighty dinosaurs, and in which were embedded those of sea birds that had ranged, like the albatross and petrel, over the wide expanse of the cretaceous ocean. these waders, however, like the tortoises and crocodiles and small marsupial mammals, form a link of connection in type at least between the eocene and the cretaceous, for bones of wading birds have been found in the greensands indicating their existence before the close of the mesozoic. the researches of baron cuvier in the bones collected in the quarries of montmartre were regarded as an astonishing triumph of comparative anatomy; and familiar as we now are with similar and yet more difficult achievements, we can yet afford to regard with admiration the work of the great french naturalist as it is recorded in its collected form in his "recherches sur les ossemens fossiles," published in . his clear and philosophical views as to the plan perceptible in nature, his admirable powers of classification, his acute perception of the correlation of parts in animals, his nice discrimination of the resemblances and differences of fossil and recent structures, and of the uses of these,--all mark him as one of the greatest minds ever devoted to the study of natural science. it is obvious, that had his intellect been occupied by the evolutionist metaphysics which pass for natural science with too many in our day, he would have effected comparatively little; and instead of the magnificent museum in the "règne animal" and the "ossemens fossiles," we might have had wearisome speculations on the derivation of species. it is reason for profound thankfulness that it was not so; and also that so many great observers and thinkers of our day, like sedgwick, murchison, lyell, owen, dana, and agassiz, have been allowed to work out their researches almost to completion before the advent of those poisoned streams and mephitic vapours which threaten the intellectual obscuration of those who should be their successors. if we pass from the eocene to the miocene, still confining ourselves mainly to mammalian life, we find three remarkable points of difference--( ) whereas the eocene mammals are remarkable for adherence to one general type, viz., that group of pachyderms most regular and complete in its dentition, we now find a great number of more specialised and peculiar forms; ( ) we find in the latter period a far greater proportion of large carnivorous animals; ( ) we find much greater variety of mammals then either in the eocene or the modern, and a remarkable abundance of species of gigantic size. the miocene is thus apparently the culminating age of the mammalia, in so far as physical development is concerned; and this, as we shall find, accords with its remarkably genial climate and exuberant vegetation. in europe, the beds of this age present, for the first time, examples of the monkeys, represented by two generic types, both of them apparently related to the modern long-armed species, or gibbons. among carnivorous animals we have cat-like creatures, one of which is the terrible _machairodus_, distinguished from all modern animals of its group by the long sabre-shaped canines of its upper jaw, fitting it to pull down and destroy those large pachyderms which could have easily shaken off a lion or a tiger. here also we have the elephants, represented by several species now extinct; the mastodon, a great, coarsely-built, hog-like elephant, some species of which had tusks both in the upper and lower jaw; the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, and the horse, all of extinct species. we have also giraffes, stags, and antelopes, the first ruminants known to us, and a great variety of smaller and less noteworthy creatures. here also, for the first time, we find the curious and exceptional group of edentates, represented by a large ant-eater. of all the animals of the european miocene, the most wonderful and unlike any modern beast, is the dinotherium, found in the miocene of epplesheim in germany; and described by kaup. some doubt rests on the form and affinities of the animal; but we may reasonably take it, as restored by its describer, and currently reproduced in popular books, to have been a quadruped of somewhat elephantine form. some years ago, however, a huge haunch bone, supposed to belong to this creature, was discovered in the south of france; and from this it was inferred that the dinothere may have been a marsupial or pouched animal, perhaps allied in form and habits to the kangaroos. the skull is three feet four inches in length; and when provided with its soft parts, including a snout or trunk in front, it must have been at least five or six feet long. such a head, if it belonged to a quadruped of ordinary proportions, must represent an animal as large in proportion to our elephant as an elephant to an ox. but its size is not its most remarkable feature. it has two large tusks firmly implanted in strong bony sockets; but they are attached to the end of the lower jaw and point downward at right angles to it, so that the lower jaw forms a sort of double-pointed pickaxe of great size and strength. this might have been used as a weapon; or, if the creature was aquatic, as a grappling iron to hold by the bank, or by floating timber; but more probably it was a grubbing-hoe for digging up roots or loosening the bases of trees which the animal might afterward pull down to devour them. however this may be, the creature laboured under the mechanical disadvantage of having to lift an immense weight in the process of mastication, and of being unable to bring its mouth to the ground, or to bite or grasp anything with the front of its jaws. to make up for this, it had muscles of enormous power on the sides of the head attached to great projecting processes; and it had a thick but flexible proboscis, to place in its mouth the food grubbed up by its tusks. taken altogether, the dinothere is perhaps the most remarkable of mammals, fossil or recent; and if the rest of its frame were as extraordinary as its skull, we have probably as yet but a faint conception of its peculiarities. we may apply to it, with added force, the admiring ejaculation of job, when he describes the strength of the hippopotamus, "he is the chief of the ways of god. he who made him, gave him his sword." [illustration: miocene mammals of the eastern continent. in the foreground _elephas_, _ganesa_, _hydracotherium_, _dinotherium_, _machairodus_, _mastodon longirostris_. in the middle distance, _apes_, two _anoplotheres_, _palæotherium_, _xiphodon_, and _sivatherium_. sequoias and fan palm in the background.] in asia, the siwalik hills afforded to falconer and cautley one of the most remarkable exhibitions of miocene animals in the world. these hills form a ridge subordinate to the himalayan chain; and rise to a height of , to , feet. in the miocene period, they were sandy and pebbly shores and banks lying at the foot of the then infant himalayas, which, with the table-lands to the north, probably formed a somewhat narrow east and west continental mass or large island. as a mere example of the marvellous fauna which inhabited this miocene land, it has afforded remains of seven species of elephants, mastodons, and allied animals; one of them, the _e. ganesa_, with tusks ten feet and a half long, and twenty-six inches in circumference at the base. besides these there are five species of rhinoceros, three of horse and allied animals, four or more of hippopotamus, and species of camel, giraffe, antelope, sheep, ox, and many other genera, as well as numerous large and formidable beasts of prey. there is also an ostrich; and, among other reptiles, a tortoise having a shell twelve feet in length, and this huge roof must have covered an animal eighteen feet long and seven feet high. among the more remarkable of the siwalik animals is the _sivatherium_, a gigantic four-horned antelope or deer, supposed to have been of elephantine size, and of great power and swiftness; and to have presented features connecting the ruminants and pachyderms. our restoration of this creature is to some extent conjectural; and a remarkably artistic, and probably more accurate, restoration of the animal has recently been published by dr. murie, in the geological magazine. we justly regard the mammalian fauna of modern india as one of the noblest in the world; but it is paltry in comparison with that of the much more limited miocene india; even if we suppose, contrary to all probability, that we know most of the animals of the latter. but if we consider the likelihood that we do not yet know a tenth of the miocene animals, the contrast becomes vastly greater. miocene america is scarcely behind the old world in the development of its land animals. from one locality in nebraska, leidy described in fifteen species of large quadrupeds; and the number has since been considerably increased. among these are species of rhinoceros, palæotherium, and machairodus; and one animal, the titanotherium, allied to the european anoplothere, is said to have attained a length of eighteen feet and a height of nine, its jaws alone being five feet long. in the illustration, i have grouped some of the characteristic mammalian forms of the miocene, as we can restore them from their scattered bones, more or less conjecturally; but could we have seen them march before us in all their majesty, like the edenic animals before adam, i feel persuaded that our impressions of this wonderful age would have far exceeded anything that we can derive either from words or illustrations. i insist on this the more that the miocene happens to be very slenderly represented in britain; and scarcely at all in north-eastern america; and hence has not impressed the imagination of the english race so strongly as its importance justifies. the next succeeding period, that of the pliocene, continues the conditions of the last, but with signs of decadence. many of the old gigantic pachyderms have disappeared; and in their stead some familiar modern genera were introduced. the pliocene was terminated by the cold or glacial period, in which a remarkable lowering of temperature occurred over all the northern hemisphere, accompanied, at least in a portion of the time, by a very general and great subsidence, which laid all the lower parts of our continents under water. this terminated much of the life of the pliocene, and replaced it with boreal and arctic forms, some of them, like the great hairy siberian mammoth and the woolly rhinoceros, fit successors of the gigantic miocene fauna. how it happened that such creatures were continued during the post-pliocene cold, we cannot understand till we have the tertiary vegetation before us. it must suffice now to say, that as the temperature was modified, and the land rose, and the modern period was inaugurated, these animals passed away, and those of the present time remained. perhaps the most remarkable fact connected with this change, is that stated by pictet, that all the modern european mammals are direct descendants of post-pliocene species; but that in the post-pliocene they were associated with many other species; and these, often of great dimensions, now extinct. in other words, the time from the pliocene to the modern, has been a time of diminution of species, while that from the eocene to the miocene was a time of rapid introduction of new species. thus the tertiary fauna culminated in the miocene. yet, strange though this may appear, man himself, the latest and noblest of all, would seem to have been a product of the later stages of the time of decadence. i propose, however, to return to the animals immediately preceding man and his contemporaries, after we have noticed the tertiary flora and the glacial period. chapter xi. the neozoic ages (_continued_). plant-life in the tertiary approaches very nearly to that of the modern world, in so far as its leading types are concerned; but in its distribution geographically it was wonderfully different from that with which we are at present familiar. for example, in the isle of sheppey, at the mouth of the themes, are beds of "london clay," fall of fossil nuts; and these, instead of being hazel nuts and acorns, belong to palms allied to species now found in the philippine islands and bengal, while with them are numerous cone-like fruits belonging to the proteaceæ (banksias, silver-trees, wagenbooms, etc.), a group of trees now confined to australia and south africa, but which in the northern hemisphere had already, as stated in a previous paper, made their appearance in the cretaceous, and were abundant in the eocene. the state of preservation of these fruits shows that they were not drifted far; and in some beds in hampshire, also of eocene age, the leaves of similar plants occur along with species of fig, cinnamon, and other forms equally australian or indian. in america, especially in the west, there are thick and widely-distributed beds of lignite or imperfect coal of the eocene period; but the plants found in the american eocene are more like those of the european miocene or the modern american flora, a fact to which we must revert immediately. in europe, while the eocene plants resemble those of australia, when we ascend into the miocene they resemble those of america, though still retaining some of the australian forms. in the leaf-beds of the isle of mull,--where beds of vegetable mould and leaves were covered up with the erupted matter of a volcano belonging to a great series of such eruptions which produced the basaltic cliffs of antrim and of staffa,--and at bovey, in devonshire, where miocene plants have accumulated in many thick beds of lignite, the prevailing plants are sequoias or red-woods, vines, figs, cinnamons, etc. in the sandstones at the base of the alps similar plants and also palms of american types occur. in the upper miocene beds of oeningen in the rhine valley, nearly five hundred species of plants have been found, and include such familiar forms as the maples, plane-trees, cypress, elm, and sweet-gum, more american, however, then european in their aspect. it thus appears that the miocene flora of europe resembles that of america at pre sent, while the eocene flora of europe resembles that of australia, and the eocene flora of america, as well as the modern, resembles the miocene of europe. in other words, the changes of the flora have been more rapid in europe then in america and probably slowest of all in australia. the eastern continent has thus taken the lead in rapidity of change in the tertiary period, and it has done so in animals as well as in plants. the following description of the flora of bovey is given, with slight alteration, in the words of dr. heer, in his memoir on that district. the woods that covered the slopes consisted mainly of a huge pine-tree (sequoia), whose figure resembled in all probability its highly-admired cousin, the giant wellingtonia of california. the leafy trees of most frequent occurrence were the cinnamon and an evergreen oak like those now seen in mexico. the evergreen figs, the custard apples, and allies of the cape jasmine, were rarer. the trees were festooned with vines, beside which the prickly rotang palm twined its snake-like form. in the shade of the forest throve numerous ferns, one species of which formed trees of imposing grandeur, and there were masses of under-wood belonging to various species of nyssa, like the tupelos and sour-gums of north america. this is a true picture, based on actual facts, of the vegetation of england in the miocene age. but all the other wonders of the miocene flora are thrown into the shade by the discoveries of plants of this age which have recently been made in greenland, a region now bound up in what we poetically call eternal ice, but which in the miocene was a fair and verdant land, rejoicing in a mild climate and rich vegetation. the beds containing these specimens occur in various places in north greenland; and the principal locality, atane-kerdluk, is in lat. n. and at an elevation of more then a thousand feet above the sea. the plants occur abundantly in sandstone and clay beds, and the manner in which delicate leaves and fruits are preserved shows that they have not been far water-borne, a conclusion which is confirmed by the occurrence of beds of lignite of considerable thickness, and which are evidently peaty accumulations containing trunks of trees. the collections made have enabled heer to catalogue species, all of them of forms proper to temperate, or even warm regions, and mostly american in character. as many as forty-six of the species already referred to as occurring at bovey tracey and oeningen occur also in the greenland beds. among the plants are many species of pines, some of them of large size; and the beeches, oaks, planes, poplars, maples, walnuts, limes, magnolias, and vines are apparently as well represented as in the warm temperate zone of america at the present day. this wonderful flora was not a merely local phenomenon, for similar plants are found in spitzbergen in lat. ° '. it is to be further observed, that while the general characters of these ancient arctic plants imply a large amount of summer heat and light, the evergreens equally imply a mild winter. further, though animal remains are not found with these plants, it is probable that so rich a supply of vegetable food was not unutilised, and that we shall some time find that there was an arctic fauna corresponding to the arctic flora. how such a climate could exist in greenland and spitzbergen is still a mystery. it has, however, been suggested that this effect might result from the concurrence of such astronomical conditions in connection with the eccentricity of the earth's orbit as would give the greatest amount of warmth in the northern hemisphere with such distribution of land and water as would give the least amount of cold northern land and the most favourable arrangement of the warm surface currents of the ocean.[ai] [ai] croll and lyell. before leaving these miocene plants, i must refer to a paragraph which dr. heer has thought it necessary to insert in his memoir on the greenland flora, and which curiously illustrates the feebleness of what with some men passes for science. he says: "in conclusion, i beg to offer a few remarks on the amount of certainty in identification which the determination of fossil plants is able to afford us. we know that the flowers, fruits, and seeds are more important as characteristics then the leaves. there are many genera of which the leaves are variable, and consequently would be likely to lead us astray if we trusted in them alone. however, many characters of the form and venation of leaves are well-known to be characteristic of certain genera, and can therefore afford us characters of great value for their recognition." in a similar apologetic style he proceeds through several sentences to plead the cause of his greenland leaves. that he should have to do so is strange, unless indeed the botany known to those for whom he writes is no more then that which a school-girl learns in her few lessons in dissecting a buttercup or daisy. it is easy for scientific triflers to exhibit collections of plants in which species of different genera and families are so similar in their leaves that a careless observer would mistake one for the other, or to get up composite leaves in part of one species and in part of another, and yet seeming the same, and in this way to underrate the labours of painstaking observers like heer. but it is nevertheless true that in any of these leaves, not only are there good characters by which they can be recognised, but that a single breathing pore, or a single hair, or a few cells, or a bit of epidermis not larger then a pin's head, should enable any one who understands his business to see as great differences as a merely superficial botanist would see between the flower of a ranunculus and that of a strawberry. heer himself, and the same applies to all other competent students of fossil plants, has almost invariably found his determinations from mere fragments of leaves confirmed when more characteristic parts were afterwards discovered. it is high time, in the interests of geology, that botanists should learn that constancy and correlation of parts are laws in the plant as well as in the animal; and this they can learn only by working more diligently with the microscope. i would, however, go further then this, and maintain that, in regard to some of the most important geological conclusions to be derived from fossils, even the leaves of plants are vastly more valuable then the hard parts of animals. for instance, the bones of elephants and rhinoceroses found in greenland would not prove a warm climate; because the creatures might have been protected from cold with hair like that of the musk-sheep, and they might have had facilities for annual migrations like the bisons. the occurrence of bones of reindeer in france does not prove that its climate was like that of lapland; but only that it was wooded, and that the animals could rove at will to the hills and to the coast. but, on the other hand, the remains of an evergreen oak in greenland constitute absolute proof of a warm and equable climate; and the occurrence of leaves of the dwarf birch in france constitutes a proof of a cool climate, worth more then that which can be derived from the bones of millions of reindeer and musk-sheep. still further, in all those greater and more difficult questions of geology which relate to the emergence and submergence of land areas, and to the geographical conditions of past geological periods, the evidence of plants, especially when rooted in place, is of far more value then that of animals, though it has yet been very little used. this digression prepares the way for the question: was the miocene period on the whole a better age of the world then that in which we live? in some respects it was. obviously there was in the northern hemisphere a vast surface of land under a mild and equable climate, and clothed with a rich and varied vegetation. had we lived in the miocene, we might have sat under our vine and fig-tree equally in greenland and spitzbergen and in those more southern climes to which this privilege is now restricted. we might have enjoyed a great variety of rich and nutritive fruits, and, if sufficiently muscular, and able to cope with the gigantic mammals of the period, we might have engaged in either the life of the hunter or that of the agriculturist under advantages which we do not now possess. on the whole, the miocene presents to us in these respects the perfection of the neozoic time, and its culmination in so far as the nobler forms of brute animals and of plants are concerned. had men existed in those days, however, they should have been, in order to suit the conditions surrounding them, a race of giants; and they would probably have felt the want of many of those more modern species belonging to the flora and fauna of europe and western asia on which man has so much depended for his civilization. some reasons have been adduced for the belief that in the miocene and eocene there were intervals of cold climate; but the evidence of this may be merely local and exceptional, and does not interfere with the broad characteristics of the age as sketched above. the warm climate and rich vegetation of the miocene extended far into the pliocene, with characters very similar to those already stated; but as the pliocene age went on, cold and frost settled down upon the northern hemisphere, and a remarkable change took place in its vegetable productions. for example, in the somewhat celebrated "forest bed" of cromer, in norfolk, which is regarded as newer pliocene, we have lost all the foreign and warm-climate plants of the miocene, and find the familiar scotch firs and other plants of the modern british flora. the animals, however, retain their former types; for two species of elephant, a hippopotamus, and a rhinoceros are found in connection with these plants. this is another evidence, in addition to those above referred to, that plants are better thermometers to indicate geological and climatal change then animals. this pliocene refrigeration appears to have gone on increasing into the next or post-pliocene age, and attained its maximum in the glacial period, when, as many geologists think, our continents were, even in the temperate latitudes, covered with a sheet of ice like that which now clothes greenland. then occurred a very general subsidence, in which they were submerged under the waters of a cold icy sea, tenanted by marine animals now belonging to boreal and arctic regions. after this last great plunge-bath they rose to constitute the dry land of man and his contemporaries. let us close this part of the subject with one striking illustration from heer's memoir on bovey tracey. at this place, above the great series of clays and lignites containing the miocene plants already described, is a thick covering of clay, gravel, and stones, evidently of much later date. this also contains some plants; but instead of the figs, and cinnamons, and evergreen oaks, they are the petty dwarf birch of scandinavia and the highland hills, and three willows, one of them the little arctic and alpine creeping willow. thus we have in the south of england a transition in the course of the pliocene period, from a climate much milder then that of modern england to one almost arctic in its character. our next topic for consideration is one of the most vexed questions among geologists, the glacial period which immediately preceded the advent of man. in treating of this it will be safest first to sketch the actual appearances which present themselves, and then to draw such pictures as we can of the conditions which they represent. the most recent and superficial covering of the earth's crust is usually composed of rock material more or less ground up and weathered. this may, with reference to its geological character and origin, be considered as of three kinds. it may be merely the rock weathered and decomposed to a certain extent _in situ_; or it may be alluvial matter carried or deposited by existing streams or tides, or by the rains; or, lastly, it may be material evidencing the operation of causes not now in action. this last constitutes what has been called drift or diluvial detritus, and is that with which we have now to do. such drift, then, is very widely distributed on our continents in the higher latitudes. in the northern hemisphere it extends from the arctic regions to about ° of north latitude in europe, and as low as ° in north america; and it occurs south of similar parallels in the southern hemisphere. farther towards the equator then the latitudes indicated, we do not find the proper drift deposits, but merely weathered rocks or alluvia, or old sea bottoms raised up. this limitation of the drift, at the very outset gives it the character of a deposit in some way connected with the polar cold. besides this, the general transport of stones and other material in the northern regions has been to the south; hence in the northern hemisphere this deposit may be called the _northern_ drift. if now we take a typical locality of this formation, such, for instance, as we may find in scotland, or scandinavia, or canada, we shall find it to consist of three members, as follows:-- . superficial sands or gravels. . stratified clays. . till or boulder clay. this arrangement may locally be more complicated, or it may be deficient in one of its members. the boulder clay may, for example, be underlaid by stratified sand or gravel, or even by peaty deposits; it may be intermixed with layers of clay or sand; the stratified clay or the boulder clay may be absent, or may be uncovered by any upper member. still we may take the typical series as above stated, and inquire as to its characters and teaching. the lower member, or boulder clay, is a very remarkable kind of deposit, consisting of a paste which may graduate from tough clay to loose sand, and which holds large angular and rounded stones or boulders confusedly intermixed; these stones may be either from the rocks found in the immediate vicinity of their present position, or at great distances. this mass is usually destitute of any lamination or subordinate stratification, whence it is often called _unstratified_ drift, and is of very variable thickness, often occurring in very thick beds in valleys, and being comparatively thin or absent on intervening hills. further, if we examine the stones contained in the boulder clay, we shall find that they are often scratched or striated and grooved; and when we remove the clay from the rock surfaces on which it rests, we find these in like manner striated, grooved and polished. these phenomena, viz., of polished and striated rocks and stones, are similar to those produced by those great sliding masses of ice, the glaciers of alpine regions, which in a small way and in narrow and elevated valleys, act on the rocks and stones in this manner, though they cannot form deposits precisely analogous to the boulder clay, owing to the wasting away of much of the finer material by the torrents, and the heaping of the coarser detritus in ridges and piles. further, we have in greenland a continental mass, with all its valleys thus filled with slowly-moving ice, and from this there drift off immense ice-islands, which continue at least the mud-and-stone-depositing process, and possibly also the grinding process, over the sea bottom. so far all geologists are agreed; but here they diverge into two schools. one of these, then of the glacier theorists, holds that the boulder clay is the product of land-ice; and this requires the supposition that at the time when it was deposited the whole of our continents north of ° or ° was in the condition of greenland at present. this is, however, a hypothesis so inconvenient, not to say improbable, that many hesitate to accept it, and prefer to believe that in the so-called glacial period the land was submerged, and that icebergs then as now drifted from the north in obedience to the arctic currents, and produced the effects observed. it would be tedious to go into all the arguments of the advocates of glaciers and icebergs, and i shall not attempt this, more especially as the only way to decide the question is to observe carefully the facts in every particular locality, and inquire as to the conclusions fairly deducible. with the view of aiding such a solution, however, i may state a few general principles applicable to the appearances observed. we may then suppose that boulder clay may be formed in three ways. ( ) it may be deposited on land, as what is called the bottom moraine of a land glacier. ( ) it may be deposited in the sea when such a glacier ends on the coast. ( ) it may be deposited by the melting or grounding on muddy bottoms of the iceberg masses floated off from the end of such a glacier. it is altogether likely, from the observations recently made in greenland, that in that country such a deposit is being formed in all these ways. in like manner, the ancient boulder clay may have been formed in one or more of these ways in any given locality where it occurs, though it may be difficult in many instances to indicate the precise mode. there are, however, certain criteria which may be applied to the determination of its origin, and i may state a few of these, which are the results of my own experience. ( ) where the boulder clay contains marine shells, or rounded stones which if exposed to the air would have been cracked to pieces, decomposed, or oxidized, it must have been formed under water. where the conditions are the reverse of these, it may have been formed on land. ( ) when the striations and transport of materials do not conform to the levels of the country, and take that direction, usually n.e. and s.w., which the arctic current would take if the country were submerged, the probability is that it was deposited in the sea. where, however, the striation and transport take the course of existing valleys, more especially in hilly regions, the contrary may be inferred. ( ) where most of the material, more especially the large stones, has been carried to great distances from its original site, especially over plains or up slopes, it has probably been sea-borne. where it is mostly local, local ice-action may be inferred. other criteria may be stated, but these are sufficient for our present purpose. their application in every special case i do not presume to make; but i am convinced that when applied to those regions in eastern america with which i am familiar, they necessitate the conclusion that in the period of extreme refrigeration, the greater part of the land was under water, and such hills and mountains as remained were little greenlands, covered with ice and sending down glaciers to the sea. in hilly and broken regions, therefore, and especially at considerable elevations, we find indications of _glacier_ action; on the great plains, on the contrary, the indications are those of _marine_ glaciation and transport. this last statement, i believe, applies to the mountains and plains of europe and asia as well as of america. this view requires not only the supposition of great refrigeration, but of a great subsidence of the land in the temperate latitudes, with large residual islands and hills in the arctic regions. that such subsidence actually took place is proved, not only by the frequent occurrence of marine shells in the boulder clay itself, but also by the occurrence of stratified marine clays filled with shells, often of deep-water species, immediately over that deposit. further, the shells, and also occasional land plants found in these beds, indicate a cold climate and much cold fresh water pouring into the sea from melting ice and snow. in canada these marine clays have been traced up to elevations of feet, and in great britain deposits of this kind occur on one of the mountains of wales at the height of feet above the level of the sea. nor is it to be supposed that this level marks the extreme height of the post-pliocene waters, for drift material not explicable by glaciers, and evidences of marine erosion, occur at still higher levels, and it is natural that on high and exposed points fewer remains of fossiliferous beds should be left then in plains and valleys. at the present day the coasts of britain and other parts of western europe enjoy an exceptionally warm temperature, owing to the warm currents of the atlantic being thrown on them, and the warm and moist atlantic air flowing over them, under the influence of the prevailing westerly winds. these advantages are not possessed by the eastern coast of north america, nor by some deep channels in the sea, along which the cold northern currents flow under the warmer water. hence these last-mentioned localities are inhabited by boreal shells much farther south then such species extend on the coasts and banks of great britain. in the glacial period this exceptional advantage was lost, and while the american seas, as judged by their marine animals, were somewhat colder then at present, the british seas were proportionally much more cooled down. no doubt, however, there were warmer and colder areas, determined by depth and prevailing currents, and as these changed their position in elevation and subsidence of the land, alternations and even mixtures of the inhabitants of cold and warm water resulted, which have often been very puzzling to geologists. i have taken the series of drift deposits seen in britain and in canada as typical, and the previous discussion has had reference to them. but it would be unfair not to inform the reader that this succession of deposits after all belongs to the margins of our continents rather then to their great central areas. this is the case at least in north america, where in the region of the great lakes the oldest glaciated surfaces are overlaid by thick beds of stratified clay, without marine fossils, and often without either stones or boulders, though these sometimes occur, especially toward the north. the clay, however, contains drifted fragments of coniferous trees. above this clay are sand and gravel, and the principal deposit of travelled stones and boulders rests on these. i cannot affirm that a similar succession occurs on the great inland plains of europe and asia: but i think it probable that to some extent it does. the explanation of this inland drift by the advocates of a great continental glacier is as follows: ( ) in the pliocene period the continents were higher then at present, and many deep valleys, since filled up, were cut in them. ( ) in the post-pliocene these elevated continents became covered with ice, by the movement of which the valleys were deepened and the surfaces striated. ( ) this ice-period was followed by a depression and submergence, in which the clays were deposited, filling up old channels, and much changing the levels of the land. lastly, as the land rose again from this submergence, sand and gravel were deposited, and boulders scattered over the surface by floating ice. the advocates of floating ice as distinguished from a continental glacier, merely dispense with the latter, and affirm that the striation under the clay, as well as that connected with the later boulders, is the effect of floating bergs. the occurrence of so much drift wood in the clay favours their view, as it is more likely that there would be islands clothed with trees in the sea, then that these should exist immediately after the country had been mantled in ice. the want of marine shells is a difficulty in either view, but may be accounted for by the rapid deposition of the clay and the slow spreading of marine animals over a submerged continent under unfavourable conditions of climate. in any case the reader will please observe that theorists must account for both the interior and marginal forms of these deposits. let us tabulate the facts and the modes of accounting for them. ------------------------------------+------------------------------------ facts observed. | theoretical views. -------------------+----------------+------------------------------------ inland plains. | marginal areas.|glacial theories.| floating ice | | | theories. ===================+================+==================================== terraces. | terraces and | emergence of modern land.[aj] | raised beaches.| -------------------+----------------+------------------------------------ travelled boulders |sand and gravel,| and glaciated |with sea shells | stones and rocks |and boulders. | shallow sea and floating ice. stratified sand | | and gravel. | | -------------------+----------------+------------------------------------ stratified clay |stratified clay | deep sea and floating ice. with drift wood, |with sea shells.+----------------+------------------- and a few stones. |boulder clay |submergence of |much floating ice and boulders. |with or without |the land. great |and local glaciers. striated rocks. |sea shells. |continental |submergence of |striated rocks. |mantle of ice. |pliocene land. -------------------+----------------+----------------+------------------- old channels, |old channels, |erosion by |erosion by indicating a higher|etc., indicating|continental |atmospheric level of the land. |previous dry |glacier. |agencies and |land. | |accumulation of | | |decomposed rock. -------------------+----------------+----------------+------------------- [aj] the phenomena of this period, with reference to rainfall, melting snows, and valley deposits, must be noticed in the next chapter. this table will suffice at least to reduce the great glacier controversy to its narrowest limits, when we have added the one further consideration that glaciers are the parents of icebergs, and that the question is not of one or the other exclusively, but of the relative predominance of the one or the other in certain given times and places. both theories admit a great post-pliocene subsidence. the abettors of glaciers can urge the elevation of the surface, the supposed powers of glaciers as eroding agents, and the transport of boulders. those whose theoretical views lean to floating ice, believe that they can equally account for these phenomena, and can urge in support of their theory the occurrence of drift wood in the inland clay and boulder clay, and of sea-shells in the marginal clay and boulder clay, and the atmospheric decomposition of rock in the pliocene period, as a source of the material of the clays, while to similar causes they can attribute the erosion of the deep valleys piled with the post-pliocene deposits. they can also maintain that the general direction of striation and drift implies the action of sea currents, while they appeal to local glaciers to account for special cases of glaciated rocks at the higher levels. how long our continental plateaus remained under the icy seas of the glacial period we do not know. relatively to human chronology, it was no doubt a long time; but short in comparison with those older subsidences in which the great palæozoic limestones were produced. at length, however, the change came. slowly and gradually, or by intermittent lifts, the land rose: and as it did so, shallow-water sands and gravels were deposited on the surface of the deep-sea clays, and the sides of the hills were cut into inland cliffs and terraces, marking the stages of recession of the waters. at length, when the process was complete, our present continents stood forth in their existing proportions ready for the occupancy of man. the picture which these changes present to the imagination is one of the most extraordinary in all geological history. we have been familiar with the idea of worlds drowned in water, and the primeval incandescent earth shows us the possibility of our globe being melted with fervent heat; but here we have a world apparently frozen out destroyed by cold, or doubly destroyed by ice and water. let us endeavour to realise this revolution, as it may have occurred in any of the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, thickly peopled with the magnificent animals that had come down from the grand old miocene time. gradually the warm and equable temperature gives place to cold winters and chilly wet summers. the more tender animals die out, and the less hardy plants begin to be winter-killed, or to fail to perfect their fruits. as the forests are thus decimated, other and hardier species replace those which disappear. the animals which have had to confine themselves to sheltered spots, or which have perished through cold or want of food, are replaced by others migrating from the mountains, or from colder regions. some, perhaps, in the course of generations, become dwarfed in stature, and covered with more shaggy fur. permanent snow at length appears upon the hill-tops, and glaciers plough their way downward, devastating the forests, encroaching on the fertile plains, and at length reaching the heads of the bays and fiords. while snow and ice are thus encroaching from above, the land is subsiding, and the sea is advancing upon it, while great icebergs drifting on the coasts still further reduce the temperature. torrents and avalanches from the hills carry mud and gravel over the plains. peat bogs accumulate in the hollows. glaciers heap up confused masses of moraine, and the advancing sea piles up stones and shingle to be imbedded in mud on its further advance, while boreal marine animals invade the now submerged plains. at length the ice and water meet everywhere, or leave only a few green strips where hardy arctic plants still survive, and a few well-clad animals manage to protract their existence. perhaps even these are overwhelmed, and the curtain of the glacial winter falls over the fair scenery of the pliocene. in every locality thus invaded by an apparently perpetual winter, some species of laud animals must have perished. others may have migrated to more genial climes, others under depauperated and hardy varietal forms may have continued successfully to struggle for existence. the general result must have been greatly to diminish the nobler forms of life, and to encourage only those fitted for the most rigorous climates and least productive soils. could we have visited the world in this dreary period, and have witnessed the decadence and death of that brilliant and magnificent flora and fauna which we have traced upward from the eocene, we might well have despaired of the earth's destinies, and have fancied it the sport of some malignant demon; or have supposed that in the contest between the powers of destruction and those of renovation the former had finally gained the victory. we must observe, however, that the suffering in such a process is less then we might suppose. so long as animals could exist, they would continue to enjoy life. the conditions unfavourable to them would be equally or more so to their natural enemies. only the last survivors would meet with what might be regarded as a tragical end. as one description of animal became extinct, another was prepared to occupy its room. if elephants and rhinoceroses perished from the land, countless herds of walruses and seals took their places. if gay insects died and disappeared, shell-fishes and sea-stars were their successors. thus in nature there is life even in death, and constant enjoyment even when old systems are passing away. but could we have survived the glacial period, we should have seen a reason for its apparently wholesale destruction. out of that chaos came at length an eden; and just as the permian prepared the way for the mesozoic, so the glaciers and icebergs of the post-pliocene were the ploughshare of god preparing the earth for the time when, with a flora and fauna more beautiful and useful, if less magnificent then that of the tertiary, it became as the garden of the lord, fitted for the reception of his image and likeness, immortal and intelligent man. we need not, however, with one modern school of philosophy, regard man himself as but a descendant of miocene apes, scourged into reason and humanity by the struggle for existence in the glacial period. we may be content to consider him as a son of god, and to study in the succeeding chapters that renewal of the post-pliocene world which preceded and heralded his advent. in the meantime, our illustration,[ak] borrowed in part from the magnificent representation of the post-pliocene fauna of england, by the great restorer of extinct animals, mr. waterhouse hawkins, may serve to give some idea of the grand and massive forms of animal life which, even in the higher latitudes, survived the post-pliocene cold, and only decayed and disappeared under that amelioration of physical conditions which marks the introduction of the human period. [ak] page . chapter xii. close of the post-pliocene, and advent of man. _in_ closing these sketches it may seem unsatisfactory not to link the geological ages with the modern period in which we live; yet, perhaps, nothing is more complicated or encompassed with greater difficulties or uncertainties. the geologist, emerging from the study of the older monuments of the earth's history, and working with the methods of physical science, here meets face to face the archæologist and historian, who have been tracing back in the opposite direction, and with very different appliances, the stream of human history and tradition. in such circumstances conflicts may occur, or at least the two paths of inquiry may refuse to connect themselves without concessions unpleasant to the pursuers of one or both. further, it is just at this meeting-place that the dim candle of traditional lore is almost burnt out in the hand of the antiquary, and that the geologist finds his monumental evidence becoming more scanty and less distinct. we cannot hope as yet to dispel all the shadows that haunt this obscure domain, but can at least point out some of the paths which traverse it. in attempting this, we may first classify the time involved as follows: ( ) the earlier post-pliocene period of geology may be called the _glacial_ era. it is that of a cold climate, accompanied by glaciation and boulder deposits. ( ) the later _post-pliocene_ may be called the post-glacial era. it is that of re-elevation of the continents and restoration of a mild temperature. it connects itself with the pre-historic period of the archæologist, inasmuch as remains of man and his works are apparently included in the same deposits which hold the bones of post-glacial animals. ( ) the _modern_ era is that of secular human history. it may be stated with certainty that the pliocene period of geology affords no trace of human remains or implements; and the same may i think be affirmed of the period of glaciation and subsidence which constitutes the earlier post-pliocene. with the rise of the land out of the glacial sea indications of man are believed to appear, along with remains of several mammalian species now his contemporaries. archæology and geology thus meet somewhere in the pre-historic period of the former, and in the post-glacial of the latter. wherever, therefore, human history extends farthest back, and geological formations of the most modern periods exist and have been explored, we may expect best to define their junctions. unfortunately it happens that our information on these points is still very incomplete and locally limited. in many extensive regions, like america and australia, while the geological record is somewhat complete, the historic record extends back at most a few centuries, and the pre-historic monuments are of uncertain date. in other countries, as in western asia and egypt, where the historic record extends very far back, the geology is less perfectly known. at the present moment, therefore, the main battle-field of these controversies is in western europe, where, though history scarce extends farther back then the time of the roman republic, the geologic record is very complete, and has been explored with some thoroughness. it is obvious, however, that we thus have to face the question at a point where the pre-historic gap is necessarily very wide. taking england as an example, all before the roman invasion is pre-historic, and with regard to this pre-historic period the evidence that we can obtain is chiefly of a geological character. the pre-historic men are essentially fossils. we know of them merely what can be learned from their bones and implements embedded in the soil or in the earth of the caverns in which some of them sheltered themselves. for the origin and date of these deposits the antiquary must go to the geologist, and he imitates the geologist in arranging his human fossils under such names as the "paleolithic," or period of rude stone implements; the "neolithic" or period of polished stone implements; the bronze period, and the iron period; though inasmuch as higher and lower states of the arts seem always to have coexisted, and the time involved is comparatively short, these periods are of far less value then those of geology. in britain the age of iron is in the main historic. that of bronze goes back to the times of early phoenician trade with the south of england. that of stone, while locally extending far into the succeeding ages, reaches back into an unknown antiquity, and is, as we shall see in the sequel, probably divided into two by a great physical change, though not in the abrupt and arbitrary way sometimes assumed by those who base their classification solely on the rude or polished character of stone implements. we must not forget, however, that in western asia the ages of bronze and iron may have begun two thousand years at least earlier then in britain, and that in some parts of america the palaeolithic age of chipped stone implements still continues. we must also bear in mind that when the archæologist appeals to the geologist for aid, he thereby leaves that kind of investigation in which dates are settled by years, for that in which they are marked merely by successive physical and organic changes. turning, then, to our familiar geological methods, and confining ourselves mainly to the northern hemisphere and to western europe, two pictures present themselves to us: (!) the physical changes preceding the advent of man; ( ) the decadence of the land animals of the post-pliocene age, and the appearance of those of the modern. in the last chapter i had to introduce the reader to a great and terrible revolution, whereby the old pliocene continents, with all their wealth of animals and plants, became sealed up in a mantle of greenland ice, or, slowly sinking beneath the level of the sea, were transformed into an ocean-bottom over which icebergs bore their freight of clay and boulders. we also saw that as the post-pliocene age advanced, the latter condition prevailed, until the waters stood more then a thousand feet deep over the plains of europe. in this great glacial submergence, which closed the earlier post-pliocene period, and over vast areas of the northern hemisphere, terminated the existence of many of the noblest forms of life, it is believed that man had no share. we have, at least as yet, no record of his presence. out of these waters the land again rose slowly and intermittently, so that the receding waves worked even out of hard rocks ranges of coast cliff which the further elevation converted into inland terraces, and that the clay and stones deposited by the glacial waters were in many places worked over and rearranged by the tides and waves of the shallowing sea before they were permanently raised up to undergo the action of the rains and streams, while long banks of sand and gravel were stretched across plains and the mouths of valleys, constituting "kames," or "eskers," only to be distinguished from moraines of glaciers by the stratified arrangement of their materials. further, as the land rose, its surface was greatly and rapidly modified by rains and streams. there is the amplest evidence, both in europe and america, that at this time the erosion by these means was enormous in comparison with anything we now experience. the rainfall must have been excessive, the volume of water in the streams very great; and the facilities for cutting channels in the old pliocene valleys, filled to the brim with mud and boulder-clay, were unprecedented. while the area of the land was still limited, much of it would be high and broken, and it would have all the dampness of an insular climate. as it rose in height, plains which had, while under the sea, been loaded with the _débris_ swept from the land, would be raised up to experience river erosion. it was the spring-time of the glacial era, a spring eminent for its melting snows, its rains, and its river floods.[al] to an observer living at this time it would have seemed as if the slow process of moulding the continents was being pushed forward with unexampled rapidity. the valleys were ploughed out and cleansed, the plains levelled and overspread with beds of alluvium, giving new features of beauty and utility to the land, and preparing the way for the life of the modern period, as if to make up for the time which had been lost in the dreary glacial age. it will readily be understood how puzzling these deposits have been to geologists, especially to those who fail to present to their minds the true conditions of the period; and how difficult it is to separate the river alluvia of this age from the deposits in the seas and estuaries, and these again from the older glacial beds. further, in not a few instances the animals of a cold climate must have lived in close proximity to those which belonged to ameliorated conditions, and the fossils of the older post-pliocene must often, in the process of sorting by water, have been mixed with those of the newer. [al] mr. tylor has well designated this period as the pluvial age. _journal of the geological society_, . many years ago the brilliant and penetrating intellect of edward forbes was directed to the question of the maximum extent of the later post-pliocene or post-glacial land; and his investigations into the distribution of the european flora, in connection with the phenomena of submerged terrestrial surfaces, led to the belief that the land had risen until it was both higher and more extensive then at present. at the time of greatest elevation, england was joined to the continent of europe by a level plain, and a similar plain connected ireland with its sister islands. over these plains the plants constituting the "germanic" flora spread themselves into the area of the british islands, and herds of mammoth, rhinoceros, and irish elk wandered and extended their range from east to west. the deductions of forbes have been confirmed and extended by others; and it can scarcely be doubted that in the post-glacial era, the land regained fully the extent which it had possessed in the time of the pliocene. in these circumstances the loftier hills might still reach the limits of perpetual snow, but their glaciers would no longer descend to the sea. what are now the beds of shallow seas would be vast wooded plains, drained by magnificent rivers, whose main courses are now submerged, and only their branches remain as separate and distinct streams, the cold but equable climate of the post-pliocene would now be exchanged for warm summers, alternating with sharp winters, whose severity would be mitigated by the dense forest covering, which would also contribute to the due supply of moisture, preventing the surface from being burnt into arid plains. it seems not improbable that it was when the continents had attained to their greatest extension and when animal and vegetable life had again over-spread the new land to its utmost limits, that man was introduced on the eastern continent, and with him several mammalian species, not known in the pliocene period, and some of which, as the sheep, the goat, the ox, and the dog, have ever since been his companions and humble allies. these, at least in the west of europe, were the "palaeolithic" men, the makers of the oldest flint implements; and armed with these, they had to assert the mastery of man over broader lands then we now possess, and over many species of great animals now extinct. in thus writing, i assume the accuracy of the inferences from the occurrence of worked stones with the bones of post-glacial animals, which must have lived during the condition of our continents above referred to. if these inferences are well founded, not only did man exist at this time, but man not even varietally distinct from modern european races. but if man really appeared in europe in the post-glacial era, he was destined to be exposed to one great natural vicissitude before his permanent establishment in the world. the land had reached its maximum elevation, but its foundations, "standing in the water and out of the water," were not yet securely settled, and it had to take one more plunge-bath before attaining its modern fixity. this seems to have been a comparatively rapid subsidence and re-elevation, leaving but slender traces of its occurrence, but changing to some extent the levels of the continents, and failing to restore them fully to their former elevation, so that large areas of the lower grounds still remained under the sea. if, as the greater number of geologists now believe, man was then on the earth, it is not impossible that this constituted the deluge recorded in that remarkable "log book" of noah preserved to us in genesis, and of which the memory remains in the traditions of most ancient nations. this is at least the geological deluge which separates the post-glacial period from the modern, and the earlier from the later pre-historic period of the archæologists.[am] [am] i have long thought that the narrative in gen. vii. and viii. can be understood only on the supposition that it is a contemporary journal or log of an eye-witness incorporated by the author of genesis in his work. the dates of the rising and fall of the water, the note of soundings over the hill-tops when the maximum was attained, and many other details, as well as the whole tone of the narrative, seem to require this supposition, which also removes all the difficulties of interpretation which have been so much felt. very important questions of time are involved in this idea of post-glacial man, and much will depend, in the solution of these, on the views which we adopt as to the rate of subsidence and elevation of the land. if, with the majority of british geologists, we hold that it is to be measured by those slow movements now in progress, the time required will be long. if, with most continental and some american geologists, we believe in paroxysmal movements of elevation and depression, it may be much reduced. we have seen in the progress of our inquiries that the movements of the continents seem to have occurred with accelerated rapidity in the more modern periods. we have also seen that these movements might depend on the slow contraction of the earth's crust due to cooling, but that the effects of this contraction might manifest themselves only at intervals. we have further seen that the gradual retardation of the rotation of the earth furnishes a cause capable of producing elevation and subsidence of the land, and that this also might be manifested at longer or shorter intervals, according to the strength and resisting power of the crust. under the influence of this retardation, so long as the crust of the earth did not give way, the waters would be driven toward the poles, and the northern land would be submerged; but so soon as the tension became so great as to rupture the solid shell, the equatorial regions would collapse, and the northern land would again be raised. the subsidence would be gradual, the elevation paroxysmal, and perhaps intermittent. let us suppose that this was what occurred in the glacial period, and that the land had attained to its maximum elevation. this might not prove to be permanent; the new balance of the crust might be liable to local or general disturbance in a minor degree, leading to subsidence and partial re-elevation, following the great post-glacial elevation. there is, therefore, nothing unreasonable in that view which makes the subsidence and re-elevation at the close of the post-glacial period somewhat abrupt, at least when compared with some more ancient movements. but what is the evidence of the deposits formed at this period? here we meet with results most diverse and contradictory, but i think there can be little doubt that on this kind of evidence the time required for the post-glacial period has been greatly exaggerated, especially by those geologists who refuse to receive such views as to subsidence and elevation as those above stated. the calculations of long time based on the gravels of the somme, on the cone of the tinière, on the peat bogs of france and denmark, on certain cavern deposits, have all been shown to be more or less at fault; and possibly none of these reach further back then the six or seven thousand years which, according to dr. andrews, have elapsed since the close of the boulder-clay deposits in america.[an] i am aware that such a statement will be regarded with surprise by many in england, where even the popular literature has been penetrated with the idea of a duration of the human period immensely long in comparison with what used to be the popular belief; but i feel convinced that the scientific pendulum must swing backward in this direction nearer to its old position. let us look at a few of the facts. much use has been made of the "cone" or delta of the tinière on the eastern side of the lake of geneva, as an illustration of the duration of the modern period. this little stream has deposited at its mouth a mass of _débris_ carried down from the hills. this being cut through by a railway, is found to contain roman remains to a depth of four feet, bronze implements to a depth of ten feet, stone implements at a depth of nineteen feet. the deposit ceased about three hundred years ago, and calculating to years for the roman period, we should have to , years as the age of the cone. but before the formation of the present cone, another had been formed twelve times as large. thus for the two cones together, a duration of more then , years is claimed. it appears, however, that this calculation has been made irrespective of two essential elements in the question. no allowance has been made for the fact that the inner layers of a cone are necessarily smaller then the outer; nor for the further fact that the older cone belongs to a distinct time (the pluvial age already referred to), when the rainfall was much larger, and the transporting power of the torrent great in proportion. making allowance for these conditions, the age of the newer cone, that holding human remains, falls between and years. the peat bed of abbeville, in the north of france, has grown at the rate of one and a half to two inches in a century. being twenty-six feet in thickness, the time occupied in its growth must have amounted to , years; and yet it is probably newer then some of the gravels on the same river containing flint implements. but the composition of the abbeville peat shows that it's a forest peat, and the erect stems preserved in it prove that in the first instance it must have grown at the rate of about three feet in a century, and after the destruction of the forest its rate of increase down to the present time diminished rapidly almost to nothing. its age is thus reduced to perhaps less then years. in i had an opportunity to examine the now celebrated gravels of st. acheul, on the somme, by some supposed to go back to a very ancient period. with the papers of prestwich and other able observers in my hand, i could conclude merely that the undisturbed gravels were older then the roman period, but how much older only detailed topographical surveys could prove; and that taking into account the probabilities of a different level of the land, a wooded condition of the country, a greater rainfall, and a glacial filling of the somme valley with clay and stones subsequently cut out by running water the gravels could scarcely be older then the abbeville peat. to have published such views in england would have been simply to have delivered myself into the hands of the philistines. i therefore contented myself with recording my opinion in canada. tylor[ao] and andrews[ap] have, however, i think, subsequently shown that my impressions were correct. in like manner, i fail to perceive, and i think all american geologists acquainted with the pre-historic monuments of the western continent must agree with me, any evidence of great antiquity in the caves of belgium and england, the kitchen-middens of denmark, the rock-shelters of france, the lake habitations of switzerland. at the same time, i would disclaim all attempt to resolve their dates into precise terms of years. i may merely add, that the elaborate and careful observations of dr. andrews on the raised beaches of lake michigan, observations of a much more precise character then any which, in so far as i know, have been made of such deposits in europe, enable him to calculate the time which has elapsed since north america rose out of the waters of the glacial period as between and years. this fixes at least the possible duration of the human period in north america, though i believe there are other lines of evidence which, would reduce the residence of man in america to a much shorter time. longer periods have, it is true, been deduced from the delta of the mississippi and the gorge of niagara; but the deposits of the former have been found by hilgard to be in great part marine, and the excavation of the latter began at a period probably long anterior to the advent of man. [an] "transactions, chicago academy," . [ao] "journal of geological society," vol. xxv. [ap] "silliman's journal," . but another question remains. from the similarities existing in the animals and plants of regions in the southern hemisphere now widely separated by the ocean, it has been inferred that post-pliocene land of great extent existed there; and that on this land men may have lived before the continents of the northern hemisphere were ready for them. it has even been supposed that, inasmuch as the flora and fauna of australia have an aspect like that of the eocene tertiary, and very low forms of man exist in that part of the world, these low races are the oldest of all, and may date from tertiary times. positive evidence of this, however, there is none. these races have no monuments; nor, so far as known, have they left their remains in post-pliocene deposits. it depends on the assumptions that the ruder races of men are the oldest; and that man has no greater migratory powers then other animals. the first is probably false, as being contrary to history; and also to the testimony of palaeontology with reference to the laws of creation. the second is certainly false; for we know that man has managed to associate himself with every existing fauna and flora, even in modern times; and that the most modern races have pitched their tents amid tree-ferns and proteaceæ, and have hunted kangaroos and emus. further, when we consider that the productions of the southern hemisphere are not only more antique then those of the northern, but, on the whole, less suited for the comfortable subsistence of man and the animals most useful to him; and that the post-pliocene animals of the southern hemisphere were of similar types with their modern successors, we are the less inclined to believe that these regions would be selected as the cradle of the human race. condensed tabular view of the ages and periods of the neozoic. key to symbols ### recent species of aquatic invertebrates. teleostian fishes and squaloid sharks prevail. --- ages of angiosperms and plants. === "and god said--let the land bring forth herbivorous beasts and carnivorous beasts, after their kinds; and it was so." +++ "and god created man in his own image." time. ages. periods. animals and plants. neozoic or cainozoic. {newer. still future (?) age of + modern {middle. historic. man + {older. pre-historic. + + {n. post-glacial gravels and cave # + { deposits. saxicava sand and # + post- { terraces (america). # + pliocene {m. marine clays. leda clays. erie # - + { clay (america). # - + {o. glacial drift. boulder clay # - + { (america). # - + # - + {n. norwich crag; sicilian and # - { val d'arno beds. # - pliocene {m. ____________ sumter group (america). # - {o. red and coralline crag; sub-appenine # - = { beds. # - = # - = {n. faluns of loraine; upper molasse; # - = { siwalik beds; oeningen plant beds. # - = { york-town beds (america). # - = miocene {m. ____________ # - = {o. upper paris beds; hempstead and bovey # - = { beds; lower molasse. nebraska beds # - = { (west america). # mammals. - = # - = {n. gypseous series, paris. vicksburg # - = { group (america). # = eocene {m. calcaire grossier, bagshot and alum # = { bay beds. jackson group (america). = {o. argile plastique; london clay. = { claiborne group (america). = chapter xiii. close of the post-pliocene, and advent of man. (_continued._) turning from these difficult questions of time, we may now look at the assemblage of land-animals presented by the post-glacial period. here, for the first time in the great series of continental elevations and depressions, we find the newly-emerging land peopled with familiar forms. nearly all the modern european animals have left their bones in the clays, gravels, and cavern deposits which belong to this period; but with them are others either not now found within the limits of temperate europe, or altogether extinct. thus the remarkable fact comes out, that the uprising land was peopled at first with a more abundant fauna then that which it now sustains, and that many species, and among these some of the largest and most powerful, have been weeded out, either before the advent of man or in the changes which immediately succeeded that event. that in the post-glacial period so many noble animal species should have been overthrown in the struggle for existence, without leaving any successors, at least in europe, is one of the most remarkable phenomena in the history of life on our planet. according to. pictet,[aq] the post-glacial beds of europe afford ninety-eight species of mammals, of which fifty-seven still live there, the remainder being either locally or wholly extinct. according to mr. boyd dawkins,[ar] in great britain about twelve pliocene species survived the glacial period, and reappeared in the british islands in the post-glacial. to these were added forty-one species making in all fifty-three, whose remains are found in the gravels and caves of the latter period. of these, in the modern period twenty-eight, or rather more then one-half, survive, fourteen are wholly extinct, and eleven are locally extinct. [aq] palæontologie. [ar] "journal of geological society," and palæontographical society's publications. [illustration: britain in the post-pliocene age. musk-sheep, hippopotamus, machairodus, mammoth, wooly rhinoceros, long-fronted ox, and irish stag. the animals are taken from mr. waterhouse hawkins's picture, "struggles of life among british animals of the antediluvian times." london: . the landscape is that of the later part of the cold post-pliocene period.] among the extinct beasts, were some of very remarkable character. there were two or more species of elephant, which seem in this age to have overspread, in vast herds, all the plains of northern europe and asia; and one of which we know, from the perfect specimen found embedded in the frozen soil of siberia, lived till a very modern period; and was clothed with long hair and fur, fitting it for a cold climate. there were also three or four species of rhinoceros, one of which at least (the _r. tichorhinus_) was clad with wool like the great siberian mammoth. with these was a huge hippopotamus (_h. major_), whose head-quarters would, however, seem to have been farther south then england, or which perhaps inhabited chiefly the swamps along the large rivers running through areas now under the sea. the occurrence of such an animal shows an abundant vegetation, and a climate so mild, that the rivers were not covered with heavy ice in winter; for the supposition that this old hippopotamus was a migratory animal seems very unlikely. another animal of this time, was the magnificent deer, known as the irish elk; and which perhaps had its principal abode on the great plain which is now the irish sea. the terrible machairodus, or cymetar-toothed tiger, was continued from the pliocene; and in addition to species of bear still living, there was a species of gigantic size, probably now extinct, the cave bear. evidences are accumulating, to show that all or nearly all these survived until the human period. if we turn now to those animals which are only locally extinct, we meet with some strange, and at first sight puzzling anomalies. some of these are creatures now limited to climates much colder then that of britain. others now belong to warmer climates. conspicuous among the former are the musk-sheep, the elk, the reindeer, the glutton, and the lemming. among the latter, we see the panther, the lion, and the cape hyena. that animals now so widely separated as the musk-sheep of arctic america and the hyena of south africa, could ever have inhabited the same forests, seems a dream of the wildest fancy. yet it is not difficult to find a probable solution of the mystery. in north america, at the present day, the puma, or american lion, comes up to the same latitudes with the caribou, or reindeer, and moose; and in asia, the tiger extends its migrations into the abodes of boreal animals in the plains of siberia. even in europe, within the historic period, the reindeer inhabited the forests of germany; and the lion extended its range nearly as far northward. the explanation lies in the co-existence of a densely wooded country with a temperate climate; the forests affording to southern animals shelter from the cold or winter; and equally to the northern animals protection from the heat of summer. hence our wonder at this association of animals of diverse habitudes as to climate, is merely a prejudice arising from the present exceptional condition of europe. still it is possible that changes unfavourable to some of these animals, were in progress before the arrival of man, with his clearings and forest fires and other disturbing agencies. even in america, the megalonyx, or gigantic sloth, the mammoth, the mastodon, the fossil horse, and many other creatures, disappeared before the modern period; and on both continents the great post-glacial subsidence or deluge may have swept away some of the species. such a supposition seems necessary to account for the phenomena of the gravel and cave deposits of england, and cope has recently suggested it in explanation of similar storehouses of fossil animals in america.[as] [as] proceedings of the american philosophical society, april . among the many pictures which this fertile subject calls up, perhaps none is more curious then that presented by the post-glacial cavern deposits. we may close our survey of this period with the exploration of one of these strange repositories; and may select kent's hole at torquay, so carefully excavated and illumined with the magnesium light of scientific inquiry by mr. pengelly and a committee of the british association. the somewhat extensive and ramifying cavern of kent's hole is an irregular excavation, evidently due partly to fissures in limestone rock, and partly to the erosive action of water enlarging such fissures into chambers and galleries. at what time it was originally cut we do not know, but it must have existed as a cavern at the close of the pliocene or beginning of the post-pliocene period, since which time it has been receiving a series of deposits which have quite filled up some of its smaller branches. first and lowest, according to mr. pengelly, is a "breccia" or mass of broken and rounded stones, with hardened red clay filling the interstices. most of the stones are of the rock which forms the roof and walls of the cave, but many, especially the rounded ones, are from more distant parts of the surrounding country. in this mass, the depth of which is unknown, are numerous bones, all of one kind of animal, the cave bear, a creature which seems to have lived in western europe from the close of the pliocene down to the modern period. it must have been one of the earliest and most permanent tenants of kent's hole at a time when its lower chambers were still filled with water. next above the breccia is a floor of "stalagmite" or stony carbonate of lime, deposited from the drippings of the roof, and in some places three feet thick. this also contains bones of the cave bear, deposited when there was less access of water to the cavern. mr. pengelly infers the existence of man at this time from a single flint flake and a single flint chip found in these beds; but mere flakes and chips of flint are too often natural to warrant such a conclusion. after the old stalagmite floor above mentioned was formed, the cave again received deposits of muddy water and stones; but now a change occurs in the remains embedded. this stony clay, or "cave earth" has yielded an immense quantity of teeth and bones, including those of the elephant, rhinoceros, horse, hyena, cave bear, reindeer, and irish elk. with these were found weapons of chipped flint, and harpoons, needles, and bodkins of bone, precisely similar to those of the north american indians and other rude races. the "cave earth" is four feet or more in thickness, it is not stratified, and contains many fallen fragments of rock, rounded stones, and broken pieces of stalagmite. it also has patches of the excrement of hyenas, which the explorers suppose to indicate the temporary residence of these animals; and in one spot, near the top, is a limited layer of burnt wood, with remains which indicate the cooking and eating of repasts of animal food by man. it is clear that when this bed was formed the cavern was liable to be inundated with muddy water, carrying stones and other heavy objects, and breaking up in places the old stalagmite floor. one of the most puzzling features, especially to those who take an exclusively uniformitarian view, is, that the entrance of water-borne mud and stones implies a level of the bottom of the water in the neighbouring valleys of about feet above its present height. the cave earth is covered by a second crust of stalagmite, less dense and thick then that below, and containing only a few bones, which are of the same general character with those below, but include a fragment of a human jaw with teeth. evidently, when this stalagmite was formed, the influx of water-borne materials had ceased, or nearly so; but whether the animals previously occupying the country still continued in it, or only accidental bones, etc., were introduced into the cave or lifted from the bed below, does not appear. the next bed marks a new change. it is a layer of black mould from three to ten inches thick. its microscopic structure does not seem to have been examined; but it is probably a forest soil, introduced by growth, by water, by wind, and by ingress of animals, at a time when the cave was nearly in its present state, and the surrounding country densely wooded. this bed contains bones of animals, all of them modern, and works of art ranging from the old british times before the roman invasion up to the porter-bottles and dropped halfpence of modern visitors. lastly, in and upon the black mould are many fallen blocks from the roof of the cave. there can be no doubt that this cave and the neighbouring one of brixham have done very much to impress the minds of british geologists with ideas of the great antiquity of man, and they have, more then any other post-glacial monuments, shown the persistence of some animals now extinct up to the human age. of precise data for determining time, they have, however, given nothing. the only measures which seed to have been applied, namely, the rate of growth of stalagmite and the rate of erosion of the neighbouring valleys, are, from the very sequence of the deposits, obviously worthless; and the only apparently available constant measure, namely, the fall of blocks from the roof, seems not yet to have been applied. we are therefore quite uncertain as to the number of centuries involved in the filling of this cave, and must remain so until a surer system of calculation is adopted. we may, however, attempt to sketch the series of events which it indicates. the animals found in kent's hole are all "post-glacial." they therefore inhabited the country after it rose from the great glacial submergence. perhaps the first colonists of the coasts of devonshire in this period were the cave bears, migrating on floating ice, and subsisting, like the arctic bear, and the black bears of anticosti, on fish, and on the garbage cast up by the sea. they found kent's hole a sea-side cavern, with perhaps some of its galleries still full of water, and filling with, breccia, with which the bones of dead bears became mixed. as the land rose, these creatures for the most part betook themselves to lower levels, and in process of time the cavern stood upon a hill-side, perhaps several hundreds of feet above the sea; and the mountain torrents, their beds not yet emptied of glacial detritus, washed into it stones and mud and carcases of animals of many species which had now swarmed across the plains elevated out of the sea, and multiplied in the land. this was the time of the cave earth; and before its deposit was completed, though how long before, a confused and often-disturbed bed of this kind cannot tell, man himself seems to have been added to the inhabitants of the british land. in pursuit of game he sometimes ascended the valleys beyond the cavern, or even penetrated into its outer chambers; or perhaps there were even in those days rude and savage hill-men, inhabiting the forests and warring with the more cultivated denizens of plains below, which are now deep under the waters. their weapons, lost in hunting, or buried in the flesh of wounded animals which crept to the streams to assuage their thirst, are those found in the cave earth. the absence of human bones may merely show that the mighty hunters of those days were too hardy, athletic, and intelligent, often to perish from accidental causes, and that they did not use this cavern for a place of burial. but the land again subsided. the valley of that now nameless river, of which the rhine the themes, and the severn may have alike been tributaries, disappeared under the sea; and some tribe, driven from the lower lands, took refuge in this cave, now again near the encroaching waves, and left there the remains of their last repasts ere they were driven farther inland or engulfed in the waters. for a time the cavern may have been wholly submerged, and the charcoal of the extinguished fires became covered with its thin coating of clay. but ere long it re-emerged to form part of an island, long barren and desolate; and the valleys having been cut deeper by the receding waters, it no longer received muddy deposits, and the crust formed by drippings from its roof contained only bones and pebbles washed by rains or occasional land floods from its own clay deposits. finally, the modern forests overspread the land, and were tenanted by the modern animals. man returned to use the cavern again as a place of refuge or habitation, and to leave there the relics contained in the black earth. this seems at present the only intelligible history of this curious cave and others resembling it; though, when we consider the imperfection of the results obtained even by a large amount of labour, and the difficult and confused character of the deposits in this and similar caves, too much value should not be attached to such histories, which may at any time be contradicted or modified by new facts or different explanations of those already known. the time involved depends very much, as already stated, on the question whether we regard the post-glacial subsidence and re-elevation as somewhat sudden, or as occupying long ages at the slow rate at which some parts of our continents are now rising or sinking.[at] [at] another element in this is also the question raised by dawkins, geikie, and others as to subdivisions of the post-glacial period and intermissions of the glacial cold. after careful consideration of these views, however, i cannot consider them as of much importance. such are the glimpses, obscure though stimulating to the imagination, which geology can give of the circumstances attending the appearance of man in western europe. how far we are from being able to account for his origin, or to give its circumstances and relative dates for the whole world, the reader will readily understand. still it is something to know that there is an intelligible meeting-place of the later geological ages and the age of man, and that it is one inviting to many and hopeful researches. it is curious also to find that the few monuments disinterred by geology, the antediluvian record of holy scripture, and the golden age of heathen tradition, seem alike to point to similar physical conditions, and to that simple state of the arts of life in which "gold and wampum and flint stones"[au] constituted the chief material treasures of the earliest tribes of men. they also point to the immeasurable elevation, then as now, of man over his brute rivals for the dominion of the earth. to the naturalist this subject opens up most inviting yet most difficult paths of research, to be entered on with caution and reverence, rather then in the bold and dashing spirit of many modern attempts. the christian, on his part, may feel satisfied that the scattered monumental relics of the caves and gravels will tell no story very different from that which he has long believed on other evidence, nor anything inconsistent with those views of man's heavenly origin and destiny which have been the most precious inheritance of the greatest and best minds of every age, from that early pre-historic period when men, "palaeolithic" men, no doubt, began to "invoke the name of jehovah," the coming saviour, down to those times when life and immortality are brought to light, for all who will see, by the saviour already come. [au] so i read the "gold, bedolah, and shoham" of the description of eden in genesis ii.--the oldest literary record of the stone age. in completing this series of pictures, i wish emphatically to insist on the imperfection of the sketches which i have been able to present, and which are less, in comparison with the grand march of the creative work, even as now imperfectly known to science, then the roughest pencilling of a child when compared with a finished picture. if they have any popular value, it will be in presenting such a broad general view of a great subject as may induce further study to fill up the details. if they have any scientific value, it will be in removing the minds of british students for a little from the too exclusive study of their own limited marginal area, which has been to them too much the "celestial empire" around which all other countries must be arranged, and in divesting the subject of the special colouring given to it by certain prominent cliques and parties. geology as a science is at present in a peculiar and somewhat exceptional state. under the influence of a few men of commanding genius belonging to the generation now passing away, it has made so gigantic conquests that its armies have broken up into bands of specialists, little better then scientific banditti, liable to be beaten in detail, and prone to commit outrages on common sense and good taste, which bring their otherwise good cause into disrepute. the leaders of these bands are, many of them, good soldiers, but few of them fitted to be general officers, and none of them able to reunite our scattered detachments. we need larger minds, of broader culture and wider sympathies, to organise and rule the lands which we have subdued, and to lead on to further conquests. in the present state of natural science in britain, this evil is perhaps to be remedied only by providing a wider and deeper culture for our young men. few of our present workers have enjoyed that thorough training in mental as well as physical science, which is necessary to enable men even of great powers to take large and lofty views of the scheme of nature. hence we often find men who are fair workers in limited departments, reasoning most illogically, taking narrow and local views, elevating the exception into the rule, led away by baseless metaphysical subtleties, quarrelling with men who look at their specialties from a different point of view, and even striving and plotting for the advancement of their own hobbies. such defects certainly mar much of the scientific work now being done. in the more advanced walks of scientific research, they are to some extent neutralised by that free discussion which true science always fosters; though even here they sometimes vexatiously arrest the progress of truth, or open floodgates of error which it may require much labour to close. but in public lectures and popular publications they run riot, and are stimulated by the mistaken opposition of narrow-minded good men, by the love of the new and sensational, and by the rivalry of men struggling for place and position. to launch a clever and startling fallacy which will float for a week and stir up a hard fight, seems almost as great a triumph as the discovery of an important fact or law; and the honest student is distracted with the multitude of doctrines, and hustled aside by the crowd of ambitious groundlings. the only remedy in the case is a higher and more general scientific education; and yet i do not wonder that many good men object to this, simply because of the difficulty of finding honest and competent teachers, themselves well grounded in their subjects, and free from that too common insanity of specialists and half-educated men, which impels them to run amuck at everything that does not depend on their own methods of research. this is a difficulty which can be met in our time only by the general good sense and right feeling of the community taking a firm hold of the matter, and insisting on the organization and extension of the higher scientific education, as well as that of a more elementary character, under the management of able and sane men. yet even if not so counteracted, present follies will pass away, and a new and better state of natural science will arise in the future, by its own internal development. science cannot long successfully isolate itself from god. its life lies in the fact that it is the exponent of the plans and works of the great creative will. it must, in spite of itself, serve his purposes, by dispelling blighting ignorance and superstition, by lighting the way to successive triumphs of human skill over the powers of nature, and by guarding men from the evils that flow from infringement of natural laws. and it cannot fail, as it approaches nearer to the boundaries of that which may be known by finite minds, to be humbled by the contemplation of the infinite, and to recognise therein that intelligence of which the human mind is but the image and shadow. it may be that theologians also are needed who shall be fit to take the place of moses to our generation, in teaching it again the very elements of natural theology; but let them not look upon science as a cold and godless demon, holding forth to the world a poisoned cup cunningly compounded of truth and falsehood; but rather as the natural ally and associate of the gospel of salvation. the matter is so put in one of those visions which close the canon of revelation, when the prophet sees a mighty angel having the "everlasting gospel to preach;" but he begins his proclamation by calling on men to "worship him _that made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of waters_." men must know god as the creator even before they seek him as a benefactor and redeemer. thus religion must go hand in hand with all true and honest science. in this way only may we look forward to a time when a more exact and large-minded science shall be in perfect accord with a more pure and spiritual christianity, when the natural and the spiritual shall be seen to be the necessary complements of each other, and when we shall hear no more of reconciliations between science and theology, because there will be no quarrels to reconcile. already, even in the present chaos of scientific and religious opinion, indications can be seen by the observant, that the divine spirit of order is breathing on the mass, and will evolve from it new and beautiful worlds of mental and spiritual existence. chapter xiv. primitive man. considered with reference to modern theories as to his origin. the geological record, as we have been reading it, introduces us to primitive man, but gives us no distinct information as to his origin. tradition and revelation have, it is true, their solutions of the mystery, but there are, and always have been, many who will not take these on trust, but must grope for themselves with the taper of science or philosophy into the dark caverns whence issue the springs of humanity. in former times it was philosophic speculation alone which lent its dim and uncertain light to these bold inquirers; but in our day the new and startling discoveries in physics, chemistry, and biology have flashed up with an unexpected brilliancy, and have at least served to dazzle the eyes and encourage the hopes of the curious, and to lead to explorations more bold and systematic then any previously undertaken. thus has been born amongst us, or rather renewed, for it is a very old thing, that evolutionist philosophy, which has been well characterised as the "baldest of all the philosophies which have sprung up in our world," and which solves the question of human origin by the assumption that human nature exists potentially in mere inorganic matter, and that a chain of spontaneous derivation connects incandescent molecules or star-dust with the world, and with man himself. this evolutionist doctrine is itself one of the strangest phenomena of humanity. it existed, and most naturally, in the oldest philosophy and poetry, in connection with the crudest and most uncritical, attempts of the human mind to grasp the system of nature; but that in our day a system destitute of any shadow of proof, and supported merely by vague analogies and figures of speech, and by the arbitrary and artificial coherence of its own parts, should be accepted as a philosophy, and should find able adherents to string upon its thread of hypotheses our vast and weighty stores of knowledge, is surpassingly strange. it seems to indicate that the accumulated facts of our age have gone altogether beyond its capacity for generalisation; and but for the vigour which one sees everywhere, it might be taken as an indication that the human mind has fallen into a state of senility, and in its dotage mistakes for science the imaginations which were the dreams of its youth. in many respects these speculations are important and worthy of the attention of thinking men. they seek to revolutionise the religious beliefs of the world, and if accepted would destroy most of the existing theology and philosophy. they indicate tendencies among scientific thinkers, which, though probably temporary, must, before they disappear, descend to lower strata, and reproduce themselves in grosser forms, and with most serious effects on the whole structure of society. with one class of minds they constitute a sort of religion, which so far satisfies the craving for truths higher then those which relate to immediate wants and pleasures. with another and perhaps larger class, they are accepted as affording a welcome deliverance from all scruples of conscience and fears of a hereafter. in the domain of science evolutionism has like tendencies. it reduces the position of man, who becomes a descendant of inferior animals, and a mere term in a series whose end is unknown. it removes from the study of nature the ideas of final cause and purpose; and the evolutionist, instead of regarding the world as a work of consummate plan, skill, and adjustment, approaches nature as he would a chaos of fallen rocks, which may present forms of castles and grotesque profiles of men and animals, but they are all fortuitous and without significance. it obliterates the fine perception of differences from the mind of the naturalist, and resolves all the complicated relations of living things into some simple idea of descent with modification. it thus destroys the possibility of a philosophical classification, reducing all things to a mere series, and leads to a rapid decay in systematic zoology and botany, which is already very manifest among the disciples of spencer and darwin in england. the effect of this will be, if it proceeds further, in a great degree to destroy the educational value and popular interest attaching to these sciences, and to throw them down at the feet of a system of debased metaphysics. as redeeming features in all this, are the careful study of varietal forms, and the inquiries as to the limits of species, which have sprung from these discussions, and the harvest of which will be reaped by the true naturalists of the future. thus these theories as to the origin of men and animals and plants are full of present significance, and may be studied with profit by all; and in no part of their applications more usefully then in that which relates to man. let us then inquire,-- . what is implied in the idea of evolution as applied to man? . what is implied in the idea of creation? . how these several views accord with what we actually know as the result of scientific investigation? the first and second of these questions may well occupy the whole of this chapter, and we shall be able merely to glance at their leading aspects. in doing so, it may be well first to place before us in general terms the several alternatives which evolutionists offer, as to the mode in which the honour of an origin from apes or ape-like animals can be granted to us, along with the opposite view as to the independent origin of man which have been maintained either on scientific or scriptural grounds. all the evolutionist theories of the origin of man depend primarily on the possibility of his having been produced from some of the animals more closely allied to him, by the causes now in operation which lead to varietal forms, or by similar causes which have been in operation; and some attach more and others less weight to certain of these causes, or gratuitously suppose others not actually known. of such causes of change some are internal and others external to the organism. with respect to the former, one school assumes an innate tendency in every species to change in the course of time.[av] another believes in exceptional births, either in the course of ordinary generation or by the mode of parthenogenesis.[aw] another refers to the known facts of reproductive accelleration or retardation observed in some humble creatures.[ax] new forms arising in any of these ways or fortuitously, may, it is supposed, be perpetuated and increased and further improved by favouring external circumstances and the effort of the organism to avail itself of these,[ay] or by the struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest.[az] [av] parsons, owen. [aw] mivart, ferris. [ax] hyatt and cope. [ay] lamarck, etc. [az] darwin, etc. on the other hand, those who believe in the independent origin of man admit the above causes as adequate only to produce mere varieties, liable to return into the original stock. they may either hold that man has appeared as a product of special and miraculous creation, or that he has been created mediately by the operation of forces also concerned in the production of other animals, but the precise nature of which is still unknown to us; or lastly, they may hold what seems to be the view favoured by the book of genesis, that his bodily form is a product of mediate creation and his spiritual nature a direct emanation from his creator. the discussion of all these rival theories would occupy volumes, and to follow them into details would require investigations which have already bewildered many minds of some scientific culture. further, it is the belief of the writer that this plunging into multitudes of details has been fruitful of error, and that it will be a better course to endeavour to reach the root of the matter by looking at the foundations of the general doctrine of evolution itself, and then contrasting it with its rival. taking, then, this broad view of the subject, two great leading alternatives are presented to us. either man is an independent product of the will of a higher intelligence, acting directly or through the laws and materials of his own institution and production, or he has been produced by an unconscious evolution from lower things. it is true that many evolutionists, either unwilling to offend, or not perceiving the logical consequences of their own hypothesis, endeavour to steer a middle course, and to maintain that the creator has proceeded by way of evolution. but the bare, hard logic of spencer, the greatest english authority on evolution, leaves no place for this compromise, and shows that the theory, carried out to its legitimate consequences, excludes the knowledge of a creator and the possibility of his work. we have, therefore, to choose between evolution and creation; bearing in mind, however, that there may be a place in nature for evolution, properly limited, as well as for other things, and that the idea of creation by no means excludes law and second causes. limiting ourselves in the first place to theories of evolution, and to these as explaining the origin of species of living beings, and especially of man, we naturally first inquire as to the basis on which they are founded. now no one pretends that they rest on facts actually observed, for no one has ever observed the production of even one species. nor do they even rest, like the deductions of theoretical geology, on the extension into past time of causes of change now seen to be in action. their probability depends entirely on their capacity to account hypothetically for certain relations of living creatures to each other, and to the world without; and the strongest point of the arguments of their advocates is the accumulation of cases of such relations supposed to be accounted for. such being the kind of argument with which we have to deal, we may first inquire what we are required to believe as conditions of the action of evolution, and secondly, to what extent it actually does explain the phenomena. in the first place, as evolutionists, we are required to assume certain forces, or materials, or both, with which evolution shall begin. darwin, in his origin of species, went so far as to assume the existence of a few of the simpler types of animals; but this view, of course, was only a temporary resting-place for his theory. others assume a primitive protoplasm, or physical basis of life, and arbitrarily assigning to this substance properties now divided between organised and unorganised, and between dead and living matter, find no difficulty in deducing all plants and animals from it. still, even this cannot have been the ultimate material. it must have been evolved from something. we are thus brought back to certain molecules of star-dust, or certain conflicting forces, which must have had self-existence, and must have potentially included all subsequent creatures. otherwise, if with spencer we hold that god is "unknowable" and creation "unthinkable," we are left suspended on nothing over a bottomless void, and must adopt as the initial proposition of our philosophy, that all things were made out of nothing, and by nothing; unless we prefer to doubt whether anything exists, and to push the doctrine of relativity to the unscientific extreme of believing that we can study the relations of things non-existent or unknown. so we must allow the evolutionist some small capital to start with; observing, however, that self-existent matter in a state of endless evolution is something of which we cannot possibly have any definite conception. being granted thus much, the evolutionist next proceeds to demand that we shall also believe in the indefinite variability of material things, and shall set aside all idea that there is any difference in kind between the different substances which we know. they must all be mutually convertible, or at least derivable from some primitive material. it is true that this is contrary to experience. the chemist holds that matter is of different kinds, that one element cannot be converted into another; and he would probably smile if told that, even in the lapse of enormous periods of time, limestone could be evolved out of silica. he may think that this is very different from the idea that a snail can be evolved from an oyster, or a bird from a reptile. but the zoologist will inform him that species of animals are only variable within certain limits, and are not transmutable, in so far as experience and experiment are concerned. they have their allotropic forms, but cannot be changed into one another. but if we grant this second demand, the evolutionist has a third in store for us. we must also admit that by some inevitable necessity the changes of things must in the main take place in one direction, from the more simple to the more complex, from the lower to the higher. at first sight this seems not only to follow from the previous assumptions, but to accord with observation. do not all living things rise from a simpler to a more complex state? has not the history of the earth displayed a gradually increasing elevation and complexity? but, on the other hand, the complex organism becoming mature, resolves itself again into the simple germ, and finally is dissolved into its constituent elements. the complex returns into the simple, and what we see is not an evolution, but a revolution. in like manner, in geological time, the tendency seems to be ever to disintegration and decay. this we see everywhere, and find that elevation occurs only by the introduction of new species in a way which is not obvious, and which may rather imply the intervention of a cause from without; so that here also we are required to admit as a general principle what is contrary to experience. if, however, we grant the evolutionist these postulates, we must next allow him to take the facts of botany and zoology out of their ordinary connection, and thread them like a string of beads, as herbert spencer has done in his "biology," on the threefold cord thus fashioned. this done, we next find, as might have been expected, certain gaps or breaks which require to be cunningly filled with artificial material, in order to give an appearance of continuity to the whole. the first of these gaps which we notice is that between dead and living matter. it is easy to fill this with such a term as protoplasm, which includes matter both dead and living, and so to ignore this distinction; but practically we do not yet know as a possible thing the elevation of matter, without the agency of a previous living organism, from that plane in which it is subject merely to physical force, and is unorganised, to that where it becomes organised, and lives. under that strange hypothesis of the origin of life from meteors, with which sir william thomson closed his address at a late meeting of the british association, there was concealed a cutting sarcasm which the evolutionists felt. it reminded them that the men who evolve all things from physical forces do not yet know how these forces can produce the phenomena of life even in its humblest forms. it is true that the scientific world has been again and again startled by the announcement of the production of some of the lowest forms of life, either from dead organic matter, or from merely mineral substances; but in every case heretofore the effort has proved as vain as the analogies attempted to be set up between the formation of crystals and that of organized tissues are fallacious. a second gap is that which separates vegetable and animal life. these are necessarily the converse of each other, the one deoxidizes and accumulates, the other oxidizes and expends. only in reproduction or decay does the plant simulate the action of the animal, and the animal never in its simplest forms assumes the functions of the plant. those obscure cases in the humbler spheres of animal and vegetable life which have been supposed to show a union of the two kingdoms, disappear on investigation. this gap can, i believe, be filled up only by an appeal to our ignorance. there may be, or may have been, some simple creature unknown to us, on the extreme verge of the plant kingdom, that was capable of passing the limit and becoming an animal. but no proof of this exists. it is true that the primitive germs of many kinds of humble plants and animals are so much alike, that much confusion has arisen in tracing their development. it is also true that some of these creatures can subsist under very dissimilar conditions, and in very diverse states, and that under the specious name of biology,[ba] we sometimes find a mass of these confusions, inaccurate observations and varietal differences made to do duty for scientific facts. but all this does not invalidate the grand primary distinction between the animal and the plant, which should be thoroughly taught and illustrated to all young naturalists, as one of the best antidotes to the fallacies of the evolutionist school. [ba] it is doubtful whether men who deny the existence of vital force have a right to call their science "biology," any more then atheists have to call their doctrine "theology;" and it is certain that the assumption of a science of biology as distinct from phytology and zoology, or including both, is of the nature of a "pious fraud" on the part of the more enlightened evolutionists. the objections stated in the text, to what have been called archebiosis and heterogenesis seem perfectly applicable, in so far as i can judge from a friendly review by wallace, to the mass of heterogeneous material accumulated by dr. bastian in his recent volumes. the conclusions of this writer, would also, if established, involve evolution in a fatal _embarras des richesses_, by the hourly production during all geological time, of millions of new forms all capable of indefinite development. a third is that between any species of animal or plant and any other species. it was this gap, and this only, which darwin undertook to fill up by his great work on the origin of species, but, notwithstanding the immense amount of material thus expended, it yawns as wide as ever, since it must be admitted that no case has been ascertained in which an individual of one species has transgressed the limits between it and other species. however extensive the varieties produced by artificial breeding, the essential characters of the species remain, and even its minor characters may be reproduced, while the barriers established in nature between species by the laws of their reproduction, seem to be absolute. with regard to species, however, it must be observed that naturalists are not agreed as to what constitutes a species. many so-called species are probably races, or varieties, and one benefit of these inquiries has been to direct attention to the proper discrimination of species from varieties among animals and plants. the loose discrimination of species, and the tendency to multiply names, have done much to promote evolutionist views; but the researches of the evolutionists themselves have shown that we must abandon transmutation of true species as a thing of the present; and if we imagine it to have occurred, must refer it to the past. another gap is that between the nature of the animal and the self-conscious, reasoning, moral nature of man. we not only have no proof that any animal can, by any force in itself, or by any merely physical influences from without, rise to such a condition; but the thing is in the highest degree improbable. it is easy to affirm, with the grosser materialists, that thought is a secretion of brain, as bile is of the liver; but a moment's thought shows that no real analogy obtains between the cases. we may vaguely suppose, with darwin, that the continual exercise of such powers as animals possess, may have developed those of man. but our experience of animals shows that their intelligence differs essentially from that of man, being a closed circle ever returning into itself, while that of man is progressive, inventive, and accumulative, and can no more be correlated with that of the animal then the vital phenomena of the animal with those of the plant. nor can the gap between the higher religious and moral sentiments of man, and the instinctive affections of the brutes, be filled up with that miserable ape imagined by lubbock, which, crossed in love, or pining with cold and hunger, conceived, for the first time in its poor addled pate, "the dread of evil to come," and so became the father of theology. this conception, which darwin gravely adopts, would be most ludicrous, but for the frightful picture which it gives of the aspect in which religion appears to the mind of the evolutionist. the reader will now readily perceive that the simplicity and completeness of the evolutionist theory entirely disappear when we consider the unproved assumptions on which it is based, and its failure to connect with each other some of the most important facts in nature: that, in short, it is not in any true sense a philosophy, but merely an arbitrary arrangement of facts in accordance with a number of unproved hypotheses. such philosophies, "falsely so called," have existed ever since man began to reason on nature, and this last of them is one of the weakest and most pernicious of the whole. let the reader take up either of darwin's great books, or spencer's "biology," and merely ask himself as he reads each paragraph, "what is assumed here and what is proved?" and he will find the whole fabric melt away like a vision. he will find, however, one difference between these writers. darwin always states facts carefully and accurately, and when he comes to a difficulty tries to meet it fairly. spencer often exaggerates or extenuates with reference to his facts, and uses the arts of the dialectician where argument fails. many naturalists who should know better are puzzled with the great array of facts presented by evolutionists; and while their better judgment causes them to doubt as to the possibility of the structures which they study being produced by such blind and material processes, are forced to admit that there must surely be something in a theory so confidently asserted, supported by so great names, and by such an imposing array of relations which it can explain. they would be relieved from their weak concessions were they to study carefully a few of the instances adduced, and to consider how easy it is by a little ingenuity to group undoubted facts around a false theory. i could wish to present here illustrations of this, which abound in every part of the works i have referred to, but space will not permit. one or two must suffice. the first may be taken from one of the strong points often dwelt on by spencer in his "biology."[bb] [bb] "principles of biology," § . "but the experiences which most clearly illustrate to us the process of general evolution are our experiences of special evolution, repeated in every plant and animal. each organism exhibits, within a short space of time, a series of changes which, when supposed to occupy a period indefinitely great and to go on in various ways instead of one, may give us a tolerably clear conception of organic evolution in general. in an individual development we have compressed into a comparatively infinitesimal space a series of metamorphoses equally vast with those which the hypothesis of evolution assumes to have taken place during those unmeasurable epochs that the earth's crust tells us of. a tree differs from a seed immeasurably in every respect--in bulk, in structure, in colour, in form, in specific gravity, in chemical composition: differs so greatly that no visible resemblance of any kind can be pointed out between them. yet is the one changed in the course of a few years into the other; changed so gradually that at no moment can it be said, 'now the seed ceases to be and the tree exists.' what can be more widely contrasted then a newly-born child and the small gelatinous spherule constituting the human ovum? the infant is so complex in structure that a cyclopædia is needed to describe its constituent parts. the germinal vesicle is so simple that it may be defined in a line.... if a single cell under appropriate conditions becomes a man in the space of a few years, there can surely be no difficulty in understanding how, under appropriate conditions, a cell may in the course of untold millions of years give origin to the human race." "it is true that many minds are so unfurnished with those experiences of nature, out of which this conception is built, that they find difficulty in forming it.... to such the hypothesis that by any series of changes a protozoan should ever give origin to a mammal seems grotesque--as grotesque as did galileo's assertion of the earth's movement seem to the aristoteleans; or as grotesque as the assertion of the earth's sphericity seems now to the new zealanders." i quote the above as a specimen of evolutionist reasoning from the hand of a master, and as referring to one of the corner-stones of this strange philosophy. i may remark with respect to it, in the first place, that it assumes those "conditions" of evolution to which i have already referred. in the second place, it is full of inaccurate statements of fact, all in a direction tending to favour the hypothesis. for example, a tree does not differ "immeasurably" from a seed, especially if the seed is of the same species of tree, for the principal parts of the tree and its principal chemical constituents already exist and can be detected in the seed, and unless it were so, the development of the tree from the seed could not take place. besides, the seed itself is not a thing self-existent or fortuitous. the production of a seed without a previous tree of the same kind is quite as difficult to suppose as the production of a tree without a previous seed containing its living embryo. in the third place, the whole argument is one of analogy. the germ becomes a mature animal, passing through many intermediate stages, therefore the animal may have descended from some creature which when mature was as simple as the germ. the value of such an analogy depends altogether on the similarity of the "conditions" which, in such a case, are really the efficient causes at work. the germ of a mammal becomes developed by the nourishment supplied from the system of a parent, which itself produced the germ, and into whose likeness the young animal is destined to grow. these are the "appropriate conditions" of its development. but when our author assumes from this other "appropriate conditions," by which an organism, which on the hypothesis is not a germ but a mature animal, shall be developed into the likeness, of something different from its parent, he oversteps the bounds of legitimate analogy. further, the reproduction of the animal, as observed, is a closed series, beginning at the embryo and returning thither again; the evolution attempted to be established is a progressive series going on from one stage to another. a reproductive circle once established obeys certain definite laws, but its origin, or how it can leave its orbit and revolve in some other, we cannot explain without the introduction of some new efficient cause. the one term of the analogy is a revolution, and the other is an evolution. the revolution within the circle of the reproduction of the species gives no evidence that at some point the body will fly off at a tangent, and does not even inform us whether it is making progress in space. even if it is so making progress, its orbit of revolution may remain the same. but it may be said the reproduction of the species is not in a circle but in a spiral. within the limit of experience it is not so, since, however it may undulate, it always returns into itself. but supposing it to be a spiral, it may ascend or descend, or expand and contract; but this does not connect it with other similar spirals, the separate origin of which is to be separately accounted for. i have quoted the latter part of the passage because it is characteristic of evolutionists to decry the intelligence of those who differ from them. now it is fair to admit that it requires some intelligence and some knowledge of nature to produce or even to understand such analogies as those of mr. spencer and his followers, but it is no less true that a deeper insight into the study of nature may not only enable us to understand these analogies, but to detect their fallacies. i am sorry to say, however, that at present the hypothesis of evolution is giving so strong a colouring to much of popular and even academic teaching, more especially in the easy and flippant conversion of the facts of embryology into instances of evolution on the plan of the above extract, that the spencerians may not long have to complain of want of faith and appreciation on the part of the improved apes whom they are kind enough to instruct as to their lowly origin. the mention of "appropriate conditions" in the above extract reminds me of another fatal objection to evolution which its advocates continually overlook. an animal or plant advancing from maturity to the adult state is in every stage of its progress a complete and symmetrical organism, correlated in all its parts and adapted to surrounding conditions. suppose it to become modified in any way, to ever so small an extent, the whole of these relations are disturbed. if the modification is internal and spontaneous, there is no guarantee that it will suit the vastly numerous external agencies to which the creature is subjected. if it is produced by agencies from without, there is no guarantee that it will accord with the internal relations of the parts modified. the probabilities are incalculably great against the occurrence of many such disturbances without the breaking up altogether of the nice adjustment of parts and conditions. this is no doubt one reason of the extinction of so many species in geological time, and also of the strong tendency of every species to spring back to its normal condition when in any way artificially caused to vary. it is also connected with the otherwise mysterious law of the constant transmission of all the characters of the parent. spencer and darwin occasionally see this difficulty, though they habitually neglect it in their reasonings. spencer even tries to turn one part of it to account as follows:-- "suppose the head of a mammal to become very much more weighty--what must be the indirect results? the muscles of the neck are put to greater exertions; and the vertebræ have to bear additional tensions and pressures caused both by the increased weight of the head and the stronger contraction of muscles that support and move the head." he goes on to say that the processes of the vertebrae will have augmented strains put upon them, the thoracic region and fore limbs will have to be enlarged, and even the hind limbs may require modification to facilitate locomotion. he concludes: "any one who compares the outline of the bison with that of its congener, the ox, will clearly see how profoundly a heavier head affects the entire osseous and muscular system." we need not stop to mention the usual inaccuracies as to facts in this paragraph, as, for example, the support of the head being attributed to muscles alone, without reference to the strong elastic ligament of the neck. we may first notice the assumption that an animal can acquire a head "very much more weighty" then that which it had before, a very improbable supposition, whether as a monstrous birth dr as an effect of external conditions after birth. but suppose this to have occurred, and what is even less likely, that the very much heavier head is an advantage in some way, what guarantee can evolution give us that the number of other modifications required would take place simultaneously with this acquisition! it would be easy to show that this would depend on the concurrence of hundreds of other conditions within and without the animal, all of which must co-operate to produce the desired effect, if indeed they could produce this effect even by their conjoint action, a power which the writer, it will be observed, quietly assumes, as well as the probability of the initial change in the head. finally, the naivete with which it is assumed that the bison and the ox are examples of such an evolution, would be refreshing in these artificial days, if instances of it did not occur in almost every page of the writings of evolutionists. it would only weary the reader to follow evolution any further into details, especially as my object in this chapter is to show that generally, and as a theory of nature and of man, it has no good foundation; but we should not leave the subject without noting precisely the derivation of man according to this theory; and for this purpose i may quote darwin's summary of his conclusions on the subject.[bc] [bc] "descent of man," part ii., ch. . "man," says mr. darwin, "is descended from a hairy quadruped, furnished with a tail and pointed ears, probably arboreal in its habits, and an inhabitant of the old world. this creature, if its whole structure had been examined by a naturalist, would have been classed amongst the quadrumana, as surely as would the common, and still more ancient, progenitor of the old and new world monkeys. the quadrumana and all the higher mammals are probably derived from an ancient marsupial animal; and this, through a long line of diversified forms, either from some reptile-like or some amphibian-like creature, and this again from some fish-like animal. in the dim obscurity of the past we can see that the early progenitor of all the vertebrata must have been an aquatic animal, provided with branchiæ, with the two sexes united in the same individual, and with the most important organs of the body (such as the brain and heart) imperfectly developed. this animal seems to have been more like the larvæ of our existing marine ascidians then any other form known." the author of this passage, in condescension to our weakness of faith, takes us no further back then to an ascidian, or "sea-squirt," the resemblance, however, of which to a vertebrate animal is merely analogical, and, though a very curious case of analogy, altogether temporary and belonging to the young state of the creature, without affecting its adult state or its real affinities with other mollusks. in order, however, to get the ascidian itself, he must assume all the "conditions" already referred to in the previous part of this article, and fill most of the gaps. he has, however, in the "origin of species" and "descent of man," attempted merely to fill one of the breaks in the evolutionary series, that between distinct species, leaving us to receive all the rest on mere faith. even in respect to the question of species, in all the long chain between the ascidian and the man, he has not certainly established one link; and in the very last change, that from the ape-like ancestor, he equally fails to satisfy us as to matters so trivial as the loss of the hair, which, on the hypothesis, clothed the pre-human back, and on matters so weighty as the dawn of human reason and conscience. we thus see that evolution as an hypothesis has no basis in experience or in scientific fact, and that its imagined series of transmutations has breaks which cannot be filled. we have now to consider how it stands with the belief that man has been created by a higher power. against this supposition the evolutionists try to create a prejudice in two ways. first, they maintain with herbert spencer that the hypothesis of creation is inconceivable, or, as they say, "unthinkable;" an assertion which, when examined, proves to mean only that we do not know perfectly the details of such an operation, an objection equally fatal to the origin either of matter or life, on the hypothesis of evolution. secondly, they always refer to creation as if it must be a special miracle, in the sense of a contravention of or departure from ordinary natural laws; but this is an assumption utterly without proof, since creation may be as much according to law as evolution, though in either case the precise laws involved may be very imperfectly known. how absurd, they say, to imagine an animal created at once, fully formed, by a special miracle, instead of supposing it to be slowly elaborated through, countless ages of evolution. to darwin the doctrine of creation is but "a curious illustration of the blindness of preconceived opinion." "these authors," he says, "seem no more startled at a miraculous act of creation then at an ordinary birth; but do they really believe that at innumerable periods in the earth's history, certain elemental atoms have been commanded suddenly to flash into living tissues?" darwin, with all his philosophic fairness, sometimes becomes almost spencerian in his looseness of expression; and in the above extract, the terms "miraculous," "innumerable," "elemental atoms," "suddenly," and "flash," all express ideas in no respect necessary to the work of creation. those who have no faith in evolution as a cause of the production of species, may well ask in return how the evolutionist can prove that creation must be instantaneous, that it must follow no law, that it must produce an animal fully formed, that it must be miraculous. in short, it is a portion of the policy of evolutionists to endeavour to tie down their opponents to a purely gratuitous and ignorant view of creation, and then to attack them in that position. what, then, is the actual statement of the theory of creation as it may be held by a modern man of science? simply this; that all things have been produced by the supreme creative will, acting either directly or through the agency of the forces and materials of his own production. this theory does not necessarily affirm that creation is miraculous, in the sense of being contrary to or subversive of law; law and order are as applicable to creation as to any other process. it does not contradict the idea of successive creations. there is no necessity that the process should be instantaneous and without progression. it does not imply that all kinds of creation are alike. there may be higher and lower kinds. it does not exclude the idea of similarity or dissimilarity of plan and function as to the products of creation. distinct products of creation may be either similar to each other in different degrees, or dissimilar. it does not even exclude evolution or derivation to a certain extent: anything once created may, if sufficiently flexible and elastic, be evolved or involved in various ways. indeed, creation and derivation may, rightly understood, be complementary to each other. created things, unless absolutely unchangeable, must be more or less modified by influences from within and from without, and derivation or evolution may account for certain subordinate changes of things already made. man, for example, may be a product of creation, yet his creation may have been in perfect harmony with those laws of procedure which the creator has set for his own operations. he may have been preceded by other creations of things more or less similar or dissimilar. he may have been created by the same processes with some or all of these, or by different means. his body may have been created in one way, his soul in another. he may, nay, in all probability would be, part of a plan of which some parts would approach very near to him in structure or functions. after his creation, spontaneous culture and outward circumstances may have moulded him into varieties, and given him many different kinds of speech and of habits. these points are so obvious to common sense that it would be quite unnecessary to insist on them, were they not habitually overlooked or misstated by evolutionists. the creation hypothesis is also free from some of the difficulties of evolution. it avoids the absurdity of an eternal progression from the less to the more complex. it provides in will, the only source of power actually known to us by ordinary experience, an intelligible origin of nature. it does not require us to contradict experience by supposing that there are no differences of kind or essence in things. it does not require us to assume, contrary to experience, an invariable tendency to differentiate and improve. it does not exact the bridging over of all gaps which may be found between the several grades of beings which exist or have existed. why, then, are so many men of science disposed to ignore altogether this view of the matter? mainly, i believe, because, from the training of many of them, they are absolutely ignorant of the subject, and from their habits of thought have come to regard physical force and the laws regulating it as the one power in nature, and to relegate all spiritual powers or forces, or, as they have been taught to regard them, "supernatural" things, to the domain of the "unknowable." perhaps some portion of the difficulty may be got over by abandoning altogether the word "supernatural," which has been much misused, and by holding nature to represent the whole cosmos, and to include both the _physical_ and the _spiritual_, both of them in the fullest sense subject to law, but each to the law of its own special nature. i have read somewhere a story of some ignorant orientals who were induced to keep a steam-engine supplied with water by the fiction that it contained a terrible _djin_, or demon, who, if allowed to become thirsty, would break out and destroy them all. had they been enabled to discard this superstition, and to understand the force of steam, we can readily imagine that they would now suppose they knew the whole truth, and might believe that any one who taught them that the engine was a product of intelligent design, was only taking them back to the old doctrine of the thirsty demon of the boiler. this is, i think, at present, the mental condition of many scientists with reference to creation. here we come to the first demand which the doctrine of creation makes on us by way of premises. in order that there may be creation there must be a primary self-existent spirit, whose will is supreme. the evolutionist cannot refuse to admit this on as good ground as that on which we hesitate to receive the postulates of his faith. it is no real objection to say that a god can be known to us only partially, and, with reference to his real essence, not at all; since, even if we admit this, it is no more then can be said of matter and force. i am not about here to repeat any of the ordinary arguments for the existence of a spiritual first cause, and creator of all things, but it may be proper to show that this assumption is not inconsistent with experience, or with the facts and principles of modern science. the statement which i would make on this point shall be in the words of a very old writer, not so well known as he should be to many who talk volubly enough about antagonisms between science and christianity: "that which is known of god is manifest in them (in men), for god manifested it unto them. for since the creation of the world his invisible things, even his eternal power and divinity are plainly seen, being perceived by means of things that are made."[bd] the statement here is very precise. certain things relating to god are manifest within men's minds, and are proved by the evidence of his works; these properties of god thus manifested being specially his power or control of all forces, and his divinity or possession of a nature higher then ours. the argument of the writer is that all heathens know this; and, as a matter of fact, i believe it must be admitted even by those most sceptical on such points, that some notion of a divinity has been derived from nature by men of all nations and tribes, if we except, perhaps, a few enlightened positivists of this nineteenth century whom excess of light has made blind. "if the light that is in man be darkness, how great is that darkness." but then this notion of a god is a very old and primitive one, and spencer takes care to inform us that "first thoughts are either wholly out of harmony with things, or in very incomplete harmony with them," and consequently that old beliefs and generally diffused notions are presumably wrong. [bd] paul's epistle to the romans, chap i. is it true, however, that the modern knowledge of nature tends to rob it of a spiritual first cause? one can conceive such a tendency, if all our advances in knowledge had tended more and more to identify force with matter in its grosser forms, and to remove more and more from our mental view those powers which are not material; but the very reverse of this is the case. modern discovery has tended more and more to attach importance to certain universally diffused media which do not seem to be subject to the laws of ordinary matter, and to prove at once the protean character and indestructibility of forces, the aggregate of which, as acting in the universe, gives us our nearest approach to the conception of physical omnipotence. this is what so many of our evolutionists mean when they indignantly disclaim materialism. they know that there is a boundless energy beyond mere matter, and of which matter seems the sport and toy. could they conceive of this energy as the expression of a personal will, they would become theists. man himself presents a microcosm of matter and force, raised to a higher plane then that of the merely chemical and physical. in him we find not merely that brain and nerve force which is common to him and lower animals, and which exhibits one of the most marvellous energies in nature, but we have the higher force of will and intellect, enabling him to read the secrets of nature, to seize and combine and utilize its laws like a god, and like a god to attain to the higher discernment of good and evil. nay, more, this power which resides within man rules with omnipotent energy the material organism, driving its nerve forces until cells and fibres are worn out and destroyed, taxing muscles and tendons till they break, impelling its slave the body even to that which will bring injury and death itself. surely, what we thus see in man must be the image and likeness of the great spirit. we can escape from this conclusion only by one or other of two assumptions, either of which is rather to be called a play upon words then a scientific theory. we may, with a certain class of physicists and physiologists, confine our attention wholly to the fire and the steam, and overlook the engineer. we may assume that with protoplasm and animal electricity, for example, we can dispense with life, and not only with life but with spirit also. yet he who regards vitality as an unmeaning word; and yet speaks of "living protoplasm," and "dead protoplasm," and affirms that between these two states, so different in their phenomena, no chemical or physical difference exists, is surely either laughing at us, or committing himself to what the duke of argyll calls a philosophical bull; and he who shows us that electrical discharges are concerned in muscular contraction, has just as much proved that there is no need of life or spirit, as the electrician who has explained the mysteries of the telegraph has shown that there can be no need of an operator. or we may, turning to the opposite extreme, trust to the metaphysical fallacy of those who affirm that neither matter, nor force, nor spirit, need concern them, for that all are merely states of consciousness in ourselves. but what of the conscious self this self which thinks, and which is in relation with surroundings which it did not create, and which presumably did not create it? and what is the unknown third term which must have been the means of setting up these relations? here again our blind guides involve us in an absolute self-contradiction. thus we are thrown back on the grand old truth that man, heathen and savage, or christian and scientific, opens his eyes on nature and reads therein both the physical and the spiritual, and in connection with both of these the power and divinity of an almighty creator. he may at first have many wrong views both of god and of his works, but as he penetrates further into the laws of matter and mind, he attains more just conceptions of their relations to the great centre and source of all, and instead of being able to dispense with creation, he hopes to be able at length to understand its laws and methods. if unhappily he abandons this high ambition, and contents himself with mere matter and physical force, he cannot rise to the highest development either of science or philosophy. it may, however, be said that evolution may admit all this, and still be held as a scientific doctrine in connection with a modified belief in creation. the work of actual creation may have been limited to a few elementary types, and evolution may have done the rest. evolutionists may still be theists. we have already seen that the doctrine, as carried out to its logical consequences, excludes creation and theism. it may, however, be shown that even in its more modified forms, and when held by men who maintain that they are not atheists, it is practically atheistic, because excluding the idea of plan and design, and resolving all things into the action of unintelligent forces. it is necessary to observe this, because it is the half-way evolutionism which professes to have a creator somewhere behind it, that is most popular; though it is, if possible, more unphilosophical then that which professes to set out from absolute and eternal nonentity, or from self-existent star-dust containing all the possibilities of the universe. absolute atheists recognise in darwinism, for example, a philosophy which reduces all things to a "gradual summation of innumerable minute and accidental material operations," and in this they are more logical then those who seek to reconcile evolution with design. huxley, in his "lay sermons," referring to paley's argument for design founded on the structure of a watch, says that if the watch could be conceived to be a product of a less perfect structure improved by natural selection, it would then appear to be the "result of a method of trial and error worked by unintelligent agents, as likely as of the direct application of the means appropriate to that end, by an intelligent agent." this is a bold and true assertion of the actual relation of even this modified evolution to rational and practical theism, which requires not merely this god "afar off," who has set the stone of nature rolling and then turned his back upon it, but a present god, whose will is the law of nature, now as in times past. the evolutionist is really in a position of absolute antagonism to the idea of creation, even when held with all due allowance for the variations of created things within certain limits. perhaps paley's old illustration of the watch, as applied by huxley, may serve to show this as well as any other. if the imperfect watch, useless as a time-keeper, is the work of the contriver, and the perfection of it is the result of unintelligent agents working fortuitously, then it is clear that creation and design have a small and evanescent share in the construction of the fabric of nature. but is it really so? can we attribute the perfection of the watch to "accidental material operations" any more then the first effort to produce such an instrument? paley himself long ago met this view of the case, but his argument may be extended by the admissions and pleas of the evolutionists themselves. for example, the watch is altogether a mechanical thing, and this fact by no means implies that it could not be made by an intelligent and spiritual designer, yet this assumption that physical laws exclude creation and design turns up in almost every page of the evolutionists. paley has well shown that if the watch contained within itself machinery for making other watches, this would not militate against his argument. it would be so if it could be proved that a piece of metal had spontaneously produced an imperfect watch, and this a more perfect one, and so on; but this is precisely what evolutionists still require to prove with respect both to the watch and to man. on the other hand it is no argument for the evolution of the watch that there may be different kinds of watches, some more and others less perfect, and that ruder forms may have preceded the more perfect. this is perfectly compatible with creation and design. evolutionists, however, generally fail to make this distinction. nor would it be any proof of the evolution of the watch to find that, as spencer would say, it was in perfect harmony with its environment, as, for instance, that it kept time with the revolution of the earth, and contained contrivances to regulate its motion under different temperatures, unless it could be shown that the earth's motion and the changes of temperature had been efficient causes of the motion and the adjustments of the watch; otherwise the argument would look altogether in the direction of design. nor would it be fair to shut up the argument of design to the idea that the watch must have suddenly flashed into existence fully formed and in motion. it would be quite as much a creation if slowly and laboriously made by the hand of the artificer, or if more rapidly struck off by machinery; and if the latter, it would not follow that the machine which produced the watch was at all like the watch itself. it might have been something very different. finally, when spencer tries to cut at the root of the whole of this argument, by affirming that man has no more right to reason from himself with regard to his maker then a watch would have to reason from its own mechanical structure and affirm the like of its maker, he signally fails. if the watch had such power of reasoning, it would be more then mechanical, and would be intelligent like its maker; and in any case, if thus reasoning it came to the conclusion that it was a result of "accidental material operations," it would be altogether mistaken. nor would it be nearer the truth if it held that it was a product of spontaneous evolution from an imperfect and comparatively useless watch that had been made millions of years before. we have taken this illustration of the watch merely as given to us by huxley, and without in the least seeking to overlook the distinction between a dead machine and a living organism; but the argument for creation and design is quite as strong in the case of the latter, so long as it cannot be proved by actual facts to be a product of derivation from a distinct species. this has not been proved either in the care of man or any other species; and so long as it has not, the theory of creation and design is infinitely more rational and scientific then that of evolution in any of its forms. but all this does not relieve us from the question, how can species be created?--the same question put to paul by the sceptics of the first century with reference to the resurrection--"how are the dead raised, and with what bodies do they come?" i do not wish to evade this question, whether applied to man or to a microscopic animalcule, and i would answer it with the following statements:-- . the advocate of creation is in this matter in no worse position then the evolutionist. this we have already shown, and i may refer here to the fact that darwin himself assumes at least one primitive form of animal and plant life, and he is confessedly just as little able to imagine this one act of creation as any other that may be demanded of him. . we are not bound to believe that all groups of individual animals, which naturalists may call species, have been separate products of creation. man himself has by some naturalists been divided into several species; but we may well be content to believe the creation of one primitive form, and the production of existing races by variation. every zoologist and botanist who has studied any group of animals or plants with care, knows that there are numerous related forms passing into each other, which some naturalists might consider to be distinct species, but which it is certainly not necessary to regard as distinct products of creation. every species is more or less variable, and this variability may be developed by different causes. individuals exposed to unfavourable conditions will be stunted and depauperated; those in more favourable circumstances may be improved and enlarged. important changes may thus take place without transgressing the limits of the species, or preventing a return to its typical forms; and the practice of confounding these more limited changes with the wider structural and physiological differences which separate true species is much to be deprecated. animals which pass through metamorphoses, or which, are developed through the instrumentality of intermediate forms or "nurses"[be] are not only liable to be separated by mistake into distinct species, but they may, tinder certain circumstances, attain to a premature maturity, or may be fixed for a time or permanently in an immature condition. further, species, like individuals, probably have their infancy, maturity, and decay in geological time, and may present differences in these several stages. it is the remainder of true specific types left after all these sources of error are removed, that creation has to account for; and to arrive at this remainder, and to ascertain its nature and amount, will require a vast expenditure of skilful and conscientious labour. [be] mr. mungo ponton, in his book "the beginning," has based a theory of derivation on this peculiarity. . since animals and plants have been introduced upon our earth in long succession throughout geologic time, and this in a somewhat regular manner, we have a right to assume that their introduction has been in accordance with a law or plan of creation, and that this may have included the co-operation of many efficient causes, and may have differed in its application to different cases. this is a very old doctrine of theology, for it appears in the early chapters of genesis. there the first aquatic animals, and man, are said to have been "created;" plants are said to have been "brought forth by the land;" the mammalia are said to have been "made." in the more detailed account of the introduction of man in the second chapter of the same book, he is said to have been "formed of the dust of the ground;" and in regard to his higher spiritual life, to have had this "breathed into" him by god. these are very simple expressions, but they are very precise and definite in the original, and they imply a diversity in the creative work. further, this is in accordance with the analogy of modern science. how diverse are the modes of production and development of animals and plants, though all under one general law; and is it not likely that the modes of their first introduction on the earth were equally diverse? . our knowledge of the conditions of the origination of species, is so imperfect that we may possibly appear for some time to recede from, rather then to approach to, a solution of the question. in the infancy of chemistry, it was thought that chemical elements could be transmuted into each other. the progress of knowledge removed this explanation of their origin, and has as yet failed to substitute any other in its place. it may be the same with organic species. the attempt to account for them by derivation may prove fallacious, yet it may be some time before we turn the corner, should this be possible, and enter the path which actually leads up to their origin. lastly, in these circumstances our wisest course is to take individual species, and to inquire as to their history in time, and the probable conditions of their introduction. such investigations are now being made by many quiet workers, whose labours are comparatively little known, and many of whom are scarcely aware of the importance of what they are doing toward a knowledge of, at least, the conditions of creation, which is perhaps all that we can at present hope to reach. in the next chapter we shall try to sum up what is known as to man himself, in the conditions of his first appearance on our earth, as made known to us by scientific investigation, and explained on the theory of creation as opposed to evolution. chapter xv. primitive man. considered with reference to modern theories as to his origin (continued). in the previous chapter we have seen that, on general grounds, evolution as applied to man is untenable; and that the theory of creation is more rational and less liable to objection. we may now consider how the geological and zoological conditions of man's advent on the earth accord with evolution; and i think we shall find, as might be expected, that they oppose great if not fatal difficulties to this hypothesis. one of the first and most important facts with reference to the appearance of man, is that he is a very recent animal, dating no farther back in geological time then the post-glacial period, at the close of the tertiary and beginning of the modern era of geology. further, inasmuch as the oldest known remains of man occur along with those of animals which still exist, and the majority of which are probably not of older date, there is but slender probability that any much older human remains will ever be found. now this has a bearing on the question of the derivation of man, which, though it has not altogether escaped the attention of the evolutionists, has not met with sufficient consideration. perhaps the oldest; known human skull is that which has been termed the "engis" skull, from the cave of engis, in belgium. with reference to this skull, professor huxley has candidly admitted that it may have belonged to an individual of one of the existing faces of men. i have a cast of it on the same shelf with the skulls of some algonquin indians, from the aboriginal hochelaga, which preceded montreal; and any one acquainted with cranial characters would readily admit that the ancient belgian may very well have been an american indian; while on the other hand his head is not very dissimilar from that of some modern european races. this belgian man is believed to have lived before the mammoth and the cave bear had passed away, yet he does not belong to an extinct species or even variety of man. further, as stated in a previous chapter, pictet catalogues ninety-eight species of mammals which inhabited europe in the post-glacial period. of these fifty-seven still exist unchanged, and the remainder have disappeared. not one can be shown to have been modified into a new form, though some of them have been obliged, by changes of temperature and other conditions, to remove into distant and now widely separated regions. further, it would seem that all the existing european mammals extended back in geological time at least as far as man, so that since the post-glacial period no new species have been introduced in any way. here we have a series of facts of the most profound significance. fifty-seven parallel lines of descent nave in europe run on along with man, from the post-glacial period, without change or material modification of any kind. some of them extend without change even farther back. thus man and his companion-mammals present a series of lines, not converging as if they pointed to some common progenitor, but strictly parallel to each other. in other words, if they are derived forms, their point of derivation from a common type is pushed back infinitely in geological time. the absolute duration of the human species does not affect this argument. if man has existed only six or seven thousand years, still at the beginning of his existence he was as distinct from lower animals as he is now, and shows no signs of gradation into other forms. if he has really endured since the great glacial period, and is to be regarded as a species of a hundred thousand years' continuance, still the fact is the same, and is, if possible, less favourable to derivation. similar facts meet us in other directions. i have for many years occupied a little of my leisure in collecting the numerous species of molluscs and other marine animals existing in a sub-fossil state in the post-pliocene clays of canada, and comparing them with their modern successors. i do not know how long these animals have lived. some of them certainly go far back into the tertiary; and recent computations would place even the glacial age at a distance from us of more then a thousand centuries. yet after carefully studying about two hundred species, and, of some of these, many hundreds of specimens, i have arrived at the conclusion that they are absolutely unchanged. some of them, it is true, are variable shells, presenting as many and great varieties as the human race itself; yet i find that in the post-pliocene even the varieties of each species were the same as now, though the great changes of temperature and elevation which have occurred, have removed many of them to distant places, and have made them become locally extinct in regions over which they once spread. here again we have an absolute refusal, on the part of all these animals, to admit that they are derived, or have tended to sport into new species. this is also, it is to be observed, altogether independent of that imperfection of the geological record of which so much is made; since we have abundance of these shells in the post-pliocene beds, and in the modern seas, and no one doubts their continued descent. to what does this point? evidently to the conclusion that all these species show no indication of derivation, or tendency to improve, but move back in parallel lines to some unknown creative origin. if it be objected to this conclusion that absence of derivation in the post-pliocene and modern does not prove that it may not previously have occurred, the answer is, that if the evolutionist admits that for a very long period (and this the only one of which we have any certain knowledge, and the only one which concerns man) derivation has been suspended, he in effect abandons his position. it may, however, be objected that what i have above affirmed of species may be affirmed of varieties, which are admitted to be derived. for example, it may be said that the negro variety of man has existed unchanged from the earliest historic times. it is carious that those who so often urge this argument as an evidence of the great antiquity of man, and the slow development of races, do not see that it proves too much. if the negro has been the same identical negro as far back as we can trace him, then his origin must have been independent, and of the nature of a creation, or else his duration as a negro must have been indefinite. what it does prove is a fact equally obvious from the study of post-pliocene molluscs and other fossils, namely, that new species tend rapidly to vary to the utmost extent of their possible limits, and then to remain stationary for an indefinite time. whether this results from an innate yet limited power of expansion in the species, or from the relations between it and external influences, it is a fact inconsistent with the gradual evolution of new species. hence we conclude that the recent origin of man, as revealed by geology, is, in connection with the above facts, an absolute bar to the doctrine of derivation. a second datum furnished to this discussion by geology and zoology is the negative one that no link of connection is known between man and any preceding animal. if we gather his bones and his implements from the ancient gravel-beds and cave-earths, we do not find them associated with any creature near of kin, nor do we find any such creature in those rich tertiary beds which have yielded so great harvests of mammalian bones. in the modern world we find nothing nearer to him then such anthropoid apes as the orangs and gorillas. but the apes, however nearly allied, cannot be the ancestors of man. if at all related to him by descent, they are his brethren or cousins, not his parents; for they must, on the evolutionist hypothesis, be themselves the terminal ends of distinct lines of derivation from previous forms. this difficulty is not removed by an appeal to the imperfection of the geological record. so many animals contemporary with man are known, both at the beginning of his geological history and in the present world, that it would be more then marvellous if no very near relative had ere this time been discovered at one extreme or the other, or at some portion of the intervening ages. further, all the animals contemporary with man in the post-glacial period, so far as is known, are in the same case. discoveries of this kind may, however, still be made, and we may give the evolutionist the benefit of the possibility. we may affirm, however, that in order to gain a substratum of fact for his doctrine, he must find somewhere in the later tertiary period animals much nearer to man then are the present anthropoid apes. this demand i make advisedly--first, because the animals in question must precede man in geological time; and secondly, because the apes, even if they preceded man, instead of being contemporary with him, are not near enough to fulfil the required conditions. what is the actual fact with regard to these animals, so confidently affirmed to resemble some not very remote ancestors of ours? zoologically they are not varieties of the same species with man they are not species of the same genus, nor do they belong to genera of the same family, or even to families of the same order. these animals are at least ordinally distinct from us in those grades of groups in which naturalists arrange animals. i am well aware that an attempt has been made to group man, apes, and lemurs in one order of "primates," and thus to reduce their difference to the grade of the family; but as pat by its latest and perhaps most able advocate, the attempt is a decided failure. one has only to read the concluding chapter of huxley's new book on the anatomy of the vertebrates to be persuaded of this, more especially if we can take into consideration, in addition to the many differences indicated, others which exist but are not mentioned by the author. ordinal distinctions among animals are mainly dependent on grade or rank, and are not to be broken down by obscure resemblances of internal anatomy, having no relation to this point, but to physiological features of very secondary importance. man must, on all grounds, rank much higher above the apes then they can do above any other order of mammals. even if we refuse to recognise all higher grounds of classification, and condescend, with some great zoologists of our time, to regard nature with the eyes of mere anatomists, or in the same way that a brick-layer's apprentice may be supposed to regard distinctions of architectural styles, we can arrive at no other conclusion. let us imagine an anatomist, himself neither a man nor a monkey, but a being of some other grade, and altogether ignorant of the higher ends and powers of our species, to contemplate merely the skeleton of a man and that of an ape. he must necessarily deduce therefrom an ordinal distinction, even on the one ground of the correlations and modifications of structure implied in the erect position. it would indeed be sufficient for this purpose to consider merely the balancing of the skull on the neck, or the structure of the foot, and the consequences fairly deducible from either of them. nay, were such imaginary anatomist a derivationist, and ignorant of the geological date of his specimens, and as careless of the differences in respect to brain as some of his human _confrères_, he might, referring to the loss specialised condition of man's teeth and foot, conclude, not that man is an improved ape, but that the ape is a specialised and improved man. he would be obliged, however, even on this hypothesis, to admit that there must be a host of missing links. nor would these be supplied by the study of the living races of men, because these want even specific distinctness, and differ from the apes essentially in those points on which an ordinal distinction can be fairly based. this isolated position of man throughout the whole period of his history, grows in importance the more that it is studied, and can scarcely be the result of any accident of defective preservation of intermediate forms. in the meantime, when taken in connection with, the fact previously stated, that man is equally isolated when he first appears on the stage, it deprives evolution, as applied to our species, of any precise scientific basis, whether zoological or geological. i do not attach any importance whatever, in this connection, to the likeness in type or plan between man and other mammals. evolutionists are in the habit of taking for granted that this implies derivation, and of reasoning as if the fact that the human skeleton is constructed on the same principles as that of an ape or a dog, must have some connection with a common ancestry of these animals. this is, however, as is usual with them, begging the question. creation, as well as evolution, admits of similarity of plan. when stephenson constructed a locomotive, he availed himself of the principles and of many of the contrivances of previous engines; but this does not imply that he took a mine-engine, or a marine-engine, and converted it into a railroad-engine. type or plan, whether in nature or art, may imply merely a mental evolution of ideas in the maker, not a derivation of one object from another. but while man is related in his type of structure to the higher animals, his contemporaries, it is undeniable that there are certain points in which he constitutes a new type; and if this consideration were properly weighed, i believe it would induce zoologists, notwithstanding the proverbial humility of the true man of science, to consider themselves much more widely separated from the brutes then even by the ordinal distinction above referred to. i would state this view of the matter thus:--it is in the lower animals a law that the bodily frame is provided with all necessary means of defence and attack, and with all necessary protection against external influences and assailants. in a very few cases, we have partial exceptions to this. a hermit-crab, for instance, has the hinder part of its body unprotected; and has, instead of armour, the instinct of using the cast-off shells of molluscs; yet even this animal has the usual strong claws of a crustacean, for defence in front. there are only a very few animals in which instinct thus takes the place of physical contrivances for defence or attack, and in these we find merely the usual unvarying instincts of the irrational animal. but in man, that which is the rare exception in all other animals, becomes the rule. he has no means of escape from danger, compared with those enjoyed by other animals no defensive armour, no natural protection from cold or heat, no effective weapons for attacking other animals. these disabilities would make him the most helpless of creatures, especially when taken in connection with his slow growth and long immaturity. his safety and his dominion over other animals, are secured by entirely new means, constituting a "new departure" in creation. contrivance and inventive power, enabling him to utilise the objects and forces of nature, replace in him the material powers bestowed on lower animals. obviously the structure of the human being is related to this, and so related to it as to place man in a different category altogether from any other animal. this consideration makes the derivation of man from brutes difficult to imagine. none of these latter appear even able to conceive or understand the modes of life and action of man. they do not need to attempt to emulate his powers, for they are themselves provided for in a different manner. they have no progressive nature like that of man. their relations to things without are altogether limited to their structures and instincts. man's relations are limited only by his powers of knowing and understanding. how then is it possible to conceive of an animal which is, so to speak, a mere living machine, parting with the physical contrivances necessary to its existence, and assuming the new role of intelligence and free action? this becomes still more striking if we adopt the view usually taken by evolutionists, that primitive man was a ferocious and carnivorous creature, warring with and overcoming the powerful animals of the post-glacial period, and contending with the rigours of a severe climate. this could certainly not be inferred from his structure, interpreted by that of the lower animals, which would inevitably lead to the conclusion that he must lave been a harmless and frugivorous creature, fitted to subsist only in the mildest climates, and where exempt from the attacks of the more powerful carnivorous animals. no one reasoning on the purely physical constitution of man, could infer that he might be a creature more powerful and ferocious then the lion or the tiger. it is also worthy of mention that the existence of primitive man as a savage hunter is, in another point of view, absolutely opposed to the darwinian idea of his origin from a frugivorous ape. these creatures, while comparatively inoffensive, conform to the general law of lower animals in having strong jaws and powerful canines for defence, hand-like feet to aid them in securing food, and escaping from their enemies, and hairy clothing to protect them from cold and heat. on the hypothesis of evolution we might conceive that if these creatures were placed in some eden of genial warmth, peace, and plenty, which rendered those appliances unnecessary, they might gradually lose these now valuable structures, from want of necessity, to use them. but, on the contrary, if such creatures were obliged to contend against powerful enemies, and to feed on flesh, all analogy would lead us to believe that they would become in their structures more like carnivorous beasts then men. on the other hand, the anthropoid apes, in the circumstances in which we find them, are not only as unprogressive as other animals, but little fitted to extend their range, and less gifted with the power of adapting themselves to new conditions then many other mammals less resembling man in external form. on the darwinian theory, such primitive men as geology reveals to us would be more likely to have originated from bears then apes, and we would be tempted to wish that man should become extinct, and that the chance should be given to the mild chimpanzee or orang to produce by natural selection an improved and less ferocious humanity for the future. the only rational hypothesis of human origin in the present state of our knowledge of this subject is, that man must have been produced under some circumstances in which animal food was not necessary to him, in which he was exempt from the attacks of the more formidable animals, and in less need of protection from the inclemency of the weather then is the case with any modern apes; and that his life as a hunter and warrior began after he had by his knowledge and skill secured to himself the means of subduing nature by force and cunning. this implies that man was from the first a rational being, capable of understanding nature, and it accords much more nearly with the old story of eden in the book of genesis, then with any modern theories of evolution. it is due to mr. wallace--who, next to darwin, has been a leader among english derivationists--to state that he perceives this difficulty. as a believer in natural selection, however, it presents itself to his mind in a peculiar form. he perceives that so soon as, by the process of evolution, man became a rational creature, and acquired his social sympathies, physical evolution must cease, and must be replaced by invention, contrivance, and social organisation. this is at once obvious and undeniable, and it follows that the natural selection applicable to man, as man, must relate purely to his mental and moral improvement. wallace, however, fails to comprehend the full significance of this feature of the case. given, a man destitute of clothing, he may never acquire such clothing by natural selection, because he will provide an artificial substitute. he will evolve not into a hairy animal, but into a weaver and a tailor. given, a man destitute of claws and fangs, he will not acquire these, but will manufacture weapons. but then, on the hypothesis of derivation, this is not what is given us as the raw material of man, but instead of this a hairy ape. admitting the power of natural selection, we might understand how this ape could become more hairy, or acquire more formidable weapons, as it became more exposed to cold, or more under the necessity of using animal food; but that it should of itself leave this natural line of development and enter on the entirely different line of mental progress is not conceivable, except as a result of creative intervention. absolute materialists may make light of this difficulty, and may hold that this would imply merely a change of brain; but even if we admit this, they fail to show of what use such better brain would be to a creature retaining the bodily form and instincts of the ape, or how such better brain could be acquired. but evolutionists are not necessarily absolute materialists, and darwin himself labours to show that the reasoning self-conscious mind, and even the moral sentiments of man, might be evolved from rudiments of such powers, perceptible in the lower animals. here, however, he leaves the court of natural science, properly so called, and summons us to appear before the judgment-seat of philosophy; and as naturalists are often bad mental philosophers, and philosophers have often small knowledge of nature, some advantage results, in the first instance, to the doubtful cause of evolution. since, however, mental science makes much more of the distinctions between the mind of man and the instinct of animals then naturalists, accustomed to deal merely with the external organism, can be expected to do, the derivationist, when his plea is fairly understood, is quite as certain to lose his cause as when tried by geology and zoology. he might indeed be left to be dealt with by mental science on its own ground; and as our province is to look at the matter from the standpoint of natural history, we might here close our inquiry. it may, however, be proper to give some slight notion of the width of the gulf to be passed when we suppose the mechanical, unconscious, repetitive nature of the animal to pass over into the condition of an intellectual and moral being. if we take, as the most favourable case for the evolutionist, the most sagacious of the lower animals--the dog,--for example and compare it with the least elevated condition of the human mind, as observed in the child or the savage, we shall find that even here there is something more then that "immense difference in degree" which darwin himself admits. making every allowance for similarities in external sense, in certain instinctive powers and appetites; and even in the power of comparison, and in certain passions and affections; and admitting, though we cannot be quite certain of this, that in these man differs from animals only in degree; there remain other and more important differences, amounting to the possession, on the part of man, of powers not existing at all in animals. of this kind are--first, the faculty of reaching abstract and general truth, ind consequently of reasoning, in the proper sense of the term; secondly, in connection with this, the power of indefinite increase in knowledge, and in deductions therefrom leading to practical results; thirdly, the power of expressing thought in speech; fourthly, the power of arriving at ideas of right and wrong, and thus becoming a responsible and free agent. lastly, we have the conception of higher spiritual intelligence, of supreme power and divinity, and the consequent feeling of religious obligation. these powers are evidently different in kind, rather then in degree, from those of the brute, and cannot be conceived to have arisen from the latter, more especially as one of the distinctive characters of these is their purely cyclical, repetitive, and unprogressive nature. sir john lubbock has, by a great accumulation of facts, or supposed facts, bearing on the low mental condition of savages, endeavoured to bridge over this chasm. it is obvious, however, from his own data, that the rudest savages are enabled to subsist only by the exercise of intellectual gifts far higher then those of animals; and that if these gifts were removed from them, they would inevitably perish. it is equally clear that even the lowest savages are moral agents; and that not merely in their religious beliefs and conceptions of good and evil, but also in their moral degradation, they show capacities not possessed by the brutes. it is also true that most of these savages are quite as little likely to be specimens of primitive man as are the higher races; and that many of them have fallen to so low a level as to be scarcely capable, of themselves, of rising to a condition of culture and civilisation. thus they are more likely to be degraded races, in "the eddy and backwater of humanity" then examples of the sources from whence it flowed. and here it must not be lost sight of, that a being like man has capacities for degradation commensurate with his capacities for improvement; and that at any point of his history we may have to seek the analogues of primeval man, rather in the average, then the extremes of the race. before leaving this subject, it may be well to consider the fact, that the occurrence of such a being as man in the last stages of the world's history is, in itself, an argument for the existence of a supreme creator. man is himself an image and likeness of god; and the fact that he can establish relations with nature around him, so as to understand and control its powers, implies either that he has been evolved as a soul of nature, by its own blind development, or that he has originated in the action of a higher being related to man. the former supposition has been above shown to be altogether improbable; so that we are necessarily thrown back upon the latter. we must thus regard man himself as the highest known work of a spiritual creator, and must infer that he rightly uses his reason when he infers from nature the power and divinity of god. the last point that i think necessary to bring forward here, is the information which geology gives as to the locality of the introduction of man. there can be no hesitation in affirming that to the temperate regions of the old continent belongs the honour of being the cradle of humanity. in these regions are the oldest historical monuments of our race; here geology finds the most ancient remains of human beings; here also seems to be the birthplace of the fauna and flora most useful and congenial to man; and here he attains to his highest pitch of mental and physical development. this, it is true, by no means accords with the methods of the derivationists. on their theory we should search for the origin of man rather in those regions where he is most depauperated and degraded, and where his struggles for existence are most severe. but it is surely absurd to affirm of any species of animal or plant that it must have originated at the limits of its range, where it can scarcely exist at all. on the contrary, common sense as well as science requires us to believe that species must have originated in those central parts of their distribution where they enjoy the most favourable circumstances, and must have extended themselves thence as far as external conditions would permit. one of the most wretched varieties of the human race, and as near as any to the brutes, is that which inhabits tierra del fuego, a country which scarcely affords any of the means for the comfortable sustenance of man. would it not be absolutely impossible that man should have originated in such a country? is it not certain, en the contrary, that the fuegian is merely a degraded variety of the aboriginal american race? precisely the same argument applies to the austral negro and the hottentot. they are all naturally the most aberrant varieties of man, as being at the extreme range of his possible extension, and placed in conditions unfavourable, either because of unsuitable climatal or organic associations. it is true that the regions most favourable to the anthropoid apes, and in which they may be presumed to have originated, are by no means the most favourable to man; but this only makes it the less likely that man could have been derived from such a parentage. while, therefore, the geological date of the appearance of man, the want of any link of connection between him and any preceding animal, and his dissimilar bodily and mental constitution from any creatures contemporary with him, render his derivation from apes or other inferior animals in the highest degree improbable, the locality of his probable origin confirms this conclusion in the strongest manner. it also shows that man and the higher apes are not likely to have originated in the same regions, or under the same conditions, and that the conditions of human origin are rather the coincidence of suitable climatal and organic surroundings then the occurrence of animals closely related in structure to man. changes of conditions in geological time will not meet this difficulty. they might lead to migrations, as they have done in the case of both plants and animals, but not to anything further. the hyena, whose bones are found in the english caves, has been driven by geological changes to south africa, but he is still the same hyena. the reindeer which once roamed in france is still the reindeer in lapland; and though under different geological conditions we might imagine the creature to have originated in the south of europe, a country not now suitable to it, this would neither give reason to believe that any animal now living in the south of europe was its progenitor, nor to doubt that it still remains unchanged in its new habitat. indeed, the absence of anything more then merely varietal change in man and his companion-animals, in consequence of the geological changes and migrations of the modern period, furnishes, as already stated, a strong if not conclusive argument against derivation; which here, as elsewhere, only increases our actual difficulties, while professing to extricate us from them. * * * * * the arguments in the preceding pages cover only a small portion of the extensive field opened up by this subject. they relate, however, to some of the prominent and important points, and i trust are sufficient to show that, as applied to man, the theory of derivation merely trifles with the great question of his origin, without approaching to its solution. i may now, in conclusion, sketch the leading features of primitive man, as he appears to us through the mist of the intervening ages, and compare the picture with that presented by the oldest historical records of our race. two pictures of primeval man are in our time before the world. one represents him as the pure and happy inhabitant of an eden, free from all the ills that have afflicted his descendants, and revelling in the bliss of a golden age. this is the representation of holy scripture, and it is also the dream of all the poetry and myth of the earlier ages of the world. it is a beautiful picture, whether we regard it as founded on historical fact, or derived from god himself, or from the yearnings of the higher spiritual nature of man. the other picture is a joint product of modern philosophy and of antiquarian research. it presents to us a coarse and filthy savage, repulsive in feature, gross in habits, warring with his fellow-savages, and warring yet more remorselessly with every living thing he could destroy, tearing half-cooked flesh, and cracking marrow-bones with stone hammers, sheltering himself in damp and smoky caves, with no eye heavenward, and with only the first rude beginnings of the most important arts of life. both pictures may contain elements of truth, for man is a many-sided monster, made up of things apparently incongruous, and presenting here and there features out of which either picture may be composed. evolutionists, and especially those who believe in the struggle for existence and natural selection, ignore altogether the evidence of the golden age of humanity, and refer us to the rudest of modern savages as the types of primitive man. those who believe in a divine origin for our race, perhaps dwell too much on the higher spiritual features of the edenic state, to the exclusion of its more practical aspects, and its relations to the condition of the more barbarous races. let us examine more closely both representations; and first, that of creation. the glacial period, with its snows and ice, had passed away, and the world rejoiced in a spring-time of renewed verdure and beauty. many great and formidable beasts of the tertiary time had disappeared in the revolutions which had occurred, and the existing fauna of the northern hemisphere had been established on the land. then it was that man was introduced by an act of creative power. in the preceding changes a region of western asia had been prepared for his residence. it was a table-land at the head waters of the rivers that flow into the euxine, the caspian, and the persian gulf. its climate was healthy and bracing, with enough of variety to secure vigour, and not so inclement as to exact any artificial provision for clothing or shelter. its flora afforded abundance of edible fruits, and was rich in all the more beautiful forms of plant life; while its clear streams, alluvial soil, and undulating surface, afforded every variety of station and all that is beautiful in scenery. it was not infested with the more powerful and predacious quadrupeds, and its geographical relations were such as to render this exemption permanent. in this paradise man found ample supplies of wholesome and nutritious food. his requirements as to shelter were met by the leafy bowers he could weave. the streams of eden afforded gold which he could fashion for use and ornament, pearly shells for vessels, and agate for his few and simple cutting instruments. he required no clothing, and knew of no use for it. his body was the perfection and archetype of the vertebrate form, full of grace, vigour, and agility. his hands enabled him to avail himself of all the products of nature for use and pleasure, and to modify and adapt them according to his inclination. his intelligence, along with his manual powers, allowed him to ascertain the properties of things, to plan, invent, and apply in a manner impossible to any other creature. his gift of speech enabled him to imitate and reduce to systematic language the sounds of nature, and to connect them with the thoughts arising in his own mind, and thus to express their relations and significance. above all, his maker had breathed into him a spiritual nature akin to his own, whereby he became different from all other animals, and the very shadow and likeness of god; capable of rising to abstractions and general conceptions of truth and goodness, and of holding communion with his creator. this was man edenic, the man of the golden age, as sketched in the two short narratives of the earlier part of genesis, which not only conform to the general traditions of our race on the subject, but bear to any naturalist who will read them in their original dress, internal evidence of being contemporary, or very nearly so, with the state of things to which they relate. "and god said, 'let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the herbivora, and over all the land.' and god blessed them, and said unto them, 'be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.' "and the lord god formed the man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. and the lord god planted a garden, eastward in eden, and there he placed the man whom he had formed. and out of the ground made the lord god to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. and a river went out of eden to water the garden, and parted from thence, becoming four heads (of great rivers). the name of the first is pison, compassing the whole land of chavila, where there is gold, and the gold of that land is good; there is (also) pearl and agate.... and the lord god took the man, and put him into the garden of eden, to cultivate it and to take care of it." before leaving this most ancient and most beautiful history, we may say that it implies several things of much importance to our conceptions of primeval man. it implies a centre of creation for man, and a group of companion animals and plants, and an intention to dispense in his case with any struggle for existence. it implies, also, that man was not to be a lazy savage, but a care-taker and utiliser, by his mind and his bodily labour, of the things given to him; and it also implies an intelligent submission on his part to his maker, and spiritual appreciation of his plans and intentions. it further implies that man was, in process of time, from eden, to colonise the earth, and subdue its wildness, so as to extend the conditions of eden widely over its surface. lastly, a part of the record not quoted above, but necessary to the consistency of the story, implies that, in virtue of his spiritual nature, and on certain conditions, man, though in bodily frame of the earth earthy, like the other animals, was to be exempted from the common law of mortality which had all along prevailed, and which continued to prevail, even among the animals of eden. further, if man fell from this condition into that of the savage of the age of stone, it must have been by the obscuration of his spiritual nature under that which is merely animal; in other words, by his ceasing to be spiritual and in communion with god, and becoming practically a sensual materialist. that this actually happened is asserted by the scriptural story, but its details would take us too far from our present subject. let us now turn to the other picture--that presented by the theory of struggle for existence and derivation from lower animals. it introduces us first to an ape, akin perhaps to the modern orang or gorilla, but unknown to us as yet by any actual remains. this creature, after living for an indefinite time in the rich forests of the miocene and earlier pliocene periods, was at length subjected to the gradually increasing rigours of the glacial age. its vegetable food and its leafy shelter failed it, and it learned to nestle among such litter as it could collect in dens and caves, and to seize and devour such weaker animals as it could overtake and master. at the same time, its lower extremities, no longer used for climbing trees, but for walking on the ground, gained in strength and size; its arms diminished; and its development to maturity being delayed by the intensity of the struggle for existence, its brain enlarged, it became more cunning and sagacious, and even learned to use weapons of wood or stone to destroy its victims. so it gradually grew into a fierce and terrible creature, "neither beast nor human," combining the habits of a bear and the agility of a monkey with some glimmerings of the cunning and resources of a savage. when the glacial period passed away, our nameless simian man, or manlike ape, might naturally be supposed to revert to its original condition, and to establish itself as of old in the new forests of the modern period. for some unknown reason, however, perhaps because it had gone too far in the path of improvement to be able to turn back, this reversion did not take place. on the contrary, the ameliorated circumstances and wider range of the new continents enabled it still further to improve. ease and abundance perfected what struggle and privation had begun; it added to the rude arts of the glacial time; it parted with the shaggy hair now unnecessary; its features became softer; and it returned in part to vegetable food. language sprang up from the attempt to articulate natural sounds. fire-making was invented and new arts arose. at length the spiritual nature, potentially present in the creature, was awakened by some access of fear, or some grand and terrible physical phenomenon; the idea of a higher intelligence was struck out, and the descendant of apes became a superstitious and idolatrous savage. how much trouble and discussion would have been saved, had he been aware of his humble origin, and never entertained the vain imagination that he was a child of god, rather then a mere product of physical evolution! it is, indeed, curious, that at this point evolutionism, like theism, has its "fall of man;" for surely the awakening of the religious sense, and of the knowledge of good and evil, must on that theory be so designated, since it subverted in the case of man the previous regular operation of natural selection, and introduced all that debasing superstition, priestly domination, and religious controversy which have been among the chief curses of our race, and which are doubly accursed if, as the evolutionist believes, they are not the ruins of something nobler and holier, but the mere gratuitous, vain, and useless imaginings of a creature who should have been content to eat and drink and die, without hope or fear, like the brutes from which he sprang. these are at present our alternative sketches: the genesis of theism, and the genesis of evolution. after the argument in previous pages, it is unnecessary here to discuss their relative degrees of probability. if we believe in a personal spiritual creator, the first becomes easy and natural, as it is also that which best accords with history and tradition. if, on the contrary, we reject all these, and accept as natural laws the postulates of the evolutionists which we have already discussed, we may become believers in the latter. the only remaining point is to inquire as to which explains best the actual facts of humanity as we find them. this is a view of which much has been made by evolutionists, and it therefore merits consideration. but it is too extensive to be fully treated of here, and i must content myself with a few illustrations of the failure of the theory of derivation to explain some of the most important features presented by even the ruder races of men. one of these is the belief in a future state of existence beyond this life. this belongs purely to the spiritual nature of man. it is not taught by physical nature, yet its existence is probably universal, and it lies near the foundation of all religious beliefs. lartet has described to us the sepulchral cave of aurignac, in which human skeletons, believed to be of post-glacial date, were associated with remains of funeral feasts, and with indications of careful burial, and with provisions laid up for the use of the dead. lyell well remarks on this, "if we have here before us, at the northern base of the pyrenees, a sepulchral vault with skeletons of human beings, consigned by friends and relatives to their last resting-place if we have also at the portal of the tomb the relics of funeral feasts, and within it indications of viands destined for the use of the departed on their way to a land of spirits; while among the funeral gifts are weapons wherewith in other fields to chase the gigantic deer, the cave-lion, the cave bear, and woolly rhinoceros--we have at last succeeded in tracing back the sacred rites of burial, and more interesting still, a belief in a future state, to times long anterior to those of history and tradition. rude and superstitious as may have been the savage of that remote era, he still deserved, by cherishing hopes of a hereafter, the epithet of 'noble,' which dryden gave to what he seems to have pictured to himself as the primitive condition of our race."[bf] [bf] "antiquity of man," p. in like manner, in the vast american continent, all its long isolated and widely separated tribes, many of them in a state of lowest barbarism, and without any external ritual of religious worship, believed in happy hunting-grounds in the spirit-land beyond the grave, and the dead warrior was buried with his most useful weapons and precious ornaments. "bring here the last gifts; and with them the last lament be said. let all that pleased and yet may please, be buried with the dead" was no unmeaning funeral song, but involved the sacrifice of the most precious and prized objects, that the loved one might enter the new and untried state provided for its needs. even the babe, whose life is usually accounted of so small value by savage tribes, was buried by the careful mother with precious strings of wampum, that had cost more months of patient labour then the days of its short life, that it might purchase the fostering care of the inhabitants of that unknown yet surely believed-in region of immortality. this "--wish that of the living whole no life may fail beyond the grave, derives it not from what we have the likest god within the soul?" is it likely to have germinated in the brain of an ape? and if so, of what possible use would it be in the struggle of a merely physical existence? is it not rather the remnant of a better spiritual life--a remembrance of the tree of life that grew in the paradise of god, a link of connection of the spiritual nature in man with, a higher divine spirit above? life and immortality, it is true, were brought to light by jesus christ, but they existed as beliefs more or less obscure from the first, and formed the basis for good and evil of the religions of the world. around this idea were gathered multitudes of collateral beliefs and religious observances; feasts and festivals for the dead; worship of dead heroes and ancestors; priestly intercessions and sacrifices for the dead; costly rites of sepulture. vain and without foundation many of these have no doubt been, but they have formed a universal and costly testimony to an instinct of immortality, dimly glimmering even in the breast of the savage, and glowing with higher brightness in the soul of the christian, but separated by an impassable gulf from anything derivable from a brute ancestry. the theistic picture of primeval man is in harmony with the fact that men, as a whole, are, and always have been, believers in god. the evolutionist picture is not. if man had from the first not merely a physical and intellectual nature, but a spiritual nature as well, we can understand how he came into relation with god, and how through all his vagaries and corruptions he clings to this relation in one form or another; but evolution affords no link of connection of this kind. it holds god to be unknowable even to the cultivated intellect of philosophy, and perceives no use in ideas with relation to him which, according to it must necessarily be fallacious, it leaves the theistic notions of mankind without explanation, and it will not serve its purpose to assert that some few and exceptional families of men have no notion of a god. even admitting this, and it is at best very doubtful, it can form but a trifling exception to a general truth. it appears to me that this view of the case is very clearly put in the bible, and it is curiously illustrated by a recent critique of "mr. darwin's critics," by professor huxley in the _contemporary review_. mr. mivart, himself a derivationist, but differing in some points from darwin, had affirmed, in the spirit rather of a romish theologian then of a biblical student or philosopher, that "acts unaccompanied by mental acts of conscious will" are "absolutely destitute of the most incipient degree of goodness." huxley well replies, "it is to my understanding extremely hard to reconcile mr. mivart's dictum with that noble summary of the whole duty of man, 'thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength; and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' according to mr. mivart's definition, the man who loves god and his neighbour, and, out of sheer love and affection for both, does all he can to please them, is nevertheless destitute of a particle of real goodness." huxley's reply deserves to be pondered by certain moralists and theologians whose doctrine savours of the leaven of the pharisees, but neither huxley nor his opponent see the higher truth that in the love of god we have a principle far nobler and more god-like and less animal then that of mere duty. man primeval, according to the doctrine of genesis, was, by simple love and communion with his god, placed in the position of a spiritual being, a member of a higher family then that of the animal. the "knowledge of good and evil" which he acquired later, and on which is based the law of conscious duty, was a less happy attainment, which placed him on a lower level then that of the unconscious love and goodness of primal innocence. no doubt man's sense of right and wrong is something above the attainment of animals, and which could never have sprung from them; but still more is this the case with his direct spiritual relation to god, which, whether it rises to the inspiration of the prophet or the piety of the christian, or sinks to the rude superstition of the savage, can be no part of the adam of the dust but only of the breath of life breathed into him from above. that man should love his fellow-man may not seem strange. certain social and gregarious and family instincts exist among the lower animals, and darwin very ably adduces these as akin to the similar affections of man; yet even in the law of love of our neighbour, as enforced by christ's teaching, it is easy to see that we have something beyond animal nature. but this becomes still more distinct in the love of god. man was the "shadow and likeness of god," says the old record in genesis--the shadow that clings to the substance and is inseparable from it, the likeness that represents it visibly to the eyes of men, and of the animals that man rules over. primeval man could "hear in the evening breeze the voice of god, walking to and fro in the garden." what mere animal ever had or could attain to such an experience? but if we turn from the edenic picture of man in harmony with heaven--"owning a father, when he owned a god"--to man as the slave of superstition; even in this terrible darkness of mistaken faith, of which it may be said, "fear mates her devils, and weak faith her gods, gods partial, changeful, passionate, unjust, whose attributes are rage, revenge, or lust," we see the ruins, at least, of that sublime love of god. the animal clings to its young with a natural affection, as great as that of a human mother for her child, but what animal ever thought of throwing its progeny into the ganges, or into the fires of moloch's altar, for the saving of its soul, or to obtain the favour or avoid the wrath of god? no less in the vagaries of fetichism, ritualism, and idolatry, and in the horrors of asceticism and human sacrifice, then in the edenic communion with and hearing of god, or in the joy of christian love, do we see, in however ruined or degraded condition, the higher spiritual nature of man. this point leads to another distinction which, when properly viewed, widens the gap between man and the animals, or at least destroys one of the frail bridges of the evolutionists. lubbock and others affect to believe that the lowest savages of the modern world must be nearest to the type of primeval man. i have already attempted to show the fallacy of this. i may add here that in so holding they overlook a fundamental distinction, well pointed out by the duke of argyll, between the capacity of acquiring knowledge and knowledge actually acquired, and between the possession of a higher rational nature and the exercise of that nature in the pursuit of mechanical arts. in other words, primeval man must not be held to have been "utterly barbarous" because he was ignorant of mining or navigation, or of sculpture and painting. he had in him the power to attain to these things, but so long as he was not under necessity to exercise it, his mind may have expended its powers in other and happier channels. as well might it be affirmed that a delicately nurtured lady is an "utter barbarian" because she cannot build her own house, or make her own shoes. no doubt in such work she would be far more helpless then the wife of the rudest savage, yet she is not on that account to be held as an inferior being, or nearer to the animals. our conception of an angelic nature implies the absence of all our social institutions and mechanical arts; but does this necessitate our regarding an angel as an "utter barbarian"? in short, the whole notion of civilisation held by lubbock and those who think with him, is not only low and degrading, but utterly and absurdly wrong; and of course it vitiates all their conceptions of primeval man as well as of man's future destiny. further, the theistic idea implies that man was, without exhausting toil, to regulate and control nature, to rule over the animals, to cultivate the earth, to extend himself over it and subdue it; and all this as compatible with moral innocence, and at the same time with high intellectual and spiritual activity. there is, however, a still nicer and more beautiful distinction involved in this, and included in the wonderful narrative in genesis, so simple yet so much more profound then our philosophies; and which crops out in the same discussion of the critics of darwin, to which i have already referred. a writer in the _quarterly review_ had attempted to distinguish human reason from the intelligence of animals, as involving self-consciousness and reflection in our sensations and perceptions. huxley objects to this, instancing the mental action of a greyhound when it sees and pursues a hare, as similar to that of the gamekeeper when he lets slip the hound.[bg] [bg] _contemporary review_, november, , p. . "as it is very necessary to keep up a clear distinction between these two processes, let the one be called neurosis and the other psychosis. when the gamekeeper was first trained to his work, every step in the process of neurosis was accompanied by a corresponding step in that of psychosis, or nearly so. he was conscious of seeing something, conscious of making sure it was a hare, conscious of desiring to catch it, and therefore to loose the greyhound at the right time, conscious of the acts by which he let the dog out of the leash. but with practice, though the various steps of the neurosis remain--for otherwise the impression on the retina would not result in the loosing of the dog--the great majority of the steps of the psychosis vanish, and the loosing of the dog follows unconsciously, or, as we say, without thinking about, upon the sight of the hare. no one will deny that the series of acts which originally intervened between the sensation and the letting go of the dog were, in the strictest sense, intellectual and rational operations. do they cease to be so when the man ceases to be conscious of them? that depends upon what is the essence and what the accident of these operations, which taken together constitute ratiocination. now, ratiocination is resolvable into predication, and predication consists in marking, in some way, the existence, the co-existence, the succession, the likeness and unlikeness, of things or their ideas. whatever does this, reasons; and if a machine produces the effects of reason, i see no more ground for denying to it the reasoning power because it is unconscious, then i see for refusing to mr. babbage's engine the title of a calculating machine on the same grounds." here we have in the first place, the fact that an action, in the first instance rational and complex, becomes by repetition simple and instinctive. does the man then sink to the level of the hound, or, what is more to the purpose, does this in the least approach to showing that the hound can rise to the level of the man? certainly not; for the man is the conscious planner and originator of a course of action in which the instincts of the brute are made to take part, and in which the readiness that he attains by habit only enables him to dispense with certain processes of thought which were absolutely necessary at first. the man and the beast co-operate, but they meet each other from entirely different planes; the former from that of the rational consideration of nature, the latter from that of the blind pursuit of a mere physical instinct. the one, to use mr. huxley's simile, is the conscious inventor of the calculating machine, the other is the machine itself, and, though the machine can calculate, this fact is the farthest possible from giving it the power of growing into or producing its own inventor. but moses, or the more ancient authority from whom he quotes in genesis, knew this better then either of these modern combatants. his special distinctive mark of the superiority of man is that he was to have dominion over the earth and its animal inhabitants; and he represents this dominion as inaugurated by man's examining and naming the animals of eden, and finding among them no "help meet" for him.[bh] man was to find in them helps, but helps under his control, and that not the control of brute force, but of higher skill and of thought and even of love--a control still seen in some degree in the relation of man to his faithful companion, the dog. these old words of genesis, simple though they are, place the rational superiority of man on a stable basis, and imply a distinction between him and the lower animals which cannot be shaken by the sophistries of the evolutionists. [bh] literally, "corresponding," or "similar," to him. the theistic picture further accords with the fact that the geological time immediately preceding man's appearance was a time of decadence of many of the grander forms of animal life, especially in that area of the old continent where man was to appear. whatever may be said of the imperfection of the geological record, there can be no question of the fact that the miocene and earlier pliocene were distinguished by the prevalence of grand and gigantic forms of mammalian life, some of which disappeared in or before the glacial period, while others failed after that period in the subsidence of the post-glacial, or in connection with its amelioration of climate. the modern animals are also, as explained above, a selection from the grander fauna of the post-glacial period. to speak for the moment in darwinian language, there was for the time an evident tendency to promote the survival of the fittest, not in mere physical development, but in intelligence and sagacity. a similar tendency existed even in the vegetable world, replacing the flora of american aspect which had existed in the pliocene, with the richer and more useful flora of europe and western asia. this not obscurely indicates the preparing of a place for man, and the removal out of his way of obstacles and hindrances. that these changes had a relation to the advent of man, neither theist nor evolutionist can doubt, and it may be that we shall some day find that this relation implies the existence of a creative law intelligible by us; but while we fail to perceive any link of direct causation between the changes in the lower world, and the introduction of our race, we cannot help seeing that correlation which implies a far-reaching plan, and an intelligent design. finally, the evolutionist picture wants some of the fairest lineaments of humanity, and cheats us with a semblance of man without the reality. shave and paint your ape as you may, clothe him and set him up upon his feet, still he fails greatly of the "human form divine;" and so it is with him morally and spiritually as well. we have seen that he wants the instinct of immortality, the love of god, the mental and spiritual power of exercising dominion over the earth. the very agency by which he is evolved is of itself subversive of all these higher properties. the struggle for existence is essentially selfish, and therefore degrading. even in the lower animals, it is a false assumption that its tendency is to elevate; for animals when driven to the utmost verge of struggle for life, become depauperated and degraded. the dog which spends its life in snarling contention with its fellow-curs for insufficient food, will not be a noble specimen of its race. god does not so treat his creatures. there is far more truth to nature in the doctrine which represents him as listening to the young ravens when they cry for food. but as applied to man, the theory of the struggle for existence and survival of the fittest, though the most popular phase of evolutionism at present, is nothing less then the basest and most horrible of superstitions. it makes man not merely carnal, but devilish. it takes his lowest appetites and propensities, and makes them his god and creator. his higher sentiments and aspirations, his self-denying philanthropy, his enthusiasm for the good and true, all the struggles and sufferings of heroes and martyrs, not to speak of that self-sacrifice which is the foundation of christianity, are in the view of the evolutionist mere loss and waste, failure in the struggle of life. what does he give us in exchange? an endless pedigree of bestial ancestors, without one gleam of high or holy tradition to enliven the procession; and for the future, the prospect that the poor mass of protoplasm which constitutes the sum of our being, and which is the sole gain of an indefinite struggle in the past, must soon be resolved again into inferior animals or dead matter. that men of thought and culture should advocate such a philosophy, argues either a strange mental hallucination, or that the higher spiritual nature has been wholly quenched within them. it is one of the saddest of many sad spectacles that our age presents. still these men deserve credit for their bold pursuit of truth, or what seems to them to be truth; and they are, after all, nobler sinners then those who would practically lower us to the level of beasts by their negation even of intellectual life, or who would reduce us to apes, by making us the mere performers of rites and ceremonies, as a substitute for religion, or who would advise us to hand over reason and conscience to the despotic authority of fallible men dressed in strange garbs, and called by sacred names. the world needs a philosophy and a christianity of more robust mould, which shall recognise, as the bible does, at once body and soul and spirit, at once the sovereignty of god and the liberty of man; and which shall bring out into practical operation the great truth that god is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. such a religion might walk in the sunlight of truth and free discussion, hand in hand with science, education, liberty, and material civilisation, and would speedily consign evolution to the tomb which has already received so many superstitions and false philosophies. index. a abbeville, peat of, . acadian group, . advent of man, . agassiz on synthetic types, . _ammonitidæ_, . amphibians of the coal period, . andrews on the post-pliocene, . _anthracosaurus_, . anticosti formation, . antiquity of man, . _archæocyathus_, . archebiosis, . _arenicolites_, . _asterolepis_, . b _baculites_, . bala limestone, . _baphetes_, . barrande on primordial, . bastian on lower forms of life, . _beatricea_, . belemnites, . bigsby on silurian fauna, ; on primordial life, . billings on archæocyathus, ; on feet of trilobites, . binney on stigmaria, . biology as a term, . boulder clay, . brachiopods, or lamp-shells, . breccia of caverns, . brown, mr. k., on stigmaria, . c _calamites_, , , . calcaire grossier, . cambrian age, ; name defined, . caradoc rocks, . carbonic acid in atmosphere, . carboniferous age, ; land snails of the, ; crustaceans of the, ; insects of the, ; corals of the, ; plants of the, ; fishes of the, ; footprints in the, ; geography of the, ; reptiles of the, . carpenter on cretaceous sea, . carruthers on graptolites, . cave earth, . cavern deposits, . _cephalaspis_, . cephalopods of silurian, . _ceteosaurus_, ; foraminifera in the, . chalk, nature of, . chaos, . _climactichnites_, . coal, origin of, ; of the mesozoic, . colours of rocks, . continental plateaus, . continents, their origin, . _conulus prisons_, . cope on dinosaurs, ; on pterodactyl, ; on mososaurus, ; on caverns, . corals of the silurian, ; agency of, in forming limestone, , ; of the devonian, ; of the carboniferous, . corniferous limestone, . _coryphodon_, . creation, unity of, ; not by evolution, ; laws of, , ; statement of as a theory, ; requirements of, ; how treated by evolutionists, ; definition and explanation of, ; its probable conditions, . creator, evidence of a personal, , cretaceous period, , ; sea of the, . crinoids of the silurian, . croll on the post-pliocene, . _crusiana_, . crustaceans of the primordial, ; of the silurian, ; of the mesozoic, . crust of the earth, ; folding of, . cuvier on tertiary mammals, . cystideans, . d dana on geological periods, . darwin, nature of his theory, ; his account of the origin of man, ; his statement of descent of man, . davidson on brachiopods, . dawkins on post-glacial mammals, . delaunay on solidity of the earth, . deluge, the, . devonian, or brian age, ; physical condition of, ; tabular view of, ; corals of the, ; fishes of the, ; plants of the, ; geography of the, ; insects of the, . _dinichthys_, . dinosaurs, . _dromatherium_, . dudley, fossils of, . e earth, its earliest state, ; crust of the, ; folding of, ; gaseous state of, . edenic state of man, , . edwards, milne, on devonian corals, . _elasmosaurus_, . elephants, fossil, , . elevation and subsidence, , , , . enaliosaurs, . "engis" skull, its characters, . eocene seas, ; foraminifera of the, ; mammals of the, ; plants of the, ; footprints in the, . _eophyton_, . _eosaurus_, , eozoic period, . _eozoon bavaricum_, . _eozoon canadense_, , . erian, or devonian, ; reason of the name, ; table of erian formations, ; corals of the, ; fishes of the, ; plants of the, . eskers or kames, . etheridge on devonian, . _eurypterus_, , . evolution as applied to eozoon, ; primordial animals, ; silurian animals, ; trilobites, , ; reptiles, ; man, ; its character as a theory, ; its difficulties, ; its "fall of man," , f falconer on indian miocene, . _favosites_, . ferns of the devonian, ; of the carboniferous, . fishes, ganoid, ; of the silurian, ; of the devonian, ; of the carboniferous, . flora of the silurian, ; of the devonian, ; of the carboniferous, ; of the permian, ; of the mesozoic, ; of the eocene, ; of the miocene, . footprints in the carboniferous, ; in the trias, ; in the eocene, . foraminifera, nature of, ; laurentian, ; of the chalk, ; of the tertiary, . forbes on post-glacial land, . forests of the devonian, ; of the carboniferous, . g ganoid fishes, , . gaseous state of the earth, . genesis, book of, its account of chaos, ; of creation of land, ; of palæozoic animals, ; of creation of reptiles, ; of creation of mammals, , ; of the deluge, ; of creation of man, ; of eden, . genesis of the earth, . geography of the silurian, ; of the devonian, ; of the carboniferous, ; of the permian, . geological periods, , . glacial period, , . glauconite, . _glyptoerinus_, . graptolites, . greenland, miocene flora of, . greensand, . gümbel on bavarian eozoon, . h _hadrosaurus_, . hall on graptolites, ; harlech beds, . heer on tertiary plants, . helderberg rocks, . hercynian schists, . heterogenesis, . hicks on primordial fossils, . hilgard on mississippi delta, . hippopotamus, fossil, . _histioderma_, . hopkins on solidity of the earth, . hudson river group, . hull on geological periods, . hunt, dr. t. s., on volcanic action, ; on chemistry of primeval earth, ; on lingulæ, . huronian formation, . huxley on coal, ; on carboniferous reptiles, ; on dinosaurs, ; on paley's argument from design, ; on good and evil, ; on intuitive and rational actions, ; on tendency of evolutionist views, . _hylonomus_, . i ice-action in permian, ; in post-pliocene, . _ichthyosaurus_, . _iguanodon_, . insects, devonian, ; carboniferous, . intelligence of animals, nature of, . j jurassic, subdivisions of, . k kames, . kaup on dinotherium, . kent's cavern, . king-crabs of carboniferous, . king on carboniferous reptiles, . l _labyrinthodon_, , lælaps, . lamp-shells, . land-snails of carboniferous, . la place's nebular theory, . laurentian rocks, ; life in the, ; plants of the, . _lepidodendron_, , , . _leptophleum_, . limestone corniferous, ; nummulitic, ; milioline, ; silurian, ; origin of, , , . _limulus_, . _lingulæ_, . lingula flags, . logan, sir w., on laurentian rocks, ; on reptilian footprints, . london clay, . longmynd rocks, , . lower helderberg group, . ludlow group, . lyell, sir c., on devonian limestone, ; on wealden, ; on classification of the tertiary, . m _machairodus_, . magnesian limestones, . mammals of the mesozoic, ; of the eocene, ; of the miocene, ; of the pliocene, ; of the post-glacial, . man, advent of, . man, antiquity of, ; history of, according to theory of creation, ; according to evolution, ; widely different from apes, ; a new type, ; primitive, not a savage, ; his spiritual nature, , , ; locality of his origin, ; primeval, according to creation, ; according to evolution, . mayhill sandstone, . medina sandstone, . _megalosaurus_, . menevian formation, . mesozoic ages, ; subdivisions of, ; flora of, ; coal of, ; crustaceans of the, ; reptiles of the, , . metalliferous rocks, . metamorphism, . _microlestes_, . milioline limestones, . miller on old bed sandstone, . millipedes, fossil, . miocene plants, ; climate, ; mammals of, . mississippi, delta of the, . modern period, . _mosasaurus_, . morse on lingula, . murchison on the silurian, . n nebular theory, . neolithic age, . neozoic ages, ; divisions of, . newberry on dinichthys, . nicholson on graptolites, , nummulitic limestones, . o _oldhamia_, . old bed sandstone, . oneida conglomerate. . _orthoceratites_, , . oscillations of continents, . owen on dinosaurs, ; on marsupials, . p palæolithic age, , . _palæophis_, . palæozoic life, ; diagram of, . paley on design in nature; his illustration of the watch, . peat of abbeville, . pengelly on kent's hole, . _pentremites_, . periods, geological, , . permian age, ; geography of the, ; ice-action in the, ; plants of the, ; reptiles of the, . phillips on dawn of life, ; on ceteosaurus, . pictet on post-pliocene mammals, ; on post-glacial animals, . pictures of primeval man, . pierce on diminution of earth's rotation, . pines of the devonian, ; of the carboniferous, ; of the permian, . placoid fishes, . plants of the laurentian, ; of the silurian, ; of the devonian, ; of the carboniferous, ; of the permian, ; of the mesozoic, ; of the tertiary ; classification of, . plateaus, continental, . _plesiosaurus_, . pliocene, climate of, ; mammals of, . _pliosaurus_, . pluvial period, . post-glacial age, , . post-pliocene period, ; cold, ; ice-action in the, ; subsidence, ; elevation, ; shells, evidence of, against derivation, ; mammals, evidence of, against derivation, . potsdam sandstone, . prestwich on st. acheul, . primordial age, ; crustacean of the, . _protichnites_, . _protorosaurus_, . _prototaxites_, . _psilophyton_, , . _pteraspis_, . _pterichthys_, . pterodactyls, . _pterygotus_, . _pupa vetusta_, . q quebec group, . r rain-marks, . ramsay on permian, . red sandstones, their origin, , . reptiles of the carboniferous, ; of the permian, ; of the mesozoic, , . rhinoceros, fossil, . rocks, colours of, . rotation of the earth, its gradual diminution, . s salter on fossil crustacea, . sedgwick on cambrian, , . seeley on pterodactyls, . shrinkage-cracks, . _sigillaria_, , . silurian ages, ; cephalopoda of the, ; corals of the, ; crinoids of the ; crustaceans of the, ; fishes of the, ; plants of the, . siluro-cambrian, use of the term, . slaty structure, . solidity of the earth, . somme, r., gravels of, . species, nature of the, ; how created, . spencer, his exposition of evolution, , . spiritual nature of man, , , . spore-cases in coals and shales, . stalagmite of caves, . striated rock-surfaces, . stumps, fossil of carboniferous, . synthetic types, . t table of devonian rocks, ; of palæozoic ages, ; of mesozoic ages, ; of neozoic ages, ; of post-pliocene, . temperature of interior of the earth, . tertiary period, ; mammals of, , , ; classification of its rocks, . thomson, sir w., on solidity of the earth, . time, geological divisions of, . tinière, cone of, . trenton limestone, , . trias, divisions of, ; footprints in the, . trilobites, , , ; feet of, . turtles of mesozoic, . tylor on pluvial period, . tyndall on carbonic acid in atmosphere, . u uniformitarianism in geology, . utica shale, . v volcanic action, ; of cambrian age, ; of silurian age, ; of devonian age, , . von dechen on reptiles of carboniferous, , . von meyer on dinosaurs, . w _walchia_, . wallace, his views on inapplicability of natural selection to man, . wealden, . wenlock group, . _williamsonia gigas_, . williamson on calamites, . woodward on pterygotus, . z zaphrentis . valuable and interesting works for public & private libraries, published by harper & brothers, new york. 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(in a box.) * * * * * transcriber's notes all obvious typographical errors were corrected. on page , there is an opening quote; but no closing one follows. based on the text ("returning from this digression...") on page , it was assumed that the closing quote should have been at the end of the preceding paragraph. hyphenation and accents were standardized. however, some hyphenated and separate word usage (for example, sea bottom(s) and sea-bottom(s)) were retained due to their grammatic usage. transcriber's note: the errata (after the list of plates) have been worked into the main text. all other apparent mistakes have been retained as printed. text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_); page numbers enclosed by curly braces (example: { }) have been incorporated to facilitate the use of the index.. * * * * * the geographical distribution of animals _with a study of the relations of living and extinct faunas as elucidating the past changes of the earth's surface._ by alfred russel wallace, author of "the malay archipelago," etc. with maps and illustrations. _in two volumes.--volume ii._ london: macmillan and co. . [_the right of translation and reproduction is reserved._] london: r. clay, sons, and taylor, printers, bread street hill. contents of the second volume. part iii. (_continued_). zoological geography: a review of the chief forms of animal life in the several regions and sub-regions, with the indications they afford of geographical mutations. chapter xiv. the neotropical region. general zoological features of the neotropical region (p. )--distinctive characters of neotropical mammalia (p. )--of neotropical birds (p. )-- neotropical reptiles (p. )--fresh-water fishes (p. )--insects (p. ) --coleoptera (p. )--land shells (p. )--marine shells (p. )-- brazilian sub-region (p. )--its mammalia (p. )--its birds (p. )-- islands of tropical south america, galapagos (p. )--chilian sub-region (p. )--birds (p. )--reptiles and amphibia (p. )--fresh-water fishes (p. )--lepidoptera (p. )--coleoptera (p. )--islands of south temperate america (p. )--mexican sub-region (p. )--mammalia and birds (p. )--reptiles and fishes (p. )--insects (p. )--relations of the mexican sub-region to the north and south american continents (p. ) --islands of the mexican sub-region (p. )--the antillean sub-region (p. )--its mammalia (p. )--its birds (p. )--table of the resident land birds of the antilles (p. )--reptiles (p. )--insects (p. )-- land shells (p. )--past history of the antilles (p. )--summary of the past history of the neotropical region (p. )--table i. families of animals inhabiting the neotropical region (p. )--table ii. genera of terrestrial mammalia and birds of the neotropical region (p. ) - chapter xv. the nearctic region. zoological characteristics of the nearctic region (p. )--list of typical nearctic genera of land birds (p. )--summary of nearctic vertebrata (p. )--insects (p. )--terrestrial and fluviatile mollusca (p. )--the californian sub-region (p. )--the rocky mountain sub-region (p. )--the alleghany sub-region (p. )--the bermudas (p. )--the canadian sub-region (p. )--greenland (p. )--table i. families of animals inhabiting the nearctic region (p. )--table ii. genera of terrestrial mammalia and birds of the nearctic region (p. ) - chapter xvi. summary of the past changes and general relations of the several regions - part iv. geographical zoology: a systematic sketch of the chief families of land animals in their geographical relations. introduction - chapter xvii. the distribution of the families and genera of mammalia. primates (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of primates (p. )--chiroptera (p. )--remarks on the distribution of chiroptera (p. )--insectivora (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of insectivora (p. )--carnivora (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of the carnivora (p. )--cetacea (p. )--sirenia (p. )--ungulata (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of the ungulata (p. )--proboscidea (p. )--hyracoidea (p. )--rodentia (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of the rodentia (p. )-- edentata (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of the edentata (p. )--marsupialia (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of marsupialia (p. )--monotremata (p. ) - chapter xviii. the distribution of the families and genera of birds. passeres (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of the passeres (p. )--picariæ (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of the picariæ (p. )--psittaci (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of the psittaci (p. )--columbæ (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of the columbæ (p. )--gallinæ (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of gallinæ (p. )--opisthocomi (p. )--accipitres (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of the accipitres (p. ) --grallæ (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of the grallæ (p. )--anseres (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of the anseres (p. )--struthiones (p. )--struthious birds recently extinct (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of the struthiones (p. ) - chapter xix. the distribution of the families and genera of reptiles and amphibia. ophidia (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of ophidia (p. ) --lacertilia (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of lacertilia (p. )--rhyncocephalina (p. )--crocodilia (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of crocodilia (p. )--chelonia (p. )--remarks on the distribution of chelonia (p. )--amphibia, pseudophidia (p. )-- urodela (p. )--anura (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of amphibia (p. ) - chapter xx. the distribution of the families of fishes, with the range of such genera as inhabit fresh water. acanthopterygii (p. )---acanthopterygii pharyngognathi (p. )-- anacanthini (p. )--physostomi (p. )--lophobranchii (p. )-- plectognathi (p. )--sirenoidei (p. )--ganoidei (p. )-- chondropterygii (p. )--cyclostomata (p. )--leptocardii (p. )-- remarks on the distribution of fishes (p. ) - chapter xxi. the distribution of some of the more important families and genera of insects. lepidoptera (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of the diurnal lepidoptera and sphingidea (p. )--coleoptera (p. )--cicindelidæ (p. )--carabidæ (p. )--lucanidæ (p. )--cetoniidæ (p. )-- buprestidæ (p. )--longicornia (p. )--general observations on the distribution of coleoptera (p. ) - chapter xxii. an outline of the geographical distribution of mollusca. cephalopoda (p. )--gasteropoda (p. )--pulmonifera (p. )--general observations on the distribution of land mollusca (p. )--pteropoda (p. )--brachiopoda (p. )--conchifera (p. )--general remarks on the distribution of marine mollusca (p. ) - chapter xxiii. summary of the distribution and lines of migration of the several classes of animals. mammalia (p. )--lines of migration of the mammalia (p. )--birds (p. )--reptiles (p. )--amphibia (p. )--fresh-water fishes (p. )--insects (p. )--terrestrial mollusca (p. )--conclusion (p. ) - general index maps and illustrations in vol. ii. _to face page_ . map of the neotropical region . plate xiv. a brazilian forest with characteristic mammalia . plate xv. a scene on the upper amazon, with some characteristic birds . plate xvi. the chilian andes, with characteristic animals . plate xvii. a scene in cuba, with characteristic animals . map of the nearctic region . plate xviii. scene in california with some characteristic birds . plate xix. the north american prairies with characteristic mammalia . plate xx. a canadian forest with characteristic mammalia errata in vol. ii. as in vol. i. mis-spellings are not given here, being mostly corrected in the index. page , no. , _for_ _read_ . " , no. , _for_ _read_ . " , line , _add_ borneo. " , line , _for_ genera _read_ genera. " " lines from foot, for _drepanornis_ read _neodrepanis_. " , lines from foot, for _sayornis_ read _empidias_. the geographical distribution of animals. part iii. (_continued._) _zoological geography:_ _a review of the chief forms of animal life in the several regions and sub-regions, with the indications they afford of geographical mutations._ [illustration: neotropical region] { }chapter xiv. the neotropical region. this region, comprehending not only south america but tropical north america and the antilles, may be compared as to extent with the ethiopian region; but it is distinguished from all the other great zoological divisions of the globe, by the small proportion of its surface occupied by deserts, by the large proportion of its lowlands, and by the altogether unequalled extent and luxuriance of its tropical forests. it further possesses a grand mountain range, rivalling the himalayas in altitude and far surpassing them in extent, and which, being wholly situated within the region and running through eighty degrees of latitude, offers a variety of conditions and an extent of mountain slopes, of lofty plateaus and of deep valleys, which no other tropical region can approach. it has a further advantage in a southward prolongation far into the temperate zone, equivalent to a still greater extension of its lofty plateaus; and this has, no doubt, aided the development of the peculiar alpine forms of life which abound in the southern andes. the climate of this region is exceptionally favourable. owing to the lofty mountain range situated along its western margin, the moisture-laden trade winds from the atlantic have free access to the interior. a sufficient proportion of this moisture reaches the higher slopes of the andes, where its condensation gives rise to innumerable streams, which cut deep ravines and carry down such an amount of sediment, that they have formed the vast plains of the amazon, of { }paraguay, and of the orinooko out of what were once, no doubt, arms of the sea, separating the large islands of guiana, brazil, and the andes. from these concurrent favourable conditions, there has resulted that inexhaustible variety of generic and specific forms with a somewhat limited range of family and ordinal types, which characterise neotropical zoology to a degree nowhere else to be met with. together with this variety and richness, there is a remarkable uniformity of animal life over all the tropical continental portions of the region, so that its division into sub-regions is a matter of some difficulty. there is, however, no doubt about separating the west indian islands as forming a well-marked subdivision; characterised, not only by that poverty of forms which is a general feature of ancient insular groups, but also by a number of peculiar generic types, some of which are quite foreign to the remainder of the region. we must exclude, however, the islands of trinidad, tobago, and a few other small islands near the coast, which zoologically form a part of the main land. again, the south temperate portion of the continent, together with the high plateaus of the andes to near the equator, form a well-marked subdivision, characterised by a peculiar fauna, very distinct both positively and negatively from that of the tropical lowland districts. the rest of tropical south america is so homogeneous in its forms of life that it cannot be conveniently subdivided for the purposes of a work like the present. there are, no doubt, considerable differences in various parts of its vast area, due partly to its having been once separated into three or more islands, in part to existing diversities of physical conditions; and more exact knowledge may enable us to form several provinces or perhaps additional sub-regions. a large proportion of the genera, however, when sufficiently numerous in species, range over almost the whole extent of this sub-region wherever the conditions are favourable. even the andes do not seem to form such a barrier as has been supposed. north of the equator, where its western slopes are moist and forest-clad, most of the genera are found on both sides. to the south of this line its western valleys are arid and its lower plains almost deserts; and thus the absence of a { }number of groups to which verdant forests are essential, can be traced to the unsuitable conditions rather than to the existence of the mountain barrier. all tropical south america, therefore, is here considered to form but one sub-region. the portion of north america that lies within the tropics, closely resembles the last sub-region in general zoological features. it possesses hardly any positive distinctions; but there are several of a negative character, many important groups being wholly confined to south america. on the other hand many genera range into mexico and guatemala from the north, which never reach south america; so that it is convenient to separate this district as a sub-region, which forms, to some extent, a transition to the nearctic region. _general zoological features of the neotropical region._--richness combined with isolation is the predominant feature of neotropical zoology, and no other region can approach it in the number of its peculiar family and generic types. it has eight families of mammalia absolutely confined to it, besides several others which are rare elsewhere. these consist of two families of monkeys, cebidæ and hapalidæ, both abounding in genera and species; the phyllostomidæ, or blood-sucking bats; chinchillidæ and caviidæ among rodents; besides the greater part of the octodontidæ, echimyidæ and cercolabidæ. among edentata, it has bradypodidæ, or sloths, dasypodidæ, or armadillos, and myrmecophagidæ, or anteaters, constituting nearly the entire order; while procyonidæ, belonging to the carnivora, and didelphyidæ, a family of marsupials, only extend into the nearctic region. it has also many peculiar groups of carnivora and of muridæ, making a total of full a hundred genera confined to the region. hardly less remarkable is the absence of many wide-spread groups. with the exception of one genus in the west indian islands and a _sorex_ which reaches guatemala and costa rica, the insectivora are wholly wanting; as is also the extensive and wide-spread family of the viverridæ. it has no oxen or sheep, and indeed no form of ruminant except deer and llamas; neither do its vast forests and grassy plains support a single form of non-ruminant ungulate, except the tapir and the peccary. { }_birds._--in birds, the neotropical region is even richer and more isolated. it possesses no less than families wholly confined within its limits, with others which only extend into the nearctic region. the names of the peculiar families are: cærebidæ, or sugar-birds; phytotomidæ, or plant-cutters; pipridæ, or manakins; cotingidæ, or chatterers; formicariidæ, or ant-thrushes; dendrocolaptidæ, or tree-creepers; pteroptochidæ; rhamphastidæ, or toucans; bucconidæ, or puff-birds; galbulidæ, or jacamas; todidæ, or todies; momotidæ, or motmots; steatornithidæ, the guacharo, or oil-bird; cracidæ, or curassows; tinamidæ, or tinamous; opisthocomidæ, the hoazin; thinocoridæ; cariamidæ; aramidæ; psophiidæ, or trumpeters; eurypygidæ, or sun-bitterns; and palamedeidæ, or horned-screamers. the seven which it possesses in common with north america are: vireonidæ, or greenlets; mniotiltidæ, or wood-warblers; tanagridæ, or tanagers; icteridæ, or hang-nests; tyrannidæ, or tyrant-shrikes; trochilidæ, or humming-birds; and conuridæ, or macaws. most of these families abound in genera and species, and many are of immense extent; such as trochilidæ, with genera, and nearly species; tyrannidæ, with more than genera and nearly species; tanagridæ, with genera and species; dendrocolaptidæ with genera and more than species; and many other very large groups. there are nearly genera peculiar to the neotropical region; but in using this number as a basis of comparison with other regions we must remember, that owing to several ornithologists having made the birds of south america a special study, they have perhaps been more minutely subdivided than in the case of other entire tropical regions. _distinctive characters of neotropical mammalia._--it is important also to consider the kind and amount of difference between the various animal forms of this region and of the old world. to begin with the quadrumana, all the larger american monkeys (cebidæ) differ from every old world group in the possession of an additional molar tooth in each jaw; and it is in this group alone that the tail is developed into a prehensile organ of wonderful power, adapting the animals to a purely arboreal life. four of the genera, comprising more than half the { }species, have the prehensile tail, the remainder having this organ either short, or lax as in the old world monkeys. other differences from old world apes, are the possession of a broad nasal septum, and a less opposable thumb; and the absence of cheek-pouches, ischial callosities, and a bony ear-tube. the hapalidæ, or marmozets, agree with the cebidæ in all these characters, but have others in addition which still more widely separate them from the simiidæ; such as an additional premolar tooth, acute claws, and thumb not at all opposable; so that the whole group of american monkeys are radically different from the remainder of the order. the procyonidæ are a distinct family of carnivora, which make up for the scarcity of mustelidæ in south america. the suidæ are represented by the very distinct genus _dicotyles_ (peccary) forming a separate sub-family, and differing from all other genera in their dentition, the absence of tail and of one of the toes of the hind feet, the possession of a dorsal gland, and only two mammæ. the rodents are represented by the chinchillidæ and caviidæ, the latter comprising the largest animals in the order. the edentata are almost wholly confined to this region; and the three families of the sloths (bradypodidæ), armadillos (dasypodidæ), and ant-eaters (myrmecophagidæ), are widely separated in structure from any old world animals. lastly, we have the opossums (didelphyidæ), a family of marsupials, but having no close affinity to any of the numerous australian forms of that order. we have already arrived at the conclusion that the presence of marsupials in south america is not due to any direct transference from australia, but that their introduction is comparatively recent, and that they came from the old world by way of north america (vol. i., p. ). but the numerous and deep-seated peculiarities of many other of its mammalia, would indicate a very remote origin; and a long-continued isolation of south america from the rest of the world is required, in order to account for the preservation and development of so many distinct groups of comparatively low-type quadrupeds. _distinctive characters of neotropical birds._--the birds which are especially characteristic of this region, present similar distinctive features. in the enormous group of passerine { }birds which, though comprising nearly three-fourths of the entire class, yet presents hardly any well-marked differences of structure by which it can be subdivided--the families confined to america are, for the most part, more closely related to each other than to the old world groups. the ten families forming the group of "formicaroid passeres," in our arrangement (vol. i., p. ), are characterised by the absence of singing muscles in the larynx, and also by an unusual development of the first primary quill; and seven of this series of families (which are considered to be less perfectly developed than the great mass of old world passeres) are exclusively american, the three belonging to the eastern hemisphere being of small extent. another group of ten families--our "tanagroid passeres," are characterised by the abortion or very rudimentary condition of the first quill; and of these, five are exclusively american, and have numerous genera and species, while only two are non-american, and these are of small extent. on the other hand the "turdoid passeres," consisting of families and comprising all the true "singing-birds," is poorly represented in america; no family being exclusively neotropical, and only three being at all fully represented in south america, though they comprise the great mass of the old world passeres. these peculiarities, which group together whole series of families of american birds, point to early separation and long isolation, no less surely than the more remarkable structural divergences presented by the neotropical mammalia. in the picariæ, we have first, the toucans (rhamphastidæ); an extraordinary and beautiful family, whose enormous gaily-coloured bills and long feathered tongues, separate them widely from all other birds. the galbulidæ or jacamars, the motmots (momotidæ), and the curious little todies (todidæ) of the antilles, are also isolated groups. but most remarkable of all is the wonderful family of the humming-birds, which ranges over all america from tierra del fuego to sitka, and from the level plains of the amazon to above the snow-line on the andes; which abounds both in genera, species, and individuals, and is yet strictly confined to this continent alone! how vast must have been the time required to develop those beautiful and { }highly specialized forms out of some ancestral swift-like type; how complete and long continued the isolation of their birthplace to have allowed of their modification and adaptation to such divergent climates and conditions, yet never to have permitted them to establish themselves in the other continents. no naturalist can study in detail this single family of birds, without being profoundly impressed with the vast antiquity of the south american continent, its long isolation from the rest of the land surface of the globe, and the persistence through countless ages of all the conditions requisite for the development and increase of varied forms of animal life. passing on to the parrot tribe, we find the peculiar family of the conuridæ, of which the macaws are the highest development, very largely represented. it is in the gallinaceous birds however that we again meet with wholly isolated groups. the cracidæ, including the curassows and guans, have no immediate relations with any of the old world families. professor huxley considers them to approach nearest to (though still very remote from) the australian megapodes; and here, as in the case of the marsupials, we probably have divergent modifications of an ancient type once widely distributed, not a direct communication between the southern continents. the tinamidæ or tinamous, point to a still more remote antiquity, since their nearest allies are believed to be the struthiones or ostrich tribe, of which a few representatives are scattered widely over the globe. the hoazin of guiana (opisthocomus) is another isolated form, not only the type of a family, but perhaps of an extinct order of birds. passing on to the waders, we have a number of peculiar family types, all indicative of antiquity and isolation. the _cariama_ of the plains of brazil, a bird somewhat intermediate between a bustard and a hawk, is one of these; the elegant _psophia_ or trumpeter of the amazonian forests; the beautiful little sun-bittern of the river banks (_eurypyga_); and the horned screamers (_palamedea_), all form distinct and isolated families of birds, to which the old world offers nothing directly comparable. _reptiles._--the neotropical region is very rich in varied forms of reptile life, and the species are very abundant. it has six { }altogether peculiar families, and several others which only range into the nearctic region, as well as a very large number of peculiar or characteristic genera. as the orders of reptiles differ considerably in their distributional features, they must be considered separately. the snakes (ophidia) differ from all other reptiles, and from most other orders of vertebrates, in the wide average distribution of the families; so that such an isolated region as the neotropical possesses no peculiar family, nor even one confined to the american continent. the families of most restricted range are--the scytalidæ, only found elsewhere in the philippine islands; the amblycephalidæ, common to the oriental and neotropical regions; and the tortricidæ, most abundant in the oriental region, but found also in the austro-malay islands and tropical south america. sixteen of the families of snakes occur in the region, the colubridæ, amblycephalidæ, and pythonidæ, being those which are best represented by peculiar forms. there are peculiar or characteristic genera, the most important being _dromicus_ (colubridæ); _boa_, _epicrates_, and _ungalia_ (pythonidæ); _elaps_ (elapidæ); and _craspedocephalus_ (crotalidæ). the lizards (lacertilia) are generally more restricted in their range; hence we find that out of families which inhabit the region, are altogether peculiar, and more extend only to n. america. the peculiar families are helodermidæ, anadiadæ, chirocolidæ, iphisiadæ, and cercosauridæ; but it must be noted that these all possess but a single genus each, and only two of them (chirocolidæ and cercosauridæ) have more than a single species. the families which range over both south and north america are chirotidæ, chalcidæ, teidæ, and iguanidæ; the first and second are of small extent, but the other two are very large groups, the teidæ possessing genera and near species; the iguanidæ genera and near species; the greater part of which are neotropical. there are more than peculiar or highly characteristic genera of lizards, about of which belong to the teidæ and iguanidæ, which thus especially characterize the region. the most important and characteristic genera are the following; _ameiva_ (teidæ); _gymnopthalmus_ (gymnopthalmidæ); { }_celestus_ and _diploglossus_ (scincidæ); _sphærodactylus_ (geckotidæ); _liocephalus_, _liolæmus_, _proctotretus_, and many smaller genera (iguanidæ). the three extensive old world families varanidæ, lacertidæ, and agamidæ, are absent from the entire american continent. in the order crocodilia, america has the peculiar family of the alligators (alligatoridæ), as well as several species of true crocodiles (crocodilidæ). the chelonia (tortoises) are represented by the families testudinidæ and chelydidæ, both of wide range; but there are six peculiar genera,--_dermatemys_ and _staurotypus_ belonging to the former family,--_peltocephalus_, _podocnemis_, _hydromedusa_, and _chelys_, to the latter. some of the amazon river-turtles of the genus _podocnemys_ rival in size the largest species of true marine turtles (cheloniidæ), and are equally good for food. _amphibia._--the neotropical region possesses representatives of sixteen families of amphibia of which four are peculiar; all belonging to anoura or tail-less batrachians. the cæciliadæ or snake-like amphibia, are represented by two peculiar genera, _siphonopsis_ and _rhinatrema_. tailed batrachians are almost unknown, only a few species of _spelerpes_ (salamandridæ) entering central america, and one extending as far south as the andes of bogota in south america. tail-less batrachians on the other hand, are abundant; there being families represented, of which ,--rhinophryndæ, hylaplesidæ, plectromantidæ, and pipidæ are peculiar. none of these families contain more than a single genus, and only the second more than a single species; so that it is not these which give a character to the south american amphibia-fauna. the most important and best represented families are, ranidæ (true frogs), with eleven genera and more than species; polypedatidæ (tree-frogs) with seven genera and about species; hylidæ (tree-frogs) with eight genera and nearly species; engystomidæ (toads) ( genera), bombinatoridæ (frogs), ( genera), phryniscidæ and bufonidæ (toads), (each with genera), are also fairly represented. all these families are widely distributed, but the neotropical genera are, in almost every case, peculiar. { }_fresh-water fishes._--the great rivers of tropical america abound in fish of many strange forms and peculiar types. three families, and three sub-family groups are peculiar, while the number of peculiar genera is about . the peculiar families are polycentridæ, with two genera; gymnotidæ, a family which includes the electric eels, ( genera); and trygonidæ, the rays, which are everywhere marine except in the great rivers of south america, where many species are found, belonging to two genera. of the extensive family siluridæ, three sub-families siluridæ anomalopteræ, s. olisthopteræ, and s. branchiolæ, are confined to this region. the larger and more important of the peculiar genera are the following: _percilia_, inhabiting chilian and _percichthys_ south temperate rivers, belong to the perch family (percidæ); _acharnes_, found only in guiana, belongs to the nandidæ, a family of wide range in the tropics; the chromidæ, a family of exclusively fresh-water fishes found in the tropics of the ethiopian, oriental and neotropical regions, are here represented by genera, the more important being _acara_ ( sp.), _heros_ ( sp.), _crenicichla_ ( sp.), _satanoperca_ ( sp.). many of these fishes are beautifully marked and coloured. the siluridæ proteropteræ are represented by genera, of which _pimelodus_ ( sp.), and _platystoma_ ( sp.), are the most important; the siluridæ stenobranchiæ by genera, the chief being _doras_ ( sp.), _auchenipterus_ ( sp.), and _oxydoras_ ( sp.). the siluridæ proteropodes are represented by genera, many of them being among the most singular of fresh-water fishes, clothed in coats of mail, and armed with hooks and serrated spines. the following are the most important,--_chætostomus_ ( sp.), _loricaria_ ( sp.), _plecostonus_ ( sp.) and _callichthys_ ( sp.). the characinidæ are divided between tropical america and tropical africa, the former possessing about genera and species. the haplochitonidæ are confined to south america and australia; the american genus being _haplochiton_. the cyprinodontidæ are represented by genera, the most important being, _pæcilia_ ( sp.), _girardinus_ ( sp.), and _gambusia_ ( sp.) the osteoglossidæ, found in australian and african rivers, are represented in south america by the peculiar _arapaima_, the "pirarucu" of the { }amazon. the ancient sirenoidei, also found in australia and africa, have the _lepidosiren_ as their american representative. lastly, _ellipisurus_ is a genus of rays peculiar to the fresh waters of south america. we may expect these numbers to be largely increased and many new genera to be added, when the extensive collections made by agassiz in brazil are described. _summary of neotropical vertebrates._--summarizing the preceding facts, we find that the neotropical region possesses no less than families and more than genera of vertebrata which are altogether peculiar to it; while it has representatives of families out of a total of , showing that families are altogether absent. it has also representatives of genera of mammalia of which are peculiar to it, a proportion of / ; while of genera of land-birds no less than are peculiar, being almost exactly / of the whole. these numbers and proportions are far higher than in the case of any other region. _insects._ the neotropical region is so excessively rich in insect life, it so abounds in peculiar groups, in forms of exquisite beauty, and in an endless profusion of species, that no adequate idea of this branch of its fauna can be conveyed by the mere enumeration of peculiar and characteristic groups, to which we are here compelled to limit ourselves. our facts and figures will, however, furnish data for comparison; and will thus enable those who have some knowledge of the entomology of any other country, to form a better notion of the vast wealth of insect life in this region, than a more general and picturesque description could afford them. _lepidoptera._--the butterflies of south america surpass those of all other regions in numbers, variety and beauty; and we find here, not only more peculiar genera and families than elsewhere, but, what is very remarkable, a fuller representation of the whole series of families. out of the families of butterflies in all parts of the world, are found here, and of these are wholly peculiar--brassolidæ, heliconidæ, and eurygonidæ, with a fourth, erycinidæ, which only extends into the nearctic { }region; so that there are families peculiar to america. these four families comprise genera and more than species; alone constituting a very important feature in the entomology of the region. but in almost all the other families there are numbers of peculiar genera, amounting in all to about , or not far short of half the total number of genera in the world--( ). we must briefly notice some of the peculiarities of the several families, as represented in this region. the danaidæ consist of genera, all peculiar, and differing widely from the generally sombre-tinted forms of the rest of the world. the delicate transparent-winged ithomias of which species are described, are the most remarkable. _melinæa_, _napeogenes_, _ceratina_ and _dircenna_ are more gaily coloured, and are among the chief ornaments of the forests. the satyridæ are represented by peculiar genera, many of great beauty; the most remarkable and elegant being the genus _hætera_ and its allies, whose transparent wings are delicately marked with patches of orange, pink, or violet. the genus _morpho_ is perhaps the grandest development of the butterfly type, being of immense size and adorned with the most brilliant azure tints, which in some species attain a splendour of metallic lustre unsurpassed in nature. the brassolidæ are even larger, but are crepuscular insects, with rich though sober colouring. the true heliconii are magnificent insects, most elegantly marked with brilliant and strongly contrasted tints. the nymphalidæ are represented by such a variety of gorgeous insects that it is difficult to select examples. prominent are the genera _catagramma_ and _callithea_, whose exquisite colours and symmetrical markings are unique and indescribable; and these are in some cases rivalled by _agrias_ and _prepona_, which reproduce their style of coloration although not closely allied to them. the erycinidæ, consisting of genera and species, comprise the most varied and beautiful of small butterflies; and it would be useless to attempt to indicate the unimaginable combinations of form and colour they present. it must be sufficient to say that nothing elsewhere on the globe at all resembles them. in lycænidæ the world-wide genus _thecla_ is wonderfully developed, and the south { }american species not only surpass all others in size and beauty, but some of them are so gorgeous on the under surface of their wings, as to exceed almost all the combinations of metallic tints we meet with in nature. the last family, hesperidæ, is also wonderfully developed here, the species being excessively numerous, while some of them redeem the character of this generally sober family, by their rich and elegant coloration. in the only other group of lepidoptera we can here notice, the sphingina, the neotropical region possesses some peculiar forms. the magnificent diurnal butterfly-like moths, _urania_, are the most remarkable; and they are rendered more interesting by the occurrence of a species closely resembling them in madagascar. another family of day-flying moths, the castniidæ, is almost equally divided between the neotropical and australian regions, although the genera are more numerous in the latter. the american castnias are large, thick-bodied insects, with a coarse scaly surface and rich dull colours; differing widely from the glossy and gaily coloured agaristas, which are typical of the family in the east. _coleoptera._--this is so vast a subject that, as in the case of the regions already treated, we must confine our attention to a few of the more important and best known families as representatives of the entire order. cicindelidæ.--we find here examples of out of the genera of these insects; and of these genera are peculiar. the most important are _oxychila_ ( sp.), _hiresia_ ( sp.), and _ctenostoma_ ( sp.). _odontochila_ ( sp.) is the most abundant and characteristic of all, but is not wholly peculiar, there being a species in the malay archipelago. _tetracha_, another large genus, has species in australia and a few in north america and europe. the small genus _peridexia_ is divided between brazil and madagascar,--a somewhat similar distribution to that of _urania_ noticed above. one genus, _agrius_, is confined to the southern extremity of the continent. carabidæ.--besides a considerable number of cosmopolitan or wide-spread genera, this family is represented by more than genera which are peculiar to the neotropical region. the { }most important of these are _agra_ ( sp.), _ardistonus_ ( sp.), _schizogenius_ ( sp.), _pelecium_ ( sp.), _calophena_ ( sp.), _aspidoglossa_ ( sp.), and _lia_, _camptodonotus_, _stenocrepis_, and _lachnophorus_, with each more than species. these are all tropical; but there are also a number of genera ( ) peculiar to chili and south temperate america. the most important of these are _antarctia_ ( sp,), all except two or three confined to south temperate america; _scelodontis_ ( sp.), mostly chilian; _feronomorpha_ ( sp.) all chilian; and _tropidopterus_ ( sp.), all chilian. _helluomorpha_ ( sp.), is confined to north and south america; _galerita_, _callida_, and _tetragonoderus_, are large genera which are chiefly south american but with a few species scattered over the other tropical regions, _casnonia_ and _lebia_ are cosmopolite, but most abundant in south america. _pachyteles_ is mostly south american but with a few species in west africa; while _lobodonotus_ has one species in south america and two in africa. lucanidæ.--the neotropical species of this family almost all belong to peculiar genera. those common to other regions are _syndesus_, confined to tropical south america and australia, and _platycerus_ which is palæarctic and nearctic, with one species in brazil. the most remarkable genus is undoubtedly _chiasognathus_, confined to chili. these are large insects of metallic green colours, and armed with enormous serrated mandibles. the allied genera, _pholidotus_ and _sphenognathus_, inhabit tropical south america. _streptocerus_ confined to chili, is interesting, as being allied to the australian _lamprima_. the other genera present no remarkable features; but _sclerognathus_ and _leptinoptera_ are the most extensive. cetoniidæ.--these magnificent insects are but poorly represented in america; the species being mostly of sombre colours. there are genera, of which are peculiar. the most extensive genus is _gymnetis_, which, with its allies _cotinis_ and _allorhina_, form a group which comprehends two-thirds of the neotropical species of the family. the only other genera of importance are, _inca_ ( sp.), remarkable for their large size, and being the only american group in which horns are developed on the head; { }and _trigonopeltastes_ ( sp.), allied to the european _trichius_. the non-peculiar genera are, _stethodesma_, of which half the species are african and half tropical american; and _euphoria_, confined to america both north and south. buprestidæ.--in this fine group the neotropical region is tolerably rich, having examples of genera, of which are peculiar to it. of these, the most extensive are _conognatha_ and _halecia_, which have a wide range over most parts of the region; and _dactylozodes_, confined to the south temperate zone. of important genera which range beyond the region, _dicerca_ is mainly nearctic and palæarctic; _cinyra_ has a species in north america and one in australia; _curis_ is divided between chili and australia; the australian genus _stigmodera_ has a species in chili; _polycesta_ has a species in madagascar, two in the mediterranean region, and a few in north america; _acherusia_ is divided between australia and brazil; _ptosima_ has one species in south temperate america, the rest widely scattered from north america to the philippines; _actenodes_ has a single species in north america and another in west africa; _colobogaster_ has two in west africa, one in java and one in the moluccas. the relations of south america and australia as indicated by these insects has already been sufficiently noticed under the latter region. longicornia.--the neotropical longicorn coleoptera are overwhelming in their numbers and variety, their singularity and their beauty. in the recent catalogue of gemminger and harold, it is credited with genera, of which are peculiar to it; while it has only genera in common (exclusively) with the nearctic, and (in the same way) with the australian region. only the more important genera can be here referred to, under the three great families into which these insects are divided. the prionidæ are excessively numerous, being grouped in genera, more than double the number possessed by any other region; and of these are peculiar. the three, common to other regions, are, _parandra_ and _mallodon_, which are widely distributed; and _ergates_, found also in california and europe. the most remarkable genera are, the magnificently-coloured _psalidognathus_ and _pyrodes_; the large and strangely marked { }_macrodontia_; and _titanus_, the largest insect of the entire family. of the cerambycidæ there are genera, exceeding by one-half, the number in any other region; and of these are peculiar. only are common to the neotropical and nearctic regions exclusively, and to the neotropical and australian. the most extensive genera are the elegant _ibidion_ ( sp.); the richly-coloured _chrysoprasis_ ( sp.); the prettily-marked _trachyderes_ ( sp.); with _odontocera_ ( sp.); _criodon_ ( sp.); and a host of others of less extent, but often of surpassing interest and beauty. the noteworthy genera of wide range are, _oeme_ and _cyrtomerus_, which have each a species in west africa, and _hammatocerus_, which has one in australia. the lamiidæ have genera, and this is the only tropical region in which they do not exceed the cerambycidæ. this number is almost exactly the same as that of the oriental genera, but here there are more peculiar groups, against in the other region. the most extensive genera are _hemilophus_ ( sp.), _colobothea_ ( sp.), _acanthoderes_ ( sp.), _oncoderes_ ( sp.), _lepturgus_ ( sp.), _hypsioma_ ( sp.), and _tæniotes_ ( sp.). _macropus longimanus_, commonly called the harlequin beetle, is one of the largest and most singularly-marked insects in the whole family. _leptostylus_ has a single species in new zealand; _acanthoderes_ has one species in europe, w. africa, and australia, respectively; _spalacopsis_ has a species in w. africa; _pachypeza_ is common to s. america and the philippines; _mesosa_ is oriental and palæarctic, but has one species on the amazon; _apomecyna_ ranges through the tropics of the eastern hemisphere, but has two species in s. america; _acanthocinus_ has one species in tasmania, and the rest in south america, north america, and europe; _phæa_ is wholly neotropical, except two species in the philippine islands. _general conclusions as to the neotropical insect-fauna._--looking at the insects of the neotropical region as a whole, we are struck with the vast amount of specialty they present; and, considering how many causes there are which must lead to the dispersal of insects, the number of its groups which are scattered { }over the globe is not nearly so great as we might expect. this points to a long period of isolation, during which the various forms of life have acted and reacted on each other, leading to such a complex yet harmoniously-balanced result as to defy the competition of the chance immigrants that from time to time must have arrived. this is quite in accordance with the very high antiquity we have shown most insect-forms to possess; and it is no doubt owing to this antiquity, that such a complete diversity of _generic_ forms has been here brought about, without any important deviation from the great _family_ types which prevail over the rest of the globe. _land shells._--the neotropical region is probably the richest on the globe in terrestrial mollusca, but this is owing, not to any extreme productiveness of the equatorial parts of the continent, where almost all other forms of life are so largely developed, but to the altogether exceptional riches of the west india islands. the most recent estimates show that the antilles contain more species of land shells than all the rest of the region, and almost exactly as many as all continental america, north and south. mr. thomas bland, who has long studied american land shells, points out a remarkable difference in the distribution of the operculated and inoperculated groups, the former being predominant on the islands, the latter on the continent. the antilles possess over species of operculata, to about on the whole american continent, the genera being as to . of inoperculata the antilles have , the continent , , the genera being and . the proportions of the two groups in each country are, therefore: west india islands. american continent. operculata gen. sp. inoperculata " " the extensive family of the helicidæ is represented by genera, of which are peculiar. _spiraxis_ is confined to central america and the antilles; _stenopus_ and _sagda_ are antillean only; _orthalicus_, _macroceramus_, and _bulimulus_ have a wider range, the last two extending into the southern united { }states. important and characteristic genera are, _glandina_, in all the tropical parts of the region; _cylindrella_, in central america and the antilles; _bulimus_, containing many large and handsome species in south america; _stenogyra_, widely spread in the tropics; and _streptaxis_, in tropical south america. among the operculata, the aciculidæ are mostly antillean, two genera being peculiar there, and one, _truncatella_, of wide distribution, but most abundant in the west indian islands. the cyclostomidæ are represented by genera, being peculiar to the region, and of these (belonging to the sub-family licinidæ) to the antilles only. of these peculiar genera _cistula_ and _chondropoma_ are the most important, ranging over all the tropical parts of the region. other important genera are _cyclotus_ and _megalomastoma_; while _cyclophorus_ also occurs all over the region. the helicinidæ are mostly neotropical, six out of the seven genera being found here, and four are peculiar. _stoastoma_, is one of the largest genera; and, with _trochatella_ and _alcadia_, is confined to the antilles, while the wide-spread _helicina_ is most abundant there. the limacidæ, or old world slugs, are absent from the region, their place being taken by the allied family, oncidiadæ. _marine shells._--we go out of our usual course to say a few words about the marine shells of this region, because their distribution on the two sides of the continent is important, as an indication of the former separation of north and south america, and the connection of the atlantic and pacific oceans. it was once thought that no species of shells were common to the two sides of the central american isthmus, and dr. mörch still holds that opinion; but dr. philip carpenter, who has paid special attention to the subject, considers that there are at least species absolutely identical, while as many others are so close that they may be only varieties. nearly others are distinct but representative species. the genera of marine mollusca are very largely common to the east and west coasts, more than being so named in the lists published by mr. woodward. the west indian islands being a rich shell district, produce a number of peculiar forms, and the west coast of { }south america is, to some extent, peopled by oriental and pacific genera of shells. on the west coast there is hardly any coral, while on the east it is abundant, showing a difference of physical conditions that must have greatly influenced the development of mollusca. when these various counteracting influences are taken into consideration, the identity or close affinity of about species and genera on the two sides of the isthmus of panama becomes very important; and, combined with the fact of species of fish (or per cent. of those known) being identical on the adjacent coasts of the two oceans (as determined by dr. günther), render it probable that central america has been partially submerged up to comparatively recent geological times. yet another proof of this former union of two oceans is to be found in the fossil corals of the antilles of the miocene age, which dr. duncan finds to be more allied to existing pacific forms, than to those of the atlantic or even of the caribbean sea. neotropical sub-regions. in the concluding part of this work devoted to geographical zoology, the sub-regions are arranged in the order best adapted to exhibit them in a tabular form, and to show the affinities of the several regions; but for our present purpose it will be best to take first in order that which is the most important and most extensive, and which exhibits all the peculiar characteristics of the region in their fullest development. we begin therefore with our second division. _ii. tropical south-america, or the brazilian sub-region._ this extensive district may be defined as consisting of all the tropical forest-region of south america, including all the open plains and pasture lands, surrounded by, or intimately associated with, the forests. its central mass consists of the great forest-plain of the amazons, extending from paranaiba on the north coast of brazil (long. ° w.) to zamora, in the province of loja (lat. ° s., long. ° w.), high up in the andes, on the west;--a distance in a straight line of more than , english miles, { }along the whole of which there is (almost certainly) one continuous virgin forest. its greatest extent from north to south, is from the mouths of the orinooko to the eastern slopes of the andes near la paz in bolivia and a little north of sta. cruz de la sierra (lat. ° s.), a distance of about , miles. within this area of continuous forests, are included some open "campos," or patches of pasture lands, the most important being,--the campos of the upper rio branco on the northern boundary of brazil; a tract in the interior of british guiana; and another on the northern bank of the amazon near its mouth, and extending some little distance on its south bank at santarem. on the northern bank of the orinooko are the llanos, or flat open plains, partly flooded in the rainy season; but much of the interior of venezuela appears to be forest country. the forest again prevails from panama to maracaybo, and southwards in the magdalena valley; and on all the western side of the andes to about miles south of guayaquil. on the n.e. coast of brazil is a tract of open country, in some parts of which (as near ceara) rain does not fall for years together; but south of cape st. roque the coast-forests of brazil commence, extending to lat. ° s., clothing all the valleys and hill sides as far inland as the higher mountain ranges, and even penetrating up the great valleys far into the interior. to the south-west the forest country reappears in paraguay, and extends in patches and partially wooded country, till it almost reaches the southern extension of the amazonian forests. the interior of brazil is thus in the position of a great island-plateau, rising out of, and surrounded by, a lowland region of ever-verdant forest. the brazilian sub-region comprises all this forest-country and its included open tracts, and so far beyond it as there exists sufficient woody vegetation to support its peculiar forms of life. it thus extends considerably beyond the tropic in paraguay and south brazil; while the great desert of chaco, extending from ° to ° s., lat. between the parana and the andes, as well as the high plateaus of the andean range, with the strip of sandy desert on the pacific coast as far as to about ° of south latitude, belong to south temperate america, or the sub-region of the andes. { }having already given a sketch, of the zoological features of the neotropical region as a whole, the greater part of which will apply to this sub-region, we must here confine ourselves to an indication of the more important groups which, on the one hand, are confined to it, and on the other are absent; together with a notice of its special relations to other regions. _mammalia._--many of the most remarkable of the american monkeys are limited to this sub-region; as _lagothrix_, _pithecia_, and _brachyurus_, limited to the great amazonian forests; _eriodes_ to south-east brazil; and _callithrix_ to tropical south america. all the marmosets (hapalidæ) are also confined to this sub-region, one only being found at panama, and perhaps extending a little beyond it. among other peculiar forms, are genera of bats; peculiar forms of wild dog; _pteronura_, a genus of otters; _inia_, a peculiar form of dolphin inhabiting the upper waters of the amazon; tapirs of the genus _tapirus_ (a distinct genus being found north of panama); genera of muridæ; _ctenomys_, a genus of octodontidæ; the whole family of echimyidæ, or spiny rats, (as far as the american continent is concerned) consisting of genera and species; _chætomys_, a genus of cercolabidæ; the capybara (_hydrochoerus_) the largest known rodent, belonging to the caviidæ; the larger ant-eaters (_myrmecophaga_); sloths of the genus _bradypus_; genera of armadillos (dasypodidæ); and two peculiar forms of the opossum family (didelphyidæ). no group that is typically neotropical is absent from this sub-region, except such as are peculiar to other single sub-regions and which will be noticed accordingly. the occurrence of a solitary species of hare (_lepus braziliensis_) in central brazil and the andes, is remarkable, as it is cut off from all its allies, the genus not being known to occur elsewhere on the continent further south than costa rica. the only important external relation indicated by the mammalia of this sub-region is towards the ethiopian region, genera of echimyidæ, _aulacodes_ and _petromys_, occurring in south and south-east africa. _plate iv. characteristic neotropical mammalia._--our illustration represents a mountainous forest in brazil, the part of south america where the neotropical mammalia are perhaps best { }developed. the central and most conspicuous figure is the collared ant-eater, (_tamandua tetradactyla_), one of the handsomest of the family, in its conspicuous livery of black and white. to the left are a pair of sloths (_arctopithecus flaccidus_) showing the curious black spot on the back with which many of the species are marked, and which looks like a hole in the trunk of a tree; but this mark seems to be only found on the male animal. the fur of many of the sloths has a greenish tinge, and dr. seemann remarked its resemblance to the _tillandsia usneoides_, or "vegetable horsehair," which clothes many of the trees in central america; and this probably conceals them from their enemies, the harpy-eagles. on the right are a pair of opossums (_didelphys azaræ_), one of them swinging by its prehensile tail. overhead in the foreground are a group of howling monkeys (_mycetes ursinus_) the largest of the american quadrumana, and the noisiest of monkeys. the large hollow vessel into which the hyoid bone is transformed, and which assists in producing their tremendous howling, is altogether unique in the animal kingdom. below them, in the distance, are a group of sapajou monkeys (_cebus_ sp.); while gaudy screaming macaws complete the picture of brazilian forest life. _birds._--a very large number of genera of birds, and some entire families, are confined to this sub-region, as will be seen by looking over the list of genera at the end of this chapter. we can here only notice the more important, and summarize the results. more than genera of passeres are thus limited, belonging to the following families: sylviidæ ( ), troglodytidæ ( ), coerebidæ ( ), tanagridæ ( ), fringillidæ ( ), icteridæ ( ), pteroptochidæ ( ), dendrocolaptidæ ( ), formicariidæ ( ), tyrannidæ ( ), cotingidæ ( ), pipridæ ( ). of the picariæ there are peculiar genera belonging to families, viz., picidæ ( ), rhamphastidæ ( ), cuculidæ ( ), bucconidæ ( ), galbulidæ ( ), momotidæ ( ), podargidæ ( ), caprimalgidæ ( ), trochilidæ ( ). there are peculiar genera of psittaci, of gallinæ, the only genus of opisthocomidæ, of accipitres, of rallidæ, _psophia_ and _eurypyga_ types of distinct families, and genus of ardeidæ, palamedeidæ, and anatidæ respectively. the preceding enumeration shows how very rich this sub-region is in peculiar types of all the most characteristic american families, such as the tanagridæ, tyrannidæ, cotingidæ, formicariidæ, trochilidæ, and galbulidæ. a considerable proportion of the genera of the chilian and mexican sub-regions also occur here, so that out of about genera of neotropical land-birds more than are represented in this sub-region. plate xiv. [illustration] a brazilian forest, with characteristic mammalia. { }without entering minutely into the distribution of species it is difficult to sub-divide this extensive territory with any satisfactory result.[ ] the upland tract between the amazon and orinooko, which may be termed guiana, was evidently once an island, yet it possesses few marked distinctive features. brazil, which must have formed another great island, has more speciality, but the intermediate amazonian forests form a perfect transition between them. the northern portion of the continent west of the orinooko has more character; and there are indications that this has received many forms from central and north america, and thus blended two faunas once more distinct than they are now. the family of wood-warblers (mniotiltidæ) seems to have belonged to this more northern fauna; for out of genera only extend south of the equator, while range from mexico or the antilles into columbia, some of these being only winter immigrants and no genus being exclusively south american. the eastern slopes of the andes constitute, however, the richest and best marked province of this sub-region. at least genera of tanagers (tanagridæ) are found here only, with an immense number of fringillidæ,--the former confined to the forests; the latter ranging to the upland plains. the ant-thrushes (formicariidæ) on the other hand seem more abundant in the lowlands, many genera being peculiar to the amazonian forests. the superb chatterers (cotingidæ) also seem to have their head-quarters in the forests of brazil and guiana, and to have thence spread { }into the amazonian valley. guiana still boasts such remarkable forms as the cardinal chatterer (_phoenicocercus_), the military chatterer (_hæmatoderus_), as well as _querula_, _gymnoderus_, and _gymnocephalus_; but the first three pass to the south side of the lower amazon. here also belong the cock of the rock (_rupicola_), which ranges from guiana to the andes, and the marvellous umbrella-birds of the rio nigro and upper amazon (_cephalopterus_), which extends across the ecuadorean andes and into costa rica. brazil has _ptilochloris_, _casiornis_, _tijuca_, _phibalura_, and _calyptura_; while not a single genus of this family, except perhaps _heliochæra_, is confined to the extensive range of the andes. almost the same phenomena are presented by the allied pipridæ or manakins, the greater part of the genera and species occurring in eastern south america, that is in brazil, guiana, and the surrounding lowlands rather than in the andean valleys. the same may be said of the jacamars (galbulidæ) and puff-birds (bucconidæ); but the humming-birds (trochilidæ) have their greatest development in the andean district. brazil and guiana have each a peculiar genus of parrots; guiana has three peculiar genera of cracidæ, while the andes north of the equator have two. the tinamidæ on the other hand have their metropolis in brazil, which has two or three peculiar genera, while two others seem confined to the andes south of the equator. the elegant trumpeters (psophiidæ) are almost restricted to the amazonian valley. somewhat similar facts occur among the mammalia. at least genera of monkeys are confined to the great lowland equatorial forests and to brazil; _icticyon_ (canidæ) and _pteronura_ (mustelidæ) belong to guiana and brazil; and most of the echimyidæ are found in the same districts. the sloths, ant-eaters, and armadillos all seem more characteristic of the eastern districts than of the andean; while the opossums are perhaps equally plentiful in the andes. the preceding facts of distribution lead us to conclude that the highlands of brazil and of guiana represent very ancient lands, dating back to a period long anterior to the elevation of the andean range (which is by no means of great geological { }antiquity) and perhaps even to the elevation of the continuous land which forms the base of the mountains. it was, no doubt, during their slow elevation and the consequent loosening of the surface, that the vast masses of debris were carried down which filled up the sea separating the andean chain from the great islands of brazil and guiana, and formed that enormous extent of fertile lowland forest, which has created a great continent; given space for the free interaction of the distinct faunas which here met together, and thus greatly assisted in the marvellous development of animal and vegetable life, which no other continent can match. but this development, and the fusion of the various faunas into one homogeneous assemblage must have been a work of time; and it is probable that most of the existing continent was dry land before the andes had acquired their present altitude. the blending of the originally distinct sub-faunas has been no doubt assisted by elevations and depressions of the land or of the ocean, which have alternately diminished and increased the land-area. this would lead to a crowding together at one time, and a dispersion at others, which would evidently afford opportunity for many previously restricted forms to enter fresh areas and become adapted to new modes of life. from the preceding sketch it will appear, that the great sub-region of tropical south america as here defined, is really formed of three originally distinct lands, fused together by the vast lowland amazonian forests. in the class of birds sufficient materials exist for separating these districts; and that of the andes contains a larger series of peculiar genera than either of the other sub-regions here adopted. but there are many objections to making such a sub-division here. it is absolutely impossible to define even approximate limits to these divisions--to say for example where the "andes" ends and where "brazil" or "amazonia" or "guiana" begins; and the unknown border lands separating these are so vast, that many groups, now apparently limited in their distribution, may prove to have a very much wider range. in mammalia, reptiles, and insects, it is even more difficult to maintain such divisions, so that on the whole it seems better to treat the entire area as one sub-region, { }although recognizing the fact of its zoological and geographical diversity, as well as its vast superiority over every other sub-region in the number and variety of its animal forms. the reptiles, fishes, mollusca, and insects of this sub-region have been sufficiently discussed in treating of the entire region, as by far the larger proportion of them, except in the case of land-shells, are found here. _plate xv. characteristic neotropical birds._--to illustrate the ornithology of south america we place our scene on one of the tributaries of the upper amazon, a district where this class of animals is the most prominent zoological feature, and where a number of the most remarkable and interesting birds are to be found. on the left we have the umbrella-bird (_cephalopterus ornatus_), so called from its wonderful crest, which, when expanded, completely overshadows its head like an umbrella. it is also adorned with a long tassel of plumes hanging from its breast, which is formed by a slender fleshy tube clothed with broad feathers. the bird is as large as a crow, of a glossy blue-black colour, and belongs to the same family as the exquisitely tinted blue-and-purple chatterers. flying towards us are a pair of curl-crested toucans (_pteroglossus beauharnaisii_), distinguished among all other toucans by a crest composed of small black and shining barbless plumes, resembling curled whalebone. the general plumage is green above, yellow and red beneath, like many of its allies. to the right are two of the exquisite little whiskered hummers, or "frill-necked coquettes," as they are called by mr. gould, (_lophornis gouldi_). these diminutive birds are adorned with green-tipped plumes springing from each side of the throat, as well as with beautiful crests, and are among the most elegant of the great american family of humming-birds, now numbering about known species. overhead are perched a pair of curassows (_crax globulosa_), which represent in america the pheasants of the old world. there are about a dozen species of these fine birds, most of which are adorned with handsome curled crests. that figured, is distinguished by the yellow caruncular swellings at the base of the bill. the tall crane-like bird near the water is one of the trumpeters, (_psophia leucoptera_), elegant birds with silky plumage peculiar to the amazon valley. they are often kept in houses, where they get very tame and affectionate; and they are useful in catching flies and other house insects, which they do with great perseverance and dexterity. plate xv. [illustration] a forest scene on the upper amazon, with some characteristic birds. { }_islands of tropical south america._ these are few in number, and, with one exception, not of much interest. such islands as trinidad and sta. catherina form parts of south america, and have no peculiar groups of animals. the small islands of fernando noronha, trinidad, and martin vaz, off the coast of brazil, are the only atlantic islands somewhat remote from land; while the galapagos archipelago in the pacific is the only group whose productions have been carefully examined, or which present features of special interest. _galapagos islands._--these are situated on the equator, about miles from the coast of ecuador. they consist of the large albemarle island, miles long; four much smaller ( to miles long), named narborough, james, indefatigable, and chatham islands; four smaller still ( to miles long), named abingdon, bindloes, hood's, and charles islands. all are volcanic, and consist of fields of black basaltic lava, with great numbers of extinct craters, a few which are still active. the islands vary in height from , to , feet, and they all rise sufficiently high to enter the region of moist currents of air, so that while the lower parts are parched and excessively sterile, above or , feet there is a belt of comparatively green and fertile country. these islands are known to support species of vertebrates,-- quadruped, birds and reptiles, the greater part of which are found nowhere else, while a considerable number belong to peculiar and very remarkable genera. we must therefore notice them in some detail. _mammalia._--this class is represented by a mouse belonging to the american genus _hesperomys_, but slightly different from any found on the continent. a true rat (_mus_), slightly differing from any european species, also occurs; and as there can be little doubt that this is an escape from a ship, somewhat { }changed under its new conditions of life (the genus _mus_ not being indigenous to the american continent), it is not improbable, as mr. darwin remarks, that the american mouse may also have been imported by man, and have become similarly changed. _birds._[ ]--recent researches in the islands have increased the number of land-birds to thirty-two, and of wading and aquatic birds to twenty-three. all the land birds but two or three are peculiar to the islands, and eighteen, or considerably more than half, belong to peculiar genera. of the waders are peculiar, and of the swimmers . these are a rail (_porzana spilonota_); two herons (_butorides plumbea_ and _nycticorax pauper_); a flamingo (_phoenicopterus glyphorhynchus_); while the new aquatics are a gull (_larus fuliginosus)_, and a penguin (_spheniscus mendiculus_). the land-birds are much more interesting. all except the birds of prey belong to american genera which abound on the opposite coast or on that of chili a little further south, or to peculiar genera allied to south american forms. the only _species_ not peculiar are, _dolichonyx oryzivorus_, a bird of very wide range in america and of migratory habits, which often visits the bermudas miles from north america,--and _asio accipitrinus_, an owl which is found almost all over the world. the only genera not exclusively american are _buteo_ and _strix_, of each of which a peculiar species occurs in the galapagos, although very closely allied to south american species. there remain genera, all either american or peculiar to the galapagos; and on these we will remark in systematic order. . _mimus_, the group of american mocking-thrushes, is represented by three distinct and well-marked species. . _dendroeca_, an extensive and wide-spread genus of the wood-warblers (mniotiltidæ), is represented by one species, which ranges over the greater part of the archipelago. the genus is especially abundant in mexico, the antilles, and the northern parts of { }tropical america, only one species extending south as far as chili. . _certhidea_, a peculiar genus originally classed among the finches, but which mr. sclater, who has made south american birds his special study, considers to belong to the _coerebidæ_, or sugar-birds, a family which is wholly tropical. two species of this genus inhabit separate islands. . _progne_, the american martins (hirundinidæ), is represented by a peculiar species. . _geospiza_, a peculiar genus of finches, of which no less than eight species occur in the archipelago, but not more than four in any one island. . _camarhynchus_ ( sp.) and . _cactornis_ ( sp.) are two other peculiar genera of finches; some of the species of which are confined to single islands, while others inhabit several. . _pyrocephalus_, a genus of the american family of tyrant-flycatchers (tyrannidæ), has one peculiar species closely allied to _t. rubineus_, which has a wide range in south america. . _myiarchus_, another genus of the same family which does not range further south than western ecuador, has also a representative species found in several of the islands. . _zenaida_, an american genus of pigeons, has a species in james island and probably in some of the others, closely allied to a species from the west coast of america. it has been already stated that some of the islands possess peculiar species of birds distinct from the allied forms in other islands, but unfortunately our knowledge of the different islands is so unequal and of some so imperfect, that we can form no useful generalizations as to the distribution of birds among the islands themselves. the largest island is the least known; only one bird being recorded from it, one of the mocking-thrushes found nowhere else. combining the observations of mr. darwin with those of dr. habel and prof. sundevall, we have species recorded as occurring in seven of the islands. albemarle island has but one definitely known species; chatham and bindloe islands have each; abingdon and charles islands each; indefatigable island and james island have each species. this shows that birds are very fairly distributed over all the islands, one of the smallest and most remote (abingdon) furnishing as many as the much larger chatham island, which is also the nearest { }to the mainland. taking the six islands which seem tolerably explored, we find that two of the species (_dendroeca aureola_ and _geospiza fortis_) occur in all of them; two others (_geospiza strenua_ and _myiarchus magnirostris_) in five; four (_mimus melanotis_, _geospiza fuliginosa_, _g. parvula_, and _camarhynchus prosthemelas_) in four islands; five (_certhidea olivacea_, _cactornis scandens_, _pyrocephalus nanus_), and two of the birds of prey, in three islands; nine (_certhidea fusca_, _progne concolor_, _geospiza nebulosa_, _g. magnirostris_, _camarhynchus psittaculus_, _c. variegatus_, _c. habeli_ and _asio accipitrinus_) in two islands; while the remaining ten species are confined to one island each. these peculiar species are distributed among the islands as follows. james, charles and abingdon islands, have each; bindloes, chatham, and indefatigable, each. the amount of speciality of james island is perhaps only apparent, owing to our ignorance of the fauna of the adjacent large albemarle island; the most remote islands north and south, abingdon and charles, have no doubt in reality most peculiar species, as they appear to have. the scarcity of peculiar species in chatham island is remarkable, it being large, very isolated, and the nearest to the mainland. there is still room for exploration in these islands, especially in albemarle, narborough, and hood's islands of which we know nothing. _reptiles._--the few reptiles found in these islands are very interesting. there are two snakes, a species of the american genus _herpetodryas_, and another which was at first thought to be a chilian species (_psammophis temminckii_), but which is now considered to be distinct. of lizards there are four at least, belonging to as many genera. one is a species of _phyllodactylus_, a wide-spread genus of geckotidæ; the rest belong to the american family of the iguanas, one being a species of the neotropical genus _leiocephalus_, the other two very remarkable forms, _trachycephalus_ and _oreocephalus_ (formerly united in the genus _amblyrhynchus_). the first is a land, the second a marine, lizard; both are of large size and very abundant on all the islands; and they are quite distinct from any of the very numerous genera of iguanidæ, spread all over the american continent. the last { }reptile is a land tortoise (_testudo nigra_) of immense size, and also abundant in all the islands. its nearest ally is the equally large species of the mascarene islands; an unusual development due, in both cases, to the absence of enemies permitting these slow but continually growing animals to attain an immense age. it is believed that each island has a distinct variety or species of tortoise. _insects_.--almost the only insects known from these islands are some coleoptera, chiefly collected by mr. darwin. they consist of a few peculiar species of american or wide-ranging genera, the most important being, a _calosoma_, _poecilus_, _solenophorus_, and _notaphus_, among the carabidæ; an _oryctes_ among the lamellicornes; two new genera of obscure heteromera; two curculionidæ of wide-spread genera; a longicorn of the south american genus _eburia_; and two small phytophaga,--a set of species highly suggestive of accidental immigrations at rare and distant intervals. _land-shells._--these consist of small and obscure species, forming two peculiar sub-genera of _bulimulus_, a genus greatly developed on the whole west coast of america; and a single species of _buliminus_, a genus which ranges over all the world except america. as in the case of the birds, most of the islands have two or three peculiar species. _general conclusions._--these islands are wholly volcanic and surrounded by very deep sea; and mr. darwin is of opinion, not only that the islands have never been more nearly connected with the mainland than at present, but that they have never been connected among themselves. they are situated on the equator, in a sea where gales and storms are almost unknown. the main currents are from the south-west, an extension of the peruvian drift along the west coast of south america. from their great extent, and their volcanoes being now almost extinct, we may assume that they are of considerable antiquity. these facts exactly harmonize with the theory, that they have been peopled by rare accidental immigrations at very remote intervals. the only peculiar _genera_ consist of birds and lizards, which must therefore have been the earliest { }immigrants. we know that small passerine birds annually reach the bermudas from america, and the azores from europe, the former travelling over , the latter over miles of ocean. these groups of islands are both situated in stormy seas, and the immigrants are so numerous that hardly any specific change in the resident birds has taken place. the galapagos receive no such annual visitants; hence, when by some rare accident a few individuals of a species did arrive, they remained isolated, probably for thousands of generations, and became gradually modified through natural selection under completely new conditions of existence. less rare and violent storms would suffice to carry some of these to other islands, and thus the archipelago would in time become stocked. it would appear probable, that those which have undergone most change were the earliest to arrive; so that we might look upon the three peculiar genera of finches, and _certhidea_, the peculiar form of coerebidæ, as among the most ancient inhabitants of the islands, since they have become so modified as to have apparently no near allies on the mainland. but other birds may have arrived nearly at the same time, and yet not have been much changed. a species of very wide range, already adapted to live under very varied conditions and to compete with varied forms of life, might not need to become modified so much as a bird of more restricted range, and more specialized constitution. and if, before any considerable change had been effected, a second immigration of the same species occurred, crossing the breed would tend to bring back the original type of form. while, therefore, we may be sure that birds like the finches, which are profoundly modified and adapted to the special conditions of the climate and vegetation, are among the most ancient of the colonists; we cannot be sure that the less modified form of tyrant-flycatcher or mocking-thrush, or even the unchanged but cosmopolitan owl, were not of coeval date; since even if the parent form on the continent has been changed, successive immigrations may have communicated the same change to the colonists. the reptiles are somewhat more difficult to account for. we know, however, that lizards have some means of dispersal over { }the sea, because we find existing species with an enormous range. the ancestors of the _amblyrhynchi_ must have come as early, probably, as the earliest birds; and the same powers of dispersal have spread them over every island. the two american genera of lizards, and the tortoises, are perhaps later immigrants. latest of all were the snakes, which hardly differ from continental forms; but it is not at all improbable that these latter, as well as the peculiar american mouse, have been early human importations. snakes are continually found on board native canoes whose cabins are thatched with palm leaves; and a few centuries would probably suffice to produce some modification of a species completely isolated, under conditions widely different from those of its native country. land-shells, being so few and small, and almost all modifications of one type, are a clear indication of how rare are the conditions which lead to their dispersal over a wide extent of ocean; since two or three individuals, arriving on two or three occasions only during the whole period of the existence of the islands, would suffice to account for the present fauna. insects have arrived much more frequently; and this is in accordance with their habits, their lower specific gravity, their power of flight, and their capacity for resisting for some time the effects of salt water. we learn, then, from the fauna of these islands, some very important facts. we are taught that tropical land-birds, unless blown out of their usual course by storms, rarely or never venture out to sea, or if they do so, can seldom pass safely over a distance of miles. the immigrants to the galapagos can hardly have averaged a bird in a thousand years. we learn, that of all reptiles lizards alone have some tolerably effective mode of transmission across the sea; and this is probably by means of currents, and in connection with floating vegetation. yet their transmission is a far rarer event than that of land-birds; for, whereas three female immigrants will account for the lizard population, at least eight or ten ancestors are required for the birds. land serpents can pass over still more rarely, as two such transmissions would have sufficed to stock the islands with their snakes; and it is not certain that either of these occurred without the aid of man. { }it is doubtful whether mammals or batrachians have any means of passing, independently of man's assistance; the former having but one doubtfully indigenous representative, the latter none at all. the remarkable absence of all gay or conspicuous flowers in these tropical islands, though possessing a zone of fairly luxuriant shrubby vegetation, and the dependence of this phenomenon on the extreme scarcity of insects, has been already noticed at vol. i. p. , when treating of a somewhat similar peculiarity of the new zealand fauna and flora. _i. south temperate america, or the chilian sub-region._ this sub-region may be generally defined as the temperate portion of south america. on the south, it commences with the cold damp forests of tierra del fuego, and their continuation up the west coast to chiloe and northward to near santiago. to the east we have the barren plains of patagonia, gradually changing towards the north into the more fertile, but still treeless, pampas of la plata. whether this sub-region should be continued across the rio de la plata into uruguay and entre-rios, is somewhat doubtful. to the west of the parana it extends northward over the chaco desert, till we approach the border of the great forests near st. cruz de la sierra. on the plateau of the andes, however, it must be continued still further north, along the "paramos" or alpine pastures, till we reach ° of south latitude. beyond this the andes are very narrow, having no double range with an intervening plateau; and although some of the peculiar forms of the temperate zone pass on to the equator or even beyond it, these are not sufficiently numerous to warrant our extending the sub-region to include them. along with the high andes it seems necessary to include the western strip of arid country, which is mostly peopled by forms derived from chili and the south temperate regions. _mammalia._--this sub-region is well characterised by the possession of an entire family of mammalia having neotropical affinities--the chinchillidæ. it consists of genera--_chinchilla_ ( sp.), inhabiting the andes of chili and peru as far as ° south latitude, and at from , to , feet altitude; _lagidium_ ( sp.), ranging over the andes of chili, peru, and south ecuador, { }from , to , feet altitude; and _lagostomus_ ( sp.), the "viscacha," confined to the pampas between the uruguay and rio negro. many important genera are also confined to this sub-region. _auchenia_ ( sp.), including the domesticated llamas and alpacas, the vicugna which inhabits the andes of peru and chili, and the guanaco which ranges over the plains of patagonia and tierra del fuego. although this genus is allied to the old world camels, it is a very distinct form, and its introduction from north america, where the family appear to have originated, may date back to a remote epoch. _ursus ornatus_, the "spectacled bear" of the chilian andes, is a remarkable form, supposed to be most allied to the malay bear, and probably forming a distinct genus, which has been named _tremarctos_. four genera of octodontidæ are also peculiar to this sub-region, or almost so; _habrocomus_ ( sp.) is chilian; _spalacopus_ ( sp.) is found in chili and on the east side of the southern andes; _octodon_ ( sp.) ranges from chili into peru and bolivia; _ctenomys_ ( sp.) from the straits of magellan to bolivia, with one species in south brazil. _dolichotis_, one of the cavies, ranges from patagonia to mendoza, and on the east coast to ½° s. latitude. _myopotamus_ ( sp.), the coypu (echimyidæ), ranges from ° to ° s. latitude on the west side of the andes, and from the frontiers of peru to ° s. on the east side. _reithrodon_ and _acodon_, genera of muridæ, are also confined to temperate south america; _tolypeutes_ and _chlamydophorus_, two genera of armadillos, the latter very peculiar in its organization and sometimes placed in a distinct family, are found only in la plata and the highlands of bolivia, and so belong to this sub-region. _otaria_, one of the "eared seals" (otariidæ), is confined to the coasts of this sub-region and the antarctic islands. deer of american groups extend as far as chiloe on the west, and the straits of magellan on the east coast. mice of the south american genera _hesperomys_ and _reithrodon_, are abundant down to the straits of magellan and into tierra del fuego, mr. darwin having collected more than distinct species. the following are the genera of mammalia which have been observed on the shores of the straits of magellan, those marked * extending into tierra del fuego: { }*_pseudalopex_ (two wolf-like foxes), _felis_ (the puma), _mephitis_ (skunks), _cervus_ (deer), *_auchenia_ (guanaco), *_ctenomys_ (tucu-tucu), *_reithrodon_ and *_hesperomys_ (american mice). _birds._--three families of birds are confined to this sub-region,--phytotomidæ ( genus, sp.), inhabiting chili, la plata, and bolivia; chionididæ ( genus, sp.) the "sheath-bills," found only at the southern extremity of the continent and in kerguelen's island, which with the other antarctic lands perhaps comes best here; thinocoridæ ( genera, species) an isolated family of waders, ranging over the whole sub-region and extending northward to the equatorial andes. many genera are also peculiar: of fringillidæ, and of icteridæ; of dendrocolaptidæ, of tyrannidæ, of trochilidæ, and of pteroptochidæ,--the last four south american families. there is also a peculiar genus of parrots (_henicognathus_) in chili; two of pigeons (_metriopelia_ and _gymnopelia_) confined to the andes and west coast from peru to chili; two of tinamous, _tinamotes_ in the andes, and _calodromus_ in la plata; three of charadriidæ, _phægornis_, _pluvianellus_, and _oreophilus_; and _rhea_, the american ostriches, inhabiting all patagonia and the pampas. perhaps the cariamidæ have almost as much right here as in the last sub-region, inhabiting as they do, the "pampas" of la plata and the upland "campos" of brazil; and even among the wide-ranging aquatic birds, we have a peculiar genus, _merganetta_, one of the duck family, which is confined to the temperate plateau of the andes. against this extensive series of characteristic groups, all either of american type or very distinct forms of old world families, and therefore implying great antiquity, we find, in mammalia and birds, very scanty evidence of that direct affinity with the north temperate zone, on which some naturalists lay so much stress. we cannot point to a single terrestrial genus, which is characteristic of the north and reappears in this south temperate region without also occurring over much of the intervening land. _mustela_ seems only to have reached peru; _lepus_ is isolated in brazil; true _ursus_ does not pass south of mexico. in birds, the northern groups rarely go further south than mexico or the columbian andes; and the only case of discontinuous { }distribution we can find recorded is that of the genus of ducks, _camptolæmus_, which has a species on the east side of north america and another in chili and the falkland islands, but these, professor newton assures me, do not properly belong to the same genus. out of genera of land-birds collected on the rio negro in patagonia, by mr. hudson, only four extend beyond the american continent, and the same exclusively american character applies equally to its southern extremity. no list appears to have been yet published of the land-birds of the straits of magellan and tierra del fuego. the following is compiled from the observations of mr. darwin, the recent voyage of professor cunningham, and other sources; and will be useful for comparison. turdidÆ. . turdus falklandicus. troglodytidÆ. . troglodytes magellanicus. fringillidÆ. . chrysomitris barbata. * . phrygilus gayi. * . " aldunatii. . " fruticeti. * . " xanthogrammus. . zonotrichia pileata. icteridÆ. . sturnella militaris. . curæus aterrimus. hirundinidÆ. . hirundo meyeni. tyrannidÆ. . tænioptera pyrope. . myiotheretes rufiventris. . muscisaxicola mentalis. . centrites niger. . anæretes parulus. . elainea griseogularis. dendrocolaptidÆ. . upucerthia dumetoria. * . cinclodes patagonicus. * . " fuscus. * . oxyurus spinicauda. pteroptochidÆ. * . scytalopus magellanicus. picidÆ. * . campephilus magellanicus. . picus lignarius. alcedinidÆ. . ceryle stellata. trochilidÆ. . eustephanus galeritus. conuridÆ. . conurus patagonus. vulturidÆ. . cathartes aura. . sarcorhamphus gryphus. falconidÆ. . circus macropterus. . buteo erythronotus. . geranoaëtus melanolencus. . accipiter chilensis. . cerchneis sparverius. . milvago albogularis. . polyborus tharus. strigidÆ. . asio accipitrinus. . bubo magellanicus. . pholeoptynx cunicularia. . glaucidium nana. . syrnium rufipes. struthionidÆ. . rhea darwinii. { }in the above list the species marked * extend to tierra del fuego. it is a remarkable fact that so many of the species belong to genera which are wholly neotropical, and that the specially south american families of icteridæ, tyrannidæ, dendrocolaptidæ, pteroptochidæ, trochilidæ, and conuridæ, should supply more than one-third of the species; while the purely south american genus _phrygilus_, should be represented by four species, three of which abound in tierra del fuego. _plate xvi. a scene in the andes of chili, with characteristic animals._--the fauna of south temperate america being most fully developed in chili, we place the scene of our illustration in that country. in the foreground we have a pair of the beautiful little chinchillas (_chinchilla lanigera_), belonging to a family of animals peculiar to the sub-region. there are only two species of this group, both confined to the higher andes, at about feet elevation. coming round a projecting ridge of the mountain, are a herd of vicunas (_auchenia vicugna_), one of that peculiar form of the camel tribe found in south america and confined to its temperate and alpine regions. the upper bird is a plant-cutter (_phytotoma rara_), of sober plumage but allied to the beautiful chatterers, though forming a separate family. below, standing on a rock, is a plover-like bird, the _thinocorus orbignianus_, which is considered to belong to a separate family, though allied to the plovers and sheath-bills. its habits are, however, more those of the quails or partridges, living inland in dry and desert places, and feeding on plants, roots, and insects. above is a condor, the most characteristic bird of the high andes. _reptiles and amphibia._--these groups show, for the most part, similar modifications of american and neotropical forms, as those we have seen to prevail among the birds. snakes do not seem to go very far south, but several south american genera of colubridæ and dendrophidæ occur in chili; while _enophrys_ is peculiar to la plata, and _callorhinus_ to patagonia, both belonging to the colubridæ. the elapidæ do not extend into the temperate zone; but _craspedocephalus_, one of the crotalidæ, occurs at bahia blanca in patagonia (lat. ° s.) plate xvi. [illustration] the chilian andes, with characteristic animals. { }lizards are much more numerous, and there are several peculiar and interesting forms. three families are represented; teidæ by two genera--_callopistes_ peculiar to chili, and _ameiva_ which ranges over almost the whole american continent and is found in patagonia; _geckotidæ_ by four genera, two of which,--_caudiverbera_ and _homonota_--are peculiar to chili, while _sphærodactylus_ and _cubina_ are neotropical, the former ranging to patagonia, the latter to chili; and lastly the american family iguanidæ represented by eight genera, no less than six being peculiar, (or almost so,) to the south temperate region. these are _leiodera_, _diplolæmus_ and _proctrotretus_, ranging from chili to patagonia; _leiolæmus_, from peru to patagonia; _phrymaturus_, confined to chili, and _ptygoderus_ peculiar to patagonia and tierra del fuego. the other two genera, _oplurus_ and _leiosaurus_, are common to chili and tropical south america. tortoises appear to be scarce, a species of _hydromedusa_ only being recorded. of the amphibia, batrachia (frogs and toads) alone are represented, and appear to be tolerably abundant, seventeen species having been collected by mr. darwin in this sub-region. species of the south american genera _phryniscus_, _hylaplesia_, _telmatobius_, _cacotus_, _hylodes_, _cyclorhamphus_, _pleurodema_, _cystignathus_, and _leiuperus_, are found in various localities, some extending even to the straits of magellan,---the extreme southern limit of both reptilia and amphibia, except one lizard (_ptygoderus_) found by professor cunningham in tierra del fuego. there are also four peculiar genera, _rhinoderma_ belonging to the engystomidæ; _alsodes_ and _nannophryne_ to the bombinatoridæ; _opisthodelphys_ to the hylidæ; and _calyptocephalus_ to the discoglossidæ. it thus appears, that in the reptiles all the groups are typically american, and that most of the peculiar genera belong to families which are exclusively american. the amphibia, on the other hand, present some interesting external relations, but these are as much with australia as with the north temperate regions. the bombinatoridæ are indeed palæarctic, but a larger proportion are neotropical, and one genus inhabits new zealand. the chilian genus _calyptocephalus_ is allied to australian tropical genera. { }the neotropical genera of ranidæ, five of which extend to chili and patagonia, belong to a division which is australian and neotropical, and which has species in the oriental and ethiopian regions. _fresh-water fishes._--these present some peculiar forms, and some very interesting phenomena of distribution. the genus _percilia_ has been found only in the rio de maypu in chili; and _percichthys_, also belonging to the perch family, has five species confined to the fresh waters of south temperate america, and one far away in java. _nematogenys_ ( sp.) is peculiar to chili; _trichomycterus_ reaches , feet elevation in the andes,--both belonging to the siluridæ; _chirodon_ ( sp.), belonging to the characinidæ, is peculiar to chili; and several other genera of the same family extend into this sub-region from brazil. the family _haplochitonidæ_ has a remarkable distribution; one of its genera, haplochiton ( sp.), inhabiting tierra del fuego and the falkland islands, while the other, _prototroctes_, is found only in south australia and new zealand. still more remarkable is _galaxias_ (forming the family galaxidæ), the species of which are divided between temperate south america, and australia, tasmania, and new zealand; and there is even one species (_galaxias attenuatus_) which is found in the chatham islands, new zealand, and tasmania, as well as in the falkland islands and patagonia. _fitzroya_ ( sp.) is found only at montevideo; _orestias_ ( sp.) is peculiar to lake titicaca in the high andes of bolivia; _jenynsia_ ( sp.) in the rio de la plata--all belonging to the characteristic south american family of the cyprinodontidæ. _insects._--it is in insects more than in any other class of animals, that we find clear indications of a not very remote migration of northern forms, along the great mountain range to south temperate america, where they have established themselves as a prominent feature in the entomology of the country. the several orders and families, however, differ greatly in this respect; and there are some groups which are only represented by modifications of tropical forms, as we have seen to be almost entirely the case in birds and reptiles. { }_lepidoptera._--the butterflies of the south temperate sub-region are not numerous, only about genera and species being recorded. most of these are from chili, which is sufficiently accounted for by the general absence of wood on the east side of the andes from buenos ayres to south patagonia. the families represented are as follows: satyridæ, with genera and species, are the most abundant; nymphalidæ, genera and species; lemoniidæ, genus, species; lycænidæ, genera, species; pieridæ, genera, species; papilionidæ, genera, species; hesperidæ, genera, species. one genus of satyridæ (_elina_) and of pieridæ (_eroessa_ and _phulia_) are peculiar to chili. the following are the genera whose derivation must be traced to the north temperate zone:--_tetraphlybia_, _neosatyrus_, and allied genera of species each, were formerly included under _erebia_, a northern and arctic form, yet having a few species in south africa; _argyrophorus_, allied to _Æneis_, a northern genus; _hipparchia_, a northern genus yet having a species in brazil;--all satyridæ. the nymphalidæ are represented by the typical north temperate genus _argynnis_, with species in chili; _colias_, among the pieridæ, is usually considered to be a northern genus, but it possesses representatives in south africa, the sandwich islands, malabar, new grenada, and peru, as well as chili, and must rather be classed as cosmopolitan. these form a sufficiently remarkable group of northern forms, but they are accompanied by others of a wholly neotropical origin. such are _stibomorpha_ with species, ranging through south america to guatemala, and _eteona_, common to chili and brazil (satyridæ); _apodemia_ (lemoniidæ) confined to tropical america and chili. _hesperocharis_ and _callidryas_ (pieridæ), both tropical; and _thracides_ (hesperidæ) confined to tropical america and chili. other genera are widely scattered; as, _epinephile_ found also in mexico and australia; _cupido_, widely spread in the tropics; _euryades_, found only in la plata and paraguay, allied to south american forms of _papilio_, to the australian _eurycus_, and the northern _parnassius_; and _heteropterus_, scattered in chili, north america, and tropical africa. we find then, among butterflies, a large north-temperate element, { }intermingled in nearly equal proportions with forms derived from tropical america; and the varying degrees of resemblances of the chilian to the northern species, seems to indicate successive immigrations at remote intervals. _coleoptera._--it is among the beetles of south temperate america that we find some of the most curious examples of remote affinities, and traces of ancient migrations. the carabidæ are very well represented, and having been more extensively collected than most other families, offer us perhaps the most complete materials. including the cicindelidæ, about genera are known from the south temperate sub-region, the greater part from chili, but a good number also from patagonia and the straits of magellan. of these more than are peculiar, and most of them are so isolated that it is impossible to determine with precision their nearest allies. the only remarkable form of cicindelidæ is _agrius_, a genus allied to the _amblycheila_ and _omus_ of n.w. america. two genera of carabidæ, _cascellius_ and _baripus_, are closely allied to _promecoderus_, an australian genus; and another, _lecanomerus_, has one species in chili and the other in australia. five or six of the peculiar genera are undoubtedly allied to characteristic palæarctic forms; and such northern genera as _carabus_, _pristonychus_, _anchomenus_, _pterostichus_, _percus_, _bradycellus_, _trechus_, and _bembidium_, all absent from tropical america, give great support to the view that there is a close relation between the insects of the northern regions and south temperate america. a decided tropical element is, however, present. _tropopterus_ is near _colpodes_, a tropical and south american genus; _mimodromius_ and _plagiotelium_ are near _calleida_, a south american genus; while _pachyteles_, _pericompsus_, _variopalpus_, and _calleida_ are widely spread american groups. the preponderance of northern forms seems, however, to be undoubted. six carabidæ are known from juan fernandez, being identical with chilian species and peculiar. as the island is miles from the mainland, we have here a proof of how readily insects may be transported great distances. { }the palæarctic affinity of the south temperate carabidæ may be readily understood, if we bear in mind the great antiquity of the group, and the known long persistence of generic and specific forms of coleoptera; the facility with which they may be transported to great distances by gales and hurricanes, either on land or over the sea; and, therefore, the probability that suitable stations would be rapidly occupied by species already adapted to them, to the exclusion of those of the adjacent tracts which had been specialised under different conditions. if, for example, we carry ourselves back to the time when the andes had only risen to half their present altitude, and patagonia had not emerged from the ocean (an epoch not very remote geologically), we should find nearly all the carabidæ of south america, adapted to a warm, and probably forest-covered country. if, then, a further considerable elevation of the land took place, a large temperate and cold area would be formed, without any suitable insect inhabitants. during the necessarily slow process of elevation, many of the tropical carabidæ would spread upwards, and some would become adapted to the new conditions; while the majority would probably only maintain themselves by continued fresh immigrations. but, as the mountains rose, another set of organisms would make their way along the highest ridges. the abundance and variety of the north temperate carabidæ, and their complete adaptation to a life on barren plains and rock-strewn mountains, would enable them rapidly to extend into any newly-raised land suitable to them; and thus the whole range of the rocky mountains and andes would obtain a population of northern forms, which would overflow into patagonia, and there, finding no competitors, would develope into a variety of modified groups. this migration was no doubt effected mainly, during successive glacial epochs, when the mountain-range of the isthmus of panama, if moderately increased in height, might become adapted for the passage of northern forms, while storms would often carry insects from peak to peak over intervening forest lowlands or narrow straits of sea. if this is the true explanation, we ought to find no such preponderant northern element in groups which { }are proportionally less developed in cold and temperate climates. our further examination will show how far this is the case. lucanidæ.--only four genera are known in the sub-region. two are peculiar, _chiasognathus_ and _streptocerus_, the former allied to tropical american, the latter to australian genera; the other two genera are exclusively south american. cetoniidæ.--these seem very scarce, only a few species of the neotropical genus _gymnetis_ reaching patagonia. buprestidæ.--these are rather numerous, many very beautiful species being found in chili. nineteen genera are represented in south temperate america, and of these are peculiar to it; others are south american genera; are australian, and the remainder are wide-spread, but all are found also in tropical america. the only north-temperate genus is _dicerca_, and even this occurs also in the antilles, brazil, and peru. of the peculiar genera, the largest, _dactylozodes_ ( sp.), has one species in south brazil, and is closely allied to _hyperantha_, a genus of tropical america; _epistomentis_ is allied to _nascis_, an australian genus; _tyndaris_ is close to _acmoeodera_, a genus of wide range and preferring desert or dry countries. the other two are single species of cosmopolitan affinities. on the whole, therefore, the buprestidæ are unmistakeably neotropical in character. longicorns.--almost the whole of the south temperate longicorns inhabit chili, which is very rich in this beautiful tribe. about genera and species are known, and nearly half of the genera are peculiar. many of the species are large and handsome, rivalling in beauty those of the most favoured tropical lands. of the genera of prionidæ are peculiar, but all are allied to tropical american forms except _microplophorus_, which belongs to a group of genera spread over australia, europe, and mexico. the cerambycidæ are much more abundant, and their affinities more interesting. two (_syllitus_ and _pseudocephalus_) are common to australia and chili. twenty-three are neotropical; and among these _ibidion_, _compsocerus_, _callideriphus_, _trachyderes_, and _xylocharis_, are best represented. twenty are { }altogether peculiar, but most of them are more or less closely allied to genera inhabiting tropical america. some, as the handsome _cheloderus_ and _oxypeltus_, have no close allies in any part of the world. _holopterus_, though very peculiar, shows most resemblance to a new zealand insect. _sibylla_, _adalbus_, and _phantagoderus_, have australian affinities; while _calydon_ alone shows an affinity for north-temperate forms. one species of the northern genus, _leptura_, is said to have been found at buenos ayres. the lamiidæ are less abundant. nine of the genera are neotropical. two (_apomecyna_ and _exocentrus_) are spread over all tropical regions. ten genera are peculiar; and most of these are related to neotropical groups or are of doubtful affinities. only one, _aconopterus_, is decidedly allied to a northern genus, _pogonochærus_. it thus appears, that none of the lamiidæ exhibit australian affinities, although these are a prominent feature in the relations of the cerambycidæ. it is evident, from the foregoing outline, that the insects of south temperate america, more than any other class of animals, exhibit a connection with the north temperate regions, yet this connection is only seen in certain groups. in diurnal lepidoptera and in carabidæ, the northern element is fully equal to the tropical, or even preponderates over it. we have already suggested an explanation of this fact in the case of the carabidæ, and with the butterflies it is not more difficult. the great mass of neotropical butterflies are forest species, and have been developed for countless ages in a forest-clad tropical country. the north temperate butterflies, on the other hand, are very largely open-country species, frequenting pastures, mountains, and open plains, and often wandering over an extensive area. these would find, on the higher slopes of mountains, a vegetation and conditions suited to them, and would occupy such stations in less time than would be required to adapt and modify the forest-haunting groups of the american lowlands. in those groups of insects, however, in which the conditions of life are nearly the same as regards both temperate and tropical species, the superior { }number and variety of the tropical forms has given them the advantage. thus we find that among the lucanidæ, buprestidæ, and longicorns, the northern element is hardly perceptible. most of these are either purely neotropical, or allied to neotropical genera, with the admixture, however, of a decided australian element. as in the case of the amphibia and fresh-water fishes, the australian affinity, as shown by insects, is of two kinds, near and remote. we have a few genera common to the two countries; but more commonly the genera are very distinct, and the affinity is shown by the genera of both countries belonging to a group peculiar to them, but which may be of very great age. in the former case, we must impute some of the resemblance of the two faunas to an actual interchange of forms within the epoch of existing genera--a period of vast and unknown duration in the class of insects; while in the latter case, and perhaps also in many of the former, it seems more in accordance with the whole of the phenomena, to look upon most of the instances as survivals, in the two southern temperate areas, of the relics of groups which had once a much wider distribution. that this is the true explanation, is suggested by the numerous cases of discontinuous and scattered distribution we have had to notice, in which every part of the globe, without exception, is implicated; and there is a reason why these survivals should be rather more frequent in australia and temperate south america, inasmuch as these two areas agree in the absence of a considerable number of otherwise cosmopolitan vertebrate types, and are also in many respects very similar in climatic and other physical conditions. the preponderating influence of the organic over the physical environment, as taught by mr. darwin, leads us to give most weight to the first of the above-mentioned causes; to which we may also impute such undoubted cases of survival of ancient types as the centetidæ of the antilles and madagascar--both areas strikingly deficient in the higher vertebrate forms. the probable mode and time of the cross migration between australia and south america, has been sufficiently discussed in our chapter on the australian region, when treating of the origin and affinities of the new zealand fauna. { }_islands of the south temperate sub-region._ these are few, and of not much zoological interest. tierra del fuego, although really an island, is divided from the mainland by so narrow a channel that it may be considered as forming part of the continent. the guanaco (_auchenia huanaco_) ranges over it, and even to small islands further south. _the falkland islands._--these are more important, being situated about miles to the east of southern patagonia; but the intervening sea is shallow, the fathom line of soundings passing outside the islands. we have therefore reason to believe that they have been connected with south america at a not distant epoch; and in agreement with this view we find most of their productions identical, while the few that are peculiar are closely allied to the forms of the mainland. the only indigenous mammals are a wolf-like fox (_pseudalopex antarcticus_) said to be found nowhere else, but allied to two other species inhabiting southern patagonia; and a species of mouse, probably one of the american genera _hesperomys_ or _reithrodon_. sixty-seven species of birds have been obtained in these islands, but only are land-birds; and even of these are birds of prey, leaving only passeres. the former are all common south american forms, but one species, _milvago australis_, seems peculiar. the passeres belong to genera, all found on the adjacent mainland. three, or perhaps four, of the species are however peculiar. these are _phrygilus melanoderus_, _p. xanthogrammus_, _cinclodes antarcticus_, and _muscisaxicola macloviana_. the wading and swimming birds are of little interest, except the penguins, which are greatly developed; no less than eight species being found, five as residents and three as accidental visitors. no reptiles are known to inhabit these islands. _juan fernandez._--this island is situated in the pacific ocean, about miles west of valparaiso in chili. it is only a few miles in extent, yet it possesses four land-birds, excluding the powerful accipitres. these are _turdus falklandicus_; _anæretes { }fernandensis_, one of the tyrannidæ; and two humming-birds, _eustephanus fernandensis_ and _e. galeritus_. the first is a widespread south temperate species, the two next are peculiar to the island, while the last is a chilian species which ranges south to tierra del fuego. but ninety miles beyond this island lies another, called "mas-a-fuero," very much smaller; yet this, too, contains four species of similar birds; one, _oxyurus mas-a-fueræ_, allied to the wide-spread south temperate _o. spinicauda_, and _cinclodes fusus_, a south temperate species--both dendrocolaptidæ; with a humming-bird, _eustephanus leyboldi_, allied to the species in the larger island. the preceding facts are taken from papers by mr. sclater in the _ibis_ for , and a later one in the same journal by mr. salvin ( ). the former author has some interesting remarks on the three species of humming-birds of the genus _eustephanus_, above referred to. the chilian species, _e. galeritus_, is green in both sexes. _e. fernandensis_ has the male of a fine red colour and the female green, though differently marked from the female of _e. galeritus_. _e. leyboldi_ (of mas-a-fuera) has the male also red and the female green, but the female is more like that of _e. galeritus_, than it is like the female of its nearer ally in juan fernandez. mr. sclater supposes, that the ancient parent form of these three birds had the sexes alike, as in the present chilian bird; that a pair (or a female having fertilised ova) reached juan fernandez and colonised it. under the action of sexual selection (unchecked by some conditions which had impaired its efficacy on the continent) the male gradually assumed a brilliant plumage, and the female also slightly changed its markings. before this change was completed the bird had established an isolated colony on mas-a-fuera; and here the process of change was continued in the male, but from some unknown cause checked in the female, which thus remains nearer the parent form. lastly the slightly modified chilian bird again reached juan fernandez and exists there side by side with its strangely altered cousin. all the phenomena can thus be accounted for by known laws, on the theory of very rare accidental immigrations from the { }mainland. the species are here so very few, that the greatest advocate for continental extensions would hardly call such vast causes into action, to account for the presence of these three birds on so small and so remote an island, especially as the union must have continued down to the time of existing species. but if accidental immigration has sufficed here, it will also assuredly have sufficed where the islands are larger, and the chances of reaching them proportionately greater; and it is because an important principle is here illustrated on so small a scale, and in so simple a manner as to be almost undeniable, that we have devoted a paragraph to its elucidation. a few coleoptera from juan fernandez present analogous phenomena. all belong to chilian genera, while a portion of them constitute peculiar species. land-shells are rather plentiful, there being about twenty species belonging to seven genera, all found in the adjacent parts of south america; but all the species are peculiar, as well as four others found on the island of mas-a-fuera. _iii. tropical north america, or the mexican sub-region._ this sub-region is of comparatively small extent, consisting of the irregular neck of land, about , miles long, which connects the north and south american continents. almost the whole of its area is mountainous, being in fact a continuation of the great range of the rocky mountains. in mexico it forms an extensive table-land, from , to , feet above the sea, with numerous volcanic peaks from , to , feet high; but in yucatan and honduras, the country is less elevated, though still mountainous. on the shores of the caribbean sea and gulf of mexico, there is a margin of low land from to miles wide, beyond which the mountains rise abruptly; but on the pacific side this is almost entirely wanting, the mountains rising almost immediately from the sea shore. with the exception of the elevated plateaus of mexico and guatemala, and the extremity of the peninsula of yucatan, the whole of central america is clothed with forests; and as its surface is much broken up into hill and valley, and the volcanic { }soil of a large portion of it is very fertile, it is altogether well adapted to support a varied fauna, as it does a most luxuriant vegetation. although many peculiar neotropical types are absent, it yet possesses an ample supply of generic and specific forms; and, as far as concerns birds and insects, is not perhaps inferior to the richest portions of south america in the number of species to be found in equal areas. owing to the fact that the former republic of mexico comprised much territory that belongs to the nearctic region, and that many nearctic groups extend along the high-lands to the capital city of mexico itself, and even considerably further south, there is much difficulty in determining what animals really belong to this sub-region. on the low-lands, tropical forms predominate as far as ° n. latitude; while on the cordilleras, temperate forms prevail down to °, and are found even much farther within the tropics. _mammalia._--very few peculiar forms of mammalia are restricted to tropical north america; which is not to be wondered at when we consider the small extent of the country, and the facility of communication with adjacent sub-regions. a peculiar form of tapir (_elasmognathus bairdi_) inhabits central america, from panama to guatemala, and, with _myxomys_, a genus of muridæ, are all at present discovered. _bassaris_, a remarkable form of procyonidæ, has been included in the nearctic region, but it extends to the high-lands of guatemala. _heteromys_, a peculiar genus of saccomyidæ or pouched rats, inhabits mexico, honduras, costa rica, and trinidad. five genera of monkeys extend here,--_ateles_, _mycetes_, _cebus_, _nyctipithecus_, and _saimiris_; the two former alone reaching mexico, the last only going as far as costa rica. other typical neotropical forms are _galera_, the tayra, belonging to the weasel family; _nasua_, the coatimundi; _dicotyles_, the peccary; _cercolabes_, the tree porcupine; _dasyprocta_, the agouti; _cælogenys_, the paca; _choloepus_, and _arctopithecus_, sloths; _cyclothurus_, an ant-eater; _tatusia_, an armadillo; and _didelphys_, oppossum. of northern forms, _sorex_, _vulpes_, _lepus_, and _pteromys_ reach guatemala. _birds._--the productiveness of this district in bird life, may { }be estimated from the fact, that messrs. salvin and sclater have catalogued more than species from the comparatively small territory of guatemala, or the portion of central america between mexico and honduras. the great mass of the birds of this sub-region are of neotropical families and genera, but these are intermingled with a number of migrants from temperate north america, which pass the winter here; with some northern forms on the high-lands; and with a considerable number of peculiar genera, mostly of neotropical affinities. the genera of birds peculiar to this sub-region belong to the following families:--turdidæ ( genera); troglodytidæ ( gen.); vireonidæ ( gen.); corvidæ ( gen.); ampelidæ ( gen.); tanagridæ ( gen.); fringillidæ ( gen.); icteridæ ( gen.); formicariidæ ( gen.); tyrannidæ ( gen.); cotingidæ ( gen.); momotidæ ( gen.); trogonidæ ( gen.); trochilidæ ( gen.); conuridæ ( gen.); cracidæ ( gen.); strigidæ ( gen.); in all genera of land-birds. the neotropical families that do not extend into this sub-region are, pteroptochidæ; the sub-family _furnariinæ_ of the dendrocolaptidæ; the sub-family _conophaginæ_ of the tyrannidæ; the sub-family _rupicolinæ_ of the cotingidæ; phytotomidæ; todidæ; opisthocomidæ; chionididæ; thinocoridæ; cariamidæ; psophiidæ; eurypygidæ; palamedeidæ; and struthionidæ. on the other hand paridæ, certhiidæ, ampelidæ, and phasianidæ, are northern families represented here, but which do not reach south america; and there are also several northern genera and species, of turdidæ, troglodytidæ, mniotiltidæ, vireonidæ, fringillidæ, corvidæ, tetraonidæ, and strigidæ, which are similarly restricted. some of the most remarkable of the neotropical genera only extend as far as costa rica and veragua,--countries which possess a rich and remarkable fauna. here only are found an umbrella bird, (_cephalopterus glabricollis_); a bell bird (_chasmorhynchus tricarunculatus_); and species of _dacnis_ (ceroebidæ), _buthraupis_, _eucometis_, _tachyphonus_ (tanagridæ), _xiphorhynchus_ (dendrocolaptidæ); _hypocnemis_ (formicariidæ); _euscarthmus_ (tyrannidæ); _attila_ (cotingidæ); _piprites_ (pipridæ); _capito_, _tetragonops_ (megalæmidæ); _selenidera_ (rhamphastidæ); _neomorphus_ { }(cuculidæ); _monasa_ (bucconidæ); many genera of trochilidæ; and _nothocercus_ (tinamidæ); none of which extend further north. a considerable number of the peculiar genera noted above, are also found in this restricted area, which is probably one of the richest ornithological districts on the globe. _reptiles._--these are much less known than the preceding classes, but they afford several peculiar and interesting forms. snakes are perhaps the least remarkable; yet there are recorded peculiar genera of calamariidæ, of colubridæ, of homalopsidæ, of dipsadidæ; while _boa_ and _elaps_ are in common with south america. lizards are much more specially developed. _chirotes_, one of the amphisbænians, is confined to mexico and the southern part of the nearctic region; _heloderma_ forming a peculiar family, helodermidæ, is mexican only; _abronia_ and _barissia_ (zonuridæ) are also mexican, as is _siderolampus_ belonging to the scincidæ, while _blepharactitis_ (same family) inhabits nicaragua; _brachydactylus_, one of the geckoes, is from costa rica; while _phymatolepis_, _lamanctus_, _corytheolus_, _cachrix_, _corythophanes_ and _chamæleopsis_, all belonging to the iguanidæ, are confined to various parts of the sub-region. in the same family we have also the antillean, _cyclura_, and the nearctic _phrynosoma_ and _tropidolepis_, as well as the wide-spread american genus _anolius_. among the tortoises, _staurotypus_, allied to _chelydra_, is found in mexico and guatemala; and another genus, _claudius_, has been lately described from mexico. _amphibia._--these are chiefly batrachians; _rhinophryna_ (forming a peculiar family) being confined to mexico; _triprion_, a genus of hylidæ, inhabiting yucatan, with _leyla_ and _strabomantis_ (polypedatidæ) found only in costa rica and veragua, are peculiar genera. the salamandridæ, so abundant in the nearctic region, are represented by a few species of _amblystoma_ and _spelerpes_. _fresh-water fish._--since the british museum catalogue was published, a valuable paper by dr. günther, in the transactions of the zoological society for , furnishes much additional information on the fishes of central america. in that part of the region south of mexico, species of fresh-water fishes are { }enumerated; and of these are found in streams flowing into both the atlantic and pacific oceans. on the whole, families are represented among the fresh-water fish, and about genera. of these, are specially nearctic,--_amiurus_ (siluridæ); _fundulus_ (cyprinodontidæ); _sclerognathus_ (cyprinidæ); and _lepidosteus_ (ganoidei). a much larger number are neotropical; and several neotropical genera, as _heros_ and _poecilia_, are more largely developed here than in any other part of the region. there are also a considerable number of peculiar genera;--_petenia_, _theraps_, and _neotrophus_ (chromides); _Ælurichthys_ (siluridæ); _chalcinopsis_ (characniidæ); _characodon_, _belonesox_, _pseudoxiphophorus_, _platypoecilus_, _mollienesia_, and _xiphophorus_ (cyprinodontidæ). a few peculiar antillean forms are also present; as _agonostoma_ (mugilidæ); _gambusia_ and _girardinuus_ (cyprinodontidæ). the other families represented are percidæ ( genus); pristopomatidæ ( gen.); gobiidæ ( gen.); clupeidæ ( gen.); and gymnotidæ ( genus). on the whole the fish-fauna is typically neotropical, but with a small infusion of nearctic forms. there are a considerable proportion of peculiar genera, and almost all the species are distinct from those of other countries. the predominant family is that of the cyprinodontidæ, represented by genera; and the genus _heros_ (chromidæ) has here its maximum development, containing between thirty and forty species. dr. günther considers that a number of sub-faunas can be distinguished, corresponding to some extent, with the islands into which the country would be divided by a subsidence of about , feet. the most important of these divisions is that separating honduras from costa rica, and as it also divides a very marked ornithological fauna we have every reason to believe that such a division must have existed during the latter portion of the tertiary epoch. we shall find some farther evidence of this division in the next class. _insects._--the butterflies of various parts of central america and mexico, having been largely collected, offer us some valuable evidence as to the relations of this sub-region. their general character is wholly neotropical, about one half of the { }south american genera being found here. there are also a few peculiar genera, as, _drucina_ (satyridæ); _microtia_ (nymphalidæ); _eumæus_ (lycænidæ); and _eucheira_ (pieridæ). _clothilda_ (nymphalidæ) is confined to this sub-region and the antilles. the majority of the genera range over the whole sub-region from panama to mexico, but there are a considerable number, comprising many of the most characteristic south american forms, which do not pass north of costa rica or nicaragua. such are _lycorea_, _ituna_, _thyridia_, _callithomia_, _oleria_ and _ceratina_,--all characteristic south american groups of danaidæ; _pronophila_ and _dynastor_ (satyridæ); _protogonius_, _pycina_, _prepona_, _nica_, _ectima_ and _colænis_ (nymphalidæ); _eurybia_ and _methonella_ (nemeobiidæ); _hades_, and _panthemos_ (erycinidæ). _coleoptera._--these present some interesting features, but owing to their vast number only a few of the more important families can be noticed. cicindelidæ.--the only specially neotropical genera recorded as occurring in this sub-region, are _ctenostoma_ and _hiresia_, both reaching mexico. carabidæ.--several genera are peculiar. _molobrus_ is found in all parts of the sub-region, while _onychopterygia_, _phymatocephalus_, and _anisotarsus_ are mexican only. there are about south american genera, most of which extend to mexico, and include such characteristic neotropical forms as _agra_, _callida_, _coptodera_, _pachyteles_, _ardistomus_, _aspidoglossa_, _stenocrepis_, and _pelecium_. lucanidæ.--of this important family there is, strange to say, not a single species recorded in gemminger and harold's catalogue up to ! it is almost impossible that they can be really absent; yet their place seems to he, to some extent, supplied by an unusual development of the allied passalidæ, of which there are five south american and six peculiar genera. cetoniidæ.--all the larger south american genera extend to mexico, which country possesses peculiar forms, _ischnoscelis_, _psilocnemis_, and _dialithus_; while _trigonopeltastes_ is characteristic, having mexican, brazilian, and north american species. { }buprestidæ.--in this family there are no peculiar genera. all the large south american groups are absent, the only important and characteristic genus being _stenogaster_. longicorns.--this important group is largely developed, the country being well adapted to them; and their distribution presents some features of interest. in the prionidæ there are peculiar genera, the largest being _holonotus_ with species; two others, _derotrachus_ and _mallaspis_, are characteristic; more are common to south america, and to cuba. the cerambycidæ are much more numerous, and there are peculiar genera, the most important being _sphenothecus_, _entomosterna_, and _cyphosterna_; while _crioprosopus_ and _metaleptus_ are characteristic of the sub-region, although extending into south america; about neotropical genera extend to mexico or guatemala, while more stop short, as far as yet known, at nicaragua. lamiidæ have a very similar distribution; genera are peculiar, the most important being _monilema_, _hamatoderus_, and _carneades_, while _phæa_ and _lagochirus_ are characteristic. about sixteen typical neotropical genera extend to mexico, and more only reach nicaragua, among which are such important genera as _anisopus_, _lepturgus_, and _callia_. the land-shells are not sufficiently known to furnish any corresponding results. they are however mostly of south american genera, and have comparatively little affinity for those of the antilles. _relations of the mexican sub-region to the north and south american continents._--the sudden appearance of numerous south american forms of edentata in temperate north america, in post-tertiary times, as narrated in chapter vii., together with such facts as the occurrence of a considerable number of identical species of sea fish on the two sides of the central american isthmus, render it almost certain that the union of north and south america is comparatively a recent occurrance, and that during the miocene and pliocene periods, they were separated by a wide arm of the sea. the low country of nicaragua was probably the part submerged, leaving the highlands of mexico and guatemala still united with the north { }american continent, and forming part of the tertiary "nearctic region." this is clearly indicated both by the many nearctic forms which do not pass south of nicaragua, of which the turkeys (_meleagris_) are a striking example, and by the comparative poverty of this area in typical neotropical groups. during the miocene period there was not that marked diversity of climate between north and south america that now prevails; for when a luxuriant vegetation covered what are now the shores of the arctic ocean, the country south of the great lakes must have been almost or quite tropical. at an early tertiary period, the zoological differences of the nearctic and neotropical regions were probably more radical than they are now, south america being a huge island, or group of islands--a kind of australia of the new world, chiefly inhabited by the imperfectly organized edentata; while north america abounded in ungulata and carnivora, and perhaps formed a part of the great old world continent. there were also one or more very ancient unions (in eocene or miocene times) of the two continents, admitting of the entrance of the ancestral types of quadrumana into south america, and, somewhat later, of the camelidæ; while the isthmus south of nicaragua was at one time united to the southern continent, at another made insular by subsidence near panama, and thus obtained that rich variety of neotropical types that still characterises it. when the final union of the two continents took place, the tropical climate of the lower portions of guatemala and mexico would invite rapid immigration from the south; while some northern forms would extend their range into and beyond the newly elevated territory. the mexican sub-region has therefore a composite character, and we must not endeavour too rigidly to determine its northern limits, nor claim as exclusively neotropical, forms which are perhaps comparatively recent immigrants; and it would perhaps be a more accurate representation of the facts, if we were to consider all the highlands of mexico and guatemala above the limits of the tropical forests, as still belonging to the nearctic region, of which the whole country so recently formed a part. the long-continued separation of north and south america { }by one or more arms of the sea, as above indicated, is further rendered necessary by the character of the molluscan fauna of the pacific shores of tropical america, which is much more closely allied to that of the caribbean sea, and even of west africa, than to that of the pacific islands. the families and many of the genera are the same, and a certain proportion of very closely allied or identical species, shows that the union of the two oceans continued into late tertiary times. when the evidence of both land and sea animals support each other as they do here, the conclusions arrived at are almost as certain as if we had (as we no doubt some day shall have) geological proof of these successive subsidences. _islands of the mexican sub-region._--the only islands of interest belonging to this sub-region, are tres marias and socorro, recently investigated by col. grayson for some of the american natural history societies. tres marias consist of four small islands lying off the coast of north-western mexico, about miles from san blas. the largest is about miles long by wide. they are of horizontally stratified deposits, of moderate height and flat-topped, and everywhere covered with luxuriant virgin forests. they appear to lie within the fathom line of soundings. fifty-two species of birds, of which were land-birds, were collected on these islands. they consisted of passeres; picariæ ( being humming-birds); accipitres; parrots, and pigeons. all were mexican species except , which were new, and presumably peculiar to the islands, and one tolerably marked variety. the new species belong to the following genera;--_parula_ and _granatellus_ (mniotiltidæ); _icterus_ (icteridæ); and _amazilia_ (trochilidæ). a small _psittacula_ differs somewhat from the same species on the mainland. there are a few mammalia on the islands; a rabbit (_lepus_) supposed to be new; a very small opossum (_didelphys_), and a racoon (_procyon_). there are also several tree-snakes, a _boa_, and many lizards. the occurrence of so many mammalia and snakes is a proof that these islands have been once joined to the mainland; but the fact that some of the species of both birds and { }mammals are peculiar, indicates that the separation is not a very recent one. at the same time, as all the species are very closely allied to those of the opposite coasts when not identical, we may be sure that the subsidence which isolated them is not geologically remote. socorro, the largest of the revillagigedo islands, is altogether different from the tres marias. it is situated a little further south ( s. latitude), and about miles from the coast, in deep water. it is about , feet high, very rugged and bare, and wholly volcanic. no mammalia were observed, and no reptiles but a small lizard, a new species of a genus (_uta_) characteristic of the deserts of n.-western mexico. the only observed land-shell (_orthalicus undatus_) also inhabits n.-w. mexico. only species of birds were obtained, of which were land-birds; but of these were new species, one a peculiar variety, and another (_parula insularis_) a species first found in the tres marias. with the exception of this bird and a _buteo_, all the land-birds belonged to different _genera_ from any found on the tres marias, though all were mexican forms. the peculiar species belonged to the genera _harporhynchus_ (turdidæ); _troglodytes_ (troglodytidæ); _pipilo_ (fringillidæ); _zenaidura_ (columbidæ); and a variety of _conurus holochrous_ (psittacidæ). the absence of mammals and snakes, the large proportion of peculiar species, the wholly volcanic nature of these islands, and their situation in deep water miles from land,--all indicate that they have not formed part of the continent, but have been raised in the ocean; and the close relation of their peculiar species to those living in n.-western mexico, renders it probable that their antiquity is not geologically great. the cocos islands, about miles s.-w. of the isthmus of panama, are known to possess one peculiar bird, a cuckoo of the _coccyzus_ type, which is considered by some ornithologists to constitute a peculiar genus, _nesococcyx_. _iv. the west indian islands, or antillean sub-region._ the west indian islands are, in many respects, one of the most interesting of zoological sub-regions. in position they { }form an unbroken chain uniting north and south america, in a line parallel to the great central american isthmus; yet instead of exhibiting an intermixture of the productions of florida and venezuela, they differ widely from both these countries, possessing in some groups a degree of speciality only to be found elsewhere in islands far removed from any continent. they consist of two very large islands, cuba and hayti;[ ] two of moderate size, jamaica and portorico; and a chain of much smaller islands, st. croix, anguilla, barbuda, antigua, guadeloupe, dominica, martinique, st. lucia, st. vincent, barbadoes, and grenada, with a host of intervening islets. tobago, trinidad, margarita, and curaçao, are situated in shallow water near the coast of south america, of which they form part zoologically. to the north of cuba and hayti are the bahamas, an extensive group of coral reefs and islands, miles long, and although very poor in animal life, belonging zoologically to the antilles. all the larger islands, and most of the smaller ones (except those of coral formation) are very mountainous and rocky, the chains rising to about , feet in hayti and jamaica, and to nearly the same height in cuba. all, except where they have been cleared by man, are covered with a luxuriant forest vegetation; the temperature is high and uniform; the rains ample; the soil, derived from granitic and limestone rocks, exceedingly fertile; and as the four larger islands together are larger than great britain, we might expect an ample and luxuriant fauna. the reverse is however the case; and there are probably no land areas on the globe, so highly favoured by nature in all the essentials for supporting animal life, and at the same time so poor in all the more highly organised groups of animals. before entering upon our sketch of the main features of this peculiar but limited fauna, it will be well to note a few peculiarities in the physical structure of the islands, which have an important bearing on their past { }history, and will enable us to account for much that is peculiar in the general character of their natural productions. if we draw a line immediately south of st. croix and st. bartholomew, we shall divide the archipelago into two very different groups. the southern range of islands, or the lesser antilles, are, almost without exception, volcanic; beginning with the small detached volcanoes of saba and st. eustatius, and ending with the old volcano of grenada. barbuda and antigua are low islands of tertiary or recent formation, connected with the volcanic islands by a submerged bank at no great depth. the islands to the north and west are none of them volcanic; many are very large, and these have all a central nucleus of ancient or granitic rocks. we must also note, that the channels between these islands are not of excessive depth, and that their outlines, as well as the direction of their mountain ranges, point to a former union. thus, the northern range of hayti is continued westward in cuba, and eastward in portorico; while the south-western peninsula extends in a direct line towards jamaica, the depth between them being fathoms. between portorico and hayti there is only fathoms; while close to the south of all these islands the sea is enormously deep, from more than , fathoms south of cuba and jamaica, to , south of hayti, and , fathoms near the south-east extremity of portorico. the importance of the division here pointed out will be seen, when we state, that indigenous mammalia of peculiar genera are found on the western group of islands only; and it is on these that all the chief peculiarities of antillian zoology are developed. _mammalia._--the mammals of the west indian islands are exceedingly few, but very interesting. almost all the orders most characteristic of south america are absent. there are no monkeys, no carnivora, no edentata. besides bats, which are abundant, only two orders are represented; rodents, by peculiar forms of a south american family; and insectivora (an order entirely wanting in south america) by a genus belonging to a family largely developed in madagascar and found nowhere else. the early voyagers mention "coatis" and "agoutis" as being { }found in hayti and the other large islands, and it is not improbable that species allied to _nasua_ and _dasyprocta_ did exist, and have been destroyed by the dogs of the invaders; though, on the other hand, these names may have been applied to the existing species, which do bear some general resemblance to these two forms. the chiroptera, or bats, are represented by a large number of species and by several peculiar genera. the american family of phyllostomidæ or vampires, has six genera in the antilles, of which three, _lonchorina_, _brachyphylla_, and _phyllonycteris_, are peculiar, the latter being found only in cuba. the vespertilionidæ have four genera, of which one, _nycticellus_, is confined to cuba. there are six genera of noctilionidæ, of which one, _phyllodia_, is confined to jamaica. the insectivora are represented by the genus _solenodon_, of which two species are known, one inhabiting cuba the other hayti. these are small animals about the size of a cat, with long shrew-like snout, bare rat-like tail, and long claws. their peculiar dentition and other points of their anatomy shows that they belong to the family centetidæ, of which five different genera inhabit madagascar; while there is nothing closely allied to them in any other part of the world but in these two islands. seals are said to be found on the shores of some of the islands, but they are very imperfectly known. the rodents belong to the family octodontidæ, or, according to some authors, to the echimyidæ, both characteristic south american groups. they consist of two genera, _capromys_, containing three or four species inhabiting cuba and jamaica; while _plagiodontia_ (very closely allied) is confined to hayti. a peculiar mouse, a species of the american genus _hesperomys_, is said to inhabit hayti and martinique, and probably other islands. a _dasyprocta_ or agouti, closely allied to, if not identical with, a south american species, inhabits st. vincent, st. lucia, and grenada, and perhaps st. thomas, and is the only mammal of any size indigenous to the lesser antilles. all the islands in which sugar is cultivated are, however, overrun with european rats and mice, and it is not improbable that these may have { }starved out and exterminated some of the smaller native rodents. _birds._--the birds of the antilles, although very inferior in number and variety to those of the mainland, are yet sufficiently abundant and remarkable, to offer us good materials for elucidating the past history of the country, when aided by such indications as geology and physical geography can afford. the total number of land-birds which are permanent residents in the west india islands is, as nearly as can be ascertained from existing materials, . there are, in addition to this number, according to prof. baird, migrants from north america, which either spend the winter in some of the islands or pass on to central or south america. these migrants belong to genera, and it is an interesting fact that so many as of these genera have no resident representatives in the islands. this is important, as showing that this northern migration is probably a recent and superficial phenomenon, and has not produced any (or a very slight) permanent effect on the fauna. the migratory genera which have permanent residents, and almost always representative species, in the islands, are in most cases characteristic rather of the neotropical than of the nearctic fauna, as the following list will show; _turdus_, _dendroeca_, _vireo_, _polioptila_, _agelæus_, _icterus_, _contopus_, _myiarchus_, _tyrannus_, _antrostomus_, _chordeiles_, _coccyzus_, _columba_. by far the larger part of these birds visit cuba only; species being recorded as occurring in that island, while only have been found in jamacia, in porto rico and st. croix, and in tobago and trinidad. setting aside these migratory birds, as having no bearing on the origin of the true antillean fauna, we will discuss the residents somewhat in detail. the resident land-birds ( in number) belong to genera and families. of these families are cosmopolitan or nearly so--turdidæ, sylviidæ, corvidæ, hirundinidæ, fringillidæ, picidæ, cuculidæ, caprimulgidæ, cypselidæ, trogonidæ, psittacidæ, columbidæ, tetraonidæ, falconidæ, and strigidæ; are american only--vireonidæ, mniotiltidæ, icteridæ, tyrannidæ, trochilidæ; are netropical only or almost { }exclusively--coerebidæ, tanagridæ, cotingidæ, conuridæ; is antillean only--todidæ; while --ampelidæ--is confined (in the western hemisphere) to north america, and almost to the nearctic region. of the genera, no less than , or almost exactly one-third, are peculiar; while of the resident species, are peculiar, the other being all inhabitants of south or central america. considering how closely the islands approach the continent in several places--florida, yucatan, and venezuela--this amount of speciality in such locomotive creatures as birds, is probably unexampled in any other part of the globe. the most interesting of these peculiar genera are the following: of turdidæ, or thrushes-- confined to the large islands, to the whole archipelago, while are limited to the lesser antilles; genera of tanagridæ, confined to the larger islands; of trogonidæ, also confined to the larger islands; of hummingbirds, confined to the greater, to the lesser antilles; of cuckoos, one represented in all the large islands, the other in jamaica only; of owls, one peculiar to jamaica, the other represented in st. croix, st. thomas, portorico, and cuba; and lastly, _todus_, constituting a peculiar family, and having representative species in each of the larger islands, is especially interesting because it belongs to a group of families which are wholly neotropical--the momotidæ, galbulidæ, and todidæ. the presence of this peculiar form, with trogons; species of parrots, all but one peculiar; peculiar humming-birds belonging to genera; a genus of cotingidæ; peculiar tanagers belonging to genera; coerebidæ of genera; together with species of such exclusively netropical genera as _coereba_, _certhiola_, _sycalis_, _phonipara_, _elainea_, _pitangus_, _campephilus_, _chloronerpes_, _nyctibius_, _stenopsis_, _lampornis_, _calypte_, _ara_, _chrysotis_, _zenaida_, _leptoptila_, and _geotrygon_, sufficiently demonstrate the predominant affinities of this fauna; although there are many cases in which it is difficult to say, whether the ancestors of the peculiar genera or species may not have been derived from the nearctic rather than from the neotropical region. the several islands differ considerably in their apparent { }productiveness, but this is, no doubt, partly due to our knowledge of cuba and jamaica being much more complete than of hayti. the species of resident land-birds at present known are as follows:-- cuba species of which are peculiar to it. hayti " " " " jamaica " " " " portorico " " " " lesser antilles " " " " if we count the peculiar genera of each island, and reckon as (½) when a genus is common to two islands only, the numbers are as follows:--cuba ½, hayti ½, jamaica ½, portorico , lesser antilles ½. these figures show us, that although jamaica is one of the smaller and the most isolated of the four chief islands, it yet stands in the first rank, both for the number of its species and of its peculiar forms of birds,--and although this superiority may be in part due to its having been more investigated, it is probably not wholly so, since cuba has also been well explored. this fact indicates, that the west indian islands have undergone great changes, and that they were not peopled by immigration from surrounding countries while in the condition we now see them; for in that case the smaller and more remote islands would be very much poorer, while cuba, which is not only the largest, but nearest to the mainland in two directions, would be immensely richer, just as it really is in migratory birds. the number of birds common to the four larger islands is very small--probably not more than half a dozen; between and are common to some two of the islands (counting the lesser antilles as one island) and a few to three; but the great mass of the species (at least ) are confined each to some one of the five islands or groups we have indicated. this is an amount of isolation and speciality, probably not to be equalled elsewhere, and which must have required a remarkable series of physical changes to bring about. what those changes probably were, we shall be in a better position to consider when we have completed our survey of the various classes of land animals. plate xvii. [illustration] a scene in cuba, with characteristic animals. { }in the preceding enumeration the bahamas have been included with cuba, as regards the birds they have in common; but they possess some half dozen species not found elsewhere, and even one central american genus of humming-birds (_doricha_) not found in any other part of the antilles. we have thus given cuba rather more peculiar species than it really possesses, so that the proportionate richness of jamaica is rather greater than shown by our figures. the destruction of the forests and the increase of population, with, perhaps, the use of firearms, seem to have led to the extermination of some species of birds in the smaller islands. professor newton has called attention to the work of m. ledru, who, in , described the birds of st. thomas. he mentions a parrot and a parroquet in the island, the latter only being now known, and very scarce; also a green pigeon and a tody, both now unknown. no less than six species of parrots are said to have been formerly found in guadeloupe and martinique, which are now extinct. _plate xvii. illustrating the peculiar mammalia and birds of the antilles._--the scene of this illustration is cuba, the largest of the west indian islands, and one in which all its peculiar zoological features are well developed. in the foreground is the agouta (_solenodon cubanus_), a remarkable insectivorous animal which, with another species inhabiting hayti, has no allies on the american continent; nor anywhere in the world but in madagascar, where a group of animals are found constituting the family centetidæ, to which _solenodon_ is said undoubtedly to belong. above it are a pair of hutias (_capromys fournieri_), rat-like animals belonging to the south american family octodontidæ. they live in the forests, and climb trees readily, eating all kinds of vegetable food. three species of the genus are known, which are found only in cuba and jamaica. just above these animals is a white-breasted trogon (_prionoteles temnurus_), confined to cuba, and the only species of the genus. near the top of the picture are a pair of todies (_todus multicolor_), singular little insectivorous birds allied to the motmots, but forming a very distinct family which is confined to the islands of the { }greater antilles. they are beautifully-coloured birds,--green above, red and white beneath, and are exceedingly active in their movements. to the right are a pair of small humming-birds (_sporadinus ricordi_), not very remarkable in this beautiful family, but introduced here because they belong to a genus which is confined to the greater antilles. _table of distribution of west-indian birds._--as the birds of the west indian islands are particularly interesting and their peculiarities comparatively little known, we give here a table of the genera of land-birds, compiled from all available sources of information. owing to the numerous independent observations on which it is founded, the discrepancies of nomenclature, and uncertainty in some cases as to the locality of species, it can only be looked upon as an approximative summary of the existing materials on antillean ornithology. _table of the resident land-birds of the antilles._ note.--genera confined to the west indies are in italics. an (_a_) after ( ) indicates a species common to two islands: but where there are two or more species in an island, or the localities are doubtful, this indication cannot be given. all species not otherwise noted are peculiar to the antilles. key to columns: column cuba. " bahamas. " hayti. " jamaica. " portorico & st. croix. " lesser antilles. " total resident species. ----------------+-----------------------------+----+--------------------- | number of species in | | family and | each island. | | genus. +----+----+----+----+----+----+ | remarks. | | | | | | | | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+--------------------- turdidÆ. | | | | | | | | turdus | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | five species migrate | | | | | | | | to cuba _mimocichla_ | | | | | -- | -- | | _margarops_ | -- | -- | a | -- | a | | | martinique, st. | | | | | | | | lucia, guada. _rhamphocinclus_ -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | | martinique and st. | | | | | | | | lucia _cinclocerthia_| -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | | nevis to st. lucia mimus | | | -- | | (?)| -- | | another species | | | | | | | | migrates to the | | | | | | | | antilles | | | | | | | | sylviidÆ. | | | | | | | | myiadestes | | -- | -- | | -- | | | st. lucia polioptila | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | | | | | | | | | vireonidÆ. | | | | | | | | vireosylvia | | -- | | | | | | one s. american | | | | | | | | species vireo | | | -- | | | -- | | five species migrate | | | | | | | | to cuba _laletes_ | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | _phoenicomanes_| -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | | | | | | | | | corvidÆ. | | | | | | | | corvus | | -- | a | | a | -- | | cyanocorax | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | s. american species | | | | | | | | mniotiltidÆ. | | | | | | | | perissoglossa | | -- | | -- | | -- | | n. american species dendroeca | | | | | | | | twelve sp. migrate | | | | | | | | to w. i. _teretristis_ | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | | | | | | | | | coerebidÆ. | | | | | | | | certhiola | -- | | | | | | | dominica and | | | | | | | | martinique _glossiptila_ | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | coereba | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | s. american species | | | | | | | | ampelidÆ. | | | | | | | | _dulus_ | (?)| -- | | (?)| (?)| (?)| | one species locality | | | | | | | | unknown | | | | | | | | hirundinidÆ. | | | | | | | | progne | -- | -- | | | | -- | | pterochelidon | | -- | -- | | | -- | | hirundo | | -- | a | a | -- | -- | | one s. american | | | | | | | | species | | | | | | | | tanagridÆ. | | | | | | | | euphonia | a | -- | a | | | | | st. bartholom. & | | | | | | | | martinique _spindalis_ | | | | | | -- | | _phænicophilus_| -- | -- | | -- | -- | -- | | saltator | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | | guadeloupe and st. | | | | | | | | lucia | | | | | | | | fringillidÆ. | | | | | | | | _loxigilla_ | -- | -- | | | -- | | | martinique and | | | | | | | | dominica _melopyrrha_ | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | sycalis | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | s. american species phonipara | | -- | | | | -- | | one s. american | | | | | | | | species chrysomitris | -- | -- | | -- | -- | -- | | | | | | | | | | icteridÆ. | | | | | | | | icterus | | -- | | | | | | agelæus | | -- | -- | -- | | -- | | sturnella | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | mexican species _nesopsar_ | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | scolecophagus | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | quiscalus | -- | -- | | | | | | st. lucia, | | | | | | | | martinique and | | | | | | | | barbadoes | | | | | | | | tyrannidÆ. | | | | | | | | elainea | -- | -- | -- | | -- | | | pitangus | a | -- | -- | a | | -- | | contopus | -- | -- | -- | | -- | | | st. lucia myiarchus | | -- | | | | b | | one s. american | | | | | | | | species (b) _blacicus_ | a | -- | a | | -- | -- | | tyrannus | | -- | -- | b | b | b | | one sp. in cen. | | | | | | | | america (b) | | | | | | | | cotingidÆ. | | | | | | | | hadrostomus | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | | | | | | | | | picidÆ. | | | | | | | | campephilus | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | _xiphidiopicus_| | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | melanerpes | -- | -- | -- | -- | | -- | | chloronerpes | -- | -- | | -- | -- | -- | | centurus | | -- | | | -- | -- | | colaptes | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | _nesoceleus_ | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | _picumnus_ | -- | -- | ? | -- | -- | -- | | | | | | | | | | cuculidÆ. | | | | | | | | _saurothera_ | | -- | | | | -- | | _hyetornis_ | -- | -- | | | -- | -- | | coccygus | | -- | | | | | | dominica, st. lucia, | | | | | | | | all neotropical | | | | | | | | species crotophaga | | -- | -- | | | | | n. & cen. american | | | | | | | | species | | | | | | | | todidÆ. | | | | | | | | _todus_ | | -- | | | | -- | | | | | | | | | | trogonidÆ. | | | | | | | | _prionoteles_ | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | _temnotrogon_ | -- | -- | | -- | -- | -- | | | | | | | | | | caprimulgidÆ. | | | | | | | | nyctibius | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | neotropical species chordeiles | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | antrostomus | | -- | -- | | -- | | | one neotropical | | | | | | | | species _siphonorhis_ | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | stenopsis | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | | martinique | | | | | | | | (s. america sp.) | | | | | | | | cypselidÆ. | | | | | | | | cypselus | | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | panyptila | -- | -- | | -- | -- | -- | | s. american species hemiprocne | -- | -- | | | -- | -- | | mexican species cypseloides | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | | | | | | | | | trochilidÆ. | | | | | | | | lampornis | -- | -- | a | | a | a | | doricha | -- | | -- | -- | -- | -- | | _eulampis_ | -- | -- | -- | -- | | | | st. croix, dominica, | | | | | | | | st. lucia, | | | | | | | | martinique _aithurus_ | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | _mellisuga_ | -- | -- | | | -- | -- | | calypte | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | _orthorhynchus_| -- | -- | -- | -- | | | | domin., martini., | | | | | | | | st. lucia _sporadinus_ | | -- | | -- | | -- | | | | | | | | | | conuridÆ. | | | | | | | | ara | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | s. american species conurus | | -- | -- | | | | | st. thomas | | | | | | | | psittacidÆ. | | | | | | | | chrysotis | | -- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | columbidÆ. | | | | | | | | columba | | -- | | | | | | one in honduras chamæpelia | -- | -- | -- | | | | | zenaida | | -- | | | | | | leptoptila | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | geotrygon | | -- | | | | | | st. lucia, | | | | | | | | martinique, one | | | | | | | | species mexican _starnoenas_ | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | | | | | | | | | tetraonidÆ. | | | | | | | | ortyx | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | | | | | | | | | falconidÆ. | | | | | | | | accipiter | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | hypotriorchis | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | mexican species cerchneis | | -- | | -- | -- | | | cymindis | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | polyborus | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | mexican species | | | | | | | | strigidÆ. | | | | | | | | nyctalops | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | s. american species _pseudoscops_ | -- | -- | -- | | -- | -- | | _gymnoglaux_ | | -- | -- | -- | | -- | | st. croix and st. | | | | | | | | thomas glaucidium | | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | ----------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+--------------------- {number of families of resident land-birds in the antilles totals { " " genera " " " { " " species " " " { }_reptiles and amphibia._--these classes not having been systematically collected, and the numerous described genera not having undergone careful revision, little trustworthy information can be derived from them. the following enumeration of the chief groups hitherto noticed or described, will, however, show very similar features to those presented by the birds--a general relation to neotropical forms, a more special relation to those of central america and mexico, and a considerable number of peculiar types. snakes.--_arrhyton_ (calamariidæ) from cuba, _hypsirhynchus_ from barbadoes, _cryptodacus_ from cuba, _ialtris_ from hayti, and _coloragia_ from cuba (all colubridæ), have been described as genera peculiar to the antilles. _phylodryas_ and _dromicus_ (colubridæ) are antillean and neotropical; _ahætulla_, (dendrophidæ) has the same distribution but extends to tropical africa; _epicrates_ and _corallus_ (pythonidæ) are neotropical and antillean; while _chilabothrus_ from jamaica and _ungalia_ from cuba and jamaica (both pythonidæ) are found elsewhere only in central america and mexico. there appear to be no crotalidæ except an introduced species of _craspedocephalus_ in st. lucia. lizards are more numerous. _ameiva_ (teidæ) is found all over america, _gerrhonotus_ (zonuridæ) is neotropical and occurs in cuba; _gymnopthalmus_ is south american and antillean. of scincidæ seven genera are noted. _celestus_ (with species) is peculiar to the antilles; _camilia_ ( species) to jamaica, _panoplus_ ( species) and _embryopus_ ( species) to hayti; _diplogossus_ is antillean and south american; while _plestiodon_ and _mabouya_ are cosmopolite. of geckotidæ there are four genera; _phyllodactylus_ and _hemidactylus_ which are cosmopolite; _sphærodactylus_ which is wholly american; and _cubina_ found only in martinique and brazil. of iguanidæ there are six genera; _anolis_, which ranges all over america; _polychrus_, which is neotropical; _iguana_ and _liocephalus_ which are south american; _tropedurus_ found in cuba and brazil; and _cyclura_ only known from jamaica, cuba, and central america. _amphibia._--the genus _trachycephalus_, belonging to the { }hylidæ or tropical tree-frogs, is almost peculiar to the antilles; cuba, hayti, and jamaica possessing seven species, while only one is recorded from south america. other genera are, _peltaphryne_ (bufonidæ) from portorico; _phyllobates_ (polypedatidæ) from cuba; _leiuperus_ (ranidæ) from hayti,--all neotropical. of the urodela, or tailed batrachians, no representative occurs, although they are so characteristic a feature of the nearctic region. _fresh-water fish._--the same general remarks apply to these as to the reptiles. only one peculiar genus is noted--_lebistes_, a form of cyprinodontidæ from barbadoes; other genera of the same family being, _haplochilus_, _rivulus_, and _girardinus_, widely spread in the neotropical region; while _gambusia_ is confined to central america, mexico, and the antilles. four other families are represented; siluridæ by _chætostomus_, found in portorico and south america; chromidæ by the south american _acara_; mugillidæ by the central american _agonostoma_; and percidæ by the north american _centrarchus_, of which a species is recorded from cuba. _insects._--the various west indian islands have not been well explored entomologically; one reason no doubt being, that their comparative poverty renders them little attractive to the professional collector, while the abounding riches of central and south america lie so near at hand. we can, therefore, hardly tell whether the comparative poverty, or even total absence of some families while others seem fairly represented, is a real phenomenon of distribution, or only dependent on imperfect knowledge. bearing this in mind, we proceed to give a sketch of what is known of the chief groups of lepidoptera and coleoptera. _lepidoptera._--the neotropical butterfly-fauna is but poorly represented, the majority of the most remarkable types being entirely wanting; yet there are a few peculiar and very characteristic forms which show great isolation, while the majority of the species are peculiar. four genera are exclusively or characteristically antillean,--_calisto_ belonging to the satyridæ, with four species, of which one ranges to south carolina; _clothilda_ { }(nymphalidæ) a fine genus which has antillean species and in central america; _lucinia_ (nymphalidæ) species, confined to jamaica and hayti; and _kricogonia_ belonging to the pieridæ, which has west indian species, while inhabits mexico and florida. genera which show a special relation to central america are _euptoieta_, _eumæus_, and _nathalis_. almost all the other genera are south american, the total number recorded in each family as occurring in the west indian islands, being, of danaidæ; of heliconiidæ; of satyridæ; of nymphalidæ; of erycinidæ; of lycænidæ; of pieridæ; of papilionidæ, and of hesperidæ. the genus _papilio_ is represented by about species, of which are north american, south american, while the rest form little characteristic groups allied to those of central america. the most marked feature seems to be the scarcity of satyridæ and the almost total absence of erycinidæ, with a great deficiency in characteristic neotropical forms of danaidæ and nymphalidæ. _coleoptera._--cicindelidæ and carabidæ are very poorly represented, by a few species of wide-spread groups, and hardly any peculiar genera. no lucanidæ are recorded. of cetoniidæ, _gymnetis_ only appears to be represented. buprestidæ seem to be more numerous; genera being recorded, but almost all of wide distribution. one only is peculiar--_tetragonoschoma_, found in hayti; _halecia_ is the only exclusively south american genus; _chalcophora_ is widely scattered over the tropical regions but is absent from south america, yet it occurs in the nearctic region and extends to jamaica and guadeloupe. we now come to the longicorns, the only group of coleoptera which seems to be well represented, or which has been carefully collected. no less than genera are known from the west indian islands, and of these are peculiar. prionidæ are proportionately very numerous, there being genera, of which are widely distributed in both south and north america, is north american, and south american, while the following are peculiar,--_stenodontes_ (hayti and cuba); _dendroblaptus_ (cuba); _monodesmus_ (cuba and jamaica); _prosternodes_ (cuba); _solenoptera_ and _elateropsis_, the two largest genera found in most of the { }islands. of cerambycidæ there are genera, of which range all over america, are neotropical, south american only, while the following are confined to the islands,--_merostenus_, _pentomacrus_, and _eburiola_ (jamaica); _bromiades_ (cuba); _trichrous_, _heterops_, and _pæciloderma_ (antilles). one genus, _smodicum_, is widely spread, having a species in carolina, in south america, in hayti, and in west africa. of lamiidæ there are genera, of which are neotropical, common to central america and mexico, to the united states and cuba, while , _proecha_ and _phidola_, are confined to cuba. several of the genera are curiously distributed;--_spalacopsis_ is south american, with species in cuba and tropical africa; _lagocheirus_ is neotropical, with a species in australia; while _leptostilus_ is characteristic of the antilles and north america, with a few species in south america, and one in new zealand. these cases of erratic distribution, so opposed to the general series of phenomena among which they occur, must be held to be sufficiently explained by the great antiquity of these groups and their former wide distribution. they may be supposed to be the remnants of types, now dying out, which were once, like _callichroma_, _clytus_, and many others, almost universally distributed. all the peculiar antillean genera of cerambycidæ and lamiidæ are allied to neotropical forms. the peculiar prionidæ, however, are mostly allied to mexican and north american groups, and one, _monodesmus_, belongs to a group all the other genera of which inhabit the east indies and south africa. _land-shells._--this subject has already been generally treated under the region, of which, in this class of animals, the antilles form so important a part. we must therefore now confine ourselves mainly to the internal distribution of the genera, and to a few remarks on the general bearing of the facts. the excessive and altogether unexampled productiveness of the west indian islands in land-shells, may be traced to two main sets of causes. the first and least known, consist of the peculiar influences and conditions which render islands always more productive than continents. whatever these conditions { }are, they will be more effective where the islands have been long separated from the mainland, as is here undoubtedly the case. it seems most probable that the great development of land-shells in islands, is due to the absence or deficiency of the vertebrata, which on continents supply a variety of species adapted to prey upon these molluscs. this view is supported by the fact, that in such islands as have been united to a continent at no very distant epoch, and still maintain a continental variety of vertebrata, no such special development of land-shells has taken place. if we compare the philippine islands with the sunda group, we find the development of vertebrata and land-molluscs in inverse ratio to each other. the same thing occurs if we compare new zealand and tasmania; and we have a still more striking example in the antillean group itself, continental trinidad having only genera and species, while the highly insular jamaica has about genera and more than species. the other causes favourable to the increase and development of land-shells are of a physical nature. a great extent of limestone-rock is one; and in the larger west indian islands we have a considerable proportion of the surface consisting of this rock. but perhaps equally or more important, is the character of the land surface, and the texture of the exposed rock itself. a much broken surface, with numerous deep ravines, cutting up the whole country into isolated valleys and ridges, seems very favourable to the specialization of forms in this very sedentary class of animals. equally favourable is a honeycombed and highly-fissured rock-surface, affording everywhere cracks and crannies for concealment. now, taking jamaica as an example of the archipelago, we find all these conditions in a wonderful degree. over a large part of this island, a yard of level ground can hardly be found; but ridges, precipices, ravines, and rock-bound valleys, succeed each other over the whole country. at least five-sixths of the entire surface is limestone, and under the influence of tropical rains this rock is worn, fissured, and honeycombed, so as to afford ample shelter and concealment for land-shells. { }it is probable that the three chief islands, cuba, jamaica and hayti, are nearly equally rich in land-shells; but the last is very much less known, and therefore, perhaps, appears to be much poorer. cuba has rather more species than jamaica; but while the former has only peculiar genus (_diplopoma_), the latter has (_geomelania_, _chittya_, and _jamaicea_), as well as two others only represented in the other islands by single species. from hayti, only about one-third as many species are known as from the two former islands. it has no peculiar genera, but it has some forms in common with cuba and others with jamaica, which show that those islands have more connection with it, than with each other; just as we found to be the case in birds. portorico and the virgin islands have still fewer species than hayti; and, as many of the genera common to the other three islands are wanting, there is, no doubt, here a real deficiency. in the islands farther south (barbuda to martinique) more antillean genera disappear or become very rare, while some continental forms take their place. the islands from st. lucia to trinidad have a still more continental character; the genus _bulimus_, so largely developed on the continent, only reaching st. lucia. the bahamas contain about species of land-shells, of which are antillean, the rest peculiar; all the genera being antillean. the affinity is chiefly with hayti and cuba, but closest with the latter island. in the west indian islands as a whole, there are peculiar genera; operculate (_geomelania_, _chittya_, _jamaicea_, _licina_, _choanopoma_, _ctenopoma_, _diplopoma_, _stoastoma_, _lucidella_); and inoperculate (_sagda_ and _stenopus_), besides _cyclostomus_, which belongs to the old world and is not found on the american continent. mr. bland considers, that many of the antillean land-shells exhibit decided african and asiatic, rather than south american affinities. a species of the asiatic genus _diplommatina_ has been found in trinidad, and an indian species of _ennea_ occurs in grenada and st. thomas; a clear indication that land-shells are liable to be accidentally imported, and to become established in the less productive islands. although these islands are so wonderfully rich even now, { }there is good reason to believe that many species have become extinct since the european occupation of them. when small islands are much cultivated, many of these molluscs which can only live under the shade of forests, are soon extirpated. in st. croix many species have become extinct at a comparatively recent period, from the burning of forests; and as we know that in all the islands many of the species are excessively local, being often confined to single valleys or ridges, we may be sure that wherever the native forests have disappeared before the hand of man, numbers of land shells have disappeared with them. as some of the smaller islands have been almost denuded of their wood, and in the larger ones extensive tracts have been cleared for sugar cultivation, a very considerable number of species have almost certainly been exterminated. _general conclusions as to the past history of the west indian islands._--the preceding sketch of the peculiarities of the animal life of these islands, enables us to state, that it represents the remains of an ancient fauna of decided neotropical type, having on the whole most resemblance to that which now inhabits the mexican sub-region. the number of peculiar genera in all classes of animals is so great in proportion to those in common with the adjacent mainland, as to lead us to conclude that, subsequent to the original separation from the mexican area, a very large tract of land existed, calculated to support a rich and varied fauna, and, by the interaction of competing types, give rise to peculiar and specially modified organisms. we have already shown that the outline of the present islands and the depths of the surrounding seas, give indications of the position and extent of this ancient land; which not improbably occupied the space enclosed by uniting western cuba with yucatan, and jamaica with the mosquito coast. this land must have stretched eastward to include anguilla, and probably northward to include the whole of the bahamas. at one time it perhaps extended southward so as to unite hayti with northern venezuela, while panama and costa pica were sunk beneath the pacific. at this time the lesser antilles had no existence. the only large island of whose geology we have any detailed { }account, is jamaica; and taking this as a type of what will probably be found in cuba and hayti, we must place the continental period as having occurred after the close of the miocene, or during some part of the pliocene epoch, since a large portion of the surface of the former island consists of beds of marine limestone from , to , thick, believed to be of pliocene age. after some time, the land between hayti and south america subsided, and still later that between central america and cuba with jamaica; but a large tract of land remained insulated, and no doubt supported a very much richer and more varied fauna than now. we have evidence of this in extinct mammalia of large size, belonging to the peculiar south american family of the chinchillas, which have been found in caves in the small islands of anguilla, and which, from the character of the land-shells associated with them, are believed to be of pliocene or post-pliocene age. this discovery is most interesting, and gives promise of very valuable results from the exploration of the numerous caverns that undoubtedly exist in the abundant limestone strata of the larger islands. this extensive antillean land, after long continuing undivided, was at length broken up by subsidence into several islands; but as this alone would not account for the almost complete annihilation of the mammalian fauna, it seems probable that the subsidence was continued much farther, so as greatly to reduce the size and increase the number of the islands. this is indicated, by the extensive alluvial plains in cuba and hayti, and to a less extent in jamaica; and by elevated beds of post-pliocene marls in the latter island. the series of changes now suggested, will account for all the main features of the antillean fauna in its relations to that of the american continent. there remains the affinity with madagascar, indicated by _solenodon_, and a few cases of african and asiatic affinity in insects and land-shells; but these are far too scanty to call for any attempt at special explanation. such cases of remote affinity and discontinuous distribution, occur in all the regions, and in almost every group of animals; and we look upon them almost all, as cases of survival, under favourable { }conditions, of once wide-spread groups. if no wild species of the genus _equus_ were now to be found, except in south africa (where they are still most abundant), and in south temperate america, where their fossil remains show us they did exist not very long ago, what a strong fact it would have appeared for the advocates of continental extensions! yet it would have been due to no former union of the great southern continents, but to the former extensive range of the family or the genus to which the two isolated remnants belonged. and if such an explanation will apply to the higher vertebrata, it is still more likely to be applicable to similar cases occurring among insects or mollusca, the genera of which we have every reason to believe to be usually much older than those of vertebrates. it is in these classes that examples of widely scattered allied species most frequently occur; and the facility with which they are diffused under favourable conditions, renders any other explanation than that here given altogether superfluous. the _solenodon_ is a member of an order of mammalia of low type (insectivora) once very extensive and wide-spread, but which has begun to die out, and which has left a number of curious and isolated forms thinly scattered over three-fourths of the globe. the occurrence, therefore, of an isolated remnant of this order in the antilles is not in itself remarkable; and the fact that the remainder of the family to which the antillean species belong has found a refuge in madagascar, where it has developed into several distinct types, does not afford the least shred of argument on which to found a supposed independent land connection between these two sets of islands. _summary of the past history of the neotropical region._ we have already discussed this subject, both in our account of extinct animals, and in various parts of the present chapter. it is therefore only necessary here, briefly to review and summarise the conclusions we have arrived at. the whole character of neotropical zoology, whether as regards its deficiencies or its specialities, points to a long continuance of isolation from the rest of the world, with a few very distant { }periods of union with the northern continent. the latest important separation took place by the submergence of parts of nicaragua and honduras, and this separation probably continued throughout much of the miocene and pliocene periods; but some time previous to the coming on of the glacial epoch, the union between the two continents took place which has continued to our day. earlier submergences of the isthmus of panama probably occurred, isolating costa rica and veragua, which then may have had a greater extension, and have thus been able to develope their rich and peculiar fauna. the isthmus of tehuantepec, at the south of mexico, may, probably, also have been submerged; thus isolating guatemala and yucatan, and leading to the specialization of some of the peculiar forms that now characterise those countries and mexico. the west indian islands have been long isolated and have varied much in extent. originally, they probably formed part of central america, and may have been united with yucatan and honduras in one extensive tropical land. but their separation from the continent took place at a remote period, and they have since been broken up into numerous islands, which have probably undergone much submergence in recent times. this has led to that poverty of the higher forms of life, combined with the remarkable speciality, which now characterises them; while their fauna still preserves a sufficient resemblance to that of central america to indicate its origin. the great continent of south america, as far as we can judge from the remarkable characteristics of its fauna and the vast depths of the oceans east and west of it, has not during tertiary, and probably not even during secondary times, been united with any other continent, except through the intervention of north america. during some part of the secondary epoch it probably received the ancestral forms of its edentates and rodents, at a time when these were among the highest types of mammalia on the globe. it appears to have remained long isolated, and to have already greatly developed these groups of animals, before it received, in early tertiary times, the ancestors of its marmosets and monkeys, and, perhaps also, some of its peculiar forms of { }carnivora. later, it received its camelidæ, peccaries, mastodons, and large carnivora; and later still, just before the glacial epoch, its deer, tapir, opossums, antelopes, and horses, the two latter having since become extinct. all this time its surface was undergoing important physical changes. what its earlier condition was we cannot conjecture, but there are clear indications that it has been broken up into at least three large masses, and probably a number of smaller ones; and these have no doubt undergone successive elevations and subsidences, so as at one time to reduce their area and separate them still more widely from each other, and at another period to unite them into continental masses. the richness and varied development of the old fauna of south america, as still existing, proves, however, that the country has always maintained an extensive area; and there is reason to believe that the last great change has been a long continued and steady increase of its surface, resulting in the formation of the vast alluvial plains of the amazon, orinoko, and la plata, and thus greatly favouring the production of that wealth of specific forms, which distinguishes south america above all other parts of our globe. the southern temperate portion of the continent, has probably had a considerable southward extension in late tertiary times; and this, as well as the comparatively recent elevation of the andes, has given rise to some degree of intermixture of two distinct faunas, with that proper to south temperate america itself. the most important of these, is the considerable australian element that appears in the insects, and even in the reptiles and fresh-water fishes, of south temperate america. these may be traced to several causes. icebergs and icefloes, and even solid fields of ice, may, during the glacial epoch, have afforded many opportunities for the passage of the more cold-enduring groups; while the greater extension of southern lands and islands during the warm periods--which there is reason to believe prevailed in the southern as well as in the northern regions in miocene times--would afford facilities for the passage of the reptiles and insects of more temperate zones. that no actual land-connection occurred, is proved by the total absence { }of interchange of the mammals or land-birds of the two countries, no less than by the very fragmentary nature of the resemblances that do exist. the northern element consists almost wholly of insects; and is evidently due to the migration of arctic and north temperate forms along the ridges and plateaus of the andes; and most likely occurred when these organisms were driven southward at successive cold or glacial periods. a curious parallel exists between the past history and actual zoological condition of south america and africa. in both we see a very ancient land-area extending into the south temperate zone, isolated at a very early period, and developing only a low grade of mammalian life; chiefly edentates and rodents on the one, lemurs and insectivora in the other. later we find an irruption into both of higher forms, including quadrumana, which soon acquired a large and special development in the tropical portions of each country. still later we have an irruption into both of northern forms, which spread widely over the two regions, and having become extinct in the land from whence they came, have been long held to be the original denizens of their adopted country. such are the various forms of antelopes, the giraffe, the elephant, rhinoceros, and lion in africa; while in america we have deer and peccaries, the tapir, opossums, and the puma. on the whole, we cannot but consider that the broad outlines of the zoological history of the neotropical region can be traced with some degree of certainty; but, owing to the absence of information as to the most important of the geological periods--the miocene and eocene--we have no clue to the character of its early fauna, or to the land connections with other countries, which may possibly have occurred in early tertiary times. { }tables of distribution. in drawing up these tables, showing the distribution of the various classes of animals in the neotropical region, the following sources of information have been relied on, in addition to the general treatises, monographs, and catalogues used in the compilation of the fourth part of this work. _mammalia._--d'orbigny, and burmeister, for brazil and la plata; darwin, and cunningham, for temperate s. america; tschudi, for peru; frazer, for ecuador; salvin, for guatemala; frantzius, for costa rica; sclater, for quadrumana n. of panama; gundlach, for cuba; and papers by dr. j. e. gray, and mr. tomes. _birds._--sclater and salvin's nomenclator; notes by darwin, and cunningham; gundlach, march, bryant, baird, elliot, newton, semper, and sundevall, for various islands of the antilles; and papers by hudson, lawrence, grayson, abbott, sclater, and salvin. { }table i. _families of animals inhabiting the neotropical region._ explanation. names in _italics_ show the families which are peculiar to the region. names enclosed thus (......) indicate families which barely enter the region, and are not considered properly to belong to it. numbers correspond with those of the series of families in part iv. ---------------------+-------------------+------------------------------- | sub-regions | | =chili. | order and family | =brazil. | range beyond the region. | =mexico. | | =antilles. | ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- | . | . | . | . | ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- | | | | | mammalia. | | | | | primates. | | | | | . _cebidæ_ | | -- | -- | | . _hapalidæ_ | | -- | (?)| | | | | | | chiroptera. | | | | | . _phyllostomidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | -- | california . vespertilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . noctilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all tropical regions | | | | | insectivora. | | | | | . centetidæ | | | | -- | madagascar | | | | | carnivora. | | | | | . felidæ | -- | -- | -- | | all regions but australian . canidæ | -- | -- | -- | | all regions but australian . mustelidæ | -- | -- | -- | | all regions but australian . procyonidæ | -- | -- | -- | | n. america . ursidæ | -- | | | | all regions but ethiopian and | | | | | australian . otariidæ | -- | | | | s. temperate zone . phocidæ | -- | | | (?)| n. and s. temperate zones | | | | | cetacea. | | | | | to | -- | | | | oceanic | | | | | sirenia. | | | | | . manatidæ | | -- | -- | -- | tropical shores | | | | | ungulata. | | | | | . tapiridæ | | -- | -- | | indo-malaya . suidæ | | -- | -- | | cosmopolite, excl. australia . camelidæ | -- | | | | palæarctic . cervidæ | -- | -- | -- | | all regions but ethiopian and | | | | | australian | | | | | rodentia. | | | | | . muridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . saccomyidæ | | | -- | | nearctic . sciuridæ | | -- | -- | | all regions but australian . _chinchillidæ_ | -- | | | | . octodontidæ | -- | -- | | -- | africa . echimyidæ | -- | -- | | | ethiopian . cercolabidæ | | -- | -- | | nearctic . _caviidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | -- | . leporidæ | | -- | -- | | all regions but australian | | | | | edentata. | | | | | . _bradypodidæ_ | | -- | -- | | . _dasypodidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | | . _myrmecophagidæ_| | -- | -- | | | | | | | marsupialia. | | | | | . didelphyidæ | -- | -- | -- | | temperate n. america | | | | | birds. | | | | | passeres. | | | | | . turdidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . sylviidæ | | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . cinclidæ | | -- | -- | | nearctic, palæarctic, oriental . troglodytidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | nearctic, palæarctic, oriental . certhiidæ | | | -- | | nearctic, palæarctic, oriental . sittidæ | | | -- | | all regions, excl. africa . paridæ | | | -- | | nearctic, palæarctic, oriental . corvidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . _coerebidæ_ | | -- | -- | -- | . mniotiltidæ | | -- | -- | -- | nearctic . vireonidæ | | -- | -- | -- | nearctic . ampelidæ | | | -- | -- | nearctic, palæarctic . hirundinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . icteridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | nearctic . tanagridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | nearctic . fringillidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but australian . motacillidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite a. _oxyrhamphidæ_ | | -- | -- | | . tyrannidæ | -- | -- | -- |-- | nearctic . _pipridæ_ | | -- | -- | | . _cotingidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | -- | . _phytotomidæ_ | -- | | | | ._dendrocolaptidæ_| -- | -- | -- | | . _formicariidæ_ | | -- | -- | | . _pteroptochidæ_ | -- | -- | | | | | | | | picariÆ. | | | | | . picidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but australian . megalæmidæ | | -- | -- | | ethiopian, oriental . _rhamphastidæ_ | | -- | -- | | . cuculidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . _bucconidæ_ | | -- | -- | | . _galbulidæ_ | | -- | -- | | . _todidæ_ | | | | -- | . _momotidæ_ | | -- | -- | | . trogonidæ | | -- | -- | -- | ethiopian, oriental . alcedinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . _steatornithidæ_| | -- | | | . caprimulgidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . cypselidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . trochilidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | nearctic | | | | | psittaci. | | | | | . conuridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | s. united states . psittacidæ | | -- | -- | -- | ethiopian | | | | | columbÆ. | | | | | . columbidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite | | | | | gallinÆ. | | | | | . tetraonidæ | | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . phasianidæ | | | -- | | all regions but australian . _cracidæ_ | | -- | -- | | . _tinamidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | | | | | | | opisthocomi. | | | | | . _opisthocomidæ_ | | -- | | | | | | | | accipitres. | | | | | . vulturidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but australian . falconidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . pandionidæ | | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . strigidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite | | | | | grallÆ. | | | | | . rallidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . scolopacidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . _chionididæ_ | -- | | | | . _thinocoridæ_ | -- | | | | . parridæ | | -- | -- | | tropical regions . charadriidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . _cariamidæ_ | -- | -- | | | . _aramidæ_ | | -- | -- | | . _psophiidæ_ | | -- | | | . _eurypygidæ_ | | -- | -- | | . ardeidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . plataleidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . ciconiidæ | -- | -- | -- | | nearly cosmopolite . _palamedeidæ_ | -- | -- | | | . phoenicopteridæ | -- | -- | -- | | ethiopian, indian | | | | | anseres. | | | | | . anatidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . laridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . procellariidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . pelecanidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . spheniscidæ | -- | | | | s. temperate zone . podicipidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite | | | | | struthiones. | | | | | . struthionidæ | -- | | | | ethiopian | | | | | reptilia. | | | | | ophidia. | | | | | . typhlopidæ | | -- | -- | -- | tropical regions and | | | | | s. palæarctic . tortricidæ | | -- | | | oriental, n.-w. america . calamariidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all warm countries . oligodontidæ | | -- | | | oriental, japan . colubridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . homalopsidæ | -- | | | -- | all the regions . dendrophidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all tropical regions . dryiophidæ | | -- | -- | | oriental, ethiopian . dipsadidæ | | -- | -- | | all tropical regions . scytalidæ | | -- | -- | | philippine islands . amblycephalidæ | | -- | -- | | oriental . pythonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all tropical regions, | | | | | california . elapidæ | -- | -- | -- | | tropical regions, japan, | | | | | s. carolina . hydrophidæ | | | -- | | oriental, australian, | | | | | madagascar . crotalidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | nearctic, palæarctic, oriental | | | | | lacertilia. | | | | | . chirotidæ | | | -- | | missouri . amphisbænidæ | -- | -- | | -- | ethiopian, s. palæarctic . lepidosternidæ | -- | -- | | | ethiopian . _helodermidæ_ | | | -- | | . teidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | nearctic . zonuridæ | | -- | -- | -- | nearctic, ethiopian, | | | | | s. europe, and n. india . _chalcidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | | nearctic . _anadiadæ_ | | -- | | | . _chirocolidæ_ | | -- | | | . _iphisadæ_ | | -- | | | . _cercosauridæ_ | | -- | | | . gymnopthalmidæ | | -- | | -- | australian, ethiopian, | | | | | palæarctic . scincidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . geckotidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . iguanidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | nearctic | | | | | crocodilia. | | | | | . crocodilidæ | | -- | -- | -- | ethiopian, oriental, | | | | | n. australian . alligatoridæ | | -- | -- | | nearctic | | | | | chelonia. | | | | | . testudinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all continents but australian . chelydidæ | | -- | | | ethiopian, australian . cheloniidæ | | | | | marine | | | | | amphibia. | | | | | pseudophidia. | | | | | . ceciliadæ | | -- | -- | | oriental, ethiopian | | | | | urodela. | | | | | . (salamandridæ) | | -- | -- | | nearctic, palæarctic | | | | | anoura. | | | | | . _rhinophrynidæ_ | | | -- | | . phryniscidæ | -- | -- | -- | | ethiopian, australian, java . _hylaplesidæ_ | -- | -- | | -- | . bufonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all continents but australia . engystomidæ | -- | -- | -- | | all regions but palæarctic . bombinatoridæ | -- | -- | | | palæarctic, new zealand . _plectromantidæ_| -- | | | | . alytidæ | | -- | | | all regions but oriental . pelodryadæ | -- | -- | | | australia . hylidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but ethiopian . polypedatidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all the regions . ranidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . discoglossidæ | -- | -- | | | all regions but nearctic . _pipidæ_ | | -- | | | | | | | | fishes. | | | | | (freshwater). | | | | | acanthopterygii. | | | | | . percidæ | -- | -- | | -- | all regions but australian . (trachinidæ) | -- | | | | australia . scienidæ | (?)| -- | -- | (?)| all regions but australian . nandidæ | | -- | | | oriental . _polycentridæ_ | | -- | -- | | . mugillidæ | | (?)| -- | -- | australian, ethiopian . chromidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | ethiopian, oriental | | | | | physostomi. | | | | | . siluridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all warm regions . characinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | ethiopian . haplochitonidæ | -- | | | | s. australia . galaxidæ | -- | | | | tasmania and new zealand . cyprinodontidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | absent from australia . osteoglossidæ | | -- | | | all tropical regions . _gymnotidæ_ | | -- | | | . symbranchidæ | | -- | | | oriental, australian, | | | | | (? marine) | | | | | dipnoi. | | | | | . sirenoidei | | -- | | | ethiopian, australian | | | | | plagiostomata. | | | | | . _trygonidæ_ | | -- | | | | | | | | insects. | | | | | lepidoptera (part). | | | | | diurni (butterflies).| | | | | . danaidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all warm regions, and to | | | | | canada . satyridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . morphidæ | | -- | -- | | australian, oriental . _brassolidæ_ | | -- | -- | | . acræidæ | | -- | -- | | all tropical regions . _heliconiidæ_ | | -- | -- | -- | . nymphalidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . libytheidæ | | -- | | -- | absent from australia . nemeobiidæ | | -- | -- | | not in australia or nearctic | | | | | regions . _eurygonidæ_ | | -- | -- | | . erycinidæ | | -- | -- | -- | nearctic . lycænidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . pieridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . papilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . hesperidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite | | | | | sphingidea. | | | | | . zygænidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . castniidæ | | -- | -- | -- | australian . uraniidæ | | -- | -- | -- | all tropical regions . stygiidæ | | -- | | | palæarctic . Ægeriidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | not in australia . sphingidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- { }table ii. _genera of terrestrial mammalia and birds inhabiting the neotropical region._ explanation. names in _italics_ show the genera peculiar to the region. names enclosed thus (......) indicate genera which barely enter the region, and are not considered properly to belong to it. genera undoubtedly belonging to the region are numbered consecutively. _mammalia._ -------------------+-------+----------------------+---------------------- order, family, and | no. of| range within | range beyond genus. |species| the region. | the region. -------------------+-------+----------------------+---------------------- | | | primates. | | | cebidÆ. | | | . _cebus_ | | costa rica to | | | paraguay | . _lagothrix_ | | upper amazon and | | | e. andes | . _eriodes_ | | east brazil, s. of | | | equator | . _ateles_ | | almost all tropical | | | america | . _mycetes_ | | e. guatemala to | | | paraguay | . _pithecia_ | | equatorial forests | . _brachiurus_ | | equatorial forests | . _nyctipithecus_ | | nicaragua to amazonia| . _saimiris_ | | costa rica to brazil | | | and bolivia | . _callithrix_ | | panama to paraguay | | | | hapalidÆ. | | | . _hapale_ | | brazil and upper | | | amazon | . _midas_ | | equatorial america | | | to panama | | | | chiroptera. | | | phyllostomidÆ. | | | . _lonchorina_ | | west indian islands | . _macrophyllum_ | | brazil | . _vampyrus_ }| | | . _lophostoma_ }| | tropical america and | }| | chili | . _phyllostoma_ }| | | . macrotus | | antilles and mexico | california . _schizostoma_ | | south america | . _brachyphylla_ | | antilles | . _glossophaga_ | | tropical america | ._phyllonycteris_| | cuba | . _artibeus_ | |s. america & antilles,| | | costa rica | . _stenoderma_ | | the whole region | . _sturnira_ | | chili to guatemala | . _desmodus_ | | chili to mexico | . _saccopteryx_ | | ecuador | . _diphylla_ | | brazil | . _centurio_ | | brazil to mexico | | | | vespertilionidÆ. | | | . lasiurus | | tropical america | nearctic . scotophilus | | antilles, mexico to | nearc., austral., | | s. america | orien. . vespertilio | | the whole region | cosmopolite . nycticejus | | s. temperate america | nearctic, india, | | | tropical africa . _natalus_ | | s. america and | | | antilles | . _furipterus_ | | s. america | . _thyroptera_ | | s. america | . _nycticellus_ | | cuba | . taphozous | | s. america | ethiopian, oriental, | | | austro-malayan . _diclidurus_ | | brazil | | | | noctilionidÆ. | | | . _noctilio_ | | paraguay to w. indies| . _mormops_ | | antilles and mexico | . _phyllodia_ | | jamaica | . _chilonycteris_| | brazil and west | | | indies | . _pteronotus_ | | trinidad | . nyctinomus | | la plata to antilles | s. nearc., orien., | | & costa rica | madag. . molossus | | paraguay and chili | ethiopian, s. | | to antilles | palæarc., australian | | | insectivora. | | | centetidÆ. | | | . _solenodon_ | | cuba and hayti | | | | soricidÆ. | | | (sorex | | guatemala and costa | all other reg. but | | rica) | austrl. | | | carnivora. | | | felidÆ. | | | . felis | | the whole region, | all regions but | | excl. antilles | austral. | | | canidÆ. | | | . _icticyon_ | | brazil | . _chrysocyon_ | | s. america | (lupus | | mexico to costa rica)| northern genus . _lycalopex_ | | s. america | . _pseudalopex_ | | s. america, falkland | | | islands, & tierra | | | del fuego | . _thous_ | | s. america to chili | | | | mustelidÆ. | | | . mustela | | andes of peru | all other reg. but | | | austrl. . _galictis_ | | s. america to chili | | | & patagonia | . _lontra_ | |central and s. america| | | to chonos archipelago| . nutria | | w. coast of america | w. coast of n. | | to chiloe | america . _pteronura_ | | surinam and brazil | . mephitis | | mexico to sts. of | nearctic to canada | | magellan | | | | procyonidÆ. | | | . procyon | | tropical america | nearctic to canada . _nasua_ | | mexico to paraguay & | | | la plata | . _cercoleptes_ | | mexico to peru and | | | n. brazil | . bassaris | | mexico and guatemala | california and texas | | | ursidÆ. | | | . _tremarctos_ | | andes of peru and | | | chili | | | | otariidÆ. | | | . _otaria_ | | chili, la plata, and | | | patagonia | . arctocephalus | | falkland islands & | new zealand | | cape horn | | | | phocidÆ. | | | . stenorhynchus | | falkland islands | new zealand . lobodon | | antarctic shores | . leptonyx | | antarctic shores, | s. australia | | e. patagonia | . ommatophoca | | antarctic shores | . morunga | | falkland islands | california, s. temp. | | | zone . cystophora | | antilles | n. atlantic | | | cetacea. | | | delphinidÆ. | | | . _inia_ | | upper amazon | | | | sirenia. | | | manatidÆ. | | | . manatus | | gulf of mexico to n. | w. africa | | brazil, amazon r. | | | | ungulata. | | | tapiridÆ. | | | . tapirus | | equatorial s. america| indo-malaya . _elasmognathus_| | panama to guatemala | | | | suidÆ. | | | . _dicotyles_ | | mexico to paraguay | texas | | | camelidÆ. | | | . _auchenia_ | | temp. s. america, | | | from cape horn to | | | andes of peru | | | | cervidÆ. | | | . cervus | | mexico to patagonia | all regions but | | and tierra del fuego| ethiopian and | | | australian | | | rodentia. | | | muridÆ. | | | . reithrodon | | south temp. america | united states | | to tierra del fuego| . _acodon_ | | peru, , ft. | | | elevation | . _myxomys_ | | guatemala | . hesperomys | | the whole region | nearctic . _holochilus_ | | s. america | . _oxymycterus_ | | brazil and la plata | . _drymomys_ | | peru | . _neotomys_ | | s. america | (fiber | | mexico) | nearctic genus | | | saccomyidÆ. | | | . _heteromys_ | | mexico, honduras, | | | costa rica & trinidad| | | | | | | sciuridÆ. | | | . sciurus | | mexico to paraguay | all reg. but | | | australian | | | chinchillidÆ. | | | . _chinchilla_ | | andes of chili and | | | peru | . _lagidium_ | | chili to ecuador | | | ( , to | | | , ft.) | . _lagostomus_ | | uruguay to rio negro | | | of patagonia | | | | octodontidÆ. | | | . _habrocomus_ | | chili | . _capromys_ | | cuba and jamaica | . _plagiodontia_ | | hayti | . _spalacopus_ | | chili and e. of andes| . _octodon_ | | chili, peru, and | | | bolivia | . _ctenomys_ | | s. brazil to tierra | | | del fuego | | | | echimyidÆ. | | | . _dactylomys_ | | guiana and brazil | . _cercomys_ | | central brazil | . _lasiuromys_ | | st. paulo, brazil | . _myopotamus_ | | s. half of tropical | | | s. america | . _carterodon_ | | central brazil | . _mesomys_ | | upper amazon | . _echimys_ | | equatorial america | | | to paraguay | . _loncheres_ | | new granada to brazil| | | | cercolabidÆ. | | | . _cercolabes_ | | mexico to paraguay | . _chætomys_ | | n. brazil | | | | caviidÆ. | | | . _dasyprocta_ | | paraguay to mexico | | | and lesser antilles| . _coelogenys_ | | guatemala to paraguay| . _hydrochoerus_| | guiana to la plata | . _cavia_ | | brazil and peru to | | | magellan sts. | . _kerodon_ | | brazil and peru to | | | magellan sts. | . _dolichotis_ | | the pampas and | | | patagonia | | | | leporidÆ. | | | . lepus | | central brazil and | all regions but | | andes, costa rica | austral. | | to mexico | | | | edentata. | | | bradypodidÆ. | | | . _choloepus_ | | costa rica to brazil | . _bradypus_ | | amazon to rio de | | | janeiro | ._arctopithecus_| | costa rica to brazil | | | and bolivia | | | | dasypodidÆ. | | | . _tatusia_ | | rio grande, texas, | | | to patagonia | . _prionodontes_| | surinam to paraguay | . _dasypus_ | | brazil to chili and | | | la plata, costa rica?| . _xenurus_ | | guiana to paraguay, | | | costa rica? | . _tolypeutes_ | | bolivia and la plata | ._chlamydophorus_ | la plata and bolivia | | | | myrmecophagidÆ. | | | . _myrmecophaga_| | costa rica?, & | | | n. braz., to parag.| . _tamandua_ | | guatemala to paraguay| . _cyclothurus_ | | honduras and costa | | | rica to paraguay | | | | marsupialia. | | | didelphyidÆ. | | | . didelphys | | mexico to uruguay | temperate n. america | | and s. chili | . _chironectes_ | | guiana and brazil, | | | costa rica | . _hyracodon_ | | ecuador | _birds._ passeres. | | | turdidÆ. | | | . turdus | | the whole reg. to | almost cosmopolite | | tierra del fuego | ._rhodinocichla_| | mexico to venezuela | . _melanoptila_ | | honduras | . _catharus_ | | mexico to ecuador | | | and columbia | . _margarops_ | | hayti and lesser | | | antilles | . mimus | | nearly the whole | nearctic | | region | . _melanotis_ | | mexico and guatemala | . galeoscoptes | | mexico to panama | nearctic . _mimocichla_ | | cuba to porto rico | (harporhynchus | | mexico) | nearctic genus ._cinclocerthia_| | lesser antilles | ._ramphocinclus_| | martinique and | | | st. lucia | | | | sylviidÆ. | | | . _myiadestes_ | |mexico and antilles | n. & w. of n. america | | to peru and bolivia | . _cichlopsis_ | | brazil | (sialia | | mexico and guatemala)| united states & | | | canada . regulus | | mexico and guatemala | nearctic, palæarctic . polioptila | | mexico and cuba to | cen. and s. u. states | | bolivia and la plata| | | | cinclidÆ. | | | . cinclus | | mexico to venezuela | nearctic, palæarctic | | and peru | | | | troglodytidÆ. | | | . troglodytes | | mexico to straits of | nearctic, palæarctic | | magellan | . thryophilus | | mexico to central | n.-w. america | | brazil | . thryothorus | | mexico to s. brazil | n. america . cistothorus | | mexico to chili and | n. america | | patagonia | . _donacobius_ | | columbia to brazil | | | and bolivia | ._campylorhynchus_ | mexico to brazil and | new mexico | | bolivia | . _cyphorhinus_ | | costa rica to peru | ._microcerculus_| | mexico to peru | . _henicorhina_ | | mexico to peru | (salpinctes | | mexico and guatemala)| nearctic genus (catherpes | | mexico) | gila and colorado . _cinnicerthia_| | columbia and ecuador | . _uropsila_ | | mexico | | | | certhiidÆ. | | | (certhia | | mexico and guatemala)| north temperate genus | | | sittidÆ. | | | (sitta | | mexico) | north temperate genus | | | paridÆ. | | | (parus | | mexico) | nearc., palæarc., | | | orient. (lophophanes | | mexico) | north temperate genus (psaltriparus | | mexico and guatemala)| nearctic | | | corvidÆ. | | | . cyanocitta | | mexico to peru and |nearctic | | bolivia | . _cyanocorax_ | | mexico to paraguay, | | | jamaica | . _calocitta_ | | mexico to guatemala | . _psilorhinus_ | | mexico to costa rica | . corvus | | mexico to guatemala, | cosmop., excl. | | cuba to porto rico | s. amer. | | | coerebidÆ. | | | . _diglossa_ | | mexico to guiana, | | | peru, and bolivia | . _diglossopis_ | | venezuela to ecuador | . _oreomanes_ | | ecuador | . _conirostrum_ | | columbia to bolivia | . _hemidacnis_ | | columbia and upper | | | amazon | . _dacnis_ | | costa rica to guiana | | | & s. brazil | . _certhidea_ | | galapagos islands | . _chlorophanes_| | brazil to central | | | america, cuba | . _coereba_ | | mexico and cuba to | | | guiana and brazil | . _certhiola_ | | antilles to ecuador | florida | | and brazil | . _glossiptila_ | | jamaica | | | | mniotiltidÆ. | | | . siurus | | mexico to columbia, | s. & e. states & | | antilles | canada . mniotilta | | columbia to mexico | eastern united states | | and antilles | . parula | | brazil and ecuador | eastern u. s. & | | to mexico | canada . protonotaria | | venezuela to central | florida to ohio | | america and w. india| . helminthophaga| | mexico to columbia | north america . helmintherus | | mexico to veragua | u. states to canada . perissoglossa | | cuba, hayti, and | e. united states | | porto rico | . dendroeca | | mexico & w. indies to| all n. america | | ecuador and chili | . _oporornis_ | | guatemala to panama | . geothlypis | | brazil to mexico | all n. america . setophaga | | mexico to brazil | e. u. states & canada . _cardellina_ | | guatemala and mexico | . _ergaticus_ | | guatemala and mexico | . myiodioctes | | columbia to mexico | u. states and canada . _basileuterus_| | mexico to brazil | . icteria | | costa rica to mexico | e. and central united | | | states to canada . _granatellus_ | | amazon to mexico | . _teretristis_ | | cuba | | | | vireonidÆ. | | | . vireosylvia | | venezuela to mexico | all n. america | | & antilles | . vireo | | mexico to costa rica | all united states | | & antilles | . _neochloe_ | | mexico | . _hylophilus_ | | brazil to mexico | . _laletes_ | | jamaica | ._phoenicomanes_| | jamaica | . _vireolanius_ | | mexico to amazon | . _cychloris_ | | mexico to paraguay | | | | ampelidÆ. | | | . _dulus_ | | hayti | (ampelis | | mexico and guatemala)| n. temperate genus . _ptilogonys_ | | mexico to costa rica | (phainopepla | | mexico) | gila and lower | | | colorado | | | hirundinidÆ. | | | . hirundo | | mexico and antilles | almost cosmopolite | | to chili and | | | la plata | . petrochelidon | | mexico and antilles | nearctic | | to paraguay | . _atticora_ | | guatemala to peru | | | and brazil | . cotyle | | central america to | all regions but | | la plata | austral. . stelgidopteryx| | mexico to brazil | s. united states . progne | | the whole region | nearctic | | | icteridÆ. | | | . _clypeicterus_| | upper amazon | . _ostinops_ | | mexico to guiana, | | | brazil, and bolivia| . _cassiculus_ | | mexico | . _cassicus_ | | mexico to s. brazil | | | and bolivia | . icterus | | mexico to antilles | all u. states & | | and la plata | canada . dolichonyx | | mexico to paraguay, | e. u. states and | | galapagos | canada . molothrus | | mexico to la plata | all u. states & | | and bolivia | canada . agelæus | | mexico to paraguay, | all u. states & | | cuba, porto rico | canada (xanthocephalus| | mexico) | nearctic genus . _xanthosomus_ | | venezuela to la plata| ._amblyrhamphus_| | bolivia and la plata | ._gymnomystax_ | | guiana and amazonia | ._pseudoleistes_| | brazil and la plata | . _leistes_ | | venezuela to paraguay| | | & bolivia | . sturnella | | cuba and mexico to | all u. states & | | chili, falkland | canada | | islands & tierra | | | del fuego | . _curoeus_ | | chili to magellan | | | straits | . _nesopsar_ | | jamaica | (scolecophagus| | mexico, cuba ?) | nearctic genus . _lampropsar_ | | guatemala to peru | | | and guiana | . quiscalus | | mexico to antilles & | s. and e. united | | venezuela | states to labrador . _hypopyrrhus_ | | columbia | . _aphobus_ | | brazil paraguay and | | | bolivia | . _cassidix_ | | mexico to brazil and | | | guiana | | | | tanagridÆ. | | | . _procnias_ | | brazil and peru to | | | columbia | . _chlorophonia_| | brazil to mexico | . _euphonia_ | | mexico and w. indies | | | to brazil and bolivia| | | | . _tanagrella_ | | columbia to guiana | | | and brazil | . _chlorochrysa_| | columbia to peru | . _pipridea_ | | venezuela to brazil | | | and bolivia | . _diva_ | | columbia and ecuador | . _calliste_ | | guatemala to bolivia | | | & paraguay | . _iridornis_ | | columbia to peru | ._poecilothraupis_ |columbia to bolivia | ._stephanophorus_ | brazil and la plata | . _buthraupis_ | | veragua to bolivia | . _compsocoma_ | | columbia to bolivia | . _dubusia_ | | columbia and ecuador | . _tanagra_ | | mexico to bolivia and| | | la plata | . _spindalis_ | | porto rico to bahamas| ._rhamphocoelus_| | guatemala to brazil | | | and bolivia | ._phlogothraupis_ | mexico to costa rica | . _euchætes_ | | eastern ecuador | . _pyranga_ | | mexico to bolivia and| u. states and canada | | paraguay | . _orthogonys_ | | brazil and guiana | . _lamprotes_ | | brazil and columbia | ._phænicothraupis_ | mexico to paraguay | | | and bolivia | . _lanio_ | | mexico to bolivia | . _eucometis_ | | costa rica to bolivia| ._trichothraupis_ | s. brazil and paraguay . _creurgops_ | | west ecuador | . _tachyphonus_ | | nicaragua to paraguay| . _cypsnagra_ | | s. brazil and bolivia| . _nemosia_ | |venezuela, w. ecuador,| | | to brazil and | | | bolivia | . _pyrrhocoma_ | | s. brazil and paraguay ._chlorospingus_| | mexico to peru and | | | bolivia | . _buarremon_ | | mexico to s. brazil | | | and bolivia | ._phænicophilus_| | hayti | . _arremon_ | | mexico to s. brazil | . _oreothraupis_| | east ecuador | . _cissopis_ | | columbia to peru and | | | bolivia | . _lamprospiza_ | | guiana | . _psittospiza_ | | columbia to peru | . _saltator_ | | mexico to la plata | | | and bolivia | . _diucopis_ | | upper amazon and | | | s. brazil | . _orchesticus_ | | tropical s. america | . _pitylus_ | | mexico to brazil and | | | ecuador | | | | fringillidÆ. | | | . chrysomitris | | mexico to brazil, | nearctic, palæarctic | | chili and patagonia| . _sycalis_ | | mexico to chili and | | | la plata, jamaica | . coccothraustes| | mexico and guatemala | nearctic, palæarctic . _geospiza_ | | galapagos islands | . _camarhynchus_| | galapagos islands | . _cactornis_ | | galapagos islands | . _phrygilus_ | | columbia to fuegia and | | falkland islands | . _xenospingus_ | | peru | . _diuca_ | | peru, chili, and | | | patagonia | . _emberizoides_| | venezuela to paraguay| . _donacospiza_ | |s. brazil and la plata| . _chamæospiza_ | | mexico | . embernagra | | mexico to la plata | rocky mountains . _hæmophila_ | | mexico to costa rica | . atlapetes | | mexico | nearctic? . _pyrgisoma_ | | mexico to costa rica | . pipilo | | mexico to guatemala | all nearctic region . junco | | mexico and guatemala | united states . zonotrichia | | mexico to straits of | nearctic | | magellan | (melospiza | | mexico and guatemala)| nearctic genus (spizella | | mexico and guatemala)| nearctic genus (passerculus | | mexico and guatemala)| nearctic genus (pooecetes | | mexico) | nearctic genus . ammodramus | | guatemala | nearctic . coturniculus | | mexico to bolivia, | e. & n. of n. america | | jamaica | . peucæa | | mexico | s. e. states & | | | california . _tiaris_ | | brazil | . _volatinia_ | | mexico to brazil | (cyanospiza | | mexico and central | nearctic | | america) | . _paroaria_ | | trop. s. america, | | | e. of andes | ._coryphospingus_ | tropical s. america | ._porphyrospiza_| | brazil | . _haplospiza_ | | mexico and brazil | . _phonipara_ | | mexico to columbia, | | | greater antilles | . poospiza | | mexico to bolivia and| w. & central | | la plata | u. states . _spodiornis_ | | ecuador | (carpodacus | | mexico) | nearctic, palæarctic . cardinalis | | mexico to venezuela | s. & s. cent. | | | u. states . guiraca | | mexico to brazil and | southern u. states | | la plata | . _amaurospiza_ | | costa rica and brazil| . hedymeles | | mexico to columbia | nearctic . _pheucticus_ | | mexico to peru and | | | bolivia | . _oryzoborus_ | | mexico to ecuador and| | | s. brazil | . _melopyrrha_ | | cuba | . _loxigilla_ | | antilles | . _spermophila_ | | mexico to bolivia and| texas | | uruguay | . _catamenia_ | | columbia to bolivia | . _neorhynchus_ | | w. peru | ._catamblyrhynchus_ | columbia | (loxia | | mexico) | north temperate genus (calamospiza | | mexico) | arizona and texas (chondestes | | mexico) | w. and cent. | | | u. states (euspiza | | mexico to columbia) | s.-e. u. states, | | | palæarc. . _gubernatrix_ | | paraguay and la plata| (plectrophanes| | mexico) | n. temp. & arctic | | | genus | | | alaudidÆ. | | | . otocorys | | mexico, andes of | nearc. & palæarc. | | columbia | genus | | | motacillidÆ. | | | . anthus | | mexico to patagonia | cosmopolite | | and falkland islands| | | | oxyrhamphidÆ. | | | a. _oxyrhamphus_| | brazil to costa rica | | | | tyrannidÆ. | | | . _conophaga_ | | columbia to bolivia | | | and brazil | . _corythopis_ | | brazil and guiana | . _agriornis_ | | ecuador, peru, and | | | chili | . _myiotheretes_| | columbia to ecuador, | | | patagonia | . _tænioptepa_ | | s. brazil and bolivia| | | to patago. | . _ochthodioeta_| | columbian andes | . _ochthæca_ | | andes, bolivia to | | | columbia and | | | venezuela | . sayornis | | mexico to ecuador | e. united sts. to | | | canada . _fluvicola_ | | guiana & w. ecuador | | | to brazil, and | | | bolivia | . _arundinicola_| | tropical s. america | . _alectorurus_ | |s. brazil and la plata| . _cybernetes_ | | brazil | . _sysopygis_ | |s. brazil and la plata| . _cnipolegus_ | | amazonia to patagonia| . _lichenops_ | | brazil and la plata | . _muscipipra_ | | s. brazil | . _copurus_ | | costa rica to | | | s. brazil | . _machetornis_ | | venezuela to brazil | ._muscisaxicola_| | andes of ecuador to | | | chili and patagonia| . _centrites_ | | bolivia to patagonia | . _muscigralla_ | | w. ecuador | ._platyrhynchus_| | mexico to brazil | . _todirostrum_ | | tropical n. and | | | s. america | . _oncosotma_ | | tropical n. america | . _euscarthmus_ | | costa rica to w. | | | ecuador, brazil, | | | and bolivia | . _orchilus_ | | costa rica to brazil | | | and bolivia | . _colopterus_ | | veragua to columbia | | | and guiana | . _hemitriccus_ | | brazil | ._phylloscartes_| | columbia to brazil | . _hapalocercus_| | brazil to chili and | | | la plata | . _habrura_ | | uruguay | ._pogonotriccus_| | brazil and columbia | . _leptotriccus_| | brazil and veragua | . _stigmatura_ | | upper amazon to | | | la plata | . _serphophaga_ | | columbia to chili and| | | la plata | . _anæretes_ | | columbia to chili and| | | la plata, magell. | | | sts. & juan fernand.| . _cyanotis_ | | w. peru to la plata | . _mionectes_ | | mexico to brazil and | | | bolivia | . _leptopogon_ | | mexico to peru and | | | brazil | . _capsiempis_ | | chiriqui to brazil | . _phyllomyias_ | | columbia to brazil | . _ornithion_ | | mexico to brazil | . _tyrannulus_ | | guatemala to amazonia| . _tyranniscus_ | | guatemala to e. peru | . _elainea_ | | mexico to tierra del | | | fuego, antilles | . _empidagra_ | | bolivia and la plata | . _legatus_ | | mexico to brazil | . _sublegatus_ | | venezuela and lower | | | amazon | . _myiozetetes_ | | mexico to w. peru and| | | brazil | ._rhynchocyclus_| | mexico to w. ecuador | | | & brazil | . _conopias_ | | venezuela to peru and| | | brazil | . _pitangus_ | | mexico to la plata, | | | antilles | . _sirystes_ | | panama to brazil | . _myiodynastes_| | mexico to bolivia and| | | paraguay | . _megarhynchus_| | mexico to brazil | . _muscivora_ | | mexico to w. ecuador | | | & brazil | . _hirundinea_ | | columbia & guiana to | | | paraguay | . _cnipodectes_ | | panama to w. ecuador | | | & amazon | . _myiobius_ | | mexico to w. peru, | | | bolivia, and | | | la plata | . _pyrocephalus_| | tropical n. and s. | gila and rio grande | | america and | | | galapagos islands | . _empidochanes_| | venezuela to | | | s. brazil. | . _mitrephorus_ | | mexico to costa rica | . empidonax | | mexico to columbia & | all n. america | | ecuador | . contopus | | mexico to amazonia, | n. & e. of rocky | | antilles | mtns. . _myiochanes_ | | amazonia and brazil | . myiarchus | | mexico to w. ecuador | east and west coasts | | & brazil, galapagos| to canada | | and antilles | . _blacicus_ | | cuba, hayti, jamaica | (empidias | | mexico) | eastern united states . _empidonomus_ | | guiana and brazil | . tyrannus | | all tropical | all u. states to | | sub-regions | canada . _milvulus_ | | tropical n. and s. | texas | | america | | | | pipridÆ. | | | . _piprites_ | | costa rica to brazil | . _masius_ | | columbia and ecuador | . _chloropipo_ | | columbia | . _xenopipo_ | | guiana and columbia | . _pipra_ | |trop. n. and s. america . _neopipo_ | | upper amazon | ._machæropterus_| | columbia to brazil | . _ilicura_ | | brazil | . _chiroxiphia_ | | guatemala to brazil | . _metopia_ | | brazil | . _metopothrix_ | | upper amazon | ._chiromachæris_| | mexico to ecuador and| | | brazil | . _hetoropelma_ | | mexico to guiana and | | | brazil | . _heterocercus_| | guiana and upper | | | amazon | . _schiffornis_ | |upper amazon and brazil | | | cotingidÆ. | | | . _tityra_ | | tropical n. and s. | | | america | . _hadrostomus_ | | mexico to w. ecuador | | | & brazil, jamaica | . _pachyhamphus_| | mexico to w. ecuador | | | & brazil | . _lathria_ | | mexico to brazil | . _aulia_ | | veragua to brazil | . _lipaugus_ | | guatemala to brazil | | | and guiana | . _ptilochloris_| | brazil | . _attila_ | | costa rica to brazil | | | and guiana | . _casiornis_ | | s. brazil to paraguay| . _rupicola_ | | guiana to w. ecuador | | | & bolivia | ._phoenicocercus_ | guiana and amazonia | . _tijuca_ | | brazil | . _phibalura_ | | brazil | . _pipreola_ | | venezuela to ecuador | | | and peru | . _ampelio_ | | columbia to peru and | | | brazil | . _carpodectes_ | | nicaragua and costa | | | rica | . _heliochæra_ | | columbia to peru and | | | bolivia | . _cotinga_ | | guatemala to peru and| | | brazil | . _xipholena_ | | guiana to brazil | . _iodopleura_ | | guiana to brazil | . _calyptura_ | | brazil | . _querula_ | | panama to amazonia | . _hæmatoderus_ | |guiana and lower amazon ._chasmorhynchus_ | costa rica to guiana | | | and brazil | ._gymnocephalus_| | guiana and rio negro | . _gymnoderus_ | |guiana and upper amazon . _pyroderus_ | | venezuela to brazil | ._cephalopterus_| | costa rica to w. | | | ecuador & upr. amazon| | | | phytotomidÆ. | | | . _phytotoma_ | | bolivia, chili, and | | | la plata | | | | dendrocolaptidÆ. | | | . _geobates_ | | south brazil | . _geositta_ | | peru to chili and | | | patagonia | . _furnarius_ | | guiana & w. ecuador | | | to la plata | . _clibanornis_ | | s. brazil | . _upucerthia_ | | andes of ecuador to | | | chili and patagonia| . _cinclodes_ | | ecuador to chili, | | | patagonia and | | | tierra del fuego | . _henicornis_ | | patagonia | . _lochmias_ | | venezuela and brazil | . _sclerurus_ | | mexico to brazil | . _oxyurus_ | | chili to tierra del | | | fuego, and | | | masafuera islands | . _sylviortho- | | chili | rhynchus_ | | chili | . _phlæocryptes_| | w. peru to la plata | ._leptasthenura_| | andes of ecuador to | | | brazil and patagonia| . _synallaxis_ | | the whole region | | | (excl. antilles) | . _coryphistera_| | la plata | . _anumbius_ | | paraguay and la plata| . _limnornis_ | | uruguay and la plata | ._placellodomus_| | venezuela to peru and| | | la plata | . _thripophaga_ | | brazil and columbia | ._pseudocolaptes_ | columbia to peru | . _homorus_ | | brazil, bolivia, and | | | la plata | . _thripadectes_| | columbia | . _ancistrops_ | | upper amazon | . _automolus_ | | mexico to amazonia | . _philydor_ | |tropical south america| | | | . _heliobletus_ | | brazil | . _anabatoides_ | | brazil | . _anabazenops_ | | mexico to brazil | . _xenops_ | | trop. north and south| | | america | . _sittasomus_ | | mexico to ecuador and| | | brazil | . _margarornis_ | | costa rica to peru | | | and bolivia | ._glyphorhynchus_ | trop. north and south| | | america | . _pygarrhicus_ | | chili | . _dendrocincla_| | mexico to venezuela | | | and brazil | ._dendrocolaptes_ | guatemala to peru and| | | brazil | . _nasica_ | | guiana | . _drymornis_ | | la plata | ._xiphocolaptes_| | mexico to bolivia and| | | paraguay | ._dendrexetastes_ | guiana | . _dendrornis_ | | mexico, w. ecuador | | | and brazil | . _dendroplex_ | | columbia & venezuela | | | to brazil | . _picolaptes_ | | mexico to bolivia and| | | la plata | ._xiphorhynchus_| | veragua to brazil | | | | formicariidÆ. | | | . _cymbilanius_ | | amazonia and guiana | . _batara_ | | s. brazil | . _thamnophilus_| | trop. north and south| | | america | . _biatas_ | | brazil | . _thamnistes_ | | central america and | | | ecuador | . _pygoptila_ | | amazonia | . _neoctantes_ | | amazonia | . _clytoctantes_| | eastern ecuador | . _dysithamnus_ | | mexico to bolivia and| | | brazil | . _thamnomanes_ | | ecuador, guiana, and | | | brazil | ._herpsilochmus_| | venezuela to brazil | | | and bolivia | . _myrmotherula_| | tropical s. america | . _formicivora_ | | trop. north and south| | | america | . _terenura_ | | veragua to w. ecuador| | | & brazil | ._psilorhamphus_| | central brazil | . _microbates_ | | cayenne | . _rhamphocænus_| | guatemala to brazil | . _cercomacra_ | | cen. america to w. | | | equador & s. brazil| . _pyriglena_ | | ecuador to peru and | | | brazil | . _gymnocichla_ | | honduras to panama | . _percnostola_ | |guiana and upper amazon . _heterocnemis_| |guiana and upper amazon . _myrmeciza_ | |veragua to w. ecuador,| | | bolivia, and brazil| . _hypocnemis_ | | costa rica to w. | | | ecuador & brazil | . _pithys_ | | nicaragua to amazonia| . _rhopoterpe_ | | guiana | . _phlogopsis_ | | nicaragua to guiana | | | and bolivia | . _formicarius_ | | mexico to brazil and | | | bolivia | . _pittasoma_ | | panama and veragua | . _chamæza_ | | columbia to brazil | . _grallaria_ | | mexico to w. ecuador | | | & brazil | . _grallaricula_| | costa rica to ecuador| | | | pteroptochidÆ. | | | . _scytalopus_ | | columbia & brazil to | | | chili and tierra | | | del fuego | . _merulaxis_ | | central brazil | . _rhinocrypta_ | | la plata and | | | patagonia | . _liosceles_ | | madeira valley | . _pteroptochus_| | chili and chiloe | . _hylactes_ | | chili | . _acropternis_ | | columbia and ecuador | . _triptorhinus_| | chili | | | | picariÆ. | | | picidÆ. | | | . _picumnus_ | | honduras to brazil | | | and bolivia | . picus | | mexico, chili, la | all reg. but austral. | | plata, and s. | & ethiopian | | patagonia | (sphyrapicus | | mexico and guatemala)| nearctic genus . campephilus | | mexico to patagonia, | nearctic | | cuba | . dryocopus | | mexico to s. brazil | palæarctic . _celeus_ | | mexico and s. brazil | . _nesoceleus_ | | cuba | . _chrysoptilus_| | tropical s. america | . centurus | | mexico to venezuela, | nearctic | | antilles | . _chloronerpes_| | tropical america, | | | hayti | ._xiphidiopicus_| | cuba | . melanerpes | | mexico to brazil, | nearctic | | porto rico | . _leuconerpes_ | | brazil, bolivia | . colaptes | | open country of trop.| nearctic | | america, greater | | | antilles | . _hypoxanthus_ | | venezuela and ecuador| | | | megalÆmidÆ. | | | . _capito_ | | costa rica to peru | | | and guiana | . _tetragonops_ | | costa rica and | | | ecuador | | | | rhamphastidÆ. | | | . _rhamphastos_ | | all tropical america | . _pteroglossus_| | mexico to guiana and | | | brazil | . _selenidera_ | | veragua to brazil | . _andigena_ | |columbia to w. ecuador, | | bolivia and brazil | ._aulacorhamphus_ | mexico to venezuela | | | and bolivia | | | | cuculidÆ. | | | . _crotophaga_ | | tropical america and | nearctic to | | antilles | pennsylvania . _guira_ | | brazil and paraguay | . _neomorphus_ | | nicaragua to brazil | | | and upper amazon | . _geococcyx_ | | guatemala | texas to calfornia . _dromococcyx_ | | mexico to brazil | . _diplopterus_ | | mexico to ecuador and| | | brazil | . _saurothera_ | | greater antilles | . _hyetornis_ | | jamaica and hayti | . _piaya_ | | mexico to w. ecuador | | | & brazil | . _morococcyx_ | | mexico to costa rica | . coccygus | | tropical america and | nearctic | | antilles, cocos | | | islands | | | | bucconidÆ. | | | . _bucco_ | | guatemala to guiana, | | | paraguay and bolivia| . _malacoptila_ | | guatemala to guiana, | | | w. ecuador and | | | bolivia | . _nonnula_ | | columbia and amazonia| . _monasa_ | | costa rica to brazil | . _chelidoptera_| | columbia to guiana | | | and brazil | galbrilidÆ. | | | . _galbula_ | | guatemala to brazil | | | and bolivia | . _urogalba_ | |guiana to lower amazon| | | | . _brachygalba_ | | columbia to brazil | | | and bolivia | ._jacamaralcyon_| | brazil | . _jacamerops_ | | columbia to amazonia | ._galbalcyrhynchus_ | upper amazon | | | | todidÆ. | | | . _todus_ | | greater antilles | | | | momotidÆ. | | | . _momotus_ | | mexico to w. ecuador,| | | brazil and bolivia | . _urospatha_ | |costa rica to columbia| ._baryphthengus_| | brazil and paraguay | . _hylomanes_ | | mexico and guatemala | ._prionirhynchus_ | guatemala to upper | | | amazon | . _eumomota_ | | honduras to chiriqui | | | | trogonidÆ. | | | . _prionoteles_ | | cuba | . _temnotrogon_ | | hayti | . _trogon_ | | mexico to w. ecuador | | | & parag. | . _euptilotis_ | | mexico | . _pharomacrus_ | | guatemala to upper | | | amazon and bolivia | | | | alcedinidÆ. | | | . ceryle | | mexico to brazil, | nearc., s. palæarc., | | patagonia and chili| orien. | | | steatornithidÆ. | | | . _steatornis_ | | columb., venezuela, &| | | trinidad | | | | caprimulgidÆ. | | | . _nyctibius_ | | brazil to guatemala | | | & jamaica | . _hydropsalis_ | | columbia & guiana to | | | la plata | . antrostomus | | mexico and cuba to | all u. states to | | bolivia and la plata| canada . _stenopsis_ | |martinique to columb.,| | | w. peru and chili | . _siphonorhis_ | | jamaica | ._heleothreptus_| | central brazil | . _nyctidromus_ | | central america to | | | s. brazil | . _podager_ | | tropical s. america | . _lurocalis_ | | guiana to brazil | . chordeiles | | mexico to w. peru and| all u. states to | | brazil jamaica and | canada | | porto rico | . _nyctiprogne_ | | amazonia | | | | cypselidÆ. | | | . cypselus | | antilles to guiana | the eastern | | and bolivia | hemisphere . _panyptila_ | | guatemala and guiana | . chætura | | mexico to ecuador and| almost cosmopolite | | brazil | . _hemiprocne_ | | mexico to la plata, | | | jamaica and hayti | . _cypseloides_ | | brazil and peru | . _nephoecetes_ | | jamaica | | | | trochilidÆ. | | | . _grypus_ | | brazil | . _androdon_ | | ecuador | . _eutoxeres_ | | costa rica to ecuador| . _glaucis_ | | panama to brazil | . _phaethornis_ | | tropical n. and | | | s. america | . _pygmornis_ | | mexico to guiana and | | | brazil | . _threnetes_ | |costa rica to amazonia| | | and w. ecuador | . _dolerisca_ | | venezuela | . _eupetomena_ | | guiana to brazil | ._sphenoproctus_ | mexico to guatemala | ._campylopterus_ | mexico to amazonia | . _phæochroa_ | | guatemala to columbia| . _aphantochroa_| | ecuador and brazil | . _urochroa_ | | ecuador | . _sternoclyta_ | | venezuela | . _eugenes_ | | mexico to costa rica | . _coeligena_ | | mexico | . _lamprolæma_ | | mexico and guatemala | . _delattria_ | | guatemala | . _oreopyra_ | |costa rica to chiriqui| . _heliopædica_ | | mexico and guatemala | . _topaza_ | | guiana | ._oreotrochilus_| | ecuador to peru and | | | chili | . _lampornis_ | | mexico & w. india to | | | amazonia | . _eulampis_ | | lesser antilles | . _avocettula_ | | guiana | . _lafresnaya_ | |venezuela and columbia| . _doryphora_ | | costa rica to ecuador| . _chalybura_ | |costa rica to columbia| . _heliodoxa_ | |costa rica to venezue.| | | & boliv. | . _iolæma_ | | ecuador to peru | . _phæolæma_ | | columbia and ecuador | . _eugenia_ | | ecuador | . _aithurus_ | | jamaica | . _thalurania_ | | costa rica to guiana,| | | ecuador and brazil | . _panoplites_ | | columbia and ecuador | . _florisuga_ | | guatemala to brazil | . _microchera_ | | nicaragua to veragua | . _lophorius_ | | mexico to brazil, | | | peru, & bolivia | . _polemistria_ | | columbia to s. brazil| . _discura_ | | brazil | . _gouldia_ | | costa rica to brazil | | | & bolivia | . trochilus | | mexico to veragua | to canada and sitka . _mellisuga_ | | jamaica to hayti | . _calypte_ | | mexico and cuba | . selasphorus | | mexico to veragua | w. & cen. united | | | states . atthis | | mexico and guatemala | california and | | | colorado . _stellula_ | | mexico | . _calothorax_ | | mexico | . _acestrura_ | | venezuela to ecuador | | | & bolivia | . _chætocercus_ | | venezuela and ecuador| . _myrtis_ | | ecuador to bolivia, | | | w. of andes | . _thaumastura_ | | w. peru | . _rhodopis_ | | w. peru and chili | . _doricha_ | | mexico to veragua, | | | bahamas | . _tilmatura_ | | guatemala | . _calliphlox_ | | ecuador and brazil | . _loddigesia_ | | peruvian andes | . _steganura_ | | venezuela to ecuador | | | & bolivia | . _lesbia_ | | columbia to peru | . _cynanthus_ | | venezuela to ecuador | . _sparganura_ | | columbia to bolivia &| | | la plata | . _pterophanes_ | | columbia to peru | . _aglæactis_ | | columbia to bolivia | . _oxypogon_ | | venezuela and columbia | . _oreonympha_ | | peru | ._rhamphomicron_| | columbia to bolivia | . _urosticte_ | | ecuador | . _metallura_ | | columbia to bolivia | . _adelomia_ | | venezuela to peru & | | | bolivia | . _avocettinus_ | | columbia | . _anthocephala_| | columbia | . _chrysolampis_| | venezuela to brazil | ._orthorhynchus_| | lesser antilles | . _cephalolepis_| | brazil | . _clais_ | |venezuela and columbia| . _baucis_ | | mexico to veragua | . _heliactin_ | | brazil | . _heliothrix_ | | guatemala to ecuador | | | & brazil | . _schistes_ | | columbia and ecuador | . _phlogophilus_| | ecuador | . _augastes_ | | brazil | . _petasophora_ | | mexico to peru and | | | brazil | ._chrysobronchus_ | venezuela to brazil | . _patagona_ | | ecuador to bolivia | | | and chili | . _docimastes_ | | columbia and ecuador | . _helianthea_ | | columbia to bolivia | . _heliotrypha_ | | columbia and ecuador | . _heliangelus_ | | venezuela to peru | . _diphlogæna_ | | bolivia | . _clytolæma_ | | e. ecuador and brazil| . _bourcieria_ | | venezuela to peru | . _lampropygia_ | | venezuela to bolivia | . _heliomastes_ | | mexico to ecuador & | | | venezuela | . _lepidolarynx_| | brazil | . _calliperidia_| | central brazil and | | | paraguay | . _eustephanus_ | | chili, s. patagonia, | | | and juan fernandez | | | island | . _eriocnemis_ | | venezuela to ecuador | . _cyanomyia_ | | mexico to peru | . _hemistilbon_ | | mexico | . _leucippus_ | | peru and bolivia | . _thaumatias_ | | mexico to guiana, | | | upr. amazon, and | | | brazil | . _amazilia_ | | mexico to w. ecuador | | | & peru | . _saucerottia_ | | costa rica to columb.| | | & venezue. | . _eupherusa_ | | mexico to veragua | . _chrysuronia_ | | guatemala to ecuador | | | & la plata | . _eucephala_ | | venezuela to guiana | | | and brazil | . _panterpe_ | | costa rica and | | | chiriqui | . _juliamyia_ | | panama to ecuador | . _circe_ | | mexico | . _phæoptila_ | | mexico | . _damophila_ | | costa rica to ecuador| . _hylocharis_ | | amazonia and brazil | . _sapphironia_ | | columbia and veragua | . _sporadinus_ | | cuba, bahamas, hayti,| | | porto rico | ._chlorostilbon_ | mexico to brazil and | | | la plata | . _panychlora_ | |venezuela and columbia| ._smaragdochrysis_ | brazil | | | | psittaci. | | | conuridÆ. | | | . _ara_ | | trop. north and south| | | america, cuba, | | | jamaica (extinct) | . _rhyncopsitta_| | mexico | ._henicognathus_| | chili | . conurus | | the whole region | s. & s.e. united | | | states . _pyrrhura_ | | costa rica to | | | paraguay & bolivia | ._bolborhynchus_| | mexico to peru, | | | central brazil, and| | | la plata | . _brotogerys_ | | trop. north and south| | | america | | | | psittacidÆ. | | | . _caica_ | | mexico to amazonia | . _chrysotis_ | | all the tropical | | | sub-regions | . _triclaria_ | | brazil | . _deroptyus_ | | guiana and rio negro | . _pionus_ | | costa rica to bolivia| | | and brazil | . _urochroma_ | | venezuela to brazil | . _psittacula_ | | mexico to w. ecuador | | | & brazil | | | | columbÆ. | | | . columba | |trop. sub-regions with| all regions but | | chili and la plata | austral. . zenaidura | | mexico to veragua | nearctic . chamæpelia | | mexico to brazil and | s. nearctic | | bolivia | . _columbula_ | | brazil and la plata | | | to chili | . _scardafella_ | | guatemala and brazil | . _zenaida_ | | antilles and s. | | | america to chili | | | and la plata | . melopelia | | mexico to chili | south & west | | | nearctic . _peristera_ | | mexico to brazil | . _metriopelia_ | | w. america from | | | ecuador to chili | . _gymnopelia_ | | west peru and bolivia| . _leptoptila_ | | tropical sub-regions | . _geotrygon_ | | tropical sub-regions | . _starnoenas_ | | cuba | | | | gallinÆ. | | | tetraonidÆ. | | | . _odontophorus_| | trop. north and south| | | america | . _dendrortyx_ | | mexico to costa rica | . cyrtonyx | | mexico to guatemala | s. central united | | | states . ortyx | | mexico to costa rica,| nearctic to canada | | cuba | . _eupsychortyx_| | mexico to columbia | | | and guiana | (callipepla | | mexico) | california | | | phasianidÆ. | | | . meleagris | | mexico and honduras | nearctic | | | cracidÆ. | | | . _crax_ | | mexico to venezuela &| | | s. brazil | . _nothocrax_ | | guiana and upper | | | amazon | . _pauxi_ | | guiana and venezuela | . _mitua_ | | guiana to peru | . _stegnolæma_ | | columbia and ecuador | . _penelope_ | | trop. north and south| | | america | . _penelopina_ | | guatemala | . _pipile_ | | venezuela to brazil | | | and peru | . aburria | | columbia | . _chamæpetes_ | | costa rica to peru | . _ortalida_ | | trop. north and south| new mexico | | america | . _oreophasis_ | | guatemala | | | | tinamidÆ. | | | . _tinamus_ | | trop. north and south| | | america | . _nothocercus_ | |costa rica to venezue.| | | & ecuador | . _crypturus_ | | trop. north and south| | | america | . _rhynchotus_ | | brazil to bolivia and| | | la plata | . _nothoprocta_ | | ecuador to bolivia | | | and chili | . _nothura_ | | brazil to bolivia and| | | la plata | . _taoniscus_ | | brazil and paraguay | . _calodromas_ | | la plata | . _tinamotis_ | | andes of peru and | | | bolivia | | | | opisthocomi. | | | opisthocomidÆ | | | . _opisthocomus_| | guiana and lower | | | amazon | | | | accipitres. | | | vulturidÆ. | | | (cathartinÆ.) | | | ._sarcorhamphus_| | the andes and s. of | | | ° s. lat. | . _cathartes_ | | mexico to ° s. lat.| . catharista | | mexico to ° s. lat.| s. united states . pseudogryphis | | mexico to falkland | united states | | ids., cuba, jamaica| | | | falconidÆ. | | | . polyborus | | the whole region | california and | | | florida . _ibycter_ | | guatemala to terra | | | del fuego | . circus | | nearly the whole | almost cosmopolite | | region | . _micrastur_ | | trop. north and south| | | america | . _geranospiza_ | | trop. north and south| | | america | . antenor | | mexico to chili and | california and texas | | la plata | . astur | | trop. n. and s. | almost cosmopolite | | america | . accipiter | | the whole region | almost cosmopolite ._heterospizias_| | trop. s. america, | | | e. of andes | . tachytriorchis| | mexico to paraguay | california . buteo | | mexico to patagonia | almost cosmopolite . _buteola_ | | veragua to amazonia | . asturina | | mexico to bolivia and| s.e. united states | | la plata | . _busarellus_ | | brazil and guiana | . _buteogallus_ | | columbia and guiana | . _urubutinga_ | | mexico to brazil and | | | bolivia | ._harpyhaliæetus_ | veragua to chili & | | | n. patagonia | . _morphnus_ | | panama to amazonia | . _thrasaëtus_ | | mexico to bolivia and| | | paraguay | . lophotriorchis| | bogota | indo-malaya . _spiziastur_ | | guatemala to brazil | . spizaëtus | | mexico to paraguay | africa, india, malaya ._herpetotheres_| | s. mexico to bolivia | | | & paraguay | . nauclerus | | mexico to brazil | s. united states . _rostrhamus_ | | antilles to brazil | florida | | and peru | . _leptodon_ | | central america to s.| | | brazil and bolivia | . elanus | | mexico to chili | califor., old world | | | trop. . _gampsonyx_ | | trinidad to brazil | . _harpagus_ | | central america to | | | brazil & peru | . _ictinia_ | | mexico to brazil | south united states . _spiziapteryx_| | la plata | . falco | | the whole region | almost cosmopolite . cerchneis | | the whole region | almost cosmopolite | | | pandionidÆ. | | | . pandion | | the whole region | cosmopolite | | | strigidÆ. | | | . glaucidium | | the whole region | w. united sts., | | | palæarc. . micrathene | | mexico | arizona, new mexico . pholeoptynx | | the whole region | n. w. america & texas . bubo | | the whole region | all regions but | | | austral. . scops | | mexico to brazil and | almost cosmopolite | | la plata | . _gymnoglaux_ | | west india islands | . _lophostrix_ | | guatemala to lower | | | amazon | . syrnium | | mexico to patagonia | all regions but | | | austral. . _ciccaba_ | | mexico to peru and | | | paraguay | . _nyctalatinus_| | columbia | . _pulsatrix_ | | guatemala to brazil | | | and peru | . asio | | the whole region | all regions but | | | austral. . _nyctalops_ | | cuba and mexico to | | | brazil | . _pseudoscops_ | | jamaica | (nyctale | | mexico) | n. temperate genus . strix | | the whole region | almost cosmopolite _peculiar or very characteristic genera of wading and swimming birds._ | | | grallÆ. | | | rallidÆ. | | | aramides | | the whole region | nearctic _heliornis_ | | tropical america | | | | scolopacidÆ. | | | eureunetes | | the whole region | nearctic | | | chionididÆ. | | | chionis | | sts. of magellan, | kerguelen's island | | falkland ids. | | | | thinocoridÆ. | | | _attagis_ | | andes to fuegia and | | | falkland islands | _thinocoris_ | | peru, chili, and | | | la plata | | | | charadriidÆ. | | | _phægornis_ | | temperate s. america | _oreophilus_ | | temperate s. america | _pluvianellus_ | | temperate s. america | _aphriza_ | |w. coast of s. america| w. coast of | | | n. america | | | cariamidÆ. | | | _cariama_ | |s. brazil and la plata| | | | aramidÆ. | | | _aramus_ | | mexico and cuba to | | | brazil | | | | psophiidÆ. | | | _psophia_ | | equatorial s. america| | | | eurypygidÆ. | | | _eurypyga_ | | tropical america | | | | ardeidÆ. | | | _tigrisoma_ | | the whole region | _cancroma_ | | tropical s. america | | | | palamedeidÆ. | | | _palamedea_ | | equatorial america | _chauna_ | | columbia, brazil, and| | | la plata | | | | anseres. | | | anatidÆ. | | | _cairina_ | | tropical s. america | _merganetta_ | | andes | _micropterus_ | | temperate s. america | | | | spheniscidÆ. | | | eudyptes | | temperate s. america| antarctic shores aptenodytes | | falkland islands | antarctic shores | | | struthiones. | | | struthionidÆ. | | | . _rhea_ | | s. temperate america | { }chapter xv. the nearctic region. this region consists almost wholly of temperate north america as defined by physical geographers. in area it is about equal to the neotropical region. it possesses a vast mountain range traversing its entire length from north to south, comparable with, and in fact a continuation of, the andes,--and a smaller range near the east coast, equally comparable with the mountains of brazil and guiana. these mountains supply its great river-system of the mississippi, second only to that of the amazon; and in its vast group of fresh-water lakes or inland seas, it possesses a feature unmatched by any other region, except perhaps by the ethiopian. it possesses every variety of climate between arctic and tropical; extensive forests and vast prairies; a greatly varied surface and a rich and beautiful flora. but these great advantages are somewhat neutralized by other physical features. it extends far towards the north, and there it reaches its greatest width; while in its southern and warmest portion it suddenly narrows. the northern mass of land causes its isothermal lines to bend southwards; and its winter temperature especially, is far lower than at corresponding latitudes in europe. this diminishes the available area for supporting animal life; the amount and character of which must be, to a great extent, determined by the nature of the least favourable part of the year. again, owing to the position of its mountain ranges and the direction of prevalent winds, a large extent of its interior, east of the rocky mountains, is bare and arid, and often almost desert; while the most favoured districts,--those east of the mississippi and west of the sierra nevada, bear but a small proportion to its whole area. again, we know that at a very recent period geologically, it was subjected to a very severe glacial epoch, which wrapped a full half of it in a mantle of ice, and exterminated a large number of animals which previously inhabited it. taking all this into account, we need not be surprised to find the nearctic region somewhat less rich and varied in its forms of life than the palæarctic or the australian regions, with which alone it can fairly be compared. the wonder rather is that it should be so little inferior to them in this respect, and that it should possess such a variety of groups, and such a multitude of forms, in every class of animals. [illustration: nearctic region] { }_zoological characteristics of the nearctic region._--temperate north america possesses representatives of families of mammalia, of birds, of reptiles, of amphibia, and of fresh-water fish. the first three numbers are considerably less than the corresponding numbers for the palæarctic region, while the last two are greater--in the case of fishes materially so, a circumstance readily explained by the wonderful group of fresh-water lakes and the noble southward-flowing river system of the mississippi, to which the palæarctic region has nothing comparable. but although somewhat deficient in the total number of its families, this region possesses its full proportion of peculiar and characteristic family and generic forms. no less than families or sub-families of vertebrata are confined to it, or just enter the adjacent neotropical region. these are,--three of mammalia, antilocaprinæ, saccomyidæ and haploodontidæ; one of birds, chamæidæ; one of reptiles, chirotidæ; two of amphibia, sirenidæ and amphiumidæ; and the remaining six of fresh-water fishes. the number of peculiar or characteristic genera is perhaps more important for our purpose; and these are very considerable, as the following enumeration will show. _mammalia._--of the family of moles (talpidæ) we have peculiar genera: _condylura_, _scapanus_, and _scalops_, as well as the remarkable _urotrichus_, found only in california and japan. in the weasel family (mustelidæ) we have _latax_, a peculiar kind of otter; _taxidea_, allied to the badgers; and one of the { }remarkable and characteristic skunks is separated by dr. j. e. gray as a genus--_spilogale_. in the american family procyonidæ, a peculiar genus (_bassaris_) is found in california and texas, extending south along the mountains of mexico and guatemala. _eumetopias_, and _halicyon_, are seals confined to the west coast of north america. the bovidæ, or hollow-horned ruminants, contain three peculiar forms; _antilocapra_, the remarkable prong-buck of the rocky mountains; _aplocerus_, a goat-like antelope; and _ovibos_, the musk-sheep, confined to arctic america and greenland. among the rodents are many peculiar genera: _neotoma_, _sigmodon_, and _fiber_, belong to the muridæ, or rats; _jaculus_ to the dipodidæ, or jerboas. the very distinct family _saccomyidæ_, or pouched rats, which have peculiar cheek pouches, or a kind of outer hairy mouth, consists of five genera all confined to this region, with one of doubtful affinities in trinidad and central america. in the squirrel family (sciuridæ), _cynomys_, the prairie-dogs, are peculiar; and _tamias_, the ground squirrel, is very characteristic, though found also in north asia. _haploodon_, or sewellels, consisting of two species, forms a distinct family; and _erethizon_ is a peculiar form of tree porcupine (cercolabidæ). true mice and rats of the genus _mus_ are not indigenous to north america, their place being supplied by a distinct genus (_hesperomys_), confined to the american continent. _birds._--the genera of birds absolutely peculiar to the nearctic region are not very numerous, because, there being no boundary but one of climate between it and the neotropical region, most of its characteristic forms enter a short distance within the limits we are obliged to concede to the latter. owing also to the severe winter-climate of a large part of the region (which we know is a comparatively recent phenomenon), a large proportion of its birds migrate southwards, to pass the winter in the west-indian islands or mexico, some going as far as guatemala, and a few even to venezuela. in our chapter on extinct animals, we have shown, that there is good reason for believing that the existing union of north and south america is a quite recent occurrence; and that the { }separation was effected by an arm of the sea across what is now nicaragua, with perhaps another at panama. this would leave mexico and guatemala joined to north america, and forming part of the nearctic region, although no doubt containing many neotropical forms, which they had received during earlier continental periods; and these countries might at other times have been made insular by a strait at the isthmus of tehuantepec, and have then developed some peculiar species. the latest climatal changes have tended to restrict these neotropical forms to those parts where the climate is really tropical; and thus mexico has attained its present strongly marked neotropical character, although deficient in many of the most important groups of that region. in view of these recent changes, it seems proper not to draw any decided line between the nearctic and neotropical regions, but rather to apply, in the case of each genus, a test which will show whether it was probably derived at a comparatively recent date from one region or the other. the test referred to, is the existence of peculiar species of the genus, in what are undoubtedly portions of ancient north or south america. if, for example, all the species of a genus occur in north america, some, or even all, of them, migrating into the neotropical region in winter, while there are _no peculiar neotropical species_, then we must class that genus as strictly nearctic; for if it were neotropical it would certainly have developed _some_ peculiar resident forms. again, even if there should be one or two resident species peculiar to that part of central america north of the ancient dividing strait, with an equal or greater number of species ranging over a large part of temperate north america, the genus must still be considered nearctic. examples of the former case, are _helminthophaga_ and _myiodioctes_, belonging to the mniotiltidæ, or wood-warblers, which range over _all_ temperate north america to canada, where _all_ the species are found, but in each case one of the species is found in south america, probably as a winter migrant. of the latter, are _ammodramus_ and _junco_ (genera of finches), which range over the whole united states, but each have one peculiar species in guatemala. these { }may be claimed as exclusively nearctic genera, on the ground that guatemala was recently nearctic; and is now really a transition territory, of which the lowlands have been invaded and taken exclusive possession of by a neotropical fauna, while the highlands are still (in part at least) occupied by nearctic forms. in his article on "birds," in the new edition of the "encyclopædia britannica" (now publishing), professor newton points out, that the number of _peculiar genera_ of nearctic birds is much less than in each of the various sub-divisions of the neotropical region; and that the total number of genera is also less, while the bulk of them are common either to the neotropical or palæarctic regions. this is undoubtedly the case if any fixed geographical boundary is taken; and it would thus seem that the "nearctic" should, in birds, form a sub-region only. but, if we define "nearctic genera" as above indicated, we find a considerable amount of speciality, as the following list will show. the names not italicised are those which are represented in mexico or guatemala by peculiar species:-- list of typical nearctic genera of land birds. . _oreoscoptes_ . _harporhynchus_ . _sialia_ . _chamæa_ . _catherpes_ . _salpinctus_ . _psaltriparus_ . _auriparus_ . _gymnokitta_ . _picicorvus_ . _mniotilta_ . _oporornis_ . _icteria_ . _helmintherus_ . _helminthophaga_ . _myiodioctes_ . _phænopepla_ . _xanthocephalus_ . _scolecophagus_ . pipilo . junco . _melospiza_ . spizella . _passerculus_ . _pooecetes_ . ammodromus . _cyanospiza_ . _pyrrhuloxia_ . _calamospiza_ . chondestes . _centronyx_ . _neocorys_ . _empidias_ . _sphyrapicus_ . _hylatomus_ . _trochilus_ . _atthis_ . _ectopistes_ . _centrocercus_ . _pediocætes_ . _cupidonia_ ? ortyx . _oreortyx_ . _lophortyx_ . callipepla . cyrtonyx . meleagris . _micrathene_ the above are all groups which are either wholly nearctic or typically so, but entering more or less into the debatable ground of the neotropical region; though none possess any peculiar species in the ancient neotropical land south of nicaragua. but we have, besides these, a number of genera which we are { }accustomed to consider as typically european, or palæarctic, having representatives in north america; although in many cases it would be more correct to say that they are nearctic genera, represented in europe, since america possesses more species than europe or north asia. the following is a list of genera which have as much right to be considered typically nearctic as palæarctic:-- . regulus . certhia . sitta . parus . lophophanes . lanius . perisoreus . pica . corvus . _ampelis_ . loxia . pinicola . linota . _passerelia_ . _leucosticte_ . _euspiza_ . _plectrophanes_ . tetrao . lagopus . _nyctala_ . _archibuteo_ . haliæetus the seven genera italicized have a decided preponderance of nearctic species, and have every right to be considered typically nearctic; while the remainder are so well represented by peculiar species, that it is quite possible many of them may have originated here, rather than in the palæarctic region, all alike being quite foreign to the neotropical. on the whole, then, we have in the first and in the second table, making genera which we may fairly class as typically nearctic, out of a total of genera of land-birds, or nearly one-third of the whole. this is an amount of peculiarity which is comparable with that of either of the less isolated regions; and, combined with the more marked and more exclusively peculiar forms in the other orders of vertebrates, fully establishes temperate north america as a region, distinct alike from the neotropical and the palæarctic. _reptiles._--although temperate climates are always comparatively poor in reptiles, a considerable number of genera are peculiar to the nearctic region. of snakes, there are, _conophis_, _chilomeniscus_, _pituophis_, and _ischnognathus_, belonging to the colubridæ; _farancia_, and _dimodes_, homalopsidæ; _lichanotus_, one of the pythonidæ; _cenchris_, _crotalophorus_, _uropsophorus_, and _crotalus_, belonging to the crotalidæ or rattlesnakes. of lizards, _chirotes_, forming a peculiar family; _ophisaurus_, { }the curious glass-snake, belonging to the zonuridæ; with _phrynosoma_ (commonly called horned toads), _callisaurus_, _uta_, _euphryne_, _uma_, and _holbrookia_, genera of iguanidæ. testudinidæ, or tortoises, show a great development of the genus _emys_; with _aromochelys_ and _chelydra_ as peculiar genera. _amphibia._--in this class the nearctic region is very rich, possessing representatives of nine of the families, of which two are peculiar to the region, and there are no less than fifteen peculiar genera. _siren_ forms the family sirenidæ; _menobranchus_ belongs to the proteidæ; _amphiuma_ is the only representative of the amphiumidæ; there are nine peculiar genera of salamandridæ. among the tail-less batrachians (frogs and toads) we have _scaphiopus_, belonging to the alytidæ; _pseudacris_ to the hylidæ; and _acris_ to the polypedatidæ. _fresh-water fishes._--the nearctic region possesses no less than five peculiar family types, and twenty-four peculiar genera of this class. the families are aphredoderidæ, consisting of a single species found in the eastern states; percopsidæ, founded on a species peculiar to lake superior; heteropygii, containing two genera peculiar to the eastern states; hyodontidæ and amiidæ, each consisting of a single species. the genera are as follows: _paralabrax_, found in california; _huro_, peculiar to lake huron; _pileoma_, _boleosoma_, _bryttus_ and _pomotis_ in the eastern states--all belonging to the perch family. _hypodelus_ and _noturus_, belonging to the siluridæ. _thaleichthys_, one of the salmonidæ peculiar to the columbia river. _moxostoma_, _pimephales_, _hyborhynchus_, _rhinichthys_, in the eastern states; _ericymba_, _exoglossum_, _leucosomus_, and _carpiodes_, more widely distributed; _cochlognathus_, in texas; _mylaphorodon_ and _orthodon_, in california; _meda_, in the river gila; and _acrochilus_, in the columbia river--all belonging to the cyprinidæ. _scaphirhynchus_, found only in the mississippi and its tributaries, belongs to the sturgeon family (accipenseridæ). _summary of nearctic vertebrata._--the nearctic region possesses peculiar genera of mammalia, of birds, of reptiles, and of fresh-water fishes, making in all. of these are mammals and land-birds, out of a total of { }genera of these groups, a proportion of about two-sevenths. this is the smallest proportion of peculiar genera we have found in any of the regions; but many of the genera are of such isolated and exceptional forms that they constitute separate families, so that we have no less than families of vertebrata confined to the region. the palæarctic region has only peculiar families, and even the oriental region only ; so that, judged by this test, the nearctic region is remarkably well characterized. we must also remember that, owing to the migration of many of its peculiar forms during the glacial period, it has recently lost some of its speciality; and we should therefore give some weight to the many characteristic groups it possesses, which, though not quite peculiar to it, form important features in its fauna, and help to separate it from the other regions with which it has been thought to be closely allied. it is thus well distinguished from the palæarctic region by its procyonidæ, or racoons, _hesperomys_, or vesper mice, and _didelphys_, or opossums, among mammalia; by its vireonidæ, or greenlets, mniotiltidæ, or wood-warblers, icteridæ, or hang-nests, tyrannidæ, or tyrant shrikes, and trochilidæ, or humming-birds, among birds, families which, extending to its extreme northern limits must be held to be as truly characteristic of it as of the neotropical region; by its teidæ, iguanidæ, and _cinosternum_, among reptiles; and by its siluridæ, and lepidosteidæ, among fishes. from the neotropical region it is still more clearly separated, by its numerous insectivora; by its bears; its old world forms of ruminants; its beaver; its numerous _arvicolæ_, or voles; its _sciuropterus_, or flying squirrels; _tamias_, or ground-squirrels; and _lagomys_, or marmots, among mammals; its numerous paridæ, or tits, and tetraonidæ, or grouse, among birds; its trionychidæ among reptiles; its proteidæ, and salamandridæ, among amphibia; and its gasterosteidæ, atherinidæ, esocidæ, umbridæ, accipenseridæ, and polydontidæ, among fishes. these characteristic features, taken in conjunction with the absolutely peculiar groups before enumerated, demonstrate that the nearctic region cannot with propriety be combined with { }any other. though not very rich, and having many disadvantages of climate and of physical condition, it is yet sufficiently well characterized in its zoological features to rank as one of the well-marked primary divisions of the earth's surface. there is one other consideration bearing on this question which should not be lost sight of. in establishing our regions we have depended wholly upon their _now_ possessing a sufficient number and variety of animal forms, and a fair proportion of peculiar types; but when the validity of our conclusion on these grounds is disputed, we may supplement the evidence by an appeal to the past history of the region in question. in this case we find a remarkable support to our views. during the whole tertiary period, north america was, zoologically, far more strongly contrasted with south america than it is now; while, during the same long series of ages, it was always clearly separated from the eastern hemisphere or the palæarctic region by the exclusive possession of important families and numerous genera of mammalia, as shown by our summary of its extinct fauna in chapter vii. not only may we claim north america as now forming one of the great zoological regions, but as having continued to be one ever since the eocene period. _insects._ in describing the palæarctic and neotropical regions, many of the peculiarities of the insect-fauna of this region have been incidentally referred to; and as a tolerably full account of the distribution of the several families is given in the fourth part of our work (chapter xxi.), we shall treat the subject very briefly here. _lepidoptera._--the butterflies of the nearctic region have lately been studied with much assiduity, and we are now able to form some idea of their nature and extent. nearly species belonging to about genera have been described; showing that the region, which a few years ago was thought to be very poor in species of butterflies, is really much richer than europe, and probably about as rich as the more extensive palæarctic region. there is, however, very little speciality in the { }forms. a considerable number of neotropical types enter the southern states; but there are hardly any peculiar genera, except one of the lycænidæ and perhaps a few among the hesperidæ, the most conspicuous feature of the region is its fine group of papilios, belonging to types (_p. turnus_ and _p. troilus_) which are characteristically nearctic. it is also as rich as the palæarctic region in some genera which we are accustomed to consider as pre-eminently european; such as _argynnis_, _melitæa_, _grapta_, _chionabas_, and a few others. still, we must acknowledge, that if we formed our conclusions from the butterflies alone, we could hardly separate the nearctic from the palæarctic region. this identity probably dates from the miocene period; for when our existing arctic regions supported a luxuriant vegetation, butterflies would have been plentiful; and as the cold came on, these would move southwards both in america and europe, and, owing to the long continuance of the generic types of insects, would remain little modified till now. _coleoptera._--only a few indications can be given of the peculiarities of the nearctic coleoptera. in cicindelidæ the region possesses, besides the cosmopolite _cicindela_, four other genera, two of which--_amblychile_ and _omus_--are peculiar to the west coast and the rocky mountains. of carabidæ it possesses _dicælus_, _pasimachus_, _eurytrichus_, _sphæroderus_, _pinacodera_, and a number of smaller genera, altogether peculiar to it; _helluomorpha_, _galerita_, _callida_, and _tetragonoderus_, in common with south america; and a large number of characteristic european forms. the lucanidæ are all of european types. the region is poor in cetoniidæ, but has representatives of the south american _euphoria_, as well as of four european genera. of buprestidæ it has the south american _actenodes_; a single species of the ethiopian and eastern _belionota_, in california; and about a dozen other genera of european and wide distribution. among longicorns it possesses fifty-nine peculiar genera, representatives of five neotropical, and thirteen palæarctic genera; as well as many of wider distribution. _prionus_ is the chief representative of the prionidæ; _leptura_ and _crossidius_ of the { }cerambycidæ; _leptostylus_, _liopus_, _graphidurus_, and _tetraopes_, of the lamiidæ, the latter genus being confined to the region. _terrestrial and fluviatile mollusca._ the land-shells of temperate north america almost all belong to the inoperculate or pulmoniferous division; the operculata being represented only by a few species of _helicina_ and _truncatella_, chiefly in the southern states. according to mr. binney's recent "catalogue of the terrestrial air-breathing mollusks of north america," the fauna consists of the following genera:--_glandina_ ( sp.); _macrocyclis_ ( sp.); _zonites_ ( sp.); _vitrina_ ( sp.); _limax_ ( sp.); _arion_ ( sp.); _ariolimax_ ( sp.); _prophysaon_ ( sp.); _binneia_ ( sp.); _hemiphillia_ ( sp.); _patula_ ( sp.); _helix_ ( ); _holospira_ ( sp.); _cylindrella_ ( sp.); _macroceramus_ ( sp.); _bulimulus_ ( sp.); _cionella_ ( sp.); _stenogyra_ ( sp.); _pupa_ ( sp.); _strophia_ ( sp.); _vertigo_ ( sp.); _liguus_ ( sp.); _orthalicus_ ( sp.); _punctum_ ( sp.); _succinea_ ( sp.); _tebennophorus_ ( sp.); _pallifera_ ( sp.); _veronicella_ ( sp.). all the larger genera range over the whole region, but the following have a more restricted distribution; _macrocyclis_ has only one species in the east, the rest being californian or central; _ariolimax_, _prophysaon_, _binneia_, and _hemiphillia_, are confined to the western sub-region. lower california has affinities with mexico, species being peculiar to it, of which two are true _bulimi_, a genus unknown in other parts of the region. the central or rocky mountain sub-region is chiefly characterised by six peculiar species of _patula_. the eastern sub-region is by far the richest, nine-tenths of the whole number of species being found in it. the alleghany mountains form the richest portion of this sub-region, possessing nearly half the total number of species, and at least species found nowhere else. the southern states have also several peculiar species, but they are not so productive as the alleghanies. the canadian sub-region possesses species, of which nearly half are northern forms more or less common to the whole arctic regions, and several of this character have spread southwards all { }over the united states. species of _vitrina_, _zonites_, _pupa_, and _succinea_, are found in greenland; and eastern palæarctic species of _vitrina_, _patula_, and _pupa_ occur in alaska. more than species of shells living in the eastern states, are found fossil in the post-pliocene deposits of the ohio and mississippi. _fresh-water shells._--north america surpasses every other part of the globe in the number and variety of its fresh-water mollusca, both univalve and bivalve. the numbers up to were as follows:--melaniadæ, species; paludinidæ, species; cycladidæ, species; and unionidæ, species. the last family had, however, increased to species in , according to dr. isaac lea, who has made them his special study; but it is probable that many of these are such as would be considered varieties by most conchologists. many of the species of _unio_ are very large, of varied forms, and rich internal colouring, and the group forms a prominent feature of the nearctic fauna. by far the larger proportion of the fresh-water shells inhabit the eastern or alleghany sub-region; and their great development is a powerful argument against any recent extensive submergence beneath the ocean of the lowlands of north america. _the nearctic sub-regions._ the sub-divisions of the nearctic region, although pretty clearly indicated by physical features and peculiarities of climate and vegetation, are by no means so strongly marked out in their zoology as we might expect. the same genera, as a rule, extend over the whole region; while the species of the several sub-regions are in most cases different. even the vast range of the rocky mountains has not been an effectual barrier against this wide dispersal of the same forms of life; and although some important groups are limited by it, these are exceptions to the rule. even now, we find fertile valleys and plateaus of moderate elevation, penetrating the range on either side; and both to the north and south there are passes which can be freely traversed by most animals during the summer. previous to the glacial epoch there was probably a warm period, when every part of the range supported an abundant and varied { }fauna, which, when the cold period arrived, would descend to the lowlands, and people the country to the east, west, and south, with similar forms of life. the first, and most important sub-division we can make, consists of the eastern united states, extending across the mississippi and the more fertile prairies, to about the °th. meridian of west longitude, where the arid and almost desert country commences. southwards, the boundary bends towards the coast, near the line of the brazos or colorado rivers. to the north the limits are undefined; but as a considerable number of species and genera occur in the united states but not in canada, it will be convenient to draw the line somewhere near the boundary of the two countries, except that the district between lakes huron and ontario, and probably nova scotia, may be included in the present sub-region. as far west as the mississippi, this was originally a vast forest country; and it is still well wooded, and clothed with a varied and luxuriant vegetation. the next, or central sub-region, consists of the dry, elevated, and often arid district of the rocky mountains, with its great plateaus, and the barren plains of its eastern slope; extending northwards to near the commencement of the great forests north of the saskatchewan, and southward to the rio grande del norte, the gulf of california, and to cape st. lucas, as shown on our maps. this sub-region is of an essentially desert character, although the higher valleys of the rocky mountains are often well wooded, and in these are found some northern and some western types. the third, or californian sub-region, is small, but very luxuriant, occupying the comparatively narrow strip of country between the sierra nevada and the pacific. to the north it may include vancouver's island and the southern part of british columbia, while to the south it extends to the head of the gulf of california. the fourth division, comprises the remainder of north america; and is a country of pine forests, and of barren wastes towards the arctic ocean. it has fewer peculiar species to characterise it than any other, but it possesses several characteristic arctic { }forms, while many of those peculiar to the south are absent; so that it is a very convenient, if it should not be considered an altogether natural, sub-region. we will now give an outline of the most important zoological features of each of these divisions, taking them in the order in which they are arranged in the fourth part of this work. california comes first, as it has some tropical forms not found elsewhere, and thus forms a transition from the neotropical region. _i. the western or californian sub-region._ this small district possesses a fruitful soil and a highly favourable climate, and is, in proportion to its extent, perhaps the richest portion of the continent, both zoologically and botanically. its winters are far milder than those of the eastern states in corresponding latitudes; and this, perhaps, has enabled it to support several tropical forms which give a special character to its fauna. it is here only, in the whole region, that bats of the families phyllostomidæ and noctilionidæ, and a serpent of the tropical family, pythonidæ, are found, as well as several neotropical forms of birds and reptiles. _mammalia._--the following genera are not found in any other part of the nearctic region. _macrotus_ (phyllostomidæ), one species in california; _antrozous_ (vespertilionidæ), one species on the west coast; _urotrichus_ (talpidæ) one species in british columbia; sub-genus _nesorex_ (soricidæ), one species in oregon; _bassaris_ (procyonidæ), california; _enhydra_ (mustelidæ), pacific coast; _morunga_ (phocidæ), california; _haploodon_ (haploodontidæ) a rat-like animal, allied to the beavers and marmots, and constituting a peculiar family found only in california and british columbia. the following characteristic nearctic forms also extend into this sub-region:--_taxidea_, _procyon_, _didelphys_, _sciuropterus_, _tamias_, _spermophilus_, _dipodomys_, _perognathus_, _jaculus_. _birds._--few genera of birds are quite peculiar to this sub-region, since most of the western forms extend into the central district, yet it has a few. _glaucidium_, a genus of owls, is confined { }(in the nearctic region) to california; _chamæa_, a singular form allied to the wrens, and forming a distinct family, is quite peculiar; _geococcyx_, a neotropical form of cuckoo, extends to california and southern texas. the following genera are very characteristic of the sub-region, and some of them almost confined to it: _myiadestes_ (sylviidæ); _psaltriparus_ (paridæ); _cyanocitta_, _picicorvus_ (corvidæ); _hesperiphona_, _peucæa_, _chondestes_ (fringillidæ); _selasphorus_, _atthis_ (trochilidæ); _columba_, _melopelia_ (columbidæ); _oreortyx_ (tetraonidæ). _reptiles._--the following genera are not found in any other part of the nearctic region: _charina_ (tortricidæ); _lichanotus_ (pythonidæ); _gerrhonotus_ (zonuridæ); _phyllodactylus_ (geckotidæ); _anolius_ and _tropidolepis_ (iguanidæ). _sceloporus_ (iguanidæ) is only found elsewhere in florida. all the larger north american groups of lizards and snakes are also represented here; but in tortoises it is deficient, owing to the absence of lakes and large rivers. _amphibia._--california possesses two genera of salamandridæ, _aneides_ and _heredia_, which do not extend to the other sub-regions. _fresh-water fish._--there are two or three peculiar genera of cyprinidæ, but the sub-region is comparatively poor in this group. _plate xviii. illustrative of the zoology of california and the rocky mountains._--we have chosen for the subject of this illustration, the peculiar birds of the western mountains. the two birds in the foreground are a species of grouse (_pediocætes columbianus_), entirely confined to this sub-region; while the only other species of the genus is found in the prairies north and west of wisconsin, so that the group is peculiar to northern and western america. the crested birds in the middle of the picture (_oreortyx picta_), are partridges, belonging to the american sub-family odontophorinæ. this is the only species of the genus which is confined to california and oregon. the bird at the top is the blue crow (_gymnokitta cyanocephala_), confined to the rocky mountains and sierra nevada from new mexico and arizona northwards, and more properly belonging to the central sub-region. it is allied to the european nutcracker; but according to the american ornithologist, dr. coues, has also resemblances to the jays, and certainly forms a distinct genus. the grizzly bear (_ursus ferox_) in the background, is one of the characteristic animals of the californian highlands. plate xviii. [illustration] scene in california, with some characteristic birds. { }_ii. the central, or rocky mountain sub-region._ this extensive district is, for the greater part of its extent, from , to , feet above the sea, and is excessively arid; and, except in the immediate vicinity of streams and on some of the higher slopes of the mountains, is almost wholly treeless. its zoology is therefore peculiar. many of the most characteristic genera and families of the eastern states are absent; while a number of curious desert and alpine forms give it a character of its own, and render it very interesting to the naturalist. _mammalia._--the remarkable prong-horned antelope (_antilocapra_), the mountain goat (_aplocerus_), the mountain sheep or bighorn (_ovis montana_), and the prairie-dog (_cynomys_), one of the rodentia, are peculiar to this sub-region; while the family of the saccomyidæ, or pouched rats, is represented by many forms and is very characteristic. here is also the chief home of the bison. the glutton (_gulo_) and marmot (_lagomys_) enter it from the north; while it has the racoon (_procyon_), flying squirrel (_sciuropterus_), ground squirrel (_tamias_), pouched marmot (_spermophilus_) and jumping mouse (_jaculus_) in common with the countries east or west of it. _plate xix. illustrative of the zoology of the central plains or prairies._--we here introduce four of the most characteristic mammalia of the great american plains or prairies, three of them being types confined to north america. the graceful animals on the left are the prong-horned antelopes (_antilocapra americana_), whose small horns, though hollow like those of the antelopes, are shed annually like those of the deer. to the right we have the prairie-dogs of the trappers (_cynomys ludovicianus_) which, as will be easily seen, are rodents, and allied to the marmots of the european alps. their burrows are numerous on the prairies, and the manner in which they perch { }themselves on little mounds and gaze on intruders, is noticed by all travellers. on the left, in the foreground, is one of the extraordinary pouched rats of america (_geomys bursarius_). these are burrowing animals, feeding on roots; and the mouth is, as it were, double, the outer portion very wide and hairy, behind which is the small inner mouth. its use may be to keep out the earth from the mouth while the animal is gnawing roots. a mouth so constructed is found in no other animals but in these north american rats. in the distance is a herd of bisons (_bison americanus_), the typical beast of the prairies. _birds._--this sub-region has many peculiar forms of birds, both residents, and migrants from the south or north. among the peculiar resident species we may probably reckon a dipper, (_cinclus_); _salpinctes_, one of the wrens; _poospiza_, _calamospiza_, genera of finches; _picicorvus_, _gymnokitta_, genera of the crow family; _centrocercus_ and _pediocætes_, genera of grouse. as winter migrants from the north it has _leucosticte_ and _plectrophanes_, genera of finches; _perisoreus_, a genus of the crow family; _picoides_, the arctic woodpecker; and _lagopus_, ptarmigan. its summer migrants, many of which may be resident in the warmer districts, are more numerous. such are, _oreoscoptes_, a genus of thrushes; _campylorhynchus_ and _catherpes_, wrens; _paroides_, one of the tits; _phænopepla_, allied to the waxwing; _embernagra_ and _spermophila_, genera of finches; _pyrocephalus_, one of the tyrant shrikes; _callipepla_ and _cyrtonyx_, american partridges. besides these, the more widely spread genera, _harporhynchus_, _lophophanes_, _carpodacus_, _spizella_, and _cyanocitta_, are characteristic of the central district, and two genera of humming-birds--_atthis_ and _selasphorus_--only occur here and in california. prof. baird notes genera of birds which are represented by distinct allied species in the western, central, and eastern divisions of the united states, corresponding to our sub-regions. plate xix. [illustration] the american prairies, with characteristic mammalia. { }it is a curious fact that the birds of this sub-region should extend across the gulf of california, and that cape st. lucas, at the southern extremity of the peninsula, should be decidedly more "central" than "californian" in its ornithology. prof. baird says, that its fauna is almost identical with that of the gila river, and has hardly any relation to that of upper california. it possesses a considerable number (about twenty) of peculiar species of birds, but all belong to genera characteristic of the present sub-region; and there is no resemblance to the birds of mazatlan, just across the gulf in the neotropical region. _reptiles, amphibia, and fishes._--a large number of snakes and lizards inhabit this sub-region, but they have not yet been classified with sufficient precision to enable us to make much use of them. among lizards, iguanidæ, geckotidæ, scincidæ, and zonuridæ, appear to be numerous; and many new genera of doubtful value have been described. among snakes, calamariidæ, colubridæ, and crotalidæ are represented. among amphibia, _siredon_, one of the proteidæ, is peculiar. the rivers and lakes of the great central basin, and the colorado river, contain many peculiar forms of cyprinidæ. _iii. the eastern or alleghany sub-region._ this sub-region contains examples of all that is most characteristic of nearctic zoology. it is for the most part an undulating or mountainous forest-clad country, with a warm or temperate climate, but somewhat extreme in character, and everywhere abounding in animal and vegetable life. to the west, across the mississippi, the country becomes more open, gradually rises, becomes much drier, and at length merges into the arid plains of the central sub-region. to the south, in georgia, florida, and louisiana, a sub-tropical climate prevails, and winter is almost unknown. to the north, in michigan and new england, the winters are very severe, and streams and lakes are frozen for months together. these different climates, however, produce little effect on the forms of animal life; the species to some extent change as we go from north to south, but the same types everywhere prevail. this portion of the united states, having been longest inhabited by europeans, has been more thoroughly explored than other parts of north america; and to this more complete knowledge its superior zoological richness { }may be to some extent due; but there can be little doubt that it is also positively, and not merely relatively, more productive in varied forms of animal life than either of the other sub-regions. _mammalia._--there seems to be only one genus absolutely peculiar to this sub-region--the very remarkable _condylura_, or star-nosed mole, only found from pennsylvania to nova scotia, and as far as about ° west longitude. it also has opossums (_didelphys_) in common with california, and three out of four species of _scalops_, a genus of moles; as well as the skunk (_mephitis_), american badger (_taxidea_), racoon (_procyon_), pouched rat (_geomys_), beaver rat (_fiber_), jumping mouse (_jaculus_), tree porcupine (_erethizon_), and other characteristic nearctic forms. _birds._--the birds of this sub-region have been carefully studied by american naturalists, and many interesting facts ascertained as to their distribution and migrations. about species of birds are peculiar to the east coast of the united states, but only about of these are residents all the year round in any part of it; the bird population being essentially a migratory one, coming from the north in winter and the south in summer. the largest number of species seems to be congregated in the district of the alleghany mountains. a considerable proportion of the passerine birds winter in central america and the west indian islands, and go to the middle states or canada to breed; so that even the luxuriant southern states do not possess many birds which may be called permanent residents. thus, in east pennsylvania there are only , and in the district of columbia species, found all the year round, out of about which breed in these localities; very much below the number which permanently reside in great britain. this sub-region is well characterised by its almost exclusive possession of _ectopistes_, the celebrated passenger pigeon, whose enormous flocks and breeding places have been so often described; and _cupidonia_, a remarkable genus of grouse. the only nearctic parrot, _conurus carolinensis_, is found in the southern states; as well as _crotophaga_, a south american genus usually associated with the cuckoos. _helmintherus_ and { }_oporornis_, genera of wood-warblers, may be considered to be peculiar to this sub-region, since in each case only one of the two species migrates as far as central america; while two other genera of the same family, _siurus_ and _setophaga_, as well as the finch genus, _euspiza_, do not extend to either of the western sub-regions. _parus_, a genus of tits, comes into the district from the north; _otocorys_, an alpine lark, and _coturniculus_, an american finch, from the west; and such characteristic nearctic genera as _antrostomus_ (the whip-poor-will goatsuckers); _helminthophaga_, _dendræca_, and _myiodioctes_ (wood-warblers); _vireo_ (greenlets); _dolichonyx_ (rice-bird); _quiscalus_ (troupial); _meleagris_ (turkey); and _ortyx_ (american partridge), are wide-spread and abundant. in mr. j. a. allen's elaborate and interesting paper on the birds of eastern north america, he enumerates species which breed only in the more temperate portions of this province, and may therefore be considered to be especially characteristic of it. these belong to the following genera:--_turdus_, _galeoscoptes_, _harporhynchus_, _sialia_, _dendræca_, _wilsonia_, _pyranga_, _vireo_, _lanivireo_, _lophophanes_, _coturniculus_, _ammodromus_, _spizella_, _euspiza_, _hedymeles_, _cyanospiza_, _pipilo_, _cardinalis_, _icterus_, _corvus_, _centurus_, _melanerpes_, _antrostomus_, _coccyzus_, _ortyx_, and _cupidonia_. _reptiles._--in this class the eastern states are rich, possessing many peculiar forms not found in other parts of the region. among snakes it has the genera _farancia_ and _dimodes_ belonging to the fresh-water snakes (homalopsidæ); the south american genus _elaps_; and genera of rattlesnakes, _cenchris_, _crotalophorus_, and _crotalus_. the following genera of snakes are said to occur in the state of new york:--_coluber_, _tropidonotus_, _leptophis_, _calamaria_, _heterodon_, _trigonocephalus_, _crotalus_, _psammophis_, _helicops_, _rhinostoma_, _pituophis_, and _elaps_. among lizards, _chirotes_, forming a peculiar family of amphisbenians, inhabits missouri and mexico; while the remarkable glass-snake, _ophisaurus_, belonging to the family zonuridæ, is peculiar to the southern states; and the south american _sphærodactylus_, one of the gecko family, reaches florida. other genera which extend as far north as the state of new { }york are, _scincus_, _tropidolepis_, _plestiodon_, _lygosoma_, _ameiva_, and _phrynosoma_. tortoises, especially the fresh-water kind, are very abundant; and the genera _aromochelys_, _chelydra_, _terrapene_, and _trionyx_, are nearly, if not quite, confined to this division of the region. _amphibia._--almost all the remarkable forms of urodela, or tailed batrachians, peculiar to the region are found here only; such as _siren_ and _pseudobranchus_, constituting the family sirenidæ; _menobranchus_, allied to the _proteus_ of europe; _amphiuma_, an eel-like creature with four rudimentary feet, constituting the family amphiumidæ; _notopthalmus_, _desmognathus_, and _menopoma_, belonging to the salamandridæ; together with several other genera of wider range. of anura, or tail-less batrachians, there are no peculiar genera, but the neotropical genus of toads, _engystoma_, extends as far as south carolina. _fishes._--owing to its possession of the mississippi and the great lakes, almost all the peculiar forms of north american fishes are confined to this sub-region. such are _perca_, _pileoma_, _huro_, _bryttus_, and _pomotis_ (percidæ); the families aphredoderidæ and percopsidæ; several genera of cyprinodontidæ and cyprinidæ; and the family polydontidæ. _islands of the alleghany sub-region._ _the bermudas._--these islands, situated in the atlantic, about miles from the coast of carolina, are chiefly interesting for the proof they afford of the power of a great variety of birds to cross so wide an extent of ocean. there are only or species of birds which are permanent residents on the islands, all common north american species; while no less than species have been recorded as visiting them. most of these are stragglers, many only noticed once; others appear frequently and in great numbers, but very few, perhaps not a dozen, come every year, and can be considered regular migrants. the permanent residents are, a greenlet (_vireo noveboracensis)_, the catbird (_galeoscoptes carolinensis_), the blue bird (_sialia sialis_), the cardinal (_cardinalis virginianus_), the american crow (_corvus { }americanus_), and the ground dove (_chamæpelia passerina_). the most regular visitants are a kingfisher (_ceryle alcyon_), the wood-wagtail (_siurus noveboracensis_), the rice-bird (_dolichonyx oryzivorus_), and a moorhen (_gallinula galeata_). besides the american species, four european birds have been taken at the bermudas: _saxicola oenanthe_, _alauda arvensis_ (perhaps introduced), _crex pratensis_, and _scolopax gallinago_. a common american lizard, _plestiodon longirostris_, is the only land reptile found on the islands. _iv. the sub-arctic or canadian sub-region._ this sub-region serves to connect together the other three, since they all merge gradually into it; while to the north it passes into the circumpolar zone which is common to the palæarctic and nearctic regions. the greater portion of it is an extensive forest-district, mostly of coniferæ; and where these cease towards the north, barren wastes extend to the polar ocean. it possesses several northern or arctic forms of mammalia, such as the glutton, lemming, reindeer, and elk, which barely enter the more southern sub-regions; as well as the polar bear and arctic fox; but it also has some peculiar forms, and many of the most characteristic nearctic types. the remarkable musk-sheep (_ovibos_) is confined to this sub-region, ranging over a considerable extent of country north of the forests, as well as greenland. it has been extinct in europe and asia since the post-pliocene epoch. such purely nearctic genera as _procyon_, _latax_, _erethizon_, _jaculus_, _fiber_, _thomomys_, and _hesperomys_, abound, many of them ranging to the shores of hudson's bay and the barren wastes of northern labrador. others, such as _blarina_, _condylura_, and _mephitis_, are found only in nova scotia and various parts of canada. about species of mammalia seem to be peculiar to this sub-region. _plate xx. illustrating the zoology of canada._--we have here a group of mammalia characteristic of canada and the colder parts of the united states. conspicuous in the foreground is the skunk (_mephitis mephitica_), belonging to a genus of the weasel family found only in america. this animal is { }celebrated for its power of ejecting a terribly offensive liquid, the odour of which is almost intolerable. the skunks are nocturnal animals, and are generally marked, as in the species represented, with conspicuous bands and patches of white. this enables them to be easily seen at night, and thus serves to warn larger animals not to attack them. to the left is the curious little jumping mouse (_jaculus hudsonius_), the american representative of the palæarctic jerboa. climbing up a tree on the left is the tree porcupine (_erethizon dorsatus_), belonging to the family cercolabidæ, which represents, on the american continent, the porcupines of the old world. in the background is the elk or moose (_alces americanus_), perhaps identical with the european elk, and the most striking inhabitant of the northern forests of america, as the bison is of the prairies. _birds._--although the canadian sub-region possesses very few resident birds, the numbers which breed in it are perhaps greater than in the other sub-regions, because a large number of circumpolar species are found here exclusively. from a comparison of mr. allen's tables it appears, that more than species are regular migrants to canada in the breeding season, and nearly half of these are land-birds. among them are to be found a considerable number of genera of the american families tyrannidæ and mniotiltidæ, as well as the american genera _sialia_, _progne_, _vireo_, _cistothorus_, _junco_, _pipilo_, _zonotrichia_, _spizella_, _melospiza_, _molothrus_, _agelæus_, _cyanura_, _sphyrapicus_, and many others; so that the ornithology of these northern regions is still mainly nearctic in character. besides these, it has such specially northern forms as _surnia_ (strigidæ); _picoides_ (picidæ); _pinicola_ (fringillidæ); as well as _leucosticte_, _plectrophanes_, _perisoreus_, and _lagopus_, which extend further south, especially in the middle sub-region. no less than species of birds have been collected in the new united states territory of alaska (formerly russian america), where a humming-bird (_selasphorus rufus_) breeds. the great majority of these are typically american, including such forms as _colaptes_, _helminthophaga_, _siurus_, _dendræca_, _myiodioctes_, _passerculus_, _zonotrichia_, _junco_, _spizella_, _melospizpa_, _passerella_, _scoleophagas_, _pediocetes_, and _bonasa_; together with many northern birds common to both continents. yet a few palæarctic forms, not known in other parts of the sub-region, appear here. these are _budytes flava_, _phylloscopus kennicottii_, and _pyrrhula coccinea_, all belonging to genera not occurring elsewhere in north america. considering the proximity of the district to north-east asia, and the high probability that there was an actual land connection at, and south of, behring's straits, in late tertiary times, it is somewhat remarkable that the admixture of palæarctic and nearctic groups is not greater than it is. the palæarctic element, however, forms so small apportion of the whole fauna, that it may be satisfactorily accounted for by the establishment of immigrants since the glacial period. the great interest felt by ornithologists in the discovery of the three genera above-named, with a wren allied to a european species, is an indication that the faunas even of the northern parts of the nearctic and palæarctic regions are, as regards birds, radically distinct. it may be mentioned that the birds of the aleutian isles are also, so far as known, almost wholly nearctic. the number of land-birds known from alaska is ; and from the aleutian isles species, all of which, except one, are north american. plate xx. [illustration] a canadian forest, with characteristic mammalia. { }_reptiles._--these are comparatively few and unimportant. there are however five snakes and three tortoises which are limited to canada proper; while further north there are only amphibia, represented by frogs and toads, and a salamander of the genus _plethodon_. _fishes._--most of the groups of fresh-water fish of the nearctic region are represented here, especially those of the perch, salmon, and pike families; but there seem to be few or no peculiar genera. _insects._--these are far less numerous than in the more temperate districts, but are still tolerably abundant. in canada there are species of butterflies, viz., papilionidæ, ; pieridæ, ; nymphalidæ, ; satyridæ, ; lycænidæ , and hesperidæ . most of these are, no doubt, found chiefly in the southern parts of canada. that coleoptera are pretty numerous is shown, by more than species having been collected on the { }shores of lake superior; being geodephaga and longicorns. _greenland._--this great arctic island must be considered as belonging to the nearctic region, since of its six land mammals, three are exclusively american (_myodes torquatus_, _lepus glacialis_, and _ovibos moschatus_), while the other three (_vulpes lagopus_, _ursus maritimus_, and _rangifer tarandus_) are circumpolar. only fourteen land-birds are either resident in, or regular migrants to the country; and of these two are european (_haliæetus albicilla_, and _falco peregrinus_), while three are american (_anthus ludovicianus_, _zonotrichia leucophrys_, and _lagopus rupestris_), the rest being arctic species common to both continents. the waders and aquatics ( in number) are nearly equally divided between both continents; but the land-birds which visit greenland as stragglers are mostly american. yet although the nearctic element somewhat preponderates, greenland really belongs to that circumpolar debateable land, which is common to the two north temperate regions. _concluding remarks._--we have already discussed pretty fully, though somewhat incidentally, the status and relations of the nearctic region; first in our chapter on zoological regions, then in our review of extinct faunas, and lastly in the earlier part of this chapter. it will not therefore be necessary to go further into the question here; but we shall, in our next chapter, give a brief summary of the general conclusions we have reached as to the past history and mutual zoological relations of all the great divisions of the earth. { }tables of distribution. in drawing up these tables, showing the distribution of various classes of animals in the nearctic region, the following sources of information have been chiefly relied on, in addition to the general treatises, monographs, and catalogues used in the compilation of the th part of this work. _mammalia._--professor baird's catalogue; allen's list of the bats; mr. lord's list for british columbia; brown, for greenland; packard for labrador. _birds._--baird, cassin, and allen's lists for united states; richardson's fauna boreali americana; jones, for bermudas; and papers by brown, coues, lord, packard, dall, and professor newton. { }table i. _families of animals inhabiting the nearctic region._ explanation. names in _italics_ show the families which are peculiar to the region. names inclosed thus (......) show families which barely enter the region, and are not considered properly to belong to it. numbers correspond to the series of numbers to the families in part iv. ---------------------+-------------------+------------------------------- | sub-regions | | =california. | order and family | =rocky mntns. | range beyond the region. | =alleghanies. | | =canada. | ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- | . | . | . | . | ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- | | | | | mammalia. | | | | | chiroptera. | | | | | . phyllostomidæ | -- | | | | neotropical . vespertilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . noctilionidæ | -- | | | | tropical regions | | | | | insectivora. | | | | | . talpidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | palæarctic . soricidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | the eastern hemisphere, excl. | | | | | australia | | | | | carnivora. | | | | | . felidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but the australian . canidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but the australian . mustelidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but the australian . procyonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | neotropical . ursidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | palæarctic, oriental . otariidæ | -- | | | -- | n. and s. temperate zones . trichechidæ | | | | -- | arctic regions . phocidæ | -- | | | -- | n. and s. temperate zones | | | | | cetacea. | | | | | to . | | | | | oceanic | | | | | ungulata. | | | | | . suidæ | | | -- | | all other continents but | | | | | australia . cervidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but ethiopian and | | | | | australian . bovidæ | -- | -- | | -- |palæarctic, ethiopian, oriental | | | | | rodentia. | | | | | . muridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . dipodidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | palæarctic, ethiopian . _saccomyidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | -- | mexican sub-region . castoridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | palæarctic . sciuridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but australian . _haploodontidæ_ | -- | | | | . cercolabidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | neotropical . lagomyidæ | | -- | | -- | palæarctic . leporidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but australian | | | | | marsupialia. | | | | | . didelphyidæ | -- | | -- | | neotropical | | | | | birds. | | | | | passeres. | | | | | . turdidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . sylviidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . cinclidæ | | -- | | -- | palæarctic, oriental, andes . troglodytidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but australian . _chamæidæ_ | -- | | | | . certhiidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | palæarctic, oriental, | | | | | australian . sittidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | palæarctic, oriental, | | | | | australian . paridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | the eastern hemisphere . laniidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | the eastern hemisphere . corvidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . (coerebidæ) | | | -- | | neotropical family . mniotiltidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | neotropical . vireonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | neotropical . ampelidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |palæarctic, antilles, guatemala . hirundinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . icteridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | neotropical . tanagridæ | | -- | -- | | neotropical . fringillidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but australian . alaudidæ | | -- | -- | -- | all regions but neotropical . motacillidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . tyrannidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | neotropical | | | | | picariÆ. | | | | | . picidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but australian . cuculidæ | -- | -- | -- | | almost cosmopolite . alcedinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . caprimulgidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . cypselidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . trochilidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | neotropical | | | | | psittaci. | | | | | . conuridæ | | | -- | | neotropical | | | | | columbÆ. | | | | | . columbidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite | | | | | gallinÆ. | | | | | . tetraonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . phasianidæ | | -- | -- | | palæarctic, oriental, | | | | | ethiopian, honduras . (cracidæ) | | -- | | | neotropical | | | | | accipitres. | | | | | . vulturidæ | -- | -- | -- | | all regions but australian . falconidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . pandionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . strigidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite | | | | | grallÆ. | | | | | . rallidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . scolopacidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . charadriidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . gruidæ | -- | -- | -- | | all regions but neotropical . ardeidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . plataleidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . ciconiidæ | | | -- | | all the regions | | | | | anseres. | | | | | . anatidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . laridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . procellariidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . pelecanidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . colymbidæ | | | | -- | north temperate and arctic | | | | | zones . podicipidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . alcidæ | -- | | | -- | north temperate and arctic | | | | | zones | | | | | reptilia. | | | | | ophidia. | | | | | . calamariidæ | -- | -- | -- | | all the regions . oligodontidæ | | | -- | | neotropical, oriental, japan . colubridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite . homalopsidæ | | | -- | | all the regions . pythonidæ | -- | | | | all tropical regions . elapidæ | | | -- | | all tropical regions, japan . crotalidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | neotropical, palæarctic, | | | | | oriental | | | | | lacertilia. | | | | | . _chirotidæ_ | | -- | -- | | mexico . teidæ | -- | -- | -- | | neotropical . zonuridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but australian . chalcidæ | | | -- | | neotropical . scincidæ | -- | -- | -- | | almost cosmopolite . geckotidæ | -- | -- | -- | | almost cosmopolite . iguanidæ | -- | -- | -- | | neotropical | | | | | crocodilia. | | | | | . alligatoridæ | | | -- | | neotropical | | | | | chelonia. | | | | | . testudinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all continents but australian . trionychidæ | | | -- | | ethiopian, oriental, japan . cheloniidæ | | | | | marine | | | | | amphibia. | | | | | urodela. | | | | | . _sirenidæ_ | | | -- | | . proteidæ | | | -- | | palæarctic . _amphiumidæ_ | | | -- | | . menopomidæ | | | -- | | palæarctic . salamandridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | andes, palæarctic | | | | | anoura. | | | | | . bufonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all continents but australia . engystomidæ | | | -- | | all regions but nearctic . alytidæ | -- | -- | -- | | all regions but oriental . hylidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but ethiopian . polypedatidæ | | | -- | | all the regions . ranidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | almost cosmopolite | | | | | fishes (freshwater). | | | | | acanthopterygii. | | | | | . gasterosteidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | palæarctic . percidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . _aphredoderidæ_ | | | -- | | . scienidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all regions but australian . atherinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | palæarctic | | | | | physostomi. | | | | | . siluridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all warm regions . salmonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | palæarctic, new zealand . _percopsidæ_ | | | | -- | . esocidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | palæarctic . umbridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | palæarctic . cyprinodontidæ | -- | -- | -- | | all regions but australian . _heteropygii_ | | | -- | | . cyprinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | not in s. america or australia . _hyodontidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | -- | | | | | | ganoidei. | | | | | . _amiidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | -- | . _lepidosteidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | -- | . accipenseridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | palæarctic . polydontidæ | | | -- | | palæarctic | | | | | insects. | | | | | lepidoptera (part) | | | | | diurni (butterflies).| | | | | . danaidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | all warm regions . satyridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . (heliconidæ) | | | -- | | neotropical . nymphalidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . libytheidæ | | -- | -- | | not in australia . erycinidæ | -- | -- | -- | | neotropical . lycænidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . pieridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . papilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . hesperidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite | | | | | sphingidea. | | | | | . zygænidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite . castniidæ | | | -- | | neotropical, australian . Ægeriidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | not in australia . sphingidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- | cosmopolite { }table ii. _list of genera of terrestrial mammalia and birds inhabiting the nearctic region._ explanation. names in _italics_ show genera peculiar to the region. names enclosed thus (...) indicate genera which barely enter the region, and are not considered properly to belong to it. genera properly belonging to the region are numbered consecutively. _mammalia._ -------------------+-------+----------------------+---------------------- order, family, and | no. of| range within | range beyond genus. |species| the region. | the region. -------------------+-------+----------------------+---------------------- | | | chiroptera. | | | phyllostomidÆ. | | | . macrotus | | california mexico, | | | antilles | | | | vespertilionidÆ. | | | . scotophilus | | universal, to hudson's| neotr., orient., | | bay | austral. . vespertilio | | universal, to hudson's| cosmopolite. | | bay | . nycticejus | | south and east | india, tropical | | | africa, temperate | | | s. america . lasiurus | | temp. n. amer. to | tropical america | | nova scotia | . _synotus_ | |s. e. and central states . _autrozous_ | | w. coast | | | | noctilionidÆ. | | | . nyctinomus | | cal. and s. central |neotropical, oriental, | | sub-region | s. palæarctic | | | insectivora. | | | talpidÆ. | | | . _condylura_ | | eastern n. america | . _scapanus_ | | new york to san | | | francisco | . _scalops_ | | s. of great lakes & | | | brit. columb. | . urotrichus | | british columbia | japan | | | soricidÆ. | | | . sorex | | the whole region | palæarc., ethiop., | | | orien. . neosorex | | vancouver's island | | | (a sub-genus) | . blarina | | canada to mexico | | | (a sub-genus) | | | | carnivora. | | | felidÆ. | | | . felis | | s. of ° n. latitude | all regs. but | | | australian . lynx | | s. of ° n. latitude | palæarctic | | | canidÆ. | | | . lupus | | all n. america | palæarctic, oriental . vulpes | | n. america to arctic | palæarc., ethiop., | | ocean and greenland | orient. | | | mustelidÆ. | | | . martes | | pennsylvania to | palæarctic, oriental | | paget's sound | . mustela | | all n. america | peru, palæarctic, | | | ethiopian, oriental . gulo | | rocky mountains and | n. palæarctic | | canada | . _latax_ | | united states and | | | canada | . enhydris | | pacific coast |w. coast of s. america . _taxidea_ | |arkansas to ° n. lat.| . mephitis | | united states and | neotropical | | canada | | | | procyonidÆ. | | | . procyon | | texas to canada, | neotropical | | california | . bassaris | | california and texas | guatemala and mexico | | | ursidÆ. | | | . ursus | | n. america and | palæarctic, oriental | | greenland | | | | otariidÆ. | | | . callorhinus | | behring's straits | kamschatka . zalophus | | s. california to | japan | | n. pacific | _eumetopias_ | | california to | | | behring's straits | | | | trichechidÆ. | | | . trichechus | | arctic ocean to ° n.| palæarctic | | lat. in n. america | phocidÆ. | | | . callocephalus | | greenland | palæarctic . pagomys | | n. atlantic and | japan | | n. pacific | . pagophilus | | n. atlantic and | palæarctic | | n. pacific | . _halicyon_ | | n. w. coast of america| . phoca | | northern coast | palæarctic . halichoerus | | greenland | palæarctic . morunga | | california | s. temperate shores . cystophora | | greenland | n. atlantic | | | ungulata. | | | suidÆ. | | | . dicotyles | | texas to red river, | neotropical | | arkansas | | | | cervidÆ. | | | . alces | | n. e. united states & | n. palæarctic | | canada | . rangifer | | maine to arctic ocean | arctic zone | | & greenl. | . cervus | | n. america to ° n. | neotr., palæarc., | | lat. | orien. | | | bovidÆ. | | | . bison | | between missouri & | e. europe | | rocky mtns. | . _antilocapra_ | | central plains from | | | rio grande to | | | british columbia | . _aplocerus_ | | northern rocky | | | mountains | . capra | | upper missouri and | palæarctic | | rocky mountains | | | northwards | . _ovibos_ | | arctic america and | | | greenland | | | | rodentia. | | | muridÆ. | | | . reithrodon | | n. america to lat. | neotropical | | ° n. | . hesperomys | | temperate n. america | neotropical . _neotoma_ | | temperate n. america | . _sigmodon_ | | s. and s. e. states | . arvicola | | texas and california | palæarctic | | to hudson's bay | . myodes | | n. united states to | n. palæarctic | | arctic reg. and | | | greenland | . _fiber_ | | all n. america | mexico | | | dipodidÆ. | | | . _jaculus_ | | pennsylvania to canada| | | and california | | | | saccomyidÆ. | | | . _dipodomys_ | | new mexico to columbia| | | river and carolina | . _perognathus_ | | new mexico to british | | | columbia | . _thomomys_ | | upper missouri to | | | hudson's bay | . _geomys_ | | new mexico to alabama | | | and nebraska | . _saccomys_ | | n. america | | | | castoridÆ. | | | . castor | | n. mexico to labrador | palæarctic | | | sciuridÆ | | | . sciurus | | n. america to labrador| all regs. but | | | australian . sciuropterus | | california & e. states| palæarctic, oriental | | northwds. | . tamias | | mexico and virginia | mexico, n. asia | | to canada | . spermophilus | | n., w., & central | palæarctic | | n. america | . _cynomys_ | | rio grande to missouri| | | (central) | . arctomys | | virginia and nebraska,| n. palæarctic | | northws. | | | | haploodontidÆ. | | | . _haploodon_ | | california and british| | | columbia | | | | cercolabidÆ | | | . _erethizon_ | |pennsylvania to canada,| | | & pacific coast | lagomyidÆ. | | | . lagomys | | rocky mountains, ° | palæarctic | | to ° n. lat. | | | | leporidÆ. | | | . lepus | | all n. america to | all regs. but | | greenland | australian | | | marsupialia. | | | didelphyidÆ. | | | . didelphys | | from hudson's river & | neotropical | | lower california, | | | southward | _birds._ passeres. | | | turdidÆ. | | | . turdus | | the whole region | almost cosmopolite . mimus | | all u. states and to | neotropical | | canada | . galeoscoptes | | e. of n. america | to panama . _oreoscoptes_ | | california and rocky | mexico | | mountains | . _harporhynchus_| | n. america, chiefly | mexico | | the west | | | | sylviidÆ. | | | . myiadestes | | w. of rocky mountains | neotropical | | and to canada | . _sialia_ | | all united states and | mexico and guatemala | | to canada | . regulus | | all united states & | palæarc., cent. | | to labrador | america . polioptila | | central and southern | neotropical | | u. states | | | | cinclidÆ. | | | . cinclus | | rocky mountains and | andes, palæarctic | | british america | | | | troglodytidÆ. | | | . troglodytes | | n. america | neotropical, | | | palæarctic . thryophilus | | n. w. america | neotropical . thryothorus | | all n. america | neotropical . cistothorus | | n. america | neotropical (campylorhynchus| | gila and rio grande) | neotropical genus . _salpinctes_ | | rocky mountains to | | | oregon | . _catherpes_ | | gila and colorado | | | | chamÆidÆ. | | | . _chamæa_ | | california | | | | certhiidÆ. | | | . certhia | | all united states and | palæarctic, guatemala | | canada | | | | sittidÆ. | | | . sitta | | all united states and | palæarctic, mexico | | canada | | | | paridÆ. | | | . parus | | all united states and | palæarc., orien., | | canada | mexico . lophophanes | | all united states | palæarctic, mexico . _psaltriparus_ | | central & western | mexico and guatemala | | n. america | . _auriparus_ | | rio grande valley | | | | laniidÆ. | | | . lanius | | all n. america | palæarc., ethio., | | | orient. | | | corvidÆ. | | | . perisoreus | | canada and rocky | palæarctic | | mountains | . cyanocitta | | all united states and | neotropical | | to canada | . _gymnokitta_ | | central and n. w. | | | states | . _picicorvus_ | | central and western | | | states to sitka | . pica | | central and western | palæarctic | | states to arctic | | | ocean | . corvus | | all n. america | cosmop., excl. | | | s. amer. | | | coerebidÆ. | | | (certhiola | | florida; summer | neotropical genus | | migrant) | | | | mniotiltidÆ. | | | . _mniotilta_ | | eastern states | antilles, andes of | | | columbia (migrant) . parula | | eastern states and | neotropical | | canada | . protonotaria | | ohio and southwards | neotrop. to venezuela ._helminthophaga_| | all n. america | mexico to columbia . _helmintherus_ | | s. and e. states to | mexico to veragua | | canada | . perissoglossa | | eastern united states | antilles . dendroeca | | all n. america | mex. to ecuador & | | | chili . _oporornis_ | | eastern states | guatemala and panama . geothlypis | | all n. america | neotropical . setophaga | | e. states & canadian | neotropical | | sub-region | . _myiodioctes_ | | united states and | mex. to columb. | | canada | (migr.) . siurus | | s. and e. states to | mexico to columbia | | canada | . _icteria_ | | e. and central states | mexico to costa rica | | to canada | | | | vireonidÆ. | | | . vireosylvia | | all n. america |antilles and venezuela . vireo | | all united states | antilles and costa | | | rica | | | ampelidÆ. | | | . ampelis | | all n. america | palæarctic, guatemala . _phænopepla_ | |gila and lower colorado| mexico | | | hirundinidÆ. | | | . hirundo | | all n. america | almost cosmopolite . petrochelidon | | all n. america | neotropical . cotyle | | all n. america | all regs. but | | | australian . stelgidopteryx | | southern states | neotropical . progne | | all n. america | neotropical | | | icteridÆ. | | | . icterus | | all united states and | neotropical | | canada | . dolichonyx | | eastern states and | neotropical | | canada | . molothrus | | all united states and | neotropical | | canada | . agelæus | | all united slates and | neotropical | | canada | ._xanthocephalus_| | the whole region | mexico . sturnella | | all united states and | neotropical | | canada | . _scolecophagus_| | all united states and | mexico | | canada | . quiscalus | | s. and e. states to | mexico to venezuela | | labrador | | | | tanagridÆ. | | | . pyranga | | united stales and | neotropical | | canada | | | | fringillidÆ. | | | . chrysomitris | | the whole region | neotropical, | | | palæarctic . coccothraustes | | w. and n. w. america | palæarctic, guatemala . embernagra | |rocky mountain district| neotropical . _pipilo_ | | all n. america | mexico and guatemala . _junco_ | | all united states | mexico and guatemala . zonotrichia | | the whole region | neotropical . _melospiza_ | | all united states to | mexico and guatemala | | sitka | . _spizella_ | | n. america | mexico and guatemala . _passerella_ | | the whole region | northern asia . _passerculus_ | | the whole region | mexico and guatemala . _pooecetes_ | | all united states | mexico . _ammodromus_ | | all united states | mexico and guatemala . coturniculus | |e. and n. of n. america| neotropical . peucæa | | s. atlantic states and| mexico | | california | . _cyanospiza_ | | all united states to | central american | | canada | . poospiza | | california and s. | neotropical | | central states | . carpodacus | | the whole region | mexico, palæarctic . cardinalis | | s. and s. central | mexico to venezuela | | states | . _pyrrhuloxia_ | | texas and rio grande | . guiraca | | southern states | neotropical . hedymeles | | all united states | mexico to columbia (spermophila | | texas) | neotropical genus . loxia | | n. of pennsylvania | palæarctic . pinicola | | boreal america | palæarctic . linota | | e. and n. of n. | palæarctic | | america | . leucosticte | | alaska to utah | palæarctic . _calamospiza_ | | arizona and texas to | mexico | | mexico | . _chondestes_ | | western, cen., & | mexico | | southern states | . euspiza | | s. eastern states | palæarc., columb. | | | (mig.) . plectrophanes | | boreal america and e. | palæarctic | | side of rocky | | | mountains | . _centronyx_ | | mouth of yellowstone | | | river | | | | alaudidÆ. | | | . otocorys | | high central plains to| palæarc., mexico, | | e. states and canada| andes of columbia | | | motacillidÆ. | | | . anthus | | the whole region | cosmopolite . _neocorys_ | | nebraska | | | | tyrannidÆ. | | | . sayornis | | e. states to canada, | mexico to ecuador | | california | (pyrocephalus | | gila and rio grande) | neotropical . empidonax | | the whole region | mexico to ecuador . contopus | | n. and e. of rocky | mexico to amazonia | | mountains | . myiarchus | | e. and w. coasts and | neotropical | | canada | . _empidias_ | | eastern states | mexico . tyrannus | | all united states to | neotropical | | canada | (milvulus | | texas) | neotropical genus | | | picariÆ. | | | picidÆ. | | | . picoides | | arctic zone and rocky | palæarctic | | mounts. | . picus | | all united states and | all regs. but eth. | | canada | & aus. . _sphyrapicus_ | | brit. columbia and | mexico and guatemala | | pennsylvania | | | southwards | . campephilus | | united states and | neotropical | | canada | . _hylatomus_ | | e. and w. states and | | | canada | . centurus | | the whole region | mexico to venezuela . melanerpes | | united states and | neotropical | | s. canada | . colaptes | | united states and | neotropical | | canada | | | | cuculidÆ. | | | . crotophaga | | e. states from | neotropical | | pennsylvania s. | . coccyzus | | s. e. and cen. states | neotropical | | to canada | . geococcyx | | california to new mex.| guatemala | | & texas | | | | alcedinidÆ. | | | . ceryle | | the whole region, | neotropical s. | | | palæarctic, oriental | | | caprimulgidÆ. | | | . chordeiles | | all united states to | neotropical | | canada | . antrostomus | | all united states to | neotropical | | canada | | | | cypselidÆ. | | | . nephoecetes | | n. w. america jamaica | . chætura | | all u. states & | almost cosmopolite | | british columbia | | | | trochilidÆ. | | | . _trochilus_ | | the whole region | mexico to veragua | | | (? mi.) . selasphorus | | w. coast and centre | mexico to veragua . _atthis_ | | california and | mexico to guatemala | | colorado valley | | | | psittaci. | | | conuridÆ. | | | . conurus | | s. and s. e. states | neotropical | | | columbÆ. | | | columbidÆ. | | | . columba | | w. and central states | all regs. but | | to canada | australian . _ectopistes_ | | e. coast to cen. | | | plains, canada and | | | british columbia | . melopelia | | w. and s. central | neotropical | | states | . zenaidura | | all united states to | mexico to veragua | | canada | . chæmepelia | | california and s. e. | neotropical | | states | | | | gallinÆ. | | | tetraonidÆ. | | | . cyrotonyx | | s. central states | mexico and guatemala . ortyx | | all united states and | mexico to honduras | | to canada | and costa rica . callipepla | | california | mexico . _lophortyx_ | | arizona and california| . _oreortyx_ | | california and oregon | . tetrao | | n. and n. w. america | palæarctic . _centrocercus_ | | rocky mountains | . _pediocætes_ | | n. and n. w. america | . _cupidonia_ | | e. & n. cen. states | | | and canada | . bonasa | | n. united states and | palæarctic | | canada | . lagopus | | arctic zone and to °| palæarctic | | n. lat. in rocky | | | mountains | | | | phasianidÆ. | | | . _meleagris_ | | e. and central states | mexico, honduras | | to canada | cracidÆ. | | | (ortalida | | new mexico) | neotropical genus | | | accipitres. | | | vulturidÆ. | | | _sub-family_ | | | (cathartinÆ.) | | | . catharista | | united states to | neotropical | | ° n. lat. | . psuedogryphis | | united states to | neotropical | | ° n. lat. | | | | falconidÆ. | | | . polyborus | | s. states to florida | neotropical | | & california | . circus | | all n. america | nearly cosmopolite . antenor | | california and texas | neotropical . astur | | all n. america | almost cosmopolite . accipiter | | all temperate | almost cosmopolite | | n. america | . tachytriorchis | | new mexico to | neotropical | | california | . buteo | | all n. america | all regs. but | | | australian . archibuteo | | all n. america n. | palæarctic . asturina | | s. e. states | neotropical . aquila | | the whole region | palæarc., ethiop., | | | indian . haliæetus | | all n. america | all regs. but | | | neotropical . nauclerus | | e. coast to | neotropical | | pennsylvania and | | | wisconsin | (rostrhamus | | florida) | neotropical . elanus | | southern and western | tropical regions | | states | . ictinia | | southern states | neotropical . falco | | the whole region | almost cosmopolite . hierofalco | | n. of n. america | n. palæarctic . cerchneis | | all n. america | almost cosmopolite | | | pandionidÆ. | | | . pandion | | temperate n. | america cosmopolite | | | strigidÆ. | | | . surnia | | arctic & n. temperate | n. palæarctic | | america | . nyctea | | s. carolina to | n. palæarctic | | greenland | . glaucidium | | oregon and california | neotropical, | | | palæarctic . _micrathene_ | | arizona and new mexico| mexico . pholeoptynx | | n. w. america, texas | neotropical . bubo | | all n. america | all regs. but | | | australian . scops | | the whole region | almost cosmopolite . syrnium | | e. states, california,| all regs. but | | canada | australian . asio | | the whole region | all regs. but | | | australian . nyctale | | all n. america | palæarctic . strix | | temperate n. america | almost cosmopolite _peculiar or very characteristic genera of wading and swimming birds._ grallÆ | | | scolopacidÆ. | | | micropelma | | n. america | andes to chili _philohela_ | | eastern states to | | | canada | | | | charadriidÆ. | | | aphriza | | w. coast of america | west of s. america | | | anseres. | | | anatidÆ. | | | aix | | n. america | china bucephala | | n. america | europe oedemia | | n. america | europe harelda | | arctic | arctic seas somateria | | arctic | north palæarctic _camptolæmus_ | | n. e. america | | | (? extinct) | | | | laridÆ. | | | _creagrus_ | | california and | | | n. pacific coasts | { }chapter xvi. summary of the past changes and general relations of the several regions. having now closed our survey of the animal life of the whole earth--a survey which has necessarily been encumbered with a multiplicity of detail--we proceed to summarize the general conclusions at which we have arrived, with regard to the past history and mutual relations of the great regions into which we have divided the land surface of the globe. all the palæontological, no less than the geological and physical evidence, at present available, points to the great land masses of the northern hemisphere as being of immense antiquity, and as the area in which the higher forms of life were developed. in going back through the long series of the tertiary formations, in europe, asia, and north america, we find a continuous succession of vertebrate forms, including all the highest types now existing or that have existed on the earth. these extinct animals comprise ancestors or forerunners of all the chief forms now living in the northern hemisphere; and as we go back farther and farther into the past, we meet with ancestral forms of those types also, which are now either confined to, or specially characteristic of, the land masses of the southern hemisphere. not only do we find that elephants, and rhinoceroses, and hippopotami, were once far more abundant in europe than they are now in the tropics, but we also find that the apes of west africa and malaya, the lemurs of madagascar, the edentata of africa and south america, and the { }marsupials of america and australia, were all represented in europe (and probably also in north america) during the earlier part of the tertiary epoch. these facts, taken in their entirety, lead us to conclude that, during the whole of the tertiary and perhaps during much of the secondary periods, the great land masses of the earth were, as now, situated in the northern hemisphere; and that here alone were developed the successive types of vertebrata from the lowest to the highest. in the southern hemisphere there appear to have been three considerable and very ancient land masses, varying in extent from time to time, but always keeping distinct from each other, and represented, more or less completely, by australia, south africa, and south america of our time. into these flowed successive waves of life, as they each in turn became temporarily united with some part of the northern land. australia appears to have had but one such union, perhaps during the middle or latter part of the secondary epoch, when it received the ancestors of its monotremata and marsupials, which it has since developed into a great variety of forms. the south african and south american lands, on the other hand, appear each to have had several successive unions and separations, allowing first of the influx of low forms only (edentata, insectivora and lemurs); subsequently of rodents and small carnivora, and, latest of all, of the higher types of primates, carnivora and ungulata. during the whole of the tertiary period, at least, the northern hemisphere appears to have been divided, as now, into an eastern and a western continent; always approximating and sometimes united towards the north, and then admitting of much interchange of their respective faunas; but on the whole keeping distinct, and each developing its own special family and generic types, of equally high grade, and generally belonging to the same orders. during the eocene and miocene periods, the distinction of the palæarctic and nearctic regions was better marked than it is now; as is shown by the floras no less than by the faunas of those epochs. dr. newberry, in his report on the cretaceous and tertiary floras of the yellowstone and missouri rivers, states, that although the miocene flora of central north { }america corresponds generally with that of the european miocene, yet many of the tropical, and especially the australian types, such as _hakea_ and _dryandra_, are absent. owing to the recent discovery of a rich cretaceous flora in north america, probably of the same age as that of aix-la-chapelle in europe, we are able to continue the comparison; and it appears, that at this early period the difference was still more marked. the predominant feature of the european cretaceous flora seems to have been the abundance of proteaceæ, of which seven genera now living in australia or the cape of good hope have been recognised, besides others which are extinct. there are also several species of _pandanus_, or screw-pine, now confined to the tropics of the eastern hemisphere, and along with these, oaks, pines, and other more temperate forms. the north american cretaceous flora, although far richer than that of europe, contains no proteaceæ or _pandani_, but immense numbers of forest trees of living and extinct genera. among the former we have oaks, beeches, willows, planes, alders, dog-wood, and cypress; together with such american forms as magnolias, sassafras, and liriodendrons. there are also a few not now found in america, as _araucaria_ and _cinnamomum_, the latter still living in japan. this remarkable flora has been found over a wide extent of country--new jersey, alabama, kansas, and near the sources of the missouri in the latitude of quebec--so that we can hardly impute its peculiarly temperate character to the great elevation of so large an area. the intervening eocene flora approximates closely, in north america, to that of the miocene period; while in europe it seems to have been fully as tropical in character as that of the preceding cretaceous period; fruits of _nipa_, _pandanus_, _anona_, _acacia_, and many proteaceæ, occurring in the london clay at the mouth of the thames. these facts appear, at first sight, to be inconsistent, unless we suppose the climates of europe and north america to have been widely different in these early times; but they may perhaps be harmonised, on the supposition of a more uniform and a somewhat milder climate then prevailing over the whole northern hemisphere; the contrast in the vegetation of these countries { }being due to a radical difference of type, and therefore not indicative of climate. the early european flora seems to have been a portion of that which now exists only in the tropical and sub-tropical lands of the eastern hemisphere; and, as much of this flora still survives in australia, tasmania, japan, and the cape of good hope, it does not necessarily imply more than a warm and equable temperate climate. the early north american flora, on the other hand, seems to have been essentially the same in type as that which now exists there, and which, in the miocene period, was well represented in europe; and it is such as now flourishes best in the warmer parts of the united states. but whatever conclusion we may arrive at on the question of climate, there can be no doubt as to the distinctness of the floras of the ancient nearctic and palæarctic regions; and the view derived from our study of their existing and extinct faunas--that these two regions have, in past times, been more clearly separated than they are now--receives strong support from the unexpected evidence now obtained as to the character and mutations of their vegetable forms, during so vast an epoch as is comprised in the whole duration of the tertiary period. the general phenomena of the distribution of living animals, combined with the evidence of extinct forms, lead us to conclude that the palæarctic region of early tertiary times was, for the most part, situated beyond the tropics, although it probably had a greater southward extension than at the present time. it certainly included much of north africa, and perhaps reached far into what is now the sahara; while a southward extension of its central mass may have included the abyssinian highlands, where some truly palæarctic forms are still found. this is rendered probable by the fossils of perim island a little further east, which show that the characteristic miocene fauna of south europe and north india prevailed so far within the tropics. there existed, however, at the extreme eastern and western limits of the region, two extensive equatorial land-areas, our indo-malayan and west african sub-regions--both of which must have been united for more or less considerable periods with the northern continent. they would then have received { }from it such of the higher vertebrates as were best adapted for the peculiar climatal and organic conditions which everywhere prevail near the equator; and these would be preserved, under variously modified forms, when they had ceased to exist in the less favourable and constantly deteriorating climate of the north. at later epochs, both these equatorial lands became united to some part of the great south african continent (then including madagascar), and we thus have explained many of the similarities presented by the faunas of these distant, and generally very different countries. during the miocene period, when a subtropical climate prevailed over much of europe and central asia, there would be no such marked contrast as now prevails between temperate and tropical zones; and at this time much of our oriental region, perhaps, formed a hardly separable portion of the great palæarctic land. but when, from unknown causes, the climate of europe became less genial, and when the elevation of the himalayan chain and the mongolian plateau caused an abrupt difference of climate on the northern and southern sides of that great mountain barrier, a tropical and a temperate region were necessarily formed; and many of the animals which once roamed over the greater part of the older and more extensive region, now became restricted to its southern or northern divisions respectively. then came the great change we have already described (vol. i. p. ), opening the newly-formed plains of central africa to the incursions of the higher forms of europe; and following on this, a still further deterioration of climate, resulting in that marked contrast between temperate and tropical faunas, which is now one of the most prominent features in the distribution of animal as well as of vegetable forms. it is not necessary to go into any further details here, as we have already, in our discussion of the origin of the fauna of the several regions, pointed out what changes most probably occurred in each case. these details are, however, to a great extent speculative; and they must remain so till we obtain as much knowledge of the extinct faunas and past geological history of the southern lands, as we have of those of europe and north { }america. but the broad conclusions at which we have now arrived seem to rest on a sufficiently extensive basis of facts; and they lead us to a clearer conception of the mutual relations and comparative importance of the several regions than could be obtained at an earlier stage of our inquiries. if our views of the origin of the several regions are correct, it is clear that no mere binary division--into north and south, or into east and west--can be altogether satisfactory, since at the dawn of the tertiary period we still find our six regions, or what may be termed the rudiments of them, already established. the north and south division truly represents the fact, that the great northern continents are the seat and birth-place of all the higher forms of life, while the southern continents have derived the greater part, if not the whole, of their vertebrate fauna from the north; but it implies the erroneous conclusion, that the chief southern lands--australia and south america--are more closely related to each other than to the northern continent. the fact, however, is that the fauna of each has been derived, independently, and perhaps at very different times, from the north, with which they therefore have a true genetic relation; while any intercommunion between themselves has been comparatively recent and superficial, and has in no way modified the great features of animal life in each. the east and west division, represents--according to our views--a more fundamental diversity; since we find the northern continent itself so divided in the earliest eocene, and even in cretaceous times; while we have the strongest proof that south america was peopled from the nearctic, and australia and africa from the palæarctic region: hence, the eastern and western hemispheres are the two great branches of the tree of life of our globe. but this division, taken by itself, would obscure the facts--firstly, of the close relation and parallelism of the nearctic and palæarctic regions, not only now but as far back as we can clearly trace them in the past; and, secondly, of the existing radical diversity of the australian region from the rest of the eastern hemisphere. owing to the much greater extent of the old palæarctic region (including our oriental), and the greater diversity of { }mammalia it appears to have produced, we can have little doubt that here was the earliest seat of the development of the vertebrate type; and probably of the higher forms of insects and land-molluscs. whether the nearctic region ever formed one mass with it, or only received successive immigrations from it by northern land-connections both in an easterly and westerly direction, we cannot decide; but the latter seems the most probable supposition. in any case, we must concede the first rank to the palæarctic and oriental regions, as representing the most important part of what seems always to have been the great continent of the earth, and the source from which all the other regions were supplied with the higher forms of life. these once formed a single great region, which has been since divided into a temperate and a tropical portion, now sufficiently distinct; while the nearctic region has, by deterioration of climate, suffered a considerable diminution of productive area, and has in consequence lost a number of its more remarkable forms. the two temperate regions have thus come to resemble each other more than they once did, while the oriental retains more of the zoological aspect of the great northern regions of miocene times. the ethiopian, from having been once an insular region, where lower types of vertebrates alone prevailed, has been so overrun with higher types from the old palæarctic and oriental lands that it now rivals, or even surpasses, the oriental region in its representation of the ancient fauna of the great northern continent. both of our tropical regions of the eastern hemisphere possess faunas which are, to some extent, composite, being made up in different proportions of the productions of the northern and southern continents,--the former prevailing largely in the oriental, while the latter constitutes an important feature in the ethiopian fauna. the neotropical region has probably undergone great fluctuations in early times; but it was, undoubtedly, for long periods completely isolated, and then developed the edentate type of mammals and the formicaroid type of passerine birds into a variety of forms, comparable with the diversified marsupials of australia, and typical passeres of the eastern hemisphere. { }it has, however, received successive infusions of higher types from the north, which now mingle in various degrees with its lower forms. at an early period it must have received a low form of primates, which has been developed into the two peculiar families of american monkeys; while its llamas, tapirs, deer, and peccaries, came in at a later date, and its opossums and extinct horses probably among the latest. the australian region alone, after having been united with the great northern continent at a very early date (probably during the secondary period) has ever since remained more or less completely isolated; and thus exhibits the development of a primeval type of mammal, almost wholly uninfluenced by any incursions of a later and higher type. in this respect it is unique among all the great regions of the earth. we see, then, that each of our six regions has had a history of its own, the main outlines of which we have been able to trace with tolerable certainty. each of them is now characterised--as it seems to have been in all past time of which we have any tolerably full record--by well-marked zoological features; while all are connected and related in the complex modes we have endeavoured to unravel. to combine any two or more of these regions, on account of existing similarities which are, for the most part, of recent origin, would obscure some of the most important and interesting features of their past history and present condition. and it seems no less impracticable to combine the whole into groups of higher rank; since it has been shown that there are two opposing modes of doing this, and that each of them represents but one aspect of a problem, which can only be solved by giving equal attention to all its aspects. for reasons which have been already stated, and which are sufficiently obvious, we have relied almost exclusively on the distribution of living and extinct mammalia, in arriving at these conclusions. but we believe they will apply equally to elucidate the phenomena presented by the distribution of all terrestrial organisms, when combined with a careful consideration of the { }various means of dispersal of the different groups, and the comparative longevity of their species and genera. even insects, which are perhaps of all animals the farthest removed from mammalia in this respect, agree, in the great outlines of their distribution, with the vertebrate orders. the regions are admittedly the same, or nearly the same for both; and the discrepancies that occur are of a nature which can be explained by two undoubted facts--the greater antiquity, and the greater facilities for dispersal, of insects. but this principle, if sound, must be carried farther, and be applied to plants also. there are not wanting indications that this may be successfully done; and it seems not improbable, that the reason why botanists have hitherto failed to determine, with any unanimity, which are the most natural phytological regions, and to work out any connected theory of the migrations of plants, is, because they have not been furnished with the clue to the past changes of the great land masses, which could only be arrived at by such an examination of the past and present distribution of the higher animals as has been here attempted. the difficulties in the way of the study of the distribution of plants, from this point of view, will be undoubtedly very great; owing to the unusual facilities for distribution many of them possess, and the absence of any group which might take the place of the mammalia among animals, and serve as a guide and standard for the rest. we cannot expect the regions to be so well defined in the case of plants as in that of animals; and there are sure to be many anomalies and discrepancies, which will require long study to unravel. the six great regions here adopted, are however, as a whole, very well characterised by their vegetable forms. the floras of tropical america, of australia, of south africa, and of indo-malaya, stand out with as much individuality as do the faunas; while the plants of the palæarctic and nearctic regions, exhibit resemblances and diversities, of a character not unlike those found among the animals. this is not a mere question of applying to the vegetable kingdom a series of arbitrary divisions of the earth which have been { }found useful to zoologists; for it really involves a fundamental problem in the theory of evolution. the question we have to answer, is, firstly--whether the distribution of plants is, like that of animals, mainly and primarily dependent on the past revolutions of the earth's surface; or, whether other, and altogether distinct causes, have had a preponderating influence in determining the range and limits of vegetable forms; and, secondly--whether those revolutions have been, in their general outlines, correctly interpreted by means of a study of the distribution and affinities of the higher animals. the first question is one for botanists alone to answer; but, on the second point, the author ventures to hope for an affirmative reply, from such of his readers as will weigh carefully the facts and arguments he has adduced. the remaining part of this volume, will consist, of a systematic review of the distribution of each family of animals, and an application of the principles already established to elucidate the chief phenomena they present. the present chapter must, therefore, be considered as the conclusion of the argumentative and theoretical part of the present work; but it must be read in connection with the various discussions in parts ii. and iii., in which the conclusions to be drawn from the several groups of facts have been successively given;--and especially in connection with the general observations at the end of each of the six chapters on the zoological regions. the hypothetical view, as to the more recent of the great geographical changes of the earth's surface, here set forth, is not the result of any preconceived theory, but has grown out of a careful study of the facts accumulated, and has led to a considerable modification of the author's previous views. it may be described, as an application of the general theory of evolution, to solve the problem of the distribution of animals; but it also furnishes some independent support to that theory, both by showing what a great variety of curious facts are explained by its means, and by answering some of the objections, { }which have been founded on supposed difficulties in the distribution of animals in space and time. it also illustrates and supports the geological doctrine, of the general permanence of our great continents and oceans, by showing how many facts in the distribution of animals can only be explained and understood on such a supposition; and it exhibits, in a striking manner, the enormous influence of the glacial epoch, in determining the existing zoological features of the various continents. and, lastly, it furnishes a more consistent and intelligible idea than has yet been reached by any other mode of investigation, of all the more important changes of the earth's surface that have probably occurred during the entire tertiary period; and of the influence of these changes, in bringing about the general features, as well as many of the more interesting details and puzzling anomalies, of the geographical distribution of animals. part iv. _geographical zoology:_ _a systematic sketch of the chief families of land animals in their geographical relations._ { }introduction. in the preceding part of our work, we have discussed the geographical distribution of animals from the point of view of the geographer; taking the different regions of the earth in succession, and giving as full an account as our space would permit of their chief forms of animal life. now, we proceed from the standpoint of the systematic zoologist; taking in succession each of the families with which we deal, and giving an account of the distribution, both of the entire family and, as far as practicable, of each of the genera of which it is composed. as in the former part, our mode of treatment led us to speculate on the past changes of the earth's surface; so here we shall endeavour to elucidate the past migrations of animals, and thus, to some extent, account for their actual distribution. the tabular headings, showing the range of the family in each region, will enable the reader to determine at a glance the general distribution of the group, as soon as he has familiarised himself, by a study of our general and regional maps, with the limits of the regions and sub-regions, and the figures ( to ) by which the latter are indicated. much pains have been taken, to give the number of the known genera and species in each family, correctly; but these numbers must, in most cases, only be looked upon as approximations; because, owing to constant accessions of fresh material on the one hand, and the discovery that many supposed species are only varieties, on the other, such statistics are in a continual state of fluctuation. in the number of genera there is the greatest uncertainty; as will be seen by the two sets of numbers sometimes given, which denote the genera according to different modern authorities. { }there is also a considerable difference in the dependence to be placed on the details given in the different classes of animals. in mammalia and birds some degree of accuracy has, it is hoped, been attained; the classification of these groups being much advanced, and the materials for their study ample. in reptiles this is not the case, as there is no recently published work dealing with the whole subject, or with either of the larger orders. an immense number of new species and new genera of snakes and lizards, have been described in the last twenty years; and dr. günther--our greatest authority on reptiles in this country--has kindly assisted me in incorporating such of these as are most trustworthy, in a general system; but until entire orders have been described or catalogued on a uniform plan, nothing more than a general approximation to the truth can be arrived at. still, so many of the groups are well defined, and have a clearly limited distribution, that some interesting and valuable comparisons may be made. for fishes, the valuable "catalogue" of dr. günther was available, and it has rarely been attempted to go beyond it. a large number of new species have since been described, in all parts of the world; but it is impossible to say how many of these are really new, or what genera they actually belong to. the part devoted to this class is, therefore, practically a summary of dr. günther's catalogue; and it is believed that the discoveries since made will not materially invalidate the conclusions to be drawn from such a large number of species, which have been critically examined and classified on a uniform system by one of our most able naturalists. when a supplement to this catalogue is issued, it will be easier to make the necessary alterations in distribution, than if a mass of untrustworthy materials had been mixed up with it. for insects, excellent materials are furnished, in the catalogue of mr. kirby for butterflies and in that of drs. gemminger and harold for coleoptera. i have also made use of some recently published memoirs on the insects of japan and st. helena, and a few other recent works; and have, i believe, elaborated a more extensive series of facts to illustrate the distribution of insects, { }than has been made use of by any previous writer. several discussions on the bearing of the facts of insect distribution, will also be found under the several regions, in the preceding part of this work. terrestrial mollusca form a group, as to the treatment of which i have most misgivings; owing to my almost entire ignorance of malacology, and the great changes recently made in the classification of shells. there is also much uncertainty as to genera and sub-genera, which is very puzzling to one who merely wishes to get at general results. finding it impossible to incorporate the new matter with the old, or to harmonise the different classifications of modern conchologists, i thought it better to confine myself to the standard works of martens and pfeiffer, with such additions of new species as i could make without fear of going far wrong. in some cases i have made use of recent monographs--especially on the shells of europe, north america, the west indian islands, and the sandwich islands; and have, i venture to hope, not fallen into much error in the general conclusions at which i have arrived. { }chapter xvii. the distribution of the families and genera of mammalia. _order i.--primates._ family .--simiidÆ. ( genera, species). general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the simiidæ, or anthropoid apes, comprehend those forms of the monkey-tribe which, in general organization, approach nearest to man. they inhabit the tropics of the old world, and are most abundant near the equator; but they are limited to certain districts, being quite unknown in eastern and southern africa, and the whole peninsula of hindostan. the genus _troglodytes_ (or _mimetes_, as it is sometimes named) comprehends the chimpanzee and gorilla. it is confined to the west african sub-region, being found on the coast about ° north and south of the equator, from the gambia to benguela, and as far inland as the great equatorial forests extend. there are perhaps other species of chimpanzee; since livingstone met with what he supposed to be a new species in the forest region west of lake tanganyika, while dr. schweinfurth found one in the country beyond the western watershed of the nile. the gorilla is confined within narrower limits on and near the equator. { }we have to pass over more than ° of longitude before we again meet with anthropoid apes, in the northern part of sumatra--where a specimen of the orang-utan (_simia satyrus_) now in the calcutta museum, was obtained by dr. abel, and described by him in the _asiatic researches_, vol. xv.--and in borneo, from which latter island almost all the specimens in european museums have been derived. there are supposed to be two species of _simia_ in borneo, a larger and a smaller; but their distinctness is not admitted by all naturalists. both appear to be confined to the swampy forests near the north, west, and south coasts. the gibbons, or long-armed apes, forming the genus _hylobates_, ( species) are found in all the large islands of the indo-malayan sub-region, except the philippines; and also in sylhet and assam south of the brahmaputra river, eastward to cambodja and south china to the west of canton, and in the island of hainan. the siamang (_siamanga syndactyla_) presents some anatomical peculiarities, and has the second and third toes united to the last joint, but in general form and structure it does not differ from _hylobates_. it is the largest of the long-armed apes, and inhabits sumatra and the malay peninsula. family .--semnopithecidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . -- -- | . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the semnopithecidæ, are long-tailed monkeys without cheek-pouches, and with rather rounded faces, the muzzle not being prominent. they have nearly the same distribution as the last family, but are more widely dispersed in both africa and asia, one species just entering the palæarctic region. the eastern genus _presbytes_ or _semnopithecus_ ( species), is spread over almost the whole of the oriental region wherever the forests are extensive. they extend along the himalayas to beyond simla, where a species has been observed at an altitude of , { }feet, playing among fir-trees laden with snow wreaths. on the west side of india they are not found to the north of ° n. latitude. on the east they extend into arakan, and to borneo and java, but not apparently into siam or cambodja. along the eastern extension of the himalayas they again occur in east thibet; a remarkable species with a large upturned nose (_s. roxellana_) having been discovered by père david at moupin (about lat. ° n.) in the highest forests, where the winters are severe and last for several months, and where the vegetation, and the other forms of animal life, are wholly those of the palæarctic region. it is very curious that this species should somewhat resemble the young state of the proboscis monkey (_s. nasalis_), which inhabits one of the most uniform, damp, and hot climates on the globe--the river-swamps of borneo. _colobus_, the african genus ( species), is very closely allied to the preceding, differing chiefly in the thumb being absent or rudimentary. they are confined to the tropical regions--abyssinia on the east, and from the gambia to angola and the island of fernando po, on the west. family .--cynopithecidÆ. ( genera, species). general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- -- | . . -- | . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | this family comprehends all the monkeys with cheek pouches, and the baboons. some of these have very long tails, some none; some are dog-faced, others tolerably round-faced; but there are so many transitions from one to the other, and such a general agreement in structure, that they are now considered to form a very natural family. their range is more extensive than any other family of quadrumana, since they not only occur in every part of the ethiopian and oriental regions, but enter the palæarctic region in the east and west, and the australian region as far as the islands of timor and batchian. the african genera { }are _myiopithecus_, _cercopithecus_, _cercocebus_, _theropithecus_, and _cynocephalus_; the oriental genera, _macacus_, and _cynopithecus_. _myiopithecus_ ( species), consisting of the talapoin monkey of west africa, differs from the other african monkeys in the structure of the last molar tooth; in the large ears, short face, and wide internasal septum; in this respect, as well as in its grace and gentleness, resembling some of the american monkeys. _cercopithecus_ ( species), contains all the more graceful and prettily coloured monkeys of tropical africa, and comprises the guenons, the white-nosed, and the green monkeys. they range from the gambia to the congo, and from abyssinia to the zambesi. _cercocebus_ ( species), the mangabeys, of west africa, are very closely allied to the eastern genus _macacus_. _theropithecus_ ( species), including the gelada of abyssinia and an allied species, resemble in form the baboons, but have the nostrils placed as in the last genus. _cynocephalus_ ( species), the baboons, are found in all parts of africa. they consist of animals which vary much in appearance, but which agree in having an elongated dog-like muzzle with terminal nostrils, and being of terrestrial habits. some of the baboons are of very large size, the mandrill (_c. maimon_) being only inferior to the orang and gorilla. _macacus_ ( species), is the commonest form of eastern monkey, and is found in every part of the oriental region, as well as in north africa, gibraltar, thibet, north china, and japan; and one of the commonest species, _m. cynomolgus_, has extended its range from java eastward to the extremity of timor. the tail varies greatly in length, and in the gibraltar monkey (_m. innus_) is quite absent. a remarkable species clothed with very thick fur, has lately been discovered in the snowy mountains of eastern thibet. _cynopithecus_ (? sp.).--this genus consists of a black baboon-like ape, inhabiting celebes, batchian, and the philippine islands; but perhaps introduced by man into the latter islands and into batchian. it is doubtful if there is more than one species. the tail of this animal is a fleshy tubercle, the nostrils as in _macacus_, but the muzzle is very prominent; and the { }development of the maxillary bones into strong lateral ridges corresponds to the structure of the most typical baboons. this species extends further east than any other quadrumanous animal. family .--cebidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the cebidæ, which comprehend all the larger american monkeys, differ from those of the old world by having an additional molar tooth in each jaw, and a broad nasal septum; while they have neither cheek-pouches nor ischial callosities, and the thumb is never completely opposable. some have prehensile tails, especially adapting them for an arboreal life. they are divided into four sub-families,--cebinæ, mycetinæ, pitheciinæ, and nyctipithecinæ. the cebidæ are strictly confined to the forest regions of tropical america, from the southern part of mexico to about the parallel of ° south latitude. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- _sub-family_, cebinæ.--_cebus_ ( sp.), is the largest genus of american monkeys, and ranges from costa rica to paraguay. they are commonly called sapajous. _lagothrix_ ( sp.), the woolly monkeys, are rather larger and less active than the preceding; they are confined to the forests of the upper amazon valley, and along the slopes of the andes to venezuela and bolivia. _ateles_ ( sp.), the spider monkeys, have very long limbs and tail. they range over the whole area of the family, and occur on the west side of the equatorial andes and on the pacific coast of guatemala. _eriodes_ ( sp.), are somewhat intermediate between the last two genera, and are confined to the eastern parts of brazil south of the equator. the three last mentioned genera have very powerful prehensile tails, the end being bare beneath; whereas the species of _cebus_ have the tail { }completely covered with hair, although prehensile, and therefore not so perfect a grasping organ. _sub-family_, mycetinæ, consists of but a single genus, _mycetes_ ( sp.), the howling monkeys, characterized by having a hollow bony vessel in the throat formed by an enlargement of the hyoid bone, which enables them to produce a wonderful howling noise. they are large, heavy animals, with a powerful and perfect prehensile tail. they range from east guatemala to paraguay. (plate xiv., vol. ii., p. .) _sub-family_, pitheciinæ, the sakis, have a non-prehensile bushy tail. _pithecia_ ( sp.), has the tail of moderate length; while _brachiurus_ ( sp.) has it very short. both appear to be restricted to the great equatorial forests of south america. _sub-family_, nyctipithecinæ, are small and elegant monkeys, with long, hairy, non-prehensile tails. _nyctipithecus_ ( sp.), the night-monkeys or douroucoulis, have large eyes, nocturnal habits, and are somewhat lemurine in their appearance. they range from nicaragua to the amazon and eastern peru. _saimiris_ or _chrysothrix_ ( sp.), the squirrel-monkeys, are beautiful and active little creatures, found in most of the tropical forests from costa rica to brazil and bolivia. _callithrix_ ( sp.), are somewhat intermediate between the last two genera, and are found all over south america from panama to the southern limits of the great forests. family .--hapalidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the hapalidæ, or marmosets, are very small monkeys, which differ from the true cebidæ in the absence of one premolar tooth, while they possess the additional molar tooth; so that while they have the same number of teeth (thirty-two) as the old world monkeys, they differ from them even more than do the { }cebidæ. the thumb is not at all opposable, and all the fingers are armed with sharp claws. the hallux, or thumb-like great toe, is very small; the tail is long and not prehensile. the two genera _hapale_ ( sp.), and _midas_ ( sp.), are of doubtful value, though some naturalists have still further sub-divided them. they are confined to the tropical forests of south america, and are most abundant in the districts near the equator. _sub-order--lemuroidea._ family .--lemuridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . |-- . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the lemuridæ, comprehending all the animals usually termed lemurs and many of their allies, are divided by professor mivart--who has carefully studied the group--into four sub-families and eleven genera, as follows:-- _sub-family_ indrisinæ, consisting of the genus _indris_ ( sp.), is confined to madagascar. _sub-family_ lemurinæ, contains five genera, viz.:--_lemur_, ( sp.); _hapalemur_ ( sp.); _microcebus_ ( sp.); _chirogaleus_ ( sp.); and _lepilemur_ ( sp.);--all confined to madagascar. _sub-family_ nycticebinæ, contains four genera, viz.:--_nycticebus_ ( sp.)--small, short-tailed, nocturnal animals, called slow-lemurs,--range from east bengal to south china, and to borneo and java; _loris_ ( sp.)--a very small, tail-less, nocturnal lemur, which inhabits madras, malabar, and ceylon; _perodicticus_ ( sp.)--the potto--a small lemur with almost rudimentary forefinger, found at sierra leone (plate v., vol. i., p. ); _arctocebus_ ( sp.)--the angwantibo,--another extraordinary form in which the forefinger is quite absent and the first toe armed with a long claw,--inhabits old calabar. { }_sub-family_ galaginæ, contains only the genus _galago_ ( sp.), which is confined to the african continent, ranging from senegal and fernando po to zanzibar and natal. family .--tarsiidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the curious _tarsius spectrum_, which constitutes this family, inhabits sumatra, banca, and borneo, and is also found in some parts of celebes, which would bring it into the australian region; but this island is altogether so anomalous that we can only consider its productions to have somewhat more affinity with the australian than the oriental region, but hardly to belong to either. the tarsier is a small, long-tailed, nocturnal animal, of curious structure and appearance; and it forms the only link of connection with the next family, which it resembles in the extraordinary development of the toes, one of which is much larger and more slender than the rest. (plate viii., vol. i. p. .) family .--chiromyidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the aye-aye, (_chiromys_), the sole representative of this family, is confined to the island of madagascar. it was for a long time very imperfectly known, and was supposed to belong to the rodentia; but it has now been ascertained to be an exceedingly specialized form of the lemuroid type, and must be considered to be one of the most extraordinary of the mammalia now inhabiting the globe. (plate vi., vol. i., p. .) { }_fossil quadrumana._ not much progress has yet been made in tracing back the various forms of apes and monkeys to their earliest appearance on the globe; but there have been some interesting recent discoveries, which lead us to hope that the field is not yet exhausted. the following is a summary of what is known as to the early forms of each family:-- _simiidæ._--two or three species of this family have been found in the upper miocene deposits of france and switzerland. _pliopithecus_, of which a species has been found at each locality, was allied to the gibbons (_hylobates_), and perhaps to _semnopithecus_. a more remarkable form, named _dryopithecus_, as large as a man, and having peculiarities of structure which are thought by gervais and lartet to indicate a nearer approach to the human form than any existing ape, has been found in strata of the same age in france. _semnopithecidæ._--species of _semnopithecus_ have been found in the upper miocene of greece, and others in the siwalik hills of n. w. india, also of upper miocene age. an allied form also occurs in the miocene of wurtemburg. _mesopithecus_ from greece is somewhat intermediate between _semnopithecus_ and _macacus_. remains supposed to be of _semnopithecus_, have also occurred in the pliocene of montpellier. _cynopithecidæ._--_macacus_ has occurred in pliocene deposits at grays, essex; and also in the south of france along with _cercopithecus_. _cebidæ._--in the caves of brazil remains of the genera _cebus_, _mycetes_, _callithrix_, and _hapale_, have been found; as well as an extinct form of larger size--_protopithecus_. _lemuroidea._--a true lemur has recently been discovered in the eocene of france; and it is supposed to be most nearly allied to the peculiar west african genera, _perodicticus_ and _arctocebus_. _cænopithecus_, from the swiss jura, is supposed to have affinities both for the lemuridæ and the american cebidæ. in the lower eocene of north america remains have been { }discovered, which are believed to belong to this sub-order: but they form two distinct families,--lemuravidæ and limnotheridæ. other remains from the miocene are believed to be intermediate between these and the cebidæ,--a most interesting and suggestive affinity, if well founded. for the genera of these american lemuroidea, see vol. i., p. . _general remarks on the distribution of primates._ the most striking fact presented by this order, from our present point of view, is the strict limitation of well-marked families to definite areas. the cebidæ and hapalidæ would alone serve to mark out tropical america as the nucleus of one of the great zoological divisions of the earth. in the eastern hemisphere, the corresponding fact is the entire absence of the order from the australian region, with the exception of one or two outlying forms, which have evidently transgressed the normal limits of their group. the separation of the ethiopian and oriental regions is, in this order, mainly indicated by the distribution of the genera, no one of which is common to the two regions. the two highest families, the simiidæ and the semnopithecidæ, are pretty equally distributed about two equatorial foci, one situated in west africa, the other in the malay archipelago,--in borneo or the peninsula of malacca;--while the third family, cynopithecidæ, ranges over the whole of both regions, and somewhat overpasses their limits. the lemuroid group, on the other hand, offers us one of the most singular phenomena in geographical distribution. it consists of three families, the species of which are grouped into six sub-families and genera. one of these families and two of the sub-families, comprising genera, and no less than out of the total of species, are confined to the one island of madagascar. of the remainder, genera, comprising species, are spread over tropical africa; while three other genera with species, inhabit certain restricted portions of india and the malay islands. these curious facts point unmistakably to the former existence of a large tract of land in what is now the indian ocean, connecting madagascar on the one hand with ceylon, and with the malay countries on the { }other. about this same time (but perhaps not contemporaneously) madagascar must have been connected with some portion of southern africa, and the whole of the country would possess no other primates but lemuroidea. after the madagascar territory (very much larger than the existing island) had been separated, a connection appears to have been long maintained (probably by a northerly route) between the more equatorial portions of asia and africa; till those higher forms had become developed, which were afterwards differentiated into _simia_, _presbytes_, and _cynopithecus_, on the one hand, and into _troglodytes_, _colobus_, and _cynocephalus_, on the other. in accordance with the principle of competition so well expounded by mr. darwin, we can understand how, in the vast asiatic and african area north of the equator, with a great variety of physical conditions and the influence of a host of competing forms of life, higher types were developed than in the less extensive and long-isolated countries south of the equator. in madagascar, where these less complex conditions prevailed in a considerable land-area, the lowly organized lemuroids have diverged into many specialized forms of their own peculiar type; while on the continents they have, to a great extent, become exterminated, or have maintained their existence in a few cases, in islands or in mountain ranges. in africa the nocturnal and arboreal _galagos_ are adapted to a special mode of life, in which they probably have few competitors. how and when the ancestors of the cebidæ and hapalidæ entered the south american continent, it is less easy to conceive. the only rays of light we yet have on the subject are, the supposed affinities of the fossil _cænopithecus_ of the swiss, and the lemuravidæ of the north american eocene, with both cebidæ and lemuroids, and the fact that in miocene or eocene times a mild climate prevailed up to the arctic circle. the discovery of an undoubted lemuroid in the eocene of europe, indicates that the great northern continent was probably the birthplace of this low type of mammal, and the source whence africa and southern asia were peopled with them, as it was, at a later period, with the higher forms of monkeys and apes. { }_order ii.--chiroptera._ family .--pteropidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . . | . . . | . . -- | | | | | the pteropidæ, or fruit-eating bats, sometimes called flying-foxes, are pretty evenly distributed over the tropical regions of the old world and australia. they range over all africa and the whole of the oriental region, and northward, to amoy in china and to the south of japan. they are also found in the more fertile parts of australia and tasmania, and in the pacific islands as far east as the marianne and samoa islands; but not in the sandwich islands or new zealand. the genera of bats are exceedingly numerous, but they are in a very unsettled state, and the synonymy is exceedingly confused. the details of their distribution cannot therefore be usefully entered into here. the pteropidæ differ so much from all other bats, that they are considered to form a distinct suborder of chiroptera, and by some naturalists even a distinct order of mammalia. no fossil pteropidæ have been discovered. family .--phyllostomidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . --| -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the phyllostomidæ, or simple leaf-nosed bats, are confined to the neotropical region, from mexico and the antilles to the { }southern limits of the forest region east of the andes, and to about lat. ° s. in chili. none are found in the nearctic region, with the exception of one species in california (_macrotus californicus_), closely allied to mexican and west indian forms. the celebrated blood-sucking vampyre bats of south america belong to this group. two genera, _desmodus_ and _diphylla_, form dr. peters' family desmodidæ. mr. dobson, in his recently published arrangement, divides the family into five groups:--mormopes, vampyri, glossophagæ, stenodermata, and desmodontes. numerous remains of extinct species of this family have been found in the bone-caves of brazil. family .--rhinolophidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | . . . | . . -- -- | | | | | the rhinolophidæ, or horse-shoe bats (so-called from a curiously-shaped membranous appendance to the nose), range over all the ethiopian and oriental regions, the southern part of the palæarctic region, australia and tasmania. they are most abundant and varied in the oriental region, where twelve genera are found; while only five inhabit the australian and ethiopian regions respectively. europe has only one genus and four species, mostly found in the southern parts, and none going further north than the latitude of england, where two species occur. two others are found in japan, at the opposite extremity of the palæarctic region. the genera _nycteris_ and _megaderma_, which range over the ethiopian and oriental regions to the moluccas, are considered by dr. peters to form a distinct family, megadermidæ; and mr. dobson in his recent arrangement (published after our first { }volume was printed) adopts the same family under the name of nycteridæ. the curious indian genus _rhinopoma_, which, following dr. j. e. gray, we have classed in this family, is considered by mr. dobson to belong to the noctilionidæ. _fossil rhinolophidæ._--remains of a species of _rhinolophus_ still living in england, have been found in kent's cavern, near torquay. family .--vespertilionidÆ ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the small bats constituting the family vespertilionidæ, have no nose-membrane, but an internal earlet or _tragus_, and often very large ears. they range over almost the whole globe, being apparently only limited by the necessity of procuring insect food. in america they are found as far north as hudson's bay and the columbia river; and in europe they approach, if they do not pass the arctic circle. such remote islands as the azores, bermudas, fiji islands, sandwich islands, and new zealand, all possess species of this group of bats, some of which probably inhabit every island in warm or temperate parts of the globe. the genus _taphozous_, which, in our tables of distribution in vol. i. we have included in this family, is placed by mr. dobson in his family emballonuridæ, which is equivalent to our next family, noctilionidæ. _fossil vespertilionidæ._--several living european bats of this family--_scotophilus murinus_, _plecotus auritus_, _vespertilio noctula_, and _v. pipestrellus_--have been found fossil in bone-caves in various parts of europe. extinct species of _vespertilio_ have occurred in the lower miocene at mayence, in the upper miocene of the south of france, and in the upper eocene of the paris basin. { }family .--noctilionidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | -- -- -- |-- -- -- | . . . | . . . |-- -- -- | | | | | the noctilionidæ, or short-headed bats, are found in every region, but are very unequally distributed. their head-quarters is the neotropical region, where most of the genera occur, and where they range from mexico to buenos ayres and chili, while in north america there is only one species in california. they are unknown in australia; but one species occurs in new zealand, and another in norfolk island. several species of _dysopes_ (or _molossus_) inhabit the oriental region; one or two species being widely distributed over the continent, while two others inhabit the indo-malayan islands. a species of this same genus occurs in south africa, and another in madagascar and in the island of bourbon; while one inhabits southern europe and north africa, and another is found at amoy in china. it will be seen therefore, that these are really south american bats, which have a few allies widely scattered over the various regions of the globe. their affinities are, according to mr. tomes, with the phyllostomidæ, a purely south american family. the species which forms the connecting link is the _mystacina tuberculata_, a new zealand bat, which may, with almost equal propriety be placed in either family, and which affords an interesting illustration of the many points of resemblance between the australian and neotropical regions. dr. peters has separated this family into three,--mormopidæ, which is wholly neotropical, and is especially abundant in the west indian islands; molossidæ, chiefly consisting of the genus _molossus_; and noctilionidæ, comprising the remainder of the family, and wholly neotropical. mr. dobson, however, classes the mormopes with the phyllostomidæ, and reduces the { }molossi to the rank of a sub-family. in our first volume we have classed _rhinopoma_ with the rhinolophidæ, and _taphozous_ with the vespertilionidæ; but according to mr. dobson both these genera belong to the present family. _remarks on the distribution of the order chiroptera._ although the bats, from their great powers of flight, are not amenable to the limitations which determine the distribution of other terrestrial mammals, yet certain great facts of distribution come out in a very striking manner. the speciality of the neotropical region is well shown, not only by its exclusive possession of one large family (phyllostomidæ), but almost equally so by the total absence of two others (pteropidæ and rhinolophidæ). the nearctic region is also unusually well marked, by the total absence of a family (rhinolophidæ) which is tolerably well represented in the palæarctic. the pteropidæ well characterize the tropical regions of the old world and australia; while the vespertilionidæ are more characteristic of the palæarctic and nearctic regions, which together possess about species of this family. the bats are a very difficult study, and it is quite uncertain how many distinct species are really known. schinz, in his _synopsis mammalium_ ( ) describes , while the list given by mr. andrew murray in his _geographical distribution of mammalia_ ( ), contains species. a small number of new species have been since described, but others have been sunk as synonyms, so that we can perhaps hardly obtain a nearer approximation to the truth than the last number. in europe there are species, and only in north america. _fossil chiroptera._--the fossil remains of bats that have yet been discovered, being chiefly allied to forms still existing in the same countries, throw no light on the origin or affinities of this remarkable and isolated order of mammalia; but as species very similar to those now living were in existence so far back as miocene or even eocene times, we may be sure the group is one of immense antiquity, and that there has been ample time for the amount of variation and extinction required to bring about { }the limitation of types, and the peculiarities of distribution we now find to exist. _order iii.--insectivora._ family .--galeopithecidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the singular and isolated genus _galeopithecus_, or flying lemur, has been usually placed among the lemuroidea, but it is now considered to come best at the head of the insectivora. its food however, seems to be purely vegetable, and the very small, blind, and naked young, closely attached to the wrinkled skin of the mother's breast, perhaps indicates some affinity with the marsupials. this animal seems, in fact, to be a lateral offshoot of some low form, which has survived during the process of development of the insectivora, the lemuroidea, and the marsupials, from an ancestral type. only two species are known, one found in malacca, sumatra, and borneo, but not in java; the other in the philippine islands (plate viii. vol. i. p. ). family .--macroscelididÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the macroscelides, or elephant shrews, are extraordinary little animals, with trunk-like snout and kangaroo-like hind-legs. they are almost confined to south africa, whence they extend up the east coast as far as the zambezi and mozambique. a { }single outlying species of _macroscelides_ inhabits barbary and algeria; while the two genera _petrodromus_, and _rhyncocyon_, each represented by a single species, have only been found at mozambique. family .--tupaiidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the tupaiidæ are squirrel-like shrews, having bushy tails, and often climbing up trees, but also feeding on the ground and among low bushes. the typical _tupaia_ ( species), are called ground squirrels by the malays. they are most abundant in the malay islands and indo-chinese countries, but one species is found in the khasia mountains, and one in the eastern ghauts near madras. the small shorter-tailed _hylomys_ ( species) is found from tenasserim to java and borneo; while the elegant little _ptilocerus_ ( species) with its long pencilled tail, is confined to borneo; (plate viii. vol. i. p. ). the family is therefore especially malayan, with outlying species in northern and continental india. _extinct species._--_oxygomphus_, found in the tertiary deposits of germany, is believed to belong to this family; as is _omomys_, from the pliocene of the united states. family .--erinaceidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . |-- -- -- | . . -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the hedgehogs, comprised in the genus _erinaceus_ ( species), are widely distributed over the palæarctic, and a part of the { }oriental regions; but they only occur in the ethiopian region in south africa and in the deserts of the north, which more properly belong to the palæarctic region. they are absent from the malayan, and also from the indo-chinese sub-regions; except that they extend from the north of china to amoy and formosa and into the temperate highlands of the western himalayas. the curious _gymnura_ ( species) is found in borneo, sumatra, and the malay peninsula. _extinct species._--the common hedgehog has been found fossil in several post-tertiary deposits, while extinct species occur in the lower miocene of auvergne and in some other parts of europe. many of these remains are classed in different genera from the living species;--(_amphechinus_, _tetracus_, _galerix_.) family .--centetidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the centetidæ are small animals, many of them having a spiny covering, whence the species of _centetes_ have been called madagascar hedgehogs. the genera _centetes_ ( species), _hemicentetes_ ( species), _ericulus_ ( species), _echinops_ ( species), and the recently described _oryzorictes_ ( species), are all exclusively inhabitants of madagascar, and are almost or quite tail-less. the remaining genus, _solenodon_, is a more slender and active animal, with a long, rat-like tail, shrew-like head, and coarse fur; and the two known species are among the very few indigenous mammals of the west indian islands, one being found in cuba (plate xvii., vol. ii., p. ), the other in hayti. although presenting many points of difference in detail, the essential characters of this curious animal are, according to professors peters and mivart, identical with the rest of the centetidæ. we have thus a most remarkable and well-established case of discontinuous distribution, two portions of the same family { }being now separated from each other by an extensive continent, as well as by a deep ocean. _extinct species._--remains found in the lower miocene of the south of france are believed to belong to the genus _echinops_, or one closely allied to it. family .--potamogalidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the genus _potamogale_ was founded on a curious, small, otter-like animal from west africa, first found by m. du chaillu at the gaboon, and afterwards by the portuguese at angola. its affinities are with several groups of insectivora, but it is sufficiently peculiar to require the establishment of a distinct family for its reception. (plate v., vol. i., p. .) family .--chrysochloridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- .-- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the chrysochloridæ, or golden moles, of the cape of good hope have been separated by professor mivart into two genera, _chrysochloris_ and _chalcochloris_. they are remarkable mole-like animals, having beautiful silky fur, with a metallic lustre and changeable golden tints. they are peculiar to the cape district, but one species extends as far north as the mozambique territory. their dentition is altogether peculiar, so as to completely separate them from the true moles. { }family .--talpidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --| . . . | . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the moles comprise many extraordinary forms of small mammalia especially characteristic of the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, only sending out a few species of _talpa_ along the himalayas as far as assam, and even to tenasserim, if there is no mistake about this locality; while one species is found in formosa, the northern part of which is almost as much palæarctic as oriental. the genus _talpa_ ( species), spreads over the whole palæarctic region from great britain to japan; _scaptochirus_ ( species) is a recent discovery in north china; _condylura_ ( species), the star-nosed mole, inhabits eastern north america from nova scotia to pennsylvania; _scapanus_ ( species) ranges across from new york to st. francisco; _scalops_ ( species), the shrew-moles, range from mexico to the great lakes on the east side of america, but on the west only to the north of oregon. an allied genus, _myogale_ ( species), has a curious discontinuous distribution in europe, one species being found in south-east russia, the other in the pyrenees (plate ii., vol. i., p. ). another allied genus, _nectogale_ ( species), has recently been described by professor milne-edwards from thibet. _urotrichus_ is a shrew-like mole which inhabits japan, and a second species has been discovered in the mountains of british columbia; an allied form, _uropsilus_, inhabits east thibet. _anurosorex_ and _scaptonyx_, are new genera from north china. _extinct species._--the common mole has been found fossil in bone-caves and diluvial deposits, and several extinct species of mole-like animals occur in the miocene deposits of the south of france and of germany. these have been described under the generic names _dimylus_, _geotrypus_, _hyporissus_, _galeospalax_; while _palæospalax_ has been found in the pliocene forest-beds of norfolk { }and ostend. species of _myogale_ also occur from the miocene downwards. family .--soricidÆ. ( genus, sub-genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the shrews have a wide distribution, being found throughout every region except the australian and neotropical; although, as a species is found in timor and in some of the moluccas, they just enter this part of the former region, while one found in guatemala brings them into the latter. a number of species have recently been described from india and the malay islands, so that the oriental region is now the richest in shrews, having species; the nearctic comes next with ; while the ethiopian has , and the palæarctic species. the sub-genera are _crossopus_, _amphisorex_, _neosorex_, _crocidura_, _diplomesodon_, _pinulia_, _pachyura_, _blarina_, _feroculus_, _anausorex_. _extinct species._--several species of _sorex_ have been found fossil in the miocene of the south of france, as well as the extinct genera _mysarachne_ and _plesiosorex_; and some existing species have occurred in bone caves and diluvial deposits. _general remarks on the distribution of the insectivora._ the most prominent features in the distribution of the insectivora are,--their complete absence from south america and australia; the presence of _solenodon_ in two of the west indian islands while the five allied genera are found only in madagascar; and the absence of hedgehogs from north america. if we consider that there are only known species of the order, of which belong to the one genus _sorex_; while the remaining genera contain only species, which have to be classed in distinct families, and present such divergent and highly specialized forms as _galeopithecus_, _erinaceus_, _solenodon_, and _condylura_, it becomes evident that we have here the detached fragments of a much more { }extensive group of animals, now almost extinct. many of the forms continue to exist only in islands, removed from the severe competition of a varied mammalian population, as in madagascar and the antilles; while others appear to have escaped extermination either by their peculiar habits--as the various forms of moles; by special protection--as in the hedgehogs; or by a resemblance in form, coloration, and habits to dominant groups in their own district--as the tupaias of malay which resemble squirrels, and the elephant-shrews of africa which resemble the jerboas. the numerous cases of isolated and discontinuous distribution among the insectivora, offer no difficulty from this point of view; since they are the necessary results of an extensive and widely-spread group of animals slowly becoming extinct, and continuing to exist only where special conditions have enabled them to maintain themselves in the struggle with more highly organized forms. the fossil insectivora do not throw much light on the early history of the order, since even as far back as the miocene period they consist almost wholly of forms which can be referred to existing families. in north america they go back to the eocene period, if certain doubtful remains have been rightly placed. the occurrence of fossil centetidæ in europe, supports the view we have maintained in preceding chapters, that the existing distribution of this family between madagascar and the antilles, proves no direct connection between those islands, but only shows us that the family once had an extensive range. _order iv--carnivora._ family .--felidÆ. ( genera, sub-genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . -- | . . . | . . . | . . . --| . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the cats are very widely distributed over the earth--with the exception of the australian region and the island sub-region { }of madagascar and the antilles--universally; ranging from the torrid zone to the arctic regions and the straits of magellan. they are so uniform in their organization that many naturalists group them all under one genus, _felis_; but it is now more usual to class at least the lynxes as a separate genus, while the hunting leopard, or cheetah, forms another. dr. j. e. gray divides these again, and makes generic groups; but as this subdivision is not generally adopted, and does not bring out any special features of geographical distribution, i shall not further notice it. the genus _felis_ ( species) has the same general range as the whole family, except that it does not go so far north; the amoor river in eastern asia, and ° n. lat. in america, marking its limits. _lyncus_ ( species) is a more northern group, ranging to the polar regions in europe and asia, and to lat. ° n. in america, but not going further south than northern mexico and the european shores of the mediterranean, except the caracal, which may be another genus, and which extends to central india, persia, north africa and even the cape of good hope. the lynxes are thus almost wholly peculiar to the nearctic and palæarctic regions. _cynælurus_ ( species) the hunting leopard, ranges from southern and western india through persia, syria, northern and central africa, to the cape of good hope. _extinct felidæ._--more than twenty extinct species of true felidæ have been described, ranging in time from the epoch of prehistoric man back to the miocene or even the eocene period. they occur in the south of england, in central and south europe, in north-west india, in nebraska in north america, and in the caves of brazil. most of them are referred to the genus _felis_, and closely resemble the existing lions, tigers, and other large cats. another group however forms the genus _machairodus_, a highly specialized form with serrated teeth. five species have been described from europe, northern india, and both north and south america; and it is remarkable that they exhibit at least as wide a range, both in space and time, as the more numerous species referred to _felis_. one of them undoubtedly coexisted { }with man in england, while another, as well as the allied _dinictis_, has been found in the mauvaises terres of nebraska, associated with _anchitherium_ and other extinct and equally remarkable forms, which are certainly miocene if not, as some geologists think, belonging to the eocene period. these facts clearly indicate that we have as yet made little approach to discovering the epoch when felidæ originated, since the oldest forms yet discovered are typical and highly specialized representatives of a group which is itself the most specialized of the carnivora. another genus, _pseudælurus_, is common to the miocene deposits of europe and north america. family .--cryptoproctidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the _cryptoprocta ferox_, a small and graceful cat-like animal, peculiar to madagascar, was formerly classed among the viverridæ, but is now considered by professor flower to constitute a distinct family between the cats and the civets. family .--viverridÆ. ( - genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . . | . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | the viverridæ comprise a number of small and moderate-sized carnivorous animals, popularly known as civets, genets, and ichneumons, highly characteristic of the ethiopian and oriental regions, several of the genera being common to both. a species of _genetta_, and one of _herpestes_, inhabit south europe; while _viverra_ extends to the moluccas, but is doubtfully indigenous. the extreme geographical limits of the family are marked by { }_genetta_ in france and spain, _viverra_ in shanghae and batchian island, and _herpestes_ in java and the cape of good hope. the following are the genera with their distribution as given by dr. j. e. gray in his latest british museum catalogue: sub-family viverrinÆ.--_viverra_ ( species), north and tropical africa, the whole oriental region to the moluccas; _viverricula_ ( species) india to java; _genetta_ ( species), south europe, palestine, arabia, and all africa; _fossa_ ( species), madagascar; _linsang_ ( species), malacca to java; _poiana_ ( species), west africa; _galidia_ ( species), madagascar; _hemigalea_ ( species), malacca and borneo; _arctictis_ ( species) nepal to sumatra and java; _nandinia_ ( species), west africa; _paradoxurus_ ( species), the whole oriental region; _paguma_ ( species), nepal to china, sumatra, and borneo; _arctogale_ ( species), tenasserim to java. sub-family herpestinÆ.--_cynogale_ ( species), borneo; _galidictis_ ( species), madagascar; _herpestes_ ( species), south palæarctic, ethiopian, and oriental regions; _athylax_ ( species), tropical and south africa; _galogale_ ( species), all africa, north india, to cambodja; _galerella_ ( species), east africa; _calictis_ ( species), ceylon (?); _ariella_ ( species), south africa; _ichneumia_ ( species), central, east, and south africa; _bdeogale_ ( species), west and east africa; _urva_ ( species), himalayas to aracan; _tæniogale_ ( species), central india; _onychogale_ ( species), ceylon; _helogale_ ( species) east and south africa; _cynictis_ ( species), south africa. sub-family rhinogalidÆ.--_rhinogale_ ( species), east africa; _mungos_ ( species), all africa; _crossarchus_ ( species), tropical africa; _eupleres_ ( species), madagascar; _suricata_ ( species), south africa. _fossil viverridæ._--several species of _viverra_ and _genetta_ have been found in the upper miocene of france, and many extinct genera have also been discovered. the most remarkable of these was _ictitherium_, from the upper miocene of greece, which has also been found in hungary, bessarabia, and france. some of the species were larger than any living forms of viverridæ, and approached the hyænas. other extinct genera are _thalassictis_ { }and _soricictis_ from the upper miocene, the former as large as a panther; _tylodon_, of small size, from the upper eocene; and _palæonyctis_ from the lower eocene, also small and showing a very great antiquity for this family, if really belonging to it. family .--protelidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the curious _proteles_ or aard-wolf, a highly-modified form of hyæna, approaching the ichneumons, and feeding on white ants and carrion, is peculiar to south africa. family .--hyÆnidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . -- | -- -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the hyænas are characteristically ethiopian, to which region two of the species are confined. the third, _hyæna striata_, ranges over all the open country of india to the foot of the himalayas, and through persia, asia minor, and north africa. its fossil remains have been found in france. _extinct species._--the cave hyæna (_h. spelæa_) occurs abundantly in the caverns of this country and of central europe, and is supposed to be most nearly allied to the _h. crocuta_ of south africa. another species is found in some parts of france. the earliest known true hyænas occur in the pliocene formation in france, in the red crag (older pliocene) of england, and in the upper miocene of the siwalik hills. in the miocene period in europe, quite distinct genera are found, such as hyænictis and _lycæna_ from the upper miocene of greece; { }_ictitherium_, supposed to be intermediate between viverridæ and hyænidæ; and _thalassictis_, uniting the weasels and hyænas. family .--canidÆ. ( genera, sub-genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . -- | . . . | . . . | . . -- | . . . |-- ? -- -- | | | | | the canidæ, comprising the animals commonly known as dogs, wolves, and foxes, have an almost universal range over the earth, being only absent from the island sub-regions of madagascar, the antilles, austro-malaya, new zealand, and the pacific islands. with the exception of two remarkable forms--the hyæna dog (_lycaon picta_), and the great-eared fox (_megalotis lalandei_), both from south africa--all the species are usually placed in the genus _canis_, the distribution of which will be the same as that of the family. dr. j. e. gray, in his arrangement of the family (proc. zool. soc., ), subdivides it into fifteen genera, the names and general distribution of which are as follows:-- _icticyon_ ( species), brazil; _cuon_ ( species), siberia to java; _lupus_ ( species), north america, europe, india to ceylon; _dieba_ ( species), north and west africa; _simenia_ ( species), abyssinia; _chrysocyon_ ( species), north and south america; _canis_ ( species), india, australia (indigenous?) _lycalopex_ ( species), south america; _pseudalopex_ ( species), south america and falkland islands; _thous_ ( species), south america to chili; _vulpes_ ( species), all the great continents, except south america and australia; _fennecus_ ( species), all africa; _leucocyon_ ( species), arctic regions; _urocyon_ ( species), north america; _nyctereutes_ ( species), japan, amoorland to canton (plate iii., vol. i. p. ). these are all sub-genera according to professor carus, except _icticyon_. the same author makes lycaon a sub-genus, while dr. gray makes it a sub-family! _extinct species._--the dog, wolf, and fox, are found fossil in { }caverns in many parts of europe, and several extinct species have been found in tertiary deposits in europe, north india, and south america. two species have been found so far back as the eocene of france, but the fragments discovered are not sufficient to determine the characters with any certainty. in north america, several species of _canis_ occur in the pliocene of nebraska and la plata. the genus _galecynus_, of the pliocene of oeninghen, and _palæocyon_, of the brazilian caves, are supposed to belong to the canidæ. _amphicyon_ abounded in the miocene period, both in europe and north america; and some of the species were as large as a tiger. other extinct genera are, _cynodictis_, _cyotherium_, and _galethylax_, from the eocene of france; _pseudocyon_, _simocyon_, and _hemicyon_, from the miocene; but all these show transition characters to viverridæ or ursidæ, and do not perhaps belong to the present family. family .--mustelidÆ. ( - genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . -- | . . . | . . . | . . --| . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the mustelidæ constitute one of those groups which range over the whole of the great continental areas. they may be divided into three sub-families--one, the mustelinæ, containing the weasels, gluttons, and allied forms; a second, the lutrinæ, containing the otters; and a third, often considered a distinct family, the melininæ, containing the badgers, ratels, skunks, and their allies. in the first group (mustelinæ) the genera _martes_ and _putorius_ ( species), range over all the palæarctic region, and a considerable part of the oriental, extending through india to ceylon, and to java and borneo. two species of _martes_ (= _mustela_ of baird) occur in the united states. the weasels, forming the genus _mustela_ ( species), have a still wider range, extending into tropical africa and the cordilleras of peru, but { }not going south of the himalayas in india. the north american species are placed in the genus _putorius_ by professor baird. an allied genus, _gymnopus_ ( species), is confined to the third and fourth oriental sub-regions. _gulo_ ( species), the glutton, is an arctic animal keeping to the cold regions of europe and asia, and coming as far south as the great lakes in north america. _galictis_ ( species), the grisons, are confined to the neotropical region. the otters (lutrinæ) range over the whole area occupied by the family. they have been subdivided into a number of groups, such as _barangia_ ( species), found only in sumatra; _lontra_, containing south american species; _lutra_ ( species), ranging over the whole of the palæarctic and oriental regions; _nutria_ ( species), a sea-otter confined to the west coast of america from california to chiloe; _lutronectes_ ( species), from japan only; _aonyx_ ( species), found in west and south africa, and the third and fourth oriental sub-regions. _hydrogale_ ( species), confined to south africa; _latax_ ( species), florida and california to canada and british columbia; _pteronura_ ( species), brazil and surinam; and _enhydris_ ( species), the peculiar sea-otter of california, kamschatka and japan. the last two are the only groups of otters, besides _lutra_, admitted by professor carus as genera. the badgers and allies (melininæ) have also a wide range, but with one exception are absent from south america. they comprise the following genera: _arctonyx_ ( species), nepal to aracan; _meles_ ( species), north europe to japan, and china as far south as hongkong (plate i., vol. i., p. ); _taxidea_ ( species), central and western north america to ° n. lat.; _mydaus_ ( species), mountains of java and sumatra; _melivora_ ( species), tropical and south africa and india to foot of himalayas; _mephitis_ ( species), america from canada and british columbia to the straits of magellan (plate xx., vol. ii., p. ). _ictonyx_ ( species), tropical africa to the cape; _helictis_ ( species), nepal to java, formosa and shanghai (plate vii., vol. i. p. ). _fossil mustelidæ._--species of otter, weasel, badger, and glutton, occur in european bone caves and other post-tertiary deposits; and in north america _galictis_, now found only in the neotropical region, and, with _mephitis_, occurring in brazilian caves. { }species of _mustela_ have been found in the pliocene of france and of south america; and _lutra_ in the pliocene of north america. in the miocene deposits of europe several species of _mustela_ and _lutra_ have been found; with the extinct genera _taxodon_, _potamotherium_, and _palæomephitis_; as well as _promephitis_ in greece. in the upper miocene of the siwalik hills species of _lutra_ and _mellivora_ are found, as well as the extinct genera _enhydrion_ and _ursitaxus_. the family appears to have been unknown in north america during the miocene period. family .--procyonidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- | . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the procyonidæ are a small, but very curious and interesting family of bear-like quadrupeds, ranging from british columbia and canada on the north, to paraguay and the limits of the tropical forests on the south. the racoons, forming the genus _procyon_, are common all over north america; a well-marked variety or distinct species inhabiting the west coast, and another, most parts of south america. the genus _nasua_, or the coatis ( species?), extends from mexico and guatemala to paraguay. the curious arboreal prehensile-tailed kinkagou (_cercoleptes candivolvus_) is also found in mexico and guatemala, and in all the great forests of peru and north brazil. _bassaris_ ( species), a small weasel-like animal with a banded tail, has been usually classed with the viverridæ or mustelidæ, but is now found to agree closely in all important points of internal structure with this family. it is found in california, texas, and the highlands of mexico, and belongs therefore as much to the nearctic as to the neotropical region. a second species has recently been described by professor peters { }from coban in guatemala, in which, country it has also been observed by mr. salvin. _fossil procyonidæ._--a species of _nasua_ has been found in the bone caves of brazil, and a _procyon_ in the pliocene or post-pliocene deposits of illinois and carolina. family .--ÆluridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the panda (_Ælurus fulgens_), of the forest regions of the eastern himalayas and east thibet, a small cat-like bear, has peculiarities of organization which render it necessary to place it in a family by itself. (plate vii. vol. i. p. ). an allied genus, _Æluropus_, a remarkable animal of larger size and in colour nearly all white, has recently been described by professor milne-edwards, from the mountains of east thibet; so that the family may be said to inhabit the border lands of the oriental and palæarctic regions. these animals have their nearest allies in the coatis and bears. family .--ursidÆ. ( genera, or sub-genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- | . . . | . . . |-- -- -- --| . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the bears have a tolerably wide distribution, although they are entirely absent from the australian and ethiopian, and almost so from the neotropical region, one species only being found in the andes of peru and chili. they comprise the following groups, some of which are doubtfully ranked as genera. _thalassarctos_, the polar bear ( species) inhabiting the arctic regions; _ursus_, the true bears ( species), which range over { }all the nearctic and palæarctic regions as far as the atlas mountains, the indo-chinese sub-region in the mountains, and to hainan and formosa; _helarctos_, the malay or sun-bear ( species) confined to the indo-malayan sub-region; _melursus_ or _prochilus_, the honey-bear ( species), confined to the first and second oriental sub-regions, over which it ranges from the ganges to ceylon; and _tremarctos_, the spectacled bear--commonly known as _ursus ornatus_--which is isolated in the andes of peru and chili, and forms a distinct group. _fossil ursidæ._--two bears (_ursus spelæus_ and _u. priscus_) closely allied to living species, abound in the post-tertiary deposits of europe; and others of the same age are found in north america, as well as an extinct genus, _arctodus_. _ursus arvernensis_ is found in the pliocene formation of france, and the extinct genus _leptarchus_ in that of north america. several species of _amphicyon_, which appears to be an ancestral form of this family, are found in the miocene deposits of europe and n. india; while _ursus_ also occurs in the siwalik hills and nerbudda deposits. family .--otariidÆ ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- | -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- . -- | | | | | the otariidæ, or eared seals, comprehending the sea-bears and sea-lions, are confined to the temperate and cold shores of the north pacific, and to similar climates in the southern hemisphere, where the larger proportion of the species are found. they are entirely absent from the north atlantic shores. mr. j. a. allen, in his recent discussion of this family (bull. harvard museum) divides them into the following genera:-- _otaria_ ( species), temperate south america, from chili to la plata; _callorhinus_ ( species), behring's straits and kamschatka; _arctocephalus_ ( species), temperate regions of the { }southern hemisphere; _zalophus_ ( species), north pacific, from california to japan, and the shores of australia and new zealand; _eumetopias_ ( species), behring's straits and california. _fossil otariidæ._--remains supposed to belong to this family have been found in the miocene of france. family .--trichechidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- | -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the morse, or walrus (_trichecus rosmarus_), which alone constitutes this family, is a characteristic animal of the north polar regions, hardly passing south of the arctic circle except on the east and west coasts of north america, where it sometimes reaches lat. °. it is most abundant on the shores of spitzbergen, but is not found on the northern shores of asia between long. ° and ° e., or on the north shores of america from ° to ° west. its remains have been found fossil in europe as far south as france, and in america as far as virginia; but the small fragments discovered may render the identification uncertain. family .--phocidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- ? | -- -- | . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- . -- | | | | | the earless or true seals are pretty equally divided between the northern and southern hemispheres, frequenting almost exclusively the temperate and cold regions, except two species said to occur among the west indian islands. the genus _phoca_ and its close allies, as well as _halichoerus_ and _pelagius_, are { }northern; while _stenorhynchus_ and _morunga_, with their allies, are mostly southern. the genera admitted by dr. gray in his catalogue are as follows:-- _callocephalus_ ( species), greenland, north sea, also the caspian sea, and lakes aral and baikal; _pagomys_ ( species), north sea, north pacific, and japan; _pagophilus_ ( species), north pacific and north atlantic; _halicyon_ ( species), north west coast of america; _phoca_ ( species), north atlantic and north pacific, japan; _halichoerus_ ( species), greenland, north sea, and baltic; _pelagius_ ( species), madeira, mediterranean, black sea; _stenorhynchus_ ( species), antarctic ocean, falkland islands, new zealand; _lobodon_ ( species), antarctic ocean; _leptonyx_ ( species), antarctic ocean, south australia, east patagonia; _ommatophoca_ ( species), antarctic ocean; _morunga_ ( species), california, falkland islands, temperate regions of southern ocean; _cystophora_ ( species), north atlantic, antilles. _fossil seals._--remains of living species of seals have been found in post-tertiary deposits in many parts of europe and in algeria, as well as in new zealand. _pristiphoca occitana_ is a fossil seal from the pliocene of montpellier, while a species of _phoca_ is said to have been found in the miocene deposits of the united states. _general remarks on the distribution of the carnivora._ _terrestrial carnivora._--for the purposes of geographical distribution, the terrestrial and aquatic carnivora differ too widely to be considered in one view, their areas being limited by barriers of a very different nature. the terrestrial carnivora form a very extensive and considerably varied group of animals, having, with the doubtful exception of australia, a world-wide distribution. yet the range of modification of form is not very great, and the occurrence of three families consisting of but one species each, is an indication of a great amount of recent extinction. one of the most marked features presented by this group is its comparative scarcity in the neotropical region, only four families being represented there (not counting the ursidæ, which has only one andean species), and both genera and species are few in number. even the procyonidæ, which are especially south { }american, have but two genera and six species in that vast area. we might therefore, from these considerations alone, conclude that carnivora are a development of the northern hemisphere, and have been introduced into the neotropical region at a comparatively recent epoch. the claim of the nearctic region to be kept distinct from the palæarctic (with which some writers have wished to unite it) is well maintained by its possession of at least six species of _mephitis_, or skunk, a group having no close allies in any other region,--and the genera _procyon_ and _bassaris_,--for the latter, ranging from the high lands of guatemala and mexico to texas and california, may be considered a nearctic rather than a neotropical form. in the other families, the most marked feature is the total absence of ursidæ from the ethiopian region. the great mass of the generic forms of carnivora, however, are found in the oriental and ethiopian regions, which possess all the extensive group of viverridæ (except a few species in the fourth palæarctic sub-region) and a large number of felidæ and mustelidæ. _aquatic carnivora._--the aquatic carnivora present no very marked features of distribution, except their preference for cold and temperate rather than tropical seas. their nearest approximation to the terrestrial group, is supposed to be that of the otariidæ to the ursidæ; but this must be very remote, and the occurrence of both seals and bears in the miocene period, shows, that until we find some late secondary or early tertiary formation rich in mammalian remains, we are not likely to get at the transition forms indicating the steps by which the aquatic carnivora were developed. the most interesting special fact of distribution to be noticed, is the occurrence of seals, closely allied to those inhabiting the northern seas, in the caspian, lake aral, and lake baikal. in the case of the two first-named localities there is little difficulty, as they are connected with the north sea by extensive plains of low elevation, so that a depression of less than feet would open a free communication with the ocean. at a comparatively recent epoch, a great gulf of the arctic ocean must have occupied the valley of the irtish, and extended to the caspian sea; till the elevation of the kirghiz steppes cut off the { }communication with the ocean, leaving an inland sea with its seals. lake baikal, however, offers much greater difficulties; since it is not only a fresh-water lake, but is situated in a mountain district nearly , feet above the sea level, and entirely separated from the plains by several hundred miles of high land. it is true that such an amount of submergence and elevation is known to have occurred in europe so recently as during the glacial period; but lake baikal is so surrounded by mountains, that it must at that time have been filled with ice, if at anything like its present elevation. its emergence from the sea must therefore have taken place since the cold epoch, and this would imply that an enormous extent of northern asia has been very recently under water. we are accustomed to look on seals as animals which exclusively inhabit salt water; but it is probably from other causes than its saltness that they usually keep to the open sea, and there seems no reason why fresh-water should not suit them quite as well, provided they find in it a sufficiency of food, facilities for rearing their young, and freedom from the attacks of enemies. as already remarked in vol. i. p. , mr. belt's ingenious hypothesis (founded on personal examination of the siberian steppes), that during the glacial period the northern ice-cap dammed up the waters of the northward flowing asiatic rivers, and thus formed a vast fresh-water lake which might have risen as high as lake baikal, seems to offer the best solution of this curious problem of distribution. _range of carnivora in time._--carnivora have been found in all the tertiary deposits, and comprise a number of extinct genera and even families. several genera of canidæ occur in the upper eocene of europe; but the most remarkable fact is, that even in the lower eocene are found two well-marked forms, _palæonyctis_, one of the viverridæ, and _arctocyon_, forming a distinct family type of very generalized characters, but unmistakably a carnivore. this last has been found at la fère, in the north-east of france, in a deposit which, according to m. gaudry, is the very lowest of the lower eocene formation in europe. _arctocyon_ is therefore one of the oldest, if not the very oldest, of the higher forms of mammal yet discovered. { }_order v.--cetacea._ family .--balÆnidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution.--temperate and cold seas of both northern and southern hemispheres. this family comprises the whalebone or "right" whales, the best known species being the greenland whale (_balæna mysticetus_). allied species are found in all parts of the southern seas, as far north as the cape of good hope; while some of the northern species are found off the coast of spain, and even enter the mediterranean. as most of the species indicated are imperfectly known, and their classification by no means well settled, no useful purpose will be served by enumerating the genera or sub-genera. family .--balÆnopteridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution.--cold and temperate seas of both hemispheres. this family comprises the finner whales and rorquals, and are characterised by possessing a dorsal fin and having the baleen or whalebone less developed. they are abundant in all northern seas, less so in the southern hemisphere, but they seem occasionally to enter the tropical seas. the best known genera are _megaptera_ ( species); _physalus_ ( species); and _balænoptera_ ( species); all of which have species in the north sea. family .--catodontidÆ. ( genera, or sub-genera, species.) general distribution.--all the tropical oceans, extending north and south into temperate waters. this family, comprising the cachalots or sperm whales, and black-fish, are separated from the true whales by having teeth in the lower jaw and no whalebone. they are pre-eminently a tropical, as distinguished from the two preceding which are { }arctic and antarctic families. the spermaceti whale (_catodon macrocephalus_) abounds in the pacific ocean and in the deep moluccan sea, and also in the indian ocean and the mozambique channel. in the atlantic it is scarce, although it occasionally comes north as far as our shores. the genera of catodontidæ as given by dr. gray are, _catodon_ ( species?), warm eastern oceans; _physeter_ ( species), "the black fish," north sea; _cogia_ ( species), south temperate oceans; _euphysetes_ ( species), coast of australia. family .--hyperoodontidÆ. ( genera or sub-genera, species.) general distribution.--atlantic, mediterranean, indian ocean, and southern ocean. this family consists of the beaked whales, which have no permanent teeth in the upper jaw. the genera, according to dr. gray, are, _hyperoodon_ ( species) "bottle-nosed whales," north sea; _lagenocetus_ ( species), north sea; _epiodon_ ( species), north and south atlantic; _petrorhynchus_ ( species), mediterranean sea and southern ocean; _berardius_ ( species), new zealand; _xiphius_ ( species) north atlantic; _dolichodon_ ( species), cape of good hope; _neoziphius_ ( species) mediterranean; _dioplodon_ ( species), indian ocean. family .--monodontidÆ. ( genus, species.) the "narwhal" (_monodon monoceros_) which constitutes this family, is placed by dr. gray along with the "white whales," in his family belugidæ. it inhabits the north sea. family .--delphinidÆ. ( genera or sub-genera, species.) general distribution.--all oceans, seas, and great rivers of the globe. this family, including the porpoises, dolphins, white whales, &c., may be described as small, fish-shaped whales, having teeth { }in both jaws. according to dr. gray they form seven families and genera; according to professor carus, four sub-families and genera, but as these groups appear to be established on quite different principles, and often differ widely from each other, i shall simply enumerate dr. gray's genera with their distribution as given in his british museum catalogue. _platanista_ ( species), long-snouted porpoises, inhabiting the ganges and indus; _inia_ ( species), a somewhat similar form, inhabiting the upper waters of the amazonian rivers: _steno_ ( species), indian ocean, cape of good hope, and west pacific; _sotalia_ ( species), guiana; _delphinus_ ( species), all the oceans; _clymenia_ ( species), all the oceans; _delphinapterus_ ( species), south atlantic; _tursio_ ( species), atlantic and indian oceans; _eutropia_ ( species), chili, and cape of good hope; _electra_, ( species), all the oceans; _leucopleurus_ ( species), north sea; _lagenorhynchus_ ( species), north sea; _pseudorca_ ( species), north sea, tasmania; _orcaella_ ( species), ganges; _acanthodelphis_ ( species), brazil; _phocæna_ ( species), north sea; _neomeris_ ( species), india; _grampus_ ( species), north sea, mediterranean, cape of good hope; _globiocephalus_ ( species), all the oceans; _sphærocephalus_ ( species), north atlantic; _orca_ ( species), northern and southern oceans; _ophysia_ ( species), north pacific; _beluga_ ( species), arctic seas, australia; _pontoporia_ ( species), monte video. _fossil cetacea._ remains of cetacea are tolerably abundant in tertiary deposits, both in europe and north america. in the lower pliocene of england, france, and germany, extinct species of five or six living genera of whales and dolphins have been found; and most of these occur also in the upper miocene, along with many others, referred to about a dozen extinct genera. in the post-pliocene deposits of vermont and south carolina, several extinct species have been found belonging to living genera; but in the miocene deposits of the eastern united states cetacean remains are much more abundant, more than species of { }extinct whales and dolphins having been described, most of them belonging to extinct genera. the zeuglodontidæ, an extinct family of carnivorous whales, with double-fanged serrated molar teeth, whose affinities are somewhat doubtful, are found in the older pliocene of europe, and in the miocene and eocene of the eastern united states. _zeuglodon_ abounds in the united states, and one species reached a length of seventy feet. a species of this genus is said to have been found in malta. _squalodon_ occurs in europe and north america; and in the latter country four or five other genera have been described, of which one, _saurocetes_, has been found also at buenos ayres. _order vi.--sirenia._ family .--manatidÆ. ( genera, species?) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- |-- -- -- --| . -- -- | . -- -- | . . -- | -- -- -- | | | | | the sea-cows are herbivorous aquatic animals living on the coasts or in the great rivers of several parts of the globe. _manatus_ ( species) inhabits both shores of the atlantic, one species ranging from the gulf of mexico to north brazil, and ascending the amazon far into the interior of the continent; while the other is found on the west coast of africa. _halicore_ ( species?), the dugong, is peculiar to the indian ocean, extending from mozambique to the red sea, thence to western india and ceylon, the malay archipelago and the north coast of australia. _rytina_ ( species), supposed to be now extinct, inhabited recently the north pacific, between kamschatka and behring's straits. _fossil sirenia._--extinct species of _manatus_ have been found in the post-pliocene deposits of eastern north america from { }maryland to florida; and an extinct genus, _prorastomus_, in some tertiary deposits in the island of jamaica. in post-pliocene deposits in siberia, remains of _rytina_ have been found; while several species of the extinct genus _halitherium_, perhaps intermediate between _manatus_ and _halicore_, have been found in the older pliocene and upper miocene of france and germany. _order vii.--ungulata._ family .--equidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ living species. | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- . -- | . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | extinct species. | | | | | . -- -- | . . -- | . . . |-- -- -- --| -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the horses, asses, and zebras form a highly specialized group now confined to the ethiopian and palæarctic regions, but during the middle and later tertiaries having a very extensive range. the zebras ( species) inhabit the greater part of the ethiopian region, while the asses ( species) are characteristic of the deserts of the palæarctic region from north africa and syria to western india, mongolia, and manchuria. the domestic horse is not known in a wild state, but its remains are found in recent deposits from britain to the altai mountains, so that its disappearance is probably due to human agency. _extinct equidæ._--extinct forms of this family are very numerous. the genus _equus_ occurs in post-pliocene and pliocene deposits in europe, north america, and south america. in north america the species are most numerous. an allied genus _hipparion_, having rudimentary lateral toes, is represented { }by several species in the pliocene of north america, while in europe it occurs both in the older pliocene and upper miocene. various other allied forms, in which the lateral toes are more and more developed, and most of which are now classed in a distinct family, anchitheridæ, range back through the miocene to the eocene period. a sufficient account of these has already been given in vol. i. chap. vi. p. , to which the reader is referred for the supposed origin and migrations of the horse. family --tapiridÆ. ( genera? species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the tapirs form a small group of animals whose discontinuous distribution plainly indicates their approaching extinction. for a long time only two species were known, the black american, and the white-banded malay tapir, the former confined to the equatorial forests of south america, the latter to the malay peninsula, sumatra, and borneo (plate viii. vol. i. p. ). lately however another, or perhaps two distinct species (or according to dr. j. e. gray, four!) have been discovered in the andes of new granada and ecuador, at an elevation of from , to , feet; while one or perhaps two more, forming the allied genus _elasmognathus_, have been found to inhabit central america from panama to guatemala. _extinct tapirs._--true tapirs inhabited western europe, from the latest pliocene back to the earliest miocene times; while they only occur in either north or south america in the post-pliocene deposits and caves. the singular distribution of the living species is thus explained, since we see that they are an old world group which only entered the american continent at a comparatively recent epoch. an ancestral form of this group--_lophiodon_--is found in miocene and eocene deposits of { }europe and north america; while a still more ancient form of large size is found in the lower eocene of france and england, indicating an immense antiquity for this group of mammalia. there are many other extinct forms connecting these with the palæotheridæ, already noticed in chapter vi. (vol. i. pp. - ). family .--rhinocerotidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ living species. | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- |-- -- . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | extinct species. | | | | | -- -- -- --| . -- -- | . . . |-- -- -- --| -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | living rhinoceroses are especially characteristic of africa, with northern and malayan india. four or perhaps five species, all two-horned, are found in africa, where they range over the whole country south of the desert to the cape of good hope. in the oriental region there are also four or five species, which range from the forests at the foot of the himalayas eastwards through assam, chittagong, and siam, to sumatra, borneo and java. three of these are one-horned, the others found in sumatra, and northwards to pegu and chittagong, two-horned. the asiatic differ from the african species in some dental characters, but they are in other respects so much alike that they are not generally considered to form distinct genera. in his latest catalogue however ( ), dr. gray has four genera, _rhinoceros_ ( species), and _ceratorhinus_ ( species), asiatic; _rhinaster_ ( species), and _ceratotherium_ ( species), african. _extinct rhinocerotidæ._--numerous species of _rhinoceros_ ranged over europe and asia from the post-pliocene back to the upper miocene period, and in north america during the pliocene period { }only. the hornless _acerotherium_ is miocene only, in both countries. other genera are _leptodon_ from greece, and _hyracodon_ from nebraska, both of miocene age. more than species of extinct rhinoceroses are known, and one has even been found at an altitude of , feet in thibet. family .--hippopotamidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ living species. | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | extinct species. | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . -- -- |-- -- -- --| -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the hippopotamus inhabits all the great rivers of africa; a distinct species of a smaller size being found on the west coast, and on some of the rivers flowing into lake tchad. _fossil hippopotami._--eight extinct species of _hippopotamus_ are known from europe and india, the former post-pliocene or pliocene, the latter of upper miocene age. they ranged as far north as the thames valley. an extinct genus from the siwalik hills, _merycopotamus_, according to dr. falconer connects _hippopotamus_ with _anthracotherium_, an extinct form from the miocene of europe, allied to the swine. family .--suidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- . -- | . . . | . . . | . . . | . -- -- -- | | | | | the swine may be divided into three well-marked groups, from peculiarities in their dentition. . the dicotylinæ, or { }peccaries ( genus, _dicotyles_). these offer so many structural differences that they are often classed as a separate family. . the true swine ( genera, _sus_, _potamochoerus_, and _babirusa_); and, . the phacochoerinæ, or wart hogs ( genus, _phacochoerus_). these last are also sometimes made into a separate family, but they are hardly so distinct as the dicotylinæ. the peccaries ( species), are peculiar to the neotropical region, extending from mexico to paraguay. they also spread northwards into texas, and as far as the red river of arkansas, thus just entering the nearctic region; but with this exception swine are wholly absent from this region, forming an excellent feature by which to differentiate it from the palæarctic. _sus_ ( species), ranges over the palæarctic and oriental regions and into the first australian sub-region as far as new guinea; but it is absent from the ethiopian region, or barely enters it on the north-east. _potamochoerus_ ( species?), is wholly ethiopian (plate v. vol. i. p. ). _babirusa_ ( species), is confined to two islands, celebes and bouru, in the first australian sub-region. _phacochoerus_ ( species), ranges over tropical africa from abyssinia to caffraria. dr. j. e. gray divides true swine (_sus_) into genera, but it seems far better to keep them as one. _fossil suidæ._--these are very numerous. many extinct species of wild hog (_sus_), are found in europe and north india, ranging back from the post-pliocene to the upper miocene formations. in the miocene of europe are numerous extinct genera, _bothriodon_, _anthracotherium_, _palæochoerus_, _hyotherium_, and some others; while in the upper eocene occur _cebochoerus_, _choeropotamus_, and _acotherium_,--these early forms having more resemblance to the peccaries. none of these genera are found in america, where we have the living genus _dicotyles_ in the post-pliocene and pliocene deposits, both of north and south america; with a number of extinct genera in the miocene. the chief of these are, _elotherium_, _perchoerus_, _leptochoerus_, and _nanohyus_, all from dakota, and _thinohyus_, from oregon. one extinct genus, _platygonus_, closely allied to _dicotyles_, is found in the post-pliocene of nebraska, { }oregon, and arkansas. _elotherium_ is said to be allied to the peccary and hippopotamus. _hyopotamus_, from the miocene of dakota, is allied to _anthracotherium_, and forms with it (according to dr. leidy) a distinct family of ancestral swine. it thus appears, that the swine were almost equally well represented in north america and europe, during miocene and pliocene times, but by entirely distinct forms; and it is a remarkable fact that these hardy omnivorous animals, should, like the horses, have entirely died out in north america, except a few peccaries which have preserved themselves in the sub-tropical parts and in the southern continent, to which they are comparatively recent emigrants. we can hardly have a more convincing proof of the vast physical changes that have occurred in the north american continent during the pliocene and post-pliocene epochs, than the complete extinction of these, along with so many other remarkable types of mammalia. according to m. gaudry, the ancestors of all the swine, with the hippopotami and extinct _anthracotherium_, _merycopotamus_, and many allied forms,--are the _hyracotherium_ and _pliolophus_, both found only in the london clay belonging to the lower eocene formation. family .--camelidÆ. ( genera, species). general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ living species. | | | | | . -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | extinct species. | | | | | . -- -- --|-- . . |-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- . --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the camels are an exceedingly restricted group, the majority of the species now existing only in a state of domestication. the genus _camelus_ ( species), is a highly characteristic desert form { }of the palæarctic region, from the sahara to mongolia as far as lake baikal. _auchenia_ ( species), comprehending the llamas and alpacas, is equally characteristic of the mountains and deserts of the southern part of south america. two species entirely domesticated inhabit the peruvian and bolivian andes; and two others are found in a wild state, the vicuna in the andes of peru and chili (plate xvi. vol. ii. p. ), and the guanaco over the plains of patagonia and tierra del fuego. _extinct camelidæ._--no fossil remains of camels have been found in europe, but one occurs in the deposits of the siwalik hills, usually classed as upper miocene, but which some naturalists think are more likely of older pliocene age. _merycotherium_, teeth of which have been found in the siberian drift, is supposed to belong to this family. in north america, where no representative of the family now exists, the camel-tribe were once abundant. in the post-pliocene deposits of california an _auchenia_ has been found, and in those of kansas one of the extinct genus _procamelus_. in the pliocene period, this genus, which was closely allied to the living camels, abounded, six or seven species having been described from nebraska and texas, together with an allied form _homocamelus_. in the miocene period different genera appear,--_poebrotherium_, and _protomeryx_,--while a _procamelus_ has been found in deposits of this age in virginia. in south america a species of _auchenia_ has been found in the caves of brazil, and others in the pliocene deposits of the pampas, together with two extinct genera, _palæolama_ and _camelotherium_. we thus find the ancestors of the camelidæ in a region where they do not now exist, but which is situated so that the now widely separated living forms could easily have been derived from it. this case offers a remarkable example of the light thrown by palæontology on the distribution of living animals; and it is a warning against the too common practice of assuming the direct land connection of remote continents, in order to explain similar instances of discontinuous distribution to that of the present family. { }family .--tragulidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the tragulidæ are a group of small, hornless, deer-like animals, with tusks in the upper jaw, and having some structural affinities with the camels. the musk-deer was formerly classed in this family, which it resembles externally; but a minute examination of its structure by m. milne-edwards, has shown it to be more nearly allied to the true deer. the chevrotains, or mouse-deer, _tragulus_ ( species), range over all india to the foot of the himalayas and ceylon, and through assam, malacca, and cambodja, to sumatra, borneo, and java (plate viii., vol. i. p. ). _hyomoschus_ ( species), is found in west africa. _extinct tragulidæ._--a species of _hyomoschus_ is said to have been found in the miocene of the south of france, as well as three extinct genera, _dremotherium_ (also found in greece), with _lophiomeryx_ from the upper miocene, said to be allied to _tragulus_; and _amphitragulus_ from the lower miocene, of more remote affinities, and sometimes placed among the deer. there seems to be no doubt, however, that this family existed in europe in miocene times; and thus another case of discontinuous distribution is satisfactorily accounted for. family .--cervidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . -- | . . . | . . . |-- -- -- --| . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | the cervidæ, or deer tribe, are an extensive group of animals equally adapted for inhabiting forests or open plains, the arctic { }regions or the tropics. they range in fact over the whole of the great continents of the globe, with the one striking exception of africa, where they are only found on the shores of the mediterranean which form part of the palæarctic region. the following is the distribution of the genera. _alces_ ( species), the elk or moose, ranges all over northern europe and asia, as far south as east prussia, the caucasus, and north china; and over arctic america to maine on the east, and british columbia on the west. the american species may however be distinct, although very closely allied to that of europe. _tarandus_ ( species), the reindeer, has a similar range to the last, but keeps farther north in europe, inhabiting greenland and spitzbergen; and in america extends farther south, to new brunswick and the north shore of lake superior. there are several varieties or species of this animal confined to special districts, but they are not yet well determined. _cervus_ ( species), the true deer, have been sub-divided into numerous sub-genera characteristic of separate districts. they range over the whole area of the family, except that they do not go beyond ° n. in america and a little further in europe and asia. in south america they extend over patagonia and even to tierra del fuego. they are found in the north of africa, and over the whole of the oriental region, and beyond it as far as the moluccas and timor, where however they have probably been introduced by man at an early period. _dama_ ( species), the fallow deer, is a native of the shores of the mediterranean, from spain and barbary to syria. _capreolus_ ( species), the roe-deer, inhabits all temperate and south europe to syria, with a distinct species in n. china. _cervulus_ ( species), the muntjacs, are found in all the forest districts of the oriental region, from india and ceylon to china as far north as ningpo and formosa, also southward to the philippines, borneo, and java. _moschus_ ( species), the musk-deer, inhabits central asia from the amoor and pekin, to the himalayas and the siamese mountains above ft. elevation. this is usually classed as a distinct family, but m. milne-edwards remarks, that it differs in no important points of organisation from the rest of the cervidæ. _hydropotes_ { }( species) inhabits china from the yang-tse kiang northwards. this new genus has recently been discovered by mr. swinhoe, who says its nearest affinities are with _moschus_. other new forms are _lophotragus_, and _elaphodus_, both inhabiting north china; the former is hornless, the latter has very small horns about an inch long. _extinct deer._--numerous extinct species of the genus _cervus_ are found fossil in many parts of europe, and in all formations between the post-pliocene and the upper miocene. the elk and reindeer are also found in caves and post-pliocene deposits, the latter as far south as the south of france. extinct genera only, occur in the upper miocene in various parts of europe:--_micromeryx_, _palæomeryx_, and _dicrocercus_ have been described; with others referred doubtfully to _moschus_, and an allied genus _amphimoschus_. in n. america, remains of this family are very scarce, a _cervus_ allied to the existing wapiti deer, being found in post-pliocene deposits, and an extinct genus, _leptomeryx_, in the upper miocene of dakota and oregon. another extinct genus, _merycodus_, from the pliocene of oregon, is said to be allied to camels and deer. in south america, several species of _cervus_ have been found in the brazilian caves, and in the pliocene deposits of la plata. it thus appears, that there are not yet sufficient materials for determining the origin and migrations of the cervidæ. there can be little doubt that they are an old world group, and a comparatively recent development; and that some time during the miocene period they passed to north america, and subsequently to the southern continent. they do not however appear to have developed much in north america, owing perhaps to their finding the country already amply stocked with numerous forms of indigenous ungulates. { }family .--camelopardalidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ living species. | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | extinct species. | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | -- -- -- |-- -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the camelopardalidæ, or giraffes, now consist of but a single species which ranges over all the open country of the ethiopian region, and is therefore almost absent from west africa, which is more especially a forest district. during the middle tertiary period, however, these animals had a wider range, over southern europe and western india as far as the slopes of the himalayas. _extinct species._--species of _camelopardalis_ have been found in greece, the siwalik hills, and perim island at the entrance to the red sea; and an extinct genus, _helladotherium_, more bulky but not so tall as the giraffe, ranged from the south of france to greece and north-west india. family .--bovidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --| . -- | . . . | . . -- | . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | this large and important family, includes all the animals commonly known as oxen, buffaloes, antelopes, sheep, and goats, which have been classed by many naturalists in at least three, and sometimes four or five, distinct families. zoologically, they { }are briefly and accurately defined as, "hollow-horned ruminants;" and, although they present wide differences in external form, they grade so insensibly into each other, that no satisfactory definition of the smaller family groups can be found. as a whole they are almost confined to the great old world continent, only a few forms extending along the highlands and prairies of the nearctic region; while one peculiar type is found in celebes, an island which is almost intermediate between the oriental and australian regions. in each of the old world regions there are found a characteristic set of types. antelopes prevail in the ethiopian region; sheep and goats in the palæarctic; while the oxen are perhaps best developed in the oriental region. sir victor brooke, who has paid special attention to this family, divides them into sub-families, and i here adopt the arrangement of the genera and species which he has been so good as to communicate to me in mss. sub-family i. bovinÆ ( genera, species). this group is one of the best marked in the family. it comprises the oxen and buffaloes with their allies, and has a distribution very nearly the same as that of the entire family. the genera are as follows: bos ( sp.), now represented by our domestic cattle, the descendants of the _bos primigenius_, which ranged over a large part of central europe in the time of the romans. the chillingham wild cattle are supposed to be the nearest approach to the original species. _bison_ ( sp.), one still wild in poland and the caucasus; the other in north america, ranging over the prairies west of the mississippi, and on the eastern slopes of the rocky mountains (plate xix., vol. ii., p. ). _bibos_ ( sp.), the indian wild cattle, ranging over a large part of the oriental region, from southern india to assam, burmah, the malay peninsula, borneo, and java. _poephagus_ ( sp.), the yak, confined to the high plains of western thibet. _bubalus_ ( sp.), the buffaloes, of which three species are african, ranging over all the continental parts of the ethiopian region; one northern and central indian; and the domesticated animal in south europe and north africa. _anoa_ ( sp.), the small wild cow of celebes, { }a very peculiar form more nearly allied to the buffaloes than to any other type of oxen. sub-family ii. tragelaphinÆ: ( genera, species). the bovine antelopes are large and handsome animals, mostly ethiopian, but extending into the adjacent parts of the palæarctic and oriental regions. the genera are: _oreas_ ( sp.), elands, inhabiting all tropical and south africa. _tragelaphus_ ( sp.), including the bosch-bok, kudu, and other large antelopes, ranges over all tropical and south africa (plate iv., vol. i., p. ). _portax_ ( sp.) india, but rare in madras and north of the ganges. sub-family iii. oryginÆ: ( genera, species). _oryx_ ( sp.) is a desert genus, ranging over all the african deserts to south arabia and syria; _addax_ ( sp.) inhabits north africa, north arabia, and syria. sub-family iv. hippotraginÆ ( genus, species). the sable antelopes, _hippotragus_, form an isolated group inhabiting the open country of tropical africa and south to the cape. sub-family v. gazellinÆ ( genera, species). this is a group of small or moderate-sized animals, most abundant in the deserts on the borders of the palæarctic, oriental, and ethiopian regions. _gazella_ ( sp.) is typically a palæarctic desert group, ranging over the great desert plateaus of north africa, from senegal and abyssinia to syria, persia, beloochistan, and the plains of india, with one outlying species in south africa. _procapra_ ( sp.), western thibet and mongolia to about ° east longitude. _antilope_ ( sp.) inhabits all the plains of india. _Æpyceros_ ( sp.) the pallah, inhabits the open country of south and south-east africa. _saiga_ ( sp.) a singular sheep-faced antelope, which inhabits the steppes of eastern europe and western asia from poland to the irtish river, south of ° north latitude. (plate ii., vol. i., p. .) _panthalops_ ( sp.) confined to the highlands of western thibet and perhaps turkestan. sub-family vi. antilocaprinÆ ( genus, species), _antilocapra_, the prong-horned antelope, inhabit both sides of the rocky mountains, extending north to the saskatchewan and { }columbia river, west to the coast range of california, and east to the missouri. its remarkable deciduous horns seem to indicate a transition to the cervidæ. (plate xix., vol. ii., p. .) sub-family vii. cervicaprinÆ ( genera, species). this group of antelopes is wholly confined to the continental portion of the ethiopian region. the genera are: _cervicapra_ ( sp.), africa, south of the equator and abyssinia; _kobus_ ( sp.), grassy plains and marshes of tropical africa; _pelea_ ( sp.), south africa; _nanotragus_ ( species), africa, south of the sahara; _neotragus_ ( sp.) abyssinia and east africa. sub-family viii. cephalophinÆ ( genera, species), africa and india; _cephalophus_ ( sp.), continental ethiopian region; _tetraceros_ ( sp.) hilly part of all india, but rare north of the ganges. sub-family ix. alcephalinÆ ( genera, species), large african antelopes, one species just entering the palæarctic region. the genera are: _alcephalus_ ( sp.) all africa and north-east to syria; _catoblepas_ ( sp.), gnus, africa, south of the equator. sub-region x. budorcinÆ ( genus, species) _budorcas_ inhabits the high himalayas from nepal to east thibet. sub-family xi. rupicaprinÆ ( genus, species) the chamois, _rupicapra_, inhabit the high european alps from the pyrenees to the caucasus. (plate i., vol. i., p. .) sub-family xii. nemorhedinÆ ( genera, species). these goat-like antelopes inhabit portions of the palæarctic and oriental regions, as well as the rocky mountains in the nearctic region. _nemorhedus_ ( sp.) ranges from the eastern himalayas to n. china and japan, and south to formosa, the malay peninsula and sumatra. _aplocerus_ ( sp.), the mountain goat of the trappers, inhabits the northern parts of california and the rocky mountains. sub-family xiii. caprinÆ ( genera, species). the goats and sheep form an extensive series, highly characteristic of the palæarctic region, but with an outlying species on the neilgherries in southern india, and one in the rocky mountains and california. the genera are _capra_ ( sp.) and _ovibos_ ( sp.). { }the genus _capra_ consists of several sub-groups which have been named as genera, but it is unnecessary here to do more than divide them into "goats and ibexes" on the one hand and "sheep" on the other--each comprising species. the former range over all the south european alps from spain to the caucasus; to abyssinia, persia, and scinde; over the high himalayas to e. thibet and n. china; with an outlying species in the neilgherries. the latter are only found in the mountains of corsica, sardinia, and crete, in europe; in asia minor, persia, and in central and north-eastern asia, with one somewhat isolated species in the atlas mountains; while in america a species is found in the rocky mountains and the coast range of california. _ovibos_ ( sp.), the musk-sheep, inhabits arctic america north of lat. ; but it occurs fossil in post-glacial gravels on the yena and obi in siberia, in germany and france along with the mammoth and with flint implements, and in caves of the reindeer period; also in the brick earth in the south of england, associated with _rhinoceros megarhinus_ and _elephas antiquus_. _extinct bovidæ._--in the caverns and diluviums of europe, of the post-pliocene period, the remains are found of extinct species of _bos_, _bison_, and _capra_; and in the caverns of the south of france _rupicapra_, and an antelope near _hippotragus_. _bos_ and _bison_ also occur in pliocene deposits. in the miocene of europe, the only remains are antelopes closely allied to existing species, and these are especially numerous in greece, where remains referred to two living and four extinct genera have been discovered. in the miocene of india numerous extinct species of _bos_, and two extinct genera, _hemibos_ and _amphibos_, have been found, one of them at a great elevation in thibet. antelopes, allied to living indian species, are chiefly found in the nerbudda deposits. in north america, the only bovine remains are those of a _bison_, and a sheep or goat, in the post-pliocene deposits; and of two species of musk-sheep, sometimes classed in a distinct genus _bootherium_, from beds of the same age in arkansas and ohio. _casoryx_, from the pliocene of nebraska, is supposed to be allied to the antelopes and to deer. { }in the caves of brazil remains of two animals said to be antelopes, have been discovered. they are classed by gervais in the genera _antilope_ and _leptotherium_, but the presence of true antelopes in s. america at this period is so improbable, that there is probably some error of identification. the extinct family sivatheridæ, containing the extraordinary and gigantic four-horned _sivatherium_ and _bramatherium_, of the siwalik deposits, are most nearly allied to the antelopes. from the preceding facts we may conclude, that the great existing development of the bovidæ is comparatively recent. the type may have originated early in the miocene period, the oxen being at first most tropical, while the antelopes inhabited the desert zone a little further north. the sheep and goats seem to be the most recent development of the bovine type, which was probably long confined to the eastern hemisphere. _general remarks on the distribution of the ungulata._ with the exception of the australian region, from which this order of mammalia is almost entirely wanting, the ungulata are almost universally distributed over the continental parts of all the other regions. of the ten families, are ethiopian, oriental, palæarctic, neotropical, and nearctic. the ethiopian region owes its superiority to the exclusive possession of the hippopotamus and giraffe, both of which inhabited the palæarctic and oriental regions in miocene times. the excessive poverty of the nearctic region in this order is remarkable; the swine being represented only by _dicotyles_ in its extreme southern portion, while the bovidæ are restricted to four isolated species. deer alone are fairly well represented. but, during the eocene and miocene periods, north america was wonderfully rich in varied forms of ungulates, of which there were at least or families; while we have reason to believe that during the same periods the ethiopian region was excessively poor, and that it probably received the ancestors of all its existing families from europe or western asia in later miocene or pliocene times. many types that once abounded in both europe and north america are now preserved only in south america and central or tropical asia,--as { }the tapirs and camels; while others once confined to europe and asia have found a refuge in africa,--as the hippopotamus and giraffe; so that in no other order do we find such striking examples of those radical changes in the distribution of the higher animals which were effected during the latter part of the tertiary period. the present distribution of this order is, in fact, utterly unintelligible without reference to the numerous extinct forms of existing and allied families; but as this subject has been sufficiently discussed in the second part of this work (chapters vi. and vii.) it is unnecessary to give further details here. _order viii.--proboscidea._ family .--elephantidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ living species. | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- | . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | extinct species. | | | | | . -- -- | . . . | . . . | -- -- -- | -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the elephants are now represented by two species, the african, which ranges all over that continent south of the sahara, and the indian, which is found over all the wooded parts of the oriental region, from the slopes of the himalayas to ceylon, and eastward, to the frontiers of china and to sumatra and borneo. these, however, are but the feeble remnants of a host of gigantic creatures, which roamed over all the great continents except australia during the tertiary period, and several of which were contemporary with man. _extinct elephants._--at least extinct species of _elephas_, and a rather greater number of the allied genus _mastodon_ (distinguished by their less complex grinding teeth) have now been { }discovered. elephants ranged over all the palæarctic and nearctic regions in post-pliocene times; in europe and central india they go back to the pliocene; and only in india to the upper miocene period; the number of species increasing as we go back to the older formations. in north america two or three species of _mastodon_ are post-pliocene and pliocene; and a species is found in the caves of brazil, and in the pliocene deposits of the pampas of la plata, of the bolivian andes, and of honduras and the bahamas. in europe the genus is upper miocene and pliocene, but is especially abundant in the former period. in the east, it extends from perim island to burmah and over all india, and is mostly miocene, but with perhaps one species pliocene in central india. an account of the range of such animals as belong to extinct families of proboscidea, will be found in chapters vi. and vii.; from which it will be seen that, although the family elephantidæ undoubtedly originated in the eastern hemisphere, it is not improbable that the first traces of the order proboscidea are to be found in n. america. _order ix.--hyracoidea._ family .--hyracidÆ. ( genus. - species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- . -- --| . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the genus _hyrax_, which alone constitutes this family, consists of small animals having the appearance of hares or marmots, but which more resemble the genus _rhinoceros_ in their teeth and skeleton. they range all over the ethiopian region, except madagascar; a peculiar species is found in fernando po, and they just enter the palæarctic as far as syria. they may therefore be considered as an exclusively ethiopian group. in dr. gray's { }last catalogue ( ) he divides the genus into three--_hyrax_, _euhyrax_ and _dendrohyrax_--the latter consisting of two species confined apparently to west and south africa. no extinct forms of this family have yet been discovered; the _hyracotherium_ of the london clay (lower eocene) which was supposed to resemble _hyrax_, is now believed to be an ancestral type of the suidæ or swine. _order x.--rodentia._ family .--muridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . |-- -- -- | | | | | the muridæ, comprising the rats and mice with their allies, are almost universally distributed over the globe (even not reckoning the domestic species which have been introduced almost everywhere by man), the exceptions being the three insular groups belonging to the australian region, from none of which have any species yet been obtained. before enumerating the genera it will be as well to say a few words on the peculiarities of distribution they present. the true mice, forming the genus _mus_, is distributed over the whole of the world except n. and s. america where not a single indigenous species occurs, being replaced by the genus _hesperomys_; five other genera, comprehending all the remaining species found in south america are peculiar to the neotropical region. three genera are confined to the palæarctic region, and three others to the nearctic. no less than twelve genera are exclusively ethiopian, while only three are exclusively oriental and three australian. _mus_ ( - sp.) the eastern hemisphere, but absent from the pacific and austro-malayan islands, except celebes and papua; _lasiomys_ ( sp.) guinea; _acanthomys_ ( - sp.) africa, india and { }n. australia; _cricetomys_ ( sp.) tropical africa; _saccostomus_ ( sp.) mozambique; _cricetus_ ( sp.) palæarctic region and egypt; _cricetulus_ ( sp., milne-edwards, ) pekin; _pseudomys_ ( sp.) australia; _hapalotis_ ( sp.) australia; _phlæomys_ ( sp.) philippines; _platacanthomys_ ( sp., blyth, ) malabar; _dendromys_ ( sp.) s. africa; _nesomys_ ( sp. peters, ) madagascar; _steatomys_ ( sp.) n. and s. africa; _pelomys_ ( sp.) mozambique; _reithrodon_ ( sp.) n. america, lat. ° to mexico, and south to tierra del fuego; _acodon_ ( sp.) peru; _myxomys_ ( sp.) guatemala; _hesperomys_ ( sp.) north and south america; _holochilus_ ( sp.) south america; _oxymycterus_ ( sp.) brazil and la plata; _neotoma_ ( sp.) u.s., east coast to california; _sigmodon_ ( sp.) southern united states; _drymomys_ ( sp.) peru; _neotomys_ ( sp.) s. america; _otomys_ ( sp.) s. and e. africa; _meriones_ = _gerbillus_ ( - sp.) egypt, central asia, india, africa; _rhombomys_ ( sp.) s. e. europe, n. africa, central asia; _malacothrix_ ( sp.) south africa; _mystromys_ ( sp.) south africa; _psammomys_ ( sp.) egypt; _spalacomys_ ( sp.) india; _sminthus_ ( - sp.) east europe, tartary, siberia; _hydromys_ ( sp.) australia and tasmania; _hypogeomys_ ( sp., grandidier, ) madagascar; _brachytarsomys_ ( sp., günther, ) madagascar; _fiber_ ( sp.) n. america to mexico; _arvicola_ ( sp.) europe to asia minor, north asia, himalayas, temp. n. america; _cuniculus_ ( sp.) n. e. europe, siberia, greenland, arctic america; _myodes_ ( sp.) europe, siberia, arctic america, and northern united states; _myospalax_ = _siphneus_ ( sp.) altai mountains and n. china[ ]; _lophiomys_ ( sp.) s. arabia, and n. e. africa; _echiothrix_ ( sp.) australia. _extinct muridæ._--species of _mus_, _cricetus_, _arvicola_, and _myodes_, occur in the post-pliocene deposits of europe; _arvicola_, _meriones_, and the extinct genus _cricetodon_, with some others, in the miocene. in north america, _fiber_, _arvicola_, and _neotoma_, occur in caves; { }an extinct genus, _eumys_, in the upper miocene of dakota, and another, _mysops_, in the eocene of wyoming. in south america _mus_, or more probably _hesperomys_, is abundant in brazilian caverns, and _oxymycterus_ in the pliocene of la plata; while _arvicola_ is said to have occurred both in the pliocene and eocene deposits of the same country. family .--spalacidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- | . . -- | -- . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the spalacidæ, or mole-rats, have a straggling distribution over the old world continents. they are found over nearly the whole of africa, but only in the south-east of europe, and west of temperate asia, but appearing again in north india, malacca, and south china. _ellobius_ ( sp.), is found in south russia and south-west siberia; _spalax_ ( sp.), southern russia, west asia, hungary, moldavia, and greece (plate ii., vol. i. p. ); _rhizomys_ ( sp.), abyssinia, north india, malacca, south china; _heterocephalus_ ( sp.), abyssinia; _bathyerges_ (= _orycterus_ sp.), south africa; _georychus_ ( sp.), south, central, and east africa; _heliophobus_ ( sp.), mozambique. family .--dipodidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --| . . . |-- . . | . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the jerboas, or jumping mice, are especially characteristic of the regions about the eastern extremity of the mediterranean, being found in south russia, the caspian district, arabia, egypt, { }and abyssinia; but they also extend over a large part of africa, and eastward to india; while isolated forms occur in north america, and the cape of good hope. _dipus_ = _gerbillus_ ( sp.), inhabits north and central africa, south-east europe, and across temperate asia to north china, also afghanistan, india, and ceylon; _pedetes_ ( sp.), south africa to mozambique and angola; _jaculus_ = _meriones_ ( sp.), north america, from nova scotia and canada, south to pennsylvania and west to california and british columbia (plate xx., vol. ii. p. ). _extinct dipodidæ._--_dipus_ occurs fossil in the miocene of the alps; and an extinct genus, _issiodromys_, said to be allied to _pedetes_ of the cape of good hope, is from the pliocene formations of auvergne in france. family .--myoxidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the dormice (_myoxus_), are small rodents found over all the temperate parts of the palæarctic region, from britain to japan; and also over most parts of africa to the cape, but wanting in india. some of the african species have been separated under the name of _graphidurus_, while those of europe and asia form the sub-genera _glis_, _muscardinus_, and _eliomys_. _extinct myoxidæ._--_myoxus_ ranges from the post-pliocene of the maltese caverns to the miocene of switzerland and the upper eocene of france; and an extinct genus _brachymys_ is found in the miocene of central europe. { }family .--saccomyidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --| . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the saccomyidæ, or pouched rats, are almost wholly confined to our second nearctic sub-region, comprising the rocky mountains and the elevated plains of central north america. a few species range from this district as far as hudson's bay on the north, to south carolina on the east, and to california on the west, while one genus, doubtfully placed here, goes south as far as honduras and trinidad. the group must therefore be considered to be pre-eminently characteristic of the nearctic region. the genera are,--_dipodomys_ ( sp.), north mexico, california, the east slope of the rocky mountains to the columbia river, and one species in south carolina; _perognathus_ ( sp.), north mexico, california, east slope of the rocky mountains to british columbia; _thomomys_ ( sp.), upper missouri, and upper columbia rivers to hudson's bay; _geomys_ ( sp.), north mexico, and east slope of rocky mountains to nebraska (plate xix., vol. ii. p. ); _saccomys_ ( sp.), north america, locality unknown; _heteromys_ ( sp.), mexico, honduras, and trinidad. _geomys_ and _thomomys_ constitute a separate family geomyidæ, of professor carus; but i follow professor lilljeborg, who has made a special study of the order, in keeping them with this family. in the post-pliocene deposits of illinois and nebraska, remains of an existing species of _geomys_ have been found. { }family .--castoridÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --| . . . | -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the beavers, forming the genus _castor_, consist of two species, the american (_castor canadensis_) ranging over the whole of north america from labrador to north mexico; while the european (_castor fiber_) appears to be confined to the temperate regions of europe and asia, from france to the river amoor, over which extensive region it doubtless roamed in prehistoric times, although now becoming rare in many districts. _extinct castoridæ._--extinct species of _castor_ range back from the post-pliocene to the upper miocene in europe, and to the newer pliocene in north america. extinct genera in europe are, _trogontherium_, post-pliocene and pliocene; _chalicomys_, older pliocene; and _steneofiber_, upper miocene. in north america _castoroides_ is post-pliocene, and _palæocastor_, upper miocene. the family thus first appears on the same geological horizon in both europe and north america. family .--sciuridÆ.--( genera, - species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- | . . . | . . . | . . -- | . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the squirrel family, comprehending also the marmots and prairie-dogs, are very widely spread over the earth. they are especially abundant in the nearctic, palæarctic, and oriental regions, and rather less frequent in the ethiopian and neotropical, in which last region they do not extend south of paraguay. they are absent from the west indian islands, madagascar, and australia, only occurring in celebes which doubtfully belongs to the australian region. the genera are as follows:-- { }_sciurus_ ( - sp., including the sub-genera spermosciurus, xerus, macroxus, rheithrosciurus, and rhinosciurus), comprises the true squirrels, and occupies the area of the whole family wherever woods and forests occur. the approximate number of species in each region is as follows: nearctic , palæarctic , ethiopian , oriental , australian (celebes) , neotropical . _sciuropterus_ ( - sp.), comprises the flat-tailed flying squirrels, which range from lapland and finland to north china and japan, and southward through india and ceylon, to malacca and java, with a species in formosa; while in north america they occur from labrador to british columbia, and south to minnesota and southern california. _pteromys_ ( sp.), comprising the round-tailed flying squirrels, is a more southern form, being confined to the wooded regions of india from the western himalayas to java and borneo, with species in formosa and japan. _tamias_ ( sp.), the ground squirrels, are chiefly north american, ranging from mexico to puget's sound on the west coast, and from virginia to montreal on the atlantic coast; while one species is found over all northern asia. _spermophilus_ ( sp.), the pouched marmots, are confined to the nearctic and palæarctic regions; in the former extending from the arctic ocean to mexico and the west coast, but not passing east of lake michigan and the lower mississippi; in the latter from silesia through south russia to the amoor and kamschatka, most abundant in the desert plains of tartary and mongolia. _arctomys_ ( sp.), the marmots, are found in the northern parts of north america as far down as virginia and nebraska to the rocky mountains and british columbia, but not in california; and from the swiss alps eastward to lake baikal and kamschatka, and south as far as the himalayas, above , feet elevation. _cynomys_ ( sp.), the prairie-dogs, inhabit the plains east of the rocky mountains from the upper missouri to the red river and rio grande (plate xix., vol. ii. p. ). _anomalurus_ ( sp.), consists of animals which resemble flying-squirrels, but differ from all other members of the family in some points of internal structure. they form a very aberrant portion of the sciuridæ, and, according to some naturalists, a distinct family. they inhabit west africa and the island of fernando po. { }_extinct sciuridæ._--these are tolerably abundant. the genus sciurus appears to be a remarkably ancient form, extinct species being found in the miocene, and even in the upper eocene formations of europe. _spermophilus_ goes back to the upper miocene; _arctomys_ to the newer pliocene. extinct genera are, _brachymys_, _lithomys_ and _plesiarctomys_, from the european miocene, the latter said to be intermediate between marmots and squirrels. in north america, _sciurus_, _tamias_, and _arctomys_ occur in the post-pliocene deposits only. the extinct genera are _ischyromys_, from the upper miocene of nebraska; _paramys_, allied to the marmots, and _sciuravus_, near the squirrels, from the eocene of wyoming. here we have unmistakable evidence that the true squirrels (_sciurus_) are an old world type, which has only recently entered north america; and this is in accordance with the comparative scarcity of this group in south america, a country so well adapted to them, and their great abundance in the oriental region, which, with the palæarctic, was probably the country of their origin and early development. the family, however, has been traced equally far back in europe and north america, so that we have as yet no means of determining where it originated. family --haploodontidÆ.--( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --| -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the genus _haploodon_ or _aplodontia_, consists of two curious rat-like animals, inhabiting the west coast of america, from the southern part of british columbia to the mountains of california. they seem to have affinities both with the beavers and marmots, and professor lilljeborg constitutes a separate family to receive them. { }family .--chinchillidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the chinchillidæ, including the chinchillas and viscachas, are confined to the alpine zones of the andes, from the boundary of ecuador and peru to the southern parts of chili; and over the pampas, to the rio negro on the south, and the river uruguay on the east. _chinchilla_ ( sp.), the true chinchillas, are found in the andes of chili and peru, south of ° s. lat., and from , to , feet elevation (plate xvi. vol. ii. p. ); _lagidium_ ( sp.), the alpine viscachas, inhabit the loftiest plateaus and mountains from , to , feet, and extend furthest north of any of the family; while _lagostomus_ ( sp.), the viscacha of the pampas, has the range above indicated. the family is thus confined within the limits of a single sub-region. _extinct chinchillidæ._--_lagostomus_ has been found fossil in the caves of brazil, and in the pliocene deposits of la plata. the only known extinct forms of this family are _amblyrhiza_ and _loxomylus_, found in cavern-deposits in the island of anguilla, of post-pliocene age. these are very interesting, as showing the greater range of this family so recently; though its absence from north america and europe indicates that it is a peculiar development of the neotropical region. family .--octodontidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | { }the octodontidæ include a number of curious and obscure rat-like animals, mostly confined to the mountains and open plains of south america, but having a few stragglers in other parts of the world, as will be seen by our notes on the genera. the most remarkable point in their distribution is, that two genera are peculiar to the west indian islands, while no species of the family inhabits the northern half of south america. the distribution of the genera is as follows:--_habrocomus_ ( sp.), chili; _capromys_ ( sp.), two of which inhabit cuba, the third jamaica (plate xvii. vol. ii. p. ); _plagiodontia_ ( sp.), only known from _hayti_; _spalacopus_, including _schizodon_ ( sp.), chili, and east side of southern andes; _octodon_ ( sp.), peru, bolivia, and chili; _ctenomys_ ( sp.), the tuco-tuco of the pampas, the campos of brazil to bolivia and tierra del fuego; _ctenodactylus_ ( sp.), tripoli, north africa; _pectinator_ ( sp.), east africa, abyssinia, , to , feet. _capromys_ and _plagiodontia_, the two west indian genera, were classed among the echimyidæ by mr. waterhouse, but professor lilljeborg removes them to this family. _extinct octodontidæ._--species of _ctenomys_ have been found in the pliocene of la plata, and an extinct genus _megamys_, said to be allied to _capromys_, in the eocene of the same country. in europe, _palæomys_ and _archæomys_ from the lower miocene of germany and france, are also said to be allied to _capromys_. family .--echimyidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the echimyidæ, or spiny rats, are a family, chiefly south american, of which the coypu, a large beaver-like water-rat from peru and chili is the best known. two of the genera are found in south africa, but all the rest inhabit the continent of south america, east of the andes, none being yet known north { }of panama. the genera are as follows:--_dactylomys_ ( sp.), guiana and brazil; _cercomys_ ( sp.), central brazil; _lasiuromys_ ( sp.), san paulo, brazil; _petromys_ ( sp.), south africa; _myopotamus_ ( sp.), the coypu, on the east side of the andes from peru to ° s. lat., on the west side from ° to ° s. lat.; _carterodon_ ( sp.), minaes geraes, brazil; _aulacodes_ ( . sp.), west and south africa; _mesomys_ ( sp.), borba on the amazon; _echimys_ ( sp.), from guiana and the ecuadorian andes to paraguay; _loncheres_ ( sp.), new granada to brazil. _fossil and extinct echimyidæ._--the genus _carterodon_ was established on bones found in the brazilian caves, and it was several years afterwards that specimens were obtained showing the animal to be a living species. extinct species of _myopotamus_ and _loncheres_ have also been found in these caves, with the extinct genera _lonchophorus_ and _phyllomys_. no remains of this family have been discovered in north america; but in the miocene and upper eocene deposits of france there are many species of an extinct genus _theridomys_, which is said to be allied to this group or to the next (cercolabidæ). _aulacodon_, from the upper miocene of germany, is allied to the west african _aulacodes_; and some other remains from the lower miocene of auvergne, are supposed to belong to _echimys_. family .--cercolabidÆ. ( genera, - species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- | . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the cercolabidæ, or arboreal porcupines, are a group of rodents entirely confined to america, where they range from the northern limit of trees on the mackenzie river, to the southern limit of forests in paraguay. there is however an intervening district, the southern united states, from which they are absent. _erethizon_ ( sp.), the canadian porcupine, is found throughout { }canada and as far south as northern pennsylvania, and west to the mississippi (plate xx., vol. ii. p. ); an allied species inhabiting the west coast from california to alaska, and inland to the head of the missouri river; while a third is found in the north-western part of south america; _cercolabes_ ( sp.), ranges from mexico and guatemala to paraguay, on the eastern side of the andes; _chætomys_ ( sp.), north brazil. _extinct cercolabidæ._--a large species of _cercolabes_ has been found in the brazilian caves, but none have been discovered in north america or europe. we may conclude therefore that this is probably a south american type, which has thence spread into north america at a comparatively recent epoch. the peculiar distribution of _cercolabes_ may be explained by supposing it to have migrated northwards along the west coast by means of the wooded slopes of the rocky mountains. it could then only reach the eastern states by way of the forest region of the great lakes, and then move southward. this it may be now doing, but it has not yet reached the southern states of eastern north america. _family_ .--hystricidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . -- | . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the true porcupines have a very compact and well-marked distribution, over the whole of the oriental and ethiopian regions (except madagascar), and the second palæarctic sub-region. there is some confusion as to their sub-division into genera, but the following are those most usually admitted:--_hystrix_ ( sp.), south europe to the cape of good hope, all india, ceylon, and south china; _atherura_ ( sp.), "brush-tailed porcupines," inhabit west africa, india, to siam, sumatra, and borneo; _acanthion_ ( sp.), nepal and malacca, to sumatra, borneo, and java. _extinct hystricidæ._--several extinct species of _hystrix_ have { }been found in the pliocene and miocene deposits of europe, and one in the pliocene of nebraska in north america. family .--caviidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the cavies and agoutis were placed in distinct families by mr. waterhouse, in which he is followed by professor carus, but they have been united by professor lilljeborg, and without pretending to decide which classification is the more correct i follow the latter, because there is a striking external resemblance between the two groups, and they have an identical distribution in the neotropical region, and with one exception are all found east of the andes. _dasyprocta_ ( sp.), the agouti, ranges from mexico to paraguay, one species inhabiting the small west indian islands of st. vincent, lucia, and grenada; _cælogenys_ ( sp.), the paca, is found from guatemala to paraguay, and a second species (somewhat doubtful) in eastern peru; _hydrochoerus_ ( sp.), the capybara inhabits the banks of rivers from guayana to la plata; _cavia_ ( sp.), the guinea-pigs, brazil to the straits of magellan, and one species west of the andes at yça peru; _kerodon_ ( sp.), brazil and peru to magellan; _dolichotis_ ( sp,), the patagonian cavy, from mendoza to ° ' south latitude, on sterile plains. _extinct caviidæ._--_hydrochoerus_, _cælogenys_, _dasyprocta_, and _kerodon_, have occurred abundantly in the caves of brazil, and the last-named genus in the pliocene of la plata. _hydrochoerus_ has been found in the post-pliocene deposits of south carolina. _cavia_ and _dasyprocta_ are said to have been found in the miocene of switzerland and france. no well-marked extinct genera of this family have been recorded. if the determination of the above-mentioned fossil species of _cavia_ and _dasyprocta_ are correct, it would show that this now { }exclusively south american family is really derived from europe, where it has long been extinct. family .--lagomyidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --| -- -- |-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the lagomyidæ, or pikas, are small alpine and desert animals which range from the south of the ural mountains to cashmere and the himalayas, at heights of , to , feet, and northward to the polar regions and the north-eastern extremity of siberia. they just enter the eastern extremity of europe as far as the volga, but with this exception, seem strictly limited to the third palæarctic sub-region. in america they are confined to the rocky mountains from about ° to ° north latitude. _extinct lagomyidæ._--extinct species of _lagomys_ have occurred in the southern parts of europe, from the post-pliocene to the miocene formations. _titanomys_, an extinct genus, is found in the miocene of france and germany. family .--leporidÆ. ( genus, - species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- | . . . | . . . | -- -- | . . -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the hares and rabbits are especially characteristic of the nearctic and palæarctic, but are also thinly scattered over the ethiopian and oriental regions. in the neotropical region they are very scarce, only one species being found in south america, in the mountains of brazil and various parts of the andes, while one or two of the north american species extend into mexico { }and guatemala. in the nearctic region, they are most abundant in the central and western parts of the continent, and they extend to the arctic ocean and to greenland. they are found in every part of the palæarctic region, from ireland to japan; three species range over all india to ceylon, and others occur in hainan, formosa, south china, and the mountains of pegu; the ethiopian region has only four or five species, mostly in the southern extremity and along the east coast. an indian species is now wild in some parts of java, but it has probably been introduced. _extinct leporidæ._--species of _lepus_ occur in the post-pliocene and newer pliocene of france; but only in the post-pliocene of north america, and the caves of brazil. _general remarks on the distribution of the rodentia._ with the exception of the australian region and madagascar, where muridæ alone have been found, this order is one of the most universally and evenly distributed over the entire globe. of the sixteen families which compose it, the palæarctic region has ; the ethiopian, nearctic, and neotropical, each ; and the oriental only . these figures are very curious and suggestive. we know that the rodentia are exceedingly ancient, since some of the living genera date back to the eocene period; and some ancestral types might thus have reached the remote south american and south african lands at the time of one of their earliest unions with the northern continents. in both these countries the rodents diverged into many special forms, and being small animals easily able to conceal themselves, have largely survived the introduction of higher mammalia. in the palæarctic and nearctic regions, their small size and faculty of hibernation may have enabled them to maintain themselves during those great physical changes which resulted in the extermination or banishment of so many of the larger and more highly organised mammalia, to which, in these regions, they now bear a somewhat inordinate proportion. the reasons why they are now less numerous and varied in the oriental region, may be of two kinds. the comparatively small area of that region and its { }uniformity of climate, would naturally lead to less development of such a group as this, than in the vastly more extensive and varied and almost equally luxuriant palæarctic region of eocene and miocene times; while on the other hand the greater number of the smaller carnivora in the tropics during the pliocene and post-pliocene epochs, would be a constant check upon the increase of these defenceless animals, and no doubt exterminate a number of them. the rodents thus offer a striking contrast to the ungulates; and these two great orders afford an admirable illustration of the different way in which physical and organic changes may affect large and small herbivorous mammalia; often leading to the extinction of the former, while favouring the comparative development of the latter. _order xi.--edentata._ family .--bradypodidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the sloths are a remarkable group of arboreal mammals, strictly confined to the great forests of the neotropical region, from guatemala to brazil and eastern bolivia. none are found west of the andes, nor do they appear to extend into paraguay, or beyond the tropic of capricorn on the east coast. the genera as defined by dr. gray in are:--_choloepus_ ( sp.), "sloths with two toes on fore limbs, sexes alike," costa rica to brazil; _bradypus_ ( sp.), "sloths with three toes on fore limbs, sexes alike," central brazil, amazon to rio de janeiro; _arctopithecus_ ( sp.), "sloths with three toes on fore limbs, males with a coloured patch on the back," costa rica to brazil and eastern bolivia (plate xiv., vol ii. p. ). { }_extinct bradypodidæ._--in the caves of brazil are found three extinct genera of sloths--_cælodon_, _sphenodon_, and _ochotherium_. more distantly allied, and probably forming distinct families, are _scelidotherium_ and _megatherium_, from the caves of brazil and the pliocene deposits of la plata and patagonia. family .--manididÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- | . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the manididæ, or scaly ant-eaters, are the only edentate mammalia found out of america, they are spread over the ethiopian and oriental regions; in the former from sennaar to west africa and the cape; in the latter from the himalayas to ceylon, and eastward to borneo and java, as well as to south china, as far as amoy, hainan, and formosa. they have been sub-divided, according to differences in the scaly covering, into five groups, _manis_, _phatagin_, _smutsia_, _pholidotus_ and _pangolin_, the three former being confined to africa, the last common to africa and the east, while _pholidotus_ seems confined to java. it is doubtful if these divisions are more than sub-genera, and as such they are treated here. no extinct species referable to this family are yet known. family .--dasypodidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the dasypodidæ, or armadillos, are a highly characteristic neotropical family, ranging from the northern extremity of the region { }in south texas, to ° south latitude on the plains of patagonia. the distribution of the genera is as follows:--_tatusia_ ( sp.), has the range of the whole family from the lower rio grande of texas to patagonia; _prionodontes_ ( sp.), the giant armadillo, surinam to paraguay; _dasypus_ ( sp.), brazil to bolivia, chili, and la plata; _xenurus_ ( sp.), guiana to paraguay; _tolypeutes_ ( sp.), the three-banded armadillos, bolivia and la plata; _chlamydophorus_ ( sp.), near mendoza in la plata, and santa cruz de la sierra in bolivia. _extinct armadillos._--many species of _dasypus_ and _xenurus_ have been found in the caves of brazil, together with many extinct genera--_hoplophorus_, _euryodon_, _heterodon_, _pachytherium_, and _chlamydotherium_, the latter as large as a rhinoceros. _eutatus_, allied to _tolypeutes_, is from the pliocene deposits of la plata. family .--orycteropodidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the aard-vark, or cape ant-eater (_orycteropus capensis_) is a curious form of edentate animal, with the general form of an ant-eater, but with the bristly skin and long obtuse snout of a pig. a second species inhabits the interior of north-east africa and senegal, that of the latter country perhaps forming a third species (plate iv. vol. i. p. ). _extinct orycteropodidæ._--the genus _macrotherium_, remains of which occur in the miocene deposits of france, germany, and greece, is allied to this group, though perhaps forming a separate family. the same may be said of the _ancylotherium_, a huge animal found only in the miocene deposits of greece. { }family .--myrmecophagidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the true ant-eaters are strictly confined to the wooded portions of the neotropical region, ranging from honduras to paraguay on the east side of the andes. the three genera now generally admitted are: _myrmecophaga_ ( sp.), the great ant-eater, northern brazil to paraguay; _tamandua_ ( sp.), -toed ant-eaters, guatemala, ecuador to paraguay (plate xiv. vol. ii. p. ); _cyclothurus_ ( sp.), -toed ant-eaters, honduras and costa rica to brazil. _extinct ant-eaters._--the only extinct form of this family seems to be the _glossotherium_, found in the caves of brazil, and the tertiary deposits of uruguay. it is said to be allied to _myrmecophaga_ and _manis_. _general remarks on the distribution of the edentata._ these singular animals are almost confined to south america, where they constitute an important part of the fauna. in africa, two family types are scantily represented, and one of these extends over all the oriental region. in pliocene and post-pliocene times the edentata were wonderfully developed in south america, many of them being huge animals, rivalling in bulk, the rhinoceros and hippopotamus. as none of these forms resemble those of africa, while the only european fossil edentata are of african type, it seems probable that south africa, like south america, was a centre of development for this group of mammalia; and it is in the highest degree probable that, should extensive fluviatile deposits of pliocene or miocene age be discovered in the former country, an extinct fauna, not less strange and grotesque than that of south america, will be brought to { }light. from the fact that so few remains of this order occur in europe, and those of one family type, and in miocene deposits only, it seems a fair conclusion, that this represents an incursion of an ancient ethiopian form into europe analogous to that which invaded north america from the south during the post-pliocene epoch. the extension of the manididæ, or scaly ant-eaters, over tropical asia may have occurred at the same, or a somewhat later epoch. for a summary of the numerous edentata of north and south america which belong to extinct families, see vol. i. p. . _order xii.--marsupialia._ family .--didelphyidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . -- | -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the didelphyidæ, or true opossums, range throughout all the wooded districts of the neotropical region from the southern boundary of texas to the river la plata, and on the west coast to ° s. lat., where a species of _didelphys_ was obtained by professor cunningham. one species only is found in the nearctic region, extending from florida to the hudson river, and west to the missouri. the species named _didelphys californica_ inhabits mexico, and only extends into the southern extremity of california. the species are most numerous in the great forest region of brazil, and they have been recently found to the west of the andes near guayaquil, as well as in chili. the exact number of species is very doubtful, owing to the difficulty of determining them from dried skins. all but two belong to the genus _didelphys_, which has the range above given for the family (plate xiv., vol. ii. p. ); _chironectes_ ( sp.), the yapock or water opossum, inhabits guiana and brazil; _hyracodon_ ( sp.), is a small { }rat-like animal discovered by mr. fraser in ecuador, and which may perhaps belong to another family. _extinct didelphyidæ._--no less than seven species of _didelphys_ have been found in the caves of brazil, but none in the older formations. in north america the living species only, has been found in post-pliocene deposits. in europe, however, many species of small opossums, now classed as a distinct genus, _peratherium_, have been found in various tertiary deposits from the upper miocene to the upper eocene. we have here a sufficient proof that the american marsupials have nothing to do with those of australia, but were derived from europe, where their ancestors lived during a long series of ages. family .--dasyuridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . -- -- | | | | | the dasyuridæ, or native cats, are a group of carnivorous or insectivorous marsupials, ranging from the size of a wolf to that of a mouse. they are found all over australia and tasmania, as well as in new guinea and the adjacent papuan islands. several new genera and species have recently been described by mr. g. krefft, of the sydney museum, and are included in the following enumeration. _phasgogale_ ( sp.), new guinea, west, east, and south australia; _antechinomys_ ( sp.), interior of south australia; _antechinus_ ( sp.), aru islands, all australia, and tasmania; _chætocercus_ ( sp.), south australia; _dactylopsila_ ( sp.), aru islands and north australia; _podabrus_ ( sp.), west, east, and south australia, and tasmania; _myoictis_ ( sp.), aru islands; _sarcophilus_ ( sp.), tasmania; _dasyurus_ ( sp.), north, east, and south, australia, and tasmania; _thylacinus_ ( sp.), tasmania (plate xi., vol. i. p. ). extinct species of _dasyurus_ and _thylacinus_ have been found in the post-pliocene deposits of australia. { }family .--myrmecobiidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | the only representative of this family is the _myrmecobius fasciatus_, or native ant-eater, a small bushy-tailed squirrel-like animal, found in the south and west of australia. family .--peramelidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . -- -- | | | | | the peramelidæ, or bandicoots, are small insectivorous marsupials, having something of the form of the kangaroos. they range over the whole of australia and tasmania, as well as the papuan islands. the genus _perameles_ ( sp.), has the range of the family, one species being found in new guinea and the aru islands (plate xi., vol. i. p. ); _peragalea_ ( sp.), inhabits west australia only; and _choeropus_ ( sp.), a beautiful little animal with something of the appearance of a mouse-deer, is found in both south, east, and west australia. family .--macropodidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . -- -- | | | | | { }the well-known kangaroos are the most largely developed family of marsupials, and they appear to be the form best adapted for the present conditions of life in australia, over every part of which they range. one genus of true terrestrial kangaroos (_dorcopsis_), inhabits the papuan islands, as do also the curious tree kangaroos (_dendrolagus_) which, without much apparent modification of form, are able to climb trees and feed upon the foliage. the genera, as established by mr. waterhouse, are as follows: _macropus_ ( sp.), west, south, and east australia, and tasmania (plate xii., vol. i. p. ); _osphranter_ ( sp.), all australia; _halmaturus_ ( sp.), all australia and tasmania; _petrogale_ ( sp.), all australia; _dendrolagus_ ( sp.), new guinea (plate x., vol. i. p. ); _dorcopsis_ ( sp.) aru and mysol islands, and new guinea; _onychogalea_ ( sp.), central australia; _lagorchestes_ ( sp.), north, west, and south australia; _bettongia_ ( sp.), west, south, and east, australia, and tasmania; _hypsiprymnus_ ( sp.), west and east australia, and tasmania. _extinct macropodidæ._--many species of the genera _macropus_ and _hypsiprymnus_ have been found in the cave-deposits and other post-tertiary strata of australia. among the extinct genera are _protemnodon_ and _sthenurus_, which are more allied to the tree-kangaroos of new guinea than to living australian species; the gigantic _diprotodon_, a kangaroo nearly as large as an elephant; and _nototherium_, of smaller size. family .--phalangistidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . -- -- | | | | | the phalangistidæ, or phalangers, are one of the most varied and interesting groups of marsupials, being modified in a variety of ways for an arboreal life. we have the clumsy-looking tail-less koala, or native sloth; the prehensile-tailed opossum-like phalangers; the beautiful flying oppossums, so closely resembling { }in form the flying squirrels of north america and india, but often no larger than a mouse; the beautiful dormouse-like _dromiciæ_, one species of which is only ¼ inches long or less than the harvest-mouse; and the little _tarsipes_, a true honey-sucker with an extensile tongue, and of the size of a mouse. these extreme modifications and specializations within the range of a single family, are sufficient to indicate the great antiquity of the australian fauna; and they render it almost certain that the region it occupied was once much more extensive, so as to supply the variety of conditions and the struggle between competing forms of life, which would be required to develop so many curiously modified forms, of which we now probably see only a remnant. the phalangistidæ not only range over all australia and tasmania, but over the whole of the austro-malayan sub-region from new guinea to the moluccas and celebes. the distribution of the genera is as follows:--_phascolarctos_ ( sp.), the koala, east australia; _phalangista_ ( sp.), east, south, and west australia, and tasmania; _cuscus_ ( sp.), woolly phalangers, new guinea, north australia, timor, moluccas and celebes; _petaurista_ ( sp.) large flying phalanger, east australia; _belideus_ ( sp.), flying opossums, south, east, and north australia, new guiana and moluccas; _acrobata_ ( sp.), pigmy flying opossum, south and east australia; _dromicia_ ( sp.), dormouse-phalangers, west and east australia, and tasmania; _tarsipes_ ( sp.), west australia. _thylacoleo_, a large extinct marsupial of doubtful affinities, seems to be somewhat intermediate between this family and the kangaroos. professor owen considered it to be carnivorous, and able to prey upon the huge _diprotodon_, while professor flower and mr. gerard krefft, believe that it was herbivorous. family .--phascolomyidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | { }the wombats are tail-less, terrestrial, burrowing animals, about the size of a badger, but feeding on roots and grass. they inhabit south australia and tasmania (plate xi. vol. i. p. ). an extinct wombat, as large as a tapir, has been found in the australian pliocene deposits. _general remarks on the distribution of marsupialia._ we have here the most remarkable case, of an extensive and highly varied order being confined to one very limited area on the earth's surface, the only exception being the opossums in america. it has been already shown that these are comparatively recent immigrants, which have survived in that country long after they disappeared in europe. as, however, no other form but that of the didelphyidæ occurs there during the tertiary period, we must suppose that it was at a far more remote epoch that the ancestral forms of all the other marsupials entered australia; and the curious little mammals of the oolite and trias, offer valuable indications as to the time when this really took place. a notice of these extinct marsupials of the secondary period will be found at vol. i. p. . _order xiii.--monotremata._ family .--ornithorhynchidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | the _ornithorhynchus_, or duck-billed platypus, one of the most remarkable and isolated of existing mammalia, is found in east and south australia, and tasmania. { }family .--echidnidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | the _echidna_, or australian hedgehog, although quite as remarkable in internal structure as the ornithorhynchus, is not so peculiar in external appearance, having very much the aspect of a hedgehog or spiny armadillo. the two species of this genus are very closely allied; one inhabits east and south australia, the other tasmania. _extinct echidnidæ._--remains of a very large fossil species of _echidna_ have lately ( ) been discovered at darling downs in australia. _remark on the distribution of the monotremata._ this order is the lowest and most anomalous of the mammalia, and nothing resembling it has been found among the very numerous extinct animals discovered in any other part of the world than australia. { }chapter xviii. the distribution of the families and genera of birds. _order i.--passeres._ family .--turdidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . -- | | | | | the extensive and familiar group of thrushes ranges over every region and sub-region, except new zealand. it abounds most in the north temperate regions, and has its least development in the australian region. thrushes are among the most perfectly organized of birds, and it is to this cause, perhaps, as well as to their omnivorous diet, that they have been enabled to establish themselves on a number of remote islands. peculiar species of true thrush are found in norfolk island, and in the small lord howes' island nearer australia; the island of st. thomas in the gulf of guinea has a peculiar species; while the mid-atlantic island tristan d'acunha,--one of the most remote and isolated spots on the globe,--has a peculiarly modified form of thrush. several of the smaller west indian islands have also peculiar species or genera of thrushes. the family is of somewhat uncertain extent, blending insensibly with the warblers (sylviidæ) as well as with the indian bulbuls { }(pycnonotidæ), while one genus, usually placed in it (_myiophonus_) seems to agree better with _enicurus_ among the cinclidæ. the genera here admitted into the thrush family are the following, the numbers prefixed to some of the genera indicating their position in gray's _hand list of the genera and species of birds_:-- ( ) _brachypteryx_ ( sp.), nepaul to java and ceylon (this may belong to the timaliidæ); _turdus_ ( sp.) has the range of the whole family, abounding in the palæarctic, oriental and neotropical regions, while it is less plentiful in the nearctic and ethiopian, and very scarce in the australian; ( ) _oreocincla_ ( sp.), palæarctic and oriental regions, australia and tasmania; ( ) _rhodinocichla_ ( sp.), venezuela; ( ) _melanoptila_ ( sp.), honduras; ( ) _catharus_ ( sp.) mexico to equador; ( ) _margarops_ ( sp.), hayti and porto rico to st. lucia; ( ) _nesocichla_ ( sp.), tristan d'acunha; ( ) _geocichla_ ( sp.), india to formosa and celebes, timor and north australia; ( ) _monticola_ ( sp.), central europe to south africa and to china, philippine islands, gilolo and java; ( ) _orocætes_ ( sp.), himalayas and n. china; _zoothera_ ( sp.) himalayas, aracan, java, and lombok; _mimus_ ( sp.) canada to patagonia, west indies and galapagos; ( ) _oreoscoptes_ ( sp.), rocky mountains and mexico; ( ) _melanotis_ ( sp.), south mexico and guatemala; ( ) _galeoscoptes_ ( sp.), canada and eastern united states to cuba and panama; ( ) _mimocichla_ ( sp.), greater antilles; ( ) _harporhynchus_ ( sp.), north america, from the great lakes to mexico; _cinclocerthia_ ( sp.), lesser antilles; ( ) _rhamphocinclus_ ( sp.), lesser antilles; _chætops_ ( sp.), south africa; _cossypha_ = _bessonornis_ ( sp.) ethiopian region and palestine. family .--sylviidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | { }this immense family, comprising all the birds usually known as "warblers," is, as here constituted, of almost universal distribution. yet it is so numerous and preponderant over the whole eastern hemisphere, that it may be well termed an old-world group; only two undoubted genera with very few species belonging to the nearctic region, while two or three others whose position is somewhat doubtful, are found in california and the neotropical region. canon tristram, who has paid great attention to this difficult group, has kindly communicated to me a mss. arrangement of the genera and species, which, with a very few additions and alterations, i implicitly follow. he divides the sylviidæ into seven sub-families, as follows: . drymoecinæ ( genera, sp.), confined to the old world and australia, and especially abundant in the three tropical regions. . calamoherpinæ ( genera, sp.), has the same general distribution as the last, but is scarce in the australian and abundant in the palæarctic region; . phylloscopinæ ( genera, sp.), has the same distribution as the entire family, but is most abundant in the oriental and palæarctic regions. . sylviinæ ( genera, sp.), most abundant in the palæarctic region, very scarce in the australian and oriental regions, absent from america. . ruticillinæ ( genera, sp.); entirely absent from america and australia; abounds in the oriental and palæarctic regions. . saxicolinæ ( genera, sp.), absent from america (except the extreme north-west), abundant in the oriental region and moderately so in the palæarctic, ethiopian, and australian. . accentorinæ ( genera, sp.), absent from the ethiopian region and south america, most abundant in australia, one small genus (_sialia_), in north america. the distribution of the several genera arranged under these sub-families, is as follows: . drymoecinÆ.--( ) orthotomus ( sp.), all the oriental region; ( ) _prinia_ ( sp.), all the oriental region; ( ) _drymoeca_ ( sp.), ethiopian and oriental regions, most abundant in the former; ( to and to ) _cisticola_ ( sp.), ethiopian and oriental regions, with south europe, china { }and australia; ( ) _suya_ ( sp.), nepal to south china and formosa; ( ) _sphenæacus_ ( sp.), australia, new zealand, and chatham island, with one species (?) in south africa; ( ) _megalurus_ ( sp.), central india to java and timor; ( ) _poodytes_ ( sp.), australia; ( ) _amytis_ ( sp.), australia; ( ) _sphenura_ ( sp.), australia; ( ) _malurus_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; ( ) _chthonicola_ ( sp.), australia; ( ) _calamanthus_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; ( ) _camaroptera_ ( sp.), africa and fernando po; ( ) _apalis_ ( sp.), south africa. . calamoherpinÆ.--( to and sp. ) _acrocephalus_ ( sp.), palæarctic, ethiopian, continental part of oriental region, moluccas, caroline islands, and australia; ( ) _dumeticola_ ( sp.), nepal to east thibet, central asia, high regions; ( ) _potamodus_ ( sp.), central and south europe, and east thibet; ( and sp. ) _lusciniola_ ( sp.), south europe; ( ) _locustella_ ( sp.), palæarctic region to central india and china; ( ) _horites_ ( sp.), nepal to north-west china and formosa; ( - ) _bradyptetus_ = _cettia_ ( sp.), south europe, palestine, and south africa; ( ) _catriscus_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _bernieria_ ( sp.), and ( ) _ellisia_ ( sp.), madagascar; ( a) _mystacornis_ ( sp.), madagascar; ( ) _calamodus_ ( sp.), europe and palestine; ( ) _tatare_ ( sp.) samoa to marquesas islands. . phylloscopinÆ.[ ]--_phylloscopus_ ( sp.), all palæarctic and oriental regions to batchian; ( ) _eremomela_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; ( ) _eroessa_ ( sp.), madagascar; [ ]_hypolais_ ( sp.), palæarctic region, all india, timor, north and south africa; ( ) _abrornis_ ( sp.), oriental region; ( ) _reguloides_ ( sp.), palæarctic and continental oriental regions; ( ) _sericornis_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania ( ) _acanthiza_ ( sp.), australia and new caledonia; ( ) _regulus_ ( sp.), all palæarctic and nearctic regions and south to guatemala; ( ) _polioptila_ ( sp,); paraguay to new mexico; ( ) _gerygone_ ( sp.), australia, papuan and timor groups, new zealand and norfolk island. { } . sylviinÆ.--( ) _aedon_ ( sp.), spain and palestine, to east and south africa; ( ) _drymodes_ ( sp.), australia; ( ) _pyrophthalma_ ( sp.), south europe and palestine; ( ) _melizophilus_ ( sp.), south-west europe and north-east africa; ( ) _sylvia_ = _alsecus_ ( sp.), palæarctic region to india and ceylon, and north-east africa; ( ) _curruca_ ( sp.), central and south europe, madeira, palestine, central india, north-east africa, and south africa. . ruticillinÆ.--( ) _luscinia_ ( sp.), west asia, europe, north africa; ( ) _cyanecula_ ( sp.), europe, north-east africa, india, ceylon, and china; ( ) _calliope_ ( sp.), north asia, himalayas, central india, and china; ( ) _erithacus_ ( sp.), europe, north-east africa, japan, and north china; ( ) _ruticilla_ ( sp.), palæarctic and oriental regions to senegal and abyssinia, and east to timor; abounds in himalayas; ( ) _chæmarrhornis_ ( sp.), himalayas; ( ) _larvivora_ ( sp.), oriental region and japan; ( ) _notodela_ ( sp.), himalayas, pegu, formosa, java; ( ) _tarsiger_ ( sp.), nepal; ( ) _grandala_ ( sp.), high himalayas of nepal. . saxicolinÆ.--( ) _copsychus_ ( sp.), all oriental region and madagascar; ( ) _kittacincla_ ( sp.), oriental region to { }ceylon, andaman islands, formosa, and borneo; ( - ) _thamnobia_ ( sp.), ethiopian region and india to foot of himalayas; ( ) _gervasia_ ( sp.), madagascar and seychelle islands; ( ) _dromolæa_ ( sp.), africa to south europe, palestine, north-west india, and north china; ( ) _saxicola_ ( sp.), africa, north-west india, whole palæarctic region, migrating to alaska and greenland; ( ) _oreicola_ ( sp.), timor, lombok, and burmah; ( ) _cercomela_ ( sp.), north-east africa to north-west india; ( ) _pratincola_ ( sp.), europe, ethiopian, and oriental regions to celebes and timor; ( ) _ephthianura_ ( sp.), australia; ( - ) _petroeca_ ( sp.), australian region, papua to new zealand, chatham and auckland islands, and samoa; ( ) _miro_ ( sp.), new zealand (doubtfully placed here). . accentorinÆ.--( ) _cinclorhamphus_ ( sp.), australia; ( ) _origma_ ( sp.), east australia; ( ) _sialia_ ( sp.), united states to guatemala; ( ) _accentor_ ( sp.), palæarctic region to himalayas and north-west china; ( ) _orthonyx_ ( sp.), east australia and new zealand (doubtfully placed here). the following two genera, which have been usually classed as ampelidæ, are arranged by messrs. sclater and salvin in the sylviidæ:-- ( ) _myiadestes_ ( sp.), peru and bolivia, along the andes to mexico and california, also the antilles; ( ) _cichlopsis_ ( sp.), brazil. family .--timaliidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- -- | . . . | . . . | . -- | | | | | the timaliidæ, or babbling thrushes, are a group of small strong-legged active birds, mostly of dull colours, which are especially characteristic of the oriental region, in every part of which they abound, while they are much less plentiful in { }australia and africa. the indo-chinese sub-region is the head quarters of the family, whence it diminishes rapidly in all directions in variety of both generic and specific forms. viscount walden has kindly assisted me in the determination of the limits of this family, as to which there is still much difference of opinion. the distribution of the genera here admitted is as follows; and as the genera are widely scattered in the _hand list_, reference numbers are prefixed in every case. ( - ) _pomatorhinus_ ( sp.), the whole oriental region (excluding philippines), australia and new guinea; ( ) _pterohinus_ ( sp.), north china, east thibet; ( ) _malacocircus_ ( sp.), continental india and ceylon, arabia, nubia; ( ) _chatarrhæa_ ( sp.), abyssinia, palestine, india, nepal, burmah, and philippines; ( ) _layardia_ ( sp.), india and ceylon; ( ) _acanthoptila_ ( sp.), nepal; ( ) _cinclosoma_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; ( ) _crateropus_ ( sp.), all africa, persia; ( ) _hypergerus_ ( sp.), west africa; ( ) _cichladusa_ ( sp.), tropical africa; ( ) _garrulax_ ( sp.), the oriental region (excluding philippines); ( ) _janthocincla_ ( sp.), nepal, to east thibet, sumatra, formosa; ( ) _gampsorhynchus_ ( sp.), himalayas; ( ) _grammatoptila_ ( sp.), north india; ( - ) _trochalopteron_ ( sp.), all india to china and formosa; ( ) _actinodura_ ( sp.), nepal to burmah, , - , feet; ( ) _pellorneum_ ( sp.), nepal to ceylon, tenasserim; ( ) _timalia_ ( sp.), malaya;[ ] ( ) _dumetia_ ( sp.), central india and ceylon; ( ) _stachyris_ ( sp.), nepal to assam, sumatra, formosa; ( ) _pyctorhis_ ( sp.), india to ceylon and burmah; ( ) _mixornis_ ( sp.), himalayas and malaya; ( ) _malacopteron_ ( sp.), malaya; ( ) _alcippe_ ( sp.), ceylon and south india, himalayas to aracan, malaya, formosa, new guinea; ( ) _macronus_ ( sp.), malaya; ( ) _cacopitta_ ( sp.), malaya; ( ) _trichastoma_ ( sp.), nepal, burmah, malaya, celebes; ( ) _napothera_ ( sp.), malaya; ( ) _drymocataphus_ ( sp.), burmah, malaya, ceylon, { }timor; ( ) _turdinus_ ( sp.), khasia hills, malacca, tenasserim; ( ) _trichixos_ ( sp.), borneo, malacca; ( ) _sibia_ ( sp.), nepal to assam, tenasserim, formosa; ( ) _alethe_ ( sp.), west africa; ( a) _oxylabes_ ( sp.), madagascar; ( ) _psophodes_ ( sp.), south, east, and west australia; ( ) _turnagra_ ( sp.), new zealand. family .--panuridÆ. ( genera, species). general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | this new family is adopted, at the suggestion of professor newton, to include some peculiar groups of himalayan birds whose position has usually been among the timaliidæ or the paridæ, but which are now found to be allied to our bearded reedling. the supposed affinity of this bird for the tits has been long known to be erroneous, and the family panuridæ was formed for its reception (yarrell's _british birds_, th edit. p. ). the genera having hitherto been widely scattered in systematic works, are referred to by the numbers of mr. g. e. gray's _hand list_. ( ) _paradoxornis_ ( sp.), himalayas and east thibet; ( ) _conostoma_ ( sp.), himalayas and east thibet; ( ) _suthora_ ( sp.), himalayas to north-west china, formosa; ( ) _chlenasicus_ ( sp.), darjeeling; ( ) _panurus_ ( sp.), central and southern europe; ( ) _heteromorpha_ ( sp.), nepal, , feet altitude; _cholornis_ ( sp.), moupin in east thibet. family .--cinclidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- | -- -- | . . . |-- -- -- ? | . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | { }the cinclidæ consist of a number of more or less thrush-like ground-birds, of which the most remarkable are the dippers, forming the genus _cinclus_. these are curiously distributed, from the palæarctic region as a centre, to the alpine districts of north and south america; while the three genera which are here included as somewhat allied to _cinclus_, all inhabit the oriental region. the genera which i class in this family are the following:-- ( ) _cinclus_ ( sp.), palæarctic region to west china and formosa, rocky mountains, and mexico in north america, and southward to the andes of peru; ( ) _enicurus_ ( sp.), himalayas to java and west china; ( ) _eupetes_ ( sp.), indo-malay sub-region and new guinea; ( ) _myiophonus_ ( sp.), himalayas to ceylon, java, south china, and formosa. ( ) _mesites_ ( sp.), madagascar, is an anomalous bird placed with _eupetes_ by mr. g. r. gray, but of very uncertain affinities. family .--troglodytidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . -- |-- -- . | -- -- -- | | | | | the troglodytidæ, or wrens, are small birds, rather abundant and varied in the neotropical region, with a few species scattered through the nearctic, palæarctic, and parts of the oriental regions, and one doubtful genus in africa. the constitution of the family is by no means well determined. the south american genera are taken from messrs. sclater and salvin's _nomenclator avium neotropicalium_. _tesia_ ( sp.), eastern himalayas; _pnoepyga_ ( sp.), himalayas to east thibet, java; ( and ) _troglodytes_ ( sp.), neotropical, nearctic, and palæarctic regions to the higher himalayas; ( ) _rimator_ ( sp.), darjeeling; _thryothorus_ ( sp.), south brazil to mexico, martinique, and nearctic region; _thryophilus_ ( sp.), brazil to mexico, and north-west america; _cistothorus_ { }( sp.), patagonia to greenland; _uropsila_ ( sp.), mexico; _donacobius_ ( sp.), tropical america; _campylorhynchus_ ( sp.), brazil, and bolivia to mexico and the gila valley; _cyphorhinus_ ( sp.), equatorial south america to costa rica; _microcerculus_ ( sp.), brazil and peru to mexico; _henicorhina_ ( sp.), peru and guiana to costa rica; _salpinctes_ ( sp.), high plains of rocky mountains; _catherpes_ ( sp.), mexico and rio grande; _cinnicerthia_ ( sp.), ecuador and columbia. ( ) _sylvietta_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa,--is placed in this family by mr. tristram. family .--chamÆidÆ. ( genus, species). general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --| -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the bird which forms the genus _chamæa_ inhabits california; and though allied to the wrens it has certain peculiarities of structure which, in the opinion of many ornithologists, require that it should be placed in a distinct family. family .--certhiidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . . |-- -- -- --| -- . | . -- -- | | | | | the certhiidæ, or creepers, form a small family whose species are thinly scattered over north america from mexico, the palæarctic region, parts of the oriental region, and australia, where they are somewhat more abundant. the distribution of the genera is as follows: _certhia_ ( sp.), nearctic and palæarctic regions, nepal, and sikhim; _salpornis_ ( sp.), central india; _tichodroma_, ( sp.), south { }europe to abyssinia, nepal, and north china; _rhabdornis_ ( sp.), philippine islands; _climacteris_ ( sp.), australia and new guinea. family .--sittidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --| . . . | . . . |-- -- -- --| . . . | . -- | | | | | the sittidæ, or nuthatches, are another small family of tree-creeping birds, whose distribution is very similar to that of the certhiidæ, but with a more uniform range over the oriental region, and extending to new zealand and madagascar. the genera are as follows:-- _sitta_ ( sp.), palæarctic and nearctic regions to south india and mexico; _dendrophila_ ( sp.), ceylon and india to burmah and malaya; _hypherpes_ ( sp.), madagascar; _sittella_ ( sp.), australia and new guinea. _acanthisitta_ ( sp.) and _xenicus_ ( sp.), new zealand, are placed with some doubt in this family. family .--paridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- | . . . | . . . | . . -- | . . . | -- -- | | | | | the paridæ, or tits, are very abundant in the nearctic and palæarctic regions; many fine species are found in the himalayas, but they are sparingly scattered through the ethiopian, oriental, and australian regions. the genera usually admitted into this family are the following, but the position of some of them, especially of the australian forms, is doubtful. ( - ) _parus_ ( sp.), north america, from mexico, palæarctic, and oriental regions, tropical and south africa; { }( ) _lophophanes_ ( sp.), europe, the higher himalayas to sikhim, north america to mexico; _acredula_ = _orites_ ( sp.), palæarctic region; _melanochlora_ ( sp.), nepal to sumatra; _psaltria_ ( sp.), java; _psaltriparus_ ( sp.), guatemala to california, and rocky mountains; _auriparus_ ( sp.), rio grande; ( ) _parisoma_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; ( ) _Ægithalus_ ( sp.), south-east europe to south africa; ( ) _Ægithaliscus_ ( sp.), afghanistan and himalayas to amoy; _cephalopyrus_ ( sp.), north-west himalayas; _sylviparus_ ( sp.), himalayas and central india; _certhiparus_ ( sp.), new zealand; ( ) _sphenostoma_ ( sp.), east and south australia. family .--liotrichidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the liotrichidæ, or hill-tits, are small, active, delicately-coloured birds, almost confined to the himalayas and their extension eastward to china. they are now generally admitted to form a distinct family. the genera are distributed as follows: ( ) _liothrix_ ( sp.), himalayas to china; _siva_ ( sp.), himalayas; _minla_ ( sp.), himalayas and east thibet; _proparus_ ( sp.), nepal to east thibet and aracan; ( ) _pteruthius_ ( sp.), himalayas to java and west china; ( ) _cutia_ ( sp.), nepal; ( ) _yuhina_ ( sp.), high himalayas and moupin; ( ) _ixulus_ ( sp.), himalayas to tenasserim; ( ) _myzornis_ ( sp.), darjeeling. family .--phyllornithidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | { }the phyllornithidæ, or "green bulbuls," are a small group of fruit-eating birds, strictly confined to the oriental region, and ranging over the whole of it, with the one exception of the philippine islands. the genera are:-- ( ) _phyllornis_ ( sp.), india to java, ceylon, and hainan; ( ) _iora_ ( sp.), the whole oriental region; ( ) _erpornis_ ( sp.), borneo, himalayas, hainan, and formosa. family .--pycnonotidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- -- | . . . | . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | the pycnonotidæ, bulbuls, or fruit-thrushes, are highly characteristic of the oriental region, in every part of which they abound; less plentiful in the ethiopian region, and extending to palestine and japan in the palæarctic, and to the moluccas in the australian region, but absent from the intervening island of celebes. the genera are:-- microscelis ( sp.), burmah, the indo-malay islands, and japan; _pycnonotus_ ( sp., in many sub-genera), palestine to south africa, the whole oriental region, china and japan; _alcurus_ ( sp.), himalayas; _hemixus_ ( sp.), nepal, bootan, hainan; _phyllastrephus_ ( sp.), west and south africa; _hypsipetes_ ( sp.), the whole oriental region, madagascar and the mascarene islands; _tylas_ ( sp.), madagascar; _criniger_ ( sp.), the whole oriental region (excluding philippines), west and south africa, moluccas; _ixonotus_ ( sp.), west africa; ( ) _setornis_ ( sp.), malacca, sumatra, and borneo; _iole_ ( sp.), aracan and malaya; _andropadus_ ( sp.), tropical africa; ( ) _lioptilus_ ( sp.), south africa. { }family .--oriolidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . -- | . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the orioles, or golden thrushes, are a small group characteristic of the oriental and ethiopian regions, migrating into the western palæarctic region, and with some of the less typical forms in australia. the genera are:-- _oriolus_ ( sp.), central europe, throughout africa, and the whole oriental region, northward to pekin, and eastward to flores; ( ) _analcipus_ ( sp.), himalayas, formosa, java and borneo; _mimeta_ ( sp.), the moluccas and australia; _sphecotheres_ ( sp.), timor and australia. _artamia_ ( sp.), madagascar,--perhaps belongs to the next family or to laniidæ. family .--campephagidÆ ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | . . -- | | | | | the campephagidæ, or cuckoo shrikes, (campephaginæ of the _hand list_, with the addition of _cochoa_) are most abundant in the australian region (especially in the austro-malay sub-region), less so in the oriental, and still less in the ethiopian region. the genera, for the most part as adopted by dr. hartlaub, are as follows:-- _pericrocotus_ ( sp.), the whole oriental region, extending north to pekin, and east to lombok; ( - ) _lanicterus_ ( sp.), west and south africa; ( ) _graucalus_ ( sp.), the whole oriental region, and eastward to austro-malaya, the new { }hebrides, and tasmania; _artamides_ ( sp.), celebes; _pteropodocys_ ( sp.), australia; ( ) _campephaga_ ( sp.), austro-malaya, and new caledonia, philippines, the ethiopian region; _volvocivora_ ( sp.) the oriental region (excluding philippines); _lalage_ ( sp.), the whole malay archipelago to new caledonia and australia; _symmorphus_ ( sp.), australia; _oxynotus_ ( sp.), mauritius and bourbon; ( ) _cochoa_ ( sp.), himalayas, java. the position of this last genus is doubtful. jerdon puts it in the liotrichidæ; sundeval in the sturnidæ; bonaparte in the dicruridæ; professor newton suggests the pycnonotidæ; but it seems on the whole best placed here. family .--dicruridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the dicruridæ, or drongo shrikes (dicruridæ of the _hand list_, omitting the genus _melænornis_), have nearly the same distribution as the last family, with which they are sometimes united. they are, however, most abundant and varied in the oriental region, much less so both in the australian and ethiopian regions. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- _dicrurus_ ( sp., in several sub-genera), has the range of the whole family, extending east to new ireland, and one species in australia; _chætorhynchus_ ( sp.), new guinea; _bhringa_ ( sp.), himalayas to borneo (plate ix. vol. i. p. ); _chibia_ ( sp.), himalayas eastward to north china; _chaptia_ ( sp.), all india to malacca and formosa; _irena_ ( sp.), central india, assam, and burmah to borneo and the philippine islands. this last genus is placed by jerdon among the pycnonotidæ, but seems to come most naturally here or in the last family. { }family .--muscicapidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the muscicapidæ, or flycatchers (muscicapinæ and myiagrinæ of the _hand list_, omitting _cochoa_ and including _pogonocichla_) form an extensive family of usually small-sized and often bright-coloured birds, very abundant in the warmer regions of the old world and australia, but becoming scarce as we approach the temperate and colder regions. they are wholly absent from north and south america. the genera, many of which are not well defined, are distributed as follows:-- _peltops_ ( sp.), papuan islands; _monarcha_ ( sp.), moluccas to the carolines and marquesas islands, australia and tasmania; _leucophantes_ ( sp.), new guinea; _butalis_ ( sp.), ethiopian and palæarctic regions, moluccas and formosa; _muscicapa_ ( sp.), europe and africa; _muscicapula_ ( sp.), india to western china; _alseonax_ ( sp.), south africa; _erythrosterna_ ( sp.), europe to china and java; _newtonia_ ( sp.), madagascar; _xanthopygia_ ( sp.), japan, china, malacca; _hemipus_ ( sp.), india and ceylon; _pycnophrys_ ( sp.), java; _hyliota_ ( sp.), west africa; _erythrocercus_ ( sp.), west africa and zambesi; _micræca_ ( sp.), australia, timor, and papuan islands; _artomyias_ ( sp.), west africa; _pseudobias_ ( sp.), madagascar; _hemichelidon_ ( sp.), the oriental region and north china; _smithornis_ ( sp.), west and south africa; _megabias_ ( sp.), west africa; _cassinia_ ( sp.), west africa; _bias_, ( sp.), tropical africa; _niltava_ ( sp.), himalayas to west china; _cyornis_ ( sp.), the whole oriental region; _cyanoptila_ ( sp.), japan, china, hainan; _eumyias_ ( sp.), india to south china, ceylon, and sumatra; ( and ) _siphia_ ( sp.), north india, formosa, timor; _anthipes_ ( sp.), nepal; _seisura_ ( sp.), australia and { }austro-malaya (excluding celebes); _myiagra_ ( sp.), australia and moluccas to caroline and samoa islands; _hypothymis_ ( sp.), oriental region and celebes; _elminia_ ( sp.), tropical africa; _muscitodus_ ( sp.), fiji islands; _machærirhynchus_ ( sp.), papuan islands and north australia; _platystira_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _rhipidura_ ( sp.), the oriental and australian regions to the samoa islands and tasmania; _chelidorynx_ ( sp.), north india; _myialestes_ ( sp.), india to ceylon, china, java and celebes; _tchitrea_ ( sp.), the entire ethiopian and oriental regions, and to north china and japan; _philentoma_ ( sp.), malacca, sumatra, borneo, and philippine islands; _todopsis_ ( sp.), papuan islands; ( ) _pogonocichla_ ( sp.), south africa; ( - ) _bradyornis_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; ( ) _chasiempis_ ( sp.), sandwich islands. family .--pachycephalidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- . | . . -- | | | | | the pachycephalidæ, or thick-headed shrikes (pachycephalinæ of the _hand list_ omitting _colluricincla_, _cracticus_, and _pardalotus_) are almost confined to the australian region, a single species extending to java and aracan, and another (?) to madagascar. the family has generally been united with the laniidæ, but most modern ornithologists consider it to be distinct. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- _oreoeca_ ( sp.), australia; _falcunculus_ ( sp.), australia; _pachycephala_ ( sp.), sula islands (east of celebes) to the fiji islands, and australia; _hylocharis_ ( sp.), timor, celebes, indo-malaya, and aracan; _calicalicus_ ( sp.), madagascar; _eopsaltria_ ( sp.), australia, new caledonia, and the new hebrides; _artamia_ ( sp.), madagascar,--may belong to this family, or to laniidæ, oriolidæ, or artamidæ, according to different authors. { }family .--laniidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . -- | | | | | the laniidæ, or shrikes (laniinæ and malaconotinæ of the _hand list_, and including _colluricincla_), are most abundant and varied in africa, less plentiful in the oriental, australian, and palæarctic regions, with a few species in the nearctic region as far as mexico. the constitution of the family is, however, somewhat uncertain. the genera here admitted are:-- _colluricincla_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; _rectes_ ( sp.), papuan islands, north australia, to pelew and fiji islands; ( - - ) _lanius_ ( sp.), the whole nearctic, palæarctic, ethiopian, and oriental regions, one species reaching timor, none in madagascar; _laniellus_ ( sp.), java; _hypocolius_ ( sp.), abyssinia and upper nile; _corvinella_ ( sp.), south and west africa; _urolestes_ ( sp.), south and east africa; _tephrodornis_ ( sp.), oriental region to hainan and java; _hypodes_ ( sp.), west africa; _fraseria_ ( sp.), west africa; _cuphopterus_ ( sp.), princes' island; _nilaus_ ( sp.), south and west africa; _prionops_ ( sp.), tropical africa; _eurocephalus_ ( sp.), north, east, and south africa, and abyssinia; _chaunonotus_ ( sp.), west africa; _vanga_ ( sp.), madagascar (plate vi. vol. i. p. ); _laniarius_ ( sp.), the whole ethiopian region; _telephonus_ ( sp.), all africa and south europe; _meristes_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _nicator_ ( sp.), east africa. family .--corvidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . -- | | | | | { }the corvidæ, or crows, jays, &c., form an extensive and somewhat heterogeneous group, some members of which inhabit almost every part of the globe, although none of the genera are cosmopolitan. the true crows are found everywhere but in south america; the magpies, choughs, and nutcrackers are characteristic of the palæarctic region; the jays are palæarctic, oriental, and american; while the piping crows are peculiarly australian. the more detailed distribution of the genera is as follows:-- sub-family i. gymnorhininæ (piping crows).--_strepera_ ( sp.), and _gymnorhina_ ( sp.), are australian only; _cracticus_ ( sp.), ranges from new guinea to tasmania (this is usually put with the shrikes, but it has more affinity with the preceding genera); _pityriasis_ ( sp.), borneo (an extraordinary bird of very doubtful affinities); _grallina_ ( sp.), australia, is put here by sundevall,--among motacillidæ, by gould. sub-family ii. _garrulinæ_ (jays).--_platylophus_ = _lophocitta_ ( sp.), malaya; _garrulus_ ( sp.), palæarctic region, china and himalayas; _perisoreus_ ( sp.), north of palæarctic and nearctic regions; _cyanurus_ ( sp.), american, from bolivia to canada, most abundant in central america, but absent from the antilles; _cyanocorax_ ( sp.), la plata to mexico; _calocitta_ ( sp.), guatemala and mexico; _psilorhinus_ ( sp.), costa rica to texas; _urocissa_ ( sp.), western himalayas to china and formosa; _cissa_ ( sp.), south-eastern himalayas to tenasserim, ceylon, sumatra, and java. sub-family iii. dendrocittinæ (tree crows).--_temnurus_ ( sp.), cochin china, malacca to borneo (not java); _dendrocitta_ ( sp.), the oriental region to sumatra, hainan, and formosa; _crypsirhina_ ( sp.), pegu, siam, and java; _ptilostomus_ ( sp.), west, east, and south africa. sub-family iv. corvinæ (crows and magpies).--_nucifraga_ ( sp.), palæarctic region to the himalayas and north china; _picicorvus_ ( sp.), the rocky mountains and california; _gymnokitta_ ( sp.), rocky mountains and arizona (plate xviii., vol. ii., p. ); _pica_ ( sp.), palæarctic region, arctic america, and california; _cyanopica_ ( sp.), spain, north-east asia, japan; { }_streptocitta_ ( sp.), celebes; _charitornis_ ( sp.), sula islands; _corvus_ ( sp.), universally distributed except south america and new zealand, but found in guatemala and the antilles to porto rico; reaches the extreme north of europe and asia; _gymnocorvus_ ( sp.), papuan islands; _picathartes_ ( sp.), west africa; _corvultur_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa. sub-family v. fregilinæ (choughs).--_fregilus_ ( sp.), mountains and cliffs of palæarctic region from west europe to the himalayas and north china, abyssinia (plate i., vol. i., p. ); _corcorax_ ( sp.), australia. family .--paradiseidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . -- -- | | | | | the paradiseidæ, or "birds of paradise," form one of the most remarkable families of birds, unsurpassed alike for the singularity and the beauty of their plumage. till recently the family was restricted to about eight species of the more typical paradise birds, but in his splendid monograph of the group, mr. elliot has combined together a number of allied forms which had been doubtfully placed in several adjacent families. the various species of true paradise birds, having ornamental plumes developed from different parts of the body, are almost wholly confined to new guinea and the adjacent papuan islands, one species only being found in the moluccas and one in north australia; while the less typical bower-birds, having no such developments of plumage, are most characteristic of the north and east of australia, with a few species in new guinea. the distribution of the genera according to mr. elliot's monograph is as follows:-- sub-family i. paradiseinæ.--_paradisea_ ( sp.), papuan islands; _manucodia_ ( sp.), papuan islands and north australia; _astrapia_ ( sp.), new guinea; _parotia_ ( sp.), new guinea; _lophorhina_ ( sp.), new guinea; _diphyllodes_ ( sp.), papuan { }islands; _xanthomelus_ ( sp.), new guinea; _cicinnurus_ ( sp.), papuan islands; _paradigalla_ ( sp.), new guinea; _semioptera_ ( sp.), gilolo and batchian. sub-family ii. epimachinæ.--_epimachus_ ( sp.), new guinea; _drepanornis_ ( sp.), new guinea; _seleucides_ ( sp.), new guinea (plate x., vol. i., p. ); _ptilorhis_ ( sp.), new guinea and north australia. sub-family iii. tectonarchinæ (bower-birds).--_sericulus_ ( sp.), eastern australia; _ptilonorhynchus_ ( sp.), eastern australia; _chlamydodera_ ( sp.), north and east australia; _Ælurædus_ ( sp.), papuan islands and east australia; _amblyornis_ ( sp.), new guinea. family .--meliphagidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | | | | | (as in the _hand list_, but omitting zosterops, and slightly altering the arrangement.) the extensive group of the meliphagidæ, or honey-suckers, is wholly australian, for the genus _zosterops_, which extends into the oriental and ethiopian regions, does not naturally belong to it. several of the genera are confined to australia, others to new zealand, while a few range over the whole australian region. the genera are distributed as follows:-- _myzomela_ ( sp.), has the widest range, extending from celebes to the samoa islands, and to timor and eastern australia; _entomophila_ ( sp.), australia and new guinea; _gliciphila_ ( sp.), australia, timor, new guinea, and new caledonia; _acanthorhynchus_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; meliphaga ( sp.), australia; _ptilotis_ ( sp.), gilolo and lombok to australia and tasmania, and to the samoa and tonga islands; _meliornis_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; _prosthemadera_ ( sp.), _pogonornis_ ( sp.), new zealand; _anthornis_ ( sp.), new zealand and chatham islands; _anthochæra_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; { }_xanthotis_ ( sp.), papuan islands and australia; _leptornis_ ( sp.), samoa islands and new caledonia; _philemon_ = _tropidorhyncus_ ( sp.), moluccas and lombok to new guinea, australia, tasmania and new caledonia; _entomiza_ ( sp.), australia; _manorhina_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; _euthyrhynchus_ ( sp.), new guinea; _melirrhophetes_ ( sp.), new guinea; _melidectes_ ( sp.), new guinea; _melipotes_ ( sp.), new guinea; _melithreptus_ ( sp.), new guinea, australia, and tasmania; ( ) _moho_ ( sp.), sandwich islands; _chætoptila_ ( sp.), sandwich islands. family .--nectariniidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the nectariniidæ, or sun-birds, form a rather extensive group of insectivorous honey-suckers, often adorned with brilliant metallic plumage, and bearing a superficial resemblance to the american humming-birds, although not in any way related to them. they abound in the ethiopian, oriental, and australian regions, as far east as new ireland, and south to queensland, while one species inhabits the hot jordan valley in the palæarctic region. for the eastern genera i follow lord walden's classification (ibis, ); the african species not having been so carefully studied are mostly placed in one genus. the genera adopted are as follows:-- _promerops_ ( sp.), south africa; _nectarinia_ ( sp.), the whole ethiopian region; _cinnyricinclus_ ( sp.), west africa; _neodrepanis_ ( sp.), madagascar; _arachnecthra_ ( sp.), palestine, all india to hainan, the papuan islands, and north-east australia; _Æthopyga_ ( sp.), himalayas and central india to west china, hainan, java, and northern celebes; _nectarophila_ ( sp.), central india and ceylon, assam and aracan to java, celebes and the philippines; _chalcostetha_ ( sp.), malay peninsula to new guinea; _anthreptes_ ( sp.), siam, malay peninsula to { }sula islands, and flores; _cosmeteira_ ( sp.), papuan islands; _arachnothera_ ( sp.), the oriental region (excluding philippines) celebes, lombok, and papuan islands. family .--dicÆidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the dicæidæ, or flower-peckers, consist of very small, gaily-coloured birds, rather abundant over the whole oriental and much of the australian regions, and one genus extending over the ethiopian region. the genera here adopted are the following:-- ( ) _zosterops_ ( sp.), the whole ethiopian, oriental, and australian regions, as far east as the fiji islands, and north to pekin and japan; ( - ) _dicæum_ ( sp.), the whole oriental region, except china, with the australian region as far as the solomon islands; ( ) _pachyglossa_ ( sp. ), nepal and northern celebes; ( ) _piprisoma_ ( sp.), himalayas to ceylon and timor; ( ) _pardalotus_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; ( - ) _prionochilus_ ( sp.), indo-malay sub-region and papuan islands. family .--drepanididÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | the drepanididæ are confined to the sandwich islands, and i follow mr. sclater's suggestion in bringing together the following genera to form this family:-- _drepanis_ ( sp.); _hemignathus_ ( sp.); _loxops_ ( sp.); _psittirostra_ ( sp.). if these are correctly associated, the great { }differences in the bill indicate that they are the remains of a larger and more varied family, once inhabiting more extensive land surfaces in the pacific. family .--coerebidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . |-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | (according to the arrangement of messrs. sclater and salvin.) the coerebidæ, or sugar-birds, are delicate little birds allied to the preceding families, but with extensile honey-sucking tongues. they are almost wholly confined to the tropical parts of america, only one species of _certhiola_ ranging so far north as florida. the following is the distribution of the genera:-- _diglossa_ ( sp.), peru and bolivia to guiana and mexico; _diglossopis_ ( sp.), ecuador to venezuela; _oreomanes_ ( sp.), ecuador; _conirostrum_ ( sp.), bolivia to ecuador and columbia; _hemidacnis_ ( sp.), upper amazon and columbia; _dacnis_ ( sp.), brazil to ecuador and costa rica; _certhidea_ ( sp.), galapagos islands; _chlorophanes_ ( sp.), brazil to central america and cuba; _coereba_ ( sp.), brazil to mexico; _certhiola_ ( sp.), amazon to mexico, west indies, and florida; _glossoptila_ ( sp.), jamaica. family .--mniotiltidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . | . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | (messrs. sclater and salvin are followed for the neotropical, baird and allen for the nearctic region.) the mniotiltidæ, or wood-warblers, are an interesting group of small and elegant birds, allied to the preceding family and to the greenlets, and perhaps also to the warblers and tits of europe. { }they range over all north america from panama to the arctic regions, but do not extend far beyond the tropic in southern america. they are almost as abundant in the nearctic as in the neotropical region; and considering the favourable conditions of existence in tropical america, this fact, in connection with their absence from the south temperate zone would lead us to suppose that they originated in north temperate america, and subsequently spread southward into the tropics. this supposition is strengthened by the fact that their metropolis, in the breeding season, is to the north of the united states. the genera adopted by messrs. sclater and salvin are as follows:-- ( ) _siurus_ ( sp.), venezuela and west indies to eastern states and canada; _mniotilta_ ( sp.), venezuela, mexico, and antilles to the eastern states; _parula_ ( sp.), brazil to mexico, and the eastern states, and canada; _protonotaria_ ( sp.), antilles to ohio; _helminthophaga_ ( sp.), columbia to arctic america; _helmintherus_ ( sp.), central america to eastern states; _perissoglossa_ ( sp.), antilles and eastern states; _dendroeca_ ( sp.), amazon to antilles, and arctic america, and south to chili; _oporornis_ ( sp.), guatemala to eastern states; _geothlypis_ ( sp.), all north america and brazil; _myiodioctes_ ( sp.), all north america and columbia; _basileuterus_ ( sp.), bolivia and brazil to mexico; _setophaga_ ( sp.), brazil to canada; _ergaticus_ ( sp.), guatemala and mexico; _cardellina_ ( sp.), guatemala and mexico; ( ) _granatellus_ ( sp.), amazon to mexico; ( ) _teretristis_ ( sp.), cuba; ( ) _icteria_ ( sp.), costa rica and united states to canada. family .--vireonidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . | . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | (messrs. sclater and salvin are followed for the neotropical genera; professor baird and mr. allen for those of the nearctic region.) { }the vireonidæ, or greenlets, are a family of small fly-catching birds wholly restricted to the american continent, where they range from paraguay to canada. they are allied to the mniotiltidæ and perhaps also to the australian pachycephalidæ. only two of the genera, with about a dozen species, inhabit the nearctic region. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- _vireosylvia_ ( sp.), venezuela to mexico, the antilles, the eastern states and canada; _vireo_ ( sp.), central america and the antilles to canada; _neochloe_ ( sp.), mexico; _hylophilus_ ( sp.), brazil to mexico; _laletes_ ( sp.), jamaica; _vireolanius_ ( sp.), amazonia to mexico; _cychlorhis_ ( sp.), paraguay to mexico. family .--ampelidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- . | . . . | . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the ampelidæ, represented in europe by the waxwing, are a small family, characteristic of the nearctic and palæarctic regions, but extending southward to costa rica and the west indian islands. the genera are distributed as follows:-- ( ) _ampelis_ ( sp.), the palæarctic and nearctic regions, and southward to guatemala; ( ) _ptilogonys_ ( sp.), central america; ( ) _dulus_ ( sp.), west indian islands; ( ) _phænopepla_ ( sp.), mexico and the gila valley. family .--hirundinidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | { }the hirundinidæ, or swallows, are true cosmopolites. although they do not range quite so far north (except as stragglers) as a few of the extreme polar birds, yet they pass beyond the arctic circle both in america and europe, _cotyle riparia_ having been observed in the parry islands, while _hirundo rustica_ has been seen both in spitzbergen and nova zembla. _cotyle riparia_ and _chelidon urbica_ also breed in great numbers in northern lapland, latitude ° to ° north. many of the species also, have an enormous range, the common swallow (_hirundo rustica_) inhabiting europe, asia and africa, from lapland to the cape of good hope and to the moluccas. the genera of swallows are not well determined, a number having been established of which the value is uncertain. i admit the following, referring by numbers to the _hand list_:-- ( - - ) _hirundo_ ( sp.), the range of the entire family; ( ) _psalidoprogne_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; ( ) _phedina_ ( sp.), madagascar and mascarene islands; ( ) _petrochelidon_ ( sp.), north and south america and cape of good hope; ( - ? ) _atticora_ ( sp.), the neotropical region and ? australia; ( ) _cotyle_ ( sp.), europe, india, africa, north america, antilles and ecuador; ( ) _stelgidopteryx_ ( sp.), la plata to united states; ( and ) _chelidon_ ( sp.), palæarctic region, nepal, borneo; ( - ) _progne_ ( sp.), all north and south america. family .--icteridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the icteridæ, or american hang-nests, range over the whole continent, from patagonia and the falkland islands to the arctic circle. only about species inhabit the nearctic region, while, as usual with exclusively american families, the larger proportion of the genera and species are found in the { }tropical parts of south america. the genera adopted by messrs. sclater and salvin are the following:-- _clypeicterus_ ( sp.), upper amazon; _ocycalus_ ( sp.), upper amazon to mexico; _ostinops_ ( sp.), brazil and bolivia to mexico; _cassiculus_ ( sp.), mexico; _cassicus_ ( sp.), south brazil and bolivia to costa rica; _icterus_ ( sp.), la plata to the antilles and united states; _dolichonyx_ ( sp.), paraguay to canada; _molothrus_ ( sp.), la plata to northern united states; _agelæus_ ( sp.), la plata and chili to northern united states; _xanthocephalus_ ( sp.), mexico to california and canada; _xanthosomus_ ( sp.), la plata to venezuela; _amblyrhamphus_ ( sp.), la plata and bolivia; _gymnomystax_ ( sp.), amazonia and guiana; _pseudoleistes_ ( sp.), la plata and brazil; _leistes_ ( sp.), la plata to venezuela; _sturnella_ ( sp.), patagonia and falkland islands to middle united states; _curæus_ ( sp.), chili; _nesopsar_ ( sp.), jamaica; _scolecophgaus_ ( sp.), mexico to arctic circle; _lampropsar_ ( sp.), amazonia and ecuador to mexico; _quiscalus_ ( sp.), venezuela and columbia to south and central united states; _hypopyrrhus_ ( sp.), columbia; _aphobus_ ( sp.), brazil and bolivia; _cassidix_ ( sp.), brazil to mexico and cuba. family .--tanagridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . |-- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the tanagers are an extensive family of varied and beautiful fruit-eating birds, almost peculiar to the neotropical region, only four species of a single genus (_pyranga_) extending into the eastern united states and rocky mountains. southward they range to la plata. they are especially abundant in the forest regions of south america east of the andes, where no less than out of the genera occur; of the genera are peculiar to this sub-region, while only (_phlogothraupis_) is { }peculiar to central america and mexico, and (_spindalis_ and _phænicophilus_) to the west indian islands. the genera adopted by messrs. sclater and salvin with their distribution will be found at vol. ii., p. , in our account of neotropical zoology. family .--fringillidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the great family of the fringillidæ, or finches, is in a very unsettled state as regards their division into genera, the most divergent views being held by ornithologists as to the constitution and affinities of many of the groups. all the australian finch-like birds appear to belong to the ploceidæ, so that the finches, as here constituted, are found in every region and sub-region, except the australian region from which they are entirely absent--a peculiar distribution hardly to be found in any other family of birds. many european ornithologists separate the emberizidæ, or buntings, as a distinct family, but as the american genera have not been so divided i am obliged to keep them together; but the genera usually classed as "buntings" are placed last, as a sub-family. in the following arrangement of the genera, i have done what i could to harmonize the views of the best modern writers. for convenience of reference the succession of the genera is that of the _hand list_, and the numbers of the sub-genera are given whenever practicable:-- ( ) _fringilla_ ( sp.), the whole palæarctic region, including the atlantic islands; ( ) _acanthis_ ( sp.), europe to siberia, persia, and north-west himalayas; ( ) _procarduelis_ ( sp.), high himalayas and east thibet; ( - ) _chrysomitris_ ( sp.), neotropical and nearctic regions, europe, and siberia; ( ) _metoponia_ ( sp.), east europe to north west himalayas; ( and ) _chlorospiza_ ( sp.), palæarctic region and africa to the { }cape of good hope; ( - ) _dryospiza_ ( sp.), south europe, palestine, canaries, and all africa; ( ) _sycalis_ ( sp.), the whole neotropical region; ( - - ) _pyrgita_ ( sp.), palæarctic and oriental regions, and all africa; ( ) _montifringilla_ ( sp.), palæarctic region; ( ) _fringillauda_ ( sp.), north-west himalayas to east thibet; ( - ) _coccothraustes_ ( sp.), palæarctic region and nepal, nearctic region to mexico; ( ) _eophona_ ( sp.), china and japan; ( ) _mycerobas_ ( sp.), central asia to persia, high himalayas, and east thibet; ( ) _chaunoproctus_ ( sp.), bonin islands, south-east of japan, (probably palæarctic); ( ) _geospiza_ ( sp.), galapagos islands; ( ) _camarhynchus_ ( sp.), galapagos islands; ( ) _cactornis_ ( sp.), galapagos islands; ( - ) _phrygilus_ ( sp.), columbia to fuegia and the falkland islands; ( ) _xenospingus_ ( sp.), peru; ( ) _diuca_ ( sp.), peru to chili and patagonia; ( and ) _emberizoides_ ( sp.), venezuela to paraguay; ( ) _donacospiza_ ( sp.), south brazil and la plata; ( ) _chamæospiza_ ( sp.), mexico; ( and ) _embernagra_ ( sp.), arizona to la plata; ( ) _hæmophila_ ( sp.), mexico to costa rica; ( ) _atlapetes_ ( sp.), mexico; ( ) _pyrgisoma_ ( sp.). mexico to costa rica; ( and ) _pipilo_ ( sp.), all north america to guatemala; ( ) _junco_ ( sp.), all the united states to guatemala; ( ) _zonotrichia_ ( sp.), the whole nearctic and neotropical regions; ( ) _melospiza_ ( sp.), sitka and united states to guatemala; ( ) _spizella_ ( sp.), canada to guatemala; ( ) _passerella_ ( sp.), the nearctic region and northern asia; ( ) _passerculus_ ( sp.), nearctic region and to guatemala; ( ) _pooecetes_ ( sp.), all united states and mexico; ( ) _ammodromus_ ( sp.), all united states to guatemala; ( ) _coturniculus_ ( sp.), north and east of north america to jamaica and bolivia; ( ) _peucæa_ ( sp.), south atlantic states and california to mexico; ( ) _tiaris_ ( sp.), brazil; ( ) _volatinia_ ( sp.), mexico to brazil and bolivia; ( ) _cyanospiza_ ( sp.), canada to guatemala; ( ) _paroaria_ ( sp.), tropical south america, east of the andes; ( ) _coryphospingus_ ( sp.), tropical south america; ( ) _haplospiza_ ( sp.), mexico and brazil; ( ) _phonipara_ ( sp.), mexico to columbia, the greater antilles; ( ) _poospiza_ { }( sp.), california and south central states to bolivia and la plata; ( ) _spodiornis_ ( sp.), andes of quito; ( ) _pyrrhula_ ( sp.), the whole palæarctic region to the azores and high himalayas; ( ) _crithagra_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa, mauritius, syria; ( ) _ligurnus_ ( sp.), west africa; ( ) _carpodacus_ ( sp.), nearctic and palæarctic regions to mexico and central india; ( - ) _erythrospiza_ ( sp.), southern parts of palæarctic region; ( ) _uragus_ ( sp.), siberia and japan; ( ) _cardinalis_ ( sp.), south and central states to venezuela; ( ) _pyrrhuloxia_ ( sp.), texas and rio grande; ( ) _guiraca_ ( sp.), southern united states to la plata; ( ) _amaurospiza_ ( sp.), costa rica and brazil; ( ) _hedymeles_ ( sp.), all united states to columbia; ( ) _pheucticus_ ( sp.), mexico to peru and bolivia; ( ) _oryzoborus_ ( sp.), mexico to ecuador and south brazil; ( ) _melopyrrha_ ( sp.), cuba; ( ) _loxigilla_ ( sp.), antilles; ( ) _spermophila_ ( sp.), texas to bolivia and uruguay; ( ) _catamenia_ ( sp.), columbia to bolivia; ( ) _neorhynchus_ ( sp.), west peru; ( ) _catamblyrhyncus_ ( sp.), columbia; ( ) _loxia_ ( sp.), europe to north-west india and japan, arctic america to pennsylvania, mexico; ( ) _pinicola_ ( sp.), arctic america, north-east europe to the amoor, camaroons mountains west africa; ( ) _propyrrhula_ ( sp.), darjeeling in the winter,? thibet; ( ) _pyrrhospiza_ ( sp.), snowy himalayas; ( ) _hæmatospiza_ ( sp.), south-east himalayas, , - , feet; ( ) _linota_ ( sp.), europe to central asia, north and east of north america; ( ) _leucosticte_ ( sp.), siberia and thibet to kamschatka, and from alaska to utah. sub-family emberizinæ.--( ) _calamospiza_ ( sp.), arizona and texas to mexico; ( ) _chondestes_ ( sp.), western, central, and southern states to mexico and nicaragua; ( - ) _euspiza_ ( sp.), palæarctic region, india, burmah, and south china, south-east united states to columbia; ( - ) _emberiza_ ( sp.), the whole palæarctic region (continental), to central india in winter; ( ) _gubernatrix_ ( sp.), paraguay and la plata, (according to messrs. sclater and salvin this comes next to _pipilo_); ( ) _fringillaria_ ( sp.), africa and south europe; { }( - ) _plectrophanes_ ( sp.), arctic zone to northern europe and north china, arctic america, and east side of rocky mountains; ( ) _centronyx_ ( sp.), mouth of yellowstone river. family .--ploceidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | . . -- | | | | | the ploceidæ, or weaver-finches, are especially characteristic of the ethiopian region, where most of the genera and nearly four-fifths of the species are found; the remainder being pretty equally divided between the oriental and australian regions. like the true finches these have never been properly studied, and it is exceedingly difficult to ascertain what genera are natural and how far those of australia and africa are distinct. the following enumeration must therefore be taken as altogether tentative and provisional. when the genera adopted differ from those of the _hand list_ they will be referred to by numbers. _textor_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; ( - ) _hyphantornis_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; ( ) _symplectes_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _malimbus_ ( sp.), west africa; ( ) _ploceus_ ( sp.), west and east africa, the oriental region (excluding philippines); ( ) _nelicurvius_ ( sp.), madagascar; _foudia_ ( sp.), madagascar and mascarene islands, tropical africa; ( ) _sporopipes_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; ( - ) _pyromelana_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa, abyssinia to , feet; _philetærus_ ( sp.), south africa; _nigrita_ ( sp.), west africa to upper nile; _plocepasser_ ( sp.), east and south africa; ( - ) _vidua_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa (plate v., vol. i., p. ); ( - ) _coliuspasser_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _chera_ ( sp.), south africa; _spermospiza_ ( sp.), west africa; _pyrenestes_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; ( - ) _estrilda_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa, india, burmah, and java to australia; ( ) { }_pytelia_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; ( ) _hypargos_ ( sp.), mozambique and madagascar; ( ) _emblema_ ( sp.), north-west australia ( - ) _amadina_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa, moluccas to australia and the samoa islands; ( ) _spermestes_ ( sp.), tropical africa and madagascar; ( ) _amauresthes_ ( sp.), east and west africa; ( - ) _munia_ ( sp.), oriental region to timor and new guinea; ( ) _donacola_ ( sp.), australia; ( ) _poephila_ ( sp.), australia; ( - ) _erythrura_ ( sp.), sumatra to java, moluccas, timor, new guinea, and fiji islands; ( ) _hypochera_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa. family .--sturnidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | . . . | -- . | | | | | the sturnidæ or starlings, are a highly characteristic old-world group, extending to every part of the great eastern continent and its islands, and over the pacific ocean to the samoa islands and new zealand, yet wholly absent from the mainland of australia. the family appears to be tolerably well-defined, and the following genera are generally considered to belong to it: ( ) _eulabes_ ( sp.), the oriental region to south-west china, hainan, and java,--and flores, new guinea and the solomon islands in the australian region; _ampeliceps_ ( sp.), _tenasserim_, burmah, and cochin china; _gymnops_ ( sp.), philippine islands; _basilornis_ ( sp.), celebes and ceram; _pastor_ ( sp.), south-east europe to india, ceylon, and burmah; _acridotheres_ ( sp.), the whole oriental region and celebes; ( ) _sturnia_ ( sp.), the whole oriental region, north china, japan, and siberia, celebes; _dilophus_ ( sp.), south africa; _sturnus_ ( sp.), palæarctic region, to india and south china in winter; _sturnopastor_ ( sp.), india to burmah and east java; _creadion_ ( sp.), new zealand; _heterolocha_ ( sp.), new zealand; ( ) _callæas_ { }( sp.), new zealand; _buphaga_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _euryceros_ ( sp.), madagascar (see plate vi., vol. i., p. .) this genus and the last should perhaps form distinct families. ( ) _juida_ ( sp.), central, west, and south africa; ( ) _lamprocolius_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _cinnyricinclus_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _onychognathus_ ( sp.), west africa; ( ) _spreo_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; ( - ) _amydrus_ ( sp.), south and east africa, palestine; _aplonis_ ( sp.), new caledonia to the tonga islands; ( - ) _calornis_ ( sp.), the whole malay archipelago and eastward to the ladrone and samoa islands; ( ) _enodes_ ( sp.), celebes; _scissirostrum_ ( sp.), celebes; ( ) _saroglossa_ ( sp.), himalayas; ( ) _hartlaubius_ ( sp), madagascar; _fregilupus_ ( sp.), bourbon, but it has recently become extinct; ( ) _falculia_ ( sp)., madagascar. family .--artamidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\___________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions |sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --?| . . . | . . -- | | | | | the artamidæ, or swallow-shrikes, are a curious group of birds, ranging over the greater part of the oriental and australian regions as far east as the fiji islands and south to tasmania. only a single species inhabits india, and they are more plentiful in australia than in any other locality. the only well-marked genus is _artamus_. there are a few madagascar birds belonging to the genus _artamia_, which some ornithologists place in this family, others with the laniidæ, but which are here classed with the oriolidæ. { }family .--alaudidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the alaudidæ, or larks, may be considered as exclusively belonging to the great eastern continent, since the nearctic, neotropical, and australian regions have each only a single species. they abound most in the open plains and deserts of africa and asia, and are especially numerous in south africa. the genera, including those recently established by mr. sharpe, are as follows:-- _otocorys_ ( sp.); the palæarctic region, north america and south to the andes of columbia, north india; ( ) _alauda_ ( sp.), palæarctic region, all africa, the peninsula of india, and ceylon; ( ) _galerita_ ( sp.), central europe to senegal and abyssinia, persia, india and north china; ( ) _calendula_ ( sp.), abyssinia and south africa; ( ) _calandrella_ ( sp.), europe, north africa, india, burmah, north china, and mongolia; ( - ) _melanocorypha_ ( sp.), south europe to tartary, abyssinia, and north-west india; _pallasia_ (sp. ), east asia; ( ) _certhilauda_ ( sp.), south europe, south africa; _heterocorys_ (sp. ) south africa; ( ) _alæmon_ ( sp.), south-east europe to western india, and south africa; ( ) _mirafra_ ( sp.), the oriental and ethiopian regions to australia; ( ) _ammomanes_ ( sp.), south europe to palestine and central india, and to cape verd islands and south africa; ( ) _megalophonus_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _tephrocorys_ ( sp.), south africa; _pyrrhulauda_ ( sp.), all africa, canary islands, india and ceylon. { }family .--motacillidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . -- | | | | | the motacillidæ, or wagtails and pipits, are universally distributed, but are most abundant in the palæarctic, ethiopian, and oriental regions, to which the true wagtails are almost confined. the following genera are usually adopted, but some of them are not very well defined:-- _motacilla_ ( sp.), ranges over the greater part of europe, asia, and africa, and to alaska in north-west america; _budytes_ ( sp.), europe, africa, asia to philippines, moluccas, timor, and north australia; _calobates_ ( sp.), south palæarctic and oriental regions to java; _nemoricola_ ( sp.), oriental region; _anthus_ ( sp.), all the great continents; _neocorys_ ( sp.), central north america; _corydalla_ ( sp.), south europe to india, china, the malay islands, australia, new zealand and the auckland islands: _macronyx_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _heterura_ ( sp.), himalayas. family .--tyrannidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the tyrannidæ, or tyrant shrikes, form one of the most extensive and truly characteristic american families of birds; as they extend over the whole continent from patagonia to the arctic regions, and are found also in all the chief american islands--the antilles, the galapagos, the falkland islands, and { }juan fernandez. as the genera are all enumerated in the table, at p. of this volume, i shall here confine myself to the distribution of the sub-families, only referring to such genera as are of special geographical interest. sub-family i. conophaginÆ ( genera, species). confined to tropical south america, from brazil and bolivia to guiana and columbia. sub-family ii. tÆniopterinÆ ( genera, species). this group ranges from patagonia and the falkland islands to the northern united states; yet it is almost wholly south american, only genera and species passing north of panama, and none inhabiting the west indian islands. _empidias_ has species in north america, while _tænioptera_, _cnipolegus_, _muscisaxicola_, and _centrites_, range south to patagonia. sub-family iii. platyrhynichinÆ ( genera, species). this sub-family is wholly neotropical and mostly south american, only of the genera passing panama and but reaching mexico, while there are none in the west indian islands. only genera extend south to the temperate sub-region, and one of these, _anæretes_, has a species in juan fernandez. sub-family iv. elaineinÆ ( genera, species). this sub-family is more exclusively tropical, only two genera extending south as far as chili and la plata, while none enter the nearctic region. no less than of the genera pass north of panama, and one of these, _elainea_, which ranges from chili to costa rica has several species in the west indian islands. about one fourth of the species of this sub-family are found north of panama. sub-family v. tyranninÆ ( genera, species). this sub-family is that which is best represented in the nearctic region, where genera and species occur. _milvulus_ reaches texas; _tyrannus_ and _myiarchus_ range over all the united states; _sayornis_, the eastern states and california; _contopus_ extends to canada; _empidonax_ ranges all over north america; and _pyrocephalus_ reaches the gila valley as well as the galapagos islands. no less than genera of this sub-family occur in the west indian islands. { }family _a_.--oxyrhamphidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the genus _oxyrhamphus_ ( sp.) which ranges from brazil to costa rica, has usually been placed in the dendrocolaptidæ; but messrs sclater and salvin consider it to be the type of a distinct family group, most allied to the tyrannidæ. family .--pipridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the pipridæ, or manakins, have generally been associated with the next family, and they have a very similar distribution. the great majority of the genera and species are found in the equatorial regions of south america, only species belonging to genera ranging north of panama, while or species extend to the southern limit of the tropical forests in paraguay and brazil. the genera which go north of panama are _piprites_, _pipra_, _chiroxiphia_, _chiromachæris_, and _hetoropelma_. _pipra_ is the largest genus, containing species, and having representatives throughout the whole range of the family. as in all the more extensive families peculiar to the neotropical region, the distribution of the genera will be found in the tables appended to the chapter on the neotropical region in the third part of this work. (vol. ii. p. ). { }family .--cotingidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the cotingidæ, or chatterers, comprise some of the most beautiful and some of the most remarkable of american birds, for such we must consider the azure and purple cotingas, the wine-coloured white-winged pompadour, the snowy carunculated bell-birds, the orange-coloured cocks-of-the-rock, and the marvellously-plumed umbrella-birds, (plate xv. vol. ii. p. ). the cotingidæ are also one of the most pre-eminently neotropical of all the neotropical families, the great mass of the genera and species being concentrated in and around the vast equatorial forest region of the amazon. only species extend north of panama, one to the antilles, and not more than are found to the south of the amazon valley. messrs. sclater and salvin divide the family into six sub-families, the distribution of which will be briefly indicated. sub-family i. tityrinÆ ( genera, species). ranges from brazil to mexico, one species of _hadrostomus_ inhabiting jamaica. sub-family ii. lipauginÆ ( genera, species) also ranges from brazil to mexico; one genus (_ptilochloris_) is confined to brazil. sub-family iii. attalinÆ ( genera, species). ranges from paraguay to costa rica; one genus (_casiornis_) is confined to south brazil and paraguay. sub-family iv. rupicolinÆ ( genera, species). this sub-family is restricted to the amazonian region and guiana, with one species extending along the andean valleys to bolivia. the genera are _rupicola_ ( species) and _phænicocercus_ ( species). sub-family v. cotinginÆ ( genera, species). ranges from southern brazil and bolivia to nicaragua; only two species { }(belonging to the genera _carpodectes_ and _cotinga_) are found north of panama, and there are none in the west indian islands. the great majority of these, the true chatterers, are from the regions about the equator. sub-family vi. gymnoderinÆ ( genera, species). ranges from brazil to costa rica; two species, of the genera _chasmorhynchus_ and _cephalopterus_, are found north of panama, while there are none in the west indian islands. only species are found south of the amazon valley. family .--phytotomidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the phytotomidæ, or plant-cutters, are singular thick-billed birds, strictly confined to the temperate regions of south america. the single genus, _phytotoma_, is found in chili, la plata, and bolivia. their affinities are uncertain, but they are believed to be allied to the series of families with which they are here associated. (plate xvi. vol. ii. p. ). family .--eurylÆmidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the eurylæmidæ, or broad-bills, form a very small family of birds, often adorned with striking colours, and which have their nearest allies in the south american cotingidæ. they have a very limited distribution, from the lower slopes of the himalayas through burmah and siam, to sumatra, borneo, and java. they are evidently the remains of a once extensive group, and from the small number of specific forms remaining, seem to be on { }the road to extinction. thus we may understand their isolated geographical position. the following are the names and distribution of the genera:-- _eurylæmus_ ( species), malay peninsula, sumatra, java, and borneo; _corydon_ ( species), malacca, sumatra and borneo (plate ix. vol. i. p. ); _psarisomus_ ( species), himalayas to burmah, up to , feet; _serilophus_ ( species), nepal to tenasserim; _cymbirhynchus_ ( species), siam to sumatra and borneo; _calyptomena_ ( species), penang to sumatra and borneo. family .--dendrocolaptidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the dendrocolaptidæ, or american creepers, are curious brown-coloured birds with more or less rigid tail feathers, strictly confined to the continental neotropical region, and very numerous in its south-temperate extremity. they are divided by messrs. sclater and salvin into five sub-families, to which i shall confine my remarks on their distribution. the details of the numerous genera, being only interesting to specialists, will be given in the table of genera of the neotropical region. no less than of the genera are confined to south-temperate america and the high andes; are restricted to tropical south america, while not one is peculiar to tropical north america, and only of the genera extend into that sub-region, showing that this is one of the pre-eminently south american groups. sub-family i. furnariinÆ ( genera, species). ranges over all south america, genera and species being restricted to the temperate sub-region; one species is found in the falkland islands. sub-family ii. sclerurinÆ ( genus, species). brazil to guiana, columbia, and north to mexico. sub-family iii. synallaxinÆ ( genera, species). ranges from patagonia to mexico; genera and species are confined { }to the temperate sub-region; species occur in the islands of mas-a-fuera, trinidad, and tobago. sub-family iv. philydorinÆ ( genera, species). confined to tropical america from brazil to mexico; genera and species occur in tropical north america. sub-family v. dendrocolaptinÆ ( genera, species). ranges from chili and la plata to mexico; only species occur in the south temperate sub-region, while of the genera extend into tropical north america. two of the continental species occur in the island of tobago, which, together with trinidad, forms part of the south american rather than of the true antillean sub-region. family .--formicariidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the formicariidæ, comprising the bush-shrikes and ant-thrushes, form one of the most exclusively neotropical families; and the numerous species are rigidly confined to the warm and wooded districts, only a single species extending to la plata, and none to the antilles or to the nearctic region. less than species are found north of panama. messrs. sclater and salvin divide the group into three sub-families, whose distribution may be conveniently treated, as in the dendrocolaptidæ, without enumerating the genera. sub-family i. thamnophilinÆ.--( genera, species.) one species of _thamnophilus_ inhabits la plata; only genera and species are found north of panama, the species of this sub-family being especially abundant in the equatorial forest districts. sub-family ii. formicivorinÆ.--( genera, species.) only species occur north of panama, and less than one-third of the species belong to the districts south of the equator. { }sub-family iii. formicariinÆ.--( genera, species.) about species occur north of panama, and only south of the equatorial district. it appears, therefore, that this extensive family is especially characteristic of that part of south america from the amazon valley northwards. family .--pteroptochidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the pteroptochidæ are a group of curious wren-like birds, almost confined to the temperate regions of south america, extending along the andes beyond the equator, and with a few species in south-east brazil, and one in the valley of the madeira. the genera are as follows:-- _scytalopus_ ( sp.), chili and west patagonia to the andes of columbia; _merulaxis_ ( sp.), south-east brazil; _rhinocrypta_ ( sp.), northern patagonia and la plata; _lioscelis_ ( sp.), madeira valley; _pteroptochus_ ( sp.), chili; _hylactes_ ( sp.), western patagonia and chili; _acropternis_ ( sp.), andes of ecuador and columbia; _triptorhinus_ ( sp.), chili. family .--pittidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the pittas comprise a number of beautifully-coloured thrush-like birds, which, although confined to the old world, are more nearly allied to the south american pteroptochidæ than to any other family. they are most abundant in the malay archipelago, { }between the oriental and australian divisions of which they are pretty equally divided. they seem, however, to attain their maximum of beauty and variety in the large islands of borneo and sumatra; from whence they diminish in numbers in every direction till we find single species only in north china, west africa, and australia, the genera here adopted are the following:-- ( ) _pitta_ ( sp.), has the range of the family; ( ) _hydrornis_ ( sp.), himalayas and malaya; _eucichla_ ( sp.), malaya; _melampitta_ ( sp.), recently discovered in new guinea. family .--paictidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | this family was established by professor sundevall, for an anomalous bird of madagascar, which he believes to have some affinity for the american formicariidæ, but which perhaps comes best near the pittas. the only genus is _philepitta_, containing two species. family .--menuridÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | the menuridæ, or lyre birds, remarkable for the extreme elegance of the lyre-shaped tail in the species first discovered, are birds of a very anomalous structure, and have no near affinity to any other family. two species of _menura_ are known, confined to south and east australia (plate xii. vol. i. p. ). { }family .--atrichiidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | the genus _atrichia_, or scrub-birds of australia, have been formed into a separate family by professor newton, on account of peculiarities in the skeleton which separate them from all other passeres. only two species are known, inhabiting east and west australia respectively. they are very noisy, brown-coloured birds, and have been usually classed with the warblers, near _amytis_ and other australian species. _general remarks on the distribution of the passeres._ the order passeres, is the most extensive among birds, comprehending about , species grouped in genera, and families. the distribution of the genera, and of the families considered individually, has been already sufficiently given, and we now have to consider the peculiarities of distribution of the families collectively, and in their relations to each other, as representing well-marked types of bird-structure. the first thing to be noted is, how very few of these families are truly cosmopolitan; for although there are seven which are found in each of the great regions, yet few of these are widely distributed throughout all the regions, and we can only find three that inhabit every sub-region, and are distributed with tolerable uniformity; these are the hirundinidæ, or swallows, the motacillidæ or wagtails and pipits, and the corvidæ or crows,--but the latter is a family of so heterogeneous a nature, that it possibly contains the materials of several natural families, and if so divided, the parts would probably all cease to be cosmopolitan. the sylviidæ, the { }turdidæ, and the paridæ, are the only other families that approach universality of distribution, and all these are wanting in one or more sub-regions. if, now, we divide the globe into the new and the old world, the former including the whole american continent, the latter all the rest of the earth, we find that the old world possesses exclusively families, the new world exclusively , of which are common to north and south america. but if we take the division proposed by professor huxley--a northern world, comprising our first four regions (from nearctic to oriental), and a southern world comprising our last two regions (the australian and neotropical)--we find that the northern division possesses only families exclusively, and the southern division exclusively, of which not one is common to australia and south america. this plainly indicates that, as far as the passeres are concerned, the latter bipartite division is not so natural as the former. again, if we compare temperate with tropical families (not too rigidly, but as regards their general character), we find in the northern hemisphere only two families that have the character of being typically temperate--the cinclidæ, and in a less degree the ampelidæ--both of small extent. in the southern hemisphere we have also two, the phytotomidæ, and in a less degree, the pteroptochidæ; making two wholly and two mainly temperate families. of exclusively tropical families on the other hand, we have about , and several others that are mainly tropical. the several regions do not differ greatly in the number of families found in each. the nearctic has , the palæarctic , the ethiopian , the oriental , the australian , and the neotropical . but many of these families are only represented by a few species, or in limited districts; and if we count only those families which are tolerably well represented, and help to form the ornithological character of the region, the richness of the several tropical regions will appear to be (as it really is) comparatively much greater. the families that are confined to single regions are not very numerous, except in the case of the neotropical region, which has . the australian has only { } , the oriental , the ethiopian , and the other regions have no peculiar families. the distribution of the passeres may be advantageously considered as divided into the five series of turdoid, tanagroid, sturnoid, formicarioid, and anomalous passeres. the turdoid passeres, consisting of the first families, are especially characteristic of the old world, none being found exclusively in america, and only two or three being at all abundant there. the tanagroid passeres (families - ) are very characteristic of the new world, five being confined to it, and three others being quite as abundant there as in the old world; while there is not a single exclusively old world family in the series, except the drepanididæ confined to the sandwich islands. the sturnoid passeres (families - ) are all exclusively old world, except that two larks inhabit parts of north america, and a few pipits south america. the formicarioid passeres (families - ) are strikingly characteristic of the new world, to which seven of the families exclusively belong; the two old world groups being small, and with a very restricted distribution. the anomalous passeres (families - ) are confined to australia. the most remarkable feature in the geographical distribution of the passeres is the richness of the american continent, and the large development of characteristic types that occurs there. the fact that america possesses altogether peculiar families, while no less than old-world families are entirely absent from it, plainly indicates, that, if this division does not represent the most ancient and radical separation of the land surface of the globe, it must still be one of very great antiquity, and have modified in a very marked way the distribution of all living things. not less remarkable is the richness in specific forms of the peculiar american families. these contain no less than , species, leaving only about american species in the other passerine families represented in the new world. if we make a deduction for those nearctic species which occur only north of panama, we may estimate the truly neotropical species of passerine birds at , , which is almost exactly { }_one-third_ of the total number of passeres; a wonderful illustration of the ornithological riches of south america. _order ii.--picariÆ._ family .--picidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . -- | . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | the woodpeckers are very widely distributed, being only absent from the australian region beyond celebes and flores. they are most abundant in the neotropical and oriental regions, both of which possess a number of peculiar genera; while the other regions possess few or no peculiar forms, even the ethiopian region having only three genera not found elsewhere. the soft-tailed picumninæ inhabit the tropical regions only, _picumnus_ being neotropical, _vivia_ and _sasia_ oriental, and _verreauxia_ ethiopian. _picoides_, or _apternus_, is an arctic form peculiar to the nearctic and palæarctic regions. _celeus_, _chrysoptilus_, _chloronerpes_, and some smaller genera, are neotropical exclusively, and there are two peculiar forms in cuba. _yungipicus_, _chrysocolaptes_, _hemicercus_, _mulleripicus_, _brachypternus_, _tiga_, and _micropternus_, are the most important of the peculiar oriental genera. _dendropicus_ and _geocolaptes_ are ethiopian; but there are no woodpeckers in madagascar. the palæarctic woodpeckers belong to the genera _picus_--which is widely distributed, _gecinus_--which is an oriental form, and _dryocopus_--which is south american. except _picoides_, the nearctic woodpeckers are mostly of neotropical genera; but _sphyrapicus_ and _hylatomus_ are peculiar. the geological record is, as yet, almost silent as to this family; but remains doubtfully referred to it have been found in the miocene of europe and the eocene of the united states. yet the group is evidently one of very high antiquity, as is shown by { }its extreme isolation, its great specialization of structure, its abundant generic forms, and its wide distribution. it originated, probably, in central asia, and passed through, the nearctic region to south america, in whose rich and varied forests it found the conditions for rapid development, and for the specialization of the many generic forms now found there. a large number of genera have been established by various authors, but their limitations and affinities are not very well made out. those which seem best established are the following:-- ( - ) _picumnus_ ( sp.). tropical south america to honduras; ( ) _vivia_ ( sp.), himalayas to east thibet; ( ) _sasia_ ( sp.), nepal to java; ( ) _verreauxia_ ( sp.), west africa; _picoides_ ( sp.), northern parts of nearctic and palæarctic regions, and mountains of east thibet; _picus_ ( sp.), the whole palæarctic, oriental, nearctic, and neotropical regions; ( ) _hyopicus_ ( sp.), himalayas and north china; ( ) _yungipicus_ ( sp.), oriental region, and to flores, celebes, north china, and japan; ( - ) _sphyrapicus_ ( sp.), nearctic region, mexico, and bolivia; ( - ) _campephilus_ ( sp.), neotropical and nearctic regions; _hylatomus_ ( sp.), nearctic region; ( ) _dryocopus_ ( sp.), mexico to south brazil, central and northern europe; ( ) _reinwardtipicus_ ( sp.), penang to borneo; ( ) _venilia_ ( sp.), nepal to borneo; _chrysocolaptes_ ( sp.), india and indo-malaya; _dendropicus_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _hemicercus_ ( sp.), malabar and pegu to malaya; _gecinus_ ( sp.), palæarctic and oriental regions to java; ( - ) _dendromus_ ( sp.), west and south africa, zanzibar, and abyssinia; ( - ) _mulleripicus_ ( sp.), malabar, pegu, indo-malaya, and celebes; _celeus_ ( sp.), paraguay to mexico; _nesoceleus_ (sp. ) cuba; ( ) _chrysoptilus_ ( sp.), chili and south brazil to mexico; _brachypternus_ ( sp.), india, ceylon, and china; ( ) _tiga_ ( sp.), all india to malaya; ( ) _gecinulus_ ( sp.), south-east himalayas to burmah; _centurus_ ( sp.), nearctic region to antilles and venezuela; _chloronerpes_ ( sp.), tropical america, hayti; ( ) _xiphidiopicus_ ( sp.), cuba; _melanerpes_ ( sp.), brazil to { }canada, porto rico; _leuconerpes_ ( sp.), bolivia to north brazil; _colaptes_ ( sp.), la plata and bolivia to arctic america, greater antilles; _hypoxanthus_ ( sp.), venezuela and ecuador; ( ) _geocolaptes_ ( sp.), south africa; _miglyptes_ ( sp.), malaya; _micropternus_ ( sp.), india and ceylon to south china, sumatra and borneo. family .--yungidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | -- -- | -- -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the wrynecks (_yunx_), which constitute this family, are small tree-creeping birds characteristic of the palæarctic region, but extending into north and east africa, over the greater part of the peninsula of india (but not to ceylon), and just reaching the lower ranges of the himalayas. there is also one species isolated in south africa. family .--indicatoridÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . --|-- -- . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the honey-guides (_indicator_) constitute a small family of doubtful affinities; perhaps most nearly allied to the woodpeckers and barbets. they catch bees and sometimes kill small birds; and some of the species are parasitical like the cuckoo. their distribution is very interesting, as they are found in every part of the ethiopian region, except madagascar, and in the oriental region only in sikhim and borneo, being absent from the peninsula of india which is nearest, both geographically and zoologically, to africa. { }family .--megalÆmidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- | . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the megalæmidæ, or barbets, consist of rather small, fruit-eating birds, of heavy ungraceful shape, but adorned with the most gaudy colours, especially about the head and neck. they form a very isolated family; their nearest allies being, perhaps, the still more isolated toucans of south america. barbets are found in all the tropics except australia, but are especially characteristic of the great equatorial forest-zone; all the most remarkable forms being confined to equatorial america, west africa, and the indo-malay islands. they are most abundant in the ethiopian and oriental regions, and in the latter are universally distributed. in the beautiful monograph of this family by the messrs. marshall, the barbets are divided into three sub-families, as follows:-- pogonorhynchinæ ( genera, sp.), which are ethiopian except the species of _tetragonops_, which are neotropical; megalæminæ ( genera, sp.), which are oriental and ethiopian; and capitoninæ ( genera, sp.), common to the three regions. the genera are each confined to a single region. africa possesses the largest number of peculiar forms, while the oriental region is richest in species. this is probably a very ancient group, and its existing distribution may be due to its former range over the miocene south palæarctic land, which we know possessed trogons, parrots, apes, and tapirs, groups which are now equally abundant in equatorial countries. { }the following is a tabular view of the genera with their distribution:-- --------------------+------------------+----------------+---------------- genera | ethiopian | oriental | neotropical | region. | region. | region. --------------------+------------------+----------------+---------------- | | | pogonorhynchinÆ. | | | tricholæma sp.|w. africa | | pogonorhynchus " |all trop. & s. af.| | tetragonops " | | |peru & costa | | | rica | | | megalÆminÆ. | | | megalæma " | |the whole region| xantholæma " | |the whole region| xylobucco " |w. africa | | barbatula " |trop. & s. africa | | psilopogon " | | |sumatra gymnobucco " |w. africa | | | | | capitoninÆ. | | | trachyphonus " |trop. & s. africa | | capito " | | |equatorial amer. | | | to costa rica calorhamphus " | |malay pen., | | | sumatra, borneo| stactolæma " |w. africa | | | | | --------------------+------------------+----------------+---------------- family .--rhamphastidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the toucans form one of the most remarkable and characteristic families of the neotropical region, to which they are strictly confined. they differ from all other birds by their long feathered tongues, their huge yet elegant bills, and the peculiar texture and coloration of their plumage. being fruit-eaters, and strictly adapted for an arboreal life, they are not found beyond the forest regions; but they nevertheless range from mexico to paraguay, and from the atlantic to the pacific. one genus, { }_andigena_, is confined to the forest slopes of the south american andes. the genera are:-- _rhamphastos_ ( sp.), mexico to south brazil; _pteroglossus_ ( sp.), nicaragua to south brazil (plate xv. vol. ii. p. ); _selenidera_ ( sp.), veragua to brazil, east of the andes; _andigena_ ( sp.), the andes, from columbia to bolivia, and west brazil; _aulacorhamphus_ ( sp.), mexico to peru and bolivia. family .--musophagidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the musophagidæ, or plantain-eaters and turacos, are handsome birds, somewhat intermediate between toucans and cuckoos. they are confined to the ethiopian region and are most abundant in west africa. the plantain eaters (_musophaga_, sp.), are confined to west africa; the turacos (_turacus_, sp., including the sub-genera _corythaix_ and _schizorhis_) range over all africa from abyssinia to the cape (plate v. vol. i. p. ). family .--coliidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the colies, consisting of the single genus _colius_, are an anomalous group of small finch-like birds, occuping a position between the picariæ and passeres, but of very doubtful affinities. their range is nearly identical with that of the musophagidæ, but they are most abundant in south and east africa. { }family .--cuculidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . -- | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the cuculidæ, of which our well-known cuckoo is one of the most widely distributed types, are essentially a tropical group of weak insectivorous birds, abounding in varied forms in all the warmer parts of the globe, but very scarce or only appearing as migrants in the temperate and colder zones. many of the smaller eastern species are adorned with the most intense golden or violet metallic lustre, while some of the larger forms have gaily-coloured bills or bare patches of bright red on the cheeks. many of the cuckoos of the eastern hemisphere are parasitic, laying their eggs in other birds' nests; and they are also remarkable for the manner in which they resemble other birds, as hawks, pheasants, or drongo-shrikes. the distribution of the cuckoo family is rather remarkable. they abound most in the oriental region, which produces no less than genera, of which are peculiar; the australian has , most of which are also oriental, but are peculiar, one of these being confined to celebes and closely allied to an oriental group; the ethiopian region has only genera, all of which are oriental but three, of these being peculiar to madagascar, and the other common to madagascar and africa. america has genera, all quite distinct from those of the eastern hemisphere, and only three enter the nearctic region, one species extending to canada. remembering our conclusions as to the early history of the several regions, these facts enable us to indicate, with considerable probability, the origin and mode of dispersal of the cuckoos. they were almost certainly developed in the oriental and palæarctic regions, but reached the neotropical at a very early date, where they have since been completely isolated. africa must have long remained without cuckoos, the earliest immigration { }being to madagascar at the time of the approximation of that sub-region to ceylon and malaya. a later infusion of oriental forms took place probably by way of arabia and persia, when those countries were more fertile and perhaps more extensive. australia has also received its cuckoos at a somewhat late date, a few having reached the austro-malay islands somewhat earlier. the classification of the family is somewhat unsettled. for the american genera i follow messrs. sclater and salvin; and, for those of the old world, mr. sharpe's suggestive paper in the _proceedings of the zoological society_, , p. . the following is the distribution of the various genera:-- ( ) _phænicophaës_ ( sp.), ceylon; ( ) _rhamphococcyx_ ( sp.), celebes; ( ) _rhinococcyx_ ( sp.), java; ( pt. and ) _rhopodytes_ ( sp.), himalayas to ceylon, hainan, and malaya; ( pt) _poliococcyx_ ( sp.), malacca, sumatra, and borneo; ( ) _dasylophus_ ( sp.), philippine islands; ( ) _lepidogrammus_ ( sp.), philippine islands; ( ) _zanclostomus_ ( sp.), malaya; ( ) _ceuthmochares_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa and madagascar; ( ) _taccocua_ ( sp.), himalayas to ceylon and malacca; ( ) _rhinortha_ ( sp.), malacca, sumatra, borneo; ( ) _carpococcyx_ ( sp.), borneo and sumatra; ( ) _neomorphus_ ( sp.), brazil to mexico; ( ) _coua_ ( sp.), madagascar; ( ) _cochlothraustes_ ( sp.), madagascar; ( ) _centropus_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa, the whole oriental region, austro-malaya and australia; ( ) _crotophaga_ ( sp.), brazil to antilles and pennsylvania; ( ) _guira_ ( sp.), brazil and paraguay; ( ) _geococcyx_ ( sp.), guatemala to texas and california; ( ) _dromococcyx_ ( sp.), brazil to mexico; ( ) _diplopterus_ ( sp.), mexico to ecuador and brazil; ( ) _saurothera_ ( sp.), greater antilles; ( ) _hyetornis_ ( sp.), jamaica and hayti; ( ) _piaya_ ( sp.), mexico to west ecuador and brazil; ( ) _morococcyx_ ( sp.), costa rica to mexico; ( ) _coccygus_ ( sp.), la plata to antilles, mexico and pennsylvania, cocos island; ( ) _cuculus_ ( sp.), palæarctic, ethiopian, and oriental regions, to moluccas and australia; ( ) _caliecthrus_ ( sp.), papuan islands; ( - ) _cacomantis_ ( sp.), oriental and australian { }regions to fiji islands and tasmania; ( - ) _chrysococcyx_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa, the oriental and australian regions to new zealand and fiji islands; ( ) _surniculus_ ( sp.), india, ceylon, and malaya; ( ) _hierococcyx_ ( sp.), the oriental region to amoorland and celebes; ( ) _coccystes_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa, the oriental region, excluding philippines; ( ) _eudynamis_ ( sp.), the oriental and australian regions, excluding sandwich islands; ( ) _scythrops_ ( sp.), east australia to moluccas and north celebes. family .--leptosomidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the _leptosomus discolor_, which constitutes this family, is a bird of very abnormal characters, having some affinities both with cuckoos and rollers. it is confined to madagascar (plate vi. vol. i. p. ). family .--bucconidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the bucconidæ, or puff-birds, are generally of small size and dull colours, with rather thick bodies and dense plumage. they form one of the characteristic neotropical families, being most abundant in the great equatorial forest plains, but extending as far north as guatemala, though absent from the west indian islands. the genera are:--_bucco_ ( sp.), guatemala to paraguay, and west of the andes in ecuador; _malacoptila_ ( sp.), guatemala { }to bolivia and brazil; _nonnula_ ( sp.), amazon and columbia; _monasa_ ( sp.), costa rica to brazil; _chelidoptera_ ( sp.), columbia and guiana to brazil. family .--galbulidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the galbulidæ, or jacamars, are small slender birds, of generally metallic plumage; somewhat resembling in form the bee-eaters of the old world but less active. they have the same general distribution as the last family, but they do not occur west of the equatorial andes. the genera are:-- _galbula_ ( sp.), guatemala to brazil and bolivia; _urogalba_ ( sp.), guiana and the lower amazon; _brachygalba_ ( sp.), venezuela to brazil and bolivia; _jacamaralcyon_ ( sp.), brazil; _jacamerops_ ( sp.), panama to the amazon; _galbalcyrhynchus_ ( sp.), upper amazon. family .--coraciidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the rollers are a family of insectivorous birds allied to the bee-eaters, and are very characteristic of the ethiopian and oriental regions; but one species (_coracias garrula_) spreads over the palæarctic region as far north as sweden and the altai mountains, while the genus _eurystomus_ reaches the amoor valley, australia, and the solomon islands. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- _coracias_ ( sp.), the whole ethiopian region, the oriental { }region except indo-malaya, the palæarctic to the above-named limits, and the island of celebes on the confines of the australian region; _eurystomus_ ( sp.), west and east africa and madagascar, the whole oriental region except the peninsula of india, and the australian as far as australia and the solomon islands; _brachypteracias_ (possibly allied to _leptosomus_?) ( sp.), madagascar only, but these abnormal birds form a distinct sub-family, and according to mr. sharpe, three genera, _brachypteracias_, _atelornis_, and _geobiastes_. a most remarkable feature in the distribution of this family is the occurrence of a true roller (_coracias temminckii_) in the island of celebes, entirely cut off from the rest of the genus, which does not occur again till we reach siam and burmah. the curious _pseudochelidon_ from west africa may perhaps belong to this family or to the cypselidæ. (ibis. , p. .) family .--meropidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . -- -- | . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the meropidæ, or bee-eaters, have nearly the same distribution as the rollers, but they do not penetrate quite so far either into the eastern palæarctic or the australian regions. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- _merops_ ( sp.), has the range of the family extending on the north to south scandinavia, and east to australia and new guinea; _nyctiornis_ ( sp.), the oriental region, except ceylon and java; _meropogon_ ( sp.), celebes; _meropiscus_ ( sp.), west africa; _melittophagus_ ( sp.), ethiopian region, except madagascar. { }family .--todidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the todies are delicate, bright-coloured, insectivorous birds, of small size, and allied to the motmots, although externally more resembling flycatchers. they are wholly confined to the greater antilles, the islands of cuba, hayti, jamaica, and porto rico having each a peculiar species of _todus_, while another species, said to be from jamaica, has been recently described (plate xvi. vol. ii. p. ). family .--momotidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the motmots range from mexico to paraguay and to the west coast of ecuador, but seem to have their head-quarters in central america, five of the genera and eleven species occurring from panama northwards, two of the genera not occurring in south america. the genera are as follows:-- _momotus_ ( sp.), mexico to brazil and bolivia, one species extending to tobago, and one to western ecuador; _urospatha_ ( sp.), costa rica to the amazon; _baryphthengus_ ( sp.), brazil and paraguay; _hylomanes_ ( sp.), guatemala; _prionirhynchus_ ( sp.), guatemala to upper amazon; _eumomota_ ( sp.), honduras to chiriqui. { }family .--trogonidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- | . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the trogons form a well-marked family of insectivorous forest-haunting birds, whose dense yet puffy plumage exhibits the most exquisite tints of pink, crimson, orange, brown, or metallic green, often relieved by delicate bands of pure white. in one guatemalan species the tail coverts are enormously lengthened into waving plumes of rich metallic green, as graceful and marvellous as those of the paradise-birds. trogons are tolerably abundant in the neotropical and oriental regions, and are represented in africa by a single species of a peculiar genus. the genera now generally admitted are the following:-- _trogon_ ( sp.), paraguay to mexico, and west of the andes in ecuador; _temnotrogon_ ( sp.), hayti; _prionoteles_ ( sp.), cuba (plate xvii. vol. ii. p. ); _apaloderma_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _harpactes_ ( sp.), the oriental region, excluding china; _pharomacrus_ ( sp.), amazonia to guatemala; _euptilotis_ ( sp.), mexico. remains of _trogon_ have been found in the miocene deposits of france; and we are thus able to understand the existing distribution of the family. at that exceptionally mild period in the northern hemisphere, these birds may have ranged over all europe and north america; but, as the climate became more severe they gradually became restricted to the tropical regions, where alone a sufficiency of fruit and insect-food is found all the year round. { }family .--alcedinidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the kingfishers are distributed universally, but very unequally, over the globe, and in this respect present some of the most curious anomalies to be found among birds. they have their metropolis in the eastern half of the malay archipelago (our first australian sub-region), from celebes to new guinea, in which district no less than out of the genera occur, of them being peculiar; and it is probable that in no other equally varied group of universal distribution, is so large a proportion of the generic forms confined to so limited a district. from this centre kingfishers decrease rapidly in every direction. in australia itself there are only genera with species; the whole oriental region has only genera, being peculiar; the ethiopian also genera, but peculiar; and each of these have less than half the number of species possessed by the australian region. the palæarctic region possesses only genera, all derived from the oriental region; but the most extraordinary deficiency is shown by the usually rich neotropical region, which possesses but a single genus, common to the larger part of the eastern hemisphere, and the same genus is alone found in the nearctic region, the only difference being that the former possesses eight, while the latter has but a single species. these facts almost inevitably lead to the conclusion that america long existed without kingfishers; and that in comparatively recent times (perhaps during the miocene or pliocene period), a species of the old world genus, _ceryle_, found its way into north america, and spreading rapidly southward along the great river-valleys has become differentiated in south america into the few closely allied forms that alone inhabit that vast country--the richest in the world in { }fresh-water fish, and apparently the best fitted to sustain a varied and numerous body of kingfishers. the names of the genera, with their distribution and the number of species in each, as given by mr. sharpe in his excellent monograph of the family, is as follows:-- _alcedo_ ( sp.), palæarctic, ethiopian, and oriental regions (but absent from madagascar), and extending into the austro-malayan sub-region; _corythornis_ ( sp.), the whole ethiopian region; _alcyone_ ( sp.), australia and the austro-malayan sub-region, with one species in the philippine islands; _ceryle_ ( sp.), absent only from australia, the northern half of the palæarctic region, and madagascar; _pelargopsis_ ( sp.), the whole oriental region; and extending to celebes and timor in the austro-malayan sub-region; _ceyx_ ( sp.), the oriental region and austro-malayan sub-region, but absent from celebes, and only one species in continental india and ceylon; _ceycopsis_ ( sp.), celebes; _myioceyx_ ( sp.), west africa; _ipsidina_ ( sp.), ethiopian region; _syma_ ( sp.), papua and north australia; _halcyon_ ( sp.), australian, oriental, and ethiopian regions, and the southern part of the palæarctic; _dacelo_ ( sp.), australia and new guinea; _todirhamphus_ ( sp.), eastern pacific islands only; _monachalcyon_ ( sp.), celebes; _caridonax_ ( sp.), lombok and flores; _carcineutes_ ( sp.), siam to borneo and java; _tanysiptera_ ( sp.), moluccas new guinea, and north australia (plate x. vol. i. p. ); _cittura_ ( sp.), celebes group; _melidora_ ( sp.), new guinea. family .--bucerotidiÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- | . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | the hornbills form an isolated group of generally large-sized birds, whose huge bills form their most prominent feature. they are popularly associated with the american toucans, but have no close relationship to them, and are now generally { }considered to show most resemblance, though still a very distant one, to the kingfishers. they are abundant in the ethiopian and oriental regions, and extend eastward to the solomon islands. their classification is very unsettled, for though they have been divided into more than twenty genera they have not yet been carefully studied. the following grouping of the genera--referring to the numbers in the _hand list_--must therefore be considered as only provisional:-- ( ) _buceros_ ( sp.), all indo-malaya, arakan, nepal and the neilgherries (plate ix. vol. i. p. ); ( - ) _hydrocissa_ ( sp.), india and ceylon to malaya and celebes; ( ) _berenicornis_ ( sp.), sumatra and west africa; ( ) _calao_ ( sp.), tennaserim, malaya, moluccas to the solomon islands; ( ) _aceros_ ( sp.), south-east himalayas; ( ) _cranorrhinus_ ( sp.), malacca, sumatra, borneo, philippines, celebes; ( ) _penelopides_ ( sp.), celebes; ( - ) _tockus_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; ( ) _rhinoplax_ ( sp.), sumatra and borneo; ( - ) _bycanistes_ ( sp.), west africa with east and south africa; ( ) _meniceros_ ( sp.), india and ceylon to tenasserim; ( ) _bucorvus_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa. family .--upupidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- -- | . . . | . . -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the hoopoes form a small and isolated group of semi-terrestrial insectivorous birds, whose nearest affinities are with the hornbills. they are most characteristic of the ethiopian region, but extend into the south of europe and into all the continental divisions of the oriental region, as well as to ceylon, and northwards to pekin and mongolia. { }family .--irrisoridÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the irrisors are birds of generally metallic plumage, which have often been placed with the epunachidæ and near the sun-birds, or birds of paradise, but which are undoubtedly allied to the hoopoes. they are strictly confined to the continent of africa, ranging from abyssinia to the west coast, and southward to the cape colony. they have been divided into several sub-genera which it is not necessary here to notice (plate iv. vol. i. p. ). family .--podargidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the podargidæ, or frog-mouths, are a family of rather large-sized nocturnal insectivorous birds, closely allied to the goat-suckers, but distinguished by their generally thicker bills, and especially by hunting for their food on trees or on the ground, instead of seizing it on the wing. they abound most in the australian region, but one genus extends over a large part of the oriental region. the following are the genera with their distribution:-- _podargus_ ( sp.), australia, tasmania, and the papuan islands (plate xii. vol. i. p. ); _batrachostomus_ ( sp.), the oriental region (excluding philippine islands and china) and the northern moluccas; _Ægotheles_ ( sp.), australia, tasmania, and papuan islands. { }family .--steatornithidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | this family contains a single bird--the guacharo--forming the genus _steatornis_, first discovered by humboldt in a cavern in venezuela, and since found in deep ravines near bogota, and also in trinidad. although apparently allied to the goat-suckers it is a vegetable-feeder, and is altogether a very anomalous bird whose position in the system is still undetermined. family .--caprimulgidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the goat-suckers, or night-jars, are crepuscular insectivorous birds, which take their prey on the wing, and are remarkable for their soft and beautifully mottled plumage, swift and silent flight, and strange cries often imitating the human voice. they are universally distributed, except that they do not reach new zealand or the remoter pacific islands. the south american genus, _nyctibius_, differs in structure and habits from the other goat-suckers and should perhaps form a distinct family. more than half the genera inhabit the neotropical region. the genera are as follows:-- _nyctibius_ ( sp.), brazil to guatemala, jamaica; _caprimulgus_ ( sp.), palæarctic, oriental, and ethiopian regions, with the austro-malay islands and north australia; _hydropsalis_ ( sp.), tropical south america to la plata; _antrostomus_ ( { }sp.), la plata and bolivia to canada, cuba; _stenopsis_ ( sp.), martinique to columbia, west peru and chili; _siphonorhis_ ( sp.), jamaica; _heleothreptus_ ( sp.), demerara; _nyctidromus_ ( sp.), south brazil to central america; _scortornis_ ( sp.), west and east africa; _macrodipteryx_ ( sp.), west and central africa; _cosmetornis_ ( sp.), all tropical africa; _podager_ ( sp.), tropical south america to la plata; _lurocalis_ ( sp.), brazil and guiana; _chordeiles_ ( sp.), brazil and west peru to canada, porto rico, jamaica; _nyctiprogne_ ( sp.), brazil and amazonia; _eurostopodus_ ( sp.), australia and papuan islands; _lyncornis_ ( sp.), burmah, philippines, borneo, celebes. family .--cypselidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . -- | | | | | the swifts can almost claim to be a cosmopolitan group, but for their absence from new zealand. they are most abundant both in genera and species in the neotropical and oriental regions. the following is the distribution of the genera:-- _cypselus_ ( sp.), absent only from the whole of north america and the pacific; _panyptila_ ( sp.), guatemala and guiana, and extending into north-west america; _collocalia_ ( sp.), madagascar, the whole oriental region and eastward through new guinea to the marquesas islands; _dendrochelidon_ ( sp.), oriental region and eastward to new guinea; _chætura_ ( sp.), continental america (excluding south temperate), west africa and madagascar, the oriental region, north china and the amoor, celebes, australia; _hemiprocne_ ( sp.), mexico to la plata, jamaica and hayti; _cypseloides_ ( sp.), brazil and peru; _nephæcetes_ ( sp.), cuba, jamaica, north-west america. { }family .--trochilidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the wonderfully varied and beautiful humming-birds are confined to the american continent, where they range from sitka to cape horn, while the island of juan fernandez has two peculiar species. only species, belonging to genera, are found in the nearctic region, and most of these have extended their range from the south. they are excessively abundant in the forest-clad andes from mexico to chili, some species extending up to the limits of perpetual snow; but they diminish in number and variety in the plains, however luxuriant the vegetation. in place of giving here the names and distribution of the numerous genera into which they are now divided (which will be found in the tables of the genera of the neotropical region), it may be more useful to present a summary of their distribution in the sub-divisions of the american continent, as follows:-- sub-region i. = patagonia & s. andes. sub-region ii. = tropical s. america. sub-region iii. = tropical n. america. sub-region iv. = antilles. nearctic region = temperate n. america. -------- sub-regions -------- nearctic i. ii. iii. iv. regions. genera in each sub-region peculiar genera species in each sub-region the island of juan fernandez has two species, and masafuera, an island beyond it, one; the three forming a peculiar genus. the island of tres marias, about miles from the west coast of mexico, possesses a peculiar species of humming-bird, and the bahamas two species; but none inhabit either the falkland islands or the galapagos. like most groups which are very rich in species and in generic forms, the humming-birds are generally very local, small { }generic groups being confined to limited districts; while single mountains, valleys, or small islands, often possess species found nowhere else. it is now well ascertained that the trochilidæ are really insectivorous birds, although they also feed largely, but probably never exclusively, on the nectar of flowers. their nearest allies are undoubtedly the swifts; but the wide gap that now separates them from these, as well as the wonderful variety of form and of development of plumage, that is found among them, alike point to their origin, at a very remote period, in the forests of the once insular andes. there is perhaps no more striking contrast of the like nature, to be found, than that between the american kingfishers--confined to a few closely allied forms of one old world genus--and the american humming-birds with more than a hundred diversified generic forms unlike everything else upon the globe; and we can hardly imagine any other cause for this difference, than a (comparatively) very recent introduction in the one case, and a very high antiquity in the other. _general remarks on the distribution of the picariæ._ the very heterogeneous mass of birds forming the order picariæ, contains families, genera and , species. this gives about species to each family, while in the passeres the proportion is nearly double, or species per family. there are, in fact, only two very large families in the order, which happen to be the first and last in the series--picidæ and trochilidæ. two others--cuculidæ and alcedinidæ--are rather large; while the rest are all small, seven of them consisting only of a single genus and from one to a dozen species. only one of the families--alcedinidæ--is absolutely cosmopolitan, but three others are nearly so, caprimulgidæ and cypselidæ being only absent from new zealand, and cuculidæ from the canadian sub-region of north america. eleven families inhabit the old world only, while seven are confined to the new world, only one of these--trochilidæ--being common to the neotropical and nearctic regions. the picariæ are highly characteristic of tropical faunas, for { }while no less than out of the families are exclusively tropical, none are confined to, or have their chief development in, the temperate regions. they are best represented in the ethiopian region, which possesses families, of which are peculiar to it; while the oriental region has only families, none of which are peculiar. the neotropical region has also families, but of them are peculiar. the australian region has , the palæarctic and the nearctic families, but none of these are peculiar. we may see a reason for the great specialization of this tropical assemblage of birds in the ethiopian and neotropical regions, in the fact of the large extent of land on both sides of the equator which these two regions alone possess, and their extreme isolation either by sea or deserts from other regions,--an isolation which we know was in both cases much greater in early tertiary times. it is, perhaps, for a similar reason that we here find hardly any trace of the connection between australia and south america which other groups exhibit; for that connection has most probably been effected by a former communication between the temperate southern extremities of those two continents. the most interesting and suggestive fact, is that presented by the distribution of the megalæmidæ and trogonidæ over the tropics of america, africa, and asia. in the absence of palæontological evidence as to the former history of the megalæmidæ, we are unable to say positively, whether it owes its present distribution to a former closer union between these continents in intertropical latitudes, or to a much greater northern range of the group at the period when a luxuriant sub-tropical vegetation extended far toward the arctic regions; but the discovery of _trogon_ in the miocene deposits of the south of france renders it almost certain that the latter is the true explanation in the case of both these families. the neotropical region, owing to its enormous family of humming-birds, is by far the richest in picariæ, possessing nearly half the total number of species, and a still larger proportion of genera. three families, the bucerotidæ, meropidæ and coraciidæ are equally characteristic of the oriental and { }ethiopian regions, a few outlying species only entering the australian or the palæarctic regions. one family (todidæ) is confined to the west indian islands; and another (leptosomidæ) consisting of but a single species, to madagascar; parallel cases to the drepanididæ among the passeres, peculiar to the sandwich islands, and the apterygidæ among the struthiones, peculiar to new zealand. _order iii.--psittaci._ the parrots have been the subject of much difference of opinion among ornithologists, and no satisfactory arrangement of the order into families and genera has yet been reached. professor garrod has lately examined certain points in the anatomy of a large number of genera, and proposes to revolutionize the ordinary classifications. until, however, a general examination of their whole anatomy, internal and external, has been made by some competent authority, it will be unsafe to adopt the new system, as we have as yet no guide to the comparative value of the characters made use of. i therefore keep as much as possible to the old groups, founded on external characters, only using the indications furnished by professor garrod's paper, to determine the position of doubtful genera. family .--cacatuidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . -- -- | | | | | the cacatuidæ, plyctolophidæ, or camptolophidæ, as they have been variously termed, comprise all those crested parrots usually termed cockatoos, together with one or two doubtful forms. they are very abundant in the australian region, more especially in the austro-malayan portion of it, one species inhabiting { }the philippine islands; but they do not pass further east than the solomon islands and are not found in new zealand. the distribution of the genera is as follow:-- _cacatua_ ( sp.), ranges from the philippine islands, celebes and lombok, to the solomon islands and to tasmania; _calopsitta_ ( sp.), australia; _calyptorhynchus_ ( sp.), is confined to australia and tasmania; _microglossus_ ( sp.), (perhaps a distinct family) to the papuan district and north australia; _licmetis_ ( sp.), australia, solomon islands, and (?) new guinea; _nasiterna_ ( sp.), a minute form, the smallest of the whole order, and perhaps not belonging to this family, is only known from the papuan and solomon islands. family .--platycercidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | | | | | the platycercidæ comprise a series of large-tailed parrots, of weak structure and gorgeous colours, with a few ground-feeding genera of more sober protective tints; the whole family being confined to the australian region. the genera are:-- ( ) _platycercus_ ( sp.), australia, tasmania, and norfolk island; _psephotus_ ( sp.), australia; _polytelis_ ( sp.), australia; _nymphicus_ ( sp.), australia and new caledonia; ( ) _aprosmictus_ ( sp.), australia, papua, timor, and moluccas; _pyrrhulopsis_ ( sp.), tonga and fiji islands; _cyanoramphus_ ( sp.), new zealand, norfolk island, new caledonia, and society islands; _melopsittacus_ ( sp.), australia; _euphema_ ( sp.), australia; _pezoporus_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; _geopsittacus_ ( sp.), west australia. the four last genera are ground-feeders, and are believed by professor garrod to be allied to the owl-parrot of new zealand (_stringops_). { }family .--palÆornithidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . -- | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | i class here a group of birds brought together, for the most part, by geographical distribution as well as by agreement in internal structure, but which is nevertheless of a very uncertain and provisional character. _palæornis_ ( sp.), the oriental region, mauritius, rodriguez, and seychelle islands, and a species in tropical africa, apparently identical with the indian _p. torquatus_, and therefore--considering the very ancient intercourse between the two countries, and the improbability of the _species_ remaining unchanged if originating by natural causes--most likely the progeny of domestic birds introduced from india. _prioniturus_ ( sp.), celebes and the philippine islands; ( ) _geoffroyus_ ( sp.), bouru to timor and the solomon islands; _tanygnathus_ ( sp.), philippines, celebes, and moluccas to new guinea; _eclectus_ ( sp.), moluccas and papuan islands; _psittinus_ ( sp.), tenasserim to sumatra and borneo; _cyclopsitta_ ( sp.), papuan islands, philippines and north-east australia; _loriculus_ ( sp.), ranges over the whole oriental region to flores, the moluccas, and the papuan island of mysol; but most of the species are concentrated in the district including the philippines, celebes, gilolo, and flores, there being in india, in south china, in ceylon, in java, in malacca, sumatra, and borneo, in celebes, in the philippines, and the rest in the moluccas, mysol, and flores. this genus forms a transition to the next family. { }family .--trichoglossidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- | | | | | the trichoglossidæ, or brush-tongued paroquets, including the lories, are exclusively confined to the australian region, where they extend from celebes to the marquesas islands, and south to tasmania. the genus _nanodes_ (= _lathamus_) has been shown by professor garrod to differ from _trichoglossus_ in the position of the carotid arteries. i therefore make it a distinct genus but do not consider that it should be placed in another family. the genera here admitted are as follows:-- _trichoglossus_ ( sp.), ranges over the whole austro-malay and australian sub-regions, and to the society islands; ( ) _nanodes_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; _charmosyna_ ( sp.), new guinea (plate x. vol. i. p. ); _eos_ ( sp.), bouru and sanguir island north of celebes, to the solomon islands, and in puynipet island to the north-east of new ireland; ( ) _lorius_ ( sp.), bouru and the solomon islands; ( ) _coriphilus_ ( sp.), samoa, tonga, society and marquesas islands. family .--conuridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . |-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the conuridæ, which consist of the macaws and their allies, are wholly confined to america, ranging from the straits of magellan to south carolina and nebraska, with cuba and jamaica. professor garrod places _pyrrhura_ (which has generally { }been classed as a part of the genus _conurus_) in a separate family, on account of the absence of the ambiens muscle of the knee, but as we are quite ignorant of the classificational value of this character, it is better for the present to keep both as distinct genera of the same family. the genera are:-- _ara_ ( sp.), paraguay to mexico and cuba; _rhyncopsitta_ ( sp.), mexico; _henicognathus_ ( sp.), chili; _conurus_ ( sp.), the range of the family; _pyrrhura_ ( sp.), paraguay and bolivia to costa pica; _bolborhynchus_ ( sp.), la plata, bolivia and west peru, with one species in mexico and guatemala; _brotogerys_ ( sp.), brazil to mexico. family .--psittacidÆ.--( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the psittacidæ comprise a somewhat heterogeneous assemblage of parrots and paroquets of the neotropical and ethiopian regions, which are combined here more for convenience than because they are believed to form a natural group. the genera _chrysotis_ and _pionus_ have no oil-gland, while _psittacula_ and _agapornis_ have lost the furcula, but neither of these characters are probably of more than generic value. the genera are:-- _psittacus_ ( sp.), west africa; _coracopsis_ ( sp.), madagascar, comoro, and seychelle islands; _pæocephalus_ ( sp.), all tropical and south africa; ( - ) _caica_ ( sp.), mexico to amazonia; _chrysotis_ ( sp.), paraguay to mexico and the west indian islands; _triclaria_ ( sp.), brazil; _deroptyus_ ( sp.), amazonia; _pionus_ ( sp.), paraguay to mexico; _urochroma_ ( sp.), tropical south america; _psittacula_ ( sp.), brazil to mexico; _poliopsitta_ ( sp.), madagascar and west africa; _agapornis_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa. { }family .--nestoridÆ. (? genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- -- | | | | | the present family is formed to receive the genus _nestor_ ( sp.), confined to new zealand and norfolk island. its affinities are doubtful, but it appears to have relations with the american conuridæ and the australian trichoglossidæ. with it is placed the rare and remarkable _dasyptilus_ ( sp.), of new guinea, of which however very little is known. family .--stringopidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | this family contains only the curious owl-like nocturnal parrot of new zealand, _stringops habroptilus_ (plate xiii. vol. i. p. ). an allied species is said to inhabit the chatham islands, if not now extinct. _general remarks on the distribution of the psittaci._ although the parrots are now generally divided into several distinct families, yet they form so well marked and natural a group, and are so widely separated from all other birds, that we may best discuss their peculiarities of geographical distribution by treating them as a whole. by the preceding enumeration we find that there are about species of known parrots, which are divided into genera. they are pre-eminently a tropical group, for although a few species extend a considerable distance into the temperate zone, these are { }marked exceptions to the rule which limits the parrot tribe to the tropical and sub-tropical regions, roughly defined as extending about ° on each side of the equator. in america a species of _conurus_ reaches the straits of magellan on the south, while another inhabits the united states, and once extended to the great lakes, although now confined to the south-eastern districts. in africa parrots do not reach the northern tropic, owing to the desert nature of the country; and in the south they barely reach the orange river. in india they extend to about ° n. in the western himalayas; and in the australian region, not only to new zealand but to macquarie islands in ° s., the farthest point from the equator reached by the group. but although found in all the tropical regions they are most unequally distributed. africa is poorest, possessing only genera and species; the oriental region is also very poor, having but genera and species; the neotropical region is much richer, having genera and species; while the smallest in area and the least tropical in climate--the australian region, possesses genera and species, and it also possesses exclusively of the families, trichoglossidæ, platycercidæ, cacatuidæ, nestoridæ, and stringopidæ. the portion of the earth's surface that contains the largest number of parrots in proportion to its area is, undoubtedly, the austro-malayan sub-region, including the islands from celebes to the solomon islands. the area of these islands is probably not one-fifteenth of that of the four tropical regions, yet they contain from one-fifth to one-fourth of all the known parrots. in this area too are found many of the most remarkable forms,--all the crimson lories, the great black cockatoos, the pigmy _nasiterna_, the raquet-tailed _prioniturus_, and the bareheaded _dasyptilus_. the almost universal distribution of parrots wherever the climate is sufficiently mild or uniform to furnish them with a perennial supply of food, no less than their varied details of organization, combined with a great uniformity of general type,--tell us, in unmistakable language, of a very remote antiquity. the only early record of extinct parrots is, however, in the miocene of france, where remains apparently allied to the west { }african _psittacus_, have been found. but the origin of so widespread, isolated, and varied a group, must be far earlier than this, and not improbably dates back beyond the dawn of the tertiary period. some primeval forms may have entered the australian region with the marsupials, or not long after them; while perhaps at a somewhat later epoch they were introduced into south america. in these two regions they have greatly flourished, while in the two other tropical regions only a few types have been found, capable of maintaining themselves, among the higher forms of mammalia, and in competition with a more varied series of birds. this seems much more probable than the supposition that so highly organized a group should have originated in the australian region, and subsequently become so widely spread over the globe. _order iv.--columbÆ._ family .--columbidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the columbidæ, or pigeons and doves, are almost universally distributed, but very unequally in the different regions. being best adapted to live in warm or temperate climates, they diminish rapidly northwards, reaching about ° n. latitude in north america, but considerably farther in europe. both the nearctic and palæarctic regions are very poor in genera and species of pigeons, those of the former region being mostly allied to neotropical, and those of the latter to oriental and ethiopian types. the ethiopian region is, however, itself very poor, and several of its peculiar forms are confined to the madagascar sub-region. the neotropical region is very rich in peculiar genera, though but moderately so in number of species. the oriental { }region closely approaches it in both respects; but the australian region is by far the richest, possessing nearly double the genera and species of any other region, and abounding in remarkable forms quite unlike those of any other part of the globe. the following table gives the number of genera and species in each region, and enables us readily to determine the comparative richness and isolation of each, as regards this extensive family:-- regions. no. of genera. peculiar genera. no. of species. neotropical nearctic palæarctic ethiopian oriental australian with the exception of _columba_ and _turtur_, which have a wide range, _treron_, common to the oriental and ethiopian regions, and _carpophaga_, to the oriental and australian, most of the genera of pigeons are either restricted to or very characteristic of a single region. the distribution of the genera here admitted is as follows:-- _treron_ ( sp.), the whole oriental region, and eastward to celebes, amboyna and flores, also the whole ethiopian region to madagascar; _ptilopus_ ( sp.), the australian region (excluding new zealand) and the indo-malay sub-region; _alectroenas_ ( sp.), madagascar and the mascarene islands; _carpophaga_ ( sp.), the whole australian and oriental regions, but much the most abundant in the former; ( ) _ianthoenas_ ( sp.), japan, andaman, nicobar, and philippine islands, timor and gilolo to samoa islands; ( ) _leucomelæna_ ( sp.), australia; _lopholaimus_ ( sp.), australia; ( and ) _alsæcomus_ ( sp.), himalayas to ceylon and tenasserim; _columba_ ( sp.), generally distributed over all the regions except the australian, one species however in the fiji islands; _ectopistes_ ( sp.), east of north america with british columbia; _zenaidura_ ( sp.), veragua to canada and british columbia; _oena_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _geopelia_ ( sp.), philippine islands and java to australia; _macropygia_ ( sp.), nepal, hainan, nicobar, java, { }and philippines to australia and new ireland; _turacoena_ ( sp.), celebes, timor, and solomon islands; _reinwardtoenas_ ( sp.), celebes to new guinea; _turtur_ ( sp.), palæarctic, ethiopian and oriental regions with austro-malaya; _chæmepelia_ ( sp.), brazil and bolivia to jamaica, california, and south-east united states; _columbula_ ( sp.), brazil and la plata to chili; _scardafella_ ( sp.), brazil and guatemala; _zenaida_ ( sp.), chili and la plata to columbia and the antilles, fernando noronha; _melopelia_ ( sp.), chili to mexico and california; _peristera_ ( sp.), brazil to mexico; _metriopelia_ ( sp.), west america from ecuador to chili; _gymnopelia_ ( sp.), west peru and bolivia; _leptoptila_ ( sp.), paraguay to mexico and the antilles; ( and ) _geotrygon_ ( sp.), paraguay to mexico and the antilles; _aplopelia_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa, st. thomas and princes island; _chalocopelia_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _starnoenas_ ( sp.), cuba; ocyphaps ( sp.), australia (plate xii. vol. i. p. ); _petrophassa_ ( sp.), north-west australia; _chalocophaps_ ( sp.), the oriental region to new guinea and australia; _trugon_ ( sp.), new guinea; _henicophaps_ ( sp.), waigiou and new guinea; _phaps_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; _leucosarcia_ ( sp.), east australia; _phapitreron_ ( sp.), philippine islands; _geophaps_ ( sp.), north and east australia; _lophophaps_ ( sp.), australia; _caloenas_ ( sp.), scattered on the smaller islands from the nicobars and philippines to new guinea; _otidiphaps_ ( sp.), new guinea; _phlogoenas_ ( sp.), philippine islands and celebes to the marquesas islands; _goura_ ( sp.), new guinea and the islands on the north-east (plate x. vol. i. p. ). family _a_.--didunculidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | { }the _didunculus stigirostris_, a hook-billed ground-pigeon, found only in the samoa islands, is so peculiar in its structure that it is considered to form a distinct family. family .--dididÆ.--( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the birds which constitute this family are now all extinct; but as numerous drawings are in existence, taken from living birds some of which were exhibited in europe, and a stuffed specimen, fragments of which still remain, was in the ashmolean museum at oxford down to , they must be classed among recent, as opposed to geologically extinct species. the dodo (_didus ineptus_) a large, unwieldy, flightless bird, inhabited mauritius down to the latter part of the th century; and an allied form, the solitaire (_pezophaps solitaria_), was found only in the island of rodriguez, where it survived about a century later. old voyagers mention a dodo also in bourbon, and a rude figure of it exists; but no remains of this bird have been found. almost complete skeletons of the dodo and solitaire have, however, been recovered from the swamps of mauritius and the caves of rodriguez, proving that they were both extremely modified forms of pigeon. these large birds were formerly very abundant, and being excellent eating and readily captured, the early voyagers to these islands used them largely for food. as they could be caught by man, and very easily by dogs, they were soon greatly diminished in numbers; and the introduction of swine, which ran wild in the forests and fed on the eggs and young birds, completed their extermination. the existence in the mascarene islands of a group of such remarkable terrestrial birds, with aborted wings, is parallel to that of the _apteryx_ and _dinornis_ in new zealand, the cassowaries of austro-malaya, and the short-winged rails of new { }zealand, tristan d'acunha, and other oceanic islands; and the phenomenon is clearly dependent on the long-continued absence of enemies, which allowed of great increase of bulk and the total loss of the power of flight, without injury. in some few cases (the ostrich for example) birds incapable of flight co-exist with large carnivorous mammalia; but these birds are large and powerful, as well as very swift, and are thus able to escape from some enemies and defend themselves against others. the entire absence of the smaller and more defenceless ground-birds from the adjacent island of madagascar, is quite in accordance with this view, because that island has several small but destructive carnivorous animals. _general remarks on the distribution of the columbæ._ the striking preponderance of pigeons, both as to genera and species, in the australian region, would seem to indicate that at some former period it possessed a more extensive land area in which this form of bird-life took its rise. but there are other considerations which throw doubt upon this view. the western half of the malay archipelago, belonging to the oriental region, is also rich in pigeons, since it has species belonging to genera, rather more than are found in all the rest of the oriental region. again, we find that the mascarene islands and the antilles both possess more pigeons than we should expect, in proportion to those of the regions to which they belong, and to their total amount of bird-life. this looks as if islands were more favourable to pigeon-development than continents; and if we group together the pacific and the malayan islands, the mascarene group and the antilles, we find that they contain together about species of pigeons belonging to out of the genera here adopted; while all the great continents united only produce about the same number of species belonging (if we omit those peculiar to australia) to only genera. the great development of the group in the australian region may, therefore, be due to its consisting mainly of islands, and not to the order having originated there, and thus having had a longer period in which to develop. i have elsewhere suggested (_ibis_ , p. ) { }a physical cause for this peculiarity of distribution. pigeons build rude, open nests, and their young remain helpless for a considerable period. they are thus exposed to the attacks of such arboreal quadrupeds or other animals as feed on eggs or young birds. monkeys are very destructive in this respect; and it is a noteworthy fact that over the whole australian region, the mascarene islands and the antilles, monkeys are unknown. in the indo-malay sub-region, where monkeys are generally plentiful, the greatest variety of pigeons occurs in the philippines, where there is but a single species in one island; and in java, where monkeys are far less numerous than in sumatra or borneo. if we add to this consideration the fact, that mammalia and rapacious birds are, as a rule, far less abundant in islands than on continents; and that the extreme development of pigeon-life is reached in the papuan group of islands, in which mammalia (except a few marsupials, bats, and pigs) are wholly absent, we see further reason to adopt this view. it is also to be noted that in america, comparatively few pigeons are found in the rich forests (comparable to those of the australian insular region in which they abound), but are mostly confined to the open campos, the high andes, and the western coast districts, from which the monkey-tribe are wholly absent. this view is further supported by the great development of colour that is found in the pigeons of these insular regions, culminating in the golden-yellow fruit-dove of the fiji islands, the metallic green nicobar-pigeon of malaya, and the black and crimson _alectroenas_ of mauritius. here also, alone, we meet with crested pigeons, rendering the possessors more conspicuous; such as the _lopholaimus_ of australia and the crowned _goura_ of new guinea; and here too are more peculiar forms of terrestrial pigeons than elsewhere, though none have completely lost the power of flight but the now extinct dididæ. the curious liking of pigeons for an insular habitat is well shown in the genera _ianthoenas_ and _caloenas_. the former, containing species, ranges over a hundred degrees of longitude, and forty-five of latitude, extending into three regions, yet nowhere inhabits a continent or even a large island. it is { }found in the andaman and nicobar islands; in the philippines, gilolo, and the smaller papuan islands, and in japan; yet not in any of the large malay islands or in australia. the other genus, _caloenas_, consists of but a single species, yet this ranges from the nicobar islands to new guinea. it is not, however, as far as known, found on any of the large islands, but seems to prefer the smaller islands which surround them. we here have the general preference of pigeons for islands, further developed in these two genera into a preference for small islands; and it is probable that the same cause--the greater freedom from danger--has produced both phenomena. of the geological antiquity of the columbæ we have no evidence; but their wide distribution, their varied forms, and their great isolation, all point to an origin, at least as far back as that we have assigned as probable in the case of the parrots. _order v.--gallinÆ._ family .--pteroclidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- . . | -- . | -- -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the pteroclidæ, or sand-grouse, are elegantly formed birds with pointed tails, and plumage of beautifully varied protective tints, characteristic of the ethiopian region and central asia, though extending into southern europe and hindostan. being pre-eminently desert-birds, they avoid the forest-districts of all these countries, but abound in the most arid situations and on the most open and barren plains. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- _pterocles_ ( sp.), has the same range as the family; _syrrhaptes_ ( sp.), normally inhabits tartary, thibet, and mongolia to the country around pekin, and occasionally visits eastern europe. but a few years back ( ) great numbers suddenly appeared in { }europe and extended westward to the shores of the atlantic, while some even reached ireland and the færoes. (plate iii. vol. i. p. .) family .--tetraonidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . -- . | | | | | the tetraonidæ, including the grouse, partridges, quails, and allied forms, abound in all parts of the eastern continents; they are less plentiful in north america and comparatively scarce in south america, more than half the neotropical species being found north of panama; and in the australian region there are only a few of small size. the ethiopian region probably contains most species; next comes the oriental--india proper from the himalayas to ceylon having twenty; while the australian region, with species, is the poorest. these facts render it probable that the tetraonidæ are essentially denizens of the great northern continents, and that their entrance into south america, australia, and even south africa, is, comparatively speaking, recent. they have developed into forms equally suited to the tropical plains and the arctic regions, some of them being among the few denizens of the extreme north, as well as of the highest alpine snows. the genera are somewhat unsettled, and there is even some uncertainty as to the limits between this family and the next; but the following are those now generally admitted:-- _ptilopachus_ ( sp.), west africa; _francolinus_ ( sp.), all africa, south europe, india to ceylon, and south china; _ortygornis_ ( sp.), himalayas to ceylon, sumatra, and borneo; _peliperdix_ ( sp.), west africa; _perdix_ ( sp.), the whole continental palæarctic region; _margaroperdix_ ( sp.), madagascar; _oreoperdix_ ( sp.), formosa; _arborophila_ ( sp.), the oriental continent and the philippines; _peloperdix_ ( sp.), tenasserim and malaya; _coturnix_ ( sp.), temperate palæarctic, ethiopian and { }oriental regions, and the australian to new zealand; _rollulus_ ( sp.), siam to sumatra, borneo, and philippines; _caloperdix_ ( sp.), malacca and sumatra; _odontophorus_ ( sp.), brazil and peru to mexico; _dendrortyx_ ( sp.), guatemala and mexico; _cyrtonyx_ ( sp.), guatemala to new mexico; _ortyx_ ( sp.), honduras and cuba to canada; _eupsychortyx_ ( sp.), brazil and ecuador to mexico; _callipepla_ ( sp.), mexico to california; _lophortyx_ ( sp.), arizona and california; _oreortyx_ ( sp.), california and oregon (plate xviii., vol. ii. p. ); _lerwa_ ( sp.), snowy himalayas and east thibet; _caccabis_ ( sp.), palæarctic region to abyssinia, arabia and the punjaub; _tetraogallus_ ( sp.), caucasus and himalayas to altai mountains; _tetrao_ ( sp.), northern parts of palæarctic and nearctic regions; _centrocercus_ ( sp.), rocky mountains; _pediocætes_ ( sp.), north and north-west america (plate xviii. vol. ii. p. ); _cupidonia_ ( sp.), east and north-central united states and canada; _bonasa_ ( sp.), north of nearctic and palæarctic regions; _lagopus_ ( sp.), arctic zone and northern parts of nearctic and palæarctic regions. family .--phasianidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- . -- |-- . . | . . . | . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | the phasianidæ, including the pea-fowl, pheasants, and jungle-fowl, the turkeys, and the guinea-fowl, are very widely distributed, but are far more abundant than elsewhere in the eastern parts of asia, both tropical and temperate. leaving out the african guinea-fowls and the american turkeys, we have genera and species belonging to the oriental and palæarctic regions. these are grouped by mr. elliot (whose arrangement we mainly follow) in sub-families, of which --pavonniæ, euplocaminæ, and gallinæ--are chiefly oriental, while the lophophorniæ and phasianinæ are mostly palæarctic or from the highlands on the { }borders of the two regions. the genera adopted by mr. elliot in his _monograph_ are the following:-- pavoninÆ, genera.--_pavo_ ( sp.), himalayas to ceylon, siam, to south-west china and java; _argusianus_ ( sp.), siam, malay peninsula, and borneo (plate ix. vol. i. p. ); _polyplectron_ ( sp.), upper assam to south-west china and sumatra; _crossoptilon_ ( sp.), thibet and north china. (plate iii. vol. i. p. .) lophophorinÆ, genera.--_lophophorus_ ( sp.), high woody region of himalayas from cashmere to west china; _tetraophasis_ ( sp.), east thibet; _ceriornis_ ( sp.), highest woody himalayas from cashmere to bhotan and western china (plate vii. vol. i. p. ); _pucrasia_ ( sp.), lower and high woody himalayas from the hindoo koosh to north-west china. phasianinÆ, genera.--_phasianus_ ( sp.), western asia to japan and formosa, south to near canton and yunan, and the western himalayas, north to the altai mountains; _thaumalea_ ( sp.), north-western china and mongolia. (plate iii. vol. i. p. .) euplocaminÆ, genera.--_euplocamus_ ( sp.), cashmere, along southern himalayas to siam, south china and formosa, and to sumatra and borneo; _ithaginis_ ( sp.), high himalayas from nepal to north-west china. gallinÆ, genus.--_gallus_ ( sp.), cashmere to hainan, ceylon, borneo, java, and eastwards to celebes and timor. (central india, ceylon, and east java, have each a distinct species of jungle-fowl.) meleagrinÆ, genus.--_meleagris_ ( sp.), eastern and central united states and south to mexico, guatemala and yucatan. agelastinÆ, genera.--_phasidus_ ( sp.), west africa; _agelastes_ ( sp.), west africa. numidinÆ, genera.--_acryllium_ ( sp.), west africa; _numida_ ( sp.), ethiopian region, east to madagascar, south to natal and great fish river. { }family .--turnicidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- -- | . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the turnicidæ are small quail-like birds, supposed to have remote affinities with the american tinamous, and with sufficient distinctive peculiarities to constitute a separate family. they range over the old world, from spain all through africa and madagascar, and over the whole oriental region to formosa, and then north again to pekin, as well as south-eastward to australia and tasmania. the genus _turnix_ ( sp.), has the range of the family; _ortyxelos_ ( sp.), inhabits senegal; but the latter genus may not belong to this family. family .--megapodiidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- |-- -- -- | | | | | the megapodiidæ, or mound-makers and brush-turkeys, are generally dull-coloured birds of remarkable habits and economy, which have no near allies, but are supposed to have a remote affinity with the south american curassows. they are highly characteristic of the australian region, extending into almost every part of it except new zealand and the remotest pacific islands, and only sending two species beyond its limits,--a _megapodius_ in the philippine islands and north-west borneo, and another in the nicobar islands, separated by about , miles from its nearest ally in lombok. the philippine species offers little difficulty, for these birds are found on the smallest { }islands and sand-banks, and can evidently pass over a few miles of sea with ease; but the nicobar bird is a very different case, because none of the numerous intervening islands offer a single example of the family. instead of being a well-marked and clearly differentiated form, as we should expect to find it if its remote and isolated habitat were due to natural causes, it so nearly resembles some of the closely-allied species of the moluccas and new guinea, that, had it been found with them, it would hardly have been thought specifically extinct. i therefore believe that it is probably an introduction by the malays, and that, owing to the absence of enemies and general suitability of conditions, it has thriven in the islands and has become slightly differentiated in colour from the parent stock. the following is the distribution of the genera at present known:-- _talegallus_ ( sp.), new guinea and east australia; _megacephalon_ ( sp.), east celebes; _lipoa_ ( sp.), south australia; _megapodius_ ( sp.), philippine islands and celebes, to timor, north australia, new caledonia, the marian and samoa islands, and probably every intervening island,--also a species (doubtfully indigenous) in the nicobar islands. family .--cracidÆ, ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | (messrs. sclater and salvin's arrangement is here followed). the cracidæ, or curassows and guans, comprise the largest and handsomest game-birds of the neotropical region, where they take the place of the grouse and pheasants of the old world. they are almost all forest-dwellers, and are a strictly neotropical family, only one species just entering the nearctic region as far as new mexico. they extend southward to paraguay and the extreme south of brazil, but none are found in the { }antilles, nor west of the andes south of the bay of guayaquil. the sub-families and genera are as follows:-- cracinÆ, genera.--_crax_ ( sp.), mexico to paraguay (plate xv., vol. ii. p. ); _nothocrax_ ( sp.), guiana, upper rio negro, and upper amazon; _pauxi_ ( sp.), guiana to venezuela; _mitua_ ( sp.), guiana and upper amazon. penelopinÆ, genera.--_stegnolæma_ ( sp.), columbia and ecuador; _penelope_ ( sp.), mexico to paraguay and to western slope of ecuadorian andes; _penelopina_ ( sp.), guatemala; _pipile_ ( sp.), venezuela to eastern brazil; _aburria_ ( sp), columbia; _chamæpetes_ ( sp.), costa rica to peru; _ortalida_ ( sp.), new mexico to paraguay, also tobago. oreophasinÆ, genus.--_oreophasis_ ( sp.), guatemala. it thus appears that the cracinæ are confined to south america east of the andes, except one species in central america; whereas nine penelopinæ and _oreophasis_ are found north of panama. the species of the larger genera are strictly representative, each having its own distinct geographical area, so that two species of the same genus are rarely or never found in the same locality. family .--tinamidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the tinamous are a very remarkable family of birds, with the general appearance of partridges or hemipodes, but with the tail either very small or entirely wanting. they differ greatly in their organization from any of the old world gallinæ, and approach, in some respects, the struthiones or ostrich tribe. they are very terrestrial in their habits, inhabiting the forests, open plains, and mountains of the neotropical region, from patagonia and chili to mexico; but, like the cracidæ, they are absent from the antilles. their colouring is very sober and protective, as is the case with so many ground-birds, and they are seldom adorned { }with crests or other ornamental plumes, so prevalent in the order to which they belong. the sub-families and genera, according to the arrangement of messrs. sclater and salvin, are as follows:-- tinaminÆ, genera.--_tinamus_ ( sp.), mexico to paraguay; _nothocercus_ ( sp.), costa rica to venezuela and ecuador; _crypturus_ ( sp.), mexico to paraguay and bolivia; _rhynchotus_ ( sp.), bolivia and south brazil to la plata; _nothoprocta_ ( sp.), ecuador to bolivia and chili; _nothura_ ( sp.), brazil and bolivia to patagonia; _taoniscus_ ( sp.), brazil to paraguay. tinamotinÆ, genera.-- _calodromas_ ( sp.), la plata and patagonia; _tinamotis_ ( sp.), andes of peru and bolivia. _general remarks on the distribution of gallinæ._ there are about known species of gallinaceous birds grouped into genera, of which no less than are each restricted to a single region. the tetraonidæ are the only cosmopolitan family, and even these do not extend into temperate south america, and are very poorly represented in australia. the cracidæ and tinamidæ are strictly neotropical, the megapodiidæ almost as strictly australian. there remains the extensive family of the phasianidæ, which offers some interesting facts. we have first the well-marked sub-families of the numidinæ and meleagrinæ, confined to the ethiopian and nearctic regions respectively, and we find the remaining five sub-families, comprising about species, many of them the most magnificent of known birds, spread over the oriental and the south-eastern portion of the palæarctic regions. this restriction is remarkable, since there is no apparent cause in climate or vegetation why pheasants should not be found wild throughout southern europe, as they were during late tertiary and post-tertiary times. we have also to notice the remarkable absence of the pheasant tribe from hindostan and ceylon, where the peacock and jungle-fowl are their sole representatives. these two forms also alone extend to java, whereas in the adjacent islands of borneo and sumatra we have _argusianus_, _polyplectron_, and _euplocamus_. the common jungle-fowl (the origin of our domestic poultry) is the only { }species which enters the australian region as far as celebes and timor, and another species (_gallus æneus_) as far as flores, and it is not improbable that these may have been introduced by man and become wild. we have very little knowledge of the extinct forms of gallinæ, but what we have assures us of their high antiquity, since we find such distinct groups as the jungle-fowl, partridges, and _pterocles_, represented in europe in the miocene period; while the turkey, then as now, appears to have been a special american type. _order vi.--opisthocomi._ family .--opisthocomidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the hoazin (_opisthocomus cristatus_) is the sole representative of this family and of the order opisthocomi. it inhabits the eastern side of equatorial america in guiana and the lower amazon; and at pará is called "cigana" or gipsy. it is a large, brown, long-legged, weakly-formed and loosely-crested bird, having such anomalies of structure that it is impossible to class it along with any other family. it is one of those survivors, which tell us of extinct groups, of whose past existence we should otherwise, perhaps, remain for ever ignorant. _order vii.--accipitres._ family .--vulturidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . -- | . . -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | { }vultures range over all the great continents south of the arctic circle, being only absent from the australian region, the malay islands, ceylon, and madagascar. the old and new world forms are very distinct, belonging to two well-marked divisions, often ranked as families. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- sub-family i. vulturinÆ ( genera, species), confined to the old world.--_vultur_ ( sp.), spain and north africa through nepal to china north of ningpo; _gyps_ ( sp.), europe south of °, africa, except the western sub-region, india, siam, and northern china; _pseudogyps_ ( sp.), north-east africa and senegal, india and burmah; _otogyps_ ( sp.), south europe, north-east and south africa, india, and siam; _lophogyps_ ( sp.), north-east and south africa and senegal; _neophron_ ( sp.), south europe, india and the greater part of africa. sub-family ii. sarcorhamphinÆ ( genera, species), confined to the new world.--_sarcorhamphus_ ( sp.), "the condor," andes of south america, and southern extremity below ° south latitude; _cathartes_ ( sp.), america from ° south latitude to trinidad and mexico; _catharistes_ ( sp.), america from ° north to ° south latitude, but not on pacific coast of united states; _pseudogryphis_ ( sp.), south america and falkland islands, and to ° north latitude in north america, also cuba and jamaica. family .--serpentariidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the singular secretary bird (_serpentarius_) is found over a large part of africa. its position is uncertain, as it has affinities both with the accipitres, through _polyboroides_ (?) and with _cariama_, which we place near the bustards. (plate iv. vol. i. p. .) { }family .--falconidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the falconidæ, including the various groups of hawks, kites, buzzards, eagles, and falcons, are absolutely cosmopolitan, ranging far into the arctic zone and visiting the most remote oceanic islands. they are abundant in all the great continents and larger islands, preferring open to woody regions. they are divided into several sub-families, the range of some of which are restricted. for this family as well as the preceding i follow the arrangement of mr. sharpe's _british museum catalogue_, and shall give the approximate distribution of each sub-family, as well as of the several genera. sub-family i. polyborinÆ ( genera, species), the neotropical region with california and florida, tropical and south africa.--_polyborus_ ( sp.), south america, and to california and florida; _ibycter_ ( sp.), tierra del fuego to honduras and guatemala. _cariama_ and _serpentarius_, which mr. sharpe puts here, are so anomalous that i think it better to class them in separate families--serpentariidæ among the accipitres, and cariamidæ near the bustards. sub-family ii. accipitrinÆ ( genera, species).--cosmopolitan.--_polyboroides_ ( sp.), africa and madagascar; _circus_ ( sp.), old and new worlds, widely scattered, but absent from eastern equatorial america, and the malay archipelago except celebes; _micrastur_ ( sp.), and _geranospiza_ ( sp.), tropical parts of neotropical region; _urotriorchis_ ( sp.), west africa; _erythrocnema_ ( sp.), chili and la plata to california and texas; _melierax_ ( sp.), africa except west african sub-region; _astur_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan, except the temperate south american sub-region; { }_nisoides_ ( sp.), madagascar; _eutriorchis_ ( sp.), madagascar; _accipiter_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan, except eastern oceania. sub-family iii. buteoninÆ ( genera, sp.), cosmopolitan, except the malay and pacific islands.--_urospizias_ ( sp.), east and central australia; _heterospizias_ ( sp.), tropical south america east of the andes; _tachytriorchis_ ( sp.), paraguay to california; _buteo_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan, except the australian region and the indo-malayan sub-region; _archibuteo_ ( sp.), north america to mexico and the cooler parts of the palæarctic region; _buteola_ ( sp.), veragua to the amazon valley; _asturina_ ( sp.), paraguay and bolivia to south-east united states; _busarellus_ ( sp.), brazil to guiana; _buteogallus_ ( sp.), guiana and columbia; _urubutinga_ ( sp.), south brazil and bolivia to mexico; _harpyhaliæetus_ ( sp.), chili and north patagonia to veragua; _morphnus_ ( sp.), amazonia to panama; _thrasaëtus_ ( sp.), paraguay and bolivia to mexico. sub-family iv. aquilinÆ ( genera, species), cosmopolitan.--_gypaëtus_ ( sp.), south of palæarctic region from spain to north china, abyssinia, and south africa; _uroaëtus_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; _aquila_ ( sp.), nearctic, palæarctic, and ethiopian regions and india; _nisaëtus_ ( sp.), africa and south europe, india, ceylon, and australia; _lophotriorchis_ ( sp.), indo-malay sub-region, and bogotá in south america; _neopus_ ( sp.), india and ceylon to burmah, java, celebes and ternate; _spiziastur_ ( sp.), guatemala to brazil; _spizaëtus_ ( sp.), central and south america, africa, india, and ceylon, to celebes and new guinea, formosa, and japan; _lophoaëtus_ ( sp.), all africa; _asturinula_ ( sp.), africa, except extreme south; _herpetotheres_ ( sp.), bolivia and paraguay to southern mexico; _dryotriorchis_ ( sp.), west africa; _circaëtus_ ( sp.) africa to central europe, the indian peninsula, timor; _spilornis_ ( sp.), oriental region and celebes; _butastur_ ( sp.), oriental region to new guinea and north-east africa; _helotarsus_ ( sp.), africa south of the sahara; _haliæetus_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan, except the neotropical region; _gypohierax_ ( sp.), west africa and zanzibar; _haliastur_ ( sp.), indian peninsula to ceylon, new { }caledonia, and australia; _nauclerus_ (= _elanoides_) ( sp.), brazil to southern united states; _elanoides_ (= _nauclerus_) ( sp.), western and north-eastern africa; _milvus_ ( sp.), the old world and australia; _lophoictinia_ ( sp.), australia; _rostrhamus_ ( sp.), antilles and florida to brazil and peru; _leptodon_ ( sp.), central america to south brazil and bolivia; _gypoictinia_ ( sp.), south and west australia; _elanus_ ( sp.), africa, india, and malay archipelago to australia, south america to california; _gampsonyx_ ( sp.), trinidad to brazil; _henicopernis_ ( sp.), papuan islands; _machærhamphus_ ( sp.), south-west africa, madagascar, and malacca; _pernis_ ( sp.), palæarctic, oriental, and ethiopian regions. sub-family v. falconinÆ ( genera, species), cosmopolitan.--_baza_ ( sp.), india and ceylon to the moluccas and north australia, west coast of africa, natal, and madagascar; _harpagus_ ( sp.), central america to brazil and peru; _ictinia_ ( sp.), brazil to southern united states; _hierax_ (= _microhierax_, sharpe), ( sp.), eastern himalayas to borneo and philippines; _poliohierax_ ( sp.), east africa and burmah; _spiziapteryx_ ( sp.), la plata; _harpa_ ( sp.), new zealand and the auckland islands; _falco_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan, except the pacific islands; _hierofalco_ ( sp.), nearctic and palæarctic regions; _hieracidea_ ( sp.), australia; _cerchneis_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan, except oceania. family .--pandionidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the pandionidæ, or fishing hawks, are universally distributed, with the exception of the southern temperate parts of south america. the genera are:-- _pandion_ ( sp.), the range of the entire family; _polioaëtus_ ( sp.), india through malay archipelago to celebes and sandwich islands. { }family .--strigidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the strigidæ, or owls, form an extensive and well-known family of nocturnal birds, which, although invariably placed next the hawks, are now believed to be not very closely allied to the other accipitres. they range over the whole globe, extending to the extreme polar regions and to the remotest oceanic islands. their classification is very unsettled, and we therefore place the genera, for convenience, in the order in which they follow each other in the _hand list of birds_. those adopted by most ornithologists are the following:-- _surnia_ ( sp.), the arctic regions of both hemispheres; _nyctea_ ( sp.), south carolina to greenland and northern europe; _athene_ ( sp.), the eastern hemisphere to new zealand and the solomon islands; _ninox_ ( sp.), the oriental region, north china and japan; _glaucidium_ ( sp.), neotropical region, california, and oregon, europe to north china; _micrathene_ ( sp.), mexico and arizona; _pholeoptynx_ ( sp.), neotropical region, texas, and north-west america; _bubo_ ( sp.), universally distributed, excluding the australian region; _ketupa_ ( sp.), the oriental region, palestine; _scotopelia_ ( sp.), west and south africa; _scops_ ( sp.), universally distributed, excluding australia and pacific islands; _gymnoglaux_ ( sp.), antilles; _lophostrix_ ( sp.), lower amazon to guatemala; _syrnium_ ( sp.), all regions but the australian; _ciccaba_ ( sp.), paraguay to mexico; _nyctalatinus_ ( sp.), columbia; _pulsatrix_ ( sp.), brazil and peru to guatemala; _asio_ ( sp.), all regions but the australian, sandwich islands; _nyctalops_ ( sp.), cuba and mexico to brazil and monte video; _pseudoscops_ ( sp.), jamaica; _nyctala_ ( sp.), the north temperate zone; _strix_ ( sp.), universally distributed; _phodilus_ ( sp.), himalayas and malaya. { }in mr. sharpe's catalogue (published while this work was passing through the press) the genera of owls are reduced to , arranged in two families--strigidæ, containing our last two genera, and bubonidæ, comprising the remainder. the species are increased to ; but some genera are reduced, as _strix_, which is said to contain only species. _general remarks on the distribution of the accipitres._ the birds of prey are so widely distributed over the world's surface that their general distribution calls for few remarks. of the four families all but one are cosmopolites, vultures alone being absent from the australian region, as well as from indo-malaya and madagascar. if we take the sub-families, we find that each region has several which are confined to it. the only parts of the world where there is a marked deficiency of accipitres is in the islands of the pacific; and it may be noted, as a rule, that these birds are more abundant in continents than in islands. there is not so much difference between the number of birds of prey in tropical and temperate regions, as is found in most other groups of land-birds. north america and europe have about species each, while india has about , and south america about . the total number of accipitres is comprised in genera, and (or perhaps more properly ) families. in this estimate i have not included the serpentariidæ, containing the secretary bird of africa, as there is some doubt whether it really belongs to the order. _order viii.--grallÆ._ family .--rallidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the rails are among the most widely distributed families of birds, many of the genera being cosmopolitan, and several of the { }species ranging over half the globe. they are found in many remote islands; and in some of these--as the _gallinula_ of tristan d'acunha, and the _notornis_ of lord howe's island and new zealand,--they have lost the power of flight. the classification of the rallidæ is not satisfactory, and the following enumeration of the genera must only be taken as affording a provisional sketch of the distribution of the group:-- _rallus_ ( sp.), _porzana_ ( sp.), _gallinula_ ( sp.), and _fulica_ ( sp.), have a world-wide range; _ortygometra_ ( sp.), ranges over the whole north temperate zone; _porphyrio_ ( sp.), is more especially oriental and australian, but occurs also in south america, in africa, and in south europe; _eulabeornis_ ( sp.), is ethiopian, malayan, and australian; _himantornis_ ( sp.), is west african only; _aramides_ ( sp.), is north and south american; _rallina_ ( sp.), is oriental, but ranges eastward to papua; _habroptila_ ( sp.), is confined to the moluccas; _pareudiastes_ ( sp.), the samoa islands; _tribonyx_ ( sp.), is australian, and has recently been found also in new zealand; _ocydromus_ ( sp.); _notornis_ ( sp.), (plate xiii. vol. i. p. ); and _cabalus_ ( sp.), are peculiar to the new zealand group. the sub-family, heliornithinæ (sometimes classed as a distinct family) consists of genera, _heliornis_ ( sp.), confined to the neotropical region; and _podica_ ( sp.), the ethiopian region excluding madagascar, and with a species (perhaps forming another genus) in borneo. _extinct rallidæ._--remains of some species of this family have been found in the mascarene islands, and historical evidence shows that they have perhaps been extinct little more than a century. they belong to the genus _fulica_, and to two extinct genera, _aphanapteryx_ and _erythromachus_. the _aphanapteryx_ was a large bird of a reddish colour, with loose plumage, and perhaps allied to _ocydromus_. _erythromachus_ was much smaller, of a grey-and-white colour, and is said to have lived chiefly on the eggs of the land-tortoises. (see _ibis_, , p. ; and _proc. zool. soc._, , p. .) { }family .--scolopacidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the scolopacidæ, comprehending the snipes, sandpipers, curlews, and allied genera, are perhaps as truly cosmopolitan as any family of birds, ranging to the extreme north and visiting the remotest islands. the genera of universal distribution are the following:-- _numenius_ ( sp.); _limosa_ ( sp.); _totanus_ ( sp.); _tringoides_, ( sp.); _himantopus_ ( sp.); _tringa_ ( sp.); and _gallinago_ ( sp.). those which have a more or less restricted distribution are:-- _ibidorhyncha_ ( sp.), central asia and the himalayas (plate vii. vol. i. p. ); _helodromas_ ( sp.), palæarctic region and north india; _terekia_ ( sp.), east palæarctic, wandering to india and australia; _recurvirostra_ ( sp.), nearctic region to the high andes, south palæarctic, east and south africa, hindostan and australia; _micropelama_ ( sp.), north america to chili; _machetes_ ( sp.), palæarctic region and hindostan (plate i. vol. i. p. ); _ereunetes_ ( sp.), nearctic and neotropical; _eurinorhynchus_ ( sp.), north-east asia and bengal; _calidris_ ( sp.), all regions but australian; _macrorhamphus_ ( sp.), palæarctic and nearctic, visits brazil and india; _scolopax_ ( sp.), the whole palæarctic region, to india, java, and australia; _philohela_ ( sp.), east nearctic; _rhynchæa_ ( sp.), ethiopian and oriental, australia, and temperate south america; _phalaropus_ ( sp.), north temperate zone, and west coast of america to chili. { }family .--chionididÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the sheath-bills, _chionis_ ( sp.), are curious white birds, whose thick bill has a horny sheath at the base. their nearest ally is _hæmatopus_, a genus of charadriidæ. these birds are confined to the antarctic islands, especially the falkland islands, the crozets and kerguelen's land. family .--thinocoridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the thinocoridæ, or quail-snipes, are small birds, confined to temperate south america. they have much the appearance of quails but are more nearly allied to plovers. the two genera are:-- _attagis_ ( sp.), falkland islands, straits of magellan, chili, bolivia, and the high andes of peru and ecuador; _thinocorus_ ( sp.), la plata, chili, and peru. (plate xvi. vol. ii. p. .) family .--parridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | { }the parridæ, or jacanas, are remarkable long-toed birds, often of elegant plumage, frequenting swamps and marshes, and walking on the floating leaves of aquatic plants. they are found in all the tropics. _parra_ ( sp.), has the distribution of the family; _hydrophasianus_ ( sp.), is confined to the oriental region. family .--glareolidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | this family, comprising the pratincoles and coursers, is universally distributed over the old world and to australia. _glareola_ ( sp.), has the distribution of the family; _pluvianus_ ( sp.), is confined to north africa; _cursorius_ ( sp.), ranges over africa, south europe and india. the position of the genus _glareola_ is uncertain, for though generally classed here, prof. lilljeborg considers it to be an aberrant form of the caprimulgidæ! it differs, in its insectivorous habits and in many points of external structure, from all its allies, and should probably form a distinct family. family .--charadiidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the extensive family of the plovers and their numerous allies, ranges over the whole globe. the genera now usually admitted into this family are the following:-- _oedicnemus_ ( sp.), is only absent from north america; _Æsacus_ ( sp.), india to ceylon, malay islands and australia; { }_vanellus_ ( sp.), palæarctic and neotropical regions; _chætusia_ ( sp.), the whole eastern hemisphere; _erythrogonys_ ( sp.), australia; _hoplopterus_ ( sp.), widely scattered, but absent from north america; _squatarola_ ( sp), all the regions; _charadrius_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan; _eudromias_ ( sp.), eastern hemisphere and south temperate america; _Ægialitis_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan; _oreophilus_ ( sp.), south temperate america; _thinornis_ ( sp.), new zealand; _anarhynchus_ ( sp.), new zealand (plate xiii. vol i. p. ); _hæmatopus_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan; _strepsilas_ ( sp.) almost cosmopolitan; _aphriza_ ( sp.), west coast of america; _pluvianellus_ ( sp.), straits of magellan; _dromas_ ( sp.), india, madagascar, and north-east africa; _pedionomus_ ( sp.), australia. this last genus has usually been placed with the turnicidæ. family .--otididÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . -- | . . -- |-- -- -- | | | | | the otididæ, or bustards, occur in all parts of the old world and australia where there are open tracts, being only absent from madagascar and the malay archipelago. _otis_ ( sp.), ranges over most of the palæarctic region; while _eupodotis_ ( sp.), has the range of the family, but is most abundant in the ethiopian region, which contains three-fourths of the whole number of species. family .--gruidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --| . . -- | . . . | . . -- | . . -- |-- -- -- | | | | | { }the gruidæ, or cranes, are found in all the regions except the neotropical. _grus_ ( sp.) inhabits the southern and western united states, the whole palæarctic region, south-east africa, india, and australia; _anthropoides_ ( sp.), europe, north and south africa and india; _balearica_ ( sp.), the ethiopian region (except madagascar). family .--cariamidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the genus _cariama_ ( sp.), consists of remarkable crested birds inhabiting the mountains and open plains of brazil and la plata. in the british museum catalogue of the birds of prey, they are classed as aberrant falconidæ, but their anomalous characters seem to require them to be placed in a distinct family, which seems better placed among the waders. family .--aramidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the guaraünas are birds which have somewhat the appearance of herons, but which are usually classed with the rails. they are now, however, considered to form a distinct family. the only genus, _aramus_ ( sp.), inhabits the neotropical region, from mexico and cuba to central brazil. { }family .--psophiidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the remarkable and beautiful birds called trumpeters, are confined to the various parts of the amazon valley; and it is an interesting fact, that the range of each species appears to be bounded by some of the great rivers. thus, _psophia crepitans_ inhabits the interior of guiana as far as the south bank of the rio negro; on the opposite or north bank of the rio negro _psophia ochroptera_ is found; beyond the next great rivers, japura and iça, _psophia napensis_ occurs; on the south bank of the amazon, west of the madeira, we have the beautiful _psophia leucoptera_; east of the madeira this is replaced by _psophia viridis_, while near pará, beyond the tapajoz, xingu and tocantins, there is another species, _psophia obscura_. other species may exist in the intervening river districts; but we have here, apparently, a case of a number of well-marked species of birds capable of flight, yet with their range in certain directions accurately defined by great rivers. (plate xv. vol. ii. p. .) family .--eurypygidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the eurypygidæ, or sun-bitterns, are small heron-like birds with beautifully-coloured wings, which frequent the muddy and wooded river-banks of tropical america. the only genus, _eurypyga_ ( sp.), ranges from central america to brazil. { }family .--rhinochetidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the genus _rhinochetus_ ( sp.), consists of a singular bird called the kagu, which inhabits new caledonia, an island which may be placed with almost equal propriety in our st, nd, or rd australian sub-regions. it is a bird of a bluish ash-colour, with a loose plumage, partaking something of the appearance of rail, plover, and heron, but with peculiarities of structure which require it to be placed in a distinct family. its anatomy shows that its nearest allies are the south american genera, _eurypyga_ and _psophia_. family .--ardeidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the well-known herons and bitterns are found in every part of the globe, and everywhere closely resemble each other. omitting the minuter sub-divisions, the genera are as follows:-- _ardea_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan; _botaurus_ ( sp.), almost cosmopolitan; _tigrisoma_ ( sp.), tropical america and west africa; _nycticorax_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan; _cancroma_ ( sp.), tropical america. { }family .--plataleidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the plataleidæ, including the spoonbills and ibises, have been classed either with the herons or the storks, but have most affinity with the latter. though not very numerous they are found over the greater part of the globe, except the colder zones and the pacific islands. the following is the distribution of the genera:-- _platalea_ ( sp.), all the warmer parts of the globe except the moluccas and pacific islands; _ibis_ ( sp.), temperate north america and tropical south america; _falcinellus_ ( sp.), almost cosmopolitan; _geronticus_ ( sp.), all tropical countries and temperate south america; _scopus_ ( sp.), tropical and south africa; _balæniceps_ ( sp.), the upper nile. this last genus the "shoe-bird," or boat-billed heron, perhaps forms a distinct family. family .--ciconiidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . -- |-- -- -- | . . . | . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the ciconiidæ, or storks, are mostly an old world family, only three species inhabiting the neotropical, and one, the nearctic region. they are also absent from the islands of the pacific, the antilles, and, with one exception, from madagascar. the genera are as follows:-- _ciconia_ ( sp.), ranges through the palæarctic, ethiopian and { }oriental regions as far as celebes, and in south america; _mycteria_ ( sp.), inhabits africa, india, australia and the neotropical region; _leptopiltus_ ( sp.), the ethiopian and oriental regions to java; _tantalus_ ( sp.), the ethiopian, oriental and neotropical regions, and the south-east of north america; _anastomus_ ( sp.), the ethiopian region, and india to ceylon. family .--palamedeidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the palamedeidæ, or screamers, are curious semi-aquatic birds of doubtful affinities, perhaps intermediate between gallinæ and anseres. they are peculiar to south america. the genera are:-- _palamedea_ ( sp.), which inhabits the amazon valley; _chauna_ ( sp.), la plata, brazil and columbia, family .--phoenicopteridÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . . | . -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the flamingoes (_phoenicopterus_) seem peculiar to the ethiopian and neotropical regions, ranging from the former into india and south europe. america has four species, inhabiting chili and la plata, the galapagos, mexico and the west indian islands; the others range over all africa, south europe, india and ceylon. these singular birds are placed by some authors near the spoonbills and ibises, by others with the geese. professor huxley considers them to be "completely { }intermediate between the anserine birds on the one side and the storks and herons on the other." the pterolysis according to nitzsch is "completely stork-like." _general remarks on the distribution of the grallæ, or wading and running birds._ the waders, as a rule, are birds of very wide distribution, the four largest families rallidæ, scolopacidæ, charadriidæ and ardeidæ, being quite cosmopolitan, as are many of the genera. but there are also a number of small families of very restricted distribution, and these all occur in the two most isolated regions, the neotropical and the australian. the neotropical region is by far the richest in varied forms of waders, having representatives of no less than out of the families, while are altogether peculiar to it. the australian region has families, with peculiar. the other two tropical regions each possess families, but none are peculiar. the palæarctic region has , and the nearctic families. no less than three families--chionididæ, thinocoridæ, and cariamidæ--are confined to the temperate regions and highlands of south america; while four others,--aramidæ, psophiidæ, eurypygidæ and palamedeidæ,--are found in tropical america only; and these present such an array of peculiar and interesting forms as no other part of the globe can furnish. the phoenicopteridæ or flamingoes, common to the tropical regions of asia, africa and america, but absent from australia, is the only other feature of general interest presented by the distribution of the waders. the order contains about species, which gives about species to each family, a smaller average than in the gallinæ or accipitres, and only about one-fourth of the average number in the passeres. this is partly due to the unusual number of very small families, and partly to the wide average range of the species, which prevents that specialization of forms that occurs in the more sedentary groups of birds. { }_order ix.--anseres._ family .--anatidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the anatidæ, comprehending the ducks, geese, and swans with their allies, are of such universal distribution that there is probably no part of the globe where some of them are not occasionally found. they are, however, most abundant in temperate and cold regions; and, contrary to what occurs in most other families, the most beautifully-coloured species are extra-tropical, and some even arctic. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- _anseranas_ ( sp.), australia; _plectropterus_ ( sp.), tropical africa; _sarkidiornis_ ( sp.), south america, africa, and india; _chenalopex_ ( sp.), amazonia; _callochen_ ( sp.), south europe, north, east, and south africa; _cereopsis_ ( sp.), australia; _anser_ ( sp.), palæarctic and nearctic regions to central america and the antilles; _bernicla_ ( sp.), temperate regions of the northern and southern hemispheres; _chloephaga_ ( sp.), south temperate america and aleutian islands; _nettapus_ ( sp.), tropical africa and madagascar, india and ceylon to malaya and australia; _cygnus_ ( sp.), temperate regions of the northern and southern hemispheres; _dendrocygna_ ( sp.), tropical and sub-tropical regions; _tadorna_ ( sp.), palæarctic and australian regions; _casarca_ ( sp.), palæarctic, oriental, ethiopian, and australian regions, to new zealand; _aix_ ( sp.), temperate north america and eastern asia; _mareca_ ( sp.), palæarctic region, north america, temperate south america, and australia; _dafila_ ( sp.), all america and the palæarctic region; _anas_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan; _querquedula_ ( sp.), { }cosmopolitan; _chaulelasmus_ ( sp.), palæarctic region and north america; _spatula_ ( sp.), all temperate regions; _malacorhynchus_ ( sp.), australia; _cairina_ ( sp.), tropical south america; _branta_ ( sp.), palæarctic region and india; _fuligula_ ( sp.), north temperate regions and new zealand; _Æthya_ ( sp.), palæarctic and nearctic regions, india, australia, and south africa; _metopiana_ ( sp.), south temperate america; _bucephala_ ( sp.), nearctic and palæarctic regions; _harelda_ ( sp.), northern palæartic and nearctic regions; _hymenolaimus_ ( sp.), new zealand; _camptolaimus_ ( sp.), north-east of north america; _micropterus_ ( sp.), temperate south america; _somateria_ ( sp.), arctic and sub-arctic regions; _oedemia_ ( sp.), nearctic and palæarctic regions; _biziura_ ( sp.), australia; _thalassornis_ ( sp.), south africa; _erismatura_ ( sp.), all america, south-east europe and south africa; _nesonetta_ ( sp.), auckland islands; _merganetta_ ( sp.), andes of columbia to chili; _mergus_ ( sp.), palæarctic and nearctic regions, brazil, and the auckland islands. family .--laridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the laridæ, or gulls and terns, are true cosmopolites, inhabiting the shores and islands of every zone; and most of the genera have also a wide range. they are therefore of little use in the study of geographical distribution. the genera are as follows:-- _stercorarius_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan, most abundant in cold and temperate zones; _rhodostethia_ ( sp), north america; _larus_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan; _xema_ ( sp.), north temperate zone; _creagrus_ ( sp.), north pacific; _pagophila_ ( sp.), arctic seas; _rissa_ ( sp.), arctic and northern seas; _sterna_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan; _hydrochelidon_ ( sp.), tropical and temperate zones; { }_gygis_ ( sp.), indian ocean and tropical pacific islands; _anous_ ( sp.), tropical and temperate zones; _nænia_ ( sp.), south temperate america; _rhynchops_ ( sp.), tropical america, africa, and india. family .--procellariidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the procellariidæ, comprising the shearwaters, petrels, and albatrosses, are universally distributed, but some of the genera are local. _puffinus_ ( sp.), _procellaria_ ( sp.), and _fulmarus_ ( sp.), are cosmopolitan; _prion_ ( sp.) and _pelecanoides_ ( sp.), belong to the south temperate and antarctic regions; _diomedia_ ( sp.), comprises the albatrosses, which are tropical, occasionally wandering into temperate seas. family .--pelecanidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the pelecanidæ, comprising the gannets, pelicans, darters, and frigate-birds, although universally distributed, are more abundant in tropical and temperate regions. _sula_ ( sp.) and _phalacrocorax_ ( sp.), are cosmopolitan; _pelecanus_ ( sp.) is tropical and temperate; _fregetta_ ( sp.) and _phaeton_ ( sp.) are confined to tropical seas; _ptotus_ ( sp.) to tropical and warm temperate zones. { }family .--spheniscidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --| -- -- | | | | | the penguins are entirely confined to the antarctic and south temperate regions, except two species which are found on the coast of peru and the galapagos. they are most plentiful in the southern parts of south america, australia, new zealand, and most of the antarctic islands, and one or two species are found at the cape of good hope. the genera as given in the _hand list_ are:-- _spheniscus_ ( sp.), south africa and cape horn; _eudyptes_ ( sp.), with the range of the family; _aptenodytes_ ( sp.), antarctic islands. family .--colymbidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- | -- . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the northern divers are confined to the arctic and north temperate seas. the only genus, _colymbus_, has one species confined to the west coast of north america, the others being common to the two northern continents. family .--podicipidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | { }the grebes are universally distributed. the genera are _podiceps_ ( sp.), cosmopolitan; and _podilymbus_ ( sp.), confined to north and south america. some ornithologists group these birds with the colymbidæ. family .--alcidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --| -- -- | -- . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the alcidæ, comprising the auks, guillemots, and puffins, are confined to the north temperate and arctic regions, where they represent the penguins of the antarctic lands. one of the most remarkable of these birds, the great auk, formerly abundant in the north atlantic, is now extinct. the genera are as follows:-- _alca_ ( sp.), north atlantic and arctic seas; _fratercula_ ( sp.), arctic and north temperate zones; _ceratorhina_ ( sp.), north pacific; _simorhynchus_ ( sp.), north pacific; _brachyrhamphus_ ( sp.), north pacific to japan and lower california; _uria_ ( sp.), arctic and north temperate zones; _mergulus_ ( sp.), north atlantic and arctic seas. the last three genera constitute the family uriidæ, of some ornithologists. _general remarks on the distribution of the anseres._ the anseres, or swimmers, being truly aquatic birds, possess, as might be expected, a large number of cosmopolitan families and genera. no less than out of the families have a world-wide distribution, and the others are characteristic either of the north or the south temperate zones. hence arises a peculiarity of distribution to be found in no other order of birds; the temperate being richer than the tropical regions. the nearctic and palæarctic regions each have seven families of anseres, two of which, the colymbidæ and alcidæ, are peculiar to them. the ethiopian, australian, and neotropical regions, which all { }extend into the south temperate zone, have six families, with one peculiar to them; while the oriental region, which is wholly tropical, possesses the five cosmopolitan families only. there are about genera and species of anseres, giving species to a family, a high number compared with the waders, and due to there being only one very small family, the colymbidæ. the distribution of the anseres, being more determined by temperature than by barriers, the great regions which are so well indicated by the genera and families of most other orders of birds, hardly limit these, except in the case of the genera of anatidæ. _order x.--struthiones._ family .--struthionidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the ostriches consist of two genera, sometimes formed into distinct families. _struthio_ ( sp.) inhabits the desert regions of north, east, and south africa, as well as arabia and syria. it therefore just enters the palæarctic region. _rhea_ ( sp.) inhabits temperate south america, from patagonia to the confines of brazil. family .--casuariidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . -- -- | | | | | the cassowaries and emeus are confined to the australian region. the emeus, _dromæus_ ( sp.), are found only on the { }main-land of australia (plate xii. vol. i. p. ). _casuarius_ ( sp.) inhabits the islands from ceram to new britain, with one species in north australia; it is most abundant in the papuan islands. family .--apterygidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | the species of _apteryx_ are entirely confined to the two larger islands of new zealand. they are supposed to have some remote affinity with _ocydromus_, a genus of rails peculiar to australia and new zealand; but they undoubtedly form one of the most remarkable groups of living birds (plate xiii. vol. i. p. ). _struthious birds recently extinct._ a number of sub-fossil remains of birds, mostly large and some of gigantic size, having affinities to the _apteryx_ and, less closely, to the cassowaries, have been discovered in new zealand. these are all classed by professor owen in the genus _dinornis_ and family _dinornithidæ_; but dr. haast, from the study of the rich collections in the canterbury (new zealand) museum, is convinced that they belong to two distinct families and several genera. his arrangement is as follows. (see _ibis_, , p. ). family .--dinornithidÆ. ( genera, species.) _dinornis_ ( sp.); _meionornis_ ( sp.). these had no hind toe, and include the largest species. professor newton thinks that they were absolutely wingless, being the only birds in which the fore limbs are entirely wanting. { }family .--palapterygidÆ. ( genera, species.) _palapteryx_ ( sp.); _euryapteryx_ ( sp.). these had a well-developed hind toe, and rudimentary wings. family .--ÆpyornithidÆ. ( genus, species.) a gigantic struthious bird (_Æpyornis_), belonging to a distinct family, inhabited madagascar. it was first made known by its enormous eggs, eight times the bulk of those of the ostrich, which were found in a sub-fossil condition. considerable portions of skeletons have since been discovered, showing that these huge birds formed an altogether peculiar family of the order. _general remarks on the distribution of the struthiones._ with the exception of the ostrich, which has spread northward into the palæarctic region, the struthious birds, living and extinct, are confined to the southern hemisphere, each continent having its peculiar forms. it is a remarkable fact that the two most nearly allied genera, _struthio_ and _rhea_, should be found in africa and south temperate america respectively. equally remarkable is the development of these large forms of wingless birds in australia and the adjacent islands, and especially in new zealand, where we have evidence which renders it probable that about species recently coexisted. this points to the conclusion that new zealand must, not long since, have formed a much more extensive land, and that the diminution of its area by subsidence has been one of the causes--and perhaps the main one--in bringing about the extinction of many of the larger species of these wingless birds. the wide distribution of the struthiones may, as we have already suggested (vol. i., p. .), be best explained, by supposing them to represent a very ancient type of bird, developed at a time when the more specialized carnivorous mammalia had { }not come into existence, and preserved only in those areas which were long free from the incursions of such dangerous enemies. the discovery of struthious remains in europe in the lower eocene only, supports this view; for at this time carnivora were few and of generalized type, and had probably not acquired sufficient speed and activity to enable them to exterminate powerful and quick-running terrestrial birds. it is, however, at a much more remote epoch that we may expect to find the remains of the earlier forms of this group; while these eocene birds may perhaps represent that ancestral wide-spread type which, when isolated in remoter continents and islands, became modified into the american and african ostriches, the emeus and cassowaries of australia, the _dinornis_ and _Æpyornis_ of new zealand. { }chapter xix. the distribution of the families and genera of reptiles and amphibia. reptilia. _order i.--ophidia._ family .--typhlopidÆ.--( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . |-- -- -- --| -- -- | . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the typhlopidæ, or blind burrowing snakes, are widely scattered over the warmer regions of the earth, but are most abundant in the oriental and australian regions, and least so in the neotropical. they are absent from the nearctic region; and in the palæarctic are found only in south-eastern europe and japan. the most extensive genus is _typhlops_, comprising over species, and having a range almost as extensive as the entire family. the other well characterised genera are:-- _typhlina_ ( sp.), ranging from penang to java and hong kong; _typhline_ ( sp.), the cape of good hope; _dibamus_ ( sp.), new guinea. { }family .--tortricidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | the tortricidæ, or short-tailed burrowing snakes, are a small family, one portion of which ranges from india to cambodja, and through the malay islands as far as celebes and timor; these form the genus _cylindrophis_. another portion inhabits america, and consists of:-- _charina_ ( sp.), found in california and british columbia; and _tortrix_ ( sp.), in tropical america. we have here a case of discontinuous distribution, indicating, either very imperfect knowledge of the group, or that it is the remnant of a once extensive family, on the road to extinction. family .--xenopeltidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- . | -- -- -- | | | | | the curious nocturnal carnivorous snake, forming the genus _xenopeltis_, and the sole representative of this family, ranges from penang to cambodja, and through the malay islands to celebes. family .--uropeltidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | { }the uropeltidæ, or rough-tailed burrowing snakes, are strictly confined to ceylon and the adjacent parts of southern india, and would almost alone serve to mark out our second oriental sub-region. the genera are:-- _rhinophis_ ( sp.), ceylon; _uropeltis_ ( sp.), ceylon; _silybura_ ( sp.), anamally hills and neilgherries; _plecturus_ ( sp.), neilgherries and madras; and _melanophidium_ ( sp.), the wynand. family .--calamariidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . -- |-- -- -- | . . -- | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the calamariidæ, or dwarf ground snakes, are found in all warm parts of the globe, extending north into the united states as far as british columbia and lake superior; but they are absent from the palæarctic region, with the exception of a species found in persia. the species are in a very confused state. the best characterised genera are the following:-- _calamaria_ ( sp.), persia, india to java and the philippine islands, celebes, and new guinea; _rhabdosoma_ ( sp.), mexico and south america, and also the malay islands as far east as amboyna, timor, and new guinea; _typhlocalamus_ ( sp.), borneo; _macrocalamus_ ( sp.), india; _aspidura_ ( sp.), india and ceylon; _haplocerus_ ( sp.), ceylon; _streptophorus_ ( sp.), central and south america;--with a host of others of less importance or ill-defined. family .--oligodontidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- |-- -- -- |-- -- -- --| . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | { }the oligodontidæ are a small family of ground snakes which have been separated from the calamariidæ, and, with the exception of a few species, are confined to the oriental region. the best characterised genera are:-- _oligodon_ ( sp.), india, ceylon, and philippines; and, _simotes_ ( sp.), india to china and borneo. in addition to these, _achalinus_ is founded on a single species from japan; and _teleolepis_ consists of three species from north and south america. family .--colubridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the colubrine snakes are universally distributed over the globe, and they reach the extreme northern limits of the order. they are, however, almost absent from australia, being there represented only by a few species of _tropidonotus_ and _coronella_ in the northern and eastern districts. this great family consists of four divisions or sub-families: the coronellinæ ( genera, species), the colubrinæ ( genera, species), the dryadinæ ( genera, species), and the natricinæ ( genera, species). the more important genera of colubridæ are the following:-- _ablabes_, _coronella_, _ptyas_, _coluber_, and _tropidonotus_--all have a very wide distribution, but the two last are absent from south america, although _tropidonotus_ reaches guatemala; _tomodon_, _xenodon_, _liopis_, _stenorhina_, _erythrolampus_, _elapochrus_, _callirhinus_, _enophrys_, and _dromicus_--are confined to the neotropical region; _hypsirhynchus_, _cryptodacus_, _jaltris_, and _coloragia_, are confined to the west indian islands; _chilomeniscus_, _conophis_, _pituophis_, and _ischcognathus_, to north america, the latter going as far south as guatemala; _compsosoma_, _zamenis_, _zaocys_, _atretium_, _xenochrophys_, and _herpetoreas_, are peculiarly oriental, but _zamenis_ extends into south europe; { }_lytorhynchus_, _rhamnophis_, _herpetethiops_ and _grayia_, are ethiopian; _rhinechis_ is peculiar to europe; _megablabes_ to celebes, and _styporhynchus_ to gilolo; _cyclophis_, is found in the oriental region, japan, and north america; _spilotes_, in the nearctic and neotropical regions; _xenelaphis_ in the oriental, ethiopian, and palæarctic regions; _philodryas_, _heterodon_ and _herpetodryas_ in america and madagascar, the latter genus being also found in china. family .--homalopsidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- |-- -- -- |-- . . |-- -- -- | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the homalopsidæ, or fresh-water snakes, have been separated from the hydridæ by dr. günther, and they include some groups which have been usually classed with the natricinæ. they are especially characteristic of the oriental region, where considerably more than half the genera and species are found; next comes the neotropical region which has species; while none of the other regions have more than or . it is to be observed that the ethiopian species occur in west africa only, and mostly constitute peculiar genera, so that in this family the separation of the ethiopian and oriental regions is very well marked. the best characterised genera of the family are the following:-- _cantoria_ ( sp.), ranging from europe to japan, the philippines, and timor, with one species in guinea; _hypsirhina_ ( sp.), bengal, china, and borneo; _fordonia_ ( sp.), rangoon to borneo and timor; _homalopsis_ ( sp.), cambodja to java; _cerberus_ ( sp.), ceylon and siam, the malay islands, new guinea, and north australia; _herpeton_ ( sp.), siam; _ferania_ ( sp.), bengal to penang; _pythonopsis_ ( sp.), borneo; _myron_ ( sp.), india and north australia; _homalophis_ ( sp.), borneo; _hipistes_ ( sp.), penang; _xenodermus_ ( sp.), java; _neusterophis_ and _limnophis_, with one species each, are peculiar to west { }africa; _helicops_ ( sp.), north and south america; _farancia_ and _dimodes_, with one species each, are from new orleans; and a few others imperfectly known from tropical america. family .--psammophidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . . | -- . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the psammophidæ, or desert snakes, are a small group characteristic of the ethiopian and oriental regions, but more abundant in the former. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- _psammophis_ ( sp.), ranges from west africa to persia and calcutta; _coelopeltis_ ( sp.), north and west africa; _mimophis_ ( sp.), madagascar; _psammodynastes_ ( sp.), sikhim to cochin china, borneo and the philippine islands; and _dromophis_ ( sp.), tropical africa. family .--rachiodontidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the rachiodontidæ are a small and very isolated group of snakes of doubtful affinities. the only genus, _dasypeltis_ ( sp.), is confined to west and south africa. { }family .--dendrophidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the dendrophidæ, or tree snakes, are found in all the tropical regions, but are most abundant in the oriental. the genera are distributed as follows:-- _dendrophis_ ranges from india and ceylon to the pelew islands and north australia, and has one species in west africa; _ahætulla_ is almost equally divided between tropical africa and tropical america; _gonyosoma_ ranges from persia to java and the philippines; _chrysopelea_ is found in india, borneo, the philippines, amboyna, and mysol; _hapsidrophis_ and _bucephalus_ are confined to tropical africa; and _ithycyphus_ ( sp.), is peculiar to madagascar. family .--dryiophidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- -- | . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | the dryiophidæ, or whip snakes, are a very well characterised family of slender, green-coloured, arboreal serpents, found in the three tropical regions but absent from australia, although they just enter the australian region in the island of celebes. in africa they are confined to the west coast and madagascar. the genera are:-- _dryiophis_ ( sp.), tropical america and west africa; _tropidococcyx_ ( sp.), central india; _tragops_ ( sp.), bengal to china, the philippines, java, and celebes; _passerita_ ( sp.), ceylon { }and the indian peninsula; and _langaha_ ( sp.), confined to madagascar. family .--dipsadidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . -- | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the dipsadidæ, or nocturnal tree snakes, are distinguished from the last family by their dark colours and nocturnal habits. they are about equally abundant in the oriental and neotropical regions, less so in the ethiopian, while only a single species extends to north australia. the following are the best known genera:-- _dipsas_, comprising all the oriental species with one in asia-minor, and a few from the moluccas, new guinea, north australia, west africa, and tropical america; _thamnodyastes_, _tropidodipsas_, and several others, from tropical america; _dipsadoboa_, from west africa and tropical america; _leptodeira_, from tropical and south africa, south america, and mexico; and _pythonodipsas_, from central africa. family .--scytalidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | it is doubtful how far the three genera which constitute this family form a natural assemblage. we can therefore draw no safe conclusions from the peculiarity of their distribution--_scytale_ and _oxyrhopus_ being confined to tropical america; while _hologerrhum_ inhabits the philippine islands. { }family .--lycodontidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- | . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | the lycodontidæ, or fanged ground snakes, are confined to the ethiopian and oriental regions, over the whole of which they range, except that they are absent from madagascar and extend eastward to new guinea. the genera have often a limited distribution:-- _lycodon_ ranges from india and ceylon to china, the philippines, and new guinea; _tetragonosoma_, the malay peninsula and islands; _leptorhytaon_ and _ophites_, india; _cercaspis_, ceylon; and _cyclocorus_, the philippines. the african genera are _boædon_, _lycophidion_, _holuropholis_, _simocephalus_, and _lamprophis_, the latter being found only in south africa. the species are nearly equally abundant in both regions, but no genus is common to the two. family .--amblycephalidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- . |-- -- ? -- | | | | | the amblycephalidæ, or blunt heads, are very singularly distributed, being nearly equally divided between tropical america and the eastern half of the oriental region, as will be seen by the following statement of the distribution of the genera:-- _amblycephalus_ ( sp.), malay peninsula to borneo and the philippines; _pareas_ ( sp.), assam, china, java, and borneo; { }_asthenodipsas_ ( sp.), malacca; _leptognathus_ ( sp.), central and south america; and _anoplodipsas_ ( sp.), supposed to come from new caledonia, and, if so, furnishing a link, though a very imperfect one, between the disconnected halves of the family. family .--pythonidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | . . -- | | | | | the pythonidæ, comprising the rock snakes, pythons, and boas, are confined to the tropics, with the exception of one species in california. they are very abundant in the neotropical region, where nearly half the known species occur; the australian region comes next, while the oriental is the least prolific in these large serpents. the genera which have been described are very numerous, but they are by no means well defined. the following are the most important:-- _python_ is confined to the oriental region; _morelia_, _liasis_, and _nardoa_ are australian and papuan; _enygrus_ is found in the moluccas, new guinea and the fiji islands; _hortulia_ is african; _sanzinia_ is peculiar to madagascar; _boa_, _epicrates_, _corallus_, _ungalia_, and _eunectes_ are tropical american; _chilabothrus_ is peculiar to jamaica and mexico; and _lichanotus_ to california. an extinct species belonging to this family has been found in the brown-coal formation of germany, of miocene age. family .--erycidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- | -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | { }the erycidæ, or land snakes, form a small but natural family, chiefly found in the desert zone on the confines of the palæarctic, oriental, and ethiopian regions. they range from south europe to west africa and to sikhim. the three genera are distributed as follows:-- _cursoria_ ( sp.), afghanistan; _gongylophis_ ( sp.), india and sikhim; _eryx_ ( sp.), has the range of the entire family. family .--acrochordidÆ. ( genera, species) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- -- | -- -- -- | | | | | the acrochordidæ, or wart snakes, form a small and isolated group, found only in two sub-divisions of the oriental region--the south indian and the malayan, and in new guinea. _acrochordus_, inhabits penang, singapore, and borneo; _chersydrus_, southern india and the malay peninsula, with a species recently discovered in new guinea. family .--elapidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . -- |-- -- -- |-- -- -- | . . -- | . . . | . . -- | | | | | the elapidæ, or terrestrial venomous colubrine snakes, are an extensive group, spread over the tropics of the whole world, but especially abundant in australia, where half the known species occur, some of them being the most deadly of venomous serpents. in the oriental region they are also abundant, containing amongst other forms, the well-known cobras. the american species are almost equally numerous, but they all belong to one { }genus, and they are annulated with rings of various colours in a manner quite distinct from any other members of this family. the genera, which are all very distinct, are distributed as follows:-- _diemenia_, _acanthophis_, _hoplocephalus_, _brachiurophis_, _tropidechis_, _pseudechis_, _cacophis_, _pseudonaje_, _denisonia_, and _vermicella_, are australian, the first two ranging to the moluccas and new guinea; _ogmodon_ occurs in the fiji islands; _naja_, _bungarus_, _ophiophagus_, _pseudonaje_, _xenurelaps_, _doliophis_, _megærophis_, and _callophis_ are oriental, one species of the latter genus being found in japan, while an _ophiophagus_ has been discovered in new guinea; _cyrtophis_, _elapsoidea_, and _poecilophis_ are african: _elaps_ is american, ranging as far north as south carolina, but not to the west indian islands. family .--dendraspididÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the single genus _dendraspis_, constituting the family, is confined to tropical africa. family .--atractaspididÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | this small family, consisting of the genus _atractaspis_, is also confined to africa, but has hitherto only been found in the west and south. { }family .--hydrophidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . . | . . . | | | | | the hydrophidæ, or sea snakes, are a group of small-sized marine serpents, abundant in the indian and australian seas, and extending as far west as madagascar, and as far east as panama. they are very poisonous, and it is probable that many species remain to be discovered. the genera are distributed as follows:-- _hydrophis_ ( sp.), ranging from india to formosa and australia; _platurus_ ( sp.), from the bay of bengal to new guinea and new zealand; _aipysurus_ ( sp.), java to new guinea and australia; _disteira_ ( sp.), unknown locality; _acalyptus_ ( sp.), south-west pacific; _enhydrina_ ( sp.), bay of bengal to new guinea; _pelamis_ ( sp.), madagascar to new guinea, new zealand, and panama; _emydocephalus_ ( sp.), australian seas. family .--crotalidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . |-- -- . |-- -- -- --| . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the crotalidæ, or pit vipers, including the deadly rattlesnakes, form a well-marked family of fanged serpents, whose distribution is very interesting. they abound most in the oriental region, at least of the genera and species being found within its limits, yet they are quite unknown in the ethiopian region--a parallel case to that of the bears and deer. a few species are peculiar to the eastern portion of the palæarctic region, while { }the nearctic is actually richer than the neotropical region both in genera and species. this would point to the conclusion, that the group originated in the indo-chinese sub-region and spread thence north-east to north america, and so onward to south america, which, having been the last to receive the group, has not had time to develop it largely, notwithstanding its extreme adaptability to reptilian life. the genera are divided among the several regions as follows:-- _craspedocephalus_ ( sp.), tropical america and the west indian islands; _cenchris_, _crotalophorus_, _uropsophorus_, and _crotalus_, inhabiting north america from canada and british columbia to texas, one species (_crotalus horridus_) extending into south america; _trimeresurus_ ( sp.), all india from ceylon to assam, formosa, the philippines and celebes; _peltopelor_ and _hypnale_ ( sp. each), peculiar to india; _calloselasma_ ( sp.), siam; _atropos_ ( sp.), java and borneo; _halys_ ( sp.), peculiar to tartary, thibet, japan, north china, and formosa. family .--viperidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the viperidæ, or true vipers, are especially characteristic of the palæarctic and ethiopian regions, only one species being found over a large part of the oriental region, and another reaching central india. they are especially abundant in africa, and the palæarctic confines in south-western asia. the common viper ranges across the whole palæarctic region from portugal to saghalien island, reaching to ° north latitude, in scandinavia, and to ° in central siberia. the genera, according to dr. strauch's synopsis, are distributed as follows:-- _vipera_ ( sp.), which has the range of the family, extending over the whole of the palæarctic and ethiopian regions, except madagascar, and as far as ceylon, siam, and java, in the oriental { }region; _echis_ ( sp.), inhabiting north africa to persia and to continental india; and _atheris_ ( sp.), confined to west africa. _remarks on the general distribution of ophidia._ the ophidia, being preeminently a tropical order--rapidly diminishing in numbers as we go north in the temperate zone, and wholly ceasing long before we reach the arctic circle--we cannot expect the two northern regions to exhibit any great variety or peculiarity. yet in their warmer portions they are tolerably rich; for, of the families of snakes, are found in the nearctic region, in the palæarctic, in the australian, in the neotropical, in the ethiopian, and no less than in the oriental, which last is thus seen to be by far the richest of the great regions in the variety of its forms of ophidian life. the only regions that possess altogether peculiar families of this order, are the ethiopian ( ), and the oriental ( ); the usually rich and peculiar neotropical region not possessing exclusively, any family of snakes; and what is still more remarkable, the neotropical and australian regions together, do not possess a family peculiar to them. every family inhabiting these two regions is found also in the oriental; and this fact, taken in connection with the superior richness of the latter region both in families and genera, would indicate that the ophidia had their origin in the northern hemisphere of the old world (the ancient palæarctic region) whence they spread on all sides, in successive waves of migration, to the other regions. the distribution of the genera peculiar to, or highly characteristic of, the several regions is as follows:-- the nearctic possesses ; four of these belong to the colubridæ, one to the pythonidæ, and four to the crotalidæ. the palæarctic region has only peculiar genera, belonging to the colubridæ and crotalidæ. the ethiopian has , belonging to families; four to colubridæ, five to lycodontidæ, and three to elapidæ. the oriental has no less than , belonging to families; five are colubridæ, five uropeltidæ, twelve homalopsidæ, six lycodontidæ, three amblycephalidæ, eight elapidæ, and four { }crotalidæ. the australian has , belonging to three families only; eleven being elapidæ, and four pythonidæ. the neotropical has about , belonging to eight families; ten are colubridæ, six pythonidæ, and the rest dipsadidæ, scytalidæ, amblycephalidæ, elapidæ, and crotalidæ. we find then, that in the ophidia, the regions adopted in this work are remarkably distinct; and that, in the case of the oriental and ethiopian, the difference is strongly marked, a very large number of the genera being confined to each region. it is interesting to observe, that in many cases the affinity seems to be rather between the west coast of africa and the oriental region, than between the east coast and the plains of india; thus the homalopsidæ--a highly characteristic oriental family--occur on the west coast of africa only; the dryiophidæ, which range over the whole oriental region, only occur in madagascar and west africa in the ethiopian; the genus _dipsas_ is found over all the oriental region and again in west africa. a cause for this peculiarity has been suggested in our sketch of the past history of the ethiopian region, vol. i. p. . in the lycodontidæ, which are strictly confined to these two regions, the genera are all distinct, and the same is the case with the more widely distributed elapidæ; and although a few desert forms, such as _echis_ and the erycidæ, are common to africa and the dry plains of india, this is evidently due to favourable climatic conditions, and cannot neutralise the striking differences in the great mass of the family and generic forms which inhabit the two regions. the union of madagascar with the south-western part of the oriental region under the appellation lemuria, finds no support in the distribution of ophidia; which, however, strikingly accords with the views developed in the third part of this work, as to the great importance and high antiquity of the euro-asiatic continent, as the chief land-centre from which the higher organisms have spread over the globe. _fossil ophidia._--the oldest known remains of ophidia occur in the eocene formation in the isle of sheppey; others are found in the miocene (brown coal) of germany, and in some tertiary beds in the united states. most of these appear to have been { }large species belonging to the pythonidæ, so that we are evidently still very far from knowing anything of the earliest forms of this order. in some of the later tertiary deposits the poison fangs of venomous species have been found; also a colubrine snake from the upper miocene of the south of france. _order ii.--lacertilia._ family .--trogonophidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the single species of _trogonophis_, forming this family, is found only in north africa. family .--chirotidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | _chirotes_, the genus which constitutes this family, inhabits mexico, and has also been found in missouri, one of the southern united states. family .--amphisbÆnidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | { }the amphisbænidæ, which, in the opinion of dr. günther, are all comprised in the genus _amphisbæna_, inhabit spain and asia minor, north and tropical africa, south america as far as buenos-ayres and the west indian islands. family .--lepidosternidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the small family of lepidosternidæ has nearly the same distribution as the last, indicating a curious relationship between the tropical parts of africa and america. _lepidosternon_ and _cephalopeltis_ are american genera, while _monotrophis_ is african. family .--varanidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . -- | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the varanidæ, or water lizards, are most abundant in the oriental region, whence they extend into the austro-malay islands as far as new guinea, and into australia. several species are found in africa. _psammosaurus_ ( sp.), is found in north africa and north-western india; _monitor_ ( sp.), has the range of the family; while _hydrosaurus_ ( sp.) ranges from siam to the philippines, new guinea, and australia. { }family .--helodermidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the genus _heloderma_, which constitutes this family, is found in mexico. family .--teidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the teidæ, or teguexins--a group of lizards allied to the european lacertidæ, but with differently formed superciliary scales--are highly characteristic of the neotropical region, abounding almost everywhere from patagonia to the antilles and mexico, and extending northwards to california on the west and to pennsylvania on the east. the most extensive genus is _ameiva_, containing nearly species and having the range of the entire family; _teius_ ( sp.), inhabits brazil and mendoza; _callopistes_ ( sp.), chili; _centropyx_ ( sp.), paraguay to alabama; _dicrodon_ (peru); _monoplocus_ (western ecuador); with _acrantus_, _acanthopyga_, _emminia_, _crocodilurus_, _custa_, and _ada_, which each consist of a single species, and all inhabit tropical america. family .--lacertidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . -- | . . . |-- -- -- | | | | | { }the lacertidæ, or land lizards, are small-sized, terrestrial, non-burrowing lizards, very characteristic of the palæarctic region, which contains more than half the known species, and of the adjacent parts of the oriental and ethiopian regions, but extending also to south africa, to java, and even to australia. the best-defined genera are the following:-- _lacerta_ ( sp.), ranging over all central and south europe to poland, and farther north in russia and siberia, eastward to persia, and southward to north and west africa; _zootoca_ ( sp.), has nearly the same range in europe as the last genus, but has representatives in madeira, south africa, and australia; _tachydromus_ ( sp.) is widely scattered in chinese asia, japan, borneo, and west africa; _acanthodactylus_ ( sp.) is most abundant in north africa, but has a species in south africa, and two in central india; _eremias_ ( sp.) is found all over africa, and also in the crimea, persia, tartary and china; _psammodromus_ ( sp.), is confined to spain, france, and italy; _ophiops_ ( sp.), inhabits india, persia, and asia minor to south russia. less strongly marked and perhaps less natural genera are the following:-- _thetia_ ( sp.), algiers; _teira_ ( sp.), madeira; _nucras_ ( sp.), caucasus and south africa; _notopholis_ ( sp.), south europe and south africa; _algira_ ( sp.), north and south africa; _scrapteira_ ( sp.), nubia; _aspidorhinus_ ( sp.), caspian district; _messalina_ ( sp.), north africa, persia, and north-west india _cabrita_ ( sp.), central india; _pachyrhynchus_ ( sp.), benguela. family .--zonuridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . | . . . |-- -- -- | . . . |-- -- -- |-- -- -- | | | | | the zonuridæ, or land lizards, characterised by a longitudinal fold of skin on each side of the body, have a very remarkable { }distribution. their head-quarters is the ethiopian region, which contains more than half the known genera and species, most of which are found in south africa and several in madagascar. next to africa the largest number of genera and species are found in mexico and central america, with a few in the antilles, south america, and california, and even as far north as british columbia. three of the genera form a distinct sub-group--the glass snakes,--the four species composing it being located in north africa, north america, south-eastern europe, and the khasya hills. the prominent fact in the distribution of this family is, that the mass of the genera and species form two groups, one in south africa, the other in mexico,--countries between which it would be difficult to imagine any means of communication. we have here, probably, an example of a once much more extensive group, widely distributed over the globe, and which has continued to maintain itself only in those districts especially adapted to its peculiar type of organization. this must undoubtedly have been the case with the genus _pseudopus_, whose two species now inhabit south-eastern europe and the khasya hills in assam respectively. the genera are,--_cordylus_, _pseudocordylus_, _platysaurus_, _cordylosaurus_, _pleurostrichus_, and _saurophis_, confined to south africa; _zonurus_, south and east africa and madagascar; _gerrhosaurus_, ranges over the whole ethiopian region; _cicigna_ is confined to madagascar; _gerrhonotus_ ( sp.), ranges from british columbia, california, and texas, to cuba and south america, but is most abundant in mexico and central america; _abronia_ and _barissia_, are two genera of doubtful distinctness, peculiar to mexico; _ophisaurus_ (the glass snake) is found in the southern united states as far as virginia; the allied genus _hyalosaurus_ in north africa; and _pseudopus_, as above stated, in south-east europe and the khasya hills. { }family .--chalcidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . -- |-- -- ? --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the chalcidæ are a small group of lizards characteristic of tropical america, one species extending into the united states. the genera are _chalcis_ ( sp.), ranging from central america to chili; two other species, which have been placed in distinct genera, inhabit north america and peru. family .--anadiadÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the single species of _anadia_, constituting this family, inhabits tropical america. family .--chirocolidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the genus _heterodactylus_, which constitutes this family, inhabits brazil. { }family .--iphisadÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the single species of _iphisa_, has been found only at para in equatorial america. family .--cercosauridÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the genus _cercosaura_, is known only from brazil and ecuador. family .--chamÆsauridÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | this family, consisting of a single species of the genus _chamæsaura_, is confined to south africa. { }family .--gymnopthalmidÆ . ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- |-- -- -- --| . . -- |-- -- |-- -- -- --| . . -- | | | | | the gymnopthalmidæ, or gape-eyed scinks, so called from their rudimentary eyelids, form a small group, which is widely and somewhat erratically distributed, as will be seen by the following account of the distribution of the genera:-- _lerista_ ( sp.) and three other species for which dr. gray has established the genera--_morethria_ ( sp.), and _menetia_ ( sp.), are confined to australia; _cryptoblepharus_ ( sp.), is found in west australia, timor, new guinea, the fiji islands, and mauritius; _ablepharus_ ( sp.), inhabits eastern and south-eastern europe, persia, siberia, west africa, and the bonin islands; and _gymnopthalmus_ ( sp.), is found in brazil and the west indies. family .--pygopodidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | this small family of two-legged lizards, comprising the genera _pygopus_ and _delma_, is found only in australia proper and tasmania. { }family .--aprasiadÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | the genus _aprasia_, constituting this family, is found in west and south australia. family .--lialidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | this family is also confined to australia, the single genus, _lialis_, inhabiting the western and northern districts. family .--scincidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . -- | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the scincidæ, or scinks, are an extensive family of smooth-scaled lizards, frequenting dry and stony places, and almost universally distributed over the globe, being only absent from the cold northern and southern zones. the family itself is a very natural one, and it contains many natural genera; but a large number have been established which probably require careful revision. the following include the more important and the best established groups:-- { }_scincus_ ( sp.), north africa and arabia; _hinulia_ ( sp.), most of the australian and oriental regions; _cyclodina_ ( sp.), _hombronia_ ( sp.), and _lygosomella_ ( sp.), all from new zealand; _keneuxia_ ( sp.), philippines, moluccas, and papuan islands; _elania_ ( sp.) new guinea; _carlia_ ( sp.), north australia and new guinea; _mocoa_ ( sp.), australia and new zealand, with species in borneo, west africa, and central america; _lipinia_ ( sp.), philippine islands and new guinea; _lygosoma_ ( sp.), australia, new caledonia, pelew and philippine islands; _tetradactylus_ ( sp.), _hemierges_ ( sp.), _chelomeles_ ( sp.), _omolepida_ ( sp.), _lissolepis_ ( sp.), _siaphos_ ( sp.), _rhodona_ ( sp.) _anomalpus_ ( sp.), _soridia_ ( sp.), and _ophioscincus_ ( sp.) all confined to australia; _cophoscincus_ ( sp.), philippine islands, celebes, and queensland; _plestiodon_ ( sp.), china and japan, africa, and america as far north as pennsylvania and nebraska; _eumeces_ ( sp.), south palæarctic, oriental and australian regions, to new ireland and north australia; _mabouya_ ( sp.), oriental region, austro-malaya, north australia, the neotropical region, and to lat. ° ' in north america; _amphixestus_ ( sp.), borneo; _hagria_ ( sp.), and _chiamela_ ( sp.), india; _senira_ ( sp.), philippine islands; _brachymeles_ ( sp.), philippine islands and australia; _ophiodes_ ( sp.), brazil; _anguis_ ( sp.), west palæarctic region and south africa; _tribolonotus_ ( sp.), new guinea; _tropidophorus_ ( sp.), cochin-china and philippine islands; _norbea_ ( sp.), borneo and australia; _trachydosaurus_ ( sp.), australia; cyclodus ( sp.), australia, aru islands, and ceram; _silubosaurus_ ( sp.), _egerina_ ( sp.), and _tropidolepisma_ ( sp.), all peculiar to australia; _heteropus_ ( sp.), australia, austro-malaya, and bourbon; _pygomeles_ ( sp.), madagascar; _dasia_ ( sp.), malaya; _euprepes_ ( sp.), ethiopian and oriental regions, austro-malaya, south america (?); _celestus_ ( sp.), peculiar to the antilles, except a species in costa rica; _diploglossus_ ( sp.), the neotropical region;--with a number of other genera founded on single species from various parts of the world. { }family .--ophiomoridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the snake-like lizard constituting the genus _ophiomorus_, is found in southern russia, greece, and algeria; while _zygnopsis_ having four weak limbs, has been recently discovered by mr. blanford in south persia. the family is therefore confined to our mediterranean sub-region. family .--sepidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the sepidæ, or sand-lizards, are a very natural group, almost confined to the ethiopian region, but extending into the desert country on the borders of the oriental region, and into the south of the palæarctic region as far as palestine, madeira, spain, italy, and even the south of france. the genera are:-- _seps_ ( sp.), south europe, madeira, teneriffe, palestine, north africa, south africa and madagascar; _sphenops_ ( sp.), north africa, syria, west africa; _scelotes_ ( sp.), angola to south africa, madagascar; _thyrus_ ( sp.), bourbon and mauritius; _amphiglossus_ ( sp.), madagascar; _sphenocephalus_ ( sp.), afghanistan; and _sepsina_ ( sp.), south-west africa. { }family .--acontiadÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- . . |-- -- -- | -- -- -- | | | | | this small family of snake-like lizards has a very curious distribution, being found in south and west africa, madagascar, ceylon, and ternate in the moluccas. _acontias_ ( sp.), is found in the four first-named localities; _nessia_ ( sp.), is confined to ceylon; _typhloscincus_ ( sp.), to ternate. family .--geckotidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . -- | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the geckoes, or wall-lizards, form an extensive family, of almost universal distribution in the warmer parts of the globe; and they must have some exceptional means of dispersal, since they are found in many of the most remote islands of the great oceans,--as the galapagos, the sandwich islands, tahiti, new zealand, the loo-choo and the seychelle islands, the nicobar islands, mauritius, ascension, madeira, and many others. the following are the larger and more important genera:-- _oëdura_ ( sp.), australia; _diplodactylus_ ( sp)., australia, south africa, and california; _phyllodactylus_ ( sp.), widely scattered in tropical america, california, madagascar, and queensland; _hemidactylus_ ( sp.), all tropical and warm countries; _peropus_ ( sp.), the oriental region, papuan islands, mauritius, and brazil; _pentadactylus_ ( sp.), oriental region and australia; _gecko_ ( sp.), oriental region to new guinea and { }north australia; _gehyra_ ( sp.), australia, new guinea and fiji islands; _tarentola_ ( sp.), north africa, north america, madeira, borneo, south africa; _phelsuma_ ( sp.), madagascar, bourbon, and andaman islands; _pachydactylus_ ( sp.), south and west africa, and ascension island; _sphærodactylus_ ( sp.), the neotropical region; _naultinus_, ( sp.), new zealand; _goniodactylus_ ( sp.), australia, timor, south america and algiers; _heteronota_ ( sp.), australia, fiji islands, new guinea and borneo; _cubina_ ( sp.), the neotropical region; _gymnodactylus_ ( sp.), all warm countries except australia; _phyllurus_ ( sp.), australia; _stenodactylus_ ( sp.), north and west africa, and rio grande in north america. the remaining genera mostly consist of single species, and are pretty equally distributed over the various parts of the world indicated in the preceding list. madagascar, the seychelle islands, chili, the sandwich islands, south africa, tahiti, the philippine islands, new caledonia, and australia--all have peculiar genera, while two new ones have recently been described from persia. family .--iguanidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | the extensive family of the iguanas is highly characteristic of the neotropical region, in every part of which the species abound, even as far as nearly ° south latitude in patagonia. they also extend northwards into the warmer parts of the nearctic region, as far as california, british columbia, and kansas on the west, and to ° north latitude in the eastern states. a distinct genus occurs in the fiji islands, and one has been described as from australia, and another from madagascar, but there is some doubt about these. the most extensive genera are:-- _anolius_ ( sp.), found in most parts of tropical america and { }north to california; _tropidolepis_ ( sp.), which has nearly the same range; _leiocephalus_ ( sp.), antilles, guayaquil, and galapagos islands; _leiolæmus_ ( sp.), peru to patagonia; _sceloporus_ ( sp.), from brazil to california and british columbia, and on the east to florida; _proctotretus_ ( sp.), chili and patagonia; _phrynosoma_ ( sp), new mexico, california, oregon and british columbia, arkansas and florida; _iguana_ ( sp.), antilles and south america; _cyclusa_ ( sp.), antilles, honduras, and mexico. among the host of smaller genera may be noted:-- _brachylophus_, found in the fiji islands; _trachycephalus_ and _oreocephalus_, peculiar to the galapagos; _oreodeira_, said to be from australia; _diplolæmus_ and _phymaturus_, found only in chili and patagonia; and _callisaurus_, _uta_, _euphryne_, _uma_, and _holbrookia_, from new mexico and california. all the other genera are from various parts of tropical america. family .--agamidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- . . | . . . | . . . | . . -- | | | | | the extensive family agamidæ--the eastern representative of the iguanas--is highly characteristic of the oriental region, which possesses about half the known genera and species. of the remainder, the greater part inhabit the australian region; others range over the deserts of central and western asia and northern africa, as far as greece and south russia. one genus extends through africa to the cape of good hope, and there are three peculiar genera in madagascar, but the family is very poorly represented in the ethiopian region. many of these creatures are adorned with beautifully varied and vivid colours, and the little "dragons" or flying-lizards are among the most interesting forms in the entire order. the larger genera are distributed as follows:-- { }_draco_ ( sp.), the oriental region, excluding ceylon; _otocryptis_ ( sp.), ceylon, north india, malaya; _ceratophora_ ( sp.), ceylon; _gonyocephalus_ ( sp.), papuan islands, java, borneo, pelew islands; _dilophyrus_ ( sp.), indo-malaya and siam; _japalura_ ( sp.), himalayas, borneo, formosa, and loo choo islands; _sitana_ ( sp.), central and south india and ceylon; _bronchocela_ ( sp.), indo-malaya, cambodja, and celebes; _calotes_ ( sp.), continental india to china, philippine islands; _oriocalotes_ ( sp.), himalayas; _acanthosaura_ ( sp.), malacca and siam; _tiaris_ ( sp.), andaman islands, borneo, philippine and papuan islands; _physignathus_ ( sp.), cochin-china and australia; _uromastix_ ( sp.), south russia, north africa, central india; _stellio_ ( sp.), caucasus and greece to arabia, high himalayas and central india; _trapelus_ ( sp.), tartary, egypt, and afghanistan; _phrynocephalus_ ( sp.), tartary and mongolia, persia and afghanistan; _lophura_ ( sp.), amboyna and pelew islands; _grammatophorus_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; _agama_ ( sp.), north africa to the punjaub, south africa. the remaining genera each consist of a single species. eight are peculiar to australia, one to the fiji islands, one to the aru islands, three to ceylon, five to other parts of the oriental region, one to persia, and one to south russia. family .--chamÆleonidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . . | . -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the chamæleons are an almost exclusively ethiopian group, only one species, the common chamæleon, inhabiting north africa and western asia as far as central india and ceylon. they abound all over africa, and peculiar species are found in madagascar and bourbon, as well as in the island of fernando po. { }_general remarks on the distribution of the lacertilia._ the distribution of the lacertilia is, in many particulars, strikingly opposed to that of the ophidia. the oriental, instead of being the richest is one of the poorest regions, both in the number of families and in the number of peculiar genera it contains; while in both these respects the neotropical is by far the richest. the distribution of the families is as follows:-- the nearctic region has families, none of which are peculiar to it; but it has peculiar genera--_chirotes_, _ophisaurus_, and _phrynosoma_. the palæarctic region has families, with two (ophiomoridæ and trogonophidæ, each consisting of a single species) peculiar; while it has peculiar or very characteristic genera, _trogonophis_ in north africa, _psammodromus_ in south europe, _hyalosaurus_ in north africa, _scincus_ in north africa and arabia, _ophiomorus_ in east europe and north africa, and _phrynocephalus_ in siberia, tartary, and afghanistan. we have here a striking amount of diversity between the nearctic and palæarctic regions with hardly a single point of resemblance. the ethiopian region has families, only one of which (the chamæsauridæ, consisting of a single species) is altogether peculiar; but it possesses peculiar or characteristic genera, belonging to the zonuridæ, to the sepidæ, to the geckotidæ, and to the agamidæ. the oriental region has only families, none of which are peculiar; but there are peculiar genera, belonging to the scincidæ, to the acontiadæ, to the geckotidæ, and to the agamidæ. many lizards being sand and desert-haunters, it is not surprising that a number of forms are common to the borderlands of the oriental and ethiopian regions; yet the sepidæ, so abundant in all africa, do not range to the peninsula of india; and the equally ethiopian zonuridæ have only one oriental species, found, not in the peninsula but in the khasya hills. the acontiadæ alone offer some analogy to the distribution of the lemurs, being found in africa, madagascar, ceylon, and the moluccas. the australian region has families, of which are { }peculiar; and it has about peculiar genera in ten families, about half of these genera belonging to the scincidæ. only families of almost universal distribution are common to the australian and neotropical regions, with one species of the american iguanidæ in the fiji islands, so that, as far as this order is concerned, these two regions have little resemblance. the neotropical region has families, of which are peculiar to it, and it possesses more than peculiar genera. these are distributed among families, but more than half belong to the iguanidæ, and half the remainder to the teidæ,--the two families especially characteristic of the neotropical region. all the nearctic families which are not of almost universal distribution are peculiarly neotropical, showing that the lacertilia of the former region have probably been derived almost exclusively from the latter. on the whole the distribution of the lacertilia shows a remarkable amount of specialization in each of the great tropical regions, whence we may infer that southern asia, tropical africa, australia, and south america, each obtained their original stock of this order at very remote periods, and that there has since been little intercommunication between them. the peculiar affinities indicated by such cases as the lepidosternidæ, found only in the tropics of africa and south america, and _tachydromus_ in eastern asia and west africa, may be the results either of once widely distributed families surviving only in isolated localities where the conditions are favourable,--or of some partial and temporary geographical connection, allowing of a limited degree of intermixture of faunas. the former appears to be the more probable and generally efficient cause, but the latter may have operated in exceptional cases. _fossil lacertilia._ these date back to the triassic period, and they are found in most succeeding formations, but it is not till the tertiary period that forms allied to existing genera occur. these are at present too rare and too ill-defined to throw much light on the geographical distribution of the order. { }_order iii.--rhyncocephalina._ family .--rhyncocephalidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | the singular and isolated genus _hatteria_--the "tuatara" or fringed lizard--which alone constitutes this family, has peculiarities of structure which separate it from both lizards and crocodiles, and mark it out as an ancestral type, as distinct from other living reptiles as the marsupials are from other mammalia. it is confined to new zealand, and is chiefly found on small islands near the north-east coast, being very rare, if not extinct, on the main land. a fossil reptile named _hyperodapedon_, of triassic age, has been found in scotland and india, and is supposed by professor huxley to be more nearly allied to _hatteria_ than to any other living animal. _order iv.--crocodilia._ family .--gavialidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- -- | -- -- -- | | | | | the gavials are long-snouted crocodiles with large front teeth, and canines fitting in notches of the upper jaw. they consist of two genera, _gavialis_ ( sp.), inhabiting the ganges; _tomistoma_ ( sp.), found in the rivers of borneo and north australia. { }family .--crocodilidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | the true crocodiles, which have the canines in notches, and the large front teeth in pits in the upper jaw, are widely distributed over the tropical regions of the globe, inhabiting all the rivers of africa, the shores and estuaries of india, siam, and eastward to north australia. other forms inhabit cuba, yucatan, and guatemala, to ecuador and the orinooko. four species are asiatic, one exclusively australian, three african, and four american. these have been placed in distinct groups, but dr. günther considers them all to form one genus, _crocodilus_. family .--alligatoridÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the alligators, which are distinguished by having both the large front teeth and the canines fitting into pits of the upper jaw, are confined to the neotropical, and the southern part of the nearctic regions, from the lower mississippi and texas through all tropical america, but they appear to be absent from the antilles. they are all placed by dr. günther in the single genus, _alligator_. _general remarks on the distribution of crocodilia._ these animals, being few in number and wholly confined to the tropical and sub-tropical regions, are of comparatively { }little interest as regards geographical distribution. america possesses both crocodiles and alligators; india, crocodiles and gavials; while africa has crocodiles only. both crocodiles and gavials are found in the northern part of the australian region, so that neither of the three families are restricted to a single region. _fossil crocodilia._ the existing families of the order date back to the eocene period in europe, and the cretaceous in north america. in the south of england, alligators, gavials and crocodiles, all occur in eocene beds, indicating that the present distribution of these families is the result of partial extinction, and a gradual restriction of their range--a most instructive fact, suggesting the true explanation of a large number of cases of discontinuous distribution which are sometimes held to prove the former union of lands now divided by the deepest oceans. in more ancient formations, a number of crocodilian remains have been discovered which cannot be classed in any existing families, and which, therefore, throw no light on the existing distribution of the group. _order v.--chelonia._ family .--testudinidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . -- | . . . | . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | the testudinidæ, including the land and many fresh-water tortoises, are very widely distributed over the old and new worlds, but are entirely absent from australia. they are especially abundant in the nearctic region, as far north as canada and british columbia, and almost equally so in the { }neotropical and oriental regions; in the ethiopian there is a considerable diminution in the number of species, and in the palæarctic they are still less numerous, being confined to the warmer parts of it, except one species which extends as far north as hungary and prussia. the genera are:-- _testudo_ ( sp.), most abundant in the ethiopian region, but also extending over the oriental region, into south europe, and the eastern states of north america; _emys_ ( sp.), abundant in north america and over the whole oriental region, less so in the neotropical and the palæarctic regions; _cinosternon_ ( sp.), united states and california, and tropical america; _aromochelys_ ( sp.), confined to the eastern states of north america; _staurotypus_ ( sp.), guatemala and mexico; _chelydra_ ( sp.), canada to louisiana; _claudius_ ( sp.), mexico; _dermatemys_ ( sp.), south america, guatemala, and yucatan; _terrapene_ ( sp.), maine to mexico, sumatra to new guinea, shanghae and formosa--a doubtfully natural group; _cinyxis_ ( sp.), _pyxis_ ( sp.), _chersina_ ( sp.), are all ethiopian; _dumerilia_ ( sp.), is from madagascar only. family .--chelydidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | the chelydidæ, or fresh-water tortoises with imperfectly retractile heads, have a remarkable distribution in the three great southern continents of africa, australia, and south america; the largest number of species being found in the latter country. the genera are:-- _peltocephalus_ ( sp.), _podocnemis_ ( sp.), _hydromedusa_ ( sp.), _chelys_ ( sp.), and _platemys_ ( sp.), inhabiting south america from the orinooko to the la plata, the latter genus occurring also in australia and new guinea; _chelodina_ ( sp.), _chelemys_ ( sp.), and _elseya_ ( sp.) from australia; while _sternotheres_ { }( sp.), and _pelomedusa_ ( sp.), inhabit tropical and south africa and madagascar. family .--trionychidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- | . . -- | . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the distribution of the trionychidæ, or soft tortoises, is very different from that of the chelydidæ, yet is equally interesting. they abound most in the oriental region, extending beyond it to northern china and japan. in the nearctic region they are only found in the eastern states, corresponding curiously to the distribution of plants, in which the affinity of japan to the eastern states is greater than to california. the trionychidæ are also found over the ethiopian region, but not in madagascar. the genera are,--_trionyx_ ( sp.), which extends over the whole area of the family as above indicated; _cycloderma_ ( sp.), peculiar to africa; _emyda_ ( sp.), the peninsula of india, ceylon, and africa. family .--cheloniidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution.--all the warm and tropical seas. the marine turtles are almost universally distributed. _dermatochelys_ ( sp.), is found in the temperate seas of both the northern and southern hemispheres; _chelone_ ( sp.), ranges over all the tropical seas--_c. viridis_, the epicureans' species, inhabiting the atlantic, while _c. imbricata_ which produces the "tortoiseshell" of commerce is found in the indian and pacific oceans. { }_remarks on the distribution of the chelonia._ the four families into which the chelonia are classed have all of them a wide distribution, though none are universal. the ethiopian region seems to be the richest, as it possesses of the four families, while no other region has more than ; and it also possesses peculiar genera. next comes the neotropical region with families and peculiar genera; the australian with , and the nearctic with peculiar genera; while the oriental and palæarctic regions possess none that are peculiar. there are about genera and species in the whole order. _fossil chelonia._--the earliest undoubted remains of this order occur in the upper oolite. these belong to the cheloniidæ and emydidæ, which are also found in the chalk. in the tertiary beds chelonia are more abundant, and the trionychidæ now appear. the testudinidæ are first met with in the miocene formation of europe and the eocene of north america, the most remarkable being the gigantic _colossochelys atlas_ of the siwalik hills. it appears, therefore, that the families of the order chelonia were already specialised in the secondary period, a fact which, together with their more or less aquatic habits, sufficiently accounts for their generally wide distribution. species of _testudo_, _emys_, and _trionyx_, are found in the upper miocene of the south of france. { }amphibia. _order i.--pseudophidia._ family .--cÆciliadÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . . -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the cæciliadæ are a curious group of worm-like amphibia sparingly scattered over the three great tropical regions. the genera are,--_cæcilia_, which inhabits west africa, malabar and south america; _siphonopsis_, peculiar to brazil and mexico; _ichthyopsis_, from ceylon and the khasya mountains; and _rhinatrema_ from cayenne. _order ii.--urodela._ family .--sirenidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the genus _siren_, consisting of eel-like batrachians with two anterior feet and permanent branchiæ, inhabits the south-eastern states of north america from texas to carolina. { }family .--proteidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the proteidæ have four feet and persistent external branchiæ. the two genera are,--_proteus_ ( sp.), found only in caverns of central europe; and _menobranchus_, which are like newts in form, and inhabit the eastern states of north america. family .--amphiumidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the genus _amphiuma_, or _murænopsis_, consists of slender eel-like creatures with four rudimentary feet, and no external branchiæ. the species inhabit the southern united states from new orleans to carolina. family .--menopomidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | there are large salamanders of repulsive appearance, found only in eastern asia and the eastern united states. the genera are,--_sieboldia_ ( sp.), japan and north-west china; _menopoma_ = _protonopsis_ ( sp.), ohio and alleghany rivers. { }family .--salamandridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- | . . . | . . . |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the salamandridæ, of which our common newts are characteristic examples, form an extensive family highly characteristic of the north temperate regions, a few species only extending into the neotropical region along the andes to near bogota, and one into the oriental region in western china. the genera, as arranged by dr. strauch, are as follows:-- _salamandra_ ( sp.), central and south europe and north africa; _pleurodeles_ ( sp.), spain, portugal, and morocco; _bradybates_ ( sp.), spain; _triton_ ( sp.), all europe except the extreme north, algeria, north china and japan, eastern states of north america, california and oregon; _chioglossa_ ( sp.), portugal and south europe; _salamandrina_ ( sp.), italy to dalmatia; _ellipsoglossa_ ( sp.), japan; _isodactylium_ ( sp.), east siberia; _onychodactylus_ ( sp.), japan; _amblystoma_ ( sp.), nearctic region from canada and oregon to mexico, most abundant in eastern states; _ranodon_ ( sp.), tartary and north-east china; _dicamptodon_ ( sp.), california; _plethodon_ ( sp.), massachusetts to louisiana, and vancouver's island to california; _desmognathus_ ( sp.), eastern united states south of latitude °; _anaides_ ( sp.), oregon and northern california; _hemidactylium_ ( sp.), south-eastern united states and southern california; _heredia_ ( sp.), oregon and california; _spelerpes_ ( sp.), eastern united states from massachusetts to mexico, guatemala, costa rica and andes of bogota, with a species in south europe; _batrachoseps_ ( sp.), south-eastern united states and california; _tylotriton_ ( sp.), yunan in west china. { }_order iii.--anura._ family .--rhinophrynidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the rhinophrynidæ are toads with imperfect ears and a tongue which is free in front. the single species of _rhinophrynus_, is a native of mexico. family .--phryniscidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . -- -- |-- -- -- |-- -- -- | | | | | the phryniscidæ, or toads with imperfect ears and tongue fixed in front, are widely distributed over the warmer regions of the earth, but are most abundant in the neotropical region and australia, while only single species occur in the old world. the genera are:-- _phryniscus_ ( sp.), from costa rica to chili and monte video; _brachycephalus_ ( sp.), brazil; _pseudophryne_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania; _hemisus_ ( sp.), tropical africa; _micrhyla_ ( sp.), java. family .--hylaplesidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | { }the hylaplesidæ are toads with perfect ears, and they seem to be confined to the neotropical region. the only genus, _hylaplesia_ ( sp.), inhabits brazil, chili, and the island of hayti. family .--bufonidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . -- | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the rather extensive family of the bufonidæ, which includes our common toad, and is characterised by prominent neck glands and tongue fixed in front, is almost universally distributed, but is very rare in the australian region; one species being found in celebes and one in australia. the genera are:-- _kalophrynus_ ( sp.), borneo; _bufo_ ( sp.), has the range of the entire family, except australia; _otilophus_ ( sp.), south america; _peltaphryne_ ( sp.), porto rico; _pseudobufo_ ( sp.), malay peninsula; _schismaderma_ ( sp.), natal; _notaden_ ( sp.), east central australia. family .--xenorhinidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- -- -- | | | | | the xenorhinidæ may be characterised as toads with perfect ears and tongue free in front. the only species of _xenorhina_ is a native of new guinea. { }family .--engystomidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . -- |-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- . -- | . . . |-- -- -- | | | | | the engystomidæ are toads without neck-glands and with the tongue tied in front. they are most abundant in the oriental and neotropical regions, especially in the latter, which contains about half the known species, with isolated species in australia, africa, and the southern states of north america. they appear to be the remnant of a once extensive and universally distributed group, which has maintained itself in two remote regions, but is dying out everywhere else. the genera are:-- _engystoma_ ( sp.), carolina to la plata, with one species in south china; _diplopelma_ ( sp.), south india to china and java; _cacopus_ ( sp.), central india; _glyphoglossus_ ( sp.), pegu; _callula_ ( sp.), sikhim, ceylon, china, and borneo; _brachymerus_ ( sp.), south africa; _adenomera_ ( sp.), brazil; _pachybatrachus_ ( sp.), australia; _breviceps_ ( sp.), south and west africa; _chelydobatrachus_ ( sp.), west australia; _hypopachus_ ( sp.), costa rica; _rhinoderma_ ( sp.), chili; _atelopus_ ( sp.), cayenne and peru; _copea_ ( sp.), south america; _paludicola_ ( sp.), new granada. family .--bombinatoridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . -- -- |-- -- -- --| . -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | | | | | the bombinatoridæ are a family of frogs which have imperfect ears and no neck-glands, and they have a very peculiar and { }interesting distribution, being confined to central and south europe, the southern part of south america, and new zealand. they consist of many isolated groups forming five separate sub-families. the genera are:-- _bombinator_, central europe and italy; _pelobates_ and _didocus_, central europe and spain; _telmatobius_ ( sp.), peru and brazil; _alsodes_, chonos archipelago; _cacotus_, chili; _liopelma_, new zealand; _nannophryne_, straits of magellan. family .--plectromantidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the plectromantidæ, which are frogs with neck-glands, and the toes but not the fingers dilated, consists of a single species of the genus _plectromantis_. it inhabits the region west of the andes, and south of the equator. family .--alytidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- | . . -- | -- -- -- | . . -- |-- -- -- --| . -- -- | | | | | the alytidæ are frogs with neck-glands and undilated toes. they are most abundant in the ethiopian region, with a few species in the nearctic and australian regions, and one in europe and brazil respectively. the genera are:-- _alytes_ ( sp.), central europe; _scaphiopus_ ( sp.), california to mexico and the eastern states; _hyperolius_ ( sp.), all africa, and two in new guinea and north australia; _helioporus_ ( sp.), in australia; _nattereria_ ( sp.), brazil. { }family .--pelodryadÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . -- -- | | | | | the pelodryadæ are tree frogs with neck-glands, and are confined to the australian and neotropical regions. the genera are:-- _phyllomedusa_ ( sp.), south america to paraguay; _chirodryas_, australia; and _pelodryas_ ( sp.), moluccas, new guinea and australia. family .--hylidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- | . -- -- | | | | | the hylidæ are glandless tree frogs with a broadened sacrum. they are most abundant in the neotropical region, which contains more than two-thirds of the species; about twenty species are australian; six or seven are nearctic, reaching northward to great bear lake; while one only is european, and one oriental. the genera are:-- _hyla_ ( sp.), having the range of the whole family; _hylella_ ( sp.), _ololygon_ ( sp.), _pohlia_ ( sp.), _triprion_ ( sp.), _opisthodelphys_ ( sp.), and _nototrema_ ( sp.), are south american; while _trachycephalus_ ( sp.), is peculiar to the antilles, except one south american species; _pseudacris_ ( sp.), ranges from georgia, united states, to great bear lake; _litoria_ ( sp.), is australian and papuan, except one species in paraguay; _ceratohyla_ ( sp.), is only known from ecuador. { }family .--polypedatidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . |-- -- -- |-- -- . | . . . | . . . | . . -- | | | | | the polypedatidæ, or glandless tree frogs with narrowed sacrum, are almost equally numerous in the oriental and neotropical regions, more than forty species inhabiting each, while in the ethiopian there are about half this number, and the remainder are scattered over the other three regions, as shown in the enumeration of the genera:-- _ixalus_ ( sp.), oriental, except one in japan, and one in western polynesia; _rhacophorus_ ( sp.), and _theloderma_ ( sp.), are oriental; _hylarana_ ( sp.), oriental, to the solomon islands and tartary, nicobar islands, west africa, and madagascar; _megalixalus_ ( sp.), seychelle islands; _leptomantis_ ( sp.), philippines; _platymantis_ ( sp.), new guinea, philippines, and fiji islands; _cornufer_ ( sp.), java and new guinea; _polypedates_ ( sp.), mostly oriental, but two species in west africa, one madagascar, two japan, one loo-choo islands, and one hong kong; _hylambates_ ( sp.), _hemimantis_ ( sp.), and _chiromantis_ ( sp.), are ethiopian; _rappia_ ( sp.), is ethiopian, and extends to madagascar and the seychelle islands; _acris_ ( sp.), is north american; _elosia_ ( sp.), _epirhixis_ ( sp.), _phyllobates_ ( sp.), _hylodes_ ( sp.), _hyloxalus_ ( sp.), _pristimantis_ ( sp.), _crossodactylus_ ( sp.), _calostethus_ ( sp.), _strabomantis_ ( sp.), and _leiyla_ ( sp.), are neotropical, the last two being central american, while species of _hylodes_ and _phyllobates_ are found in the west indian islands. { }family .--ranidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the ranidæ, or true frogs, are characterised by having simple undilated toes, but neither neck-glands nor dilated sacrum. they are almost cosmopolitan, extending to the extreme north and south from the north cape to patagonia, and they are equally at home in the tropics. they are perhaps most abundant in south america, where a large number of the genera and species are found; the ethiopian region comes next, while they are rather less abundant in the oriental and australian regions; the nearctic region has much less (about species), while the palæarctic has only five, and these two northern regions only possess the single genus _rana_. the genera are distributed as follows:-- _rana_ ( sp.), ranges all over the world, except australia and south america, although it extends into new guinea and into mexico and central america; it is most abundant in africa. _pyxicephalus_ ( sp.), extends over the whole ethiopian region, hindostan, the himalayas, and japan; _cystignathus_ ( sp.), is mainly neotropical, but has three species ethiopian. all the other genera are confined to single regions. the neotropical genera are:--_odontophrynus_ ( sp.), _pseudis_ ( sp.), _pithecopsis_ ( sp.), _ensophleus_ ( sp.), _limnocharis_ ( sp.), _hemiphractus_ ( sp.), all tropical south american east of andes; _ceratophrys_ ( sp.), panama to la plata; _cycloramphus_ ( sp.), west ecuador and chili; _pleurodema_ ( sp.), venezuela to patagonia; _leiuperus_ ( sp.), mexico and st. domingo to patagonia; _hylorhina_ ( sp.), chiloe. the australian genera are:--_myxophyes_ ( sp.), queensland; _platyplectrum_ ( sp.), queensland and west australia; _neobatrachus_ ( sp.), south australia; _limnodynastes_ ( sp.), and _crinia_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania. the { }oriental genera are:--_dicroglossus_ ( sp.), western himalayas; _oxyglossus_ ( sp.), siam to java, philippines and china; _hoplobatrachus_ ( sp.), ceylon; _phrynoglossus_ ( sp.), siam. the ethiopian genera are:--_phrynobatrachus_ ( sp.), _stenorhynchus_ ( sp.), both from natal. family .--discoglossidÆ, ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . -- -- |-- -- -- --| . . . |-- . -- |-- . . | . -- -- | | | | | the discoglossidæ, or frogs with a dilated sacrum, are remarkable for the number of generic forms scattered over a large part of the globe, being only absent from the nearctic and the northern half of the neotropical regions, and also from hindostan and east africa. the genera are:-- _chiroleptes_ ( sp.), australia; _calyplocephalus_ ( sp.), allied to the preceding, from chili; _cryptotis_ ( sp.), australia; _asterophys_ ( sp.), new guinea and aru islands; _xenophrys_ ( sp.), eastern himalayas; _megalophrys_ ( sp.), ceylon and the malay islands; _nannophrys_ ( sp.), ceylon; _pelodytes_ ( sp.), france only; _leptobrachium_ ( sp.), java; _discoglossus_ ( sp.), vienna to algiers; _laprissa_ ( sp.), _latonia_ ( sp.), palæarctic region; _arthroleptis_ ( sp.), west africa and the cape; _grypiscus_ ( sp.), south brazil. family .--pipidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | { }the pipidæ are toads without a tongue or maxillary teeth, and with enormously dilated sacrum. the only species of _pipa_ is a native of guiana. family .--dactylethridÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the dactylethridæ are toads with maxillary teeth but no tongue, and with enormously dilated sacrum. the species of _dactylethra_ are natives of west, east, and south africa. _general remarks on the distribution of the amphibia._ the amphibia, as here enumerated, consist of families, genera, and nearly species. many of the families have a very limited range, only two (ranidæ and polypedatidæ) being nearly universal; five more extend each into five regions, while no less than thirteen of the families are confined to one, two, or three regions each. by far the richest region is the neotropical, possessing families (four of them peculiar) and about peculiar or very characteristic genera. next comes the australian, with families (one of which is peculiar) and peculiar genera. the nearctic region has no less than of the families (two of them peculiar to it) and peculiar genera, of which are tailed batrachians which have here their metropolis. the other three regions have families each; the palæarctic has no peculiar family but no less than peculiar genera; the ethiopian family and genera peculiar to it; and the oriental, genera but no family confined to it. it is evident, therefore, that each of the regions is well characterised by its peculiar forms of amphibia, there being only a few genera, such as _hyla_, _rana_, and _bufo_ which have a wide range. the connection of the australian and neotropical { }regions is well shown in this group, by the phryniscidæ, hylidæ, and discoglossidæ, which present allied forms in both; as well as by the genus _liopelma_ of new zealand, allied to the bombinatoridæ of south america, and the absence of the otherwise cosmopolitan genus _rana_ from both continents. the affinity of the nearctic and palæarctic regions is shown by the proteidæ, which are confined to them, as well as by the genus _triton_ and almost the whole of the extensive family of the salamandridæ. the other regions are also well differentiated, and there is no sign of a special ethiopian amphibian fauna extending over the peninsula of india, or of the oriental and palæarctic regions merging into each other, except by means of genera of universal distribution. _fossil amphibia._--the extinct labyrinthodontia form a separate order, which existed from the carboniferous to the triassic period. no other remains of this class are found till we reach the tertiary formation, when newts and salamanders as well as frogs and toads occur, most frequently in the miocene deposits. the most remarkable is the _andrias scheuchzeri_ from the miocene of oeningen, which is allied to _sieboldia maxima_ the great salamander of japan. { }chapter xx. the distribution of the families of fishes, with the range of such genera as inhabit fresh water. sub-class i.--teleostei. _order i.--acanthopterygii._ family .--gasterosteidÆ. ( genus, species.) "fresh-water or marine scaleless fishes, with elongate compressed bodies and with isolated spines before the dorsal fin." distribution.--palæarctic and nearctic regions. the species of _gasterosteus_, commonly called sticklebacks, are found in rivers, lakes, estuaries, and seas, as far south as italy and ohio. four species occur in britain. family .--berycidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, with elevated compressed bodies covered with toothed scales, and large eyes." distribution.--tropical and temperate seas of both hemispheres. their northern limit is the mediterranean and japan. most abundant in the malayan seas. { }family .--percidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine or fresh-water carnivorous fishes, with oblong bodies covered with toothed scales." distribution.--seas, rivers and lakes, of all regions. the genera which inhabit fresh-waters are the following:-- _perca_ ( sp.), inhabits the nearctic and palæarctic regions as far south as ohio and switzerland; one species, the common perch, is british. _percichthys_ ( sp.), chili and patagonia, with one species in java; _paralabrax_ ( sp.), california; _labrax_ ( sp.), six species are marine, inhabiting the shores of europe and north america, one being british, two species inhabit the rivers of the northern united states; _lates_ ( sp.), nile and large rivers of india and china; _acerina_ ( sp.), europe, from england to russia and siberia; _percarina_ ( sp.), river dniester; _lucioperca_ ( sp.), north america and europe; _pileoma_ ( sp.), north america, texas to lake erie; _boleosoma_ ( sp.), texas to lake superior; _aspro_ ( sp.), central europe; _huro_ ( sp.), lake huron; _percilia_, ( sp.), rio de maypu in chili; _centrarchus_ ( sp.), north america and cuba; _bryttus_ ( sp.), south carolina to texas; _pomotis_ ( sp.), north america, lake erie to texas. of the exclusively marine genera a species of _polyprion_ and one of _serranus_ are british. the latter genus has nearly species spread over the globe, but is most abundant in the tropics. _mesoprion_ is another extensive genus confined to the tropics. _apogon_ abounds from the red sea to the pacific, but has one species in the mediterranean and one in the coast of brazil. family .--aphredoderidÆ. ( genus, species.) "fresh-water fish, with oblong body covered with toothed scales, and wide cleft mouth." distribution.--atlantic states of north america. { }family .--pristipomatidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine carnivorous fishes, with compressed oblong bodies, and without molar or cutting teeth." distribution.--seas of temperate and tropical regions, a few only entering fresh water. of the more extensive genera, nine, comprising more than half the species, are confined to the indian and australian seas, while only one large genus (_hæmulon_) is found in the atlantic on the coast of tropical america. the extensive pacific genus, _diagramma_, has one species in the mediterranean. one genus is confined to the macquarie river in australia. a species of _dentex_ has occurred on the english coast, and this seems to be the extreme northern range of the family, which does not regularly extend beyond the coast of portugal, and in the east to japan. australia seems to form the southern limit. family .--mullidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, with elongate slightly compressed bodies covered with large scales, and two dorsal fins at a distance from each other." distribution.--all tropical seas, except the west coast of america, extending into temperate regions as far as the baltic, japan, and new zealand. two species of _mullus_ (mullets) are british, and these are the only european fish belonging to the family. family .--sparidÆ. ( genera, species.) "herbivorous or carnivorous marine fishes, with oblong compressed bodies covered with minutely serrated scales, and with one dorsal fin." distribution.--seas of temperate and tropical regions, a few entering rivers. { }_cantharus_, _pagellus_, and _chrysophrys_, have occurred on the english coast. _haplodactylus_ is confined to the west coast of south america, and australia; _sargus_ to the temperate and warm parts of the atlantic and the shores of east africa; _pagellus_ to the western coasts of europe and africa. the other large genera have a wider distribution. family .--squamipennes. ( genera, species.) "carnivorous marine fishes, with compressed and elevated bodies, and scaly vertical fins." distribution.--the seas between the tropics, most abundant in the oriental and australian regions, a few entering rivers or extending beyond the tropics. the extensive genus _chætodon_ ( sp.), ranges from the red sea to the sandwich islands, and from japan to western australia, while two species are found in the west indies. _holacanthus_ ( sp.), has a similar distribution, one species only occurring in the west indies and on the coast of south america. only one genus (_pomacanthus_), with a single species, is confined to the west atlantic. family .--cirrhitidÆ. ( genera, species.) "carnivorous marine fishes, with a compressed oblong body, covered with cycloid scales." distribution.--the tropical and south temperate waters of the indian and pacific oceans, from eastern africa to western america. absent from the atlantic. family .--triglidÆ. ( genera, species.) "carnivorous, mostly marine fishes, with oblong compressed or subcylindrical bodies, and wide cleft mouths. they live at the bottom of the water." distribution.--all seas, some entering fresh water, and a few inhabiting exclusively the fresh waters of the arctic regions. { }they are divided by dr. günther into four groups. the heterolepidina (comprising genera and species) are confined to the north pacific. the scorpænina ( genera, species) have an almost universal distribution, but the genera are each restricted to one or other of the great oceans. _sebastes_ has occurred on the english coast. the cottina ( genera, species) have also a universal distribution; the numerous species of _cottus_ are found either in the seas or fresh waters of europe and north america; four species are british, as well as seven species of the wide-spread genus _trigla_. _ptyonotus_ ( sp.) is confined to lake ontario. the cataphracti ( genera, species) have also a wide range; one genus, _agonus_, is found in the british seas, and also in kamschatka and on the coast of chili. _peristethus_ is also british. family .--trachinidÆ ( genera, species.) "carnivorous marine fishes, with elongate bodies, living at the bottom, near the shore." distribution.--almost or quite universal. _trachinus_ is a british genus. a species of _aphritis_ inhabits the fresh waters of tasmania, while its two allies are found on the coasts of patagonia. family . sciÆnidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine or fresh-water fishes, with compressed and rather elongate bodies, covered with toothed scales." distribution.--temperate and tropical regions, but absent from australia. _larimus_ is found in the atlantic, and in african and american rivers. _corvina_, _sciæna_, and _otilothus_ are also marine and fresh-water, both in the atlantic and pacific. the other genera are of small extent and more restricted range. _umbrina_ and _sciæna_ have occurred in british seas. { }family .--polynemidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine or fresh-water fishes, with compressed oblong bodies and entire or ciliated scales." distribution.--tropical seas and rivers of both the great oceans, but most abundant in the pacific. family .--sphyrenidÆ. ( genus, species.) "carnivorous marine fishes, with elongate sub-cylindrical bodies covered with small cycloid scales." distribution.--the warm and tropical seas of the globe. family .--trichiuridÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, with elongate compressed bodies covered with minute scales or naked." distribution.--all the tropical and sub-tropical seas. family .--scombridÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, with elongate compressed bodies, scaled or naked." distribution.--all the temperate and tropical oceans. mostly inhabiting the open seas. _scomber_, (the mackerel) _thynnus_, _naucrates_, _zeus_, _centrolophus_, _brama_, and _lampris_, are genera which have occurred in the british seas. family .--carangidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, with compressed oblong or elevated bodies covered with small scales or naked." distribution.--all temperate and tropical seas; some species occur in both the great oceans, ranging from new york to australia. _trachurus_ and _capros_ are genera which occur in british seas. { }family .--xiphiidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, with elongate compressed body and a produced sword-shaped upper jaw." distribution.--mediterranean, and open seas between or near the tropics. _xiphias_ (the sword-fish) has occurred on the english coast. family .--gobiidÆ. ( genera, species.) "carnivorous fishes, with elongate low, naked, or scaly bodies, living at the bottom of the shallow seas or fresh waters of temperate or tropical regions. individuals of the same species often differ in inhabiting exclusively fresh or salt water." distribution.--all temperate and tropical regions, from scotland and japan to new zealand. species of _gobius_, _latrunculus_, and _callionymus_ occur in britain. several genera are confined to the east indian seas and rivers, but none seem peculiar to america. the genus _periopthalmus_ consists of the curious, large-headed, projecting-eyed fishes, so abundant on the muddy shores of african and eastern tidal rivers, and which seem to spend most of their time out of water, hunting after insects, &c. family .--discoboli. ( genera, species.) "carnivorous fishes, with oblong naked or tubercular bodies, living at the bottom of shallow seas, and attaching themselves to rocks by means of a ventral disc." distribution.--all northern seas, as far south as belgium, england, and san francisco. species of both genera (_cyclopterus_ and _liparis_) occur in british seas. { }family .--oxudercidÆ. ( genus, species.) "a marine fish, with an elongate sub-cylindrical body and no ventral fins." distribution.--macao, china. family .--batrachidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, with sub-cylindrical body and broad depressed head." distribution.--the coasts of nearly all tropical and south temperate regions, ranging from new york and portugal to chili and tasmania. family .--pediculati. ( genera, species.) "marine carnivorous fishes, with very large heads and without scales." distribution.--seas of all temperate and tropical regions, extending south to new zealand and north to greenland. a species of _lophius_ (the fishing-frog or sea-devil) is found in british seas. the genus _antennarius_, comprising two-thirds of the species, is wholly tropical. family .--blennidÆ. ( genera, species.) "carnivorous fishes, with long sub-cylindrical naked bodies, living at the bottom of shallow water in seas, or tidal rivers." distribution.--all seas from the arctic regions to new zealand, chili, and the cape of good hope. species of _anarrhichas_, _blennius_, _blenniops_, _centronotus_ and _zoarces_ occur in british seas. _chasmodes_ ( sp.) is confined to the atlantic coasts of temperate north america; _petroscirtes_ ( sp.) to the tropical parts of the indian and pacific oceans; and _stichæus_ ( sp.) to the arctic seas. { }family .--acanthoclinidÆ. ( genus, species.) "a carnivorous marine fish, with long flat body and very long dorsal fin." distribution.--coasts of new zealand. family .--comephoridÆ. ( genus, species.) "an elongate, naked, large-headed fish, with two dorsal fins." distribution.--lake baikal. dr. günther remarks, that this fish approaches the scombrina (mackerel) in several characters. these are exclusively marine fishes, while lake baikal is fresh-water, and is situated among mountains, at an elevation of nearly feet, and more than a thousand miles from the ocean! family .--trachypteridÆ. ( genera, species.) "deep sea fishes, with elongate, much compressed, naked bodies." distribution.--europe, east indies, west coast of south america, new zealand. dr. günther remarks, that little is known of these fishes, from their being so seldom thrown on shore, and then rapidly decomposing. the ribbon-fish (_regalecus banksii_) has occurred frequently on our shores. they have soft bones and muscles, small mouths, and weak dentition. family .--lophotidÆ. ( genus, species.) "a marine fish, with elongate compressed naked body, and high crested head." distribution.--mediterranean sea and japan. { }family .--teuthididÆ. ( genus, species.) "marine, herbivorous fishes, with compressed, oblong, small-scaled bodies." distribution.--eastern tropical seas, from bourbon and the red sea to the marianne and fiji islands. family .--acronuridÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine, herbivorous fishes, with compressed, minutely-scaled bodies." distribution.--all tropical seas, but most abundant in the malay region, and extending to japan and new zealand. family .--hoplegnathidÆ. ( genus, species.) "marine fishes, with compressed elevated bodies, covered with very small toothed scales." distribution.--seas of australia, china, and japan. family .--malacanthidÆ. ( genus, species.) "marine fishes, with elongate bodies covered with very small scales, and with very long dorsal and anal fins." distribution.--atlantic coasts of tropical america, mauritius, and new guinea. family .--nandidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine or fresh-water carnivorous fishes, with oblong, compressed, scaly bodies." distribution.--from the red sea to the coasts of china and australia; and the fresh waters of the neotropical and oriental regions. _badis_, _nandus_, and _catopra_ inhabit the { }rivers of india and the malay islands; _acharnes_ the rivers of british guiana. family .--polycentridÆ. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water carnivorous fishes, with compressed elevated scaly bodies, and many-spined dorsal and anal fins." distribution.--rivers of tropical america. family .--labyrinthici. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water fishes, with compressed oblong bodies, and capable of living for some time out of water or in dried mud." distribution.--fresh waters of south africa and the east indies from the mauritius to china, the philippines, celebes, and amboyna. family .--luciocephalidÆ. ( genus, species.) "fresh-water fish, with elongate scaled body, and a dilated branchial membrane." distribution.--rivers of borneo, biliton, and banca. family .--atherinidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine or fresh-water carnivorous fishes, with subcylindrical scaled bodies, and feeble dentition." distribution.--all temperate and tropical seas, from scotland and new york to the straits of magellan and tasmania. _atherina presbyter_ occurs in british seas. species of _atherina_ and _atherinichthis_ are found in fresh-water lakes and rivers in europe, america, and australia. { }family .--mugilidÆ. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water and marine fishes, with oblong compressed bodies, cycloid scales, and small mouths, often without teeth." distribution.--coasts and fresh waters of all temperate and tropical regions. _mugil_ ( sp.) is mostly marine, and is very widely distributed; several species (grey mullets) occur on the british coasts. _agonostoma_ ( sp.) is confined to the fresh waters of the west indies, central america, new zealand, australia, celebes, and the comoro islands. _myxus_ ( sp.) is marine, and occurs both in the atlantic and pacific. family .--ophiocephalidÆ. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water fishes, with elongate subcylindrical scaled bodies; often leaving the water for a considerable time." distribution.--rivers of the oriental region:--india, ceylon, china, malay islands to philippines and borneo. family .--trichonotidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine carnivorous fishes, with elongate subcylindrical bodies, cycloid scales, and eyes directed upwards." distribution.--coasts of celebes, ceram, and new zealand. family .--cepolidÆ. ( genus, species.) "marine fishes, with very long, compressed, band-like bodies, covered with small cycloid scales." distribution.--temperate seas of western europe and eastern asia, and one species in the malayan seas. _cepola rubescens_ (the band fish) ranges from scotland to the mediterranean. all the other species but one are from japan. { }family .--gobiesocidÆ. ( genera, species.) "carnivorous marine fishes, elongate, anteriorly depressed and scaleless, with dorsal fin on the tail." distribution.--temperate and tropical seas; scandinavia to the cape, california to chili, west indies, red sea, australia, new zealand, and fiji islands. three species of _lepadogaster_ have occurred in the english channel. family .--psychrolutidÆ. ( genus, species.) "a large-headed, elongate, naked marine fish, with small teeth, and dorsal fin on the tail." distribution.--west coast of north america (vancouver's island.) family .--centriscidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, with compressed, oblong or elevated bodies, elongate tubular mouth and no teeth." distribution.--west coast of europe and africa, mediterranean, indian ocean to java, philippines, and japan. a species of _centriscus_ has occurred on the south coast of england, and another species is found both at madeira and japan. family .--fistularidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, very elongate, with long tubular mouth and small teeth." distribution.--tropical seas, both in the atlantic and indian ocean, and as far east as the new hebrides. { }family .--mastacembelidÆ. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water fishes, with eel-like bodies and very long dorsal fin." distribution.--rivers of the oriental region, one species from ceram (?). family .--notacanthi. ( genus, species.) "marine fishes, with elongate bodies covered with very small scales, and snout protruding beyond the mouth." distribution.--greenland, mediterranean, and west australia. _order ii.--acanthopterygii pharyngognathi._ family .--pomacentridÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, with short compressed bodies covered with toothed scales, and with feeble dentition." distribution.--tropical parts of pacific and indian ocean, less numerous in tropical atlantic, a few reaching the mediterranean, japan, and south australia. _pomacentrus_, _glyphidodon_, and _heliastes_ are atlantic genera. family .--labridÆ. ( genera, species.) "herbivorous or carnivorous marine fishes, with elongate bodies covered with cycloid scales, and teeth adapted for crushing the shells of mollusca." distribution.--temperate and tropical regions of all parts of the globe. the genera _labrus_, _crenilabrus_, _ctenolabrus_, _acantholabrus_, _centrolabrus_, and _coris_, have occurred in british seas, and all of { }these, except the last, are confined to the mediterranean and the atlantic as far as madeira. eight other genera are characteristic of the atlantic, most of them being west indian, but one from the coasts of north america. seven genera are common to all the great oceans; the remainder being confined to the indian and pacific oceans, ranging from japan to new zealand, but being far more abundant between the tropics. family .--embrotocidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine viviparous fishes, with compressed elevated bodies covered with cycloid scales, and with small teeth." distribution.--pacific ocean from japan and california northwards. one species enters the fresh waters of california. family .--gerridÆ. ( genus, species.) "marine fishes, with compressed oblong bodies covered with minutely serrated scales, and with small teeth." distribution.--tropical seas; ranging south as far as the cape of good hope and australia, and north to japan and (one species) to new jersey, u.s. family .--chromidÆ. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water herbivorous or carnivorous fishes, with elevated or elongate scaly bodies, and small teeth." distribution.--the oriental, ethiopian, and neotropical regions. _eutroplus_ ( sp.) is from the rivers of southern india and ceylon; _chromis_ ( sp.), _sarotherodon_ ( sp.), and _hemichromis_ ( sp.), are from the rivers and lakes of africa, extending to the sahara and palestine. the remaining genera are american, and several of them have a restricted distribution. _acara_ ( sp.) inhabits tropical south america and the antilies; _theraps_ ( sp.), guatemala; _heros_ ( sp.), texas and { }mexico to la plata; _mesonauta_ ( sp.), brazil; _petenia_ ( sp.), lake peten, guatemala; _uaru_ ( sp.), brazil; _hygrogonus_ ( sp.), brazil; _cichla_ ( sp.), equatorial america; _crenicichla_ ( sp.), brazil and guiana; _chætobranchus_ ( sp.), brazil and guiana; _mesops_ ( sp.), brazil; _satanoperca_ ( sp.), amazon valley and guiana; _geophagus_ ( sp.), north brazil and guiana; _symphysodon_ ( sp.), lower amazon; _pterophyllum_ ( sp.), lower amazon. _order iii.--anacanthini._ family .--gadopsidÆ. ( genus, species.) "fresh-water fish, with rather elongate body covered with very small scales, the upper jaw overhanging the lower, forming an obtuse snout." distribution.--rivers of australia and tasmania. family _a_.--lycodidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, with elongate bodies, and the dorsal united with the anal fin." distribution.--arctic seas of america and greenland, and antarctic seas about the falkland islands and chiloe island. family .--gadidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, with more or less elongate bodies covered with small smooth scales." distribution.--cold and temperate regions of both hemispheres; in the north extending as far south as the mediterranean, canary islands, new york and japan (and one species to the philippines and bay of bengal), and in the south to chili and new zealand. _gadus_ (cod), _merluccius_ (hake), _phycis_, _lota_, _molva_, _couchia_, _motella_, and _raniceps_, are british. _lota_ inhabits fresh waters. { }family .--ophidiidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, with more or less elongate bodies, the dorsal and anal fins united, and the ventral fins rudimentary or absent." distribution.--almost universal; from greenland to new zealand, but most abundant in the tropics. _ophidium_ and _ammodytes_ occur in british seas; _lucifuga_ inhabits subterranean fresh waters in cuba. family .--macrouridÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, with the body terminating in a long, compressed tapering tail, and covered with spiny, keeled or striated scales." distribution.--north atlantic from greenland to madeira and the canary islands, mediterranean, japanese and australian seas. none of these fishes have occurred in the british seas. family .--ateleopodidÆ. ( genus, species.) "marine fishes, with the naked body terminating in a long compressed, tapering tail." distribution.--japan. family .--pleuronectidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine carnivorous fishes, with strongly compressed flat bodies, one side of which is colourless, and eyes unsymmetrically placed, both on the coloured side. they inhabit the sandy bottoms of shallow seas, and often ascend rivers." distribution.--universal, on arctic, temperate, and tropical coasts. { }seven genera occur in british seas, viz.: _hippoglossus_, _hippoglossoides_, _rhombus_, _phrynorhombus_, _arnoglossus_, _pleuronectes_ (turbot), and _solea_ (sole). there are genera in the atlantic and in the pacific, being common to both; and found only in the mediterranean. a pacific genus, _synaptura_, has one species in the mediterranean. _order iv.--physostomi._ family .--siluridÆ. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water or marine, scaleless fishes, often with bony shields, and the head always furnished with barbels." distribution.--the fresh waters of all the temperate and tropical regions, those which enter the salt water keeping near the coast. this extensive family is divided by dr. günther into eight sub-families and seventeen groups, the distribution of which is as follows:-- sub-family (siluridÆ homalopterÆ) is confined to the old world. it consists of three groups: clarina ( genera, _clarias_ and _heterobranchus_) ranges over the whole area of the ethiopian and oriental regions, to which it appears to be strictly confined; plotosina ( genera, _plotosus_, _copidoglanis_, and _cnidoglanis_) ranges from the eastern coasts of africa to japan, polynesia, and australia, in seas and rivers; chacina ( genus, _chaca_) ranges from india to borneo. sub-family (siluridÆ heteropterÆ) is also confined to the old world; it consists of one group,--silurina, containing genera, viz.:--_saccobranchus_ ( sp.), india to cochin china and ceylon; _silurus_ ( sp.), palæarctic region from central europe to japan, china, and afghanistan, and a species in cochin china; _silurichthys_ ( sp.), cashmere, java, and borneo; _wallago_ ( sp.), hindostan, sumatra, and borneo; _belodontichthys_ ( sp.), sumatra and borneo; _eutropiichthys_ ( sp.), bengal; _cryptopterus_ { }( sp.), java, sumatra, and borneo, with a species in the ganges, in siam, and (?) in amboyna; _callichrous_ ( sp.), afghanistan to borneo and java; _schilbe_ ( sp.), tropical africa; _eutropius_ ( sp.), tropical africa and central india; _hemisilurus_ ( sp.), java and sumatra; _siluranodon_ ( sp.), nile; _ailia_ ( sp.), bengal; _schilbichthys_ ( sp.), bengal; _laïs_ ( sp.), java, sumatra, borneo; _pseudeutropius_ ( sp.), india and sumatra; _pangasius_ ( sp.), ganges, sumatra, java, borneo; _helicophagus_ ( sp.), sumatra; _silondia_ ( sp.), ganges. sub-family (siluridÆ anomalopterÆ) is confined to equatorial america; it consists of the group hypopthalmina, containing genera: _helogenes_ ( sp.), _hypopthalmus_ ( sp.), from the country north of the amazon, surinam, and the rio negro. sub-family (siluridÆ proteropterÆ) ranges over all the tropical and most of the temperate parts of the globe, except europe and australia. it consists of four groups: bagrina ( genera), ranging over most of the old world and north america; pimelodina ( genera), confined to tropical america, except one genus which is african; ariina ( genera), all tropical regions; and bagarina ( genera), oriental region. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- _bagrus_ ( sp.), nile; _chrysichthys_ ( sp.), tropical africa; _clarotes_ ( sp.), upper nile; _macrones_ ( sp.), india, ceylon to borneo, and one species in asia minor; _pseudobagrus_ ( sp.), japan, china, and cochin china; _liocassis_ ( sp.), japan, china, java, sumatra, and borneo; _bagroides_ ( sp.), sumatra and borneo; _bagrichthys_ ( sp.), sumatra and borneo; _rita_ ( sp.), continental india and manilla; _acrochordonichthys_ ( sp.), java and sumatra; _akysis_ ( sp.), java and sumatra; _olyra_ ( sp.), khasya; _branchiosteus_ ( sp.), khasya; _amiurus_ ( sp.), nearctic region to guatemala and china; _hopladelus_ ( sp.), north america; _noturus_ ( sp.), north america; _sorubim_ ( sp.), amazon; _platystoma_ ( sp.), tropical south america; _hemisorubim_ ( sp.) rio negro, brazil; _platistomatichthys_ ( sp.), rio branco, brazil; _phractocephalus_ ( sp.), amazon; _piramutana_ ( sp.), equatorial america; _platynematichthys_ { }( sp.), northern and southern tributaries of amazon; _piratinga_ ( sp.), amazon valley; _sciades_ ( sp.), amazon; _pimelodus_ ( sp.), mexico to la plata, single aberrant species from west africa, java and the sandwich islands; _pirinampus_ ( sp.), brazil; _conorhynchus_ ( sp.), brazil; _notoglanis_ ( sp.), madeira, amazon valley; _callophysus_ ( sp.), tropical south america; _auchenaspis_ ( sp.), tropical africa; _arius_ ( sp.), all tropical regions; _galeichthys_ ( sp.), cape of good hope; _genidens_ ( sp.), brazil; _hemipimelodus_ ( sp.), india, sumatra, and borneo; _ketingus_ ( sp.), sunda islands; _Ælurichthys_ ( sp.), eastern united states to guiana; _paradiplomystax_ ( sp.), brazil; _diplomystax_ ( sp.), chili; _osteogeniosus_ ( sp.), india to java; _batrachocephalus_ ( sp.), java and sumatra; _bagarius_ ( sp.), india to java; _euclyptosternum_ ( sp.), india; _glyptosternum_ ( sp.), himalayas, central india, java, and sumatra; _hara_ ( sp.), continental india; _amblyceps_ ( sp.), continental india. sub-family (siluridÆ stenobranchiÆ) is confined to south america and africa, with one genus and species in the ganges. it consists of three groups: doradina ( genera), south america and africa; rhinoglanina ( genera), central africa and the ganges; malapterurina ( genus), tropical africa. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- _ageniosus_ ( sp.), surinam to la plata; _tetranematichthys_ ( sp.), central brazil, rio guaporé; _euanemus_ ( sp.), surinam and brazil; _auchenipterus_ ( sp.), equatorial america; _centromochlus_ ( sp.), equatorial america; _trachelyopterus_ ( sp.), equatorial america; _cetopsis_ ( sp.), brazil; _asterophysus_ ( sp.), rio negro, north brazil; _doras_ ( sp.), tropical south america east of andes; _oxydoras_ ( sp.), amazon valley and guiana; _rhinodoras_ ( sp.), tropical south america east of andes; _synodontis_ ( sp.), tropical africa; _rhinoglanis_ ( sp.), upper nile; _mochocus_ ( sp.), nile; _callomystax_ ( sp.), nile; _malapterurus_ ( sp.), tropical africa. sub-family (siluridÆ proteropodes) inhabits tropical america and northern india as far as tenasserim. it consists of two groups: the hypostomatina ( genera), with the same distribution as the sub-family, and the aspredinina ( genera), { }confined to equatorial america. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- _arges_ ( sp.), andes of peru and ecuador; _stygogenes_ ( sp.), andes; _brontes_ ( sp.), andes; _astroblepus_ ( sp.), popayan; _callichthys_ ( sp.), tropical south america east of andes, and trinidad; _plecostomus_ ( sp.), tropical south america east of andes, and trinidad; _liposarcus_ ( sp.), surinam and brazil; _chætostomus_ ( sp.), tropical america, trinidad, and porto rico; _pterygoplichthys_ ( sp.), brazil; _rhinelepis_ ( sp.), brazil; _acanthicus_ ( sp.), equatorial america; _loricaria_ ( sp.), tropical south america east of andes; _acestra_ ( sp.), brazil and guiana; _sisor_ ( sp.), northern bengal; _erethistes_ ( sp.), assam; _pseudecheneis_ ( sp.), khasya hills; _exostoma_ ( sp.), assam and tenasserim; _bunocephalus_ ( sp.), guiana; _bunocephalichthys_ ( sp.), rio branco, north brazil; _aspredo_ ( sp.), guiana. sub-family (siluridÆ opisthopterÆ) consists of two groups: nematogenyina ( genera), and trichomycterina ( genera), and is confined to south america. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- _heptapterus_ ( sp.), south america; _nematogenys_ ( sp.), chili; _trichomycterus_ ( sp.), south america to , feet elevation; _eremophilus_ ( sp.), andes of bogota; _pariodon_ ( sp.), amazon. sub-family (siluridÆ branchicolÆ) is confined to tropical south america. it consists of one group, stegophilina, and genera: _stegophilus_ ( sp.), brazil; and _vandellia_ ( sp.), amazon valley. family . characinidÆ. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water fishes, with scaly bodies and without barbels." distribution.--the neotropical and ethiopian regions. this extensive family is divided by dr. günther into groups, viz.: erythrinina ( genera), south america; curumatina { }( genera), south america; citharinina ( genus), tropical africa; anostomatina ( genera), south america; tetragonopterina ( genera), south america and tropical africa; hydrocyonina ( genera), tropical america and tropical africa; distichodontina ( genus), tropical africa; icthyborina ( genus), africa; crenuchina ( genus), equatorial america; serrasalmonina ( genera), south america. the following is the distribution of the genera:-- _macrodon_ ( sp.), tropical america; _erythrinus_ ( sp.), brazil and guiana; _lebiasina_ ( sp.), west equatorial america; _pyrrhulina_ ( sp.), guiana; _corynopoma_ ( sp.), trinidad only; _curimatus_ ( sp.), tropical south america and trinidad; _prochilodus_ ( sp.), south america to the la plata; _cæntropus_ ( sp.), east equatorial america; _hemiodus_ ( sp.), equatorial america east of andes; _saccodon_ ( sp.), ecuador; _parodon_ ( sp.), brazil; _citharinus_ ( sp.), tropical africa; _anostomus_ ( sp.), tropical america; _rhytiodus_ ( sp.), equatorial america; _leporinus_ ( sp.), south america east of andes; _piabucina_ ( sp.), guiana; _alestes_ ( sp.), tropical africa; _brachyalestes_ ( sp.), tropical africa; _tetragonopterus_ ( sp.), tropical america; _scissor_ ( sp.), south america; _pseudochalceus_ ( sp.), west ecuador; _chirodon_ ( sp.), chili; _chalceus_ ( sp.), guiana; _brycon_ ( sp.), south america east of andes; _chalcinopsis_ ( sp.), central america and ecuador; _bryconops_ ( sp.), tropical america; _creagrutus_ ( sp.), western ecuador; _chalcinus_ ( sp.), tropical south america; _gastropelecus_ ( sp.), tropical south america; _piabuca_ ( sp.), equatorial america; _agoniates_ ( sp.), guiana; _anacyrtus_ ( sp.), central and south america; _hystricodon_ ( sp.), equatorial america; _salminus_ ( sp.), south america; _hydrocyon_ ( sp.), tropical africa; _sarcodaces_ ( sp.), west africa; _oligosarcus_ ( sp.), brazil; _xiphoramphus_ ( sp.), south america east of andes; _xiphostoma_ ( sp.), equatorial america east of andes; _cynodon_ ( sp.), tropical america east of andes; _distichodus_ ( sp.), tropical africa; _icthyborus_ ( sp.), nile; _crenuchus_ ( sp.), guiana; _mylesinus_ ( sp.), equatorial america; _serrasalmo_ ( sp.), tropical south america east of andes; _myletes_ ( sp.), { }tropical south america east of andes; _catoprion_ ( . sp.), brazil and guiana. family .--haplochitonidÆ. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water fishes, with naked or scaly bodies and without barbels." distribution.--temperate south america and south australia. the genera are, _haplochiton_ ( sp.), tierra del fuego and the falkland islands; _prototroctes_ ( sp.), southern australia and new zealand. family .--sternoptychidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, with very thin deciduous scales or none, and with a row of phosphorescent spots or organs on the under surface of the body." distribution.--mediterranean and atlantic. these are deep-sea fishes found in the mediterranean sea, and in the deep atlantic from the coasts of norway to the azores and the tropics. family .--scopelidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine fishes, somewhat resembling the fresh-water siluridæ." distribution.--almost universal, but most abundant in warm and tropical seas. these are deep-sea fishes, abounding in the mediterranean and the great oceans, a few extending north to near greenland and south to tasmania. { }family .--stomiatidÆ. ( genera, species.) "small marine fishes, naked or with very fine scales." distribution.--the mediterranean and atlantic. these are deep-sea fishes, ranging from greenland to beyond the equator. family .--salmonidÆ ( genera, species.) "fresh-water fishes, many species periodically descending to the sea and a few altogether marine:--salmon and trout." distribution.--the palæarctic and nearctic regions, and one genus and species in new zealand. a considerable number of species are confined to single lakes or rivers, others have a wide distribution. the genera are distributed as follows:-- _salmo_ ( sp.), rivers and lakes of the palæarctic and nearctic regions, as far south as algeria, asia minor, the hindoo-koosh and kamschatka, and to about ° north latitude in north america, many of the species migratory; _onchorhynchus_ ( sp.), american and asiatic rivers entering the pacific, as far south as san francisco and the amur; _brachymystax_ ( sp.), siberian rivers, from lake baikal and the atlai mountains northwards; _luciotrutta_ ( sp.), caspian sea and volga; _plecoglossus_ ( sp.), japan and formosa; _osmerus_ ( sp.), rivers of temperate europe and north america entering the atlantic, and one species in california; _thaleichthys_ ( sp.), columbia river, vancouver's island; _hypomesus_ ( sp.), coasts of california, vancouver's island, and north-eastern asia; _mallotus_ ( sp.), coasts of arctic america from greenland to kamschatka; _retropinna_ ( sp.), fresh waters of new zealand; _coregonus_ ( sp.), fresh waters of northern parts of temperate europe, asia and north america, many of the species migratory: _thymallus_ ( sp.), fresh waters of temperate parts of { }europe, asia, and north america; _argentina_ ( sp.), mediterranean and deep seas of western europe; _microstoma_ ( sp.), mediterranean, and seas of greenland; _salarix_ ( sp.), china and japan, in seas and rivers. _salmo_, _osmerus_, _coregonus_, and _thymallus_, are british genera. family .--percopsidÆ. ( genus, species.) "a fresh-water fish covered with toothed scales." distribution.--lake superior, north america. family .--galaxidÆ. ( genus, species.) "fresh-water fishes, with neither scales nor barbels." distribution.--the temperate zone of the southern hemisphere. the only genus, _galaxias_, is found in new zealand, tasmania, and tierra del fuego, ranging north as far as queensland and chili; and one of the species is absolutely identical in the two regions. family .--mormyridÆ. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water fishes, with scales on the body and tail but not on the head, and no barbels." distribution.--the ethiopian region. most abundant in the nile, a few from the gambia, the congo, and rovuma. the genera are:-- _mormyrus_ ( sp.), nile, gambia, west africa, mozambique, rovuma; _hyperopsius_ ( sp.), nile and west africa; _mormyrops_ ( sp.), nile, west africa and mozambique. { }family .--gymnarchidÆ. ( genus, species.) "fresh-water fishes, resembling the mormyridæ, but with tapering finless tail, and neither anal nor ventral fins." distribution.--ethiopian region. the only genus, _gymnarchus_, inhabits the nile and the rivers of west africa. family .--esocidÆ. ( genus, species.) "fresh-water fishes, with scaly bodies, no barbels, and dorsal fins situated towards the tail." distribution.--the nearctic and palæarctic regions. one species, the pike (_esox lucius_) ranges from lapland to turkey, and in america from the arctic regions to the albany river; the remainder are american species extending south as far as new orleans. family .--umbridÆ. ( genus, species.) "small fresh-water scaly fishes, without barbels or adipose fin." distribution.--central europe and temperate north america. family .--scombresocidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine or fresh-water fishes, with scaly bodies and a series of keeled scales along each side of the belly." distribution.--temperate and tropical regions. all the genera have a wide distribution. a species of _belone_ and one of _scombresox_ are found on the british coast. the flying-fishes (_exocetus_, sp.), belong to this family. they abound in all tropical seas and extend as far as the mediterranean and australia. none of the genera are exclusively fresh-water, { }but a few species of _belone_, and _hemiramphus_ are found in rivers in various parts of the world. family .--cyprinodontidÆ. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water fishes, covered with scales, the sexes frequently differing, mostly viviparous." distribution.--southern europe, asia, africa and north america, but most abundant in tropical america. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- _cyprinodon_ ( sp.), italy, north africa and western asia to persia, also north america from texas to new york; _fitzroya_ ( sp.), montevideo; _characodon_ ( sp.), central america; _tellia_ ( sp.), alpine pools of the atlas: _limnurgus_ ( sp.), mexican plateau; _lucania_ ( sp.), texas; _haplochilus_ ( sp.), india, java, japan, tropical africa, madagascar, and the seychelle islands, carolina to brazil, jamaica; _fundulus_ ( sp.), north and central america and ecuador, spain and east africa; _rivulus_ ( sp.), tropical america, cuba and trinidad; _orestias_ ( sp.), lake titacaca, andes; _jenynsia_ ( sp.), rio plata; _pseudoxiphophorus_ ( sp.), central america; _belonesox_ ( sp.), central america; _gambusia_ ( sp.), antilles, central america and texas; _anableps_ ( sp.), central and equatorial america; _poecilia_ ( sp.), antilles, central and south america; _mollienesia_ ( sp.), louisiana to mexico; _platypoecilus_ ( sp.), mexico; _girardinus_ ( sp.), antilles and south carolina to uruguay; _lepistes_ ( sp.), barbadoes. family .--heteropygii. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water fishes, with posterior dorsal fin, and very small scales." distribution.--fresh waters of the united states. _amblyopsis_ ( sp.) is a blind fish found in the caverns of kentucky; while _chologastes_ ( sp.), which only differs from it in having perfect eyes, is found in ditches in south carolina. { }family .--cyprinidÆ. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water fishes, generally scaly, with no adipose fin, and pharyngeal teeth only, the mouth being toothless." distribution.--fresh waters of the old world and north america, but absent from australia and south america. this enormous family is divided by dr. günther into fourteen groups, the distribution of which is as follows:-- catostomina ( genera), north america and north-east asia; cyprinina ( genera), same range as the family; rohteichthyina ( genus), malay archipelago; leptobarbina ( genus), malay archipelago; rasborina ( genera), east africa to china and borneo; semiplotina ( genera), western asia; xenocypridina ( genera), eastern asia; leuciscina ( genera), palæarctic and nearctic regions; rhodeina ( genera), palæarctic region; danionina ( genera), india to china and japan; hypophthalmichthyina ( genus), china; abramidina ( genera), same range as the family; homalopterina ( genera), india to java; cobitidina ( genera), palæarctic and oriental regions. the following is the distribution of the genera:-- _catostomus_ ( sp.), nearctic region and eastern siberia; _moxostoma_ ( sp.), eastern united states; _sclerognathus_ ( sp.), temperate north america to guatemala, also northern china; _carpiodes_ ( sp.), united states; _cyprinus_ ( sp.), temperate parts of palæarctic region ( sp. british); _carassius_ ( sp.), temperate palæarctic region ( sp. british); _catla_ ( sp.), continental india; _cirrhina_ ( sp.), continental india to china; _dangila_ ( sp.), java, sumatra, borneo; _osteochilus_ ( sp.), siam to java and sumatra; _labeo_ ( sp.), tropical africa and oriental region; _tylognathus_ ( sp.), syria, india to java; _abrostomus_ ( sp.), south africa; _discognathus_ ( sp.), syria to india and java, mostly in mountain streams; _crossochilus_ ( sp.), india to sumatra and java; _gymnostomus_ ( sp.), continental india; _epalzeorhynchus_ ( sp.), sumatra and borneo; _capoeta_ ( sp.), western asia; _barbus_ ( sp.), temperate or tropical { }parts of europe, asia, and africa ( sp. british); _thynnichthys_ ( sp.), pegu, borneo, and sumatra; _barbichthys_ ( sp.), java, sumatra, and borneo; _amblyrhynchichthys_ ( sp.), sumatra and borneo; _albulichthys_ ( sp.), sumatra and borneo; _oreinus_ ( sp.), himalayan region; _schizothorax_ ( sp.), himalayan region and west to afghanistan and persia; _ptychobarbus_ ( sp.), thibet; _gymnocypris_ ( sp.), loc. unknown; _schizopygopsis_ ( sp.), thibet; _diptychus_ ( sp.), himalayas and thibet; _aulopyge_ ( sp.), western asia; _gobio_ ( sp.), temperate europe ( sp. british); _pseudogobio_ ( sp.), china, japan, and formosa; _ceratichthys_ ( sp.), temperate north america; _bungia_ ( sp.), western asia, herat; _pimephales_ ( sp.), eastern united states; _hyborhynchus_ ( sp.), eastern united states; _ericymba_ ( sp.), united states; _pseudorasbora_ ( sp.), japan, china; _cochlognathus_ ( sp.), texas; _exoglossum_ ( sp.), united states; _rhinichthys_ ( sp.), eastern united states; _rohteichthys_ ( sp.), borneo and sumatra; _leptobarbina_ ( sp.), sumatra and borneo; _rasbora_ ( sp.), east coast of africa, india, to java and borneo; _luciosma_ ( sp.), java, sumatra, and borneo; _nuria_ ( sp.), india, tenasserim, and ceylon; _aphyocypris_ ( sp.), north china; _amblypharyngodon_ ( sp.), india to tenasserim; _cyprinion_ ( sp.), syria and persia; _semiplotus_ ( sp.), assam; _xenocypris_ ( sp.), china; _paracanthobrama_ ( sp.), china; _mystacoleucus_ ( sp.), sumatra; _leuciscus_ ( sp.), nearctic and palæarctic regions ( sp. are british); _ctenopharyngodon_ ( sp.), china; _mylopharodon_ ( sp.), california; _paraphoxinus_ ( sp.), south-eastern europe; _meda_ ( sp.), river gila; _tinca_ ( sp.), europe (britain to constantinople); _leucosomus_ ( sp.), nearctic region; _chondrostoma_ ( sp.), europe and western asia; _orthodon_ ( sp.), california; _acrochilus_ ( sp.), columbia river; _achilognathus_ ( sp.), china, japan, and formosa; _rhodeus_ ( sp.), central europe and china; _pseudoperilampus_ ( sp.), japan; _danio_ ( sp.), india and ceylon; _pterosarion_ ( sp.), central india and assam; _aspidoparia_ ( sp.), continental india; _barilius_ ( sp.), east africa and continental india; _bola_ ( sp.), ganges to bramahputra; _schacra_ ( sp.), bengal; _opsariichthys_ ( sp.), japan and formosa; _squaliobarbus_ ( sp.), china; _ochetobius_ ( sp.), north china; { }_hypophthalmichthys_ ( sp.), china; _abramis_ ( sp.), north america, central europe, and western asia ( sp. is british); _aspius_ ( sp.), east europe, western asia, china; _alburnus_ ( sp.), europe and western asia ( british sp.); _rasborichthys_ ( sp.), borneo; _elopichthys_ ( sp.), china; _pelotrophus_ ( sp.), east africa; _acanthobrama_ ( sp.), western asia; _osteobrama_ ( sp.), continental india; _chanodichthys_ ( sp.), china and formosa; _smiliogaster_ ( sp.), bengal; _culter_ ( sp.), china; _pelecus_ ( sp.), eastern europe; _eustira_ ( sp.), ceylon; _chela_ ( sp.), india to siam, java and borneo; _pseudolabuca_ ( sp.), china; _cachius_ ( sp.), continental india; _homaloptera_ ( sp.), india to cochin china, java, and sumatra; _psilorhynchus_ ( sp.), north-eastern india; _misgurnus_ ( sp.), europe to india, china, and japan; _nemachilus_ ( sp.), europe and asia; _cobitis_ ( sp.), europe, india, japan; _lepidocepalichthys_ ( sp.), india, ceylon, and java; _acanthopsis_ ( sp.), tenasserim, sumatra, java, and borneo; _botia_ ( sp.), india to japan and sunda isles; _oreonectes_ ( sp.), china; _lepidocephalus_ ( sp.), java and sumatra; _acanthopthalmus_ ( sp.), java and sumatra; _apua_ ( sp.), tenasserim; _kneria_ ( sp.), tropical africa. family .--gonorhynchidÆ. ( genus, species.) "a marine fish with spiny scales, mouth with barbels, and with short dorsal fin opposite the ventrals." distribution.--temperate parts of southern oceans, and japan. family .--hyodontidÆ. ( genus, species.) "a fresh-water fish with cycloid scales and posterior dorsal fin." distribution.--fresh waters of north america. { }family .--osteoglossidÆ. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water fishes, with large hard scales, and dorsal fin opposite and equal to the anal fin." distribution.--tropical rivers. the genera are:--_osteoglossum_ ( sp.), eastern south america, sunda islands, and queensland; _arapaima_ ( sp.), eastern south america--the "pirarucú" of the amazon; _heterotis_ ( sp.), tropical africa. family .--clupeidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine scaly fishes, without barbels, and with the abdomen often compressed and serrated." distribution.--seas of the whole globe, many species entering rivers. they are most abundant in the indian seas, less so in america, scarce in africa, while they are almost absent from australia. the herring, sprat, shad, and pilchard, are british species of _clupea_, a genus which contains species and ranges all over the world. family .--chirocentridÆ. ( genus, species.) "a marine fish, with thin deciduous scales, no barbels, and posterior dorsal fin." distribution.--the eastern seas from africa to china. family .--alepocephalidÆ. ( genus, species.) "a marine fish, covered with thin cycloid scales, no barbels, and posterior dorsal fin." distribution.--deep waters of the mediterranean. { }family .--notopteridÆ. ( genus, species.) "fresh-water fishes, without barbels, head and body scaly, long tapering tail, and short posterior dorsal fin." distribution.--rivers of india, siam, the sunda islands, and west africa. family .--halosauridÆ. ( genus, species.) "marine fishes, with cycloid scales, a short median dorsal fin, and no barbels." distribution.--deep waters of the atlantic, madeira. family .--gymnotidÆ. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water fishes, with elongate bodies, pointed tail, and no dorsal fin." distribution.--tropical america from trinidad to the river parana. the genera are distributed as follows:-- _sternarchus_ ( sp.), guiana and brazil; _rhamphichthys_ ( sp.), guiana and brazil; _sternophygus_ ( sp.), tropical america; _carapus_ ( sp.), trinidad to brazil; _gymnotus_, ( sp.--the electric eel), tropical south america. family .--symbranchidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine and fresh-water fishes, having elongate bodies without fins, and very minute scales or none." distribution.--fresh waters and coasts of western australia and tasmania. the genera are:-- _amphipnous_ ( sp.), bengal; _monopterus_ ( sp.), siam to northern china and sunda islands; _symbranchus_ ( sp.), tropical { }america, and india to australia; _chilobranchus_ ( sp.), australia and tasmania. family .--murÆnidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine or fresh-water fishes, with cylindrical or band-like bodies and no ventral fins." distribution.--the seas and fresh waters of temperate and tropical regions. this family is divided by dr. günther into two sub-families and nine sections. the genus _anguilla_, comprising our common eel and a number of species from all parts of the world, is the only one which is found in fresh water, though even here most of the species are marine. _anguilla_ and _conger_ are the only british genera. family .--pegasidÆ. ( genus, species.) "small marine fishes, covered with bony plates, and short opposite dorsal and anal fins." distribution.--indian ocean and seas of china and australia. _order v.--lophobranchii._ "fish with a segmented bony covering, long snout, and small toothless mouth." family .--solenostomidÆ. ( genus, species.) "marine lophobranchii, with wide gill openings and two dorsal fins." distribution.--indian ocean, from zanzibar to china and the moluccas. { }family .--syngnathidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine lophobranchii, with very small gill opening and one soft dorsal fin." distribution.--all the tropical and temperate seas. some species of _syngnathus_, _doryichthys_, and _coelonotus_ enter fresh water, and a few live in it exclusively. _siphonostoma_, _syngnathus_, _nerophis_, and _hippocampus_ are british genera. the _hippocampina_ ( genera, sp.), or sea-horses, are peculiar to the indian and pacific oceans, except three or four species of _hippocampus_ in the atlantic and mediterranean. _order vi.--plectognathi._ "fishes covered with rough scales or shields, having a narrow mouth, and soft posterior dorsal fin." family .--sclerodermi. ( genera, species.) "marine plectognathi, with toothed jaws." distribution.--temperate and tropical seas, but much more abundant in the tropics. family .--gymnodontes. ( genera, species.) "marine or fresh-water plectognathi, with jaws modified into a beak." distribution.--temperate and tropical regions. some species of _tetrodon_ are found in the rivers of tropical america, africa, and asia. species of _tetrodon_ and _orthagoriscus_ have been found on the british coasts. { }sub-class ii.--dipnoi. family .--sirenoidei. ( genera, species.) "eel-shaped fresh-water fishes, covered with cycloid scales; the vertical fins forming a continuous border to the compressed tapering tail." distribution.--rivers of tropical africa, south america, and australia. the genera are:--_protopterus_ ( sp.), tropical africa; _lepidosiren_ ( sp.), amazon valley; _ceratodus_ ( sp.), queensland. sub-class iii.--ganoidei. _order i.--holostei._ "body covered with scales." family .--amiidÆ. ( genus, species.) "a fresh-water fish, with cycloid scales and a long soft dorsal fin." distribution.--united states. family .--polypteridÆ. ( genera, species.) "fresh-water fishes, with ganoid scales and dorsal spines." distribution.--central and western africa. the genera are:-- _polypterus_ ( sp.), the nile and rivers of west africa; _calamoichthys_ ( sp.), old calabar. { }family .--lepidosteidÆ. ( genus, species.) "fresh-water fishes, with ganoid scales, and dorsal and anal fins composed of articulated rays." distribution.--the genus lepidosteus, the garfishes or bony pikes, inhabits north america to mexico and cuba. _order ii.--chondrostei._ "sub-cartilaginous scaleless fishes with heterocercal tail, the skin with osseous bucklers or naked." family .--accipenseridÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine or fresh-water fishes with osseous bucklers and inferior mouth." distribution.--temperate and arctic regions of the northern hemisphere. accipenser ( sp.), comprising the sturgeons, has the distribution of the family; most of the species are marine, but some are confined to the caspian and black seas and the great american lakes with the rivers flowing into them, while the danube, mississippi, and columbia river have peculiar species. the other genus, scaphirhynchus ( sp.), is confined to the mississippi and its tributaries. family .--polydontidÆ. ( genus, species.) "fresh-water fishes, with wide lateral mouth and naked skin." distribution.--the mississippi and yang-tse-kiang rivers. { }sub class iv.--chondropterygii. (sharks and rays.) _order i.--holocephala. (chimæras.)_ family .--chimÆridÆ. ( genera, species.) "shark-like marine fishes, snout of the male with a prehensile organ." distribution.--northern and southern temperate seas. _chimæra_ is british. _order ii.--plagiostomata._ sub-order.--selachoidea. (sharks.) family .--carchariidÆ. ( genera, species.) "sharks with two dorsals and a nictitating membrane." distribution.--seas of the arctic, temperate, and tropical regions. species of _galeus_ and _mustelus_ have occurred on our coasts. family .--lamnidÆ. ( genera, species.) "sharks with two dorsals and no nictitating membrane." distribution.--temperate and tropical seas. species of _lamna_, _alopecias_, and _selache_ have occurred in british seas. { }family .--rhinodontidÆ. ( genus, species.) "sharks with two dorsal fins, the second small, and no nictitating membrane." distribution.--south and east africa. family .--notidanidÆ. ( genus, species.) "sharks with one dorsal fin and no nictitating membrane." distribution.--temperate and tropical seas, from the north atlantic to the cape of good hope and california. one species has occurred on our southern coasts. family .--scylliidÆ. ( genera, species.) "sharks with one dorsal fin and no nictitating membrane." distribution.--all temperate and tropical seas. species of _scyllium_ and _pristiurus_ are british. family .--cestraciontidÆ. ( genus, species.) "sharks with two dorsal fins and no nictitating membrane." distribution.--pacific ocean from japan to new zealand, moluccan sea. family .--spinacidÆ. ( genera, species.) "sharks with two dorsal fins and no nictitating membrane, no anal fin." distribution.--arctic, temperate, and tropical seas. species of _acanthias_, _læmargus_, and _echinorhinus_ have occurred on our coasts. { }family .--rhinidÆ ( genus, species.) "sharks with depressed flat body and large expanded pectoral fins." distribution.--temperate and tropical seas, from britain to california and australia. family .--pristiophoridÆ. ( genus, species.) "sharks with produced flat snout, armed with teeth on each edge." distribution.--seas of japan and australia. sub-order batoidei. (rays.) family .--pristidÆ. ( genus, species.) "rays with produced snout and lateral saw-like teeth." distribution.--seas of tropical and sub-tropical regions. family .--rhinobatidÆ. ( genera, species.) "rays with long and strong tail, having a caudal and two dorsal fins." distribution.--tropical and sub-tropical seas. family .--torpedinidÆ. ( genera, species.) "rays with broad smooth disc, and an electric organ." distribution.--tropical and temperate seas, from britain to tasmania. family .--raiidÆ. ( genera, species.) "rays with broad rhombic disc and no serrated caudal spine." distribution.--all temperate and tropical seas. several species of _raia_ are found on our coasts. { }family .--trygonidÆ ( genera, species.) "rays with the pectoral fins extending to end of snout." distribution.--seas of all temperate and tropical regions, and rivers of tropical america. a species of _trygon_ has occurred on our southern coast. _ellipesurus_ and _tæniura_ are found in the fresh waters of the interior of south america, while the latter genus occurs also in the indian seas, but not in the atlantic. family .--mylobatidÆ. ( genera, species.) "rays with very broad pectoral fins not extending to end of snout." distribution.--temperate and tropical seas. a species of myliobatis is british, but most of the species and genera are confined to tropical seas. _dicerobatis_ and _ceratoptera_ are very large rays, commonly called sea-devils. sub-class v.--cyclostomata. "cartilaginous fishes, with suctorial mouths and without lateral fins." family .--petromyzontidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine or fresh-water eel-like fishes, with suctorial mouths and without barbels." distribution.--coasts and fresh waters of temperate regions of both hemispheres. three species of _petromyzon_ (lampreys), are british. { }family .--myxinidÆ. ( genera, species.) "marine eel-like fishes, with four pairs of barbels." distribution.--seas of the temperate regions of both hemispheres. sub-class vi.--leptocardii. family .--cirrhostomi. ( genus, species.) "a small marine fish with no jaws or fins, and with rudimentary eyes." distribution.--the only species, the lancelet (_amphioxus_), is the lowest form of living vertebrate. it is found in the temperate regions of both hemispheres, and has occurred on our southern coast. _remarks on the distribution of fishes._ _marine fish._--there are about families of marine fishes, and of these no less than are universally, or almost universally, distributed over the seas and oceans of the globe. of the remainder many are widely distributed, some species even ranging from the north atlantic to australia. six families are confined to the northern seas, but four of these consist of single species only, the other two being the discoboli ( genera, sp.), and the accipenseridæ ( genera and sp.). only one family (acanthoclinidæ) is confined to the southern oceans, and that consists of but a single species. four families (sternoptychidæ, stomiatidæ, alepocephalidæ and halosauridæ) are confined to the atlantic ocean, while are found only in the pacific; and of the remainder several are more abundant in the pacific than the atlantic. two families (lycodidæ and gadidæ) are found in the arctic and antarctic seas only, though the { }latter family has a single species in the indian seas. among the curiosities of distribution are,--the extensive genus _diagramma_, confined to the pacific with the exception of one species in the mediterranean; the single species constituting the family lophotidæ, found only in the mediterranean and japan; the small family of notacanthi, confined to greenland, the mediterranean, and west australia; and the four families, sternoptychidæ, stomiatidæ, alepocephalidæ, and halosauridæ, which are believed to inhabit exclusively the depths of the ocean, and are therefore very rarely obtained. _fresh-water fish._--there are families of fishes which inhabit fresh water exclusively, and others, which are both marine and fresh-water. these present many interesting peculiarities of distribution. the neotropical region is the richest in families, and probably also in genera and species. no less than families inhabit it, and of these are altogether peculiar. the ethiopian and nearctic regions each have families, the former with , and the latter with peculiar. several isolated forms, requiring to be placed in distinct families, inhabit the great american lakes; and, no doubt, when the african lakes are equally well known, they will be found also to possess many peculiar forms. the oriental region comes next, with families, of which are peculiar. the palæarctic has , and the australian families, each with only altogether peculiar to it. if we take those regions which are sometimes supposed to be so nearly related that they should be combined, we shall find the fresh-water fishes in most cases markedly distinct. the nearctic and palæarctic regions, for example, together contain families, but only of these occur in both, and only are exclusive inhabitants of these two regions. this shows an amount of diversity that would not, perhaps, be exhibited by any other class of animals. the ethiopian and oriental regions together possess families, only of which are found in both, and only exclusively characteristic of the two. the australian and neotropical regions possess together families, of which are found in both, and are exclusively characteristic of the two. this last fact is very interesting: the marine family of { }trachinidæ possesses a fresh-water genus, _aphritis_, one species of which inhabits tasmania, and two others patagonia; the haplochitonidæ ( genera, sp.) are found only in tierra del fuego, the falkland islands, and south australia; and the galaxidæ ( genus, sp.) inhabit the same regions, but extend to chili, to new zealand and to queensland. we have here an illustration of that connection between south america and australia which is so strongly manifested in plants, but of which there are only scattered indications in most classes of animals. the dividing line across the malay archipelago, separating the oriental from the australian regions, and which is so strikingly marked in mammalia and birds, is equally so in fresh-water fishes. no less than six families have their eastern limits in java and borneo; while the extensive family of cyprinidæ has no less than genera in java and borneo, but not a single species has been found in celebes or the moluccas. the distribution of fresh-water fishes lends no support to the view that the peninsula of india belongs to the ethiopian region. a large proportion of the oriental families are common to the whole region; while there is hardly a single example, of a characteristic ethiopian family or genus extending into the peninsula of india and no further. among the special peculiarities of distribution, is the curious fish, forming the family comephoridæ, which is confined to lake baikal, among the mountains of central asia, , feet above the sea, and a thousand miles distant from the ocean; yet having its nearest allies in the exclusively oceanic family of the mackerels (scomberidæ). the characinidæ are confined to africa and south america, distinct genera inhabiting each region. the salmonidæ are confined to the two northern regions, except a single species of a peculiar genus in new zealand. the genus _osteoglossum_ has a species in south america, another in the sunda islands, and a third in queensland; while the curious sirenoidei are represented by single species of peculiar genera in tropical america, tropical africa, and tropical australia. _fossil fishes._--fishes have existed from a very remote era, and it is remarkable that the first whose remains have been { }discovered belong to the ganoidei, a highly developed group which has continued to exist down to our times, and of which the sturgeon is the best known example. we may therefore be sure that the upper silurian rocks in which these are found, although so very far back in geological history, do not by any means lead us to the time when the primitive fish-type appeared upon the earth. in the carboniferous and permian formations numerous remains of fishes are found, allied to the _lepidosteus_ or gar-pike of north america. the next group in order of appearance, are the plagiostomata, containing the existing sharks and rays. traces of these are found in the highest silurian beds, and become plentiful in the devonian and carboniferous formations and in all succeeding ages, being especially abundant in cretaceous and eocene strata. the holocephali appear first in the oolitic period, and are represented by the living chimæridæ. the dipnoi, to which belong the _lepidosiren_ and _ceratodus_, are believed to have existed in the triassic period, from the evidence of teeth almost identical with those of the existing australian fish. all the ancient fossil fishes belong to the above-mentioned groups, and many of them have little resemblance to existing forms. the teleostean fishes, which form the great bulk of those now living, cannot be traced back further than the cretaceous period, while by far the larger number first appear in the tertiary beds. the salmonidæ, scopelidæ, percidæ, clupeidæ, scombresocidæ, mugilidæ, and siluridæ, or forms closely allied to them, are found in the cretaceous formation. in the eocene beds we first meet with squammipennes, cyprinidæ, pleuronectidæ, characinidæ, murænidæ, gadidæ, pediculati, syngnathidæ, and hippocampidæ. most of these fossils represent marine fishes, those of fresh-water origin being rare, and of little importance as an aid in determining the causes of the distribution of living forms. to understand this we must look to the various changes of the land surface which have led to the existing distribution of all the higher vertebrates, and to those special means of dispersal which mr. darwin has shown to be possessed by all fresh-water productions. { }chapter xxi. the distribution of some of the more important families and genera of insects. although insects are, for the most part, truly terrestrial animals, and illustrate in a very striking manner the characteristic phenomena of distribution, it is impossible here to treat of them in much detail. this arises chiefly from their excessive numbers, but also from the minuteness and obscurity of many of the groups, and our imperfect knowledge of all but the european species. the number of described species of insects is uncertain, as no complete enumeration of them has ever been made; but it probably exceeds , , and these may belong to somewhere about , genera--many times more than all vertebrate animals together. of the eight orders into which insects are usually divided, only two--the coleoptera and lepidoptera--have been so thoroughly collected in all parts of the globe that they can be used, with any safety, to compare their distribution with that of vertebrate animals; and even of these it is only certain favourite groups which have been so collected. among lepidoptera, for example, although the extensive group of butterflies may be said, in a general sense, to be thoroughly well known--every spot visited by civilized man having furnished its quota to our collections--yet the minute tineidæ, or even the larger but obscure noctuidæ, have scarcely been collected at all in tropical countries, and any attempt to study their geographical distribution would certainly lead to erroneous results. the same thing occurs, though perhaps in a less degree, among the coleoptera. while the carabidæ, buprestidæ, and { }longicorns of the tropics, are almost as well known as those of the temperate zones, the staphylinidæ, the smaller elateridæ, and many other obscure and minute groups, are very imperfectly represented from extra-european countries. i therefore propose to examine with some care the distribution of the butterflies, and the sphingina among lepidoptera, and the following large and well-known families of coleoptera:--cicindelidæ, carabidæ, lucanidæ, cetoniidæ, buprestidæ, and the three families of longicorns. these families together contain over , species, classed in nearly , genera, and comprise a large proportion of the best known and most carefully studied groups. we may therefore consider, that a detailed examination of their distribution will lead us to results which cannot be invalidated by any number of isolated facts drawn from the less known members of the class. _range of insects in time._--in considering how much weight is to be given to facts in insect distribution, and what interpretation is to be put upon the anomalies or exceptional cases that may be met with, it is important to have some idea of the antiquity of the existing groups, and of the rate at which the forms of insect life have undergone modification. the geological record, if imperfect in the case of the higher animals, is fragmentary in the extreme as regards indications of former insect life; yet the positive facts that it does disclose are of great interest, and have an important bearing on our subject. these facts and the conclusions they lead to have been discussed in our first volume (p. ), and they must be carefully weighed in all cases of apparent conflict or incongruity between the distribution of insects and that of the higher animals. { }_order--lepidoptera._ sub-order--_lepidoptera_ rhopalocera, or butterflies. family .--danaidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . |-- -- -- | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the danaidæ are now held to comprehend, not only the whole of the group so named by doubleday, but a large portion of the heliconidæ of that author. their range is thus extended over the whole of the tropical regions. a few species spread northwards into the palæarctic and nearctic regions, but these are only stragglers, and hardly diminish the exclusively tropical character of the group. the more remarkable genera are,--_hestia_ ( sp.), and _ideopsis_ ( sp.), confined to the malayan and moluccan districts; _danais_ ( sp.), which has the range of the whole family; _euploea_ ( sp.), confined to the oriental and australian regions, but especially abundant in the malayan and moluccan districts; _hamadryas_ ( sp.), australian region only. the remaining genera constitute the danaioid heliconidæ, and are strictly confined to tropical america, except a few species which extend into the southern parts of the nearctic region. the chief of these genera are:-- _ithomia_ ( sp.), _melinæa_ ( sp.), _napeogenes_ ( sp.), _mechanitis_ ( sp.), _ceratina_ ( sp.), _dircenna_ ( sp.), and _lycorea_ ( sp.). florida, louisiana, and southern california, mark the northern extent of these insects. { }family .--satyridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | this family has an absolutely universal distribution, extending even into the arctic and antarctic regions. many of the genera are, however, restricted in their range. _hætera_, _lymanopoda_, _calisto_, _corades_, _taygetis_, _pronophila_, _euptychia_, and some allied forms ( genera in all) are neotropical, the last named extending north to canada; _debis_, _melanitis_, _mycalesis_ and _ypthima_, are mostly oriental, but extending also into the australian and the ethiopian regions; _gnaphodes_, _leptoneura_, and a few other small genera, are exclusively ethiopian; _xenica_, _hypocista_, and _heteronympha_, are australian; _erebia_, _satyrus_, _hipparchia_, _coenonympha_, and allies, are mostly palæarctic, but some species are ethiopian, and others nearctic; _chionabas_, is characteristic of the whole arctic regions, but is also found in chili and the western himalayas. the peculiar genera in each region are,--neotropical, ; australian, ; oriental, ; ethiopian, ; palæarctic, ; nearctic, . family .--elymniidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- |-- -- . | -- -- -- | | | | | the genus _elymnias_, which constitutes this family, is characteristic of the malayan and moluccan districts, with some species in northern india and one in ashanti. it thus agrees with several groups of vertebrata, in showing the resemblance { }of malaya with west africa independently of the peninsula of india. family . morphidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- . | -- -- | | | | | the morphidæ are a group of generally large-sized butterflies, especially characteristic of the malayan and moluccan districts, and of tropical america; with a few species extending to the himalayas on the west, and to polynesia on the east. the genera are:-- _amathusia_ ( sp.), northern india to java; _zeuxidia_ ( sp.), the malay district; _discophora_ ( sp.), northern india to philippines, java and timor; _enispe_ ( sp.), northern india; _hyades_ ( sp.), moluccan and polynesian districts, except one species in java; _clerome_ ( sp.), northern india to philippines and celebes; _Æmona_ ( sp.), sikhim; _hyantis_ ( sp.), waigiou; _thaumantis_ ( sp.), indo-chinese and malayan districts; _morpho_ ( sp.), neotropical region, brazilian and central american sub-regions. family . brassolidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the brassolidæ have the same distribution as the genus _morpho_. the genera are:-- _brassolis_ ( sp.); _opsiphanes_ ( sp.); _dynastor_ ( sp.); _penetes_ ( sp.); _caligo_ ( sp.); _narope_ ( sp.); and _dasyopthalma_ ( sp.) { }family .--acrÆidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| . . . | . . . | . -- -- | | | | | the genus _acræa_ is especially abundant in the ethiopian region, which contains two-thirds of all the known species; or species only, range over the whole oriental, and most of the australian regions; while all the rest inhabit the same districts of the neotropical region as the brassolidæ. family .--heliconidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . |-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | the true heliconidæ are very characteristic of the neotropical region; one species only extending into the southern states of north america as far as florida. the genus _heliconius_ ( sp.), has the range of the family; while _eueides_ ( sp.), is confined to the brazilian and central american sub-regions. family .--nymphalidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | this is the largest and most universally distributed family of butterflies, and is well illustrated by our common fritillaries, { }tortoise-shell, peacock, painted lady, and purple emperor butterflies. they are found wherever butterfly-life can exist, and some single species--like the painted lady (_pyrameis cardui_)--range almost over the globe. a few of the more extensive and remarkable genera only, can be here noticed:-- _colænis_, _agraulis_, _eresia_, _synchloe_, _epicalia_, _eunica_, _eubagis_, _catagramma_, _callithea_, _ageronia_, _timetes_, _heterochroa_, _prepona_, _hypna_, _paphia_, and _siderone_, are wholly neotropical, as well as many others which have a smaller number of species. _euryphene_, _romaleosoma_, _aterica_, and _harma_, are exclusively ethiopian. _terinos_, _athyma_, _adolias_, and _tanæcia_, are oriental, but they mostly extend into the moluccan region; the last however is strictly malayan, and _adolias_ only reaches celebes. _mynes_ alone, is exclusively australian, but _prothoe_ is almost so, having only one outlying species in java. _eurytela_ and _ergolis_ are confined to the oriental and ethiopian regions, but the latter reaches the moluccas. _cethosia_, _cirrhochroa_, _messaras_, and _symphædra_, are both oriental and australian; while _junonia_, _cyrestis_, _diadema_, _neptis_, and _nymphalis_, are common to the three tropical regions of the eastern hemisphere, the latter extending into the mediterranean district, while _junonia_ occurs also in south america and the southern united states. the most cosmopolitan genus is _pyrameis_, which has representatives in every region and every district. _apatura_ is found in all but the ethiopian and the australian, although it just enters the confines of the latter region in celebes; _limenitis_ is abundant in the oriental region, but extends eastward to celebes and westward into europe, north america, and even into south america. _argynnis_, _melitæa_, and _vanessa_, are almost confined to the palæarctic and nearctic regions; the former however occurs in the himalayas and in the mountains of java, and also in chili and in jamaica. two genera--_dicrorrhagia_ and _helcyra_--have both one species in north india and another in the island of ceram. the number of genera peculiar to each region is as follows:--neotropical, ; australian, ; oriental ; ethiopian, ; palæarctic, ; nearctic, . { }family .--libytheidÆ. ( genus, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- | -- . -- | . -- -- | -- -- | . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | the genus _libythea_, which constitutes this family, appears to have its head-quarters in the oriental region, but extends on all sides in an erratic manner, into various remote and disconnected portions of the globe, as indicated above. family .--nemeobiidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --| -- -- -- | -- -- |-- -- . | -- -- -- | | | | | this group has been separated from the erycinidæ of the older authors, and contains all the non-american genera and species. half the genera and nearly four-fifths of the species of this group are, however, neotropical; one is european; two or three african; and twenty-six oriental and australian. the genera are:-- _nemeobius_ ( sp.), europe; _dodona_ ( sp.), north india; _zemeros_ ( sp.), north india and malaya; _abisara_ ( sp.), north india, malayan and moluccan districts, madagascar and west africa; _taxila_ ( sp.), north india and malaya; _dicallaneura_ ( sp.), moluccan district; _alesa_ ( sp.), _eunogyra_ ( sp.), _cremna_ ( sp.), _bæotis_ ( sp.), are all from the brazilian sub-region; _eurybia_ ( sp.), _mesosemia_ ( sp.), inhabit both the brazilian and mexican sub-regions. { }family .--eurygonidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- --- -- |-- -- -- -- | | | | | this small family, separated from the true erycinidæ by mr. bates, is confined to the tropical forest-districts of continental america. the genera are:-- _eurygona_ ( sp.); _methonella_ ( sp.); the latter found in equatorial south america. family .--erycinidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . | . . -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- -- | | | | | this extensive family of small, but exquisitely beautiful butterflies, is especially characteristic of the virgin forests of the neotropical region, only a few species of three genera extending into the nearctic region. the more important genera, and those which have an exceptional distribution, can alone be here noticed. _charis_ extends from brazil to new york; _apodemia_ from brazil to california, utah, and oregon; _amarynthis_ inhabits the brazilian and antillean sub-regions; _lepricornis_ and _metapheles_ are small genera found only in the mexican sub-region; _lymnas_, _necyria_, _ancyluris_, _diorhina_, _esthemopsis_, _anteros_, _emesis_, _symmachia_, _cricosoma_, _calydna_, _lemonias_, _nymphidium_, _theope_, and _aricoris_ are common to the brazilian and mexican sub-regions. all the other genera ( in number) are only known from the brazilian sub-region, and of these a considerable proportion are confined to the damp equatorial forests of the amazon valley. { }family .--lycÆnidÆ. ( genera, , species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the lycænidæ--of the variety and beauty of which in tropical regions our own "blues" and "coppers" give but a faint idea--are a group of universal distribution. we shall therefore indicate those genera which are restricted to one or more regions, or are nearly cosmopolitan. the large genus _polyommatus_ (containing species) has the same universal distribution as the entire family. our common "blues" well represent this genus. _lycæna_ (comprising the "coppers") is more especially characteristic of the palæarctic and nearctic regions, but straggling species occur also in north india, south africa, chili, and new zealand. _thecla_ is especially characteristic of the neotropical region, where there are about species; in the nearctic region, ; in the palæarctic ; and in the ethiopian . _miletus_, _lucia_, _hypolycæna_, _myrina_, and _deudorix_ are common to the three tropical regions of the eastern hemisphere--the ethiopian, oriental, and australian. _aphneus_ and _iolaus_ are common to the ethiopian and oriental regions, the latter extending to celebes. _ialmenus_, _pseudodipsas_, _curetis_, and _amblypodia_ are common to the oriental and australian regions, but the first-named is found also in madagascar. _zephyrus_ is found only in the nearctic and palæarctic, _eumæus_ in the nearctic and neotropical regions. the nearctic region has one peculiar genus (_feniseca_); the palæarctic has two--_thestor_ and _læosopis_; the ethiopian has nine--_pentila_, _liptana_, _d'urbania_, _axiocerces_, _capys_, _phytala_, _epitola_, _hewitsonia_, and _deloneura_; the oriental has five--_allotinus_, _ilerda_, _poritia_, _camena_, and _liphyra_; the australian has three--_hypochrysops_, _utica_, and _ogyris_; and the neotropical also three--_lamprospilus_, _theorema_, and _trichonis_. { }family .--pieridÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . -- | | | | | the pieridæ are distributed almost, if not quite, as widely over the globe as the last family, and we shall group the genera in the same manner. _pieris_ ( sp.) is cosmopolitan; _terias_ and _callidryas_ are found in all the four tropical regions, and as far north as pennsylvania in the nearctic region; _pontia_, _tachyris_, _eronia_, and _thestias_ are common to the ethiopian, oriental, and australian regions, the last-named, however, only extending as far as timor; _colias_ is pre-eminently palæarctic and nearctic, with a few ethiopian species, one indian, two in chili, and one in the sandwich islands; _anthocharis_ is wholly palæarctic and nearctic; _midea_ has two species nearctic, and one in japan; _gonepteryx_ is palæarctic and neotropical, extending into texas; _idmais_ and _callosune_ are ethiopian and oriental; _thyca_ and _iphias_ are oriental and australian; _meganostoma_ is nearctic and neotropical; _nathalis_ and _kricogonia_ are neotropical, ranging into florida, texas, and colorado. the peculiar genera are pretty equally distributed. the neotropical region has ten, two being confined to chili; _euterpe_ and _leptalis_ are the most remarkable, the latter containing a number of forms mimicking the heliconidæ and danaidæ. the oriental region has two, _prioneris_ and _dercas_, the australian one, _elodina_; the ethiopian two, _teracolus_ and _pseudopontia_; the palæarctic two, _leucophasia_ and _zegris_; the nearctic one, _neophasia_. { }family .--papilionidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the papilionidæ, comprising many of the noblest and richest-coloured butterflies, and long placed at the head of the group, are almost as universally distributed as the pieridæ, but they do not extend to so many remote islands nor so far into the arctic and antarctic regions. nine-tenths of the species belong to the genus _papilio_, and these are especially abundant in tropical regions, although species occur in every region and every sub-region. well-marked sub-divisions of this large genus are characteristic of each great region--as the "Æneas" group in the neotropical, the "paris" group in the oriental, the "Ægeus" group in the australian, the "zenobius" group in the ethiopian, and many others. the few species of the palæarctic region belong, on the other hand, to a group of universal distribution, and the nearctic has a good number of species allied to neotropical forms. the other genera have mostly a very restricted range. _parnassius_ is an alpine genus, confined to the palæarctic and nearctic regions. the palæarctic region further possesses peculiar genera--_mesapia_, _hypermnestra_, _doritis_, _sericinus_, and _thais_; the oriental has , _calinaga_, _teinopalpus_, _bhutanitis_, and _leptocircus_, the latter going as far as celebes; the australian has , _eurycus_; and the neotropical , _euryades_, confined to the chilian sub-region. the ethiopian and the nearctic regions have no peculiar genera. { }family .--hesperidÆ. ( genera (?), , species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . | | | | | the hesperidæ, or skippers, are an immense group of mostly small obscurely coloured butterflies, universally distributed, and of which hosts of species still remain to be discovered and described. as the grouping of these into genera is not yet satisfactorily accomplished, only the more extensive and best known groups will be here noticed. _pamphila_ and _hesperia_ are universally distributed; _nisoniades_ seems to be only absent from the australian region. the neotropical region is pre-eminently rich in hesperidæ, genera being found there, of which are peculiar to it; the australian region has genera, only (_euschemon_) being peculiar; the oriental has , with peculiar; the ethiopian, , with peculiar; the palæarctic , with (_erynnis_) almost peculiar, a species occurring in mexico; the nearctic , with none peculiar, being found also in the neotropical region, in the palæarctic, and the rest being of wide distribution. many new genera have, however, been recently described in the united states, but it is impossible yet to determine how many, if any, of these are peculiar. more than species of the family are included in mr. edwards' "synopsis of north american butterflies,"--a very large number considering that europe possesses only about . { }sub-order--lepidoptera heterocera, or moths. the lepidoptera heterocera, or moths, are of such immense extent, and are, besides, so imperfectly known compared with the butterflies, that it would serve no purpose to go into the details of their distribution; especially as most of the families and a considerable number of the genera are cosmopolitan. we propose therefore to notice only the sphingina, which, being generally of large size and finely marked or coloured, and many of them day-fliers, have been extensively collected; and whose numbers are more manageable than the succeeding groups. _group i.--sphingina._ family .--zygÆnidÆ ( genera, about species). the zygænidæ are universally distributed, but many of the genera are restricted in their range. _zygæna_ ( sp.) is mainly palæarctic, but species are south african, and north american; _procris_ ( sp.) has a scattered distribution, from the palæarctic region to south america, south africa and north india; _heterogynis_ ( sp.) and _dysauxis_ ( sp.) are european; _pollanisus_ ( sp.) is australian; _glaucopis_ ( sp.) is mainly neotropical, with a few oriental; _syntomis_ ( sp.) is found in all the old-world regions; and _euchromia_ ( sp.) is found in all warm countries, though especially abundant in south america. family .--castniidÆ ( genera, species). the castniidæ have an interesting distribution, being mainly neotropical, with four genera in australia and new guinea. _castnia_, _coronis_, and _gazera_, with species, are neotropical; _synemon_, _euschemon_, _damias_ and _cocytia_, with species, are australian, the latter being found only in the papuan islands. { }family .--agaristidÆ ( genera, species). the agaristidæ are beautiful diurnal moths, allied to the castniidæ, but almost confined to the australian and oriental regions, with a few in the ethiopian. the most important genera are,--_agarista_ ( sp.), australia and new guinea; _eusemia_ ( sp.), _Ægocera_ ( sp.), oriental and ethiopian regions; the other genera being confined to the islands from java to new guinea. family .--uraniidÆ ( genera, species). these magnificent insects have a singular distribution. the gold-spangled _urania_ ( sp.) is characteristic of tropical america, but a single species of great magnificence occurs in madagascar. the large but sober-tinted _nyctalemon_ ( sp.) is found in the neotropical, oriental, and australian regions. family .--stygiidÆ. ( genera, species.) these insects are confined to the palæarctic and neotropical regions, genera in the former, in the latter. family .--ÆgeriidÆ. ( genera, species.) this family is found in all parts of the world except australia. _Ægeria_ is most abundant in europe, but is found also in north and south america. family .--sphingidÆ. ( genera, species.) the sphinx moths are cosmopolitan. the most important genera are,--_macroglossa_ ( sp.), _chærocampa_ ( sp.), and _macrosila_ ( sp.), all cosmopolitan; _sesia_ ( sp.), europe, asia, and north america; _deilephila_ ( sp.), palæarctic and oriental regions, nearctic region, and chili; _sphinx_ ( sp.), europe, { }north and south america; _smerinthus_ ( sp.), all regions except australia. our death's head moth (_acherontia atropos_) ranges to sierra leone and the philippine islands. _general remarks on the distribution of the diurnal lepidoptera and sphingidea._ the diurnal lepidoptera or butterflies, comprehend genera and , species, arranged in families, according to mr. kirby's catalogue published in . the sphingidea consist of genera and , species, arranged in families, according to the british museum catalogue dated ; and as this includes all mr. bates' collections in america and my own in the east, it is probable that no very large additions have since been made. the distribution of the families and genera of butterflies corresponds generally with that of birds--and more especially with that of the passerine birds--in showing a primary division of the earth into eastern and western, rather than into northern and southern lands. the neotropical region is by far the richest and most peculiar. it possesses families of butterflies, whereas the other regions have only from , in the palæarctic, to in the ethiopian and oriental regions; and as none of the old world regions possess any peculiar families, the new world has a very clear superiority. in genera the preponderance is still greater, since the neotropical region possesses about altogether peculiar to it, out of a total of genera, many of which are cosmopolitan. comparing, now, the eastern regions with the western, we have two peculiar families in the former to in the latter; while the southern regions (australian and neotropical) possess not a single peculiar family in common. in the sphingidea the same general features recur in a less marked degree, the neotropical being the richest region; but here we have one family (castniidæ) which appears to be confined to the two southern regions,--the australian and neotropical. the distribution of the genera affords us some facts of special interest, which must be briefly noticed. there are several { }genera typically characteristic of the north temperate regions which have a few species widely scattered on mountains, or in the temperate parts of the southern hemisphere. chili possesses representatives of four of these genera--_argynnis_, _lycæna_, _colias_, and _deilephila_; and this has been thought by some naturalists to be of such importance as to outweigh the purely neotropical character of a large portion of the chilian fauna, and to render it advisable to join it on, as an outlying portion of a great north temperate zoological region. but when we remember that _argynnis_ occurs also in java, and _lycæna_ in new zealand, while _colias_ ranges to southern africa, malabar, and the sandwich islands, we can hardly admit the argument to be a sound one. for a fuller discussion of this question see vol. ii., pp. - . the remarkable fact of the existence of the otherwise purely neotropical genus, _urania_, in madagascar is even more striking, supported as it is by the antillean, _solenedon_, belonging to a family of mammalia otherwise confined to madagascar, and by one or two coleopterous genera, to be noticed farther on as common to the two countries. our view as to the true explanation of this and analogous phenomena will be found at vol. i., p. . the division of the castniidæ (a family almost confined to the tropics), between the neotropical and australian regions, is also a very curious and important phenomenon, because it seems to point to a more remote connection between the two countries than that indicated by the resemblance between the productions of south temperate america with those of australia and new zealand; but we have already shown that the facts may be explained in another way. (see vol. i., pp. and ). the division of the malay archipelago between the oriental and australian regions is clearly marked in the lepidoptera, and it is very curious that it should be so, for in this, if in any group of animals, we should expect an almost complete fusion to have been effected. lepidoptera fly readily across wide tracts of sea, and there is absolutely no climatal difference to interfere with their free migration from island to island. yet we find no less than genera abundant in the indo-malayan { }sub-region which never cross the narrow seas to the east of them; others which only pass to celebes; and more which have extended from java along the closely connected line of islands eastwards to timor. on the other side, we find strictly austro-malayan genera, and others which have a single representative in java. the following is a list of these genera:-- indo-malayan genera:--_amathusia_, _thaumantis_, _tanæcia_, _eurytela_, _ilerda_, _zemeros_, _taxila_, _aphneus_, _prioneris_, _dercas_, _clerome_, _adolias_, _apatura_, _limenitis_, _iolaus_, _leptocircus_, (the last six reach celebes); _discophora_, _thestias_; (the last two reach timor.) austro-malayan genera:--_hamadryas_, _hypocista_, _mynes_, _dicallaneura_, _elodina_, _hyades_, _prothoë_ (the last two reach java). the most characteristic groups, which range over the whole archipelago and give it a homogeneous character, are the various genera of danaidæ, the genus _elymnias_, and _amblypodia_ with a few other lycænidæ. these are all abundant and conspicuous groups, but they are nevertheless exceptions to the general rule of limitation to one or other of the regions. the cause of this phenomenon is probably to be found in the limitation of the larvæ of many lepidoptera to definite species, genera, and families of plants; and we shall perhaps find, when the subject is carefully investigated, that the groups which range over the whole archipelago feed on genera of plants which have an equally wide range, while those which are limited to one region or the other, have food-plants belonging to genera which are similarly limited. it is known that the vegetation of the two regions differs largely in a botanical sense, although its general aspect is almost identical; and this may be the reason why the proportion of wide-ranging genera is greater among such insects as feed upon dead wood, than among those which derive their support from the juices of the living foliage. this subject will be again discussed under the various families of coleoptera, and it will be well to bear in mind the striking facts of generic limitation which have been here brought forward. { }fossil butterflies, apparently of existing genera, occur in the miocene and eocene formations, and an extinct form in the lower oolite; but these cannot be held to give any adequate idea of the antiquity of so highly specialised a group, which, in all probability, dates back to palæozoic times, since one of the bombycidæ,--a group almost as highly-organised--has been discovered in the coal formation of belgium. (see vol. i. p. .) _order--coleoptera._ geodephaga, or carnivorous ground beetles. the geodephaga consist of two families, cicindelidæ and carabidæ, differing in their form and habits no less than in their numbers and distribution. the former, comprising about species, are far more abundant and varied in tropical regions; the latter, more than ten times as numerous, are highly characteristic of the north temperate zone, where fully half of all the known species occur. cicindelidÆ. ( genera, species.) the cicindelidæ, or tiger beetles, are a moderately extensive group, spread over the whole globe, but much more abundant in tropical than in temperate or cold countries. more than half of the species ( ) belong to the single genus _cicindela_, the only one which is cosmopolitan. the other large genera are,--_collyris_ ( sp.), wholly oriental; _odontochila_ ( sp.), south american, with species in java and celebes; _tetracha_ ( sp.), mostly south american, but with species in south europe, north america, and australia; _tricondyla_ ( sp.), characteristic of the oriental region, but extending eastward to new guinea; _ctenostoma_ ( sp.), wholly neotropical; _dromica_ ( sp.), wholly african, south of lake ngami and mozambique; _therates_ ( sp.), wholly malayan, from singapore to new guinea. the genera are distributed in the several regions as follows:--the nearctic region has genera, of which are peculiar to it; the { }palæarctic has , but none peculiar; the ethiopian , with peculiar; the oriental , with peculiar; the australian , with peculiar; and the neotropical , with peculiar. the connection between south america and australia is shown by the latter country possessing species of the characteristic south american genus _tetracha_, as well as one of _megacephala_. the small number of peculiar genera in the oriental and australian regions is partly owing to the circumstance that two otherwise peculiar oriental genera have spread eastward to the moluccas and new guinea, a fact to be easily explained by the great facilities such creatures have for passing narrow straits, and by the almost identical physical conditions in the malayan portion of the two regions. the insects of indo-malaya were better adapted to live in the austro-malay islands than those of australia itself, and the latter group of islands have thus acquired an oriental aspect in their entomology, though not without indications of the presence of an aboriginal insect-fauna of a strictly australian type. the relation of the australian and neotropical regions is exhibited by this family in an unusually distinct manner. _tetracha_, a genus which ranges from mexico to la plata, has species in australia; while _megacephala_ has american and australian species. another curious, and more obscure relation, is that between the faunas of tropical america and tropical africa. this is also illustrated by the genus _megacephala_, which has african species as well as south american; and we have also the genus _peridexia_, which has species in south america and in madagascar. several of the sub-regions are also well characterised by peculiar genera; as _amblychila_ and _omus_ confined to california and the rocky mountains; _manticora_, _ophryodera_, _platychile_ and _dromica_, characteristic of south africa; _megalomma_ and _pogonostoma_ peculiar to the mascarene islands; and _caledonica_ to the islands east of new guinea. the extensive and elegant genus _collyris_ is highly characteristic of the oriental region, over the whole of which it extends, only just passing the limits into celebes and timor. the cicindelidæ, therefore, fully conform to those divisions of { }the earth which have been found best to represent the facts of distribution in the higher animals. carabidÆ. ( genera, species.) the enormous extent of this family, necessitates a somewhat general treatment. it has been very extensively collected, while its classification has been most carefully worked out, and a detailed exposition of its geographical distribution by a competent entomologist would be of the greatest interest. a careful study of gemminger and harold's catalogue, however, enables me to sketch out the main features of its distribution, and to detail many of its peculiarities with considerable accuracy. the carabidæ are remarkable among insects, and perhaps among all terrestrial animals, as being a wonderfully numerous, varied, conspicuous, and beautiful group, which is pre-eminently characteristic of the palæarctic region. so strikingly and unmistakably is this the case, that it must be held completely to justify the keeping that region distinct from those to which it has at various times been proposed to join it. although the carabidæ are thoroughly well represented by hosts of peculiar genera and abundant species in every part of the world without exception, yet the palæarctic region alone contains fully one-third, or perhaps nearer two-fifths, of the whole. it may also be said, that the group is a temperate as compared with a tropical one; so that probably half the species are to be found in the temperate and cold regions of the globe, leaving about an equal number in the much more extensive tropical and warm regions. but, among the cold regions, the palæarctic is pre-eminent. north america is also rich, but it contains, by far, fewer genera and fewer species. the magnificent genus _carabus_, with its allies _procerus_ and _procrustes_, containing about species, all of large size, is almost wholly confined to the palæarctic region, only species inhabiting north america, and temperate south america, with one on the african mountain of kilimandjaro. twelve large genera, containing together more than species, are truly cosmopolitan, inhabiting both temperate and tropical { }countries all over the globe; but many of these are more abundant in the palæarctic region than elsewhere. such are _scarites_, _calosoma_, _brachinus_, _cymindis_, _lebia_, _chlænius_, _platynus_, _harpalus_, _bembecidium_, _pæcilus_, and _argutor_. of tropical cosmopolites, or genera found in all the tropical regions, but not in the temperate zones, there seem to be only four,--_catascopus_, _coptodera_, _colopodes_, and _caasnonia_. _pheropsophus_ is confined to the tropics of the old world; while _drimostoma_, though widely scattered, is characteristic of the southern hemisphere. the palæarctic region has about genera of carabidæ which are strictly confined to it, the most important being,--_leistus_ ( sp.), _procerus_ ( sp.), _procrustes_, ( sp.), _zabrus_ ( sp.), _pristonychus_ ( sp.), and _ophonus_ ( sp.); but it possesses a large number in common with the nearctic region. the more remarkable of these are,--_carabus_, _nebria_, _amara_, _cyrtonotus_, _bradycellus_, _anopthalmus_, _celia_, _cychrus_, _patrobus_, _elaphrus_, _notiophilus_, _bradytus_, _callisthenus_, _blethisa_, and several others. many too, though not strictly confined to the north temperate regions, are very abundant there, with a few species isolated in remote countries, or widely scattered, often in an eccentric manner. among these may be mentioned, _trechus_ ( sp.), all north temperate but , which are scattered in java, new caledonia and south america; _dyschirus_ ( sp.), north temperate, with or species in australia, china and la plata; _omaseus_, ( sp.), _steropus_ ( sp.), _platysoma_ ( sp.), and _pterostichus_ ( sp.), are mostly north temperate, but each has a few species in the south temperate zone, new zealand, australia, chili, and the cape of good hope. _dromius_ ( sp.), is about two-thirds palæarctic, the rest of the species being scattered over the world, in chili, north and south america, south africa, burmah, ceylon, and new zealand. the north temperate genera _calathus_ and _olisthopus_, have each one species in new zealand; _percus_ has most of its species in south europe, but in australia; _abax_ is confined to the north temperate zone, but with one species in madagascar; while _læmosthenes_ is said to have a species identically the same in south europe and chili. some of these apparent anomalies may be due to wrong { }determination of the genera, but there can be little doubt that most of them represent important facts in distribution. the nearctic region is comparatively poor in carabidæ. its more important peculiar genera are,--_dicælus_ ( sp.), _pasimachus_ ( sp.), _eurytrichus_ ( sp.), _sphæroderus_ ( sp.), _pinacodera_ ( sp.), and others of smaller extent, about in all. it also possesses representatives of a considerable number of palæarctic genera, as already indicated; and a few of south american genera, of which _helluomorpha_ and _galerita_ are the most important. the neotropical region is very rich in peculiar forms of carabidæ, as in almost all other great groups. it possesses more than peculiar genera, but about of these are confined to the south temperate sub-region. the more important peculiar genera of tropical america are,--_agra_ ( sp.), _ardistomus_ ( sp.), _schizogenius_ ( sp.), _pelecium_, ( sp.), _calophena_ ( sp.), _ctenodactyla_ ( sp.). among the chilian and south temperate peculiar forms are,--_antarctia_ ( sp.), _scelodontis_ ( sp.), _tropidopterus_ ( sp.). among the neotropical genera with outlying species are,--_pachyteles_ ( sp.), one of which is west african; _selenophorus_ ( sp.), with african, oriental, and from new caledonia; _ega_ ( sp), with one in the east indies, and one in new caledonia; _galerita_, with american species, african, and indian; _callida_ and _tetragonoderus_, mostly american, but with a few african, oriental and australian species; and _pseudomorpha_, common to america and oceania. the australian region is almost equally rich, possessing about peculiar genera of carabidæ, no less than of which are confined to new zealand. the most important are, _carenum_, _promecoderus_, _scaraphites_, _notonomus_, _Ænigma_, _sphallomorpha_, _silphomorpha_, and _adelotopus_. the gigantic _catadromus_ has australian species and in java; _homalosoma_ has species in australia and new zealand, and in madagascar. celebes and new guinea have each peculiar genera, and one is common to australia and the cape of good hope. the oriental region possesses peculiar genera, of which are confined to ceylon. the more important are,--_pericallus_, _planetes_, and _mormolyce_. _distrigus_ is also characteristic of this { }region, with one species in madagascar; while it has _orthogonius_, _hexagonia_, _macrochilus_, and _thyreopterus_ in common with the ethiopian region, and is rich in the fine tropical genus, _catascopus_. the ethiopian region has peculiar genera, of which are confined to madagascar. the more important are,--_polyhirma_, _graphipterus_, and _piezia_. _anthia_ is chiefly african, with a few species in india; _abacetus_ is wholly african, except a species in java, and another in south europe; and _hypolithus_ is typically african, but with species in south america and in java. the facts of distribution presented by this important family, looked at broadly, do not support any other division of the earth into primary regions than that deduced from a study of the higher animals. the amount of speciality in each of these regions is so great, that no two of them can be properly united; and in this respect the carabidæ accord wonderfully with the vertebrates. in the details of distribution there occur many singular anomalies; but these are not to be wondered at, if we take into consideration the immense antiquity of coleopterous insects--which existed under specialised forms so far back as the carboniferous epoch,--the ease with which they may be dispersed as compared with larger animals, and the facilities afforded by their small size, habits of concealment, and often nocturnal habits, for adaptation to the most varied conditions, and for surviving great changes of surface and of the surrounding organic forms. the wonder rather is, not that there are so many, but so few cases of exceptional and anomalous distribution; and the fact that these creatures, so widely different from vertebrates in organisation and mode of life, are yet on the whole subject to the same limitations of range as were found to occur among the higher animals, affords a satisfactory proof that the principles on which our six primary regions are founded, are sound; and that they are well adapted to exhibit the most interesting facts of geographical distribution, among all classes of animals. much stress has been laid on the fact of a few species of such typical european genera as _carabus_, _dromius_, and others, being { }found in chili and temperate south america; and it has been thought, that in a system of entomological regions this part of the world must be united to the northern hemisphere. but these writers omit to take into account, either the large numbers of isolated and peculiar forms characteristic of south temperate america, or the indications of affinity with tropical america and australia, both of which are really more important than the connection with europe. the three important chilian genera, _cascelius_, _barypus_, and _cardiopthalmus_, are closely allied to the australian promecoderus; others, as _omostenus_ and _plagiotelium_, are quite isolated; while _antarctia_ and _metius_, according to lacordaire, form a distinct division of the family. chili, too, has many species of _pachyteles_, _coptodera_, and other south american genera; and this affinity is far stronger in many other families than in the carabidæ. the existence of representatives of typical northern forms in chili, is a fact of great interest, and may be accounted for in a variety of ways; (see vol. ii. p. ) but it is not of such a magnitude as to be of primary importance in geographical distribution, and it can only be estimated at its fair value, by taking into account the affinities of all the groups inhabiting that part of the world. lucanidÆ. ( genera, species.) passing over a number of obscure families, we come to the remarkable group of the lucanidæ, or stag-beetles, which, being almost all of large size, and many of them of the most striking forms, have been very thoroughly collected and assiduously studied. the most curious feature of their general distribution, is their scarcity in tropical south america, and their complete absence from tropical north america and the west indian islands, though they appear again in temperate north america. in the new world they may, in fact, be looked upon as a temperate group characteristic of the extra-tropical regions and the highlands; while in the old world, where they are far more abundant, they are distinctly tropical, being especially numerous { }in the oriental and australian regions. no genus has the range of the whole family, _dorcus_ and _lucanus_ being absent from africa, while _cladognathus_ is unknown in the new world and on the continent of australia. the oriental region is the richest in peculiar forms, possessing genera, of which are wholly confined to it, while others only just range beyond it to north china on the one side, or to the austro-malayan islands on the other. the australian region comes next, with genera, of which are wholly peculiar. south america has genera, of which are peculiar. the ethiopian region has genera, of which are peculiar, and of these are confined to the island of bourbon. the palæarctic region has genera, and the nearctic ; one genus being peculiar to europe, and two confined to europe and north america. the ethiopian and oriental regions have genera in common and peculiar to them; the oriental and australian ; while the australian and neotropical have in common, to which may be added _streptocerus_, which represents in chili the australian _lamprima_. among the special features presented by the distribution of the lucanidæ, may be mentioned--the remarkable group of genera, _pholidotus_, _chiasognathus_, and _sphenognathus_, confined to temperate south america, the andes, and mountains of brazil; _lucanus_ ( sp.), almost confined to the oriental and palæarctic regions, three species only inhabiting north america; _odontolabris_ ( sp.), wholly oriental, with sp. in celebes; _nigidius_ ( sp.), ethiopian, but with species in formosa, the philippines, and malacca; _syndesus_ ( sp.), common to australia, new caledonia, and south america; _figulus_ ( sp.), divided between africa and madagascar on the one hand, and australia, with the malay and pacific islands, on the other. the facts of distribution here sketched out are in perfect accordance with those of many groups of vertebrates. the regions are sharply contrasted by their peculiar and characteristic genera; the several relations of those regions are truly indicated; while there is a comparatively small proportion of cases of anomalous or eccentric distribution. { }cetoniidÆ. ( genera, species.) as representative of the enormous group of the lamellicorns, which, according to continental entomologists, forms a single family numbering nearly , species, we take the cetoniidæ or rose-chafers. these comprise a number of the most brilliant and beautifully-coloured insects, including the gigantic _goliathi_, which are among the largest of known beetles. they have been assiduously collected in every part of the world, and their classification has been elaborated by many of our most eminent entomologists. the cetoniidæ are especially abundant in tropical and warm countries, yet far more so in the old world than in the new; and in the old world, the ethiopian region exhibits a marvellous richness in this family, no less than genera being found there, while , or more than half the total number, are peculiar to it. next in richness, though still very far behind, comes the oriental region, with genera, of which are peculiar. the neotropical has only genera, but all except two are peculiar to it, and one of these is not found out of the new world. the australian region has genera, three only being peculiar. the palæarctic region has , with peculiar; the nearctic , with peculiar. the affinities of the regions for each other, as indicated by the genera confined to two adjacent regions, are in this family somewhat peculiar. the ethiopian and oriental show the most resemblance, genera being common and peculiar to the two; the oriental and the australian are unusually well contrasted, having only one genus exclusively in common, while genera are found in the indo-malay islands which do not cross the boundary to the austro-malayan division, and several others only pass to the nearest adjacent islands; on the other hand, the only large australian genus, _schizorhina_, is found in many parts of the moluccas, but not further west. the australian and neotropical regions exhibit no direct affinity, the nearest ally to the south american gymnetidæ being _clinteria_, an african and asiatic genus; while not a single genus is common { }to australia and south america. the nearctic and palæarctic regions have genera in common, which are found in no other part of the world. among the special features of interest connected with the distribution of this family, we must first notice the exceptional richness of madagascar, which alone possesses peculiar genera. south africa is also very rich, having peculiar genera. _stethodesma_ is very peculiar, being divided between south america and mexico on the one hand, and west and south africa on the other. _stalagmosoma_ is a desert genus, ranging from persia to dongola. no genus is cosmopolitan, or even makes any approach to being so, except _valgus_, which occurs in all the regions except the neotropical; and even the family seems to be not universally distributed, since no species are recorded either from new zealand, the pacific islands, or the antilles. the facts here brought forward, lead us to the conclusion that the cetoniidæ are an old-world tropical family, which had been well developed in africa and asia before it spread to australia and america; and that it is only capable of being freely dispersed in the warmer regions of the earth. this view will explain the absence of affinity between the australian and neotropical regions, the only closer connection between which, has almost certainly occurred in the colder portions of the temperate zone. buprestidÆ. ( genera, , species.) the next family suited to our purpose is that of the buprestidæ, consisting as it does of many large and some gigantic species, generally adorned with brilliant metallic colours, and attracting attention in all warm countries. although these insects attain their full development of size and beauty only in the tropics, they are not much less abundant in the warmer parts of the temperate zone. in the catalogue of the coleoptera of europe and the mediterranean basin, by m. de marseul ( ), we find species of buprestidæ enumerated, although { }the district in question only forms a part of the palæarctic region, which would thus seem to possess its full proportion of the species of this family. confining ourselves to the generic forms, we find far less difference than usual between the numbers possessed by the tropical and the temperate regions; the richest being the australian, with genera, of which are peculiar; and the poorest the nearctic, with genera, of which are peculiar. the oriental has genera, of which are peculiar; the neotropical , of which the large proportion of are peculiar; the ethiopian , of which are peculiar; and the palæarctic also , but with peculiar. a most interesting feature in the distribution of this family, is the strong affinity shown to exist between the australian and neotropical regions, which have genera common to both and found nowhere else; but besides this, the extensive and highly characteristic australian genus, _stigmodera_, is closely related to a number of peculiar south american genera, such as _conognatha_, _hyperantha_, _dactylozodes_,--the last altogether confined to chili and temperate south america. here we have a striking contrast to the cetoniidæ, and we can hardly help concluding, that, as the latter is typically a tropical group, so the present family, although now so largely tropical, had an early and perhaps original development in the temperate regions of australia, spreading thence to temperate south america as well as to the tropical regions of asia and africa. the australian and oriental regions have genera exclusively in common, but they also each possess a number of peculiar or characteristic genera, such as the indo-malayan _catoxantha_ (which has only a single species in the moluccas) and nine others of less importance; and the exclusively austro-malayan genus, _sambus_, with five smaller groups, and _cyphogastra_, with only indo-malay species. the oriental and ethiopian regions are very distinct, only possessing the single genus, _sternocera_, exclusively in common. the nearctic and palæarctic are also distinct, only one genus, _dicerca_, being confined to america (north and south) and europe, a fact which again points to a southern origin for this family, and its comparatively recent extension into the { }north temperate zone. it must be remembered, however, that in view of the immense geological antiquity of the existing families of beetles, dating back certainly to the secondary and probably to the palæozoic epoch, "comparatively recent" may still be of considerable antiquity. it is somewhat singular that north and south america have no genera exclusively in common. the connection between south america and africa seems to be shown,--by the genus _psiloptera_, the mass of the species being divided between these regions, with a few widely scattered over the globe; and the american genus _actenodes_, which has one species in west africa. somewhat allied, is the extensive genus _polybothris_, strictly confined to madagascar. the genus _agrilus_ is perhaps cosmopolitan, although no species of the family is recorded from new zealand. among the peculiarities of distribution we may notice,--the genus _sponsor_, with species in the island of mauritius, in celebes, and in new guinea; _ptosima_, scattered between the united states, mendoza in south temperate america, south europe, the philippine islands, and north china; _polycesta_, which besides inhabiting south america, north america, and europe, has a single species in madagascar; and _belionota_, which has species african, indo-malayan, austro-malayan, and in california. the extensive genus _acmæodera_, is most abundant in the warm and dry portions of the palæarctic, ethiopian, and nearctic regions, with some in the andes and south temperate america, a few in brazil and the west indies, and said to be from the philippines. about one-third of the genera (containing more than half the species) have a tolerably extensive range, while the genera confined to single regions contain only about one-fourth of the total number of species. it will, i think, be admitted, after a careful study of the preceding facts, that the regions and sub-regions here adopted, serve to exhibit, with great clearness, the chief phenomena of distribution presented by this interesting family. { }longicornia. ( , genera, , species). the elegant and admired group of the longicorn beetles, is treated by continental authors as a single family, consisting of three sub-divisions--the prionidæ, cerambycidæ, and lamiidæ of english entomologists. these are so closely related, and are so similar in form, habits, and general distribution, that it will be best to consider the whole as one group, noticing whatever peculiarities occur in the separate divisions. the endless structural differences among these insects, have led to their being classed in an unusual number of genera, which average little more than species each; a number far below that in any of the other families we have been considering, and probably below that which obtains in any of the more extensive groups of animals or plants. this excessive subdivision of the genera, a large number of which consist of only one or two species, renders it difficult to determine with precision the relations of the several regions, since the affinities of these genera for each other are in many cases undetermined. a group of such enormous extent as this, can only be properly understood after years of laborious study; we must therefore content ourselves with such results as may be obtained from a general survey of the group, and from a comparison of the range of the several genera, by means of a careful tabulation of the mass of details given in the recent catalogue of messrs. gemminger and harold and the noble work of lacordaire. the proportionate extent of the three families of longicorns is very unequal; the prionidæ comprising about per cent., the cerambycidæ per cent., and the lamiidæ per cent. of the total number of species; and the genera are nearly in the same proportions, being almost exactly , , and per cent. of the whole, respectively; or, prionidæ, cerambycidæ, and lamiidæ. the several regions, however, present marked differences in their proportions of these families. in the two north temperate regions, the cerambycidæ are considerably more numerous than the lamiidæ, in the proportion of about to { } ; and in this respect the neotropical region agrees with them, though the superiority in the proportion of cerambycidæ is somewhat less. in the old world tropical regions, however, and in australia, the lamiidæ greatly preponderate--being nearly double in the oriental and ethiopian regions (or as to ), while in the australian it is as to . the prionidæ show a similar difference, though in a less degree; being proportionately more numerous in the north temperate and neotropical regions. now, as regards the north temperate regions, this difference can be, to some extent explained, by a difference in the habits of the insects. the lamiidæ, which both in the larva and perfect state have exceedingly powerful jaws, exclusively frequent timber trees, and almost always such as are dead; while the cerambycidæ, are generally more delicate and have weaker mandibles, and many of the species live on shrubs, dead twigs, foliage, and even on flowers. the immense superiority of the tropics in the number and variety of their timber trees, and the extent of their forests, sufficiently accounts for their superiority to the temperate regions in the development of lamiidæ; but the great excess of cerambycidæ in south america as compared with the rest of the tropics, is not to be so readily explained. bearing in mind the different proportions of the families, as above noted, we may now consider the distribution of the longicorns as a whole. in number of generic forms, the neotropical region, as in so many other groups, has a marked superiority. it possesses genera, of which (or about / of the whole) are peculiar to it. the australian and oriental regions come next, and are exactly equal, both possessing genera, and having almost exactly the same proportion (in each case a little less than ¾) peculiar. the ethiopian region has genera, with about / peculiar; the palæarctic , with (rather more than ¼) peculiar; and the nearctic , with (a little more than half) peculiar. the more isolated of the sub-regions are also well characterised by peculiar genera. thus, chili with temperate south america possesses , a large proportion being cerambycidæ; the malagasi group , { }with a preponderance of lamiidæ; and new zealand , of which the cerambycidæ are only slightly in excess. the relations between the longicorn fauna of the several regions, are such as are in accordance with the dependence of the group on a warm climate and abundant vegetation; and indicate the efficiency of deserts and oceans as barriers to their migration. the neotropical and australian regions have only genera in common, but these are sufficient to show, that there must probably once have been some means of communication between the two regions, better adapted to these insects than any they now possess. the nearctic and neotropical regions have , and the nearctic and palæarctic genera in common and peculiar to them, the latter fact being the most remarkable, because no means of inter-communication now exists, except in high latitudes where the species of the longicorns are very few. the oriental and australian regions, on the other hand, are closely connected, by having no less than genera of longicorns in common and peculiar to them. most of these are specially characteristic of the malay archipelago, often extending over all the islands from sumatra to new guinea. this large number of wide-spread genera of course gives a character of uniformity to the entire area over which they extend; and, with analogous facts occurring in other families, has led many entomologists to reject that division of the archipelago between the australian and oriental regions, which has been so overwhelmingly demonstrated to be the natural one in the case of the higher animals. the general considerations already advanced in chapter ii. enable us, however, to explain such anomalies as this, by the great facilities that exist for the transfer from island to island of such small animals, so closely connected with woody vegetation in every stage of their existence. that this is the true and sufficient explanation, is rendered clear by certain additional facts, which those who object to the sharp division of the indo-malay and austro-malay sub-regions have overlooked. an analysis of all the malay longicorns proves, that besides the genera characteristic of the archipelago as a whole, there are genera which are confined to one or other of its component { }sub-regions. many of these, it is true, consist of single species confined to a single island, and we will not lay any stress on these; but there are also several important groups, which extend over the indo-malay or the austro-malay islands only, stopping abruptly at the dividing-line between them. for example, on the indo-malay side we have _euryarthrum_, _leprodera_, _aristobia_, _coelosterna_, and _entelopes_, and what is perhaps even more satisfactory, the large genera _agelasta_ and _astathes_, abundant in all the indo-malay islands, but having only one or two species just passing the boundary into celebes. on the other side we have _tethionea_, _sphingnotus_, _arrhenotus_, _tmesisternus_ (the last three genera abounding from new guinea to celebes, but totally unknown further west), _hestima_, _trigonoptera_, _amblymora_, _stesilea_, _enes_, and the large genus _micracantha_, with but a single species beyond the boundary,-- austro-malayan genera in all, each found in more than one island, but none of them extending west of celebes. here we have clear proof that the boundary line between the two great regions exists for longicorns, as well as for all other animals; but in this case an unusually large number have been able to get across it. this, however, does not abolish the barrier, but only proves that it is not absolutely effectual in all cases. those who maintain that the malay archipelago forms a single coleopterous region, must disprove or explain the instances of limited range here adduced. out of nearly known genera of these insects, only one genus, _clytus_, appears to be cosmopolitan. _saperda_ and _callichroma_ are the only others that perhaps occur in every region; but these are both wanting over wide tracts of the earth's surface, _saperda_ being absent from tropical africa and the malay archipelago; and _callichroma_ from the australian region, except one species in polynesia. many of the genera of longicorns have a somewhat wide and scattered distribution, indicative of decadence or great antiquity. _mallodon_ and _parandra_ are mostly south american, but have species in australia and africa; _oeme_ is found in brazil and the united states, with one species in west africa; _ceratophorus_ has species in west africa and in new zealand. _xystrocera_ is mostly african, but has single species in { }borneo, java, amboyna and south australia; _phyton_ has one species in north america and the other in ceylon; _philagetes_ has in south africa, and in malacca; _toxotus_ abounds in north america and europe, with one species away in madagascar. _leptura_ is also north temperate, but has a species at the cape, one at singapore and a third in celebes. _necydalis_ has species in north and south america, europe and australia. _hylotrupes_ has species in north america and europe, and in australia; _leptocera_ prefers islands, being found only in ceylon, madagascar, bourbon, batchian, the new hebrides, new caledonia and north australia; _hathliodes_ is australian, with species in ceylon; _schoenionta_ has malayan species, and in natal. many other cases equally curious could be quoted, but these are sufficient. they cannot be held to indicate any close relation between the distant countries in which species of the same genus are now found, but perhaps serve to remind us that groups of great antiquity, and probably of great extent, have dwindled away, leaving a few surviving relics scattered far and wide, the sole proofs of their former predominance. _general observations on the distribution of coleoptera._ we have now passed in review six of the most important and best known groups of the coleoptera or beetles, comprising about , genera, and more than , species. although presenting certain peculiarities and anomalies, we have found that, on the whole, their distribution is in very close accordance with that of the higher animals. we have seen reason to believe that these great and well-marked groups have a high geological antiquity, and by constantly bearing this fact in mind, we can account for many of the eccentricities of their distribution. they have probably survived changes of physical geography which have altogether extinguished many of the more highly organised animals, and we may perhaps gain some insight into the bearing of those changes, by considering the cross relations between the several regions indicated by them. on carefully tabulating the indications given by each of the groups here discussed, i arrive at the following approximate result. the { }best marked affinities between the regions are those between the nearctic and palæarctic,--the oriental and australian,--the australian and neotropical,--which appear to be about equal in each case. next comes that between the ethiopian and oriental on the one side, and the ethiopian and neotropical on the other, which also appear about equal. then follows that between the nearctic and neotropical regions; and lastly, and far the least marked, that between the north temperate and south temperate regions. that the relation between the ethiopian and neotropical region should be so comparatively well marked, is unexpected; but we must consider that in such a comparison as the present, we probably get the result, not of any recent changes or intermigrations, but of all the long series of changes and opportunities of migration that have occurred during many geological epochs,--probably during the whole of the tertiary period, perhaps extending far back into the secondary age. it appears evident that insects exhibit in a very marked degree in their actual distribution, the influence both of very ancient and very modern conditions of the earth's surface. the effects of the ancient geographical features of the earth, are to be traced, in the large number of cases of discontinuous and widely scattered groups which we meet with in almost every family, and which, to some extent, obscure the broader features of distribution due to the period during which the barriers which divide the several primary regions have continued to exist. and this, which we may consider as the normal distribution, is still further obscured in those cases where the barriers between existing regions are of such a nature as to admit of the free passage of insects or their larva in a variety of ways, and (what is perhaps of more importance) in which the physical features on both sides of the barrier are so nearly identical, as to admit of the ready establishment of such immigrants as may occasionally arrive. these conditions concur, for some families of insects, in the case of the oriental and australian portions of the malay archipelago; and it is there that the normal distribution has been sometimes greatly obscured, but never, as we have sufficiently shown, by any means obliterated. { }chapter xxii. an outline of the geographical distribution of mollusca. the mollusca being for the most part marine, it does not enter into the plan of this work to go into much detail as to their distribution. the orders and families will, however, be passed briefly in review, and all terrestrial and fresh-water groups discussed in somewhat more detail; with the object of showing how far their distribution accords with that of the higher animals, and to what extent the anomalies they present can be explained by peculiarities of organisation and habits. if the views advocated in our fifth chapter are correct, the regions there marked out must apply to all classes of animals; and it will be the task of the students of each group, to work out in detail the causes which have led to any special features of distribution. all i can hope to do here, is to show, generally and tentatively, that such a mode of treatment is possible; and that it is not necessary, as it is certainly not convenient or instructive, to have a distinct set of "regions" established for each class or order in the animal and vegetable kingdoms. for all the marine groups i have merely summarised the information contained in mr. woodward's _manual of the mollusca_, but in the case of the land shells i have consulted the most recent general works, and endeavoured to give an accurate, though doubtless a very incomplete, account of the most interesting facts in their distribution. as their classification is very unsettled, i have followed that of the two latest great works, by martens and pfeiffer. { }class.--cephalopoda. _order i.--dibranchiata._ family .--argonautidÆ. "paper nautilus." ( genus, species). distribution.--open seas of all warm regions. two species fossil in tertiary deposits. family .--octopodidÆ. "polypi." ( genera, species). distribution.--norway to new zealand, all tropical and temperate seas and coasts. family .--teuthidÆ. "squids or sea-pens." ( genera, species.) distribution.--universal, to greenland; other genera are fossil, in the lias and oolite. family .--sepiadÆ. "cuttle fish." ( genus, species). distribution.--all seas: other genera are fossil, in eocene and miocene deposits. family .--spirulidÆ. ( genus, species). distribution.--all the warmer seas. { }family .--belemnitidÆ. fossil. ( genera, species). distribution.--lias to chalk in europe, india and north america. _order ii.--tetrabranchiata._ family .--nautilidÆ. ( genus, species, living; genera, species, fossil). distribution.--indian and pacific oceans; and the fossil species from the silurian period to the tertiary, in all parts of the world. family .--orthoceratidÆ. fossil. ( genera, species). distribution.--lower silurian to lias. family .--ammonitidÆ. fossil. ( genera, species). distribution.--upper silurian to chalk. found at , feet elevation in the himalayas. { }class.--gasteropoda. _order i.--prosobranchiata._ family .--strombidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--the strombidæ, or wing-shells, inhabit tropical and warm seas from the mediterranean to new zealand; most abundant in the indian and pacific oceans. there are nearly fossil species, from the lias to miocene and recent deposits. family .--muricidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--all seas, most abundant in the tropics. _trichotropis_ is confined to northern seas; _murex_ and _fusus_ are cosmopolitan. there are about fossil species, ranging from the oolite to the miocene and recent formations. family .--buccinidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--the buccinidæ, or "whelks," range over the whole world, but some of the genera are restricted. _buccinum_ inhabits the north and south temperate seas; _monoceros_ the west coast of america; _cassidaria_ the mediterranean; _phos_, _harpa_, _eburna_, and _ricinula_, are confined to the pacific; _dolium_ inhabits the mediterranean as well as the pacific. there are about fossil species, mostly from the eocene and miocene beds. { }family .--conidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--the cones are universally distributed, but this applies only to the genus _pleurotoma_. _conus_ is tropical and sub-tropical, and _cithara_ is confined to the philippine islands. there are about fossil species, from the chalk formation to the most recent deposits. family .--volutidÆ, ( genera, species.) distribution.--the volutes are mostly tropical; but a small species of _mitra_ is found at greenland, and a _marginella_ in the mediterranean. _cymba_ is confined to the west coast of africa and portugal. _voluta_ extends south to cape horn. there are about fossil species, from the chalk and eocene to recent formations. family .--cyprÆidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--the well-known cowries are found all over the world, but they are much more abundant in warm regions. one small species extends to greenland. there are nearly fossil species, from the chalk to the miocene and recent formations. family .--naticidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--the naticidæ, or sea-snails, though most abundant in the tropics, are found also in temperate seas, and far into the arctic regions. two other genera are fossil; and there are about extinct species, ranging from the devonian to the pliocene formations. { }family .--pyramidellidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--these turreted shells are very widely distributed both in temperate and tropical seas; and most of the genera have also a wide range. there are about extinct species, from so far back as the lower silurian to the pliocene formations. family .--cerithiadÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--these are marine, estuary, or fresh-water shells, of an elongated spiral form; they have a world-wide distribution, but are most abundant in the tropics. _potamides_ ( sp.), is the only fresh-water genus, and is found in the rivers of africa, india and china, to north australia and california. another genus is exclusively fossil, and there are about extinct species, ranging from the trias to the eocene and recent formations. family .--melaniadÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--fresh-water only: lakes and rivers in warm countries, widely scattered. south palæarctic and australian regions, from spain to new zealand; south africa, west africa, and madagascar; united states. there are about fossil species, from the wealden and eocene to recent formations. family .--turritellidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--universal. _cæcum_ is found in north temperate seas only. the other genera are mostly tropical, but some species reach iceland and greenland. there are near species fossil, ranging from the neocomian to the pliocene formations. { }family .--littorinidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--the littorinidæ are mostly found on the coasts in shallow water; as the common periwinkle (_littorina littorea_). they are of world-wide distribution; but _solarium_ and _phorus_ are tropical; while _lacuna_, _skenea_, and most species of _rissoa_ are northern. about species are fossil, ranging from the permian to the pliocene formations. family .--paludinidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--the paludinidæ, or river-snails, are all fresh-water, and range over the whole world. _paludina_ ( sp.), is confined to the northern hemisphere; _ampullaria_ ( sp.), is tropical; _amphibola_ ( sp.), inhabits new zealand and the pacific islands; _valvata_ ( sp.), north america and britain. there are fossil species of _paludina_ and _valvata_, in the wealden formation and more recent fresh-water deposits. family .--neritidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--all warm seas, ranging north to norway and the caspian sea. _neritina_ and _navicella_ inhabit fresh or brackish waters, the latter confined to the countries bordering the indian ocean and the islands of the pacific. there are fossil species, from the trias, lias, and eocene formations down to recent deposits. family .--turbinidÆ. ( genera, species). distribution.--the genus trochus ( sp.) has a world-wide range, but the other genera are mostly tropical, and are most abundant in the indian and pacific oceans. there are more than fossil species, found in all parts of the world, from the lower silurian to the tertiary formations. { }family .--haliotidÆ. ( genera, species). distribution.--the ear-shells are most abundant in the indian and pacific oceans; some are found on the east coasts of the atlantic, but there are very few in the west indies. _ianthina_ ( sp.) consists of floating oceanic snails found in the warm parts of the atlantic. three other genera are fossil, and there are near fossil species of this family ranging from the lower silurian to the pliocene formations. family .--fissurellidÆ. ( genera, species). distribution.--all seas. _puncturella_ ( sp.) is confined to northern and antarctic seas; _rimula_ to the philippines; and _parmophorus_ ( sp.) from the cape of good hope to the philippines and new zealand. there are about fossil species, ranging from the carboniferous formation to the deposits of the glacial epoch. family .--calyptrÆidÆ. ( genera, species). distribution.--the calptræidæ, or bonnet-limpets, are found on the coasts of all seas from norway to chili and australia; but are most abundant within the tropics. the genera are all widely scattered. there are fossil species, ranging from the devonian to recent formations. family .--patellidÆ. ( genera, species). distribution.--the patellidæ, or limpets, are universally distributed, and are as abundant in the temperate as in tropical seas. there are about fossil species, ranging from the silurian to the tertiary formations. { }family .--dentaliadÆ. ( genus, species). distribution.--the genus _dentalium_ is found in the north atlantic, mediterranean, west indies and india. there are fossil species, found in various formations as far back as the devonian in europe and in chili. family .--chitonidÆ. ( genus, species). distribution.--on rocky shores in all parts of the world. there are fossil species ranging back to the silurian period. _order ii.--pulmonifera. ("terrestrial molluscs.")_ the land and fresh-water snails are so important and extensive a group, and their classification has been so carefully studied, that their geographical distribution is a subject of much interest. the range of the genera will therefore be given in some detail. for the helicidæ i follow the classical work of albers--_die helicien_, von martens' edition ( ); and for the operculate families, pfeiffer's _monographia pneumonopomorum viventium_, nd supplement, . the number of species is, of course, very considerably increased since these works were published (and the probable amount of the increase i have in most cases indicated), but this does not materially affect the great features of their geographical distribution. family .--helicidÆ. ( genera, , species) ( ). general distribution.--universal. the helicidæ, or snails, are a group of immense extent and absolutely cosmopolitan in their range, being found in the most barren deserts and on the smallest islands, all over the globe. they reach to near the line of perpetual snow on mountains, and { }to the limit of trees or even considerably beyond it, in the arctic regions; but they are comparatively very scarce in all cold countries. the antilles, the philippine islands, equatorial america, and the mediterranean sub-region are especially rich in this family. comparatively few of the genera, and those generally small ones, are restricted to single regions; but on the other hand very few are generally distributed, only two--_helix_ and _pupa_--occurring in all the six regions, while _helix_ alone is truly cosmopolitan, occurring in every sub-region, in every country, and perhaps in every island on the globe. the neotropical region is, on the whole, the richest in this family, the continental equatorial districts producing an abundance of large and handsome species, while the antilles are pre-eminent for the number of their peculiar forms. this region possesses of the genera, and of them are peculiar. the palæarctic region seems to come next in productiveness, but this may be partly owing to its having been so thoroughly explored. it possesses of the genera, and of them are confined to it. the great mass of the species are found in the warm and fertile countries surrounding the mediterranean sea. the ethiopian region has genera, only one of which is peculiar. the australian region has genera, of which are confined to the pacific islands. the oriental has genera and the nearctic , but in neither case are there any peculiar generic types. the following is the distribution of the several genera taken in the order of their magnitude:-- _helix_ ( , sp.), cosmopolitan. this genus is divided into sub-genera, a number of which have a limited distribution. an immense quantity of species have been recently described, so that the number now exceeds , . _nanina_ ( sp.) is characteristic of the oriental and australian regions, over the whole of which it extends, just entering the palæarctic region as far as north china and japan. isolated from this area is a small group of species occurring { }in west africa. the number of species in this genus have now been increased to about . _clausilia_ ( sp.) is most abundant in europe, with a few species widely scattered in india, malaya, china, japan, equatorial america, and one in porto rico. the described species have been increased to nearly . _bulimulus_ ( sp.) is american, and almost exclusively neotropical, ranging from montevideo and chili, to the west indian islands, california and texas; with two sub-genera confined to the galapagos islands. about new species have been described since the issue of the second edition of dr. woodward's manual. _pupa_ ( sp.) abounds most in europe and the arctic regions, but has a very wide range, being scattered throughout africa, continental india, australia, the pacific islands, north america to greenland, and the antilles; but it is absent from south america, the himalayan and malayan sub-regions, china and japan. an extinct species has occurred abundantly in the carboniferous strata of north america. about additional species have been described. _bulimus_ ( sp.) abounds most in tropical south america; it is also found from burmah eastward through malaya to the solomon and fiji islands; there are also scattered species in patagonia, st. vincents, texas, st. helena, and new zealand. more than additional species have been described. _buliminus_ ( sp.) ranges from central and south europe over the whole ethiopian and oriental regions to north china, and through the australian to new zealand; there is also a single outlying species in the galapagos islands. about more species have been described. _cochlostyla_ ( sp.) is almost peculiar to the philippine islands, beyond which, are a species in borneo, one in java, and two in australia. very few new species have been added to this genus. _achatinella_ ( sp.) is absolutely confined to the sandwich island group. recent researches have more than tripled the number of described species. { }_achatina_ ( sp.) is most abundant and finest in the ethiopian region, over the whole of which it ranges; but there are also species in florida, the antilles, the sandwich islands, ceylon and india. the described species are now more than doubled. _hyalina_ ( sp.) inhabits all tropical america and the antilles, north america to greenland, and europe to the arctic regions. comparatively few new species have been described. _cylindrella_ ( sp.) inhabits the west indian islands and guatemala to texas, with a sub-genus in the philippine islands. species since described have more than trebled the number in this genus. _cionella_ ( sp.) is widely scattered; in india from ceylon to the khasia mountains, brazil, new granada, the west indian islands, palæarctic, and northern part of nearctic regions, pacific islands, new zealand, and juan fernandez. about new species have since been described. _glandina_ ( sp.), peru to south carolina and the antilles, with three species in central africa and one in south europe. about species have been added to this genus. _stenogyra_ ( sp.), widely distributed: tropical america and west indies to florida, south and west africa, the mediterranean region, india and the philippines. about a dozen new species have been described. _succinea_ ( sp.), widely scattered in all the regions, and in st. helena, juan fernandez, tahiti, chiloe, greenland, west africa, himalayas and australia. the described species are now more than . _partula_ ( sp.), solomon islands to tahiti and sandwich islands. this genus has also been increased to near species. _streptaxis_ ( sp.), most abundant in tropical south america, but occurs in west africa, the seychelles and rodriguez islands, ceylon and burmah. it now contains over described species. _spiraxis_ ( sp.), yucatan to mexico, and less abundant in the west indian islands. about species have been added. { }_macroceramus_ ( sp.), antilles, florida, and peru. the species have been more than doubled. _vitrina_ ( sp.), widely scattered through north and central europe, north-west america and greenland, abyssinia, madagascar and south africa, himalayas to burmah and australia. species since described have more than doubled the number in this genus. _orthalicus_ ( sp.), bolivia to mexico and antilles. this genus has been increased to about species. _sagda_ ( sp.), antilles only. very few new species, if any, have been described. _zonites_ ( sp.), south europe, with one species of a distinct type in guatemala. the number of species in this genus has been since about tripled. _leucochroa_ ( sp.), mediterranean region to syria and arabia petrea. _simpulopsis_ ( sp.), bahia, antilles, and far away in the solomon islands. two or three have been added. _balea_ ( sp.), middle and north europe, brazil, and the island of tristan d'acunha. _daudebardia_ ( sp.), central and south europe; and a species has since been discovered in new zealand. _macrocycles_ ( sp.), chili, california, oregon and central north america. _columna_ ( sp.), west africa, princes islands and madagascar. _stenopus_ ( sp.), island of st. vincent (west indies.) _pfeifferia_ ( sp.), philippines and moluccas. _testacella_ ( sp.), west europe and teneriffe. about species have been since described, including one from new zealand. fossil species of _helix_, _bulimus_, _achatina_, _balea_, and _clausilia_, are found in all the tertiary formations; while a species of _pupa_ (as already stated) occurs in the carboniferous formation. for interesting details of the distribution of the sub-genera and species of _achatinella_ in the sandwich islands, see a paper by rev. j. t. gulick in the _journal of the linnean society_. (zoology, vol. xi. p. .) { }family .--limacidÆ.--( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --| . . . | . . . |-- -- -- | . . . | . . . | | | | | the limacidæ, or slugs, are widely distributed, but they are absent from south america, where they are represented by the next family. they also seem to be absent from the greater part of africa. the genera are distributed as follows:-- _limax_ ( sp.), palæarctic region, australia and the sandwich islands; _anadenus_ ( sp.), himalayas; _philomychus_ ( sp.), north america, china and java; _arion_ ( sp.), norway to spain and south africa; _parmacella_ ( sp.), south europe, canary islands and north india; _janella_ ( sp.), new zealand; _aneitea_ ( sp.), new hebrides and new caledonia; _parmarion_ ( sp.), india; _triboniophorus_ ( sp.), australia; _testacella_ ( sp.), south europe, canary islands, and new zealand; _hyalimax_ ( sp.), bourbon and mauritius; _krynickia_ ( sp.), eastern europe and north america. a few species of _limax_, _arion_, and _testacella_ have been found fossil in tertiary deposits. family .--oncidiadÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . |-- -- -- --| . -- -- |-- -- -- | . . . | -- -- | | | | | the oncidiadæ, or slugs with a coriaceous mantle, inhabit the oriental region, mauritius, australia, the pacific islands, south america and south europe. the genera are:-- { }_oncidium_ ( sp.), south europe ( sp. british), mauritius, australia and pacific islands; vaginulus ( sp.), neotropical and oriental regions. family .--limnÆidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | . . . | . . . | . . . |-- -- -- | . . . |-- -- -- -- | | | | | the limnæidæ, or fresh-water snails, inhabit ponds and rivers in most parts of the world, but appear to be absent from the australian region. the genera are distributed as follows:-- _limnæa_ ( sp.), nearctic, palæarctic, and oriental regions; _choanomphalos_ ( sp.), lake baikal; _pompholyx_ ( sp.), western america; _chilinia_ ( sp.), south america; _physa_ ( sp.), nearctic, palæarctic, ethiopian and oriental regions, and extends to above ° north latitude in siberia, being the most arctic of land or fresh-water shells; _ancylus_ ( sp.), nearctic and neotropical regions, europe and new zealand; _planorbis_ ( sp.), nearctic, palæarctic and oriental regions. several genera are found fossil, chiefly in the wealden, eocene, and miocene formations. family .--auriculidÆ. ( genera, species.) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- | . . . | . -- -- | . . -- | . . . | . -- | | | | | the auriculidæ are chiefly found near the sea in hot countries, and are most abundant in the eastern tropics. they are absent { }from the east coast of south america. the genera have a somewhat restricted distribution as follows:-- _auricula_ ( sp.), india, pacific islands, peru and west indies; _melampus_ ( sp.), west indies and europe; _carychium_ ( sp.), europe and north america; _plectrotrema_ ( sp.), australia, malay islands, china, cuba; _blauneria_ ( sp.), west indian and sandwich islands. there are many fossil species ranging back to the eocene formation. family .--aciculidÆ. ( genera, species.) ( .) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . | . -- -- | . -- |-- -- -- | -- -- | . . -- | | | | | the aciculidæ are small cylindrical shells chiefly found in the west indian islands, but with representatives widely scattered over the globe. _acicula_ ( sp.) is european only; _geomelania_ ( sp.), and _chittya_ ( sp.), are confined to the island of jamaica; _truncatella_ ( sp.), is most abundant in the antilles, but is also found in some part of each of the six regions, as indicated by the diagram of the family. but few new species have been added to this group. family .--diplommatinidÆ. ( genera, species.) ( .) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --| -- . | . . . | | | | | the diplommatinidæ are minute shells of the oriental and australian regions. { }_diplommatina_ ( sp.) inhabits india to burmah, and the greater part of the australian region; the number of species has now been doubled, and one has been discovered in the island of trinidad; _clostophis_ ( sp.), moulmein; _paxillus_ ( sp.), borneo, hong kong, and loo choo islands. family .--cyclostomidÆ. ( genera, species.) ( .) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . |-- -- -- |-- -- -- |-- -- . | . . . | -- -- -- | | | | | this extensive group, comprising the largest of the operculated land-shells, is especially characteristic of the oriental region, which possesses genera, no less than of them being wholly confined to it. the neotropical region comes next, with genera, of which are peculiar; but a large number of these are confined to the west indian islands, south america itself being very poor in this group. the palæarctic region has peculiar genera; the ethiopian and australian each. the nearctic region has but a single west indian species in florida. the distribution of the genera is as follows:-- peculiar to or characteristic of the oriental region are, _opisthoporus_ ( sp.), _rhiostoma_ ( sp.), _alycaeus_ ( sp.), _opisthostoma_ ( sp.), _hybocistis_ ( sp.), _pterocyclos_ ( sp.), extending to the moluccas; _aulopoma_ ( sp.), _dermatocera_ ( sp.), _leptopoma_ ( sp.), extending west to the seychelles and east to the moluccas and new guinea; _cyclophorus_ ( sp.), most abundant in the oriental region, but ranges to japan, to chili, and all tropical america, over the whole australian region, and to natal and madagascar; _cataulus_ ( sp.), confined to ceylon, the neilgherries and nicobar islands; _rhaphaulus_ ( sp.), penang to ceram; _streptaulus_ ( sp.), _arinia_ ( sp.), _pupinella_ ( sp.), _pupina_ ( sp.), half in north india to philippines and { }japan, the other half in moluccas, new guinea and australia; _cyclotopsis_ ( sp.), india and malaya; _registoma_ ( sp.), philippines and moluccas, new caledonia and pacific. characteristic of the neotropical region are:--_cyclotus_ ( sp.), half in the antilles and tropical america, the rest in the moluccas, china, malaya, india, natal, and the seychelle islands; _megalomastoma_ ( sp.), abundant in cuba, west indies and south america, others in india, malaya, and mauritius; _jamaicia_ ( sp.), jamaica; _licina_ ( sp.), antilles; _choanopoma_ ( sp.), antilles; _ctenopoma_ ( sp.), antilles; _diplopoma_ ( sp.), cuba; _adamsiella_ ( sp.), jamaica, cuba, guatemala; _cyclostomus_ ( sp.), abundant in antilles, also occurs in madagascar, arabia, syria, hungary and new zealand; _tudora_ ( sp.), antilles, and one species in algeria; _cistula_ ( sp.), _chondropoma_ ( sp.), _bourcieria_ ( sp.), tropical america. peculiar to or characteristic of the palæarctic region are:--_craspedopoma_ ( sp.), confined to madeira, the azores and canaries; _leonia_ ( sp.), spain and algeria; _pomatias_ ( sp.), europe and canaries with a species in the himalayas; _cecina_ ( sp.), manchuria. the ethiopian region has the peculiar genus _lithodion_ ( sp.), madagascar, socotra and arabia; and _otopoma_ ( sp.), mascarene islands and socotra, with a species in western india and another in new ireland. the australian region is characterised by _callia_ ( sp.), in ceram, australia, and the philippines respectively; _realia_ ( sp.), new zealand and the marquesas islands; _omphalotropis_ ( sp.), the australian region, with some species in india, malaya, and the mauritius. the remaining genus, _hydrocena_ ( sp.), has a very widely scattered distribution, being found in south europe, japan, the cape, china, malaya, new zealand, the pacific islands and chili. from to per cent. of new species have been since described in most of the genera of this family. { }family .--helicinidÆ. ( genera, species.) ( .) general distribution. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ neotropical| nearctic |palÆarctic | ethiopian | oriental | australian sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions|sub-regions. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- . . |-- -- -- |-- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|-- -- . | . . -- | | | | | the helicinidæ are very characteristic of the antilles, comparatively few being found in any other part of the world except the islands of the pacific. the genera are:-- _trochatella_ ( sp.), antilles with a species in venezuela, and another in cambodja; _lucidella_ ( sp.), antilles; _helicina_ ( sp.), antilles, pacific islands, tropical america, southern united states, moluccas, australia, philippines, java, andaman islands and north china; _schasicheila_ ( sp.), mexico, guatemala and bahamas; _alcadia_ ( sp.), antilles; _georissa_ ( sp.) moulmein to burmah. about per cent. of new species appear to have been since described in the larger genera of this family. _general observations on the distribution of the land mollusca._ a consideration of the distribution of the families and genera of land-shells shows us, that although they possess some special features, yet they agree in many respects with the higher animals in their limitation by great natural barriers, such as oceans, deserts, mountain ranges, and climatal zones. a remarkable point in the distribution of these animals, is the number of genera which have a very limited range, and also the prevalence of genera having species scattered, as it were at random, all over the earth. no less than genera (or about one-sixth of the whole number) are confined to the antilles, while the greater part of the sub-genera of modern authors are restricted to limited areas. if we first compare the new world with the old, we find the difference as regards genera quite as great as in most of the { }vertebrates. in the helicidæ, genera are confined to the new, and to the old world, being common to both. in the operculata the number of genera of restricted range is greater,--the new world having , the old world genera, only being common to both. of the new world genera out of the do not occur at all in south america; and of those of the old world, out of the occur in a single region only. if we take the northern and southern division proposed by professor huxley (the latter comprising the australian and neotropical regions), we find a much less well-marked diversity. among the helicidæ only are exclusively northern, southern; while among the operculata are northern, southern. the best way to compare these two kinds of primary division will be to leave out all those genera confined to a single region each, and to take account only of those characteristic of two or more of the combined regions; which will evidently show which division is the most natural one for this group. the result is as follows:-- genera common to two or more regions in, and confined to, each primary division of the earth. helicidæ operculata. totals. { northern } { southern } { old world } { new world } we find then that the northern and southern division of the globe is not at all supported by the distribution of the terrestrial molluscs. it is indeed very remarkable, that the connection so apparent in many groups between australia and south america is so scantily indicated here. the only facts supporting it seem to be, the occurrence of _geotrochus_ (a sub-genus of helix) in brazil, as well as in the austro-malayan and west pacific islands and north australia; and of _bulimus_ in the same two parts of the globe, but peculiar sub-genera in each. but in neither case is there any affinity shown between the temperate portions of the two regions, so that we must probably trace this resemblance to some more ancient diffusion of types than that which led to the similarity of plants and insects. still more curious is the entire { }absence of genera confined to, and characteristic of africa and india. one small sub-genus of _helix_, (_rachis_), and one of _achatina_, (_homorus_), appear to have this distribution,--a fact of but little significance when we find another sub-genus of _helix_, (_hapalus_), common and confined to guinea and the philippine islands; and when we consider the many other cases of scattered distribution which cannot be held to indicate any real connection between the countries implicated. no genus is confined to the palæarctic and nearctic regions as a whole. a large number of sub-genera, many of them of considerable extent, are peculiar to one or other of these regions, but only sub-genera of _helix_ and of _pupa_ are common and peculiar to the two combined, and these are always such as have an arctic range and whose distribution therefore offers no difficulty. we find, then, that each of our six regions and almost all of our sub-regions are distinctly confirmed by the distribution of the terrestrial mollusca; while the different combinations of them which have at various times been suggested, receive little or no support whatever. even those remarkably isolated sub-regions, new zealand and madagascar, have no strictly peculiar genera of land-shells, although they both possess several peculiar sub-genera; being thus inferior in isolation to some single west indian islands, to the sandwich islands, and even to the north atlantic islands (canaries, madeira, and azores), each of which have peculiar genera. this of course, only indicates that the means by which land mollusca have been dispersed are somewhat special and peculiar. to determine in what this speciality consists we must consider some of the features of the specific distribution of this group. the range of genera, and even of sub-genera is, as we have seen, often wide and erratic, but as a general rule the species have a very restricted area. hardly a small island on the globe but has some land-shells peculiar to it. juan fernandez has species, all peculiar. madeira and porto santo have peculiar species out of a total of . every little valley, plain, or hill-top, in the sandwich islands, though only a few square miles in extent, has its { }peculiar species of _achatinella_. another striking feature of the distribution of land molluscs, is the richness of islands as compared with continents. the philippines contain more species than all india; and those of the antilles according to mr. bland almost exactly equal the numbers found in the entire american continent from greenland to patagonia. taking the whole world, it appears that many more species of land-shells are found in the islands than on the continents of the globe, a peculiarity that obtains in no other extensive group of animals. looking at these facts it seems probable, that the air-breathing molluscs have been chiefly distributed by air- or water-carriage, rather than by voluntary dispersal on the land. even seas and oceans have not formed impassable barriers to their diffusion; whereas they only spread on dry land with excessive slowness and difficulty. the exact mode in which their diffusion is effected is not known, and it may depend on rare and exceptional circumstances; but it seems likely to occur in two ways. snails frequently conceal themselves in crevices of trees or under bark, or attach themselves to stems or foliage, and either by their operculum or mucous diaphragm, are able to protect themselves from the injurious effects of salt water for long periods. they might therefore, under favourable conditions, be drifted across arms of the sea or from island to island; while wherever there are large rivers and occasional floods, they would by similar means be widely scattered over land areas. another possible mode of distribution is by means of storms and hurricanes, which would carry the smaller species for long distances, and might occasionally transport the eggs of the larger forms. aquatic birds might occasionally get both shells and eggs attached to their feet or their plumage, and convey them across a wide extent of sea. but whether these, or some other unknown agency has acted, the facts of distribution clearly imply that some means of transport over water is, and has been, the chief agent in the distribution of these animals; but that its action is very rare or intermittent, so that its effects are hardly perceptible in the distribution of single species. another important factor in enabling us to account for the { }distribution of these animals is the geological antiquity of the group, and the amount of change exhibited in time, by species and genera. now we find that most of the genera of land-shells range back to the eocene period, while those inhabiting fresh water are found almost unchanged in the wealden. in north america a species of _pupa_ and one of _zonites_, have been discovered in the coal measures, along with labyrinthodonts; and this fact seems to imply, that many more terrestrial molluscs would be discovered, if fresh-water deposits, made under favourable conditions, were more frequently met with in the older rocks. if then the existing groups of land-molluscs are of such vast antiquity, and possess some means, however rarely occurring, of crossing seas and oceans, we need not wonder at the wide and erratic distribution now presented by so many of the groups; and we must not expect them to conform very closely to those regions which limit the range of animals of higher organization and less antiquity. the total number of species of pulmoniferous mollusca is about , , according to the estimate of mr. woodward, brought down to by mr. tate. but this number would be largely increased if the estimates of specialists were taken. mr. woodward for example, gives as the number of species in the west indian islands; whereas mr. thomas bland, who has made the shells of these islands a special study, considers that there were , species in . so, the land-shells of the sandwich islands are given at ; but mr. gulick has added species of achatinellidæ, bringing the numbers up to nearly ,--but no doubt several of these are so closely related that many conchologists would class them as varieties. the land-shell fauna of the antilles is undoubtedly the most remarkable in the world, and it has been made the subject of much interesting discussion by mr. bland and others. this fauna differs from that of all other parts of the globe in the proportions of the operculate to the inoperculate shells. the operculata of the globe are about one-seventh, the inoperculata about six-sevenths of the whole; and some general approximation to this proportion (or a much smaller one) exists in almost all the continents, islands, and { }archipelagoes. in the philippines, for example, the proportion of the operculata is a little more than one-seventh; in the mauritius, between one-third and one-fourth; in madeira, one-fourteenth; in the whole american continent about one-eighth; but when we come to the antilles we find them to amount to nearly five-sixths, about half the operculata of the globe being found there! mr. bland endeavours to ascertain the source of some of the chief genera found in the west indian islands, on the principle that "each genus has had its origin where the greatest number of species is found;" and then proceeds to determine that some have had an african, some an asiatic, and some an american origin, while others are truly indigenous. but we fear there is no such simple way of arriving at so important a result; and in the case of groups of extreme antiquity like the genera of mollusca, it would seem quite as possible that the origin of a genus is generally _not_ where the greatest number of species are now found. for during the repeated changes of physical conditions that have everywhere occurred since the eocene period (to go no further back) every genus must have made extensive migrations, and have often become largely developed in some other district than that in which it first appeared. as a proof of this, we not unfrequently find fossil shells where the species and even the genus now no longer exists; as _auricula_, found fossil in europe, but only living in the malay and pacific islands; _anastoma_ and _megaspira_, now peculiar to brazil, but fossil in the eocene of france; and _proserpina_ of the west indies, found in the eocene formation of the isle of wight. the only means by which the origin of a genus can satisfactorily be arrived at, is by tracing back its fossil remains step by step to an earlier form; and this we have at present no means of doing in the case of the land-shells. taking existing species as our guide we should certainly have imagined that the genus _equus_ originated in africa or central asia; but recent discoveries of numerous extinct species and of less specialized forms of the same type, seem to indicate that it originated in north america, and that the whole tribe of "horses" may be, for anything we yet know { }to the contrary, recent immigrants into the old world! this example alone must convince us, that it is impossible to form any conclusion as to the origin of a genus, from the distribution of existing species only. the general conclusion we arrive at, therefore, is, that the causes that have led to the existing distribution of the genera and higher groups of the terrestrial mollusca are so complex, and have acted through such long periods, that most of the barriers which limit the range of other terrestrial animals do not apply to them, although the species are, in most cases, strictly limited by them. some means of diffusion--which, though probably acting very slowly and at long intervals, and more powerfully on continents than between islands, is yet highly efficient when we consider the long duration of genera--has, to a considerable extent, dispersed them across continents, seas, and oceans. on the other hand, those mountain barriers which separate many groups of the higher vertebrates, are generally less ancient than the genera of land-shells, which are thus often distributed independently of them. in order to compare the distribution of the terrestrial mollusca on equal terms with those of land animals generally, we must take genera of the former as equivalent to family groups of the latter; and we shall, i believe, then find that the distribution of the sub-genera and smaller groups of species do accord mainly with those divisions of the earth into regions and sub-regions which we have here indicated. mr. harper pease, in a communication on polynesian land shells in the _proceedings of the zoological society_ for (p. ), marks out the limits of the polynesian sub-region, so as exactly to agree with that arrived at here from a consideration of the distribution of vertebrata; and he says that this sub-region, (or region, as he terms it) is distinctly characterised by its land-shells from all the surrounding regions. the genera (or sub-genera) _partula_, _pitys_, _achatinella_, _palaina_, _omphalotropis_, and many others, are either wholly confined to this sub-region or highly characteristic of it. mr. binney, in his _catalogue of the air-breathing molluscs of north america_, marks out our nearctic region (with almost identical limits) as most clearly { }characterised. he also arrives at a series of sub-divisions, which generally (though not exactly) agree with the sub-regions which i have here adopted. the palæarctic, the ethiopian, and the oriental regions, are also generally admitted to be well characterised by their terrestrial molluscs. there only remain the australian and the neotropical regions, in which some want of homogeneity is apparent, owing to the vast development and specialisation of certain groups in the islands which belong to these regions. the antilles, on the one hand, and the polynesian islands, on the other, are so rich in land-shells and possess so many peculiar forms, that, judged by these alone, they must form primary instead of secondary divisions. we have, however, already pointed out the inconvenience of any such partial systems of zoological geography, and the causes have been sufficiently indicated which have, in the case of land-shells as of insects, produced certain special features of distribution. we therefore venture to hope, that conchologists will give us the advantage of their more full and accurate knowledge both of the classification and distribution of this interesting group of animals, not to map out new sets of regions for themselves, but to show what kind of barriers have been most efficient in limiting the range of species, and how their distribution is actually effected, so as to be able to explain whatever discrepancies exist between the actual distribution of land-shells and that of the higher animals. _order iii.--opistho-branchiata._ there are ten families in this order, all of which, as far as known, are widely or universally distributed. some of them are found fossil, ranging back to the carboniferous epoch. they are commonly termed sea-slugs, and have either a thin small shell or none. we shall therefore simply enumerate the families, with the number of genera and species as given by mr. woodward. { }family .--tornatellidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--bullidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--aphysiadÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--pleurobranchidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--phyllidiadÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--doridÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--tritoniadÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--ÆolidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--phyllyrhoidÆ. ( genus, species living, fossil.) family .--elysiadÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) { }_order iv.--nucleo-branchiata._ these are oceanic, swimming molluscs, of a delicate texture. they are found in all warm seas, and range back to the lower silurian epoch. there are only two families. family .--firolidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--atlantidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) class.--pteropoda. these are swimming, oceanic mollusca, inhabiting both arctic, temperate, and tropical seas. the three families have each a wide distribution in all the great oceans. they range back to the silurian period. family .--hyaleidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--limacinidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--clionidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) { }class.--brachiopoda. these are sedentary, bivalve, marine mollusca, having laterally symmetrical shells, but with unequal valves. both in space and time they are the most widely distributed molluscs. they are found in all seas, and at all depths; and when any of the families or genera have a restricted range, it seems to be due to our imperfect knowledge, rather than to any real geographical limitations. in time they range back to the cambrian formation, and seem to have had their maximum development in the silurian period. it is not, therefore, necessary for our purpose, to do more than give the names of the families with the numbers of the genera and species, as before. family .--terebratulidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--spiriferidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--rhynchonellidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--orthidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--productidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--craniadÆ. ( genus, species living, fossil.) family .--discinidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) family .--lingulidÆ. ( genera, species living, fossil.) { }class.--conchifera. the conchifera, or ordinary bivalve molluscs, may be distinguished from the brachiopoda by having their shells laterally unsymmetrical, while the valves are generally (but not always) equal. they are mostly marine, but a few inhabit fresh water. as the distribution of some of the families presents points of interest, we shall treat them in the same manner as the marine gasteropoda. family .--ostreidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--the ostreidæ, including the oysters and scallops, are found in all seas, arctic as well as tropical. there are nearly , species fossil, ranging back to the carboniferous period. family .--aviculidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--the aviculidæ, or wing-shells and pearl oysters, are characteristic of tropical and warm seas, a few only ranging into temperate regions. nearly fossil species are known from various formations ranging back to the devonian, and lower silurian. family .--mytilidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--the mytilidæ, or mussels, have a world-wide distribution. there is one fresh-water species, which inhabits the volga. there are about fossil species, ranging back to the carboniferous epoch. { }family .--arcadÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--the arcadæ are universally distributed, and are most abundant in warm seas. the genus _leda_ is, however, abundant in arctic and temperate regions, and _solenella_ is confined to the south temperate zone. there are near , fossil species, found in all strata as low as the lower silurian. family .--trigoniadÆ. ( genus, species.) distribution.--the living _trigoniæ_ are confined to australia, but there are other genera fossil, containing about species, and found in various formations from the chalk to the lower silurian. family .--unionidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--the unionidæ, or fresh-water mussels, are found in all the fresh waters of the globe, but some of the genera are restricted. _castalia_, _mycetopus_ and _mulleria_ are confined to the rivers of south america; _anodon_, to the nearctic and palæarctic regions; _iridina_, and _etheria_, to the rivers of africa; _unio_ has a universal distribution, but is especially abundant in north america. about fossil species are found in the tertiary and wealden formations. family .--chamidÆ. ( genus, species.) distribution.--the chamidæ, or giant clams, are confined to tropical seas, chiefly among coral reefs. there are two other genera and species fossil, ranging from the chalk to the oolite formations. family .--hippuritidÆ. ( genera, species.) fossils of doubtful affinity, from the chalk formation. { }family .--tridacnidÆ. ( genus, species.) distribution.--the tridacnidæ, or clam-shells, are of very large size, and are confined to the tropical regions of the indian and pacific oceans. a few species have been found fossil in the miocene formation. family .--cardiadÆ. ( genus, species.) distribution.--the cardiadæ, or cockles, are of world-wide distribution. another genus is fossil, and nearly fossil species are known, ranging back to the upper silurian formation. family .--lucinidÆ ( genera, species.) distribution.--the lucinidæ inhabit the tropical and temperate seas of all parts of the world; but the genus _corbis_ is confined to the indian and pacific oceans, _montacuta_ and _lepton_, to the atlantic. there are nearly extinct species, ranging from the tertiary back to the silurian formation. family .--cycladidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--the cycladidæ are small fresh- or brackish-water shells found all over the globe. the genus _cyclas_ is most abundant in the north temperate zone, while _cyrena_ inhabits the warmer shores of the atlantic and pacific, but is absent from the west coast of america. there are about species fossil, ranging back from the pliocene to the wealden formations. family .--cyprinidÆ. ( genera, species). distribution.--universal. _cyprina_ and _astarte_ are arctic and north temperate; _cardita_ is tropical and south temperate. there are several extinct genera and about , species found in all formations as far back as the lower silurian. { }family .--veneridÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--universal. _lucinopsis_ is confined to the north atlantic; _glauconeza_ to the months of rivers in the oriental region; _meroe_ and _trigona_ to warm seas. there are about fossil species, ranging back to the oolitic period. family .--mactridÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--all seas, but more abundant in the tropics. _gnathodon_ is found in the gulf of mexico; _anatinella_ in the oriental region. there are about fossil species, ranging back to the carboniferous period. family .--tellinidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--all seas; most abundant in the tropics. _galatea_ is confined to african rivers. there are about fossil species, mostly tertiary, but ranging back to the carboniferous period. family .--solenidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--all temperate and tropical seas. there are fossil species which range back to the carboniferous epoch. family .--myacidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--all seas. _panopæa_ inhabits both north and south temperate seas; _glycimeris_, arctic seas. there are near fossil species, ranging back to the lower oolite formation. family .--anatinidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--all seas. _pholadomya_ is from tropical africa; _myadora_ from the western pacific; _myochama_ and _chamostræa_ are australian. there are about fossil species, ranging back to the lower silurian formation. { }family .--gastrochÆnidÆ. ( genera, species.) distribution.--temperate and warm seas. _aspergillum_ ranges from the red sea to new zealand. there are fossil species, ranging back to the lower oolite. family .--pholadidÆ ( genera, species.) distribution.--these burrowing molluscs inhabit all temperate and warm seas from norway to new zealand. there are about fossil species, ranging back to the epoch of the lias. _general remarks on the distribution of the marine mollusca._ the marine mollusca are remarkable for their usually wide distribution. about of the families are cosmopolitan, ranging over both hemispheres, and in cold as well as warm seas. about are restricted to the warmer seas of the globe; but several of these extend from norway to new zealand, a distribution which may be called universal, and only or are absolutely confined to tropical seas. two small families only, are confined to the pacific and indian oceans. marine fishes, on the other hand, have a much less cosmopolitan character, no less than families having a limited distribution, while are universal. some of these families are confined to the northern seas, some to the atlantic and mediterranean, and a considerable number to the indian ocean and western pacific. many of these families, it is true, are much smaller than those of the mollusca, which seem to possess very few of those small isolated families of two or three species only, which abound in all the vertebrate classes. these differences are no doubt connected with the higher organisation of fishes, which renders them more susceptible to changed conditions of life; and this is indicated by the much less antiquity of existing families of fishes, the greater part of which do not date back beyond the cretaceous epoch, and many of them only to the eocene. in striking contrast we have the vast antiquity of most of the families of { }mollusca, as shown in the following table of their range taken from mr. woodward's work, but re-arranged, and somewhat modified. = lower silurian. = trias. = eocene. = upper silurian. = lower oolite. = miocene. = devonian. = upper oolite. = pliocene. = carboniferous. = lower cretaceous. = recent. = permian. = upper cretaceous. +-----------------------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ | range of families of | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | mollusca in time; arranged | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | in their order of appearance| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | and disappearance. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +-----------------------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ | productidæ |--|--|--|--|--| | | | | | | | | | | orthoceratidæ |--|--|--|--|--|--| | | | | | | | | | spiriferidæ, orthidæ |--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | | | | | | | | atlantidæ, hyaleidæ |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | pyramidellidæ, turbinidæ |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | ianthidæ, chitonidæ |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | lingulidæ |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | aviculidæ, mytilidæ |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | arcadæ, trigoniadæ |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | cyprinidæ, anatinidæ |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | nautilidæ | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | rhynchonellidæ, craniadæ, } | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | discinidæ } | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | cardiadæ, lucinidæ | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | ammonitidæ | | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | | | | | naticidæ, calyptræidæ | | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | dentalidæ, terebratulidæ | | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | helicidæ | | | |--| | | | | | |--|--|--|--| | fissurellidæ, tornatellidæ | | | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | pectinidæ, solenidæ | | | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | cerithiadæ, littorinidæ, } | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | astartidæ } | | | | | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | belemnitidæ | | | | | | |--|--|--|--| | | | | | teuthidæ, sepiadæ | | | | | | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | neritidæ, patellidæ, } | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | bullidæ } | | | | | | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | gastrochænidæ, pholadidæ | | | | | | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | limnæidæ, melaniadæ | | | | | | | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | chamidæ, myadæ | | | | | | | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | cycladidæ, veneridæ, } | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | tellinidæ } | | | | | | | |--|--|--|--|--|--|--| | hippuritidæ | | | | | | | | |--|--| | | | | | unionidæ | | | | | | | | |--|--|--|--|--|--| | strombidæ, buccinidæ | | | | | | | | |--|--|--|--|--|--| | conidæ, volutidæ | | | | | | | | |--|--|--|--|--|--| | auriculidæ, cyclostomidæ | | | | | | | | |--|--|--|--|--|--| | mactridæ | | | | | | | | |--|--|--|--|--|--| | limacidæ | | | | | | | | | | |--|--|--|--| | argonautidæ | | | | | | | | | | | | |--|--| | tridacnidæ | | | | | | | | | | | | |--|--| +-----------------------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ nor is this enormous antiquity confined to family types alone. many genera are equally ancient. the genus _lingula_ has { }existed from the earliest palæozoic times down to the present day; while _terebratula_, _rhynchonella_, _discina_, _nautilus_, _natica_, _pleurotomaria_, _patella_, _dentalium_, _mytilus_ and many other living forms, range back to the palæozoic epoch. that groups of such immense antiquity, and having power to resist such vast changes of external conditions as they must have been subject to, should now be widely distributed, is no more than might reasonably be expected. it is only in the case of sub-genera and species, that we can expect the influence of recent geological or climatal changes to be manifest; and it must be left to special students to work out the details of their distribution, with reference to the general principles found to obtain among the more highly organised animals. { }chapter xxiii. summary of the distribution, and lines of migration, of the several classes of animals. having already given summaries of the distribution of the several orders, and of some of the classes of land animals, we propose here to make a few general remarks on the special phenomena presented by the more important groups, and to indicate where possible, the general lines of migration by which they have become dispersed over wide areas. mammalia. this class is very important, and its past history is much better known than that of most others. we shall therefore briefly summarise the results we have arrived at from our examination of the distribution of extinct and living forms of each order. _primates._--this order, being pre-eminently a tropical one, became separated into two portions, inhabiting the eastern and western hemispheres respectively, at a very early epoch. in consequence of this separation it has diverged more radically than most other orders, so that the two american families, cebidæ and hapalidæ, are widely differentiated from the apes, monkeys, and lemurs of the old world. the lemurs were probably still more ancient, but being much lower in organisation, they became extinct in most of the areas where the higher forms of primates became developed. remains found in the eocene formation indicate, that the north american and european { }primates had, even at that early epoch, diverged into distinct series, so that we must probably look back to the secondary period for the ancestral form from which the entire order was developed. _chiroptera._--these are also undoubtedly very ancient. the most generalised forms--the vespertilionidæ and noctilionidæ--are the most widely distributed; while special types have arisen in america, and in the eastern hemisphere. remains found in the upper eocene formation of europe differ little from species still living in the same countries; so that we can form no conjecture as to the origin or migration, of the group. their power of flight would, however, enable them rapidly to spread over all the great continents of the globe. _insectivora._--this very ancient group, now probably verging towards extinction, appears to have originated in the northern continent, and never to have reached australia or south america. it may, however, have become extinct in the latter country owing to the competition of the numerous edentata. the insectivora now often maintain themselves amidst more highly developed forms, by means of some special protection. some burrow in the earth,--like the moles; others have a spiny covering,--as the hedgehog's and several of the centetidæ; others are aquatic,---as the _potamogale_ and the desman; others have a nauseous odour,--as the shrews; while there are several which seem to be preserved by their resemblance to higher forms,--as the elephant-shrews to jerboas, and the tupaias to squirrels. the same need of protection is shown by the numerous insectivora inhabiting madagascar, where the competing forms are few; and by one lingering in the antilles, where there are hardly any other mammalia. _carnivora._--although perhaps less ancient than the preceding, this form of mammal is far more highly organised, and from its earliest appearance appears to have become dominant in the world. it would therefore soon spread widely, and diverge into the various specialised types represented by existing families. most of these appear to have originated in the eastern hemisphere, the only carnivora occurring in north { }american miocene deposits being ancestral forms of canidæ and felidæ. it seems probable, therefore, that the order had attained a considerable development before it reached the western hemisphere. the procyonidæ, now confined to america, are not very ancient; and the occurrence of a few allied forms in the himalayas (_Ælurus_ and _Æluropus_) render it probable that their common ancestors entered north america from the palæarctic region during the miocene period, but being a rather low type they have succumbed under the competition of higher forms in most parts of the eastern hemisphere. bears and weasels are probably still more recent emigrants to america. the aquatic carnivora (seals, &c.) are, as might be expected, more widely and uniformly distributed, but there is little evidence to show at what period the type was first developed. _ungulata._--these are the dominant vegetable-feeders of the great continents, and they have steadily increased in numbers and in specialisation from the oldest tertiary times to the present day. being generally of larger size and less active than the carnivora, they have somewhat more restricted powers of dispersal. we have good evidence that their wide range over the globe is a comparatively recent phenomenon. tapirs and llamas have probably not long inhabited south america, while rhinoceroses and antelopes were once, perhaps, unknown in africa, although abounding in europe and asia. swine are one of the most ancient types in both hemispheres; and their great hardiness, their omnivorous diet, and their powers of swimming, have led to their wide distribution. the sheep and goats, on the other hand, are perhaps the most recent development of the ungulata, and they seem to have arisen in the palæarctic region at a time when its climate already approximated to that which now prevails. hence they are pre-eminently a temperate group, never found within the tropics except upon a few mountain ranges. _proboscidea._--these huge animals (the elephants and mastodons) appear to have originated in the warmer parts of the palæarctic region, but they soon spread over all the great { }continents, even reaching the southern extremity of america. their extinction has probably depended more on physical than on organic changes, and we can clearly trace their almost total disappearance to the effects of the glacial epoch. _rodentia._--rodents are a very dominant group, and a very ancient one. owing to their small size and rapid powers of increase, they soon spread over almost every part of the globe, whence has resulted a great specialisation of family types in the south american continent which remained so long isolated. they are capable of living wherever there is any kind of vegetable food, hence their range will be determined rather by organic than by physical conditions; and the occupation of a country by enemies or by competing forms, is probably the chief cause which has prevented many of the families from acquiring a wide range. the occurrence of isolated species of the south american families, octodontidæ and echimyidæ in the ethiopian and palæarctic regions, is an indication that the range of many of the families has recently become less extensive. _edentata._--these singular and lowly-organised animals appear to have become almost restricted to the two great southern lands--south africa and south america--at an early period; and, being there free from the competition of higher forms, developed a number of remarkable types often of huge size, of which the megatherium is one of the best known. the incursion of the highly-organised ungulates and carnivora into africa during the miocene epoch, probably exterminated most of them in that continent; but in america they continued in full force down to the post-pliocene period; and even now, the comparatively diminutive sloths, ant-eaters, and armadillos, form a large and important portion of the fauna. _marsupialia and monotremata._--these are probably the representatives of the most ancient and lowly-organised types of mammal. they once existed in the northern continents, whence they spread into australia; and being isolated, and preserved from the competition of the higher forms which soon arose in other parts of the world, they have developed into a variety of types, which, however, still preserve a general { }uniformity of organisation. one family, which continued to exist in europe till the latter part of the miocene period, reached america, and has there been preserved to our day. _lines of migration of the mammalia._--the whole series of phenomena presented by the distribution of the mammalia, looked at broadly, are in harmony with the view that the great continents and oceans of our own epoch have been in existence, with comparatively small changes, during all tertiary times. each one of them has, no doubt, undergone considerable modifications in its area, its altitude, and in its connection with other lands. yet some considerable portion of each continent has, probably, long existed in its present position, while the great oceans seem to have occupied the same depressions of the earth's crust (varied, perhaps, by local elevations and subsidences) during all this vast period of time. hence, allowing for the changes of which we have more or less satisfactory evidence, the migrations of the chief mammalian types can be pretty clearly traced. some, owing to their small size and great vitality, have spread to almost all the chief land masses; but the majority of the orders have a more restricted range. all the evidence at our command points to the northern hemisphere as the birth-place of the class, and probably of all the orders. at a very early period the land communication with australia was cut off, and has never been renewed; so that we have here preserved for us a sample of one or more of the most ancient forms of mammal. somewhat later the union with south america and south africa was severed; and in both these countries we have samples of a somewhat more advanced stage of mammalian development. later still, the union by a northern route between the eastern and western hemispheres appears to have been broken, partly by a physical separation, but almost as effectually by a lowering of temperature. about the same period the separation of the palæarctic region from the oriental was effected, by the rise of the himalayas and the increasing contrast of climate; while the formation of the great desert-belts of the sahara, arabia, persia, and central asia, helped to complete the separation of { }the temperate and tropical zones, and to render further intermigration almost impossible. in a few cases--of which the rodents in australia and the pigs in austro-malaya are perhaps the most striking examples--the distribution of land-mammals has been effected by a sea-passage either by swimming or on floating vegetation; but, as a rule, we may be sure that the migrations of mammalia have taken place over the land; and their presence on islands is, therefore, a clear indication that these have been once connected with a continent. the present class of animals thus affords the best evidence of the past history of the land surface of our globe; and we have chiefly relied upon it in sketching out (in part iii.) the probable changes which each of our great regions has undergone. _birds._ although birds are, of all land-vertebrates, the best able to cross seas and oceans, it is remarkable how closely the main features of their distribution correspond with those of the mammalia. south america possesses the low formicaroid type of passeres,--which, compared with the more highly developed forms of the eastern hemisphere, is analogous to the cebidæ and hapalidæ as compared with the old world apes and monkeys; while its cracidæ as compared with the pheasants and grouse, may be considered parallel to the edentata as compared with the ungulates of the old world. the marsupials of america and australia, are paralleled among birds, in the struthionidæ and megapodiidæ; the lemurs and insectivora preserved in madagascar are represented by the mascarene dididæ; the absence of deer and bears from africa is analogous to the absence of wrens, creepers, and pheasants; while the african hyracidæ and chrysochloridæ among mammals, may well be compared with the equally peculiar coliidæ and musophagidæ among birds. from these and many other similarities of distribution, it is clear that birds have, as a rule, followed the same great lines of migration as mammalia; and that oceans, seas, and deserts, have { }always to a great extent limited their range. yet these barriers have not been absolute; and in the course of ages birds have been able to reach almost every habitable land upon the globe. hence have arisen some of the most curious and interesting phenomena of distribution; and many islands, which are entirely destitute of mammalia, or possess a very few species, abound in birds, often of peculiar types and remarkable for some unusual character or habit. striking examples of such interesting bird-faunas are those of new zealand, the sandwich islands, the galapagos, the mascarene islands, the moluccas, and the antilles; while even small and remote islets,--such as juan fernandez and norfolk island, have more light thrown upon their past history by means of their birds, than by any other portion of their scanty fauna. another peculiar feature in the distribution of this class is the extraordinary manner in which certain groups and certain external characteristics, have become developed in islands, where the smaller and less powerful birds have been protected from the incursions of mammalian enemies, and where rapacious birds--which seem to some degree dependent on the abundance of mammalia--are also scarce. thus, we have the pigeons and the parrots most wonderfully developed in the australian region, which is pre-eminently insular; and both these groups here acquire conspicuous colours very unusual, or altogether absent, elsewhere. similar colours (black and red) appear, in the same two groups, in the distant mascarene islands; while in the antilles the parrots have often white heads, a character not found in the allied species on the south american continent. crests, too, are largely developed, in both these groups, in the australian region only; and a crested parrot formerly lived in mauritius,--a coincidence too much like that of the colours as above noted, to be considered accidental. again, birds exhibit to us a remarkable contrast as regards the oceanic islands of tropical and temperate latitudes; for while most of the former present hardly any cases of specific identity with the birds of adjacent continents, the latter often show hardly any differences. the galapagos and madagascar { }are examples of the first-named peculiarity; the azores and the bermudas of the last; and the difference can be clearly traced to the frequency and violence of storms in the one case and to the calms or steady breezes in the other. it appears then, that although birds do not afford us the same convincing proof of the former union of now disjoined lands as we obtain from mammals, yet they give us much curious and suggestive information as to the various and complex modes in which the existing peculiarities of the distribution of animals have been brought about. they also throw much light on the relation between distribution and the external characters of animals; and, as they are often found where mammalia are quite absent, we must rank them as of equal value for the purposes of our present study. _reptiles._ these hold a somewhat intermediate place, as regards their distribution, between mammals and birds, having on the whole rather a wider range than the former, and a more restricted one than the latter. snakes appear to have hardly more facilities for crossing the ocean than mammals; hence they are generally absent from oceanic islands. they are more especially a tropical group, and have thus never been able to pass from one continent to another by those high northern and southern routes, which we have seen reason to believe were very effectual in the case of mammalia and some other animals. hence we find no resemblance between the australian and neotropical regions, or between the palæarctic and nearctic; while the western hemisphere is comparatively poor as regards variety of types, although rich in genera and species. deserts and high mountains are also very effectual barriers for this group, and their lines of migration have probably been along river valleys, and occasionally across narrow seas by means of floating vegetation. lizards, being somewhat less tropical than snakes, may have passed by the northern route during warm epochs. they are also more suited to traverse deserts, and they possess some unknown { }means of crossing the ocean, as they are not unfrequently found in remote oceanic islands. these various causes have modified their distribution. the western hemisphere is much richer in lizards than it is in snakes; and it is also very distinct from the eastern hemisphere. the lines of migration of lizards appear to have been along the mountains and deserts of tropical countries, and, under special conditions, across tropical seas from island to island. crocodiles are a declining group. they were once more generally distributed, all the three families being found in british eocene deposits. being aquatic and capable of living in the sea, they can readily pass along all the coasts and islands of the warmer parts of the globe. tortoises are equally ancient, and the restriction of certain groups to definite areas seems to be also a recent phenomenon. _amphibia._ the amphibia differ widely from reptiles in their power of enduring cold; one of their chief divisions, the urodela or tailed-batrachia, being confined to the temperate parts of the northern hemisphere. to this class of animals the northern and southern routes of migration were open; and we accordingly find a considerable amount of resemblance between south america and australia, and a still stronger affinity between north america and the palæarctic continent. the other tropical regions are more distinct from each other; clearly indicating that, in this group, it is tropical deserts and tropical oceans which are the barriers to migration. the class however is very fragmentary, and probably very ancient; so that descendants of once widespread types are now found isolated in various parts of the globe, between which we may feel sure there has been no direct transmission of batrachia. remembering that their chief lines of migration have been by northern and southern land-routes, by floating ice, by fresh-water channels, and perhaps at rare intervals by ova being carried by aquatic birds or by violent storms,--we shall be able to comprehend most of the features of their actual distribution. { }_fresh-water fishes._ although it would appear, at first sight, that the means of dispersal of these animals are very limited, yet they share to some extent the wide range of other fresh-water organisms. they are found in all climates; but the tropical regions are by far the most productive, and of these south america is perhaps the richest and most peculiar. there is a certain amount of identity between the two northern continents, and also between those of the south temperate zone; yet all are radically distinct, even north america and europe having but a small proportion of their forms in common. the occurrence of allied fresh-water species in remote lands--as the _aphritis_ of tasmania and patagonia, and the _comephorus_ of lake baikal, distantly allied to the mackerels of northern seas--would imply that marine fishes are often modified for a life in fresh waters; while other facts no less plainly show that permanent fresh-water species are sometimes dispersed in various ways across the oceans, more especially by the northern and southern routes. the families of fresh-water fishes are often of restricted range, although cases of very wide and scattered distribution also occur. the great zoological regions are, on the whole, very well characterized; showing that the same barriers are effectual here, as with most other vertebrates. we conclude, therefore, that the chief lines of migration of fresh-water fishes have been across the arctic and antarctic seas, probably by means of floating ice as well as by the help of the vast flocks of migratory aquatic birds that frequent those regions. on continents they are, usually, widely dispersed; but tropical seas, even when of small extent, appear to have offered an effectual barrier to their dispersal. the cases of affinity between tropical america, africa, asia, and australia, must therefore be imputed either to the survival of once widespread groups, or to analogous adaptation to a fresh-water life of wide-spread marine types; and these cases cannot be taken as evidence of any former land connection between such remote continents. { }_insects._ it has already been shown (vol. i. pp. - and vol. ii. pp. - ) that the peculiarities of distribution of the various groups of insects depend very much on their habits and general economy. their antiquity is so vast, and their more important modifications of structure have probably occurred so slowly, that modes of dispersal depending on such a combination of favourable conditions as to be of excessive rarity, may yet have had time to produce large cumulative effects. their small specific gravity and their habits of flight render them liable to dispersal by winds to an extent unknown in other classes of animals; and thus, what are usually very effectual barriers have been overstepped, and sometimes almost obliterated, in the case of insects. a careful examination will, however, almost always show traces of an ancient fauna, agreeing in character with other classes of animals, intermixed with the more prominent and often more numerous forms whose presence is due to this unusual facility of dispersal. the effectual migration of insects is, perhaps more than in any other class of animals, limited by organic and physical conditions. the vegetation, the soil, the temperature, and the supply of moisture, must all be suited to their habits and economy; while they require an immunity from enemies of various kinds, which immigrants to a new country seldom obtain. few organisms have, in so many complex ways, become adapted to their special environment, as have insects. they are in each country more or less adapted to the plants which belong to it; while their colours, their habits, and the very nature of the juices of their system, are all modified so as to protect them from the special dangers which surround them in their native land. it follows, that while no animals are so well adapted to show us the various modes by which dispersal may be effected, none can so effectually teach us the true nature and vast influence of the organic barrier in limiting dispersal. it is probable that insects have at one time or another taken advantage of every line of migration by which any terrestrial { }organisms have spread over the earth, but owing to their small size and rapid multiplication, they have made use of some which are exclusively their own. such are the passage along mountain ranges from the arctic to the antarctic regions, and the dispersal of certain types over all temperate lands. it will perhaps be found that insects have spread over the land surface in directions dependent on our surface zones--forests, pastures, and deserts;--and a study of these, with a due consideration of the fact that narrow seas are scarcely a barrier to most of the groups, may assist us to understand many of the details of insect-distribution. _terrestrial mollusca._ the distribution of land-shells agrees, in some features, with that of insects, while in others the two are strongly contrasted. in both we see the effects of great antiquity, with some special means of dispersal; but while in insects the general powers of motion, both voluntary and involuntary, are at a maximum, in land-molluscs they are almost at a minimum. although to some extent dependent on vegetation and climate, the latter are more dependent on inorganic conditions, and also to a large extent on the general organic environment. the result of these various causes, acting through countless ages, has been to spread the main types of structure with considerable uniformity over the globe; while generic and sub-generic forms are often wonderfully localized. land-shells, even more than insects, seem, at first sight, to require regions of their own; but we have already pointed out the disadvantages of such a method of study. it will be far more instructive to refer them to those regions and sub-regions which are found to accord best with the distribution of the higher animals, and to consider the various anomalies they present as so many problems, to be solved by a careful study of their habits and economy, and especially by a search after the hidden causes which have enabled them to spread so widely over land and ocean. the lines of migration which land-shells have followed, can { }hardly be determined with any definiteness. on continents they seem to spread steadily, but slowly, in every direction, checked probably by organic and physical conditions rather than by the barriers which limit the higher groups. over the ocean they are also slowly dispersed, by some means which act perhaps at very long intervals, but which, within the period of the duration of genera and families, are tolerably effective. it thus happens that, although the powers of dispersal of land-shells and insects are so very unequal, the resulting geographical distribution is almost the opposite of what might have been expected,--the former being, on the whole, less distinctly localized than the latter. conclusion. the preceding remarks are all i now venture to offer, on the distinguishing features of the various groups of land-animals as regards their distribution and migrations. they are at best but indications of the various lines of research opened up to us by the study of animals from the geographical point of view, and by looking upon their range in space and time as an important portion of the earth's history. much work has yet to be done before the materials will exist for a complete treatment of the subject in all its branches; and it is the author's hope that his volumes may lead to a more systematic collection and arrangement of the necessary facts. at present all public museums and private collections are arranged zoologically. all treatises, monographs, and catalogues, also follow, more or less completely, the zoological arrangement; and the greatest difficulty the student of geographical distribution has to contend against, is the total absence of geographical collections, and the almost total want of complete and comparable local catalogues. till every well-marked district,--every archipelago, and every important island, has all its known species of the more important groups of animals catalogued on a uniform plan, and with a uniform nomenclature, a thoroughly satisfactory account of the geographical distribution of animals will not be possible. but more than this is wanted. many of the most curious relations between animal { }forms and their habitats, are entirely unnoticed, owing to the productions of the same locality _never_ being associated in our museums and collections. a few such relations have been brought to light by modern scientific travellers, but many more remain to be discovered; and there is probably no fresher and more productive field still unexplored in natural history. most of these curious and suggestive relations are to be found in the productions of islands, as compared with each other, or with the continents of which they form appendages; but these can never be properly studied, or even discovered, unless they are visibly grouped together. when the birds, the more conspicuous families of insects, and the land-shells of islands, are kept together so as to be readily compared with similar associations from the adjacent continents or other islands, it is believed that in almost every case there will be found to be peculiarities of form or colour running through widely different groups, and strictly indicative of local or geographical influences. some of these coincident variations have been alluded to in various parts of this work, but they have never been systematically investigated. they constitute an unworked mine of wealth for the enterprising explorer; and they may not improbably lead to the discovery of some of the hidden laws (supplementary to natural selection), which seem to be required, in order to account for many of the external characteristics of animals. in concluding his task, the author ventures to suggest, that naturalists who are disposed to turn aside from the beaten track of research, may find in the line of study here suggested a new and interesting pursuit, not inferior in attractions to the lofty heights of transcendental anatomy, or the bewildering mazes of modern classification. and it is a study which will surely lead them to an increased appreciation of the beauty and the harmony of nature, and to a fuller comprehension of the complex relations and mutual interdependence, which link together every animal and vegetable form, with the ever-changing earth which supports them, into one grand organic whole. { }general index. all names in italics refer, either to the genera and other groups of extinct animals in part ii. of the first volume;--or to the genera whose distribution is given under geographical zoology (part iv.) in the second volume; the families and higher groups being in small capitals. all other references are in ordinary type. the various matters discussed under zoological geography (part iii.), are indexed as much as possible by subjects and localities. none of the genera mentioned in this part are indexed, as this would have more than doubled the extent of the index, and would have served no useful purpose, because the general distribution of each genus is given in part iv., and the separate details can always be found by referring to the region, sub-region, and class. a. aard-vark of east africa, figure of, i. aard-vark, ii. aard-wolf, ii. _abacetus_, ii. _abax_, ii. _abisara_, ii. _ablabes_, ii. _ablepharus_, ii. _abramis_, ii. _abronia_, ii. _abrornis_, ii. _abrostomus_, ii. _aburria_, ii. _acalyptus_, ii. _acanthias_, ii. _acanthicus_, ii. _acanthion_, ii. _acanthis_, ii. _acanthisitta_, ii. _acanthiza_, ii. _acanthobrama_, ii. acanthoclinidÆ, ii. _acanthodactylus_, ii. _acanthodelphis_, ii. _acantholabrus_, ii. _acanthomys_, ii. _acanthophis_, ii. _acanthopsis_, ii. acanthopterygii, ii. acanthopterygii pharyncognathi, ii. _acanthopthalmus_, ii. _acanthoptila_, ii. _acanthopyga_, ii. _acanthorhynchus_, ii. _acanthosaura_, ii. _acara_, ii. accentor, ii. accentorinæ, ii. _accipenser_, ii. accipenseridÆ, ii. _accipiter_, ii. _accipitres_, european eocene, i. accipitres, classification of, i. range of palæarctic genera of, i. range of ethiopian genera of, i. range of oriental genera of, i. range of australian genera of, i. accipitres, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. accipitrinÆ, ii. _acerina_, ii. _aceros_, ii. _acerotherium_, ii. _acerotherium_, european miocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. _acestra_, ii. _acestura_, ii. _achalinus_, ii. _acharnes_, ii. _achatina_, ii. _achatinella_, ii. _acherontia_, ii. _achilognathus_, ii. _achænodon_, n. american tertiary, i. _acicula_, ii. aciculidÆ, ii. _acmæodera_, ii. _acodon_, ii. acontiadÆ, ii. _acontias_, ii. _acotherium_, european eocene, i. _acotherium_, ii. _acræa_, ii. acrÆidÆ, ii. _acrantus_, ii. _acredula_, ii. _acridotheres_, ii. _acris_, ii. _acrobata_, ii. _acrocephalus_, ii. _acrochilus_, ii. acrochordidÆ, ii. _acrochordonichthys_, ii. _acrochordus_, ii. acronuridÆ, ii. _acropternis_, ii. _acryllium_, ii. _actenodes_, ii. _actinodura_, ii. _ada_, ii. _adamsiella_, ii. _adapis_, european eocene, i. _addax_, ii. _adelomia_, ii. _adelotopus_, ii. _adenomera_, ii. _adolias_, ii. _aedon_, ii. _Ægeria_, ii. ÆgeriidÆ, ii. _Ægialitis_, ii. _Ægithaliscus_, ii. _Ægithalus_, ii. _Ægocera_, ii. _Ægotheles_, ii. _Æluredus_, ii. _Ælurichthys_, ii. ÆluridÆ, ii. _Ælurogale_, european eocene, i. _Æluropus_, ii. _Ælurus_, ii. _Æmona_, ii. _Ænigma_, ii. _Æolidæ_, ii. _Æpyceros_, ii. _Æpyornis_, of madagascar, i. _Æpyornis_, ii. ÆpyornithidÆ, ii. _Æsacus_, ii. _Æshna_, from the lias, i. _Æthopyga_, ii. _Æthya_, ii. _agama_, ii. agamidÆ, ii. _agapornis_, ii. _agarista_, ii. _agaristidæ_, ii. _agelasta_, ii. agelastinÆ, ii. _agelæus_, ii. _ageniosus_, ii. _ageronia_, ii. _aglæactis_, ii. _agnopterus_, european eocene, i. _agoniates_, ii. _agonostoma_, ii. _agonus_, ii. agouti, ii. _agra_, ii. _agraulis_, ii. _agrilus_, ii. _agriochoerus_, n. american tertiary, i. _agrion_, from the lias, i. _agriornis_, ii. _ahætulla_, ii. _ailia_, ii. _aipysurus_, ii. _aithurus_, ii. _aix_, ii. _akysis_, ii. _alæmon_, ii. alaska, birds of, ii. _alauda_, ii. alaudidÆ, ii. albatrosses, ii. _albulichthys_, ii. _alburnus_, ii. _alca_, ii. _alcadia_, ii. alcedinidÆ, ii. _alcedo_, ii. alcephalinÆ, ii. _alcephalus_, indian miocene, i. _alcephalus_, ii. _alces_, ii. alcidÆ, ii. _alcippe_, ii. _alcurus_, ii. _alcyone_, ii. aldabra islands, land-tortoises of, i. _alectorurus_, ii. _alectroenas_, ii. alepocephalidÆ, ii. _alesa_, ii. _alestes_, ii. _alethe_, ii. _aletornis_, n. american eocene, i. aleutian islands, birds of, ii. algeria, post-pliocene deposits and caves of, i. _algira_, ii. alleghany sub-region, ii. mammalia of, ii. birds of, ii. reptiles of, ii. amphibia of, ii. fishes of, ii. islands of, ii. allen, mr. j. a., on zoological regions, i. objections to his system of circumpolar zones, i. objections to his zoo-geographical nomenclature, i. on birds of n. america, ii. , _alligator_, ii. alligatoridÆ, ii. alligators, ii. _allotinus_, ii. _alopecias_, ii. _alsæcomus_, ii. _alsecus_, ii. _alseonax_, ii. _alsodes_, ii. altai mountains, fossils in caves, i. _alytes_, ii. alytidÆ, ii. _amadina_, ii. _amara_, ii. _amarynthis_, ii. _amathusia_, ii. _amauresthes_, ii. _amaurospiza_, ii. _amazilia_, ii. _amblyrhiza_, pliocene of antilles, i. amblycephalidÆ, ii. _amblycephalus_, ii. _amblyceps_, ii. _amblychila_, ii. _amblymora_, ii. _amblyopsis_, ii. _amblyornis_, ii. _amblypharyngodon_, ii. _amblypodia_, ii. _amblyrhamphus_, ii. _amblyrhiza_, ii. _amblyrhynchichthys_, ii. _amblystoma_, ii. _ameiva_, ii. america, recent separation of north and south, i. extinct mammalia of, i. n., post-pliocene fauna of, i. american creepers, ii. amiidÆ, ii. _amiurus_, ii. _ammodromus_, ii. _ammodytes_, ii. _ammomanes_, ii. ammonitidÆ, ii. _amomys_, n. american tertiary, i. _ampeliceps_, ii. ampelidÆ, ii. _ampelio_, ii. _ampelis_, ii. _amphechinus_, european miocene, i. ii. amphibia, means of dispersal of, i. classification of, i. peculiar to palæarctic region, i. of central europe, i. of the mediterranean sub-region, i. of the siberian sub-region, i. of the manchurian sub-region, i. table of palæarctic families of, i. of the ethiopian region, i. of west africa, i. s. african, i. of madagascar, i. table of ethiopian families of, i. of the oriental region, i. of the indian sub-region, i. of ceylon, i. of the indo-chinese sub-region, i. of the indo-malay sub-region, i. table of oriental families of, i. of the australian region, i. resemblances of australian and south-american, i. of new guinea, i. of new zealand, i. neotropical, ii. of south temperate america, ii. of the mexican sub-region, ii. of the antilles, ii. table of neotropical families of, ii. of the nearctic region, ii. of california, ii. of central north america, ii. of eastern united states, ii. table of nearctic families of, ii. amphibia, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. fossil, ii. summary and conclusion, ii. lines of migration of, ii. _amphibola_, ii. _amphibos_, indian miocene, i. ii. _amphicyon_, european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. ii. ii. _amphiglossus_, ii _amphimericidæ_, european miocene, i. _amphimoschus_, european miocene, i. ii. _amphioxus_, ii. _amphipnous_, ii. _amphisbæna_, ii. amphisbÆnidÆ, ii. _amphisorex_, european miocene, i. ii. _amphitragulus_, european miocene, i. ii. _amphiuma_, ii. amphiumidÆ, ii. _amphixestus_, ii. _ampullaria_, ii. _amydrus_, ii. _amytis_, ii. _anabatoides_, ii. _anabazenops_, ii. _anableps_, ii. anacanthini, ii. _anacyrtus_, ii. _anadenus_, ii. _anadia_, ii. anadiadÆ, ii. _anæretes_, ii. , _anaides_, ii. _analcipus_, ii. _anarhynchus_, ii. _anarrhichas_, ii. _anas_, ii. _anastoma_, european tertiary, i. ii. _anastomus_, ii. anatidÆ, ii. anatinidÆ, ii. _anatinella_, ii. _anausorex_, ii. _anchilophus_, european eocene, i. _anchippodus_, n. american eocene, i. _anchippus_, n. american tertiary, i. _anchitheridæ_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _anchitherium_, european miocene, i. european eocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. ancient fauna of new zealand, i. _ancistrops_, ii. _ancylotherium_, miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. _ancylotherium_, ii. _ancyluris_, ii. _ancylus_, ii. andaman islands, zoology of, i. probable past history of, i. _andigena_, ii. _andrias_, european miocene, i. _androdon_, ii. _andropadus_, ii. _aneitea_, ii. _anguilla_, ii. _anguis_, ii. angwantibo, ii. animal kingdom, primary divisions of, i. animals, development of, affecting distribution, i. dispersal and migration of, i. rapid multiplication of, i. _anisacodon_, n. american tertiary, i. anoa of celebes, peculiarities of, i. _anoa_, ii. _anodon_, ii. _anolius_, ii. _anomalurus_, ii. _anomalpus_, ii. _anoplodipsas_, ii. _anoplotheriidæ_, european miocene, i. _anoplotherium_, european miocene, i. european eocene, i. s. american eocene, i. _anopthalmus_, ii. _anostomus_, ii. _anous_, ii. _anser_, ii. _anseranas_, ii. anseres, arrangement of, i. peculiar palæarctic genera of, i. peculiar ethiopian genera of, i. peculiar australian genera of, i. anseres, general remarks on the distribution of, ii. _antarctia_, ii. ii. ant-eaters, ii. _antechinomys_, ii. _antechinus_, ii. antelopes in the indian miocene deposits, i. birthplace and migrations of, i. palæarctic, i. ii. _antelotherium_, indian miocene, i. _antennarius_, ii. _anteros_, ii. _anthia_, ii. _anthipes_, ii. _anthocharis_, ii. _anthochæra_, ii. _anthornis_, ii. _anthracotheridæ_, n. american tertiary, i. _anthracotherium_, european miocene, i. ii. _anthreptes_, ii. anthropoid apes, ii. _anthropoides_, ii. _anthus_, ii. _antiacodon_, n. american tertiary, i. antillean sub-region, ii. mammalia of, ii. birds of, ii. illustration of zoology of, ii. table of distribution of resident land-birds of, ii. reptiles and amphibia of, ii. fresh-water fish of, ii. insects of, ii. land-shells of, ii. past history of, ii. antilles, pliocene mammalia of, i. land-shells of, ii. _antilocapra_, ii. antilocaprinÆ, ii. _antilope_, post-pliocene, i. in brazilian caves, i. ii. ii. antiquity of the genera of insects, i. of the genera of land and fresh-water shells, i. _antrostomus_, ii. ant-thrushes, ii. _anumbius_, ii. anura, ii. _anurosorex_, ii. _aonyx_, ii. _apalis_, ii. _apaloderma_, ii. _apatura_, ii. _aphanapteryx_ of mauritius, i. ii. _aphantocera_, ii. _aphelotherium_, european eocene, i. _aphneus_, ii. _aphobus_, ii. aphredoderidÆ, ii. _aphritis_, ii. ii. _aphriza_, ii. _aphysiadæ_, ii. _aphyocypris_, ii. _aplocerus_, ii. _aplodontia_, ii. _aplonis_, ii. _aplopelia_, ii. _apodemia_, ii. _apogon_, ii. _aprasia_, ii. aprasiadÆ, ii. _aprosmictus_, ii. _aptenodytes_, ii. apterygidÆ, ii. _apteryx_, ii. _apua_, ii. _aquila_, european miocene, i. ii. aquilinÆ, ii. _ara_, ii. _arachnechthra_, ii. _arachnothera_, ii. aramidÆ, ii. _aramides_, ii. _aramus_, ii. _arapaima_, ii. _arborophila_, ii. arcadÆ, ii. _archæomys_, ii. _archæopteryx_, bavarian oolite, i. _archibuteo_, ii. arctic shells, ii. zone not a separate region, i. _arctitis_, ii. _arctocebus_, ii. _arctocephalus_, ii. _arctocyon_, european eocene, i. ii. _arctodus_, n. american post-pliocene, i. ii. _arctogale_, ii. _arctomys_, european pliocene, i. ii. , _arctonyx_, ii. _arctopithecus_, ii. _arctotherium_ in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. _ardea_, ii. ardeidÆ, ii. _ardistomus_, ii. _argentina_, ii. _arges_, ii. argonautidÆ. ii. _argus pheasant_, figure of, i. peculiarity in display of plumage, and confirmation of mr. darwin's views, i. _argusianus_, ii. _argutor_, ii. _argynnis_, ii. _aricoris_, ii. _ariella_, ii. _arinia_, ii. _arion_, ii. _aristobia_, ii. _arius_, ii. armadillos, ii. _arnoglossus_, ii. _aromochelys_, ii. _arremon_, ii. _arrhenotus_, ii. _artamia_, ii. ii. ii. artamidÆ, ii. _artamides_, ii. _artamus_, ii. _arthroleptis_, ii. _artiodactyla_, european eocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. s. american pliocene, i. _artomyias_, ii. _arundinicola_, ii. _arvicola_, european pliocene, i. in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. s. american eocene, i. _arvicola_, ii. , _asio_, ii. _aspergillum_, ii. _aspidoparia_, ii. _aspidorhinus_, ii. _aspidura_, ii. _aspius_, ii. _aspredo_, ii. _aspro_, ii. _astarte_, ii. _astathes_, ii. _asterophys_, ii. _asterophysus_, ii. _asthenodipsas_, ii. _astrapia_, ii. _astroblepus_, ii. _astur_, ii. _asturina_, ii. _asturinula_, ii. ateleopodidÆ, ii. _ateles_, ii. _atelopus_, ii. _atelornis_, ii. _aterica_, ii. _athene_, ii. _atherina_, ii. _atherinichthys_, ii. atherinidÆ, ii. _atheris_, ii. _atherura_, ii. _athylax_, ii. _athyma_, ii. atlantidÆ, ii. _atlapetes_, ii. atractaspididÆ, ii. _atractaspis_, ii. _atretium_, ii. _atrichia_, ii. atrichiidÆ, ii. _atropos_, ii. _attagis_, ii. attalinÆ, ii. _atthis_, ii. _atticora_, ii. _attila_, ii. _auchenaspis_, ii. _auchenia_, n. american post-pliocene, i. ii. _auchenipterus_, ii. auckland islands, birds of, i. _augastes_, ii. _auks_, ii. _aulia_, ii. _aulacodes_, ii. _aulacodon_, ii. _aulacorhamphus_, ii. _aulopoma_, ii. _aulopyge_, ii. _auricula_, ii. , auriculidÆ, ii. _auriparus_, ii. australia, physical features of, i. australia and s. america, supposed land connection between, i. australian region, description of, i. zoological characteristics of, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. reptiles of, i. amphibia of, i. fresh-water fish of, i. summary of vertebrata of, i. supposed land-connection of with s. america, i. insects of, i. lepidoptera of, i. coleoptera of, i. land-shells of, i. sub-regions of, i. early history of, i. australian sub-region, mammalia of, i. illustration of mammalia of, i. birds of, i. illustration of fauna of, i. australian hedgehog, ii. austro-malayan sub-region, physical features of, i. zoology of, i. _automolus_, ii. aviculidÆ, ii. _avocettula_, ii. _avocettinus_, ii. aye-aye, figure of, i. ii. _axiocerces_, ii. azores, visited by european birds, i. birds of, i. butterflies of, i. beetles of, i. , peculiarly modified birds of, i. stragglers to, i. how stocked with animal life, i. b. babirusa of celebes, peculiarities of, i. _babirusa_, ii. badger, figure of, i. _badis_, ii. _bæotis_, ii. _bagarius_, ii. _bagrichthys_, ii. _bagroides_, ii. _bagrus_, ii. baird, professor, on fauna of cape st. lucas ii. on representative birds of united states, ii. _balæna_, european pliocene, i. ii. _balæniceps_, ii. balÆnidÆ, ii. _balænodon_, european pliocene, i. _balænoptera_, ii. _balænopteridæ_, ii. _balea_, ii. _balearica_, ii. baly, mr., on phytophaga of japan, i. banca, its peculiar species and solution of a problem in distribution, i. band-fish, ii. bandicoots, ii. _barangia_, ii. _barbatula_, ii. barbets, ii. _barbichthys_, ii. _barbus_, ii. _barilius_, ii. _barissia_, ii. barriers, as affecting distribution, i. permanence of, as affecting distribution, i. to the dispersal of birds, i. _baryphthengus_, ii. _barypus_, ii. _basileuterus_, ii. _basilornis_, ii. _bassaris_, ii. _batara_, ii. bates, mr., on carabidæ of japan, i. on longicorns of japan, i. _bathmodon_, n. american tertiary, i. _bathrodon_, n. american tertiary, i. _bathyerges_, ii. batoidei, ii. batrachidÆ, ii. _batrachocephalus_, ii. _batrachoseps_, ii. _batrachostomus_, ii. bats, powers of flight of, i. classification of, i. of new zealand, i. _baucis_, ii. _baza_, ii. _bdeogale_, ii. bearded reedling, ii. bears, probable cause of absence of, from tropical africa, i. ii. beaver, n. american tertiary, i. beavers, ii. bee-eaters, ii. beetles, families selected for study, i. from the lias, i. of azores, i. of japan, i. of s. temperate america, ii. belemnitidÆ, ii. _belemnoziphius_, european pliocene, i. _belideus_, ii. _belionota_, ii. _belodontichthys_, ii. _belone_, ii. _belonesox_, ii. belt, mr., his theory of a great siberian lake during the glacial epoch, i. ; ii. on change of climate caused by diminution of obliquity of ecliptic, i. _beluga_, ii. _bembecidium_, ii. _berardius_, ii. _berenicornis_, ii. bermudas, zoology of, ii. _bernicla_, ii. _bernieria_, ii. berycidÆ, ii. _bessonornis_, ii. _bettongia_, ii. _bhringa_, ii. _bhutanitis_, ii. _bias_, ii. _biatas_, ii. _bibos_, ii. _bison_, ii. , binney, mr., on air-breathing molluscs of n. america, ii. birds, means of dispersal of, i. dispersal of by winds, i. american, found in europe, i. reaching the azores, i. barriers to dispersal of, i. limited by forests, i. classification of, i. miocene of greece, i. extinct, i. fossil of palæarctic region, i. european of miocene period, i. eocene of europe, i. relations of, i. extinct of north america, i. recently extinct in new zealand, i. cretaceous of n. america, i. remains of in brazilian caves, i. recently extinct in madagascar and the mascarene islands, i. cosmopolitan groups of, i. numerous palæarctic genera, i. of the european sub-region, i. northern range of in europe, i. of the zone of pine forests, i. of iceland, i. of the mediterranean sub-region, i. of malta, i. (_note_) of the azores, i. of the cape verd islands, i. of the siberian sub-region, i. oriental found in siberia, i. extreme northern asiatic, i. of northern asiatic forests, i. of the manchurian sub-region, i. palæarctic genera of, in the manchurian sub-region, i. oriental genera of, in the manchurian sub-region, i. characteristic of n.w. china and mongolia, i. table of palæarctic families of, i. of west africa, i. list of palæarctic genera of, i. of the ethiopian region, i. of the east african sub-region, i. s. african, i. genera of, peculiar to madagascar, i. common to madagascar and oriental or ethiopian regions, i. species common to madagascar and africa or asia, i. table of ethiopian families of, i. table of ethiopian genera of, i. of the oriental region, i. of the indian sub-region, i. oriental genera of in central india, i. palæarctic and ethiopian genera in central india, i. of ceylon, i. of the indo-chinese sub region, i. of the indo-malayan sub-region, i. illustration of peculiar malayan, i. of the philippine islands, i. table of oriental families of, i. table of oriental genera of, i. of australian region, i. specially organized australian families of, i. of the papuan islands, i. peculiarities of, i. brilliant colours of, i. remarkable forms of, i. of the moluccas, i. peculiarities of, i. of the timor group, i. of celebes, i. of australia, i. of new zealand, i. peculiar to new zealand, i. of norfolk island, i. of lord howe's island, i. of the chatham islands, i. of the auckland islands, i. table of families of australian, i. table of genera of australian, i. of the neotropical region, ii. distinctive characters of neotropical, ii. of the mexican sub region, ii. of the antilles, ii. table of distribution of, ii. table of families of neotropical, ii. table of genera of neotropical, ii. of the nearctic region, ii. list of typical genera of, ii. of california, ii. of central n. america, ii. of eastern united states, ii. of canada, ii. table of nearctic families of, ii. table of nearctic genera of, ii. and mammals, parallelism of distribution of, ii. lines of migration of, ii. peculiar development of, in islands, ii. contrast of distribution in tropical and temperate oceanic islands, ii. _biziura_ , ii. _blacicus_, ii. black ape of celebes, i. bland, mr. thomas, on antillean land-shells, ii. ii. blanford, mr. w. t., on the "indian" region, i. on relations of indian sub-region with africa, i. _blapsidium_, oolitic insect, i. _blarina_, ii. _blauneria_, ii. blennidÆ, ii. _blenniops_, ii. _blennius_, ii. _blethisa_, ii. blind burrowing snakes, ii. blunt-heads, ii. blyth, mr., on zoological regions, i. on the relations of indian sub-region with africa, i. _boa_, ii. _boædon_, ii. boas, ii. _bola_, ii. _bolborhynchus_, ii. _boleosoma_, ii. bombinatoridÆ, ii. _bombinator_, ii. _bonasa_, ii. bonnet-limpets, ii. bony pikes, ii. _bootherium_, ii. borneo, probable recent changes in, i. _bos_, post-pliocene, i. indian miocene, i. ii. , _botaurus_, ii. _bothriodon_, ii. _botia_, ii. bourbon, zoology of, i. reptiles of, i. _bourcieria_, ii. ii. _bovidæ_, european miocene, i. bovidÆ, ii. bovinÆ, ii. _brachinus_, ii. brachiopoda, ii. _brachiurophis_, ii. _brachiurus_, ii. _brachyalestes_, ii. _brachycephalus_, ii. _brachygalba_, ii. _brachylophus_, ii. _brachymeles_, ii. _brachymerus_, ii. _brachymys_, european miocene, i. ii. ii. _brachymystax_, ii. _brachypteryx_, ii. _brachypternus_, ii. _brachytarsomys_, ii. _brachypteracias_, ii. _brachyrhamphus_, ii. _bradybates_, ii. _bradycellus_, ii. _bradyornis_, ii. bradypodidÆ, ii. _bradyptetus_, ii. _bradypus_, ii. _bradytus_, ii. _brama_, ii. _bramatherium_, miocene of perim island, i. ii. _branchiosteus_, ii. _branta_, ii. brassolidÆ, ii. _brassolis_, ii. brazilian cave-fauna, i. remarks on, i. brazilian sub-region, description of, ii. mammalia of, ii. birds of, ii. illustration of mammalia of, ii. illustration of birds of, ii. islands of, ii. _breviceps_, ii. _breyeria borinensis_, carboniferous insect, i. britain, peculiar species in, i. british isles, zoology of, i. broad-bill, malayan, figure of, i. broad-bills, ii. _bronchocela_, ii. _brontes_, ii. _brontotheridæ_, n. american tertiary, i. _brontotherium_, n. american tertiary, i. _brotogerys_, ii. brush-turkeys, ii. _brycon_, ii. _bryconops_, ii. _bryttus_, ii. _buarremon_, ii. _bubalus_, ii. _bubo_, european miocene, i. ii. buccinidÆ, ii. _buccinum_, ii. _bucco_, ii. bucconiidÆ, ii. _bucephala_, ii. _bucephalus_, ii. _buceros_, ii. bucerotidÆ, ii. _bucorvus_, ii. _budorcas_, ii. budorcinÆ, ii. _budytes_, ii. buffaloes, ii. _bufo_, ii. bufonidÆ, ii. _bulbuls_, ii. bullidÆ, ii. _buliminus_, ii. _bulimulus_, ii. _bulimus_, eocene, i. ii. , _bunælurus_, n american tertiary, i. _bungarus_, ii. _bungia_, ii. _bunocephalichthys_, ii. _bunocephalus_, ii. _buphaga_, ii. buprestidÆ, ii. _buprestidium_, oolitic insect, i. _busarellus_, ii. bush-shrikes, ii. bustards, ii. _butalis_, ii. _butastur_, ii. _buteo_, ii. _buteogallus_, ii. buteoninÆ, ii. _buteola_, ii. _buthraupis_, ii. butterflies, arrangement of, i. palæarctic, i. of central europe, i. of the mediterranean sub-region, i. of azores, i. peculiar to siberian sub-region, i. of japan and north china, i. of the ethiopian region, i. number of ethiopian species, i. of indo-malay sub-region, i. of the australian region, i. of the austro-malay sub-region, i. of the moluccas, i. of celebes, peculiarities of, i. of new zealand, i. ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. fossil, ii. of s. temperate america, ii. _bycanistes_, ii. c. _cabalus_, ii. _cabrita_, ii. _cacatua_, ii. cacatuidÆ, ii. _caccabis_, ii. _cachius_, ii. _cacomantis_, ii. _cacophis_, ii. _cacopitta_, ii. _cacopus_, ii. _cacotus_, ii. _cactornis_, ii. _cadurcotherium_, european eocene, i. _cæcilia_, ii. cÆciliadÆ, ii. _cæcum_, ii. _cælodon_, in brazilian caves, i. _cælogenys_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _cænopithecus_, european eocene, i. ii. _cæntropus_, ii. _cainotherium_, european miocene, i. european eocene, i. _cairina_, ii. _caica_, ii. _calamanthus_, ii. _calamaria_, ii. calamariidÆ, ii. _calamodon_, n. american eocene, i. _calamodus_, ii. calamoherpinÆ, ii. _calamoichthys_, ii. _calamospiza_, ii. _calandrella_, ii. _calao_, ii. _calathus_, ii. _caledonica_, ii. _calendula_, ii. _calicalicus_, ii. _calictis_, ii. _calidris_, ii. _caliecthrus_, ii. california, illustration of zoology of, ii. californian sub-region, ii. mammalia of, ii. birds of, ii. reptiles of, ii. amphibia of, ii. fresh-water fishes of, ii. _caligo_, ii. _calinaga_, ii. _calisto_, ii. _callæas_, ii. _callia_, ii. _callichroma_, ii. _callichrous_, ii. _callichthys_, ii. _callida_, ii. _callidryas_, ii. _callionymus_, ii. _calliope_, ii. _callipepla_, ii. _calliperidia_, ii. _calliphlox_, ii. _callirhynus_, ii. _callisaurus_, ii. _calliste_, ii. _callisthenus_, ii. _callithea_, ii. _callithrix_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. ii. _callocephalus_, ii. _callochen_, ii. _callomystax_, ii. _callophis_, ii. _callophysus_, ii. _callopistes_, ii. _callorhinus_, ii. _calloselasma_, ii. _callosune_, ii. _callula_, ii. _calobates_, ii. _calocitta_, ii. _calodromas_, ii. _caloenas_, ii. _caloperdix_, ii. _calophena_, ii. _calopsitta_, ii. _caloragia_, ii. _calorhamphus_, ii. _calornis_, ii. _calosoma_, ii. _calostethus_, ii. _calotes_, ii. _calothorax_, ii. _calydna_, ii. _calypte_, ii. _calyptocephalus_, ii. _calyptomena_, ii. _calyptorhynchus_, ii. calyptrÆidÆ, ii. _calyptura_, ii. _camarhynchus_, ii. _camaroptera_, ii. camel, fossil in indian miocene, i. birth-place and migrations of, i. palæarctic, i. _camelidæ_, essentially extra-tropical, i. n. american tertiary, i. camelidÆ, ii. camelopardalidÆ, ii. _camelopardalis_, miocene of greece, i. indian miocene, i. ii. _camelotherium_, s. american pliocene, i. ii. camels, ii. _camelus_, ii. _camena_, ii. _campephaga_, ii. campephagidÆ, ii. _campephilus_, ii. _campsiempis_, ii. _camptolaimus_, ii. _campylopterus_, ii. _campylorhynchus_, ii. canadian sub-region, mammalia of, ii. birds of, ii. reptiles and fishes of, ii. insects of, ii. canaries, birds of, i. beetles of, i. _cancroma_, ii. _canidæ_, european miocene, i. european eocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. remarkable s. african, i. canidÆ, ii. _canis_, european pliocene, i. post-pliocene, i. european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. european eocene, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. , in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. ii. _cantharus_, ii. _cantoria_, ii. cape ant-eater, ii. cape of good hope, peculiar flora and fauna of, i. cape verd islands, zoology of, i. cape-hare, s. african, i. _capito_, ii. capitoninÆ, ii. _capoeta_, ii. _capra_, ii. , _capreolus_, ii. caprimulgidÆ, ii. _caprimulgus_, ii. caprinÆ, ii. _capromys_, ii. _capys_, ii. carabidÆ, ii. _carabus_, ii. ii. carangidÆ, ii. _carassius_, ii. carchariidÆ, ii. _carcineutes_, ii. _cardellina_, ii. cardiadÆ, ii. _cardinalis_, ii. _cardiodus_, s. american pliocene, i. _cardiopthalmus_, ii. _cardita_, ii. _carenum_, ii. _cariama_, brazilian caves, i. ii. cariamidÆ, ii. _caridonax_, ii. _carlia_, ii. _carnivora_ of european pliocene, i. miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. european eocene, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. of brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. carnivora, classification of, i. antiquity of, i. of the palæarctic region, i. list of palæarctic genera of, i. list of ethiopian genera of, i. range of oriental genera of, i. list of australian genera of, i. carnivora, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. range of, in time, ii. summary and conclusion, ii. caroline islands, birds of, i. carpenter, dr. philip, on panama shells, ii. _carpiodes_, ii. _carpococcyx_, ii. _carpodacus_, ii. _carpodectes_, ii. , _carpophaga_, ii. _carterodon_ in brazilian caves, i. ii. carus, and gerstaeker on classification of animals, i. professor, on classification of the cetacea, i. _carychium_, ii. _casarca_, ii. _cascelius_, ii. _casiornis_, ii. , _casoryx_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _casnonia_, ii. _cassiculus_, ii. _cassicus_, ii. _cassidaria_, ii. _cassidix_, ii. _cassinia_, ii. cassowaries, ii. _castalia_, ii. _castnia_, ii. castniidÆ, ii. _castor_, european pliocene, i. european miocene, i. ii. castoridÆ, ii. _castoroides_, ii. _casuarius_, ii. casuariidÆ, ii. _catadromus_, ii. _catagramma_, ii. _catamblyrhynchus_, ii. _catamenia_, ii. _catascopus_, ii. ii. _cataulus_, ii. _catharistes_, ii. _cathartes_, brazilian caves, i. ii. _catharus_, ii. _catherpes_, ii. _catla_, ii. _catoblepas_, ii. _catodon_, ii. _catodontidæ_, ii. _catopra_, ii. _catoprion_, ii. _catostomus_, ii. _catoxantha_, ii. _catriscus_, ii. cats, ii. cave-fauna of brazil, i. _cavia_, european miocene, i. in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. ii. cavies, ii. caviidÆ, ii. cebidÆ, ii. _cebochoerus_, european eocene, i. ii. _cebus_ in brazilian caves, i. ii. ii. _cecina_, ii. celebes, physical features of, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. insects of, i. origin of fauna of, i. _celestus_, ii. _celeus_, ii. _celia_, ii. _cenchris_, ii. _centetes_, ii. _centetidæ_, european miocene, i. centetidÆ, ii. _centrarchus_, ii. centriscidÆ, ii. _centriscus_, ii. _centrites_, ii. , _centrocercus_, ii. _centrolabrus_, ii. _centrolophus_, ii. _centromochlus_, ii. _centronotus_, ii. _centropus_, ii. _centronyx_, ii. _centropyx_, ii. _centurus_, ii. _cephalepis_, ii. _cephalopeltis_, ii. cephalophinÆ, ii. _cephalophus_, ii. cephalopoda, ii. _cephalopterus_, ii. , _cephalopyrus_, ii. _cepola_, ii. cepolidÆ, ii. cerambycidÆ, ii. _ceratichthys_, ii. _ceratina_, ii. ceratodus, remarkable australian fish, i. _ceratodus_, ii. _ceratohyla_, ii. _ceratophora_, ii. _ceratophorus_, ii. _ceratophrys_, ii. _ceratoptera_, ii. _ceratorhina_, ii. _ceratorhinus_, ii. _ceratotherium_, ii. _cerberus_, ii. _cercaspis_, ii. _cerchneis_, ii. _cercocebus_, ii. _cercolabes_ in brazilian caves, i. ii. cercolabidÆ, ii. _cercoleptes_, ii. _cercomacra_, ii. _cercomela_, ii. _cercomys_, ii. _cercopithecus_ in european pliocene, i. ii. _cercosaura_, ii. cercosauridÆ, ii. _cereopsis_, ii. _ceriornis_, ii. cerithiadÆ, ii. _certhia_, ii. _certhidea_, ii. certhiadÆ, ii. _certhilauda_, ii. _certhiola_, ii. _certhiparus_, ii. _cervicapra_, ii. cervicaprinÆ, ii. _cervidæ_, european miocene, i. birth-place and migrations of, i. cervidÆ, ii. _cervulus_, ii. _cervus_, european pliocene, i. indian pliocene and miocene, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. ii. _ceryle_, ii. cestraciontidÆ, ii. _cetacea_, european pliocene, i. european miocene, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. cetacea, classification of, i. range of oriental genus, i. cetacea, ii. _cethosia_, ii. cetoniidÆ, ii. _cetopsis_, ii. _cettia_, ii. _ceuthmochares_, ii. _ceycopsis_, ii. ceylon and malaya, resemblance of insects of, i. ceylonese sub-region, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. reptiles of, i. amphibia of, i. insects of, i. past history of, as indicated by its fauna. i. _ceyx_, ii. _chaca_, ii. _chæmarrhornis_, ii. _chæmepelia_, ii. _chærocampa_, ii. _chætobranchus_, ii. _chætocercus_, ii. ii. _chætodon_, ii. _chætomys_, ii. _chætops_, ii. _chætoptila_, ii. _chætorhynchus_, ii. _chætostomus_, ii. _chætura_, ii. _chætusia_, ii. _chalceus_, ii. chalcidÆ, ii. _chalcinopsis_, ii. _chalcinus_, ii. _chalcis_, ii. _chalcochloris_, ii. _chalcopelia_, ii. _chalcophaps_, ii. _chalcostetha_, ii. _chalicomys_, european pliocene, i. _chalicotherium_, european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. fossil in n. china, i. _chamæleo_, n. american eocene, i. _chalybura_, ii. _chamæa_, ii. chamÆidÆ, ii. chamÆleonidÆ, ii. chamæleons, ii. _chamæpetes_, ii. _chamæospiza_, ii. _chamæsaura_, ii. chamÆsauridÆ, ii. _chamæza_, ii. chamidÆ, ii. chamois, figure of, i. ii. _chamostrea_, ii. _chanodichthys_, ii. characinidÆ, ii. _characodon_, ii. charadriidÆ, ii. _charadrius_, ii. _charina_, ii. _charis_, ii. _charitornis_, ii. _charmosyna_, ii. _chasiempis_, ii. _chasmodes_, ii. _chasmorhynchus_, ii. , _chatarrhæa_, ii. chatham islands, birds of, i. chatterers, ii. _chaulelasmus_, ii. _chauna_, ii. _chaunonotus_, ii. _chaunoproctus_, ii. _chela_, ii. _chelemys_, ii. _chelidon_, ii. _chelidoptera_, ii. _chelidorynx_, ii. _chelodina_, ii. _chelomeles_ ii. _chelone_, ii. chelonia, classification of, i. chelonia, ii. remarks on the distribution of, ii. fossil, ii. cheloniidÆ, ii. chelydidÆ, ii. _chelydobatrachus_, ii. _chelydra_, european pliocene, i. ii. _chelys_, ii. _chenalopex_, ii. _chera_, ii. _chersina_, ii. _chersydrus_, ii. chevrotain of malaya, figure of, i. chevrotains, ii. _chiamela_, ii. _chiasognathus_, ii. _chibia_, ii. _chilabothrus_, ii. chili should not be placed in the palæarctic or nearctic regions, i. chili and temperate s. america, distribution of carabidæ in, ii. chilian andes, illustration of zoology of, ii. chilian sub-region, ii. mammalia of, ii. birds of, ii. illustration of zoology of, ii. reptiles and amphibia of, ii. fresh-water fishes of, ii. insects of, ii. origin and migrations of insects of, ii. chili, islands of, ii. _chilinia_, ii. _chilobranchus_, ii. _chilomeniscus_, ii. _chimæra_, ii. chimÆridÆ, ii. china, fossil mammals in, resembling those of indian and european miocene, i. north, mammalia of, i. _chinchilla_, ii. _chinchillidæ_ in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. pliocene of antilles, i. chinchillidÆ, ii. _chioglossa_, ii. _chionabas_, ii. chionididÆ, ii. _chionis_, ii. chirocentridÆ, ii. chirocolidÆ, ii. _chirodon_, ii. _chirodryas_, ii. _chirogaleus_, ii. _chiroleptes_, ii. _chiromachæris_, ii. , _chiromantis_, ii. chiromyidÆ, ii. _chironectes_, ii. chiroptera, classification of, i. list of palæarctic genera of, i. list of ethiopian genera of, i. range of oriental genera of, i. list of australian genera of, i. _chiroptera_, european eocene, i. in brazilian caves, i. chiroptera, ii. remarks on the distribution of, ii. fossil, ii. summary and conclusion, ii. _chirotes_, ii. chirotidÆ, ii. _chiroxiphia_, ii. , chitonidÆ, ii. _chittya_, ii. _chlænius_, ii. _chlamydodera_, ii. _chlamydophorus_, ii. _chlamydotherium_, ii. in brazilian caves, i. _chlenasicus_, ii. _chloëphaga_, ii. _chlorochrysa_, ii. ii. _chloronerpes_, ii. _chlorophanes_, ii. _chlorophonia_, ii. ii. _chloropipo_, ii. _chlorospiza_, ii. _chlorospingus_, ii. ii. _chlorostilbon_, ii. _choanomphalus_, ii. _choanopoma_, ii. _choeromorus_, european miocene, i. _choeropotamus_, european eocene, i. ii. _choeropus_, ii. _choerotherium_, indian miocene, i. _cholæpus_, ii. _chologastes_, ii. _cholornis_, ii. _chondestes_, ii. _chondropoma_, ii. chondropterygii, ii. chondrostei, ii. _chondrostoma_, ii. _choneziphius_, european pliocene, i. _chordeiles_, ii. chough, alpine, figure of, i. choughs, ii. chromidÆ, ii. _chromis_, ii. _chrysichthys_, ii. _chrysobronchus_, ii. _chrysococcyx_, ii. chrysochloridÆ, ii. _chrysochloris_, ii. _chrysocolaptes_, ii. _chrysocyon_, ii. _chrysolampis_, ii. _chrysomitris_, ii. _chrysopelea_, ii. _chrysophrys_, ii. _chrysoptilus_, ii. _chrysothrix_, ii. _chrysotis_, ii. _chrysuronia_, ii. _chthonicola_, ii. _ciccaba_, ii. _cichla_, ii. _cichladusa_, ii. _cichlopsis_, ii. _cicigna_, ii. _cicindela_, ii. cicindelidÆ, ii. _cicinnurus_, ii. _ciconia_, ii. _ciconiidæ_, ii. cinclidÆ, ii. _cinclocerthia_, ii. _cinclodes_, ii. _cinclorhamphus_, ii. _cinclosoma,_ ii. _cinclus_, ii. _cinnicerthia_, ii. _cinnyricinclus_, ii. ii. _cinosternon_, ii. _cinyxis_, ii. _cionella_, ii. _circaëtus_, ii. _circe_, ii. circumpolar zones, objections to system of, i. _circus_, ii. _cirrhina_, ii. cirrhitidÆ, ii. _cirrhochroa_, ii. cirrhostomi, ii. _cissa_, ii. _cissopis_, ii. _cisticola_, ii. _cistothorus_, ii. _cistula_, ii. _cithara_, ii. _citharinus_, ii. _cittura_, ii. _cladognathus_, ii. _clais_, ii. clam-shells, ii. _clarias_, ii. _clarotes_, ii. classification as affecting the study of distribution, i. _claudius_, ii. _clausilia_, eocene, i. ii. _clerome_, ii. _clibanornis_, ii. _climacteris_, ii. climate, as a limit to the range of mammalia, i. gradual change of, before the glacial epoch, i. _clinteria_, ii. clionidÆ, ii. _clostophis_, ii. _clupea_, ii. clupeidÆ, ii. _clymenia_, ii. _clypeicterus_, ii. _clytoctantes_, ii. _clytolæna_, ii. _clytus_, ii. _cnidoglanis_, ii. _cnipodectes_, ii. _cnipolegus_, ii. , _cobitis_, ii. cobras, ii. _coccothraustes_, ii. _coccygus_, ii. _coccystes_, ii. _cochlognathus_, ii. _cochlostyla_, ii. _cochlothraustes_, ii. _cochoa_, ii. cockatoos, ii. cockles, ii. cocos islands, bird of, ii. _cocytia_, ii. _coeligena_, ii. _coelodon_, ii. _coelonotus_, ii. _coelopeltis_, ii. _coelosterna_, ii. _coenonympha_, ii. _coereba_, ii. coerebidÆ, ii. _cogia_, ii. _colaptes_, ii. coleoptera, families selected for study, i. palæarctic, i. number of palæarctic species, i. of central europe, i. of the mediterranean sub-region, i. of the cape verd islands, i. of the ethiopian region, i. s. african, i. of madagascar, i. , of the oriental region, i. of indo-malay sub-region, i. of the australian region, i. affinity of australian and south american, i. , of celebes, i. of new zealand, i. of the neotropical region, ii. of s. temperate america, ii. of the mexican sub-region, ii. of the antilles, ii. of the nearctic region, ii. coleoptera, ii. general observations on the distribution of, ii. (_see also_ beetles) _colias_, ii. colies, ii. coliidÆ, ii. _colius_, ii. _coliuspasser_, ii. _collocalia_, european miocene, i. ii. _colluricincla_, ii. _collyris_, ii. , _colobus_, european miocene, i. ii. _colænis_, ii. _colonoceras_, n. american tertiary, i. _colopterus_, ii. _colossochelys_ of indian miocene, i. , _colpodes_, ii. _coluber_, ii. colubridÆ, ii. colubrinÆ, ii. columbæ, classification of, i. range of palæarctic genera of, i. range of ethiopian genera of, i. range of oriental genera of, i. range of australian genera of, i. _columba_, ii. columbÆ, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. columbidÆ, ii. _columbula_, ii. _columna_, ii. colymbidÆ, ii. _colymbus_, ii. comephoridÆ, ii. _comephorus_, ii. comoro islands, zoology of, i. _compsosoma_, ii. , conchifera, ii. _condylura_, ii. cones, ii. _conger_, ii. conidÆ, ii. _conirostrum_, ii. _conognatha_, ii. _conophaga_, ii. conophaginÆ, ii. _conophis_, ii. _conopias_, ii. _conorhynchus_, ii. _conostoma_, ii. continents, distribution of, i. recent changes of, i. continental extension in mesozoic times, i. _contopus_, ii. , conuridÆ, ii. _conurus_, ii. _conus_, ii. _copea_, ii. _cophoscincus_, ii. _copidoglanis_, ii. _coptodera_, ii. , _copurus_, ii. _copsychus_, ii. _coracias_, ii. coraciidÆ, ii. _coracopsis_, ii. _corades_, ii. _corallus_, ii. _corbis_, ii. _cordylosaurus_, ii. _cordylus_, ii. _coregonus_, ii. _coriphilus_, ii. _coris_, ii. _coronella_, ii. coronellinÆ, ii. _coronis_, ii. _cornufer_, ii. corvidÆ, ii. _corvina_, ii. _corvinella_, ii. _corvultur_, ii. _corvus_, european miocene, i. ii. _corydalla_, ii. _corydon_, ii. _corynopoma_, ii. _coryphistera_, ii. _coryphodon_, european eocene, i. _coryphospingus_, ii. _corythaix_, ii. _corythopis_, ii. _corythornis_, ii. _cosmeteira_, ii. _cosmetornis_, ii. cosmopolitan groups enumerated, i. _cossypha_, ii. _cotinga_, ii. , cotingidÆ, ii. _cottus_, ii. _coturniculus_, ii. _coturnix_, ii. _cotyle_, ii. _coua_, ii. _couchia_, ii. coues, dr., on the blue crow of the rocky mountains, ii. coursers, ii. cowries, ii. coypu, ii. cracidÆ, ii. cracinÆ, ii. _cracticus_, ii. cranes, ii. craniadÆ, ii. _cranorrhinus_, ii. _craspedocephalus_, ii. _craspedopoma_, ii. _crateropus_, ii. _crax_, ii. _creadion_, ii. _creagrus_, ii. _creagrutus_, ii. creepers, ii. _cremna_, ii. _crenicichla_, ii. _crenilabrus_, ii. _crenuchus_, ii. _creurgops_, ii. _cricetodon_, european miocene, i. ii. _cricetomys_, ii. _cricetulus_, ii. _cricetus_, european pliocene, i. ii. _cricosoma_, ii. _crinia_, ii. _criniger_, ii. _crithagra_, ii. _crocidura_, ii. crocodiles, eocene, i. ii. lines of migration of, ii. crocodilia, classification of, i. crocodilia, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. fossil, ii. crocodilidÆ, ii. _crocodilurus_ ii. _crocodilus_, ii. crook-billed plovers of new zealand, i. _crossarchus_, ii. _crossochilus_, ii. _crossodactylus_, ii. _crossoptilon_, ii. _crossopus_, ii. crotalidÆ, ii. _crotalophorus_, ii. _crotalus_, ii. crotch, mr., on beetles of the azores, i. _crotophaga_, ii. crowned-pigeon, figure of, i. crows, ii. _crypsirhina_, ii. _cryptoblepharus_, ii. _cryptodacus_, ii. _cryptoprocta_, ii. cryptoproctidÆ, ii. _cryptopterus_, ii. _cryptornis_, european eocene, i. _cryptotis_, ii. _crypturus_, ii. _ctenodactyla_, ii. _ctenodactylus_, ii. _ctenolabrus_, ii. _ctenomys_, s. american pliocene, i. ii. _ctenopharyngodon_, ii. _ctenopoma_, ii. _ctenostoma_, ii. cuba, extinct mammalia of, i. _curculionidium_, oolitic insect, i. _cubina_, ii. cuculidÆ, ii. _cuculus_, ii. cuckoo-shrikes, ii. cuckoos, ii. _culter_, ii. cunningham, professor, lizard discovered by, in tierra-del-fuego, ii. _cuniculus_, ii. _cuphopterus_, ii. _cupidonia_, ii. curassows, ii. _curæus_, ii. _curetis_, ii. _curimatus_, ii. _curruca_, ii. _cursoria_, ii. _cursorius_, ii. _cuscus_, ii. _custa_, ii. _cutia_, ii. cuttle fish, ii. _cyanecula_, ii. _cyanocorax_, ii. _cyanomyia_, ii. _cyanopica_, ii. _cyanoptila_, ii. _cyanorhamphus_, ii. _cyanospiza_, ii. _cyanotis_, ii. _cyanurus_, ii. _cybernetes_, ii. _cychloris_, ii. _cychrus_, ii. cycladidÆ, ii. _cyclas_, ii. _cyclocorus_, ii. _cycloderma_, ii. _cyclodina_, ii. _cyclodus_, ii. _cyclophis_, ii. _cyclophorus_, ii. _cyclopterus_, ii. _cyclopsitta_, ii. _cyclorhamphus_, ii. _cyclostoma_, eocene, i. cyclostomata, ii. cyclostomidÆ, ii. _cyclostomus_, ii. _cyclothorus_, ii. _cyclotopsis_, ii. _cyclotus_, ii. _cyclusa_, ii. _cygnus_, ii. _cylindrella_, ii. _cylindrophis_, ii. _cyllo sepulta_, european cretaceous, i. _cymba_, ii. _cymbilanius_, ii. _cymbirhynchus_, ii. _cymindis_, ii. _cynælurus_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _cynanthus_, ii. _cynictis_, ii. _cynocephalus_, ii. _cynodictis_, ii. _cynodon_, ii. _cynogale_, ii. cynopithecidÆ, ii. cynopithecus of celebes, affinities of, i. _cynopithecus_, ii. _cynomys_, ii. _cyornis_, ii. _cyotherium_, european eocene, i. ii. _cyphogastra_, ii. _cyphorhinus_, ii. cyprÆidÆ, ii. _cyprina_, ii. cyprinidÆ, ii. ii. _cyprinus_, ii. _cyprinion_, ii. _cyprinodon_, ii. cyprinodontidÆ, ii. cypselidÆ, ii. _cypseloides_, ii. _cypselus_, ii. _cypsnagra_, ii. _cyrena_, ii. _cyrestis_, ii. _cyrtonotus_, ii. _cyrtonyx_, ii. _cyrtophis_, ii. _cystignathus_, ii. _cystophora_, ii. d. _dacelo_, ii. _dacnis_, ii. _dactylethra_, ii. dactylethridÆ, ii. _dactylomys_, ii. _dactylopsila_, ii. _dactylozodes_, ii. _dafila_, ii. _dama_, ii. _damias_, ii. _damophila_, ii. danaidÆ, ii. _danais_, ii. _dangila_, ii. _danio_, ii. _daptophilus_, n. american tertiary, i. darters, ii. darwin, mr., his explanation of the cause of the abundance of apterous insects in madeira, i. on the relation of flowers and insects, i. amphibia collected by, in s. temperate america, ii. mice collected by, in s. temperate america, ii. on physical geography of the galapagos, ii. _dasia_, ii. _dasylophus_, ii. _dasyopthalma_, ii. _dasypeltis_, ii. dasypodidÆ, ii. _dasyprocta_, european miocene, i. in brazilian caves, i. ii. _dasyptilus_, ii. _dasypus_, in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. ii. dasyuridÆ, ii. _dasyurus_, australian post-tertiary, i. ii. _daudebardia_, ii. david, père, his researches in china and thibet, i. , on birds of n. china, i. _debis_, ii. deer, fossil in n. american tertiary formations, i. palæarctic, i. probable cause of absence from tropical africa, i. ii. _deilephila_, ii. _deltatria_, ii. _delma_, ii. _deloneura_, ii. _delphinapterus_, ii. delphinidÆ, ii. _delphinus_, european pliocene, i. ii. dendraspididÆ, ii. _dendraspis_, ii. _dendrexetastes_, ii. _dendrochelidon_, ii. _dendrocitta_, ii. _dendrocolaptes_, ii. dendrocolaptidÆ, ii. dendrocolaptinÆ, ii. _dendrocincla_, ii. _dendrocygna_, european miocene, i. ii. _dendroeca_, ii. _dendrohyrax_, ii. _dendrolagus_, ii. _dendromus_, ii. _dendromys_, ii. _dendrophila_, ii. dendrophidÆ, ii. _dendrophis_, ii. _dendropicus_, ii. _dendroplex_, ii. _dendrornis_, ii. _dendrortyx_, ii. _denisonia_, ii. dentaliadÆ, ii. _dentalium_, ii. ii. _dentex_, ii. _dercas_, ii. _dermatemys_, ii. _dermatocera_, ii. _dermatochelys_, ii. _deroptyus_, ii. _dermognathus_, ii. desert-snakes, ii. desman of s. russia, figure of, i. _desmodus_, ii. _deudorix_, ii. _diadema_, ii. _diagramma_, ii. _dibamus_, ii. dibranchiata, ii. dicÆidÆ, ii. _dicælus_, ii. _dicæum_, ii. _dicallaneura_, ii. _dicamptodon_, ii. _diceratherium_, n. american tertiary, i. _dicerca_, ii. _dicerobatis_, ii. _dichobune_, european eocene, i. _dicotyles_, n. american post-pliocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. birthplace and migrations of, i. ii. _dicotylinæ_, ii. _dicrocerus_, european miocene, i. ii. _dicrodon_, ii. _dicroglossus_, ii. _dicrorrhagia_, ii. dicruridÆ, ii. _dicrurus_, ii. didelphyidÆ, ii. _didelphys_, european eocene, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. in brazilian caves, i. ii. _dididæ_, i. dididÆ, ii. _didocus_, ii. didunculidÆ, ii. _didunculus_, ii. _didus_, ii. _dieba_, ii. _diemenia_, ii. _diglossa_, ii. _diglossopis_, ii. _dilophus_, ii. _dilophyrus_, ii. _dimodes_, ii. _dimylus_, ii. _dinictis_, ii. _dinoceras_, n. american eocene, i. _dinocerata_, n. american tertiary, i. _dinornis_, allied form in european eocene, i. of new zealand and australia, i. ii. _dinornithidæ_ of new zealand, i. dinornithidÆ, ii. _dinotherium_, miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. miocene of perim island, i. _dinyctis_, n. american tertiary, i. _dinylus_, european miocene, i. _diomedia_, ii. _dioplodon_, ii. _diorhina_, ii. _diphlogæna_, ii. _diphylla_, ii. _diphyllodes_, ii. _diplacodon_, n. american tertiary, i. _diplodactylus_, ii. _diploglossus_, ii. _diplolæmus_, ii. _diplomesodon_, ii. diplommatinidÆ, ii. _diplommatina_, ii. _diplomystax_, ii. _diplopelma_, ii. _diplopoma_, ii. _diplopterus_, ii. dipnoi, ii. dipodidÆ, ii. _dipodomys_, ii. dippers, ii. _diprotodon_, australian post-tertiary, i. ii. dipsadidÆ, ii. _dipsadoboa_, ii. _dipsas_, ii. _diptychus_, ii. _dipus_, ii. _dircenna_, ii. _discina_, ii. discinidÆ, ii. _discoboli_, ii. discoglossidÆ, ii. _discoglossus_, ii. _discognathus_, ii. _discophora_, ii. _discura_, ii. dispersal of animals, i. of mammalia, i. of reptiles and amphibia, i. _disteira_, ii. _distichodus_, ii. distribution, affected by climate, i. affected by physical features, i. contrasts of, in similar climates, i. similarities of, in diverse climates, i. barriers as affecting, i. study of, dependent on a good classification, i. of animals an adjunct to geology, i. of animals requires certain preliminary studies, i. of animals dependent on physical geography, i. of animals, as affected by the glacial epoch, i. of animals, as affected by changes of vegetation, i. of animals, as affected by organic changes, i. of animals, hypothetical illustration of, i. of animals, complexity of the causes affecting the, i. of animals, problems in, i. of plants, as affected by the glacial epoch, i. _distrigus_, ii. _diuca_, ii. _diucopis_, ii. _diva_, ii. divers, ii. _docimastes_, ii. dodo of mauritius, i. ii. _dodona_, ii. _dolerisca_, ii. _dolichodon_, ii. _dolichonyx_, ii. _dolichopterus_, european miocene, i. _dolichotis_, ii. _doliophis_, ii. _dolium_, ii. _dommina_, n. american tertiary, i. _donacobius_, ii. _donacola_, ii. _donacospiza_, ii. _doras_, ii. _dorcatherium_, european miocene, i. _dorcopsis_, ii. _dorcus_, ii. _doricha_, ii. doridÆ, ii. _doritis_, ii. dormice, ii. _doryichthys_, ii. _doryphora_, ii. douroucoulis, ii. _draco_, ii. _dremotherium_, miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. ii. drepanididÆ, ii. _drepanis_, ii. _drepanornis_, ii. ii. dresser, mr. h. e., on northern range of european birds, i. _drimostoma_, ii. _dromæus_, ii. _dromas_, ii. _dromatherium_, n. american triassic, i. oldest american mammal, i. _dromica_, ii. , _dromicia_, ii. _dromicus_, ii. _dromius_, ii. _dromococcyx_, ii. _dromolæa_, ii. _dromophis_, ii. drongo-shrike, malayan, figure of, i. ii. dryadinÆ, ii. dryiophidÆ, ii. _dryiophis_, ii. _drymocataphus_, ii. _drymodes_, ii. _drymoeca_, ii. drymoecinÆ, ii. _drymomys_, ii. _drymornis_, ii. _dryocopus_, ii. _dryopithecus_, european miocene, i. ii. _dryospiza_, ii. _dryotriorchis_, ii. _dubusia_, ii. ducks, ii. _dulus_, ii. _dumerilia_, ii. _dumetia_, ii. _dumeticola_, ii. duncan, dr., on fossil corals of the antilles, ii. _d'urbania_, ii. dwarf-ground snakes, ii. _dynastor_, ii. _dyschirus_, ii. _dysauxis_, ii. _dysithamnus_, ii. _dysopes_, ii. e. eagles, ii. eared seals, ii. ear-shells, ii. east africa, geographical features of, i. wide range of genera and species over, i. few special types in, i. east african sub-region, description of, i. genera and species ranging over the whole of, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. reptiles of, i. amphibia and fishes of, i. insects of, i. few peculiar types in, i. illustration of zoology of, i. east australia, peculiar birds of, i. east thibet, mammalia of, i. eaton, rev., a. e., on insects of kerguelen island, i. _eburna_, ii. _echidna_, ii. echidnidÆ, ii. _echimyidæ_, in brazilian caves, i. echimyidÆ, ii. _echimys_, ii. _echinogale_, european miocene, i. _echinops_, ii. , _echinorhinus_, ii. _echiothrix_, ii. _echis_, ii. _eclectus_, ii. _ectognathus_, n. american eocene, i. _ectopistes_, ii. _edentata_, miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. n. american pliocene, i. of brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. edentata, classification of, i. probable birthplace of, i. range of ethiopian genera of, i. range of oriental genus of, i. edentata, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. summary and conclusion, ii. _ega_, ii. _egerina_, ii. _elainea_, ii. , elaineinÆ, ii. _elania_, ii. _elanoides_, ii. _elanus_, ii. _elaphodus_, ii. _elaphrus_, ii. elapidÆ, ii. _elapochrus_, ii. _elaps_, ii. _elapsoidea_, ii. _elasmognathus_, ii. _electra_, ii. elephantidÆ, ii. elephants, fossil, of indian miocene, i. fossil in n. american post-pliocene formations, i. birthplace and migrations of, i. ii. elephant shrews, s. african, i. ii. _elephas_, post-pliocene, i. fossil in n. china, i. n. american tertiary, i. ii. _eliomys_, ii. elliot, mr., his great work on the birds of paradise, i. on classification of the birds of paradise, ii. _ellipesurus_, ii. _ellipsoglossa_, ii. _ellisia_, ii. _ellobius_, ii. _elminia_, ii. _elodina_, ii. _elopichthys_, ii. _elornis_, european miocene, i. _elosia_, ii. _elotherium_, n. american tertiary, i. , ii. , _elseya_, ii. elwes, mr., on birds of persia, i. on true relations of the birds of central india, i. _elymnias_, ii. elymniidÆ, ii. elsiadÆ, ii. _embasis_, n. american tertiary, i. _emberiza_, ii. emberizinÆ, ii. _emberizoides_, ii. _emblema_, ii. _embernagra_, ii. embrotocidÆ, ii. _emesis_, ii. emeu, figure of, i. emeus, ii. _emminia_, ii. _empidagra_, ii. _empidias_, ii. , _empidochanes_, ii. _empidonax_, ii. , _empidonomus_, ii. _emyda_, ii. _emydida_, indian miocene, i. _emydocephalus_, ii. _emys_, indian miocene, i. miocene and eocene, i. ii. _enes_, ii. _engystoma_, ii. engystomidÆ, ii. _enhydrina_, ii. _enhydrion_, indian miocene, i. ii. _enhydris_, ii. _enicurus_, ii. _enispe_, ii. _enodes_, ii. _enophrys_, ii. _ensophleus_, ii. _entelopes_, ii. _entomiza_, ii. _entomophila_, ii. _enygrus_, ii. _eobasileus_, n. american eocene, i. eocene period, i. fauna of s. america, i. _eophona_, ii. _eopsaltria_, ii. _eos_, ii. _epalzeorhynchus_, ii. _ephemera_, from the lias, i. _ephthianura_, ii. _epicalia_, ii. _epicrates_, ii. epimachinÆ, ii. _epimachus_, ii. _epiodon_, ii. _epirhixis_, ii. _epitola_, ii. _eporeodon_, n. american tertiary, i. equidÆ, ii. _equidæ_, european pliocene, i. miocene of greece, i. european eocene, i. _equus_, european pliocene, i. post-pliocene, i. indian miocene, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. ii. _erebia_, ii. _eremias_, ii. _eremomela_, ii. _eremophilus_, ii. _ereptodon_, n. american post-pliocene, i. _eresia_, ii. _erethistes_, ii. _erethizon_, ii. _ereunetes_, ii. _ergaticus_, ii. _ergolis_, ii. _ericulus_, ii. _ericymba_, ii. erinaceidÆ, ii. _erinaceus_, european miocene, i. ii. _eriocnemis_, ii. _eriodes_, ii. _erismatura_, ii. _erithacus_, ii. _eroessa_, ii. _eronia_, ii. _erpornis_, ii. erycidÆ, ii. erycinidÆ, ii. _erynnis_, ii. _erythrinus_, ii. _erythrocercus_, ii. _erythrocnema_, ii. _erythrogonys_, ii. _erythrolampus_, ii. _erythromachus_ of rodriguez, i. ii. _erythrospiza_, ii. _erythrosterna_, ii. _erythrura_, ii. _eryx_, ii. esocidÆ, ii. _esox_, ii. _esthemopsis_, ii. _esthonyx_, n. american eocene, i. _estrilda_, ii. _etheria_, ii. ethiopian region should not include any part of india, i. defined, i. subdivisions of, i. general features of, i. zoological characteristics of, i. mammalia of, i. great speciality of, i. birds of, i. reptiles of, i. amphibia of, i. fresh-water fish of, i. summary of vertebrates of, i. insects of, i. coleoptera of, i. terrestrial mollusca of, i. sub-regions of, i. atlantic islands of, i. the probable past history of, i. tables of distribution of animals of, i. _euanemus_, ii. _eubagis_, ii. _eucephala_, ii. _euchætes_, ii. _eucometis_, ii. _euchromia_, ii. _eucichla_, ii. _euclyptosternum_, ii. _eudromias_, ii. _eudynamis_, ii. _eudyptes_, ii. _eueides_, ii. _eugenes_, ii. _eugenia_, ii. _euhyrax_, ii. _eulabeornis_, ii. _eulabes_, ii. _eulampis_, ii. _eumæus_, ii. _eumeces_, ii. _eumetopias_, ii. _eumomota_, ii. _eumys_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _eumyias_, ii. _eunectes_, ii. _eunica_, ii. _eunogyra_, ii. _eupetes_, ii. _eupetomena_, ii. _euphema_, ii. _eupherusa_, ii. _euphonia_, ii. _euphractus_, s. american pliocene, i. _euphryne_, ii. _euphysetes_, ii. _eupleres_, ii. _euploea_, ii. euplocaminÆ, ii. _euplocamus_, ii. _eupodotis_, ii. _euprepes_, ii. _eupsychortyx_, ii. _euptilotis_, ii. _euptychia_, ii. _eurinorhynchus_, ii. _eurocephalus_, ii. europe, recent changes in physical geography of, i. miocene fauna of central, i. miocene fauna of, allied to existing fauna of tropical asia and africa, i. european sub-region, description of, i. forests of, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. reptiles and amphibia of, i. fresh-water fish of, i. insects of, i. islands of, i. _eurostopodus_, ii. _euryades_, ii. _euryapteryx_, ii. _euryarthrium_, ii. _eurybia_, ii. euryceros of madagascar, figure of, i. _euryceros_, ii. _eurycus_, ii. _eurygona_, ii. eurygonidÆ, ii. eurylÆmidÆ, ii. _eurylæmus_, ii. _euryodon_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _euryphene_, ii. _eurypyga_, ii. eurypygidÆ, ii. _eurystomus_, ii. _eurytela_, ii. _eurytherium_, european eocene, i. _eurytrichus_, ii. _euscarthmus_, ii. _euschemon_, ii. ii. _eusemia_, ii. _euspiza_, ii. _eustephanus_, ii. _eustira_, ii. _eutatus_, s. american pliocene, i. ii. _eutelodon_, european eocene, i. _eutemnodus_, s. american eocene, i. _euterpe_, ii. _euthyrhynchus_, ii. _eutoxeres_, ii. _eutriorchis_, ii. _eutropia_, ii. _eutropiichthys_, ii. _eutropius_, ii. _eutroplus_, ii. _exocetus_, ii. _exoglossum_, ii. _exostoma_, ii. extinct mammalian fauna of europe, general considerations on, i. mammalia of n. america and europe, comparison of, i. mammalia of the antilles, i. mammalia of the old and new worlds, general remarks on, i. fauna of new zealand, i. amphibia, ii. ant-eaters, ii. armadillos, ii. bovidæ, ii. bradypodidæ, ii. camelidæ, ii. camelopardalidæ, ii. canidæ, ii. castoridæ, ii. caviidæ, ii. centetidæ, ii. cercolabidæ, ii. cetacea, ii. chinchillidæ, ii. chiroptera, ii. crocodiles, ii. deer, ii. didelphyidæ, ii. dipodidæ, ii. echidnidæ, ii. echimyidæ, ii. elephants, ii. equidæ, ii. erinaceidæ, ii. felidæ, ii. hippopotami, ii. hyænas, ii. hystricidæ, ii. insectivora, ii. lacertilia, ii. lagomyidæ, ii. leporidæ, ii. macropodidæ, ii. muridæ, ii. mustelidæ, ii. myoxidæ, ii. octodontidæ, ii. ophidia, ii. orycteropodidæ, ii. otariidæ, ii. procyonidæ, ii. quadrumana, ii. rallidæ, ii. rhinocerotidæ, ii. sciuridæ, ii. seals, ii. sirenia, ii. struthionidæ, ii. suidæ, ii. talpidæ, ii. tapirs, ii. tortoises, ii. tragulidæ, ii. tupaiidæ, ii. ursidæ, ii. viverridæ, ii. extinction of large animals, causes of, i. f. _falcinellus_, ii. _falco_, ii. falconidÆ, ii. falconinÆ, ii. falcons, ii. _falculia_, ii. falkland islands, zoology of, ii. fanged ground-snakes, ii. _farancia_, ii. fauna of japan, general character and affinities of, i. of palæarctic region, general conclusions as to, i. extinct, of madagascar and mascarene islands, i. malayan, probable origin of, i. moluccan, peculiarities of, i. timorese, origin of, i. of celebes, origin of, i. of new zealand, origin of, i. of galapagos, origin of, ii. of central america, origin of, ii. of antilles, origin of, ii. of neotropical region, origin of, ii. felidÆ, ii. _felis_, miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. in brazilian caves, i. ii. _felis spelæa_, i. _feniseca_, ii. _fennecus_, ii. _ferania_, ii. fernando po, zoological features of, i. _feroculus_, ii. _fiber_, ii. _figulus_, ii. fiji, tonga, and samoa islands, birds of, i. finches, ii. firolidÆ, ii. fishes, means of dispersal of, i. classification of, i. cosmopolitan groups of, i. of the palæarctic region, i. of the european sub-region, i. of the mediterranean sub-region, i. of the manchurian sub-region, i. fresh-water, table of palæarctic families of, i. of the ethiopian region, i. of south africa, i. fresh-water, table of ethiopian families of, i. fresh-water, of the oriental region, i. of the indo-malay sub-region, i. fresh-water, table of oriental families of i. fresh-water, of the australian region, i. fresh-water, resemblance of australian and s. american, i. how the transmission may have taken place, i. fresh-water, of new zealand, i. fresh-water, table of neotropical families of, ii. of central n. america, ii. of eastern united states, ii. of canada, ii. fresh-water, table of nearctic families of, ii. remarks on the distribution of, ii. fossil, ii. fishing-hawks, ii. fissurellidÆ, ii. fistularidÆ, ii. _fitzroya_, ii. flamingoes, european miocene, i. ii. flora, of new zealand, as influenced by scarcity of insects, i. fossil of australia, i. floras, cretaceous and tertiary, of north america, ii. _florisuga_, ii. flower-peckers, ii. flower, professor, on classification of mammalia, i. classification of carnivora, i. _fluvicola_, ii. flycatchers, ii. flying lemur, malayan, figure of, i. ii. flying lizards, ii. flying opossum, figure of, i. _fordonia_, ii. forests, essential to existence of many european animals, i. siberian, greatest extent of, i. formicariidÆ, ii. formicariinÆ, ii. _formicarius_, ii. _formicivora_, ii. formicivorinÆ, ii. formosa, zoology of, i. _fossa_, ii. _foudia_, ii. _francolinus_, ii. _fraseria_, ii. _fratercula_, ii. _fregetta_, ii. _fregilupus_, ii. _fregilus_, ii. fresh-water fishes, neotropical, ii. of s. temperate america, ii. of the mexican sub-region, ii. of the antilles, ii. of the nearctic region, ii. of california, ii. summary and conclusion, ii. fresh-water mussels, ii. shell, the most arctic, ii. snakes, ii. snails, ii. _fringilla_, ii. _fringillaria_, ii. _fringillauda_, ii. fringillidÆ, ii. frog-mouths, ii. frogs, ii. _fulica_, ii. _fuligula_, ii. _fulmarus_, ii. _fundulus_, ii. furnariinÆ, ii. _furnarius_, ii. _fusus_, ii. g. gadidÆ, ii. gadopsidÆ, ii. _gadus_, ii. _galago_, ii. galapagos, scarcity of insects in, i. galapagos islands, ii. mammalia of, ii. birds of, ii. reptiles of, ii. insects of, ii. land-shells of, ii. conclusions as to the origin of their fauna, ii. _galatea_, ii. _galaxias_, ii. galaxidÆ, ii. _galbalcyrhynchus_, ii. _galbula_, ii. galbulidÆ, ii. _galecynus_, in european pliocene, i. ii. _galeichthys_, ii. galeopithecidÆ, ii. _galeoscoptes_, ii. _galeospalax_, european miocene, i. ii. _galeotherium_, post-pliocene, i. _galera_, n. american post-pliocene, i. _galerella_, ii. _galerita_, ii. ii. _galerix_, ii. _galethylax_, european eocene, i. ii. _galeus_, ii. _galictis_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _galidia_, ii. _galidictis_, ii. gallinæ, classification of, i. range of palæarctic genera of, i. range of ethiopian genera of, i. range of oriental genera of, i. range of australian genera of, i. gallinÆ, ii. ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. _gallinago_, ii. _gallinula_, ii. _gallus_, miocene of greece, i. ii. _gallus bravardi_, european pliocene, i. _galogale_, ii. _gambusia_, ii. _gampsonyx_, ii. _gampsorhynchus_, ii. gannets, ii. ganoidei, ii. gape-eyed scinks, ii. gar-fish, ii. garrod, professor, on the classification of parrots, ii. _garrulax_, ii. _garrulus_, ii. gasteropoda, ii. gasterosteidÆ, ii. _gasterosteus_, ii. _gastornis_, european eocene, i. gastrochÆnidÆ, ii. _gastropelecus_, ii. gavialidÆ, ii. _gavialis_, ii. gavials, ii. _gazella_, ii. gazellinÆ, ii. _gazera_, ii. _gecinulus_, ii. _gecinus_, ii. _gecko_, ii. geckotidÆ, ii. geese, ii. _gehyra_, ii. genera common to post-pliocene and pliocene faunas of n. america, i. _genetta_, ii. _genidens_, ii. _geobates_, ii. _geobiastes_, ii. _geocichla_, ii. _geococcyx_, ii. _geocolaptes_, ii. geodephaga, ii. _geoffroyus_, ii. geographical zoology, introduction, ii. materials for, ii. geological history of oriental region, i. geology and physical geography of the antilles, ii. , _geomelania_, ii. _geomys_, ii. _geopelia_, ii. _geophaps_, ii. _geophagus_, ii. _geopsittacus_, ii. _georissa_, ii. _georychus_, ii. _geositta_, ii. _geospiza_, ii. _geothlypis_, ii. _geotrochus_, ii. _geotryon_, ii. _geotrypus_, ii. _geranospiza_, ii. _gerbillus_, ii. ii. _geronticus_, ii. _gerrhonotus_, ii. _gerrhosaurus_, ii. gerridÆ, ii. _gervasia_, ii. _gerygone_, ii. giant-clams, ii. gibbon, ii. gibraltar, cave fauna of, i. giraffes, ii. _girardinus_, ii. glacial epoch, as affecting the distribution of animals, i. as a cause of the great change in the fauna of the temperate zones, since pliocene times, i. probably simultaneous in both hemispheres, i. causing a general subsidence of the ocean, i. _glandina_, eocene, i. ii. _glareola_, ii. glareolidÆ, ii. _glaucis_, ii. _glaucidium_, ii. _glauconeza_, ii. _glaucopis_, ii. _gliciphila_, ii. _glis_, ii. _globiocephalus_, ii. _glossoptila_, ii. _glossotherium_, in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. ii. _glycimeris_, ii. _glyphidodon_, ii. _glyphoglossus_, ii. _glyphorhynchus_, ii. _glyptodon_, s. american pliocene, i. _glyptosternum_, ii. _gnaphodes_, ii. _gnathodon_, ii. _gnathopsis_, s. american pliocene, i. goats, palæarctic, i. ii. goat-suckers, ii. gobiesocidÆ, ii. gobiidÆ, ii. _gobio_, ii. _gobius_, ii. godman, mr., on natural history of the azores, i. golden moles, s. african, i. _goliathi_, ii. _gonepteryx_, ii. _goniodactylus_, ii. _gongylophis_, ii. _gonorhynchidæ_, ii. _gonyocephalus_, ii. _gonyosoma_, ii. _gouldia_, ii. _goura_, ii. _graculavus_, n. american cretaceous, i. grallæ, arrangement of, i. peculiar or characteristic palæarctic genera, i. peculiar ethiopian genera of, i. peculiar oriental genera of, i. peculiar australian genera of, i. grallÆ, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. _grallaria_, ii. _grallaricula_, ii. _grallina_, ii. _grammatophorus_, ii. _grammatoptila_, ii. _grampus_, ii. _granatellus_, ii. _grandala_, ii. _graphidurus_, ii. _graphipterus_, ii. _graucalus_, ii. gray, dr. j. e., on classification of cetacea, i. _grayia_, ii. grayson, col, on birds of tres marias, ii. grebes, ii. greece, upper miocene deposits of, i. summary of miocene fauna of, i. green bulbuls, ii. greenland, zoology of, ii. greenlets, ii. groups peculiar to a region, how defined, ii. grouse, ii. gruidÆ, ii. _grus_, ii. _grypsicus_, ii. _grypus_, ii. guacharo, ii. guans, ii. guaraunas, ii. _gubernatrix_, ii. _guillemots_, ii. _guira_, ii. _guiraca_, ii. gulick, rev. j. t., on achatinellidæ of the sandwich islands, i. gulls, ii. _gulo_, ii. günther, dr., his classification of reptiles, i. his classification of fishes, i. on gigantic tortoises of galapagos and the mascarene islands, i. on range of indian reptiles in the himalayas, i. on identical atlantiic and pacific fishes, ii. on fresh-water fishes of central america, ii. _gygis_, ii. gymnarchidÆ, ii. _gymnarchus_, ii. gymnetinÆ, ii. _gymnobucco_, ii. _gymnocephalus_, ii. _gymnocichla_, ii. _gymnocorvus_, ii. _gymnocypris_, ii. _gymnodactylus_, ii. gymnoderinÆ, ii. _gymnoderus_, ii. gymnodontes, ii. _gymnoglaux_, ii. _gymnokitta_, ii. _gymnomystax_, ii. _gymnopelia_, ii. _gymnops_, ii. gymnophthalmidÆ, ii. _gymnophthalmus_, ii. _gymnopus_, ii. _gymnorhina_, ii. _gymnostomus_, ii. gymnotidÆ, ii. _gymnotus_, ii. _gymnura_, ii. _gypaëtus_, ii. _gypohierax_, ii. _gypoictinia_, ii. _gyps_, ii. h. haast, dr., on extinct birds of new zealand, i. habitat, definition of, i. _habrocomus_, ii. _habroptila_, ii. _habrura_, ii. _hadrostomus_, ii. , _hæmatoderus_, ii. _hæmatopus_, ii. _hæmatospiza_, ii. _hæmophila_, ii. _hæmulon_, ii. _hætera_, ii. _hagria_, ii. hainan, zoology of, i. _halcyon_, ii. _halcyornis_, european eocene, i. _halicyon_, ii. _haliæetus_, ii. _haliastur_, ii. _halichærus_, ii. _halicore_, ii. haliotidÆ, ii. _halitherium_, european pliocene, i. european miocene, i. ii. _halmaturus_, ii. halosauridÆ, ii. _halys_, ii. _hamadryas_, ii. hang-nests, ii. _hapale_, ii. ii. _hapalemur_, ii. hapalidÆ, ii. _hapalotis_, ii. _hapalus_, ii. _haplocerus_, ii. _haplochilus_, ii. _haplochiton_, ii. haplochitonidÆ, ii. _haplodactylus_, ii. _haploodon_, ii. haploodontidÆ, ii. _haplospiza_, ii. _hapsidrophis_, ii. _harelda_, ii. hares, ii. _harma_, ii. _harpa_, ii. ii. _harpactes_, ii. _harpagus_, ii. _harpalus_, ii. _harporhynchus_, ii. _harpyhaliæetus_, ii. _hartlaubius_, ii. _hathliodes_, ii. hatteria of new zealand, i. _hatteria_, ii. hawks, ii. hedgehogs, ii. _hedymeles_, ii. _helarctos_, ii. _helcyra_, ii. _heleothreptus_, ii. _heliactin_, ii. _heliangelus_, ii. _helianthea_, ii. _heliastes_, ii. helicidÆ, ii. _helicina_, ii. heliconidÆ, ii. ii. _heliconius_, ii. _helicophagus_, ii. _helicops_, ii. helictis, himalayan, figure of, i. _helictis_, ii. _heliobletus_, ii. _heliochæra_, ii. _heliodoxa_, ii. _heliomastes_, ii. _heliopædica_, ii. _heliophobus_, ii. _helioporus_, ii. _heliornis_, ii. _heliothrix_, ii. _heliotrypha_, ii. _helix_, eocene, i. ii. _helladotherium_, miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. ii. _helluomorpha_, ii. _helmintherus_, ii. _helminthophaga_, ii. _heloderma_, ii. helodermidÆ, ii. _helodromas_, ii. _helogale_, ii. _helogenes_, ii. helornithinÆ, ii. _helotarsus_, ii. _hemibos_, indian miocene, i. ii. _hemicentetes_, ii. _hemicercus_, ii. _hemichelidon_, ii. _hemichromis_, ii. _hemicyon_, european miocene, i. ii. _hemidacnis_, ii. _hemidactylium_, ii. _hemidactylus_, ii. _hemierges_, ii. _hemigalea_, ii. _hemignathus_, ii. _hemimantis_, ii. _hemiodus_, ii. _hemiphractus_, ii. _hemipimelodus_, ii. _hemiprocne_, ii. _hemipus_, ii. _hemirhamphus_, ii. _hemisilurus_, ii. _hemisorubim_, ii. _hemistilbon_, ii. _hemisus_, ii. _hemitriccus_, ii. _hemixus_, ii. _henicognathus_, ii. _henicopernis_, ii. _henicophaps_, ii. _henicorhina_, ii. _henicornis_, ii. _heptapterus_, ii. _heredia_, ii. herons, ii. _heros_, ii. _herpestes_, ii. _herpetethiops_, ii. _herpetodryas_, ii. _herpeton_, ii. _herpetoreas_, ii. _herpetotheres_, ii. _herpetotherium_, n. american tertiary, i. _herpsilochmus_, ii. herring, ii. _hesperia_, ii. hesperidÆ, ii. _hesperomys_, n. american tertiary, i. in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. ii. , _hesperornis_, n. american cretaceous, i. _hestia_, ii. _hestima_, ii. _heterobranchus_, ii. _heterocephalus_, ii. _heterocercus_, ii. _heterochroa_, ii. _heterocnemis_, ii. _heterocorys_, ii. _heterodactylus_, ii. _heterodon_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. ii. _heterogynis_, ii. _heterolocha_, ii. _heteromorpha_, ii. _heteromys_, ii. _heteronota_, ii. _heteronympha_, ii. _heteropelma_, ii. , _heteropus_, ii. heteropygii, ii. _heterospizias_, ii. _heterotis_, ii. _heterura_, ii. _hewitsonia_, ii. _hexagonia_, ii. _hexaprotodon_, indian miocene, i. hickman, mr. john, on a cause of the extinction of large animals, i. _hieracidea_, ii. _hierax_, ii. _hierococcyx_, ii. _hierofalco_, ii. hill-tits, ii. himalayas, altitude reached by various groups in the, i. , _himantornis_, ii. _himantopus_, ii. _hinulia_, ii. _hipistes_, ii. _hipparchia_, ii. _hipparion_, european pliocene, i. miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. ii. _hippocampus_, ii. _hippoglossoides_, ii. _hippoglossus_, ii. hippopotamidÆ, ii. _hippopotamus_, post-pliocene, i. european pliocene, i. indian pliocene, i. ii. _hipposyus_, n. american tertiary, i. _hippotherium_, european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. hippotraginÆ, ii. _hippotragus_, european miocene, i. ii. hippuritidÆ, ii. _hirundinea_, ii. hirundinidÆ, ii. _hirundo_, ii. _hoazin_, ii. _holocanthus_, ii. _holbrookia_, ii. _holochilus_, ii. _hologerrhum_, ii. holostei, ii. _holurophis_, ii. _homalodontotherium_, s. american pliocene, i. _homalophis_, ii. _homalophus_, european miocene, i. homalopsidÆ, ii. _homalopsis_, ii. _homaloptera_, ii. _homalosoma_, ii. _hombronia_, ii. _homocamelus_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _homorus_, ii. ii. honey-guides, ii. honeysuckers, birds specially adapted to australia, i. ii. hooker, dr., on deficiency of odours in new zealand plants, i. hoopoes, ii. _hopladelus_, ii. hoplegnathidÆ, ii. _hoplobatrachus_, ii. hoplocephala, ii. _hoplocephalus_, ii. _hoplocetus_, european pliocene, i. _hoplophoneus_, n. american tertiary, i. _hoplophorus_, ii. _hoplopterus_, ii. _horites_, ii. hornbills, ii. horses, fossil, in indian miocene, i. perfect series of ancestral, in n. america, i. probable birthplace of, i. ii. horse-shoe bats, ii. _hortulia_, ii. howling monkeys, ii. hudson, mr., on land-birds of patagonia, ii. humming-birds, ii. _huro_, ii. hutton, capt. f. w., on origin of new zealand fauna, i. huxley, professor, on zoological regions, i. division of animal kingdom by, i. _hyades_, ii. _hyæna_, post-pliocene, i. miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. fossil in n. china, i. ii. _hyænarctos_ in european pliocene, i. european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. s. american pliocene, i. _hyænictis_, miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. ii. _hyænidæ_, european miocene, i. hyÆnidÆ, ii. _hyænodon_, european miocene, i. european eocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. _hyænodontidæ_, european miocene, i. hyaleidÆ, ii. _hyalimax_, ii. _hyalina_, ii. _hyalosaurus_, ii. _hyantis_, ii. _hybocystis_, ii. _hyborhynchus_, ii. _hydrocena_, ii. _hydrochelidon_, ii. _hydrochoerus_, n. american post-pliocene, i. _hydrochoerus_, ii. _hydrocissa_, ii. _hydrocyon_, ii. _hydrogale_, ii. _hydromedusa_, ii. _hydromys_, ii. _hydrophasianus_, ii. hydrophidÆ, ii. _hydrophis_, ii. _hydropotes_, ii. _hydropsalis_, ii. _hydrornis_, european miocene, i. ii. _hydrosaurus_, ii. _hyetornis_, ii. _hygrogonus_, ii. _hyla_, ii. _hylactes_, ii. _hylambates_, ii. _hylaplesia_, ii. hylaplesidÆ, ii. _hylarana_, ii. _hylatomus_, ii. _hylella_, ii. hylidÆ, ii. _hyliota_, ii. _hylobates_, ii. _hylocharis_, ii. ii. _hylodes_, ii. _hylomanes_, ii. _hylomys_, ii. _hylophilus_, ii. _hylorhina_, ii. _hylotrupes_, ii. _hyloxalus_, ii. _hymenolaimus_, ii. hyodontidÆ, ii. _hyohippus_, n. american tertiary, i. _hyomoschus_, european miocene, i. ii. _hyopicus_, ii. _hyopotamus_, european miocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. ii. _hyopsodus_, n. american tertiary, i. _hyotherium_, european miocene, i. ii. _hypargos_, ii. _hyperantha_, ii. _hypergerus_, ii. _hypermnestra_, ii. _hyperodapedon_, ii. _hyperolius_, ii. _hyperoodon_, ii. hyperoodontidÆ, ii. _hyperopsius_, ii. _hypertragulus_, n. american tertiary, i. _hyphantornis_, ii. _hypherpes_, ii. _hypisodus_, n. american tertiary, i. _hypna_, ii. _hypnale_, ii. _hypochera_, ii. _hypochrysops_, ii. _hypocista_, ii. _hypocnemis_, ii. _hypocolius_, ii. _hypodes_, ii. _hypogeomys_, ii. _hypolais_, ii. _hypolithus_, ii. _hypolycæna_, ii. _hypomesus_, ii. _hypopachus_, ii. _hypophthalmichthys_, ii. _hypophthalmus_, ii. _hypopyrrhus_, ii. _hyporissus_, ii. _hypothymis_, ii. _hypoxanthus_, ii. _hypsipetes_, ii. _hypsiprymnus_, australian post-tertiary, i. ii. _hypsirhina_, ii. _hypsirhynchus_, ii. _hyrachyus_, n. american tertiary, i. hyracidÆ, ii. _hyracodon_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. ii. _hyracoidea_, classification of, i. palæarctic, i. ethiopian, i. hyracoidea, ii. _hyracotherium_, supposed, in european eocene, i. european eocene, i. ii. ii. _hyrax_, ii. hystricidÆ, ii. _hystricodon_, ii. _hystrix_, european pliocene, i. miocene of greece, i. n. american tertiary, i. ii. i. _ialmenus_, ii. _ianthoenas_, ii. _ianthina_, ii. _ibidipodia_, european miocene, i. _ibidorhynchus_, ii. ibidorhynchus, figure of, i. _ibis_, ii. ibises, ii. _ibycter_, ii. iceland, zoology of, i. _ichneumia_, ii. _ichthyoborus_, ii. _ichthyopsis_, ii. _icteria_, ii. icteridÆ, ii. _icterus_, ii. _icthyornis_, n. american cretaceous, i. _icticyon_ in brazilian caves, i. ii. _ictinia_, ii. _ictitherium_, miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. ii. ii. _ictonyx_, ii. _ictops_, n. american tertiary, i. _ideopsis_, ii. _idmais_, ii. _iguana_, ii. iguanas, ii. iguanidÆ, ii. _ilerda_, ii. _ilicura_, ii. india, miocene fauna of, allied to that of europe, i. geological features of, i. indian sub-region, description of, i. supposed relation to ethiopian region, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. reptiles and amphibia of, i. _indicator_, ii. indicatoridÆ, ii. indo-chinese sub-region, description of, i. zoological characteristics of, i. illustration of, i. reptiles of, i. amphibia of, i. insects of, i. islands belonging to, i. indo-malayan sub-region, description of, i. mammalia of, i. illustrations of, i. , birds of, i. remote geographical relations of, i. reptiles and amphibia of, i. fishes of, i. insects of, i. coleoptera of, i. terrestrial mollusca of, i. zoological relations of islands of, i. recent geographical changes in, i. probable origin of fauna of, i. _inia_, ii. _insectivora_, european miocene, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. insectivora, classification of, i. of the palæarctic region, i. of n. china and e. thibet, i. range of palæarctic genera of, i. of madagascar, i. range of ethiopian genera of, i. of the oriental region, i. range of oriental genera of, i. range of australian genera of, i. insectivora, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. summary and conclusion, ii. insects, means of dispersal of, i. tenacity of life of, i. adapted to special conditions, i. groups selected for the study of their geographical distribution, i. antiquity of the genera of, i. fossil of european miocene, i. european cretaceous, i. european wealden, i. palæozoic, i. palæarctic, i. of central europe, i. of the mediterranean sub-region, i. of the siberian sub-region, i. of the manchurian sub-region, i. of the ethiopian region, i. of the e. african sub-region, i. of w. african, i. s. african, i. of madagascar, i. general remarks on, i. of tropical africa and america, probable cause of similarities in, i. of indo-chinese sub-region, i. of the oriental region, i. of ceylon, i. of indo-malay sub-region, i. statistics of collecting in the various islands of the malay archipelago, i. of the australian region, i. of new guinea, i. of the moluccas, i. of the timor group, i. of celebes, i. of new zealand, i. scarcity of, in new zealand, i. influence of, on the flora, i. of the neotropical region, ii. of s. temperate america, ii. of s. temperate america, palæarctic affinity of, ii. of the mexican sub-region, ii. of the antilles, ii. of the nearctic region, ii. of canada, ii. distribution of, ii. range of, in time, ii. summary and conclusion, ii. lines of migration of, ii. _iodopleura_, ii. _iolæma_, ii. _iolaus_, ii. _iole_, ii. _iora_, ii. _iphias_, ii. ii. iphisadÆ, ii. _irena_, ii. _iridina_, ii. _iridornis_, ii. _irrisor_, ii. irrisoridÆ, ii. _isacis_, n. american tertiary, i. _ischcognathus_, ii. _ischyromys_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. islands, n. european, zoology of, i. of the mediterranean sub-region, i. of the w. african sub-region, i. of the ethiopian region, i. mascarene, i. of the indo-chinese sub-region, i. of the indo-malay sub-region, i. fiji, tonga, and samoa, i. society and marquesas, i. new caledonia and new hebrides, i. sandwich, i. of new zealand sub-region, i. norfolk, i. lord howe's, i. chatham, i. auckland, i. of tropical s. america, ii. of the mexican sub-region, ii. of eastern united states, ii. peculiar colours of pigeons in, ii. abundance of land-shells in, ii. _isodactylium_, ii. _ispidina_, ii. _issiodromys_, european pliocene, i. ii. _ithaginis_, ii. _ithomia_, ii. _ithycyphus_, ii. _ixalus_, ii. _ixonotus_, ii. _ixulus_, ii. j. _jacamaralcyon_, ii. jacamars, ii. _jacamerops_, ii. jacanas, ii. _jacchus_, in brazilian caves, i. _jaculus_, ii. _jaltris_, ii. _jamaicia_, ii. _janella_, ii. _janthocincla_, ii. _japalura_, ii. japan and north china, physical features of, i. southern extremity of perhaps belongs to the oriental region, i. japan, general character of the fauna of, i. former land-connexions of, i. java, mammalia of, i. productions of, well known, i. birds of, i. representative species of birds in, i. origin of the anomalous features of its fauna, i. sumatra and borneo, their geographical contrasts and zoological peculiarities explained, i. jays, ii. _jenynsia_, ii. jerboas, ii. juan fernandez, carabidæ of, ii. birds of, ii. beetles and land-shells of, ii. _juida_, ii. _juliamyia_, ii. _junco_, ii. _junonia_, european miocene, i. ii. k. kagu, ii. kakapoe, of new zealand, i. _kalophrynus_, ii. kangaroos, extinct in australia, i. ii. _keneuxia_, ii. kerguelen island, apterous insects of, i. (_note_) _kerodon_, in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. ii. _ketingus_, ii. _ketupa_, ii. king-fisher, racquet-tailed, of new guinea, figure of, i. king-fishers, ii. _kittacincla_, ii. kiwi of new zealand, i. _kneria_, ii. _kobus_, ii. koodoo antelope, figure of, i. _kricogonia_, ii. _krynickia_, ii. l. _labeo_, ii. _labrax_, ii. labridÆ, ii. _labrus_, ii. labyrinthici, ii. _lacerta_, ii. lacertidÆ, ii. lacertilia, classification of, i. lacertilia, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. fossil, ii. _lacuna_, ii. ladrone islands, birds of, i. _læmargus_, ii. _læmosthenes_, ii. _læosopis_, ii. _lafresnaya_, ii. _lagenocetus_, ii. _lagenorhynchus_, ii. _lagidium_, ii. lagomyidÆ, ii. _lagomys_, european pliocene, i. european miocene, i. ii. _lagopus_, ii. _lagorchestes_, ii. _lagostomus_, in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. ii. _lagothrix_, ii. _lais_, ii. lake baikal, seals of, i. ii. _lalage_, ii. _laletes_, ii. lamiidÆ, ii. _lamna_, ii. lamnidÆ, ii. _lampornis_, ii. lampreys, ii. _lamprima_, ii. _lampris_, ii. _lamprocolius_, ii. _lamprolæma_, ii. _lamrophis_, ii. _lampropsar_, ii. _lampropygia_, ii. _lamprospilus_, ii. _lamprospiza_, ii. _lamprotes_, ii. lancelet, ii. land-lizards, ii. land and water, proportions of, i. land and fresh-water shells, antiquity of the genera of, i. land-shells, palæozoic, i. palæarctic, i. of madeira, i. of the cape verd islands, i. of the ethiopian region, i. of w. africa, i. of madagascar and the mascarene islands, i. of the indo-malay sub-region, i. of the australian region, i. of the sandwich islands, i. of new zealand, i. of the neotropical region, ii. of the antilles, ii. conditions favouring development of, ii. of n. america, ii. general observations on the distribution of, ii. richness of islands in, ii. their mode of diffusion, ii. , comparative distribution of operculate and in-operculate, ii. estimated numbers of, ii. land-snakes, ii. _langaha_, ii. _laniarius_, ii. _lanicterus_, ii. _laniellus_, ii. laniidÆ, ii. _lanio_, ii. _lanius_, european miocene, i. ii. _laopithecus_, n. american tertiary, i. _laornis_, n. american cretaceous, i. _laprissa_, ii. laridÆ, ii. _larimus_, ii. larks, ii. _larus_, ii. _larvivora_, ii. _lasiomys_, ii. _lasiuromys_, ii. _latax_, ii. _lates_, ii. _lathria_, ii. _latonia_, ii. _latrunculus_, ii. _layardia_, ii. lea, dr. isaac, on n. american unionidæ, ii. _lebia_, ii. _lebiasina_, ii. _legatus_, ii. _leiocephalus_, ii. _leiolæmus_, ii. _leistes_, ii. _leistus_, ii. _leiuperus_, ii. _leiyla_, ii. _lemonias_, ii. _lemur_, ii. lemur, fossil, ii. _lemuravidæ_, n. american tertiary, i. _lemuravus_, n. american tertiary, i. lemuria, a hypothetical land, i. _lemuridæ_, european eocene, i. lemuridÆ, ii. lemuroidea, range of ethiopian genera of, i. range of oriental genera of, i. lemuroidea, ii. lemurs, ii. _leonia_, ii. _lepadogaster_, ii. _lepictis_, n. american tertiary, i. _lepidocepalichthys_, ii. _lepidocephalus_, ii. _lepidogrammas_, ii. _lepidolarynx_, ii. lepidoptera, cosmopolitan families of, i. table of palæarctic families of, i. s. african, i. table of ethiopian families of, i. of the oriental region, i. table of oriental families of, i. of the australian region, i. table of australian families of, i. of the neotropical region, ii. of the antilles, ii. table of neotropical families of, ii. of the nearctic region, ii. nearctic families of, ii. lepidoptera, ii. _lepidosiren_, ii. lepidosteidÆ, ii. _lepidosteus_, ii. lepidosternidÆ, ii. _lepidosternon_, ii. _lepilemur_, ii. _lepistes_, ii. leporidÆ, ii. _leporinus_, ii. _lepricornis_, ii. _leprodera_, ii. _leptalis_, ii. _leptarchus_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _leptasthenura_, ii. _leptauchenia_, n. american tertiary, i. _leptobarbina_, ii. _leptobrachium_, ii. leptocardii, ii. _leptocera_, ii. _leptochoerus_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _leptocircus_, ii. _leptodeira_, ii. _leptodon_, miocene of greece, i. ii. ii. _leptognathus_, ii. _leptomantis_, ii. _leptomeryx_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _lepton_, ii. _leptoneura_, ii. _leptonyx_, ii. _leptopogon_, ii. _leptoma_, ii. _leptoptila_, ii. _leptoptilus_, european miocene, i. ii. _leptorhytaon_, ii. _leptornis_, ii. leptosomidÆ, ii. _leptosomus_, allied form in european eocene, i. ii. leptosomus of madagascar, i. figure of, i. _leptotherium_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _leptotriccus_, ii. _leptura_, ii. _lepus_, in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. _lerista_, ii. _lerwa_, ii. _lesbia_, ii. _lestodon_, s. american pliocene, i. _leucippus_, ii. _leuciscus_, ii. _leucochroa_, ii. _leucocyon_, ii. _leucomelæna_, ii. _leuconerpes_, ii. _leucophantes_, ii. _leucophasia_, ii. _leucopleurus_, ii. _leucosarcia_, ii. _leucosomus_, ii. _leucosticte_, ii. lewis, mr. george, his collection of japan insects, i. lialidÆ, ii. _lialis_, ii. _liasis_, ii. _libellula_, from the lias, i. _libythea_, ii. libytheidÆ, ii. _lichanotus_, ii. _lichenops_, ii. _licina_, ii. _licmetis_, ii. lilljeborg, professor, on classification of the rodentia, i. limacidÆ, ii. limacinidÆ, ii. _limax_, ii. _limenitis_, ii. _limnæa_, eocene, i. european secondary, i. ii. limnÆidÆ, ii. _limnatornis_, european miocene, i. _limnocharis_, ii. _limnocyon_, n. american tertiary, i. _limnodynastes_, ii. _limnohyus_, n. american tertiary, i. _limnophis_, ii. _limnornis_, ii. _limnotheridæ_, n. american tertiary, i. _limnotherium_, n. american tertiary, i. _limnurgus_, ii. _limosa_, ii. limpets, ii. _lingula_, ii. lingulidÆ, ii. _linota_, ii. _linsang_, ii. _liocassis_, ii. _liopelma_, ii. _liopis_, ii. _lioptilus_, ii. _lioscelis_, ii. liotrichidÆ, ii. _liothrix_, ii. _lipaugus_, ii. _liparis_, ii. _liphyra_, ii. _lipinia_, ii. _lipoa_, ii. _liposarcus_, ii. _liptala_, ii. _lissolepis_, ii. _listriodon_, european miocene, i. _lithiodon_, ii. _lithomys_, european miocene, i. ii. _lithornis_, european eocene, i. _litoria_, ii. _littorina_, ii. littorinidÆ, ii. lizards, classification of, i. tertiary, i. wide range of a species in polynesia, i. distribution and lines of migration of, ii. _lobodon_, ii. _lochmias_, ii. _locustella_, ii. _loddigesia_, ii. _loncheres_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _lonchophorus_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. longicornia, ii. longicornia, palæarctic, i. ethiopian, i. oriental, i. australian, i. neotropical, ii. of chili, ii. nearctic, ii. _lontra_, ii. _lophiodon_, european eocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. ii. _lophiomeryx_, ii. _lophiotherium_, n. american tertiary, i. _lophius_, ii. _lophoaëtus_, ii. lophobranchii, ii. _lophocitta_, ii. _lophogyps_, ii. _lophoictinia_, ii. _lopholaimus_, ii. _lophiomys_, ii. _lophophaps_, ii. _lophophanes_, ii. lophophorinÆ, ii. _lophophorus_, ii. _lophorhina_, ii. _lophornis_, ii. _lophortix_, ii. _lophostrix_, ii. lophotidÆ, ii. lophotragus, ii. _lophotriorchis_, ii. _lophura_, ii. lord howe's island, birds of, i. _loricaria_, ii. _loriculus_, ii. _loris_, ii. _lorius_, ii. _lota_, ii. _loxia_, ii. _loxigilla_, ii. _loxomylus_, pliocene of antilles, i. ii. _loxops_, ii. _lucania_, ii. lucanidÆ, ii. _lucanus_, ii. _lucia_, ii. _lucidella_, ii. _lucifuga_, ii. lucinidÆ, ii. _lucinopsis_, ii. luciocephalidÆ, ii. _lucioperca_, ii. _luciotrutta_, ii. _lucisoma_, ii. lund, dr., his researches in caves of brazil, i. _lupus_, ii. _lurocalis_, ii. _luscinia_, ii. _lusciniola_, ii. _lutra_, european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. ii. _lutronectes_, ii. _lycæna_, miocene of greece, i. ii. lycÆnidÆ, ii. _lycalopex_, i. lycodidÆ, ii. _lycodon_, ii. lycodontidÆ, ii. _lycophidion_, ii. _lycorea_, ii. _lygosoma_, ii. _lygosomella_, ii. _lymanopoda_, ii. _lymnas_, ii. _lyncornis_, ii. _lyncus_, ii. _lytorhynchus_, ii. lyre-bird, figure of, i. ii. m. _mabouya_, ii. _macacus_, european pliocene, i. miocene of greece, i. indian miocene, i. supposed in european eocene, i. ii. ii. macaws, ii. _machairodus_, i. , miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. ii. _machetornis_, ii. _machærhamphus_, ii. _machærirhynchus_, ii. _machæropterus_, ii. _machetes_, ii. _macrauchenia_, s. american pliocene, i. _macrocalamus_, ii. _macroceramus_, ii. _macrochilus_, ii. _macrocyclis_, ii. _macrodipteryx_, ii. _macrodon_, ii. _macroglossa_, ii. _macrones_, ii. _macronus_, ii. _macronyx_, ii. macropodidÆ, ii. _macropus_, ii. _macropygia_, ii. _macrorhamphus_, ii. macroscelididÆ, ii. _macroscelides_, ii. _macrosila_, ii. _macrotherium_, miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. ii. _macrotus californicus_, ii. macrouridÆ, ii. mactridÆ, ii. madagascar, extinct birds of, i. description of, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. reptiles of, i. amphibia of, i. extinct fauna of, i. general remarks on insect fauna of, i. madeira, birds of, i. land-shells of, i. beetles of, i. wingless insects numerous in, i. how stocked with animals, i. malacanthidÆ, ii. malacca, sumatra, and borneo, zoological unity of, i. comparison of mammalia, i. of birds, i. _malacocircus_, ii. _malacopteron_, ii. _malacoptila_, ii. _malacorhynchus_, ii. _malacothrix_, ii. malagasy sub-region, description of, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. illustration of zoology of, i. reptiles of, i. amphibia of, i. extinct fauna of, i. , insects of, i. early history of, i. _malapterurus_, ii. malaya and indo-malaya, terms defined, i. (_note_) malaya, meaning of term, ii. malay archipelago, distribution of butterflies in, ii. distribution of cicindelidæ in, ii. distribution of longicorns in, ii. malayan forms of life reappearing in west africa, i. fauna, probable origin of, i. resemblances to that of madagascar and ceylon explained, i. _malimbus_, ii. _mallodon_, ii. _mallotus_, ii. malta, post-pliocene fauna of, i. formerly joined to africa, i. fossil elephants of, i. birds of, i. (_note_) _malurus_, ii. mammal, the most ancient american, i. mammalia, means of dispersal of, i. as limited by climate, i. as limited by rivers, i. how far limited by the sea, i. dispersed by ice-floes and drift-wood, i. means of dispersal of aquatic, i. of most importance in determining zoological regions, i. classification of, i. birthplace and migrations of some families of, i. , cosmopolitan groups of, i. of the palæarctic region, i. of the european sub-region, i. of the mediterranean sub-region, i. of the siberian sub-region, i. characteristic of western tartary, i. of the manchurian sub-region, i. palæarctic genera of, in the manchurian sub-region, i. oriental genera of, on borders of same sub-region, i. peculiar to japan, i. characteristic of n. w. china and mongolia, i. table of palæarctic families of, i. range of palæarctic genera of, i. of the ethiopian region, i. absence of certain important groups, i. of the e. african sub-region, i. of w. africa, i. of s. africa, i. of madagascar, i. table of ethiopian families of, i. table of ethiopian genera of, i. of the oriental region, i. range of the genera inhabiting the indian sub-region, i. of ceylon, i. of the indo-chinese sub-region, i. of the indo-malayan sub-region, i. illustration of characteristic malayan, i. of the philippine islands, i. table of oriental families of, i. table of oriental genera of, i. of australian region, i. of the papuan islands, i. of the moluccas, i. of the timor group, i. of celebes, i. of australia, i. illustration of, i. of new zealand, i. table of families of australian, i. table of genera of australian, i. destinctive characters of neotropical, ii. of s. temperate america, ii. of straits of magellan, ii. of the mexican sub-region, ii. of the antilles, ii. table of neotropical families of, ii. table of neotropical genera of, ii. of the nearctic region, ii. of california, ii. of n. american central plains, ii. of e. united states, ii. of canada, ii. table of nearctic families of, ii. table of nearctic genera of, ii. _mammalia_, extinct, of old world, i. extinct, of historic period, i. extinct, comparative age of in europe, i. extinct, of the new world, i. extinct, of n. america and europe, compared, i. original birthplace of some families and genera, i. , of the secondary period, i. mammalia, summary and conclusion, ii. lines of migration of, ii. manakins, ii. manatidÆ, ii. _manatus_, n. american post-pliocene, i. ii. manchurian sub-region, description of, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. reptiles and amphibia of, i. fresh-water fish of, i. insects of, i. coleoptera of, i. manididÆ, ii. _manis_, ii. _manorhina_, ii. _manticora_, ii. _manucodia_, ii. _mareca_, ii. _margaroperdix_, ii. _margarops_, ii. _margarornis_, ii. _marginella_, ii. marine mollusca, general remarks on the distribution of, ii. marine shells of the neotropical region, ii. marmosets, ii. marquesas islands, birds of, i. marsh, mr., on improvability of asiatic and african deserts, i. on camels and goats as destructive to vegetation, i. marsupialia, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. marsupials, classification of, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. european miocene, i. first migration to america, i. diversified forms of, i. of america prove no connection with australia, i. list of australian genera of, i. marsupialia and monotremata, summary and conclusion, ii. _martes_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. mascarene islands, zoology of, i. extinct fauna of, i. gigantic land-tortoises of, i. _masius_, ii. mastacembelidÆ, ii. _mastodon_, european pliocene, i. miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. indian miocene, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. ii. , mauritius, zoology of, i. reptiles of, i. mccoy, professor, on palæontology of victoria, i. _mechanitis_, ii. _meda_, ii. mediterranean, recent changes in, i. sub-region, description of, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. reptiles and amphibia of, i. fresh-water fish of, i. insects of, i. islands of, i. sea not separating distinct faunas, i. _megabias_, ii. _megablabes_, ii. _magacephala_, ii. _megacephalon_, ii. _megacerops_, n. american tertiary, i. _megaderma_, ii. _megærophis_, ii. _megalæma_, ii. megalÆmidÆ, ii. megalÆminÆ, ii. _megalixalus_, ii. _megalocnus_, fossil in cuba, i. _megalomastoma_, ii. _megalomeryx_, n. american tertiary, i. _megalomma_, ii. _megalonyx_, n. american post-pliocene, i. in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. _megalophrys_, ii. _megalostoma_, eocene, i. _megalurus_, ii. _megalophonus_, ii. _megamys_, s. american eocene, i. ii. _meganostoma_, ii. megapodiidÆ, ii. _megapodius_, ii. _megaptera_, ii. _megarhynchus_, ii. _megaspira_, european tertiary, i. ii. _megatheridæ_, in brazilian caves, i. _megatherium_, n. american post-pliocene, i. in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. ii. _meiornis_, ii. _melampitta_, ii. _melampus_, ii. _melanerpes_, ii. _melania_, european secondary, i. melaniadÆ, ii. _melanitis_, ii. _melanochlora_, ii. _melanocorypha_, ii. _melanophidium_, ii. _melanoptila_, ii. _melanotis_, ii. meleagrinÆ, ii. _meleagris_, n. american miocene, i. ii. _meles_, ii. _melidectes_, ii. _melidora_, ii. _melierax_, ii. _melinæa_, ii. _meliornis_, ii. _meliphaga_, ii. meliphagidÆ, ii. _melipotes_, ii. _melirrhophetes_, ii. _melitæa_, ii. _melithreptus_, ii. _melittophagus_, ii. _melizophilus_, ii. _mellisuga_, ii. _mellivora_, indian miocene, i. ii. _melolonthidium_, oolitic insect, i. _melopelia_, ii. _melopsittacus_, ii. _melopyrrha_, ii. _melospiza_, ii. _melursus_, ii. _menetia_, ii. _meniceros_, ii. _meniscotherium_, n. american tertiary, i. _menobranchus_, ii. _menopoma_, ii. menopomidÆ, ii. _menotherium_, n. american tertiary, i. _menura_, ii. menuridÆ, ii. _mephitis_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _merganetta_, ii. _mergulus_, ii. _mergus_, ii. _meriones_, ii. ii. _meristes_, ii. _merluccius_, ii. _meroe_, ii. meropidÆ, ii. _meropiscus_, ii. _meropogon_, ii. _merops_, ii. _merulaxis_, ii. _merychus_, n. american tertiary, i. _merychippus_, n. american tertiary, i. _merychochoerus_, n. american tertiary, i. _merycodus_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _merycopotamus_, indian miocene, i. ii. _merycotherium_, of siberian drift, i. ii. _mesacodon_, n. american tertiary, i. _mesapia_, ii. _mesites_, ii. _mesohippus_, n. american tertiary, i. _mesomys_, ii. _mesonauta_, ii. _mesonyx_, n. american tertiary, i. _mesopithecus_, miocene of greece, i. ii. _mesoprion_, ii. _mesops_, ii. _mesosemia_, ii. _messalina_, ii. _messaras_, ii. _metallura_, ii. _metapheles_, ii. _methonella_, ii. _metius_, ii. _metopia_, ii. _metopiana_, ii. _metoponia_, ii. _metopothrix_, ii. _metriopelia_, ii. mexican sub-region, ii. mammalia of, ii. birds of, ii. reptiles of, ii. amphibia of, ii. fresh-water fish of, ii. insects of, ii. land-shells of, ii. its relations to the n. and s. american continents, ii. islands of, ii. meyer, dr. a.b., on reptiles and amphibia of new guinea, i. ¨ _micræca_, ii. _micracantha_, ii. _micrastur_, ii. _micrathene_, ii. _micrhyla_, ii. _microbates_, ii. _microcebus_, ii. _microcerculus_, ii. _microchæra_, ii. _microglossus_, ii. _microhierax_, ii. _microlestes_, oldest european mammal, i. _micromeryx_, european miocene, i. ii. _micropelama_, ii. _micropternus_, ii. _micropterus_, ii. _microscelis_, ii. _microstoma_, ii. _microsyops_, n. american tertiary, i. _microtherium_, european miocene, i. _midas_, ii. middendorf, on extreme northern birds, i. _midea_, ii. _miglyptes_, ii. migrating birds, in which region to be placed, i. migration of animals, i. general phenomena of, i. of birds, i. of birds in europe, i. probable origin of, i. of birds in india and china, i. of birds in n. america, i. changes in extent of, i. of birds in s. temperate america, i. general remarks on, i. _miletus_, ii. _milvulus_, ii. , _milvus_, european miocene, i. ii. _mimeta_, ii. _mimetes_, ii. _mimocichla_, ii. _mimus_, ii. _minla_, ii. miocene fauna of the old world, i. fauna of geece, i. fauna of greece, summary of, i. fauna of central europe, i. deposits of siwalik hills, i. faunas of europe and asia, general observations on, i. _miohippus_, n. american tertiary, i. _mionectes_, ii. _mirafra_, ii. _miro_, ii. _misgurnus_, ii. _mitra_, ii. _mitrephorus_, ii. _mitua_, ii. mivart, professor, on classification of primates, i. on classification of insectivora, i. on classification of amphibia, i. of classification of lemurs, ii. _mixornis_, ii. _mniotilta_, ii. mniotiltidÆ, ii. _mochocus_, ii. _mocoa_, ii. _moho_, ii. mole-rat of w. tartary, i. mole-rats, ii. moles, almost wholly palæarctic, i. ii. _mollienesia_, ii. mollusca, means of dispersal of, i. classification of, i. groups selected for study, i. mollusca, distribution of, ii. range of families of, in time, ii. moluccas, zoology of, i. birds of, i. reptiles of, i. insects of, i. peculiarities of fauna of, i. _molossus_, ii. _molothrus_, ii. _molva_, ii. momotidÆ, ii. _momotus_, ii. _monachalcyon_, ii. _monarcha_, ii. _monasa_, ii. _monitor_, ii. monkeys on the high himalayas, i. fossil in n. american miocene, i. in e. thibet, i. abundance of in the oriental region, i. _monoceros_, ii. _monodon_, ii. monodontidÆ, ii. _monoplocus_, ii. _monopterus_, ii. monotremata, classification of, i. list of australian genera of, i. monotremata, ii. remarks on the distribution of, ii. _monotrophis_, ii. _montacuta_, ii. _monticola_, ii. _montifringilla_, ii. mörch, dr., on panama shells, ii. _morelia_, ii. "more-pork" of australia, figure of, i. _morethria_, ii. _mormolyce_, ii. mormyridÆ, ii. _mormyrops_, ii. _mormyrus_, ii. _morococcyx_, ii. _morotherium_, n. american pliocene, i. morphidÆ, ii. _morphnus_, ii. _morpho_, ii. _morunga_, ii. _moschus_, ii. _motacilla_, european miocene, i. ii. motacillidÆ, ii. _motella_, ii. moths, ii. motmots, ii. mound-builders, peculiar australian birds, i. moupin, position and zoology of, i. mouse-deer, ii. _moxostoma_, ii. _mugil_, ii. mugillidÆ, ii. _mulleria_, ii. _mulleripicus_, ii. mullidÆ, ii. _mullus_, ii. _mungos_, ii. _munia_, ii. murÆnidÆ, ii. _murænopsis_, ii. _murex_, ii. muricidÆ, ii. _muridæ_, s. american pliocene, i. muridÆ, ii. murray, mr. andrew, on zoological region, i. _mus_, ii. _muscardinus_, ii. _muscicapa_, ii. muscicapidÆ, ii. _muscicapula_, ii. _muscigralla_, ii. _muscipipra_, ii. _muscisaxicola_, ii. , _muscitodus_, ii. _muscivora_, ii. _musophaga_, ii. musophagidÆ, ii. mussels, ii. _mustela_, miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. s. american pliocene, i. ii. _mustelidæ_, in brazilian caves, i. mustelidÆ, ii. _mustelus_, ii. myacidÆ, ii. _myadora_, ii. _mycalesis_, ii. _mycerobas_, ii. _mycetes_, ii. ii. _mycetopus_, ii. _mydaus_, ii. _myiadestes_, ii. _myiagra_, ii. _myialestes_, ii. _myiarchus_, ii. , _myiobius_, ii. _myioceyx_, ii. _myiochanes_, ii. _myiodioctes_, ii. _myiodynastes_, ii. _myiophonus_, ii. _myiopithecus_, ii. _myiotheretes_, ii. _myiozetetes_, ii. _mylesinus_, ii. _myletes_, ii. myliobatidÆ, ii. _myliobatis_, ii. _mylodon_, n. american post-pliocene, i. s. american pliocene, i. _mylopharadon_, ii. _mynes_, ii. _myochama_, ii. _myodes_, ii. _myogale_, european miocene, i. ii. , _myoictis_, ii. _myomorphus_, fossil in cuba, i. _myopotamus_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _myospalax_, ii. myoxidÆ, ii. _myoxus_, european miocene, i. european eocene, i. ii. _myxomys_, ii. _myrina_, ii. _myrmeciza_, ii. myrmecobiidÆ, ii. _myrmecobius_, ii. _myrmecophaga_, ii. myrmecophagidÆ, ii. _myrmotherula_, ii. _myron_, ii. _myrtis_, ii. _mysarachne_, european miocene, i. _mysops_, n. american eocene, i. ii. _mystacina tuberculata_, ii. _mystacoleucus_, ii. _mystacornis_, ii. _mystromys_, ii. mytilidÆ, ii. _mytilus_, ii. myxinidÆ, ii. _myxophagus_, n. american post-pliocene, i. _myxophyes_, ii. _myxus_, ii. _myzomela_, ii. _myzornis_, ii. n. _nænia_, ii. _naja_, ii. nandidÆ, ii. _nandinia_, ii. _nandus_, ii. _nanina_, ii. _nannophryne_, ii. _nannophrys_, ii. _nanodes_, ii. _nanohyus_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _nanotragus_, ii. _napeogenes_, ii. _napothera_, ii. _nardoa_, ii. narwhal, ii. _narope_, ii. _nasica_, ii. _nasiterna_, ii. _nasua_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _nathalis_, ii. _natica_, ii. naticidÆ, ii. _nautilus_, ii. natricinÆ, ii. _nattereria_, ii. _nauclerus_, ii. _naucrates_, ii. _naultinus_ ii. nautilidÆ, ii. _navicella_, ii. nearctic region, defined, i. subdivisions of, i. distinct from palæarctic, i. ii. zoological characteristics of, ii. mammalia of, ii. birds of, ii. reptiles of, ii. amphibia of, ii. fresh-water fishes of, ii. summary of vertebrata of, ii. insects of, ii. land and fresh-water shells of, ii. sub-regions of, ii. concluding remarks on, ii. tables of distribution of animals of, ii. nearctic and neotropical regions, no decided boundary between, ii. _nebria_, ii. _necrornis_, european miocene, i. nectariniidÆ, ii. _nectarinia_, ii. _nectarophila_, ii. _nectogale_, ii. _necydalis_, ii. _necyria_, ii. _nelicurvius_, ii. _nemachilus_, ii. _nematogenys_, ii. nemeobiidÆ, ii. _nemeobius_, ii. nemorhedinÆ, ii. _nemorhedus_, ii. _nemoricola_, ii. _nemosia_, ii. _neobatrachus_, ii. _neochloe_, ii. _neocorys_, ii. _neoctantes_, ii. _neomeris_, ii. _neomorphus_, ii. _neophasia_, ii. _neophron_, ii. _neopipo_, ii. _neopus_, ii. _neorhynchus_, ii. _neosorex_, ii. _neotoma_, ii. _neotomys_, ii. _neotragus_, ii. neotropical region, defined, i. subdivisions of, i. relations of w. african sub-region with, i. description of, ii. zoological features of, ii. birds of, ii. , distinctive features of mammalia of, ii. reptiles of, ii. amphibia of, ii. fresh-water fishes of, ii. summary of vertebrates of, ii. insects of, ii. land-shells of, ii. marine shells of, ii. summary of past history of, ii. tables of distribution of animals of, ii. neotropical sub-regions, ii. _neoziphius_, ii. _nephæcetes_, ii. _neptis_, ii. neritidÆ, ii. _neritina_, ii. _nerophis_, ii. _nesoceleus_, ii. _nesocichla_, ii. _nesodon_, s. american pliocene, i. _nesomys_, ii. _nesonetta_, ii. _nesopsar_, ii. _nessia_, ii. _nestor_, ii. nestoridÆ, ii. _nettapus_, ii. _neusterophis_, ii. newberry, dr., on cretaceous and tertiary floras of n. america, ii. newton, professor, on position of _menuridæ_ and _atrichiidæ_, i. on birds of iceland, i. on neotropical sub-regions, ii. on genus _camptolæmus_, ii. on peculiar genera of nearctic and neotropical birds, ii. on family _panuridæ_, ii. _newtonia_, ii. newts, ii. new caledonia, birds of, i. new guinea, zoology of, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. peculiarities of its ornithology, i. illustration of ornithology of, i. reptiles and amphibia of, i. insects of, i. new zealand, objections to making a primary zoological region, i. extinct birds of, i. sub region, description of, i. compared with british isles, i. mammalia of, i. islets of, i. illustration of ornithology of, i. reptiles of, i. amphibia of, i. fresh-water fish of, i. insects of, i. longicorns of, i. myriapoda of, i. land-shells of, i. ancient fauna of, i. origin of fauna of, i. poverty of insects in, i. relations of insect-fauna and flora of, i. _nicator_, ii. nicobar islands, their zoological relations, i. nightingale, migration of the, i. night-jars, ii. _nigidius_, ii. _nigrita_, ii. _nilaus_, ii. _niltava_, ii. _ninox_, ii. _nisaëtus_, ii. _nisoides_, ii. _nisoniades_, ii. noctilionidÆ, ii. nocturnal tree-snakes, ii. _nonnula_, ii. _norbea_, ii. norfolk island, birds of, i. north africa, zoological relations of, i. north america, remarks on post-pliocene, fauna of, i. post-pliocene fauna of, partly derived from s. america, i. extinct birds of, i. northern hemisphere, zoological importance of, ii. notacanthi, ii. _notaden_, ii. _notharctos_, n. american tertiary, i. _nothocerus_, ii. _nothocrax_, ii. _nothoprocta_, ii. _nothura_, ii. notidanidÆ, ii. _notiophilus_, ii. _notodela_, ii. _notoglanis_, ii. _notonomus_, ii. notopteridÆ, ii. _notopholis_, ii. notornis of new zealand, i. _notornis_, ii. _nototherium_, australian post-tertiary, i. ii. _nototrema_, ii. _noturus_, ii. _nucifraga_, ii. nucleo-branchiata. ii. _nucras_, ii. _numenius_, ii. numidinÆ, ii. _numida_, ii. _nuria_, ii. nuthatches, ii. _nutria_, ii. _nyctala_, ii. _nyctalatinus_, ii. _nyctalemon_, ii. _nyctalops_, ii. _nyctea_, ii. _nyctereutes_, ii. _nycteris_, ii. _nyctibius_, ii. _nycticorax_, ii. _nyctidromius_, ii. _nyctiornis_, ii. _nyctipithecus_, ii. _nyctiprogne_, ii. _nymphalis_, ii. nymphalidÆ, ii. _nymphicus_, ii. _nymphidium_, ii. o. _ochetobius_, ii. _ochotherium_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _ochthæca_, ii. _ochthodiæta_, ii. _octodontidæ_, s. american pliocene, i. octodontidÆ, ii. _octodon_, ii. octopodidÆ, ii. _ocyalus_, ii. _ocydromus_, ii. _ocyphaps_, ii. _odontochila_, ii. _odontolabris_, ii. _odontophorus_, ii. _odontophrynus_, ii. _oedemia_, ii. _oedicnemis_, ii. _oëdura_, ii. _oena_, ii. _ogmodon_, ii. _ogyris_, ii. _oligdon_, ii. oligodontidÆ, ii. _oligosarcus_, ii. _olisthopus_, ii. _olylogon_, ii. _olyra_, ii. _omaseus_, ii. _ommatophoca_, ii. _omolepida_, ii. _omostenus_, ii. _omphalotropis_, ii. _omus_, ii. oncidiadÆ, ii. _oncidium_, ii. _onychodactylus_, ii. _onychogale_, ii. _onychogalea_, ii. _onychognathus_, ii. _onchorhynchus_, ii. _oncostoma_, ii. ophidia, classification of, i. ophidia, ii. remarks on the general distribution of, ii. fossil, ii. ophidiidÆ, ii. _ophidium_, ii. ophiocephalidÆ, ii. _ophiodes_, ii. ophiomoridÆ, ii. _ophiomorus_, ii. _ophiophagus_, ii. _ophiops_, ii. _ophioscincus_, ii. _ophisaurus_, ii. _ophites_, ii. _ophonus_, ii. _ophryodera_, ii. _ophysia_, ii. opistho-branchiata, ii. opisthocomi, ii. _opisthocomus_, brazilian caves, i. ii. _opisthodelphys_, ii. _opisthostoma_, ii. _opisthoporus_, ii. _oporornis_, ii. _opossum_, extinct in european miocene, i. opossums, ii. _opsariichthys_, ii. _opsiphanes_, ii. orang-utan, ii. _orca_, ii. _orcaella_, ii. _orchesticus_, ii. _orchilus_, ii. _oreas_, ii. _oreicola_, ii. _oreinus_, ii. _oreocephalus_, ii. _oreocincla_, ii. _oreodeira_, ii. _oreodon_, n. american tertiary, i. _oreodontidæ_, n. american tertiary, i. _oreoeca_, ii. _oreomanes_, ii. _oreonectes_, ii. _oreonympha_, ii. _oreoperdix_, ii. oreophasinÆ, ii. _oreophasis_, ii. _oreophilus_, ii. _oreopyra_, ii. _oreortyx_, ii. _oreoscoptes_, ii. _oreothraupis_, ii. _oreotrochilus_, ii. _orestias_, ii. oriental region, defined, i. subdivisions of, i. description of, i. zoological features of, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. reptiles of, i. amphibia of, i. fresh-water fishes of, i. summary of vertebrata of, i. insects of, i. sub-regions of, i. concluding remarks on, i. tables of distribution of animals of, i. oriental relations of w. african sub-region, i. oriental and palæarctic faunas once identical, i. oriental and ethiopian faunas, cause of their resemblances, i. _origma_, ii. _oriocalotes_, ii. orioles, ii. oriolidÆ, ii. _oriolus_, ii. _orites_, ii. _ornithion_, ii. ornithorhynchidÆ, ii. _ornithorhynchus_, ii. _orocætes_, ii. _orohippus_, n. american tertiary, i. _ortalida_, ii. _orthagoriscus_, ii. _orthalicus_, ii. orthidÆ, ii. orthoceratidÆ, ii. _orthodon_, ii. _orthogonius_, ii. _orthogonys_, ii. _orthonyx_, ii. _orthorhynchus_, ii. _orthotomus_, ii. _ortygometra_, ii. _ortygornis_, ii. _ortyx_, ii. _ortyxelos_, ii. orycteropodidÆ, ii. _orycteropus_, ii. _orycterus_, ii. oryginÆ, ii. _oryx_, ii. _oryzoborus_, ii. _oryzorictes_, ii. _osmerus_, ii. _osphranter_, ii. _osteobrama_, ii. _osteochilus_, ii. _osteogeniosus_, ii. osteoglossidÆ, ii. _osteoglossum_, ii. _ostinops_, ii. ostreidÆ, ii. _ostrich_, miocene of n. india, i. ostriches, ii. _otaria_, european miocene, i. ii. otariidÆ, ii. otididÆ, ii. _otidiphaps_, ii. _otilophus_, ii. , _otis_, ii. _otocorys_, ii. _otocryptis_, ii. _otogyps_, ii. _otomys_, ii. _otopoma_, ii. _ovibos_, n. american post-pliocene, i. ii. , owl-parrot, ii. owls, ii. oxen, birth-place and migrations of, i. palæarctic, i. ii. oxudercidÆ, ii. _oxyæna_, n. american tertiary, i. _oxydoras_, ii. _oxyglossus_, ii. _oxygomphus_, european miocene, i. ii. _oxylabes_, ii. _oxymycterus_, in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. ii. , _oxynotus_, ii. _oxypogon_, ii. oxyrhamphidÆ, ii. _oxyrhamphus_, ii. _oxyrhopus_, ii. _oxyurus_, ii. oysters, ii. p. _pachybatrachus_, ii. _pachycephala_, ii. pachycephalidÆ, ii. _pachydactylus_, ii. _pachyæna_, n. american tertiary, i. _pachyglossa_, ii. _pachynolophus_, european eocene, i. _pachyrhamphus_, ii. _pachyrhynchus_, ii. _pachyteles_, ii. , _pachytherium_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _pachyura_, ii. _pæocephalus_, ii. _pæcilus_, ii. _pagellus_, ii. _pagomys_, ii. _pagophila_, ii. _pagophilus_, ii. _paguma_, ii. paictidÆ, ii. palæarctic region, ancient limits of, ii. defined, i. subdivisions of, i. general features of. i. zoological charcteristics of, i. has few peculiar families, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. high degree of speciality of, i. reptiles and amphibia of, i. fresh-water fish of, i. summary of vertebrata of, i. insects of, i. coleoptera of, i. number of coleoptera of, i. land-shells of, i. sub-regions of, i. general conclusions on the fauna of, i. tables of distribution of animals of, i. _palæacodon_, n. american tertiary, i. _palæetus_, european miocene, i. _palægithalus_, european eocene, i. _palælodus_, european miocene, i. _palæocastor_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _palæocercus_, european miocene, i. _palæochoerus_, european miocene, i. ii. _palæocyon_, ii. _palæohierax_, european miocene, i. _palæolagus_, n. american tertiary, i. _palæolama_, s. american pliocene, i. ii. _palæomephitis_, european miocene, i. ii. _palæomeryx_, european miocene, i. ii. _palæomys_, european miocene, i. ii. _palæontina oolitica_, oolitic insect, i. palæontology, i. how best studied in its bearing on geographical distribution, i. as an introduction to the study of geographical distribution, concluding remarks on, i. _palæonyctis_, european eocene, i. _palæoperdix_, european miocene, i. _palæophrynus_, european miocene, i. _palæoreas_, miocene of greece, i. _palæornis_, ii. palÆornithidÆ, ii. _palæonyctis_, ii. , _palæortyx_, european miocene, i. _palæoryx_, miocene of greece, i. _palæospalax_, i. european miocene, i. ii. _palæosyops_, n. american tertiary, i. _palæotheridæ_, european eocene, i. _palæotherium_, enropean eocene, i. s. american eocene, i. _palæotragus_, miocene of greece, i. _palæotringa_, n. american cretaceous, i. _palamedea_, ii. palamedeidÆ, ii. _palapterygidæ_ of new zealand, i. palapterygidÆ, ii. _palapteryx_, ii. palestine, birds of, i. _pallasia_, ii. _paloplotherium_, european miocene, i. european eocene, i. _paludicola_, ii. _paludina_, eocene, i. european secondary, i. ii. paludinidÆ, ii. pampas, pliocene deposits of, i. _pamphila_, ii. panda, of nepaul and e. thibet, i. himalayan, figure of, i. ii. _pandion_, ii. pandionidÆ, ii. _pangasius_, ii. _pangolin_, ii. _panolax_, n. american tertiary, i. _panopoea_, ii. _panoplites_, ii. _panterpe_, ii. _panthalops_, ii. panuridÆ, ii. _panurus_, ii. _panychlora_, ii. _panyptila_, ii. paper-nautilus, ii. _paphia_, ii. _papilio_, ii. papilionidÆ, ii. papuan islands, zoology of, i. _paracanthobrama_, ii. _paradigalla_, ii. _paradiplomystax_, ii. _paradisea_, ii. paradise-bird, twelve-wired, figure of, i. paradise-birds, ii. paradiseidÆ, ii. paradiseinÆ, ii. _paradoxornis_, ii. _paradoxurus_, ii. _parahippus_, n. american tertiary, i. _paralabraz_, ii. _paramys_, n. american eocene, i. ii. _parandra_, ii. _paraphoxinus_, ii. _pardalotus_, ii. _pareas_, ii. _parodon_, ii. _pareudiastes_, ii. paridÆ, ii. _pariodon_, ii. _parisoma_, ii. _parmacella_, ii. _parmarion_, ii. _parmophorus_, ii. _parnassius_, ii. _paroaria_, ii. _parotia_, ii. _parra_, ii. parridÆ, ii. parroquet, papuan, figure of, i. parrots, classification of, i. ii. , partridges, ii. _partula_, ii. _parula_, ii. _parus_, ii. _pasimachus_, ii. _passerculus_, ii. _passerella_, ii. passeres, arrangement of, i. range of palæarctic genera of, i. range of ethiopian genera of, i. range of oriental genera of, i. range of australian genera of, i. passeres, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. _passerita_, ii. _pastor_, ii. _patagona_, ii. _patella_, ii. patellidÆ, ii. _patriofelis_, n. american tertiary, i. _patrobus_, ii. _pauxi_, ii. _pavo_, ii. pavoninÆ, ii. _paxillus_, ii. pearl-oysters, ii. pease, mr. harper, on polynesian region of land-shells, ii. peccaries, ii. _pectinator_, ii. peculiar groups, geographically, how defined, ii. _pedetes_, ii. pediculati, ii. _pediocætes_, ii. _pedionomus_, ii. pegasidÆ, ii. _pelagius_, ii. _pelagornis_, european miocene, i. _pelamis_, ii. _pelargopsis_, ii. _pelea_, ii. pelecanidÆ, ii. _pelecanoides_, ii. _pelecanus_, ii. _pelecium_, ii. _pelecus_, ii. pelicans, ii. _peliperdix_, ii. _pellorneum_, ii. _pelobates_, ii. pelodryadÆ, ii. _pelodryas_, ii. _pelodytes_, ii. _pelomedusa_, ii. _pelomys_, ii. _pelonax_, n. american tertiary, i. _peloperdix_, ii. _pelotrophus_, ii. _peltaphryne_, ii. _peltocephalus_, ii. _peltopelor_, ii. _peltops_, ii. _penelope_, ii. _penelopides_, ii. _penelopina_, ii. penelopinÆ, ii. _penetes_, ii. penguins, ii. _pentadactylus_, ii. _pentila_, ii. _peragalea_, ii. _perameles_, ii. peramelidÆ, ii. _peratherium_, european miocene, i. european eocene, i. ii. _perca_, ii. _percarina_, i. _perchoerus_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _percilia_, ii. _percichthys_, ii. percidÆ, ii. _percnostola_, ii. percopsidÆ, ii. _percus_, ii. _perdix_, ii. _pericallus_, ii. _pericrocotus_, ii. _peridexia_, ii. perim island, extinct mammalia of, i. probable southern limit of old palæarctic land, i. character of fossils of, ii. _periopthalmus_, ii. _perisoreus_, ii. _perissodactyla_, n. american tertiary, i. _perissoglossa_, ii. _peristera_, ii. _peristethus_, ii. periwinkle, ii. _pernis_, ii. _perodicticus_, ii. _perognathus_, ii. _peropus_, ii. persia, birds of, i. _petasophora_, ii. _petaurista_, ii. _petenia_, ii. _petrochelidon_, ii. _petrodromus_, ii. petrels, ii. _petroeca_, ii. _petrogale_, ii. _petromys_, ii. _petrophassa_, ii. _petrorhynchus_, ii. _petroscirtes_, ii. _peucæa_, ii. _pezophaps_, ii. _pezoporus_, ii. _pfeifferia_, ii. _phacellodomus_, ii. _phacochoerus_, ii. _phænicophaës_, ii. _phænicophilus_, ii. _phænicothraupis_, ii. _phænopepla_, ii. _phæochroa_, ii. _phæolæma_, ii. _phæoptila_, ii. _phaëthornis_, ii. _phaeton_, ii. _phalacrocorax_, ii. phalangers, ii. _phalangista_, ii. phalangistidæ, ii. _phalaropus_, ii. _phapitreron_, ii. _phaps_, ii. _pharomacrus_, ii. _phascogale_, ii. _phascolarctos_, ii. phascolomyidÆ, ii. _phascolomys_, australian post-tertiary, i. phasianidÆ, ii. phasianinÆ, ii. _phasianus_, miocene of greece, i. european post-pliocene, i. ii. _phasidus_, ii. _phatagin_, ii. pheasants, in european miocene, i. golden, of n. china, i. eared, of mongolia, i. ii. _phedina_, ii. _phelsuma_, ii. _phenacodus_, n. american tertiary, i. _pheropsophus_, ii. _pheucticus_, ii. _phibalura_, ii. _philagetes_, ii. _philemon_, ii. _philentoma_, ii. _philepitta_, ii. _philetærus_, ii. _philodryas_, ii. philippine islands, mammals of, i. birds of, i. origin of peculiar fauna of, i. _philohela_, ii. _philomycus_, ii. _philydor_, ii. philydorinÆ, ii. _phlæomys_, ii. _phlæocryptes_, ii. _phlogoenas_, ii. _phlogophilus_, ii. _phlogopsis_, ii. _phlogothraupis_, ii. , _phoca_, ii. _phocæna_, ii. _phocidæ_, n. american tertiary, i. phocidÆ, ii. _phodilus_, ii. _phoenicocercus_, ii. , _phoenicophaës_, ii. phoenicopteridÆ, ii. _phoenicopterus_, ii. pholadidÆ, ii. _pholadomya_, ii. _pholeoptynx_, ii. _pholidotus_, ii. _pholidotus_, ii. _phonipara_, ii. _phorus_, ii. _phos_, ii. _phractocephalus_, ii. _phrygilus_, ii. phryniscidÆ, ii. _phryniscus_, ii. _phrynobatrachus_, ii. _phrynocephalus_, ii. _phrynoglossus_, ii. _phrynorhombus_, ii. _phrynosoma_, ii. _phycis_, ii. _phyllastrephus_, ii. phyllidiadÆ, ii. _phyllobates_, ii. _phyllodactylus_, ii. _phyllomedusa_, ii. _phyllomyias_, ii. _phyllomys_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _phyllornis_, ii. phyllornithidÆ, ii. _phylloscartes_, ii. phylloscopinÆ, ii. _phylloscopus_, ii. _phyllostomidæ_, in brazilian caves, i. phyllostomidÆ, ii. _phyllurus_, ii. phyllyrhoidÆ, ii. _phymaturus_, ii. _physa_, ii. _physalus_, ii. _physeter_, european pliocene, i. ii. physical changes affecting distribution, i. _physignathus_, ii. physostomi, ii. _phytala_, ii. _phytotoma_, ii. phytotomidÆ, ii. _phyton_, ii. _piabuca_, ii. _piabucina_, ii. _piaya_, ii. _pica_, ii. picariæ, arrangement of, i. range of palæarctic genera of, i. range of ethiopian genera of, i. range of oriental genera of, i. range of australian genera of, i. picariÆ, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. _picathartes_, ii. _picicorvus_, ii. picidÆ, ii. _picoides_, ii. _picolaptes_, ii. _picumnus_, ii. _picus_, european miocene, i. ii. pieridÆ, ii. _pieris_, ii. _piezia_, ii. pigeons, classification of, i. remarkable development of, in the australian region, i. crested, of australia, figure of, i. ii. abundant in islands, ii. pigs, power of swimming, i. pikas, ii. pike, ii. pikermi, miocene fauna of, i. pilchard, ii. _pileoma_, ii. _pimelodus_, ii. _pimephales_, ii. _pinacodera_, ii. _pinicola_, ii. _pinulia_, ii. _pionus_, ii. _pipa_, ii. pipidÆ, ii. _pipile_, i. _pipilo_, ii. piping crows, ii. _pipra_, ii. , _pipreola_, ii. pipridÆ, ii. _pipridea_, ii. _piprisoma_, ii. _piprites_, ii. , _piramutana_, ii. _piratinga_, ii. _pirinampus_, ii. _pitangus_, ii. _pithecia_, ii. _pithecopsis_, ii. _pithys_, ii. _pitta_, ii. pittas, ii. _pittasoma_, ii. pittidæ, abundant in borneo, i. pittidÆ, ii. _pituophis_, ii. pit-vipers, ii. _pitylus_, ii. _pityriasis_, ii. _plagiodontia_, ii. _plagiolophus_, european eocene, i. _plagiotelium_, ii. plagiostomata, ii. _planetes_, ii. _planorbis_, european secondary, i. eocene, i. ii. plantain-eaters, ii. plant-cutters, ii. plants, distribution of, probably the same fundamentally as that of animals, ii. _platacanthomys_, ii. _platalea_, ii. plataleidÆ, ii. _platanista_, ii. _platemys_, ii. _platurus_, ii. _platycercidæ_, gorgeously-coloured australian parrots, i. platycercidÆ, ii. _platycercus_, ii. _platychile_, ii. _platygonus_, n. american post-pliocene, i. ii. _platylophus_, ii. _platymantis_, ii. _platynematichthys_, ii. _platynus_, ii. _platypoecilus_, ii. platyrhynchinÆ, ii. _platyrhynchus_, ii. _platysaurus_, ii. _platysoma_, ii. _platystira_, ii. _platystoma_, ii. _platystomatichthys_, ii. _plecoglossus_, ii. _plecostomus_, ii. _plecotus_, ii. plectognathi, ii. plectromantidÆ, ii. _plectromantis_, ii. _plectrophanes_, ii. _plectropterus_, ii. _plectrotrema_, ii. _plecturus_, ii. _plesiarctomys_, european eocene, i. ii. _plesiomeryx_, european eocene, i. _plesiosorex_, european miocene, i. _plestiodon_, ii. _plethodon_, ii. pleurobranchidÆ, ii. _pleurodeles_, ii. _pleurodema_, ii. _pleuronectes_, ii. pleuronectidÆ, ii. _pleurostrichus_, ii. _pleurotoma_, ii. _pleurotomaria_, ii. pliocene period, old world, mammalia of, i. pliocene and post-pliocene faunas of europe, general conclusions from, i. of n. america, i. of s. america, i. of australia, i. _pliohippus_, n. american tertiary, i. _pliolophus_, european eocene, i. ii. _pliopithecus_, european miocene, i. ii. ploceidÆ, ii. _plocepasser_, ii. _ploceus_, ii. _plotosus_, ii. _plotus_, ii. plovers, ii. _pluvianellus_, ii. _pluvianus_, ii. plyctolophidÆ, ii. _pnoepyga_, ii. _podabrus_, ii. _podager_, ii. podargidÆ, ii. _podargus_, ii. _podica_, ii. _podiceps_, ii. podicipidÆ, ii. _podilymbus_, ii. _podocnemis_, ii. _poebrotherium_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _poecilia_, ii. _poecilophis_, ii. _poecilothraupis_, ii. _poephagus_, ii. _poephila_, ii. _pogonocichla_, ii. pogonorhynchinÆ, ii. _pogonorhynchus_, ii. _pogonornis_, ii. _pogonostoma_, ii. _pogonotriccus_, ii. _pohlia_, ii. _poiana_, ii. _polemistria_, ii. _polioaëtus_, ii. _poliococcyx_, ii. _poliohierax_, ii. _poliopsitta_, ii. _polioptila_, ii. _pollanisus_, ii. polyborinÆ, ii. _polyboroides_, ii. _polyborus_, ii. _polybothris_, ii. polycentridÆ, ii. _polycesta_, ii. polydontidÆ, ii. _polyhirma_, ii. polynemidÆ, ii. _polyommatus_, ii. polynesian sub-region, description of, i. birds of, i. reptiles of, i. _polypedates_, ii. polypedatidÆ, ii. _polypi_, ii. _polyplectron_, ii. _polyprion_, ii. polypteridÆ, ii. _polypterus_, ii. _polytelis_, ii. _pomacanthus_, ii. pomacentridÆ, ii. _pomacentrus_, ii. _pomatias_, ii. _pomatorhinus_, ii. _pomotis_, ii. _pompholyx_, ii. _pontia_, ii. _pontoporia_, ii. _pooecetes_, ii. _poodytes_, ii. _poospiza_, ii. porcupines, ii. _poritia_, ii. _porphyrio_, ii. porpoises, ii. _portax_, ii. _porzana_, ii. post-pliocene, mammalia of europe, i. remains imply changes of physical geography in europe, i. fauna of n. america, i. fauna of n. america, remarks on, i. _potamides_, ii. _potamochoerus_, ii. _potamodus_, ii. potamogale of w. africa, figure of, i. _potamogale_, ii. potamogalidÆ, ii. _potamotherium_, european miocene, i. ii. potto of w. africa, figure of, i. ii. pouched rats, ii. _praotherium_, n. american post-pliocene, i. _pratincola_, ii. pratincoles, ii. _presbytes_, ii. _prepona_, ii. primates, classification of, i. probable birthplace of, i. range of palæarctic genera of, i. range of ethiopian genera of, i. range of oriental genera of, i. range of australian genera of, i. _primates_, european pliocene, i. miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. european eocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. of brazilian caves, i. primates, distribution of, ii. - general remarks on the distribution of, ii. summary and conclusion, ii. prince's island, birds of, i. _prinia_, ii. _prion_, ii. _prioneris_, ii. prionidÆ, ii. _prionidium_, oolitic insects, i. _prionirhynchus_, ii. _prioniturus_, ii. _prionochilus_, ii. _prionodontes_, ii. _prionops_, ii. _prionoteles_, ii. pristidÆ, ii. _pristimantis_, ii. pristiophoridÆ, ii. _pristiphoca_, in european pliocene, i. ii. pristipomatidÆ, ii. _pristiurus_, ii. _pristonychus_, ii. _proboscidea_, classification of, i. range of ethiopian genus, i. range of oriental genus, i. _proboscidea_, european pliocene, i. miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. n. american tertiary i. of brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. proboscidea, ii. summary and conclusion, ii. _procamelus_, n. american post-pliocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. ii. _procapra_, ii. _procarduelis_, ii. _procellaria_, ii. procellariidÆ, ii. _procerus_, ii. ii. _prochilodus_, ii. _prochilus_, ii. _procnias_, ii. _procris_, ii. _procrustes_, ii. ii. _proctotretus_, ii. _procyon_, n. american post-pliocene, i. ii. _procyonidæ_, in brazilian caves, i. procyonidÆ, ii. productidÆ, ii. _progne_, ii. _promecoderus_, ii. _promephitis_, miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. ii. promerops of east africa, figure of, i. _promerops_, ii. _pronophilia_, ii. _propalæotherium_, european eocene, i. _proparus_, ii. _propyrrhula_, ii. _prorastomus_, ii. _proserpina_, ii. prosobranchiata, ii. _prosthemadera_, ii. proteidÆ, ii. _proteles_, ii. protelidÆ, ii. _protemnodon_, australian post-tertiary, i. ii. _proteus_, ii. _prothoe_, ii. _protohippus_, n. american tertiary, i. _protomeryx_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _protonopsis_, ii. _protonotaria_, ii. _protopithecus_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _protopterus_, ii. _protornis_, european eocene, i. _prototomus_, n. american tertiary, i. _prototroctes_, ii. _psalidoprogne_, ii. _psaltria_, ii. _psaltriparus_, ii. _psammodromus_, ii. _psammodynastes_, ii. _psammomys_, ii. psammophidÆ, ii. _psammophis_, ii. _psammosaurus_, ii. _psarisomus_, ii. _psephotus_, ii. _pseudacris_, ii. _pseudælurus_, european miocene, i. ii. _pseudalopex_, ii. _pseudecheneis_, ii. _pseudechis_, ii. _pseudeutropius_, ii. _pseudis_, ii. _pseudobagrus_, ii. _pseudobias_, ii. _pseudobufo_, ii. _pseudochalceus_, ii. _pseudochelidon_, ii. _pseudocolaptes_, ii. _pseudocordylus_, ii. _pseudocyon_, european miocene, i. ii. _pseudodipsas_, ii. _pseudogobio_, ii. _pseudogryphis_, ii. _pseudogyps_, ii. _pseudohage_, ii. _pseudolabuca_, ii. _pseudoleistes_, ii. _pseudomorpha_, ii. _pseudomys_, ii. _pseudonaje_, ii. _pseudoperilampus_, ii. pseudophidia, ii. _pseudophryne_, ii. _pseudopontia_, ii. _pseudopus_, ii. _pseudorasbora_, ii. _pseudorca_, ii. _pseudoscops_, ii. _pseudoxiphophorus_, ii. _psilopogon_, ii. _psiloptera_, ii. _psilorhamphus_, ii. _psilorhinus_, ii. _psilorhynchus_, ii. psittaci, classification of, i. range of ethiopian genera of, i. range of oriental genera of, i. range of australian genera of, i. psittaci, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. psittacidÆ, ii. _psittacula_, ii. _psittacus_, european miocene, i. ii. _psittinus_, ii. _psittirostra_, ii. _psittospiza_, ii. _psophia_, ii. psophiidÆ, ii. _psophodes_, ii. psychrolutidÆ, ii. _pterocles_, european miocene, i. ii. pteroclidÆ, ii. _pterocyclos_, ii. _pterodon_, european miocene, i. _pteroglossus_, ii. _pteromys_, ii. _pteromyzon_, ii. pteromyzontidÆ, ii. _pteronura_, ii. _pterophanes_, ii. _pterophyllum_, ii. pteropidÆ, ii. pteropoda, ii. _pteropodocys_, ii. pteroptochidÆ, ii. _pteroptochus_, ii. _pterorhinus_, ii. _pterosarion_, ii. _pterostichus_, ii. _pteruthius_, ii. _pterygophlichthys_, ii. _ptilocerus_, ii. _ptilochloris_, ii. , _ptilogonys_, ii. _ptilonorhynchus_, ii. _ptilopachus_, ii. _ptilopus_, ii. _ptilorhis_, ii. _ptilostomus_, ii. _ptilotis_, ii. _ptosima_, ii. _ptyas_, ii. _ptychobarbus_, ii. _ptyonotus_, ii. _pucrasia_, ii. puff-birds, ii. puffins, ii. _puffinus_, ii. pulmonifera, ii. _pulsatrix_, ii. _puncturella_, ii. _pupa_, eocene, i. _pupa vetusta_, palæozoic, i. _pupa_, ii. _pupina_, ii. _pupinella_, ii. _putorius_, ii. pycnonotidÆ, ii. _pycnonotus_, ii. _pycnophrys_, ii. _pyctorhis_, ii. _pygarrhicus_, ii. _pygmornis_, ii. _pygomeles_, ii. pygopodidÆ, ii. _pygoptila_, ii. _pygopus_, ii. pyramidellidÆ, ii. _pyrameis_, ii. _pyranga_, ii. _pyrenestes_, ii. _pyrgisoma_, ii. _pyrgita_, ii. _pyriglena_, ii. _pyrocephalus_, ii. , _pyroderus_, ii. _pyromelana_, ii. _pyrophthalma_, ii. _pyrrhocoma_, ii. _pyrrhospiza_, ii. _pyrrhula_, ii. _pyrrhulauda_, ii. _pyrrhulina_, ii. _pyrrhulopsis_, ii. _pyrrhuloxia_, ii. _pyrrhura_, ii. _pytelia_, ii. _python_, ii. _pythonidæ_, european miocene, i. pythonidÆ, ii. _pythonodipsas_, ii. _pythonopsis_, ii. pythons, ii. _pyxicephalus_, ii. _pyxis_, ii. q. quadrumana, fossil, ii. quail-snipes, ii. _querquedula_, ii. _querula_, ii. _quiscalus_, ii. r. _rachis_, ii. racoon-dog of n. china, i. racoons, ii. _raia_, ii. raiidÆ, ii. rails, ii. rallidÆ, ii. _rallina_, ii. _rallus_, ii. _rana_, european miocene, i. ii. _raniceps_, ii. ranidÆ, ii. _ranodon_, ii. _rappia_, ii. _rasbora_, ii. _rasborichthys_, ii. rattle-snakes, ii. rays, ii. _realia_, ii. _rectes_, ii. _recurvirostra_, ii. _regalecus_, ii. region, the best term for the primary zoological divisions, i. arctic, why not adopted, i. palæarctic, defined, i. palæarctic, subdivisions of, i. ethiopian, defined, i. ethiopian, subdivisions of, i. oriental, defined, i. oriental, subdivisions of, i. australian, defined, i. australian, subdivisions of, i. neotropical, defined, i. neotropical, subdivisions of, i. nearctic, defined, i. nearctic, distinct from palæarctic, i. nearctic, subdivisions of, i. regions, zoological, i. zoological, how they should be formed, i. zoological, may be defined by negative or positive characters, i. zoological, by what class of animals best determined, i. for each class of animals, not advisable, i. zoological, proposed since , i. zoological, mr. sclater's, i. zoological, discussion of those proposed by various authors, i. zoological, proportionate richness of, i. temperate and tropical, well marked in northern hemisphere, i. and zones, table of, i. comparative richness of, i. and sub-regions, table of, i. order of succession of the, i. _registoma_, ii. _reguloides_, ii. _regulus_, ii. _reinwardtænas_, ii. _reinwardtipicus_, ii. _reithrodon_, ii. representative species, i. reptiles, means of dispersal of, i. classification of, i. miocene of greece, i. of indian miocene deposits, i. extinct tertiary, i. cosmopolitan groups of, i. peculiar to palæarctic region, i. of central europe, i. of the mediterranean sub-region, i. of the siberian sub-region, i. of the manchurian sub-region, i. table of palæarctic families of, i. of the ethiopian region, i. of the e. african sub-region, i. of w. africa, i. s. african, i. of madagascar, i. table of ethiopian families of, i. of the oriental region, i. of the indian sub-region, i. of ceylon, i. of the indo-chinese sub-region, i. of the indo-malay sub-region, i. table of oriental families of, i. of the australian region, i. of new guinea, i. of the moluccas, i. of the polynesian sub-region, i. of new zealand, i. table of australian families of, i. neotropical, ii. of s. temperate america, ii. of the mexican sub-region, ii. of the antilles, ii. table of neotropical families of, ii. of the nearctic region, ii. of california, ii. of central n. america, ii. of eastern united states, ii. of canada, ii. table of nearctic families of, ii. summary and conclusion, ii. reptilia, ii. _retropinna_, ii. revillagigedo islands, zoology of, ii. _rhabdornis_, ii. _rhabdosoma_, ii. rachiodontidÆ, ii. _rhacophorus_, ii. _rhamnophis_, ii. rhamphastidÆ, ii. _rhamphastos_, ii. _rhamphichthys_, ii. _rhamphocænus_, ii. _rhamphococcyx_, ii. _rhamphocinclus_, ii. _rhamphocoelus_, ii. _rhamphomicron_, ii. _rhaphaulus_, ii. _rhea_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _rhinaster_, ii. _rhinatrema_, ii. _rhinechis_, ii. _rhinelepis_, ii. _rhinichthys_, ii. rhinidÆ, ii. rhinobatidÆ, ii. _rhinoceros_, post-pliocene, i. european pliocene, i. miocene of greece, i. indian miocene, i. fossil remains of, at , feet elevation in thibet, i. fossil in n. china, i. n. american tertiary, i. ii. rhinoceros-hornbill, figure of, i. _rhinocerotidæ_, n. american tertiary, i. rhinocerotidÆ, ii. rhinochetidÆ, ii. _rhinochetus_, ii. _rhinococcyx_, ii. _rhinocrypta_, ii. _rhinoderma_, ii. rhinodontidÆ, ii. _rhinodoras_, ii. _rhinogale_, ii. _rhinoglanis_, ii. rhinolophidÆ, ii. _rhinolophus_, ii. _rhinophis_, ii. rhinophrynidÆ, ii. _rhinophrynus_, ii. _rhinoplax_, ii. _rhinopoma_, ii. _rhinortha_, ii. _rhipidura_, ii. _rhizomys_, ii. _rhodeus_, ii. _rhodinocincla_, ii. _rhodona_, ii. _rhodopis_, ii. _rhodosttehia_, ii. _rhombomys_, ii. _rhombus_, ii. _rhopodytes_, ii. _rhopoterpe_, ii. _rhynchæa_, ii. rhynchocephalidÆ, ii. rhynchocephalina, ii. _rhynchocyon_, ii. _rhynchocyclus_, ii. _rhynchonella_, ii. rhynchonellidÆ, ii. _rhynchops_, ii. _rhynchopsitta_, ii. _rhynchotus_, ii. _rhytina_, ii. , _rhytiodus_, ii. _ricinula_, ii. _rimator_, ii. _rimula_, ii. _rissa_, ii. _rissoa_, ii. _rita_, ii. river-hog, of west africa, figure of, i. of madagascar, figure of, i. rivers, limiting the range of mammalia, i. limiting the range of birds, i. river-scene in west africa, i. river-snails, ii. _rivulus_, ii. rock-snakes, ii. rocky mountain sub-region, ii. mammalia of, ii. birds of, ii. reptiles, amphibia, and fishes of, ii. rodentia, classification of, i. range of palæarctic genera of, i. range of ethiopian genera of, i. range of oriental genera of, i. range of australian genera of, i. _rodentia_, european pliocene, i. miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. european eocene, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. of brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. of s. american eocene, i. rodentia, ii. rodentia, general remarks on the distribution of, ii. _rodentia_, summary and conclusion, ii. _rohteichthys_, ii. rollers, ii. _rollulus_, ii. _romaleosoma_, ii. rose-chafers, ii. _rostrhamus_, ii. rough-tailed burrowing snakes, ii. ruff, figure of, i. _rupicapra_, ii. , rupicaprinÆ, ii. _rupicola_, ii. , rupicolinÆ, ii. _ruticilla_, ii. ruticillinÆ, ii. s. _saccobranchus_, ii. _saccodon_, ii. saccomyidÆ, ii. _saccomys_, ii. _saccostomus_, ii. _sagda_, ii. sahara, a debatable land, i. saiga, antelope of w. tartary, i. _saiga_, ii. _saimiris_, ii. sakis, ii. _salamandra_, ii. salamandridÆ, ii. _salamandrina_, ii. _salarix_, ii. _salminus_, ii. _salmo_, ii. salmonidÆ, ii. _salpinctes_, ii. _salpornis_, ii. _saltator_, ii. salvin, mr., on birds of galapagos, ii. _sambus_, ii. samoa islands, birds of, i. sand-grouse, pallas', of mongolia, i. ii. sand-lizards, ii. sandpipers, ii. sandwich islands, birds of, i. probable past history of, i. mountain plants of, i. depth of ocean around, i. _sanzinia_, ii. _saperda_, ii. _sapphironia_, ii. _sarcodaces_, ii. _sarcophilus_, ii. sarcorhamphinÆ, ii. _sarcorhamphus_, ii. _sargus_, ii. _sarkidiornis_, ii. _saroglossa_, ii. _sarotherodon_, ii. _sasia_, ii. _satanoperca_, ii. satyridÆ, ii. _satyrites reynesii_, european cretaceous insect, i. _satyrus_, ii. _saucerottia_, ii. saunders, mr. edward, on the buprestidæ of japan, i. _saurocetes_, ii. _saurophis_, ii. _saurothera_, ii. _saxicola_, ii. _saxicolinæ_, ii. _sayornis_, ii. , scallops, ii. _scalops_, ii. _scapanus_, ii. _scaphiopus_, ii. _scaphirhynchus_, ii. _scaptochirus_, ii. _scaptonyx_, ii. _scaraphites_, ii. _scardafella_, ii. _scarites_, ii. _scelidotherium_, in brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. ii. _scelodontis_, ii. _sceloporus_, ii. _scelotes_, ii. _schacra_, ii. _schasicheila_, ii. _schiffornis_, ii. _schilbe_, ii. _schilbichthys_, ii. _schismaderma_, ii. _schistes_, ii. _schistopleurum_, s. american pliocene, i. _schizodon_, ii. _schizogenius_, ii. _schizopygopsis_, ii. _schizorhina_, ii. _schizorhis_, ii. _schizothorax_, ii. _schoenionta_, ii. schweinfurth, dr., on natural history of central africa, i. on limits of w. african sub-region, i. (_note_) _sciades_, ii. _sciæna_, ii. sciÆnidÆ, ii. scincidÆ, ii. _scincus_, ii. scinks, ii. _scissirostrum_, ii. _scissor_, ii. _sciuravus_, n. american eocene, i. _sciuravus_, ii. sciuridÆ, ii. _sciuropterus_, ii. _sciurus_, european miocene, i. european eocene, i. ii. , sclater, mr., on zoological regions, i. why his six regions are adopted, i. on birds of sandwich islands, i. on systematic position of _certhidea_, ii. sclater and salvin, messrs., on neotropical sub-regions, ii. sclerodermi, ii. _sclerognathus_, ii. sclerurinÆ, ii. _sclerurus_, ii. _scolecophagus_, ii. scolopacidÆ, ii. _scolopax_, ii. _scomber_, ii. scombresocidÆ, ii. _scombresox_, ii. scombridÆ, ii. scopelidÆ, ii. _scops_, ii. _scopus_, ii. _scortornis_, ii. _scotopelia_, ii. _scotophilus_, ii. _scrapteira_, ii. screamers, ii. scrub-birds, ii. scyllidÆ, ii. _scyllium_, ii. _scytale_, ii. scytalidÆ, ii. _scytalopus_, ii. _scythrops_, ii. sea, as a barrier to mammalia, i. sea-devils, ii. seals, fossil in european miocene, i. of lake baikal, i. ii. sea-pens, ii. sea-snails, ii. sea-snakes, ii. _sebastes_, ii. secondary formations, mammalian remains in, i. secretary bird, of africa, figure of, i. ii. seemann, dr., on protective resemblance of sloths, ii. _seisura_, ii. _selache_, ii. _selasphorus_, ii. _selenidera_, ii. _selenophorus_, ii. _seleucides_, ii. _semioptera_, ii. _semiplotus_, ii. semnopithecidÆ, ii. _semnopithecus_, european pliocene, i. miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. ii. ii. semper, dr., on philippine mammalia, i. _senira_, ii. sepiadÆ, ii. sepidÆ, ii. _seps_, ii. _sepsina_, ii. _sericinus_, ii. _sericornis_, ii. _sericulus_, ii. _serilophus_, ii. serpentariidÆ, ii. _serpentarius_, european miocene, i. ii. _serphophaga_, ii. _serranus_, ii. _serrasalmo_, ii. _sesia_, ii. _setophaga_, ii. _setornis_, ii. seychelle islands, zoology of, i. amphibia of, i. shad, ii. sharks, ii. sharp, dr., on japan beetles, i. sharpe, mr. r. b., his arrangement of accipitres, i. on birds of cape verd islands, i. on classification of cuckoos, ii. sheath-bills, ii. sheep, palæarctic, i. ii. short-tailed burrowing snakes, ii. shrikes, ii. _sialia_, ii. _siamanga_, ii. _siaphos_, ii. siberia, climate of, i. siberian sub-region, description of, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. reptiles and amphibia of, i. insects of, i. _sibia_, ii. _siderone_, ii. _sieboldia_, ii. _sigmodon_, ii. _silondia_, ii. _silphomorpha_, ii. _silubosaurus_, ii. _siluranodon_, ii. _silurichthys_, ii. siluridÆ, ii. _silurus_, ii. _silybura_, ii. _simenia_, ii. _simia_, ii. simiidÆ, ii. _simocephalus_, ii. _simocyon_, miocene of greece, i. ii. _simorhynchus_, ii. _simotes_, ii. _simpulopsis_, ii. _sinopa_, n. american tertiary, i. _siphia_, ii. _siphneus_, ii. _siphonopsis_, ii. _siphonorhis_, ii. _siphonostoma_, ii. _siren_, ii. sirenia, classification of, i. range of ethiopian genera of, i. range of oriental genus, i. range of australian genus of, i. _sirenia_, european pliocene, i. european miocene, i. sirenia, ii. sirenidÆ, ii. sirenoidei, ii. _sirystes_, ii. _sisor_, ii. _sitana_, ii. _sitta_, ii. _sittasomus_, ii. _sittella_, ii. sittidÆ, ii. _siurus_, ii. _siva_, ii. _sivatherium_, indian miocene, i. ii. siwalik hills, miocene deposits of, i. _skenea_, ii. sloths, ii. slugs, ii. _smaragdochrysis_, ii. _smerinthus_, ii. _smiliogaster_, ii. _sminthus_, ii. smith, mr. frederick, on hymenoptera of japan, i. _smithornis_, ii. _smutsia_, ii. snails, ii. snake, at great elevation in himalayas, i. snakes, classification of, i. eocene, i. large proportion of venomous species in australia, i. of new zealand, i. distribution and lines of migration of, ii. snipes, ii. society islands, birds of, i. socorro, zoology of, ii. soft-tortoises, ii. _solarium_, ii. _solea_, ii. solenidÆ, ii. _solenodon_, ii. solenostomidÆ, ii. solitaire, ii. _somateria_, ii. _soricictis_, european miocene, i. ii. _soricidæ_, european miocene, i. soricidÆ, ii. _soridia_, ii. _sorubim_, ii. _sotalia_, ii. south african sub-region, description of, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. reptiles of, i. amphibia of, i. fresh-water fish of, i. butterflies of, i. coleoptera of, i. summary of its zoology, i. south america, fossil fauna of, i. pliocene deposits of, i. supposed land connection with australia, i. south america and africa, parallelism of their past zoological history, ii. south australia, peculiar birds of, i. spalacidÆ, ii. _spalacomys_, ii. _spalacopus_, ii. _spalax_, ii. _sparganura_, ii. sparidÆ, ii. _spatula_, ii. species, representative, i. _spelerpes_, ii. _speothos_, in brazilian caves, i. _spermestes_, ii. _spermophila_, ii. _spermophilus_, european miocene, i. ii. , _spermospiza_, ii. sperm whales, ii. _sphærocephalus_, ii. _sphærodactylus_, ii. _sphæroderus_, ii. _sphallomorpha_, ii. _sphecotheres_, ii. _sphenæacus_, ii. spheniscidÆ, ii. _spheniscus_, ii. _sphenocephalus_, ii. _sphenodon_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _sphenognathus_, ii. _sphenoproctus_, ii. _sphenops_, ii. _sphenostoma_, ii. _sphenura_, ii. sphingidÆ, ii. sphingidea, distribution of, ii. sphingina, ii. _sphingnotus_, ii. _sphinx_, in european oolite, i. ii. sphinx moths, ii. _sphyrapicus_, ii. sphyrenidÆ, ii. spider monkeys, ii. _spilornis_, ii. _spilotes_, ii. spinacidÆ, ii. _spindalis_, ii. , _spiraxis_, ii. spiriferidÆ, ii. spirulidÆ, ii. _spizaëtus_, ii. _spizella_, ii. _spiziapteryx_, ii. _spiziastur_, ii. _spodiornis_, ii. _sponsor_, ii. spoonbills, ii. _sporadinus_, ii. _sporopipes_, ii. sprat, ii. _spreo_, ii. _squalodon_, ii. _squaliobarbus_, ii. squamipennes, ii. _squatarola_, ii. squirrel monkeys, ii. squirrels, ii. st. helena, zoological features of, i. coleoptera of, i. landshells of, i. st. thomas's island, birds of, i. _stachyris_, ii. _stactolæma_, ii. stag-beetles, ii. _stalagmosoma_, ii. starlings, ii. _starnoenas_, ii. stations, definition of, i. _staurotypus_, ii. _steatomys_, ii. _steatornis_, ii. steatornithidÆ, ii. _steganura_, ii. _stegnolæma_, ii. _stegophilus_, ii. _stelgidopteryx_, ii. _stellio_, ii. _stellula_, ii. _steneofiber_, european miocene, i. ii. _steno_, ii. _stenodactylus_, ii. _stenogyra_, ii. _stenopsis_, ii. _stenopus_, ii. _stenorhina_, ii. _stenorhynchus_, ii. ii. _stephanophorus_, ii. _stercorarius_, ii. _sterna_, ii. _sternarchus_, ii. _sternocera_, ii. _sternoclyta_, ii. sternoptychidÆ, ii. _sternopygus_, ii. _sternotheres_, ii. _steropus_, ii. _stesilea_, ii. _stethodesma_, ii. _sthenurus_, australian post-tertiary, i. ii. _stichæus_, ii. sticklebacks, ii. _stigmatura_, ii. _stigmodera_, ii. stomiatidÆ, ii. storks, ii. _stabomantis_, ii. straits of magellan, mammalia of, ii. birds of, ii. _strepera_, ii. _strepsilas_, ii. _streptaulus_, ii. _streptaxis_, ii. _streptocerus_, ii. _streptocitta_, ii. _streptophorus_, ii. strigidÆ, ii. _stringops_, ii. stringopidÆ, ii. _strix_, european miocene, i. ii. strombidÆ, ii. _struthio_, ii. struthiones, arrangement of, i. range of ethiopian genera of, i. range of australian genera of, i. struthiones, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. struthionidÆ, ii. struthious birds, probable origin of, i. sturgeons, ii. _sturnella_, ii. _sturnia_, ii. sturnidÆ, ii. _sturnopastor_, ii. _sturnus_, ii. stygiidÆ, ii. _stygogenes_, ii. _stylinodontia_, n. american eocene, i. _stylinodontidæ_, n. american eocene, i. _styporhynchus_, ii. _sublegatus_, ii. sub-regions, on what principle formed, i. palæarctic, i. ethiopian, i. oriental, i. australian, i. neotropical, ii. nearctic, ii. _succinea_, ii. sugar-birds, ii. _suidæ_, european miocene, i. suidÆ, ii. sula islands, fauna of, i. _sula_, ii. summary of relations of regions, ii. sun-birds, ii. sun-bitterns, ii. _suricata_, ii. _surnia_, ii. _surniculus_, ii. _sus_, european pliocene, i. miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. ii. _suthora_, ii. _suya_, ii. swallows, ii. swallow-shrikes, ii. swifts, ii. swine, ii. swinhoe, mr., on zoology of formosa and hainan, i. _sycalis_, ii. _sylvia_, ii. _sylvietta_, ii. sylviidÆ, ii. sylviinÆ, ii. _sylviorthorhynchus_, ii. _sylviparus_, ii. _syma_, ii. _symborodon_, n. american tertiary, i. symbranchidÆ, ii. _symbranchus_, ii. _symmachia_, ii. _symmorphus_, ii. _symphædra_, ii. _symphysodon_, ii. _symplectes_, ii. synallaxinÆ, ii. _synallaxis_, ii. _synaphodus_, european miocene, i. _synaptura_, ii. _synchloe_, ii. _syndesus_, ii. _synemon_, ii. _syngnathus_, ii. syngnathidÆ, ii. _synodontis_, ii. _synoplotherium_, n. american tertiary, i. _syntomis_, ii. _syrnium_, ii. _syrrhaptes_, ii. _sysopygis_, ii. t. tables of distribution of families and genera explained, i. _taccocoua_, ii. _tachydromus_, ii. _tachyphonus_, ii. _tachyris_, ii. _tachytriorchis_, ii. _tadorna_, ii. _tæniogale_, ii. _tænioptera_, ii. , tÆniopterinÆ, ii. _tæniura_, ii. _talegallus_, ii. _talpa_, european miocene, i. ii. talpidÆ, ii. _tamandua_, ii. _tamias_, ii. , _tanæcia_, ii. tanagers, ii. _tanagra_, ii. _tanagrella_, ii. tanagridÆ, ii. _tantalus_, ii. _tanygnathus_, ii. _tanysiptera_, ii. _taoniscus_, ii. _taphozous_, ii. _tapir_, fossil in n. china, i. tapir, malayan figure of, i. _tapiridæ_, european eocene, i. tapiridÆ, ii. tapirs, birthplace and migrations of, i. ii. _tapirus_, european pliocene, i. indian miocene, i. in brazilian caves, i. _tarandus_, ii. _tarentola_, ii. tarsier, malayan, figure of, i. _tarsiger_, ii. tarsiidÆ, ii. _tarsipes_, ii. _tarsius_, ii. tasmania, comparative zoological poverty of, i. _tatare_, ii. _tatusia_, ii. _taxidea_, ii. _taxila_, ii. _taxodon_, european miocene, i. ii. _taygetis_, ii. _tchitrea_, ii. tectonarchinÆ, ii. teguexius, ii. teidÆ, ii. _teinopalpus_, ii. _teira_, ii. _teius_, ii. _teleopis_, ii. teleostei, ii. _telephonus_, ii. _tellia_, ii. tellinidÆ, ii. _telmatobius_, n. american cretaceous, i. ii. _telmatolestes_, n. american tertiary, i. _temnotrogon_, ii. _temnurus_, ii. _tephrocorys_, ii. _tephrodornis_, ii. _teracolus_, ii. _terebratula_, ii. terebratulidÆ, ii. _terekia_, ii. _terenura_, ii. _teretristis_, ii. _terias_, ii. _terinos_, ii. terns, ii. _terrapene_, ii. terrestrial molluscs, ii. terrestrial mollusca, summary and conclusion, ii. lines of migration of, ii. _tesia_, ii. _testacella_, ii. ii. testudinidÆ, ii. _testudo_, miocene of greece, i. indian miocene, i. great antiquity of the genus, i. _testudo_, ii. _tethionea_, ii. tetrabranchiata, ii. _tetracha_, ii. , _tetrachus_, european miocene, i. _tetraceros_, ii. _tetracus_, ii. _tetradactylus_, ii. _tetragonoderus_, ii. _tetragonops_, ii. _tetragonopterus_, ii. _tetragonosoma, ii. _ _tetranematichthys_, ii. _tetrao albus_, in italian caverns, i. _tetrao_, ii. _tetraogallus_, ii. tetraonidÆ, ii. _tetraophasis_, ii. _tetrodon_, ii. teuthidÆ, ii. teuthididÆ, ii. _textor_, ii. _thais_, ii. _thalassarctos_, ii. _thalassictis_, miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. ii. ii. _thalassornis_, ii. _thaleichthys_, ii. _thalurania_, ii. _thamnistes_, ii. _thamnobia_, ii. _thamnodyastes_, ii. _thamnomanes_, ii. thamnophilinÆ, ii. _thamnophilus_, ii. _thaumalea_, ii. _thaumantis_, ii. _thaumastura_, ii. _thaumatias_, ii. _thecla_, ii. _theloderma_, ii. _theope_, ii. _theorema_, ii. _theraps_, ii. _therates_, ii. _theridomys_, european miocene, i. european eocene, i. s. american eocene, i. ii. _theropithecus_, ii. _thestias_, ii. _thestor_, ii. _thetia_, ii. thinocoridÆ, ii. _thinocorus_, ii. _thinohyus_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _thinolestes_, n. american tertiary, i. _thinornis_, ii. _thomomys_, ii. _thous_, ii. _thrasaëtus_, ii. _threnetes_, ii. _thripadectes_, ii. _thripophaga_, ii. _thryophilus_, ii. _thryothorus_, ii. thrushes, ii. _thyca_, ii. _thylacinus_, australian post-tertiary, i. ii. _thylacoleo_, australian post-tertiary, i. ii. _thymallus_, ii. _thynnichthys_, ii. _thynnus_, ii. _thyreopterus_, ii. _thyrus_, ii. _tiaris_, ii. ii. _tichodroma_, ii. _tiga_, ii. tiger-beetles, ii. _tigrisoma_, ii. _tijuca_, ii. _tillodontia_, n. american eocene, i. _tillotheridæ_, n. american eocene, i. _tillotherium_, n. american eocene, i. _tilmatura_, ii. _timalia_, ii. timaliidÆ, ii. _timetes_, ii. timor, physical features of, i. group, mammalia of, i. birds of, i. origin of fauna of, i. insects of, i. tinamidÆ, ii. tinaminÆ, ii. tinamous, ii. tinamotinÆ, ii. _tinamotis_, ii. _tinamus_, ii. _tinca_, ii. _tinoceras_, n. american eocene, i. _titanomys_, european miocene, i. ii. _titanotherium_, n. american tertiary, i. tits, ii. _tityra_, ii. tityrinÆ, ii. _tmesisternus_, ii. toads, ii. _tockus_, ii. todidÆ, ii. todies, ii. _todirhamphus_, ii. _todirostrum_, ii. _todopsis_, ii. _todus_, ii. _tolypeutes_, ii. _tomarctos_, n. american tertiary, i. _tomistoma_, ii. _tomodon_, ii. tonga islands, birds of, i. _topaza_, ii. tornatellidÆ, ii. torpedinidÆ, ii. tortoises, classification of, i. of mascarene islands and galapagos, i. ii. tortricidÆ, ii. _tortrix_, ii. _totanus_, ii. toucans, ii. touraco of w. africa, figure of, i. _toxodon_, s. american pliocene, i. _toxodontidæ_, s. american pliocene, i. _toxotus_, ii. _trachelyopterus_, ii. trachinidÆ, ii. _trachinus_, ii. _trachurus_, ii. _trachycephalus_, ii. ii. _trachydosaurus_, ii. _trachyphonus_, ii. trachypteridÆ, ii. _trachytherium_, european miocene, i. tragelaphinÆ, ii. _tragelaphus_, ii. _tragocerus_, miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. tragopan, himalayan, figure of, i. _tragops_, ii. tragulidÆ, ii. _tragulus_, ii. _trapelus_, ii. _trechus_, ii. tree-crows, ii. tree-kangaroo, figure of, i. tree-shrew of borneo, figure of, i. tree-snakes, ii. _tremarctos_, ii. _treron_, ii. tres marias, zoology of, ii. _tribolonotus_, ii. _triboniophorus_, ii. _tribonyx_, ii. _trichastoma_, ii. trichechidÆ, ii. _trichechus_, n. american post-pliocene, i. ii. trichiuridÆ, ii. _trichixos_, ii. trichoglossidÆ, ii. trichoglossidæ, birds specially adapted to australia, i. _trichoglossus_, ii. _tricholæma_, ii. _trichomycterus_, ii. _trycondyla_, ii. _trichonis_, ii. trichonotidÆ, ii. _trichothraupis_, ii. _trichotropis_, ii. _triclaria_, ii. tridacnidÆ, ii. _trigla_, ii. triglidÆ, ii. _trigona_, ii. trigoniadÆ, ii. _trigonoptera_, ii. _trimeresurus_, ii. _tringa_, ii. _tringoides_, ii. trionychidÆ, ii. _trionyx_, indian miocene, i. miocene and eocene, i. ii. _triprion_, ii. _triptorhinus_, ii. tristan d'acunha, zoology of, i. tristram, canon, summary of the birds of palestine, i. on the arrangement of the sylviidæ, ii. _triton_, ii. tritoniadÆ, ii. _trochalopteron_, ii. _trochatella_, ii. trochilidÆ, ii. _trochilus_, ii. _trochus_, ii. _troglodytes_, ii. ii. troglodytidÆ, ii. trogon, european miocene, i. ii. _trogon_, ii. trogonidÆ, ii. trogonophidÆ, ii. trogonophis, ii. _trogontherium_, post-pliocene of europe, i. ii. _tropidechis_, ii. _tropidococcyx_, ii. _tropidodipsas_, ii. _tropidolepis_, ii. _tropidolepisma_, ii. _tropidonotus_, ii. _tropidophorus_, ii. _tropidopterus_, ii. _tropidorhynchus_, ii. _trucifelis_, n. american post-pliocene, i. _trugon_, ii. trumpeters, ii. _truncatella_, ii. _trgyon_, ii. trygonidÆ, ii. tuatara, ii. _tudora_, ii. tundras of siberia, greatest extent of, i. _tupaia_, ii. tupaiidÆ, ii. _tupaiidæ_, european miocene, i. _turacoena_, ii. turacos, ii. _turacus_, ii. turbinidÆ, ii. turdidÆ, ii. _turdinus_, ii. _turdus_, ii. _turnagra_, ii. turner, mr., on classification of edentata, i. turnicidÆ, ii. _turnix_, ii. turritellidÆ, ii. _tursio_, ii. turtles, ii. _turtur_, ii. _tylas_, ii. _tylodon_, european eocene, i. ii. _tylognathus_, ii. _tylotriton_, ii. _typhlina_, ii. _typhline_, ii. _typhlocalamus_, ii. typhlopidÆ, ii. _typhlops_, ii. _typhloscincus_, ii. _typotherium_, s. american pliocene, i. tyrannidÆ, ii. tyranninÆ, ii. _tyranniscus_, ii. _tyrannulus_, ii. _tyrannus_, ii. , tyrant-shrikes, ii. u. _uaru_, ii. _uintacyon_, n. american tertiary, i. _uintatherium_, n. american eocene, i. _uintornis_, n. american eocene, i. _uma_, ii. umbridÆ, ii. _umbrina_, ii. _ungalia_, ii. ungulata, classification of, i. antiquity of, i. of the palæarctic region, i. range of palæarctic genera of, i. range of ethiopian genera of, i. range of oriental genera of, i. range of australian genera of, i. _ungulata_, european pliocene, i. miocene of greece, i. european miocene, i. indian miocene, i. european eocene, i. n. american post-pliocene, i. n. american tertiary, i. of brazilian caves, i. s. american pliocene, i. ungulata, ii. general remarks on the distribution of, ii. summary and conclusion, ii. _unio_, european secondary, i. ii. unionidÆ, ii. _upucerthia_, ii. upupidÆ, ii. _uragus_, ii. urania of madagascar, i. _urania_, ii. uraniidÆ, ii. _uria_, ii. _uroaëtus_, ii. _urocissa_, ii. _urochroa_, ii. _urochroma_, ii. _urocyon_, ii. urodela, ii. _urogalba_, ii. _urolestes_, ii. _uromastix_, ii. uropeltidÆ, ii. _uuropeltis_, ii. _uropsila_, ii. _uropsilus_, ii. _uropsophorus_, ii. _urospatha_, ii. _urospizias_, ii. _urosticte_, ii. _urotrichus_, ii. _urotriorchis_, ii. _ursidæ_, n. american tertiary, i. in brazilian caves, i. ursidÆ, ii. _ursitaxus_, indian miocene, i. ii. _ursus_, post-pliocene, i. indian miocene, i. ii. _urubutinga_, ii. _urva_, ii. _uta_, ii. _utica_, ii. v. _vaginulus_, ii. _valgus_, ii. _valvata_, ii. vanga of madagascar, figure of, i. _vanga_, ii. _vandellia_, ii. _vanellus_, ii. _vanessa_, ii. varanidÆ, ii. _varanus_, miocene of greece, i. indian miocene, i. veneridÆ, ii. _venilia_, ii. _vermicella_, ii. _verreauxia_, ii. vertebrata, summary of palæarctic, i. summary of ethiopian, i. summary of oriental, i. summary of australian, i. summary of neotropical, ii. summary of nearctic, ii. _vespertilio_, european eocene, i. ii. vespertilionidÆ, ii. _vidua_, ii. _vipera_, ii. viperidÆ, ii. _viperus_, european miocene, i. vipers, ii. _vireo_, ii. vireonidÆ, ii. _vireolanius_, ii. _vireosylvia_, ii. viscacha, ii. _vitrina_, ii. _viverra_, european pliocene, i. european miocene, i. ii. _viverricula_, ii. _viverridæ_, european miocene, i. european eocene, i. viverridÆ, ii. _vivia_, ii. _volatinia_, ii. _voluta_, ii. volutes, ii. volutidÆ, ii. _volvocivora_, ii. _vulpes_, ii. _vultur_, ii. vulturidÆ, ii. vulturinÆ, ii. w. wagtails, ii. walden, viscount, on birds of philippine islands, i. on birds of celebes, i. on arrangement of the timaliidæ, ii. _wallago_, ii. wall-lizards, ii. walrus, ii. wart-snakes, ii. _washakius_, n. american tertiary, i. waterhouse, mr. g. r., on classification of rodentia, i. on classification of marsupials, i. water-lizards, ii. weaver-finches, ii. west african sub-region, description of, i. mammalia of, i. birds of, i. oriental or malayan element in, i. river scene with characteristic animals, i. reptiles of, i. amphibia of, i. oriental and neotropical relations of, i. insects of, i. land-shells of, i. islands of, i. west australia, peculiar birds of, i. whelks, ii. whip-snakes, ii. whydah finch of w. africa, figure of, i. wing-shells, ii. ii. wollaston, mr. t. v., on the coleoptera of the atlantic islands, i. on the wings of the madeiran beetles, i. on the origin of the insect fauna of the atlantic islands, i. on the coleoptera of the cape verd islands, i. on the beetles of st. helena, i. wombats, ii. woodpeckers, ii. wood-warblers, ii. woolly monkeys, ii. wrens, ii. wrynecks, ii. x. _xanthocephalus_, ii. _xantholæma_, ii. _xanthomelus_, ii. _xanthopygia_, ii. _xanthosomus_, ii. _xanthotis_, ii. _xema_, ii. _xenelaphis_, ii. _xenica_, ii. _xenicus_, ii. _xenochrophys_, ii. _xenocypris_, ii. _xenodermus_, ii. _xenodon_, ii. xenopeltidÆ, ii. _xenopeltis_, ii. _xenophrys_, ii. _xenopipo_, ii. _xenops_, ii. _xenorhina_, ii. xenorhinidÆ, ii. _xenospingus_, ii. _xenurelaps_, ii. _xenurus_, in brazilian caves, i. ii. _xiphias_, ii. _xiphidiopicus_, ii. xiphiidÆ, ii. _xiphius_, ii. _xiphocolaptes_, ii. _xiphodontidæ_, european miocene, i. _xipholena_, ii. _xiphorhampus_, ii. _xiphorhynchus_, ii. _xiphostoma_, ii. _xystrocera_, ii. y. _ypthima_, ii. _yuhina_, ii. yungidÆ, ii. _yungipicus_, ii. _yunx_, ii. z. _zabrus_, ii. _zalophus_, ii. _zamenis_, ii. _zanclostomus_, ii. _zaocys_, ii. zebras, ii. _zegris_, ii. _zemeros_, ii. _zenaida_, ii. _zenaidura_, ii. _zephyrus_, ii. _zeuglodon_, ii. _zeuglodontidæ_, n. american tertiary, i. ii. _zeus_, ii. _zeuxidia_, ii. _zoarces_, ii. _zonites_, ii. _zonites priscus_, palæozoic, i. _zonotrichia_, ii. zonuridÆ, ii. _zonurus_, ii. zoological characteristics of palæarctic region, i. ethiopian region, i. oriental region, i. australian region, i. of neotropical region, ii. of nearctic region, ii. zoological regions, discussion on, i. their origin and relations, ii. - _zoothera_, ii. _zootoca_, ii. _zosterops_, ii. _zygæna_, ii. zygÆnidÆ, ii. _zygnopsis_, ii. the end. london: r. clay, sons, and taylor, printers. notes [ ] messrs. sclater and salvin, and professor newton, divide the neotropical region into six sub-regions, of which our "brazilian sub-region" comprises three--the "brazilian," the "amazonian," and the "columbian;" but, after due consideration, it does not seem advisable to adopt this subdivision in a general work which treats of all the classes of terrestrial animals. (see p. .) [ ] mr. salvin, who has critically examined the ornithological fauna of these islands, has kindly corrected my ms. list of the birds, his valuable paper in the _transactions of the zoological society_ not having been published in time for me to make use of it. [ ] this name will be used for the whole island of st. domingo, as being both shorter and more euphonious, and avoiding all confusion with dominica, one of the lesser antilles. it is also better known than "hispaniola," which is perhaps the most correct name. [ ] myospalax has hitherto formed part of the next family, spalacidæ; but a recent examination of its anatomy by m. milne-edwards shows that it belongs to the muridæ, and comes near arvicola. [ ] the species of the genera _phylloscopus_ and _hypolais_ are so mixed up in the _hand list_, that mr. tristram has furnished me with the following enumeration of the species which in his view properly belong to them, by the numbers in that work:-- _phylloscopus._ = = = = = _hypolais._ = = = = [ ] the term "malaya" is used here to include the malay peninsula, sumatra, borneo, and java, a district to which many species and genera are confined. "malay archipelago" will be used to include both indo-malaya and austro-malaya. transcriber's note: the errata (after the list of plates) have been worked into the main text. all other apparent mistakes have been retained as printed. text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_); page numbers enclosed by curly braces (example: { }) have been incorporated to facilitate the use of the index.. * * * * * [illustration: zoogeographical regions] the geographical distribution of animals _with a study of the relations of living and extinct faunas as elucidating the past changes of the earth's surface._ by alfred russel wallace, author of "the malay archipelago," etc. with maps and illustrations. _in two volumes.--volume i._ london: macmillan and co. . [_the right of translation and reproduction is reserved._] london: r. clay, sons, and taylor, printers, bread street hill. preface. the present work is an attempt to collect and summarize the existing information on the distribution of land animals; and to explain the more remarkable and interesting of the facts, by means of established laws of physical and organic change. the main idea, which is here worked out in some detail for the whole earth, was stated sixteen years ago in the concluding pages of a paper on the "zoological geography of the malay archipelago," which appeared in the _journal of proceedings of the linnean society_ for ; and again, in a paper read before the royal geographical society in , it was briefly summarized in the following passage:-- "my object has been to show the important bearing of researches into the natural history of every part of the world, upon the study of its past history. an accurate knowledge of any groups of birds or of insects and of their geographical distribution, may enable us to map out the islands and continents of a former epoch,--the amount of difference that exists between the animals of adjacent districts being closely related to preceding geological changes. by the collection of such minute facts, alone, can we hope to fill up a great gap in the past history of the earth as revealed by geology, and obtain some indications of the existence of those ancient lands which now lie buried beneath the ocean, and have left us nothing but these living records of their former existence." the detailed study of several groups of the birds and insects collected by myself in the east, brought prominently before me some of the curious problems of geographical distribution; but i should hardly have ventured to treat the whole subject, had it not been for the kind encouragement of mr. darwin and professor newton, who, about six years ago, both suggested that i should undertake the task. i accordingly set to work; but soon became discouraged by the great dearth of materials in many groups, the absence of general systematic works, and the excessive confusion that pervaded the classification. neither was it easy to decide on any satisfactory method of treating the subject. during the next two years, however, several important catalogues and systematic treatises appeared, which induced me to resume my work; and during the last three years it has occupied a large portion of my time. after much consideration, and some abortive trials, an outline plan of the book was matured; and as this is, so far as i am aware, quite novel, it will be well to give a few of the reasons for adopting it. most of the previous writings on geographical distribution appeared to me to be unsatisfactory, because they drew their conclusions from a more or less extensive _selection_ of facts; and did not clearly separate groups of facts of unequal value, or those relating to groups of animals of unequal rank. as an example of what is meant, i may refer to mr. andrew murray's large and valuable work on the geographical distribution of mammalia, in which an immense number of coloured maps are used to illustrate the distribution of various groups of animals. these maps are not confined to groups of any fixed rank, but are devoted to a selection of groups of various grades. some show the range of single species of a genus--as the lion, the tiger, the puma, and a species of fox; others are devoted to sections of genera,--as the true wolves; others to genera,--as the hyænas, and the bears; others to portions of families,--as the flying squirrels, and the oxen with the bisons; others to families,--as the mustelidæ, and the hystricidæ; and others to groups of families or to orders,--as the insectivora, and the opossums with the kangaroos. but in no one grade are all the groups treated alike. many genera are wholly unnoticed, while several families are only treated in combination with others, or are represented by some of the more important genera. in making these observations i by no means intend to criticise mr. murray's book, but merely to illustrate by an example, the method which has been hitherto employed, and which seems to me not well adapted to enable us to establish the foundations of the science of distribution on a secure basis. to do this, uniformity of treatment appeared to me essential, both as a matter of principle, and to avoid all imputation of a partial selection of facts, which may be made to prove anything. i determined, therefore, to take in succession every well-established family of terrestrial vertebrates, and to give an account of the distribution of all its component genera, as far as materials were available. species, as such, are systematically disregarded,--firstly, because they are so numerous as to be unmanageable; and, secondly, because they represent the most recent modifications of form, due to a variety of often unknown causes, and are therefore not so clearly connected with geographical changes as are the natural groups of species termed genera; which may be considered to represent the average and more permanent distribution of an organic type, and to be more clearly influenced by the various known or inferred changes in the organic and physical environment. this systematic review of the distribution of families and genera, now forms the last part of my book--geographical zoology; but it was nearly the first written, and the copious materials collected for it enabled me to determine the zoo-geographical divisions of the earth (regions and sub-regions) to be adopted. i next drew up tables of the families and genera found in each region and sub-region; and this afforded a basis for the geographical treatment of the subject--zoological geography--the most novel, and perhaps the most useful and generally interesting part of my work. while this was in progress i found it necessary to make a careful summary of the distribution of extinct mammalia. this was a difficult task, owing to the great uncertainty that prevails as to the affinities of many of the fossils, and my want of practical acquaintance with palæontology; but having carefully examined and combined the works of the best authors, i have given what i believe is the first connected sketch of the relation of extinct mammalia to the distribution of living groups, and have arrived at some very interesting and suggestive results. it will be observed that man is altogether omitted from the series of the animal kingdom as here given, and some explanation of this omission may perhaps be required. if the genus _homo_ had been here treated like all other genera, nothing more than the bare statement--"universally distributed"--could have been given;--and this would inevitably have provoked the criticism that it conveyed no information. if, on the other hand, i had given an outline of the distribution of the _varieties_ or _races_ of man, i should have departed from the plan of my work for no sufficient reason. anthropology is a science by itself; and it seems better to omit it altogether from a zoological work, than to treat it in a necessarily superficial manner. the best method of illustrating a work of this kind was a matter requiring much consideration. to have had a separate coloured or shaded map for each family would have made the work too costly, as the terrestrial vertebrates alone would have required more than three hundred maps. i had also doubts about the value of this mode of illustration, as it seemed rather to attract attention to details than to favour the development of general views. i determined therefore to adopt a plan, suggested in conversation by professor newton; and to have one general map, showing the regions and sub-regions, which could be referred to by means of a series of numbers. these references i give in the form of diagrammatic headings to each family; and, when the map has become familiar, these will, i believe, convey at a glance a body of important information. taking advantage of the recent extension of our knowledge of the depths of the great oceans, i determined to give upon this map a summary of our knowledge of the contours of the ocean bed, by means of tints of colour increasing in intensity with the depth. such a map, when it can be made generally accurate, will be of the greatest service in forming an estimate of the more probable changes of sea and land during the tertiary period; and it is on the effects of such changes that any satisfactory explanation of the facts of distribution must to a great extent depend. other important factors in determining the actual distribution of animals are, the zones of altitude above the sea level, and the strongly contrasted character of the surface as regards vegetation--a primary condition for the support of animal life. i therefore designed a series of six maps of the regions, drawn on a uniform scale, on which the belts of altitude are shown by contour-shading, while the forests, pastures, deserts, and perennial snows, are exhibited by means of appropriate tints of colour. these maps will, i trust, facilitate the study of geographical distribution as a science, by showing, in some cases, an adequate cause in the nature of the terrestrial surface for the actual distribution of certain groups of animals. as it is hoped they will be constantly referred to, double folding has been avoided, and they are consequently rather small; but mr. stanford, and his able assistant in the map department, mr. bolton, have taken great care in working out the details from the latest observations; and this, combined with the clearness and the beauty of their execution, will i trust render them both interesting and instructive. in order to make the book more intelligible to those readers who have no special knowledge of systematic zoology, and to whom most of the names with which its pages are often crowded must necessarily be unmeaning, i give a series of twenty plates, each one illustrating at once the physical aspect and the special zoological character of some well-marked division of a region. great care has been taken to associate in the pictures, such species only as do actually occur together in nature; so that each plate represents a scene which is, at all events, not an impossible one. the species figured all belong to groups which are either peculiar to, or very characteristic of, the region whose zoology they illustrate; and it is hoped that these pictures will of themselves serve to convey a notion of the varied types of the higher animals in their true geographical relations. the artist, mr. j. b. zwecker, to whose talent as a zoological draughtsman and great knowledge both of animal and vegetable forms we are indebted for this set of drawings, died a few weeks after he had put the final touches to the proofs. he is known to many readers by his vigorous illustrations of the works of sir samuel baker, livingstone, and many other travellers,--but these, his last series of plates, were, at my special request, executed with a care, delicacy, and artistic finish, which his other designs seldom exhibit. it must, however, be remembered, that the figures of animals here given are not intended to show specific or generic characters for the information of the scientific zoologist, but merely to give as accurate an idea as possible, of some of the more remarkable and more restricted types of beast and bird, amid the characteristic scenery of their native country;--and in carrying out this object there are probably few artists who would have succeeded better than mr. zwecker has done. the general arrangement of the separate parts of which the work is composed, has been, to some extent, determined by the illustrations and maps, which all more immediately belong to part iii. it was at first intended to place this part last, but as this arrangement would have brought all the illustrations into the second volume, its place was changed,--perhaps in other respects for the better, as it naturally follows part ii. yet for persons not well acquainted with zoology, it will perhaps be advisable to read the more important articles of part iv. (and especially the observations at the end of each order) after part ii., thus making part iii. the conclusion of the work. part iv. is, in fact, a book of reference, in which the distribution of all the families and most of the genera of the higher animals, is given in systematic order. part iii. is treated somewhat more popularly; and, although it is necessarily crowded with scientific names (without which the inferences and conclusions would have nothing solid to rest on), these may be omitted by the non-scientific reader, or merely noted as a certain number or proportion of peculiar generic types. many english equivalents to family and generic names are, however, given; and, assisted by these, it is believed that any reader capable of understanding lyell's "principles," or darwin's "origin," will have no difficulty in following the main arguments and appreciating the chief conclusions arrived at in the present work. to those who are more interested in facts than in theories, the book will serve as a kind of dictionary of the geography and affinities of animals. by means of the copious index, the native country, the systematic position, and the numerical extent of every important and well established genus of land-animal may be at once discovered;--information now scattered through hundreds of volumes. in the difficult matters of synonymy, and the orthography of generic names, i have been guided rather by general utility than by any fixed rules. when i have taken a whole family group from a modern author of repute, i have generally followed his nomenclature throughout. in other cases, i use the names which are to be found in a majority of modern authors, rather than follow the strict rule of priority in adopting some newly discovered appellation of early date. in orthography i have adopted all such modern emendations as seem coming into general use, and which do not lead to inconvenience; but where the alteration is such as to completely change the pronunciation and appearance of a well-known word, i have not adopted it. i have also thought it best to preserve the initial letter of well-known and old-established names, for convenience of reference to the indices of established works. as an example i may refer to _enicurus_,--a name which has been in use nearly half a century, and which is to be found under the letter _e_, in jerdon's birds of india, blyth's catalogue, bonaparte's conspectus, and the proceedings of the zoological society of london down to . classicists now write _henicurus_ as the correct form; but this seems to me one of those cases in which orthographical accuracy should give way to priority, and still more to convenience. in combining and arranging so much detail from such varied sources, many errors and omissions must doubtless have occurred. owing to my residence at a distance from the scientific libraries of the metropolis, i was placed at a great disadvantage; and i could hardly have completed the work at all, had i not been permitted to have a large number of volumes at once, from the library of the zoological society of london, and to keep them for months together;--a privilege for which i return my best thanks to mr. sclater the secretary, and to the council. should my book meet with the approval of working naturalists, i venture to appeal to them, to assist me in rendering any future editions more complete, by sending me (to the care of my publishers) notes of any important omissions, or corrections of any misstatements of fact; as well as copies of any of their papers or essays, and especially of any lists, catalogues, and monographs, containing information on the classification or distribution of living or extinct animals. to the many friends who have given me information or assistance i beg to tender my sincere thanks. especially am i indebted to professor newton, who not only read through much of my rough mss., but was so good as to make numerous corrections and critical notes. these were of great value to me, as they often contained or suggested important additional matter, or pointed out systematic and orthographical inaccuracies. professor flower was so good as to read over my chapters on extinct animals, and to point out several errors into which i had fallen. dr. günther gave me much valuable information on the classification of reptiles, marking on my lists the best established and most natural genera, and referring me to reliable sources of information. i am also greatly indebted to the following gentlemen for detailed information on special subjects:-- to sir victor brooke, for a ms. arrangement of the genera of bovidæ, with the details of their distribution: to mr. dresser, for lists of the characteristic birds of northern and arctic europe: to dr. hooker, for information on the colours and odours of new zealand plants: to mr. kirby, for a list of the butterflies of chili: to professor mivart, for a classification of the batrachia, and an early proof of his article on "apes" in the encyclopedia britannica: to mr. salvin, for correcting my list of the birds of the galapagos, and for other assistance: to mr. sharpe, for ms. lists of the birds of madagascar and the cape verd islands: to canon tristram, for a detailed arrangement of the difficult family of the warblers,--sylviidæ: to viscount walden, for notes on the systematic arrangement of the pycnonotidæ and timaliidæ, and for an early proof of his list of the birds of the philippine islands. i also have to thank many naturalists, both in this country and abroad, who have sent me copies of their papers; and i trust they will continue to favour me in the same manner. an author may easily be mistaken in estimating his own work. i am well aware that this first outline of a great subject is, in parts, very meagre and sketchy; and, though perhaps overburthened with some kinds of detail, yet leaves many points most inadequately treated. it is therefore with some hesitation that i venture to express the hope that i have made some approach to the standard of excellence i have aimed at;--which was, that my book should bear a similar relation to the eleventh and twelfth chapters of the "origin of species," as mr. darwin's "animals and plants under domestication" does to the first chapter of that work. should it be judged worthy of such a rank, my long, and often wearisome labours, will be well repaid. march, . contents of the first volume. part i. the principles and general phenomena of distribution. chapter i. introductory. chapter ii. the means of dispersal and the migrations of animals. means of dispersal of mammalia (p. )--climate as a limit to the range of mammals (p. )--valleys and rivers as barriers to mammals (p. )-- arms of the sea as barriers to mammals (p. )--ice-floes and drift-wood as aiding the dispersal of mammals (p. )--means of dispersal of birds (p. )--dispersal of birds by winds (p. )--barriers to the dispersal of birds (p. )--the phenomena of migration (p. )--migrations of birds (p. )--general remarks on migration (p. )--means of dispersal of reptiles and amphibia (p. )--means of dispersal of fishes (p. )-- means of dispersal of mollusca (p. )--means of dispersal of insects and the barriers which limit their range (p. ) - chapter iii. distribution as affected by the conditions and changes of the earth's surface. land and water (p. )--continental areas (p. )--recent changes in the continental areas (p. )--the glacial epoch as affecting the distribution of animals (p. )--changes of vegetation as affecting the distribution of animals (p. )--organic changes as affecting distribution (p. ) - chapter iv. on zoological regions. principles upon which zoological regions should be formed (p. )--which class of animals is of most importance in determining zoological regions (p. )--various zoological regions proposed since (p. )-- discussion of proposed regions (p. )--reasons for adopting the six regions first proposed by mr. sclater (p. )--objections to the system of circumpolar zones (p. )--does the arctic fauna characterise an independent region (p. )--palæarctic region (p. )--ethiopian region (p. )--oriental region (p. )--australian region (p. )--neotropical region (p. )--nearctic region (p. )--observations on the series of sub-regions (p. ) - chapter v. classification as affecting the study of geographical distribution. classification of the mammalia (p. )--classification of birds (p. )-- classification of reptiles (p. )--classification of amphibia (p. )-- classification of fishes (p. )--classification of insects (p. )-- classification of mollusca (p. ) - part ii. on the distribution of extinct animals. chapter vi. the extinct mammalia of the old world. historic and post-pliocene period (p. )--pliocene period (p. )-- general conclusions as to the pliocene and post-pliocene faunas of europe (p. )--miocene period (p. )--extinct animals of greece (p. )-- miocene fauna of central and western europe (p. )--upper miocene deposits of india (p. )--general observations on the miocene faunas of europe and asia (p. )--eocene period (p. )--general considerations on the extinct mammalian fauna of europe (p. ) - chapter vii. extinct mammalia of the new world. north america--post-pliocene period (p. )--remarks on the post- pliocene fauna of north america (p. )--tertiary period (p. )-- primates (p. )--insectivora (p. )--carnivora (p. )--ungulata (p. )--proboscidea (p. )--tillodontia (p. )--rodentia (p. )-- general relations of the extinct tertiary mammalia of north america and europe (p. )--south america (p. )--fauna of the brazilian caves (p. )--pliocene period of temperate south america (p. )--pliocene mammalia of the antilles (p. )--eocene fauna of south america (p. ) --general remarks on the extinct mammalian fauna of the old and new worlds (p. )--the birth-place and migrations of some mammalian families and genera (p. ) - chapter viii. various extinct animals;--and on the antiquity of the genera of insects and land-mollusca. extinct mammalia of australia (p. )--mammalian remains of the secondary formations (p. )--extinct birds (p. )--palæarctic region and north india (p. )--north america (p. )--south america, madagascar, new zealand (p. )--extinct tertiary reptiles (p. )-- antiquity of the genera of insects (p. )--antiquity of the genera of land and fresh-water shells (p. ) - part iii. zoological geography: a review of the chief forms of life in the several regions and sub-regions, with the indications they afford of geographical mutations. chapter ix. the order of succession of the regions.--cosmopolitan groups of animals.--tables of distribution. order of succession of the regions (p. )--cosmopolitan groups (p. ) --tables of distributions of families and genera (p. ) - chapter x. the palÆarctic region. zoological characteristics of the palæarctic region (p. )--summary of palæarctic vertebrata (p. )--insects (p. )--land-shells (p. )-- the palæarctic sub-regions (p. )--central and northern europe (p. ) --north european islands (p. )--mediterranean sub-region (p. )-- the mediterranean and atlantic islands (p. )--the siberian sub-region, or northern asia (p. )--japan and north china, or the manchurian sub-region (p. )--birds (p. )--insects (p. )--remarks on the general character of the fauna of japan (p. )--general conclusions as to the fauna of the palæarctic region (p. )--table i. families of animals inhabiting the palæarctic region (p. )--table ii. list of the genera of terrestrial mammalia and birds of the palæarctic region (p. ) - chapter xi. the ethiopian region. zoological characteristics of the ethiopian region (p. )--summary of ethiopian vertebrates (p. )--the ethiopian sub-regions (p. )--the east african sub-region, or central and east africa (p. )--the west african sub-region (p. )--islands of the west african sub-region (p. )--south african sub-region (p. )--atlantic islands of the ethiopian region;--st. helena (p. )--tristan d'acunha (p. )-- madagascar and the mascarene islands, or the malagasy sub-region (p. ) --the mascarene islands (p. )--extinct fauna of the mascarene islands and madagascar (p. )--general remarks on the insect fauna of madagascar (p. )--on the probable past history of the ethiopian region (p. )--table i. families of animals inhabiting the ethiopian region (p. )--table ii. list of genera of terrestrial mammalia and birds of the ethiopian region (p. ) - chapter xii. the oriental region. zoological characteristics of the oriental region (p. )--summary of oriental vertebrata (p. )--the oriental sub-regions (p. )-- hindostan, or indian sub-region (p. )--range of the genera of mammalia which inhabit the sub-region of hindostan (p. )--oriental, palæarctic, and ethiopian genera of birds in central india (p. )--sub-region of ceylon and south india (p. )--the past history of ceylon and south india, as indicated by its fauna (p. )--himalayan or indo-chinese sub-region (p. )--islands of the indo-chinese sub-region (p. )-- indo-malaya, or the malayan sub-region (p. )--malayan insects (p. ) --the zoological relations of the several islands of the indo-malay sub-region (p. )--philippine islands (p. )--java (p. )--malacca, sumatra, and borneo (p. )--probable recent geographical changes in the indo-malay islands (p. )--probable origin of the malayan fauna (p. )--concluding remarks on the oriental region (p. )--table i. families of animals inhabiting the oriental region (p. )--table ii. genera of terrestrial mammalia and birds in the oriental region (p. ) - chapter xiii. the australian region. general zoological characteristics of the australian region (p. )-- summary of the australian vertebrata (p. )--supposed land-connection between australia and south america (p. )--insects (p. )-- land-shells (p. )--australian sub-regions (p. )--austro-malayan sub-region (p. )--papua, or the new guinea group (p. )--the moluccas (p. )--insects--peculiarities of the moluccan fauna (p. ) --timor group (p. )--celebes group (p. )--origin of the fauna of celebes (p. )--australia and tasmania, or the australian sub-region (p. )--the pacific islands, or polynesian sub-region (p. )--fiji, tonga, and samoa islands (p. )--society and marquesas islands (p. ) --ladrone and caroline islands (p. )--new caledonia and the new hebrides (p. )--sandwich islands (p. )--reptiles of the polynesian sub-region (p. )--new zealand sub-region (p. )--islets of the new zealand sub-region (p. )--reptiles, amphibia, and fresh-water fishes (p. )--insects (p. )--the ancient fauna of new zealand (p. )-- the origin of the new zealand fauna (p. )--causes of the poverty of insect-life in new zealand: its influence on the character of the flora (p. )--concluding remarks on the early history of the australian region (p. )--table i. families of animals inhabiting the australian region (p. )--table ii. genera of terrestrial mammalia and birds of the australian region (p. ) - index to vol. i - maps and illustrations in vol. i. . map of the world, showing the zoo-geographical regions and the contour of the ocean-bed _frontispiece_ _to face page_ . map of the palæarctic region . plate i. the alps of central europe with characteristic animals . plate ii. characteristic mammalia of western tartary . plate iii. characteristic animals of north china . map of the ethiopian region . plate iv. characteristic animals of east africa . plate v. scene in west africa with characteristic animals . plate vi. scene in madagascar with characteristic animals . map of the oriental region . plate vii. scene in nepaul with characteristic animals . plate viii. a forest in borneo with characteristic mammalia . plate ix. a malacca forest with some of its peculiar birds . map of the australian region . plate x. scene in new guinea with characteristic animals . plate xi. the characteristic mammalia of tasmania . plate xii. the plains of new south wales with characteristic animals . plate xiii. scene in new zealand with some of its remarkable birds errata in vol. i. i have detected several misprints and small errors in the final impression, and dr. meyer, who has translated the work into german, has kindly communicated all that he has noticed. it is not thought necessary to give here all the smaller orthographical errors, most of which will be corrected in the index. the following seem, however, to be of sufficient importance to justify me in asking my readers to correct them in their copies. page , lines from foot, _for_ hocco _read_ hoazin. " , line , _for_ hocco _read_ hoazin. " , lines from foot, _for_ three-handed _read_ three-banded. " , line , _for_ lycænidæ _read_ zygænidæ. " , line , _for_ third _read_ fourth. " , line , _for_ spirigidea _read_ sphingidea. " , _insert_ | a | tamias | | all northern asia | n. america. " , last line, _insert in nd column_ ( ). " , line , _for_ motacilla _read_ budytes. " , lines from foot, _after_ hindostan _read_ and. " , last line, for _icthyopsis_ read _icthyophis_. " , line , for _edolius_ read _bhringa_. " , line , _for_ flores _read_ new guinea. " , lines from foot, _for_ and borneo _read_ borneo and philippines. " , lines from foot, _after_ celebes _add_ and the papuan islands. " , lines from foot, _omit_ new guinea or. " , lines from foot, for _epimachus_ read _seleucides_. " , line _for_ ditto _read_ ditto. " , line , _after_ celebes _add_ and on some of the philippine islands. " , lines from foot, _for_ tusks _read_ jaw. " , lines from foot, _for_ p. _read_ p. . " , lines from foot, _after_ celebes _add_ papua. the geographical distribution of animals. part i. _the principles and general phenomena of distribution._ { }chapter i. introductory. it is a fact within the experience of most persons, that the various species of animals are not uniformly dispersed over the surface of the country. if we have a tolerable acquaintance with any district, be it a parish, a county, or a larger extent of territory, we soon become aware that each well-marked portion of it has some peculiarities in its animal productions. if we want to find certain birds or certain insects, we have not only to choose the right season but to go to the right place. if we travel beyond our district in various directions we shall almost certainly meet with something new to us; some species which we were accustomed to see almost daily will disappear, others which we have never seen before will make their appearance. if we go very far, so as to be able to measure our journey by degrees of latitude and longitude and to perceive important changes of climate and vegetation, the differences in the forms of animal life will become greater; till at length we shall come to a country where almost everything will be new, all the familiar creatures of our own district being replaced by others more or less differing from them. if we have been observant during our several journeys, and have combined and compared the facts we have collected, it will become apparent that the change we have witnessed has been of two distinct kinds. in our own and immediately surrounding districts, particular species appeared and disappeared because { }the soil, the aspect, or the vegetation, was adapted to them or the reverse. the marshes, the heaths, the woods and forests, the chalky downs, the rocky mountains, had each their peculiar inhabitants, which reappeared again and again as we came to tracts of country suitable for them. but as we got further away we began to find that localities very similar to those we had left behind were inhabited by a somewhat different set of species; and this difference increased with distance, notwithstanding that almost identical external conditions might be often met with. the first class of changes is that of _stations_; the second that of _habitats_. the one is a _local_, the other a _geographical_ phenomenon. the whole area over which a particular animal is found may consist of any number of _stations_, but rarely of more than one _habitat_. stations, however, are often so extensive as to include the entire range of many species. such are the great seas and oceans, the siberian or the amazonian forests, the north african deserts, the andean or the himalayan highlands. there is yet another difference in the nature of the change we have been considering. the new animals which we meet with as we travel in any direction from our starting point, are some of them very much like those we have left behind us, and can be at once referred to familiar types; while others are altogether unlike anything we have seen at home. when we reach the alps we find another kind of squirrel, in southern italy a distinct mole, in southern europe fresh warblers and unfamiliar buntings. we meet also with totally new forms; as the glutton and the snowy owl in northern, the genet and the hoopoe in southern, and the saiga antelope and collared pratincole in eastern europe. the first series are examples of what are termed _representative species_, the second of distinct groups or _types_ of animals. the one represents a comparatively recent modification, and an origin in or near the locality where it occurs; the other is a result of very ancient changes both organic and inorganic, and is connected with some of the most curious and difficult of the problems we shall have to discuss. { }having thus defined our subject, let us glance at the opinions that have generally prevailed as to the nature and causes of the phenomena presented by the geographical distribution of animals. it was long thought, and is still a popular notion, that the manner in which the various kinds of animals are dispersed over the globe is almost wholly due to diversities of climate and of vegetation. there is indeed much to favour this belief. the arctic regions are strongly characterised by their white bears and foxes, their reindeer, ermine, and walruses, their white ptarmigan, owls, and falcons; the temperate zone has its foxes and wolves, its rabbits, sheep, beavers, and marmots, its sparrows and its song birds; while tropical regions alone produce apes and elephants, parrots and peacocks, and a thousand strange quadrupeds and brilliant birds which are found nowhere in the cooler regions. so the camel, the gazelle and the ostrich live in the desert; the bison on the prairie; the tapir, the deer, and the jaguar in forests. mountains and marshes, plains and rocky precipices, have each their animal inhabitants; and it might well be thought, in the absence of accurate inquiry, that these and other differences would sufficiently explain why most of the regions and countries into which the earth is popularly divided should have certain animals peculiar to them and should want others which are elsewhere abundant. a more detailed and accurate knowledge of the productions of different portions of the earth soon showed that this explanation was quite insufficient; for it was found that countries exceedingly similar in climate and all physical features may yet have very distinct animal populations. the equatorial parts of africa and south america, for example, are very similar in climate and are both covered with luxuriant forests, yet their animal life is widely different; elephants, apes, leopards, guinea-fowls and touracos in the one, are replaced by tapirs, prehensile-tailed monkeys, jaguars, curassows and toucans in the other. again, parts of south africa and australia are wonderfully similar in their soil and climate; yet one has lions, antelopes, zebras and giraffes; the other only kangaroos, wombats, { }phalangers and mice. in like manner parts of north america and europe are very similar in all essentials of soil climate and vegetation, yet the former has racoons, opossums, and humming-birds; while the latter possesses moles, hedgehogs and true flycatchers. equally striking are the facts presented by the distribution of many large and important groups of animals. marsupials (opossums, phalangers &c.) are found from temperate van diemen's land to the tropical islands of new guinea and celebes, and in america from chili to virginia. no crows exist in south america, while they inhabit every other part of the world, not excepting australia. antelopes are found only in africa and asia; the sloths only in south america; the true lemurs are confined to madagascar, and the birds-of-paradise to new guinea. if we examine more closely the distribution of animals in any extensive region, we find that different, though closely allied species, are often found on the opposite sides of any considerable barrier to their migration. thus, on the two sides of the andes and rocky mountains in america, almost all the mammalia, birds, and insects are of distinct species. to a less extent, the alps and pyrenees form a similar barrier, and even great rivers and river plains, as those of the amazon and ganges, separate more or less distinct groups of animals. arms of the sea are still more effective, if they are permanent; a circumstance in some measure indicated by their depth. thus islands far away from land almost always have very peculiar animals found nowhere else; as is strikingly the case in madagascar and new zealand, and to a less degree in the west india islands. but shallow straits, like the english channel or the straits of malacca, are not found to have the same effect, the animals being nearly or quite identical on their opposite shores. a change of climate or a change of vegetation may form an equally effective barrier to migration. many tropical and polar animals are pretty accurately limited by certain isothermal lines; and the limits of the great forests in most parts of the world strictly determine the ranges of many species. naturalists have now arrived at the conclusion, that by some { }slow process of development or transmutation, all animals have been produced from those which preceded them; and the old notion that every species was specially created as they now exist, at a particular time and in a particular spot, is abandoned as opposed to many striking facts, and unsupported by any evidence. this modification of animal forms took place very slowly, so that the historical period of three or four thousand years has hardly produced any perceptible change in a single species. even the time since the last glacial epoch, which on the very lowest estimate must be from , to , years, has only served to modify a few of the higher animals into very slightly different species. the changes of the forms of animals appear to have accompanied, and perhaps to have depended on, changes of physical geography, of climate, or of vegetation; since it is evident that an animal which is well adapted to one condition of things will require to be slightly changed in constitution or habits, and therefore generally in form, structure, or colour, in order to be equally well adapted to a changed condition of surrounding circumstances. animals multiply so rapidly, that we may consider them as continually trying to extend their range; and thus any new land raised above the sea by geological causes becomes immediately peopled by a crowd of competing inhabitants, the strongest and best adapted of which alone succeed in maintaining their position. if we keep in view these facts--that the minor features of the earth's surface are everywhere slowly changing; that the forms, and structure, and habits of all living things are also slowly changing; while the great features of the earth, the continents, and oceans, and loftiest mountain ranges, only change after very long intervals and with extreme slowness; we must see that the present distribution of animals upon the several parts of the earth's surface is the final product of all these wonderful revolutions in organic and inorganic nature. the greatest and most radical differences in the productions of any part of the globe must be dependent on isolation by the most effectual and most permanent barriers. that ocean which has remained broadest and deepest from the most remote geological epoch { }will separate countries the productions of which most widely and radically differ; while the most recently-depressed seas, or the last-formed mountain ranges, will separate countries the productions of which are almost or quite identical. it will be evident, therefore, that the study of the distribution of animals and plants may add greatly to our knowledge of the past history of our globe. it may reveal to us, in a manner which no other evidence can, which are the oldest and most permanent features of the earth's surface, and which the newest. it may indicate the existence of islands or continents now sunk beneath the ocean, and which have left no record of their existence save the animal and vegetable productions which have migrated to adjacent lands. it thus becomes an important adjunct to geology, which can rarely do more than determine what lands have been raised above the waters, under what conditions and at what period; but can seldom ascertain anything of the position or extent of those which have sunk beneath it. our present study may often enable us, not only to say where lands must have recently disappeared, but also to form some judgment as to their extent, and the time that has elapsed since their submersion. having thus briefly sketched the nature and objects of the subject we have to study, it will be necessary--before entering on a detailed examination of the zoological features of the different parts of the earth, and of the distribution of the orders, families, and genera of animals--to examine certain preliminary facts and principles essential for our guidance. we must first inquire what are the powers of multiplication and dispersal of the various groups of animals, and the nature of the barriers that most effectually limit their range. we have then to consider the effects of changes in physical geography and in climate; to examine the nature and extent of such changes as have been known to occur; to determine what others are possible or probable; and to ascertain the various modes in which such changes affect the structure, the distribution, or the very existence of animals. { }two subjects of a different nature must next engage our attention. we have to deal with two vast masses of facts, each involving countless details, and requiring subdivision and grouping to be capable of intelligible treatment. all the continents and their chief subdivisions, and all the more important islands of the globe, have to be compared as regards their various animal forms. to do this effectively we require a natural division of the earth especially adapted to our purpose; and we shall have to discuss at some length the reasons for the particular system adopted,--a discussion which must to some extent anticipate and summarize the conclusions of the whole work. we have also to deal with many hundreds of families and many thousands of genera of animals, and here too a true and natural classification is of great importance. we must therefore give a connected view of the classification adopted in the various classes of animals dealt with. and lastly, as the existing distribution of animals is the result and outcome of all preceding changes of the earth and of its inhabitants, we require as much knowledge as we can get of the animals of each country during past geological epochs, in order to interpret the facts we shall accumulate. we shall, therefore, enter upon a somewhat detailed sketch of the various forms of extinct animals that have lived upon the earth during the tertiary period; discuss their migrations at various epochs, the changes of physical geography that they imply, and the extent to which they enable us to determine the birthplace of certain families and genera. the preliminary studies above enumerated will, it is believed, enable us to see the bearing of many facts in the distribution of animals that would otherwise be insoluble problems; and, what is hardly less valuable, will teach us to estimate the comparative importance of the various groups of animals, and to avoid the common error of cutting the gordian knot of each difficulty by vast hypothetical changes in existing continents and oceans--probably the most permanent features of our globe. { }chapter ii. the means of dispersal and the migrations of animals. all animals are capable of multiplying so rapidly, that if a single pair were placed in a continent with abundance of food and no enemies, they might fully stock it in a very short time. thus, a bird which produces ten pairs of young during its lifetime (and this is far below the fertility of many birds) will, if we take its life at five years, increase to a hundred millions in about forty years, a number sufficient to stock a large country. many fishes and insects are capable of multiplying several thousandfold each year, so that in a few years they would reach billions and trillions. even large and slow breeding mammals, which have only one at a birth but continue to breed from eight to ten successive years, may increase from a single pair to ten millions in less than forty years. but as animals rarely have an unoccupied country to breed in, and as the food in any one district is strictly limited, their natural tendency is to roam in every direction in search of fresh pastures, or new hunting grounds. in doing so, however, they meet with many obstacles. rocks and mountains have to be climbed, rivers or marshes to be crossed, deserts or forests to be traversed; while narrow straits or wider arms of the sea separate islands from the main land or continents from each other. we have now to inquire what facilities the different classes of animals have for overcoming these obstacles, and what kind of barriers are most effectual in checking their progress. _means of dispersal of mammalia._--many of the largest mammalia are able to roam over whole continents and are hardly { }stopped by any physical obstacles. the elephant is almost equally at home on plains and mountains, and it even climbs to the highest summit of adam's peak in ceylon, which is so steep and rocky as to be very difficult of ascent for man. it traverses rivers with great ease and forces its way through the densest jungle. there seems therefore to be no limit to its powers of wandering, but the necessity of procuring food and its capacity of enduring changes of climate. the tiger is another animal with great powers of dispersal. it crosses rivers and sometimes even swims over narrow straits of the sea, and it can endure the severe cold of north china and tartary as well as the heats of the plains of bengal. the rhinoceros, the lion, and many of the ruminants have equal powers of dispersal; so that wherever there is land and sufficient food, there are no limits to their possible range. other groups of animals are more limited in their migrations. the apes, lemurs, and many monkeys are so strictly adapted to an arboreal life that they can never roam far beyond the limits of the forest vegetation. the same may be said of the squirrels, the opossums, the arboreal cats, and the sloths, with many other groups of less importance. deserts or open country are equally essential to the existence of others. the camel, the hare, the zebra, the giraffe and many of the antelopes could not exist in a forest country any more than could the jerboas or the prairie marmots. there are other animals which are confined to mountains, and could not extend their range into lowlands or forests. the goats and the sheep are the most striking group of this kind, inhabiting many of the highest mountains of the globe; of which the european ibex and mouflon are striking examples. rivers are equally necessary to the existence of others, as the beaver, otter, water-vole and capybara; and to such animals high mountain-ranges or deserts must form an absolutely impassable barrier. _climate as a limit to the range of mammals._--climate appears to limit the range of many animals, though there is some reason to believe that in many cases it is not the climate itself so much as the change of vegetation consequent on climate which produces the effect. the quadrumana appear to be limited by climate, { }since they inhabit almost all the tropical regions but do not range more than about ° beyond the southern and ° beyond the northern tropic, while the great bulk of the species are found only within an equatorial belt about ° wide. but as these animals are almost exclusively fruit-eaters, their distribution depends as much on vegetation as on temperature; and this is strikingly shown by the fact that the _semnopithecus schistaceus_ inhabits the himalayan mountains to a height of , feet, where it has been seen leaping among fir-trees loaded with snow-wreaths! some northern animals are bounded by the isothermal of °. such are the polar bear and the walrus, which cannot live in a state of nature far beyond the limits of the frozen ocean; but as they live in confinement in temperate countries, their range is probably limited by other conditions than temperature. we must not therefore be too hasty in concluding, that animals which we now see confined to a very hot or a very cold climate are incapable of living in any other. the tiger was once considered a purely tropical animal, but it inhabits permanently the cold plains of manchuria and the amoor, a country of an almost arctic winter climate. few animals seem to us more truly inhabitants of hot countries than the elephants and rhinoceroses; yet in post-tertiary times they roamed over the whole of the northern continents to within the arctic circle; and we know that the climate was then as cold as it is now, from their entire bodies being preserved in ice. some change must recently have occurred either in the climate, soil, or vegetation of northern asia which led to the extinction of these forerunners of existing tropical species; and we must always bear in mind that similar changes may have acted upon other species which we now find restricted within narrow limits, but which may once have roamed over a wide and varied territory. _valleys and rivers as barriers to mammals._--to animals which thrive best in dry and hilly regions, a broad level and marshy valley must often prove an effectual barrier. the difference of vegetation and of insect life, together with an unhealthy atmosphere, no doubt often checks migration if it is attempted. thus { }many animals are restricted to the slopes of the himalayas or to the mountains of central india, the flat valley of the ganges forming a limit to their range. in other cases, however, it is the river rather than the valley which is the barrier. in the great amazonian plains many species of monkeys, birds, and even insects are found up to the river banks on one side but do not cross to the other. thus in the lower part of the rio negro two monkeys, the _jacchus bicolor_ and the _brachiurus couxiou_, are found on the north bank of the river but never on the south, where a red-whiskered _pithecia_ is alone found. higher up _ateles paniscus_ extends to the north bank of the river while _lagothrix humboldtii_ comes down to the south bank; the former being a native of guiana, the latter of ecuador. the range of the birds of the genus _psophia_ or trumpeters, is also limited by the rivers amazon, madeira, rio negro and some others; so that in these cases we are able to define the limits of distribution with an unusual degree of accuracy, and there is little doubt the same barriers also limit a large number of other species. _arms of the sea as barriers to mammals._--very few mammals can swim over any considerable extent of sea, although many can swim well for short distances. the jaguar traverses the widest streams in south america, and the bear and bison cross the mississippi; and there can be no doubt that they could swim over equal widths of salt water, and if accidentally carried out to sea might sometimes succeed in reaching islands many miles distant. contrary to the common notion pigs can swim remarkably well. sir charles lyell tells us in his "principles of geology" that during the floods in scotland in , some pigs only six months old that were carried out to sea, swam five miles and got on shore again. he also states, on the authority of the late edward forbes, that a pig jumped overboard to escape from a terrier in the grecian archipelago, and swam safely to shore many miles distant. these facts render it probable that wild pigs, from their greater strength and activity, might under favourable circumstances cross arms of the sea twenty or thirty miles wide; and there are facts in the distribution of this tribe of animals which seem to indicate that they have sometimes done so. deer { }take boldly to the water and can swim considerable distances, but we have no evidence to show how long they could live at sea or how many miles they could traverse. squirrels, rats, and lemmings often migrate from northern countries in bands of thousands and hundreds of thousands, and pass over rivers, lakes and even arms of the sea, but they generally perish in the saltwater. admitting, however, the powers of most mammals to swim considerable distances, we have no reason to believe that any of them could traverse without help straits of upwards of twenty miles in width, while in most cases a channel of half that distance would prove an effectual barrier. _ice-floes and driftwood as aiding the dispersal of mammals._--in the arctic regions icebergs originate in glaciers which descend into the sea, and often bear masses of gravel, earth, and even some vegetation on their surfaces; and extensive level ice-fields break away and float southwards. these might often carry with them such arctic quadrupeds as frequent the ice, or even on rare occasions true land-animals, which might sometimes be stranded on distant continents or islands. but a more effectual because a more wide-spread agent, is to be found in the uprooted trees and rafts of driftwood often floated down great rivers and carried out to sea. such rafts or islands are sometimes seen drifting a hundred miles from the mouth of the ganges with living trees erect upon them; and the amazon, the orinoco, mississippi, congo, and most great rivers produce similar rafts. spix and martius declare that they saw at different times on the amazon, monkeys, tiger-cats, and squirrels, being thus carried down the stream. on the parana, pumas, squirrels, and many other quadrupeds have been seen on these rafts; and admiral w. h. smyth informed sir c. lyell that among the philippine islands after a hurricane, he met with floating masses of wood with trees growing upon them, so that they were at first mistaken for islands till it was found that they were rapidly drifting along. here therefore, we have ample means for carrying all the smaller and especially the arboreal mammals out to sea; and although in most cases they would perish there, yet in some favourable instances strong winds or { }unusual tidal currents might carry them safely to shores perhaps several hundred miles from their native country. the fact of green trees so often having been seen erect on these rafts is most important; for they would act as a sail by which the raft might he propelled in one direction for several days in succession, and thus at last reach a shore to which a current alone would never have carried it. there are two groups of mammals which have quite exceptional means of dispersal--the bats which fly, and the cetacea, seals, &c., which swim. the former are capable of traversing considerable spaces of sea, since two north american species either regularly or occasionally visit the bermudas, a distance of miles from the mainland. the oceanic mammals (whales and porpoises) seem to have no barrier but temperature; the polar species being unable to cross the equator, while the tropical forms are equally unfitted for the cold polar waters. the shore-feeding manatees, however, can only live where they find food; and a long expanse of rocky coast would probably be as complete a barrier to them as a few hundred miles of open ocean. the amphibious seals and walruses seem many of them to be capable of making long sea journeys, some of the species being found on islands a thousand miles apart, but none of the arctic are identical with the antartic species. the otters with one exception are freshwater animals, and we have no reason to believe they could or would traverse any great distances of salt water. in fact, they would be less liable to dispersal across arms of the sea than purely terrestrial species, since their powers of swimming would enable them to regain the shore if accidentally carried out to sea by a sudden flood. _means of dispersal of birds._--it would seem at first sight that no barriers could limit the range of birds, and that they ought to be the most ubiquitous of living things, and little fitted therefore to throw any light on the laws or causes of the geographical distribution of animals. this, however, is far from being the case; many groups of birds are almost as strictly limited by barriers as the mammalia; and from their larger numbers and the avidity with which they have been collected, they furnish { }materials of the greatest value for our present study. the different groups of birds offer remarkable contrasts in the extent of their range, some being the most cosmopolite of the higher animals, while others are absolutely confined to single spots on the earth's surface. the petrels (_procellariidæ_) and the gulls (_laridæ_) are among the greatest wanderers; but most of the species are confined to one or other of the great oceans, or to the arctic or antarctic seas, a few only being found with scarcely any variation over almost the whole globe. the sandpipers and plovers wander along the shores as far as do the petrels over the ocean. great numbers of them breed in the arctic regions and migrate as far as india and australia, or down to chili and brazil; the species of the old and new worlds, however, being generally distinct. in striking contrast to these wide ranges we find many of the smaller perching birds, with some of the parrots and pigeons, confined to small islands of a few square miles in extent, or to single valleys or mountains on the mainland. _dispersal of birds by winds._--those groups of birds which possess no powers of flight, such as the ostrich, cassowary, and apteryx, are in exactly the same position as mammalia as regards their means of dispersal, or are perhaps even inferior to them; since, although they are able to cross rivers by swimming, it is doubtful if they could remain so long in the water as most land quadrupeds. a very large number of short-winged birds, such as toucans, pittas, and wrens, are perhaps worse off; for they can fly very few miles at a time, and on falling into the water would soon be drowned. it is only the strong-flying species that can venture to cross any great width of sea; and even these rarely do so unless compelled by necessity to migrate in search of food, or to a more genial climate. small and weak birds are, however, often carried accidentally across great widths of ocean by violent gales. this is well exemplified by the large numbers of stragglers from north america, which annually reach the bermudas. no less than sixty-nine species of american birds have occurred in europe, most of them in britain and heligoland. they consist chiefly of migratory birds which in autumn { }return along the eastern coasts of the united states, and often fly from point to point across bays and inlets. they are then liable to be blown out to sea by storms, which are prevalent at this season; and it is almost always at this time of year that their occurrence has been noted on the shores of europe. it may, however, be doubted whether this is not an altogether modern phenomenon, dependent on the number of vessels constantly on the atlantic which afford resting-places to the wanderers; as it is hardly conceivable that such birds as titlarks, cuckoos, wrens, warblers, and rails, could remain on the wing without food or rest, the time requisite to pass over , miles of ocean. it is somewhat remarkable that no european birds reach the american coast but a few which pass by way of iceland and greenland; whereas a considerable number do reach the azores, fully half way across; so that their absence can hardly be due to the prevailing winds being westerly. the case of the azores is, however, an argument for the unassisted passage of birds for that distance; since two of the finches are peculiar 'species,' but closely allied to european forms, so that their progenitors must, probably, have reached the islands before the atlantic was a commercial highway. _barriers to the dispersal of birds._--we have seen that, as a rule, wide oceans are an almost absolute barrier to the passage of most birds from one continent to another; but much narrower seas and straits are also very effectual barriers where the habits of the birds are such as to preserve them from being carried away by storms. all birds which frequent thickets and forests, and which feed near or on the ground, are secure from such accidents; and they are also restricted in their range by the extent of the forests they inhabit. in south america a large number of the birds have their ranges determined by the extent of the forest country, while others are equally limited to the open plains. such species are also bounded by mountain ranges whenever these rise above the woody region. great rivers, such as the amazon, also limit the range of many birds, even when there would seem to be no difficulty in their crossing them. the supply of food, and the kind of vegetation, soil, and climate { }best suited to a bird's habits, are probably the causes which mark out the exact limits of the range of each species; to which must be added the prevalence of enemies of either the parent birds, the eggs, or the young. in the malay archipelago pigeons abound most where monkeys do not occur; and in south america the same birds are comparatively scarce in the forest plains where monkeys are very abundant, while they are plentiful on the open plains and campos, and on the mountain plateaux, where these nest-hunting quadrupeds are rarely found. some birds are confined to swamps, others to mountains; some can only live on rocky streams, others on deserts or grassy plains. _the phenomena of migration._--the term "migration" is often applied to the periodical or irregular movements of all animals; but it may be questioned whether there are any regular migrants but birds and fishes. the annual or periodical movements of mammalia are of a different class. monkeys ascend the himalayas in summer to a height of , to , feet, and descend again in winter. wolves everywhere descend from the mountains to the lowlands in severe weather. in dry seasons great herds of antelopes move southwards towards the cape of good hope. the well-known lemmings, in severe winters, at long intervals, move down from the mountains of scandinavia in immense numbers, crossing lakes and rivers, eating their way through haystacks, and surmounting every obstacle till they reach the sea, whence very few return. the alpine hare, the arctic fox, and many other animals, exhibit similar phenomena on a smaller scale; and generally it may be said, that whenever a favourable succession of seasons has led to a great multiplication of any species, it must on the pressure of hunger seek food in fresh localities. for such movements as these we have no special term. the summer and winter movements best correspond to true migration, but they are always on a small scale, and of limited extent; the other movements are rather temporary incursions than true migrations. the annual movements of many fishes are more strictly analogous to the migration of birds, since they take place in large bodies and often to considerable distances, and are { }immediately connected with the process of reproduction. some, as the salmon, enter rivers; others, as the herring and mackerel, approach the coast in the breeding season; but the exact course of their migrations is unknown, and owing to our complete ignorance of the area each species occupies in the ocean, and the absence of such barriers and of such physical diversities as occur on the land, they are of far less interest and less connected with our present study than the movements of birds, to which we shall now confine ourselves. _migrations of birds._--in all the temperate parts of the globe there are a considerable number of birds which reside only a part of the year, regularly arriving and leaving at tolerably fixed epochs. in our own country many northern birds visit us in winter, such as the fieldfare, redwing, snow-bunting, turnstone, and numerous ducks and waders; with a few, like the black redstart, and (according to rev. c. a. johns) some of the woodcocks from the south. in the summer a host of birds appear--the cuckoo, the swifts and swallows, and numerous warblers, being the most familiar,--which stay to build their nests and rear their young, and then leave us again. these are true migrants; but a number of other birds visit us occasionally, like the waxwing, the oriole, and the beefeater, and can only be classed as stragglers, which, perhaps from too rapid multiplication one year and want of food the next, are driven to extend their ordinary range of migration to an unusual degree. we will now endeavour to sketch the chief phenomena of migration in different countries. _europe._--it is well ascertained that most of the birds that spend their spring and summer in the temperate parts of europe pass the winter in north africa and western asia. the winter visitants, on the other hand, pass the summer in the extreme north of europe and asia, many of them having been found to breed in lapland. the arrival of migratory birds from the south is very constant as to date, seldom varying more than a week or two, without any regard to the weather at the time; but the departure is less constant, and more dependent on the weather. thus the swallow always comes to us about the middle { }of april, however cold it may be, while its departure may take place from the end of september to late in october, and is said by forster to occur on the first n. or n.e. wind after the th of september. almost all the migratory birds of europe go southward to the mediterranean, move along its coasts east or west, and cross over in three places only; either from the south of spain, in the neighbourhood of gibraltar, from sicily over malta, or to the east by greece and cyprus. they are thus always in sight of land. the passage of most small birds (and many of the larger ones too) takes place at night; and they only cross the mediterranean when the wind is steady from near the east or west, and when there is moonlight. it is a curious fact, but one that seems to be well authenticated, that the males often leave before the females, and both before the young birds, which in considerable numbers migrate later and alone. these latter, however, seldom go so far as the old ones; and numbers of young birds do not cross the mediterranean, but stay in the south of europe. the same rule applies to the northward migration; the young birds stopping short of the extreme arctic regions, to which the old birds migrate.[ ] when old and young go together, however, the old birds take the lead. in the south of europe few of the migratory birds stay to breed, but pass on to more temperate zones; thus, in the south of france, out of species only breed there. the same species is often sedentary in one part of europe and migratory in another; thus, the chaffinch is a constant resident in england, germany, and the middle of france; but a migrant in the south of france and in holland: the rook visits the south of france in winter only: the _falco tinnunculus_ is both a resident and a migrant in the south of france, according to m. marcel de serres, there being two regular passages every year, while a certain number always remain. { }we see, then, that migration is governed by certain intelligible laws; and that it varies in many of its details, even in the same species, according to changed conditions. it may be looked upon as an exaggeration of a habit common to all locomotive animals, of moving about in search of food. this habit is greatly restricted in quadrupeds by their inability to cross the sea or even to pass through the highly-cultivated valleys of such countries as europe; but the power of flight in birds enables them to cross every kind of country, and even moderate widths of sea; and as they mostly travel at night and high in the air, their movements are difficult to observe, and are supposed to be more mysterious than they perhaps are. in the tropics birds move about to different districts according as certain fruits become ripe, certain insects abundant, or as flooded tracts dry up. on the borders of the tropics and the temperate zone extends a belt of country of a more or less arid character, and liable to be parched at the summer solstice. in winter and early spring its northern margin is verdant, but it soon becomes burnt up, and most of its birds necessarily migrate to the more fertile regions to the north of them. they thus follow the spring or summer as it advances from the south towards the pole, feeding on the young flower buds, the abundance of juicy larvæ, and on the ripening fruits; and as soon as these become scarce they retrace their steps homewards to pass the winter. others whose home is nearer the pole are driven south by cold, hunger, and darkness, to more hospitable climes, returning northward in the early summer. as a typical example of a migratory bird, let us take the nightingale. during the winter this bird inhabits almost all north africa, asia minor, and the jordan valley. early in april it passes into europe by the three routes already mentioned, and spreads over france, britain, denmark, and the south of sweden, which it reaches by the beginning of may. it does not enter brittany, the channel islands, or the western part of england, never visiting wales, except the extreme south of glamorganshire, and rarely extending farther north than yorkshire. it spreads over central europe, through austria and hungary to southern russia and the warmer parts of siberia, { }but it nevertheless breeds in the jordan valley, so that in some places it is only the surplus population that migrates. in august and september, all who can return to their winter quarters. migrations of this type probably date back from at least the period when there was continuous land along the route passed over; and it is a suggestive fact that this land connection is known to have existed in recent geological times. britain was connected with the continent during, and probably before, the glacial epoch; and gibraltar, as well as sicily and malta, were also recently united with africa, as is proved by the fossil elephants and other large mammalia found in their caverns, by the comparatively shallow water still existing in this part of the mediterranean while the remainder is of oceanic profundity, and by the large amount of identity in the species of land animals still inhabiting the opposite shores of the mediterranean. the submersion of these two tracts of land (which were perhaps of considerable extent) would be a slow process, and from year to year the change might be hardly perceptible. it is easy to see how the migration that had once taken place over continuous land would be kept up, first over lagoons and marshes, then over a narrow channel, and subsequently over a considerable sea, no one generation of birds ever perceiving any difference in the route. there is, however, no doubt that the sea-passage is now very dangerous to many birds. quails cross in immense flocks, and great numbers are drowned at sea whenever the weather is unfavourable. some individuals always stay through the winter in the south of europe, and a few even in england and ireland; and were the sea to become a little wider the migration would cease, and the quail, like some other birds, would remain divided between south europe and north africa. aquatic birds are observed to follow the routes of great rivers and lakes, and the shores of the sea. one great body reaches central europe by way of the danube from the shores of the black sea; another ascends the rhone valley from the gulf of lyons. { }_india and china._--in the peninsula of india and in china great numbers of northern birds arrive during september and october, and leave from march to may. among the smaller birds are wagtails, pipits, larks, stonechats, warblers, thrushes, buntings, shrikes, starlings, hoopoes, and quails. some species of cranes and storks, many ducks, and great numbers of _scolopacidæ_ also visit india in winter; and to prey upon these come a band of rapacious birds--the peregrine falcon, the hobby, kestrel, common sparrowhawk, harrier, and the short-eared owl. these birds are almost all natives of europe and western asia; they spread over all northern and central india, mingling with the sedentary birds of the oriental fauna, and give to the ornithology of hindostan at this season quite a european aspect. the peculiar species of the higher himalayas do not as a rule descend to the plains in winter, but merely come lower down the mountains; and in southern india and ceylon comparatively few of these migratory birds appear. in china the migratory birds follow generally the coast line, coming southwards in winter from eastern siberia and northern japan; while a few purely tropical forms travel northwards in summer to japan, and on the mainland as far as the valley of the amoor. _north america._--the migrations of birds in north america have been carefully studied by resident naturalists, and present some interesting features. the birds of the eastern parts of north america are pre-eminently migratory, a much smaller proportion being permanent residents than in corresponding latitudes in europe. thus, in massachusetts there are only about species of birds which are resident all the year, while the regular summer visitors are . comparing with this our own country, though considerably further north, the proportions are reversed; there being residents and summer visitors. this difference is clearly due to the much greater length and severity of the winter, and the greater heat of summer, in america than with us. the number of permanent residents increases pretty regularly as we go southward; but the number of birds at any locality during the breeding season seems to increase as we go { }northward as far as canada, where, according to mr. allen, more species breed than in the warm southern states. even in the extreme north, beyond the limit of forests, there are no less than species which breed; in canada about ; while in carolina there are only , and in louisiana, . the extent of the migration varies greatly, some species only going a few degrees north and south, while others migrate annually from the tropics to the extreme north of the continent; and every gradation occurs between these extremes. among those which migrate furthest are the species of _dendroeca_, and other american flycatching warblers (_mniotiltidæ_), many of which breed on the shores of hudson's bay, and spend the winter in mexico or the west indian islands. the great migratory movement of american birds is almost wholly confined to the east coast; the birds of the high central plains and of california being for the most part sedentary, or only migrating for short distances. all the species which reach south america, and most of those which winter in mexico and guatemala, are exclusively eastern species; though a few rocky mountain birds range southward along the plateaux of mexico and guatemala, but probably not as regular annual migrants. in america as in europe birds appear in spring with great regularity, while the time of the autumnal return is less constant. more curious is the fact, also observed in both hemispheres, that they do not all return by the same route followed in going northwards, some species being constant visitors to certain localities in spring but not in autumn, others in autumn but not in spring. some interesting cases have been observed in america of a gradual alteration in the extent of the migration of certain birds. a mexican swallow (_hirundo lunifrons_) first appeared in ohio in . year by year it increased the extent of its range till by it had reached maine and canada; and it is now quoted by american writers as extending its annual migrations to hudson's bay. an american wren (_troglodytes ludovicianus_) is another bird which has spread considerably northwards since { }the time of the ornithologist wilson; and the rice-bird, or "bob-o'-link," of the americans, continually widens its range as rice and wheat are more extensively cultivated. this bird winters in cuba and other west indian islands, and probably also in mexico. in april it enters the southern states and passes northward, till in june it reaches canada and extends west to the saskatchewan river in ° north latitude. _south temperate america._--the migratory birds of this part of the world have been observed by mr. hudson at buenos ayres. as in europe and north america, there are winter and summer visitors, from patagonia and the tropics respectively. species of _pyrocephalus_, _milvulus_, swallows, and a hummingbird, are among the most regular of the summer visitors. they are all insectivorous birds. from patagonia species of _tænioptera_, _cinclodes_, and _centrites_, come in winter, with two gulls, two geese, and six snipes and plovers. five species of swallows appear at buenos ayres in spring, some staying to breed, others passing on to more temperate regions farther south. as a rule the birds which come late and leave early are the most regular. some are very irregular in their movements, the _molothrus bonariensis_, for example, sometimes leaves early in autumn, sometimes remains all the winter. some resident birds also move in winter to districts where they are never seen in summer. _general remarks on migration._--the preceding summary of the main facts of migration (which might have been almost indefinitely extended, owing to the great mass of detailed information that exists on the subject) appears to accord with the view already suggested, that the "instinct" of migration has arisen from the habit of wandering in search of food common to all animals, but greatly exaggerated in the case of birds by their powers of flight and by the necessity for procuring a large amount of soft insect food for their unfledged young. migration in its simple form may be best studied in north america, where it takes place over a continuous land surface with a considerable change of climate from south to north. we have here (as probably in europe and elsewhere) every grade of migration, from species which merely shift the northern and southern { }limits of their range a few hundred miles, so that in the central parts of the area the species is a permanent resident, to others which move completely over , miles of latitude, so that in all the intervening districts they are only known as birds of passage. now, just as the rice-bird and the mexican swallow have extended their migrations, owing to favourable conditions induced by human agency; so we may presume that large numbers of species would extend their range where favourable conditions arose through natural causes. if we go back only as far as the height of the glacial epoch, there is reason to believe that all north america, as far south as about ° north latitude, was covered with an almost continuous and perennial ice-sheet. at this time the migratory birds would extend up to this barrier (which would probably terminate in the midst of luxuriant vegetation, just as the glaciers of switzerland now often terminate amid forests and corn-fields), and as the cold decreased and the ice retired almost imperceptibly year by year, would follow it up farther and farther according as the peculiarities of vegetation and insect-food were more or less suited to their several constitutions. it is an ascertained fact that many individual birds return year after year to build their nests in the same spot. this shows a strong local attachment, and is, in fact, the faculty or feeling on which their very existence probably depends. for were they to wander at random each year, they would almost certainly not meet with places so well suited to them, and might even get into districts where they or their young would inevitably perish. it is also a curious fact that in so many cases the old birds migrate first, leaving the young ones behind, who follow some short time later, but do not go so far as their parents. this is very strongly opposed to the notion of an imperative instinct. the old birds have been before, the young have not; and it is only when the old ones have all or nearly all gone that the young go too, probably following some of the latest stragglers. they wander, however, almost at random, and the majority are destroyed before the next spring. this is proved by the fact that the birds which return in spring are as a rule not more numerous than those which came the { }preceding spring, whereas those which went away in autumn were two or three times as numerous. those young birds that do get back, however, have learnt by experience, and the next year they take care to go with the old ones. the most striking fact in favour of the "instinct" of migration is the "agitation," or excitement, of confined birds at the time when their wild companions are migrating. it seems probable, however, that this is what may be called a social excitement, due to the anxious cries of the migrating birds; a view supported by the fact stated by marcel de serres, that the black swan of australia, when domesticated in europe, sometimes joins wild swans in their northward migration. we must remember too that migration at the proper time is in many cases absolutely essential to the existence of the species; and it is therefore not improbable that some strong social emotion should have been gradually developed in the race, by the circumstance that all who for want of such emotion did not join their fellows inevitably perished. the mode by which a passage originally overland has been converted into one over the sea offers no insuperable difficulties, as has already been pointed out. the long flights of some birds without apparently stopping on the way is thought to be inexplicable, as well as their finding their nesting-place of the previous year from a distance of many hundreds or even a thousand miles. but the observant powers of animals are very great; and birds flying high in the air may be guided by the physical features of the country spread out beneath them in a way that would be impracticable to purely terrestrial animals. it is assumed by some writers that the breeding-place of a species is to be considered as its true home rather than that to which it retires in winter; but this can hardly be accepted as a rule of universal application. a bird can only breed successfully where it can find sufficient food for its young; and the reason probably why so many of the smaller birds leave the warm southern regions to breed in temperate or even cold latitudes, is because caterpillars and other soft insect larvæ are there abundant at the proper time, while in their winter home the { }larvæ have all changed into winged insects. but this favourable breeding district will change its position with change of climate; and as the last great change has been one of increased warmth in all the temperate zones, it is probable that many of the migratory birds are comparatively recent visitors. other changes may however have taken place, affecting the vegetation and consequently the insects of a district; and we have seldom the means of determining in any particular case in what direction the last extension of range occurred. for the purposes of the study of geographical distribution therefore, we must, except in special cases, consider the true range of a species to comprise all the area which it occupies regularly for any part of the year, while all those districts which it only visits at more or less distant intervals, apparently driven by storms or by hunger, and where it never regularly or permanently settles, should not be included as forming part of its area of distribution. _means of dispersal of reptiles and amphibia._--if we leave out of consideration the true marine groups--the turtles and sea-snakes--reptiles are scarcely more fitted for traversing seas and oceans than are mammalia. we accordingly find that in those oceanic islands which possess no indigenous mammals, land reptiles are also generally wanting. the several groups of these animals, however, differ considerably both in their means of dispersal and in their power of resisting adverse conditions. snakes are most dependent on climate, becoming very scarce in temperate and cold climates and entirely ceasing at ° north latitude, and they do not ascend very lofty mountains, ceasing at , feet elevation in the alps. some inhabit deserts, others swamps and marshes, while many are adapted for a life in forests. they swim rivers easily, but apparently have no means of passing the sea, since they are very rarely found on oceanic islands. lizards are also essentially tropical, but they go somewhat farther north than snakes, and ascend higher on the mountains, reaching , feet in the alps. they possess too some unknown means (probably in the egg-state) of passing over the ocean, since they are found to inhabit many islands where there are neither mammalia nor snakes. { }the amphibia are much less sensitive to cold than are true reptiles, and they accordingly extend much farther north, frogs being found within the arctic circle. their semi-aquatic life also gives them facilities for dispersal, and their eggs are no doubt sometimes carried by aquatic birds from one pond or stream to another. salt water is fatal to them as well as to their eggs, and hence it arises that they are seldom found in those oceanic islands from which mammalia are absent. deserts and oceans would probably form the most effectual barriers to their dispersal; whereas both snakes and lizards abound in deserts, and have some means of occasionally passing the ocean which frogs and salamanders do not seem to possess. _means of dispersal of fishes._--the fact that the same species of freshwater fish often inhabit distinct river systems, proves that they have some means of dispersal over land. the many authentic accounts of fish falling from the atmosphere, indicate one of the means by which they may be transferred from one river basin to another, viz., by hurricanes and whirlwinds, which often carry up considerable quantities of water and with it fishes of small size. in volcanic countries, also, the fishes of subterranean streams may sometimes be thrown up by volcanic explosions, as humboldt relates happened in south america. another mode by which fishes may be distributed is by their eggs being occasionally carried away by aquatic birds; and it is stated by gmelin that geese and ducks during their migrations feed on the eggs of fish, and that some of these pass through their bodies with their vitality unimpaired.[ ] even water-beetles flying from one pond to another might occasionally carry with them some of the smaller eggs of fishes. but it is probable that fresh-water fish are also enabled to migrate by changes of level causing streams to alter their course and carry their waters into adjacent basins. on plateaux the sources of distinct river systems often approach each other, and the same thing occurs with lateral tributaries on the lowlands near their mouths. such changes, although small in extent, and occurring only at long intervals, would { }act very powerfully in modifying the distribution of fresh-water fish. sea fish would seem at first sight to have almost unlimited means of dispersal, but this is far from being the case. temperature forms a complete barrier to a large number of species, cold water being essential to many, while others can only dwell in the warmth of the tropics. deep water is another barrier to large numbers of species which are adapted to shores and shallows; and thus the atlantic is quite as impassable a gulf to most fishes as it is to birds. many sea fishes migrate to a limited extent for the purpose of depositing their spawn in favourable situations. the herring, an inhabitant of the deep sea, comes in shoals to our coast in the breeding season; while the salmon quits the northern seas and enters our rivers, mounting upwards to the clear cold water near their sources to deposit its eggs. keeping in mind the essential fact that changes of temperature and of depth are the main barriers to the dispersal of fish, we shall find little difficulty in tracing the causes that have determined their distribution. _means of dispersal of mollusca._--the marine, fresh-water, and land mollusca are three groups whose powers of dispersal and consequent distribution are very different, and must be separately considered. the _pteropoda_, the _ianthina_, and other groups of floating molluscs, drift about in mid-ocean, and their dispersal is probably limited chiefly by temperature, but perhaps also by the presence of enemies or the scarcity of proper food. the univalve and bivalve mollusca, of which the whelk and the cockle may be taken as types, move so slowly in their adult state, that we should expect them to have an exceedingly limited distribution; but the young of all these are free swimming embryos, and they thus have a powerful means of dispersal, and are carried by tides and currents so as ultimately to spread over every shore and shoal that offers conditions favourable for their development. the fresh water molluscs, which one might at first suppose could not range beyond their own river-basin, are yet very widely distributed in common with almost all other fresh water productions; and mr. darwin has shown that this is { }due to the fact, that ponds and marshes are constantly frequented by wading and swimming birds which are pre-eminently wanderers, and which frequently carry away with them the seeds of plants, and the eggs of molluscs and aquatic insects. fresh water molluscs just hatched were found to attach themselves to a duck's foot suspended in an aquarium; and they would thus be easily carried from one lake or river to another, and by the help of different species of aquatic birds, might soon spread all over the globe. even a water-beetle has been caught with a small living shell (_ancylus_) attached to it; and these fly long distances and are liable to be blown out to sea, one having been caught on board the _beagle_ when forty-five miles from land. although fresh water molluscs and their eggs must frequently be carried out to sea, yet this cannot lead to their dispersal, since salt water is almost immediately fatal to them; and we are therefore forced to conclude that the apparently insignificant and uncertain means of dispersal above alluded to are really what have led to their wide distribution. the true land-shells offer a still more difficult case, for they are exceedingly sensitive to the influence of salt water; they are not likely to be carried by aquatic birds, and yet they are more or less abundant all over the globe, inhabiting the most remote oceanic islands. it has been found, however, that land-shells have the power of lying dormant a long time. some have lived two years and a half shut up in pill boxes; and one egyptian desert snail came to life after having been glued down to a tablet in the british museum for four years! we are indebted to mr. darwin for experiments on the power of land shells to resist sea water, and he found that when they had formed a membranous diaphragm over the mouth of the shell they survived many days' immersion (in one case fourteen days); and another experimenter, quoted by mr. darwin, found that out of one hundred land shells immersed for a fortnight in the sea, twenty-seven recovered. it is therefore quite possible for them to be carried in the chinks of drift wood for many hundred miles across the sea, and this is probably one of the most effectual modes of their dispersal. very young shells would also { }sometimes attach themselves to the feet of birds walking or resting on the ground, and as many of the waders often go far inland, this may have been one of the methods of distributing species of land shells; for it must always be remembered that nature can afford to wait, and that if but once in a thousand years a single bird should convey two or three minute snails to a distant island, this is all that is required for us to find that island well stocked with a great and varied population of land shells. _means of dispersal of insects and the barriers which limit their range._--winged insects, as a whole, have perhaps more varied means of dispersal over the globe than any other highly organised animals. many of them can fly immense distances, and the more delicate ones are liable to be carried by storms and hurricanes over a wide expanse of ocean. they are often met with far out at sea. hawk-moths frequently fly on board ships as they approach the shores of tropical countries, and they have sometimes been captured more than miles from the nearest land. dragon-flies came on board the _adventure_ frigate when fifty miles off the coast of south america. a southerly wind brought flies in myriads to admiral smyth's ship in the mediterranean when he was miles distant from the coast of africa. a large indian beetle (_chrysochroa ocellata_) was quite recently caught alive in the bay of bengal by captain payne of the barque _william mansoon_, miles from the nearest land. darwin caught a locust miles from land; and in swarms of locusts several miles in extent, and as thick as the flakes in a heavy snowstorm, visited madeira. these must have come with perfect safety more than miles; and as they continued flying over the island for a long time, they could evidently have travelled to a much greater distance. numbers of living beetles belonging to seven genera, some aquatic and some terrestrial, were caught by mr. darwin in the open sea, seventeen miles from the coast of south america, and they did not seem injured by the salt water. almost all the accidental causes that lead to the dispersal of the higher animals would be still more favourable for insects. floating trees could carry hundreds of insects for one bird or mammal; and so many of the larvæ, eggs, { }and pupæ of insects have their abode in solid timber, that they might survive being floated immense distances. great numbers of tropical insects have been captured in the london docks, where they have been brought in foreign timber; and some have emerged from furniture after remaining torpid for many years. most insects have the power of existing weeks or months without food, and some are very tenacious of life. many beetles will survive immersion for hours in strong spirit; and water a few degrees below the boiling point will not always kill them. we can therefore easily understand how, in the course of ages insects may become dispersed by means which would be quite inadequate in the case of the higher animals. the drift-wood and tropical fruits that reach ireland and the orkneys; the double cocoa-nuts that cross the indian ocean from the seychelle islands to the coast of sumatra; the winds that carry volcanic dust and ashes for thousands of miles; the hurricanes that travel in their revolving course over wide oceans; all indicate means by which a few insects may, at rare intervals be carried to remote regions, and become the progenitors of a group of allied forms. but the dispersal of insects requires to be looked at from another point of view. they are, of all animals, perhaps the most wonderfully adapted for special conditions; and are so often fitted to fill one place in nature and one only, that the barriers against their permanent displacement are almost as numerous and as effective as their means of dispersal. hundreds of species of lepidoptera, for example, can subsist in the larva state only on one species of plant; so that even if the perfect insects were carried to a new country, the continuance of the race would depend upon the same or a closely allied plant being abundant there. other insects require succulent vegetable food all the year round, and are therefore confined to tropical regions; some can live only in deserts, others in forests; some are dependent on water-plants, some on mountain-vegetation. many are so intimately connected with other insects during some part of their existence that they could not live without them; such are the parasitical hymenoptera and diptera, and those mimicking species whose welfare depends upon their being { }mistaken for something else. then again, insects have enemies in every stage of their existence--the egg, the larva, the pupa, and the perfect form; and the abundance of any one of these enemies may render their survival impossible in a country otherwise well suited to them. ever bearing in mind these two opposing classes of facts, we shall not be surprised at the enormous range of some groups of insects, and at the extreme localization of others; and shall be able to give a rational account of many phenomena of distribution that would otherwise seem quite unintelligible. { }chapter iii. distribution as affected by the conditions and changes of the earth's surface. the distribution of animals over the earth's surface, is evidently dependent in great measure upon those grand and important characteristics of our globe, the study of which is termed physical geography. the proportion of land and water; the outlines and distribution of continents; the depth of seas and oceans; the position of islands; the height, direction, and continuity of mountain chains; the position and extent of deserts, lakes, and forests; the direction and velocity of ocean currents, as well as of prevalent winds and hurricanes; and lastly, the distribution of heat and cold, of rain, snow, and ice, both in their means and in their extremes, have all to be considered when we endeavour to account for the often unequal and unsymmetrical manner in which animals are dispersed over the globe. but even this knowledge is insufficient unless we inquire further as to the evidence of permanence possessed by each of these features, in order that we may give due weight to the various causes that have led to the existing facts of animal distribution. _land and water._--the well-known fact that nearly three-fourths of the surface of the earth is occupied by water, and but a little more than one-fourth by land, is important as indicating the vast extent of ocean by which many of the continents and islands are separated from each other. but there is another fact { }which greatly increases its importance, namely, that the mean height of the land is very small compared with the mean depth of the sea. it has been estimated by humboldt that the mean height of all the land surface does not exceed a thousand feet, owing to the comparative narrowness of mountain ranges and the great extent of alluvial plains and valleys; the ocean bed, on the contrary, not only descends deeper than the tops of the highest mountains rise above its surface, but these profound depths are broad sunken plains, while the shallows correspond to the mountain ranges, so that its mean depth is, as nearly as can be estimated, twelve thousand feet.[ ] hence, as the area of water is three times that of the land, the total cubical contents of the land, above the sea level, would be only that of the waters which are below that level. the important result follows, that whereas it is scarcely possible that in past times the amount of land surface should ever greatly have exceeded that which now exists, it is just possible that all the land may have been at some time submerged; and therefore in the highest degree probable that among the continual changes of land and sea that have been always going on, the amount of land surface has often been much less than it is now. for the same reason it is probable that there have been times when large masses of land have been more isolated from the rest than they are at present; just as south america would be if north america were submerged, or as australia would become if the malay archipelago were to sink beneath the ocean. it is also very important to bear in mind the fact insisted on by sir charles lyell, that the shallow parts of the ocean are almost always in the vicinity of land; and that an amount of elevation that would make little difference to the bed of the ocean, would raise up extensive tracts of dry land in the vicinity of existing continents. it is almost certain, therefore, that changes in the distribution of land and sea must have taken place more frequently by additions to, or { }modifications of pre-existing land, than by the upheaval of entirely new continents in mid-ocean. these two principles will throw light upon two constantly recurring groups of facts in the distribution of animals,--the restriction of peculiar forms to areas not at present isolated,--and on the other hand, the occurrence of allied forms in lands situated on opposite shores of the great oceans. _continental areas._--although the dry land of the earth's surface is distributed with so much irregularity, that there is more than twice as much north of the equator as there is south of it, and about twice as much in the asiatic as in the american hemisphere; and, what is still more extraordinary, that on a hemisphere of which a point in st. george's channel between england and ireland is the centre, the land is nearly equal in extent to the water, while in the opposite hemisphere it is in the proportion of only one-eighth,--yet the whole of the land is almost continuous. it consists essentially of only three masses: the american, the asia-african, and the australian. the two former are only separated by thirty-six miles of shallow sea at behring's straits, so that it is possible to go from cape horn to singapore or the cape of good hope without ever being out of sight of land; and owing to the intervention of the numerous islands of the malay archipelago the journey might be continued under the same conditions as far as melbourne and hobart town. this curious fact, of the almost perfect continuity of all the great masses of land notwithstanding their extremely irregular shape and distribution, is no doubt dependent on the circumstances just alluded to; that the great depth of the oceans and the slowness of the process of upheaval, has almost always produced the new lands either close to, or actually connected with pre-existing lands; and this has necessarily led to a much greater uniformity in the distribution of organic forms, than would have prevailed had the continents been more completely isolated from each other. the isthmuses which connect africa with asia, and north with south america, are, however, so small and insignificant compared with the vast extent of the countries they unite that { }we can hardly consider them to form more than a nominal connection. the isthmus of suez indeed, being itself a desert, and connecting districts which for a great distance are more or less desert also, does not effect any real union between the luxuriant forest-clad regions of intertropical asia and africa. the isthmus of panama is a more effectual line of union, since it is hilly, well watered, and covered with luxuriant vegetation; and we accordingly find that the main features of south american zoology are continued into central america and mexico. in asia a great transverse barrier exists, dividing that continent into a northern and southern portion; and as the lowlands occur on the south and the highlands on the north of the great mountain range, which is situated not far beyond the tropic, an abrupt change of climate is produced; so that a belt of about a hundred miles wide, is all that intervenes between a luxuriant tropical region and an almost arctic waste. between the northern part of asia, and europe, there is no barrier of importance; and it is impossible to separate these regions as regards the main features of animal life. africa, like asia, has a great transverse barrier, but it is a desert instead of a mountain chain; and it is found that this desert is a more effectual barrier to the diffusion of animals than the mediterranean sea; partly because it coincides with the natural division of a tropical from a temperate climate, but also on account of recent geological changes which we shall presently allude to. it results then from this outline sketch of the earth's surface, that the primary divisions of the geographer correspond approximately with those of the zoologist. some large portion of each of the popular divisions forms the nucleus of a zoological region; but the boundaries are so changed that the geographer would hardly recognise them: it has, therefore, been found necessary to give them those distinct names which will be fully explained in our next chapter. _recent changes in the continental areas._--the important fact has been now ascertained, that a considerable portion of the sahara south of algeria and morocco was under water at a very recent epoch. over much of this area sea-shells, identical with those now living in the mediterranean, are abundantly scattered, { }not only in depressions below the level of the sea but up to a height of feet above it. borings for water made by the french government have shown, that these shells occur twenty feet deep in the sand; and the occurrence of abundance of salt, sometimes even forming considerable hills, is an additional proof of the disappearance of a large body of salt water. the common cockle is one of the most abundant of the shells found; and the rev. h. b. tristram discovered a new fish, in a salt lake nearly miles inland, but which has since been found to inhabit the gulf of guinea. connected with this proof of recent elevation in the sahara, we have most interesting indications of subsidence in the area of the mediterranean, which were perhaps contemporaneous. sicily and malta are connected with africa by a submerged bank from to , feet below the surface; while the depth of the mediterranean, both to the east and west, is enormous, in some parts more than , feet; and another submerged bank with a depth of , feet occurs at the straits of gibraltar. in caves in sicily, remains of the living african elephant have been found by baron anca; and in other caves dr. falconer discovered remains of the _elephas antiquus_ and of two species of _hippopotamus_. in malta, three species of elephant have been discovered by captain spratt; a large one closely allied to _e. antiquus_ and two smaller ones not exceeding five feet high when adult. these facts clearly indicate, that when north africa was separated by a broad arm of the sea from the rest of the continent, it was probably connected with europe; and this explains why zoologists find themselves obliged to place it along with europe in the same zoological region. besides this change in the level of the sahara and the mediterranean basin, europe has undergone many fluctuations in its physical geography in very recent times. in wales, abundance of sea-shells of living species have been found at an elevation of , feet; and in sardinia there is proof of an elevation of feet since the human epoch; and these are only samples of many such changes of level. but these changes, though very important locally and as connected with geological problems, need not be further noticed here; as they were not of a { }nature to affect the larger features of the earth's surface or to determine the boundaries of great zoological regions. the only other recent change of great importance which can be adduced to illustrate our present subject, is that which has taken place between north and south america. the living marine shells of the opposite coasts of the isthmus of panama, as well as the corals and fishes, are generally of distinct species, but some are identical and many are closely allied; the west indian fossil shells and corals of the miocene period, however, are found to be largely identical with those of the pacific coast. the fishes of the atlantic and pacific shores of america are as a rule very distinct; but dr. günther has recently shown that a considerable number of species inhabiting the seas on opposite sides of the isthmus are absolutely identical. these facts certainly indicate, that during the miocene epoch a broad channel separated north and south america; and it seems probable that a series of elevations and subsidences have taken place uniting and separating them at different epochs; the most recent submersion having lasted but a short time, and thus, while allowing the passage of abundance of locomotive fishes, not admitting of much change in the comparatively stationary mollusca. _the glacial epoch as affecting the distribution of animals._--the remarkable refrigeration of climate in the northern hemisphere within the epoch, of existing species, to which the term glacial epoch is applied, together with the changes of level that accompanied and perhaps assisted to produce it, has been one of the chief agents in determining many of the details of the existing distribution of animals in temperate zones. a comparison of the effects produced by existing glaciers with certain superficial phenomena in the temperate parts of europe and north america, renders it certain that between the newer pliocene and the recent epochs, a large portion of the northern hemisphere must have been covered with a sheet of ice several thousand feet thick, like that which now envelopes the interior of greenland. much further south the mountains were covered with perpetual snow, and sent glaciers down every valley; and all the { }great valleys on the southern side of the alps poured down streams of ice which stretched far out into the plains of northern italy, and have left their débris in the form of huge mountainous moraines, in some cases more than a thousand feet high. in canada and new hampshire the marks of moving ice are found on the tops of mountains from , to , feet high; and the whole surface of the country around and to the north of the great lakes is scored by glaciers. wherever the land was submerged during a part of this cold period, a deposit called boulder-clay, or glacial-drift has been formed. this is a mass of sand, clay, or gravel, full of angular or rounded stones of all sizes, up to huge blocks as large as a cottage; and especially characterized by these stones being distributed confusedly through it, the largest being as often near the top as near the bottom, and never sorted into layers of different sizes as in materials carried by water. such deposits are known to be formed by glaciers and icebergs; when deposited on the land by glaciers they form moraines, when carried into water and thus spread with more regularity over a wider area they form drift. this drift is rarely found except where there is other evidence of ice-action, and never south of the th parallel of latitude, to which in the northern hemisphere signs of ice-action extend. in the southern hemisphere, in patagonia and in new zealand, exactly similar phenomena occur. a very interesting confirmation of the reality of this cold epoch is derived from the study of fossil remains. both the plants and animals of the miocene period indicate that the climate of central europe was decidedly warmer or more equable than it is now; since the flora closely resembled that of the southern united states, with a likeness also to that of eastern asia and australia. many of the shells were of tropical genera; and there were numbers of large mammalia allied to the elephant, rhinoceros, and tapir. at the same time, or perhaps somewhat earlier, a temperate climate extended into the arctic regions, and allowed a magnificent vegetation of shrubs and forest trees, some of them evergreen, to flourish within twelve degrees of the pole. in the pliocene period we find ourselves { }among forms implying a climate very little different from the present; and our own crag formation furnishes evidence of a gradual refrigeration of climate; since its three divisions, the coralline, red, and norwich crags, show a decreasing number of southern, and an increasing number of northern species, as we approach the glacial epoch. still later than these we have the shells of the drift, almost all of which are northern and many of them arctic species. among the mammalia indicative of cold, are the mammoth and the reindeer. in gravels and cave-deposits of post-pliocene date we find the same two animals, which soon disappear as the climate approached its present condition; and professor forbes has given a list of fifty shells which inhabited the british seas before the glacial epoch and inhabit it still, but are all wanting in the glacial deposits. the whole of these are found in the newer pliocene strata of sicily and the south of europe, where they escaped destruction during the glacial winter. there are also certain facts in the distribution of plants, which are so well explained by the glacial epoch that they may be said to give an additional confirmation to it. all over the northern hemisphere within the glaciated districts, the summits of lofty mountains produce plants identical with those of the polar regions. in the celebrated case of the white mountains in new hampshire, united states (latitude °), all the plants on the summit are arctic species, none of which exist in the lowlands for near a thousand miles further north. it has also been remarked that the plants of each mountain are more especially related to those of the countries directly north of it. thus, those of the pyrenees and of scotland are scandinavian, and those of the white mountains are all species found in labrador. now, remembering that we have evidence of an exceedingly mild and uniform climate in the arctic regions during the miocene period and a gradual refrigeration from that time, it is evident that with each degree of change more and more hardy plants would be successively driven southwards; till at last the plains of the temperate zone would be inhabited by plants, which were once confined to alpine heights or to the arctic regions. { }as the icy mantle gradually melted off the face of the earth these plants would occupy the newly exposed soil, and would thus necessarily travel in two directions, back towards the arctic circle and up towards the alpine peaks. the facts are thus exactly explained by a cause which independent evidence has proved to be a real one, and every such explanation is an additional proof of the reality of the cause. but this explanation implies, that in cases where the glacial epoch cannot have so acted alpine plants should not be northern plants; and a striking proof of this is to be found on the peak of teneriffe, a mountain , feet high. in the uppermost , feet of this mountain above the limit of trees, von buch found only eleven species of plants, eight of which were peculiar; but the whole were allied to those found at lower elevations. on the alps or pyrenees at this elevation, there would be a rich flora comprising hundreds of arctic plants; and the absence of anything corresponding to them in this case, in which their ingress was cut off by the sea, is exactly what the theory leads us to expect. _changes of vegetation as affecting the distribution of animals._--as so many animals are dependent on vegetation, its changes immediately affect their distribution. a remarkable example of this is afforded by the pre-historic condition of denmark, as interpreted by means of the peat-bogs and kitchen-middens. this country is now celebrated for its beech-trees; oaks and pines being scarce; and it is known to have had the same vegetation in the time of the romans. in the peat-bogs, however, are found deposits of oak trees; and deeper still pines alone occur. now the kitchen-middens tell us much of the natural history of denmark in the early stone period; and a curious confirmation of the fact that denmark like norway was then chiefly covered with pine forests is obtained by the discovery, that the capercailzie was then abundant, a bird which feeds almost exclusively on the young shoots and seeds of pines and allied plants. the cause of this change in the vegetation is unknown; but from the known fact that when forests are destroyed trees, of a different kind usually occupy the ground, we may suppose that some such change as a temporary submergence might cause an entirely { }different vegetation and a considerably modified fauna to occupy the country. _organic changes as affecting distribution._--we have now briefly touched on some of the direct effects of changes in physical geography, climate, and vegetation, on the distribution of animals; but the indirect effects of such changes are probably of quite equal, if not of greater importance. every change becomes the centre of an ever-widening circle of effects. the different members of the organic world are so bound together by complex relations, that any one change generally involves numerous other changes, often of the most unexpected kind. we know comparatively little of the way in which one animal or plant is bound up with others, but we know enough to assure us that groups the most apparently disconnected are often dependent on each other. we know, for example, that the introduction of goats into st. helena utterly destroyed a whole flora of forest trees; and with them all the insects, mollusca, and perhaps birds directly or indirectly dependent on them. swine, which ran wild in mauritius, exterminated the dodo. the same animals are known to be the greatest enemies of venomous serpents. cattle will, in many districts, wholly prevent the growth of trees; and with the trees the numerous insects dependent on those trees, and the birds which fed upon the insects, must disappear, as well as the small mammalia which feed on the fruits, seeds, leaves, or roots. insects again have the most wonderful influence on the range of mammalia. in paraguay a certain species of fly abounds which destroys new-born cattle and horses; and thus neither of these animals have run wild in that country, although they abound both north and south of it. this inevitably leads to a great difference in the vegetation of paraguay, and through that to a difference in its insects, birds, reptiles, and wild mammalia. on what causes the existence of the fly depends we do not know, but it is not improbable that some comparatively slight changes in the temperature or humidity of the air at a particular season, or the introduction of some enemy might lead to its extinction or banishment. the whole face of the country would then soon be changed: new species would { }come in, while many others would be unable to live there; and the immediate cause of this great alteration would probably be quite imperceptible to us, even if we could watch it in progress year by year. so, in south africa, the celebrated tsetse fly inhabits certain districts having well defined limits; and where it abounds no horses, dogs, or cattle can live. yet asses, zebras, and antelopes are unaffected by it. so long as this fly continues to exist, there is a living barrier to the entrance of certain animals, quite as effectual as a lofty mountain range or a wide arm of the sea. the complex relations of one form of life with others is nowhere better illustrated than in mr. darwin's celebrated case of the cats and clover, as given in his _origin of species_, th ed., p. . he has observed that both wild heartsease and red-clover are fertilized in this country by humble-bees only, so that the production of seed depends on the visits of these insects. a gentleman who has specially studied humble-bees finds that they are largely kept down by field-mice, which destroy their combs and nests. field-mice in their turn are kept down by cats; and probably also by owls; so that these carnivorous animals are really the agents in rendering possible the continued existence of red-clover and wild heartsease. for if they were absent, the field-mice having no enemies, would multiply to such an extent as to destroy all the humble-bees; and these two plants would then produce no seed and soon become extinct. mr. darwin has also shown that one species often exterminates another closely allied to it, when the two are brought into contact. one species of swallow and thrush are known to have increased at the expense of allied species. rats, carried all over the world by commerce, are continually extirpating other species of rats. the imported hive-bee is, in australia, rapidly exterminating a native stingless bee. any slight change, therefore, of physical geography or of climate, which allows allied species hitherto inhabiting distinct areas to come into contact, will often lead to the extermination of one of them; and this extermination will be effected by no external force, by no actual enemy, but merely because the one is slightly better { }adapted to live, to increase, and to maintain itself under adverse circumstances, than the other. now if we consider carefully the few suggestive facts here referred to (and many others of like import are to be found in mr. darwin's various works), we shall be led to conclude that the several species, genera, families, and orders, both of animals and vegetables which inhabit any extensive region, are bound together by a series of complex relations; so that the increase, diminution, or extermination of any one, may set in motion a series of actions and reactions more or less affecting a large portion of the whole, and requiring perhaps centuries of fluctuation before the balance is restored. the range of any species or group in such a region, will in many cases (perhaps in most) be determined, not by physical barriers, but by the competition of other organisms. where barriers have existed from a remote epoch, they will at first have kept back certain animals from coming in contact with each other; but when the assemblage of organisms on the two sides of the barrier have, after many ages, come to form a balanced organic whole, the destruction of the barrier may lead to a very partial intermingling of the peculiar forms of the two regions. each will have become modified in special ways adapted to the organic and physical conditions of the country, and will form a living barrier to the entrance of animals less perfectly adapted to those conditions. thus while the abolition of ancient barriers will always lead to much intermixture of forms, much extermination and wide-spread alteration in some families of animals; other important groups will be unable materially to alter their range; or they may make temporary incursions into the new territory, and be ultimately driven back to very near their ancient limits. in order to make this somewhat difficult subject more intelligible, it may be well to consider the probable effects of certain hypothetical conditions of the earth's surface:-- . if the dry land of the globe had been from the first continuous, and nowhere divided up by such boundaries as lofty mountain ranges, wide deserts, or arms of the sea, it seems probable that none of the larger groups (as _orders_, _tribes_, or { }_families_,) would have a limited range; but, as is to some extent the case in tropical america east of the andes, every such group would be represented over the whole area, by countless minute modifications of form adapted to local conditions. . one great physical barrier would, however, even then exist; the hot equatorial zone would divide the faunas and floras of the colder regions of the northern and southern hemispheres from any chance of intermixture. this one barrier would be more effectual than it is now, since there would be no lofty mountain ranges to serve as a bridge for the partial interchange of northern and southern forms. . if such a condition of the earth as here supposed continued for very long periods, we may conceive that the action and reaction of the various organisms on each other, combined with the influence of very slowly changing physical conditions, would result in an almost perfect organic balance, which would be manifested by a great stability in the average numbers, the local range, and the peculiar characteristics of every species. . under such a condition of things it is not improbable that the total number of clearly differentiated specific forms might be much greater than it is now, though the number of generic and family types might perhaps be less; for dominant species would have had ample time to spread into every locality where they could exist, and would then become everywhere modified into forms best suited to the permanent local conditions. . now let us consider what would be the probable effect of the introduction of a barrier, cutting off a portion of this homogeneous and well-balanced world. suppose, for instance, that a subsidence took place, cutting off by a wide arm of the sea a large and tolerably varied island. the first and most obvious result would be that the individuals of a number of species would be divided into two portions, while others, the limits of whose range agreed approximately with the line of subsidence, would exist in unimpaired numbers on the new island or on the main land. but the species whose numbers were diminished and whose original area was also absolutely diminished by the portion now under the sea, would not be able to hold their { }ground against the rival forms whose numbers were intact. some would probably diminish and rapidly die out; others which produced favourable varieties, might be so modified by natural selection as to maintain their existence under a different form; and such changes would take place in varying modes on the two sides of the new strait. . but the progress of these changes would necessarily affect the other species in contact with them. new places would be opened in the economy of nature which many would struggle to obtain; and modification would go on in ever-widening circles and very long periods of time might be required to bring the whole again into a state of equilibrium. . a new set of factors would in the meantime have come into play. the sinking of land and the influx of a large body of water could hardly take place without producing important climatal changes. the temperature, the winds, the rains, might all be affected, and more or less changed in duration and amount. this would lead to a quite distinct movement in the organic world. vegetation would certainly be considerably affected, and through this the insect tribes. we have seen how closely the life of the higher animals is often bound up with that of insects; and thus a set of changes might arise that would modify the numerical proportions, and even the forms and habits of a great number of species, would completely exterminate some, and raise others from a subordinate to a dominant position. and all these changes would occur differently on opposite sides of the strait, since the insular climate could not fail to differ considerably from that of the continent. . but the two sets of changes, as above indicated, produced by different modes of action of the same primary cause, would act and react on each other; and thus lead to such a far-spreading disturbance of the organic equilibrium as ultimately perhaps to affect in one way or another, every form of life upon the earth. this hypothetical case is useful as enabling us better to realize how wide-spreading might be the effects of one of the simplest changes of physical geography, upon a compact mass of mutually { }adapted organisms. in the actual state of things, the physical changes that occur and have occurred through all geological epochs are larger and more varied. almost every mile of land surface has been again and again depressed beneath the ocean; most of the great mountain chains have either originated or greatly increased in height during the tertiary period; marvellous alterations of climate and vegetation have taken place over half the land-surface of the earth; and all these vast changes have influenced a globe so cut up by seas and oceans, by deserts and snow-clad mountains, that in many of its more isolated land-masses ancient forms of life have been preserved, which, in the more extensive and more varied continents have long given way to higher types. how complex then must have been the actions and reactions such a state of things would bring about; and how impossible must it be for us to guess, in most cases, at the exact nature of the forces that limit the range of some species and cause others to be rare or to become extinct! all that we can in general hope to do is, to trace out, more or less hypothetically, some of the larger changes in physical geography that have occurred during the ages immediately preceeding our own, and to estimate the effect they will probably have produced on animal distribution. we may then, by the aid of such knowledge as to past organic mutations as the geological record supplies us with, be able to determine the probable birthplace and subsequent migrations of the more important genera and families; and thus obtain some conception of that grand series of co-ordinated changes in the earth and its inhabitants, whose final result is seen in the forms and the geographical distribution of existing animals. { }chapter iv. on zoological regions. to the older school of naturalists the native country of an animal was of little importance, except in as far as climates differed. animals were supposed to be specially adapted to live in certain zones or under certain physical conditions, and it was hardly recognised that apart from these conditions there was any influence in locality which could materially affect them. it was believed that, while the animals of tropical, temperate, and arctic climates, essentially differed; those of the tropics were essentially alike all over the world. a group of animals was said to inhabit the "indies;" and important differences of structure were often overlooked from the idea, that creatures equally adapted to live in hot countries and with certain general resemblances, would naturally be related to each other. thus the toucans and hornbills, the humming-birds and sun-birds, and even the tapirs and the elephants, came to be popularly associated as slightly modified varieties of tropical forms of life; while to naturalists, who were acquainted with the essential differences of structure, it was a never-failing source of surprise, that under climates and conditions so apparently identical, such strangely divergent forms should be produced. to the modern naturalist, on the other hand, the native country (or "habitat" as it is technically termed) of an animal { }or a group of animals, is a matter of the first importance; and, as regards the general history of life upon the globe, may be considered to be one of its essential characters. the structure, affinities, and habits of a species, now form only a part of its natural history. we require also to know its exact range at the present day and in prehistoric times, and to have some knowledge of its geological age, the place of its earliest appearance on the globe, and of the various extinct forms most nearly allied to it. to those who accept the theory of development as worked out by mr. darwin, and the views as to the general permanence and immense antiquity of the great continents and oceans so ably developed by sir charles lyell, it ceases to be a matter of surprise that the tropics of africa, asia, and america should differ in their productions, but rather that they should have anything in common. their similarity, not their diversity, is the fact that most frequently puzzles us. the more accurate knowledge we have of late years obtained of the productions of many remote regions, combined with the greater approaches that have been made to a natural classification of the higher animals, has shown, that every continent or well-marked division of a continent, every archipelago and even every island, presents problems of more or less complexity to the student of the geographical distribution of animals. if we take up the subject from the zoological side, and study any family, order, or even extensive genus, we are almost sure to meet with some anomalies either in the present or past distribution of the various forms. let us adduce a few examples of these problems. deer have a wonderfully wide range, over the whole of europe, asia, and north and south america; yet in africa south of the great desert there are none. bears range over the whole of europe, asia, and north america, and true pigs of the genus sus, over all europe and asia and as far as new guinea; yet both bears and pigs, like deer, are absent from tropical and south africa. again, the west indian islands possess very few mammalia, all of small size and allied to those of america, except one { }genus; and that belongs to an order, "insectivora," entirely absent from south america, and to a family, "centetidæ," all the other species of which inhabit madagascar only. and as if to add force to this singular correspondence we have one madagascar species of a beautiful day-flying moth, _urania_, all the other species of which inhabit tropical america. these insects are gorgeously arrayed in green and gold, and are quite unlike any other lepidoptera upon the globe. the island of ceylon generally agrees in its productions with the southern part of india; yet it has several birds which are allied to malayan and not to indian groups, and a fine butterfly of the genus _hestia_, as well as several genera of beetles, which are purely malayan. various important groups of animals are distributed in a way not easy to explain. the anthropoid apes in west africa and borneo; the tapirs in malaya and south america; the camel tribe in the deserts of asia and the andes; the trogons in south america and tropical asia, with one species in africa; the marsupials in australia and america, are examples. the cases here adduced (and they might be greatly multiplied) are merely to show the kind of problems with which the naturalist now has to deal; and in order to do so he requires some system of geographical arrangement, which shall serve the double purpose of affording a convenient subdivision of his subject, and at the same time of giving expression to the main results at which he has arrived. hence the recent discussions on "zoological regions," or, what are the most natural primary divisions of the earth as regards its forms of animal life. the divisions in use till quite recently were of two kinds; either those ready made by geographers, more especially the quarters or continents of the globe; or those determined by climate and marked out by certain parallels of latitude or by isothermal lines. either of these methods was better than none at all; but from the various considerations explained in the preceding chapters, it will be evident, that such divisions must have often been very unnatural, and have disguised many { }of the most important and interesting phenomena which a study of the distribution of animals presents to us. the merit of initiating a more natural system, that of determining zoological regions, not by any arbitrary or _a priori_ consideration but by studying the actual ranges of the more important groups of animals, is due to mr. sclater, who, in , established six primary zoological regions from a detailed examination of the distribution of the chief genera and families of birds. before stating what these regions are, what objections have been made to them, what other divisions have been since proposed, and what are those which we shall adopt in this work, it will be well to consider the general principles which should guide us in the choice between rival systems. _principles on which zoological regions should be formed._--it will be evident in the first place that nothing like a perfect zoological division of the earth is possible. the causes that have led to the present distribution of animal life are so varied, their action and reaction have been so complex, that anomalies and irregularities are sure to exist which will mar the symmetry of any rigid system. on two main points every system yet proposed, or that probably can be proposed, is open to objection; they are,-- stly, that the several regions are not of equal rank;-- ndly, that they are not equally applicable to all classes of animals. as to the first objection, it will be found impossible to form any three or more regions, each of which differs from the rest in an equal degree or in the same manner. one will surpass all others in the possession of peculiar families; another will have many characteristic genera; while a third will be mainly distinguished by negative characters. there will also be found many intermediate districts, which possess some of the characteristics of two well-marked regions, with a few special features of their own, or perhaps with none; and it will be a difficult question to decide in all cases which region should possess this doubtful territory, or whether it should be formed into a primary region itself. again, two regions which have now well-marked points of difference, may be shown to have been much more alike at a comparatively recent geological epoch; { }and this, it may be said, proves their fundamental unity and that they ought to form but one primary region. to obviate some of these difficulties a binary or dichotomous division is sometimes proposed; that portion of the earth which differs most from the rest being cut off as a region equal in rank to all that remains, which is subjected again and again to the same process. to decide these various points it seems advisable that convenience, intelligibility, and custom, should largely guide us. the first essential is, a broadly marked and easily remembered set of regions; which correspond, as nearly as truth to nature will allow, with the distribution of the most important groups of animals. what these groups are we shall presently explain. in determining the number, extent, and boundaries of these regions, we must be guided by a variety of indications, since the application of fixed rules is impossible. they should evidently be of a moderate number, corresponding as far as practicable with the great natural divisions of the globe marked out by nature, and which have always been recognized by geographers. there should be some approximation to equality of size, since there is reason to believe that a tolerably extensive area has been an essential condition for the development of most animal forms; and it is found that, other things being equal, the numbers, variety and importance of the forms of animal and vegetable life, do bear some approximate relation to extent of area. although the possession of peculiar families or genera is the main character of a primary zoological region, yet the negative character of the absence of certain families or genera is of equal importance, _when this absence does not manifestly depend on unsuitability to the support of the group_, and especially _when there is now no physical barrier preventing their entrance_. this will become evident when we consider that the importance of the possession of a group by one region depends on its absence from the adjoining regions; and if there is now no barrier to its entrance, we may be sure that there has once been one; and that the possession of the area by a distinct and well balanced set of organisms, which must have been slowly { }developed and adjusted, is the living barrier that now keeps out intruders. when it is ascertained that the chief differences which now obtain between two areas did not exist in miocene or pliocene times, the fact is one of great interest, and enables us to speculate with some degree of probability as to the causes that have brought about the present state of things; but it is not a reason for uniting these two areas into one region. our object is to represent as nearly as possible the main features of the distribution of existing animals, not those of any or all past geological epochs. should we ever obtain sufficient information as to the geography and biology of the earth at past epochs, we might indeed determine approximately what were the pliocene or miocene or eocene zoological regions; but any attempt to exhibit all these in combination with those of our own period, must lead to confusion. the binary or dichotomous system, although it brings out the fundamental differences of the respective regions, is an inconvenient one in its application, and rather increases than obviates the difficulty as to equality or inequality of regions; for although _a_, _b_, _c_, and _d_, may be areas of unequal zoological rank, _a_ being the most important, and _d_ the least, yet this inequality will probably be still greater if we first divide them into _a_, on one side, and _b_, _c_, and _d_, on the other, and then, by another division, make _b_, an area of the second, and _c_, and _d_, of the third rank only. coming to the second objection, the often incompatible distribution of different groups of animals, affords ground for opposition to any proposed scheme of zoological regions. there is first the radical difference between land and sea animals; the most complete barriers to the dispersal of the one, sometimes offering the greatest facilities for the emigration of the other, and _vice versa_. a large number of marine animals, however, frequent shallow water only; and these, keeping near the coasts, will agree generally in their distribution with those inhabiting the land. but among land animals themselves there are very great differences of distribution, due to certain specialities { }in their organization or mode of life. these act mainly in two ways,-- stly, by affecting the facilities with which they can be dispersed, either voluntarily or involuntarily;-- ndly, by the conditions which enable them to multiply and establish themselves in certain areas and not in others. when both these means of diffusion are at a maximum, the dispersal of a group becomes universal, and ceases to have much interest for us. this is the case with certain groups of fungi and lichens, as well as with some of the lower animals; and in a less degree, as has been shown by mr. darwin, with many fresh-water plants and animals. at the other extreme we may place certain arboreal vertebrata such as sloths and lemurs, which have no means of passing such barriers as narrow straits or moderately high mountains, and whose survival in any new country they might reach, would be dependent on the presence of suitable forests and the absence of dangerous enemies. almost equally, or perhaps even more restricted, are the means of permanent diffusion of terrestrial molluscs; since these are without any but very rare and accidental means of being safely transported across the sea; their individual powers of locomotion are highly restricted; they are especially subject to the attacks of enemies; and they often depend not only on a peculiar vegetation, but on the geological character of the country, their abundance being almost in direct proportion to the presence of some form of calcareous rocks. between these extremes we find animals possessed of an infinite gradation of powers to disperse and to maintain themselves; and it will evidently be impossible that the limits which best define the distribution of one group, should be equally true for all others. _which class of animals is of most importance in determining zoological regions._--to decide this question we have to consider which groups of animals are best adapted to exhibit, by their existing distribution, the past changes and present physical condition of the earth's surface; and at the same time, by the abundance of their remains in the various tertiary formations will best enable us to trace out the more recent of the series of changes, both of the earth's surface and { }of its inhabitants, by which the present state of things has been brought about. for this purpose we require a group which shall be dependent for its means of dispersal on the distribution of land and water, and on the presence or absence of lofty mountains, desert plains or plateaux, and great forests; since these are the chief physical features of the earth's surface whose modifications at successive periods we wish to discover. it is also essential that they should not be subject to dispersal by many accidental causes; as this would inevitably in time tend to obliterate the effect of natural barriers, and produce a scattered distribution, the causes of which we could only guess at. again, it is necessary that they should be so highly organized as not to be absolutely dependent on other groups of animals, and with so much power of adaptation as to be able to exist in one form or another over the whole globe. and lastly, it is highly important that the whole group should be pretty well known, and that a fairly natural classification, especially of its minor divisions such as families and genera, should have been arrived at; the reason for which last proviso is explained in our next chapter, on classification. now in every one of these points the mammalia are preeminent; and they possess the additional advantage of being the most highly developed class of organized beings, and that to which we ourselves belong. we should therefore construct our typical or standard zoological regions in the first place, from a consideration of the distribution of mammalia, only bringing to our aid the distribution of other groups to determine doubtful points. regions so established will be most closely in accordance with those long-enduring features of physical geography, on which the distribution of all forms of life fundamentally depend; and all discrepancies in the distribution of other classes of animals must be capable of being explained, either by their exceptional means of dispersion or by special conditions affecting their perpetuation and increase in each locality. if these considerations are well founded, the objections of those who study insects or molluscs, for example,--that our regions are not true for their departments of nature--cannot be { }maintained. for they will find, that a careful consideration of the exceptional means of dispersal and conditions of existence of each group, will explain most of the divergences from the normal distribution of higher animals. we shall thus be led to an intelligent comprehension of the phenomena of distribution in all groups, which would not be the case if every specialist formed regions for his own particular study. in many cases we should find that no satisfactory division of the earth could be made to correspond with the distribution even of an entire class; but we should have the coleopterist and the lepidopterist each with his own geography. and even this would probably not suffice, for it is very doubtful if the detailed distribution of the longicornes, so closely dependent on woody vegetation, could be made to agree with that of the staphylinidæ or the carabidæ which abound in many of the most barren regions, or with that of the scarabeidæ, largely dependent on the presence of herbivorous mammalia. and when each of these enquirers had settled a division of the earth into "regions" which exhibited with tolerable accuracy the phenomena of distribution of his own group, we should have gained nothing whatever but a very complex mode of exhibiting the bare facts of distribution. we should then have to begin to work out the causes of the divergence of one group from another in this respect; but as each worker would refer to his own set of regions as the type, the whole subject would become involved in inextricable confusion. these considerations seem to make it imperative that one set of "regions" should be established as typical for zoology; and it is hoped the reasons here advanced will satisfy most naturalists that these regions can be best determined, in the first place, by a study of the distribution of the mammalia, supplemented in doubtful cases by that of the other vertebrates. we will now proceed to a discussion of what these regions are. _various zoological regions proposed since ._--it has already been pointed out that a very large number of birds are limited by the same kind of barriers as mammalia; it will therefore not be surprising that a system of regions formed to suit the { }one, should very nearly represent the distribution of the other. mr. sclater's regions are as follows:-- . the palæarctic region; including europe, temperate asia, and n. africa to the atlas mountains. . the ethiopian region; africa south of the atlas, madagascar, and the mascarene islands, with southern arabia. . the indian region; including india south of the himalayas, to south china, and to borneo and java. . the australian region; including celebes and lombock, eastward to australia and the pacific islands. . the nearctic region; including greenland, and n. america, to northern mexico. . the neotropical region; including south america, the antilles, and southern mexico. this division of the earth received great support from dr. günther, who, in the _proceedings of the zoological society_ for , showed that the geographical distribution of reptiles agreed with it very closely, the principal difference being that the reptiles of japan have a more indian character than the birds, this being especially the case with the snakes. in the volume for of the same work, professor huxley discusses at considerable length the primary and secondary zoological divisions of the earth. he gives reasons for thinking that the most radical primary division, both as regards birds and mammals, is into a northern and southern hemisphere (arctogæa and notogæa), the former, however, embracing all africa, while the latter includes only australasia and the neotropical or austro-columbian region. mr. sclater had grouped his regions primarily into palæogæa and neogæa, the old and new worlds of geographers; a division which strikingly accords with the distribution of the passerine birds, but not so well with that of mammalia or reptiles. professor huxley points out that the nearctic, palæarctic, indian, and ethiopian regions of mr. sclater have a much greater resemblance to each other than any one of them has to australia or to south america; and he further suggests that new zealand alone has peculiarities which might entitle it to rank as a primary region { }along with australasia and south america; and that a circumpolar province might be conveniently recognised as of equal rank with the palæarctic and nearctic provinces. in , mr. andrew murray published a large and copiously illustrated volume on the _geographical distribution of mammals_, in which he maintains that the great and primary mammalian regions are only four: st. the palæarctic region of mr. sclater, extended to include the sahara and nubia; nd. the indo-african region, including the indian and ethiopian regions of mr. sclater; rd. the australian region (unaltered); th. the american region, including both north and south america. these are the regions as _described_ by mr. murray, but his coloured map of "great mammalian regions" shows all arctic america to a little south of the isothermal of ° fahr. as forming with europe and north asia one great region. at the meeting of the british association at exeter in , mr. w. t. blanford read a paper on the fauna of british india, in which he maintained that a large portion of the peninsula of india had derived its fauna mainly from africa; and that the term "indian region" of mr. sclater was misleading, because india proper, if it belongs to it at all, is the least typical portion of it. he therefore proposes to call it the "malayan region," because in the malay countries it is most highly developed. ceylon and the mountain ranges of southern india have marked malay affinities. in mr. e. blyth published in _nature_ "a suggested new division of the earth into zoological regions," in which he indicates seven primary divisions or regions, subdivided into twenty-six sub-regions. the seven regions are defined as follows: . the boreal region; including the whole of the palæarctic and nearctic regions of mr. sclater along with the west indies, central america, the whole chain of the andes, with chili and patagonia. . the columbian region; consisting of the remaining part of south america. . the ethiopian region; comprising besides that region of mr. sclater, the valley of the jordan, arabia, and the desert country towards india, with all the plains and table lands of india and the northern { }half of ceylon. . the lemurian region; consisting of madagascar and its adjacent islands. . the austral-asian region; which is the indian region of mr. sclater without the portion taken to be added to the ethiopian region. . the melanesian region; which is the australian region of mr. sclater without new zealand and the pacific islands, which form . the polynesian region. mr. blyth thinks this is "a true classification of zoological regions as regards mammalia and birds." in an elaborate paper on the birds of eastern north america, their distribution and migrations (_bulletin of museum of comparative zoology, cambridge, massachusetts_, vol. ), mr. j. a. allen proposes a division of the earth in accordance with what he terms, "the law of circumpolar distribution of life in zones," as follows: . arctic realm. . north temperate realm. . american tropical realm. . indo-african tropical realm. . south american tropical realm. . african temperate realm. . antarctic realm. . australian realm. some of these are subdivided into regions; ( ) consisting of the american and the europæo-asiatic regions; ( ) into the african and indian regions; ( ) into the tropical australian region, and one comprising the southern part of australia and new zealand. the other realms each form a single region. _discussion of proposed regions._--before proceeding to define the regions adopted in this work, it may be as well to make a few remarks on some of the preceding classifications, and to give the reasons which seem to render it advisable to adopt very few of the suggested improvements on mr. sclater's original proposal. mr. blyth's scheme is one of the least natural, and also the most inconvenient. there can be little use in the knowledge that a group of animals is found in the boreal region, if their habitat might still be either patagonia, the west indies, or japan; and it is difficult to see on what principle the madagascar group of islands is made of equal rank with this enormous region, seeing that its forms of life have marked african affinities. neither does it seem advisable to adopt the polynesian region, or that comprising new zealand alone (as hinted at by professor huxley and since adopted by { }mr. sclater in his lectures on geographical distribution at the zoological gardens in may ), because it is absolutely without indigenous mammalia and very poor in all forms of life, and therefore by no means prominent or important enough to form a primary region of the earth. it may be as well here to notice what appears to be a serious objection to making new zealand, or any similar isolated district, one of the great zoological regions, comparable to south america, australia, or ethiopia; which is, that its claim to that distinction rests on grounds which are liable to fail. it is because new zealand, in addition to its negative merits, possesses three families of birds (apterygidæ living, dinornithidæ and palapterygidæ extinct), and a peculiar lizard-like reptile, _hatteria_, which has to be classed in a distinct order, rhynchocephalina, that the rank of a region is claimed for it. but supposing, what is not at all improbable, that other rhynchocephalina should be discovered in the interior of australia or in new guinea, and that apterygidæ or palapterygidæ should be found to have inhabited australia in post-pliocene times, (as dinornithidæ have already been proved to have done) the claims of new zealand would entirely fail, and it would be universally acknowledged to be a part of the great australian region. no such reversal can take place in the case of the other regions; because they rest, not upon one or two, but upon a large number of peculiarities, of such a nature that there is no room upon the globe for discoveries that can seriously modify them. even if one or two peculiar types, like apterygidæ or _hatteria_, should permanently remain characteristic of new zealand alone, we can account for these by the extreme isolation of the country, and the absence of enemies, which have enabled these defenceless birds and reptiles to continue their existence; just as the isolation and protection of the caverns of carniola have enabled the _proteus_ to survive in europe. but supposing that the _proteus_ was the sole representative of an order of batrachia, and that two or three other equally curious and isolated forms occurred with it, no one would propose that these caverns or the district containing them, should form one of the { }primary divisions of the earth. neither can much stress be laid on the negative characteristics of new zealand, since they are found to an almost equal extent in every oceanic island. again, it is both inconvenient and misleading to pick out certain tracts from the midst of one region or sub-region and to place them in another, on account of certain isolated affinities which may often be accounted for by local peculiarities. even if the resemblance of the fauna of chili and patagonia to that of the palæarctic and nearctic regions was much greater than it is, this mode of dealing with it would be objectionable; but it is still more so, when we find that these countries have a strongly marked south american character, and that the northern affinities are altogether exceptional. the rodentia, which comprise a large portion of the mammalia of these countries, are wholly south american in type, and the birds are almost all allied to forms characteristic of tropical america. for analogous reasons the ethiopian must not be made to include any part of india or ceylon; for although the fauna of central india has some african affinities, these do not preponderate; and it will not be difficult to show that to follow mr. andrew murray in uniting bodily the ethiopian and indian regions of mr. sclater, is both unnatural and inconvenient. the resemblances between them are of the same character as those which would unite them both with the palæarctic and nearctic regions; and although it may be admitted, that, as professor huxley maintains, this group forms one of the great primary divisions of the globe, it is far too extensive and too heterogeneous to subserve the practical uses for which we require a division of the world into zoological regions. _reasons for adopting the six regions first proposed by mr. sclater._--so that we do not violate any clear affinities or produce any glaring irregularities, it is a positive, and by no means an unimportant, advantage to have our named regions approximately equal in size, and with easily defined, and therefore easily remembered, boundaries. all elaborate definitions of interpenetrating frontiers, as well as regions extending over three-fourths of the land surface of the globe, and including places which are { }the antipodes of each other, would be most inconvenient, even if there were not such difference of opinion about them. there can be little doubt, for example, that the most radical zoological division of the earth is made by separating the australian region from the rest; but although it is something useful and definite to know that a group of animals is peculiar to australia, it is exceedingly vague and unsatisfactory to say of any other group merely that it is extra-australian. neither can it be said that, from any point of view, these two divisions are of equal importance. the next great natural division that can be made is the separation of the neotropical region of mr. sclater from the rest of the world. we thus have three primary divisions, which professor huxley seems inclined to consider as of tolerably equal zoological importance. but a consideration of all the facts, zoological and palæontological, indicates, that the great northern division (arctogæa) is fully as much more important than either australia or south america, as its four component parts are less important; and if so, convenience requires us to adopt the smaller rather than the larger divisions. this question, of comparative importance or equivalence of value, is very difficult to determine. it may be considered from the point of view of speciality or isolation, or from that of richness and variety of animal forms. in isolation and speciality, determined by what they want as well as what they possess, the australian and neotropical regions are undoubtedly each comparable with the rest of the earth (arctogæa). but in richness and variety of forms, they are both very much inferior, and are much more nearly comparable with the separate regions which compose it. taking the families of mammalia as established by the best authors, and leaving out the cetacea and the bats, which are almost universally distributed, and about whose classification there is much uncertainty, the number of families represented in each of mr. sclater's regions is as follows: i. palæarctic region has families of terrestrial mammalia. ii. ethiopian " " " " " iii. indian " " " " " iv. australian " " " " " v. neotropical " " " " " vi. nearctic " " " " " { }we see, then, that even the exceedingly rich and isolated neotropical region is less rich and diversified in its forms of mammalian life than the very much smaller area of the indian region, or the temperate palæarctic, and very much less so than the ethiopian region; while even the comparatively poor nearctic region, is nearly equal to it in the number of its family types. if these were united they would possess fifty-five families, a number very disproportionate to those of the remaining two. another consideration is, that although the absence of certain forms of life makes a region more isolated, it does not make it zoologically more important; for we have only to suppose some five or six families, now common to both, to become extinct either in the ethiopian or the indian regions, and they would become as strongly differentiated from all other regions as south america, while still remaining as rich in family types. in birds exactly the same phenomenon recurs, the family types being less numerous in south america than in either of the other tropical regions of the earth, but a larger proportion of them are restricted to it. it will be shown further on, that the ethiopian and indian, (or, as i propose to call it in this work, oriental) regions, are sufficiently differentiated by very important groups of animals peculiar to each; and that, on strict zoological principles they are entitled to rank as regions of equal value with the neotropical and australian. it is perhaps less clear whether the palæarctic should be separated from the oriental region, with which it has undoubtedly much in common; but there are many and powerful reasons for keeping it distinct. there is an unmistakably different facies in the animal forms of the two regions; and although no families of mammalia or birds, and not many genera, are wholly confined to the palæarctic region, a very considerable number of both have their metropolis in it, and are very richly represented. the distinction between the characteristic forms of life in tropical and cold countries is, on the whole, very strongly marked in the northern hemisphere; and to refuse to recognise this in a subdivision of the earth which is established for the very purpose of expressing such contrasts more clearly and concisely than by ordinary geographical terminology, would be both illogical and { }inconvenient. the one question then remains, whether the nearctic region should be kept separate, or whether it should form part of the palæarctic or of the neotropical regions. professor huxley and mr. blyth advocate the former course; mr. andrew murray (for mammalia) and professor newton (for birds) think the latter would be more natural. no doubt much is to be said for both views, but both cannot be right; and it will be shown in the latter part of this chapter that the nearctic region is, on the whole, fully as well defined as the palæarctic, by positive characters which differentiate it from both the adjacent regions. more evidence in the same direction will be found in the second part of this work, in which the extinct faunas of the several regions are discussed. a confirmation of the general views here set forth, as to the distinctness and approximate equivalence of the six regions, is to be found in the fact, that if any two or more of them are combined they themselves become divisions of the next lower rank, or "sub-regions;"--and these will be very much more important, both zoologically and geographically, than the subdivisions of the remaining regions. it is admitted then that these six regions are by no means of precisely equal rank, and that some of them are far more isolated and better characterized than others; but it is maintained that, looked at from every point of view, they are more equal in rank than any others that can be formed; while in geographical equality, compactness of area, and facility of definition, they are beyond all comparison better than any others that have yet been proposed for the purpose of facilitating the study of geographical distribution. they may be arranged and grouped as follows, so as to exhibit their various relations and affinities. regions. { neotropical austral zone notogæa. neogæa { { nearctic } } } boreal zone } { palÆarctic } } { } arctogæa. { ethiopian } } palæogæa { } palæotropical zone } { oriental } } { { australian austral zone notogæa. the above table shows the regions placed in the order followed in the fourth part of this work, and the reasons for which are { }explained in chapter ix. as a matter of convenience, and for other reasons adduced in the same chapter, the detailed exposition of the geographical distribution of the animals of the several regions in part iii. commences with the palæarctic and terminates with the nearctic region. _objections to the system of circumpolar zones._--mr. allen's system of "realms" founded on climatic zones (given at p. ), having recently appeared in an ornithological work of considerable detail and research, calls for a few remarks. the author continually refers to the "_law of the distribution of life in circumpolar zones_," as if it were one generally accepted and that admits of no dispute. but this supposed "law" only applies to the smallest details of distribution--to the range and increasing or decreasing numbers of _species_ as we pass from north to south, or the reverse; while it has little bearing on the great features of zoological geography--the limitation of groups of _genera_ and _families_ to certain areas. it is analogous to the "_law of adaptation_" in the organisation of animals, by which members of various groups are suited for an aerial, an aquatic, a desert, or an arboreal life; are herbivorous, carnivorous, or insectivorous; are fitted to live underground, or in fresh waters, or on polar ice. it was once thought that these adaptive peculiarities were suitable foundations for a classification,--that whales were fishes, and bats birds; and even to this day there are naturalists who cannot recognise the essential diversity of structure in such groups as swifts and swallows, sun-birds and humming-birds, under the superficial disguise caused by adaptation to a similar mode of life. the application of mr. allen's principle leads to equally erroneous results, as may be well seen by considering his separation of "the southern third of australia" to unite it with new zealand as one of his secondary zoological divisions. if there is one country in the world whose fauna is strictly homogeneous, that country is australia; while new guinea on the one hand, and new zealand on the other, are as sharply differentiated from australia as any adjacent parts of the same primary zoological division can possibly be. yet the "_law of circumpolar distribution_" leads to the division of { }australia by an arbitrary east and west line, and a union of the northern two-thirds with new guinea, the southern third with new zealand. hardly less unnatural is the supposed equivalence of south africa (the african temperate realm) to all tropical africa and asia, including madagascar (the indo-african tropical realm). south africa has, it is true, some striking peculiarities; but they are absolutely unimportant as compared with the great and radical differences between tropical africa and tropical asia. on these examples we may fairly rest our rejection of mr. allen's scheme. we must however say a few words on the zoo-geographical nomenclature proposed in the same paper, which seems also very objectionable. the following terms are proposed: _realm_, _region_, _province_, _district_, _fauna and flora_; the first being the highest, the last the lowest and smallest sub-division. considering that most of these terms have been used in very different senses already, and that no means of settling their equivalence in different parts of the globe has been even suggested, such a complex system must lead to endless confusion. until the whole subject is far better known and its first principles agreed upon, the simpler and the fewer the terms employed the better; and as "region" was employed for the primary divisions by mr. sclater, eighteen years ago, and again by mr. andrew murray, in his geographical distribution of mammals; nothing but obscurity can result from each writer using some new, and doubtfully better, term. for the sub-divisions of the regions no advantage is gained by the use of a distinct term--"province"--which has been used (by swainson) for the primary divisions, and which does not itself tell you what rank it holds; whereas the term "sub-region" speaks for itself as being unmistakably next in subordination to region, and this clearness of meaning gives it the preference over any independent term. as to minor named sub-divisions, they seem at present uncalled for; and till the greater divisions are themselves generally agreed on, it seems better to adopt no technical names for what must, for a long time to come, be indeterminate. _does the arctic fauna characterize an independent { }region._--the proposal to consider the arctic regions as constituting one of the primary zoological divisions of the globe, has been advocated by many naturalists. professor huxley seems to consider it advisable, and mr. allen unhesitatingly adopts it, as well as an "antarctic" region to balance it in the southern hemisphere. the reason why an "arctic region" finds no place in this work may therefore be here stated. no species or group of animals can properly be classed as "arctic," which does not exclusively inhabit or greatly preponderate in arctic lands. for the purpose of establishing the need of an "arctic" zoological region, we should consider chiefly such groups as are circumpolar as well as arctic; because, if they are confined to, or greatly preponderate in, either the eastern or western hemispheres, they can be at once allocated to the nearctic or palæarctic regions, and can therefore afford no justification for establishing a new primary division of the globe. thus restricted, only three genera of land mammalia are truly arctic: _gulo_, _myodes_, and _rangifer_. two species of widely dispersed genera are also exclusively arctic, _ursus maritimus_ and _vulpes lagopus_. exclusively arctic birds are not much more numerous. of land birds there are only three genera (each consisting of but a single species), _pinicola_, _nyctea_, and _surnia_. _lagopus_ is circumpolar, but the genus has too wide an extension in the temperate zone to be considered arctic. among aquatic birds we have the genus of ducks, _somateria_; three genera of uriidæ, _uria_, _catarractes_, and _mergulus_; and the small family alcidæ, consisting of the genera _alca_ and _fratercula_. our total then is, three genera of mammalia, three of land, and six of aquatic birds, including one peculiar family. in the southern hemisphere there is only the single genus _aptenodytes_ that can be classed as antarctic; and even that is more properly south temperate. in dealing with this arctic fauna we have two courses open to us; we must either group them with the other species and genera which are common to the two northern regions, or we { }must form a separate primary region for them. as a matter of convenience the former plan seems the best; and it is that which is in accordance with our treatment of other intermediate tracts which contain special forms of life. the great desert zone, extending from the atlantic shores of the sahara across arabia to central asia, is a connecting link between the palæarctic, ethiopian, and oriental regions, and contains a number of "desert" forms wholly or almost wholly restricted to it; but the attempt to define it as a separate region would introduce difficulty and confusion. neither to the "desert" nor to the "arctic" regions could any defined limits, either geographical or zoological, be placed; and the attempt to determine what species or genera should be allotted to them would prove an insoluble problem. the reason perhaps is, that both are essentially unstable, to a much greater extent than those great masses of land with more or less defined barriers, which constitute our six regions. the arctic zone has been, within a recent geological period, both vastly more extensive and vastly less extensive than it is at present. at a not distant epoch it extended over half of europe and of north america. at an earlier date it appears to have vanished altogether; since a luxuriant vegetation of tall deciduous trees and broad-leaved evergreens flourished within ten degrees of the pole! the great deserts have not improbably been equally fluctuating; hence neither the one nor the other can present that marked individuality in their forms of life, which seems to have arisen only when extensive tracts of land have retained some considerable stability both of surface and climatal conditions, during periods sufficient for the development and co-adaptation of their several assemblages of plants and animals. we must also consider that there is no geographical difficulty in dividing the arctic zone between the two northern regions. the only debateable lands, greenland and iceland, are generally admitted to belong respectively to america and europe. neither is there any zoological difficulty; for the land mammalia and birds are on the whole wonderfully restricted to their respective regions even in high latitudes; and the aquatic forms { }are, for our present purpose, of much less importance. as a primary division the "arctic region" would be out of all proportion to the other six, whether as regards its few peculiar types or the limited number of forms and species actually inhabiting it; but it comes in well as a connecting link between two regions, where the peculiar forms of both are specially modified; and is in this respect quite analogous to the great desert zone above referred to. i now proceed to characterize briefly the six regions adopted in the present work, together with the sub-regions into which they may be most conveniently and naturally divided, as shown in our general map. _palæarctic region._--this very extensive region comprises all temperate europe and asia, from iceland to behring's straits and from the azores to japan. its southern boundary is somewhat indefinite, but it seems advisable to comprise in it all the extra-tropical part of the sahara and arabia, and all persia, cabul, and beloochistan to the indus. it comes down to a little below the upper limit of forests in the himalayas, and includes the larger northern half of china, not quite so far down the coast as amoy. it has been said that this region differs from the oriental by negative characters only; a host of tropical families and genera being absent, while there is little or nothing but peculiar species to characterize it absolutely. this however is not true. the palæarctic region is well characterized by possessing families of vertebrata peculiar to it, as well as peculiar genera of mammalia, and of birds, constituting about one-third of the total number it possesses. these are amply sufficient to characterize a region positively; but we must also consider the absence of many important groups of the oriental, ethiopian, and nearctic regions; and we shall then find, that taking positive and negative characters together, and making some allowance for the necessary poverty of a temperate as compared with tropical regions, the palæarctic is almost as strongly marked and well defined as any other. _sub-divisions of the palæarctic region._--these are by no means { }so clearly indicated as in some of the other regions, and they are adopted more for convenience than because they are very natural or strongly marked. the first, or european sub-region, comprises central and northern europe as far south as the pyrenees, the maritime and dinaric alps, the balkan mountains, the black sea, and the caucasus. on the east the caspian sea and the ural mountains seem the most obvious limit; but it is doubtful if they form the actual boundary, which is perhaps better marked by the valley of the irtish, where a pre-glacial sea almost certainly connected the aral and caspian seas with the arctic ocean, and formed an effective barrier which must still, to some extent, influence the distribution of animals. the next, or mediterranean sub-region, comprises south europe, north africa with the extra-tropical portion of the sahara, and egypt to about the first or second cataracts; and eastward through asia minor, persia, and cabul, to the deserts of the indus. the third, or siberian sub-region, consists of all north and central asia north of herat, as far as the eastern limits of the great desert plateau of mongolia, and southward to about the upper limit of trees on the himalayas. the fourth, or manchurian sub-region, consists of japan and north china with the lower valley of the amoor; and it should probably be extended westward in a narrow strip along the himalayas, embracing about , or , feet of vertical distance below the upper limit of trees, till it meets an eastern extension of the mediterranean sub-region a little beyond simla. these extensions are necessary to avoid passing from the oriental region, which is essentially tropical, directly to the siberian sub-region, which has an extreme northern character; whereas the mediterranean and manchurian sub-regions are more temperate in climate. it will be found that between the upper limit of most of the typical oriental groups and the thibetan or siberian fauna, there is a zone in which many forms occur common to temperate china. this is especially the case among the pheasants and finches. { }_ethiopian region._--the limits of this region have been indicated by the definition of the palæarctic region. besides africa south of the tropic of cancer, and its islands, it comprises the southern half of arabia. this region has been said to be identical in the main characters of its mammalian fauna with the oriental region, and has therefore been united with it by mr. a. murray. most important differences have however been overlooked, as the following summary of the peculiarities of the ethiopian region will, i think, show. it possesses peculiar families of vertebrates; peculiar genera of mammalia, being two-thirds of its whole number; and peculiar genera of birds, being three-fifths of all it possesses. it is further characterized by the absence of several families and genera which range over the whole northern hemisphere, details of which will be found in the chapter treating of the region. there are, it is true, many points of resemblance, not to be wondered at between two tropical regions in the same hemisphere, and which have evidently been at one time more nearly connected, both by intervening lands and by a different condition of the lands that even now connect them. but these resemblances only render the differences more remarkable; since they show that there has been an ancient and long-continued separation of the two regions, developing a distinct fauna in each, and establishing marked specialities which the temporary intercommunication and immigration has not sufficed to remove. the entire absence of such wide-spread groups as bears and deer, from a country many parts of which are well adapted to them, and in close proximity to regions where they abound, would alone mark out the ethiopian region as one of the primary divisions of the earth, even if it possessed a less number than it actually does of peculiar family and generic groups. _sub-divisions of the ethiopian region._--the african continent south of the tropic of cancer is more homogeneous in its prominent and superficial zoological features than most of the other regions, but there are nevertheless important and { }deep-seated local peculiarities. two portions can be marked off as possessing many peculiar forms; the luxuriant forest district of equatorial west africa, and the southern extremity or cape district. the remaining portion has no well-marked divisions, and a large proportion of its animal forms range over it from nubia and abyssinia, to senegal on the one side and to the zambesi on the other; this forms our first or east-african sub-region. the second, or west african sub-region extends along the coast from senegal to angola, and inland to the sources of the shary and the congo. the third, or south african sub-region, comprises the cape colony and natal, and is roughly limited by a line from delagoa bay to walvish bay. the fourth, or malagasy sub-region, consists of madagascar and the adjacent islands, from rodriguez to the seychelles; and this differs so remarkably from the continent that it has been proposed to form a distinct primary region for its reception. its productions are indeed highly interesting; since it possesses families, and sub-families of mammals peculiar to itself, while almost all its genera are peculiar. of these a few show oriental or ethiopian affinities, but the remainder are quite isolated. turning to other classes of animals, we find that the birds are almost as remarkable; but, as might be expected, a larger number of genera are common to surrounding countries. more than genera are altogether peculiar, and some of these are so isolated as to require to be classed in separate families or sub-families. the african affinity is however here more strongly shown by the considerable number ( ) of peculiar ethiopian genera which in madagascar have representative species. there can be no doubt therefore about madagascar being more nearly related to the ethiopian than to any other region; but its peculiarities are so great, that, were it not for its small size and the limited extent of its fauna, its claim to rank as a separate region might not seem unreasonable. it is true that it is not poorer in mammals than australia; but that country is far more isolated, and cannot be so decidedly and { }naturally associated with any other region as madagascar can be with the ethiopian. it is therefore the better and more natural course to keep it as a sub-region; the peculiarities it exhibits being of exactly the same kind as those presented by the antilles, by new zealand, and even by celebes and ceylon, but in a much greater degree. _oriental region._--on account of the numerous objections that have been made to naming a region from the least characteristic portion of it, and not thinking "malayan," proposed by mr. blanford, a good term, (as it has a very circumscribed and definite meaning, and especially because the "malay" archipelago is half of it in the australian region,) i propose to use the word "oriental" instead of "indian," as being geographically applicable to the whole of the countries included in the region and to very few beyond it; as being euphonious, and as being free from all confusion with terms already used in zoological geography. i trust therefore that it may meet with general acceptance. this small, compact, but rich and varied region, consists of all india and china from the limits of the palæarctic region; all the malay peninsula and islands as far east as java and baly, borneo and the philippine islands; and formosa. it is positively characterized by possessing peculiar families of vertebrata; by genera of land mammalia, and genera of land birds, altogether confined to it; these peculiar genera forming in each case about one half of the total number it possesses. _sub-divisions of the oriental region._--first we have the indian sub-region, consisting of central india from the foot of the himalayas in the west, and south of the ganges to the east, as far as a line drawn from goa curving south and up to the kistna river; this is the portion which has most affinity with africa. the second, or ceylonese sub-region, consists of the southern extremity of india with ceylon; this is a mountainous forest region, and possesses several peculiar forms as well as some malayan types not found in the first sub-region. { }next we have the indo-chinese sub-region, comprising south china and burmah, extending westward along the himalayan range to an altitude of about , or , feet, and southward to tavoy or tenasserim. the last is the indo-malayan sub-region, comprising the peninsula of malacca and the malay islands to baly, borneo, and the philippines. on account of the absence from the first sub-region of many of the forms most characteristic of the other three, and the number of families and genera of mammalia and birds which occur in it and also in africa, it has been thought by some naturalists that this part of india has at least an equal claim to be classed as a part of the ethiopian region. this question will be found fully discussed in chapter xii. devoted to the oriental region, where it is shown that the african affinity is far less than has been represented, and that in all its essential features central india is wholly oriental in its fauna. before leaving this region a few words may be said about lemuria, a name proposed by mr. sclater for the site of a supposed submerged continent extending from madagascar to ceylon and sumatra, in which the lemuroid type of animals was developed. this is undoubtedly a legitimate and highly probable supposition, and it is an example of the way in which a study of the geographical distribution of animals may enable us to reconstruct the geography of a bygone age. but we must not, as mr. blyth proposed, make this hypothetical land one of our actual zoological regions. it represents what was probably a primary zoological region in some past geological epoch; but what that epoch was and what were the limits of the region in question, we are quite unable to say. if we are to suppose that it comprised the whole area now inhabited by lemuroid animals, we must make it extend from west africa to burmah, south china, and celebes; an area which it possibly did once occupy, but which cannot be formed into a modern zoological region without violating much more important affinities. if, on the other hand, we leave out all those areas which undoubtedly belong to other regions, we reduce lemuria to madagascar and its adjacent { }islands, which, for reasons already stated, it is not advisable to treat as a primary zoological region. the theory of this ancient continent and the light it may throw on existing anomalies of distribution, will be more fully considered in the geographical part of this work. _australian region._--mr. sclater's original name seems preferable to professor huxley's, "austral-asian;" the inconvenience of which alteration is sufficiently shown by the fact that mr. blyth proposed to use the very same term as an appropriate substitute for the "indian region" of mr. sclater. australia is the great central mass of the region; it is by far the richest in varied and highly remarkable forms of life; and it therefore seems in every way fitted to give a name to the region of which it is the essential element. the limits of this region in the pacific are somewhat obscure, but as so many of the pacific islands are extremely poor zoologically, this is not of great importance. _sub-divisions of the australian region._--the first sub-region is the austro-malayan, including the islands from celebes and lombock on the west to the solomon islands on the east. the australian sub-region comes next, consisting of australia and tasmania. the third, or polynesian sub-region, will consist of all the tropical pacific islands, and is characterized by several peculiar genera of birds which are all allied to australian types. the fourth, consists of new zealand with auckland, chatham, and norfolk islands, and must be called the new zealand sub-region. the extreme peculiarities of new zealand, due no doubt to its great isolation and to its being the remains of a more extensive land, have induced several naturalists to suggest that it ought justly to form a zoological region by itself. but the inconveniences of such a procedure have been already pointed out; and when we look at its birds as a whole (they being the only class sufficiently well represented to found any conclusion upon) we find that the majority of them belong to australian genera, and where the genera are peculiar they are most nearly related to australian types. the preservation in these islands { }of a single representative of a unique order of reptiles, is, as before remarked, of the same character as the preservation of the _proteus_ in the caverns of carniola; and can give the locality where it happens to have survived no claim to form a primary zoological region, unless supported by a tolerably varied and distinctly characterized fauna, such as never exists in a very restricted and insular area. _neotropical region._--mr. sclater's original name for this region is preserved, because change of nomenclature is always an evil; and neither professor huxley's suggested alteration "austro-columbia," nor mr. sclater's new term "dendrogæa," appear to be improvements. the region is essentially a tropical one, and the extra-tropical portion of it is not important enough to make the name inappropriate. that proposed by professor huxley is not free from the same kind of criticism, since it would imply that the region was exclusively south american, whereas a considerable tract of north america belongs to it. this region includes south america, the antilles and tropical north america; and it possesses more peculiar families of vertebrates and genera of birds and mammalia than any other region. _subdivisions of the neotropical region._--the great central mass of south america, from the shores of venezuela to paraguay and eastern peru, constitutes the chief division, and may be termed the brazilian sub-region. it is on the whole a forest country; its most remarkable forms are highly developed arboreal types; and it exhibits all the characteristics of this rich and varied continent in their highest development. the second, or chilian sub-region, consists of the open plains, pampas, and mountains of the southern extremity of the continent; and we must include in it the west side of the andes as far as the limits of the forest near payta, and the whole of the high andean plateaus as far as ° of south latitude; which makes it coincide with the range of the camelidæ and chinchillidæ. the third, or mexican sub-region, consists of central america and southern mexico, but it has no distinguishing { }characteristics except the absence of some of the more highly specialized neotropical groups. it is, however, a convenient division as comprising the portion of the north american continent which belongs zoologically to south america. the fourth, or antillean sub-region, consists of the west india islands (except trinidad and tobago, which are detached portions of the continent and must be grouped in the first sub-region); and these reproduce, in a much less marked degree, the phenomena presented by madagascar. terrestrial mammals are almost entirely wanting, but the larger islands possess three genera which are altogether peculiar to them. the birds are of south american forms, but comprise many peculiar genera. terrestrial molluscs are more abundant and varied than in any part of the globe of equal extent; and if these alone were considered, the antilles would constitute an important zoological region. _nearctic region._--this region comprises all temperate north america and greenland. the arctic lands and islands beyond the limit of trees form a transitional territory to the palæarctic region, but even here there are some characteristic species. the southern limit between this region and the neotropical is a little uncertain; but it may be drawn at about the rio grande del norte on the east coast, and a little north of mazatlan on the west; while on the central plateau it descends much farther south, and should perhaps include all the open highlands of mexico and guatemala. this would coincide with the range of several characteristic nearctic genera. _distinction of the nearctic from the palæarctic region._--the nearctic region possesses twelve peculiar families of vertebrates or one-tenth of its whole number. it has also twenty-four peculiar genera of mammalia and fifty-two of birds, in each case nearly one-third of all it possesses. this proportion is very nearly the same as in the palæarctic region, while the number of peculiar families of vertebrata is very much greater. it has been already seen that both mr. blyth and professor huxley are disposed to unite this region with the palæarctic, while professor newton, in his article on birds in the new edition of the { }encyclopædia britannica, thinks that as regards that class it can hardly claim to be more than a sub-region of the neotropical. these views are mutually destructive, but it will be shown in the proper place, that on independent grounds the nearctic region can very properly be maintained. _subdivisions of the nearctic region._--the sub-regions here depend on the great physical features of the country, and have been in some cases accurately defined by american naturalists. first we have the californian sub-region, consisting of california and oregon--a narrow tract between the sierra nevada and the pacific, but characterized by a number of peculiar species and by several genera found nowhere else in the region. the second, or rocky mountain sub-region, consists of this great mountain range with its plateaus, and the central plains and prairies to about ° west longitude, but including new mexico and texas in the south. the third and most important sub-region, which may be termed the alleghanian, extends eastward to the atlantic, including the mississippi valley, the alleghany mountains, and the eastern united states. this is an old forest district, and contains most of the characteristic animal types of the region. the fourth, or canadian sub-region, comprises all the northern part of the continent from the great lakes to the arctic ocean; a land of pine-forests and barren wastes, characterized by arctic types and the absence of many of the genera which distinguish the more southern portions of the region. _observations on the series of sub-regions._--the twenty-four sub-regions here adopted were arrived at by a careful consideration of the distribution of the more important genera, and of the materials, both zoological and geographical, available for their determination; and it was not till they were almost finally decided on, that they were found to be equal in number throughout all the regions--four in each. as this uniformity is of great advantage in tabular and diagrammatic presentations of the distribution of the several families, i decided not to disturb it unless very strong reasons should appear for adopting a greater or less number in any particular case. such however have not { }arisen; and it is hoped that these divisions will prove as satisfactory and useful to naturalists in general as they have been to the author. of course, in a detailed study of any region much more minute sub-division may be required; but even in that case it is believed that the sub-regions here adopted, will be found, with slight modifications, permanently available for exhibiting general results. i give here a table showing the proportionate richness and speciality of each region as determined by its _families_ of vertebrates and _genera_ of mammalia and birds; and also a general table of the regions and sub-regions, arranged in the order that seems best to show their mutual relations. comparative richness of the six regions. +-------------+-----------------+ | | vertebrata. | | regions. |families|peculiar| | | |families| +-------------+--------+--------+ | palæarctic | | | | ethiopian | | | | oriental | | | | australian | | | | neotropical | | | | nearctic | | | +-------------+--------+--------+ +-------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | | mammalia. | birds. | | regions. |genera|peculiar| per |genera|peculiar| per | | | |genera |centage| |genera |centage| +-------------+------+--------+-------+------+--------+-------+ | palæarctic | | | | | | | | ethiopian | | | | | | | | oriental | | | | | | | | australian | | | | | | | | neotropical | | | | | | | | nearctic | | | | | | | +-------------+------+--------+-------+------+--------+-------+ table of regions and sub-regions. +--------------+-----------------------------+--------------------------+ | regions. | sub-regions. | remarks. | +--------------+-----------------------------+--------------------------+ |i. palæarctic | . north europe. | | | | . mediterranean (or s. eu.) |transition to ethiopian. | | | . siberia. |transition to nearctic. | | | . manchuria (or japan) |transition to oriental. | | | | | |ii. ethiopian | . east africa. |transition to palæarctic. | | | . west africa. | | | | . south africa. | | | | . madagascar. | | | | | | |iii. oriental | . hindostan(or central ind.)|transition to ethiopian. | | | . ceylon. | | | | . indo-china (or himalayas) |transition to palæarctic. | | | . indo-malaya. |transition to australian. | | | | | |iv. australian| . austro-malaya. |transition to oriental. | | | . australia. | | | | . polynesia. | | | | . new zealand. |transition to neotropical.| | | | | |v. neotropical| . chili (or s. temp. am.) |transition to australian. | | | . brazil. | | | | . mexico (or trop. n. am.) |transition to nearctic. | | | . antilles. | | | | | | |vi. nearctic | . california. | | | | . rocky mountains. |transition to neotropical.| | | . alleghanies (or east u.s.)| | | | . canada. |transition to palæarctic. | +--------------+-----------------------------+--------------------------+ { }chapter v. classification as affecting the study of geographical distribution. a little consideration will convince us, that no inquiry into the causes and laws which determine the geographical distribution of animals or plants can lead to satisfactory results, unless we have a tolerably accurate knowledge of the affinities of the several species, genera, and families to each other; in other words, we require a natural classification to work upon. let us, for example, take three animals--_a_, _b_, and _c_--which have a general external resemblance to each other, and are usually considered to be really allied; and let us suppose that _a_ and _b_ inhabit the same or adjacent districts, while c is found far away on the other side of the globe, with no animals at all resembling it in any of the intervening countries. we should here have a difficult problem to solve; for we should have to show that the general laws by which we account for the main features of distribution, will explain this exceptional case. but now, suppose some comparative anatomist takes these animals in hand, and finds that the resemblance of _c_ to _a_ and _b_ is only superficial, while their internal structure exhibits marked and important differences; and that _c_ really belongs to another group of animals, _d_, which inhabits the very region in which _c_ was found--and we should no longer have anything to explain. this is no imaginary case. up to a very few years ago a curious mexican animal, _bassaris astuta_, was almost always classed in the civet family (viverridæ), a group entirely { }confined to africa and asia; but it has now been conclusively shown by professor flower that its real affinities are with the racoons (procyonidæ), a group confined to north and south america. in another case, however, an equally careful examination shows, that an animal peculiar to the himalayas (_Ælurus fulgens_) has its nearest ally in the _cercoleptes_ of south america. here, therefore, the geographical difficulty really exists, and any satisfactory theory of the causes that have led to the existing distribution of living things, must be able to account, more or less definitely, for this and other anomalies. from these cases it will be evident, that if any class or order of animals is very imperfectly known and its classification altogether artificial, it is useless to attempt to account for the anomalies its distribution may present; since those anomalies may be, to a great extent, due to false notions as to the affinities of its component species. according to the laws and causes of distribution discussed in the preceding chapters, we should find limited and defined distribution to be the rule, universal or indefinite distribution to be the exception, in every natural group corresponding to what are usually regarded as families and genera; and so much is this the case in nature, that when we find a group of this nominal rank scattered as it were at random over the earth, we have a strong presumption that it is not natural; but is, to a considerable extent, a haphazard collection of species. of course this reasoning will only apply, in cases where there are no unusual means of dispersal, nor any exceptional causes which might determine a scattered distribution. from the considerations now adduced it becomes evident, that it is of the first importance for the success of our inquiry to secure a natural classification of animals, especially as regards the families and genera. the higher groups, such as classes and orders, are of less importance for our purpose; because they are almost always widely and often universally distributed, except those which are so small as to be evidently the nearly extinct representatives of a once more extensive series of forms. we now proceed to explain the classification to be adopted, as low down as the series of families. to these, equivalent english { }names are given wherever they exist, in order that readers possessing no technical knowledge, may form some conception of the meaning of the term "family" in zoology. the primary divisions of the animal kingdom according to two eminent modern authorities are as follows: huxley. carus and gerstaeker. classification of animals handbuch der zoologie ( ). ( ). . protozoa } } . protozoa. . infusoria } . coelenterata . coelenterata. . annuloida . echinodermata. { . vermes. . annulosa { { . arthropoda. . molluscoida . molluscoida. . mollusca . mollusca. . vertebrata . vertebrata. for reasons already stated it is only with the fifth, seventh, and eighth of these groups that the present work proposes to deal; and even with the fifth and seventh only partially and in the most general way. the classes of the vertebrata, according to both the authors above quoted, are: . mammalia. . aves. . reptilia. . amphibia. . pisces, in which order they will be taken here. the sub-classes and orders of mammalia are as follows: mammalia. huxley ( ), flower ( ). carus ( ). { . primates. { . primates { { { . prosimii. { . chiroptera . chiroptera. { . insectivora . insectivora. { { . carnivora. { . carnivora { { { . pinnipedia. monodelphia { . cetacea } { } . natantia. { . sirenia } { { . artiodactyla. { . ungulata { { { . perissodactyla. { . proboscidea . proboscidea. { . hyracoidea . lamnungia. { . rodentia . rodentia. { . edentata . bruta. { didelphia . marsupialia . marsupialia. ornithodelphia . monotremata . monotremata. { }the above series of orders is arranged according to professor flower's _osteology of mammalia_, and they will follow in this succession throughout my work. professor huxley arranges the same orders in a different series. in determining the manner in which the several orders shall be subdivided into families, i have been guided in my choice of classifications mainly by the degree of attention the author appears to have paid to the group, and his known ability as a systematic zoologist; and in a less degree by considerations of convenience as regards the special purposes of geographical distribution. in many cases it is a matter of great doubt whether a certain group should form several distinct families or be united into one or two; but one method may bring out the peculiarities of distribution much better than the other, and this is, in our case, a sufficient reason for adopting it. for the primates i follow, with some modifications, the classification of mr. st. george mivart given in his article "apes" in the new edition of the _encyclopædia britannica_, and in his paper in the _proceedings of the zoological society of london_, , p. . it is as follows: order--primates, divided into two sub-orders: i. anthropoidea. ii. lemuroidea. sub-order--anthropoidea. fam. hominidæ man. { . simiidæ anthropoid apes. simii { . semnopithecidæ old-world monkeys. { . cynopithecidæ baboons and macaques. cebii { . cebidæ american monkeys. { . hapalidæ marmosets. sub-order--lemuroidea. fam. . lemuridæ lemurs. . tarsiidæ tarsiers. . chiromyidæ aye-ayes. omitting man (for reasons stated in the preface) the three first families are considered by professor mivart to be sub-families of simiidæ; but as the geographical distribution of the old world apes is especially interesting, it is thought { }better to treat them as families, a rank which is claimed for the anthropoid apes by many naturalists. as no good systematic work on the genera and species of bats has been yet published, i adopt the five families as generally used in this country, with the genera as given in the papers of dr. j. e. gray and mr. tomes. a monograph by dr. peters has long been promised, and his outline arrangement was published in , but this will perhaps be materially altered when the work appears. order--chiroptera. fam. frugivora . pteropidæ fruit-eating bats. {istiophora { . phyllostomidæ leaf-nosed bats. insectivora { { . rhinolophidæ horse-shoe bats. { {gymnorhini { . vespertilionidæ true bats. { . noctilionidæ dog-headed bats. the genera of chiroptera are in a state of great confusion, the names used by different authors being often not at all comparable, so that the few details given of the distribution of the bats are not trustworthy. we have therefore made little use of this order in the theoretical part of the work. the osteology of the insectivora has been very carefully worked out by professor mivart in the _jounral of anatomy and physiology_ (vol. ii., p. ), and i follow his classification as given there, and in the _proceedings of the zoological society_ ( ). order--insectivora. fam. . galeopithecidæ flying lemurs. . macroscelididæ elephant shrews. . tupaiidæ squirrel shrews. . erinaceidæ hedgehogs. . centetidæ tenrecs. . potamogalidæ otter shrew. . chrysochloridæ golden moles. . talpidæ moles. . soricidæ shrews. the next order, carnivora, has been studied in detail by professor flower; and i adopt the classification given by him in the _proceedings of the zoological society_, , p. . { }order--carnivora. fam. { . felidæ cats, lion, &c. { . cryptoproctidæ cryptoprocta. { Æluroidea { . viverridæ civets. { { . protelidæ aard-wolf. { { . hyænidæ hyænas. { fissipedia { cynoidea . canidæ dogs, foxes, &c. { { { . mustelidæ weasels. { { . procyonidæ racoons. { arctoidea { . Æluridæ pandas. { . ursidæ bears. { . otariidæ eared seals. pinnipedia { . trichechidæ walrus. { . phocidæ seals. the cetacea is one of those orders the classification of which is very unsettled. the animals comprising it are so huge, and there is so much difficulty in preserving them, that only a very few species are known with anything like completeness. a considerable number of genera and species have been described or indicated; but as many of these are founded on imperfect specimens of perhaps a single individual, it is not to be wondered at that those few naturalists who occupy themselves with the study of these large animals, cannot agree as to the proper mode of grouping them into natural families. they are, however, of but little importance to us, as almost all the species inhabit the ocean, and of only a few of them can it be said that anything is accurately known of their distribution. i therefore consider it best to follow professor carus, who makes a smaller number of families; but i give also the arrangement of dr. gray in his british museum catalogue of whales and seals, as modified subsequently in the _proceedings of zoological society_, , p. . the zeuglodontidæ, a family of extinct tertiary whales, are classed by professors owen and carus between cetacea and sirenia, while professor huxley considers them to have been carnivorous and allied to the seals. { }order--cetacea. fam. (carus). fam. (gray). sub-order i.-- { balænidæ . balænidæ. mystaceti. { balænopteridæ . balænopteridæ. { catodontidæ . catodontidæ. { { { hyperoodontidæ. { hyperoodontidæ . { epiodontidæ. { { xiphiadæ. { sub-order ii.-- { monodontidæ . (part of delphinidæ.) odontoceti { { { platanistidæ. { { iniadæ. { { delphinidæ. { delphinidæ . { globiocephalidæ. { orcadæ. { belugidæ. { pontoporiadæ. extinct family zeuglodontidæ. order--sirenia. the order sirenia, comprising the sea-cows, consists of a single family: family . manatidæ. the extensive order ungulata comprises the three orders pachydermata, solidungula, and ruminantia of the older naturalists. the following classification is that now generally adopted, the only difference of opinion being as to whether some of the groups should be classed as families or sub-families, a matter of little importance for our purpose: order--ungulata. fam. perissodactyla or } . equidæ horses. odd-toed ungulates } . tapiridæ tapirs. . rhinocerotidæ rhinoceros. { suina { . hippopotamidæ hippopotamus. { { . suidæ swine. { artiodactyla or { tylopoda . camelidæ camels. even-toed ungulates { { tragulina . tragulidæ chevrotains. { { { . cervidæ deer. { pecora { . camelopardidæ giraffes. { . bovidæ { cattle, sheep, { antelopes, &c. { }the two next orders consist of but a single family each, viz.: order fam. proboscidea . elephantidæ elephants. hyracoidea . hyracidæ rock-rabbits. we now come to the rodentia, a very extensive and difficult order, in which there is still much difference of opinion as to the details of classification, although the main outlines are pretty well settled. the foundations of a true classification of this order were laid by mr. g. r. waterhouse more than thirty years ago, and succeeding authors have done little more than follow his arrangement with unimportant modifications. professor lilljeborg, of upsala, has however made a special study of this group of animals, and has given an original and detailed classification of all the genera. (_systematisk Öfversigt af de gnagande däggdjuren, glires. upsala, ._) i follow this arrangement with a few slight modifications suggested by other naturalists, and which make it better adapted for the purposes of this work. order--rodentia. fam. { . muridæ rats. { . spalacidæ mole-rats. { . dipodidæ jerboas. { . myoxidæ dormice. { murina { . saccomyidæ pouched rats. { (waterhouse) { . castoridæ beavers. { { . sciuridæ squirrels. simplicidentati { { . haploodontidæ sewellels. { { { . chinchillidæ chinchillas. { { . octodontidæ octodons. { hystricina { . echimyidæ spiny rats. (waterhouse) { . cercolabidæ tree porcupines { . hystricidæ porcupines. { . caviidæ cavies. duplicidentati { leporina { . lagomyidæ pikas. { (waterhouse) { . leporidæ hares. the edentata have been classified by mr. turner, in the _proceedings of the zoological society_ ( , p. ), by dr. gray in the british museum catalogue, and by professor carus in his _handbuch_. the former takes a middle course between { }the numerous families of dr. gray, seven in number, and the two families to which professor carus restricts the existing species. i therefore follow mr. turner. order--edentata. fam. bradypoda . bradypodidæ sloths. { . manididæ scaly ant-eaters. { . dasypodidæ armadillos. entomophaga { . orycteropodidæ ant-bears. { . myrmecophagidæ ant-eaters. the marsupials have been well classified and described by mr. waterhouse in the first volume of his _natural history of mammalia_, and his arrangement is here followed. the suborders adopted by professor carus are also given. order--marsupialia. fam. { . didelphidæ opossums. { . dasyuridæ native cats. rapacia (wagner) { . myrmecobiidæ native ant-eater. { . peramelidæ bandicoots. poephaga (owen) . macropodidæ kangaroos. carpophaga (owen) . phalangistidæ phalangers. rhizophaga (owen) . phascolomyidæ wombats. order--monotremata. the last order, the monotremata, consist of two families, which professor carus combines into one, but which it seems more natural to keep separate. fam. . ornithorhynchidæ duckbill. . echidnidæ echidna. { }birds. birds are perhaps the most difficult to classify of all the divisions of the vertebrata. the species and genera are exceedingly numerous, and there is such a great uniformity in general structure and even in the details of external form, that it is exceedingly difficult to find characters by which orders and families can be characterised. for a long time the system of vigors and swainson was followed; but this wholly ignored anatomical characters and in many cases plainly violated well-marked affinities. characters derived from the form of the sternum, the scutellation of the tarsi, and the arrangement of the feathers, have all assisted in determining natural groups. more recently professor huxley has applied the variations of the bony palate to the general arrangement of birds; and still more recently professor garrod has studied certain leg-muscles for the same purpose. the condition of the young as regards plumage, and even the form, texture, and coloration of the egg, have also been applied to solve doubtful cases of affinity; yet the problem is not settled, and it will probably remain for another generation of ornithologists to determine with any approach to accuracy what are the most natural divisions of the class into orders and families. in a work like the present it is evidently not advisable to adopt all the recent classifications; since experience has shown that no arrangement in which one set of characters is mainly relied on, long holds its ground. such modifications of the old system as seem to be well established will be adopted; but the older groups will be adhered to in cases where the most recent classifications are open to doubt, or seem inconvenient as separating families, which, owing to their similarity in general structure, form and habits are best kept together for the purposes of geographical distribution. the old plan of putting the birds of prey at the head of the class, is now almost wholly given up; both because they are not { }the most highly organised, but only one of the most specialised forms of birds, and because their affinities are not with the passeres, but rather with the cormorants and some other of the aquatic groups. the passeres therefore are placed first; and the series of families is begun by the thrushes, which are certainly the most typical and generally well-organised form of birds. instead of the scansores and fissirostres of the older authors, the order picariæ, which includes them both, is adopted, but with some reluctance; as the former are, generally speaking, well marked and strongly contrasted groups, although certain families have been shown to be intermediate. in the picariæ are included the goat-suckers, swifts, and humming-birds, sometimes separated as a distinct order, macrochires. the parrots and the pigeons form each a separate order. the old groups of grallæ and anseres are preserved, as more convenient than breaking them up into widely separated parts; for though the latter plan may in some cases more strictly represent their affinities, its details are not yet established, nor is it much used by ornithologists. in accordance with these views the following is the series of orders and families of birds adopted in this work: class--aves. orders. . passeres { including the great mass of the smaller birds--crows, { finches, flycatchers, creepers, honeysuckers, &c., &c. . picariæ { including woodpeckers, cuckoos, toucans, kingfishers, { swifts, &c., &c. . psittaci parrots only. . columbæ pigeons and the dodo. . gallinæ grouse, pheasants, curassows, mound-builders, &c. . opisthocomi the hoazin only. . accipitres eagles, owls, and vultures. . grallæ herons, plovers, rails, &c. . anseres gulls, ducks, divers, &c. . struthiones ostrich, cassowary, apteryx, &c. the passeres consist of fifty families, which may be arranged and grouped in series as follows. it must however be remembered that the first family in each series is not always that which is most allied to the last family of the preceding series. all extensive natural groups consist of divergent or branching alliances, which renders it impossible to arrange the whole in one continuous series. { }a.--typical or turdoid passeres. . turdidæ thrushes. . sylviidæ warblers. . timaliidæ babblers. . panuridæ reedlings. . cinclidæ dippers. . troglodytidæ wrens. . chamæidæ . certhiidæ creepers. . sittidæ nuthatches. . paridæ tits. . liotrichidæ hill-tits. . phyllornithidæ green bulbuls. . pycnonotidæ bulbuls. . oriolidæ orioles. . campephagidæ caterpillar-shrikes. . dicruridæ drougos. . muscicapidæ flycatchers. . pachycephalidæ thick-heads. . laniidæ shrikes. . corvidæ crows. . paradiseidæ paradise-birds. . meliphagidæ honey-suckers. . nectarineidæ sun-birds. b.--tanagroid passeres. . dicæidæ flower-peckers. . drepanididæ . cærebidæ sugar-birds. . mniotiltidæ wood-warblers. . vireonidæ greenlets. . ampelidæ waxwings. . hirundinidæ swallows. . icteridæ hangnests. . tanagridæ tanagers. . fringillidæ finches. c.--sturnoid passeres. . ploceidæ weaver-birds. . sturnidæ starlings. . artamidæ swallow-shrikes. . alaudidæ larks. . motacillidæ wagtails. d.--formicaroid passeres. . tyrannidæ tyrants. . pipridæ manakins. . cotingidæ chatterers. . phytotomidæ plant-cutters. . eurylæmidæ broad-bills. . dendrocolaptidæ american creepers. . formicariidæ ant-thrushes. . pteroptochidæ { } . pittidæ pittas. . paictidæ e.--anomalous passeres. . menuridæ lyre-birds. . atrichidæ scrub-birds. the preceding arrangement is a modification of that proposed by myself in the _ibis_ ( , p. ). the principal alterations are adding the families panuridæ and sittidæ in series a, commencing series b with dicæidæ; bringing vireonidæ next to the allied american family mniotiltidæ; and placing motacillidæ in series c next to alaudidæ. at the suggestion of professor newton i place menuridæ and atrichidæ apart from the other passeres, as they both possess striking peculiarities of anatomical structure. the heterogeneous families constituting the order picariæ may be conveniently arranged as follows: { . picidæ woodpeckers. { . yungidæ wrynecks. { . indicatoridæ honey-guides. sub-order-- { . megalæmidæ barbets. scansores. { . rhamphastidæ toucans. { . musophagidæ plantain-eaters. { . coliidæ colies. { . cuculidæ cuckoos. intermediate . leptosomidæ the leptosoma. { . bucconidæ puff-birds. { . galbulidæ jacamars. { . coraciidæ rollers. { . meropidæ bee-eaters. { . todidæ todies. { . momotidæ motmots. { . trogonidæ trogons. sub-order-- { . alcedinidæ kingfishers. fissirostres. { . bucerotidæ hornbills. { . upupidæ hoopoes. { . irrisoridæ promerops. { . podargidæ frog-mouths. { . steatornithidæ the guacharo. { . caprimulgidæ goatsuckers. { . cypselidæ swifts. { . trochilidæ humming-birds. { }the psittaci or parrot tribe are still in a very unsettled state of classification; that recently proposed by professor garrod differing widely from the arrangement adopted in dr. finsch's monograph of the order. taking advantage of the researches of these and other authors, the following families are adopted as the most convenient in the present state of our knowledge: . cacatuidæ the cockatoos. . platycercidæ the broad-tailed paroquets of australia. . palæornithidæ the oriental parrots and paroquets. . trichoglossidæ the brush-tongued paroquets and lories. . conuridæ the macaws and their allies. . psittacidæ the african and south american parrots. . nestoridæ the nestors of new zealand. . stringopidæ the owl-parrots of new zealand. the columbæ, or pigeons, are also in a very unsatisfactory state as regards a natural classification. the families, sub-families, and genera proposed by various authors are very numerous, and often quite irreconcilable. i therefore adopt only two families; and generally follow mr. g. r. gray's hand-list for the genera, except where trustworthy authorities exist for a different arrangement. the families are: . columbidæ pigeons and doves. . dididæ the extinct dodo and allies. the gallinæ, or game-birds, may be divided into seven families: fam. sub-fam. . pteroclidæ sand-grouse. . tetraonidæ partridges and grouse. { pavoninæ peafowl. { lophophorinæ tragopans, &c. { phasianinæ pheasants. . phasianidæ { euplocaminæ fire-backed pheasants, &c. { gallinæ jungle-fowl. { meleagrinæ turkeys. { numidinæ guinea-fowl. . turnicidæ hemipodes. . megapodiidæ mound-makers. { cracinæ curassows. . cracidæ { penelopinæ guans. { oreophasinæ mountain-pheasant. . tinamidæ tinamous. { }the opisthocomi consist of one family containing a single species, the "hoatzin" of guiana. family . opisthocomidæ. the accipitres, or birds of prey, which were long considered to be the highest and most perfect order of birds, are now properly placed lower down in the series, their affinities being more with the aquatic than with the perching birds. the following is the arrangement adopted by mr. sharpe in his recently published british museum catalogue of diurnal birds of prey:-- sub-orders. fam. sub-families. { vulturinæ vultures. { . vulturidæ { sarcorhamphinæ turkey-buzzards. { falcones { . serpentariidæ { { { polyborniæ caracaras. { { accipitrinæ hawks. { . falconidæ { buteoninæ buzzards. { aquilinæ eagles. { falconinæ falcons. pandiones . pandionidæ fishing-eagles. striges . strigidæ owls. the grallæ or grallatores are in a very unsettled state. the following series of families is in accordance with the views of some of the best modern ornithologists: . rallidæ rails, &c. . scolopacidæ sandpipers and snipes . chionididæ sheath-bills. . thinocoridæ quail-snipes. . parridæ jacanas. . glareolidæ pratincoles. . charadriidæ plovers. . otididæ bustards. . gruidæ cranes. . cariamidæ cariamas. . aramidæ guaraunas. . psophiidæ trumpeters. . eurypygidæ sun-bitterns. . rhinochoetidæ kagus. . ardeidæ herons. . plataleidæ spoonbills and ibis. . ciconiidæ storks. . palamedeidæ screamers. . phænicopteridæ flamingoes. { }the anseres or natatores are almost equally unsettled. the flamingoes are usually placed in this order, but their habits best assort with those of the waders. fam. . anatidæ duck and geese. . laridæ gulls. . procellariidæ petrels. . pelecanidæ pelicans. . spheniscidæ penguins. . colymbidæ divers. . podicipidæ grebes. . alcidæ auks. the last order of birds is the struthiones or ratitæ, considered by many naturalists to form a distinct sub-class. it consists of comparatively few species, either living or recently extinct. fam. { . struthionidæ ostriches. living { . casuariidæ cassowaries. { . apterygidæ apteryx. { . dinornithidæ dinornis. extinct { . palapterygidæ palapteryx. { . Æpyornithidæ Æpyornis. reptiles. in reptiles i follow the classification of dr. günther as given in the _philosophical transactions_, vol. clvii., p. . he divides the class into five orders as follows:-- sub-classes. orders. { . ophidia serpents. i. squamata { . lacertilia lizards. { . rhyncocephalina the hatteria. ii. loricata . crocodilia crocodiles. iii. cataphracta . chelonia tortoises. in the arrangement of the families comprised in each of these orders i also follow the arrangement of dr. günther and dr. j. e. gray, as given in the british museum catalogue, or as modified by the former gentleman who has kindly given me much personal information. { }the ophidia, or snakes, form the first order and are classified as follows:-- fam. { . typhlopidæ } { . tortricidæ } { . xenopeltidæ } burrowing snakes. { . uropeltidæ } { . calamaridæ dwarf ground-snakes. { . oligodontidæ. { . colubridæ colubrine snakes. { . homalopsidæ fresh-water snakes. { . psammophidæ desert-snakes. innocuous snakes { . rachiodontidæ. { . dendrophidæ tree-snakes. { . dryiophidæ whip-snakes. { . dipsasidæ nocturnal tree-snakes. { . scytalidæ { . lycodontidæ fanged ground-snakes. { . amblycephalidæ blunt-heads. { . pythonidæ pythons. { . erycidæ sand-snakes. { . acrochordidæ wart-snakes. { . elapidæ cobras, &c. venomous colubrine { . dendraspididæ. snakes { . atractaspididæ. { . hydrophidæ sea-snakes. { . crotalidæ pit-vipers. viperine snakes { . viperidæ true vipers. the second order, lacertilia, are arranged as follows:-- fam. . trogonophidæ } . chirotidæ } . amphisbænidæ } amphisbænians. . lepidosternidæ } . varanidæ water lizards. . helodermidæ. . teidæ teguexins. . lacertidæ } land lizards. . zonuridæ } . chalcidæ. . anadiadæ. . chirocolidæ. . iphisadæ. . cercosauridæ. . chamæsauridæ. . gymnopthalmidæ gape-eyed scinks. . pygopodidæ two-legged lizards. . aprasiadæ. . lialidæ. { } . scincidæ scinks. . ophiomoridæ snake-lizards. . sepidæ sand-lizards. . acontiadæ. . geckotidæ geckoes. . iguanidæ iguanas. . agamidæ fringed lizards. . chameleonidæ chameleons. the third order, rhyncocephalina consists of a single family:-- . rhyncocephalidæ the hatteria of new zealand. the fourth order, crocodilia or loricata, consists of three families:-- . gavialidæ gavials. . crocodilidæ crocodiles. . alligatoridæ alligators. the fifth order, chelonia, consists of four families:-- . testudinidæ land and fresh-water tortoises. . chelydidæ fresh-water turtles. . trionychidæ soft turtles. . cheloniidæ sea turtles. amphibia. in the amphibia i follow the classification of professor mivart, as given for a large part of the order in the _proceedings of the zoological society_ for . for the remainder i follow dr. strauch, dr. günther, and a mss. arrangement kindly furnished me by professor mivart. the class is first divided into three groups or orders, and then into families as follows:-- { }order i.--pseudophidia. fam. . cæciliadæ cæcilia. order ii.--batrachia urodela. . sirenidæ siren. . proteidæ proteus. . amphiumidæ amphiuma. . menopomidæ giant salamanders. . salamandridæ salamanders and newts. order iii.--batrachia anoura. . rhinophrynidæ } . phryniscidæ } . hylaplesidæ } toads. . bufonidæ } . xenorhinidæ } . engystomidæ } . bombinatoridæ } . plectromantidæ } frogs. . alytidæ } . pelodryadæ } . hylidæ } tree frogs. . polypedatidæ } . ranidæ } frogs. . discoglossidæ } . pipidæ } tongueless . dactylethridæ } toads. fishes. these are arranged according to the classification of dr. günther, whose great work "the british museum catalogue of fishes," has furnished almost all the material for our account of the distribution of the class. in that work all existing fishes are arranged in six sub-classes and thirteen orders. a study of the extraordinary _ceratodus_ from australia has induced dr. günther to unite three of his sub-classes; but as his catalogue will long remain a handbook for every student of fishes, it seems better to follow the arrangement there given, indicating his later views by bracketing together the groups he now thinks should be united. -----------------------------------------+---------+--------------- { } sub-class. order. |families.| remarks. -----------------------------------------+---------+------------------ { . acanthopterygii | | gasterosteidæ to { | | notacanthi. { . do. pharyncognathi | | pomacentridæ to { | | chromidæ. ganoidei { . acanthini | | gadopsidæ to ======== { | | pleuronectidæ. {teleostei { . physostomi | | siluridæ to { { | | pegasidæ. { { . lophobranchii | | solenostomidæ and { { | | syngnathidæ. { { . plectognathi | | sclerodermi and { { | | gymnodontes. { | | {dipnoi . sirenoidei | | sirenoidei. { | | { { . holostei | | amiidæ to { { | | lepidosteidæ. {ganoidei { . chondrostei | | accipenseridæ and { | | polydontidæ. | | chondropterygii { . holocephala | | chimæridæ. { . plagiostomata | | carchariidæ to | | myliobatidæ. | | cyclostomata . marsipobranchii | | petromyzontidæ and | | myxinidæ. | | leptocardii . cirrhostomi | | cirrhostomi. +---------+ total families. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- insects. the families and genera of insects are so immensely numerous, probably exceeding fifty-fold those of all other land animals, that for this cause alone it would be impossible to enter fully into their distribution. it is also quite unnecessary, because many of the groups are so liable to be transported by accidental causes, that they afford no useful information for our subject; while others are so obscure and uninteresting that they have been very partially collected and studied, and are for this reason equally ineligible. i have therefore selected a few of the largest and most conspicuous families, which have been so assiduously collected in every part of the globe, and so carefully studied at home, as to afford valuable materials for comparison with the vertebrate groups, when we have made due allowance for the dependence of many insects on peculiar forms of vegetation, and the facility with which many of them are transported either in the egg, larva, or perfect state, by winds, currents, and other less known means. i confine myself then, almost exclusively, to the sixteen families of diurnal lepidoptera or butterflies, and to six of the most extensive, conspicuous, and popular families of coleoptera. { }the number of species of butterflies is about the same as that of birds, while the six families of coleoptera selected, comprise more than twenty thousand species, far exceeding the number of all other vertebrates. these families have all been recently catalogued, so that we have very complete information as to their arrangement and distribution. lepidoptera diurna, or butterflies. fam. . danaidæ. . satyridæ. . elymniidæ. . morphidæ. . brassolidæ. . acræidæ. . heliconidæ. . nymphalidæ. . libythæidæ. . nemeobiidæ. . eurygonidæ. . erycinidæ. . lycænidæ. . pieridæ. . papilionidæ. . hesperidæ. coleoptera, or beetles. fam. . cicindelidæ tiger-beetles. . carabidæ ground-beetles. . lucanidæ stag-beetles. . cetoniidæ rose-chafers. . buprestidæ metallic beetles. . longicornia long-horned beetles. the above families comprise the extensive series of ground beetles (carabidæ) containing about , species, and the longicorns, which are nearly as numerous and surpass them in variety of form and colour as well as in beauty. the cetoniidæ and buprestidæ are among the largest and most brilliant of beetles; the lucanidæ are pre-eminent for remarkable form, and the cicindelidæ for elegance; and all the families are especial favourites with entomologists, so that the whole earth has been ransacked to procure fresh species. results deduced from a study of these will, therefore, fairly represent the phenomena of distribution of coleoptera, and, as they are very varied in their habits, perhaps of insects in general. { }mollusca. the mollusca are usually divided into five classes as follows:-- classes. i. cephalopoda cuttle-fish. ii. gasteropoda snails and aquatic univalves. iii. pteropoda oceanic snails. iv. brachiopoda symmetrical bivalves. v. conchifera unsymmetrical bivalves. the gasteropoda and conchifera alone contain land and freshwater forms, and to these we shall chiefly confine our illustrations of the geographical distribution of the mollusca. the classification followed is that of dr. pfeiffer for the operculata and dr. von martens for the helicidæ. the families chiefly referred to are:-- class ii.--gasteropoda. order .--pulmonifera. fam. { . helicidæ. { . limacidæ. { . oncidiadæ. in-operculata { . limnæidæ. { . auriculidæ. { . aciculidæ. { . diplommatinidæ. operculata { . cyclostomidæ. { . helicinidæ. part ii. _on the distribution of extinct animals._ { }chapter vi. the extinct mammalia of the old world. although it may seem somewhat out of place to begin the systematic treatment of our subject with extinct rather than with living animals, it is necessary to do so in order that we may see the meaning and trace the causes of the existing distribution of animal forms. it is true, that the animals found fossil in a country are very generally allied to those which still inhabit it; but this is by no means universally the case. if it were, the attempt to elucidate our subject by palæontology would be hopeless, since the past would show us the same puzzling diversities of faunas and floras that now exist. we find however very numerous exceptions to this rule, and it is these exceptions which tell us of the past migrations of whole groups of animals. we are thus enabled to determine what portion of the existing races of animals in a country are descendants of its ancient fauna, and which are comparatively modern immigrants; and combining these movements of the forms of life with known or probable changes in the distribution of land and sea, we shall sometimes be able to trace approximately the long series of changes which have resulted in the actual state of things. to gain this knowledge is our object in studying the "geographical distribution of animals," and our plan of study must be determined, mainly, by the facilities it affords us for attaining this object. in discussing the countless details of distribution we shall meet with in our survey of the zoological regions, we shall often find it useful to refer to the evidence we possess of the range of the group in question in { }past times; and when we attempt to generalise the phenomena on a large scale, with the details fresh in our memory, we shall find a reference to the extinct faunas of various epochs to be absolutely necessary. the degree of our knowledge of the palæontology of various parts of the world is so unequal, that it will not be advisable to treat the subject under each of our six regions. yet some subdivision must be made, and it seems best to consider separately the extinct animals of the old and of the new worlds. those of europe and asia are intimately connected, and throw light on the past changes which have led to the establishment of the three great continental old world regions, with their various subdivisions. the wonderful extinct fauna recently discovered in north america, with what was previously known from south temperate america, not only elucidates the past history of the whole continent, but also gives indications of the mutual relations of the eastern and western hemispheres. the materials to be dealt with are enormous; and it will be necessary to confine ourselves to a general summary, with fuller details on those points which directly bear upon our special subject. the objects of most interest to the pure zoologist and to the geologist--those strange forms which are farthest removed from any now living--are of least interest to us, since we aim at tracing the local origin or birthplace of existing genera and families; and for this purpose animals whose affinities with living forms are altogether doubtful, are of no value whatever. the great mass of the vertebrate fossils of the tertiary period consist of mammalia, and this is precisely the class which is of most value in the determination of zoological regions. the animals of the secondary period, though of the highest interest to the zoologist are of little importance to us; both because of their very uncertain affinities for any existing groups, and also because we can form no adequate notion of the distribution of land and sea in those remote epochs. our great object is to trace back, step by step, the varying distribution of the chief forms of life; and to deduce, wherever possible, the physical changes which must have accompanied or caused such changes. { }the natural division of our subject therefore is into geological periods. we first go back to the post-pliocene period, which includes that of the caves and gravels of europe containing flint implements, and extends back to the deposit of the glacial drift in the concluding phase of the glacial epoch. next we have the pliocene period, divided into its later portion (the newer pliocene) which includes the glacial epoch of the northern hemisphere; and its earlier portion (the older pliocene), represented by the red and coralline crag of england, and deposits of similar age in the continent. during this earlier epoch the climate was not very dissimilar from that which now prevails; but we next get evidence of a still earlier period, the miocene, when a warmer climate prevailed in europe, and the whole fauna and flora were very different. this is perhaps the most interesting portion of the tertiary deposits, and furnishes us with the most valuable materials for our present study. further back still we have the eocene period, with apparently an almost tropical climate in europe; and here we find a clue to some of the most puzzling facts in the distribution of living animals. our knowledge of this epoch is however very imperfect; and we wait for discoveries that will elucidate some of the mystery that still hangs over the origin and migrations of many important families. beyond this there is a great chasm in the geological record as regards land animals; and we have to go so far back into the past, that when we again meet with mammalia, birds, and land-reptiles, they appear under such archaic forms that they cease to have any local or geographical significance, and we can only refer them to wide-spread classes and orders. for the purpose of elucidating geographical distribution, therefore, it is, in the present state of our knowledge, unnecessary to go back beyond the tertiary period of geology. the remains of mammalia being so much more numerous and important than those of other classes, we shall at first confine ourselves almost exclusively to these. what is known of the birds, reptiles, and fishes of the tertiary epoch will be best indicated by a brief connected sketch of their fossils in all parts of the globe, which we shall give in a subsequent chapter. { }_historic period._--in tracing back the history of the organic world we find, even within the limits of the historical period, that some animals have become extinct, while the distribution of others has been materially changed. the _rytina_ of the north pacific, the dodo of mauritius, and the great auk of the north atlantic coasts, have been exterminated almost in our own times. the kitchen-middens of denmark contain remains of the capercailzie, the _bos primigenius_, and the beaver. the first still abounds farther north, the second is extinct, and the third is becoming so in europe. the great irish elk, a huge-antlered deer, probably existed almost down to historic times. _pleistocene or post-pliocene period._--we first meet with proofs of important changes in the character of the european fauna, in studying the remains found in the caverns of england and france, which have recently been so well explored. these cave-remains are probably all subsequent to the glacial epoch, and they all come within the period of man's occupation of the country. yet we find clear proofs of two distinct kinds of change in the forms of animal life. first we have a change clearly traceable to a difference of climate. we find such arctic forms as the rein-deer, the musk-sheep, the glutton, and the lemming, with the mammoth and the woolly rhinoceros of the siberian ice-cliffs, inhabiting this country and even the south of france. this is held to be good proof that a sub-arctic climate prevailed over all central europe; and this climate, together with the continental condition of britain, will sufficiently explain such a southward range of what are now arctic forms. but together with this change we have another that seems at first sight to be in an exactly opposite direction. we meet with numerous animals which now only inhabit africa, or south europe, or the warmer parts of asia. such are, large felines--some closely related to the lion (_felis spelæa_), others of altogether extinct type (_machairodus_) and forming the extreme development of the feline race;--hyænas; horses of two or more species; and a hippopotamus. if we go a little further back, to the remains furnished by the gravels and brick-earths, we still find the same association of forms. the reindeer, the glutton, { }the musk-sheep, and the woolly rhinoceros, are associated with several other species of rhinoceros and elephant; with numerous civets, now abundant only in warm countries; and with antelopes of several species. we also meet here with a great extension of range of forms now limited to small areas. the saiga antelope of eastern europe occurs in france, where wild sheep and goats and the chamois were then found, together with several species of deer, of bear, and of hyæna. a few extinct genera even come down to this late period, such as the great sabre-toothed tiger, _machairodus_; _galeotherium_, a form of viverridæ; _palæospalax_, allied to the mole; and _trogontherium_, a gigantic form of beaver, we find then, that even at so early a stage of our inquiries we meet with a problem in distribution by no means easy to solve. how are we to explain the banishment from europe in so short a space of time (geologically speaking) of so many forms of life now characteristic of warmer countries, and this too during a period when the climate of central europe was itself becoming warmer? such a change must almost certainly have been due to changes of physical geography, which we shall be better able to understand when we have examined the preceding pliocene period. we may here notice, however, that so far as we yet know, this great recent change in the character of the fauna is confined to the western part of the palæarctic region. in caves in the altai mountains examined by prof. brandt, a great collection of fossil bones was discovered. these comprised the siberian rhinoceros and mammoth, and the cave hyæna; but all the others, more than thirty distinct species, are now living in or near the same regions. we may perhaps impute this difference to the fact that the migration of southern types into this part of siberia was prevented by the great mountain and desert barrier of the central asiatic plateau; whereas in europe there was at this time a land connection with africa. post-pliocene deposits and caverns in algeria have yielded remains resembling the more southern european types of the post-pliocene period, but without any admixture of arctic forms; showing, as we might expect, that the glacial cold did not { }extend so far south. we have here remains of _equus_, _bos_, _antilope_, _hippopotamus_, _elephas_, _rhinoceros_, _ursus_, _canis_, and _hyæna_, together with _phacochoerus_, an african type of swine which has not occurred in the european deposits. it is perhaps to the earlier portion of this period that the _merycotherium_ of the siberian drift belongs. this was an animal related to the living camel, thus supporting the view that the _camelidæ_ are essentially denizens of the extra-tropical zone. pliocene period. _primates._--we here first meet with evidence of the existence of monkeys in central europe. species of _macacus_ have left remains not only in the newer pliocene of the val d'arno in italy, but in beds of the same age at grays in essex; while _semnopithecus_ and _cercopithecus_, genera now confined to the oriental and ethiopian regions respectively, have been found in the pliocene deposits of the south of france and italy. _carnivora._--most of the genera which occurred in the post-pliocene are found here also, and many of the same species. few new forms appear, except _hyænarctos_, a large bear with characters approaching the hyænas, and _pristiphoca_, a new form of seal, both from the older pliocene of france; and _galecynus_, a fox-like animal intermediate between _canis_ and _viverra_, from the pliocene of oeninghen in switzerland. _cetacea._--species of _balæna_, _physeter_, and _delphinus_ occur in the older pliocene of england and france, and with these the remains of many extinct forms, _balænodon_ and _hoplocetus_ (balænidæ); _belemnoziphius_ and _choneziphius_ (hyperoodontidæ), and _halitherium_, an extinct form of the next order--sirenia, now confined to the tropics, although the recently extinct _rytina_ of the n. w. pacific shows that it is also adapted for temperate climates. _ungulata._--the pliocene deposits are not very rich in this order. the horses (_equidæ_) are represented by the genus _equus_; and here we first meet with _hipparion_, in which small lateral toes appear. both genera occur in british deposits of this age. { }a more interesting fact for us is the occurrence of the genus _tapirus_ in the newer pliocene of france and in the older beds of both france and england, since this genus is now isolated in the remotest parts of the eastern and western tropics. the genera _rhinoceros_, _hippopotamus_, and _sus_, occur here as in the preceding epoch. we next come to the deer genus (_cervus_), which appears to have been at its maximum in this period, no less than eight species occurring in the norwich crag, and forest-beds. among the bovidæ, the antelopes, ox, and bison, are the only forms represented here, as in the post-pliocene period. passing on to the proboscidea, we find three species of elephants and two of _mastodon_ preserved in european beds of this period, all distinct from those of post-pliocene times. _rodentia._--in this order we find representatives of many living european forms; as _cricetus_ (hamster), _arvicola_ (vole), _castor_ (beaver), _arctomys_ (marmot), _hystrix_ (porcupine), _lepus_ (hare), and _lagomys_ (pika); and a few that are extinct, the most important being _chalicomys_, allied to the beaver; and _issiodromys_, said to come nearest to the remarkable _pedetes_ of south africa, both found in the pliocene formations of france. _general conclusions as to pliocene and post-pliocene faunas of europe._--this completes the series of fossil forms of the pliocene deposits of europe. they show us that the presence of numerous large carnivora and ungulates (now almost wholly tropical) in the post-pliocene period, was due to no exceptional or temporary cause, but was the result of a natural succession from similar races which had inhabited the same countries for long preceding ages. in order to understand the vast periods of time covered by the pliocene and post-pliocene formations, the works of sir charles lyell must be studied. we shall then come to see, that the present condition of the fauna of europe is wholly new and exceptional. for a long succession of ages, various forms of monkeys, hyænas, lions, horses, hipparions, tapirs, rhinoceroses, hippopotami, elephants, mastodons, deer, and antelopes, together { }with almost all the forms now living, produced a rich and varied fauna such as we now see only in the open country of tropical africa. during all this period we have no reason to believe that the climate or other physical conditions of europe were more favourable to the existence of these animals than now. we must look upon them, therefore, as true indigenes of the country, and their comparatively recent extinction or banishment as a remarkable phenomenon for which there must have been some adequate cause. what this cause was we can only conjecture; but it seems most probable that it was due to the combined action of the glacial period, and the subsidence of large areas of land once connecting europe with africa. the existence, in the small island of malta, of no less than three extinct species of elephant (two of very small stature), of a gigantic dormouse, an extinct hippopotamus, and other mammalia, together with the occurrence of remains of hippopotamus in the caves of gibraltar, indicate very clearly that during the pliocene epoch, and perhaps during a considerable part of the post-pliocene, a connection existed between south europe and north africa in at least these two localities. at the same time we have every reason to believe that britain was united to the continent, what is now the german ocean constituting a great river-valley. during the height of the glacial epoch, these large animals would probably retire into this mediterranean land and into north africa, making annual migrations northwards during the summer. but as the connecting land sank and became narrower and narrower, the migrating herds would diminish, and at last cease altogether; and when the glacial cold had passed away would be altogether prevented from returning to their former haunts. miocene period. we now come to a period which was wonderfully rich in all forms of life, and of which the geological record is exceptionally complete. various lacustrine, estuarine, and other deposits in europe, north india, and north america, have furnished such a { }vast number of remains of extinct mammalia, as to solve many zoological problems, and to throw great light on the early distribution and centres of dispersal of various groups of animals. in order to show the bearing of these remains on our special subject, we will first give an account of the extinct fauna of greece, of the upper miocene period; since this, being nearest to africa and asia, best exhibits the relations of the old european fauna to those countries. we shall then pass to the miocene fauna of france and central europe; and conclude with the remarkable siwalik and other indian extinct faunas, which throw an additional light on the early history of the animal life of the great old-world continents. _extinct animals of greece._ these are from the upper miocene deposits at pikermi, near athens, and were collected by m. gaudry a few years ago. they comprise ten living and eighteen extinct genera of mammalia, with a few birds and reptiles. _primates._--these are represented by _mesopithecus_, a genus believed to be intermediate between the two indian genera of monkeys, _semnopithecus_ and _macacus_. _carnivora._--these were abundant. of _felis_ there were four species, ranging from the size of a cat to that of a jaguar, a large _hyæna_, and a large weasel (_mustela_). besides these there were the huge _machairodus_, larger than any existing lion or tiger, and with enormously developed canine teeth; _hyænictis_ and _lycæna_, extinct forms of hyænidæ; _thalassictis_=_ictitherium_, an extinct genus of viverridæ but with resemblances to the hyænas, represented by three species, some of which were larger than any existing viverridæ; _promephytis_, an extinct form of mustelidæ, having resemblances to the european marten, to the otters, and to the s. african _zorilla_; and lastly, _simocyon_, an extraordinary carnivore of the size of a small panther, but having the canines of a cat, the molars of a dog, and the jaws shaped like those of a bear. _ungulata._--these are numerous and very _interesting_. the equidæ are represented by the three-toed _hipparion_, which { }continued to exist till the older pliocene period. there are three large species of _rhinoceros_, as well as a species of the extinct genus _leptodon_ of smaller size. remains of a very large wild boar (_sus_) were found. very interesting is the occurrence of a species of giraffe (_camelopardalis_) as tall as the african species but more slender; and also an extinct genus _helladotherium_, not quite so tall as the giraffe but much more robust, and showing some approach to the antilopidæ in its dentition. antelopes were abundant, ranging from the size of the gazelle to that of the largest living species. three or four seem referable to living genera, but the majority are of extinct types, and are classed in the genera _palæotragus_, _palæoryx_, _tragocerus_, and _palæoreas_; while _dremotherium_ is an ancient generalized form of _cervidæ_ or deer. _proboscidea._--these are represented by two species of _mastodon_, and two of _dinotherium_, an extraordinary extinct form supposed to be, to some extent, intermediate between the elephants and the aquatic manatees (_sirenia_.) _rodentia._--this order is represented by a species of _hystrix_, larger than living porcupines. _edentata._--this order, now almost confined to south america, was represented in the miocene period by several european species. _ancylotherium_ and _macrotherium_, belonging to an extinct family but remotely allied to the african ant-bear (_orycteropus_), occur in greece. _birds._--species of _phasianus_ and _gallus_ were found; the latter especially interesting as being now confined to india. _reptiles._--these are few and unimportant, consisting of a tortoise (_testudo_) and a large lizard allied to _varanus_. _summary of the miocene fauna of greece._--although we cannot consider that the preceding enumeration gives us by any means a complete view of the actual inhabitants of this part of europe during the later portion of the miocene period, we yet obtain some important information. the resemblance that appeared in the pliocene fauna of europe, to that of the open country of tropical africa, is now still more remarkable. we { }not only find great felines, surpassing in size and destructive power the lions and leopards of africa, with hyænas of a size and in a variety not to be equalled now, but also huge rhinoceroses and elephants, two forms of giraffes, and a host of antelopes, which, from the sample here obtained, were probably quite as numerous and varied as they now are in africa. joined with this abundance of antelopes we have the absence of deer, which probably indicates that the country was open and somewhat of a desert character, since there were deer in other parts of europe at this epoch. the occurrence of but a single species of monkey is also favourable to this view, since a well-wooded country would most likely have supplied many forms of these animals. _miocene fauna of central and western europe._ we have now to consider the miocene fauna of europe generally, of which we have very full information from numerous deposits of this age in france, switzerland, italy, germany, and hungary. _primates._--three distinct forms of monkeys have been found in europe--in the south of france, in switzerland, and wurtemberg; one was very like _colobus_ or _semnopithecus_; the others--_pliopithecus_ and _dryopithecus_--were of higher type, and belonged to the anthropomorphous apes, being nearest to the genus _hylobates_ or gibbons. both have occurred in the south of france. the _dryopithecus_ was a very large animal (equal to the gorilla), and m. lartet considers that in the character of its dentition it approached nearer to man than any of the existing anthropoid apes. _insectivora._--these small animals are represented by numerous remains belonging to four families and a dozen genera. of _erinaceus_ (hedgehog) several species are found in the upper miocene; and in the lower miocene of auvergne two extinct genera of the same family--_amphechinus_ and _tetracus_--have been discovered. several species of _talpa_ (mole) occur in the upper miocene of france, while the extinct _dinylus_ is from germany, and _palæospalax_ from the lower miocene of the isle of { }wight. the malayan family tupaiidæ or squirrel-shrews, is believed to be represented by _oxygomphus_, a fossil discovered in south germany (wiesenau) by h. von meyer. the soricidæ or shrews, are represented by several extinct genera--_plesiosorex_, _mysarachne_ and _galeospalax_; as well as by _amphisorex_ and _myogale_ still living. _echinogale_, a genus of centetidæ now confined to madagascar, is said to occur in the lower miocene of auvergne, a most interesting determination, if correct, as it would form a transition to the _solenodon_ of the antilles belonging to the same family; but i am informed by prof. flower that the affinities of the animals described under this name are very doubtful. _carnivora._--besides _felis_ and _machairodus_, which extend back to the upper miocene, there are two other genera of felidæ, _pseudælurus_ in the upper miocene of france, and _hyænodon_, which occurs in the upper and lower miocene of france, named from some resemblance in its teeth to the hyænas, and considered by some palæontologists to form a distinct family, hyænodontidæ. the viverridæ, or civets, were very numerous, consisting of the living genus _viverra_, and three extinct forms--_thalassictis_=_ictitherium_, as large as a panther, and _soricictis_, a smaller form, occurring both in france and hungary. of _hyænidæ_, there was the living genus _hyæna_, and the extinct _hyænictis_, which has occurred in hungary as well as in greece. the canidæ, or wolf and fox family, were represented by _pseudocyon_, near to _canis_; _hemicyon_, intermediate between dogs and gluttons; and _amphicyon_, of which several species occur in the upper and lower miocene of france, some of them larger than a tiger. the mustelidæ, or weasels, were represented by five genera, the existing genera _lutra_ (otter) and _mustela_ (weasel); _potamotherium_, an extinct form of otter; _taxodon_, allied to the badger and otter; _palæomephitis_ in germany, and the _promephytis_ (already noticed) in greece. the bears were represented only by _hyænarctos_, which has been noticed as occurring in the pliocene, and first appears in the upper miocene of france. seals are represented by a form resembling the antarctic _otaria_, remains of which occur in the upper miocene of france. { }_cetacea_ (whales).--these occur frequently in the miocene deposits, four living, and five extinct genera having been described; but these marine forms are not of much importance for our purpose. _sirenia_ (sea-cows).--these are represented by two extinct genera, _halitherium_ and _trachytherium_. several species of the former have been discovered, but the latter has occurred in france only, and its affinities are doubtful. _ungulata._--horses are represented by _hipparion_ and _anchitherium_, the latter occurring in both upper and lower miocene and eocene; while _hipparion_, which is more nearly allied to living horses, first appears in the upper miocene and continues in the pliocene. _hippotherium_, in the upper miocene of the vienna basin, forms a transition to _paloplotherium_, an eocene genus of tapiridæ or palæotheridæ. tapirs, allied to living forms, occur in both upper and lower miocene. rhinoceroses are still found in the upper miocene, and here first appear the four-toed hornless rhinoceros, _acerotherium_. the suidæ (swine) are rather numerous. _sus_ (wild boar) continued as far back as the upper miocene; but now there first appear a number of extinct forms which have been named _hyotherium_, _palæochoerus_, _choeromorus_, all of a small or moderate size; _hyopotamus_, nearly as large as a tapir; and _anthracotherium_, nearly the size of a hippopotamus and, according to dr. leidy, the type of a distinct family. _listriodon_, from the upper miocene of the vienna basin, is sometimes classed with the tapirs. we now come to a well-marked new family of artiodactyle or even-toed ungulata, the _anoplotheriidæ_, which consisted of more slender long-tailed animals, allied to the swine but with indications of a transition towards the camels. the only genera that appear in the miocene formation are, _chalicotherium_, nearly as large as a rhinoceros, of which three species have been found in germany and france; and _synaphodus_, known only from its teeth, which differ somewhat from those of the _anoplotherium_ which appears earlier in the eocene formation. another extinct family, _amphimericidæ_ or _xiphodontidæ_, is represented by two { }genera, _cainotherium_ and _microtherium_, in the miocene of france. they were of very small size, and are supposed to be intermediate between the suidæ and tragulidæ. the camelopardalidæ, or giraffes, were represented in europe in miocene times by the gigantic _helladotherium_, which has been found in the south of france, and in hungary, as well as in greece. the chevrotains (tragulidæ) are represented by the extinct genus _hyomoschus_. the cervidæ do not seem to have appeared in europe before the upper miocene epoch, when they were represented by _dorcatherium_ and _amphimoschus_, allied to _moschus_, and also by true _cervus_, as well as by small allied forms, _dremotherium_, _amphitragalus_ (in the lower miocene), _micromeryx_, _palæomeryx_, and _dicrocerus_. the bovidæ, or hollow-horned ruminants, were not well represented in central europe in miocene times. there were no sheep, goats, or oxen, and only a few antelopes of the genus _tragocerus_, and one allied to _hippotragus_; and these all lived in the upper miocene period, as did the more numerous forms of greece. _proboscidea._--the true elephants do not extend back to the miocene period, but they are represented by the mastodons, which had less complex teeth. these first appear in the upper miocene of europe, five species being known from france, germany, switzerland, and greece. _dinotherium_, already noticed as occurring in greece, extended also to germany and france, where remains of three species have been found. _rodentia._--a considerable number of generic forms of this order have been obtained from the miocene strata. the principal genera are _cricetodon_, allied to the hamsters, numerous in both the upper and lower miocene period of france; _myoxus_ (the dormice) in france, and an allied genus, _brachymys_, in germany. the beavers were represented by the still living genus _castor_, and the extinct _steneofiber_ in france. the squirrels by the existing _scuirus_ and _spermophilus_; and by extinct forms, _lithomys_ and _aulacodon_, in germany, the latter resembling the african genus _aulacodes_. the hares, by _lagomys_ and an { }extinct form _titanomys_. besides these, remains referred to the south american genera, _cavia_ (cavy) and _dasyprocta_ (agouti), have been found, the former in the upper miocene of switzerland, the latter in the lower miocene of auvergne. _palæomys_, allied to the west indian _capromys_, has been found in the same deposits; as well as _theridomys_, said by gervais to be allied to _anomalurus_ and _echimys_, the former now living in w. africa, the latter in s. america. _edentata._--these are only represented by the _macrotherium_ and _ancylotherium_ of the grecian deposits, the former occurring also in france and germany in upper miocene strata. _marsupials_.--these consist of numerous species related to the opossums (_didelphys_), but separated by gervais under the name _peratherium_. they occur in both upper and lower miocene beds. _upper miocene deposits of the siwalik hills and other localities in n. w. india._ these remarkable fresh-water deposits form a range of hills at the foot of the himalayas, a little south of simla. they were investigated for many years by sir p. cautley and dr. falconer, and add greatly to our knowledge of the early fauna of the old world continent. _primates_.--remains of the genera _semnopithecus_ and _macacus_ were found, with other forms of intermediate character; and some teeth indicated animals allied to the orang-utan of borneo, and of similar size. _carnivora_.--these consisted of species of _felis_ and _machairodus_ of large size; _hyæna_, _canis_, _mellivora_, and an allied genus _ursitaxus_; _ursus_, in the deposits of the nerbudda valley (of pliocene age); _hyænarctos_ as large as the cave bear; _amphicyon_ of the size of a polar bear (in the deposits of the indus valley, west of cashmere); _lutra_, and an extinct allied genus _enhydrion_. _ungulata_.--these are very numerous, and constitute the most important feature of this ancient fauna. horses are represented by a species of _equus_ from the siwalik hills and the irawaddy { }deposits in burmah, and by two others from the pliocene of the nerbudda valley; while _hippotherium_--a slender, antelope-like animal, found in the siwalik hills and in europe--is supposed to form a transition from the equidæ to the tapiridæ. these latter are found in the upper indus deposits, where there is a species of _tapirus_, and one of an extinct genus _antelotherium_. of _rhinoceros_, five extinct species have been found--in the siwalik hills, in perim island, and one at an elevation of , feet in the deserts of thibet. _hippopotamus_ occurs in the pliocene of the nerbudda, and is represented in the older miocene deposits by _hexaprotodon_, of which three species have been found in various parts of india. another remarkable genus, _merycopotamus_, connects _hippopotamus_ with _anthracotherium_, one of the extinct european forms allied to the swine. these last are represented by several large species of _sus_, and by the extinct european genus _choerotherium_. the extinct anoplotheridæ are represented by a species of the european genus _chalicotherium_, larger than a horse. an extinct camel, larger than the living species, was found in the siwalik hills. three species of deer (_cervus_) have been found in the siwaliks, and one in the nerbudda deposits. a large and a small species of giraffe (_camelopardalis_) were found in the siwalik hills and at perim island. the bovidæ are represented by numerous species of _bos_, and by the extinct genera _hemibos_ and _amphibos_. there are also three species of antelopes, one of which is allied to the african _alcephalus_. we now come to an extraordinary group of extinct animals, probably forming a new family intermediate between the antelope and the giraffe. the _sivatherium_ was an enormous four-horned ruminant, larger than a rhinoceros. it had a short trunk like a tapir, the lower horns on the forehead were simple, the upper pair palmated. the _bramatherium_, an allied form from perim island, showed somewhat more affinity for the giraffe. _proboscidea._--no less than seven species of elephants and four { }of mastodons ranged over india, their remains being found in all the deposits from the siwalik hills to burmah. a large _dinotherium_ has also been found at perim island. _reptiles._--many remains of birds were found, but these have not been determined. reptiles were numerous and interesting, the most remarkable being the huge tortoise, _colossochelys_, whose shell was twelve feet long and head and neck eight feet more. other small tortoises of the genera _testudo_, _emys_, _trionyx_ and _emydida_ were found, the emys being a living species. there were three extinct and one living species of crocodile, and one of them was larger than any now living. the only other reptile of importance was a large lizard of the genus _varanus_. _general observations on the miocene faunas of europe and asia._--comparing the three faunas of approximately the same period, and allowing for the necessarily imperfect record of each, we find a wonderful similarity of general type over the enormous area between france on the west and the irawaddy river in burmah on the east. we may even extend our comparison to northern china, where remains of _hyæna_, _tapir_, _rhinoceros_, _chalicotherium_, and _elephas_, have been recently found, closely resembling those from the miocene or pliocene deposits of europe or india, and showing that the palæarctic region had then the same great extent from west to east that it has now. of about forty genera comprised in the indian miocene fauna, no less than twenty-seven inhabited central and western europe during the same epoch. the indian miocene fossils are much what we should expect as the forerunners of the existing fauna, the giraffes and hippopotami being the only additions from the present ethiopian fauna. the numerous forms of the restricted bovine type, show that these probably originated in india; while the monkeys appear to be altogether of oriental types. in europe, however, we meet with a totally different assemblage of animals from those that form the existing fauna. we find apes and monkeys, many large felidæ, numerous civets { }and hyænas, tapirs, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, elephants, giraffes, and antelopes, such as now characterise the tropics of africa and asia. along with these we meet with less familiar types, showing relations with the centetidæ of madagascar, the tupaiidæ of the malay islands, the _capromys_, of the west indies, and the _echimys_ of south america. and besides all these living types we have a host of extinct forms,--ten or twelve genera allied to swine; nine genera of tapir-like animals; four of horses; nine of wolves; with many distinct forms of the long-extinct families of anoplotheridæ, xiphodontidæ, and the edentate macrotheridæ. it is almost certain that during the miocene period europe was not only far richer than it is now in the higher forms of life, but not improbably richer than any part of the globe now is, not excepting tropical africa and tropical asia. eocene period. the deposits of eocene age are less numerous, and spread over a far more limited area, than those of the miocene period, and only restricted portions of them furnish any remains of land animals. our knowledge of the eocene mammalian fauna is therefore very imperfect and will not occupy us long, as most of the new types it furnishes are of more interest to the zoologist than to the student of distribution. some of the eocene mammalia of europe are, however, of interest in comparison with those of north america of the same age; while others show that ancestral types of groups now confined to australia or to south america, then inhabited europe. _primates._--the only undoubted eocene examples of this order, are the _cænopithecus lemuroides_ from the jura, which has points of resemblance to the south american marmosets and howlers, and also to the lemuridæ; and a cranium recently discovered in the department of lot (s.w. france), undoubtedly belonging to the lemuridæ, and which most resembles that of the west african "potto" (_perodicticus_). this discovery has led to another, for it is now believed that remains formerly { }referred to the anoplotheridæ (_adapis_ and _aphelotherium_ from the upper eocene of paris) were also lemurs. some remains from the lower eocene of suffolk were at first supposed to be allied to _macacus_, but were subsequently referred to the ungulate, _hyracotherium_. there is still, however, some doubt as to its true affinities. _chiroptera._--in the upper eocene of paris remains of bats have been found, so closely resembling living forms as to be referred to the genus _vespertilio_. _carnivora._--the only feline remains, are those of _hyænodon_ in the upper eocene of hampshire, and _pterodon_, an allied form from beds of the same age in france; with _Ælurogale_, found in the south of france in deposits of phosphate of lime of uncertain age, but probably belonging to this period. viverridæ (civets) are represented by two genera, _tylodon_, the size of a glutton from the upper eocene, and _palæonyctis_, allied to _viverra_, from the middle eocene of france. the canidæ (wolves and foxes) appear to have been the most ancient of the existing types of carnivora, five genera being represented by eocene remains. of these, _galethylax_ and _cyotherium_ were small, and with the existing genus _canis_ are found in the upper eocene of france. _arctocyon_, about the size of a wolf, is a very ancient and generalised form of carnivore which can not be placed in any existing family. it is found in the lower eocene of france, and is thus the oldest known member of the carnivora. _ungulata._--these are more numerous. equidæ (horses) are represented by the miocene _anchitherium_ in the lower, and by a more ancient form, _anchilophus_, in the middle eocene of france. tapiridæ and palæotheridæ were very numerous. _palæotherium_ and the allied genus _paloplotherium_, were abundant in france and england in upper eocene times. they somewhat resembled the tapir, with affinities for the horse and rhinoceros. a new genus, _cadurcotherium_, allied to the rhinoceros and equally large, has been found in the same deposits of phosphate of lime as the lemur and _Ælurogale_. in the middle eocene of both england and france are found _lophiodon_ allied to the tapir, { }but in some of the species reaching a larger size; _propalæotherium_ and _pachynolophus_ of smaller size and having affinities for the other genera named; and _plagiolophus_, a small, slender animal which professor huxley thinks may have been a direct ancestor of the horse. in the lower eocene we meet with _coryphodon_, much larger than the tapir, and armed with large canine teeth; _pliolophus_, a generalised type, allied to the tapir and horse; and _hyracotherium_, a small animal from the lower eocene of england, remotely allied to the tapir. among the artiodactyla, or even-toed ungulates, the swine are represented by several extinct genera, of moderate or small size--_acotherium_, _choeropotamus_, _cebochoerus_ and _dichobune_, all from the upper and the last also from the middle eocene of france; but _eutelodon_, from the phosphate of lime deposits is large. the _dichobune_ was the most generalised type, presenting the characters of many of the other genera combined, and was believed by dr. falconer to approach the musk-deer. the _cainotherium_ of the miocene also occurs here, and an allied genus _plesiomeryx_ from the same deposits as _euteledon_. the eocene anoplotheridæ were numerous. the _anoplotherium_ was a two-toed, long-tailed pachyderm, ranging from the size of a hog to that of an ass; the allied _eurytherium_ was four-toed; and there are one or two others of doubtful affinity. all are from the upper eocene of france and england. _rodentia._--remains referred to the genera _myoxus_ (dormouse) and _sciurus_ (squirrel) have been found in the upper eocene of france; as well as _plesiarctomys_, an extinct genus between the marmots and squirrels. the miocene _theridomys_ is also found here. _marsupials._--the _didelphys_ (opossum) of cuvier, now referred to an extinct genus _peratherium_, is found in the upper eocene of france and england. _general considerations on the extinct mammalian fauna of europe._--it is a curious fact that no family, and hardly a genus, of european mammalia occurs in the pliocene deposits, without extending back also into those of miocene age. there are, { }however, a few groups which, seem to be late developments or recent importations into the palæarctic region, as they occur only in post-pliocene deposits. the most important of these are the badger, glutton, elk, reindeer, chamois, goat, and sheep, which only occur in caves and other deposits of post-pliocene age. camels only occur in the post-pliocene of siberia (_merycotherium_), although a true _camelus_ of large size appears to have inhabited some part of central asia in the upper miocene period, being found in the siwalik beds. the only exclusively pliocene genera in europe are _ursus_, _equus_, _hippopotamus_, _bos_, _elephas_, _arvicola_, _trogontherium_, _arctomys_, _hystrix_ and _lepus_; but of these _equus_, _hippopotamus_, _bos_, and _elephas_ are found in the miocene deposits of india. owing, no doubt, in part to the superior productiveness of the various miocene beds, large numbers of groups appear to have their origin or earliest appearance here. such are insectivora, felidæ, hyænidæ, mustelidæ, _ursus_, equidæ, _tapirus_, rhinocerotidæ, hippopotamidæ, anthracotheridæ (extinct), _sus_, camelopardidæ, tragulidæ, cervidæ, bovidæ, elephantidæ, and edentata. groups which go back to the eocene period, are, primates allied to south american monkeys, as well as some of the lemuridæ; bats of the living genus _vespertilio_; hyænodontidæ, an ancestral form of carnivore; viverridæ; canidæ (to the upper eocene), and the ancestral arctocyonidæ to the lower eocene; _hyænarctos_, an ancestral type of bears and hyænas; anchitheridæ, ancestral horses, to the middle eocene; palæotheridæ, comprising numerous generalised forms, ancestors of the rhinoceros, horse, and tapir; suidæ, with numerous generalised forms, to the middle eocene; anoplotheridæ and xiphodontidæ, ancestral families of even-toed ungulates, connecting the ruminants with the swine; and lastly, several groups of rodents, and a marsupial, in the upper eocene. we thus find all the great types of mammalia well developed in the earliest portion of the tertiary period; and the occurrence of quadrumana, of the highly specialized bats (_vespertilio_), of various forms of carnivora, and of ungulates, clearly differentiated into the odd and even-toed series, associated with such lower forms as { }lemurs and marsupials--proves, that we have here hardly made an approach towards the epoch when the mammalian type itself began to diverge into its various modifications. some of the carnivora and ungulates do, indeed, exhibit a less specialised structure than later forms; yet so far back as the upper miocene the most specialised of all carnivora, the great sabre-toothed _machairodus_, makes its appearance. the miocene is, for our special study, the most valuable and instructive of the tertiary periods, both on account of its superior richness, and because we here meet with many types now confined to separate regions. such facts as the occurrence in europe during this period of hippopotami, tapirs, giraffes, tragulidæ, edentata, and marsupials--will assist us in solving many of the problems we shall meet with in reviewing the actual distribution of living forms of those groups. still more light will, however, be thrown on the subject by the fossil forms of the american continent, which we will now proceed to examine. { }chapter vii. extinct mammalia of the new world. the discoveries of very rich deposits of mammalian remains in various parts of the united states have thrown great light on the relations of the faunas of very distant regions. north america now makes a near approach to europe in the number and variety of its extinct mammalia, and in no part of the world have such perfect specimens been discovered. in what are called the "mauvaises terres" of nebraska (the dried-up mud of an ancient lake), thousands of entire crania and some almost entire skeletons of ancient animals have been found, their teeth absolutely perfect, and altogether more resembling the preparations of the anatomist, than time-worn fossils such as we are accustomed to see in the museums of europe. other deposits have been discovered in oregon, california, virginia, south carolina, texas, and utah, ranging over all the tertiary epochs, from post-pliocene to eocene, and furnishing a remarkable picture of the numerous strange mammalia which inhabited the ancient north american continent. north america--post-pliocene period. _insectivora._--the only indications of this order yet discovered, consists of a single tooth of some insectivorous animal found in illinois, but which cannot be referred to any known group. _carnivora._--these are fairly represented. two species of _felis_ as large as a lion; the equally large extinct _trucifelis_, found only in texas; four species of _canis_, some of them larger { }than wolves; two species of _galera_, a genus now confined to the neotropical region; two bears, and an extinct genus, _arctodus_; an extinct species of racoon (_procyon_), and an allied extinct genus, _myxophagus_--show, that at a very recent period north america was better supplied with carnivora than it is now. remains of the walrus (_trichechus_) have also been found as far south as virginia. _cetacea._--three species of dolphins belonging to existing genera, have been found in the eastern states; and two species of _manatus_, or sea-cow, in florida and south carolina. _ungulata._--six extinct horses (_equus_), and one _hipparion_; the living south american tapir, and a larger extinct species; a _dicotyles_, or peccary, and an allied genus, _platygonus_; a species of the south american llamas (_auchenia_), and one of a kind of camel, _procamelus_; two extinct bisons; a sheep, and two musk-sheep (_ovibos_); with three living and one extinct deer (_cervus_), show an important increase in its herbivora. _proboscidea._--two elephants and two mastodons, added to this remarkable assemblage of large vegetable-feeding quadrupeds. _rodentia._--these consist mainly of genera and species still living in north america; the only important exceptions being a species of the south american capybara (_hydrochoerus_) in south carolina; and _praotherium_, an extinct form of hare, found in a bone cave in pennsylvania. _edentata._--here we meet with a wonderful assemblage, of six species belonging to four extinct genera, mostly of gigantic size. a species of _megatherium_, three of _megalonyx_, and one of _mylodon_--huge terrestrial sloths as large as the rhinoceros or even as the largest elephants--ranged over the southern states to pennsylvania, the latter (_mylodon_) going as far as the great lakes and oregon. another form, _ereptodon_, has been found in the mississippi valley. _marsupialia._--the living american genus of opossums, _didelphys_, has been found in deposits of this age in south carolina. _remarks on the post-pliocene fauna of north america._--the assemblage of animals proved, by these remains, to have { }inhabited north america at a comparatively recent epoch, is most remarkable. in europe, we found a striking change in the fauna at the same period; but that consisted almost wholly in the presence of animals now inhabiting countries immediately to the north or south. here we have the appearance of two new assemblages of animals, the one now confined to the old world--horses, camels, and elephants; the other exclusively of south american type--llamas, tapirs, capybaras, _galera_, and gigantic edentata. the age of the various deposits in which these remains are found is somewhat uncertain, and probably extends over a considerable period of time, inclusive of the glacial epoch, and perhaps both anterior and subsequent to it. we have here, as in europe, the presence and apparent co-existence in the same area, of arctic and southern forms--the walrus and the manatee--the musk-sheep and the gigantic sloths. unfortunately, as we shall see, the immediately preceding pliocene deposits of north america are rather poor in organic remains; yet it can hardly be owing to the imperfection of the record of this period, that _not one_ of the south american types above numerated occurs there, while a considerable number of old world forms are represented. neither in the preceding wonderfully rich miocene or eocene periods, does any _one_ of these forms occur; or, with the exception of _morotherium_, from pliocene deposits _west_ of the rocky mountains, any apparent ancestor of them! we have here unmistakable evidence of an extensive immigration from south into north america, not very long before the beginning of the glacial epoch. it was an immigration of types altogether new to the country, which spread over all the southern and central portions of it, and established themselves sufficiently to leave abundance of remains in the few detached localities where they have been discovered. how such large yet defenceless animals as tapirs and great terrestrial sloths, could have made their way into a country abounding in large felines equal in size and destructiveness to the lion and the tiger, with numerous wolves and bears of the largest size, is a great mystery. but it is nevertheless certain that they did so; and the fact that no such { }migration had occurred for countless preceding ages, proves that some great barrier to the entrance of terrestrial mammalia which had previously existed, must for a time have been removed. we must defer further discussion of this subject till we have examined the relations of the existing faunas of north and south america. tertiary period. when we get to remains of the tertiary age, especially those of the miocene and eocene epochs, we meet with so many interesting and connected types, and such curious relations with living forms in europe, that it will be clearer to trace the history of each order and family throughout the tertiary period, instead of considering each of the subdivisions of that period separately. it will be well however first to note the few american post-pliocene or living genera that are found in the pliocene beds. these consist of several species of _canis_, from the size of a fox to that of a large wolf; a _felis_ as large as a tiger; an otter (_lutra_); several species of _hipparion_; a peccary (_dicotyles_); a deer (_cervus_); several species of _procamelus_; a mastodon; an elephant; and a beaver (_castor_). it thus appears that out of nearly forty genera found in the post-pliocene deposits, only ten are found in the preceding pliocene period. about twelve additional genera, however, appear there, as we shall see in going over the various orders. _primates._--among the vast number of extinct mammalia discovered in the tertiary deposits of north america, no example of this order had been recognized up to , when the discovery of more perfect remains showed, that a number of small animals of obscure affinities from the lower eocene of wyoming, were really allied to the lemurs and perhaps also to the marmosets, the lowest form of american monkeys, but having a larger number of teeth than either. a number of other remains of small animals from the same formation, previously supposed to be allied to the ungulata, are now shown to { }belong to the primates; so that no less than twelve genera of these animals are recognized by mr. marsh, who classes them in two families--limnotheridæ, comprising the genera _limnotherium_, (which had larger canine teeth), _thinolestes_, _telmatolestes_, _mesacodon_, _bathrodon_, and _antiacodon_ of marsh, with _notharctos_, _hipposyus_, _microsyops_, and _palæacodon_ previously described by leidy;--and lemuravidæ, consisting of the genera _lemuravus_ (marsh) and _hyopsodus_ (leidy). the animals of the latter family were most allied to existing lemurs, but were a more generalized form, _lemuravus_ having forty-four teeth, the greatest number known in the order. these numerous forms ranged from the size of a small squirrel to that of a racoon. it is especially interesting to find these peculiar lemuroid forms in america, just when a lemur has been discovered of about the same age in europe; and as the american forms are said to show an affinity with the south american marmosets, while the european animal is most allied to a west african group, we have evidently not yet got back far enough to find the primeval or ancestral type from which all the primates sprang. about the same time, in the succeeding miocene formation, true monkeys were discovered. mr. marsh describes _laopithecus_ as an animal nearly the size of the largest south american monkeys, and allied both to the cebidæ and the eocene limnotheridæ. mr. cope has described _menotherium_ from the miocene of colorado, as a lemuroid animal, the size of a cat, and perhaps allied to _limnotherium_. more miocene remains will, no doubt, be discovered, by which we shall be enabled to trace the origin of some of the existing forms of south american monkeys; and perhaps help to decide the question (now in dispute among anatomists) whether the lemurs are really primates, or form an altogether distinct and isolated order of mammalia. _insectivora._--this order is represented by comparatively few forms in the tertiary beds, and these are all very different from existing types. in the upper miocene of dakota are found remains indicating two extinct genera, _lepictis_ and _ictops_. in the miocene of colorado, professor cope has recently discovered four new genera, _isacis_; allied to the preceding, but as large as a { }_mephitis_ or skunk; _herpetotherium_, near the moles; _embasis_, more allied to the shrews; and _dommina_, of uncertain affinities. two others have been found in the eocene of wyoming; _amomys_, having some resemblance to hedgehogs and to the eastern _tupaia_; and _washakius_, of doubtful affinities. far back in the triassic coal of north carolina has been found the jaw of a small mammal (_dromotherium_), the teeth of which somewhat resemble those of the australian _myrmecobius_, and may belong either to the insectivora or marsupials; if indeed, at that early period these orders were differentiated. _carnivora._--the most ancient forms of this order are some remains found in the middle eocene of wyoming, and others recently described by professor cope ( ) from the eocene of new mexico, of perhaps earlier date. the former consist of three genera, _patriofelis_, _uintacyon_, and _sinopa_,--animals of large size but which cannot be classed in any existing family; and two others, _mesonyx_ and _synoplotherium_, believed by mr. cope to be allied to _hyænodon_. the latter consist of four genera,-- _oxyæna_, consisting of several species, some as large as a jaguar, was allied to _hyænodon_ and _pterodon_; _pachyæna_, allied to the last; _prototomus_, allied to _amphicyon_ and the viverridæ; and _limnocyon_, a civet-like carnivore with resemblances to the canidæ. in the miocene formations we find the feline type well developed. the wonderful _machairodus_, which in europe lived down to post-pliocene times, is found in the upper miocene of dakota; and perfect crania have been discovered, showing that the chin was lengthened downwards to receive and protect the enormous canines. _dinyctis_ was allied both to _machairodus_ and to the weasels. three new genera have been lately described by professor cope from the miocene of colorado,--_bunælurus_, with characters of both cats and weasels; _daptophilus_, allied to _dinyctis_; and _hoplophoneus_, more allied to _machairodus_. the canidæ are represented by _amphicyon_, which occurs in deposits of the same age in europe; and by _canis_, four species of which genus are recorded by professor cope from the miocene of colorado, and it also occurs in the pliocene. the _hyænodon_ is represented by three species in the miocene of dakota and colorado. it occurs { }also in the european miocene and upper eocene formations, and constitutes a distinct family hyænodontidæ, allied, according to dr. leidy, to wolves, cats, hyænas and weasels. the ursidæ are represented by only one species of an extinct genus, _leptarchus_, from the pliocene of nebraska. from the pliocene of colorado, prof. cope has recently described _tomarctos_, as a "short-faced type of dog;" well as species of _canis_ and _martes_. _ungulata._--the animals belonging to this order being usually of large size and accustomed to feed and travel in herds, are liable to wholesale destruction by floods, bogs, precipices, drought or hunger. it is for these reasons, probably, that their remains are almost always more numerous than those of other orders of mammalia. in america they are especially abundant; and the number of new and intermediate types about whose position there is much difference of opinion among palæontologists, renders it very difficult to give a connected summary of them with any approach to systematic accuracy. beginning with the perissodactyla, or odd-toed ungulates, we find the equine animals remarkably numerous and interesting. the true horses of the genus _equus_, so abundant in the post-pliocene formations, are represented in the pliocene by several ancestral forms. the most nearly allied to _equus_ is _pliohippus_, consisting of animals about the size of an ass, with the lateral toes not externally developed, but with some differences of dentition. next come _protohippus_ and _hipparion_, in which the lateral toes are developed but are small and functionless. then we have the allied genera, _anchippus_, _merychippus_, and _hyohippus_, related to the european _hippotherium_, which were all still smaller animals, _protohippus_ being only ½ feet high. in the older deposits we come to a series of forms, still unmistakably equine, but with three or more toes used for locomotion and with numerous differentiations in form, proportions, and dentition. these constitute the family anchitheridæ. in the miocene we have the genera _anchitherium_ (found also in the european miocene), _miohippus_ and _mesohippus_, all with three toes on each foot, and about the size of a sheep or large goat. in the eocene of { }utah and wyoming, we get a step further back, several species having been discovered about the size of a fox with four toes in front and three behind. these form the genus _orohippus_, and are the oldest ancestral horse known. prof. marsh points out the remarkably perfect series of forms in america, which, beginning with this minute ancient type, is gradually modified by gaining increased size, increased speed by concentration of the limb-bones, elongation of the head and neck, the canine teeth decreased in size, the molars becoming longer and being coated with cement--till we at last come to animals hardly distinguishable, specifically, from the living horse. allied to these, are a series of forms showing a transition to the tapirs, and to the _palæotherium_ of the european eocene. in the pliocene we have _parahippus_; in the miocene _lophiodon_, found in the same formation and in the eocene of europe, and allied to the tapir; and in the eocene, _palæosyops_, as large as a rhinoceros, which had large canines and was allied to the tapir and _palæotherium_; _limnohyus_, forming the type of a family limnohyidæ, which included the last genus and some others mentioned further on; and _hyrachyus_, allied to _lophiodon_, and to _hyracodon_ an extinct form of rhinoceros. besides these we have _lophiotherium_ (also from the eocene of europe); _diplacodon_ allied to _limnohyus_, but with affinities to modern perissodactyla and nearly as large as a rhinoceros; and _colonoceras_, also belonging to the limnohyidæ, an animal which was the size of a sheep, and had divergent protuberances or horns on its nose. a remarkable genus, _bathmodon_, lately described by professor cope, and of which five species have been found in the eocene of new mexico and wyoming, is believed to form the type of a new family, having some affinity to _palæosyops_ and to the extinct brontotheridæ. it had large canine tusks but no horns. the rhinocerotidæ are represented in america by the genus _rhinoceros_ in the pliocene and miocene, and by _aceratherium_ and _hyracodon_ in the miocene. both the latter were hornless, and _hyracodon_ was allied to the eocene _hyrachyus_, one of the lophiodontidæ. in the eocene and miocene deposits of utah, and oregon, several remarkable extinct rhinoceroses have been { }recently discovered, forming the genus _diceratherium_. these had a pair of nasal horns placed side by side on the snout, not behind each other as in existing two-horned rhinoceroses, the rest of their skeleton resembling the hornless _aceratherium_. they were of rather small size. next to these extinct rhinoceroses come the brontotheridæ, an extraordinary family of large mammalia, some of which exceeded in bulk the largest living rhinoceros. they had four toes to the front and three to the hind feet, with a pair of large divergent horns on the front of the head, in both sexes. professor marsh and dr. leidy have described four genera, _brontotherium_, _titanotheium_, _megacerops_, and _anisacodon_, distinguished by peculiarities of dentition. though most nearly allied to the rhinoceroses, they show some affinity for the gigantic dinocerata of the eocene to be noticed further on. professor cope has since described another genus, _symborodon_, from the miocene of colorado, with no less than seven species, one nearly the size of an elephant. he thinks they had a short tapir-like proboscis. the species differ greatly in the form of the cranium and development of the horn-bearing processes. we commence the artiodactyla, or even-toed ungulates, with the hog tribe. these are represented by species of peccaries, (_dicotyles_) from the pliocene of nebraska and oregon; and by an allied form _thinohyus_, very like _dicotyles_, but having an additional premolar tooth and a much smaller brain-cavity. from the miocene are three allied genera, _nanohyus_, _leptochoerus_, and _perchoerus_. professor cope, however, thinks _leptochoerus_ may be lemuroid, and allied to _menotherium_. the anthracotheridæ, a family which connects the hippopotamidæ and ruminants, and which occurs in the miocene of europe and india, are represented in america by the genus _hyopotamus_ from the miocene of dakota, and _elotherium_ from the miocene of oregon and the eocene of wyoming; the latter genus being sometimes classed with the preceding family, and lately placed by professor marsh, in the new order, tillodontia. professor cope has since described three other genera from the eocene of new { }mexico: _meniscotherium_, having resemblances to _palæosyops_, _hyopotamus_, and the limnotheridæ; _phenacodus_, the size of a hog, of doubtful position, but perhaps near _elotherium_; and _achænodon_, as large as a cow, but more hog-like than the preceding. another new genus from the miocene of colorado--_pelonax_--is said by professor cope to come between _elotherium_ and _hippopotamus_. the camelidæ are very abundant, and form one of the most striking features of the ancient fauna of america. _procamelus_, _homocamelus_, and _megalomeryx_, are extinct genera found in the pliocene formation; the first very closely allied to the old world camel, the last smaller and more sheep-like. in the miocene two other genera occur, _poebrotherium_ and _protomeryx_, the former allied to both the camel and the llama. deer are represented by a single species of _cervus_ in the pliocene, while two extinct genera, _leptomeryx_ and _merycodus_, are found in the miocene deposits, the latter indicating a transition between camels and deer. two other genera, _hypisodus_ and _hypertragulus_, of very small size, are said by professor cope to be allied to the tragulidæ and to _leptomeryx_. the bovidæ, or hollow-horned ruminants, are only represented in the newer pliocene by a single species of an extinct genus, _casoryx_, said to be intermediate between antelopes and deer. we now come to an exclusively american family, the _oreodontidæ_, which consisted of small animals termed by dr. leidy, "ruminating hogs," and which had some general structural resemblances to deer and camels. they abounded in north america during the pliocene, and especially during the miocene epoch, no less than six genera and twenty species having been discovered. _merychus_ contains the pliocene forms; while _oreodon_, _eporeodon_, _merychochoerus_, _leptauchenia_, and _agriochoerus_ are miocene. the last genus extends back into the eocene period, and shows affinity to the european anoplotheridæ of the same epoch. _proboscidea._--the elephantidæ are only represented in america by one species of _mastodon_ and one of _elephas_, in the newer pliocene deposits. in the older pliocene, miocene, { }and upper eocene, no remains of this order have been found; and in , dr. leidy remarked on the small average size of the extinct north american mammalia, which were almost all smaller than their living analogues. since then, however, wonderful discoveries have been made in deposits of middle eocene age in wyoming and colorado, of a group of huge animals not only rivalling the elephants in size, but of so remarkable and peculiar a structure as to require the formation of a new order of mammals--dinocerata--for their reception. this order consists of animals with generalised ungulate and proboscidean affinities. the lower jaw resembles that of the hippopotamus; they had five toes on the anterior feet and four on the posterior; three pairs of horns, the first pair on the top of the head, large and perhaps palmated, the second pair above the eyes, while the third and smallest stood out sideways on the snout. they had enormous upper canines, of which the roots entered the middle horn cores, no upper incisors, and small molars. professor marsh believes that they had no trunk. the remains discovered indicate four genera, _dinoceras_ ( sp.), _tinoceras_ ( sp.), _uintatherium_ ( sp.), and _eobasileus_ ( sp.). many other names have been given to fragments of these animals, and even those here given may not be all distinct. another new order, tillodontia, recently established by professor marsh, is perhaps yet more remarkable in a zoological point of view, since it combines the characters of carnivora, ungulata, and rodents. these animals have been formed into two families, tillotheridæ and stylinodontidæ; and three genera, _tillotherium_, _anchippodus_, and _stylinodontia_. all are from the eocene of wyoming and new jersey. perhaps to these must be added _elotherium_ from the miocene of dakota, the other forms being all eocene. they were mostly animals of small size, between that of the capybara and tapir. the skull resembled in form that of a bear; the molar teeth were of ungulate type, and the incisors like those of a rodent; but the skeleton was more that of the ursidæ, the feet being plantigrade. professor cope has since described three new genera from the eocene of new mexico, _ectoganus_, _calamodon_, and _esthonyx_, comprising { }seven species allied to _tillotherium_ and _anchippodus_, and having also relations, as professor cope believes, with the south american toxodontidæ. _rodentia._--this order is represented in the pliocene by a beaver, a porcupine, and an american mouse (_hesperomys_), all extinct species of living genera, the _hystrix_ being an old world type; and professor cope has recently described _panolax_, a new genus of hares from the pliocene of new mexico. the miocene deposits have furnished an extinct genus allied to the hares--_palæolagus_; one of the squirrel family--_ischyromys_; a small extinct form of beaver--_palæocastor_; and an extinct mouse--_eumys_. the eocene strata of wyoming have lately furnished two extinct forms of squirrel, _paramys_ and _sciuravus_; and another of the muridæ (or mouse family), _mysops_. _cetacea._--numerous remains of dolphins and whales, belonging to no less than twelve genera, mostly extinct, have been found in the miocene deposits of the atlantic and gulf states, from new jersey to south carolina and louisiana; while seven genera of the extinct family, zeuglodontidæ, have been found in miocene and eocene beds of the same districts. some remains associated with these are doubtfully referred to the seal family (phocidæ) among the carnivora. _edentata._--till quite recently no remains of this order have occurred in any north american deposits below the post-pliocene; but in prof. marsh described some remains allied to _megalonyx_ and _mylodon_, from the pliocene beds of california and idaho, and forming a new genus, _morotherium_. as these remains have only occurred to the west of the rocky mountains, and in pliocene deposits whose exact age is not ascertained, they hardly affect the remarkable absence of this group from the whole of the exceedingly rich tertiary deposits in all other parts of north america. _general relations of the extinct tertiary mammalia of north america and europe._--having now given a sketch of the extinct mammalia which inhabited europe and north america during the tertiary period, we are enabled by comparing them, { }to ascertain their relations to each other, and to see how far they elucidate the problem of the birth-place and subsequent migrations of the several families and genera. we have already pointed out the remarkable features of the quaternary (or post-pliocene) fauna of north america, and now proceed to discuss that of the various tertiary periods, which is closely connected with the extinct fauna of europe. the tertiary mammalia of north america at present described belong to from eighty to one hundred genera, while those of europe are nearly double that number; yet only eighteen genera are common to the two faunas, and of these eight are living and belong chiefly to the pliocene period. taking first, the genera which in america do not go back beyond the pliocene period (ten in number), we find that eight of them in europe go back to the upper miocene. these are _felis_, _pseudælurus_, _hipparion_, _cervus_, _mastodon_, _elephas_ (in india), _castor_ and _hystrix_; while another, _canis_, goes back to the upper eocene and the tenth, _equus_, confined to the newer pliocene or perhaps to the post-pliocene in america, extends back to the older pliocene in europe. of the seven european genera which are confined to the miocene period in america, three, _hyænodon_, _anchitherium_, and _lophiodon_ go back to the eocene in europe; three others, _machairodus_, _rhinoceros_, and _aceratherium_, are also of miocene age in europe; _amphicyon_ goes back to the lower miocene of europe. _lophiotherium_ belongs to the eocene of both countries. if we turn now to families instead of genera, we find that the same general rule prevails. mustelidæ (weasels), ursidæ (bears), true equidæ (horses), and bovidæ (oxen &c.), go no further back in america than the pliocene, while they all go back to the miocene in europe. suidæ (swine) and anoplotheridæ (extinct) are found in the american miocene and in the european eocene. anchitheridæ (extinct) reach the upper eocene in america, while in europe they range through upper, middle, and lower eocene. cervidæ (deer) alone are miocene in both countries. there remain two families in which america has the preeminence. camelidæ (camels) were wonderfully developed in { }the american pliocene and miocene periods, abounding in genera and species; whereas in europe the group only exists in the post-pliocene or lower pliocene, with one upper miocene species of _camelus_ in n. india. the anthracotheridæ (extinct), found only in the upper miocene of france and india, reach even the lower eocene in america. these facts may be due, in part, to a want of strict co-ordination between the tertiary deposits of europe and north america,--in part to the imperfection of the record in the latter country. yet it does not seem probable that they are altogether due south america and well marked differences to imperfect knowledge; yet we find such important families as the civets, hyænas, giraffes, and hippopotami absent from america, with the weasels, and antelopes almost so; while america possesses almost all the camelidæ, two peculiar orders, dinocerata and tillodontia, and four remarkably peculiar families, limnotheridæ, lemuravidæ, oreodontidæ and brontotheridæ. if then the facts at present known represent approximately the real time-relations of the groups in question on the two continents, they render it probable that weasels, bears, true horses, swine, oxen, sheep and antelopes, originated on the old world continent, and were transmitted to america during some part of the miocene period; while camels originated in the new world, and somewhere about the same time passed over to europe. of the extinct families common to the two hemispheres, the anthracotheridæ alone seem to have had an american origin. of the genera common to the two countries, almost all seem to have had a european origin, the only genera of equal date being the two rhinoceroses and three anchitheridæ; but if the brontotheridæ are allied to the rhinocerotidæ, these latter may have originated in america, although now an exclusively old world type. these conclusions are not improbable when we consider the much greater size of the old world continents, extending far into the tropics and probably { }always more or less united to the tropical areas; while the evidence of the extinct mammalia themselves shows, that south america has been for the most part isolated from the northern continent, and did not take part in the development of its characteristic tertiary fauna. before speculating further on this subject, it will be well to lay before our readers a summary of south american palæontology, after which we shall be in a better position to draw correct inferences from the whole body of the evidence. south america. unfortunately, our knowledge of the interesting fossil fauna of this continent, is almost wholly confined to the post-pliocene and pliocene periods. a few remains have been discovered in deposits believed to be of eocene age, but nothing whatever representing the vast intervening period, so rich in peculiar forms of animal life both in north america and europe. _fauna of the brazilian caves._--what we know of the post-pliocene period is chiefly due to the long-continued researches of dr. lund in the caves of central brazil, mostly situated in a district near the head waters of the san francisco river in the province of minas geraes. the caves are formed in limestone rocks, and are so numerous that dr. lund visited thousands, but only sixty contained bones in any quantity. these caves have a floor of reddish earth, often crowded with bones. in one experiment, half a cubic foot of this earth contained jaws of opossums, , mice, besides remains of bats, porcupines and small birds. in another trial, the whole of the earth in a cavern was carried out for examination, amounting to , firkins; and, from a calculation made by measured samples, it was estimated to contain nearly seven millions of jaw-bones of cavies, opossums, porcupines, and mice, besides small birds, lizards, and frogs. this immense accumulation is believed to have been formed from the bodies of animals brought into the cavern by owls; and, as these are unsocial birds, the quantity found implies an { }immense lapse of time, probably some thousands of years. more than species of mammalia, in all, were obtained in these caves. some were living species or closely allied to such; but the majority were extinct, and a considerable number, about one-fourth, belonged to extinct genera, or genera not now inhabiting south america. stone implements and human remains were found in several of the caves with extinct animals. the following enumeration of these remains is from the corrected list of m. gervais. _primates._--extinct species of _cebus_, _callithrix_, and _jacchus_--south american genera of monkeys; with an extinct genus, _protopithecus_--an animal of large size but belonging to the american family cebidæ. _chiroptera._--species belonging to the south american phyllostomidæ, and to two south american genera of other families. _carnivora._--five species of _felis_, some allied to living animals, others extinct; a species of the widespread extinct genus _machairodus_; and a small species referred to _cynælurus_, the genus containing the hunting leopard now found only in africa and india. canidæ are represented by _canis_ and _icticyon_ (a living brazilian species of the latter genus), and the extinct genus _speothos_. mustelidæ are represented by extinct species of the south american genera _mephitis_ and _galictis_. procyonidæ, by a species of _nasua_. ursidæ, by _arctotherium_, a genus closely resembling, if not identical with, that containing the "spectacled bear" of chili. _ungulata._--_equus_, _tapirus_, _dicotyles_, _auchenia_, _cervus_, _leptotherium_, and _antilope_, are the cave-genera of this order. _equus_ and _antelope_ are particularly interesting, as representing groups forming no part of existing south american zoology; while the presence also of _leptotherium_, an extinct genus of antelopes, shows that the group was fairly represented in south america at this comparatively recent period. _proboscidea._--a species of _mastodon_, found also in the pliocene of la plata, represents this order. _rodentia._--these abound. _dasyprocta_, _cælogenys_, _cavia_, _kerodon_, all living genera of caviidæ, are represented by { }extinct species. _cercolabes_, the 'tree porcupine' (cercolabidæ) has two species, one as large as a peccary; _myopotamus_, _loncheres_, _carterodon_, are existing genera of spiny rats (echimyidæ); and there are two extinct genera of the same family, _lonchophorus_ and _phyllomys_. _lagostomus_ (chinchillidæ), the viscacha of the pampas, is represented by an extinct species. there is also an extinct species of _lepus_; several species of _hesperomys_ and _oxymycterus_; and a large _arvicola_, a genus not living in south america. _edentata._--these, which constitute the great feature of the existing south american fauna, were still more abundant and varied in the cave period, and it is remarkable that most of them are extinct _genera_. the armadillos are alone represented by living forms, _dasypus_, and _xenurus_; _eurydon_ and _heterodon_, are extinct genera of the same family, as well as _chlamydotherium_--huge armadillos the size of a tapir or rhinoceros, and _pachytherium_, which was nearly as large. the ant-eaters are represented only by _glossotherium_, an extinct form allied to _myrmecophaga_ and _manis_. the sloths were more numerous, being represented by the extinct genera _cælodon_, _sphenodon_ and _ochotherium_, the last of large size. the huge terrestrial sloths--megatheridæ, also abounded; there being species of _megatherium_ and _megalonyx_, as well as the allied _scelidotherium_, supposed to have some affinity for the african _orycteropus_. _marsupials._--no new forms of these appear, but numerous species of _didelphys_, all closely allied to opossums still living in south america. the preceding sketch of the wonderful cave fauna of central brazil, is sufficient to show that it represents, in the main, a period of great antiquity. not only are almost the whole of the species extinct, but there are twenty extinct genera, and three others not now inhabitants of south america. the fact that so few remains of the living animals of the country are found in these caves, indicates that some change of physical conditions has occurred since they were the receptacles of so many of the larger animals; and the presence of many extinct genera of { }large size, especially among the edentata and american families of rodents, are additional proofs of a very high antiquity. yet many of these cave animals are closely allied to those which are found in north america in the post-pliocene deposits only, so that we have no reason to suppose the cave-fauna to be of much earlier date. but the great amount of organic change it implies, must give us an enlarged idea of the vast periods of time, as measured by years, which are included in this, the most recent of all geological epochs. _pliocene period of temperate south america._--we have now to consider the numerous remains of extinct animals found in various deposits in the pampas, and in patagonia, and a few in bolivia. the age of these is uncertain; but as they are very similar to the cave-fauna, though containing a somewhat larger proportion of extinct genera and some very remarkable new forms, they cannot be _very_ much older, and are perhaps best referred at present to the newer portion of the pliocene formation. _carnivora._--the genus _machairodus_ or sabre-toothed tigers, represents the felidæ. there are several species of wolves (_canis_); a weasel (_mustela_); two bears of the brazilian cave-genus _arctotherium_; and the extinct european genus _hyænarctos_. _ungulata._--there are two species of _equus_, found in the pampas, chili, and bolivia; two of _macrauchenia_, an extraordinary extinct group allied to the tapir and _palæotherium_, but with the long neck, and general size of a camel. a second species found on the highlands of bolivia is much smaller. a more recent discovery, in patagonia, is the almost perfect series of teeth of a large animal named _homalodontotherium_; and which is believed by professor flower, who has described it, to have been allied to _rhinoceros_, and still more to the miocene _hyracodon_ from north america; and also to present some resemblances to _macrauchenia_, and though much more remotely, to the curious genus _nesodon_ mentioned further on. the artiodactyla, or even-toed ungulates, are represented by a species of _dicotyles_, or peccary, found in the deposits of the { }pampas; by _auchenia_, or llama, of which three extinct species inhabited bolivia, in which country two allied but extinct genera, _palæolama_ and _camelotherium_, have also been found. three species of deer (_cervus_), from the pampas deposits, complete the list of pliocene ungulates. _proboscidea._--the cave species of _mastodon_ is found also in the pampas deposits, and another in the andes of chili and bolivia. _rodents._--these are not so numerous as in the caves. there are species of the existing genera, _kerodon_ and _cavia_ (caviidæ); _lagostomus_ (chinchillidæ); _ctenomys_ (octodontidæ); _lepus_ (hare); _hesperomys_ and _oxymycterus_ (muridæ); _arvicola_, a genus not living in south america; and an extinct genus, _cardiodus_. there is also a remarkable extinct form, _typotherium_, larger than the capybara, and having affinities to edentates and ungulates. three species have been found in the pampas deposits. _edentata._--these are as abundant and remarkable as in the cave deposits. _scelidotherium_, _megatherium_, _megalonyx_, _glossotherium_ and _dasypus_, have already been noticed as from the brazilian caves. we have here, in addition, the huge _mylodon_ allied to the _megatherium_, and the allied genera--_gnathopsis_ and _lestodon_. we then come to the huge extinct armadillos, _glyptodon_ and _schistopleurum_, the former consisting of numerous species, some of which were as large as an elephant. another genus, _eutatus_, is allied to the living three-banded armadillos; and a species of the existing genus _euphractus_ has been found in bolivia. _toxodontidæ._--there remain a number of huge animals rivalling the megatherium in size, and forming the genera _toxodon_ and _nesodon_, but whose position is doubtful. several species have been found in the deposits of the pampas and patagonia. they are allied at once to ungulates, rodents, edentates, and the aquatic sirenia, in so puzzling a manner that it is impossible to determine to what order they belong, or whether they require a new order to be formed for their reception. some are believed to date back to the miocene period, and they indicate what strange forms may still be discovered, should any { }productive deposits be found in south america of middle tertiary age. _pliocene mammalia of the antilles._--these may be noticed here, as they are of special interest, proving the connection of the larger west indian islands with the continent some time in the later tertiary period. they consist of remains of two large animals belonging to the south american chinchillidæ, found in cave deposits in the island of anguilla, and forming two new genera, _amblyrhiza_ and _loxomylus_; and remain allied to _megalonyx_ from cuba, which have been named _megalocnus_ and _myomorphus_. _eocene fauna of south america._--the few remains yet discovered in the tertiary deposits of the pampas which are believed to be of eocene age, are exceedingly interesting, because they show us another change in the scenery of the great drama of life; there being apparently a considerable resemblance, at this epoch, between south america and europe. they consist of a large extinct feline animal, _eutemnodus_; of _palæotherium_ and _anoplotherium_, the well-known extinct ungulates of the european tertiaries, and which have never been found in north america; and of three genera of rodents,--_theridromys_, allied to _echimys_, and found also in the eocene and miocene of france; _megamys_, allied to the living _capromys_ of the antilles, and also to _palæomys_, an extinct form of the french miocene; and a very large animal referred to _arvicola_, a genus found also in the pliocene deposits of south america, and abundant in the northern hemisphere. no edentates have been found. the resemblances of this fauna to that of europe rather than to any part of america, are so strong, that they can hardly be accidental. we greatly want, however, more information on this point, as well as some corresponding evidences as to the condition of west and south africa about the same epoch, before we can venture to speculate on their bearing as regards the early migrations of organic forms. _general remarks on the extinct mammalian fauna of the old { }and new worlds._--leaving the more special applications of palæontological evidence to be made after discussing the relations of the existing fauna of the several regions, we propose here to indicate briefly, some of the more general deductions from the evidence which has now been laid before our readers. the first, and perhaps the most startling fact brought out by our systematic review, is the very recent and almost universal change that has taken place in the character of the fauna, over all the areas we have been considering; a change which seems to be altogether unprecedented in the past history of the same countries as revealed by the geological record. in europe, in north america, and in south america, we have evidence that a very similar change occurred about the same time. in all three we find, in the most recent deposits--cave-earths, peat-bogs, and gravels--the remains of a whole series of large animals, which have since become wholly extinct or only survive in far-distant lands. in europe, the great irish elk, the _machairodus_ and cave-lion, the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, and elephant;--in north america, equally large felines, horses and tapirs larger than any now living, a llama as large as a camel, great mastodons and elephants, and abundance of huge megatheroid animals of almost equal size;--in south america these same megatheroids in greater variety, numerous huge armadillos, a mastodon, large horses and tapirs, large porcupines, two forms of antelope, numerous bears and felines, including a _machairodus_, and a large monkey,--have all become extinct since the deposition of the most recent of the fossil-bearing strata. this is certainly not a great while ago, geologically; and it is _almost_ certain that this great organic revolution, implying physical changes of such vast proportions that they must have been due to causes of adequate intensity and proportionate range, has taken place since man lived on the earth. this is proved to have been the case in europe, and is supported by much evidence both as regards north and south america. it is clear that so complete and sudden a change in the higher forms of life, does not represent the normal state of things. species and genera have not, at all times, become so rapidly extinct. the time occupied by the "recent period," that is the { }time _since_ these changes took place is, geologically, minute. the time of the whole of the post-pliocene period, as measured by the amount of physical and _general_ organic change known to have taken place, is exceedingly small when compared with the duration of the pliocene period, and still smaller, probably, as compared with the miocene. yet during these two periods we meet with no such break in the continuity of the forms of life, no such radical change in the _character_ of the fauna (though the number of specific and generic changes may be as great) as we find in passing from the post-pliocene to recent times. for example, in central europe numerous hyænas, rhinoceroses, and antelopes, with the great _machairodus_, continued from miocene all through pliocene into post-pliocene times; while hippopotami and elephants continued to live through a good part of the pliocene and post-pliocene periods,--and then all suddenly became extinct or left the country. in north america there has been more movement of the fauna in all the periods; but we have similar great felines, horses, mastodons, and elephants, in the pliocene and post-pliocene periods, while _rhinoceros_ is common to the miocene and pliocene, and camels range continuously from miocene, through pliocene, to post-pliocene times;--when all alike became extinct. even in south america the evidence is, as far as it goes, all the same way. we find _machairodus_, _equus_, _mastodon_, _megatherium_, _scelidotherium_, _megalonyx_, and numerous gigantic armadillos, alike in the caves and in the stratified tertiary deposits of the pampas;--yet all have since passed away. it is clear, therefore, that we are now in an altogether exceptional period of the earth's history. we live in a zoologically impoverished world, from which all the hugest, and fiercest, and strangest forms have recently disappeared; and it is, no doubt, a much better world for us now they have gone. yet it is surely a marvellous fact, and one that has hardly been sufficiently dwelt upon, this sudden dying out of so many large mammalia, not in one place only but over half the land surface of the globe. we cannot but believe that there must have been some physical cause for this great change; and it must have been a cause capable of acting almost simultaneously over large { }portions of the earth's surface, and one which, as far as the tertiary period at least is concerned, was of an exceptional character. such a cause exists in the great and recent physical change known as "the glacial epoch." we have proof in both europe and north america, that just about the time these large animals were disappearing, all the northern parts of these continents were wrapped in a mantle of ice; and we have every reason to believe that the presence of this large quantity of ice (known to have been thousands of feet if not some miles in thickness) must have acted in various ways to have produced alterations of level of the ocean as well as vast local floods, which would have combined with the excessive cold to destroy animal life. there is great difference of opinion among geologists and physicists as to the extent, nature, and duration of the glacial epoch. some believe it to have prevailed alternately in the northern and southern hemispheres; others that it was simultaneous in both. some think there was a succession of cold periods, each lasting many thousands of years, but with intercalated warm periods of equal duration; others deny that there is any evidence of such changes, and maintain that the glacial epoch was one continuous period of arctic conditions in the temperate zones, with some fluctuations perhaps but with no regular alternations of warm periods. some believe in a huge ice-cap covering the whole northern hemisphere from the pole to near ° north latitude in the eastern, and ° in the western hemisphere; while others impute the observed effects either to glaciers from local centres, or to floating icebergs of vast size passing over the surface during a period of submersion. without venturing to decide which of these various theories will be ultimately proved to be correct, we may state, that there is an increasing belief among geologists in the long duration of this ice-period, and the vast extent and great thickness attained by the ice-sheet. one of the most recent, and not the least able, of the writers on this question (mr. belt) shows strong reasons for adopting the view that the ice-period was simultaneous in both hemispheres; and he calculates that the vast amount of water abstracted from the ocean and locked up { }in mountains of ice around the two poles, would lower the general level of the ocean about , feet. this would be equivalent to a general elevation of the land to the same amount, and would thus tend to intensify the cold; and this elevation may enable us to understand the recent discoveries of signs of glacial action at moderate elevations in central america and brazil, far within the tropics. at the same time, the weight of ice piled up in the north would cause the land surface to sink there, perhaps unequally, according to the varying nature of the interior crust of the earth; and since the weight has been removed land would rise again, still somewhat irregularly; and thus the phenomena of raised beds of arctic shells in temperate latitudes, are explained. now, it is evident, that the phenomena we have been considering--of the recent changes of the mammalian fauna in europe, north america, south temperate america, and the highlands of brazil--are such as might be explained by the most extreme views as to the extent and vastness of the ice-sheet, and especially as to its simultaneous occurrence in the northern and southern hemispheres; and where two such completely independent sets of facts are found to combine harmoniously, and supplement each other on a particular hypothesis, the evidence in favour of that hypothesis is greatly strengthened. an objection that will occur to zoologists, may here be noticed. if the glacial epoch extended over so much of the temperate and even parts of the tropical zone, and led to the extinction of so many forms of life even within the tropics, how is it that so much of the purely tropical fauna of south america has maintained itself, and that there are still such a vast number of forms, both of mammalia, birds, reptiles, and insects, that seem organized for an exclusive existence in tropical forests? now mr. belt's theory, of the subsidence of the ocean to the extent of about , feet, supplies an answer to this objection; for we should thus have a tract of lowland of an average width of some hundreds of miles, added to the whole east coast of central and south america. this tract would, no doubt, become covered with forests as it was slowly formed, would enjoy a perfectly { }tropical climate, and would thus afford an ample area for the continued existence and development of the typical south american fauna; even had glaciers descended in places so low as what is now the level of the sea, which, however, there is no reason to believe they ever did. it is probable too, that this low tract, which all round the gulf of mexico would be of considerable width, offered that passage for intermigration between north and south america, which led to the sudden appearance in the former country in post-pliocene times, of the huge megatheroids from the latter; a migration which took place in opposite directions as we shall presently show. _the birth-place and migrations of some mammalian families and genera._--we have now to consider a few of those cases in which the evidence already at our command, is sufficiently definite and complete, to enable us to pronounce with some confidence as to the last movements of several important groups of mammalia. _primates._--the occurrence in north america of numerous forms of lemuroidea, forming two extinct families, which are believed by american palæontologists to present generalized features of both lemuridæ and hapalidæ, while in europe only lemurine forms allied to those of africa have occurred in deposits of the same age (eocene), renders it possible that the primates may have originated in america, and sent one branch to south america to form the hapalidæ and cebidæ, and another to the old world, giving rise to the lemurs and true apes. but the fact that apes of a high degree of organization occur in the european miocene, while in the eocene, a monkey believed to have relations to the lemuroids and cebidæ has also been discovered, make it more probable that the ancestral forms of this order originated in the old world at a still earlier period. the absence of any early tertiary remains from the tropical parts of the two hemispheres, renders it impossible to arrive at any definite conclusions as to the origin of groups which were, no doubt, always best developed in tropical regions. _carnivora._--this is a very ancient and wide-spread group, the families and genera of which had an extensive range in very { }early times. the true bears (_ursus_) are almost the only important genus that seems to have recently migrated. in europe it dates back to the older pliocene, while in north america it is post-pliocene only. bears, therefore, seem to have passed into america from the palæarctic region in the latter part of the pliocene period. they probably came in on the north-west, and passed down the andes into south america, where one isolated species still exists. _ungulata._--horses are very interesting. in europe they date back under various forms to the miocene period, and true _equus_ to the older pliocene. in north america they are chiefly pliocene, true _equus_ being post-pliocene, with perhaps one or two species newer pliocene; but numerous ancestral forms date back to the miocene and eocene, giving a more perfect "pedigree of the horse" than the european forms, and going back to a more primitive type--_orohippus_. in south america, _equus_ is the only genus, and is post-pliocene or at most newer pliocene. while, therefore, the ancient progenitors of the equidæ were common to north america and europe, in miocene and even eocene times, true horses appear to have arisen in the palæarctic region, to have passed into north america in the latter part of the pliocene period, and thence to have spread over all suitable districts in south america. they were not, however, able to maintain themselves permanently in their new territory, and all became extinct; while in their birth-place, the old world, they continue to exist under several varied forms. true tapirs are an old world group. they go back to the lower miocene in europe, while in both north and south america they are exclusively post-pliocene. they occur in france down to the newer pliocene, and must, about that time, have entered america. the land connection by which this and so many other animals passed between the old and new worlds in late tertiary times, was almost certainly in the north pacific, south of behring's straits, where, as will be seen by our general map, there is a large expanse of shallow water, which a moderate elevation would convert into dry land, in a sufficiently temperate latitude. { }the peccary (_dicotyles_), now a characteristic south american genus, is a recent immigrant from north america, where it appears to have been developed from ancestral forms of swine dating back to the miocene period. antelopes are an old world type, but a few of them appear to have entered north, and reached south america in late pliocene times. camels, strange to say, are a special north american type, since they abounded in that continent under various ancient forms in the miocene period. towards the end of that period they appear to have entered eastern asia, and developed into the siberian _merycotherium_ and the north indian _camelus_, while in the pliocene age the ancestral llamas entered south america. _cervidæ_ are a wide-spread northern type in their generalized form, but true deer (_cervus_) are palæarctic. they abounded in europe in miocene times, but only appear in north and south america in the later pliocene and post-pliocene periods. true oxen (_bovinæ_) seem to be an oriental type (miocene), while they appear in europe only late in the pliocene period, and in america are confined to the post-pliocene. elephants (_elephantidæ_) are an old world type, abounding in the miocene period in europe and india, and first appearing in america in post-pliocene or later pliocene times. ancestral forms, doubtfully proboscidean (_dinocerata_), existed in north america in the eocene period, but these became extinct without leaving any direct descendants, unless the _brontotheridæ_ and rhinoceroses may be so considered. marsupials are almost certainly a recent introduction into south and north america from asia. they existed in europe in eocene and miocene times, and presumably over a considerable part of the old world; but no trace of them appears in north or south america before the post-pliocene period. _edentata._--these offer a most curious and difficult problem. in south america they abound, and were so much more numerous and varied in the post-pliocene and pliocene, that we may be sure they lived also in the preceding miocene period. a few living edentates are scattered over africa and asia, and { }they flourished in europe during the miocene age--animals as large (in some species) as a rhinoceros, and most allied to living african forms. in north america no trace of edentata has been found earlier than the post-pliocene period, or perhaps the newer pliocene on the west coast. neither is there any trace of them in south america in the eocene formations; but this may well be owing to our very imperfect knowledge of the forms of that epoch. their absence from north america is, however, probably real; and we have to account for their presence in the old world and in south america. their antiquity is no doubt very great, and the point of divergence of the old world and south american groups, may take us back to early eocene, or even to pre-eocene times. the distribution of land and sea may then have been very different from what it is now; and to those who would create a continent to account for the migrations of a beetle, nothing would seem more probable than that a south atlantic continent, then united parts of what are now africa and south america. there is, however, so much evidence for the general permanence of what are now the great continents and deep oceans, that professor huxley's supposition of a considerable extension of land round the borders of the north pacific ocean in mesozoic times, best indicates the probable area in which the edentate type originated, and thence spread over much of the old world and south america. but while in the latter country it flourished and increased with little check, in the other great continents it was soon overcome by the competition of higher forms, only leaving a few small-sized representatives in africa and asia. { }chapter viii. various extinct animals;--and on the antiquity of the genera of insects and land mollusca. extinct mammalia of australia. these have all been obtained from caves and late tertiary or post-tertiary deposits, and consist of a large number of extinct forms, some of gigantic size, but all marsupials and allied to the existing fauna. there are numerous forms of kangaroos, some larger than any living species; and among these are two genera, _protemnodon_ and _sthenurus_, which professor garrod has lately shown to have been allied, not to any australian forms, but to the _dendrolagi_ or tree-kangaroos of new guinea. we have also remains of _thylacinus_ and _dasyurus_, which now only exist in tasmania; and extinct species of _hypsiprymnus_ and _phascolomys_, the latter as large as a tapir. among the more remarkable extinct genera are _diprotodon_, a huge thick-limbed animal allied to the kangaroos, but nearly as large as an elephant; _nototherium_, having characters of _macropus_ and _phascolarctos_ combined, and as large as a rhinoceros; and _thylacoleo_, a phalanger-like marsupial nearly as large as a lion, and supposed by professor owen to have been of carnivorous habits, though this opinion is not held by other naturalists. here then we find the same phenomena as in the other countries we have already discussed,--the very recent disappearance of a large number of peculiar forms, many of them far surpassing in size any that continue to exist. it hardly seems probable that in this case their disappearance can have been due to the direct effects of the glacial epoch, since no very extensive { }glaciation could have occurred in a country like australia; but if the ocean sank , feet, the great eastern mountain range might have given rise to local glaciers. it is, however, almost certain that during late tertiary times australia must have been much more extensive than it is now. this is necessary to allow of the development of its peculiar and extensive fauna, especially as we see that that fauna comprised animals rivalling in bulk those of the great continents. it is further indicated by the relations with new guinea, already alluded to, and by the general character of the various faunas which compose the australian region, details of which will be found in the succeeding part of this work. the lowering of the ocean during the glacial period would be favourable to the still further development of the fauna of such a country; and it is to the unfavourable conditions produced by its subsequent rising--equivalent to a depression of the land to the amount of two thousand feet--that we must impute the extinction of so many remarkable groups of animals. it is not improbable, that the disappearance of the ice and the consequent (apparent) subsidence of the land, might have been rapid as compared with the rate at which large animals can become modified to meet new conditions. extensive tracts of fertile land might have been submerged, and the consequent crowding of large numbers of species and individuals on limited areas would have led to a struggle for existence in which the less adapted and less easily modifiable, not the physically weaker, would succumb. there is, however, another cause for the extinction of large rather than small animals whenever an important change of conditions occurs, which has been suggested to me by a correspondent,[ ] but which has not, i believe, been adduced by mr. darwin or by any other writer on the subject. it is dependent on the fact, that large animals as compared with small ones are almost invariably slow breeders, and as they also necessarily exist in much smaller numbers in a given area, they offer far less materials for favourable variations than do smaller animals. in such an extreme case as that of the rabbit and elephant, the { }young born each year in the world are probably as some millions to one; and it is very easily conceivable that in a thousand years the former might, under pressure of rapidly changing conditions, become modified into a distinct species, while the latter, not offering enough favourable variations to effect a suitable adaptation, would become extinct. we must also remember the extreme specialization of many of the large animals that have become extinct--a specialization which would necessarily render modification in any new direction difficult, since the inherited tendency of variation would probably be to increase the specialization in the same directions which had heretofore been beneficial. if to these two causes we add the difficulty of obtaining sufficient food for such large animals, and perhaps the injurious effects of changes of climate, we shall not find it difficult to understand how such a vast physical revolution as the glacial epoch, with its attendant phenomena of elevations and subsidences, icy winds, and sudden floods by the bursting of lake barriers, might have led to the total extinction of a vast number of the most bulky forms of mammalia, while the less bulky were able to survive, either by greater hardiness of constitution or by becoming more or less modified. the result is apparent in the comparatively small or moderate size of the species constituting the temperate fauna, in all parts of the globe. it is much to be regretted that no mammalian remains of earlier date have been found in australia, as we should then see if it is really the case that marsupials have always formed its highest type of mammalian life. at present its fossil fauna is chiefly interesting to the zoologist, but throws little light on the past relations of this isolated country with other parts of the globe. mammalian remains in the secondary formations. in the oldest tertiary beds of europe and north america, we have (even with our present imperfect record) a rich and varied mammalian fauna. as compared with our living or recent highly specialized forms, it may be said to consist of generalised types; but as compared with any primeval mammalian type, it must be pronounced highly specialised. not only are such diversified { }groups as carnivora, perrissodactyle and artiodactyle ungulates, primates, chiroptera, rodents, and marsupials already well marked, but in many of these there is a differentiation into numerous families and genera of diverse character. it is impossible therefore to doubt, that many peculiar forms of mammalia must have lived long anterior to the eocene period; but there is unfortunately a great gap in the record between the eocene and cretaceous beds, and these latter being for the most part marine continue the gap as regards mammals over an enormous lapse of time. yet far beyond both these chasms in the upper oolitic strata, remains of small mammalia have been found; again, in the stonesfield slate, a member of the lower oolite, other forms appear. then comes the marine lias formation with another huge gap; but beyond this again in the upper trias, the oldest of the secondary formations, mammalian teeth have been discovered in both england and germany, and these are, as nearly as can be ascertained, of the same age as the _dromatherium_ already noticed, from north america. they have been named _microlestes_, and show some resemblance to those of the west australian _myrmecobius_. in the oolitic strata numerous small jawbones have been found, which have served to characterise eight genera, all of which are believed to have been marsupials, and in some of them a resemblance can be traced to some of the smaller living australian species. these, however, are mere indications of the number of mammalia that must have lived in the secondary period, so long thought to be exclusively "the age of reptiles;" and the fact that the few yet found are at all comparable with such specialised forms as still exist, must convince us, that we shall have to seek far beyond even the earliest of these remains, for the first appearance of the mammalian type of vertebrata. extinct birds. compared with those of mammalia, the remains of birds are exceedingly scarce in europe and america; and from the wandering habits of so many of this class, they are of much less value { }as indications of past changes in physical geography. a large proportion of the remains belong to aquatic or wading types, and as these have now often a world-wide range, the occurrence of extinct forms can have little bearing on our present inquiry. there are, however, a few interesting cases of extinct land-birds belonging to groups now quite strangers to the country in which they are found; and others scarcely less interesting, in which groups now peculiar to certain areas are shown to have been preceded by allied species or genera of gigantic size. _palæarctic region and n. india._--in the caves and other post-pliocene deposits of these countries, the remains of birds almost all belong to genera now inhabiting the same districts. almost the only exceptions are, the great auk and the capercailzie, already mentioned as being found in the danish mounds; the latter bird, with _tetrao albus_, in italian caverns; and a species of pheasant (_phasianus_) said to have occurred in the post-pliocene of france, considerably west of the existing range of the genus in a wild state. in the preceding pliocene deposits, but few remains have been found, and all of existing genera but one, a gallinaceous bird (_gallus bravardi_) allied to the domestic fowl and peacock. the miocene beds of france and central europe have produced many more remains of birds, but these, too, are mostly of existing european genera, though there are some notable exceptions. along with forms undistinguishable from crows (_corvus_), shrikes (_lanius_), wagtails (_motacilla_), and woodpeckers (_picus_), are found remains allied to the oriental edible-nest swift (_collocalia_) and _trogon_; a parrot resembling the african genus _psittacus_; an extinct form _necrornis_, perhaps allied to the plantain-eaters (_musophaga_); _homalophus_, doubtfully allied to woodpeckers, and _limnatornis_ to the hoopoes. the gallinaceous birds are represented by three species of pheasants, some very close to the domesticated species; _palæoperdix_ allied to the partridges; and _palæortyx_, small birds allied to the american genus _ortyx_, but with larger wings. there are also species of _pterocles_ allied to living birds, and a small pigeon. there are numerous living genera of accipitres; such as eagle (_aquila_), { }kite (_milvus_), eagle-owl (_bubo_), and screech-owl (_strix_); with the african secretary-bird (_serpentarius_), and some extinct forms, as _palæocercus_, _palæohierix_ and _palæetus_. aquatic and wading birds were abundant, including numerous rails, bustards, herons, sandpipers, gulls, divers, and pelicans. there were also many ducks, some allied to the genus _dendrocygna_; the oriental genus of storks, _leptoptilus_; _ibidipodia_, a remarkable form allied to _ibis_ and _ciconia_; _elornis_, near _limosa_; _pelagornis_, a large bird allied to gannets and pelicans; _hydrornis_, allied to the ducks and petrels; _dolichopterus_, allied to plovers. perhaps the most interesting of these extinct birds are, however, the flamingoes, represented by forms hardly distinguishable from living species, and by one extinct genus _palælodus_, which had very long toes, and probably walked on aquatic plants like the tropical jacanas. the miocene beds of north india have furnished few birds; the only one of geographical interest being an extinct species of ostrich, not very different from that now inhabiting arabia. on the whole, the birds of europe at this period were very like those now living, with the addition of a few tropical forms. these latter were, however, perhaps more numerous and important than they appear to be, as they belong to inland and forest-haunting types, which would not be so frequently preserved as the marsh and lake-dwelling species. taking this into consideration, the assemblage of miocene birds accords well with what we know of the mammalian fauna. we have the same indications of a luxuriant vegetation and subtropical climate, and the same appearance of oriental and especially of african types. _trogon_ is perhaps the most interesting of all the forms yet discovered, since it furnishes us with a central point whence the living trogons of asia, africa, and south america might have diverged. in the eocene we find ourselves almost wholly among extinct forms of birds. the earliest known passerine bird is here met with, in _protornis_, somewhat similar to a lark, found in the lower eocene of switzerland; while another passerine form, _palægithalus_, and one allied to the nuthatch (_sitta_), have been { }discovered in the upper eocene of paris. picariæ of equal antiquity are found. _cryptornis_, from the paris eocene, and _halcyornis_ from the lower eocene of the isle of sheppey, were both allied to kingfishers; while a form allied to _centropus_ a genus of cuckoos, or, as milne-edwards thinks, to the madagascar _leptosomus_, has been found in the upper eocene of france. several _accipitres_ of somewhat doubtful affinities have been found in the same country; while _lithornis_, from the lower eocene of the isle of sheppey, was a small vulturine bird supposed to be allied to the american group, _cathartes_. among the waders, some extinct forms of plovers have been found, and a genus (_agnopterus_), allied to the flamingoes; while there are many swimming birds, such as pelicans, divers, and several extinct types of doubtful affinities. most intersting of all is a portion of a cranium discovered in the lower eocene of sheppey, and lately pronounced by professor owen to belong to a large struthious bird, allied to the new zealand _dinornis_ and also perhaps to the ostrich. another gigantic bird is the _gastornis_, from the lower eocene of paris, which was as large as an ostrich, but which is believed to have been a generalised type, allied to wading and swimming birds as well as to the struthiones. beyond this epoch we have no remains of birds in european strata till we come to the wonderful _archæopteryx_ from the upper oolite of bavaria; a bird of a totally new type, with a bony tail, longer than the body, each vertebra of which carried a pair of diverging feathers. _north america._--a number of bird-remains have lately been found in the rich tertiary and cretaceous deposits of the united states; but here, too, comparatively few are terrestrial forms. no passerine bird has yet been found. the picariæ are represented by _uintornis_, an extinct form allied to woodpeckers, from the eocene of wyoming. species of turkey (_meleagris_) occur in the post-pliocene and as far back as the miocene strata, showing that this interesting type is a true denizen of temperate north america. the other birds are, _accipitres_; waders and aquatics of existing genera; and a number of extinct forms of the two latter orders--such as, _aletornis_ an eocene wader; { }_palæotringa_, allied to the sandpipers, and _telmatobius_ to the rails, both cretaceous; with _graculavus_, allied to _graculus_; _laornis_ allied to the swans; _hesperornis_ a gigantic diver; and _icthyornis_ a very low form, with biconcave vertebra, such as are only found in fishes and some reptiles--also from cretaceous deposits. _south america._--the caverns of brazil produced thirty-four species of birds, most of them referable to brazilian genera, and many to still existing species. the most interesting were two species of american ostrich (_rhea_), one larger than either of the living species; a large turkey-buzzard (_cathartes_); a new species of the very isolated south american genus _opisthocomus_; and a _cariama_, or allied new genus. _madagascar and the mascarene islands._--we have here only evidence of birds that have become extinct in the historical period or very little earlier. first we have a group of birds incapable of flight, allied to pigeons, but forming a separate family, _dididæ_; and which, so far as we yet know, inhabited mauritius, rodriguez, and probably bourbon. _aphanapteryx_, an extinct genus of rails, inhabited mauritius; and another genus, (_erythromachus_), rodriguez. a large parrot, said by prof. milne edwards to be allied to _ara_ and _microglossus_, also inhabited mauritius; and another allied to _eclectus_, the island of rodriguez. none of these have been found in madagascar; but a gigantic struthious bird, _Æpyornis_, forming a peculiar family distinct both from the ostriches of africa and the _dinornis_ of new zealand inhabited that island; and there is reason to believe that this may have lived less than years ago. _new zealand._--a number of extinct struthious birds, forming two families, _dinornithidæ_ and _palapterygidæ_, have been found in new zealand. some were of gigantic size. they seem allied both to the living _apteryx_ of new zealand and the emu of australia. they are quite recent, and some of them have probably lived within the last few centuries. remains of _dinornis_ have also been found in a post-pliocene deposit in queensland, n. e. australia[ ]--a very important discovery, as it { }gives support to the theory of a great eastward extension of australia in tertiary times. extinct tertiary reptiles. these will not occupy us long, as no very great number are known, and most of them belong to a few principal forms of comparatively little geographical interest. tortoises are perhaps the most abundant of the tertiary reptiles. they are numerous in the eocene and miocene formations both in europe and north america. the genera _emys_ and _trionyx_ abound in both countries, as well as in the miocene of india. land tortoises occur in the eocene of north america and in the miocene of europe and india, where the huge _colossochelys_, twelve feet long, has been found. in the pliocene deposits of switzerland the living american genus _chelydra_ has been met with. these facts, together with the occurrence of a living _species_ in the miocene of india, show that this order of reptiles is of great antiquity, and that most of the genera once had a wider range than now. crocodiles, allied to the three forms now characteristic of india, africa, and america, have been found in the eocene of our own country, and several species of _crocodilus_ have occurred in beds of the same age in north america. lizards are very ancient, many small terrestrial forms occurring in all the tertiary deposits. a species of the genus _chamæleo_ is recorded from the eocene of north america, together with several extinct genera. snakes were well developed in the eocene period, where remains of several have been found which must have been from twelve to twenty feet long. an extinct species of true viper has occurred in the miocene of france, and one of the pythonidæ in the miocene brown coal of germany. batrachia occur but sparingly in a fossil state in the tertiary deposits. the most remarkable is the large salamander (_andreas_) from the upper miocene of switzerland, which { }is allied to the _menopoma_ living in north america. species of frog (_rana_), and _palæophryus_ an extinct genus of toads, have been found in the miocene deposits of germany and switzerland. fresh water fish are almost unknown in the tertiary deposits of europe, although most of the families and some genera of living marine fish are represented from the eocene downwards. antiquity of the genera of insects. fossil insects are far too rarely found, to aid us in our determination of difficult questions of geographical distribution; but in discussing these questions it will be important to know, whether we are to look upon the existing generic forms of insects as of great or small antiquity, compared with the higher vertebrates; and to decide this question the materials at our command are ample. the conditions requisite for the preservation of insects in a fossil state are no doubt very local and peculiar; the result being, that it is only at long intervals in the geological record that we meet with remains of insects in a recognisable condition. none appear to have been found in the pliocene formation; but in the upper miocene of oeninghen in switzerland, associated with the wonderfully rich fossil flora, are found immense quantities of insects. prof. heer examined more than , specimens belonging to over species, and many have been found in other localities in switzerland; so that more than , species of miocene insects have now been determined. most of the orders are represented, but the beetles (coleoptera) are far the most abundant. almost all belong to existing genera, and the majority of these genera now inhabit europe, only three or four being exclusively indian, african, or american. in the lower miocene of croatia there is another rich deposit of insects, somewhat more tropical in character, comprising large white-ants and dragon-flies differently marked from any { }now inhabiting europe. a butterfly is also well preserved, with all the markings of the wings; and it seems to be a _junonia_, a tropical genus, though it may be a _vanessa_, which is european, but the fossil most resembles indian species of _junonia_. the eocene formations seem to have produced no insect remains; but they occur again in the upper cretaceous at aix-la-chapelle, where two butterflies have been found, _cyllo sepulta_ and _satyrites reynesii_, both belonging to the satyridæ, and the former to a genus now spread over africa, india, and australia. a little earlier, in the wealden formation of our own country, numerous insects have been found, principally dragon flies (_libellula_, _Æshna_); aquatic hemiptera (_velia hydrometra_); crickets, cockroaches, and cicadas, of familiar types. further back in the upper oolite of bavaria--which produced the wonderful long-tailed bird, _archæopteryx_--insects of all orders have been found, including a moth referred to the existing genus _sphinx_. in the lower oolite of oxfordshire many fossil beetles have been found whose affinities are shown by their names:--_buprestidium_, _curculionidium_, _blapsidium_, _melolonthidium_, and _prionidium_; a wing of a butterfly has also been found, allied to the brassolidæ now confined to tropical america, and named _palæontina oolitica_. still more remote are the insects of the lias of gloucestershire, yet they too can be referred to well-known family types--carabidæ, melolonthidæ, telephoridæ, elateridæ, and curculionidæ, among beetles; gryllidæ and blattidæ among orthoptera; with _libellula_, _agrion_, _Æshna_, _ephemera_, and some extinct genera. when we consider that almost the only vertebrata of this period were huge saurian reptiles like the _icthyosaurus_, _plesiosaurus_, and _dinosaurus_, with the flying pterodactyles; and that the great mass of our existing genera, and even families, of fish and reptiles had almost certainly not come into existence, we see at once that types of insect-form are, proportionately, far more ancient. at this remote epoch we find the chief family types (the _genera_ of the time of linnæus) perfectly differentiated { }and recognisable. it is only when we go further back still, into the palæozoic formations, that the insect forms begin to show that generalization of type which renders it impossible to classify them in any existing groups. yet even in the coal formation of nova scotia and durham, the fossil insects are said by competent entomologists to be "allied to _ephemera_," "near _blatta_," "near _phasmidæ_;" and in deposits of the same age at saarbrück near trèves, a well-preserved wing of a grasshopper or locust has been found, as well as a beetle referred to the scarabeidæ. more remarkable, however, is the recent discovery in the carboniferous shales of belgium, of the clearly-defined wing of a large moth (_breyeria borinensis_), closely resembling some of the saturniidæ; so that we have now all the chief orders of insects--including those supposed to be the most highly developed and the most recent--well represented at this very remote epoch. even the oldest insects, from the devonian rocks of north america, can mostly be classed as neuroptera or myriapoda, but appear to form new families. we may consider it, therefore, as proved, that many of the larger and more important genera of insects date back to the beginning of the tertiary period, or perhaps beyond it; but the family types are far older, and must have been differentiated very early in the secondary period, while some of them perhaps go back to palæozoic times. the great comparative antiquity of the _genera_ is however the important fact for us, and we shall have occasion often to refer to it, in endeavouring to ascertain the true bearing of the facts of insect distribution, as elucidating or invalidating the conclusions arrived at from a study of the distribution of the higher animals. antiquity of the genera of land and fresh-water shells. the remains of land and fresh-water shells are not much more frequent than those of insects. like them, too, their forms are very stable, continuing unchanged through several geological { }periods. in the pliocene and miocene formations, most of the shells are very similar to living species, and some are quite identical. in the eocene we meet with ordinary forms of the genera _helix_, _clausilia_, _pupa_, _bulimus_, _glandina_, _cyclostoma_, _megalostoma_, _planorbis_, _paludina_ and _limnæa_, some resembling european species, others more like tropical forms. a british eocene species of _helix_ is still living in texas; and in the south of france are found species of the brazilian sub-genera _megaspira_ and _anastoma_. in the secondary formation no true land shells have been found, but fresh water shells are tolerably abundant, and almost all are still of living forms. in the wealden (lower cretaceous) and purbeck (upper oolite) are found _unio_, _melania_, _paludina_, _planorbis_, and _limnæa_; while the last named genus occurs even in the lias. the notion that land shells were really not in existence during the secondary period is, however, proved to be erroneous by the startling discovery, in the palæozoic coal measures of nova scotia, of two species of helicidæ, both of living genera--_pupa vetusta_, and _zonites priscus_. they have been found in the hollow trunk of a _sigillaria_, and in great quantities in a bed full of stigmarian rootlets. the most minute examination detects no important differences of form or of microscopic structure, between these shells and living species of the same genera! these mollusca were the contemporaries of labyrinthodonts and strange ganoid fishes, which formed almost the whole vertebrate fauna. this unexpected discovery renders it almost certain, that numbers of other existing genera, of which we have found no traces, lived with these two through the whole secondary period; and we are thus obliged to assume as a probability, that any particular genus has lived through a long succession of geological ages. in estimating the importance of any peculiarities or anomalies in the geographical distribution of land shells as compared with the higher vertebrates, we shall, therefore, have to keep this possible, and even probable high antiquity, constantly in mind. we have now concluded our sketch of tertiary palæontology as a preparation for the intelligent study of the geographical { }distribution of land animals; and however imperfectly the task has been performed, the reader will at all events have been convinced that some such preliminary investigation is an essential and most important part of our work. so much of palæontology is at present tentative and conjectural, that in combining the information derived from numerous writers, many errors of detail must have been made. the main conclusions have, however, been drawn from as large a basis of facts as possible; and although fresh discoveries may show that our views as to the past history of some of the less important genera or families are erroneous, they can hardly invalidate our results to any important degree, either as regards the intercommunications between separate regions in the various geological epochs, or as to the centres from which some of the more important groups have been dispersed. part iii. _zoological geography:_ _a review of the chief forms of animal life in the several regions and sub-regions, with the indications they afford of geographical mutations._ { }chapter ix. the order of succession of the regions.--cosmopolitan groups of animals.--tables of distribution. having discussed, in our first part, such general and preliminary matters as are necessary to a proper comprehension of our subject; and having made ourselves acquainted, in our second part, with the most important results of palæontology, we now come to our more immediate subject, which we propose to treat first under its geographical aspect. taking each of our six regions in succession, we shall point out in some detail the chief zoological features they present, as influenced by climate, vegetation, and other physical features. we shall then treat each of the sub-regions by itself, as well as such of the islands or other sub-divisions as present features of special interest; endeavouring to ascertain their true relations to each other, and the more important changes of physical geography that seem necessary to account for their present zoological condition. _order of succession of the regions._--we may here explain the reason for taking the several regions in a different succession from that in which they appear in the tabular or diagrammatic headings to each family, in the fourth, and concluding part of this work. it will have been seen, by our examination of extinct animals (and it will be made still clearer during our study of the several regions) that all the chief types of animal life appear to have originated in the great north temperate or northern continents; while the southern continents--now represented by { }south america, australia, and south africa with madagascar--have been more or less completely isolated, during long periods, both from the northern continent and from each other. these latter countries have, however, been subject to more or less immigration from the north during rare epochs of approximation to, or partial union with it. in the northern, more extensive, and probably more ancient land, the process of development has been more rapid, and has resulted in more varied and higher types; while the southern lands, for the most part, seem to have produced numerous diverging modifications of the lower grades of organization, the original types of which they derived either from the north, or from some of the ancient continents in mesozoic or palæozoic times. hence those curious resemblances in the fauna of south america, australia, and, to a less extent, madagascar, which have led to a somewhat general belief that these distant countries must at one time or other have been united; a belief which, after a careful examination of all the facts, does not seem to the author of this work to be well founded. on the other hand, there is the most satisfactory evidence that each southern region has been more or less closely united (during the tertiary or later secondary epoch) with the great northern continents, leading to numerous resemblances and affinities in their productions. in endeavouring to present at a glance in the most convenient manner, the distribution of the families in the several regions and sub-regions, it was necessary to arrange them, so that those whose relations to each other were closest should stand side by side; the first and last being those between which the relations were least numerous and least important. influenced by the usual opinions as to the relations between australia and south america, the series was at first begun with the nearctic, and terminated with the australian and neotropical regions; and it was not till the whole of the vertebrate families had been gone through, and their distribution carefully studied, that these last two regions were seen to be really wider apart than any others of the series. it was therefore decided to alter the arrangement, beginning with the neotropical, and ending with the australian { }regions; and a careful inspection of the diagrams themselves, taken in their entirety, will, it is believed, show that this is the most natural plan, and most truly exhibits the relations of the several regions. in the portion of our work now commencing, we are not, however, by any means bound to begin at either end of this series. each region is studied by itself, but reference will often have to be made to all the other regions; and wherever we begin, we must occasionally refer to facts which will be given further on. as, however, the great northern continents form the central mass from which the southern regions, as it were, diverge, and as the palæarctic region is both more extensive and much better known than any other, it undoubtedly forms the most convenient starting-point for our proposed survey of the zoological history of the earth. we thus pass from the better known to the less known--from europe to africa and tropical asia, and thence to australia, completing the series of regions of the eastern hemisphere. beginning again with the neotropical region, we pass to the nearctic, which has such striking relations with the preceding and with the palæarctic region, that it can only be properly understood by constant reference to both. we thus keep separate the eastern and western hemispheres, which form, from our point of view, the most radical and most suggestive division of terrestrial faunas; and as we are able to make this also the dividing point of our two volumes, reference to the work will be thereby facilitated. _cosmopolitan groups._--before proceeding to sketch the zoological features of the several regions it will be well to notice those family groups which belong to the earth as a whole, and which are so widely and universally distributed over it that it will be unnecessary, in some cases, to do more than refer to them under the separate geographical divisions. the only absolutely cosmopolitan families of mammalia are those which are aerial or marine; and this is one of the striking proofs that their distribution has been effected by natural causes, and that the permanence of barriers is one of the chief { }agencies in the limitation of their range. even among the aerial bats, however, only one family--the vespertilionidæ--is truly cosmopolitan, the others having a more or less restricted range. neither are the cetacea necessarily cosmopolitan, most of the families being restricted either to warm or to cold seas; but one family, the dolphins (delphinidæ), is truly so. this order however will not require further notice, as, being exclusively marine the groups do not enter into any of our terrestrial regions. the only other family of mammals that may be considered to be cosmopolitan, is the muridæ (rats and mice); yet these are not entirely so, since none are known to be truly indigenous in any part of the australian region except australia itself. in the class of birds, a number of families are cosmopolites, if we reckon as such all which are found in each region and sub-region; but several of these are so abundant in some parts, while they are so sparingly represented in others, that they cannot fairly be considered so. we shall confine that term therefore, to such as, there is reason to believe, inhabit every important sub-division of each region. such are, among the passerine birds the crows (corvidæ), and swallows (hirundinidæ); among the picariæ the kingfishers (alcedinidæ); among other land birds the pigeons (columbidæ), grouse and partridges (tetraonidæ), hawks (falconidæ), and owls (strigidæ); among the waders the rails (rallidæ), snipes (scolopacidæ), plovers (charadriadæ), and herons (ardeidæ); and among the swimmers the ducks (anatidæ), gulls (laridæ), petrels (procellariidæ), pelicans (pelecanidæ), and grebes (podicipidæ). in the class of reptiles there are few absolutely cosmopolitan families, owing to the scarcity of members of this group in some insular sub-regions, such as new zealand and the pacific islands. those which are most nearly so are the colubridæ among snakes, and the scincidæ among lizards. there is no cosmopolitan family of amphibia, the true frogs (ranidæ) being the most widely distributed. neither is any family of freshwater fishes cosmopolitan, the siluridæ, which have the widest range, being confined { }to warm regions, and becoming very scarce in the temperate zones. among the diurnal and crepuscular lepidoptera (butterflies and sphinges) the following families are cosmopolitan:--satyridæ, nymphalidæ, lycænidæ, pieridæ, papilionidæ, hesperidæ, zygænidæ, and sphingidæ. of the coleoptera almost all, except some of the small and obscure families, are cosmopolitan. of the terrestrial mollusca, the helicidæ alone are true cosmopolites. _tables of distribution of families and genera._--having been obliged to construct numerous tables of the distribution of the various groups for the purposes of the descriptive part of the work, i have thought it well to append the most important of them, in a convenient form, to the chapter on each region; as much information will thereby be given, which can only be obtained from existing works at the cost of great labour. all these tables are drawn up on a uniform plan, the same generic and family names being used in each; and all are arranged in the same systematic order, so as to be readily comparable with each other. this, although it seems a simple and natural thing to do, has involved a very great amount of labour, because hardly two authors use the same names or follow the same arrangement. hence comparison between them is impossible, till all their work has been picked to pieces, their synonymy unravelled, their differences accounted for, and the materials recast; and this has to be done, not for two or three authors only, but for the majority of those whose works have been consulted on the zoology of any part of the globe. except in the two higher orders--mammalia and birds--materials do not exist for complete tables of the genera brought down to the present time. we have given therefore, first, a complete table of all the families of vertebrata and diurnal lepidoptera found in each region, showing the sub-regions in which they occur, and their range beyond the limits of the region. families which are wholly peculiar to the region, or { }very characteristic and almost exclusively confined to it, are in _italics_. the number prefixed to each family corresponds to that of the series of families in the fourth part of this work, so that if further information is required it can be readily referred to without consulting the index. names inclosed in parentheses--( . . . ) thus--indicate families which only just enter a region from an adjacent one, to which they properly belong. the eye is thus directed to the more, and the less important families; and a considerable amount of information as to the general features of the zoology of the region, is conveyed in the easiest manner. the tables of genera of mammalia and birds, are arranged on a somewhat different plan. each genus is given under its family and order, and they follow in the same succession in all the tables. the number of species of each genus, inhabiting the region, is given as nearly as can be ascertained; but in many cases this can only be a general approximation. the distribution of the genera within the region, is then given with some detail; and, lastly, the range of the genus beyond the region is given in general terms, the words "oriental," "ethiopian," &c., being used for brevity, to indicate that the genus occurs over a considerable part of such regions. genera which are restricted to the region (or which are very characteristic of it though just transgressing its limits) are given in _italics_; while those which only just enter the region from another to which they really belong, are enclosed in parentheses--( . . . ) thus. the genera are here numbered consecutively, in order that the number of genera in each family or each order, in the region, may be readily ascertained (by one process of subtraction), and thus comparisons made with other regions or with any other area. as the tables of birds would be swelled to an inconvenient length by the insertion in each region of all the genera of waders and aquatics, most of which have a very wide range and would have to be repeated in several or all the regions, these have been omitted; but a list has been given of such of the genera as are peculiar to, or highly characteristic of each region. as this is the first time that any such extensive tables of { }distribution have been constructed for the whole of the mammalia and birds, they must necessarily contain many errors of detail; but with all their imperfections it is believed they will prove very useful to naturalists, to teachers, and to all who take an intelligent interest in the wider problems of geography and natural history. { }chapter x. the palÆarctic region. this region is of immense extent, comprising all the temperate portions of the great eastern continents. it thus extends from the azores and canary islands on the west to japan on the east, a distance not far short of half the circumference of the globe. yet so great is the zoological unity of this vast tract, that the majority of the genera of animals in countries so far removed as great britain and northern japan are identical. throughout its northern half the animal productions of the palæarctic region are very uniform, except that the vast elevated desert-regions of central asia possess some characteristic forms; but in its southern portion, we find a warm district at each extremity with somewhat contrasted features. on the west we have the rich and luxuriant mediterranean sub-region, possessing many peculiar forms of life, as well as a few which are more especially characteristic of the ethiopian region. on the east we have the fertile plains of northern china and the rich and varied islands of japan, possessing a very distinct set of peculiar forms, with others belonging to the oriental region, into which this part of the palæarctic region merges gradually as we approach the tropic of cancer. thus, the countries roughly indicated by the names--northern europe, the mediterranean district, central and northern asia, and china with japan--have each well-marked minor characteristics which entitle them to the rank of sub-regions. their boundaries are often indefinable; and those here adopted have been fixed upon to some extent by considerations of convenience, dependent on custom and on the more or less perfect knowledge we possess of some of the intervening countries. [illustration: palaearctic region] { }_zoological characteristics of the palæarctic region._--the palæarctic region has representatives of thirty-five families of mammalia, fifty-five of birds, twenty-five of reptiles, nine of amphibia, and thirteen of freshwater fishes. comparing it with the only other wholly temperate region, the nearctic, we find a much greater variety of types of mammalia and birds. this may be due in part to its greater area, but more, probably, to its southern boundary being conterminous for an enormous distance with two tropical regions, the ethiopean and oriental; whereas the nearctic has a comparatively short southern boundary conterminous with the neotropical region only. this is so very important a difference, that it is rather a matter of surprise that the two north temperate regions should not be more unequal in the number of their higher vertebrate forms, than they actually are. it is also to the interblending of the palæarctic with the two adjacent tropical regions, that we must attribute its possession of so few peculiar family groups. these are only three; two of reptiles, _trogonophidæ_ and _ophiomoridæ_, and one of fishes, _comephoridæ_. the number of peculiar genera is, however, considerable, as the following enumeration will show. _mammalia._--the monkey of gibraltar and north africa, and an allied species found in japan, are now considered to belong to the extensive eastern genus _macacus_. the former, however, is peculiar in the entire absence of the tail, and has by many naturalists, been held to form a distinct genus, _inuus_, confined to the palæarctic region. of bats there are one or two genera (_barbastellus_, _plecotus_) which seem to be mainly or wholly palæarctic, but the classification of these animals is in such an unsettled state that the distribution of the genera is of little importance. in the next order, insectivora, we have almost the entire family of the moles confined to the region. _talpa_ just enters northern india; and _urotrichus_ is common to japan and { }north-western america, but the remaining genera, six in number, are all exclusively palæarctic. among carnivora we have _nyctereutes_, the curious racoon-dog of japan and north-eastern asia; _lutronectes_, an otter peculiar to japan; and the badger (_meles_), which ranges over the whole region, and just enters the oriental region as far as hongkong; _Æluropus_, a curious form of the himalayan panda, inhabiting the high mountains of eastern thibet; and _pelagius_, a genus of seals, ranging from the shores of madeira to the black sea. the ungulata, or hoofed animals, are still more productive of forms peculiar to this region. first we have the camels, whose native home is the desert region of central and western asia and northern africa, and which, even in their domesticated condition, are confined almost wholly within the limits of the palæarctic region. of deer we have six peculiar genera, _dama_ and _capreolus_ found in europe, with _elaphodus_, _lophotragus_, _hydropotes_, and _moschus_, confined to northern china and mongolia. the great family bovidæ--comprising the oxen, sheep, goats and antelopes--furnishes no less than seven peculiar palæarctic genera. these are _poephagus_, the yak of thibet; _addax_, a well-known antelope of northern africa and syria; _procapra_, _pantholops_ and _budorcas_, antelopine genera peculiar to thibet and mongolia; with _rupicapra_ (the chamois), and the extraordinary large-nosed antelope _saiga_, confined to europe and western asia. besides these we have _capra_ (the wild sheep and goats), all the numerous species of which, except two, are exclusively palæarctic. coming to the rodents, we have again many peculiar forms. of muridæ (the mouse and rat tribe), we have six peculiar genera, the more important being _cricetus_, _rhombomys sminthus_, and _myospalax_. of spalacidæ (mole-rats) both the palæarctic genera, _ellobius_ and _spalax_, are peculiar. _ctenodactylus_, a genus of the south american family octodontidæ, is found only in north africa. to these we may add _myoxus_ (the dormice) and _lagomys_ (the pikas or tail-less hares) as essentially palæarctic, since but one species of each genus is found beyond the limits of the region. _birds._--it appears to have been the opinion of many { }naturalists that the palæarctic region could not be well characterised by its peculiar genera of birds. in mr. sclater's celebrated paper already referred to, he remarks, "it cannot be denied that the ornithology of the palæarctic region is more easily characterised by what it has not than by what it has," and this has been quite recently quoted by mr. allen, in his essay on the distribution of north american birds, as if it represented our present knowledge of the subject. but, thanks to the labours of dr. jerdon, mr. swinhoe, père david and others, we have now learnt that a large number of birds included in the indian list, are either mere winter emigrants from central asia, or only inhabit the higher ranges of the himalayas, and thus really belong to the palæarctic region. the result is, that a host of genera are now seen to be either exclusively or characteristically palæarctic, and we have no further difficulty in giving positive ornithological characters to the region. in the tables appended to this chapter, all these truly palæarctic genera will be found printed in _italics_, with an indication of their distribution, which will sometimes be found more fully given under the respective families in the fourth part of this work. referring to this table for details we shall here summarise the results. of the sylviidæ or warblers, no less than fourteen genera are either exclusively or characteristically palæarctic, of which _locustella_, _sylvia_, _curruca_ and _erithacus_ are good examples. of the oriental family timaliidæ, the genus _pterorhinus_ is palæarctic. of panuridæ, or reedlings, there are four peculiar genera (comprising almost the whole family); of certhiidæ, or creepers, one--_tichodroma_--which extends southward to the abyssinian highlands. of paridæ, or tits, one--_acredula_; of corvidæ, or crows, four--_pica_ (containing our magpie) being a good example; of fringillidæ, or finches and buntings, twelve, among which _acanthis_, _pyrrhula_ and _emberiza_ are good illustrations; of alaudidæ, or larks, there are two peculiar genera. leaving the passeres we next come to peculiar forms among the gallinaceous birds: _syrrhaptes_ among the pteroclidæ or sand grouse; four genera of tetraonidæ or grouse and partridges, and five of phasianidæ or pheasants, comprising some of the most magnificent birds in the world. lastly { }among the far-wandering aquatic birds we have no less than five genera which are more especially palæarctic,--_ortygometra_, the corn-crake, and _otis_, the great bustard, being typical examples. we may add to these, several genera almost confined to this region, such as _garrulus_ (jays), _fringilla_ (true finches), _yunx_ (wrynecks) and some others; so that in proportion to its total generic forms a very large number are found to be peculiar or characteristic. this view, of the high degree of speciality of the palæarctic region, will no doubt be objected to by some naturalists, on the ground that many of the genera reckoned as exclusively palæarctic are not so, but extend more or less into other regions. it is well, therefore, to consider what principles should guide us in a matter of this kind, especially as we shall have to apply the same rules to each of the other regions. we may remark first, that the limits of the regions themselves are, when not formed by the ocean, somewhat arbitrary, depending on the average distribution of a number of characteristic forms; and that slight local peculiarities of soil, elevation, or climate, may cause the species of one region to penetrate more or less deeply into another. the land boundary between two regions will be, not a defined line but a neutral territory of greater or less width, within which the forms of both regions will intermingle; and this neutral territory itself will merge imperceptibly into both regions. so long therefore as a species or genus does not permanently reside considerably beyond the possible limits of this neutral territory, we should not claim it as an inhabitant of the adjacent region. a consideration of perhaps more importance arises, from the varying extent of the range of a genus, over the area occupied by the region. some genera are represented by single species existing only in a very limited area; others by numerous species which occupy, entirely or very nearly, the whole extent of the region; and there is every intermediate grade between these extremes. now, the small localised genera, are always reckoned as among the best examples of types peculiar to a region; while the more wide-spread groups are often denied that character if they extend a little beyond { }the supposed regional limits, or send one or two, out of a large number of species, into adjacent regions; yet there is some reason to believe that the latter are really more important as characterising a zoological region than the former. in the case of a single isolated species or genus we have a dying-out group; and we have so many cases of discontinuous species of such groups (of which _urotrichus_ in japan and british columbia, _eupetes_ in sumatra and new guinea are examples), that it is quite as probable as not, that any such isolated species has only become peculiar to the region by the recent extinction of an allied form or forms in some other region. on the other hand, a genus consisting of numerous species ranging over an entire region or the greater part of one, is a dominant group, which has most likely been for some time extending its range, and whose origin dates back to a remote period. the slight extension of such a group beyond the limits of the region to which it mainly belongs, is probably a recent phenomenon, and in that case cannot be held in any degree to detract from its value as one of the peculiar forms of that region. the most numerous examples of this class, are those birds of the temperate regions which in winter migrate, either wholly or partially, into adjacent warmer countries. this migration most likely began subsequent to the miocene period, during that gradual refrigeration of the temperate zones which culminated in the glacial epoch, and which still continues in a mitigated form. most of the genera, and many even of the species of birds which migrate southwards in winter, have therefore, most likely, always been inhabitants of our present palæarctic and nearctic regions; permanent residents during warm epochs, but only able now to maintain their existence by migration in winter. such groups belong truly to the temperate zones, and the test of this is the fact of their not having any, or very few, representatives, which are permanent residents in the adjacent tropical regions. when there are such representative species, we do not claim them as peculiar to the northern regions. bearing in mind these various considerations, it will be found that we have been very moderate in our estimate of the number of genera { }that may fairly be considered as exclusively or characteristically palæarctic. _reptiles and amphibia._--the palæarctic region possesses, in proportion to its limited reptilian fauna, a full proportion of peculiar types. we have for instance two genera of snakes, _rhinechis_ and _halys_; seven of lizards, _trigonophis_, _psammodromus_, _hyalosaurus_, _scincus_, _ophiomorus_, _megalochilus_, and _phrynocephalus_; eight of tailed batrachians, _proteus_, _salamandra_, _seiranota_, _chioglossa_, _hynobius_, _onychodactylus_, _geotriton_, and _sieboldia_; and eight of tail-less batrachians, _bombinator_, _pelobates_, _didocus_, _alytes_, _pelodytes_, _discoglossus_, _laprissa_, and _latonia_. the distribution of these and other palæarctic genera will be found in our second vol. chap. xix. _freshwater fish._--about twenty genera of freshwater fishes are wholly confined to this region, and constitute a feature which ought not to be overlooked in estimating its claim to the rank of a separate primary division of the earth. they belong to the following families:--percidæ (three genera), _acerina_, _percarina_, _aspro_; comephoridæ (one genus), _comephorus_, found only in lake baikal; salmonidæ (three genera), _brachymystax_, _luciotrutta_, and _plecoglossus_; cyprinodontidæ (one genus), _tellia_, found only in alpine pools on the atlas mountains; cyprinidæ (thirteen genera), _cyprinus_, _carassus_, _paraphoxinus_, _tinca_, _achilognathus_, _rhodeus_, _chondrostoma_, _pseudoperilampus_, _ochetebius_, _aspius_, _alburnus_, _misgurnus_, and _nemachilus_. _summary of palæarctic vertebrata._--summarising these details, we find that the palæarctic region possesses thirty-five peculiar genera of mammalia, fifty-seven of birds, nine of reptiles, sixteen of amphibia, and twenty-one of freshwater fishes; or a total of peculiar generic types of vertebrata. of these, are mammalia and land-birds out of a total of genera of these groups; or rather less than one-third peculiar, a number which will serve usefully to compare with the results obtained in other regions. in our chapter on zoological regions we have already pointed out the main features which distinguish the palæarctic from the oriental and ethiopian regions. the details now given will { }strengthen our view of their radical distinctness, by showing to how considerable an extent the former is inhabited by peculiar, and often very remarkable generic types. _insects: lepidoptera._--the diurnal lepidoptera, or butterflies, are not very abundant in species, their number being probably somewhat over , and these belong to not more than fifty genera. but no less than fifteen of these genera are wholly confined to the region. nine of the families are represented, as follows:-- . _danaidæ_; having only a single species in south europe. . _satyridæ_; well represented, there being more than species in europe, and three peculiar genera. . _nymphalidæ_; rather poorly represented, europe having only about sixty species, but there is one peculiar genus. . _libytheidæ_; a very small family, represented by a single species occurring in south europe. . _nemeobiidæ_; a rather small family, also having only one species in europe, but which constitutes a peculiar genera. . _lycænidæ_; an extensive family, fairly represented, having about eighty european species; there are two peculiar genera in the palæarctic region. . _pieridæ_; rather poorly represented with thirty-two european species; two of the genera are, however, peculiar. . _papilionidæ_; very poorly represented in europe with only twelve species, but there are many more in siberia and japan. no less than five of the small number of genera in this family are wholly confined to the region, a fact of much importance, and which to a great extent redeems the character of the palæarctic region as regard this order of insects. their names are _mesapia_, _hypermnestra_, _doritis_, _sericinus_, and _thais_; and besides these we have _parnassius_--the "apollo" butterflies--highly characteristic, and only found elsewhere in the mountains of the nearctic region. . _hesperidæ_; poorly represented with about thirty european species, and one peculiar genus. four families of _sphingina_ occur in the palæarctic region, and there are several peculiar genera. in the _zygænidæ_ there are two exclusively european genera, and the extensive genus _zygæna_ is itself mainly palæarctic. the small family _stygiidæ_ has two out of its three genera { }confined to the palæarctic region. in the _Ægeriidæ_ the genus _Ægeria_ is mainly palæarctic. the _sphingidæ_ have a wider general range, and none of the larger genera are peculiar to any one region. _coleoptera._--the palæarctic region is the richest portion of the globe in the great family of _carabidæ_, or predacious ground-beetles, about of the genera being confined to it, while many others, including the magnificent genus _carabus_, have here their highest development. while several of the smaller genera are confined to the eastern or western sub-regions, most of the larger ones extend over the whole area, and give it an unmistakable aspect; while in passing from east to west or _vice-versâ_, allied species and genera replace each other with considerable regularity, except in the extreme south-east, where, in china and japan, some oriental forms appear, as do a few ethiopian types in the south-west. cicindelidæ, or tiger-beetles, are but poorly represented by about species of the genus _cicindela_, and a single _tetracha_ in south europe. lucanidæ, or stag-beetles, are also poor, there being representatives of genera. one of these, _Æsalus_ (a single species), is peculiar to south europe, and two others, _cladognathus_ and _cyclopthalmus_, are only represented in japan, china, and thibet. cetoniidæ, or rose-chafers, are represented by genera, two of which are peculiar to south europe (_tropinota_ and _heterocnemis_), while _stalagmosoma_, ranging from persia to nubia, and the fine _dicranocephalus_ inhabiting north china, corea, and nipal, may also be considered to belong to it. the genera _trichius_, _gnorimus_, and _osmoderma_ are confined to the two north temperate regions. buprestidæ, or metallic beetles, are rather abundant in the warmer parts of the region, genera being represented, nine of which are peculiar. by far the larger portion of these are confined to the mediterranean sub-region. a considerable number also inhabit japan and china. the longicorns, or long-horned beetles, are represented by no less than genera, of which are peculiar. they are { }much more abundant in the southern than the northern half of the region. several oriental genera extend to japan and north china, and a few ethiopian genera to north africa. thirteen genera are confined, to the two north temperate regions. several large genera, such as _dorcadion_ ( species), _phytæcia_ ( species), _pogonochærus_ ( species), _agapanthia_ ( species), and _vesperus_ ( species), are altogether peculiar to the palæarctic region; and with a preponderance of _leptura_, _grammoptera_, _stenocorus_, and several others, strongly characterise it as distinct from the nearctic and oriental regions. the other families which are well developed in the palæarctic regions, are, the staphylinidæ or rove-beetles, silphidæ or burying-beetles, histeridæ or mimic-beetles, nitidulidæ, aphodiidæ, copridæ (especially in south europe), geotrupidæ or dung-beetles, melolonthidæ or chafers, elateridæ or click-beetles, the various families of malacoderms and heteromera, especially pimeliidæ in the mediterranean sub-region, curculionidæ or weevils, the phytophaga or leaf-eaters, and cocinellidæ or lady-birds. the number of species of coleoptera in the western part of the palæarctic region is about , , and there are probably not more than , to add to this number from siberia, japan, and north china; but were these countries as well explored as europe, we may expect that they would add at least , to the number above given, raising the palæarctic coleopterous fauna to , species. as the total number of species at present known to exist in collections is estimated (and perhaps somewhat over-estimated) at , species, we may be sure that were the whole earth as thoroughly investigated as europe, the number would be at least doubled, since we cannot suppose that europe, with the mediterranean basin, can contain more than one-fifth of the whole of the coleoptera of the globe. of the other orders of insects we here say nothing, because in their case much more than in that of the coleoptera and lepidoptera, is the disproportion enormous between our knowledge of the european fauna and that of almost all the rest of the globe. { }they are, therefore, at present of comparatively little use for purposes of geographical distribution, even were it advisable to enter into the subject in a work which will, perhaps, be too much overburdened with details only of interest to specialists. _land shells._--these are very numerous in the warmer parts of the region, but comparatively scarce towards the north. south europe alone possesses over species, whereas there are only in all northern europe and asia. the total number of species in the whole region is probably about , , of which the great majority are helicidæ; the operculated families being very poorly represented. several small genera or sub-genera are peculiar to the region, as _testacella_ (west europe and canaries); _leucochroa_ (mediterranean district); _acicula_ (europe); _craspedopoma_ (atlantic islands); _leonia_ (algeria and spain); _pomatias_ (europe and canaries); _cecina_ (mongolia). the largest genera are _helix_ and _clausilia_, which together comprise more than half the species; _pupa_, very numerous; _bulimus_ and _achatina_ in moderate numbers, and all the rest small. _helix_ is the only genus which contains large and handsome species; _bulimus_ and _achatina_, so magnificent in tropical countries, being here represented by small and obscure forms only. _daudebardia_ is confined to central and south europe and new zealand; _glandina_ is chiefly south american; _hyalina_ is only american and european; _buliminus_ ranges over all the world except america; and the other european genera of helicidæ are widely distributed. of the operculata, _cyclotus_, _cyclophorus_, and _pupina_ extend from the oriental region into japan and north china; _tudoria_ is found in algeria and the west indies; _hydrocena_ is widely scattered, and occurs in south europe and japan. the genera of freshwater shells are all widely distributed. the palÆarctic sub-regions. the four sub-regions which are here adopted, have been fixed upon as those which are, in the present state of our knowledge, at once the most natural and the only practicable ones. { }no doubt all of them could be advantageously again subdivided, in a detailed study of the geographical distribution of _species_. but in a general work, which aims at treating all parts of the world with equal fulness, and which therefore is confined almost wholly to the distribution of families and genera, such further subdivision would be out of place. it is even difficult, in some of the classes of animals, to find peculiar or even characteristic genera for the present sub-regions; but they all have well marked climatic and physical differences, and this leads to an assemblage of species and of groups which are sufficiently distinctive. _i. central and northern europe._ this sub-region, which may perhaps be termed the "european," is zoologically and botanically the best known on the globe. it can be pretty accurately defined, as bounded on the south by the pyrenees, the alps, the balkans, the black sea, and the caucasus range; and by the ural mountains, or perhaps more correctly the valley of the irtish and caspian sea, on the east; while ireland and iceland are its furthest outliers in the west. to the north, it merges so gradually into the arctic zone that no demarcation is possible. the great extent to which this sub-region is interpenetrated by the sea, and the prevalence of westerly winds bringing warmth and moisture from an ocean influenced by the gulf-stream, give it a climate for the most part genial, and free from extremes of heat and cold. it is thus broadly distinguished from siberia and northern asia generally, where a more extreme and rigorous climate prevails. the whole of this sub-region is well watered, being penetrated by rivers in every direction; and it consists mainly of plains and undulating country of moderate elevation, the chief mountain ranges being those of scandinavia in the north-west, and the extensive alpine system of central europe. but these are both of moderate height, and a very small portion of their surface is occupied either by permanent snow-fields, or by barren uplands inimical to vegetable and animal life. it is, in { }fact, to these, and the numerous lesser mountains and hills which everywhere diversify the surface of europe, that the variety and abundance of its animal life is greatly due. they afford the perennial supplies to rivers, and furnish in their valleys and ever varying slopes, stations suited to every form of existence. a considerable area of central europe is occupied by uplands of moderate elevation, a comparatively small portion being flat and marshy plains. most of the northern and much of the central portions of europe are covered with vast forests of coniferous trees; and these, occupying as they do those tracts where the winter is most severe, supply food and shelter to many animals who could not otherwise maintain their existence. it is probable that the original condition of the greater part, if not the whole, of temperate europe, except the flat marshes of the river valleys and the sandy downs of the coast, was that of woodland and forest, mostly of deciduous trees, but with a plentiful admixture of such hardy evergreens as holly, ivy, privet, and yew. a sufficient proportion of these primeval woods, and of artificial plantations which have replaced them, fortunately remain, to preserve for us most of the interesting forms of life, which were developed before man had so greatly modified the surface of the earth, and so nearly exterminated many of its original tenants. almost exactly in proportion to the amount of woodland that still remains in any part of europe, do we find (other things being equal) the abundance and variety of wild animals; a pretty clear indication that the original condition of the country was essentially that of a forest, a condition which only now exists in the thinly inhabited regions of the north. although the sub-region we are considering is, for its extent and latitude, richly peopled with animal life, the number of genera altogether peculiar to it is not great. there are, however, several which are very characteristic, and many species, both of the smaller mammalia and of birds, are wholly restricted to it. _mammalia._--the genera wholly confined to this sub-region are { }only two. _myogale_, the desman, is a curious long-snouted insectivorous animal somewhat resembling the water-rat in its habits. there are two species, one found only on the banks of streams in the french pyrenees, the other on the great rivers of southern russia. the other peculiar genus, _rupicapra_ (the chamois of the alps), is found on all the high mountains of central europe. almost peculiar are _spalax_ (the mole-rat) found only in eastern europe and western siberia; and _saiga_, an extraordinary large-nosed antelope which has a nearly similar distribution. highly characteristic forms, which inhabit nearly every part of the sub-region, are, _talpa_ (the mole), _erinaceus_, (the hedgehog), _sorex_ (the shrew), _meles_ (the badger), _ursus_ (the bear), _canis_ (the wolf and fox), _mustela_ (the weasel), _lutra_ (the otter), _arvicola_ (the vole), _myoxus_ (the dormouse), and _lepus_ (the hare and rabbit); while _bos_ (the wild bull) was, until exterminated by man, no doubt equally characteristic. other genera inhabiting the sub-region will be found in the list given at the end of this chapter. _birds._--it is difficult to name the birds that are most characteristic of this sub-region, because so many of the most familiar and abundant are emigrants from the south, and belong to groups that have a different range. there is perhaps not a single genus wholly confined to it, and very few that have not equal claims to be placed elsewhere. among the more characteristic we may name _turdus_ (the thrushes), _sylvia_ (the warblers), _panurus_ (the reedling), _parus_ (the tits), _anthus_ (the pipits), _motacilla_ (the wagtails), which are perhaps more abundant here than in any other part of the world, _emberiza_ (the buntings), _plectrophanes_ (the snow buntings), _passer_ (the house sparrows), _loxia_ (the crossbills), _linota_ (the linnets), _pica_ (the magpies), _tetrao_ (grouse), _lagopus_ (ptarmigan) and many others. i am indebted to mr. h. e. dresser, who is personally acquainted with the ornithology of much of the north of europe, for some valuable notes on the northern range of many european birds. those which are characteristic of the extreme arctic zone, extending beyond ° north latitude, and tolerably abundant, are two falcons (_falco gyrfalco_ and _f. peregrinus_); { }the rough-legged buzzard (_archibuteo lagopus_); the snowy owl (_nyctea scandiaca_); the raven (_corvus corax_); three buntings (_emberiza schæniculus_, _plectrophanes nivalis_ and _p. calcarata_); a lark (_otocorys alpestris_); several pipits, the most northern being _anthus cervinus_; a wagtail (_budytes cinereocapilla_); a dipper (_cinclus melanogaster_); a warbler (_cyanecula suecica_); the wheatear (_saxicola oenanthe_); and two ptarmigans (_lagopus albus_ and _l. salicetus_). most of these birds are, of course, only summer visitors to the arctic regions, the only species noted as a permanent resident in east finmark (north of latitude °) being the snow-bunting (_plectrophanes nivalis_). the birds that are characteristic of the zone of pine forests, or from about ° to ° north latitude, are very numerous, and it will be sufficient to note the genera and the number of species (where more than one) to give an idea of the ornithology of this part of europe. the birds of prey are, _falco_ (three species), _astur_ (two species), _buteo_, _pandion_, _surnia_, _bubo_, _syrnium_, _asio_, _nyctala_. the chief passerine birds are, _corvus_ (two species), _pica_, _garrulus_ (two species), _nucifraga_, _bombycilla_, _hirundo_ (two species), _muscicapa_ (two species), _lanius_, _sturnus_, _passer_ (two species), _pyrrhula_, _carpodacus_, _loxia_ (two species), _pinicola_, _fringilla_ (eight species), _emberiza_ (five species), _alauda_, _anthus_, _turdus_ (five species), _ruticilla_, _pratincola_, _accentor_, _sylvia_ (four species), _hypolais_, _regulus_, _phylloscopus_ (two species), _acrocephalus_, _troglodytes_, and _parus_ (six species). woodpeckers are abundant, _picus_ (four species), _gecinus_, and _yunx_. the kingfisher (_alcedo_), goatsucker (_caprimulgus_), and swift (_cypselus_) are also common. the wood-pigeon (_columba_) is plentiful. the gallinaceous birds are three grouse, _tetrao_ (two species) and _bonasa_, and the common quail (_coturnix_). the remaining genera and species of temperate or north-european birds, do not usually range beyond the region of deciduous trees, roughly indicated by the parallel of ° north latitude. plate i. [illustration] the alps of central europe, with characteristic animals. { }_plate i.--illustrating the zoology of central europe._--before considering the distribution of the other classes of vertebrata, it will be convenient to introduce our first illustration, which represents a scene in the alps of central europe, with figures of some of the most characteristic mammalia and birds of this sub-region. on the left is the badger (_meles taxus_) one of the weasel family, and belonging to a genus which is strictly palæarctic. it abounds in central and northern europe and also extends into north asia, but is represented by another species in thibet and by a third in japan. the elegantly-formed creatures on the right are chamois (_rupicapra tragus_), almost the only european antelopes, and wholly confined to the higher mountains, from the pyrenees to the carpathians and the caucasus. the chamois is the only species of the genus, and is thus perhaps the most characteristic european mammal. the bird on the left, above the badgers, is the alpine chough, (_fregilus pyrrhocorax_). it is found in the high mountains from the alps to the himalayas, and is allied to the cornish chough, which is still found on our south-western coasts, and which ranges to abyssinia and north china. the alpine chough differs in having a shorter bill of an orange colour, and vermilion red feet as in the other species. in the foreground are a pair of ruffs (_machetes pugnax_) belonging to the scolopacidæ or snipe family, and most nearly allied to the genus _tringa_ or sandpiper. this bird is remarkable for the fine collar of plumes which adorns the males in the breeding season, when they are excessively pugnacious. it is the only species of its genus, and ranges over all europe and much of northern asia, migrating in the winter to the plains of india, and even down the east coast of africa as far as the cape of good hope; but it only breeds in the palæarctic region, over the greater part of which it ranges. _reptiles and amphibia._--there are no genera of reptiles peculiar to this sub-region. both snakes and lizards are comparatively scarce, there being about fourteen species of the former and twelve of the latter. our common snake (_tropidonotus natrix_) extends into sweden and north russia, but the viper (_viperus berus_) goes further north, as far as archangel ( ° n.), and in scandinavia ( ° n.), and is the most arctic of all known { }snakes. of the lizards, _lacerta stirpium_ (the sand lizard) has the most northerly range, extending into poland and northern russia; and _anguis fragilis_ (the blind or slow-worm) has almost an equal range. amphibia, being more adapted to a northern climate, have acquired a more special development, and thus several forms are peculiar to the north european sub-region. most remarkable is _proteus_, a singular eel-like aquatic creature with small legs, found only in the subterranean lakes in carniola and carinthia; _alytes_, a curious toad, the male of which carries about the eggs till they are hatched, found only in central europe from france to the east of hungary; and _pelodytes_, a frog found only in france. frogs and toads are very abundant all over europe, the common frog (_rana temporaria_) extending to the extreme north. the newts (_triton_) are also very abundant and widely spread, though not ranging so far north as the frogs. the genera _bombinator_ (a toad-like frog), and _hyla_ (the tree frog) are also common in central europe. _freshwater fish._--two genera of the perch family (percidæ) are peculiar to this sub-region,--_percarina_, a fish found only in the river dniester, and _aspro_, confined to the rivers of central europe. of the very characteristic forms are, _gasterosteus_ (stickle-back), which alone forms a peculiar family--gasterosteidæ; _perca_, _acerina_ and _lucioperca_, genera of the perch family; _silurus_, a large fish found in the rivers of cenrtal europe, of the family siluridæ; _esox_ (the pike), of the family esocidæ; _cyprinus_ (carp), _gobio_ (gudgeon), _leuciscus_ (roach, chub, dace, &c.), _tinca_ (tench), _abramus_ (bream), _alburnus_ (bleak), _cobitis_ (loach), all genera of the family cyprinidæ. _insects--lepidoptera._--no genera of butterflies are actually confined to this sub-region, but many are characteristic of it. _parnassius_, _aporia_, _leucophasia_, _colias_, _melitæa_, _argynnis_, _vanessa_, _limenitis_, and _chionobas_, are all very abundant and widespread, and give a feature to the entomology of most of the countries included in it. _coleoptera._--this sub-region is very rich in carabidæ; the genera _elaphrus_, _nebria_, _carabus_, _cychrus_, _pterostichus_, _amara_, { }_trechus_ and _peryphus_ being especially characteristic. staphylinidæ abound. among lamellicorns the genus _aphodius_ is most characteristic. buprestidæ are scarce; elateridæ more abundant. among malacoderms _telephorus_ and _malachius_ are characteristic. curculionidæ abound: _otiorhyuchus_, _omias_, _erirhinus_, _bagous_, _rhynchites_ and _ceutorhynchus_ being very characteristic genera. of longicorns _callidium_, _dorcadion_, _pogonochærus_, _pachyta_ and _leptura_ are perhaps the best representatives. _donacia_, _crioceris_, _chrysomela_, and _altica_, are typical phytophaga; while _coccinella_ is the best representative of the securipalpes. _north european islands._--the british islands are known to have been recently connected with the continent, and their animal productions are so uniformly identical with continental species as to require no special note. the only general fact of importance is, that the number of species in all groups is much less than in continental districts of equal extent, and that this number is still farther diminished in ireland. this may be accounted for by the smaller area and less varied surface of the latter island; and it may also be partly due to the great extent of low land, so that a very small depression would reduce it to the condition of a cluster of small islands capable of supporting a very limited amount of animal life. yet further, if after such a submergence had destroyed much of the higher forms of life in great britain and ireland, both were elevated so as to again form part of the continent, a migration would commence by which they would be stocked afresh; but this migration would be a work of time, and it is to be expected that many species would never reach ireland or would find its excessively moist climate unsuited to them. some few british species differ slightly from their continental allies, and are considered by many naturalists to be distinct. this is the case with the red grouse (_lagopus scoticus_) among birds; and a few of the smaller passeres have also been found to vary somewhat from the allied forms on the continent, showing that the comparatively short interval since the glacial period, and the slightly different physical conditions dependent on { }insularity, have sufficed to commence the work of specific modification. there are also a few small land-shells and several insects not yet found elsewhere than in britain; and even one of the smaller mammalia--a shrew (_sorex rusticus_). these facts are all readily explained by the former union of these islands with the continent, and the alternate depressions and elevations which are proved by geological evidence to have occurred, by which they have been more than once separated and united again in recent times. for the evidence of this elevation and depression, the reader may consult sir charles lyell's _antiquity of man_. iceland is the only other island of importance belonging to this sub-region, and it contrasts strongly with great britain, both in its arctic climate and oceanic position. it is situated just south of the arctic circle and considerably nearer greenland than europe, yet its productions are almost wholly european. the only indigenous land mammalia are the arctic fox (_canis lagopus_), and the polar bear as an occasional visitant, with a mouse (_mus islandicus_), said to be of a peculiar species. four species of seals visit its shores. the birds are more interesting. according to professor newton, ninety-five species have been observed; but many of these are mere stragglers. there are twenty-three land, and seventy-two aquatic birds and waders. four or five are peculiar species, though very closely related to others inhabiting scandinavia or greenland. only two or three species are more nearly related to greenland birds than to those of northern europe, so that the palæarctic character of the fauna is unmistakable. the following lists, compiled from a paper by professor newton, may be interesting as showing more exactly the character of icelandic ornithology. . peculiar species.--_troglodytes borealis_ (closely allied to the common wren, found also in the faroe islands); _falco islandicus_ (closely allied to _f. gyrfalco_); _lagopus islandorum_ (closely allied to _l. rupestris_ of greenland). . european species resident in iceland.--_emberiza nivalis_, _corvus corax_, _haliæetus albicilla_, _rallus aquaticus_, _hæmatopus ostralegus_, _cygnus ferus_, _mergus_ (two species), _phalacocorax_ (two { }species), _sula bassana_, _larus_ (two species), _stercorarius catarractes_, _puffinus anglorum_, _mergulus alle_, _uria_ (three species), _alca torda_. . american species resident in iceland.--_clangula islandica_, _histrionicus torquatus_. . annual visitants from europe.--_turdus iliacus_, _ruticilla tithys_, _saxicola ænanthe_, _motacilla alba_, _anthus pratensis_, _linota linaria_, _chelidon urbica_, _hirundo rustica_, _falco æsalon_, _surnia nyctea_, _otus brachyotus_, _charadrius pluvialis_, _Ægialites hiaticula_, _strepsilas interpres_, _phalaropus fulicarius_, _totanus calidris_, _limosa_ (species), _tringa_ (three species), _calidris arenaria_, _gallinago media_, _numenius phæopus_, _ardea cinerea_, _anser_ (two species), _bernicla_ (two species), _anas_ (four species), _fuligula marila_, _harelda glacialis_, _somateria mollissima_, _oedemia nigra_, _sterna macrura_, _rissa tridactyla_, _larus luecopterus_, _stercorarius_ (two species), _fratercula artica_, _colymbus_ (two species), _podiceps cornutus_. . annual visitant from greenland.--_falco candicans_. .--former resident, now extinct.--_alca impennis_ (the great auk). _ii.--mediterranean sub-region._ this is by far the richest portion of the palæarctic region, for although of moderate extent much of it enjoys a climate in which the rigours of winter are almost unknown. it includes all the countries south of the pyrenees, alps, balkans, and caucasus mountains; all the southern shores of the mediterranean to the atlas range, and even beyond it to include the extra-tropical portion of the sahara; and in the nile valley as far as the second cataract. further east it includes the northern half of arabia and the whole of persia, as well as beluchistan, and perhaps affghanistan up to the banks of the indus. this extensive district is almost wholly a region of mountains and elevated plateaus. on the west, spain is mainly a table-land of more than feet elevation, deeply penetrated by extensive valleys and rising into lofty mountain chains. italy, corsica, sardinia, and sicily, are all very { }mountainous, and much of their surface considerably elevated. further east we have all european turkey and greece, a mountain region with a comparatively small extent of level plain. in asia the whole country, from smyrna through armenia and persia to the further borders of affghanistan, is a vast mountainous plateau, almost all above , and extensive districts above feet in elevation. the only large tract of low-land is the valley of the euphrates. there is also some low-land south of the caucasus, and in syria the valley of the jordan. in north africa the valley of the nile and the coast plains of tripoli and algiers are almost the only exceptions to the more or less mountainous and plateau-like character of the country. much of this extensive area is now bare and arid, and often even of a desert character; a fact no doubt due, in great part, to the destruction of aboriginal forests. this loss is rendered permanent by the absence of irrigation, and, it is also thought, by the abundance of camels and goats, animals which are exceedingly injurious to woody vegetation, and are able to keep down the natural growth of forests. mr. marsh (whose valuable work _man and nature_ gives much information on this subject) believes that even large portions of the african and asiatic deserts would become covered with woods, and the climate thereby greatly improved, were they protected from these destructive domestic animals, which are probably not indigenous to the country. spain, in proportion to its extent, is very barren; italy and european turkey are more woody and luxuriant; but it is perhaps in asia minor, on the range of the taurus, along the shores of the black sea, and to the south of the caucasus range, that this sub-region attains its maximum of luxuriance in vegetation and in animal life. from the caspian eastward extends a region of arid plains and barren deserts, diversified by a few more fertile valleys, in which the characteristic flora and fauna of this portion of the palæarctic region abounds. further east we come to the forests of the hindoo koosh, which probably form the limit of the sub-region. beyond these we enter on the siberian sub-region to the north, and on the outlying portion of the oriental region on the south. { }in addition to the territories now indicated as forming part of the mediterranean sub-region, we must add the group of canary islands off the west coast of africa which seem to be an extension of the atlas mountains, and the oceanic groups of madeira and the azores; the latter about , miles from the continent of europe, yet still unmistakably allied to it both in their vegetable and animal productions. the peculiarities of the faunas of these islands will be subsequently referred to. it seems at first sight very extraordinary, that so large and wide a sea as the mediterranean should not separate distinct faunas, and this is the more remarkable when we find how very deep the mediterranean is, and therefore how ancient we may well suppose it to be. its eastern portion reaches a depth of , fathoms or , feet, while its western basin is about , fathoms or , feet in greatest depth, and a considerable area of both basins is more than , fathoms deep. but a further examination shows, that a comparatively shallow sea or submerged bank incloses malta and sicily, and that on the opposite coast a similar bank stretches out from the coast of tripoli leaving a narrow channel the greatest depth of which is fathoms. here therefore is a broad plateau, which an elevation of about , feet would convert into a wide extent of land connecting italy with africa; while the same elevation would also connect morocco with spain, leaving two extensive lakes to represent what is now the mediterranean sea, and affording free communication for land animals between europe and north africa. that such a state of things existed at a comparatively recent period, is almost certain; not only because a considerable number of identical _species_ of mammalia inhabit the opposite shores of the mediterranean, but also because numerous remains of three species of elephants have been found in caves in malta,--now a small rocky island in which it would be impossible for such animals to live even if they could reach it. remains of hippopotami are also found at gibraltar, and many other animals of african types in greece; all indicating means of communication between south europe and north africa which no longer exist. (see chapter vi. pp. - .) { }_mammalia._--there are a few groups of palæarctic mammalia that are peculiar to this sub-region. such are, _dama_, the fallow deer, which is now found only in south europe and north africa; _psammomys_, a peculiar genus of muridæ, found only in egypt and palestine; while _ctenodactylus_, a rat-like animal classed in the south american family octodontidæ, inhabits tripoli. among characteristic genera not found in other sub-regions, are, _dysopes_, a bat of the family noctilionidæ; _macroscelides_, the elephant shrew, in north africa; _genetta_, the civet, in south europe; _herpestes_, the ichneumon, in north africa and (?) spain; _hyæna_, in south europe; _gazella_, _oryx_, _alcephalus_, and _addax_, genera of antelopes in north africa and palestine; _hyrax_, in syria; and _hystrix_, the porcupine, in south europe. besides these, the camel and the horse were perhaps once indigenous in the eastern parts of the sub-region; and a wild sheep (_ovis musmon_) still inhabits sardinia, corsica, and the mountains of the south-east of spain. the presence of the large feline animals--such as the lion, the leopard, the serval, and the hunting leopard--in north africa, together with several other quadrupeds not found in europe, have been thought by some naturalists to prove, that this district should not form part of the palæarctic region. no doubt several ethiopian groups and species have entered it from the south; but the bulk of its mammalia still remains palæarctic, although several of the species have asiatic rather than european affinities. the _macacus innuus_ is allied to an asiatic rather than an african group of monkeys, and thus denotes an oriental affinity. ethiopian affinity is apparently shown by the three genera of antelopes, by _herpestes_, and by _macroscelides_; but our examination of the miocene fauna has shown that these were probably derived from europe originally, and do not form any part of the truly indigenous or ancient ethiopian fauna. against these, however, we have the occurrence in north africa of such purely palæarctic and non-ethiopian genera as _ursus_, _meles_, _putorius_, _sus_, _cervus_, _dama_, _capra_, _alactaga_; together with actual european or west asiatic species of _canis_, _genetta_, _felis_, _putorius_, _lutra_, many bats, _sorex_, _crocidura_, _crossopus_, _hystrix_, { }_dipus_, _lepus_, and _mus_. it is admitted that, as regards every other group of animals, north africa is palæarctic, and the above enumeration shows that even in mammalia, the intermixture of what are now true ethiopian types is altogether insignificant. it must be remembered, also, that the lion inhabited greece even in historic times, while large carnivora were contemporary with man all over central europe. _birds._--so many of the european birds migrate over large portions of the region, and so many others have a wide permanent range, that we cannot expect to find more than a few genera, consisting of one or two species, each, confined to a sub-region; and such appear to be, _lusciniola_ and _pyrophthalma_, genera of sylviidæ. but many are characteristic of this, as compared with other palæarctic sub-regions; such as, _bradyptetus_, _aedon_, _dromoloea_, and _cercomela_, among sylviidæ; _crateropus_ and _malacocercus_, among timaliidæ; _telophonus_ among laniidæ; _certhilauda_ and _mirafra_ among larks; _pastor_ among starlings; _upupa_, the hoopoe; _halycon_ and _ceryle_ among kingfishers; _turnix_ and _caccabis_ among gallinæ, and the pheasant as an indigenous bird; together with _gyps_, _vultur_ and _neophron_, genera of vultures. in addition to these, almost all our summer migrants spend their winter in some part of this favoured land, mostly in north africa, together with many species of central europe that rarely or never visit us. it follows, that a large proportion of all the birds of europe and western asia are to be found in this sub-region, as will be seen by referring to the list of the genera of the region. palestine is one of the remote portions of this region which has been well explored by canon tristram, and it may be interesting to give his summary of the range of the birds. we must bear in mind that the great depression of the dead sea has a tropical climate, which accounts for the presence here only, of such a tropical form as the sun-bird (_nectarinea osea_). the total number of the birds of palestine is , and of these no less than are european, at once settling the question of the general affinities of the fauna. of the remainder eleven belong to north and east asia, four to the red sea, and { }thirty-one to east africa, while twenty-seven are peculiar to palestine. it is evident therefore that an unusual number of east african birds have extended their range to this congenial district, but most of these are desert species and hardly true ethiopians, and do not much interfere with the general palæarctic character of the whole assemblage. as an illustration of how wide-spread are many of the palæarctic forms, we may add, that seventy-nine species of land birds and fifty-five of water birds, are common to palestine and britain. the oriental and ethiopian genera _pycnonotus_ and _nectarinea_ are found here, while _bessornis_ and _dromolæa_ are characteristically ethiopian. almost all the other genera are palæarctic. persia is another remote region generally associated with the idea of oriental and almost tropical forms, but which yet undoubtedly belongs to the palæarctic region. mr. blanford's recent collections in this country, with other interesting information, is summarised in mr. elwes's paper on the "geographical distribution of asiatic birds" (_proc. zool. soc._ , p. ). no less than species are found also in europe, and thirty-seven others belong to european genera; seven are allied to birds of central asia or siberia, and fifteen to those of north-east africa, while only three are purely of indian affinities. this shows a preponderance of nearly nine-tenths of palæarctic forms, which is fully as much as can be expected in any country near the limits of a great region. _reptiles and amphibia._--the climatal conditions being here more favourable to these groups, and the genera being often of limited range, we find some peculiar, and several very interesting forms. _rhinechis_, a genus of colubrine snakes, is found only in south europe; _trogonophis_, one of the amphisbænians--curious snake-like lizards--is known only from north africa; _psammosaurus_, belonging to the water lizards (varanidæ) is found in north africa and north-west india; _psammodromus_, a genus of lacertidæ, is peculiar to south europe; _hyalosaurus_, belonging to the family zonuridæ, is a lizard of especial interest, as it inhabits north africa while its nearest ally is the _ophisaurus_ or "glass snake" of north america; the family of { }the scinks is represented by _scincus_ found in north africa and arabia. besides these _seps_, a genus of sand lizards (sepidæ) and _agama_, a genus of agamidæ, are abundant and characteristic. of amphibia we have _seiranota_, a genus of salamanders found only in italy and dalmatia; _chioglossa_, in portugal, and _geotriton_, in italy, belonging to the same family, are equally peculiar to the sub-region. _freshwater fish._--one of the most interesting is _tellia_, a genus of cyprinodontidæ found only in alpine pools in the atlas mountains. _paraphoxinius_, found in south-east europe, and _chondrostoma_, in europe and western asia, genera of cyprimidæ, seem almost peculiar to this sub-region. _insects--lepidoptera._--two genera of butterflies, _thais_ and _doritis_, are wholly confined to this sub-region, the former ranging over all southern europe, the latter confined to eastern europe and asia minor. _anthocharis_ and _zegris_ are very characteristic of it, the latter only extending into south russia, while _danais_, _charaxes_, and _libythea_ are tropical genera unknown in other parts of europe. _coleoptera._--this sub-region is very rich in many groups of coleoptera, of which a few only can be noticed here. among carabidæ it possesses _procerus_ and _procrustes_, almost exclusively, while _brachinus_, _cymindis_, _lebia_, _graphipterus_, _scarites_, _chlænius_, _calathus_, and many others, are abundant and characteristic. among lamellicorns--copridæ, glaphyridæ, melolonthidæ, and cetoniidæ abound. buprestidæ are plentiful, the genera _julodis_, _acmæodera_, _buprestis_, and _sphenoptera_ being characteristic. among malacoderms--cebrionidæ, lampyridæ, and malachiidæ abound. the tenebrioid heteromera are very varied and abundant, and give a character to the sub-region. the mylabridæ, cantharidæ, and oedemeridæ are also characteristic. of the immense number of curculionidæ--_thylacites_, _brachycerus_, _lixus_, and _acalles_ may be mentioned as among the most prominent. of longicorns there are few genera especially characteristic, but perhaps _prinobius_, _purpuricenus_, _hesperophanes_, and _parmena_ are most so. of the remaining families, we may mention clythridæ, hispidæ, and cassididæ as being abundant. { }_the mediterranean and atlantic islands._--the various islands of the mediterranean are interesting to the student of geographical distribution as affording a few examples of local species of very restricted range, but as a rule they present us with exactly the same forms as those of the adjacent mainland.[ ] their peculiarities do not, therefore, properly come within the scope of this work. the islands of the atlantic ocean belonging to this sub-region are, from their isolated position and the various problems they suggest, of much more interest, and their natural history has been carefully studied. we shall therefore give a short account of their peculiar features. of the three groups of atlantic islands belonging to this sub-region, the canaries are nearest to the continent, some of the islands being only about fifty miles from the coast of africa. they are, however, separated from the mainland by a very deep channel (more than , feet), as shown on our general map. the islands extend over a length of miles; they are very mountainous and wholly volcanic, and the celebrated peak of teneriffe rises to a height of more than , feet. the small madeira group is about miles from the coast of morocco and from the southern extremity of portugal; and there is a depth of more than , feet between it and the continent. the azores are nearly , miles west of lisbon. they are quite alone in mid-atlantic, the most westerly islands being nearer newfoundland than europe, and are surrounded by ocean depths of from , to , feet. it will be convenient to take these islands first in order. _azores._--considering the remoteness of this group from every other land, it is surprising to find as many as fifty-three species of birds inhabiting or visiting the azores; and still more to { }find that they are of palæarctic genera and, with one exception, all of species found either in europe, north africa, madeira, or the canaries. the exception is a bullfinch peculiar to the islands, but closely allied to a european species. of land birds there are twenty-two, belonging to twenty-one genera, all european. these genera are _cerchneis_, _buteo_, _asio_, _strix_, _turdus_, _oriolus_, _erithacus_, _sylvia_, _regulus_, _saxicola_, _motacilla_, _plectrophanes_, _fringilla_, _pyrrhula_, _serinus_, _sturnus_, _picus_, _upupa_, _columba_, _caccabis_, and _coturnix_. besides the bullfinch (_pyrrhula_) other species show slight differences from their european allies, but not such as to render them more than varieties. the only truly indigenous mammal is a bat of a european species. nine butterflies inhabit the azores; eight of them are european species, one north american. of beetles have been collected, of which no less than are european species; of the remainder, nineteen are found in the canaries or madeira, three in south america, while fourteen are peculiar to the islands. now these facts (for which we are indebted to mr. godman's _natural history of the azores_) are both unexpected and exceedingly instructive. in most other cases of remote oceanic islands, a much larger proportion of the fauna is endemic, or consists of peculiar species and often of peculiar genera; as is well shown by the case of the galapagos and juan fernandez, both much nearer to a continent and both containing peculiar genera and species of birds. now we know that the cause and meaning of this difference is, that in the one case the original immigration is very remote and has never or very rarely been repeated, so that under the unchecked influence of new conditions of life the species have become modified; in the other case, either the original immigration has been recent, or if remote has been so frequently repeated that the new comers have kept up the purity of the stock, and have not allowed time for the new conditions to produce the effect we are sure they would in time produce if not counteracted. for mr. godman tells us that many of the birds are modified--instancing the gold-crested wren, blackcap, and rock dove--and he adds, that the { }modification all tends in one direction--to produce a more sombre plumage, a greater strength of feet and legs, and a more robust bill. we further find, that four of the land-birds, including the oriole, snow-bunting, and hoopoe, are not resident birds, but straggle accidentally to the islands by stress of weather; and we are told that every year some fresh birds are seen after violent storms. add to this the fact, that the number of species diminishes in the group as we go from east to west, and that the islands are subject to fierce and frequent storms blowing from every point of the compass,--and we have all the facts requisite to enable us to understand how this remote archipelago has become stocked with animal life without ever probably being much nearer to europe than it is now. for the islands are all volcanic, the only stratified rock that occurs being believed to be of miocene date. _madeira and the canaries._--coming next to madeira, we find the number of genera of land birds has increased to twenty-eight, of which seventeen are identical with those of the azores. some of the commonest european birds--swallows, larks, sparrows, linnets, goldfinches, ravens, and partridges, are among the additions. a gold-crested warbler, _regulus maderensis_, and a pigeon, _columba trocaz_, are peculiar to madeira. in the canaries we find that the birds have again very much increased, there being more than fifty genera of land birds; but the additions are wholly european in character, and almost all common european species. we find a few more peculiar species (five), while some others, including the wild canary, are common to all the atlantic islands or to the canaries and madeira. here, too, the only indigenous mammalia are two european species of bats. _land shells._--the land shells of madeira offer us an instructive contrast to the birds of the atlantic islands. about fifty-six species have been found in madeira, and forty-two in the small adjacent island of porto santo, but only twelve are common to both, and all or almost all are distinct from their nearest allies in europe and north africa. great numbers of fossil shells are also found in deposits of the newer pliocene period; and { }although these comprise many fresh species, the two faunas and that of the continent still remain almost as distinct from each other as before. it has been already stated (p. ) that the means by which land mollusca have been carried across arms of the sea are unknown, although several modes may be suggested; but it is evidently a rare event, requiring some concurrence of favourable conditions not always present. the diversity and specialization of the forms of these animals is, therefore, easily explained by the fact, that, once introduced they have been left to multiply under the influence of a variety of local conditions, which inevitably lead, in the course of ages, to the formation of new varieties and new species. _coleoptera._--the beetles of madeira and the canaries have been so carefully collected and examined by mr. t. v. wollaston, and those of the azores described and compared by mr. crotch, and they illustrate so many curious points in geographical distribution, that it is necessary to give some account of them. no less than , species of beetles have been obtained from the canaries and madeira, only of which are european, the remainder being peculiar to the islands. the canaries are inhabited by a little over , species, madeira by about , while are common to both; but it is believed that many of these have been introduced by man. in the azores, species have been obtained, of which are european; showing, as in the birds, as closer resemblance to the european fauna than in the other islands which, although nearer to the continent, offer more shelter and are situated in a less tempestuous zone. of the non-european species in the azores, are found also in the other groups of islands, are peculiar, while are american. of the european species, are found also in the other atlantic islands, while have reached the azores only. this is interesting as showing to how great an extent the same insects reach all the islands, notwithstanding the difference of latitude and position; and it becomes of great theoretical importance, when we find how many extensive families and genera are altogether absent. the madeira group has been more thoroughly explored than { }any other, and its comparatively remote situation, combined with its luxuriant vegetation, have been favourable to the development and increase of the peculiar forms which characterize all the atlantic islands in a more or less marked degree. a consideration of some of its peculiarities will, therefore, best serve to show the bearing of the facts presented by the insect fauna of the atlantic islands, on the general laws of distribution. the species of beetles now known from the madeira group, belong to genera; and no less than of these genera are not european but are peculiar to the atlantic islands. most of them are, however, closely allied to european genera, of which they are evidently modifications. a most curious general feature presented by the madeiran beetles, is the total absence of many whole families and large genera abundant in south europe. such are the cicindelidæ, or tiger beetles; the melolonthidæ, or chafers; the cetoniidæ, or rose-chafers; the eumolpidæ and galerucidæ, large families of phytophagous, or leaf-eating beetles; and also the extensive groups of elateridæ and buprestidæ, which are each represented by but one minute species. of extensive genera abundant in south europe, but wholly absent in madeira, are _carabus_, _rhizotrogus_, _lampyris_, and other genera of malacoderms; _otiorhynchus_, _brachycerus_, and other genera of curculionidæ, comprising more than south european and north african species; _pimelia_, _tentyra_, _blaps_, and other genera of heteromera, comprising about species in south europe and north africa; and _timarcha_, containing south european and north african species. another most remarkable feature of the madeiran coleoptera is the unusual prevalence of apterous or wingless insects. this is especially the case with groups which are confined to the atlantic islands, many of which consist wholly of wingless species; but it also affects the others, no less than twenty-two genera which are usually or sometimes winged in europe, having only wingless species in madeira; and even the same species which is winged in europe becomes, in at least three cases, wingless in madeira, without any other perceptible change having taken place. but there is another most curious fact noticed by { }mr. wollaston; that those species which possess wings in madeira, often have them rather larger than their allies in europe. these two facts were connected by mr. darwin, who suggested that flying insects are much more exposed to be blown out to sea and lost, than those which do not fly (and mr. wollaston had himself supposed that the "stormy atmosphere" of madeira had something to do with the matter); so that the most frequent fliers would be continually weeded out, while the more sluggish individuals, who either could not or would not fly, remained to continue the race; and this process going on from generation to generation, would, on the well-ascertained principles of selection and abortion by disuse, in time lead to the entire loss of wings by those insects to whom wings were _not a necessity_. but those whose wings were essential to their existence would be acted upon in another way. all these must fly to obtain their food or provide for their offspring, and those that flew best would be best able to battle with the storms, and keep themselves safe, and thus those with the longest and most powerful wings would be preserved. if however all the individuals of the species were too weak on the wing to resist the storms, they would soon become extinct.[ ] now this explanation of the facts is not only simple and probable in itself, but it also serves to explain in a remarkable manner some of the peculiarities and deficiencies of the madeiran insect fauna, in harmony with the view (supported by the distribution of the birds and land shells, and in particular by the immigrant birds and insects of the azores) that all the insects have been derived from the continent or from other islands, by { }immigration across the ocean, in various ways and during a long period. these deficiencies are, on the other hand, quite inconsistent with the theory (still held by some entomologists) that a land communication is absolutely necessary to account for the origin of the madeiran fauna. first, then, we can understand how the tiger-beetles (cicindelidæ) are absent; since they are insects which have a short weak flight, but yet to whom flight is necessary. if a few had been blown over to madeira, they would soon have become exterminated. the same thing applies to the melolonthidæ, cetoniidæ, eumolpidæ, and galerucidæ,--all flower and foliage-haunting insects, yet bulky and of comparatively feeble powers of flight. again, all the large genera abundant in south europe, which have been mentioned above as absent from madeira, are wholly apterous (or without wings), and thus their absence is a most significant fact; for it proves that in the case of all insects of moderate size, flight was essential to their reaching the island, which could not have been the case had there been a land connection. there are, however, one or two curious exceptions to the absence of these wholly apterous european genera in madeira, and as in each case the reason of their being exceptions can be pointed out, they are eminently exceptions that prove the rule. two of the apterous species common to europe and madeira are found always in ants' nests; and as ants, when winged, fly in great swarms and are carried by the wind to great distances, they may have conveyed the minute eggs of these very small beetles. two european species of _blaps_ occur in madeira, but these are house beetles, and are admitted to have been introduced by man. there are also three species of _meloe_, of which two are european and one peculiar. these are large, sluggish, wingless insects, but they have a most extraordinary and exceptional metamorphosis, the larvae in the first state being minute active insects parasitic on bees, and thus easily conveyed across the ocean. this case is most suggestive, as it accounts for what would be otherwise a difficult anomaly. another case, not quite so easily explained, is that of the genus _acalles_, which is very abundant in all the atlantic { }islands and also occurs in south europe, but is always apterous. it is however closely allied to another genus, _cryptorhynchus_, which is apterous in some species, winged in others. we may therefore well suppose that the ancestors of _acalles_ were once in the same condition, and that some of the winged forms reached madeira, the genus having since become wholly apterous. we may look at this curious subject in another way. the coleoptera of madeira may be divided into those which are found also in europe or the other islands, and those which are peculiar to it. on the theory of introduction by accidental immigration across the sea, the latter must be the more ancient, since they have had time to become modified; while the former are comparatively recent, and their introduction may be supposed to be now going on. the peculiar influence of madeira in aborting the wings should, therefore, have acted on the ancient and changed forms much more powerfully than on the recent and unchanged forms. on carefully comparing the two sets of insects (omitting those which have almost certainly been introduced by man) we find, that out of species which have a wide range, only are apterous; while the other class, consisting of species, has no less than apterous; or about per cent in the one case, and per cent in the other.[ ] on the theory of a land connection as the main agent in introducing the fauna, both groups must have been introduced at or about the same time, and why one set should have lost their wings and the other not, is quite inexplicable. taking all these singular facts, in connection with the total absence of all truly indigenous terrestrial mammalia and reptiles from these islands--even from the extensive group of the canaries so comparatively near to the continent, we are forced to reject the theory of a land connection as quite untenable; and this view becomes almost demonstrated by the case of the azores, which being so much further off, and surrounded by such a vast expanse of deep ocean, could only have been { }connected with europe at a far remoter epoch, and ought therefore to exhibit to us a fauna composed almost entirely of peculiar forms both of birds and insects. yet, so far from this being the case, the facts are exactly the reverse. far more of the birds and insects are identical with those of europe than in the other islands, and this difference is clearly traced to the more tempestuous atmosphere, which is shown to be even now annually bringing fresh immigrants (both birds and insects) to its shores. we here see nature actually at work; and if the case of madeira rendered her mode of action probable, that of the azores may be said to demonstrate it. mr. wollaston has objected to this view that "storms and hurricanes" are somewhat rare in the latitude of madeira and the canaries; but this little affects the question, since the _time_ allowed for such operations is so ample. if but one very violent storm happened in a century, and ten such storms recurred before a single species of insect was introduced into madeira, that would be more than sufficient to people it, as we now find it, with a varied fauna. but he also adds the important information that the ordinary winds blow almost uninterruptedly from the north-east, so that there would be always a chance of a little stronger wind than usual bringing insect, or larva, or egg, attached to leaves or twigs. neither mr. wollaston, mr. crotch, mr. a. murray, nor any other naturalist who upholds the land-connection theory, has attempted to account for the fact of the absence of so many extensive groups of insects that ought to be present, as well as of all small mammalia and reptiles. _cape verd islands._--there is yet another group of atlantic islands which is very little known, and which is usually considered to be altogether african--the cape verd islands, situated between and miles west of senegal, and a little to the south of the termination of the sahara. the evidence that we possess as to the productions of these islands, shows that, like the preceding groups, they are truly oceanic, and have probably derived their fauna from the desert and the canaries to the north-east of them rather than from the fertile and more truly { }ethiopian districts of senegal and gambia to the east. there is a mingling of the two faunas, but the preponderance seems to be undoubtedly with the palæarctic rather than with the ethiopian. i owe to mr. r. b. sharpe of the british museum, a ms. list of the birds of these islands, twenty-three species in all. of these eight are of wide distribution and may be neglected. seven are undoubted palæarctic species, viz.:--_milvus ictinus_, _sylvia atricapilla_, _s. conspicillata_, _corvus corone_, _passer salicarius_, _certhilauda desertorum_, _columba livia_. three are peculiar species, but of palæarctic genera and affinities, viz.:--_calamoherpe brevipennis_, _ammomanes cinctura_, and _passer jagoensis_. against this we have to set two west african species, _estrilda cinerea_ and _numida meleagris_, both of which were probably introduced by man; and three which are of ethiopian genera and affinities, viz.:--_halcyon erythrorhyncha_, closely allied to _h. semicærulea_ of arabia and north-east africa, and therefore almost palæarctic; _accipiter melanoleucus_; and _pyrrhulauda nigriceps_, an ethiopian form; but the same species occurs in the canaries. the coleoptera of these islands have been also collected by mr. wollaston, and he finds that they have generally the same european character as those of the canaries and madeira, several of the peculiar atlantic genera, such as _acalles_ and _hegeter_, occurring, while others are represented by new but closely allied genera. out of species were found also in the canaries and in the madeiran group; a wonderful amount of similarity when we consider the distance and isolation of these islands and their great diversity of climate and vegetation. this connection of the four groups of atlantic islands now referred to, receives further support from the occurrence of land-shells of the subgenus _leptaxis_ in all the groups, as well as in majorca; and by another subgenus, _hemicycla_, being common to the canaries and cape verd islands. combining these several classes of facts, we seem justified in extending the mediterranean sub-region to include the cape verd islands. { }_iii.--the siberian sub-region, or northern asia._ this large and comparatively little-known subdivision of the palæarctic region, extends from the caspian sea to kamschatka and behring's straits, a distance of about , miles; and from the shores of the arctic ocean to the high himalayas of sikhim in north latitude °, on the same parallel as delhi. to the east of the caspian sea and the ural mountains is a great extent of lowland which is continued round the northern coast, becoming narrower as it approaches the east cape. beyond this, in a general e.n.e. direction, rise hills and uplands, soon becoming lofty mountains, which extend in an unbroken line from the hindu koosh, through the thian shan, altai and yablonoi mountains, to the stanovoi range in the north-eastern extremity of asia. south of this region is a great central basin, which is almost wholly desert; beyond which again is the vast plateau of thibet, with the kuenlun, karakorum, and himalayan snow-capped ranges, forming the most extensive elevated district on the globe. the superficial aspects of this vast territory, as determined by its vegetable covering, are very striking and well contrasted. a broad tract on the northern coast, varying from to and even miles wide, is occupied by the tundras or barrens, where nothing grows but mosses and the dwarfest arctic plants, and where the ground is permanently frozen to a great depth. this tract has its greatest southern extension between the rivers obi and yenesi, where it reaches the parallel of ° north latitude. next to this comes a vast extent of northern forests, mostly of conifers in the more northern and lofty situations, while deciduous trees preponderate in the southern portions and in the more sheltered valleys. the greatest extension of this forest region is north of lake baikal, where it is more than , miles wide. these forests extend along the mountain ranges to join those of the hindu koosh. south of the forests the remainder of the sub-region consists of open pasture-lands and vast intervening deserts, of which the gobi, and those of turkestan between the aral and balkash lakes, are the most { }extensive. the former is nearly , miles long, with a width of from to miles, and is almost as complete a desert as the sahara. with very few exceptions, this vast territory is exposed to an extreme climate, inimical to animal life. all the lower parts being situated to the north, have an excessively cold winter, so that the limit of constantly frozen ground descends below the parallel of ° north latitude. to the south, the land is greatly elevated, and the climate extremely dry. in summer the heat is excessive, while the winter is almost as severe as further north. the whole country, too, is subject to violent storms, both in summer and winter; and the rich vegetation that clothes the steppes in spring, is soon parched up and replaced by dusty plains. under these adverse influences we cannot expect animal life to be so abundant as in those sub-regions subject to more favourable physical conditions; yet the country is so extensive and so varied, that it does actually, as we shall see, possess a very considerable and interesting fauna. _mammalia._--four genera seem to be absolutely confined to this sub-region, _nectogale_, a peculiar form of the mole family (talpidæ); _poephagus_, the yak, or hairy bison of thibet; with _procapra_ and _pantholops_, thibetan antelopes. some others more especially belong here, although they just enter europe, as _saiga_, the tartarian antelope; _sminthus_, a desert rat;, and _ellobius_, a burrowing mole-rat; while _myospalax_, a curious rodent allied to the voles, is found only in the altai mountains and north china; and _moschus_, the musk-deer, is almost confined to this sub-region. among the characteristic animals of the extreme north, are _mustela_, and _martes_, including the ermine and sable; _gulo_, the glutton; _tarandus_, the reindeer; _myodes_, the lemming; with the lynx, arctic fox, and polar bear; and here, in the post-pliocene epoch, ranged the hairy rhinoceros and siberian mammoth, whose entire bodies still remain preserved in the ice-cliffs near the mouths of the great rivers. farther south, species of wild cat, bear, wolf, deer, and pika (_lagomys_) abound; while in the mountains we find wild goats and sheep of several species, and in the plains and deserts wild horses { }and asses, gazelles, two species of antelopes, flying squirrels (_pteromys_), ground squirrels (_tamias_), marmots, of the genus _spermophilus_, with camels and dromedaries, probably natives of the south-western part of this sub-region. the most abundant and conspicuous of the mammalia are the great herds of reindeer in the north, the wolves of the steppes, with the wild horses, goats, sheep, and antelopes of the plateaus and mountains. among the curiosities of this sub-region we must notice the seal, found in the inland and freshwater lake baikal, at an elevation of about , feet above the sea. it is a species of _callocephalus_, closely allied to, if not identical with, one inhabiting northern seas as well as the caspian and lake aral. this would indicate that almost all northern asia was depressed beneath the sea very recently; and mr. belt's view, of the ice during the glacial epoch having dammed up the rivers and converted much of siberia into a vast freshwater or brackish lake, perhaps offers the best solution of the difficulty.[ ] _plate ii.--characteristic mammalia of western tartary._--several of the most remarkable animals of the palæarctic region inhabit western tartary, and are common to the european and siberian sub-regions. we therefore choose this district for one of our illustrative plates. the large animals in the centre are the remarkable saiga antelopes (_saiga tartarica_), distinguished from all others by a large and fleshy proboscis-like nose, which gives them a singular appearance. they differ so much from all other antelopes that they have been formed into a distinct family by some naturalists, but are here referred to the great family bovidæ. they inhabit the open plains from poland to the irtish river. on the left is the mole-rat, or sand-rat (_spalax murinus_). this animal burrows under ground like a mole, feeding on bulbous roots. it inhabits the same country as the saiga, but extends farther south in europe. on the right is a still more curious animal, the desman (_myogale muscovitica_), a long-snouted water-mole. this creature is fifteen inches long, including the tail; it burrows in the banks of streams, feeding on insects, { }worms, and leeches; it swims well, and remains long under water, raising the tip of the snout, where the nostrils are situated, to the surface when it wants to breathe. it is thus well concealed; and this may be one use of the development of the long snout, as well as serving to follow worms into their holes in the soft earth. this species is confined to the rivers volga and don in southern russia, and the only other species known inhabits some of the valleys on the north side of the pyrenees. in the distance are wolves, a characteristic feature of these wastes. plate ii. [illustration] characteristic mammalia of western tartary. _birds._--but few genera of birds are absolutely restricted to this sub-region. _podoces_, a curious form of starling, is the most decidedly so; _mycerobas_ and _pyrrhospiza_ are genera of finches confined to thibet and the snowy himalayas; _leucosticte_, another genus of finches, is confined to the eastern half of the sub-region and north america; _tetraogallus_, a large kind of partridge, ranges west to the caucasus; _syrrhaptes_, a form of sand-grouse, and _lerwa_ (snow-partridge), are almost confined here, only extending into the next sub-region; as do _grandala_, and _calliope_, genera of warblers, _uragus_, a finch allied to the north american cardinals, and _crossoptilon_, a remarkable group of pheasants. almost all the genera of central and northern europe are found here, and give quite a european character to the ornithology, though a considerable number of the species are different. there are a few oriental forms, such as _abrornis_ and _larvivora_ (warblers); with _ceriornis_ and _ithaginis_, genera of pheasants, which reach the snow-line in the himalayas and thus just enter this sub-region, but as they do not penetrate farther north, they hardly serve to modify the exclusively palæarctic character of its ornithology. according to middendorf, the extreme northern asiatic birds are the alpine ptarmigan (_lagopus mutus_); the snow-bunting (_plectrophanes nivalis_); the raven, the gyrfalcon and the snowy-owl. those which are characteristic of the barren "tundras," but which do not range so far north as the preceding are,--the willow-grouse (_lagopus albus_); the lapland-bunting (_plectrophanes { }lapponica_); the shore-lark (_otocorys alpestris_); the sand-martin (_cotyle riparia_), and the sea-eagle (_haliæetus albicilla_). those which are more characteristic of the northern forests, and which do not pass beyond them, are--the linnet; two crossbills (_loxia leucoptera_ and _l. curvirostra_); the pine grosbeak (_pinicola enucleator_); the waxwing; the common magpie; the common swallow; the peregrine falcon; the rough-legged buzzard; and three species of owls. fully one-half of the land-birds of siberia are identical with those of europe, the remainder being mostly representative species peculiar to northern asia, with a few stragglers and immigrants from china and japan or the himalayas. a much larger proportion of the wading and aquatic families are european or arctic, these groups having always a wider range than land birds. _reptiles and amphibia._--from the nature of the country and climate these are comparatively few, but in the more temperate districts snakes and lizards seem to be not uncommon. _halys_, a genus of crotaline snakes, and _phrynocephalus_, lizards of the family agamidæ, are characteristic of these parts. _simotes_, a snake of the family oligodontidæ, reaches an elevation of , feet in the himalayas, and therefore enters this sub-region. _insects._--_mesapia_ and _hypermnestra_, genera of papilionidæ, are butterflies peculiar to this sub-region; and _parnassius_ is as characteristic as it is of our european mountains. carabidæ are also abundant, as will be seen by referring to the chapter on the distribution of insects in the succeeding part of this work. the insects, on the whole, have a strictly european character, although a large proportion of the species are peculiar, and several new genera appear. _iv.--japan and north china, or the manchurian sub-region._ this is an interesting and very productive district, corresponding in the east to the mediterranean sub-region in the west, or rather perhaps to all western temperate europe. its limits are not very well defined, but it probably includes all japan; the corea and manchuria to the amour river and to the lower { }slopes of the khingan and peling mountains; and china to the nanlin mountains south of the yang-tse-kiang. on the coast of china the dividing line between it and the oriental region seems to be somewhere about foo-chow, but as there is here no natural barrier, a great intermingling of northern and southern forms takes place. japan is volcanic and mountainous, with a fine climate and a most luxuriant and varied vegetation. manchuria is hilly, with a high range of mountains on the coast, and some desert tracts in the interior, but fairly wooded in many parts. much of northern china is a vast alluvial plain, backed by hills and mountains with belts of forest, above which are the dry and barren uplands of mongolia. we have a tolerable knowledge of china, of japan, and of the amoor valley, but very little of corea and manchuria. the recent researches of père david in moupin, in east thibet, said to be between ° and ° north latitude, show, that the fauna of the oriental region here advances northward along the flanks of the yun-ling mountains (a continuation of the himalayas); since he found at different altitudes representatives of the indo-chinese, manchurian, and siberian faunas. on the higher slopes of the himalayas, there must be a narrow strip from about , to , feet elevation intervening between the tropical fauna of the indo-chinese sub-region and the almost arctic fauna of thibet; and the animals of this zone will for the most part belong to the fauna of temperate china and manchuria, except in the extreme west towards cashmere, where the mediterranean fauna will in like manner intervene. on a map of sufficiently large scale, therefore, it would be necessary to extend our present sub-region westward along the himalayas, in a narrow strip just below the upper limits of forests. it is evident that the large number of fringillidæ, corvidæ, troglodytidæ, and paridæ, often of south palæarctic forms, that abound in the higher himalayas, are somewhat out of place as members of the oriental fauna, and are equally so in that of thibet and siberia; but they form a natural portion of that of north china on the one side, or of south europe on the other. { }_mammalia._--this sub-region contains a number of peculiar and very interesting forms, most of which have been recently discovered by père david in north and west china and east thibet. the following are the peculiar genera:--_rhinopithecus_, a sub-genus of monkeys, here classed under _semnopithecus_; _anurosorex_, _scaptochirus_, _uropsilus_ and _scaptonyx_, new forms of talpidæ or moles; _Æluropus_ (Æluridæ); _nyctereutes_ (canidæ); _lutronectes_ (mustelidæ); _cricetulus_ (muridæ); _hydropotes_, _moschus_, and _elaphodus_ (cervidæ). the _rhinopithecus_ appears to be a permanent inhabitant of the highest forests of moupin, in a cold climate. it has a very thick fur, as has also a new species of _macacus_ found in the same district. north china and east thibet seem to be very rich in insectivora. _scaptochirus_ is like a mole; _uropsilus_ between the japanese _urotrichus_ and _sorex_; _scaptonyx_ between _urotrichus_ and _talpa_. _Æluropus_ seems to be the most remarkable mammal discovered by père david. it is allied to the singular panda (_Ælurus fulgens_) of nepal, but is as large as a bear, the body wholly white, with the feet, ears, and tip of the tail black. it inhabits the highest forests, and is therefore a true palæarctic animal, as most likely is the _Ælurus_. _nyctereutes_, a curious racoon-like dog, ranges from canton to north china, the amoor and japan, and therefore seems to come best in this sub-region; _hydropotes_ and _lophotragus_ are small hornless deer confined to north china; _elaphodus_, from east thibet, is another peculiar form of deer; while the musk deer (_moschus_) is confined to this sub-region and the last. besides the above, the following palæarctic genera were found by père david in this sub-region: _macacus_: five genera or sub-genera of bats (_vespertilio_, _vesperus_, _vesperugo_, _rhinolophus_, and _murina_); _erinaceus_, _nectogale_, _talpa_, _crocidura_ and _sorex_, among insectivora; _mustela_, _putorius_, _martes_, _lutra_, _viverra_, _meles_, _Ælurus_, _ursus_, _felis_, and _canis_, among _carnivora_; _hystrix_, _arctomys_, _myospalax_, _spermophilus_, _gerbillus_, _dipus_, _lagomys_, _lepus_, _sciurus_, _pteromys_, _arvicola_, and _mus_, among rodentia; _budorcas_, _nemorhedus_, _antilope_, _ovis_, _moschus_, _cervulus_ and _cervus_ among ruminants; and the wide-spread _sus_ or wild boar. the following oriental genera are also { }included in père david's list, but no doubt occur only in the lowlands and warm valleys, and can hardly be considered to belong to the palæarctic region: _paguma_, _helictis_, _arctonyx_, _rhizomys_, _manis_. the _rhizomys_ from moupin is a peculiar species of this tropical genus, but all the others inhabit southern china. a few additional forms occur in japan: _urotrichus_, a peculiar mole, which is found also in north-west america; _enhydra_, the sea otter of california; and the dormouse (_myoxus_). japan also possesses peculiar species of _macacus_, _talpa_, _meles_, _canis_, and _sciuropterus_. it will be seen that this sub-region is remarkably rich in insectivora, of which it possesses ten genera; and that it has also several peculiar forms of carnivora, rodentia, and ruminants. _birds._--to give an accurate idea of the ornithology of this sub-region is very difficult, both on account of its extreme richness and the impossibility of defining the limits between it and the oriental region. a considerable number of genera which are well developed in the high himalayas, and some which are peculiar to that district, have hitherto always been classed as indian, and therefore oriental groups; but they more properly belong to this sub-region. many of them frequent the highest forests, or descend into the himalayan temperate zone only in winter; and others are so intimately connected with palæarctic species, that they can only be considered as stragglers into the border land of the oriental region. on these principles we consider the following genera to be confined to this sub-region:-- _grandala_, _nemura_ (sylviidæ); _pterorhinus_ (timaliidæ); _cholornis_, _conostoma_, _heteromorpha_ (panuridæ); _cyanoptila_ (muscicapidæ); _eophona_ (fringillidæ); _dendrotreron_ (columbidæ); _lophophorus_, _tetraophasis_, _crossoptilon_, _pucrasia_, _thaumalea_, and _ithaginis_ (phasianidæ). this may be called the sub-region of pheasants; for the above six genera, comprising sixteen species of the most magnificent birds in the world, are all confined to the temperate or cold mountainous regions of the himalayas, thibet, and china; and in addition we have { }most of the species of tragopan (_ceriornis_), and some of the true pheasants (_phasianus_). the most abundant and characteristic of the smaller birds are warblers, tits, and finches, of palæarctic types; but there are also a considerable number of oriental forms which penetrate far into the country, and mingling with the northern birds give a character to the ornithology of this sub-region very different from that of the mediterranean district at the western end of the region. leaving out a large number of wide-ranging groups, this mixture of types may be best exhibited by giving lists of the more striking palæarctic and oriental genera which are here found intermingled. palÆarctic genera. sylviidÆ. erithacus. ruticilla. locustella. cyanecula. sylvia. potamodus. reguloides. regulus. accentor. cinclidÆ. cinclus. troglodytidÆ. troglodytidæ. certhiidÆ. certhia. sitta. tichodroma. paridÆ. parus. lophophanes. acredula. corvidÆ. fregilus. nucifraga. pica. cyanopica. garrulus. ampelidÆ. ampelis. fringillidÆ. fringilla. chrysomitris. chlorospiza. passer. coccothraustes. pyrrhula. carpodacus. uragus. loxia. linota. emberiza. sturnidÆ. sturnus. alaudidÆ. otocorys. picidÆ. picoides. picus. hyopicus. dryocopus. yungidÆ. yunx. pteroclidÆ. syrrhaptes. tetraonidÆ. tetrao. tetraogallus. lerwa. lagopus. vulturidÆ. gypaëtus. vultur. falconidÆ. archibuteo. oriental genera. sylviidÆ. suya. calliope. larvivora. tribura. horites. abrornis. copsychus. turdidÆ. oreocincla. timaliidÆ. alcippe. timalia. pterocyclus. garrulax. trochalopteron. pomatorhinus. { } suthora. panuridÆ. paradoxornis. cinclidÆ. enicurus. myiophonus. troglodytidÆ. pnoepyga. liotrichidÆ. liothrix. yuhina. pteruthius. pycnonotidÆ. microscelis. pycnonotus. hypsipetes. campephagidÆ. pericrocotus. dicruridÆ. dicrurus. chibia. buchanga. muscicapidÆ. xanthopygia. niltava. tchitrea. corvidÆ. urocissa. nectarineidÆ. Æthopyga. motacillidÆ. nemoricola. dicÆidÆ. zosterops. fringillidÆ. melophus. pyrgilauda. ploceidÆ. munia. sturnidÆ. acridotheres. sturnia. pittidÆ. pitta. picidÆ. vivia. yungipicus. gecinus. coraciidÆ. eurystomus. alcedinidÆ. halcyon. ceryle. upupidÆ. upupa. psittacidÆ. palæornis. columbidÆ. treron. ianthænas. macropygia. phasianidÆ. phasianus. ceriornis. strigidÆ. scops. in the above lists there are rather more oriental than palæarctic genera; but it must be remembered that most of the former are summer migrants only, or stragglers just entering the sub-region; whereas the great majority of the latter are permanent residents, and a large proportion of them range over the greater part of the manchurian district. many of those in the oriental column should perhaps be omitted, as we have no exact determination of their range, and the limits of the regions are very uncertain. it must be remembered, too, that the palæarctic genera of sylviidæ, paridæ, and fringillidæ, are often represented by numerous species, whereas the corresponding oriental genera have for the most part only single species; and we shall then find that, except towards the borders of the oriental region the palæarctic element is strongly predominant. four of the more especially oriental groups are confined to japan, the southern { }extremity of which should perhaps come in the oriental region. the great richness of this sub-region compared with that of siberia is well shown by the fact, that a list of all the known land-birds of east siberia, including dahuria and the comparatively fertile amoor valley, contains only species; whereas père david's catalogue of the birds of northern china with adjacent parts of east thibet and mongolia (a very much smaller area) contains for the same families species. of the siberian birds more than per cent, are european species, while those of the manchurian sub-region comprise about half that proportion of land-birds which are identical with those of europe. japan is no doubt very imperfectly known, as only land-birds are recorded from it. of these twenty-two are peculiar species, a number that would probably be diminished were the corea to be explored. of the genera, only nine are indo-malayan, while forty-three are palæarctic. _plate iii.--scene on the borders of north-west china and mongolia with characteristic mammalia and birds._--the mountainous districts of northern china, with the adjacent portions of thibet and mongolia, are the head-quarters of the pheasant tribe, many of the most beautiful and remarkable species being found there only. in the north-western provinces of china and the southern parts of mongolia may be found the species figured. that in the foreground is the superb golden pheasant (_thaumalea picta_), a bird that can hardly be surpassed for splendour of plumage by any denizen of the tropics. the large bird perched above is the eared pheasant (_crossoptilon auritum_), a species of comparatively sober plumage but of remarkable and elegant form. in the middle distance is pallas's sand grouse (_syrrhaptes paradoxus_), a curious bird, whose native country seems to be the high plains of northern asia, but which often abounds near pekin, and in astonished european ornithologists by appearing in considerable numbers in central and western europe, in every part of great britain, and even in ireland. plate iii. [illustration] characteristic animals of north china. the quadruped figured is the curious racoon dog (_nyctereutes procyonoides_), { }an animal confined to north china, japan, and the amoor valley, and having no close allies in any other part of the globe. in the distance are some deer, a group of animals very abundant and varied in this part of the palæarctic region. _reptiles and amphibia._--reptiles are scarce in north china, only four or five species of snakes, a lizard and one of the geckotidæ occurring in the country round pekin. the genus _halys_ is the most characteristic form of snake, while _callophis_, an oriental genus, extends to japan. among lizards, _plestiodon_, _maybouya_, _tachydromus_, and _gecko_ reach japan, the two latter being very characteristic of the oriental region. amphibia are more abundant and interesting; _hynobius_, _onychodactylus_, and _sieboldtia_ (salamandridæ) being peculiar to it, while most of the european genera are also represented. _fresh-water fish._--of these there are a few peculiar genera; as _plecoglossus_ (salmonidæ) from japan; _achilognathus_, _pseudoperilampus_, _ochetobius_, and _opsariichthys_ (cyprinidæ); and there are many other chinese cyprinidæ belonging to the border land of the palæarctic and oriental regions. _insects._--the butterflies of this sub-region exhibit the same mixture of tropical and temperate forms as the birds. most of the common european genera are represented, and there are species of _parnassius_ in japan and the amoor. _isodema_, a peculiar genus of nymphalidæ is found near ningpo, just within our limits; and _sericinus_, one of the most beautiful genera of papilionidæ is peculiar to north china, where four species occur, thus balancing the _thais_ and _doritis_ of europe. the genus _zephyrus_ (lycænidæ) is well represented by six species in japan and the amoor, against two in europe. _papilio paris_ and _p. bianor_, magnificent insects of wholly tropical appearance, abound near pekin, and allied forms inhabit japan and the amoor, as well as _p. demetrius_ and _p. alcinous_ belonging to the "protenor" group of the himalayas. other tropical genera occurring in japan, the amoor, or north china are, _debis_, _neope_, _mycalesis_, _ypthimia_ (satyridæ); _thaumantis_ (morphidæ), at shanghae; _euripus_, _neptis_, _athyma_ (nymphalidæ); _terias_ (pieridæ); and the above-mentioned papilionidæ. { }_coleoptera._--the beetles of japan decidedly exhibit a mixture of tropical forms with others truly palæarctic, and it has been with some naturalists a matter of doubt whether the southern and best known portion of the islands should not be joined to the oriental region. an important addition to our knowledge of the insects of this country has recently been made by mr. george lewis, and a portion of his collections have been described by various entomologists in the _transactions of the entomological society of london_. as the question is one of considerable interest we shall give a summary of the results fairly deducible from what is now known of the entomology of japan; and it must be remembered that almost all our collections come from the southern districts, in what is almost a sub-tropical climate; so that if we find a considerable proportion of palæarctic forms, we may be pretty sure that the preponderance will be much greater a little further north. of carabidæ mr. bates enumerates species belonging to genera, and by comparing these with the coleoptera of a tract of about equal extent in western europe, he concludes that there is little similarity, and that the cases of affinity to the forms of eastern tropical asia preponderate. by comparing his genera with the distributions as given in _gemminger and harold's catalogue_, a somewhat different result is arrived at. leaving out the generic types altogether peculiar to japan, and also those genera of such world-wide distribution that they afford no clear indications for our purpose, it appears that no less than twenty-two genera, containing seventy-four of the japanese species, are either exclusively palæarctic, palæarctic and nearctic, or highly characteristic of the palæarctic region; then come thirteen genera containing eighty-seven of the species which have a very wide distribution, but are also palæarctic: we next have seventeen genera containing twenty-four of the japanese species which are decidedly oriental and tropical. here then the fair comparison is between the twenty-two genera and seventy-four species whose affinities are clearly palæarctic or at least north temperate, and seventeen genera with twenty-four species which are asiatic and tropical; and this seems to prove that, although south { }japan (like north china) has a considerable infusion of tropical forms, there is a preponderating substratum of palæarctic forms, which clearly indicate the true position of the islands in zoological geography. there are also a few cases of what may be called eccentric distribution; which show that japan, like many other island-groups, has served as a kind of refuge in which dying-out forms continue to maintain themselves. these, which are worthy of notice, are as follows: _orthotrichus_ ( sp.) has the only other species in egypt; _trechichus_ ( sp.) has two other species, of which one inhabits madeira, the other the southern united states; _perileptus_ ( sp.) has two other species, of which one inhabits bourbon, the other west europe; and lastly, _crepidogaster_ ( sp.) has the other known species in south africa. these cases diminish the value of the indications afforded by some of the japanese forms, whose only allies are single species in various remote parts of the oriental region. the staphylinidæ have been described by dr. sharp, and his list exhibits a great preponderance of north temperate, or cosmopolitan forms, with a few which are decidedly tropical. the pselaphidæ and scydmenidæ, also described by dr. sharp, exhibit, according to that gentleman, "even a greater resemblance to those of north america than to those of europe," but he says nothing of any tropical affinities. the water-beetles are all either palæarctic or of wide distribution. the lucanidæ (_gemm. and har. cat._, ) exhibit an intermingling of palæarctic and oriental genera. the cetoniidæ (_gemm. and har. cat._, ) show, for north china and japan, three oriental to two palæarctic genera. the buprestidæ collected by mr. lewis have been described by mr. edward saunders in the _journal of the linnæan society_, vol. xi. p. . the collection consisted of thirty-six species belonging to fourteen genera. no less than thirteen of these are known also from india and the malay islands; nine from europe; seven from africa; six from america, and four from china. in six of the genera the japanese species are said to be allied to those of the oriental region; while in three they are allied to european forms, and in two to american. considering { }the southern latitude and warm climate in which these insects were mostly collected, and the proximity to formosa and the malay islands compared with the enormous distance from europe, this shows as much palæarctic affinity as can be expected. in the palæarctic region the group is only plentiful in the southern parts of europe, which is cut off by the cold plateau of thibet from all direct communication with japan; while in the oriental region it everywhere abounds and is, in fact, one of the most conspicuous and dominant families of coleoptera. the longicorns collected by mr. lewis have been described by mr. bates in the _annals of natural history for _. the number of species now known from japan is , belonging to sixty-four genera. the most important genera are _leptura_, _clytanthus_, _monohammus_, _praonetha_, _exocentrus_, _glenea_, and _oberea_. there are twenty-one tropical genera, and seven peculiar to japan, leaving thirty-six either palæarctic or of very wide range. a number of the genera are oriental and malayan, and many characteristic european genera seem to be absent; but it is certain that not half the japanese longicorns are yet known, and many of these gaps will doubtless be filled up when the more northern islands are explored. the phytophaga, described by mr. baly, appear to have a considerable preponderance of tropical oriental forms. a considerable collection of hymenoptera formed by mr. lewis have been described by mr. frederick smith; and exhibit the interesting result, that while the bees and wasps are decidedly of tropical and oriental forms, the tenthredinidæ and ichneumonidæ are as decidedly palæarctic, "the general aspect of the collection being that of a european one, only a single exotic form being found among them." _remarks on the general character of the fauna of japan._--from a general view of the phenomena of distribution we feel justified in placing japan in the palæarctic region; although some tropical groups, especially of reptiles and insects, have largely occupied its southern portions; and these same groups have in many cases spread into northern china, beyond the { }usual dividing line of the palæarctic and oriental regions. the causes of such a phenomenon are not difficult to conceive. even now, that portion of the palæarctic region between western asia and japan is, for the most part, a bleak and inhospitable region, abounding in desert plateaus, and with a rigorous climate even in its most favoured districts, and can, therefore, support but a scanty population of snakes, and of such groups of insects as require flowers, forests, or a considerable period of warm summer weather; and it is precisely these which are represented in japan and north china by tropical forms. we must also consider, that during the glacial epoch this whole region would have become still less productive, and that, as the southern limit of the ice retired northward, it would be followed up by many tropical forms along with such as had been driven south by its advance, and had survived to return to their northern homes. it is also evident that japan has a more equable and probably moister climate than the opposite shores of china, and has also a very different geological character, being rocky and broken, often volcanic, and supporting a rich, varied, and peculiar vegetation. it would thus be well adapted to support all the more hardy denizens of the tropics which might at various times reach it, while it might not be so well adapted for the more boreal forms from mongolia or siberia. the fact that a mixture of such forms occurs there, is then, little to be wondered at, but we may rather marvel that they are not more predominant, and that even in the extreme south, the most abundant forms of mammal, bird, and insect, are modifications of familiar palæarctic types. the fact clearly indicates that the former land connections of japan with the continent have been in a northerly rather than in a southerly direction, and that the tropical immigrants have had difficulties to contend with, and have found the land already fairly stocked with northern aborigines in almost every class and order of animals. _general conclusions as to the fauna of the palæarctic region._--from the account that has now been given of the fauna { }of the palæarctic region, it is evident that it owes many of its deficiencies and some of its peculiarities to the influence of the glacial epoch, combined with those important changes of physical geography which accompanied or preceded it. the elevation of the old sarahan sea and the complete formation of the mediterranean, are the most important of these changes in the western portion of the region. in the centre, a wide arm of the arctic ocean extended southward from the gulf of obi to the aral and the caspian, dividing northern europe and asia. at this time our european and siberian sub-regions were probably more distinct than they are now, their complete fusion having been effected since the glacial epoch. as we know that the himalayas have greatly increased in altitude during the tertiary period, it is not impossible that during the miocene and pliocene epochs the vast plateau of central asia was much less elevated and less completely cut off from the influence of rain-bearing winds. it might then have been far more fertile, and have supported a rich and varied animal population, a few relics of which we see in the thibetan antelopes, yaks, and wild horses. the influence of yet earlier changes of physical geography, and the relations of the palæarctic to the tropical regions immediately south of it, will be better understood when we have examined and discussed the faunas of the ethiopian and oriental regions. { }tables of distribution. in constructing these tables showing the distribution of various classes of animals in the palæarctic region, the following sources of information have been chiefly relied on, in addition to the general treatises, monographs, and catalogues used in compiling the fourth part of this work. _mammalia._--lord clement's mammalia and reptiles of europe; siebold's fauna japonica; père david's list of mammalia of north china and thibet; swinhoe's chinese mammalia; radde's list of mammalia of south-eastern siberia; canon tristram's lists for sahara and palestine; papers by professor milne-edwards, mr. blanford, mr. sclater, and the local lists given by mr. a. murray in the appendix to his geographical distribution of mammalia. _birds._--blasius' list of birds of europe; godman, on birds of azores, madeira, and canaries; middendorf, for siberia; père david and mr. swinhoe, for china and mongolia; homeyer, for east siberia; mr. blanford, for persia and the high himalayas; mr. elwes's paper on the distribution of asiatic birds; canon tristram, for the sahara and palestine; professor newton, for iceland and greenland; mr. dresser, for scandinavia; and numerous papers and notes in the ibis; journal für ornithologie; annals and mag. of nat. history; and proceedings of the zoological society. _reptiles and amphibia._--schreiber's european herpetology. { }table i. _families of animals inhabiting the palÆarctic region._ explanation. names in _italics_ show families peculiar to the region. names inclosed thus (......) barely enter the region, and are not considered properly to belong to it. numbers are not consecutive, but correspond to those in part iv. ---------------------+-------------------+------------------------------- | sub-regions | | =europe. | order and family | =mediterranean. | range beyond the region. | =siberian. | | =japan. | ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- | . | . | . | . | ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- | | | | | mammalia. | | | | | primates. | | | | | . cynopithecidæ | | -- | | -- |ethiopian, oriental | | | | | chiroptera. | | | | | . (pteropidæ) | | | | -- |tropics of e. hemisphere . rhinolophidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |warmer parts of e. hemis. . vespertilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . noctilionidæ | | -- | | |tropical regions | | | | | insectivora. | | | | | . macroscelididæ | | -- | | |ethiopian . erinaceidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, s. africa . talpidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |nearctic, oriental . soricidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite, excl. australia | | | | | and s. america | | | | | carnivora. | | | | | . felidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . viverridæ | | -- | | |ethiopian, oriental . hyænidæ | | -- | | |ethiopian, oriental . canidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . mustelidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . Æluridæ | | | | -- |oriental . ursidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |nearctic, oriental, andes . otariidæ | | | | -- |n. and s. temperate zones . trichechidæ | -- | | -- | |arctic regions . phocidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |n. and s. temperate zones | | | | | cetacea. | | | | | to . | | | | |oceanic | | | | | sirenia. | | | | | . manatidæ | -- | | -- | |tropics, from brazil to | | | | | n. australia | | | | | ungulata. | | | | | . equidæ | | -- | -- | |ethiopian . suidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite, excl. nearctic | | | | | reg. and australia . camelidæ | | -- | -- | |andes . cervidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but ethiopian and | | | | | australian . bovidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but neotropical and | | | | | australian | | | | | hyracoidÆ. | | | | | . (hyracidæ) | | -- | | |ethiopian family | | | | | rodentia. | | | | | . muridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . spalacidæ | -- | -- | -- | |ethiopian, oriental . dipodidæ | | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, nearctic . myoxidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian . castoridæ | -- | | -- | |nearctic . sciuridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . octodontidæ | | -- | | |abyssinia, neotropical . hystricidæ | | -- | | |ethiopian, oriental . lagomyidæ | | | -- | |nearctic . leporidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian | | | | | birds. | | | | | passeres. | -- | -- | -- | -- | . turdidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . sylviidæ | | -- | | -- |cosmopolite . timaliidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, oriental, australian . panuridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |nearctic, oriental . cinclidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental . troglodytidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |american, oriental . certhiidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, nearctic . sittidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |nearctic, oriental, australian, | | | | | madagascar . paridæ | -- | -- | | -- |nearctic, oriental, australian | | | | | [?] . pycnonotidæ | | -- | | -- |oriental, ethiopian . oriolidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, oriental, australian . muscicapidæ | | | | |eastern hemisphere . laniidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |eastern hemisphere and n. | | | | | america . corvidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . (nectariniidæ) | | -- | | |ethiopian, oriental, australian . (dicæidæ) | | | | -- |ethiopian, oriental, australian . ampelidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |nearctic . hirundinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . fringillidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . sturnidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |eastern hemisphere . alaudidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but neotropical . motacillidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . (pittidæ) | | | | -- |oriental, australian, ethiopian | | | | | picariÆ. | | | | | . picidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . yungidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |n. w. india, n. e. africa, | | | | | s. africa . cuculidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . coraciidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, oriental, australian . meropidæ | -- | -- | | |ethiopian, oriental, australian . alcedinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . upupidæ | | -- | | -- |ethiopian, oriental . caprimulgidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . cypselidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite | | | | | columbÆ. | | | | | . columbidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite | | | | | gallinÆ. | | | | | . pteroclidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, indian . tetraonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |nearctic, ethiopian, oriental . phasianidæ | | -- | -- | -- |oriental, ethiopian, nearctic . turnicidæ | | -- | | -- |ethiopian, oriental, australian | | | | | accipitres. | | | | | . vulturidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . falconidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . pandionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . strigidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite | | | | | grallÆ. | | | | | . rallidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . scolopacidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . glareolidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, oriental, australian . charadriidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . otididæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, oriental, australian . gruidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |eastern hemisphere, and | | | | | n. america . ardeidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . plataleidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . ciconiidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |nearly cosmopolite . phænicopteridæ | | -- | | |neotropical, ethiopian, indian | | | | | anseres. | | | | | . anatidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . laridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . procellariidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . pelecanidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . colymbidæ | -- | | -- | -- |arctic and n. temperate . podicipidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . alcidæ | -- | | -- | -- |n. temperate zone | | | | | reptilia. | | | | | ophidia. | | | | | . typhlopidæ | | -- | | -- |all regions but nearctic . calamariidæ | | -- | | |all other regions . oligodontidæ | | | | -- |oriental and neotropical . colubridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . homalopsidæ | | -- | -- | -- |oriental, and all other regions . psammophidæ | | -- | | |ethiopian and oriental . erycidæ | | -- | | |oriental and ethiopian . elapidæ | | | | -- |australian and all other | | | | | regions . crotalidæ | | | -- | -- |nearctic, neotropical, oriental . viperidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, oriental | | | | | lacertilia. | | | | | . _trogonophidæ_ | | -- | | | . amphisbænidæ | | -- | | |ethiopian, neotropical . varanidæ | | -- | | |oriental, ethiopian, australian . lacertidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all continents but american . zonuridæ | | -- | | |america, africa, n. india . gymnopthalmidæ | -- | -- | -- | |ethiopian, australian, | | | | | neotropical . scincidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . _ophiomoridæ_ | | -- | | | . sepidæ | | -- | | |ethiopian . geckotidæ | | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . agamidæ | | -- | -- | -- |all continents but america . chamæleonidæ | | -- | | |ethiopian, oriental | | | | | chelonia. | | | | | . testudinidæ | -- | -- | | -- |all continents but australia . trionychidæ | | | | -- |ethiopian, oriental, nearctic . cheloniidæ | | | | |marine | | | | | amphibia. | | | | | urodela. | | | | | . proteidæ | -- | | | |nearctic . menopomidæ | | | | -- |nearctic . salamandridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |nearctic to andes of bogota | | | | | anoura. | | | | | . bufonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all continents but australia . bombinatoridæ | -- | -- | | |neotropical, new zealand . alytidæ | -- | | | |all regions but oriental . hylidæ | -- | -- | -- | |all regions but ethiopian . polypedatidæ | | | -- | -- |all the regions . ranidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . discoglossidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but nearctic | | | | | fishes (fresh-water).| | | | | acanthopterygii. | | | | | . gasterosteidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |nearctic . percidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . scienidæ | -- | -- | | -- |all regions but australian . _comephoridæ_ | | | -- | | . atherinidæ | -- | -- | | |n. america and australia | | | | | physostomi. | | | | | . siluridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all warm regions . salmonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |nearctic, new zealand . esocidæ | -- | -- | | |nearctic . umbridæ | -- | | | |nearctic . cyprinodontidæ | | -- | | |all regions but australia . cyprinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian and | | | | | neotropical | | | | | ganoidei. | | | | | . accipenseridæ | -- | -- | -- | |nearctic . polydontidæ | | | | -- |nearctic | | | | | insects. | | | | | lepidoptera (part). | | | | | durini (butterflies).| | | | | . danaidæ | -- | -- | | -- |all tropical regions . satyridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . nymphalidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . libytheidæ | -- | -- | | |all continents but australia . nemeobeidæ | -- | | | |absent from nearctic region and | | | | | australia . lycænidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . pieridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . papilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . hesperidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite | | | | | sphingidea. | | | | | . zygænidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . stygiidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |neotropical . Ægeriidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |absent only from australia . sphingidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- coleoptera.--of about families into which the coleoptera are divided, all the more important are cosmopolite, or nearly so. it would therefore unnecessarily occupy space to give tables of the whole for each region. land shells.--the more important families being cosmopolite, and the smaller ones being somewhat uncertain in their limits, the reader is referred to the account of the families and genera under each region, and to the chapter on mollusca in the concluding part of this work, for such information as can be given of their distribution. { }table ii. _list of the genera of terrestial mammalia and birds inhabiting the palÆarctic region._ explanation. names in _italics_ show genera peculiar to the region. names inclosed thus (...) show genera which just enter the region, but are not considered properly to belong to it. genera which undoubtedly belong to the region are numbered consecutively. _mammalia._ -------------------+-------+----------------------+---------------------- order, family, and | no. of| range within | range beyond genus. |species| the region. | the region. -------------------+-------+----------------------+---------------------- | | | primates. | | | semnopithecidÆ. | | | | | | (semnopithecus | |eastern thibet) |oriental genus | | | cynopithecidÆ. | | | | | | . macacus | |gibraltar, n. africa, |oriental | | e. thibet to japan | | | | chiroptera. | | | pteropidÆ. | | | | | | (pteropus | |egypt, japan) |tropics of the e. . | | | hemis (xantharpyia | |n. africa, palestine) |oriental, austro- | | | malayan | | | rhinolophidÆ. | | | | | | . rhinolphus | |temperate & southern |warmer parts e. | | parts of region | hemisphere (asellia | |egypt) |ethiopian, java (_rhinopoma_ | |egypt, palestine) |[?] india (nycteris | |egypt) |nubia, himalaya | | | vespertilionidÆ. | | | | | | . vesperugo | |siberia, amoorland |[?] . _otonycteris_ | |egypt |[?] . vespertilio | |the whole region |cosmopolite (kerivoula | |n. china) |oriental, s. africa . miniopteris | |s. europe, n. africa, |s. afric. malaya, | | japan | austral. . plecotus | |s. europe |himalayas . barbastellus | |mid. and s. europe, |darjeeling, timor | | palestine | | | | noctilionidÆ. | | | | | | . molossus | |s. europe, n. africa |ethiop., neotrop., | | | australian | | | insectivora. | | | erinaceidÆ. | | | | | | . erinaceus | |the whole region; excl.|oriental, africa. | | japan | | | | talpidÆ. | | | | | | . _talpa_ | |the whole region |n. india . _scaptochirus_ | |n. china | . _anurosorex_ | |n. china | . _scaptonyx_ | |n. china | . _myogale_ | |s. e. russia, pyrenees | . _nectogale_ | |thibet | . urotrichus | |japan |n. w. america . _uropsilus_ | |e. thibet | | | | soricidÆ. | | | | | | . sorex | |the whole region |absent from australia | | | & s. america . crocidura | |w. europe to n. china | [?] | | | carnivora. | | | felidÆ. | | | | | | . felis | |the whole region; excl.|all regions but | | extreme north | austral. . lyncus | |s. europe to arctic sea|america n. of ° n. | | | lat. | | | viverridÆ. | | | | | | (viverra | |n. china) |oriental and ethiopian . genetta | |s. europe & n. africa, |ethiopian | | palestine | (herpestes | |n. africa, spain [?], |oriental and ethiopian | | palestine) | | | | hyÆnidÆ. | | | | | | . hyæna | |n. africa and s. w. |ethiopian, india | | asia | | | | canidÆ. | | | | | | . canis | |the whole region |all reg. but austral. | | | [?] . _nyctereutes_ | |japan, amoorland, n. | | | china | | | | mustelidÆ. | | | | | | . martes | |n. europe and asia, e. |oriental, nearctic | | thibet | . _putorius_ | |w. europe to n. e. asia| . mustela | |the whole region |nearctic, ethiop., | | | himalayas, peru . vison | |europe and siberia |n. america, n. india, | | | china . gulo | |the arctic regions |arctic america . lutra | |the whole region |oriental . _lutronectes_ | |japan | . enhydris | |n. asia and japan |california . _meles_ | |cen. europe, palestine,|china to hongkong | | n. china, japan | | | | ÆluridÆ. | | | | | | . Ælurus | |s. e. thibet |nepal . _Æluropus_ | |e. thibet | | | | ursidÆ. | | | | | | . thalassarctos | |arctic regions |arctic america . ursus | |the whole region |oriental, nearctic, | | | chili | | | otariidÆ. | | | | | | . callorhinus | |kamschatka and | | | behring's straits | . zalophus | |japan |california . eumetopias | |japan, behring's |california | | straits | | | | trichechidÆ. | | | | | | . trichechus | |polar seas |arctic america | | | phocidÆ. | | | | | | . callocephalus | |north sea, caspian, |greenland | | lake baikal | . pagomys | |north sea, japan |n. pacific . pagophilus | |northern seas |n. pacific . phoca | |northern seas |n. pacific . halichærus | |north sea and baltic |greenland . _pelagius_ | |madeira to black sea | . cystophora | |n. atlantic |n. atlantic | | | sirenia. | | |tropics & behring's | | | strts. | | | cetacea. | | |oceanic | | | ungulata. | | | equidÆ. | | | | | | . equus | |cent. and w. asia & n. |ethiopian | | africa | | | | suidÆ. | | | | | | . sus | |the whole region |oriental, austro- | | | malayan | | | camelidÆ. | | | | | | . _camelus_ | |deserts of cent. and w.| | | asia and n. africa | | | | cervidÆ. | | | | | | . alces | |north europe and asia |n. america . tarandus | |arctic europe and asia |arctic america . cervus | |the whole region |all regions but | | | austral. . _dama_ | |mediterranean district | . _elaphodus_ | |n. w. china | . _lophotragus_ | |n. china | . _capreolus_ | |temp. europe and w. | | | asia and n. china | . _moschus_ | |amoor r., n. china, to | | | himalayas | . _hydropotes_ | |n. china | | | | bovidÆ. | | | | | | . { bos | |europe, (not wild) |oriental . { bison | |poland and caucasus |nearctic . { _poephagus_ | |thibet | . _addax_ | |n. africa to syria | . oryx | |n. africa to syria |ethiopian deserts . { gazella | |n. africa to persia, |s. africa, india { | | and beloochistan | . { _procapra_ | |w. thibet and mongolia | . {_saiga_ | |e. europe and w. asia | . {_pantholops_ | |w. thibet | (alcephalus | |syria) |ethiopian genus. . _budorcas_ | |e. himalayas to e. | | | thibet | . _rupicapra_ | |pyrenees to caucasus | . nemorhedus | |e. himalayas to e. |oriental to sumatra, | | china and japan | formosa . capra | |spain to thibet and |nilgherries, rocky | | n.e. africa | mtns. | | | hyracoidea. | | | hyracidÆ. | | | | | | (hyrax | |syria) |ethiopian genus | | | rodentia. | | | muridÆ. | | | | | | . mus |? |the whole region |e. hemisphere . _cricetus_ | |the whole region | . _cricetulus_ | |n. china | . meriones | |w. and central asia to |ethiopian, indian. | | n. china, n. africa | . _rhombomys_ | |e. europe, cent. asia, | | | n. africa | . _psammomys_ | |egypt and palestine | . _sminthus_ | |east europe, siberia | . arvicola |? |the whole region |himalayas, nearctic . cuniculus | |n. e. europe, siberia |arctic america . myodes | |north of region |nearctic . _myospalax_ | |altai mountains and n. | | | china | | | | spalacidÆ. | | | | | | . _ellobius_ | |s. russia and s. w. | | | siberia | . _spalax_ | |hungary and greece to | | | w. asia, palestine | | | | dipodidÆ. | | | | | | . dipus |? |s. e. europe and n. |africa, india | | africa to n. china | | | | myoxidÆ. | | | | | | . myoxus | |temperate parts of |ethiopian | | whole region | | | | castoridÆ. | | | | | | . castor | |temperate zone, from |n. america | | france to amoorland | | | | sciuridÆ. | | | | | | . sciurus | |the whole region |all regions but | | | austral. a. tamias | |all northern asia |n. america . sciuropterus | |finland to siberia and |oriental, nearctic | | japan | . pteromys | |japan and w. china |oriental . spermophilus | |e. europe to n. china |nearctic | | and kamschatka | . arctomys. | |alps to e. thibet and |nearctic | | kamschatka | | | | octodontidÆ. | | | | | | ._ctenodactylus_ | |n. africa | | | | hystricidÆ. | | | | | | . hystrix | |s. europe, palestine, |ethiopian, oriental | | n. china. | | | | lagomyidÆ. | | | | | | . lagomys | |volga to e. thibet and |nearctic | | kamschatka | | | | leporidÆ. | | | | | | . lepus | |the whole region |all regions but | | | austral. _birds._ passeres. | | | turdidÆ. | | | | | | . turdus | |the whole region |almost cosmopolite | |(excluding spitsbergen)| . oreocincla | |n. e. asia and japan, |oriental and | | straggler to europe | australian . monticola | |s. europe, n. africa, |oriental and | | palestine, n. china | s. african (bessornis | |palestine) |tropical and | | | s. africa | | | sylviidÆ. | | | | | | . cisticola | |s. w. europe, n. |ethiop., orient., | | africa, japan | austral. . {acrocephalus | |w. europe to japan |orient., ethiop., { | | | austral. . {_dumeticola_ | |nepaul, lake baikal, | { | | e. thibet high | . {_potamodus_ | |w. and s. europe, | { | | n. africa, e. thibet | . {_lusciniola_ | |s. europe | . {_locustella_ | |w. europe and n. africa|india, winter { | | to japan | migrants(?) . {bradyptetus | |s. europe and palestine|e. and s. africa . {_calamodus_ | ? |europe, n. africa, | | | palestine | . {phylloscopus | |the whole region |oriental { | | (excluding western | { | | islands) | . {hypolais | |europe, n. africa, |china, moluccas, { | | palestine, china | india, africa . {abrornis | |cashmere, e. thibet |oriental region . {reguloides | |europe and china |n. india, formosa . {regulus | |the whole region |n. and central america | | (excluding iceland, | | | &c.) | . {aedon | |s. europe, w. asia, |e. and s. africa { | | n. africa | . {_pyrophthalma_ | |e. europe and palestine| . {_melizophilus_ | |w. and s. europe, | { | | sardinia | . {_sylvia_ | |madeira to w. india, |n. e. africa, ceylon { | | n. africa | migrants(?) . {_curruca_ | |madeira to india, |e. africa, india, | | n. africa | migrants . {_luscinia_ | |w. europe, n. africa, | { | | persia | . {_cyanecula_ | |europe and n. africa to|abyssinia and india { | | kamschatka | migrants . {_calliope_ | |n. asia, himalayas, |centl. india { | | china | (? migrant) . {_erithacus_ | |atlantic islands to | { | | japan | . {_grandala_ | |high himalayas and | | | e. thibet | . { ruticilla | |eu. to japan, n. afr., |abyssinia, india { | | himalayas | . { larvivora | |e. thibet, amoor, japan|oriental . dromolæa | |s. europe, n. africa, |ethiopian | | palestine | . saxicola | |the whole region |e. and s. africa, | | | india . cercomela | |palestine (a desert |n. e. africa, n. w. | | genus) | india . pratincola | |w. europe, n. africa to|ethiopian to oriental | | india | . _accentor_ | |w. europe to japan; |himalayas(?) in winter | | high himalayas | | | | timaliidÆ. | | | | | | . _pterorhinus_ | |thibet and n. w. china | (malacocercus | |palestine) |oriental genus (crateropus | |n. africa, persia) |ethiopian genus (trochalopteron | |e. thibet) |oriental genus (ianthocincla | |e. thibet) |oriental genus | | | panuridÆ. | | | | | | (paradoxornis | |himalayas and |(?)oriental genus | | e. thibet) | . _conostoma_ | |high himalayas | | | e. thibet) | . suthora | |e. thibet |himalayas, china, | | | formosa . _panurus_ | |w. europe to w. siberia| . _heteromorpha_ | |nepaul and e. thibet, | | | from , feet | | | altitude | . _cholornis_ | |e. thibet | | | | cinclidÆ. | | | | | | . cinclus | |the whole region |american highlands | | (atlantic islands | | | excluded) | (myiophonus | |turkestan, thian-shan |oriental genus | | mountains, , feet| | | | troglodytidÆ. | | | | | | . troglodytes | |iceland and britain to |neotropical and | | japan | nearctic, himalayas (pnoepyga | |e. thibet) |oriental genus | | | certhiidÆ. | | | | | | . certhia | |w. europe to n. china |himalayas, nearctic . _tichodroma_ | |s. europe to n. china |abyssinia, nepaul, | | | high | | | sittidÆ. | | | | | | . sitta | |w. europe to himalayas india, nearctic | | and japan | | | | paridÆ. | | | | | | . parus | |w. europe to kamschatka|nearctic, oriental, | | n. africa | ethiopian . lophophanes | |europe and high |nearctic | | himalayas | . _acredula_ | |w. europe to n. china | | | and kamschatka | . Ægithalus | |s. e. europe |ethiopian | | | liotrichidÆ. | | | | | | (proparus | |moupin, in e. thibet) |oriental genus and | | | fam. | | | pycnonotidÆ. | | | | | | . microscelis | |japan |oriental genus . pycnonotus | |palestine, n. china, |oriental and ethiopian | | japan | | | | oriolidÆ. | | | | | | . oriolus | |s. europe, china |ethiopian and oriental | | | muscicapidÆ. | | | | | | . muscicapa | |w. and central europe |ethiopian. . butalis | |w. europe to japan and |e. and s. africa, | | china | moluccas . erythrosterna | |central europe to n. |oriental & madagascar | | china and japan | (xanthopygia | |japan) |oriental genus (eumyias-- | |e. thibet) |oriental genus (cyanoptila | |japan and amoor) |oriental genus (siphia | |moupin, e. thibet) |oriental genus . tchitrea | |n. china and japan |ethiopian and oriental | | | laniidÆ. | | | | | | . lanius | |the whole region (excl.|nearctic, ethiopian, | | atlantic islands) | oriental (telephonus | |n. africa) |ethiopian genus | | | corvidÆ. | | | | | | . garrulus | |w. europe, n. africa, |himalayas, formosa | | to japan | . perisoreus | |n. europe and siberia |n. america (urocissa | |cashmere, japan) |oriental genus . _nucifraga_ | |w. europe to japan, |himalayan pine forests | | and himalayas | . _pica_ | |w. europe to china and |s. china and formosa | | japan | migrants[?] . _cyanopica_ | |spain, n. e. asia and | | | japan | . corvus | |the whole region |cosmopolite (excl. | | | s. am.) . _fregilus_ | |w. europe to n. china, |abyssinian mountains | | himalayas | | | | nectariniidÆ. | | | | | | (arachnecthra | |palestine) |oriental genus | | | dicÆidÆ. | | | | | | (zosterops | |amoor and japan) |ethiop., orien., | | | austral. | | | ampelidÆ. | | | | | | . ampelis | |northern half of region|north america | | | hirundinidÆ. | | | | | | . hirundo | |the whole region |cosmopolite . cotyle | |the whole region (excl.|nearctic, ethiop., | | atlan. is.) | orien. . chelidon | |the whole region |oriental | | | fringillidÆ. | | | | | | . fringilla | |the whole region |africa . _acanthis_ | |europe and n. africa to| | | central asia | . _procarduelis_ | |high himalayas and | | | e. thibet | . chrysomitris | |w. europe to japan |n. and s. america . _dryospiza_ | |atlantic islands to | | | palestine, n. africa | . _metoponia_ | |n. e. europe to | | | w. himalayas | . chlorospiza | |w. europe, n. africa |china, e. africa | | to japan | . passer | |the whole region |ethiopian, oriental . montifringilla | |europe to cashmere and | | | siberia | . _fringillauda_ | |n. w. himalayas to | | | e. thibet, high | . coccothraustes | |w. europe, high |n. america | | himalayas to japan | . _mycerobas_ | |central asia & high | | | himalayas | . eophona | |e. thibet, china, and |china | | japan | . _pyrrhula_ | |azores to japan, high |alaska | | himalayas | (crithagra | |palestine) |ethiopian genus . carpodacus | |cent. eu. to japan, |india & china, | | high himalayas | n. amer. . _erythrospiza_ | |n. africa to | | | afghanistan and | | | turkestan | . _uragus_ | |turkestan & e. thibet | | | to japan | . loxia | |europe, high himalayas |n. america | | to japan | . pinicola | |n. europe, siberia |n. america . _propyrrhula_ | |high himalayas |darjeeling in winter . _pyrrhospiza_ | |snowy himalayas | . linota | |the whole region |n. america . leucosticte | |turkestan to kamschatka|n. w. america | | | emberizinæ | | | | | | . {euspiza | |e. europe to japan |n. america . {_emberiza_ | |europe to japan |n. india, china . {fringillaria | |s. europe, n. africa |african genus . {plectrophanes | |northern half of region|n. america | | | sturnidÆ. | | | | | | . pastor | |east europe, central |india | | asia | . sturnia | |amoor, japan, n. china |oriental . sturnus | |the whole region (excl.|india, china | | atlantic islands) | (amydrus | |palestine) |n. e. african genus . _podoces_ | |cen. asia, turkestan, | | | yarkand | | | | alaudidÆ. | | | | | | . otocorys | |n. europe to japan, |india, n. america, | | n. africa, arabia | andes . alauda | |the whole region (excl.|india, africa | | iceland) | . galerita | |central europe to |india, central africa | | n. china, n. africa | . calandrella | |central europe to |india | | n. china, n. africa | . _melanocorypha_| |s. eu., n. africa, |n. w. india | | n. & cen. asia | . _pallasia_ | |mongolia | (certhilauda | |n. africa) |s. african genus (alaemon | |n. africa, arabia) |ethiopian genus . ammomanes | |s. europe, n. africa, |africa, india | | to cashmere | | | | motacillidÆ. | | | | | | . motacilla | |the whole region |oriental, ethiopian . budytes | |europe to china |oriental, moluccas . calobates | |atlantic is., w. |malaisia, madagascar | | europe, to china | | | | pittidÆ. | | | | | | (pitta | |japan) |oriental & austral. | | | genus | | | picariÆ. | | | picidÆ. | | | | | | . picoides | |n. and cen. europe to |north america | | thibet & e. asia | . picus | |the whole region (excl.|india, china, n. and | | atlantic islands) | s. america . hypopicus | |n. china |himalayas (yungipicus | |n. china) |oriental genus . dryocopus | |n. & cen. europe to |neotropical | | n. china | . gecinus | |w. europe to thibet, |oriental | | amoor & japan | | | | yungidÆ. | | | | | | . yunx | |w. europe to n. w. |n. e. africa, | | india, thibet and | s. africa | | japan | | | | cuculidÆ. | | | | | | . cuculus | |the whole region (excl.|ethiop., oriental, | | atlantic islands) | austral. . coccystes | |s. europe and n. africa|ethiopian and oriental | | | coraciidÆ. | | | | | | . coracias | |cent. europe to cent. |ethiopian, oriental | | asia | (eurystomus | |amoor in summer) |oriental & austral. | | | genus | | | meropidÆ. | | | | | | . merops | |s. europe to cashmere, |ethiopian and oriental | | n. africa | | | | alcedinidÆ. | | | | | | (halcyon | |w. asia, n. china, |ethiop., orien., | | japan) | austral. . alcedo | |europe, n. china | . ceryle | |s. e. europe, japan |africa, india, america | | | upupidÆ. | | | | | | . upupa | |s. europe, n. china |ethiop. & oriental | | | genus | | | caprimulgidÆ. | | | | | | . caprimulgus | |europe to japan |ethiopian and oriental | | | cypselidÆ. | | | | | | . cypselus | |the whole region (excl.|ethiopian, america | | iceland) | . chætura | |n. china, dauria |africa, india | | | columbÆ. | | | columbidÆ. | | | | | | . columba | |the whole region |africa, asia, america . turtur | |w. europe to japan |ethiopian and oriental (alsæcomus | |e. thibet) |oriental genus | | | gallinÆ. | | | pteroclidÆ. | | | | | | . pterocles | |s. europe, n. africa, |ethiopian genus | | to w. india | . _syrrhaptes_ | |central asia, n. china | | | | tetraonidÆ. | | | | | | . francolinus | |borders of |ethiopian, oriental | | mediterranean | . _perdix_ | |europe to mongolia | . coturnix | |central and s. europe |ethiop., orien., | | to japan | austral. . _lerwa_ | |snowy himalayas to | | | e. thibet | . _caccabis_ | |cen. europe and n. |abyssinia, arabia | | africa to n. w. | | | himalayas | . _tetraogallus_ | |caucasus to e. thibet | | | and altai mountains | . tetrao | |europe and n. asia |n. america . bonasa | |europe and n. asia |n. america . lagopus | |iceland, w. europe to |n. america, greenland | | japan | | | | phasianidÆ. | | | | | | . _crossoptilon_ | |thibet, mongolia, | | | n. china | . _lophophorus_ | |cashmere to e. thibet | | | (highest woods) | . tetraophasis | |e. thibet |e. thibet(?) . ceriornis | |n. w. himalayas (high) |himalayas to w. china . pucrasia-- | |n. w. himalayas to |himalayas | | n. w. china | . _phasianus_ | |western asia to japan |w. himalayas, formosa . _thaumalea_ | |e. thibet to amoor, |west china | | n. china | . _ithaginis_ | |nepaul to e. thibet | | | (high) | | | | turnicidÆ. | | | | | | . turnix | |spain and n. africa, |ethiop., orien., | | n. china | austral. | | | accipitres. | | | vulturidÆ. | | | | | | . _vultur_ | |spain and n. africa to | | | n. china | . gyps | |s. europe, palestine, |e. africa, india | | cen. asia | . otogyps | |s. europe, n. africa |s. africa, india . neophron | |atlantic isds. to |africa, india | | palestine | | | | falconidÆ. | | | | | | . circus | |europe to japan |almost cosmopolite . astur | |europe to n. china |almost cosmopolite . accipiter | |europe to japan |almost cosmopolite . buteo | |europe to japan |cosmopolite (excl. | | | australia) . archibuteo | |n. europe to japan |n. america . gypaetus | |s. europe, n. africa |abyssinia, himalayas . aquila | |europe to japan |nearctic, ethiop., | | | orien. . nisaetus | |e. europe, n. africa, |india, australia | | w. asia | . circaetus | |e. and s. europe, n. |africa, india | | africa, w. asia | . haliæetus | |iceland and s. europe |cosmopolite (excl. | | to japan | neotropical region) . milvus | |europe to japan, |the old world & | | n. africa | austral. . elanus | |n. africa, n. china to |cosmopolite (excl. | | amoor | east u. s.) . pernis | |europe to japan |ethiopian and oriental . falco | |the whole region |cosmopolite (excl. | | | pacific islands) . hierofalco | |the whole region |n. america . cerchneis | |atlantic islands to |cosmop. (excl. | | japan | oceania) | | | pandionidÆ. | | | | | | . pandion | |europe to japan |cosmopolite | | | strigidÆ. | | | | | | . surnia | |n. europe and siberia |north america . nyctea | |arctic regions |arctic america . athene | |central and s. europe |ethiop., orien., | | to japan | austral. (ninox | |n. china and japan) |oriental genus . glaucidium | |europe to n. china |america . bubo | |europe to n. china |africa, india, | | | america . scops | |s. europe to japan |african, orien., | | | austral. . syrnium | |europe to japan |african, oriental, | | | amer. . otus | |europe to japan |almost cosmopolite . nyctala | |n. europe to e. siberia|n. america . strix | |europe and n. africa |all warm & temp. | | | regions _peculiar or very characteristic genera of wading and swimming birds._ grallÆ. | | | rallidÆ. | | | | | | _ortygometra_ | |europe, n. e. africa | | | | scolopacidÆ. | | | | | | _ibidorhyncha_ | |cashmere & cen. asia, |himalayan valleys | | n. china | terekia | |n. e. europe and |india, australia | | siberia | (migrant) _helodromas_ | |e. and n. europe, | | | n. india | _machetes_ | |n. and cen. europe, |india in winter | | cen. asia | _eurinorhynchus_ | |n. e. asia |bengal | | | glareolidÆ. | | | | | | _pluvianus_ | |n. africa, spain | | | | charadriidÆ. | | | | | | vanellus | |europe to the punjaub |s. america | | | otididÆ. | | | | | | _otis_ | |w. europe to mongolia, | | | n. africa | anseres. | | | anatidÆ. | | | | | | aix | |n. china to amoor |n. america bucephala | |iceland, n. europe, and|n. america | | asia | histrionicus | |iceland, n. siberia |n. america harelda | |north of whole region |arctic america somateria | |north of whole region |n. america oedemia | |north of whole region |n. america | | | laridÆ. | | | | | | rissa | |north coasts of whole |n. america | | region | | | | colymbidÆ. | | | | | | colymbus | |north of whole region |n. america | | | alcidÆ. | | | | | | alca | |north coasts of whole |n. america | | region | fratercula | |north coasts of whole |n. america | | region | uria | |north coasts of whole |n. america | | region | mergulus | |iceland and arctic |arctic america | | coasts | --------------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------- [illustration: ethiopian region] { }chapter xi. the ethiopian region. this is one of the best defined of the great zoological regions, consisting of tropical and south africa, to which must be added tropical arabia, madagascar, and a few other islands, all popularly known as african. some naturalists would extend the region northwards to the atlas mountains and include the whole of the sahara; but the animal life of the northern part of that great desert seems more akin to the palæarctic fauna of north africa. the sahara is really a debatable land which has been peopled from both regions; and until we know more of the natural history of the great plateaus which rise like islands in the waste of sand, it will be safer to make the provisional boundary line at or near the tropic, thus giving the northern half to the palæarctic, the southern to the ethiopian region. the same line may be continued across arabia. with our present imperfect knowledge of the interior of africa, only three great continental sub-regions can be well defined. the open pasture lands of interior tropical africa are wonderfully uniform in their productions; a great number of species ranging from senegal to abyssinia and thence to the zambesi, while almost all the commoner african genera extend over the whole of this area. almost all this extensive tract of country is a moderately elevated plateau, with a hot and dry climate, and characterised by a grassy vegetation interspersed with patches of forest. this forms our first or east african sub-region. the whole of the west coast from the south side of the gambia river to about ° or ° south latitude, is a very { }different kind of country; being almost wholly dense forests where not cleared by man, and having the hot moist uniform climate, and perennial luxuriance of vegetation, which characterise the great equatorial belt of forest all round the globe. this forest country extends to an unknown distance inland, but it was found, with its features well marked, by dr. schweinfurth directly he crossed the south-western watershed of the nile; and far to the south we find it again unmistakably indicated, in the excessively moist forest country about the head waters of the congo, where the heroic livingstone met his death. in this forest district many of the more remarkable african types are alone found, and its productions occasionally present us with curious similarities to those of the far removed south american or malayan forests. this is our second or west african sub-region. extra-tropical south africa possesses features of its own, quite distinct from those of both the preceding regions (although it has also much in common with the first). its vegetation is known to be one of the richest, most peculiar, and most remarkable on the globe; and in its zoology it has a speciality, similar in kind but less in degree, which renders it both natural and convenient to separate it as our third, or south african sub-region. its limits are not very clearly ascertained, but it is probably bounded by the kalahari desert on the north-west, and by the limpopo valley, or the mountain range beyond, on the north-east, although some of its peculiar forms extend to mozambique. there remains the great island of madagascar, one of the most isolated and most interesting on the globe, as regards its animal productions; and to this must be added, the smaller islands of bourbon, mauritius and rodriguez, the seychelles and the comoro islands, forming together the mascarene islands,--the whole constituting our fourth sub-region. _zoological characteristics of the ethiopian region._--we have now to consider briefly, what are the peculiarities and characteristics of the ethiopian region as a whole,--those which give it its distinctive features and broadly separate it from the other primary zoological regions. { }_mammalia._--this region has peculiar families of mammalia. chiromyidæ (containing the aye-aye); potamogalidæ and chrysochloridæ (insectivora); cryptoproctidæ and protelidae (carnivora); hippopotamidæ and camelopardalidæ (ungulata); and orycteropodidæ (edentata). besides these it possesses peculiar genera of apes, _troglodytes_, _colobus_, _myiopithecus_, _cercopithecus_, _cercocebus_, _theropithecus_, and _cynocephalus_; sub-families of lemurs containing genera, confined to madagascar, with genera of two other sub-families confined to the continent; of insectivora a family, centetidæ, with genera, peculiar to madagascar, and the genera _petrodromus_ and _rhynchocyon_ belonging to the macroscelididæ, or elephant-shrews, restricted to the continent; numerous peculiar genera or sub-genera of civets; _lycaon_ and _megalotis_, remarkable genera of canidæ; _ictonyx_, the zorilla, a genus allied to the weasels; peculiar genera of muridæ; _pectinator_, a genus of the south american family octodontidæ; and genera of the south american echimyidæ or spiny rats. of abundant and characteristic groups it possesses _macroscelides_, _felis_, _hyæna_, _hyrax_, _rhinoceros_, and _elephas_, as well as several species of zebra and a great variety of antelopes. the great speciality indicated by these numerous peculiar families and genera, is still farther increased by the absence of certain groups dominant in the old-world continent, an absence which we can only account for by the persistence, through long epochs, of barriers isolating the greater part of africa from the rest of the world. these groups are, ursidæ, the bears; talpidæ the moles; camelidæ, the camels; cervidæ, the deer; caprinæ, the goats and sheep; and the genera _bos_ (wild ox); and _sus_ (wild boar). combining these striking deficiencies, with the no less striking peculiarities above enumerated, it seems hardly possible to have a region more sharply divided from the rest of the globe than this is, by its whole assemblage of mammalia. _birds._--in birds the ethiopian region is by no means so strikingly peculiar, many of these having been able to pass the ancient barriers which so long limited the range of mammalia. { }it is, however, sufficiently rich, possessing families of land birds, besides a few genera whose position is not well ascertained, and which may constitute distinct families. of these are peculiar, musophagidæ (the plantain eaters); coliidæ (the colies); leptosomidæ, allied to the cuckoos; irrisoridæ, allied to the hoopoes; and serpentaridæ, allied to the hawks. only one passerine family is peculiar--paictidæ, while most of the other tropical regions possess several; but _euryceros_ and _buphaga_, here classed with the sturnidæ, ought, perhaps, to form two more. it has, however, many peculiar genera, especially among the fruit-thrushes, pycnonotidæ; flycatchers, muscicapidæ; shrikes, lanidæ; crows, corvidæ; starlings, sturnidæ; and weaver-birds, ploceidæ; the latter family being very characteristic of the region. it is also rich in barbets, megalæmidæ ( peculiar genera); cuckoos, cuculidæ; rollers, coraciidæ; bee-eaters, meropidæ; hornbills, bucerotidæ; and goat-suckers, caprimulgidæ. it is poor in parrots and rather so in pigeons; but it abounds in _pterocles_ and _francolinus_, genera of gallinæ, and possesses genera of the peculiar group of the guinea-fowls, forming part of the pheasant family. it abounds in vultures, eagles, and other birds of prey, among which is the anomalous genus _serpentarius_, the secretary-bird, constituting a distinct family. many of the most remarkable forms are confined to madagascar and the adjacent islands, and will be noticed in our account of that sub-region. _reptiles._--of the reptiles there are peculiar ethiopian families;-- of snakes, rachiodontidæ, dendraspidæ, and atractaspidæ and of lizards, chamæsauridæ. psammophidæ (desert snakes) are abundant, as are lycodontidæ (fanged ground-snakes), and viperidæ (vipers). the following genera of snakes are peculiar or highly characteristic:--_leptorhynchus_, _rhamnophis_, _herpetethiops_ and _grayia_ (colubridæ); _hopsidrophis_ and _bucephalus_ (dendrophidæ); _langalia_ (dryophidæ); _pythonodipsas_ (dipsadidæ); _boedon_, _lycophidion_, _holuropholis_, _simocephalus_ and _lamprophis_ (lycodontidæ); _hortulia_ and _sanzinia_ (pythonidæ); _cyrptophis_, _elapsoidea_ and _poecilophis_ (elapidæ); and _atheris_ (viperidæ). the following genera { }of lizards are the most characteristic:--_monotrophis_ (lepidosternidæ); _cordylus_, _pseudocordylus_, _platysaurus_, _cordylosaurus_, _pleurostichus_, _saurophis_ and _zonurus_ (zonuridæ); _sphænops_, _scelotes_, _sphænocephalus_ and _sepsina_ (sepidæ); _pachydactylus_ (geckotidæ); _agama_ (agamidæ); and _chameleon_ (chameleonidæ). of tortoises, _cynyxis_, _pyxis_ and _chersina_ (testudinidæ), and _cycloderma_ (trionychidæ) are the most characteristic. _amphibia._--of the families of amphibia there is only peculiar, the dactylethridæ, a group of toads; but the alytidæ, a family of frogs, are abundant. _fresh-water fish._--of the families of fresh-water fishes are peculiar: mormyridæ and gymnarchidæ, small groups not far removed from the pikes; and polypteridæ, a small group of ganoid fishes allied to the gar-pikes (lepidosteidæ) of north america. _summary of ethiopian vertebrates._--combining the results here indicated and set forth in greater detail in the tables of distribution, we find that the ethiopian region possesses examples of families of mammalia, of birds, of reptiles, of amphibia, and of fresh-water fishes. it has (or perhaps ) families of vertebrata altogether peculiar to it out of a total of families, or almost exactly one-eighth of the whole. out of genera of mammalia found within the region, are peculiar to it; a proportion not much short of two-thirds. of land birds there are genera, of which are peculiar; giving a proportion of a little less than three-fifths. compared with the oriental region this shows a considerably larger amount of speciality under all the heads; but the superiority is mainly due to the wonderful and isolated fauna of madagascar, to which the oriental region has nothing comparable. without this the regions would be nearly equal. _insects: lepidoptera._-- out of the families of butterflies have representatives in africa, but none are peculiar. acræidæ is one of the most characteristic families, and there { }are many interesting forms of nymphalidæ, lycænidæ, and papilionidæ. the peculiar or characteristic forms are _amauris_ (danaidæ); _gnophodes_, _leptoneura_, _bicyclus_, _heteropsis_ and _coenyra_ (satyridæ); _acræa_ (acræidæ); _lachnoptera_, _precis_, _salamis_, _crenis_, _godartia_, _amphidema_, _pseudacræa_, _catuna_, _euryphene_, _romalæosoma_, _hamanumida_, _aterica_, _harma_, _meneris_, _charaxes_, and _philognoma_ (nymphalidæ); _pentila_, _liptena_, _durbania_, _zeritis_, _capys_, _phytala_, _epitola_, _hewitsonia_ and _deloneura_ (lycænidæ); _pseudopontia_, _idmais_, _teracolus_, _callosune_ (pieridæ); _abantis_, _ceratrichia_ and _caprona_ (hesperidæ). the total number of species known is about ; which is very poor for an extensive tropical region, but this is not to be wondered at when the nature of much of the country is considered. it is also, no doubt, partly due to our comparative ignorance of the great equatorial forest district, which is the only part likely to be very productive in this order of insects. _coleoptera._--in our first representative family, cicindelidæ or tiger-beetles, the ethiopian region is rather rich, having genera, of which are peculiar to it; and among these are such remarkable forms as _manticora_, _myrmecoptera_ and _dromica_; with _megacephala_, a genus only found elsewhere in australia and south america. in carabidæ or carnivorous ground beetles, there are about peculiar genera. among the most characteristic are _anthia_, _polyrhina_, _graphipterus_ and _piezia_, which are almost all peculiar; while _orthogonius_, _hexagonia_, _macrochilus_, _thyreopterus_, _eudema_, and _abacetus_ are common to this and the oriental region; and _hypolithus_ to the neotropical. out of genera of buprestidæ, or metallic beetles, only are peculiar to the region, one of the most remarkable being _polybothrus_, confined to madagascar. _sternocera_ and _chrysochroa_ are characteristic of this region and the oriental; it has _julodis_ in common with the mediterranean sub-region, and _belionota_ with the malayan. the region is not rich in lucanidæ, or stag-beetles, possessing only genera, of which are peculiar, but most of them { }consist of single species. the other three genera, _cladognathus_, _nigidius_, and _figulus_, are the most characteristic, though all have a tolerably wide range in the old world. in the elegant cetoniidæ, or rose-chafers, this region stands preeminent, possessing genera, of which are peculiar to it. the others are chiefly oriental, except _oxythræa_ which is european, and _stethodesma_ which is neotropical. preeminent in size and beauty is _goliathus_, comprising perhaps the most bulky of all highly-coloured beetles. other large and characteristic genera are _ceratorhina_, _ischnostoma_, _anochilia_, _diplognatha_, _agenius_, and many others of less extent. in the enormous tribe of longicorns, or long-horned beetles, the ethiopian is not so rich as the other three tropical regions; but this may be, in great part, owing to its more productive districts having never been explored by any competent entomologists. it nevertheless possesses genera, of which are peculiar, the others being mostly groups of very wide range. out of such a large number it is difficult to select a few as most characteristic, but some of the peculiarities of distribution as regards other regions may be named. among prionidæ, _tithoes_ is a characteristic ethiopian genus. a few species of the american genera _parandra_ and _mallodon_ occur here, while the north temperate genus _prionus_ is only found in madagascar. among cerambycidæ, _promeces_ is the most characteristic. the american genera _oeme_ and _cyrtomerus_ occur; while _homalachnus_ and _philagathes_ are malayan, and _leptocera_ occurs only in madagascar, ceylon, austro-malaya, and australia. the lamiidæ are very fine; _sternotomis_, _tragocephala_, _ceroplesis_, _phryncta_, _volumnia_, and _nitocris_, being very abundant and characteristic. most of the non-peculiar genera of this family are oriental, but _spalacopsis_ and _acanthoderes_ are american, while _tetraglenes_ and _schoenionta_ have been found only in east and south africa and in malaya. _terrestrial mollusca_.--in the extensive family of the helicidæ or snails, genera are represented, only one of which, _columna_, is peculiar. this region is however the metropolis of _achatina_, some of the species being the largest land-shells { }known. _buliminus_, _stenogyra_, and _pupa_ are characteristic genera. _bulimus_ is absent, though one species inhabits st. helena. the operculated shells are not very well represented, the great family of cyclostomidæ having here only nine genera, with but one peculiar, _lithidion_, found in madagascar, socotra, and arabia. none of the genera appear to be well represented throughout the region, and they are almost or quite absent from west africa. according to woodward's _manual_ ( ) west africa has about species of land-shells, south africa about , madagascar nearly , mauritius about . all the islands have their peculiar species; and are, in proportion to their extent, much richer than the continent; as is usually the case. the ethiopian sub-regions. it has been already explained that these are to some extent provisional; yet it is believed that they represent generally the primary natural divisions of the region, however they may be subdivided when our knowledge of their productions becomes more accurate. _i. the east african sub-region, or central and east africa._ this division includes all the open country of tropical africa south of the sahara, as well as an undefined southern margin of that great desert. with the exception of a narrow strip along the east coast and the valleys of the niger and nile, it is a vast elevated plateau from , to , feet high, hilly rather than mountainous, except the lofty table land of abyssinia, with mountains rising to , feet and extending south to the equator, where it terminates in the peaks of kenia and kilimandjaro, , and , feet high. the northern portion of this sub-region is a belt about miles wide between the sahara on the north and the great equatorial forest on the south, extending from cape verd, the extreme western point of africa, across the northern bend of the niger and lake tchad to the mountains of abyssinia. the greater part of this tract has a { }moderate elevation. the eastern portion reaches from about the second cataract of the nile, or perhaps from about the parallel of ° n. latitude, down to about ° s. latitude, and from the east coast to where the great forest region commences, or to lake tanganyika and about the meridian of ° to ° e. longitude. the greater part of this tract is a lofty plateau. the surface of all this sub-region is generally open, covered with a vegetation of high grasses or thorny shrubs, with scattered trees and isolated patches of forest in favourable situations. the only parts where extensive continuous forests occur, are on the eastern and western slopes of the great abyssinian plateau, and on the mozambique coast from zanzibar to sofala. the whole of this great district has one general zoological character. many species range from senegal to abyssinia, others from abyssinia to the zambesi, and a few, as _mungos fasciatus_ and _phacochoerus æthiopicus_, range over the entire sub-region. _fennecus_, _ictonyx_, and several genera of antelopes, characterise every part of it, as do many genera of birds. _coracias nævia_, _corythornis cyanostigma_, _tockus nasutus_, _t. erythrorhynchus_, _parus leucopterus_, _buphaga africana_, _vidua paradisea_, are examples of _species_, which are found in the gambia, abyssinia and south east africa, but not in the west african sub-region; and considering how very little is known of the natural history of the country immediately south of the sahara, it may well be supposed that these are only a small portion of the species really common to the whole area in question, and which prove its fundamental unity. although this sub-region is so extensive and so generally uniform in physical features, it is by far the least peculiar part of africa. it possesses, of course, all those wide-spread ethiopian types which inhabit every part of the region, but it has hardly any special features of its own. the few genera which are peculiar to it have generally a limited range, and for the most part belong, either to the isolated mountain-plateau of abyssinia which is almost as much palæarctic as ethiopian, or to the woody districts of mozambique where the fauna has more of a west or south african character. { }_mammalia._--the only forms of mammalia peculiar to this sub-region are _theropithecus_, one of the cynopithecidæ confined to abyssinia; _petrodromus_ and _rhynchocyon_, belonging to the insectivorous macroscelididæ, have only been found in mozambique; the antelopine genus _neotragus_, from abyssinia southward; _saccostomus_ and _pelomys_ genera of muridæ inhabiting mozambique; _heterocephalus_ from abyssinia, and _heliophobius_ from mozambique, belonging to the spalacidæ; and _pectinator_ from abyssinia, belonging to the octodontidæ. _cynocephalus_, _rhinoceros_, _camelopardalis_, and antelopes of the genera _oryx_, _cervicapra_, _kobus_, _nanotragus_, _cephalophus_, _hippotragus_, _alcephalus_, and _catoblepas_, are characteristic; as well as _felis_, _hyæna_, and numerous civets and ichneumons. _birds._--peculiar forms of birds are hardly to be found here; we only meet with two--_hypocolius_, a genus of shrikes in abyssinia; and _balæniceps_, the great boat-billed heron of the upper nile. yet throughout the country birds are abundant, and most of the typical ethiopian forms are well represented. _reptiles._--of reptiles, the only peculiar forms recorded are _xenocalamus_, a genus of snakes, belonging to the calamariidæ; and _pythonodipsas_, one of the dipsadidæ, both from the zambesi; and among lizards, _pisturus_, one of the geckotidæ, from abyssinia. _amphibia and fishes._--there are no peculiar forms of amphibia or of fresh-water fishes. _insects._--insects are almost equally unproductive of peculiar forms. among butterflies we have _abantis_, one of the hesperidæ, from mozambique; and in coleoptera, genera of cicindelidæ, of carabidæ, or of cetoniidæ, and about half-a-dozen of longicorns: a mere nothing, as we shall see, compared with the hosts of peculiar genera that characterise each of the other sub-regions. neither do land-shells appear to present any peculiar forms. the fact that so very few special types characterise the extensive area now under consideration is very noteworthy. it justifies us in uniting this large and widespread tract of country as forming essentially but one sub-division of the great ethiopian region, and it suggests some curious speculations as to the former history of that region, a subject which must be deferred to the latter part of this chapter. in none of the other great tropical regions does it occur, that the largest portion of their area, although swarming with life, yet possesses hardly any distinctive features except the absence of numerous types characteristic of the other sub-regions. plate iv. [illustration] characteristic animals of east africa. { }_plate iv._--_illustrating the zoology of east africa._--although this sub-region has so little speciality, it is that which abounds most in large animals, and is, perhaps, the best representative of africa as regards zoology. some of the most distinctive of african animals range over the whole of it, and as, from recent explorations, many parts of this wide area have been made known to the reading public, we devote one of our plates to illustrate the especially african forms of life that here abound. the antelopes represented are the koodoo (_tragelaphus strepsiceros_) one of the handsomest of the family, which ranges over all the highlands of africa from abyssinia to the southern districts. to the left is the aardvark, or earth pig, of north eastern africa (_orycteropus æthiopicus_) which, to the north of the equator in east africa, represents the allied species of the cape of good hope. these edentata are probably remnants of the ancient fauna of africa, when it was completely isolated from the northern continents and few of the higher types had been introduced. the large bird in the foreground is the secretary-bird, or serpent-killer (_serpentarius reptilivorus_), which has affinities both for the birds-of-prey and the waders. it is common over almost all the open country of africa, destroying and feeding on the most venomous serpents. the bird on the wing is the red-billed promerops (_irrisor erythrorhynchus_), a handsome bird with glossy plumage and coral-red bill. it is allied to the hoopoes, and feeds on insects which it hunts for among the branches of trees. this species also ranges over a large part of east and central africa to near the cape of good hope. other species are found in the west; and the genus, which forms a distinct family, _irrisoridæ_, is one of the best marked ethiopian types of birds. in the distance is a rhinoceros, now one of the characteristic features of african { }zoology, though there is reason to believe that it is a comparatively recent intruder into the country. _ii. the west-african sub-region._ this may be defined as the equatorial-forest sub-region, since it comprises all that portion of africa, from the west coast inland, over which the great equatorial forests prevail more or less uninterruptedly. these commence to the south of the gambia river, and extend eastwards in a line roughly parallel to the southern margin of the great desert, as far as the sources of the upper nile and the mountains forming the western boundary of the basin of the great lakes; and southward to that high but marshy forest-country in which livingstone was travelling at the time of his death. its southern limits are undetermined, but are probably somewhere about the parallel of ° s. latitude.[ ] this extensive and luxuriant district has only been explored zoologically in the neighbourhood of the west coast. much, no doubt, remains to be done in the interior, yet its main features are sufficiently well known, and most of its characteristic types of animal life have, no doubt, been discovered. _mammalia._--several very important groups of mammals are peculiar to this sub-region. most prominent are the great anthropoid apes--the gorilla and the chimpanzee--forming the genus _troglodytes_; and monkeys of the genera _myiopithecus_ and _cercocebus_. two remarkable forms of lemurs, _perodicticus_ and _arctocebus_, are also peculiar to west africa. among the insectivora is _potamogale_, a semi-aquatic animal, forming a distinct family; and three peculiar genera of civets (viverridæ) have been described. _hyomoschus_, a small, deer-like animal, belongs to the tragulidæ, or chevrotains, a family otherwise { }confined to the oriental region; and in the squirrel family is a curious genus, _anomalurus_, which resembles the flying squirrels of other parts of the world, without being directly allied to them. _birds._--in this class we find a larger proportionate number of peculiar forms. _hypergerus_ and _alethe_, belonging to the timaliidæ, or babblers, are perhaps allied to malayan groups; _parinia_, a peculiar form of tit, is found only in prince's island; _ixonotus_ is an abundant and characteristic form of pycnonotidæ; _fraseria_, _hypodes_, _cuphopterus_, and _chaunonotus_, are peculiar genera of shrikes; _picathartes_ is one of the many strange forms of the crow family; _cinnyricinclus_ is a peculiar genus of sun-birds; _pholidornis_ is supposed to belong to the oriental dicæidæ, or flower-peckers; _waldenia_ is a recently-described new form of swallow; _ligurnus_, a finch, _spermospiga_, a weaver bird, and _onychognathus_ a starling, are also peculiar west african genera. coming to the picariæ we have _verreauxia_, a peculiar woodpecker; three peculiar genera of barbets (megalæmidæ); the typical plantain-eaters (musophaga); _myioceyx_, a peculiar genus of kingfishers; while _berenicornis_ is a genus of crested hornbills, only found elsewhere in malaya. the grey parrots, of the genus _psittacus_, are confined to this sub-region, as are two peculiar genera of partridges, and three of guinea-fowl. we have also here a species of _pitta_, one of the oriental family of ground-thrushes; and the oriental paroquets, _palæornis_, are found here as well as in abyssinia and the mascarene islands. we thus find, both in the mammalia and birds of west africa, a special oriental or even malayan element not present in the other parts of tropical africa, although appearing again in madagascar. in the mammalia it is represented by the anthropoid apes; by _colobus_ allied to _semnopithecus_, and by _cercocebus_ allied to _macacus_; and especially by a form of the malayan family of chevrotains (tragulidæ). the malayan genus of otters, _aonyx_, is also said to occur in west and south africa. in birds we have special oriental and malayan affinities in _alethe_, _pholidornis_, _berenicornis_, _pitta_, and _palæornis;_ while the oriental genus _treron_ has a wide range in africa. we shall { }endeavour to ascertain the meaning of this special relation at a subsequent stage of our inquiries. _plate v._--_river scene in west africa, with characteristic animals._--our artist has here well represented the luxuriance and beauty of a tropical forest; and the whole scene is such as might be witnessed on the banks of one of the rivers of equatorial west africa. on the right we see a red river-hog (_potamochoerus penicillatus_), one of the handsomest of the swine family, and highly characteristic of the west african sub-region. in a tree overhead is the potto (_perodicticus potto_), one of the curious forms of lemur confined to west africa. on the left is the remarkable _potamogale velox_, first discovered by du chaillu,--an insectivorous animal, with the form and habits of an otter. on the other side of the river are seen a pair of gorillas (_troglodytes gorilla_), the largest of the anthropoid apes. the bird on the wing is the whydah finch (_vidua paradisea_), remarkable for the enormous plumes with which the tail of the male bird is decorated during the breeding season. the crested bird overhead is one of the beautiful green touracos (_turacus macrorhynchus_), belonging to the musophagidæ, or plantain-eaters, a family wholly african, and most abundant in the western sub-region. _reptiles._--in this class we find a large number of peculiar forms; genera of snakes, of lizards, and of tortoises being confined to the sub-region. the snakes are _pariaspis_, _elapops_, and _prosymna_ (calamariidæ), _rhamnophis_, _herpetethiops_, and _grayia_ (colubridæ), _neusterophis_ and _limnophis_ (homalopsidæ), _simocephalus_ and _holurophis_ (lycodontidæ); _pelophilus_ (pythonidæ); _elapsoidea_ (elapidæ); and _atheris_ (viperidæ). the lizards are _dalophia_ (lepidosternidæ); _otosaurus_ (scincidæ); _psilodactylus_ (geckotidæ). the tortoises, _cinyxis_ (testudinidæ) and _tetrathyra_ (trionichidæ). _amphibia._--of amphibia, there are peculiar genera of tree-frogs, _hylambatis_ and _hemimantis_, belonging to the polypedatidæ. plate v. [illustration] scene in west africa, with characteristic animals. { }here, too, we find some interesting relations with the oriental region on the one side, and the neotropical on the other. the snakes of the family homalopsidæ have a wide range, in america, europe, and all over the oriental region, but are confined to west africa in the ethiopian region. _dryiophis_ (dryiophidæ) and _dipsadoboa_ (dipsadidæ) on the other hand, are genera of tropical america which occur also in west africa. the family of lizards, acontiadæ, are found in west and south africa, ceylon, and the moluccas. the family of toads, engystomidæ, in west and south africa and the whole oriental region; while the phryniscidæ inhabit tropical africa and java. _insects._--we have here a large number of peculiar genera. there are of butterflies, _lachnoptera_, _amphidema_, and _catuna_ belonging to the nymphalidæ, while four others are lycænidæ. the genus _euxanthe_ is common to west africa and madagascar. of coleoptera there are peculiar genera; are carabidæ, lucanidæ, cetoniidæ, prionidæ, cerambycidæ, and lamiidæ. besides these there are or genera confined to west africa and madagascar. _land shells._--west africa is very rich in land shells, but it does not appear to possess any well-marked genera, although several of the smaller groups or sub-genera are confined to it. helicidæ of the genera _nanina_, _buliminus_ and _achatina_ are abundant and characteristic. _islands of the west african sub-region._--the islands in the gulf of guinea are, fernando po, very near the main land, with prince's island and st. thomas, considerably further away to the south-west. fernando po was once thought to be a remarkable instance of an island possessing a very peculiar fauna, although close to the main land and not divided from it by a deep sea. this, however, was due to our having obtained considerable collections from fernando po, while the opposite coast was almost unknown. one after another the species supposed to be peculiar have been found on the continent, till it becomes probable, that, as in the case of other islands similarly situated, it contains no peculiar species whatever. the presence of numerous mammalia, among which are baboons, lemurs, _hyrax_, and { }_anomalurus_, shows that this island has probably once been united to the continent. prince's island, situated about miles from the coast, has no mammals, but between and species of birds. of these are peculiar species, viz., _zosterops ficedulina_, _cuphopterus dohrni_ (a peculiar genus of sylviidæ), _symplectes princeps_, _crithagra rufilata_, _columba chlorophæa_, _peristera principalis_, and _strix thomensis_. in the island of st. thomas, situated on the equator about miles from the coast, there are peculiar species out of known birds, viz., _scops leucopsis_, _zosterops lugubris_, _turdus olivaceofuscus_, _oriolus crassirostris_, _symplectes sancti-thomæ_ and _aplopelia simplex_; also _strix thomensis_ in common with prince's island. the remainder are all found on the adjacent coasts. it is remarkable that in prince's island there are no birds of prey, any that appear being driven off by the parrots (_psittacus erithacus_) that abound there; whereas in st. thomas and fernando po they are plentiful. _iii. south-african sub-region._ this is the most peculiar and interesting part of africa, but owing to the absence of existing barriers its limits cannot be well defined. the typical portion of it hardly contains more than the narrow strip of territory limited by the mountain range which forms the boundary of the cape colony and natal, while in a wider sense it may be extended to include mozambique. it may perhaps be best characterised as bounded by the kalahari desert and the limpopo river. it is in the more limited district of the extreme south, that the wonderful cape flora alone exists. here are more genera and species, and more peculiar types of plants congregated together, than in any other part of the globe of equal extent. there are indications of a somewhat similar richness and specialization in the zoology of this country; but animals are so much less closely dependent on soil and climate, that much of the original peculiarity has been obliterated, by long continued interchange of species with so vast an area as { }that of africa south of the equator. the extreme peculiarity and isolation of the flora must not, however, be lost sight of, if we would correctly interpret the phenomena afforded by the distribution of animal life on the african continent. _mammalia._--a much larger number of peculiar forms of mammals are found here than in any of the other sub-regions, although it is far less in extent than either of the three divisions of the continent. among insectivora we have the chrysochloridæ, or golden moles, consisting of two genera confined to south africa; while the macroscelididæ, or elephant shrews, are also characteristically south african, although ranging as far as mozambique and the zambezi, with one outlying species in north africa. the viverridæ are represented by three peculiar genera, _ariela_, _cynictis_, and _suricata_. the carnivora present some remarkable forms: _proteles_, forming a distinct family allied to the hyænas and weasels; and two curious forms of canidæ--_megalotis_ (the long-eared fox) and _lycaon_ (the hyæna-dog), the latter found also in parts of east africa. _hydrogale_ is a peculiar form of mustelidæ; _pelea_ one of the antelopes; _dendromys_, _malacothrix_, and _mystromys_ are peculiar genera of the mouse family (muridæ); _bathyerges_ one of the mole-rats (spalacidæ); _pedetes_, the cape-hare, a remarkable form of jerboa; and _petromys_, one of the spiny-rats (echimyidæ). the remarkable _orycteropus_, or earth-pig, has one species in south and one in north east africa. we have thus eighteen genera of mammalia almost or quite peculiar to south africa. _birds._--these do not present so many peculiar forms, yet some are very remarkable. _chætops_ is an isolated genus of thrushes (turdidæ). _lioptilus_, one of the fruit-thrushes (pycnonotidæ). _pogonocichla_, one of the fly-catchers; _urolestes_, a shrike; _promerops_, a sun-bird; _philetærus_ and _chera_, weaver-birds; and three peculiar genera of larks--_spizocorys_, _heterocorys_, and _tephrocorys_, complete the list of peculiar types of passeres. a wood-pecker, _geocolaptes_, is nearly allied to a south american genus. the cape-dove, _oena_, is confined to south and east africa and madagascar; and _thalassornis_ is a peculiar form of duck. several genera are also confined to west and south { }africa;--as _phyllastrephus_ (pycnonotidæ), _smithornis_ (muscicapidæ), _corvinella_ (laniidæ); _barbatula_ and _xylobucco_ (megalæmidæ); _ceuthmochares_, also in madagascar, (cuculidæ); _typanistria_ (columbidæ). other remarkable forms, though widely spread over africa, appear to have their metropolis here, as _colius_ and _indicator_. others seem to be confined to south africa and abyssinia, as the curious _buphaga_ (sturnidæ); and _apaloderma_ (trogonidæ). _machærhamphus_ (falconidæ) is found only in south-west africa, madagascar, and the malay peninsula. _reptiles._--there are peculiar genera of snakes,--_typhline_, belonging to the blind burrowing snakes, typhlopidæ; _lamprophis_ (lycodontidæ); _cyrtophis_ and _pæcilophis_ (elapidæ), a family which is chiefly oriental and australian. of lizards there are peculiar genera; _monotrophis_ (lepidosternidæ), but with an allied form in angola; _cordylus_, _pseudocordylus_, _platysaurus_, _cordylosaurus_, _pleurostichus_, and _saurophis_, all peculiar genera of zonuridæ; _chamæsaura_, forming the peculiar family chamæsauridæ; _colopus_ and _rhopitropus_ (geckotidæ). _amphibia._--of amphibia there are peculiar genera: _schismaderma_ (bufonidæ); _brachymerus_ (engystomidæ); _phrynobatrachus_ and _stenorhynchus_ (ranidæ). these last are allied to oriental genera, and the only other engystomidæ are oriental and neotropical. _fresh-water fish._--of fresh-water fishes there is genus--_abrostomus_--belonging to the carp family, peculiar to south africa. _insects._--south africa is excessively rich in insects, and the number of peculiar types surpasses that of any other part of the region. we can only here summarize the results. _lepidoptera._--of butterflies there are peculiar genera; belonging to the satyridæ, to acræidæ, to lycænidæ, and to hesperidæ. _zeritis_ (lycænidæ) is also characteristic of this sub-region, although species occurs in west africa. _coleoptera._--these are very remarkable. in the family of cicindelidæ, or tiger-beetles, we have the extraordinary _manticora_ and _platychile_, forming a sub-family, whose nearest allies are in north america; as well as _ophryodera_ and _dromica_, the latter an extensive genus, which ranges as far north as mozambique { }and lake ngami. another genus of this family, _jansenia_, is common to south africa and south india. in the large family of carabidæ, or ground-beetles, there are peculiar south african genera, the most important being _crepidogaster_, _hytrichopus_, _arsinoë_, and _piezia_. three others--_eunostus_, _glyphodactyla_, and _megalonychus_--are common to south africa and madagascar only. there is also a genus in common with java, and one with australia. of lucanidæ, or stag-beetles, there are peculiar genera; of cetoniidæ, or rose-chafers, ; and of buprestidæ, . in the great family of longicorns there are no less than peculiar genera--an immense number when we consider that the generally open character of the country, is such as is not usually well suited to this group of insects. they consist of peculiar genera of prionidæ, of cerambycidæ, and of lamiidæ. _summary of south-african zoology._--summarizing these results, we find that south africa possesses peculiar genera of mammalia, of birds, of reptiles, of fishes, of butterflies, and of the six typical families of coleoptera. besides this large amount of speciality it contains many other groups, which extend either to west africa, to abyssinia, or to madagascar only, a number of which are no doubt to be referred as originating here. we also find many cases of direct affinity with the oriental region, and especially with the malay districts, and others with australia; and there are also less marked indications of a relation to america. _atlantic islands of the ethiopian region._ _st. helena._--the position of st. helena, about , miles west of africa and ° south of the equator, renders it difficult to place it in either of the sub-regions; and its scanty fauna has a general rather than any special resemblance to that of africa. the entire destruction of its luxuriant native forests by the introduction of goats which killed all the young trees (a destruction which was nearly completed two centuries ago) must have led to the extermination of most of the indigenous birds and insects. at present there is no land bird that is believed to be really indigenous, and but one { }wader, a small plover (_Ægialitis sanctæ-helenæ_) which is peculiar to the island, but closely allied to african species. numerous imported birds, such as canaries, java sparrows, some african finches, guinea-fowls, and partridges, are now wild. there are no native butterflies, but a few introduced species of almost world-wide range. the only important remnant of the original fauna consists of beetles and land shells. the beetles are the more numerous and have been critically examined and described by mr. t. v. wollaston, whose researches in the other atlantic islands are so well known. _coleoptera of st. helena._--omitting those beetles which get introduced everywhere through man's agency, there are species of coleoptera known from st. helena; and even of these there are a few widely distributed species that may have been introduced by man. it will be well, therefore, to confine ourselves almost wholly to the species peculiar to the island, and, therefore, almost certainly forming part of the endemic or original fauna. of these we find that belong to genera which have a very wide range, and thus afford no indication of geographical affinity; belong to genera which are characteristic of the palæarctic fauna (_bembidium_, _longitarsus_); to african genera (_adoretus_, _sciobius_, _aspidomorpha_); and two species of _calosoma_ are most allied to african species. there are also african species, which may be indigenous in st. helena. the peculiar genera, in number, are, however, the most interesting. we have first _haplothorax_, a large beetle allied to _carabus_ and _calosoma_, though of a peculiar type. this may be held to indicate a remote palæarctic affinity. _melissius_, one of the dynastidæ, is allied to south african forms. _microxylobius_, one of the cossonides (a sub-family of curculionidæ) is the most important genus, comprising as it does species. it is, according to mr. wollaston, an altogether peculiar type, most allied to _pentarthrum_, a genus found in st. helena, ascension, and the south of england, and itself very isolated. _nesiotes_, another genus of curculionidæ, belongs to a small group, the allied genera forming which inhabit europe, madeira, and australia. a third peculiar and isolated genus is _trachyphlæosoma_. the anthribidæ are represented by { } genera, _notioxenus_ and _homoeodera_, which are altogether peculiar and isolated, and contain species. thus no less than species, or more than half of the undoubtedly indigenous beetles, belong to peculiar and very remarkable genera of rhyncophora. it appears from this enumeration, that the peculiar species as a whole, exhibit most affinity to the ethiopian fauna; next to the south european fauna; and lastly to that of the islands of the north atlantic; while there is such a large amount of peculiarity in the most characteristic forms, that no special geographical affinity can be pointed out. _land shells._--these consist of about a dozen living species, and about as many extinct found in the surface soil, and probably exterminated by the destruction of the forests. the genera are _succinea_, _zonites_, _helix_, _bulimus_, _pupa_, and _achatina_. the _bulimi_ (all now extinct but one) comprise one large, and several small species, of a peculiar type, most resembling forms now inhabiting south america and the islands of the pacific. _zonites_ is chiefly south european, but the other genera are of wide range, and none are peculiar to the island. the marine shells are mostly mediterranean, or west indian species, with some found in the indian ocean; only or species being peculiar to the island. _tristan d'acunha._--this small island is situated nearly midway between the cape of good hope and the mouth of the la plata, but it is rather nearer africa than america, and a little nearer still to st. helena. an island so truly oceanic and of whose productions so little is known, cannot be placed in any region, and is only noticed here because it comes naturally after st. helena. it is known to possess three peculiar land birds. one is a thrush (_nesocichla eremita_) whose exact affinities are not determined; the other a small water-hen (_gallinula nesiotis_) allied to our native species, but with shorter and softer wings, which the bird does not use for flight. a finch of the genus _crithagra_ shows african affinities; while another recently described as _nesospiza acunhæ_ (journ. für orn. , p. ) forms a new genus said to resemble more nearly some american forms. { }the only known land-shells are peculiar species of _balea,_ a genus only found elsewhere in europe and brazil. _iv. madagascar and the mascarene islands, or the malagasy sub-region._ this insular sub-region is one of the most remarkable zoological districts on the globe, bearing a similar relation to africa as the antilles to tropical america, or new zealand to australia, but possessing a much richer fauna than either of these, and in some respects a more remarkable one even than new zealand. it comprises, besides madagascar, the islands of mauritius, bourbon, and rodriguez, the seychelles and comoro islands. madagascar itself is an island of the first class, being a thousand miles long and about miles in average width. it lies parallel to the coast of africa, near the southern tropic, and is separated by miles of sea from the nearest part of the continent, although a bank of soundings projecting from its western coast reduces this distance to about miles. madagascar is a mountainous island, and the greater part of the interior consists of open elevated plateaus; but between these and the coast there intervene broad belts of luxuriant tropical forests. it is this forest-district which has yielded most of those remarkable types of animal life which we shall have to enumerate; and it is probable that many more remain to be discovered. as all the main features of this sub-region are developed in madagascar, we shall first endeavour to give a complete outline of the fauna of that country, and afterwards show how far the surrounding islands partake of its peculiarities. _mammalia._--the fauna of madagascar is tolerably rich in genera and species of mammalia, although these belong to a very limited number of families and orders. it is especially characterized by its abundance of lemuridæ and insectivora; it also possesses a few peculiar carnivora of small size; but most of the other groups in which africa is especially rich--apes and monkeys, lions, leopards and hyænas, zebras, giraffes, antelopes, elephants and rhinoceroses, and even porcupines and squirrels, are wholly wanting. no less than distinct families of land { }mammals are represented on the continent of africa, only of which occur in madagascar, which also possesses families peculiar to itself. the following is a list of all the genera of mammalia as yet known to inhabit the island:-- primates. lemuridÆ. indrisinæ. species. _indris_ lemurinæ. _lemur_ _hapalemur_ _microcebus_ _chirogaleus_ _lepilemur_ chiromyidÆ. _chiromys_ bats--(chiroptera). pteropidÆ. pteropus rhinolophidÆ. rhinolophus vespertilionidÆ. vespertilio taphozous noctilionidÆ. nyctinomus insectivora. centetidÆ. _centetes_ _hemicentetes_ _ericulus_ _oryzorictes_ _echinops_ soricidÆ. sorex carnivora. cryptoproctidÆ. _cryptoprocta_ viverridÆ. _fossa_ _galidia_ _galidictis_ _eupleres_ ungulata. suidÆ. potamochoerus rodentia. muridÆ. _nesomys_ _hypogeomys_ _brachytarsomys_ we have here a total of families, genera, and species of mammals; of the families and of the genera (indicated by italics) being peculiar. all the species are peculiar, except perhaps one or two of the wandering bats. remains of a _hippopotamus_ have been found in a sub-fossil condition, showing that this animal probably inhabited the island at a not very remote epoch. the assemblage of animals above noted is remarkable, and seems to indicate a very ancient connection with the southern portion of africa, before the apes, ungulates, and felines had entered it. the lemurs, which are here so largely developed, are { }represented by a single group in africa, with two peculiar forms on the west coast. they also re-appear under peculiar and isolated forms in southern india and malaya, and are evidently but the remains of a once wide-spread group, since in eocene times they inhabited north america and europe, and very probably the whole northern hemisphere. the insectivora are another group of high antiquity, widely scattered over the globe under a number of peculiar forms; but in no equally limited area represented by so many peculiar types as in madagascar. south and west africa are also rich in this order. the carnivora of madagascar are mostly peculiar forms of viverridæ, or civets, a family now almost confined to the ethiopian and oriental regions, but which was abundant in europe during the miocene period. the _potamochoerus_ is a peculiar _species_ only, which may be perhaps explained by the unusual swimming powers of swine, and the semi-aquatic habits of this genus, leading to an immigration at a later period than in the case of the other mammalia. the same remark will apply to the small _hippopotamus_, which was coeval with the great struthious bird Æpiornis. rodents are only represented by three peculiar forms of muridæ, but it is probable that others remain to be discovered. _birds._--madagascar is exceedingly rich in birds, and especially in remarkable forms of passeres. no less than genera and species of land-birds have been discovered, and every year some additions are being made to the list. the african families of passeres are almost all represented, only two being absent--paridæ and fringillidæ, both very poorly represented in africa itself. among the picariæ, however, the case is very different, no less than families being absent, viz.--picidæ, or woodpeckers; indicatoridæ, or honey-guides; megalæmidæ, or barbets; musophagidæ, or plantain-eaters; coliidæ, or colies; bucerotidæ, or hornbills; and irrisoridæ, or mockers. three of these are peculiar to africa, and all are well represented there, so that their absence from madagascar is a very remarkable fact. the number of peculiar genera in madagascar constitutes one of the main features of its ornithology, and many of these are so { }isolated that it is very difficult to classify them, and they remain to this day a puzzle to ornithologists. in order to exhibit clearly the striking characteristics of the bird-fauna of this island, we shall first give a list of all the peculiar genera; another, of the genera of which the species only are peculiar; and, lastly, a list of the species which madagascar possesses in common with the african continent. genera of birds peculiar to madagascar, or found elsewhere only in the mascarene islands. sylviidÆ. species. . bernieria . ellisia . mystacornis . eroessa . gervasia timaliidÆ. . oxylabes cinclidÆ(?). . mesites sittidÆ. . _hypherpes_ pycnonotidÆ(?) . tylas oriolidÆ. . artamia . cyanolanius muscicapidÆ. . newtonia . pseudobias laniidÆ. . calicalicus(?) . vanga nectariniidÆ. . neodrepanis hirundinidÆ. . phedina ploceidÆ. . nelicurvius sturnidÆ. . euryceros(?) . hartlaubia . falculia paictidÆ. . philepitta cuculidÆ. . coua . cochlothraustes leptosomidÆ. . leptosomus coraciidÆ. . atelornis . brachypteracias . geobiastes psittacidÆ. . coracopsis columbidÆ. . _alectrænas_ tetraonidÆ. . _margaroperdix_ falconidÆ. . nisoides . eutriorchis -- total species of peculiar genera ÆpyornithidÆ(extinct). . Æpyornis { }ethiopian or oriental genera which are represented in madagascar by peculiar species. turdidÆ. species. . bessonornis sylviidÆ. . acrocephalus . _copsychus (or.)_ . pratincola pycnonotidÆ. . _hypsipetes (or.)_ . andropadus campephagidÆ. . campephaga dicruridÆ. . dicrurus muscicapidÆ. . tchitrea laniidÆ. . laniarius nectariniidÆ. . nectarinia ploceiidÆ. . foudia . hypargos . spermestes alaudidÆ. . mirafra motacillidÆ. . motacilla cuculidÆ. . ceuthmochares . centropus . cuculus coraciidÆ. . eurystomus alcedinidÆ. . corythornis . ispidina upupidÆ. . upupa (?) caprimulgidÆ. . caprimulgus cypselidÆ. . cypselus . chætura psittacidÆ. . poliopsitta columbidÆ. . treron . columba . turtur pteroclidÆ. . pterocles tetraonidÆ. . francolinus phasianidÆ. . numida turnicidÆ. . turnix falconidÆ. . polyboroides . circus . astur . accipiter . buteo . haliæetus . pernis . baza . cerchneis strigidÆ. { } . athene . scops rallidÆ. . rallus . porzana scolopacidÆ. . gallinago plataleidÆ. . ibis podicipidÆ. . podiceps -- total peculiar species of eth. } or or. genera } species of birds common to madagascar and africa or asia. . cisticola cursitans. . corvus scapulatus. . crithagra canicollis. . merops superciliosus. . collocalia fuciphaga. . oena capensis. . aplopelia tympanistria. . falco minor. . falco concolor. . milvus ægyptius. . milvus migrans. . strix flammea. these three tables show us an amount of speciality hardly to be found in the birds of any other part of the globe. out of land-birds in madagascar, only are identical with species inhabiting the adjacent continents, and most of these belong to powerful-winged, or wide-ranging forms, which probably now often pass from one country to the other. the peculiar species-- land-birds and waders, or aquatics--are mostly well-marked forms of african genera. there are, however, several genera (marked by italics) which have oriental or palæarctic affinities, but not african, viz.--_copsychus_, _hypsipetes_, _hypherpes_, _alectrænas_, and _margaroperdix_. these indicate a closer approximation to the malay countries than now exists. the table of peculiar genera is of great interest. most of these are well-marked forms, belonging to families which are fully developed in africa; though it is singular that not one of the exclusively african families is represented in any way in madagascar. others, however, are of remote or altogether doubtful affinities. _sittidæ_ is oriental and palæarctic, but not ethiopian. _oxylabes_ and _mystacornis_ are of doubtful affinities. _artamia_ and _cyanolanius_ still more so, and it is quite undecided what family they belong to. _calicalicus_ is almost equally obscure. _neodrepanis_, one of the most recent discoveries, seems to connect the nectariniidæ with the pacific { }depanididæ. _euryceros_ is a complete puzzle, having been placed with the hornbills, the starlings, or as a distinct family. _falculia_ is an exceedingly aberrant form of starling, long thought to be allied to _irrisor_. _philepitta_, forming a distinct family, (paictidæ), is most remarkable and isolated, perhaps with remote south american affinities. _leptosoma_ is another extraordinary form, connecting the cuckoos with the rollers. _atelornis_, _brachypteracias_, and _geobiastes_, are terrestrial rollers, with the form and colouring of _pitta_. so many perfectly isolated and remarkable groups are certainly nowhere else to be found; and they fitly associate with the wonderful aye-aye (_chiromys_), the insectivorous centetidæ, and carnivorous _cryptoprocta_ among the mammalia. they speak to us plainly of enormous antiquity, of long-continued isolation; and not less plainly of a lost continent or continental island, in which so many, and various, and peculiarly organized creatures, could have been gradually developed in a connected fauna, of which we have here but the fragmentary remains. _plate vi.--illustrating the characteristic features of the zoology of madagascar._--the lemurs, which form the most prominent feature in the zoology of madagascar, being comparatively well-known from the numerous specimens in our zoological gardens; and good figures of the insectivorous genera not being available, we have represented the nocturnal and extraordinary aye-aye (_chiromys madagascariensis_) to illustrate its peculiar and probably very ancient mammalian fauna; while the river-hogs in the distance (_potamochoerus edwardsii_) allied to african species, indicate a later immigration from the mainland than in the case of most of the other mammalia. the peculiar birds being far less generally known, we have figured three of them. the largest is the _euryceros prevosti_, here classed with the starlings, although its remarkable bill and other peculiarities render it probable that it should form a distinct family. its colours are velvety black and rich brown with the bill of a pearly grey. the bird beneath (_vanga curvirostris_) is one of the peculiar madagascar shrikes whose plumage, variegated with green-black and pure white is very conspicuous; while that in the right hand corner is the _leptosoma discolor_, a bird which appears to be intermediate between such very distinct families as the cuckoos and the rollers, and is therefore considered to form a family by itself. it is a coppery-green above and nearly white beneath, with a black bill and red feet. the fan-shaped plant on the left is the traveller's tree (_urania speciosa_), one of the peculiar forms of vegetation in this marvellous island. plate vi. [illustration] scene in madagascar, with characteristic animals. { }_reptiles._--these present some very curious features, comparatively few of the african groups being represented, while there are a considerable number of eastern and even of american forms. beginning with the snakes, we find, in the enormous family of colubridæ, none of the african types; but instead of them three genera--_herpetodryas_, _philodryas_, and _heterodon_--only found elsewhere in south and north america. the psammophidæ, which are both african and indian, are represented by a peculiar genus, _mimophis_. the dendrophidæ are represented by _ahætulla_, a genus which is both african and american. the dryiophidæ, which inhabit all the tropics but are most developed in the oriental region, are represented by a peculiar genus, _langaha_. the tropical pythonidæ are represented by another peculiar genus, _sanzinia_. the lycodontidæ and viperidæ, so well developed in africa, are entirely absent. the lizards are no less remarkable. the zonuridæ, abundantly developed in africa, are represented by one peculiar genus, _cicigna_. the wide-spread scincidæ by another peculiar genus, _pygomeles_. the african sepsidæ, are represented by three genera, two of which are african, and one, _amphiglossus_, peculiar. the acontiadæ are represented by a species of the african genus _acontias_. of scincidæ there is the wide-spread _euprepes_. the sepidæ are represented by the african genera _seps_ and _scelotes_. the geckotidæ are not represented by any purely african genera, but by _phyllodactylus_, which is american and australian; _hemidactylus_, which is spread over all the tropics; by two peculiar genera; and by _uroplatis_, _geckolepis_, and _phelsuma_, confined to madagascar, bourbon, and the andaman islands. the agamidæ, which are mostly oriental and are represented in { }africa by the single genus _agama_, have here three peculiar genera, _tracheloptychus_, _chalarodon_, and _hoplurus_. lastly, the american iguanidæ are said to be represented by a species of the south american genus _oplurus_. the classification of reptiles is in such an unsettled state that some of these determinations of affinities are probably erroneous; but it is not likely that any corrections which may be required will materially affect the general bearing of the evidence, as indicating a remarkable amount of oriental and american relationship. the other groups are of less interest. tortoises are represented by two african or wide-spread genera of testudinidæ, _testudo_ and _chersina_, and by one peculiar genus, _pyxis_; and there are also two african genera of chelydidæ. the amphibia are not very well known. they appear to be confined to species of the wide-spread ethiopian and oriental genera--_hylarana_, _polypedates_, and _rappia_ (polypedatidæ); and _pyxicephalus_ (ranidæ). _fresh-water fishes._--these appear to be at present almost unknown. when carefully collected they will no doubt furnish some important facts. _the mascarene islands._ the various islands which surround madagascar--bourbon, mauritius, rodriguez, the seychelles, and the comoro islands--all partake in a considerable degree of its peculiar fauna, while having some special features of their own. indigenous mammalia (except bats) are probably absent from all these islands (except the comoros), although _lemur_ and _centetes_ are given as natives of bourbon and mauritius. they have, however, perhaps been introduced from madagascar. _lemur mayottensis_, a peculiar species, is found in the comoro islands, where a madagascar species of _viverra_ also occurs. bourbon and mauritius may be taken together, as they much resemble each other. they each possess species of a peculiar genus of campephagidæ, or caterpillar shrikes, _oxynotus_; while the remarkable _fregilupus_, belonging to the starling family, inhabits bourbon, if it is not now extinct. they also have { }peculiar species of _pratincola_, _hypsipetes_, _phedina_, _tchitrea_, _zosterops_, _foudia_, _collocalia_, and _coracopsis_; while mauritius has a very peculiar form of dove of the sub-genus _trocaza_; an _alectrænas_, extinct within the last thirty years; and a species of the oriental genus of parroquets, _palæornis_. the small and remote island of rodriguez has another _palæornis_, as well as a peculiar _foudia_, and a _drymoeca_ of apparently indian affinity. coming to the seychelle islands, far to the north, we find the only mammal an indian species of bat (_pteropus edwardsii_). of the twelve land-birds all but one are peculiar species, but all belong to genera found also in madagascar, except one--a peculiar species of _palæornis_. this is an oriental genus, but found also in several mascarene islands and on the african continent. a species of black parrot (_coracopsis barklayi_) and a weaver bird of peculiar type (_foudia seychellarum_) show, however, a decided connection with madagascar. there are also two peculiar pigeons--a short-winged _turtur_ and an _alectrænas_. most of the birds of the comoro islands are madagascar species, only two being african. five are peculiar, belonging to the genera _nectarinia_, _zosterops_, _dicrurus_, _foudia_, and _alectrænas_. reptiles are scarce. there appear to be no snakes in mauritius and bourbon, though some african species are said to be found in the seychelle islands. lizards are fairly represented. mauritius has _cryptoblepharus_, an australian genus of gymnopthalmidæ; _hemidactylus_ (a wide-spread genus); _peropus_ (oriental and australian)--both belonging to the geckotidæ. bourbon has _heteropus_, a moluccan and australian genus of scincidæ; _phelsuma_ (geckotidæ), and _chameleo_, both found also in madagascar; as well as _pyxis_, one of the tortoises. the seychelles have _theconyx_, a peculiar genus of geckotidæ, and _chameleo_. gigantic land-tortoises, which formerly inhabited most of the mascarene islands, now only survive in aldabra, a small island north of the seychelles. these will be noticed again further on. amphibia seem only to be recorded from the seychelles, where two genera of tree-frogs of the family polypedatidæ are found; one (_megalixalus_) peculiar, the other (_rappia_) found also in madagascar and africa. { }the few insect groups peculiar to these islands will be noted when we deal with the entomology of madagascar. _extinct fauna of the mascarene islands and madagascar._--before quitting the vertebrate groups, we must notice the remarkable birds which have become extinct in these islands little more than a century ago. the most celebrated is the dodo of the mauritius (_didus ineptus_), but an allied genus, _pezophaps_, inhabited rodriguez, and of both of these almost perfect skeletons have been recovered. other species probably existed in bourbon. remains of two genera of flightless rails have also been found, _aphanapteryx_ and _erythromachus_; and even a heron (_ardea megacephala_) which was short-winged and seldom flew; while in madagascar there lived a gigantic struthious bird, the _Æpyornis_. some further details as to these extinct forms will be found under the respective families, dididæ, rallidæ, and Æpyornithidæ, in the fourth part of this work; and their bearing on the past history of the region will be adverted to in the latter part of this chapter. dr. günther has recently distinguished five species of fossil tortoises from mauritius and rodriguez,--all of them quite different from the living species of aldabra. _insects._--the butterflies of madagascar are not so remarkable as some other orders of insects. there seems to be only one peculiar genus, _heteropsis_ (satyridæ). the other genera are african, _leptoneura_ being confined to madagascar and south africa. there are some fine _papilios_ of uncommon forms. the most interesting lepidopterous insect, however, is the fine diurnal moth (_urania_), as all the other species of the genus inhabit tropical america and the west indian islands. the coleoptera have been better collected, and exhibit some very remarkable affinities. there is but one peculiar genus of cicindelidæ, _pogonostoma_, which is allied to the south american genus, _ctenostoma_. another genus, _peridexia_, is common to madagascar and south america. none of the important african genera are represented, except _eurymorpha_; while _meglaomma_ is common to madagascar and the oriental region. in the carabidæ we have somewhat similar phenomena on a { }wider scale. such large and important african genera as _polyhirma_ and _anthia_, are absent; but there are four genera in common with south africa, and two with west africa; while three others are as much oriental as african. one genus, _distrigus_, is wholly oriental; and another, _homalosoma_, australian. _colpodes_, well developed in bourbon and mauritius, is oriental and south american. of the peculiar genera, _sphærostylis_ has south american affinities; _microchila_, oriental; the others being related to widely distributed genera. the lucanidæ are few in number, and all have african affinities. madagascar is very rich in cetoniidæ, and possesses peculiar genera. _bothrorhina_, and three other genera belonging to the _ichnostoma_ group, have wholly african relations. _doryscelis_ and _chromoptila_ are no less clearly allied to oriental genera. a series of eight peculiar genera belong to the schizorhinidæ, a family the bulk of which are australian, while there are only a few african forms. the remaining genera appear to have african affinities, but few of the peculiarly african genera are represented. _glyciphana_ is characteristic of the oriental region. the buprestidæ of madagascar consist mainly of one large and peculiar genus, _polybothris_, allied to the almost cosmopolite _psiloptera_. most of the other genera are both ethiopian and oriental; but _polycesta_ is mainly south american, and the remarkable and isolated genus _sponsor_ is confined to the mauritius with a species in celebes and new guinea. the longicorns are numerous and interesting, there being no less than peculiar genera. two of the genera of prionidæ are very isolated, while a third, _closterus_, belongs to a group which is malayan and american. of the cerambycidæ, _philematium_ ranges to africa and the west indies; _leptocera_ is only found eastward in ceylon and the new hebrides; while _euporus_ is african. of the peculiar genera, are of african type; belong to the _leptura_ group, which are mostly palæarctic and oriental, with a few in south africa; while _philocalocera_ is allied to a south american genus. among the lamiidæ there are several wide-ranging and { }african genera; but _coptops_ is oriental, and the oriental _praonetha_ occurs in the comoro islands. among the peculiar genera several have african affinities, but _tropidema_ belongs to a group which is oriental and australian; _oopsis_ is found also in the pacific islands; _mythergates_, _sulemus_, and _coedomæa_, are allied to malayan and american genera. _general remarks on the insect-fauna of madagascar._--taking the insects as a whole, we find the remarkable result that their affinities are largely oriental, australian, and south american: while the african element is represented chiefly by special south african or west african forms, rather than by such as are widely spread over the ethiopian region.[ ] in some families--as cetoniidæ and lamiidæ--the african element appears to preponderate; in others--as cicindelidæ--the south american affinity seems strongest; in carabidæ, perhaps the oriental; while in buprestidæ and cerambycidæ the african and foreign elements seem nearly balanced. we must not impute too much importance to these foreign alliances among insects, because we find examples of them in every country on the globe. the reason they are so much more pronounced in madagascar may be, that during long periods of time this island has served as a refuge for groups that have been dying out on the great continents; and that, owing to the numerous deficiencies of a somewhat similar kind in the series of vertebrata in australia and south america, the same groups have often been able to maintain themselves in all these countries as well as in madagascar. it must be remembered too, that these peculiarities in the malagasy and mascarene insect-fauna are but exaggerations of a like phenomenon on the mainland. africa also has numerous affinities with south america, with the malay countries, and with australia; but they do not bear anything like so large a proportion to the whole fauna, and do not, therefore, attract so much attention. the special conditions of existence and the long-continued isolation of madagascar, will account for much of this difference; and it will evidently not be necessary { }to introduce, as some writers are disposed to do, a special land connection or near approach between madagascar and all these countries, independently of africa; except perhaps in the case of the malay islands, as will be discussed further on. _land-shells._--madagascar and the adjacent islands are all rich in land-shells. the genera of helicidæ are _vitrina_, _helix_, _achatina_, _columna_ (peculiar to madagascar and west africa), _buliminus_, _cionella_ (chiefly oriental and south american, but not african), _pupa_, _streptaxis_, and _succinea_. among the operculata we have _truncatella_ (widely scattered, but not african); _cyclotus_ (south american, oriental, and south african); _cyclophorus_ (mostly oriental, with a few south african); _leptopoma_ (oriental); _megalomastoma_ (malayan and south american); _lithidion_ (peculiar to madagascar, socotra, and south-west arabia); _otopoma_ (with the same range, but extending to west india and new ireland); _cyclostomus_ (widely spread but not african); and _omphalotropis_ (wholly oriental and australian). we thus find the same general features reproduced in the land-shells as in the insects, and the same remarks will to a great extent apply to both. the classification of the former is, however, by no means so satisfactory, and we have no extensive and accurate general catalogues of shells, like those of lepidoptera and coleoptera, which have furnished us with such valuable materials for the comparison of the several faunas. _on the probable past history of the ethiopian region._ perhaps none of the great zoological regions of the earth present us with problems of greater difficulty or higher interest than the ethiopian. we find in it the evidence of several distinct and successive faunas, now intermingled; and it is very difficult, with our present imperfect knowledge, to form an adequate conception of how and when the several changes occurred. there are, however, a few points which seem sufficiently clear, and these afford us a secure foundation in our endeavour to comprehend the rest. let us then consider what are the main facts we have to account for.-- . in continental africa, more especially in the south { }and west, we find, along with much that is peculiar, a number of genera showing a decided oriental, and others with an equally strong south american affinity; this latter more particularly showing itself among reptiles and insects. . all over africa, but more especially in the east, we have abundance of large ungulates and felines--antelopes, giraffes, buffaloes, elephants, and rhinoceroses, with lions, leopards, and hyænas, all of types now or recently found in india and western asia. . but we also have to note the absence of a number of groups which abound in the above-named countries, such as deer, bears, moles, and true pigs; while camels and goats--characteristic of the desert regions just to the north of the ethiopian--are equally wanting. . there is a wonderful unity of type and want of speciality in the vast area of our first sub-region extending from senegal across to the east coast, and southward to the zambezi; while west africa and south africa each abound in peculiar types. . we have the extraordinary fauna of madagascar to account for, with its evident main derivation from africa, yet wanting all the larger and higher african forms; its resemblances to malaya and to south america; and its wonderful assemblage of altogether peculiar types. here we find a secure starting-point, for we are sure that madagascar must have been separated from africa before the assemblage of large animals enumerated above, had entered it. now, it is a suggestive fact, that all these belong to types which abounded in europe and india about the miocene period. it is also known, from the prevalence of tertiary deposits over the sahara and much of arabia, persia, and northern india, that during early tertiary times a continuous sea from the bay of bengal to the british isles completely cut off all land communication between central and southern africa on the one side, and the great continent of the eastern hemisphere on the other. when africa was thus isolated, its fauna probably had a character somewhat analogous to that of south america at the same period. most of the higher types of mammalian life were absent, while lemurs, edentates, and insectivora took their place. at this period madagascar was no doubt united with africa, { }and helped to form a great southern continent which must at one time have extended eastward as far as southern india and ceylon; and over the whole of this the lemurine type no doubt prevailed. during some portion of this period, south temperate africa must have had a much greater extension, perhaps indicated by the numerous shoals and rocks to the south and east of the cape of good hope, and by the crozets and kerguelen islands further to the south-east. this would have afforded means for that intercommunion with western australia which is so clearly marked in the flora, and to some extent also in the insects of the two countries; and some such extension is absolutely required for the development of that wonderfully rich and peculiar temperate flora and fauna, which, now crowded into a narrow territory, is one of the greatest marvels of the organic world. during this early period, when the great southern continents--south america, africa, and australia--were equally free from the incursions of the destructive felines of the north, the struthious or ostrich type of birds was probably developed into its existing forms. it is not at all necessary to suppose that these three continents were at any time united, in order to account for the distribution of these great terrestrial birds; as this may have arisen by at least two other easily conceivable modes. the ancestral struthious type may, like the marsupial, have once spread over the larger portion of the globe; but as higher forms, especially of carnivora, became developed, it would be exterminated everywhere but in those regions where it was free from their attacks. in each of these it would develope into special forms adapted to surrounding conditions; and the large size, great strength, and excessive speed of the ostrich, may have been a comparatively late development caused by its exposure to the attacks of enemies which rendered such modification necessary. this seems the most probable explanation of the distribution of struthious birds, and it is rendered almost certain by the discovery of remains of this order in europe in eocene deposits, and by the occurrence of an ostrich among the fossils of the siwalik hills; but it is just possible, also, that the { }ancestral type may have been a bird capable of flight, and that it spread from one of the three southern continents to the others at the period of their near approach, and more or less completely lost the power of flight owing to the long continued absence of enemies. during the period we have been considering, the ancestors of existing apes and monkeys flourished (as we have seen in chapter vi.) along the whole southern shores of the old palæarctic continent; and it seems likely that they first entered africa by means of a land connection indicated by the extensive and lofty plateaus of the sahara, situated to the south-east of tunis and reaching to a little north-west of lake tchad; and at the same time the elephant and rhinoceros type may have entered. this will account for the curious similarity between the higher faunas of west africa and the indo-malay sub-region, for owing to the present distribution of land and sea and the narrowing of the tropical zone since miocene times, these are now the only lowland, equatorial, forest-clad countries, which were in connection with the southern shores of the old palæarctic continent at the time of its greatest luxuriance and development. this western connection did not probably last long, the junction that led to the greatest incursion of new forms, and the complete change in the character of the african fauna, having apparently been effected by way of syria and the shores of the red sea at a somewhat later date. by this route the old south-palæarctic fauna, indicated by the fossils of pikermi and the siwalik hills, poured into africa; and finding there a new and favourable country, almost wholly unoccupied by large mammalia, increased to an enormous extent, developed into new forms, and finally overran the whole continent. before this occurred, however, a great change had taken place in the geography of africa. it had gradually diminished on the south and east; madagascar had been left isolated; while a number of small islands, banks, and coral reefs in the indian ocean alone remained to indicate the position of a once extensive equatorial land. the mascarene islands appear to represent the portion which separated earliest, before any carnivora had { }reached the country; and it was in consequence of this total exemption from danger, that several groups of birds altogether incapable of flight became developed here, culminating in the huge and unwieldy dodo, and the more active aphanapteryx. to the same cause may be attributed the development, in these islands, of gigantic land-tortoises, far surpassing any others now living on the globe. they appear to have formerly inhabited mauritius, bourbon, and rodriguez, and perhaps all the other mascarene islands, but having been recklessly destroyed, now only survive in the small uninhabited aldabra islands north of the seychelle group. the largest living specimen ( ½ feet long) is now in our zoological gardens. the only other place where equally large tortoises (of an allied species) are found, is the galapagos islands, where they were equally free from enemies till civilized man came upon the scene; who, partly by using them for food, partly by the introduction of pigs, which destroy the eggs, has greatly diminished their numbers and size, and will probably soon wholly exterminate them. it is a curious fact, ascertained by dr. günther, that the tortoises of the galapagos are more nearly related to the extinct tortoises of mauritius than is the living tortoise of aldabra. this would imply that several distinct groups or sub-genera of _testudo_ have had a wide range over the globe, and that some of each have survived in very distant localities. this is rendered quite conceivable by the known antiquity of the genus _testudo_, which dates back to at least the eocene formation (in north america) with very little change of form. these sluggish reptiles, so long-lived and so tenacious of life, may have remained unchanged, while every higher animal type around them has become extinct and been replaced by very different forms; as in the case of the living _emys tectum_, which is the sole survivor of the strange siwalik fauna of the miocene epoch. the ascertained history of the genus and the group, thus affords a satisfactory explanation of the close affinity of the gigantic tortoises of mauritius and the galapagos. the great island of madagascar seems to have remained longer united with africa, till some of the smaller and more active { }carnivora had reached it; and we consequently find there, no wholly terrestrial form of bird but the gigantic and powerful _Æpyornis_, well able to defend itself against such enemies. as already intimated, we refer the south american element in madagascar, not to any special connection of the two countries independently of africa, but to the preservation there of a number of forms, some derived from america through africa, others of once almost cosmopolitan range, but which, owing to the severer competition, have become extinct on the african continent, while they have continued to exist under modified forms in the two other countries. the depths of all the great oceans are now known to be so profound, that we cannot conceive the elevation of their beds above the surface without some corresponding depression elsewhere. and if, as is probable, these opposite motions of the earth's crust usually take place in parallel bands, and are to some extent dependent on each other, an elevation of the sea bed could hardly fail to lead to the submergence of large tracts of existing continents; and this is the more likely to occur on account of the great disproportion that we have seen exists between the mean height of the land and the mean depth of the ocean. keeping this principle in view, we may, with some probability, suggest the successive stages by which the ethiopian region assumed its present form, and acquired the striking peculiarities that characterise its several sub-regions. during the early period, when the rich and varied temperate flora of the cape, and its hardly less peculiar forms of insects and of low type mammalia, were in process of development in an extensive south temperate land, we may be pretty sure that the whole of the east and much of the north of africa was deep sea. at a later period, when this continent sank towards the south and east, the elevation may have occurred which connected madagascar with ceylon; and only at a still later epoch, when the indian ocean had again been formed, did central, eastern, and northern africa gradually rise above the ocean, and effect a connection with the great northern continent by way of abyssinia and arabia. and if this last change took place with { }tolerable rapidity, or if the elevatory force acted from the north towards the south, there would be a new and unoccupied territory to be taken possession of by immigrants from the north, together with a few from the south and west. the more highly-organised types from the great northern continent, however, would inevitably prevail; and we should thus have explained the curious uniformity in the fauna of so large an area, together with the absence from it of those peculiar ethiopian types which so abundantly characterise the other three sub-regions. we may now perhaps see the reason of the singular absence from tropical africa of deer and bears; for these are both groups which live in fertile or well-wooded countries, whereas the line of immigration from europe to africa was probably always, as now, to a great extent a dry and desert tract, suited to antelopes and large felines, but almost impassable to deer and bears. we find, too, that whereas remains of antelopes and giraffes abound in the miocene deposits of greece, there were no deer (which are perhaps a somewhat later development); neither were there any bears, but numerous forms of felidæ, viverridæ, mustelidæ, and ancestral forms of _hyæna_, exactly suited to be the progenitors of the most prevalent types of modern african zoology. there appears to have been one other change in the geography of africa and the atlantic ocean that requires notice. the rather numerous cases of close similarity in the insect forms of tropical africa and america, seem to indicate some better means of transmission, at a not very remote epoch, than now exists. the vast depth of the atlantic, and the absence of any corresponding likeness in the vertebrate fauna, entirely negative the idea of any union between the two countries; but a moderate extension of their shores towards each other is not improbable, and this, with large islands in the place of the cape verd group, st. paul's rocks, and fernando noronha, to afford resting places in the atlantic, would probably suffice to explain the amount of similarity that actually exists. our knowledge of the geology and palæontology of africa { }being so scanty, it would be imprudent to attempt any more detailed explanation of the peculiarities of its existing fauna. the sketch now given is, it is believed, founded on a sufficient basis of facts to render it not only a possible but a probable account of what took place; and it is something gained to be able to show, that a large portion of the peculiarities and anomalies of so remarkable a fauna as that of the ethiopian region, can be accounted for by a series of changes of physical geography during the tertiary epoch, which can hardly be considered extreme, or in any way unlikely to have occurred. { }tables of distribution. in drawing up these tables showing the distribution of various classes of animals in the ethiopian region, the following sources of information have been chiefly relied on, in addition to the general treatises, monographs, and catalogues, used for the fourth part of this work:-- _mammalia._--blanford's abyssinia; peters's mozambique; heuglin and schweinfurth for north east africa; grandidier schlegel, &c., for madagascar; the local lists given by mr. andrew murray; numerous papers by fraser, gray, kirk, mivart, peters, sclater, and speke; and a ms. list of bovidæ from sir victor brooke. _birds._--finsch and hartlaub for east africa; heuglin for north-east africa; blanford for abyssinia; layard for south africa; hartlaub for west africa; dohrn for princes island; andersson for damaraland; and papers by gurney, hartlaub, kirk, newton, peters, sharpe, sclater, schlegel, and pollen and a ms. list of madagascar birds from mr. sharpe. { }table i. _families of animals inhabiting the ethiopian region._ explanation. names in _italics_ show families peculiar to the region. names inclosed thus (......) barely enter the region, and are not considered properly to belong to it. numbers are not consecutive, but correspond to those in part iv. ---------------------+-------------------+------------------------------- | sub-regions | | =east africa. | order and family | =west africa. | range beyond the region. | =south africa. | | =madagascar. | ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- | . | . | . | . | ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- | | | | | mammalia. | | | | | primates. | | | | | . simiidæ | | -- | | |oriental . semnopithecidæ | -- | -- | | |oriental . cynopithecidæ | -- | -- | -- | |oriental, palæarctic . lemuridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental . _chiromyidæ_ | | | | -- | | | | | | cheiroptera. | | | | | . pteropidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, australian . rhinolophidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |the eastern hemisphere . vespertilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . noctilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all tropical regions | | | | | insectivora. | | | | | . macroscelididæ | -- | | -- | |south palæarctic . erinaceidæ | | | -- | |palæarctic, oriental . _centetidæ_ | | | | -- |greater antilles . _potamogalidæ_ | | -- | | | . _chrysochloridæ_ | -- | | -- | | . soricidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian and | | | | | neotropical | | | | | carnivora. | | | | | . felidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . _cryptoproctidæ_ | | | | -- | . viverridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, s. palæarctic . _protelidæ_ | | | -- | | . hyænidæ | -- | -- | -- | |s. palæarctic, india . canidæ | -- | -- | -- | |almost cosmopolite . mustelidæ | -- | -- | -- | |all regions but australian . otariidæ | | | -- | |all temperate regions | | | | | cetacea. | | | | | to . | | | | |oceanic | | | | | sirenia. | | | | | . manatidæ | -- | -- | | |neotropical, oriental, | | | | | australian | | | | | ungulata. | | | | | . equidæ | -- | -- | -- | |palæarctic . rhinocerotidæ | -- | -- | -- | |oriental . _hippopotamidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | | . suidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite; excl. australia . tragulidæ | | -- | | |oriental . _camelopardidæ_ | -- | | -- | | . bovidæ | -- | -- | -- | |all regions but neotrop. and | | | | | australian | | | | | proboscidea. | | | | | . elephantidæ | -- | -- | -- | |oriental | | | | | hyracoidea. | | | | | . hyracidæ | -- | -- | -- | |syria | | | | | rodentia. | | | | | . muridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite; excl. oceania . spalacidæ | -- | -- | -- | |palæarctic, oriental . dipodidæ | -- | -- | -- | |palæarctic, nearctic . myoxidæ | -- | -- | -- | |palæarctic . sciuridæ | -- | -- | -- | |all regions but australian . octodontidæ | -- | | | |n. africa, neotropical . echimyidæ | -- | | -- | |neotropical . hystricidæ | -- | -- | -- | |s. palæarctic, oriental . leporidæ | -- | | -- | |all regions but australian | | | | | edentata. | | | | | . manididæ | -- | -- | -- | |oriental . _orycteropodidæ_ | -- | | -- | | | | | | | birds. | | | | | passeres. | | | | | . turdidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . sylviidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . timaliidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, australian . cinclidæ? | | | | -- |widely scattered . troglodytidæ | -- | -- | -- | |almost cosmopolite . sittidæ | | | | -- |palæarctic, oriental, | | | | | australian . paridæ | -- | -- | -- | |all regions but australian . pycnonotidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental . oriolidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, australian . campephagidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, australian . dicruridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, australian . muscicapidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |the eastern hemisphere . laniidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |the eastern hemisphere and | | | | | north america . corvidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . nectariniidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, australian . dicæidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, australian . hirundinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . fringillidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite, except australian | | | | | region . ploceidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, australian . sturnidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |eastern hemisphere . alaudidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |eastern hemisphere and north | | | | | america . motacillidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |the eastern hemisphere . pittidæ | | -- | | |oriental, australian . _paictidæ_ | | | | -- | | | | | | picariÆ. | | | | | . picidæ | -- | -- | -- | |cosmopolite, excl. australian | | | | | region . yungidæ | -- | | -- | |palæarctic . indicatoridæ | -- | -- | -- | |oriental . megalæmidæ | -- | -- | -- | |oriental, neotropical . _musophagidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | | . _coliidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | | . cuculidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . _leptosomidæ_ | | | | -- | . coraciidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, australian . meropidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, australian . trogonidæ | -- | -- | -- | |oriental, neotropical . alcedinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . bucerotidæ | -- | -- | -- | |oriental and to n. guinea . upupidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |palæarctic, oriental . _irrisoridæ_ | -- | -- | -- | | . caprimulgidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . cypselidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite | | | | | psittaci. | | | | | . palæornithidæ | -- | -- | | -- |oriental . psittacidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |neotropical | | | | | columbÆ. | | | | | . columbidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . _dididæ_ | | | | -- |(extinct) | | | | | gallinÆ. | | | | | . pteroclidæ | -- | | -- | -- |palæarctic, oriental . tetraonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |eastern hemisphere and | | | | | n. america . phasianidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |old world and n. america . turnicidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |eastern hemisphere. | | | | | accipitres. | | | | | . vulturidæ | -- | -- | -- | |all the continents but | | | | | australia . _serpentariidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | | . falconidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . pandionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . strigidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite | | | | | grallÆ. | | | | | . rallidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . scolopacidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . parridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |tropical . glareolidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |eastern hemisphere . charadriidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . otididæ | -- | -- | -- | |eastern hemisphere . gruidæ | -- | -- | -- | |all regions but neotropical . ardeidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . plataleidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . ciconiidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . phoenicopteridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental and neotropical | | | | | anseres. | | | | | . anatidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . laridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . procellariidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . pelecanidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . spheniscidæ | | | -- | |south temperate regions . podicipidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . struthionidæ | -- | | -- | |temperate s. america . _Æpyornithidæ_ | | | | -- |(extinct) | | | | | reptilia. | | | | | ophidia. | | | | | . typhlopidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but nearctic . calamariidæ | -- | -- | -- | |warm parts of all regions . colubridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . homalopsidæ | | -- | | |oriental, and all other regions . psammophidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental and s. palæarctic . _rachiodontidæ_ | | -- | -- | | . dendrophidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, australian, | | | | | neotropical . dryiophidæ | | -- | | -- |oriental, neotropical . dipsadidæ | -- | -- | -- | |oriental, australian, | | | | | neotropical . lycodontidæ | -- | -- | -- | |oriental . pythonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all tropical regions . erycidæ | | -- | | |oriental, s. palæarctic . elapidæ | -- | -- | -- | |tropical regions, s. u. states | | | | | and japan . _dendraspididæ_ | -- | -- | | | . _atractaspididæ_ | | -- | -- | | . hydrophidæ | | | | -- |oriental, australian, panama . viperidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, palæarctic | | | | | lacertilia. | | | | | . amphisbænidæ | -- | -- | | |s. europe, neotropical . lepidosternidæ | | -- | -- | |n. america . varanidæ | -- | -- | -- | |warm parts of e. hemisphere . lacertidæ | -- | -- | -- | |all continents but america . zonuridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all america, n. india, | | | | | s. europe . _chamæsauridæ_ | | | -- | | . gymnopthalmidæ | | -- | | -- |palæarctic, australian, | | | | | neotropical . scincidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . sepidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |south . acontiadæ | | -- | -- | -- |ceylon and moluccas . geckotidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . agamidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, australian, | | | | | s. palæarctic . chamæleonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, s. palæarctic | | | | | crocodilia. | | | | | . crocodilidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, neotropical | | | | | chelonia. | | | | | . testudinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all continents but australia . chelydidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |australia, s. america . trionychidæ | -- | -- | -- | |oriental, japan, e. united | | | | | states . cheloniidæ | | | | |marine | | | | | amphibia. | | | | | pseudophidia. | | | | | . cæciliadæ | | -- | | |oriental, neotropical | | | | | anoura. | | | | | . phryniscidæ | -- | -- | | |neotropical, australia, java . bufonidæ | -- | -- | -- | |all regions but australian . engystomidæ | | -- | -- | |all regions but palæarctic . alytidæ | -- | -- | -- | |all regions but oriental . polypedatidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all the regions . ranidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . discoglossidæ | | -- | -- | |all regions but nearctic . _dactylethridæ_ | -- | -- | -- | | | | | | | fishes (fresh-water).| | | | | acanthopterygii. | | | | | . percidæ | -- | | | |all regions but australian . scienidæ | -- | -- | -- | |all regions but australian . labyrinthici | | | -- | -- |oriental, moluccas . mugillidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |australian, neotropical . chromidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, neotropical | | | | | physostomi. | | | | | . siluridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all warm regions . characinidæ | -- | -- | | |neotropical . _mormyridæ_ | -- | -- | | | . _gymnarchidæ_ | -- | -- | | | . cyprinodontidæ | -- | -- | | -- |palæarctic, oriental, american . cyprinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |absent from australia and | | | | | s. america . osteoglossidæ | -- | -- | | |all tropical regions . notopteridæ | | -- | | |oriental | | | | | ganoidei. | | | | | . sirenoidei | -- | -- | | |neotropical, australian . _polypteridæ_ | -- | -- | | | | | | | | insects. | | | | | lepidoptera (part). | | | | | diurni (butterflies).| | | | | . danaidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all warm countries and canada . satyridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . elymniidæ | | -- | | |oriental, moluccas . acræidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all tropical regions . nymphalidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . libytheidæ | | -- | | -- |absent from australia only . nemeobiidæ | | -- | | -- |absent from australia and | | | | | nearctic region . lycænidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . pieridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . papilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . hesperidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite | | | | | sphingidea. | | | | | . zygænidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . agaristidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |australian, oriental . uraniidæ | | | | -- |all tropical regions . Ægeriidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite, excl. australia . sphingidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- { }table ii. _list of genera of terrestrial mammalia and birds inhabiting the ethiopian region._ explanation. names in _italics_ show genera peculiar to the region. names inclosed thus (......) show genera which just enter the region, but are not considered properly to belong to it. genera which undoubtedly belong to the region are numbered consecutively. _mammalia._ -------------------+-------+----------------------+---------------------- order, family, and | no. of| range within | range beyond genus. |species| the region. | the region. -------------------+-------+----------------------+---------------------- | | | primates. | | | simiidÆ. | | | | | | . _troglodytes_ | |w. africa to western | | | nile sources | | | | semnopithecidÆ. | | | . _colobus_ | |abyssinia to west | | | africa | | | | cynopithecidÆ. | | | | | | . _myiopithecus_ | |west africa | . _cercopithecus_| |tropical africa | . _cercocebus_ | |west africa | . _theropithecus_| |north-east africa, |palestine | | arabia | . _cynocephalus_ | |nubia to cape, | | | w. africa, arabia | | | | (sub-order) | | | _lemuroidea._ | | | lemuridÆ. | | | | | | . _indris_ | |madagascar | . _lemur_ | |madagascar | . _hapalemur_ | |madagascar | . _microcebus_ | |madagascar | . _chirogaleus_ | |madagascar | . _lepilemur_ | |madagascar | . _perodicticus_ | |sierra leone | . _arctocebus_ | |old calabar | . _galago_ | |tropical and s. africa | | | | chiromyidÆ. | | | | | | . _chiromys_ | |madagascar | | | | chiroptera. | | | pteropidÆ. | | | | | | . pteropus | |africa and madagascar |tropics of eastern | | | hemisphere . xantharpya | |all africa |oriental, austro- | | | malayan . cynopterus | |tropical africa |oriental . _epomophorus_ | |tropical africa and | | | abyssinia | . _hypsignathus_ | |w. africa | | | | rhinolophidÆ. | | | | | | . rhinolophus | |africa and madagascar |warmer parts of | | | eastern hemisphere . _macronycterys_| |w. africa | . phyllorhina | |tropical africa |indo-malaya, austro- | | | malaya . asellia | |nubia |indo-malaya, austro- | | | malaya . megaderma | |senegal, upper nile |oriental, moluccas . nycteris | |all africa |java | | | vespertilionidÆ. | | | | | | . vespertilio | |africa and madagascar |cosmopolite . kerivoula | |s. africa |oriental . miniopteris | |s. africa |indo-malaya . nycticejus | |tropical africa |india . taphozous | |africa and madagascar |oriental, austro- | | | malayan, neotropical | | | noctilionidÆ. | | | | | | . nyctinomus | |madagascar |oriental, american, | | | s. palæarctic . molossus | |africa, bourbon |neotropical, | | | s. palæarctic | | | insectivora. | | | macroscelididÆ. | | | | | | . _macroscelides_| |south and east africa |n. africa . _petrodromus_ | |mozambique | . _rhynchocyon_ | |mozambique | | | | erinaceidÆ. | | | | | | . erinaceus | |cen. and south africa |palæarctic, n. india | | | centetidÆ. | | | | | | . _centetes_ | |madagascar and | | | mauritius | . _hemicentetes_ | |madagascar | . _ericulus_ | |madagascar | . _oryzorictes_ | |madagascar | . _echinops_ | |madagascar | | | | potamogalidÆ. | | | | | | . _potamogale_ | |old calabar | | | | chrysochloridÆ. | | | | | | . _chrysochloris_| |cape to mozambique | | | | soricidÆ. | | | | | | . sorex | |all africa and |palæarc., nearc., ori | | madagascar | | | | carnivora. | | | felidÆ. | | | | | | . felis | |all africa |all reg. but | | | australian . lynx[?] | |n. and s. africa |palæarctic and | | | nearctic . cynælurus | |cape of good hope | | | | cryptoproctidÆ. | | | | | | . _cryptoprocta_ | |madagascar | | | | viverridÆ. | | | | | | . viverra | |tropical africa |oriental . genetta | |tropical and s. africa |s. palæarctic . _fossa_ | |madagascar | . _poiana_ | |w. africa | . _galidia_ | |madagascar | . _nandinia_ | |w. africa | . _galidictis_ | |madagascar | . herpestes | |all africa |s. europe, oriental . _athylax_ | |s. and e. africa(?) | | | madagascar | . calogale | |tropical and s. africa |oriental . _galerella_ | |e. africa | . _ariela_ | |s. africa | . _ichneumia_ | |e. africa, senegal, | | | s. africa | . _bdeogale_ | |tropical africa | . _helogale_ | |e. and s. africa | . _cynictis_ | |s. africa | . _rhinogale_ | |e. africa | . _mungos_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _crossarchus_ | |tropical africa | . _eupleres_ | |madagascar | . _suricata_ | |s. africa | | | | protelidÆ. | | | | | | . _proteles_ | |s. africa | | | | hyÆnidÆ. | | | | | | . hyæna | |all africa |s. palæarctic, india | | | canidÆ. | | | | | | . _lycaon_ | |s., central, and | | | e. africa | . canis | |all africa |almost cosmopolitan . _megalotis_ | |s. africa | | | | mustelidÆ. | | | | | | . mustela | |angola |palæarctic, nearctic . gymnopus[?] | |s. africa |oriental . aonyx | |s. and w. africa |oriental . _hydrogale_ | |s. africa | . mellivora | |south and tropical |india | | africa | . _ictonyx_ | |tropical and s. africa | | | | otariidÆ. | | | | | | . arctocephalus | |cape of good hope |south temperate zone | | | sirenia. | | | manatidÆ. | | | | | | . manatus | |w. africa |tropical america . halicore | |e. africa |oriental and | | | australian | | | ungulata. | | | equidÆ. | | | | | | . equus | |tropical and s. africa |palæarctic | | | rhinocerotidÆ. | | | | | | . rhinoceros | |all tropical and |oriental | | s. africa | | | | hippopotamidÆ. | | | | | | . _hippopotamus_ | |great rivers of africa | | | | suidÆ. | | | | | | . _potamochoerus_| |tropical africa and | | | madg. | . _phacochoerus_ | |abyssinia to caffraria | | | | tragulidÆ. | | | | | | . _hyomoschus_ | |w. africa | | | | camelopardalidÆ. | | | | | | ._camelopardalis_| |all open country | | | | bovidÆ. | | | | | | . bubalus | |trop. and s. africa |india . _oreas_ | |africa s. of sahara | . _tragelaphus_ | |africa s. of sahara | . oryx | |arabian and african |s. palæarctic | | deserts | . gazella | |africa n. of equator |palæarctic deserts | | and s. africa | . _Æpyceros_ | |s. e. africa | . _cervicapra_ | |all tropical africa | . _kobus_ | |pastures of all africa | . _pelea_ | |south africa | . _nanotragus_ | |africa s. of sahara | . _neotragus_ | |abyssinia and | | | n. e. africa | . _cephalophus_ | |all tropical africa | . _hippotragus_ | |gambia, central africa | | | to cape | . _alcephalus_ | |all africa | . _catoblepas_ | |africa s. of equator | (capra | |abyssinia, high) |palæarctic genus | | | proboscidea. | | | | | | elephantidÆ. | | | | | | . elephas | |tropical and s. africa |oriental | | | hyracoidea. | | | hyracidÆ. | | | | | | . hyrax | |tropical and s. africa |syria | | | rodentia. | | | muridÆ. | | | | | | . mus | |all africa |e. hemis. excl. | | | oceania . _lasiomys_ | |w. africa | . acanthomys | |tropical africa |india . _cricetomys_ | |tropical africa | . _saccostomus_ | |mozambique | . _dendromys_ | |s. africa | . _nesomys_ | |madagascar | . _steatomys_ | |east and s. africa | . _pelomys_ | |mozambique | . _otomys_ | |s. and e. africa | . meriones | |africa |palæarctic, india . _malacothrix_ | |s. africa | . _mystromys_ | |s. africa | ._brachytarsomys_| |madagascar | . _hypogeomys_ | |madagascar | . _lophiomys_ | |s. arabia and | | | n. e. africa | | | | spalacidÆ. | | | | | | . rhizomys | |abyssinia |oriental to malacca . _bathyerges_ | |s. africa | . _georychus_ | |e. central, and | | | s. africa | . _heliophobius_ | |mozambique | | | | dipodidÆ. | | | | | | . dipus | |n. and central africa |central palæarctic . _pedetes_ | |s. af. to mozambique | | | and angola | | | | myoxidÆ. | | | | | | . myoxus | |africa to cape |palæarctic | | | sciuridÆ. | | | | | | . sciurus | |all woody districts of |all regions but | | africa | australia . _anomalurus_ | |w. africa and fernando | | | po. | | | | octodontidÆ. | | | | | | . _pectinator_ | |abyssinia | | | | echimyidÆ. | | | | | | . _petromys_ | |s. africa | . _aulacodes_ | |w., e., and s. africa | | | | hystricidÆ. | | | | | | . hystrix | |africa to cape |s. palæarctic oriental . atherura | |w. africa |palæarctic | | | leporidÆ. | | | | | | . lepus | |east and south africa |all regions but | | | australian | | | edentata. | | | manididÆ. | | | | | | . manis | |sennaar to w. africa |oriental | | and cape | | | | orycteropodidÆ. | | | | | | . _orycteropus_ | |n. e. africa to nile | | | sources, and s. africa| _birds._ passeres. | | | turdidÆ. | | | | | | . turdus | |the whole reg. (excl. |almost cosmopolite | | madagas.) | . monticola | |s. africa |palæarctic and | | | oriental . _chætops_ | |s. africa | . _bessonornis_ | |the whole region |palestine | | | sylviidÆ. | | | | | | . { _drymoeca_ | |the whole region |palestine . { cisticola | |the whole region |palæarc., orien., { | | | austral. . { sphenoeacus | |s. africa |australian . { _camaroptera_| |africa | | | | . { acrocephalus | |the whole region |palæarc., orien., { | | | austral. . { bradyptetus | |abyssinia and s. africa|s. europe, palestine . { _catriscus_ | |all africa | . { _bernieria_ | |madagascar | . { _ellisia_ | |madagascar | . { _mystacornis_| |madagascar | | | | . { phylloscopus | |s. africa |palæarctic, oriental . { _eremomela_ | |all africa | . { _eroessa_ | |madagascar | . { hypolais | |s. africa |palæarctic, oriental | | | . { aedon | |e. and s. africa |palæarctic . { sylvia | |n. e. africa, gambia, |palæarctic, oriental { | | cape verd ids. | . { curruca | |s. africa |palæarctic | | | . { ruticilla | |abyssinia and senegal |palæarctic, oriental . { cyanecula | |n. e. africa |palæarctic | | | . { copsychus | |madagascar and |oriental { | | seychelle ids. | . { thamnobia | |all africa |oriental . {_cercotrichas_| |w. and n. e. africa | . { _poeoptera_ | |w. africa | . { _gervasia_ | |madagascar and | { | | seychelle ids. | . { dromolæa | |all africa |s. palæarctic, india . { saxicola | |central, e. and |palæarctic, india { | | s. africa | . { cercomela | |n. e. africa |palestine, n. w. india . { pratincola | |africa and madagascar |palæarctic, oriental | | | timaliidÆ. | | | | | | . chatarrhæa | |abyssinia |oriental, palestine . _crateropus_ | |all africa |n. africa, persia . _hypergerus_ | |w. africa | . _cichladusa_ | |w. and e. africa | . _alethe_ | |w. africa | . _oxylabes_ | |madagascar | | | | cinclidÆ.[?] | | | | | | . _mesites_ | |madagascar | | | | troglodytidÆ.[?] | | | | | | . sylvietta | |central, e. and | | | s. africa | | | | sittidÆ. | | | | | | . _hypherpes_ | |madagascar | | | | paridÆ. | | | | | | . parus | |all africa |palæarc., orien., | | | nearc. . _parisoma_ | |all africa | . Ægithalus | |w., central, and |palæarctic | | s. africa | . _parinia_ | |w. africa, prince's | | | island | | | | pycnonotidÆ. | | | | | | . pycnonotus | |all africa |s. palæarctic, | | | oriental ._phyllastrephus_| |w. and s. africa | . hypsipetes | |madagascar and |oriental | | mascarene ids. | . _tylas_ | |madagascar | . criniger | |w. and s. africa |oriental . _ixonotus_ | |w. africa | . _andropadus_ | |africa and madagascar | . _lioptilus_ | |s. africa | | | | oriolidÆ. | | | | | | . oriolus | |all africa |palæarctic, oriental . _artamia_[?] | |madagascar | ._cyanolanius_[?]| |madagascar | | | | campephagidÆ. | | | | | | . _lanicterus_ | |all africa | . _oxynotus_ | |mauritius and bourbon | . campephaga | |the whole region |celebes to new | | | caledonia | | | dicruridÆ. | | | | | | . dicrurus | |the whole region |oriental, australian | | | muscicapidÆ. | | | | | | . butalis | |all africa |palæarctic, | | | n. oriental . muscicapa | |all tropical africa |palæarctic . alseonax | |s. africa |oriental . _newtonia_ | |madagascar | . _hyliota_ | |w. africa | . _erythrocercus_| |tropical africa | . _artomyias_ | |w. africa | . _pseudobias_ | |madagascar | . _smithorius_ | |w. and s. africa | . _megabias_ | |w. africa | . _cassinia_ | |w. africa | . _bias_ | |tropical africa | . _elminia_ | |tropical africa | . _platystira_ | |all africa | . tchitrea | |the whole region |oriental . _pogonocichla_ | |s. africa | . _bradyornis_ | |all africa | | | | laniidÆ. | | | | | | . _parmoptila_[?]| |w. africa. | . _calicalicus_ | |madagascar | . lanius | |all africa |palæarc., orien., | | | nearc. . _hypocolius_ | |abyssinia | . _corvinella_ | |s. and w. africa | . _urolestes_ | |s. africa | . _fraseria_ | |w. africa | . _hypodes_ | |w. africa | . _cuphoterus _ | |prince's island | . _nilaus_ | |all africa | . _prionops_ | |all africa | . _eurocephalus_ | |n. e. and s. africa | . _chaunonotus_ | |w. africa | . _vanga_ | |madagascar | . _laniarius_ | |all africa, | | | madagascar[?] | . _meristes_ | |w. and s. e. africa | . _nicator_ | |e. africa | . _telephonus_ | |all africa |n. africa | | | corvidÆ. | | | | | | . _ptilostomus_ | |w. and e. africa | . corvus | |all africa and |cosmop., excl. | | madagascar | s. amer. . _corvultur_ | |n. e. to s. africa | . _picathartes_ | |w. africa | (fregilus | |abyssinia) |palæarctic genus | | | nectariniidÆ. | | | | | | . _nectarinia_ | |the whole region | . _promerops_ | |s. africa | ._cinnyricinclus_| |w. africa | . _neodrepanis_ | |madagascar | | | | dicÆidÆ. | | | | | | . zosterops | |the whole region |oriental and | | | australian . _pholidornis_ | |w. africa | | | | hirundinidÆ. | | | | | | . hirundo | |the whole region |cosmopolite . _psalidoprogne_| |the whole region | . _phedina_ | |madagascar and | | | mauritius | . petrochelidon | |s. africa |neotropical . chelidon | |bogos-land |palæarctic, oriental . cotyle | |all africa |palæarctic, oriental . _waldenia_ | |w. africa | | | | fringillidÆ. | | | | | | . dryospiza | |all africa |s. palæarctic . chlorospiza | |abyssinia to cape |palæarctic . passer | |all africa |palæarctic, oriental . _crithagra_ | |all africa |n. africa, syria . _ligurnus_ | |w. africa | (erythrospiza | |nubia, arabia) |s. palæarctic genus . pinicola[?] | |cameroons, w. africa |n. temperate genus . _fringillaria_ | |all africa |south palæarctic | | | ploceidÆ. | | | | | | . _textor_ | |all africa | . _hyphantornis_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _symplectes_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _malimbus_ | |w. and e. africa | . ploceus | |w. and e. africa |oriental . _nelicurvius_ | |madagascar | . _foudia_ | |tropical africa, | | | madagascar, &c. | . _sporopipes_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _pyromelana_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _philetærus_ | |s. africa | . _nigrita_ | |w. and n. e. africa | . _plocepasser_ | |e. and s. africa | . _vidua_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _colliuspasser_| |tropical and s. africa | . _chera_ | |s. africa | . _spermospiza_ | |w. africa | . _pyrenestes_ | |tropical and s. africa | . estrilda | |tropical and s. africa |oriental . _pytelia_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _hypargos_ | |e. africa, madagascar | . _amadina_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _spermestes_ | |the whole region | . _amauresthes_ | |e. and w. africa | . _hypochera_ | |tropical and s. africa | | | | sturnidÆ. | | | | | | . _dilophus_ | |s. africa, loanda, | | | sennaar | . _buphaga_ | |trop. and s. africa | | | ([?] a family) | . _euryceros_ | |madagascar ([?] a | | | family) | . _juida_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _lamprocolius_ | |tropical and s. africa | ._cinnyricinclus_| |tropical and s. africa | . _onychognathus_| |w. africa | . _spreo_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _amydrus_ | |n. e. africa |palestine . _hartlaubius_ | |madagascar | . _falculia_ | |madagascar | . _fregilupus_ | |bourbon | | | | alaudidÆ. | | | | | | . alauda | |abyssinia and |palæarctic, indian | | s. w. africa | . _spizocorys_ | |south africa | . galerida | |north of tropical |palæarctic, indian | | africa | . _calendula_ | |abyssinia, s. africa | (melanocorypha | |abyssinia) |palæarctic genus . certhilauda | |south africa |s. europe . alaemon | |south africa |s. palæarctic . _heterocorys_ | |south africa | . mirafra | |south africa, |oriental, australian | | madagascar | . ammomanes | |african deserts |s. palæarctic, indian . _megalophonus_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _tephrocorys_ | |s. africa | . pyrrhulauda | |tropical and s. africa |oriental, canary | | | islands | | | motacillidÆ. | | | | | | . budytes | |the whole region |palæarctic, oriental, | | |australian | | | . anthus | |tropical and s. africa |all regions, exc. | | | australia . _macronyx_ | |tropical and s. africa | | | | pittidÆ. | | | | | | . pitta | |w. africa |oriental, australian | | | paictidÆ. | | | | | | . _philepitta_ | |madagascar | | | | picariÆ. | | | | | | picidÆ. | | | | | | . _verreauxia_ | |w. africa | . _dendropicus_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _campethera_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _geocolaptes_ | |south africa | | | | yungidÆ. | | | | | | . yunx | |n. e. africa, s. africa|palæarctic | | | indicatoridÆ. | | | | | | . indicator | |tropical and s. africa |oriental | | | megalÆmidÆ. | | | | | | ._pogonorhynchus_| |tropical and s. africa | . _buccanodon_ | |west africa | . _stactolæma_ | |west africa | . _barbatula_ | |west and south africa | . _xylobucco_ | |west and south africa | . _gymnobucco_ | |west africa | . _trachyphonus_ | |tropical and south | | | africa | | | | musophagidÆ. | | | | | | . _musophaga_ | |west africa | . _turacus_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _schizorhis_ | |tropical and s. africa | | | | coliidÆ. | | | | | | . _colius_ | |tropical and s. africa | | | | cuculidÆ. | | | | | | . _ceuthmochares_| |africa and madagascar | . _coua_ | |madagascar | ._cochlothraustes_ |madagascar | . _centropus_ | |africa and madagascar |oriental, australian . cuculus | |africa and madagascar |palæarc., orien., | | | austral. . chrysococcyx | |tropical and s. africa |oriental, australian . coccystes | |tropical and s. africa |s. palæarctic, | | | oriental | | | leptosomidÆ. | | | | | | . _leptosomus_ | |madagascar | | | | coraciidÆ. | | | | | | . coracias | |africa and madagascar |s. palæarctic, | | | oriental . eurystomus | |africa and madagascar |oriental, australian . _atelornis_ | |madagascar | ._brachypteracias_ |madagascar | . _geobiastes_ | |madagascar | | | | meropidÆ. | | | | | | . merops | |africa and madagascar |s. palæar., orien., | | | austral. . _melittophagus_| |tropical and s. africa | | | | trogonidÆ. | | | | | | . _apaloderma_ | |tropical and s. africa | | | | alcedinidÆ. | | | | | | . alcedo | |w. africa, abyssinia, |palæar., orien., | | natal | austral. . _corythornis_ | |africa and madagascar | . ceryle | |w. africa, abyssinia, |american, palæarctic | | natal | . _myioceyx_ | |west africa | . _ispidina_ | |africa and madagascar | . halcyon | |africa, prince's is., |s. palæar., orien., | | st. thomé | austral. | | | bucerotidÆ. | | | | | | . berenicornis | |west africa |malaya . _tockus_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _bycanistes_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _bucoreus_ | |tropical and s. africa | | | | upupidÆ. | | | | | | . upupa | |africa and madagascar |s. palæarctic, | | | oriental | | | irrisoridÆ. | | | | | | . _irrisor_ | |africa and madagascar | | | | caprimulgidÆ. | | | | | | . caprimulgus | |africa and madagascar |palæarc., orien., | | | austral. . _scortornis_ | |tropical africa | . _macrodipteryx_| |w. africa to abyssinia | . _cosmetornis_ | |tropical africa to the | | | zambesi | | | | cypselidÆ. | | | | | | . cypselus | |the whole region |palæarctic, oriental . collocalia | |mascarene ids., |oriental, australian | | madagascar | . chætura | |tropical africa and |cosmop., exc. | | madagascar | w. palæarctic | | | psittaci. | | | palÆornithidÆ. | | | | | | . palæornis | |w. africa to abys. & |oriental | | mauritius | | | | psittacidÆ. | | | | | | . _coracopsis_ | |madagascar and | | | seychelle ids. | . _psittacus_ | |w. africa | . _poeocephalus_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _agapornis_ | |tropical and s. africa | . _poliopsitta_ | |trop. africa and | | | madagascar | | | | columbÆ. | | | columbidÆ. | | | | | | . treron | |africa and madagascar |oriental . _alectrænas_ | |madagascar and masc. | | | ids. (extct. in | | | mauritius and | | | rodriguez) | . columba | |africa and madagascar |palæarctic, oriental . _oena_ | |tropical and s. africa | . turtur | |africa, madagascar, |palæarctic, oriental | | comoro and seychelle | | | islands | . _aplopelia_ | |abyssinia, s. africa | | | and west african | | | islands | . _chalcopelia_ | |tropical and s. africa | | | | dididÆ. (extinct) | | | | | | . _didus_ | |mascarene islands | | | | gallinÆ. | | | pteroclidÆ. | | | | | | . pterocles | |africa and madagascar |s. palæarctic, indian | | | tetraonidÆ. | | | | | | . _ptilopachus_ | |west africa | . francolinus | |africa and madagascar |s. palæarctic, indian . _peliperdix_ | |west africa | . _margaroperdix_| |madagascar | . coturnix | |tropical and s. africa |palæar., orient., | | | austral. (caccabis | |abyssinia) |palæarctic genus | | | phasianidÆ. | | | | | | . _phasidus_ | |west africa | . _agelastes_ | |west africa | . _acryllium_ | |west africa | . _numida_ | |africa to natal and | | | madagascar | | | | turnicidÆ. | | | | | | . turnix | |s. africa and |palæarc., orient., | | madagascar | austrl. . _ortyxelos_ | |africa | | | | accipitres. | | | vulturidÆ. | | | | | | . gyps | |africa, except w. |palæarctic, oriental | | sub-region | . pseudogyps | |n. e. africa to senegal|oriental . otogyps | |n. e. and s. africa |palæarctic, oriental . _lophogyps_ | |n. e. and s. africa and| | | senegal | . neophron | |africa, excl. west |s. palæarctic, | | coast | oriental | | | falconidÆ. | | | | | | . _polyboroides_ | |africa and madagascar | . circus | |africa and madagascar |almost cosmopolite . _urotriorchis_ | |w. africa | . _melierax_ | |africa, excl. west | | | coast | . astur | |africa and madagascar |almost cosmopolite . _nisoides_ | |madagascar | . _eutriorchis_ | |madagascar | . accipiter | |africa and madagascar |almost cosmopolite . buteo | |africa and madagascar |cosmop., excl. | | | austral. . gypaëtus | |n. e. and s. africa |s. palæarctic . aquila | |all africa |nearc., palæarc., | | | indian . nisaëtus | |w. africa |s. palæarctic, | | | oriental, australia . spizaëtus | |all africa |neotropical, oriental | | | to n. guinea . _lophoætus_ | |all africa | . _asturinula_ | |tropical africa | . _dryotriorchis_| |w. africa | . circaëtus | |all africa |palæarctic, oriental . butastur | |n. e. africa |oriental to new guinea . _helotarsus_ | |tropical and s. africa | . haliæetus | |the whole region |cosmopolite, excl. | | | neotropical region . _gypohierax_ | |west and east africa | . _elanoides_ | |west and n. e. africa | . milvus | |the whole region |the eastern hemisphere . elanus | |africa |india to australia . machærhamphus | |s. w. africa and |malacca | | madagascar | . pernis | |s. africa and |palæarctic, oriental | | madagascar | . baza | |africa and madagascar |india to n. australia . poliohierax | |east africa |burmah . falco | |all africa |almost cosmopolite . cerchneis | |the whole region |almost cosmopolite | | | serpentariidÆ. | | | | | | . _serpentarius_ | |the greater part of | | | africa | | | | pandionidÆ. | | | | | | . pandion | |all africa |cosmopolite | | | strigidÆ. | | | | | | . athene | |africa and madagascar, |palæarctic, oriental, | | rodriquez (extinct) | australian . bubo | |africa and madagascar |cosmopolite . _scotopelia_ | |west and s. africa to | | | zambesi | . scops | |w. and s. africa, |almost cosmopolite | | madagascar, comoro | | | islands | . syrnium | |africa |palæarctic, oriental, | | | american . asio | |n. e. and s. africa |cosmopolite . strix | |africa and madagascar |cosmopolite _peculiar or very characteristic genera of wading or swimming birds._ grallÆ. | | | rallidÆ. | | | | | | _himantornis_ | |west africa | podica | |africa |burmah | | | glareolidÆ. | | | | | | cursorius | |all africa |s. europe, india | | | otididÆ. | | | | | | eupodotis | |all africa |india, australia | | | gruidÆ. | | | | | | _balearica_ | |all africa | | | | ardeidÆ. | | | | | | _balæniceps_ | |upper nile | | | | plataleidÆ. | | | | | | _scopus_ | |tropical and s. africa | | | | anseres. | | | anatidÆ. | | | | | | _thalassornis_| |south africa | | | | struthiones. | | | struthionidÆ. | | | | | | . _struthio_ | |all africa |syria | | | ÆpyornithidÆ. | |(extinct) | | | | . _Æpyornis_ | [?]|madagascar | { }chapter xii. the oriental region. this region is of comparatively small extent, but it has a very diversified surface, and is proportionately very rich. the deserts on the north-west of india are the debatable land that separates it from the palæarctic and ethiopian regions. the great triangular plateau which forms the peninsula of india is the poorest portion of the region, owing in part to its arid climate and in part to its isolated position; for there can be little doubt that in the later tertiary period it was an island, separated by an arm of the sea (now forming the valleys of the ganges and indus) from the luxuriant himalayan and burmese countries. its southern extremity, with ceylon, has a moister climate and more luxuriant vegetation, and exhibits indications of a former extension southwards, with a richer and more peculiar fauna, partly malayan and partly mascarene in its character. the whole southern slopes of the himalayas, with burmah, siam and western china, as well as the malay peninsula and the indo-malay islands, are almost everywhere covered with tropical forests of the most luxuriant character, which abound in varied and peculiar forms of vegetable and animal life. the flora and fauna of this extensive district are essentially of one type throughout; yet it may be usefully divided into the indo-chinese and the malayan sub-regions, as each possesses a number of peculiar or characteristic animals. the former sub-region, besides having many tropical and sub-tropical types of its own, also possesses a large number of peculiarly modified temperate forms on the mountain ranges of its northern boundary, which are wholly wanting in the malayan sub-region. the philippine islands are best classed with the indo-malay group, although they are strikingly deficient in many malayan types, and exhibit an approach to the celebesian division of the austro-malay sub-region. [illustration: oriental region] { }_zoological characteristics of the oriental region._--the oriental region possesses examples of families of mammalia, of birds, of reptiles, of amphibia, and of fresh-water fishes. of these families, are peculiar to the region; namely, tarsiidæ, galeopithecidæ, and tupaiidæ among mammalia, while Æluridæ, though confined to the higher himalayas, may perhaps with more justice be claimed by the palæarctic region; liotrichidæ, phyllornithidæ, and eurylæmidæ among birds; xenopeltidæ (extending, however, to celebes), uropeltidæ, and acrochordidæ among reptiles; luciocephalidæ, ophiocephalidæ and mastacembelidæ among fresh-water fishes. a number of other families are abundant, and characteristic of the region; and it possesses many peculiar and characteristic genera, which must be referred to somewhat more in detail. _mammalia._--the oriental region is rich in quadrumana, and is especially remarkable for its orang-utans and long-armed apes (_simia_, _hylobates_, and _siamanga_); its abundance of monkeys of the genera _presbytes_ and _macacus_; its extraordinary long-nosed monkey (_presbytes nasalis_); its lemuridæ (_nycticebus_ and _loris_); and its curious genus _tarsius_, forming a distinct family of lemurs. all these quadrumanous genera are confined to it, except _tarsius_ which extends as far as celebes. it possesses more than genera of bats, which are enumerated in the lists given at the end of this chapter. in insectivora it is very rich, and possesses several remarkable forms, such as the flying lemur (_galeopithecus_); the squirrel-like tupaiidæ consisting of three genera; and the curious _gymnura_ allied to the hedgehogs. in carnivora, it is especially rich in many forms of civets (viverridæ), possessing peculiar genera, among which _prionodon_ and _cynogale_ are remarkable; numerous mustelidæ, of which _gymnopus_, _mydaus_, _aonyx_ and _helictis_ are the most conspicuous; _Ælurus_, a curious animal, cat-like in appearance but { }more allied to the bears, forming a distinct family of carnivora, and confined to the high forest-districts of the eastern himalayas and east thibet; _melursus_ and _helarctos_, peculiar forms of bears; _platanista_, a dolphin peculiar to the ganges and indus. among ruminants it has the beautiful chevrotain, forming the genus _tragulus_ in the family tragulidæ; with one peculiar genus and three peculiar sub-genera of true deer. the antilopinæ and caprinæ are few, confined to limited districts and not characteristic of the region; but there are everywhere wild cattle of the genera _bibos_ and _bubalus_, which, with species of _rhinoceros_ and _elephas_, form a prominent feature in the fauna. the rodents are less developed than in the ethiopian region, but several forms of squirrels everywhere abound, together with some species of porcupine; and the edentata are represented by the scaly manis. _birds._--the families and genera of birds which give a character to oriental lands, are so numerous and varied, that we can here only notice the more prominent and more remarkable. the timaliidæ, represented by the babblers (_garrulax_, _pomatorhinus_, _timalia_, &c.), are almost everywhere to be met with, and no less than genera are peculiar to the region; the elegant fork-tailed _enicurus_ and rich blue _myiophonus_, though comparatively scarce, are characteristic of the malayan and indo-chinese faunas; the elegant little "hill-tits" (liotrichidæ) abound in the same part of the region; the green bulbuls (_phyllornis_) are found everywhere; as are various forms of pycnonotidæ, the black and crimson "minivets" (_pericrocotus_), and the glossy "king-crows" (_dicrurus_); _urocissa_, _platylophus_ and _dendrocitta_ are some of the interesting and characteristic forms of the crow family; sun-birds (nectariniidæ) of at least three genera are found throughout the region, as are the beautiful little flower-peckers (dicæidæ), and some peculiar forms of weaver-birds (_ploceus_ and _munia_). of the starling family, the most conspicuous are the glossy mynahs (_eulabes_). the swallow-shrikes (_artamus_) are very peculiar, as are the exquisitely coloured pittas (pittidæ), and the gaudy broad-bills (eurylæmidæ). leaving the true passeres, we find woodpeckers, barbets, and cuckoos everywhere, often of peculiar and { }remarkable forms; among the bee-eaters we have the exquisite _nyctiornis_ with its pendent neck-plumes of blue or scarlet; brilliant kingfishers and strangely formed hornbills abound everywhere; while brown-backed trogons with red and orange breasts, though far less frequent, are equally a feature of the ornithology. next we have the frog-mouthed goatsuckers (_battrachostomus_), and the whiskered swifts (_dendrochelidon_), both wide-spread, remarkable, and characteristic groups of the oriental region. coming to the parrot tribe, we have only the long-tailed _palæornis_ and the exquisite little _loriculus_, as characteristic genera. we now come to the pigeons, among which the fruit-eating genera _treron_ and _carpophaga_ are the most conspicuous. the gallinaceous birds offer us some grand forms, such as the peacocks (_pavo_); the argus pheasants (_argusianus_); the fire-backed pheasants (_euplocamus_); and the jungle-fowl (_gallus_), all strikingly characteristic; and with these we may close our sketch, since the birds of prey and the two orders comprising the waders and swimmers offer nothing sufficiently remarkable to be worthy of enumeration here. _reptiles._--only the more abundant and characteristic groups will here be noticed. in the serpent tribe, the oligodontidæ, a small family of ground-snakes; the homalopsidæ, or fresh-water snakes; the dendrophidæ, or tree-snakes; the dryiophidæ, or whip-snakes; the dipsadidæ, or nocturnal tree-snakes; the lycodontidæ or fanged ground-snakes; the pythonidæ, or rock-snakes; the elapidæ, or venomous colubrine snakes (including the "cobras"); and the crotalidæ, or pit-vipers, are all abundant and characteristic, ranging over nearly the whole region, and presenting a great variety of genera and species. among lizards, the varanidæ or water-lizards; the scincidæ or "scinks;" the geckotidæ, or geckoes; and the agamidæ, or eastern iguanas; are the most universal and characteristic groups. among crocodiles the genus _crocodilus_ is widely spread, _gavialis_ being characteristic of the ganges. among chelonia, or shielded reptiles, forms of fresh-water testudinidæ and trionychidæ (soft tortoises) are tolerably abundant. _amphibia._--the only abundant and characteristic groups of { }this class are toads of the family engystomidæ; tree-frogs of the family polypedatidæ; and several genera of true frogs, ranidæ. _fresh-water fishes._--the more remarkable and characteristic fishes inhabiting the fresh waters of the oriental region belong to the following families: nandidæ, labyrinthici, ophiocephalidæ, siluridæ, and cyprinidæ; the last being specially abundant. the sketch here very briefly given, must be supplemented by an examination of the tables of distribution of the genera of all the mammalia and birds inhabiting the region. we will now briefly summarize the results. _summary of the oriental vertebrata._--the oriental region possesses examples of families of vertebrata of which are peculiar, a proportion of a little more than one-fourteenth of the whole. out of genera of mammalia seem to be peculiar to the region, equal to a proportion of / or a little less than half. of land-birds there are genera of which are peculiar, bringing the proportion very close to a half. in the ethiopian region the proportion of peculiar forms both of mammalia and birds is greater; a fact which is not surprising when we consider the long continued isolation of the latter region--an isolation which is even now very complete, owing to the vast extent of deserts intervening between it and the palæarctic region; while the oriental and palæarctic were, during much of the tertiary epoch, hardly separable. _insects._ _lepidoptera._--we can only glance hastily at the more prominent features of the wonderfully rich and varied butterfly-fauna of the oriental region. in the first family danaidæ, the genera _danais_ and _euploea_ are everywhere abundant, and the latter especially forms a conspicuous feature in the entomological aspect of the country; the large "spectre-butterflies" (_hestia_) are equally characteristic of the malayan sub-region. satyridæ, though abundant are not very remarkable, _debis_, _melanitis_, _mycalesis_, and _ypthima_ being the most characteristic { }genera. morphidæ are well represented by the genera _amathusia_, _zeuxidia_, _discophora_, and _thaumantis_, some of the species of which almost equal the grand south american morphos. the nymphalidæ furnish us with a host of characteristic genera, among the most remarkable of which are, _terinos_, _adolias_, _cethosia_, _cyrestis_, _limenitis_, and _nymphalis_, all abounding in beautiful species. among the lycænidæ are a number of fine groups, among which we may mention _ilerda_, _myrina_, _deudoryx_, _aphneus_, _iolaus_, and _amblypodia_, as characteristic examples. the pieridæ furnish many fine forms, such as _thyca_, _iphias_, _thestias_, _eronia_, _prioneris_, and _dercas_, the last two being peculiar. the papilionidæ are unsurpassed in the world, presenting such grand genera as _teinopalpus_ and _bhutanitis_; the yellow-marked _ornithopteræ_; the superb "brookiana;" the elegant _leptocercus_; and _papilios_ of the "coon," "philoxenus," "memnon," "protenor," and especially the 'green-and-gold-dusted' "paris" groups. the moths call for no special observations, except to notice the existence in northern india of a number of forms which resemble in a striking manner some of the most remarkable of the above mentioned groups of the genus _papilio_, especially the "protenor" group, which there is reason to believe protected by a peculiar smell or taste like the _heliconias_ and danaidæ. _coleoptera._--the most characteristic oriental form of the cicindelidæ or tiger beetles, is undoubtedly the elegant genus _collyris_, which is found over the whole region and is almost confined to it. less abundant, but equally characteristic, is the wingless ant-like _tricondyla_. two small genera _apteroessa_ and _dromicidia_ are confined to the indian peninsula, while _therates_ only occurs in the malayan sub-region. the carabidæ, or ground carnivorous beetles, are so numerous that we can only notice a few of the more remarkable and characteristic forms. the wonderful _mormolyce_ of the indo-malay sub-region, stands pre-eminent for singularity in the entire family. _thyreopterus_, _orthogonius_, _catascopus_, and _pericallus_ are very characteristic forms, as well as _planetes_ and { }_distrigus_, the latter having a single species in madagascar. there are genera of this family peculiar to the region, of which have only been found in ceylon. among the lucanidæ, or stag-beetles, _lucanus_, _odontolabris_, and _cladognathus_ are the most characteristic forms. sixteen genera inhabit the region, of which are altogether peculiar, while three others only extend eastward to the austro-malayan sub-region. the beautiful cetoniidæ, or rose-chafers, are well represented by _rhomborhina_, _heterorhina_, _clinteria_, _macronota_, _agestrata_, _chalcothea_ and many fine species of _cetonia_. there are peculiar genera, of which _mycteristes_, _phædimus_, _plectrone_, and _rhagopteryx_, are malayan; while _narycius_, _clerota_, _bombodes_, and _chiloloba_ are indian. in buprestidæ--those elongate metallic-coloured beetles whose elytra are used as ornaments in many parts of the world--this region stands pre-eminent, in its gigantic _catoxantha_, its fine _chrysochroa_, its indian _sternocera_, its malayan _chalcophora_ and _belionota_, as well as many other beautiful forms. it possesses genera, of which are peculiar to it, the rest being generally of wide range or common to the ethiopian and australian regions. in the extensive and elegant group of longicorns, the oriental region is only inferior to the neotropical. it possesses genera, of which are prionidæ, cerambicidæ, and lamiidæ;--about per cent. of the whole being peculiar. the most characteristic genera are _rhaphidopodus_ and _Ægosoma_ among prionidæ; _neocerambyx_, _euryarthrum_, _pachyteria_, _acrocyrta_, _tetraommatus_, _chloridolum_, and _polyzonus_ among cerambycidæ; and _coelosterna_, _rhytidophora_, _batocera_, _agelasta_, and _astathes_ among lamiidæ. of remarkable forms in other families, we may mention the gigantic horned _chalcosoma_ among scarabæidæ; the metallic _campsosternus_ among elateridæ; the handsome but anomalous _trictenotoma_ forming a distinct family; the gorgeous _pachyrhynchi_ of the philippine islands among curculionidæ; _diurus_ { }among brenthidæ; with an immense number and variety of anthotribidæ, heteromera, malacoderma, and phytophaga. the oriental sub-regions. the four sub-regions into which we have divided the oriental region, are very unequal in extent, and perhaps more so in productiveness, but they each have well-marked special features, and serve well to exhibit the main zoological characteristics of the region. as they are all tolerably well defined and their faunas comparatively well-known, their characteristics will be given with rather more than usual detail. _i. hindostan, or indian sub-region._ this includes the whole peninsula of india from the foot of the himalayas on the north to somewhere near seringapatam on the south, the boundary of the ceylonese sub-region being unsettled. the deltas of the ganges and brahmaputra mark its eastern limits, and it probably reaches to about cashmere in the north-west, and perhaps to the valley of the indus further south; but the great desert tract to the east of the indus forms a transition to the south palæarctic sub-region. perhaps on the whole the indus may be taken as a convenient boundary. many indian naturalists, especially mr. blyth and mr. blanford, are impressed with the relations of the greater part of this sub-region to the ethiopian region, and have proposed to divide it into several zoological districts dependent on differences of climate and vegetation, and characterized by possessing faunas more or less allied either to the himalayan or the ethiopian type. but these subdivisions appear far too complex to be useful to the general student, and even were they proved to be natural, would be beyond the scope of this work. i agree, however, with mr. elwes in thinking that they really belong to local rather than to geographical distribution, and confound "station" with "habitat." wherever there is a marked diversity of surface and vegetation the productions of a country will correspondingly differ; the groups peculiar to forests, for example, will be absent from open { }plains or arid deserts. it happens that the three great old world regions are separated from each other by a debatable land which is chiefly of a desert character; hence we must expect to find a resemblance between the inhabitants of such districts in each region. we also find a great resemblance between the aquatic birds of the three regions; and as we generally give little weight to these in our estimate of the degree of affinity of the faunas of different countries, so we should not count the desert fauna as of equal weight with the more restricted and peculiar types which are found in the fertile tracts,--in the mountains and valleys, and especially in the primeval forests. the supposed preponderance of exclusively ethiopian groups of mammalia and birds in this, sub-region, deserves however a close examination, in order to ascertain how far the facts really warrant such an opinion. _mammalia._--the following list of the more important genera of mammalia which range over the larger part of this sub-region will enable naturalists to form an independent judgment as to the preponderance of ethiopian, or of oriental and palæarctic types, in this, the most important of all the classes of animals for geographical distribution. range of the genera of mammalia which inhabit the sub-region of hindostan. . presbytes oriental only. . macacus oriental only. . erinaceus palæarctic genus. . sorex widely distributed. . felis almost cosmopolitan. . cynælurus ethiopian and s. palæarctic. . viverra ethiopian and oriental to china and malaya. . viverricula oriental only. . paradoxurus oriental only. . herpestes ethiopian, s. palæarctic, and oriental to malaya. . calogale ethiopian, oriental to cambodja. . tæniogale oriental. . hyæna palæarctic and ethiopian (a palæarctic species.) . canis palæarctic and oriental to malaya. . cuon oriental to malaya. . vulpes very wide range. . lutra oriental and palæarctic. . mellivora ethiopian. . melursus oriental only; family not ethiopian. . sus palæarctic and oriental, not ethiopian. . tragulus oriental. { } . cervus oriental and palæarctic; family not ethiopian. . cervulus oriental; family not ethiopian. . bibos palæarctic and oriental. . portax oriental. . gazella palæarctic and ethiopian. . antilope oriental. . tetraceros oriental. . elephas oriental species. . mus cosmopolite nearly. . platacanthomys oriental. . meriones very wide range. . spalacomys oriental. . sciurus almost cosmopolite. . pteromys palæarctic and oriental to china and malaya, . hystrix wide range. . lepus wide range. . manis ethiopian and oriental to malaya, out of the above genera, have so wide a distribution as to give no special geographical indications. of the remaining , whose geographical position we have noted, are oriental only; have as much right to be considered oriental as ethiopian, extending as they do over the greater part of the oriental region; (the hyæna and gazelle) show palæarctic rather than ethiopian affinity; are palæarctic and oriental but not ethiopian; and only (_cynælurus_ and _mellivora_) can be considered as especially ethiopian. we must also give due weight to the fact that we have here ursidæ and cervidæ, two families entirely absent from the ethiopian region, and we shall then be forced to conclude that the affinities of the indian peninsula are not only clearly oriental, but that the ethiopian element is really present in a far less degree than the palæarctic. _birds._--the naturalists who have adopted the "ethiopian theory" of the fauna of hindostan, have always supported their views by an appeal to the class of birds; maintaining, that not only are almost all the characteristic himalayan and malayan genera absent, but that their place is to a great extent supplied by others which are characteristic of the ethiopian region. after a careful examination of the subject, mr. elwes, in a paper read before the zoological society (june ) came to the conclusion, that this view was an erroneous one, founded on the fact that the birds of the plains are the more abundant and more { }open to observation; and that these are often of wide-spread types, and some few almost exclusively african. the facts he adduced do not, however, seem to have satisfied the objectors; and as the subject is an important one, i will here give lists of all the genera of passeres, picariæ, psittaci, columbæ, and gallinæ, which inhabit the sub-region, leaving out those which only just enter within its boundaries from adjacent sub-regions. these are arranged under four heads:-- . oriental genera; which are either wholly confined to, or strikingly prevalent in, the oriental region beyond the limits of the indian peninsula. . genera of wide range; which are fully as much entitled to be considered oriental or palæarctic as ethiopian, and cannot be held to prove any ethiopian affinity. . palæarctic genera; which are altogether or almost absent from the ethiopian region. . ethiopian genera; which are confined to, or very prevalent in, the ethiopian region, whence they extend into the indian peninsula but not over the whole oriental region. the last are the only ones which can be fairly balanced against those of the first list, in order to determine the character of the fauna. . oriental genera in central india. _geocichla_, _orthotomus_, _prinia_, _megalurus_, _abrornis_, _larvivora_, _copsychus_, _kittacincla_, _pomatorhinus_, _malacocercus_, _chatarrhæa_, _layardia_, _garrulax_, _trochalopteron_, _pellorneum_, _dumetia_, _pyctoris_, _alcippe_, _myiophonus_, _sitta_, _dendrophila_, _phyllornis_, _iora_, _hypsipetes_, _pericrocotus_, _graucalus_, _volvocivora_, _chibia_, _chaptia_, _irena_, _erythrosterna_, _hemipus_, _hemichelidon_, _niltava_, _cyornis_, _eumyias_, _hypothymis_, _myialestes_, _tephrodornis_, _dendrocitta_, _arachnechthra_, _nectarophila_, _arachnothera_, _dicæum_, _piprisoma_, _munia_, _eulabes_, _pastor_, _acridotheres_, _sturnia_, _sturnopastor_, _artamus_, _nemoricola_, _pitta_, _yungipicus_, _chrysocolaptes_, _hemicircus_, _gecinus_, _mulleripicus_, _brachypternus_, _tiga_, _micropternus_, _megalæma_, _xantholæma_, _rhopodytes_, _taccocoua_, _surniculus_, _hierococcyx_, _eudynamnis_, _nyctiornis_, _harpactes_, _pelargopsis_, _ceyx_, _hydrocissa_, _meniceros_, _batrachostomus_, _dendrochelidon_, _collocalia_, _palæornis_, _treron_, _carpophaga_, _chalcophaps_, _ortygornis_, _perdix_, _pavo_, _gallus_, _galloperdix_;-- genera; and { }one peculiar genus, _salpornis_, whose affinities are palæarctic or oriental. . genera of wide range occurring in central india. _tardus_, _monticola_, _drymoeca_, _cisticola_, _acrocephalus_, _phylloscopus_, _pratincola_, _parus_, _pycnonotus_, _criniger_, _oriolus_, _dicrurus_, _tchitrea_, _lanius_, _corvus_, _zosterops_, _hirundo_, _cotyle_, _passer_, _ploceus_, _estrilda_, _alauda_, _calandrella_, _mirafra_, _ammomanes_, _motacilla_, _anthus_, _picus_, _yunx_, _centropus_, _cuculus_, _chrysoccocyx_, _coccystes_, _coracias_, _eurystomus_, _merops_, _alcedo_, _ceryle_, _halcyon_, _upupa_, _caprimulgus_, _cypselus_, _chætura_, _columba_, _turtur_, _pterocles_, _coturnix_, _turnix_;-- genera. . palÆarctic genera occurring in central india. _hypolais_, _sylvia_, _curruca_, _cyanecula_, _calliope_, _chelidon_, _euspiza_, _emberiza_, _galerita_, _calobates_, _corydalla_;-- genera. . ethiopian genera occurring in central india. _thamnobia_, _pyrrhulauda_, _pterocles_, _francolinus_;-- genera. a consideration of the above lists shows us, that the hindostan sub-region is by no means so poor in forms of bird-life as is generally supposed (and as i had myself anticipated, it would prove to be), possessing, as it does, genera of land-birds, without counting the accipitres. it must also set at rest the question of the zoological affinities of the district, since a preponderance of genera, against , cannot be held to be insufficient, and cannot be materially altered by any corrections in details that may be proposed or substantiated. even of these four, only the first two are exclusively ethiopian, _pterocles_ and _francolinus_ both being palæarctic also. it is a question, indeed, whether anywhere in the world an outlying sub-region can be found, exhibiting less zoological affinity for the adjacent regions; and we have here a striking illustration of the necessity of deciding all such cases, not by _examples_, which may be so chosen as to support any view, but by carefully weighing and contrasting the whole of the facts on which the solution of the { }problem admittedly depends. it will, perhaps, be said that a great many of the genera above given are very scarce and very local; but this is certainly not the case with the majority of them; and even where it is so, that does not in any degree affect their value as indicating zoo-geographical affinities. it is the _presence_ of a type in a region, not its abundance or scarcity, that is the important fact; and when we have to do, as we have here, with many groups whose habits and mode of life necessarily seclude them from observation, their supposed scarcity may not even be a fact. _reptiles and amphibia._--reptiles entirely agree with mammalia and birds in the main features of their distribution. out of families of snakes inhabiting hindostan, range over the greater part of the entire region, and only two can be supposed to show any ethiopian affinity. these are the psammophidæ and erycidæ, both desert-haunting groups, and almost as much south palæarctic as african. the genus _tropidococcyx_ is peculiar to the sub-region, and _aspidura_, _passerita_ and _cynophis_ to the peninsula and ceylon; while a large number of the most characteristic genera, as _dipsas_, _simotes_, _bungarus_, _naja_, _trimeresurus_, _lycodon_ and _python_, are characteristically oriental. of the six families of lizards all have a wide range. the genera _eumeces_, _pentadactylus_, _gecko_, _eublepharis_, and _draco_, are characteristically or wholly oriental; _ophiops_ and _uromastix_ are palæarctic; while _chamæleon_ is the solitary case of decided ethiopian affinity. of the amphibia not a single family exhibits special ethiopian affinities. _ii. sub-region of ceylon and south-india._ the island of ceylon is characterised by such striking peculiarities in its animal productions, as to render necessary its separation from the peninsula of india as a sub-region; but it is found that most of these special features extend to the neilgherries and the whole southern mountainous portion of india, and that the two must be united in any zoo-geographical { }province. the main features of this division are,--the appearance of numerous animals allied to forms only found again in the himalayas or in the malayan sub-region, the possession of several peculiar generic types, and an unusual number of peculiar species. _mammalia._--among mammalia the most remarkable form is _loris_, a genus of lemurs altogether peculiar to the sub-region; several peculiar monkeys of the genus _presbytes_; the malayan genus _tupaia_; and _platacanthomys_, a peculiar genus of muridæ. _birds._--among birds it has _ochromela_, a peculiar genus of flycatchers; _phoenicophaës_ (cuculidæ) and _drymocataphus_ (timaliidæ), both malayan forms; a species of _myiophonus_ whose nearest ally is in java; _trochalopteron_, _brachypteryx_, _buceros_ and _loriculus_, which are only found elsewhere in the himalayas and malayana. it also possesses about peculiar species of birds, including a large jungle fowl, one owl and two hornbills. _reptiles._--it is however by its reptiles, even more than by its higher vertebrates, that this sub-region is clearly characterised. among snakes it possesses an entire family, uropeltidæ, consisting of genera and species altogether confined to it,--_rhinophis_ and _uropeltis_ in ceylon, _silybura_, _plecturus_ and _melanophidium_ in southern india. four other genera of snakes, _haplocercus_, _cercaspis_, _peltopelor_, and _hypnale_ are also peculiar; _chersydrus_ is only found elsewhere in malaya; while _aspidura_, _passerita_, and _cynophis_, only extend to hindostan; and species of _eryx_, _echis_, and _psammophis_ show an affinity with ethiopian and palæarctic forms. among lizards several genera of _agamidæ_ are peculiar, such as _otocryptis_, _lyricoephalus_, _ceratophora_, _cophotis_, _salea_, _sitana_ and _charasia_. in the family acontiadæ, _nessia_ is peculiar to ceylon, while a species of the african genus _acontias_ shows an affinity for the ethiopian region. _amphibia._--the genera of amphibians that occur here are generally of wide range, but _nannophrys_, _haplobatrachus_, and _cacopus_ are confined to the sub-region; while _megalophrys_ is malayan, and the species found in ceylon also inhabit java. { }_insects._--the insects of ceylon also furnish some curious examples of its distinctness from hindostan, and its affinity with malaya. among its butterflies we find _papilio jophon_, closely allied to _p. antiphus_ of malaya. the remarkable genus _hestia_, so characteristic of the malay archipelago, only occurs elsewhere on the mountains of ceylon; while its _cynthia_ and _parthenos_ are closely allied to, if not identical with, malayan species. among coleoptera we have yet more striking examples. the highly characteristic malayan genus _tricondyla_ is represented in ceylon by no less than species; and among longicorns we find the genera _tetraommatus_, _thranius_, _cacia_, _praonetha_, _ropica_, and _serixia_, all exclusively malayan or only just entering the indo-chinese peninsula, yet all represented in ceylon, while not a single species occurs in any part of india or the himalayas. _the past history of ceylon and south-india as indicated by its fauna._--in our account of the ethiopian region we have already had occasion to refer to an ancient connection between this sub-region and madagascar, in order to explain the distribution of the lemurine type, and some other curious affinities between the two countries. this view is supported by the geology of india, which shows us ceylon and south india consisting mainly of granitic and old metamorphic rocks, while the greater part of the peninsula, forming our first sub-region, is of tertiary formation, with a few isolated patches of secondary rocks. it is evident therefore, that during much of the tertiary period, ceylon and south india were bounded on the north by a considerable extent of sea, and probably formed part of an extensive southern continent or great island. the very numerous and remarkable cases of affinity with malaya, require however some closer approximation to these islands, which probably occurred at a later period. when, still later, the great plains and table-lands of hindostan were formed, and a permanent land communication effected with the rich and highly developed himalo-chinese fauna, a rapid immigration of new types took place, and many of the less specialised forms of mammalia and birds (particularly those of ancient ethiopian type) became extinct. among reptiles and insects the competition was less severe, or the older forms were too well { }adapted to local conditions to be expelled; so that it is among these groups alone that we find any considerable number, of what are probably the remains of the ancient fauna of a now submerged southern continent. _iii. himalayan or indo-chinese sub-region._ this, which is probably the richest of all the sub-regions, and perhaps one of the richest of all tracts of equal extent on the face of the globe, is essentially a forest-covered, mountainous country, mostly within the tropics, but on its northern margin extending some degrees beyond it, and rising in a continuous mountain range till it meets and intercalates with the manchurian sub-division of the palæarctic region. the peculiar mammalia, birds and insects of this sub-region begin to appear at the very foot of the himalayas, but dr. gunther has shown that many of the reptiles characteristic of the plains of india are found to a height of from , to , feet. in sikhim, which may be taken as a typical example of the himalayan portion of the sub-region, it seems to extend to an altitude of little less than , feet, that being the limit of the characteristic timaliidæ or babbling thrushes; while the equally characteristic pycnonotidæ, or bulbuls, and treronidæ, or thick-billed fruit-pigeons, do not, according to mr. blanford, reach quite so high. we may perhaps take , feet as a good approximation over a large part of the himalayan range; but it is evidently not possible to define the line with any great precision. westward, the sub-region extends in diminishing breadth, till it terminates in or near cashmere, where the fauna of the plains of india almost meets that of the palæarctic region, at a moderate elevation. eastward, it reaches into east thibet and north-west china, where père david has found a large number of the peculiar types of the eastern himalayas. a fauna, in general features identical, extends over burmah and siam to south china; mingling with the palæarctic fauna in the mountains south of the yang-tse-kiang river, and with that of indo-malaya in tenasserim, and to a lesser extent in southern siam and cochin china. { }_zoological characteristics of the himalayan sub-region._--taking this sub-region as a whole, we find it to be characterised by genera of mammalia (without counting bats), and genera of land-birds, which are altogether peculiar to it; and by genera of mammalia and of birds, which it possesses in common with the malayan sub-region; and besides these it has almost all the genera before enumerated as "oriental," and several others of wide range, more especially a number of palæarctic genera which appear in the higher himalayas. the names of the more characteristic genera are as follows:-- peculiar himalo-chinese genera. mammalia.--_urva_, _arctonyx_, _Ælurus_. birds.--_suya_, _horites_, _chæmarrhornis_, _tarsiger_, _oreicola_, _acanthoptila_, _grammatoptila_, _trochalopteron_, _actinodura_, _sibia_, _suthora_, _paradoxornis_, _chlenasicus_, _tesia_, _rimator_, _Ægithaliscus_, _cephalopyrus_, _liothrix_, _siva_, _minla_, _proparus_, _cutia_, _yuhina_, _ixulus_, _myzornis_, _erpornis_, _hemixus_, _chibia_, _niltava_, _anthipes_, _chelidorhynx_, _urocissa_, _pachyglossa_, _heterura_, _hæmatospiza_, _ampeliceps_, _saroglossa_, _psarisomus_, _serilophus_, _vivia_, _hyopicus_, _gecinulus_, _aceros_, _ceriornis_. genera common to the himalo-chinese and malayan sub-regions. mammalia.--_hylobates_, _nycticebus_, _viverricula_, _prionodon_, _arctitis_, _paguma_, _arctogale_, _cuon_, _gymnopus_, _aonyx_, _helictis_, _rhinoceros_, _nemorhedus_, _rhizomys_. birds.--_oreocincla_, _notodela_, _janthocincla_, _timalia_, _stachyris_, _mixornis_, _trichastoma_, _enicurus_, _pnoepyga_, _melanochlora_, _allotrius_, _microscelis_, _iole_, _analcipus_, _cochoa_, _bhringa_, _xanthopygia_, _hylocharis_, _cissa_, _temnurus_, _crypsirhina_, _chalcostetha_, _anthreptes_, _chalcoparia_, _cymbirhynchus_, _hydrornis_, _sasia_, _venilia_, _indicator_, _carcineutes_, _lyncornis_, _macropygia_, _argusianus_, _polyplectron_, _euplocamus_, _phodilus_. plate vii. [illustration] scene in nepaul, with characteristic animals. { }_plate vii. scene in nepal, with characteristic himalayan animals._--our illustration contains figures of two mammals and two birds, characteristic of the higher woody region of the himalayas. the lower figure on the left is the _helictis nepalensis_, confined to the eastern himalayas, and belonging to a genus of the weasel family which is exclusively oriental. it is marked with white on a grey-brown ground. above it is the remarkable panda (_Ælurus fulgens_), a beautiful animal with a glossy fur of a reddish colour, darker feet, and a white somewhat cat-like face. it is distantly allied to the bears, and more nearly to the american racoons, yet with sufficient differences to constitute it a distinct family. the large bird on the tree, is the horned tragopan (_ceriornis satyra_), one of the fine himalayan pheasants, magnificently spotted with red and white, and ornamented with fleshy erectile wattles and horns, of vivid blue and red colours. the bird in the foreground is the _ibidorhynchus struthersii_, a rare and curious wader, allied to the curlews and sandpipers but having the bill and feet red. it frequents the river-beds in the higher himalayas, but has also been found in thibet. _reptiles._--very few genera of reptiles are peculiar to this sub-region, all the more important ranging into the malay islands. of snakes the following are the more characteristic genera:--_typhline_, _cylindrophis_, _xenopeltis_, _calamaria_, _xenelaphis_, _hypsirhina_, _fordonia_, several small genera of homalopsidæ (_herpeton_ and _hipistes_ being characteristic of burmah and siam), _psammodynastes_, _gonyosoma_, _chrysopelea_, _tragops_, _dipsas_, _pareas_, _python_, _bungarus_, _naja_, _callophis_, and _trimeresurus_. _naja_ reaches , feet elevation in the himalayas, _tropidonotus_ , feet, _ablabes_ , feet, and _simotes_ , feet. of lizards, _pseudopus_ has one species in the khasya hills while the other inhabits south-east europe; and there are two small genera of agamidæ peculiar to the himalayas, while _draco_ and _calotes_ have a wide range and _acanthosaura_, _dilophyrus_, _physignathus_, and _liolepis_ are found chiefly in the indo-chinese peninsula. there are several genera of scincidæ; and the extensive genus of wall-lizards, _gecko_, ranges over the whole region. of amphibia, the peculiar forms are not numerous. _ichthyophis_ { }a genus of ceciliadæ, is peculiar to the khasya hills; _tylotritron_ (salamandridæ) to yunan in western china, and perhaps belongs to the palæarctic region. of the tail-less batrachians, _glyphoglossus_ is found in pegu; _xenophys_ in the eastern himalayas; while _callula_, _ixalus_, _rhacophorus_, _hylurana_, _oxyglossus_, and _phrynoglossus_, are common to the himalo-chinese and malayan sub-regions. of the lizards, _colotes_, _barycephalus_, and _hinulia_,--and of the batrachia, _bufo_,--are found at above , feet elevation in the himalayas. _insects._--so little has been done in working out the insect faunas of the separate sub-regions, that they cannot be treated in detail, and the reader is referred to the chapter on the distribution of insects in the part of this work devoted to geographical zoology. a few particulars may, however, be given as to the butterflies, which have been more systematically collected in tropical countries than any other order of insects. the himalayan butterflies, especially in the eastern portions of the range--in assam and the khasya hills--are remarkably fine and very abundant; yet all the larger groups extend into the malayan sub-region, many to ceylon, and a considerable proportion even to africa and austro-malaya. there are a large number of peculiar types, but most of them consist of few or single species. such are _neope_, _orenoma_, and _rhaphicera_, genera of satyridæ; _enispe_ (morphidæ); _hestina_, _penthema_, and _abrota_ (nymphalidæ); _dodona_ (erycinidæ); _ilerda_ (lycænidæ); _calinaga_, _teinopalpus_, and _bhutanitis_ (papilionidæ). its more prominent features are, however, derived from what may be termed malayan, or even old world types, such as _euplæa_, among danaidæ; _amathusia_, _clerome_, and _thaumantis_, among morphidæ; _euripus_, _diadema_, _athyma_, _limenitis_, and _adolias_, among nymphalidæ; _zemeros_ and _taxila_ among erycinidæ; _amblypodia_, _miletus_, _ilerda_, and _myrina_, among lycænidæ; _thyca_, _prioneris_, _dercas_, _iphias_, and _thestias_ among pieridæ; and papilios of the "_amphrisius_," "_coon_", "_philoxenus_," "_protenor_," "_paris_," and "_sarpedon_" groups. in the himalayas there is an unusual abundance of large and gorgeous species of the genus _papilio_, { }and of large and showy nymphalidæ, morphidæ, and danaidæ, which render it, in favoured localities, only second to south america for a display of this form of beauty and variety in insect life. among the other orders of insects in which the himalayas are remarkably rich, we may mention large and brilliant cetoniidæ, chiefly of the genus _rhomborhima_; a magnificent lamellicorn, _euchirus macleayii_, allied to the gigantic long-armed beetle (_e. longimanus_) of amboyna; superb moths of the families agaristidæ and sesiidæ; elegant and remarkable fulgoridæ, and strange forms of the gigantic phasmidæ; most of which appear to be of larger size or of more brilliant colours than their malayan allies. _islands of the indo-chinese sub-region._--a few important islands belong to this sub-region, the andamans, formosa, and hainan being the most interesting. _andamans._--the only mammalia are a few rats and mice, a _paradoxurus_, and a pig supposed to be a hybrid race,--all of which may have been introduced by man's agency. the birds of the andaman islands have been largely collected, no less than species having been obtained; and of these , (all land-birds) are peculiar. the genera are all found on the continent, and are mostly characteristic of the indo-chinese fauna, to which most of the species belong. reptiles are also tolerably abundant; about species are known, the majority being found also on the continent, while a few are peculiar. there are also a few batrachia, and some fresh-water fishes, closely resembling those of burmah. the absence of such mammalia as monkeys and squirrels, which abound on the mainland, and which are easily carried over straits or narrow seas by floating trees, is sufficient proof that these islands have not recently formed part of the continent. the birds are mostly such as may have reached the islands while in their present geographical position; and the occurrence of reptiles and fresh-water fishes, said to be identical in species with those of burmah, must be due to the facilities, which some of these animals undoubtedly { }possess, for passing over a considerable width of sea. we must conclude, therefore, that these islands do not owe their existing fauna to an actual union with the mainland; but it is probable that they may have been formerly more extensive, and have then been less distant from the continent than at the present time. the nicobar islands, usually associated with the andamans, are less known, but present somewhat similar phenomena. they are, however, more malayan in their fauna, and seem properly to belong to the indo-malay sub-region. _formosa._--this island has been carefully examined by mr. swinhoe, who found species of birds, of which are peculiar. there is one peculiar genus, but the rest are all indo-chinese, though some of the species are more allied to malayan than to chinese or himalayan forms. about species of mammalia were found in formosa, of which are peculiar species, the rest being either chinese or himalayan. the peculiar species belong to the genera _talpa_, _helictis_, _sciuropterus_, _pteromys_, _mus_, _sus_, _cervus_, and _capricornis_. a few lizards and snakes of continental species have also been found. these facts clearly indicate the former connection of formosa with china and malaya, a connection which is rendered the more probable by the shallow sea which still connects all these countries. _hainan._--the island of hainan, on the south coast of china, is not so well known in proportion, though mr. swinhoe collected species of birds, of which were land-birds. of these about were peculiar species; the remainder being either chinese, himalayan, or indo-malayan. mr. swinhoe also obtained species of mammalia, all being chinese, himalayan, or indo-malayan species except a hare, which is peculiar. this assemblage of animals would imply that hainan, as might be anticipated from its position, has been more recently separated from the continent than the more distant island of formosa. _iv. indo-malaya, or the malayan sub-region._ this sub-region, which is almost wholly insular (including only the malayan peninsula on the continent of asia), is equal, if { }not superior, in the variety and beauty of its productions, to that which we have just been considering. like indo-china, it is a region of forests, but it is more exclusively tropical; and it is therefore deficient in many of those curious forms of the temperate zone of the himalayas, which seem to have been developed from palæarctic rather than from oriental types. here alone, in the oriental region, are found the most typical equatorial forms of life--organisms adapted to a climate characterised by uniform but not excessive heat, abundant moisture, and no marked departure from the average meteorological state, throughout the year. these favourable conditions of life only occur in three widely separated districts of the globe--the malay archipelago, western africa, and equatorial south america. hence perhaps it is, that the tapir and the trogons of malacca should so closely resemble those of south america; and that the great anthropoid apes and crested hornbills of western africa, should find their nearest allies in borneo and sumatra. although the islands which go to form this sub-region are often separated from each other by a considerable expanse of sea, yet their productions in general offer no greater differences than those of portions of the indo-chinese sub-region separated by an equal extent of dry land. the explanation is easy, however, when we find that the sea which separates them is a very shallow one, so shallow that an elevation of only feet would unite sumatra, java, and borneo into one great south-eastern prolongation of the asiatic continent. as we know that our own country has been elevated and depressed to a greater amount than this, at least twice in recent geological times, we can have no difficulty in admitting similar changes of level in the malay archipelago, where the subterranean forces which bring about such changes are still at work, as manifested by the great chain of active volcanoes in sumatra and java. proofs of somewhat earlier changes of level are to be seen in the tertiary coal formations of borneo, which demonstrate a succession of elevations and subsidences, with as much certainty as if we had historical record of them. it is not necessary to suppose, nor is it probable, that all these { }great islands were recently united to the continent, and that their separation took place by one general subsidence of the whole. it is more consonant with what we know of such matters, that the elevations and depressions were partial, varying in their points of action and often recurring; sometimes extending one part of an island, sometimes another; now joining an island to the main land, now bringing two islands into closer proximity. there is reason to believe that sometimes an intervening island has sunk or receded and allowed others which it before separated to effect a partial union independently of it. if we recognise the probability that such varied and often-renewed changes of level have occurred, we shall be better able to understand how certain anomalies of distribution in these islands may have been brought about. we will now endeavour to sketch the general features of the zoology of this interesting district, and then proceed to discuss some of the relations of the islands to each other. _mammalia._--we have seen that the indo-chinese sub-region possesses species of mammalia in common with the indo-malay sub-region, and others peculiar to itself, besides one ethiopian and several oriental and palæarctic forms of wide range. of this latter class the malay islands have comparatively few, but they possess no less than peculiar genera, viz. _simia_, _siamanga_, _tarsius_, _galeopithecus_, _hylomys_, _ptilocerus_, _gymnura_, _cynogale_, _hemigalea_, _arctogale_, _barangia_, _mydaus_, _helarctos_, and _tapirus_. the islands also possess tigers, deer, wild pigs, wild cattle, elephants, the scaly ant-eater, and most of the usual oriental genera; so that they are on the whole fully as rich as, if not richer than, any part of asia; a fact very unusual in island faunas, and very suggestive of their really continental nature. plate viii. [illustration] a forest in borneo, with characteristic mammalia. { }_plate viii. scene in borneo with characteristic malayan quadrupeds._--the malayan fauna is so rich and peculiar that we devote two plates to illustrate it. we have here a group of mammalia, such as might be seen together in the vast forests of borneo. in the foreground we have the beautiful deer-like chevrotain (_tragulus javanicus_). these are delicate little animals whose body is not larger than a rabbit's, thence often called "mouse-deer." they were formerly classed with the "musk-deer," owing to their similar tusk-like upper canines; but their anatomy shows them to form quite a distinct family, having more resemblance to the camels. on the branch above is the curious feather-tailed tree-shrew (_ptilocerus lowii_), a small insectivorous animal altogether peculiar to borneo. above this is the strange little tarsier (_tarsius spectrum_), one of the lemurs confined to the malay islands, but so distinct from all others as to constitute a separate family. the other small animals are the flying lemurs (_galæopithecus volans_) formerly classed with the lemurs, but now considered to belong to the insectivora. they have a very large expansion of the skin connecting the fore and hind limbs and tail, and are able to take long flights from one tree to another, and even to rise over obstacles in their course by the elevatory power of the tail-membrane. they feed chiefly on leaves, and have a very soft and beautifully marbled fur. in the distance is the malayan tapir (_tapirus indicus_), a representative of a group of animals now confined to the larger malay islands and tropical america, but which once ranged over the greater part of temperate europe. _birds._--owing to several of the families consisting of very obscure and closely allied species, which have never been critically examined and compared by a competent ornithologist, the number of birds inhabiting this sub-region is uncertain. from the best available materials there appear to be somewhat less than species of land-birds actually known, or excluding the philippine islands somewhat less than . the larger part of these are peculiar species, but mostly allied to those of indo-china; of the genera, as already stated, being common to these two sub-regions. there are, however, no less than genera which are peculiarly or wholly indo malayan and, in many cases, have no close affinity with other oriental groups. these peculiar genera are as follows:--_timalia_, _malacopteron_, _macronus_, _napothera_, _turdinus_, and _trichixos_--genera { }of timaliidæ; _eupetes_, a most remarkable form, perhaps allied to _enicurus_, and _cinclus_; _rhabdornis_ (certhiidæ) found only in the philippines; _psaltria_, a diminutive bird of doubtful affinities, provisionally classed among the tits (paridæ); _setornis_ (pycnonotidæ); _lalage_ (campephagidæ) extending eastward to the pacific islands; _pycnosphrys_, _philentoma_ (muscicapidæ); _laniellus_, a beautiful bird doubtfully classed with the shrikes (laniidæ); _platylophus_ and _pityriasis_, the latter a most anomalous form--perhaps a distinct family, at present classed with the jays, in corvidæ; _prionochilus_, a curious form classed with dicæidæ; _erythrura_ (ploceidæ), extending eastwards to the fiji islands; _gymnops_, _calornis_, (sturnidæ); _eurylæmus_, _corydon_, and _calyptomena_ (eurylæmidæ); _eucichla_, the longest tailed and most elegantly marked of the pittidæ; _reinwardtipicus_ and _miglyptes_ (picidæ); _psilopogon_ and _calorhamphus_, (megalæmidæ); _rhinococcyx_, _dasylophus_, _lepidogrammus_, _carpococcyx_, _zanclostomus_, _poliococcyx_, _rhinortha_, (cuculidæ); _berenicornis_, _caldo_, _cranorhinus_, _penelopides_, _rhinoplax_, (bucerotidæ); _psittinus_, (psittacidæ); _ptilopus_, _phapitreron_, (columbidæ); _rollulus_, (treronidæ); _machærhamphus_, (falconidæ). many of these genera are abundant and wide-spread, while some of the most characteristic himalayan genera, such as _larvivora_, _garrulax_, _hypsipetes_, _pomatorhinus_, and _dendrocitta_, are here represented by only a few species. among the groups that are characteristic of the malayan sub-region, the timaliidæ and pycnonotidæ stand pre-eminent; the former represented chiefly by the genera _timalia_, _malacopteron_, _macronus_, and _trichastoma_, the latter by _criniger_, _microscelis_, and many forms of _pycnonotus_. the muscicapidæ, dicruridæ, campephagidæ, ploceidæ, and nectariniidæ are also well developed; as well as the pittidæ, and the eurylæmidæ, the limited number of species of the latter being compensated by a tolerable abundance of individuals. among the picariæ are many conspicuous groups; as, woodpeckers (picidæ); barbets (megalæmidæ); trogons (trogonidæ); kingfishers (alcedinidæ); and hornbills (bucerotidæ); five families which are perhaps the most conspicuous in the whole fauna. lastly come the pigeons { }(columbidæ), and the pheasants (phasianidæ), which are fairly represented by such fine genera as _treron_, _ptilopus_, _euplocamus_, and _argusianus_. a few forms whose affinities are australian rather than oriental, help to give a character to the ornithology, though none of them are numerous. the swallow-shrikes (_artamus_); the wag-tail fly-catchers (_rhipidura_); the green fruit-doves (_ptilopus_); and the mound-makers (_megapodius_), are the chief of these. there are a few curious examples of remote geographical alliances that may be noted. first, we have a direct african connection in _machærhamphus_, a genus of hawks, and _berenicornis_, a genus of hornbills; the only close allies being, in the former case in south, and in the latter in west africa. then we have a curious neotropical affinity, indicated by _carpococcyx_, a large bornean ground-cuckoo, whose nearest ally is the genus _neomorphus_ of south america; and by the lovely green-coloured _calyptomena_ which seems unmistakably allied to the orange-coloured _rupicola_, or "cock of the rock," in general structure and in the remarkable form of crest, a resemblance which has been noticed by many writers. in the preceding enumeration of malayan genera several are included which extend into the austro-malay islands, our object, at present, being to show the differences and relations of the two chief oriental sub-regions. _plate ix. a malayan forest with some of its peculiar birds._--our second illustration of the malayan fauna is devoted to its bird-life; and for this purpose we place our scene in the malay peninsula, where birds are perhaps more abundant and more interesting, than in any other part of the sub-region. conspicuous in the foreground is the huge rhinoceros hornbill (_buceros rhinoceros_), one of the most characteristic birds of the malayan forests, the flapping of whose wings, as it violently beats the air to support its heavy body, may be heard a mile off. on the ground behind, is the argus pheasant (_argusianus giganteus_) whose beautifully ocellated wings have been the subject of a most interesting description in mr. darwin's _descent of man_. the wing-feathers are here so enormously { }developed for display (as shown in our figure) that they become almost, if not quite, useless for their original purpose of flight; yet the colours are so sober, harmonizing completely with the surrounding vegetation, and the bird is so wary, that in the forests where it abounds an old hunter assured me he had never been able to see a specimen till it was caught in his snares. it is interesting to note, that during the display of the plumage the bird's head is concealed by the wings from a spectator in front, and, contrary to what usually obtains among pheasants, the head is entirely unadorned, having neither crest nor a particle of vivid colour,--a remarkable confirmation of mr. darwin's views, that gayly coloured plumes are developed in the male bird for the purpose of attractive display in the breeding season. the long-tailed bird on the right is one of the drongo-shrikes (_bhringa remifer_), whose long bare tail-feathers, with an oar-like web at the end, and blue-black glossy plumage, render it a very attractive object as it flies after its insect prey. on the left is another singular bird the great broad-bill (_corydon sumatranus_), with dull and sombre plumage, but with a beak more like that of a boat-bill than of a fruit-eating passerine bird. over all, the white-handed gibbon (_hylobates lar_) swings and gambols among the topmost branches of the forest. _reptiles and amphibia._--these are not sufficiently known to be of much use for our present purpose. most of the genera belong to the continental parts of the oriental region, or have a wide range. of snakes _rhabdosoma_, _typhlocalamus_, _tetragonosoma_, _acrochordus_, and _atropos_, are the most peculiar, and there are several peculiar genera of homalopsidæ. of oriental genera, _cylindrophis_, _xenopeltes_, _calamaria_, _hypsirhina_, _psammodynastes_, _gonyosoma_, _tragops_, _dipsas_, _pareas_, _python_, _bungarus_, _naja_, and _callophis_ are abundant; as well as _simotes_, _ablabes_, _tropidonotus_, and _dendrophis_, which are widely distributed. among lizards _hydrosaurus_ and _gecko_ are common; there are many isolated groups of scincidæ; while _draco_, _calotes_, and many forms of agamidæ, some of which are peculiar, abound. plate ix. [illustration] a malayan forest, with its characteristic birds. { }among the amphibia, toads and frogs of the genera _micrhyla_, _kalophrynus_, _ansonia_, and _pseudobufo_, are peculiar: while the oriental _megalophrys_, _ixalus_, _rhacophorus_, and _hylorana_ are abundant and characteristic. _fishes._--the fresh-water fishes of the malay archipelago have been so well collected and examined by the dutch naturalists, that they offer valuable indications of zoo-geographical affinity; and they particularly well exhibit the sharply defined limits of the region, a large number of oriental and even ethiopian genera extending eastward as far as java and borneo, but very rarely indeed sending a single species further east, to celebes or the moluccas. thirteen families of fresh-water fishes are found in the indo-malay sub-region. of these the scienidæ and symbranchidæ have mostly a wide range in the tropics. ophiocephalidæ are exclusively oriental, reaching borneo and the philippine islands. the mastacembelidæ are also oriental, but one species is found as far as ceram. of the nandidæ, genera range over the whole region. the labyrinthici extend from africa through the oriental region to amboyna, the single species constituting the family luciocephalidæ is confined to borneo and the small islands of biliton and banca. of the extensive family siluridæ genera are oriental and malayan, and are malayan exclusively; and not one of these appears to pass beyond the limits of the sub-region. the cyprinidæ offer an equally striking example, genera ranging eastward to java and borneo and not one beyond; of these being exclusively malayan. it must be remembered that this is not from any want of knowledge of the countries farther east, as extensive collections have also been made in celebes, the moluccas, and timor; so that the facts of distribution of fresh-water fishes come, most unexpectedly, to fortify that division of the archipelago into two primary regions, which was founded on a consideration of mammalia and birds only. _insects._--few countries in the world can present a richer and more varied series of insects than the indo-malay islands, and we can only here notice a few of their more striking peculiarities and more salient features. { }the butterflies of this sub-region, according to the best estimate that can be formed, amount to about described species, a number that will yet, no doubt, be very considerably increased. the genera which appear to be peculiar to it are _erites_ (satyridæ); _zeuxidia_ (morphidæ); _amnosia_, _xanthotænia_, and _tanæcia_ (nymphalidæ). the groups which are most characteristic of the region, either from their abundance in individuals or species, or from their size and beauty, are--the rich dark-coloured _euplæa_; the large semi-transparent _hestia_; the plain-coloured _mycalesis_, which replace our meadow-brown butterflies (_hipparchia_); the curious _elymnias_, which often closely resemble euplæas; the large and handsome _thamantis_ and _zeuxidia_, which take the place of the giant morphos of south america; the _cethosia_, of the brightest red, and marked with a curious zigzag pattern; the velvety and blue-glossed _terinos_; the pale and delicately-streaked _cyrestis_; the thick-bodied and boldly coloured _adolias_; the small wine-coloured _taxila_; the fine blue _amblypodia_; the beautiful _thyca_, elegantly marked underneath with red and yellow, which represent our common white butterflies and are almost equally abundant; the pale blue _eronia_, and the large red-tipped _iphias_. the genus _papilio_ is represented by a variety of fine groups; the large _ornithoptera_, with satiny yellow under-wings; the superb green-marked "_brookeana_;" the "_paradoxa_" group, often closely resembling the euplæas that abound in the same district; the "_paris_" group richly dusted with golden-green specks; the "_helenus_" group with wide-spreading black and white wings; the black and crimson "_polydorus_" group; the "_memnon_" group, of the largest size and richly-varied colours; and the "_eurypilus_" group, elegantly banded or spotted with blue or green: all these are so abundant that some of them are met with in every walk, and are a constant delight to the naturalist who has the privilege of observing them in their native haunts. the coleoptera are far less prominent and require to be carefully sought after; but they then well repay the collector. as affording some measure of the productiveness of the tropics in insect life it will not be out of place to give a few notes of the { }number of species collected by myself in some of the best localities. at singapore species of coleoptera were collected in days, and in a month the number had increased to ; of which were longicorns and rhyncophora. at sarawak in borneo i obtained species in days, and in a month. in two months this number had increased to about , and in three months to , species. this was the most prolific spot i ever collected in, especially for longicorns which formed about one-fifth of all the species of beetles. in the aru islands in one month, i obtained only species of coleoptera, and about species of insects of all orders; and this may be taken as a fair average, in localities where no specially favourable conditions existed. on the average to species of coleoptera would be a good day's collecting; exceptionally good; while the largest number ever obtained in one day was , and the majority of these would be very minute insects. it must be remembered, however, that many very common species were passed over, yet had every species met with been collected, not much more than species would ever have been obtained in one day's collecting of four or five hours. these details may afford an interesting standard of comparison for collectors in other parts of the world. of cicindelidæ the most peculiarly malayan form is _therates_, found always on leaves in the forests in the same localities as the more widely spread _collyris_. five genera of this family are indo-malayan. the carabidæ, though sufficiently plentiful, are mostly of small size, and not conspicuous in any way. but there is one striking exception in the purely malayan genus _mormolyce_, the largest and most remarkable of the whole family. it is nocturnal, resting during the days on the under side of large _boleti_ in the virgin forest. _pericallus_ and _catascopus_ are among the few genera which are at all brillantly coloured. buprestidæ are abundant, and very gay; the genus _belionota_ being perhaps one of the most conspicuous and characteristic. the giant _catoxantha_ is, however, the most peculiar, though comparatively scarce. _chrysochroa_ and _chalcophora_ are also { }abundant and characteristic. out of the oriental genera are malayan, and of these are not found in the other sub-regions. in lucanidæ the malay islands are rich, out of the oriental genera occurring there, and being peculiar. there are many fine species of _odontolabris_, which may be considered the characteristic genus of the sub-region. the cetoniidæ are well represented by genera and about species. the genera _mycteristes_, _phædimus_, _plectrone_, _euremina_, _rhagopteryx_ and _centrognathus_ are peculiar, while _agestrata_, _chalcothea_, and _macronota_ are abundant and characteristic. the longicorns, as in all continental forest regions near the equator, are very abundant and in endlessly varied forms. no less than genera containing about species are peculiar to this sub-region, the cerambycidæ being much the most numerous. _euryarthrum_, _coelosterna_, _agelasta_, and _astathes_ may be considered as most characteristic; but to name the curious and interesting forms would be to give a list of half the genera. for the relations of the longicorns of the indo-malay, and those of the austro-malay region, the reader is referred to the chapter on the distribution of insects in the succeeding part of this work. _terrestrial mollusca._--the philippine islands are celebrated as being one of the richest parts of the world for land shells, about species being known. the other islands of the sub-region are far less rich, not more than about species having yet been described from the whole of them. _helix_ and _bulimus_ both abound in species in the philippines, whereas the latter genus is very scarce in borneo and java. ten genera of helicidæ inhabit the sub-region; _pfeifferia_ is found in the philippines and moluccas, while the large genus _cochlostyla_ is almost peculiar to the philippines. of the operculata there are representatives of genera, of which _dermatoma_ and _pupinella_ are peculiar, while _registoma_ and _callia_ extend to the australian region. _cyclophorus_, _leptopoma_, and _pupina_ are perhaps the most characteristic genera. { }_the zoological relations of the several islands of the indo-malay sub-region._ although we have grouped the philippine islands with the indo-malay sub-region, to which, as we shall see, they undoubtedly belong, yet most of the zoological characteristics we have just sketched out, apply more especially to the other groups of islands and the malay peninsula. the philippine islands stand, to malaya proper, in the same relation that madagascar does to africa or the antilles to south america; that is, they are remarkable for the absence of whole families and genera which everywhere characterise the remainder of the district. they are, in fact, truly insular, while the other islands are really continental in all the essential features of their natural history. before, therefore, we can conveniently compare the separate islands of malaya[ ] with each other, we must first deal with the philippine group, showing in what its speciality consists, and why it must be considered apart from the sub-region to which it belongs. _mammals of the philippine islands._--the only mammalia recorded as inhabiting the philippine islands are the following:-- quadrumana. . macacus cynomolgus. . cynopithecus niger. dr. semper doubts this being a philippine species. lemuroidea. . tarsius spectrum. insectivora. . galeopithecus philippinensis. . tupaia (species). on dr. semper's authority. carnivora. . viverra tangalunga. . paradoxurus philippensis. ungulata. . sus (species). on dr. semper's authority. . cervus mariannus. . cervus philippensis. . cervus alfredi. . bos (species). wild cattle; perhaps introduced. rodentia. . phlæomys cummingii. . scuirus philippinensis. also species, belonging to genera, of bats. { }the foregoing list, although small, contains an assemblage of species which are wholly oriental in character, and several of which (_tarsius_, _galeopithecus_, _tupaia_) are characteristic and highly peculiar malayan forms. at the same time these islands are completely separated from the rest of malaya by the total absence of _semnopithecus_, _hylobates_, _felis_, _helarctos_, _rhinoceros_, _manis_, and other groups constantly found in the great indo-malay islands and peninsula of malacca. we find apparently two sets of animals: a more ancient series, represented by the deer, _galeopithecus_, and squirrel, in which the species are distinct from any others; and a more recent series, represented by _macacus cynomolgus_, and _viverra tangalunga_, identical with common malayan animals. the former indicate the earliest period when these volcanic islands were connected with some part of the malayan sub-region, and they show that this was not geologically remote, since no peculiar generic types have been preserved or differentiated. the latter may indicate either the termination of the period of union, or merely the effects of introduction by man. the reason why a larger number of mammalian forms were not introduced and established, was probably because the union was effected only with some small islands, and from these communicated to other parts of the archipelago; or it may well be that later subsidences extinguished some of the forms that had established themselves. _birds of the philippine islands._--these have been carefully investigated by viscount walden, in a paper read before the zoological society of london in , and we are thus furnished with ample information on the relations of this important portion of the fauna. the total number of birds known to inhabit the philippines is , of which are peculiar. if, however, following our usual plan, we take only the land-birds, we find the numbers to be species, of which are peculiar; an unusually large proportion for a group of islands so comparatively near to various parts of the oriental and australian regions. the families of birds which are more especially characteristic of the indo-malay sub-region are about in number, and examples { }of all these are found in the philippines except four, viz., cinclidæ, phyllornithidæ, eurylæmidæ, and podargidæ. the only philippine families which are, otherwise, exclusively austro-malayan are, cacatuidæ and megapodiidæ. yet although the birds are unmistakably malayan, as a whole, there are, as in the mammalia (though in a less degree), marked deficiencies of most characteristic malayan forms. lord walden gives a list of no less than genera thus absent; but it will be sufficient here to mention such wide-spread and specially indo-malay groups as,--_eurylæmus_, _nyctiornis_, _arachnothera_, _geocichla_, _malacopteron_, _timalia_, _pomatorhinus_, _phyllornis_, _iora_, _criniger_, _enicurus_, _chaptia_, _tchitrea_, _dendrocitta_, _eulabes_, _palæornis_, _miglyptes_, _tiga_, and _euplocamus_. these deficiencies plainly show the isolated character of the philippine group, and imply that it has never formed a part of that indo-malayan extension of the continent which almost certainly existed when the peculiar malayan fauna was developed; or that, if it has been so united, it has been subsequently submerged and broken up to such an extent, as to cause the extinction of many of the absent types. it appears from lord walden's careful analysis, that of the philippine species occur in the papuan sub-region, and in celebes; occur also in india, and in java. this last fact is curious, since java is the most remote of the malayan islands, but it is found to arise almost wholly from the birds of that island being better known, since only one species, _xantholæma rosea_, is confined to the philippine islands and java. the wading and swimming birds are mostly of wide-spread forms, only out of the species being peculiar to the philippine archipelago. confining ourselves to the land-birds, and combining several of the minutely subdivided genera of lord walden's paper so as to agree with the arrangement adopted in this work, we find that there are genera of land-birds represented in the islands. of these, are either cosmopolitan, of wide range, or common to the oriental and australian regions, and may be put aside as affording few indications of geographical affinity. of the remaining no less than are exclusively { }or mainly oriental, and most of them are genera which range widely over the region, only two (_philentoma_ and _rollulus_) being exclusively malayan, and two others (_megalurus_ and _malacocircus_) more especially indian or continental. five other genera, though having a wide range, are typically palæarctic, and have reached the islands through north china. they are, _monticola_, _acrocephalus_, _phylloscopus_, _calliope_, and _passer_; the two first having extended their range southward into the moluccas. the peculiarly australian genera are only , the majority being characteristic papuan and moluccan forms; such as--_campephaga_, _alcyone_, _cacatua_, _tanygnathus_, _ptilopus_, _janthænas_, _<phlogænas_, and _megapodius_. one is peculiar to celebes (_prioniturus_); one to the papuan group (_cyclopsitta_); and one is chiefly australian (_gerygone_). the beautiful little parroquets forming the genus _loriculus_, are characteristic of the philippines, which possess species, a larger number than occurs in any other group of islands, though they range from india to new guinea. there remain six peculiar genera--_rhabdornis_, an isolated form of creepers (certhiidæ); _gymnops_, a remarkable bareheaded bird belonging to the starlings (sturnidæ); _dasylophus_, and _lepidogrammus_, remarkable genera of cuckoos (cuculidæ); _penelopides_, a peculiar hornbill, and _phapitreron_, a genus of pigeons. besides these there are four other types (here classed as sub-genera, but considered to be distinct by lord walden) which are peculiar to the philippines. these are _pseudoptynx_, an owl of the genus _athene_; _pseudolalage_, a sub-genus of _lalage_; _zeocephus_, a sub-genus of _tchitrea_; and _ptilocolpa_, included under _carpophaga_. when we look at the position of the philippine group, connected by the bashee islands with formosa, by palawan and the sooloo archipelago with borneo, and by the tulour and other islets with the moluccas and celebes, we have little difficulty in accounting for the peculiarities of its bird fauna. the absence of a large number of malayan groups would indicate that the actual connection with borneo, which seems necessary for the introduction of the malay types of mammalia, was not of long duration; while the large proportion of wide-spread continental genera of birds would seem to imply that greater facilities had { }once existed for immigration from southern china, perhaps by a land connection through formosa, at which time the ancestors of the peculiar forms of deer entered the country. it may indeed be objected that our knowledge of these islands is far too imperfect to arrive at any satisfactory conclusions as to their former history; but although many more species no doubt remain to be discovered, experience shows that the broad characters of a fauna are always determined by a series of collections made by different persons, at various localities, and at different times, even when more imperfect than those of the philippine birds really are. the isolated position, and the volcanic structure of the group, would lead us to expect them to be somewhat less productive than the moluccas, close to the rich and varied papuan district,--or than celebes, with its numerous indications of an extensive area and great antiquity; and taking into account the excessive poverty of its mammalian fauna, which is certain to be pretty well known, i am inclined to believe that no future discoveries will materially alter the character of philippine ornithology, as determined from the materials already at our command. _java._--following the same plan as we have adopted in first discussing the philippine islands, and separating them from the body of the sub-region on account of special peculiarities, we must next take java, as possessing marked individuality, and as being to some extent more isolated in its productions than the remaining great islands. java is well supplied with indigenous mammalia, possessing as nearly as can be ascertained genera and species. none of these genera are peculiar, and only about of the species,-- quadrumana, a deer and a wild pig. so far then there is nothing remarkable in its fauna, but on comparing it with that of the other great islands, viz., borneo and sumatra, and the malay peninsula, we find an unmistakable deficiency of characteristic forms, the same in kind as that we have just commented on in the case of the philippines, though much less in degree. first, taking genera which are found in all three of the above-named { }localities and which must therefore be held to be typical malayan groups, the following are absent from java: _viverra_, _gymnopus_, _lutra_, _helarctos_, _tapirus_, _elephas_, and _gymnura_; while of those _known_ to occur in two, and which, owing to our imperfect knowledge, may very probably one day be discovered in the third, the following are equally wanting: _simia_, _siamanga_, _hemigalea_, _paguma_, _rhinosciurus_, and _rhizomys_. it may be said this is only negative evidence, but in the case of java it is much more, because this island is not only the best known of any in the archipelago, but there is perhaps no portion of british india of equal extent so well known. it is one of the oldest of the dutch possessions and the seat of their colonial government; good roads traverse it in every direction, and experienced naturalists have been resident in various parts of it for years together, and have visited every mountain and every forest, aided by bands of diligent native collectors. we should be almost as likely to find new species of mammalia in central europe as in java; and therefore the absence of such animals as the malay bear, the elephant, tapir, gymnura, and even less conspicuous forms, must be accepted as a positive fact. in the other islands there are still vast tracts of forest in the hands of natives and utterly unexplored, and any similar absence in their case will prove little; yet on making the same comparison in the case of borneo, the most peculiar and the least known of the other portions of the sub-region, we find only genera absent which are found in the three other divisions, and only which are found in two others. a fact to be noted also is, that the only genus found in java but not in other parts of the sub-region (_helictis_) occurs again in north india; and that some javan _species_, as _rhinoceros javanicus_, and _lepus kurgosa_ occur again in the indo-chinese sub-region, but not in the malayan. among the birds we meet with facts of a similar import; and though the absence of certain types from java is not quite so certain as among the mammalia, this is more than balanced by the increased number of such deficiencies, so that if a few { }should be proved to be erroneous, the main result will remain unaltered. java possesses about species of land birds, of which about are peculiar to it. there are, however, very few peculiar genera, _laniellus_, a beautiful spotted shrike, being the most distinct, while _cochoa_ and _psaltria_ are perhaps not different from their indian allies. the island has however a marked individuality in two ways--in the absence of characteristic malayan types, and in the presence of a number of forms not yet found in any of the other malay islands, but having their nearest allies in various parts of the indo-chinese sub-region. the following genera are all found in malacca, sumatra, and borneo, but are absent from java: _setornis_, _temnurus_, _dendrocitta_, _corydon_, _calyptomena_, _venilia_, _reinwardtipicus_, _caloramphus_, _rhinortha_, _nyctiornis_, _cranorhinus_, _psittinus_, _polyplectron_, _argusianus_, _euplocamus_, and _rollulus_. the following are known from _two_ of the above localities, and will very probably be found in the third, but are absent from, and not likely to occur in, java: _trichixos_, _eupetes_, _melanochlora_, _chaptia_, _pityriasis_, _lyncornis_, _carpococcyx_, _poliococcyx_, and _rhinoplax_. we have thus typically malayan genera which are not known to occur in java. the following genera, on the other hand, do not occur in any of the malayan sub-divisions except java, and they all occur again, or under closely allied forms, in the indo-chinese sub-region; _brachypteryx_ (allied species in himalayas); _zoothera_ (allied species in aracan); _notodela_ (allied species in pegu); _pnoëpyga_ (allied species in himalayas); _allotrius_ (allied species in the himalayas); _cochoa_ (allied species in the himalayas); _crypsirhina_ (allied species in burmah); _estrilda_ (allied species in india); _psaltria_ (allied genus--_Ægithaliscus_--in himalayas); _pavo muticus_ and _harpactes oreskios_ (same species in siam and burmah); _cecropis striolata_ (same species in java and formosa, and allied species in india). here we have instances of very remarkable distribution, and considering that there are nearly as many birds known from sumatra and borneo as from java, and considerably more from { }the malay peninsula, it is not likely that many of these well marked forms will be discovered in these countries. there are also a considerable number of species of birds common to malacca, sumatra, and borneo, but represented in java by distinct though closely allied species. such are,-- _venilia malaccensis_ (represented in java by) _v. miniata_. _drymocataphus nigrocapitatus_ " " _d. capistratus_. _malacopteron coronatum_ " " _m. rufifrons_. _irena cyanea_ " " _i. turcosa_. _ploceus baya_ " " _p. hypoxantha_. _loriculus galgulus_ " " _l. pusillus_. _ptilopus jambu_ " " _p. porphyreus_. now if we look at our map of the region, and consider the position of java with regard to borneo, sumatra, and the indo-chinese peninsula, the facts just pointed out appear most anomalous and perplexing. first, we have java and sumatra forming one continuous line of volcanoes, separated by a very narrow strait, and with all the appearance of having formed one continuous land; yet their productions differ considerably, and those of sumatra show the closest resemblance to those of borneo, an island ten times further off than java and differing widely in the absence of volcanoes or any continuous range of lofty mountains. then again, not only does java differ from these two, but it agrees with a country beyond them both--a country from which they seem to have a much better chance to have been supplied by immigration than java has, and to have (almost necessarily) participated, even more largely, in the benefits of any means of transmission capable of reaching the latter island. yet more; whatever changes have occurred to bring about the anomalous state of things that exists must have been, zoologically and geologically, recent; for the strange cross-affinities between java and the indo-chinese continent (in which sumatra and borneo have not participated), as well as that between malacca, sumatra, and borneo (in which java has not participated) are exhibited, in many cases by community of _species_, in others by the presence of very closely allied forms of the same _genera_, of mammalia and birds. now we know that { }these higher animals become replaced by allied species much more rapidly than the mollusca; and it is also pretty certain that the modification by which this replacement is effected takes place more rapidly when the two sets of individuals are isolated from each other, and especially when they are restricted to islands, where they are necessarily subject to distinct and pretty constant conditions, both physical and organic. it becomes therefore almost a certainty, that siam and java on the one hand, and sumatra, borneo, and malacca on the other must have been brought into some close connexion, not earlier than the newer pliocene period; but while the one set of countries were having their meeting, the other must have been by some means got out of the way. before attempting to indicate the mode by which this might have been effected in accordance with what we know of the physical geography, geology, and vegetation of the several islands, it will be as well to complete our sketch of their zoological relations to each other, so as ascertain with some precision, what are the facts of distribution which we have to explain. _malacca, sumatra, and borneo._--after having set apart the philippine islands and java, we have remaining two great islands and a peninsula, which, though separated by considerable arms of the sea, possess a fauna of wonderful uniformity having all the typical malayan features in their full development. their unity is indeed so complete, that we can find hardly any groups of sufficient importance by which to differentiate them from each other; and we feel no confidence that future discoveries may not take away what speciality they possess. one after another, species or genera once peculiar to borneo or sumatra have been found elsewhere; and this has gone to such an extent in birds, that hardly a peculiar genus and very few peculiar species are left in either island. borneo however is undoubtedly the most peculiar. it possesses three genera of mammalia not found elsewhere; _cynogale_, a curious carnivore allied to the otters; with _dendrogale_ and _ptilocerus_, small insectivora allied to _tupaia_. it has _simia_, the { }orang-utan, and _paguma_, one of the viverridæ, in common with sumatra; as well as _rhinosciurus_, a peculiar form of squirrel, and _hemigalea_, one of the viverridæ, in common with malacca. sumatra has only one genus not found in any other malayan district--_nemorhedus_, a form of antelope which occurs again in north india. it also has _siamanga_ in common with malacca, _mydaus_ with java, and _rhizomys_ with india. the malay peninsula seems to have no peculiar forms of mammalia, though it is rich in all the characteristic malay types. the bats of the various islands have been very unequally collected, species being recorded from java, from sumatra, but only each from borneo and malacca. leaving these out of consideration, and taking into account the terrestrial mammals only, we find that java is the poorest in species, while borneo, sumatra, and malacca are tolerably equal; the numbers being , , , and respectively. of these we find that the species confined to each island or district are (in the same order) , , , and . it thus appears that borneo is, in its mammalia, the most isolated and peculiar; next comes sumatra, and then malacca and java, as shown by the following table. peculiar peculiar genera. species. borneo sumatra malacca java this result differs from that which we have arrived at by the more detailed consideration of the fauna of java; and it serves to show that the estimate of a country by the number of its peculiar genera and species alone, may not always represent its true zoological importance or its most marked features. java, as we have seen, is differentiated from the other three districts by the absence of numerous types common to them all, and by its independent continental relations. borneo is also well distinguished by its peculiar genera and specific types, yet it is at the same time more closely related to sumatra and malacca than is java. the two islands have evidently had a very different history, which a detailed knowledge of their geology { }would alone enable us to trace. should we ever arrive at a fair knowledge of the physical changes that have resulted in the present condition, we shall almost certainly find that many of the differences and anomalies of their existing fauna and flora will be accounted for. in birds we hardly find anything to differentiate borneo and sumatra in any clear manner. _pityriasis_ and _carpococcyx_, once thought peculiar to the former, are now found also in the latter; and we have not a single genus left to characterize borneo except _schwaneria_ a peculiar fly-catcher, and _indicator_, an african and indian group not known to occur elsewhere in the malay sub-region. sumatra as yet alone possesses _psilopogon_, a remarkable form of barbet, but we may well expect that it will be soon found in the interior of borneo or malacca; it also has _berenicornis_, an african form of hornbill. the malay peninsula appears to have no genus peculiar to it, but it possesses some chinese and indian forms which do not pass into the islands. as to the species, our knowledge of them is at present very imperfect. the malay peninsula is perhaps the best known, but it is probable that both sumatra and borneo are quite as rich in species. with the exception of the genera noted above, and two or three others as yet found in two islands only, the three districts we are now considering may be said to have an almost identical bird-fauna, consisting largely of the same species and almost wholly of these together with closely allied species of the same genera. there are no well-marked groups which especially characterise one of these islands rather than the other, so that even the amount of speciality which borneo undoubtedly exhibits as regards mammalia, is only faintly shown by its birds. the pittidæ may perhaps be named as the most characteristic bornean group, that island possessing six species, three of which are peculiar to it and are among the most beautiful birds of an unusually beautiful family. yet sumatra possesses two peculiar, and hardly less remarkable species. in other classes of vertebrates, in insects, and in land-shells, our knowledge is far too imperfect to allow of our making any useful comparison between the faunas. { }_banca._--we must, however note the fact of peculiar species occurring in banca, a small island close to sumatra, and thus offering another problem in distribution. a squirrel (_sciurus bangkanus_) is allied to three species found in malacca, sumatra, and borneo respectively, but quite as distinct from them all as they are from each other. more curious are the two species of _pitta_ peculiar to banca; one, _pitta megarhynchus_, is allied to the _p. brachyurus_, which inhabits the whole sub-region and extends to siam and china, but differs from it in its very large bill and differently coloured head; the other, _p. bangkanus_, is allied to _p. cucullatus_, which extends from nepal to malacca, and to _p. sordidus_, which inhabits both borneo and sumatra as well as the philippines. we have here, on a small scale, a somewhat similar problem to that of java, and as this is comparatively easy of solution we will consider it first. although, on the map, banca is so very close to sumatra, the observer on the spot at once sees that the proximity has been recently brought about. the whole south-east coast of sumatra is a great alluvial plain, hardly yet raised above the sea level, and half flooded in the wet season. it is plainly a recent formation, caused by the washing down into a shallow sea of the _débris_ from the grand range of volcanic mountains miles distant. banca, on the other hand is, though low, a rugged and hilly island, formed almost wholly of ancient rocks of apparently volcanic origin, and closely resembling parts of the malay peninsula and the intervening chain of small islands. there is every appearance that banca once formed the extremity of the peninsula, at which time it would probably have been separated from sumatra by or miles of sea. its productions should, therefore, most resemble those of singapore and malacca, and the few peculiar species it possesses will be due to their isolation in a small tract of country, surrounded by a limited number of animal and vegetable forms, and subject to the influence of a peculiar soil and climate. the parent species existing in such large tracts as borneo or sumatra, subjected to more varied conditions of soil, climate, vegetation, food, and enemies, would preserve, almost or quite { }unchanged, the characteristics which had been developed under nearly identical conditions when the great island formed part of the continent. geology teaches us that similar changes in the forms of the higher vertebrates have taken place during the post-tertiary epoch; and there are other reasons for believing that, under such conditions of isolation as in banca, the change may have required but a very moderate period, even reckoned in years. we will now return to the more difficult problem presented by the peculiar continental relations of java, as already detailed. _probable recent geographical changes in the indo-malay islands._--although borneo is by far the largest of the indo-malay islands, yet its physical conformation is such that, were a depression to occur of one or two thousand feet, it would be reduced to a smaller continuous area than either sumatra or java. except in its northern portion it possesses no lofty mountains, while alluvial valleys of great extent penetrate far into its interior. a very moderate depression, of perhaps feet, would convert it into an island shaped something like celebes; and its mountains are of so small an average elevation, and consist so much of isolated hills and detached ranges, that a depression of , feet would almost certainly break it up into a group of small islands, with a somewhat larger one to the north. sumatra (and to a less extent java) consists of an almost continuous range of lofty mountains, connected by plateaus from , to , feet high; so that although a depression of , feet would greatly diminish their size, it would probably leave the former a single island, while the latter would be separated into two principal islands of still considerable extent. the enormous amount of volcanic action in these two islands, and the great number of conical mountains which must have been slowly raised, chiefly by ejected matter, to the height of , and , feet, and whose shape indicates that they have been formed above water, renders it almost certain that for long periods they have not undergone submersion to any considerable extent. in borneo, however, we have no such evidences. no volcano, { }active or extinct, is known in its entire area; while extensive beds of coal of tertiary age, in every part of it, prove that it has been subject to repeated submersions, at no distant date geologically. an indication, if not a proof, of still more recent submersion is to be found in the great alluvial valleys which on the south and south-west extend fully miles inland, while they are to a less degree a characteristic feature all round the island. these swampy plains have been formed by the combined action of rivers and tides; and they point clearly to an immediately preceding state of things, when that which is even now barely raised above the ocean, was more or less sunk below it. these various indications enable us to claim, as an admissible and even probable supposition, that at some epoch during the pliocene period of geology, borneo, as we now know it, did not exist; but was represented by a mountainous island at its present northern extremity, with perhaps a few smaller islets to the south. we thus have a clear opening from java to the siamese peninsula; and as the whole of that sea is less than fathoms deep, there is no difficulty in supposing an elevation of land connecting the two together, quite independent of borneo on the one hand and sumatra on the other. this union did not probably last long; but it was sufficient to allow of the introduction into java of the _rhinoceros javanicus_, and that group of indo-chinese and himalayan species of mammalia and birds which it alone possesses. when this ridge had disappeared by subsidence, the next elevation occurred a little more to the east, and produced the union of many islets which, aided by sub-aerial denudation, formed the present island of borneo. it is probable that this elevation was sufficiently extensive to unite borneo for a time with the malay peninsula and sumatra, thus helping to produce that close resemblance of genera and even of species, which these countries exhibit, and obliterating much of their former speciality, of which, however, we have still some traces in the long-nosed monkey and _ptilocerus_ of borneo, and the considerable number of genera both of mammalia and birds confined to two only out of the three divisions of typical malaya. the subsidence which again divided these { }countries by arms of the sea rather wider than at present, might have left banca isolated, as already referred to, with its proportion of the common fauna to be, in a few instances, subsequently modified. thus we are enabled to understand how the special relations of the _species_ of these islands to each other may have been brought about. to account for their more deep-seated and general zoological features, we must go farther back. _probable origin of the malayan fauna._--the typical malayan fauna is essentially an equatorial one, and must have been elaborated in an extensive equatorial area. this ancient land almost certainly extended northward over the shallow sea as far as the island of palawan, the paracels shoals and even hainan. to the east, it may at one time have included the philippines and celebes, but not the moluccas. to the south it was limited by the deep sea beyond java. it included all sumatra and the nicobar islands, and there is every reason to believe that it stretched out also to the west so as to include the central peak of ceylon, the maldive isles, and the cocos islands west of sumatra. we should then have an area as extensive as south america to ° south latitude, and well calculated to develop that luxuriant fauna and flora which has since spread to the himalayas. the submergence of the western half of this area (leaving only a fragment in ceylon) would greatly diminish the number of animals and perhaps extinguish some peculiar types; but the remaining portion would still form a compact and extensive district, twice as large as the peninsula of india, over the whole of which a uniform malayan fauna would prevail. the first important change would be the separation of celebes; and this was probably effected by a great subsidence, forming the deep strait that now divides that island from borneo. during the process celebes itself was no doubt greatly submerged, leaving only a few islands in which were preserved that remnant of the ancient malayan fauna that now constitutes one of its most striking and anomalous features. the philippine area would next be separated, and perhaps be almost wholly submerged; or { }broken up into many small volcanic islets in which a limited number of malayan types alone survived. such a condition of things will account for the very small variety of mammalia compared with the tolerably numerous genera of birds, that now characterise its fauna; while both here and in celebes we find some of the old malayan types preserved, which, in the extended area of the sunda isles have been replaced by more dominant forms. the next important change would be the separation of java; and here also no doubt a considerable submergence occurred, rendering the island an unsuitable habitation for the various malay types whose absence forms one of its conspicuous features. it has since remained permanently separated from the other islands, and has no doubt developed some peculiar species, while it may have preserved some ancient forms which in the larger area have become changed. from the fact that a number of its species are confined either to the western or the eastern half of the island, it is probable that it long continued as two islands, which have become united at a comparatively recent period. it has also been subjected to the immigration of indo-chinese forms, as already referred to in the earlier part of this sketch. we have thus shown how the main zoological features of the several sub-divisions of the malayan sub-region may be accounted for, by means of a series of suppositions as to past changes which, though for the most part purely hypothetical, are always in accordance with what we know both of the physical geography and the zoology of the districts in question and those which surround them. it may also be remarked, that we know, with a degree of certainty which may be called absolute, that alternate elevation and subsidence is the normal state of things all over the globe; that it was the rule in the earliest geological epochs, and that it has continued down to the historical era. we know too, that the _amount_ of elevation and subsidence that can be proved to have occurred again and again in the same area, is often much greater than is required for the changes here speculated on,--while the _time_ required for such changes is certainly less than that necessitated by the changes { }of specific and generic forms which have coincided with, and been to a large extent dependent on them. we have, therefore, true causes at work, and our only suppositions have been as to how those causes could have brought about the results which we see; and however complex and unlikely some of the supposed changes may seem to the reader, the geologist who has made a study of such changes, as recorded in the crust of the earth, will not only admit them to be probable, but will be inclined to believe that they have really been far more complex and more unexpected than any supposition we can make about them. there is one other external relation of the malayan fauna about which it may be necessary to say a few words. i have supposed the greatest westward extension of the malayan area to be indicated by the maldive islands, but some naturalists would extend it to include madagascar in order to account for the range of the lemuridæ. such an extension would, however, render it difficult to explain the very small amount of correspondence with a pervading diversity, between the malayan and malagasy faunas. it seems more reasonable to suppose an approximation of the two areas, without actual union having ever occurred. this approximation would have allowed the interchange of certain genera of birds, which are common to the oriental region and the mascarene islands, but it would have been too recent to account for the diffusion of the lemurs, which belong to distinct genera and even distinct families. this probably dates back to a much earlier period, when the lemurine type had a wide range over the northern hemisphere. subjected to the competition of higher forms, these imperfectly developed groups have mostly died out, except a few isolated examples, chiefly found in islands, and a few groups in africa. in our discussion of the origin of the ethiopian fauna, we have supposed that a close connection once existed between madagascar and ceylon. this was during a very early tertiary epoch; and if, long after it had ceased and the fauna of ceylon and south india had assumed somewhat more of their present character, we suppose the approximation or union of ceylon { }and malaya to have taken place, we shall perhaps be able to account for most of the special affinities they present, with the least amount of simultaneous elevation of the ocean bed; which it must always be remembered, requires a corresponding depression elsewhere to balance it. _concluding remarks on the oriental region._--we have already so fully discussed the internal and external relations of the several sub-regions, that little more need be said. the rich and varied fauna which inhabited europe at the dawn of the tertiary period,--as shown by the abundant remains of mammalia wherever suitable deposits of eocene age have been discovered,--proves, that an extensive palæarctic continent then existed; and the character of the flora and fauna of the eocene deposits is so completely tropical, that we may be sure there was then no barrier of climate between it and the oriental region. at that early period the northern plains of asia were probably under water, while the great thibetan plateau and the himalayan range, had not risen to more than a moderate height, and would have supported a luxuriant sub-tropical flora and fauna. the upper miocene deposits of northern and central india, and burmah, agree in their mammalian remains with those of central and southern europe, while closely allied forms of elephant, hyæna, tapir, rhinoceros, and _chalicotherium_ have occurred in north china; leading us to conclude that one great fauna then extended over much of the oriental and palæarctic regions. perim island at the mouth of the red sea, where similar remains are found, probably shows the southern boundary of this part of the old palæarctic region in the miocene period. towards the equator there would, of course, be some peculiar groups; but we can hardly doubt, that, in that wonderful time when even the lands that stretched out furthest towards the pole, supported a luxuriant forest vegetation, substantially one fauna ranged over the whole of the great eastern continent of the northern hemisphere. during the pliocene period, however, a progressive change went on which resulted in the complete differentiation of the oriental and palæarctic faunas. the { }causes of this change were of two kinds. there was a great geographical and physical revolution effected by the elevation of the himalayas and the thibetan plateau, and, probably at the same time, the northward extension of the great siberian plains. this alone would produce an enormous change of climate in all the extra-tropical part of asia, and inevitably lead to a segregation of the old fauna into tropical and temperate, and a modification of the latter so as to enable it to support a climate far more severe than it had previously known. but it is almost certain that, concurrently with this, there was a change going on of a cosmical nature, leading to an alteration of the climate of the northern hemisphere from equable to extreme, and culminating in that period of excessive cold which drove the last remnants of the old sub-tropical fauna beyond the limits of the palæarctic region. from that time, the oriental and the ethiopian regions alone contained the descendants of many of the most remarkable types which had previously flourished over all europe and asia; but the early history of these two regions, and the peculiar equatorial types developed in each, sufficiently separate them, as we have already shown. the malayan sub-region is that in which characteristic oriental types are now best developed, and where the fundamental contrast of the oriental, as compared with the ethiopian and palæarctic regions, is most distinctly visible. { }tables of distribution. in constructing these tables, showing the distribution of various classes of animals in the oriental region, the following sources of information have been chiefly relied on, in addition to the general treatises, monographs, catalogues, &c., used for the compilation of the fourth part of this work. _mammalia._--jerdon's indian mammalia; kelaart's fauna of ceylon; horsfield and moore's catalogue of the east india museum; swinhoe's catalogue of chinese mammalia; s. müller's zoology of the indian archipelago; dr. j. e. gray's list of mammalia of the malay archipelago (voyage of samarang); and papers by anderson, blyth, cantor, gray, peters, swinhoe, &c. _birds._--jerdon's birds of india; horsfield and moore's catalogue; holdsworth's list of ceylon birds; schlegel's catalogue of the leyden museum; swinhoe on the birds of china, formosa, and hainan; salvadori on the birds of borneo; lord walden on the birds of the philippine islands; and papers by blyth, blanford, elwes, elliot, stoliczka, sclater, sharpe, swinhoe, verreaux, and lord walden. _reptiles._--günther's reptiles of british india; papers by same author, and by dr. stoliczka. { }table i. _families of animals inhabiting the oriental region._ explanation. names in _italics_ show families peculiar to the region. numbers correspond with those in part iv. names enclosed thus (......) barely enter the region, and are not considered really to belong to it. ---------------------+-------------------+------------------------------- | sub-regions | | =hindostan. | order and family | =ceylon. | range beyond the region. | =indo-china. | | =indo-malaya. | ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- | . | . | . | . | ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- | | | | | mammalia. | | | | | primates. | | | | | . simiidæ | | | -- | -- |w. africa . semnopithecidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |tropical africa . cynopithecidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all africa, s. palæarctic . lemuridæ | | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian . _tarsiidæ_ | | | | -- |celebes | | | | | chiroptera. | | | | | . pteropidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, australian . rhinolophidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |the eastern hemisphere . vespertilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . noctilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |tropical regions | | | | | insectivora. | | | | | . _galeopithecidæ_| | | | -- | . _tupaiidæ_ | | -- | -- | -- | . erinaceidæ | -- | -- | | -- |palæarctic, s. africa . talpidæ | | | -- | |palæarctic, nearctic . soricidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |palæarctic, ethiopian, | | | | | n. america | | | | | carnivora. | | | | | . felidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . viverridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, s. palæarctic . hyænidæ | -- | | | |ethiopian, s. palæarctic . canidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian [?] . mustelidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . Æluridæ | | | -- | |palæarctic . ursidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |palæarctic, nearctic, chili | | | | | cetacea. | | | | |oceanic | | | | | sirenia. | | | | | . manatidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, n. pacific | | | | | ungulata. | | | | | . (equidæ) | -- | | | |palæarctic, ethiopian . tapiridæ | | | | -- |neotropical . rinocerotidæ | | | -- | -- |ethiopian . suidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |palæarctic, ethiopian, | | | | | neotropical . tragulidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |w. africa . cervidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but ethiopian and | | | | | australian . bovidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian and | | | | | neotropical . elephantidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian | | | | | rodentia. | | | | | . muridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite, excl. oceania . spalacidæ | | | -- | -- |palæarctic, ethiopian . sciuridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . hystricidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |s. palæarctic, ethiopian . leporidæ | -- | -- | -- | |all regions but australian | | | | | edentata. | | | | | . manididæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian | | | | | birds. | | | | | passeres. | | | | | . turdidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . sylviidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . timaliidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, australian . panuridæ | | | -- | |palæarctic . cinclidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |not ethiopian or australian . troglodytidæ | | | -- | -- |american and palæarctic . certhiidæ | -- | | -- | -- |palæarctic, nearctic, | | | | | australian . sittidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |palæarctic, nearctic, | | | | | australian, madagascar . paridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |the eastern hemisphere and | | | | | north america . _liotrichidæ_ | | | -- | -- | . _phyllornithidæ_| -- | -- | -- | -- | . pycnonotidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, moluccas . oriolidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |the eastern hemisphere . campephagidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, australian . dicruridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, australian . muscicapidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |the eastern hemisphere . pachycephalidæ | | | -- | -- |australian . laniidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |the eastern hemisphere and | | | | | north america . corvidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . nectariniidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, australian . dicæidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, australian . hirundinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . fringillidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . ploceidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, australian . sturnidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |the eastern hemisphere . artamidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |australian . alaudidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but neotropical . motacillidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . _eurylæmidæ_ | | | -- | -- | . pittidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, australian | | | | | picariÆ. | | | | | . picidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . yungidæ | -- | | | |palæarctic . indicatoridæ | | | -- | -- |ethiopian . megalæmidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, neotropical . cuculidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . coraciidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, australian . meropidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, australian . trogonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |neotropical, ethiopian . alcedinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . bucerotidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, austro-malayan . upupidæ | -- | -- | -- | |ethiopian, s. palæarctic . podargidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |australian . caprimulgidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . cypselidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite | | | | | psittaci. | | | | | . (cacatuidæ) | | | | -- |australian . palæornithidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, austro-malayan | | | | | columbÆ. | | | | | . columbidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite | | | | | gallinÆ. | | | | | . pteroclidæ | -- | | | |ethiopian, palæarctic . tetraonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |eastern hemisphere and north | | | | | america . phasianidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, palæarctic, north | | | | | america . turnicidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, australian, | | | | | s. palæarctic . megapodiidæ | | | | -- |australian | | | | | accipitres. | | | | | . vulturidæ | -- | -- | -- | |all regions but australian . falconidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . pandionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . strigidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite | | | | | grallÆ. | | | | | . rallidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . scolopacidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . parridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |tropical regions . glareolidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |eastern hemisphere . charadriidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . otididæ | -- | -- | -- | |eastern hemisphere . gruidæ | -- | -- | -- | |all regions but neotropical . ardeidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . plataleidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . ciconiidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . phænicopteridæ | -- | -- | | |ethiopian, neotropical, | | | | | s. palæarctic | | | | | anseres. | | | | | . anatidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . laridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . procellariidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . pelecanidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . podicipidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite | | | | | reptilia. | | | | | ophidia. | | | | | . typhlopidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but nearctic . tortricidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |austro-malaya, s. america . _xenopeltidæ_ | | | -- | -- |celebes . _uropeltidæ_ | | -- | | | . calamariidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all the warmer regions . oligodontidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |s. america, japan . colubridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . homalopsidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all the regions . psammophidæ | -- | | -- | -- |ethiopian, s. palæarctic . dendrophidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, australian, | | | | | neotropical . dryiophidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, neotropical . dipsadidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, australian, | | | | | neotropical . scytalidæ | | | | -- |tropical america . lycodontidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian . amblycephalidæ | | | -- | -- |neotropical . pythonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |the tropical regions, and | | | | | california . erycidæ | -- | | -- | |ethiopian, s. palæarctic . _acrochordidæ_ | | -- | | -- | . elapidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |tropical regions, japan, | | | | | s. carolina . hydrophidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |australian, panama, madagascar . crotalidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |america, e. palæarctic . viperidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, palæarctic | | | | | lacertilia. | | | | | . varanidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |africa, australia . lacertidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |the eastern hemisphere . zonuridæ | | | -- | |america, s. europe, ethiopian . scincidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . acontiadæ | | -- | | |ethiopian, moluccas . geckotidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . agamidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |the eastern hemisphere . chamæleonidæ | -- | -- | | |ethiopian | | | | | crocodilia. | | | | | . gavialidæ | -- | | | -- |n. australia . crocodilidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |ethiopian, neotropical, | | | | | n. australia | | | | | chelonia. | | | | | . testudinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all continents but australia . trionychidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |japan, e. of n. america, | | | | | africa . cheloniidæ | | | | |marine | | | | | amphibia. | | | | | pseudophidia. | | | | | . cæciliadæ | -- | -- | -- | |ethiopian, neotropical | | | | | urodela. | | | | | . salamandridæ | | | -- | |north temperate zone | | | | | anoura. | | | | | . phryniscidæ | | | | -- |ethiopian, australian, | | | | | neotropical . bufonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all continents but australia . engystomidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but palæarctic . hylidæ | | | -- | |all regions but ethiopian . polypedatidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |neotropical and all other | | | | | regions . ranidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . discoglossidæ | | -- | -- | -- |all regions but nearctic | | | | | fishes. (freshwater).| | | | | acanthopterygii. | | | | | . percidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . scienidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all regions but australian . nandidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |neotropical . labyrinthici | -- | -- | -- | -- |s. africa, moluccas . _luciocephalidæ_| | | | -- | . _ophiocephalidæ_| -- | -- | -- | -- | . _mastacembelidæ_| -- | -- | -- | -- | . chromidæ | | -- | | |ethiopian, neotropical | | | | | physostomi. | | | | | . siluridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all warm regions . cyprinodontidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |s. palæarctic, ethiopian, | | | | | american . cyprinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |not in s. america and australia . osteoglossidæ | | | | -- |all tropical regions . notopteridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |w. africa . symbranchidæ | -- | | -- | -- |australian (? marine) | | | | | neotropical | | | | | insects. | | | | | lepidoptera (part). | | | | | diurni (butterflies.)| | | | | . danaidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all warm regions and to canada . satyridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . elymniidæ | | | -- | -- |ethiopian, moluccas . morphidæ | | | -- | -- |neotropical, moluccas, and | | | | | polynesia . acræidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all tropical regions . nymphalidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . libytheidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |absent from australia . nemeobeidæ | | | -- | -- |not in australia or nearctic | | | | | regions . lycænidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . pieridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . papilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . hesperidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite | | | | | sphingidea. | | | | | . zygænidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . agaristidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |australian, ethiopian . uraniidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all tropical regions . Ægeriidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |absent from australia . sphingidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- table ii. genera of terrestrial mammalia and birds inhabiting the oriental region. explanation. names in _italics_ show genera peculiar to the region. names inclosed thus (...) show genera which just enter the region, but are not considered properly to belong to it. genera truly belonging to the region are numbered consecutively. _mammalia._ -------------------+-------+----------------------+---------------------- order, family, and | no. of| range within | range beyond genus. |species| the region. | the region. -------------------+-------+----------------------+---------------------- | | | primates. | | | simiidÆ. | | | | | | . _simia_ | |borneo and sumatra | . _hylobates_ | |sylhet to java and | | | s. china | . _siamanga_ | |malacca and sumatra | | | | semnopithecidÆ. | | | | | | . _presbytes_ | |simla to aracan and |moupin, palæarctic [?] | | e. thibet, ceylon, | | | and java | | | | cynopithecidÆ. | | | | | | . _macacus_ | |the whole region |s. palæarctic . _cynopithecus_ | |philippines |celebes | | | (_sub-order_) | | | _lemuroidea._ | | | | | | lemuridÆ. | | | | | | . _nycticebus_ | |e. bengal to java, and | | | s. china | . _loris_ | |ceylon and s. india | | | | tarsiidÆ. | | | | | | . _tarsius_ | |sumatra, borneo and | n. celebes | | philippines | | | | chiroptera. | | | pteropidÆ. | | | | | | . pteropus | |the whole region |tropics of e. hemisp. . xantharpyia | |the whole region |austro-malaya, | | | ethiop., | | | s. palæarctic . cynopterus | |the whole region |tropical africa . _megærops_ | |sumatra | . macroglossus | |java, borneo, |austro-malaya | | philippines | . harpyia | |philippines |austro-malaya | | | rhinolophidÆ. | | | | | | . _aquias_ | |nepal to java | . _phyllotis_ | |philippines | . rhinolophus | |the whole region |warmer parts of | | | e. hem. . hipposideros | |the whole region |austro-malaya . phyllorhina | |indo-malay subregion |austro-malaya, | | | tropical africa . asellia | |java, sumatra |amboyna, egypt . _petalia_ | |java | . _coelops_ | |india (bengal) | . _rhinopoma_ | |all india |egypt, palestine . megaderma | |the whole region |ternate, n. ethiopian . nycteris | |java |ethiopian | | | vespertilionidÆ. | | | | | | . scotophilus | |the whole region |austral., nearc., | | | neotrop. . vespertilio | |the whole region |cosmopolite . keriovula | |the whole region |s. africa, n. china . _trilatitus_ | |indo-malaya |? . _noctulina_ | |nepal to philippines |? . miniopteris | |java, philippines, and |s. africa, | | china | s. palæarctic, | | | australian . _murina_ | |himalayas to java |? . nycticejus | |all india |trop. africa, temp. . | | | amer . harpiocephalus | |java and philippines | . taphozous | |the whole region |ethiop., austro- | | | malayan, neotropical . _myotis_ | |himalayas | . plecotus | |darjeeling |timor, s. palæarctic . barbastellus | |himalayas |europe . nyctophilus | |mussoorie |australian | | | noctilionidÆ. | | | | | | . _chiromeles_ | |indo-malaya, siam | . nyctinomus | |the whole region |madagascar, america | | | insectivora. | | | galeopithecidÆ. | | | | | | . _galeopithecus_| |indo-malay and | | | philippines, excl. | | | java | | | | tupaiidÆ. | | | | | | . _tupaia_ | |s. and e. of india to | | | borneo | . _hylomys_ | |tenasserim to java and | | | borneo | . _ptilocerus_ | |borneo | | | | erinaceidÆ. | | | | | | . erinaceus | |hindostan and formosa |palæarctic, s. africa . _gymnura_ | |malacca, sumatra, | | | borneo | | | | talpidÆ. | | | | | | . talpa | |himalayas to assam, & |palæarctic | | formosa | | | | soricidÆ. | | | | | | . sorex | |the whole region |all regions but | | | austral. and | | | s. america | | | carnivora. | | | felidÆ. | | | | | | . felis | |the whole region |all regions but | | | austral. (lynx | |central india) |palæarctic, ethiopian . cynælurus | |s. and w. india |s. palæarctic, | | | ethiopian | | | viverridÆ. | | | | | | . viverra | |the whole region |ethiopian, moluccas . _viverricula_ | |india to china and java| . _prionodon_ | |nepal to borneo and | | | java | . _hemigalea_ | |malacca and borneo | . _arctitis_ | |nepal to sumatra and | | | java | . _paradoxurus_ | |the whole region |ke islands (? | | | introduced) . _paguma_ | |nepal to malaya and | | | china | . _arctogale_ | |tenasserim and malaya | . _cynogale_ | |borneo | . herpestes | |the whole reg., excl. |s. palæarctic, | | philippines | ethiopian . calogale | |india to cambodjia |ethiopian . _calictis_ | |ceylon ? | . _urva_ | |n. india | . _tæniogale_ | |central india | . _onychogale_ | |ceylon | | | | hyÆnidÆ. | | | | | | . hyæna | |hindostan, open country|s. palæarctic, | | | ethiopian | | | canidÆ. | | | | | | . canis | |all india |almost cosmopolite . _cuon_ | |india to java | . vulpes | |all india |all continents but s. | | |america and australia (nyctereutes | |china) |japan and amoorland | | | mustelidÆ. | | | | | | . martes | |india, ceylon, java, |palæarctic, nearctic | | and china | . mustela | |himalayas to bhotan and|palæarc., ethiop., | | china | nearc. . _gymnopus_ | |nepal to borneo | . _barangia_ | |sumatra | . lutra | |the whole region |palæarctic . aonyx | |n. india, malaya |w. and s. africa . _arctonyx_ | |nepal to aracan | (meles | |s. china) |palæarctic genus . mydaus | |sumatra, java | . mellivora | |hindostan |ethiopian . _helictis_ | |nepal, formosa, china &| | | java | | | | ÆluridÆ. | | | | | | . Ælurus | |e. himalayas to |palæarctic ? | | e. thibet | | | | ursidÆ. | | | | | | . ursus | |himalayas to china |palæarctic, nearctic . _helarctos_ | |indo-malaya | . _melursus_ | |ganges to ceylon | | | | cetacea. | | | delphinidÆ. | | | | | | . _platanista_ | |ganges to india | | | | sirenia. | | | manatidÆ. | | | | | | . halicore | |coasts of w. india, |e. africa, | | ceylon, and | n. australia | | indo-malaya | | | | ungulata. | | | tapiridÆ. | | | | | | . tapirus | |malay pen., sumatra, |neotropical | | borneo | | | | rhinocerotidÆ. | | | | | | . rhinoceros | |nepal to bengal, siam, |ethiopian | | & java | | | | suidÆ. | | | | | | . sus | |the whole region |palæarc., austro- | | | malaya | | | tragulidÆ. | | | | | | . _tragulus_ | |india and ceylon to | | | cambodja and java | | | | cervidÆ. | | | | | | . cervus | |the whole region |palæarc., amer., | | | moluc. . _cervulus_ | |the whole region | (moschus | |himalayas above , |central asia, | | feet) | palæarctic | | | bovidÆ. | | | | | | . _bibos_ | |india to burmah, | | | formosa, and java | . bubalus | |n. and n. central india|ethiopian, | | | s. palæarctic . _portax_ | |peninsula of india | . gazella | |deserts and plains of |palæarctic deserts | | india | . _antilope_ | |open country of india | . _tetraceros_ | |hilly districts all | | | over india | . nemorhedus | |e. himalayas and |n. china and japan | | sumatra | . capra | |neilgherries |palæarctic, nearctic | | | proboscidea. | | | elephantidÆ. | | | | | | . elephas | |india to siam, sumatra |ethiopian | | & borneo | | | | rodentia. | | | muridÆ. | | | | | | . mus | |the whole region |the e. hemisphere . acanthomys | |india |ethiopian, australian . _phlæomys_ | |philippines | ._platacanthomys_| |s. w. india | . meriones | |india and ceylon |palæarctic, ethiopian . _spalacomys_ | |india | . arvicola | |himalayas |palæarctic, nearctic | | | spalacidÆ. | | | | | | . rhizomys | |nepal to canton, |abyssinia | | malacca and sumatra | | | | sciuridÆ. | | | | | | . sciurus | |the whole region |cosmop., excl. | | | austral. region . sciuropterus | |india, and ceylon to |n. and e. palæarctic | | java, formosa | . _pteromys_ | |india & ceylon to |japan | | borneo, java, formosa| (arctomys | |w. himalayas above |palæarctic and | | , ft.) | nearctic | | | hystricidÆ. | | | | | | . hystrix | |india and ceylon, to |s. palæarctic, | | malacca & s. china | ethiopian . atherura | |india to malaya |west africa . _acanthion_ | |nepal to borneo and | | | java | | | | leporidÆ. | | | | | | . lepus | |india and ceylon to |all regions but | | s. china and formosa | austral. | | | endentata. | | | manididÆ. | | | | | | . manis | |nepal to ceylon, |ethiopian | | s. china and java | | | | _birds._ passeres. | | | turdidÆ. | | | | | | . _brachypteryx_ | |himalayas, ceylon and | | | java | . oreocincla | |n. w. himalayas to e. |palæarctic, australian | | thibet ceylon, burmah,| | | malaya, formosa | . turdus | |the whole region |almost cosmopolite . geocichla | |india & ceylon to java,|celebes, lombock, to | | formosa | n. australia . monticola | |the whole region |palæarctic, ethiopian, | | |moluccas . _orocætes_ | |n. w. himalayas, and | | | india | . _zoothera_ | |w. himalayas to aracan,|lombock, timor ? | | java | | | | sylviidÆ. | | | | | | . {_orthotomus_ | |the whole region | . {_prinia_ | |the whole reg., excl. | { | | philippines | . {drymæca | |the whole reg., excl. |ethiopian { | | philippines | . {cisticola | |the whole region |ethiopian, australian . {_suya_ | |nepal to s. china and | { | | formosa | . {_megalurus_ | |central india, java, | | | philippines | | | | . {acrocephalus | |india to ceylon, s. |palæarc., ethiop., { | | china, and philippines| austral. {(dumeticola | |nepal and e. thibet) |a palæarctic genus | | | . {locustella | |nepal, hindostan, |palæarctic { | | s. china | . {horites | |himalayas, formosa |high himal., e. thibet | | | . {phylloscopus | |all india and ceylon, |palæarctic, ethiopian { | | to china, philippines| {(gerygone | |philippine islands) |australian genus {(hypolais | |all india, ? migrant) |palæarctic genus . {abrornis | |the whole reg., excl. |cashmere, e. thibet { | | philippines | . {reguloides | |himalayas and central |palæarctic { | | india | {(regulus | |n. w. himalayas and |palæarctic and | | e. thibet) | nearctic {(sylvia | |india and ceylon) |palæarctic genus {(curruca | |india) |palæarctic genus | | | {(cyanecula | |india) |palæarctic genus . {calliope | |himalayas and central |palæarctic { | | india, philippine | { | | islands | . {ruticilla | |himalayas to china and |palæarctic, ethiopian { | | formosa | . {_chæmarrhornis_ |himalayas to burmah | . {_larvivora_ | |w. himalayas to ceylon,| { | | malacca and china | . {_notodela_ | |himalayas to pegu, | { | | java, formosa | . {_tarsiger_ | |nepal and w. himalayas | {(grandala | |nepal and e. thibet, |palæarctic genus | | high) | . {copsychus | |the whole region |madagascar . {_kittacincla_ | |the whole region | . {thamnobia | |n. w. india, hindostan,|ethiopian { | | and ceylon | {(dromolæa | |n. w. india) |ethiopian genus {(saxicola | |n. w. india) |palæarctic and { | | | ethiopian . {oreicola ? | |burmah |timor {(cercomela | |n. w. india, a desert |n. e. africa, { | | genus) | s. w. asia . {pratincola | |the whole region |palæarctic, ethiopian, | | |celebes, and timor (accentor | |himalayas, in winter) |palæarctic genus | | | timaliidÆ. | | | | | | . pomatorhinus | |the whole region |australian . malacocercus | |all india to burmah, |arabia, nubia | | philippines | . chatarrhæa | |india, burmah, |palestine, abyssinia | | philippines | . _layardia_ | |india and ceylon | . _acanthoptila_ | |nepal | . _garrulax_ | |the whole region | . _janthocincla_ | |himalayas to e. thibet,| | | sumatra, formosa | ._gampsorhynchus_| |nepal | . _grammatoptila_| |n. india | ._trochalopteron_| |n. w. himalayas, india,| | | china, formosa | . _actinodura_ | |e. himalayas, , to | | | , | . _pellorneum_ | |india, ceylon, | | | tenasserim | . _dumetia_ | |india and ceylon | . _timalia_ | |malacca to java | . _stachyris_ | |n. w. himalayas to | | | china, formosa, | | | sumatra | . _pyctoris_ | |india, ceylon, and | | | up. burmah | . _mixornis_ | |himalayas to borneo and| | | java | . _malacopteron_ | |malacca to java | . alcippe | |the whole region |new guinea . _macronus_ | |malacca to java | . _cacopitta_ | |java, borneo, sumatra | . trichastoma | |nepal, malacca to java |celebes . _napothera_ | |malacca to java | . drymocataphus | |malacca to java, ceylon|timor . _turdinus_ | |tenasserim, malacca | . _trichixos_ | |malacca, borneo | . _sibia_ | |n. w. himalayas to | | | tenasserim, formosa | | | | panuridÆ. | | | | | | . _paradoxornis_ | |nepal to aracan and e. | | |thibet, , - , ft.| . suthora | |himalayas to e. thibet,|n. w. china, e. thibet | | china, formosa | . _chlenasicus_ | |sikhim | | | | cinclidÆ. | | | | | | . cinclus | |himalayas, china, and |palæarctic and | | formosa | american . eupetes | |malacca and sumatra |new guinea . _enicurus_ | |n. w. himalayas (to | | | , ft.) to java | | | and west china | . _myiophonus_ | |all india (to , ft.|turkestan | | in n. w. himalayas) | | | s. china, formosa, | | | java, sumatra | | | | troglodytidÆ. | | | | | | . _tesia_ | |eastern himalayas | . _pnoepyga_ | |n. w. himalayas to | | | e. thibet, java | . troglodytes | |himalayas to e. thibet |palæarctic and | | | american . _rimator_ | |darjeeling | | | | certhiidÆ. | | | | | | . certhia | |himalayas |palæarctic and | | | nearctic . _salpornis_ | |central india | . _rhabdornis_ | |philippine islands | (tichodroma | |himalayas in winter) |palæarctic genus | | | sittidÆ. | | | | | | . sitta | |himalayas to s. india, |palæarctic and | | s. china | nearctic . _dendrophila_ | |all india and ceylon to| | | pegu and java | | | | paridÆ. | | | | | | . parus | |the whole region |palæarctic and | | | nearctic . _melanochlora_ | |nepal to malacca and | | | sumatra | . _psaltria_ | |west java | . _Ægithaliscus_ | |w. himalayas to china |afghanistan . _sylviparus_ | |w. himalayas to central| | | india and e. thibet | . _cephalopyrus_ | |n. w. himalayas | | | | liotrichidÆ. | | | | | | . _liothrix_ | |nepal to s. w. china | . _siva_ | |himalayas:-- , - , | | | ft. | . _minla_ | |nepal to e. thibet; | | | moderate heights | . proparus | |n. w. himalayas to |perhaps also | | e. thibet; high | palæarctic . _allotrius_ | |n. w. himalayas to | | | tenasserim, e. thibet| | | and java | . _cutia_ | |nepal and sikhim | . _yuhina_ | |himalayas to e. thibet,|perhaps palæarctic | | high | . _ixulus_ | |darjeeling to | | | tenasserim | . _myzornis_ | |nepal and sikhim | | | | phyllornithidÆ. | | | | | | . _phyllornis_ | |the whole region; | | | excluding china and | | | philippines | . _iora_ | |the whole reg., excl. | | | philippines | . _erpornis_ | |nepal and hainan | | | | pycnonotidÆ. | | | | | | . _microscelis_ | |burmah, china, malaya |japan . pycnonotus | |the whole region |ethiopian . _hemixus_ | |himalayas and hainan | . hypsipetes | |the whole region |madagascar . criniger | |india, ceylon, malaya, |africa, moluccas | | hainan | . _setornis_ | |malacca, sumatra, | | | borneo | . _iole_ | |aracan and malaya | | | | oriolidÆ. | | | | | | . oriolus | |the whole region |palæarc. ethiopian, | | | celebes, flores . _analcipus_ | |himalayas, malaya, | | | formosa, hainan | | | | campephagidÆ. | | | | | | . _pericrocotus_ | |the whole region |lombock; the amoor, | | | migrant . graucalus | |india, ceylon, malaya, |australian | | philippines, hainan | | | and formosa | . campephaga | |philippine islands |celebes to n. guinea . _volvocivora_ | |the whole reg., excl. | | | philippines | . lalage | |malaya and philippines |celebes to pacific is. . _cochoa_ | |himalayas and java | | | | dicruridÆ. | | | | | | . dicrurus | |the whole region |ethiop. and australian . _bhringa_ | |himalayas to burmah and| | | java | . _chibia_ | |india to china |pekin in summer . _chaptia_ | |india to borneo and | | | formosa | . _irena_ | |s. india and ceylon, | | | assam to malaya and | | | philippines | | | | muscicapidÆ. | | | | | | . _muscicapula_ | |cashmere to w. china, | | | s. india | . erythrosterna | |the whole region, |palæarctic and | | excluding philippines| madagascar . xanthpygia | |malacca to china |n. china and japan . _hemipus_ | |india and ceylon | . _pycnophrys_ | |java | . hemichelidon | |n. india to ceylon, and|eastern asia | | china; ? philippines | . _niltava_ | |himalayas to w. china | . cyornis | |the whole region |celebes and timor . cyanoptila | |hainan to japan |japan and n. china . _eumyias_ | |the whole reg., excl. | | | philippines | . _siphia_ | |n. w. india, ceylon, | | | formosa, e. thibet | . _anthipes_ | |nepal | . _schwaneria_ | |borneo | . _hypothymis_ | |the whole region |celebes . rhipidura | |all india and ceylon, | | | malaya, philippines |australian . _chelidorhynx_ | |n. india | . _cryptolopha_ | |the whole region |celebes | | | . tchitrea | |the whole region |n. china, and japan, | | |flores, ethiopian . _philentoma_ | |malaya and philippines | | | | pachycephalidÆ. | | | | | | . hylocharis | |aracan to malaya & |celebes, timor | | philippines | | | | laniidÆ. | | | | | | . lanius | |the whole region |nearc., palæarc., | | | ethiop. . _laniellus_ | |java | . _tephrodornis_ | |india, ceylon, and | | | malaya; hainan | | | | corvidÆ. | | | | | | . _pityriasis_ | |borneo, sumatra | . _platylophus_ | |malaya | . garrulus | |himalayas, s. china, |palæarctic | | formosa | . _cissa_ | |himalayas and aracan to| | | java | . _urocissa_ | |n.w. himalayas, ceylon,|n. china and japan | | burmah, china, formosa| . _temnurus_ | |malaya and cochin china| . _dendrocitta_ | |all india to s. china, | | | formosa, and sumatra | . _crypsirhina_ | |java and burmah | . nucifraga | |himalayas and e. thibet|palæarctic genus | | , - , feet | . pica | |china and himalayas of |palæarctic and | | boetan | nearctic . corvus | |the whole region |cosmop., excl. s. am. (fregilus | |himalayas, high) |palæarctic genus | | | nectariniidÆ. | | | | | | . _Æthopaga_ | |himalayas to w. china &|celebes | | java, central india | . chalcostetha | |malaya and siam |celebes to new guinea . arachnothera | |the whole reg., excl. |celebes, lombock, new | | philippine |guinea . arachnecthera | |the whole region, excl.|celebes to new ireland | | china | . _nectarophila_ | |india, ceylon, malaya, |celebes | | philipp. | . _anthreptes_ | |malaya and indo-china |celebes | | | dicÆidÆ. | | | | | | . dicæum | |the whole region |australian . pachyglossa | |nepal |celebes . _piprisoma_ | |india and ceylon | . _prionochilus_ | |malaya | . zosterops | |the whole region |ethiopian, australian . _chalcoparia_ | |aracan to malaya | | | | hirundinidÆ. | | | | | | . hirundo | |the whole region |cosmopolite . cotyle | |india to china |palæarc., ethiop., | | | amer. . chelidon | |india, borneo |palæarctic | | | fringillidÆ. | | | | | | (fringilla | |himalayas, in winter) |palæarctic genus (acanthis | |n. w. himalayas, in |palæarctic genus | | winter) | (procarduelis | |high himalayas) |palæarctic genus (chlorospiza | |china) |palæarctic and | | | ethiopian . passer | |the whole region |palæarctic and | | | ethiopian (fringillauda | |high himalayas) |palæarctic genus (coccothraustes| |high himalayas) |palæarctic and | | | nearctic (mycerobas | |high himalayas) |palæarctic genus . eophona | |china |palæarctic (pyrrhula | |himalayas, winter) |palæarctic (carpodacus | |himalayas and central |palæarctic and | | india, in winter) | nearctic (loxia | |snowy himalayas) |palæarctic and | | | nearctic (propyrrhula | |darjeeling, in winter) |[?] palæarctic . _hæmatospiza_ | |s. e. himal., , to | | | , ft. | | | | (_s. fam._ emberizinÆ) | | | | | . euspiza | |n. w. india to burmah, |palæarctic and | | & china | nearctic . emberiza | |all india and china, in|palæarctic genus | | winter | | | | ploceidÆ. | | | | | | . ploceus | |india & ceylon, burmah,|ethiopian | | malaya | . munia | |the whole region |austro-malayan . estrilda | |india and ceylon, |ethiopian, australian | | burmah, java | . erythrura | |java, sumatra |moluccas to fiji | | | islands | | | sturnidÆ. | | | | | | . eulabes | |the whole reg., excl. |flores, papua | | philippines | . _ampeliceps_ | |tenasserim to | | | cochin-china | . _gymnops_ | |philippine islands | . pastor | |all india to burmah |s. palæarctic . _acridotheres_ | |the whole region |celebes . _sturnia_ | |the whole region |n. china & japan, | | | celebes . sturnus | |india and china |palæarctic . _sturnopastor_ | |cen. india to burmah & | | | malaya | . calornis | |malaya and philippines |[?] celebes, moluccas | | | to samoan islands . _saroglossa_ | |w. and central | | | himalayas | | | | artamidÆ. | | | | | | . artamus | |the whole region |australian | | | alaudidÆ. | | | | | | (otocorys | |n. india, in winter) |palæarctic and | | | nearctic . alauda | |india and china |palæarctic and | | | ethiopian . galerita | |central india |palæarctic . calandrella | |india and burmah |palæarctic and | | | ethiopian (melanocorypha | |n. w. india) |palæarctic . mirafra | |india, ceylon, and java|ethiopian . ammomanes | |central india |palæarctic and | | | ethiopian . pyrrhulauda | |india and ceylon |ethiopian | | | motacillidÆ. | | | | | | . motacilla | |india and ceylon to |palæarctic and | | china and philippines| ethiopian . budytes | |china and philippines |palæarctic & | | | ethiopian, moluccas . calobates | |the whole region |palæarctic . _nemoricola_ | |india, ceylon, and | | | malaya | . authus | |india and china |cosmopolite . corydalla | |the whole region |palæarctic, australian . _heterura_ | |himalayas | | | | eurylÆmidÆ. | | | | | | . _eurylæmus_ | |malaya | . _serilophus_ | |himalayas | . _psarisomus_ | |himalayas | . _corydon_ | |malacca, sumatra, | | | borneo | . _cymbirhynchus_| |aracan, siam, and | | | malaya | . _calyptomena_ | |malacca, sumatra, | | | borneo | | | | pittidÆ | | | | | | . pitta | |the whole region |australian, ethiopian . _eucichla_ | |malaya | . _hydrornis_ | |himalayas and malaya | | | | picariÆ. | | | picidÆ. | | | | | | . _vivia_ | |n. w. himalayas to e. | | |thibet, , - , ft.| . _sasia_ | |nepal to malaya and | | | borneo | . picus | |the whole region, excl.|palæarctic, american | | philippines | . hyopicus | |himalayas |n. china . _yungipicus_ | |the whole region |n. china, japan, | | | celebes ._reinwardtipicus_ |penang to sumatra and | | | borneo | . _venilia_ | |nepal to sumatra and | | | borneo | ._chrysocolaptes_| |india, ceylon, malaya, | | | philippines | . _hemicercus_ | |malabar, pegu to malaya| . gecinus | |all india and ceylon to|palæarctic | | pegu and malaya | . _mulleripicus_ | |malabar, aracan to |celebes | | malaya and philippines| . _brachypternus_| |india, ceylon, and | | | china | . _tiga_ | |india to malaya | . _gecinulus_ | |s. himalayas to burmah | . _miglyptes_ | |malaya | . _micropternus_ | |india and ceylon, to | | | borneo and s. china | | | | yungidÆ. | | | | | | . yunx | |central and s. china |palæarctic, s. africa | | | indicatoridÆ. | | | | | | . indicator | |himalayas and borneo |ethiopian | | | megalÆmidÆ. | | | | | | . _megalæma_ | |the whole region, excl.| | | philippines | . _xantholæma_ | |all india and ceylon to| | | pegu and malaya | . _psilopogon_ | |sumatra | . _caloramphus_ | |malacca, sumatra and | | | borneo | | | | cuculidÆ. | | | | | | . _phoenicophaës_| |ceylon | . _rhinococcyx_ | |java | . _dasylophus_ | |philippine islands | . _lepidogrammus_| |philippine islands | . _carpococcyx_ | |borneo, sumatra | . _zanclostomus_ | |malaya | . _rhopodytes_ | |nepal to ceylon, hainan| | | and malaya | . _taccocoua_ | |all india, ceylon, | | | malacca | . _poliococcyx_ | |malacca, sumatra, | | | borneo | . _rhinortha_ | |malacca, sumatra, | | | borneo | . centropus | |the whole region |ethiopian, australian . cuculus | |the whole region |palæarc., ethiop., | | | aust. . cacomantis | |the whole region |australian . chrysococcyx | |the whole region |ethiopian, australian . _surniculus_ | |india, ceylon and | | | malaya | . hierococcyx | |the whole region |celebes, n. china and | | | amoorland . coccystes | |the whole region, excl.|ethiopian | | philippines | . eudynamis | |the whole region |australian | | | coraciidÆ. | | | | | | . coracias | |india, ceylon and |ethiopian, s. | | burmah | palæarctic, celebes . eurystomus | |the whole region |ethiopian, australian | | | meropidÆ. | | | | | | . _nyctiornis_ | |s. india to himalayas, | | | burmah, sumatra, and | | | borneo | . merops | |the whole region |s. palæarctic, | | | ethiopian, | | | australian | | | trogonidÆ. | | | | | | . _harpactes_ | |the whole region, excl.| | | china | | | | alcedinidÆ. | | | | | | . halcyon | |the whole region |s. palæarctic, | | | ethiopian, | | | australian . _pelargopsis_ | |the whole region, excl.|celebes and timor | | china | . _carcineutes_ | |burmah, siam, and | | | malaya | . ceyx | |india and ceylon, |moluccas & new guin. | | malaya and philippines| . alcedo | |the whole region |palæarctic, ethiopian, | | |austro-malayan . alcyone | |philippines |australian genus . ceryle | |india to s. china |ethiopian, s. | | | palæarctic, american | | | bucerotidÆ. | | | | | | . _buceros_ | |nepal to malaya, s. | | | india, philippines | . _hydrocissa_ | |india, ceylon and | | | malaya | . berenicornis | |sumatra |w. africa . calao | |tenasserim, malaya |austro-malaya . _aceros_ | |s. e. himalayas | . _cranorrhinus_ | |malacca to borneo and |celebes | | philippines | . _penelopides_ | |philippines | . _rhinoplax_ | |sumatra, borneo | . _meniceros_ | |india and ceylon to | | | tenasserim | | | | upupidÆ. | | | | | | . upupa | |india, ceylon and |ethiopian, | | burmah | s. palæarctic | | | podargidÆ. | | | | | | . batrachostomus | |india, ceylon and |moluccas | | malaya | | | | caprimulgidÆ. | | | | | | . caprimulgus | |the whole region |the eastern | | | hemisphere . _lyncornis_ | |burmah, malaya, & |celebes | | philippines | | | | cypselidÆ. | | | | | | . cypselus | |the region, excl. |the old world & | | philippines | s. amer. . dendrochelidon | |ceylon, india, malaya, |austro-malaya | | philipp. | . collocalia | |the whole region |madagascar, moluccas, | | | pacific islands . chætura | |ceylon, india, malaya, |america, africa | | hainan | | | | psittaci. | | | cacatuidÆ. | | | | | | (cacatua | |philippines) |australian genus | | | palÆornithidÆ. | | | | | | . palæornis | |n. w. india to ceylon, |ethiopian | | siam & malaya | . prioniturus | |philippine islands |celebes . cyclopsitta | |philippine islands |papuan islands . _psittinus_ | |malaya, excl. java | . tanygnathus | |philippine islands |austro-malaya . loriculus | |ceylon, india, malaya, |celebes and moluccas, | | philippines | flores | | | columbÆ. | | | columbidÆ. | | | | | | . treron | |the whole region |ethiopian, moluccas . ptilopus | |malaya and philippines |australian . carpophaga | |india and ceylon to |australian | | hainan and philippines| . columba | |ceylon and india to |palæarc., ethiop., | | tenasserim | amer. . janthænas | |philippine, andaman & |japan, moluccas to | | nicobar islands | samoan islands . macropygia | |nepal, java, hainan, |austro-malaya, | | philippines | australia . turtur | |the whole region |old world, austro- | | | malay. . chalcophaps | |india, ceylon, malaya, |austro-malaya, | | hainan, philippines, | australia | | formosa | . _phapitreron_ | |philippine islands | . caloenas | |nicobar and philippine |austro-malaya | | islands | . phlegoenas | |philippine and sooloo |austro-mal. & | | islands | polynesia . geopelia | |philippine islands, |austro-malaya & | | java | austral. | | | gallinÆ. | | | pteroclidÆ. | | | | | | . pterocles | |central and s. india |s. palæarctic, | | | ethiopian | | | tetraonidÆ. | | | | | | . francolinus | |ceylon and india to |s. palæarctic, | | s. china | ethiopian . _ortygornis_ | |ceylon to himalayas, | | | sumatra & borneo | . perdix | |india, malaya, |palæarctic | | philippines, china | . coturnix | |the whole region |the eastern hemisphere . _rollulus_ | |malacca, siam, borneo, | | | philipp. | (caccabis | |w. himalayas) |palæarctic genus | | | phasianidÆ. | | | | | | . _pavo_ | |ceylon to himalayas, | | | s. w. china and java | | | | . _argusianus_ | |siam, malacca, borneo | . _polyplectron_ | |upper assam to s. w. | | | china & sumatra | (lophophorus | |cashmere and e. thibet)|palæarctic genus (tetraophasis | |e. thibet) |palæarctic genus . ceriornis | |n. w. himalayas to |s. e. palæarctic | | w. china | (pucrasia | |n. w. himalayas to n. |palæarctic genus | | china and mongolia) | . phasianus | |w. himalayas, s. china,|s. palæarctic | | formosa | . _euplocamus_ | |n. w. himalayas to | | | china, sumatra and | | | borneo | . _gallus_ | |the region, excl. china|celebes and timor . _galloperdix_ | |central india to ceylon| | | | turnicidÆ. | | | | | | . turnix | |the whole region |s. palæarc., | | | ethiopian, australian | | | megapodiidÆ. | | | | | | . megapodius | |nicobar is., |celebes to samoan is., | | philippines, n. w. | n. australia | | borneo | | | | accipitres. | | | vulturidÆ. | | | | | | . vultur | |himalayas |s. palæarctic, | | | ethiopian . gyps | |india and siam |s. palæarctic, | | | ethiopian . _pseudogyps_ | |india and burmah |n. ethiopian . neophron | |all india |s. palæarctic, | | | ethiopian | | | falconidÆ. | | | | | | . circus | |india and china |almost cosmopolite . astur | |the whole region |almost cosmopolite . accipiter | |the whole region |almost cosmopolite . buteo | |india to china |cosmopolite; excl. | | | austl. . aquila | |india to china |nearc, palæarc., | | | ethiop. . nisaëtus | |india and ceylon |s. palæar., ethiop., | | | aus. . lophotriorchis | |indo-malaya |neotropical . neopus | |india to burmah and |celebes and moluccas | | malaya | . spizaëtus | |india to malaya and |neotropical, | | formosa | ethiopian, | | | austro-malayan . circaëtus | |indian peninsula |palæarc., ethiop., | | | timor . _spilornis_ | |the whole region |celebes . butastur | |the whole region |n. e. africa, celebes, | | |new guinea . haliæetus | |the whole region |cosmopolite; excl. | | | neotropical region . haliastur | |india to malaya |austro-malaya, | | | austral. . milvus | |the whole region |the eastern | | | hemisphere. . elanus | |india, malaya |africa, australia . machærhamphus | |malacca |s. w. africa & madag. . pernis | |india |palæarctic and | | | ethiopian, celebes . baza | |india to malaya | | |moluccas and n. austrl.| . _hierax_ | |n. india, burmah, | | | malaya | . poliohierax | |burmah |e. africa . falco | |the whole region |almost cosmopolite . cerchneis | |the whole region |almost cosmopolite | | | pandionidÆ. | | | | | | . pandion | |the whole region |cosmopolite . polioaëtus | |india to malaya |indo-malaya & | | | polynesia | | | strigidÆ. | | | | | | . athene | |the whole region |the eastern hemisphere . _ninox_ | |the whole region |n. china and japan . bubo | |india, ceylon, malaya |cosmop. exc. austr. | | and philip. | reg. . _ketupa_ | |the whole region | . scops | |the whole region |almost cosmopolite . syrnium | |the whole region |cosmop. exc. austr. | | | reg. (asio | |india) |palæarc., ethiop. | | | amer. . strix | |the whole region |cosmopolite . _phodilus_ | |nepal, malaya | _peculiar or very characteristic genera of wading or swimming birds._ | | | grallÆ. | | | rallidÆ. | | | | | | rallina | |the whole region |austro-malaya | | | parridÆ. | | | | | | _hydrophasanus _| |the whole region | | | | charadriidÆ. | | | | | | Æsacus | |the whole region |austro-malayan, austra [illustration: australian region] { }chapter xiii. the australian region. the australian is the great insular region of the earth. as a whole it is one of the best marked, and has even been considered to be equal in zoological value to all the rest of the globe; but its separate portions are very heterogeneous, and their limits sometimes ill-defined. its central and most important masses consist of australia and new guinea, in which the main features of the region are fully developed. to the north-west it extends to celebes, in which a large proportion of the australian characters have disappeared, while oriental types are mingled with them to such an extent that it is rather difficult to determine where to locate it. to the south-east it includes new zealand, which is in some respects so peculiar, that it has even been proposed to constitute it a distinct region. on the east it embraces the whole of oceania to the marquesas and sandwich islands, whose very scanty and often peculiar fauna, must be affiliated to the general australian type. australia is the largest tract of land in the region, being several times more extensive than all the other islands combined, and it is here that the greatest variety of peculiar types have been developed. this island-continent, being situated in the track of the southern desert zone, and having no central mountains to condense the vapours from the surrounding ocean, has a large portion of its interior so parched up and barren as to be almost destitute of animal life. the most extensive tract of fertile and well-watered country is on the east and south-east, { }where a fine range of mountains reaches, in the colony of victoria, the limits of perpetual snow. the west coast also possesses mountains of moderate height, but the climate is very dry and hot. the northern portion is entirely tropical, yet it nowhere presents the luxuriance of vegetation characteristic of the great island of new guinea immediately to the north of it. taken as a whole, australia is characterized by an arid climate and a deficiency of water; conditions which have probably long prevailed, and under which its very peculiar fauna and flora have been developed. this fact will account for some of the marked differences between it and the adjacent sub-regions of new guinea and the moluccas, where the climate is moist, and the vegetation luxuriant; and these divergent features must never be lost sight of, in comparing the different portions of the australian region. in tasmania alone, which is however, essentially a detached portion of australia, a more uniform and moister climate prevails; but it is too small a tract of land, and has been too recently severed from its parent mass to have developed a special fauna. the austro-malay sub-region (of which new guinea is the central and typical mass) is strikingly contrasted with australia, being subjected to purely equatorial conditions,--a high, but uniform temperature, excessive moisture, and a luxuriant forest vegetation, exactly similar in general features to that which clothes the indo-malay islands, and the other portions of the great equatorial forest zone. such a climate and vegetation, being the necessary result of its geographical position, must have existed from remote geological epochs with but little change, and must therefore have profoundly affected all the forms of life which have been developed under their influence. around new guinea as a centre are grouped a number of important islands, more or less closely agreeing with it in physical features, climate, vegetation, and forms of life. in most immediate connection we place the aru islands, mysol and waigiou, with jobie and the other islands in geelvinck bay, all of which are connected with it by shallow seas; they possess one of its most characteristic groups, the birds of paradise, and have no doubt only recently (in { }a geological sense) been separated from it. in the next rank come the large islands of the moluccas on the west, and the range terminating in the solomon islands on the east, both of which groups possess a clearly papuan fauna, although deficient in many of the most remarkable papuan types. all these islands agree closely with new guinea itself in being very mountainous, and covered with a luxuriant forest vegetation; but to the south-west we find a set of islands extending from timor to lombock, which agree more nearly with australia, both in climate and vegetation; being arid and abounding in eucalypti, acacias, and thickets of thorny shrubs. these, like the moluccas, are surrounded by deep sea, and it is doubtful whether they have either of them been actually connected with new guinea or australia in recent geological times; but the general features of their zoology oblige us to unite all these islands with new guinea as forming the austro-malay sub-division of the australian region. still further west however, we have the large island of celebes, whose position is very difficult to determine. it is mountainous, but has also extensive plains and low lands. its climate is somewhat arid in the south, where the woods are often scattered and thorny, while in the north it is moister, and the forests are luxuriant. it is surrounded by deep seas, but also by coralline and volcanic islets, indicating former elevations and subsidences. its fauna presents the most puzzling relations, showing affinities to java, to the philippines, to the moluccas, to new guinea, to continental india, and even to africa; so that it is almost impossible to decide whether to place it in the oriental or the australian region. on the whole the preponderance of its relations appears to be with the latter, though it is undoubtedly very anomalous, and may, with almost as much propriety, be classed with the former. this will be better understood when we come to discuss its zoological peculiarities. the next sub-region consists of the extensive series of islands scattered over the pacific, the principal groups being the sandwich islands, the marquesas and society islands, the navigators', friendly, and fiji islands. new caledonia and the new { }hebrides have rather an uncertain position, and it is difficult to decide whether to class them with the austro-malay islands, the pacific islands, or australia. the islands of the west pacific, north of the equator, also probably come into this region, although the ladrone islands may belong to the philippines; but as the fauna of all these small islets is very scanty, and very little known, they are not at present of much importance. there remains the islands of new zealand, with the surrounding small islands, as far as the auckland, chatham, and norfolk islands. these are situated in the south temperate forest-zone. they are mountainous, and have a moist, equable, and temperate climate. they are true oceanic islands, and the total absence of mammalia intimates that they have not been connected with australia or any other continent in recent geological times. the general character of their zoology, no less than their botany, affiliates them however, to australia as portions of the same zoological region. _general zoological characteristics of the australian region._--for the purpose of giving an idea of the very peculiar and striking features which characterise the australian region, it will be as well at first to confine ourselves to the great central land masses of australia and new guinea, where those features are manifested in their greatest force and purity, leaving the various peculiarities and anomalies of the outlying islands to be dealt with subsequently. _mammalia._--the australian region is broadly distinguished from all the rest of the globe by the entire absence of all the orders of non-aquatic mammalia that abound in the old world, except two--the winged bats (chiroptera), and the equally cosmopolite rodents (rodentia). of these latter however, only one family is represented--the muridæ--(comprising the rats and mice), and the australian representatives of these are all of small or moderate size--a suggestive fact in appreciating the true character of the australian fauna. in place of the quadrumana, carnivora, and ungulates, which abound in endless variety in all the other regions under equally favourable conditions, australia possesses two new orders (or perhaps { }sub-classes)--marsupialia and monotremata, found nowhere else on the globe except a single family of the former in america. the marsupials are wonderfully developed in australia, where they exist in the most diversified forms, adapted to different modes of life. some are carnivorous, some herbivorous; some arboreal, others terrestrial. there are insect-eaters, root-gnawers, fruit-eaters, honey-eaters, leaf or grass-feeders. some resemble wolves, others marmots, weasels, squirrels, flying squirrels, dormice or jerboas. they are classed in six distinct families, comprising about thirty genera, and subserve most of the purposes in the economy of nature, fulfilled in other parts of the world by very different groups; yet they all possess common peculiarities of structure and habits which show that they are members of one stock, and have no real affinity with the old-world forms which they often outwardly resemble. the other order, monotremata, is only represented by two rare and very remarkable forms, _ornithorhynchus_ and _echidna_, probably the descendants of some of those earlier developments of mammalian life which in every other part of the globe have long been extinct. the bats of australia all belong to old-world genera and possess no features of special interest, a result of the wandering habits of these aerial mammals. the rodents are more interesting. they are all more or less modified forms of mice or rats. some belong to the widely distributed genus _mus_, others to four allied genera, which may be all modifications of some common old-world form. they spread all over australia, and allied species occur in celebes and the papuan islands, so that although not yet known from the moluccas, there can be little doubt that some of them exist there. _birds._--the typical australian region, as above defined, is almost as well characterized by its birds, as by its mammalia; but in this case the deficiencies are less conspicuous, while the peculiar and characteristic families are numerous and important. the most marked deficiency as regards wide-spread families, is the total absence of fringillidæ (true finches), picidæ (woodpeckers), vulturidæ (vultures), and phasianidæ (pheasants). { }and among prevalent oriental groups, pycnonotidæ (bulbuls), phyllornithidæ (green bulbuls), and megalæmidæ (barbets) are families whose absence is significant. nine families are peculiar to the region, or only just pass its limits in the case of single species. these are paridiseidæ (paradise-birds), meliphagidæ (honey-suckers), menuridæ (lyre-birds), atrichidæ (scrub-birds), cacatuidæ (cockatoos), platycercidæ (broad-tailed and grass-paroquets), trichoglossidæ (brush-tongued paroquets), megapodiidæ (mound-makers), and casuariidæ (cassowaries). there are also eight very characteristic families, of which four,--pachycephalidæ (thick-headed shrikes), campephagidæ (caterpillar shrikes), dicæidæ (flower-peckers), and artamidæ (swallow-shrikes)--are feebly represented elsewhere, while the other four--ploceidæ (weaver-finches), alcædinidæ (kingfishers), podargidæ (frog-mouths), and columbidæ (pigeons)--although widely distributed, are here unusually abundant and varied, and (except in the case of the ploceidæ) better represented in the australian than in any other region. of all these the meliphagidæ (honeysuckers) are the most peculiarly and characteristically australian. this family abounds in genera and species; it extends into every part of the region from celebes and lombock on the west, to the sandwich islands, marquesas, and new zealand on the east, while not a single species overpasses its limits, with the exception of one (_ptilotis limbata_) which abounds in all the islands of the timorese group, and has crossed the narrow strait from lombock to baly; but this can hardly be considered to impugn the otherwise striking fact of wide diffusion combined with strict limitation, which characterizes it. this family is the more important, because, like the trichoglossidæ or brush-tongued paroquets, it seems to have been developed in co-ordination with that wealth of nectariferous flowering shrubs and trees which is one of the marked features of australian vegetation. it probably originated in the extensive land-area of australia itself, and thence spread into all the tributary islands, where it has become variously modified, yet always in such close adaptation to the other great features of the australian fauna, that it seems unable to maintain itself when subject to the competition of the more { }varied forms of life in the oriental region; to which, possessing great powers of flight, some species must occasionally have emigrated. its presence or absence serves therefore to define and limit the australian region with a precision hardly to be equalled in the case of any other region or any other family of birds. the trichoglossidæ, as already intimated, are another of these peculiarly organized australian families,--parrots with an extensile brush-tipped tongue, adapted to extract the nectar and pollen from flowers. these are also rigidly confined to this region, but they do not range so completely over the whole of it, being absent from new zealand (where however they are represented by a closely allied form _nestor_), and from the sandwich islands. the paradiseidæ (birds of paradise and allies) are another remarkable family, confined to the papuan group of islands, and the tropical parts of australia. the megapodiidæ (or mound-builders) are another most remarkable and anomalous group of birds, no doubt specially adapted to australian conditions of existence. their peculiarity consists in their laying enormous eggs (at considerable intervals of time) and burying them either in the loose hot sand of the beach above high-water mark, or in enormous mounds of leaves, sticks, earth, and refuse of all kinds, gathered together by the birds, whose feet and claws are enlarged and strengthened for the work. the warmth of this slightly fermenting mass hatches the eggs; when the young birds work their way out, and thenceforth take care of themselves, as they are able to run quickly, and even to fly short distances, as soon as they are hatched. this may perhaps be an adaptation to the peculiar condition of so large a portion of australia, in respect to prolonged droughts and scanty water-supply, entailing a periodical scarcity of all kinds of food. in such a country the confinement of the parents to one spot during the long period of incubation would often lead to starvation, and the consequent death of the offspring. but the same birds with free power to roam about, might readily maintain themselves. this peculiar constitution and habit, which enabled the megapodii to maintain an existence under the unfavourable conditions of their { }original habitat gives them a great advantage in the luxuriant islands of the moluccas, to which they have spread. there they abound to a remarkable extent, and their eggs furnish a luxurious repast to the natives. they have also reached many of the smallest islets, and have spread beyond the limits of the region to the philippines, and north-western borneo, as well as to the remote nicobar islands. the platycercidæ, or broad-tailed paroquets, are another wide-spread australian group, of weak structure but gorgeously coloured, ranging from the moluccas to new zealand and the society islands, and very characteristic of the region, to which they are strictly confined. the cockatoos have not quite so wide a range, being confined to the austro-malayan and australian sub-regions, while one species extends into the philippine islands. the other two peculiar families are more restricted in their range, and will be noticed under the sub-regions to which they respectively belong. of the characteristic families, the pachycephalidæ, or thick-headed shrikes, are especially australian, ranging over all the region, except new zealand; while only a single species has spread into the oriental, and one of doubtful affinity to the ethiopian region. the artamidæ, or swallow-shrikes, are also almost wholly confined to the region, one species only extending to india. they range to the fiji islands on the east, but only to tasmania on the south. these two families must be considered as really peculiar to australia. the podargidæ, or frog-mouths--large, thick-billed goat-suckers--are strange birds very characteristic of the australian region, although they have representatives in the oriental and neotropical regions. campephagidæ (caterpillar-shrikes) also abound, but they are fairly represented both in india and africa. the ploceidæ, or weaver-birds, are the finches of australia, and present a variety of interesting and beautiful forms. we now come to the kingfishers, a cosmopolitan family of birds, yet so largely developed in the australian region as to deserve special notice. two-thirds of all the genera are found here, and no less than out of the genera in the family are { }peculiar to the australian region. another of the universally distributed families which have their metropolis here, is that of the columbidæ or pigeons. three-fourths of the genera have representatives in the australian region, while two-fifths of the whole are confined to it; and it possesses as many species of pigeons as any other two regions combined. it also possesses the most remarkable forms, as exemplified in the great crowned pigeons (_goura_) and the hook-billed _didunculus_, while the green fruit-pigeons (_ptilopus_) are sometimes adorned with colours vying with those of the gayest parrots or chatterers. this enormous development of a family of birds so defenceless as the pigeons, whose rude nests expose their eggs and helpless young to continual danger, may perhaps be correlated, as i have suggested elsewhere (ibis, , p. ), with the entire absence of monkeys, cats, lemurs, weasels, civets and other arboreal mammals, which prey on eggs and young birds. the very prevalent green colour of the upper part of their plumage, may be due to the need of concealment from their only enemies,--birds of prey; and this is rendered more probable by the fact that it is among the pigeons of the small islands of the pacific (where hawks and their allies are exceedingly scarce) that we alone meet with species whose entire plumage is a rich and conspicuous yellow. where the need of concealment is least, the brilliancy of colour has attained its maximum. we may therefore look upon the genus _ptilopus_, with its fifty species whose typical coloration is green, with patches of bright blue, red, or yellow on the head and breast, as a special development suited to the tropical portion of the australian region, to which it is almost wholly confined. it will be seen from the sketch just given, that the ornithological features of the australian region are almost as remarkable as those presented by its mammalian fauna; and from the fuller development attained by the aërial class of birds, much more varied and interesting. none of the other regions of the earth can offer us so many families with special points of interest in structure, or habits, or general relations. the paradise-birds, the honeysuckers, the brush-tongued paroquets, the mound-builders, and the cassowaries--all strictly peculiar { }to the region--with such remarkable developments as we have indicated in the kingfishers and pigeons, place the australian region in the first rank for the variety, singularity, and interest of its birds, and only second to south america as regards numbers and beauty. _reptiles._--in reptiles the peculiarity of the main australian region is less marked, although the fauna is sufficiently distinct. there is no family of snakes confined to the region, but many peculiar genera of the families pythonidæ and elapidæ. about two-thirds of the australian snakes belong to the latter family, and are poisonous; so that although the crotalidæ and viperidæ are absent, there are perhaps a larger proportion of poisonous to harmless snakes than in any other part of the world. according to mr. gerard krefft the proportion varies considerably in the different colonies. in victoria, new south wales, and queensland the proportion is about two to one; in west australia three to one; and in south australia six to one. in tasmania there are only species and all are poisonous. the number of species, as in other parts of the world, seems to increase with temperature. the in tasmania have increased to in victoria, in south australia and the same in west australia; in new south wales, and in sub-tropical queensland. the lizards of australia have lately been catalogued by dr. günther in the concluding part of the "voyage of the erebus and terror," issued in . they belong to families, of which are peculiar; genera of which are peculiar; and about species, all but or of which are peculiar. the scinks and geckoes form the great bulk of the australian lizards, with a few agamidæ, gymnopthalmidæ, and varanidæ. the three peculiar families are the pygopodidæ, aprasiidæ and lialidæ; comprising only genera and species. the above all belong to australia proper. those of the other sub-regions are few in number and will be noticed under their respective localities. they will perhaps bring up the number of genera to . west and south australia seem to offer much peculiarity in their lizards; these districts possessing peculiar genera, { }while a much smaller number are confined to the east and south-east, or to the north. among the fresh-water turtles of the family chelydidæ there are three peculiar genera--_chelodina_, _chelemys_, and _elseya_, all from australia. _amphibia._--no tailed amphibians are known from the whole region, but no less than eleven of the families of tail-less batrachians (toads and frogs) are known to inhabit some part or other of it. a peculiar family (xenorhinidæ), consisting of a single species, is found in new guinea; the true toads (bufonidæ) are only represented by a single species of a peculiar genus in australia, and by a _bufo_ in celebes. nine of the families are represented in australia itself, and the following genera are peculiar to it:--_pseudophryne_ (phryniscidæ), _pachybatrachus_, and _chelydobatrachus_ (engystomydæ); _helioporus_ (alytidæ); _pelodyras_ and _chirodyras_ (pelodryadæ); _notaden_ (bufonidæ). _fresh-water fish._--there is only one peculiar family of fresh-water fishes in this region--the gadopsidæ--represented by a single genus and species. the other species of australia belong to the families trachinidæ, atherinidæ, mugillidæ, siluridæ, homalopteræ, haplochitonidæ, galaxidæ, osteoglossidæ, symbranchidæ, and sirenoidei; most of the genera being peculiar. the large and widely-distributed families, cyprinodontidæ and cyprinidæ, are absent. the most remarkable fish is the recently discovered _ceratodus_, allied to the _lepidosiren_ of tropical america, and _protopterus_ of tropical africa, the three species constituting the sub-class dipnoi, remains of which have been found fossil in the triassic formation. _summary of australian vertebrata._--in order to complete our general sketch of australian zoology, and to afford materials for comparison with other regions, we will here summarize the distribution of vertebrata in the entire australian region, as given in detail in the tables at the end of this chapter. when an undoubted oriental family or genus extends to celebes only we do not count it as belonging to the australian region, that island being so very anomalous and intermediate in character. { }the australian region, then, possesses examples of families of mammalia, of which are peculiar; of birds, being peculiar; of reptiles, being peculiar; of amphibia, with peculiar; and of fresh-water fish, with peculiar. in all, families of vertebrates, of which are almost or quite confined to it, or between one-fourth and one-fifth of the whole number. the genera of mammalia occurring within the limits of this region are , of which are almost, or quite, confined to it. of land-birds there are genera, of which are equally limited. the proportion is in both cases very nearly five-eighths. this shows a considerable deficiency both in families of vertebrates and genera of mammalia, as compared with the oriental and ethiopian regions; while in genera of birds it is a little superior to the latter in total numbers, and considerably so in the proportion of peculiar types. _supposed land connection between australia and south america._ we may now consider how far the different classes and orders of vertebrates afford indications that during past ages there has been some closer connection between australia and south america than that which now exists. among mammalia we have the remarkable fact of a group of marsupials inhabiting south america, and extending even into the temperate regions of north america, while they are found in no other part of the globe beyond the limits of the australian region; and this has often been held to be evidence of a former connection between the two countries. a preliminary objection to this view is, that the opossums seem to be rather a tropical group, only one species reaching as far as ° south latitude on the west coast of south america; but whatever evidence we have which seems to require a former union of these countries shows that it took place, if at all, towards their cold southern limits, the tropical faunas on the whole showing no similarity. this is not a very strong objection, since climates may have changed in the south to as great an extent as we { }know they have in the north. perhaps a more important consideration is, that _didelphys_ is a family type unknown in australia; and this implies that the point of common origin is very remote in geological time. but the most conclusive fact is that in the eocene and miocene periods this very family, didelphyidæ, existed in europe, while it only appeared in america in the post-pliocene or perhaps the pliocene period; so that it is really an old-world group, which, though long since extinct in its birthplace, has survived in america, to which country it is a comparatively recent emigrant. primeval forms of marsupials we know abounded in europe during much of the secondary epoch, and no doubt supplied australia with the ancestors of the present fauna. it is clear, therefore, that in this case there is not a particle of evidence for any former union between australia and south america; while it is almost demonstrated that both derived their marsupials from a common source in the northern hemisphere. birds offer us more numerous but less clearly defined cases of this kind. among passeres, the wonderful lyre bird (_menura_) is believed by some ornithologists to be decidedly allied to the south american pteroptochidæ, while others maintain that it is altogether peculiar, and has no such affinity. the australian pachycephalidæ have also been supposed to find their nearest allies in the american vireonidæ, but this is, perhaps, equally problematical. that the mound-makers (megapodiidæ) of the australian region are more nearly allied to the south american curassows (cracidæ) than to any other family, is perhaps better established; but if proved, it is probably due, as in the case of the marsupials, to the survival of an ancient and once wide-spread type, and thus lends no support to the theory of a land connection between the two regions. a recent author, professor garrod, classes _phaps_ and other australian genera of pigeons along with _zenaida_ and allied south american forms; but here again the affinity, if it exists, is so remote that the explanation already given will suffice to account for it. there remain only the penguins of the genus _eudyptes_; and these have almost certainly passed from one region to the other, but { }no actual land connection is required for birds which can cross considerable arms of the sea. reptiles again seem to offer no more support to the view than do mammalia or birds. among snakes there are no families in common that have not a very wide distribution. among lizards the gymnopthalmidæ are the only family that favour the notion, since they are found in australia and south america, but not in the oriental region. yet they occur in both the palæarctic and ethiopian regions, and their distribution is altogether too erratic to be of any value in a case of this kind; and the same remarks apply to the tortoises of the family chelydidæ. the amphibia, however, furnish us with some more decided facts. we have first the family of tree-frogs, pelodryade, confined to the two regions; _litoria_, a genus of the family hylidæ peculiar to australia, but with one species in paraguay; and in the family discoglossidæ, the australian genus _chiroleptes_ has its nearest ally in the chilian genus _calyptocephalus_. fresh-water fishes give yet clearer evidence. three groups are exclusively found in these two regions; _aphritis_, a fresh-water genus of trachinidæ, has one species in tasmania and two others in patagonia; the haplochitonidæ inhabit only terra del fuego, the falkland islands and south australia; while the genus _galaxias_ (forming the family galaxidæ) is confined to south temperate america, australia, and new zealand. we have also the genus _osteoglossum_ confined to the tropical rivers of eastern south america, the indo-malay islands and australia. it is important here to notice that the heat-loving reptilia afford hardly any indications of close affinity between the two regions, while the cold-enduring amphibia and fresh-water fish, offer them in abundance. taking this fact in connection with the absence of all indications of close affinity among the mammalia and terrestrial birds, the conclusion seems inevitable that there has been no land-connection between the two regions within the period of existing species, genera, or families. yet some interchange of amphibia and fresh-water { }fishes, as of plants and insects, has undoubtedly occurred, but this has been effected by other means. if we look at a globe we see at once how this interchange may have taken place. immediately south of cape horn we have the south shetland islands and graham's land, which is not improbably continuous, or nearly so, with south victoria land immediately to the south of new zealand. the intervening space is partly occupied by the auckland, campbell, and macquaries' islands, which, there is reason to believe are the relics of a great southern extension of new zealand. at all events they form points which would aid the transmission of many organisms; and the farthest of the macquaries' group, emerald island, is only miles from the outlying islets of victoria land. the ova of fish will survive a considerable time in the air, and the successful transmission of salmon ova to new zealand packed in ice, shows how far they might travel on icebergs. now there is evidently some means by which ova or young fishes are carried moderate distances, from the fact that remote alpine lakes and distinct river systems often have the same species. glaciers and icebergs generally have pools of fresh water on their surfaces; and whatever cause transmits fish to an isolated pond might occasionally stock these pools, and by this means introduce the fishes of one southern island into another. batrachians, which are equally patient of cold, might be transported by similar means; while, as mr. darwin has so well shown, (_origin of species_, th ed. p. ) there are various known modes by which plants might be transmitted, and we need not therefore be surprised that botanists find a much greater similarity between the production of the several southern lands and islands, than do zoologists. it is important to notice that, however this intercommunication was effected, it has continued down to the epoch of existing species; for dr. günther finds the same species of fresh-water fish (_galaxias attenuatus_) inhabiting tasmania, new zealand, the falkland islands, and temperate south america; while another species is common to new zealand and the auckland islands. we cannot believe that a land connection has existed between all these remote lands within the period of existence of this one species of fish, { }not only on account of what we know of the permanence of continents and deep oceans, but because such a connection must have led to much more numerous and important cases of similarity of natural productions than we actually find. and if within the life of _species_ such interchange may have taken place across seas of greater or less extent, still more easy is it to understand, how, within the life of _genera_ and _families_, a number of such interchanges may have occurred; yet always limited to those groups whose conditions of life render transmission possible. had an actual land connection existed within the temperate zone, or during a period of warmth in the antarctic regions, there would have been no such strict limitations to the inter-migration of animals. it may be held to support the view that floating ice has had _some_ share in the transmission of fish and amphibia, when we find that in the case of the narrow tropical sea dividing borneo from celebes and the moluccas, no proportionate amount of transmission has taken place, but numerous species, genera, and whole families, terminate abruptly at what we have other reasons for believing to be the furthest limits of an ancient continent. we can hardly suppose, however, that this mode of transmission would have sufficed for such groups as tree-frogs, which are inhabitants of the more temperate or even warm portions of the two southern lands. some of these cases may perhaps be explained by the supposition of a considerable extent of land in the south-temperate and antarctic regions now submerged, and by a warm or temperate climate analogous to that which prevailed in the arctic regions during some part of the miocene epoch; while others may be due to cases of survival in the two areas of once wide-spread groups, a view supported in the case of the amphibia by the erratic manner in which many of the groups are spread over the globe. from an examination of the facts presented by the various classes of vertebrates, we are, then, led to the conclusion, that there is no evidence of a former land-connection between the australian and neotropical regions; but that the various scattered resemblances in their natural productions { }that undoubtedly occur, are probably due to three distinct causes. first, we have the american didelphyidæ, among mammals, and the cracidæ, among birds, allied respectively to the marsupials and the megapodiidæ of australia. this is probably more a coincidence than an affinity, due to the preservation of ancient wide-spread types in two remote areas, each cut off from the great northern continental masses, in which higher forms were evolved leading to the extinction of the lower types. in each of these southern isolated lands the original type would undergo a special development; in the one case suited to an arboreal existence, in the other to a life among arid plains. the second case is that of the tree-frogs, and the genus _osteoglossum_ among fishes; and is most likely due to the extension and approximation of the two southern continents, and the existence of some intermediate lands, during a warm period when facilities would be afforded for the transmission of a few organisms by the causes which have led to the exceptional diffusion of fresh-water productions in all parts of the world. as however _osteoglossum_ occurs also in the sunda islands, this may be a case of survival of a once wide-spread group. the third case is that of the same genera and even species of fish, and perhaps of frogs, in the two countries; which may be due to transmission from island to island by the aid of floating ice, with or without the assistance of more intervening lands than now exist. having arrived at these conclusions from a consideration of the vertebrata, we shall be in a position to examine how far the same causes will explain, or agree with, the distribution of the invertebrate groups, or elucidate any special difficulties we may meet with in the relations of the sub-regions. _insects._ the insects of the australian region are as varied, and in some respects as peculiar as its higher forms of life. as we have already indicated in our sketch of the oriental region, a vast number of forms inhabit the austro-malay sub-region { }which are absent from australia proper. such of these as are common to the malay archipelago as a whole, have been already noted; we shall here confine ourselves more especially to the groups peculiar to the region, which are almost all either australian or austro-malayan, the pacific islands and new zealand being very poor in insect life. _lepidoptera._--australia itself is poor in butterflies, except in its northern and more tropical parts, where green _ornithopteræ_ and several other malayan forms occur. in south australia there are less than thirty-five species, whereas in queensland there are probably over a hundred. the peculiar australian forms are few. in the family satyridæ, _xenica_ and _heteronympha_, with _hypocista_ extending to new guinea; among the lycænidæ, _ogyris_ and _utica_ are confined to australia proper, and _hypochrysops_ to the region; and in papilionidæ, the remarkable _eurycus_ is confined to australia, but is allied to _euryades_, a genus found in temperate south america (la plata), and to the _parnassius_ of the north-temperate zone. the austro-malay sub-region has more peculiar forms. _hamadryas_, a genus of danaidæ, approximates to some south american forms; _hyades_ and _hyantis_ are remarkable groups of morphidæ; _mynes_ and _prothoë_ are fine nymphalidæ, the former extending to queensland; _dicallaneura_, a genus of erycinidæ, and _elodina_, of pieridæ, are also peculiar forms. the fine _Ægeus_ group of _papilio_, and _priamus_ group of _ornithoptera_, also belong exclusively to this region. _xois_ is confined to the fiji islands, _bletogona_ to celebes, and _acropthalmia_ to new zealand, all genera of satyridæ. seventeen genera in all are confined to the australian region. among the sphingina, _pollanisus_, a genus of zygænidæ, is australian; also four genera of castniidæ--_synemon_, _euschemon_, _damias_, and _cocytia_, the latter being confined to the papuan islands. the occurrence of this otherwise purely south american family in the australian region, as well as the affinity of _eurycus_ and _euryades_ noticed above, is interesting; but as we have seen that the genera and families of insects are more permanent than those of the higher animals, and as the groups in question are { }confined to the warmer parts of both countries, they may be best explained as cases of survival of a once wide-spread type, and may probably date back to the period when the ancestors of the marsupials and megapodii were cut off from the rest of the world. _coleoptera._--the same remark applies here as in the lepidoptera, respecting the affinity of the austro-malay fauna to that of indo-malay islands; but australia proper is much richer in beetles than in butterflies, and exhibits much more speciality. although the other two parts of the australian region (polynesia and new zealand) are very poor in beetles, it will, nevertheless, on the whole compare favourably with any of the regions except the very richest. cicindelidæ are not very abundant. _therates_ and _tricondyla_ are the characteristic genera in austro-malaya, but are absent from australia, where we have _tetracha_ as the most characteristic genus, with one species of _megacephala_ and two of _distypsidera_, a genus which is found also in new zealand and some of the pacific islands. the occurrence of the south american genus, _tetracha_, may perhaps be due to a direct transfer by means of intervening lands during the warm southern period; but considering the permanence of coleopterous forms (as shown by the miocene species belonging almost wholly to existing genera), it seems more probable that it is a case of the survival of a once wide-spread group. carabidæ are well represented, there being no less than peculiar genera, of which are confined to new zealand. the australian genera of most importance are _carenum_ ( species), _promecoderus_ ( species), _silphomorpha_ ( species), _adelotopus_ ( species), _scaraphites_ ( species), _notonomus_ ( species), _gnathoxys_ ( species), _eutoma_ ( species), _Ænigma_ ( species), _lacordairea_ ( species), _pamborus_ ( species), _catadromus_ ( species),--the latter found in australia and celebes. common to australia and new zealand are _mecodema_ ( species), _homalosoma_ ( species), _dicrochile_ ( species), and _scopodes_ ( species). the larger genera, confined to new zealand only, are _metaglymma_ ( species), and _demetrida_ ( species). the curious genus _pseudomorpha_ ( species), is divided between california, brazil, { }and australia; and the australian genera, _adelotopus_, _silphomorpha_, and _sphallomorpha_, form with it a distinct tribe of coleoptera. these being all confined to the warmer regions, and having so scattered a distribution, are no doubt the relics of a widespread group. the australian genus, _promecoderus_, has, however, closely allied genera (_cascelius_ and its allies), in chili and patagonia; while two small genera confined to the auckland islands (_heterodactylus_ and _pristancyclus_) are allied to a group found only in terra-del-fuego and the falkland islands, (_migadops_); and in these cases we may well believe that a direct transmission has taken place by some of the various means already indicated. in lucanidæ, australia is only moderately rich, having peculiar genera. the most important are _ceratognathus_ and _rhyssonotus_, confined to australia; _lissotes_ to australia and new zealand; _lamprima_ to australia and papua. _mitophyllus_ and _dendroblax_ inhabit new zealand only; while _syndesus_ is found in australia, new caledonia, and tropical south america. the beautiful cetoniidæ are poorly represented, there being only peculiar genera;--_schizorhina_, mainly australian, but extending to papua and the moluccas; _anacamptorhina_, confined to new guinea, and _sternoplus_ to celebes. _lomaptera_ is very characteristic of the austro-malay islands. this almost tropical family shows no approximations between the australian and neotropical faunas. in buprestidæ, the australian region is the richest, possessing no less than genera, of which are peculiar to it. of these, are peculiar to australia itself, the most important being _stigmodera_ ( species), _ethon_ ( species), and _nascio_ ( species); _cisseis_ ( species), and the magnificent _calodema_ ( species), are common to australia and austro-malaya; while _sambus_ ( species) and _anthaxomorpha_ ( species), with some smaller groups, are peculiarly austro-malayan. in this family occur several points of contact with the neotropical region. _stigmodera_ is said to have a species in chili, while there are undoubtedly several allied genera in chili and south temperate america. the genus _curis_ has australian and chilian species, and { }_acherusia_ has species in brazil, in australia. these resemblances may probably have arisen from intercommunication during the warm southern period, when floating timber would occasionally transmit a few larvæ of this family from island to island across the antarctic seas. when the cold period returned, they would spread northward, and become more or less modified under the new physical conditions and organic competition, to which they were subjected. we now come to the very important group of longicorns, in which the australian region as a whole, is very rich, possessing genera, of which are peculiar to it. of these about are confined to the austro-malay islands, to new zealand, and the remainder to australia proper with tasmania. of the genera confined to, or highly characteristic of australia, the following are the most important:--_cnemoplites_, belonging to the prionidæ; _phoracantha_, to the cerambycidæ; _zygocera_, _hebecerus_, _symphyletes_, and _rhytidophora_, to the lamiidæ. confined to the austro-malay islands are _tethionea_ (cerambycidæ): _tmesisternus_, _arrhenotus_, _micracantha_, and _sybra_ (lamiidæ); but there are also such malayan genera as _batocera_, _gnoma_, _praonetha_, and _sphenura_, which are very abundant in the austro-malay sub-region. a species of each of the australian genera, _zygocera_, _syllitus_, and _pseudocephalus_, is said to occur in chili, and one of the tropical american genus, _hammatochærus_, in tropical australia; an amount of resemblance which, as in the case of the buprestidæ, may be imputed to trans-oceanic migration during the southern warm period. this concludes our illustrations of the distribution of some of the more important groups of australian insects; and it will be admitted that we have not met with any such an amount of identity with the fauna of temperate south america, as to require us to modify the conclusions we arrived at from a consideration of the vertebrate groups. _land-shells._--the distribution of many of the larger genera of land-shells is very erratic, while others are exceedingly restricted, so that it requires an experienced conchologist to investigate the affinities of the several groups, and thus work { }out the important facts of distribution. all that can be done here is to note the characteristic and peculiar genera, and any others presenting features of special interest. in the great family of the snails (helicidæ), the only genera strictly confined to the region are, _partula_, now containing above species, and ranging over the pacific from the solomon isles on the west, to the sandwich islands and tahiti on the east; and _achatinella_, now containing nearly species, and wholly confined to the sandwich islands. _pfeifferia_ is confined to the philippine islands and moluccas; _cochlostyla_ to the indo-malay islands and australia; _bulimus_ occurs in most of the insular groups, including new zealand, but is absent from australia. among the aciculidæ, the widely-scattered _truncatella_ is the only genus represented. among diplommatinidæ, _diplommatina_ is the characteristic genus, ranging over the whole region, and found elsewhere as far as india, with one species in trinidad. the extensive family cyclostomidæ, is not well represented. seven genera reach the austro-malay islands, one of which, _registoma_, is confined to the philippines, moluccas, new caledonia, and the marshall islands. _omphalotropis_ is the most characteristic genus, ranging over the whole region; _callia_ is confined to the philippines, ceram, and australia; _realia_ to new zealand and the marquesas. the genus _helicina_ alone represents the helicinidæ, and is found in the whole region except new zealand. the number of species known from australia is perhaps about ; while the polynesian sub-region, according to mr. harper pease, contains over ; the austro-malay islands will furnish probably ; and new zealand about ; making a total of about , species for the whole region. australian sub-regions. few of the great zoological regions comprise four divisions so strongly contrasted as these, or which present so many interesting problems. we have first the austro-malay islands, an equatorial forest-region teeming with varied and beautiful forms of life; next we have australia itself, an island-continent with its satellite { }tasmania, both tropical and temperate, but for the most part arid, yet abounding in peculiar forms in all the classes of animals; then come the polynesian islands, another luxuriant region of tropical vegetation, yet excessively poor in most of the higher groups of animals as well as in some of the lower; and lastly, we have new zealand, a pair of temperate forest-clad islands far in the southern ocean, with a very limited yet strange and almost wholly peculiar fauna. we have now to consider the general features and internal relations of the faunas of each of these sub-regions, together with any external relations which have not been discussed while treating the region as a whole. _i. austro-malayan sub-region._ the central mass on which almost every part of this sub-region is clearly dependent, is the great island of new guinea, inhabited by the papuan race of mankind; and this, with the surrounding islands, which are separated from it by shallow seas and possess its most marked zoological features, are termed papua. a little further away lie the important groups of the moluccas on one side and the eastern papuan islands on the other, which possess a fauna mainly derivative from new guinea, yet wanting many of its distinctive types; and, in the case of the moluccas possessing many groups which are not australian, but derived from the adjacent oriental region. to the south of these we have the timor group, whose fauna is clearly derivative, from australia, from java, and from the moluccas. lastly comes celebes, whose fauna is most complex and puzzling, and, so far as we can judge, not fundamentally derivative from any of the surrounding islands. _papua, or the new guinea group._--new guinea is very deficient in mammalia as compared with australia, though this apparent poverty may, in part, depend on our very scanty knowledge. as yet only four of the australian families of marsupials are known to inhabit it, with nine genera, several of which are peculiar. it also possesses a peculiar form of wild pig; but as yet no other non-marsupial terrestrial mammal has been discovered, except a rat, described by dr. gray as _uromys { }aruensis_, but about the locality of which there seems some doubt.[ ] omitting bats, of which our knowledge is very imperfect, the papuan mammals are as follows:-- family. genus. species. suidæ _sus_ eastern limit of the genus. muridæ _uromys_ aru islands (?) dasyuridæ _phascogale_ australian genus. " _antechinus_ " " " _dactylopsila_ to north australia only. " _myoictis_ aru islands only. peramelidæ _perameles_ new guinea only. macropodidæ _dendrolagus_ new guinea only. " _dorcopsis_ papua only. phalangistidæ _cuscus_ celebes to new guinea. " _belideus_ australia and moluccas. we have here no sign of any approach to the mammalian fauna of the oriental region, for though _sus_ has appeared, the muridæ (rats and mice) seem to be wanting. in birds the case is very different, since we at once meet with important groups, either wholly, or almost peculiar to the papuan fauna. according to a careful estimate, embodying the recent discoveries of meyer and d'albertis, there are species of papuan land-birds comprised in genera. about of the species are absolutely peculiar to the district, while of the genera are exclusively papuan or just extend into the moluccas, or into north australia where it closely approaches new guinea. in analysing the genera we may set aside as having a wide range, and being of no significance in distribution; such are most of the birds of prey, with the genera _hirundo_, _caprimulgus_, _zosterops_; and others widely spread in both the oriental and australian regions, as _dicæum_, _munia_, _eudynamis_, &c. of the remainder, as above stated, about are peculiar to the papuan fauna, are characteristic australian genera; are more especially malayan, and as much australian as oriental; while only, appear to be typically oriental with a discontinuous distribution, none of them occurring in the moluccas. { }this papuan fauna is so interesting and remarkable, that it seems advisable to give lists of these several classes of generic types. i. genera occurring in the papuan islands which are characteristic of the australian region ( ). those marked with an asterisk are exclusively papuan. sylviidæ _malurus_, _gerygone_, _petroica_, _orthonyx_. certhiidæ _climacteris_. sittidæ _sittella_. oriolidæ _mimeta_. campephagidæ _graucalus_, _lalage_. dicruridæ *_chætorhynchus_. muscicapidæ *_peltops_, _monarcha_, *_leucophantes_, _microeca_, _sisura_, _myiagra_, *_machærirhynchus_, _rhipidura_, *_todopsis_. pachycephalidæ _pachycephala_. laniidæ *_rectes_. corvidæ _cracticus_, *_gymnocorvus_. paradiseidæ *_paradisea_, *_manucodia_, *_astrapia_, *_parotia_, *_lophorina_, *_diphyllodes_, *_xanthomelus_, *_cicinnurus_, *_paradigalla_, *_epimachus_, *_drepanornis_, *_seleucides_, _ptilorhis_, _Æluroedus_, *_amblyornis_. meliphagidæ _myzomela_, _entomophila_, _glicyphila_, _ptilotis_, *_melidectes_, *_melipotes_, *_melirrhophetes_, _anthochæra_, _philemon_, *_euthyrhynchus_, _melithreptes_. nectariniidæ _chalcostetha_, *_cosmetira_. artamidæ _artamus_. pittidæ *_melampitta_. cuculidæ *_caliechthrus_. alcedinidæ _alcyone_, *_syma_, _dacelo_, *_tanysiptera_, *_melidora_. podargidæ _podargus_, _Ægotheles_. caprimulgidæ _eurostopodus_. cacatuidæ _cacatua_, *_microglossus_, _licmetis_, *_nasiterna_. platycercidæ _aprosmictus_ palæornithidæ _tanygnathus_, _eclectus_, _geoffroyus_, *_cyclopsitta_. trichoglossidæ _trichoglossus_, *_charmosyna_, _eos_, _lorius_. nestoridæ *_dasyptilus_. columbidæ _ptilopus_, _carpophaga_, _ianthoenas_, _reinwardtoenas_, *_trugon_, *_henicophaps_, _phlogoenas_, *_otidiphaps_, *_goura_. megapodiidæ _talegallus_, _megapodius_. falconidæ *_henicopernis_. casuariidæ _casuarius_. the chief points of interest here are the richness and specialization of the parrots, pigeons, and kingfishers; the wonderful paradise-birds; the honeysuckers; and some remarkable flycatchers. { }the most prominent deficiencies, as compared with australia, are in sylviidæ, timaliidæ, ploceidæ, platycercidæ, and falconidæ. ii. the genera which are characteristic of the whole malay archipelago are the following ( ):-- . _erythrura_ (ploceidæ) . _pitta_ (pittidæ) . _ceyx_ (alcedinidæ) . _calao_ (bucerotidæ) . _dendrochelidon_ (cypselidæ) . _loriculus_ (psittacidæ) . _macropygia_ (columbidæ) . _chalcophaps_ " . _caloenas_ " . _baza_ (falconidæ) iii. the curious set of genera apparently of indo-malayan origin, but unknown in the moluccas, are as follows:-- . _eupetes_ (cinclidæ) . _alcippe_ (timaliidæ) . _pomatorhinus_ " . _arachnothera_ (nectariniidæ) . _prionochilus_ (dicæidæ) . _eulabes_ (sturnidæ) the above six birds are very important as indicating past changes in the austro-malay islands, and we must say a few words about each. ( ) _eupetes_ is very remarkable, since the new guinea birds resemble in all important characters that which is confined to malacca and sumatra. they are probably the survivors of a once wide-spread malayan group. ( ) _alcippe_ or _drymocataphus_ (for in which genus the birds should be placed is doubtful) seems another clear case of a typical indo-malayan form occurring in new guinea and java, but in no intervening island. ( ) _pomatorhinus_ is a most characteristic himalayan and indo-malayan genus, occurring again in new guinea and also in australia, but in no intermediate island. the new guinea bird seems as nearly related to oriental as australian species. ( ) _arachnothera_ is exactly parallel to _alcippe_, occurring nowhere east of borneo except in new guinea. ( ) _prionochilus_, a small black bird, sometimes classed as a distinct genus, but evidently allied to the _prionochili_ of the indo-malay islands. ( ) _eulabes_, the genus which contains the well known mynahs of india, extends east of java as far as flores, but is not found in celebes or the moluccas. the two new guinea species are sometimes classed in different genera, but they are undoubtedly allied to the mynahs of india and malaya. we find then, that while the ornithology of new guinea is { }preeminently australian in character and possesses many peculiar developments of australian types, it has also--as might be expected from its geographical position, its climate, and its vegetation--received an infusion of malayan forms. but while one group of these is spread over the whole archipelago, and occasionally beyond it, there is another group which presents the unusual and interesting feature of discontinuous distribution, jumping over a thousand miles of island-studded sea from java and borneo to new guinea itself. it is a parallel case to that of java in the oriental region, which we have already discussed, but the suggested explanation in that case is more difficult to apply here. the recent soundings by the _challenger_ show us, that although the several islands of the moluccas are surrounded by water from , to , fathoms deep, yet these seas form inclosed basins with rims not more than from to fathoms deep, suggesting the idea of great lakes or inland seas which have sunk down bodily with the surrounding land, or that enormous local and restricted elevations and subsidences have here occurred. we have also the numerous small islands and coral banks south of celebes and eastward towards timor-laut and the aru islands, indicating great subsidence; and it is possible that there was an extension of papua to the west, approaching sufficiently near to java to receive occasional straggling birds of indo-malay type, altogether independent of the moluccas to the north. _bright colours and ornamental plumage of new guinea birds._--one of the most striking features of papuan ornithology is the large proportion which the handsome and bright-coloured birds bear to the more obscure species. that this is really the case has been ascertained by going over my own collections, made at aru and new guinea, and comparing them with my collection made at malacca--a district remarkable for the number of handsome birds it produces. using, as nearly as possible, the same standard of beauty, about one-third of the malacca birds may be classed as handsome,[ ] while in papua the proportion comes out exactly one-half. this is due, in part to the great abundance of { }parrots, cockatoos, and lories, almost all of which are beautiful; and of pigeons, more than half of which are very beautiful; as well as to the numerous kingfishers, most of which are excessively brilliant. then we have the absence of thrushes, and the very small numbers of the warblers, shrikes, and timaliidæ, which are dull-coloured groups; and, lastly, the presence of numerous gay pittas, flycatchers, and the unequalled family of paradise-birds. a large number of birds adorned with metallic plumage is also a marked feature of this fauna, more than a dozen genera being so distinguished. among the remarkable forms are _peltops_, a flycatcher, long classed as one of the indo-malayan eurylæmidæ, which it resembles both in bill and coloration; _machærirhynchus_, curious little boat-billed flycatchers; and _todopsis_, a group of terrestrial flycatchers with the brilliant colours of _pitta_ or _malurus_. the paradise-birds present the most wonderful developments of plumage and the most gorgeous varieties of colour, to be found among passerine birds. the great whiskered-swift, the handsomest bird in the entire family, has its head-quarters here. among kingfishers the elegant long-tailed _tanysipteræ_ are preeminent, whether for singularity or beauty. among parrots, new guinea possesses the great black cockatoo, one of the largest and most singular birds in the order; _nasiterna_, the smallest of known parrots; and _charmosyna_, perhaps the most elegant. lastly, among the pigeons we have the fine crowned-pigeons, the largest and most remarkable group of the order. plate x. [illustration] scene in new guinea, with characteristic animals. _plate x. illustrating the ornithology of new guinea._--the wonderful ornithological fauna we have just sketched, could only be properly represented in a series of elaborate coloured plates. we are obliged here to confine ourselves to representing a few of the more remarkable types of form, as samples of the great number that adorn this teeming bird-land. the large central figure is the fine twelve-wired paradise-bird (_seleucides albus_), one of the most beautiful and remarkable of the family. its general plumage appears, at first sight, to be velvety black; but on closer examination, and by holding the bird in various lights, it is found that every part of it glows with the most exquisite metallic tints--rich bronze, intense violet, and, on the { }edges of the breast-feathers, brilliant green. an immense tuft of dense plumes of a fine orange-buff colour, springs from each side of the body, and six of these on each side terminate in a black curled rachis or shaft, which form a perfectly unique adornment to this lovely bird. to appreciate this wonderful family (of which no good mounted collection exists) the reader should examine the series of plates in mr. elliot's great work on the paradiseidæ, where every species is figured of the size of life, and with a perfection of colouring that leaves little to be desired. below the _seleucides_ is one of the elegant racquet-tailed king-hunters (_tanysiptera galatea_) whose plumage of vivid blue and white, and coral-red bill, combined with the long spatulate tail, renders this bird one of the most attractive of the interesting family of kingfishers. on a high branch is seated the little papuan parroquet (_charmosyna papuensis_), one of the trichoglossidæ, or brush-tongued parrots,--richly adorned in red and yellow plumage, and with an unusually long and slender tail. on the ground is the well-known crowned pigeon (_goura coronata_), a genus which is wholly confined to new guinea and a few of the adjacent islands. one of the very few papuan mammals, a tree-kangaroo (_dendrolagus inustus_), is seated on a high branch. it is interesting, as an arboreal modification of a family which in australia is purely terrestrial; and as showing how very little alteration of form or structure is needed to adapt an animal to such a different mode of life. _reptiles and amphibia._--of these classes comparatively little is at present known, but there is evidence that the same intermixture of oriental and australian forms that occurs in birds and insects, is also found here. dr. a. b. meyer, the translator of this work into german, and well known for his valuable discoveries in new guinea, has kindly furnished me with a manuscript list of papuan reptiles, from which most of the information i am able to give is derived. of snakes, genera, are known, belonging to families. six of the genera are oriental,--_calamaria_, _cerberus_, _chrysopelea_, _lycodon_, _chersydrus_, and _ophiophagus_. four are australian,--_morelia_, { }_liasis_, _diemenia_, and _acanthophis_; while four others are more especially papuan,--_dibamus_ (typhlopidæ), _brachyorros_--a sub-genus of the wide-spread _rhabdosoma_ (calamariidæ), found also in timor; _nardoa_ and _enygrus_ (pythonidæ), ranging from the moluccas to the fiji islands. the rest are either common to the oriental and australian regions or of wide range. of lizards also, genera are recorded, belonging to families. three only are peculiarly oriental,--_eumeces_, _tiaris_, and _nycteridium_; but another, _gonyocephalus_, is malayan, ranging from java and borneo to the pelew islands. three are australian,--_cyclodus_, _heteropus_, and _gehyra_; while six are especially papuan,--_keneuxia_ (extending to the philippines), _elania_, _carlia_ (to north australia), _lipinia_ (to the philippine islands), and _tribolonotus_,--all belonging to the scincidæ; and _arua_ belonging to the agamidæ. we must add _cryptoblepharus_, which is confined to the australian region, except a species in mauritius. the other genera have a wider distribution. the preponderant oriental element in the snakes as compared with the lizards, is suggestive of the dispersal of the former being dependent on floating trees, or even on native canoes, which for an unknown period have traversed these seas, and in which various species of snakes often secrete themselves. this seems the more probable, as snakes are usually more restricted in their range than lizards, and exhibit less numerous examples of widespread genera and species. the other orders of reptiles present no features of interest. of amphibia only genera are known, belonging to families. _rana_, _hylarana_, and _hyla_ are wide-spread genera, the former being, however, absent from australia. _hyperolius_, _pelodryas_, _litoria_, and _asterophrys_ are australian; while _platymantis_ is polynesian, with a species in the philippine islands. hence it appears that the amphibia, so far as yet known, exhibit no oriental affinity; and this is a very suggestive fact. we have seen (p. ) that salt water is almost a complete barrier to the dispersal of these creatures; so that the wholly australian character of the papuan batrachia is what we might expect, if, as here advocated, no actual land connection between { }the oriental and australian regions, has probably occurred during the entire tertiary and post-tertiary periods. _insects._--the general character of the papuan insects has been sufficiently indicated in our sketch of the entomology of the region. we will here only add, that the metallic lustre so prevalent among the birds, is also apparent in such insects as _sphingnotus mirabilis_, a most brilliant metallic longicorn; _lomaptera wallacei_ and _anacamptorhina fulgida_, cetonii of intense lustre; _calodema wallacei_ among the buprestidæ; and the elegant blue _eupholi_ among the weevils. even among moths we have _cocytia durvillii_, remarkable for its brilliant metallic colours. _the moluccas._--the islands of gilolo, bouru, and ceram, with several smaller islands adjacent, together with sanguir, and perhaps tulour or salibaboo to the north-west, and the islands from ke to timor-laut to the south-east, form the group of the moluccas or spice-islands, remarkable for the luxuriance of their vegetation and the extreme beauty of their birds and insects. their mammalia are of papuan character, with some foreign intermixture. two genera of the new guinea marsupials, _belideus_ and _cuscus_, abound; and we have also the wide-spread _sus_. but besides these, we find no less than five genera of placental mammals quite foreign to the papuan or australian faunas. these are . _cynopithecus nigrescens_, found only in the small island of batchian, and probably introduced from celebes, where the same ape occurs. . _viverra tangalunga_, a common indo-malayan species of civet, probably introduced. . _cervus hippelaphus_, var. _moluccensis_, a deer abundant in all the islands, very close to a javan species and almost certainly introduced by man, perhaps very long ago. . _babirusa alfurus_, the babirusa, found only in the island of bouru, and perhaps originally introduced from celebes. . _sorex_ sp., small shrews. with the exception of the last, _all_ these species are animals habitually domesticated and kept in confinement by the malays; and when we consider that none of the smaller mammalia of java and borneo, numbering at least fifty different species, are found { }in any of the moluccas, we can hardly suppose that such large animals as the deer and ape, could have reached them by natural means. there is every reason to believe, therefore, that the indigenous mammalia of the moluccas are wholly of papuan stock, and very limited in number. the birds are much more varied and interesting. about species of land-birds are now known, belonging to genera. of the species about are indo-malayan, papuan, and about peculiar. of the genera only two are peculiar,--_semioptera_, a paradise bird, and _lycocorax_, a singular form of corvidæ; but there is also a peculiar rail-like wader, _habroptila_. one genus, _basilornis_, is found only in ceram and celebes; another, _scythrops_, is australian, and perhaps a migrant. about genera are characteristic papuan types, and others, of more or less wide range, are found in new guinea and were therefore probably derived thence. there remains a group of birds which are not found in new guinea, and are either palæarctic or oriental. these are in number as follows:-- . monticola. . acrocephalus. . cisticola. . hypolais. . criniger. . butalis. . budytes. . corydalla. . hydrornis. . batrachostomus. . loriculus. . treron. . neopus. of these the _monticola_, found only in gilolo, appears to be a straggler or migrant from the philippine islands. _acrocephalus_, of which four species occur, is a wide-spread group; one of the moluccan birds is an australian and another a north-asian species, which perhaps indicates that there has long been some migration southward from island to island, across the moluccas. _cisticola_ is a genus of very wide range, extending to australia. _hypolais_ is probably a modified form of a chinese or javanese species. _criniger_ is a pure indo-malay form, represented here by three fine species. _butalis_ is a chinese species, no doubt straggling southward. _budytes_ and _corydalla_ are widespread oriental and palæarctic species or slight modifications of them. _hydrornis_ is a malayan form of pittidæ. _batrachostomus_ is a distinct representative of a purely indo-malay genus. { }_loriculus_ is malayan, and especially philippine, but it reaches as far as mysol. _treron_ is here at its eastern limit, and is represented in bouru and ceram by one of the most beautiful species. _neopus_, a malayan eagle, is said to occur in the moluccas. we find then only three characteristic indo-malay types in the moluccas,--_criniger_, _batrachostomus_, and _treron_. all are represented by distinct and well marked species, indicating a somewhat remote period since their ancestors entered the district, but all are birds of considerable powers of flight, so that a very little extension of the islands in a south-westerly direction would afford the means of transmission, but this could not well have been by way of celebes, because the two former genera are unknown in that island. it is evident, therefore, that the moluccas are wholly papuan in their zoology; yet they are no less clearly derivative, and must have obtained their original immigrants under conditions that rendered a full representation of the fauna impossible. such remarkable and dominant types as the eleven genera of paradiseidæ, with _cracticus_, _rectes_, _todopsis_, _machærirhynchus_, _gerygone_, _dacelo_, _podargus_, _cyclopsitta_, _microglossum_, _nasiterna_, _chalcopsitta_, and _goura_,--all characteristic papuan groups, found in almost all the islands and most of them very abundant, are yet totally absent from the moluccas. taking this, in conjunction with the absence of the two genera of papuan kangaroos and the other smaller groups of marsupials, and we must be convinced that the moluccas cannot be mere fragments of the old papuan land, or they would certainly, in some one or other of their large and fertile islands, have preserved a more complete representation of the parent fauna. most of the moluccan birds are very distinct from the allied species of new guinea; and this would imply that the entrance of the original forms took place at a remote period. the two peculiar genera with clearly papuan affinities, show the same thing. the cassowary, found only in the large island of ceram and distinct from any papuan species, would however seem to have required a land connection for its introduction, almost as much as any of the larger mammalia. { }taking all the facts into consideration, i would suggest as the most probable explanation, that if the moluccas ever formed part of the main papuan land, they were separated at an early date, and subsequently so greatly submerged as to destroy a large proportion of their fauna. they have since risen, and have probably been larger than at present, and rather more closely approximated to the parent land, whence they received a considerable immigration of such animals as were adapted to cross narrow seas. this gave them several papuan forms, but still left them without a number of the types more especially confined to the forest depths, or powerful enough to combat the gales which often blow weaker flyers out to sea. most of the birds whose absence from the moluccas is so conspicuous belong to one or other of these classes. among the most characteristic birds of the moluccas are the handsome crimson lories of the genera _lorius_ and _eos_. these are found in every island (but not in celebes or the timor group); and a fine species of _eos_, peculiar to the small islands of siau and sanguir, just north of celebes, obliges us to place these with the moluccas instead of with the former island, to which they seem most naturally to belong. the crimson parrots of the genus _eclectus_ are almost equally characteristic of the moluccas, and add greatly to the brilliancy of the ornithology of these favoured islands. _reptiles._--the reptiles, so far as known, appear to agree in their distribution with the other vertebrates. in some small collections from ceram there were no less than six of the genera peculiar to the australian region, and which were before only known from australia itself. these are, of snakes, _liasis_ and _enygrus_, genera of pythonidæ; with _diemenia_ and _acanthophis_ (elapidæ); of lizards, _cyclodus_, a genus of scincidæ; and of amphibia, a tree-frog of the genus _pelodryas_. _insects--peculiarities of the moluccan fauna._--in insects the moluccas are hardly, if at all, inferior to new guinea itself. the islands abound in grand _papilios_ of the largest size and extreme beauty; and it is a very remarkable fact, that when the closely-allied species of the moluccas and new guinea are compared, { }the former are almost always the largest. as examples may be mentioned, _ornithoptera priamus_ and _o. helena_ of the moluccas, both larger than the varieties (or species) of papua; _papilio ulysses_ and _deiphobus_ of amboyna, usually larger than their allies in new guinea; _hestia idea_, the largest species of the genus; _diadema pandarus_ and _charaxes euryalus_, both larger than any other species of the same genera in the whole archipelago. it is to be noted also, that in the moluccas, the very largest specimens or races seem always to come from the small island of amboyna; even those of ceram, the much larger island to which it is a satellite, being almost always of less dimensions. among coleoptera, the moluccas produce _euchirus longimanus_, one of the largest and most remarkable of the lamellicornes; _sphingnotus dunningi_, the largest of the austro-malayan tmesisterninæ; a _sphenura_, the largest and handsomest of an extensive genus; an unusually large _schizorhina_ (cetoniidæ); and some of the most remarkable and longest-horned anthotribidæ. even in birds the same law may be seen at work,--in the _tanysiptera nais_ of ceram, which has a larger tail than any other in the genus; in _centropus goliath_ of gilolo, being the largest and longest-tailed species; in _hydrornis maximus_ of gilolo, the largest and perhaps the most elegantly and conspicuously coloured of all the pittidæ; in _platycercus amboinensis_, being pre-eminent in its ample blue tail; in the two moluccan lories and _eos rubra_, being more conspicuously red than the allied new guinea species; and in _megapodius wallacei_ of bouru, being the only species of the genus conspicuously marked and banded. all these examples, of larger size, of longer tails or other appendages, and of more conspicuous colouring, are probably indications of a less severe struggle for existence in these islands than in the larger tract of new guinea, with a more abundant and more varied fauna; and this may apply even to the smaller islands, as compared with the larger in the immediate vicinity. the limited number of forms in the small islands compared with a similar area in the parent land, implies, perhaps, less competition and less danger; and thus allows, where all other conditions are favourable, an unchecked and continuous { }development in size, form, and colour, until they become positively injurious. this law may not improbably apply to the new guinea fauna itself, as compared with that of borneo or any other similar country; and some of its peculiarities (such as its wonderful paradise-birds) may be due to long isolation, and consequent freedom from the influence of any competing forms. the difference between the very sober colours of the coleoptera, and in a less degree of the birds, of borneo, as compared with their brilliancy in new guinea, always struck me most forcibly, and was long without any, even conjectural, explanation. it is not the place here to go further into this most curious and interesting subject. the reader who wishes for additional facts to aid him in forming an opinion, should consult mr. darwin's _descent of man_, chapters x. to xv.; and my own _contributions to the theory of natural selection_, chapters iii. and iv. _timor group._--_mammalia._--in the group of islands between java and australia, from lombok to timor inclusive, we find a set of mammals similar to those of the moluccas, but some of them different species. a wide-spread species of _cuscus_ represents the papuan element. a _sorex_ and a peculiar species of wild pig, we may also accept as indigenous. three others have almost certainly been introduced. these are, ( .) _macacus cynomolgus_, the very commonest malay monkey, which may have crossed the narrow straits from island to island between java and timor, though it seems much more probable that it was introduced by malays, who constantly capture and rear the young of this species. ( .) _cervus timoriensis_, a deer, said to be a distinct species, inhabits timor, but it is probably only a variety of the _cervus hippelaphus_ of java. this animal is, however, much more likely to have crossed the sea than the monkey. ( .) _paradoxurus fasciatus_, takes the place of _viverra tangalunga_ in the moluccas, both common and wide-spread civets which are often kept in confinement by the malays. the _felis megalotis_, long supposed to be a native of timor, has been ascertained by mr. elliot to belong to a different country altogether. _birds._--the birds are much more interesting, since they are { }sufficiently numerous to allow us to determine their relations, and trace their origin, with unusual precision. there are genera and species of land-birds known to inhabit this group of islands; and on a careful analysis, they are found to be almost equally related to the australian and oriental regions, genera being distinctly traceable to the former, and the same number to the latter. their connection with the moluccas is shown by the presence of the genera _mimeta_, _geoffroyus_, _cacatua_, _ptilopus_, and _ianthænas_, together with _megapodius_ and _cerchneis_ represented by moluccan species. _turacoena_ shows a connection with celebes, and _scops_ is represented by a celebesian species. the connection with australia is shown by the genera _sphæcothera_, _gerygone_, _myiagra_, _pardalotus_, _gliciphila_, _amadina_, and _aprosmictus_; while _milvus_, _hypotriorchis_, _eudynamis_, and _eurystomus_, are represented by australian species. other genera confined to or characteristic of the australian region, are _rhipidura_, _monarcha_, _artamus_, _campephaga_, _pachycephala_, _philemon_, _ptilotis_, and _myzomela_. we now come to the indo-malay or javan element represented by the following genera: . turdus (t.) . geocichla (t.) . zoothera. . megalurus (t.) . orthotomus. . pratincola (t.) . oreicola (t.) . drymocataphus (t.) . parus. . pycnonotus. . oriolus. . pericrocotus. . cyornis (t.) . hypothymis. . tchitrea. . lanius (t.) . anthreptes. . eulabes. . estrilda (t.) . erythrura (t.) . yungipicus. . merops. . pelargopsis. . ceyx. . loriculus. . treron (t.) . iotreron (s.g. of _ptilopus_). . chalcophaps (t.) . gallus (t.) . strix. such genera as _merops_ and _strix_, which are as much australian as oriental, are inserted here because they are represented by javan species. the list is considerably swelled by genera which have reached lombok across the narrow strait from baly, but have passed no further. such are _zoothera_, _orthotomus_, _pycnonotus_, _pericrocotus_ and _strix_. a much larger number ( ) stop short at flores, leaving only , indicated in the list by (t) after their names, which reach timor. it is evident, therefore, that these islands have been stocked from three chief sources,--the { }moluccas (with new guinea and celebes,) australia, and java. the moluccan forms may well have arrived as stragglers from island to island, aided by whatever facilities have been afforded by lands now submerged. most of the remainder have been derived either from australia or from java; and as their relations to these islands are very interesting, they must be discussed with some detail. _origin of the timorese fauna._--we must first note, that species, or exactly one-half of the land-birds of the islands, are peculiar and mostly very distinct, intimating that the immigration commenced long enough back to allow of much specific modification. there is also one peculiar genus of kingfishers, _caridonax_, found only in lombok and flores, and more allied to australian than to oriental types. the fine white-banded pigeons (s. g. _leucotreron_) are also almost peculiar; one other less typical species only being known, a native of n. celebes. in order to compare the species with regard to their origin, we must first take away those of wide distribution from which no special indications can be obtained. in this case of the land-birds must be deducted, leaving species which afford good materials for comparison. these, when traced to their origin, show that came from some part of the australian region, from java or the oriental region. but if we divide them into two groups, the one containing the species identical with those of the australian or oriental regions, the other containing _allied_ or _representative_ species peculiar to the islands, we have the following result: species common to the timorese islands and the oriental region peculiar timorese species allied to those of the oriental region -- total species common to the timorese islands and the australian region peculiar timorese species allied to those of the australian region -- total this table is very important, as indicating that the connection { }with australia was probably earlier than that with java; since the majority of the australian species have become modified, while the majority of the oriental species have remained unchanged. this is due, no doubt, in part to the continued immigration of fresh individuals from java, after that from australia, the moluccas and new guinea had almost wholly ceased. we must also notice the very small proportion of the genera, either of australia or java, that have found their way into these islands, many of the largest and most wide-spread groups in both countries being altogether absent. taking these facts into consideration, it is pretty clear that there has been no close and long-continued approximation of these islands to any part of the australian region; and it is also probable that they were fairly stocked with such australian groups as they possess before the immigration from java commenced, or a larger number of characteristic oriental forms would have been able to have established themselves. on looking at our map, we find that a shallow submerged bank extends from australia to within about twenty miles of the coast of timor; and this is probably an indication that the two countries were once only so far apart. this would have allowed the purely australian types to enter, as they are not numerous; there being about australian species, and or representatives of australian species, in timor. all the rest may have been derived from the moluccas or new guinea, being mostly wide-spread genera of the australian region; and the extension of papua in a south-west direction towards java (which was suggested as a means of providing new guinea with peculiar indo-malay types not found in any other part of the region) may have probably served to supply timor and flores with the mass of their austro-malayan genera across a narrow strait or arm of the sea. lombok, baly, and sumbawa were probably not then in existence, or nothing more than small volcanic cones rising out of the sea, thus leaving a distance of miles between flores and java. subsequently they grew into islands, which offered an easy passage for a number of indo-malay genera into such scantily stocked territories as flores and timor. the { }north coast of australia then sank, cutting off the supply from that country; and this left the timorese group in the position it now occupies. the reptiles and fishes of this group are too little known to enable us to make any useful comparison. _insects._--the insects, though not numerous, present many fine species, some quite unlike any others in the archipelago. such are--_papilio liris_, _pieris læta_, _cirrochroa lamarckii_ and _c. leschenaultii_ among butterflies. the coleoptera are comparatively little known, but in the insects generally the indo-malay element predominates. this may have arisen from the peculiar vegetation and arid climate not being suitable to the papuan insects. why australian forms did not establish themselves we cannot conjecture; but the field appears to have been open to immigrants from java, the climate and vegetation of which island at its eastern extremity approximates to that of the timorese group. the insects are, however, so peculiarly modified as to imply a very great antiquity, and this is also indicated by a group of sylviine birds here classed under _oreicola_, but some of which probably form distinct genera. there may, perhaps, have been an earlier and a later approximation to java, which, with the other changes indicated, would account for most of the facts presented by the fauna of these islands. one deduction is, at all events, clear: the extreme paucity of indigenous mammals along with the absence of so many groups of birds, renders it certain that the timorese islands did not derive their animal life by means of an actual union with any of the large islands either of the australian or the oriental regions. _celebes group._--we now come to the island of celebes, in many respects the most remarkable and interesting in the whole region, or perhaps on the globe, since no other island seems to present so many curious problems for solution. we shall therefore give a somewhat full account of its peculiar fauna, and endeavour to elucidate some of the causes to which its zoological isolation may be attributed. _mammalia._--the following is the list of the mammalia of { }celebes as far as at present known, though many small species may yet be discovered. . cynopithecus nigrescens. . tarsius spectrum. . viverra tangalunga. . cervus hippelaphus. . anoa depressicornis. . sus celebensis. . barbirusa alfurus. . sciurus ( peculiar sp.) . mus ( peculiar sp.) . cuscus ( peculiar sp.) also species of bats, of which are peculiar. the first--a large black ape--is itself an anomaly, since it is not closely allied to any other form of quadrumana. its flat projecting muzzle, large superciliary crests and maxillary ridges, with the form and appearance of its teeth, separate it altogether from the genus _macacus_, as represented in the indo-malay islands, and ally it closely to the baboons of africa.[ ] we have already seen reason to suppose that it has been carried to batchian, and there is some doubt about the allied species or variety (_c. niger_) of the philippines being really indigenous there; in which case this interesting form will remain absolutely confined to celebes. ( .) the tarsier is a truly malayan species, but it is said to occur in a small island at the northern extremity of celebes and on some of the philippine islands. it might possibly have been introduced there. ( ) and ( )--a civet and a deer--are, almost certainly, as in the moluccas, introduced species. ( .) _anoa depressicornis._ this is one of the peculiar celebesian types; a small straight-horned wild-bull, anatomically allied to the buffaloes, and somewhat resembling the bovine antelopes of africa, but having no near allies in the oriental region. ( .) _sus celebensis_; a peculiar species of wild-pig. ( .) _babirusa alfurus_; another remarkable type, having no near allies. it differs in its dentition from the typical suidæ, and seems to approach the african phacochoeridæ, the manner in which the canines of the upper jaw are reversed, and grow directly upwards in a spiral curve over the eyes, is unique among mammalia. ( .) five squirrels inhabit celebes, and all are peculiar species. ( .) these are forest rats of the sub-genus _gymnomys_, allied to australian species. . _cuscus._ this typical { }australian form is represented in celebes by two peculiar species. leaving out the indo-malay _species_, which may probably have been introduced by man, and are at all events comparatively recent immigrants, and the wild pig, a genus which ranges over the whole archipelago and which has therefore little significance, we find two genera which have come from the australian side,--_cuscus_ and _mus_; and four from the oriental side,--_cynopithecus_, _anoa_, _babirusa_, and _sciurus_. but _sciurus_ alone corresponds to _cuscus_, as a genus still inhabiting the adjacent islands; the other three being not only peculiar to celebes, but incapable of being affiliated to any specially oriental group. we seem, then, to have indications of two distinct periods; one very ancient, when the ancestors of the three peculiar genera roamed over some unknown continent of which celebes formed, perhaps, an outlying portion;--another more recent, when from one side there entered _sciurus_, and from the other _cuscus_. but we must remember that the moluccas to the east, possess scarcely any indigenous mammals except _cuscus_; whereas borneo and java on the west, have nearly distinct genera. it is evident then, that the facilities for immigration must have been much less with the oriental than with the australian region, and we may be pretty certain that at this later period there was no land connection with the indo-malay islands, or some other animals than squirrels would certainly have entered. let us now see what light is thrown upon the subject by the birds. _birds._--the total number of birds known to inhabit celebes is , belonging to about genera. we may leave out of consideration the wading and aquatic birds, most of which are wide-ranging species. there remain genera and species of land-birds, of which genera and species are absolutely confined to the island, while more are found also in the sula or sanguir islands, so that we may take to be the number of peculiar celebes species. lord walden, from whose excellent paper on the birds of celebes (_trans. zool. soc._ vol. viii. p. ) most of these figures are obtained, estimates, that of the species which are not peculiar to celebes, are of oriental and of { }australian origin, the remainder being common to both regions. this shows a preponderant recent immigration from the west and north, which is not to be wondered at when we look at the long coast line of java, borneo, and the philippine islands, with an abundant and varied bird population, on the one side, and the small scattered islands of the moluccas, with a comparatively scanty bird-fauna, on the other. but, adopting the method here usually followed, let us look at the relations of the _genera_ found in celebes, omitting for the present those which are peculiar to it. i divide these genera into two series:--those which are found in borneo or java but not in the moluccas, and those which inhabit the moluccas and not borneo or java; these being the respective sources from which, _primâ facie_, the species of these genera must have been derived. genera which range widely into both these districts are rejected, as teaching us nothing of the origin of the celebesian fauna. in a few cases, sub-genera which show a decided eastern or western origin, are given. genera derived from borneo and java. . geocichla. . pratincola (sp.) . trichastoma. . oriolus (sp.) . cyornis. . hypothymis. . hylocharis. . Æthopyga. . nectarophila. . anthreptes (sp.) . munia (sp.) . acridotheres. . yungipicus. . mulleripicus. . rhamphococcyx. . hierococcyx. . hydrocissa. . cranorrhinus. . lyncornis. . treron (sp.) . gallus (sp.) . spilornis. . butastur. . pernis. genera derived from the moluccas or timor. . graucalus (sp.) . chalcostetha. . myzomela. . munia (sp.) . cacatua (sp.) . tanygnathus. . trichoglossus. . scythrops (sp.) . turacoena. . reinwardtoenas (sp.) . myristicivora (s. g.) . ducula (s. g.) . zonoenas (s. g.) . lamproteron (s. g.) . megapodius. these tables show a decided preponderance of oriental over australian forms. but we must remember that the immediately adjacent lands from whence the supply was derived, is { }very much richer in the one case than in the other. the genera derived from borneo and java are only about _one fourth_ of the characteristic genera of those islands; while the moluccan and timorese genera are fully _one third_ of their characteristic types. the _proportion_ derived from the australian, is greater than that derived from the oriental side. we shall exhibit this perhaps more clearly, by giving a list of the important groups of each set of islands which are absent from celebes. important families of java and borneo absent from celebes. . eurylæmidæ. . timaliidæ. . phyllornithidæ. . pycnonotidæ . laniidæ. . megalæmidæ. . trogonidæ. . phasianidæ. important families of the moluccas absent from celebes. . meliphagidæ. additional important genera of java or borneo absent from celebes. . orthotomus. . copsychus. . enicurus. . tchitrea. . pericrocotus. . irena. . platylophus. . dendrocitta. . eulabes. . hemicercus. . chrysocolaptes. . tiga. . micropternus. . batrachostomus. . palæornis. . rollulus. important genera of the moluccas absent from celebes. . mimeta. . monarcha. . rhipidura. . pachycephala. . lycocorax. . alcyone. . tanysiptera. . geoffroyus. . eclectus. . platycercus. . eos. . lorius. if we reckon the absent families to be each represented by only two important genera, we shall find the deficiency on the oriental side much the greatest; yet those on the side of the moluccas are sufficiently remarkable. the meliphagidæ are not indeed absolutely wanting, since a _myzomela_ has now been found in celebes; but all its larger and more powerful forms which range over almost the entire region, are absent. this may be balanced by the absence of the excessively abundant timaliidæ of the indo-malay islands, which are represented by { }only a single species; and by the powerful phasianidæ, represented only by the common malay jungle fowl, perhaps introduced. the entire absence of pycnonotidæ is a very anomalous fact, since one of the largest genera, _criniger_, is well represented in several islands of the moluccas, and one has even been found in the togian islands in the great northern inlet of celebes; but yet it passes over celebes itself. _ceyx_, a genus of small kingfishers, is a parallel case, since it is found everywhere from india to new guinea, leaving out only celebes; but this comes among those curiosities of the celebesian fauna which we shall notice further on. in the list of genera derived from borneo or java, no less than are represented by identical species (indicated by sp. after the name); while in the moluccan list are thus identical. these must be taken to indicate, either that the genus is a recent introduction, or that stragglers still occasionally enter, crossing the breed, and thus preventing specific modification. in either case they depend on the existing state of things, and throw no light on the different distribution of land and sea which aided or checked migration in former times; and they therefore to some extent diminish the weight of the indo-malay affinity, as measured by the relations of the peculiar species of celebes. from our examination of the evidence thus far,--that is, taking account firstly, of the _species_, and, secondly, of the _genera_, which are common to celebes and the groups of islands between which it is situated, we must admit that the connexion seems rather with the oriental than with the australian region; but when we take into account the _proportion_ of the genera and species present, to those which are absent, and giving some weight to the greater extent of coast line on the indo-malay side, we seem justified in stating that the austro-malay element is rather the most fully represented. this result applies both to birds and mammals; and it leads us to the belief, that during the epoch of existing species and genera, celebes has never been united with any extensive tract of land either on the indo-malay or austro-malay side, but has received immigrants from both during a very long period, the facilities for immigration having been rather the { }greatest on the austro-malay or australian side. we have now to consider what further light can be thrown on the subject by the consideration of the _peculiar genera_ of celebes, and of those curiosities or anomalies of distribution to which we have referred. nine genera of birds are altogether peculiar to celebes; three more are found only in one other island, and seem to be typically celebesian; while one is found in the sula islands (which belongs to the celebes group) and probably exists in celebes also. the following is a list of these genera: . _artamides_ (campephagidæ) . _streptocitta_ (corvidæ) . _charitornis_ " . _gazzola_, (s. g.) " . _basilornis_ (sturnidæ) . _enodes_ " . _scissirostrum_ " . _monachalcyon_ (alcedinidæ) . _cittura_ " . _ceycopsis_ " . _meropogon_ (meropidæ) . _prioniturus_ (psittacidæ) . _megacephalon_ (megapodiidæ) of the above, _artamides_, _monachalcyon_, _cittura_, and _megacephalon_, are modifications of types characteristic of the australian region. all are peculiar to celebes except _cittura_, found also in the sanguir islands to the northward, but which seems to belong to the moluccan group. _streptocitta_, _charitornis_, and _gazzola_, are peculiar types of corvidæ; the two former allied to the magpies, the latter to the jackdaws. _charitornis_ is known only from the sula islands east of celebes, and is closely related to _streptocitta_. there is nothing comparable to these three groups in any of the malay islands, and they seem to have relations rather with the corvidæ of the old-world northern continent. _basilornis_, _enodes_, and _scissirostrum_, are remarkable forms of sturnidæ. _basilornis_ has a beautiful compressed crest, which in the allied species found in ceram is elongated behind. _enodes_ has remarkable red superciliary streaks, but seems allied to _calornis_. _scissirostrum_ seems also allied to _calornis_ in general structure, but has a very peculiarly formed bill and nostrils. we can hardly say whether these three forms show more affinity to oriental or to australian types, but they add to the weight of evidence as to the great antiquity and isolation of the celebesian fauna. _scissirostrum_ has been classed with _euryceros_, a { }madagascar bird, and with _buphaga_, an african genus; but the peculiar beak and nostrils approximate more to _cracticus_ and its allies, of the australian region, which should probably form a distinct family. _ceycopsis_ is undoubtedly intermediate between the malayan _ceyx_ and the african _ispidina_, and is therefore especially interesting. _meropogon_ is a remarkable form of bee-eater, allied to the indo-malayan _nyctiornis_. _prioniturus_ (the raquet-tailed parrots) of which two species inhabit celebes, and one the philippines, appears to be allied to the austro-malayan _geoffroyus_. we must finally notice a few genera found in celebes, whose nearest allies are not in the surrounding islands, and which thus afford illustrations of discontinuous distribution. the most remarkable, perhaps, is _coracias_, of which a fine species inhabits celebes; while the genus is quite unknown in the indo-malay sub-region, and does not appear again till we reach burmah and india; and the species has no closer affinity for indian than for african forms. _myialestes_, a small yellow flycatcher, is another exmple; its nearest ally (_m. cinereocapilla_) being a common indian bird, but unknown in the malay islands. the celebesian bird described by me as _prionochilus aureolimbatus_, is probably a third case of discontinuous distribution, if (as a more careful examination seems to show) it is not a _prionochilus_, but congeneric with _pachyglossa_, a bird only found in the himalayas. the fine pigeon, _carpophaga forsteni_, belongs to a group found in the philippines, australia, and new zealand; but the celebes species is very distinct from all the others, and seems, if anything, more allied to that of new zealand. the sula islands (sula-mangola, sula-taliabo, and sula-besi) lie midway between celebes and the moluccas, being miles from the nearest part of celebes, with several intervening islands, and miles from bouru, all open sea. their birds show, as might be expected, a blending of the two faunas, but with a decided preponderance of that of celebes. out of land birds which have been collected in these islands, we may deduct as of wide range and no significance. of the remaining, are celebesian species, and are new species but { }allied to those of celebes; while there are moluccan species and new species allied to those of the moluccas. it is curious that no less than moluccan genera, quite unknown in celebes itself, occur here,--_monarcha_, _pachycephala_, and _criniger_; but all these, as well as several other of the moluccan birds, are rather weak flyers, and such as are likely to have been carried across by strong winds. of the _genera_, are from celebes, from the moluccas. these facts show, that the sula islands form part of the celebes group, although they have received an infusion of moluccan forms, which will perhaps in time spread to the main island, and diminish the remarkable individuality that now characterises its fauna. _insects._--of the reptiles and fishes of celebes we have not sufficient information to draw any satisfactory conclusions. i therefore pass to the insects of which something more is known. the butterflies of celebes are not very numerous, less than species in all having been collected; but a very large proportion of them, probably three-fourths of the whole, are peculiar. there is only one peculiar genus, _amechania_, allied to _zethera_ (a group confined to the philippine islands), with which it should perhaps be united. most of the genera are of wide distribution in the archipelago, or are especially malayan, only two truly australian genera, _elodina_ and _acropthalmia_, reaching celebes. on the other hand, peculiar oriental genera are found in celebes, but not further east, viz., _clerome_, _adolias_, _euripus_, _apatura_, _limenitis_, _iolaus_, and _leptocircus_. there are also several indications of a direct affinity with the continent rather than with malaya, as in the cases already enumerated among birds. a fine butterfly, yet unnamed, almost exactly resembles _dichorragia nesimachus_, a himalayan species. _euripus robustus_ is closely allied to _e. halitherses_ of n. india; there are no less than species of _limenitis_, all quite unlike those found in other parts of the archipelago. the butterflies of celebes are remarkably distinguished from all others in the east, by peculiarities of form, size, and colour, which run through groups of species belonging to different genera. many papilionidæ and pieridæ, and some { }nymphalidæ, have the anterior wings elongated, with the apex often acute, and, what is especially remarkable, an abrupt bend or shoulder near the base of the wing. (see _malay archipelago_, rd ed. p. , woodcut.) no less than species of _papilio_, pieridæ, and or nymphalidæ, are thus distinguished from their nearest allies in the surrounding islands or in india. in size again, a large number of celebesian butterflies stand preeminent over their allies. the fine papilios--_adamantius_, _blumei_, and _gigon_--are perfect giants by the side of the closely-allied forms of java; while _p. androcles_ is the largest and longest-tailed, of all the true swallow-tailed group of the old world. among nymphalidæ, the species of _rhinopalpa_ and _euripus_, peculiar to celebes, are immensely larger than their nearest allies; and several of the pieridæ are also decidedly larger, though in a less marked degree. in colour, many of the celebesian butterflies differ from the nearest allied species; so that they acquire a singularity of aspect which marks them off from the rest of the group. the most curious case is that of three butterflies, belonging to three distinct genera (_cethosia myrina_, _messaras mæonides_, and _atella celebensis_) all having a delicate violet or lilac gloss in lines or patches, which is wholly wanting in every allied species of the surrounding islands. these numerous peculiarities of celebesian butterflies are very extraordinary; and imply isolation from surrounding lands, almost as much as do the strange forms of mammals and birds, which more prominently characterise this interesting island. of the coleoptera we know much less, but a few interesting facts may be noted. there are a number of fine species of _cicindela_, some of peculiar forms; and one _odontochila_, a south american genus; while _collyris_ reaches celebes from the oriental region. in carabidæ it has one peculiar genus, _dicraspeda_; and a species of the fine australian genus _catadromus_. in lucanidæ it has the oriental genus, _odontolabris_. in cetoniidæ it has a peculiar genus, _sternoplus_, and several fine _cetoniæ_; but the characteristic malayan genus, _lomaptera_, found in every other island of the archipelago from sumatra to new guinea, is absent--an analogous fact to the case of _ceyx_ among birds. { }in buprestidæ, the principal austro-malay genus, _sambus_, is found here; while _sponsor_, a genus species of which inhabit mauritius, has one species here and one in new guinea. in longicorns there are four peculiar genera, _comusia_, _pytholia_, _bityle_, and _ombrosaga_; but the most important features are the occurrence of the otherwise purely indo-malayan genera _agelasta_, _nyctimene_, and _astathes_; and of the purely austro-malayan _arrhenotus_, _trysimia_, _xenolea_, _amblymora_, _diallus_, and _Ægocidnus_. the remaining genera range over both portions of the archipelago. in the extensive family of curculionidæ we can only notice the elegant genus, _celebia_, allied to _eupholus_, which, owing to its abundance and beauty, is a conspicuous feature in the entomology of the island. _origin of the fauna of celebes._--we have now to consider, briefly, what past changes of physical geography are indicated by the curious assemblage of facts here adduced. we have evidently, in celebes, a remnant of an exceedingly ancient land, which has undergone many and varied revolutions; and the stock of ancient forms which it contains must be taken account of, when we speculate on the causes that have so curiously limited more recent immigrations. going back to the arrival of those genera which are represented in celebes by peculiar species, and taking first the austro-malay genera, we find among them such groups as _zonoenas_ (s.g.), _phlogoenas_, _leucotreron_ (s.g.), and _turacoena_, which are not found in the moluccas at all; and _myzomela_, found in timor and banda, but not in ceram or bouru, which are nearest to celebes. this, combined with the curious absence of so many of the commonest moluccan genera, leads to the conclusion that the austro-malay immigration took place by way of timor and the southern part of new guinea. it will be remembered, that to account for the indo-malayan forms in new guinea, we suggested an extension of that country in a westerly direction just north of timor. now this is exactly what we require, to account for the stocking of celebes with the australian forms it possesses. at this time borneo did not approach so near, and it was at a somewhat later period that the last great indo-malay migration set in; but { }finding the country already fairly stocked, comparatively few groups were able to establish themselves. going back a little farther, we come to the entrance of those few birds and insects which belong to india or indo-china; and this probably occurred at the same time as that continental extension southward, which we found was required to account for a similar phenomenon in java. celebes, being more remote, received only a few stragglers. we have now to go much farther back, to the time when the ancestors of the peculiar celebesian genera entered the country, and here our conjectures must necessarily be less defined. on the australian side we have to account for _megacephalon_, and the other genera of purely papuan type. it may perhaps be sufficient to say, that we do not yet know that these genera, or some very close allies, do not still exist in new guinea; in which case they may well have entered at the same time with the species, already referred to. if, on the other hand, they are really as isolated as they appear to be, they represent an earlier communication, either by an approximation of the two islands over the space now occupied by the moluccas; or, what is perhaps more probable, through a former extension of the moluccas, which have since undergone so much subsidence, as to lead to the extinction of a large proportion of their ancient fauna. the wide-spread volcanic action, and especially the prevalence of raised coral-reefs in almost all the islands, render this last supposition very probable. on the oriental side the difficulty is greater; for here we find, what seem to be clear indications of a connection with africa, as well as with continental asia, at some immensely remote epoch. _cynopithecus_, _babirusa_, and _anoa_; _ceycopsis_, _streptocitta_, and _gazzola_ (s. g.), and perhaps _scissirostrum_, may be well explained as descendants of ancestral types in their respective groups, which also gave rise to the special forms of africa on the one hand, and of asia on the other. for this immigration we must suppose, that at a period before the formation of the present indo-malay islands, a great tract of land extended in a north-westerly direction, till it met the old asiatic continent. this may have been before { }the himalayas had risen to any great height, and when a large part of what are now the cold plateaus of central asia may have teemed with life, some forms of which are preserved in africa, some in malaya, and a few in celebes. here may have lived the common ancestor of _sus_, _babirusa_, and _phacochoerus_; as well as of _cynopithecus_, _cynocephalus_, and _macacus_; of _anoa_ and _bubalus_; of _scissirostrum_ and _euryceros_; of _ceyx_, _ceycopsis_, and _ispidina_. such an origin accounts, too, for the presence of the north-indian forms in celebes; and it offers less difficulties than a direct connection with continental africa, which once appeared to be the only solution of the problem. if this south-eastward extension of asia occurred at the same time as the north-eastward extension of south africa and madagascar, the two early continents may have approached each other sufficiently to have allowed of some interchange of forms: _tarsius_ may be the descendant of some lemurine animal that then entered the malayan area, while the progenitors of _cryptoprocta_ may then have passed from asia to madagascar. it is true that we here reach the extremest limits of speculation; but when we have before us such singular phenomena as are presented by the fauna of the island of celebes, we can hardly help endeavouring to picture to our imaginations by what past changes of land and sea (in themselves not improbable) the actual condition of things may have been brought about. _ii. australia and tasmania, or the australian sub-region._ a general sketch of australian zoology having been given in the earlier part of this chapter, it will not be necessary to occupy much time on this sub-region, which is as remarkably homogeneous as the one we have just left is heterogeneous. although much of the northern part of australia is within the tropics, while victoria and tasmania are situated from ° to ° south latitude, there is no striking change in the character of the fauna throughout the continent; a number of important genera extending over the whole country, and giving a very uniform character to its zoology. the eastern parts, including the colonies of new south wales and queensland, are undoubtedly the richest, several peculiar types being found only here. the southern portion is somewhat poorer, and has very few peculiar forms; and tasmania being isolated is poorer still, yet its zoology has much resemblance to that of victoria, from which country it has evidently not been very long separated. the north, as far as yet known, is characterised by hardly any peculiar forms, but by the occurrence of a number of papuan types, which have evidently been derived from new guinea. plate xi. [illustration] a scene in tasmania, with characteristic mammalia. { }_mammalia._--the australian sub-region contains about species of mammalia, of which are monotremata, marsupials, chiroptera, carnivora (the native dog, probably not indigenous), and muridæ. the north is characterised by a species of the austro-malayan genus _cuscus_. _phascolarctos_ (the koala, or native bear) is found only in the eastern districts; _phascolomys_ (the wombat) in the south-east and tasmania; _petaurista_ (a peculiar form of flying opossum) in the east. _thylacinus_ (the zebra-wolf), and _sarcophilus_ (the "native devil"), two carnivorous marsupials, are confined to tasmania. west australia, the most isolated and peculiar region botanically, alone possesses the curious little honey-eating _tarsipes_, and the _peragalea_, or native rabbit. the remarkable _myrmecobius_, a small ant-eating marsupial, is found in the west and south; and _onychogalea_, a genus of kangaroos, in west and central australia. all the other genera have a wider distribution, as will be seen by a reference to the list at the end of this chapter. _plate xi. a scene in tasmania, with characteristic mammalia._--as some of the most remarkable mammalia of the australian region are now found only in tasmania, we have chosen this island for the scene of our first illustration of the fauna of the australian sub-region. the pair of large striped animals are zebra-wolves (_thylacinus cynocephalus_), the largest and most destructive of the carnivorous marsupials. these creatures used to be tolerably plentiful in tasmania, where they are alone found. they are also called "native tigers," or "native hyænas;" and being destructive to sheep, they have been destroyed by the farmers and will doubtless soon be exterminated. in the foreground on { }the left is a bandicoot (_perameles gunnii_). these are delicate little animals allied to the kangaroos; and they are found in all parts of australia, and tasmania, to which latter country this species is confined. on the right is the wombat (_phascolomys wombat_), a root-eating marsupial, with large incisor teeth like those of our rodents. they inhabit south-east australia and tasmania. in the foreground is the porcupine ant-eater (_echidna setosa_), belonging to a distinct order of mammalia, monotremata, of which the only other member is the duck-billed _ornithorhynchus_. these animals are, however, more nearly allied to the marsupials, than to the insectivora or edentata of the rest of the world, which in some respects they resemble. an allied species (_echidna hystrix_) inhabits south-east australia. _birds._--australia (with tasmania) possesses about species of birds, of which are land-birds. not more than about one-twentieth of these are found elsewhere, so that it has a larger proportion of endemic species than any other sub-region on the globe. these birds are divided among the several orders as follows: passeres picariæ psittaci columbæ gallinæ accipitres grallæ anseres struthiones the psittaci, we see, are very richly represented, while the picariæ are comparatively few; and the columbæ are scarce as compared with their abundance in the austro-malay sub-region. birds seem to be very evenly distributed over all australia; comparatively few genera of importance being locally restricted. in the eastern districts alone, we find _origma_, and _orthonyx_ (sylviidæ); _sericulus_ and _ptilorhynchus_ (paradiseidæ); _leucosarcia_ (columbidæ); and _talegalla_ (megapodiidæ). _nectarinia_, _pitta_, _ptilorhis_, _chlamydodera_, and _sphecotheres_, range from the north down the east coasts. _nanodes_ (psittacidæ), and _lipoa_ (megapodiidæ), are southern forms, the first extending { }to tasmania; which island appears to possess no peculiar genus of birds except _eudyptes_, one of the penguins. west australia has no wholly peculiar genus except _geopsittacus_, a curious form of ground parroquet; the singular _atrichia_, first found here, having been discovered in the east. in north australia, _emblema_ (ploceidæ) is the only peculiar australian genus, but several austro-malayan and papuan genera enter,--as, _syma_ and _tanysiptera_ (alcedinidæ); _machærihynchus_ (muscicapidæ); _calornis_ (sturnidæ); _manucodia_, _ptilorhis_, and _Æluroedus_ (paradiseidæ); _megapodius_; and _casuarius_. the presence of a species of bustard (_eupodotis_) in australia, is very curious, its nearest allies being in the plains of india and africa. among waders the genus _tribonyx_, a thick-legged bird somewhat resembling the _notornis_ of new zealand, though not closely allied to it, is the most remarkable. the district where the typical australian forms most abound is undoubtedly the eastern side of the island. the north and south are both somewhat poorer, the west much poorer, although it possesses a few very peculiar forms, especially among mammalia. tasmania is the poorest of all, a considerable number of genera being here wanting; but, except the two peculiar carnivorous marsupials, it possesses nothing to mark it off zoologically from the adjacent parts of the main land. it is probable that its insular climate, more moist and less variable than that of australia, may not be suitable to some of the absent forms; while others may require more space and more varied conditions, than are offered by a comparatively small island. the remaining classes of animals have been already discussed in our sketch of the region as a whole (p. ). _plate xii. illustrating the fauna of australia._--in this plate we take new south wales as our locality, and represent chiefly, the more remarkable australian types of birds. the most conspicuous figure is the wonderful lyre-bird (_menura superba_), the elegant plumage of whose tail is altogether unique in the whole class of birds. the unadorned bird is the female. in the centre is the emu (_dromæus novæ-hollandiæ_), the representative in australia, of the ostrich in africa and america, but { }belonging to a different family, the casurariidæ. to the right are a pair of crested pigeons (_ocyphaps lophotes_), one of the many singular forms of the pigeon family to which the australian region gives birth. in every other part of the globe pigeons are smooth-headed birds, but here they have developed three distinct forms of crest, as seen in this bird, the crowned pigeon figured in plate x., and the double-crested pigeon (_lopholæmus antarcticus_). the large bird on the tree is one of the australian frog-mouthed goat-suckers (_podargus strigoides_), which are called in the colony "more-pork," from their peculiar cry. they do not capture their prey on the wing like true goat-suckers, but hunt about the branches of trees at dusk, for large insects, and also for unfledged birds. a large kangaroo (_macropus giganteus_) is seen in the distance; and passing through the air, a flying opossum (_petaurus sciureus_), a beautiful modification of a marsupial, so as to resemble in form and habits the flying squirrels of the northern hemisphere. _iii. the pacific islands, or polynesian sub-region._ although the area of this sub-region is so vast, and the number of islands it contains almost innumerable, there is a considerable amount of uniformity in its forms of animal life. from the ladrone islands on the west, to the marquesas on the east, a distance of more than , miles, the same characteristic genera of birds prevail; and this is the only class of animals on which we can depend, mammalia being quite absent, and reptiles very scarce. the sandwich islands, however, form an exception to this uniformity; and, as far as we yet know, they are so peculiar that they ought, perhaps, to form a separate sub-region. they are, however, geographically a part of polynesia; and a more careful investigation of their natural history may show more points of agreement with the other islands. it is therefore a matter of convenience, at present, to keep them in the polynesian sub-region, which may be divided into polynesia proper and the sandwich islands. plate xii. [illustration] the plains of new south wales, with characteristic animals. { }polynesia proper consists of a number of groups of islands of some importance, and a host of smaller intermediate islets. for the purpose of zoological comparison, we may class them in four main divisions. . the ladrone and caroline islands; . new caledonia and the new hebrides; . the fiji, tonga, and samoa islands; . the society, and marquesas islands. the typical polynesian fauna is most developed in the third division; and it will be well to describe this first, and then show how the other islands diverge from it, and approximate other sub-regions. _fiji, tonga, and samoa islands._--the land-birds inhabiting these islands belong to genera, of which are characteristic of the australian region, and more peculiarly polynesian. the characteristic australian genera are the following: _petroica_ (sylviidæ); _lalage_ (campephagidæ); _monarcha_, _myiagra_, _rhipidura_ (muscicapidæ); _pachycephala_ (pachycephalidæ); _rectes_ (laniidæ); _myzomela_, _ptilotis_, _anthochæra_ (meliphagidæ); _amadina_, _eythrura_, (ploceidæ); _artamus_ (artamidæ); _lorius_ (trichoglossidæ); _ptilopus_, _phlogænas_ (columbidæ); _megapodius_ (megapodiidæ). the peculiar polynesian genera are:--_tatare_, _lamprolia_ (sylviidæ); _aplonis_, _sturnodes_ (sturnidæ); _todiramphus_ (alcedinidæ); _pyrhulopsis_, _cyanoramphus_, (platycercidæ); _coriphilus_ (trichoglossidæ); _didunculus_ (didunculidæ). the wide-spread genera are _turdus_, _zosterops_, _hirundo_, _halcyon_, _collocalia_, _eudynamis_, _cuculus_, _ianthoenas_, _carpophaga_, _turtur_, _haliæetus_, _astur_, _circus_, _strix_, _asio_. the aquatic birds are fifteen in number, all wide-spread species except one--a form of moor-hen (gallinulidæ), which has been constituted a new genus _pareudiastes_. _society, and marquesas islands._--here, the number of genera of land-birds has considerably diminished, amounting only to in all. the characteristic australian genera are ;--_monarcha_, _anthochæra_, _trichoglossus_, _ptilopus_, and _phlogoenas_. the polynesian genera are ;--_tatare_, _todiramphus_, _cyanoramphus_, _coriphilus_, and one recently described genus, _serresius_, an extraordinary form of large fruit pigeon, here classed under _carpophaga_. these remote groups have thus all the character of oceanic islands, even as regards the rest of polynesia, since they { }possess hardly anything, but what they might have received by immigration over a wide extent of ocean. _ladrone, and caroline islands._--these extensive groups of small islands are very imperfectly known, yet a considerable number of birds have been obtained. they possess two peculiar polynesian genera, _tatare_ and _sturnodes_; one peculiar sub-genus, _psammathia_ (here included under _acrocephalus_); and ten of the typical australian genera found in polynesia,--_lalage_, _monarcha_, _myiagra_, _rhipidura_, _myzomela_, _erythrura_, _artamus_, _phlogoenas_, _ptilopus_, and _megapodius_, as well as the papuan genus _rectes_, and the malayan _calornis_;--so that they can be certainly placed in the sub-region. genera which do not occur in the other polynesian islands are, _acrocephalus_, (s.g. _psammathia_) originally derived perhaps from the philippines; and _caprimulgus_, a peculiar species, allied to one from japan. _new caledonia, and the new hebrides._--although these islands seem best placed with polynesia, yet they form a transition to australia proper, and to the papuan group. they possess genera of land-birds, of which are typical of the australian region; but while are also polynesian, there are which do not pass further east. these are _acanthiza_, _eopsaltria_, _gliciphila_, _philemon_, and _ianthoenas_. the peculiar polynesian genus, _aplonis_, of which three species inhabit new caledonia, link it to the other portions of the sub-region. the following are the genera at present known from new caledonia:--_turdus_, _acanthiza_, _campephaga_, _lalage_, _myiagra_, _rhipidura_, _pachycephala_, _eopsaltria_, _corvus_, _physocorax_ (s.g. of _corvus_, allied to the jackdaws), _glicphila_, _anthochæra_, _philemon_, _zosterops_, _erythrura_, _aplonis_, _artamus_, _cuculus_, _halcyon_, _collocalia_, _cyanoramphus_, _trichoglossus_, _ptilopus_, _carpophaga_, _macropygia_, _ianthoenas_, _chalcophaps_, _haliastur_, _accipiter_. the curious _rhinochetus jubatus_, forming the type of a distinct family of birds (rhinochetidæ), allied to the herons, is only known from new caledonia. it thus appears, that not more than about genera and species of land-birds, are known from the vast number of islands that are scattered over the central pacific, and it is not probable { }that the number will be very largely increased. some of the species, as the _eudynamis taitensis_ and _tatare longirostris_, range over ° of longitude, from the fiji islands to the marquesas. in other genera, as _cyanoramphus_ and _ptilopus_, each important island or group of islands, has its peculiar species. the connection of all these islands with each other, on the one hand, and their close relation to the australian region, on the other, are equally apparent; but we have no sufficient materials for speculating with any success, on the long series of changes that have brought about their existing condition, as regards their peculiar forms of animal life. _sandwich islands._--this somewhat extensive group of large islands, is only known to contain genera and species of indigenous land-birds; and even of this small number, two birds of prey are wide ranging species, which may well have reached the islands during their present isolated condition. these latter are, _strix delicatula_, an owl spread over australia and the pacific; and _asio accipitrinus_, a species which has reached the galapagos from s. america, and thence perhaps the sandwich islands. of the remaining genera, one is a crow (_corvus hawaiensis_), and another a fishing eagle (_pandion solitarius_), of peculiar species; leaving genera, which are all (according to mr. sclater) peculiar. first we have _chasiempis_, a genus of muscicapidæ, containing two species (which may however belong to distinct genera); and as the entire family is unknown on the american continent these birds must almost certainly be allied to some of the numerous muscicapine forms of the australian region. next we have the purely australian family meliphagidæ, represented by two genera,--_moho_, an isolated form, and _chætoptila_, a genus established by mr. sclater for a bird before classed in _entomyza_, an australian group. the four remaining genera are believed by mr. sclater to belong to one group, the drepanididæ, altogether confined to the sandwich islands. two of them, _drepanis_ and _hemignathus_, with three species each, are undoubtedly allied; the other two, _loxops_ and _psittirostra_, have usually been classed as finches. the former seem to approach the dicæidæ; and all resemble this group in their coloration, { }the aquatic birds and waders all belong to wide-spread genera, and only one or two are peculiar species. the sandwich islands thus possess a larger proportion of peculiar genera and species of land-birds than any other group of islands, and they are even more strikingly characterised by what seems to be a peculiar family. the only other class of terrestrial animals at all adequately represented on these islands, are the land shells; and here too we find a peculiar family, sub-family, or genus (achatinella or achatinellidæ) consisting of a number of genera, or sub-genera,--according to the divergent views of modern conchologists,--and nearly species. the rev. j. t. gulick, who has made a special study of these shells on the spot, considers that there are genera, some of which are confined to single islands. the species are so restricted that their average range is not more than five or six square miles, while some are confined to a tract of only two square miles in extent, and very few range over an entire island. some species are confined to the mountain ridges, others to the valleys; and each ridge or valley possesses its peculiar species. considerably more than half the species occur in the island of oahu, where there is a good deal of forest. very few shells belonging to other groups occur, and they are all small and obscure; the achatinellæ almost monopolising the entire archipelago. _remarks on the probable past history of the sandwich islands._--the existence of these peculiar groups of birds and land-shells in so remote a group of volcanic islands, clearly indicates that they are but the relics of a more extensive land; and the reefs and islets that stretch for more than , miles in a west-north-west direction, may be the remains of a country once sufficiently extensive to develope these and many other, now extinct, forms of life.[ ] some light may perhaps be thrown on the past history of the { }sandwich islands, by the peculiar plants which are found on their mountains. the peak of teneriffe produces no alpine plants of european type, and this has been considered to prove that it has been always isolated; whereas the occurrence of north temperate forms on the mountains of java, accords with other evidence of this island having once formed part of the asiatic continent. now on the higher summits of the sandwich islands, nearly genera of arctic and north temperate flowering plants have been found. many of these occur also in the south temperate zone, in australia or new zealand; but there are others which seem plainly to point to a former connection with some north temperate land, probably california, as a number of islets are scattered in the ocean between the two countries. the most interesting genera are the following:--_silene_, which is wholly north temperate, except that it occurs in s. africa; _vicia_, also north temperate, and in south temperate america; _fragaria_, with a similar distribution; _aster_, widely spread in america, otherwise north temperate only; _vaccinium_, wholly confined to the northern hemisphere, in cold and temperate climates. none of these are found in australia or new zealand; and their presence in the sandwich islands seems clearly to indicate a former approximation to north temperate america, although the absence of any american forms of vertebrata renders it certain that no actual land connection ever took place. recent soundings have shown, that the sandwich islands rise from a sea which is , fathoms or , feet deep; while there is a depth of at least , fathoms all across to california on one side, and to japan on the other. between the fiji islands, new caledonia, the solomon islands, and australia, the depth is about , fathoms, and between sydney and new zealand , fathoms; showing, in every case, a general accordance between the depth of sea and the approximation of the several faunas. in a few more years, when it is to be hoped we shall know the contour of the sea-bottom better than that of the continents, we shall be able to arrive at more definite and trustworthy conclusions as to the probable changes { }of land and sea by which the phenomena of animal distribution in the pacific have been brought about. _reptiles of the polynesian sub-region._--the researches of mr. darwin on coral islands, proved, that large areas in the pacific ocean have been recently subsiding; but the peculiar forms of life which they present, no less clearly indicate the former existence of some extensive lands. the total absence of mammalia, however, shows either that these lands never formed part of the australian or papuan continents, or if they did, that they have been since subjected to such an amount of subsidence as to exterminate most of their higher terrestrial forms of life. it is a remarkable circumstance, that although mammalia (except bats) are wanting, there are a considerable number of reptiles ranging over the whole sub-region. lizards are the most numerous, five families and fourteen genera being represented, as follows:-- . cryptoblepharus (gymnopthalmidæ ) fiji islands. . ablepharus " all the islands. . lygosoma (scincidæ) pelew islands, new caledonia. . mabouya " samoa islands. . euprepes " pacific islands. . _dactyloperus_ (geckotidæ) sandwich islands. . _doryura_ (geckotidæ) pacific islands. . gehyra " fiji islands. . _amydosaurus_ " tahiti. . heteronota " fiji islands. . _correlophus_ " new caledonia. . _brachylophus_ (iguanidæ) fiji islands. . lophura (agamidæ) pelew islands. . _chloroscartes_ " fiji islands. the first five are wide-spread genera, represented mostly by peculiar species; but sometimes the species themselves have a wide range, as in the case of _ablepharus poecilopleurus_, which (according to dr. günther) is found in timor, australia, new caledonia, savage island (one of the samoa group), and the sandwich islands! _gehyra_ and _heteronota_ are australian genera; while _lophura_ has reached the pelew islands from the moluccas. the remainder (printed in italics), are peculiar genera; _brachylophus_ being especially interesting as an example of an { }otherwise peculiar american family, occurring so far across the pacific. snakes are much less abundant, only four genera being represented, one of them marine. they are, _anoplodipsas_, a peculiar genus of amblycephalidæ from new caledonia; _enygrus_, a genus of pythonidæ from the fiji islands; _ogmodon_, a peculiar genus of elapidæ, also from the fiji islands, but ranging to papua and the moluccas; and _platurus_, a wide-spread genus of sea-snakes (hydrophidæ). in the more remote sandwich and society islands there appear to be no snakes. this accords with our conclusion that lizards have some special means of dispersal over the ocean which detracts from their value as indicating zoo-geographical affinities; which is further proved by the marvellous range of a single species (referred to above) from australia to the sandwich islands. a species of _hyla_ is said to inhabit the new hebrides, and several species of _platymantis_ (tree-frogs) are found in the fiji islands; but otherwise the amphibians appear to be unrepresented in the sub-region, though they will most likely be found in so large an island as new caledonia. from the foregoing sketch, it appears, that although the reptiles present some special features, they agree on the whole with the birds, in showing, that the islands of polynesia all belong to the australian region, and that in the fiji islands is to be found the fullest development of their peculiar fauna. _iv. new zealand sub-region._ the islands of new zealand are more completely oceanic than any other extensive tract of land, being about , miles from australia and nearly the same distance from new caledonia and the friendly isles. there are, however, several islets scattered around, whose productions show that they belong to the same sub-region;--the principal being, norfolk island, lord howe's island, and the kermadec isles, on the north; chatham island on the east; the auckland and macquarie isles on the south;--and if these were once joined to { }new zealand, there would have been formed an island-continent not much inferior in extent to australia itself. new zealand is wholly situated in the warmer portion of the temperate zone, and enjoys an exceptionally mild and equable climate. it has abundant moisture, and thus comes within the limits of the south-temperate forest zone; and this leads to its productions often resembling those of the tropical, but moist and wooded, islands of the pacific, rather than those of the temperate, but arid and scantily wooded plains of australia. the two islands of new zealand are about the same extent (approximately) as the british isles, but the difference in the general features of their natural history is very great. there are, in the former, no mammalia, less than half as many birds, very few reptiles and fresh-water fishes, and an excessive and most unintelligible poverty of insects; yet, considering the situation of the islands and their evidently long-continued isolation, the wonder rather is that their fauna is so varied and interesting as it is found to be. our knowledge of this fauna, though no doubt far from complete, is sufficiently ample; and it will be well to give a pretty full account of it, in order to see what conclusions may be drawn as to its origin. _mammalia._--the only mammals positively known as indigenous to new zealand are two bats, both peculiar to it,--_scotophilus tuberculatus_ and _mystacina tuberculata_. the former is allied to australian forms; the latter is more interesting, as being a peculiar genus of the family noctilionidæ, which does not exist in australia; and in having decided resemblances to the phyllostomidæ of south america, so that it may almost be considered to be a connecting link between the two families. a forest rat is said to have once abounded on the islands, and to have been used for food by the natives; but there is much doubt as to what it really was, and whether it was not an introduced species. the seals are wide-spread antarctic forms which have no geographical significance. _birds._--about species of birds are natives of new zealand, of which are waders or aquatics, leaving land-birds { }belonging to genera. of this latter number, , or nearly half, are peculiar; and there are also peculiar genera of waders and aquatic birds, making in all. of the remaining genera of land-birds, four are cosmopolite or of very wide range, while the remainder are characteristic of the australian region. the following is a list of the australian genera found in new zealand: _sphenæacus_, _gerygone_, _orthonyx_ (sylviidæ); _graucalus_ (campephagidæ); _rhipidura_ (muscicapidæ); _anthochæra_ (meliphagidæ); _zosterops_ (dicæidæ); _cyanoramphus_ (platycercidæ); _carpophaga_ (columbidæ); _hieracidea_ (falconidæ); _tribonyx_ (rallidæ). besides these there are several genera of wide range, as follows:--_anthus_ (motacillidæ); _hirundo_ (hirundinidæ); _chrysococcyx_, _eudynamis_ (cuculidæ); _halcyon_ (alcedinidæ); _coturnix_ (tetraonidæ); _circus_ (falconidæ); _athene_ (strigidæ). most of the above genera are represented by peculiar new zealand species, but in several cases the species are identical with those of australia, as in the following: _anthochæra carunculata_, _zosterops lateralis_, _hirundo nigricans_, and _chrysococcyx lucidus_; also one--_eudynamis taitensis_--which is polynesian. we now come to the genera peculiar to new zealand, which are of especial interest: list of genera of birds peculiar to new zealand. no. of family and genus. species. remarks. sylviidÆ. . myiomoira allied to petroica, an australian genus . miro " " " " timaliidÆ (?) . turnagra of doubtful affinities. sittidÆ. . xenicus of doubtful affinities. . acanthisitta of doubtful affinities. paridÆ. . certhiparus of doubtful affinities. meliphagidÆ. . prosthemadera peculiar genera of honeysuckers, a . pogonornis family which is confined to the . anthornis australian region. sturnidÆ. { } . creadion these three genera are probably . heterolocha allied, and perhaps form a distinct . callæas family. nestoridÆ. . nestor a peculiar family of parrots. stringopidÆ. . stringops a peculiar family of parrots. strigidÆ. . (sceloglaux) s.g. of athene. rallidÆ. . ocydromus allied to _eulabeornis_, an australian genus. . notornis allied to _porphyrio_, a genus of wide range. charadriidÆ. . thinornis . anarhynchus anatidÆ. . hymenolæmus allied to _malacorhynchus_, an australian genus. apterygidÆ. . apteryx forming a peculiar family. we have thus a wonderful amount of speciality; yet the affinities of the fauna, whenever they can be traced, are with australia or polynesia. nine genera of new zealand birds are characteristically australian, and the eight genera of wide range are australian also. of the peculiar genera, or are undoubtedly allied to australian groups. there are also four australian and one polynesian _species_. even the peculiar _family_, nestoridæ is allied to the australian trichoglossidæ. we have therefore every gradation of similarity to the australian fauna, from identical species, through identical genera, and allied genera, to distinct but allied families; clearly indicating very long continued yet rare immigations from australia or polynesia; immigrations which are continued down to our day. for resident ornithologists believe, that the _zosterops lateralis_ has found its way to new zealand within the last few years, and that the two cuckoos now migrate annually, the one from australia, the other from some { }part of polynesia, distances of more than , miles! these facts seem, however, to have been accepted on insufficient evidence and to be in themselves extremely improbable. it is observed that the cuckoos appear annually in certain districts and again disappear; but their course does not seem to have been traced, still less have they ever been actually seen arriving or departing across the ocean. in a country which has still such wide tracts of unsettled land, it is very possible that the birds in question may only move from one part of the islands to another. _islets of the new zealand sub-region._ we will here notice the smaller islands belonging to the sub-region, as it is chiefly their birds that possess any interest. _norfolk island._--the land-birds recorded from this island amount to species, of which are australian, viz.: _climacteris scandens_, _symmorphus leucopygius_, _zosterops tenuirostris_ and _z. albogularis_, _halcyon sanctus_, _platycercus pennanti_, _carpophaga spadicea_, _phapspicata_ and _p. chalcoptera_. of the peculiar species three belong to australian genera; _petroica_, _gerygone_, and _rhipidura_; one to a cosmopolitan genus, _turdus_. so far the affinity seems to be all australian, and there remain only three birds which ally this island to new zealand,--_nestor productus_, _cyanoramphus rayneri_, and _notornis alba_. the former inhabited the small phillip island (close to norfolk island) but is now extinct. being a typical new zealand genus, quite incapable of flying across the sea, its presence necessitates some former connexion between the two islands, and it is therefore perhaps of more weight than all the australian genera and species, which are birds capable of long flights. the _cyanoramphus_ is allied to a new zealand broad-tailed parroquet. the _notornis alba_ is extinct, but two specimens exist in museums, and it is even a stronger case than the _nestor_, as showing a former approximation or union of this island with new zealand. a beautiful figure of this bird is given in the _ibis_ for . _lord howe's island._--this small island, situated half-way between australia and norfolk island, is interesting, as containing a peculiar species of the new zealand genus _ocydromus_, or { }wood-hen (_o. sylvestris_). there is also a peculiar thrush, _turdus vinitinctus_. its other birds are wholly of australian types, and most of them probably australian species. the following have been observed, and no doubt constitute nearly its whole indigenous bird fauna. _acanthiza_ sp., _rhipidura_ sp., _pachycephala gutturalis_, _zosterops strennuus_ and _z. tephropleurus_, _strepera_ sp., _halcyon_ sp., and _chalcophaga chrysochlora_. the two species of _zosterops_ are peculiar. the _ocydromus_ is important enough to ally this island to new zealand rather than to australia; and if the white bird seen there is, as supposed, the _notornis alba_ which is extinct in norfolk island, the connection will be rendered still more clear. _chatham islands._--these small islands, miles east of new zealand, possess about species of birds, of which are land-birds. all but one belong to new zealand genera, and all but five are new zealand species. the following are the genera of the land-birds: _sphenæacus_, _gerygone_, _myiomoira_, _rhipidura_, _zosterops_, _anthus_, _prosthemadera_, _anthornis_, _chrysococcyx_, _cyanoramphus_, _carpophaga_, _circus_. the peculiar species are _anthornis melanocephala_, _myiomoira diffenbachi_ and _m. traversi_, _rhipidura flabellifera_, and a peculiar rail incapable of flight, named by captain hutton _cabalus modestus_. it is stated that the _zosterops_ differs from that of new zealand, and is also a migrant; and it is therefore believed to come every year from australia, passing over new zealand, a distance of nearly , miles! further investigation will perhaps discover some other explanation of the facts. it is also stated, that the pigeon and one of the small birds (? _gerygone_ or _zosterops_) have arrived at the islands within the last eight years. the natives further declare, that both the _stringops_ and _apteryx_ once inhabited the islands, but were exterminated about the year . _the auckland islands._--these are situated nearly miles south of new zealand, and possess six land-birds, of which three are peculiar,--_anthus aucklandicus_, _cyanoramphus aucklandicus_, and _c. malherbii_, the others being new zealand species of _myiomoira_, _prosthemadera_, and _anthornis_. it is remarkable that two peculiar parrots of the same genus should inhabit these small islands; but such localities seem favourable to the platycercidæ, for another peculiar species is found in the remote macquarie islands, more than miles farther south. a peculiar species and genus of ducks, _nesonetta aucklandica_, is also found here, and as far as yet known, nowhere else. a species of the northern genus _mergus_ is also found on these islands, and has been recently obtained by baron von hügel. plate xiii. [illustration] scene in new zealand, with some of its remarkable birds. { }_plate xiii. illustrating the peculiar ornithology of new zealand._--our artist has here depicted a group of the most remarkable and characteristic of the new zealand birds. in the middle foreground is the owl-parrot or kakapoe (_stringops habroptilus_), a nocturnal burrowing parrot, that feeds on fern-shoots, roots, berries, and occasionally lizards; that climbs but does not fly; and that has an owl-like mottled plumage and facial disc. the wings however are not rudimentary, but fully developed; and it seems to be only the muscles that have become useless for want of exercise. this would imply, that these birds have not long been inhabitants of new zealand only, but were developed in other countries (perhaps australia) where their wings were of use to them. beyond the kakapoe are a pair of the large rails, _notornis mantelli_; heavy birds with short wings quite useless for flight, and with massive feet and bill of a red colour. on the right is a pair of kiwis (_apteryx australis_), one of the queerest and most unbird-like of living birds. it has very small and rudimentary wings, entirely concealed by the hair-like plumage, and no tail. it is nocturnal, feeding chiefly on worms, which it extracts from soft earth by means of its long bill. the genus _apteryx_ forms a distinct family of birds, of which four species are now known, besides some which are extinct. they are allied to the cassowary and to the gigantic extinct _dinornis_. on the wing are a pair of crook-billed plovers (_anarhynchus frontalis_), remarkable for being the only birds known which have the bill bent sideways. this was at first thought to be a malformation; but it is now proved to be a constant character of the species, as it exists even in the young chicks; yet the purpose served by such an anomalous structure is not yet discovered. { }no country on the globe can offer such an extraordinary set of birds as are here depicted. _reptiles._--these consist almost wholly of lizards, there being no land-snakes and only one frog. twelve species of lizards are known, belonging to three genera, one of which is peculiar, as are all the species. _hinulia_, with two species, and _mocoa_, with four species (one of which extends to the chatham islands), belong to the scincidæ; both are very wide-spread genera and occur in australia. the peculiar genus _naultinus_, with six species, belongs to the geckotidæ, a family spread over the whole world. the most extraordinary and interesting reptile of new zealand is, however, the _hatteria punctata_, a lizard-like animal living in holes, and found in small islands on the north-east coast, and more rarely on the main land. it is somewhat intermediate in structure between lizards and crocodiles, and also has bird-like characters in the form of its ribs. it constitutes, not only a distinct family, rhyncocephalidæ, but a separate order of reptiles, rhyncocephalina. it is quite isolated from all other members of the class; and is probably a slightly modified representative of an ancient and generalised form, which has been superseded in larger areas by the more specialized lizards and saurians. the only representatives of the ophidia are two sea-snakes of australian and polynesian species, and of no geographical interest. _amphibia._--the solitary frog indigenous to new zealand, belongs to a peculiar genus, _liopelma_, and to the family bomburatoridæ, otherwise confined to europe and temperate south america. _fresh-water fishes._--there are, according to captain hutton, species of fresh-water fish in new zealand, belonging to genera; six species, and one genus (_retropinna_), being peculiar. _retropinna richardsoni_ belongs to the salmonidæ, and is the only example of that family occurring in the southern hemisphere, where it is confined to new zealand and the chatham islands. the wide distribution of _galaxias attenuatus_--from the { }chatham islands to south america--has already been noticed; while another species, _g. fasciatus_, is found in the chatham and auckland isles as well as new zealand. a second genus peculiar to new zealand, _neochanna_, allied to _galaxias_, has recently been described. _prototroctes oxyrhynchus_ is allied to an australian species, but belongs to a family (haplochitonidæ) which is otherwise south american. an eel, _anguilla latirostris_, is found in europe, china, and the west indies, as well as in new zealand! while the genus _agonostoma_ ranges to australia, celebes, mauritius, and central america. _insects._--the great poverty of this class is well shown by the fact, that only eleven species of butterflies are known to inhabit new zealand. of these, six are peculiar, and one, _argyrophenga_ (satyridæ), is a peculiar genus allied to the northern genus _erebia_. the rest are either of wide range, as _pyrameis cardui_ and _diadema bolina_; or australian, as _hamdyaas zoilus_; while one, _danais erippus_, is american, but has also occurred in australia, and is no doubt a recent introduction into both countries. only one _sphinx_ is recorded, and no other species of the sphingina except the british currant-moth, _Ægeria tipuliformis_, doubtless imported. coleoptera are better represented, nearly species having been described, all or nearly all being peculiar. these belong to about genera, of which more than are peculiar. no less than peculiar genera belong to the carabidæ, mostly consisting of one or two species, but _demetrida_ has , and _metaglymma_ species. other important genera are _dicrochile_, _homalosoma_, _mecodema_, and _scopodes_, all in common with australia. _mecodema_ and _metaglymma_ are the largest genera. even the auckland islands have two small genera of carabidæ found nowhere else. cicindelidæ are represented in new zealand by species of _cicindela_, and of _dystipsidera_, a genus peculiar to the australian region. the lucanidæ are represented by two peculiar genera, _dendroblax_ and _oxyomus_; two australian genera, _lissotes_ and _ceratognathus_; and by the almost cosmopolite _dorcus_. the scarabeidæ consist of ten species only, belonging to four { }genera, two of which are peculiar (_odontria_ and _stethaspis_); and two australian (_pericoptus_ and _calonota_). there are no cetoniidæ. there is only one buprestid, belonging to the australian genus _cisseis_. the elateridæ, (about a dozen species,) belong mostly to australian genera, but two, _metablax_ and _ochosternus_, are peculiar. there are species of curculionidæ, belonging to genera. of the genera, are peculiar; is common to new zealand and new caledonia; belong to the australian region, and the rest are widely distributed. longicorns are, next to carabidæ, the most numerous family, there being, according to mr. bates (_ann. nat. hist._, ), about genera, of which are peculiar or highly characteristic, and of the others australian. the largest and most characteristic genera are _Æmona_ and _xyloteles_, both being peculiar to new zealand; few of the remainder having more than one or two species. _demonax_ extends to the moluccas and s. e. asia. a dozen of the genera have no near relations with those of any other country. phytophaga are remarkably scarce, only two species of _colaspis_ being recorded; and there is only a single species of _coccinella_. the other orders of insects appear to be equally deficient. hymenoptera are very poorly represented, only a score of species being yet known; but two of the genera are peculiar, as are all the species. the neuroptera and heteroptera are also very scarce, and several of the species are wide-spread forms of the australian region. the few species of homoptera are all peculiar. the myriapoda afford some interesting facts. there are nine or ten species, all peculiar. one genus, _lithobius_, ranges over the northern hemisphere as far south as singapore, and probably through the malay archipelago, but is not found in australia. _henicops_ occurs elsewhere only in tasmania and chili. _cryptops_, only in the north temperate zone; while two others, _cermatia_ and _cormocephalus_, both occur in australia. { }_land-shells._--of these, species are known, being peculiar. three species of _helix_ are also found in australia, and five more in various tropical islands of the pacific. _nanina_, _lymnæa_, and _assiminea_, are found in polynesia or malaya, but not in australia. _amphibola_ is an australian genus, as is _janella_. _testacella_ and _limax_ belong to the palæarctic region. from the chatham islands, species of shells are known, all being new zealand species, except nine, which are peculiar. _the ancient fauna of new zealand._--one of the most remarkable features of the new zealand fauna, is the existence, till quite recent times, of an extensive group of wingless birds,--called moas by the natives--many of them of gigantic size, and which evidently occupied the place which, in other countries, is filled by the mammalia. the most recent account of these singular remains, is that by dr. haast, who, from a study of the extensive series of specimens in the canterbury museum, believes, that they belong to two families, distinguished by important differences of structure, and constitute four genera,--_dinornis_ and _miornis_, forming the family dinornithidæ; _palapteryx_ and _euryapteryx_, forming the family palapterygidæ. these were mostly larger birds than the living _apteryx_, and some of them much larger even than the african ostrich, and were more allied to the casuariidæ and struthionidæ than to the apterygidæ. no less than eleven species of these birds have been discovered; all are of recent geological date, and there are indications that some of them may have been in existence less than a century ago, and were really exterminated by man. remains have been found (of apparently the same recent date) of species of _apteryx_, _stringops_, _ocydromus_, and many other living forms, as well as of _harpagornis_, a large bird of prey, and _cnemiornis_, a gigantic goose. bodies of the _hatteria punctata_ have also been found along with those of the moa, showing that this remarkable reptile was once more abundant on the main islands than it is now. _the origin of the new zealand fauna._--having now given { }an outline sketch of the main features of the new zealand fauna and of its relations with other regions, we may consider what conclusions are fairly deducible from the facts. as the outlying norfolk, chatham, and lord howe's islands, are all inhabited (or have recently been so) by birds of new zealand type or even identical species, almost incapable of flight, we may infer that these islands show us the former minimum extent of the land-area in which the peculiar forms which characterise the sub-region were developed. if we include the auckland and macquarie islands to the south, we shall have a territory of not much less extent than australia, and separated from it by perhaps several hundred miles of ocean. some such ancient land must have existed to allow of the development and specialization of so many peculiar forms of birds, and it probably remained with but slight modifications for a considerable geological period. during all this time it would interchange many of its forms of life with australia, and there would arise that amount of identity of genera between the two countries which we find to exist. its extension southwards, perhaps considerably beyond the macquaries, would bring it within the range of floating ice during colder epochs, and within easy reach of the antarctic continent during the warm periods; and thus would arise that interchange of genera and species with south america, which forms one of the characteristic features of the natural history of new zealand. captain f. w. hutton (to whose interesting paper on the geographical relations of the new zealand fauna we are indebted for some of our facts) insists upon the necessity of former land-connections in various directions, and especially of an early southern continental period, when new zealand, australia, southern africa, and south america, were united. thus he would account for the existence of struthious birds in all these countries, and for the various other groups of birds, reptiles, fishes, or insects which have no obvious means of traversing the ocean,--and this union must have occurred before mammalia existed in any of these countries. but such a supposition is quite unnecessary, if we consider that all wingless land-birds and some water-birds (as the gare-fowl { }and steamer duck) are probably cases of abortion of useless organs, and that the common ancestors of the various forms of struthiones may have been capable of a moderate degree of flight; or they may have originated in the northern hemisphere, as already explained in chap. xi. p. . the existence of two, if not three, distinct families of these birds in new zealand, proves that the original type was here isolated at a very early date, and being wholly free from the competition of mammalia, became more differentiated than elsewhere. the _hatteria_ is probably coeval with these early forms, and is the only relic of a whole order of reptiles, which once perhaps ranged far over the globe. still less does any other form of animal inhabiting new zealand, require a land connection with distant countries to account for its presence. with the example before us of the bermudas and azores, to which a great variety of birds fly annually over vast distances, and even of the recent arrival of new birds in new zealand and chatham island, we may be sure that the ancestors of every new zealand bird could easily have reached its shores during the countless ages which elapsed while the _dinornis_ and _apteryx_ were developing. the wonderful range of some of the existing species of lizards and fresh-water fish, as already given, proves that they too possess means of dispersal which have sufficed to spread them, within a comparatively recent period, over countries separated by thousands of miles of ocean; and the fact that a group like the snakes, so widely distributed and for which the climate of new zealand is so well adapted, does not exist there, is an additional proof that land connection had nothing to do with the introduction of the existing fauna. we have already (p. ), discussed in some detail the various modes in which the dispersal of animals in the southern hemisphere has been effected; and in accordance with the principles there established, we conclude, that the new zealand fauna, living and extinct, demonstrates the existence of an extensive tract of land in the vicinity of australia, polynesia, and the antarctic continent, without having been once actually connected with either of these countries, since the period when mammalia had peopled { }all the great continents. that event certainly dates back to secondary, if not to palæozoic, times, because so dominant a group must soon have spread over the whole continuous land-area of the globe. we have no reason for believing that birds were an earlier development; and certainly cannot, with any probability, place the origin of the struthiones before that of mammals. _causes of the poverty of insect-life in new zealand: its influence on the character of the flora._--the extreme paucity of insects in new zealand, to which we have already alluded, seems to call for some attempt at explanation. no other country in the world, in which the conditions are equally favourable for insect-life, and which has either been connected with, or is in proximity to, any of the large masses of land, presents a similar phenomenon. the only approach to it is in the galapagos, and in some of the islands of the pacific; and in each of these cases the absence of mammals leads us to infer, that no connection with a continent has ever taken place. yet the fauna of new zealand evidently dates back to a remote geological epoch, and it seems strange that an abundance of indigenous insects have not been developed, especially when we consider the vast antiquity that most of the orders and families, and many of the genera, of insects possess (see p. ), and that they must always have reached the country in greater numbers and variety than any of the higher animals. the undoubted fact that such an indigenous insect-fauna has not arisen, would therefore lead us to conclude, that insects find the conditions requisite for their development only in the great continental masses of land, in strict adaptation to, and dependance on, a varied fauna and flora of ever-increasing richness and complexity. a small number of widely-separated forms, introduced into a country where the fauna and flora are alike scanty and unrelated to them, seem to have little tendency to vary and branch out into that vast network of insect-life which enriches all the great continents and their once connected islands. it is a striking confirmation on a large scale, of mr. darwin's beautiful theory--that the gay colours of flowers have mostly, or { }perhaps, wholly been produced, in order to attract insects which aid in their fertilization--that in new zealand, where insects are so strikingly deficient in variety, the flora should be almost as strikingly deficient in gaily-coloured blossoms. of course there are some exceptions, but as a whole, green, inconspicuous, and imperfect flowers prevail, to an extent not to be equalled in any other part of the globe; and affording a marvellous contrast to the general brilliancy of australian flowers, combined with the abundance and variety of its insect-life. we must remember, too, that the few gay or conspicuous flowering-plants possessed by new zealand, are almost all of australian, south american, or european _genera_; the peculiar new zealand or antarctic genera being almost wholly without conspicuous flowers. in the tropical galapagos the same thing occurs. mr. darwin notices the wretched weedy appearance of the vegetation; and states that it was some time before he discovered that most of the plants were in flower at the time of his visit! and the insect-life was correspondingly deficient, consisting mainly of a few terrestrial beetles. the poverty of insect-life in new zealand must, therefore, be a very ancient feature of the country; and it furnishes an additional argument against the theory of land-connection with, or even any near approach to, either australia, south africa, or south america. for in that case numbers of winged insects would certainly have entered, and the flowers would then, as in every other part of the world, have been rendered attractive to them by the development of coloured petals; and this character once acquired would long maintain itself, even if the insects had, from some unknown cause, subsequently disappeared. after the preceding paragraphs were written, it occurred to me, that if this reasoning were correct, new zealand plants ought to be also deficient in scented flowers; because it is a part of the same theory, that the odours of flowers have, like their colours, been developed to attract the insects required to aid in their fertilization. i therefore at once applied to my friend dr. hooker, as the highest authority on new zealand botany; simply asking whether there was any such observed deficiency. his reply { }was:--"new zealand plants are remarkably scentless, both in regard to the rarity of scented flowers, of leaves with immersed glands containing essential oils, and of glandular hairs." there are a few exceptional cases, but these seem even more rare than might be expected, so that the confirmation of theory is very complete. the circumstance that aromatic leaves are also very scarce, suggests the idea that these, too, serve as an attraction to insects. aromatic plants abound most in arid countries, and on alpine heights; both localities where winged insects are comparatively scarce, and where it may be necessary to attract them in every possible way. dr. hooker also informs, me that since his _introduction to the new zealand flora_ was written, many plants with handsome flowers have been discovered, especially among the _ranunculi_, shrubby veronicas, and herbaceous compositæ. the two former, however, are genera of wide range, which may have originated in new zealand by the introduction of plants with handsome flowers, which the few indigenous insects would be attracted by, and thus prevent the loss of their gay corollas; so that these discoveries will not much affect the general character of the flora, and its very curious bearing on the past history of the islands through the relations of flowers and insects. in judging of the relation here supposed to exist, it must be remembered, that if the new zealand insects have been introduced from the surrounding countries by chance immigrations at distant intervals, then, as we go back into the past the insect fauna will become poorer and poorer, and still more inadequate than at present to lead to the development of attractive flowers and odours. this quite harmonizes with the fact of the ancient indigenous flora being so remarkably scentless and inconspicuous, while a few of the more recently introduced genera of plants have retained their floral attractions. _concluding remarks on the early history of the australian region._ we have already discussed in some detail, the various relations of the australian sub-regions to the surrounding regions, and the geographical changes that appear to have taken place. a very { }few observations will therefore suffice, on the supposed early history of the australian region as a whole. it was probably far back in the secondary period, that some portion of the australian region was in actual connection with the northern continent, and became stocked with ancestral forms of marsupials; but from that time till now there seems to have been no further land connection, and the australian lands have thenceforward gone on developing the marsupial and monotremate types, into the various living and extinct races we now find there. during some portion of the tertiary epoch australia probably comprised much of its existing area, together with papua and the solomon islands, and perhaps extended as far east as the fiji islands; while it might also have had a considerable extension to the south and west. some light has recently been thrown on this subject by professor mccoy's researches on the palæontology of victoria. he finds abundant marine fossils of eocene and miocene age, many of which are strikingly similar to those of europe at the same period. among these are cetaceans of the genus _squalodon_; european species of plagiostomous fishes; mollusca and corals closely resembling those of europe and north america of the same age,--such as numerous volutes closely allied to those of the eocene beds of the isle of wight, and the genus _dentalium_ in great abundance, almost or quite identical with european tertiary species. along with these, are found some living species, but always such as now live farther north in tropical seas. the cretaceous and mesozoic marine fossils are equally close to those of europe. the whole of these remains demonstrate that, as in the northern so in the southern hemisphere, a much warmer climate prevailed in the eocene and miocene periods than at the present time. this is a most important result, and one which strongly supports mr. belt's view, before referred to, that the warmer climates in past geological epochs, and especially that of the miocene as compared with our own, was caused by a diminution of the obliquity of the ecliptic, leading to a much greater uniformity of the seasons for a considerable distance from the equator, and greatly reducing the polar area within which the sun would ever { }disappear during an entire rotation of the earth. during such a period, tropical forms of marine animals would have been able to spread north and south, into what are now cool latitudes; and identical genera, and even species, might then have ranged along the southern shores of the old palæarctic continent, from britain to the bay of bengal, and southward along the malayan coasts to australia, numerous miocene plant-beds have also been found in victoria, containing abundance of dicotyledonous leaves, which are said generally to resemble those of the asiatic flora, and of the miocene plant-beds of the rhine. it is to be hoped these beds will be more closely examined for remains of insects, land-shells, and vertebrates, and that the plants will be carefully preserved and critically studied; for here probably lies hidden the key, that will solve much of the mystery that attaches to the past history of the australian fauna. { }tables of distribution. in drawing up these tables, showing the distribution of the various classes of animals in the australian region, the following sources of information have been relied on, in addition to the general treatises, monographs, and catalogues used in compiling the th part of this work. _mammalia._--gould, mammals of australia; waterhouse on marsupials; dr. j. e. gray's list of mammalia of new guinea; müller, temminck and schlegel on mammals of the moluccas; papers by dr. gray; and personal observations by the author. _birds._--gould's birds of australia; buller's birds of new zealand; g. r. gray's lists of birds of moluccas, &c.; hartlaub and finsch on birds of pacific islands; sclater on birds of sandwich islands; papers by haast, hutton, meyer, salvin, schlegel, sclater, travers, lord walden and the author. _reptiles._--krefft, catalogue of snakes; gunther, list of lizards in _voyage of erebus and terror_ ( ); and numerous papers. { }table i. _families of animals inhabiting the australian region._ explanation. names in _italics_ show families which are peculiar to the region. names inclosed thus (...) show families which only just enter the region, and are not considered properly to belong to it. numbers correspond to the series of numbers to the families in part iv. ---------------------+-------------------+------------------------------- | sub-regions | | =austro-malaya. | order and family | =australia. | range beyond the region. | =polynesia. | | =new zealand. | ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- | . | . | . | . | ---------------------+----+----+----+----+------------------------------- | | | | | mammalia. | | | | | primates. | | | | | . cynopithecidæ | -- | | | |oriental and ethiopian | | | | | chiroptera. | | | | | . pteropidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental and ethiopian . rhinolophidæ | -- | -- | | |the eastern hemisphere . vespertilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . noctilionidæ | | | | -- |all tropical regions | | | | | carnivora. | | | | | . (viverridæ) | -- | | | |oriental . otariidæ | | -- | | -- |n. and s. temperate zones . phocidæ | | -- | | -- |n. and s. temperate zones | | | | | cetacea. | | | | | to . | | | | |oceanic | | | | | sirenia. | | | | | . manatidæ | -- | | | |ethiopian, oriental | | | | | ungulata. | | | | | . suidæ | -- | | | |all other regions but nearctic . (cervidæ) | -- | | | |all other regions but ethiopian . (bovidæ) | -- | | | |all other regions but | | | | | neotropical | | | | | rodentia. | | | | | . muridæ | -- | -- | | |all other regions . (scuiridæ) | -- | | | |all other regions | | | | | marsupialia. | | | | | . _dasyuridæ_ | -- | -- | | | . _myrmecobiidæ_ | | -- | | | . _peramelidæ_ | -- | -- | | | . _macropodidæ_ | -- | -- | | | . _phalangistidæ_ | -- | -- | | | . _phascolomyidæ_ | | -- | | | | | | | | monotremata. | | | | | ._ornithorhynchidæ_| | -- | | | . _echidnidæ_ | | -- | | | | | | | | birds. | | | | | passeres. | | | | | . turdidæ | -- | -- | -- | |cosmopolite . sylviidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . timaliidæ | -- | -- | | -- |oriental family . cinclidæ | -- | | | | . certhiidæ | -- | -- | | | . sittidæ | -- | -- | | -- | . paridæ | | -- | | -- | . pycnonotidæ | -- | | | |oriental family . oriolidæ | -- | -- | | |oriental and ethiopian . campephagidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental and ethiopian . dicruridæ | -- | -- | | |oriental and ethiopian . muscicapidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |the old world . _pachycephalidæ_| -- | -- | -- | |almost peculiar to region . laniidæ | -- | -- | -- | |the old world . corvidæ | -- | -- | -- | |cosmopolite . _paradiseidæ_ | -- | -- | | | . _meliphagidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | -- | . nectariniidæ | -- | -- | | |oriental and ethiopian . dicæidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental and ethiopian . _drepanididæ_ | | | -- | | . hirundinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . ploceidæ | -- | -- | -- | |oriental, ethiopian . sturnidæ | -- | | -- | -- |the old world . artamidæ | -- | -- | -- | |oriental . alaudidæ | -- | -- | | |the old world and n. america . motacillidæ | -- | -- | | -- |the old world . pittidæ | -- | -- | | |oriental, ethiopian . _menuridæ_ | | -- | | |peculiar to australia . _atrichiidæ_ | | -- | | |peculiar to australia | | | | | picariÆ. | | | | | . picidæ | -- | | | |all other regions . cuculidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . coraciidæ | -- | -- | | |oriental and ethiopian . meropidæ | -- | -- | | |oriental and ethiopian . alcedinidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . bucerotidæ | -- | | | |oriental and ethiopian . podargidæ | -- | -- | | |oriental . caprimulgidæ | -- | -- | -- | |cosmopolite . cypselidæ | -- | -- | -- | |cosmopolite | | | | | psittaci. | | | | | . _cacatuidæ_ | -- | -- | | |philippine islands . _platycercidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | -- | . palæornithidæ | -- | | | |oriental . _trichoglossidæ_| -- | -- | -- | | . _nestoridæ_ | -- | | | -- | . _stringopidæ_ | | | | -- | | | | | | columbÆ. | | | | | . columbidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite a. _didunculidæ_ | | | -- | | | | | | | gallinÆ. | | | | | . tetraonidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |old world and n. america . (phasianidæ) | -- | | | |oriental . turnicidæ | -- | -- | | |the old world . _megapodiidæ_ | -- | -- | -- | | | | | | | accipitres. | | | | | . falconidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . pandionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . strigidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite | | | | | grallÆ. | | | | | . rallidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . scolopacidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . parridæ | -- | -- | | |tropical . glareolidæ | -- | -- | | |the eastern hemisphere . charadriidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . otididæ | | -- | | |the eastern hemisphere . gruidæ | | -- | | |the eastern hemisphere . _rhinochetidæ_ | | | -- | | . ardeidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . plataleidæ | -- | -- | | |almost cosmopolite . ciconiidæ | -- | -- | | |widely distributed | | | | | anseres. | | | | | . anatidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . laridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . procellariidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . pelecanidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . spheniscidæ | | -- | | -- |s. temperate regions . podicipidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite | | | | | struthiones. | | | | | . _casuariidæ_ | -- | -- | | | . _apterygidæ_ | | | | -- | . _dinornithidæ_ | | | | -- |extinct . _palapterygidæ_ | | | | -- |extinct | | | | | reptilia. | | | | | ophidia. | | | | | . typhlopidæ | -- | -- | | |all regions but nearctic . tortricidæ | -- | | | |oriental, s. america, | | | | | california . xenopeltidæ | -- | | | |oriental . calamariidæ | -- | -- | | |all warm countries . colubridæ | -- | -- | | |almost cosmopolite . homalopsidæ | -- | -- | | |oriental, and all other regions . dendrophidæ | -- | -- | | |oriental, ethiopian, | | | | | neotropical . dryiophidæ | -- | | | |oriental, ethiopian, | | | | | neotropical . dipsadidæ | -- | -- | | |oriental, ethiopian, | | | | | neotropical . lycodontidæ | -- | | | |ethiopian and oriental . amblycephalidæ | | -- | | |oriental, neotropical . pythonidæ | -- | -- | -- | |tropical regions, california . acrochordidæ | -- | | | |oriental . elapidæ | -- | -- | -- | |tropical regions, japan, | | | | | s. carolina . hydrophidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, madagascar, panama | | | | | lacertilia. | | | | | . varanidæ | -- | -- | | |oriental, africa . lacertidæ | | -- | | |the eastern hemisphere . gymnopthalmidæ | -- | -- | -- | |neotropical, ethiopian, | | | | | palæarctic . _pygopodidæ_ | | -- | | | . _aprasiadæ_ | | -- | | | . _lialidæ_ | | -- | | | . scincidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . acontiadæ | -- | | | |ethiopian, oriental . geckotidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |almost cosmopolite . iguanidæ | | | -- | |n. and s. america . agamidæ | -- | -- | -- | |the eastern hemisphere | | | | | rhyncocephalina. | | | | | ._rhyncocephalidæ_ | | | | -- | | | | | | crocodilia. | | | | | . gavialidæ | -- | | | |oriental . crocodilidæ | -- | -- | | |tropical regions | | | | | chelonia. | | | | | . testudinidæ | -- | | | |all other regions . chelydidæ | -- | -- | | |ethiopian, neotropical . cheloniidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |marine | | | | | amphibia. | | | | | anoura. | | | | | . phryniscidæ | | -- | | |ethiopian, malayan, neotropical . bufonidæ | -- | | | |all other regions . _xenorhinidæ_ | -- | | | | . engystomidæ | | -- | | |all regions but palæarctic . bombinatoridæ | | | | -- |neotropical, palæarctic . alytidæ | -- | -- | | |all regions but oriental . pelodryadæ | -- | -- | | |neotropical . hylidæ | -- | -- | | |all regions but ethiopian . polypedatidæ | -- | -- | -- | |all the regions . ranidæ | -- | -- | | |almost cosmopolite . discoglossidæ | -- | -- | | |all regions but nearctic | | | | | fishes (fresh-water).| | | | | acanthopterygii. | | | | | . trachinidæ | | -- | | |patagonia (? marine) . labyrinthici | -- | | | |oriental, s. africa . atherinidæ | | -- | | |europe, america . mugillidæ | -- | -- | | -- |ethiopian, neotropical | | | | | anacanthini. | | | | | . _gadopsidæ_ | | -- | | | | | | | | physostomi. | | | | | . siluridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all warm regions . haplochitonidæ | | -- | | |temperate s. america . salmonidæ | | | | -- |palæarctic, nearctic . galaxidæ | | -- | | -- |temperate s. america . osteoglossidæ | | -- | | |all tropical regions . (symbranchidæ) | | -- | | |oriental, neotropical | | | | | dipnoi. | | | | | . sirenoidei | | -- | | |ethiopian, neotropical | | | | | insects. | | | | | lepidoptera (part). | | | | | diurni (butterflies).| | | | | . danaidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all warm regions, and to canada . satyridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . elymniidæ | -- | | | |oriental, ethiopian . morphidæ | -- | | -- | |oriental, neotropical . acræidæ | -- | -- | | |all tropical regions . nymphalidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . libytheidæ | -- | | | |all the other regions . nemeobeidæ | -- | | | |all other regions but nearctic . lycænidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . pieridæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . papilionidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . hesperidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite | | | | | sphingidea. | | | | | . zygænidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite . castniidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |neotropical . agaristidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |oriental, ethiopian . uraniidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |all tropical regions . sphingidæ | -- | -- | -- | -- |cosmopolite table ii. _genera of terrestrial mammalia and birds inhabiting the australian region._ explanation. names in _italics_ show genera peculiar to the region. names enclosed thus (...) show genera which just enter the region, but are not considered properly to belong to it. genera truly belonging to the region are numbered consecutively. _mammalia._ -------------------+-------+----------------------+---------------------- order, family, and | no. of| range within | range beyond genus. |species| the region. | the region. -------------------+-------+----------------------+---------------------- | | | primates. | | | cynopithecidÆ. | | | | | | (macacus | |lombok to timor) |oriental genus . cynopithecus | |celebes and batchian |philippines? | | | lemuridÆ. | | | | | | (tarsius | |celebes) |indo-malayan genus | | | chiroptera. | | | pteropidÆ. | | | | | | . pteropus | |the whole reg. except |tropics of e. hemisp. | | new zeal. | . xantharpyia | |moluccas and timor |oriental, | | | s. palæarctic . cynopterus | |morty island |oriental . macroglossus | |celebes, moluccas, |indo-malaya | | timor | . harpyia | |celebes and moluccas |philippines . _hypoderma_ | |celebes, moluccas, and | | | timor | . _notopteris_ | |fiji islands | | | | rhinolophidÆ. | | | | | | . rhinolophus | |moluccas, timor, |warmer pts. of | | australia | e. hemis. . hipposideros | |moluccas and aru |oriental | | islands | . phyllorhina | |moluccas and timor |indo-malaya . asellia | |amboyna |indo-malaya . megaderma | |ternate |oriental, ethiopian | | | vespertilionidÆ. | | | | | | . scotophilus | |moluccas, timor, |oriental | | australia | . vespertilio | |australia |cosmopolite . miniopteris | |moluccas, timor, and |indo-malaya, s. africa | | australia | . taphozous | |celebes, moluccas, |orien., ethiop., | | n. australia | neotrop. . plecotus | |timor |n. india, | | | s. palæarctic . nyctophilus | |australia and tasmania |india | | | noctilionidÆ. | | | | | | . molossus | |australia |neotrop., ethiop., | | | s. pal. . _mystacina_ | |new zealand | | | | insectivora. | | | soricidÆ. | | | | | | . sorex | |moluccas and timor |the e. hemis. & | | | n. amer. | | | carnivora. | | | viverridÆ. | | | | | | (viverra | |celebes and moluccas) |oriental genus (paradoxurus | |timor, ke islands, ? |oriental genus | | introduced) | | | | otariidÆ. | | | | | | . arctocephalus | |s. australia, |s. temperate shores | | new zealand | . zalophus | |australia |north pacific | | | phocidÆ. | | | | | | . stenorhynchus | |new zealand |antarctic shores | | | sirenia. | | | manatidÆ. | | | | | | . halicore | |n. australia |oriental ethiopian | | | ungulata. | | | suidÆ. | | | | | | . sus | |celebes to new guinea |palæarctic, oriental . _babirusa_ | |celebes, bouru | | | | cervidÆ. | | | | | | (cervus | |celebes, moluccas, |oriental genus | | timor) | | | | bovidÆ. | | | | | | . _anoa_ | |celebes | | | | rodentia. | | | sciuridÆ. | | | | | | (sciurus | |celebes) |all the other regions | | | muridÆ. | | | | | | . mus | |australia, celebes, |the western hemisphere | | papua | . _pseudomys_ | |australia | . _hapalotis_ | |australia | . _hydromys_ | |australia and tasmania | . _acanthomys_ | |n. australia | . _echiothrix_ | |australia | | | | marsupialia. | | | dasyuridÆ. | | | | | | . _phascogale_ | |new guinea and | | | australia | . _antechinomys_ | |s. australia (interior)| . _antechinus_ | |aru ids. australia and | | | tasmania | . _chætocercus_ | |s. australia | . _dactylopsila_ | |aru islands and | | | n. australia | . _podabrus_ | |australia and tasmania | . _myoictis_ | |aru islands | . _sarcophilus_ | |tasmania | . _dasyurus_ | |australia | . _thylacinus_ | |tasmania | | | | myrmecobiidÆ. | | | | | | . _myrmecobius_ | |s. and w. australia | | | | peramelidÆ. | | | | | | . _perameles_ | |n. guinea, aru ids., | | |australia, and tasmania| . _peragalea_ | |w. australia | . _chæropus_ | |s. e. and w. australia | | | | macropodidÆ. | | | | | | . _macropus_ | |australia and tasmania | . _osphranter_ | |all australia | . _halmaturus_ | |australia and tasmania | . _petrogale_ | |all australia | . _dendrolagus_ | |new guinea | . _dorcopsis_ | |aru, mysol, and | | | n. guinea | . _onychogalea_ | |central australia | . _lagorchestes_ | |n., w., and s. | | | australia | . _bettongia_ | |w., s., and e. | | | australia and tasmania| . _hypsiprymnus_ | |w. and e. australia & | | | tasmania | | | | phalanigistidÆ. | | | | | | . _phascolarctos_ | |e. australia | . _phalangista_ | |e., s., and w. | | | australia and tasmania| . _cuscus_ | |celebes to n. guinea, | | | timor & n. australia | . _petaurista_ | |e. australia | . _belideus_ | |s., e., & n. austral., | | |n. guinea, and moluccas| . _acrobata_ | |s. and e. australia | . _dromicia_ | |w. & e. australia & | | | tasmania | . _tarsipes_ | |w. australia | | | | phascolomyidÆ. | | | | | | . _phascolomys_ | |s. e. australia and | | | tasmania | | | | monotremata. | | | ornithorhynchidÆ. | | | | | | ._ornithorhynchus_| |s. and e. australia & | | | tasmania | | | | echidnidÆ. | | | | | | . _echidna_ | |s. & e. australia, & | | | tasmania | _birds._ | | | passeres. | | | turdidÆ. | | | | | | . turdus | |timor, austral., new |cosmopolite | | caledonia, norfolk | | | island, lord howe's | | | and samoan islands | . oreocincla | |s. e. australia and |palæarctic, oriental | | tasmania | . geocichla | |celebes, lombok, timor,|oriental | | austral. | (monticola | |gilolo, celebes) |palæarctic and | | | oriental (zoothera | |lombok) |oriental genus | | | sylviidÆ. | | | | | | . cisticola | |celebes, bouru, timor, |palæarctic, oriental | | australia | . sphenæacus | |australia, n. zealand, |ethiopian | | chatham islands | . megalurus | |timor |oriental . _poodytes_ | |australia | . _amytis_ | |australia | . _sphenura_ | |australia | . _stipiturus_ | |australia, tasmania | . _malurus_ | |australia, tasmania, & | | | n. guinea | . _hylacola_ | |australia | . _calamanthus_ | |australia and tasmania | . acrocephalus | |celebes, moluccas, |palæarc., orien., | | australia, caroline | ethiop. | | islands | . _tatare_ | |samoan to marquesas | | | islands | . hypolais | |moluccas |palæarc., orien., | | | ethiop. . _sericornis_ | |australia and tasmania | . _acanthiza_ | |austral., tasmania, | | | n. caledonia | . _gerygone_ | |the whole region, excl.|philippines | | moluccas | . _drymodes_ | |australia | . oreicola | |lombok to timor |burmah ? (pratincola | |celebes to timor) |oriental, palæarctic . _epthianura_ | |australia | . _petroica_ | |papua to samoan ids., | | | australia | . _myiomoira_ | |n. zealand | . _lamprolia_ | |fiji islands | . _miro_ | |new zealand | ._cinclorhamphus_| |australia | . _origma_ | |australia | . _orthonyx_ | |n. guinea, austral., | | | new zeald. | | | | timaliidÆ. | | | | | | . pomatorhinus | |n. guinea and australia|oriental . _cinclosoma_ | |australia and tasmania | . _turnagra_ | |new zealand | . _psophodes_ | |s. e. and w. australia | . alcippe | |new guinea |oriental (trichastoma | |celebes) |oriental genus . drymocataphus | |timor |oriental . _struthidea_ | |n. and e. australia | | | | cinclidÆ. | | | | | | . eupetes | |new guinea |malayan | | | certhiidÆ. | | | | | | . _climacteris_ | |australia and n. guinea| | | | sittidÆ. | | | | | | . _sittella_ | |australia and n. guinea| . _acanthisitta_ | |new zealand | . _xenicus_ | |new zealand | | | | paridÆ. | | | | | | . _certhiparus_ | |new zealand | . _sphenostoma_ | |e. and s. australia | | | | pycnonotidÆ. | | | | | | . criniger | |moluccas, and small |oriental | | islands e. of celebes| | | | oriolidÆ. | | | | | | . _sphecotheres_ | |timor and australia | . oriolus | |celebes, sulla ids., |oriental, ethiopian | | lombok and flores | . _mimeta_ | |moluccas, n. guinea, | | | timor, & australia | | | | campephagidÆ. | | | | | | (pericrocotus | |lombok) |oriental genus . graucalus | |celebes to new hebrides|oriental | | and n. zealand | . _artamides_ | |celebes | . _pteropodocys_ | |australia | . campephaga | |celebes to timor & |oriental, ethiopian | | new guinea | . lalage | |celebes to australia & |malayan | | samoan ids. | . _symmorphus_ | |e. australia and | | | norfolk id. | | | | dicruridÆ. | | | | | | . dicrurus | |celebes to n. ireland &|oriental, ethiopian | | austral. | . _chætorhynchus_| |new guinea | | | | muscicapidÆ. | | | | | | . _peltops_ | |papuan islands | . _monarcha_ | |the whole region (excl.| | |celebes and n. zealand)| . _leucophantes_ | |n. guinea | (butalis | |moluccas and celebes) |palæarc., orien., | | | ethiop. . _micræca_ | |timor, n. guinea, | | | australia | . cyornis | |celebes and timor |oriental . siphia | |timor |oriental . _seisura_ | |moluccas to n. ireland,| | | austral. | . _myiagra_ | |moluccas to samoan ids.| | | austral. | (hypothymis | |celebes) |oriental ._machærirhynchus_ |papuan ids. and | | | n. australia | . rhipidura | |the region to samoan |oriental | | ids. and n. zealand | (myialestes | |celebes) |oriental genus (tchitrea | |flores) |orien. & ethiop. | | | genus . _todopsis_ | |papuan islands | . _chasiempis_ | |sandwich islands | | | | pachycephalidÆ. | | | | | | . _oreoeca_ | |temperate australia | . _falcunculus_ | |temperate australia | . _pachycephala_ | |moluccas to tonga ids. | | | and tasmania | . hylocharis | |celebes and timor |oriental . _eopsaltria_ | |australia to new | | | hebrides | | | | laniidÆ. | | | | | | . _colluricincla_| |australia and tasmania | . _rectes_ | |papuan to fiji ids., | | | n. austral. | (lanius | |lombok) |northern hemisphere | | | corvidÆ. | | | | | | . _strepera_ | |australia and tasmania | . _barita_ | |australia and tasmania | . _cracticus_ | |papuan ids. to tasmania| . _grallina_ | |australia | . _streptocitta_ | |celebes | . _charitornis_ | |sulla islands (celebes | | | group) | . corvus | |the whole region, excl.|almost cosmopolite | | n. zeal. | . _gymnocorvus_ | |papuan islands | . _corcorax_ | |australia | . _lycocorax_ | |moluccas | | | | paradiseidÆ. | | | | | | . _paradisea_ | |papuan islands | . _manucodia_ | |papuan ids. and | | | n. australia | . _astrapia_ | |new guinea | . _parotia_ | |new guinea | . _lophorina_ | |new guinea | . _diphyllodes_ | |papuan islands | . _xanthomelus_ | |new guinea | . _cicinnurus_ | |papuan islands | . _paradigalla_ | |new guinea | . _semioptera_ | |gilolo and batchian | . _epimachus_ | |new guinea | . _drepanornis_ | |new guinea | . _seleucides_ | |new guinea | . _ptilorhis_ | |new guinea and | | | n. australia | . _sericulus_ | |e. australia | . _ptilorhynchus_| |e. australia | . _chlamydodera_ | |n. and e. australia | . _Æluredus_ | |papuan islands and | | | e. australia | . _amblyornis_ | |new guinea | | | | meliphagidÆ. | | | | | | . _myzomela_ | |the region; excl. | | | n. zealand | . _entomophila_ | |papuan islands and | | | australia | . _gliciphila_ | |papuan ids. timor, | | |australia, n. caledonia| ._acanthorhynchus_ |australia and tasmania | . _meliphaga_ | |east and s. australia | . _ptilotis_ | |lombok and gilolo to |(baly) | | tasmania and | | | samoan ids. | . _meliornis_ | |australia and tasmania | . _prosthemadera_| |new zealand | . _anthornis_ | |new zealand and | | | chatham ids. | . _anthochæra_ | |new guinea to tasmania | | | and samoan ids., | | | n. zealand | . _pogonornis_ | |new zealand | . _philemon_ | |lombok to n. guinea, | | | n. caledonia, | | |australia | . _enicmiza_ | |australia | . _manorhina_ | |australia and tasmania | . _melithreptus_ | |n. guinea, australia, | | | tasmania | . _euthyrhynchus_| |n. guinea | ._melirrhophetes_| |n. guinea | . _melidectes_ | |n. guinea | . _melipotes_ | |n. guinea | . _moho_ | |sandwich islands | . _chætoptila_ | |sandwich islands | | | | nectariniidÆ. | | | | | | . _cosmetira_ | |papuan islands | (Æthopyga | |n. celebes) |oriental genus . chalcostetha | |celebes, moluccas, |malaya | | papuan ids. | . arachnecthra | |austro-malaya and |oriental | | n. australia | (nectarophila | |celebes) |oriental genus anthreptes | |celebes and sulla |malayan genus | | islands | . arachnothera | |papuan islands, lombok |oriental | | | dicÆidÆ. | | | | | | . zosterops | |the region to fiji ids.|oriental, ethiopian | | & n. zeal. | . dicæum | |celebes to solomon ids.|oriental | | & austral. | . pachyglossa ? | |n. celebes |himalayas . piprisoma | |timor |india, ceylon . _pardalotus_ | |australia and tasmania,| | | timor | . prionochilus | |papuan islands |malaya | | | drepanididÆ. | | | | | | . _drepanis_ | |sandwich islands | . _hemignathus_ | |sandwich islands | . _loxops_ | |sandwich islands | . _psittirostra_ | |sandwich islands | | | | hirundinidÆ. | | | | | | . hirundo | |the whole region |cosmopolite . atticora | |australia |neotropical | | | ploceidÆ. | | | | | | . estrilda | |flores, timor, |oriental, ethiopian | | australia | . _emblema_ | |n. w. australia | . munia | |celebes to n. guinea |oriental | | and n. australia | . _donacola_ | |australia | . _poephila_ | |australia | . amadina | |flores to tasmania and |ethiopian | | samoan islands | . erythrura | |moluccas to caroline |java, sumatra | | and fiji islands, | | | timor, n. caledonia | | | | sturnidÆ. | | | | | | . eulabes | |sumbawa, flores, papuan|oriental | | and solomon islands | . _basilornis_ | |celebes and ceram | (acridotheres | |celebes) |oriental genus . _creadion_ | |n. zealand | . _heterolocha_ | |n. zealand | . _callæas_ | |n. zealand | . _aplonis_ | |n. caledonia to tonga | | | islands | . calornis | |celebes to solomon |malaya | | islands and | | | n. australia | . _enodes_ | |celebes | . _scissirostrum_| |celebes | | | | artamidÆ. | | | | | | . artamus | |celebes to fiji ids. |oriental | | and tasmania | | | | alaudidÆ. | | | | | | . mirafra | |flores and australia |oriental, ethiopian | | | motacillidÆ. | | | | | | . budytes | |moluccas, timor, |palc., ethiopian, x | | australia | australia . corydalla | |lombok and moluccas to |palæarctic, oriental | | n. zealand | | | | pittidÆ. | | | | | | . pitta | |celebes and lombok to |oriental | |n. guinea and australia| . hydrornis | |gilolo, batchian |himalayas to java . _melampitta_ | |n. guinea | | | | menuridÆ. | | | | | | . _menura_ | |e. australia | | | | atrichiidÆ. | | | | | | . _atrichia_ | |w. australia and | | | queensland | | | | picariÆ. | | | picidÆ. | | | | | | . yungipicus | |celebes, lombok, and |oriental | | flores | (mulleripicus | |celebes) |oriental genus | | | cuculidÆ. | | | | | | . _rhamphococcyx_| |celebes | . centropus | |austro-malaya and |oriental, ethiopian | | australia | . cuculus | |austro-malaya and |palc., orien., | | australia | ethiopian . _caliechthrus_ | |papuan islands | . cacomantis | |austro-malaya and |oriental | | australia | . chrysococcyx | |austro-malaya to fiji |oriental, ethiopian | | islands and n. zealand| (hierococcyx | |celebes) |oriental genus . eudynamis | |the whole region; excl.|oriental | | sandwich islands | . _scythrops_ | |celebes, moluccas, and | | | australia | | | | coraciidÆ. | | | | | | (coracias | |celebes) |oriental and ethiopian . eurystomus | |austro-malaya and |oriental and ethiopian | | australia | | | | meropidÆ. | | | | | | . _meropogon_ | |celebes | . merops | |austro-malaya and |palc., orien., | | australia | ethiopian | | | alcedinidÆ. | | | | | | . alcedo | |celebes to new ireland |palc., orien., | | | ethiopian . _alcyone_ | |batchian to tasmania |philippines . pelargopsis | |celebes, flores |oriental . ceyx | |celebes to new guinea |oriental . _ceycopsis_ | |celebes | . _syma_ | |papuan islands and | | | n. australia | . halcyon | |the whole region; excl.|oriental, ethiopian | | sandwich islands | . _todirhamphus_ | |central pacific and | | | sandwich ids. | . _dacelo_ | |papuan islands and | | | australia | . _monachalcyon_ | |celebes | . _caridonax_ | |lombok and flores | . _tanysiptera_ | |batchian to n. guinea | | | and n. australia | . _cittura_ | |celebes and sanguir | | | islands | . _melidora_ | |new guinea | | | | bucerotidÆ. | | | | | | . hydrocissa? | |celebes |oriental . calao | |moluccas to solomon |malayan | | islands | . cranorrhinus? | |celebes |malayan | | | podargidÆ. | | | | | | . _podargus_ | |papuan islands to | | | tasmania | . batrachostomus | |moluccas |oriental . _Ægotheles_ | |papuan islands to | | | tasmania | | | | caprimulgidÆ. | | | | | | . caprimulgus | |lombok to australia, |palc., ethiopian, | | n. guinea to pelew | orien. | | islands | . _eurostopodus_ | |aru islands and |oriental genus | | australia | (lyncornis | |celebes) | | | | cypselidÆ. | | | | | | . dendrochelidon | |celebes to n. guinea |oriental . collocalia | |celebes to pacific |oriental | | islands | . cypselus | |australia |palc., orien., | | | ethiopian . chætura | |celebes, australia |ethio., orien., | | | american | | | psittaci. | | | cacatuidÆ. | | | | | | . _cacatua_ | |celebes and lombok, to |philippines | | solomon islands and | | | tasmania | . _calopsitta_ | |australia | ._calyptorhynchus_ |australia and tasmania | . _microglossus_ | |papuan islands and | | | n. austral. | . _licmetis_ | |austr., solmn. ids., & | | | n. guin. ? | . _nasiterna_ | |papuan and solomon | | | islands | | | | platycercidÆ. | | | | | | . _platycercus_ | |austral., tasmania, | | | norfolk id. | . _psephotus_ | |australia | . _polytelis_ | |australia | . _nymphicus_ | |australia and | | | n. caledonia | . _aprosmictus_ | |moluccas, timor, papuan| | | islands, australia | . _pyrrhulopsis_ | |tonga to fiji islands | . _cyanoramphus_ | |n. zealand, norfolk | | | island, n. caledonia,| | | society islands | . _melopsittacus_| |australia | . _euphema_ | |australia | . _pezoporus_ | |australia and tasmania | . _geopsittacus_ | |w. australia | | | | palÆornithidÆ. | | | | | | . _prioniturus_ | |celebes |philippines . _geoffroyus_ | |borneo to timor & | | | solomon ids. | . _tanygnathus_ | |celebes to new guinea |philippines . _eclectus_ | |moluccas and papuan | | | islands | . _cyclopsitta_ | |papuan ids. and n. e. |philippines | | austral. | . loriculus | |celebes to mysol, |oriental | | flores | . _trichoglossus_| |the whole region, excl.| | | sandwich islands, and| | | n. zealand | . _nanodes_ | |australia and tasmania | . _charmosyna_ | |new guinea | . _eos_ | |sanguir ids. and | | | moluccas to | | | solomon ids. | . _lorius_ | |bouru and gilolo to | | | solomon ids. | . _coriphilus_ | |samoan to marquesas | | | islands | | | | nestoridÆ. | | | | | | . _nestor_ | |new zealand and | | | norfolk ids. | . _dasyptilus_ | |new guinea | | | | stringopidÆ. | | | | | | . _stringops_ | |n. zealand, chatham | | | islands? | | | | columbÆ. | | | columbidÆ. | | | | | | . treron | |celebes, bouru, and |oriental, ethiopian | |ceram, flores and timor| . ptilopus | |the whole region; excl.|indo-malaya | | n. zealand | . carpophaga | |the whole region |oriental . ianthænas | |gilolo, timor, papuan |japan, philippines, | | ids. to samoan islands| andaman islands . _leucomeloena_ | |australia | . _lopholæmus_ | |australia | . geopelia | |lombok to tasmania |malaya, china . macropygia | |austro-malaya, |indo-malaya | | australia | . _turacoena_ | |celebes, timor, solomon| | | ids. | ._reinwardtoenas_| |celebes to new guinea | . turtur | |austro-malaya |palæarc., orien., | | | ethiop. . _ocyphaps_ | |australia | . _petrophassa_ | |n. w. australia | . chalcophaps | |austro-malaya, |oriental | | australia | . _trugon_ | |n. guinea | . _henicophaps_ | |papuan islands | . _phaps_ | |australia and tasmania | . _leucosarcia_ | |australia | . _geophaps_ | |australia | . _lophophaps_ | |australia | . _caloenas_ | |austro-malaya |indo-malaya . _otidiphaps_ | |n. guinea | . phlogoenas | |celebes, n. guinea to |philippine islands | | madagascar | . _goura_ | |papuan islands | | | | didunculidÆ. | | | | | | . _didunculus_ | |samoan islands | | | | gallinÆ. | | | | | | tetraonidÆ. | | | | | | . _coturnix_ | |celebes, timor, |palæarc., orien., | | australia, n. zealand| ethiop. | | | phasianidÆ. | | | | | | (gallus | |celebes to timor) |oriental genus | | | turnicidÆ. | | | | | | . turnix | |celebes & moluccas to |palæarc., orien., | | tasmania | ethiop. | | | megapodiidÆ. | | | | | | . _talegallus_ | |papuan islands and | | | australia | . _megacephalon_ | |celebes | . _lipoa_ | |s. australia | . _megapodius_ | |celebes to austral. & |philippines, | | samoan ids. | nicobar ids. | | | accipitres. | | | falconidÆ. | | | | | | . circus | |celebes, s. and e. |almost cosmopolite | | austral | . astur | |the region, to fiji |almost cosmopolite | | islands | . accipiter | |the whole region, to |almost cosmopolite | | fiji islands | . _urospiza_ | |australia | . _uroaëtus_ | |australia and tasmania | . nisaëtus | |australia |s. palæarc., | | | ethiopian, oriental . neopus | |celebes and ternate |oriental . spizaëtus | |celebes and n. guinea |neotrop., ethiop., | | | orien. . circaëtus | |timor and flores |palæarc., ethiop., | | | orien. (spilornis | |celebes and sulla |oriental genus | | islands) | . butastur | |celebes to new guinea |oriental, n. e. africa . haliæetus | |the whole region |cosmop., excl. | | | neotrop. region . haliastur | |australia and |oriental | | n. caledonia | . milvus | |celebes to australia |palæarc., orien., | | | ethiop. . _lophoictinia_ | |australia | . _gypoictinia_ | |australia | . elanus | |celebes and australia |oriental, ethiopian . _henicopernis_ | |papuan islands | (pernis | |celebes) |palæarctic, oriental, | | | and ethiopian . baza | |moluccas and australia |oriental . _harpa_ | |n. zealand and | | | auckland ids. | . falco | |austro-malaya and |almost cosmopolite | | australia | . _hieracidea_ | |australia and tasmania | . cerchneis | |austro-malaya and |almost cosmopolite | | australia | | | | pandionidÆ. | | | | | | . pandion | |the whole region |cosmopolite . polioaëtus | |celebes and sandwich |oriental | | islands | | | | strigidÆ. | | | | | | . athene | |the whole reg., excl. |palæarc., orien., | | pacific ids. | ethiop. . scops | |celebes, moluccas, |almost cosmopolite | | n. zealand | (asio | |sandwich islands) |almost cosmopolite, | | | excl. australian | | | region . strix | |the whole region |cosmopolite _peculiar or very characteristic genera of wading and swimming birds._ grallÆ. | | | rallidÆ. | | | | | | _ocydromus_ | |new zealand | _cabalus_ | |chatham islands | _notornis_ | |new zealand, norfolk | | |and lord howe's islands| _tribonyx_ | |australia and | | | n. zealand | _habroptila_ | |moluccas | rallina | |austro-malaya |oriental _pareudiastes_ | |samoan islands | | | | scolopacidÆ. | | | | | | _cladorhynchus_ | |australia | | | | charadriidÆ. | | | | | | esacus | |austro-malaya, |oriental | | australia | _erythrogonys_ | |australia | _thinornis_ | |new zealand | _anarhynchus_ | |new zealand | _pedionomus_ | |australia | | | | rhinochetidÆ. | | | | | | _rhinochetus_ | |new caledonia | | | | anatidÆ. | | | | | | _nesonetta_ | |auckland islands | _malacorhynchus_| |australia | _hymenolæmus_ | |new zealand | _biziura_ | |australia | _anseranas_ | |australia | _cereopsis_ | |australia and tasmania | | | | procellariidÆ. | | | | | | prion | |new zealand |antarctic seas | | | spheniscidÆ. | | | | | | eudyptes | |australia and |antarctic shores | | n. zealand | | | | struthiones. | | | casuariidÆ. | | | | | | . _dromæus_ | |australia | . _casuarius_ | |ceram to new britain, | | | n. austrl. | | | | apterygidÆ. | | | | | | . _apteryx_ | |new zealand | | | | dinornithidÆ. | |(extinct) | | | | . _dinornis_ | |n. zealand | . _mionornis_ | |n. zealand | | | | palapterygidÆ. | |(extinct) | | | | . _palapteryx_ | |n. zealand | . _euryapteryx_ | |n. zealand | { }index to vol. i. note.--in this index the names in italics all refer to fossil genera or families mentioned in part ii. the systematic names of genera and families occurring in almost every page of part iii. are not given, as they would unnecessarily swell the index; but they can be readily referred to by the class or order, or by the geographical division (region or sub-region) under which they occur. they will, however, all be found in the general index, with a reference to the page (in vol. ii., part iv.) where a systematic account of their distribution is given. a. aardvark of east africa, figure of, _accipitres_, european eocene, accipitres, classification of, range of palæarctic genera of, range of ethiopian genera of, range of oriental genera of, range of australian genera of, _acerotherium_, european miocene, n. american tertiary, _achænodon_, n. american tertiary, _acotherium_, european eocene, _adapis_, european eocene, _Ælurogale_, european eocene, _Æpyornis_, of madagascar, _Æshna_, from the lias, _agnopterus_, european eocene, _agriochoerus_, n. american tertiary, _agrion_, from the lias, _alcephalus_, indian miocene, aldabra islands, land-tortoises of, _aletornis_, n. american eocene, algeria, post-pliocene deposits and caves of, allen, mr. j. a., on zoological regions, objections to his system of circumpolar zones, objections to his zoo-geographical nomenclature, altai mountains, fossils in caves, _amblyrhiza_, pliocene of antilles, america, recent separation of north and south, extinct mammalia of, north, post-pliocene fauna of, _amomys_, n. american tertiary, _amphechinus_, european miocene, amphibia, means of dispersal of, classification of, peculiar to palæarctic region, of central europe, of the mediterranean sub-region, of siberian sub-region, amphibia, of the manchurian sub-region, table of palæarctic families of, of the ethiopian region, of west africa, south african, of madagascar, table of ethiopian families of, of the oriental region, of the indian sub-region, of ceylon, of indo-chinese sub-region, of indo-malay sub-region, table of oriental families of, of the australian region, resemblances of australian and south-american, of new guinea, of new zealand, _amphibos_, indian miocene, _amphicyon_, european miocene, indian miocene, n. american tertiary, _amphimericidæ_, european miocene, _amphimoschus_, european miocene, _amphisorex_, european miocene, _amphitragulus_, european miocene, _anastoma_, european tertiary, _anchilophus_, european eocene, _anchippodus_, n. american eocene, _anchippus_, n. american tertiary, _anchitheridæ_, n. american tertiary, _anchitherium_, european miocene, european eocene, n. american tertiary, ancient fauna of new zealand, _ancylotherium_, miocene of greece, european miocene, andaman islands, zoology of, probable past history of, _andreas_, european miocene, animal kingdom, primary divisions of, animals, development of, affecting distribution, dispersal and migration of, rapid multiplication of, { } _anisacodon_, n. american tertiary, anoa of celebes, peculiarities of, _anoplotheriidæ_, european miocene, _anoplotherium_, european miocene, european eocene, s. american eocene, anseres, arrangement of, peculiar palæarctic genera, peculiar ethiopian genera of, peculiar australian genera of, antelopes in the indian miocene deposits, birthplace and migrations of, palæarctic, _antelotherium_, indian miocene, _anthracotheridæ_, n. american tertiary, _anthracotherium_, european miocene, _antiacodon_, n. american tertiary, antilles, pliocene mammalia of, _antilope_, post-pliocene, in brazilian caves, antiquity of the genera of insects, of the genera of land and freshwater shells, _aphanapteryx_ of mauritius, _aphelotherium_, european eocene, _aquila_, european miocene, _archæopteryx_, bavarian oolite, arctic zone not a separate region, _arctocyon_, european eocene, _arctodus_, n. american post-pliocene, _arctomys_, european pliocene, _arctotherium_ in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, argus pheasant, figure of, peculiarity, in display of plumage, and confirmation of mr. darwin's views, _artiodactyla_, european eocene, n. american tertiary, s. american pliocene, _arvicola_, european pliocene, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, s. american eocene, _auchena_, n. american post-pliocene, auckland islands, birds of, australia, physical features of, australia and s. america, supposed land connection between, australian region, description of, zoological characteristics of, mammalia of, birds of, reptiles of, amphibia of, fresh-water fish of, summary of vertebrata of, supposed land-connection of with s. america, insects of, lepidoptera of, coleoptera of, land shells of, sub-regions of, early history of, australian sub-region, mammalia of, illustration of mammalia of, birds of, illustration of fauna of, austro-malayan sub-region, physical features of, zoology of, aye-aye, figure of, azores, visited by european birds, birds of, butterflies of, beetles of, , peculiarly modified birds of, stragglers to, how stocked with animal life, b. babirusa of celebes, peculiarities of, badger, figure of, _balæna_, european pliocene, _balænodon_, european pliocene, baly, mr., on phytophaga of japan, banca, its peculiar species and solution of a problem in distribution, barriers, as affecting distribution, permanence of, as affecting distribution, to the dispersal of birds, bates, mr., on carabidæ of japan, on longicorns of japan, _bathmodon_, n. american tertiary, _bathrodon_, n. american tertiary, _batrachia_, tertiary, bats, powers of flight of, classification of, of new zealand, bears, probable cause of absence of, from tropical africa, beaver, n. american tertiary, beetles, families selected for study, from the lias, of azores, of japan, _belemnoziphius_, european pliocene, belt, mr., his theory of a great siberian lake during the glacial epoch, on change of climate caused by diminution of obliquity of ecliptic, birds, means of dispersal of, dispersal of by winds, american, found in europe, reaching the azores, barriers to dispersal of, limited by forests, classification of, miocene of greece, extinct, fossil of palæarctic region, european of miocene period, eocene of europe, relations of, extinct of north america, recently extinct in new zealand, cretaceous of n. america, remains of in brazilian caves, recently extinct in madagascar and the mascarene islands, cosmopolitan groups of, numerous genera, palæarctic, of the european sub-region, northern range of in europe, of the zone of pine forests, of iceland, of the mediterranean sub-region, of malta, (_note_) of azores, of the cape verd islands, of siberian sub-region, oriental found in siberia, extreme northern asiatic, of northern asiatic forests, of the manchurian sub-region, palæarctic genera of, in the manchurian sub-region, oriental genera of, in the manchurian sub-region, { } characteristic of n. w. china and mongolia, table of palæarctic families of, of west africa, list of palæarctic genera of, of the ethiopian region, of the east african sub-region, s. african, genera of, peculiar to madagascar, common to madagascar and oriental or ethiopian regions, species common to madagascar and africa or asia, table of ethiopian families of, table of ethiopian genera of, of the oriental region, of the indian sub-region, oriental genera of in central india, palæarctic and ethiopian genera in central india, of ceylon, of indo-chinese sub-region, of indo-malayan sub-region, illustration of peculiar malayan, of the philippine islands, table of oriental families of, table of oriental genera of, of australian region, specially organized australian families of, of the papuan islands, peculiarities of, brilliant colours of, remarkable forms of, of the moluccas, peculiarities of, of timor group, of celebes, of australia, of new zealand, peculiar to new zealand, of norfolk island, of lord howe's island, of the chatham islands, of the auckland islands, table of families of australian, table of genera of australian, black ape of celebes, blanford, mr. w. t., on the "indian" region, on relations of indian sub-region with africa, _blapsidium_, oolitic insect, blyth, mr., on zoological regions, on the relations of indian sub-region with africa, borneo, probable recent changes in, _bos_, post-pliocene, indian miocene, bourbon, zoology of, reptiles of, _bovidæ_, european miocene, _brachymys_, european miocene, _bramatherium_, miocene of perim island, brazilian cave-fauna, remarks on, _breyeria borinensis_, carboniferous insect, britain, peculiar species in, british isles, zoology of, broad-bill, malayan, figure of, _brontotheridæ_, n. american tertiary, _brontotherium_, n. american tertiary, _bubo_, european miocene, _bulimus_, eocene, _bunælurus_, n. american tertiary, _buprestidium_, oolitic insect, butterflies, arrangement of, palæarctic, of central europe, of the mediterranean sub-region, of azores, peculiar to siberian sub-region, of japan and north china, of the ethiopian region, number of ethiopian species, of indo-malay sub-region, of the australian region, of the austro-malay sub-region, of the moluccas, of celebes, peculiarities of, of new zealand, c. _cadurcotherium_, european eocene, _cælodon_, in brazilian caves, _cælogenys_, in brazilian caves, _cænopithecus_, european eocene, _cainotherium_, european miocene, european eocene, _calamodon_, n. american eocene, _callithrix_ in brazilian caves, canaries, birds of, beetles of, _canidæ_, european miocene, european eocene, n. american tertiary, remarkable s. african, _canis_, european pliocene, post-pliocene, european miocene, indian miocene, european eocene, n. american post-pliocene, n. american tertiary, , in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, camel, fossil in indian miocene, birth-place and migrations of, palæarctic, _camelidæ_, essentially extra-tropical, n. american tertiary, _camelopardalis_, miocene of greece, indian miocene, _camelotherium_, s. american pliocene, cape of good hope, peculiar flora and of, cape verd islands, zoology of, cape-hare, s. african, _cardiodus_, s. american pliocene, _cariama_, brazilian caves, _carnivora_ of european pliocene, miocene of greece, european miocene, indian miocene, european eocene, n. american post-pliocene, n. american tertiary, of brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, carnivora, classification of, antiquity of, of the palæarctic region, list of palæarctic genera of, list of ethiopian genera of, range of oriental genera of, list of australian genera of, caroline islands, birds of, _carterodon_ in brazilian caves, carus, and gerstaeker on classification of animals, { } professor, on classification of the cetacea, _castor_, european pliocene, european miocene, _casoryx_, n. american tertiary, _cathartes_, brazilian caves, cave-fauna of brazil, _cavia_, european miocene, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, _cebochoerus_, european eocene, _cebus_ in brazilian caves, celebes, physical features of, mammalia of, birds of, insects of, origin of fauna of, _centetidæ_, european miocene, ceratodus, remarkable australian fish, _cercolabes_ in brazilian caves, _cercopithecus_ in european pliocene, _cervidæ_, european miocene, birth-place and migrations of, _cervus_, european pliocene, indian pliocene and miocene, n. american post-pliocene, n. american tertiary, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, _cetacea_, european pliocene, european miocene, n. american post-pliocene, n. american tertiary, cetacea, classification of, range of oriental genus, ceylon and malaya, resemblance of insects of, ceylonese sub-region, mammalia of, birds of, reptiles of, amphibia of, insects of, past history of, as indicated by its fauna, _chalicomys_, european pliocene, _chalicotherium_, european miocene, indian miocene, fossil in n. china, _chamæleo_, n. american eocene, chamois, figure of, chatham islands, birds of, chelonia, classification of, _chelydra_, european pliocene, chevrotain of malaya, figure of, chili should not be placed in the palæarctic or nearctic regions, china, fossil mammals in, resembling those of indian and european miocene, north, mammalia of, _chinchillidæ_ in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, pliocene of antilles, chiroptera, classification of, list of palæarctic genera of, list of ethiopian genera of, range of oriental genera of, list of australian genera of, _chiroptera_, european eocene, in brazilian caves, _chlamydotherium_ in brazilian caves, _choeromorus_, european miocene, _choeropotamus_, european eocene, _choerotherium_, indian miocene, _choneziphius_, european pliocene, chough, alpine, figure of, circumpolar zones, objections to system of, classification as affecting the study of distribution, _clausilia_, eocene, climate, as a limit to the range of mammalia, gradual change of, before the glacial epoch, coleoptera, families selected for study, palæarctic, number of palæarctic species, of central europe, of the mediterranean sub-region, of the cape verd islands, of the ethiopian region, s. african, of madagascar, , of the oriental region, of indo-malay sub-region, of the australian region, affinity of australian and south american, , of celebes, of new zealand, _collocalia_, european miocene, _colobus_, european miocene, _colonoceras_, n. american tertiary, _colossochelys_ of indian miocene, , columbæ, classification of, range of palæarctic genera of, range of ethiopian genera of, range of oriental genera of, range of australian genera of, comoro islands, zoology of, continents, distribution of, recent changes of, continental extension in mesozoic times, _corvus_, european miocene, _coryphodon_, european eocene, cosmopolitan groups enumerated, _cricetodon_, european miocene, _cricetus_, european pliocene, crocodiles, eocene, crocodilia, classification of, crook-billed plovers of new zealand, crotch, mr., on beetles of the azores, crowned-pigeon, figure of, _cryptornis_, european eocene, _ctenomys_, s. american pliocene, cuba, extinct mammalia of, _curculionidium_, oolitic insect, _cyclostoma_, eocene, _cyllo sepulta_, european cretaceous, _cynælurus_, in brazilian caves, cynopithecus of celebes, affinities of, _cyotherium_, european eocene, d. _daptophilus_, n. american tertiary, darwin, mr., his explanation of the cause of the abundance of apterous insects in madeira, on the relation of flowers and insects, _dasyprocta_, european miocene, in brazilian caves, _dasypus_, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, _dasyurus_, australian post-tertiary, david, père, his researches in china and thibet, , on birds of n. china, deer, fossil in n. american tertiary formations, { } palæarctic, probable cause of absence of from tropical africa, _delphinus_, european pliocene, _dendrocygna_, european miocene, desman of s. russia, figure of, _diceratherium_, n. american tertiary, _dichobune_, european eocene, _dicotyles_, n. american post-pliocene, n. american tertiary, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, birthplace and migrations of, _dicrocerus_, european miocene, _didelphys_, european eocene, n. american post-pliocene, in brazilian caves, _dididæ_, _dinocerata_, n. american tertiary, _dinoceras_, n. american eocene, _dinornis_, allied form in european eocene, of new zealand and australia, _dinornithidæ_ of new zealand, _dinotherium_, miocene of greece, european miocene, miocene of perim island, _dinyctis_, n. american tertiary, _dinylus_, european miocene, _diplacodon_, n. american tertiary, _diprotodon_, australian post-tertiary, dispersal of animals, of mammalia, of reptiles and amphibia, distribution, affected by climate, affected by physical features, contrasts of, in similar climates, similarities of, in diverse climates, barriers as affecting, study of, dependent on a good classification, of animals an adjunct to geology, of animals requires certain preliminary studies, of animals dependent on physical geography, of animals, as affected by the glacial epoch, of animals, as affected by changes of vegetation, of animals, as affected by organic changes, of animals, hypothetical illustration of, of animals, complexity of the causes affecting the, of animals, problems in, of plants, as affected by the glacial epoch, dodo of mauritius, _dolichopterus_, european miocene, _dommina_, n. american tertiary, _dorcatherium_, european miocene, _dremotherium_, miocene of greece, european miocene, dresser, mr. h. e., on northern range of european birds, _dromatherium_, n. american triassic, oldest american mammal, drongo-shrike, malayan, figure of, _opithecus_, european miocene, e. east africa, geographical features of, wide range of genera and species over, few special types in, east african sub-region, description of, genera and species ranging over the whole of, mammalia of, birds of, reptiles of, amphibia and fishes of, insects of, few peculiar types in, illustration of zoology of, east australia, peculiar birds of, east thibet, mammalia of, eaton, rev. a. e., on insects of kerguelen island, _echimyidæ_, in brazilian caves, _echinogale_, european miocene, _ectognathus_, n. american eocene, _edentata_, miocene of greece, european miocene, n. american post-pliocene, n. american pliocene, of brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, edentata, classification of, probable birthplace of, range of ethiopian genera of, range of oriental genus of, elephants, fossil of indian miocene, fossil in n. american post-pliocene formations, birthplace and migrations of, elephant shrews, s. african, _elephas_, post-pliocene, fossil in n. china, n. american tertiary, elliot, mr., his great work on the birds of paradise, _elornis_, european miocene, _elotherium_, n. american tertiary, , elwes, mr., on birds of persia, on true relations of the birds of central india, _embasis_, n. american tertiary, emu, figure of, _emys_, indian miocene, miocene and eocene, _emydida_, indian miocene, _enhydrion_, indian miocene, _eobasileus_, n. american eocene, eocene period, fauna of s. america, _ephemera_, from the lias, _eporeodon_, n. american tertiary, _equidæ_, european pliocene, miocene of greece, european eocene, _equus_, european pliocene, post-pliocene, indian miocene, n. american post-pliocene, n. american tertiary, brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, _ereptodon_, n. american post-pliocene, _erinaceus_, european miocene, _erythromachus_ of rodriguez, _esthonyx_, n. american eocene, ethiopian region should not include any part of india, defined, subdivisions of, general features of, { } zoological characteristics of, mammalia of, great speciality of, birds of, reptiles of, amphibia of, fresh-water fish of, summary of vertebrates of, insects of, coleoptera of, terrestrial mollusca of, sub-regions of, atlantic islands of, the probable past history of, tables of distribution of animals of, _eumys_, n. american tertiary, _euphractus_, s. american pliocene, europe, recent changes in physical geography of, miocene fauna of central, miocene fauna of, allied to existing fauna of tropical asia and africa, european sub-region, description of, forests of, mammalia of, birds of, reptiles and amphibia of, fresh-water fish of, insects of, islands of, euryceros of madagascar, figure of, _eurydon_, in brazilian caves, _eurytherium_, european eocene, _eutatus_, s. american pliocene, _eutelodon_, european eocene, _eutemnodus_, s. american eocene, extinct mammalian fauna of europe, general considerations on, mammalia of n. america and europe, comparison of, mammalia of the antilles, mammalia of old and new worlds, general remarks on, fauna of new zealand, extinction of large animals, causes of, f. fauna of japan, general character and affinities of, of palæarctic region, general conclusions as to, extinct, of madagascar and mascarene islands, malayan, probable origin of, moluccan, peculiarities of, timorese, origin of, of celebes, origin of, of new zealand, origin of, _felis spelæa_, _felis_, miocene of greece, european miocene, indian miocene, n. american post-pliocene, in brazilian caves, fernando po, zoological features of, fiji, tonga, and samoa islands, birds of, fishes, means of dispersal of, classification of, cosmopolitan groups of, of the palæarctic region, of the european sub-region, of the mediterranean sub-region, of the manchurian sub-region, fresh-water, table of palæarctic families of, of the ethiopian region, of south africa, fresh-water, table of ethiopian families of, fresh-water, of the oriental region, of the indo-malay sub-region, fresh-water, table of oriental families of, fresh-water, of the australian region, fresh-water, resemblance of australian and s. american, how the transmission may have taken place, fresh-water, of new zealand, flamingoes, european miocene, flora, of new zealand, as influenced by scarcity of insects, fossil, of australia, flower, professor, on classification of mammalia, classification of carnivora, flying lemur, malayan, figure of, flying opossum, figure of, formosa, zoology of, forests, essential to existence of many european animals, siberian, greatest extent of, g. galapagos, scarcity of insects in, _galecynus_, in european pliocene, _galera_, n. american post-pliocene, _galeospalax_, european miocene, _galeotherium_, post-pliocene, _galethylax_, european eocene, _galictis_, in brazilian caves, gallinæ, classification of, range of palæarctic genera of, range of ethiopian genera of, range of oriental genera of, range of australian genera of, _gallus_, miocene of greece, _gallus bravardi_, european pliocene, _gastornis_, european eocene, genera common to post-pliocene and pliocene faunas of n. america, geological history of oriental region, gibraltar, cave fauna of, glacial epoch, as affecting the distribution of animals, as a cause of the great change in the fauna of the temperate zones, since pliocene times, probably simultaneous in both hemispheres, causing a general subsidence of the ocean, _glandina_, eocene, _glossotherium_, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, _glyptodon_, s. american pliocene, _gnathopsis_, s. american pliocene, goats, palæarctic, godman, mr., on natural history of the azores, golden moles, s. african, _graculavus_, n. american cretaceous, grallæ, arrangement of, peculiar or characteristic palæarctic genera, peculiar ethiopian genera of, peculiar oriental genera of, { } peculiar australian genera of, gray, dr. j. e., on classification of cetacea, greece, upper miocene deposits of, summary of miocene fauna of, groups peculiar to a region, how defined, gulick, rev. j. t., on achatinellidæ of the sandwich islands, günther, dr., his classification of reptiles, his classification of fishes, on gigantic tortoises of galapagos and the mascarene islands, on range of indian reptiles in the himalayas, h. haast, dr., on extinct birds of new zealand, habitat, definition of, hainan, zoology of, _halcyornis_, european eocene, _halitherium_, european pliocene, european miocene, _helladotherium_, miocene of greece, european miocene, hatteria of new zealand, helictis, himalayan, figure of, _helix_, eocene, _hemibos_, indian miocene, _hemicyon_, european miocene, _herpetotherium_, n. american tertiary, _hesperomys_, n. american tertiary, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, _hesperornis_, n. american cretaceous, _heterodon_, in brazilian caves, _hexaprotodon_, indian miocene, hickman, mr. john, on a cause of the extinction of large animals, himalayas, altitude reached by various groups in the, , _hipparion_, european pliocene, miocene of greece, european miocene, n. american post-pliocene, n. american tertiary, _hippopotamus_, post-pliocene, europe in pliocene, indian pliocene, _hipposyus_, n. american tertiary, _hippotherium_, european miocene, indian miocene, _hippotragus_, european miocene, _homalodontotherium_, s. american pliocene, _homalophus_, european miocene, _homocamelus_, n. american tertiary, honeysuckers, birds specially adapted to australia, hooker, dr., on deficiency of odours in new zealand plants, _hoplocetus_, european pliocene, _hoplophoneus_, n. american tertiary, horses, fossil, in indian miocene, perfect series of ancestral, in n. america, probable birthplace of, hutton, capt. f. w., on origin of new zealand fauna, huxley, professor, on zoological regions, division of animal kingdom by, _hyæna_, post-pliocene, miocene of greece, european miocene, indian miocene, fossil in n. china, _hyænarctos_ in european pliocene, european miocene, indian miocene, s. american pliocene, _hyænictis_, miocene of greece, european miocene, _hyænidæ_, european miocene, _hyænodon_, european miocene, european eocene, n. american tertiary, _hyænodontidæ_, european miocene, _hydrochoerus_, n. american post-pliocene, _hydrornis_, european miocene, _hyohippus_, n. american tertiary, _hyomoschus_, european miocene, _hyopotamus_, european miocene, n. american tertiary, _hyopsodus_, n. american tertiary, _hyotherium_, european miocene, _hypertragulus_, n. american tertiary, _hypisodus_, n. american tertiary, _hypsiprymnus_, australian post-tertiary, _hyrachyus_, n. american tertiary, _hyracodon_, n. american tertiary, _hyracoidea_, classification of, palæarctic, ethiopian, _hyracotherium_, supposed, in european eocene, european eocene, _hystrix_, european pliocene, miocene of greece, n. american tertiary, i. _ibidipodia_, european miocene, ibidorhynchus, figure of, iceland, zoology of, _icthyornis_, n. american cretaceous, _icticyon_ in brazilian caves, _ictitherium_, miocene of greece, european miocene, _ictops_, n. american tertiary, india, miocene fauna of, allied to that of europe, geological features of, indian, sub-region, description of, supposed relation to ethiopian region, mammalia of, birds of, reptiles and amphibia of, indo-chinese, sub-region, description of, zoological characteristics of, illustration of, reptiles of, amphibia of, insects of, islands belonging to, indo-malayan sub-region, description of, mammalia of, illustrations of, , birds of, remote geographical relations of, reptiles and amphibia of, fishes of, insects of, coleoptera of, terrestrial mollusca of, zoological relations of islands of, recent geographical changes in, probable origin of fauna of, insects, means of dispersal of, tenacity of life of, { } adapted to special conditions, groups selected for the study of their geographical distribution, antiquity of the genera of, fossil of european miocene, european cretaceous, european wealden, palæozoic, palæarctic, of central europe, of the mediterranean sub-region, of the siberian sub-region, of the manchurian sub-region, of the ethiopian region, of the east african sub-region, of west africa, s. african, of madagascar, general remarks on, of tropical africa and america, probable cause of similarities in, of indo-chinese sub-region, of the oriental region, of ceylon, of indo-malay sub-region, statistics of collecting in the various islands of the malay archipelago, of the australian region, of new guinea, of the moluccas, of timor group, of celebes, of new zealand, scarcity of, in new zealand, influence of, on the flora, _insectivora_, european miocene, n. american post-pliocene, n. american tertiary, insectivora, classification of, of the palæarctic region, of n. china and e. thibet, range of palæarctic genera of, of madagascar, range of ethiopian genera of, of the oriental region, range of oriental genera of, range of australian genera of, _isacis_, n. american tertiary, _ischyromys_, n. american tertiary, islands, n. european, zoology of, of the mediterranean sub-region, of the west african sub-region, of ethiopian region, mascarene, of the indo-chinese sub-region, of indo-malay sub-region, fiji, tonga, and samoa, society and marquesas, new caledonia and new hebrides, sandwich, of new zealand sub-region, norfolk, lord howe's, chatham, auckland, _issiodromys_, european pliocene, j. _jacchus_, in brazilian caves, japan and north china, physical features of, southern extremity of perhaps belongs to the oriental region, general character of the fauna of, former land-connexions of, java, mammalia of, productions of, well known, birds of, representative species of birds in, origin of the anomalous features of its fauna, sumatra and borneo, their geographical contrasts and zoological peculiarities explained, _junonia_, european miocene, k. kakapoe, of new zealand, kangaroos, extinct in australia, kerguelen island, apterous insects of, (_note_) _kerodon_, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, king-fisher, racquet tailed, of new guinea, figure of, kiwi of new zealand, koodoo antelope, figure of, l. lacertilia, classification of, ladrone islands, birds of, _lagomys_, european pliocene, european miocene, _lagostomus_, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, lake baikal, seals of, land and water, proportions of, land and fresh-water shells, antiquity of the genera of, land-shells, palæozoic, palæarctic, of madeira, of the cape verd islands, of the ethiopian region, of w. africa, of madagascar and the mascarene islands, of indo-malay sub-region, of the australian region, of sandwich islands, of new zealand, _lanius_, european miocene, _laopithecus_, n. american tertiary, _laornis_, n. american cretaceous, lemuria, a hypothetical land, _lamuravidæ_, _lemuravus_, n. american tertiary, _lemuridæ_, european eocene, lemuroidea, range of ethiopian genera of, range of oriental genera of, _lepictis_, n. american tertiary, lepidoptera, cosmopolitan families of, table of palæarctic families of, s. african, table of ethiopian families of, of the oriental region, table of oriental families of, of the australian region, table of australian families of, _leptarchus_, n. american tertiary, _leptauchenia_, n. american tertiary, _leptochoerus_, n. american tertiary, _leptodon_, miocene of greece, _leptomeryx_, n. american tertiary, _leptoptilus_, european miocene, _leptosomus_, allied form in european eocene, { } leptosomus of madagascar, figure of, _leptotherium_, in brazilian caves, _lepus_, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, _lestodon_, s. american pliocene, lewis, mr. george, his collection of japan insects, _lebellula_, from the lias, lilljeborg, professor, on classification of the rodentia, _limnæa_, eocene, european secondary, _limnatornis_, european miocene, _limnocyon_, n. american tertiary, _limnohyus_, n. american tertiary, _limnotheridæ_, n. american tertiary, _limnotherium_, n. american tertiary, _listriodon_, european miocene, _lithomys_, european miocene, _lithornis_, european eocene, lizards, classification of, tertiary, wide range of a species in polynesia, _loncheres_, in brazilian caves, _lonchophorus_, in brazilian caves, _lophiodon_, european eocene, n. american tertiary, _lophiotherium_, n. american tertiary, lord howe's island, birds of, _loxomylus_, pliocene of antilles, lund, dr., his researches in caves of brazil, _lutra_, european miocene, indian miocene, _lycæna_, miocene of greece, lyre bird, figure of, m. _macacus_, european pliocene, miocene of greece, indian miocene, supposed in european eocene, _machairodus_, , miocene of greece, european miocene, indian miocene, n. american tertiary, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, _macrauchenia_, s. american pliocene, _macrotherium_, miocene of greece, european miocene, madagascar, extinct birds of, description of, mammalia of, birds of, reptiles of, amphibia of, extinct fauna of, general remarks on insect fauna of, madeira, birds of, land shells of, beetles of, wingless insects numerous in, how stocked with animals, malacca, sumatra, and borneo, zoological unity of, comparison of mammalia, of birds, malagasy sub-region, description of, mammalia of, birds of, illustration of zoology of, reptiles of, amphibia of, extinct fauna of, , insects of, early history of, malaya and indo-malaya, terms defined, (_note_) malayan forms of life reappearing in west africa, fauna, probable origin of, resemblances to that of madagascar and ceylon explained, malta, post-pliocene fauna of, formerly joined to africa, fossil elephants of, birds of, (_note_) mammalia, means of dispersal of, as limited by climate, as limited by rivers, how far limited by the sea, dispersed by ice-floes and drift-wood, means of dispersal of aquatic, of most importance in determining zoological regions, classification of, birthplace and migrations of some families of, , cosmopolitan groups of, of the palæarctic region, of the european sub-region, of the mediterranean sub-region, of the siberian sub-region, characteristic of western tartary, of the manchurian sub-region, palæarctic genera of, in the manchurian sub-region, oriental genera of, on borders of same sub-region, peculiar to japan, characteristic of n. w. china and mongolia, table of palæarctic families of, range of palæarctic genera of, of the ethiopian region, absence of certain important groups, of the east african sub-region, of west africa, of s. africa, of madagascar, table of ethiopian families of, table of ethiopian genera of, of the oriental region, range of the genera inhabiting the indian sub-region, of ceylon, of the indo-chinese sub-region, of the indo-malayan sub-region, illustration of characteristic malayan, of the philippine islands, table of oriental families of, table of oriental genera of, of australian region, of the papuan islands, of the moluccas, of timor group, of celebes, of australia, illustration of, of new zealand, table of families of australian, table of genera of australian, _mammal_, the most ancient american, _mammalia_, extinct, of old world, extinct, of historic period, extinct, comparative age of in europe, extinct, of the new world, { } extinct, of n. america and europe, compared, original birth-place of some families and genera, , of the secondary period, _manatus_, n. american post-pliocene, manchurian sub-region, description of, mammalia of, birds of, reptiles and amphibia of, fresh-water fish of, insects of, coleoptera of, marquesas islands, birds of, marsh, mr., on improvability of asiatic and african deserts, on camels and goats as destructive to vegetation, marsupials, classification of, n. american post-pliocene, european miocene, first migration to america, diversified forms of, of america prove no connexion with australia, list of australian genera of, _martes_, n. american tertiary, mascarene islands, zoology of, extinct fauna of, gigantic land-tortoises of, _mastodon_, european pliocene, miocene of greece, european miocene, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, indian miocene, n. american post-pliocene, n. american tertiary, mauritius, zoology of, reptiles of, mccoy, professor, on palæontology of victoria, mediterranean, recent changes in, sub-region, description of, mammalia of, birds of, reptiles and amphibia of, fresh-water fish of, insects of, islands of, sea not separating distinct faunas, _megacerops_, n. american tertiary, _megalomeryx_, n. american tertiary, _megalocnus_, fossil in cuba, _megalonyx_, n. american post-pliocene, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, _megalostoma_, eocene, _megamys_, s. american eocene, _megaspira_, european tertiary, _megatheridæ_, in brazilian caves, _megatherium_, n. american post-pliocene, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, _melania_, european secondary, _meleagris_, n. american miocene, _mellivora_, indian miocene, _melolonthidium_, oolitic insect, _meniscotherium_, n. american tertiary, _menotherium_, n. american tertiary, _mephitis_, in brazilian caves, _merychus_, n. american tertiary, _merychippus_, n. american tertiary, _merychochoerus_, n. american tertiary, _merycodus_, n. american tertiary, _merycopotamus_, indian miocene, _merycotherium_ of siberian drift, _mesacodon_, n. american tertiary, _mesohippus_, n. american tertiary, _mesonyx_, n. american tertiary, _mesopithecus_, miocene of greece, meyer, dr. a. b., on reptiles and amphibia of new guinea, _microlestes_, oldest european mammal, _micromeryx_, european miocene, _microsyops_, n. american tertiary, _microtherium_, european miocene, middendorf, on extreme northern birds, migrating birds, in which region to be placed, migration of animals, general phenomena of, of birds, of birds in europe, probable origin of, of birds in india and china, of birds in n. america, changes in extent of, of birds in s. temperate america, general remarks on, _milvus_, european miocene, miocene fauna of the old world, fauna of greece, fauna of greece, summary of, fauna of central europe, deposits of siwalik hills, faunas of europe and asia, general observations on, _miohippus_, n. american tertiary, mivart, professor, on classification of primates, on classification of insectivora, on classification of amphibia, moles almost wholly palæarctic, mole-rat, of w. tartary, mollusca, means of dispersal of, classification of, groups selected for study, moluccas, zoology of, birds of, reptiles of, insects of, peculiarities of fauna of, monkeys on the high himalayas, fossil in n. american miocene in e. thibet, abundance of in the oriental region, monotremata, classification of, list of australian genera of, "more-pork" of australia, figure of, _morotherium_, n. american pliocene, _motacilla_, european miocene, mound-builders, peculiar australian birds, moupin, position and zoology of, _muridæ_, s. american pliocene, murray, mr. andrew, on zoological region, _mustela_, miocene of greece, european miocene, s. american pliocene, _mustelidæ_, in brazilian caves, _mylodon_, n. american post-pliocene, s. american pliocene, _myogale_, european miocene, _myomorphus_, fossil in cuba _myopotamus_, in brazilian caves, _myoxus_, european miocene, european eocene, _mysarachne_, european miocene, _mysops_, n. american eocene, _myxophagus_, n. american post-pliocene, n. { } _nanohyus_, n. american tertiary, _nasua_, in brazilian caves, nearctic region, defined, subdivisions of, distinct from palæarctic, _necrornis_, european miocene, neotropical region, defined, subdivisions of, relations of w. african sub-region with, _nesodon_, s. american pliocene, newton, professor, on position of _menuridæ_ and _atrichiidæ_, on birds of iceland, new caledonia, birds of, new guinea, zoology of, mammalia of, birds of, peculiarities of its ornithology, illustration of ornithology of, reptiles and amphibia of, insects of, new zealand, objections to making a primary zoological region, extinct birds of, sub-region, description of, compared with british isles, mammalia of, islets of, illustration of ornithology of, reptiles of, amphibia of, fresh-water fish of, insects of, longicorns of, myriapoda of, land-shells of, ancient fauna of, origin of fauna of, poverty of insects in, relations of insect-fauna and flora, nicobar islands, their zoological relations, nightingale, migration of the, norfolk island, birds of, north america, remarks on post-pliocene fauna of, post-pliocene fauna of, partly derived from s. america, extinct birds of, north africa, zoological relations of, _notharctos_, n. american tertiary, notornis of new zealand, _nototherium_, australian post-tertiary, o. _ochotherium_, in brazilian caves, _octodontidæ_, s. american pliocene, ophidia, classification of, _opisthocomus_, brazilian caves, _opossum_, extinct, in european miocene, _oreodon_, n. american tertiary, _oreodontidæ_, n. american tertiary, oriental region, defined, subdivisions of, description of, zoological features of, mammalia of, birds of, reptiles of, amphibia of, fresh-water fishes of, summary of vertebrata, insects of, sub-regions of, concluding remarks on, tables of distribution of animals of, oriental relations of w. african sub-region, oriental and palæarctic faunas once identical, oriental and ethiopian faunas, cause of their resemblances, _orohippus_, n. american tertiary, _ostrich_, miocene of n. india, _otaria_, european miocene, _ovibos_, n. american post-pliocene, oxen, birthplace and migrations of, palæarctic, _oxyæna_, n. american tertiary, _oxygomphus_, european miocene, _oxymycterus_, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, p. _pachyæna_, n. american tertiary, _pachynolophus_, european eocene, _pachytherium_, in brazilian caves, palæarctic region, defined, subdivisions of, general features of, zoological characteristics of, has few peculiar families, mammalia of, birds of, high degree of speciality of, reptiles and amphibia of, fresh-water fish of, summary of vertebrata of, insects of, coleoptera of, number of coleoptera of, land-shells of, sub-regions of, general conclusions on the fauna of, tables of distribution of animals of, _palæacodon_, n. american tertiary, _palæetus_, european miocene, _palægithalus_, european eocene, _palælodus_, european miocene, _palæocastor_, n. american tertiary, _palæocercus_, european miocene, _palæochoeus_, european miocene, _palæohierax_, european miocene, _palæolagus_, n. american tertiary, _palæolama_, s. american pliocene, _palæomephitis_, european miocene, _palæomeryx_, european miocene, _palæomys_, european miocene, _palæontina oolitica_, oolitic insect, palæontology, how best studied in its bearing on geographical distribution, as an introduction to the study of geographical distribution, concluding remarks on, _palæonyctis_, european eocene, _palæoperdix_, european miocene, _palæophrynus_, european miocene, _palæoreas_, miocene of greece, _palæortyx_, european miocene, _palæoryx_, miocene of greece, _palæospalax_, european miocene, _palæosyops_, n. american tertiary, _palæotheridæ_, european eocene, _palæotherium_, european eocene, s. american eocene, _palæotragus_, miocene of greece, _palæotringa_, n. american cretaceous, _palapterygidæ_ of new zealand, { } palestine, birds of, _paloplotherium_, european miocene, european eocene, _paludina_, eocene, european secondary, pampas, pliocene deposits of, panda, of nepaul and e. thibet, himalayan, figure of, _panolax_, n. american tertiary, papuan islands, zoology of, paradise-bird, twelve-wired, figure of, _parahippus_, n. american tertiary, _paramys_, n. american eocene, parroquet, papuan, figure of, parrots, classification of, passeres, arrangement of, range of palæarctic genera of, range of ethiopian genera of, range of oriental genera of, range of australian genera of, _patriofelis_, n. american tertiary, peculiar groups, geographically, how defined, _pelagornis_, european miocene, _pelonax_, n. american tertiary, _peratherium_, european miocene, european eocene, _perchoerus_, n. american tertiary, perim island, extinct mammalia of, probable southern limit of old palæarctic land, _perissodactyla_, n. american tertiary, persia, birds of, _phascolomys_, australian post-tertiary, _phasianus_, miocene of greece, european post-pliocene, pheasants, in european miocene, golden, of n. china, eared, of mongolia, _phenacodus_, n. american tertiary, philippine islands, mammals of, birds of, origin of peculiar fauna of, _phocidæ_, n. american tertiary, _phyllomys_, in brazilian caves, _phyllostomidæ_, in brazilian caves, physical changes affecting distribution, _physeter_, european pliocene, picariæ, arrangement of, range of palæarctic genera of, range of ethiopian genera of, range of oriental genera of, range of australian genera of, _picus_, european miocene, pigeons, classification of, remarkable development of, in the australian region, crested, of australia, figure of, pigs, power of swimming, pikermi, miocene fauna of, pittidæ, abundant in borneo, _plagiolophus_, european eocene, _planorbis_, european secondary, eocene, _platycercidæ_, gorgeously-coloured australian parrots, _platygonus_, n. american post-pliocene, _plesiarctomys_, european eocene, _plesiomeryx_, european eocene, _plesiosorex_, european miocene, pliocene period, old world, mammalia of, pliocene and post-pliocene faunas, of europe, general conclusions from, of n. america, of s. america, of australia, _pliohippus_, n. american tertiary, _pliolophus_, european eocene, _pliopithecus_, european miocene, _poebrotherium_, n. american tertiary, polynesian sub-region, description of, birds of, reptiles of, post-pliocene, mammalia of europe, remains imply changes of physical geography in europe, fauna of n. america, fauna of n. america, remarks on, potamogale of west africa, figure of, _potamotherium_, european miocene, potto of west africa, figure of, _praotherium_, n. american post-pliocene, primates, classification of, probable birthplace of, range of palæarctic genera of, range of ethiopian genera of, range of oriental genera of, range of australian genera of, _primates_, european pliocene, miocene of greece, european miocene, indian miocene, european eocene, n. american tertiary, of brazilian caves, prince's island, birds of, _prionidium_, oolitic insects, _pristiphoca_, in european pliocene, proboscidea, classification of, range of ethiopian genus, range of oriental genus, _proboscidea_, european pliocene, miocene of greece, european miocene, indian miocene, n. american post-pliocene, n. american tertiary, of brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, _procamelus_, n. american post-pliocene, n. american tertiary, _procyon_, n. american post-pliocene, _procyonidæ_, in brazilian caves, _promephitis_, miocene of greece, european miocene, promerops of east africa, figure of, _propalæotherium_, european eocene, _protemnodon_, australian post-tertiary, _protohippus_, n. american tertiary, _protomeryx_, n. american tertiary, _protopithecus_, in brazilian caves, _prototomus_, n. american tertiary, _protornis_, european eocene, _pseudælurus_, european miocene, _pseudocyon_, european miocene, psittaci, classification of, range of ethiopian genera of, range of oriental genera of, range of australian genera of, _psittacus_, european miocene, _pterocles_, european miocene, _pterodon_, european eocene, _pupa_, eocene, _pupa vetusta_, palæozoic, _pythonidæ_, european miocene, r. racoon-dog of n. china, _rana_, european miocene, region, the best term for the primary zoological divisions, { } arctic, why not adopted, palæarctic, defined, palæarctic, subdivisions of, ethiopian, defined, ethiopian, subdivisions of, oriental, defined, oriental, subdivisions of, australian, defined, australian, subdivisions of, neotropical, defined, neotropical, subdivisions of, nearctic, defined, nearctic, distinct from palæarctic, nearctic, subdivisions of, regions, zoological, zoological, how they should be formed, zoological, may be defined by negative or positive characters, zoological, by what class of animals best determined, for each class of animals, not advisable, zoological, proposed since , zoological, mr. sclater's, zoological, discussion of those proposed by various authors, zoological, proportionate richness of, temperate and tropical, well marked in northern hemisphere, and zones, table of, comparative richness of, and sub-regions, table of, order of succession of the, representative species, reptiles, means of dispersal of, classification of, miocene of greece, of indian miocene deposits, extinct tertiary, cosmopolitan groups of, peculiar to palæarctic region, of central europe, of the mediterranean sub-region, of siberian sub-region, of the manchurian sub-region, table of palæarctic families of, of the ethiopian region, of the east african sub-region, of west africa, s. african, of madagascar, table of ethiopian families of, of the oriental region, of the indian sub-region, of ceylon, of indo-chinese sub-region, of indo-malay sub-region, table of oriental families of, of the australian region, of new guinea, of the moluccas, of the polynesian sub-region, of new zealand, table of australian families of, _rhea_, in brazilian caves, _rhinoceros_, post-pliocene, european pliocene, miocene of greece, indian miocene, fossil remains of, at , feet elevation in thibet, fossil in n. china, n. american tertiary, rhinoceros-hornbill, figure of, _rhinocerotidæ_, n. american tertiary, river-hog, of west africa, figure of, of madagascar, figure of, rivers, limiting the range of mammalia, limiting the range of birds, river-scene, in west africa, rodentia, classification of, range of palæarctic genera of, range of ethiopian genera of, range of oriental genera of, range of australian genera of, _rodentia_, european pliocene, miocene of greece, european miocene, european eocene, n. american post-pliocene, n. american tertiary, of brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, of s. american eocene, ruff, figure of, s. sahara, a debatable land, saiga, antelope of w. tartary, samoa islands, birds of, sandwich islands, birds of, probable past history of, mountain plants of, depth of ocean around, sand grouse, pallas, of mongolia, _satyrites reynesii_, european cretaceous insect, saunders, mr. edward, on the buprestidæ of japan, _scelidotherium_, in brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, _schistopleurum_, s. american pliocene, schweinfurth, dr., on natural history of central africa, on limits of w. african sub-region, (_note_) _sciurus_, european miocene, european eocene, _sciuravus_, n. american eocene, sclater, mr., on zoological regions, why his six regions are adopted, on birds of sandwich islands, sea, as a barrier to mammalia, seals, fossil in european miocene, of lake baikal, secondary formations, mammalian remains in, secretary-bird of africa, figure of, _semnopithecus_, european pliocene, miocene of greece, european miocene, indian miocene, semper, dr., on philippine mammalia, _serpentarius_, european miocene, seychelle islands, zoology of, amphibia of, sharp, dr., on japan beetles, sharpe, mr. r. b., his arrangement of accipitres, on birds of cape verd islands, sheep, palæarctic, siberia, climate of, siberian sub-region, description of, mammalia of, birds of, reptiles and amphibia of, insects of, _simocyon_, miocene of greece, _sinopa_, n. american tertiary, { } sirenia, classification of, range of ethiopian genera of, range of oriental genus, range of australian genus of, _sirenia_, european pliocene, european miocene, _sivatherium_, indian miocene, siwalik hills, miocene deposits of, smith, mr. frederick, on hymenoptera of japan, snake, at great elevation in himalayas, snakes, classification of, eocene, large proportion of venomous species in australia, of new zealand, society islands, birds of, _soricictis_, european miocene, _soricidæ_, european miocene, south african sub-region, description of, mammalia of, birds of, reptiles of, amphibia of, fresh-water fish of, butterflies of, coleoptera of, summary of its zoology, south america, fossil fauna of, pliocene deposits of, supposed land connection with australia, south australia, peculiar birds of, species, representative, _speothos_, in brazilian caves, _spermophilus_, european miocene, _sphenodon_, in brazilian caves, _sphinx_, in european oolite, st. helena, zoological features of, coleoptera of, landshells of, st. thomas' island, birds of, stations, definition of, _steneofiber_, european miocene, _sthenurus_, australian post-tertiary, _strix_, european miocene, struthiones, arrangement of, range of ethiopian genera of, range of australian genera of, struthious birds, probable origin of, _stylinodontidæ_, n. american eocene, _stylinodontia_, n. american eocene, sub-regions, on what principle formed, palæarctic, ethiopian, oriental, australian, _suidæ_, european miocene, sula islands, fauna of, _sus_, european pliocene, miocene of greece, european miocene, indian miocene, swinhoe, mr., on zoology of formosa and hainan, _symborodon_, n. american tertiary, _synaphodus_, european miocene, _synoplotherium_, n. american tertiary, t. tables of distribution of families and genera explained, _talpa_, european miocene, _tapir_, fossil in n. china, tapirs, birthplace and migrations of, tapir, malayan, figure of, _tapiridæ_, european eocene, _tapirus_, european pliocene, indian miocene, in brazilian caves, tarsier, malayan, figure of, tasmania, comparative zoological poverty of, _taxodon_, european miocene, _telmatobius_, n. american cretaceous, _telmatolestes_, n. american tertiary, _testudo_, miocene of greece, indian miocene, testudo, great antiquity of the genus, _tetrachus_, european miocene, _tetrao albus_, in italian caverns, _thalassictis_, miocene of greece, european miocene, _theridomys_, european miocene, european eocene, s. american eocene, _thinohyus_, n. american tertiary, _thinolestes_, n. american tertiary, _thylacinus_, australian post-tertiary, _thylacoleo_, australian post-tertiary, _tillodontia_, n. american eocene, _tillotheridæ_, n. american eocene, _tillotherium_, n. american eocene, timor, physical features of, group, mammalia of, birds of, origin of fauna of, insects of, _tinoceras_, n. american eocene, _titanomys_, european miocene, _titanotherium_, n. american tertiary, _tomarctos_, n. american tertiary, tonga islands, birds of, tortoises, classification of, of mascarene islands and galapagos, touraco of w. africa, figure of, _toxodon_, s. american pliocene, _toxodontidæ_, s. american pliocene, _trachytherium_, european miocene, _tragocerus_, miocene of greece, european miocene, tragopan, himalayan, figure of, tree-shrew of borneo, figure of, tree-kangaroo, figure of, _trichechus_, n. american post-pliocene, trichoglossidæ, birds specially adapted to australia, _trionyx_, indian miocene, miocene and eocene, tristan d'acunha, zoology of, tristram, canon, summary of the birds of palestine, trogon, european miocene, _trogontherium_, post-pliocene of europe, _trucijelis_, n. american post-pliocene, tundras of siberia, greatest extent of, _tupaiidæ_, european miocene, turner, mr., on classification of edentata, _tylodon_, european eocene, _typotherium_, s. american pliocene, u. _uintacyon_, n. american tertiary, _uintatherium_, n. american eocene, _uintornis_, n. american eocene, _unio_, european secondary, ungulata, classification of, antiquity of, { } of the palæarctic region, range of palæarctic genera of, range of ethiopian genera of, range of oriental genera of, range of australian genera of, _ungulata_, european pliocene, miocene of greece, european miocene, indian miocene, european eocene, n. american post-pliocene, n. american tertiary, of brazilian caves, s. american pliocene, urania of madagascar, _ursidæ_, n. american tertiary, in brazilian caves, _ursitaxus_, indian miocene, _ursus_, post-pliocene, indian miocene, v. vanga of madagascar, figure of, _varanus_, miocene of greece, indian miocene, vertebrata, summary of palæarctic, summary of ethiopian, summary of oriental, summary of australian, _vespertilio_, european eocene, _viperus_, european miocene, _viverra_, european pliocene, european miocene, _viverridæ_, european miocene, european eocene, w. walden, viscount, on birds of philippine islands, on birds of celebes, _washakius_, n. american tertiary, waterhouse, mr. g. r., on classification of rodentia, on classification of marsupials, west african sub-region, description of, mammalia of, birds of, oriental or malayan element in, river scene with characteristic animals, reptiles of, amphibia of, oriental and neotropical relations of, insects of, land-shells of, islands of, west australia, peculiar birds of, whydah finch of w. africa, figure of, wollaston, mr. t. v., on the coleoptera of the atlantic islands, on the wings of the madeiran beetles, on the origin of the insect fauna of the atlantic islands, on coleoptera of the cape verd islands, on beetles of st. helena, x. _xenurus_, in brazilian caves, _xiphodontidæ_, european miocene, z. _zeuglodontidæ_, n. american tertiary, _zonites priscus_, palæozoic, zoological characteristics of palæarctic region, ethiopian region, oriental region, australian region, zoological regions, discussion on, end of vol. i. london: r. clay, sons, and taylor, printers, bread street hill. notes [ ] marcel de serres states this as a general fact for wading and swimming birds. he says that the old birds arrive in the extreme north almost alone, the young remaining on the shores of the baltic, or on the lakes of austria, hungary, and russia. see his prize essay, _des causes des migrations_, &c. nd. ed., paris, , p. . [ ] quoted in lyell's _principles of geology_ ( th ed. vol. ii. p. ), from _amoen. acad. essay _. [ ] this estimate has been made for me by mr. stanford from the materials used in delineating the contours of the ocean-bed on our general map. it embodies the result of all the soundings of the _challenger_, _tuscarora_, and other vessels, obtainable up to august, . [ ] mr. john hickman of desborough. [ ] _trans. zool. soc. of london_, vol. viii. p. . [ ] malta is interesting as forming a resting-place for migratory birds, while crossing the mediterranean. it has only eight land and three aquatic birds which are permanent residents; yet no less than species have been recorded by mr. e. a. wright as visiting or passing over it, comprising a large proportion of the european migratory birds. the following are the permanent residents: _cerchneis tinnunculus_, _strix flammea_, _passer salicicola_, _emberiza miliaria_, _corvus monedula_, _monticola cyanea_, _sylvia conspicillata_, _columba livia_, _puffinus cinereus_, _p. anglorum_, _thalassidroma pelagica_. [ ] a remarkable confirmation of this theory, is furnished in the report to the royal society of the naturalist to the kerguelen island, "transit expedition"--the rev. a. e. eaton. insects were assiduously collected, and it was found that almost all were either completely apterous, or had greatly abbreviated wings. the only moth found, several flies, and numerous beetles, were alike incapable of flight. as this island is subject to violent, and almost perpetual gales, even in the finest season, the meaning of the extraordinary loss of wings in almost all the insects, can, in this case, hardly be misunderstood. [ ] the facts on which these statements rest, will be found more fully detailed in the author's presidential address to the entomological society of london for the year . [ ] _quarterly journal of the geological society_, , p. . [ ] dr. schweinfurth has accurately determined the limits of the sub-region at the point where he crossed the watershed between the nile tributaries and those of the shari, in ½° n. lat. and ½° e. long. he describes a sudden change in the character of the vegetation, which to the southward of this point assumes a west-african character. here also the chimpanzee and grey parrot first appear, and certain species of plants only known elsewhere in western africa. [ ] there are also some special resemblances between the plants of madagascar and south africa, according to dr. kirk. [ ] as so many typical malay groups are absent only from the philippines, i have adopted the term "malaya," to show the distribution of these, using the term "indo-malaya" when the range of the group includes the philippines. this must be remembered when consulting the tables of distribution at the end of this chapter. [ ] see _ann. nat. hist._, , p. , where the species is said to inhabit the aru islands and celebes, which renders it not improbable that it may have been carried to the former islands from the latter. [ ] i also find about this proportion in my amazonian collections, even counting all the humming-birds, parrots, and toucans as handsome birds. [ ] the general form of the skull agrees best with that of _cynocephalus mormon_, the largest and most typical of the african baboons; while the position of the nostrils brings it nearer the macaques. [ ] a new genus of beetles (_apterocyclus_) of the family lucanidæ, has recently been described from the sandwich islands, and it is said to be most nearly related to a group inhabiting chili,--an indication either of the great antiquity of the fauna, or of the varied accidental migrations from which it has had its origin.